In the two six weeks I've been here, everyone has been incredibly generous. I've never had to pick up the tab. I've only ever had to pitch in on the tab sometimes. It certainly keeps me from spending too much money.
Most of the reason for that is because I didn't get a bank account until a month in, and don't bring enough cash for the whole party.
But last night after school, I treated five of the teachers to drinks. Wendy, Gemma, Kitty, Cindy, Vicky and I went over to InHa and drank makoli, that rice wine I had last weekend. We also got a bunch of anju to go along with it.
I didn't care how much it would cost, but I assumed treating six of us would be at least $50, considering how much food there was and how much we drank.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the tab was only $28 for the whole group. Maybe this doesn't warrant its own post on the blog, but I think it's interesting. In America, treating six people to drinks, without food even, would be way more than $28.
Now I know I can afford to take the teachers out on a regular basis, which is a pretty good deal for both of us.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Monday, October 27, 2008
New Pics!
These were taken by Brent on his second-to-last night in South Korea. There was drinking involved. So these are some fun shots.
Check them out here.
This Is Never Good News
The North and South are still at it, of course. Their latest beef is over leaflets that whiny South Korean protestors drop in the North.
Check it out here.
Check it out here.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The New Teacher Is Here
On Saturday night, the new teacher -- a Canadian girl named Jessica -- got into town. But let me tell you about the beginning of the weekend before I get to that.
On Thursday night, I was just sitting around my apartment when Vicky called around midnight to tell me that she was with Gemma and Kitty at InHa. So I got into a cab and went over to meet up with them.
We were drinking some alcohol that is made out of rice. It's called Makoli. It was kind of milky, but tasted pretty good, and it certainly did its job well. It was really fun to hang out with those three. It's something I haven't done much since I've been here, but worth the late night.
Friday was supposed to be my first day of private lessons with four college students at InHa University. Two of them couldn't come, however, so it ended up just being lunch with the guy, June, and one of the girls, Jess. I met Jess and Cassie before when they came out with Chris and me.
I will see them every Friday morning, when our studying basically will just consist of conversation. They all speak English well already, but they are trying to improve.
After that, I headed into work, where I was the life of the party because I package arrived from mom and dad that had some candy and other treats in it. Friday ended up being a pretty good day at work.
On Friday night, we were going to head into Guworldong, the location of The Square, to have a few drinks. Unfortunately, the guys in Yeonsudong were dragging their feet. It got to bed midnight and we hadn't left yet. Since I was supposed to meet Vicky early Saturday, I just headed home.
When Vicky found out I didn't do anything, she offered to go out with me. First I headed over to InHa, but neither of us wanted to order the anju with our drinks. Instead, we just got beer and went back to my place, where we drank and listened to music for a few hours.
Since we were up so late, we moved our meeting time to 2 p.m. on Saturday. I had never been to Insadong, a traditional Korean neighborhood in Seoul, so she offered to come along and show me around.
It was kind of a miserable day weather-wise, because it was raining. But Insadong was a cool place. It's clearly a tourist hotspot, because there are thousands of vendors selling little souvenir-type items.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera. Sorry everyone!
We were going to look for Halloween costumes in Seoul when Stacy called to tell me that Jessica made it in. She wanted me to go back and have dinner with them. So Vicky and I hopped on the Subway and went back in to meet them. They were just finishing dinner, but Stacy wanted to take Jessica out.
So the four of us, along with Stacy's boyfriend, went over to InHa to get a few drinks. It was a really good time. Of course, the Korean guy wanted to make drinking into a competition. But don't worry, America. Your faithful son prevailed again.
On Sunday, the westerners over in Yeonsudong wanted to play American football. It was a good chance to get Jessica on the bus and introduce her to the crew.
Dan, Tim and I were playing against Jeremy, Colin and Scott. It was another classic USA-Canada grudge match. You already know who the winner was. America stomped Canada by a score of 8-4. I had six of our touchdowns and threw for one as well.
I got pretty scraped up diving for balls, so I'm really sore today. But beating Canada is worth a few raspberries.
This week will be a lot of work at school. We have something called "Market Day" on Friday, where the kids use the Jungchul dollars they've earned to buy items or something. I'm not entirely sure about the concept, but I know there are no classes. That means my schedule is crunched and I'll have six classes every day.
It'll all be worth it come Friday night, because it's Halloween!!! I'll definitely remember my camera for wherever we go.
Take care!!!
