...with a foreigner, and the good news is, this foreigner wants to be friends with you! :)
so this was the weekend of random meetings. those which have (and i hope will continue) to shape and color my experience here in korea.
then on saturday i decided to first meet up with a language exchange partner. once i first moved to seoul i joined a few websites to make friends and meet people. so one site i used was specifically for getting a language exchange partner they practice their english you learn korean. awesome. so i met lee who just graduated university and is working for verizon in seoul. he also lived a year in Melbourne, Australia! Go figure! He lived in South Yarra just doing maintenance work and you know what saddens me, I had no idea where I lived in Melbourne. I still even at this moment can not tell you where i was. Kingsley college...what the heck is the name of the town?!? am i getting old? am i getting stupid? i guess i need to go have another glass of ginseng tea....does that even help your memory? oh dear.....
anyways, the point of the story is that he is a very good teacher! so we sat in dunkin donuts and i worked on my korean alphabet, i worked on my pronunciation. he taught me phrases i wanted to learn for everyday life. he made me read korean. i felt like i was one of my students! hehe so great! so it was very helpful and i have to study and practice before we meet again next weekend!!!
so then later that evening another website i joined http://www.seoulstuff.com/ decided to have a group meeting just to give everyone the opportunity to meet one another. being amber i decided to invite along another girl Rachel whom i met from that other language exchange website. we had tried to meet before but had failed. so i figured hey im going to meet a bunch of people i dont know, i dont know you, so why dont you come along and this can all be awkward together! such a great idea! i was surprised because i thought the get together would be a lot of foreigners but it wasnt! i was pleasantly surprised. we went to hongdae which is like the cool young hang out area of seoul. all the universities are there and the clubs and all that jazz.
so at the meeting there was soon who is a korean who speaks english and is on his way to san francisco for grad school in december, yunju choi who studied in boston for a year, rayhee who is currently studying in boston but home on break, tristan - the organizer of the event and a southern brother from kentucky hes a cool kid, vincent who is korean studying english and actually studying at a british english academy so we spent alot of time comparing the accents of americans and britians - listen to a korean do that! its great! then there was his friend si-seun who doesnt speak a lot of english but is so nice and kind that it doesnt matter. your just kind of automatically friends anyways. then there was rachel who i brought who studied in toronto and in vancouver, skisk who is awesome wait till i get my camera she is just cool man. cool. and i think she draws japanese animation for her work. and she loves africa and swahili! hahaha! so i have to brush up so i can teach her the little i remember! there was also sraven who is from india and shaun from india both here working at a technology company. man we had an awesome time! we would hang out in one place and then move to the next and just talk about everything. soooooo muuuuuuch fuuuuuun. oh yes. oh yes.
one thing i found interesting is that most of the koreans said that they have trouble making foreigner girl friends. like other girls don't want to be friends with them. i dont understand why. so most of the korean girls i have met were really excited to meet a foreigner girl who wanted to be their friend. they also have trouble at times making friends with foreign guys because a lot...and i mean a lot.....of foreign guys just want to date them. not be friends. so there is sometimes a hard time to become friends with foreigners. interesting to me. (wow! can you tell that i am an english teacher! i told yanny the other day that she should teach the grammer and ill just teach the pronunciation. yikes! but this is how i start to talk when im talking with koreans. oy!)
then on sunday i went to church which again, i really enjoy. randomness! so we were walking to go get lunch after the service bc they serve lunch at the church (its huge) so we were walking up the stairs and im in a group of people talking and this guy stops me and starts talking to me. i believe he is iranian and he wanted to know if i could help him learn english. it was so weird. i was like, um, do you know me? the way he just came up to me and started talking to me i was slightly shocked, amused, befuddled. (ooo, hows that for an english word?) so i gave him my email address and said sure. hahaha...its scary though like so many people want to practice their english that i could probably spend a whole chunk of my life emailing and msn messaging with people so i am going to work hard to keep that all under control. but i have to admit that it is kind of nice to look in my inbox and find that about one third of my new emails are from koreans. is this part of the integration process? and i think the phone numbers in my cell phone doubled this weekend. hehe.
i also went and saw the movie the forbidden city with chris and another korean girl i have no idea who she is. can i just say jet li is amazing? yea, like the coolest.
this week will be somewhat busy as we have to do our evaluation forms for each of the kids. we just finished testing so we have to grade the tests and put them in their files. i think we will have the birthday party on thursday and sweet events like that. you know. oh yes and friday we have game time with the morning classes because monday is childrens day = NO SCHOOL ON MONDAY! whoot whoot! rock on kids! rock on!
so things are going well. life is interesting. and i hope it stays that way. but i think a big part of that is not always making big adventures where i am always trying to seek out new people and new things to do, but really seeking to make everyday life into an adventure. not allowing the schedule to ever become "the 9 to 5." reaching beyond that for the gift that each day is and truly enjoying it. that is my goal.
until next time!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
wae? (translated why but just like american "what?")
this past week in school seemed slightly to drag on...how i dont know...i think it was the fact that we had to go to school everyday. all 5 days. (i love that i have a real job as a teacher and i still call it going to school instead of going to work...) the past 2 weeks there have been holidays and field trips that seemed to make everyday seem like friday. also, after our teachers meeting i have been working harder at keeping the attention of the class and not allowing their misbehavior as much. but it seems to me that behavior problems are just part of being a teacher. so deal with it. :) and i shall.
on wednesday i went to the british embassy and joined some scottish dancing. i am hoping this will be a regular occurence for me. it changes things up. plus it was AWESOME!!!! though the room of 30 to 40 people consisted mainly of white foreigners i ended up with the group of Koreans and they were awesome! we were whooping and hollering between "yogi!" (go here) and go there. and set here and set there. sweet time. i have awesome been contemplating a belly dancing class. this has been something i have wanted to do for a very long time. there is a class with a canadian who has studied in India and several other countries. once a week, $60 for a month. so im seriously thinking about it. muhuhahahaah, so back to my weekend of pleasant surprises.
well on friday night baejee showed up at work with her boyfriend who i had never met but heard quite a few stories about. to celebrate their completion of exams the three of us went out for Mr. Pizza. baejee didn't know where to go to eat and thought i would not want to have pizza because we just had pizza. i told her, um, baejee that was like 2 weeks ago, and in america i eat pizza every friday night. its tradition. to which was her reply - i want to go to america. :)we had some great conversations about music, america, korea, oh everything. her boyfriend lived a few of his younger years in washington state as his father got his masters degree so his english was good and also he had some experiences to compare. i really enjoy talking to koreans about korea. ahhhh! the intercultural experience!
