a few of my (new) favorite things

The weekend is here and we finally get a little room to breath in our busy schedule! Today I’ve had the apartment to myself… and I have taken advantage of the opportunity to clean, write, knit and read while waiting for the internet installers to come (I don’t know what time they’ll arrive… so I’m a bit stuck here, unfortunately.) The second week of school went decently smoothly. I’m having an interesting time learning how to balance the dynamics of a class of six very different children. There’s a lot of drama among the girls (which causes me to reminisce on my own elementary school girl drama and see how silly and pointless it was!) and I’ve also had trouble with some students being incredibly slow with their work. It’s hard to meet every students needs. One of my kids needs work on learning how to read while the others are zooming ahead and finishing their workbooks and demanding entertainment! Ah! Pray that I would figure out a system to balance all of these things out!
I’ve decided to put together a list of a few of my “new” favorite things!

1.Gimbop. This is a traditional Korean food that reminds me a lot of sushi (just without the fish). It’s cheap and easily available. We eat it a lot for a quick dinner.


2.Aloe juice. I know, it sounds really weird, but they drink it here. There are little pieces of Aloe plant floating around in it. You chew it with every sip. It’s strangely delicious and according to my coworkers it really helps a hangover (not that I would know…).


3.Korean children. Seriously. They are darlings! Its funny because really small children on the streets will just stare at you because they don’t know what to make of a Westerner. I also love my Korean kids. They are very sweet and affectionate. Every day I feel loved.

Me and Inwang.

This is Anna. She's new in the class. Very sweet and shy.

My two boys, Inwang and Ethan.

These are the other three girls in the class: Lucy, Joycelyn and Esther.

4.Pizza with bows. I’ve always loved pizza. I mean, who hasn’t? But here in Korea, pizza is specifically a food for women! I don’t really know why. It just is. There’s a chain here called “Mr. Pizza: Love for Women.” Hilarious.



5.Skype. I mean, a free way to talk to my family and friends? And video chat? Who could beat that!

6.Lonely Planet. Seriously the best guides available. We bought one for our Europe trip and it helped exponentially. Now we have one to explore this new country!