Sweet Potato Pizza
What more can I even say. We had a pizza party at my school during one of my classes to celebrate the open class that we did for the visiting teachers and principals of Daegu. The kids worked really hard and did a great job throughout the whole process and today Ms Lee surprised everyone, including me, with a bunch of pizzas delivered to the class. We all celebrated; it was nice to see the kids so happy. The pizzas were sweet potato pizzas (pictured above) and they came with cups of pickles. In Korea it's popular to load up the pizzas with pickles and hot sauce right before you eat them. I was completely blown away when I saw this and the kids along with Ms Lee were equally as shocked to hear that we don't have sweet potato pizza in Canada and that we don't put pickles or hot sauce on our pizzas. It was a nice moment when we were all completely perplexed --it was a really fun day.

My winter vacation is beginning to take shape; I know I will get at least 10 days in January but I'm not sure of the exact dates as of yet. I'm considering visiting either Cambodia or Laos; it's really a toss up; both have so much to offer. As of now I'm leaning ever so slightly toward Cambodia mainly due to the Angkor Wat ruins. We'll see how it goes.

                                                        Sharp Darts
MMMmmm I love Gimbap. It's the Korean equivalent to sushi. The only difference that I can tell is in the rice. This incredibly delicious meal is ridiculously cheap anywhere you go in Korea. For a whole plate of these guys it only costs about $1 Canadian, a little less actually. It's incredible. Needless to say I've been enjoying my share of Gimbap since being here.

I had a fantastic week which was topped off today by my first haircut here in Korea. This afternoon I wandered into a barber shop near my school to see a couple Korean gentilmen playing chess. I asked in broken Hangul if I could get a haircut and one of the three jumped up and guided me to the barber chair. They were quite friendly and warmed up as soon as I mentioned that I was a Canadian and a teacher.

Today, my school hosted a sort of open-school event. Over one hundred Korean teachers from throughout Daegu descended on my school. Oh explained to me that my school had received a government grant last year and this was their chance to show off what they spent all the money on and such. It was quite the event let me tell you. I participated in an open class with my co-teacher Ms Lee. It was quite the production; six other native English teachers helped out as Ms Lee and I led the class. It was more of a play than an actual class as we had rehearsed nonstop for two weeks leading up to today, but everything went off without a hitch and everyone was really happy with how I did. They really went all out; the school looked amazing today and we were all treated to snacks and gifts and all kinds of things. Next Wednesday will be even bigger as all of the Principals in Daegu will be coming to the school. Again Ms Lee and I will lead the same open class with the help of other native teachers.

It's exceptionally warm I am told for this time of year; today it was 18'C, and it has been beautiful all week long. The leaves have all changed are paint the countryside in reds and yellows and oranges. Tomorrow I'm climbing Mt Palgongsan to take it all in. I'll be sure to bring my camera along.

                                  A Breath of Fresh Air / Huge Bugs
Bugs grow to be really big in Korea. It's already November. There are otters in the river along my bike trail. I have spotted a few in the early mornings but I haven't managed to get any photos of them yet. With any luck the next update will feature some cute Korean otters; not five minutes from my flat. Along with my morning and afternoon bike rides along the river I have been filling my time with exploring Daegu, learning Korean, writing letters and reading a mountain of books.

I have a scary evaluation looming on the 25th of November. A couple of higher ups from the Daegu school board will be coming to observe one of my classes. I'm not really worried about it; my classes are going so well and the kids are really responding to my teaching methods. I taught a couple of my advanced afterschool classes a Milton Acorn poem last week. They were thrilled to read the poetry and then to explore its meaning. It seems that too often learning of the English language is reduced simply to grammar lessons; the poetry really stimulated them and I could tell by the end of the class they were really excited about the whole thing.

Everyone I have talked to is glad with the news of the Obama victory. I was weeping in my office as the news came in that he had been elected as I had been watching it unfold online throughout the morning. It was a truly historic moment.

The first week of November has already faded away and I have been here for over two months; sometimes I stop to think about my situation and it just hits me that I'm here and I'm making it work and having a great time. I truly feel lucky and blessed to have these opportunities and these experiences. I owe so much to the people who I love and who love me. I've burned through my first calling card with monthly calls to three women in life who mean so much to me, my dear mother, my best friend Aileen, and my loving girlfriend Meghan.