on wednesday i went to the british embassy and joined some scottish dancing. i am hoping this will be a regular occurence for me. it changes things up. plus it was AWESOME!!!! though the room of 30 to 40 people consisted mainly of white foreigners i ended up with the group of Koreans and they were awesome! we were whooping and hollering between "yogi!" (go here) and go there. and set here and set there. sweet time. i have awesome been contemplating a belly dancing class. this has been something i have wanted to do for a very long time. there is a class with a canadian who has studied in India and several other countries. once a week, $60 for a month. so im seriously thinking about it. muhuhahahaah, so back to my weekend of pleasant surprises.
well on friday night baejee showed up at work with her boyfriend who i had never met but heard quite a few stories about. to celebrate their completion of exams the three of us went out for Mr. Pizza. baejee didn't know where to go to eat and thought i would not want to have pizza because we just had pizza. i told her, um, baejee that was like 2 weeks ago, and in america i eat pizza every friday night. its tradition. to which was her reply - i want to go to america. :)we had some great conversations about music, america, korea, oh everything. her boyfriend lived a few of his younger years in washington state as his father got his masters degree so his english was good and also he had some experiences to compare. i really enjoy talking to koreans about korea. ahhhh! the intercultural experience!
Sunday, April 20, 2008
ahh yess
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013798&l=45668&id=100300061 - random collection
so this is one of those weeks where i have sooo much to say and to describe and tell you about but i just dont want to sit here and type it all out. sorry, i hate times like that!
so this week i went on my first field trip! whoo hoo! we went to the Childrens Grand Park which was nice. we saw elephants, tigers, lions, water birds, etc. Good time. then i came back to teach my hardest classes. the planets align twice a month where i have to teach 3 classes of over 15 students the first class is split - two totally different levels put together. so those are always my biggest planning days because its hard to keep control of all those kids and keep them interested.
so friday i went to itaewon to go to an english bookstore! so dangerous for me as we know my love of books...and they order them from america but they cost as much as they would if you bought them in america! whoo hoo! so i will control myself though this will be hard...if you are bored the website is
www.whatthebook.com
then on saturday mr bae took me to Suwon to a folk village. i thought it would be mr bae, baejee and sylvia teacher, but actually friday night i got a text message that vivi teacher and her boyfriend and friends would be coming instead. baejee is in the middle of midterms...hell time for all the university kids...oh the days! don't miss em at all! :) vivi teacher made me food last week and is sooo nice though we have had a large language barrier and so most of our conversations consist of smiles, broken english and a small amount of broken korean....so i was really excited to get the chance to talk to hang out with her! so her boyfriend Q went to america for 4 months about 8 years ago so his english is pretty good.
we had soooo much fun! we all worked together to translate all the new things we were seeing and learning about. they were interested in learning about everything and had never been to the folk village either so it was all new! also vivi's friends came along - Princess Fiona and i believe his name is Chong Ho....forgive me if im wrong! so it was a quick photo tour with millions of pictures being taken....ok not millions but i would venture to say over 100. so funny! i learned soooo much and so much korean and so much history. and we watched a farmers dance which was AMAZING! they have these hats that have ribbon dancers attached and they make them twirl - sooooo cool! then there was the tightrope walker and the seesaw jumpers! and then we got to dress up and take pictures!
www.koreanfolk.co.kr
and we also went to the theme park and rode like the viking ship that usually goes upside down, this one didn't but it was so great! like i dont think ive done that for awhile! and we were all screaming and acting like kids. i mean they are all about 30 in korean years, but i felt completely comfortable. so nice. and not even awkward which you know when you hang out with couples it can be awkward - it wasnt.
and the 2 hour car ride there and back was great too! we talked about music, speaking english and learning korean, weird korean food, traveling, Africa, our families, working at kids club, music, clubs and fun places in Seoul, dialects...and so much!
i could go on and on with all i learned! it was great. it really was!
then today sunday, i went to church and i had to lead Bible study because Chris was not there. so that was fun. ;) then i walked around Lotte dept store with Shante and we talked about life and yeah, life. marriage, friends, living in a new country...so nice. then we all went out for lunch for Chris' bday and had a Dunkin Donuts cake and talked about difference between the american and english accent. haha...so much fun.
and now i think i am ready to get some sleep. i have cleaned and organized and i think i am ready for another week. :) always.
until next time!
so this is one of those weeks where i have sooo much to say and to describe and tell you about but i just dont want to sit here and type it all out. sorry, i hate times like that!
so this week i went on my first field trip! whoo hoo! we went to the Childrens Grand Park which was nice. we saw elephants, tigers, lions, water birds, etc. Good time. then i came back to teach my hardest classes. the planets align twice a month where i have to teach 3 classes of over 15 students the first class is split - two totally different levels put together. so those are always my biggest planning days because its hard to keep control of all those kids and keep them interested.
so friday i went to itaewon to go to an english bookstore! so dangerous for me as we know my love of books...and they order them from america but they cost as much as they would if you bought them in america! whoo hoo! so i will control myself though this will be hard...if you are bored the website is
www.whatthebook.com
then on saturday mr bae took me to Suwon to a folk village. i thought it would be mr bae, baejee and sylvia teacher, but actually friday night i got a text message that vivi teacher and her boyfriend and friends would be coming instead. baejee is in the middle of midterms...hell time for all the university kids...oh the days! don't miss em at all! :) vivi teacher made me food last week and is sooo nice though we have had a large language barrier and so most of our conversations consist of smiles, broken english and a small amount of broken korean....so i was really excited to get the chance to talk to hang out with her! so her boyfriend Q went to america for 4 months about 8 years ago so his english is pretty good.
we had soooo much fun! we all worked together to translate all the new things we were seeing and learning about. they were interested in learning about everything and had never been to the folk village either so it was all new! also vivi's friends came along - Princess Fiona and i believe his name is Chong Ho....forgive me if im wrong! so it was a quick photo tour with millions of pictures being taken....ok not millions but i would venture to say over 100. so funny! i learned soooo much and so much korean and so much history. and we watched a farmers dance which was AMAZING! they have these hats that have ribbon dancers attached and they make them twirl - sooooo cool! then there was the tightrope walker and the seesaw jumpers! and then we got to dress up and take pictures!
www.koreanfolk.co.kr
and we also went to the theme park and rode like the viking ship that usually goes upside down, this one didn't but it was so great! like i dont think ive done that for awhile! and we were all screaming and acting like kids. i mean they are all about 30 in korean years, but i felt completely comfortable. so nice. and not even awkward which you know when you hang out with couples it can be awkward - it wasnt.
and the 2 hour car ride there and back was great too! we talked about music, speaking english and learning korean, weird korean food, traveling, Africa, our families, working at kids club, music, clubs and fun places in Seoul, dialects...and so much!
i could go on and on with all i learned! it was great. it really was!
then today sunday, i went to church and i had to lead Bible study because Chris was not there. so that was fun. ;) then i walked around Lotte dept store with Shante and we talked about life and yeah, life. marriage, friends, living in a new country...so nice. then we all went out for lunch for Chris' bday and had a Dunkin Donuts cake and talked about difference between the american and english accent. haha...so much fun.
and now i think i am ready to get some sleep. i have cleaned and organized and i think i am ready for another week. :) always.
until next time!
