My name is __________.

I was riding in a taxi with Aaron yesterday and we were talking about speaking Korean, and what we say to our kids. He told me he has been trying to teach the little ones how to say, "I'm blah blah blah" or "My name is blah blah blah," and told me they always laugh at him when he tries to teach them... So, I asked, "Well, what do you say to them?" His answer was, "I say Hello, I'm nugu nugu." (Insert me laughing histerically!!)

moh moh moh (Korean) = blah blah blah (English)
nugu nugu (Korean) = Who? (English)

So, essentially he was saying, "My name is who?" No wonder they were laughing!! The look on his face when I told him what he was saying was of utter defeat, which then made me laugh even harder!

Don't feel so bad though Aaron... Remember when I yelled, "I can play soccer!" during a teacher lunch, when I meant to say, "Congratulations!" It happens to the best of us!!

Another day... another cancelled class!

I swear I have more cancelled classes than anyone I know! It seems like I hang out in my office more than I teach these days! There's either a test or some sort of performance going on around here... not that I'm complaining! Today, it's parent day! So, my 2nd period class was cancelled in order for the parents to be able to watch their kids in action with their homeroom teachers.

I knew Stella wouldn't mind if I took a quick snapshot of her kiddos on their best behavior while their mom's lurked in the back of the classroom! :)

Thank you Parent Day!


*** (Addition 1 hour later!) Looks like all of my classes are cancelled today! YAY!

1st teacher dinner of the year!

I knew the days of eating nachos and chicken fingers during happy hour with my co-workers in Arizona would be over when I moved to Korea... but when I showed up to our 1st teacher dinner of the year and found these foods in front of me, I knew I was definitely in for an adventure!

Oysters...


Baby octopus (and yes, I ate an entire octopus by myself!)

I really have NO idea what these were, but I ate some of each!

I remember the first couple times an entire fish was served at my table... I would quickly grab a piece of lettuce and throw it over the fish's head. Now, I'm not grossed out at all! Infact, I enjoyably (is that word?) devoured this entire fish (minus the head), and it was delicious!!

Unforuntalely I don't have a picture of what I'm about to tell you. It was a bit spur of the moment, and I went with it! Stella and I both ate a LIVE sea slug... and yes, it was wiggling in our mouths! It was disgusting, rubbery, and tasted like I was eating a mouth full of salt water! Can't say I regret it though! It's another fun thing to add to the list of weird things I've tried while living here!

I learned that when Koreans are finished eating, they put their sookada (spoon) and chookada (chopsticks) like this on the table... in the same way we would lay ours crossways on our plates! Just an interesting little Korean tidbit for your enjoyment! :)

I love this girl! Since we don't get to teach together this year, we always take advantage of teacher dinners and afterschool events by sticking together and catching up on our weeks! Notice we have the exact same color coat on! :)

Overall, the night was great! The restaurant overlooked the ocean, the teachers were laughing and having fun together, the food was delicious (other than the slug), and the best part of all... It was all paid for by my old Vice Principal! Can't beat that huh?!

Funny student...

My friend Crystal, who is also an english teacher in Korea just shared this story, and I love it! ENJOY!

"I met the most adorable, hilarious student of all time. His name is Jerry (because of Tom and Jerry, of course!) and he has an amazing sense of humour. He was cracking jokes with me so I told him I wanted to put him in my pocket (something I like to say a lot) and his buddy said "Yes you adopt him," to which Jerry responded "I will bite you!"

Who are all of you?!

Dear Readers,

On February 11, 2010, I added a little counter to my blog so I could find out if anyone was actually reading it other than my mom, sister, a few friends, and my aunt Barb! Low and behold, I've had 3,000 hits in just over 1 month!

So, to whoever you are... Thanks for taking time out of your busy scheduled to stop by and read about my adventures! I am really curious though.... Who are all of you silent blog stalkers?! :)

Love, Jill