Eco Kitty Goes to the Vet

This morning was quite an adventure for Eco-kitty and myself.

Since I got her many months ago, she has has had on-and-off leaky eyes. Because I acquired her just before the start of winter, and I was still working on navigating Korea at the time, and because I assumed she suffered allergies and nothing more, I decided to wait until the weather was more conducive to traipsing around feline friend in tow. There are animal hospitals near me, but their levels of English are most likely questionable. And as I approach the end of my contract (and I’m looking to bring kitty home with me), I wanted an animal hospital that would not only have experience working with foreigners but deal regularly with pet owners who travel internationally with their pets or ship them overseas.

I found Chungwha Animal Hospital online through Animal Rescue Korea and recommendations on various forums. I called earlier this week to make an appointment, and it was recommended I come in early Saturday. I’m sure she knew something was up when I came home with a harness and leash (I wanted to get one just in case. Just in case we stayed longer in Seoul and found a park nearby. To give her some time outside her carrier between two-hour bus/train rides.) The first harness I bought didn’t quite fit, and so I came home with a few other options last night. I tried not to do anything that would indicate we’d be going somewhere today. Usually when she sees my backpack on the couch, she knows I’ve made plans to abandon her for a day or two. This does not make her a happy kitty; then, upon my return I usually pay for it with a sleepless night. Because I wasn’t here to play, she wants to play. On top of me. From 3 o’clock in the morning until I wake up.

This morning I quickly put what I would need for the day into my backpack and then found her and put her in her carrier bag without too much of a fight. Still inside my apartment, she started squirming and thrashing around, nearing flipping her carrier backwards, and clawing at the sides. I was so scared she would destroy it I almost decided that taking her to the vet in Seoul was a bad idea.

But she would have to get used to this if she will board a 14-hour flight home to the U.S., right? Like a mother torn between giving her child what she wants and what she needs, I tried to explain to her that everything would be okay, and finally we left. As we crossed the street you could hear crying coming from the bag; I explained to the adjossi walking past me “goyangi” (cat). Ahhhhh, goyangi…

Waiting for the bus home in a Dunkin’ Donuts

Walked about 10 minutes to the main bus terminal. She settled down a bit, but I was afraid she’d start back up again and I’d not be allowed on the bus. But she was okay. The driver didn’t even look twice. We sat toward the back of the bus away from most of the other passengers.

I was able to unzip a small part of the carrier and put my hand in to comfort her during the ride. After a couple hours on bus and two subway trains, we got to Itaewon, turned down the street, walked past a ton of antique shops, and found the animal hospital. The doctors and staff were great. We were the only ones in there. (It was the first hour they were open.) No wait. Perfect English. Everything was explained to me clearly. All my questions were answered. I feel really good about bringing her to Chungwha. It’s totally worth the travel time.

And I was so surprised by her behavior. SHE WAS SO GOOD AT THE VET. I didn’t expect her to be horrible, but she’s only been to the vet once I believe (when she was spayed). I sort of expected her to freak out and dig her claws in or refuse to come out of her carrier. First, she had her temperature taken. Anally. She squirmed only a little bit, and as soon as that was over, she wrapped her tail TIGHTLY around her rear end and scooted over to my side of the table with her paws/claws holding on tight to the edge. I didn’t blame her. Had her heartrate taken and got weighed (4.3kg) without flinching. She has an upper respiratory infection and had antibiotics injected into the back of her neck. Didn’t even cry. Just sat patiently and waited until it was over. She’ll be on oral antibiotics and eye drops for the next week to clear up the infection. I hope this is the end to her leaky/swollen eye problems.

After we left Chungwha, we stopped at What the Book to sell some books I’ve finished reading and don’t want to cart back to Chicago with me in October. Had lunch at a cafe across the street (I even opened up the front flap of her carrier. She just sat inside– such a good kitty!), and then back down into the subway we went. We arrived in Pocheon in the 2:00pm hour, and I’ve never seen her so happy.

The last time she was outside of my apartment, she was uprooted from her last owner, so I imagine as we set out this morning she was envisioning scary major life changes. I feel today was a turning point in our relationship.

I will never leave her, and I hope she understands that.

On sharps, open classes, vet visits, and upcoming beach trips

I finally figured how to get my 5th graders to quiet down long enough to do an activity. What’s my secret? Mechanical pencils. A few days ago I picked up some brightly colored mechanical pencils (all the cool kids call them sharps. “Teacher! Teacher! 샤프!”) Huh? Sharp?

