No school tomorrow

So during break I have just been going down to Jeonbuk University every day to meet people or play basketball or soccer. I've met many very nice people, and even been approached by about 12 pairs of missionaries of various religions....

First, Gihun and Bongjin, I met playing basketball. They are both really cool, and of course very nice. Gihun later introduced me to some older men who play soccer at a nice facility every thursday at 3pm. Gihun leaves for Seoul soon to go to school to become a policeman. I will miss him.

Next, a group of girls.  Jiun, Myeongjin, Jihae, Youngeun, and I think.....Sumin....oops, she's going to be mad I forgot her name...They all came to watch me play soccer on Thursday and cheer. It was fun. They are all first year students, so are a little younger than I am. I invited some of them to go with me to the zoo here in Jeonju yesterday, but only Jiun could come. It was very fun and ended up being a kind of date. That night we went together to a free acoustic guitar performance put on by Jeonbuk students.

Finally, I met some older guys, grad students, who are really good at English and play soccer every Saturday morning at 7AM. I played with them yesterday morning before going to the zoo. Notably there is another foreigner, Bobby, who is also quite good at soccer and actually speaks Korean ok. He seems nice.

We had our official meeting today followed by dinner together. My schedule follows.

MT: Yong Bong Elementary School

W: Yong Jin Middle School

Th: Bong Seong Elementary School

F: Gan Jung Elementary School

I basically have to walk down to the Wanju Education building by my house every day by 8AM where someone will pick me up to take me to the schools, all of which are about 10 minutes north of Jeonju. I am done at 3pm and take a bus home.

Tomorrow I would be teaching at Yong Bong Elementary, but it is Yong Bong's memorial day holiday, so I have no class. Everyone else does, haha.

This is Jiun. Near the zoo is a small amusement park so we went on a couple rides for fun.

Baby elk.

This is my new bike!

Notice the full suspension and rack on the back. The brakes are reversed in Korea, front on the right and back on the left.

Apartment

The apartment building is very small with about 12 rooms on 3 floors. I am on the third floor next to a couple other foreign teachers. The layout is typical of a small motel room with the bathroom adjacent to the entryway.

This decoration covers most of the ceiling in the main room. Apparently there is a famous aspen grove on one of the mountains in Jeonju.

I am pleased to have my own washing machine.

The kitchen is small, and the fridge takes up quite a bit of the space, but it is functional, with a large sink.

This is my new rice cooker. It is a small one, so I don't have to cook more than a couple cups at a time. I got it for $70. Others at the store cost as much as $400. Koreans take their rice very seriously. This one has multiple different options for how to cook the rice as well as a clock so you can set it to automatically start cooking the rice before you get home from work.

Guess what I found......!

Well, it is the last day of camp. Unbelievably, I am actually kind of sad to see it end. My students gave me all sorts of headaches, but I am going to miss them. Speaking of headaches, we had a informal party in on of the teachers rooms last night where I had Soju for the first time. I kid you not, it tastes like rubbing alcohol. I moved my bags over to my apartment and got my key yesterday, so I finally have an actual residence in Korea now. It is small but very nice. It is located off the main street but still close enough to all the shops. I was very happy to find that instead of the normal yellow linoleum I have a darkish brown wood floor. I will post pictures soon.

Newspaper Contest

This is my class in front of our class newspapers. My coteacher, Cinda, had to leave this morning after she found out her grandmother's health has started to deteriorate. Tomorrow is the last day of camp, but I get to move my bags over to my new apartment tonight! I will be living in Jeonju.

Teaching with a cold

Well I finally caught I cold. I'm surprised it didn't happen earlier considering all the kids that have been sneezing on and around me every day. My sinuses are bothering me and I had a sore throat for a day or so. Hopefully it will be over with tomorrow. I have been drinking a lot of yuja-cha since it is high in vitamin c, tastes good, and has a pleasant aroma. I think it contains just honey and sliced citrons. The smallest container I could find was 1 kg of the mix, so I brought it to class and let my students make some as well. Our final exam was today. Most of my students did very well. Discipline has been a problem over the past two weeks, and today I had to separate and punish some of my kids. I hate punishing the kids, but if I'm yelling at him and he's laughing in my face, he'll be holding his arms over his head until he's not smiling anymore. Disrespectful kids....

Disappointment - 실망

Bad news everyone, my coteacher has a boyfriend. I guess it will be a little while before I have anything very interesting to write about.

Making bubbles was popular....get it?

The swan boats were pretty boring...

My students were a little camera shy in their swim suits, but I thought they looked pretty slick.

They are trying to hide from the camera behind me but I will not let them.

Oh no! I don't have my clothes on!

Paranoia

Due to the high number of complaints, I have removed the Lanny blog.

Yesterday was the field trip to the swimming pool and amusement park. I am a little tired.

Balloon Day Pictures

Today was balloon art day in the afternoon. Fortunately, I got to mostly just sit and rest.

Day off

I had my only day off for the next 2 weeks today. In the morning I helped Elmarie find a church building in Jeonju 중앙동. I then walked around 객사 (Gaeksa, a big shopping area in Jeonju) with Richard. We were able to find the Kyobo bookstore there and I bought a new Korean study book. We also went over near E-mart and I was able to get a replacement Li-ion battery for my camera. Now I can take pictures again. When we returned to to Woosuk university I got a haircut at a nearby shop, only $6.