I'm sure you are all wondering why I would possibly have a blog post titled "Tale of Two Cities." It is not because I have a story referencing the book, but most definitely because with my new host family, I feel like I will have a completely different Dobong experience.
We moved in with our new families yesterday. I was expecting some differences from the first but not to the extent that I got. I walked into an apartment that could probably fit 4 of the first ones inside of it. Lots of rooms and nice wooden floors. Everything was SOOOOO clean! When I say these people are germaphobes, I'm understating it completely. They had me wash my hands and feet when I came inside. I walked into the living room to find a big sign saying "I love you" and posters with all of my family's names in Korean and English. There are three kids; Hera (19), Lisa (16), and John (14). The mom's name is Julie. The best part about the collage on the wall was finding out that my host father's English name is Captain. I LOVE IT!!! The father was at work so I didn't get to meet him. Hera had to leave to go to work in Incadon at her Aunt's cafe so I only got to see her for a little bit. The warmth in the house was so much different than the first. I felt like they truly wanted me there without a doubt.
Julie, John, Lisa and I went out to lunch. They asked me what my favorite food was in Korea so far. I think it is spell Sam Yup San or something close to that. It is like super thick pieces of bacon that you fry on a grill that is in the middle of your table. We had it our second night here and I have been in love with it every since. So they took me to a super cute restaurant where we could get that. By the conversation we were having, you would have thought we had known each other for years! After lunch, we went to Baskin Robbins for ice cream. While we were eating, my host mom was telling me how she is on a diet. She said "All Korean women always on a diet." It made me laugh.
We went home and just hung out, relaxed a little, and watched some Korean game shows. Even thought I had no idea what was going on, it still put a smile on my face. Lisa and I talked about the American TV shows she knows and I introduced her to Glee! They talked a little fast for her to fully understand what was going on, but she laughed the entire time. My mission is to turn her into a Glee-k before I leave!!!
My host father doesn't get home until 9pm. He is a journalist in downtown Seoul and his only day off is Saturday. When he got home, I realized he had bought me a beautiful bouquet of flowers. I could tell that the smile on my face made his day. He is the only one in the family that doesn't speak English. He can understand it completely but just doesn't know what words to use.
My host mom made this amazing dinner!! It was almost like fondue. She had a portable heated pot (like a crock pot) that she put on the table and filled with beef stock. Shen then cut up a ton of vegetables and put them in, along with this paper thin sliced beef. You grabbed whatever you wanted out of the pot and dipped it in this chili sauce. It was definitely one of the best things I have had since being here. The conversation at dinner was definitely the best I have had with any Korean since being here! My host father sat there with an "Everyday English Conversation" book, flipping through pages asking me all sorts of questions. I loved that he was making such a good effort to talk to me. When Hera got home from work, I asked her what her hobbies are. She told me her favorite thing to do is eating but her hobby is dieting. I died laughing! My host brother John didn't say much and Julie kept teasing him. Everyone was cracking up laughing and I coudldn't figure out why until Lisa translated for me that John was going through puberty and is being stubborn. That definitely made my night.
After working on some lesson plans for class this week, I watched the Miss Korea pageant with my family. We then watched the news and learned about the North Korean bombs that washed ashore in South Korea yesterday morning and killed 1 person. If you havent heard about this yet, look it up. North Korea has been getting ridiculous rain and some of their mines washed into the river. The South Korean man and his nephew thought it would be a could idea to pick up the boxes and carry them home. They exploded while on them! Not the smartest decision...
I called it a night at about 1am after talking to Dad and Grammy. Every time I talk to someone from home, I miss home more and more.
Today at school, we taught the intermediate kids about the Zoo. I showed them the San Diego Zoo and all the animals there. They loved watching the videos of the new babies. After first period, we had cooking class. We taught all 3 classes how to make rice krispie treats. Even though they don't have the same ingredients here as we do, they still turned out to be pretty good! I was impressed at how much my students loved to cook.
Tonight I am going out with Hera. She said there are some things she wants to show me. It's good to have host siblings that I can relate to more. I'm excited to be in this house..
I uploaded pictures of the signs, flowers, and my new room.
Only 17 more days people!!!
Oh, and by the way, the day I come home (Thursday, August 19th) we are going to have a big dinner at Yardhouse in Town Square at 7pm. I get in at 5:50pm and I know I am going to want to see everyone but will be super tired. This is the easiest way for me to see everyone at once! Let me know if you are coming so we can make a reservation with the right amount of people!!!
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/46379050@N04/sets/72157624634289706/
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