National drink of Bulgaria

Rakia

a little update on Day 1 and 2 in Sofia

So I have to admit I do love this green, green city, and the way people utilize it. I'll add pictures when I get back to Korea, since I don't have a computer with me this week, but I'll give small reports a few times this week though.

Yesterday I did a little walking around and re-familiarized myself with the surroundings.. .  that didn't take long at all. I sat around the hostel for awhile, so my body could figure out what was going on as well. Slava (good friend and local tour guide here), came back from his hiking tour and we chatted for a little bit. Then I went and joined a three hour bike tour of the city that took us through almost every park, and by almost every landmark in the city. Actually the tour ended up being four hours instead. No matter what though, it was a very good tour.

Today consisted of hiking at Vitosha Mountain, and seeing the outside of Boyana church (which is a UNESCO site). Also while hiking up the mountain, one has the honor of seeing Boyana Waterfall, and Boyana Lake. The waterfall is about 30 m high, and is definitely a sight to see. I enjoyed soaking my feet in a small pool there, and ate my lovely sandwich as well. On the tour we had a couple from Austria, a couple from England, a man from Canada with his girlfriend from Iran, a girl from Tunisia, another girl from Syria, two girls from Vancouver, Canada, and myself. It was definitely a fun group of  people to hike with.

Tonight I had a date with Miss Nevena Bukova, who I met here last year. We met at the Thursday night bicycling group that goes through the city. We went to a somewhat traditional restaurant (tomorrow though we'll really do traditional though), and spent an hour or two at a park just sitting around and talking. So it's off to bed, before I visit all of the churches tomorrow in Sofia (at least all the historical ones). 

Finally made it to Sofia

After sitting on a plane yesterday in Seoul for four hours, I was delayed and missed my connecting flight yesterday for Sofia. So due to crazy  visa restrictions in Russia, the Koreans (who were visiting Europe) and I were all stuck in the airport waiting for a few hours, then rounded up on a bus to a nearby hotel We then had to wait while hotel cards were distributed, and were informed when our wake up call would be, along with our meal and bus ride to the airport. It seemed like our actions were monitored at all times though.
No matter what, I'm in Sofia now, which feels really good. I'll be in touch later. 

Have a nice weekend

The temps in this city are very similar to those back home now. Super humid in the morning, sunny and hot in the afternoon, super humid in the evening. I should be going to sleep, now that I'm finally packed for my short visit to see my friends Slav, and Nevena, as well as others, in Sofia. I'll leave at 1:45 Korea time in the afternoon, and arrive there probably about when the sun is going down at 9:55pm.

Anyway, I'll do my best to keep you all updated out there. I don't plan to be on the computer much, but I'll make an exception or two.

Take care and have a good weekend.

Notice the differences here???

             my left hand --- 12 hours after a failed mosquito killing attempt -- eventually got the sucker though.

                                    that's what the poor hand should look like --- ha ha

Some fun pictures of kiddos

Just a few close ups of some of the little ones lately. . . The first few came when I was having a rough start to the day yesterday.

                                           let's take Teacher's phone out of his pocket and see what's up

                                                   or just jump on teacher

                                                 this guy is a big huger

                                                      this one can be really wild, or really affectionate

                                                 the other twin is pulling my hair as I take the picture

                                                  we all managed to get in on this one

                                                little man think it's funny to pull my hair

Expo

So the world expo in Yeosu, Korea was pretty impressive. These Korean people even built a fancy new bridge so it'd be easier to get from where I am to the site of the Expo, in Yeosu. There were some incredibly long lines, and quite a few people fanning themselves as well.  I even waited with my friend Lydia in line for two hours just to visit an aquarium -- thought it was nice to visit on the inside -- especially with the rare Beluga whale that was there.  We also spent an hour waiting to get inside the Russian Pavilion as well. The Russians had a pretty amazing exhibit, that probably outdid everyone else.

The theme of the Expo was oceans, and how to help protect and save our oceans.  The Russian exhibit explained how they have scientists working with a group from the UN to help study the Arctic and protect all of the animals living there. The U.S.A. had a nice video presentation that showed how many of those in our country utilize the oceans in many different ways. It showed how we really take pride in our bodies of water. It also showed though the ways that we are destroying our oceans too.

The expo had food from a few different countries, and many of them touted their tourist industries too. As though host country, Korea did have quite a few different presentations, and themed projects that were very interesting and informative (when in subtitles).

One thing I didn't realize was that Lydia and myself had a whole twelve hours to spend there, and not just seven. I had received a little itinerary, that apparently was the wrong itinerary. So, we were both pretty worn out, by the time the day was over. I think we literally spent between 1/3 or 1/4 of the time there just standing in line. We did go on a Saturday, and we went on a Saturday when many Korean children are enjoying school holidays. Heck, I even saw my boss that I worked with last year in a part of the country that's four hours away from Yeosu.  

anyone interested??

