Day 10

• For the second time I got to use a fork. We went to an Italian restaurant for lunch. Chairman Yoon’s, the head of the company, eldest son took Chin and me out to lunch to say thank you for teaching the demo lesson. For desert we had a scoop of green tea ice cream served in a cup of cold espresso shot. It was so surprisingly good!
• So my friend Hye Jeung is having her birthday with weekend and I told her I would bake her a cake if only my apartment came with an oven. She laughed at me and told me that Koreans don’t bake; they boil, fry, or steam their food. Only high-end, new, expensive apartments come with ovens, and even then people only use the ovens to warm up their left overs. I just figured my apartment was too small to fit an oven but I guess it’s actually a cultural thing instead.
• After work today, Hye Jeung, Sunny and I took the bus to Lotte World (Korean Disneyland). Instead of a large mouse they have an even larger raccoon. They kept the same theme of using street rodents that people will pay 65$ to go see. Anyway, the girls helped me by a bus pass that is also good for the metro. And they taught me what my stop is so that I was able to make it home all by myself without getting lost. My stop is actually called “Yoon’s English Acadamy” so it’s really easy for me to recognize.
• We had Indian food for dinner, but they do not use Indian basmati or jasmine rice. They still use sticky Korean white rice instead, much to my disappointment. However, I did like how they made their garlic Nan bread. It was fluffy and not oily at all.
• After dinner we walked around the Lotte World Lake. It is quite beautiful at night. We sat under the gingko trees and had a beer and had a very relaxing evening, despite all the screaming you can hear from people enjoying the rides at the amusement park. Next Friday we are going back but will go on the rides, I can’t wait!
• Both Sunny and Hye Jeung are married. Apparently women here do not buy their wedding dresses. You pay for a photography and dress package that included 3 different gown rentals for the wedding and reception. So Loribeth I guess when you had all those costume changes on your wedding day it is customary and not eccentric at all : )

Day 9

Day 9
• I remembered to fast today. I also managed to get a taxi to take me to my local international clinic. I like my new doctor; she is fluent in English and Korean. That’s not the only reason I like her of course, she was very helpful in answering all my questions and has a good bed side manner. At the clinic they have an area where you fill out forms, this area has complementary reading glasses to use. The glasses come in 3 different strengths. How considerate is that?!?
• Today I also go to pick out my new curtains for my apartment. They are custom made. I guess people don’t go to Bed Bath and Beyond and to it themselves here. They should be ready for installation in 5 days. So until then my neighbors can still see me walk around in my undies – enjoy it while it lasts because in 5 days the show is over! (Just kidding, I’m not walking around in my underwear; I’m dancing)
• Tonight chin and I went to Lotte World (Korea’s Disneyland / Hotel / Department Store) we did some shopping and got dinner. It was my first time using a fork in 9 days! It kinda felt strange to use it.

Day 8

• This morning I had a dr. appointment scheduled so I can get my E2 visa physical to I can have legal status here. I went to work, had some coffee, and was halfway through my meal when I realized I was suppose to be fasting for 12 hours before the blood test. Ooops! I have to re-schedule it.
• I was so excited, Hye Jeung invited me to go hiking next weekend with her husband and friends. We are going to a “small mountain for climbing” somewhere near her house. I am so glad I have her as a friend, so many other co-workers are afraid to talk to me because they are embarrassed about their English not being perfect.
• Lucas, I am watching a move in English about a bus that had to keep its speed. And if it didn’t keep its speed it would blow up. I think it’s called ‘the bus that couldn’t slow down.’
• Korean’s don’t use large bath towels. They take too long to dry so they use sham-wows the size of dish cloths to dry off with. I’m not a big fan but they do take up a lot less space in the washing machine.
• I still have a bag full of crab apples! I can’t eat them all!!!!

