Lost in Korea

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2006-08-22T08:56:00.000+09:00

Thank you to everyone...

the end

2006-08-21T16:54:00.000+09:00

Well, unless I have some time tomorrow afternoon (very unlikely), this will be my last and final transmission from Korea. My plane leaves Wednesday at 10:05am so I'm going to have to get myself to the airport VERY early, especially with all the new security procedures and whatnot. I'm not actually planning on going to sleep tomorrow night, that way I can just sleep on the plane and hopefully kick that jetlag that I am not looking forward to.

Tomorrow is my last day of classes and I am dreading it. It's going to be really tough saying goodbye to my kids, and I already know I'm going to cry like a wuss. I cried when we had graduation earlier this year so I'm definitely expecting the worst tomorrow. Already my students have started giving me going-away presents and notes, and this one elementary level girl I don't even teach gave me a sandwich (which I'm guessing was going to be her snack that evening) just because she knew it was my last day tomorrow. I actually won't be teaching my final afternoon class tomorrow since I have to go to the pension office, so I guess I will be saying goodbye right after sixth period. Tonight I'm going to go get some stickers for the kids and maybe write them up little goodbye notes if I have time.

As far as my flight information, my plane leaves here at 10:05am and then I'm flying directly from here to Chicago and then from Chicago to St. Louis. My plane will be arriving at Lambert Airport in St. Louis at 4:05pm that same afternoon (however weird that is) since my plane will be flying against the turn of the Earth...so what is actually an 18 hour flight will only really take six hours according to the clock. As of right now it looks like Josh is the only one meeting me at the airport since my both my mom and dad have to work, so I guess we'll be going out for some dinner and then he'll be dropping me off at home (?). My mom wants me to stop by her school on the way back since she said she doesn't want to wait until she gets home to see me (aww...how sweet), so I might just have to do that.

The rest of the week will be spent planning and packing for Europe, and then on Saturday Josh and I leave for Edinburgh & the Fringe Festival. I'm going to try to post something from Scottland and France if I can... do they have PC rooms in Europe? I hope so...

Anyway, to those of you who read this blog on a regular basis, thankyou for your notes and continued support. I also want to thank all of my friends from home who cared enough to check up on me here every once in a while. I want to thank my coteachers and my school too for making my experience here as comfortable and beneficial for me as possible. I know that finding a good school to teach in here is somewhat difficult and almost every day I thank my lucky stars that I ended up at Cardiff. Lastly I want to thank my family for finally coming around and supporting my decision to come to Korea. You have no idea how much I am looking forward to seeing all of you again and, like I said, my stomach does little flip flops every time I even think about it.

As for me...this has been an awesome experience and definitely something I'm going to look back on and treasure for many years to come. This may have been the best decision I have ever made, and I don't regret a single minute of my time here. For any of you out there who are even considering going abroad to teach, do it...you won't regret it. And if you need a little help or guidance along the way, I'm always here.

So...this is Jennifer signing off from Korea.
Goodbye everyone.
:)

one week to go

2006-08-17T15:19:00.000+09:00

Well, seeing as how I only have exactly six days left here in Korea this might very well be my last post from this side of the world. But...I have a lot more to say than I have time for right now (since I have class in about ten minutes) so I will most likely be continuing this later today or tomorrow.

As of right now my packing is almost finished and I've already taken the huge tray of change that I've collected over this past year and cashed it in at the bank (75,000 won!). I've also started "last" classes, like how today was my last ever Song & Chant class...thank goodness since that was my least favorite of all of them. I've also started telling my students that I'm leaving, but they haven't quite figured out that I'm not leaving right now, but rather next week so they keep running around after me and holding onto me and they get very suspicious when I have my purse in hand to go anywhere, like I'm going to be hopping on a plane in the next ten minutes. Some of them seem visibly upset whereas others don't quite understand what I've said about it. In any case they'll all know soon enough come next Tuesday.

Tomorrow night my supervisor Julia & the other Korean kindergarten teachers are taking me out to dinner and then I think my director & the other foreign teachers want to go out Monday night. That doesn't leave me many nights free to pack and clean, but I'll get it done somehow. So yeah, my time here is winding down and I'm getting all the loose ends tied up one by one. I still can't believe the end came so fast...

Gyeongju revisited

2006-08-09T22:56:00.000+09:00

This past weekend my friend Dan and I went back down to Gyeongju for an overnight trip, which was nice since at least I did get to go somewhere for my vacation. It wasn't Bali or Singapore or anything exotic like that, but at least I got out Seoul and was able to breathe some fresh air for a change.

We left early Friday morning and arrived in Gyeongju around 1pm, after which we got lunch at this local restaurant known to have the best naengmyeon in town. Naengmyeon is a dish of cold buckwheat noodles topped with various veggies, slices of pear and half an egg. Since it's served cold it is rather odd for people trying it for the first time, but I've really grown to love it since I've been here...plus it helps to eat something cool like that to battle the heat and humidity of Korea.

the naengmyeon restaurant

bibim naengmyeon

After lunch, and since it was so friggin hot outside at that point, we decided to spend the rest of the afternoon indoors, which then led us first to a a rice cake place where we bought two pieces of ddeok (one with pine nuts & one steamed with fermented rice wine).

the rice cake shop

various rice cakes

We then headed over to a nearby a tea house for some very tasty and slightly interesting variations of tea. The first one we tried was their basic green tea and the second was this barley tea that they gave us for free (service) which had some funky aftertaste to it.

the tea house

inside

our green tea, which came with some kind of bean jelly

After tea we walked to the Gyeongju burial mounds and wandered around as the heat bared down on us. Dan also ran around trying to get a few good shots of some crazed red squirrel on his camera as I sat and rested on a nearby bench. Lastly, we got to walk inside one of the actual mounds and were able to see just how the old kings of the past were buried. It was interesting, but nothing worth looking at for more than a few minutes. After the mounds we walked across the street to that place called Hwangnam Bread for some Gyeongju bbang.

the burial mounds

wildlife at its best

Hwangnam Bread

Gyeongju bbang

Later on in the evening Dan and I went to this place called Schumann & Clara for some coffee and potbingsu (a snow cone & ice-cream sundae with fruit on top). I was enamoured with the coffee they served there since it was very reminiscent of the quadruple espresso shots I used to make for myself back when I worked at Bread Company in St. Louis. It came out to the table in a little coffee cup still steaming and it was very thick and very rich...absolute perfection. It may have been the best cup of coffee I've had thus far in Korea. As we sipped our coffees Dan graded papers as I continued reading through Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera (in preparation for my upcoming trip).

the coffee shop

inside

the coffee

potbingsu

After the coffee house we walked to a nearby wine & cocktail bar for some classicly Korean draft beer...think Bud Light but weaker. One of Dan's old students/friends met up with us there and had a few drinks with us, after which we proceeded to this greasy spoon-type place for some late-night grilling barbeque fun. By that time it was fairly late so Dan and I went back and crashed at the room.

Korean beer

Dan & his friend

meat grilling

The next morning we went hiking up Namsan (the one in Gyeongju obviously), which was fairly fun but could have been better had it not been so friggin hot and humid. We saw some old historic statues of Buddhe along the way and got very nice looking pics from the peak where we stopped.

on the way up the mountain

a statue of Buddha (one of the many)

a photo I snapped of a butterfly

the rest area where we stopped

the view from the peak

another butterfly that I got to perch on my hand

the map of Namsan

At that point we hadn't eaten breakfast and were starving so we hopped a taxi back into town and went for some dalk galbi (grilled chicken with vegetables and hot pepper sauce). After lunch Dan met up with the girl whose house we were staying at as I went and checked my email in a local PC bang. We still had a few hours to kill before we had to go to the bus terminal so we hit yet another coffee house where I read more of my book and Dan checked his own email. Just before we went to the terminal and boarded our bus Dan and I went to this place called Chal Boli Bbang for more of that barley red bean pancake bread that we had last time we were down there. I brought back some extra boxes for my boss and my roommates.

dalk galbi

mak guksu (another type of buckwheat noodle in a cold broth soup)

the PC bang

Overall it was a good mini-trip, though it might have been better had it not been so hot. Still, at least it didn't rain like it did last time, and I was glad to be getting out and doing something for my vacation...even if I really only did things I usually do here in Seoul anyway.

As for me, I only have two weeks left here in Korea before I'll be coming home again. I still have SO MUCH to do before then. I've got to finish packing and then clean out my room, I still have to go to the Pension Office to apply for my refund, I have loads of lesson plans to finish for that last week in August, I have to go donate all of these extra clothes that I don't wear anymore, I've got to make a trip to the Post Office to send a buncha boxes of stuff home and I wanna hang out with all of my friends at least one more time before I go. Like I said...SO MUCH to do. Thank god there's another holiday coming up on Tuesday so hopefully I can finish packing by then.

In the meantime though I'm just counting down the days...

a day in Gangnam

2006-07-31T10:53:00.002+09:00

Dan and I hung out in Gangnam all day yesterday going to cute tea houses, aromatic coffee shops and and tasty ethnic restaurants. Gangnam itself is a very rich and glitzy district of Seoul just south of the Han River. It's where you're most likely to find the highest concentration of BMWs, overpriced Officetels, and runway model-wannabes. In short, Gangnam is where it's at.

To begin our day we met up at Paris Croissant intending to get brunch, but changed our minds since eating a sandwich and salad (both tiny) there will set you back at least 9,000 won. And if you add a coffee your meal you're looking at another 4-5,000 won on top of that. So we decided to head somewhere else for lunch since there are way better restarants around that area with much more affordable fare. We ended up at this place called Pasha (I think) which is a Turkish kebab restaurant. We started off with a appetizer of something very similar to Greek tzatziki and an oven-baked bread that was very much akin to an inflated blowfish. For our meal we ordered two different styles of kebab, one of sliced beef covered in a yogurt and tomato sauce and the other of ground beef with tomato sauce. The meal also came with a simple potato soup and wedges of baked pita bread. Once our orders arrived there was so much food that the waitress had to combine the table next to ours and our own just to fit everything. Overall I thought the food was very good, though maybe not exactly like authentic Turkish kebabs, and I especially thought the yogurt dip was fantastic. Dan on the other hand has a more discerning and critical pallet than I and thought his kebab was only so so, especially since they didn't top it with real paneer and instead used simple mozzerella cheese. For shame. :)

the yogurt dip

blowfish bread

my entree

Dan's entree

After lunch we walked to The Face Shop so I could pick up some more pressed powder since they actually have one that doesn't make my skin looked caked with mud. I was surprised to find that simply by purchasing over 10,000 won worth of stuff I also earned a free pair of flowery pink flip-flops and some other various samples. Not a bad deal for about 14,000 won. After that Dan and I headed across the street so he could look in ABC Mart for some shoes that were, as he put it, "money". Unfortunately nothing there fit that description and we both left there empty handed.

my haul from The Face Shop

After the shoe store we went to this place called O'Sulloc Tea House which specializes in green tea-based drinks and desserts. Dan had this strawberry green tea pina-coloda-type smoothie concoction while I opted for a simple hot cup of green tea flavored with apple, which were both very tasty. I wanna go back there some time and try one of their desserts as well since all their cakes and ice cream treats looked really yummy (not to mention beautiful).

the tea house

Dan's foo-foo drink

my drink, simple yet elegant

Once we left there we went to a Starbucks across the street so that Dan could work on correcting some papers for his classes, which I also helped with too. We stayed there for a few hours and were able to finish up most of his work.

coffee time!

Gangnam Starbucks

By that time I was getting antsy from all the caffeine and because we had been sitting so long, so we left there and walked around the backstreets of Gangnam for a while. We came across the cute little park along a hillside that was decorated with stone walls and well-kept bushes. We wandered around there for a bit before deciding to head back to Dan's place so he could finish up grading and I could amuse myself by watching his downloaded copy of "The Devil Wears Prada", which is not half bad by the way. After that I went home.

a scary looking statue of a Chinaman we saw on our walk

random signage

Dan in the park looking like a trucker

Tonight Dan's supposed to come over after his classes and we're going to make Pad Thai since I was able to find rice noodles and Pad Thai sauce at that one foreign foods market in Itaewon. Today though I plan on going rollerblading for a bit and then maybe packing and sorting through my clothes. Other than that, not much else going on here. I think some friends and I are planning another trip to Gyeongju for this weekend, but that's still up in the air at this point.

And now, it's rollerblading time...

vacation

2006-07-27T21:19:00.000+09:00

This week passed by uneventfully enough, which has actually been a nice contrast to last weekend. I didn't do much this week or venture very far away from home since I was still under orders to rest and recuperate from the doctor. On Tuesday I went back for my follow-up appointment and he said everything looked normal and that I shouldn't have anything further to worry about, so long as avoid whatever it was that prompted my last trip to the hospital...which he and I guess was the seafood in those dimsum I ate. So I guess I won't be eating shrimp or shellfish again any time soon, which kinda sucks cause I really do like shrimp. Still, I guess even shrimp is not worth a trip to the emergency room.

Tomorrow is my last day of school before the kindergarten's summer vacation, though I don't really have anything special planned for it aside from packing and cleaning. I might just spend the week wandering around Seoul like I did last vacation, since I really do need to save my money for that trip to Europe. Or maybe I'll just relax and veg...I'll have the apartment all to myself too since Amanda is going home to visit for the week and Chris will be in Thailand. It's going to be really quiet around here I imagine.

Anyway, I have yet another series of cooking classes tomorrow morning, though I'm thinking bean sprout salad is not going to be quite the hit that the ddeokbokki was last week. In any case it's easy and the kids can put it together themselves since it's mostly just stirring and mixing. Woot.

Only twelve more days of classes left before I go home... OMG!

I saw this on my way to the grocery store tonight. Is it just me or does that look like some weird distant relative of Papa Smurf?

dimsum is bad

2006-07-23T13:46:00.000+09:00

Yesterday was a pretty typical day for me. I walked around downtown for most of the day since the weather was actually nice for once. Overall things were going well...I wish I could say the same for the rest of the day. Around dinner time I was starving so I walked down to the E-Mart at Yongsan Station to get some take-out food to eat. They had these little cute packages of dimsum for pretty cheap, so I bought one and ate it in their little food court area. After that I walked down to the Han River cause I wanted to see the shoreline and check out the flood damage. That's when everything started to go very very wrong.

The first thing I noticed was that my neck and head started itching really really bad and then some hive-like bumps appeared along and below my chin. Soon after that I started sweating profusely, which was odd since it was actually kinda cool out last night. Finally it got to the point where I was so dizzy and my stomach hurt so bad that I could barely walk. Unfortunately for me there wasn't an easy way to get back to a populated area of Seoul from the riverside since there are only a few access tunnels every mile or so...so I had to walk quite a ways in that condition before I found some stairs that took me back to a nearby neighborhood. At this point I could no longer walk so I just laid down on the sidewalk for a few minutes, but I figured that it wouldn't do me any good if my condition got worse. I got back up again and stumbled to a nearby restaurant and asked them where the nearest hospital was. Lucky for me there was one right across the street. I walked into their emergency room and immediately collapsed on a bed.

The doctors there were really nice, but they couldn't speak that much English at all. Still, I do know some Korean so I was able to understand a few things that they said. I told them that I thought I must have eaten something bad and that my stomach really hurt. At that point my breathing was really erratic and I had that pins & needles feeling in my arms and hands. I guess they figured I had had an allergic reaction to whatever it was that I had eaten, so they gave me an epinephrine shot and a steroid shot and then they hooked me up to an IV drip. I don't really remember much of what went on during the next hour or so, all I know was that I was in so much pain that I was constantly rolling from one side of the bed to the other trying to make it go away. Finally when the pain lessened I was able to give them my boss's phone number and told them to call her. They drew some blood from me and then I think I fell asleep after that.

By the time Ms. Cha showed up I was feeling normal again, but the doctor told us that they wanted to keep me overnight to observe my condition. My boss was even kind enough to stay in the room with me overnight to keep an eye on me. A nurse came in at intervals throughout the night to check my vitals and then the next morning they moved me to another ward (I guess for people with less serious conditions). At about 11am this morning the doctor came in to check on me and said I was well enough to go home. They prescribed me some steroids and other medications that I have to take for the next four days, and then I'm supposed to go back for a checkup on Tuesday afternoon. My boss told me that they had diagnosed me as having gone into what is termed anaphylactic shock, which is when your body has a severe allergic reaction to one of many possible outside stimuli. In this case mine was the dimsum.

After my boss and I left the hospital we stopped by E-Mart to check out the dimsum I had eaten and what might have been in it that had made me sick. We got a list of ingredients from the guy behind the counter and he told us the stuff is actually imported from China and not made there at the store. Figures. I'm going to take the list with me to my checkup on Tuesday so maybe the doctor can tell me what it was he thinks I had the allergic reaction to. I hope he can figure it out just so I know for future reference...cause I definitely don't wanna go through this again...ever.

