One year ago today, a simple facebook status update from a random person online piqued my interest. A few harmless messages later and the rest is history. Thank you for being so mysterious that day.

All of this in just one year. Curious as to what 2010 will bring. 자기야 고마워

How has it been almost four months and no visit to the 목욕탕 (public bath) until today? I mean of course I've been before but this time around in Korea, tonight was the first since coming to Korea this year. What can I say? 5 000원 (less than five bucks) later I'm twice as relaxed and feeling like a million bucks. There's a very nice 24-hour sauna near my neighborhood that is not too small that it's low quality and not too big that it's jam-packed. Just right. Giggity.

On that note, I leave you with Zach Galifianakis and his awkward comedy short series Between Two Ferns. NSFW.
My favorites? Natalie Portman and Bradley Cooper.

Just a squirrel, right? But finding a big enough nut is another thing. I have a mounting debt that is threatening my life in Korea. I'm officially mad at the world.

I have 5 Stafford loans and 11 Private loans. I won't go into strict detail as the amounts but suffice it to say that I owe close to 60k USD. Ouch. SO, the topic of today's post? Loan Forgiveness - a great starting point. Go there and come back.

Teaching seems to be a great way to pay back a lot of this debt. It also happens to be what I went to school for in the first place. Here's an overview of what a public school teacher's options are. So, if I end up teaching in the states, if it's in a low socio-eco school, 5,000 of my loan can be repaid if I work full-time for five years. Not bad. Here's a search engine of qualifying schools. Here's the standard form. Even more surprising is if I worked at a similar childcare center, the entire amount could be forgiven. including private loans. proof. woah. Keep in mind that almost all programs only forgive federal Stafford loans. Some affiliations such as Americorps only forgive federal loans from certain universities - and Texas has 0 participating universities. Peace Corps only freezes the loan and erases only a portion of Perkins loans - which I have none.

Government jobs are starting to look more promising than just a local teaching job back in Texas. Why? 10k a year for up to 60k. In that case, what about a DOD job? A one year contract is possible in Korea. There are other government jobs search engine. Here's another one for similar government jobs. Lastly. there's always this option: what about a civilian position for the Army? Okay, really lastly is this. United States Army. Three years active duty or six years reserve. Still not sure even if my loans would qualify.

Anyways, it's a lot to think about. Most likely, a big change will occur in August of 2011 but until then, I have a lot thinking and planning to do.

Migration complete! Now this livejournal location will serve as only a personal blog. All Korean language notes (such as translations and grammar) will be at Korean Self Study Isn't Lame and all Korean history related stuff (such as book reviews and insights) will be at Too Poor For Grad School. As always, korean culture will be at KC101.

In addition, I've gone through and deleted some older livejournal posts here. Nothing too drastic. I wanted to update the links so that the information is available only where it needs to be and nowhere else. I'll leave the links where they were but with a redirected link in the body of the post. That way if anything has been linked, it'll find its way to the content at the new blog(s).

Anyways, everything isn't perfect yet - there's still some dead links and some strange redirects from an anonymous proxy (ghost links from my proxy server at work) but it'll all be fixed in due time.

Should I break up? I mean things are going in so many crazy directions...isn't it just for the better that I split up now? How can this last much longer?

Oh, I'm talking about the blog by the way. Sorry for the scare.

I write a korean culture blog for KoreanClass101. Most everyone knows this. I write a personal blog here at livejournal. You know this because you're reading it now. I keep a study website at google pages. I even had a decent selection of modern Korean movies that I reviewed originally at hanlingo. What's the point of it all?

I write for many reasons but notoriety is not one of them. Of course I like it when people read my posts and find them interesting. Of course I like to keep my parents in the loop via this blog. Of course I like to study korean and blog about it. But there's just not much focus going on.