Day 7

• This morning I got to teach the weather lesson to 17 Korean kindergartners. It was so much fun! The students were so excited to see me. I was playing peek-a-boo with the class. I would wait in the hall way and then peek around the corner and they would all get so excited!!! The students loved the lesson. My favorite part of the lesson was when I acted out the weather using different clothing and accessory props. Then I let the kids act it out using the props while we sung “What’s the weather like today? Like today? Like today? What’s the weather like today? It is _______.” (to the tune of London Bridges). Then a student would pick a prop like an umbrella for rainy or sunglass for sunny etc. One of the little girls put Angela’s black sunglasses on, you know, the ones that make Angela look like she is a senior citizen who just got their eyes dilated, well the little girl looked so absolutely adorable with the oversized glasses on!
• At the Korean pre-school / kindergarten they have little tooth brushing centers and UV light storage containers to kill the germs. If only we did this in the U.S I would have had a lot less first graders with silver teeth.
• After I finished teaching the staff treated me to lunch. After the meal we drank cups of what is my new favorite fruit drink called “may-seal” I don’t know how to spell it and I don’t know the fruits equivalent in English I just know it is damn good! Take a hike guanabana juice hello may-seal.

Day 6

• Today I sat down next to a girl at breakfast and we became friends right away. She found me on the company email site and asked me to lunch. We went to a great place called Tofu Town. How perfect is that? They say too-boo instead of tofu but otherwise it’s the same stuff. My new friends name is Hye Jung.
• I finished my first arts and crafts project. It’s a super cute elephant. The kit cost 1$ from my new favorite dollar store. So if anyone wants me to make them one put your order in now.
• So today Chin lets me know that “Oh by the way, you will be teaching a demo lesson to kindergartners tomorrow. I don’t know what the lesson is about but I’m sure someone will come by and explain it to you. Oh, and it is a promotion for our company so they will be filming it too.” So yeah, not a big weight on my shoulders of anything. By about 4pm a team of people came in and went over the lesson with me much to my relief. It should be a piece of cake. The lesson is all about weather and Allie and I taught that unit in ELD/SLD so I am well prepared.

Day 5

• Guess what? McDonalds delivers! They have people who drive Vespas and bring your burgers to you.
• Everyone is getting such cool and crazy x-mas gifts this year! I found my local dollar store!!!! In a word, (like Shannon) is awesome!
• Hulu sucks! They only stream video in the U.S. It can’t be accessed here! How am I going to keep up with my shows? Good thing Lucas packed me some of his Simpsons DVDs and season one of Dexter.
• As Melissa already knows, Koreans don’t have clothes dryers. My options are to dry clean or air dry my clothes on a rack. I think it is going to take a few days for my clothes to dry. And good thing I bought an iron because they are going to be wrinkly.
• So apparently the popular high school graduation gift to give a girl is an eye widening surgery. So a lot of girls get their eyes done so that they look more Caucasian before they go off to college. Crazy huh? What ever happened to good old fashioned boob jobs?

Day 4

• Ah Korean TV. I’m watching “Real World” zoo edition I believe. Its footage of a baby tiger, desert tortoise, baby pig, and a puppy all living together in a house. Right now the pig is attacking the tiger, and the puppy wakes up and joins in while the tortoise sits and watches the mayhem. They are playing the dramatic music from platoon in the background so you know it is a serious fight. Oh crap! The tortoise just bit the tiger’s tail. Why did someone think it was a good idea to give these animals a house to live together in?
• Today at the Korean version of Target, known as E Mart, I found they sell guinea pigs and bunnies!!! I hope they were pets and not dinner.
• So I may be missing project runway but I just found “Tim Gunn’s guide to style” on TV. At least I can get my Tim Gunn fix.
• I was walking down the street and saw what I thought were sea cucumbers without spikes. Turns out it is a creature the Koreans call “dog penis.”
• I was walking near work and there was a man trimming trees. I asked Chin what kind of tree it was but she didn’t know. The man trimming the tree noticed that I was looking in his direction and beckoned me to come over. He showed me that I could get the fruit off the tree. Turns out they are crab apples the size of cherries. He left a bunch of branches in the office lobby for me to take home. Now I have like 5lbs of them!
• I learned today that seat belts in the back seats of cars here are optional. That is after I saw a father simply open the back door of the car for his 2 year old son and then drove off. Apparently car seats for babies are optional too. Yikes!!!!