Love is baking his favorite choco cake

Well, hello there!

I must say I'm enjoying my Friday evenin'. My health is much improved after a bountiful dose of zzz's and medicinal goodness. David and I went to E-Mart earlier to peruse and pick a few necessities up (like mini Twix bars).

The Skin Food people know who I am now. I walked into the cosmetics department and a young women who has helped me before said, "HELLO! NICE TO MEET YOU!" which much exuberance. It was a lovely experience. She talks to me in half Korean/half English/half hand gestures so I can pick up on most of what she's saying. This time around I bought a milky blue nailpolish, baby pink eye shadow and 2 face masks (black raspberry and white chocolate). She gave me sooo many samples. The samples far outweighed the purchased goods. This, of course, is not a problem.

Okay, so are you confused as to why this woman was helping me so much? You see, in Korea, no matter what you're shopping for or where you're shopping, there is always someone following you around. At first I was offended because I thought they assumed I was stealing. Then I became uncomfortable because I like my personal space. Now I'm not 100% peachy about [what I call] companion shopping, but 2 months into living here I've learned to appreciate it. Even when you're buying food there are people hollering and shouting and giving out samples to get you to buy things. It's a very noisy adventure but a great way to try Korean food for free (even if you don't know what it is you're trying).

Funny story: Wal-Mart actually tried to open up shop here in South Korea but failed miserably. It was the first time Wal-Mart has ever had to pick up and leave town, but the Korean's weren't having the quiet, solitary shopping experience.

Anyway, I promised a long time ago to post pictures from English Song and Chant Day. This is a day that the students practise for and the top performance in each grade performs in front of the provincial educational office (they also get a tasty pizza party prize). I prepared a speech for the principal to read (he did it so suavely, too!), judged the competition and quizzed the students throughout. Here are a few pictures:

(click to make bigger)

3rd graders - they were so precious


(My scoring sheet)


6th graders waiting around


5th graders


6th graders -- the three girls in the front row love to come and talk to me. Their English is quite superb!


5th graders


More 5th graders


5th graders (you can see my co-teacher on the left- she is very pretty)

Good bye! <3>