so...this past week was pretty laid back. the kids had midterms so monday and tuesday were review days. wednesday and thursday, the kids took two tests that lasted an hour each and after that, they went home and we had time to work on stuff until the afternoon hagwon classes started. friday the kids only took one test and afterwards were sent home. afterwards we were notified that two of our students had diagnosed cases of swine flu and that the students would not have school on monday and tuesday and that we would only have the after school kids to deal with. in my head, i am doing a happy dance. i think, "SWEET!" apparently me taking pleasure out of my students' misfortune is not a good thing, but i think my conscience got over that really quickly and so i knew this weekend, i must celebrate! friday was giong to have to be my day for cleaning because my weekend schedule was full so i stayed in and cooked real foor for once instead of the random ramean or dumplings i throw together in a hurry. i ended up getting no cleaning done, but i like to blame it on the torrential downpour going on outside. rain makes me completely unproductive...all i ever want to do is curl up in a blanket with a cup of coffee and watch a movie...which is what i did.
saturday was the one year anniversary of the opening of sunny's bar, so we all planned a celebration and a beer pong tournament. i mean, beer pong screams 'class' no matter what country you are in and what better way to celebrate the opening of our good friend's bar? so, around seven, i met up with jess and we bought a cake and a bottle of wine and headed to sunny's where ben and turk were already there getting the grill ready to make some burgers (made of pork, mind you). pam showed up around nine with some new faces and we all quickly became friends. the beer pong tourney started at 11 with lynds and i up first against garth and grant. after a 45 minute game played on a grid iron table which made bouncing near impossible, we faced defeat. by the end of the tourney, turk and our new friend, josh were the beer pong champs. we celebrated with many pitchers of cheep beer and random korean dance moves. i left sunny's around 4:30 with the hopes to be alive the next morning in order to go to a concert that one of my student's mother is the composer of. (note: korean kids love to give their teachers free stuff...like tickets to concerts and random trinkets).
sunday, i had every intention of going with jenny to see the concert, but i was quickly distracted when pam called with offers of eating in itaewon. so, jenny, lynds, pam, kevin, our new friends min, grant, garth, and josh, and myself, of course, headed into itaewon in search of a tastey meal. to make a long story short, lunchh turned into drinking and playing darts at the wolfhound, until almost 9 at night, followed by more beer and empenadas...jenny and i got back home to baekseok after 11, never having actually reached our original destination.
monday morning came much too soon but because i didn't have classes to prep for, i enjoyed sleeping in a bit before heading to work...only to find that another student came down with the swine flu and that they were canceling ALL classes, including the afternoon classes, for the week. They were also canceling the school trip to sokcho. so, this week at work, all i have to do is sit here from 10 to 6...and i get paid to message people on facebook and goof off. all i can say is right now, life is GOOD. lol.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
meanderings...
this past week was a long week. i was in a funk that i can't really describe, and i didn't feel too well, so i spent a lot of time at home. things here have just been piling up... the culmination of these events was when i discovered that my winter clothes that i had shipped to me have been in customs for over two weeks now and there is no sign of a release date. with winter quickly approaching, i am not exactly overjoyed with this information. also, news of the cards getting sweeped in the play-offs didn't help my mood. sigh...maybe next season...
by friday i realized that if i didn't get out i might have gone crazy, so i headed over to sunny's where sunny was overjoyed to see me after a week of my absence. i spent the evening in the typical fashion and competing in what could only be called extreme jenga in which i proudly was able to not knock down the tower while always attempting very risky move s. jenga is a serious sport to me these days.
saturday i was very excited to spend the day with jun lee. i met him in samseong, which is an hour and 15 minute subway ride. on the subway, i brought my hongul workbook and began my studies. it wasn't long after that a nice ajuma (old lady) sat next to me and took an interest in helping me with my pronunciation and studies. she was quite helpful and i enjoyed trying out my skills on her. she beamed whenever i got things right. i like to think she felt like she was able to teach a random migook (american) to read hongul and i think i might have made her proud. the older generation here is especially impressed when foreigners take an interest in their culture and make attempts to learn the language and writing because so often we waygooks (foreigners) just try to make others like us and don't take the time to embrace new cultures let alone respect them enough to try to learn them ourselves.
