Anyeong!!!!!

Hey all!

I've been in Korea for about 2 weeks now. Only 1 more week left before I head back to Australia for Christmas and some much needed R&R. 6 days of rest and I'll be flying off again to Japan.

Korea has been quite an interesting experience. It's the first time I've taught EFL (English as a Foreign Language) and also the first time I've had college-aged students to teach (more than half of my students are older than me!). It's weird because teachers are so respected here and the students are so eager to learn (well...most of them, there's one student in my class who's just asking me to beam my violent thoughts in her direction).

Some of our students stay back to hang out with the few of us who are game enough to go explore Seoul after teaching a tiring 3 hour English lesson. They're absolutely wonderful people...especially my boys....some of them are sooooo cute! (In an adorable way, not the attractive way, although some are quite the looker...hmmm....)

Korea has a T-Card transport system which is similar to Hong Kong's Octopus card (although not quite as convenient because the card still constantly screws up when you scan it and you can't really use it as a means of electronic currency). I live in Kyongi-do which is outside of Seoul. It takes me roughly about 45 minutes to an hour to get to the college and usually even longer if I want to go anywhere else in Seoul so it's a good thing that I have 3 other teachers home-staying close by to travel-buddy with.

I'm a bit sick at the moment...ok, maybe more than a bit, with the age-old dynamic duo: the Cough and Cold. I think my host family wanted to take me to visit their relative who lives close by in Il-Sang to get some home-made kimchi but since I was hacking away all morning (during the church service too, how embarrassing!), they decided to split so that some of the family is at home with me whilst the rest head off to collect kimchi from their relative.

I'll be going ice-skating in the afternoon with my host family (I meant to an outdoor ice rink next to City Hall last week and stupidly forgot to check my phone for messages. Iris, one of my host sisters, wanted to come join me so today is kinda like an apology for last week). After ice skating, us kids might all eat out (Korean food in Korea is CHEAP! Don't get any Western Cuisine though...it's an incredible rip off!) and then we'll all be heading off to "Jim jil Ban(h?)" the Korean saunas and spas (which you constantly see people in Korean Dramas going to) which Yon Juu (spelling?) or Lisa, likes to call "Jirujiruban" which is apparently how Japanese people pronounce it.

Anyway, that's all from me now, photos later...once I work out how to free up a USB port on my host dad's laptop without killing off some device hooked up to it or something....