Lunar New Year Break Massive Update

I've got a great big whopping bunch of stuff that's happened since the last blog post, so I'm going to break it down into chunks here. And yes, I've FINALLY gotten off my lazy bum to write all of it!

I made it through my first semester (which is about 3 months here) as a teacher. During the last week of classes, I brought in treats for the kids and had them all making class posters to hold up for class photos. It was a lot of fun, and the kids seemed to enjoy it, even the older ones. So, here are my students!

Ready? PICSPAM AHOY!























Poor Joseph. My class of one! He made me a pretty origami rose. <3


My co-teacher Nana and one of our favorite girls, Ella.


Hard at work on those posters!














My Book Nanny kids are so charming.






One of my favorite Book Club 2 classes, Sunny and Lisa!


They are also very charming. XD


All of my Monday through Thursday posters!





Friday's classes!





My hilarious Book Club 3 kids!


Last class of the day!




And that was the end of classes! I'm currently on the tail end of our 2 week break, which was actually more of a week and a half break since we had to come in on Monday and Tuesday, but those were pretty easy-going days. Some lesson planning, a visit to headquarters (more on that in the next post!) and classroom clean-up.

Next topic!

I turned 27 on January 22nd. I am a perfect cube! (3x3x3=27) I guess that's better than being a square. ;P

For my birthday, I got... no cake. Apparently the folks at work finally decided to take my diet seriously and didn't get me one. Which was fine. We went out for lunch as an end-of-the-semester treat, and they gave everyone two bottles of nice red wine as a Lunar New Year gift, so I wasn't actually bothered. Even though I'd told myself I would allow myself to eat cake for my birthday. I got a Toblerone bar instead. Yum!

The following Sunday, I met up with my friend Hae Young from the library. We met in Anyang station, then headed up to Insadong via the subways. After a nice chat on the train, she asked if we could meet up with a friend. I was fine with that. We got to the station, met up with her friend Jun, and then... she had to leave! Since she is a government worker, she got texted and called in for a snow emergency! After a quick introduction and apologies, she left me in Jun's capable (if confused) hands.

We both felt a bit awkward about the situation but decided to make the best of it. He showed me around Insadong for a bit, which has a lot of traditional tea and ceramics shops. It was pretty neat, though everything in the shops was SUPER expensive. Then he showed me one of the royal palaces. I, of course, took a bunch of pictures.

Ready?

Picspam time.



























After checking out the castle, we headed through some underground subway-connected tunnels to get out of the snow for a bit, then caught a cab to a movie theater to meet up with some of Jun's friends.

Jun introduced me to I Kyun (also known as "Ikuro") and a few other friends (that I have, I am ashamed to admit, forgotten their names). We watched "The Last Godfather", which was a really goofy comedy spoofing on the Mafia, starring a famous Korean comedian. I thought it was fun, even if it wasn't the most amazing film ever, but most of all it just felt good to get out of my apartment and go see a movie with some nice people. We had pretty much the whole theater to ourselves, and Ikuro joked that he'd rented it out just for my birthday. How sweet!

After the movie, I figured I should get back to my rabbit, Gus, and make sure he was fed. His water bottle is so tiny that I worry about him during the day. Ikuro and Jun walked me back to the subway station, being the kind gentlemen they were. I took a few more pictures along the way.

Me and Ikuro:


Jun and Ikuro:


Insadong (I think?) at night:


Satellite dish or sideways Ferris wheel?


Ikuro and I taking pictures of each other:


Me being my cool self:


They made sure I got on the right train, and wished me a good night. Despite plans not working out as expected, having cold wet boots, and not getting to spend time with Hae Young, I'd had a pretty awesome time in Insadong. What a great birthday! I have my new Korean friends to thank for that.

Well, now that I've picspammed the heck out of this post, I'd better continue the rest of my update in the next one!

-Maria