My friend Nevena shared this with me. She and her family took a vacation in this area. Looks very pretty. She says the architecture there is very impressive.

ECO Bulgaria

World Expo Pictures

I'm just uploading pictures tonight, since it took forever for picture gallery to pull up earlier.  Windows Live Essentials is doing some sort of required installation, so that has slowed me down a little.

Anyway, enjoy some of these pictures from the World Expo.

                                We waited 2 hours to get into this building that housed the 3d aquarium

                                          solar powered phone chargers

                                         The Big O

                                    These things served as LCD monitors for the USA's exhibit

                                           I forgot what this was

                                          There was some of this

                                              Notice the empty beer cup

                                             Photo zone

                                           My friend Lydia from India

                                         These guys were bored, actually part of a diving act I think

                                             Great pictures of a penguin

                                        Under my feet there are catfish

                                           Jellyfish

                                           I lucked up on this shot

                                           This was fun to walk through as well

Egg

I got an egg now. . . . . This post is short and sweet, since I'm worn out from hanging with little ones on Friday night, and not wanting to sleep in a warm room. Today I spent all day at the World Expo in Yeosu. I'll post about both of those adventures for now. Yesterday before work I bought an Egg. One of the companies here in the country has what's called mobile wifi, with this little thing called an Egg. It works pretty much anywhere in the city, but underground. It's nice to have since I don't pay for internet in this apt.

here's a picture of my Egg.

time for Camp

This afternoon at work we will have something known as camp.  Our little ones will come in at 5pm instead of 9 am. We'll do things such as cook out, have a pajama party, and the kids will even have cucumbers put over their eyes before sleep time. I tried to protest on behalf of the boys, but it didn't work in my favor. Tomorrow the kids will have some swimming time, a western-style breakfast, and a few other activities. We actually have a pool on the top of our building, which I'm guessing may actually have water in it today. It certainly didn't have it yesterday.

Tomorrow I'll be going with a church friend to the World Expo (like World's Fair) in Yeosu, Korea. I'll bring back a bundle of pictures.  Here is the website below.
www.worldexpo2012.com/

Birthday Girl (a few days ago), and other pics

                                           I just had to get that pictures of these two

                                                What is colorful thing??

                                            Kids don't smile a lot here even when it's their birthdays

                                                   This quote is awesome

Some pics from a Basketball Tourney

I've tried to get back into playing basketball, though I prefer rebounds and monster-like defense. I was able to play in a tournament and represent a local culture group here in town. We lost to the 2nd place time in our first game by three in OT. The second game we played horrible and still won by 15. Since I shouldn't have been playing (Doctor's orders), I didn't see a whole lot of PT, but I still had an awesome time. The first game was great though, because there was a guy was a few inches taller that was pretty good. We got pretty physical, banging against each other. He told me after the game that he hadn't played football since high school, so that made me feel pretty good. Enjoy the pictures that I took from someone's facebook page.

Sometimes the kid needs you to change your ways first

So we have this problem child at school. . . One of our oldest kindy students that tends to make other girls in the classes cry from time to time. She can be known for bullying the other kids at times. I used to play "hard ass" on her and put her in a corner, or try to be "scary John Teacher, but that stuff didn't really work. So last week, I decided she'd be "Super" Doo Hui, hoping to boost her confidence and make her a better student.  Doing that, and perhaps having some divine intervention have made all the difference. It's also helped that I've given her all my energy and attention as well -- without deflecting attention away from the other kids. She's even complained to me a few times of being "too tired" to want to do her work. Today that just meant she wanted to sit on my lap, and be treated like one of the little ones. I'm really glad for the change though, and it's helping her get along much better with the other kids. They're also doing much better in the afternoon class now that she's behaving much better. In the morning class, she does well, but she's not a big fan of English learning though. She's very artsy and independent.

Anyway, she's the one in the pink on the carpet.

A few pictures from our church trip

Our church was so kind to put together a little 24 hour getaway to Busan, which is very popular for its beaches. We also went to the UN Cemetery, which there are pictures of in another post (from my Memorial Day visit).  I am just copying these pictures from someone else's facebook page. 

Finally

Due to some visa constraints for working in Korea, I was unable to get to visit my friends in Bulgaria back in February. In two weeks I will finally make it over there to visit those wonderful people in Sofia, as I had hoped previously.

I'm really looking forward to going back over there. I was wanting to go to Cambodia, Taiwan or somewhere a little cheaper. I picked up an extra job on Sundays after church, so I changed my mind this weekend, and thanks to priceline.com, I got a decent price on a ticket. 