I thought they were asking for diabetes lancets. “No, teacher. sha-peu!!” Then they show me their pencils. Ooohhhhh. I found some four-for-a-thousand won ($1 USD) packs. You should have seen how heartbroken the losing teams were.

Weekend plans? Tomorrow I’ll take my cat to the vet in Seoul. There are animal hospitals closer to me, but I’ve chosen a clinic that specializes in working with foreigners. I think my kitty’s got allergies, and I want to make sure that is all. In addition, I want to make sure I know exactly what paperwork I need to acquire and hoops I’ve got to jump through to fly her home in September/October. So tomorrow we’ll see how she reacts to being away from her home and on trains and buses in preparation for boarding a plane home in a few months.

If she’s good, we’ll stay in Seoul long enough to have lunch with a friend and for me to sell some books to What the Book, a mostly used book store in Itaewon near the vet.

Next week, my 6th grade coteacher and I have an open class on Wednesday. (An open class is a class that administrators, teachers, and native English teachers from other schools attend.) She doesn’t seem too nervous about it; we’re doing everything as written in the book. I’m not sure I agree with it (open classes tend to be jazzed up with extra games, songs and choreographed dances– I kid you not), but it’s the most low-maintenance open class I could have imagined and that is fine by me. The following week we’ll have an open class just for parents.

Memorial Day in Korea falls on Monday, June 6. So next weekend is a long one; I’m working on planning a fantastic trip to the beach with a friend or two.

Alright, I’ll try to have an “experience” soon– something so crazy cool my blog will blow you away. Stay tuned, friends.

Writer's Block

Hello everyone! This is just to say that I’m still here, still working, still having a great time. As the days wind down (I just got here yesterday, didn’t I!? Now you’re telling me I have just four months left?), time seems to be flying by at unprecedented speeds!

In the past couple weeks, I’ve written and saved (but haven’t posted) several unfinished blog entries. Writer’s block?

Life is good. I can’t believe June is almost here! The weather has been warming up with most days in the 70s Fahrenheit. Summers are humid here, I’ve heard, and we’ve already experienced a few very sticky days. This next weekend, the first weekend in June, we have a national holiday Monday, so I’m working on planning a trip to the beach. I’ve always been a planner, a list-maker but lately planning has been happening really last minute. I hope I can get myself together enough to figure out what I will do during my vacation in August.

Fridays are my “easy” work days. Just two a.m. classes and the rest of the day in the office. If I can organize my thoughts, I will blog more tomorrow.

Hope you are all doing well!

Apartments in Korea (Or: The Day I Finally Met My Landlord)

Yesterday toward the end of my last class and just as I would be headed to my already late lunch (I go to lunch after five classes back to back), my co-teacher informed me that: “you should go to the administration office. Maybe the owner of your building is there.”

I now know enough about the way communication here happens to understand that the owner of my building had most definitely come to school to see me (and that this most likely involved money).

I asked my co-teacher if there was a problem, and she said she didn’t know. So I headed down to the administration office; a women around 4.5 feet tall and 70 years old was hunched over a pile of files and bills at a table behind the secretarys’ desks. After much discussion with two of my coworkers in Korean of course, I learned that it had come to her attention that I was never charged my apartment maintenance fee. I know that most people pay a maintenance fee to their landlords, and that some pay higher amounts than others. I figured that since mine is a small building and that I never received a bill, there was no maintenance fee.

Over the past several months, a few coworkers have asked me what I pay to my landlord per month. They needed to the information in administrative reports. My answer had always been *confusion*… and “nothing… am I supposed to?” I guess I expected someone to find out and let me know ASAP. I only paid the water bill twice when someone left a post-it on my door. I can’t pay it if I don’t get a bill or at the very least a post-it with the amount.

Not the case. Back to yesterday: late in month eight, not only do I finally meet my landlord, but I find out that I owe a maintenance fee in the form of 20,000KRW (just over $20) per month for the last seven months I have lived here and also the water bill for the months I didn’t pay; and “when can you pay by?”

It’s not the money. Really it isn’t. Of course, it’s money that I could use to do something fun or put into savings. It’s a negligible amount. But it’s more the principle of the thing. (Ahh, good old Western values. Argh!)

I was REALLY annoyed with this situation (although I didn’t let it show; save face; I know this woman is just trying to right a wrong and my coworkers are just trying to make sure I get the right information, pay what I should have paid awhile back, and smooth it all over). It is one of those situations that is soo Korea that by now I guess the only option you can do is go with it, give them the money, and move on.

