Spicy Stirred-Fried Chicken

I pulled some old pictures off my phone camera the other day. Here we are (June 2nd) eating dakgalbi (닭갈비) at a restaurant downtown.

Code mellow

Things are definitely getting better. I was worried about the new semester, but the past two days were great. I'm still adjusting to the earlier hours, but I have an easier collection of classes, and more manageable students in general. Also, since the lesson plans are more or less complete, I don't really have to worry about that. Finally, too, I'm beginning to retain important details...like students' names :-(, and how various processes and chores work in general.

We're also getting closer to the Korean teachers. For awhile there, there was a bit of a divide. Tremendous said it wasn't like that when he started, but whatever arrivals and departures happened shook the balance a little bit. But the Korean teachers took us out to a retreat Friday/Satruday, and that really helped. The place we stayed was pretty neat, and we rafted the next day. I'll try to get pics up soon.

JJ and I also had a nice time last night going about and eating in her neighborhood all by ourselves without assistance. This country is amazing how it gets to you. It's all sorts of seemingly minor things that just accumulate until suddenly you've flipped over, and thinking back to when you thought differently and couldn't understand what people thought was so great about the place is cloudy and remote.

Be sure to check out JJ's blog if you haven't lately. She's putting up some great stuff...

Howdy Ho

Hey, just wanted to apologize to folks I haven't talked to in awhile. The job here is sapping most of my time and energy lately. I don't like to talk to folks too much when I'm in a bad mood, so I've been in a kind of holding pattern until the job lightens up a bit. I think next week, or even later this week will be much better.

Update

So, not much happening at the moment. JJ wasn't feeling well over the weekend so we didn't go to the beach. On the other hand, it's been raining pretty steadily with major flooding in some areas, so it wasn't that big a deal. This coming weekend the Korean teachers have scheduled a float trip somewhere in the mountains. That should be fun. In the meantime, this is the last week of the current term. We have a new one month "summer" term coming up for the month of August. It'll be pretty intense, but it's only a few weeks long. Then, we go into a more normal several month term. I've been told that my classes will be more similar next term, which means less lesson planning...which would be great. Other than that, I've gotten pretty used to the lifestyle over here. The language barrier can sometimes be frustrating obviously, but for the most part we've got our favorite eateries, bars, and places to go, and we still try new things. One place I still haven't gotten to is Expo Park and the surrounding area - lots of museums, and cultural centers. I also told Tremendous recently that we should start systematically trying ALL of the bars and restaraunts in our immediate neighborhood. The area's thick with them so it will take some time. Then, of course, we have the whole new area where Jenny lives to explore.

So, basically, everything's going well. It could be a little cooler and drier, but you have to be happy with one or the other this time of year.

JJ

Yay, JJ's here. It wasn't painless, but she arrived here alright. Her neighborhood is a little nicer than mine, but not as lively. We're about ten minutes apart by car, and I think her school situation will be as good as mine. One of her co-teachers said the school would set her up with a cell phone in a few days, so that'll be sweet.

In the meanwhile, I'm busy preparing finals, and making sure we complete the books by the end of the term. We have a three day weekend this weekend, and will almost certainly hit a beach some where...possibly the mud festival, if we feel up to it.

Super duper

Oh, we did see Superman last Friday...which we basically agreed was too long and boring at times.

New post

Haven't posted for awhile. Thought I'd just mention I'm still alive, working hard and getting acclimated still. Still need to go back and touch up a few posts. I've got some interesting pics to put in some of my old posts too. We were going to go to the beach last weekend, but it rained. This weekend we have to work Saturday, but there's a holiday on the 17th, and we should be doing something interesting then...Cheju Island is booked, but there's also a "mud festival" (thanks, Troy, for the link)....