WINTER

On Christmas Eve, I had a big potluck dinner with my friends at German Bar. We had two delicious turkeys that a couple men slaved over the entire day. They tasted soo good! We had a whole slew of dishes! Everything was AMAZING!!! We also did Secret Santa. My SS ended up being Sonia, which I had found out the night before because she cannot keep her mouth shut. haha. She got me a really really nice and most importantly, SOFT, red scarf. I love it! The other gifts were great as well. There was even a Mini Stop Christmas in a bag! haha. After German Bar, we went to Crazy Horse and several of us stayed out until closing time, around 530am. I just had 2 tequila shots there, one when we first got there, maybe around midnight(?) and one right before we left. I think tequila is the only shot I can do correctly. It's so strange! The evening was just perfect (except there was no snow!). I had such a great night! Great conversation, great friends, great fun!

Yesterday was Christmas and I woke up expecting snow because it was forecasted. There was none. I was quite sad for I have been hoping for a white Christmas. There was a little snow in the afternoon when I was having coffee with Jarrod. Then the evening came, and boy did Santa deliver! It was coming down and the snow didn't melt when it hit the ground; it actually stuck! It was really exciting! I was at Austin & Mesa's apartment for a holiday party and when I heard the news of the snowfall, I went to the rooftop to experience my first snowfall in over a decade (minus that one time when it snowed for 5 minutes in LA during my 2nd year of college). I was soooo excited!!! The holiday party was great. Got to see people I haven't seen in a while, and just chat. We also did White Elephant. I brought some fuzzy puzzle pajama pants which were very much appreciated by the recipient. I ended up getting a golden piggy bank that all Chinese people have. I think I can start a collection! Austin brought a larva. Disgusting! After that party, some people headed downtown. Had a relaxing time at Soul Train, then headed home around 430am. It was difficult getting a taxi! It was still snowing at this point. Ahh! It's so beautiful and FUN!! I ended up getting some fluffy snow from a bench and I threw it at Okailey! I meant to throw it up so it would fall on her, but I ended up throwing it at her face! Omigosh, it was HILARIOUS!!! Man, I love the snow. Just not when my hands are freezing from touching it.



Backtrack!
I had dinner with my co-teachers last week and we had raw fish and some other cooked stuff, but not much of that. We had about 15 courses of food. It was really ridiculous! I thought the first two plates would be the end of it, but the door kept sliding open every now and then with MORE plates of food. I was STUFFED, but more and more and more were set upon the table. It was so good! Then one dish came, I looked at it, and it was wriggling around, so I blurted out "OH MY GOD!" It just came out! Immediately after, I apologized for my outburst. I was just shocked! On the plate was live chopped octopus! I've been wanting to try it and now the opportunity was served to me on a plate, not quite a silver platter. I had my co-teachers eat it first and I just had a tentacle on my chopstick, analyzing it. I was really scared, but then I just put it in my mouth and started chewing, A LOT. I didn't want it be sucking on my insides! It was a fun experience. I'm so sad that I didn't bring my camera though. So many photos to be taken and I didn't take a single one! Ugh!!! If I had gone home before dinner (from school), I would've picked it up, but I didn't. Boo!

In classroom news, a boy in one of my 3rd grade classes got up during a Christmas game, walked over to another boy, and just punched him square in the jaw. I was SO shocked!! So this is what happened. I was teaching a lesson about Christmas; we were playing a game. The question was, "Who helps Santa make toys?" I guess the boy who got punched said the other student's nickname, which he hates. The boy immediately stood up, walked over, and just hit him. It was unexpected. I thought he was just gonna yell at him in his face, or push him, or something not as extreme. He walked over rather calmly. Then he just hit him. The boy who received the blow didn't do anything though; he didn't cry, he didn't hit him back, he just sat there. He was quite shocked as well. Then my co-teacher dragged the assailant by his hair outside. I didn't know what to do! Then one of my students in the front row just continued on with the game; he was raising his hand and answering the question. I was like, "uhh....okk....let's move on with the game...let's skip this question!" What the heck do you do in that situation!? It was bizarre, and I don't really like how Korea handles these things. They kinda just brush it off, I feel. "Boys will be boys" they say.

I also finished my 2nd Korean class. I pass the exam, but I didn't do too well. I got 79.5%, I think. Overall, not that great, but it's good considering my attendance was low, including the week before the test (when the teacher gave us the answers apparently). Oh well.

One night, while going to Korean class, I ran into a student on the bus. I didn't recognize her at first, but she came to sit down next to me and we had a nice chat allll the way to school. I recognize her from class, but I never heard her speak, so I was shocked when I was talking to her to find out that she was on her way to an English class. At first I didn't even know if she could speak English, but I soon found out that she was amazing! Impeccable! I told her that her skill was very good and she could be an English teacher! I also asked her why she never spoke up in class. She said it was because there are so many students in class that it's very difficult for her to talk. I totally agree with her. There are SO many kids in the classroom; I thought America was bad! She's amazing though; she's been studying for about 6 years. Maybe if I study Korean for another 5 years, I could be as good as she is in English!


I CAN'T WAIT UNTIL NEW YEAR'S EVE!!! ^^

SNOW!

This morning was the first time snow fell in Gwangju this "winter"! It's still Fall, right? I was in first period and my kids were yelling to me, "It's snowing! Teacher! It's snowing!!" I looked outside and saw my first snowflakes (in Korea). I was SOOO excited (on the inside) and the kids were also SOOO excited (on the outside). My co-teacher wanted them to settle down, so we closed the windows. I then regained their attention on a wonderful Simpsons review game (we reviewed for the test, not about the Simpsons). Then after that was done, the snow was also done and gone. So sad.

Mega update

I'm getting horribler and horribler with this blogging dealio and also with my English. So let me just do one of those haphazardly put together recaps!

