Thursdays are probably my favorite day of the week. I love my 5th graders and it is easy to work with my co-teacher.
Again, nothing too exciting at work. The responses from the open-ended questions I got back from my 5th graders weren't quite as entertaining as what the 6th graders came up with. Most were along the lines of "welcome" or "please take care of us". It's hard to tell if the 5th graders are 'smarter' than the 6th graders or they are just more willing to participate and try speaking. The classes with them seem to go by so much quicker because they are talking so much and we are moving through material rapidly (where as 6th grade is like pulling teeeeth to get more than the same 2 students to raise their hands and participate).
My 5th grade co-teacher recently moved to a short-term place closer to where I live but a bit further from the school than where she used to live. So she and I walked back together. I had one of my peaches and it was actually much more "American" like than some of the other peaches I've had here, so that was really nice. I also heated up my leftovers from Tuesday. Around 6:30 I set off to meet Krystle. However, she got confused and told me to meet at 7...she really meant 7:30. I arrived at our meeting place and had to wait 30 minutes for her. In the moment, I was kind of upset, but then I figured there's nothing I can do about it, so I let it go. We went to the Paris Baguette we met at last week and tried to work out what we are going to see and how to get from the airport to our hotel. I forgot how much work it is to plan a trip when you know nothing about where you're going!
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Middle of the Week
Nothing too exciting at school. Though I did decide I would add something to all my classes to get to know my students a little bit better. I gave each group (5 groups of 4-6 students in each class) a piece of paper and asked about their favorite KPOP (Korean Pop) band, American band, computer/online game and an open-ended question where they could tell me anything they wanted me to know. I also went around taking pictures of each group so I can start looking at faces and trying to learn some of the names.
Well, I got some very interesting responses to the open-ended question. They ranged from "we want candy" to "we should have a samgypsal party" (samgypsal is a thick cut of pork, like bacon that you grill). Some of them were quite entertaining. And part of the photography was a major fail, because a lot of the girls and even some of the boys became "camera shy" and hid their faces.
After work, I met my friend Kwangmin for dinner in Hongdae. He is a Korean and he plays soccer with us on Sundays. Maybe I mentioned him from Sunday's post. He found GOA'L because he met a Korean-Canadian adoptee while he was living in Canada and she talked about how she was in Korea through GOA'L. When he returned to Korea, he volunteered as a translator for GOA'L.
Anyway, we met for dinner and went to a Thai place. I ordered some stir-fried rice noodles with chicken. When it came though, I think there was also chunks of tofu and small little shrimps in it. We had a really nice time talking over dinner. He's a pretty neat guy--he's either 40 or 41, but looking at him you'd never guess it. After dinner we walked to a coffee shop and sat outside and had tea. The only bad thing was the mosquitoes that ate me up. As customary Korean culture, he walked me back to the subway even though the cafe was near his place.
Well, I got some very interesting responses to the open-ended question. They ranged from "we want candy" to "we should have a samgypsal party" (samgypsal is a thick cut of pork, like bacon that you grill). Some of them were quite entertaining. And part of the photography was a major fail, because a lot of the girls and even some of the boys became "camera shy" and hid their faces.
After work, I met my friend Kwangmin for dinner in Hongdae. He is a Korean and he plays soccer with us on Sundays. Maybe I mentioned him from Sunday's post. He found GOA'L because he met a Korean-Canadian adoptee while he was living in Canada and she talked about how she was in Korea through GOA'L. When he returned to Korea, he volunteered as a translator for GOA'L.
Anyway, we met for dinner and went to a Thai place. I ordered some stir-fried rice noodles with chicken. When it came though, I think there was also chunks of tofu and small little shrimps in it. We had a really nice time talking over dinner. He's a pretty neat guy--he's either 40 or 41, but looking at him you'd never guess it. After dinner we walked to a coffee shop and sat outside and had tea. The only bad thing was the mosquitoes that ate me up. As customary Korean culture, he walked me back to the subway even though the cafe was near his place.
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| My school! |
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| English Classroom Sign |
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| English classroom |
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| My desk in my teachers office (shared with about 16 teachers) |
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| I have a desk next to the window-but my view is another wing of the school |
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Cooked My Dinner
Today was one of my longer teaching days-5 classes (5 hours --> it actually equals 5, 40 minute classes, but they say 5). The work day was rather uneventful. As it was time to leave, I noticed that it was raining. I was glad that I got an extra umbrella from Ginger, so I had one at work and one at home. I was able to use this as my spare/emergency one. My 5th grade co-teacher and I shared it to the front gate, where her mom was waiting for her with her own umbrella.