So yes, the moral of the story is...dimsum from E-Mart is bad, and anything imported from China is worth avoiding. Don't let this happen to you. Believe me it is NOT a pleasant experience. Thankfully though I am all right and I feel fine today. I guess it could've been a lot worse. Thank god it wasn't.

my IV wound (one of many)

the meds I have to take (so many!)

cooking class

2006-07-21T21:41:00.000+09:00

So I teach these four back-to-back cooking classes on Friday mornings, though I cook the same thing in each one of them so it's really not that big of an ordeal. Basically it's more like a demonstration than a hands-on thing for them, mainly because you can't really trust five and six year olds with anything involving a lot of boiling and chopping. Usually they like what I make for them, though some of them are a little picky when it comes to anything that even remotely resembles traditional American kids' foods. They aren't used to things like Mac & Cheese or pancakes (for shame!) so finding something that all of them will eat can sometimes be a challenge. But wonder of all wonders I hit the jackpot with today's dish, ddeokbokki. At first I thought it might be a little too spicy for them, but they gobbled it up just the same.

Even the other Korean teachers said my ddeokbokki was very delicious. Not bad considering it was my first time making it. I'd even go so far as to say that it rivals some of the ddeokbokki I've eaten from the local street vendors. Maybe I should open up my own stand? And in case you're wondering, today's ddeokbokki consisted of fresh rice cakes or ddeok purchased from the local E-Mart, pre-packaged gochujang sauce (specially made for ddeokbokki), cut-up carrots, chopped onions, and slices of fish cake or odaeng. I also added a little sugar and a bit of ketchup for sweetness which a fellow Korean teacher had recommended I do to offset the spicyness. Overall it was a huge success, and not very difficult at all! I was able to throw the whole thing together in less than fifteen minutes.

So yes, today's cooking class went well. Stay-tuned for next week's recipe, Korean bean sprout salad...yum!
-_-

the beauty of grey

2006-07-20T23:44:00.000+09:00

Last night I hiked up Suraksan once again and was awed by how clear the skies were, even though there was some heavy cloud cover just above the horizon. The sky has been much like this for the past few weeks, with the sun peeking out once or twice here and there. And yet, there's something calming and reassuring about the greyness of the atmosphere...because with it comes the continuous rain and its cleansing of all that nasty grime and smog that usually hangs above the city. Below is a picture taken from a mountain peak on Suraksan, and if you look close enough you can see Seoul Tower off in the distance...

this is not a black and white world
to be alive I say the colors must swirl
and I believe that maybe today
we will all get to appreciate
the beauty of grey

--from The Beauty of Grey, by Live

from the classroom

2006-07-19T22:33:00.000+09:00

I know I already updated earlier today but I'm bored tonight and wanna post some fun pics I took of my kindy kids. Cause they're just too cute to ignore...

This is Alex. For some reason most of his poses look like this.

This is Clara trying to intimidate me into giving her a sticker.

Here we have Katy posing prettily for her picture.

That's June. I told him to smile and this is what I got.

I love this picture!

Here's Julie from the Tulip A class. Aww...

Kang looking kinda sinister.

Here's Kang again.

Kang about to try sliding across the floor.

Christine & Kang.

Here is Jasmine, with Christine & Katy in the background.

Katy looking kinda blurry.

This is Sean. I tried to take this without him noticing but he looked up just as the camera flashed.

Kang running away yet again.

This is a pic of Woojin mid-laugh.

Why does Kang always give me these scary faces?

This is Irene of the Lily class, hiding behind her coloring of a teddy bear.

This is Alyssa trying to dodge my camera.

Catch me if you can!

the Immigration Office...again

2006-07-19T17:16:00.000+09:00

Well, I only have about ten more minutes until I'm finished with my schoolday but since I already did all of my normal Wednesday work I figured I'd take the time to update...even if this is just going to be short and sweet. Today's schoolday actually wasn't the norm as far as schooldays go. I spent much of my morning in the car with my boss's mom and dad who had the honor of carting my sorry self to the Immigration Office in order to get my visa extended for the extra month that I'll be staying here. It was a fairly silent car ride seeing as how neither of them could speak much English...not that I really minded. It was much too early in the morning for me to even attempt coherent thought, much less coherent speech. My boss's mom (also known as Grandma, as we here have affectionately named her) went along inside with me so she could help me muddle through the process. Thank god she was there though cause we did a buncha stuff and filled out a buncha papers that I would not have known otherwise to do had I gone there alone. At one point I think she turned to me and told me that she'll be sad to see me go and that I've been here with her and everyone at this school for a long time...and then she gave me a hug. It's cheesy I know, but it was nice to feel appreciated none the less.

Traffic coming back from there was insanely crazy due to the amount of roads that have been closed because of all the flooding around the area lately (it's been raining here like every day for the past two weeks) so we didn't actually make it back to school until about an hour and a half after we left the Immigration Office. Suffice it to say I'm glad the whole thing is over and done with. It just seems like a lot of trouble just to get some little smearing of ink on the back of my visa ID card that mentions my new departure date. Ah well, it needed to be done I guess.

So as far as everything else, I still need to begin that long tedious process of packing, and at some point I need to go to the Pension Office to apply for my refund...though I think I'll wait to do that during the kindergarten summer vacation that is coming up at the beginning of August. It's kinda cool that I get yet another week-long vacation just for staying an extra month. Yay me.

Anyway, gotta go. Time to go home. Woot.

food (installment #2)

2006-07-14T01:14:00.000+09:00

Okay, sorry for no updates in a while. I've been spending most of my free time during the past couple of weeks relearning the French I took in high school and college (even though some of my friends--who shall remain nameless-- think it's stupid). I just wanna be as prepared as possible for my trip and I wanna make sure I'll be able to speak it on my own since I might be spending a lot of time there by myself. I've downloaded multiple podcasts and audio courses so hopefully with the next few weeks to practice I'll be ready to go. Aside from that though, not a whole lot else has been going on here (besides the usual humidity and rain). I've been doing a lot of walking and hiking around Seoul since the weather won't allow me to do much else. I don't think there's anything really going on this weekend...maybe the hash on Saturday and I think my friend Dan and I are chilling tomorrow night. In that case, today's update is going to be the long-overdue second food installment that I've been meaning to post on here for quite some time. WARNING--do not view this on an empty stomach...you're likely to start licking the screen (but for your own sake, please don't).
Enjoy.

mandu guk (dumpling soup)

the lady at the bakery said this was pumpkin pie (?)

shabu shabu (a beef & noodle soup that you cook at your table)

sundubu jjigae (spicy kimchi & tofu stew)

my typical lunch (provided by the school)

another typical lunch

dalk galbi (chicken stir-fried in pepper sauce with vegetables & rice cakes)

red pepper-marinated tofu

some kind of seafood stew

pretty cakes at a Korean bakery

Korean-style sushi rolls

kal guksu (hand-cut noodles soup)

ddeok mandu guk (rice cake & dmpling soup)

tuna kimbap (rice roll w/vegetables)

seafood & tofu stew

tofu & cooked kimchi

assorted dried squid snacks

omurice (egg omulet filled with stir-fried rice)

ddeokbokki (rice cakes stir-fried in a spicy pepper sauce)

fruit appetizers

chicken juk (traditional Korean rice porridge)

mul naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodle soup w/vegetables)

the nearly 3-foot long sausage that we ordered once as an appetizer (eww...)

another seafood stew

live baby octopus (and yes, you're supposed to eat it like this...wriggling and all)

bibim naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles with pepper sauce & sliced vegetables)

some kind of boiled egg dish

dwenjang jjigae (soy bean paste stew w/tofu)

salmon sashimi platter w/lemon caper sauce

dried squid

samgyeopsal (Korean barbeque pork)

a ridiculous amount of side dishes

traditional Gyeongju bread (wheat pastry w/a sweet red bean filling)

some kind of tofu stew

assorted steamed shellfish

more tofu & kimchi!

still more side dishes

roasted chestnuts

broiled salmon

a Korean attempt at Mexican food, complete with a baked bean-filled burrito

a very cute rice cake from one of the best ddeok shops in Seoul

raw squid & vegetables

Dan's potbingsu (ice-cream & snow cone sundae)

happy 4th of July!

2006-07-03T22:54:00.000+09:00

So I've been in a super-happy sugar-coated wonderful sun-shiny mood these past few days...all because I finally got the tickets booked for my trip to Europe in a couple months. The final game plan is as follows: leave Korea on August 23rd, stay in St. Louis for a couple of days, leave for Edinburgh on August 26th & then fly to Paris on August 31st for the remainder of the trip. Josh will be leaving to go back home on September 5th, but I'll be staying there on my own until September 14th. After that it will be all crazy fast-paced insanity to get ready for my brother's wedding on September 30th. And yes, I know it's kinda reckless to schedule a trip to Europe in between the time I return from Korea and my brother's wedding, but I just feel that if I put it off any longer I'll never get around to going. And really, right now is the perfect time to do it...I don't have a job to ask off from, I have the money for it and it's a great time of the year to go. So yeah, the tickets are bought, the hostels are booked and we're set to go. WOOT!

In other not so-happy news, my friend Danya left to go home this morning, and I know I'll see her in Edinburgh in a couple of months but it was still sad saying goodbye all the same. We really had a great time hanging out with everyone for her last weekend here. Friday we took the cable car up Mt. Namsan and wandered around the top for a while. Saturday was the hash which was extreme amounts of fun, especially since this week's trail was scattered all throughout these mountains and parks up near Mt. Ingwansan north of the city. After the hash Danya, her friend Janeal and I all came back here to rest and get ready for our night out in Hongdae for my friend Kate's birthday. At about 6pm we took the subway up to Hongdae and met everyone for dinner. Danya & I found a tofu restaurant to eat at while everyone else had samgyeopsal (I wasn't in the mood for greasy pork that night). After dinner we headed over to Route 66 bar for some drinking and birthday festivities. I think everyone had a pretty good time, thought those of us who hashed came back earlier than everyone else since we were pretty worn out from all the hiking earlier in the day. After I got back from that I stayed up on the phone with Josh to book our tickets and hostels and didn't really get to sleep until about 6am the next morning.

Sunday morning I had planned on hiking up Dobongsan with Danya & Janeal but of course I didn't make it out because of lack of sleep. I did meet up with them later though and we all went down to Insadong for some last-minute souvenir shopping that Janeal had to do. We also wanted to try going to one of those traditional style tea houses that I haven't had a chance to go to yet. The tea itself was actually very good there, a lot more flavorful than any kind of tea you'd make at home or buy in a store. Most of the teas we tried were already sweetened, though some were a bit more tangy than others. I had the jujube tea which was thick and sweet with a bit of dried jujube and a pine nut on top for presentation. I'm definitely going to have to go back there sometime and try some of their other teas. After the teahouse we all went walking around there for a bit since the weather was so pleasant and none of us were really very eager to head home. But yes, Danya & Janeal left this morning and it really was a lot of fun having them crash here for the week and a half that they stayed. I know it'll definitely be a lot more boring around here without them. Ah well...

There's not a whole lot going on this week, and even though it's the 4th of July tomorrow I don't really have anything planned for it. I may attempt to buy some firecrackers at the store and go shoot them off down by the river if I feel up to it. Otherwise I might just go get some takeout, come back here and watch whatever fireworks display they are showing on the Armed Forces Network. So exciting I know. I wonder what's going on down in Itaewon tomorrow night? Hmm...I might have to go find out.

:)

another spooky night on top of Namsan

Is it a ghost? No...it's just Danya.

the man we saw in the subway selling vegetable slicers, who is also wearing those same vegetable slices on his face

hashers waiting for the hash to start

rules of the hash

getting our hash on

trail hiking

the view from the top

the down-down after the hash

Danya, me & some other girl (forgot her name)

Kate blowing out her Krispy Kreme birthday "cake"

Zach snorting some powdered sugar

Danya hiding from my picture (& Janeal trying to tickle her into submission)

bustling Hongdae

the entrance to the tea house

inside the tea house

tasty tea snacks (pumpkin rice cake, green tea rice cakes & rice puffs)

my jujube tea

an end in sight

2006-06-30T07:19:00.000+09:00

Yesterday my boss called me down to her office and handed me the itinerary for my flight home in August. It was so weird...I guess I just couldn't believe that I was actually staring at a paper that gave the details of my actual departure from Korea. I guess I just never believed it would actually happen, like I would be stuck here forever and ever. But low and behold, the end is in sight...for real. I'm officially leaving Korea on August 23rd at 10:05am and I will be arriving back in St. Louis that very same day at 4:03pm. I changed my schedule around for my trip to Europe so I'd have time to take care of some stuff for my brother's wedding before I go, so now I won't be leaving for Edinburgh until that Saturday. I should still have plenty of time to catch my friend's show there, so no worries.

Next week I have to go to the Immigration Office downtown to get my visa extended until I leave on the 23rd. My boss said the only thing I needed to bring is my passport and something to prove when I'll be leaving Korea. I guess when I leave is not as important as the fact that I'm actually leaving...or something.

Today the kindergarten is taking a field trip to the aquarium in COEX mall since this week's theme is "Under the Sea". I'll be sure to post some pics of it if I remember.

In other news from the land of the "not quite right", it's friggin hot here and apparently monsoon season has started a bit early this year...which means it's now perpetually muggy and humid outside, and the sky hasn't changed from this puke grey color in at least a week. It has been raining in some form or another every day as well, which is kind of annoying since it really puts a damper on my rollerblading and bike-riding. I guess I'll manage, but still...bleh.

For those of you more visually inclined, today's laugh comes to you from the weekly letter that is sent home with each of our kindy students, complete with a bit of dialogue that the parents and their children can practice at home. Usually it makes sense, but this week it was just something else entirely. Does this seem at all acceptable? I'm gonna say no.

one year ago

2006-06-26T23:22:00.000+09:00

Well... as of 12am tonight I have officially been here in Korea for one full year. That's right, it was exactly one year ago tomorrow that I first arrived here in Seoul...and wow has it been an interesting ride. These past twelve months have seemingly flown by, which is definitely some indication as to how good a time I've had here, even with my recent apparent homesickness. I have never been so free to do whatever I've wanted in all my life, and it was nice to not have to worry about money for once. I've never had to pinch my pennies and stretch my paychecks here like I used to back home and I could actually afford to splurge every once in a while which I could never do before. Sure Korea has had its ups and downs, but that comes with every new experience or undertaking. In any case, I'd say the positives of my coming here definitely outweigh any of the negatives I may have encountered along the way. I wouldn't trade the memories (or the friends) I've made here for anything.

So now, with my time here winding down and coming to a close I've turned my eyes to the ever present and fast-approaching future. I'll be going home at the end of August, probably around the week of the 23rd, after which I will be flying directly out of St. Louis the very next day to go on my two and a half week-long excursion to Europe, starting with Edinburgh and the Fringe Festival. From there I'll be headed to Dublin for a few days before flying to Paris for the remainder of my trip. I'll officially be back to St. Louis for good on or around the 12th of September, just in time to get ready for my brother's wedding on September 30th, which is actually being held in Dallas. During the time before the wedding I'll be getting my life back together in St. Louis and moving in with some friends of mine in West County. I'm guessing I'll be driving down to Dallas for the wedding so hopefully I can put together some kinda road-trip thing with friends. After the wedding I assume life will be returning to normal, for a little while at least.

And then from there...who knows? I guess only time will tell.

calling all teachers

2006-06-20T15:11:00.000+09:00

In other news today, I found out that my director still hasn't found anyone to replace either Erin (who left this morning) or I and we are in desperate need of at least one teacher to cover all of her classes until the beginning of September. That's when these two girls that they're looking to hire will be coming over to take my and Erin's jobs. So basically...if anyone out there wants to come work at a fantabulous school where the pay is great, the boss is wonderful and the apartment is lush (not to mention I'd be your roommie) drop me a line and let me know. The director wants people who are already here in Seoul cause it's not like they wanna fly someone over here for just a couple of months. That is unless you wanna come work here very soon and sign the one-year contract... Aside from that, if anyone wants to come teach here in September to take my place in kindy, they are still interviewing for my spot too. Believe me, my school is as good as it gets and you're unlikely to find anything better than this. Sorry guys--they're looking for female teachers (since you'd have to live in an all girls apartment). So basically, they need a part-timer to work until September 1st teaching elementary or they need a full-time one-year contract elementary teacher right now and a full-time one-year contract kindy teacher in late July (when I'll be leaving). If anyone needs further info, email me and I'll be happy to help you in whatever way I can. I can provide pics of the school and apartment and details about the working schedules.

