Catch Up

Hello everyone!

It has been a rough few days without the internet to blog and update you, but they were able to fix the wireless and I should be good

Sunday:
We only stayed in the hotel one night (Saturday night) and the next morning I had a meeting with the mayor and met my host family. The father came to meet me and take me to their church. At church I met Mrs. Parks who was very excited to meet me :) I then went to church and listened to the different language. I was not able to understand any of it, but I thought it was very interesting and the chorus sang beautifully. I will attend church with the family next Sunday as well. After church he took me to his home. They live in the Sam Sung apartments on the 7th floor. It is one of many apartments that rise high above the city. There are so many skyscrapers and towers in all different shapes and size, I may have to start photographing them and make a blog dedicated to the buildings.
In my family there are three boys, Young Chun who is 15, Yea Chun who is 13, and Ye Chun who is ten (I am sure I miss spelled their names but I have not seen then written. They are very smart boys who love to play with their friends, but seem a little shy towards me, I am sure they will warm up to me soon My family and I went to the park for a couple hours and I watched all the boys play soccer and basketball they are very competitive and it was fun to watch. After we went to dinner at VIPS which was a buffet style family restaurant. I tried many new foods some were very good and others I managed to swallow but did not go back for more. My family and I talked a lot during dinner, and the boys helped translate. However, my parents are good at speaking English and acting out what they are trying to say. After dinner we went to the E-Mart which I would compare to a Walmart, but much much bigger! They had everything you could ever wish to buy in the store. It was two stories and very busy. I had a good time looking at all the different goods and foods. My family bought me foods that they thought I would like so I am excited to try.
I wanted to take a shower and Mrs. Parks showed me the "girls" bathroom. The shower was a sink with a handheld shower hose... I was able to wash my hair with ease, but I was completely lost on how to bath the rest of myself... I think I will learn with practice, but the first time was very awkward haha

Apartments in the sky

My hotel room
My Family playing basketball
E-Mart view from the escalator

Monday:
Today was my first day at school. I was very nervous and woke up extra early although sleeping would have been very nice. For breakfast I had sushi (kimba), a strawberry yogurt shake, and corn tea. I really liked the sushi and corn tea, but the yogurt shake will take some getting used to. I went to school at 9:30am escorted by my dad and we met with the principal, vice principal, head teachers, and other English teachers. We talked about many things, when the principal heard my name was Angie he started to sing "Angie" by the Rolling Stones which I immediately laughed at because everyone in the states does the same thing when they meet me haha

I was not teaching today, but rather sat in a large office and worked on lesson plans and ideas with Dennis, the 1st and 3rd grade English teacher. I will be teaching 12 classes a week of 2nd grade English, which is more like 8th grade in the states. I am a little nervous but Dennis assured me with a pocket full of candy and positive attitude they will love me. For lunch I had rice, octopus with noodles, white sweet potatoes, beef soup, apple,grape,yogurt salad, and kimchi. It was all very good. I did not eat the chunks of meat in the soup, but the teachers I was sitting with insisted that I eat everything so I couldnt be rude...

The rest of my day was uneventful. School let out at 4:30 and I went home and napped until the rest of the family came home. I went out with Mrs. Parks, Whitney (another KSU students) and her homestay mother and daughter. It was a nice evening and now I am ready for bed.

Sorry this one was so long, but I wanted to catch you up on my experiences

Love you and miss you all!