August has come to a close and the past three weekends have found me out of town. I went to Busan, the second largest city in Korea on August 12th and 13th. It is on the southeast coast of the country and is famous for its beaches, most notably Haeundae beach, the most popular beach in all of Korea. When we went there it was packed full of people, as August is the summer holiday period when many families take three-seven day vacations. It was a hot and humid afternoon and I was looking forward to a dip in the sea. But after putting just one foot in the water I found that in spite of it being August it was freezing cold. I refused to allow myself to be a complete wimp so I got in up to my knees and splashed my arms and face with the salty water. Although it was refreshing, it didn't invite further swimming, so I opted to go back to the mat, lie under the umbrella, and allow my face to be kissed by the gentle breeze.

The most wonderful part of the trip to Busan was our accomodations. We stayed at Vesta, a 24-hour spa, also known as jijimjilbang. Many Koreans stay in them because they are cheap and are all over the country. You check in any time, and for 9,700 won ($9.70) You have access to the spa facilities which include hot and cold pools, jacuzzis, and waterfall showers. There are separate spa rooms for men and women, and everyone disrobes and uses the facilities freely. I have to admit that I felt a little bit awkward and nervous about that at first, but when I got into the locker room and saw that everyone else was doing it, it was no big deal, and seemed really natural. There were a few moments though when I felt a few eyes looking at my shape, which is drastically different from most Asian women, since I have full hips and a shapely butt. This made me slightly uncomfortable, but I felt the best thing to do was just find a pool and jump in. It was soothing and purifying and when I was finished, I donned the shorts and t-shirt they give you and found a space on the floor, grabbed a mat, and fell asleep. The whole evening was refreshing and rejuvenating and I would definitely do it again.

On August 20 I went to Yongyeonsa Temple with my friend Jackie and her family. It's about twenty minutes from Daegu and is located in the woods, near a cold rocky stream where toads hopped and butterflies flitted in the air. Jackie's five-year-old daughter Eugene enjoyed chasing after them and dipping her feet in the water. We spent about an hour there looking in the different buildings in the temple complex. Afterwards, we went out to dinner and ate barbecued pork which we wrapped in lettuce leaves and ate with kimchi and soup with tofu and noodles. A nice day, but a little too hot and muggy.

On Saturday August 27 I went to Gyeongju, again with Jackie and her family. I had been wanting to go to this town since I first arrived in Korea. It is the site of the Silla Dynasty and full of temples. We only had time to go to one, Bulguksa temple. "Sa" means temple in Korean. It was teeming with Korean tourists--families with their children, and honestly, I didn't really enjoy myself. I have come to the conclusion that with the exception of a few truly spectacular ones, all temples look the same. The town itself is pretty and green, with blue skies and clean air, but the visit left something to be desired. I will go back in the fall, when the beautiful colors are abundant and I can relax without having to sweat so much.

Teaching has got to be one of the most draining professions in the world, yet it is also one of the most important. It is one that the teacher will not necessarily see the positive long-term effects of immediately, and that is one of the things I find frustrating about it. Sometimes I feel like I spend the majority of class time yelling at the kids and telling them to be quiet so that I can impart the lesson and feel some form of gratification from what I'm doing. I find myself feeling spent when I leave many of my classes -- my voice from yelling and my body from constantly standing and moving about the classroom. But the levels of stress ebb and flow like the tides depending on the size of the class and their particular ability level and energy. I have to reacclimate myself every time I step into a new class. Teaching English to foreigners is especially challenging because I must always be careful to use the most simple words, to speak very slowly and clearly and to effectively demonstrate any games or activities I have planned. I have to do all of this above the din of kids from the kindergarten level up to middle school scream, pound on their desks, lean back in their chairs and come dangerously close to cracking their heads open, stand on their chairs, leave the classroom without permission, and the list could go on and on.

Teaching is an all consuming job. I have to be a disciplinarian, a manager, and an entertainer. On top of all of this I am the foreign teacher. I liken this status to the poor, unsuspecting substitute teachers all of us had from time to time in school while we were growing up. He or she would walk into the classroom and before they could shut the door it was party time for the children! I have to remind myself that my teaching is not all about me and my ego--my desire to get the kids speaking great English by the time I leave them. My only goals are to help them improve their English and make them feel good about themselves.

Daegu has the hottest summer in all of Korea, and I was warned about this before I came. But I didn't think it would be this bad. One might think that after all the traveling I've done in tropical, developing countries (Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, India) that I would be more accustomed to the heat. But there are varying degrees of heat, and not just in terms of temperature. In Thailand and India the heat was always humid and sticky, but in Daegu there is a strange combination of dryness and humidity in the air. When the wind does blow, I can feel the dryness enter my throat and get in my eyes while the humidity turns my face and neck into a river of sweat that I have to dam continually with the small blue towel I kept in my shoulder bag as I walked around the downtown district of Jungangno last weekend. In spite of the heat the weekend was wonderful, the perfect balance of fun and relaxation. On Saturday I ate at my favorite burger joint, Burnham's Burgers, whose burgers would be perfection if only they did not put American cheese on their sandwiches and cheese fries, which I find utterly regrettable. After dinner I made my way to one of the coolest things about South Korea which is the DVD bang. Bang means room in Korean.These are individual private screening rooms. The way it works is, you choose from a selection of both Korean and Western DVDs and pay anywhere from 7-10,000 won ($7-10) per DVD. You can buy soft drinks and popcorn just like at the regular movie theatre and once you have chosen your DVD, you will be shown to your own mini-cinema, complete with a couch you can prop your feet up on which can seat anywhere from 4-6 people comfortably. You cut out the lights, they play your movie on a large screen and you're good to go! I think they're absolutely brilliant! I watched Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, to ready myself to see the sequel which I'll see this coming weekend.

On Sunday I spent the whole afternoon with Jackie. She took me to the Seomun Market, which is one of Daegu's largest. We made it there just a couple of hours before closing time so it wasn't bustling and the crowds were thinning, but just about everything was on offer at this megaplex! There were traditional Korean fans and masks, mats and baskets made of bamboo, furniture, tea, food, casual clothes, material for hanbok, the traditional Korean costume worn on Korean thanksgiving, and much more. We did some shopping at Dong A Outlet Mall where I tried on an aqua blue pleated skirt with orange and yellow sequined, floral embroidery at Michaa, a Korean clothing retailer. It was stunning but the cost, at 199,000 won ($199) was just a little out of my price range. I looked at another equally stunning but equally unattainable beige shirt dress with a silver belt. It was sexy and smart and looked great on me but alas, I had to leave it behind. After our "shopping" trip, we stopped at Starbucks where I made the mistake of ordering a grande iced caramel macchiato. It wasn't a good choice because we followed up the coffee break with a Korean dinner, a very spicy one. I ordered my favorite soup, Soondubu, spicy soup with tofu, peppers, egg, and seafood with rice, bibimbap (mixed vegetables) and kimchi. Caffeine and peppers are not a good combination let me tell you. I was not at my best today, and I was so tired that I nodded off during one of my classes! But it was worth it for all the fun I had!