As for right now though, my wonderful goddess of a friend Danya has agreed to come work part-time at my school until she leaves Korea on July 3rd, and she'll be moving into our apartment tomorrow. I'm so excited that I'll get to see and spend time with her before she leaves and I know having her there in the apartment as a roommie for the next couple of weeks is going to be a lot of fun! She has been such a life-saver doing this for my school, cause if it weren't for her I'd probably have to work 11 hour days until they found someone to cover the extra classes that they need help with.

THANK YOU DANYA!!!!!!!!!! YOU ARE AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

saying goodbye

2006-06-20T01:21:00.000+09:00

So my roommate Erin finished her contract on Friday and she leaves to go back home tomorrow morning. It's weird really. It feels like I've been a part of this well-running machine for the past year and now all of the sudden an integral part is being taken away and we are left to try and cope without her. Granted her leaving doesn't affect me as much as the teachers in the elemetary levels (I'm in kindy), but it's going to be weird not having her around the apartment anymore. It's especially weird to think that I probably won't ever see her again. It's really unnerving to think that I could live with someone for almost a year and that they could then disappear as if they had never been a part of my life to begin with. How is that people come and go like this? How does that happen?

In any case, she will be missed...by me, by her co-teachers, by her students. And now it won't be long before I'll be going through the same thing. I just can't even imagine ending the life I've made here, and I'm surprised by how calm Erin has remained throughout all this...although I think that it might just be because it hasn't all quite sunk in yet, the fact that she'll be home in a matter of hours. It must be quite a feeling when your airplane lands on that runway back home and all those familiar faces are there to greet you at the gate; it has to be overwhelming to say the least.

As for me I'll be starting my own packing shortly. I've been kinda putting it off because I am so hopelessly unorganized and I'm dreading the process of sorting through what I'm going to throw away and what I want to take home with me. God only knows how I acquired so much stuff just over the course of a year. Neverless, it has to be done, and it will be...hopefully before it's time to go home.

:)

Erin's going-away dinner

well-being II

2006-06-14T01:07:00.000+09:00

This past weekend my friend Dan and I spent the day eating galbi (Korean barbeque), getting coffee & walking around COEX mall gawking at all the nifty toys in the Apple & O'Link stores. After that I didn't feel much like going home, so he and I wandered around Gangnam looking for signs, products or advertisements touting the ever-popular Korean catch phrase "well-being". So what is well-being you ask? From the below images I don't think anyone can say for sure...
See for yourself.

To start we have some well-being rice (the well-being is written in Korean).

well-being soymilk

well-being meat?

well-being fruit

well-being sports bracelets

Here is a well-being restaurant where you can buy well-being for 3,000 won.

a well-being beer hof

well-being drinks

well-being music

well-being sandwiches

well-being salad

well-being frozen yogurt

a well-being chocolate cake snack

a well-being sushi restaurant

well-being soup

an advertisement for the YMCA

the well-being sushi roll

well-being peppermint tea

well-being coffee

well-being popcorn snack

well-being cookies

well-being biscuits

a magazine article all about the essence of well-being...go fig

not well-being per se, but close enough

up & coming

2006-06-07T21:27:00.000+09:00

Right now I would be out rollerblading because it is so incredibly hot in my room at the moment and any place has to be cooler by comparison, but...I am taking tonight off from doing anything remotely physical in the way of exercise since my left knee has been giving me trouble once again. I used to run a lot when I was still back in St. Louis and sometimes I'd run more than I thought it was safe for me to do. Needless to say I think I tore something back then, or maybe pulled a muscle or something. I went to the doctor and he said it was a strained ligament and that a little time off my feet was all I needed. After I rested for about a week or so my knee was back to normal again and has continued to be since then. Until this past week of course...

As you may or may not know I am a rollerblading fanatic. It's just my thing, always has been. If it's a nice day and I'm not hitting the trails with my blades I always feel like I'm doing something wrong, like I'm doing myself a disservice by not taking the opportunity to get outside and skate. So since this past week has actually been warm enough to be comfortable, yet still cool enough to be tolerable I've been out almost every single day on my blades. Of course, since blading here in downtown Seoul is all very new and exciting to me I was rather reluctant to come back when my legs were starting to feel strained (which is what you're supposed to do when blading). Most nights I'd be skating for two or three hours at a time, and on some fairly rough pavement. So what does this mean exactly? Bad news for my already previously-injured knees. Needless to say my left one in particular started giving me trouble this past weekend and became almost unbearable last night. I could barely even walk yesterday because it was so stiff and painful, nor was I able to get much sleep. But thankfully today it's feeling a lot better and I think I'll be able to get out and do some walking tomorrow night at the very least.

So yeah, to summarize, I hurt my left knee and it's been giving me trouble these past few days, but it feels better today. Hence why I'm staying in this evening (for what seems like the first night in ages). It's such a pain being here in my room and having nothing to do but watch movies I've downloaded off the internet (thank god for cable modems). I suppose I could be packing but it's just too hot for that right now.

In other news, I told my school on Friday that I wouldn't be staying another year. I know they were dissapointed that I wasn't going to renew my contract but I just think I've been here long enough and it's time for me to go home and sort through stuff there. I know they told me they'd give me two weeks off to go back for my brother's wedding, but even they should know that two weeks could never make up for being here yet another year. I wouldn't be able to do anything in two weeks, and even if I did do that I'd probably be so badly jet-lagged the entire time that I'd spend most of it walking around like a zombie. So yeah, it's just time for me to go home.

As soon as I do leave here though I'm going to be heading off for that much-needed, long overdue trip to Europe that I've been wanting to take since I can remember. My friend Maggie is putting together a show (Love the Radio Edit) for the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scottland and I told her I'm going to try to make it over to see it and stay with her and Danya for a few days at least, maybe check out some of the other shows and see the town too. From there I'm planning on travelling to London to do some of the normal touristy things, and then last but not least I'm going to Paris where I'll be spending the remainder of my trip. I'll probably be gone for at least two weeks, if not a little longer, after which I'll be coming back to the US and getting ready for my brother's wedding. And then...after that, I'm not sure what I'll be doing. Peace Corps is still an option, as is the JET program in Japan. But then again, I might just stay in St. Louis, for a little while at least. In any case, I probably won't be heading off to any faraway places until after the new year. Since I missed spending this past holiday season with my family I know they'd just kill me if I missed two in a row. Besides, one was hard enough and even I don't think I could do it again.

So yeah, lots of stuff coming up. We're getting down to the wire as far as my days left here in Korea. I wonder what I should do with this blog when I leave? Keep it until I'm off to some other part of the world where I can blog about more twisted and hopelessly incorrect uses of the English language? There's no way for me to really download this to my computer so I guess it will remain in cyberspace for now.

Okay, enough blathering. Here's some pics of my friends and I hanging out around COEX mall yesterday (just like all the kids do back home!).

First we headed over to Bongeun-Sa (봉은사) Buddhist temple next to COEX mall.

a doorway to the main temple building

I lit a candle & made a wish (mine's the one in the middle with the smoke burn on the side). What did I wish for? Sssshhhh...it's a secret.

a little Buddha on a little island

buildings, treetops & rooftops

the patio outside of COEX mall

Mike & Zach singing Michael Jackson

Korean snacks

dinner consisted of kimchi jjigae (김치찌개) & samgyeopsal (삼겹살)

the strange & bizarre

2006-06-01T23:35:00.000+09:00

I had a strange day today, especially in one of my earlier classes when I was teaching the kids about how to tell time and how you'd say that 10:02 is read as "ten 'o two" and not "ten two" or how 12:00 is read as "twelve o'clock" and not "twelve 'o 'o". So anyway, when I asked the kids to read a certain time that I had written on the board one of the little boys literally stuck his hand down his pants and yelled "It's gochu o'clock!" This really only makes sense if you understand that gochu is the Korean word for the hot red pepper they use to flavor everything. It's also a slang term for the more definitive part of the male anatomy, however strangely appropriate that might seem. So yes, in that context one might understand why he would say that. He was just trying to be funny. But...that's not even getting to the most bizarre part of this little incident. The following dialogue is word for word:

Kang (as he runs around the room with his hand down his pants): It's gochu o'clock!!! It's gochu o'clock!!!
Woojin: No, it's supposed to be penis! (said very matter-of-factly)
Kang: I like gochu juice! I like gochu juice!
Julie: I like teacher juice!

From the mouths of babes ladies and gentlemen, from the mouths of babes. One might question why on earth a boy of Woojin's age would know such a word in English, when I speak English as my first language and I didn't even know that word at his age. And to explain the above thing about the juice, recently the kids have been learning about food words and they learned the word juice as well. To practice using the words in context the kids had to go around the room and say what juice they liked best. When they ran out of juices to name they started saying things like "I like TV juice!" or "I like window juice!" So Kang basically just said that to be funny, not really knowing exactly what it was he was saying of course. But oh my god, I about died when this all went down in my classroom today. The first thing I thought was "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" And I would have scolded them for it but I know they had no idea what they were talking about or that it was somewhat taboo to say such things, especially here in Korea.

So yeah...that was probably one of the funniest things that I've witnessed in my classroom this entire year, and I've seen a lot of weird things. Tonight I still find myself scratching my head about how in the world Woojin just seems to know all these oddball words that I am pretty sure he was never actually taught...and I don't think his parents speak English at home either. Hmm...

decisions, decisions

2006-05-31T09:32:00.000+09:00

Yesterday my school asked me to renew my contract when it expires in July and stay for another year. They even told me that I could take two weeks off to go home for my brother's wedding in September so I wouldn't have to miss it. I'd probably get a raise too, maybe an extra 200, 000 won a month I think. But...can I stay for another year when I'm already getting more and more homesick with every passing day? Probably not. I know I'd just drive myself stir-crazy if I had to stay for a whole extra year, even if I did get a chance to go home for two weeks.

The only thing is that I still don't know what it is I'm going to do when I get back...where I'm going to live, what I'm going to do for a job. I mean, yes I'll have money saved up to live off of for a while, but it won't last forever and it's really not that much in the grand scheme of things. I'm still considering the Peace Corps and I'm still considering going to teach in Japan next year with the JET program, but I wanna go back to the states and spend some time at home before I do all that. I know I could always come back to Korea and teach, and if I did come back I'd like to come back to this school. So maybe I'll take a year off and go home and then come back next July and teach kindergarten again. That's always an option I guess.

Still I can't help but think how good it would be for me financially if I did stay here another year. I could maybe pay off the rest of my car loan or a significant chunk of my student loans. Or I could just save it all and invest in stocks like a friend of mine did. It sounds like a really good idea, right? Even so, I don't think I can stay now...it's just not something I can do at the moment. The pull to go home is just too strong, because every day I always find myself thinking of all the things and all the people I miss. There's just too much to go back for right now, there's just too much I have to get sorted out at home.

So if I can't get my visa extended to stay that extra month and a half then I'll probably be coming home in July...and July is just around the corner. I'll probably start actually packing up my stuff and cleaning out my room soon. Today is Election Day here and I have the day off so this might be the perfect time to get started. Anyway...

The bottom line is this: I miss home and I don't wanna stay here another year...so I'll be back in either July or August.

See you then.

I will miss the food though...

bad Konglish (installment #6)

2006-05-24T23:15:00.000+09:00

And now...

BAD KONGLISH - INSTALLMENT #6!!!

Enjoy it while you can, this may be the last...

(click on the image for a larger view)

'Nuf said.

The shirt on this crane machine doll reads "Be the ugly".

Yummy...

So where's the whip?

These are the McDonald's characters' evil twins.

So basically, always go with your second choice?

What constitutes lovely ice-cream?

I'm not sure, but I think this is talking about reversible clothing.

It's a magical place...

So where is this "weirdo" Statue of Liberty?

This is just bad grammar. I hate bad grammar.

This is...um...something about animals & biting...I think? And then on the bottom is a verse from Abba's Dancing Queen...cause that totally fits with the whole theme of the t-shirt.

You'll come for the beer, but you'll stay for the snacks.

Because size really does not matter here in Korea.

No men allowed!

It's my favorite way to kill?

Sorry, but I like you better as mush.

I think this might actually be referring to the the yellow dust problem.

Apparently this is one of the ape ten commandments.

Oh yeah...you knew he'd be back.

"I wish I could shoot straight..."

So exactly what is it that you can buy at this place?

Almost...but not quite right.

My baby just ate a bunch of lotion...that is so hilarious!!!

Let the hunt begin!

Who the heck is Tim Rekfon?

That depends...who wants to know?

If you can actually read this, the name sounds very similar to "Tupac". Hmm...

Golden Dew Syrup...it's basically just like honey...but not.

This place just has too much going on in its name, & in any case it makes absolutely no sense.

random stuff from today

2006-05-22T23:52:00.000+09:00

Today was fairly normal as far as Mondays go...except for a few things I saw throughout today. I also hiked up Mt. Namsan tonight (since rollerblading was out because of the rain). It was so foggy you could barely see ten feet in front of you, which really made the mountainside look rather spooky. So yeah, anyway...on with the pics.

Here is this week's bulletin board, the theme being "Spring Picnic", designed by yours truly. (Ain't it pretty?)

Um...yeah... One of my youngest kids was coloring a page in his book & when I looked over I saw that he had written this with one of his markers. I kid you not.

Here I am standing in front of the lookout point on top of Mt. Namsan tonight.

The pavillion on top of Mt. Namsan...spooky...

I saw this written on a wall on my way back down from Namsan.

Here is the flower-shaped rice cake I bought at Lotte Mart...yum. I'm not sure what was inside it, but whatever it was, it was good.

the unexpected

2006-05-17T17:22:00.000+09:00

These past couple of weeks I've been constantly thinking about the fact that there really isn't that much time left before I go home again. As I've said all along I have absolutely no idea what I'm going to do when I get back, aside from find a place to live and maybe a side job for some extra cash until I figure out what I really wanna do. If I don't extend my contract here I'll be coming home in less than two months, which is only like eight weeks, which seems like an awfully short amount of time. But I've also been thinking about all the things I'll be coming back to, not to mention that little European vacation I plan to take once I get back. So yeah...there's that stuff.

This past weekend my roommies, some coworkers and I all went to see a ballet of Don Quixote at the Seoul Arts Center in downtown Gangnam area. Overall, it was actually very good, though not really centered around the Don Quixote character at all; it wasn't even close to the musical version in the least bit. Afterwards we went to Outback Steakhouse and chatted there for a long while even after we finished our food. We all talked about our future plans (or lack thereof) and about the kids and such. Overall a very pleasant meal, even if we were at a steakhouse. (Did I mention I'm going back to being a veggie again when I go home?)

The way home was nothing out of the ordinary, just took the subway like we usually do. Everything was fairly normal...that is until we got stopped at Myeonmok Station about three stops south of Junghwa where we live. The conductor came on the intercom and told us that there had been an accident at Sangbong Station (one stop south of Junghwa) and we would be delayed for a little while. After about ten minutes the train started moving again so we guessed it wasn't that big a deal, that was until the train passed through Sangbong and we saw a bunch of emergency workers in orange coats scattering about the platform. It wasn't until right before the train started moving again that I saw it, a stretcher carrying a body that was cloaked in a white sheet from head to foot. Apparently someone had thrown themselves in front of the train attempting (and succeeding) in suicide. Liz, one of my other coworkers, said that actually a lot of people here in Korea do commit suicide by jumping in front of trains, but this is the first time she had actually seen it happen. I won't go into any more detail about it, but it was certainly something I wasn't expecting to see and it was really disturbing to think that this happens so frequently. Needless to say, my companions and I were a little unnerved from the experience. Hopefully that is something I won't ever have to witness again.

So anyway...on a lighter note, my friends and I are planning on going to a PC bang this Friday night and playing Starcraft until the cows come home. And I will be spending the remainder of my evenings this week rollerblading until my legs fall off. Yay nerddom!

Also, The Da Vinci Code comes out this weekend! WOOT!!!

Seoul Arts Center pics:

Korean, Chinese & English sign

the outside of the building

the inside of the building

many levels
(pics courtesy of Erin Martin)

Gyeongju getaway

2006-05-11T20:42:00.000+09:00

This past weekend the gang and I headed out for a three-day weekend trip to Gyeongju, the former capital of South Korea. It was a fun time, made even more pleasant by the plethora of fresh air and green scenery. It was a refreshing change to be able to breathe without the need to start hacking and coughing. We left by bus very very early on Friday morning and came back even earlier on Sunday morning. I won't go into all the details of our little excursion here (you can read further about it on my friend Kate's site, Stranger in her Native Land), but posted below are some images of the weekend's highlights.

the slightly depressing Korean countryside

"So when do we eat?"

