Sujin and Jeong Eun

I was also very happy to recently have had the chance to spend time with my friends Sujin and Jeong Eun! They're so funny and so much fun to spend time with.

Actually, I recently realized that when we hang out, we always eat. I don't know why! So I told them we have to start doing OTHER thing too. And we will go to a singing room soon. :) Korean singing rooms are awesome!

The first time the three of us were able to spend time together since I returned to Korea was pretty recently. I went to Dobong to shop at HomEver, and they met me there. It was my idea to eat pizza because there was a place called Pizza Mall that had inexpensive pizza.

Well... let me tell you (sorry Pizza Mall)... this pizza was BAD! All we got was pepperoni. The problem wasn't with the cheese, or the sauce, or the pepperoni, but with the crust! It was dry and SO bland. No, worse than bland! Of course we ate it anyways.

In the end, we had 1 peice left but we were all full, and the next 20 minutes were spent trying to decide which unlucky person would have to eat it.

My opinion? DON'T go to Pizza Mall! Here's a list of pizza places you should try BEFORE you eat at Pizza Mall...

1. Dominos (I think it's the best in Korea. It's better than the Dominos in US)

2. Mr. Pizza (surprisingly, I like it more than the following)

3. Pizza Hut

4. Papa John's

5. Etang Pizza

6. ANY pizza place (except Pizza Mall)

7. A dumpster behind one of the above pizza places

8. The floor of one of the first six pizza places

9. Pizza Mall

Ok ok ok... it's not quite THAT bad - I'm just being dramatic. Give it a try and see for yourself. It seems there are some other people who like it.

ANYWAYS - some people don't know - but I have problems being anything but honest. This includes telling white lies. I don't believe in it. So when we were leaving Pizza Mall, Sujin and Jeong Eun beat me to the register and the lady said something to them in Korean. Then they looked at me and said, "Yeah... Chris... what did you think about the pizza" and they directed me to confront the lady at the register and answer her question... ... ... so I said, "ummm... next time, I will choose a different kind of pizza."

Which is true - except there won't be a next time ;)

On the left is Sujin, and on the right is Jeong Eun. Sujin is the one who plays the piano at my church.

SEVERANCE Hospital??? WHOA!!!

Ellie and I were walking around in Sinchon (pronounced Shinch-un), a well known area of Seoul, when suddenly I saw this enormous and well-known hospital called Severance Hospital.

Severance?!? How SCARY! I would never want to go there! Why on earth would they give a hospital this name??? Yikes!

"I'm sorry, we're going to have to cut it off." - and that's about all I imagine their solution is.

Of course I'm just joking. I'm sure it's a great hospital... but seriously, change the name!

I asked some of my students about it, and that never occurred to them. They thought severence had something to do with being saved. lol! I was like... "nope... guess again..."

French-Fried Korean Face?

Ellie and I went to Burger King (seriously... it was her idea, so don't judge!) and I made a face out of french fries. My USUAL idiotic behavior. When I was finished... I realized the face looked Korean (with the exception of the burnt eye. No symbolism intended... it was just the only fry short enough and I didn't want to bite down a new one).

How bizzare. You be the judge. Agree? Or Disagree?

A Colored Dog

When I was hanging out with Ellie once, I saw another colore dog in Seoul, so I had her ask the owner if I could take a picture. She said sure - then made the dog do this little trick. So here's another picture of a colored Korean dog.

Ellie

Of COURSE I've seen my good pal Ellie Kang, again. She's on break from University, and has been taking advantage of it!!! Unfortunately, that means she's been out and about for most of the time I've been in Korea and we've only been able to hang out a few times, but it was fun!

Actually, strangely, I don't have pictures of when we hung out. Hmmm... well then I'll have to update again with some pictures when I get some.

June

Coming back to Korea and having good friends around is the best. There were so many people I've been excited to see and talk to again - I'm not going to list them all!

One of them, however, is June. She's been extremely helpful, and was one of the first friends I was able to see when coming back to Korea. She helped me buy a futon over the internet, and has helped answer questions and translate for me... all without a complaint - just a smile and cheerful attitude.

Right now she's not working because she's studying hard to take the TOEFL exam, after which she'll become a teacher.

Here's June. Good picture, eh?

Back in Seoul, South Korea

Well after about 4 months of being away from South Korea, I'm back. This time I'm in Seoul, the capital, working at YBM Premier in Jongno 2(i)-ga, teaching adults. Of course I miss the little kids, but I enjoy teaching adults much more, and also I'm more qualified to teach adults. When I went to UIUC, I got a degree in English Rhetoric, Professional Writing, but I also wanted to get a minor in Teaching English as a Second Language. After taking all but 2 classes for my minor, it came time to graduate and I didn't want to spend all the extra money to stay another semester so I stopped.

Anyway, my current job isn't easy, but I do really enjoy it. I love Korea, and I love working here. I love the Korean people. I'll get more into WHY another time. That's definitely a different post.

The area I live in, in Seoul, is Donam-Dong, in the area of Sungshin Women's University - which is on blue subway line 4 a little in the north end of Seoul. The area is great. There aren't many foreigners. It's mostly Korean families or University students. Actually, Seoul has lots of Universities and there are 2 that are about 10 minutes walking from my apartment. It's a nice area.

I take a bus to work every day, and it's about a 12 minute ride one way. On Sundays I take a bus to Dobong for church. One of my friends in Korea plays piano for the English service (which is how I found out about the church). So I went once and really liked it. Now I go all the time. It's called the Salt and Light church. Although I don't associate myself with any particular denomination of Christianity, the church I'm attending in South Korea is Presbityrian. It's similar to the Korean Church I attended for 3 years while at UIUC in the States. The bus ride to church is about 45 minutes one way... but it goes almost to the northern most part of Seoul, which is near some mountains that I love (Dobong San, Dobong Mountain). It's beautiful.

My contract with YBM is for 1 year. It will be finished starting July 1st, 2009. Right now, I'm very interested in staying in Korea and working longer than 1 year... but of course I'm not set on this. I'll decide when the time gets closer.

That's about it for now!

Here's a picture of Dobong Mountain, taken right after I get off the bus in Dobong on my way to Church!