Pop stars in training

Agh. My schedule is all thrown off today b/c I have to run an errand today (which I don't want to do b/c afternoon is the worst worst worst time to walk around) - I have mail waiting for me at the Fulbright office. I know one is mail art from Portugal (yay!) but the other...I have no idea what it may be. So I'm going to skip doing my homework at school and have to lug books around. Tonight, I have to pack for the beach, too. I was told a couple days ago that my family is going on an overnight trip to the beach and they're taking me! Wohooo. So, tomorrow I go to school, cook Korean food for two hours (it's part of our study - we already read a chapter on how to cook this particular kind of noodle dish, and tomorrow we'll go to the kitchen in the basement and make it and eat it - one of the "fun" parts of learning Korean here), have class for two hours, and then do my homework...or go shopping w/my other cousin. Then, I'll meet my doctor cousin at the hospital and we'll go and meet his younger brother and his wife, so we can drive together to the beach. The other two carloads (or one?) will go in the afternoon.

So I am REALLY looking forward to some time away from Seoul & the vicinity. Plus, I'll get to spend more time w/the niece that liked me for having pen and ink and is REALLY smart. It's nice now that I've been here for a little bit and the kids are getting used to me - I stayed w/another cousin last night, and when her daughter came home and saw my shoes in the entryway, she said, "can it be?? Is Aimee here???" and then got all excited when she found out that I was spending the night. We had really good homemade bibimbap together for dinner and then we sat at the dining room table and drew pictures and swapped. I did a bagpipe player w/the Taj Mahal as a backdrop (he was on the cover of one of her books, and she asked me to add the Taj Mahal, from the back cover, to the drawing), and she did a flower. And then we taped them into our books. She wants me to make her one, so sometime when we have more time, I'll totally have a bookmaking session w/her.

Her little brother, when he first met met, was mad that I was taking his mom's attention away from him, and he said, "go away! Leave now!" But I think he likes me better. The last time I saw him, we took pictures w/my camera phone, and this time I was able to drag him to the bathroom and trick him into brushing his teeth and changing into his pjs. He's still light enough and agreeable enough to pick up and carry. We did some abc's, too.

The other "fun" thing we do in this language program is some kind of musical competition. I am NOT excited about this b/c it involves each class getting up on stage and singing a Korean song for everyone else and then being judged. We were trying to figure out a song, and I of course have noooooo idea what is popular right now. We were thinking of this song (w/better dancers, of course), but we decided to go with this one instead. I'm kind of mortified by both, but I guess it should be fine since EVERYONE will have to play the fool. The first song is way more fun but the dancing is hard and the words are even harder - Koreans have a hard time singing along! So we have to go w/the one that is sung in an old man style by a young man, whose title, if pronounced incorrectly, becomes an obscenity. At least, that's what I heard.