Wedding Bells And Honeymoons

• I had the cutest cab drivers last night and this morning: the both were amused when I told them (in Korean) that I don't speak Korean and then asked me (in Korean...I used context clues to actually figure out what they were saying) to say all the words/phrases that I know. It was so funny.
• On my way home from the doctor's office, I experienced my first broken-down bus! There was something in front of the sensor of the exit door so it wouldn't close and was continuously beeping. The driver had to call another bus to come get us! It wasn't a big deal, because I wasn't in a hurry - just funny.
• And tonight I got to go to a Korean wedding! It was the owner of the cafe where PIC's Heart of Music service is held, Ye Jin. I don't know her that well but she invited me to drop by if I had time. So I did! (Though I almost got lured to sleep by my bed...I need to stop seeing 5 a.m.) I knew at least one person who was going to be there, and several other people that I've met here ended up being there as well (the foreigner community isn't that big so everyone is kind of interconnected). I didn't get there on time (silly school) so I missed the ceremony, but I got to see the rest and here are my observations:

Similarities:

• the bride wore a white dress
• the groom wore a black suit
• there was a wedding party, made up mostly of the bride and groom's siblings
• mother-of-the-bride was dressed very nicely
• people ate at tables, with chairs
• the food was served buffet-style
• the guests were a mix of ages, though with a lot of middle-aged people
• there were lots of flowers

Differences:

• guests put money in envelopes at the door as a kind of mandatory gift (...I may or may not have slipped past this step...)
• the bride and groom changed out of the white dress/black suit and into traditional hanbok after the ceremony
• then they participated in a traditional Korean ceremony (this was while everyone was seating so I didn't get the specifics), said some hellos (or anyeong-ha-sey-yos) and changed back
• the family of the bride and groom, along with some people from their church were in charge of all the cooking, serving, set-changing, etc. (I've seen this in the US, but I don't think it's the norm)
• the ceremony and reception were held in the bride's cafe and so eating tables were in the main area, on the upper floor and outside
• most people left after eating
• after dinner time, several guests gave performances for the bride and groom
• there were no special dances, cake-cutting (no cake actually), bouquet-tossing, etc. - the simplicity was actually really nice
• there wasn't any alcohol (though the punch had a special kick) and no dance party time
• the reception ended at about 8 p.m.

I'm not sure whether the differences are Korean-based or simply Ye Jin's and her fiance's preferences. I'm going to another wedding in a couple weeks so I'll be able to compare!

Africa Seems So Far Away (May 23)

• Today was not the best day at school, so I came home, showered and got into - a dress :) I knew I needed to do some errands later, so I didn't want to put my pjs on...and my flowered dress was just saying "Wear me" when I looked into my closet.
• Then, last minute plans led me to having coffee (and going to HomePlus) with Nida. We met at about 10 pm and didn't go home until after 1 am! Once Starbucks closed (at 11) we just went outside and sat on some benches. We talked about so many things and it was really nice. I love hearing her speak but I also love learning about South Africa, which is where she is from. We also have a lot in common, along with a lot of differences, which make our conversations really interesting to me. And she loves hearing about America! And I, honestly, kind of love talking about it. Telling people about the US helps me realize how much culture we do actually have. I'm very glad I got to meet her and Ingird :)

Sleep Over It (May 22)

• Winter and I had dinner together tonight. I’m so glad she is able to make time for me during her study time (she’ll be taking a big English proficiency test on Saturday). We were both starving even before 5 pm, so we decided to get bulgogi at the restaurant on my street. It was sooooooo good :) It was relaxing and fantastic and just a nice break.

• After that, I went downtown to meet Ashley and Abby for Avengers (second time around). I was so excited to find out that they both were willing to go see it a 2nd time with and WANTED to see it. I mean, why wouldn’t they? It was fantastic the 2nd time too :) Can’t wait for it to be on DVD – is will be joining my other superhero movies as soon as possible. 

