Happy Virus

I was really tired today. I think maybe we drank a little too much last night. That plus the heat and remnants of jetlag made me very groggy this morning in class.

I have been starting off each class with a name game. Students introduce themselves and something they like and as we go around everyone repeats what the people before them said. It helps me begin to learn the names of the students in each class. This morning however, nothing stuck. I wasn't able to remember more than just a few names.

The class today was cute. Their level was a little low, but we had fun together. They wrote nice comments in their journals and most of them said how much they enjoyed my class.

At lunchtime I suggested to Sonja that we go and have samgyetang - the chicken soup with a whole chicken stuffed with sticky rice, dates and ginseng. I thought it would help energize me. What I didn't realize was that today was one of the three summer days that you are supposed to eat it. Even though it was rainy and cool, the restaurant was packed. Actually for me it was because it was rainy and cool that it seemed like a good idea, but apparently according to the Chinese lunar calendar, there are three days in summer that are supposed to be very hot and eating samgyetang is supposed to help with the heat.

After class I came back to my room, read journals and took a nap, and then we all gathered to go to the Well-Being restaurant for dinner.

On the way, we stopped at a little coffee shop that Elizabeth and Sue found. They said it was called the cupcake coffee shop but I think it is actually called "Marshmallow". The woman who runs it came outside and said, "Sue and Elizabeth!" Then another woman came over and got very excited about us. We promised we'd return after dinner.

The well-being restaurant was good. I had bulgogi and rice. I've had better, but this was "well-being".

After dinner we went to the little market nearby and explored a little. Mostly they were selling things like shoes, clothes and some housewares, plus produce and fish. there were some meat shops, one old woman selling traditional Korean side dishes like kim chee, anchovies, etc.

As we walked to the back of the market we found a little bakery and Sonja and I bought some cookies, and then we came across a ginseng shop with huge jars filled with liquid and ginseng. I bought some ginseng candy which is quite good. It's supposed to give me energy. I hope it will help me lose weight because I think I'm getting fatter here even though I am trying to eat healthy (well-being) food. I'm probably eating a bit too much of it.

Another woman gave us a taste of some ginseng juice that came in packets. It was nasty stuff. She insisted we drink it and even suggested holding our nose (through gesturing) and just downing it. We didn't finish it all.

It was a lot of fun walking around the market and using the little Korean I have managed to learn. I am able to ask how much and understand prices now. It helps that I did it three years ago.

Finally we returned to cupcake/marshmallow coffee shop. The owner was behind the counter and her friend was sitting at a table reading. It was a cute little place that reminded me of a little doll house.

I asked for something without caffein and was hoping to get a Korea tea. Instead I got an iced coffee that was so weak I mistook it for bitter tea at first. We all shared a waffle with ice cream.

We hung out there for a while and spoke to this funny woman, whose name is something Su, like Jeong Su, Ming Sun, or something. Elizabeth asked if we could call her Sue and she said yes. The owner, a very stylish woman, was named something Nan, like Ming Nan, Kyong Nan or something like that, but Elizabeth called her Nan. I don't know if this is appropriate by Korean standards, but it was fine with them. We had made some new friends, and Su offered to take us to different restaurants, the market and just about any place we wanted to go. I noticed a big bruise on her arm and commented that I wondered where it came from. She said her husband was a police officer who worked the graveyard shift and he stopped by the coffee shop from time to time. I got the impression that she was supposed to be there when he stopped by and wondered if the bruises were from him.

She eventually told us that she had gotten a Thai massage and the bruise was from the massage. I am skeptical. Something didn't seem right.

As we got up to leave I suggested we walk a different way home. We found a really nice park we walked through and ended up in another little "village" with a bunch of restuarants and a nice little mini market. I bought some "kim" - dried and salted seaweed and found a really nice shopping bag that says, "Happy Virus - Are you happy!! Take this gift and don't ask why, Cause if you will let me."

This is why we are here teaching teachers how to teach English.