My first trip to Busan!

This past weekend, I went to Busan with Jarrod, Sonia, Okailey, Maggie, and Laurence. It was, obviously, my first trip there and I was not too thrilled about it before the trip because I had incessantly tried to search for a place to stay when we got there. I am usually not the type to take a trip and not have a reservation for a place to stay. The day before we left, I finally reserved a place with the help of my co-teachers. I was just ready to go to Busan, drink until I was wasted and just let go of all that stress that I had collected in preparation for the trip.

The bus ride didn't feel too long and we arrived around 130pm, I think. We headed towards the subway and we were in line buying our tickets. Laurence started talking to some lady in line and she told us that she was going to stay in a motel, like she usually does because they are ultra cheap. We decided to follow her and check out where she was gonna stay to see if it would be cheaper than the place I had booked. We walked and walked and walked trying to find a motel to stay in that wasn't too overpriced. After about an hour, we found a place (after having split up into two groups to cover more ground). During this hour, I picked up another girl who was alone and searching for a place to stay in as well. Her name was Lauren; it turns out that this trip was her mini vacation alone since her boyfriend was working. I ended up really really liking her! She was super cool and sarcastic! She ended up staying with us so we had 8 people in our group, 2 rooms. We thought we booked the rooms for 2 nights, but apparently we had only booked one. Probably miscommunication, so we had to book a second night and pay more. The price was too good to be true for two nights, I guess. We paid less than $20 for what we thought was 2 nights, but in the end, we paid about $40 each, which is REALLY good.


Anyways, after we dropped off our stuff at the LOVE MOTEL (yes, a motel for LOVE! ;)), we went to the famous Haeundae Beach! Thank goodness we did because it was the only day where we had sunshine and no rain. The beach was really tiny, but it was nice. The water was freezing cold, but I managed to stand in the water for a long time. It was a gorgeous site. That night, Maggie, Lauren, Laurence, and I went to the Westin Chosun Hotel at the end of the beach because Maggie wanted to go to an Irish pub she had read about in her travel book. We ended up not going there, but had a drink outside of that area (but still inside the hotel) where there was a pianist and violinist. We sat there to listen to some tunes, but it put me to sleep, almost.


So we left to go back to meet up with the others at the motel. We got ready to go out to some clubs! The first club was interesting. Not crowded at all, but there was a person dressed as one of those Asian cats, those white ones with the swinging arm usually found in Asian restaurants. He was just dancing around the club. Strange. The next place we went to was a bit better than the first. There were more people and it was just more fun. My friend (who shall remain nameless) got her some men, and some numbers. Ooh la la. She's got some game! hahah Overall, I had a great first night in Busan!



The next day, Maggie, Laurence, and I went to Jagalchi Market, which is one of Busan's famous landmarks. It was POURING rain and I had an umbrella that I found on the floor. Obviously it was broken and had some leakage problems, so I still got wet despite my holding the umbrella over my head. It was horrible, but I couldn't complain. It was quite an experience. So, Jagalchi Market is a fish market and you can also eat there. I really wanted to eat there...so we did. How can you go to a fish market and not eat there? We ended up getting a fish and they killed it on the spot. It was gruesome. I couldn't watch, but I kinda did. It was bloody. That was horrific, but I love going to fish markets. I don't know why. Maybe it's the dirtiness. I just love it. I reckon that this fish market was better than Sydney Fish Market in Australia. I don't know the basis of this judgment, except for that's just how I feel.






















Maggie and I ate these worm looking things! They were still ALIIIIIIVE!!! Eeeek! It didn't taste nasty or anything, but it was slimy. My co-teacher told me it's a sort of worm. I didn't know what it was beforehand, but we were calling them penises, but these were the baby penises. There are bigger, adult ones.

After Jagalchi Market, we headed back to the love motel and got ready to go out that night. We met up with Sonia&Jarrod's South African friends. They are a crazy bunch of girls, but they were really sweet and fun.


