Anna in Seoul: November 2008

well, it is saturday night here in seoul and here i sit updating my blog. we needed a break! last weekend was so busy that it didn't feel like a break at all! by thursday heather and i were so tired!! we had a lot of fun though! last friday night we went to itaewon, which is the "foriegner" part of seoul! it was the first real culture shock i have experienced! after spending so much time only around koreans, seeing americans was weird! it was halloween night though so it was really busy. we went to one restaurant and had a few drink waiting for a table but we finally left. then went to another restaurant thinking we would eat there. which we did not, just more drinks! by the time we finally got home we were so hungry! but it is nice to know that if we long to see americans and speak english we can go there!

halloween was fun at school! few of the kids dressed up which was cute. i was a witch, not much of a costume besides my broom and witch hat, but i got to wear my graduaton dress again which was fun! the kids liked seeing me dressed up! one of my classes, who are all 11-12, have called me witch for the past couple of weeks, so they had the best reaction to my costume. one day in class james said something and i laughed. the he said "witch!" but i thought he called me bitch, so i said "WHAT??????" and he said, "teacher, you laugh like a witch!!" so he got a kick out of my costume! "teacher!!! you really are a witch!!!!!"

saturday we finally found a mexican restaurant.... mexican food is so great because it is so cheap! even as a fulltime student with a crappy job you can afford mexican... but not in seoul! it was insanely expensive! after dinner we went to a halloween party for english teachers, we talked to a few people and had a good time! then on sunday we went to the art museum in seoul to see the 20th century latin american artist exhibition! i am a big fan of deigo rivera's work so i was excited! there were tons of people there, which surprised us!

this week has been ok. we were tired, like i said, but also sad. julie (heejoo) my co-teacher is moving to canada soon, so we are sad about that! we will have a new teacher soon! we just hope that all of our classes stay the same! i have grown to like all of my classes, and some i absolutely love! when the kids are excited about learning it makes teaching the most fun job! it is very exciting to see something that has been confusing to them finally make sense!

today we went to an old korean village. it was pretty cool. we ate in this neat little restaurant that served traditional korean food, which was okay, but nothing exciting! then we went to seoul tower. you take a cable car up and down and get the most amazing view of seoul! it's like that ride at six flags but so much better! they were also having korean heritage celebrations which were cool! we saw some choreographed fighting which was my favorite part! we were, however, a little annoyed with cinderella! she rushed us through everything! and made us eat dinner at 4pm after we ate lunch at like 1pm!! we were not hungry, but you have to try and eat so you aren't rude! we didn't want to drink today, but cinderella ordered this rice beer at the first restaurant. it came in a bowl and you had to ladle it out into your cup. it looked like milk, it tasted okay, but it was thick. very weird! but tomorrow we have an absolutely lazy day planned! we are FINALLY going to have an american breakfast! heather's mom sent us pancake mix and syrup and we bought bacon and eggs! i don's even eat breakfast back home that often, so it's surprising how much i have missed it! along with mexican food! my first meal when i return to america shall be at monterreys!!

well, i feel like i have rambled on enough! i will try and update more often so they don't drag on forever!! i miss you all! but i am having a great time! what an experience this is! sometimes heather and i look at each other and say, "can you believe we are really here? we actually did it!" also, most of you met my roommate jen and i am so excited to say that she will be here within the month! about an hour away! and katie, my other roommate, will be following!! i am so excited to see them both! now if my friends would just start visiting me!! i love you all!!

love!!

this is steve! he is in my kinder class and he is the coolest kid! all of the kids at school love steve, even the older ones! he is so affectionate and always wants me to hold him! he is my korean seth!