She quits

So one of my pre-k student's mothers chose to withdraw her daughter from our school, saying our hagwon is too dark and feels like being in a prison and that our director is not a very "motherly" role model. I'm not sure I really have much of anything to say about that. While I agree with the prison bit, I don't exactly want to have to wear sunglasses to school, though having any natural light in the classroom at all might be nice.

Just found out today that we get the Friday following Chuseok off from work- yay!

Tiger's Eye

In related news, a tiger cub was found among stuffed animals in a woman's luggage.

Friday Morning

Couch to 10k

I ran 6.24 miles in 1 hour, 16 minutes, and 19 seconds for a 12:13/mi pace. Lady Gaga has impeccable timing on my shuffle; that last mile was rough. And running in 85F sunny weather with 80% humidity and no breeze can only be described as torture. I am amazed at my pace because I thought I did a lot of walking on the last leg.

I am officially a couch to 10k-er in 10 weeks minus 2 for my ankle to heal. And I've not followed any pre-set plan, just doing my own thing. Awesome sauce.

After a long, ice-cold shower, heavy stretching, and some self-inflicted deep tissue massage on my sore muscles, I am feeling quite good.

Nice Saturday

About 9:45 this morning, some Korean guy blew prodigious chunks on the subway while I was peacefully napping. I opened my eyes and wondered at all the hubbub, and I looked down to see the cause. Hrm, lucky thing I was near my stop.

When calculating last night what time I'd need to leave this morning for the hash, I was distracted and, as it turns out, wrong by about an hour. But they always start late, so I didn't really miss anything. I chose to do the walking trail this week because I'm going to try again tomorrow to run a full 6 miles. It was a good trail up on Namsan through some areas I'd not seen before.

The hash wrapped up by 2 p.m. and I wasn't sure what to do with myself until dinner at 6, so I grabbed my first taste of Taco Bell in Korea (delicious, btw) and headed to the jimjilbang, where I cleaned up and took a long nap filled with bizarro dreams I attribute to the bean burrito. This was my first summer visit, and I am delighted to report the place had many cool pools instead of winter's dangerously hot ones. Also, I found out I lost an unexpected kilogram in the week following my delicious birthday binge. Yay.

Feeling relaxed, refreshed, and goddess-y, I met friends and walked down to the hafla (a belly dance dinner party) at New Palace in Itaewon. It has been remodeled because the owner married a Korean woman, and now it has great decor, a full bar and a measly menu. The service was terrible considering our party were the only customers most of the night and had called ahead. And I wasn't the only one served undercooked, inedible chicken. Is safe food really so much to ask? Apparently it is in Korea, where my standards are way too high for the available fare. Being in good company, we had an alright time and good performances, but I take full credit for salvaging the night by hatching a scheme to escape for pie. It was awesome.

Also, I composed a haiku in my head and will now share it.

Take my night away

And fill me with your bright day.

I think we'll ne'er sleep!

Water park field trip

Noraebang

"Noraebang" is Korean for "karaoke room." We teachers went to one following a joint welcome/birthday dinner. Jake and I teamed up for a Korean boy band song (Ring ding dong by Shinee) and Adam and Jake regaled us with some classic American boy band tunes. We think Jake was in a Korean boy band in an alternate universe.



(By the way, soju and salad do not a dinner make. Just trust me on this one.)