I had to get out of the apt! I spent all day lounging around yesterday, and I had to do something today! So, I met up with Lauren, who is back from Singapore, around 1:30PM. We met downtown.
Ok, I'm pathetic. I have lived in Wonju for....5 months...6 months, and I didn't know how to use the bus. Until now! I just never had the need to, but I thought it was about time. I was going to walk out to a bus stop across from my apt building, but if that didn't work, I was going to walk to one about 5 minutes away. I don't really understand the one across the street; it rarely has buses coming to and from it. While walking across the street, Brian jumped out and scared me to death. Brian is a Korean friend from the Wonju English Club. He told me that I needed to go to the one down the street and what numbers I could take. So, I got on one of the buses, and....well...just looked around until something seemed familiar. I finally heard jungang shichang and got off. Apparently there are TWO bus stops in the area and the roads are labeled ABC. I was on C and Lauren gets dropped off at A. BUT get this! I get dropped off at C, but get on at A. Lauren gets dropped off at A, but gets on at C. So strange. Well, Lauren came to rescue me since I wasn't familiar with that part of downtown. She figured out the bus system about a month ago and then she kind of took that time to scold me for not already knowing. We went to eat kalguksu and to catch up. We got into a little bit of an argument at one point in our conversation when I felt like she was judging me. That was undeniably frustrating! Luckily we quickly moved past it and continued on with a different direction of conversation.
We headed to a cafe that we have been to many times; Time and Space cafe near the old traditional style meeting area., Kangwan Kamyeon (sp?). We talked about about 6:00PM, and then I headed home for dinner.
The rest of the night was pretty relaxing!^^
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Close Call - Sunday Feb. 17, 2008
I almost ended up going with my host family to Seoul because I thought I had practice for the Vagina Monologues. Luckily I asked one of the other girls about practice times last night, and she informed me that practice had been canceled for today.
So, instead of heading to Seoul for V Mon practice, I did absolutely nothing all day. I stayed in bed, watched Scrubs (I finished all 6 seasons that my mom and sister sent me and have watched all of the episodes as far as I can for the 7th season considering the strike is still in place, so I'm starting over.), messed around online, tried to fill out the survey for Fulbright that we have to have in by Feb. 25th, and that's about it.
I also got to talk to a good friend of mine from high school, Josh, on Skype!!! That was pretty much wonderful! Oh, oh!! I also got to talk to my dad for an hour and a half on Skype. Skype is a magnificent invention! I adore it!
My host fam came home around 6:00PM, and I talked to them for a bit.
That was the extent of my day, and it was really nice!
So, instead of heading to Seoul for V Mon practice, I did absolutely nothing all day. I stayed in bed, watched Scrubs (I finished all 6 seasons that my mom and sister sent me and have watched all of the episodes as far as I can for the 7th season considering the strike is still in place, so I'm starting over.), messed around online, tried to fill out the survey for Fulbright that we have to have in by Feb. 25th, and that's about it.
I also got to talk to a good friend of mine from high school, Josh, on Skype!!! That was pretty much wonderful! Oh, oh!! I also got to talk to my dad for an hour and a half on Skype. Skype is a magnificent invention! I adore it!
My host fam came home around 6:00PM, and I talked to them for a bit.
That was the extent of my day, and it was really nice!
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Makkoli Migraine - Saturday Feb. 16, 2008
So my new routine is go to sleep late and wake up late. This is going to be an impossible schedule to maintain when school starts. Anyway, I got up around noon and walked to Lotte Cinema to meet up with Julie and her fiance. Julie wasn't exactly feeling the greatest which didn't surprise me at all; makkoli headaches are some of the worst headaches EVER! I don't know what it is about them that destroys your head for the entire next day after drinking too much makkoli, but it is one heck of a horrible feeling.
Julie's fiance and her have only been seeing each other for a few months, so I was quite surprised that she not only met a guy but that they are also already engaged. He is a really nice guy though. We went to Cafe Novelino to have coffee, and he and I talked with our minimal knowledge of each others' languages while Julie left to throw up. Poor girl. His name is...Hyung Gu, I think. He is 35 years old, he is a manager at a company where they make fire hoses, he likes in-line skating, and he wants to travel to Australia and New Zealand someday. He was shy; he was nervous to meet me. After coffee, we went to see a movie together, Spiderwick Chronicles. If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it. I really liked it; it is fantastical in nature.
