K-pop Concert -- Asian Song Fest in Daegu Oct. 15th

On the Saturday of the concert, I planned to meet my friend Laura. We are both English teachers and both like K-pop. I had an idea to bring posters and make a sign for our favorite artists that were playing. It was a good idea because after we got to our seats in the front of our row, we had about two and a half hours till the show started. After we made our signs, some cameramen came up to us and took pictures of our artwork.

It was funny. One guy even interviewed me in Korean, which was also hilarious. One of my Korean friends told me that I might be on TV, newspaper or something like that. I just was excited to see the concert. Laura's favorite artist is B2ST, which was playing somewhere in the middle. I was looking forward to seeing G.NA and Miss A sing.

When the show started, there were light sticks glowing and the crowd went crazy. The first main act was Miss A, which was the voted the best new group of 2011 in Korea. They were very good. The combination of dancing, singing and rapping make them a great girl group.

Also they have variety. Two members are Korean and two are Chinese.

The next major group was U-Kiss a boy group in Korea. After that was G.NA, the artist I wanted to see. Her combination of beauty, talent and great singing makes her a very popular artist. She is also fluent in English which helps her create many fans all around the world.

After I saw G.NA, the crowd went crazy for the next artist which was B2ST. Laura was also screaming which was really funny. Sadly, her pride was broken when a group of schoolgirls outdid her and made a B2st sign out of light sticks which shined brightly in the stadium and even B2st themselves were surprised. B2ST was very good and performed their single, Fiction last which was the best of their songs they performed. With fireworks and flames rising, it was a great performance. After B2st we saw some other artists from other countries like Lee Sung Gi from Korea, AAA from Japan, Bibi Zhou from China, which was actually pretty good. There was also Perfume from Japan, Girls Generation from Korea and Bobby Cho from Taiwan.

It was great experience of seeing some of my favorite K-pop artists. And up close too because I had a VIP ticket for the concert. Unfortunately it started raining and many people stayed but the stadium was outside so others left. We got soaked actually and the wind didn't help as the rain was blowing harder. It was a great concert though even though we didn't stay to watch the final artists like Girls Generation and Super Junior.

Oh well I saw who I wanted to see and it was great. Definitely a highlight of my day. Laura is not from Daegu but I did my best to help her out and show here the way back to her city. Although I was close to Daegu, I don't live in Daegu either. In fact after finding a taxi for her, I just walked home to my apartment. It only took me about 15 minutes to walk home. It was straight all the way to my neighborhood, which was very convenient.

Fireworks Fest in Busan (부산에 불꽃 눌이축제) Oct. 28-30

This past weekend I traveled to Busan for the Fireworks festival. I met some of my friends, who are also English teachers here and we stayed in the same hostel in Haeundae. I arrived on Friday night at Busan station around 8 pm. I found the subway station and traveled to Haeundae Beach. It took me about 45 minutes to get there from the KTX station. I found my way to the hostel pretty easily; the sign was big and in English. The hostel we stayed at was called Pobi House, and the staff was very nice. I met my friends Colin, Rawri, Nina, Kristel and Vince and we went out for dinner. We found a nice place on the 8th story of a building, where we sat down and some delicious food. It was fun cause it was nice to just to relax on the weekend without having to worry about your job. We stayed there for a while and then we headed towards the beach and saw the water but it was nighttime.

I started to remember my time here last year in Haeundae with DY and Yunae and I could hardly believe that I had come back. But it was a great night. We decided to have another snack after looking around the beach a bit at a Japanese fast food restaurant called Lotteria. It’s not bad but I prefer regular food, not fast food, lol. Anyways, afterwards we decided to go to a bar and apparently it was closing because we left pretty quickly. We then headed back to our hostel which was close. We then went to sleep for the night.

On Saturday, we woke up around 10 and started coming up with a plan for the day. We decided to go to Haeundae Beach and see the Aquarium. I’m glad we did because it was very nice. I saw many fish and other interesting things I’ve never seen before. I saw some sharks and big fish up close as well, which was really cool. Afterwards we headed back to the hostel to rest for the upcoming night. We dressed up in Halloween costumes and then we headed out for Haeundae again but this time we met some friends along the way and then we all traveled to the next beach Gwangi in order to get a good seat for the fireworks.

