Bits and bobs, here and there

A few people have been asking me to write a new blog, but honestly, I don't know what to write about. So it may be a little short, which I guess means less ramble from me.

Today marks my 5 week anniversary in Korea, and what a 5 weeks it has been! I am having trouble working out if it's gone by quickly, or slowly. When I think about the amount that I have done so far it seems as if I have been here forever! On the other hand, I geniunely can't believe how fast it has gone. Time in Korea is just, weird. I doubt I could explain it, and if I tried I would sound crazy, so I won't.  I have built such a life for myself in these 5 weeks, as I'm sure most foreigners who come here do. I can't even imagine being in England, and I wish I had come here sooner instead of wasting a year of my life at home. But I'm here now, and I do not live to regret.

On Saturday night some of us headed to Seoul to celebrate our friend Helen's birthday. We went to this great little salsa club - small and packed full of amazing Korean salsa dancers. I spent some time crazy dancing with Dillon which is always a laugh, and I also got to dance with a couple of Korean men who were good salsa dancers - Fun, if not a little awkward! I don't think I could have stayed there for huge amounts of time, which is why some of us then set out to find a music venue/club called Freebird.  There were several bands there, but unfortunatly they were finishing off their songs shortly after we arrived. I loved seeing some live music though, and in a slightly dirty, dingey, yet atmospheric place. The best kind! After that, we headed to FF club and Gogo's. Anyway, turns out it is impossible to have a cheap night out in Seoul. It's like trying to go to London for a cheap night - not gonna happen!

Sunday was spent sleeping, watching One Tree Hill, and then going to TGI Fridays to mainly bitch about the upcoming week. I am having a pretty good week so far. As I'm getting to know the kids, I'm finding it easier to talk to them.  I'm understanding which ones I want to teach, and which ones I need to throw off the roof.  It's been a pretty busy couple of weeks trying to get essays and presentations from them - And trying to explain the difference between essay and presentations! Most of them have gotten the hang of it, and I've had some great posters with lots of pictures on - One girl is doing hers about her baby sister, and a couple of others are doing theirs about dogs, so I've got a couple of posters with adorable puppies all over them.

It's still their winter vacation from school, which means we at the Hagwon are assigning much more homework to make up for the lack of high school work.  I feel so bad for them because most of them really don't get much free time to pursue other hobbies. In the long run it might be good, everyone deserves education, but at the same time they're only kids.  Today I had 3 middle school classes (14-15yr olds) and most of them seemed so tired and stressed, so I let them have a bit of a chilled out class.  They were practicing writing and the question was "If you could do anything you wanted tomorrow, what would it be?" I made a dig deal about using their imagination and being able to do anything in the world. A few of them wrote that they would rest, sleep, or watch movies. One of them wrote he would kill himself because he was stressed and had too much work - He's a bit of a joker and was only messing around, but I still found it a bit disturbing! One of my best students wrote that she would 'save the environment'. I was proud of her for that!

Here is an essay that one of my students wrote - Bear in mind she's in a lower class, and I'm not putting it up to make fun, I just thought some of you may find it interesting:

"Famous Person
Recently the singer who is popularity from tv is '2pm'.
Them are 7 name man groups.
To the song which them call there are 'again and again' and 'heartbeat'
I like them. So became the difficulty their pan.

Also the young girl time belongs in the singer who is recent popularity.
Them 9 names are the girrl group
Also the uncles are many in their pan
To the song which them call there are 'gee' 'baby baby' 'kissing you'.
I don't like them. But I like their song."

I do actually have some which are just hilarious, so I may have to put them up at some point.

Aside from the teaching this week, on monday evening I went to hang out with Peter where we ate pizza, drank beer, and watched Almost Famous. I can't believe I haven't seen that film before!
Last night I went to hang out at NOW bar for a quiet drink. Technically, it was quiet, but there was a lot of it and I got home at 5.  Played lots of darts, which is my new favourite game, and kicked some highscore ass at Spot the Difference.

Anyway, I am going to go and attempt to cook some frozen mandu (Korean dumplings, delicious), and then sleep for 12 hours. I say 'attempt' because the cooking instructions are in Korean.

I'm thinking of doing a picture blog sometime this week, show y'all my hood.