Buses at rush hour

I feel like I had my most authentic Korean experience yet today.  We ventured out to our new Kodean class, which involves a bus ride at rush hour.   The bus was over flowing with Koreans of all ages yet it would stop at a bus stop, nobody would get off yet more people would get on. I felt like we were seeing how many teenagers could fit into a VW bug.  The little handles you hold onto?  You're sharing that with several fellow bus riders. And then the bus turns and goes up hill. I felt like my core was working overtime to keep me from falling on anyone.  This is where the genetic superiority of Koreans come in handy. The fact that their sweat doesn't smell made the bus ride a fascinating experience vs. a stinky experience.

More about our Korean class: Chris' Halmoni has a sweet lady come over a few times a week to help her around the apartment.  This lady, whose name I don't even know, has been so stinking helpful and gone out of her way to help us find this class. It is taught at a center for families of Koreans in an effort to help them integrate into Korean society.  This morning she came to our apartment and helped us navigate the bus ride across town and back, even taking us out for Jjajangmyeon just as the kids were getting hangry.  Tomorrow she is coming AGAIN to help us make sure we know how to get there.  It's like she knows how scared I am of public transportation! I am so grateful that she would go out of her way so much to help us get started with this school.  It is a great opportunity for the kids to really get a head start with their Korean skills.  Their class is 5 days a week/4 hours a day while mine is only 2 days a week for 1.5 hours.  As if that isn't cool enough, the price is even better. It's free. Yes, I have to pray for the bus fare and the girls' lunch each day, but still!! The first email I read when arriving in Korea was the one letting me know that my Korean class was cancelled.  Instead of feeling stressed or worried, I felt like it would work out.  A free class that has options for the girls too?   I feel like it is a huge blessing that will help us be able to communicate with our Korean family!

The girls start class tomorrow but I had my first class today. I really like my teacher's teaching style (practice, practice, practice). She worked on one principle over and over for the whole class. It was great! I have always struggled remembering vocabulary but I am finding that as I have to use the words I am learning, I'm remembering more.  And despite the fact that my spoken Korean really stinks, I really can understand most of what Halmoni says to me.  I'm looking forward to the kids passing me up so we can practice together more.

ps: Elise said her favorite thing about being in Korea is not having to listen to crazy things that Hillsry Clinton and Donald Trump are always saying.

pss: Lilly had her first run in with a squatty potty today while I was in Korean class. And she handled it like a rock star!  I would have turned away and held it in but she figured it out despite the fact that she didn't even know they existed before!  I gave them a lesson on using our "you go girl" (so glad I picked that up!) tonight so they can have options while at school. Lilly said she rather squat. The older girls say they're holding it in.  I am still scarred by the squatty incident of 2011.  I'll take the "you go girl" any day.