Sunday, April 13, 2008
weekend warrior
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013691&l=40dcb&id=100300061 - just like riding a bike
so this weekend has been busy, and wonderful in so many ways! so friday night i went to yanny's house for dinner. it was so nice to be invited to a korean home! her mom cooked so much food - and my favorite - kimchi pa'jang! we ate and ate. and she asked me if i called my mom lately, and am i eating enough at home and asked me if i am homesick. she said having me there reminded her of when yanny went to canada and how much she missed her! they showed me family pictures and then we watched her mom's favorite korean drama on tv. a note - korean tv shows have no commercials during the shows! how nice is that? and we had tea and fruit and i just enjoyed being in a family enviroment, relaxed. we took some pictures but yanny has not sent them to me yet...so ill post them once i receive them.
then she sent me home with so much food!
on saturday i went to Itaewon to meet my new Ugandan friend i met last week at church. she is living there part time with her brother. Itaewon itself was a culture shock to me. I got out of the subway exit and all i saw where foriegners! white people, europeans, black people....almost no koreans! i was standing there in awe! then there was starbucks, hard rock, krazeburger and pubs and diners and just overwhelming. seriously. then i met up with Mary and her brother Desire and we went to her place and had some African food! then we went out for a drink and hung out in this really nice pub named Gecko's. we talked for hours about teaching, Africa, what we want to do with our life, Korea, racism, America, Swahili. Yes I spoke Swahili in Seoul - not very well, but we were definitely conversing.
on the language note - on saturday i recharged my Tmoney card using korean! whoo hoo! "choong jon haejuseyo." whoot whoot. i was so excited...but then she said how much in korean and i went blank and handed her my 10. haha. oh well. little by little.
then sunday i went to church at 10:30 - which i really am enjoying it. then i went to World Cup Stadium for the soccer game which is really on the other side of the city. i pretty much rode the line 5 from one end to the other. then jason - whose real name is Seok-Ho - was late so he told me, just call my friend and meet him. haha ok. thats what so much of my life consists of, just being willing to meet random people. so i met up with his friend and his friends sister and we went and sat down. eventually SeokHo arrived haha. the game was ok, FC Seoul lost 2 -0 and frustratingly enough they had so many chances and just didn't finish them! then they got lazy in the second half. but it was a sunny warm day and it was just fabulous! and only cost $10. then SeokHo and i went out for some dinner which was some kind of soup made from oxknee bone. mashikke.
and now it is sunday night and i must refocus back to school and teaching and doing what im here to do. :) i enjoy it. i was telling my mom that i go to the grocery store and i see kids from class - they say hello and point and then run away. sometimes their parents are there and say oh amber teacher! yes, hello! goodbye! so really there is no awkward conversation because we can't really. hehe. but its nice. kind of like, living here you know. go to the store - see people you know. :) mr rogers neighborhood.
so this weekend has been busy, and wonderful in so many ways! so friday night i went to yanny's house for dinner. it was so nice to be invited to a korean home! her mom cooked so much food - and my favorite - kimchi pa'jang! we ate and ate. and she asked me if i called my mom lately, and am i eating enough at home and asked me if i am homesick. she said having me there reminded her of when yanny went to canada and how much she missed her! they showed me family pictures and then we watched her mom's favorite korean drama on tv. a note - korean tv shows have no commercials during the shows! how nice is that? and we had tea and fruit and i just enjoyed being in a family enviroment, relaxed. we took some pictures but yanny has not sent them to me yet...so ill post them once i receive them.
then she sent me home with so much food!
on saturday i went to Itaewon to meet my new Ugandan friend i met last week at church. she is living there part time with her brother. Itaewon itself was a culture shock to me. I got out of the subway exit and all i saw where foriegners! white people, europeans, black people....almost no koreans! i was standing there in awe! then there was starbucks, hard rock, krazeburger and pubs and diners and just overwhelming. seriously. then i met up with Mary and her brother Desire and we went to her place and had some African food! then we went out for a drink and hung out in this really nice pub named Gecko's. we talked for hours about teaching, Africa, what we want to do with our life, Korea, racism, America, Swahili. Yes I spoke Swahili in Seoul - not very well, but we were definitely conversing.
on the language note - on saturday i recharged my Tmoney card using korean! whoo hoo! "choong jon haejuseyo." whoot whoot. i was so excited...but then she said how much in korean and i went blank and handed her my 10. haha. oh well. little by little.
then sunday i went to church at 10:30 - which i really am enjoying it. then i went to World Cup Stadium for the soccer game which is really on the other side of the city. i pretty much rode the line 5 from one end to the other. then jason - whose real name is Seok-Ho - was late so he told me, just call my friend and meet him. haha ok. thats what so much of my life consists of, just being willing to meet random people. so i met up with his friend and his friends sister and we went and sat down. eventually SeokHo arrived haha. the game was ok, FC Seoul lost 2 -0 and frustratingly enough they had so many chances and just didn't finish them! then they got lazy in the second half. but it was a sunny warm day and it was just fabulous! and only cost $10. then SeokHo and i went out for some dinner which was some kind of soup made from oxknee bone. mashikke.
and now it is sunday night and i must refocus back to school and teaching and doing what im here to do. :) i enjoy it. i was telling my mom that i go to the grocery store and i see kids from class - they say hello and point and then run away. sometimes their parents are there and say oh amber teacher! yes, hello! goodbye! so really there is no awkward conversation because we can't really. hehe. but its nice. kind of like, living here you know. go to the store - see people you know. :) mr rogers neighborhood.
holiday! celebrate!