Frank Martin

this guy is a super tough basketball coach, but apparently a man who has experienced quite a bit in his life.
click on the name below.
Frank Martin

I'll add some pictures from a short church trip to the coast from this past weekend tomorrow.

Interesting stuff here

http://postmasculine.com/america

This is an interesting, and probably very true piece of writing here.

Kids say the cutest things

One of the coolest things happened today at work. . . I have a few kids that will cling themselves to me and let go at certain times during class. Well, I looked down at a little 5 year old attached herself to my leg and said "What's up girl?". Her reply: "What's up Boy?". That's a little girl that will have some swag one day. 


A few weeks ago, I ran into a student and her parents eating outside a local bakery on a Friday night. She brought it up during my class yesterday that we have together, and told the others how much better I look outside of the school. Of course I was wearing a t-shirt and a hat at that time. Apparently I'm not looking so good these days at work

I also just finished the book entitled Justice - What's the Right Thing to do? Very interesting read. It was a tough one at first, but I took my time reading it. 


I have read a few Wally Lamb novels this year that I really enjoyed -- though there was much chaos involved in them.

A few pics from work.

This little one is a super fun kid

                                      the one that is laid out is usually the worst one in the school

                                         the little guy hardly says a word, he's just lost in a girls' world

My new eating habits

Though I am on the DL (disabled list in relation sports injuries), I am trying to still be healthy with my eating habits.  I'm not sure if Muscle Buck (my new favorite burger place) counts or not. Otherwise I'm doing really well with this new meat and veggies idea for dinner. I recently found a blog-site that explains all the cuts of beef in English and then translates them over to Korean.  Right now of course I can't find the website link, but it has come in very handy for me. According to the USDA, there are five cuts of beef that qualify as extra lean. I have been able to consistently find one of them at the groceries here --- Top Round, I believe it is. The big Wally World-like store sells three of the cuts, but they aren't as tender as the top round is. I've also been cooking quite a bit of zucchini and eggplant lately as well. Both are super cheap, and super easy to cook. I can't believe it took me until the age of 31 to finally cook some eggplant, but I'm pretty stoked that decided to do so.

My Boss and Her Work Habits

So my boss is constantly at work. . . She arrives after school starts at 10 am and stays until 6 or 7. These days she and her college-aged son go to eat dinner at home or somewhere nearby, and then come back between the hours of 9-10 pm, and will stay for 4-5 hours. She has been known to spend the night there as well.

Let's keep in mind that this lady does technically have four jobs.

1. She runs the show at our academy/kindergarten/pre-K
2. She teaches gifted children's classes on Mondays and Fridays (that are pretty pricey from what I hear when the parents pay)
3. She lectures at a local online university
4. She lectures at the big university teaching in their graduate program

So right now she and her son are at work (I had to go and do an hour plus of laminating and cutting, so I know this is a fact) preparing some of her lecture notes.  The lecture preparations are the main reason that she stays so late at night these days.

Anyway, temperatures are finally getting warmer here. Just not as HOT as the USA.

Love This Picture

From a friend in Sofia. 

Powerful Stuff

http://news.yahoo.com/taiwan-photographers-crusade-doomed-shelter-dogs-051905318.html

Wow, is all I have to say to this.

Ongoing pain saga

Yesterday I tried a different doctor, just because an old friend works for the guy in the morning time. I explained in great Korean that I had injured my chest muscle a few times this year. Well, he starts pinching on my ribs of all places to test out. Then he says "oh fractured rib." It turns out the x-rays were negative and he told me not to move my right side much at all --- kind of really hard when you work with little ones. My x-rays, office visit and pain shot cost a total of about 8 bucks. My pain meds for 3 days were about five bucks as well. I really just want an MRI to make sure I didn't screw anything up, especially since I was goofing off with a kid today and really thought I felt something tear. Anyway, we did have a really hard rain this morning, so I had to help the Korean women escort the kids from the bus to the building under a giant umbrella (that's used for an outdoor table). The kids thought that it was a super cool idea though.  I had to go home and lunch time though and change clothes, since my pants were, and probably still are a little damp. Time for bed, but I'm trying to work on this consistency thing here with the bloggin'. 

Happy Birthday America

This guy was prepared a few weeks ago for the 4th of July. Hope everyone enjoys their holiday.

From a field trip a while back

We celebrated Korean Memorial day by taking a little field trip at the end of May to a local Memorial Hall. Here are a few pictures from the trip.

        Packed in like sardines -- very illegal in America to sit with a kid in your lap in the front seat, especially at that age

                                        My class and I posing in front of a plane

                                                One of my afternoon groups

One of our youngest English learners

                                 

                                           Just a few of the kids at our kindergarten/Pre-K

                                           This little guy always says "John Teacher is fish"

                                        One of my super good kids