<3

• The three of us chatted at the bus stop for a while and then Abby and I left Ashley (she wasn’t coming for the sleepover :() to go to HomePlus. (It was so empty...I need to remember to go at 11 pm more often.) We bought the makings for a yummy late night snack...pears, peppers, tomatoes, cheese, crackers, and grapes, to go with the wine and other veggies I had at home. Mmmm. When we got home, Abby sliced everything up (we decided that the grapes might have actually been wine grapes), I poured some wine, and we settled in with our choice chick flick of the night, 13 Going On 30. It was a perfect way to end the evening :)

Battle For Dominance (May 21)

• Had a huge power struggle with one of my 2nd graders today. Basically, at the end of class, he got mad about something, threw a kid's backpack across the classroom and then tried to leave. However, I stopped him at the door, and told him that he could pick up the backpack and it's contents or get 2 stickers taken off his chart. The other kid picked up his stuff before the angry one could choose that (not that he seemed like he was going to), so his choice were changed to apologizing to the other boy. He still did not do that so we were left with him needing to go over to Winter to get his stickers and throw them in the trash (standard procedure when they get stickers taken off). But he was not having it. He stood stock-still near the door (I was in front of it so he couldn't leave) and just shook his head when I repeated his choices. Winter responded perfectly - finished up with the remaining students, and went to stand by the other exit in our room (which he, luckily, seemed to have forgotten about) - and I was so so grateful. We basically stayed this way for 15 minutes. He would not budge but I wasn't going to let him go. Luckily (yay for all the luck), the 3rd graders came late today, so we had a lot of time that he could just stand there for. Near the end, he was trying with all of his might to open the door, but I held it firmly closed. I asked Winter to try to reason with him in Korean after a while. And eventually, he took his stickers from Winter and slammed them into the trash can - after which, I promptly let him leave. He wasn't happy, but I was so proud that I stuck it out and so incredibly thankful that Winter basically read my mind and understood what she needed to do. We'll see how he behaves tomorrow.
• Made an omelet for the first time tonight! It tasted really good and was really filling because I stuffed it full of yummy goodness (my Daddy would be proud):

• I also watered my plant (she seems to be doing well), handwashed some of my clothes and did my dishes...yay for being all self-sufficient tonight!

I Love You And Buddha Too (May 20)

• We slept in a little bit and then got coffee at God In A Cup. No, seriously, that's what it was called.

• We wandered in the amazing weather towards a taxi, so we could go buy bus tickets for our return trip. Realized the difference between the bus stations, found a perfectly-timed return bus, and discovered where in Seoul we were (thanks, of course, to my handy-dandy subway app). Then we got food and smoothies at the nearby giant mall, enjoyed amazing bathroom facilities, gawked at some HOT tall Korean boys dressed in suits and made our way back to the taxi line. We ended up having a relatively deep conversation and, after getting out of the taxi at our stop, marveled at how it's so easy to do that here - no one understands us anyways, so we don't have to be all hush-hush or go somewhere private. Insadong was where we asked to be dropped off and it was so much fun to shop around there - it is like, the best place to buy gifts (for yourself and others) and I'm excited to go back. And the weather could not have been more gorgeous. We had to cut our time short though, because we wanted to see some of the events at the Lantern Festival before heading back to the bus terminal. So we wandered towards the temple where we ended the parade last night and found like a million white tents, with tons of activities. The booths were centered around Buddhism and featured a lot of what Buddhism looks like in other countries. It was really cool and I wish we'd had time to actually go to all the tents. After walking up the street of tents, we went into the temple where we ended the parade. It was so beautiful! I couldn’t decide whether I liked it better at night or during the day!

Happy 2,556th birthday, Buddha!

• After taking lots of pictures, we had to start heading back :/ There was so much more to see...though we did manage to catch a glimpse of a woman who legit looked like a female Asian Harry Potter – especially because she had circular glasses and was carrying a broom. It was really funny. 
• The bus ride back was relatively uneventful...so we enjoyed dubbing over the K-dramas that were showing with our own hilarious lines. We were very amused :) Also, there were two buses that passed us on the highway that had legit dance parties going on! They were complete with colored strobe lights and ajummas/ajusshis dancing in the aisle (and, one can only assume, soju or makkoli). It was fantastic.

