Updates :)

Hello family and friends! How are you all? Couple of quick updates for all of you back in the states. Last Thursday I tried LIVE octopus. Yep that's right, live, hehe. You order it at one of the many fish places, they grab one out of the tank, cut it up, and then serve it. It is still moving when it is on your plate and it it war to get it into your mouth since it tries to suction itself to the plate, your chopstick, and the other tentacles. It wasn't that bad, however, it does still move in your mouth and attach itself to your teeth and such. One piece I ate had very large suctions, so large that it successfully attached itself to the side of my check....it was a struggle to get that thing to calm down! Speaking of eating, I am now officilly eating with chopsticks more then a fork and spoon, even in my own home! They use metal chopsticks, which are the hardest to use, but man are these things usefu, you can pick up anything! Sidenote: Koreans never eat with their fingers, always chopsticks and sometimes a large spoon...I am told watching them eating hamburgers is an interesting site.
I started to take Korean lessons - yeah go me! There is a professor who gives them for free so that he can pick up more English. He wrote a textbook and I am in the process of memorizing the alphabet, which has 24 characters and ten vowels.
I do have some sad news, one of my students who goes to my school passed away this weekend. I do not teach this student, but he was only in kindergarden. Many of the children at my school have or have gotten the swineflu, I am not sure but am assuming that this was the cause of death. Please send good thoughts and prayers to this family, as I cannot imagine losing a child that young.
On a positive note, I booked a trip to go to the DMZ! The DMZ is the closest that you can safely be to North Korea. There is a dresscode and it is very strict. I go Dec. 5th and am super excited!
Love and miss you all!