Kate & Kate

temple entrance

inside the temple grounds

one of the pagodas

the golden Buddha

the crowds below

check out the hairy nipples on this door mural...eww

Maggie sporting a cotton candy mustache

the "Pleasure Garden" of Gyeongju

more garden

the garden pond

on our way into town for dinner

waiting for dinner

at the norae-bang (karaoke room)

Mike getting down with his bad self

being nerds at the PC bang (PC room) on Friday night

more countryside

a lady & her parrot at the restaurant where we had brunch

enjoying brunch

inside the National Museum

downtown Gyeongju

saw this downtown...& I know all you guys out there want one of these
(and yes that is a picture of a guy modeling it in the background)

this is a wall-sized mural of Hitler that we saw...right next to a toy store

Mike & Zach trying to win a prize from one of those crane machines

on our way into an arcade to play some more video games

aww...

my favorite shot from the entire weekend...
a black and white of everyone hanging out in front of the Family Mart

Buddha's B-Day

2006-05-04T19:44:00.000+09:00

And now, another pic installment! This time we go on location to historic Insadong in beautiful downtown Seoul. These images are from the lantern festival & parade in honor of Buddha's birthday that my friends and I went to last Sunday. Enjoy!

it hurts to move

2006-04-25T16:57:00.000+09:00

So I'm sick yet again. I was well for about a week there and then I happened to catch the nastiest thing that I have yet contracted since coming here. It's nothing like anything I've caught here before and I'm thinking it might actually be the flu...but god I hope not. I haven't done anything but stay in bed and sleep for the past three days (except for when I drag myself to work) and even that doesn't seem to be helping. Last night I took my temperature with the thermometer my roommie was kind enough to get me while she was out...and of course I had a fever. Granted it was only about 100.8, but having a fever means this is more than just your average hacking-up-a-lung yellow dust-induced cold. I took my temp this morning and it was about 99 degrees, though sitting here in this freezing cold office at the moment doesn't seem to be helping me any. I noticed every time I get cold I start feeling worse, so the plan is as soon as I leave here I'm immediately going upstairs to my room, laying down on my bed, pulling the covers over me and turning my heating pad on full blast. I don't care if I die from heat exposure; I'm so cold right now I don't even think it'd matter. Aren't you supposed to sweat out a fever anyway? I know my dad always tried to do that with us kids when we were younger, and it seemed to work pretty well. What about that other old wive's tale about feeding a cold and starving a fever? Is that actually the case? I've been drinking a lot more liquids since I got sick but I haven't been eating much since I have virtually no appetite. Bleh..this sucks.

In any case I better be well by next weekend cause my friends and I have this whole weekend get-away planned for the Buddha's birthday holiday. We're leaving on Friday morning (since we all have off from work that day) and heading down to Gyeoungju, which is apparently this artsy area near the southern coast of Korea. My friend Dan said there'd be all kindsa festivities going on for the holiday so we should have no lack of things to do. We're taking a bus down there and staying in a house that Dan apparently got us for free (hmm...). At first we were going to stay in one of those shady love motels, but I think this new plan will be much better suited to our activities that weekend (well duh).

As for me, I will be spending the rest of the week recuperating and resting. And that's about it. No big plans for the weekend unless I'm feeling better, and right now that remains to be seen.
Ciao. Hope everyone's having a better week than I...

-----------------------------------------------------------------

UPDATE (04/26/06): I think I actually have bronchitis. Is this better than the flu that I thought I had? I guess so. At least bronchitis goes away on its own without medical intervention. And I am feeling better today. No fever, no chills. I may actually be well by the weekend. Woot.

Is it Easter?

2006-04-17T19:19:00.000+09:00

Friday night found me hanging with my good friends Danya and Mike. We're nerds so we basically just spent our evening cooking up some chocolately cookieliscious goodness for the upcoming Easter holiday. I made Snickerdoodles and Danya made sugar cookies and chocolate fudge. She had actually intended to make truffles to begin with...and even though we spent most of the night battling with the massive sticky wad of goo that was the truffle batter, the stuff just wouldn't solidify enough to roll it up into the little balls necessary to make said truffles. We gave up and stuffed the whole thing into a ziploc bag, maybe intending to use it as icing for the cookies. Wonder of all wonders the stuff hardened overnight and turned into the loveliest batch of fudge you ever did lay your eyes upon. Not only that but it tasted wonderful! Needless to say, Danya is an awesome chocolatier, whether she tries to be or not.

chocolately goodness

my Snickerdoodles

the best of both worlds

I spent the next day chillin with everyone at my friend Dan's place watching some questionable TV programming (::cough:: Boondocks ::cough::) though the episodes of Scrubs and My Name is Earl definitely made up for it.

Danya sporting festive bunny ears

The next day all of us met for Easter brunch over at Dan's again cause he had promised to make us french toast...real french toast, not that junk that's served in the restaurants here that they try to pass off as french toast. Like Danya and I, Dan is also an excellent cook and was able to whip up some of the tastiest french toast I have ever had...and I mean that.

Can you say yum?

After brunch, we all headed to Yeoido Island (the Manhattan of Seoul) to check out all the cherry blossoms since apparently that was the place to see the best display. When we finally did make it through the crowds of camera-toting locals and out above street level I was somewhat disappointed. There really weren't that many trees around and the ones that I did see were nearly bare of their blossoms. Still, we did enjoy walking around the park on that sunny Easter afternoon and taking in all the sights and smells of the green grass and trees, something not so easily found in other parts of Seoul.

on our way to Yeouido

Smile everyone!

enjoying some melon-flavored cotton candy

the cherry blossoms

strike a pose

the pond in Yeoido Park

In the evening we all went and had an Easter dinner of Indian food at this place called Taj Mahal located somewhat suspiciously close to Hooker Hill in Itaewon. Even so, it was pretty tasty as Indian food goes and reasonably priced at that. All in all, not a bad way to spend Easter, though I was still kinda sad I didn't get to dye any real Easter eggs. Guess there's always next year.
:)

all things Spring

2006-04-14T17:22:00.000+09:00

This past week at school we had the Korean equivalent of an Easter party, though instead of dying eggs the teachers helped the students shrink-wrap their eggs (brown eggs at that) in multicolored translucent paper...either that or they just colored on them with marker, which actually looked a lot more like real Easter eggs than their shrink-wrapped counterparts. After lunch, the kids went on an Easter egg hunt for their "special" eggs and the student who found the egg wrapped in gold foil won a prize.

kindy bunnies

The hunt is on!

Today we went on yet another field trip to this place called the "Funique House", which was actually located inside of the Korean War Memorial, however odd that is. The whole thing was more like a display for all the goofy kinda stuff you'd see at one of those Spencer's Gift Shops back home. There were weird kitchen gadgets, talking stuffed animals and little naked Buddha figurines that "peed" when you poured water into them, as well as a plethora of other odd junk that no one will ever use for any real practical purpose. I thought it was weird...but the kids seemed to love it.

Wow...they're so amazed.

Rosa A class & the teachers

Afterwards we went outside to see the cherry blossom trees in front of the museum. Oooo...pretty.

lining up to get water

in full bloom

This weekend I'm going to try to get outside and take more pics of the flowers and such if I have time. The cherry blossoms will probably only be blossoming until this next week and then they'll be gone, so I wanna make sure I get some more daytime shots of them before that happens (which I'll be posting on here of course). Also forthcoming is my next "Bad Konglish" installment. Mwahahahahaa...

pics of Bonghwasan

2006-04-11T18:46:00.000+09:00

Here's some images of my evening hike up the nearby mountain (which I found out is called Bonghwasan). So basically this is a view of my neighborhood from waaaaaaaay up high. Enjoy.

the path leading up the mountain

view from the top

another view

Seoul Tower in the distance

a clearing on the side of the mountain going back down

who turned out the lights?

2006-04-10T17:05:00.000+09:00

I think I found a new favorite place to get away from the hustle of bustle of city life. Josh had actually told me about this place when he was visiting, but I never really got around to checking it out until last night. I spent the weekend with friends doing the usual stuff (TV watching, birthday parties, brunch, what have you) and didn't get back until yesterday evening at about 9:30, though still not very tired and not willing to call it a night just yet. It was a superbly beautiful night out and I didn't exactly feel like spending the remainder of it inside...so I set out on foot to see what I could see around the neighborhood.

The trees here are finally in full bloom and if you look hard enough you can spot several cherry blossom trees along the sidestreets and backroads around this area. Also last night I came across this (I guess) newly-constructed park just off the main road, complete with exercise equipment and badminton courts. That's nothing really out of the ordinary though since it seems like all the parks here have something similar. I did discover this one trail though that veered away from the park which looked like it led up to the top of a nearby mountain that I haven't yet had the chance to explore. This is the one that Josh had told me about that apparently houses a Buddhist temple at the very top. I took a look at the map along the trail just within the boundaries of the park and noted that it was actually a lot bigger than I had previously thought, with several trails leading up to the temple from all sides. It was dark at the point (and somewhat scary) but I decided to make my way up since there were at least a few lights to guide me along. About ten minutes into my hike I noticed that there was no one else around and I hadn't yet seen anyone coming or going along the trail. Not long after that the lights that were allowing me to actually see where I was going went out. At that point I got a little freaked out. I pulled my Nano earphones out of my ears (determined to hear anyone who might be sneaking up behind me) and continued up along the trail as far as my nerve would take me. I gave up after about five minutes.

Luckily the area in which I live is heavily populated so the sky was already very lit up with an orangish-hue that reflected itself off the trail along on which I walked. On the way back down I did end up taking a wrong turn there somewhere and found myself in a completely different spot from where I started. In any case, I know this area like the back of my hand so it wasn't hard for me to find my way back to a familiar street.

In any case, I don't give up so easily. Thus, tonight I'm going back to the mountain, determined to make my way to the top before they turn the lights off on me again. I have to go buy some eggs for this Easter egg dying thing we're having at school tomorrow, but then after that I'm coming back, changing and heading back up the trail. From what I could tell last night the view from the top of the mountain should be awesome so I'll be sure to take some pics and post them here as soon as I get a chance. Hopefully I won't run into any scary ajummas who might chase me back down the trail...I think Josh said that might be a possible hazard. Guess we'll soon see.

reflection

2006-04-06T00:08:00.000+09:00

And so tonight I'm standing here, looking down from a side trail along Mount Namsan...and slowly the words form in my mind..."This is my town." When I first came here this place was entirely unfamiliar and foreign to me. But now, now it has become like my second home. I feel comfortable here; it's like I've found my niche without even really trying. In a sense I feel that this is where I belong, because the bonds I've made here and the experiences I've had are irreplaceable. There has not been one day in the last nine months that I would trade for anything. There has not been one moment of my being here that I regret, not a one. This place has changed me, and any chance to change and grow beyond what I once was is a welcome and rare opportunity. For certain I will miss this life when I leave, and I am saddened that the end is coming so soon. Even so...there is still time left and for sure I will be savoring every minute of it. But for tonight, I'm here, I'm here...and I'm waiting with anticipation for whatever lies ahead...

And on a lighter note, this is what you get when Korean kids try to play Scrabble.

the Kimchi Field Museum

2006-04-03T17:06:00.000+09:00

Hola hola hola...

And so begins another week here in Seoul Land. I've got work to do here in the office no doubt, but I'm really feeling the Monday doldrums this afternoon so I thought this might be a nice break from the monotony of writing weekly reports.

This past week at school we went on a field trip to the infamous Kimchi Field Museum located in COEX mall. I'd been meaning to go see this on my own since I got here, since for sure plastic replicas of kimchi might be an interesting change from the dull museum norm of boring paintings and artifacts (sarcasm intended). In my opinion, it was actually quite small...not really up to par space-wise as a traditional museum in that it was more like a special exhibit than anything. The highlights included a hands-on section where you could touch & smell the different ingredients of kimchi and an interactive computer section where you could watch videos of various kimchi being made. At the end of the exhibit they even had some kimchi that we could try for ourselves, though I wasn't really feeling all that well that day so I decided to pass.

All in all, not a bad outing for the kids, though I think they were simply more grateful to be out of class then they were to be learning anything actually relevant about their national dish. In any case, I had fun...and isn't that what really matters? :)

the display of plastic kimchi

John, SeungMin, Daniel & Grace

the Rose B class & the teachers (including yours truly!)

no rest for the expat

2006-03-27T22:46:00.000+09:00

I suppose it's safe to say that I haven't had one moment of rest for at least the last week or so...not that this is a bad thing. I like to feel like I am involved in the day to day of everyone around me, and taking part makes me feel alive, like I'm actually doing something with myself instead of sitting idly by on the sidelines. This past weekend was filled to the brim with activity and even last week I went out walking around downtown every night since the weather has been so agreeable.

Now that the seasons are changing I've felt more drawn to be outside as much as possible, just so I can be a full witness to the birth of springtime, as I'm always apt to want to do at this time of year. When I stay inside I always feel like I'm doing myself a disservice...like I'm missing out on something important. Because, who knows, this could be the last time I'll ever see it (not to be melodramatic or anything). Tonight I walked up Mt. Namsan again and I got an ever so slight momentary thrill when I saw the new buds forming on the trees. Soon the cherry blossoms will be blooming and the warmth will be here. I'm looking forward to it...maybe moreso this year than usual.

As far as everything else goes, I've been doing really well here these past few weeks. The anime gang and I (though I wouldn't quite call them the "anime" gang anymore since we're usually out doing other stuff instead) hang out most every weekend and a good time is always had by all. This past weekend I met up with this girl who just got into Korea on Saturday. She came across my blog when she was researching getting a job here and asked if we could get together once she arrived. I agreed and told her I'd be happy to show her around. She called me on Sunday morning so I invited her out with my friends and I, cause, as I always say, the more the merrier. In any case it was a lot of fun! We went out for brunch in the early afternoon and then went to see V for Vendetta after that (which was an awesome movie by the way). After the movie we went out to this tofu restaurant nearby and had an excellent dinner among friends. All in all, a great weekend...as it seems all weekends have been lately.

This week my friend Joe is visiting from back home and I think tomorrow night we're actually going to hang out since I was finally able to get in touch with him through email. Not sure what we'll be doing though, maybe going to see some stuff downtown or something? I'll be meeting up with him again on Friday night before he leaves to go back to the US on Saturday. And on Saturday I think I'm having people over as per usual unless we all decide to go out and find something else to do instead. Work's been good too and I think I've gotten into the swing of the new schedule, though some of the new boys are a little rowdier than I'd like. Still, no big deal...I'll manage.

So yeah, all's well here. Actually, things have been going unusually well...almost too well. Hmmm...

Also, I know I haven't posted many pics lately so here's one for now. More to come soon. :)

Seoul at sunset...

insanity

2006-03-13T23:34:00.000+09:00

So I'm reading this book right now called Veronika Decides to Die and I came across a quote that I found rather insteresting. I think it speaks for itself...

"You asked me if I knew what being crazy meant."
"Exactly. This time I'm not going to tell you a story. I'll just say that insanity is the inability to communicate your ideas. It's as if you were in a foreign country, able to see and understand everything that's going on around you but incapable of explaining what you need to know or of being helped, because you don't understand the language they speak there."
"We've all felt like that."
"And all of us, one way or another, are insane."

So does that mean that all of us expats who willingly come here are especially crazy because we are intentionally putting ourselves into that kind of situation? Something to think about...

Insanity.

the roof is on fire

2006-03-11T00:31:00.000+09:00

There was a fire in this building across the street last night. Christianne (the new roommie) and I spent the entire evening gawking and taking pictures of it from our apartment on the 6th floor. We were actually planning on just sitting around and watching TV all evening when we heard all these police sirens very close by. We ran to the window only to see a mass of fire engines and police cars crowding the street in front of our school. At that point we didn't see any actual flames, just a few puffs of smoke here and there emerging from the door of the toy store located on the bottom floor. More and more fire trucks came onto the scene and unloaded more firemen who rushed to hook up their hoses and attempted to gain access to the building. Soon they were prying through the iron gates and smashing through the windows of the shop, but just as they did so huge billowing clouds of smoke came pouring out of the building. The first thing the firemen did was to clear access to the source of the fire, which meant pulling out tons of various toys and tossing them haphazardly onto the sidewalk in front of the store. The scene continued like this for a good hour or so until the smoke subsided and the firemen apparently got the blaze under control. The air cleared and things once again returned to normal. The bystanders dispersed and the firemen loaded up their hoses and cleared out, leaving only a pile of charred and broken toys behind them...

This morning the windows of the store were boarded up, though passers-by still continued to pause along their way to wonder what might have happened to the store that used to occupy that space. I wonder if the shop will ever reopen? Probably. It doesn't seem like progress is so easily deterred here in Korea (at least not in a structural sense), so I'm sure that it will be back on its feet in no time. In any case it was the first time I have ever witnessed anything like that for real. No doubt this will be just another story I can add to the long list of anecdotes I have acquired during my stay here in Korea. And I'm sure it won't be the last.

