South Korea doesn't get anymore authentic than my neighborhood. Just ask Tori. Tori is a girl I met who is from Philadelphia and she's been here teaching for about three weeks. Yesterday we decided to meet up to have dinner near my home in Seoul. A little background info: Tori lives near Seoul University. It is very westernized in that there are lots of options of eating places that are not Korean food, and you can walk the streets and see other foreigners like yourself. Back to yesterday afternoon: I'm standing by the subway exit waiting for Tori to arrive. It's the usual afternoon by the corner store near my house. People are walking around, shopping and hurrying along to their next destination. But wait, whats that they see? A foreigner standing by the subway? Oh yes, you see thats because I am the only foreigner in my neighborhood that I have ever seen. So Tori arrives and all of a sudden, there are two foreigners in the area. What excitement! Haha. We went to dinner at this Korean barbecue place that I had gone to with Mike before. It was funny because me, being the only white person in this part of town, the waitress remembered me coming in with Mike, and asked me in Korean if Tori and I wanted the same food. I nodded yes, and sure enough the same exact food that Mike and I had ordered about 5 nights ago was exactly what she served Tori and I. Little things like that remind me why I love my area so much. Based on conversations I had with Tori, I am quickly realizing that in my neighborhood I am in a sink or swim situation. If you want to emerge yourself into the Korean culture then all you have to do is come to Namguro station. We had a lot of fun hanging out having dinner. It was great to talk to someone else who understood a lot of what I was experiencing. After dinner I took Tori to the LARGE flea market that is nearby my school. We walked around looking at everything, and quickly Tori decided she wants to come back next weekend and bring her camera to take pictures. (Tori majored in photography in college.) Anyways, it was a fun night and I am so glad that I was able to share my little piece of heaven here with someone else who could appreciate it for all of its charm.
My first week of classes are over and I really don't have to much to say about it. I love my kids. They are so cute. I love teaching the 8 year olds because they really look at me trying to learn and understand what I am saying. So far so good! Yet, I love working with my smallest class, which is two 16 year old girls who don't like to speak English but are quickly understanding that they have to try in order for me to understand them. I love that my school is a short 10 minute walk from home, and I am enjoying getting to know my fellow teachers (especially since there is only 3 of us).
I guess thats all I really have to post about for this weekend. Today is Sunday and in about 40 minutes I am heading off to church with a teacher from school. The church service is supposed to be in English and Korean so I am looking forward to it. Then I will probably just come home and relax a little before the whole process starts again tomorrow.
Monday morning: 1st stop Immigration. I need that darn ARC card so I can get a cell phone!!
Miss you and love you all! Thanks for reading.
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