We arrived at the beach and it was crowded. We found a seat on the very end of the beach and fairly close to the front. So it was a good spot to watch the fireworks. The only problem was that we thought the fireworks started at 7 and it didn’t really start at 8. But I didn’t really mind though because the fireworks were amazing. Such bright colors and in different shapes as well. It was definitely worth the wait. It started raining about one hour until the show started but people didn’t mind and came prepared with umbrellas. I on the other hand, did not I purchased mats to sit on so when it started raining I used it to cover myself up, lol. It worked very well but it was difficult to take pictures with one hand. I still had a great time.

After the fireworks, it was the most hectic time. Everyone was determined to leave all at the same time. With the rain coming down and all the people surrounding me it felt like the large crowds were just a sea of faces. We met up with many of our friends from orientation and we tried to stay together but many of us got lost in the crowd. I stayed with a group of four people and we all managed to stay together and we reached the subway to go back to Haeundae. The line for tickets was really long so we all used our check cards and passed through with ease.

Next, we all met up with some friends from orientation and then went out to a club. However, we were kicked out because they said it was too full. So then we ended up finding another place and we stayed there a bit. It was like a bar/dance club, people at their tables were dancing. It was ok but not really my thing. My friends seemed to enjoy it though. Afterwards, I walked back to my hostel and on the way I stopped for some tteokbeokki and fried food, tempura. I found a place but it was raining so I decided to eat inside. The server there started talking to me so I introduced myself in Korean. From there, he introduced himself and we started to have a conversation. He told me that he wanted to see fireworks but he was always busy with the restaurant so he couldn’t. He then showed me some his drawings online he had created which were very good. He said had an interest in animation and drawing. I was surprised so we continued to talk and he said he wants to learn English very much. I showed him some of my interests such as Kpop and animation as well. I showed him some pictures from the Asian song festival I went to which he liked very much. He was very cool but then had to get back to work so I had to leave as well. It was a great opportunity for me to practice my Korean. After that I headed back to my hostel and went to bed. The next morning we all went to the station to go back home. It was an awesome trip and it was great to spend some time with some friends and watch fireworks.

Weekend in Seoul

After two weeks after Chuseok, I decided to take a weekend trip to Seoul because Monday was a holiday. I planned to meet up with some friends. Well on Saturday afternoon I arrived at Seoul station and met up with my friend from orientation, Heewon. She brought along with her one of her friends and we all walked around Seoul together. First we went to café and sat down and talked. This is very common here as girls enjoy sitting down and talking to their friends. It was interesting and I tried to talk to Heewon’s friends since she didn’t speak much English.

After going to the café, we headed to Insadong, an area in Seoul that is all traditional Korean shops and restaurants. I noticed even American places like Starbucks were all in Korean. The sign said, 스타박스. After looking around for a bit, we then went to Jongro, a very interesting spot in Seoul. This place reminded me of Shinjuku in Japan, especially at night, with all the lights and lanterns and bright colors. We went to a Korean restaurant where we ate traditional Korean pizza or jeon (전). We also drank makgeoli with jeon which was delicious. Like makgeoli, jeon has a variety of types. We had two different types of jeon. One I remember was kimchi jeon (김치전) and the other I don’t remember. But both were very tasty.


After eating and drinking, it was quite dark so we had to call it a night because I was staying with my friend in Incheon. Incheon is on the Seoul subway line but it takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes to get to my station and that’s if they are no delays or if I don’t get lost. So we said our farewells and were thankful for such a great night. I arrived at my friend’s apartment in Incheon about 1 hour and 30 minutes later so it was a good idea that I left a little early.

