a long weekend

begins tomorrow. i have class in the morning, and then it's off to gyeongju for the weekend. woo hoo! hooray for vacation! happy weekend!

*^o^*

hell

I'm sorry I'm so out of touch. One more month and then I'll be back to more regular updates. I think I'm going to study Korean M-F for one more month, and then take a break. I have three days off next week from class (Monday - Wednesday), plus two days off from work (Monday and Friday). I am SO EXCITED. Holy cow. :) Time off.

It's strange to go from a job with 5+ weeks of vacation and sick time that you can use at almost any time to a job where they dictate your free time. No wonder teachers at home have free time in the summer. They need it. It's a bit more wearying than I expected to work with only a day off here or there. oh well. I am still enjoying teaching, especially with the more advanced students. I love the 12- 15 year olds.

More kid photos soon. More Japan photos soon. Photos of the Seoul National Museum, Yeouido Park, random springtime in Seoul shots, and hopefully decent pix of Gyeongju soon. Oi, so bleeping behind. I'm so sorry!!!!! I've not been emailing, either. Please know that I'm thinking about you all every day, even if I take weeks to reply. :{

love,

~sara

p.s. so this isn't completely devoid of color, photos of cheonho, taken by rod. :) his camera kicks my camera's resolution. though, mine kicks his battery life, so we're pretty even. *^o^*







am so procrastinating. i don't want to work. want to email for 24 hours, like the hardcore gaming addicts play in the PC rooms. miss you!

i hit an old woman with a book report.

^o^

i really did. i've been a bit frustrated these past two weeks. i am behind at work grading essays and writing progress reports, and i've not been taking enough time to study for korean class and can't remember much of anything, which is So Frustrating. we asked our teacher if we're the slowest class she's ever had. she hesitated, and then said "YES." oi. we're two chapters behind schedule. yeeps. i can't even read properly yet.

anyway. last week michelle and i were waiting for the subway after class. i was in a stressed, foul mood, trying to catch up and grade book reports for my junior students. an old woman cut in line in front of me and knocked the report i was grading, which made my pen smudge my comment for the student. i didn't even think, i just smacked her on the shoulder with the report. i guess i gave her a really dirty look, too, according to michelle (who loves to tell this story, hooting with laughter). the old woman gave me a surprised look, then backed away and went to stand in a different line with her husband.

~sigh~ just call me crabby.

oh well. only six more weeks. then i'm taking a break. i'm going to study more next fall, definitely. it will probably take me at least a month or two of self-study to figure out what the hell i learned the last two weeks anyway. ~lol~

i bought a korean/english electronic dictionary today. except, the directions are in korean, so i can't figure out how to use it. DOH!

love you! i promise not to hit any more old women.

i heart tokyo, part I

finally. photos from the trip to tokyo to visit momoko. *^o^*

oh dear. well. part I of photos from the tokyo visit. must go to sleep. part ii soon, along with more photos of my students, the cherry blossoms around work, a visit to the national museum with rod, a few funny signs, and possibly photos of another palace i'm going to see tomorrow. :) love to you!


Momo's husband Keith met me at the Ueno train station in Tokyo, and we spent an hour walking around Ueno park near the station. The cherry blossoms were just beginning to bloom. The day was so lovely. Perfect temperature. Jeans and a t-shirt weather, with bright, warm sun & lovely, clear skies.

Cherry blossoms in Ueno Park (apologies for misspellings)






My boss at work told me that people in Japan love to celebrate the beauty of the cherry blossoms each spring by having picnics and resting beneath the trees in many parks. She said that the people with the lowest status at a company sometimes will be sent to save a spot under a tree, and might even have to sleep overnight in the parks. yeeps. People were having a lovely time, though. I wanted to take a nap under a tree, too. ~grin~






~ Overlooking a temple and Shinobazu Pond ~
We walked down a flight of stairs and wandered across the bridge to the temple. The walkway you can see in the picture was filled with street food vendors...




...like these guys. :)




~ The pond ~








Keith and I couldn't figure out if these were older school girls or tour-guides-in-training. I think we decided on tour-guide-trainees.


~ View of the area around Ueno Station & Park ~


~ Momo's concert!!!!!!!!!! ~


~ after-concert beer ~


~ ready to go the next morning ~
gods. i really needed a hair cut. ~lol~






~ Asakusa ~
Asakusa is a really cool place. Very crowded. A temple and pagoda are located there. It also has a massive shopping arcade were you can buy traditional items and many snacks. The area is a very old part of Tokyo. Well. If you link here or here (with a map), they'll explain much better. ^o^ i really liked asakusa. it was fun to see all of the history, and the street snacks were super cool. the stores were full of fun items, too. i bought a kimono in an area off the main, busy shopping arcade street, too. photos of that later. <^.^>






~ solar-powered maneki neko cats, forever nodding ~

very tired

hello! hope you are all well! i am busy, but well. pretty tired. class is going well. we were put into the remedial class for english speakers. ~lol~ i wish i had more time to study. i do my homework at night after work, and study in the morning on the 40ish minute subway ride to class.

other than work and school, not much is new. i got my hair cut. it was a fun experience. the cut looks great if i wear my hair straight. the hairdressers know how to work with asian hair really well, but hardly anyone here has naturally curly hair, so they don't know what to do with that. oh well. :) am spending a lot of time with rod. i like him veryveryvery much. things are happy. we're going to gyeong-ju in a couple weeks on a long weekend. i am looking forward to getting out of the city for a bit. the cherry blossoms are blooming right now. i'll take photos tomorrow on the way to work.

hopefully soon i'll be able to say something in korean. we're learning the honorific form of everything right now, which is rarely used in everyday speech. i am good at grammar and writing, but i can't remember a damn thing. my co-worker michelle is awesome at speaking and reading and remembering everything, and less good at grammar. we're a good pair for studying because we each remember different things from class. it's funny.

time for sleep. i hope you are all well! miss you.

love,

~sara

a minor moritorium

oi! i've been out of commission for a bit. :( though, it's for a good reason. i've begun korean lessons! Monday - Friday from 10-12. level 1 lasts for two months. it takes about 40 minutes to get to class, and after class i go straight to work, eat, and start grading essays. i do my korean homework at school if i have time, and then study for a bit at night before bed. have made a new rule: No Internet After Work. otherwise i'll never learn a thing. ^_^

anyway, class is very fun. the english speakers were moved to a class together - i think we're in the remedial class. the japanese women in our first class were miles ahead of us after the first day. ~lol~ it moves fairly quickly - we spent two days learning characters and pronunciation, and started greetings and present tense grammar yesterday. yeeps. it's fun to read menus now, though!

i'd forgotten how much i love learning. it feels so good to use my brain.

must go, time for school. i will catch up on everything this weekend. will leave you with a few kid photos. meet jennifer, nick, a little bit of eddy, and billy, four of my favorite students. happy friday, and i'll be in touch over the weekend! :)

jennifer and a traditional korean instrument who's name i have shamefully forgotten:


camera wars with nick (eddy hiding in the background):


camera wars with billy: