This is the sound of settling..

I feel pretty settled into my new home now. I sleep like a baby throughout the night, and I wake up ready for the day. I may even feel BETTER here than I did back home. I made a great decision to come here. So let's do a little backtracking so I can inform you of my Tuesday.

Tuesday was a packed day, per usual, with work and then Korean class at night. Okailey had missed the first two classes and she was determined not to miss a third, so she met up with me at my school so we could head to the university together. I had gone home to change and get my books and I went back to school to find her sitting on a rock waiting for me. A lot of my students were hanging out at the school gates and said hi to me. I yelled out "Okailey!" and we TRIED to walk to the bus stop but was stopped by a wall of students. They were taking our their camera phones and their cameras saying that they wanted to take photos of Okailey and me. I was like, "WTH, they never want to take pictures of JUST me!" Now that Okailey came around, they're whipping out their cameras that I didn't even know they carried around with them. They wanted us to put our arms around each other for their photos. We posed for a few and then left laughing. It was crazy - English teachers are celebrities. I now know how it feels like to be semi-famous, a D-list celeb. We got to the bus stop and a couple students were there as well. One of my favorites - she ALWAYS says hi to me and she's just soo adorable. We chatted a little bit and the bus finally came and Okailey and I hopped on, ready to escape our fans. We got to school, got some grub, got to class, went through about 35 pages of the book, and then went home. Not too exciting, huh? haha Where are our students when we need them?

So yesterday (Wednesday), I was waiting for my after school class, my favorite class of the day, and the coordinator for the Gwangju teachers came to my desk. Rarity and unexpected. He had come to observe me teach my after school class. Oh, OK...but it was cancelled due to some sort of science test? I don't really know, but I was a bit disappointed because I was looking forward to the class. I ended up just talking with the coordinator and then following the other Korean VIPs around the school for a tour - it's all about face here, remember? I heard a certain VIP at my school was angry that my after school class was cancelled because these people came to observe and it wasn't going on. I guess it doesn't give a good impression of the school, but it's not our fault. It's no one's fault.



But anywayssss, at night, a small group of the Gwangju teachers went out...YES, on a SCHOOL NIGHT! It was a surprise graduation celebration for Sonia. She was supposed to have her graduation back home in South Africa, but obviously, she is unable to attend because she's in Korea. Jarrod made her a fake diploma and everything. We had dinner and I ordered some sort of spicy udon with seafood and vegetables. Omigosh, was that thing SPICY! It's the spiciest thing I've had since I've been here. I was expecting to eat more spicy food, but it has been pretty mild until this dish. I was on the verge of tears. One bite and I felt it all in my mouth, but I finished it! After that, we went to a hookah bar place, more like a dungeon. It was so nice. Each party gets their own little cave. There is also seating around this elongated pond thingy in the middle of the place with candles sitting on mounds of wax. It was dimly lit with a chandelier and other draperies. It was gorgeously decorated. In fact, almost every place here looks gorgeous. The next place we went to was across the way. It was a coffee shop called Coffee Story. This place, as Jarrod describes it, is reminiscent of Moulin Rouge. I can see where he gets that, but this place is a bit too pink and not enough red. The first thing I thought of when I walked in was, "This place is so...POSH!" It really is. I didn't get any photos of it, but I will the next time we go, which I'm sure we will. We had some ice cream with corn flakes and pineapple and pocky and wafers. Yes, I used a lot of ands in that sentence. The ice cream was yummylicious, normal ice cream, but it satisfied me nonetheless. I got home, read a chapter of "The Kite Runner" and then went to sleep at 1130-ish.

Today I have my first Sports Day for teachers. I wonder what's in store..
and tomorrow is Picnic Day (i.e., Field Trip!). I'm going to Damyang Bamboo Forest. I am so excited, and I just can't hide it. I know, I know, I know, and I think I like it.

Edit: I noticed that I didn't have a post about my field trip, so here are some pictures! We went to the Damyang Bamboo Forest! It was a beautiful place. I love anywhere where there is plenty of green around me! :) The kids were so cute! A lot of them wanted to take photos with me! Yeay!!