I am beyond busy! I don't think I quite knew what exactly I was getting myself into when I signed up for all of the stuff I did. The amount of classes does it, I think. I'm just going to type out my schedule...partially for you to understand exactly how crazy I am, but mostly for me to figure out how this happened.
Monday:
9:00 - 12:30 (Teaching)
12:30 - 1:00 (lunch)
1:00 - 2:20 (Hanging out with first grade teachers/lesson planning)
2:20 - 4:40 (Co-teaching 3 classes with Monica, the new foreign teacher)
4:40 - 5:10 (Walk to Guitar academy)
5:10 ~ 7:00 (Practice guitar)
7:00 - 7:45 (Walk to dance class)
8:00 - 9:00 Night Dance (Similar to Jazz dance/they call it club dancing)
Tuesday
9:00 - 12:30 (Teaching)
12:30 - 1:00 (lunch)
1:00 - 2:20 (Hanging out with 1st grade teachers/lesson planning)
3:30 - 4:10 (Teach a teachers' English class)
4:30 - 5:00 (Travel to Yonsei University)
5:10 - 6:00 (Korean language class)
6:15 - 6:30 (Wait for Carl and Ellen to finish their class/eat packed dinner)
6:30 - 7:30 (Take the bus to Lotte Cinema...get off and walk to guitar academy)
7:30 - 9:00 (Guitar practice)
9:00 ~ 9:45 (Walk to climbing gym)
9:45 - 11:00 (Climb)
Wednesday
9:00 - 12:30 (Teaching)
12:30 - 1:00 (lunch)
1:00 - 4:00 (Hanging out with 1st grade teachers/lesson planning/organizing my life)
4:00 - 5:00 (Take bus to Yonsei and hang out with Ellen)
5:10 - 6:00 (Korean language class)
6:00 - 6:30 (Wait for Ellen and Carl/eat packed dinner)
6:30 - 7:00 (Bus)
7:00 - 7:30 (Walk to dance class)
8:00 - 9:00 (Dance class)
9:15 - 10:45 (Guitar Practice)
Thursday
9:00 - 12:30 (Teaching)
12:30 - 1:00 (lunch)
1:00 - 2:20 (Hanging out with first grade teachers/lesson planning)
2:20 - 3:50 (Co-teaching 2 classes with Monica, the new foreign teacher)
4:00 - 4:40 (Teach a teachers' English class)
4:40 - 5:10 (Bus to Yonsei)
5:10 - 6:00 (Korean Language class)
6:15 - 6:30 (Wait for Carl and Ellen to finish their class/eat packed dinner)
6:30 - 7:30 (Take the bus to Lotte Cinema...get off and walk to guitar academy)
7:30 - 9:00 (Guitar practice)
9:00 ~ 9:45 (Walk to climbing gym)
9:45 - 11:00 (Climb)
Friday
9:00 - 12:30 (Teaching)
12:30 - 1:00 (lunch)
1:00 - ? (Hang out with the teachers)
7:15 - 7:50 (Walk to dance class)
8:00 - 9:00 (Dance class)
9:15 - 10:15 (English club discussion)
10:15 - ? (Hang out with English group)
I love walking, but it is definitely something I could do without if it would get me places faster. The problem with taking the bus is that it would get incredibly expensive. Two and from Yonsei for one day is ~$2.20. If I go to and from Yonsei and to and from my guitar lessons, that's $4.40/day, $22.00/week, $88/month. Too much! If I could get to Yonsei by walking, I would...it would take FOREVER though.
Anyway...that is my schedule. I partially did that so I could see if I could actually even fit in the climbing club. I think I may be able to. I'd hate to quit just like my friend said most foreigners do, but I don't have shoes or a harness and by the time I get there, I'm so exhausted because of everything else going on.
BTW...I moved up from beginner's level to intermediate as far as language classes go. I think intermediate suits me better, but I think I have a lot of catching up to do. When to study?
Anyway...I'm exhausted.
Peace out for now.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Feet Nibblin' Good! Mmm...
Intimidation. It has amazing power. I feel intimidated by a great many things, but I rarely allow that feeling to overwhelm to the point of not accomplishing something I want to accomplish. I'm afraid that this time it may get the best of me. I went to the climbing wall on Thursday night after I finished my guitar lesson, but I didn't climb because I don't have climbing shoes or a harness. I could have asked to borrow someone's, but once I was there, I realized that I was intimidated by that wall. There were people scaling it like professionals...and some of them are. ^_~ I told myself that I was going to stick with this for a month, and that, I'm going to do. I still have yet to buy shoes or a harness, but I'm sure I can at least borrow a harness. I'm not sure what will come of all this climbing jazz, but I know I will be angry at myself later if I allow the intimidation to control me now.
More to say about that later...
I was told on Wednesday by my co teacher that the boys (prepare yourselves for awkwardness) in my 6th grade classes have been talking about me...the way that 6th grade boys would talk about girls. Ugh...awkward and pretty much just gross. Anyway...enough of that.
Friday had a semi-stressful beginning. Some of my classes are starting to get noisier than I would like. I'm fine with some noise, but I just need to make sure it stays at a level I'm comfortable with. I'm frustrated because a number of the teachers in 6th grade said they would help me with anything I needed, yet they come to my class to sit down or sit at the back desk or to hang out at the back of the classroom without saying one word to the students. I have been told that some of my students cuss in my classes. My next step: Learn Korean cuss words and bust them since their homeroom teachers don't seem to be doing much about it. I shouted at one class, and I knew immediately after I did, I shouldn't have. It does no good, and it just hurts my throat.
Friday took a wonderful turn when I traveled to Seoul for the weekend. I got to see my dear friend Aimee Gerdes. I'm not sure if I explained how Aimee and I know each other or not. We met back in middle school during a band festival; our two middle schools plus one other joined to play as a mass group at the high school. I met Aimee at THAT festival. We re-discovered our friendship when we went to high school together, again when she attended Manchester College for 2 years (and I was her RA one of those years ^_~), and yet again when she recently came out to South Korea to teach music education at a Christian International School in Seoul. Goes to show just how randomly you may meet up with one of your friends post-schooling.^^
She and I hung out for a few hours before I had to make my way into inner-Itaewon (Aimee lives in Bongwadong, I believe) to Curry Town for a going away party for one of my friends, Maria. Maria is a volunteer at the House of Sharing. It was hard to see her go. I am in love with Curry Town though. It had been a while since I was able to go. There's just something about watching Bollywood music videos while eating spicy Indian food that I adore. Aimee and I met up afterward to head to Homo Hill (a known area for gay bars). Aimee doesn't like dancing, but we had fun just sitting, drinking, and talking. There was a hilarious guy named Craig who kept trying to get us to come into a dance club next to SoHo, the bar we were in. I forget the name of his friend, but he was an overweight, gay, Korean man who cracked me up. They were both so friendly.
Saturday, Aimee went to lunch with her landlord and some of the other girls she is living with from her int'l school. I stayed in and read over some of the material for tomorrow. Plus, it was pouring, and I had no desire to go outside. When Aimee got back we went to a Dr. Fish place, where fish eat the dead skin off of your feet. Sound gross?! Haha! There are large square tables that you can sit at and stick your feet into a square pool with fish who nibble at your feet while you drink coffee. The Turkish fish were small and more like a vibration on my feet while the Chinese fish were more like little woodpeckers pecking at my feet. They both tickeled, but the Chinese fish tickled a ton more. We hung out around Hongdae for a bit; I bought some nose rings (which I can't find now), and we grabbed a drink at some place I can't remember the name of but I remember the location. I've realized that the best way for me to go is to drink Korean Stout...black beer but cheap.^^ We headed back near Aimee's to grab a desk from a super nice couple, and we hung out for most of the night. We left for a bit to go eat at a small place down the road. Aimee freaked out about the squid in her soup...maybe after a few more months it won't phase her. It is strange when someone is weirded out by something that has become second nature to me: seeing squid, eating squid, eating whole fish with the heads on, watching children play ridiculously in the hallway (I just walk by these days), seeing alcohol in the office refrigerator at school, etc.
Sunday! Sunday was amazing! I almost blogged separately about Sunday! I gave my first full tour at the House of Sharing. There were only three volunteers, so Jyoung Ah came with me and added a few things here and there, but I was the leader.^^ I was incredibly intimidated by the thought of providing so many people with as much information as I had to tell them, especially considering the seriousness of the issue involving the "Comfort Women." The group was maybe the largest I have ever seen. We started advertising on Facebook, and it drew a huge crowd. Malcolm and I split it in half with each of us having a group of about 22 or so. The part I couldn't believe was how many compliments I got on the tour and how many offerings of appreciation. People were just so incredibly supportive even though I was just the person delivering the information. After I read a testimony of one of the elder ladies who has already passed away, a woman came up to me crying saying how much it touched her heart and expressing the emotions that come with hearing for the first time the details of the wretched life these women had to endure. She almost made me cry. It is hard for me to read it every time. Malcolm asked me that day if I was going to read it to the group and wished me luck when I confirmed that I would indeed. He knows how difficult it is for me to read it aloud and in general. Perhaps one day, I'll type up the testimony I keep mentioning to share a bit of my experiences as a volunteer at the House of Sharing with you, but even now as I think about it while writing this, I don't have the energy to post it at this time. After the museum tour, Aimee and I snuck in to sing karaoke with a Japanese group that was there at the same time as our HUGE group. It was a small group of guys and a few women. They had all flown in from Japan but some were Korean and some were Japanese; they are part of the Korean/Japanese Association. While the others went in to listen to 이옥선 (Lee Ok Seon) halmoni's testimony. I sat outside with Pae Chun Hee halmoni and a volunteer from Japan; she came over to translate between Korean and Japanese. She's studying Japanese in Japan these days, but she is originally from Seoul. I wish I could remember her name. She was so sweet. We had a short conversation in Korean. I feel like I can better carry a conversation in Korean these days!!^^ I still have a looooong way to go, but I definitely feel more confident than I did last year language-wise. I went back in for part of Lee Ok Seon halmoni's testimony; she always has something new to add. This day she was asked what her happiest time is since she experienced so many horrible times. Unfortunately, she said she has never had a happy time. I don't know if I entirely believe that, but of course she has had to live with the constant knowledge of what happened to her in those "comfort stations" by the Japanese soldiers.
I cannot express how grateful I am for the experience I have had at the House of Sharing. I have met so many wonderful people, I have learned so much valuable and important history, and I have been given the chance to be part of the living history of this movement.
More updates to come...
More to say about that later...
I was told on Wednesday by my co teacher that the boys (prepare yourselves for awkwardness) in my 6th grade classes have been talking about me...the way that 6th grade boys would talk about girls. Ugh...awkward and pretty much just gross. Anyway...enough of that.
Friday had a semi-stressful beginning. Some of my classes are starting to get noisier than I would like. I'm fine with some noise, but I just need to make sure it stays at a level I'm comfortable with. I'm frustrated because a number of the teachers in 6th grade said they would help me with anything I needed, yet they come to my class to sit down or sit at the back desk or to hang out at the back of the classroom without saying one word to the students. I have been told that some of my students cuss in my classes. My next step: Learn Korean cuss words and bust them since their homeroom teachers don't seem to be doing much about it. I shouted at one class, and I knew immediately after I did, I shouldn't have. It does no good, and it just hurts my throat.
Friday took a wonderful turn when I traveled to Seoul for the weekend. I got to see my dear friend Aimee Gerdes. I'm not sure if I explained how Aimee and I know each other or not. We met back in middle school during a band festival; our two middle schools plus one other joined to play as a mass group at the high school. I met Aimee at THAT festival. We re-discovered our friendship when we went to high school together, again when she attended Manchester College for 2 years (and I was her RA one of those years ^_~), and yet again when she recently came out to South Korea to teach music education at a Christian International School in Seoul. Goes to show just how randomly you may meet up with one of your friends post-schooling.^^
She and I hung out for a few hours before I had to make my way into inner-Itaewon (Aimee lives in Bongwadong, I believe) to Curry Town for a going away party for one of my friends, Maria. Maria is a volunteer at the House of Sharing. It was hard to see her go. I am in love with Curry Town though. It had been a while since I was able to go. There's just something about watching Bollywood music videos while eating spicy Indian food that I adore. Aimee and I met up afterward to head to Homo Hill (a known area for gay bars). Aimee doesn't like dancing, but we had fun just sitting, drinking, and talking. There was a hilarious guy named Craig who kept trying to get us to come into a dance club next to SoHo, the bar we were in. I forget the name of his friend, but he was an overweight, gay, Korean man who cracked me up. They were both so friendly.
Saturday, Aimee went to lunch with her landlord and some of the other girls she is living with from her int'l school. I stayed in and read over some of the material for tomorrow. Plus, it was pouring, and I had no desire to go outside. When Aimee got back we went to a Dr. Fish place, where fish eat the dead skin off of your feet. Sound gross?! Haha! There are large square tables that you can sit at and stick your feet into a square pool with fish who nibble at your feet while you drink coffee. The Turkish fish were small and more like a vibration on my feet while the Chinese fish were more like little woodpeckers pecking at my feet. They both tickeled, but the Chinese fish tickled a ton more. We hung out around Hongdae for a bit; I bought some nose rings (which I can't find now), and we grabbed a drink at some place I can't remember the name of but I remember the location. I've realized that the best way for me to go is to drink Korean Stout...black beer but cheap.^^ We headed back near Aimee's to grab a desk from a super nice couple, and we hung out for most of the night. We left for a bit to go eat at a small place down the road. Aimee freaked out about the squid in her soup...maybe after a few more months it won't phase her. It is strange when someone is weirded out by something that has become second nature to me: seeing squid, eating squid, eating whole fish with the heads on, watching children play ridiculously in the hallway (I just walk by these days), seeing alcohol in the office refrigerator at school, etc.
Sunday! Sunday was amazing! I almost blogged separately about Sunday! I gave my first full tour at the House of Sharing. There were only three volunteers, so Jyoung Ah came with me and added a few things here and there, but I was the leader.^^ I was incredibly intimidated by the thought of providing so many people with as much information as I had to tell them, especially considering the seriousness of the issue involving the "Comfort Women." The group was maybe the largest I have ever seen. We started advertising on Facebook, and it drew a huge crowd. Malcolm and I split it in half with each of us having a group of about 22 or so. The part I couldn't believe was how many compliments I got on the tour and how many offerings of appreciation. People were just so incredibly supportive even though I was just the person delivering the information. After I read a testimony of one of the elder ladies who has already passed away, a woman came up to me crying saying how much it touched her heart and expressing the emotions that come with hearing for the first time the details of the wretched life these women had to endure. She almost made me cry. It is hard for me to read it every time. Malcolm asked me that day if I was going to read it to the group and wished me luck when I confirmed that I would indeed. He knows how difficult it is for me to read it aloud and in general. Perhaps one day, I'll type up the testimony I keep mentioning to share a bit of my experiences as a volunteer at the House of Sharing with you, but even now as I think about it while writing this, I don't have the energy to post it at this time. After the museum tour, Aimee and I snuck in to sing karaoke with a Japanese group that was there at the same time as our HUGE group. It was a small group of guys and a few women. They had all flown in from Japan but some were Korean and some were Japanese; they are part of the Korean/Japanese Association. While the others went in to listen to 이옥선 (Lee Ok Seon) halmoni's testimony. I sat outside with Pae Chun Hee halmoni and a volunteer from Japan; she came over to translate between Korean and Japanese. She's studying Japanese in Japan these days, but she is originally from Seoul. I wish I could remember her name. She was so sweet. We had a short conversation in Korean. I feel like I can better carry a conversation in Korean these days!!^^ I still have a looooong way to go, but I definitely feel more confident than I did last year language-wise. I went back in for part of Lee Ok Seon halmoni's testimony; she always has something new to add. This day she was asked what her happiest time is since she experienced so many horrible times. Unfortunately, she said she has never had a happy time. I don't know if I entirely believe that, but of course she has had to live with the constant knowledge of what happened to her in those "comfort stations" by the Japanese soldiers.