so wednesday was a holiday so everyone could vote. so tuesday night i invited Baejee out for pizza at Mr. Pizza. Yanny had told me it was delicious and so I decided I was taking Baejee out. haha. We had a great time! We talked for 3 hours and ate delicious pizza that was pretty american. yummy! it was so nice to sit and talk and just be goofy. haha. :)
then later that night i finally met up with erin and her co. we have tried like 3 times to get together and i never had a phone so i was never able to find her. but we finally did it! her korean boyfriend just returned from Pakistan so they found a hooka bar in Nowon! it was sooo cool! it was kind of like a cave, and dark and relaxed. it was such a blend of canadian, american, european and we talked about teaching, the kids, we compared cultures. it was refreshing and enlightening. :)
then on wednesday i met up with patricia - my friend through my aunt. we went to Yoido Park and went bike riding along the river. the weather wasn't the greatest but it was so nice just riding along the river. soo enjoyable! and only like $3! then we went to costco and homeplus - which is great because i am learning more stores and more of the area.
so it was a great holiday! and I thank God for his blessings in my life. :)
then later that night i finally met up with erin and her co. we have tried like 3 times to get together and i never had a phone so i was never able to find her. but we finally did it! her korean boyfriend just returned from Pakistan so they found a hooka bar in Nowon! it was sooo cool! it was kind of like a cave, and dark and relaxed. it was such a blend of canadian, american, european and we talked about teaching, the kids, we compared cultures. it was refreshing and enlightening. :)
then on wednesday i met up with patricia - my friend through my aunt. we went to Yoido Park and went bike riding along the river. the weather wasn't the greatest but it was so nice just riding along the river. soo enjoyable! and only like $3! then we went to costco and homeplus - which is great because i am learning more stores and more of the area.
so it was a great holiday! and I thank God for his blessings in my life. :)
Thursday, April 10, 2008
budgeting...
so i know some of you are interesting in how my budgeting went for the month of March when I made no money. so here is my best guestimate using receipts i had saved and things i had written down. so im sure it is short of the actual amount, but its a good idea...i think.
though when i went out someone else usually paid...and i dont really have a lot of food in my flat. so that should help to give you an idea!
Food: $115
Going Out: $50
Registration Card: $10
Transportation: $30 - that includes buying the actual TCard
School Stuff/ Random Desk Stuff: $20
So overall I spent about $250. Compare to this month where i have already spent about $100 taking people out and taking myself out. haha. :)
I definitely bought fruit and didn't document it, as well as other things...but thats my best guess.
though when i went out someone else usually paid...and i dont really have a lot of food in my flat. so that should help to give you an idea!
Food: $115
Going Out: $50
Registration Card: $10
Transportation: $30 - that includes buying the actual TCard
School Stuff/ Random Desk Stuff: $20
So overall I spent about $250. Compare to this month where i have already spent about $100 taking people out and taking myself out. haha. :)
I definitely bought fruit and didn't document it, as well as other things...but thats my best guess.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
honestly part 1
so these four posts come from my response to an email from a friend.
you are right about blogging and i think i tend to put a positive spin on things and honestly for the most part my experience is positive. but i usually dont tell the negatives because mainly i dont like to be negative and i sometimes dont like other people's responses. i dont like people thinking im depressed because i vented to them (when i have no other english people here) and i dont want people to think my venting means these things are so huge i deal with them all the time and i hate it here. because i don't. so on that note. take what i say for what it is. nothing more....i would say nothing less..but i dont know if that is true.
have you made more friends?
haha, i think i have redefined the term friend here and i think you have to. because acquantance is too big of a word. and i can't spell it. haha. i really enjoy both Yanny and Baejee not only because they speak English but they are cool and we are alot alike so we can relate. i mean like i said in my blog Baejee loves the Simpsons, not showering and from her stories she seems like shes the friend who will act stupid. hehe. i can relate. so in terms of friends, i would say Yanny, Baejee, and maybe Jason because again another person i can at least somewhat relate with and enjoy hanging around. then there are people i meet and am working on getting to know better, and i also call them my friends. for instance Erin from canada who i found on the internet and i finally met up with last night. she is my friend. hahaha. so i met her, her boyfriend and about 4 of her friends who are from the States, Canada and Europe. coolio.
there is aliona the ugandan woman i met last sunday who invited me to her house already this saturday! then there is patricia who i met through a connection in the states and we randomly do stuff together - pretty randomly because we are so far apart. i met an american at church who just arrived here and i call her my friend. so i think anyone else would call this networking more than friends....but i like calling them friends.so yes, i am but it is hard. harder than i thought. oh and all the people i meet on the internet through various websites about seoul but i have yet to successfully meet one of them - except erin. and as i was talking to erin and co last night, i was telling them how there are no other foreign teachers at my school and erin was like, well it seems like your korean teachers are treating you well, taking you out and stuff. none of them had experienced that from their schools. so what i lack in foreign connections i am making up in korean connections. and honestly, would you rather be taken around Seoul by a Korean or a foreigner? so you know, its all about perspective. :)
you are right about blogging and i think i tend to put a positive spin on things and honestly for the most part my experience is positive. but i usually dont tell the negatives because mainly i dont like to be negative and i sometimes dont like other people's responses. i dont like people thinking im depressed because i vented to them (when i have no other english people here) and i dont want people to think my venting means these things are so huge i deal with them all the time and i hate it here. because i don't. so on that note. take what i say for what it is. nothing more....i would say nothing less..but i dont know if that is true.
have you made more friends?
haha, i think i have redefined the term friend here and i think you have to. because acquantance is too big of a word. and i can't spell it. haha. i really enjoy both Yanny and Baejee not only because they speak English but they are cool and we are alot alike so we can relate. i mean like i said in my blog Baejee loves the Simpsons, not showering and from her stories she seems like shes the friend who will act stupid. hehe. i can relate. so in terms of friends, i would say Yanny, Baejee, and maybe Jason because again another person i can at least somewhat relate with and enjoy hanging around. then there are people i meet and am working on getting to know better, and i also call them my friends. for instance Erin from canada who i found on the internet and i finally met up with last night. she is my friend. hahaha. so i met her, her boyfriend and about 4 of her friends who are from the States, Canada and Europe. coolio.
