Best Craigslist Find Ever

This is Kiho.

I found him on Craigslist.  I know that sounds a little weird, but right after we moved here I wanted to find a Korean tutor.  I wasn't really sure how to go about this, so I started looking on Craigslist.  The very first post I found was looking for English grammar help in exchange for either Korean tutoring or photography lessons.  Perfect.  I replied immediately.  

I met Kiho for the first time at a local Burger King four days after we landed in Korea.  I was a little nervous about meeting a complete stranger in a country I had just arrived in, however, was quickly impressed by who he was.  I learned that Kiho is a very talented photographer.  He has worked for Time, Newsweek, & Forbes, having his photographs on the cover of each of these magazines.  As he showed me his work, I began to feel slightly inadequate about being his tutor.  He asked me about myself and I sheepishly replied that I'm a former teacher and now a stay-at-home mom.  Somehow my resume didn't quite have the same wow-factor as his.  :)  It was perfect for what he was looking for though.  While Kiho's English is amazing, he struggles with his writing, so he was looking for someone who could not only correct what he had written, but also tell him why it was wrong and what he could do to fix it in the future.  We've been meeting now for almost two months.  It's been such a fun experience for me.  I've loved learning the Korean language and culture.  While I am far from being able to hold a conversation, I can do some basic things like order a drink at a restaurant, ask for the check, tell people I'm American, etc.  I can also read anything in Hangul (the Korea language).  Now, while that may seem impressive, I can't understand what I'm reading.  I can only sound it out.  This is a big step for me though. It's fun to be able to read signs and bus stops.

So last month, our family headed down to Insa-dong.  Insa-dong is a shopping district in Seoul. 

It's a "must-do" for anyone visiting this area.  Here are the kids watching some traditional Korean candy being made.  

While we were shopping, Kiho called to see if I could look at a grant he had typed up in English.  When I mentioned we were in Insa-dong, he decided to come down and give us a tour.  What a fun day!  What I didn't know about this area is it was traditionally a center for the arts.  In fact, until recently, it was mostly art galleries, pottery stores, antiques, etc.  Since Kiho is fairly well known among these people, he was the perfect person to give us a tour.  He even gave us a private tour of one of the galleries that is owned by his friend.  We felt pretty special.  He would stop at different vendors and buy us different foods we had to try. 

The picture above has Ali holding some kind of rice snack.  I think it had honey in the middle and was rolled in sesame seeds.  The picture below shows Ryan eating a doughy type food filled with a sweet potato jam.  

We also had to stop and try some of the food we thought looked interesting too.  Here are the kids eating a rice stick.  It wasn't our favorite!

And here is an interesting version of an ice cream cone.  It's filled from both ends.  Very fun!

 

After we finished in Insa-dong, he took us over to a Korean bookstore where they have a large selection of books in English.  The kids were excited about this.  We browsed the store for a while and finished with Kiho buying us a Korean alphabet poster to hang up in our house.

For someone who has rarely used Craiglist, I must say, I'm pretty happy with the website!