I cannot express how grateful I am for the experience I have had at the House of Sharing. I have met so many wonderful people, I have learned so much valuable and important history, and I have been given the chance to be part of the living history of this movement.
More updates to come...
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Chusok - Tuesday September 16, 2008
I spent this past weekend in Gangneung with a Korean friend/my co teacher. I came home with her for Chusok. Chusok is the Korean form of Thanksgiving. They return to their homes, spend time with their families, give thanks for the harvest, and worship their ancestors. Hae-In's family is so nice. I especially love her mom!
We got in late on Friday night, but on Saturday Hae-In took me all around Gangneung. We went to a traditional house and a museum designed for a soldier and his mom (both were important during the Joseon dynasty). The mother is actually going to be the figure on the new 50,000 Won bill. As of now, the largest bill in Korea is only a 10,000 which equates to about $10. So I'm pretty excited about the 50,000s. We ate Shabu Shabu for dinner and then met up with some of Hae-In's friends whom she has known for years. They were all so friendly. We started at a bar with only four of us (Hae-In, Na-Bi, Hae-Seon, and me), then two more showed up (Byeong-Yun and Eun-Jeong), then we changed bars, then Hae In's boyfriend (Kyeong-Pae) showed up (first time I've ever gotten to meet him), then we changed bars again, then we went to karaoke, two more people came (one was Tae-Ho and I don't remember the name of the other guy), and then we finally ended up at the same coffee shop where we started the day. It was an amazing day!
Sunday was more of a relaxed day. We got up early and ate breakfast. It was so nice to be able to eat home-cooked Korean food again! I went with the family for Seong Myo, which is a bowing and food offering in order to worship their ancestors. Usually on Chusok, the man's parents' tombs or the man's family's tombs are visited. Hae-In told me that she doesn't remember a time when she visited her mother's parents' tombs. Sometimes families visit more than one set of tombs but only if they are in close vicinity. There are three "foods" needed in order to worship one's ancestors. Hae-In's father told me that there are Chinese characters representing those three things, JuKwaAw (maybe). I can't remember the last character...only what it stands for. Ju means alcohol (soju), Kwa stands for fruit (Kwa-Il), and the last character stands for dried squid. It was only a 10 minute hike up to the tombs, but Hae-In kept saying (Stomach hurts, difficult, stomach hurts). Haha! To be fair, she ended up not feeling well the rest of the day. After we went back to the apartment, her parents went hiking, and we hung out for most of the day just at the apt. We went to her aunt's apt for dinner. AMAZING! The food was A-M-azing! When we left there, we went to meet Hae-In's senior (just meaning that he's older than her...by like 8 years) and Ji-Hee. Ji-Hee is our friend who we go to dance classes with and we all went to movies together last year. She lives in Gangneung as well.
On Monday, we ate breakfast, hung out at the apt, ate lunch at the apt...Hae-In still wasn't feeling well. She felt bad that we weren't getting out and doing anything, but we had a pretty full weekend as it was. ^_~ We ended up meeting up with Hae-In's boyfriend to get coffee and hang out on the beach. He was getting ready to head back to Seoul. They barely seem like a "couple." They are very independent people which seems to be odd for Korea. Some of his friends think she is a bad girlfriend because she likes to travel instead of stay in Korea during his vacations, but he understands that she has a life outside of their relationship. Afterward, Hae-In and I met up with Eun-Jeong and Na-Bi and went to a different beach. It's a place where a drama was once filmed, and after it was filmed, the area built up and it's not nearly as peaceful as it once was. There is a giant hour glass that was inspired by the drama that fills up with sand everyday and after 365 days, it flips over and starts again. The four of us ate MakGukSu (cold spicy noodle soup) for dinner and then went with Eun-Jeong back to her place. She had to pack to head back to Seoul. I decided to go back tonight so Hae-In wouldn't feel like she would have to hurry home tomorrow. Hae-In, Na-Bi, and I went for coffee AGAIN at the Clarinet before my bus came.
Tuesday, I slept in for the first time this holiday! Then I bummed around until I got up the energy to walk to guitar lessons. I wandered around until it was time to meet Madeleine near the Pizza Hut in Tangaedong. I wanted to check out the indoor rock climbing place. Oh boy! It's hella hard! The people were so nice and they tried to show me what to do. After a while, I kind of got the hang of it. I think I'm going to stick with it for a while. The first time I tried it, I thought "NO WAY!" But Madeleine told me that a lot of foreigners come to the club once or twice and then quit. I don't want to be that person. It's amazingly hard, but I'm going to try to stick with it for a month and see how it goes.
Peace out.
We got in late on Friday night, but on Saturday Hae-In took me all around Gangneung. We went to a traditional house and a museum designed for a soldier and his mom (both were important during the Joseon dynasty). The mother is actually going to be the figure on the new 50,000 Won bill. As of now, the largest bill in Korea is only a 10,000 which equates to about $10. So I'm pretty excited about the 50,000s. We ate Shabu Shabu for dinner and then met up with some of Hae-In's friends whom she has known for years. They were all so friendly. We started at a bar with only four of us (Hae-In, Na-Bi, Hae-Seon, and me), then two more showed up (Byeong-Yun and Eun-Jeong), then we changed bars, then Hae In's boyfriend (Kyeong-Pae) showed up (first time I've ever gotten to meet him), then we changed bars again, then we went to karaoke, two more people came (one was Tae-Ho and I don't remember the name of the other guy), and then we finally ended up at the same coffee shop where we started the day. It was an amazing day!
Sunday was more of a relaxed day. We got up early and ate breakfast. It was so nice to be able to eat home-cooked Korean food again! I went with the family for Seong Myo, which is a bowing and food offering in order to worship their ancestors. Usually on Chusok, the man's parents' tombs or the man's family's tombs are visited. Hae-In told me that she doesn't remember a time when she visited her mother's parents' tombs. Sometimes families visit more than one set of tombs but only if they are in close vicinity. There are three "foods" needed in order to worship one's ancestors. Hae-In's father told me that there are Chinese characters representing those three things, JuKwaAw (maybe). I can't remember the last character...only what it stands for. Ju means alcohol (soju), Kwa stands for fruit (Kwa-Il), and the last character stands for dried squid. It was only a 10 minute hike up to the tombs, but Hae-In kept saying (Stomach hurts, difficult, stomach hurts). Haha! To be fair, she ended up not feeling well the rest of the day. After we went back to the apartment, her parents went hiking, and we hung out for most of the day just at the apt. We went to her aunt's apt for dinner. AMAZING! The food was A-M-azing! When we left there, we went to meet Hae-In's senior (just meaning that he's older than her...by like 8 years) and Ji-Hee. Ji-Hee is our friend who we go to dance classes with and we all went to movies together last year. She lives in Gangneung as well.
On Monday, we ate breakfast, hung out at the apt, ate lunch at the apt...Hae-In still wasn't feeling well. She felt bad that we weren't getting out and doing anything, but we had a pretty full weekend as it was. ^_~ We ended up meeting up with Hae-In's boyfriend to get coffee and hang out on the beach. He was getting ready to head back to Seoul. They barely seem like a "couple." They are very independent people which seems to be odd for Korea. Some of his friends think she is a bad girlfriend because she likes to travel instead of stay in Korea during his vacations, but he understands that she has a life outside of their relationship. Afterward, Hae-In and I met up with Eun-Jeong and Na-Bi and went to a different beach. It's a place where a drama was once filmed, and after it was filmed, the area built up and it's not nearly as peaceful as it once was. There is a giant hour glass that was inspired by the drama that fills up with sand everyday and after 365 days, it flips over and starts again. The four of us ate MakGukSu (cold spicy noodle soup) for dinner and then went with Eun-Jeong back to her place. She had to pack to head back to Seoul. I decided to go back tonight so Hae-In wouldn't feel like she would have to hurry home tomorrow. Hae-In, Na-Bi, and I went for coffee AGAIN at the Clarinet before my bus came.
Tuesday, I slept in for the first time this holiday! Then I bummed around until I got up the energy to walk to guitar lessons. I wandered around until it was time to meet Madeleine near the Pizza Hut in Tangaedong. I wanted to check out the indoor rock climbing place. Oh boy! It's hella hard! The people were so nice and they tried to show me what to do. After a while, I kind of got the hang of it. I think I'm going to stick with it for a while. The first time I tried it, I thought "NO WAY!" But Madeleine told me that a lot of foreigners come to the club once or twice and then quit. I don't want to be that person. It's amazingly hard, but I'm going to try to stick with it for a month and see how it goes.
Peace out.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Generosity - Friday September 12, 2008
Besides being obsessed with Bengali music, I am pretty darn happy.
Quick week update...for last week.
It's going to get harder and harder to keep my blog up to date. I don't feel like I'm involved in that much, but apparently I am busier than I realize at times. I leave at 8AM and find myself not spending more than a few minutes at home between the time I leave and the time I get home, usually 13 hours later.
Ugh...I'm getting worse and worse about updating and by the time I find time to update, I don't remember half of the stuff that happened.
Ok, let's start with the incredibly generosity I have experienced this past week! Ellen, this amazing woman that I met last year through her volunteering in the English Village cares for me as if I were her daughter. She is married to an incredible man named Carl. Carl is a professor at Yonsei University in Wonju; he teaches history and an English grammar class. The two of them have been married for less than a year now, but moved to Korea immediately after they were married. The economy in the states is so horrible for professors that they decided coming to Korea would be the best opportunity for Carl to get a professor position. Ellen isn't working at this time, but she is volunteering at the English Village in my school. Last year Hae In and I went over there for homemade pizza. Anyway, I saw Ellen for the first time on Thursday since this summer. I am hoping to join a Korean class at Yonsei University that Carl is a part of. I have been corresponding with both of them regarding the class since this summer. Ellen told me more about it and that registrating is next week. She told me that if I can't afford to pay the $200, she and Carl will pay for me. I was immediately overwhelmed with the kindness that this couple has and continues to show me. They are just so amazing! They really want me to take the class because it is something that I want to do in order to feel more a part of Korean culture. I think I should pay for the class, but just the fact that they offered means the world to me. Her request of me if they did pay for the class for me: Pay it forward.
The same day, my best teacher friend gave me a ton of food to take home with me. She knows that I love Korean food and it has been hard living on my own and not knowing how to make Korean food yet, so she gave me some kimchi and whatnot that was brought in by parents for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). When she told the mom who brought the kimchi in that it was going to me, the mom said that I could go ahead and keep the tupperware because I would probably need them in my new place.
The same teacher friend also paid for me to go to the movies with the other first grade teachers on Wednesday even though I am no longer an official member of the first grade office. We went to see Mama Mia together. I had already seen it, but seeing it with them in theatre was much better than streaming it on my computer at home. ^_~ Plus, it was really fun to watch the movie with 6 women. If you've seen the movie, maybe you understand what I mean.
I went out with my host family for dinner on Thursday night. I asked if I could invite Monica (the new afterschool TaLK English teacher) to go along. We all went to Sorento, a super delicious Italian restaurant near Lotte Cinema. They have a gorgonzola pizza with potato chips on top, and it quite possibly may be the best pizza ever...well at least that I've had in Korea! ^_~
I was so amazed and appreciative of the kindness I've been shown this week. I am so fortunate to have people like this in my life.
Quick week update...for last week.
It's going to get harder and harder to keep my blog up to date. I don't feel like I'm involved in that much, but apparently I am busier than I realize at times. I leave at 8AM and find myself not spending more than a few minutes at home between the time I leave and the time I get home, usually 13 hours later.
Ugh...I'm getting worse and worse about updating and by the time I find time to update, I don't remember half of the stuff that happened.
Ok, let's start with the incredibly generosity I have experienced this past week! Ellen, this amazing woman that I met last year through her volunteering in the English Village cares for me as if I were her daughter. She is married to an incredible man named Carl. Carl is a professor at Yonsei University in Wonju; he teaches history and an English grammar class. The two of them have been married for less than a year now, but moved to Korea immediately after they were married. The economy in the states is so horrible for professors that they decided coming to Korea would be the best opportunity for Carl to get a professor position. Ellen isn't working at this time, but she is volunteering at the English Village in my school. Last year Hae In and I went over there for homemade pizza. Anyway, I saw Ellen for the first time on Thursday since this summer. I am hoping to join a Korean class at Yonsei University that Carl is a part of. I have been corresponding with both of them regarding the class since this summer. Ellen told me more about it and that registrating is next week. She told me that if I can't afford to pay the $200, she and Carl will pay for me. I was immediately overwhelmed with the kindness that this couple has and continues to show me. They are just so amazing! They really want me to take the class because it is something that I want to do in order to feel more a part of Korean culture. I think I should pay for the class, but just the fact that they offered means the world to me. Her request of me if they did pay for the class for me: Pay it forward.
The same day, my best teacher friend gave me a ton of food to take home with me. She knows that I love Korean food and it has been hard living on my own and not knowing how to make Korean food yet, so she gave me some kimchi and whatnot that was brought in by parents for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). When she told the mom who brought the kimchi in that it was going to me, the mom said that I could go ahead and keep the tupperware because I would probably need them in my new place.
The same teacher friend also paid for me to go to the movies with the other first grade teachers on Wednesday even though I am no longer an official member of the first grade office. We went to see Mama Mia together. I had already seen it, but seeing it with them in theatre was much better than streaming it on my computer at home. ^_~ Plus, it was really fun to watch the movie with 6 women. If you've seen the movie, maybe you understand what I mean.
I went out with my host family for dinner on Thursday night. I asked if I could invite Monica (the new afterschool TaLK English teacher) to go along. We all went to Sorento, a super delicious Italian restaurant near Lotte Cinema. They have a gorgonzola pizza with potato chips on top, and it quite possibly may be the best pizza ever...well at least that I've had in Korea! ^_~
I was so amazed and appreciative of the kindness I've been shown this week. I am so fortunate to have people like this in my life.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Life Church - Sunday September 7, 2008
Today was incredible!
For over a year now, I have been trying to find a church that suits me. I may have found that today...
A little bit of back-story: A few foreign guys who also attend who created a bible study and go to church together. They do bible study every Tuesday and Thursday. They broke off from the church in Wonju and started going to this church called Life Church in Suwon (about an hour drive away) every other Sunday.
