I think I've mentioned this before, but when you arrive at work, you change into your work slippers. No more heels for you, lady. Put on those slippers! These are meant to be worn only in school. Or at least that's what I thought. However, over the past several months, I have seen the other teachers walk outside, in the dirt and rain and all, to get to the cafeteria, then back into the school again. That defeats the purpose of even wearing these slippers. They're getting dirty when you walk outside. Don't you want to keep the school clean? Isn't that why you have this slipper rule?
I have accepted that we have to walk outside to get to the cafeteria. It would be too much of a hassle to have to change into your regular shoes every single time you leave the main building. So, I thought, these slippers are only meant for the campus grounds. This is also not the case. The other day, my co-teacher and one of the adminstrative dudes came to my apartment during lunchtime. As we left the main building, they didn't change their slippers! I asked, "Don't we have to change our shoes?" My co-teacher said, "You can if you want to." I felt wrong, so I changed into my regular shoes. They walked allll the way to my apartment, 5 minutes away, on the STREETS. Now, that really boggles my mind! These slippers are meant for school, not outside street walking! Why don't we just wear regular shoes then??
Monday, June 21, 2010
Friday, June 18, 2010
TGIF!
The dinner with my coteacher and the HOTET wasn't too bad. She was bearable. She had a list of things to talk to me about. She gave me some teaching tips and told me of some upcoming things that I'm gonna have to do at school, like "interviews". I'm gonna have to talk to the kids! If they can hold a conversation with me, then I give them some sort of certificate. I'm actually quite excited for it. I would like to talk to these kids more on a one-on-one basis, but that is simply impossible in our regular classes with 40 students in each class. So this is gonna be great, though I'm only going to be talking to about 40 students...whoever signs up to do this. I don't have to do all 900+ students, but I wouldn't mind!
In other news, it is World Cup season and if you don't already know, soccer is one of Korea's loves. Koreans live and breathe soccer! I watched their first match at a bar in downtown, Speakeasy. It was pretty good. I've never watched so much soccer in my life. I just never got into it, which is strange because I love all types of sports. Korea beat Greece in that match, 2-0. After that, we went to Bubble Bar for some dancing. I was gonna go home around 2 am, but somehow ended up back at Speakeasy for the USA-England match at 3am. I got super sleepy, so I left at halftime to sleep!
Last night was the Korea vs. Argentina game. I had Korean class but we were let out early because of the game. My teacher was so funny; she was like, "Class is over!!" and then she started rushing to pack up her things and she stormed out of the classroom! Koreans love their soccer, I tell you. Anyways, I watched the game at Jeonnam University, which is where my Korean class is. The game was projected onto a white screen and there were A LOT of people there to watch the game. Lots of lit up red horns and red shirts. When Korea made their first and only goal, everyone simultaneously stood up and started cheering. It was an amazing thing to experience! Such national pride!
I am so glad it is Friday. The week was pretty good; my classes went well. I need to learn how to manage my time in class. We always run out of time for the game. Well, actually, we just have too little time for the game. Class always ends very soon into the game. It's a shame because I really want the kids to play! I really like my students SO much! They keep me wanting to go to school! I hope I keep them wanting to go to school. :)
In other news, it is World Cup season and if you don't already know, soccer is one of Korea's loves. Koreans live and breathe soccer! I watched their first match at a bar in downtown, Speakeasy. It was pretty good. I've never watched so much soccer in my life. I just never got into it, which is strange because I love all types of sports. Korea beat Greece in that match, 2-0. After that, we went to Bubble Bar for some dancing. I was gonna go home around 2 am, but somehow ended up back at Speakeasy for the USA-England match at 3am. I got super sleepy, so I left at halftime to sleep!
Last night was the Korea vs. Argentina game. I had Korean class but we were let out early because of the game. My teacher was so funny; she was like, "Class is over!!" and then she started rushing to pack up her things and she stormed out of the classroom! Koreans love their soccer, I tell you. Anyways, I watched the game at Jeonnam University, which is where my Korean class is. The game was projected onto a white screen and there were A LOT of people there to watch the game. Lots of lit up red horns and red shirts. When Korea made their first and only goal, everyone simultaneously stood up and started cheering. It was an amazing thing to experience! Such national pride!
