finding my way.

Monday morning. Drinking fake, sugary, yummy, Korean coffee. Listening to This American Life (about people who find themselves in situations far from the beaten path, where there are no guidelines and no useful precedents haha). I am a happy girl.

Thought I would take a minute to update you all with the latest in my new Korean life.

Last week was my first official week teaching. I LOVED IT! I teach the most adorable children ever! Sure some drive me crazy. And some force me to desperately try to find my serious side, when all I want to do is bust up laughing, but I have to maintain classroom management, bah! Most teachers pass out candy like there's no tomorrow, I have yet to adopt this form of classroom management. I'm not sure if it has more to do with the fact I feel guilty shoveling candy into children's mouths, or if its more because I am too cheap to buy mass amounts of candy. But I am afraid that I may have to break down and start the candy bribing routine, I don't want to become "that teacher" haha, the stingy, mean one.

Teaching is so much fun. I love when the kids can't find the English word or phrase they need they go into this huge, animated, miming explanation of what they are trying to say. It is hilarious! Very creative kids. I love that they add extra syllables, most commonly ah and ie to the end of every word. And I love that they have no filter. They will say just about anything, this isn't much different from any other child, but its still hilarious.

During some exercises the students must create sentences using a given structure. One sentence was ________ prefers_____because______. Most kids say things like I prefer ice cream because it tastes good. However, one kid stands up and yells out "My dad prefers to hit me because he likes it." And then continued to yell out how, and with what, like it was no big deal, and the rest of the class, including the teacher I was shadowing, just carried on without hesitation. Another time we were talking about hugging. I asked one boy, about 8 yrs old, who do you hug? Do you hug your parents? His answer: "Not my dad, my dad, (animated mocking of someone drinking, a lot!) then he (very, very animated imitation of puking) and then he stinks, so I don't hug my father." OK, moving on, haha.

Another thing that never seems to grow old is that fact that I have my nose pierced, or that fact that I am single and live on my own, both are shocking really! My name has also been a great topic. "Bri-onna" "Rhi-anna?" "No Bri-onna" "Vienna........Vienna Suasage!!!" "Piranha......AHHH Piranha!"haha, this never gets old.

Another highlight of this past week was a trip to Costco with my co-workers. It was interesting to be in such an american store in Korea. I only bought a box of cereal. There were somethings I thought about buying, pepperjack cheese, trail mix, and a few other hard to find items, but then I realized that the bulk size would last me a year, or go bad before I could eat half of it haha. But it was fun to go out with my co-workers, which is something that rarely happens at my branch. Hopefully this changes.

Also worth noting, I will be moving soon!! YAY! Not far, just a short distance from where I am now. My co-worker is moving home after being here for 2 years. She is leaving behind several things, and has a BED! This is very exciting, and will save me money. Now I only have two more weeks of sleeping on the floor, so happy! (and for those that have been asking hopefully I will know my address soon!)

What's the best way to end a great first week of teaching? Go out and explore seoul of course!!! I was originally suppose to go out with two of my co-workers, but was late because I lost my subway card, and meeting up without cellphones is difficult. So I talked my temporary roommate into going out with me instead. And its really funny how things seem to work out. We decided to go out to Hongdae, a very lively, energetic area. Its a university district, tons of people, bars, clubs, street vendors, and neon lights. It was so much fun. We danced our way from place to place, just soaking in the whole experience. So much fun! Towards the end we randomly decided to stop into one last bar. It was a good choice because I ran into an old friend from college!! So random but totally made my night! We stayed and met cool people and danced late into the night. I quickly learned that its very easy to lose track of time when bars don't close and you are having fun! By the time we made it into bed the sun was coming up. Apparently this is a very normal night in Seoul.

Great end to a great week! I definitely feel like I am beginning to settle in. I am slowing finding my way in this crazy part of the world and I am so very happy.

I love and miss you all very much!

"What will we make of this time? What will it make of us?"

-Gregory Maguire