We went to a bar/restaurant called Eva's and then after that, apparently, we went to a club called Foxy. Danced a little bit and then headed over to another place called GHETTO. It was packed, but a lot of fun because I got to dance my booty off! I got REALLY tired around 4 or 5? I don't remember the time and I wanted to go home. Jarrod said that we could wait until 6 for the first subway home or we could pay a ridiculous amount for the taxi. I opted for the subway because I didn't have any money. We stayed at the club and I wanted to sleep, so I did. In the club. I put my head down and the next thing I know, Jarrod was tapping me to get up so we could leave. Yeay! Too bad it was only about 5am. One more hour until the subway opens up. We just stood outside the club area and I just hugged this guy we had met about an hour or two earlier. I hugged him until it was time to walk to the subway. I needed support for standing. I had a lot to drink that night. The first night I actually drank to the point of drunkenness. Thank goodness it wasn't the vomit-inducing drunkenness. Jarrod did a good job taking care of me and feeding me my favorite food, kimbab! Thanks, Jarrod! :) Finally got to the love motel and slept. We got woken up at 11am by an annoying alarm that filled the room. I woke up and was still drunk! I couldn't even remember who was in the room with me.

The last day we were in Busan, we went to a jimjilbang to sweat out all of the craziness that ensued the days prior. I was laying in the hot sauna for about 10 minutes and I was not sweating. I waited and waited. Not a drop. I told Okailey that I wasn't sweating! Then she asked me, "Are you that dehydrated?" and then it hit me. I AM! So I went outside and drank tons of water, went back into the hot room and started sweating. Phew! I'm not a freak without sweat glands! I love jimjilbangs! They're so relaxing. This time, I actually showered with all the other naked ladies! It wasn't too bad. I found my little corner and quickly washed myself. haha

After the jimjilbang, we went to the largest mall (in Korea? or in the world?) in Centum City. It's HUGE! There's an INCREDIBLE food court. Omigosh. I fell in love. I want to eat there for the rest of my life. They had EVERYTHING. We didn't stay there long because it was off to the bus station to go back home to Gwangju!

Fun times! The weekend was AMAZING and I can't wait to go back for some more exciting adventures!

Cho Yu Ji

Katherine, Maggie, and I had dinner tonight at a restaurant in Yangsandong, which is where Katherine lives. It took me about an hour by bus to get there! Crazy long! The restaurant was designated a "Tourist restaurant". I don't know why because I didn't see any tourists there, besides us, that is.






Katherine was told that the pizza there is really good, so that's what we got. There was only one kind - turkey - but I don't even think there was turkey on the pizza! It tasted more like ham, which I am not a big fan of. We also ordered a rice noodle soup thingy. It was kinda bland, but still good. The pizza was also good. I didn't think the food was too spectacular; it was just good. I was happy I got to eat some cheese though! =9


The decor of this restaurant was really great! They had wooden statues, wooden window curtains, wooden tables and benches. It was cool! There was also a greenhouse next to the restaurant where you could hang out in with your friends after your meal and just have a chat, drink coffee, relax. We went at night, so the place was pretty dark. I imagine the place looks even better in the daylight. We may be visiting that restaurant again!

Just another weekend.

After my Saturday Sports Day, I met up with Maggie and Wil in Downtown. My co-teachers make fun of me for going to Downtown so often, but I tell them there's nowhere else for me to go! Anyways, our plan was to go to a DVD 방 (bang) to watch a movie. A DVD bang is a room where you rent a DVD and just watch it in a room with your friends. I heard it was a dodgy place, but I still wanted to go...but I was a bit wary now. We first had dinner at The First Alleyway. It's a restaurant in an alleyway, yup, and it's owned by a foreigner who has been in Korea for over a decade. I had a falafel in pita with a side of onion rings and garlic sauce.



