Google is making things difficult for me again... Oh well. After being miserably sick for a couple of days and then completely swamped with homework for a couple more, I finally stepped outside the dorms again and have started to participate in life again. Unfortuately it's midterms week here, and while Emily and I have no tests, everyone else DOES. This is not so much fun as you might think, I don't really enjoy being un-busy when all of my friends are busy. Ideally, I should have done a bunch of homework and lesson planning ahead of time, but that didn't happen. Oh, well... (maybe tomorrow, right?) Today I went to Cheongju with Emily and Michael and Zane, exchange students who have already finished their midterms. I'm pretty sure the best part of the trip was visiting the row of pet stores and looking at all the PUPPIES. I really miss Pippin now. We also ate some pretty great food and had some real coffee (not the instant stuff, that is not coffee!).

On Wedensday we had a lovely day at the beach in Dae Chon, despite the somewhat cold weather. One thing I'll say against the NW, our beaches sure aren't very pretty. It was nice to see a beach pretty sand, and not the dark grey stuff we have at Birch Bay. We went wading in the cold cold water, collected starfish and shells, and played soccer and dodgeball in the sand. After we were throroughly worn out, tired and hungry, we headed to a little restaurant and ate some of the best seafood I've had in a long while. Mmmm clams, oyesters and mussels! Yesterday evening we had an Easter party for the exchange students and their roommates, and we enjoyed some Western-ish food. Mideum and I left the party a little early so that we could go to chapel. Some of the songs wer familiar, so I was able to sing, although it is odd to be singing in English when everyone around me is singing in Korean.
Today has been quiet, I took a walk to the soccer fields, skyped with my family and did some homework and lesson planning. Unfortunately, as the day has progressed I have felt worse and worse. Being sick is unpleasant, being sick in a foreign country when you have lots of homework is miserable! I'm going to try to finish up a few assignments and then go to bed early early and get as much sleep as possible!

I've been neglecting my blog. I've been so busy! I spent the weekend in Seoul with Emily and her roommate Elizabeth at Elizabeth's family's place. We went shopping on Friday and then spent all day Saturday eating and eating and eating. Elizabeth's family showed us how to make kimchi and Korean pancakes, and is was all really delicious. Sunday morning we arrived back in Jochiwon and I walked into the dorm, dropped off my backpack and then turned around and headed to church Mideum. Everyone was given boiled aggs after the service, but there was not a big easter celebration like there is in the States. After church we all went bowling. I did not bowl so well, but my aim has always been a little questionable when it comes to throwing heavy objects! Anyway, it was good to spend some time getting to know my Korean church family.
After bowling we had dinner together and then some very tasty ice cream. Today was a little crazy, as I had to teach my class at 8am. Last night was full of last minute planning and then this morning I had to get up early early. I was so nervous! But everything seemed to go ok. My class subject is American holidays, so today I taught about Easter and we had an Easter egg hunt.
After class I tried to catch up on my Korean language homework and then had a delightful lunch with Emily and her friend Kevin. In the afternoon, we had Korean language class, and then went to home plus where I finally broke down and bought an umbrella and also stocked up on the sorts of food that are hard to find around here like cheese. Then it was back home to do laundry and grade papers.
Wednesday is a holiday here, so hopefully I will get to do something else fun and exciting soon!

Yesterday afternoon I went to downtown Jochiwon with some friends and had real coffee (most of what's on campus is instant). After dinner, Emily and I went a festival on campus put on by the humanities department. It was loud, exciting, and lots of fun. I posted a couple pictres on facebook, but they are blurry because it was dark. It was also really COLD! I was so glad to have my wam down coat (thanks mom!) and also my Sounders scarf. The music at the festival was lots of fun.