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Well…I know that it has been sometime since I have written one of these, but I have been pretty busy with things and living my own life.  I am sorry that I haven’t kept more in touch, but things around here are always on the move.  Well, let’s just say that there are plenty of places to go and things to see and not to mention a lot of new people to meet. 

             A couple of weeks ago, Jason’s dad came to visit him and hang out with us and see the sites.  It was really cool, and I got to see where my senior teacher got some of his ways of doing things and his attitude.  Not to mention that I now know where he got his height.  Jason is not that tall, but he is a little taller than his dad though. The Saturday before he was to go back to the states, we took him to the Gyeongbokgung Palace.  This is where the last emperor of Korea resided before the Japanese occupied Korea for forty years.  The palace was cool, because they have reconstructed it to look like it did before, and they also have the guards, changing of the guards and other ceremonies at this palace.  Oh, they also have a television show that uses parts of the palace as well.  It is a very popular show here and I have seen a couple of episodes, but they are not in English, so yeah.   I took a lot of pictures there, with a couple of me, and I will see about getting them up on yahoo, so that you can enjoy as well.  Just need to write me a note, well…I have a lot of notes on my computer and I think that one of them is to do that, but I will get it done soon. 

             I am learning Korean, with an actual Korean teacher.  She is a friend of mine’s girlfriend who is back in school to teach.  Well, she is studying to be an English and Korean teacher.  She will be able to teach Korean and English, and she wanted to see if she could do it, and I am her test run.  Tell you the truth; she keeps me on my toes with vocab and studying a lot.  But then again, what better way to learn a new language than to go and spend time where that language is most spoken and used.  Her name is Jae-Sook, and she is really funny, and is a good teacher. 

             One thing that I am going to tell you about is that here, there is something called Children’s Day, and it happens on the 5^th of May.  So, this past Thursday and Friday, I have been doing activities with my kids and making things for them and giving them little gifts as well.  You see, you give the kids little gifts and well…since I have so many, I gave them very little ones and made each of them a small card wishing them a Happy Children’s Day.  One of my classes tried making me get them pizza, but I told them that I wasn’t going to get them then I would have to do it for all of my classes and it would also cost me too much, and I don’t really want to be spending that kind of money on my kids which half of them don’t even do their bloody homework and don’t even bring their books to class.  I am sorry, but if they were the best class that I had there and they did what I asked them to do, then I would have seriously thought about getting it for them, but since they are not…

             One more thing, another day that is coming up soon is Parent’s Day, so it is going to be another day of making crafts with the kids and making sure that they get them home to their moms and dads on that day.  There is also Teacher’s day here as well, and that is on May 15^th, which is something pretty cool.  Apparently, native teacher’s make off like a bandit on this day with gifts from the kids.  I will let you know what all happens on that day as well, but now I need to tell you that this past weekend, I went to a co-workers wedding, and it only lasted 20 minutes, and it took another 20 to 30 minutes to take pictures.  OH yes, I had to take a group picture with my co-worker and a bunch of other co-workers.  It was fun and then for the rest of the day, we went to Hongdae due to the fact that my Senior Teacher, Jason Kelsey turned 28 on the 5^th of May as well.  So, yeah, go to see the nightlife in Hongdae and it was something that I could do without.  I don’t get why people go there and spend way too much money on drinking and dancing.  I don’t think that it is worth it at all.  It was like back in the states where people just get drunk and get into fights, but one thing that I did notice there, was that there were signs posted at a lot of the bars saying no GI’s allowed.  I am thinking that there has been a little too many fights break out at the bars where we went between GI’s.  Since all they have time for is drinking and hitting on women. 

             Well, everything else is going pretty well over here.  I am very excited to say that I spent 800,000 won, which is 800 dollars on a plane ticket and my destination is not anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, but somewhere else.  I am not going to tell you, I will tell you right before I leave.  Sorry, this is how I am going to be on this one occasion and I am not going alone, I am going with three co-workers from work.  I guess you can say it is going to be a “guys vacation”. 

