Long weekend

We ended up with 5 invitations over the weekend - we're so thankful. It was the Ji family Friday night Then Sat. night we had dinner at Prof. Kim's house. His wife is very nice, and like lots of older women, especially nice to Michael. The food she prepared was so attractive. It must be so time consuming, and her kitchen has hardly any counter space. She made a crab-stuffed egg for each of us that was on individual plate lined with green leaf. The veggie tray had the thinnest slices I have ever seen. There was also three kinds of sliced and then baked or fried items: zucchini, cod, and tofu. Thin sliced marinated beef was the protein. There was soup, rice, and a couple other things. For dessert she had apples, Asian pears, and kiwi - all cut in a pretty way. She then microwaved a pastry for Michael because we were talking about the red bean pastries; this one was green beans ... and very sweet! Michael ate a lot, especially at the end.

We had fun at an Indian restaurant and walking around with the Bakers after church Sun., and then we went to the birthday party on the 51st floor. The place was huge and luxurious. The kitchen had some unusual things: an electric small closet drying rack for clothes, rice pull out storage, a disinfecting drawer for knives and cutting boards, and a special drawer for food waste that uses heat to make it smaller and not so smelly. Not unusual but just fancy was two fridges and built in cappucino maker. There was on oven too - trying hard not to be envious of that. Gemma made tacos sort of improvising on part - like pizza cheese. The sour cream was very sour. Her son is Mitchell. On the way home Michael and I switched back and forth talking about how fancy the place was, and unfortunately, how badly-behaved Mitchell is. I could not understand why his parents let him talk so rudely to them. Michael is not that comfortable around him it turns out. We met them at new student orientation; Mitchelll is a year behind Michael. The other boys at the party live in the same building, and two of them go to HFS. Michael likes the other boys, and they all seemed on the quiet side. Mitchell's family is from Australia, and the dad had rugby on the tv. It is World Cup time (every 4 years), hosted by New Zealand. We will try to keep up a bit online to see how Samoa does.

Monday we had no plans and rested up and had a bike ride. It takes some time to catch up with correspondence, and I also tried to work on my language class. Tuesday morning we biked too, and then we had lunch with Ji Hwan at his family's home. He goes to the English language service at church and invited us and an American, Jonathan. The two of them are pretty good friends. Ji Hwan went to law school at Campbell in NC, and Jonathan actually did his undergrad. there. Jonathan has been teaching Korean for 6 years. I think they are both 35 or so. Ji Hwan actually lives with his parents in the Korean way, though it is the first time in many years they have lived in the same place. He had funny stories about livin for some time in Newfoundland and picking up Irish accent and phrases - he told us some of them. Apparently there was a fairly large Irish immigrant community there. He had to learn a different English. Michael said Jonathan is like Uncle Mike - a big joker. Jonathan could tell it was a compliment. Ji Hwan's mom sent Michael home with a snack bag. When the rice is cooked in a pot (instead of rice cooker), there is part that gets a bit overdone and sticks to the pan - turns out that if that part is scraped out and sprinkled with some sugar, it's a tasty snack. Michael had eaten quite a bit at the table, so she knew he liked it.

Michael was still off today (Wed), but I was back at Korean language class and then teaching. He stayed home by himself and successfully did some errands (like dropping off clothes to be ironed) and had lunch out. I asked him if he feels like a teenager! The saccounting class seemed to go well today. Last Wed. someone asked me to slow down, and when I asked how it was today, they said fine. As in any class, some are on top of it and some are lost - but when someone does not bring his book, of course he is lost!! I had to add a couple numbers at the board, and I stopped and told them my US students know I cannot add well standing up when people are watching me ... they seemed to think that was pretty funny and helped me with the adding. The language class is moving along quickly. I told my students I think my teacher talks too fast!! I finally got the textbook after class, so at least now I can prepare better.

I get my first paycheck soon - direct deposit. I am glad it's small and I don't really need the money because today when Prof. Kim took me to open my bank account, everything I received was in Korean. I might just leave it there until we depart. My department secretary had a print out of apartment expenses they will take out of my check this month: 80,000 won maintenance (a flat fee), electric for month was 30,000 won, which I thought was reasonable for using A/C, 11,00o won for water. The gas bill did not get processed because of holiday. It is normal for a foreign faculty to be provided housing because Korean leases tend to be at least 2 years and often large upfront payment is required where landlord earns interest on the money. Plus, it would also be hard to make all the arrangements by yourself!

Michael plans to start taking the bus home on his own too - a big time saver for me. I will go out to HFS once a week or so just to be around a bit. That's all for now!