So, this is the last of my series of blogs about culture and the differences and things that I have had to come to terms with being in Korea. Since I knew that I was going to be spending this last weekend in Seoul, I thought that I would save this one for last.

The first thing that struck me when I got into Seoul is the sheer number of people. I suppose I should have expected this, as it is the largest city with a population of over 10 million people and is the hub of activity in Korea, but I wasn't expecting it and it kind of bowled me over. The first place that I noticed just how many people there were was on the subway.

There are a few things that you should know about traveling on the subway in Korea. First of all, if you intend on going there on a fairly regular basis, you should invest in a T-money card. You pay a small fee to acquire the card, but then you can just top it up and it saves you the hassle of waiting in queues to get a subway ticket. Once you have your ticket in hand, you can head through the turnstiles and onto the subway. The trains themselves arrive on a fairly regular basis, every five minutes or so, but are usually ridiculously busy despite that, and you will often find yourself without a seat. This means that you will be jostled by a number of people who will bump into you or stand on your feet. Don't expect an apology from them. In Seoul, because there are so many people, you will not find people excusing themselves for bumping into others or for minor mishaps. This is purely because, if they were to do so, there would be a continual chorus of apologies. You are not expected to excuse yourself either. Just expect to be bumped into and don't take it to heart when the person doesn't turn around and say sorry. After standing around for awhile, you might notice some seats open up. If the seats are at the end of the train, don't sit in them. These seats are specially reserved for the elderly, the disabled and the pregnant. If you sit there, even if there is no one fitting those descriptions to take the seats, it is very likely that you will be glared at or shouted at. Just don't do it.

So you have figured out the Seoul subway and have managed to get where you want to go without being scolded by a grumpy old ajumma (though you may have been stared at - ajummas tend to openly stare). Now it is time to find somewhere to stay. Seoul is filled with accomodation of varying shapes and forms, and I thought that I would tell you a little about them.

At the bottom wrung of the accomodation ladder are the minbaks and jimjilbangs. A minbak (sp?) is an empty room that can be rented for a night. It will come with a number of mats and duvets that can be used for makeshift beds and has a small bathroom with the traditional shower head. Four or more people usually share these rooms as they provide cheap accomodation for groups, but when if it is just you, you might want to look elsewhere. Jimjilbangs are bathing rooms or spas which usually have saunas and I believe occasionally offer massages. I have never been to one and cannot say for certain what they are like, but what has always put me off the idea is that you would be sharing a room with a number of people (many of whom may be naked) and using the pajamas that the spa provides you with. It really isn't my idea of fun, but it is very cheap and would give you a place to sleep for the night (though you would still be sleeping on a mat rather than a bed).

If neither of those sounded appealing to you, the next step up are the hostels and guesthouses. These are places where you can rent a bed for a night, occasionally sharing with other people. They are the cheapest beds you will find, and if you are going with a friend, you might be able to get a two-person room to share, which might not be so bad. Utilities such as bathrooms and lounges are also often shared. Think backpackers, and you will probably have the right picture.

If backpacking isn't really your thing, there are tons and tons of love motels. This is exactly what it sounds like - a motel where people often go to rendezvous for sex. However, while this may sound completely dodgy, this is a foreigner's paradise. The rooms are often cheap (ranging from 40,000-70,000 won which, when shared, isn't too far off from the price you would pay at a hostel) and more luxurious than the hostels. They are fitted with double beds, a bathroom which usually includes a proper shower and a bath, a large TV and often a computer with free internet. While you might find a condom or packet of lubricant amongst your shampoo, soap and other bits and pieces, it is easy to forget that these rooms are rented out by the hour and just see them as another motel. In fact, I have stayed in a number of uber-luxurious love motels that are far nicer than any hotel that I could afford.

If you have a little more cash to burn and the idea of staying in a love motel freaks you out, there are of course hotels available for you to stay in. These are often very overpriced however, the cheapest I have found being 100,000 won, and do not provide anything that the love motels don't (at least not the ones that I have been to).