OMIGOSH, it was such a nice break from Korean food. I love Korean food, but it was sooo nice to have something that wasn't Korean. After that, we walked a bit to digest our food and I was looking into some headbands for my new haircut. As I was browsing, I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder in an abrupt manner. It freaked me out, I turned around and it was good ol' Laurence. He was with Julian and John. Haven't seen them in a while! They were a bit tipsy and were on their way to dinner. We caught up for a short time and then split ways with plans to meet later on that night. Then Maggie, Wil, and I tried to find the DVD bang that I really wanted to check out because I had walked by it a previous night and they had really nice pictures of the rooms. We could not find the place! We did see an arcade, so we were in there for some time playing games. It was really fun!!




So we went to this creepy looking one that we had passed by earlier that night. We went in, tried to agree on a movie, and ended up picking "Burn After Reading". Brad Pitt is hilarious in that movie! During the movie, Laurence was calling me to find where we were. It's kinda hard when you're tipsy and am not too familiar with the area. Lots of directions were given and somehow, he miraculously found us! He joined us in the DVD bang, but he fell asleep. The movie was done and the conscious ones decides to continue the night and have some drinks. Laurence said he wanted to go to Ethnic Cafe, so we did. We go and ended up falling asleep, while the rest of us had a fabulous conversation.






On Sunday, I met up with Laurence to go to the river that runs through Gwangju. I've been wanting to go for the past month or so, and I finally made it! It was really nice and it made me want to buy a bike even more just so I could bike along the river. We didn't see too much of the river, at least not the nice part. We ventured off onto an unbeaten path and ended up having to walk back because it led us nowhere. Laurence even saw a rat! Ugh. We walked back and then walked down the regular path and saw some people fishing. The river looked quite disgusting to be fishing from it. There was also a living room type area with a bunch of discarded sofas, still in good condition of course. Nice place to take a rest.



After that, we went to U-Square to try to buy tickets for 3-day weekend trip to Busan, but we saw that there are two terminals in Busan and ended up not buying them until we do some research. After our fail, we took the bus to the World Cup Stadium because we were meeting with some people for dinner. It was the Gwangju vegetarian group's monthly dinner. We went to a restaurant that I had already gone to twice. I don't like going to the same place multiple times, but the food is really good.

So today (Monday), my alarm woke me up at 730am. I have to be at school by 830, so I decided to set my phone alarm to wake me up at 745 instead. I ended up waking up at 8 because, of course, my phone alarm was set to 745pm. I rushed to get to school and even dressed in nice work clothing. I walked to the school and there were NO students. I knew they were going on a 3-day trip, but I thought they were going to meet at school and then depart from there, but nope. No one. There wasn't the usual man to greet me at the gate. Nobody. It was sad. I got there on time though, right on the dot. There were almost no teachers in the teacher's room. I proceeded to take my laptop out to do some research on Busan. Three hours into the work day, my co-teacher asks me if I have plans for the day. I say no. Why would I? I'm at work, and it's a Monday. She asks me to lunch and I agree. She tells me to pick the menu: eel or nakji (octopus). I ask if the nakji would be live and they said no, so I picked eel because I want to eat live nakji! So we left school at noon and I asked if we were gonna go back to school and they said no. I was like, "We have a half day?!" and they said "yes!" I was happy, needless to say. The lunch was ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS. It's like 삼겹살(Samgyeopsal) style, but it's SOO much better. Delicious.



Then we went to Downtown, haha. I told them all the cheap places to shop and they were like, "Wow, are you sure you're not a Gwangju person? You know all the shops!" Well, yes, I come here every weekend, but I'm definitely not an expert. I bought some new clothes as well. Oh! It was very strange - we went into a store called Timing and I wanted to try on a couple items. There was a changing room with a curtain that looked like three separate changing rooms except it was only one. Someone was in there, so I waited. Later on, I went in and tried it on and someone came in and started trying on their clothes too! I was like, Uh...ok. It was SO strange! Korean people are supposed to be conservative and modest, but to have a communal fitting room? That's just opposite!

Anyhoo, I have half days tomorrow and Wednesday as well! Yeay!! :) Looking forward to Korean class tomorrow night. Even though it's raining right now, this is gonna be a great week!

