Dad - Day 2

Saturday July 21, 2012

Today was our DMZ tour. We woke up at the horrendous hour of 4:30am, had some breakfast, then  headed out to catch the first metro of the day. It was about an hour or so to get to where we needed to be, then we walked about 10 minutes to the tour building. Since we were early, we went to a nearby convenience store to pick up some vitamin C drinks. I bought a tuna triangle kimbap and let Dad try some – he loved it. He’s so Korean!

The tour kicked off at 7:15 when we got on a bus and headed up to the JSA (Joint Security Area). They were deadly serious about when and where you could take photos, and I had to keep resisting the urge to take pictures of things our tour guide would point out. A US Army soldier took us into the JSA building to give us a rundown on the history of the DMZ and JSA. He really knew his stuff, but I felt like he was in an invisible contest to see how fast he could possibly spit out all the words involved in the brief. There were people from 13 countries on our tour and English wasn’t all their native language, so I’m curious how much they caught. After the brief he got on our tour bus and we drove up to where North Korea and South Korea have face to face soldiers at their respective military bases. It was pretty intense – these South Korean soldiers standing motionless like Asian Buckingham palace guards, and some faceless, unmoving North Korean soldier about 50 feet away with binoculars plastered to his face staring at all of us. Then we drove to this place called Checkpoint 3 where we could see the closest North Korean village of Gijeongdong, or what the South call Propaganda Village because for one, they used to have huge speakers blaring out propaganda messages that could be heard at the JSA, and also it’s not a real village – just facades built to pretend like people live there. They have an absolutely enormous North Korean flag on a flagpole that’s 160m tall. The guide said it used to be the tallest in the world until Azerbaijan built one that’s 162m tall – the guide’s droll opinion was that NK must not have heard about it because they haven’t made a taller one yet. (Their 160m one was to outdo the corresponding SK flag that flies on the Southern side of the DMZ.) The guide told us all about Daesongdong, or Freedom Village. It’s the closest village to North Korea and that’s where they have the SK flag flying. The NK flag weighs, get this, over 600 pounds. 600 pounds, I kid you not! They have to take it down when it rains or else it will tear under its own weight.

Next we went to the Bridge of No Return, which is basically a bridge across the Sanchon River, which runs nearly along the DMZ line. It’s where POWs from the Korean War were allowed to choose which side they wanted to cross to, but once they crossed they could never go back. It was a very nondescript bridge.

Next we went to the Dora Observatory, which was pretty much the same view as Checkpoint 3, only not as good. We were only there for about 15 minutes.

Then we went to the 3^rd Tunnel. For a time spanning maybe ten years, the North dug four tunnels that were supposed to lead to Seoul for an invasion. The South was warned by an NK defector, so over that ten year period I mentioned they found four tunnels but suspect there might be more. We could go into the tunnel up to about 250m because we weren’t allowed farther as it was hitting the DMZ line. The guide warned us it was steep, and she was not kidding. We got hard hats and proceeded down quite a steep incline for awhile, then we hit the actual tunnel. It was not a place I’d recommend for anyone who is not in decent shape or is afraid of small spaces. Thank goodness for that hard hat because for quite a long distance we had to walk bent over because you couldn’t actually stand up as the tunnel was so low. I hit my head multiple times but was fine due to the hard hat. It also protected you from the dripping ceiling. There were information plaques periodically, and one hilariously stated that the North painted the tunnel in coal dust and then claimed they were “just mining for coal.” Sure, NK, let’s mine for coal in a solid granite area. I’m certain SK just took your word for it on the coal dust thing. Honestly sometimes I feel like NK is just full of cartoon villains who watch James Bond movies, point to the bad guy’s lair or whatever, and am like, “I gotta get me one of those!” or “THAT’S the plan, gentlemen.” It’s like they’re taking pages straight out of Dr. Evil’s How to Demand a Gazillion Dollars book.

We were hot, sweaty, and tired after hiking back up, so we went to the bus to relax. Then our tour guide cheerfully announced she had “made a deal” and got us into the seven minute showing of a movie about the 3^rd Tunnel. I doubt anyone was enthusiastic as we were all quite hungry at this point, but she seemed so pleased that we trooped dutifully off the bus and watched the film.

Next we got some lunch. We had bulgogi and it was great. Dad really enjoyed it, so I was happy about that. Bulgogi is just shaved bits of meat marinated in sweet soy sauce with rice, kimchi, and various other side dishes. Then it was back to Seoul and back on the metro. At long last we made it to my apartment around 6. It was a long day! Tomorrow we leave for Gangwon-do.

Dad's first day

Friday, July 20, 2012

Yesterday was Dad’s first day in Korea (sort of). I left school early to get to the airport to meet him at the gate. However, he was the one who met me… I was checking my email on my iPhone when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I looked up to see the man himself – he made it safely from O’Hare to Incheon and we were off! Straight to McDonald’s. Seriously though, we were both hungry and it’s about an hour and a half back to my apartment so we decided to kick off Dad’s international adventure with a (culinary) trip back home.

We hopped the 5300 bus where Dad was pleased they had American-style air conditioning. He had already noticed the Korean propensity toward the bare minimum of AC; that is, it’s on, but it’s not that cold. Luckily the 5300 bus is swanky. We got to Yatap Station and I showed Dad where he’ll catch the bus back to the airport in the event I can’t take him myself. We got on the metro and made our way to my house. Dad noticed that there’s quite a bit of walking involved with public transportation! But he was a trooper despite the heat and humidity.  We’ve been lucky though; the weather hasn’t been too bad.

After relaxing a bit in my apartment we ventured out to buy some coffee for today’s breakfast, then it was back to my apartment to get some sleep.

This brings us to today. Dad and I woke up and got ready for school. We took the bus partway, and Dad had a bit of trouble using his transportation card because I had told him to “swipe” his card when really you should just touch it to the screen. Then we walked up to the school. The kids freaked out when they saw him. Right away two first grade boys were like, Teacher, this is your father? And I said yes, and so one was like, Nice to meet you! The other didn’t say anything so the first boy hit him on the back and yelled at him in Korean to introduce himself. Korean culture is really big on greetings. I brought Dad into school and he met all my co-teachers, principal, and vice-principal. We could immediately tell he was making everyone nervous, especially the women. I thought it was because they were intimidated by speaking to a strange foreign man, but then I discovered the real reason… Were any of you aware that my father is actually a Brad Pitt double? Or possibly a combination of Brad Pitt and Harrison Ford. At least, that’s what my students were acting like. “Teacher, your father… HANDSOME! SMALL FACE! SO HANDSOME! HANDSOME GUY!” Even my co-teacher delivered a bit of a zinger, “You must have been very handsome when you were younger!”