Now that you have found a place to stay and have left your luggage behind, it is time to hit the streets. You might have a place in mind, and might decide to take the subway to your destination, but if you decide that it would be far easier to taxi, there are two things that you should keep in mind. Those are the traffic and the black taxis. Seoul has a huge number of people, as I said before, and while a ton of them use public transportation in the forms of busses and the subway, a lot of them also use cars and taxis. If you are going by taxi, you should anticipate traffic, as there is likely to be at least some of it at all times of the day and night. When hailing a taxi, be careful about which ones you catch. The black cars are known as 'luxury taxis' (though what makes them luxurious, I will never know) and charge a lot more than their white, silver and yellow counterparts.

So you decided to go to one of the markets did you? Or perhaps you have gone to a beautifully traditional site and are wanting to buy a souvenir. One thing that you should know about vendors is that they almost expect you to haggle. This took me awhile to get used to, but I have found that even those who are not prepared to haggle don't particularly mind you asking - they might laugh off the thought, but there will be no need to be embarassed, and you will often find them throwing something into the bargain even if they do not reduce the price. This only applies to the more informal vendors and shops, of course. You cannot expect to haggle at Shinsegae and get anything out of it. What you might find though, and should keep in mind, is that most places do give discounts for cash.

And so, I have come to the end of my culture series of blogs. I realise that a lot of the people reading these will be breathing a sigh of relief wondering why the hell I ever did this in the first place, but if you did enjoy reading this and want to know more about the other 'lessons' that I wrote about in the series, they can be found here, here and here.

Today marks thirteen weeks until my contract is up and I get to go home. My calendar for the next three months is rapidly filling up, so I thought that I would write a post about some of the things that I have to look forward to over the next thirteen weeks.

• A Thankful weekend in Seoul with the girls - shopping in Namdaemun, Thanksgiving dinner in Itaewon and partying in Hongdae.
• Amy's Australia Day and my third trip to Outback Steakhouse to celebrate.
• A geeky, goofy and lamely awesome movie marathon with Amy.
• A skiing trip with all the foreign teachers from my province.
• A Christmas dinner with all the foreign teachers from my province.
• A Christmas day that will hopefully be spent in a ski cabin surrounded by friends.
• An epic birthday party for Geri and Maria.
• A New Years that will hopefully be spent somewhere new and exciting with friends.
• The possibility of travel: Thailand, Taiwan and China are being juggled at the moment, and two of them are likely to be chosen for visits.
• A month and a half vacation where I only have to teach for ten days.

Yes, time is quickly running out and I sense that there is a lot to look forward to. Everything is still up in the air in terms of travelling, but mostly I am just happy that the next few weeks are going to be busy ones to stop me counting down the days until my return.

Apparently the weekend of partying caught up with me. On Monday I had to go home early because I was feeling sick and I ended up taking Tuesday and Wednesday off for the same reason. I woke up on Tuesday feeling nauseous and could hardly stand up, and while I could stand on Wednesday, after spending five minutes getting ready I was feeling so dizzy I didn't think I could go anywhere. After three days of this I finally decided that going to the doctor would be a good idea.

I have been dreading going to the doctor. Before I left SA I made sure to get a year's prescription for my medication from my doctor, since he knows my feelings about needles. Yet, when I tried to fill it up last month, the doctor insisted on only giving me a month's supply, saying that I needed to come back for a test. It has been over a month, my supplies have run out, and the thought of going and being stabbed by a needle is enough to make me not want to visit the doctor even when I am genuinely sick. I sucked it up though and made the trip yesterday afternoon.

After a rather embarassing scenario where I walked into the wrong doctors rooms (orthopedic surgeory rather than general), I made my way to the desk and made an appointment. I sat myself down on the comfy leather couch and waited for my name to be called. It only took a few minutes for the doctor to see me, and when he did he felt around my stomach (where I said there was a considerable amount of pain) and decided that I had appendicitis. I immediately freaked out of course - the idea of going under in Korea not being a pleasant thought - but was assured that it wasn't very serious. I left the building feeling very nervous and contemplating how I was going to get myself to a hospital. I phoned friends and was informed exactly what I should be feeling if I had appendicitis, none of which I was feeling.

Yes, I have stomach cramps, yes I have nausea, but I don't think that the two are exclusively related to appendicitis. I have a note in my handbag written by the doctor that I am carrying around in case I suddenly start feeling under the weather again, but for now I am back at school and taking it a little bit easy, but feeling better in general than I have over the last two days. Here's hoping I won't be needing surgeory any time soon.