I am so glad it is Friday. The week was pretty good; my classes went well. I need to learn how to manage my time in class. We always run out of time for the game. Well, actually, we just have too little time for the game. Class always ends very soon into the game. It's a shame because I really want the kids to play! I really like my students SO much! They keep me wanting to go to school! I hope I keep them wanting to go to school. :)
Monday, June 14, 2010
HOTET Hate
Sooo, y'all already know that I don't like the HOTET. Well, last Thursday, she came and hijacked my after-school-class when I still had half an hour left. I guess I didn't mind; it meant I didn't have to teach. haha Anyways, she talked to them for the remainder of the class and I didn't understand a word she said, but a couple students nearby told me that she was talking about how summer school would be working. Something about a night class and a day class...4 hours a day...I'm still not sure and the HOTET hasn't even told ME anything. But I have dinner with her today, so maybe she'll inform me about my work schedule. That would be nice..the teacher knowing before the students. Oh, only in a perfect world. Anyways, after she talked to them, she talked to me and said, "Sorry, but I have to check your class because the principal has been complaining about the high number of absences." Then she said that my satisfaction rate is 20%. I asked her, "What does that mean?" and she said, "Well, the total is 100%." Oh, really? I didn't know that, you freaken moron. Then I asked, "What is it based on?" and I think she said the students or something...because they want more games. Blah blah blah. I already know that. In Korea, you're not supposed to talk back to people higher than you, but since I am already not fond of her, I did, but in the most polite way I could possibly do it. I said, "You have to understand that the material you give me is REALLY boring. REALLY. BORING." Then I had a packet that I was teaching that day and I pointed to it, "This is REALLY boring. I get bored! I would rather not teach this stuff, but I have to because you guys said I have to." Then more blah blah, and I said, "Tell me how to make this fun" and I handed her the packet. She looked at it for a good 30 seconds in silence. Then I said, "Yeah, it's really boring." Then she said, "Well, like I said, you can use more pictures." Oh great, the solution to all my problems - pictures. Yes, that'll do the trick, I'm SURE. Ugh, she's such a know-it-all and I hate people like that. It's so annoying. We'll see how dinner goes tonight. EEK!
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Koreans and Kimchi
If you've ever been to Korea (and you are a foreigner), chances are that you have been asked, "Do you like kimchi?" Korea is known for their kimchi. That is their national food. All Koreans must like kimchi, right? During the couple months that I've been eating lunch in the school cafeteria, I've noticed that all the other teachers would always put kimchi on their tray. Always. Even if it's just one slice of cabbage. I have also noticed that at the end of their meal, they haven't taken one bite out of that kimchi. They just throw it out! My hypothesis is that Koreans don't really like kimchi at all. Younger kids would say, "I don't like kimchi" but that's just their youth speaking. Koreans are all about saving face. How could a Korean NOT like kimchi? They must say that they like it even if they don't. As for me, I am not a big fan of cabbage kimchi, but I love radish kimchi and sesame leaf kimchi!
Thursday, June 10, 2010
retrospectacles
So much has happened since my Busan trip. Let’s see…one night, Okailey, Jarrod, Sonia, and I stayed out until the wee-wee hours of the morning. We had “breakfast” at around 5 or 6 am. No, we didn’t have pancakes or waffles. We had some grilled chicken and beer at a restaurant downtown. Okailey had snagged her (and all of us!) a sugar daddy for the night/morning. I didn’t particularly have a good first, second, or third impression of this guy. He was talking about how he kills people. No no, he doesn’t kill them. He tells his “lawyer” that he doesn’t like someone and the “lawyer” somehow gets these people killed. Don’t get him wrong, he doesn’t like killing people, he said. It also turns out that this guy had a girlfriend!!! And he was kissing up on all the girls in the club, including me! Well, he didn’t KISS ME, KISS ME, he kissed the side of my head. Gross. Omigosh, this guy was a complete moron, but I couldn’t say anything to his face because, well, he paid for everyone’s meal. Anyways, I got home around 7 or 8 that morning after a very long bus ride home. I didn’t feel like taking the subway even though it would be faster because I would’ve had to walk 15 minutes to get back to my place. It was way too cold to be doing that. It was also way too early and I was way too sleepy. I would’ve collapsed and slept on the side of the road. After this night, I said that I would never do this again. Then, the following weekend, I did the same thing, but I got home after noon, about 1230pm. Granted, I did sleep for several hours at Sonia’s place. Oh yeah, and this was after sitting on some guy’s roof just chatting and seeing the sun rise from 430 to 530am. We were all getting sleepy, so we went to Sonia’s and I was gonna stay awake and wait for the bus, but a little before 6, my eyes grew heavy and I had to sleep. I hate going out late because it ruins the next day for me. I just sleep the entire day and/or am groggy and lazy.