The next day I my friend from Incheon and I went to Jongro and met his girlfriend. We ate a little American food, such as pasta and pizza but it was restaurant style so very nice. Afterwards, we walked toward Cheonggyecheon, also known as “Seoul Forest.” It is a popular stream that runs along the city and the president of Korea is said to have restored the area as part of his term as mayor. It is a popular tourist spot and it was beautiful during the day. Then we went to the most crowded area in Seoul for shopping in Myeongdong. I have never been to Myeongdong on the weekend so I had no idea how crowded it could get. The only way to describe it was a continuous crowd of people. It seemed like the crowds never stopped. It was fun though we stopped a place where we got a sticker picture, which is just a photo with writing on it. It is something friends and couples like to do. However, it is Japanese culture not Korean. So Korea has many Japanese influences like karaoke and even animation. It was good afternoon and it was just another day in Seoul. I stayed in Seoul last summer so I had experienced the life in Seoul but it was great to spend time with friends.

That night I met with another friend in Incheon. She was also another friend I had made at Ball State University. Her name was Boram. We became pretty close friends a couple of years ago so it was great to hang out with her again. We ate some songyeop sal (송겹살) which consists of thick, fatty slices of pork belly meat. It is similar to bacon in America. It was nice to talk since we haven’t seen each other in awhile. We walked around the city a little and then ate some ice cream at McDonalds. McDonalds here in Korea is very different than in America. Everything is smaller, lol. But on the plus side, not as big means it’s not as greasy or fat so it’s better for you. The time we met felt longer than it was because we haven’t sat down and talked in ages so when we said goodbye, I was satisfied.

I met with Sangwon that night and went to downtown in Incheon and we had some more food and drinks. We just hung out together and talked about our lives. It was a great weekend. But Monday came too soon and I had to leave for Daegu the next morning. I took a bus from Incheon terminal and I slept most of the way. It was very nice and peaceful. The KTX train may be faster but the bus was peaceful and quiet. Everyone seemed to be tired.

Korean family and Chuseok (추석)

On Sunday morning I woke up after a good night sleep. I was staying in Sangwon's room which had a bar across the top of the door. I remember seeing it the night before but in the morning I must have forgotten cause I walked right into it. lol One disadvantage for me here in Korea is that everything is shorter than me. Girls, doors and some gates in the subways. lol Sometimes it is nice being tall but other times it's annoying. The good thing is I can see everything around me sometimes from very far away cause there's nobody in the way, lol.

After spending a day with Sangwon and his family in Dangjin, we drove to Incheon to visit their relatives. (추석) Chuseok is similar to Thanksgiving in America. However, there are many differences. The reason I say it is similar is because it is a time for getting together with family and eating lots of food. Thanksgiving is about remembering the feast of the Pilgrims and Indians shared in 1621. It is also about giving thanks to God for having a good harvest for the year.
However, Chuseok is about remembering and honoring your ancestors. A feast usually consists of several dishes. The one side dish always served at Chuseok is songpyeon. I got to experience being in Sangwon’s family for a weekend so I made songpyeon. It was very interesting. Songpyeon is a type of rice cake. There is a proverb in Korea, that if you make songpyeon beautifully, you will have a beautiful daughter. Sangwon’s father or aboji (아보지) showed me how to make rice cake which was great. It wasn’t too hard after I got some practice.

Chuseok consisted of what it seemed like one meal after another, which I loved. First we had a great feast at a restaurant which we had many Korean delicacies. Then after we visited Sangwon’s uncle on his father’s side in Songdo, it’s the international business district. He was very nice and had a huge apartment in the center of the city. There was a city view from his apartment window. And there was a fridge that went almost to the ceiling which I’ve never seen before, lol.

Anyways, after visiting them, we headed to his father’s parents house. We of course had another meal but this time with traditional dishes. All were delicious. I’m still trying to remember all of the dish names. After eating at his grandparent’s house, we relaxed a bit and then went to his uncle’s house on his mother’s side. This time it was more snacks that we ate but we also ate songpyeon. I met a couple of his cousins and we drank makgeoli together. Makgeoli (막걸리) is a traditional Korean wine (alcohol) made from rice. There are some variations to this like the honey makgeoli which has honey added to the original taste for more flavor.

