6th month Anniversary. Awwww.

My neighborhood!

Hello! I have been slacking on this lately, sorry. Well, the cherry blossoms have completely disappeared here in Korea. They were beautiful! It crazy how time flies. I went to another cherry blossom festival here in Seoul! It was really cool. Somehow, the trees here appear to change colors at night- almost like lights were shining on them or that they were decorated with lights...hmmm... I wonder how that happens. Nature is so mysterious. ;) Here a few pics!



Even dogs with diapers need to see the cherry blossoms...






I had a day off a weekish ago and I went to the west coast of Korea and spent the day at the beach. It was so relaxing and a great change of scenery. It took about 3 hours to get there, so didn't have much time. We ate an interesting lunch of unknown creatures that the little town was known for. When they are ready to eat, the clam looking ones open up on their own. Strange. I am not a fan of rubbery textured creatures, so I was pretty proud of myself for eating it. I think the wine helped. ha. I felted really awful as the creatures were cooking because the were still alive. The seafood that you eat in Korea is usually VERY fresh. There are tanks outside the restaurant that are filled with crazy creatures- some that you would wonder how ANYONE would ever think of eating. The view from the beach was not clear during the day due to the yellow dust that is in the air these days. It is some sort of pollen from China that blows here every spring. I think it is almost gone, thankfully. You could feel it in the air. I acquired allergies here, which I have never had in my life. Some people where face masks here to avoid the dust. I'm a tough guy, so I don't need it.





Today, I have officially been in Korea 6 months! I can't believe how fast time has passed. I have done a lot of things that I never dreamed that I would do, EVER! Actually, I never thought in my wildest dreams that I would live in Korea. It wasn't that I didn't think it was possible, it just never crossed my mind. I have talked with my friends a lot here about this ride that we are on and none of us ever thought that we would do this. I am so grateful for this experience. I wouldn't change a single thing about these last 6 months, although I wish I didn't have to miss out on all of your lives back home. One of my closest friends got married yesterday- my first friend in my group of friends and I was so bummed that I missed it. Love you, Claire.

I have a lot of exciting things to do in the next 6 months here in Korea and Asia- I can't wait!!! I'm going to do my best to live in the moment and enjoy my time here.

I hope you are all well. I just read about the Swine flu that is going around-scary. Be careful. Take your vitamins.

Did you know...

- I got head butted on my back by a granny who wanted me to move out of her way while I was waiting for a crosswalk sign to turn green.
- During holidays, it is customary for your family to visit your husband's family first and spend the most time there. Basically, the wife's family gets the shaft. Lame...or wonderful if your wife's family is rather annoying.
- Of few of my businessman students had a wild evening out last week and the oldest student,50ish, passed out during class. It was hilarious and tried so hard not to laugh.
- One of my 4th grade students pointed to his middle finger and told me that he knows what it means and then proceeded to say it. I had to turn around and compose myself- put on a serious face and then scold him. Geez... teaching cute, clueless kids is so hard sometimes.
- My middle schoolers gave me a test to see if I was a psycho path. Apparently, I passed and I am a full-fledged psychopath. I like to remind them daily. Sadly, they aren't afraid of me.
- It is common for most Koreans to begin dating in college, because they don't have time to date in highschool- too much studying.
- It is common for a couple to invite 4 of their single friends (2 girls and 2 guys) to dinner, sort of like a blind date. At the end of the "date" the females will write the name of the guy that they like on a piece of paper and then they will start dating if the feeling is mutual. I guess there used to be a popular dating show that followed those rules and it has been adopted into the Korean dating culture. strange.