anyway, i met jun in samseong where we had lunch at a korean style pizza and pasta restaurant. we shared a sweet cranberry pizza (mmmmm) and chatted it up for a bit. i showed jun my hongul reading skills and he was very impressed and told me my pronunciation was really good, so that completely boosted my confidence!
we left the restaurant and went to an underground mall which are very common in korea. jun was excited to tell me it was the largest underground mall in the world and we walked around a bit, stopping in shops every now and then. he took me into the national kimchi museum where he excitedly talked about kimchi and i joked a little about koreans' obsession with the stuff. kimchi is basically a type of fermented cabbage and there are tons of different ways to prepare it. koreans litterally have it with every meal. it is the national food. if you ask one of the little kids at the school what their favorite food is, almost every time, the response is KIMCHI! while at the museum, we saw an american guy there with a korean girl who was excitedly telling him about kimchi as well. the american and i shared little laughs and that little 'i understand' smile and nod before heading off in opposite directions with our respectful companions.
after we left the museum, we stopped for coffee and more wandering. i got mildly annoyed at all the stares throughout the day. i just want to scream at people. yes, i am an american. yes, i am with a korean. no, i am not going to teach you english. no, i am not going to do a trick. i am not an exhibit in a freak show. please, don't stare. even jun noticed the stares and commented after a group of guys were blatently eyeing me down. they don't even try to hide stares in this country. sigh...just one more thing about korean culture i will have to learn to deal with, i suppose.
after coffee, we went to a movie. i was totally hoping to go to a random korean movie, but we ended up going to see Surrogates, the newest bruce willis flick considering our only other options were Fame and Final Destination. it wasn't a bad film, but it was no reservoir dogs, that's for sure. i am itching for inglorious bastards to be showing here. it is supposed to be here withing a few weeks *joy*!
after the film, we walked a bit outside and enjoyed the crisp evening. we ended up traveling to walk along the han river, which is supposed to be really beautiful at night. because neither of us were really familiar with the area, we ended up not really sure where we were and discovered a really nice, secluded park where we could overlook the river and the city. the view was spectacular! we sat for a while, but realized it was getting late and had to make the last train back to baekseok. we stopped quickly for a bite to eat at an outside shop where we had dumplings and oodong noodles (yum!) and afterwards, we had ice cream and sat together until i absolutely had to go.
on the ride back, i pulled out my korean workbook and once again, a helpful ajuma gladly began to help me with my studies. the train ride passed quickly and when i got home, it was almost midnight, so i decided to call it a night and turned in.
the next day (today), i slept in and met turk for lunch. afterwards we went grocery shopping and i showed him my discovery of the dollar store on top of e-mart. when i got home, i cleaned my apartment a bit and wasted some time. all in all, it was a very unproductive weekend, but just what i needed to help me get out of the funk i have been in for the past few days. i am still not completely over things, but hopefully i will be back to my old self soon. at least this week is midterms week for the kids so i don't have too much work to do. and, the week after that, we have a three day week and a two day field trip to sokcho where we are playing games and sports with the kids. i am actually kind of looking forward to it, considering lately (especially over this past week) i have been getting really close to the students, a few of the 12th graders in particular. i really love being able to talk to them and help them with things. this past week has especially encouraged me to start my masters in counceling. i feel like i really m making a difference. these kids need someone to listen to them and it feels good knowing they feel comfortable and trust me enough to come to me when they need to talk to someone.
by friday i realized that if i didn't get out i might have gone crazy, so i headed over to sunny's where sunny was overjoyed to see me after a week of my absence. i spent the evening in the typical fashion and competing in what could only be called extreme jenga in which i proudly was able to not knock down the tower while always attempting very risky move s. jenga is a serious sport to me these days.