I decided to try out Bible study on Thursday, but I decided that it wasn't for me. I also went to church with a van full of people. In the van, we had Seul-Gi (the Korean 27 year old owner of the coffee shop where Bible study meets), Seul-Gi's mother and father, Tim (a married Korean man who spent half of his life in Malaysia), a Korean boy who ended up being one of my students (semi-awkward, but I got over it), the boy's mother, CJ (a 40-something South African man who used to be a youth pastor), a South African woman who is CJ's friend, Dovedon (a married 27 year old Mongolian man who is here working in a factory to send money back home to his family), Biliom (a 37 year old Bangladeshi man who is here working as a pathologist at a local hospital and putting himself through school while his wife and daughter are back home), and Brandon (a 23 year old Minnesota country boy).
We were a little late to the service because we had to turn around and pick up the boy and his mother when we were already 15 minutes outside of Wonju. We still made it for most of the praise portion which is my favorite part. I especially enjoyed this church's style of praise; we sang one verse in English and the next in Korean. It was a good way to practice my Korean reading. The message was about allowing our "inner-life" to become our "outer-life." In other words, allowing the breaking of our outer shells in order for the life to be shown that God wants for us.
I haven't written about my beliefs on this blog, and I believe it will remain that way. I consider my religious beliefs to be a very personal aspect of who I am. I am very open in speaking about them, but refuse to do so on such a public forum as this where judgment can spawn much faster than a conversation.
I can't tell yet for sure or not, but this church feels like a pretty good fit for me.
There was an amazing Sunday buffet for the congregation. We ate and mingled until it was time to head back to Wonju. On the ride home, something inspiring and eye opening occurred...I realized just how diverse of surroundings I was in. We realized this as we were playing a game in which the person who lost had to sing a song. Biliom sang a song in Bengali, CJ's friend sang a South African children's song, Brandon sang a Norwegian folk song, Dovedon sang a song in Russian, and the young Korean boy sang a WestLife, an Irish pop band from the UK, song. How incredible is that? If they had forced me to sing, I was going to sing a Kenyan praise song I learned back when I was in the village of Naramoru. Luckily they didn't make me sing though. ^_~
That reminds me! I met a woman from Kenya the other day. She was from Nairobi. I asked her if she knew of a small village named Naramoru and told her that I have a host family there. She said she knows of the place. I wanted to pack up and go back to Kenya immediately after that encounter. I miss it more than I could ever possibly describe and the eagerness to return grows exponentially every time I am reminded of its beauty.
Alas, I did not pack up, and I am not now in Kenya. I am, however, in Korea and learning how to deal with this new life of mine. I wouldn't have it any other way... even if I do occasionally curse certain aspects of life when chatting with any one of you.
I fell asleep ridiculously early this night and woke up at 9PM only to remain awake until 5AM.
Lesson for the day: Just because I came to Korea to learn about Korea doesn't mean that I can't learn about a zillion other cultures along the way. ^_~
For over a year now, I have been trying to find a church that suits me. I may have found that today...
A little bit of back-story: A few foreign guys who also attend who created a bible study and go to church together. They do bible study every Tuesday and Thursday. They broke off from the church in Wonju and started going to this church called Life Church in Suwon (about an hour drive away) every other Sunday.
I decided to try out Bible study on Thursday, but I decided that it wasn't for me. I also went to church with a van full of people. In the van, we had Seul-Gi (the Korean 27 year old owner of the coffee shop where Bible study meets), Seul-Gi's mother and father, Tim (a married Korean man who spent half of his life in Malaysia), a Korean boy who ended up being one of my students (semi-awkward, but I got over it), the boy's mother, CJ (a 40-something South African man who used to be a youth pastor), a South African woman who is CJ's friend, Dovedon (a married 27 year old Mongolian man who is here working in a factory to send money back home to his family), Biliom (a 37 year old Bangladeshi man who is here working as a pathologist at a local hospital and putting himself through school while his wife and daughter are back home), and Brandon (a 23 year old Minnesota country boy).
We were a little late to the service because we had to turn around and pick up the boy and his mother when we were already 15 minutes outside of Wonju. We still made it for most of the praise portion which is my favorite part. I especially enjoyed this church's style of praise; we sang one verse in English and the next in Korean. It was a good way to practice my Korean reading. The message was about allowing our "inner-life" to become our "outer-life." In other words, allowing the breaking of our outer shells in order for the life to be shown that God wants for us.
I haven't written about my beliefs on this blog, and I believe it will remain that way. I consider my religious beliefs to be a very personal aspect of who I am. I am very open in speaking about them, but refuse to do so on such a public forum as this where judgment can spawn much faster than a conversation.
I can't tell yet for sure or not, but this church feels like a pretty good fit for me.
There was an amazing Sunday buffet for the congregation. We ate and mingled until it was time to head back to Wonju. On the ride home, something inspiring and eye opening occurred...I realized just how diverse of surroundings I was in. We realized this as we were playing a game in which the person who lost had to sing a song. Biliom sang a song in Bengali, CJ's friend sang a South African children's song, Brandon sang a Norwegian folk song, Dovedon sang a song in Russian, and the young Korean boy sang a WestLife, an Irish pop band from the UK, song. How incredible is that? If they had forced me to sing, I was going to sing a Kenyan praise song I learned back when I was in the village of Naramoru. Luckily they didn't make me sing though. ^_~
That reminds me! I met a woman from Kenya the other day. She was from Nairobi. I asked her if she knew of a small village named Naramoru and told her that I have a host family there. She said she knows of the place. I wanted to pack up and go back to Kenya immediately after that encounter. I miss it more than I could ever possibly describe and the eagerness to return grows exponentially every time I am reminded of its beauty.
Alas, I did not pack up, and I am not now in Kenya. I am, however, in Korea and learning how to deal with this new life of mine. I wouldn't have it any other way... even if I do occasionally curse certain aspects of life when chatting with any one of you.
I fell asleep ridiculously early this night and woke up at 9PM only to remain awake until 5AM.
Lesson for the day: Just because I came to Korea to learn about Korea doesn't mean that I can't learn about a zillion other cultures along the way. ^_~
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Life *sigh* - Saturday September 6, 2008
The confusion that was my life is slowly starting to clear just as the river in the old part of my neighborhood did when people stopped polluting it.
My life in Korea for the second year around took an incredibly twisted approach to informing me that it was time for a change.
In regards to my school life, apart from living in the same city and teaching at the same school, things couldn't possibly be any more different than had I specifically planned for them to be. I am teaching the complete opposite side of the spectrum grade-wise, a brand new curriculum, there will be 10 new co-teachers, and I'll be teaching 5 more (soon to be even more) hours than last year...I feel as though there should be a partridge in a pear tree somewhere in this lineup.
Though I found all of this out just 4 days before I was to hop off the 100 foot tower into the 8 ounce glass of water in this three ring circus missing its ring leader, everything is going ok.
I think in being away from Korea for a month and a half, I temporarily strayed from the utterly flexible life that is necessary in order to live in any foreign country...and in my case, Korea. My school will never run smoothly. This is a given. I will not always get my way at the school. This has been proven. But what I am working to find my way back to currently, is my sense of survival. I will be fine no matter what I have to face. It is hard to see the needle in the haystack, especially when it is sticking you in the eye. The hay being the piles and piles of miscommunication and confusion that was dropped on my head and the key to sanity being the needle. Attitude. Every situation is about attitude. I can control every situation by the power I give it to affect me.
Ok...anyway...things are going well.
I'm almost completely settled into my apartment. I finally got my closet/wardrobe, so I was able to unpack my suitcases. It'll be nice not to live out of suitcases anymore. Although, now, I can't find anywhere to put my suitcases. There is no storage in my apartment whatsoever. I'll post pics on facebook one of these days when I get a free moment. I am one of those people who can't really feel settled in a place if I can still see suitcases and boxes lying around. I'm working on a method to remedy the situation.
I have internet now as well! This is why I can FINALLY update my blog. I will try hard to write in my blog a few times a week. At one point, it was every day. It can't be that way this year. I can almost guarantee I won't have time. I'm picking up extra classes to make a little bit more money this year for extra expenses now that I'm living on my own. Ex. Food, Internet, Heat, Water, Electricity, etc etc etc.
Living alone financially sucks, but I'm loving the independence!
Teaching the first week of sixth graders went well. I like them a lot more than I thought I would. However, in saying that, I also have to remember that this was the first week and we only did introductions. When I actually have to teach English, we'll see how well they behave. ^_~
Highlights of my week:
1. A student stayed after to help me clean up (we made nametags in class this week). As he was leaving, he said, "Take care, Stashi." Adorable!
2. A sixth grade teacher complimented me on my teaching style and told me that he learned many teaching methods by observing my class!^^
I went to the International Tattoo Festival on Friday with my co-teacher Hae In. Initially we were going to have to sit on the steps because we got standing room only tickets, but this man was nice enough to give us two extra tickets he had! The International Marching Band festival is only every other year, so I didn't get to see it last year. There were bands from Thailand, Canada, the US, Australia, and many from Korea. There was singing, dancing, marching, etc etc etc! At the end of the 3 hours show, Jewelry, a Korean girl group, performed! I learned a dance to one of their songs, "Baby One More Time," last year in Jazz Dance!
Random thought: As I lie here in bed, I feel like I am home. Not like home in Wonju...like home in South Bend. I hear the crickets and the occasional car drive by and I feel the comfort of my room and my bed next to the window and I feel..at home.
Anyway, after the festival, Hae In and I went to Jjoki Jjoki to meet up with the English club group. We have to meet there now because our Makoli bar moved to a different district. Sad!!! I don't care for Jjoki Jjoki, but we don't have many choices for as big of group as we are. I met many new Korean members and talked to them until we moved to a third round. Hae In and I took a pit stop at Kimbap Nara around midnight to get some food since neither of us had had dinner yet. We were out until 3 or so.
Backing up...last weekend, I went back to the Sharing House for the first time in a maybe two months. It was so awesome to be back. Lee Ok Sun halmoni talked to us for almost and hour and a half about her experiences in the comfort station. Malcolm gave the tour this time; I'm still trying to work myself up to being confident enough to give a full tour. I hung out with some of the other halmoni in the house for a while. We watched the discovery channel, I believe. One of the halmonis, we call the "Beautiful" halmoni because she always has makeup and a wig on. I think I confuse her; sometimes I speak Japanese to her and sometimes I speak Korean. She likes Japanese better because she lived there so long, but my Korean ability is quickly surpassing/has surpassed my ability to pull the long forgotten and unused Japanese words from my brain.
I have to stop there...tired...getting up early tomorrow. It's 4AM, so I guess I'm getting up early today. Bummer!
Write again soon!
Peace out!
-Title of this blog is in reference to a chapel talk from MC.
My life in Korea for the second year around took an incredibly twisted approach to informing me that it was time for a change.
In regards to my school life, apart from living in the same city and teaching at the same school, things couldn't possibly be any more different than had I specifically planned for them to be. I am teaching the complete opposite side of the spectrum grade-wise, a brand new curriculum, there will be 10 new co-teachers, and I'll be teaching 5 more (soon to be even more) hours than last year...I feel as though there should be a partridge in a pear tree somewhere in this lineup.
Though I found all of this out just 4 days before I was to hop off the 100 foot tower into the 8 ounce glass of water in this three ring circus missing its ring leader, everything is going ok.
I think in being away from Korea for a month and a half, I temporarily strayed from the utterly flexible life that is necessary in order to live in any foreign country...and in my case, Korea. My school will never run smoothly. This is a given. I will not always get my way at the school. This has been proven. But what I am working to find my way back to currently, is my sense of survival. I will be fine no matter what I have to face. It is hard to see the needle in the haystack, especially when it is sticking you in the eye. The hay being the piles and piles of miscommunication and confusion that was dropped on my head and the key to sanity being the needle. Attitude. Every situation is about attitude. I can control every situation by the power I give it to affect me.
Ok...anyway...things are going well.
I'm almost completely settled into my apartment. I finally got my closet/wardrobe, so I was able to unpack my suitcases. It'll be nice not to live out of suitcases anymore. Although, now, I can't find anywhere to put my suitcases. There is no storage in my apartment whatsoever. I'll post pics on facebook one of these days when I get a free moment. I am one of those people who can't really feel settled in a place if I can still see suitcases and boxes lying around. I'm working on a method to remedy the situation.
I have internet now as well! This is why I can FINALLY update my blog. I will try hard to write in my blog a few times a week. At one point, it was every day. It can't be that way this year. I can almost guarantee I won't have time. I'm picking up extra classes to make a little bit more money this year for extra expenses now that I'm living on my own. Ex. Food, Internet, Heat, Water, Electricity, etc etc etc.
Living alone financially sucks, but I'm loving the independence!
Teaching the first week of sixth graders went well. I like them a lot more than I thought I would. However, in saying that, I also have to remember that this was the first week and we only did introductions. When I actually have to teach English, we'll see how well they behave. ^_~
Highlights of my week:
1. A student stayed after to help me clean up (we made nametags in class this week). As he was leaving, he said, "Take care, Stashi." Adorable!
2. A sixth grade teacher complimented me on my teaching style and told me that he learned many teaching methods by observing my class!^^
I went to the International Tattoo Festival on Friday with my co-teacher Hae In. Initially we were going to have to sit on the steps because we got standing room only tickets, but this man was nice enough to give us two extra tickets he had! The International Marching Band festival is only every other year, so I didn't get to see it last year. There were bands from Thailand, Canada, the US, Australia, and many from Korea. There was singing, dancing, marching, etc etc etc! At the end of the 3 hours show, Jewelry, a Korean girl group, performed! I learned a dance to one of their songs, "Baby One More Time," last year in Jazz Dance!
Random thought: As I lie here in bed, I feel like I am home. Not like home in Wonju...like home in South Bend. I hear the crickets and the occasional car drive by and I feel the comfort of my room and my bed next to the window and I feel..at home.
Anyway, after the festival, Hae In and I went to Jjoki Jjoki to meet up with the English club group. We have to meet there now because our Makoli bar moved to a different district. Sad!!! I don't care for Jjoki Jjoki, but we don't have many choices for as big of group as we are. I met many new Korean members and talked to them until we moved to a third round. Hae In and I took a pit stop at Kimbap Nara around midnight to get some food since neither of us had had dinner yet. We were out until 3 or so.
Backing up...last weekend, I went back to the Sharing House for the first time in a maybe two months. It was so awesome to be back. Lee Ok Sun halmoni talked to us for almost and hour and a half about her experiences in the comfort station. Malcolm gave the tour this time; I'm still trying to work myself up to being confident enough to give a full tour. I hung out with some of the other halmoni in the house for a while. We watched the discovery channel, I believe. One of the halmonis, we call the "Beautiful" halmoni because she always has makeup and a wig on. I think I confuse her; sometimes I speak Japanese to her and sometimes I speak Korean. She likes Japanese better because she lived there so long, but my Korean ability is quickly surpassing/has surpassed my ability to pull the long forgotten and unused Japanese words from my brain.
I have to stop there...tired...getting up early tomorrow. It's 4AM, so I guess I'm getting up early today. Bummer!
Write again soon!
Peace out!
-Title of this blog is in reference to a chapel talk from MC.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Even Jesus Hates MB
Let me give a little background on this picture. In Korea, there have been protests against the new South Korean president and about American beef import and oh so many other things revolving around and caused by Mr. Lee Myung Bak. He was elected in December, and though his approval ratings have improved slightly, at the peak of the protests in June, the president's approval rating bottomed out at a ridiculous 17%. If any of you read my blog back in the times of the beef crisis that was plaguing Korea, you may have more information pertaining to the hatred of this man. That being said, I would like your opinions on this picture. I'm refraining from posting my opinion until, hopefully, I hear from some loving admires of my blog. Being as that may be all of two people (that's a high estimate), I will eventually get around to discussing this picture further (even if it is for my own health).
