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Some of you may know that as a singular statistic, I fall down stairs way more than any normal person should.  So whenever I walk down stairs I’m gripping that rail Britney on a Cheetos bag.

So, you can imagine my horror upon seeing rusty old barbed wire wrapped around my life support system.  And to make matters worse, once you scale the hill with barbed wire stairs… there’s exercise equipment!

Here’s the 2 minute video (be sure you have sound):

Woon-ji was wonderful enough to stop by this morning and give a quick explanation of slipper use (in between packing for school and getting her visa… nothing big… ).

I had hoped that there was an ancient story involving a king tripping over his shoes causing horrible disfigurement, which sent the kingdom into a rapid spiral causing everyone to start wearing slippers inside… but it does appear that the main reason is simple cleanliness.

Be sure to watch the video…

Thanks Woon-ji and have fun at Michigan State!

Don’t be jealous the next time you accidentally push the wrong button and everyone starts judging you (because they do judge).

Of course, I realize that these elevators are most likely not solely found in Korea, but I found them here and I love them…

God's rules... as found in my hometown

Today was my first day of classes at the hakwon… I am way more tired than I should be.  But here’s what’s funny:

I have spent days upon days stressing over the rules I would have in my classroom, thinking that a strong structural support system would provide the launching pad they needed to make it to the land of fluency.

I consulted with teacher friends who all gave me information on the latest studies on ways to set up your classroom.  They gave me the class rules they use (and presumably succeed by) which all seemed to focus on the broad strokes of morality… like respect for your body, respect for your mind, respect for your heart, etc.

So after tossing and turning, I narrowed my list down to two:

1. Respect
2. Raise your hand before you speak

During my first class, I wrote “Respect” on the board.  Not only did they not understand the word, they didn’t understand anything else I said trying to explain it…so I was left a  mumbling mess.

Class two — I scrapped “Respect” and stuck with “Raise your hand before you speak”…

Class three — “Raise your hand”

Class four — Nothing… I just “led by example” by raising my own had at my own questions…

Of course, what was I thinking… most native speakers I know don’t understand the word or the concept of “respect” so it was a bit much of me to expect Korean elementary school students to latch on to this word.

All told, it was a good day.  They know I want them to raise their hand… and that was the only rule I cared about anyway.

Yum!

I hope you’re laughing with me and not at me.

Korean fusion cooking

The bestest news is that I moved into my apartment after a week at the Hotel 9, which seems to specialize in blue hallway lighting.  The apartment is great and is close to the school.

I’ve spent the last two days buying stuff for it though: lamp, iron, fan, etc.  There are about 5 “marts” within a few blocks of my house.  These are basically little Best Buys.  I have no idea how there is demand for this many stores, but I’ve been walking from store to store to find the best prices because some things are REALLY expensive (e.g., a regular $15 coffee pot is like $90 here and my cheap fan cost me $50).

Here’s a short video tour:

Click here for all the photos:

bed

all in one bathroom

my kitchen with gumby

First of all, it took me seeing it like 6 times before I even realized it was her. Secondly, I just can’t stop laughing at how bad it is. She has this super-creepy mixture of sexual innuendo and fatal illness — all in 44 seconds.

Of course, the best part is her dramatic turn to the camera when she says, “You!”  It just takes my breath away.

And this video of cops dancing to Wonder Girls’ Tell Me has to be the most fabulous thing I’ve found.  By “fabulous” I am course discounting the 5,000 years of history that have provided some of the most amazing artifacts in human existence.

The Wonder Girls seem to be one of the more popular K-pop groups — and tomorrow night they begin the American leg of their tour in Portland, OR. I tried convincing my sister to go, but she thinks celebrating her birthday with friends is more important.

Evidently this video sparked a dance craze across the country, and the video below has to be my favorite thus far. America had the Macarena several years ago, but wasn’t nearly as fun…

Here’s the original:

I also just love the shots of the Egyptians as the Israelites are leaving… they are SO despondent.  But, I can understand!  I mean, I know what it’s like when the intern leaves at the end of the semester and I suddenly realize that I have to order food for all the meetings… but I can’t imagine being a grunt in Egypt and suddenly realizing that I’ll now be pushing 20 ton bricks!

Movie: The Prince of Egypt (1998) — Starring Val Kilmer, Ralph Fiennes, Michelle Pfeiffer, Sandra Bullock

Music: Walking Shoes — Tanya Tucker