So, today (29. Dec.) I just finished my last teaching day. From now on, it's pure desk-warming.
(For those who don't know, "desk-warming" is when we go to school, even though all the students--and most teachers--are gone. Why? Because us foreign teachers must be at school for 22 hrs. a week in order to be paid our salary. So, no classes? Just come to school and stay at your desk and you get paid. What should you do? Doesn't matter in the least, as long as you are at your desk from the time the school opens until you're given permission to leave, which for me is around 2pm, anything goes. Hence, "desk" + "warming".)
Take it as you will.
Those who know me know I'm a "cat-person." So when I had my camera with me on my last day and saw cats, guess what I did . . .
PETA would probably have a field day with this . . .
Remember my favorite stepping-stone bridge behind the elementary school in Gapcheon? This is how the entire river/bridge/area looks, covered in snow. Can you see the stepping-stone bridge?
Christmas came and went. I was at another EPIK teacher's apartment for a Christmas party/dinner/get-together. I enjoyed it. True, I did feel a bit lonely at times, but since I don't drink and hardly ever hang out with everyone and/or the out-of-towners who were there, what could I expect? I'm glad I was able to go and be with them for a day.
Friday, day after Christmas, I substituted for another EPIK teacher's winter English camp.
That's right: I/we worked the day before and the day after Christmas. Only Christmas DAY was off. Christmas isn't such a big deal in Korea, as it is in the West. Considering that Korea has a Confusionist background (as opposed to the West that has a predominantly Christian background), it's really not that much of a surprise.
Another shocker for you: Koreans celebrate Christmas like another "Valentine's Day."
Forget the family; This is the national Couples' Date Day!
REALLY Weird, I know.
Come the weekend after Christmas, I stayed home--just like the weekend before. I really needed to take a break, rest, and take time to skype with friends I hadn't been able to skype with in months.
Then I got tired at staring at my laptop screen, so I decided to go out. I was going to hike a hill, but with the ice on the path, I decided against it.
So I went to the part of the river where the beef festival was held.
You know the river is frozen over when this grown man decides to cross the river--on foot.
I haven't seen this much for myself, so it's a new live event for my eyes.
Just to give you an idea of how deep the snow was.
These rocks are in the middle of the river.
It was really cold here lately.
Whoa, another first for me: witnessing live cross-country skiing.
The river, at least the part that wasn't frozen over.
How artistic.
This calls for walking around random streets.
What could I possibly find?
Uh-huh . . . so, apparently school buses here "walk" . . .
(this was outside a kindergarten)
Eventually, I got hungry. There's a place I like to go to called "Benjamin's Kitchen." No Idea who this particular Benjamin is, but the name calls me--especially seeing it in Roman letters, as opposed to Hangul.
They serve pasta, pizza, and a few rice dishes. I like them. It's odd how I'm usually the only customer there (that's happened about 7 out of my 8 trips there), but I honestly like having a restaurant all to myself. Again, I treasure privacy.
Here's another cool thing about them: Out of all these items, I ordered only 1 thing. Everything else was free.
What did I order? The fries.
Oh, the bowl had a salad and the plate had 1 slice of garlic bread (NOT sweet! I didn't think I could find such a thing in Korea!). I was hungrier than I thought.
Here's my main dish: Beef Pilaf (fried rice with vegetables and small pieces of beef).
So this is kind of the "Before" picture.
. . . and here's the "After" picture.
Beef Pilaf and fries were about $10 (12,000 Won), but considering I got a free salad, slice of garlic bread, pickled radishes and cucumbers, AND a coke . . . yeah, I think it's cheap!
A bit of how it looks inside.
They like plants.
Anything special or different today? Well, going to school, my bus broke down in the middle of the road out in the country. We waited about 20 -30 min. for the next bus to pass by, pick us up, and take us to our intended destinations as though nothing happened. No big deal.
This was my last "teaching" day. So nothing special, except my 3rd grade middle school girls gave me hugs (they'll be in high school next year). I felt loved . . .
To top it all off, I went to the dentist to see what they would say about my 4 tiny cavities and how to treat them. They said they'd fill them with resin and it would take about 15-20 min.--and they could do it right then and there.
Sure, why not? Get it done and over with.
So I did. The only part that I cringed was in the beginning when they drilled into my cavities and hit the nerves. Ohh!
Everything else was fine/not scary.
Now, the big question: how much?
Everything (consultation + cavity treatment and all that goes with it =) 280,000 Won ($254.62 USD / 208.77 Euros).
Oh, and that's without insurance.
It's great to be sick in this country--as long as it's not serious!
My teeth feel weird, but they said it would for a week. If they kept bothering me, then I could come back for them to fix it. Sounds fair enough.
Oh, I understood everything because the receptionist called her high school son__in Texas__ to interpret for us. Perfect English. I thought it was kinda cute, and reminded me of my mom depending on my interpretation skills. Let's say I could understand in a much deeper level.
Wow . . . it'll be 2015 in 2 days . . .
Brace yourselves . . .
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