And now, the pics:

bad Konglish (installment #5)

2006-03-02T22:06:00.000+09:00

It's that time again...

BAD KONGLISH - INSTALLMENT #5!!!

And away we go...

(click on the image for a larger view)

Something simple to start...

...but getting gradually weirder...

And he's back...

This cheese is so fresh, it hasn't even been made yet!
Thus, it's the taste of the future!

Yay, happy talking washing machine time!

Is it just me or is the panada behaving in such a way that would make you
think he's maybe had one too many hits of the reefer?

The real question is: Who made this cookie...and why?

I've noticed that Koreans have a significant problem with putting the word "the" in front of everything.

I just think the cartoon is funny...

my friend's laptop, decorated with all manner of bad Konglish stickers

That's really none of your business.

Good god, I hope not.

It's the hippie bus! Check out the weed symbol on the front. Groovy...

As if there's any place that would put "Crappy Fish Restaurant" on their sign.

This is what we like to call "sophisticated Konglish"
.

Because apparently only men can drink hard alcohol.

Do I even wanna ask what this place has on tap?

This isn't Konglish per se...I just thought it was funny.

a cold wind

2006-03-01T04:00:00.000+09:00

I'm in an odd sort of mood tonight. Right now it's almost 4am, but I am not in the least bit tired. In fact, sleep is about furthest thing from my mind at the moment. I really just want to stay up and watch the sunrise from my window. I think I may actually skip going to bed at all this evening...I don't feel like I need it. It's been one of those nights, but I think the sunrise might be able to purge me of all these melancholy thoughts, if that makes any sense at all.

Of course, tomorrow is yet another holiday so it's not a big deal if I refrain from rest at the moment; I can always catch up tomorrow if need be. I was supposed to meet some friends down in Chinatown tomorrow afternoon, but it seems like they just keeping dropping like flies. This entire evening almost every hour on the hour someone has written an email saying they won't be able to make for whatever this or that reason. Even so, I'll probably go. I need to get out of the house if I can, get some much-needed fresh air. I was hoping tomorrow might be one of those bright Spring-esque days, but it looks like it's just going to be cloudy and cold yet again.

I guess I'm just tired of waiting...

Tomorrow the new foreign teacher from Canada will be arriving, so we've been cleaning out her room and making it ready for her. I'm anxious to see what she's like, both as a roommate and a fellow co-teacher. From what I've read of her in her emails I think she'll do alright...but what can you really tell from an email? I won't be home when she gets here (too awkward) so I guess I'll just meet her tomorrow night when I get back. And if not then I know we're all supposed to take her out to lunch on Thursday afternoon. Am I looking forward to it? Hmm...too soon to tell.

Two more hours to go until sunrise.

the longest day

2006-02-26T03:53:00.000+09:00

I had an interesting blurry whirlwind of a day today...a seemingly unending day in that it began with me waking up at about 6:30 this morning and not coming home until well after midnight tonight.

To begin with, I rushed out to Namdaemun Market early this morning to meet a friend at the infamous black market located in one of the basements of a department store in that area. We were there to look around at whatever goods were being offered and I in particular was on the lookout for some medicine from back home that is not so easily found here in Seoul. After about an hour at the market we decided to get going along to the next destination on our winding journey of today.

The first stop was a wedding of a friend of ours from back home who was marrying a Korean girl he met here about a year ago. It was a pretty classy affair, complete with a drum procession and a buffet table about a mile long. It was held outside at a wedding temple in southern Seoul and all of the participants wore traditional Korean clothing throughout. It was quite a sight to behold because it was one genuinely Korean experience that I have not had the pleasure of experiencing as of yet. In any case it was a wonderful opportunity to witness the strange and fascinating coming together and melding of two very different cultures. I was very glad to have been invited to such a unique event.

Following the wedding, the groom, some of his friends and I left in a taxi and headed to Gangnam for some post-ceremony drinking and festivities at a local micro-brewery. The place was fairly big and was easily able to accommodate our rather large party. We stayed there for a long while drinking meters of beer and chatting among the friends and family of the wedding party. Koreans don't traditionally have a reception afterwards so I suppose this was as close to that as we were going to get. Even so, it was still a lot of fun and I had a great time.

After the semi-reception, I left with two friends of mine to go to a pub trivia-night fundraiser in Suwon that a bunch of foreigners were sponsoring to raise money for a local orphanage. I must say, I wasn't expecting it to be that much fun, but in reality I had a great time! My group was a perfect mix of Americans, Canadians, Koreans and one girl from Ireland. Between the six of us we were able to answer most of the questions correctly. I even ended up winning a Starbucks gift certificate with which to further feed my need for legal addictive stimulants. It was just a great atmosphere overall and I loved every minute of it.

To finish off the evening we headed to an after-party at a nearby pool hall and danced for a bit before calling it a night. Right now it's past 3am and I can say with some certainty that I am well and truly spent. I haven't had such a full day as this for quite some time.

And now, I am tired...and my head is still reeling from having taken in so much in just a day's time. I'm not use to so much social interaction in such a short amount of time, which for me is a genuinely exhausting experience. To compensate I think I may have to stay in and sleep all of tomorrow. I just can't deal with so much all at once.

In short, I need sleep, but it was still a good day overall.

Only in Korea...

Pics of the wedding ceremony:

introduction by the MC

the bride waiting for her groom

the groom

the mothers

the procession from atop a hill

the drummers

the newly wed happy couple

mountains in the sky

2006-02-23T23:34:00.000+09:00

"Today skies are painted colors of a cowboy cliché
And strange how clouds that look like mountains in the sky
are next to mountains anyway."
~ John Mayer, "3X5"

graduation

2006-02-22T22:27:00.000+09:00

Today was graduation day for our kindergarten classes, and I can say with some truthfulness that I will miss each and every one of them that is moving on to elementary school next year. Wuss that I am, I even cried when it was all over. All these parents were trying to take pictures of me with their children and here I am bawling like a big baby. Phoo on me.

In any case it all went off without a hitch, and the parents really seemed to enjoy the ceremony. There was much picture-taking, clapping, and laughing fun to be had by all. As I was with the Kindy Performance so again was I the MC with another Korean co-teacher for the ceremony today. I always feel like some kinda celebrity when I get to do stuff like that, and it seems to happen quite often around this place...not that I mind.

The kids who are returning for a second year in kindergarten have this next week off, but the other teachers and I will still be working regular hours getting ready for all the new kids who will be joining our classes. Already today we stripped all of the classroom walls bare and are going to redecorate them before orientation for the new students on Monday. Hopefully we'll get it all done in time...but then again we do have all of tomorrow and Friday.

Tomorrow I'm supposed to go with my roommate Erin to the Immigration office once again because supposedly we didn't get our degrees verified like we were supposed to when we first got to Korea. I could have sworn that stuff was already taken care of way back when, but apparently not (though we did manage to somehow get our visas in spite of that fact...how odd). Our director, Ms. Cha is driving us there in the morning, though I'm not sure if she'll be waiting with us or if she'll just have us take the subway home when we're finished doing whatever it is we need to do there. Either way, it's all good. Being out and about in the morning will kinda break up the monotony of spending all day inside preparing the classrooms for the new semester.

This weekend I'm supposed to go with a friend of mine to this wedding of a friend of his. It's one of those "foreign guy marries a Korean girl" things. It's going to be this grand traditional Korean wedding, which is actually being held outside in a temple. Should be an interesting time. I'm curious to see what the Korean version of a wedding is like...I hear they're quite the spectacle.

Do they throw bouquets at Korean weddings? Hmm...

only in Korea

2006-02-17T16:03:00.000+09:00

So I was doing so well not being sick for at least the past two months...until this week hit and I got yet another cold. Suffice it to say I am not happy, especially since I had planned on doing lots of different things this weekend. Unfortunately it looks like I may have to cancel or at least postpone those for the time being. Ah well...c'est la vie.

Last weekend (before I came down with whatever it is that I have now) was fun though; I had all of the usual people over for the impromptu anti-Valentine's Day party, though the only thing we did that was even remotely "anti" was to take a teddy bear holding a heart with the word love on it, pack it with enough firecrackers to blow it sky-high and then proceed to light it on fire in a way that one might consider very riot-esque. The guys who brought the infamous bear did not light it anywhere near my school building, but instead took it down to some inconspicuous spot near the river where no other unfortunate souls might catch sight of our poor hapless victim. Needless to say I didn't go with them. When they brought it back there were only the charred remains of something that might have once been fluffy and white... Aside from that pyromaniacal fun, we watched a zombie move (perfectly appropriate for our "anti" theme) and ate lots of chocolate. A good time was had by all.

Sunday I met up with some of the anime group for early afternoon Oylmpic hockey watching at the Rocky Mountain Tavern down in Itaewon. After that we headed over to Abbey's Book Nook nearby and had coffee & treats while we perused their selection. The owner was playing the part of match-maker that afternoon and purposefully seated a table of three guys next to us. I suppose she got a little perturbed when we continued to carry on our own conversation without them, because soon after she was forcibly pushing our two tables together and then proceeded to sit down and mediate the conversation between the six of us. After we left the bookstore we actually ended up joining them at a nearby bar where we spent the rest of the night playing darts and pool. They invited us all to this going-away party tonight...though I'm not sure I'll be going since I still don't feel all that well.

Tomorrow's anime meeting has been cancelled since a lot of the group won't be able to make it, and I think I may just spend the day laying low and recovering from this nasty cold. Sunday I'm hosting this Phantom phan get-together at my place with Danya and this other guy she met at the bookstore. We're going to be watching Phantom movies and listening to Phantom music...all that sorta fun geeky stuff. Yes, I know I'm a nerd...I think I mentioned that before, right?

Hope everyone's week is going well...
:)

well being

2006-02-12T02:59:00.000+09:00

So as of right now it's about 3am on this cold Sunday morning in Seoul. The anime gang left my place not too long ago, and even though I am somewhat tired at the moment, I feel my best course of action would be to simply stay up and forgo my sleep for the night. After all, I do have all of tomorrow evening to nap if need be. And besides, if I did choose to fall asleep at this moment I would probably only end up being more tired in the long run and in fact miss the sunrise that I have sought to experience these past few weeks. There's really not that long to wait till morning and I can always keep myself busy writing, reading or listening to la musique.

I can't believe how much different my life here has become during these past few months. When I first got to Korea I was so very much on my own all the time, but now...now it seems like there's always something going on, something to partake in, something to fill the unending void of hours that stretch out before me like an empty blank canvas. I'd even go so far to say that my life here has become more socially adept than it ever was back home. Here I seem to have taken on this strange new role as one who plans things instead of just following along in the background like I was always more apt to do before. Has coming here and putting myself in such a foreign situation changed me so drastically? Was it really that I once again placed myself in this sink or swim position? It seems like whenever my life starts to get too dull or unbearable I always try to solve my problems by picking up and just running away. But maybe there's more to it than that. Maybe I'm only just trying to prove my own courage, my own ability to stand against the wind and fly unhindered by anything that might have come before. And maybe this was the ultimate test of my strength, because by simply coming here I proved that anything is possible if I only put my mind to it. And in doing so, I have opened up the future so much wider than it ever was before. It seems the possibilities are endless...

From here I can do anything. From here I can jump off this precipice and soar higher than I've ever dared before. I don't think I've had so many opportunities available to me...it's really a refreshing change.

So anyway, perhaps I am a bit more contemplative tonight than I otherwise would be. Maybe it's the lateness of the hour, or the lingering glow of spending an evening with good friends...or maybe it's a combination of everything rolled into one. In any case, I feel different tonight. For once, I feel well.

V-Day & beyond

2006-02-10T16:53:00.000+09:00

So this weekend should prove to be very fun I think... I'm really looking forward to it actually. Tonight I was supposed to maybe go out to dinner with this friend of mine, but since I've got the gang coming over tomorrow I'll probably end up skipping out on that. So for this evening I've got to go shopping for the big "Anti-Valentine's Day" party that's being held at my apartment tomorrow afternoon and I've also gotta buy some stuff for school. Today I finally got my DVD of "Dream for an Insomniac" in the mail that I ordered back in December so I'm planning on watching that as well.

And then there's the party tomorrow. To celebrate our dislike of the entirely commercialized seudo-holiday that is Valentine's Day we are planning on wearing black and watching horror movies. We're also having a potluck, for which I will be making Bagel Bites & my usual tasty sugar cookies, maybe some mandu as well since I've got a whole big bag of them in the freezer. There will of course be wine and other alcoholic beverages to round out the evening...though you can be sure I'm planning on staying away from that devilish Chinese absinthe. That stuff was lethal...

So that's the plan for Saturday then, maybe with running in the morning with the Hashers if it's not too cold out. I might go running with the other Hashers' group on Sunday if I don't on Saturday...Danya's been trying to get us all to join her both days. She's crazy...she reminds me a lot of me when I'm so health-crazed and fanatical about rollerblading every day in the summer. Of course I do have my limits: I cannot tolerate doing anything in cold weather. And that is where we both differ...she's got a will of iron and not even sub-zero temperatures can prevent her from getting her runner's high. But maybe, since it seems lately I have become more accustomed to the chill, I might join her sooner rather than later. Anyway...

Sunday night I promised Danya and Zach (another anime groupee) that I'd go with them to this dinner thing at an English bookstore down in Itaewon. Not sure what is being served, but Danya's vegetarian and she's not worried about it, so neither am I. I think we might be doing something before that too, or possibly after. We'll figure it all out tomorrow I guess.

Also, one of the teachers at my school had mentioned something to me on Tuesday about if I'd possibly want to stay longer at this school after my contract expires. So then, since my brother's not getting married until the end of September I might remain here until at least the end of August just to save up a little more money than I otherwise would have. After all, I'm not going to have a job when I get back to the states and I will need something to live off of. It's really only an extra month and a half I'd be here so it's not that big a deal. Still, I've gotta give myself some time after I get back since I had planned on taking that long overdue trip to France later on this year. I'm thinking maybe the beginning of September, which will still give me enough time to get back and prepare for my brother's wedding. (I get to be a bridesmaid this time!) But, in the event that I don't have time to go in September, I guess I could always just put it off until after the wedding...no big deal.

And then there's that big looming question of what I'm going to do once I get back to the US. Should I stay and look for a job in St. Louis or should I flit off once again to places unknown? I guess only time will tell...

unusually busy

2006-02-07T17:22:00.000+09:00

I am sooooo glad this past weekend is over with! I cannot tell you how exhausted I was after the Kindergarten end-of-the-year performance on Saturday, since it seemed like I had been working nonstop up until that point...not that it was hard work or anything, I just value my free time that's all. So yes, it's over & done with, thank god.

Everything went really well, better than even I had imagined it would. The kids didn't mess up anything too badly and the parents really seemed to enjoy seeing their kids up on stage dancing around, or acting, or singing, or whatever it was that they were doing. After it was all over the other teachers and I went out to dinner at this little seafood place we've been to a couple of times before. I tried something called a sea cucumber which was this raw, slimy greenish blue thing that had a texture not unlike raw oysters. It didn't taste all that great so I didn't try another after that. We also had some seafood kalguksu, which is this homemade noodle soup, as well as some steamed scallops and mussels. Those were both really good. The dinner was compliments of my school's director since we had worked so hard to prepare for the performance. She also gave us the day off yesterday since we did spend all of our Saturday setting up for it too.

So on Sunday I just basically sat around my apartment and relaxed...nothing too extreme. I finished one book and then another the following day entitled "The Reader". It was ok, though not one of my favs. For my day off on Monday I walked around the city since it was so nice out and then in the evening I went down this side path I discovered on the way back down from Mt. Namsan. The path led to this little park where there was a playground with swings and a climbing fort. I swung on the swings for a while and then proceeded to climb around the fort like a monkey. The few passers-by I saw probably thought I looked rather strange playing on a playground by myself at that time of night, especially since I'm not exactly a kid or anything. In any case, it was fun. ;)

Today I am back at school waiting for two other teachers to come back from a meeting so we can all go out to COEX mall for dinner. The supervisor of our kindergarten is leaving tomorrow to go live in Hawaii with her children since she's going to be attending a university there. The dinner tonight is her going-away party. Should be fun.

This weekend I've got dinner planned with a friend at a Greek place in Itaewon on Friday and then the usual anime get-together on Saturday afternoon. I think we may be going out somewhere that night as well since the weather is actually supposed to be bearable. Maybe dancing or something...who knows? Sunday I'll probably be staying inside to relax and veg, or I might possibly go running or hiking in the afternoon. There's also that hash thing I've been wanting to try out that I mentioned in one of my previous posts. Still haven't gotten around to running with all of them, but I'm planning to as soon as the weather warms up a bit. After all, I did just get myself a new pair of running shoes for the occasion...the Asics GT-2100s, and I love them!

