Birthday

It was my birthday last week (Saturday), and all week I was treated like a king by everyone around me. Actually, most of it is just typical Korean hospitality, but some of it went above and beyond. So I thought I'd record some of what's happened lately.

I finally had some time this week after work to go shopping for some things for my house. I asked some students to go with me to help me pick out some stuff, so Wednesday night at around 10:30 the five of us piled in a car and drove to Home Plus, a 24-hour department-type place that's got everything you need. With the students' knowledge of the Korean labels and their plain good taste, I was able to get pots, pans, utensils, bowls, towels, spaghetti ingredients, and a hundred other smaller items to get my house in order. We finished around midnight, and instead of merely dropping me off at home, the students came in, helped unpack all the items, then carefully organized them in my no-longer-spartan kitchen. It was awesome. We played Egyptian rat slap (a fast-paced card game) and then we parted ways.

On Thursday, which was my last day of work for the week (I took Friday as my monthly personal day), I got pictures with many of my coworkers and received gifts from a number of students. They gave me a cake, a long-sleeve T-shirt, body wash, and some other items. My teacher buds generously gave me some Asian board games (Chinese chess and a Korean strategy game), a cross necklace from Jeju Island (special courtesy of Adam), and other small gifts. After work we all went out to celebrate. I played some of the best darts I've ever played (thanks, Uncle Tim!) and had a good time hanging out with everyone. Koon taught me to play Chinese chess, which I was horrible at, and then I went home.

Friday I had another English/Korean lesson with my friend Yoo Sun. Instead of just bringing study materials this time, though, she brought an awesome cheesecake, complete with candles, party favors, and utensils! So I ate most of the cake myself as we studied some dialogue in Korean and English. My Korean is improving, in that I can now distinguish words in speech, but this is only the first of thousands of steps. I'm working on numbers this week, and next week I'll try to get my colors down. In the meantime, I'm picking up new food vocab and some short phrases. After our meal, I went to rent a car with Jason, and we got a great deal with the help of another student. I missed out on playing soccer, but it was no big deal. Later that night, I was killing time browsing around the bookstore at my building when a student approached me to say hello. We made small talk, and then we got on the topic of soccer. He mentioned that his friends sometimes play futsol (soccer on a smaller field--6 vs. 6), and since it was the right time, we went by bus to this soccer field across town and played from 10-11pm. I hadn't played on small goals in awhile, but I loved it. I scored four goals, thanks to my new Copa Mundials, and my friend's mom met us and loaned us the car so I could be dropped off at home.

Saturday I took off to the mountains with Jason. We borrowed a navigation system and headed out to the countryside to visit Juwangsan, stopping by rice fields and apple orchards. I drove for the first time in Korea, and had a blast doing it. After nearing the mountain, though, we had a torrential downpour, so Jason and I went to a hotel (someone's house with spare rooms) we found and watched TV while waiting for the rain to stop (which it didn't). That night, Jason snored like a monster, so I had to take my bedding out into the main room of the hotel (which was really just the living room) and tried to snooze. But my mind was elsewhere, and I didn't sleep that well.

Sunday was the big day. We got up early and hit the mountain. It was gorgeous with the slight fog. We went by a lake, forded some streams in a valley, and hiked to the top of the mountain within a few hours. It was really fun getting some exercise and enjoying the countryside. I'd describe it more in detail, but I'm not feeling too descriptive right now. Sorry. Anyhow, we drove back just in time for me to meet up with Yoo Sun. We had dinner (bulgogi soup for me) and then went to see Mamma Mia! I didn't really want to see it, but it wasn't all that bad. Okay, it wasn't that great, but it could've been worse, so I can't complain. =) We went out for Baskins Robbins ice cream afterwards and walked around some, and before long we came across some celebrity downtown who owned a midnight black BMW. All the windows were tinted (including the windshield), and the license plate was taped over. I can't remember who the celeb was, but it must've been someone cool because lots of people were cooing over the guy. At this point I was pretty tired, so I went home and prepared for the week. All in all, it was a pretty great birthday.

I'm sure there's lots of things I left out, but they'll have to wait for a day when I'm feeling a but more bloggy. I didn't sleep well the last few nights, so I'm just moping a bit around the office while yawning. More news later, when there's actually news to write up.