Picnic, 6am and Crying Kids

Last Sunday, after a super crazy Friday/Saturday, Loren and I had a picnic lunch by the Han River. It was a gorgeous day, it was pretty warm but a great day nonetheless. After lunch of ramyeon (라면), kimchi and kimbap we walked along the river and eventually found a deserted area by the National Assembly Building. It was a perfect day to walk around a part of Seoul I hadn't really explored yet. After we walked our way through the National Assembly complex, we went to a small park where people were riding bikes, roller blading and enjoying a Sunday afternoon stroll. It was a peaceful way to end a crazy, yet fun weekend.



My weekend, as mentioned above was crazy. I met up with Loren and his visiting friends in Itaweon. Itaewon is the foreign part of Seoul, where it feels like you are walking into America. I kid you not, English is heard everywhere and there are a ton of foreigners. I had been trying to avoid Itaewon, but in the past week I had gone 3 times (once for dinner/drinks with Loren, dinner with Kristen and then out on the town with Loren, Colin, Jesse, Sandra and Woon Ha). Anyway, Friday night I met up with everyone and we went to a few bars, had a few drinks and it was 3:00 before I knew it. However, the night didn't end there. Sandra and I decided to head to Gangnam (where I live, sort of) and go to this huge club, NB (Noise Basement). There were a gazillion people there and it was incredibly hot, but the DJ was awesome and I danced more than I think I have in my entire life. We finally parted ways at about 6am! I'm not sure I've ever been out that late before, but it was fun. I didn't wake up until 4p on Saturday!

This week is going quickly, it is almost Wednesday here and I am tired already. The kids seem to be on sugar highs 24/7 and they have decided not to listen anymore. I've sent more kids out in the past few days than I have in almost 2.5 months. Today a little girl broke down in tears when I sent her out for cheating. It was a spelling test that has absolutely no effect on her grade and she was cheating. She is new to the class, but seriously why must an 11 year old cheat on a spelling test? She was bawling and I didn't feel bad. I shouldn't either, she should have thought about getting a 0 and her mom getting mad before she decided to cheat. I'm not perfect by any means and I probably did far worse at age 11, but still. It's not my fault she made a poor decision. Other than that, my previously "worst" kindergarten class is becoming my favorite. Ever since I started teaching them reading 3 days a week they have become much better. They still struggle with reading (especially the two boys, Danny and Mike for those of you who have seen the picture), but they try hard. I've never had to teach anyone to read before, but it's hard work. In a way, it's my favorite though. Progress is easily tracked when someone is learning to read. The kids have a field trip on Friday so I have the morning off, that'll be nice. October 3rd is a holiday so that means one more 3 day weekend!