I had thought about going to a little market near the subway station to get an onion and some other vegetables but it was raining so hard I didn't want to walk all the way there. I stopped at the little 'organic' store next to my place, but they only had bags of 5 (already peeled) onions and I didn't need that many or want them unpeeled. (So, I felt bad because this is the second time I've gone to the store, looked at merchandise and put it back...the store lady asked me in Korean if I was Korean, and I told her, "yes, but I can't speak Korean".
I returned to my place to make a grocery list and decided I would just go to the Emart to grab whatever I needed. As usual, I spent way more time there than I thought I would. I got some things to cook dinner and a few other odds and ends.
After shopping, I dove into cooking. It was fun to be chopping and cooking again. The only drawback is that I have one burner and no oven. I'm debating getting a little toaster oven so I can bake things in there. I need to do a little bit of shopping around-might even order something online too. First I fried some mandu (dumplings). Then I chopped my mushrooms, bell pepper and onion. I sauteed those and set them aside. I cooked the meat and added some "marinade" sauce to it while it was cooking. Once the meat was finished cooking, I put the vegetables back in and, voila! Dinner is served. I had microwavable rice and had that with the meal.
The rest of the evening I just relaxed and now I'm ready for bed, nice and early. Which makes me really happy because the last few nights I've been staying up much later than I've wanted.
I had thought about going to a little market near the subway station to get an onion and some other vegetables but it was raining so hard I didn't want to walk all the way there. I stopped at the little 'organic' store next to my place, but they only had bags of 5 (already peeled) onions and I didn't need that many or want them unpeeled. (So, I felt bad because this is the second time I've gone to the store, looked at merchandise and put it back...the store lady asked me in Korean if I was Korean, and I told her, "yes, but I can't speak Korean".
I returned to my place to make a grocery list and decided I would just go to the Emart to grab whatever I needed. As usual, I spent way more time there than I thought I would. I got some things to cook dinner and a few other odds and ends.
After shopping, I dove into cooking. It was fun to be chopping and cooking again. The only drawback is that I have one burner and no oven. I'm debating getting a little toaster oven so I can bake things in there. I need to do a little bit of shopping around-might even order something online too. First I fried some mandu (dumplings). Then I chopped my mushrooms, bell pepper and onion. I sauteed those and set them aside. I cooked the meat and added some "marinade" sauce to it while it was cooking. Once the meat was finished cooking, I put the vegetables back in and, voila! Dinner is served. I had microwavable rice and had that with the meal.
The rest of the evening I just relaxed and now I'm ready for bed, nice and early. Which makes me really happy because the last few nights I've been staying up much later than I've wanted.
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| Veggies cooking! |
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| Meat and sauce |
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| Finished product! |
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| The peaches I bought yesterday; one very kissed by the sun peach |
Monday, September 9, 2013
I moved in 2 weeks ago
I can't believe it is already my second week teaching. It felt more comfortable and I enjoyed myself while teaching. The toughest part is...getting the students motivated. In the beginning of class, I asked them, "How was your weekend?!" or "What did you do on the weekend?" and I got blank stares from most of the classes. Only the last class really actively participated in such a general and relatively simple question.
After school, I took the long way back, just to check out more of the neighborhood and see what other restaurants are around. I saw a kimbap shop that looked a little bit nicer than the one I got kimbap from yesterday. I also stopped at the "organic" store across from my apartment that my co-teacher pointed out to me 2 weeks ago (have I really already lived here 2 weeks?! Seems so long and so fast at the same time!).
I went to the kimbap store I saw for dinner--I had been craving ramen since yesterday. While I was waiting I sent a message to one of the guys I knew from soccer yesterday and asked about paying because I left early. He told me no one collected money, so we'll all owe when the guys in charge come back. His name ins Kwang Min and he is a native Korean. I forget how he became associated with our soccer group/GOA'L but he's almost always around--he didn't play in our tournament last month, but did attend and helped buy water and stuff for us. Anyway, Kwang Min lives in Hongdae and he invited me to have dinner with him on Wednesday. I told him I can practice my Korean with him. His English is already pretty good because he lived in Canada for a few years.