Is that such a bad thing? Again, I'm not trying to get up on the searches on Google. Truth be told, I don't even know how to check my blog (or anyone else's blog)'s popularity or site traffic. truth be told, at this point I don't care. If someone finds my writings helpful so be it but no offense, I wasn't writing for you in the first place. But then again, I'm not completely writing for myself. If so, I would just open up a blank word file on Word and would go to town. But something about posting it online has a certain flavor to it that is a bit more charming.

So what should I do about it? get on twitter and therefore make these long personal posts irrelevant? no good. the 'rents don't tweet and I don't either. No offense to all you mother-tweeters out there.

Should I pull my blog off KC101 and just host it privately? Well, I like writing something for the benefit of others. I try to write those articles to help out people who have no prior knowledge on the subject get their feet wet into Korean culture - much like other writers did before me. Perhaps in the future when my well runs dry I'll part ways but until then, there's no harm in keeping up the reader base right there at KC101. Of course things aren't perfect at the blog but they've been good to me and I'd like to continue to return the favor.

Should I scrap livejournal and start fresh from another source? Well, that leads to link rot which I hate. Plus if I stop posting regularly, I'm sure that after an extended period of inactivity (1-2-3 years?) the blog archive would be deleted.

I've started translating Korean books but I'd like to do more. Perhaps it deserves its own blog? Hmmm. For that matter, I want to start writing about what I learn while reading Korean history books. When I found this blog, I about giggled out loud. How freaking cool is this??! So inspiring...

Anyways here's what I'm thinking about doing:

So, as previously mentioned, I'm a big wuss and can't hack it for night classes I'm not taking evening classes this coming semester. I will wait until the March (Spring) semester and take classes from Mar-Apr-May. So that leaves three months of spare time. I was going to class Mon-Wed-Fri each week. So what will I do with that time now?

Knowing me, I'm not content with just sitting around, watching movies/TV, and partying. I'm a man on a mission and my mission is to get real fluent real fast. But as some of you may know, I have other goals, too.

Enter the winter '09 self-imposed schedule:

I'm pretty dedicated to setting goals and meeting them. I hope this self-imposed schedule stays challenging enough to keep me interested and flexible enough to change if needed. All in all, I want the following three months to be productive. I'm pretty good at self-studying so I expect things to go well. The only real difference is that Dec-Jan-Feb will be easier due to a shortened work schedule (due to the Winter English camp - probably 9am-1pm) and instead of only studying Korean language (like I am now) I'll be studying language, music, pop songs, and books.

Till then!

Payday my friend. Always a good thing.

Weekend has a few things in store for your boy. First, after night class tonight (Friday) I will go home. Nothing special but that's what I need today. No crazy party stories coming from third bird. No sir. Next week? That might be a different story. Our Ewha class has a late night "studying" session planned after class.

Saturday has Saemi attending a seminar in the morning and me meeting her in the late afternoon in 신촌. Afterwards, we might do some light shopping to lighten my payday check a little (after of course the automatic savings deposit, of course).

Sunday is a double feature. I have plans to attend an English-language Mass. My first. In any country. Nervous? Terrified...I hope I don't spontaneously burst into flames upon my arrival.

After the soul cleansing, the four friends, or F4 as we are known (not that F4) are planning on going to LotteWorld. Surely the gf and I plus 정민 & 지인 will leave an impression. I can't wait. I've only been once before and I was too tired to do anything.

Other than that, it'll be a normal work week after that. Next weekend will likely be nice and light but this weekend? Lots of pictures. Count on it.

I meant to write about this a few weeks ago but found myself working a "double shift" at work so I didn't have time. But now that I have experienced it again, opportunity knocks!

Yesterday was a bad day. It was rotten. It was no good. Plus, it was a Monday. But before I get into the nitty gritty I must ask myself: Do I deserve to complain about my day?

Seriously. What is a bad day? Is it missing the bus? Getting a flat tire? Waking up late? Having a stomach ache? Working with an unprofessional coworker? Making a mistake at work? Getting yelled at by your boss? Stubbing your toe? Having stress? Getting mad?

