A Wandering Soul Outside of Seoul: Eating Chicken Wings with Chopsticks...

...is really difficult. Don't believe me? Try it for yourself sometime. Whenever we have some kind of 'American' finger food like wings or ribs for school lunch my Korean co-workers dig in with their chopsticks and manage to eat it without any fuss or mess. I, on the other hand, feel like a 5 year old child with most of the meat still on the bone and the sauce all over my face.

My co-teacher and I went to see a new model apartment the other day in Bundang. She explained to me that they build these perfect models for people to check out and then tear them down and build the actual apartments elsewhere. I don't understand it. In America the model home is built and then sold for a family to actually live in. Everything is a lottery here in Korea and buying a new apartment is no exception. People have different amounts of points or credit and those with enough will have a chance to be eligible for a new apartment if they are chosen. As soon as we walked into the model apartment we had to take our shoes off (of course) and wear slippers through the 'homes'. The apartments were really modern and posh compared to those of my teacher friends I have seen around here. It was so funny walking around watching all the Korean people with their little brochures examining each new appliance and available option like they were picking out a new car or touring a museum. It was definitely different from any open house I have experienced in the States.

One thing I cannot get used to and grosses me out beyond words is males spitting in public. They do it wherever, whenever, and however they chose. There is spit on every sidewalk, pathway, road, even indoor floor that you step on in Korea. I am constantly walking by men while they hock up a huge phlegm-wad and project it onto the ground. Disgusting.

Teaching has been going well lately since I have been adding some different elements to my classes. Last week I did a music lesson with my 6th grade kids and we talked about music and watched music videos in class. The students really enjoyed it and actually listened/participated- it was great! This week I have added some Christmas games and activities to my lessons and you better believe I will be doing even more next week. I have been given the task of planning 4 weeks of winter camp for students. 2 weeks for 3rd grade (yay!) and 2 weeks for 4th grade. I am allowed to pretty much do whatever I want and I will have 2 different classes a day with about 15 students in each. You better believe my mind is turning with ideas and I cannot wait to try new and exciting things out with those age groups and manageable class sizes.

I have taught a Saturday class of 10 6th graders a few times and loved it. My co-teacher offered the classes to me for extra pay and I accepted. It has actually been a lot of fun to get to know the students better and talk with students whose English speaking ability is very high. Waking up on a weekend before 8A.M. was no picnic, but I am really glad I had the chance to work with those students. We had some really interesting conversations and I was glad to get their input on what life is like for Korean students and how to make English class better.

We went for dinner the other night to a great shabu shabu place. While it is a Japanese hot-pot dish, it is popular in Korea. Here is how you enjoy a delicious shabu shabu meal:

First, turn on your hot plate so the water can boil. Get a nice side dish of rice and veggies. Make sure you add some dried seaweed on top!

Next, collect some fresh veggies like sprouts, onions, greens, and mushrooms to add.

Choose some meat and fillers for your shabu shabu. Mandu (dumplings), beef, octopus, and tofu were my choices.

Dump everything minus your rice side into the pot of boiling water. At this point you can also add sauces and spices to your taste.

Cook until veggies are soft and meat is done. Turn down the heat on your hot plate. Finally, enjoy your yummy stew/soup-like creation! (The octopus got hard and was really chewy!)

Korean people do not seem to understand the concept of walking in a straight line. People in public places are constantly walking in front of, beside, behind you in the most round about way possible. They do not stay on the right-hand side. What makes it worse is that most of the time people are not paying attention either so they are just kind of absent-mindedly walking and bumping into things and each other. Another common annoyance to foreigners here is the bumping and shoving into you by others without so much as a glance or "I'm sorry". I have been elbowed, shoved, pushed, stepped on, you name it more times that I care to remember. It seems a little insensitive to us westerners, but to Koreans it is just another part of their "bali, bali" (hurry, hurry) lifestyle. I have grown so used to dodging people and walking in crazy zig-zag lines that when I go home to a right-hand-sided world I don't know what I'll do.

Check out what I have been up to the past few weeks: