Well, I just celebrated my 34th birthday yesterday. My haul of presents included two cakes (still sitting in the fridge if anyone’s hungry), about a dozen pens of various colors, shapes, and purpose, a notebook, plus a handmade card from some dear friends. But the best present of all was the completion of English Summer Camp.
It started four weeks ago and it ended with a poorly-pronounced production of four plays yesterday. The camp regularly ran from 9am – 12 noon for me in addition to our regular afternoon / evening schedule. Suffice to say it was four weeks of hell with no free time to perform normally simple tasks such as paying bills, getting a haircut, or sleeping. So of course, my friends picked this time to visit Korea.
First there was Endo-kun, who popped in on his way home to Japan after a year in the UK. Endo, Pam, and I spent most of our time drinking soju and beer and trying out different BBQ restaurants. After hearing so much about how Koreans hate the Japanese, it was great to see how kind everyone was to Endo. Our last meal together found us in a back alley restaurant in Seoul chatting to 3 elderly men in English, Korean, and Japanese. It was a nice send-off.
Next came Nicole and Rachelle, those funny-talking gals from Nuh Zillin. We got to spend two weekends plus a few odd hours in between work together. It was really special to see them again as I’d sort of forgotten just what nice, caring people they were. And tons of fun. We managed to squeeze in some hiking, boiled chicken eating, movie making, and karaoke-ing. At some point we traded Rachelle for Ameri-Aaron who is wandering Korea at the moment with Nicole. Then they’re off to China (and they actually asked for my advice on it!)
I bought a computer a few weeks back so I hope, but not promise, to get more of these journals up. It was nice that people are reading and demanding more of them.
I’ve uploaded some photos that Pam took. They’re quite good but I take no credit for them whatsoever.
Overall, life in Korea is easy-going and mild. The ups and downs compared to life in Japan are minimal. I still explore on weekends and teach on weekdays and I expect the next 7 months will bring more of the same.
Thanks for reading.
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