Sports Day, Split Ends, 삼겹살 (Samgyeopsal)

This past week, I think I only really taught one class. Monday-Wednesday, the kids had their midterms and got out of school early so they could study more. On Wednesday, we ended at the usual time, 430pm so I had class after their tests, but we just watched a movie. I also had after school class on Thursday, but I did a free talk period where we just talk about whatever. I told them about the school schedule in America and they were envious because I told them we got out of school at 2:35pm in high school. They told me that in Korean high school, they start at the same time we do in America (745am), but they get out at 10pm. I was SHOCKED and they laughed at my shocked face. It's crazy. That leaves them little time to do their homework, study, and sleep. Friday and Saturday, we had Sports Day. It was nice to see the students be able to let loose and have fun. Run around, not worry about exams. I hope they have Sports Day in high school! Sports Day was fun. There were relay races, 9 legged races, dodgeball, races, dance competitions, soccer, tug-of-war, and lots more. The first day of Sports Day, I stayed with the 4th class of 2nd grade. They told me that a teacher had told them to tell me to stay with them, so I did. I wanted to walk around and take pictures though, so I did. When I returned to the class, they said, "If you leave, teacher will (hits self on the arm)." So I didn't leave them anymore. haha





Then, I told my co-teacher that the students said this and she was like, "What teacher? That's not true!" So that means that I could've walked around all I wanted. They just wanted me to stay with their class. It was funny because I was sitting between class 4 and class 5 and a girl in class 5 wanted me to hold one of her signs, and the class 4 girl took my hands and said NO! and started shoo-ing the other girl away. It was hilarious. The girls are great! The boys are less great, haha. They don't talk to me as much, but I want them too! There are those few boys that do, but they didn't even talk to me during Sports Day. I really wanted to socialize with them outside of the classroom. It was really nice talking to my students on a non-school related level. They try so hard and they always pull out their cell phones because most phones in Korea have a Korean/English dictionary on it. Mine doesn't though :(

Sports Day day 1 was tiring, and I wasn't even participating. The weather was almost perfect that day, a bit too hot. I got a farmer's tan again. Not as bad as you may think, but it's annoying to have 2 different skin colors.

After the first Sports Day, my co-teachers asked me if I had any plans that night and I didn't. They were shocked because I always have plans. They invited me to dinner, and of course, I obliged. We left school at 430pm, so that was way too early for dinner. They asked me what I wanted to do or if I had to go anywhere. I said I didn't really need anything and that I can go wherever they want to go. Then I blurted out that I needed a haircut because I had told my co-teacher that day to write down how to say "Please trim my hair." I have too many split ends, they need to go away. We ended up going to E-Mart because they had to go and there's also a hair salon in there. They said it's pretty expensive, but I took that as a good thing because expensive=good, right? We went in and they told us to sit down and gave us free drinks. Whatever we wanted to order from the menu. Nice, nice. This is good. My co-teachers helped me tell them what I wanted and even showed them 3 pictures that I had printed earlier that day, then they went to shop for a little bit. I had a guy cut my hair and he seemed to know what I wanted. I was excited! First, he did the BIG cut. He cut off about 6 inches with my permission. It hit me right at the top of my boob, which was the length I wanted. I also asked for some layers, so I could kinda see him do that...I didn't have my glasses on. I thought that he was cutting my layers pretty short and I wanted them long, but that's OK, they're just layers. Then he asked if the bangs were OK so I told them to cut them a bit shorter. After that, he started blow drying my hair. I guess the cut is done. I waited for him to swoop my hair from the back to the front, so I could see how my hair turned out, but...there was no more hair in the back. My hair is no longer right above my boob, it is in the middle of my NECK! What the heckk?? This isn't what I asked for! It looks nice, but it's not what I wanted! Oh dear. Good thing I'm a flexible person! I paid for my "expensive" hair cut, only 12,600 won. What a steal! I was a little unhappy about my haircut, but after several hours, I liked it. That's how I usually am when I chop off my hair. It was just so unexpected! He ended up cutting off about a foot of hair. I would've kept it to donate, but it was too damaged AND it wasn't one big cut. I knew that haircutters cut off more than you want, but he cut off DOUBLE. =/ After I finished my haircut, we walked to the restaurant to have 삼겹살 (Samgyeopsal). It's pork and you BBQ it at the table and wrap it in leaves/lettuce. You can add other things in your lettuce too, like garlic, kimchi, etc. It's really good! My co-teacher said that Koreans usually eat it when the winds become dusty so they can clear their throat. I also got to try this alcoholic beverage as pictured below. I had the non-alcoholic one at lunch the other day too; it's called maeshil juice/tea . My co-teacher gave me a bottle that she had made several months ago. Apparently you have to let it sit for a while before you drink it. Koreans like to leave things for months and months before you eat it. That's called expiration in America.