there is aliona the ugandan woman i met last sunday who invited me to her house already this saturday! then there is patricia who i met through a connection in the states and we randomly do stuff together - pretty randomly because we are so far apart. i met an american at church who just arrived here and i call her my friend. so i think anyone else would call this networking more than friends....but i like calling them friends.so yes, i am but it is hard. harder than i thought. oh and all the people i meet on the internet through various websites about seoul but i have yet to successfully meet one of them - except erin. and as i was talking to erin and co last night, i was telling them how there are no other foreign teachers at my school and erin was like, well it seems like your korean teachers are treating you well, taking you out and stuff. none of them had experienced that from their schools. so what i lack in foreign connections i am making up in korean connections. and honestly, would you rather be taken around Seoul by a Korean or a foreigner? so you know, its all about perspective. :)
honestly part 2
by the way...ew. whats been the hardest/most frustrating part of the experience thus far?
hmm, well the other day i went to this coffee shop which has the menu in english and korean which confuses me bc im like, do they speak english but i think its only the menu is in english. so yanny told me its easy to understand me because i speak clearly so just making sure i speak clearly i said "peach ice tea." for ordering, and i thought, maybe i sounded condescending but i dont know. i wasn't trying to. but the waitress like kept repeating what i said and saying korean. and she wasn't just like telling her friend what drink to make me. i couldn't tell if she was making fun of me or thinking i was a jerk - bc i know there are jerks everywhere. so i was really confused and i dont know what made me think she was making fun of me. bc as i thought about it, i dont understand 97% of what is said around me, so it would be very easy for me to think, oh they are making fun of me. so you know what, i have to fight that thought. nip it in the bud. if they are making fun of me, well, i dont understand it. so who cares? hahaha.
which maybe the reason i was so sensitive is because i read in one of my travel books like no one goes out by themselves in korea. which is true - but im not korean. but that stupid statement makes me so mad everytime i go out becuase im like, im all alone ppl will think im stupid and dont have any friends! but you know what, other peopel are alone too. so i just have to work that out for myself. but it is kind of frustrating bc i always think that, and really, what the heck. i can go out by myself. its ok. its just not like america where you will often see people by themselves. not usually the case here. and the couples are everywhereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee yikes!
not being understood....
listening without hearing
lost in translation
these are both eloquent ways to say the simple, yet for me not even recognized problems. i only know of one person - yanny who i feel comfortable starting a conversation with bc i know she knows enough english to understand what i am saying. my other friend jason is kind of like that but not as well. most of the korean friends i have i understand what they are saying just fine so i usually just let them start the conversation and ill respond accordingly, leading to awkward silences and me not really talking too much, which i dont think is a bad thing. but there have been a few times when i have felt like, ok, i can really respond! so ill go on a rant or try to explain what i want to do with my life...and then the person i am talking to with simply say, uh huh and talk about something else. or just uh huh. and i think to myself, if you understood what i just said you would respond differently....or if you did understand what i said you should respond differently or you dont care what im talking about. so it took me awhile to realize this is a frustration of mine. hahhaa. actually took talking to my sister lacie on the internet when i thought it was my mom. i was so stoked and i was about to go into this situation that i needed some help with and i realized wait, this is lacie who is a 12 year old who would rather tell me about a bunny she found outside. and i was frustrated! and i was like, wait a minute, this is how i feel all the time! haha, well not all the time, but the times i do try and open up and make a connection. granted, keep in mind at this point i still have no foreign friends to speak of. only koreans who speak english. again i do not complain, i am just saying. and ive only been here a month. so goes it.
and i think that correlates with wanting to relax and just be a big dork and not worry if i will make friends or if it translates. to know that people like me for me and not because im a foreigner who can help them with their english.
i get frustrated by people staring at me, which is funny bc i was used to it in africa and didn't mind. i guess my thinking is like, hey there are othe foreigners here, why are you staring at me? and if you are going to stare, then smile back at me when i smile at you. but really i dont think there are many foreigners in my district bc one guy i met last nigh was like, i think ive seen you around before. ive heard that quite a bit but i didn't know if that was because all foreigners look the same...but this guy is american. so that should tell you either i have a really memorable face or there are no other foriegners. :)
hmm, well the other day i went to this coffee shop which has the menu in english and korean which confuses me bc im like, do they speak english but i think its only the menu is in english. so yanny told me its easy to understand me because i speak clearly so just making sure i speak clearly i said "peach ice tea." for ordering, and i thought, maybe i sounded condescending but i dont know. i wasn't trying to. but the waitress like kept repeating what i said and saying korean. and she wasn't just like telling her friend what drink to make me. i couldn't tell if she was making fun of me or thinking i was a jerk - bc i know there are jerks everywhere. so i was really confused and i dont know what made me think she was making fun of me. bc as i thought about it, i dont understand 97% of what is said around me, so it would be very easy for me to think, oh they are making fun of me. so you know what, i have to fight that thought. nip it in the bud. if they are making fun of me, well, i dont understand it. so who cares? hahaha.
which maybe the reason i was so sensitive is because i read in one of my travel books like no one goes out by themselves in korea. which is true - but im not korean. but that stupid statement makes me so mad everytime i go out becuase im like, im all alone ppl will think im stupid and dont have any friends! but you know what, other peopel are alone too. so i just have to work that out for myself. but it is kind of frustrating bc i always think that, and really, what the heck. i can go out by myself. its ok. its just not like america where you will often see people by themselves. not usually the case here. and the couples are everywhereeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee yikes!
not being understood....
listening without hearing
lost in translation
these are both eloquent ways to say the simple, yet for me not even recognized problems. i only know of one person - yanny who i feel comfortable starting a conversation with bc i know she knows enough english to understand what i am saying. my other friend jason is kind of like that but not as well. most of the korean friends i have i understand what they are saying just fine so i usually just let them start the conversation and ill respond accordingly, leading to awkward silences and me not really talking too much, which i dont think is a bad thing. but there have been a few times when i have felt like, ok, i can really respond! so ill go on a rant or try to explain what i want to do with my life...and then the person i am talking to with simply say, uh huh and talk about something else. or just uh huh. and i think to myself, if you understood what i just said you would respond differently....or if you did understand what i said you should respond differently or you dont care what im talking about. so it took me awhile to realize this is a frustration of mine. hahhaa. actually took talking to my sister lacie on the internet when i thought it was my mom. i was so stoked and i was about to go into this situation that i needed some help with and i realized wait, this is lacie who is a 12 year old who would rather tell me about a bunny she found outside. and i was frustrated! and i was like, wait a minute, this is how i feel all the time! haha, well not all the time, but the times i do try and open up and make a connection. granted, keep in mind at this point i still have no foreign friends to speak of. only koreans who speak english. again i do not complain, i am just saying. and ive only been here a month. so goes it.
