They Could Have Killed Me with the Mere Flick of a Wrist...

but instead, they decided to befriend me. This was military week at English Village, which meant that instead of having middle school students in the week-long, camp-style program, there were soldiers. This is part of their active duty, and it's a real chance for them to relax and have fun. They make great audience members and are kind and chill. Above, I'm pictured with some special forces soldiers. As part of their training, they climbed the whole way up and down Mt. Halla (the one Jeff and I climbed) in a little over 3 hours (it takes normal people about 7 hours). Also, they had to walk 400 kilometers.

I had the good fortune to knock back a few beers with soldiers from various branches of the military. I received two marriage proposals, and I have like 8 Korean soldier boyfriends now.

I must say, out of everyone I hung out with, the Navy boys have the most team spirit and are the hardest partiers.

All of the guys were very supportive and enthusiastic about my burgeoning Korean skills. Here's and example of some of our conversations:
Soldier 1: You speak Korean?
Me: A little (said in Korean)
Soldier 1: Oohh! Speak Korean, please.
Me: How much do three apples cost?
Soldier 2: Oooh, very good.
Me: pants socks shoes hat!
Soldier 1: Oh, your pronunciation very clear.
Me: Face hair, hand finger um... legs arms eyes nose mouth!
Soldier 1: [makes some remarks in Korean to his fellows]
Me: Where is the bathroom? I would like to go to Seoul.

They all complemented my pronunciation, which made me feel good. I am going to tell Hee Young about this, but she will probably tell me that they were only flirting with me and actually I still suck (she likes to beat up on me a little in this area of my language acquisition)


Were's Alenado? Here's another huge group of Navy folks (including a couple of female officers). They were really so much fun to have around. I didn't really expect soldiers to be so laid-back and kind. I guess things are a little different when 2 years of service are mandatory.

This week has been otherwise exhausting. Wednesday was the official beginning of our May/June season. The main stage show looks great, and I am sooooo excited to go in as the lead in a little less than two weeks. It's great, seeing something that I had helped write come completely together with a set, lights, costumes, music and all of the trappings. The actors have done a wonderful job of making the simple script come to life and even though they have really made the characters what they are, it's really gratifying to see some of my ideas working well on stage.

All week I've been involved in understudy rehearsals for the aforementioned show, rehearsals for a mini show, Little Red Riding Hood (in which I'll be playing the girl in the riding hood, herself) and of course rehearsals for Children's Day, which is tomorrow. The days have simply been packed. I love the work, but I am really tired. Tomorrow will be crazy. Instead of our normal shows, we'll be running activities such as line-dancing (Hey, Macarena!) and group games. We'll also be doing our crazy 20-minute song and dance extravaganza. I really hope that someone video tapes it, because it is going to be fun and HILARIOUS. We are doing a medley of "Love Shack," "Mama Mia," an original "rap" and "Shout," but the words to the songs have all been changed to make them about English Village and Children's Day. I expect I'll be ready to drop dead at the end of the day, but instead I'll give Alex a German lesson and then we'll chat about life, and hopefully eat lots of chocolate, which I will have earned. I'll do my best to get some pictures of tomorrow's insanity.