Dusting off the cobwebs

Having recently returned from a visit to Korea (and not wanting to write my paper that is due Monday), I decided to brush the cobwebs off my blog. I got a real kick out of a draft I started when I returned to Korea in August of 2008 to teach in the public schools.

In this entry, I was relating that I was the only foreign teacher at these schools, and I had a lot of downtime at work that year: although I was required to be at work 8 hours a day, I only taught for about 4 of those hours. The rest were spent in cultural exchange, which covered quite a range of topics, including but by no means limited to:

What do students do during recess in the United States?

My friend told me I should get plastic surgery to make my eyes bigger. (A very common procedure for Korean women)

Is it true that you can ride the bus for free in some parts of Seattle?

Do you like kimchi?

Yes...

OH!! Really?? (all teachers exchange impressed and thoughtful looks)

What is your favorite Korean food?

Um...probably budae-jjigae.

OH!! haha, budae-jjigae! (I don't think they expected me to answer....)

Can you read the Korean alphabet?

Yes....

OH!! Really?? Woooow, you are a linguistic genius!

(I tried to point out to them that our entire conversation was in English, which demonstrates their language proficiency, not mine.)

All Korean food is very healthy, and will make you thin and beautiful.

Since, as mentioned, I am practicing the art of procrastination, I'm going to spend some time now so going through old pictures from last year to see if there are any worth posting on this blog. Not that anybody is still reading it after over two years of neglect....