Hello, Korean Father.

yo. yo. Hope you are all having a great week. I started the new school year this week. I have a few classes that are the same, but the majority of my classes are full of new students. I still have most of my favorite classes. I have a few of my kindergartners from last year's class, which is strange to say being I had them last week. ha. My new kindergartners are SO cute. I will take some pictures of them soon. They know pretty much ZERO English. They can say their name and write it. It is going to be very challenging, but fun. I am going to have to learn some more Korean words just to get by with the kindies.

There is this little hole-in-the-wall convenience store in my neighborhood. I stop there for the essentials- chips, chocolate, and other healthy goodies. For some reason, the owner of the shop reminds me of my dad. Yes, he is Korean and does not have ANY gray hair (sorry, dad), but there is just something about him that says, "Hi, I'm Dale Schwartz's Korean Twin." Yesterday, I was buying some goodies and he decided to give me a box of 4 Coca Cola glasses. There were not many words exchanged being we cannot understand each other, but there was a feeling of respect. I was completely blown away by his gift and felt very grateful. I don't really need any glasses, but they will be my new favorite items in my apartment (AKA the box) because they were given out of love. I thanked him (Kamsamida) and bowed. I do a lot of bowing in this country. It is the ultimate sign of respect. I may bow out of habit when I come home, so please do not think you are a king/queen. However, feel free to bow to me whenever you would like. :) So, I left the store with a huge smile on my face and my hand in my bag of chips. If you were wondering, they were delicious.

Another sign of respect is to take and give things with two hands, especially to someone who is older than you. Or you can use one hand, but you should be touching that arm with your other hand. For example, take chips from someone using your right hand and at the same time, your left hand should be touching your right arm. Confusing, I know.

For lunch today, I ate acorns. They were ground up and made into a brown jelly- it looked like jello, but had a harder consistency. It was ok- not great. The whole time I was eating it, I was picturing squirrels and how pissed they must be that we stole their acorns. Maybe South Koreans should stop worrying about the North and make sure that the squirrels aren't going to retaliate against them. hmmm...

I gave up everything celebrity gossip for Lent. It's not going so well. I have almost cheated by accident SO many times. I have a few websites that I USED to go to frequently (perezhilton/ people) and it's automatic to look them up when I am on my computer. I have never followed through with "giving things up" before, because I usually quit and tell myself that I don't have to do it being I'm not Catholic. We'll see... Oh no. Now I have to do it being I have made it public. Crap.