On Saturday, Dave and I left for Tokyo for the weekend. After we checked into the hotel, our first stop was Akihabara. This area of Tokyo is famous for its many electronics shops. We spotted these models outside of the electronics mall. I can’t imagine how awkward that job must be… standing around in uncomfortable shoes and clothes and posing for photos all day.
On Friday, Dave and I went to eat at our favorite Indian restaurant in Busan called Namaste. There’s a Mini Cooper dealership next door and I was excited to see the Lotte Giants mini parked outside. The Giants are Busan’s baseball team and I’ve been itching to get to a game. It’s been a full year since I’ve been.
Apparently in Korea it is perfectly acceptable to wear reindeer and snowflake Chistmas sweaters well into May.
Crane machines are pretty common in Korea. This one is outside of a convenience store in my neighborhood. Instead of plush dolls and toys, it has a bunch of snacks and gum. There are also random things like what appears to he some sort of a Buddha statue and a solar powered bobble head.
Tuesday was weird. I was greeted by several students as I left school (which is very normal), but this 5th grade girl stopped me to ask if I liked animals. When I said yes, she pulled a hamster out of her pocket (his name is Looney). I talked to her for a bit and then continued on my way.
I got a little farther from school and then noticed that this girl and her friend were following me. I had heard that students may try to follow you home, but for the past 15 months this has never been a problem for me.
As we crossed the street together, the girl said, “I’m your stalker.” I replied, “Yes, you are.” the girls had pretty good English so I didn’t mind the company. I was going by Domino’s to get a pizza on the way home so I thought I’d lose them there. I was wrong.
I went in to order my pizza and sat down. I saw that my students were still there… Waiting for me.
I went out to talk to them. While we waited, they put on a “musical” for me. It was really just them dancing, but it was cute.
Finally, my pizza came. When I asked them where they were going, they said “Meagan Teacher’s house.” Uh oh. I explained that they couldn’t come to my house, but they begged and said it would be a secret.
On the walk home I called Shanna and invited myself over. They walked with me all the way there and then told me they needed to come in because they were very thirsty. Then, one of the girls found 1,000 won on the ground (about $1) and gave it to me. I said they could have it to buy a drink because they were so thirsty. They were so excited and went skipping off arm in arm. Phew!
Every morning, I walk into school and walk straight here. These are the teachers’ shoe lockers. I take off my shoes and change into my indoor shoes. On top of the lockers there are guest slippers. There are floral slippers for women and plain black ones for the men.
One of my birthday gifts from Dave was a juicer. I’ve wanted one for a really long time. We were really excited to try it out. The first thing we made was kiwi juice. It was really tasty. Since then we have tried fresh apple juice and orange juice. It tastes great and it’s so much better for you than buying bottled juice.
Saturday was my birthday party. 6 of my friends took the train from Busan to Ulsan to celebrate my birthday at Dave’s place. We had a really good night.
My friend Joni from back home made me the cutouts of my best friends and sent them in a care package.
Friday afternoon I had my after school class. These kids are the highlight of my work week. There are 5 students in total, but one student had to miss class due to a Girl Scouts sleepover.
The weather forecast predicted sunny and clear skies all last week. That’s why it was a giant surprise when I heard a loud clap of thunder. I looked out the window and then it started pouring down rai. The rain only lasted about 10 minutes, but it was a huge surprise. The windows in my office were open and I could hear children squeezing as they tried to scurry out of the rain.
Life Outside of Texas 