Part of me is still perplexed as to the legality of telling a tenant they must pay X amount of money today or tomorrow when it was YOUR error or lack of oversight in the first place. I guess I could have asked for more time, at the very least. I could have asked if this is legal. I could have resisted. Refused. Argued. Your error not mine. (That’s not the way things work here.) But I have the money now. The quickest way over this situation is to pay the money. Don’t cause any problems. Smile. Shake the cute little lady’s hand. Tell her it was nice to meet her and that you hope to see her again. She really was sweet. I think this sort of situation is a little embarassing– asking for money. At least it wasn’t an outrageous amount.

But, but, but!!! It’s the principle of the thing!

But the principle of the thing just doesn’t apply in situations here unless the principle of the thing also favors the hierarchical order.

*sigh*

There are some battles not worth fighting, and this is one of them. One of those times I’ve got to forget about the principal of the thing and do as they say. Save my energy/sanity; surrender the cash.

I consider how I’ve reacted to similar situations earlier on in my time here. I remember my frustration with the cell phone company for telling me things that didn’t make sense. I remember trying to understand why the original copy of my degree was not acceptable but that I needed to mail my degree to the other side of the world to be verified and notarized and apostilled… causing a LOT of delays on my end. I remember voicing my frustrations and probably not being completely appreciative of the two kindest, most helpful women in my workplace. I really should start thinking about how I can thank them for everything they have done for me this year.

I’m not perfect. I’ll never be. But looking back, I feel that I’m better, a little bit wiser, and much calmer then I was when I touched down in this beautiful, crazy, interesting, funny, and fun country.

This one simply isn’t a battle worth fighting. I just hope I don’t lose my fightin’ spirit.

The Non-Blog Blog Entry

There’s lots I could blog about.

I could blog about my new appreciation for squatters and how much healthier it is to squat than to sit.

I could blog about “losing” my secom card for days (new school ID you need to get into buildings– essential when you have to go from one building to the other during the day), and then finding it on my kitchen counter.

I could blog about the health benefits of quail eggs!

I could blog about arriving to the 5th grade teachers office all ready to teach my two Friday classes (and so proud of myself for having remembered to pick up some prizes for the winners of the game I would play with my kids)… only for my co-teacher to ask “You didn’t get the message?” (that my classes were canceled).

I could blog about the dangers of purchasing candy for students and then, classes canceled, sitting in your office all day with said candy.

I could blog about the awesome granola bars I made this week.

I could blog about the booger-eaters which reside two classrooms over.

 

On second thought,

I don’t feel like blogging today.

Mis angelititos.

Aunque queda unos cuatro meses en Corea… aunque todavía tengo un rato con ellos… aunque la gorda todavía no ha cantado…

de vez en cuando me encuentro pensando en que tanto voy a extrañar a los angelitos que iluminan mis días.

En cuanto me van a hacer falta sus lindas caritas y sus pláticas de no-sé-qué.

De como llegan a mi oficina corriendo interrumpiendo todo lo que hago y cierran mi navegador de Internet para jugar.

De como me gritan YEONGEO SEONSAENGNIM o simplemente YEONGEO y como reconozco que me han puesto el nombre (en coreano) “Inglés”. Jaja. Y que les contesto cuando me lo gritan.

De que tanto se han transformado de timiditos bebés que casi no me dijeron nada hasta que me extienden sus manitos de saludos.

De que llena es mi vida y que no quiero pensar de la vaciedad que sentiré cuando los dejo.

Pero bueno, todavía tenemos tiempo. No vamos a pensar en eso.

Why Do You Blog?

My current view:

Yesterday, at the end of the day over coffee and tea and dessert, while out with friends in Seoul, we got to talking about blogging. Who we blog for, who our blogs are open or searchable to, the types of things we share. And it got me to thinking: do I share too much? Do I not share enough? Why do I choose to blog and why do I blog what I blog?

In the end we agreed that it’s a personal decision. We all have our own opinions and comfort zones and writing styles. Some of us are blogging for family and friends, some of us are blogging for future teachers/foreigners in our areas (because we sure as heck had a hard time finding information about Pocheon before we came), and some of us are blogging for ourselves. Some of us blog in order to better make sense of our experiences here.

My thoughts and feelings are inextricably linked to my experiences here and anywhere in the world. The way I think and feel in a given moment helps me to recall and to process the details of the experience later on when I’m blogging– or even weeks, months or years later in life. I wish we could blog raw thoughts and feelings because sentences and paragraphs that have been mulled over for hours and days seem too manufactured, in a sense.