             I hope to hear from all of you and take care.  Laters

HI there one and all…I know that it has been a while since you have heard from me, and I am sorry for not getting an email out sooner, but things have been very busy around here.  I know that for one, it is hard to get things done here, let alone trying to get updates out to all of you who are wondering what I have been up to lately, but I assure you that I am doing alright and am having a blast here.  I have gotten new students and have been consumed with getting to know them and understand how they are going to be speaking to me in the future.  I know that some of them I am going to have to work more closely with since they have this notion that they don’t have to listen to me or actually speak what few English words they have been taught, but use Korean with me.  I don’t understand it, cause they think that my Korean partner teacher doesn’t understand Korean and they speak it around her all of the time.  I know this cause she and I have daily conversations about our kids.  It is something new that they want us to do, is to talk to our partner teacher’s ever day about our kids.  Sometimes, I have no idea what to say cause my partner teacher is in the same boat and we just make something up and then talk about other things, cause they are watching us but not listening.  My boss has told me, that if you make them think that you are doing what they want, then everything will be peachy.  She is very nice and just wants to please the boss by being able to tell him the truth that we are all talking every day.  So, yeah, I am also helping a friend who wants to learn about American Culture, which I am going to be staring this coming Tuesday and Thursday, so I will be helping her understand why her boyfriend acts the way he does.  I have no idea why she is asking me about a guy who went to MIT and Harvard and grew up in Pennsylvania.  I just don’t get it, but hey I am going to be teaching her something about the American way of life.  Anyways, she wants to go there since her boyfriend bailed out on taking her when he went.  Korean women take a lot of stuff and keep going.  Not to mention that once they commit to someone, they stick with them, but to an extent I have noticed.  Cause Korean men do at times, like all men, screw up and will not think with their head but with the other one.  Find it kind of funny actually, because she wants to understand him, so she comes to me.  Not to mention that she knows how to have fun and drink all night long…how do I know this, is because she texted me all night long asking me to come and dance with her and her friends in Hongdae this past Friday night.  I was not in the mood to go all the way to Hongdae and meet her friends, whom I might say are very nice and attractive and would have paid for everything, but I was just not in the mood.  Not to mention that she is going to be teaching me Korean in return for these lessons on American Culture.  So, I do get something out of this and it is going to benefit me a lot in the long run.  Most Koreans understand English, but they don’t like speaking it cause they want to be able to say it right or not at all.  And it will be nice to be able to talk to the old security guards that are downstairs in my apartment. 

             Well, I might have mentioned that I was going to be going to the DMZ to some of you, but I haven’t yet, since the weather every weekend we have been trying to go has been terrible.  I have been told to go on a nice day when there isn’t going to be any bad weather.  So that you can get some good pictures, and not crappy ones.  But instead I make my weekly trip into Seoul for church every Sunday instead.  I am not complaining about going to Church every Sunday, I did promise my mom that I would go to Church and with the help of a Korean Teacher who is Catholic, I have been able to keep that promise more now.  She found me a Catholic English mass that is later in the day on Sunday so that I don’t have to wake up at 0600 hours and get on a train by 0730 hours just to make 0900 mass, instead I go to 1100 hours mass at the International Catholic Church of Seoul.  The only problem I have there is that when mass is over, everyone starts speaking their own language and it is not English.  So, I head home after that and I watch movies or take a nap, so now you know what I mainly do on Sundays.  I am waiting for one of the museums to get their new exhibit up and running before I go and visit it again.

             Well, what else have I been up to lately, well…I have been keeping myself busy with going to several museums and checking out what I have missed in each museum.  You would be surprised at what you would miss by just walking through a museum once and look around.  You have to try a couple of times, and then you definitely get to see everything. I am also trying to find a couple of spots that are suppose to be really good for taking pictures and seeing some things that most people don’t get a chance to see when they visit a place.  So, me being here for a while do have its advantages and disadvantages.  I know that people back home miss me and I miss them, but hey I am living my life here and it is a blast right now.  I know that it would be a bigger blast if some people were here with me just chilling and having some Soju, not me, but you can try it and see what you think about it.  I know that I have had enough of the Soju to last me for a long time.  I know that I am taking it easy since I want to save money for my vacation this summer.  I know that I am really looking forward to this summer vacation and going to see some sites and it is going to be fun with the co-workers that I am going to be going with.  We are going to have so much fun this July.  I know that I still need to get things sent home, but hey, I have been very busy with things and not to mention that whenever I have wanted to send anything home, the line has been so long that I just didn’t want to sit around for two hours to just mail something home.  But I am going to make an effort and mail some things home soon.  I have to, cause I think that my boss is feeling like moving some of us around, since he only rents these places from other people.  Well, I know that there are three of us that are thinking that he is going to be moving us soon, cause I think the lease he has for these is going to be running out and the guy is wanting more and he doesn’t want to give more for the places.  I don’t know what is going on, but hey I just live here and I know that he will have a place for me to live no matter what. 

             Well, better get going.  I do hope to hear from all of you sooner or later.  Drop me a line, cause I miss all of you.  Laters.