After the movie, we were going to go to dinner, but Julie had to go home; she just really did not feel very good. So, I ate dinner with my host family right before a friend of my host father's from high school came over with his wife and two sons. Their sons were 10 and 12; my host sibs are 11 and 12 so it worked out well. My host fam's friends were really nice; I hung out with all of them for a while toward the end of the night. We didn't go to bed until almost 1:00AM; the family spent the night.
Julie's fiance and her have only been seeing each other for a few months, so I was quite surprised that she not only met a guy but that they are also already engaged. He is a really nice guy though. We went to Cafe Novelino to have coffee, and he and I talked with our minimal knowledge of each others' languages while Julie left to throw up. Poor girl. His name is...Hyung Gu, I think. He is 35 years old, he is a manager at a company where they make fire hoses, he likes in-line skating, and he wants to travel to Australia and New Zealand someday. He was shy; he was nervous to meet me. After coffee, we went to see a movie together, Spiderwick Chronicles. If you haven't seen it, I definitely recommend it. I really liked it; it is fantastical in nature.
After the movie, we were going to go to dinner, but Julie had to go home; she just really did not feel very good. So, I ate dinner with my host family right before a friend of my host father's from high school came over with his wife and two sons. Their sons were 10 and 12; my host sibs are 11 and 12 so it worked out well. My host fam's friends were really nice; I hung out with all of them for a while toward the end of the night. We didn't go to bed until almost 1:00AM; the family spent the night.
Saturday, February 16, 2008
Oh, Korea.... - Friday Feb. 15, 2008
So, I have spent two days back at school because of the random way that the Korean school system is set up. They have a winter break starting in late December, the come back for ONE WEEK in February to wrap things up and to have the graduation ceremony. Question to my host mom: What do they do during this week of school? Host mom: Play. Ok...
I got to spend time with the first grade teachers which was really nice! I am really lucky to have had such a great group of teachers supporting me throughout the first semester! Plus, I feel so incredibly comfortable with them and consider them friends (as much as you can consider an elder person in Korea a "friend).
I also caught up with my co-teacher a bit as she is leaving the school in less than a week.
I'm afraid this might turn into a bit of a rant, but I have had a lot of frustrating experiences with the Korean school system in the last few days.
I might have mentioned this earlier, but in Korea, teachers have to rotate from suburban to rural schools every 4 years in Wonju. This concept is not only in Wonju, but the amount of time ranges from school district to school district. So, I knew from a while back that I was going to lose my co-teacher for this next semester. I slowly learned that there are two first grade teachers moving, the kindergarten teacher is moving, and Hae Yeon, the English teacher who shares my room, is moving. There are a lot more teachers included in the move, but these are the ones that I know well. I also slowly learned that these teachers who are moving find out where they will be placed a whole two weeks before the next school year starts.
Yesterday, I was randomly talking to the first grade teacher, 1-5 teacher, I am the closest to, the one that I went to the basketball games and the sharing house with. She asked me if I had heard that I might be changing grades. Whaaaat....?! Apparently, my co-teacher mentioned yesterday that the principal wass thinking about having me teach sixth grade this semester. Uh...school starts in two weeks...this is something that I would like to know as soon as possible. So, I call my co-teacher, and she comes to talk to me in the first grade office with all of the other first grade teachers in there. She confirms that the principal has in fact been thinking about this for TWO MONTHS! Ok...this is the point where I started to get a little irked. I teach first and second grade...hmmm....sixth grade! There's not much of an enormous difference there! *Let me explain something really quick: The program that I'm specifically working on (not talking about Fulbright) for this school is whether English teaching should be incorporated into the first and second grade curriculum. I'm a part of test piloting this program.* So, my co-teacher explained that because the first and second grade program would be done in August '08, and we won't be sure whether or not the program will have been a success or a failure at that exact point, the principal wants me to teach sixth grade, "Where I can be more effective." Also, it has to do with money. The first and second grade students have to apparently pay for me. (No, I did not realize this until yesterday.) So, march is the beginning of their school year. Because Fulbright is whacky and brings us in for a year instead of a school year, I will have the first and second grade students this semester and if I don't return for next year, a different Fulbrighter would have them for next semester. BUT...if there is a different Fulbrighter next year, the school wants him/her to teach sixth grade. So, basically that would mean that the first and second graders would only get one semester of English and the sixth graders would only get one semester of English. Also, once again because Fulbright is whacky, students already go through the second semester with a different English teacher than the first semester. I have absolutely no way to explain this; it does not make sense to me. I can somewhat understand for high school students getting the chance to experience the teaching styles of two different native English speakers, but that reason doesn't fly with little ones. Younger students thrive on stability and routine. So, I'm not sure if I lost you in that explanation, but this is what I was dealing with yesterday.