My next order of business was groceries. I went to Emart and got 5 Korean peaches, a very expensive bell pepper, some mushrooms and a little bit of meat. There are some meats that are pre-marinated or mixed with vegetables, kind of like what you could get at the meat counter/deli part in a grocery store in the US. So I tried to explain to the guy how much I wanted and I noticed he gave me a reallllly big scoop! I told him "no, just a little" in Korean. Tomorrow, I'm hoping that I can make dinner-chop up lots of the vegetables with a little bit of meat and some rice!
Yesterday I saw some of the EPIK teachers talking about a "Color me Rad" 5k race. I looked into it a little and decided I would join them. It's similar to the "Color Run"; I've never done one, but many of my friends have in the US. It's on Saturday morning and I'm pretty excited.
This is the US website giving information about "Color me Rad"
http://www.colormerad.com/
After school, I took the long way back, just to check out more of the neighborhood and see what other restaurants are around. I saw a kimbap shop that looked a little bit nicer than the one I got kimbap from yesterday. I also stopped at the "organic" store across from my apartment that my co-teacher pointed out to me 2 weeks ago (have I really already lived here 2 weeks?! Seems so long and so fast at the same time!).
I went to the kimbap store I saw for dinner--I had been craving ramen since yesterday. While I was waiting I sent a message to one of the guys I knew from soccer yesterday and asked about paying because I left early. He told me no one collected money, so we'll all owe when the guys in charge come back. His name ins Kwang Min and he is a native Korean. I forget how he became associated with our soccer group/GOA'L but he's almost always around--he didn't play in our tournament last month, but did attend and helped buy water and stuff for us. Anyway, Kwang Min lives in Hongdae and he invited me to have dinner with him on Wednesday. I told him I can practice my Korean with him. His English is already pretty good because he lived in Canada for a few years.
My next order of business was groceries. I went to Emart and got 5 Korean peaches, a very expensive bell pepper, some mushrooms and a little bit of meat. There are some meats that are pre-marinated or mixed with vegetables, kind of like what you could get at the meat counter/deli part in a grocery store in the US. So I tried to explain to the guy how much I wanted and I noticed he gave me a reallllly big scoop! I told him "no, just a little" in Korean. Tomorrow, I'm hoping that I can make dinner-chop up lots of the vegetables with a little bit of meat and some rice!
Yesterday I saw some of the EPIK teachers talking about a "Color me Rad" 5k race. I looked into it a little and decided I would join them. It's similar to the "Color Run"; I've never done one, but many of my friends have in the US. It's on Saturday morning and I'm pretty excited.
This is the US website giving information about "Color me Rad"
http://www.colormerad.com/
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| My groceries |
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Soccer Sunday
I had to call it soccer Sunday because it's already been a month since I've played soccer!
Today was another relaxing day. Thank goodness for weekends. It's been so nice to just do...nothing. Not be on any kind of schedule or really have to go or do anything, unless I want to.
Actually last night around 2:30 or so, I was woken up by some yelling outside. I took a peek and there were 3 guys that were yelling and pushing each other. It was kind of scary--I considered calling the police since they are just down the street, but I don't know enough Korean to tell them what was happening. It appeared that 1-2 of them were definitely drunk so I'm sure that had a big part to do with their arguing.
Anyway, today I finally got around to washing all of my dishes, cleaned (bathroom and floor) and also organized my drawers. I went out to get kimbap for lunch and took it to my new stream to eat. I sat at the very beginning which has two waterfalls (I think they are both man-made). I stopped to get ice cream at a convenience store and when I saw one of my favorites for a 2+1, I didn't hesitate in bringing those babies home with me!
I headed to soccer. We had a smaller group because the GOA'L workers are doing a motherland tour in Busan right now. It was fun to be playing again. Actually, I had never met most of the guys playing today. I had to leave after about 45 minutes because I had church and a little bit of a commute.
Mass was again held by a different priest and 2 others accompanying him. I wonder where Father Bernard is. After church, I came home and just prepared for another work week. Next week Wednesday starts Chuseok and Krystle and I will be traveling to Taiwan for the long holiday weekend!
Today was another relaxing day. Thank goodness for weekends. It's been so nice to just do...nothing. Not be on any kind of schedule or really have to go or do anything, unless I want to.
Actually last night around 2:30 or so, I was woken up by some yelling outside. I took a peek and there were 3 guys that were yelling and pushing each other. It was kind of scary--I considered calling the police since they are just down the street, but I don't know enough Korean to tell them what was happening. It appeared that 1-2 of them were definitely drunk so I'm sure that had a big part to do with their arguing.