and i think that correlates with wanting to relax and just be a big dork and not worry if i will make friends or if it translates. to know that people like me for me and not because im a foreigner who can help them with their english.
i get frustrated by people staring at me, which is funny bc i was used to it in africa and didn't mind. i guess my thinking is like, hey there are othe foreigners here, why are you staring at me? and if you are going to stare, then smile back at me when i smile at you. but really i dont think there are many foreigners in my district bc one guy i met last nigh was like, i think ive seen you around before. ive heard that quite a bit but i didn't know if that was because all foreigners look the same...but this guy is american. so that should tell you either i have a really memorable face or there are no other foriegners. :)
honestly part 3
whats been the hardest/most frustrating part of the teaching experience?
teaching is hard. getting the kids to listen to me. there are some kids who want to learn and they work hard, they sit still and they try. there are other kids who scream and yell in class and im like, how can you refuse to even give me enough respect to not yell in class? you dont do that for your korean teacher, why are you doing that to me? trying to keep their attention and explain things when they dont want to know it, and i dont have the power, the korean or the evil eye to keep them in line. some classes i dread and i am just like, God please help me. im doing my best but its just not good enough sometimes...or maybe i dont have enough sticker charts.but they are so freakin cute! seriously!but the rabbit class which is all 5 yrs brand new to going to school - that is my biggest challenge bc how do you teach them english and entertain them? that i dont know. i just dont know. so i dont really like teaching them. hahhahaha but they are the cutest! between that and getting fondled by every student. well it makes for an interesting work enviroment. but the good news is - this is not untypical. erin and her friends were sharing the same stories...so i felt like, ahh, ok, i mean its not good but its not weird. :)
have you felt homesick at all?
i can't say i dont. but luckily for me i am honestly a pretty like, introverted independent person who doesn't mind being at home alone. and when i get sad i email people or listen to music. and i try and remember that in the states i was applying for jobs in Vermont, Arizona...really anywhere i could find the specific job i wanted. so i was on my way out. :) and you can't live at home forever. and you can't always be with your friends. and honestly i was getting pretty sucky at keeping in touch in the states, but moving to korea kind of makes me reinforce the ties that matter. so no more hitting the ignore button on my cell phone. no more staring at my inbox without replying to emails. im pretty on top of it now. sometimes obsessively...haha, but that can't be so bad, right?
teaching is hard. getting the kids to listen to me. there are some kids who want to learn and they work hard, they sit still and they try. there are other kids who scream and yell in class and im like, how can you refuse to even give me enough respect to not yell in class? you dont do that for your korean teacher, why are you doing that to me? trying to keep their attention and explain things when they dont want to know it, and i dont have the power, the korean or the evil eye to keep them in line. some classes i dread and i am just like, God please help me. im doing my best but its just not good enough sometimes...or maybe i dont have enough sticker charts.but they are so freakin cute! seriously!but the rabbit class which is all 5 yrs brand new to going to school - that is my biggest challenge bc how do you teach them english and entertain them? that i dont know. i just dont know. so i dont really like teaching them. hahhahaha but they are the cutest! between that and getting fondled by every student. well it makes for an interesting work enviroment. but the good news is - this is not untypical. erin and her friends were sharing the same stories...so i felt like, ahh, ok, i mean its not good but its not weird. :)
have you felt homesick at all?
i can't say i dont. but luckily for me i am honestly a pretty like, introverted independent person who doesn't mind being at home alone. and when i get sad i email people or listen to music. and i try and remember that in the states i was applying for jobs in Vermont, Arizona...really anywhere i could find the specific job i wanted. so i was on my way out. :) and you can't live at home forever. and you can't always be with your friends. and honestly i was getting pretty sucky at keeping in touch in the states, but moving to korea kind of makes me reinforce the ties that matter. so no more hitting the ignore button on my cell phone. no more staring at my inbox without replying to emails. im pretty on top of it now. sometimes obsessively...haha, but that can't be so bad, right?
logistics of life in seoul
so, more questions for you. now that you've been there for awhile, whats the saving of money like?
that is a great question. i honestly dont know why people think that you will save so much money. maybe if people didn't have to send like half of their paycheck home like me, then that if very possible. i haven't talied up how much i spent last month which is something i want to do. but luckily for me i have been taken out for the most part, when other people pay which is amazing! only yesterday was the first time i took someone else out, and it was for pizza and it was about $20 for both of us - it wasn't korean food. haha. i think you could save. to me like the prices here are like living in america. note, not living in an american CITY. just living in america. so i find it not too bad. but i want to go shopping and haven't done that yet. i mean even drinks are cheap unless you go for yangju which are western spirits. then you will pay you know $7 for a mixed drink. no different than the states. so i dont think things are more expensive. and there are lots of free events and places to walk. so really you could buy food off the street, walk around all day and only pay for your subway fare which i haven't really figured out but i think you can travel like across the city for at least an hour on $3. so from what i can tell it is cheap...especially if you go Korean style.
do you actually get paid as much as they initially said you would?
um, they take out income tax which is like 3.3% and before they give me my paycheck they take out gas, cable, electricity, etc. so like this paycheck i only have $100 taken out but i didn't pay any of my utilities because i didn't live in my apartment in feb. so the next paycheck will be a better idea....haha, oh dear. i dont want to think about all that.
is it easy to put in the bank and such?
once i had my alien registration card which my director did all the work for me, yes it is easy. i paid $10 for that card which you can pay $50 and not pay any fees to leave the country and return. but i hadn't been paid yet so i went with the $10. ill pay when i finally get around to travelling. once i had my card, my coteacher yanny took me to the bank and set up my account and i have direct deposit. i am able to use the ATM which is in English. hehe! but i think i could somewhat figure it out. we are getting ready to work on transferring money to my bank in the US. i have the paperwork i just haven't given it to them yet. so apparently i just set that up once and im good to do that every month. but i don't know the details yet.
whats the cost of living like, with fresh produce and such?
um, im a big cheaper with no standards to what i eat so usually i have some type of fruit each week because i can get like a bag of tangerines for $2 which are looking a little old, but actually they have been great! and strawberries are $3 to $8. bananas are $2-3, um korean pears are $1.50. so i think its good. and its always sold on the streets. i think that is awesome. i really need to have Yanny take me to the grocery store to teach me what to buy and what i can cook - bare necessity culinary skills here. i live off of pretty much oodles and noodles- but like the best oodles and noodles ever. then if sylvia makes me some food. i can make rice and i buy kimchi. really to me, rice and kimchi is a great meal. i dont need all the side dishes they have. hahaha. so i dont think its too bad. i usually buy like enough food for the week and then go shopping again. you know like $1.8 for 4 containers of yogurt, $1 for half a loaf of bread. etc. i had an email with all of this information and i dont think my computer saved it! man...
