The first full day of rain...

For the first time since I've been here (almost a month!) we had a full day of rain yesterday...started at around 10:30 on Wednesday night and when I got home at 10 p.m. last night (Thursday) it was still going with full force. But, it's not too bad for a couple of reasons...one, this was the first time it's rained this much in 4 weeks...two...it'll finally make everything that's brown green. Also, there is now water in the canals, so it's like walking next to a river, not a ditch, on my morning commute...can't complain!

Since they were scaring us with the possibility of the rain carrying radioactive junk from Japan (a lot of schools closed for the day, etc), I did a pre-flight check this morning:

Arms: Two
Legs: Two
Eyes: Two
Nose: One
Superpowers: None

My preliminary findings indicate that the radioactive rain has had no effect on me.

School yesterday was pretty good, my 3rd graders (Grade 9 back home) in the last block were absolutely insane, so I gave them the usual warning...I get paid to be in the school no matter what, and I don't mind keeping them late to finish the lesson (since I'm wasting most of the class trying to stop them from combing each other's hair, beating on each other, throwing stuff at each other, talking so loud I literally can't hear the student a foot away from me, etc, etc). As usual, they didn't take me seriously...I ended up keeping them 15 minutes late and then made them clean up my classroom. I have a feeling things will be better with them the next class :) On the bright side, I had a 1st grade class who were absolutely stellar. Tons of good, original answers (they usually give the same bloody answer over and over again), lots of participation and a ton of eager students...they made my day.

After school, I headed into Changwon to meet up with Des to grab a bite, hang out and do the hard drive exchange (he's nice enough to let me copy a hard drive he has filled with TV shows and movies). I took a bus (filled with my students, who were all super nice and came to say hi to me) that took me to the right general direction, but had to take a taxi to our actual meeting place...every time I sit in a taxi I realize that no way I want to drive in this country. On our short drive he avoided half a dozen accidents and just about caused as many.

Had a great time with Des (I had another bibimbap...$3.50 worth of rice and veggies...all healthy and super filling...can't go wrong!). We looked at blankets for me (still haven't found one I really like) and at badminton rackets (every day after school the teachers and admin staff play badminton here and I've been invited...sounds like fun and even high-quality rackets are dirt cheap, so I'll join them), and took a peek at electronics...I want some sweat/water resistant headphones for running, couldn't find any, but I did find out that Sony headphones here are stupid cheap...the big ones I have at home with 40mm drivers, surround the ears, etc are 21k won (about $18)...I found some noise canceling ones that would be about $120 back home for the equivalent of just over 60 bucks.

Anyhoo...then I headed home (took the right bus in the right direction...BOOYAH!) and saw the only thing worth taking a picture of all day...some cherry blossoms in my neighbourhood

(Nothing fancy, just a quick snapshot with the G9, but it looked neat)

My friend Dawni is moving to my area this weekend, so I think I'll be showing her around and I'm hoping to find some people to go to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival with...so it should be a good weekend...they're forecasting sunny and 18/19 degrees for the weekend, so hopefully it'll be another good one...if it is, I promise I'll have tons of pics for Monday!

Have a great weekend everyone :)

T