Anyway, more later...and I'll be posting pics of the performance from this past weekend as soon as I can get around to it.
:)

you know you...when...

2006-02-02T17:25:00.000+09:00

Ok, I thought this was funny. I came across this today, and expect that I might be checking quite a few of these off when I get back home. It's really kinda eerie how true they are...

How To Know You Lived Too Long in Korea Now That You're Back Home. . .

You didn't recognize your family at the airport.
You habitually bow your head to people.
You're favorite store is no longer Price Chopper. It's Mr. Kim's Happy Korean Market.
You pay $12.00 for Kimchi Chigae and 10$ for a bottle of Soju.
You gasp in horror when people walk into your home wearing shoes.
You squat over your toilet for old time's sake.
You continually call your friends "babo".
You get depressed when little kids don't notice you now. In fact you get very depressed that no one notices you now.
You can't understand why the bars close at 2AM, why you can't buy beer after 2:00AM, why you always have to show ID, and why you can't walk from bar to bar carrying an open beer.
You can drink 4 bottles of Soju. Your friends can't even drink 1. You hail yourself Soju Master of (Your Town).
You continually tell people, "Hurry! Hurry!"
You're friend asks you what you're fixing for dinner. You reply, "Oh, a little dwen jang chigae, kimchi, various side dishes and rice."
You miss the smell of bun dae gi.
You refer to all your friends as foreigners.
You have nightmares about kids screaming, "Hello! What's your name? What time is it? Do you like Kimchi?"
You now find supermarkets eerily quiet.
You constantly beep your horn in traffic.
You're contemplating opening your town's first O-daeng stand.
Your friends and family are concerned about your new smoking and drinking habits.
You casually offer 500$ to immigration officials to issue your Korean girlfriend a working visa.
You can't sleep at night becuase it's just too quiet.
You've called your mother Ajuma more than 3 times.
You're still buying kimchi, seaweed, spicy leaves, and shrimp chips on a weekly basis.
Your friends call the humane society because your dog's ears are pink and blue.
You talk about people near you forgetting they can understand you.
Your friends wonder why you have a roll of toilet paper on your kitchen table and you wonder why they're asking.

More to come...

soju & hash

2006-01-19T14:28:00.000+09:00

Ok, not much going on here that's of any really relevant importance enough to update, but since it has been almost a week I figured I should. Let's see...last Friday I went out with my friend Dan for coffee and shopping and video games and samgyeopsal and soju. It was a good time, though I was definitely feeling slightly tipsy on the bus ride home. He and I and the rest of the anime gang are supposed to be getting together tomorrow night for a movie or something, though we may just end up crashing at someone's place and watching a video (since I've only ever gone to the movies once here and I really have no idea how they work). We might just get coffee or dinner or something...

Saturday will be the obligatory anime meeting as usual, though Saturday morning I'm going to be taking my first run with the Hash House Harriers of Seoul (a local running group). I really ought to buy a new pair of running shoes for the occasion, but that will just have to wait until my next paycheck. Or maybe I can put off going for a week or something. In any case I'm looking forward to it...cause it's not just a running club; it's more like a while goose chase, complete with wacky antics and humor. Here's their website. Should be interesting...

Ok, must go, got class...
:)

6 months to go

2006-01-12T19:20:00.000+09:00

So, ok, another week almost finished at school. We are fast approaching the end of the kindergarten school year, which is sometime in February. This week we started preparations for graduation and the end of the year drama performance, which the kids will be puttingt on for their parents. It's going to be a big ordeal, complete with live concerts, plays and songs. Today I had to sit for about 20 minutes and record the drama plays into my mp3 player so that the supervisor can burn them onto a CD for all the kids to listen to and practice at home. It feels kinda weird knowing the students will be listening to my recorded voice nonstop for the next month. In any case, I hope I sound good on them and not stupid. Yeah...

Also I've continued hanging out with the anime crew for the past few weekends. They really are a fun crowd and I am so glad I met them! It's so awesome having people to hang out with on Saturday nights...I think this weekend we'll be going dancing down in Itaewon again. Sounds like fun...

One more thing... My friend MAGGIE is driving me completely bonkers because she keeps sending me these cryptic text messages saying that she has all kinds of drama to report to me. But do you think she has even mentioned anything about what all this drama might be? NO!!! She is so evil!!! I swear if she doesn't tell me what's going soon I am going to hunt her down and kill her (at least when I get back). Get the picture Maggie!!! Tell me what the heck is going on! Grrr to you!!!

Anyway, tomorrow the kindergarten is going on a sledding field trip. I have no idea where we'll be going for sledding (since it seems like all the snow has already melted), but they haven't cancelled it so I guess they know what's going on. What do I wear on a sledding field trip? I don't have any snow suits here with me. Um, yeah...

Oh, and as of yesterday I am officially halfway through my contract here. Go me! :)

Saturday morning's sunrise from my window

the anime club meeting at my place

happy new year

2006-01-04T21:33:00.000+09:00

So finally, here is my post about how I spent my winter vacation. Sounds like a school essay title doesn't it? But yeah, I had a great week off, and I did not just sit around on my butt all week. I actually got out there and did stuff, despite the freezing cold weather. It was actually a good time...and I was able to relax, which was ultimately my goal anyway.

So what did I do then? Well, on Christmas Eve I had planned to spend the day with a few girls from the anime club thing we formed about a week prior to that. We went to one of the girl's sister's house which was equipped with an oven, a rare household luxury here in Korea. We then proceeded to bake up a storm...and soon the place was smelling heavenly. I made Russian teacakes & sugar cookies, my two favs. After that another guy from the anime club met up with us there and we watched a couple of episodes. We were all planning on going out to dinner together after that, but opted to go with Danya (the other anime girl) to have dinner at one of her Korean coworker's houses. We packed up our stuff and headed to the subway...

I was amazed as soon as I stepped in the door to this place. There were several plates heaped with delicious looking food...and a dessert table to boot! It all looked so yummy!!! So I was so very excited and happy that I got to spend my Christmas Eve having such a wonderful feast, and it was all really really good. After dinner and a couple glasses of wine each we headed across the street to the local norae-bag (karaoke room) where we stayed singing cheesy boy-band songs and Christmas ballads until the wee hours of the morning. It was a great night and a fantastic Christmas Eve...

our Christmas Eve dinner

On Christmas Day my roommate Erin was hosting a small potluck get-together with friends in the afternoon, so I just spent most of Christmas morning lounging around and cleaning, nothing too major. Everyone started arriving at about 4pm and then we stood around talking for the next hour or so until everything was ready. Dinner consisted of two roasted chickens, pasta salad, roasted potatoes, tater-tots, salad & rolls. We also had a plethora of gourmet cheeses, fruit and nuts to snack on too. Once again, everything was really good. After dinner we watched Home Alone & The Nightmare Before Christmas. Soon after, my friend Danya called me and wanted to know if I was interested in climbing up Mt. Namsan that evening. I knew it was cold out, but I thought that the spectacular view from the top would be a perfect ending to a great holiday. So she and I hopped on a bus to downtown and spent the remainder of the evening meandering around the newly opened pavillion atop Mt. Namsan. Another good day.

our apartment decorated for the Christmas potluck

The rest of my vacation week I spent shopping and hanging out with Dan from the anime club. On Wednesday of that week I went to COEX Aquarium. It was pretty cool, though not nearly as great as Chicago's Shedd Aquarium (of course). Still, it was a good way to pass a lazy afternoon.

some fishies at the aquarium

wave hello to the scary scuba guy

This past Friday I hung out with my other roommate Amanda and some Korean friends of hers. We went down to Myeoung-dong shopping district and had shabu-shabu for dinner, which was really good! The next day I had the anime crew (and some other friends of theirs) over to my place for more episode watching---this time we watched Escaflowne. In the evening some more people joined up with us and we started getting ready to go out and celebrate. At about 10pm we headed down to Limelight Club in Itaewon to ring in the new year. I ended up kissing some strange guy on the cheek at midnight, I wasn't about to be left without someone to kiss at midnight this year...though I couldn't even begin to tell you the guy's name. Not important though, since I didn't see him again after that. The anime crew and I spent the remainder of the evening at Limelight dancing the night away. At about 3:30am one of the other girl's dates drove us all back to my place where we crashed until the next day.

the shabu-shabu

New Year's Eve pre-partying (doing car-bombs)

Dan attempting to slide on the floor of my apartment

the club

So that was my holiday in a nutshell. Not too bad for being here in Korea...but of course I still missed everyone from back home. It just wasn't the same being here. Still, I'm glad I had friends to spend it with. :)

Happy new year everyone...

I'm coming to town...

2005-12-24T08:14:00.000+09:00

So yesterday I felt so very important here at my school. Since we couldn't find any expat to be Santa for our kindergarten Christmas party, guess who had to do the honors. Why, yours truly of course! Nevermind that I wasn't old enough, tall enough, fat enough or a man... Even so, I had a lot of fun doing it and the kids got a real kick out of making fun of me when I came back after it was over (at least those who had figured out that it was me...a few hadn't). Here's a pic of me donned in my Santa costume:
And then later on, Amanda (one of the other foreign teachers at my school) came into our office and told me that I was going to be one of the judges for the speech contest that the upper grades were having during their Christmas performance (which was starting in 15 minutes). I didn't mind going to watch it, especially since I had planned on going anyway. Plus since they wanted me to be there when it started I actually ended up getting out of work an hour early. Not too bad. So I came upstairs and had a seat at the judges table. The performance itself was great! In addition to the speech contest there was dancing, caroling, piano playing, and acting. The whole thing only lasted about two hours and it looked like all the parents and students really enjoyed it. Here's some pics:
After the show was over I went back down to the office to print up some stuff I hadn't finished and ended up playing the game "Mafia" with some of the kids who were still in class. After they all the kids went home, the teachers and I met the director downstairs for a late dinner. She ordered ddeokbokki, sweet potato pizza & fried chicken. It was really yummy! We sat around chatting for a while, and then Erin, Amanda and I came home where we ended up watching Love Actually, which was the perfect ending to a wonderful Christmas-filled day.

Today I'm meeting up with some friends at noon for cookie-baking, and then later we're watching anime and going to dinner. Not too bad for a Christmas Eve, though not exactly the typical holiday festivities. Of course, this is Korea, so nothing here is quite typical. In any case, I'm looking forward to it.

Merry Christmas everyone!!! :)

bad Konglish (installment #4 - the Christmas edition)

2005-12-21T21:20:00.000+09:00

Happy holidays to you all! For Christmas this year I am giving yet another wonderful installment of bad Konglish on which to feast your eyes.

So put on some Christmas music, sit back with a nice cup of hot cocoa and enjoy...

(and as always, be sure to click on the pic for a bigger image)

Merry Chriatmas!

Why is the one Santa telling the other Santa this?

Special thought we love?

A collage of talking & singing buildings. Interesting...

Trimmed with me? Hmm...

Merry Christmas come to here! Please!

Best wishes for the Christmas...

This just doesn't sound right.

And again...

From Your's Dandy Santa!

I've heard of 'in the heart', but on the heart?

Let's share our adversity!

It looks like a big hairy egg...and it's name is Chinua, the dwarf bear.

Fresh memories!

"I'm happy!" Why? "Because I like fish!"

Textile with a soft and charm feeling.

Cookles is definitely not low-carb.

These are some scary idol character stickers a friend of mine bought.

No soggy cookies here!

Can you eat something "deliciously"?
Cookie should have kept his hat on.

Wow! $35 ice-cream! What a deal!

The best of the best with the best effort and the best passion to be the best.

I can't even begin to make sense of this.

The dialogue balloon must be from some other t-shirt...cause it makes no sense here.

This must be the best thing I've yet come across.
Pasta goes western!

I'm a nerd

2005-12-16T21:16:00.000+09:00

So here's even more of a validation that I'm a nerd...and actually have I ever really stopped being a nerd? Truthfully, probably not. I mean, who would sit at home on a Friday night updating their blog? Who would rather go to a coffee house and play Scrabble instead of hitting the club scene? Who still sleeps with a teddy bear at night? One guess. Yup, that's right...me. So I guess it's only fitting that I've banded together with a few other expats here in Seoul to form what could be loosely considered an anime club. But really, it only makes sense though, because I've done this same thing before back when I was attending college at Truman State. I helped them form an anime club there too; I was even their first-ever secretary. That just has nerd written all over it...not that I mind being a nerd. Nerds are cool. :)

It looks like whoever's interested in joining this club will be getting together next weekend, probably on Saturday. I'm thinking we'll begin by watching something pretty basic, like Cowboy Bebop or Evangelion...the stuff everybody likes. Of course I'm going to be sly and try to sneak in some of my shoujo stuff later on, maybe Card Captor Sakura or Kare Kano. I'm starting to think I shouldn't have left the bulk of my anime collection at home...bleh. Oh well...I guess that's what torrents are for. :)

I don't have anything planned for this weekend, in that that guy I was supposed to get together with tomorrow hasn't emailed me back since Tuesday. It looks like he dropped off the face of the earth or something. So instead of that I guess I'll be out downtown walking around and taking in the Christmas lights and decorations on my own then. I also still have to go Christmas shopping for some of my friends and coworkers here. The rest of the time I'll probably be reading or watching this week's torrent downloads: Sex In the City & Friends episodes.

Next week is the last week of school before vacation. And what am I doing for vacation exactly? Well rumor has it that my roommate Erin is making a nice dinner for all of us on Christmas day, so that's something at least. But as for the rest of vacation, I'm still not sure. Maybe I'll just go get lost among those darkly-lit backstreets of Seoul and disappear into the foggy blackness unseen and unheard. Oh how cryptic.

Finally, if any of you expats out there in Seoul are interested in joining our little anime club, email me and I'll fill you in on the details. :)

pic of the day:
a shot of the Seoul skyline from a green line subway train enroute to downtown Gangnam

a Korean Christmas

2005-12-13T22:00:00.000+09:00

And so the holidays draw ever nearer...

I only have a week and a half left of classes before winter vacation starts, though I still haven't planned anything in particular. I did hear about this Christmas dinner thing that's being held at a hotel downtown so I might check that out, but other than that no real big plans or anything. Besides, it's much too cold out to be wandering around looking for things to do. These days I don't leave my apartment unless I absolutely have to.

Tomorrow is open classes which means that the parents can come in and observe their child in all their academic glory. I'll be teaching phonics and vocabulary most of the day, with the usual storytime in the afternoon. We have another open class day on Wednesday for which I will be teaching a bookmaking class all day long. I'm not too worried about that one though, since all I really do is hand out a blank book and tell the kids to draw pictures that match the sentences on each page. Friday we have a birthday party for two of the kids so it's kinda like a free day since in the only other class I have we will be watching a DVD of Snow White.

I finished up my Christmas shopping tonight...I can't believe how easy it was shopping for everyone back home. I bought all of my gifts online and had then shipped out to their destinations. I started shopping Sunday night and finished tonight. Piece of cake. I just hope everyone likes their gifts, cause it's not like they can return them...heh.

This week I am sick of course because that cold I've had is still lingering with me and has refused to subside. I also think I might have developed a case of pink eye over the weekend...can you believe that? If it's not one thing, it's another. I went to the eye doctor yesterday because my eye was bloodshot and kinda puffy and he said I just have a minor bacterial infection, for which he prescribed me some eye drops and anti-bacterial medication. In any case, my eye looks and feels much better today, thank goodness.

This weekend I'm supposed to be meeting up with one of my friend Maggie's coworker's sons who is in the Marines and has been stationed here in Seoul for the last three months as a security guard at the US Embassy. I think we're probably going to go get coffee or something, and then head over to one of the touristy areas since he said he hasn't been to many of them yet. Sunday he's leaving to go home for Christmas (lucky duck) but he wants to go skiing some weekend after he gets back. Skiing might be fun...I wonder if he needs someone to go with? It might be kinda nice having someone to hang out with here since I don't see my roommates very often. He sounds like a decent guy though, so I'm actually looking forward to it.

And finally, my friend Sean asked me what Korean Christmas trees look like, so I made it a point to take pictures of all the ones I encountered last week when I went to COEX mall. I'm also posting some of the night of our first snow while I was shopping at Dongdaemun, which turned out kinda cool.

Enjoy...

COEX Christmas trees:

a subway station Christmas tree:

snow falls over Dongdaemun:

my latest black & white photo (Seongsu subway station):

movies I wanna see...

2005-12-07T22:52:00.000+09:00

but can't.