saturday i was very excited to spend the day with jun lee. i met him in samseong, which is an hour and 15 minute subway ride. on the subway, i brought my hongul workbook and began my studies. it wasn't long after that a nice ajuma (old lady) sat next to me and took an interest in helping me with my pronunciation and studies. she was quite helpful and i enjoyed trying out my skills on her. she beamed whenever i got things right. i like to think she felt like she was able to teach a random migook (american) to read hongul and i think i might have made her proud. the older generation here is especially impressed when foreigners take an interest in their culture and make attempts to learn the language and writing because so often we waygooks (foreigners) just try to make others like us and don't take the time to embrace new cultures let alone respect them enough to try to learn them ourselves.
anyway, i met jun in samseong where we had lunch at a korean style pizza and pasta restaurant. we shared a sweet cranberry pizza (mmmmm) and chatted it up for a bit. i showed jun my hongul reading skills and he was very impressed and told me my pronunciation was really good, so that completely boosted my confidence!
we left the restaurant and went to an underground mall which are very common in korea. jun was excited to tell me it was the largest underground mall in the world and we walked around a bit, stopping in shops every now and then. he took me into the national kimchi museum where he excitedly talked about kimchi and i joked a little about koreans' obsession with the stuff. kimchi is basically a type of fermented cabbage and there are tons of different ways to prepare it. koreans litterally have it with every meal. it is the national food. if you ask one of the little kids at the school what their favorite food is, almost every time, the response is KIMCHI! while at the museum, we saw an american guy there with a korean girl who was excitedly telling him about kimchi as well. the american and i shared little laughs and that little 'i understand' smile and nod before heading off in opposite directions with our respectful companions.
after we left the museum, we stopped for coffee and more wandering. i got mildly annoyed at all the stares throughout the day. i just want to scream at people. yes, i am an american. yes, i am with a korean. no, i am not going to teach you english. no, i am not going to do a trick. i am not an exhibit in a freak show. please, don't stare. even jun noticed the stares and commented after a group of guys were blatently eyeing me down. they don't even try to hide stares in this country. sigh...just one more thing about korean culture i will have to learn to deal with, i suppose.
after coffee, we went to a movie. i was totally hoping to go to a random korean movie, but we ended up going to see Surrogates, the newest bruce willis flick considering our only other options were Fame and Final Destination. it wasn't a bad film, but it was no reservoir dogs, that's for sure. i am itching for inglorious bastards to be showing here. it is supposed to be here withing a few weeks *joy*!
after the film, we walked a bit outside and enjoyed the crisp evening. we ended up traveling to walk along the han river, which is supposed to be really beautiful at night. because neither of us were really familiar with the area, we ended up not really sure where we were and discovered a really nice, secluded park where we could overlook the river and the city. the view was spectacular! we sat for a while, but realized it was getting late and had to make the last train back to baekseok. we stopped quickly for a bite to eat at an outside shop where we had dumplings and oodong noodles (yum!) and afterwards, we had ice cream and sat together until i absolutely had to go.
on the ride back, i pulled out my korean workbook and once again, a helpful ajuma gladly began to help me with my studies. the train ride passed quickly and when i got home, it was almost midnight, so i decided to call it a night and turned in.
the next day (today), i slept in and met turk for lunch. afterwards we went grocery shopping and i showed him my discovery of the dollar store on top of e-mart. when i got home, i cleaned my apartment a bit and wasted some time. all in all, it was a very unproductive weekend, but just what i needed to help me get out of the funk i have been in for the past few days. i am still not completely over things, but hopefully i will be back to my old self soon. at least this week is midterms week for the kids so i don't have too much work to do. and, the week after that, we have a three day week and a two day field trip to sokcho where we are playing games and sports with the kids. i am actually kind of looking forward to it, considering lately (especially over this past week) i have been getting really close to the students, a few of the 12th graders in particular. i really love being able to talk to them and help them with things. this past week has especially encouraged me to start my masters in counceling. i feel like i really m making a difference. these kids need someone to listen to them and it feels good knowing they feel comfortable and trust me enough to come to me when they need to talk to someone.