Last month, I went to my first Korean wedding! It was my principal's daughter's wedding. I've never met her before, nor do I have a strong relationship with my principal. However, in Korean, practically anyone with any sort of connection is invited to the wedding. It's a mass invitation. As for me, I was "invited" (or should I say, "allowed to go") because I work at the principal's school. Basically, if someone is getting married, they will post their wedding invitation somewhere in the teachers' room, and if you want to attend, you can. It's a free-for-all. I went to show respect to my principal and also because I wanted to experience my first Korean wedding. It was quite a sight. There are two parts to the wedding: a Western ceremony and a traditional Korean ceremony, the latter which is only for family members and close friends. Obviously, I only attended the Western ceremony, which looked normal, until about 3 minutes before it began. The wedding hall was gorgeous; untainted white fabrics, white flowers, chandeliers. There was also a sort of catwalk in between the two sets of seats. This is aisle where everyone would walk down. In America (or any Western country), everyone is hidden until they walk down the aisle, no? Well, in Korea, they are all lined up already for everyone to see even before they walk down the aisle. First, the two mothers (I assume) are escorted down the aisle together by people who work at the wedding hall. Nope, they are not family members/friends, as was confirmed to me, they are employees of the wedding hall. These two old ladies proceed to the front where they light the candles. They come forward a little, bow to one another, then take a seat. Next up is the groom. He is wearing a shiny cream/grey(?) colored suit with a white shirt and white tie. He looks pretty. He walks down the aisle pretty quickly, not only because the aisle is short, he is actually walking at a fast pace. Then next is the blushing bride in her beautiful white gown being escorted by the principal, her father. Oh, they also walk through these heart-shaped arches which are being held up by the wedding hall employees. Really tacky and funny, but disturbingly cute at the same time. Oh, best part yet, there is like a a magic show or game show going on or something because the lights dance and the music gets really intense...only when someone's walking down the aisle. Once they reach the end, it gets bright and the music abruptly ends, only to begin again when the next person walks down. I felt like I was watching some sort of Korean variety show. Not only are the lights dancing and the music bumping, there is an MC for the WEDDING. Not the reception, the WEDDING. I haven't even gotten to the reception yet. So, there's an MC standing stage left. I don't understand what he's saying, but I feel like he's giving a play-by-play for the wedding. "And next up, is the bride wearing a strapless white gown. She fakes left, goes right, and she tackles the groom." Then she and the groom are standing together at the front. The minister, or whatever he's called, the marriage giver starts talking. He rambles on and on and on and on. I believe the MC chimes in at times as well. After maybe 15 minutes of jibber jabber, it's time for the happy couple to kiss. Well, this is how THAT goes. The MC prompts the audience to count from 1-10, and that is how long the couple will smooch. We start counting. Hana, dul, set, net, da-sot. Then the MC stops us. We have to count again. The couple has to kiss again. How adorable...and again, cheesy. After that is the "reception". We had tickets to go into the reception too, by the way. We go in and it was basically a huge room with a buffet lining the full right side of this humongous room. It was already filled with people. I had tons of delicious Korean food. Amazing. When we sat down, I looked around...and I was wondering, "Were all these people at the same wedding....? Or were they from a different wedding?" To this day, I still don't know the answer to that. It was an ENORMOUS room and the room where the ceremony was held did NOT have that many people in it. Y'know what, I think I do know the answer to that question. They WERE from a different wedding because I remember there being another couple running around in their hanbok. See how strange that is?? Two different wedding parties are in the same "reception" room! It was also lunch, not dinner. Such a strange wedding experience, but I'm glad I got to attend one!

Ahh! I've done so many things since the last post.


Some friends and I had a Thanksgiving dinner. I was assigned to make stuffing and gravy. Thank goodness the people at the restaurant we were using made the gravy for me! They also made the turkeys. I've never made stuffing from scratch before, always the Stove Top boxed stuffing, which is delicious, so this was the first time I've ever made it from scratch, and it was also in a foreign country meaning I had to substitute some stuff. It still worked out though, surprisingly. I made apple stuffing and it was a hit! I really liked it! And thank goodness we made enough before other people were also to bring a dish, but they didn't bring enough for the 16 people that attended. The stuffing and the turkeys were probably the big fillers!

This happened before the last last post, but I don't think I wrote about it. We had a school festival, but I didn't get to attend because I had to do the spelling bee for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade at the school. The festival was held somewhere else. I was so sad! I heard the boys danced to Rain's "Hip Song" and was sad to have missed it, as well as the girls' performances. But I was under the impression that boys don't dance in public at school, so I was sad that I missed it! I told the boys this and one day, they asked me if they could dance in class. I told them OK, but I thought they meant after the lesson. They didn't. I went into class and they had pushed all the desks back and had their speakers ready. They danced for me and the whole class. I was so happy that they really wanted to show me their dance! I wish I could've recorded it! Soo good! I didn't know they had it in them!

I also went to Jeonju. I went with Maggie; kind of an impromptu trip. I had originally asked her to go to Sunchang (or was it Suncheon?). We met up at the bus terminal and she asks me if I want to go to Jeonju instead because it's closer (It turned out that it was actually a little bit farther..). We went knowing absolutely nothing about Jeonju except that it was an hour ish away. We came to find that it was bibimbap capital! They serve a special kind that has raw beef in it. We were on a journey trying to find a place with it. At first, the places were abundant, and then when we were actually looking, they disappeared into thin air, it seemed. But we eventually found a place (we had seen it earlier in the day) and we ordered their specialty bibimbap. Never again. My stomach was DYING from the rawness. Only cooked beef for me now! We went to a cathedral and a village. It was a nice day trip.




The weekend after I went to Suncheon with Ann! Which I guess was where I originally wanted to go. It is known for its ecology, so of course, I wanted to give it a visit. We went to the Suncheon Bay. There was a path through the reeds and there a was mini hike at the end where you can get a nice view of the S shaped bay. We really wanted to take a boat tour in the bay, but by the time we got down the mountain, it was getting dark and I think they had stopped the boats already. We wanted to see the sunset, but we got to the top too early and it was getting too cold to just sit and wait. We ended up getting some delicious dinner and heading home.

Hmmm, I feel like more has happened...OH! Two weeks ago, I went to the dermatologist with Okailey and got my face slaughtered. I got a laser treatment where they use the laser to make holes in your pimples and then the doctor uses some sort of instrument to squeeze out all the gunk in your pimple. At one point, I think I smelled burning flesh. Halfway through, the assistant puts a mirror in my hand and the doctor tells me to look at what's going on to my face. I was horrified! I was like, "I don't wanna see that!!!" It was quite painful; the doctor was pushing so hard on my face that I thought my teeth were gonna fall out or my skull was gonna break. It was crazy. I think I will go back one more time.

One last thing, last Friday was the deadline for deciding whether or not I want to stay in Korea for a second year. After pros and cons lists, tears, and conversations with friends (in Korea), family, and myself, I decided to go home. I was trying to convince my mother that my staying in Korea would be best (according to amount of items on my pros/cons list), but in the end, I realized that it would be the better to decision to go home so I could be with my mom to take care of her since she will be having heart surgery. I didn't want her to feel like no one was taking care of her. My mom trumps everything.

Korea & Relationships

Korean people place SO much importance on relationships. I believe that relationships are also important - relationships with your parents; relationships with your friends; relationships with your co-workers; relationships with your students (in my case), etc. There was one relationship that I did not mention - the romantic relationship. Koreans put so much stress on this. I feel it is probably at the top of their priority list (if they are single). It's quite ridiculous. Not only is this on their list, YOUR relationship status is also on their list. It's actually quite annoying that they believe romantic relationships are THAT important, only because I don't think it's a priority. It's an accoutrement in your life. You don't NEED it. You WANT it.

So, back to why it's annoying/frustrating, especially coming from other females. I feel like they don't understand that they are sufficient without a man. So, this past weekend, I saw my Korean friend and she asked me how I was doing. I told her I was "wonderful"! She said, "Oh really? Are you dating?" Why does that have to be the first thing that comes to mind when I say I'm doing well? Could it possibly be that I finally feel I'm doing well at work? That I've been having fun with my friends? I guess in the Korean perspective, those are just peripheral relationships orbiting around the romance that is the sun.