Note 1: The president's nickname is MB and the sign reads "Even Jesus Hates MB."
Note 2: Another nickname for the president is 2MB (이, the president's last name, in Korean means 2). MB stands for Myung Bak. All together it means that he only has 2 megabytes of brain power.
Note 1: The president's nickname is MB and the sign reads "Even Jesus Hates MB."
Note 2: Another nickname for the president is 2MB (이, the president's last name, in Korean means 2). MB stands for Myung Bak. All together it means that he only has 2 megabytes of brain power.
Welcome Back >_< - Tuesday August 26, 2008
I'm back in Korea. It was a long trip to get here.
I met a Korean guy who is a few years older than me in the Chicago airport on the way over. His name is John Lee. As I sat sadly trying to access free internet, he was in the next chair over talking to his mom in Korea. So, when he asked me if I knew Korean, I assumed it was because I was chuckling throughout his conversation. No, it was because of the Korean lettering I have placed on my computer keyboard.^^ He and I talked for almost an hour, almost to the point of me missing my final boarding time. It was my first sign that I'm going to be ok in Korea for a second year. I have been doubting myself, my ability to spend another year abroad...another year abroad in the exact same location. I only started doubting after I had been home for so long. You know that saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." It's not always accurate. The longer I was away from home, the longer I wanted to be away from home. The longer I was in Korea, the longer I wanted to be in Korea. The longer I was at home, the more I didn't want to go back to Korea. Strange how that works.
When I finally arrived in Korea after two layovers and another 24 hours of travel, I took a bus home to Wonju....home. Then I took a taxi. I got home at 12AM and my family was all up waiting for me.^^ Well, except my host brother...I jumped on him to say hello and he promptly fell back asleep. The whole family was so excited to see me that it was a wonderful welcome back.
The day after I got home, I decided to make dinner for them. My mom and I had thought long and hard about what I could make without an oven that would be very much an American meal. We came up with Tuna Noodle Casserole, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Hominy. It doesn't get much more American than that. My host brother and sister helped me cook!! My host father loved it, my host mother liked it, I think my host brother thought it was ok but got "full" very quickly ^_~, and my host sister hated everything about it. Haha! She didn't like ANYTHING. The hominy she didn't like because it wasn't corn, and the mashed potatoes and tuna noodle casserole she said was too greasy (that may be a poor mistranslation). So, she didn't eat. That's ok though. Just like there are foods in Korea that I don't like, there are foods from America that she doesn't like. It's just the way the world/human palate works.
*Sidenote: I just found out that my host brother did a report about making "Tuna Pasta" with me. So cute!
We've gone out to eat twice since I got home. Once with the whole family and once yesterday. Yesterday we went out in the pouring rain to get Kal Mandu Guk, my favorite!
I had my first day of school today. It wasn't good. I think that may be the understatement of my year here. I got to school to hear a multitude of things that slowly one by one almost pushed me over the edge. I discovered that I wouldn't be teaching first and second graders first semester like I had originally thought, and that I would instead be teaching 6th grade all year. This certainly rings a bell similar to that of the crap that I was put through a few days before I was to start teaching in March of my last Fulbright year. The principal, of course, is the only one to make the final decisions and not only does she keep everything she's thinking in her head and hers alone, she's not going to be back at school until Friday. I'm supposed to start teaching on Monday. My best teacher friend is the one who filled me in on the very vague details of what is to be my next Fulbright year. There will also be a teacher doing a new after school program. It's a non-standardized program through the Korean government (Mr. Lee Myung Bak's idea). I believe the program is meant for poorer students who can't afford to go to English academy. She will teach three hours each day after school, with only 20 students per class, and my friend decided to point out that this new teacher will still make more than me. Which is to say, mildly frustrating. I'll be teaching 20 classes of 40 each week which is a 5 hour increase from last year.
In good news, I found out that my school did in fact find me an apartment. I'm surprised to say the least that the school didn't, however, inform my host family that they had found an apartment for me. Things are just screwy with communication...as in...there isn't any. I got to go look at my one room and it's pretty nice. It's bigger than what I thought it was going to be. I have a small living room with a built in kitchen, a bedroom, a small balcony with a washer, and a pretty nice bathroom!^^ I'm sad to leave my host family, but I'm hoping that we'll be able to visit each other. I told my host sis that we should have a slumber party...after a few minutes of explanation...and a few word changes here and there to come up with sleep over...she was super excited. I'm also trying to figure out that whole cooking for myself thing, but that'll come with time. ^_~
I found out about the hour bump after getting back from my new apartment. I decided to leave school because I was getting angrier and angrier by the second. I talked to my host mom when I got home. She's so amazing! It was nice to just be able to talk about it with someone. I talked to a few more friends about it online. When I'm angry, I talk. It'll probably get me in trouble one of these days.
After dinner, I sat around with my host sister while she showed me magic tricks and I tried to get her to do her homework before school starts tomorrow.
I met a Korean guy who is a few years older than me in the Chicago airport on the way over. His name is John Lee. As I sat sadly trying to access free internet, he was in the next chair over talking to his mom in Korea. So, when he asked me if I knew Korean, I assumed it was because I was chuckling throughout his conversation. No, it was because of the Korean lettering I have placed on my computer keyboard.^^ He and I talked for almost an hour, almost to the point of me missing my final boarding time. It was my first sign that I'm going to be ok in Korea for a second year. I have been doubting myself, my ability to spend another year abroad...another year abroad in the exact same location. I only started doubting after I had been home for so long. You know that saying, "Absence makes the heart grow fonder." It's not always accurate. The longer I was away from home, the longer I wanted to be away from home. The longer I was in Korea, the longer I wanted to be in Korea. The longer I was at home, the more I didn't want to go back to Korea. Strange how that works.
When I finally arrived in Korea after two layovers and another 24 hours of travel, I took a bus home to Wonju....home. Then I took a taxi. I got home at 12AM and my family was all up waiting for me.^^ Well, except my host brother...I jumped on him to say hello and he promptly fell back asleep. The whole family was so excited to see me that it was a wonderful welcome back.
The day after I got home, I decided to make dinner for them. My mom and I had thought long and hard about what I could make without an oven that would be very much an American meal. We came up with Tuna Noodle Casserole, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, and Hominy. It doesn't get much more American than that. My host brother and sister helped me cook!! My host father loved it, my host mother liked it, I think my host brother thought it was ok but got "full" very quickly ^_~, and my host sister hated everything about it. Haha! She didn't like ANYTHING. The hominy she didn't like because it wasn't corn, and the mashed potatoes and tuna noodle casserole she said was too greasy (that may be a poor mistranslation). So, she didn't eat. That's ok though. Just like there are foods in Korea that I don't like, there are foods from America that she doesn't like. It's just the way the world/human palate works.
*Sidenote: I just found out that my host brother did a report about making "Tuna Pasta" with me. So cute!
We've gone out to eat twice since I got home. Once with the whole family and once yesterday. Yesterday we went out in the pouring rain to get Kal Mandu Guk, my favorite!
I had my first day of school today. It wasn't good. I think that may be the understatement of my year here. I got to school to hear a multitude of things that slowly one by one almost pushed me over the edge. I discovered that I wouldn't be teaching first and second graders first semester like I had originally thought, and that I would instead be teaching 6th grade all year. This certainly rings a bell similar to that of the crap that I was put through a few days before I was to start teaching in March of my last Fulbright year. The principal, of course, is the only one to make the final decisions and not only does she keep everything she's thinking in her head and hers alone, she's not going to be back at school until Friday. I'm supposed to start teaching on Monday. My best teacher friend is the one who filled me in on the very vague details of what is to be my next Fulbright year. There will also be a teacher doing a new after school program. It's a non-standardized program through the Korean government (Mr. Lee Myung Bak's idea). I believe the program is meant for poorer students who can't afford to go to English academy. She will teach three hours each day after school, with only 20 students per class, and my friend decided to point out that this new teacher will still make more than me. Which is to say, mildly frustrating. I'll be teaching 20 classes of 40 each week which is a 5 hour increase from last year.
In good news, I found out that my school did in fact find me an apartment. I'm surprised to say the least that the school didn't, however, inform my host family that they had found an apartment for me. Things are just screwy with communication...as in...there isn't any. I got to go look at my one room and it's pretty nice. It's bigger than what I thought it was going to be. I have a small living room with a built in kitchen, a bedroom, a small balcony with a washer, and a pretty nice bathroom!^^ I'm sad to leave my host family, but I'm hoping that we'll be able to visit each other. I told my host sis that we should have a slumber party...after a few minutes of explanation...and a few word changes here and there to come up with sleep over...she was super excited. I'm also trying to figure out that whole cooking for myself thing, but that'll come with time. ^_~
I found out about the hour bump after getting back from my new apartment. I decided to leave school because I was getting angrier and angrier by the second. I talked to my host mom when I got home. She's so amazing! It was nice to just be able to talk about it with someone. I talked to a few more friends about it online. When I'm angry, I talk. It'll probably get me in trouble one of these days.
After dinner, I sat around with my host sister while she showed me magic tricks and I tried to get her to do her homework before school starts tomorrow.
Dot Dot Dot - Monday August 25, 2008
I think it’s about time I update everyone, including myself, with exactly what has been going on in my life the past month and a half. The last time I blogged, the topic was “Goodbye.” It was appropriate at the time, but has since lost its accuracy. I discovered a week after returning home that I would in fact be returning to my same school in Wonju instead of moving to Seoul like I had thought. To further explain, both the decision to move to Seoul and the actions of Fulbright came too late, and we were unable to secure a position at a school in Seoul after all.
Am I disappointed? I have been wondering this myself. The answer: Yes. I was scared to move, and I think anyone I talked to about the decision knew that I was scared. But I made the decision for a reason, and I wanted to stick with it. I get bored very easily; therefore, I constantly need new elements in my life. The hardest part to get used to about the way the situation turned out, is that I am now set to return to a school that I spent a full month trying to decide whether to leave or not and a full week saying goodbye to. Like everyone has told me, I’m sure the school and everyone else in Wonju who I’m close with will be happy to have me back. The idea, however, of returning to a school and a city I said goodbye to is something that I am still coming to terms with.
I know this is a backwards way of writing about my summer, but I’ve mostly been trying to sort out my feelings upon my return to Korea. Normally, I try not to think much about the transition from one place to another, but I’m finding it harder to leave the second time around. I wonder if I’m having trouble because I’ve been home so long. I didn’t admit this to many people, but I really didn’t want to come home. Again, I don’t know why. Maybe it was because in the back of my head I knew that if I came home, it would be hard to leave again or maybe I was nervous about facing my friends and family again after leading very different lives over the past year.
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Ok, so this is how awesome I have become at blogging. I started this a few nights ago and am now continuing it on the plane ride to Korea. I am currently on a 12 hour flight to Tokyo from Chicago. I can’t believe how fast a month and a half went. My whole family went to the airport to see me off despite having work today. Like I mentioned before, this goodbye seemed harder than the last. Perhaps because I understand how long a year is now or perhaps I spent the summer realizing just how much I missed everyone.
I feel closer to my family now. I’m not sure how that materialized over the summer, but I left wanting nothing more than to spend a few more days with them. I found myself trying harder than ever to get them to come see me this next year in Korea, but it seems quite out of the question. They asked me if I want to fly home over Christmas. My stepmom even suggested that the money that they would put toward flying to Korea, they could just give me to come home, but it’s not just about me seeing them. Anyone who has studied or traveled or lived abroad probably understands what I mean when I say, I want my family to see what my life has been like for the past year. I want them to see what I see in Korea. It has been hard for me to repeatedly hear that Korea isn’t exactly a tourist destination, Korea isn’t a place they want to visit, and that when I move to somewhere like New Zealand, Ireland, or Italy, they would be happy to visit me. I want to be able to refer to something and have my family semi-understand what I’m talking about, and I want them to see the beauty of Korea that so many people don’t take the time to see. Despite the fact that my family will probably never come to Korea, I cannot see myself going home for Christmas. That could always change though. I don’t even know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week, let alone 4 months from now. ^_~
That all aside, I had an amazing summer! I got to see so many amazing friends, and I spent quality time with my family. Some highlights: Hacienda with Ashley, Hanging out and talking with Faith for hours, Swimming with Geoff, Lester, and John at Lester’s house, Visiting Nick at the Peace House, CAB family and friends reunion in Indy, Visiting Megan in Plainfield with the surprise appearance of R and Mouse, Slipknot and Disturbed concert in Detroit with Baana and two amazing friends of his, Playing at the Prairie Vista playground for hours with Baana, Email, Ilya, and Kevin, Putt Putt and Sonic with Email, Kevin, and Ilya, Cancun with my mom and sister, Visiting so many wonderful people at Manchester (Steve, Jason, Mary, Laura, Adam, Colleen, Sarah, Kate, Heidi, Poe, Poe’s kitty, Matt, Al, Tish, Jesse, Ivan, Chris, and Heriju), Drinks and a movie with my amazing friend Glenn, My dad taking a very rare day off from work to hang out with me the day before I flew out, etc. I'm sure these memories will stand out even more over the next few weeks as I try to readjust myself to once again living in Korea.
I'm just going to stop here because I am now in Korea without every finishing this entry...
Am I disappointed? I have been wondering this myself. The answer: Yes. I was scared to move, and I think anyone I talked to about the decision knew that I was scared. But I made the decision for a reason, and I wanted to stick with it. I get bored very easily; therefore, I constantly need new elements in my life. The hardest part to get used to about the way the situation turned out, is that I am now set to return to a school that I spent a full month trying to decide whether to leave or not and a full week saying goodbye to. Like everyone has told me, I’m sure the school and everyone else in Wonju who I’m close with will be happy to have me back. The idea, however, of returning to a school and a city I said goodbye to is something that I am still coming to terms with.
I know this is a backwards way of writing about my summer, but I’ve mostly been trying to sort out my feelings upon my return to Korea. Normally, I try not to think much about the transition from one place to another, but I’m finding it harder to leave the second time around. I wonder if I’m having trouble because I’ve been home so long. I didn’t admit this to many people, but I really didn’t want to come home. Again, I don’t know why. Maybe it was because in the back of my head I knew that if I came home, it would be hard to leave again or maybe I was nervous about facing my friends and family again after leading very different lives over the past year.
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Ok, so this is how awesome I have become at blogging. I started this a few nights ago and am now continuing it on the plane ride to Korea. I am currently on a 12 hour flight to Tokyo from Chicago. I can’t believe how fast a month and a half went. My whole family went to the airport to see me off despite having work today. Like I mentioned before, this goodbye seemed harder than the last. Perhaps because I understand how long a year is now or perhaps I spent the summer realizing just how much I missed everyone.
