Sooo its a lovely rainy day...and here's a nice newsy update. Matthew and I have started new schedules where we are both teaching half days and studying the other half. Matthew has already started his program and is swamped with reading, and I'm hoping to start in October. I really love the new schedule. Teaching little kids is so much more fun when you're not doing it 40ish hours a week. Sooo much more fun.

This weekend we're going to see the Korean version of My Fair Lady, which should be truly interesting. The whole basis for the play is the story of a young lady learning to speak English properly, so how exactly they're going to communicate that idea, along with the humor, to a Korean audience, I'm not entirely certain. 

On another note, everyone should get down on their knees right now and thank God for giving them Lowe's and Home Depot. Last week we tore out the threshold of our bathroom because underneath a thin layer of concrete (forming a hump so water supposedly can't get out of the bathroom) it was entirely rotted and growing large bugs which aren't allowed in my house. After ripping it out we discovered that underneath was a layer of dirt, rocks and basically rubble. Very interesting construction. So what to do with that...after scavenging around Matthew found a granite slab in a trash heap beside the road (they make everything out of granite - curbs, everything). This filled it nicely accept for about a two inch gap. In the absence of any concrete that doesn't involve hiring a professional (again, a national trait) we discovered that if you cover grout with a few layers of nail polish it stands up to the elements (or the shower-stall-lacking bathroom) brilliantly. The things I never knew...

Besides that, we are healthy, happy and doing very well. I'm so glad that we're here for another year, I think it's going to be so good.

Yay, we have a new camera. Forthcoming shall be many asundry pictures, hopefully increasing in quality and providing amusement and happiness to all. It makes us very happy :).

Matthew's first picture, experiementing with focus and such. Pretty cool.

The flowers outside Matthew's house.

The tiles on our roof.

Guess what it is? Matthew's work.

Also Matthew's work. Random but cool...

View from our rooftop.

Kimchi/everything pots on our roof.

The old man who has a wee little store right next to our house. He smiles and waves at us and I am sure is very amused at us most of the time.

Matthew's favorite bear.

Sarah's random but cool picture of Matthew's living room.

Couldn't decide which one...so I put them all...he's sooo cute...

Wow, so that was a lot of pictures...and this is only the beginning...

Washing of hands -- Its really hard to wash just one hand well and George prevents me from stretching the other hand far enough to reach the sink
Writing -- Usually we write with both hands touching our writing medium, it tends to slide around if not
Reading  -- Two main problems with this: A) Only one hand can hold the book. B) You have to bend over, however slightly, to look at the book.  This gets painful.
Showering -- This one is very sad, because it tends to make you avoid showers and smell funny.  You have to take the brace off to shower.  This means that George is not supported and George is a wimp.  So, it feels like your arm, and shoulder, are going to pull out of your body and slowly slide downwards pulling ligaments and tendons, piece by piece, out of your body until your dismembered flesh lies on the floor.  Also, its hard to wash.
Carry anything         -- Often requires two hands.  And even if not, everything you pick up is supported by your shoulders.  So all the weight eventually goes to George, no matter which hand, and this is sad.
Opening bottles      --  Hard to do one handed.  Tis' difficult to grab the top and the bottle at the same time while pushing opposite directions with the same hand.
Straighten papers    -- Oddly enough, this really requires two hands.  It can be a most frustrating endeavor.
Putting on Clothes   -- Just hard, pretty obvious
Using the bathroom -- Also not described
Umbrellas               -- Closing them without getting wet gets interesting.
Typing                   -- Yup
Sneezing                -- Not difficult, just avoided with the greatest dread.
Bus Trips               -- We of the public transit have this problem.  Bus trips are bumpy, hence it feels like someone is hitting George; this is particularly true when sitting.  While standing you have to hold on with one hand which supports your weight going in all different directions, refer to the "Carry anything" section.  Also you have to scan your card with one hand while holding onto the bus with the other.  This is difficult when you only have one hand.
Reaching stuff        -- Its actually kinda funny.  I have this huge pile of stuff on my right side and nothing on my  left.  The reason?  Because i can't move my arm away from my body.  This means the TV  remote could be lying three inches from me but I can't get it.  I'd have to sit up -- very painful -- turn around and pick it up with my right hand and then lay back down again -- also painful.  Also, anything that requires any stretching, let me repeat - any stretching, to  reach is not recommended.
Sitting                    -- This involves settling your shoulders into what ever chair you are in.  If your shoulders don't move this tends to be uncomfortable.
Standing                -- Standing requires your arms and shoulders to take their own weight, this is painful.
Lying down           --  If the surface is not perfectly flat, including beds, it causes your shoulders to hunch up and your arm to lie at a slightly upward angle; this is painful.
Eating                    -- This is done while standing, sitting, or lying down; its a bad start.  One handed eating, particularly from the least painful position, lying down, is very tricksy.