teaching english, learning korean

english names: harry & nina (harry is in the men's class and i tutor their daughter as well), gill & judy (gill is in the men's class and judy runs the school i teach at and i tutor her sons also)...everyone has really great english

at the soju bar

so upon returning from hawaii, our friends, kate and kevin, went back to the states for a few months. i have been teaching kate's esl classes and have managed to pick up a number of new classes for myself too. i teach a women's class, men's class, 3 children's classes, and at a little school. my korean friend from the women's class acts as my bookie. every time i see her she has a new job opportunity for me. it's great! i really enjoy it now. i used to have difficulty, but i know how to teach it now and it doesn't even feel like work.

my sub application, after some SERIOUS administrative problems, has been processed. i should be subbing tomorrow, wednesday, and thursday.

we did an overnight trip to kunsan to visit friends and go to an "around the world" party with food and drinks from all different countries represented. it was in the captains' dorms - just like college. :)

we celebrated my 28th by eating mexican in seoul and exploring insadong, the arts district that reminds me of ann arbor. i'll be heading to seoul on thursday to have dinner with anna, my college roomie, who is in town for work....then we will be heading up to seoul again this weekend for the marathon on sunday. it is in the 60s now, so let's hope it stays like that for sunday. no rain and no wind, please.

i took a korean class on base and learned the alphabet and some new phrases. i have all of the tools now to know the language i just have to practice daily. brant has taught himself how to read the characters and is really good at it.

brant has been flying more and more and recently got named, "SKILLS". so the prior call sign of "HAIR" is gone and it is now "SKILLS". he's also made it clear that he's ready for another marathon...maybe next year in australia, i guess.

we're in the middle stages of planning our thailand trip for next christmas. so far we've included bangkok, river kwai, koh lanta, and phi phi. we'd really like to see chang mai....but it won't fit this time.

that's about it!
cheers,
s

surf's up

just got in from hawaii and the verdict is in....we will move there at some point in our lives. preferably soon. talk about paradise. fresh, sweet air accompanied by miles of gorgeous beach and an entirely laid-back population - sign us up! all we could talk about while we were there is how we can get there....for good orrrrrrr just for a couple of years. anyway, we got in on monday a.m. and went straight to the beach and fell asleep (well, i think i was already asleep...i took my ambien a couple hours later than i should have so i ended up sleepwalking off the plane, through the car rental, and into my swimsuit). we had some pina coladas and fresh fish that night and, oh my, did they taste good. :) brant worked at hickham the next 3 days while i worked on my tan. we went to dinner nightly with his team of workers from both osan and kunsan (the other US f-16 base in korea) and had a great time just enjoying the american food, drinks, and music. friday we went snorkeling at haneuma bay, a short drive up the east side of oahu. it is a nature preserve with a large coral reef filled with bright, unintimidated fish...the sun wasn't quite out, but we braved the waters to admire the natural beauty. ;) saturday we made the trip up the east coast stopping at all the beaches along the way including sunset beach (big surf competition beach) and waimea bay (where the monstrous waves hit) en route to haleiwa. we saw so much talent out there...the beach was spotted with spectators and the waters were just full of surfers tearing it up...surfing the pipeline with such ease. haleiwa is the northernmost town, a small hippie haunt, home to artists, surfers, and fruit farmers. very cute town. we had some hawaiian shaved ice because we were told to and i highly recommend it. sunday we took surf lessons on waikiki beach. we both got up on our board sooner than expected and rode the waves with the help of our instructor telling us when to stand up. now when we go back we just need to rent a board. undoubtedly my favorite part of the whole trip. i have been wanting to learn how to surf for too long. it was just as awesome as i thought it would be, despite the many battle wounds (blisters on feet, rash on chest, sunburned back, sore arms...) it was worth it and we'll go again. later that day we hiked into diamond head crater.

it's holiday in korea now - lunar new year. we remembered this when we got off the plane and got on our bus back to songtan. the ride usually takes 1.5 hours and this time it took 3.5! what a trip.

happy lunar new year!

s.

holiday hoorah

well, i finished my month of teaching english at the moonah community center! i taught children korean age 5 to 16 which is american age 3 to 14. in korea, when a child is born they are one and then at the new year they are two so their age is always 1-2 years off from the number of years they have actually been alive. anyway, it was a rewarding experience and i hope to go back an sub if jonathon (they guy i filled in for while he went home to canada) or joel (the other canadian teacher) ever need a vacation...which i am sure they will.

christmas was low-key and surprisingly pleasant. we thought we'd be lonely without our families but we weren't without them! we opened presents with both sides of the family over webcams which finally worked (a christmas miracle). we did this on christmas morning, so their christmas eve. so much fun! definitely the highlight of the holiday. i worked christmas eve and when i got home brant had made dinner and we opened our gifts to each other. on christmas day, we went to a christmas party at kate and kevin's apartment. it was the same gang as thanksgiving and we played cards and many heated games of mexican train and catch phrase.

we spent new year's eve in seoul. we actually went up the 30th and stayed 2 nights at the ritz (i know, are you kidding me...we got a killer military deal). we had sushi, went shopping, and navigated the area near our hotel amidst sub-zero windchills.... so cold. on the 30th at night, we went to the hofbrau house...ha! so funny. we got served by a korean woman in a dirndl...it just didn't look right, but i felt right at home nonetheless. then everyone followed my lead to a place i had seen earlier called signature karaoke...it looked really modern and fun, so i convinced everyone to follow me through the cold. i was praying that it would be open when we got there (since it was sunday night) so everyone wouldn't hurt me....and it was! we rented a room and karaoked the night away....

i am heavy into training for the seoul marathon. i have heard it is a fast race.... as in everyone that runs it is pretty good, so i am hoping to draft off from them. :) it is march 16th. the day before my favorite holiday.

brant is working much less than he did at shaw which is so nice. he also doesn't have the 45 minute commute...it's maybe a half mile to base or 10 minutes by bike (it's hilly).... he is going to vegas, japan, and hawaii this month for his new job. i will accompany him on the hawaii trip....obviously! :)

i am going to seoul this weekend for a bachelorette party and then we are headed to yongpyong ski resort next weekend for the mlk holiday. i hope i remember how to ski - it's been quite awhile, but i can't wait.

happy trails to you...
love,
s