So we didn't go water skiing Wednesday...

but we had a fun day anyway! Ben and I ended up meeting up with our new friend Derby and we went out to the university area for drinks and dinner. We also had our first Soju experience. Derby introduced us to a place where they have yogurt soju and lemon soju! It was sooo good and definitely a place that we will frequently be going. After drinks we met up with some new friends and a couple of people that were visiting from Japan.

I know I say this all the time...but dinner was AMAZING!!! It was another first (as most things are here). We had a meal called duk galbi, which is chicken, cabbage, potatoes, and noodles cooked in a sweet and slightly spicy red sauce at your table. Probably my favorite meal yet! And just so you can get an idea of how inexpensive it is to eat out here...our bill was $27 for four of us to eat and share 5 or 6 (I can't remember exactly) 16oz bottles of beer and 2 bottles of soju!!

After dinner we went to a hookah bar where we met up with some more people and had drinks well into the night. The next day everyone was going to go water skiing since we didn't on Wednesday, but Ben and I decided against it since we need to conserve our money at this time :). Thursday was a day of r&r except Ben met up with some guys to play basketball. I stayed home and read...apparently the girls don't really play sports with the boys :(.

Well today was our first day of "work". Even though we just had a less than a half-day because it's the kid's first day back from summer vacation. Ben and I are teaching the most advanced elementary students. I think they are all 7 year-olds. We split the class so Ben teaches 6 kids and I teach the other 6. They are sooo cute and FULL of energy. Unfortunately I have the one really bad kid in my class!! He is definitely going to be a pain in the ass!! But for the most part the other kids are really sweet and very smart!

Today we did phonics, reading, talking, and writing. With a play break and yoga inbetween. Ben helped the other English teacher Erich lead yoga. HILARIOUS, since Ben is the least flexible person I know and he's sore from basketball. Overall it was a good day! The other English teachers are still out of town but they will be back on Monday. We did meet some of the Korean teachers and they are very nice. They kept telling Ben and I how good looking we were :).

I'm not sure of our weekend plans, but I'm sure it will be fun! My birthday is on Sunday but I don't think we're planning on doing too much, except going to play poker. Hope you are all doing well! Annyongkahsayo!!

Talor

Still no interweb at the apartment

so that means still no photos, which is a shame because we had a really great day today. Today is some kind of Korean holiday where everyone eats steamed chicken, something about the second of 3 really hot days? I don't know, the communication between our director and us is always shaky at best. Today our director and her brother took us out to eat a traditional Korean restaurant just outside of Jeonju. The restaurant was in the forest on the side of a mountain and resided over a stream, a beautiful setting. We sat in a little gazebo thing (on the floor without shoes of course) and had a delicious meal of steamed chicken with all the little plates of kimchi and other assorted sides surrounding. We then went to this modern coffee+tea house/art gallery on the side of a mountain with a beautiful view over a lake surrounded by mountains. After some coffee and cheesecake they took us to the old Jeonju village, where we went to see the old imerial palace where the kings of the Joseon dynasty ruled 500 years ago. It was really pretty and all the roofs have been maintained in their traditional form. I took some photos and they will be posted asap.

Ben

Day three in Korea...

So I've finally broken down and joined Ben in the PC Bhang...needless to say we are the only people in here actually browsing the internet. Well actually Ben is now playing FIFA, which only took 20 minutes of awkward miscommunication to set up unsuccessfully. Finally the guy who works here gave up and logged Ben in under himself so he could play, Koreans are VERY nice to say the least and I've determined Hangul (the Korean gibberish they call their alphabet) is impossible to read!!!

I'm already starting to get used to the awkward stares and curious looks Ben and I get wherever we go, but last night it was refreshing to have a stare-free night and hang out with some fellow English teachers. Our first day wandering around the city we met a couple who have been here for a couple of weeks and they told us about a few bars where the "foreigners" hang out. Last night was poker night at one of the bars and we had a great time, but I've determined Ben is no longer allowed to play (at least until we start making some money!). I actually did pretty well...if buy backs weren't allowed there is a large chance I could have won about 200 bucks! Oh well, maybe next time.

Meeting some other teachers was a relief. Right now the schools are on holiday and the teachers at our school are out of town traveling so we haven't had anyone to show us the ropes. Everyone was so friendly and we already have a water skiing outing planned for Wednesday. They only had great things to say about Jeonju and I'm excited to learn from them. Ben and I are definitely the newbies. Everyone else has been teaching for at least several months or a few years.

As you would expect, it turned out to be quite a long night and by the time I got home and drunkenly cooked some noodles for Ben and I the sun was coming up. Ahhhh just the start of many long nights to come. The great thing about the bars here is they stay open until you decide to leave...even if it is 4:30 in the morning! I think I'm going to like this place!!

