That awkward moment…

When you stare just a second too long before realizing the woman’s baby is, in fact, a small dog.

I did say I never finished anything…

So, the last blog of the Badger Blogging Blitz was supposed to be posted on Sunday. And it’s Sunday! Just… umm… not the Sunday it was supposed to be on. Oops. As I mentioned early on, I have some major issues with finishing things. However, fear not, I did so little last weekend that there really wasn’t much to forget, so this should be a pretty accurate summation.

Saturdays are lovely, magical days in the life of most people. But especially for teachers. Many can attest to this. Must to my surprise, a friend asked me to grab some breakfast with her in Uijeongbu (a bigger city about 40 minutes away from me) and I happily agreed. Uijeongbu is a nice compromise. It’s more exciting that my little town and it’s not as far away as Seoul. Win-win. We went to a lovely brunch place called the Farmer’s Village. And, in case you’re curious (and I pretty much know your not, but I’m going to do this anyway), here’s a picture of what I ate:

Farmer’s Village Restaurant in 의정부

The restaurant had a nice look to it, as do many of the places around here, so here’s a quick look at the decor. Quaint, no?

Look at the fancy coffee machines!

After brunch, I headed home. It was actually pretty nippy outside, and was about to rain (and it did rain all afternoon), so I stayed in my apartment and cleaned, did laundry, etc. And, not surprisingly, Sunday was more of the same. I also watched some TV. True story. At about 11:35pm on Sunday I realized that my time to procrastinate was officially over and I spent an hour prepping my lessons for Monday. I am usually a little more on top of things, but on lazy weekends, I tend to put off my lesson planning even more.

And there you have it, my exciting weekend!! And now for the questions…

1) Do you always try all the foods offered? Have you made an effort to try a variety of new foods or do you tend to stick to the things you’ve found and like?

I’ll try (almost) anything once. I draw the line at dog meat, half-grown baby chicks, and live octopus. I have tried some crazy things here. My biggest surprise was actually enjoying jellyfish. It’s crunchy and rather delicious. I’ve also come to enjoy cooked octopus, but only at good restaurants… it’s still too rubbery most places (school lunches, for example). I still eat it, though. I will eat whatever is put in front of me on most days, but when it comes to shopping and making my own food, I pretty much stick with the tried and true. I order oatmeal from the US, just rediscovered French Toast, and make a lot of soups. As for eating out with friends, I go with whatever the group wants. Often, when I’m with other native English teachers, that tends to be pizza. There’s a Papa John’s in Uijeongbu. It is my friend.

2) What plans do you have when the yearlong contract is up? Will you renew? Why/why not?

I will not be renewing. This term has been going really well and this past month had me rethinking my plans to stay (a bit), but when it comes down to it, I have a graduate degree to finish and a bunch of nieces and nephews that are learning to walk and talk and argue without me being around. This, for me, is unacceptable, so it’s stateside for me come September. I have not ruled out the possibility of coming back to South Korea in the future, however; especially if I was to get a position at a university here.