So back home, there were not too many choices when it came to traveling. There were plenty of ways to travel - bus, train, taxi, bicycle, car - but not many of them were viable options for someone traveling on their own.

The only time I travelled by train was when I went on a school trip and I was always discouraged from trying it again because of stories of muggings. When I was growing up there was the all-out war between taxis and busses involving gunfights, which my parents weren't too keen for me to be a part of, so traveling by bus or taxi around the town was out of the question. If the ongoing warfare wasn't enough to stop me from wanting to travel by taxi, the state of the 'taxis' themselves (not the kind that we are used to here, but minibuses able to fit around 15 people but often filled to about 25) put me off entirely - doors falling off, windows falling out and drivers who drove like crazy people. Having never learned to ride a bicycle, my only real choice was travelling by car and I got very used to this luxury.

When it came to long distance travel, there were still trains (though the same problems persisted), buses and planes. Planes were fairly expensive to use and I would choose the bus wherever possible, but the busses were unreliable (they could be anywhere from half an hour early to four hours late) and not the most comfortable mode of transportation.

My experience of transportation in Korea has been completely different.I suppose that I should have expected it considering that South Korea is the size of the Western Cape, but it came as a shock nonetheless. Anyway, today's lesson in culture is going to revolve around traveling and what is expected of you when traveling around Korea.

In smaller cities like Cheongju, there are two modes of public transportation - taxi and bus. I tend to travel more by taxis because I never learned the bus schedule or system well enough to be comfortable about it, but I will pass on the little knowledge that I do know in any case.

If you intend to travel by bus around your city, one of the first things you should invest in is a little bus chip. You can buy these from the vendors on the side of the road, often found near bus stops particularly in larger areas such as downtown. You pay a small amount for the chip itself and then you recharge it with money when it runs out. This will stop you fiddling in your wallet for money and stop the bus driver getting annoyed with you while you do so.

Speaking of bus drivers, I have found them to be rather crabby creatures myself. They are on a tight schedule and they do not appreciate you holding them up for anything at all. I have seen little old ladies just about pushed off the bus as the doors close unceremoniously behind them at their stops. I have been shouted at on more than one occasion because I was taking too long to count my money or to climb aboard. Be careful not to get on their bad sides.

Once you are on the bus itself, you can try to find yourself a seat. Depending on where you are, this could be very easy or very difficult. There are a large number of busses that travel to and from Shinae, so if you are headed in this direction, you will probably find yourself with a seat somewhere along the line. If you have been on a hike to Sandangsangseong, where the bus only stops by once every half hour or so, you can expect to spend the whole ride packed like a sardine as the bus takes precarious corners and you try to keep your balance.

If you manage to find yourself a seat on the bus, you shouldn't make yourself too comfortable. Respect for elders is deeply ingrained in the Korean way of life, and if you find yourself faced with someone who is older than you, you may very well be asked to give up your seat. Okay, so maybe not asked, but it is certainly seen as the proper thing to do. I suppose it would be the same anywhere - if someone climbs onto a bus and is in no state to be standing around trying to keep their balance, you would give them your seat. But not giving it up is seen as an insult here.

So those are a few things to expect from the busses. What about the taxis? A taxi ride is very different from a bus one. The taxi drivers are much friendlier and tend to like to chit chat, sometimes using what minimal English they have, sometimes just talking in Korean and expecting you to understand. Either way, they are a lot friendlier than their bus equivalents.

While seating and paying isn't that much of a problem when it comes to taxis (they tend to not mind waiting for you to find your money as the meter will sometimes run while they wait), there are some other things you should know about riding in a taxi. One of the main things is that taxi drivers are much like their South African equivalents in terms of their recklessness. While it did take me awhile to get used to the rules of the road here (driving on the right and the right on red rule being some of the obvious differences) there are still times when I cling to my seat and wonder what the hell the drivers are doing. It would seem that in Korea, traffic lights are just for show and are usually ignored or taken as more of a suggestion than anything else.