I feel closer to my family now. I’m not sure how that materialized over the summer, but I left wanting nothing more than to spend a few more days with them. I found myself trying harder than ever to get them to come see me this next year in Korea, but it seems quite out of the question. They asked me if I want to fly home over Christmas. My stepmom even suggested that the money that they would put toward flying to Korea, they could just give me to come home, but it’s not just about me seeing them. Anyone who has studied or traveled or lived abroad probably understands what I mean when I say, I want my family to see what my life has been like for the past year. I want them to see what I see in Korea. It has been hard for me to repeatedly hear that Korea isn’t exactly a tourist destination, Korea isn’t a place they want to visit, and that when I move to somewhere like New Zealand, Ireland, or Italy, they would be happy to visit me. I want to be able to refer to something and have my family semi-understand what I’m talking about, and I want them to see the beauty of Korea that so many people don’t take the time to see. Despite the fact that my family will probably never come to Korea, I cannot see myself going home for Christmas. That could always change though. I don’t even know what’s going to happen tomorrow or next week, let alone 4 months from now. ^_~
That all aside, I had an amazing summer! I got to see so many amazing friends, and I spent quality time with my family. Some highlights: Hacienda with Ashley, Hanging out and talking with Faith for hours, Swimming with Geoff, Lester, and John at Lester’s house, Visiting Nick at the Peace House, CAB family and friends reunion in Indy, Visiting Megan in Plainfield with the surprise appearance of R and Mouse, Slipknot and Disturbed concert in Detroit with Baana and two amazing friends of his, Playing at the Prairie Vista playground for hours with Baana, Email, Ilya, and Kevin, Putt Putt and Sonic with Email, Kevin, and Ilya, Cancun with my mom and sister, Visiting so many wonderful people at Manchester (Steve, Jason, Mary, Laura, Adam, Colleen, Sarah, Kate, Heidi, Poe, Poe’s kitty, Matt, Al, Tish, Jesse, Ivan, Chris, and Heriju), Drinks and a movie with my amazing friend Glenn, My dad taking a very rare day off from work to hang out with me the day before I flew out, etc. I'm sure these memories will stand out even more over the next few weeks as I try to readjust myself to once again living in Korea.
I'm just going to stop here because I am now in Korea without every finishing this entry...
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Goodbye T.T - Monday July 7, 2008
Ugh...today is the day that I had to say goodbye to my school...so many goodbyes. So many!
First I chose to say goodbye to all of my classes individually. I went to each class to tell them again that I'm leaving on Friday and that I won't be teaching at the school in August, and I let them ask questions. A lot of them asked me why I was leaving and I honestly couldn't answer them. Moving to Seoul is just something I'm making myself do. I know I'd be more comfortable in Wonju, but I'm forcing myself to branch out into a new city and whatnot. So, I let the teachers field that question. It usually involved, "It was a really hard decision for her." The teachers all know that I had a wicked hard time deciding about my placement.
Then I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends in Korea. YeonOhk had to leave early because she had a presentation in Chuncheon, so she couldn't come to the meeting where I was saying goodbye to all of the teachers. It was hard! I cried. I really hope she and I stay in touch!!
For lunch, I went out with the VIPs and HaeIn (my co teacher). They took me to a purely vegetarian restaurant. Haha! I was still a bit of a mess after saying goodbye to YeonOhk, but lunch was good.
After lunch, I apparently had to broadcast myself to the entire school via the tv in order to ONCE AGAIN say goodbye to the students, but this time it was for all of the students to know that I was leaving.
Finally, I had to say goodbye at the weekly teachers' meeting. I was exhausted by this point. I was the first on the agenda, which made it a little more tolerable. I thought I would be ok, meaning I didn't think I would cry, but I definitely cried. My co teacher was up there next to me to help translate. I thought I could say goodbye in Korean, but I kinda lost it a bit. I had to take intermittent breaks to pull myself together. I basically said that even though I'm moving to Seoul in August, Wonju will always be my home in Korea and that the teachers have all been amazing. Then I had my co teacher talk. I think she further explained how hard the decision had been for me and whatnot.
After that, my co teacher and I both left the meeting and we were both crying. Ugh! What a day!
I went home later than usual because I was trying to pack up my stuff in my classroom to Tek Bae it, but the Tek Bae crew can't come until Thursday. So, I do have to come back to school after all of those goodbyes.
I went home...honestly I can't remember if I ate at home or not. I went to my last guitar lesson, only to find out that he had thought that tomorrow is my last day. I'm going to Chuncheon tomorrow, so I can't come to guitar lessons. So, I agreed to come back on Wednesday so we could have a proper goodbye. I have to remember to buy guitar books for him in the states. We have talked about it a few times because I asked him if there was anything special he wanted from the states.^^
Anyway, peace out for now.
First I chose to say goodbye to all of my classes individually. I went to each class to tell them again that I'm leaving on Friday and that I won't be teaching at the school in August, and I let them ask questions. A lot of them asked me why I was leaving and I honestly couldn't answer them. Moving to Seoul is just something I'm making myself do. I know I'd be more comfortable in Wonju, but I'm forcing myself to branch out into a new city and whatnot. So, I let the teachers field that question. It usually involved, "It was a really hard decision for her." The teachers all know that I had a wicked hard time deciding about my placement.
Then I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends in Korea. YeonOhk had to leave early because she had a presentation in Chuncheon, so she couldn't come to the meeting where I was saying goodbye to all of the teachers. It was hard! I cried. I really hope she and I stay in touch!!
For lunch, I went out with the VIPs and HaeIn (my co teacher). They took me to a purely vegetarian restaurant. Haha! I was still a bit of a mess after saying goodbye to YeonOhk, but lunch was good.
After lunch, I apparently had to broadcast myself to the entire school via the tv in order to ONCE AGAIN say goodbye to the students, but this time it was for all of the students to know that I was leaving.
Finally, I had to say goodbye at the weekly teachers' meeting. I was exhausted by this point. I was the first on the agenda, which made it a little more tolerable. I thought I would be ok, meaning I didn't think I would cry, but I definitely cried. My co teacher was up there next to me to help translate. I thought I could say goodbye in Korean, but I kinda lost it a bit. I had to take intermittent breaks to pull myself together. I basically said that even though I'm moving to Seoul in August, Wonju will always be my home in Korea and that the teachers have all been amazing. Then I had my co teacher talk. I think she further explained how hard the decision had been for me and whatnot.
After that, my co teacher and I both left the meeting and we were both crying. Ugh! What a day!
I went home later than usual because I was trying to pack up my stuff in my classroom to Tek Bae it, but the Tek Bae crew can't come until Thursday. So, I do have to come back to school after all of those goodbyes.
I went home...honestly I can't remember if I ate at home or not. I went to my last guitar lesson, only to find out that he had thought that tomorrow is my last day. I'm going to Chuncheon tomorrow, so I can't come to guitar lessons. So, I agreed to come back on Wednesday so we could have a proper goodbye. I have to remember to buy guitar books for him in the states. We have talked about it a few times because I asked him if there was anything special he wanted from the states.^^
Anyway, peace out for now.
Hold Your Horses?! - Sunday July 6, 2008
I went to eat lunch with my host family today. I wanted it to be kind of a last meal with the entire family. It didn't turn out quite like I had thought it would. We did go out to eat, but my favorite restaurant was closed, so we went to a different restaurant. We went to a chicken soup restaurant. @_@ Hmm...so I had sunddubu (Spicy tofu soup) instead of Kal Mandu Guk (Noodles with Kimchi Dumplings in Soup). It's ok though; I'm glad the host family was finally all together again!
After lunch, I met up with HaeIn, Miracle, and Lauren to go horseback riding. HaeIn drove us out to the middle of BFE for the guy to tell us that we couldn't ride the horse today. He told us that we should wear comfortable clothing and that we would get to ride, but maybe not for an hour like the other horseback riding place a little ways out of town. Lauren has worked with horses a lot because her aunt had horses when Lauren was younger and I have common sense about horses after spending a lot of time around them when I was younger, so we were pretty darn sure that the guy was full of crap when he said that the horse would die if we rode it during this hot weather at 3:00PM. >_< Our consolation prize for our drive out there...was disgusting ice coffee. We all left a little bitter and angry toward the man who had no intention of letting us ride the horse in the first place. But....that's the way it goes sometimes.
We were thinking about heading to the other place outside of town and paying 50,000 Won to ride, but instead we decided that a cafe sounded a lot more appealing and was definitely a lot more cost effective. ^_~ We spent HOURS at the cafe. I'm not sure how many, but it was really fun! We talked about sex education, bras, Korea, spiders and fears, a little bit about politics, etc. I always love getting a Korean's perspective on different topics. It's hard to find Korean women and even men who will openly talk about some of those topics. Sex is incredibly taboo in Korea.
After leaving there, Lauren, Miracle, and I went to eat dinner together. HaeIn had to take her boyfriend to the bus station. We were a little surprised that he had spent all day by himself in her apartment especially when he lives out of town. She is incredibly independent and sometimes feels weighed down by having a boyfriend, but she does care about him.
Anyway, the three of us minus HaeIn went to eat at a Ddubu jeep (Tofu House). It was delicious, but we definitely ordered TOO much food! I LOVE tofu! I think I will mainly survive on tofu next year when I have to cook for myself. It will certainly be a learning experience. It'll be my first time living on my own first of all. Second of all, I will be living on my own for the first time in one of the biggest cities in the world. Third of all, I'll be cooking for myself for the first time ever and it just happens to be in a different country. Haha! Lots of firsts next year. Lots of lasts now...but lots of firsts soon! I'm getting a little excited but am still quite nervous.
I said goodbye to Lauren tonight. It'll be the last time that I see her even though we will continue to talk on the phone and online almost everyday.^^ I also said goodbye to Miracle...even though I expect I will see Miracle again. Lauren...I'm not so sure. She's moving to either Boston or DC for her job once she finds a job. She's hoping for one of those two locations.
As Miracle and I walked home, we had to dodge a watermelon man she had had a fight with on the street. He wanted her to buy a watermelon from him, she asked if they were fresh, he cut a piece of watermelon to show her that they were, he then expected her to buy the watermelon he had cut a piece from...she was headed to meet us. It was a rather silly situation, but he had gotten very angry over it. So we walked clear past where she actually needed to cross the street to the next light down a ways. Oh well, that way we got to talk longer.^^
Hmm...packing is slowly being accomplished. My host fam is letting me keep my stuff here this summer, but I want to take a lot of stuff home this summer because 1) I accumulated a LOT of stuff this year, 2) I will accumulate a LOT of stuff this next year.
Peace out.
After lunch, I met up with HaeIn, Miracle, and Lauren to go horseback riding. HaeIn drove us out to the middle of BFE for the guy to tell us that we couldn't ride the horse today. He told us that we should wear comfortable clothing and that we would get to ride, but maybe not for an hour like the other horseback riding place a little ways out of town. Lauren has worked with horses a lot because her aunt had horses when Lauren was younger and I have common sense about horses after spending a lot of time around them when I was younger, so we were pretty darn sure that the guy was full of crap when he said that the horse would die if we rode it during this hot weather at 3:00PM. >_< Our consolation prize for our drive out there...was disgusting ice coffee. We all left a little bitter and angry toward the man who had no intention of letting us ride the horse in the first place. But....that's the way it goes sometimes.
We were thinking about heading to the other place outside of town and paying 50,000 Won to ride, but instead we decided that a cafe sounded a lot more appealing and was definitely a lot more cost effective. ^_~ We spent HOURS at the cafe. I'm not sure how many, but it was really fun! We talked about sex education, bras, Korea, spiders and fears, a little bit about politics, etc. I always love getting a Korean's perspective on different topics. It's hard to find Korean women and even men who will openly talk about some of those topics. Sex is incredibly taboo in Korea.
After leaving there, Lauren, Miracle, and I went to eat dinner together. HaeIn had to take her boyfriend to the bus station. We were a little surprised that he had spent all day by himself in her apartment especially when he lives out of town. She is incredibly independent and sometimes feels weighed down by having a boyfriend, but she does care about him.
Anyway, the three of us minus HaeIn went to eat at a Ddubu jeep (Tofu House). It was delicious, but we definitely ordered TOO much food! I LOVE tofu! I think I will mainly survive on tofu next year when I have to cook for myself. It will certainly be a learning experience. It'll be my first time living on my own first of all. Second of all, I will be living on my own for the first time in one of the biggest cities in the world. Third of all, I'll be cooking for myself for the first time ever and it just happens to be in a different country. Haha! Lots of firsts next year. Lots of lasts now...but lots of firsts soon! I'm getting a little excited but am still quite nervous.
I said goodbye to Lauren tonight. It'll be the last time that I see her even though we will continue to talk on the phone and online almost everyday.^^ I also said goodbye to Miracle...even though I expect I will see Miracle again. Lauren...I'm not so sure. She's moving to either Boston or DC for her job once she finds a job. She's hoping for one of those two locations.
As Miracle and I walked home, we had to dodge a watermelon man she had had a fight with on the street. He wanted her to buy a watermelon from him, she asked if they were fresh, he cut a piece of watermelon to show her that they were, he then expected her to buy the watermelon he had cut a piece from...she was headed to meet us. It was a rather silly situation, but he had gotten very angry over it. So we walked clear past where she actually needed to cross the street to the next light down a ways. Oh well, that way we got to talk longer.^^
Hmm...packing is slowly being accomplished. My host fam is letting me keep my stuff here this summer, but I want to take a lot of stuff home this summer because 1) I accumulated a LOT of stuff this year, 2) I will accumulate a LOT of stuff this next year.
Peace out.
Espanol Shabu Shabu!- Saturday July 5, 2008
I woke up earlier than I thought I would. Today was my first day to sleep in in a looong time. I finally got up around 11:00AM, I think. Lauren texted me to ask me if I was coming to the Spanish Club meeting today. I thought I might as well. I didn't really have anything else to do today, and I like the people in the club.
So we met around noon at the Shabu Shabu restaurant below Lotte Cinema. I love the Shabu Shabu there!
We didn't speak as much Spanish as we probably should have, but we still had a good time. We mostly talked about wrapping up our years in Korea. Most of us are headed our separate ways. I'm heading home soon and then to Seoul, Lauren is heading back home for good soon, Anna is heading home to med school soon, Raul is staying in Korea with the US Military but moving to a different city, Patrick might be getting married to a Thai girl, and Madeline is staying in Wonju for a bit and maybe moving to Seoul after her year is up next February. Raul (Mexican/American soldier) and Madeline (Korean/Swedish English teacher) used to date so I guess things were a bit awkward there, but other than that it was really nice to catch up with everyone.
From there, the girls all went downtown together. Anna is hilarious! I'm not sure she tries to be, but she is.^^ Unfortunately, she had to split pretty early because she had a prior engagement. Madeline, Lauren, and I went to Time and Space Cafe (Lauren's favorite cafe because of the ajuma). We sat and talked for a few hours about everything. The ajuma gave us free watermelon!! YAY! We finally all split ways; Lauren went home and Madeline and I split a taxi toward our end of town.
I was supposed to meet up with Tamisha and Madeline for dinner, but I decided I was too tired to go out. So I hung around at home for the evening which was perfectly fine by me.^^ I've been so utterly busy lately that it was nice to just hang around.
Peace out.
So we met around noon at the Shabu Shabu restaurant below Lotte Cinema. I love the Shabu Shabu there!