In addition, I also discovered that the teachers of my school (and probably most school systems in Korea) find out a matter of days before they start teaching the new school year exactly what grade they are going to teach. How in the HELL does that leave any time for planning and preparation? I was in shock! I am also saddened to hear that I may have an entirely new group of cohorts next school year. So not only do teachers who are MOVING schools find out two weeks before they are to move to an entirely new school, but the teachers remaining in the school receive a week at most to prepare to possibly teach a different grade than last school year. The only thing that calmed me in the slightest is to know that these teachers at least expect this sort of result due to previously experiencing it. I, however, am not used to it and was not pleased to find out that they were going to change the grade I am to be teaching possibly a week before I start teaching. If 1-5 teacher hadn't said anything to me, who knows when I could have found out about this.
Today, I heard from my co-teacher who promised to talk to the principal in order to determine whether I was indeed changing grades or not. Apparently the principal is going to allow me to remain with the first and second grade students. However, this I fear is partially based on the fact that I casually mentioned that I was thinking about extending my Fulbright grant for a second year. Thinking about is very far from a definite decision.
I talked to my host mom about it before the decision was made; she was very excited at the prospect of me teaching sixth grade this school year because my host brother will be in sixth grade. I explained that I wasn't very excited about the change. She told me after the decision that if she were the principal, she would have put me with the sixth grade. Many Koreans think it is more effective to teach the upper grades than it is to teach the lower grades. It is scientifically proven that the best time to learn a language is as early as possible. The best time to begin learning a second language is at the same time as learning the first. After that, it is best to begin learning before the age of 12 (this age varies a bit depending on the researcher). After the age of 12, it is difficult to master the native accent. In general, the earlier the better. I do feel like I can be an effective teacher within the first and second grade. I do wish, however, that I could teach in a manner that I feel is more appropriate in learning a second language. Some Fulbrighters see their students as often as 5 times a week, while I see mine only once a week for 40 minutes. I also manage 40 students at the same time which makes small group work quite difficult. I am hoping to think of some new and more effective ways this semester of breaking down the large class into smaller groups to further work with pronunciation.
Anyway...that was my day yesterday. Throughout it, I tried to remain calm and flexible. For the most part I maintained the calm, but I did find myself incredibly frustrated with these certain aspects of the school system.
At night, I went to my Wonju English meeting, which to my surprise lacked many of the recognizable faces. We discussed hobbies; what are our hobbies, what do we do when we are stressed, what hobbies we would like to take up, etc. After the meeting, we went to our usual Makkoli hangout. Julie met up with us just before we went. I talked with Julie quite a bit because it was the first time I had seen her since I got back from Japan. I also talked to Brian (it sounds strange...but he is a guy who asked me to give him an English name...I chose Brian). His English is very little as is my Korean quite little....so we communicated the best we could. He's a really nice guy. I talked to Chan who I absolutely adore!! He is the founder of the English club. As I was talking to Chally about politics in Myanmar, I realized that Julie was no longer incredibly sober. Actually she was quite the opposite. I decided that it was time to take her home around 1:00AM. Chally also was suggesting that I take her home. Brian lives in the apartment complex across the street from me, so he and I take a taxi home together. Julie lives just down the road in another complex, so Brian helped me take her home. We literally almost had to carry her upstairs. I'm glad Brian was there. Julie was acting really strange and saying really random things. Sidenote: It's not an incredibly acceptable concept for women to be drunk in public in Korea. Anyway, Brian got out of the taxi at my apartment complex and walked home. I think he figured we had put the poor taxi drive through enough with having to wait for us while we hauled Julie upstairs to her apt.
All in all...pretty up and down day.
I got to spend time with the first grade teachers which was really nice! I am really lucky to have had such a great group of teachers supporting me throughout the first semester! Plus, I feel so incredibly comfortable with them and consider them friends (as much as you can consider an elder person in Korea a "friend).
I also caught up with my co-teacher a bit as she is leaving the school in less than a week.
I'm afraid this might turn into a bit of a rant, but I have had a lot of frustrating experiences with the Korean school system in the last few days.
