Lots to update

I have lots to update you guys about.  First, the best experience of my life was Wednesday.  I used the restroom at the Topia building in Seoul and the toilet seat was HEATED!  Best...thing...ever.  There was a control panel next to the toilet, as well, but everything was in Korean (duh) so I couldn't figure out how to flush the toilet.  I was standing to get a look at the control panel and decided to press a button that had a picture of what looked like a handle.  When I pushed it some mechanical sounds starting going and a small tube came out of the toilet bowl.  I was thinking maybe it'd spray water into the bowl and flush it or something, but it started spraying at me!  Turns out it was a bidet.  I threw the seat cover down to get water from spraying everywhere but I couldn't figure out how to stop it.  Took me about 2 minutes to figure that out, then I saw the handle to flush the toilet behind the lid, just like every other toilet in the world.  Amazing experience.

We had a short day Thursday and it was the end of our training in Seoul so a bunch of us went out all day.  I got some  pictures (scattered throughout the blog).  The guy is Daero, the girl with longer hair (above standing next to giant-headed manakins) is Nikki.  Bo's the one sticking her tongue out, Nuri is the one that looks like a doll with her hood pulled around her heard, and Vivian's blowing kisses at me on the street (below)

Another awesome thing in Korea is their bars.  Below is some fried squid which is the equivalent

 of peanuts at a bar.  It's kinda like seafood jerky.  Also, you may notice that my beer mug is sitting inside the table.  Well, that's because that's a beer mug holder, and it's chilled to 4C!  This has got to be the best city ever.  Oh, and that giant pitcher of beer?  It's 3000 ccs.  That's right, they measure their beer in cubic centimeters, and it costs about $8.    

Sorry about the formatting with these pictures, btw, the process is kinda clunky and it seriously took me 20 minutes just to get them where they are.  Anyway, after drinking in Seoul I caught my bus home, but I passed out and didn't wake up at my stop.  The bus driver woke me up at the end of the line and  when I got out I was drunk and couldn't speak Korean.  I managed to ask him where Juk Jeon is and where I could get a taxi, but as I started walking I realized I was within 20 minutes of my house.  So, moral of the story is, get drunk and pass out on the 1005-1 bus b/c the end of the line is close to my house.  

Friday I actually got to observe classes being taught by my coworkers and I can't wait.  The training was next to useless so I finally got all my questions answered and whatnot.  I've got one prep class I'll be teaching phonics to, and one young low-level class, but basically everything else is either young students with high proficiency, or older students with good-to-high proficiency.  And for everyone who asked me if I need to speak Korean to teach these students, the answer  is emphatically no.  These guys are way smarter than I would have ever imagined.  And, on top of it, they want to learn, and to anyone who's a teacher you know how much that helps.

Last night after classes were done we all went out as an "end of the semester party/going away party for Luke/welcoming party for me, Daero, Bo and Vivian."  I found out that one of my coworkers' hobby is to get as smashed as he possibly can, as quickly as he possibly can.  Interesting bunch of folks, I'm gonna love them.  

Basically, the culture and atmosphere is awesome, they have heated toilet seats and chilled tables, the students are bright and enjoy learning, the girls are gorgeous.  I think I'll like it here.  You guys should come.