Miles away

So, living in Daegu has been surprisingly easy so far. Exploring our neighborhood was cake. And, with a little help from our fellow teachers, heading downtown on the bus was a skill we mastered after one trip. Corinne and I have taken to walking the streets and just taking crazy turns and walking down random streets, only to end up knowing exactly where we are still. We are careful to make note of landmarks and pay lots of attention to the direction we are headed. So with that approach, we have headed out face first into Daegu. Of course, I wouldn't recommend this much exploring for the directionally challenged, or in other Korean cities which may not be as easy to navigate. So I would use your best judgment if exploring Korea!

Waiting to get the internet in our apartments has felt like decades. Without the internet on my laptop, I feel completely disconnected from the world. I have no idea what is going on in the news or what the weather is like back home. While we have time at school to check Facebook on the little kids’ computers, it isn’t enough time to catch up on all the gossip and my favorite TV shows (which I am miserably behind on). In order to have the internet and a bank account here, you have to be a resident alien. That requires a medical exam. The medical exam was definitely an experience I won’t soon forget.

There are so many things that happen everyday that I want to tell everyone. From the littlest things like how cute all the little cars are that speed around, to huge things like the fact I ate a silkworm last night (probably won't do that again...) and the fact that we are planning a Christmas trip to Jeju Island. I am trying to settle into teaching, and it isn't easy by any means. Not that I ever thought for a minute that teaching was an easy job, it is just not the type of job I am used to. There is no immediate gratification, or any solid proof of the work you have done. So I feel like I am running uphill all day, screaming through a blue medical mask that makes me sound like the teachers from Charlie Brown. However, the kids are adorable, and I mean adorable.

They say the funniest things and put the most hilarious sentences together and draw adorable pictures of stuff. Today I asked the youngest kids if they liked ketchup; they said yes, but that they liked chocolate ketchup the best (referring to chocolate syrup but they assumed that ketchup was the consistency, not the name of the product). So those times are priceless.


Currently listening to: Where the Streets Have No Name, U2.