It was the last day of first semester so we didn’t have any classes. Instead the students were cleaning the school. Dad was very impressed (“It’s just like when I was a kid!”). They all crowded around him in the hallway. It sounded a bit like this.

Teacher, is your father?

Wow, so handsome!

Hello nice to meet you how are you I’m fine thank you and you?

Teacher, you and your father looks so alike! Same face!

The best was one of my girls who didn’t believe me.

Jihye: Teacher, who is this?

Me: This is my father.

Jihye: Really?

Me: Yes, really.

Jihye: I think you are telling a lie. He is the new native teacher!

Dad was dying. He really couldn’t get over that one.

I took him to a third grade homeroom because it was my coteacher’s homeroom. The students were beyond thrilled to see him – I only wish anyone cared that much about seeing me. Usually I get groans and yawns. Anyway, the kids actually cheered for him. Dad introduced himself and I asked if the kids had any questions.

1.       Where is Mom?

2.       Have you met David Beckham?

3.       Your face is so small. You are so handsome. (A boy, by the way.)

4.       Do you like Korea?

5.       How old are you?

Then they cheered once again and we swept out to nearly a standing ovation.

Then it was time to go on our teachers’ retreat. We went to a barbecue restaurant, which is also known as the best Korean meal ever, so I was extremely happy. My coteacher told Dad he was very lucky because we only eat beef once a year and he managed to make it on the right day. Dad had a bit of trouble with the chopsticks but soldiered on. He ate his fill so I guess he sorted out the chopsticks thing. My coteachers told him he was very good at using chopsticks, which means I should really reevaluate the compliments they gave me on my chopsticks stills. I had coached Dad on how to accept a social drink and it turned out to be a good thing as several of the male teachers wanted to be his new friend, so Dad ended up downing several lunchtime soju shots. My coteachers were very worried that he was being made to drink too much so they started shooing away the men.

Next it was off to an African culture museum. We watched a drum/dance show which Dad really enjoyed. After we took a group photo, and the teachers made Dad get in it. Then we wandered around the African museum for awhile, then got back on the bus to go to a forest. At the forest we tried to follow the signs to “wildlife” which claimed to have a Siberian tiger (I kid you not). But I lazed out and told Dad I didn’t feel like climbing the hill – it had been a long, humid day and we didn’t have that much time. After the forest it was back to the bus and to school. The principal gave a little speech about the end of semester and our trip and capped it off with saying how happy everyone was to welcome Dad to our school and on the trip. Dad bowed and said thank you in Korean, and I was so proud.  Tomorrow, DMZ time!

The teacher becomes the student

So as you probably know, I'm taking a Korean class. I had a test on Monday, and so on Monday I needed some help with my homework as I didn't really understand what was going on. The Korean English teachers were busy, so I took my book upstairs after school to get my third graders to help me. It was really cute - a whole group of my boys took it upon themselves to check my homework and assure me that "Korean is so easy!" One of my boys actually borrowed my pen and circled all the right answers, x'ed the wrong ones, and then wrote "great" on one of my pages. They kept arguing with each other over what was best and how to best explain it, which was funny. I ended up getting a 14/15 on my test, so today I saw those boys and told them I got a good grade, and they told me I was a good student.

The stuff we just learned is the kind of thing I can write but will probably never be able to say in conversation. We learned how to say "therefore/in order to/because." I can't give it a direct translation. With every new Korean thing I learn I feel more sympathy towards my students and any Korean who tries to learn English. Also, I feel sympathy for myself because the two languages are just so incompatible. For example, my students were correcting a sentence, and they told me that it goes reason-place-verb. For example:
English
I'm going to the hospital because I'm sick.
Korean
Sick therefore hospital to the go.

Also, the word therefore changes spelling depending on which verb you use. This is why I will never be able to speak it... I can't change the verbs around fast enough in my head. Though on the upside, you actually attach words together which gives you clues as to which part of speech it is, i.e.
Sicktherefore hospitaltothe go.

So sick and therefore are combined and hospital to the is combined, so then you definitely know it's the object, and the verb is always at the end so you always know where it is. Handy, right?


Unfortunately, today some of my students were awful. Second grade low level boys. It's funny to look into the psyche of a 15 year old... everything is "unfair" to them. It's even worse though because we can't communicate well. I had warned the students a long time ago that if they're late to my class three times, they have to come in during lunch and do homework. I've been enforcing it too, and several students from this particular class have already have to do it. It was funny because two boys that had to do this punishment were two of the few who were on time, and they were like, "Teacher! Students, lunchtime, homework?"

Anyway, four of my boys showed up late because apparently they were looking for their books. I didn't think this was a good excuse, so I marked them late and they had to stand in the back (standard Korean punishment). And boy did they act horribly. So after class I had them come to the front so I could write down their names and tell them about their homework, and one of them started bellowing in that awful whiny voice that kids have, and I can only assume he was going on about how I wasn't listening to him. The Korean English teacher came over to help, and she said he was complaining that he wasn't late because someone had stolen his book and he was looking for it and it wasn't fair that he had to do homework, and so I told her to tell him that he'd been late two times already and I doubted his book had been stolen every time. I tell you, he had the worst belligerent attitude I've seen yet. I've got a girl just like him as well. It's annoying because when they get that bad, I just want them out of my sight and have nothing to do with them, but of course I have to hunt them down because they will "forget" to come in during lunchtime, then they give me their snotty looks when I come get them. It drives me extra bonkers because they like to pretend it's because they don't understand me, but in my opinion, that's not an excuse. Every word I use to explain the homework situation is a word I know in Korean, so I'll say the English word and wait for them to supply the Korean, so I know that they know. It gave me a headache is what I'm saying.

On the plus side, I'm going to the Lady Gaga concert this Friday!

Also, in that same class with the bad students, one of my boys came up to my desk before class to ask, "Miss Tay-lay-sa, how are you?" "I'm great, Subeom. How are you?" "I'm fine, thank you!" Miss Tay-lay-sa! How cute.

Bad weather blues

So on Friday night I was packed and ready to go for my 5K and concert on Saturday. I had to teach some Saturday classes (extra classes for gifted students), and I had a plan of attack for getting from school to the 5K. Then as I was about to fall asleep, didn't I get a phone call from my friend Jason who was the point man on operation runcert. He said he'd gotten a text from the organization and they were cancelling the whole thing on account of the weather. I couldn't believe it! I was so disappointed. So to sum it up, it was really and truly cancelled and all my weekend plans, including my first 5K and a free concert, were blown.