Like telling your friend about a scary dream you had last night, explaining a bad day is never as bad it is seems in words - it's always worse in person and weaken when you explain it. Sometimes, telling about a bad day seems like a whine feast with plenty of cheese to go around. "No but really! It was terrible~ you should have been there"

Yeah. but what about someone who had a really bad day. Like, a really bad day. Like someone who can't afford health care coverage for a life-threatening illness. Someone who accidentally caught a disease by no fault of their own. Someone who lost a family member in a car accident. Someone who had a miscarriage. Someone who woke up to gun shots and bomb blasts.

These are truly awful in every sense of the word. They are terrible experiences that scar and change us forever. Yet they happen every day. These are dramatized frequently and even contemplated often but the truth is that these atrocities happen every day to real people. Does it have to happen in America for someone to care? Even if it happens, do we think about it more than a few seconds?

Look, I'm not trying to be a downer. I'm not trying to complain about American ethnocentrism. I'm not even complaining about media coverage. I'm just trying to say that given the proper setting, a certain bad day may not be as bad as it seems.

Take me for example. This time last year, I had "Korea" stuck in my head. I woke up and fell asleep with one goal on my mind. I prepared as best as I could and lived each day in hopes that I could one day move to Korea. Okay. I'm here now.

I also, like other people my age (and slightly older) was looking for companionship. I was looking for one person that really gets me and challenges me. I was looking for that spark. Okay. Found it.

The fact is that I have a job, a home, a family that loves me and a promising career ahead of me. I'm a college graduate with aspirations for graduate school and the will to make it happen.

So, do I have any real room to complain? Am I sick right now? No. am I cancer stricken? No. I have a healthy body and a happy life that makes me think more than twice about the existence of God. My life is fufilling and the future looks bright.

But what if I really did have a bad day? Isn't everyone entitled to judge whether their day was bad or not? Should we compare our daily lives to those of war-torn countries and bottom-of-the-barrel hospital patients? Is it fair? Is it applicable? Aren't their lives just as valuable as mine? What makes me think that a frustrating situation at work even remotely deserves the same title as someone  who woke up under a bridge?

A bad day? It could always be worse.

Tonight I have a test. I'm terribly worried about it because I've shown up to each class, paid attention, done my homework, participated in class and have taken it seriously. However, it makes me think about what it means to be in the middle of the class.

This semester has certainly been different than the three week intensive courses I've taken before. The class I take now are MWF 7-9pm and although it doesn't seem like much, each class floors me with just how much I don't know about the language.

Also, after working from 8:40-4:40pm, the last thing on my mind is commuting 45 minutes away just to sit in class for two hours and commute back 45 minutes again. I try to put it in perspective: if I were back in Texas, it would be like living in Belton or Nolanville and taking night classes in Austin. Lame. Hey, at least here I get to read and do homework on the bus ride over and back. Better than driving for 45 minutes straight. Have I mentioned how I not miss driving?

Anyways, it makes me think about how I'm in the middle of this class and how much I've learned so far. It's always tempting to look at myself and say "wow. I really can't speak Korean at all" but I must be fair with myself, this is only the third formal class I've ever taken. Plus, at least I'm doing what I should be doing about it - taking more classes and studying more.

Speaking of which, Ewha has posted the new semester times and it looks like I'll be taking classes in March.
First day: Wednesday - March 10
Last day: Wednesday - May 19

Why not take classes in December? That's the next available semester.... so why wait till March? I'll tell you why.

These classes (although insanely important) are draining me. From working full time and having just enough time to eat a light meal, change clothes, and brush my teeth - I have to leave immediately after work to get to night class on time. Then, I have just enough time to catch a light night bus home and collapse in my apartment when I get home (usually around 10pm). Repeat three times weekly.