I might have mentioned this earlier, but in Korea, teachers have to rotate from suburban to rural schools every 4 years in Wonju. This concept is not only in Wonju, but the amount of time ranges from school district to school district. So, I knew from a while back that I was going to lose my co-teacher for this next semester. I slowly learned that there are two first grade teachers moving, the kindergarten teacher is moving, and Hae Yeon, the English teacher who shares my room, is moving. There are a lot more teachers included in the move, but these are the ones that I know well. I also slowly learned that these teachers who are moving find out where they will be placed a whole two weeks before the next school year starts.
Yesterday, I was randomly talking to the first grade teacher, 1-5 teacher, I am the closest to, the one that I went to the basketball games and the sharing house with. She asked me if I had heard that I might be changing grades. Whaaaat....?! Apparently, my co-teacher mentioned yesterday that the principal wass thinking about having me teach sixth grade this semester. Uh...school starts in two weeks...this is something that I would like to know as soon as possible. So, I call my co-teacher, and she comes to talk to me in the first grade office with all of the other first grade teachers in there. She confirms that the principal has in fact been thinking about this for TWO MONTHS! Ok...this is the point where I started to get a little irked. I teach first and second grade...hmmm....sixth grade! There's not much of an enormous difference there! *Let me explain something really quick: The program that I'm specifically working on (not talking about Fulbright) for this school is whether English teaching should be incorporated into the first and second grade curriculum. I'm a part of test piloting this program.* So, my co-teacher explained that because the first and second grade program would be done in August '08, and we won't be sure whether or not the program will have been a success or a failure at that exact point, the principal wants me to teach sixth grade, "Where I can be more effective." Also, it has to do with money. The first and second grade students have to apparently pay for me. (No, I did not realize this until yesterday.) So, march is the beginning of their school year. Because Fulbright is whacky and brings us in for a year instead of a school year, I will have the first and second grade students this semester and if I don't return for next year, a different Fulbrighter would have them for next semester. BUT...if there is a different Fulbrighter next year, the school wants him/her to teach sixth grade. So, basically that would mean that the first and second graders would only get one semester of English and the sixth graders would only get one semester of English. Also, once again because Fulbright is whacky, students already go through the second semester with a different English teacher than the first semester. I have absolutely no way to explain this; it does not make sense to me. I can somewhat understand for high school students getting the chance to experience the teaching styles of two different native English speakers, but that reason doesn't fly with little ones. Younger students thrive on stability and routine. So, I'm not sure if I lost you in that explanation, but this is what I was dealing with yesterday.
In addition, I also discovered that the teachers of my school (and probably most school systems in Korea) find out a matter of days before they start teaching the new school year exactly what grade they are going to teach. How in the HELL does that leave any time for planning and preparation? I was in shock! I am also saddened to hear that I may have an entirely new group of cohorts next school year. So not only do teachers who are MOVING schools find out two weeks before they are to move to an entirely new school, but the teachers remaining in the school receive a week at most to prepare to possibly teach a different grade than last school year. The only thing that calmed me in the slightest is to know that these teachers at least expect this sort of result due to previously experiencing it. I, however, am not used to it and was not pleased to find out that they were going to change the grade I am to be teaching possibly a week before I start teaching. If 1-5 teacher hadn't said anything to me, who knows when I could have found out about this.
Today, I heard from my co-teacher who promised to talk to the principal in order to determine whether I was indeed changing grades or not. Apparently the principal is going to allow me to remain with the first and second grade students. However, this I fear is partially based on the fact that I casually mentioned that I was thinking about extending my Fulbright grant for a second year. Thinking about is very far from a definite decision.
I talked to my host mom about it before the decision was made; she was very excited at the prospect of me teaching sixth grade this school year because my host brother will be in sixth grade. I explained that I wasn't very excited about the change. She told me after the decision that if she were the principal, she would have put me with the sixth grade. Many Koreans think it is more effective to teach the upper grades than it is to teach the lower grades. It is scientifically proven that the best time to learn a language is as early as possible. The best time to begin learning a second language is at the same time as learning the first. After that, it is best to begin learning before the age of 12 (this age varies a bit depending on the researcher). After the age of 12, it is difficult to master the native accent. In general, the earlier the better. I do feel like I can be an effective teacher within the first and second grade. I do wish, however, that I could teach in a manner that I feel is more appropriate in learning a second language. Some Fulbrighters see their students as often as 5 times a week, while I see mine only once a week for 40 minutes. I also manage 40 students at the same time which makes small group work quite difficult. I am hoping to think of some new and more effective ways this semester of breaking down the large class into smaller groups to further work with pronunciation.
