Writing by my genius kids!

Sebastian - Kindergarten
If I could go to the sky, I would eat the cloud when it is night.  I will play with the stars when it is afternoon.  I will have a blast off from the sun in the morning.  It will be so fun.

Kate - 2nd grade
Dear Ms. Alexandra Teacher,
Hi, I'm Kate.  I know you like chicken nugget.  Do you like pizza, french fries, and spagetti?
From: Kate

Yurim - 2nd grade (another child genius)
World's Greatest Teacher
I had met many teachers in my life.  A lot of teachers made me smart.  However, above all these many teachers, Alexandra Teacher was the best.
She is funny.  She teaches English in a fun way, so it isn't boring.  Many children likes it too.  I think it is a terrific idea to teach in a fun way.
She is wise too.  She is great in English.  I could call her a Einstein or the genius artist Leonardo Da Vinci!  It is very easy to take a class with a genius teacher.

Chris - 3rd grade
Dear Alaxzendra techer,
Thank you for teaching me.  You are so admirible!  You are the only teacher that teaches annoying 3rd grade that sings.  You are the best teacher I ever, ever have in my whole intire life throu 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010!  You are so so so so so so so so so so great!!!  I can't live without you!  You could go to school everyday and get 10000000 points for monthley test and other quizes.  I will never ever forget the face of you!
Love,
Chris

Eric - 4th grade
Time goes by and I am 31 years old.  I will being a famous baseball player.  My team is Boston Red Sox, and I'm Pitcher.  I will learn how I can throw the fast ball, change up, curve.  And I think USA's baseball is very hard.  Because I always do 3rd inning.  That means, I'm only a little good pitcher.  And I will play baseball seven years old more.  Then, I will live a good apartment with my family.  And I will do a teacher. When my money is many, I will buy two computers and one little computer.  Two is I do in my house, and one is I have to use that.  And I will be happy living.

It's been a long time, I shouldn't have left you

Whoops!  It's been a month since I've updated again :-/  Life has been crazy busy this summer, so I when I have some free time it is hard to juggle blogging and catching up on episodes of True Blood and J Shore (speaking of, Angelina is so annoying she makes me almost not want to watch it, almost).  Usual stuff has been happening over here, drinking soju and eating kimchee sums up a lot of nights.  Life is pretty good and time is flying by!  Hard to believe I only have 4 months left in Korea.  4 months in Korea seems short, 4 months at my job seems brutal!  Although, when thinking about it, things are infinitely better than when I started.  I actually have several really good friends at work now, which makes the long days so much easier to bear.  I guess that's a perk of one year contracts, people are always coming and going.  Hmm, what else?  Vacation in Malaysia was amazing.  I can't wait to get back to SE Asia this winter.

Anyway, on to the kids.  The elementary students are on break from their regular schools this month, so they have been so much better behaved than usual.  A lot of them are actually taking some time off, which makes me dread September when they are all coming back!  Kindergarten boys have been really into showing their penises lately since they discovered in the bathroom one day that Kenneth, who was born in America, is circumcised.   It was like the biggest news ever.  Kenneth's mom had to call the school and ask that the kids stop teasing him about it.  Interestingly enough, Kenneth was found under the table a few days later showing it to Matthew.  He is one of my favorite kids, and I HATED him at first.  He is so intelligent it's shocking, but super emotional at the same time.  He is always sputtering out things like, "Please be patient with me while I hand out the books.  You need to learn patience, wait your turn."  Keep in mind this kid is 6 and English is his second language.  He can also draw incredibly detailed maps of the world, including all major cities from Paris, to Washington DC, to Ho Chi Min.  Awesome kid.

I am going to post a bunch of their writing, but it's too much to include in an email posting.  So...actually go to the blog if you want to read some of their brilliance!  BTW - the blog address is t-your-blog.blogspot.com.

xoxo

I can see!