Here in Korea they only release a small fraction of the movies that come out in the US, and unless they are hugely popular (like Harry Potter) they usually don't come out until long after they have been playing back home. For example, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was just recently released in movie theaters here...and that movie's been out in the US since March of 2004. That's just ridiculous.

So anyway, I've been dying to see Shopgirl ever since I read the book a couple of months ago. The movie was released back home at the end of Novemember, but of course there is not one theater here that is playing it. I also want to see the theatrical release of the musical Rent, but again, same story. Guess I won't be seeing these anytime soon...and for certain they will no longer be playing in theaters by the time I get back. I'll probably have to wait for them to come out on video. Oh well.

On a better note though, there is at least one movie I've been wanting to see that I was shocked to find will be playing starting this weekend at the theater in COEX mall. Broken Flowers starring Bill Murray came out a while back in the US, but I never got a chance to go see it before I left. So I think I'll be going to see that this weekend, and hopefully I won't have any trouble buying a ticket. I have a promotional brochure featuring the movie, so maybe if I bring that along with me and point to it should there be any problem I'll be ok. Hopefully.

Ugh...but I really really really wanna see those other movies, and of course I am having no luck finding torrents of them. I think I'm gonna cry. ::sniff::

scenes from Rent

scenes from Shopgirl

spirited away

2005-12-01T23:34:00.000+09:00

I spent this evening after work walking around COEX mall trying to get myself into the Christmas spirit. I thought seeing mall holiday decorations would do the trick, but it just didn't feel the same. First of all, there were not nearly as many decorations & twinkly lights at COEX as there are in the malls back home. In addition, I felt that the entire underlying buzz and commotion of Christmas was missing from the crowds. Like I said, it just wasn't the same. Christmas here is not really about getting together and spending time with family...Koreans see Christmas as more of a bank holiday, something akin to Valentine's Day if anything, since people here usually spend it with their significant others instead of their family. So yes, even though I continue to see a growing amount of Christmas trees and lights every day, it still doesn't really feel like Christmas to me, not at all like it should. And I still have no idea what I'm doing for my winter break...probably just relaxing and baking cookies. Well, I'll figure something out.

Saturday I made that Thanksgiving dinner for myself and some friends, which was great since I didn't have to eat it all on my own. Everything turned out really well, and they all said the food was wonderful. I made everything myself, with only slight help from Amanda, who peeled the potatoes and squash for me. I also made another sweet potato pie with a made-from-scratch crust that turned out fabulous. Here's some pics of everything below:

I've also been spending time taking black and white photos of different scenes around town. The black and white thing is a new hobby of mine...I guess I just like the way it turns the image around and adds a whole new perspective to the shot. Here are some of my favorites thus far:

my own holiday

2005-11-22T21:25:00.000+09:00

So...I made that sweet potato pie for my coworkers and students on Sunday night and brought it in Monday for them to share. I must say...they all loved it! It was a real big hit with everyone, especially my boss and her mom who kept asking for more (and were very sad when it was all gone). But since I still have at least several pounds of sweet potatoes left I'm going to make another pie to bring in on Thursday, just to make the day somewhat special since it is a holiday and all (at least for me). Here's a pic of the pie I made...

Thursday I'm planning on making myself Thanksgiving dinner, but with a rotisserie chicken from Costco instead of turkey. The menu will be as follows:

rotisserie chicken
stuffing made with what gravy I can make from the chicken (if possible)
baked sweet potatoes w/marshmallows on top
acorn squash & sweet potato bake
mashed potatoes (the regular kind)
green bean casserole w/something as close to french fried onions as I could find
peas & niblet corn medley
brown bread roll
fruit cocktail (in place of the cranberry sauce--which I could not find)

Um...yeah, we'll see if I can actually pull this off. I might just wait and have my Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday since it does seem like an awful lot to prepare in one evening (especially since I don't get off work until 6pm). So if that's the case then I'll have Friday night to prep everything and then I'll go buy the chicken on Saturday afternoon before I cook all the food. I'm kinda excited about attempting all this on my own, but of course I'd still rather be home having Thanksgiving dinner with my family (cause my mom and dad always have the best Thanksgiving dinner, hands down!). Still, I guess I'll have to make do with what I have on my own, but I'm sure it'll all turn out great. After all, the sweet potato pie was wonderful. In any case, I'll take pictures.
:)

bad Konglish (installment #3)

2005-11-20T22:39:00.000+09:00

Once again, back (of course) by popular demand:
BAD KONGLISH, PART THREE!
Be afraid, be very afraid...

(click on the image for a better view)

Apparently this is not the place to go if you wanna hook up with someone.

Knowledge of what exactly?

Yes! Lung cancer!

Smile virus?

It's meat for your wellbeing. Yummy.

Well being is a big thing here.

Check out the paragraph...this is just weird.

Watch out for airplanes...

Yes, let's.

Because multi-colored is the only way to go.

There's just too much going on here.

It seems like there's an underlying theme here. Hmm...

Here's the infamous cube.

Look at the very top...it's the virus! Ahhh!!!

Not just part of the day, but all day!

100%!!!

The place wish to go, the place wish to stay.

No trash in these parts.

It's a sweet juicy drink and it's so delicious!

POP! Funny popcorn!

Cookies are members of the Ambassador of Peace!

Oh no! Is the panda hung over?

This panda kinda freaks me out.

And with his special red cape he is now SUPER PANDA! Power up with fresh cheese!

He fights for truth, justice and the happy virus!

It looks like he ran into an airplane too.

And here we have an examination of dating in the 60's.

This was on one of those carry around bags in a store at the mall.

Awesome...a strawberry car! That's one sweet ride.

Yay! You can choose!

The weather and life of someone named Cookie.

Not happy about the changes in your life? Put them in this coin purse!

Wood friend's party for your happiness. Whatever that means.

She may be sweet, but she looks kinda sinister to me.

This says: "If a man take no thought about what is distant."

What's a "yeaning"? :)

We are going to the with beans.

Toxic...not really the best name for a conditioner in my opinion.

Um...

Rabbit...it's what's for dinner.

Wise words from MoMo.

Forget Dancing Queen, we got the Dancing Pig!

Yes, I always cook my friends. Yum...

Sorry, but you need to refresh.

Ye Ye...it's the ghetto potato chips. WOW!

similarity

2005-11-19T03:52:00.000+09:00

"Ok. Ok. Ok. Here's....here's my speech. This is the big speech from Noel. Uh, you mustn't leave this school. Why? Here's why. Because this is- this is a life struggle. This is fate, this is a challenge. I-If you turn away from this now- you will and I promise you this- be confronted by the same issue five years from now, or ten...
All right. You'll, you'll be the fancy doctor with... with the fancy practice. You'll, you'll be married, and you'll have like four phone lines in your home, and then, boom, it'll- it'll grip you like- like a blast of freezing cold air. You know- 'What the hell is my life?' And you'll be able to trace it back to this instant. This- this very moment, when that geek RA gave you these four words of advice: Stay in New York or perish."
-- from Felicity

No Turkey Day? ::sniff::

2005-11-14T19:57:00.000+09:00

And while I've been here for nearly five months already I am still having difficulties meeting people to hang out with on a regular basis...but for some strange reason this doesn't really bother me as much as it did when I first arrived here. Maybe I've just accepted that I'm meant to wander on my own in this place, and really I'm ok with that now. Besides, my time here is almost halfway through, and I've done just fine thus far. In any case, I've found other things to keep myself occupied, like reading or downloading music & movies. I've also spent a lot of time exercising, whether it be hiking up mountains or walking long distances across town. I guess I just like to feel like I'm on the go all the time...though I was never really one to sit still for very long.

Currently I have no plans for Thanksgiving, though right now the only thing I'm planning on really making is a sweet potato pie. The kids and I went on a field trip to a nearby farm on Friday and they handed me a huge bag full of sweet potatoes at the end of the day. Needless to say, I have to use them somehow...so sweet potato pie it is then. I did find a place near Itaewon that sells frozen turkeys, but they are super expensive! I'm thinking I might just settle on a rotisserie chicken from Costco, some vegetables like corn and peas, and maybe some mashed sweet potatoes. I might bake some bread for the occasion too if I have time. It kinda sucks that the only other foreigners at my school aren't from the US (they're from Canada and the UK), so I'm pretty much the only one who wants to do anything for Thanksgiving. Guess I'm on my own there then. They did seem excited about the sweet potato pie though since I told them I'd be bringing it down to share with all of them...cause like heck I'm going to eat the whole thing by myself...

It would be nice to come home for Christmas really, but the tickets are so expensive (like $1600)! I don't want (or anyone else for that matter) to waste that kinda money on it, especially since I'd only really be in town for like five days. Besides, I'd rather not be rushed around like that over the holidays...I'd prefer to take it easy and relax. So I dunno...it's a nice thought, but not really practical at all. Oh well.

Anyway, I gotta go buy a birthday gift for another teacher I work with, so I'm off to E-Mart then. Hafta change out of this skirt first, cause it got friggin cold here over the last couple of days!!!!!!! Grrr....

my typical day

2005-11-08T22:31:00.000+09:00

So...in case any of you wanted to know, here is what my typical day looks like. So far, it works for me. :)

7:30am - wake up, groggily drag myself to the shower
8:50am - head down to work
9:00am-9:40am - supervise/play with the kids as they arrive
9:40am-10:15am - first class
10:15am-10:45am - second class
10:45am-11:30am - third class
11:30am-12:15pm - fourth class
12:15pm-1:10pm - LUNCHTIME (eat and supervise the kids while they eat, usually includes constantly nagging them to finish their food)
1:10pm-1:50pm - fifth class (either game time or story time)
Mon/Wed/Fri 2:20pm-3:00pm sixth class (either storytelling & craft or a papercraft class)
Tues/Thurs 3:00pm-3:40pm sixth class (either a vocabulary class or phonics class)
3:00pm/3:40pm-6:00pm prep time for future classes
6:00pm - head home
6:30pm - usally eat dinner & watch "That 70's Show" on channel 59
7:00pm-bedtime - any number of evening activities with which I keep myself occupied...this can be hiking up Mt. Namsan, shopping, reading/writing or downloading & watching various movies or TV shows (this week is the sitcom "Scrubs")
12:30am-1:00am - go to sleep

into the void

2005-11-06T00:08:00.000+09:00

“Sometimes I wonder about my life. I lead a small life. Well...valuable, but small. And sometimes I wonder, do I do it because I like it, or because I haven’t been brave? So much of what I see reminds me of something I read in a book, when shouldn’t it be the other way around? I don’t really want an answer. I just want to send this cosmic question out into the void. So good night, dear void.” -- from You’ve Got Mail

post-Halloween

2005-11-05T11:20:00.000+09:00

Saturday again...I woke up this morning still feeling a bit sick from this cold I've had for the past week. Suffice it to say I couldn't get back to sleep, so I've just been meandering around my room all this time, trying to get motivated enough to head outside into this clear and sunny November morning.

Wow...November already. I can't believe that I've been here for over four months now. That fact just shocks me, because it's seems like only yesterday that I arrived here. Things have been pretty busy lately since we had to plan a whole lot of things for the kids to do this past Halloween week. It was really fun overall...I'll be sure to post some pics of the Halloween festivities later when I get a chance. It was a shame though that aside from a few parties here and there people here don't celebrate Hallowen really. Can you just imagine being a kid and not go trick-or-treating every year? When I was younger Halloween was like one of the best days of the year. Even now I still get a little nostalgic when I smell the aroma of a newly-carved pumpkin, or the faint burning scent of a jack-o-lantern that's been sitting out all night on Halloween evening. I made it a point to carve my own pumpkin here (or what resembled a pumpkin) just because it's something I've done every year. It was kinda small but it actually turned out very well! :)

Anyway, today I think I'll just take a long walk around downtown since it appears to be nice outside. I was going to hike up a nearby mountain, but decided against it since I'm still trying to get over this stupid cold. I don't have anything planned the rest of the weekend, so who knows what it might bring?

pitas and frappucinos

2005-10-22T20:59:00.000+09:00

La la...today I did all the normal Saturday things, except for a few small deviations here and there. This morning I got up rather early because I had made an appointment with this American distribtor here in Seoul to pick up some wheat pitas that I ordered (cause I am just that crazy about Kangaroo whole wheat pitas). It took me about an hour to find the place since the map on their website makes the main roads and the side roads look the same size and it didn't even give the name of the street on which they are actually located. But finally after much backtracking and using my not-so-great Korean reading skills, I found them located on a quaint little sidestreet on the third floor if this tiny building tucked away from view of the main road. The guy who answered the door was super nice about my strange request and was even concerned that I'd be hauling the 10lb package of pitas back to my apartment all by myself (he obviously did not know how cool and awesomely strong I am!!!). I reassured him that it was no trouble at all and so I left there with my package of pitas in hand. I stopped by Starbucks on my way back and had a mocha frappucino...which I had forgotten were so awesome, and then wasted away the rest of the morning in that quiet coffee shop reading this week's book Love in the Time of Cholera. After that, I got on the subway and came home. Once home I got ready to go out again since it was still fairly early and figured I use the time before my Korean class to go walk up Mt. Namsan yet again because it was just too beautiful and sunny a day to spend inside. After Namsan I headed to my Korean class at the nearby University, which I thoroughly enjoyed by the way. After class I hopped on the bus to come home, had dinner at a little kimbap place nearby and here I am back here again.

It's getting rather chilly here and I am dreading the fact that I was actually cold while standing on the sidewalk this evening waiting for the green crosswalk sign to come on. Even here in my room I can feel the cold starting to permeate my windows. Thankfully, I swiped the spare space heater from the extra room so I can keep myself warm until they turn on the ondol floor heating. Tomorrow I'm making a tremendous effort to walk from my place in Jungnang all the way to the downtown area...yes, that's right, just walking. I imagine it will take me a couple of hours, but I figure the only way that I'll really get to enjoy my surroundings and the scenery is if I go on foot. I'll be going by myself of course (since it seems there's never anyone around to go with me when I embark on these crazy whims of mine). If there's any remaining time left in the day then I might go out to Incheon for some shopping or something; I haven't decided yet.

Anyway, I am off to go do some cleaning and whatnot (how pathetic it is that I am reduced to cleaning on a Saturday night). Oh well, better luck next time. :)

bad Konglish (installment #2)

2005-10-12T23:09:00.000+09:00

And so here it is...back by popular demand:

BAD KONGLISH, PART DEUX!

Enjoy...

(be sure to click on the image if you want to zoom in to see it better)

Does any part of this make sense?

this sounds like the old McDonald's slogan

I have no idea...

Please deposit your hair here.

Yes, why not?

Good for you.

It's the Oops Bar. No kidding, that's it's real name.

This is the scariest stationary I've ever seen.

Stereotype much?

In case you can't read this, it says: "Come on babe, feel me..."
No thanks.

"Sweet wit' heart memory!" Yes!

Apparently being "fresh" is a big thing here in Korea.

Not just stories, secret stories.

Gotta wonder about this one...

Yes, please be careful! You don't wanna end up like this poor guy (who has some unidentified yellow thing pointing at him in his misery).

scary looking pets there (check out their names too)

This is a little harsh, don't you think?

I've heard of Pizza Hut, Pizza Inn & Pizza Barn, but Pizza Cell?

Aww...

Surfing donuts?

Yum, rare pizza...

"It's mine!! My underwear!!"

So even after all this, we're still just talking about cake right?

Choco Pie! It's NOW!

This is a note one of my fellow foreign teacher got from a student of hers on her birthday. Konglish starts at such an early age as you can see...

Spin it!

Enough said. (I actually bought this shirt by the way.)

A shirt that says "It's delicious pancake." What?!?!?

Ahhh! My food is smiling at me!

I miss coffee houses...

2005-10-07T19:27:00.000+09:00

It's times like these when I wish Seoul had even something remotely akin to what we have back home in the way of coffee houses. Unfortunately the closest thing to that here is Starbucks which, in my opinion, is not close at all. My reason for stating this particular gripe is because tonight I would like nothing better than to go to a coffee house (like Kaldi's back in STL), have a nice cup of steaming hot coffee and curl up with a good book. I'm almost done reading the book Angels & Demons that I started a few days ago, and I really don't wanna sit here in my apartment alone finishing the rest of it. But there's not really anywhere for me to go that would be condusive to reading. Bleh...

So maybe I'll just go stop by the nearest Starbucks, get some coffee to go and come back here to read. And I guess actually it won't be that bad because my director just bought this really posh couch for our apartment today. It's one of those "L" shaped ones that are friggin huge, but it looks fantabulous in the main room...and it's navy blue too, which is my favorite color! So...I suppose that's a plan for the evening then. I don't really wanna go out and do anything besides that cause I am still getting over a cold that I had earlier this week. (Yes, I was sick yet again---that makes three colds so far, and I used to never get sick back home!) So tonight I'm taking it easy and then I really only wanna do some shopping this weekend because I desperately need to get some clothes for winter.

