So! I am moving my apartment next Thursday. My utilities cost too much, and my landlord is not willing to help improve on my energy efficiency (or negotiate or listen). So I'm moving to a much nicer place with modern equipment and a VIEW! And it's only about 10 minutes walking distance from the subway. I'm really excited, and I'm really busy trying to get ready. Seeing as it may be some time before I get nestled in, I thought it would be a good time for a photo dump.
This photo was from the wedding of my dear friends Kim Eun Jang (bride) and Yoon Jang Seok (groom). The ceremony was very fast (about 45 minutes). As a wedding gift, I learned to sing a Korean love song. I accompanied myself on guitar. As I finished, I grabbed my camera and snapped a photo of the view from the altar (stage left)
Seated on the right are my principal (Mr. Kim Jong Jin) and Vice Prinicipal (Mrs. Oh Soon Hwa). During the ceremony, everybody chats and plays with their cellphones and fidgets. There's an announcer, and it's sort of like a game show where there is a musical guest and the contestants get married at the end. This represents a more modern and westernized style of Korean wedding.
The beautiful bride coming down the aisle. She is now pregnant with a baby girl, and her delivery date is in late June. The wedding was really quite an experience. I've got quite a few photos left to describe, so suffice to say that it was very cool and I was proud to be a part of it.
This is Daegu's first public library. Now the springtime is in full bloom and I have no enthusiasm for my Korean grammar practice or much reading.
My friends Marsha (right) and Rebecca (3rd from right) are now on the Daegu Roller Derby Team. It's centrifugal combat on wheels. They've both been kind enough to come support me and my badminton endeavor, so I'm a proud spectator of the Derby Gals.
The days pronunciation practice. I did explain that 'fly lice' is a nonsensical thing to say.
Look at the size of this tollbooth! The Seoul Toll. My friend emailed it to me. Yes it is photoshopped. But in the words of a great man: "The problem with internet photo's is that you can't always depend on their accuracy" -Abraham Lincoln-
One of my coworkers modeling a coat that she had put on lay-away at the department store.
One of my school's fifth grade teachers and her husband. We sometimes meet for coffee and language exchange on weekday afternoons. She gave me a very nice sweater for my birthday, which is why I am feeling terribly about drawing a blank on her name right now. (It's definitely three syllables)
These next few photos are my alumni! My sixth graders are now middle school first graders.
I am proud of you all! Come back to visit me anytime :) DUKIN FIGHTING!
She won some kind of award and she asked to be in a photo with me ^^ I quickly wound my disposable camera and asked for a duplicate.
Now onto the late-night photo's. My friends Thai, John, and Jules getting cocktails on our way to Che's birthday party
My hair is starting to get long. It is possible that I will get a perm this Saturday. For REAL.
We played a beverage game called "Tourettes." The name may be somewhat insensitive to those people who have been diagnosed with the disorder; however, the game is a riot.
Harry and Hilary
Myself and Stephanie.
Daegu continues to be a wonderful experience. I am glad to have some nice spring weather. I wish everyone reading this a very happy and restful Easter holiday. I hope that if you get a call from a weird number on your cell phone, be brave and pick it up. It might be me calling (I got my calling card charged up and I've been trying to call family and friends more often)
Hello from the land of the morning calm. I realize it has been SO long since I've gotten on here to write about Korea. It's now springtime. The weather has been gradually shifting from cold to tolerable; however, this also means that spring showers contain heavy manufacturing soot that floats west from China. Are you familiar with the way that some U.S. cities issue 'ozone warnings' with the weather forecast? Here in Daegu, there are yellow dust (황사) (hwang-sah) warnings. I'll be wearing my medical mask this weekend. The man above is a Korean War vet with whom I had a chat on one of my weekend hikes. Uncle Bill: I mentioned you, but I'm not sure I got the message across. Anyhow he was a swell guy and he was fun to talk to. He kept saying this phrase that I didn't understand. (see next paragraph) Below is a photo of some adjective/adverb use from a 5th grade student. My hygiene is fine, Mom. He's just being a punk.