Last weekend, Okailey and Jarrod went to Seoul, so Sonia and I went to Family Land because I am her mom and she is my daughter. Family Land is an amusement park and I thought it would be silly to go, but it was my idea to go anyway just to check it out. It was rather expensive for such a tiny park. It was 24,000 won for full access to everything in the park. You can ride the rides as many times as you want and take the train to and from the entrance. It sounded pretty good, so we got that one. There were also tickets that were limited, like you can only ride 5 rides. 
Anyways, we go into the park and I realized that the rides were SOOO kiddish. They were not fast, not scary, not tall, not anything. Basically, it would be fun for anyone under 8 years old. However, there were a few VERY scary ones. There was one ride called Chaos, and boy was it anything but pure! At first, it wasn’t scary, but once you get rocked back and forth and you’re facing the ground from a seemingly high altitude, it is ridiculous scary and adrenaline rushing. It made me sick too.
Then the next ride was called Dragon Chaser. It was a roller coaster and it lasts about 10 seconds. It’s sooo fast, barely any ride. The wait for the roller coaster to start is even longer. Speaking of waits, there are virtually NO lines at this park. Maybe because it’s so kiddish, no one goes. You just walk right through and you’re at the ride, get in, and go. There was also a water ride, a log ride, like the one at Knott’s Berry Farm back home. I love that ride. We went on it a couple times. We only went on 3 rides for a total of 6 times. We had to get our money’s worth! We had to ride more than 5 times! haha We went on Chaos once, Dragon Chaser 3 times, and the log ride 2 times.
The rides were kiddish, but Sonia wasn’t feeling too good after the first time we rode the Dragon Chaser. She even paid the restroom a visit for a little bit of toilet hugging. After we finished the last ride, it started sprinkling a little bit. Then it started to rain. Then it started to pour. Then it started to MONSOON! Omigosh, the rains here are freaken crazy. Sonia and I got stuck at a GS25 in front of the park. We wanted to get snacks so we went there. As we were shopping around, we looked outside and were in complete and utter shock at how the rains had gotten worse. We got an umbrella and left to the bus stop. By then, the rains had subsided and during my hour long bus ride home, it had stopped completely…only to start again later that night.
Totally out of order, but it was also a couple of our April EPIK teachers’ birthdays recently – Austin & Joe’s. For Austin’s, we went to a couple bars and ended the night at a noraebang. We hadn’t gone to a noraebang in a while, so it was long overdue. For Joe’s birthday, we met up at Tequilaz, had some food, had some drinks, then it was off to Pump. There, I met some other EPIK teachers from September. I even met someone from UCLA! It was great! It was rare for me to meet anyone from California, let alone Southern California, let alone the same school! He even graduated the same year and we have mutual friends! It really is a small world after all. After Pump, some of us headed to Bubble Bar. It was pretty empty because it was a Tuesday night and everyone was at Pump. It was nice to have some space in there though. It also wasn’t as stuffy and hot as it usually is. I hate that about Bubble Bar. Oh yeah, this was the night I got home after noon.
