A Bit Of My Uijeongbu Life

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So, this is my life here in my little city of Uijeongbu. Nothing fancy, nothing crazy, nothing extreme. I LOVE it here. I'ts beautiful and clean. Slower than a typical city, but is cluttered with people and more people. And Koreans singing in echoing microphones outside a shop for advertisement. Bars and restaurants. Norebongs (Karaoke) and smoky PC rooms (internet cafes). Fish, vegetable, fruit markets. Scooter delivery drivers on sidewalks, little bitty buses zooming past..

  I've managed to build a social life with great people who are always up for an adventure and are just a call away. A man-made stream runs through the city, with people constantly walking and biking. Slowly. As if each moment, they're capturing life. Snaps of life. Snaps of emotions. Just in snaps. Then they climb back up to the hustle of reality. Downtown Uijeongbu has a new strip in the midst of the market where romance is in bloom and kids splash in the fountains. It's almost like a happy dreamworld bubble where I sometimes never want to leave. Sure, bars and streets are cluttered with American douchebag soldiers (during the wee hours) that make Americans look worse than we already do, but thank the military god for curfew! Whew! And friends and great atmosphere override that negative notion. 

I am the only native teacher at my middle school, which is the norm in this country. I feel like a superstar at times, but for the most part I feel welcomed and embraced as equally as I am taking in this adventure into the heart of Korea... or as much as the heart I can get into. And, although I'm slacking on learning their names and language (It's hard! What!!), I've learned a lot about them through their actions and gestures. The children hold an innocence in ways I never saw in my middle school years back home. They also are burdened with expectations that I never endured growing up. 

I've disregarded the thought of using forks and knives in my apartment. And I've hardly touch my Mexican hot sauce. I've decided to do as the Koreans do. Metal chopsticks, kimchi, and...well...rice. Lots of rice. And all the deliciousness in between.