Now you’re probably wondering where I slept right? Well the truth is I stayed with my friend in his tiny apartment in Incheon next to the subway station. Now this is a one room apartment, for one person. So this is a small room that has everything jammed into one. I mean the bathroom is so small there is no room to take shower it’s basically the sink, lol. It was interesting nonetheless. I seemed to enjoy being cramped in his apartment though. He offered me his bed so I didn’t sleep on the floor. The last day in Incheon we all drove to a few islands located on the coast of Incheon. One was called Muuido and the other was Shilmido. I didn’t know this but Shilmido used to be a place for military training. It’s what my friend told me. It was great though to see something new and exciting.

After a day on the islands, Sangwon and I met a friend in Incheon. It was a friend I had met at Ball State, Milal. We met and went to a traditional Korean drinking room. Now these are really neat if you get the chance to go because it’s basically a private room for you and your friends to talk,drink and eat food. The rooms are separate and have a door to each which was a little different than I was used to but very interesting. It was cool to visit some friends I had met in Muncie the previous year. It was definitely great weekend. I got a chance to experience a traditional Korean holiday with a family. Now that’s what I call immersing oneself in a culture.

Adventures in Dangjin

Chuseok is the Korean word for Thanksgiving. It is usually in September and this one happened to fall on a Monday. The weekend for most usually consists of visiting relatives and eating delicious food. For me it was no different but I took a side trip in Dangjin. I arrived at Sangwon's house and both his parents greeted me. Before I got there, he told me they don't speak English so I was prepared to practice my Korean. I think my introductions went over well and Sangwon's sister, Juyeon came out and introduced herself in English. That was nice. We talked a little and his mother asked if I was hungry which I always usually am. In Korea, I seem to have a two stomachs. I never refuse food so his mother gave me some pizza, and then apples. After eating, Sangwon and I sat in front of the TV and watched some show. We were both very tired so we crashed about 30 minutes later.

The next morning I wokeup to the smell of "achim shiksa" or breakfast. There was a great assortment of dishes including rice, some kind of meat, eggs, soup, which is delicious and fruit. I think that is what I was missing in America, lol. Anyways, after breakfast we got dressed and Sangwon, Juyeon and I all headed out to Hwanghae Bay. We first we looked out at the bay.

I noticed there were several people fishing. Juyeon told me a story that a friend had been fishing one day and they caught a fish but a bird bit the line so they caught the bird instead. It was a funny story. Could you imagine catching a pelican instead of a fish.


Anyways, after looking out into the bay we walked around a bit and stopped at a nearby amusement park and played some games. First we played Home Run Derby, and then Shooting. After some sharp shooting by all three of us we went out on the bay's pier. It was nice and windy, very different from Daegu. There was a Korean Battleship that is a museum now for tourists. We ate then ate lunch at a seafood restaurant right on the bay. Sangwon said it was really good and his father knew the owner so I could trust that the food was high quality. Sure enough the food was delicious. We had a special bibimbap which is rice with vegetables and seafood all mixed together. We also had shrimp which was great.

After eating we went to a traditional Korean castle, Haemi-eup Seong. A huge fortress with a beautiful park inside with people flying kites, wrestling in traditional style and much more. We walked through the park and it was such a nice day. We decided to check out the wrestling which was interesting. It seemed like sumo wrestling but not quite the same. It was the same rules but it looked different.

We also stopped in a shrine full of traditional Korean armor for king and queen, commander of army. Afterward we tried Archery which was cool. It turns out Juyeon had good aim better than me or Sangwon, lol. We also found a place where we could try on traditional Korean clothing, like warrior clothing. It was interesting. We even add swords to complete the outfit. Juyeon was a queen and we were commanding officers in the army.

After seeing the castle we went to a temple that was secluded from the public. It took about 45 minutes to reach on foot. It seemed further and further as we climbed up rocks and paths to get there. It was neat though when we reached the top. It was different because of the sounds of nature were peaceful and everything was calm. It was a nice change of pace from the busy Korea I'm used to. One unique thing about the temple was that some of the shrines were built from actual trees.

After seeing the temple we headed back and ate some dinner and then had a nice sleep for the night. We were all tired from the day. We did a lot of walking. It was fun though. And so ends day 2 of my vacation. The next day would be a new adventure in Incheon.

