HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

It's the eve before new years eve and in Korea, my moms birthday is almost over! Back at home, she still has a full day to celebrate. So... for those of you forgetful ones... consider this a reminder ;)
Happy birthday Mom!! Wish I could be there to celebrate with you... enjoy the last of the warm-ish Florida weather and I hope you have an amazing birthday with the family! I love and miss you!

So not too much has happened since my last entry but I can think of a few stories you may find...amusing, since that pretty much defines my life out here. There is a new restaurant in Gwangju that serves juicy American burgers (a rare find in Korea... typically the bun is white bread and the meat is a chunk of SPAM; if you can even call that meat). Word spreads fast among the foreigners here, especially if it involves a new dining experience! The diner is called Lemon Table and I have already tried it out. I ordered the "onion ring mountain" and it was pretty delicious! Anyways, my co-worker Ryan's experience was anything BUT. Him and a friend went to eat there Monday night and instead of getting the usual (onion ring burger) he decided to try something different this time. As per usual, the menu was all in Korean and the only reason I knew to order what I did, was because someone told me it is the second option under the third page. When Ryan's meal arrived he was prepared to dig right in, however the lettuce was stacked up to the ceiling and he could not fit the burger in his mouth. Naturally, he removed the top bun and started taking some of the lettuce off the burger and onto his plate. Just as he was about to take a bite, he noticed something in the corner of his eye and on the edge of his plate looking up at him. A HUUUGE slug (with antennas and black beatie eyes) had crawled its way out of the lettuce Ryan had just removed from his burger and was doing laps around his plate!!!!!!!!!! He immediately called over the waiter and did not even need to explain in words as the slug was now bathing in the bowl of ketchup! Strange enough, the waiter did not even seem surprised!? Actually, Ryan said it was quite the opposite reaction... he smiled at Ryan and pointed to the menu. Still unsure of what was going on and why Ryan was still watching this slug dance around his plate, the waiter finally took his meal and replaced it with a new one. After that ordeal, we realized that the English translation for the burger he ordered was "Bugs Burger". Coincidence or play on words? YOU decide. Apparently slugs are protein. Gross! I guess it's fair to say he felt kind of sluggish after that meal.. ha ha ha. Don't think I will be eating there ANY time soon.
Something else I heard this week is that Korea has some really great nail salons. I see them all over the place but I don't get my first pay check until January 7th, so I think I'll save the extracurriculars for when I have the extra-cash. Anyways, one particular nail salon they have here specializes in pedicures... but not any kind of pedicures... FISH pedicures. I'm sure it has another name but I'm not too sure what they call it. Basically, you put your feet in a large tub of water and handfuls of little fish swim around, biting off all your dry skin! My co workers really want to try it... but something about feet and fish with teeth, doesn't sit well with me.
So I went to my first feature film in Korea last weekend and saw Sherlock Holmes. The movie itself wasn't great but I was happy to experience it in Gwangju. Unlike at home, you can't just sit anywhere you please. You first must order the tickets in advance and then choose your seats on a screen (from what is left). It's actually not a bad idea because then you can show up JUST before the movie begins (since all the Korean previews really aren't that thrilling to us foreigners) and you are guaranteed a spot. The movie theatre itself has 6 floors with about 2-3 theatres on each floor. They do have popcorn at the movies, but its not by any means fresh! I ordered a bag and the lady behind the counter pulled it out from under the sink?! Wonder how long it was down there for...
Also, I found it funny that the food personnel were wearing sars masks AND spit covers! haha! When I was in Seoul, Suzy and I walked through the food court of the mall and saw the staff wearing sars masks with a clean plastic square coming diagonally out of the bottom and ending just above their nose. After thinking of different possibilities for its use, we figured that they are used to catch a sneeze or a spit ball. I guess they have upgraded! Makes sense... I mean, who wants a booger in their food? A slug on the other hand.....
Lastly, work has been going well. the only unfortunate part is that our hours have changed from 1-9pm to 9am-7pm!! This will only be for the month of January though since the kids are on winter break from their public school. They still have to come to us though, which really sucks for them. I promised them no homework for this month (what a nice teacher I am... haa). I think I have told most of you this but everyday we have a period where we need to do telephone interviews with the kids. This means calling each child at home and having a conversation with them (about their day, etc) and quizzing them on what I taught in class that day. I seriously have NEVER been hung up on more in my entire life!! I would say about 92% of the students parents don't speak ANY and I mean ANY English, so I have quickly learned how to say hello... but once I ask to speak to their child, I either get a parent trying to have a conversation with me (me being silent on the other end) or them hearing English and immediately hanging up. It's getting quite annoying but I was thinking about it today, and I guess if that were me, and I picked up my phone only to hear someone saying "Hello" in a terrible accent and then speaking Chinese...or worse... asking to speak to their child named "Michael Jackson" or "Boom boom", I would most likely hang up on them too!
Speaking of odd names, I got a new student today... he did not have an English name so it was up to me to come up with something on the spot. He's a chubby, round Korean boy with crazy hair. I decided to call him Troll. The only problem is that now when I read attendance and call out "Troll" I literally start laughing out loud. The kids have no clue whats going on... and I had one student call out today, "Teacha teacha, Troll ate my candy!!" haha I love how easily these kids keep me amused day to day. That's all for now!

Happy New Year to all!

Write more in '10...

Signing off,

Gillian