One month Anniversary

This is my fourth week of teaching here in Daegu. I can hardly believe it. Sometimes, I still feel like I will be leaving soon, and that this is some kind of summer job. Now, that I am a bit more settled, know my way around, have a bit of a paycheck, and have cleaned out the old stuff I did not want in my studio/apartment/flat, I feel like I should dive into the culture more than I have. I want to get to know the language a bit, I know that I will never be fluent. It is so different from any European language, and that drives me crazy! A new alphabet, and different accents in each city so that I have no idea what each person is saying to me. I was way more motivated, and intrigued when it came down to learning German, Spanish, and even a bit of Italian over Christmas break last year. I am also learning that some of the people who scowl at me everyday when I pass by them, might not be angry, that is just their face. What a sad thought. Anyhow, back to the point, I want to make an effort to communicate with the Koreans in their own language, and not just expect them to give me grace because I am an English teacher (foreigner). I hope to make some Korean friends soon, maybe at my church, that will help me with my Korean, and if they want, I will help them with their English.

The line up for this weekend is a bit interesting for me. Friday night, after work, I have to go out with my boss and co-workers. It's like a work social time outing, but it is mandatory, haha. Honestly, the last thing all of us want to do is go out with our boss on a Friday night. He says we will not be out for long, but last time he said that, he ended up drunk off of soju after 2 hours. The only thing he would talk about while he was drunk was work. I am hoping he does not get drunk again tomorrow night, I do not want to sit through another rant about how we are not perfect. I hate to burst his bubble, but we never will be, haha. That is another thing that drives me crazy here. The standard is always be perfect, which, inevitably sets everyone up for failure. The whole country works crazy long hours, and send their kids to school for at least 12 hours a day. I have yet to meet a child who does not go to some academy to learn more after regular school ends. These long hours of learning are paired with a dependency on their parents until around the age of 18 or 19, which equals I don't even know what. I am shocked and amused at the same time whenever I analyze this situation. I know there are normal kids who do turn out well in this country, and I hope some of them will come from our school, but only God knows what will happen to them. Sorry for that rabbit trail, back to the weekend. Saturday, after mandatory bar outing with my boss, I will go hang out with my friend, Tammy. I met Tammy at the first church I visited here in Daegu, and I am so excited! We are going to paint, she was an art education major in college, so we are already clicking. It's been a while since I've painted, so I am looking forward to a little artist expression. On Sunday, I will go to church, then probably go home and create a board game for one of my classes. Yes, the class is so boring that even I fall asleep during it, so I am attempting to make it more lively with a board game. I have never made a board game before, but I will let you all know what kind of a response it gets.

The week of Halloween we are having lessons purely about Halloween. I am so excited, that means that I get to teach the kids whatever I want about that holiday. We are decorating, carving pumpkins, wearing costumes, and handing out candy. It will be so much fun. I will post pics after it happens.

You guys can be praying for my health, and my co-workers health. This is the time of year when everyone gets sick. Pray that we stay well, Chloe is already sick, pray that she kicks it soon, and is back to a normal energy level. Hope you all are well. Thanks for your continual prayers and words of encouragement. Love you!