Work it out...

I joined a gym... and it is a really cool gym.

Most the buildings in the area where I live are multiple stories and house multiple businesses. It is no different with my gym. On the first floor there is a restaurant. The second floor is home to a super fashionable hair stylist. The third floor houses an internal medicine clinic. And the fourth through sixth floors are the gym. I was surprised when I took a tour to see that every person was wearing the exact same outfit. It turns out that the gym actually provides clean workout outfits for all the members in the locker room. Similar to the way some gyms provide towels in the locker rooms. Awesome! Which means the only things I need to bring to the gym are my shoes, socks and ipod. Actually... they also provide a personal set of headphones. So, I don't even need my ipod! Perfect!

However, the best part of the gym has to be the showers. Hot hot showers! I actually took my first truly hot shower in Korea just yesterday. The water in my apartment gets luke warm (at best) and makes showering miserable. But, not anymore. I can take scalding hot showers at the gym anytime I like. I may never take a shower in my apartment again!

Moving on... I had a really great experience in class today. Emma, a female student who is shy, quiet, timid and usually stares at me blankly when I ask a question, really surprised me today. Emma is one of the students in my beginning debate class and at the end of every class she has to give a speech. Most times, despite all my encouragement and reminders, she speaks at a volume that is impossible to comprehend. I can only tell that she is speaking because I see her lips moving. But, today I heard her! She spoke loud enough (just barely) for me to hear her! And she made a great argument. Of course, the vocabulary she used was rudimentary. She left out articles from her sentences and she confused some past and present tenses... But, the idea was there. She was making the right comparison between debate arguments. She did it! All by herself, at the podium, in front of the class... She did it! I wanted to jump out of my seat and cheer.

A few other interesting (and random) things worth mentioning...

Pedestrians have no rights in Seoul. Cars park on the streets. Motorcyclists wiz in and out of crowds delivering every kind of food and product imaginable. I can't count the number of times I've been almost maimed or killed on my way to work.

I feel like I've really moved to Korea when I clean my apartment. No one cleans their hotel room on vacation. No one does laundry when they take a trip. So, when I clean and fold laundry I remember that I am here to stay.

People are nicer than we give them credit for.

I am never donating any money to my alma mater. (When I'm rich and famous I may set up a scholarship fund for the debate team... But, not a cent for that stupid school.)

I adore Mark Morford. Every time I read his columns I fall in love all over again. (www.sfgate.com)

I have never had more respect for my high school teachers than I do now.