10 days, 12 hours, 35 minutes

Updated the blog, and then accidentally deleted it. So here is an attempt at a repost.

Can't believe that it's been ten plus days so far. It really feels like I've been here for months. I have to say that I am feeling a little homesick right now. It's just the small things that I miss, but when the small things begin to add up it can become overwhelming. I wake up in the morning, and I think that I'm back home. I would go downstairs flip on the tv and catch up on last night's sports. None of that here. I'd turn on the the tv and I'd see a starcraft tournament going on. For those of you who don't know, starcraft is a computer that was released some ten years ago. The South Koreans regularly have tournments on television. There are two stations that run starcraft competitions 24 hours. In fact, on the weekend was the grand tournament. Team Sky defeated Team SKT 5 games to 4. It may have made front page on the papers. To the point though, it's just different around here. Not to say it negatively, just different. The food too. A lot of soups and bbq. Not bbq in the traditional sense. Steaks, ribs are a rarity. You would have to find a western style restaurant and then expect to pay a hefty premium for say an 8 ounce steak. There are many grill houses where you have a grill on each table and you grill up your own meat. The meat is cut very thinly, so an 8 ounce steaks is considered outrageous. On the other hand there thousands of outdoor food stands, sort of like hot dog vendors. Instead of hot dogs, they'd sell hamburgers, soup, grilled fish, etc. Usually a buck a piece, you could eat 3 burgers a day if you wanted to live on the cheap.

On a positive note, I am currently employed, working two days a week 4 hrs, teaching 6-15 years olds. There are 30 students in my charge at different levels of english. For the the older kids, I work on expanding their vocabulary, big->huge->enormous, etc. The younger ones, it's a little bit tougher. For example, they know what baseball is, but they don't know the word 'baseball'. I have to use pantomime to explain what the word is and then use it in sentence. It gets interesting to say the least. When I get back I'll be a pro at charades. I've got elephant nailed down. I have to say that is rewarding to teach since there is a tangible result, the following day I can recap what the learned previously and they'll remember.

I'll keep you posted on the next round of goings on. Haven't touched on the different areas I've visited so far, but I got to keep you all coming back. I think I'll be able to upload pics soon, so just keep checking the blog. Thanks to those of you who e-mailed me, I really appreciate it. Keep'em coming. If someone could fedex over a veal sandwich or a jerk chicken sandwich I'll be forever in your debt.

One more thing...I did cut my hair. No longer pony tail length. To give you an idea...

www.divideby0.com/cosplay/squall/images/Squall_close_up_.jpg

you may have to cut and paste the link in the address bar. I'm not as good looking but the hair is relatively close.