A Two-Week Update (Kait)

Hi everyone! Sorry I’ve been slacking on the blog updates lately. Last week was a very busy and happy one for us, as we FINALLY got our Alien Cards and were able to get internet, bank accounts, TV, a water cooler, and all sorts of other rad stuff we needed. We also got paid for the first time, so we even have some money in our nice new bank accounts, too  Ace has been thoroughly enjoying his Hapkido classes (I guess yesterday they learned about various moves that can kill/maim a man- yikes). I’ve been enjoying my Tuesday Korean classes a lot- I’m meeting a lot of really nice MoonKkang employees from different parts of the city and enjoying hearing about their insights and experiences. We’ve been learning the alphabet (pretty simple) and vowel combinations, as well as a smidge of grammar and verb conjugations. It’s all really great, and I’m thrilled that I can sort of read now, even though it feels a little silly to be learning various ways of conjugating “to sleep” when I can’t even ask where the bathroom is or count to 10.

Last Saturday we took our first day trip out of Daegu with some of our other foreign teacher friends from the area. Transportation is really quite good here, and it only cost us about 10 bucks and an hour of our time to get to Busan on the fast train. We went for the Pusan International Film Festival, which is one of the biggest in Asia. We managed to catch two films, but, unfortunately, we picked what had to have been the two most boring ones. They were really, mind-numbingly, horrendously boring. Almost everyone in the theater was asleep for the second one. However, we had a great time checking out another city and spending time with Megan and Grete and meeting some of Megan’s friends from Seoul. It seems like a really interesting city- plenty of stuff going on, and a little more foreigner-dense than Daegu. We also saw what supposed to be the best beach in Korea, which was a very pretty, decent-sized strip of sand with some pretty nice raw-fish restaurants along side. Can’t say it compares to Oregon beaches, but really, what does? Sunday I spend all day on report cards- can’t complain, though, because we only have to do them once every two months and they are our only out-of-class work.

Ace and I both signed up for our neighborhood gym this week, which is a nice place and even nicer because a lot of MoonKkang people (Korean and foreign) go there, and the staff speaks English well. I went for the first time today and really enjoyed it, even though it was somewhat different that what I’m used to and I didn’t really know what I was doing. I guess the staff will work with you to set up a personalized cardio and weight training plan for free, so I’m going to try to do that tomorrow. Cool! There was the usual weight stuff that you see at home, but as far as cardio goes there’s just a huge row of treadmills and one lonely little elliptical stuffed in a corner. There’s also a bunch of intimidating machines that furiously jiggle every part of you or blast you with heat, and even one NASA looking thing that swivels you around and upside down and lets you dangle by your feet. Why, I’m not sure, although I have a hunch it might be something that’s supposed to make you taller. The locker room was also an experience- I was on my own there, as all the foreigner ladies avoid the public showers like the plague. There’s your usual locker and mirror area with lots of naked people, but once you go through these frosted glass doors it becomes more like the Hamam I visited in Tunisia than anything else I’ve seen. There’s a big open tiled room with all sorts of heated pools dotted around, filled with naked people furiously scrubbing themselves. Basically, it’s just like the Turkish bath, but I didn’t get my own personal assistant to pummel me with a loofah and henna here. Which is ok with me. The showers are in the open, but I didn’t mind too much. I think the whole thing is pretty fun, to be honest :) They even give you clothes to wear while you work out so you don’t have to get your own clothes all sweaty.

I came straight from the gym to the little coffee shop I’m writing in now. I’ve been meaning to check the place out for a week, and I’m glad I did- it feels like coffee shops back home, and is the first nice one I’ve found in our area. I don’t think it’s really normal for people to study in coffee shops here (there’s no wi-fi, no outlets, and no one else here), but I’ve already decided this should be my official study spot. I’d better go for now though- it’s about time to get home and get ready for work. Today is Wednesday, which means we have speaking classes today, as opposed to reading and presentation classes every other day of the week. They’re really fun, but there’s a bit more prep to do, and I usually go in early- we actually get to teach stuff, as opposed to just handing out tests, correcting speech and making students regurgitate memorized material. Not that I mind having no extra work, grading, planning or other school-related stress. Miss you and love you all! K