Monday, October 5, 2009
hooray for random korean holidays!
let me just start by saying that this past weekend was chuseok weekend in korea. chuseok is a traditional korean holiday used to signify the end of the planting season and the harvest of crops. they compare it to american thanksgiving, but it is slightly different. they enjoy feasts with rice cakes and give thanks to their diety and ancestors.
so, what did all of that mean for me? a five day holiday, that's what! and what better way to spend the holiday than relaxing and catching up on some much needed sleep!
wednesday night, we went to la festa and had hawaiian bbq...mmm...and headed back for a night at sunny's.
thursday we slept in and i shopped a bit. i met jess and turk and we picked up some cocktails and jenga and had a game night at turk's. around 10 we went out to sunny's and met up with doug and jody, a couple of jess' friends, and we decided to head out to la festa for another night of drinks and random shennanigans.
friday was jess' birthday so we ended up in seoul at a palace and we walked around for a bit before we all decided we were too tired from the past few late nights and we headed back. once we were home, i decided it was time to spruce up my ghetto apartment. if i am going to be here for 11 more months, i can no longer stare at plain white walls and hard floor! so, i went to emart and bought some throw pillows and candles and random little things. start off small is my motto. i got a call from turk saying yoona was making dinner and that i should head over and so i did, for some yummy chicken curry! afterwards we ended up once again in la festa with jess, howard, and a guy named mike whom we had met the same night i met the argentinians, and one of mike's friends. we spent a few hours there but we were all pretty wiped out so we called it an early night and went back to baeksok.
they next day was chuseok and i invited everyone over for breakfast. afterwards, yoona, turk, and i decided on going to itaewon to look for some wedding ducks and some board games. i am officially instituting game night here! we walked around for a bit and ended up at the wolfhound for lunch. all i can say is it is an irish pub in the middle of korea. to me, it was like a beacon of light shining out rays of hope for a tastey meal! and man, did this place deliver! i have decided this is my favorite place in the world to eat at this moment in my life. i seriously think my mouth had a mini joy-gasm each time i bit into my entree. after a while we headed back due to the fact that we were all still completely exhausted. we got back around 7:30 and i was in bed by 9 for the first night since i have been in korea.
sunday i decided i was gonna have a lazy day and i chilled at my place and watched movies and cleaned up my apartment. it was the first day i didn't spend running around, so it was a nice change of pace to relax. the night before, i got a call from emilio and he asked me to meet him in la festa around 7. i got there at quarter past and he wasn't there so i phoned turk to meet me for dinner. around 7:30, emilio showed up and so we all had a couple drinks and went to dinner before emilio had to head back to where his group is performing now. walking home with turk was really nice. i really love being able to talk to him. i couldn't have asked for a better twin! i was able to whine to him about all my boy problems and he didn't get annoyed even once at me! have i mentioned that i love my twin? he's the kind of person i could spill my heart out to and not even think twice about it. it is fantastic!
monday rolled around and i met up with the girls (grace, jenny, and jess) for a shopping day in dongdaemun. it was fantastic! this place is a girl's heaven! i didn't find the resale shop, so i will have to ask ivan at school where it is! after that, we wandered about and had lunch followed by ice cream and then a tea shop! although, in true american fashion, i myself ordered a coffee. i did however try the teas the girls were drinking and found that i quite liked them! these british girls are going to turn me into a tea drinker, one of these days! while wandering about, grace taught us some new korean phrases. i am up to around 15 these days...impressive, i know!