On Thursday night, I was just sitting around my apartment when Vicky called around midnight to tell me that she was with Gemma and Kitty at InHa. So I got into a cab and went over to meet up with them.
We were drinking some alcohol that is made out of rice. It's called Makoli. It was kind of milky, but tasted pretty good, and it certainly did its job well. It was really fun to hang out with those three. It's something I haven't done much since I've been here, but worth the late night.
Friday was supposed to be my first day of private lessons with four college students at InHa University. Two of them couldn't come, however, so it ended up just being lunch with the guy, June, and one of the girls, Jess. I met Jess and Cassie before when they came out with Chris and me.
I will see them every Friday morning, when our studying basically will just consist of conversation. They all speak English well already, but they are trying to improve.
After that, I headed into work, where I was the life of the party because I package arrived from mom and dad that had some candy and other treats in it. Friday ended up being a pretty good day at work.
On Friday night, we were going to head into Guworldong, the location of The Square, to have a few drinks. Unfortunately, the guys in Yeonsudong were dragging their feet. It got to bed midnight and we hadn't left yet. Since I was supposed to meet Vicky early Saturday, I just headed home.
When Vicky found out I didn't do anything, she offered to go out with me. First I headed over to InHa, but neither of us wanted to order the anju with our drinks. Instead, we just got beer and went back to my place, where we drank and listened to music for a few hours.
Since we were up so late, we moved our meeting time to 2 p.m. on Saturday. I had never been to Insadong, a traditional Korean neighborhood in Seoul, so she offered to come along and show me around.
It was kind of a miserable day weather-wise, because it was raining. But Insadong was a cool place. It's clearly a tourist hotspot, because there are thousands of vendors selling little souvenir-type items.
Unfortunately I forgot my camera. Sorry everyone!
We were going to look for Halloween costumes in Seoul when Stacy called to tell me that Jessica made it in. She wanted me to go back and have dinner with them. So Vicky and I hopped on the Subway and went back in to meet them. They were just finishing dinner, but Stacy wanted to take Jessica out.
So the four of us, along with Stacy's boyfriend, went over to InHa to get a few drinks. It was a really good time. Of course, the Korean guy wanted to make drinking into a competition. But don't worry, America. Your faithful son prevailed again.
On Sunday, the westerners over in Yeonsudong wanted to play American football. It was a good chance to get Jessica on the bus and introduce her to the crew.
Dan, Tim and I were playing against Jeremy, Colin and Scott. It was another classic USA-Canada grudge match. You already know who the winner was. America stomped Canada by a score of 8-4. I had six of our touchdowns and threw for one as well.
I got pretty scraped up diving for balls, so I'm really sore today. But beating Canada is worth a few raspberries.
This week will be a lot of work at school. We have something called "Market Day" on Friday, where the kids use the Jungchul dollars they've earned to buy items or something. I'm not entirely sure about the concept, but I know there are no classes. That means my schedule is crunched and I'll have six classes every day.
It'll all be worth it come Friday night, because it's Halloween!!! I'll definitely remember my camera for wherever we go.
Take care!!!
Sunday, October 19, 2008
The Lone Teacher
It's sad to say that as of this morning, Chris is on a plane back to Boston. That means I'll be the only western teacher until at least the 25th, when a Canadian girl is coming. Then, two weeks after her, another American is supposed to arrive.
That means I could get screwed in my schedule. Of course, it will be pretty hard to give me much more work, since I'm almost at full capacity as it is.
At least we made the most of Chris' last weekend in the area.
On Friday, all the teachers went out to a local place in Onyundong for some food and drinks. I always love going out with my co-workers. The cool part was that even after the party broke up, Vicky, Wendy, Cindy and I went to another place to drink some more.
After that, I was surprised to hear them say to me: "Now we're going to your house." Maybe I should've cleaned a little better, haha. So the four of us got some more beer and went back to my place, where we pretty much just listened to music and drank and hung out. It was still cool to have people in my house for the first time -- three Korean girls no less!!!
On Saturday, Chris and I went to Shinsagae to hang out during the day. We got some lunch and met up with some old friends of his. After that, Chelsea showed up and we hung with her for awhile.
Then, in the evening, we made our way out to Bupyeong to meet up with Jake. Of course, a group of the westerners from Yeonsudong were out there. It was cool to run into them since I haven't seen them for awhile.
Sunday was a lot more laid back than the typical drinking nights. It was also filled with some firsts for me.