Halloween redux

I forgot to say that I've been teaching Halloween to all my students the week before Halloween. I started off by saying we were learning about houses. I told them to name 5 different rooms in a house. Then I told them that I'm gonna show them a photo. They have to tell me what room it is, what they see, and what is wrong with the room. Here's the photo:

http://www.tekzoned.com/whatswrong/

This was their reaction:



On actual Halloween Day, I went for a hike at Mudeung. I had been planning to go hiking that Sunday for the whole week beforehand, so I'm glad I actually got off my butt to go. It's nice cuz I can just take one bus to get to the base of the mountain! I wore shorts and EVERYONE was staring at me. It was a nice day for shorts! Geez! Stop looking at me! I only had 2 people ask me, "Not cold?" and I said, "Aniyo." No. Though as I neared the top, it was getting really windy! But I could handle it! As I was going up, I was thinking to myself, "I LOVE hiking! I should do this more often in Korea!" I went hiking pretty regularly in LA, but sadly, not in Korea. Plus, it is getting really cold now, so I had to get in one last hike! I got to the top this time! The first I went to Mudeung, we only made it to the second highest peak, I think. But this time, I made it all the way up! It was great! Especially doing it alone. It felt wonderful! However, just like on Mt. Fuji, as I was going down, I was thinking to myself, "I hate hiking!" It's just so tough on the knees! I hate going down a mountain. Going up is fine! I can up for hours and hours! But going down a mountain...it's deadly! But I had such a great time with nature :)

Fireworks, Fright, Flowers, Friends, Freaken students, & Pepero

It's been a month and I haven't blogged! Woopsie daisies! This is horrible! My memory will probably fail me as I write this post. I hope I can remember everything...for my sake. Let me see...what I have done, what has happened. Busan, Halloween, Chrysanthemum Festival, having the worst class in the school...


First, Busan! I went to Busan for the Fireworks Festival! I feel like it is one of the most popular festivals in this land of festivals. Seriously, Korea has festivals for EVERYTHING - sand, kimchi, ice, fire, butterflies, ceramics, fireflies, mud, and the list goes on and on! Kinda ridiculous, but it also gives options for the people living in Korea. Anyway, the fireworks festival was AMAZING! The best fireworks show I've ever seen. So amazing! Before the festival, I wanted to go to the largest temple in Busan, but Jarrod said his friend had told him about one that is by the ocean, so we opted for that one instead. What a good choice! It was beautiful!


Next, Halloween! For Halloween, I was planning on dressing up as an ajumma, an old Korean woman, but not quite a grandma. Then, I wanted to be a cat because it's an easy costume. Then I decided it was too difficult to do the cat makeup, so I settled on being a nerd. Such an easy costume. I wore a version of my costume to school, with two pig tails. The kids loved it. They would come up to me and say, "You are cute! I mean, you are cutie." My co-teacher later told me that she thought that I was just following some sort of trend. hahah Then, on Saturday, a friend had a Halloween party/potluck at her place. There was also a mini-Halloween costume contest in which I, along with a friend, won for best couple's costume. We didn't plan on coordinating costumes, but we just so happened to both be nerds. He was a scary, joker-like nerd, and I was a traditional nerd with suspenders and tape on my glasses. Nonetheless, we won by default due to the lack of couple's costumes. Afterwards, we went barhopping downtown. The usual. Twas fun!





















This past weekend, Ann and I went to the Chrysanthemum Festival in Hampyeong, which is just a half hour bus ride from Gwangju. At first, we saw no chrysanthemums, just a bunch of cacti. A LOT of cacti. We were beginning to think we were at the wrong festival! After the cacti, we saw fish, butterflies, beetles, and other various insects that were creeping me out! Eventually, we found our way to some gorgeous chrysanthemums, which were emblazoned with butterflies and bees. What a joy.


Last Friday, my friends' band, Deserts, was having a show at Speakeasy. This was their first show since the drummer, Brian, returned. He and his girlfriend had gone traveling around Asia because their teaching contracts had ended and they didn't renew, much to their dismay. After their trips, they came back to Korea and the boys decided to have a mini-tour around Korea. That show was the best show I had seen them play. I missed seeing Brian on the drums. He's such a passionate musician. It was a fun show!

Then on Saturday, a few friends and I went to watch the movie, Red, with Bruce Willis. It was pretty good! I enjoyed it, but then again, I'm not much of a movie critic. I like everything! Even if it's bad! Oh, this was the night after the Chrysanthemum Festival. My brain is all types of disorganized.

Wednesday is when I have to teach the worst class in the history of this school. I didn't teach from the book; I planned my own "fun" lesson - listening to a song, filling in the blanks, circle the correct word, etc. The students usually like to do this because they get to hear a song and not a teacher talking. I tried to do this lesson with the class, but NO ONE was listening. NO. ONE. I restarted the song several times, but still, no one was paying attention. I stopped the song and said, "OK, no one is listening, so no lesson today. You will write sentences for the entire class." I got some, "Sorry teacher! One more chance!" Nope, sorry, turn your paper over. I asked them, "What color is this paper?" "White. " "Good, when you are done writing sentences, it will be black." I had them write standards for the rest of the class, about half an hour. Some of them "finished", I told them there was too much white space and to write between the already written sentences. If they wrote in pencil, I erased it and told them to do it again. They're a horrible class. I'll just have to see if they pay attention in the next class.

Oh, and today is Pepero Day in Korea. Pepero is basically an imitation of Pocky. It's still just as delicous! Pepero Day was created by Pepero, and it's so smart! For Pepero Day, they have special merchandise, like Pepero pillows, Pepero gift baskets/bags, giant-sized pepero. It's kinda ridiculous, but I love it! I love pepero! I've gotten a few gifts today, a couple from the students who have to sneak it to me because they're not allowed to bring it to school or something..? I'm not sure, but I had a student write me a note along with a box of pepero. It's only 2 sentences of English and the rest is Korean. So cute though! Pepero Day...there should be a Pocky Day in America. November 11 - 11/11. Next year will be EXTREME Pepero Day! 11/11/11.

Biennale, Mudeung, Ramsey

Since I didn't get to go to Biennale for the school picnic, Ann and I planned to go that weekend. It was a pretty good exhibit, but I enjoyed Art Gwangju a lot more. Anyway, we met up with Amanda and her friend, Jeannine at the Biennale. We finished looking at everything and decided to go take the ski lift up Mt. Mudeung. It was my first time; I didn't even know it existed! It was quite an interesting ride. There was also a spot that was designated for you to litter! Really smart! We tried to find some Fall leaves, but there was barely any! It was mostly green up there! After Mudeung, we all went to our respective homes to get ready to go out that night for Ramsey's quarter-century birthday.

We first had dinner at the outdoor galbi restaurant, which was SUPER DELICIOUS! Afterwards, we did the usual barhopping. Had cake at German Bar, drinks at Crazy Horse, dancing at Mix, etc.

Ice skating

We had a school picnic again and this time, I wanted to go to the Biennale, which is an art exhibition that is only held every 2 years. I told my co-teachers I wanted to go and at first they were OK with then. Then soon after, they said, "Oh, you can't go to Biennale. Do you want to go anywhere else?" and I said, "Why can't I go?" They said it was because an English co-teacher wasn't going with me. I was like, "It's OK. I can walk around by myself." But they wouldn't have it, so I said I'd go ice skating instead, even though I really didn't wanna go. I ended up having a great time with that class though. They're so adorable, especially outside the classroom. I had a great time, but of course, there had to be an incident. Within 5 minutes of skating, a girl had fallen and lost her tooth! It was horrible! I saw blood on the ice and I thought maybe it was someone's finger or something. Maybe a nosebleed. Then I circled the rink and I asked my co-teacher what happened. She had a cup in her hand and she showed me the tooth. I was so surprised! I felt so bad for the poor girl; she was so jovial beforehand.

After ice skating, the students played some games, including a different version of duck-duck-goose, and another very violent game. In the violent game, the group is crouched down. You have to stand up and count whichever # you are. So if you're first to stand, you say 1. If you're second, you say 2, etc. If two people stand up at the same time, you have to play rock, paper, scissors, and whoever loses gets beat from the rest of the group. You can watch the video below! They made me play..and I lost.

