Bell Intl' High School

After a crazy trip to Japan I have my new visa, got to use it for the first time, and am back in the country where I feel at home. Japan was nice but the stress of the last minute trip and being unable to plan for it made me happy to be heading back on the ferry back to Busan, South Korea.

I picked up the Branners at the airport in Incheon and we had a few hours together on the bus before getting back to my place, hurriedly packing up the remainder of my things, having the manager at Crimson House agree to mail a box of my stuff to the new address, drop off the Branners at the airport bus stop, and catch the next train down to Bell and jumped right into training sessions for the teachers.

The next day was more relaxed, had a light breakfast while string outside at the rain (water in the air brings out colors; so staring at the rice patties and the mountains was a wonderful way to start the day). Lunch was sashimi with tons of side dishes, then went to the movie theater, and finally a public bath; the third I have been to.

I've got all my stuff minus a computer screen and should be getting a desk/chair today.

Getting to know the teachers well and the fact that I am learning their language makes them more relaxed to speak mine; something I have found true in all groups.

And today the students come~

A Simple Transaction

Our Korean Language Class is designed for common everyday conversations and I must admit it truly is geared toward that. Take this translated sample dialogue:

Note: Remember Korea is a family culture so you can call people "big sister," or "big brother" or "aunt" or "uncle" without them being blood relatives.

Customer: How much is this?
Owner: $5
Customer: That's a little expensive. Hey Aunt, if you lower the price for me I will buy a bunch of them.
Owner: Oh boy, your Korean sure is good. $4 each.
Customer: Thanks Auntie. I'll take 3.

See? Real simple. Now let's use those same exact words in a real life example:

Rick: How much for this?
Owner: $5
Rick: That's a little expensive. Hey Auntie, if you lower the price I will buy a bunch.
Owner: What?
Rick: Um, Auntie, if you lower the price I will buy a bunch of them.
Owner: They sure are a good price. Not expensive at all. Cheap price.
Rick: If you could, um, lower the price I will get a bunch.
Owner: How many do you want?
Rick: 10
Owner: 6 it is. $30 please.
Rick: No no. A discount please.
Owner: These are good quality, Korean cotton. See the tag? "Made in Korea." No discount. $30 please. Here I will count them out for you: 1, 2, 3, (huge dialect change and I can no longer recognize the numbers 4, 5, and 6).

See? It's just like the sample conversation from the book! Real easy, good price! ^____^

(Currently listening to the cd I bought from a mariachi band~) Click me to download.

Server Check-Up

The server is undergoing some maintenance and so I will wait until it is over before I post again. My father is here with me and we are having a blast. I've got a lot of photos I would love to share and will be posting some of those once the server is fully back up and running.

Going to Bell School tomorrow, should be getting paperwork for visa and the trip to Japan soon, and will be moving down to Bell at the end of this month.

Pray that the paperwork goes well. I would love to see some friends who have a layover in town right before I have to work.

Summer Jobs

*Sigh* Summer jobs are so boring. I was meeting with EunHye at the subway station near Lotte World and caught these two daydreaming. Lotte Bakery, alright that makes sense. But what is the guy selling? Peanut Buttered Roast Squid. Nothing says "fun day" quite like peanut buttered squid when visiting a theme park~

Walk Around the Neighborhood

I enjoy taking walks and last week I was bored so I took a stroll. I found a map of the area (note how the streets take shape) and a whole bunch of computer screens. Then I looked around the side and saw a few more and then ever more under the tarp.

The side streets are fun. You look one way and you see one style of street. You turn around and see another. Walk another 25 feet and it changes again as does turning your head off to the side.

Took a subway ride and found an underground bookstore shopping area. You can see more books outside of the store and what is this? A Mexican Mariachi band and the crowd listening on the steps. They thanked their audience in Korean and introduced their next song either in Korean or in Spanish.
Spanish + English = Spanglish
Korean + English = Konglish
Chinese+ English = Chinglish
Spanish + Korean = (unknown)

This was on a different walk but worth mentioning. Most store owners here are extremely trusting. You will sometimes find fully stocked stores with their owner fast asleep. This gentleman (while very hard to wake up) was extremely generous as I left the store with 13ish music posters he gave me for free (I got a Jaurim poster!).

And what walk is complete without a trip to my favorite restaurant? I failed to realize that Korean "twi-kim" is the same as Japanese tempura. And one of the best parts is I can buy 4 for roughly a buck from street vendors. Here is my custom twi-kim with doupookie sauce combo and a drink or two to boot ^^