My Town's Carnival

My cell phone here in Korea is pretty darn amazing. First, it has something called DMB (digital media broadcasting) which is basically the ability to watch television on my phone. It also has video phone capability, so when I talk to my cousins I actually get to video chat with them. All cell phones in Korea are also on the 3g network, which makes sense because the patent gridlock problem in the states is not as big an issue here (poor Verizon). As you can see by the picture, the phone cover lights up and show me the time as well as a short cartoon that follows after the time. Pretty fancy huh? I'm pretty darn impressed. BTW, nobody responds to cell phone around here, so I've become accustomed to calling it my handphone :)

Went to my town’s carnival yesterday after school with the kindergarten teacher and her daughter (my 6th grade student). Snacking on grilled silk worms, fish cakes, and teriyaki chicken, I looked around the carnival grounds (basically a small soccer field). All my young students came running up to me and started showing me all their prizes while even giving me some of their goodies. I came away with a skeleton robot necklace and three ping pong paddle thingies. I love it out here in the country where the children are so welcoming and the town is small enough where everyone knows where I live (the white house in the mountain where the school is ). After the carnival I wanted to head home, but the kindergarten teacher insisted on taking me to dinner. We ended up going to Bongpyeong (where I went for the Buckwheat Festival) and met up with the 6th grade teacher and her 3 year old son for Dol-suht Bibimbap. The restaurant owners knew the teachers so they included some kimchi dumplings and fried buckwheat dough for free. It was all delicious. Following dinner, we ended up going to a small café to eat Patbingsoo. At first it was strange because I was sharing a Patbingsoo with my 6th grade student (the daughter of the kindergarten teacher), but I soon got over it after realizing that I am supposed to treat them as if they are my family (not teacher-student). The 3 year old son was so incredibly adorable, clinging to my hand and wanting me to carry him through the streets. What made dessert even more interesting was that the 6th grade teacher told me that she told her husband last night that if she was 10 years younger she would probably be dating me. In the states that would be incredibly awkward to hear, but for some reason, in Korea, it seemed very complimentary and pleasing. By the way, she is very cute J. Don’t worry, I’m not implying anything hahah.
I actually want to have the next post dedicated to today's dinner at the 3rd grade teacher’s home (I really need to start treating the other teachers out to dinner) and the school cafeteria.
Until then, cheers!