Ladies night, Nerds and Broken Cameras

[I got my first cards on Friday.  Thank you Mom, Dad and Tyler.  Getting cards make my days so much better!  They are proudly displayed on my walls as my decorations]

#47.  There is no sales tax.  If the sign says that the carrot is 1,000 Won it is 1,000 Won.  They don't trick you like Indiana does.  In America if the sign says that the carrot is $1 you can't give them that $1 and walk out.  You have to give them the buck and then rifle through your pockets and purse for that six or seven extra  cents.  Korea has the right idea.  Get with it Indiana.

#48.  It is a sign of respect to give things with two hands.  When my kids give me their homework with two hands they are being nice and respectful.  I hate to say it but I favor the kids who give me things with two hands. 

#49.  Bowing is also a sign of respect.  You enter a shop.  Bow.  You leave the shop.  Bow.  I've almost got the bowing thing down pat. 

#50.  In Pohang the USA military base is very close to the foreign bars.  There is a new wave of Marines every 6 weeks or so.  Unfortunately the military men in Korea give the military as a whole a bad reputation.  Military men automatically think that because they are white and you are white that you want to get it on.  Couldn't be further from the truth.  Yes we both speak English but the way to a woman's heart is not to stare at her chest or butt.  Or grab either one.  It's attached and it's not yours.  Hands off buddy

#51.  Koreans like to impress foreigners by speaking English.  At a restaurant I try and use Korean words for ordering.  I always think it's nice when someone in America tries to learn English.  I figured I would do the same.  Sometimes it's helpful but then you get a server who wants to show off his English.  It's impressive what they can say and understand.  It is apparant in the Korean culture of today that the majority of teenagers can speak at least minimal English.  The older generations still have no clue.  I've learned to just go with it and see what happens.

The past few days have been busy but so much fun. 

Friday.  After I got done with school and a quick workout at the gym I met up with the Jang Sang Dong crew for a little dinner.  Then the girls went to Edong (a 20 minute cab ride) to hang out with the girls of Pohang.  We had girls night complete with guitar playing, gossip and blended fruit soju drinks.  Now you all know that I do not play the guitar.  It is however something I think I may TRY to learn.  Guitars here are pretty inexpensive and I think it might be something useful to learn.  By useful I mean impressive. The blended fruit soju drink was killer.  We cut up all kinds of fruits (kiwi, pineapple, pear, strawberries) and put them in a blender with juices and of course, soju. Now Soju is a rice liquor that is most comparable to vodka but much sweeter.  It givese the drink a little kick.  Girls night was exactly what I needed.  Hours with girls who are becomming my close friends bitching about the life of an English teacher in Korea that really only they would understand.  Definitely something that will happen again..SOON!

Saturday.  This was the day of the epic Lady and the Nerd party.  One of our good friends Jana (pronounces Yanna) had a birthday so we decided to make it a theme party.  Boys as nerds.  Girls as ladies.  Let's just say that the boys rivaled the nerdiness of Steve Urkel and the nerds off of Saved by the Bell.

Tim  at his nerdy finest. 

With my co-worker Jen at TILT

And that is my weekend in a nutshell.  Sundays are my exploring day so it's off to town I go.  First stop is to find a shop to fix my camera.  I have been here about 6 weeks and already broke the damn thing.  I was in the process of taking a picture last night and someone jostled me and it fell out of my hand and onto the floor.  It was one of those slow motion "NOOOOOOOOOO" complete with the dive to catch it.  Clearly my diving skills are not up to par.  If it is not fixable i'll just buy a new one (they are less than $100 here so all in all not a bad deal) but i'm still broke as a joke...but not for long.  Payday is Monday so hopefully it'll be a big one. 

Fingers crossed.  Toes too.