By sharing my inner thought-/feeling-processes, I’m helping my loved ones and readers to better understand what I’m going through, and perhaps what you might feel if you were here with me. I have had some significant and powerful experiences, and I try to put you in my shoes by telling you what was on my heart as I give you the play-by-play of events– for instance, as I gazed upon the Cathedral or looked down on the (huge!) city from the tower or sailed in a boat across a big lake.

I think about smells and how powerful scent is in regards to emotion and memory. Familiar smells bring back memories of different times and places and people. Since I’ve been here, but even more so lately, I’ve at least once a day caught a whiff of something and thought to myself “wow, this totallly reminds me of ________.” Smells here in Korea have transported me back to Ireland, to El Salvador, to the kiddie pool in my backyard when I was five. (The smell of the water coming out of the shower reminded me of water coming out of the hose and filling our pool. You all had the same one, didn’t you? I think ours had giraffes and zebras on it.) I sometimes wish that in addition to video, audio, and photo sharing I could blog smells, textures and tastes!

What do I blog and who do I blog for? And why?

I blog for family and friends and Facebook friends and other acquaintances. I blog for anyone that wants to know what life in the Twilight Zone is like… I mean, JUST KIDDING– what life in South Korea is like. I blog so that future teachers might know what they are getting themselves into and that culture shock comes in waves and is a natural, normal process roller coaster. I blog because teleportation isn’t possible.

I blog because when you’re “here” with me via this medium, it’s easier for me to feel you rally around me when I’m having a difficult time and vice versa. The more I let you in, the smaller the world feels. This might be scary for some people (that it’s such a small world), but it’s been a comfort to me.

I blog because of the New Evangelization,

of which Pope John Paul the Second was very fond, [which] means that the unchanging Gospel of Christ has to be reannounced in those parts of the world where, although the faith has been rooted for a long time, secularism has made people forget its meaning. (Source.)

It is not a new message that the New Evangelization brings, but rather a new vigor, new methods, and new applications to the problems of today. (Source.)

In light of that, I suppose I could say I blog because I feel a responsibility to do so. To blog about more than people, plane rides, smells and my favorite dalk galbi–but to be a witness to His workings. To be a voice of truth and reason. To shine light where there is darkness.

And the internet can be a dark place.

Why do you blog?

My Current View in Myeongdong and a Few Small Updates

Good morning, everyone! I actually wrote the following yesterday morning, but I was having trouble getting an internet connection (which is really strange considering I was at a cafe in Seoul and there were about ten wi-fi connections available), so this is a bit delayed. Enjoy!

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Happy Third Sunday of Easter!

I’m blogging live from Myeongdong in beautiful Seoul!

I’m actually typing this in WordPad as I’m having issues getting online at the moment. Yea, I know. What’s WordPad, you ask? I deleted OpenOffice (free Microsoft Office-compatible software) from my netbook a few weeks ago in order to free up some space. It actually turns out I wasn’t even using my D drive (everything was on C which was causing EVERYTHING to be sloooow), so I really didn’t need to delete anything, just resituate things.

I decided to start a new… uh, thing. Each time I blog, I’m going to give you my current view. Cool, no? It’s not my idea. I got it from here.

Here’s my current view:

I'm sitting outside a Cafe Bene adjacent to Myeongdong Station Exit 8. The woman in that booth straight ahead is selling carnations for Mother's Day.

I went to Mass at Myeongdong Cathedral this morning, which as usual, was (literally… no, really. literally.) Heaven on Earth.

Í’m down about 4.5 kg (10 lbs) from my “Korean highest”. (I prefer to measure my losses in lbs and my gains in kilos, haha.) Don’t get too excited, I’ve got a ways to go, but it’s good to feel back in control and re-energized and eating healthy things. That’s not to say the bag of Reese’s under the kitchen counter that just arrived from home isn’t calling my name. But for now, I just keep telling it to hold on. Or as many Koreans say to foreigners when they aren’t quite sure what to do with us: “Just… wait.” I’m down a size in jeans. Good thing I packed a variety of sizes. Still have a slight muffin top, but please don’t judge! (Don’t know what a muffin top is?)

Also, just a friendly PSA that the solution to like 80% (or more?) of your computer problems is rebooting your system. I’m so glad I learned that during my two summers of work at SNC compserv. I’m no computer expert, but this simple knowledge has led coworkers here in Korea to think I am a genius. Sound not working? Reboot your computer. Not printing? Reboot! Don’t see your network folders? You guessed it! Restart! And in case a reboot is not the answer, at least rebooting buys me time to think of other solutions to your problem. Oh, and that you can take the toner cartidge out and shake it back and forth for 30 seconds or so to trick the printer into thinking that the toner isn’t as low as it says it is.