Considering the way that many Koreans drive, I was surprised that I hadn't witnessed more accidents, but I soon figured out that this wasn't because accidents weren't happening. It is just that accident control in Korea is a lot better than back home. When an accident occurs, the people involved just want to sort everything out as quickly as possible and be on their way. There is no squabbling in the street, there is no finger-pointing. If the cars are still in good enough condition to drive, then you swap insurance cards and drive away. If they aren't, then you call someone up to pick them up and the scene is cleared within minutes. It is very handy indeed.

Now that I have told you a little bit about traveling within cities like Cheongju, I will very briefly tell you some tidbits aout travelling outside of your city of residence. The main method of transport between cities is bus. Traveling by train is quicker, but it is more expensive and considering that the longest a bus ride can take is three-four hours, I have never felt the need to take one. Travelling by intercity bus is cheap - the most you can expect to pay for a ticket is around 25,000 won - and usually comfortable, especially if you get the deluxe busses which cost a little (and by little I mean a couple of thousand) more. Once you have your ticket, you will notice a platform number, a time and a seat number. If you are on a normal bus, your seat number usually doesn't matter all that much, but on a deluxe bus, you must be careful to take your designated seat so as not to step on anyones toes. Once the journey starts, chit chat is permitted for a short while before you will start being glared at or worse by the people in the seats around you. Silence is a commodity on a longer bus trip, and people will insist that the standard is maintained.

Now I have told you a little about traveling around Korea, and the customs that come with the experience of traveling. Next time I will write about Seoul and the experience that you can expect to have there.

Shopping. I love it. I can't get myself to stop it. On Thursday I had the day off and made plans with Amy and Chanel to go shopping, but I promised myself (and Grant) that I wouldn't be the one to buy things. Sure, I would pitch in my opinion to Chanel and Amy and I would live vicariously through them, but I wouldn't be parting with any of the money in my wallet. And then Amy picked the prettiest pair of shoes in the shop and Chanel and I watched in awe as she tried them on. We were jealous. We had to have them. By the time we left the shop I had one pair of gorgeous boots in my hand, Amy had a black pair and an order for another pair to be delivered to her house and Chanel had the third and fourth pairs of shoes she had bought in a week (or was it the fourth and fifth?) Once I had the pair of shoes in hand, I needed to wear them and I needed to wear them SOON! Chanel and Amy convinced me that the best idea was to join them at the Ladies Night party in Seoul on Friday night. I was hesitant - it would involve a lot of traveling and a very very late night/early morning and I was already not feeling 100%. And yet, the prospect of wearing the pretty shoes was great, and I so I sucked up my complaining and said I would go.

Thursday night was my Taekwondo exam, and true to form, my masters insisted that I come out to dinner with them afterwards despite my complaints about being way too full.
"Aniyo," I whined. "Bebuloyo!"
"No eat," he replied. "You drink."
And he wasn't kidding. Everytime he offered me some food and I refused, he poured me a shot instead. By the end of the night, there were at least eight empty soju bottles and I was far from sober. It was almost 12:30 and I had classes the next morning. When I woke up, I instantly regretted promising Amy and Chanel that I would join them. After around 6 hours of sleep, the idea of going out all night was not a pleasing one. I somehow managed to get through the day of school and even managed to get myself into a partying mood by listening to DJ Earworm's 'United States of Pop 2009'. I got home, scoffed down a sandwich, straightened my hair, chose and outfit and was out of the door and on my way to Seoul by 8pm.

I had heard about the Ladies Night before Chanel and Amy convinced me to go to it. I had been sent an invite by a company called Watz Up Korea who organises parties on a regular basis. I had heard about their parties before, had been invited to ten million events, but nothing had ever struck my fancy. Ladies Night was no exception really. When I first saw the invite, I was interested in going. Then I read the wall for the event and saw how many guys were posting saying they would be going to check out the talent. It wasn't something that I particularly liked the sound of - being hit on by desperate guys - but once my friends were going, I figured that we would have a good time together. Finding the club was a slight mission in itself involving a 15 minute walk in heels that were not particularly comfortable (yes, the beautiful heels lied to me and convinced me to wear them by pretending to be comfortable when they really weren't!) My friends quickly discovered that I had never been to Hongdae before and decided that tonight was indeed a necessary excursion. There was to be no turning back now.