In other news, I bought a bike and got new glasses. My bike is nice, but I like my bike at home more. When I left the store, I was riding it and I realized that it was way too small for me. I was thinking, “Oh crap, I wonder if I can return it right now.” I stopped, sat on the side of the sidewalk, and started to adjust the handlebars and seat. It worked! It fits me! However, I think that it’s hard to control. The bike is all over the place, not very stable. I don’t like that because I can’t ride without any hands or else I’d fall on my face. The roads here are also very bad and bumpy, so it’s tough to ride. And the drivers here are crazy! I almost got killed when I rode the bike home. For real. The brakes on this bike are different than the one I have at home, so I wasn’t quite used to it at that time, but it was still the driver’s fault because they didn’t look.
As for my new glasses, I went back to my old thick black frames. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I had to take the eye exam in Korean. Thank goodness I learned my numbers! However, there was one part on the test where there was a red box and a green box. I thought she was asking me which box looked clearer so that’s how I answered. I still don’t know what the question was though. My glasses aren’t as clear as I’d like them to be, but I can still see. It’s just not as sharp when I look far away. Maybe I have astigmatism. The eye exams here are FREE, but I can see why. They’re not as extensive as the ones back home. They last about 2 minutes whereas the ones at home are like 5 minutes. “One or two? One or two? One or two? One or two?”
So, summer vacation is coming up soon…in less than 2 months. In my contract, it says I should get a total of 18 days official vacation for both summer and winter vacations. Usually it is broken up where you get 8 days for summer and 10 for winter. I decided to go with the usual breakdown and take 8 days for summer. My co-teacher asked me how many days I wanted. I told her and then later on in the day, the HOTET asked me as well. I told her and we were looking at a calendar and she proceeded to count 8 days, INCLUDING WEEKENDS. Oh no she didn’t! I decided NOT to bite my tongue and said, “I don’t think weekends count.” and she said, “In Korea, we can count the weekends as part of our vacation.” That pissed me off and I didn’t say anything and I didn’t look at her or anything. I really hate her. A LOT. She gets on my last nerves. Today, my co-teacher asked me when I wanted to take vacation. I told her the date and she counted the weekends as well. I told her that the weekends don’t count, but she put it in the system as including weekends and counting 8 days. If you’re going to count the effing weekend, then count it as 6 days, not 8. Omigosh, it pisses me off that they’re trying to rip me off of my vacation time. Seriously? If I’m not on vacation, I have to come to school and just SIT HERE and do what? NOTHING! Why are you wasting my time? It makes no sense. I hate the HOTET, and she wants to have dinner on Monday. Ugh. I can’t say no. I hate their system. SO much.
Last weekend, Okailey and Jarrod went to Seoul, so Sonia and I went to Family Land because I am her mom and she is my daughter. Family Land is an amusement park and I thought it would be silly to go, but it was my idea to go anyway just to check it out. It was rather expensive for such a tiny park. It was 24,000 won for full access to everything in the park. You can ride the rides as many times as you want and take the train to and from the entrance. It sounded pretty good, so we got that one. There were also tickets that were limited, like you can only ride 5 rides. 
Anyways, we go into the park and I realized that the rides were SOOO kiddish. They were not fast, not scary, not tall, not anything. Basically, it would be fun for anyone under 8 years old. However, there were a few VERY scary ones. There was one ride called Chaos, and boy was it anything but pure! At first, it wasn’t scary, but once you get rocked back and forth and you’re facing the ground from a seemingly high altitude, it is ridiculous scary and adrenaline rushing. It made me sick too. 
Then the next ride was called Dragon Chaser. It was a roller coaster and it lasts about 10 seconds. It’s sooo fast, barely any ride. The wait for the roller coaster to start is even longer. Speaking of waits, there are virtually NO lines at this park. Maybe because it’s so kiddish, no one goes. You just walk right through and you’re at the ride, get in, and go. There was also a water ride, a log ride, like the one at Knott’s Berry Farm back home. I love that ride. We went on it a couple times. We only went on 3 rides for a total of 6 times. We had to get our money’s worth! We had to ride more than 5 times! haha We went on Chaos once, Dragon Chaser 3 times, and the log ride 2 times.