Instead I ended up going into Seoul to meet my friend Hannah, who had already bought a ticket because she was headed this way for the run and concert. We got lunch and bought some accessories for the Lady Gaga concert this Friday.

Speaking of Lady Gaga, did you know she has these freaky bones in her face and shoulders now? She looks eerily like an alien from Star Trek. I'm vaguely terrified to see her in person now.

I had my gifted 1st and 2nd grade classes on Saturday, and it's crazy how smart the first graders are. They are LOUD and participative (that's not actually a word) and really good at English.

Runcert

My 5K is on Saturday. Yesterday I ran for 20 minutes without walking, so I'm feeling pretty good about the 5K. Granted, I was moving pretty slowly and bet I only did like a mile and a half, but whatever - it was a good pace and I felt like I could have kept going. The event is called a "runcert" - run + concert. I like it.

I've been doing my second grade NEAT class for the past two weeks, and some of my students were also in my winter English camp. I love the second grade NEAT students, possibly even more than the third grade. This is probably because the second graders are much more animated. The boys in particular - I kind of want to adopt some of them. On the other end of the spectrum, I was really dragging today. The first graders are just so poorly behaved. They never want to be quiet or pay attention, and I've tried so many approaches - carrot, stick, punishment, cajoling, joking, threatening... they all only work temporarily. It's exhausting. Because I've been punishing late students with lunchtime writing assignments, my lunchtime has cut down to about 15 minutes a day. I'm usually late to lunch because of disciplining students who were misbehaving in class, and then I eat my lunch in about 10 minutes, then fill up my water bottle and go to various classrooms to hunt down the homework students because they either forget to come to the English classroom or just blow it off. I've even tried sending their homeroom teachers messages to send the students to my classroom, but either the teachers forget or the kids just don't go. I've found the best way is just to personally track them down then lead them to the classroom. Today I brought two first grade girls in, and while I was setting up the movie to show the rest of the kids, she slipped out after only completing about a fifth of the assignment. Because I have to supervise the lunchtime movies, I couldn't exactly start running around my five story school searching for a student. The upside is that I've noticed a definite trend in the students that I force to do their homework. It has really cut down on their tardiness.

I've also started a teachers' English conversation club. We had our first meeting on Wednesday. It's supposed to be six female teachers and one male teacher, but we only had four show up. One is the aforementioned hanja teacher, who is actually quite a nice guy, just a bit on the odd side. I still haven't read that book he gave me, which I should because I should really return it. I just don't feel like reading it though. The teachers' class was good though.

Today was the first day I didn't wear a jacket to school.

It's been one month and four days since I've twisted my hair. Does my hair look any different? Sadly, I don't think so.

Strawberry festival

Not much to report. I went to the Nonsan strawberry festival on Saturday. Lots of strawberries, as you might imagine. I did my 5K training yesterday and today. The race is this Saturday. 

Today was a really nice spring day. The cherry blossoms are blooming, so I took a walk around this river I found. 

I started my NEAT class for the second grade this past week. They are so great. They're very enthusiastic and willing to participate, and they think I'm hilarious. I told them cell phones weren't allowed and if I saw any, I would sell them on Gmarket (Korean Amazon). They laughed for about five minutes straight. 

Last Tuesday I went out for dinner and drinks with some of the other teachers. It was the "20s-30s club." There were about eight teachers altogether, four female and four male. I actually had a really great time - we ate pork barbecue for dinner, and then pig skin. Apparently it has a lot of collagen and is therefore good for our skin. It wasn't too bad actually. It had the consistency of Swedish fish but was incredibly spicy.

Then we went next door to a bar for some beer and soju. We even played some Korean drinking games, both of which involved chopsticks. In the first one, a person says something like, Who was a chatterbox in middle school? and then we go one, two, three and point our chopstick to the person we think is the best answer. Whoever has the most chopsticks pointed at them has to drink. Then we did one where we point our chopsticks at a random person and one designated person says a random number, then they count off in succession of whoever the chopsticks point to, and whoever is the last person has to take a drink. The teachers  really rolled with laughter when I could understand the instructions for the second game but the math teacher didn't get it. The female gym teacher translated the questions in the previous game for me. I'm getting better at understanding, but I still don't really know what's going on at dinner conversations. I just don't know enough words. Also, we had chicken feet as appetizers with our drinks. Awful. 

Then on Thursday I went out to dinner with the science teachers because I teach extra gifted and talented classes that are run through the science department. This dinner was pretty dull, but then we went for coffee after and that was more fun. Three of the teachers had been at the 20s-30s dinner, and so they had a great time recounting stories that mostly involved teasing the math teacher. Then one of the technology teachers told a story that I actually understood! It was so exciting. Basically, he saw this foreigner and an old man, and the foreigner dropped some trash on the ground, so the old man wanted him to pick it up, but I guess he didn't speak any English, so he just pointed at it and was like, Yo... yo...YO! Haha. 

I might have mentioned that we have a soldier at our school acting as a public servant. He's like 27 or so I think, and I feel bad for him because he seems to be terribly shy. At dinner they were like, say something! He and I took the metro part of the way back together, so I asked him if he liked our school, and he was like, Honestly... no. Poor guy. I think he's just very uncomfortable. 

Happy Easter!

Yesterday I had dinner with my two coteachers Hyejeong and Yeonjin and one of our former teachers, Mrs. Park. We went to VIPS, which is this Western-style buffet. I think it's a chain in England but I'm not sure. Regardless, we got there at about 5:15 and didn't leave until 10:30. It was ridiculous. We finished eating around 6:30 but then sat around chatting until like 10:30. A lot of the time Mrs. Park and Hyejeong were discussing textbooks and Yeonjin and I were chatting about whatever. Mrs. Park doesn't like her new school very much. She says the students have bad behavior and she misses the Taepyeong Middle School students. She said her students go to hagwons a lot so they're burned out in the daytime and are really tired and uncooperative. She said the other day a student demanded that Mrs. Park get a tissue off her desk and bring it to him!

My legs are kind of sore from the running on Thursday.  I was supposed to run again yesterday but because of the VIPS thing it was too late, so I'm going today.

Happy Easter!