After we had dinner, we went to the local Buddhist temple to get some traditional tea. They had lanterns strewn all over the area in front of the temple and it was so nice, but they weren't lit until we left, so it was even MORE beautiful when they were lit. I had a chinese lemon tea, which was REALLY good. My co-teachers told me that Koreans like to drink it in the summer.






The second day of Sports Day was today, Saturday. I didn't have to go today because it's not in my contract to work Saturdays, but it's good to go to these school events. Most of the kids noticed my new haircut and they told me that it is beautipul, pretty, and cute. Always with compliments. Today, they had the dance contest. Only the girl classes from 3rd grade participated and they were really great. I can't believe they've been practicing the dance and studying for exams simultaneously. Crazy kids. I missed a couple of the performances because I could not wake up early enough this morning to make it at 9am. I got there around 10am and enjoyed the rest of the dances and competitions. Some of the teams' music malfunctioned, so their performance didn't go as smoothly as they had hoped. I saw a couple of them crying and I felt SO bad. I stayed with them for a little while and tried to console them. I don't even know if they understood me. I tried to speak in Korean too! 괜찮아! Gwaenchana! They eventually had a second chance and they did so great! All of them were fantastic! They probably felt like they had their own Girls Generation or 2NE1! haha




Today was also Teachers' Day! Students give their teachers gifts and former students come back to give gifts as well. It's such a great "holiday" and it really makes you feel appreciated. I didn't get any gifts from any students today, but maybe next week, I hope! I got a couple gifts from other teachers though, so that was nice. During the first day of Sports Day, the girl that was talking to me the most (she said the teacher told her it was her "mission" to talk to me..haha) said that she was gonna buy me a gift from her trip to Seoul next week.

So after Sports Day today, the teachers had a special lunch. What did we eat? 삼겹살 (Samgyeopsal)again!! haha, I guess I didn't mind, but the pork is SO fattening! There's almost no meat on it, just all fat practically and Koreans like to eat the fat! How are they so skinny here? I don't know. I also got to try 비빔냉면 (Bibim Naengmyeon). It's cold noodles with vegetables and a hard boiled egg served on a bed of ice. Yes, ICE! That was really strange. I also got a side of hot sauce because I didn't want it to be TOO spicy, but it ended up being a little bit too spicy. Still good though. The texture was chewy! Yummy deliciousness.




Oh yeah, ALL the students are going on a 3-day trip next week - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. I think each grade is going to a different place. I know some of them are going to Seoul, but I don't know about the others. That means I don't have to teach! :) Then Thursday I have a co-teaching training workshop, so I get to miss school, no teaching. Friday is Buddha's Birthday, which is a holiday, so, yes, that means I don't have to teach. Next week is gonna be a BREEZE! I love my job.

Yangdong Market and Monopoly

Today, we decided to explore Yangdong Market. I enjoyed walking through it because I love love love markets! There was a seafood area with fish, crabs, eels, squid, octopus, sea animals I couldn’t identify.



There was also a live food area with chickens, hens, and ducks in cages. So sad! And we had just eaten duck the night before. Eek! There was also a clothing area, bedding area, and furniture area. It’s a pretty huge place. I want to go back just to walk around some more. Afterwards, we walked to downtown and had lunch. I had bibimbap! I hadn’t had it for a while and I forgot how delicious it tastes! It was a nice change from kimbap, of which I have been having way too much.



