Day 18 - 19 of 293

It's the weekend!  One week of teaching and as I mentioned before.  I am tired.  But do I stay home and catch up on sleep and washing clothes and the pile of papers that mysteriously piled up that need to be graded?  No, I head to Seoul again.  So far on this trip, I have gone to Seoul 3 times in 3 1/2 weeks.  Until this time, I have gone to a new part of Seoul each time.  I think I failed to describe what we did last time.  They have this huge outdoor market every weekend in Seoul.  It has outdoor vendors in the middle of the street and lining some of the streets along with the many shops that are already there.  It is crowded, like worse than after Thanksgiving sales in the US.  You can find nearly anything.  (This will be where I get most of the souvenirs, Can anyone say I Heart Korea tshirts????)  This market was where the Alpha store was that I mentioned before.  So anyways, when we went before school started, it was hard to know what we needed.  Now we have a list.  My list included: Notecards, permanent markers, highlighters, and anything else that inspired me.  We went to the local Office Depot (Whatever you are picturing, that is not it), it didn't have everything that we needed.  The Office Depot is stocked with the equivalent of the school supplies that you would find at the local Dollar Store.  Not the Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, or Dollar General, those are a huge step up in the teaching supply department.  Its like the Dollar Stores of old, selection wise, not price wise.  Remember, I am going to the Alpha store for: Note cards, permanent markers, highlighters, and whatever inspires me.  So we know that was not at the Office Depot.  So Caleb, Kathrine, Ciara, and I head to Seoul.  Caleb is going to leave from there, and pick up the last of us at the airport.  Caleb Stokes arrives today!  Back to why we are taking this trip to Seoul, Notecards, permanent markers, highlighters, and something inspiring.  Notecards???  Notecards??? Notecards????  I know they have notecards in Korea,  Kathrine has some.  I did not find Notecards.  Next item, Permanent marker???? Permanent marker???  Permanent Marker???? "Kathrine, do you know where Permanent markers might be?"  Kathrine, "Not sure, but their called Name markers."  Me, "Ok."  Name Markers???? Name Markers??? Name Markers????  "Random worker, name markers???  Random worker (eyes in a questioning gaze) saying something like "what?"  Me, slowly "N a m e M a r k e r s?" Random worker, Something in Korean.  Me, more precisely, "NAME MARKERS?" as I write my name in the air.  Random worker, who understands sign language, then directs me in sign language to the appropriate part of the multi-level store, by leading me to the department, and then waving his hand outward, like a flight attendant.  Me, "Graci, er, Kam sa me dah!"  (said in a Texas accent that does not translate correctly)  I've looked here before, but this time Ciara is looking with me.  She finds them! Thanks Ciara.  Highlighters???? Highlighters???? Highlighters????  Ciara, "I saw them on the way up here." Me, Great thanks!"  Highlighters????  Highlighters???? Highlighters???  Inspiration???? Inspiration??? Inspiration????  Found a stapler!  Picked up the stapler and staples.  Went to the counter so they could add up my items and then I could go check out.  Don't ask, never mind, I will just tell you.  So apparently there are two places to actually buy items in this store.  Top floor and bottom floor.  In between as you leave that level, you are supposed to have them total you items, so that when you go to the check out points they will know what to charge you.  It is much like how we have barcodes on all of our items at home and when you check out, they scan them to find the cost.  Actually, its not like that at all.  It is like nothing I have ever done before.  Not quite sure the efficiency of the system, but it works I guess.  When you check out, there are three people behind the counter.  One reads the ticket to the person at the cash register to their right, we are moving to the left.  They hand the item to their left for them to put in a sack and we pay the middle person.  The person on the right hand the middle person the change to give to me because they keep ushering me further left.  Like I said, really efficient.  Did I mention that when they were pricing my purchases in the middle floors, the staples I picked out that were right beside the stapler I picked out, were no the right size?  Well, they weren't.  So I put them back.  It was very nice of the lady to point it out to me.  When I say point, I mean that literally.  She said something in Korean, but understand the sign language part, NO MATCH.  I signed back.  OH! Okay!.  Which was a facial twitch of understanding and I am pretty sure I said "Oh, Okay."  Which I am pretty sure she understood, because she took the staples and put them aside, out of my basket.  I think I was in the store for about 30 minutes, which incidentally, is shorter than it took me to write about the experience.

After we were all done at the Alpha store, Kathrine, Ciara, and I went to eat.  Are you ready for another "first'?  Ciara calls them "lifecards."  I am not sure that this one truly counts as one, but for me it does.  We ate...wait for it...wait for it...

Indian Food.  Guess how much I love Indian Food??? About as much as I love Korean food.  The rice was okay.  But let me talk about the Naan.  The Naan is amazing!  I at all of mine and part of Ciara's.  It almost makes it worth going there, almost.   Indian food is spicy as well.  I have to love Ciara, because she wants me to try food, but she also wants me to trust her.  So she took a bite of the chicken something or other, and said "its not spicy, you like it, oh wait, it spicy at the end.  You may not like it."  She was right, it wasn't spicy when you first put it in your mouth, but as it got to your throat, you began to feel it.  I at the rice and I ate the Naan.  I hope that they understand, that I know that I am a picky eater, and because of that, I will make do anywhere we go, and I will be fine!  I would hate for us to only go place that I like the food, because that would take away the foods that everyone else likes.  I have done this my whole life.  My family is used to me, my friends back home are used to me, I hope my friends here get it.

We headed back home, and got ready to meet Caleb, Caleb, and Sally at McDonalds, because that is the place to go when new teachers arrive.  I for one am thankful, considering the above paragraph. I got a #1, which tastes amazingly like the #1 in the US.  Then back home to get something done.

I got nothing done, except, I think, a load of laundry.  I was tired!

Sunday, we woke up to fresh snow.  Had no idea that was coming.  I didn't go to church.  I did get a lot done though.  Teacher Ready, done!  School work, done!  Housework, done!

Have people come over to play games! done.  LCR is a fun game!  We played with warm fuzzies (which Ciara got at the Alpha store for the amazing deal of 20 for 2 cents!)  We all plan to get some when we go back.  We played for a couple of hours, then realized that we all have to get up for work tomorrow and called it a night!  I work with a great group of people.  We are all in the "honeymoon" phase, the "dream honeymoon" phase, not the reality "honeymoon" phase.

You'll never guess what happens next, unless I told you, or someone else already told you.  Stay tuned!!!!
Never knew I could talk so much about a shopping experience at a store, did you?