sorry, sorry

This is one of the mega superstar groups in Korea...Super Junior. They are everywhere and I'm not gonna lie pretty catchy. Today in my class with the 9 year olds (the oldest kids at the school that only come in for a few afternoon classes) one of the boys started singing Sorry, Sorry and I started to do part of the dance. His face lit up at the fact that I knew this valuable piece of Korean pop culture. I may have enticed him to continue the dance and it was pretty wonderful. As you can tell I am a great teacher....very productive.

YOU CRAZY MONKEY

Before reading the book The Cat in the Hat this afternoon, my 7 year olds (6 in western years...In Korea when you are born you are already 1) we had to answer several questions about what we thought was going to happen in the story by only looking at the front cover. One of the questions was "Would you like to meet the cat in the hat? Why or why not?"......

Me: So Sam would you like to meet the cat in the hat?

Sam: No. (without any hesitation at all)

Me: Oh really, and why not?

Sam: He is crazy monkey.

Me: I think that he is actually a cat. The title says that the story is about a cat not a monkey.

Sam: No Abby teacher...he CRAZY monkey.

Me: So you would not want him to be your friend?

Sam: No. Way too CRAZY.

Me: Sounds good...go ahead and write that down as your answer.


After this the 3 other students also decided that the cat in the hat must be a crazy monkey cat and they would not like to meet him. They also decided that the cat could only be wearing a hat for one reason and one reason only...it was raining a lot and he did not want to get his hairdo wet. Very wise indeed. I may have been laughing the whole time.

What do you think?

Central Park

this park is right across the street from my apartment building. I can tell that it's a place I'm going to be spending a lot of good times at.


Above is a game that mixes volleyball and soccer called Jok-Gu. Very entertaining!

Annyeong haseyo!

I made it! I am safe and sound in Korea. It still doesn't seem real at all but the Korean signs and constant honking outside the window tell me that I am no longer in the pacific northwest.

The ride over wasn't bad at all. I think I watched 5 or 6 movies and an episode of House. Slept a little but was really too jacked up to really relaxed. Once I arrived at ICN customs and baggage claim were a breeze and I easily found that tall white kid waiting for me outside. By this point I was pretty dazed but David somehow managed to push me in the right direction to exchange all my money and get on the bus to Anyang. The bus took us off the island that the airport is on and through Seoul so it was a nice little introduction to the area. When we got to the bus stop in Beomgye (pronounced bumgay) my boss and her husband met us and took us to the apartment. Won jon Nim (the manager at Haba) talked to me about swine flu and said that since the kids are little I won't start teaching till next Monday, pretty much to make sure that I am not sick. In my semi quarantined state though I've been able to relax, grocery shop and explore the place that will be my home for the next 9ish months. I sorta like being quarantined.

So far:
-I LOVE my apartment and can't wait to share pictures as soon as I can
-I have only really made 2 cultural mistakes...one being that when I first got to my place I just walked right on in with my shoes on. Apparently Won jon Nim's husband was quite shocked. Second, last night when David and I went out for BBQ chicken and beer I started to refill my own glass once I had finished. Korean drinking culture states that one must never refill their own glass. It is the duty of their drinking partners.
-Gone for a morning run around the amazing park across the street from my apartment. Got to watch all the old korean men and women working on their fitness before it got too hot. Central Park also has really really cool fountains that at night are lit up with all sorts of colorfull lights.
-Watched David play a crazy sport that mixes volleyball and soccer
-Found the Korean equivalent of Target
-Tried to make enchiladas...Mexic-asian food didn't work out so well

"we are mysterious creatures aren't we? and at the end so much of it turns out not to matter."
-evening

cove nights.

boxes and things

It is a funny thing to box up the past 4 years of your material life not knowing when you will next open them up or who you might be when you do. Realizing while these things, for the most part, are an important background your everyday life but that you can easily live without them for the next 8.5 months. I'm excited stop collecting things and focus on collecting people, places and experiences.


"Live simple so others may simply live" - Quote from an old worn out truck on Taylor street hill.