Anyway, today I finally got around to washing all of my dishes, cleaned (bathroom and floor) and also organized my drawers. I went out to get kimbap for lunch and took it to my new stream to eat. I sat at the very beginning which has two waterfalls (I think they are both man-made). I stopped to get ice cream at a convenience store and when I saw one of my favorites for a 2+1, I didn't hesitate in bringing those babies home with me!
I headed to soccer. We had a smaller group because the GOA'L workers are doing a motherland tour in Busan right now. It was fun to be playing again. Actually, I had never met most of the guys playing today. I had to leave after about 45 minutes because I had church and a little bit of a commute.
Mass was again held by a different priest and 2 others accompanying him. I wonder where Father Bernard is. After church, I came home and just prepared for another work week. Next week Wednesday starts Chuseok and Krystle and I will be traveling to Taiwan for the long holiday weekend!
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| World Cup Soccer Stadium--we play at some smaller fields near here |
LAZY day
What a sloth I was today! I basically stayed in bed allll morning and part of the afternoon. But, in my defense, I was busy uploading pictures and updating my blog. All very important and relatively time consuming tasks! I also skyped with Joe which was really nice. We talked a long time.
When I finally decided I would make myself presentable for the world, I went to Emart. I was still in search of a decent pillow. The one my school has provided me with is a bit too thick and not very soft. I saw a down one at Emart last week for a decent price but thought I would ponder a bit; when I returned a few days later--it was gone. So it was back to square one and time to wait a little bit longer. This time there were 2 pillows I tested, and the one I thought I wanted was actually too soft and no support, so I think I picked the right one.
I then took the bus into downtown Seoul. A few days ago when I went to Mc Donalds for an ice cream cone I saw the menu and for some reason it stuck with me and I really wanted this spicy chicken sandwich...which, if you know me is so strange because I never eat Mc Donalds at home. So, I set off on the bus and thought I would be smart while I was reading the stops and would get off at the stop called "City Hall Front". Well, it actually took me a bit further than City Hall so getting off at the previous stop would have been better. I ordered my food and took it to...yup, Cheonggyecheon. There were a lot of little festivals/concerts going on along Cheonggyecheon (street level, not stream level) which is pretty common, especially in the summer and early fall I think. I sat for awhile taking everything all in. Then I went to Gwanghwamun Plaza, just down the street because there was some kind of event going on there as well. It was actually kind of like an art exhibit/information about the Korean miners and nurses that went to Germany to work and get money starting in the 60's because Korea's economy was so poor. It was pretty interesting-I couldn't read much of the information, but there were a lot of pictures and paintings to get a general feel for the situation as well.
I walked towards City Hall again to get the subway and I passed the farmers market thing that I saw a few days ago. There was another kind of concert going on here. I stopped to see what it was. The announcer said that some b-boy's (break-dancing) were coming up next. I stayed and watched their performance. The most interesting thing to me is that b-boy genre seems like it's more for young people, but the vast majority of the audience were 40+ and they were all clapping their hands along with the beat and watching intently.
When the performance was over I went underground, but actually it was the basement level of the new City Hall (which is connected to the subway on the other side). In the basement, they have a museum with artifacts they found while digging to build the new City Hall, information about the "green" building, a nice sitting area and a few other things in this big space. I went to see some stuff about the building.
I took the subway to Hongdae to meet my friend Krystle and her friends. I arrived early so I walked around a little bit and window shopped. At the meeting time I went to go wait at the entrance of the subway. I was watching the people come out and I saw someone that looked like my friend Min Kyung's husband. I've never actually met him, but I've seen plenty of pictures of him. I was going to ask if he WAS Chris...but I was too scared and didn't say anything, but sent MK a message asking if she knew where her husband was, haha. She said he was meeting a friend somewhere, but wasn't sure where. Shortly after, Krystle came out and we met up with her friends, who were waiting near the entrance as well. Turns out I met one of the other girls at my workshop day! Small world. (Especially when we're all moving through similar circles). Krystle is a vegetarian so we had to find a place to accommodate her dietary needs; I personally wasn't too hungry after eating a late lunch so I didn't mind where we went. They picked an Indian restaurant. I just ordered naan, which is a type of flatbread. It was gigantic and not too bad.
After dinner, we went to "Hongdae Park" and sat outside waiting for some of their other friends to join. There are a lot of interesting characters in Hongdae. We had a French guy come up and introduce himself to us; he's like a social director in the park-he knows everyone there. I decided I would call it an early night and skipped out to catch the subway home.
