Boemgye on Christmas Eve

Korea Definitely Got This One Right!

10,000 Won, your own grill, and all you can eat meat.  Need I say more?

  

                   The Source                                                    The Grill                                                              The Feast

My Students

I finally got around to using my camera in my classroom.  I took these pictures on December 23 and 24 so the kids are just working on a Christmas project.  I was very surprised at how camera shy most Koreans are.  I only got one group of girls to actually pose for a picture.  The rest are taken without them seeing, at least at first.  Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of my youngest class yet.  I'm sure they would love it.  In Korea, just about everyone that speaks English has a Korean name and an English name (usually from when they studied English).  I have included my kids' English names here.

Maria, Eima, and Shona                                             Sam, Chris, and Willy                                              Erin, Sarah, and Julie

Koreans sure do love flashy lights...

Anyang at Night

This is the street my school is on at 10pm.  If you think there are a lot of lights here, wait until I get a picture of Beomgye at night.  It is like daytime in the nighttime.

The First Week

I have been in Korea for a week now and it has definitely had its share of adventure.  I have had to get used to traveling by bus, subway and taxi.  All are very cheap.  I can get across town for about $1.50 in a cab.  I began teaching on Monday.  I have 5 classes between 5 and 13 in size including ages 9-15.  It has been fun and relatively easy.  The kids are curious about my beard, my blue eyes and whether or not I have a girlfriend. 

Last week, I had to get a medical examination at the hospital for my Alien Residency Card (This allows me to get services like a cell phone, Internet, etc...).  I have never had such a crazy experience at a hospital.  As soon as I walked in I had a gentleman in a suit taking me to the proper area.  He then escorted me to every step along the way, holding my bag and coat whenever I had to write or be examined.  Whenever a person was not at their station, like radiology, he would run around and find the guy.  After they drew some blood, with a syringe mind you, they gave me a wad of cloth to stop any bleeding just like in the States.  However, they didn't give me a bandage, so I had to hold it on myself.  We rushed up to dental and they sat me right down in a chair.  They took the wad of cloth to throw away and began examining my teeth.  It didn't take long for them to realize that I hadn't stopped bleeding from having my blood drawn yet as it was running down my arm.  It had only been like 3 minutes and I had been running.  It was pretty funny.  Everything was so quick and efficient.

Anyway's, I included some pictures I took from the hospital.  It is up on a mountain-side and has a tremendous view.  Things are going very well and I am becoming more acclimated to life in Korea.  Thank you all for your prayers and know that you are all in mine.  You can call me at 920-964-1880.  My Internet is not up fully yet, but just leave a voicemail and I will get back to you  (usually between 6 and 10pm CST).

Pictures from Anyang Hospital

The main street by my apartment and the side road to get to my building

This building is on my walk to work...