Odds and Ends - Seoul

Two things that have gotten me to look like a rambling lunatic in Korea: teaching and Spanish. The former happened when, lo and behold, every Westerner I have met has been a teacher. I had fully intended to leave teaching behind on this trip, to shake it off and refresh myself before September. Believe me, I did. But then Jake's friend, John, started asking about TFA, and here I go, one soju too many, yammering to him at 6 o'clock in the morning about the freaking workshop model. Next thing I know it's 7 a.m. and he is excusing himself to the balcony, where Jake finally got a word in edgewise. Ay.

The other time - also soju-influenced - happened when I met a manfrom Peru. I don't think I've mentioned this before, but we have met no one in Korea who speaks English, at least not outside of Seoul. By the time I met my Peruvian friend, I had gone at least three days only speaking fluently to Jake and Audrey, so even speaking the semblance of something fluent to this street vendor was just too delightful. I started off by asking him normal things: How much are these earrings? I speak a little Spanish. Where are you from? and ended the night by looping around to see this guy twice, using my ever-increasingly-sparse Spanish vocabulary to bombard him with what were most likely unrelated phrases and questions.

We're in Seoul now, a city I really like, staying at a hostel that feels more like a coop. Last night we went out with everyone in the hostel, plus met up with John, and Charity is with us, too. Today Meris arrives!

I want to add pictures and will try, but I have to buy the right cord and also load pictures on to computers that do now belong to me. I tried to explain to a man at an electronics store that I wanted a USB cord, miming the question by pointing to my camera. Things looked promising when his eyes lit up and he scurried away, but he only returned with the phone number for Seoul's Nikon store.