Charpie's Travels

For now, anyway, my favorite restaurant in Seoul is an Indian place. I went again with some coworkers tonight. This restaurant has the music, the decor, floor seating, and even an Indian movie running on one of the walls. (The Korean employees seemed out of place at first, but now they fit right in.) The samosas can't compete with anything made by a De (or Charpie) or Mohinani, but I still get unnecessarily excited about them. Same goes for the naan.  I ordered milk tea this time. It was also super, though its super-ness had less to do with its taste and more to do with what it makes me think about. I haven't been homesick yet...not even close really. But if any one thing in Korea can possibly make me homesick, it's gonna be the milk tea. At the same time I'm thinking of my favorite people in Minnesota and Texas, and I find myself wishing I could stop by Kerala for an afternoon cup of Molly's amazing tea.

The loudest, hyperest, and happiest pre-k kid is Justin. Keeping him in a chair is nearly impossible, but he's great. When I lost my voice, I had him "be my voice" for a while. He sat right in front of my desk that day, so I'd tell him something and he'd yell it at everyone else. The only problem was bringing him back from his power trip. "Everybody! Teacher says you must listen to ME!"  Each week I give a vocab test. Then they all draw on the back of the paper while I make the rounds and grade the tests. I was kneeling in front of Justin's desk, circling all his correct words, and he started laughing. One of those quiet, but hard laughs that makes your entire body shake. His face was all scrunched up so you could barely see his eyes. It wasn't a mean laugh either. Whatever happened, it was just that hilarious. "What's so funny?" I asked, not sure whether I really wanted to know. "Your nose..." and he started l...