This is mine!!

After missing the train, I had to wait another 30 minutes before the next one came. This time I had no trouble as I boarded and sat down. Finally I was comfortable and was seated. Now I could relax and wait an hour and a half until I would arrive and meet up with Sangwon. Suddenly a man walked up to me and engaged me in conversation. He said something in Korean which meant this is mine I think and showed me his ticket. I was confused since I had got on the right train this time. He went to an attendant to sort the problem out and it turned out the guy got on the wrong train. lol It was ironic how I missed the first train and now this happened. At least it worked out in end.

Here I thought it was me that did something wrong but actually it was the other way around. Well I had gotten on the right train and after that episode I was ready for my vacation. I met Sangwon and we took his car and started driving down the road.

I'm not First Class

It was Chuseok weekend, my first holiday in Korea. I had been invited to spend the weekend with my friend Sangwon in Incheon. However, we would visit his parents in Dangjin first, spend a day in the area and then all drive to Incheon and meet all of his relatives. I set off for Dongdaegu station so I could catch the KTX train toward Daejeon. I would make a stop in Cheon Ansam where Sangwon would be waiting at the station for me. The time as about 8:40 that I was supposed to leave from Dongdaegu station. By the way, Dong means east so it's the East station in Daegu. I was ready for my weekend and next I had to figure out my gate number. I looked for the number and finally found it after asking someone.

The boarding time approached and the train came but I realized that the doors in front of me had first class on them. At first I was confused and I said, "Wait a minute, I'm not first class" "Is this right? "It's the right train but." the train stopped for a brief moment maybe 30 seconds. As soon as I realized that I was supposed to be in a different car, it was too late. The train had already started moving. I had missed my train. Uhh. I couldn't believe I did such a thing considering I knew it was my train. I then realized I should have just got in the first class car and walked to my car. Well I thought about the trip and I panicked at first but surprisingly I calmed myself down. I went upstairs and bought another ticket and called my friend and explained to him my situation. It was embarrassing but I can laugh now. I may not have been first class but I was a passenger. I guess I just forgot, lol.

Cutest 2nd Graders

I think the class that enjoys me the most is my 2nd grade classes. They are still cute but they can understand a little more than they could in 1st grade. They all always greet me and sometimes hug me before class starts. In our first lessons I taught them the phase, Is it a ball? 1st and 2nd grades are full of activities because the attention span is very small, lol. I remember those days. We would watch videos too. It's funny to listen to them sing along to these songs. Like ABC's with hamsters and the counting song. We always start class with a song like, How are you? Then we listen to a short dialogue and I always lead the pronunciation practice and repeat the phrases several times. Activities range from whispers with flashcards, bingo, mystery bag with blindfold, which students love.

Now after my first class with the students, some students came up to me and thanked me and said, "good bye teacher" One girl came up to me and gave me a cup and she filled it with her drink she brought. She said here, and I took it. It was a fruit drink. She thanked me and said good bye teacher. The next class she did the same thing she gave me a cup but her drink was all gone so she left and came back with more, lol. I gladly took it and thanked her. The next class she made me a colored a rock like a lady bug and handed it to me. It was so cute. I have the second graders once every friday. There are two classes.

The biggest hit for an activity in this class has to be the Pororo game I created. Pororo a little penguin and is a very popular cartoon for young kids here in Korea. I found this template for a game where you answer questions and points are awarded and there are ways to lose points as well. In my game, students answer questions on the target expressions and if they are right they will be awarded cupcakes. However, unexpected things can happen like a bomb showing up which a team doesn't get any points. The best one is the change points cupcake because it can change the course of the game very quickly. One team has a lot of points and the other doesn't but gets that cupcake, the teams switch points and students go crazy. They want to win so badly because I give out a prize to the winning team. I give out tattoos which look like stingrays. They really seem to enjoy that game because they request it a lot, lol.