We didn't speak as much Spanish as we probably should have, but we still had a good time. We mostly talked about wrapping up our years in Korea. Most of us are headed our separate ways. I'm heading home soon and then to Seoul, Lauren is heading back home for good soon, Anna is heading home to med school soon, Raul is staying in Korea with the US Military but moving to a different city, Patrick might be getting married to a Thai girl, and Madeline is staying in Wonju for a bit and maybe moving to Seoul after her year is up next February. Raul (Mexican/American soldier) and Madeline (Korean/Swedish English teacher) used to date so I guess things were a bit awkward there, but other than that it was really nice to catch up with everyone.
From there, the girls all went downtown together. Anna is hilarious! I'm not sure she tries to be, but she is.^^ Unfortunately, she had to split pretty early because she had a prior engagement. Madeline, Lauren, and I went to Time and Space Cafe (Lauren's favorite cafe because of the ajuma). We sat and talked for a few hours about everything. The ajuma gave us free watermelon!! YAY! We finally all split ways; Lauren went home and Madeline and I split a taxi toward our end of town.
I was supposed to meet up with Tamisha and Madeline for dinner, but I decided I was too tired to go out. So I hung around at home for the evening which was perfectly fine by me.^^ I've been so utterly busy lately that it was nice to just hang around.
Peace out.
Monday, July 7, 2008
Yuck - Friday July 4, 2008
Hmm...I forgot to write about something yesterday. I had to tell the principal that I was not coming back to Seowonju. I went with my co teacher (who is also a good friend of mine). Bottom line...I couldn't say a word because I was crying. It sucked! HaeIn (my co teacher) is still trying to talk me into changing my mind and staying which is really hard to hear. I want to stay but I know I shouldn't. There is too much to experience outside of Wonju. This is my rationalization for leaving Wonju. Please don't burst my bubble. It was already a hard enough decision as it was.
Anyway, today was my last day of classes. I didn't feel as emotional as I thought I would. Maybe it's because I'm coming back on Monday to do that whole final goodbye thing.
I only had my two Friday classes as usual. The second grade teachers came up during one of their breaks, after I had finished my two classes to give me a present, take pics, and to personally say goodbye since they had been such a big part of my whole year. They gave me a silver flower bracelet because they gathered that I'm a fan of bracelets by looking at my wrists. ^_~ They also gave me a hanbok decoration. So sweet of them. I want to do something special for them, but I don't know what to do.
I had to leave around 2:30PM for my guitar lesson. I was frustrated today. The song I'm learning has me frustrated. I guess that is a good thing because it is pushing me past my comfort range musically.
I went back to school afterward because I was meeting Ellen (a 40-something foreigner who volunteers in the English Village). She invited me over for a 4th of July celebration. Her husband made us homemade pizza! They said it was ok if I invited HaeIn (my co teacher), but she met us a little later. Ellen and Carl are amazing people! I love them! I wish I had been able to spend more time with them. Carl made three pizzas, one entirely vegetarian for me!^^ We talked about politics and Korean culture and cars and so many things. They really are amazing amazing people. They just got married in December and came over to Korea in February. Carl was having a hard time finding a professor position because jobs are SCARCE (to say the least) in America, especially in the mid-west which is where they're from. They're from Ohio. He speaks a multitude of languages, and I can't remember them off the top of my head. I think French is the biggie, but he also studied four semesters of Chinese. Now, he is studying Korean. He wants to become fluent in it before they leave. They don't really have any urgent plans to leave Korean any time soon. Carl is on a two year contract as a professor at Yonsei Uni in Wonju teaching American history (I believe) and a composition English writing class. Their apartment is impressive AND provided by the University. They aren't like many foreigners who come to Korea for the money and for the easy life, they want to learn about the culture, they want to learn the language, and they like Korean food. Carl works on cars a lot back home. He has a car he liked restoring but misses it now that he's here. Ellen does metal work, and she is GOOD! I told her about an independent artist fair/show that they have every few Saturdays or every Saturday in Hongdae in Seoul. I think she should try to sell some of her stuff. She likes making small spoons and may get into the tiny Korean forks that everyone is so fascinated by. They told me I could stay with them any time I visit Wonju! They are so super sweet! I should have taken more pics with them, but I have only one and it will be on facebook as soon as I get the time.
HaeIn and I went to the Friday night WEC meeting immediately following the pizza extravaganza where I managed to eat 5 pieces of pizza. They also let us take all of the leftovers home! So awesome! The topic for tonight was Movies proposed by CJ (former youth pastor from South Africa). What kinds of movies we like? Where we like to watch movies? Do we think that movies can change the way we think about the world? Etc. It was an interesting topic, especially toward the end.
After the meeting, we went to our usual Makkoli place and talked for a looong time. Chan made a toast to me!^^ So sweet of him! Chan is my 34 year old, male Korean, nurse buddy! His wife and son have been on a lot of our outings; so I know them fairly well also. Lauren was there for her last time as well, but she only went to a few meetings. We had a lot of interesting conversations at the Makkoli bar tonight. One being the "playfulness" of Korean girls. The whining...the "cutesy" hitting of their boyfriends...etc. Apparently a lot of guys find this attractive. News to me.
At about 12:30AM, we finally headed out. We went to Beatles Bar afterward. Lauren went home. It was Brandon, CJ, Madeline, Jay, Young, two other Korean girls that I don't know well, and another Korean guy that I didn't know well. I was kind of sad; a lot of the people I first started the club with weren't there tonight. Jay, Chris, Monani, Kevin, Julie, Hyon Ju, Allen, Ju, etc etc. Really sad!
I talked to Jay (Australian Jay...hmm I guess they both spent time in Australia....the second Jay I knew) for a good majority of the time at Beatles Bar. We talked more about flirting and what is seen as cute, what is seen as annoying, if the "helpless girl" act really does go as far as it appears to in Korea, etc.
I think I finally got home after 4AM and was in bed around 4:30AM. It has been a loong week. Time for bed!
Rest in Peace...See you in Heaven. (To be explained at a less exhausted time.)
Anyway, today was my last day of classes. I didn't feel as emotional as I thought I would. Maybe it's because I'm coming back on Monday to do that whole final goodbye thing.
I only had my two Friday classes as usual. The second grade teachers came up during one of their breaks, after I had finished my two classes to give me a present, take pics, and to personally say goodbye since they had been such a big part of my whole year. They gave me a silver flower bracelet because they gathered that I'm a fan of bracelets by looking at my wrists. ^_~ They also gave me a hanbok decoration. So sweet of them. I want to do something special for them, but I don't know what to do.
I had to leave around 2:30PM for my guitar lesson. I was frustrated today. The song I'm learning has me frustrated. I guess that is a good thing because it is pushing me past my comfort range musically.
I went back to school afterward because I was meeting Ellen (a 40-something foreigner who volunteers in the English Village). She invited me over for a 4th of July celebration. Her husband made us homemade pizza! They said it was ok if I invited HaeIn (my co teacher), but she met us a little later. Ellen and Carl are amazing people! I love them! I wish I had been able to spend more time with them. Carl made three pizzas, one entirely vegetarian for me!^^ We talked about politics and Korean culture and cars and so many things. They really are amazing amazing people. They just got married in December and came over to Korea in February. Carl was having a hard time finding a professor position because jobs are SCARCE (to say the least) in America, especially in the mid-west which is where they're from. They're from Ohio. He speaks a multitude of languages, and I can't remember them off the top of my head. I think French is the biggie, but he also studied four semesters of Chinese. Now, he is studying Korean. He wants to become fluent in it before they leave. They don't really have any urgent plans to leave Korean any time soon. Carl is on a two year contract as a professor at Yonsei Uni in Wonju teaching American history (I believe) and a composition English writing class. Their apartment is impressive AND provided by the University. They aren't like many foreigners who come to Korea for the money and for the easy life, they want to learn about the culture, they want to learn the language, and they like Korean food. Carl works on cars a lot back home. He has a car he liked restoring but misses it now that he's here. Ellen does metal work, and she is GOOD! I told her about an independent artist fair/show that they have every few Saturdays or every Saturday in Hongdae in Seoul. I think she should try to sell some of her stuff. She likes making small spoons and may get into the tiny Korean forks that everyone is so fascinated by. They told me I could stay with them any time I visit Wonju! They are so super sweet! I should have taken more pics with them, but I have only one and it will be on facebook as soon as I get the time.
HaeIn and I went to the Friday night WEC meeting immediately following the pizza extravaganza where I managed to eat 5 pieces of pizza. They also let us take all of the leftovers home! So awesome! The topic for tonight was Movies proposed by CJ (former youth pastor from South Africa). What kinds of movies we like? Where we like to watch movies? Do we think that movies can change the way we think about the world? Etc. It was an interesting topic, especially toward the end.
After the meeting, we went to our usual Makkoli place and talked for a looong time. Chan made a toast to me!^^ So sweet of him! Chan is my 34 year old, male Korean, nurse buddy! His wife and son have been on a lot of our outings; so I know them fairly well also. Lauren was there for her last time as well, but she only went to a few meetings. We had a lot of interesting conversations at the Makkoli bar tonight. One being the "playfulness" of Korean girls. The whining...the "cutesy" hitting of their boyfriends...etc. Apparently a lot of guys find this attractive. News to me.
At about 12:30AM, we finally headed out. We went to Beatles Bar afterward. Lauren went home. It was Brandon, CJ, Madeline, Jay, Young, two other Korean girls that I don't know well, and another Korean guy that I didn't know well. I was kind of sad; a lot of the people I first started the club with weren't there tonight. Jay, Chris, Monani, Kevin, Julie, Hyon Ju, Allen, Ju, etc etc. Really sad!
I talked to Jay (Australian Jay...hmm I guess they both spent time in Australia....the second Jay I knew) for a good majority of the time at Beatles Bar. We talked more about flirting and what is seen as cute, what is seen as annoying, if the "helpless girl" act really does go as far as it appears to in Korea, etc.
I think I finally got home after 4AM and was in bed around 4:30AM. It has been a loong week. Time for bed!
Rest in Peace...See you in Heaven. (To be explained at a less exhausted time.)
Party Like It's Your...Birthday? - Thursday July 3, 2008
Because I'm so far behind...again...I'm basing the dates off of remembering Friday was July 4th.
It's my second to my last Thursday of teaching. It was...ok. My class that has been the opposite of good the entire semester, once again proved themselves to be tiny terrorists. The target? My job. The Vice Principal came in today with about 5 or 6 other un-named VIPs, and my kids acted like they had never been inside a classroom before. Eh...oh well. I supposed they can't fire me a day before my last day of classes. ^_~ It wasn't really all that bad, but it was enough to make me pretty satisfied that it was the last day of classes with that particular class of students.
After school, I hung around until it was time to head to dinner with the teachers. I left with Yeon Ohk, and again we were the first to get to the restaurant. It's a common trend for us. We hung out for a while before the rest of the teachers got there. They took me to a Japanese restaurant!!! I was so excited! Sashimi, sushi, random things with tiny fish eggs...it was spectacular! I'm slowly starting to enjoy the squishy little fish eggs. It took me living in two Asian countries to finally accept them as part of a meal. I'm still working my way up to salmon eggs...it'll take a bit more to appreciate those.
When you go to a nice restaurant in Korea, you get loads of food! It comes out continuously. There is no stopping. Just more and more and more food. By the time we were done eating, we were all stuffed. So, we went to a cafe instead of going out for a drink. 1-1 teacher and I had wine anyway at the cafe. It was super dry red wine, but I still loved it. I think I love all wine.^^ After the cafe, 1-6 had to meet some guy and 1-4 had to drive her. 1-4 didn't want to leave, but she had to. I think a large portion of 1-6's (Jae Rim's) revolves around guys. After they left, we went to Munchen, a German bar where you drink beer from ice cups and then throw them at a target. This was my third time being there. I just went with Ray on Monday, but then I actually got a free beer. This time, I was horrible. All my beer was free anyway though because I was out with the teachers. Yeon Ohk and I were joking around most of the time...she proposed to me with a fruit loop like bar snack. I said, "I do" of course.^^ After that bar, everyone went home but 1-5 (Yeon Ohk) and I decided to go to the hookah bar (Aqua Vitae) that I had just been to on Sunday with Ethan. She had never tried hookah, so I took her there. It wasn't very strong this time, but that was ok. Yeon Ohk had a good conversation despite me having drank too much. Who knew that my best friend in Korea would turn out to be a 39 year old teacher?! Haha! It'll be hard not being at the same school next year. Really hard.
After the hookah bar, Yeon Ohk took me home. I think it was around 11:30PM at that point. I had had to cancel my guitar lesson which I felt bad about since it was twice that week. The first time was when Ray came...the second being because I was out with the teachers.
Anyway...drinking plus hookah makes for a very tired Stacey.
Peace out.
It's my second to my last Thursday of teaching. It was...ok. My class that has been the opposite of good the entire semester, once again proved themselves to be tiny terrorists. The target? My job. The Vice Principal came in today with about 5 or 6 other un-named VIPs, and my kids acted like they had never been inside a classroom before. Eh...oh well. I supposed they can't fire me a day before my last day of classes. ^_~ It wasn't really all that bad, but it was enough to make me pretty satisfied that it was the last day of classes with that particular class of students.
After school, I hung around until it was time to head to dinner with the teachers. I left with Yeon Ohk, and again we were the first to get to the restaurant. It's a common trend for us. We hung out for a while before the rest of the teachers got there. They took me to a Japanese restaurant!!! I was so excited! Sashimi, sushi, random things with tiny fish eggs...it was spectacular! I'm slowly starting to enjoy the squishy little fish eggs. It took me living in two Asian countries to finally accept them as part of a meal. I'm still working my way up to salmon eggs...it'll take a bit more to appreciate those.
When you go to a nice restaurant in Korea, you get loads of food! It comes out continuously. There is no stopping. Just more and more and more food. By the time we were done eating, we were all stuffed. So, we went to a cafe instead of going out for a drink. 1-1 teacher and I had wine anyway at the cafe. It was super dry red wine, but I still loved it. I think I love all wine.^^ After the cafe, 1-6 had to meet some guy and 1-4 had to drive her. 1-4 didn't want to leave, but she had to. I think a large portion of 1-6's (Jae Rim's) revolves around guys. After they left, we went to Munchen, a German bar where you drink beer from ice cups and then throw them at a target. This was my third time being there. I just went with Ray on Monday, but then I actually got a free beer. This time, I was horrible. All my beer was free anyway though because I was out with the teachers. Yeon Ohk and I were joking around most of the time...she proposed to me with a fruit loop like bar snack. I said, "I do" of course.^^ After that bar, everyone went home but 1-5 (Yeon Ohk) and I decided to go to the hookah bar (Aqua Vitae) that I had just been to on Sunday with Ethan. She had never tried hookah, so I took her there. It wasn't very strong this time, but that was ok. Yeon Ohk had a good conversation despite me having drank too much. Who knew that my best friend in Korea would turn out to be a 39 year old teacher?! Haha! It'll be hard not being at the same school next year. Really hard.
After the hookah bar, Yeon Ohk took me home. I think it was around 11:30PM at that point. I had had to cancel my guitar lesson which I felt bad about since it was twice that week. The first time was when Ray came...the second being because I was out with the teachers.
Anyway...drinking plus hookah makes for a very tired Stacey.
Peace out.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Last - Wednesday July 2, 2008
Everything is last now-a-days. The last class with the 1-6 class, last class with 2-1 class, last class with 2-2 class, last teachers' class, etc.
