Here are a few pictures from the U.N. Cemetery that I visited on America's Memorial Day -- Koreans celebrated Buddha's Birthday on that day. It's the only cemetery of it's kind. Incredible park that many foreigners in this country don't even know about.

A few pictures of the last week or two

                                 On this day we had class on the carpet, well, they sat on lap instead

                                       This kid loves to wear my shoes

                                        About 15 bucks or so worth of meat -- the lean kind, that is

             This little dude is nuts. He likes to bite other kids, and he really loves tearing pages out of his book.

                    This is a new burger place that just opened in my neighborhood. It's pretty good, but the name Muscle Buck -- I'm not so sure that the burgers are that good for you.

Long Time No See

I apologize for the long layoff or absence from this blog here. I haven't been super busy, I've just been a little lazy and catching up on this thing. Life is going well over here in the ROK. People complain about it being hot, when it's only 85 degrees, outside with about a 50% humidity. The humidity does absolutely suck in the morning time though. Monsoon season is coming this weekend, which may not allow for many fun activities in the great outdoors.

I've enjoyed some busy weekends lately that have consisted of some fun times --- not associated with booze though. I've been playing basketball around town, and really enjoying that. Playing with foreigners on Saturdays is something I started doing last weekend. I had a blast with that, especially since I'm in much better cardio shape than most of the guys there. I also volunteered with a cultural group I'm a member of, at a rehab center for patients with mental illnesses. There have been a few "food events", as well as the twice a month English club meetings.

Work is staying fun as well. I was bit by a student a few weeks ago, which was kind of funny. I'm not gonna discuss it much further than that for now, but the parents were super apologetic.

Over the last few weeks I've seen quite a bit at work that makes me thankful for these hard-working women.  
I'll have to post some pictures of the rug-rats on here later.  I did strain my minor pec muscle, but the doc has given me some physical therapy, and some strong meds to help out. Anyway, it's the weekend here, and I'm gonna go to sleep, but I'll keep this thing going much more over the next few weeks. Summer vacation and a short trip home are on the to-do list over the next few months. 

Thankful for Health Insurance

One thing this country is good at: getting me in and out of doctor's offices quickly, and cheaply.  Last week on Monday night, I messed up something between my shoulder and my chest while doing an enormous amount of weight at the gym.  This past weekend it seemed that the pain was gone, so I went back to the gym, and started doing the bench press last night.  Turns out that the problem wasn't gone.  So while getting ready for the heavier weights, the little issue came back.  I was almost in tears actually.  I sent my boss a text last night,  asking for her to help take me to a hospital.  She took me tonight after work, along with buying me dinner and we got checked in, an exam (if you want to call it that), x-rays, a pain shot, and some meds, all within a twenty minute time frame.  Thankfully it only cost about 11 USD.  Great way to end Teacher's Day in Korea for me. I did receive a few pairs of socks from some mothers, a plant, and a ball point pen.  One mother also brought in an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins known as a "four leaf clover" cake -- it was pretty good, considering I don't like to eat cake at all.

That's kind of an update on life for the moment.  Not much else is going on here. The weekend consisted of ahiking, and some cleaning, but otherwise not much else. 

Movie night at church

Yeah, I'm still horrible at keeping my word on this thing. . . . Anyway, I did a movie and dinner night thing at the church back at the end of April.  The movie was called The Grace Card; It actually took place in Memphis, TN, which I'm proud to say. I didn't watch the whole thing through until that night, but I think we all enjoyed the movie and the message that it had to offer us. We did have 12 folks that came and ate with us that night, and I think eight of them stayed for the movie, which worked out well.  I made a bow tie pasta dish, with duck, and chicken, that consisted of some onions, and shittake mushrooms, along with a handful of basil, oregano, and sage.  It seemed like everyone enjoyed the pasta, and two of the Ethiopian ladies made some of their native dishes which I definitely enjoyed as well.

Overall, the first test of this event went well. So it looks like we'll do something like this at the end of May also. I'm not sure what the movie or what the meal will consist of next time, but I've got a few bags of penne pasta here calling my name.  

Happy May Day . . . .

I'm a slacker. . . ., so on my birthday of all days, I'll somehow try to catch you folks up with things. It's not an easy task, but not much has really gone on in the last ten days.

I did enjoy a trip on the 21st (a very rainy day), to a national museum, in Gyeoungju, a city with a ton of history. It was an adventure that I kind of planned, but due to the rain, we had to schedule a different activity or two instead. The eight of us that did go, did seem to have  a good time. The museum was packed full of people, being that the weather wasn't all that great.

Work keeps me energized, as well as sleeping deeply on a nightly basis too.  The little ones are learning well, and they definitely get cuter as time goes by too. Story time, and music time are my favorite times of the day. The late afternoon can be dreadful, but I somehow have my ways of easing these kids into my command, one pushup at a time (j/k.). Today was Labor Day in Korea, which meant the little ones at are school, didn't come to school today at all.  So, I had a few hours free, which was awesome. I spent more time playing with my little ones that I teach in the mornings, and probably ate more than usual too.  Our boss made the food today, and it was more of a hit than the usual meals were.

I'll leave a few pictures up here for now, and will do my best to update again tomorrow or the next day -- I haven't mentioned our movie night that I hosted at church last Saturday night (April 28th).

                                          one of the coolest pics ever!!

                                         one of my favorite little dudes

                                        this kid is great too

                                          One of Mimi's students celebrated her bday last week

                                                   When kids get bored

                                            Or really bored

                                         I don't think I've ever had this many to drink before getting on a subway

                                                     Picture from the Arboretum

                                             this kid comes with a warning sign

                                       Pumpkin and duck meal -- awesome

My Boss, and the Korean Workers

I am so happy to say this . . . . I work with Koreans that are almost always smiling -- and not arguing about something.   It's so nice to see this. My boss will even take my coworker Amelia, and I out for our birthdays in a week or so.  That's pretty rare in this country as well.  It's definitely nice to see people are happy with their jobs -- my boss treats everyone really well, and it shows.