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I hadn’t planned on staying in Seoul for too long after Mass and a coffee drink, but Alexis was on her way to the cit-ay (do you like my cool way of saying city? No? Ohh ok.) so I decided to join her and a few other girls for the afternoon. We checked out a few festivals and ended up staying until the evening. A great day, which I’ll blog about in my next post.

Have a great day, everyone!

The Chapel Veil: To Cover or Not to Cover?

“Why’s that doily on her head?”

Around this time last year, I began exploring the reasons behind veiling, inspired by a fellow parishioner at daily Mass who veils. From what I knew, it was an old, old tradition that had been done away with, and the women who clung to it were stuck in the past.

Called to Cover

I uncovered a wealth of information, from great Catholic women and men. I dove into websites and message boards and the more I learned, the more I had it on my heart to veil. I felt called to cover, and I wasn’t sure exactly why. It was just something I felt in my heart.

Having just in the past few years explored (on a beginner’s level) Blessed Pope John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, the following really spoke to my heart:

• A woman’s body being a holy vessel, a tabernacle (and treating it as such)
• The idea of veiling one’s heart first

Didn’t Vatican II Abolish the Veil?

Vatican II never “did away with” the tradition, as I had been led to believe. The new Code of Canon Law from 1983 doesn’t mention the requirement of women to wear veils (as the previous 1917 Code of Canon Law stated) in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament at all! The absence of a direct reference to the subject doesn’t imply a change of Church teaching:

“In doubt, the revocation of a previous law is not presumed; rather, later laws are to be related to earlier ones, as far as possible, harmonized with them.” (1983 Code of Canon Law, Can. 21)

Sister Mary Martha gives a brief history in her blog Ask Sister Martha Mary. (She’s great!)

Matthew at A Catholic Life just about sums it up.

And Alice von Hildebrand, in the book Women and the Priesthood, states (emphasis added by me):

“Women are definitely more mysterious than men, not only because their affective life is more complex and more refined, but especially because there is something in women that calls for veiling. It is not by accident that women traditionally wore a veil, and that, up to Vatican II, they wore veils in Catholic churches. This custom was deeply symbolic, and alas this symbolism is now lost. Under the influence of feminism, many Catholics were led to believe that veiling indicated some sort of inferiority, and for this reason it was abolished.

This interpretation rests on a misunderstanding. Far from indicating inferiority, the veil points to sacredness. While we do cover what is ugly or decaying, we also veil what is sacred, mysterious, and sublime. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, he covered his face to hide the glow that was apparent because God had deigned to speak with him: Moses’ body reflected the depth and mystery of his experience.

Every woman carries within herself a secret most sacred, mysterious, and sublime. This secret is life. Eve means “the mother of the living.” In the mystery of the female body, human life finds its beginning: not in the male semen but in the fecundated egg, hidden in the cavern of the female body. There God creates a new soul which is exclusively his work, and in which neither father nor mother has a part. This creation takes place when the male seed fecundates the female egg. Thus at that very moment a closeness exists between divine action and the female body which marks the latter as sacred ground. This is why the way a woman dresses, the way she sits, walks, laughs, should always be marked by a note of holy reserve. A woman conscious of her unmerited privilege will necessarily adopt a bodily posture- what is today called body language- which adequately reflects this calling.”

I joined a conversation at Catholic Answers, where I heard from other women who veil (either only for Mass or full time) and the information and encouragement I received there helped me to make the next step and purchase some headcoverings.

I picked up a few hats from Target, some pretty headband-like coverings from Garlands of Grace, a few beautiful handmade mantilla veils from Heaven’s Little Flowers, and a tichel or two. I covered at Mass for awhile, and I feel it really helped me to focus on the Mass and especially the Eucharist. But I eventually forgot to bring my hat or headband or veil with me amidst the shuffle of getting to the car (argh! excuses, excuses!) and so I covered only from time to time.

Why am I sharing all of this?

Why should you care? (Maybe you don’t, and that’s okay. But you’re still reading.)

There are so many misconceptions regarding Catholic Church teaching on veiling (and on everything else!). There are so many beautiful reasons to veil or to cover at Mass. The decision to veil is a personal one, and although I haven’t veiled regularly in quite some time, I’m once again intrigued and inspired by the women around me every Sunday.

