Above are pics of Stephanie being more adventurous with food than she's used to. This is a girl who won't eat pretzels. PRETZELS! Not even ones covered in CHOCOLATE. But she was a trooper and tried, and even liked, all the Korean cuisine. The last pic above is of two guys who were hitting on Stephanie and another teacher who was eating dinner with us. We were enjoying BBQ when they came up and started hitting on them. They LOVE blond girls here and Stephanie was a HOT commodity. The three of us agreed to play some pool with these two guys for a laugh. And so many laughs ensued. The guys were full of odd tendencies, including the tendency to get a little violent when someone on his team missed a shot (the one on the right--Stephanie's team). We quickly ditched them after the game.
Pictured above are: Neng Myung, a cold noodle dish that is mildly spicy. It's made with buckwheat noodles and vegetables and is popular during the summer. The next pic is of the local market, the one owned by the couple who I adore (and who Stephanie grew to adore as well). The third picture is of the market in Insadong where there are many antiques and traditional Korean art pieces. The last pic is my dryer. Yes, that's my clothes dryer. Enough said.
Today was the third day of the summer quarter at CDI. Yesterday's 4PM class was fine and, since they were younger, they thought all my lame jokes were absolutely hysterical. We're told to introduce ourselves and tell a little about ourselves, so I informed them that I'm 65 years old and have two children, ages 20 and 17. One said I look great for my age....about 40. For anyone unaware...I am 25. I also told them that before CDI I was in the US Army.
In my second class yesterday, I had all 6th graders with major attitudes. And when I told one to stop speaking Korean, he cursed at me....in Korean. He also refused to do a part of the classwork because he claimed the last teacher hadn't made him do it. I believed this since that particular teacher is known for being laid back....very, very laid back with his requirements. I told him this was my class and he had to. He refused. Later a friend tossed an eraser at him, which hit him right in the crotch. He bent over in pain and I asked if he was okay, but silently acknowledged the karma at work.
My favorite student in the class is a few years younger than the rest of them. His name is Anthony, but the other teachers call him Bulldog because, well, he looks like a bulldog. Chubby, cute, and good natured and with an odd=shaped head. His hand shot up eagerly each time I asked for a volunteer. If I didn't pick him, he looked brokenhearted. I quickly began to see why the other teachers adore him.
Today I had another young elementary school class and then....................middle school. It wasn't as bad as last quarter's first day, but I was glad when class was over. There were a few kids who spoke up and volunteered after a little coaxing. One has an Australian accent, and she keeps saying "reckon" which cracks me up. She's a bit of a brown noser, but I love brown nosers. They make my job easier.
The only other semi-but-not-really-noteworthy news is that I have to work through the weekend to make up for the two days missed this week because of the swine flu scare. Hopefully it won't be too painful and, I keep reminding myself that next weekend my mom will be here!
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