Too real? Yep, me thinks so.
I had to help record a test with the fifth grade English teacher. He and I had to do about three takes because one time the bell ran in the middle of recording...another time we screwed up one of the scenarios. But, all in a all, it only took 20 minutes or so. He also made sure to tell me that these days I don't look good while simultaneously looking pretty. I explained that I have been very tired lately and that I have had a lot on my mind. As far as the pretty goes...it's their way of saying I'm not as fat anymore. Haha! Oh, Korea.
I didn't really know what to teach for the teachers' class today. I told them about my difficulties in making a decision between Wonju and Seoul. A few of them had more input, but that's not why I was telling them. I mean, yes I wanted them to know, but I also wanted to have them talk about a difficult decision they have had to make and how they made the decision. One teacher had to choose between two men when getting married, one had to just flat out decide if she wanted to marry the man she is now married to, one woman has to decide every time whether to continue to push her daughter to study or not when she doesn't want to study, one person had to decide about her apartment, etc. Many of them said that they talk to other people about the decisions they have to make and some just decide on their own. One woman, the teacher I'm closest with said that when she has to make a big decision, she makes it very fast but it's the small decisions that she spends days upon days contemplating.
We then talked about what we're going to do for the summer. One teacher said she had no plans and then went on to tell us that her friend wants her to travel in SE Asia with her, her sister wants her to go to Daegu in Korea with her, and her husband wants them to take a pilgrimage to Israel. Haha! We all laughed...yup, no plans indeed.
After classes, I was going to go down to visit with the first grade teachers more, but I talked to Colleen, and extendee friend of mine about the ridiculous living situation for next year. I think I have officially (personally) come to a final decision. I'm moving to Seoul. I know this is what I've been saying for ages, and it's even what I emailed to Susie, my supervisor, but I think I have finally internalized it. Partially because I'm just tired of worrying about it. The decision has been made...whatever happens happens. Nothing that I experience in Seoul is going to kill me. I will be living on my own, and I will be teaching at an entirely new school; I will be teaching all new students and talking with all new teachers. I may not have my own classroom. I may teach the full 20 hours. I may live in a horrible apartment, but it won't be anything I can't survive. I'll be fine whatever happens. I do have to watch how much money I spend in Seoul which is a big problem on the crappy Fulbright salary, but it'll be ok.
I got home from school much later than I have in a while. I ate pizza after being grilled about the toast I prepared for myself. Each of my family members made sure to criticize the fact that I had burned the toast. It's the way I like it. It's the way I'm going to eat it. Actually I forgot to hide it from them. I knew they would comment on it because they always do. My host mom has finally figured out that it's just the way I like it. When my host father comments about it, I just want to say, "Smoking causes cancer too, and I only eat burnt toast maybe twice a month." (He smokes everyday.) I know it's something trivial, but it's really come to bother me over the year. Ha!
I took a nap before guitar lessons. The van came at 8PM. I half-assed practiced for 2 hours. I'm really not putting much effort into playing this week. Maybe it's the exhaustion...maybe it's because I'm sad about leaving...don't know.
I got home around 10:30 and everyone was already asleep. Sadly that's been happening A LOT this semester. I talked to Cos, a friend of mine, for a while on Skype and caught up with blogging despite my exhaustion.
Peace out.
Too real? Yep, me thinks so.
I had to help record a test with the fifth grade English teacher. He and I had to do about three takes because one time the bell ran in the middle of recording...another time we screwed up one of the scenarios. But, all in a all, it only took 20 minutes or so. He also made sure to tell me that these days I don't look good while simultaneously looking pretty. I explained that I have been very tired lately and that I have had a lot on my mind. As far as the pretty goes...it's their way of saying I'm not as fat anymore. Haha! Oh, Korea.
I didn't really know what to teach for the teachers' class today. I told them about my difficulties in making a decision between Wonju and Seoul. A few of them had more input, but that's not why I was telling them. I mean, yes I wanted them to know, but I also wanted to have them talk about a difficult decision they have had to make and how they made the decision. One teacher had to choose between two men when getting married, one had to just flat out decide if she wanted to marry the man she is now married to, one woman has to decide every time whether to continue to push her daughter to study or not when she doesn't want to study, one person had to decide about her apartment, etc. Many of them said that they talk to other people about the decisions they have to make and some just decide on their own. One woman, the teacher I'm closest with said that when she has to make a big decision, she makes it very fast but it's the small decisions that she spends days upon days contemplating.
We then talked about what we're going to do for the summer. One teacher said she had no plans and then went on to tell us that her friend wants her to travel in SE Asia with her, her sister wants her to go to Daegu in Korea with her, and her husband wants them to take a pilgrimage to Israel. Haha! We all laughed...yup, no plans indeed.
After classes, I was going to go down to visit with the first grade teachers more, but I talked to Colleen, and extendee friend of mine about the ridiculous living situation for next year. I think I have officially (personally) come to a final decision. I'm moving to Seoul. I know this is what I've been saying for ages, and it's even what I emailed to Susie, my supervisor, but I think I have finally internalized it. Partially because I'm just tired of worrying about it. The decision has been made...whatever happens happens. Nothing that I experience in Seoul is going to kill me. I will be living on my own, and I will be teaching at an entirely new school; I will be teaching all new students and talking with all new teachers. I may not have my own classroom. I may teach the full 20 hours. I may live in a horrible apartment, but it won't be anything I can't survive. I'll be fine whatever happens. I do have to watch how much money I spend in Seoul which is a big problem on the crappy Fulbright salary, but it'll be ok.
I got home from school much later than I have in a while. I ate pizza after being grilled about the toast I prepared for myself. Each of my family members made sure to criticize the fact that I had burned the toast. It's the way I like it. It's the way I'm going to eat it. Actually I forgot to hide it from them. I knew they would comment on it because they always do. My host mom has finally figured out that it's just the way I like it. When my host father comments about it, I just want to say, "Smoking causes cancer too, and I only eat burnt toast maybe twice a month." (He smokes everyday.) I know it's something trivial, but it's really come to bother me over the year. Ha!
I took a nap before guitar lessons. The van came at 8PM. I half-assed practiced for 2 hours. I'm really not putting much effort into playing this week. Maybe it's the exhaustion...maybe it's because I'm sad about leaving...don't know.
I got home around 10:30 and everyone was already asleep. Sadly that's been happening A LOT this semester. I talked to Cos, a friend of mine, for a while on Skype and caught up with blogging despite my exhaustion.
Peace out.
Passed out - Tuesday July 1, 2008
It's July! I can't believe it.
Anyway, Ray woke up early to head out; he was going to find the spa that wasn't quite as 24 hours as we thought it was to take a shower. We met at my school before my first class.
I took him to the office to meet my co-teacher and to the first grade office to meet the first grade teachers. I figured they should know that there was going to be a strange man in my classroom today.
The kids loved Ray! I introduced him in each of my classes. We both had to continuously explain that he was not my boyfriend, I am not his wife, he is not my husband. Haha! We asked him his name and where he was from and talked about where he teaches. It was fun!
Ray was also incredible because he taped part of my classes which I've really wanted to do but haven't other than an official tape going to Fulbright for next year's EETAs.
I was sad when he had to leave after my third class. I walked him to the bus stop and before I could get all sappy about missing him, he said we would see each other again. Haha! I hope so.
After he left, I went talked to Lauren for a bit. She's traveling this week; Seoul to visit family and Busan to visit Busan and a friend who lives down there.
Then I ate lunch.
Then I promptly passed out in the first grade teachers' office. After 2 hours of sleep last night and three classes of first grades later, I was done for. Every time someone walked in, I would briefly lift my head and then again pass out. It was like I was drugged. Never have I ever responded that poorly to two hours of sleep. I did it all the time in college, but I think since I came to Korea, I have a different sleeping pattern. I'm just not used to the two hours of sleep anymore.
I slept until I had to get up to head to meet my Korean tutor. I took a taxi even because I was too tired to walk the 15-20 minutes there. Sad, huh? I saw Vin at Bean Club and we talked for a bit. When Flight showed up, she and I went to get Kal Mandu Guk at a place VERY far from the cafe. She drove, and we went into a part of Wonju I had never seen before. After eating, we went to a cafe at Kil Cafe, a street lined with cafes. We drank coffee and talked about all sorts of things. I love my tutor! She's been so amazing, and she's a good friend. We took a walk near the base of Chiaksan after drinking yummy coffee.
We headed back over toward Lotte Cinema to meet a friend of mine from Ghana. We met on a bus ride to Seoul a few weeks ago, but we haven't been able to meet back up. So, we met for coffee. I could only talk with him for a little over an hour because I had to head to my guitar lessons. I decided to walk today from Lotte Cinema. I didn't even realize it was as possible as it is until Ray and I walked there last night.
I was only at my lesson for a little over an hour. I was so exhausted.
I came home and went to bed before midnight.
Peace out.
Anyway, Ray woke up early to head out; he was going to find the spa that wasn't quite as 24 hours as we thought it was to take a shower. We met at my school before my first class.
I took him to the office to meet my co-teacher and to the first grade office to meet the first grade teachers. I figured they should know that there was going to be a strange man in my classroom today.
The kids loved Ray! I introduced him in each of my classes. We both had to continuously explain that he was not my boyfriend, I am not his wife, he is not my husband. Haha! We asked him his name and where he was from and talked about where he teaches. It was fun!
Ray was also incredible because he taped part of my classes which I've really wanted to do but haven't other than an official tape going to Fulbright for next year's EETAs.
I was sad when he had to leave after my third class. I walked him to the bus stop and before I could get all sappy about missing him, he said we would see each other again. Haha! I hope so.
After he left, I went talked to Lauren for a bit. She's traveling this week; Seoul to visit family and Busan to visit Busan and a friend who lives down there.
Then I ate lunch.
Then I promptly passed out in the first grade teachers' office. After 2 hours of sleep last night and three classes of first grades later, I was done for. Every time someone walked in, I would briefly lift my head and then again pass out. It was like I was drugged. Never have I ever responded that poorly to two hours of sleep. I did it all the time in college, but I think since I came to Korea, I have a different sleeping pattern. I'm just not used to the two hours of sleep anymore.
I slept until I had to get up to head to meet my Korean tutor. I took a taxi even because I was too tired to walk the 15-20 minutes there. Sad, huh? I saw Vin at Bean Club and we talked for a bit. When Flight showed up, she and I went to get Kal Mandu Guk at a place VERY far from the cafe. She drove, and we went into a part of Wonju I had never seen before. After eating, we went to a cafe at Kil Cafe, a street lined with cafes. We drank coffee and talked about all sorts of things. I love my tutor! She's been so amazing, and she's a good friend. We took a walk near the base of Chiaksan after drinking yummy coffee.
We headed back over toward Lotte Cinema to meet a friend of mine from Ghana. We met on a bus ride to Seoul a few weeks ago, but we haven't been able to meet back up. So, we met for coffee. I could only talk with him for a little over an hour because I had to head to my guitar lessons. I decided to walk today from Lotte Cinema. I didn't even realize it was as possible as it is until Ray and I walked there last night.
I was only at my lesson for a little over an hour. I was so exhausted.
I came home and went to bed before midnight.
Peace out.
Ray Day - Monday June 30, 2008
So this is the beginning of my last week teaching in Wonju. It's pretty damned depressing to put it bluntly.
I am doing a normal class but with extra game time because again, not feeling the long drawn out goodbyes.
I found out after teaching my second class that Ray was going to come to Wonju to visit me! YAY! Incredibly late notice, but I didn't care. He was going to try to make it in time to go to the orphanage with me, but he missed his bus from Gumi and had to go to Daegu. He finally got on a bus around 2:40PM, and I get to the orphanage at 3:30PM. Gumi is much further from Wonju than that. It's about 2 1/2 hours, I believe.
I bought the kids ice cream and hoped that it wouldn't melt as I waited for the classroom to be handed over to me by the random Korean men installing a computer. They had the ice cream and of course it was everywhere by the time they were done. I tried to do another normal class but with more games. I think the woman that has been helping me since the beginning told the kids that it was my last time, but I think for the most part they forgot between last week and this week. I told them again at the end of class that it was my last day with them. I got a lot of hugs which was super cute. I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be, but I think it's because I haven't made an official personal decision to leave Wonju. So, in a way, I think I'm not really leaving them.
When I left, the director of the orphanage and the woman who has been amazing throughout my entire volunteer stint, drove me home. Well, I thought they were driving me home. Instead we stopped at a hanji shop; they wanted me to pick out a gift. I had no idea what to pick. I hadn't expected anything, and then I was put on the spot to choose my own gift. Luckily, the woman from the orphanage (I wish I knew her name) stepped up and pointed out a little girl and boy made from hanji. She pointed to the little girl and said Ah Ram and pointed to the little boy and said Min Hyeok; two of the children I have taught off and on for the past 9 months. I chose the little girl which is perfect; it will remind me of the orphanage every time I look at it.
From there they were going to take me home, but I asked to be dropped off at Shi Wae Bus Terminal to meet Ray. Pretty much perfect timing. I was super happy to see him. It's been a long time since we had time to just catch up. We haven't really just sat and talked since orientation at Chuncheon. We went downtown for a bit just to look around. We agreed that Wonju is much bigger than Gumi considering Wonju had multiple areas that are considered down town-esque. I bought two skirts because Korea has made me even more obsessed with skirts. Then we headed back to my apartment. My host mom said that Ray couldn't spend the night since her husband wasn't home which is fairly common in Korea. So we just hung out there for a bit so I could drop off my stuff and change.
We walked down near Lotte Cinema which is the closest down town area near me. We had Shabu Shabu for dinner; the same thing we had when I went to visit him. Ha! From there, we walked even further down toward a bar near my guitar hagwon. I had us stop in to say hi to my guitar teacher since I had canceled my lesson for tonight.
We finally made it to Pub; a bar that has Hoegaarden on tap! We only stayed for one drink and then we started walking away from that area when Ray decided we should go to the German bar that I mentioned earlier. We always ended up walking back and forth before Ray decided what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go. haha! So we went to Munchen. At this bar, you can buy a beer in a glass mug, so when you're done drinking, you can throw your glass mug at a target. If you hit the target, you get a chance of winning something. I won a free mug of beer! So we each had two beers there. Then we were going to head to a Makoli Bar but realized we didn't want to eat. At a lot of these bars you have to order anju (food with the alcohol). Instead we went to a Family Mart and bought a huge package of about 16 small bottles of yogurt drink and a huge thing of Makoli and sat outside to drink it. Ray has been telling me since almost day one that Yogurt Makoli is the best, so that's what we drank. At one point, two Korean men walked by and looked at us. One man went into the Family Mart specifically to buy us kimchi. You can't drink Makoli without kimchi is what he was telling us. Haha! SO we ate kimchi and drank Makoli. Then we got two more beers and headed to sit on some benches in front of an outlet mall that was still quite far from my apartment. We sat and talked while we drank.
There was a definite point where my tummy told me it was no longer accepting alcohol. So, Ray took my beer and I drank the rest of the yogurt. I can't even imagine how many of those little yogurt drinks I drank.