그래서, I need a small break. I need some time to process all the stuff I learned. I need time to rewrite all my notes, rewrite all assignments, ingrain the new vocab, etc. I need time still to go through and complete the parts of the level one textbook that I didn't do. I need time to go to LanguageCast and practice what I've learned. I need to study independently. I need time to read my books. I need time for 새미. I need time for myself.

I just need time to breathe. I'm exhausted and ready to take it easy. Five weeks from now.

On a unrelated note, here's some important dates regarding work:

So what did you do for Chuseok? Did you go without cell phone and internet service? Did you start to wonder what hot water even felt like? Did you sweat bullets? Did you wear shoes two sizes two small? Did you wear a suit? Did you move rocks and dirt from one place to another? Did you fix and paint an outhouse? Did you stay way past your bedtime? Did you caught a cold? Did you shovel manure? Did you not understand a word anyone was saying?

No?

Well then, did you see the East Sea? Did you eat delicious food? Did you see some of the most beautiful mountains in Korea? Did you spend time with your significant other and her family? Did you see priceless original inventions by none other than Thomas Alva Edison?

NO?

Too bad. Cause I did.

Okay Mom and Dad, here's what Chuseok is. Click there and come back. Done reading? It's Korean thanksgiving. It's also a great time to eat some delicious food, spend time with family and experience some unforgettable memories. For me, it was three days long so let's get cracking.

- Day One -
Yeah, we were late. Saemi and I were to take the subway for about an hour and then get on a bus. Keep in mind that this is also what 18 million other people were thinking too. This is one of the two times a year when it's customary to go back to one's hometown. As expected, the bus terminal was a madhouse - frantic people rushing to the bus with screaming bus drivers hurrying people along the way making sure they got on the right bus. We were two minutes late but thankfully we were able to exchange tickets to a similar bus leaving ten minutes later. Saved. I even had time to go number one.

So there I was, fresh faced at 7am carrying a gigantic box of honey and an even more gigantic box of pears (as gifts) with a garment bag and duffel bag waiting for the next bus. As soon as it pulled up, Saemi and I breathed a sigh of relief and went to sleep for the next two hours (minus a quick restroom stop midway). We pulled up into the 강릉 (Gangneung) bus terminal station just in time for a clothes change into my Sunday's best. However, pickings were slim on the nice shoes department in the market the day before. See, my Korean foot size is 290 - not exactly common - most places carry up to 280. The shoes I bought were a husky 275...so, my American size 11 feet were crammed into what I believe to be barely a 10...in all, my feet were not happy with me. But first impressions are important and those shoes did look pretty sharp.

After being picked up by Saemi's sister Somi, she effectively got us lost for an hour in a town no bigger than my thumb. It was okay because Somi is good company and always a pleasure to be around. Once we got to were we needed to be - a small handmade cottage out in the middle of nowhere - I hopped out of the car and fumbled my way through formal introductions to Saemi's father and mother. There were busy working in the yard, so of course they were wearing gardening style clothes. And I was wearing a suit and tie. And small shoes. Sharp shoes, though.

What would transpire next can only be explained as the most awkward and uncomfortable single moment in my adult life. A small meet and greet that was fairly harmless led to a huge inquisition that involved an entirely different family visiting the Jeon family. The head of this other family (church acquaintances) was entirely too curious about me. This, combined with my clumsy command of the Korean language, Saemi's mother's use of regional dialect and age-old sayings, and Saemi's father's eye-piercing glare that can only come from a man from 부산 created the most uneasy seemingly endless line of questions, pokes, prods, and dead-end conversations limited by not only my language ability but my nerves.

I was terrified. Namely of Saemi's mother who I will now refer only in polite speech for fear of retribution. 어머님 was playfully cruel and delightfully mean as she humiliated and demeaned me in every possible way. There wasn't much anyone could do about it seeing as I was the bottom of the social totem pole and was being introduced for the first time. Think of it as a trial by fire - if I were still smiling in the morning, I would pass.