Troublesome Students

Now most of my classes are enjoyable and are fairly well behaved. Sometimes, students will do something wrong but it's not too bad. However, in my first grade classes. There are a couple of students that like to create problems. They yell, push other students, write on the wall and desk. They take pencil cases from fellow students and disrespect the teacher. One student is a American who has a Korean mother so he acts up to get attention. Maybe his peers don't accept him and he doesn't have many friends. He is actualy very smart. He might be higher level than his grade. He also blurts out the correct answers but usually disrupts the class. But there is not much you can do about that. The other students that usually create trouble are friends and they like to take things from other students. They argue with the teacher and my co-teacher and I usually have him sit at the back of the room. But it doesn't seem to work very well. One student curses at the teacher as this student doesn't realize that it is wrong to do such things. It's kind of sad actually.

In my fifth grade class, there are several troubemakers. In fact, they usually sit next to each other which doesn't help the other students. We try to separate them from their peers so they don't create trouble but it doesn't prevent them for doing wrong. The discipline in this class is very similar to 1st and 2nd graders as it is the same teacher. I want to change the disciplinary actions but the problem is I only have the class once a week. And I wasn't in the first class when the rules were stated so I don't have the same authority. Now when I teach, I do discipline kids but to the co-teachers standards because she has them more than I do. I just think she should change some of her disciplinary punishments.

I'm sorry to say this but Korean kids need to be hit for discipline. It's tradition, it's what worked well to keep kids respectful to the rules. Now with the law, forbidding the action, it allows students to push the teachers' nerves. Korean kids nowadays are becoming arrogant, more like American and disrespectful. My alternative would be to instead punish people around the troublesome kid whenever he does something wrong. That way everyone will try to be good so that no one gets in trouble. I mean if a student acts out and his classmates get in trouble, those classmates will be very angry with him and set him straight. Another way could be to make them write sentences during lunch. I will not take so and so's pencil case. I will not write on the wall and so on. Otherwise the kids enjoy getting in trouble and will continue to do it more and more. I love kids but sometimes you want to strangle them, lol.

The Competition

Now competition is a word that describes Korean education as it is very competitive. However, what I'm going to tell you has nothing to do with education. While the kids in the classes are very competitive, I'm referring to an event for teachers and school staff. During the second week of classes, all the school staff gathered together in the gym to play a friendly game of volleyball. I figured yea this will be a good way to meet all the new teachers.

Some of the younger teachers greeted me and all of us were placed on teams. What I didn't know was that I would be on a team that couldn't lose. What I mean is I was on the team with the principal, which was very competitive. I mean I was one of the best players but he said to me, "you will need training" lol. I wasn't sure if he was joking or being serious.
It was funny watching the principal play though. He would always criticize the guys that missed a point or screwed up. But he would only criticize the men not the women, lol. He got on me a couple of times even which is never good. I couldn't let my team down so I made sure that we would win.

Our team ended up winning the match 3 games to 1. It was really funny to see some of the women teachers play. Some were really good while others didn't have any athletic talent. My co-teacher, Ji-young didn't really like sports but it was funny watching her try to hit the ball. I scored like 10 points for our team so I guess the principal was just wanting to win really bad. One of the guys on our team kept messing up and the principal would yell at him in Korean which I translated as to "What are you doing?" it wasn't but I could tell that's the message he was sending, lol.

After playing the game, there were snacks but to me it was like a feast, lol. There were rice cakes, chicken, vegetables from gimbap, grapes and much more. There was soda, beer, soju, and something called gamju, it had like rice in the drink. All the food was so delicious. And it was the first time I drank alcohol at school, lol. Sports and beer are ok in my book. Apparently it's a club at the school and we do activities like this every month. I'm considering joining the club.

Celebrity Status

Now I'm not a celebrity but I feel like one when I go to school everyday. Most students will come up to me and say, "hello teacher." Others students wave or giggle as I pass through the halls. But some students ask me questions like how are you doing? What are you doing? Girls tend to ask more specific questions. How old are you? Do you have a girlfriend?

Now it's one thing to be recognized by your students at school but I see my students all the time in town. One of my students saw me eating at a restuarant and said, "oh it's teacher. Do you like?" Another student saw me walking on the street, and said jamkkan which means wait a sec and she got her mom and said, my mom, teacher. That was cute. Other students see me in town and usually ask questions like what are you doing? Where are you going? Kids are so curious about their teacher, lol.