We entered the club and a wall of sound hit us. We made our way to the bar and were looking at the menu to order drinks when the first part of my ordeal started - a man came and started pointing at drinks that he wanted me to buy him. After saying no to each and every one, he backed away, and I thought that was him done with. We placed our orders and started waiting for our drinks. Next thing I know, I feel a pull on my arm and turn around to find the same guy hump-dancing with me. I shake my head and turn back to my waiting friends. He tugged at my arm again. I turned around. Same thing. This happened about twice more before I just stopped bothering to turn around. I was left in peace for awhile. I made friends with a soldier and was trying to explain to him how to use my camera when the guy returned and tried to grab my camera by the lens. I got defensive, of course, my damn expensive camera being a touchy subject and gave him the finger only to have him grab my hand and try to break it (at least that's what it felt like). My soldier friend came to the rescue, as did Amy, he quickly backed off, and that was the last that I heard from him thank goodness. The rest of the night passed by in a blur of noise, painful walking, chicken and DVD bangs. Chanel and I had decided to make a night of it (Amy having opted for a visit at a friend instead) and catch the 5:40 bus back into Cheongju so that Chanel could be at work at 8:40, bright and early, to teach her Saturday class. We made it back on time and after a chat to Grant, passed out somewhere around 8am, glad to finally be in bed.

I woke up late on Saturday afternoon feeling like death warmed up. I would say that I felt hungover, but considering that I had only indulged in two drinks, that wasn't the possible explanation. Instead, I decided, I was sick. This wouldn't do. I had places to go, people to see! Being sick wouldn't stop me! I bundled myself up in layer upon layer of clothing and made my way to meet Jacques, Sheelagh and all of their friends. Little did I know just how many people there were going to be! The contingent from Daegu and Gyeongju, led by Jacques brother, came in their masses and what was supposed to be a dinner and one (singular) drink ended up being another late night where I arrived home somewhere around 3am.

After such a busy three days, you would think that my Sunday would be spent in bed, especially considering the illness that was developing rather faster than I would have liked. But no. After being woken up at what felt like 1am but was actually 1pm (thanks PATRICK) I made my way to Shinae for a lunch and catchup with Ross which was followed by a few hours of resting before dinner with Jess and quiz. Usually I make my way home after quiz. I am almost always the first person out of the room. Instead, this week, I was convinced that home was not the best plan for me. Instead, I went to watch a movie and ended up getting home sometime after 1am.

Need I note that today I am feeling worse than ever (in terms of sickness and sleep deprivation)? I am hoping next weekend will be more chilled.

Last time I wrote about the cultures and traditions involved in eating out in Korea. This time I am going to be talking about how home life is different. In order for you to understand how different it is, I should probably explain what my homelife was like back in South Africa.

I have lived in a few houses and with a number of other people, so each experience has been different. Living with my parents involved everything being kept spick and span. Half of the house was carpeted to keep the warmth in, and you had to make sure that your shoes were clean before you were allowed to step on the carpet or fear the wrath of my mother and her screaming. The other half was tiled and the rules were a lot simpler - keep it as clean as possible, but you don't have to check your every step.

When I moved to University, I moved into residence and my style of living changed a lot. I had a small room for myself and the rest of the house was shared with seventy other girls. Our rooms were our own space and we could do what we liked with them (which in my case meant that there was always a layer of clothing covering the floor) but the rest of the house was shared and we had to book TV time. In addition, our meals were served a good five minutes walk from our house and in winter, this wasn't a walk that anyone was keen to make.

After two years of living in residence, I moved in with four of my friends into a small house. The house itself was some form of national monument and had a history - the floorboards were made from the wood of a ship from the 1800s (or something like that) and our next door neighbour enjoyed telling us stories about how the original tennant had murdered his wife in the fireplace and the house had been haunted ever since. We also enjoyed making up stories about the house, theorising about how it must have been occupied by a giant and his midget wife because of the varying doorway sizes - sometimes so tall that Richard (who is a great deal taller than me) couldn't reach the top and sometimes so short that he had to duck (literally) to walk under them. At 5'3, I never had any trouble, but I think that I was the only one in the house who never hit her head on the kitchen doorway. The kitchen itself was our pride and joy (Michael's in particular) because it was fairly large and the oven and stove meant we could cook for ourselves, something that was sorely missed in residence.