Well, the morning would not come. The other family left and we decided to go work outside until dinner. Wiping the sweat of a broken man's forehead, I changed clothes and steeled myself to be useful outside. Living in a constant work-in-progress like a cottage with several acres, there's always work to be done but never enough time. However, Korea hadn't seen a Smith boy work outside yet. Make fun of me? Take it out on the yard.

I first started by finishing applying a coat of sealant on a freshly made door for the cottage. Afterwards, I cleaned up around the yard and organized the piles of building materials according to type - plywood, 2x4s, stones, tools, etc.

A brief moment of tranquility came when Saemi's father (아버님) and I non-verbally agreed to fix the door of the outhouse. We measured and cut a piece of wood and affixed it to the outhouse. It was a two man job that he likely had been waiting to do. See, Saemi's parents have been coming to this reclusive cottage practically every weekend for the last year and a half. But, it's only the two of them faced with all kinds of chores. I imagine he wanted to do this but couldn't spare to ask the only other person working (his wife) to help him. With my coming, that all changed. Now there's a strong back and an able body to do all sorts of stuff that had been piling up.

His calm demeanor and collected personality reminded me so strongly of my own father when undertaking even the smallest of projects. My father can be as silly and playful as anyone but when working with his hands, he's focused and determined. This ethic as somehow made its way into my blood as I find myself fixing things that need to be fixed without being told to do it - like a moth to a flame. Like many useful fathers, 아버님 also has this.

After the door, I painted it green. Then, we called it day. Alls well that ends well, right?

Wrong. The other family came back just as I was stepping out of the shower ready to hit the hay. My eyes could barely stay open yet being the guest, I couldn't be the first one to go to sleep - especially seeing as how I was the source of most of the conversations. But dinner was done, my belly was full, and I was ready to sleep. But, not before round two of uncomfortable translations and unexpected questions.

Several hours later, we all decided to go to sleep. Ahh, I made it. I'm in.

Wrong. That main room's ceiling is essentially shaped like a huge speaker. Well, a horse-fly the size of Houston found it's way into the room and decided it was a good time to fly around. In addition to the cacophony of fly wings, the guy (you know, the charming one who asked a million questions assuming I knew what he was talking about) snored. So did 아버님. So there I am. Three adult men sleeping on the floor - one snoring loudly and the other snoring so loudly that he woke himself up four times - and little ol third bird.

It was awful. Take me out of my misery.

- Day Two -
Nothing much else could make things worse than the first day. And I was right. At breakfast time, 어머님 said that she was done joking with me. From then on, her smile no longer carried the same spiteful grin...although I'm still frightfully scared of her. The funny thing is that she knows how scared I am.

Day two had the family set out to church. I say church but really I mean cathedral. Without getting to much into the language, for Koreans, they distinguish Protestant church and Catholic cathedral as two separate entities that are not exactly related. A common question is "Are you Christian? replied with "No. I'm Catholic." I think the main difference is that in America, we distinguish Protestant from Orthodox but still call it Christianity.

Anyways, we were late for church. By an hour. They changed the time but we were unaware.  Instead we stayed just long enough for a short prayer and then off to the beach. Yes my good man, 강릉 is so close to the East Sea is scary. Actually, really scary fourteen years ago. We headed off to the beach and I experienced my first look into the true eastern part of 동해. Gorgeous to say the least.

Then, I figured we go back to the cottage. Wrong was I. We were going to stop by "a museum and then a palace". Well the palace was typical fare - very cool stuff with some fascinating history but the museum...that is what had me shocked.