Anyway...that was my day yesterday. Throughout it, I tried to remain calm and flexible. For the most part I maintained the calm, but I did find myself incredibly frustrated with these certain aspects of the school system.
At night, I went to my Wonju English meeting, which to my surprise lacked many of the recognizable faces. We discussed hobbies; what are our hobbies, what do we do when we are stressed, what hobbies we would like to take up, etc. After the meeting, we went to our usual Makkoli hangout. Julie met up with us just before we went. I talked with Julie quite a bit because it was the first time I had seen her since I got back from Japan. I also talked to Brian (it sounds strange...but he is a guy who asked me to give him an English name...I chose Brian). His English is very little as is my Korean quite little....so we communicated the best we could. He's a really nice guy. I talked to Chan who I absolutely adore!! He is the founder of the English club. As I was talking to Chally about politics in Myanmar, I realized that Julie was no longer incredibly sober. Actually she was quite the opposite. I decided that it was time to take her home around 1:00AM. Chally also was suggesting that I take her home. Brian lives in the apartment complex across the street from me, so he and I take a taxi home together. Julie lives just down the road in another complex, so Brian helped me take her home. We literally almost had to carry her upstairs. I'm glad Brian was there. Julie was acting really strange and saying really random things. Sidenote: It's not an incredibly acceptable concept for women to be drunk in public in Korea. Anyway, Brian got out of the taxi at my apartment complex and walked home. I think he figured we had put the poor taxi drive through enough with having to wait for us while we hauled Julie upstairs to her apt.
All in all...pretty up and down day.
Back Home Again - Random Travel Update
I'm back in Korea again. I returned from Japan about three days ago. Since returning, I have been pretty busy but still manage to sleep until noon everyday. I'm not sure what the deal is; in Japan I slept a TON, and now back in Korea I am as well. I'm simply going to assume that I am exhausted from the nearly constant travel over the past month.
Japan was amazing! I cannot begin to express how much it meant to me that I was able to visit with my host family as they allowed me stay with them for a week! I love them so much! My host sister is 15!!! She starts high school in two months! It is so hard to believe! Mama and Papa are doing just fine. I also got to see one of my good friends, Steven, from when I studied abroad. It was like we were never apart. I believe he described it as, "We make a good comedy act together." We really do! We are constantly playing off what each other is saying and I usually can't stop laughing when we are together. He met my host family the first night I got there; they invited him over. His Japanese is quite incredible considering he is currently studying AGAIN in Japan. My host parents loved him, so he was invited to a few other family dinners.
I arrived on Monday and had dinner with Steven and my host family.
On Tuesday, I went with Steven and his Japanese friend (Enda) to the Sapporo Snow Festival. It was pretty extraordinary; I couldn't believe how large some of the snow sculptures were. They were quite impressive. The three of us ate dinner together at a tiny place; I forgot how expensive Japan is! It was $10/person for three beers and enough food to act as an appetizer rather than a dinner. I think I am too used to Korean prices.^^
On Wednesday, we went to visit Master at his Sushi restaurant. Mama and Papa were happy to take me again, and I was happy to go. I walked through the door and just kind of looked at Master until he realized who I was. It was so great to see him again! Seriously, this man is amazing! We had tons of sashimi and tempura; it was delicious! Steven and I spent the whole time talking; it was nice to catch up with him. It literally has been 3 years since we have seen each other; it's funny that we met back up in Japan rather than in the states.
Thursday, I went to karaoke with Steven. Blast from the past; we used to go to karaoke with our group of friends often when we were students at Hokusei.
Friday, I went to my host sister's skiing practice. She is on a ski team; she has been skiing for a good portion of her life (not entirely sure how long).
Saturday and Sunday, Mama, Papa, Papa's friend (Pyonchon) and I went to Monbetsu in norther Hokaido. It was so nice of them to take me! I think that Papa and his friend were going to go ice SCUBA Diving, but the ice turned out to be too thick. Mama, Pyonchon, and I did everything together while Papa slept in the car. We slid down ice slides, went to an ice museum where we experienced a -20 degrees C room, and went on a boat at sunset that was able to break through the massive amount of ice. The whole trip to Monbetsu was a really good experience and I was lucky to share it with my host family. My host sister couldn't go though because she had ski camp/practice.
