Yes, it's been quite a while since my last entry. I hope everything is well back in the States.
A word of caution in Korea. Be very careful about what you say when it comes to any level of talent or ability. I will be playing the guitar at a big student festival this month. The problem is that I am very bad at guitar. I did learn some Korean though and let me translate.
(English) I can play guitar, but I'm not very good = (Korean) I used to tour with the Rolling Stones.
Now that the semester is coming to a close, I have finally begun to understand Korean students. They want a challenge, as long as it's easy. By this, I mean they want lessons that have a lot of information but woe to the foreign teacher who expects a little critical thinking. High school seems like it is all training for the college entrance exam, which is in multiple choice. In my American democracy lesson, I ended class with the most hated phrase in Korean education, "it depends." I swear those kids were going to crucify me. No matter what, you better have a definitive answer otherwise students will think you just wasted 50 minutes of their lives.
On a personal note, I realized that I just cannot survive on kimchi and rice alone. It got to the point where I took a bus to the nearest city (Gwangju, 90 minutes away) for a burger. That may seem a bit extreme, but it was entirely worth it. It never occurred to me just how diverse the American diet is until being in Korea. If anyone is thinking that I could just not eat the kimchi, just remember that I live with a grandma. Once, I tried to ignore the kimchi, which led to the sad grandma face. That night, I had to eat a little extra to make up for the "misunderstanding."
