Merry New Year!!

Hello, Dear Readers--

It's been quite some time, hasn't it? I haven't really been on the internet that much (seeing as I don't have access in my room as of yet), so please excuse my absence.

First off--Seoul is amazing. I have met so many interesting people here in the 24 days I have been living here, it's astounding! The teachers at my school are awesome, and pretty much all of Kat's people are truly decent individuals who care about some pretty amazing causes. I am honored and privileged to be a foreigner among them. I haven't had much of a cultural shock--I have been around a Korean culture since I was a teenager, so that part doesn't really phase me. And if there is anything that jars me, instead of saying, "Um. That's weird." I tend to say, "Oh, well, that's not what I'm accustomed to seeing..." But being so culturally open leaves me to wonder certain things about myself. We'll get into that a bit later. I'm still figuring out the wording I would like to use.

The food is ah-may-zing. I don't think there has been a dish that I've tried that I haven't liked! I barely remember the names of the dishes, but rest assured that I will figure that all out soon. I'm only 24 days old here, afterall.

As far as teaching goes, I really do love most of my classes. Some truly test me and my ability to keep my composure--especially when I feel I can't control them....then again, teaching is more than just controlling a class. Some days I feel so incredibly ineffective. While others I feel on point and friggin fabulous. I'm sure that this will all click one day...I just hope it's sooner than later. It kind of reminds me when I was working for Starbucks and how uncomfortable I was with the bar and making espresso drinks...but then one day, it all clicked. Boy, was that ever a fantastic day...

Christmas went well--I went to Kat's family's apartment over by the East Sea. It was really cold, but far warmer than it was in Seoul. It's been really, really cold here. And they don't really salt the roads like they do back in Chicago. I've almost slipped whilst walking to and from work so many times! New Years was pretty rad also. We spent it in an area just outside of Seoul called Itaewon. Itaewon is foriegner city--most Americans, Australians, and other foreigners spend their time there. They have lots of American fast food restaurants there ( KFC, Taco Bell, Subway, Quiznos, 2 Starbucks--on the same street!) and a lot of bars. We went to this place called Between and it was pretty swanky. We had a great intro to the new decade, and after a while, we transferred the party to a place called Berlin. Berlin was rather disappointing and I was too tired. I was looking forward to going home. :)

I'll try to post some pictures on here soon--but you can always look to my fb page for those.

xox
c