Please stay tuned...

My (new) computer is dead.  In approximately ten days you will be returned to your regularly scheduled blogs... Until then, just re-read the old ones. 

OMG…Brownies

My Korean Baby

I made a new friend on the way home from the Strawberry Festival.  He was adorable and it was love at first sight for both of us.  I would have taken him home if his mom would have let me.

My Little A.D.D. Child

I’ve grown quite the affection for this child.  We battled weekly in the beginning. And by battled, I mean he would usually spend our 80 minutes together climbing under the desks, sleeping, reading comic books or running laps around the 5th floor.  I never won. Now, however, we have a great relationship.  We talk, we laugh, and we respect each other.   It helps that now the class is only him and I so he has my undivided attention, but we have loads of fun together. 

For anyone who lacks a belief in A.D.D. and similar behavior disorders, 5 minutes spent with this child will change your belief in that forever.  It’s truly like every 60 seconds his brain resets and decides he’s bored.  It’s fascinating, yet a little frightening to observe.  And he is SO smart.  Awesome smart.

Somehow this week we started talking about Mickey Mouse.  (I swear I was not the one that brought it up!)  I asked him if he liked Mickey and he responded with a determined “No!”  Then he ran to the desk to help them get the English translation for the words he was looking for.  Here is the result…

Trisha’s Birthday Picnic & My Weird Dog

Today we had a picnic for Trisha’s birthday since the weather has been getting much warmer.  Spring is still playing hide-and-seek, but she’s been a little less anti-social lately.  Here are some pictures from the day.

Gwangju, Kate, & Shabu Shabu

My friend Kate arrived in Korea this past week.  She is in Gwangju, which is a little over two hours south of Daejeon.  I went to visit her on Saturday and make sure she was getting settled in all right.  She really lucked out, I think.  Kind of like I did.  Great apartment (who couldn’t love sparkly cabinets!), a seemingly well-organized school, and a rockin’ cool co-teacher who took us out for the day.   

I took a 12:40 train so I got there around 2:30.  Her co-teacher’s husband text me our meeting location in Korean so I would have that to show the cab driver once I arrived.  (It’s always handy to have a Korean nearby!) We met at the YMCA (yes, they have those here, too) and began our day.  We spent a lot of time just hanging out at her apartment educating her on the little things that make Korea, Korea.  The things that you won’t read about on my blog. (i.e. public urination.)

And…..Yoga

Finally with almost (but not quite) six months in Korea I made it to my first yoga class.  And I loved it! despite the fact that 10 hours after the class I still felt like my rib cage was going to collapse at any moment. 

I found a gym just a few blocks away that has yoga classes Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 11. Perfect!  I can still sleep in, it’s already a nice set schedule, and I’ll be out in plenty of time to still loiter around town before work. Sold.  Karissa and I went on Wednesday for what was the first experience with yoga for both of us and it was, well, entertaining. 

We arrived at the class right on time and we were joined by a strikingly beautiful instructor, and four fabulous ajummas that clapped and cheered for us.  For those of you unfamiliar with the term ajumma, Wikipedia defines it as this…

The stereotypical 'ajumma' image is that of a short, stocky, tough old woman who wears purple pants, has permed hair, and sharp elbows on the subway.