Getting fit the Kpop way

My friends found out there's a 5K in Incheon (city near Seoul where the international airport is) April 21st, and get this: it's accompanied by a free Kpop concert! Yes! 2ne1, T-ara, Seven... I love 2ne1. So yes, I have signed up for it. I was really iffy and basically had backed out due to short notice, but then decided to go for it. My friends were like, Do one of those couch-to-5K things! So I looked it up and yeah, it's definitely a two month program. I thought it could be done in a month and I was like, Well I've got 2.5 weeks, I could get close to a full 5K. Wrong. That's when I was on the verge of saying count me out, then my friend pretty much bullied me into it.

I printed off the two month plan and perused it to see what my best options were for the 14 days I have to prepare. I decided to skip weeks 1-3 and go directly to 4 as I didn't think it looked that challenging. Each week has three workouts, so I'll be able to finish (hopefully) weeks 4, 5, and 6 before the 5K. In week 6 you should be able to run a mile, walk a bit, then run another. I figured two miles would be a good start for a 5K. Possibly this will turn out to be horrendously incorrect, but I didn't want to go too hard too soon and hurt myself or get insanely discouraged, so whatever. Free Kpop concert, here I come! Walking probably, but coming nonetheless.

I had my last test prep class with my third graders. One came up to my coteacher during the day when we were sitting at our desks to ask if it was the last class, and when she found out it was, apparently she was sad and asked if we could have more. How cute. I really like those students. Today before class I was asking two boys how they were.

Me: How are you?
Minhaeng: Can't complain.
Dongjun: I'm very good.
Me: Why?
Dongjun: I got a B on my singing test today.
Minhaeng (agitated): Ah! Teacher! I am very upset!!
Me: Why?
Minhaeng: Aaahh! I got a C on my singing test today!
Dongjun: *cackles*
Minhaeng: Ugh! I have gotten A's since the second grade, but now a C!
Me: Why, what happened?
Minhaeng: I was so nervous.
Dongjun: He was nervous because many people were watching.
Minhaeng: Yes, and many prior people got C's so I was very nervous.
Dongjun: Yes, I was not nervous so my voice was like this *does hand motion to indicate good notes* but Minhaeng was like this *does hand motion to indicate off-key*
Minhaeng: Aaaahh! So upset! I am a better singer than Dongjun. Everyone knows!
Me: Why don't we have a singing competition in class, then we can find out?
Boys: *Laughing hysterically* No, no!

Those students are so cute. They even laugh at my jokes!

There are a bunch of student teachers lurking about at my school. One dropped in on a third grade class to observe, and frankly it wasn't a class I would have chosen to show off. One, we were doing a review. Two, it was a B class and therefore very quiet. Three, we reviewed then played a game so it wasn't the showiest class. It's not a big deal though. He was going to come by a first grade B class but then things got switched, and the first grade B class was one of my worst as far as the kids running amok, so I guess that's good.

My late policy is if the students are late three times, they have to do homework. It's dull - I have worksheets with English verbs that they have to look up in the dictionary and then write multiple times. Very dry stuff. I had to hunt down one of my boys and he sat in on my test prep class and wrote his homework. Halfway through he called me over...

Doseong: Teacher, finish. Headache.
Me: You're only halfway done. You're not finished.
Doseong: (mournful sigh as though his life is literally draining away) Ahh noooo, headache.
Me: Well, Doseong, I get a headache when you're late to class. This seems only fair to me.

Last night I had trivia night per usual. After the game finishes, there's always an individual question. This week's was, "What book series is the TV show Game of Thrones based on, and who is the author?" Well thanks, George R.R. Martin and A Song of Ice and Fire because I am now the proud owner of an extra 90,000won! I started reading those books in Korea and they have now paid for themselves plus some. A fine Wednesday win.

Immaturity: no longer restricted to children

Video game English is to Korean kids what Kpop song Korean is to me. That is, I know random assorted words courtesy of Kpop songs. Big Bang has taught me how to say liar, day, and frozen while 2ne1 has taught me how to say I am the best, clap your hands, everyone, and like this. Likewise, my students use video game English to assist them. Notably, when they want to say they're finished or something has ended, frequently I'l hear "game over!" or "the end." A few days ago this conversation happened:

Me: Are you finished?
Girl student: Uhm.... mission accomplished!

I was informed today I have an orientation/training for five days at the end of April. I sure hope that like the last orientation I had (three months into my first contract), they teach me how to make a good first impression... seven months too late. I'm also glad for the networking opportunity... seven months late. Sigh.

Kevin has left Korea as of last Thursday. He's going to Vietnam to do his CELTA course (an ESL teaching thing) and will be coming back in May or June, thankfully. I already miss him - I didn't know who to call with the crucial question of what pastry to buy for a Korean teacher. How will I receive my cutting edge Kpop updates?

My friend Robin also left. Replacing him on our trivia team is going to be difficult. He handled sports and geography like a champ. We're going to get beat by this one team of mostly middle-aged people because they are highly literate and know geography plus they listen to all the (crap) music that's always involved in our audio challenges. No, I don't mean oldies, I mean like Radiohead and Led Zeppelin and stuff that I would literally never be able to recognize.

My friends Margo and Sunelle have left as well.  I went to their going away party on Saturday. It was rainbow themed, so I wore a pink wig and my Korean fashion glasses. I thought this was a costume; people thought I was a hipster. Some people actually thought it was my real hair.


One of my girls had a Big Bang folder and had doodled the names of all the members in her notebook. I asked her who her favorite was and she said Daesung. What?! Since when is Daesung ANYONE'S favorite? Props for nonconformity, but the correct answers for members of Big Bang in order of attractiveness is:

1. Top
2. Taeyang
3. Seungri

G-Dragon and Daesung don't even make my list. However, Koreans go nuts for G-Dragon, plus he is super swag and cool so I would have accepted him as an answer. But Daesung? Get some better taste, girl!
I berated a group of A level students today for having awful manners and not focusing. I've never raised my voice to a class like that before, but my Monday classes were the worst and I was sick of the students acting like brats. The first graders need a serious attitude check, and I will keep them ten minutes late to lunch. Should have circled the answers when I told you to. I was also amused by the whining when they had to clean the classroom... I warned you to bring your books or else.

I had my Korean class tonight. I feel like I'm making a lot of progress because I'm kind of reviewing, but I feel like it's really sticking this time. This class came on the heels of my rough Monday, so I wasn't in the best mood. The class was very crowded, but I got there early so I got a good seat (crowded = like 30 people). In case I haven't mentioned this before, this is a free class taught by a volunteer organization who just wants to help foreigners learn about Korea, Korean, and Korean culture. Therefore, everyone who works there is a volunteer. They teach the classes all in Korean, not to mention not everyone there is a native English speaker (or an English speaker at all). There are a lot of international students in my class. Basically, I find roughly 40% of the people in the class to be annoying and four people in particular to be atrocious to the point where I want to say something to them. Let me explain.