Then we went to look for a coffee shop to have our after-meal coffee. I saw a place called Dice Café and I asked the gang if they thought it was a board game café. IT WAS! We decided to go and we ended up playing Monopoly. I don’t think I’ve ever played Monopoly for such a long time. I like it in the beginning and then towards the end, I just get sick of it.


I didn’t get to play Scrabble either! No worries though; next time! We left the board game café and we did a little shopping. I got some pants, shoes, and trash cans! Yippee. My weekend was fabulous -- relaxing, refreshing, and rejuvenating! Tomorrow starts the beginning of another week, but I hope it’s an easy one because this week is the students’ midterm week. Well, Monday to Wednesday, so I don’t have to teach! Yeay!

My day of jimjilbanging

Today, we planned to go to a jimjilbang! It’s a public bath/sauna place. Eek! Nakedness galore! The boys and girls split up to go to our respective showering/locker areas. The girls opted out of the shower because we didn’t want to be naked with each other - too awkward. We then headed upstairs to check out what was there. The sexes have now mixed together; there was a food court, a PC bang, a kid’s play area, hot saunas, cold saunas, hot bricks, a TV, sleeping caves, a gym... It had everything you would need in a day and night. We went into the different hot saunas which had varying temperatures from hot to VERY hot! The not-so-hot ones were very relaxing. Some of them had rocks in there too, which proved to be too hot for skin contact. Some of them were so hot I couldn’t breathe. After I had spent time in a hot sauna, I would go into the icy sauna to cool down and dry my sweat! My mission for the day was to get a massage and I succeeded. Maggie and I went downstairs to the locker room area and there was a massage room. We waited for one lady to finish her FULL BODY massage – FULL..that means back AND front. Yes, front. Very awkward. She took forever to finish and it was my turn. I got my back done; it was painful; it was ticklish; it was wonderful! Maggie got a massage and it looked pretty good, and cheap! Only 10,000 won! Mine was 20,000 won, also cheap! I definitely wanna go back for some more massages! I wasn’t sure what to be expect from the jimjilbang, but it was a great experience and I’m sure I’ll be going many more times while I’m in Korea.

After the jimjilbang, we went to get some duck for dinner. It was more delicious than the first time Jarrod, Sonia, and I went to this restaurant. Mmm yum. Then we went to get some coffee at Rodem Tree Cafe. I had a green tea latte and it was VERY green. It was super delicioso. The café was on the second floor and I saw across into the other building that there was Fun Café. Then we realized later that it was a board game café! I’ve been wanting to go for weeks, but could never find one, but now we know where it is! Yes! Definitely gotta go and Scrabble it up!

Cinco de Mayo, Children's Day, Boo-hoo, and Telecommunication

On Tuesday, I had Korean class and afterwards, we went to a place called Tequilaz because they were having a Cinco de Mayo event (even though it was really Cuatro de Mayo). I really wanted some nachos, but I think they ran out or something. I did have some chips and salsa though, so that was a nice change from kimchi and rice. We had some beers and chatted. Then some of us headed over to Pump to have some more beer and chat. Why did we go out on a school day, you ask? Well, it’s because we had Cinco de Mayo off! No work that day! Not because it was Cinco de Mayo but because it was Children’s Day! The Koreans celebrate their kids! I reckon they have this day because during the other 364 days of the year, they don’t really see/care/spend time with their children. =/ At least they made a holiday for it.

On Wednesday, we met up at the Lotte Outlets next to the World Cup Stadium and bought some foodss for a picnic at the park. We were all starving and Laurence was leading the way to the park. The longest route possible. I don’t think he ever learned that the fastest way from point A to point B is a straight line. We eventually reached our destination and had our food. Of course, I had my kimbab. So yumz! There were so many cute kids at the park, running around, flying kites. Very adorable to see the families spending time together. After the park, we went to the Pungam Reservoir and walked around a little bit. It’s really pretty; I need to go back to explore the area some more. Then some of us went back to the Lotte Outlets for shopping and the others went to get coffee. We actually got some coffee at the Lotte Outlets too. They have everything in that place. After that, we parted ways and went home! I don’t like it when I make my own dinner. It’s just not as good as having someone else make it for me.