after tea, it was getting dark and we all had a lot of work to get done so we headed to the subway to get the train home. all in all, this was a fantastic weekend. the best part in it was when i discovered that i can now fit in my size 1 jeans!!! hooray! so, by all accounts, i have lost about 10 pounds since coming here. only a few more pounds (about an inch) and i will be back into my favorite jeans which are a zero! here's hoping! by the time i leave korea, i hope to be back to the same size i was when i started going to semo almost 5 years ago! wish me luck!
so, what did all of that mean for me? a five day holiday, that's what! and what better way to spend the holiday than relaxing and catching up on some much needed sleep!
wednesday night, we went to la festa and had hawaiian bbq...mmm...and headed back for a night at sunny's.
thursday we slept in and i shopped a bit. i met jess and turk and we picked up some cocktails and jenga and had a game night at turk's. around 10 we went out to sunny's and met up with doug and jody, a couple of jess' friends, and we decided to head out to la festa for another night of drinks and random shennanigans.
friday was jess' birthday so we ended up in seoul at a palace and we walked around for a bit before we all decided we were too tired from the past few late nights and we headed back. once we were home, i decided it was time to spruce up my ghetto apartment. if i am going to be here for 11 more months, i can no longer stare at plain white walls and hard floor! so, i went to emart and bought some throw pillows and candles and random little things. start off small is my motto. i got a call from turk saying yoona was making dinner and that i should head over and so i did, for some yummy chicken curry! afterwards we ended up once again in la festa with jess, howard, and a guy named mike whom we had met the same night i met the argentinians, and one of mike's friends. we spent a few hours there but we were all pretty wiped out so we called it an early night and went back to baeksok.
they next day was chuseok and i invited everyone over for breakfast. afterwards, yoona, turk, and i decided on going to itaewon to look for some wedding ducks and some board games. i am officially instituting game night here! we walked around for a bit and ended up at the wolfhound for lunch. all i can say is it is an irish pub in the middle of korea. to me, it was like a beacon of light shining out rays of hope for a tastey meal! and man, did this place deliver! i have decided this is my favorite place in the world to eat at this moment in my life. i seriously think my mouth had a mini joy-gasm each time i bit into my entree. after a while we headed back due to the fact that we were all still completely exhausted. we got back around 7:30 and i was in bed by 9 for the first night since i have been in korea.
sunday i decided i was gonna have a lazy day and i chilled at my place and watched movies and cleaned up my apartment. it was the first day i didn't spend running around, so it was a nice change of pace to relax. the night before, i got a call from emilio and he asked me to meet him in la festa around 7. i got there at quarter past and he wasn't there so i phoned turk to meet me for dinner. around 7:30, emilio showed up and so we all had a couple drinks and went to dinner before emilio had to head back to where his group is performing now. walking home with turk was really nice. i really love being able to talk to him. i couldn't have asked for a better twin! i was able to whine to him about all my boy problems and he didn't get annoyed even once at me! have i mentioned that i love my twin? he's the kind of person i could spill my heart out to and not even think twice about it. it is fantastic!
monday rolled around and i met up with the girls (grace, jenny, and jess) for a shopping day in dongdaemun. it was fantastic! this place is a girl's heaven! i didn't find the resale shop, so i will have to ask ivan at school where it is! after that, we wandered about and had lunch followed by ice cream and then a tea shop! although, in true american fashion, i myself ordered a coffee. i did however try the teas the girls were drinking and found that i quite liked them! these british girls are going to turn me into a tea drinker, one of these days! while wandering about, grace taught us some new korean phrases. i am up to around 15 these days...impressive, i know!
after tea, it was getting dark and we all had a lot of work to get done so we headed to the subway to get the train home. all in all, this was a fantastic weekend. the best part in it was when i discovered that i can now fit in my size 1 jeans!!! hooray! so, by all accounts, i have lost about 10 pounds since coming here. only a few more pounds (about an inch) and i will be back into my favorite jeans which are a zero! here's hoping! by the time i leave korea, i hope to be back to the same size i was when i started going to semo almost 5 years ago! wish me luck!
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