The Perpetual Question and Country Bumpkins

So when I observed my first class last week, I introduced myself and asked the middle school kids if they had any questions for me.

A cute-as-a-button-round-faced-bowl-cut-having little girl with glasses raised her hand, eagerly.

"Yes, Kelly?"

"Are you married?"

"-.-"

The teacher of the class then advised me that it is usually the first thing they ask. Sigh.

"No, I'm not married. Thanks for playing. Any other questions?"

A little boy directly in front of me raised his hand into the air. Suffice it to say, he was adorable and was also donning a bowl cut.

"Hello, teacher, I am Ben and I am 9 years old."

I wanted to hug him and squeeze him and call him George.

"Thank you for introducing yourself so nicely, Ben. What is your question?"

"How old are you?"

"-.-"

The teacher turned to me and advised that that was the second most asked question.

"I'm 37 years old, Ben, Thanks much."

"Teacher! Teacher!"

"Yes, Ben."

 "My mom is also 37 years old."

I still wanted to squeeze him...but to a different end.

After we got those pleasantries out of the way, class went about as usual and I enjoyed watching the teacher-student interaction and thinking about what I needed to do to also be an effective teacher. I'm looking forward to this formal week of orientation so I can become more familiar with the curriculum and teaching styles of the staff.

On another note, this past weekend, I spent some time with cousins from my mom's side of the family. One (a police officer, named Chang-gyoon, male,age 41) I hadn't seen since I was 4 and the other (named Joo-hyun, female, age 38) when I last came to Korea in 1991. Since then, Joo-hyun had gotten married and moved from the relatively large city of Daegu to the hilly, green countryside of Chungcheon province. Chang-gyoon oppah*picked me up in Seoul and we both blindly went out into the country with only his car's navigation system to guide us. Here's what we saw along the way:

Yeah, boonies.

But pretty boonies

Hmm, that doesn't sound quite right. Anyway....

We finally arrived at my cousin's super cute, charming home. It rested atop a small hill, just past this...

A mountain ginseng farm. Sheesh. (p.s. it's also known as golden sansam, for really reals - that one's for you, fellow world of warcraftians).

So, just up the way was their quaint cottage, complete with swinging gate. I LOVE the old school look of the home's interior, especially the rice paper doors!

Their home, seemed to me, a place people would pay to come and stay for awhile, like a pension or a tucked away bed and breakfast. It was peaceful and lovely.

Below, from left to right, is my cousin Joo-hyun, her hubby, and my other cousin, Chang-gyoon:

Joo-hyun wanted to take me out to a seafood feast so we drove almost an hour into the nearest town and horked down on this spread. I can't even tell you what all the dishes are cuz, frankly, I had no clue what some of them even were...(those I did not eat)...

Dinner was finished off with seriously spicy seafood soup:

My portion had a big chunk of fish in it and after I cleaned off the bones, it looked like I was eating Alien Facehugger soup:

Chang-gyoon and Joo-hyun's husband drank a few beers during dinner so they decided it was better that we stay the night. Unfortunately, my cousin and her hubby were not prepared for visitors (since they never really have any) so we pretty much slept on the wooden floor with no bed roll or real mat of any kind. I thought I was Korean enough to handle it but I found out I'm a huge Western wuss-ball and I could NOT sleep on the hardwood floor. No position was comfortable so I just tossed and turned all night and listened to the crickets play their song outside the window.

The next morning, after a kick-ass meal prepared by Joo-hyun, we set off for Seoul again where I picked up my luggage. Chang-gyoon then drove me down to Pyeongtake where I will be staying for the next year or so. If it wasn't for him, I don't know how I would have gotten all my crap down here. It would have been much more of a hassle, that's for certain. He wouldn't even let me pay for anything...not even gasoline. So stubborn! I know, I should talk...but that means I know stubborn when I see it :-) I sneaked some bills into his glove compartment when he wasn't looking, though! Muahahahaha!

Since then, Chang-gyoon has called me every night to make sure I was not lonely, hungry, or had been robbed or abducted. It's extremely protective but also very sweet. It's nice to know someone has your back when you're in a strange land.

Next up: Teaching my first class!!

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*"Oppah" is the word for "older brother" which can be used for your actual older male sibling, other family members who are male and slightly older than you, or an unrelated male if  you have a liking for them and want to be cutesy -- this only applies if you're a young female.