A Parade In Town (May 19)

• Our day started with coffee, of course :D They we found our way to the Hongikk University area to be a part of the first English tour of the newly opened War and Women's Rights Museum. This museum is based around the "Comfort Women" of World War II and their continued struggle to gain closure and recognition from the Japanese government. I highly recommend you take a few minutes to Google "Comfort Women" and understand a little bit about this issue. The visit was very emotional and the museum is really good (thanks Carlee, for helping me know what to look for!). If you are in Seoul, you should check it out! Especially if you have been to, or plan to go to, the House of Sharing. 

One of the surviving Halmonies, at a weekly protest
in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul.
She can still find things to smile about, which is amazing.

Memorial for the Halmonies that have passed away.

• After the tour, we were walking back towards the subway when we noticed that the name of the street we were on had "World Cup" in it. A quick consultation with my awesome subway app told us that we were just a short subway ride away from the 2002 World Cup Stadium. Ashley plays soccer, Abby is a fan and I like cool things, so we took a detour adventure. Just the subway station and the outside of the stadium were full of life and awesomeness. We explored around the stadium and found that part of it had been converted into a mall and another part into a wedding reception and banquet hall. 

We were pretty determined to at least glimpse the field so, after some helpful interactions with nice ajusshi security guards, we found the World Cup Museum. It was only 1000 Won to go in and looked like it had a great gift shop so we got a ticket and went inside. First thing - we were ambushed by some Japanese tourists who wanted pictures with us. I think they took at least 10. After that we looked at some exhibits of soccer gear and epic pictures of Korean soccer players - and then we saw the light...going into the stadium was part of the museum! We were so excited (Ashley ran).

 We marveled at the huge-ness and then saw some security guards standing at the bottom of the stands, near the field. We decided to use our Foreigner and Feminine Wiles to gain access to that area...but it turns out we didn't have to. Anyone can go down there, though you aren't allowed to actually touch the field. The guards were really nice and even wanted a picture with us.

It was REALLY cool to be where so much excitement had been. You could still feel how exciting it was, even 10 years later. And Ashley was so happy, it was adorbz. We had a bit of a schedule to keep (and also we were starving), so after buying lots of things in the gift shop, we made our way back to the subway station. 

• When we got back to the hostel, I plugged my camera in to charge for the Lantern Parade, we briefly saw Ann and Rachel and then we got dinner to the restaurant that was as close to our hostel without actually being in it as possible (it was 6 pm and we realized that all we'd had today was a scone and coffee, around 9 this morning). In conjunction with a very friendly owner and menu pictures, we managed to order in Korean (woo!)...and then we scarfed everything down. We didn't even talk. We just ate for 20 minutes. It was delicious. After that, I grabbed my camera battery and we headed to the parade. Which was going to happen just outside our hostel – best hostel location ever. 
• When we walked up to the line of parade-watchers, a nicely-dressed ajusshi asked if we were from America and smiled when we said yes. He talked to us off and on for the next few minutes and eventually offered us seats with his family! (The city provided thousands of plastic chairs for anyone to use, at no cost.) It was so cute. (In between, Abby and I also found a fantastic and cheap coffee shop right around the corner. Awesome!) The parade got started and the floats were beautiful. [pictures]

 

There were tons of people in the parade carrying lanterns (we even got some handed to us by Koreans…yay for being foreigners!), including some waygookin (foreign) skate-boarders, a Korean girl talking on her cell phone, and…Bianca, Joe, Alison and Julie! All of a sudden, we recognized people and we were like, “What??? How did you get in the parade?! Awesome!” for the few minutes that they stood in front of us. It was really funny – but we were totes jelly too. However, near the end of the parade, we saw a large group carrying lanterns with the same pattern as the ones we had been handed. So we asked the Koreans around us if we’d be allowed to join – and they said yes! So we jumped up, grabbed our lanterns and started walking down the streets of Seoul with a whole bunch of Koreans!

