Party Time

What a two weeks I have had since returning from China. During the week I had Summer English camp. The first week was 3rd and 4th graders, the second was 5-6 graders. I would have the same 25 kids from 9 AM to 12:10 every day. I'd then eat lunch and go home with the whole afternoon off. Camp was different from regular classes because I was in charge of everything. I had to do all the lesson planning, preparation, and ran the whole camp by myself. I had a Korean speaking English teacher to help me, but she would come and go as she pleased and was there only for support and to run errands for me.

All morning long I would teach them a little something like directions or geography or random vocab words then we would play a game with it. We played musical chairs, watched the Simpsons, played bingo...a bunch of really fun and easy to manage stuff. Oh and the first day they each picked English names, some of which I provided and others that they came up with on their own. For kicks I provided a bunch of really hard to pronounce names, like Harold, Gilbert, and Waldo. We also had a Larry, Curly and Moe. Some of the kids are a little slow though. One insisted he be called Dragon Rider, which wasn't nearly as bizarre as the boy he sat next to, Naver, or his other friend, Movie. That's right I called a kid "movie" all week long. In addition to Larry, there was also a Harry and Terry.

Last week some friends and I went to this Canadian bar in Seoul for 300 won (30 cent) wing night. My friend from college Kate is visiting and staying with my friend from Knox, Kim. We all went out and had a real good time, especially when these Korean guys whom we met insisted on celebrating Tequila Tuesday with us...meaning they buy all the drinks, most of which were shots of tequila. I mean, as much as I wanted to buy my own stuff, I supposed I could let them pay for drinks. While at this bar I talked to the bartender about playing hockey. He said as long as I got my stuff here he could find a team for me to play for, since goalies are fairly uncommon. So I might consider playing soon. But we'll see. I am really enjoying this unathletic lifestyle I live.

This past weekend a bunch of people got together and took a trip to Gangwahl-do (or something), which is this area somewhere outside of Seoul (we weren't sure where) to go rafting. There were maybe 40 people on this bus, all English speakers, that we took up there. But before we got to the river, we stopped at some lake. There we could go swimming in the lake, or go bungee jumping, which is exactly what I did. I was just under the weight limit of 105 kilos, which was a relief. I got up there and just jumped right off without thinking about it. I wasn't really too scared for some reason. But it was really cool...I think it was like 65 meters high into a pool. It was so awesome...such a rush. I really had fun doing it, and it was only about 30 bucks. After that we went rafting in this really lame river which apparently was the best rafting river in Korea. But we made fun of it and jumped out of the boat and pushed our guides in. They really had a blast with us. That night we all stayed at this camp-type place with small houses that we all bunched up in and had a barbecue and bonfire by the river. It was pretty cool. There were plenty of spirits to indulge in as well.

In other news, I recently got my Playstation working. I had been looking for ways to get it working forever...looking for a converter or remote or adapter. There was info on the web that said I needed a converter so thats what I thought. I had the tv repair man come to my place, I had another teacher's son and husband come over to try and get it to work, and I even brought it to school one day thinking it was my TV's problem and the ones at school might work. After not finding any answers and formally giving up, one of the teachers at my school did a little research. He said all I had to do was hold the power button for longer, and it would go on. Yeah right...how the hell would that work? That wouldn't bypass any converter or anything. As a last ditch effort I gave it a shot....AND IT WORKED! I was so happy I started jumping around and screaming. Fortunately for me, Madden 2011 just came out. I found this Asian gaming website (www.play-asia.com) that sold them for cheaper than in the U.S. and delivered to Korea, which the major U.S.-based ones don't. Up until this point I had been working to learn Korean pretty hard, but no longer, thanks to Playstation. It's reallly hard to get off the couch and away from the TV to study. Thanks, Sony! You have officially ruined my social/educational life!

Well I apologize for this being so short but there really isn't a whole lot else going on. Most of my friends here have already left/are leaving in the next week cuz their contracts are up. I still have a few acquaintances but the majority of my closest friends will be gone. But that also means that a whole new flock of people will be arriving, just waiting for an experienced foreigner like me to show them around. At least I hope...stay tuned.