"It's okay, she's with us."

Well, that's what I IMAGINE them saying.

By "them", I'm referring to two of my favorite students, 재현 (Jae-Hyun) and David. It's 9:29 PM on Sunday night, and I just made it back to Gimpo from Suwon in two hours EXACTLY. Wanna know how? I rode the school bus.

That's right. Last month, thanks to 수현 (Soo-Hyun, another favorite), I learned that there is a chartered bus that brings students back from YEONGTONG! Okay, let me explain ... the students are allowed to go home once (or twice ... I can't remember) a month only. Well, our students are from ALL over Gyeonggido (and some even further away ... I have a student or two from DAEGU of all places ... they're on their own on the getting home thing). Their parents are obviously unable or unwilling (haha) to drive ALL the way to Gimpo Foreign Language High School (go to Google Maps and copy-paste "김포외국어고등학교" if you don't believe me when I say that we're HELLA FAR AWAY from most of civilization ... and then copy-paste "범계역 to 김포외국어고등학교" if you want to see how far I am from where I used to live) ... the solution to the problem? Charter a bunch of buses to take the students to some centrally placed drop off points and then of course on Sunday they have to pick the kids up again.

Anyways, back to how I figured this out. Last month, I had dinner with my friends Nick and 은수 (Eun-Soo, he's my translator from church) in Yeongtong. As Nick and I were walking to HomePlus, I heard someone shout, "Marcie!" I was confused, mostly, when a teenage boy (who I recognized as being one of my students) ran up to me. He then explained (later that week) about the buses.

The bus departs from Yeongtong HomePlus at exactly 7:10 PM ... and I was going to be on it. I knew the area it would be in (near HomePlus and Hana Bank) ... and while I was looking I managed to down a grande Chai latte (from the Coffee Bean) and a hot chocolate (from a different cafe). Then I saw a girl wearing the school uniform getting on this bus. So, I ran up and asked her mom, "김포외고 버스???" ("Gimpo Foreign High bus?") Of course she was confused, but she answered in the affirmative. Then I realized that I faced the problem of explaining to the bus driver that I was a teacher at the high school and wanted to catch a ride back. The girl didn't recognize me (unfortunately) ... but LUCKILY FOR ME seated two rows from the front I saw two familiar faces - Jae-Hyun and David. They're both in my 2-4 class, and I pretty much love them. They jumped up when they heard my voice (I think they were HELLA surprised) and I was like, "Okay, can you help me explain to the bus driver and this mom that I'm a teacher at the school and I need a ride back?" (But I was totally running on a sugar high, so I'm pretty sure that that entire sentence made it out of my mouth in like, 3 seconds - lucky for me that they are both insanely smart and understood what I was saying). So David took point and explained to the bus driver (in my head I imagine that he said something to the effect of, "it's okay, she's with us," but based on the Korean that I know, I know that he just translated what I said to the confused bus driver) and I got on.

We had to make three or four stops elsewhere to pick up other students, but the majority got on in Yeongtong (like me). We stopped in Suwon once or twice, and then ... in Bundang. Now, those of you who know me well know that I get disoriented (and lost) easily. So, I have no idea how we got back. I can tell you bits and pieces of the two hour bus ride - like when we were driving along the Han River and I'm pretty sure we were near Banpo Bridge because of the lights and the fountain. I can tell you that we drove past Ilsan (but there was like, a river between us and Ilsan) because I could see a sign that said "KINTEX" shining on the other side of the river. I can even describe to you the barbed wire and the military guard posts that were stationed along the bank of a river that I think must be the same one I saw when I went hiking with the principal (which is where Ganghwa Island is and also is between North and South Korea - hence the barbed wire). But in between Banpo Bridge and Tongjin, I had no idea where we were. And I have no idea how we even ended up near Banpo Bridge - if that was Banpo Bridge. Oh, and I'm still motion sick, and I got back thirty minutes ago. That's probably not a good sign.

Oh well. I got home. :) And it only took TWO hours. AND I didn't have to pay anything. So, WIN!