It was so surreal, because we totally felt famous. This was not like being in a parade in America, where the only people who cheer for you are the people who know you. Nope. The Koreans loved us and loved that we were walking down the street with lanterns. They got excited when we passed, waved frantically, cheered, shouted English, and just looked so happy to see us. And not only that, but other waygooks were totally jealous, waving back, cheering and shouting “How did you get in the parade?” as we passed. (We also saw some TaLK friends!) We were definitely in some professional pictures (I told Abby we should buy all the Korean newspapers tomorrow to see if we made any of them) and on TV – there was a pair of announcers, just like at our parades, and as we passed their stage, they definitely said something about waygooks. And there was this adorable ajumma marching beside us that kept saying, "Everyone! Happy! Together! " and "I love you!" to people on the side - soooooo cute. It was an amazing experience, we were so happy and on such a high – loving every bit of Korea at that moment (and for many afterwards). At the end of the parade, we arrived at temple where there were thousands of lanterns hung for the celebration of Buddha’s birthday (the purpose of this big festival). It was really beautiful.

We also found more TaLK people to say hi to and then joined in this big traditional dance, which was so much fun! I basically just grabbed Abby’s hand and then hand of an ajumma and we were whisked away into a bouncing circle of happiness for about 15 minutes. I didn’t want it to stop! 

• After the dance, we wandered around the temple area and took lots of pictures, and then made our way back towards the hostel. But we were stopped by a big dance party in the street! There was confetti everywhere, people dancing (traditionally, in a train and by following the simple moves of the people on stage) and several singers/bands.

It was amazing and so much fun! It was what I'd imagine the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade combined with New Year's Eve in New York City to be like. Dancing with tons of ajummas was probably my favorite part. And the fact that we were in the middle of the street. In Seoul. And no one was doing it because they were drunk, but simply because it was fun and we were celebrating Buddha's birthday. We danced for a while but got really hot, so we got out of the crowd and went to Lotteria for ice cream. We rested/cooled off for a while - and were also conspicuously checked by a Korean guy. After that, we actually headed towards the hostel - until we got sidetracked by the 24-hr Krispy Kreme (yes, we got a donut...right after we'd had ice cream...that's how we roll) and TaLK friends, Nick, Julian, Michael, Chris and Daniel (whom we saw on the parade route). Eventually, we DID make it back. In time to encounter the Mystery Of The Mattress And The Man: one of the mattresses in our room (which we needed) was missing and there was a guy getting ready for bed in our room (which was supposed to be all-girls). Eventually, the problems were solved (we got another mattress and the guy ended up staying in our room) and, after much flip-flopping, Ashley, Abby and I decided to go out to Hongdae with one of the [guy] hostel managers and a couple other [guy] guests. It was fun! The hostel manager, In Song, really wanted to show us around Hongdae (he was SO nice) so, after pre-gaming at a nearby park (filled with people doing the same), we went to a few different bars/clubs. (I was carded for the first time in Korea!) The 3 we went to weren't fantastic but only one had a small cover and the guys kept paying for our drinks so we barely spent anything. It was also really nice being out with guys, since we could use them to stave off creepers (though I was still asked by a guy if he could speak to me privately...uh NO). We went home around 4, watched some soccer and then crashed.

Match Of The Day (May 18)

• Anna and I wore the same shirt 6000 miles away today! And the fact that it was our Nanta shirt makes it extra awesome.
• I'm becoming a light packer! I hope this skill can help me on the way home...
• Ashley, Abby and I met up at the bus station, where we got the last 3 tickets for the 7:00 bus to Seoul. After an unusually uncomfortable bus ride and a nice walk from the subway station because we were too late to get catch the connecting train, we arrived at the hostel. (It looks really good too, they've made some improvements from last time.) One of the hostel managers had offered to take us to get food after we arrived, but he was busy, so we went searching Dongdaemun on our own. Tons of people around, of course, and there were even more stalls than before! We found some yummy food, which was good because we were starving. By the time we got back to the hostel, it was almost 3 a.m., so we went to bed, to gear up for our big Saturday.