Today was the first day of my second beginner class, so naturally the teacher (who does a good job, incidentally) had us all introduce ourselves. Hi, I'm Theresa. I'm from America. I'm an English teacher. Nice to meet you. Four sentences, and if you don't understand them you really shouldn't be in this class, let's get real. Immediately this girl in front of me (who was in my previous class and was extraordinarily irritating there as well), said in this loud, nasally voice, "What's a jikeob?" It's a job. If you don't know what it means, there's always the quiet, unobtrustive option of asking the person next to you, or hey I don't know, raising your hand and asking the teacher in Korean, "Jikeob muohaeyo?" (What is "jikeob?") I'm sure the teacher could list some jobs and you could get it. Pretty much people in my class are annoying because they are always asking our teachers (we have a main teacher and several helpers) long, complicated questions in English. Uh, our teachers are Korean. This is a Korean class. If you don't understand, maybe you should ask in Korean. We're not exactly learning complex grammar here, and I consider it unforgivably rude to demand English answers from these volunteers who are supposed to be teaching in all Korean. Engage your brain, use your smartphone to translate, do something reasonably intelligent and logical to deduce the answer.

So we were introducing ourselves, and these two girls near me were chatting and giggling. Oh, I'm sorry, are our self-introductions interrupting girl time? I didn't leave my middle school to hang out with more adolescents. I was under the impression that this was an adult class, so if you don't know what it means to be a respectful adult for two hours in a class taught by volunteers, maybe you should get out before I verbally throw you out. I was honestly THIS CLOSE to saying something, but I didn't want to cause more of a disturbance. Then during class we could hear the class next door laughing, and those girls said, "It sounds like they're having a party next door. This class is so boring." I was really seeing red at this point because they were also complaining about how they didn't understand stuff, and I was like MAYBE BECAUSE YOU'RE MORONS WHO AREN'T PAYING ATTENTION. I mean, how rude. How disrespectful. I didn't realize our teacher was giving up her free time to entertain us. I forgot "make class fun" was probably in her job description. You know, the job she's not getting paid for.

Next, a girl behind me was asking a question (in English, fabulous) to one of the assistant teachers. The teacher answered, and the girl got it, but then I guess the teacher kept explaining and the girl got a bit snotty and was like, Okay it's okay, I get it. I understand. No problem. Then the assistant teacher left to help someone else, and that girl started whining to the person next to her, "I don't know why she kept trying to explain. I mean, obviously I got it. I just had that one question and then I understood." You're so right, obnoxious girl behind me. How dare that lady try and help you understand. How offensive and irritating that she give you extra one-on-one time because she thought you had a question. Good thing she doesn't speak English very well so you can feel free to make dismissive remarks.

I tell you, much more of these idiots and I'm going to get myself kicked out of class when I lay into them. Keep you posted.

On the upside, I got two hugs today and about 12 "I love you's" from various students. One "I love you so much" as well.


Also, it's been 14 days since I twisted my hair.

Dad is coming!

So today I have learned that my dad is coming to Korea in July! How exciting is that? I'm going to have to start planning ASAP to make sure we only do the most exciting things. He'll be eating kimchi like a champ in no time, right Dad?

In other news...

Some of my students still look at me as though they've never seen a foreigner before, which of course is not true. Yesterday I was helping one of my second grade boys, and as I leaned over to write something in his book, one of my boys decided to tentatively reach out and stroke my hair and ask, "Teacher, gold hair is real?"

Another one of my first grade girls is irrationally obsessed with me. In between classes she's always peering through my door and waving. She finds me in the hallways and in my office all the time and asks me simple questions like, Do you like pudding? Do you like spring? I like spring. This happens roughly ten times a day. She's also constantly restraining herself from reaching out and touching me, though she'll usually sneak a quick touch on my ring or hand as though she just can't help herself. I find it pretty amusing, though the incessant questions are a bit much when I'm trying to move quickly from my office to the classroom or whatever.

The informatics teacher (who is in charge of scheduling) gave me a year long English schedule. He is so nice! I felt pretty bad about making him do extra work. I specifically said he didn't need to translate it, but maybe that bit got lost in translation. I'm going to see about buying him some kimbap or something as a thank you present.

I was really happy today because I was teaching my second graders something, and I explained what I wanted them to do then told them to start. Then I walked around to the group tables and asked them if they understood, and they actually said no. I was so pleased because usually they won't admit it and just say yes so I go away, then they sit around and don't work. So then I reexplained and they got it, and it was great.

On Monday I had five classes, and they were possibly the worst string of classes I've ever had at this school. The students just refused to focus and were acting like complete brats. My head teacher, Hyejeong, who is a great teacher and a lovely person, is my coteacher for the worst behaved class that I have. She always has excellent control of her classes, but she's also a nice teacher. Strict, but funny and energetic. Anyway, our class was late, they didn't have their books, and they had no desire to focus. She actually asked me to step out of the room for a minute because she wanted to talk to the students. The teacher I replaced said that happened to her once, so I figured Hyejeong wanted to discipline the students. I waited outside, and I could hear her yelling at the students. I was scared, and I wasn't even in the room! It's nice when my coteachers take charge because it's pretty hard for me to discipline the students because they can't understand me that well. They don't know what the words "focus" or "concentrate" mean, and even though I know it in Korean, my Korean is unintentionally funny (foreigner and all) so it kind of diminishes the effect.

Hyejeong's last name is Oh, and in Korean it's last name first, then first name. Once I brought it up to Hyejeong that her name is a bit Abbott and Costello (I didn't mention that in particular), but I was saying how it's funny because when I want her attention, sometimes I'll say, Oh, Hyejeong, do you have a minute? And it's funny because the other teachers will go up to her and say, Oh Hyejeong Teacher... She thought it was funny.

Lastly, there are apparently teachers' clubs at my school. One is a barista/chocolate making club run by the science teacher, one is some club that I don't know what it is, and one is a photography club run by the art teacher (I think he's the art teacher. He's definitely a third grade teacher.). Anyway, so today Hyejeong was like, Theresa, we have teachers' clubs... Are you interested in joining? I was like, Sure! I'd really like to be in the photography club, actually. Do you think it's okay that I don't speak Korean? She was like, Sure I don't see why not. I'll send a message to the art teacher.