At my local Catholic church here in Korea, I would say at least seventy-five percent of the Korean women at Mass wear white lace mantillas (including young women and girls). So if it’s once again on my heart (and it is) this is prime time for me to cover, when doing so isn’t quite as conspicuous as it is at home. To veil or not to veil is not meant to be a point of contention but an “outward sign of an internal gesture of reverence to God.” (Fish Eaters)

Some women don’t veil for fear of standing out in a negative way. But in fact, I am happy to see other women wearing veils at Mass!

Because I couldn’t have said it better than barbie over at What Does the Church Teach:

This one superficially small act is:

• so rich with symbolism: of submission to authority; of surrender to God; of the imitation of Our Lady as a woman who uttered her “fiat!”; of covering our glory for His glory; of modesty; of chastity, of our being vessels of life like the Chalice, the Ciborium and, most especially, Our Lady;
• an Apostolic ordinance — with roots deep in the Old Testament — and, therefore, a matter of intrinsic Tradition;
• the way Catholic women have worshipped for two millennia (i.e., even if it weren’t a matter of Sacred Tradition in the intrinsic sense, it is, at the least, a matter of ecclesiastical tradition, which also must be upheld). It is our heritage, a part of Catholic culture;
• pragmatic: it leaves one free to worry less about “bad hair days”;
• and for the rebels out there, it is counter-cultural nowadays, you must admit!

The question I’d like answered is, “Why would any Catholic woman not want to veil herself?”

Veiling is a beautiful, meaningful tradition to me. I used to think women wearing mantillas at Mass in other countries to which I’ve traveled were perhaps not as “up with the times” as we U.S. Catholics are. But I’ve got to say I think they have it right!

How Much Does a Worry Weigh? (And 7 Things for 7 Months!)

Every now and then, I’m walking along, worries weighing on my heart and mind which in the grander scheme of things boil down to just about nothing. I look around and see these happy, adorable little faces calling my name “캐슬린!!”; I see kids running around the park, riding their bikes all over town, and being silly; I see elderly women squatting on the edges of the sidewalk for hours at a time selling kimchi fixins; I see the adjossis hanging out in front of the corner convenience store. I see life– in the purest and simplest and most timeless and everyday of forms– happening all around me, and I remind myself:

Today– everyday– is a brand new opportunity to work harder to be a little bit better, to look around, to remember to breathe, to climb up a fortress and take in this big, beautiful mountain valley that is my home for now. To sit down with someone I might otherwise have never known and share the few words of each other’s language that we know, a smile when all else fails, and a cup of makgeoli (or three). To remember my home and those people who are the reason for my home.

To remember how small I am and how good and great He is.

Koreans generally have a different attitude than I do– than we do– toward pain. Pain is okay– good, even. That in order to heal, pain (or the unleashing of it?) is necessary. Being here is, in a sense, therapy for the soul; becoming more whole happens only by enduring (sometimes great) discomfort– whether in the form of homesickness and culture shock, struggles to understand ways which appear to lack logic or forethought, experiencing a visit to a Korean dentist, or adjusting to new foods (after awhile even those tiny crunchy baby anchovies are delicious).

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In honor of these past 7 months, I present 7 things:

1) Hospitality is one of my passions. I enjoy hosting others, serving others, anticipating their needs, and paying attention to the details. Perhaps there’s a future for me in this line of work?

2) This week I have probably been the healthiest I have been since I’ve lived here. It feels good to be back in control.

3) There are fortress ruins/a large hill/a park located just over the river from my school in Pocheon (maybe a 25 minute walk from my home) with a great view of my whole downtown area. I’m super excited to picnic there on a sunny Sunday afternoon in the near future!

4) Today was one of those days where the kids were absolutely crazy (I think it’s a Friday thing; and as the weather gets nicer, the kids get a little crazier); I often wonder where these tiny creatures get all their energy. And how come the boys are sooo much chattier than the girls? I had expected it to be the other way around.

5) My cat has this thing for waking me up in the morning by poking around for my hands under the edges of the blankets.

6) I don’t teach the littlest kids in my school, but most of them absolutely love saying hi to me as they pass my table at lunch (teachers eat with the kids here)– even the ones who look so shy/cautious are usually dying to wave hello.

7) I have these first graders that pop into my office a few times a week before their after school English class. I showed them this cat video a few weeks ago. It makes them crack up so much (it is pretty funny), but now every time they come in they ask me for the cat video.