are clothes expensive?
haven't really figured that out yet. i mean they sell stuff on the streets all the time. sometimes you can find stuff for like $5 or $10 - usually shirts. but sometimes on the streets its still $50...im like, why would i buy it off the street? (american thinking) but shopping is huge here! and ewha has some great little stores and like an african shop and indian...supersweet! so its hard to say because im a giant cheapo and have yet to indulge. but they do sell secondhand i guess american clothes but they are expensive like $15 for a tshirt - i was like in america, secondhand means $2. but i like walking around and looking and there are plenty of places for that.
do they have malls?
yes but the one i went in was more like a flea market style - no flea market prices. just open spots and people sell their clothes. but there are totally like clothing stores and house stores. but yes, shopping is huge here. they have 24 shopping areas and most stores are open till like 10 or 12 at night during the week. kind of funny.
also, once you did the recording for the interview...how long did it take for them to respond, and for you to have a date of departure?
within days i think...my date of departure took longer bc i took longer to decide. but i think i really started the process beginning of jan (maybe end of december) and i was out of the country by the end of feb. but thats bc the semester started in march and i didnt have enough time for my visa stuff...so i was freakin out over that.
that is a great question. i honestly dont know why people think that you will save so much money. maybe if people didn't have to send like half of their paycheck home like me, then that if very possible. i haven't talied up how much i spent last month which is something i want to do. but luckily for me i have been taken out for the most part, when other people pay which is amazing! only yesterday was the first time i took someone else out, and it was for pizza and it was about $20 for both of us - it wasn't korean food. haha. i think you could save. to me like the prices here are like living in america. note, not living in an american CITY. just living in america. so i find it not too bad. but i want to go shopping and haven't done that yet. i mean even drinks are cheap unless you go for yangju which are western spirits. then you will pay you know $7 for a mixed drink. no different than the states. so i dont think things are more expensive. and there are lots of free events and places to walk. so really you could buy food off the street, walk around all day and only pay for your subway fare which i haven't really figured out but i think you can travel like across the city for at least an hour on $3. so from what i can tell it is cheap...especially if you go Korean style.
do you actually get paid as much as they initially said you would?
um, they take out income tax which is like 3.3% and before they give me my paycheck they take out gas, cable, electricity, etc. so like this paycheck i only have $100 taken out but i didn't pay any of my utilities because i didn't live in my apartment in feb. so the next paycheck will be a better idea....haha, oh dear. i dont want to think about all that.
is it easy to put in the bank and such?
once i had my alien registration card which my director did all the work for me, yes it is easy. i paid $10 for that card which you can pay $50 and not pay any fees to leave the country and return. but i hadn't been paid yet so i went with the $10. ill pay when i finally get around to travelling. once i had my card, my coteacher yanny took me to the bank and set up my account and i have direct deposit. i am able to use the ATM which is in English. hehe! but i think i could somewhat figure it out. we are getting ready to work on transferring money to my bank in the US. i have the paperwork i just haven't given it to them yet. so apparently i just set that up once and im good to do that every month. but i don't know the details yet.
whats the cost of living like, with fresh produce and such?
um, im a big cheaper with no standards to what i eat so usually i have some type of fruit each week because i can get like a bag of tangerines for $2 which are looking a little old, but actually they have been great! and strawberries are $3 to $8. bananas are $2-3, um korean pears are $1.50. so i think its good. and its always sold on the streets. i think that is awesome. i really need to have Yanny take me to the grocery store to teach me what to buy and what i can cook - bare necessity culinary skills here. i live off of pretty much oodles and noodles- but like the best oodles and noodles ever. then if sylvia makes me some food. i can make rice and i buy kimchi. really to me, rice and kimchi is a great meal. i dont need all the side dishes they have. hahaha. so i dont think its too bad. i usually buy like enough food for the week and then go shopping again. you know like $1.8 for 4 containers of yogurt, $1 for half a loaf of bread. etc. i had an email with all of this information and i dont think my computer saved it! man...
are clothes expensive?
haven't really figured that out yet. i mean they sell stuff on the streets all the time. sometimes you can find stuff for like $5 or $10 - usually shirts. but sometimes on the streets its still $50...im like, why would i buy it off the street? (american thinking) but shopping is huge here! and ewha has some great little stores and like an african shop and indian...supersweet! so its hard to say because im a giant cheapo and have yet to indulge. but they do sell secondhand i guess american clothes but they are expensive like $15 for a tshirt - i was like in america, secondhand means $2. but i like walking around and looking and there are plenty of places for that.
do they have malls?
yes but the one i went in was more like a flea market style - no flea market prices. just open spots and people sell their clothes. but there are totally like clothing stores and house stores. but yes, shopping is huge here. they have 24 shopping areas and most stores are open till like 10 or 12 at night during the week. kind of funny.
also, once you did the recording for the interview...how long did it take for them to respond, and for you to have a date of departure?
within days i think...my date of departure took longer bc i took longer to decide. but i think i really started the process beginning of jan (maybe end of december) and i was out of the country by the end of feb. but thats bc the semester started in march and i didnt have enough time for my visa stuff...so i was freakin out over that.
Monday, April 7, 2008
kyohoe - church
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2013582&l=97487&id=100300061 - saturday afternoon
so i got home from work about 6:30 and i started making some rice. and by the time i finished eating dinner it was already 7:45. then i had to wash my dishes and redd up the apartment. then after 8pm i start emailing which is quite the task. so ill email for one or two hours. ive been getting behind on it...and on my blogging. but as you can see there is not alot of time. and all weekend i really didn't do anything, and yet i still find myself not completing the work i wanted to do for classes. oh well. hahaha.
um this weekend. saturday was well, pretty present in pictures. sunday i finally decided to get my butt out of bed and go to the 10:30 service at the different church - Full Gospel Nowon Church. it was what i was hoping for. though the service only had 2 other foreigners, the rest of the congregation was made up of university students or students who had studied abroad. so it was more my age group. they have a pastor who is from the states. they also have discussion groups after the message, which i really like because you get to meet people and share ideas. again im still interested to discover who is really there for the message and who is there for the english. but i liked it.