That's how I found out that the "photography club" is actually just a clever ruse in which all the male teachers in the school are in this "club" that never meets to learn photography, but does meet occasionally to booze and chat. Yep, that sounds Korean all right! I'm now in the "club" but I don't know how this is going to go. I told them just to let me know if they ever actually meet for photography. I wanted to be in the barista club but it was full. They sent out a message and I'm fully in the "photography club," but I'm pretty sure one of our female gym teachers is in it too, so I don't feel as awkward.

I passed my Korean test on Monday! It was kind of a review class for me, but it was good because now I feel like I really know that stuff.

It's been nine days since I twisted my hair.

Flushed with victory

Three major victories today.

One - my team won trivia... again. Basically, we are awesome. I love winning because you get money for it, which means that I get to eat a burger and drink a beer for free. And that is great. I was especially glad we won because my team didn't listen to my opinion on two answers which turned out to be correct. One was, "Who was People magazine's most recent Sexiest Man Alive?" and the answer was Bradley Cooper, but my team thought he was the winner several years ago, so they went with Ryan Reynolds. I said he wasn't famous enough, and the answer turned out to be Bradley Cooper. The other one was something about a 6'6" inventor who was one of the most brilliant men ever reportedly died a virgin due to taking a vow of celibacy, and I suggested Tesla (honestly, for lack of a better answer), and I forgot who we went with but the answer was definitely Tesla. Regardless, we won so no harm no foul.

Two - today I glared a class of unruly 15 year olds into silence in less than five seconds. A new record. It was fantastic... they were supposed to be practicing their English self-introductions and then reciting them to the teachers one by one, and instead they were screwing around. When I couldn't hear the boy trying to introduce himself to me, I gave Superman laser vision to the rest of the class (I wasn't even standing at the front) and they shut up immediately. I didn't even have to say anything. It was magical.

Three - I haven't twisted my hair since Sunday night.

Breaking the habit

This weekend, I didn't do much. I mostly stayed in on Saturday and Sunday and bummed around watching TV and reading books. Therefore, if you know me (and I assume you do, or else why are you reading my blog? Begone, stranger!), you know I was probably twisting my hair a lot. On Monday as I was styling my hair, I was horrified to feel that  my hair actually feels shorter and thinner than normal. Could I actually have twisted enough hair to alter my hairstyle? Additionally, I feel like my  hair is growing very slowly. I've decided I don't want thin hair, so as of yesterday I am trying my darndest to not twist my hair any more. It's been about 30 hours! Only about three months to go before I see any results (I think). Regardless, I'm sure all of you are thrilled to hear this news. We'll see how well it goes.

I did my sports lesson with my first group of third graders today. They looked pretty interested I thought, and their teacher told me the boys especially were very interested, which is good because there are a lot of boys in my school. I taught them a lot of baseball expressions, and I used Big Bang in several examples. If you look at the Big Bang Big News entry, you'll see a photo of the members. G-Dragon has made the awful decision to get a weave put in... on one side of his head. It's like a foot of hair, but awkwardly stringy and long on one side and nonexistent on the other. His hair literally sickens me, and he's supposed to be the fashionista of Big Bang. I used this opportunity to showcase my disgust. For example:

"G-Dragon really dropped the ball on his new hairstyle, but the other members of Big Bang still look great."
"G-Dragon struck out on this new hairstyle. It's disgusting!"

I talked to some of my third grade girls (not in that class) about Big Bang's new music, and they too were horrified by GD's misguided 'do. To summarize:

Me: Have you seen "Fantastic Baby?"
Girls: Yes! "Fantastic Baby" is so good!
Me: I know. I love TOP.
Girls: Yes, TOP is handsome! Ohhhh... Teacha.... Kwon Jiyong (G-Dragon's real name) hair... AAAHHIIIIGOOO! *sounds of disgust*
Me: I know! It's disgusting.
Girls: Yesssss!
Munjeong: Kwon Jiyong face is good! Hair is bad. But face is very good.

Korean girls (middle school in particular, in my opinion) go nuts for GD, who in my opinion looks exactly like a woman. A pretty woman, no less. A pretty, 110 lb woman with lots of makeup and currently, unfortunate hair. I just don't get it.

On the first day of school after introductions/rules etc, I had the kids play Family Feud as an icebreaker for their groups to get to know each other. If you're not familiar with it, Family Feud is an American TV game show in which prior to the game, 100 people are surveyed with random questions and then the answers are compiled in order of most popular. Contestants have to guess the popular answers. We just played in teams of six. Each team got a white board and dry erase marker and could write one answer. If their answer was revealed to be up there, they got the points for it (points were the number of people who said that answer). Basically, I lied and told them 100 Korean middle school students were surveyed for these answers. I had two favorite questions.

Q: Why do you go to school?
A1: To learn/study
A2: To meet friends
A3: To play sports
A4: To meet a boyfriend or girlfriend
A5: To spend time with wonderful teachers
A6: To eat delicious school lunches

Hilariously enough, a LOT of groups wrote "eat" or "eating" and thought it was hysterical that was a "real" answer. When "spend time with wonderful teachers" came up, I got called out by one class... "Nooooo Teacha you liar!"

Q: Who is the best native English teacher ever?
A1: Theresa
A2: Theresa
A3: Theresa
A4: Theresa
A5: Theresa
A6: Theresa

When the question came up, they knew it was a trick because immediately all I could hear was, "Theresa spelling!" Answers ranged from Theresa, Teresa, Thersa, Tersa, and of course "Theresa" in Korean, Teacher, you, and my favorite, "I love you <3!" The kids were pretty amused to find out I was all the answers and not just the #1.

Recent anecdotes:

Jeonghwan: Teacha, the weather is awesome today!
Me: No, YOU are awesome today for using the word awesome! High five!
(Seriously. This happened.)

*While preparing to play music for my students who clean the classroom
Me: Minseok, do you like Big Bang?
Minseok: No no no.
Me: Why?
Minseok: Big Bang is man!
Me: So?
Minseok: I am man.
Me: So...
Minseok: Man love man, no!

Me: Did you know Taeyang and G-Dragon have real tattoos? [Tattoos are not sexy in Korea... they're very "wild" and shocking to the average Korean.]
Coteacher (surprised): Really? How do you know?
Me: I read a Kpop article online and they had pictures. Taeyang has a huge cross on his side rib cage and GD has a rib cage tattoo in front and one on the side.
Coteacher (shocked): You saw their naked bodies?!!!

