It's been awhile...

Sorry we haven't updated this in over a week. You might have to get used to it though :\ I (Brian) started work this past week to fill in for a part-time teacher who quit abruptly, so things have been pretty busy for the two of us. I've been getting used to teaching a few classes, and Katie has been getting used to teaching a full schedule. It's funny because Katie and I actually teach a class together a couple times a week. The kids think it's hilarious to call me "Katie" and call Katie "Brian." Another funny thing is that one of the students in my class is named Brian (all of the Korean children choose or are given English names) and they think it's really funny that we would both have the same name. When they aren't calling me "Katie," they call me "Big Brian." Also, every kid has a nickname they chose for themselves, and since Brian's nickname is rocket, mine is big rocket. Some of the nicknames that stuck out to me: baseball, puppy (the girl with this nickname always barks twice after she says her nickname), pig (this boy always snorts like a pig), fiery lion (a girl that roars), and rocket, of course. Over the course of the past week, I have come to realize just how difficult teaching can be, especially with young children. And I admire the effort of my past teachers because I'm sure I was a handful when I was younger. It seems to be rewarding, also, so I am looking forward to that.

Random story: the other day when I was walking home from school, I heard what I thought was an ice cream truck. It had the cheesy children's music blaring and kids from a larger school were crowded around it buying things. When I got closer, I realized they were eating fried chicken, haha. Apparently fried chicken is somewhat of a treat around here... something saved for a special occasion. It is very expensive to eat at a chicken restaurant here; it is on average 3 times more expensive to eat chicken than almost anything else. I just thought it was funny to hear the ice cream truck music and find out it was chicken they were selling. Along the same lines... sortve... we heard a truck driving down the road near our school with a recording being played through loudspeakers (which is how they advertise what they are selling lots of times). So we asked our boss what they were saying, and she said that it was a repairman that specialized in sewing machines lol! Really specific/random.

Today was White Day in Korea! It's basically a day where boys give girls presents, similar to Valentine's Day in the U.S. They actually celebrate Valentine's Day here, too, except the girls give the guys presents on that day. Of course we were still in the states that day so Katie got two V-days in a month... haha. To celebrate, we went to an Italian restaurant that we had been meaning to try. Surprisingly, it was really good. I was skeptical because we've only been able to find one kind of cheese here, and a variety of cheese is important for an Italian place in my opinion. I had a "chicken oven" which was spaghetti noodles with a lot of cheese, marinara sauce, pieces of chicken, onions, and peppers, served on a hot plate. Katie had a bread bowl with spaghetti noodles with broccoli and alfredo sauce. Both were very good and delicious, which coincides with their motto: "It's good delicious."

We're gonna go ahead and do another post with pictures immediately after this one...stay tuned!