Cafe Oriental (May 17)

• I gave Winter a box of Rice Krispies as a gift, because she keeps saying she wants them whenever we go to HomePlus. She was so excited! It was cute and really fun :) 
• Every day I am more and more thankful for Winter. She is a lot like me and can also see me for my good and bad points. This makes her a great co-teacher and a great friend and I am SO SO lucky to have gotten her as my co-teacher :) 
• I met Ashley and Abby downtown for dinner. It was really nice because I feel like I haven’t seen them in a while – and I missed them! I can’t wait for our weekend in Seoul together! Plus, we got ice cream after dinner. Duh. 
• After dinner, we went to the Heart of Music service. This is a simple music service/get-together for people in the Pohang International Church and community. There aren’t very many people that come, but it’s really fun and chill and I like going. The café that it is in is also really cool. And tonight, the café owner invited us all to her wedding next week! I’m so excited and totally going to go. Also, I got to talk with Nida about a whole bunch of different things. I love all the new friends I’ve made/am making here :)

Skills To Pay The Bills (May 16)

• I hate teaching Wednesdays. It is ridiculous to expect that I can accomplish anything with a class of 30 students, grades 1-6, levels of English from none to intermediate. Seriously. That being said, they DID listen quietly as I read Green Eggs and Ham. And I was able to use some of my planned activities with my 6th graders (Su Hyeon and Dae Han are SUCH good sports for me). I will try reading to them again soon. That and use a few of my vacation days to take Wednesdays off. 
• My gas bill was only 65000 Won instead of the expected 150000!!! I was so ridiculously excited. I also may have overbudgeted for my bills for the remainder of my time here, and if I can keep my shopping in check, I *may* have money to go to China. Or I’ll just have more to bring home. Either way, I’m really happy :)

I Have A Little Plant (May 15)

• After school, Winter and I walked over to the plant store on my street and bought my plant! (Something that has been on my Korea To-Do List.) The owner was a really nice and tried to speak English to me :) She was firm and blunt but seemed very kind. And she asked me to stop by after school sometimes so she can practice her English! How cute. 
• Tonight I had dinner with Mi Hye, the other English teacher at my school. It was nice to see her outside of school and she even paid for my dinner! And afterwards, we went walking around Sunrise Park, which is something that is on my Korea To-Do List. It was dark, and I definitely want to go back during the day, but it was really nice. It’s also cool hanging out with her because I see a different side of Korean culture, from when I’m with Winter or on my own.

Understanding Room Only (May 14)

• This evening, I had a date with Winter. We went to my doctor's appointment, to the pharmacy, to dinner and the to coffee. It was nice to have time with her outside of school. Also, she understands me so well, and accepts both my good and bad features. I’m so lucky to have her as a co-teacher and a friend :)

Tunnel Vision (May 13)

• Happy Mother's Day!
• I really appreciate that travel between and within cities is so cheap here. And prices are always the same (no price hike closer to your date of departure) and they are only more expensive the farther you are going (Pohang to Gyeongju = 3100. Gyeongju to Gumi = 7500. So Pohang to Gumi = 10100. MAKES SENSE.) Anyways, because of this, we got to go to the wine tunnel in Cheongdo today! We got to eat real cheese and try persimmon wine (which is only made in Cheongdo, South Korea). It was cool and, although there too wasn't much to do, I really enjoyed it - and got some fantastic gifts.

Dear Korea, American cheese is NOT a specialty item.

