Two Months...

I have had a good few weekends here. Last weekend I had friends visit from a small town in Korea. We enjoyed the weekend exploring Daegu. It is such a large city I am still learning it. We went downtown, found a great coffee shop and ate waffles (here, a lot of the coffee shops also have waffles and ice cream), wandered around downtown, ate dinner, wondered around more, went to a new bar for a drink and ended the night at a norabong . Sunday we just wandered around my neighborhood of Chilgok. We were going to hike the mountain near my house but unfortunately it was raining. We still enjoyed our time just chatting and walking around. It was so good to see people from back home.

This weekend was quite laid back, except for Friday afternoon. After lunch on Friday a friend went into having a severe allergic reaction. It was so severe I had to use my epi-pen on her and call for an ambulance. It was quite a frightening experience, and I sure learned a lot about Korean ERs. They honestly didn’t do much for her, except for an oxygen mask a half hour after she arrived at the hospital. Then, after blood tests were taken, they concluded that this was a result of stress. Everything here is blamed on stress. People will stay in the hospital for a week for stress. I understand that they do overwork themselves, but blaming an allergic reaction on stress, really?? I don’t think so.

The rest of the weekend was better. We took it easy and hung out Friday night. I was downtown Saturday for a movie, dinner, coffee and playing board games. It was an enjoyable two nights just chillin with friends. I had my second day of hockey today. I love it and continue to get to know the guys better. I walked away though with a cut finger and black toenail. In combination with my injured foot from running, I am proof that I am prone to injury. Yet, I still love hockey and running! Well worth the injuries that come with them.


Teaching is also going well. I still have only had 5 students in my kindergarten class, but hopefully this week more will come back. Wednesday was Pepero Day, sort of like Valentine's Day. There are these cookies sticks dipped in chocolate called Pepero here. The company decided to make November 11th a national holiday- the date decided because 11/11 looks like Pepero sticks. Clearly a commercialized holiday, yet people love it. Kids will often exchange Pepero sticks with friends and give them to their teachers. Couples will also exchange gifts. I brought some for my kids as well.

I cannot believe I have been living here for 2 months now…

I Love Fall

It’s been a busy few days here, and I love it. Friday we celebrated Halloween at school, and it was extremely exhausting. Although Halloween is not celebrated in Korea, we did because we are an English Academy. The morning with the kindergartners we had a party almost the entire time- from Best Costume Contest, to Trick-or-Treating, and a bit of art. Then I went over to ECC with the older kids. In all of my 6 classes, we taught half the class period, and then either had a Halloween party, or went to different rooms Trick-or-Treating. We also had other classes coming to ours while teaching, so obviously it was crazy all the time. When I got home Friday night I crashed. I also celebrated Halloween on Saturday night with friends. As I said, Halloween is not hugely celebrated here, but it is still recognized, so many foreigners and some Koreans got dressed up and went celebrating downtown. Some of the bars had Halloween parties, which was a lot of fun. I had a fantastic Halloween.

On Saturday I hiked the most well-known and beautiful mountain in Daegu, Palgong. It was amazing!!! It was the perfect time of the year to hike it, when all the leaves are changing color, and it is not too hot or too cold. On the way up, as we would stop for breaks, we were fed apples and chocolate from random people. There were also temples to view- my first temples I have seen here! At the top, there was a Buddha with people praying to it. It was an amazing atmosphere I did not expect. People will climb to the top and pray to the Buddha for their children during exam time or other important events that need extra praying. Palgong and Halloween celebrations made for a fantastic Saturday.

I joined a hockey league! I started playing this past Sunday. I am excited to get involved with extra-curricular activities and meet new people. Although some of the people can get competitive, they are all nice guys. I have joined in on their third week of playing, so everyone has already met and have been playing together. Despite this, everyone was very welcoming, even when they found out I have never played hockey before (excluding the times of floor hockey with family a long time ago…).

My kindergarten school closed this week due to the flu, so I have my mornings off! I am excited for the break!