Three Weeks Already?

Ok, so I apologize for just now getting to another blog post, it's been longer than I expected. I'll try not to ramble on too much.

It's been three weeks since I've been in Korea....that's weird for me to think about. Because really, it doesn't seem like it's been that long at all. I feel that I just arrived in Seoul last week. But then again, I also feel like I've been here for months, in the sense that I'm settled in and feel comfortable here. I've already passed the point of Korea being the longest time I've spent in another country. And I've got a long way to go. :)



Hmm...what's been going on? School is fine, teaching is great. My only minor problems are the 6th graders who think they can get away with anything. But they'll see when we have class next week....I'm not taking anymore bull from them.

Oh, I finally met some English teachers here! Last week, our school met up with two other schools to have some food and play volleyball (side note: my teachers loved it when they found out that I actually could play volleyball. ha). There was another foreign English teacher there, Corey. So he was the first. Then I added him on Facebook, and he friend suggested me to a bunch of people. So yeah, now I've got like 15-20 new people that I know in Anseong. Well, I haven't met all of them, but I did meet a bunch of them on Friday night. We all went out and had some fun. It was good to get out of the apartment on a Friday night and be around people who spoke my language!

This week went by really fast, I can't believe that tomorrow is Friday again. The only sorta-crappy part about this week was the fact that I had a fever yesterday. It wasn't a big deal, and I didn't even feel that sick. But I still went home early to rest for the night. I was fine today. And I realized how worried everyone is about me, and wanting to make sure that everything is great with me. I had teachers ask me today how I was feeling, because they heard that I had a fever. These were teachers I've never talked to before! I'm pretty sure that all the staff knew that the foreigner English teacher had a fever. haha.I felt cared for though, so it's a good thing.

Today I went to Song-im's apartment for dinner. We had samgyeopsal, which is a pretty amazing pork dish. Afterwards, she decided that she would help me to learn the Korean alphabet, which I was pretty excited about. I'm catching onto it pretty quick, it's not that hard. I got to experience a bit of what my students probably feel though, as Song-im had me read a kids book in Korean. It was not an easy task! I thought it was kinda funny that she had her son read it too (he's in kindergarten, so he's starting to learn to read), and he did way better than me. :P I'll learn it though. We've decided that Thursdays are gonna be our language nights. I'll help her with her English while she teaches me Korean!

For a final closing on this blog (because I still need to finish my lesson plans for tomorrow), I wanted to share with you this passage that was on the front cover of a notebook Song-im gave me. Now, this is just a simple kids writing-book, that I'm practicing my Korean characters in. So I was pretty astonished to read the front of it. I'm kinda saddened that it is a Korean notebook (there are other Korean words on it too), because most of the people who obtain this book probably will have no idea what it says. I feel this is a great explanation of a friend, and in some ways, of God:

What is a friend?
I will tell you. it is a person with whom you dare
to be yourself. Your soul can be naked with him.
He seems to ask fo you to put on nothing, only to 
be what you are. He does not want you to be
better of worse.
When you are with him, you feel as a prisoner
feels who has been declared innocent. You do not
have to be on your guard. You can say what you
think, so long as it is genuinely you.
He understands those contradictions in your
anture that lead others to midjudge you.
With him you breathe freely.
You can avow your little vanities and envies and
hates and vicious sparks, your mean-nesses and 
absurdities and, in opening them up to him, they
are lost, dissolved on the white ocean of his 
loyalty.