Uphill

As my days in Korea go by, I find it a little tougher to stay here. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this place, but it's very difficult for me to be away from my mom. She really is my entire life. I can't imagine life without her. Though we may disagree on some issues, I love her with every bone in my body, every fiber of my being. She is an unbelievable person, in every sense of the word, but I love her unconditionally. Being in Korea without my mom is like an uphill climb, except this climb doesn't descend, at least it hasn't yet. That will be the day that I return home. Today, I'm leaning towards not renewing my contract and going home. Let's see what tomorrow will bring.

Ten 10 십

Today is October 10, 2010! Isn't that exciting?? Well, if you don't think, I'll tell you another reason why I think it is SO cool...It's my 200th day in Korea!! Can you believe it? It feels like just only yesterday that I posted about my 100th day. It's crazy how it's already been 200 days. As of late, I've been contemplating whether or not I should go home. My mind changes from day to day, and it's really frustrating that I can't just jump off the fence to one side.

So, how did I spend my 200th day? It's almost 3pm now, so I still have some time left of the day, but this morning, I went to church because a teacher at school invited me. I didn't have the heart to say no because she's so nice, so I went. Then, I was supposed to go Jinju with Okailey, but she's still up in Seoul. I think I'm gonna go to the Gwangju Food Festival later because I didn't go yesterday when I was there for GIC (Gwangju International Center) Day.

So, yesterday, at GIC Day, there was food from all over the globe. I was definitely most excited for Greek food, most importantly, the HUMMUS. That was the first thing I ate. It was DELICIOUS! I've been wanting hummus for several months now and I can say that my craving has been satisfied, though I'm sure I will be feening for it in the near future. Then I watched some "international" performances. There was an Indian dancer, some Taekwondo from people of all ages, and Filipina singer (those Filipinos..always have a mic in their hands..haha), and then Deserts finished off the performances. Overall, it was a good weekend. Why are weekends so short??

I Korean class again take.

Tonight was the first night of Korean classes! I am now in "intermediate", but my teacher told us that it is actually beginner. Wow. Thanks a lot. At first, I was kinda hesitant in signing up for the class because Jeonnam University is so far from Ssangchondong. In the end, I was persuaded to just sign up, so I did. I'm easily swayed, plus I think it's beneficial for me to improve my Korean skills. I also love learning new languages, all the while being able to socialize during the week and get away from being a teacher and actually be the one being taught. It's a nice change of pace, definitely.

I have a new teacher and I'm not sure about him...I really want my old Korean teacher back! She was amazing! This new guy seems kinda all over the place, like he doesn't know what to do, how to teach, etc. Okailey said he looks like Mick Jagger, and I'd have to agree! The Korean version, of course.

I was quite confused throughout the class as to what we were supposed to be doing. Were we supposed to practice the dialogue? Oh, fill-in-the-blank? Oh, we have to do the next section, too? Oh, I didn't know. Wait, how do you do this?? You didn't explain anything! I think he'll get better as the classes go. At least I hope so!

I'm very happy that I signed up for the class! I was quite excited while we were in class! I learned about the word "who". haha

I don't have to teach tomorrow, Thursday, or Friday! I'm so happy! The students have their midterms, so I do NOTHING! I'm probably gonna finish reading my book. Hopefully that'll be OK! And then next week, I have a school picnic to look forward to! :)

Learning

The second round of Korean classes are starting up soon and I signed up again. I know that it would be good for me to improve my Korean, but I was very reluctant to take the class again because the university is SO far away from my apartment. It takes about an hour to get there and an hour back by bus. Two buses. I have to transfer. I never get a seat on the dreaded 26 bus. NEVER! So I have to stand for a long time with other bodies pressed up against me. I don't like that! Not on a bus, at least. Also, the classes are in the evening, after a full day at work; it will be very tiring! Then, I was reminded that it's going to be winter time. Oh great. I'm gonna be freezing my booty off! I'm from California! I don't know this thing called snow, unless I'm going to the snow on purpose. I'm not prepared! I'm really scared for the winter time! I hope it's not too harsh. If it is, I may just have to skip a few classes...but I do wanna learn Korean! So it should be worth the trip...for the next 12 weeks. 2x per week..

Learning is fun! I've learned quite a bit about myself since I've been here, but I think that my being here has actually only confirmed what I already knew. For instance, I knew that I can easily let go of people, whether it's because they did me wrong or lack of communication or whatever. But since I've been here, I've realized that I can VERY VERY EASILY detach myself. I can just let go of all that I had before and start all over again. I don't have many attachments; the only ones I have are to my family and that's about it. The only attachments that I can't easily let go of. I think this is just part of my personality, how I've been raised. I don't have any sentimental possessions from my childhood, with the exception of a baby blanket. My mom always made me throw away things. I actually don't have very many possessions to begin with. Living in a single parent household has also made me accepting of "abandonment" for lack of a less harsh term, or maybe it's the UNaccepting of abandonment. I suppose it's a sort of defense mechanism, my being able to disengage before the possibility of being abandoned. It's not to say that these people or things don't matter to me or are insignificant in my life. I still enjoy and love these things, it's just that I would be OK if I didn't have these things, or at least I imagine myself to be. It may not seem like the best way to live, but I think this is actually beneficial to the kind of transient lifestyle that I desire.

Not so safe?

I had dinner with my co-teachers earlier tonight and they told me that a local Korean woman was murdered by her husband recently. I was quite shocked! I've always thought of Korea as a safe place. Well, it IS. No place goes without any crime. My co-teachers told me that the husband had chopped up his wife's body and threw it in the reservoir in my city. I tried to search for an article online and after several google searches, I found this from yonhapnews.co.kr:


GWANGJU, Sept. 20 (Yonhap) -- The body of a local police officer's wife has been found here, four days after the woman was allegedly killed and mutilated by her husband, police said Monday.

Investigators at Gwangju Seobu Police Station said they retrieved a black bag carrying the woman's torso cut into three parts and her amputated fingers, and another plastic bag with the remaining parts of the body from a reservoir here, 329 kilometers south of Seoul.

The murder suspect, identified as a 57-year-old lieutenant surnamed Kim, was pronounced brain-dead Monday afternoon after an unsuccessful suicide attempt in the middle of police questioning, according to the investigators.

Police discovered the body one day after Kim, who used to work at the same police station, was taken into custody on suspicion of having strangled his 43-year-old wife during a quarrel at their home last week. Before the suicide attempt, Kim was quoted by police as saying that he had frequent arguments with his wife over her late returns home and regular overnight absences. Kim said he strangled his wife, identified only by her surname Baik, after she came home late from drinking.

The couple, who had been married for 18 years with a 9-year-old daughter, had filed for divorce last month.

Police said Kim appeared to have tried to confuse investigators by claiming that he cut up his wife's body and placed it in 13 separate plastic bags, which he buried in nearby neighborhoods.

Kim also tried to cover up his actions by reporting to duty the day after the crime and reporting his wife as missing, police said. He went further by parking his wife's car outside the clothes shop that she ran and making phone calls there to check on her whereabouts.

Investigators, however, suspected Kim's involvement after finding bloodstains in his car and at his home, and after hearing his daughter's original testimony that she saw her mother lying down the morning after the crime. She later tried to reverse her account after Kim told her that he may be punished if she told the truth.

