The hotel Christine and I are staying in for a week is called a Love Motel. They are all over Korea, and you pay for the rooms by the hour. Basically, they are used for prostitution- nice, I know. Christine and I are the only two people who have been in the hotel for at least one complete night. People come in and out, take showers, make lots of noise (no explanation necessary), and then leave. It really could not be more gross and creepy. I am still waiting to see the same people come in and out at night and then again in the morning- I don't think it will happen.
Suji is a suburb of Seoul, but please do not get it confused with suburbs like Eagan, Minnesota. I will eventually walk to school along an eight lane highway. Sky scrapers with neon writing covering their walls fill every nook and cranny- urban life at it's best. We have learned that owning a single family home is unheard of in SoKo- that is why there are so many people. People are literally jam-packed in to this country in skyscraper buildings. Every business, store, restaurant etc. generally has its own level in a building. Buildings are stacked together with different businesses and there is no rhyme or reason as to why they all share the same building. You will see a building with one level as a mall, one level as a doctors office, once level as a school, one level as a plastic surgery center, and the next as an animal shelter. Crazy.
Yesterday afternoon, Christine and I ran in to John Hokkanen, a guy from Minnesota, right on the street. I grew up playing sports with his sister, and our families are good friends. What are the odds? He was very helpful; showing us a place for us to get food on our own. He even wrote down what to say since we are still unable to get food without any assistance. I am sure we will meet up with him again.
We went to school for the first time, but only for about ten minutes. I have already fallen in love with the school, and the kids. Tomorrow, Thursday and Friday we will shadow other teachers, and Monday we will start teaching on our own.
I have quickly become aware of the necessity to add hand exercises in to my daily routine. I do not think I will survive without them. Picture yourself writing a long essay or taking the ACT's, and getting a hand cramp. Yup- that is what happens every single time I eat with chopsticks. I need to strengthen my hands so they are able to survive the long treacherous meals of eating a couple pieces of white rice at a time (this is due to a combination of the fact that I am horrible with chopsticks and people here take really small bites).
I can't wait to show you pictures of the school and all of the small children I will be teaching:)
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