My first class on today went well. I’ve been doing a Jeopardy review game with my 3rd graders because their midterms are next week Monday-Wednesday. During my second class, one girl from the team in the back had chosen a Fill-in-the-Blank question: “What kind of sports do you like to ____?” She answered “play ping pong”. I said no and gave her another chance. “ping pong”. =/ I gave her another chance but she was silent. I started my 10 second countdown and the rest of the class began to join me, loudly. I could see that the girl’s face was turning beet red and when we reached 0, I asked if she had an answer and I could see her just hang her head low. She started to cry!!! I was like, “Oh no!!! Don’t worry!! It’s ok!!” My heart sank; I felt so horrible and I didn’t want her to not like English. When their second turn came around, she was still putting in the effort, so I felt better that she hadn’t given up. After class ended, I talked to her and I was like, “It’s OK, you did good today!” and she waved her hands in a “no” sort of way, like a “I’m fine” and she said, “Thank you, thank you” and she had a smile on her face, so I felt way better at this point. Eek! My first crier!

After school, I went to get a phone with my co-teachers. I finally succeeded in reeling in one! A prepaid one, thankfully. I was afraid I’d have to settle for a one-year contract. That night, I was scheduled to meet with the remainder of the group who didn’t go to the Seoul DJ Festival this weekend. However, my co-teachers asked me if I had any plans for that night and I said yes and I asked why. They said because they wanted to invite me to have dinner with them. I ended up not going to meet my friends and went to have dinner with my coteachers because I needed some bonding time with them. Also because they had helped me with my phone, so I didn’t want to abandon them. It would be rude. So we had Italian food – I had me some CHEESE! It was satisfying. I ended up paying for the dinner because I wanted to treat them out for all their help. It was quite expensive, but compared to home, it wasn’t that bad. After dinner, I went to meet with my friend at Ethnic Café in downtown to have some drinks. We always seem to frequent the same places over and over again. I wanted to venture out and we did that night. We decided to go UP. We tend to go to the ground level places, or even underground, so this time, we looked up to see where our next place would be. I saw Model Bar and wanted to go, but we ended up a few floors higher at Sky Bar? I don’t remember what it’s called. It was ok – I was hoping for a good view, but they blocked it with some sort of ugly balcony and short palm trees. Boo. Hopefully our next discovery is better!

Girls' Generation - Run Devil Run

Here is a music video for another popular song at the moment in Korea.

Seoul Fun

I went to Seoul last weekend with Maggie and Laurence. It was a great trip, but very tiring. We left right after school on Friday, but I was a bit late because the HOTET was talking to me after my after-school class ended. I was like, “C’mon lady, I need to catch a bus to get to the bus!” I ended up taking a taxi because I spent about 10 minutes waiting for the bus and I had no time to waste. I got to the bus terminal and thank goodness Maggie & Laurence were still there! We ended getting a bus that was to leave an hour later and had some dinner beforehand. We got to Seoul around 10 or 11pm. We met up with our friend Alex and checked into the hostel. I had to book a hostel on my own that same day because I didn’t decide to go to Seoul until the previous night, so less than 24 hours. My hostel was in the boonies – none of the taxi drivers knew how to get there. It was such a pain to get there. The next night, I got to stay in the hostel with everyone else thankfully. The first night we were there was actually “Club Night”, which occurs the last Friday of every month.
We didn’t go to any clubs though; we ate a VERY late dinner at a Japanese restaurant and had a few beers. We finished our “dinner” at 2am. There were TONS of people! It was definitely a different atmosphere than in Gwangju. People were belligerently drunk and crazy. After walking around, drinking beers, and exercising in the outdoor gyms, we retired to our respective hostels with plans to meet at 1030am the following day. I woke up at 6, 7, 8am and then decided to get up. I showered, had breakfast, talked to the other guests at the hostel. I met a couple people from Hawaii; they didn’t know each other but they lived near each other. Such a small world. I had planned to meet up with my orientation roommate, Shirlen. I left the hostel early in case I were to get lost. Of course, I did. I had also texted Shirlen the night before to tell her to change our meeting time from 10 to 1030am. She never texted back. I got to the subway station and she was there. I asked her if she had gotten my text and she said no. Then I pulled out my paper and asked if the number I had written was hers and she said nope! I realized that I had texted my co-teacher! haha, oh dear. We caught up a bit and then waited for Maggie, Laurence, and Alex. That took forever, but they eventually got there and we met up Canadia at City Hall. Boy, did I miss that fool. He’s so awkward, it’s great! On our way to find a place to eat, we came across a Changing of the Guards Ceremony at some palace. We stayed to watch that, which was really great. The clothing they wear is just beautifully made with silk. They also play some drums during the procession.