Police had planned to request an arrest warrant for Kim later Monday on charges including murder, but are facing delays after the suspect attempted to kill himself by swallowing toilet paper in the bathroom. He had tried to kill himself by doing the same during questioning on Sunday but was stopped by the police.

My co-teacher said that she knew the lady because she owns a clothing shop near her home. I asked her the store name and she told me. When we dropped her off today, we passed by the store and it was closed and the windows were covered with newspaper. It's such a tragic story!

Half-way

Yesterday marked the 6-month mark!! I've been here in South Korea for half a year already!! It doesn't even seem like it has been that long. I feel like I've only been here for about a week or two!

As I mentioned in my last post, I had a 6-day weekend. I'm still on it actually! We had a 6-day weekend because it is 추석, Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. I spent my time in Seoul, did a lot of touristy things that I hadn't done before. I definitely fell in love with Seoul a lot more this time around. It's an amazing city!

Some things I did:

walking along the Chongyecheon River:


Leeum Museum:


walking along the Han River:


The Story of King Sejong Exhibition Hall in Gwanghwamun Square:



and not pictured: Insadong, and Uijeongbu (an hour subway ride outside of central Seoul, had decent vietnamese food there!).

I've definitely learned and grown a lot since I first arrived in South Korea. This is an amazing experience that I have been enjoying wholeheartedly and I can't wait to see what the next half-year has in store for me!

I hope to travel more throughout Korea and Asia in general. I also need to figure out whether I'm gonna renew my contract, move and teach elsewhere, or go back home. Oh decisions, decisions.

Up in Northern S. Korea

This past weekend, I made my way to the Northern part of South Korea, not to be confused with North Korea! I went up there to meet up with my friend Shirlen (my orientation roommate) since I haven't seen her since my first trip to Seoul. She had planned a wonderful weekend with White Water Rafting and Everland, the Disneyland of Korea. I was very very excited to spend time with her as well as her boyfriend and old friends and her friends whom I have never met. I stayed at a guesthouse on Friday night. I arrived in Seoul around 1030p and I made my way to the guesthouse. I could've stayed with Shirlen but she lives about an hour away from Seoul, so I didn't wanna travel all that way just to wake up super early to get back to Seoul because that's where we were gonna meet up for our trek to the river. I wanted to get as much sleep as possible. I thought I had left the guesthouse with enough time for me to get to the meeting spot at 840am. The bus was set to leave at 9am. I didn't know that. Anyways, I was still on the subway at 840am. 845am. 850am. I finally get off the subway at 854am and I scan my T-Money card to get out of the subway, but it says there's an error. I was like, OH CRAP! I NEED TO GET OUT OF HERE! The bus leaves soon and I don't know where the bus is! I try scanning it a couple more times to no avail. I hurry and put 10,000 won on it because I thought maybe there wasn't enough credit on it, though I was sure there was. After I put the 10,000 on, it still didn't work! I was panicking! There was no one around. No other train riders, no employees, so I climbed underneath the turnstile and ran for the exit. Thankfully the bus was right outside the subway exit. I had made it with 2 minute to spare! Onward to white water rafting! I was quite happy and hungry. haha

White water rafting was a blast! I had so much fun! I was worried that my glasses would fly off, but Shirlen bought some of those librarian glasses string thingies for me! So sweet! Then the rafting people also gave me something similar, so I had double the protection! The river was so nice! It was so clear that you could see to the bottom. The water was an aqua color too. So beautiful. The scenery was amazing. The other people that were there were from Singapore and they spoke perfect English. They were incredibly nice! I couldn't have asked for a better first rafting experience!

After rafting, I went to Myeongdong to do some shopping. Of course I had to stop by Forever 21. I bought some basics (a blue thermal, purple dress, jeans) and a pretty floral dress! Then I met up with Jarrod and watched some Koreans dance to kpop music. Some of them were really good, notably the nerds! Yeay Nerds!! Then I wanted to get boba at Quickly, but they were closed. I don't know if it was forever or just for the night. It looked like forever. I was sad! Is it too much to ask for a freaken boba milk tea around here?? Geez Louise! Instead, we went to a cafe for some tiramisu and patbingsu. Yum =9 Then we walked around a little bit more.

After Myeongdong, I went back to the guesthouse only to find that I've been kicked out of my room. I was to move to another room on a different floor because 2 big parties were coming in. I didn't hide my displeasure and I asked, "Why?" Shouldn't the other people be the ones who have to work around me? I didn't wanna move because I was so beat from rafting, but I'm a very flexible person, so I acquiesced. I went to the next floor with the person running the guesthouse and he showed me my room. There was already someone in there. There were 4 beds. She was not very welcoming, so the guy told me to go to a different room. I was like, uhhh, okkkkk. Why are girls so strange?

The day after, I was supposed to go to Everland (the Disneyland of Korea), but I ended up bailing the morning of because I had school the following day and I hadn't planned my lessons yet. Plus, Everland is really far away from the bus station, so I'd have to leave Everland early to get to the bus station at a reasonable time in order to get home to plan my lessons. Too much. So I decided to go to Everland another time, when I had time to enjoy every part of it. Instead, I went to Dongdaemun, one of the largest if not the largest, market in South Korea. It was raining and I didn't see much that I liked unfortunately. I also came across the pet shop section. It was a horrible sight! So many animals stuffed into one cage, and the cage wasn't even a good one. It was really terrible. And it wasn't just one or two stores. There was a whole bunch of them, with cats, dogs, birds, lots of birds, amphibians, reptiles, mice, hedgehogs, etc. They were all crowded and huddled inside their tiny cages. My heart was breaking for them! This one cat was SO tiny but it wasn't a newborn. It kept purring at me as if begging me to save it. It was depressing!

I decided to give up on my sightseeing plans and go to the bus terminal to do some shopping at a vintage store that I had always passed by when I came to Seoul but never actually shopped in. I looked around, but didn't see anything that I wanted to buy. I started to roam around and I found more and more shops. A LOT MORE. After about an hour and a half of shopping, I decided to call it quits as to save my wallet from an extra brutal beatdown.

I had school today and it was not so bad. The periods were a little bit shorter (by 5 minutes) and all we did was listen to Justin Bieber. The kids love him and I had all girls today, so it was the perfect song choice for the listening activity, however, I think it may have been too fast, or I chose really hard words. I'm not sure. The kids had a hoot and a holler when it was Ludracris' rap part! haha Unfortunately, I didn't get any students to try the rap. Sadness. I really wanted to hear someone try!!!

So, tomorrow begins my 6-day weekend! How many of you can say you've had a 6-day weekend??? It's gonna be amazing! I'm going back to Seoul for a few days to see Shirlen and the others again. I need to get all the time with them that I can because I can't see them on a weekly basis. Gotta get all the chances I can!

Don't look at me when I'm talking to you!!!

One Korean complaint of foreigners is that they don't like it when we look them in the eye during a conversation. I guess that's just how westerners do. We like to gaze into each others' eyes when speaking. My question is how do Koreans know we're looking into their eyes if they don't look into people's eyes when talking?? I've thought about this before and I still don't have the answer. Additionally, all the Koreans I talk to DO look me straight in the eyes, with one exception, the Vice Principal. It's very strange! She looks at the person next to me (no one is there...) while speaking with me. I wonder if she's even talking to me. And how would you know the person you're speaking to is actually listening? They might also be looking at the person next to you, or behind you, or even better, rolling their eyes. I think that the Korean culture is slowly evolving though. Maybe the VP is just an old fashioned kinda gal. Next thing you know, Koreans will be staring at you even if you're not involved in a conversation. Oh wait, they already do that (if you're visibly foreign, i.e., not me.).