Japan - Arashiyama, Kyoto, Mount Fuji

After Hiroshima I took the bullet train to Kyoto. Kyoto was my second favorite place in Japan... well, it might tie for second with Mount Fuji. Kyoto is the cultural center of Japan and is jam-packed with shrines and everything you imagine when you picture stereotypical Japan. 

When I first arrived in Kyoto, I checked into my hostel and then immediately hared off to Arashiyama, home of an amazing bamboo forest and one of my "must sees." It was great to see the forest and then walk around the gardens at one of the temples there... I can't even remember the name though. Whoops. Whatever, the garden was great. When I got back to my hostel, I met a French girl staying in my dorm and we went to dinner with two French guys and an American guy, which was a lot of fun. Side story: when I was checking into my hostel that day, an older Dutch guy struck up a conversation which went a little something like this. 

Dutch guy: somethingsomethingsomething...

Me: Awesome.

Dutch guy: Ah, so you're a New Zealander then!

Me: No, I'm American.

Dutch guy: Really? But New Zealanders always say awesome. I've been to America. Americans don't say it.

Me: (Politely) Oh really? *thinks to self... who's the American here anyway?*

Too funny. Also while in Tokyo I was mistaken for an English girl whereas my friend Chris, an English guy, was mistaken for an American. Hilarious. 

So the next day in Kyoto I went around to see the shrines, then I had some extra time and was all shrined-out, so I decided to hop a JR train bound for Nara, the original capital of Japan. I barely had any time in Nara because it was so late, but I was glad that I took a quick trip there anyway. Then I went back to Kyoto and met up with my roommate and another girl we picked up from our dorm. We got some dinner, then I suggested walking over to the Gion district of Kyoto because it's the geisha area, so we walked around for awhile but didn't find any, which was unsurprising because it was really late by that time. 

The next day I headed to Mount Fuji. It took way longer than I had expected and was a fairly traumatic journey. Basically, I didn't book a hostel because the website I used claimed the hostel I wanted was all booked, which I knew couldn't possibly be true because Chris had just stayed there the week before and said it was nearly empty. The other hostels were about $20 more than that one, so I decided I would just show up and see if they had any availability and if not, then I'd go elsewhere. I was feeling confident in that plan, though a little less because the hostel offered a pickup service from the train station, which meant I couldn't find walking directions. This meant that I had to get to the tourist information office by 6:30pm when they closed so I could get them to help me call around for a hostel. Cue my long journey to Mount Fuji. I had to take the bullet train from Kyoto to some place and then this local bus from that place to Lake Kawaguchi. There are five lakes at the base of Mount Fuji, and I was headed to Lake Kawaguchi. You can't actually go up the mountain in the winter because it's too dangerous, not that I'd have time for it anyway. 

The bus took absolutely forever, and it was getting extremely ominous. It kept winding up and up into the mountains and the sky was getting darker, it was getting later, it was snowing, and to top it off, I was eventually the only person left on the bus. I kept anxiously checking my watch hoping to make it to the tourist information office. I ended up getting there by 6, they called the hostel, and within 15 minutes they showed up to pick me up, so things ended up working out, but I'll be honest - I was getting freaked out on the ride there because I was worried about getting stuck at the base of Mount Fuji with nowhere to stay. Anyway, it was cool because I met some other foreigners at the hostel. One was a Swiss girl whose first language was French, so we chatted French for awhile, then met up with some English people to watch fireworks at the base of Mount Fuji. Then we went back to the hostel and chatted some more, then the next day the English people and I met up to walk around Lake Kawaguchi (the Swiss girl had already been) and take pictures of Mount Fuji. We were all extremely nervous about visibility since visibility had been horrendous that day. While on the bus I hadn't even been able to find the volcano, which is enormous. This was to be my only shot at seeing it as well since I had to fly out of Tokyo the next day.

Additionally, I had the problem of money. I was dead set against withdrawing any more money, but I was perilously close to going over my budget. I was literally counting my coins when I met the Swiss girl at my hostel. The slow train (which was not operated by Japan Railways and thus not covered by my Rail Pass) was going to 1,100 yen, so I carefully set that aside. $10 is about 800 yen by the way. Everything else would be covered by the JR Pass, so no sweat on transportation. After that money, I had exactly 800 yen to get me through the day. I was nervous and couldn't afford any mistakes (if you'll pardon the pun). I was determined to make it through my Japan trip on my budget.

Lo and behold, clear skies abounded the next day! We had a terrific time walking around the lake photographing ourselves and the volcano, which was a truly spectacular sight. We split up when they decided to take a cable car ride up to a viewing platform, but I literally could not spare the money and thought I'd better head back to the hostel to begin my long trip back to the airport. It was a seriously long journey.

Hostel van to train station

Slow train from Lake Kawaguchi to another station (can't remember the name)

Bullet train to Tokyo

Metro to Tokyo Station

Airport express line to airport

Fly to Seoul

Bus from Seoul to my city

Four metro stops

Local bus from the metro to my apartment

I ate my leftover food from the night before (you guessed it... bread) and breathed a sigh of relief when I got to the Tokyo airport with my 800 yen. This meant I had successfully completed my trip with just enough money to buy some dinner before my flight. Sadly, the cheapest Japanese meal was 1,200 yen, which meant I found myself in the McDonald's line where I purchased a meal for yep, 800 yen! I was the budget master. The budget sensei. Bow down! 

Fireworks on Lake Kawaguchi

Arashiyama

Arashiyama bamboo forest

Arashiyama bamboo forest

Arashiyama

Arashiyama

Arashiyama

Golden Pavilion, Kyoto

Gardens at Heian-jingu Shrine, Kyoto

Heian-jingu Shrine, Kyoto

Gardens at Heian-jingu Shrine, Kyoto

Gardens at Heian-jingu Shrine, Kyoto

Kiyomizudera Temple, Kyoto 

Kiyomizudera Temple, Kyoto. At this point I was shrined/templed-out, so I just walked to the top then sacked off actually paying the entrance fee and going in, then walked to the train station and went to Nara.

Geisha? Or tourists dressing up like geisha? I'm going to pretend these are traditional Japanese women in traditional outfits.

My brief stint in Nara. It's possible I spent more time getting there and away than actually there. 

Beware the watchdeer of Nara.

The French girls and I went to dinner and we got actual cheese. Lovely surprise.

Sashimi in Kyoto

My Kyoto hostel had a free kimono you could dress up in. My French friend and I took full advantage.

