Okay... so it was about a week longer than I thought it'd be... but... I didn't have internet for a few days and am finally getting comfortable enough to blog at school while I am getting paid... That's right.. I don't do much here... I only teach 22 hours a week.. which is actually 22 40 min blocks... so technically I only "work" 14-15 actual hours a week here... and during those 14-15 hours... i co-teach... which means... the other Korean english teacher makes the main lesson plan and i simply help out.. i help out by reading out loud anything in English so the students know how the words or sentences are properly pronunciated.... i only work in the mornings... so after 12 noon... i sit on my computer and listen to hockey games and facebook a bit... and blog maybe...
I've got a feeling I'm going to get pretty bored with this routine so I think I'm going to ask to help to lesson plan and get more involved if at all possible... okay... night life right... sorry...
Beer here (mak-chu or bak-chu) is horrible for the most part... it tastes like Pabst Blue Ribbon from home ... however, I have found a few that I like... so that's good enough for me. It's also pretty easy to find imports... for example i grabbed a 4-pack of tall MGD's from the Lotte Mart for 840 won... which is about 8 bucks... not bad... not bad at all... Anyways... Koreans like to drink while eating only... They will go out for dinner... and they like to do this often and will drink plenty of bottles of Soju or Makelli... these are rice alcohols and rice wines... the soju tastes like a mild vodka... not too mild though.. usually between 25-30%.. so you've got to watch yourself !!!
We've gone out several times in Cheonan and that's where a chunk of the following pictures will be from.... Laura has also found that they sell cheap shoes (shuz here) everywhere... so she is experiencing Heaven on earth ....
Oh yeah.. eating and drinking is very cheap here... you can eat a korean style bbq and a 700ml beer and a bottle of soju for about 10$ dollars.... it's ridiculously cheap... if Laura and I go out to eat near the market by our house.. it costs about 4 or 5$ for both of us... while cooking at home is relatively more expensive... and until I get sick of the food here.... i am only going to eat breakfast and snacks at home I think.... We've got a solid group of friends here now that we like to go and eat and drink with... We all got placed in the same region for the most part....
Everyone at my school is finding a reason to take me out to dinner lately.. my co-teacher brought me for Cal-Goo-Su the other night.. and she said "koreans eat this when it rains"... and literally everyone who came in the restaurant ordered the same soup... oh .. it's knife noodle soup... and it's called that because the noodles are cut haphazardly with a knife i think... there's no knife in the soup... you use chopsticks and a spoon only... which is just as tricky as it sounds....
Last night I played volleyball with the Korean men teachers... they were all very good surprisingly... I'd say I was in the top half but definitely not the best player... We went to eat "live fish" after... that meant raw fish thank God... When I walked in the restaurant there were aquariums and I was a little scared... but after about an hour of sitting criss crossed... we were served some sushi grade fish among 40 plates of other stuff... Koreans eat for about 2 hours.. and also drink for longer... I have to get up and say I'm going to the washroom just to stretch my legs.... I'm too tall for their country....
okay... now.. i'm going to post some pics from the last weeks nightlife.... one at a time so you can click on them to enlarge... i haven't found a better way.... they will probably appear above this post.... next post will be my shoe-box of an apartment.. and my gorgeous neighbour (Laura lives across the hall)....