Today we went to a school training in Seoul for 3 hours. It took us 50 minutes to get there by subway, but it was a decent experience. Actually the subway trip itself was pretty revealing. At one point we passed through an area where the subway was above ground and we saw a section of the city (I don't know which one) where there were literally dozens of highrise buildings under construction. It was very strange to look out and see so many structures in the same stage of construction, all side by side like that.
After the training we took the subway back home and met Hoon, one of our new friends. We then traveled together and met some other foreigners at the home of one of our church's deacons. It was a fun party, with good food and good fellowship. We got to meet several new (to us) English speakers and also spent time getting to know some of the other people we had met at church. It was a lot of fun and I got to chat with some other Christian men, which is good since I don't get much time with other guys (Christian or otherwise).
- Chris
Hello Jennifer here,
SCHOOL
It has been a good week. I have learned that I need to make my lesson plans longer. That is fine because now I have more activities to do with my kids. I love being a teacher. The other morning I came up the stairs as the children came off of the elevator. My kids started saying "Jenn Teacher, Jenn Teacher" and then they ran up and to give me a big hug. This made me feel very appreciated.
HAIRCUT
This week I got a haircut. I was a little nervous because it is hard to explain to someone how you want your hair cut when you speak the same language. So I was nervous that it would get messed up. Before I went I asked one of the Korean teachers to write in Korean on a piece of paper that I wanted to have my hair cut 7cm and that I did not want it to be layered. On the opposite side she wrote a note for the dry cleaner so that I could get my pants altered.
I walked across the street to "ID Hair" and showed my note to the lady. She took it from me and walked away. I was thinking "Oh no what if she doesn't give it back. Then I won't know how to tell them to cut my hair and I would not get my pants altered." A few minutes later a young Korean with very long blond hair and a pink vest walked in. She spoke a little English. She washed my hair and then took me to a hair cutting booth. All of a sudden she disappeared. Then another guy showed up to cut my hair. He spoke less English then the girl. He cut my hair and did a good job. Then he brought over a machine and put a camera on my head they had a display screen that magnified my scalp to show that I had dandruff. He said that he could fix it for me for more money. I decided that if it took a high tech magnifying computer to see it in my light brown hair I wasn't going to worry about it. So I told him no don't fix it. Then he pulled out a blow dryer and signaled over another intern in a pink vest and showed him how to blow dry my hair straight. The intern must have wanted to make sure he did a good job because it took him over 30 minutes to finish, but my hair looked great afterwards.
The girl who lived in our apartment before us left behind lots of hair products. I found a blow dryer with a built in comb on the tips that blow dries my hair straight. I also found some really nice "Milk Gel" that helps keep it in place. So now I no longer have to have my hair wet when I walk to school in the morning and my hair stays straight all day without a hair band. I like this look.
NEW FRIENDS
We had a really good time at the party on Saturday night. Hoon helped us get to the party without getting lost. On the subway his phone rang and I heard him say
"I am bringing new faces." He was referring to us and I thought it was really funny. We found the home of Heejoo and Meeyoung very nice. They live in an apartment like most people in Korea do but it was very big. We got to meet several other foreign teachers who are at the same stage of life as we are. They are newly married, without children. There are also two couples that are getting married soon. We have been invited to a wedding in April for a Korean girl and American guy named Lee who is from Hawaii.
There is also Nolan and Elizabeth. They are from Chicago and recently graduated from college in Minnesota and moved her to Korea a few months ago. They pretty much have the same type of work schedule as we do. Winston and Jacky are from South Africa and have been married for two years. Winston teaches at a school but I think that are here more as missionaries then teachers. Jason and Michelle are a couple who will be getting married this summer. Michelle is from Korea and Jason is from Seattle. It was really fun to meet and spend time with them.
I learned a few things at the party. I was talking in a group with Michelle, Jason and Elizabeth. We were having a conversation with Pauline who is a Korean missionary to China. She has three kids and is going to seminary. She told us that when Koreans move they hire someone with a crane-platform. They hoist the platform up to the window of the apartment, load all of the family's belongings on it and then the crane lowers it to the moving truck. Very smart. She said that you are not allowed to use the elevators to move because it can break them and the landlord would charge you 50,000 won. This is good to know when we move.
We were also encouraged to do some sightseeing in Seoul now while the weather is good, because in the few months it will be too hot to want to do anything. I was told where there was a very large book store in Seoul and a nice section of town that has a lot of tea shops. A day of finding good books and then sitting back and reading them in a shop while sipping tea sounds like fun.
Some of us girls were talking about having a movie night. They were excited when I told them how many movies I brought. Hopefully someone else has a good size TV and dvd player that we could use.
It was a very fun evening. Meeyoung was a very good hostess. First we had several appetizers that her daughter had made. Then she served a large meal with lots of good food. When we were finished she brought out a tray of green grapes, kiwis, and oranges. Then she served some really yummy cake that had apples and pecans in it. It was very sweet. They she served some tea that was very sweet and tasted great. Then she brought out some of those butter cookies that come in the large blue tin. Needless to say I was very full at the end of the night.
KOREAN BBQ
The other night we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant. We sat at a table that had a hole in the middle. Soon the owner brought over a hot bucket of coals and placed it in the center. After that his wife brought out several side dishes and some raw beef. When you eat Korean BBQ you are suppose to cook the meat yourself at your table.
Seeing that we weren't familiar with this procedure the nice lady cooked the meat for use. Then she cut it up and we put it on a large piece of romaine lettuce. She added some noodles, garlic and a very good red sauce. You wrap this up and then put the whole thing in your mouth at once. I didn't do it correctly and ended up with a mouth full of spicy food that I couldn't swallow because I still had to chew up the meat. I got it down finally. After that I learned to chew that meat first and then work of the spicy stuff that was above it. Once I figured that out I really enjoyed the meal. Chris and I will be going back there often. We decided that it was really healthy since it was mostly beef, vegetables, and lettuce. Yumm.
WALLPAPER
When we first moved into our apartment the walls were horrible. I looks like one of the previous tenants smoked in the apartment even though there are no smoking signs on every wall. The wall paper was very stained and torn. It was disgusting and I did not want to touch the walls because they were so dirty. We spoke the director of the school and she sent down the land lord who came and looked at the walls and then on Thursday he had the wall paper replaced. I have to say our apartment looks great. The new wall paper is a cream color with darker cream vertical lines. I love it. Next I will be purchasing some plants and putting up pictures. It is amazing what a difference a little wall paper makes.
Winston, Pauline, Jenn & Chris, Michelle, Jason, A very nice Korean
Meeyoung, Elizabeth & Nolan.
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