When I first arrived here, I was alone and I didn't know anyone in my neighborhood but now if I go into town, my students usually run into me. So I don't feel like such an outsider as much anymore. One of my students came up to me while I was walking home and offered me some snack food and said, "here teacher, bye. Another student saw me walk into my apartment building and they were shocked that I could open the electronic door. It was probably one of the funniest moments. Maybe it's because I live near them. Other students saw me in the market buying food and they were curious what I like to eat. Then they followed me to the end of the street and said, "bye teacher."








Another time I ran into one of my students was when I was just walking down the street and since it was dark I didn't notice them. Suddenly, one sixth grade girl said to me, "Daniel!" which was weird cause normally I hear teacher. She was walking next to me the whole time but it was dark. lol that was another funny episode.

At school, students are very respectful to me always acknoledging me and sometimes involve in their little games before class, which is hillarious. Like with my sixth grade class, I sometimes play rock, paper, scissors. Some of my fifth graders are very curious about my life so they watch me at my computer. Sometimes if I'm on facebook they are curious who I'm friends with and such, lol. There hasn't been one day I've been here that a student hasn't talked with me, which is nice. In one of my sixth grade classes, the students always say, "hello teacher." But this particular class, one of the students said, "hello Daniel." She was so embarrassed and the class laughed. I told her it's ok after class. It's been a good start to the school year so far.

25th in Korea!!

It was August 31st, my birthday. I had plans to meet my friend Minkyung in front of Yeongnam University. After classes,I went home to change into more comfortable clothes. Then I headed out for the bus stop that would take me to the university. I arrived without any problems and I met my friend there and she was talking with a crowd of girls surrounding her. I realized that I knew some of them. They were her closest friends. We all introduced ourselves and they started asking me all kinds of questions. We were all starving so we decided to go eat some Korean food. I chose Sangyeopsal, which is one of my favorite Korean dishes. I remember the place clearly sitting next to a group of girls. Remembering all their names would be difficult so they told me English names for me to remember them by. There was Amy, Rachel, Cindy,and Hyoeun. It was nice though I could speak to them in English or Korean whatever I felt most comfortable. We ate a lot but also talked a lot and mostly about me, lol.

We started cooking the delicious pork belly meat. It’s basically bacon or close to it. Then the girls started asking more questions like, why am I here? Do you like teaching? How long do you plan to stay in Korea? I then explained to them my reasoning. They also asked me what my job was before and I told them I was swim coach back in the states. The conversation was nice and then the difficult questions came. Do you remember our names? Then Minkyung asked me, what do you think of my friends? Tell me one by one based on their personality. Wow that was difficult one because I had to make sure I didn’t say anything stupid, lol. Also four of them I just met so it’s not easy to tell that quickly. Anyways, it was a great dinner and I ate a lot of food.

It was great birthday feast. So afterwards we walked down the street looking for the next thing we would do. I decided it was a great idea to go to 'noraebang' or karaoke. In Korea, they are very popular. They are everywhere. Korea is very small so everything is in rooms or 'bang'. You have PC room, DVD room, drinking room, karaoke room, spa room and many more. We found a nice room where we could sing with all six of us. One of the girls, Cindy started off singing and it was hilarious.

She liked many American artists like Avril Lavign, Cold Play, Katie Perry and many more. We sang over and over again. We switched off but I think Cindy sang the most. I sang American songs cause they wanted to hear me sing in English. I sang from artists such as Blink 182, Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, Jay Sean and Eminem. It was a great time.

At first it was just myself, Cindy and Hyoeun and Amy. Minkyung and Rachel were missing but I soon figured it out when they showed up about 20 minutes later with a huge cake with candles on it.

I was surprised and just living in the moment. I made a wish and blew out the candles and then we ate some of the cake which was delicious. Paris Baguette has some amazing cakes. The night soon came to a close and though our crazy karaoke time was over, I knew it wasn't my last. I said my farewells to my new friends and thanked Minkyung for a great time. It was one of the best birthdays I've ever had!!