Saemi, Somi, and I visited the Edison Science Museum. It was a huge (and I mean HUGE) permanent exhibit of priceless inventions by Thomas Edison. Attached was a similarly themed (and also impressive) collection of gramophones. Taken from a travel website:

With the coming of October brings a new paycheck, new cell phone and new plans. This month is a particularly busy one for 새미 as she has Bible study classes on the weekends and a few times during the week, too. I think that these days by myself will actually be good for me. I've been meaning to spend some time self-studying. Specifically I need to collect my notes from Ewha and rewrite them. It helps me assimilate the material and I've been feeling a bit behind at class. Therefore, this weekend is going be all work and no play. This weekend is Flashcard weekend, my friend.

Plus, with a new paycheck on the 24th comes a sizable chunk of disposable income. No big bills this month like the first paycheck. Think about it. I've already paid off the rental phone fee/bill (which was absolutely terrible - $250 bill the first month - $110 the second month) and I don't have any gigantically important things to buy like last month - this time around I have dress pants, dress shirts, neckties, and shoes. So what to do with the extra cash?

Save save save, right? come on, we're talking about the son of Rusty Smith - King of Savings.  Other than that, a new pair of shoes, a few new pillows, and a winter coat would be great.

Plus, I have a planned outing with my Ewha classmates on the 23rd. We have a midterm test that day and to celebrate our accomplishment, we're going to get hammered - Korean-style.

Try not to worry. Since coming to Korea, I can count on one hand the times I touched alcohol let alone drunk more than the obligatory first shot. Not bad for a young guy in his 20s living the most sauced country on the planet. I'm almost shocked to see how many times the other NESTs (Native English Speaking Teachers) are partying. I'm not passing judgment - I'm just amazed. How do they keep it up? Maybe I'm getting old... Plus, embarrassing myself in front of my girlfriend on the first week here was enough to drill it in my head that too much is too much sometimes.

Anyways, October - you're looking like you're going to be a great month. I'm figuring out how to order delivery, I'm learning more Korean from my students, and the little things are falling in line (like a real cell phone, winter clothes, and enough money to actually eat three meals a day) Thanks September, but you were kind of lame. I was poor, busy, and a little nervous. but we had some good times, too. You marked the start of night classes at Ewha, meeting 새미's parents, and my birthday.

So my parents have recently been sending me care packages. I almost faint when I see the postage. But I do enjoy opening them, though. It seems it takes about ten days from Texas to Korea which seems not all that bad, actually. For that matter, I like receiving postcards and letters from home, too.

Care package goodies have included:

• a great pair of shoes
• a "Don't Mess with Texas" coffee mug (which broke into a million pieces but after half a gallon of super glue, now stands tall and proud)
• some loose change (the students love quarters, nickels, and dimes)
• winter scarves (thank you soooo much - it just started getting cold)
• long johns
• gloves
• 2 Skor bars (best chocolate bar in America IMO)
• Dr Scholl's foot insoles (because they make my feet smile)
• Greeting/Miss You Cards (which I keep)
• Aftershave

So far, I'm making out like a bandit with these packages. I feel bad for the postage but honestly, I know my parents wouldn't send them if they didn't want to. So, I eagerly await the next one. I've already got my next wishlist in mind. Shoes are definitely in my top priority as I'm finding that my size (290) is next to impossible to find here. I'm only an 11 or 11.5 in America. What's the problem?

Anyways. So thanks mom, dad. You guys are the best.

I think I'll start off with a scary story. Don't worry - it ends well.

One upon a time there was a young man. He cheerfully packed his bags one day and traveled to a far away land. "Don't worry ma", the young man pleaded "I'll keep in touch." He kept his promise by emailing daily, posting regularly and even making a few phone and webcam calls to home. He was so wired that he even unexpectedly introduced his main squeeze to the family via webcam. How charming.

But one day the emails stopped. The calls ceased. The webcam inactive. "What could be the problem?" the strikingly-young looking mother of three handsome boys thought. "Surely he simply forgot to email us back." Proceeding cautiously, the mother reassured herself that the young man was surely busy at work and would certainly email his family back the earliest convenience. Certainly he will.

