Mundane Things

I haven't really blogged anything in a while since I haven't been up to much. I have taken on a new private lesson and have cut back on going to the gym because I have been going out a lot these nights with friends. Leslie, the last of the foreign teachers of the female persuasion left this weekend. It was sad to see her go, and we all wanted her to stay longer. But, as they say, sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do... I hope she had a good flight back home, and if you're reading this Leslie, good luck to you at university.

The day that Leslie left was a Sunday. We had a farewell hash in her honour at Namhansansung mountain (or as Rich and Leslie like to call it: Namhansan-dum-bling-a-bling-bling-wing-ding... or something like that). It was really nice - a perfect day for a hash and a perfect day for a hike. It was great! I will get some pictures of it up soon enough - including one that will blow your socks off! ;-) We ran to to peak of one of the crests and back down again. The hare who laid the trail (Duck), has a love of making the hashers get to the highest possible place, and I think we made it up to about 600 meters or so... Don't quote me on that though... After the hash, we went for Galbi and then three of us went to a Jimjil-bang (a Korean bath-house - literally translated "Steam room"). The best one around here is called MaxTown. It's really great. For 6,000 won (6 bucks), you can get in and spend as much time as you'd like in hot, warm, cool, and cold pools. While you're at it, you can lather up and wash down, or have someone give you a massage - for only like 10,000 won! Put on some clothes, and then you're off to the common rooms where you sit in REALLY hot saunas. I think I wrote about the Jimjil-bangs before in one of my posts, but they're so great, I had to reiterate.

I have also been grooving on a new food that Charlie and I discovered near here. It's called Budae-jigae. It's kind of like a bachelor's stew. It has sliced up ham, hotdogs, ground beef, thick noodles, thin Ramyen noodles, veggies, macaroni, sometimes curry spice, and other delicious morsels. It's really good! It's served with rice. Today, we all went for Budaejigae at lunchtime.

It's time once again for phone testing. At first, I thought phone testing was a really big hassle, but now I love it. I get the best laugh from it. Why? Well, here's a rough transcription of a conversation with one of my Kindergarteners. The general idea is to test the kids on listening and responding by asking them about 7-10 questions. Anyway, here's the conversation I had with one kid:

B: "Hi Ally! Are you ready for your questions?"

A:"Yes!"

B:"Okay, what letter does the word 'dog' begin with?"

A:"What?"

B:"What letter does the word 'dog' begin with?"

A:"Hi, Ben Teacher! I'm ready!"

B:"Yes, hi Ally! Great work! Can you spell 'dog'?"

A:"Woof woof!"

B:"Good job Ally! Yes, Dog! What kind of word is 'dog'? Is it an 'H' word?"

A:"D!"

B:"Great! Fabulous, Ally! Good job! Okay, question number two..."

A:"D-O-G"

B:"Very good Ally! Okay, question two is..."

A:" Teacher, I'm watching TV!"

B:" Oh, good! Okay, Ally, what number comes after '4'?"

A:"D?"

B:"No, Ally, Can you count to 5?"

A:"D-O-G!"

B:"Yes, Ally, very good! Ally, let's count: 1,2,3,4..."

A:"What?"

B:"What number is after 4? Let's count together: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5..."

A:"D!"

( by this time, I'm laughing pretty hard)

B:"Ok, Ally, let's move on. What's your favorite pet?"

(I figure that she will answer this question inadvertantly by answering "DOG")

A:"D? Teacher, D!"

B:"Do you like cats, Ally? Do you like Dogs? Fish? What is your favorite?"

A:"D!"

B:"Okay, Ally, very good! Next question: What animal goes 'moo'?"

A:"Teacher! Dog!"

B:"What animals are on a farm? What animal goes 'moooooooo'?"

A:"1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!"

(I can hardly contain myself)

B:"Very good Ally! Next question, Can you name 4 colours?"

A:"D!"

B:"Ok, good. What letter comes after 'G'?"

A:"Green!"

B:"Yes, Green starts with the letter G! Let's do the alphabet song: A, B, C, D, E, F, G..."

A:"D?? Teacher! D-O-G!"

(I'm thinking Ally thought I was pretty crazy by this point... there was an incredulous tone to her answer... as incredulous as a 4-year old's voice can get... I am by now laughing aloud)

B:"Can you sing the '3 Little Ducks' song?"

A:"Mmmmmmmmmmumble mumble..."

B:"Great job Ally! Thanks. You did a great job! I'll talk to you again at school tomorrow, ok?"

A:" D!"

B:"Bye Ally!"

A:"Bye Ben Teacher!"

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