Mount Fuji!

Whooooaaaa Mount Fuji/Lake Kawaguchi

Walking around Lake Kawaguchi

Mount Fuji

Japan - Tokyo, Hiroshima

This is a bit delayed, but over the lunar New Year I spent nine days in Japan. I went to Tokyo, Hiroshima, Miyajima, Kyoto, Arashiyama, Nara, and Mount Fuji. This first entry is all about Tokyo and Hiroshima. I flew in on a Saturday and met my friend Chris in Tokyo. We went out in Roppongi, which is supposed to be the happenin' nightlife area, but we were shocked by how few people there were. Tokyo is supposed to be this huge, thriving city, but I was frankly astonished by how empty the metro and streets were. I think Seoul is far more crowded. If you go to the Seoul version of Roppongi, you can barely exit the metro because it's so jammed with people. 

Anyway, let me start over. First of all, Japan is great. It's so cool, modern, visually appealing, the people are really friendly and kind, transportation is a dream, and there's an insane amount of tourism that is also extremely accessible and easy. The downside is that everything is so expensive! Well, to me it's expensive. First of all because I'm cheap, and second because I'm coming from Korea, where things are very inexpensive. If you're used to city living, I doubt you'd find Tokyo/Japan to be excessively expensive, but I definitely did. My family (well, my sister... love you, Anna!) was completely horrified when I emailed them saying I ate a plate of free noodles that had been left in the hostel. They were labeled free! That meant they were available for public consumption, and I was too cheap to pass up a free meal like that. My "meals" in Japan were mostly supermarket croissants and free hostel coffee for breakfast and lunch, then I'd buy myself an actual Japanese dinner. I had previously bought a Japan Railways Pass, which is only available to foreigners who buy said pass outside Korea. Mine was 7 days unlimited rides on any JR lines, including the bullet trains. 

I'll be honest - I was not crazy about Tokyo. I'm just not much of a city tourism kind of person. Chris and I visited the Hima Rikyu gardens, which was nice. Gardens in Japan are very cool. We also went on a walking tour of an older part of Tokyo, the name of which escapes me now. We also visited a war museum/shrine, which we didn't actually go into on account of money. We also visited the Tsujiki Fish Market (I think I spelled that correctly). Check out the pictures below for more descriptions. 

I left Tokyo and split up with Chris (who had to go back to Korea) on Tuesday for Hiroshima by bullet train. Bullet trains are awesome! I'll be honest though, I really thought it would go faster. I had to change trains at Shin-Osaka, and overall travel time was about five hours to Hiroshima. So, Hiroshima was easily my favorite part of my whole trip to Japan. Modern-day Hiroshima is just so cool in itself, then you add in the history of the city and it's just incredible. The night I got there I didn't do very much as it was late and I was tired, so I got a map from the hostel and walked over to a nearby restaurant that the hostel lady recommended to me. Some kind of Hiroshima specialty, a picture of which I have posted below. It was delicious. It probably helped that I was starving (re: supermarket bread for breakfast and lunch), but either way I loved it. 

The next day I went to the Peace Park, which was really amazing. I spent the first half of my day walking around it. There are lots of statues and monuments as well as a memorial and a museum. It was also very empty, which was nice. A very cool part of the museum showcased these letters that the past and present mayors of Hiroshima had written. Basically, since Hiroshima was rebuilt, the mayor of Hiroshima personally writes a letter to the representative of any country performing nuclear testing of any kind. They were very powerful letters that essentially said, Dear so-and-so (i.e. US presidents, French prime ministers, etc), I'm the current mayor of Hiroshima. Our city has personally felt the effects of nuclear bombs and as such we are devoted to the eradication of all nuclear weapons. Despite many letters that we have sent to your government over the years, I am dismayed to hear that you recently performed a nuclear test despite agreeing to attempt to downsize nuclear weapons stockpiles. I look forward to the day I no longer have to write these letters. 

The second half of the day I went out to the nearby island of Miyajima, which was fantastic. Check out the pictures below because I'll write captions. 

Hiroshima tram. Adorable.

Fountain at the Peace Park

A-bomb dome. This was at ground zero where the bomb was dropped, but it didn't collapse, so the city of Hiroshima decided to preserve it as a memorial. Usually it doesn't have all that scaffolding, but they were conducting tests of some kind on it. 

Statue at the Peace Park

Paper cranes

Children's Peace Memorial statue. Do you know the story "Sadako and the 1,000 Cranes?" Maybe that's not the exact name. I read it in elementary school but I thought it was fictional... definitely not. Sadako was a baby when the bomb was dropped, and at age 11 she developed cancer from radiation poisoning. The crane is a symbol of long life, and she thought if she could fold 1,000 paper cranes she could cure herself. She died before finishing them. The statue has a girl at the top holding a crane. 

Bell of Peace

Inside the museum

Possibly one of the saddest things in the museum. Read the picture below for a description. 

The two Japanese words I learned to read while there: entrance and exit.

The ferry to Miyajima

The shrine gates at Miyajima. During high tide you can't walk out there and they appear like they're floating.

Bullet train

Tokyo metro map. This is my friend Chris. We both disliked the Tokyo Metro for being too expensive and kind of dingy. I know I said earlier that the transportation is great in Japan, and it is, but the Seoul metro is just much newer and cheaper. 

We went to a Japanese arcade and took anime-style pictures, then got to decorate them. 

A Japanese arcade game

Shibuya

The Shibuya crossing - you've probably heard of it, there's like a thousand people that cross at one time or something ridiculous like that. 

Japan really is the future. We didn't have a waiter - instead, we had a touch screen menu and a waiter would appear to give us our food. 

Warning comics at the Tsujiki Fish Market

Hama Rikyu Gardens. This is a 300 year old pine tree.

Japanese lunch! It was delicious. 

Tokyo Government Offices. It was free to go up to the top to view the city. You know how I feel about free stuff in Japan... essential.

Helpful bathroom sign in the Tokyo Government Offices.

Then it snowed. A lot.

Hiroshima pancake!

Japanese man making the Hiroshima pancakes. When I got back to the hostel, the woman asked me if I enjoyed the restaurant. I told her I had to learn Japanese so I could marry the pancake man and we could live happily ever after in Hiroshima eating pancakes all the time. She thought that was hilarious.

Miyajima

Leg room on the bullet train. I was such a VIP.

Bullet train. I felt like I was flying first class.

My Japan Rail Pass. Other than my diploma, the most expensive piece of paper ever made out with my name on it.