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Thursday, July 5

Elementary school students all across Korea are taking final exams today. Test days like this are nice because I don’t have any classes. I do have to grade tests. Usually it’s a chore, but I enjoyed it today because the students seemed to do really well.

There’s a lot of pressure for students in Korea to do well in school. I know we took tests back home, but we never had “midterms” or “final exams” until middle school. They start in 3rd grade here. Most of my students seem okay, but the stress does take its toll on some students. This morning a 10 year old girl in another province committed suicide. You can read more about it here. The suicide rate is quite high here. It’s a shame that children so young feel that much pressure.

A year in photos – Day 130

Wednesday, July 4

Sinks in Korea are different than the ones back home. One nice thing about them is that there’s a removable basket that catches all of the stuff that would otherwise clog up your sink. The down side is that there’s this tank of water in the bottom that never completely drains. It just stays down there stagnant.

I didn’t realize how bad my sink had gotten until I took it all apart. It was kinda icky. I ended up replacing my basket and sink cover and adding a cleaning tablet into the basket. Hopefully it will keep it nice and clean.

A year in photos – Day 129

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Tuesday, July 3

I needed some replacement parts for the drain in my sink. All I had to do was wait for this shop to pop up across the street from my apartment. I bought a drain cover for 2,000 won. I probably could have talked to woman down, but I didn’t go for it.

A year in photos – Day 128

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Monday, July 2

PC Rooms are extremely popular here. You can pay a small fee to go there and use a computer to surf the web or play video games. This is a big one near my apartment. I always liked all of the window clings. I’ve never been here, but one of my friends went and said there was a roach crawling around near her…. I guess it’s pretty fitting that this place is called “Love Bug PC Zone.”

A year in photos – Day 127

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Sunday, July 1

A really popular street food in Korea is silkworm larvae. You can sniff them out half a block away. They smell a bit like death. You can also buy them in cans in the grocery store.

A year in photos – Day 126

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Saturday, June 30

Have you ever had Tim Tams? They are very delicious. Ever since Dave and his mom found out I like them, they’ve bought us enough to last a very, very long time. They are so sweet.

A year in photos – Day 125

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Friday, June 29

I am waiting for my train to arrive and then I’m off to Ulsan for the weekend. Getting the train is pretty painless. I just have to say the name of my station, pay 3,900 won (about $3.50) and then they issue me a ticket. The tickets are in English and Korean, which is nice.

The weather has been pretty good for the past few days, but it’s starting to get humid. Today will probably be the last rain free day we have for a while.

A year in photos – Day 124

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Thursday, June 28

The top photo is my school’s playground On Thursday morning and the bottom photo was taken after school on the same day.

I asked two 5th grade boys what they were doing and they told me the Korean word for construction. I waited until I saw one of the high level 4th grade girls. She told me that they are making the playground “more bigger.”

For now, they have blocked off the construction area so I guess I won’t be able to see until its all finished.

A year in photos – Day 123

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Wednesday, June 27

Wednesday night’s walk was about a mile away from our apartment. We had dinner at a place right across from Busan’s baseball stadium. I haven’t been to a game yet this season, but we are planning to go in July if we can get tickets in the cheering section.

The cool thing about baseball in Korea is that you can bring in outside food and drinks. There are vendors set up all around the stadium.

A year in photos – Day 122

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Tuesday, June 26

Barbecue Camp is a restaurant in Seomyeon that most people I know refer to as “beer can chicken.” They bring the chicken out whole and it’s still sitting on top of the can. They cut it up with kitchen scissors and place it on a hot skillet with garlic, onion and kimchi. They serve it with various sauces and you can also order tortillas to make wraps.

It’s soooo delicious and it’s one of my favorite places to eat in Busan.