However days go by without anything. What has happened the young man? Did he catch swine flu? Has he been kidnapped? Fell off a mountain? Joined the South Korean army? Became a monk? Got a tattoo? Hurt? Sick? Married?

Too many questions went answered as the mother now requested the help of a brilliant husband who is well-versed in the ways of life. The husband and father of three goofy boys (seemingly different boys at times) joined the worry fight and the waiting game began. However, for these parents, the waiting game is torture. The young man is not within arms length. Not within ears reach. Further than the eye can see. Too far to talk and unexpectedly absent from electronic communique.

What to do?

Whip out your international dailing fingers and call his employer. Unfortunately, during the 추석 holiday, no one but the janitor answers the phone. No dice there. But assuming the janitor spoke English, I'm confident she would have explained that the school is closed for the second biggest holiday in the country. Oh, and that the young man went out of the city for the holiday.

Didn't you know?

So apparently the young man isn't the best communicator and forgot to inform his caring and understanding parents that he would be spending 추석 in 강원도 with his girlfriend's family. Oh, and there won't be any internet or cell reception there. For three days. Maybe more.

Opps. My bad.

But he eventually touched base with the worrysome parents and put their paranoia to rest. He wasn't hurt after all. He was just inconsiderate. Mystery solved.

Now, wheres that tattoo?

Double post today. First of all, sorry Mr.Internet for not writing much. I was charged with the task of teaching the afterschool program in addition to my regular duties. This essential meant that I had no office hours and was teaching from 9am-5pm straight with a 30 min break for lunch. Thankfully I only had to do this for one calendar week. However, as one can imagine, my voice is gone, my head hurts, and I have a killer cold. On top of that, I have Ewha classes MWF which makes it impossible to do anything other than go to work, eat dinner, go to class, and go to sleep on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. No fun.

The extra cash is nice but my regular office hours are more than just time to check facebook. It allows me to make quizzes, create materials for class, write lesson plans, and most importantly, let my body breathe. So, I'm happy to say that I'm back and I'm jazzed about being able to actually do my job more effectively - let alone having a moment to actually use the restroom.

Bathroom aside,  I have much to write about...but where to start? A bad day last week? Chuseok? Meeting Saemi's family? Getting sick in a country terrified of swine-flu carrying foreigners? Working overtime? Getting awesome care packages from home? Worried parents ready to call 911?

We shall see.

P.S. sorry again, mom and dad -_-;;

By the beard of Zeus...your boy Matthew has received pay for services rendered. The sum of which was enough to finally take the bus instead of walking to work. Gone are the nights when I went hungry. Gone are the days where the only thing on the menu was 700원 참치삼각김밥. Gone are the days when I have to take a half day at work not because I was hung-over, sick, coughing up blood - but because I  didn't eat dinner or breakfast.

Yes, you are looking at a new man. A man with three meals a day inside his stomach instead of one gigantic free lunch at school, which although was always tasty, was never quite enough to hold me throughout the entire day. Yes, this new man can afford more than two pairs of slacks, three short sleeve shirts, one long sleeve shirt, four ties, and two pairs of shoes. Finally, this new man can pay for dry cleaning.

I'm sure that all first year teachers go through this - the undying need for the first paycheck. Mine was pretty desperate, but at least I had a warm bed to sleep in and hot water to take a shower. Other than that, no food was pretty lame. I don't want to experience that again.

But, I'm happy to say that I have plenty of cash to last me. In celebration, I visited 명동 last night and bought a whole mess of teaching clothes. Score one for the home team.

Anyways, it feels nice to not feel like a bum.

My thoughts on the Korean Language program at Ewha Women's University.

Someone emailed me yesterday and asked me my thoughts on Ewha. What a great time to write about it seeing as how class just started again.

