Hey everyone. :)

So yesterday I went into work with my host mother, who works at the International Convention Center here, which is one of the most massive and elaborate buildings I have ever seen. She is the head pasty chef, and I got to play around with dough, weigh dough, cut 1000 bananas off of their stalks, mold dough, stuff dough with cream, fling dough at the other workers (heheh) and putting dough in the oven. I know that if this whole English teacher thing doesn't work out, I've got a baker's job all set up.

My favorite part (and you other ETAs will appreciate this) is when I got to stand out in the serving line during lunch and dinner. During lunch I was giving out supa (watermelon) and I was only supposed to give two pieces, but of course you'd get the old ladies who weren't satisfied with their watermelon and pointed out the one they wanted, or just reached their grubby little crinkled hands into the bucket and served themselves. Then you'd get the ones who'd come up with these big pleading eyes and and ask for three pieces instead, or like 15 pieces for their entire table. I was under strict orders to give only two pieces, but of course they didn't listen. They'd come in packs to intimidate me, the foreigner with next to no Korean skills mysteriously wearing a chef's hat. (Yeah, I got the whole thing - big hat, shirt and apron. Stylin. Pictures soon to come in the Flickr account (link to the right). But yeah, it was even worse with the bananas. I got really good at saying andeyo!! (stop it) and han-man (only one!) but of course they'd come with their toothy grins anyhow. We used to pester the ajjimas (Korean name for aunt, also implying a married woman over 35-40 or so) who worked at our dining hall in Orientation for more watermelon or spicy chicken or whatever (the best stuff was always guarded and dished out in portions). We'd make up these elaborate distract-and-grab plots. Now I know how they feel. ;) But really, it was a lot of fun ... and since they didn't understand English I could play around all I wanted.

AJJIMA: "Oh [five] Supa Chuseyo!" (this is her like third time to the watermelon patch)
ME: "Ohhhhoo! look at you! Back for more. Andeyo! You've had your fill."
AJJIMA: [unintelligible Korean gibberish}
ME: "Well, it's no use, you're just going to grab them anyway. Okay, I give up. It's fruit, it's good for you, eat up my friend."
AJJIMA: [toothy grin]

a word on tea: the convention center didn't serve any, but my host mother made some while we were doing food prep in the morning. score. i'm now officially a major iced tea fan.

Hye-Ran and Min-Young listen to the food cooking. mmmm .... spicy rice!!

Well. The Fulbright troupe has reached Seoul. Our stay in Chuncheon is over, and we're here in the world's third biggest city until Thursday. Apparently it's not a great idea to pack your suitcase (or in my case, backpacker's bag) well before you leave for someplace. Repacking it is a disaster. I should have taken a picture of this thing, it was this drooping, overstuffed monstrosity. Well at any rate, I'll be able to shift things around with my other suitcase, so all is well. Today Becky Rose and I went exploring Dungdaemun, one of Seoul's premier shopping districts. My school's dress code is "business professional" - the highest out of a possible "business casual" or "casual". I'm not sure if my all-Express wardrobe's gonna be legit enough. Sooo... I bought a suit! I'll try and get pictures up soon, but it's a almost-black suit with subtle pinstripes which was of course a black-market Seoul bargain. Got a professional looking briefcase, some gray trousers, and some more gifts (Korean ginseng tea!) for my homestay parents and principal (Korea is nuts on the gifts, which is kind of endearing).

Anyway, my apologies for being lax on the blog thus far. My stay in Chuncheon has been packed - literally every day is an adventure, and every experience is full of just ... Korea. It's hard to explain, there isn't just one thing I could write about that stood out from all the rest, it's more that everything I've experienced has been in the context of Korea, and that's what's made it so rich. That said, here's my top ten list of Chuncheon memories anyhow ;)

10. Theresa-shee, the ajjima (Korean word for aunt) that ran the convenience store under the dining hall. I don't know how, but she learned my name in the first week, and would always tell me the greatest things like how many mosquito bites she's gotten lately. Plus she spoke maybe 10 words of English. Lovable. :)
9. The green stairs on the side of our dorm. It's monsoon season, and they're ... what's the word ... shalacked? That sounds right. Yeah, I definitely hit my tailbone twice in one week in one of those banana-peel type falls.
8. Jackie's little skit about cold showers, stingy lunch ladies, and the bring-your-own-toilet-paper policy so popular in Korea. I've never really been an actor but ... I was in a talent show! The Fulbright ETAs hold one every year. This year one guy did that dance from the end of Napoleon Dynamite ... classic.
7. The over-eager English Club members at Kangwon National Uni. Without them, we'd still be wandering aimlessly around Chuncheon, wondering where the cool kids hang out.
6. Tak-al-bi (sauted chicken and veggies), bib-im-bap (egg and vegetable mix), patbingsu (fresh fruit, condensed milk, sweet beans and ice all mixed together), and MANDU (korean dumpings)
5. The fact that Koreans always feast when they drink. A night out will never again be complete without fruit baskets and squid pancakes at the pub.
4. Making up lame drinks like "kimchi on the beach" outside of FamilyMart.
3. The weekend spent hiking and visiting mountain temples at Songnisan. Hopefully I'll be visiting a lot more temples on Jeju!
2. Great new friends and too many laughs to count.
1. Okay this one's easy. In the convenience stores here they have this freshly made triangle of rice with spicy sauce inside, all wrapped up in seaweed. In other words, the best fast food ever conceived by man. :D

Well, I hope that gives you guys something of a cross-section of my time here so far. It's really hard to convey. We're off to the Demilitarized Zone tomorrow ... and I hear we get to step foot into North Korea! (but not if we're planning on keeping the foot) Haha, just kidding. They just take the toes. Take it easy guys, miss you all !!!