Ok, I had the lasek this weekend.  All I can say is MAJOR OUCHY!  OMG, they told me there would be pain, but I didn't know the pain would be like this.  Here's the play by play.  I couldn't get a day off work (obvs), so I had to just leave 2 hours early on Friday (it's recommended you take at least 3 days off, I got the weekend plus 2 extra hours, sweet).  I roll in, they do about 45 mins more of tests on me (in addition to 2 hours of tests I had previously gotten) and then they prep me for surgery.  Surgery was a little scary because you can see everything they are doing to your eye (yikes) and the laser smells like burnt hair, so of course I imagined my eyeball bursting into flames.  But I didn't feel anything and they gave me a teddy bear to hold, so I was cool.  I then went into the recovery room to lay down for a half hour.  They had previously asked me what kind of music I wanted to listen to during recovery and I chose pop, which turned out to be an interesting medley which included "In da Club" and "Ooops! I Did it Again!"  I see the doctor one more time, he says everything's great, come back tomorrow morning, you are free to leave.  Now, they said I wouldn't have any pain until the second day, so I insisted to everyone that day that I would be fine to go home alone and went this mission solo.  Not wise!  The pain started immediately.  I leave and decide to beeline it for a cab.  Only problem is the eye center is in prolly the busiest area of Seoul.  It's smack in the middle of an outdoor shopping area and I have to walk through about 8-10 mins of crowds to get to a cab area.  Here's a pic of what I'm dealing with (stolen via google images):

Smack in the top center of the photo there is a blue sign with Korean lettering.  That is the eye place.  Not crowded at all.  

Furthermore, it's Friday at 8pm, prime shopping hour.  I was about ready to jump out of my skin stumbling around trying to get a taxi.  Note, yes, I have been here many times before.  And yes, I knew the crowd sitch. And yes, I knew I would have to venture a ways to find a cab.  Should I have not been so pigheaded and asked for help, yes.  But of course, I had the "I can do this myself!" attitude.  Ughhh.  Anyway, I will spare all the details, but the pain for the next 2 1/2 days was worse than I ever could have imagined.  Like I was being stabbed in the eyes while they were on fire and a steady stream of tears poured out eyes and nose.  I thought this can't be right, but when I had my next morning follow up appointment (I brought a friend this time), the dr said my eyes had already healed 30% in 14 hours!  He said I would continue to be in pain for the next 2 days, which I was, but by Monday, I would be ok, and I am!  He also said to take Monday out of work, but we know that can't happen.  It will be another week before my vision is perfect, but I am sitting here typing for the first time in my life with no glasses!  Hooray!  I don't think I was quite prepared for what I was getting into, but I think I will be v happy when all is said and done.  I have to go in tomorrow and get the clear bandages removed from my eyeballs.

That's about all for now.   I have some funny office things to write about, but eyes are really tired from looking at computer screen.  Sorry if this post was boring -- I might have gone into too much detail :-P

Picking or Not Picking?

Thanks everyone who emailed with comments about the kids and their cuteness.  Yes, they are very cute.  Now,  if only there weren't so many of them...  Usually problems this week, hitting and punching, bragging, yelling, and now one kid got in big trouble for spitting at the other kids.  We had to threaten to take his birthday away -- man, the things  you can threaten kids with!  "You're not going to have a birthday this year!"  Hahahaha!  Someday, in a land far far away when I am a parent, I will have so many things to threaten my kid with!

I am currently trying to fight the man.  2 reasons: 1. we have a new "summer schedule."  Summer schedule is not good.  Summer schedule is very bad!  I now work 11 classes straight through with no breaks two consecutive days.  That shit is not gonna fly! 2.  I need to take a day off because I am getting lasek on my eyes(!!!!).  We don't get sick days, so I am trying to finagle a day out to get that shit done.  Ughh, FML.  It just happens to coincide perfectly with my extra classes.  Grrrrrr wish me luck!  Oh and we are having surprise observations yet again this week, meaning there are all kinds of peeps sitting in my classes taking notes.  Rule of thumb at school:  it never gets better, it only gets worse :-/

More funny things they do.  One class has invented the hottest new game called "picking or not picking."  Pretty simple game:  you cover your nose with one hand and either pick or pretend to pick with the other.  Everyone else has to guess.  Fantastic.
Today in kinder there was "fart smell."  No one was owning up to it, so of course there was serious investigation.  I had my back turned grading their workbooks when I feel something brush my butt.  3 of them were smelling so close that their noses were touching my bum.  It was then determined I was not guilty of fart smell.

Back in Action!

My apologies for leaving the blog high and dry these past few months.  It's definitely not because I have had a lack of things to talk about, but rather a lack of time!  Sundays tend to be pretty low key, so I am going to attempt to write every Sunday.

Let's see.  I have officially made it through 6 months of living here.  Sometimes it seems like the last 6 months have flown by, and other times I feel like I have been here forever.  Summer is definitely here, and is just as extreme as the winter.  It's hot as hell everyday!  I don't notice too much because I am only ever outside on the walk to and from a restaurant for lunch.  I walk home everyday from school, but it's 8pm by that time.  This week marks the start of monsoon season, awesome.  I better order some rain boots, because we all know I can't find shoes here!

