Starting off the Lunar.

So, this last week has been fairly uneventful; other than the ending of our Winter semester. The new semester starts Tuesday- with a new schedule, new students and new grade levels. The entire structure of Avalon's (my school) curriculum is changing, so it's time to adjust. Before, we were given almost all of our materials- books, activities, tests and quizzes. Now, we are only provided with books. So, now, much more prep and thought is needed to be put into the classes. Which, I quite enjoy. I know I will be spending more time worrying about class, but it will also make my life a little more interesting- at least while I'm at work. I have much more freedom and room to work. I'm really excited. Also, I'm teaching higher levels this semester. Before, I was teaching fairly low level classes and the material I was teaching was boring for me. Now that I get to teach higher levels, the material will become a bit more interesting for me. Also, I have been given the opportunity to teach a Middle School preparation class. I'm very happy about this. I want to teach Middle School in the states, eventually, and with this, I will be able to catch a small glimpse of Middle School curriculum.

Friday night was a blast- since the semester is over, and a couple of our workers are leaving (one is getting married in May and the other is moving to Canada for an English internship) so we were all treated to a lovely dinner at a Korean BBQ joint. I could eat this stuff everyday. It is called Sum Gyup Sal- or BBQ pork. Super delicious and generally inexpensive. Although, it didn't matter because Avalon was paying for it. I had such a great time eating good food, drinking some soju and being able to converse with my Korean co-workers outside of work. They are all incredible, fun, and great people. I think we had four hundred photo-ops. And, of course, I forgot my camera... but stole some pictures for those that took some. Dinner was fantastic and afterwards we headed to Kyungsun University to meet up with other friends. We even convinced two of our Korean co-workers to join!

Yesterday, Sunday the 28th was the first full moon of the Lunar New Year. And on Haeundae Beach, there is a large ceremony dedicated to this day. People in masses gather to write their dream on a paper house and add it to the large fire. Unfortunately, my friends and I missed the initial ceremony, so we weren't able to burn our dreams. But we caught the burning of others' dreams. The fire was massive. I have never seen a fire so large. It was amazing; positioned in the middle of the large beach... looking over the water and under a full moon. It was awesome, and we all really enjoyed it. Also, a new friend- Jahanne brought sparklers. So, we stood in a circle and lit up our little fireworks and pretended to be 8 again. It was fun.

Cheers till next time!

Experiencing more.

My apologies for the lack of blogging. I've enjoyed my February so far. My birthday, the Lunar New Year and soon to be a change of classes. Spring semester starts next week... SPRING!!! That means warmer weather, longer days and a more accessible Busan. Although, I can't complain about how easy it is to travel around this city.

Korean Positive: he ability to travel relatively cheap, fast and clean. Subways are the best thing ever. Although, I put 10,000 Won on my subway pass on Saturday morning (which is a cute, pink smiley face!); and after my weekend adventures, I only have a lonely 3,000 Won left. I was able to see a majority of the second largest city in Korea, I was annoyed only once, stared at about 4 dozen times and listened to 37 songs on my ipod... all for only a mere 7,000 Won (about $5.00). I cannot stress how clean this country is.

Korean Negative: Shoes. In America, I'm an average 8.5/9. I knew coming to this country that I would struggle to find clothes- all the girls here (as noted earlier in my blog) are model-sized. But c'mon Korea... whenever I was down in America about my failure to find a pair of jeans that I liked or a perfect dress, I could always wander over to the shoe sections with my mom (because, we all know Jane loves shoes) and find a perfect fit. Korea has killed my dream of shoe shopping- at least for now. I can always fall back on purses; they don't discriminate.

As I said, I travelled all over Busan this weekend. I met up with Torie DeLung- a friend from high school who recently moved to Busan and our Korean friend Amy. We shuttled around the two larger parts of the city. First Seomyeon- lunch, shopping and people watching. Then we headed to Nampo-Dong. A bit further away from Jangsan (where I live). There, we visited Democracy Park. It is a memorial for all the Korean men that died in The Korean War. It was gorgeous and atop the park was a gorgeous view of Busan. Breath-taking. I enjoyed getting out and experiencing more of a cultural aspect in Busan. I'm intending on doing that more from here on out.

Cheers till next time!