One more thing... I have been reading like mad since I got here (what else have I got to keep me busy?) and I'm always on the lookout for good books to read. So if anyone has any books they'd like to suggest, please leave me a note and let me know. Just to give you an idea of what types of books I prefer, here's a list of all the ones I've read since coming here to Korea:

The DaVinci Code
Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince
Hunger Point
Of Human Bondage
Catcher in the Rye
One Hundred Years of Solitude
American Gods
Angels & Demons (finishing tonight)
Shopgirl (starting tomorrow)

Help please! :)

break time

2005-09-30T22:20:00.000+09:00

So it's Friday night again...and here I sit in my room contemplating the start of yet another three-day weekend (we have another holiday on Monday). Not that I have anything really planned at all, just the same old running around by myself that I usually do.

I am going to my Korean class tomorrow though, cause god knows I've been slacking on that far more than I'd like (I've only been to one class since actually coming here to Korea). I was going to maybe go hiking up that mountain that Josh and I hiked last weekend in the morning, but now that it's supposed to rain I don't know what I'm going to do. I do need to go get some things for school and for my room, so maybe I'll do that instead. I am also going to try to hunt down some organic foods markets I heard about; there's supposedly one in Gangnam called ORGA that's pretty big. I need to buy some whole wheat flour if they have it cause I am desperately wanting to bake something whole-grainy now that I've got an oven in this apartment. I tried baking some soda bread tonight but it wasn't as good as I'd like since I had to use icky all-purpose flour...bleh.

Anyway, this week was okay, especially since I got paid on Monday. It's nice not having to worry about money at all for once, and I make well over what I'd spend here in a month. The only expenses I do have are utitlities, bus/subway fare, the cost of my cable-internet, food & entertainment expenses. The rest I've been sending home to pay off bills and other stuff. So far, it's all been working really well. Kuddos to me. :)

Teaching is becoming easier and easier now that I've got a feel for what the kids are like and how a typical lesson should go. It's actually a lot simpler to fill 40 minutes of classtime than I thought it would be, and the day goes by in a flash. I really enjoy planning my lessons and thinking up fun stuff for the kids to do, and since I'm such a computer geek, I have been able to utilize that to design cute little worksheets and craft activities for them too. They seem to enjoy it...

So yeah, it kinda sucks not having anyone here I can hang out with at the moment, but I'm hoping maybe Amanda or Erin will be free and wanna do something this weekend. In the meantime, I'll find other things to keep myself busy. I just wish it would stop raining...

And in this edition I will be posting some pics of the kids that I took during their weekly bookmaking class. I design the books myself every week; it's actually pretty fun. I'm also posting some pics of that bread I made tonight as well as a few others I took while Josh was here. ;)

yummy soda bread

bread baking

the Rose A/B class during weekly bookmaking

the Lilly/Tulip class

this week's book: Connecting to the World

the Rosa A class (and Angela, my fav student there on the far left)

here's the entire kindergarten, taken during a birthday party last week

the view from the top of Mt. Dobongsan (one of the highest around Seoul)

the crazy people brave enough to climb up the boulder at the very tip top

traffic climbing up to the top

a PC-bang Josh and I went to

the Limelight club in Itaewon last Friday night

a band we saw in another bar in Itaewon that same night

Josh & I played a lot of Scrabble while he was here--check out who won this game...heh heh
Booyah! 132 baby!

the cake Josh bought me for my birthday (white cherry cake--very yum)

Check out that lovely Korean couple...
Wait a minute---that's us!!!

another palace Josh & I visited, this one called Gyeonghuigung Palace

more palace

plans & the coming cold

2005-09-23T00:02:00.000+09:00

I just saw some very strange stuff on TV a few minutes ago. It looked like a Korean talk show with a band and all, but apparently it was a English teaching program (one of the many) that come on late in the evening for people who are up and wanna practice their speaking skills. That in and of itself was not so strange, but what they were actually doing was quite humorous. All of the people were sitting around on several couches singing along to a very sing-songy chant about various ailments, such as "I have a headache. I have a cold. I have diarrhea." I mean, yes, it's okay to learn those phrases and all...but to sing about them? What was even weirder was that the band in the background was rocking out to the song along with the rest of the people on the show. Weird... Sometimes Koreans here take learning English to a whole new level...which is not always necessarily a good thing. Well anyway...

It's gotten cold here in the last few days, so much so that I dare not go outside without at least a jacket on. So what does this mean? It means I've become grouchy and pessimistic as I always seem to at this time of year. And with Josh leaving in only a few short days, the next few months layed out before me look pretty bleak in fact. Not that I mind being here, it's just that I heard Korean winters are supposed to be fairly harsh...so I am definitely not looking forward to it. Plus I have absolutely no winter clothes to wear, so it looks like I'll be heading to Dongdaemun for some shopping very soon.

Anyway, on a better note, we do have some fun stuff planned for the weekend. Josh and I are headed to Itaewon tomorrow night for a look around and maybe some drinks at one of the local bars where I'm hoping some live music will be playing. Then Saturday we're going to to either Beopjusa Temple or Suwon Fortress outside of Seoul. Whichever one we don't do we'll be saving for the next day. Saturday night we're going out with Erin and a bunch of her friends to another bar for an all you care to eat and drink speacial for only 22,000 won...not too bad, and with all those people there it should be a good time. And then Sunday we'll be going to wherever we don't go on Saturday. Sunday night we'll probably get to bed early since I have work the next morning and Josh has to get up early to head to the airport.

So that's that for now. After Josh leaves I'll be back to the same old same old. Classes during the day, wandering around/rollerblading/running at night after work. It's too bad Erin and Amanda work in the evenings though, otherwise I'd hang just out with them, but as it turns out I always seem to be on my own. Not that I mind... I never really have before.

So yup, that's what's been going on with me. I wonder if anyone ever actually reads this blog. If so, leave me a note and let me know so that I don't feel like all this posting is for naught...and so I feel loved and stuff. Whichever works best for you.
:)

food (installment #1)

2005-09-16T23:52:00.000+09:00

Well...Josh is in the other room watching TV I think so I've decided to take this time to update this here blog of mine (good English for an English teacher right?). O_o

Today's entry will be the first of many featuring some of the tasty Korean food I've sampled over the last few months I've been here. Aside from a few things here and there almost all of it has been delicious, and much more nutritious than the standard American fare. If you have a Korean restaurant near you back home, I highly suggest you check it out.

And so we begin with different pics of street vendors (including the korean pancake vendors--as requested), followed by restaurant & take-out food . Yum...

pancake vendor #1

pancake vendor #2

pancake vendor #3

roasted corn vendor

beef & vegetable-topped rice with udon & various side dishes

songpyeong(traditional Korean rice cakes)

whole wheat red bean-stuffed mandu

kimbap

chicken & kimchi fried rice

spicy fish soup

spicy seafood soup

savory rice soup

rice and ginseng-stuffed chicken

Korean rice wine

assorted kimchi & side dishes

kimchi & Korean pancake

sundubu (spicy tofu stew), rice & side dishes

cream cheese-filled pancake

bulgogi, sweet & sour chicken, rice, seaweed soup & side dishes

pork & vegetable mandu & kimchi

potbingsu (Korean snow-cone sundae)

ddeok (rice cake stuffed with sweet red bean paste)

pork cutlet, udon, rice & kimchi

soba (cold buckwheat noodles), sushi & kimchi

hot pot bibimbap & assorted side dishes

busy busy

2005-09-13T17:00:00.000+09:00

So I've been out pretty much every night this week with Adam so I haven't had much time to update on here (as usual I know). But hopefully I'll be posting some more pics soon (including that requested pic I took of some Korean pancake vendors in Insadong). Plus, there's soon to be another special post that will show pics of all the various weird "characters" you can find on pretty much every sign and billboard for any kind of business, restaurant, etc. I'm still in the process of taking pics of those, but as soon as I have enough expect another strange post. More Konglish is up and coming as well.

So anyway, Adam should be on a plane on his way back to the states as I type this. I can't believe his time here is over already, it just flew by so fast. In any case I hope he had fun here, and I regret not being able to spend more time with him...but I suppose that can't be helped since I had to work during the daytime. Josh comes in tomorrow night so I'll be leaving straight from school to go pick him up at the airport. It's about an hour away and it takes even longer to get back because of traffic so I probably won't be back home with him until way late tomorrow night. I can't wait to see him though! I just hope more of my friends get to come visit cause I miss all of them so much!

last last weekend

2005-09-06T00:07:00.000+09:00

So, finally, here is the update about my mini-vacation to Mt. Sorak with the rest of the teachers last weekend. Like I said before, it was a blast and it was totally what I needed right now since it's been a while since I had any kind of relaxing vacation.

So last Saturday me andall the other teachers from Cardiff in addition to our director piled into one of the Cardiff buses and headed out to the east coast of South Korea where we were staying just below Mt. Sorak and just next to the beach. The trip out there was fun, minus the nausiating Korean music which was played multiple times over along the way (think Michael Bolton, only Korean...ick). Once we got there we unloaded our stuff and headed to the nearby water park for some tidal wave, water slide and hot springs fun. I must say my favorite part of the park was the hot springs just cause there were so many different kinds to choose from. My favorite was the neon green colored one which was actually infused with lemon and jasmine.

After the waterpark we came back to the condo and some of us rested while others played card games for a bit. We then went out to eat to this place known for its samgyetang (Korean ginseng chicken) which was excellent. After dinner we came back and played several drinking games of Mafia, which is this who-dun-it type of guessing game. Once we finished with that, we went to a norae-bang (karaoke room), though I didn't get to sing cause my voice was still completely hoarse from being sick.

The next day we went out for lunch to this seafood place along the shore and then we headed to beach after that. All of us decided to take a chartered speed boat ride around the shore which was absolutely crazy but totally fun! The boat seemed on the verge of tipping over several times, but I guess the guy driving knew what he was doing cause we never did. We spent the next hour or so just playing around in the waves and seeing who could stand up the longest without moving on falling over. It was fun goofing around like that with all the other teachers. After the beach, we decided to spend the rest pf our time hiking around the nearby mountain range. First, we took a cable car up to the top and then we came back down and hiked up to a nearby waterfall. By that time it was pretty late so we packed up our stuff and headed back to Seoul. Traffic on the way back was a complete nightmare, and what only had originally been a four hour car ride there took at least seven hours coming home. We didn't get back to school until about 11:30pm.

All in all, it was definitely a fun weekend and I really got to know a lot of the other teachers that I wouldn't otherwise have much chance to talk to on a daily basis since they work upstairs. I'm really glad the director decided to take us on this trip though...she's so awesome!

In other news Adam and I are having a great time here so far. I took him around to a million different places yeaterday though for the rest of the week he'll have to wander around on his own since I teach during the day. We'll continue to meet up in the evenings though, and I think tomorrow night we're going to go out for some dak kalbi which is marinated grilled chicken that you grill yourself at the table. I've never had it before so it should be interesting trying to figure out what we're supposed to do. Hopefully we won't muck it up too much.

Anyway, that's all for now. And here's some pics...

all of us in front of Waterpia (the waterpark)

at dinner

playing cards

at the norae-bang

braving the waves

beautiful Mt. Sorak

the entrance to the Buddhist temple at the foot of Mt. Sorak

the obligatory statue of Buddha

the view from the top of the cable car station

taking a break on the way to the waterfall

the director is the one in the red hat...like I said, she's cool

the waterfall

sorry!

2005-09-04T23:38:00.000+09:00

Hey all! Sorry for no updates recently, but now that I've recovered from my illness I've been out doing things as usual. I will update again soon though cause I still need to post pics of my mini vacation to Mt. Sorak from last weekend (which was a blast by the way). Also, my friend Adam is here now visiting me from the states so we'll be out doing stuff this week that I'll be posting about.
More to come soon though, I promise! :)

feeling icky

2005-08-25T17:39:00.000+09:00

So I had my first trip to a Korean doctor today. I can't say it was much of an experience since I didn't understand him and I'm not really sure what his diagnosis was. I woke up this morning with body aches and couldn't keep anything down at all, even water. I went to work even so, out of a sense of obligation and my intolerable work ethic. At around 10 or so, the other teachers took note of how disheveled I was looking, and I'm sure they noticed my watery red eyes from throwing up. They said that I should go to the doctor right away (because apparently they go to the doctor for things even as small as colds here). At around noon Mrs. Kwa and I headed down the street to her doctor's office, which thankfully was within walking distance.

Mrs. Kwa translated for me and told him what was wrong. He then listened to my breathing, had me stick out my tongue, etc. (though he did not take my temperature, which I thought was rather odd). Mrs. Kwa said that he thinks I just caught something because I'm in a new environment and also because the weather here has been changing from day to day...in other words I don't think he was able to really pinpoint what was wrong with me. In any case he prescribed me some medicine, though only about two days worth since I'm supposed to go back to him tomorrow if I'm still not feeling well. The whole thing (doctor's visit and medicine included) cost me only 4500 won (about $4.50). Amazing...

So even though I don't know if what he gave me will work I am pretty happy that my healthcare here will be so cheap. Compared to back home it's a real bargain. I can say however that I have already been able to keep down all of the Gatorade I was drinking this afternoon in addition to some rice I had after I got back. So all in all, things are looking up. Now if I could only just stop feeling miserable...plus my temperature is still lingering at about 99.6 degrees, which does give me some cause for concern since I'm paranoid it'll shoot back up again at any moment.

I better be feeling well by tomorrow though cause I still have to go buy a swimsuit for that trip this weekend, and there's no way I'll be up to that tonight. Oi...

yet again

2005-08-23T22:30:00.000+09:00

What the heck? I've managed to catch yet another cold...me...who is usually so healthy and immune to piddly little sicknesses. This just sucks!!! So now I can't breathe, I can't smell, I can't taste anything and my throat is sore...just great. This is so not what I need right now, especially not with that mini-trip thing coming up this weekend. It's the kids that gave this to me I know. I keep getting exposed to all their germs...and there's always one of them that's sniffling or has a runny nose or something. Argh. How do all those teachers out there cope with this? Will I build up immunity over time? Oi...

So anyway, yesterday was our trip to Jebudo, though it was overcast and windy (which probably didn't help with getting me over this cold). It took us two hours to drive out there and then we proceeded to run amuck barefoot through the damp and puddlesome sands of low tide. We poked and prodded various sea creatures, splashed around in the warm water...and much fun was had by all. After eating lunch on the shore we piled back into the bus and drove back to school.

So even though it was fun acting silly in the sand with the kids I'm now even more sick because of it. Oh well... I really could use some Dayquil right now though; the only thing I have here to take is Aleve and that's not really for colds. Bleh...

Only a week and a half until my friend Adam comes to visit! I'm so thrilled! :)

all of us kids at the beach

I've noticed that Korean kids cannot smile on command...they always come off looking like they're angry or in pain.

Here is Alex again (trying on my sunglasses). He is the sweetest, yet most distruptive kid in the entire kindergarten. How is that possible?

This is Judy (another of my favorite kids) making the traditional photo pose of peace signs.

the usual

2005-08-21T23:04:00.000+09:00

Ok, so this won't be much of an update...though there will be a forthcoming second Konglish post sometime in the near future. I'll also be posting some piccs of the food I've been eating here...cause it just looks cool I think. Yes I am a nerd like that... and you can also tell I'm a nerd because all I've been doing lately is reading. Since coming to Korea I've already read The DaVinci Code, Of Human Bondage and the new Harry Potter book, which were all excellent reads by the way. Right now I'm working on One Thousand Years of Solitude, which I should be finishing in the next couple days...and then on to the next book, though I've not decided what that will be just yet. But I did hear about this awesome English bookstore in Itaewon that will order books from the U.S. and have them shipped here for you for free, and then you can just go to the store and pay for them there. I already bought three books from them, which will hopefully get here soon so I can continue to feed my habit. Woot.

This weekend I didn't really do too much, just a lot of walking around downtown and climbing mountains (the usual). I did go to Olympic Park this morning...it's really beautiful but much too big to cover in one day cause my feet started aching after only the first hour and I wasn't in the right kind of shoes to keep walking. I was going to go to my Korean class yesterday but it was too nice outside to waste an hour and a half inside a classroom. I'm such a slacker...

Tomorrow is yet another field trip with the kindergarten kids. This time we're going to Jebudo, which is an island not too far from here. A day playing on the beach...not too bad for a day's work. And then this weekend coming up we're going on a teacher's retreat to that place with the hot springs, so that should be fun too.

And last but not least I leave you all with this image, which I snapped yesterday evening in a shopping mall near Myeong-dong:

Yes, that is a male mannequin and yes, he is wearing pink underwear.
This is just wrong.