Lately there has been lots of action in Gumi, so we have been hanging out here on weekends. Last weekend we enjoyed a roof top BBQ. We tried to go on a pubcrawl after the BBQ, but with a group of about 30 foreigners it was hard to find a place that would let us in. I guess we are intimidating. After a failed attempt at a bar in Indong we all made our way to good old Waegook. World Cup action has also continued in Korea, as they advanced to the 16 team round. Yesterday we went to buy some Korea gear for the game, but sadly Korea lost so they are now out.

There are a couple events coming up which I am excited for. Next weekend a group of girls are heading to Seoul for the weekend. Canada Day marks my official half way point, so I'm sure I will be celebrating. Time has gone by so fast, and I have a feeling the next 6 months will also fly by. Also I have booked a trip to Jeju Island finally. I am heading there mid July to soak up the sun and lay on the beach. In July my school will also be getting a new teacher which is exciting.

Apparently rain season has officially begun here, which is kind of a shame. The weather is nice and hot but you cant enjoy it in the rain. Also the rain makes the humidity insane. Although the rain makes for a great lazy Sunday in an air conditioned apartment! Since it is now rain season I will have lots of time for updates (KO was angry at my lack of updates) so stay tuned for pics and Korea stories.

The weather here has been hot. We have been having heat lightening almost every night for a week now. Since we live inland there is no breeze, just hot humid heat. I personally like the heat ...minus the smell of my kids and garbage on the streets. With the increase of heat comes the reminders about "fan death" or as they say "pan death." Koreans believe that if you are in a room with the windows and doors closed and a fan on that the fan will suck all the air and you will die. I have tried to reason with some of them about the theory behind this and how it makes no sense, but they tell me is "very dangerous" so now I just smile and nod.

So this week my kids have been very annoying. They are all shutting down and going into vacation mode, even though there is no "vacation" from academy. No matter how awful my kids are, there seems to be a funny moment every week. This week we were talking about adverbs in my writing class. So I explained an adverb describes how someone is doing something.

"He runs quickly" "She speaks slowly"

After writing 101 adverbs on the board, and going over many examples I gave them an assignment. I told each of them to write about a trip to Africa and talk about what they were going to do there and how they were going to do it. I reminded them that they had to use adverbs and they all got to work. After about 10 minutes of writing time some of my kids were finished. I knew this because I could hear the haunting "pinisheeee teacher" in that Korean accent and the common error of changing F for P. So I started to walk around reading and correcting some of the students work. I had some great stories about "playing in the sun peacefully", "riding elephants excitedly", and "swimming in the ocean quickly". Just as class was ending I get to a student who writes...

"I eat quickly" (not bad, in Africa you would have to eat at some point)
"I sleep quietly" (ok again not bad)
"I poop joyfully"

The last I found a little disturbing. I agree all of those things would probably happen while you were on a trip to Africa...but somethings are better left untold. Although the word of last week was constipated, so if the kid is "pooping joyfully" I guess that means things are working well.

So weather didn't cooperate with us for the weekend, so the island getaway has been post phoned. Although I love the beach and tanning, it was also nice to spend the weekend in Gumi and relax. World Cup fever is in full force here. I'm not a big soccer fan, and since Canada has no team in the World Cup it is not of great interest to me, but many people here are very excited about it. Friday we went to Waegook to watch the opening and South Africa game. Many people here are from South Africa, so having world cup in their country is a big deal for them. Similar to feelings of having the Olympics in Canada for me. Saturday we had a lovely girls day with a small group. We enjoyed haircuts, supper and Sex and the City 2. I was a bit nervous about getting my haircut here, but $12 for cut, wash and style I am happy. Saturday night was a big World Cup event for Korea, with their first game against Greece. Bars, pubs and restaurant were all packed with people watching the game, and after Korea won 2-0 the streets were filled with cheering fans.

Work is still going well. I have felt that communication has been weak lately between staff. I hope after letting the manager know that writing important messages in only Korean is of no help to Britt and I that it will improve. My kids are still as funny as ever. This week they were very confused as to why my head was so small. I guess westerners do have "smaller" heads/ less round face shapes, but I'm not sure why after 6 months they are only noticing it now? Also the new word of the week in public schools must of been "constipation" because many teachers this week had some great student stories about the word. I heard many of my kids this week asking each other if they were constipated. You also have the kids who just do';t understand the meaning of the words and use them in the wrong form. Sometimes I just let them entertain me instead of correcting them. Sooner of later they will learn.

This week is the end of another series so next Monday there will be shuffling of students, and some new kids to add to the mix. Summer vacation is coming soon for the kids here, so it will be interesting to see how many kids come to academy during summer break. I feel here they do not believe in breaks or vacation, and if their children have a chance to get ahead in education parents will push it. I suspect all my students will be at Moon Kkang all summer. You think the month of June is bad in school at home...try July and August in Korea. I can hear my students whining already.

Since Taiwan it has been fairly quite around here. Daegu has been the new weekend location. I have been to Daegu at least once a week for activities. For Bhudda's birthday we did a temple visit. Moon Kkang had a company soccer game followed by an amazing buffet lunch compliments of Mr. Moon. We also like to take advantage of Costco while in Daegu. Last weekend I went to Daegu with a group from Gumi for a Samsung Lions game and some Billabow. The weather is beautiful here, and summer is in full force. This weekend I am planning an island trip with some friends. Its a small island off the coast called Bijindo. Sun, sand, drinks, bbq and friends!
Work is going well, we are excited to get new teachers in July (one Korean and one foreign). That is all the news from this side. I thought I would just do a quick update, but keep posted for new pictures and island stories from the weekend.