I've written about Ewha before and I would recommend reading those posts first. Also, I recently participated in a podcast recording over at LanguageCast that deals with my experiences at Ewha. I highly recommend listening to this mp3 if you're wondering what it's like to be a guy at a women's university. UPDATE: link up and running ^^

But like other people on the internet looking for a good 오학당, I was disappointed to only find info on Yonsei (연세) and Sogang (서강). Surely there must be others? Like you, I was disappointed about the lack of info on Ewha. I could only find reviews of Sogang and Yonsei.

While I can't speak directly about those university programs but I have friends who went to both programs and said "it was good, but..." as in good for speaking but not for writing and vice versa. When prompted to speak about Ewha, I have only good things to say.

In my opinion, Ewha is well-balanced. The program focuses on all four parts of language: speaking, listening, reading, writing. The textbooks is in all Korean with a lot of supplemental material in class. This means that 100% self-study is not possible through the textbook itself - you must attend class to get the point. The facilities are clean and accommodating. The textbooks are cheap (under 50 USD for textbook, workbook, and study guide) and are clearly laid out. The homework is mostly relevant. The daily work is very helpful. The in-class speaking activities are especially helpful. I have no real complaints about the program. It's very comprehensive and is of the highest quality in my opinion. Studying diligently on your own and taking the classes seriously has a strong possibility to produce some seriously fluent speakers.

Of course the classes are available to both men and women as the language center is separate from the actual university. The teachers are well-trained and clearly take their job seriously. Don't expect just some native speaker - these are qualified instructors who value your interest in learning Korean.

Since the classes are small, having no more than ten students at a time in my experience, the teachers are able to address each student individually. This small class atmosphere also helps to build good relationships with your fellow students, whom I ended up hanging out with plenty after class. Learning to only use Korean with fellow students (who may or may not speak English) was a great way to keep me on my toes.

Now for the good part - have I learned anything? As of this writing, I have been studying Korean for two and a half years (coming from no prior knowledge of Korean) and I'm able to speak conversational Korean. My accent isn't the best, my grammar isn't always perfect, and my vocabulary is limited. However, it's a process and I've seen huge levels of progress since last year.

So am I perfect? No way. But I have noticed crazy amounts of improvement from the classes. I highly recommend anyone in Seoul to take classes at this language school versus a 학원 or some other language school.

If anyone reading this blog has taken classes at Ewha also, please post your thoughts, too ^^

Which brings me to the present.

I'm in level three (3) now. How did I go from level one to level three without going through level two? Not sure but I like my class. I'm understanding at least 70% of all that my teacher is talking about at all times which is amazing for me. I like my classmates and it looks like this semester will be a productive one. Now, if I can just pay my tuition on time...

As it turns out, this was an incredible birthday. Maybe it really is all in the attitude.

My study group slash friends at LanguageCast threw me a great little mini birthday party after the recording. The birthday cards they wrote were touching, sentiment was high and everyone seemed genuinely happy to spend their Monday night in a group that includes a goofy white guy from Texas. Thanks y'all.

Then, to top it off, two of my coworkers took me out to dinner after work yesterday. I had 감자탕 for the first time and although it was quite heavy for me, it was delicious. It was nice of them to even offer let alone follow through with a free meal. Not bad at all.

Today, one of my coworkers bought a cake as she didn't know yesterday was my birthday. She's very friendly and speaks excellent English; however since she works after school, I don't work directly with her and thus, don't see her often. Too bad too because she's very friendly. Also, the cake was really good.

As if all of that weren't enough, although 새미 is out of the country for another week, I feel as though she's here with me. There are moments when I swear I can feel her thinking about me...but then I come to find out that the tingly feeling is actually from a spider bite. Ouch. 

Seriously though I couldn't be happier in my life (well, having money would make this equation a whole lot more chipper). I'm fitting in at work, I enjoy my classes, my coworkers are sweet, the students are sweeter, my apartment is clean, and I start classes up again at Ewha tomorrow.

Hopefully. More on that later.