When I finally decided I would make myself presentable for the world, I went to Emart. I was still in search of a decent pillow. The one my school has provided me with is a bit too thick and not very soft. I saw a down one at Emart last week for a decent price but thought I would ponder a bit; when I returned a few days later--it was gone. So it was back to square one and time to wait a little bit longer. This time there were 2 pillows I tested, and the one I thought I wanted was actually too soft and no support, so I think I picked the right one.
I then took the bus into downtown Seoul. A few days ago when I went to Mc Donalds for an ice cream cone I saw the menu and for some reason it stuck with me and I really wanted this spicy chicken sandwich...which, if you know me is so strange because I never eat Mc Donalds at home. So, I set off on the bus and thought I would be smart while I was reading the stops and would get off at the stop called "City Hall Front". Well, it actually took me a bit further than City Hall so getting off at the previous stop would have been better. I ordered my food and took it to...yup, Cheonggyecheon. There were a lot of little festivals/concerts going on along Cheonggyecheon (street level, not stream level) which is pretty common, especially in the summer and early fall I think. I sat for awhile taking everything all in. Then I went to Gwanghwamun Plaza, just down the street because there was some kind of event going on there as well. It was actually kind of like an art exhibit/information about the Korean miners and nurses that went to Germany to work and get money starting in the 60's because Korea's economy was so poor. It was pretty interesting-I couldn't read much of the information, but there were a lot of pictures and paintings to get a general feel for the situation as well.
I walked towards City Hall again to get the subway and I passed the farmers market thing that I saw a few days ago. There was another kind of concert going on here. I stopped to see what it was. The announcer said that some b-boy's (break-dancing) were coming up next. I stayed and watched their performance. The most interesting thing to me is that b-boy genre seems like it's more for young people, but the vast majority of the audience were 40+ and they were all clapping their hands along with the beat and watching intently.
When the performance was over I went underground, but actually it was the basement level of the new City Hall (which is connected to the subway on the other side). In the basement, they have a museum with artifacts they found while digging to build the new City Hall, information about the "green" building, a nice sitting area and a few other things in this big space. I went to see some stuff about the building.
I took the subway to Hongdae to meet my friend Krystle and her friends. I arrived early so I walked around a little bit and window shopped. At the meeting time I went to go wait at the entrance of the subway. I was watching the people come out and I saw someone that looked like my friend Min Kyung's husband. I've never actually met him, but I've seen plenty of pictures of him. I was going to ask if he WAS Chris...but I was too scared and didn't say anything, but sent MK a message asking if she knew where her husband was, haha. She said he was meeting a friend somewhere, but wasn't sure where. Shortly after, Krystle came out and we met up with her friends, who were waiting near the entrance as well. Turns out I met one of the other girls at my workshop day! Small world. (Especially when we're all moving through similar circles). Krystle is a vegetarian so we had to find a place to accommodate her dietary needs; I personally wasn't too hungry after eating a late lunch so I didn't mind where we went. They picked an Indian restaurant. I just ordered naan, which is a type of flatbread. It was gigantic and not too bad.
After dinner, we went to "Hongdae Park" and sat outside waiting for some of their other friends to join. There are a lot of interesting characters in Hongdae. We had a French guy come up and introduce himself to us; he's like a social director in the park-he knows everyone there. I decided I would call it an early night and skipped out to catch the subway home.
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| Exhibit about the miners of Korea in Germany |
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| Artwork...This one caught my eye because of Neuschwanstein! |
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| Amazing b-boy dancing |
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| Everyone is so entranced! |
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| Information about Seoul |
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| My district is "Eunpyeong-gu" West and North |
Saturday, September 7, 2013
I've finally met all my students
Today I had the rest of my 5th graders and a few of my 6th graders. I was able to show the one class some pictures from the DMZ. They actually didn't seem as interested as I thought they were going to be. Even though as South Korean citizens, they and their families would not be allowed to go to North Korea, I'm sure they've seen plenty of pictures and know enough about the DMZ that it wasn't brand new information. I just thought they'd be a little bit more excited. That's my 6th graders for ya.
This was my longest teaching day-I have 6 classes so I teach until 2:30. Then I have to stay til 4:40 and can work on plans. The hardest part is that it's 2 different grades and 2 different lessons in one day. Otherwise I don't mind that I have 6 periods to teach.