On a completely different topic, in first period today, I saw the boy who was part of the boyfriend/girlfriend duo I saw the other day after school. I could discern his bowl cut from the rest of the class. While I had them do an activity, I went up to him and I put my hand on his shoulder and started laughing. At first, he was confused. Then I saw the light bulb turn on and he started laughing as well. Then he said, "Please forget. Please forget." And I said, "I remember...I remember!" So funny! My co-teacher also knows that he has a girlfriend! She said she knew a long time ago. But we both don't know who the girl is! She hid her face pretty well from me!

I Love My Job

No matter how much I complain about my job, I really do love it. Deep down inside. Sometimes it crawls up to the surface though. Today was one of those days. Everything was great. And if it wasn't, I made the most of it. Can't live life any other way, right?

Today was the first day I had to teach with my new male co-teacher who was the replacement for my favorite co-teacher. My favorite co-teacher had taken over new responsibilities at her main school, so now, she's unable to come to my school to teach with me. This new co-teacher of mine is a new teacher. Newer than me! This is his first semester teaching in school; however, he has taught for a couple years (?) at an academy. His English is pretty good, so I'm happy about that. I asked him if he was ready for today and he said that he was nervous. I told him that he didn't need to be, that it'll be easy, and he doesn't really need to do anything. When we got into the classroom, you could not tell he was nervous, THANK GOODNESS! If the students take a whiff of any nervousness, you're dead meat. I think it also helps that he is a male, a little more intimidating than a woman, sadly. The classes I had with him went well. We did a lesson on giving advice today and I asked the new co if he had any problems he needed help with and to ask the students for help. He told them that he wanted to go to the movies with a date, but he doesn't have a girlfriend. One girl said to take me, and he said, "That's a good idea." hahaha That was part of the dialogue, but still! I would've been like, "hahah, no."

After our first class together, he told me that his impression of me was that I'm an expert at teaching. I was like, WHAAAAAA? No no no, I'm bad! But it was a really really really really good feeling to hear that from someone. I feel like the other co-teachers are always bashing me, so it was nice to have some positivity for a change.

After school, I was at the corner waiting to cross the street and I saw two of my students walking together. A boy and a girl!!! Sharing an umbrella. Awww! That was quite amazing! In school, my classes are separated by gender and even during lunch, the boys sit with the boys, the girls sit with the girls. I NEVER EVER EVER see boys and girls interacting. This particular boy and girl are actually a COUPLE! They spotted me and the girl covered her face and started squealing and running down the street in the drizzle, away from her boyfriend and the protective umbrella. It was the most hilarious thing ever!!! Can't wait to see them at school and make fun of them. :)

Monday Monday Monday

I don't like Mondays because I have to wake up early to go to school after two full days where I can wake up at whatever time I please (before noon). I refuse to wake up in the PM. Always AM. The other day I woke up at 11:58am. Still counts as morning to me!

At the end of last semester, my co-teacher said that I don't have to teach out of the book anymore. I was delighted and she knew it. Then today, she comes to my desk, "So we're starting Lesson 7 today?" I guess so...I will never be able to stray from this book!! But it's OK. The 2nd grade book is a lot better than the 3rd grade book. But still frustrating because I feel tied to the book. But then again, it helps me with lesson planning because it's already done for me. This has become a debate and you probably don't care. So the end about school.


Back to the my wonderful weekends of waking up late..but still in the morning. So Friday night, I had dinner with some of the August people. I'm glad I have integrated into that group because they're a bunch of wonderful people. After dinner, we headed to Crazy Horse for some drinks. The first time I went there, I don't think I liked it, but now I do! Well, only if friends are there. If not, it's pretty boring. Afterwards, we went to Mix, which I think is really boring now. The first time I went, it was fun, but it has been downhill ever since. I've given it many chances too. Then we went to Bubble Bar for a short time. I took a taxi home alone and when I was approaching my place, I was getting money out to get ready to pay. I realized I didn't have enough money. I asked the driver if a credit card would be OK and he said no and I said, Crap. I ran into the 7-11 and took some money out. Thank goodness it wasn't one of those times when you can't get money out of the ATMs. I paid the driver and he didn't even charge me for the waiting period. Oh Koreans, so nice.


Saturday, Okailey had a little shindig at her apartment. The turnout was larger than expected. We played King's Cup/Ring of Fire most of the time when the group was a bit smaller, and when more people came, we ended the game and just talked. Oh, I lost (or won?) the first game. I've never had to drink the King's Cup before. It wasn't that bad because we didn't mix much. We left Okailey's place around midnight to head to downtown. We went to Mix, which was packed, but I'm still bored there. Then we went to Crazy Horse which was empty. And Bubble Bar which was empty. Then we went to Lounge Skyy, which was not empty but not crowded. We had drinks and chatted. It was a good way to end the evening.



Sunday, I met up with Laurence to go to the Kimdaejung Convention Center for Art Gwangju. The art there was amazing. I loved almost everything that displayed and there were tons of pieces. The above photo is my favorite! There were definitely a lot of other things that were more aesthetically pleasing, but this one was just really impressive! The whole image was made out of trash. If you look closely, there are sandals, bolts, rusty cans, plastic bags, and the list goes on and on. I stared at it for so long. It was amazing. We browsed around for about 4 hours. I think I was able to see everything. All in all, a good weekend, but it's Monday now. On the bright side, fun events to go to this Saturday! And after this week and next week of teaching, it will be Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. Woohoo!

A walk down memory lane...

I've been studying Korean with a website called Talk to Me in Korean (www.talktomeinkorean.com) and it has been rather helpful! I'm just reviewing so everything's been pretty easy. They only focus on 1-3 things per lesson, so it's relatively easy for my memory.

Speaking of memory, y'all know my memory is probably the worst out there. Now I have the most extreme example of this. So while I was in Japan, I thought my bike was stolen from the subway station. I had told my friend to get it for me while I was abroad and he said that it wasn't there. I was quite sad, but it's not the greatest bike in the world, so I wasn't too heartbroken. Well, the other day, I was walking by the OTHER subway station and I saw a bike similar to mine. I didn't wanna get my hopes up, so I went to it and checked to see if it was mine. Mine is a little messed up, so I looked, and it was MINE!!! But I could've sworn I didn't park my bike at this particular subway station. I didn't have my key for the lock, so I had to leave my bike there until I found my key and had time to walk to the station. A couple days later, I fetched it and as I was going home, I was thinking about the last time I rode my bike and then it dawned on me that I DID park it at that subway station! I usually park it at the OTHER subway station. I'm such a moron. I thought it was lost for like 3 weeks. It's all rusty now too. hahaha It's such a crappy bike, but at least I don't have to spend money on buying a new one!

P.S. I'm back at school and not that excited about it. I've had a taste of the vacation life and I want it back!

P.P.S. Some of my new friends here have moved back home. So sad! I wish I had more time with them :(

Reaching new heights

I've been a horrible blogger. Sorry! To all 3 of my followers. haha

So let's see. Nothing much has been going on...except that I had to teach 3 weeks of summer school, which was a bit of a drag, but it was nice seeing the kids every day of the week. I actually learned some of their names, which was very exciting for me! I love my kids! They're so cool. Some notable things that we did were grow some flowers (most of them had some germination), make ice cream out of clay, a treasure hunt in the sweltering heat, made smores, and create new sports for Universiade.


