Sorry for waiting 2 weeks to do this. It just can be hard to sit down and write after a long, crazy day. But, I woke up early on my Saturday morning just to catch up! This will be a long one so I hope you have time. I'll start with telling you that I really wanted to buy a live octopus/squid and cook it. Well...I didn't want to kill it though; I just wanted to pick it out and have them kill it for me and then bring it home and cook it. So I got invited to Sokcho with a fellow teacher and her family. Sokcho is on the coast and they have a lot more sea creature options than my town (even though we're only 45 minutes away). Sokcho is a really cool city! I loved it! But I'm pretty sure that there was a miss understanding of why I had wanted to go there in the first place. I went to the fish market on my own while they took pictures of their little boy. I saw my octopus and I wanted him! But Jeon (my fellow teacher) wasn't with me and I didn't want to end up with a live octopus in a bag since I wouldn't know how to say "rip out it ink sack and cut off its head." So I would've brought it home and let the thing live in my bathroom! So I figured I'd go back with Jeon when they were done with the pictures. Well, turns out we were then going to lunch. I did eat octopus and squid, so maybe that's what she thought I wanted. Then we went to E-Mart (which is a better Wal-Mart but not as good as Target) and at this point I'd given up on my food adventure. So I just bought hangers and Kimchi instead. Big bummer...but I will get my own octopus eventually. So you wait for that story.

That next Tuesday I had my first fake class at a school where I had been observing other English teacher. I luckily wasn't nervous...just clueless. I went up there and taught the lesson just fine. As for being a cool fun teacher, I'd say not so much. The next Monday I would be starting my own classes at my own school.

We also have Wednesday night foreigner nights. Although I've only gone to two. I just don't want to get on a bus after work, when I'm tired, to hang out with people that I just met and probably wouldn't even talk to under normal circumstances. I'd rather go to the gym. Although, the girl in this picture, Rebecca, is from England and she lives upstairs from. I actually do like her. But anyway, they are fun people and I do have a good time when I do go. But after dinner last week, we went out for a few beers and they give you service. Service is just odd little food items. Service is free, unlimited, and it is expected. Every place gives you something different but this particular place served fried eggs for their service. So beer and fried eggs? Yeah sure, why not? They also have these bar snacks everywhere that literally taste like stale corn puffs. You want peanuts?! No no no, we have stake cereal instead. Mmmm, hits the spot for sure!

Last Friday, I was invited to have dinner with me land lady and her daughters. They are super nice people. They give me food literally every other day and want me to eat dinner with them every night. Anyway, I thought we'd just eat normal Korean food and have a somewhat nice conversation. I say somewhat because you can never have a really nice, deep conversation with anyone here. You have to speak very simply and then words that you think are simple, just aren't simple enough. So, I walk in and she has worked all day preparing this meal that they usually eat on Christmas or Chuseok (their Thanksgiving). It was soooo good, but I felt awful. Surprisingly, we did get into a conversation that I have been waiting for. North Korea. These people are just so kind that they just don't show the anger that I would've expected. They want to be one country again so badly. North Korea is not considered a separate country to them; some South Koreans still have family in North Korea that they were separated from during the war. So I thought crazy, freaky North Koreans! And I didn't even think about the fact that the people are exactly the same; just very poor, hungry, and afraid. I talked about this with my co-teacher the next day and she said that her fear was that eventually Koreans will forget that their all the same as the generation gap gets bigger and bigger. Apparently the younger South Koreans don't like North Korea and see them...as the US does I guess. They just don't have the connection that the older generations do.

Oh, and did I mention that I joined a gym? Yeah and ummm...everyone knows me. They swim instructor told his sister, who happened to be Jeon (the one that I went to Sokcho with), that he knows me. I've never seen him, the pool isn't even on the same floor on the workout area. Then I went to swipe my card and the man at the desk says "Thank you Miranda....right?...Miranda?" I told him, yes, my name is Miranda and found out he is Mr. O. There's also the personal trainer that I "talk" to every time I go in. Our conversations are usually "Hello," "Very beautiful," "Thank you," "Hungry?" "No, no," "Ok, Bye!" and on and on like that. And it makes it a bit awkward because I'm working out, sweating like a nasty American (P.S., Koreans don't really sweat) and I know that everyone is watching me. So I try to look super hot when I work out now! My co-teacher said that I am famous in Inje because everyone knows me and talks about me. So you want to be famous? Be a white chick and move to a small Korean town. Blam! Instant fame! But it is kind of funny when they tell you that you're the most beautiful because Rebecca told me that she had some kids run up to her and call her Miranda teacher. So yeah, Blonde English girl vs Redheaded American. Yeah, ok. You know how they all look the same to us? Well, we all look the same to them. Which doesn't make since do to our skin color differences, hair color, etc.

So here is where I will post this blog and start a new one...I think you need a break...and so do I. But here's a picture of a bathroom, which is one to do it I guess. There's also a picture of the mountains and Inje in the distance. There's a running path along the river, which in the spring is full of ragging craziness. But for now, it's pretty much empty. We also have Bungee jumping, so here's a picture of the crane lift that they take you one.