Chunjae Gongju (Genius Princess = ME!)

I discovered the meaning of these Korean words (Chunjae Gongju) and I decided that I would tell one Korean teacher that it was my nickname. She thought it was hillarious (and apparently not believalble...I dont understand!), so she proceeded to tell the entire office. They all laughed, but now they DO refer to me as the Genius Princess.

I win.

I don't like Monsoon season in Korea. It's too hot, too rainy, and I don't get to see the sun. Honestly, it's not fun weather to be living in.

Complaining aside...last night we had a dinner for the foreign teachers at both branches of our English Academy. I'm still not sure why we had the dinner, but free BBQ beef...that's a good enough reason for me. It's kinda nice hanging out with the teachers from the other branch too. I get along with them pretty well, so we usually have a lot of fun.

After our dinner, and a pretty inappropriate speech made by one of the teachers at the main branch, Me, Rob, Amy, Jesse, Joseph (my boss), and another Korean dude from the main branch went to a Noribang (Singing Room). This was my second trip to Korea's version of Karaoke. It was a LOT of fun. Turns out that Joseph, my boss, really enjoys singing hardcore slash hard rock slash rap songs from both Korea and the US. Who knew. I mean, it's really funny when I think, where else am I really going to do this with my boss? It's hillarious when I think about it really.

Anyway, we sang tons of songs and spent a few hours there. u singing rooms are different than Karaoke Bars because they are private rooms that you and your friend use and you get to choose any songs you want. There are also waiters that bring you drinks and snacks. So you can really just hang out for a few hours and act like a total dork...which is always fun!

It was a great time and now for basically the rest of the weekend I'm feeling pretty sluggish. From the weather and from my busy schedule. Probably working out five days a week makes my body slightly tired as well.

No super exciting work for me at this point. Although, if you're looking for that, you might wanna check out Kevin's blog. Apparently he's got kids breaking stuff and peeing their pants just about every other day. It's great.

Brad, Ken, Jake and Me. Crazy Boys. I love it. 

Sam and Jake. Another sibling combo, I taught both in different classes. They are two of the cutest kids I know! Honestly, I'd take these two home if I could! 

Remember the kid I told you I fell in love with on day one? This is him. I named him Jake. He is by far the cutest kid I've ever met in my life! 

Me and Angie. 

Lisa! 

Monster! This crazy kid's name is Golum (yep!). He's so much fun. He's such a headcase...I love it! 

Looks like a mugshot. Angie and Leon are brother and sister. I taught them both. They're so great! 

Students wondering about their grades (as always!). 

Peace to you! 

Mike and Simon. So Cute! 

Turning the Page

I just finished our old semester on Wednesday and on Friday began a new semester with brand new students, new books, new names to remember (and new kids to name!). But, before I finished with the old students, I most definitely took some pictures, that I will post very shortly. Then, you will really see why I'm totally in love with Korean kids!

Anyway, the new semester is providing its fair share of challenges. I have a few students from the previous semester and since I only taught three different classes last semester (a whole bunch of times in a row), all of this new stuff is a lot different for me. My students are a lot older this semester, and some even a bit younger, but I don't really have any that are the same age as before and I'm only teaching one class that I've taught before. I think that I'm going to enjoy these students once I get the hang of things.

On another note...

Last weekend I hung out with my Korean friend Sophia. She used to work with me at Plus Academy, but she's since moved on to bigger and better things. Anyway, she gave me a call and we spent the day together, which included shopping at Lotte Department store, visiting her cousin (and her CUTE kids), and going for dinner at a traditional Korean restaurant.

The restaurant was super cool. It was an old traditional Korean home, basically composed of wood and clay. You can eat dinner sitting on the floor in a couple of different rooms, and the food is incredible. We got this plate of fried fish (whole) and a zillion side dishes (common in Korea) and some tol sot rice (rice in a hot bowl). I ate a ton and then didn't have to pay a dime. They treated me, which was awesome.

I had a super good time with Sophia and we both enjoyed playing with the two little kids. I played Korean games with them and they both expected that I would be able to speak Korean. So, when we played the Korean version of "Go-Go-Go-Stop" I had to say it in Korean, but I wasn't even sure what to say or how to say it. I gave it my best and we still had fun. That was followed by the Korean version of London Bridge is falling down. That one I didn't try to sing (something about Dongdaemun and Namdaemun...), but I just tried to catch them when they ran past. I had a great time.

China Pictures At Last!

Hey,

Well I decided that since I have about 300 China pictures, that it would be too much to keep on this page alone. So, to spare those of you who don't want to see them, I've put them on another page.

Click here for my China Pictures:

http://chinapictures.blogspot.com

Hope you Enjoy!!

Andrea