• Church was also really great today. First, the directions I gave Nida and Ingrid worked! They arrived early and said there was no way they could have gotten lost :) Then, during the service, Zibo and Dilshat had a small wedding ceremony so they could celebrate with us and also officially live together while they are here. Their "real" ceremony will be in June or July, when they move back to Uzbekistan. I had fun taking pictures and when I posted them on Facebook, Pastor Richie's said they practically looked professional! :D Also, Mario (a man I met today) knew the Michigan hand thing, because he studied at the University of Minnesota for several years! When I said I was from Michigan, he held up his hand and said "Where?" :D
• I had my first interaction with a Korean person who was not pleased as punch to meet/talk with me. We met him outside of the restaurant after church. When he found out that some people in our group are affiliated with Handong University, a Christian college in Pohang, he was pretty angry. He started saying that he hates Handong because they don't let people in who aren't Christian (which I don't think is actually true) and that kind of discrimination is terrible. He compared Christianity to Buddhism, saying that the latter is better because there is no discrimination. He also added some choice swear words in there. I think I was mostly surprised that someone who speaks such good English was so closed-minded about Christians. I guess I assume that people (especially older people) who are open enough to learn a 2nd language on their own would be similarly open-minded on other issues :/
• At the bus stop on the way home, I had another interesting interaction. An ajusshi started asking me some standard questions but when he learned I was from America, he also asked me if I like Obama. His subsequent questions, and his body language, made me feel like he did not approve of my "Yes, very much." He reacted in a similar way when (after asking me what I do on Sundays) I told him I was Christian and believe in God. And he was just appalled that I don't like Bush because, after all, "You white. Bush-e white. You like him!" Uh, no ajusshi, that's not how I choose my political affiliations. Like I said, it was an interesting conversation.
• I was able to cross 6 things off my Korea To-Do List this weekend!

Dinosaur Rumble (May 12)

• After lots of time on and waiting for the bus I met up with Rachel, Ann and Ann's sister (though I almost missed the stop because I was sleeping!). We walked from the bus stop to/around Bokum Lake, which is where I went with the staff of my school in April. It was pretty, even without all the cherry blossoms! 

And Rachel decided she wanted to ride the swan paddle boats, so that's exactly what we did. It was so fun! We waved to lots of people and tried to play tag with other boats - but its hard to do that when no one else realizes that they are playing with you XD After our 30-minute chunk of time, we returned the boat and walked back around the lake (and took a picture with some Korean boys) to meet Jordan. We tried to get western food for dinner, but both places we saw were closed :/ But that's okay because, after a bus ride and then a taxi ride, we got to eat at Beef Before Flowers (which is definitely my favorite samgyupsal place). Nom nom nom. Then, since it was Rachel's birthday weekend, we bought her a dinosaur ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins that she's had her eye on. And between the 5 of us we finished the whole thing! (Though Rachel and I definitely did most of the work ;))

Bye bye eye #1

3 kinds of ice cream!

Almost there...

Finished!

• Finally, Jordan, Rachel and I headed to Anapji pond, to see it in all of its glory at night. 

It was more crowded than last time but still beautiful and I got to cross another thing off my Korea To-Do List :)

Sunrise in Eden (May 11)

• One of my 6th grade girls actually got angry with me today when we didn’t have time for a game at the end of the lesson. Although I offered to let them play with 5 minutes left in class, she was still really mad and even told me she wasn’t going to come back to class (Me to the class: “See you Monday!” Ah Young: “Teacher! Me no class Monday!”). Whatever. If I’m not making one middle schooler mad at me, I suppose I’m not doing my job right. The cute thing was that Dae Han stayed after class to make sure I was okay (“Teacher, you okay?” x 10). And he worked really hard – using his phone to translate big words – to help me understand that Ah Young is kind of rude to everyone (“Ah Young personality bad”) and that she uses TaLK class to “kill time”. It was adorable. I have entertained a lot of doubts about my teaching abilities while in Korea but, if nothing else, I feel a little more confident about teaching middle grade students.
• After school, I met up with Jeanette for a mini-adventure. There are no Dunkin’ Donuts OR Starbucks in Gyeongju and she needed her fix. Plus, we hadn’t seen each other in like a week. So we got her some dinner and donuts and then tried to find the Posco Steelers soccer/football stadium. This may not seem like a big adventure, but seeing as I thought they were a baseball team up until this week, it kind of was. I have passed a stadium in a cab several times so we used that knowledge and our limited Korean to find the right bus. And we found that stadium! But it was dark. So it was the wrong place (I later found out that it is a public stadium for anyone to use...darn). After that, we wandered around. We were close to Posco, so we got to see it in all of its glory at night. The colors (all of the buildings and smokestacks are lit with multi-colored lights in huge proportion) were actually quite beautiful. We enjoyed our “romantic” walk together...including the very scary tower we stumbled upon! It was really fun :)