봄을 맞이할 준비가 됐어요. 거시기? got an interesting language lesson from my Korean coteacher. The word 거시기 (Kaw-Shee-Gee) is a regional dialectic term from Jeolla & Gyeongbuk province often used as a filler word similar to "you know?" or "YaMeen?" or "Knowhati'msayin'". The literal translation is : dick. I have been very confused by Google translate for the last time! The first sentece of this post means, "I'm ready for springtime, ya know?" but google translate will tell you that it means "we are ready for the birth of spring. Dick?" 
Speaking of springtime, things are starting to bloom. When the sun is out, it is gorgeous in Daegu. I hiked a new peak on Apsan Mountain with my friend Dominic. We went to visit the Gatbawi Buddha statue (a carved stone that dates from more than 1000 years ago during the Unified Silla dynasty period) I entered the photo in Greenheart Travel's World Photo Competition, but I did not win. I will give myself the fictitious award for 'Most Vertical Kilometers Hiked With the Hope of Winning a Kindle Fire' 
Above is a photo of the blossoms that I've borrowed from my friend Rebecca. She did a temple stay, which involves a small fee for a weekend spent living and dining on the grounds of a Confuscian temple. I'm working on getting my Korean language level high enough for conversations with monks about metaphysics. 
At Dukin Elementary, we have begun a new semester. The students are working hard to prepare for midterm examiniations, but they are having a hard time focusing now that the weather has improved. I do my best to throw in different activities for a varied spectrum of learning styles. Below you can see our 4th grade kinesthetic activity of the week; we made mother's day cards. Also noteworthy is that Koreans have Mother's Day, Father's Day, AND Children's Day. 
One pronunciation activity for my 3rd graders. After round one we also included the words 'chew,' 'two', and 'true'. I was sad not to have my copy of Dr. Seuss' Fox in Sox. The tweedle beetle battle came to mind.
This photo comes from a visit to Busan. In most major cities in Korea, streets are named for the products that they sell. In Bosu-dong, this is book street. Again my apologies for my negligence with the blog posts. I am keeping abreast of U.S. news as it comes. I am particularly interested in the upcoming elections, as well as the NCAA March Madness Tournament. The weekend after next is opening day for the Samsung Lions baseball team, and I plan to attend with my coworkers. Going to the park to watch a baseball game is WAY more exciting in Korea. The beer is less expensive, and all of the teams have female cheerleaders that dance on the dugouts the whole time. Photo's will be included in my next update. Lots of love from David! 
This is our oxblood soup, some kimchi (spicy cabbage) red beans and rice, anchovies, and some unidentified spicy-tentacle-something. This has the reputation for being a very healthful meal, and it is the Korean hangover remedy.
This was a birthday card I got from one of my students. She's a young girl named Do Gyeong Kim. I will transcribe the note so you don't have to strain your eyes to see it. First, I'd like to pause and say that the people who print this stationery are not very good English speakers. The stationery says "like a rainbow...only you can do make Oh this world seem right." Fantastic Engrish! Ok so Do Gyeong writes, "To David teacher: Hello! I'm Kim Do Gyeong (김도경) Tomorrow is your birthday, right? So I want to say, 'Happy Birthday~' to you. Really really happy birthday~! I'm always thank you for you because, you always teach me and my schoolmates. I have a little present to you. I just want you use nice. And sorry for always I'm late in past morning times. Lastly, Happy Birthday and Happy New Year! Thursday, January fifth 2012" She really melted my heart. The gift ("a little present to you") was a day planner for the year 2012.
One of my favorite mischeif-makers giving me impromptu Taekwondo lessons
Here I am :) This is the night view of Daegu from my evening hike with Mr. Um. I am working on getting the photo of the entire club, but that was taken on someone else's camera. I'd like to now give special thanks to my family who has taken the time to send gifts and cards and make me feel really special on my birthday. I love you all. Before signing off, I'll explain the Korean birthday. It's not really a celebration of the person at all. It is a celebration of that person's mom (because she really did the heavy haul). So thanks to my mom, and my loved one's who make me feel special on my birthday. Stay tuned for more from the land of high speed internet and ugly wallpaper!