A Casual Korean Existence
Things are going well. I'm earning some cash now teaching middle school brats English. The cool thing is that they're actually good students and I don't have to spend much time playing babysitter. It's only a 7-day job since I'm filling in for a normal teacher while he visits his sick mother.
I'm actually getting more money than I thought since the dollar is real low right now. I originally forecasted a $650 take but its turning out to be a $720 take after the currency has been transfered. That should about cover my plane ticket.
On saturday I went to the Korean countryside and had quite a ball. We went to see the nun temple but if you've seen one temple, you've seen them all. The highlight was just walking around and exploring through the underdeveloped area.
The Korean peninsula consists of lots and lots of hills. Where the hills meet, there's usually farms and houses there. The spaces between the hills are mostly flat from the hundreds of years of farming. Currently you'll find old houses, shops, restaurants, and lots of new construction.
I've seen lots of really crappy looking houses. I can see that they wouldn't be that bad to live in if that's poverty. The thing I don't understand is how these people can make a living. Sure the farmers have a livelihood, but it's a really tight market on the peninsula. Farmers use every sliver of land to grow crops on. You'll be surprised the places you find a little garden.