Well, it's been a few days. I finished up my first full week of normal classes this past week. It went very well. I enjoyed it. I'm learning as I go what works and what doesn't work. I have 3-4 classes a day with around 40 students in each class. I have a Korean co-teacher in the classroom too, just to help with discipline and translation if necessary. I am teaching the only the 6th and 8th graders. There are over 1000 students in the school, so I only see the 6th graders once a week and the 8th graders once every two weeks. So one lesson plan lasts me a week or two. That's pretty nice. I definitely had my lesson down by the end of this week. But it's too bad that my time with each class is so limited. I really have to make the most of my time. I also have three "extra" classes after normal school is out. These are with the kids I had for summer camp. There are only 15 or so in a class and there English is much better. I think these classes will be my favorite. Cause I'll actually get to know the kids and hopefully be able to see more progress in them. And I don't have to follow a textbook for these classes but can plan my own stuff. On Friday I was talking with my 7th grade extra class students, and I found out that this group of students-the 15 of them-are at school until 9 PM every day! There parents pay extra money for them to be a part of this special group, and they study from 9 AM-9 PM every day. Plus, Korean's go to school every other saturday also!

I went out this past week for a goodbye party for my friend Nikia. She left today for home (Philly). There were 12 of us that went out for duck. (above) It was very good. I ate a lot. We got like 3 whole ducks and it was about $10 a person. Afterwards, Melanie and I helped Nikia pack till 2 in the morning.

So, I had a revelation this past week. I think I came upon the story of how Kimchee came to be the Korean tradition that it is. I'm pretty sure this is close to the way it happened...

"Times were hard in Korea. The war had left the country ravaged. Work was hard to come by and food was scarce. Malnutrition and famine were common in all areas of the country. It was getting so bad that some families were even starting to eat their pet dogs! The Park family was a typical Korean family. They had long ago said goodbye to Buster. And things weren't getting any better. Pa Park hadn't had work in more than a year. He had lost 3 fingers fighting in the war and was at a disadvantage for the jobs at the few factories that were still running.

One night, after two days of eating nothing but scraps of dried squid, Pa Park had had enough. He could handle this horid state no more. There must be something; there must be some way to sustain his family. As he poured the last of the murky drinking water into his wife's glass, he had an idea. He thought it over. Would it work? Would it be edible? Would his family go for it? It was worth a shot. There were no other options. He turned to his wife. 'Honey, I may be crazy, but I have an idea. Go get me the compost.'"

And thus Kimchee (meaning "I can't believe I'm eating this") found its way into Korean tradition.