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Published: March 6th 2011
SLP employees
These are all of the people I work with at Analynn's going-away party.Wow! It's hard to believe I've been here two months and haven't posted in 1 month. I think I'm starting to get the hang of things. It's still been bitterly cold and I know that there's a lot more to do when it gets warm out. So, I decided to write this entry on the bus on my way into Seoul. It's my first trip by myself into Seoul and I ended up getting on a bus I've never taken before because it said it was going to the right neighborhood. But neighborhoods are pretty large, so we'll see how this goes.
At the end of February we had kindergarten graduation which was baffling and adorable in turn. the graduating "7-year-olds" (probably 6 by now) put on a musical about a man trying to feed his children and defeating magical creatures along the way. I think. It was a bit difficult to follow and the kids would inexplicably break into ABBA every once in a while. Now most of them have returned as "SR 1" classes. The first day of the transition was difficult. My class asked me when playtime was going to be and who got to be teacher's helper and how much science we were going to do now. I had to break some pretty sad news to them. But I love teaching the kids hwo have been through the kindergarten program. Not only do they know a lot of English already, but they're very enthusiastic about using it in class. It's more intuitive for them, so I never have to tell them to stop speaking Korean. they would never dream of speaking Korean at English school.
I now have 4 classes that haven't been through the kindergarten program. 2 classes deal by barely speaking at all unless I ask them a question. One is pretty basic so most of the kids stop speaking Korean when I catch them. (One little boy apparently just has too much to communicate and it doesn't bother him that I don't have a clue what he's saying. He's going to try to tell me anyway.) And the last one is a class of older kids (up to 13). They speak Korean and they don't care that they shouldn't or that we can contact their parents. So that's fun.
We celebrated a coworker's birthday the other week by attending a hockey game nearby. The Anyang Halla's mascot is polar bear and it was a lot of fun. They won! I also got burritos at Dos Tacos, and they were some of the best burritos I've ever had. And in South Korea, no less. I eat school lunch every weekday, which can be quite an adventure sometimes. On the day they celebrate kindergarten birthdays (once a month) we get kimbap, which is like Korean sushi, and mandu, which are dumplings. It's one of my favorite meals. My favorite is probably japchae, which is glass noodles, vegetables, and sometimes a little meat. The kimchi at our school isn't the greatest so I only eat it when it's made with the dark, leafy greens. Probably some sort of lettuce. And there's always good fruit and plenty of rice.
Yesterday I made kolaczki for everyone at school in honor of my favorite holiday, Casimir Pulaski Day. I had to spend quite a bit of money on cooking implements, but I'm sure I'll use them agian, particularly my new two-layer toaster oven. I tasted a couple and I'm pretty happy with the results, even if I couldn't find any powdered sugar.
In my time here, I hadn't gone south or west of my apartment since everything seemed to be in the opposite direction. I recently have had a couple of reasons to go in that direction, started using it as my path to HomePlus (equivalent of Super Walmart?) and discovered that there is both a Dominos AND a Pizza Hut within a couple minutes walking distance from my apartment. I don't know if that will prove t be a good or a bad thing. There's also a Paris Baguette for my break/pastry needs and Central Park, which will be nice in the spring/summer.
I guess that's all for now. I should probably be paying attention to my surroundings, so goodbye!
Update: The drop-off spot for this bus was around the corner and down the street from the bus I'm used to, but luckily I've been paying attention enough to find my way. I was in search of a bookstore that I'd heard had a good selection of books in English. After not being in a bookstore for over 2 months, I thought I was going to have a heart attack. It was so exciting! Then I wandered a bit. I found a pancake place that is clearly the place to be for foreigners on a Sunday. I'll have to try it sometimes, but the wait looks brutal.
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Mom
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Congrats
Even though we chat on Skype and IM chat, this is a great way to get an overall feel for what you are doing and how the culture is different. Congrats on the baking as it sounds like a big project!