World Cup has certainly been crazy here.  It was a terribly disappointing evening (ok early morning) here last night with both Korea and USA being eliminated back to back.  Seoul has set up jumbotrons and viewing parties all over the city.  I've made it to every game, except the one that was on at 330am on a Wednesday morning.  Although, I was definitely in the minority as most other people did go out.  On the plus side, I was one of the only ones not in major pain at work.  Minus side, I missed out on some serious fun.   Here are some pics of different games:

This is the first game, Korea vs. Greece at City Hall in Seoul.  20,000 people there in the pouring rain.

Celebrating the win!

This is last night's (final) game. I watched in a different part of Seoul, COEX mall area. Raining again!!

Poncho!

We still had a good time despite the loss.  

School is better in an it still really sucks kinda way.  Hours are still long and boss really blows, but I have been hanging out with some of my coworkers a lot more and it's been really nice to not hate each other.  It's definitely a much better crew in the office now than when I first came.  I tried to nominate myself as Employee of the Month for June (not that we have an employee of the month contest), but on Friday I was scolded for writing "this is silly" on a kindergartner's picture diary when he jokingly wrote about his friend hitting him.  Apparently his mom didn't think it was as silly as I did, oops.  Maybe next month...

This is officially the longest time I have ever been away from home without at least a visit.  I am really missing my friends and family a lot.  I also terribly miss watching CNN and being able to see the news in English.   And I really want some rain boots, and to get them I have to have them shipped to my mom and then she will  send them to me because no companies fucking ship to Korea!  I know when I leave here, there are going to be so many things I miss about Korea.  Namely, Hobak House where you can get the bombest Korean meal for $5 and a free slushy on your way out (will take pics this week, I am in this place everyday), the shabu shabu place in my building (pics to come), staying out way to late, not driving, not paying rent, kimchi everyday, soju, my kids (well, most of them), but def not my job!  LOL

That's it for now.  I'm really tired from staying out wayyyyy too late last night and then trying to sleep in a Lotteria (Korea McDonald's) at 730 this morning, so I will have to post more later.  Here are some pics of kids from a recent field trip.

Chris on the left, Joshua on the right.

Rei

Tony, climbing up the science exhibit

Liz (snob)

It's Cinco de Mayo and I'm doing big things

As usual, I am doing something huge with my life.  My current mission is to eat at every Mexican place in Seoul. The best part of this mission is knowing there is no way I will fail!  Of course I am ranking them as well.  Thus far I have eaten at Dos Tacos (2 locations), Taco Amigo, Panchos, some shitty place in the mall near my house, Panchos, and On the Border.  Today, Jullia and I are going to Tomatillo - which we hear is the best place in Korea.  I'll be the judge of that!  I just checked out the website and it looks legit.  Going to be a good day!

Today is children's day, so we have off from school.  I have been looking forward to this day for many months.  I have accepted the fact that this one year of working at my dreadful school has shaved  5 years off my life.  It's a feeling of constant stress being there.  Yesterday we took the morning kids to the park to play instead of doing work.  I had no idea this was even happening because no one tells you anything.  It was fun seeing the kids get to run around and act silly.  The bad class was, of course, being bad.  While all the kids were playing on the swings and blowing bubbles, they were fighting.  One of them even managed to get in a fight with kids from another school because he threw sand at them.  WTF is wrong with these kids?  It's like they are so caught up in tattling, that they miss out on the fun kid stuff.   Good thing was they are not my class, so I just ignored it and let someone else deal.  Their homeroom teacher was so stressed after that day that she came in the office and laid under her desk.  Can't say I blame her.

Jullia and I are going to Thailand in July.  Who's been?  We need recommendations, especially on places to stay.

Finally outside of Seoul!

Ok, the blog is back, officially this time.  OMG, since there has been a major blog hiatus, I don't even know where to start!  Obvs a lack of writing doesn't mean a lack of events.  I promise to start writing again.  The problem is I hate my job so much that M-F I am too angry to blog!  But I have to suck it up and deal, bc some of the stuff that makes me the angriest is the funniest to write about!  On the weekends I do a complete 180 and I am so happy here!  Especially now that spring is FINALLY here, Jullia and I are having a great time exploring Seoul and other parts of Korea.  I will write about work/kid stuff later, but for now I will just update on our travels this weekend.