This week Ben and I don't have to work until Friday! How awesome is it that we got here and get a vacation right away!? We've decided to take advantage of our free time and visit the "old city" tomorrow and do some sight seeing. Jeonju is over 500 years old and has a vast and interesting history of which I currently know nothing about. Oh and did I mention that Jeonju is well known for having some of the best produce on the planet!!! The fruit here is indescribably good!! Hell all of the food here is amazing!!

Well I'm going to cut this off and try to pry Ben away from his game...despite the convenience of having the PC Bhang down the street to use the internet it might prove to be the demise of Ben if I let the gaming get to him! We'll update you soon, hopefully from the comfort of our own apartment and then I can post some pictures!

Talor

can you say out of my element?

Well we got to Jeon Ju at 2am last night after a horrendous couple days of traveling with very little sleep. Thank god our bags made it. We are 14 hours ahead so I couldn't sleep for shit last night and I was up at 630 am unpacking all our stuff. The apartment is really not too bad, we have a big bed, a washing machine, and a balcony. Of course this is Korea so take what your imagining and shrink it in half, but still not too bad. Our director came and picked us up this morning and took us to breakfast for our first meal in Korea which was.....at Mcdonalds, lol. But she is an extremely nice lady and her and her brother have been so accomodating to us. They took us to the school after that and showed us around. The school is on the 8th story of a skyscraper and is pretty small but nice, where rich kids go to learn english. Also in the building is a bowling alley, a gym (free for teachers), and a sauna ($4 a pop!). It's also a 5 minute walk from our apartment. After seeing the school we were taken to the E-Mart (think walmart) where she bought us groceries. After that we went to eat Korean barbecue which was fucking badass, oh my god. A grill in the middle of the table where beef, shrimp, mushrooms, rice cakes, corn and potatoes were bbqued and were surrounded by plate after plate of different kinds of kimchi, spiced lettuces or salads, different dipping sauces and miso soup. Wow, after being dropped off back at the apartment we had to lay down for about an hour. After that we pretty much wandered aimlessly around Jeonju for a couple hours just taking in the outdoor markets and very strange surroundings. I was completely exhausted when I got back. It is really hot and humid here. I have photos to post but our internet is not set up yet, im at a "PC bhang" right now, aka internet cafe, so i'll post photos as soon as I can. Anyways, I'm exhausted so I'm gonna go to the corner store and pick me up a "Cass" beer and crash.

Ben

Goodbye Texas!

So we leave tomorrow morning and Ben and I just got done packing everything...barely. I have no idea how the hell I managed to pack a years worth of clothes, shoes, and toiletries in two suitcases, but I have a feeling I am going to be paying extra for overweight baggage. Ben’s bags are stuffed to the brim too, which is probably because he helped me out with my overflow.

We just found out that after we get to the Incheon Airport (in Seoul) on Friday night we have to take a 4 hour bus trip to Jeonju. A man named Mr. Kang will be meeting us at the airport and he will help us get our bus tickets and someone (probably our director, Helen) will be greeting us at the bus terminal in Jeonju. It’s going to be a VERY long trip and I hope it all goes smoothly. The last thing I’d want is a delayed flight or lost baggage. So cross your fingers for us!!!

Ben and I have been pigging out on “American” food all week…I think I’ll miss tex-mex food the most and mashed potatoes. There will definitely be a lot of things I’ll miss… ALL my friends in Austin/Texas, Barton Springs, Hamilton Pool, kicking Sean and Adrienne’s butts in Hearts :), cooking home cooked meals every night…I could go on and on, but I think I’ll miss my kitty cat Lady most of all!! (Thanks a lot to Ros and Brian Darling who will be looking after her for the next year. I know she is in the best of hands!)

But no worries about what I’ll miss. I can’t wait for the surprises and adventures that await us!! We’ll be updating you all as soon as we can! Wish us luck!

Talor

Yes, the name is super corny

but I just felt a need to pun the place where we'll be at. Originally, we were going to Bundang but now we are going to Jeonju City for 2 months where the other Little River Day School is. Two teachers bailed on them at the last minute so we were asked if we would do 2 months in Jeonju, which is pretty awesome if you ask me. It also means that I will have to come up with another corny punned title.

Well, it's only T minus 3 days to departure!! We'll be leaving at the crack of dawn Thursday morning (July 24) and arriving in Seoul Friday evening, with a 4 hour stop over in San Fransisco. I don't know if I'm ready but we've been preparing for the last couple months. I still have a few things to take care of here and I don't even know how the hell to pack for a whole year, I'm sure it'll be tougher for Talor though. More to come...