Fangs? Yes, please.

While most of my starter class kids are drawing fluffy kittens and suburbia dream houses, Young Jei has a different approach....



















Yes, even the house has fangs. You gotta love it.

A Tale of Two Cultures

I two cultural experiences on Saturday. I went to an orphanage in the morning. Several people here go regularly just to play with the kids and give them a little loving. The orphanage was small, more like just a house, and there were only about 7 kids around 5 or 6 years old. There were three of us, so we could give the kids a lot of attention. As soon as we arrived, the lady who was watching the kids left us in charge and went to start making lunch. These kids are too young for school, they just hang out there all day, so we were a welcome diversion. They crawled on us like jungle gyms. Some just wanted us to hold them. It was a good time. Just as long as I don't have to help any kid in the bathroom or change diapers I'm okay....ha.

So, cultural experience number two: boy culture, video game culture. I went to a PS2 (Playstation 2) room with some of the guys on the floor. This, apparently, is where it's at for guys: sitting around on couches playing FIFA World Cup Soccer (what ALL the Koreans were playing) on a big screen TV with your pals . I hear my junior high boys talking about these places all the time. So, we played Urban Reign, a choose your gansta and beat the blah out of them with a bat, or bottle, or club with spikes on it (take your pick) game. Although I was laughing inside at the complete silliness of it all, I must admit that when I was playing the mammoth Napalm spinning Grimm over my head and tossing him into a chain link fence, I had to blurt out a satisfying, "Take THAT, sucka!"

I *heart* Wednesdays

I would just like to give a shout out to Wednesday. If I can survive a case of the Mondays and even wake up for Tuesday, then I'm golden for the rest of the week. So, Wednesday, thank you for being a day of sanity in the midst of a chaotic week. You're my hero!

Shake it up, baby!

We just had a small earthquake, a 4.5. Odd. I thought I left California....

Can someone please get this girl a scanner?!

Last Friday a bunch of us on the floor went to VIPs, an American style buffet place with steaks and such also. It was great food and I had my first taco in a month! But the best part was the birthday song. Since I had had my birthday of late, we decided to experience the incredible hilarity that is....well, just look at those hats they had us wear. Mine's a princess crown (over my took my orange hat, so silly), but my personal favorite is Ken's hat. He's in the front across from me, and yes, that is a sheep's head.

Oh, but that's not all. The waitresses sang a Korean song for us and, man, were they into it! They were singing full-on, each with some sort of percussion instrument: shakers, maracas, tambourines, you name it. My eyes were watering, I was laughing so hard (not an uncommon occurrence for me, but still...).

Another funny tidbit about VIPs: they were playing all this American rap and hip-hop -- uncensored. So we're in this nice restaurant, paying a ridiculous $20 for a buffet, with f-bombs dropping in the background. They had no idea....

Just kidding about the scanner.

Bet-i-shee teacher.

Me and Mipa went to Seoul a couple weeks ago to see the Christmas lights. And, more pics from hiking are here. Other than that, I've just been listening to shrieks of "candy! candy! candy!", and dodging the stampede of wild children after the bell rings. We have intensives right now, which means 3 extra hours a day and the end of my 10:00 wake-up time. But, it's only for the rest of the month, and we're getting paid overtime, so I can't really complain. Well.....maybe just a little.

This is what I eat...mmmmm....

So, for those of you who may be wondering what the food is like over here, or for those of you who live here and always order one of two things (myself), here is the entire menu from Kimbap Nara in English and Korean, with each dish described. These kimbap shops are everywhere in Korea, and, with more than 70 items on the menu, they serve just about any kind of Korean food you want. It's like Korean fast food....why can't McDonald's take a hint?

My favorites? Chamchi kimbap (8), dolsot bibimbap (27), ddok mandu guk (52), and ddok boggie (45) if I'm in a spicy mood.