To put it delicately, this day has been an adventure. People espouse the benefits of the train so I left my trusty cross-country buses behind. My first mistake. There was already an issue buying the ticket because the KORAIL website and app don’t match up but I made it through that hurdle, two subway lines and a local bus, and through the tall Cheonyangni station only to be stumped at the display board. My train wasn’t listed. It was scheduled for 1pm and I was there at 12:40. Okay… I’ll just go to the Gangneung platform and check it out. There was an empty train idling so I pressed the…

This morning a small napkin full of popcorn and some type of delicous airy chocolate snack appeared on my desk. I told the room at large, “Thank you!” and also felt confident enough to finally ask if it was possible to print in this makeshift office. I spent the morning finalizing Winter Camp materials and printing out the last of the worksheets. For lunch I originally planned to revisit the stew place from my first week but didn’t want to commit to a full hour, so instead ate tuna kimbap at a very typical “snack” place. In Korea, orange signs indicate traditional Korean family style restaurants or quick snack places…

Today was a day of revelations that still leave me flabbergasted. Perhaps it started with the discovery of a free range rooster. Why did he cross the road? No, really, why is there a rooster loose in the maze of apartment complexes near the mountain base? G stopped by to finish her taxes and discovered me. “Can you go out? I want to buy you bread.” “Yes, I don’t think anyone really cares.” Arm in arm we walked to the bakery and G told me that the nervous young office woman intercepted her to say “Please tell Abigail I feel sorry. She doesn’t like our lunch food so it must…

In the most absurd moment yet, en route to the gym bathroom I interrupted the VP practicing unicycling. I have no words. H popped in before lunch to submit her taxes before her gap year and offered to take me out for coffee. I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to leave my post so early so she went upstairs to ask the VP, perhaps interrupting a lap. We got the greenlight and spent an hour at the coffee shop where the barista hates S (see “Week 9, Thursday”) and had good life chats. She told me that she told the VP “I think it must be very boring for…

I’m understanding more of the back neighborhoods around my school: today I ate my ramen at GS25 then wandered. The area behind the school must be an older neighborhood because many of the buildings exhibit characteristics of 1970s Korean architecture: low brick buildings, intricate metal doors. The sun was shining in my eyes so it took me some time to recognize Tank Boy in a popular shortcut alleyway by the school. “Hello, teacher!” He shouted from his bike. Did I ever tell you that his dream job is to be a professional MTX biker? I also surprised one of my grade 4 boys as I emerged between two old buildings…

I wandered straight into a sports camp for second graders. The bathroom is in the gym so I walked through a chorus of “영 선생님!” and “hi! hello!”. I waved two hands like a Korean celebrity. In subsequent trips some kids just stared, so I stared right back. Upon seeing my spending this month, I decided that most days I should eat at cafe a la 7-11. Today I wandered the backstreets of the neighborhood until I reached the base of Bonghwasan Mountain. I passed “give me candy” and her younger sister at the park and told her to exercise well as she was spinning on some contraption. At GS25…

I figured out why this week has been a bit more draining than expected. During the school year I had S, H, G, and 250 little gremlins to keep me company. Now my days have been reduced to what would be ideal for an introvert: Hello, no thanks, goodbye. Not out of the ordinary for an office by any means. But my little extrovert heart needs those daily power ups. However, I got a power up today from the stern security guard. I came back from a delightful little lunch of blood sausage soup made by a cute older couple at an empty traditional restaurant. “Ah solo.” He commented again.…

I declined lunch (in your face!) and wandered around for ten minutes before I decided to eat at a type of rice bowl fast food place. It turns out the older man running the small store knows English much to my surprise. He said he worked in Saudi Arabia for four years but has since forgotten most of his English since then. Having been run down by cold city folk I jumped on the opportunity to have small talk. I asked him if he had children and we ended up talking for a while. He showed me pictures of his granddaughter and of some arrangements his daughter-in-law makes as a…