Vicky picked me up and we went out to Shinsagae to meet a friend of hers. The plan as to go see the movie "Eagle Eye". Once we got there, though, they started making different plans. To my surprise and delight, Vicky's family wanted to take me out to dinner.
So to kill some time, the three of us got some beer in the the square before heading out to meet her family. Her mom, dad and sister all came out, and none of them speak English really at all.
So while Vicky was translating, I took some pride in knowing that I actually could understand a lot of what they were saying. I guess my Korean studying is paying off a bit.
Either way, her family was very nice and we had a cool time. It is the first time I have ever hung out with a Korean family, so it was a new experience.
After dinner, we went to watch the movie, which I liked despite weak reviews. It was in English with Korean subtitles. Even though Vicky can speak well, she said movies and television shows usually move way too fast for her to totally understand.
When I got back, Chris came up for a bit to drop off some stuff and say goodbye. The good news is he'll be back in a month or two. But keep him in your thoughts as he spends the next 30 hours on a plane home. Thanks for everything, Chris!!!
That means I could get screwed in my schedule. Of course, it will be pretty hard to give me much more work, since I'm almost at full capacity as it is.
At least we made the most of Chris' last weekend in the area.
On Friday, all the teachers went out to a local place in Onyundong for some food and drinks. I always love going out with my co-workers. The cool part was that even after the party broke up, Vicky, Wendy, Cindy and I went to another place to drink some more.
After that, I was surprised to hear them say to me: "Now we're going to your house." Maybe I should've cleaned a little better, haha. So the four of us got some more beer and went back to my place, where we pretty much just listened to music and drank and hung out. It was still cool to have people in my house for the first time -- three Korean girls no less!!!
On Saturday, Chris and I went to Shinsagae to hang out during the day. We got some lunch and met up with some old friends of his. After that, Chelsea showed up and we hung with her for awhile.
Then, in the evening, we made our way out to Bupyeong to meet up with Jake. Of course, a group of the westerners from Yeonsudong were out there. It was cool to run into them since I haven't seen them for awhile.
Sunday was a lot more laid back than the typical drinking nights. It was also filled with some firsts for me.
Vicky picked me up and we went out to Shinsagae to meet a friend of hers. The plan as to go see the movie "Eagle Eye". Once we got there, though, they started making different plans. To my surprise and delight, Vicky's family wanted to take me out to dinner.
So to kill some time, the three of us got some beer in the the square before heading out to meet her family. Her mom, dad and sister all came out, and none of them speak English really at all.
So while Vicky was translating, I took some pride in knowing that I actually could understand a lot of what they were saying. I guess my Korean studying is paying off a bit.
Either way, her family was very nice and we had a cool time. It is the first time I have ever hung out with a Korean family, so it was a new experience.
After dinner, we went to watch the movie, which I liked despite weak reviews. It was in English with Korean subtitles. Even though Vicky can speak well, she said movies and television shows usually move way too fast for her to totally understand.
When I got back, Chris came up for a bit to drop off some stuff and say goodbye. The good news is he'll be back in a month or two. But keep him in your thoughts as he spends the next 30 hours on a plane home. Thanks for everything, Chris!!!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Typical Saturday Night
Saturday was the usual for the most part. Chris, Chelsea and Jeanna went to some seafood market for sushi, and I wasn't really interested.
Instead, I went with Chelsea's brother, Jake, to the square in Shinsegae to hang out for a little. It was pretty early when we got there, so we walked around and hung out for a couple hours. Then, we got something small to eat and drank a little beer.
After that, Vicky and Jake's girlfriend met up with us for more drinking. Then, Chelsea, Jeanna and Chris came as well. So the eight of us hung out for awhile and had a lot of fun.
Jake, Chris and I made it home by about 2 a.m. and hung out for another hour, eating some food and watching some movies.
All in all it's been a good weekend. Check back in a bit for an odds and ends list I'll post about some of the observations I've made so far.
Instead, I went with Chelsea's brother, Jake, to the square in Shinsegae to hang out for a little. It was pretty early when we got there, so we walked around and hung out for a couple hours. Then, we got something small to eat and drank a little beer.
After that, Vicky and Jake's girlfriend met up with us for more drinking. Then, Chelsea, Jeanna and Chris came as well. So the eight of us hung out for awhile and had a lot of fun.
Jake, Chris and I made it home by about 2 a.m. and hung out for another hour, eating some food and watching some movies.
All in all it's been a good weekend. Check back in a bit for an odds and ends list I'll post about some of the observations I've made so far.
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