where does the time go?

At about the same time I moved in with the Korean family, I started tutoring three times a week and teaching one class at an English institute a week. It only adds up to 5 or so hours of work a week, and I don't do any outside prep for it, but somehow finding time to stay caught up on e-mail, blogging, homework, keeping in touch with friends, getting ready to go to China, you know, all that... is hard now. You would think that since I moved in to someone else's house where all I do is help with the dishes and just a little bit of grocery shopping and cooking would save me some time, but somehow the opposite happened. I help the kids with their English homework only occassionally, I try to have conversations with the parents whenever we have time, and I've been on two little "family trips" since I moved in. I guess it all adds up.

Yesterday was children's day in Korea. We started the day with fermented bean soup, seaweed, rice, mushrooms, and eggs for breakfast. The girls both had an ice cream bar after breakfast. I guess if you eat regular food for breakfast then you can have dessert afterwards! I thought seriously about telling the family that I had plans so I could get caught up on some stuff like studying for our midterm test, cleaning out my email inbox, and reading, but I decided that it would be fun to spend it with the family and I keep praying that no matter how much I don't understand or can't express myself like I want to in a conversation with the parents that I am still learning something. So, we went to a park about 2 hours away (should have taken less time, but there was a lot of traffic because it was a holiday), went shopping in an outdoor mall that felt strangely like San Antonio (it was called La Festa), saw some of their old friends who live near there, had a yummy lunch, and then walked around the park until it started raining. On the way home, in the car, the girls and I played games. We played the noun game in Korean and English, and bingo and I spy in a mix of Korean and English, but mostly English for me. We had a good time, and I was glad I went.

Today, Friday, was back to normal, but tomorrow is Saturday and I am committing myself to starting to exercise again (I haven't made time for that since I moved into the homestay either) and then getting caught up on studying. Wheeee!