I've been lazy, and haven't been posting like I should. It's hard to keep everyone up to date, if I'm not writing... Well, where to begin...? Over the last few weeks, I've diligently been on the hunt for limes and tequila, found that the public restrooms, in Seoul, are at best, outdated, and basically, just been running around the city (literally running) and thoroughly enjoying my life here...oh, I almost forgot, and I received a promotion.
A few weeks ago, I started my hunt for limes and lime juice, all because of a bad margarita. My search for citrus was heightened when the guy I'm dating, Kirin, informed me that he'd never had tequila before. Naturally, I took it upon myself to find limes and tequila, as to fully educate him...I have thus far, only been successful in finding limes, and finding those was a feat in and of itself. On the other side of Seoul, near Itaewon, there is a small market, that ironically enough is named Hanam Market (ironic because I live in a city called Hanam City and I had to travel and hour plus to get to this market). The market is not easily distinguishable and is actually in the basement of a Volvo dealership. Upon arriving in Itaewon, where our (my friend Amanda, from TN and me) search began we had difficulty communicating with some of the locals. We ended up in a cab, with a cab driver who spoke zero English and was ready to boot us out of the car as soon as he realized we couldn't speak Korean. I tried to tell him Hanam Market, but he seemed confused and didn't know what we were talking about. I had been told that the market was near the Volvo dealership, so I wrote down Volvo and he immediatley knew what I was talking about. We arrived to find the Hanam Market in the basement of the Volvo dealership; it's only distinguishing feature being a weathered awning that resembled something like Hanam Market. As we decended to the the market I felt like we were about to enter some kind of black market, where goods and services were exchanged illegally and that maybe my pursuit of limes wasn't a good idea. At the bottom, though, it was completely normal (me and my imagination...lol). There was one corner of the market that has a huge amount of American items-everything from Crest toothpaste to Swanson broth. Another corner contained a deli counter, with fresh cheese (a luxery in this part of the world) and then a regular grocery, with the prize we had been seeking....LIMES!!! I found limes, in Seoul, and was so proud of myself! Of course, you really have to want the limes, because they aren't cheap...I purchased 4 limes total and it cost me almost 10,000 won (approximately $10, give or take a few bucks). So, now I've had limes for about 2 or 3 weeks and I can't locate any tequila. They have some tequila here, but to properly have a good tequila experience, you want to take good tequila. My new mission is to find Patron. I'm having a hard time...I've been given a few leads and come close, but everytime, I come home empty handed. I know it's here, I just can't seem to get my hands on a bottle...
New experiences in Seoul...well, here in Seoul, they apparently haven't joined the 21st century and upgraded all of their commodes to normal commodes. There are still (many) restrooms, here, that are basically just a porcelan pot in the floor (yes, that means squatting). Yours Truly had the unfortunate experience of having to use one, recently. Obviously, I was a woman in need, otherwise I would have waited...but that was not the case. While my personal needs were met and the experience was a success (you know what I mean) unfortunately, the subway card I had in my back pocket did not fair as well. After I'd stood up and flushed the pot in the floor, I noticed my subway card swirling to its fate. Under no circumstances was I reaching in and grabbing the card-ewwwww! I was not happy...I'd literally lost 15,000 won down the drain! Ughhhh!!! So after a few choice words I recovered and have vowed to never again utilize the public restrooms of Seoul.
Over the last few weeks, my life has settled down and I've become very comfortable here in Seoul. The school year, here is in full swing, and every day the children are learning more and more English. It's really amazing how quickly they learn and how great it is for them to finally understand the words that I am saying to them! And while I love my job, I find that running is a really great stress release and I can gather my thoughts and process my feelings of homesickness and (sometimes) lonliness and escape the busyness of this city. I have literally been running all of the place. From my house to the nearest subway station it's anywhere from 7-10 miles and Olympic Park is around 3.5 miles around. Both are great runs and not only do I feel better emotionally and mentally but also physically. It can be very taxing living in a different country with such a blatant language barrier between you and your next door neighbor or even the grocery store clerk.
This past Monday I was surprised with a promotion! I am now "head teacher"! I'm excited but unsure about the position. I'm not sure, really, what my responsibilities now entail, and so I have feelings of apprension and hoping that I can live up to the expectations that have placed upon me. I excited about the challenge and really feel like this is just the beginning of a really great year!

School Days

School has officially begun and the days have become crazy! Perhaps I should rename the title of this posting "School Daze" as the days seem to be flying by and I'm left here in a daze of exhaustion...!? Honestly, it's a much welcomed change. For about a month I was sitting around my school with nothing to do-ok, that's not entirely true, I was planning lessons, but for the most part, I was updating my facebook...a lot. So now, here I am, surrounded by children, who can't really speak English and attempting to teach a lesson, entirely in English, in hopes that they might grasp one tiny morsel of the concept being presented. I can only hope. It's only day two and already problems have come about. Not bad problems, just housekeeping problems. The school keeps a pretty tight schedule for the school day, but the children have not adjusted, so the school has decided to make the remainder of the week half days. This is better for the children as they are usually exhausted by 11:30 a.m. (School starts at 9:30 a.m.). The new teachers that have arrived are nice and seem to be adjusting well. (I can't remember if I've mentioned this previously...?) One of the teachers is actually from Tennessee-Clarksville. She and I get along pretty well. There is a teacher from Washington, a couple from Colorado, and another woman from Canada. They've been taking the last two days in stride...I'm the only one who has extensive experience with children and honestly I'm so thankful for it! It's nice to be with kids again, but it also makes me miss all of my kids desperately. All is well here in Seoul, though. Spring is just around the corner and I can't wait!