This weekend was pretty good. Yesterday, I met Hyun in Myeongdong and we ate Indian food and shopped. I got a new jacket, which I'm pretty stoked about. Oh, and new Converse. :) It was great seeing Hyun again - I had a lot of fun hanging out with her! Hopefully we can do it again sometime soon. :) :) :)

Today, I woke up early and made the trek down to Suwon. PS, on a Sunday morning, it takes almost exactly 2.5 hours to get from my school to Yeongtong HomePlus (when you factor in waiting for buses and subways and transfers and all of that). So, I left at 9:30 and I made it to the Coffee Bean at exactly noon, just when Nick and I had made plans to meet for lunch. Lunch was Bo-Young Mandoo (DOUBLE WIN). After church, my small group went to Tous les Jours and Seung-Beom (our leader) bought us all coffee (TRIPLE WIN!) AND after that we went back to church and they fed us dinner (we're up to 4 wins now). I got to talk with Chan-Joo (찬주), Eun-Soo (은수), and Isaac (이삭) a lot, which was fun. Whenever Isaac and I talk, he speaks to me in Korean (and I can understand most of it, if he remembers to speak slowly) and I speak to him in English (and he understands most of it [more than I understand of his Korean] if I speak at a moderate pace). Today's sermon was about Joshua 14:1-15. The pastor started off by talking about how our future is dependent upon the decisions we make, and how we live, in the present. I learned two new words today: 현재 ("hyun-jae" which means "present" - I was REALLY proud of myself for that one because I kept hearing the pastor say it, so when Eun-Soo wasn't looking, I looked it up in my dictionary) and 미래 ("mi-rae" which means "future" - Eun-Soo told me). Well, actually, I learned THREE, but I forgot the third one. Oops.

Anyways. Church was good.

Now it's time for a little more babble and a little less sense. I think now is the time to illustrate my feelings by using some song lyrics. Follow along, if you can. :)

Since you've been away
Things ain't been the same
I miss you most and more each day
{...}
No matter what I do
I can't stop thinking of you
You're always on my mind
- Dream

I miss you so much
Your light, your smile, your way
- Rascal Flatts

Okay, I had more, but it's starting to sound pathetic even to ME ... so I can't imagine (or don't want to imagine) what you guys are all thinking. Long story short ...
1.) I'm irritated with you for just disappearing.
2.) I miss talking to you and hanging out with you.
3.) I'm irritated with myself for letting it effect me so much.

There you have it. Oh, and I know full well that this is passive-aggressive at its finest, since *you* won't read this. However ... I totally had planned to tell you all of this today (well, okay, maybe not numbers 1 and 3 ... but I was definitely going to tell you #2), but then you didn't talk to me. So, I'm venting.

I miss my friend. (BTW, Dean, thanks for listening to me for 45 minutes)

Okay, enough of that garbage. :) Now, it's funny time. My buddy, Nick, posted this link a few days ago on his Tumblr - take a look-sie at it. It might make you laugh (I did). Especially look at it if you're a guy dating a Korean girl - http://www.datingish.com/678604010/ten-tips-on-dating-a-korean-girl/

Oh, and just to even things out - http://askakorean.blogspot.com/2007/09/everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know.html (not as funny, though).

Okay. This coming week is the big university entrance exam. You know, the test that only occurs ONCE A YEAR that Korean high school students work their butts off preparing for - the test that causes them to stress out like NO OTHER. Okay, here's my two cents: You don't want students to stress out so much? OFFER THE TEST MORE THAN JUST once A YEAR! =) Stress-be-gone!!! :)

Anyways, that means we don't have classes on Thursday. :) So that means I only have to teach 2-1 ONCE this week (same with 2-3 ... luckily, I get 2-2 and 2-4 TWICE). LOVE it. Oh, on the subject of my students - I have their running totals for the semester so far. Out of a possible 40 points (two tests at 20 points each), my highest student has a total of 38.5 and my lowest has 25.5 (excluding the new students who missed one or both of the tests). We'll see how this works out. :)

(And yes, I realize that I've typed a lot about very little ... but for some reason today, all I've wanted to do is talk the entire day).

Oh, and I just heard a bunch of banging sounds in the hallway, so I stuck my head out to look ... and found a bunch of 3rd year girls riding on a cart up and down the hallway while brushing their teeth. Hey, you gotta blow off steam somehow, right??? :)

Okay. I'm out for the night. Thanks for reading/listening. :) More to come later. Love!