Sam-Sam

Lately I've noticed that the Korean teachers have been calling each other "sam" or something close to that. It has been tripping me out, because I hear my naming being called and other teachers are answering. Today, I talked to one of the Korean teachers, Jinny, about it and she explained that "sam" is shortened version of teacher, which is really "sonsengneem." Since the children call me "Samantha-Teacher", it can be shortened to "Sam-Sam." This came up in one of the classes today and all the kids found it really funny. I hope it doesn't catch on though. I don't think anyone will take me seriously if they refer to me as Sam-Sam.

In other news, Gwen bought me a coffee table today, which will make eating in front of the TV a lot easier. After a couple nights of sleeping on my new comfy sofa, I've moved back to my hard Korean mattress. The light from the street is too bright and my neighbours, who are loud in the morning, seem louder from the living room. Today in Taekwondo, I was completely exhausted and not in the mood to do anything, but I did my poomsae half decently for once. (A poomsae is a series of steps, kicks, blocks, and punches. It's a bit like a choreographed dance). Afterwards, Sa Beom Nim mentioned we'd be getting our next belt soon. I'm super excited. My last piece of news is that the pomegranate tree outside my window was finally harvested and my neighbours gave me some tasty pomegranates. They are orange and small compared to the ones in Canada, but still delicious. Since moving here, I've found Koreans to be incredibly generous people. I love it, especially when their generosity involves yummy food.

Here's a photo of me, just for fun: It's by the Sincheon River in downtown Daegu.