Other stuff…

Geez, so I was in such a hurry to catch up and post, I left out some fun stuff. Like, if you didn’t get it in the email I sent out to a lot of people, check out the photo from the Korean Folk Village in Suwon (go to the link; you’ll know it when you see it). The best part was that the little girl stooped down for a better look, which sent me and another woman into convulsions of laughter that recurred several times during the day when we saw each other again in passing. Some humor is universal…

Also at the Korean Folk Village, I witnessed other episodes of Koreans “ooooooh-ing and aaaaaah-ing” over “feats” that we’d warrant relatively unimpressive, or at least less so than their reactions would indicate. It strikes me as odd every time—and it never fails to happen.

I took advantage of the relatively low cost of eyeglasses here and treated myself to a new pair (my last ones are FIFTEEN years old, I realized!), which, for the exam, frames and lenses (super crazy 3-cut thick) for $80. Woohoo! Not that I wear ‘em out in public much, but at least I’m more stylin’ at home.

I was definitely spoiled on my birthday; while I didn’t celebrate at EV, I got a few million birthday cards and a care package (chocolate and my Tevas!) from my mom, and stuff from friends and neighbors, like a box of yummies and a dress (that, would you believe, fits perfectly!) from the Potters, and cards galore that are hanging in my room. And lots of emails. Thanks, guys!

Here’s an amusing email we got from the Korean Head Teacher:

“Hello Guys. It is an official policy from admin that students can't buy cup noodle from EV mart any more. We know that kids love cup noodle and they will complain about this. However, students' eating cup noodle in dorms causes some problems. They throw the left over of cup noodle in toilets and even they put chopsticks without any concerns. They have been told by dorm teachers so many times not to do that but they don't listen. Anyway please don't let them buy any cup noodle. It is also not good for them to eat cup noodle late at night.”

Who ever knew that ramen could be so hazardous?

One funny language quirk that is the cause of much confusion: if we ask a question like “We don’t have any kids in the last class, do we?” (when the class indeed will be empty) that’s posed as a negative, our answer would be: “No, (we don’t),” but the Koreans answer “Yes,” as in: “Yes, that’s right, we don’t…” If you’ve been inside all day and say, “It didn’t rain today, did it?” they’ll say “Yes” if it didn’t rain, and “No” if it did. You can imagine… But a bunch of us had a good sit-down and laugh over it. Their way, of course, is much more logical (atypical of Korea) and grammatically sensical than ours.

We finally got the overtime rate: just over $5/hr. Yep, that’s worth my time. Duh.

Koreans love soccer, and have been gearing up for World Cup madness for some time now—stuff is EVERYWHERE. We’re the Reds, and all the standard stuff to wear and wave is available, plus headbands with devil’s horns. And of course, people on their days off who come here are all wearing it—especially the kids. Add that to the many soccer diehards / teachers, and you’ve got some excitement in the air. Last night, Korea won it’s first game against Togo, and yes, we all went nuts. The pub and another restaurant are staying open during the WC so we can watch the games there.

We just had two gorgeous days of sun, which I enjoyed on my bike and in Seoul, and today beginneth the rainy season. And it’s RAINING, people. Supposedly we’ve got a month or so of it on our hands. Yikes. Gotta get me some galoshes.
Later gaters!