they also asked me to be part of the worship team. HAHAHAHAHA....never in america! never, never. i was like, um, i can't sing.they said, you know all the words. um, yeah, but i can't sing. though i will say they dont do much in terms of harmony...so i might be able to. i told them i would think about it. i really kind of want to because hey, where else? and it would make me go to church. but i will give it some time and see if this church is where i would like to stay or not. so funny!
well i was walking home from church and contemplating what to do with the rest of my day when i was stopped by a lady who was handing out church bulletins at the corner (they do this everyday) and i just said annyeong haseyo! and next thing i know she is sputtering off in korean and i am walking hand in hand across the road. i had nothing else to do and i just was like, God, what do you have in store for me? i did recognize the word Uganda, so i figured, hey, something is worth checking out.
so the service was all in korean, very small. but i did meet a ugandan woman who lives here with a friend and her brother. she lives in itaweon (sp?) which is the foreign district. she was so nice! so hopefully we will be friends and i can hang out with her a bit. but i really dont want to go that church. it was in korean. i feel like church is ok to be selfish about. everybody wants the foreigner to go their church. well this foreigner wants a church she can feel supported in and grow in her spiritual life. and she also likes the flexibility to go to the soccer game this sunday. so we will see how this all works out.
so this weekend my cablebox was broken so mr bae fixed it today and when i got home he not only had fixed my cable, but also he bought me a rosemary plant, some other flower plant and a roll so i can hang up my toilet paper roll. haha, its just so funny. oh yes, and batteries for my remote control. that was pure laziness on my part. i kept saying i was going to buy it but why when i really have no reason for a remote? haha.. so anyways, its the pleasant little surprises.
i am really starting to work on my korean. i mean somewhat.
chincha - really?
nado -me too (well what i think the translation is)
shilye hamnida - excuse me
sugo haseyo - which yanny said is like saying do a good job, like you would say to a cashier - im leaving but you have to keep working, so be successful.
little everyday.
so i got home from work about 6:30 and i started making some rice. and by the time i finished eating dinner it was already 7:45. then i had to wash my dishes and redd up the apartment. then after 8pm i start emailing which is quite the task. so ill email for one or two hours. ive been getting behind on it...and on my blogging. but as you can see there is not alot of time. and all weekend i really didn't do anything, and yet i still find myself not completing the work i wanted to do for classes. oh well. hahaha.
um this weekend. saturday was well, pretty present in pictures. sunday i finally decided to get my butt out of bed and go to the 10:30 service at the different church - Full Gospel Nowon Church. it was what i was hoping for. though the service only had 2 other foreigners, the rest of the congregation was made up of university students or students who had studied abroad. so it was more my age group. they have a pastor who is from the states. they also have discussion groups after the message, which i really like because you get to meet people and share ideas. again im still interested to discover who is really there for the message and who is there for the english. but i liked it.
they also asked me to be part of the worship team. HAHAHAHAHA....never in america! never, never. i was like, um, i can't sing.they said, you know all the words. um, yeah, but i can't sing. though i will say they dont do much in terms of harmony...so i might be able to. i told them i would think about it. i really kind of want to because hey, where else? and it would make me go to church. but i will give it some time and see if this church is where i would like to stay or not. so funny!
well i was walking home from church and contemplating what to do with the rest of my day when i was stopped by a lady who was handing out church bulletins at the corner (they do this everyday) and i just said annyeong haseyo! and next thing i know she is sputtering off in korean and i am walking hand in hand across the road. i had nothing else to do and i just was like, God, what do you have in store for me? i did recognize the word Uganda, so i figured, hey, something is worth checking out.
so the service was all in korean, very small. but i did meet a ugandan woman who lives here with a friend and her brother. she lives in itaweon (sp?) which is the foreign district. she was so nice! so hopefully we will be friends and i can hang out with her a bit. but i really dont want to go that church. it was in korean. i feel like church is ok to be selfish about. everybody wants the foreigner to go their church. well this foreigner wants a church she can feel supported in and grow in her spiritual life. and she also likes the flexibility to go to the soccer game this sunday. so we will see how this all works out.
so this weekend my cablebox was broken so mr bae fixed it today and when i got home he not only had fixed my cable, but also he bought me a rosemary plant, some other flower plant and a roll so i can hang up my toilet paper roll. haha, its just so funny. oh yes, and batteries for my remote control. that was pure laziness on my part. i kept saying i was going to buy it but why when i really have no reason for a remote? haha.. so anyways, its the pleasant little surprises.
i am really starting to work on my korean. i mean somewhat.
chincha - really?
nado -me too (well what i think the translation is)
shilye hamnida - excuse me
sugo haseyo - which yanny said is like saying do a good job, like you would say to a cashier - im leaving but you have to keep working, so be successful.
little everyday.
random people that i meet
-met a korean kid at church who went to uncg and went to west guilford high school in greensboro! what are the odds? i mean seriously!!!!!
-a woman from Uganda who has been here on and off for 8 years. super nice! she invited me to go to uganda with her on break. haha, since ive been to tanz.
-paul the GI who is from tennesse and has been here 3 years. he sings for the military choir and is completely content in himself. and has a thing for brunettes.
-adrian a half korean guy from ohio who was so cool. just one of those people you meet and youre like, hey he looks nice. i want to be his friend.
-chloe - how do you spell /klow-ee/? i dont know. she from london and teaching in suyu (2 stops away) with ECC which apparently has about 8 foreign teachers. she has an oven.
-shante - from LA and has been here one month, just like me! teaches with chloe. cool dude. shes also lived in tx and ga. they usually go home after church for brunch...im invited. hehe.
-pastor bobby from Ga
-Sun-A from korea but was just recently living with her sister in canada so she speaks english pretty well.
-a woman from Uganda who has been here on and off for 8 years. super nice! she invited me to go to uganda with her on break. haha, since ive been to tanz.
-paul the GI who is from tennesse and has been here 3 years. he sings for the military choir and is completely content in himself. and has a thing for brunettes.
-adrian a half korean guy from ohio who was so cool. just one of those people you meet and youre like, hey he looks nice. i want to be his friend.
-chloe - how do you spell /klow-ee/? i dont know. she from london and teaching in suyu (2 stops away) with ECC which apparently has about 8 foreign teachers. she has an oven.
-shante - from LA and has been here one month, just like me! teaches with chloe. cool dude. shes also lived in tx and ga. they usually go home after church for brunch...im invited. hehe.
-pastor bobby from Ga
-Sun-A from korea but was just recently living with her sister in canada so she speaks english pretty well.
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