I'm Not Irish

Tony and me

I celebrated St. Patrick's Day TWICE this year!! Well, I'm not sure if consuming three beer (two of which were GREEN) over an evening AND an entire day really counts as "celebrating", but I was there. I've never been crazy about the holiday like some folks. I have nothing against it...I've just never sought it out nor been really excited about it. On the actual day, I went to Happidus for a couple drinks with friends. It was PACKED. And it was my first time having green beer! Saturday there was an all-day festival in Insa-dong, a fun neighbourhood in Seoul. Peer pressure got the better of me and I went along with a group of friends. I saw SO MANY PEOPLE that I know!! It was really fun. There was live music and a sea of green clothing! I sported my green tights, of course, although you can't see them in the photos I have. A big group of us had dinner at a small Korean joint after, then I headed home. Everyone else was heading to Hongdae for a night of more drinking and dancing. I went to see The King's Speech instead, back in Anyang. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!


Elly is so adorable

Overall, last week was much smoother than the previous. My practically foolproof points system that gave me much success in Mercury is working in my other classes, elementaries too, helping me gain some order and control over the chaos and noise of the new groups. Yes, I was actually in a great mood at the end of Thursday, after my Wednesday/Thursday jam-packed/hardly-any-breaks-let-alone-time-to-breathe days. Phew! I am happy.

On Friday, one of my new Korean coworkers started telling me that one of her (male) Korean friends is interested in meeting foreigners. So then she started asking me some questions...like how old I am, if I like golf, and if I am seeing anyone...wait a minute...is this a set-up? Is Sera playing matchmaker? She even threw in that he is a gentleman! Ha! I told her I'd be happy to meet him, but that I'm not looking for a boyfriend, and that she has to come with me. I wanted that to be clear, because he is Korean age 33, which means he DEFINITELY has marriage on the mind. She called me Saturday morning saying he (Fred is his English name) wanted to meet me, so we made Sunday dinner plans. The three of us went for Korean food, then out for ice cream. I must say that I am flattered by how impressed they were with my chopstick skills. They said I'm Korean. Haha Anyways, when we went for ice cream, Sera kept leaving us alone...SO OBVIOUS. We were all walking to Fred's car because Sera had her bag in it. Then she is getting in, and tells me to get in the front seat. We drive out of the parking lot, and as soon as we're out, Sera jumps out of the car, which leaves me and Fred. They conned me into getting a ride home!!! Fred is a really nice guy, and his English is much better than I was expecting. He wants to meet foreigner friends to practice speaking, as he is writing a test for a masters program. I will likely see him again (he works at a virtual golf company really close to where I live) and he wants me to come. I'll bring some friends with me. It was an enjoyable evening. Definitely an experience!

In general, I am hanging out with more of my Korean coworkers than I was before, which I like. I guess I am just always hanging out with different people here, changing it up, because I can!

So next Wednesday is Karen's birthday. I have offered to host a potluck chez moi for the occasion. In the past, the Korean staff tended to skip out on any weekday social invites (mind you, we had a lot of changeover in Korean staff). I put a poster with a sign-up sheet in the teacher room today, and it seems EVERYONE wants to come. Plus some of Karen's friends. I am totally happy to be hostess, but I am getting slightly nervous about having about 15 people come over! I think this will be my first solo hosting experience with that many. It will be fine. I still have to get some of my other friends over here, but I'd prefer to do it in baby steps, one or two at a time. Haha

I've finally put more pictures up! Check out my previous posts/posts below again, just to see the photos! Hope everyone had a nice weekend! xo

My favourite elementary class: I love teaching prepositions.