What's in there?

"Ga-bang": Korean for bag. Gabang with popcicle stains on it.... it's really hot here, and hard to eat a popcicle on the bus.

Clockwise

1. Wallet - with lots of "man won" in it. "Man-won" = 10,000won (a little over $9.00USD)

2. Umbrella - carrying this around in case of the rain showers that are becoming more frequent as we enter the monsoon season.

3. Pencil case - a staple in every teacher's bag.

4. Foundation - lots of SPF.

5. iTouch - sometimes you just need to tune out all the students you see walking around the neighborhood..."OH! HI TEACHER!!!"

6. Oil strips - humidity has been over 60 % every day here for the past week... gross.

7. Gum - fights kimchi breath.

8. Free handphone - with handphone accessories : electronic bus pass and KIA Tigers themed screen cleaner.

9. 8GB USB - the number one thing I need to remember to bring to school because it contains all the ppts for my lessons... funny how such a tiny thing could be so valuable.

10. Lipgloss and chapstick - gotta keep them lips moist and glossed.

11. Sunglasses - to protect from the blazing sun on my walk to school at 7:30am. Sunglasses are a concept that most Koreans find weird or showy.

Conversation 1 -

Student: "Teacher, I saw you this morning wearing sunglasses."

Me: "Okay, so?"

Student: "Why?"

Me: ".....because it's f*ing sunny, duh!"

Conversation 2 -

Male co-worker: "Ah, Naomi, I saw you this morning wearing ....." indicates to his eyes and a kind of shading motion.

Me: "Yep, just trying to protect my eyes."

Male co-worker: "Oh, you looked like a movie star!"

Me: "......haha, okay!"