Something that was shared in my experiences in all the houses was that I never went without a maid. There was always someone coming in at least once a week to do cleaning, washing, laundry, ironing and other little jobs around the house. This meant that while I did try to keep as tidy as possible (often not very successfully) there was always someone to help out. When I tell the people that I have met here how much I miss having a maid, they look at me as though I am an absolute snob, but what you have to realise is that in South Africa, where unemployment is through the roof, you will be hardpressed to find someone who doesn't. It provides a form of regular employment for people who cannot afford to find anything better.

So, now that I have rambled a bit about my homelife in South Africa, let me tell you about my homelife in Korea. The first thing I learned when I arrived at my new apartment is that, like in the restaurants, you must take off your shoes on entering anyone's apartment. This was a huge adjustment for me to make - I am not used to walking around barefoot. It was discouraged in my parents house and it makes me feel uncomfortable walking around anyone else's house in nothing but my socks. It's not that I think their floor is dirty, it just makes my feet feel exceedingly naked.

The next thing that I learned very quickly was that Korean apartments have paper-thin walls. I learned this on the first night when I got woken up at 3am by someone arriving home and clipclopping up the stairs in their high heels, walking into their apartment and starting the water to have a shower. For the first few weeks that I stayed in Korea, I relied on sleeping pills to get a good night's rest every night. Once the pills ran out, I resorted to earplugs and then finally realised that I had gotten used to the noises and could in fact sleep on my own.

I arrived in Korea towards the end of winter, but it was still pretty damn cold. On the first night, I was woken around midnight by my landlord who arrived to turn my heat on. I thanked him profusely and went back to sleep in my toasty apartment. The next morning I woke up to have a shower and realised that the water was freezing. I couldn't figure it out. Was the geyser off? How did I switch it on? Being new and not wanting to complain, I suffered for a good two or three weeks before finally approaching my co-teacher and asking her what to do. That night she came around to my house, walked into my apartment, pressed a button on my wall and left. That was the night that I learned about the heating button and it was also the first night that I had a decent shower in the country.

The shower itself in Korea is very different from anything that I have experienced before. It basically consists of a shower-head placed above the sink in the bathroom. The whole room becomes the shower which means that pretty much everything in the room gets wet. It took me ages to get used to this, and I am still not entirely comfortable with it. I can't wait to get home and have a proper bath again.

Living in a single apartment in Korea means that everything is small. There is a small bathroom, a small main-room that doubles as a lounge and bedroom and a small room at the back for doing laundry. This also means that there is a very small kitchen and this has been the bane of my existence here. I am not a big cook and never have been, but I do like to throw something together on the odd occasion and I have had no real desire to do that here. There is no space to chop anything. There is no oven. There is only two small stove plates and a sink. My kitchen isn't even big enough to fit my fridge and microwave which live in the main room with me.

Another thing that I quickly learned about Korea is that everything must be recycled. Koreans are pretty strict about this and make sure to separate their paper, tin, bottles and food remains into different packets. I am not so good at this, and though I seriously tried in the beginning, I have since given up on the attempt - everytime I put my garbage out, my landlord would filter it anyway, so I no longer attempt to do this myself.

Anyhow, these are just some of the differences that I have been dealing with regarding my homelife in Korea. The next lesson in culture will revolve around traveling.

After dinner last night, my friend Chanel announced: "I'm going to have such a culture shock when I go back home". Most people think about the culture shock that they are going to have when coming to a new country, but not so much about the shock of returning from a different culture and having to readapt to what you knew before. With the months to my return winding down, I thought that I would write a blog about some of the cultural and other differences and difficulties that I have noticed between Korea and South Africa (and I think probably a lot of other 'Western' countries). Since it is on my brain, I will start with restaurant etiquette.