Oh, another small update is that I went to JAPAN!!! My second Asian country visited. I am going to conquer this continent! haha It was a great trip, but VERY expensive! I left Friday right after my summer school ended and went to Gwangju airport where I was put onto an earlier flight. But that flight brought me to Seoul, so I didn't get to Tokyo any sooner than planned. Once I arrived in Tokyo (at around 10pm), I met up with Brian and Adam at the hostel. It took me a long time to get there, so I arrived around midnight. We chatted a little then we tried to get me a pair of Summer Sonic tickets which was to be held the next 2 days, (Summer Sonic is a music festival.) but we failed. Since I arrived so late, it was time to sleep! The next morning, we tried to get me tickets again, but I was only able to get a ticket for Day 2, which was fine by me because that was the day that I preferred. Since I didn't have Day 1 tickets, I was all alone cuz the others had tickets for both days. I went sightseeing by myself! I went to Tokyo Tower, walked around and shopped at Shibuya, some random Buddhist temple that I



came across where some sort of festival was happening, Tsujiki fish market (I think!), and the Ginza shopping area where the high end shops are. It was a nice first full day, but it was rather lonely!



The second day, I went to Summer Sonic!!! It was such a great music festival! There were many different artists there representing all types of music. Some artists that I got the chance to see were Jason Derulo, Orianthi, Coheed & Cambria, Big Bang, Sum41, A Tribe Called Quest, Hole, Taylor Swift, and Stevie Wonder!!! It was great! Stevie Wonder was definitely the highlight, even though he made us wait about 20 minutes before starting his show, not even with an apology! I was standing in the crowd for a LONG time! I was getting tired and it was the end of the day. It was the longest wait ever, but it was well worth it!


Some other things that I did while in Japan were visiting the Imperial Palace (on a Monday...when it's closed...), went to the

Government buildings where there are observation decks from which you can have a nice view of the city, ate at restaurants where you order from a vending machine, ate at a Denny's which is nothing like American Denny's, stayed at a capsule hotel (for 3 glorious nights), saw Asakusa temple and Nakamisa shopping street, ate at a restaurant where you order by using a pen and pointing to things in the menu, went to Ueno Park, went to Ameyayokocho (shopping street), made many new friends from all over the world, rented a bike and rode along the river, and .... oh yeah, I also CLIMBED MT. FUJI!!!



It was a grueling challenge, but I completed it! It was the best part of my Japan trip but it was also the worst!! It was the best because ... well, that's pretty self-explanatory, but it was the worst because of the descent. I was completely miserable on my way down the mountain. All the pressure was on my toes and my knees and legs and entire body was exhausted from the climb up. The ascent was fairly easy, but the descent was deadly! It rained the entire way down. My clothes were not waterproof as they said they would be, so I was drenched. My hands were as white as snow, of which I was thankful there was none. I made it to the top of the mountain, but I was barely there for about 2 minutes. The whole purpose of the climb was to see the sun rise from the top, but it was cloudy and rainy. No sight of blue skies at all. It was so windy that it blew me off course several times on the way up. It was quite scary. The stranger who became my friend on the way up suggested that we head down the mountain as soon as we got to the top because the conditions were dangerous. At first I was resistant, but I realized that I wasn't gonna get what I wanted (a sun rise), so I acquiesced and we went down. I didn't even get a photo! My camera probably would've died if I did. For my hike, I bought a hiking stick for which you can get brand marks at each station. I got all of them except for the 6th station because we took the wrong route up, and I didn't get the 10th one because it was just plain crazy at the top that I didn't even think about it until I was already en route to the bottom. We started our hike at around 815pm and reached the top at around 4am. We could've arrived there sooner, but we took a lot of breaks to acclimate to the thinning oxygen levels and to kill time so we wouldn't get to the top too early. It took about 4 hours to reach the bottom because I was in utter pain. My new hiking friend was frustrated with me, but I really couldn't help it. I was miserable.


Japan was such a great experience! I loved it and I would like to go back again, but only after I've conquered all the other countries that I want to visit. Another thing to note about Japan was that I found it very difficult to find a sushi restaurant. They are hard to come by! That was disappointing!

School starts in about 5 days and I am dreading that day. I don't want school to start again! I had a taste of vacation/being away from school and I am thoroughly enjoying my time away from teaching. But the day is inevitable.

Hitler gets Frustrated with Coteachers too!

Here is some insight to being a native English teacher in South Korea.

You can visit www.roketship.com to see some incredibly accurate depictions of the life of a foreigner in South Korea. In addition, below is a video of how Hitler is frustrated with his coteacher and the educational system here.

Foreigner vs. Koreans

Friday night was quite eventful. First, there was a gathering at Austin & Mesa's apartment which was really fun. Their apartment is HUGE and adorned with freaky mannequins, including one in the bathroom which can come as quite a shock your first time there. Good conversation, good company. The Usual left around 2am and headed to downtown. We went to Mix Lounge and were waiting for our other friends to come. They took quite a while but eventually made it. We went to the rooftop and were just talking and people watching when all of a sudden, a fight broke out between a stupid foreigner and an equally stupid Korean (and his friends). I don't know why it started, but I'm sure it was a stupid reason. I've never been in a situation like this before, so I wasn't able to foresee what I was gonna do next, which was step in between the two feuding groups and try to stop it. I was banking on the assumption that these guys would not hit a girl. Quite a risky move in Korea but I was thinking in American. I held back this little Korean guy who obviously had five too many plastic surgeries on his face (probably the result of instigating fist fights at bars). I kept telling him "aniyo! NO! stop!" etc. I was pretty successful. At one point I let him go because he was calm and was talking to the manager of Mix (who wasn't doing ANYTHING! except what is in his job description: looking pretty). Then the foreigner was going mad crazy and I got in front of him when he was in the process of lunging towards the stupid Korean who had begun to run his mouth. I held this foreigner by his two arms holding him back. He was about a foot taller than me so he was able to have a clear view of this stupid Korean. I was talking him out of it and he agreed with what I had to say but he said, "Can't you just let me get him one time. He's just right there..." and I was like, "NO! Just go home." Eventually the girl he was with made him leave but not without the trailing Koreans. Someone else attempted to stop them and eventually just left with them. We stayed on the rooftop for several minutes and then decided to leave as well only to find the Koreans and the foreigners (who were also trying to stop the fight) right outside. They were fine; eating, apologizing, talking. Then the stupid Korean had one of the foreigner's phone and would not give it back. This stupid Korean was just looking for a fight. Anyway, I tried to get the phone from the guy, but he's stupid. Then Sonia dug her nails into his hand and eventually got the phone. They were causing a scene and after we got the phone, we decided to just walk away and get away from it all, but these dumb Koreans wanted to follow. We go down the road and who do we see at the intersection? None other than the first foreigner who was going at it with the stupid Korean. I don't know what happened there cuz we decided to leave it completely or someone was gonna get deported. I got home around 630am that morning. It was horrible. The following night, we went back to Mix. No fight this time. Oh yeah, I also watched Eclipse. It was actually a good movie!!! WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than Twilight and New Moon. Like WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better! Jacob vs. Edward, it's just like foreigners vs. Koreans. OK, not really...just trying to relate my subjects together...

