Weekend

I've been finding ways to survive without internet in my apartment. Mostly, I've been going to school or to my local library which is really close by. Other times I am stuck watching whatever's on tv... Luckily there's usually some American tv show or movie on to pass some time.

Sunday was much better. I took the bus down to Gangneung, and met up with EunYoung, a girl who was my temporary Korean co-teacher because mine had not shown up (later I found out I don't even have one ><). She's really an amazing girl, so nice, so eager to help out, and speaks good English too. So we walked around downtown for a bit, then met up with my other friend Young who's a TaLK scholar in Pyeongchang, much more rural than me. We went to the Full Moon Festival, which is special in Korea because the first full moon after the Lunar New Year is quite important. We did all the stuff the festival had to offer, then moved on to Jjimjilbang (sauna).

We stayed there overnight, then came back to EunYoung's in the morning for breakfast. We finally got to meet her two shy little sisters, aged 11 and 13. They were absolutely adorable. I started talking to the younger one, and she's sooo smart. She didn't use much English but she could understand quite a bit. She also showed me her English homework. If I get a 5th grader who knows half as much as her, I'd be so happy. At one point, EunYoung asked her if she knew anything about Judaism saying that I was a Jew. She said right away she feels sorry for them. I was in shock when she said that because EunYoung barely knew anything. Her little sister went on to list off books and movies about WWII and the Holocaust that she read such as Anne Frank's Diary and The Pianist, and EunYoung said she knew all them but didn't know they were about Jewish people. I was so impressed, I wanted to take her back to Sokcho with me.
On the bus back to Sokcho, I met another English teacher, an Australian guy who'd been teaching here for 8 years now. He lives about 20km north of me. He gave me his card, and said to contact him if I need it. He also gave me some useful tips on getting some stuff I need, and offered some other possible contacts. Said that there are English teachers swarming all over the place here.