I subscribe to a blog that is written by a family friend back home, and at the end of every blog post she lists the 'Wikidates' - Wikipedia's list of holidays celebrated around the world. I read through the blog yesterday and when it came to the Wikidates, I smiled in anticipation. But my smile was in vain. It wasn't there. I quickly jumped over to Wiki to check - maybe she had made a mistake or hadn't grasped the significance of the date (though I couldn't see how this would be possible - 11/11 is so obviously related to this holiday, I don't understand how anyone could ignore the significance). And then I saw that Wiki hadn't mentioned the holiday either. How was this possible? 11/11 should be world renowned as Peppero Day!
What?!
None of you have heard of it either?
How is that...
What's that you say? Before coming to Korea I had never heard of it either.
Wait? Are you telling me there was a time when I wasn't in Korea?! I have a faint inkling that you may be correct, but it certainly doesn't seem that way.

Yesterday was Peppero Day, and for those of you who aren't in Korea, I suppose I should explain what that is exactly. A Peppero is a chocolate covered breadstick - in America they are apparently known as Pocky, but for South Africans, they are Chocstix. The 11th of November is celebrated as Peppero Day because the date (11/11) looks like four Pepperos placed next to each other - DUH! The day itself is rather like Valentines Day where you give Pepperos (which come in various flavours and varieties) to the people that you like, love or respect. Like Valentines, a lot of people think that the holiday is completely contrived and commercialised, but in the case of Peppero Day, they would probably be right. I mean, come on - a day for giving out a specific gift marketed by a specific company? Does it need to be more obvious? Lotte has pretty much taken over the world (or South Korea) and a couple of months ago even the GSMart near my apartment was converted into a Lotte Mart.

But I am not complaining too much - I benefit from Peppero Day after all! From 8:30am onwards, I was rewarded with Peppero in various shapes and forms, and by the end of the day, I couldn't look at or even smell another Peppero without gagging. But despite Peppero Day being filled with gifts, the best gift that I got from a student arrived on my desk this morning delivered by one of the students from my after-school class. She ran into the office and placed it on my desk before rushing out of the door blushing profusely before I could even say thank you. I opened the letter to find this (badly written but) heartfelt note:

"Hello. How are you. What's up. I'm Kang Chan Mi and from Mongolia. That is my English name Anna Belive KKK. Am... am am am.... (which I assume is translation from the Korean ㅋㅋㅋ which is like "hahaha") A foreign country be laborious! Me too. Run out freind KKK. But you many favor. KKK ^v^ You teaching many grammar. Next write many a letter. I want study to many time. The foregoing more give lessons many time. You knowing beauty every time. Don't abandon. Don't stop keeping. I believe you ^v^ I love you"

The letter came with a picture that she drew of me and her labeled: "Thats you. Have you big eyes. Thats I. I have small eyes." and a printed photograph of herself with a heart around it saying I love you in both Korean and Mongolian. While the letter was really badly written, I think that the sentiment behind it was more important than the bad vocab and grammar. It still made me smile to read it, and I will bring it back home with me and treasure it. So what if the kids learn nothing at all from my lessons - at least they like me :)

Me: If you could make anything, what would you make?
Student: A time machine.
Me: Why?
Student: Because I want to go back to last semester.
Me: *Very confused* Why?
Student: Shhh... *Glares at my co-teacher who arrived at the beginning of the semester*

***

Me: What would you make?
Student: A memory machine.
Me: Why?
Student: Because I hate studying, but studying is good for me.

***

Me: What would you make?
Student: Love medicine.
Me: Why?
Student next to her: Because she loves boys.
Student: No! *Blushes and hides her paper*
Me: *Takes a peek at her paper and reads (silently) "Because I love Gunyoung soooo much!" Awwwwww!

***

Me: What would you make?
Student: A nuclear.
Me: A nuclear what? Bomb?!
Student: Yes.
Me: WHY?!
Student: To protect Korea.

***

During an exercise where they had to fill in the blanks explaining why the girl woke up late.
Student: She was in a car accident.
Me: What?!
Student: She got hit by a car.
Me: But then she wouldn't come to class, because she would be in hospital.
Student: No.
Me: Why?
Student: Because she is Wonderwoman!

Later in the class when I am writing the answers on the board.

Student: Teacher! My answer! She was in a car accident!
Me: *Writes it on the board followed by "(and she is Wonderwoman)".
Other student: No!
Me: Why?
Other student: I am Wonderwoman!

***

During an exercise where they had to fill in the blanks explaining why the girl woke up late.
Student: Because my mother passed away.