My journey thus far

Well I have been here for about a month and a half now and figured I should start a blog rather than the mass e-mailing. I'm going to apologize ahead of time for the scattered/randomness of this blog. I'm hoping I can give you a quick summary on what has been going on so far...I hope you don't get bored! :)
When I first arrived it was an interesting transition to go from the grizzly bear, granola eating, backcountry life of Montana to the apartment surrounding, kimchi obsessed Bupyeong, South Korea.
The first couple weeks upon arrival were difficult/interesting for me. One of my friends from back home was here visiting some friends, so it was nice to see a familiar face. Basically though I felt overwhelmed by my job, lack of friends, people that looked like me etc...
I guess being surrounded by Koreans has been the most difficult experience thus far. Taxi drivers, pedestrians, sales people, students etc....all assume that I can speak Korean and I just stand there staring at them, it's really great...hmmm.
Let's see, the weekends have been great. I've been able to hike basically every weekend, mainly in Bukhansan Nat'l Park (in Seoul). On my off days I also have been taking the subway into Seoul, checking out markets, sights, bars, and coffee houses (or lack thereof).
(Buses and Subways have also been a new experience...not the same as my great '85 chevy cavalier...:(
Work has been getting better, yay!! I'm starting to understand the students a little better and how they work. I usually work about 30-35 hours a week and have anywhere from 4-8 classes a day. The children are anywhere from the age of 6-16. Crazy...I love em...at least most of em ;) I start work at about 2 or 3 p.m. and go until 9. We have a new curriculum starting this month, so it's a nice change.
Oh, I also started studying taekwondo about a week after I got here. I am loving it more and more. I go with my friend Mason 3 times a week. Seeing that there is a language barrier between my instructors and me, I've been learning a lot through observing.

Everything here is about trial and error and learning from my mistakes. I am figuring out what personalities I am clashing with and which I get a long with, what food I like, what teaching style works for me etc...it's good for me but it can be a frustrating process.

Okay, I gotta get ready for work. I'll write more later :)