goodness

I spent my first day at the middle school I will be at once a week. I LOVE this place! It is tiny and super rural but so awesome! My classes had about 10 kids in each, there were only three classes total, and I see them every week. The teachers were VERY nice, and the kids were talking to other teachers about having fun in my class before I even left the building.

They dedicated the new library today, so there were lots of officals in the building, and there was a little "showing off the native teacher" going on after the ceremony, which was fine, but at the reception, I was seated at a table with local officals, the head teacher of the school, and my co-teacher. And they told me to try the kimchee on pork. Now, so far I have managed to avoid having to eat straight-up kimchee - I've had what I am pretty sure was a soup with it in it, but not full-on out-of-the-dish-on-the-table willingly. And with an audience, there was no getting around it without being totally rude.

And it wasn't horrible!

Now, I'm not going to be seeking it out - I still think it looks and smells horrible, and it didn't actually taste good but I will no longer feel like I have to avoid it completely.

In other food-related news, meat is REALLY expensive here. I am so desperate for protein that I've been eating a ton of tuna, and every time I open a can, I keep thinking it is the greatest thing I've ever eaten.