• After a ride with a very enthusiastic taxi driver, Jeanette and I parted at the bus station and I headed downtown to check out Pohang English Club. I knew it was a group for Koreans to practice their English with foreigners but other than that, I had no idea what to expect. That much turned out to be true. It was mostly Koreans from all different backgrounds working to improve their English, but there were also other non-native speakers. In the café setting, the larger group was split into smaller groups at tables – and it was basically what I'd imagine speed dating to be like! First round = intros and coffee. Second round = more talking and meeting people and alcohol. It was fun though – just slightly surprising and a little overwhelming. I met a Korean girl who has the same taste in American TV as I do. I met a British guy who had a fabulous accent. I met the Korean men who organize the Club and they were so nice and hospitable. I met J, a really interesting Korean guy who fluently speaks German, English and Korean, attended Seoul National University (basically, like Harvard in Korea) and wants to be a lawyer. After the café closed, we all even went for a third round, at a bar downtown.
• The bar ended up being really crowded with foreigners who went to the soccer game, so Abby, J, another guy and I went to a different bar that was not crowded at all. Yay! (I’ve never been to a bar on a Friday night that was not crowded.) We entered a little dart tournament – I've never played before but it was fun and we even got 2nd place! Afterwards, we hung out a little longer, until about 4 am, when the bar closed (bars basically close whenever they want to here). At this point Abby needed money for a cab ride home, so we walked to the NH bank. On our way, we passed Jukdo Market - and people were already getting ready for customers! Everything was out and it smelled so fresh. And the dialogue between Rachel, Ross and Monica in season 3 ran through my head:

Monica: Hey, look at me. I'm making jam, been at it since 4 o'clock this morning.
Ross: Where'd you get fruit at four in the morning?
Monica: Went down to the docks. Bet ya didn't know you could get it wholesale.Rachel: I didn't know there were docks.

After getting to the bank and realizing it was starting to get light out, we decided to go to the beach to watch the sunrise! (I had my first female taxi driver on the way there!) It was mostly cloudy but there was a sliver of clear sky for us, and it was just beautiful.

After the sun disappeared in the 2nd layer of clouds, we wanted coffee but no one was open! :( So we all headed home. I slept for a little while, woke up and went to the doctor, went back home and slept a little more and then left for Gyeongju to meet Rachel, Ann and Jordan.

These New Friends Of Yours (May 10)

• I was able to occupy my 6th graders today so that I could teach my 3rd/4th graders separately. Woo! (They are all in one class together on T/Th. Up until now, I've been able to get away with having the 6th graders sit in the hall for a while, but now my MT won't let us do that. So this is exciting.) They even continued to work on the word searches I gave them after the 3rd/4th graders left!
• I went to a music "service" tonight. It's kind of a branch off of the church that I go to, organized by another English teacher in Pohang. We met at a Christian coffee place, sang/listened to different music and just talked. I met some fabulous new people (including some girls from South Africa...I love listening to them talk!) and I can't wait to see them all again. Yay for new friends!
• In March, Anna and PP brought me a birthday cake from my dad when they came to visit. Yesterday, I remembered it was still in my freezer. I took it out and it's been defrosting all day. Tonight, when I got home, I warmed it in the microwave. OH. MY. GOD. IT IS AMAZING. Chocolate Truffle Cake, I think he called it. Rich chocolate cake with a layer of raspberry in the middle and covered with melted white chocolate chips as icing. And you'd never know it's over 6 weeks old. Nom nom nom.