The rides were kiddish, but Sonia wasn’t feeling too good after the first time we rode the Dragon Chaser. She even paid the restroom a visit for a little bit of toilet hugging. After we finished the last ride, it started sprinkling a little bit. Then it started to rain. Then it started to pour. Then it started to MONSOON! Omigosh, the rains here are freaken crazy. Sonia and I got stuck at a GS25 in front of the park. We wanted to get snacks so we went there. As we were shopping around, we looked outside and were in complete and utter shock at how the rains had gotten worse. We got an umbrella and left to the bus stop. By then, the rains had subsided and during my hour long bus ride home, it had stopped completely…only to start again later that night. 
Totally out of order, but it was also a couple of our April EPIK teachers’ birthdays recently – Austin & Joe’s. For Austin’s, we went to a couple bars and ended the night at a noraebang. We hadn’t gone to a noraebang in a while, so it was long overdue. For Joe’s birthday, we met up at Tequilaz, had some food, had some drinks, then it was off to Pump. There, I met some other EPIK teachers from September. I even met someone from UCLA! It was great! It was rare for me to meet anyone from California, let alone Southern California, let alone the same school! He even graduated the same year and we have mutual friends! It really is a small world after all. After Pump, some of us headed to Bubble Bar. It was pretty empty because it was a Tuesday night and everyone was at Pump. It was nice to have some space in there though. It also wasn’t as stuffy and hot as it usually is. I hate that about Bubble Bar. Oh yeah, this was the night I got home after noon.
In other news, I bought a bike and got new glasses. My bike is nice, but I like my bike at home more. When I left the store, I was riding it and I realized that it was way too small for me. I was thinking, “Oh crap, I wonder if I can return it right now.” I stopped, sat on the side of the sidewalk, and started to adjust the handlebars and seat. It worked! It fits me! However, I think that it’s hard to control. The bike is all over the place, not very stable. I don’t like that because I can’t ride without any hands or else I’d fall on my face. The roads here are also very bad and bumpy, so it’s tough to ride. And the drivers here are crazy! I almost got killed when I rode the bike home. For real. The brakes on this bike are different than the one I have at home, so I wasn’t quite used to it at that time, but it was still the driver’s fault because they didn’t look.
As for my new glasses, I went back to my old thick black frames. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. I had to take the eye exam in Korean. Thank goodness I learned my numbers! However, there was one part on the test where there was a red box and a green box. I thought she was asking me which box looked clearer so that’s how I answered. I still don’t know what the question was though. My glasses aren’t as clear as I’d like them to be, but I can still see. It’s just not as sharp when I look far away. Maybe I have astigmatism. The eye exams here are FREE, but I can see why. They’re not as extensive as the ones back home. They last about 2 minutes whereas the ones at home are like 5 minutes. “One or two? One or two? One or two? One or two?”
So, summer vacation is coming up soon…in less than 2 months. In my contract, it says I should get a total of 18 days official vacation for both summer and winter vacations. Usually it is broken up where you get 8 days for summer and 10 for winter. I decided to go with the usual breakdown and take 8 days for summer. My co-teacher asked me how many days I wanted. I told her and then later on in the day, the HOTET asked me as well. I told her and we were looking at a calendar and she proceeded to count 8 days, INCLUDING WEEKENDS. Oh no she didn’t! I decided NOT to bite my tongue and said, “I don’t think weekends count.” and she said, “In Korea, we can count the weekends as part of our vacation.” That pissed me off and I didn’t say anything and I didn’t look at her or anything. I really hate her. A LOT. She gets on my last nerves. Today, my co-teacher asked me when I wanted to take vacation. I told her the date and she counted the weekends as well. I told her that the weekends don’t count, but she put it in the system as including weekends and counting 8 days. If you’re going to count the effing weekend, then count it as 6 days, not 8. Omigosh, it pisses me off that they’re trying to rip me off of my vacation time. Seriously? If I’m not on vacation, I have to come to school and just SIT HERE and do what? NOTHING! Why are you wasting my time? It makes no sense. I hate the HOTET, and she wants to have dinner on Monday. Ugh. I can’t say no. I hate their system. SO much.
Monday, May 24, 2010
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!
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!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Cho Yu Ji
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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.
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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
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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!
Monday, May 17, 2010
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!
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!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
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.
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.
Monday, May 10, 2010
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!
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!
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