On Saturday we planned to go hiking in Sokcho for the first time.  Seoul is on the western side of Korea (facing China) and Sokcho is on the eastern side (the Sea of Japan).  Basically from one side of the country to the other.  Korea is small though, so driving across it is like going across MA from Boston to NY.   Since it is easier to leave from my place, Jullia came to sleep over on Fri night and let herself in while I was at the gym.  When I got home, we headed out for dinner around 10pm (I changed into yoga pants and a USC hoodie - no shower).  We decided on Sabasaba Chicken to eat by the university near my house.  We roll in, there are a lot of people there, mostly students and businessmen.  We order some garlic chicken, potatoes, fruit, and beer and crush most of that food.  We're sitting, beyond full holding tummies, finishing our pitcher of beer when the businessmen decide to approach us.  Mind you, most of them are soj-ed  out!  (I can't describe soj-ed out well, but it's a certain type of super hammered that only soju will do to you.  Soj-ed out people have that "look" and you just know their head is emptiness.) One super soju warrior comes over and presents us with a giant platter of peanut chicken as an offering as he tells us how beautiful we are (keep in mind my no shower/outfit).  So he sits with us and brings along a friend, who actually seems normal and speaks very good English.  Blah blah blah they are going on and on all the while the soj warrior is screaming to all 12 guys that he is with to come over and say hello to us.  One by one, most of them come say hello at some point.  Finally they leave, but not before paying for our entire bill, score!

At this point we are feeling ok.  We're rid of the weirdos and our kinda expensive dinner is paid for.  The restaurant is on the second floor of a building and we are seated near the window, so we are keeping tabs on the guys outside drilling cigarettes and hugging, etc.  Next thing we know, one of the quieter businessmen is back with a new friend.  Now we start feeling a little uncomfortable.  They sit with us and make small talk in the little English they know.  The very proper man next to me asks me what I do for work, so I tell him.  Perhaps he thought I was just BS-ing when I told him I teach English.  Then he asked me how much I make (in Korea, everyone asks how much money you make and how old you are, like right off the bat).  So I tell him  I make 3 million, he nods and says, "Well, do you satisfy?"  I'm a little confused, and then he asks again, real slow and suggestive this time so I get the point.  These businessmen all think we are hookers.  Unshowered, sweatpants wearing hookers.  Suddenly, I see the guy hiding inside his jacket.  More of the businessmen who had supposedly gone home are back behind me and are prolly pissed that this dude and his friend Min have already closed in on the 2 white hookers.  The best part is that these dudes were all wearing wedding rings and their cells had pics of babies as their wallpaper.  Anyway, this was where we explained very clearly - several times -  that we were out past our bedtime and then RAN a few blocks until we knew we were clear.  Oh, one dude also asked for our numbers and then did the "show me your phone so I know it's yours" drill.  Awesome...

We got up on Saturday and headed to the bus station for our hiking extravaganza.  5 hours later, we made it to Seorakson Park in Sokcho.  Yes, 5 hours -- 3.5 hours on the bus from Seoul and then another hour and a half to get lost in Sokcho - who knew you had to get on the bus on the right side of the street?!  How do we know if we're on the right side?!  We saw the number 7 bus and hopped on!  When we finally made it to the mountain, we immediately realized why we had traveled for so long to get there.  It was BEAUTIFUL!   The only problem was the crazy wind!  We huffed and puffed our way up to nearly the top of one peak (this took hours), and all the hikers were telling us no, don't go up, in Korean.  Finally we met a super nice family near the top.  The mom nudged and whispered something to the kid - who was about 8 - and he said to us in perfect English, "Don't go any higher, the wind is too strong and dangerous!"  The mom and dad looked at us and nodded while doing the Asian "no" which is both arms crossed in front of you.  So cute! We went up a little more before I was positive I was going to be blown off the mountain and starting screaming Al style.  This is when we turned around.  Ughh, we were so close to the top, but the wind was so brutal it was burning through our ears!  And there was snow up there!!  WTF?!  So we're going back in about a month, and this time we are staying over so we can hit both beach and mountains.  Here's some pics:

Oh yeah, that's me at the entrance to the park with a giant bear.

GIANT sitting Buddha near a temple in the park.  

Awesome!

Obvs time for some poses!

The peak we were climbing!  Almost there, damned wind!!!

These "rest areas" are all over the mountain.  If you want to get drunk while hiking, there's plenty of beer, soju, and makali sold at these places.