Thursdays are my favorite, I think. We start a new unit, so all the material is still fresh and hasn't been beaten to death. If you remember, we only get the kids one day a week, so it's the same unit, for each of the six or so classes, everyday, all week long. So, Thursdays are a welcome treat. Plus, the Thursday students are really good kids. They're funny, interested and they talk. For the most part, at least. I do have one girl in my first class on Thursday (Abigail) who all but refuses to speak. It's like pulling teeth. But, Thursday also has Ann. She's too advanced for her class, but instead of goofing off in a destructive way, she uses her time to ask me questions and actually practice her English. She likes to draw cartoon girls. Actually, it seems that many of the kids here are pretty talented in cartooning. I discovered that today, when I had them draw and label their families.
So, there are many Christian churches in Jecheon. Many, as in two or so on every block. Diversity of people (religion, included) is great to see everywhere, but is definitely not what I expected to find in Korea. If statistics are correct, most of the people (over 60%) here identify as Buddhist, so the amount of churches seems disproportionate. But, I'm not sure if Jecheon is more or less Christian than any other place in Korea. We haven't traveled enough, yet, and I don't want to ask, because I don't want anyone to mistake my curiosity for judgment. Religious leafleting is popular here. Yesterday, when Ian and I came back from running, two women were knocking on doors and saw us coming back in, so they stopped to offer their pamphlets (these happened to be in English and discussed the spiritual "mother" in conjunction with the spiritual "father). We took them, out of curiosity and politeness. Ian was given a couple more today, too. Those are in Korean, however, so, unfortunately, I suppose we won't learn anything about their specific beliefs.
The pamphlets.
Ian and I tried our hand at ordering pizza tonight because we got some coupons on our door. We prepared for like 40 minutes. We made a list of words that we would need.
Ian preparing to order the pizza.
Ian ordering a medium pizza with only cheese (cheeja) and potatoes (gamja). Potatoes are on pretty much every pizza here.
Twenty minutes later, the pizza came. Looks right at first glance, but look harder. There's ham and sausage on it. We could have cried. We were so excited (keep in mind we've been eating primarily soup, so this was a big splurge). The guy was gone before we could do anything. We called and tried to explain, and it seemed that they may fix it, but no second pizza ever showed. So, ten dollars down the drain and no pizza.
Popcorn for dinner, it is!
I forgot to mention that we don't have any hot water. Our showers are between 50-60 degrees F. We told the "super," so hopefully, it will be fixed soon. Yeah, morale is pretty low around here right now.
ReplyDeleteOh that sucks. I'm surprised Ian didn't run over to the pizza joint and show them how to make it. What a let down. I hope you have better luck next time. Good news though, it's friday, tomorrow you'll be going to a movie. Have fun
ReplyDeleteThere are no hope of salvaging the pizza? No picking off of the meat? One of my friends said that vegetarianism isn't quite understood in Asia. When in China one of her friends kept trying to get fried rice without meat and they just did not understand.
ReplyDeleteI was so excited for you and Ian, to be getting something you have been craving since you arrived. I guess you will have to keep the delivery person there while you check out the order. Your blogging is awesome, keep up the great work.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your weekend of movie going and exploring the city.
No, pizza is far to oily to play the "pick out" game. We'd probably get pretty sick. Plus, it would taste terrible.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited for this weekend. Just one more day of classes to get through!