I love Korea, but…

...Let’s face it, nothing is perfect. This whole blog is mostly about what I enjoy about Korea, but let’s be real here; there are a ton of things that I dislike about this country. And here you go in no particular order, haha.

1. Spitting. Koreans spit EVERYWHERE, even inside buildings! It’s so disgusting! I always have to watch where I’m stepping so I don’t walk into a big loogie. The other day, I was peeing somewhere (in a bathroom!) and there was spit right next to the toilet. C’mon now. Couldn’t you have spat in the toilet? I even saw a student spit in school once. Inside the school. It’s horrible! My friend even got spat on, but it was most likely intentional by an old Korean man.

2. Mosquitoes. I hate them but they sure do love me and my tasty blood. I bought a product to soothe the itch and I bought another product to prevent bites. I currently have about 20 bites on my legs! This is not the most bites I’ve had at one time, but it’s still annoying regardless.

3. Humidity. Boy do I hate the humidity. I hate the sticky heat with a burning passion. If you’ve ever experienced high humidity, you know what I’m talking about. I seriously cannot breathe when I’m not in an air conditioned room. I feel like I’m in a sauna even though I’m outside. Korea needs an air conditioner.

4. Pollution. All types of pollution, including littering and air. The air quality is really bad here. I’d say it’s even worse than in America! The floors are covered with garbage EVERYWHERE. This is because there is a serious lack of trash cans in this country. They don’t believe in them or something. It is very rare to find a trash can, so what do you do? You just toss it at the base of a telephone pole or wherever you see existing trash piles. If you know me, you know I don’t litter, so I just keep my trash in my bag or hold it until I find a trash can. Needless to say, I hold it for a long time.

5. Beating around the bush. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but Koreans definitely beat around the bush. They won’t tell you straight up what they want to say. They might just tell you the opposite! This is very annoying because I don’t like to beat around the bush, so I hate it when they beat around the bush with me. Just spit it out already!!! Ok, well, don’t spit…just say it!

6. Sick days. There is no such thing. Why? Because Koreans don’t get sick, duh. They’re immune to all illnesses. So that sick student or sick coteacher of yours won’t stay home to get better. Oh no. They’ll come to school and cough and sneeze all over the place. They don’t cover their mouths. Why would they? Koreans don’t get sick. (However, I do get sick days :)! )

7. Ovens. I don’t have one. Most other homes don’t either. Koreans (and Asians, in general) don’t use ovens to cook whereas in America, ovens come standard. If I wanted one, I’d have to buy a freestanding one, which would take up half of my miniscule kitchen. I would really like to bake some cupcakes and cookies!! My students would love that! My students in America did!

8. Showers. I don’t have one of these either. Ok, I do, but it’s definitely unlike the one at home. Bathrooms are just one room with a sink, mirror, cabinet, toilet, and maybe a counter if you’re lucky. No designated shower. Instead, you have a showerhead in the corner of the bathroom. No tub, no nothing. You just shower in that corner, and inevitably get everything wet, including the toilet. a few times, I have forgotten to put the lid down, and it ends up getting wet. I don’t wipe it and then I go to pee and end up with a wet butt. It’s not pleasant.

9. Education. First, I will start with the treatment of the intellectually challenged. I have a few of them in my classes. At first, I thought everyone was equally abled, no learning disabled students. However, I’ve come to realize that these students are present in my classes. Instead of putting them in a special class, they integrate them with the fully able students. I don’t particularly have a problem with this, but when I try to give these students attention or help, my co-teachers are quick to tell me to not even bother with them. Seriously? I believe that they are still capable of learning given the right environment and attention. They just don’t care. They believe they are hopeless causes. Additionally, failing students are still given passing grades and they move onto the next grade. This is not helping the students at all. This totally demotivates the students to even put any effort into their studies. They’re gonna pass anyway. Who cares? Another thing that I’ve mentioned before is the hours that these kids stay in school or academy. It’s just a ridiculous amount of time for such young people. Let them have a childhood!

10. Lunch at school. The food is FABULOUS! I just wish I had time to enjoy it. Koreans eat as fast as Taeyang can make any woman’s panties drop. I think I eat a full lunch in about 10 minutes, and that is slow. My co-teachers and the other teachers at the school always finish before I do, even if they begin after me or have more food than me. My co-teacher even told me that she doesn’t chew her food. You basically breathe in your food. I think I chew about 5 times or less. Maybe that’s why I finish less. I need to chew less or not at all.

Ok, I think there are more things, but I will leave it at 10. It’s a nice, even number. Hope you enjoyed this! haha

I've got more Seoul

This past weekend, I went to Seoul again with the usual: Okailey, Sonia, & Jarrod. The main reason for our trip was for the Usher concert! We were all very excited to go!! Anyways, Okailey & Sonia went early Saturday morning at 7am. Jarrod and I wanted to have a little bit more sleep, so we met at the bus station at 9. When we arrived, we tried to find the hotel we were staying at the the other had booked earlier that morning, but it was hopeless. We couldn't find it, so we gave up and met up with Mykie and Justyna. Their friend that they had met while living in Australia owns a pub in Seoul so we went there. It's a nice little underground place whose decor is influenced by everything Indian. We ordered in some Chinese food and watched a bit of a Bollywood film. Then we went out for a walk around the city.


This is us on the subway on our way to see Usher Usher!




Look at our differing styles! You can probably guess how we are!











Finally Okailey came to fetch us and we went to the hotel together. We got ready and went on our way to see Usher! I had done some research beforehand on how to get to this place and I was almost certain on how to get there. Okailey had searched as well, but we had differing directions. I don't know why, but we went with my directions. If you know me, you know how terrible I am with directions. Give me the choice of left or right and I will choose the wrong one 95% of the time. This was no exception. We ended up at the wrong venue. There were 2 other people there as well, so I didn't feel that horrible that I led us astray. So, after we realized it was the wrong place, we took a taxi to the REAL place. The taxi drove us all the way to the OTHER side, so we had to run about 2+km to the actual place.


We were late but we still got to see Usher and all his sexiness. He closed the show with "OMG" and I definitely had to stand up and dance. I didn't get many photos because I was enjoying the show and the photos I did get are blurry! I need to see Usher and the next show he plays in Los Angeles! Who's with me?? haha

After the show, we went to have some dinner, then Sonia and I went back to the hotel while the other two crazy kids went out for some clubbing! I went to sleep; I am an ajumma.


Then Sunday, we began with a nice brunch at a coffee shop down the street called One Tree Hill, just like the show! hahah We had pancakes and they were fairly delicious! Then Okailey went to Itaewon to get her hurr did and the rest of us went to M Plaza to do some shopping! I only bought a couple things and failed to buy anything for my mother. Then Jarrod and I went home around 5; the others stayed til 930 and got home around 130. They just couldn't leave Seoul. It is a completely different world compared to Gwangju. It is so lively; the energy there is just different. I enjoy it but it's nice to live in a calm, quiet area.

It was a good weekend to go to Seoul because this week is finals week for the students! I have never been so happy for finals! No classes to teach; no lessons to plan (unless I wanna plan in advance). Friday, I have to "teach". I'm just gonna show a movie. The following week, I'll probably do the same or have a fun lesson. Not sure which one yet. I'm gonna ask my co-teachers for their advice. Let's see if they're any help! :)