After we watched that, we went to eat and then after that, we went to Gyeongbuk Palace, the biggest palace in Seoul, I believe. It’s a gorgeous site but all the palaces/temples but it looks like a temple that I had seen in the Damyang area. It was still a worthy place to visit though.



After we walked through the palace, Alex and Maggie left us to go shopping and meet with other people and the rest of us went to get some coffee/tea/dessert in the Insadong area. We also came across a little marketplace – I love markets. Anyhoo, the coffee/tea/dessert place was decorated so cutely as is every place in Korea. It had an earthy feel to it with plants all over – my kind of place! After that, we went to meet up with the rest of the people at the shopping area. There’s the huge Forever 21 there! Browsed a bit, but didn’t buy anything, everyone else did though!




When we found the rest of the group, we headed to Seoul Tower, where you get a view of the city. It was wonderful. We had dinner up the tower as well. Then we headed back to the hostel to get ready for a night out on the town. We planned to go to a club and when we arrived, they told us we couldn’t go in. I don’t know why, but we headed to a different club afterwards and we got in! It was a hip-hop club. Omigosh, it was the most packed club I have ever been in. You cannot move, not even an inch. How do you dance? You can’t. We headed upstairs which was empty…because it was the VIP area. We weren’t VIP but we ended up being invited to sit with a group there and that’s what we did. We got free beers and space. Then one of the guys was being creepy, so we had to go back down to the dance floor and be squished. However, it wasn’t sweaty like the clubs back in LA. They have some really good fans or air conditioner so I don’t even think I broke a sweat. We stayed for about an hour and left for home. The next day was Sunday – time to head home! Maggie went home early and Laurence, Alex, and I went to Itaewon, which is where all the foreign restaurants and shops are. When we got there, a clown made a balloon animal for Alex. It was kinda surreal; he just came up to us and made the animal. He was a funny clown, not a scary clown, so that was good. We went to a book store and I bought 4 books, mostly classics. We went to some markets carrying foreign foods and I bought 2 bottles of sauce – Thai chili and hoisin sauce. I just had to because I need those sitting in my kitchen just in case I ever need them. After Itaewon, we wanted to eat an early dinner at Loving Hut. Laurence had some directions he found on a blog (i.e., not very good directions…) so it took us a while to find the place. He had to stop in a PC Bang to find some more directions and we were only about a 2 minute walk from the place. The food was masshisoyo! Delicious! Especially the California Roll. So good. Their lemonades were also tasty; there were 3 different flavors: Citron, Lime, and Rose. The night before, Laurence had asked me what time I wanted to go home and I said no later than 5 because the bus takes about 3.5-4 hours to get home. He agreed and said that he wanted to go home at 4. We didn’t end up getting on the bus til 810pm. We left Loving Hut around 630pm and we couldn’t find the bus station, even though we were there. We just had to walk 100 more feet to reach it. But we eventually found it and had to wait an hour for our bus to depart. I got home around midnight and I had to teach the next day. I wasn’t tired that Monday though, so it was good. I also wasn’t feeling blue as I usually do on Mondays. It was a good weekend.