Monday, we came home from Monbetsu and I got to meet up with one of my good Japanese friends!!! We went to see the ice sculptures near Susukino and just sat and had coffee afterward to talk and catch up. I only got to see her for about 3 hours because she had to head back to the city she lives in now. Then Steven and I met up to head to my house for dinner. My host parents were throwing a dinner party for my last night there. Mama made all of my favorite foods! Steven only stayed for about an hour and a half because he had an appointment with one of his Japanese friends. Jason, my BCA director from way back when, got back from the states late and managed to come to the party. Jason came over to my house a few times when I was a student to eat dinner with the family, so my host family likes him. He literally got in and took a bus straight to our house. It was good to see him; we caught up a bit. He told me that he didn't expect me to be in Korea but off in some developing country somewhere. Ha! Maybe some day, Jason. I'm pretty content doing the Fulbright thing currently.
I was a bit surprised at how much I felt like I was back home when I went to Japan. It also made me start thinking about what I'm going to do after this year of Fulbright. I'm pretty confused all around, but I'm sure I'll have a better idea when the time comes to make a decision...at least that's what I'm going to tell myself for now. ;)
Japan was amazing! I cannot begin to express how much it meant to me that I was able to visit with my host family as they allowed me stay with them for a week! I love them so much! My host sister is 15!!! She starts high school in two months! It is so hard to believe! Mama and Papa are doing just fine. I also got to see one of my good friends, Steven, from when I studied abroad. It was like we were never apart. I believe he described it as, "We make a good comedy act together." We really do! We are constantly playing off what each other is saying and I usually can't stop laughing when we are together. He met my host family the first night I got there; they invited him over. His Japanese is quite incredible considering he is currently studying AGAIN in Japan. My host parents loved him, so he was invited to a few other family dinners.
I arrived on Monday and had dinner with Steven and my host family.
On Tuesday, I went with Steven and his Japanese friend (Enda) to the Sapporo Snow Festival. It was pretty extraordinary; I couldn't believe how large some of the snow sculptures were. They were quite impressive. The three of us ate dinner together at a tiny place; I forgot how expensive Japan is! It was $10/person for three beers and enough food to act as an appetizer rather than a dinner. I think I am too used to Korean prices.^^
On Wednesday, we went to visit Master at his Sushi restaurant. Mama and Papa were happy to take me again, and I was happy to go. I walked through the door and just kind of looked at Master until he realized who I was. It was so great to see him again! Seriously, this man is amazing! We had tons of sashimi and tempura; it was delicious! Steven and I spent the whole time talking; it was nice to catch up with him. It literally has been 3 years since we have seen each other; it's funny that we met back up in Japan rather than in the states.
Thursday, I went to karaoke with Steven. Blast from the past; we used to go to karaoke with our group of friends often when we were students at Hokusei.
Friday, I went to my host sister's skiing practice. She is on a ski team; she has been skiing for a good portion of her life (not entirely sure how long).
Saturday and Sunday, Mama, Papa, Papa's friend (Pyonchon) and I went to Monbetsu in norther Hokaido. It was so nice of them to take me! I think that Papa and his friend were going to go ice SCUBA Diving, but the ice turned out to be too thick. Mama, Pyonchon, and I did everything together while Papa slept in the car. We slid down ice slides, went to an ice museum where we experienced a -20 degrees C room, and went on a boat at sunset that was able to break through the massive amount of ice. The whole trip to Monbetsu was a really good experience and I was lucky to share it with my host family. My host sister couldn't go though because she had ski camp/practice.
Monday, we came home from Monbetsu and I got to meet up with one of my good Japanese friends!!! We went to see the ice sculptures near Susukino and just sat and had coffee afterward to talk and catch up. I only got to see her for about 3 hours because she had to head back to the city she lives in now. Then Steven and I met up to head to my house for dinner. My host parents were throwing a dinner party for my last night there. Mama made all of my favorite foods! Steven only stayed for about an hour and a half because he had an appointment with one of his Japanese friends. Jason, my BCA director from way back when, got back from the states late and managed to come to the party. Jason came over to my house a few times when I was a student to eat dinner with the family, so my host family likes him. He literally got in and took a bus straight to our house. It was good to see him; we caught up a bit. He told me that he didn't expect me to be in Korea but off in some developing country somewhere. Ha! Maybe some day, Jason. I'm pretty content doing the Fulbright thing currently.
I was a bit surprised at how much I felt like I was back home when I went to Japan. It also made me start thinking about what I'm going to do after this year of Fulbright. I'm pretty confused all around, but I'm sure I'll have a better idea when the time comes to make a decision...at least that's what I'm going to tell myself for now. ;)
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