It is the last day of June, I've been in Korea for a month now, and I've been fighting a nasty cold since last weekend. In fact, this is the third time I've been sick since I've been here. The air in Korea is both dry and humid, and it's the dryness that's causing all the trouble. I feel a little bit better today, but it has made teaching especially hard this week. I wish I had something exciting to report, some trip taken to another part of the country that got me inspired or something like that. Oh wait! I ate dinner at Dijon, a French restaurant in Jungangno (downtown Daegu) on Wednesday night. I shared the evening with Charles, a friend I met during my first week in Korea. He has a passion for travel and will take off to anywhere in the world at a moment's notice, which I found inspiring. It was great to meet someone like myself, someone who wants to live a life of adventure exploring this amzing planet of ours. The prices for entrees at Dijon range from W9,000-W35,000 (that's $9-35), which I find pretty reasonable for French cuisine. I wasn't in the mood for anything fancy so I chose the spaghetti bolognese. At just $9.00, the dish satisfied me with its rich, meaty sauce, which crackled with the kick of fresh ground pepper. I also indulged in the crab bisque ($5.00). It's soothing salmon color and creamy, delicate taste were both soothing and delicious, though I didn't care for the shrimp which accompanied the crab. There was no room left for dessert so Charles and I left Dijon to burn off our calories with a lovely walk through downtown Daegu at night.

The name of my hogwan is Letter and Sound Academy, so named for the Letterland curriculum that is used here. For each letter of the alphabet there is a character so the letter "d" is for Dippy Duck and each class is named for one of the characters. Lina is one of my four-year-old kindergarten students in the Dippy Duck class. When I first met Lina, she was slow to smile and quick to cry, for seemingly no reason. Knowing that she is a child, I knew it was not because she didn't like me. During my first week teaching that class, I was reading them" Chicka Chicka Boom Boom," a book about the alphabet, when she decided to get her pink toy Hello Kitty mobile phone and start playing with it as I read. I made the mistake of being the disciplinarian and took it away from her, which pissed her off a great deal. She began to wail and looked so angry with me that I immediately gave it back to her. She sat there and listened to the rest of the book, just holding the phone in her hand, its red lights flickering on and off. She is just a child after all, and just needed to feel secure, so I let her keep it. This daily crying continued until just two days ago, when her demeanor began to change. Yesterday, while I washed my hands in the bathroom after I taught her class, she walked to the door, looked at me and in her sweet little voice, waved and said, "Good-bye," before running away, barefoot and giggling. She no longer runs away from me when I try to talk to her--she feels comfortable with me, and that feels good. It was also yesterday that I sang a very silly rendition of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," with the most obnoxious animal sounds I could muster, to the complete and utter delight of the children. I know it sounds like a cliche, and perhaps it is, but there is really no sweeter sound than that of children laughing. I sang the song to teach the children about animals and the sounds they make, but I did it mostly for Lina's benefit, whose face broke into a huge smile as I mooed and quacked and oinked. During class today she actually let me tickle her and goof off with her, and she actually enjoyed it and wanted more.

I just received an email from a friend of mine who asked me why there are so few posts on this blog. That's a fair question. I suppose a blog is supposed to be a daily or weekly journal of whatever sort the blogger wishes, so let me explain why I've been so slack. There is only one computer at the hogwan where I work, and it is at the receptionist's desk, and she is almost always on it. My schedule is so packed during the day that if there is ever a moment she isn't on it, I have to be teaching. Not to mention the fact that it doesn't exactly look professional to be doing something non-work related at work. I've tried going to PC bangs to work on it, but everytime I go to eblogger, the instructions are always in Korean. When I ask for help, sometimes the person at the counter won't be able to speak English, and I might not be in the mood for using hand signals, and speaking in 2-3 word sentences. Those are just a few of the minor frustrations of living in a foreign country and trying to become accustomed to the culture. I am writing right now at work because it is late and the receptionist has gone home for the day. Finally, she is out of my hair!!

But I have to say that I really am enjoying Korea. When I first arrived I thought I was crazy for leaving the warm tropical wonders of Thailand for a country that, at first glimpse, appeared to be lacking in color completely. A bland, modern country that lacked the intrigue of a less developed country. I have come to appreciate the bold, spicy food, and bustling downtown Daegu, which turns into a sparkling metropolis at night, with signs written in the big bold Hangul script all lit up and beckoning to me. But it is getting late and this girl's gotta get some yummy Korean food in her belly! I'll write more about that, and my teaching, later.....I promise darlings :)

I am finally in Korea! I am sitting in the reception area of my new place of employment, Letter and Sound Academy in Daegu, near the southeast coast of the country. I came to Korea with pretty much no expectations.

It is a few days later and I am no longer in the reception area of my school but in a PCbang (an internet cafe near Camp Walker army base about ten minutes from downtown Daegu where I tried unsuccessfully to go to the bank with the ATM with English instructions so I could withdraw money to live on here. As it turned out I had to have a pass to get onto the base and in order to get a pass I have to know somebody on the base. The only person I know who has a pass to get there is David, another teacher at my school, but he was unavailable to take me there today, Memorial day (6 June 2006) but told me I should have no problem going by myself. So I did and well, I did have a problem. I am trying hard not to get frustrated and just be easy on myself, as I have only been here about eight days.

I thought I wanted a change, a break from Thailand, where I taught previously, but so far living in Korea has been harder than I expected. Nobody here speaks English. Well, a few people speak a little bit but everytime I go anywhere I am reminded of just how foreign this place is to me. All signs and restaurant menus are in Korean. Bus schedules are in Korean. Only western restaurants like Outback steakhouse, Bennigan's, McDonald's and Pizza Hut have menus in English and those aren't exactly establishments I care to eat in all the time. I do have a feeling I'll enjoy myself in Korea, though. It's just going to take a little more time, and I'll have to work harder than I had to in Thailand, but I think gradually my life will get easier. and on the bright side, Koreans, though they appear somewhat reserved and serious on the outside, are actually pretty nice people.