After school, I forgot something and had to run home--my plan was to leave from the subway line near school and take that to go visit my friend in the hospital. But because I had to go home, I was on a different line. I looked up bus routes and decided I could take the bus. I hopped on and had a few moments of terror that I was going in the completely wrong direction, but it ended up taking me exactly where I wanted to go! Then I was able to take the subway to the hospital. I talked to the information desk and asked if she spoke English. She said no, but in broken English and Korean we were able to communicate. She called up to Sungmin's (Ji--my friend who took me to the immigration office a few weeks ago) floor to verify he knew me. A few minutes later, Yeojin (Scarlet) Sungmin's girlfriend came downstairs and took me up to see him. He had injured his knee in March playing soccer. It wasn't too bad I guess because he was still walking around fine and doing a little bit of running and soccer here and there between March and now. However, he decided to check it out and the doctor advised him to have surgery. So, surgery it was. He was in a lot of pain when I saw him. If he moved too much you could tell it hurt so much. He'll have to be in the hospital for a whole month. I'm planning on trying to visit him when I can, cause I can imagine how bored he will be. Sungmin suggested Yeojin and I go for dinner, so we headed out. I said the only thing I wouldn't eat is seafood. For whatever reason, the ONLY types of food served in this neighborhood were...drum roll.... Seafood. We walked for awhile and then decided to turn back. Partway back, we saw a little cafe. It was a vegan place, but it had pasta and rice dishes so we decided to go there. We sat and talked for about an hour. I've meet Yeojin a few other times over the last 2 years, but she's always been relatively quiet. This time she was more confident in her English (which is pretty good!) and we had a really nice time together. Finally I got a call from Ji, looking for Yeojin so we hurried back to the hospital area. Yeojin went to go help Sungmin and I went off to Gangnam to meet for the EPIK party.
I met Kim at the subway station and we made our way to the Pandora Lounge. EPIK rented out the entire place for us. The guest list was around 150 teachers from our orientation! It was pretty packed. I had fun catching up with more EPIK teachers and seeing Debbie (Gabby's roommate at orientation--she is near Gongju). I didn't stay too late and made my way back home.
This was my longest teaching day-I have 6 classes so I teach until 2:30. Then I have to stay til 4:40 and can work on plans. The hardest part is that it's 2 different grades and 2 different lessons in one day. Otherwise I don't mind that I have 6 periods to teach.
After school, I forgot something and had to run home--my plan was to leave from the subway line near school and take that to go visit my friend in the hospital. But because I had to go home, I was on a different line. I looked up bus routes and decided I could take the bus. I hopped on and had a few moments of terror that I was going in the completely wrong direction, but it ended up taking me exactly where I wanted to go! Then I was able to take the subway to the hospital. I talked to the information desk and asked if she spoke English. She said no, but in broken English and Korean we were able to communicate. She called up to Sungmin's (Ji--my friend who took me to the immigration office a few weeks ago) floor to verify he knew me. A few minutes later, Yeojin (Scarlet) Sungmin's girlfriend came downstairs and took me up to see him. He had injured his knee in March playing soccer. It wasn't too bad I guess because he was still walking around fine and doing a little bit of running and soccer here and there between March and now. However, he decided to check it out and the doctor advised him to have surgery. So, surgery it was. He was in a lot of pain when I saw him. If he moved too much you could tell it hurt so much. He'll have to be in the hospital for a whole month. I'm planning on trying to visit him when I can, cause I can imagine how bored he will be. Sungmin suggested Yeojin and I go for dinner, so we headed out. I said the only thing I wouldn't eat is seafood. For whatever reason, the ONLY types of food served in this neighborhood were...drum roll.... Seafood. We walked for awhile and then decided to turn back. Partway back, we saw a little cafe. It was a vegan place, but it had pasta and rice dishes so we decided to go there. We sat and talked for about an hour. I've meet Yeojin a few other times over the last 2 years, but she's always been relatively quiet. This time she was more confident in her English (which is pretty good!) and we had a really nice time together. Finally I got a call from Ji, looking for Yeojin so we hurried back to the hospital area. Yeojin went to go help Sungmin and I went off to Gangnam to meet for the EPIK party.
I met Kim at the subway station and we made our way to the Pandora Lounge. EPIK rented out the entire place for us. The guest list was around 150 teachers from our orientation! It was pretty packed. I had fun catching up with more EPIK teachers and seeing Debbie (Gabby's roommate at orientation--she is near Gongju). I didn't stay too late and made my way back home.
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