We took a taxi back to my apartment and then Ray was going to go find a jimjilbang, but I felt bad so I went with him. Good thing I did, because there was nothing around. We ended up walking all the way back over to the Lotte Cinema area to eat at a Kimbap Nara. I believe this was around 5AM. We then took a taxi back to my apartment. We finally went to sleep around 6 or 6:30AM.
I am doing a normal class but with extra game time because again, not feeling the long drawn out goodbyes.
I found out after teaching my second class that Ray was going to come to Wonju to visit me! YAY! Incredibly late notice, but I didn't care. He was going to try to make it in time to go to the orphanage with me, but he missed his bus from Gumi and had to go to Daegu. He finally got on a bus around 2:40PM, and I get to the orphanage at 3:30PM. Gumi is much further from Wonju than that. It's about 2 1/2 hours, I believe.
I bought the kids ice cream and hoped that it wouldn't melt as I waited for the classroom to be handed over to me by the random Korean men installing a computer. They had the ice cream and of course it was everywhere by the time they were done. I tried to do another normal class but with more games. I think the woman that has been helping me since the beginning told the kids that it was my last time, but I think for the most part they forgot between last week and this week. I told them again at the end of class that it was my last day with them. I got a lot of hugs which was super cute. I wasn't as sad as I thought I would be, but I think it's because I haven't made an official personal decision to leave Wonju. So, in a way, I think I'm not really leaving them.
When I left, the director of the orphanage and the woman who has been amazing throughout my entire volunteer stint, drove me home. Well, I thought they were driving me home. Instead we stopped at a hanji shop; they wanted me to pick out a gift. I had no idea what to pick. I hadn't expected anything, and then I was put on the spot to choose my own gift. Luckily, the woman from the orphanage (I wish I knew her name) stepped up and pointed out a little girl and boy made from hanji. She pointed to the little girl and said Ah Ram and pointed to the little boy and said Min Hyeok; two of the children I have taught off and on for the past 9 months. I chose the little girl which is perfect; it will remind me of the orphanage every time I look at it.
From there they were going to take me home, but I asked to be dropped off at Shi Wae Bus Terminal to meet Ray. Pretty much perfect timing. I was super happy to see him. It's been a long time since we had time to just catch up. We haven't really just sat and talked since orientation at Chuncheon. We went downtown for a bit just to look around. We agreed that Wonju is much bigger than Gumi considering Wonju had multiple areas that are considered down town-esque. I bought two skirts because Korea has made me even more obsessed with skirts. Then we headed back to my apartment. My host mom said that Ray couldn't spend the night since her husband wasn't home which is fairly common in Korea. So we just hung out there for a bit so I could drop off my stuff and change.
We walked down near Lotte Cinema which is the closest down town area near me. We had Shabu Shabu for dinner; the same thing we had when I went to visit him. Ha! From there, we walked even further down toward a bar near my guitar hagwon. I had us stop in to say hi to my guitar teacher since I had canceled my lesson for tonight.
We finally made it to Pub; a bar that has Hoegaarden on tap! We only stayed for one drink and then we started walking away from that area when Ray decided we should go to the German bar that I mentioned earlier. We always ended up walking back and forth before Ray decided what he wanted to do and where he wanted to go. haha! So we went to Munchen. At this bar, you can buy a beer in a glass mug, so when you're done drinking, you can throw your glass mug at a target. If you hit the target, you get a chance of winning something. I won a free mug of beer! So we each had two beers there. Then we were going to head to a Makoli Bar but realized we didn't want to eat. At a lot of these bars you have to order anju (food with the alcohol). Instead we went to a Family Mart and bought a huge package of about 16 small bottles of yogurt drink and a huge thing of Makoli and sat outside to drink it. Ray has been telling me since almost day one that Yogurt Makoli is the best, so that's what we drank. At one point, two Korean men walked by and looked at us. One man went into the Family Mart specifically to buy us kimchi. You can't drink Makoli without kimchi is what he was telling us. Haha! SO we ate kimchi and drank Makoli. Then we got two more beers and headed to sit on some benches in front of an outlet mall that was still quite far from my apartment. We sat and talked while we drank.
There was a definite point where my tummy told me it was no longer accepting alcohol. So, Ray took my beer and I drank the rest of the yogurt. I can't even imagine how many of those little yogurt drinks I drank.
We took a taxi back to my apartment and then Ray was going to go find a jimjilbang, but I felt bad so I went with him. Good thing I did, because there was nothing around. We ended up walking all the way back over to the Lotte Cinema area to eat at a Kimbap Nara. I believe this was around 5AM. We then took a taxi back to my apartment. We finally went to sleep around 6 or 6:30AM.
The Date - Sunday July 29, 2008
I woke up at 9:00AM which is incredibly early for me. Hae In had left even earlier because she had to catch a bus to Seoul to see the production of CATS. SO jealous! She went with her boyfriend. She said that he didn't really want to see it, but she was making him go because he is uncultured. Ha! I told her that if he didn't want to go, I would gladly take his ticket. Somehow that didn't end up working out the way I would have liked it to.
I left around 11:00 or so after we had Ji Hee made us broccoli and cheese soup for lunch. I felt bad when I got home because my host family had gotten the message about me being in Wonju early this morning and had checked to see if I was home. Again whoops!
I hung out at home for a good majority of the day until Ethan (the Korean guy) came to pick me up. Apparently coffee was nowhere in the plan for today. We went to the Wonju gym to watch a Hapkido competition. While I'm sure it was interesting, Ethan and I spent the whole time talking instead of watching the hapkido. We then went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. At first I was utterly shocked at the prices, but luckily, they had cheaper dishes. I had Chinese noodles. I still find it hard to eat Chinese food in Korea. It always seems odd to me for some reason. I've had Americanized Chinese food and I've had real Chinese food, but Koreanized Chinese food is still strange to me. It is closer to the real thing, however.
After dinner, we headed over to an area which has quite a few bars. We were specifically looking for the Hookah bar...yes there is one in Wonju! Can you believe it?! I couldn't at first. We walked around a LOT because the guys we asked in WA Bar sent us the complete opposite direction. We finally found it, had a beer, and smoked a hookah. It was his first time going to Aqua Vitae in Wonju.
There is something that I forgot to mention about Ethan. He has spent a lot of time with foreigners, he lived in Australia for half a year, and presumably because of these two things combined...he talks like a gangster. We actually call him and his friend Korean gangsters. Anyway, when he talks one on one, that style of talk almost entirely disappears. I also heard later, that he does not at all speak that way when he speaks Korean.
We also got into a big discussion about religion. He is Christian...a very strong Christian. It was an interesting conversation, but a little too high stress for a first date.
For a good majority of the "date" and before it even began, I was hoping that it was just as going out as friends. Somehow, that never seems to be the case in Korea. He's a nice guy...very sweet, tall, cute, incredible English, but I'm still not so much into the dating scene. We'll see if anything happens from here.
Anyway we were out from 5:30PM to 11:30PM. Yup...that's right. A 6 hour date...again how Korea works, but very fun!^^
Peace out.
I left around 11:00 or so after we had Ji Hee made us broccoli and cheese soup for lunch. I felt bad when I got home because my host family had gotten the message about me being in Wonju early this morning and had checked to see if I was home. Again whoops!
I hung out at home for a good majority of the day until Ethan (the Korean guy) came to pick me up. Apparently coffee was nowhere in the plan for today. We went to the Wonju gym to watch a Hapkido competition. While I'm sure it was interesting, Ethan and I spent the whole time talking instead of watching the hapkido. We then went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. At first I was utterly shocked at the prices, but luckily, they had cheaper dishes. I had Chinese noodles. I still find it hard to eat Chinese food in Korea. It always seems odd to me for some reason. I've had Americanized Chinese food and I've had real Chinese food, but Koreanized Chinese food is still strange to me. It is closer to the real thing, however.
After dinner, we headed over to an area which has quite a few bars. We were specifically looking for the Hookah bar...yes there is one in Wonju! Can you believe it?! I couldn't at first. We walked around a LOT because the guys we asked in WA Bar sent us the complete opposite direction. We finally found it, had a beer, and smoked a hookah. It was his first time going to Aqua Vitae in Wonju.
There is something that I forgot to mention about Ethan. He has spent a lot of time with foreigners, he lived in Australia for half a year, and presumably because of these two things combined...he talks like a gangster. We actually call him and his friend Korean gangsters. Anyway, when he talks one on one, that style of talk almost entirely disappears. I also heard later, that he does not at all speak that way when he speaks Korean.
We also got into a big discussion about religion. He is Christian...a very strong Christian. It was an interesting conversation, but a little too high stress for a first date.
For a good majority of the "date" and before it even began, I was hoping that it was just as going out as friends. Somehow, that never seems to be the case in Korea. He's a nice guy...very sweet, tall, cute, incredible English, but I'm still not so much into the dating scene. We'll see if anything happens from here.
Anyway we were out from 5:30PM to 11:30PM. Yup...that's right. A 6 hour date...again how Korea works, but very fun!^^
Peace out.
First Tour - Saturday June 28, 2008
I took a bus from Shi Wae to Gangbyeon this morning. It cut about 30 min. off the commute. I got to Seoul at 9:10AM or so..almost an hour early. So, I went to have coffee at Tom N Toms. Good grief; the coffee is more expensive than at Starbucks! Craziness.
I met Malcolm on my way back across the road to the station; he was headed to get some lunch for the Sharing House.
We were in charge today, so we had to meet the group at the station and get them to the Sharing House still in tact. ^_~ We didn't do too horribly. We found the buses and everything. Jyoung Ah was with us, so she helped get us off at the right stop. It's kind of a hectic process to get to the Sharing House since it's so far out in the country.
I talked with Malcolm for most of the bus ride, but we both took a few minutes to study our notes.
The visit was good. It started off kind of rough. The only English version of a documentary we usually show at the visits, broke somehow. SO, we couldn't show them the DVD. I was pretty darn nervous but managed to get most of the information out. ^_~ Malcolm is AMAZING! He speaks very naturally and does quite well in front of large groups of people. I figure once I get more used to the information, I will be fine. I definitely made a few slip ups, but luckily, there was another veteran volunteer there to help me out. Heather is such a sweetheart. She knew I was nervous, but she was really supportive. So were two of the Korean male volunteers Han and Lee. They're such great guys. They are part of Angela's class at Seoul University. They came when she made a Sharing House visit an assignment, and they decided that they wanted to continue to volunteer!
Malcolm and I split it up so I would have the outside, he would have the first room, I would have the second room, and he would have the third room. I think it worked out best that way. I don't feel comfortable enough in the first room yet. There is a lot of background information that is presented in that room.
After the museum tour, we had lunch, and then showed the testimony of Lee Ok Seon Halmoni. Unfortunately the visitors couldn't meet any of the halmoni today because those that are healthy enough, were at a meeting in a nearby town.
We may have found someone to take over the Vagina Monologues next year. Jyoung Ah can't do it again; she was so incredibly stressed out last year before and during the production. It is best that someone else take it on after the two incredible years Jyoung Ah headed. One of the visitors was really interested in the VDay movement in Korea. I think if she does take it on, which I think she will, she will do a great job with it. Sadly, I won't be able to help with it again because I'll be out of the country during the production this next year. Last year, I was in and out during travel, but next year, I will be traveling pretty consistently. It makes me sad; I wish I could stay and help more, but my vacation time in the winter is my only time to travel.
The volunteers hung out in the office for a while until Malcolm and some other random guy Annie invited to help with the new website were done messing around with its setup. Heather and Annie took Heather's car back, and Malcom, Andrea (a past volunteer who is only here to visit), Jyoung Ah, and I took a taxi and a bus back to Gangbyeon. Malcolm, Andrea, and I talked the entire way back. Andrea is so sweet! I love her! I just met her, but I love her! She lived most of her life in Colombia and Mexico, but now she is living in California. She is Korean though. Her and Maria met in Mexico through their families and are best friends now.
Anyway, we talked about Uganda a lot and the work that Malcolm did there. We also talked about the current situation of Uganda with the government and the tribes.
When we got back to Gangbyeon, I decided that I just wanted to go home to Wonju. First I stopped in Jamsil to see if that would help with my decision to live there or not. It most certainly did NOT help, but it was nice to at least see part of the area. I headed to the express bus terminal this time because that bus spits me out closer to my home in Wonju (less of a taxi ride). I hadn't really eaten all day, so I ate some odaeng before I got on the bus.
Last night, I asked Miracle (one of my Korean friends) about some Korean guys who used to come to our Friday meetings because I hadn't seen them in a while. Well, one of the guys and I had unspoken considerations of dating, but then we didn't see each other for about a month. Of course Miracle had to tell him that I had asked about him and his friend. Apparently his friend moved to Thailand. He, however, was very much still in Wonju and texted to ask me if I wanted to get coffee tomorrow. I hesitantly agreed. Coffee tomorrow it is.
When I got back to Wonju, I went over to Ji Hee's place because both her and Hae In had been hanging out at Ji Hee's apartment all day. I finally ate a decent meal, and we just talked all night. I ended up falling asleep at Ji Hee's along with Hae In. This was after I had texted my family to tell them that I would come home tonight. Woops!
I met Malcolm on my way back across the road to the station; he was headed to get some lunch for the Sharing House.
We were in charge today, so we had to meet the group at the station and get them to the Sharing House still in tact. ^_~ We didn't do too horribly. We found the buses and everything. Jyoung Ah was with us, so she helped get us off at the right stop. It's kind of a hectic process to get to the Sharing House since it's so far out in the country.
I talked with Malcolm for most of the bus ride, but we both took a few minutes to study our notes.
The visit was good. It started off kind of rough. The only English version of a documentary we usually show at the visits, broke somehow. SO, we couldn't show them the DVD. I was pretty darn nervous but managed to get most of the information out. ^_~ Malcolm is AMAZING! He speaks very naturally and does quite well in front of large groups of people. I figure once I get more used to the information, I will be fine. I definitely made a few slip ups, but luckily, there was another veteran volunteer there to help me out. Heather is such a sweetheart. She knew I was nervous, but she was really supportive. So were two of the Korean male volunteers Han and Lee. They're such great guys. They are part of Angela's class at Seoul University. They came when she made a Sharing House visit an assignment, and they decided that they wanted to continue to volunteer!
Malcolm and I split it up so I would have the outside, he would have the first room, I would have the second room, and he would have the third room. I think it worked out best that way. I don't feel comfortable enough in the first room yet. There is a lot of background information that is presented in that room.
After the museum tour, we had lunch, and then showed the testimony of Lee Ok Seon Halmoni. Unfortunately the visitors couldn't meet any of the halmoni today because those that are healthy enough, were at a meeting in a nearby town.
We may have found someone to take over the Vagina Monologues next year. Jyoung Ah can't do it again; she was so incredibly stressed out last year before and during the production. It is best that someone else take it on after the two incredible years Jyoung Ah headed. One of the visitors was really interested in the VDay movement in Korea. I think if she does take it on, which I think she will, she will do a great job with it. Sadly, I won't be able to help with it again because I'll be out of the country during the production this next year. Last year, I was in and out during travel, but next year, I will be traveling pretty consistently. It makes me sad; I wish I could stay and help more, but my vacation time in the winter is my only time to travel.
The volunteers hung out in the office for a while until Malcolm and some other random guy Annie invited to help with the new website were done messing around with its setup. Heather and Annie took Heather's car back, and Malcom, Andrea (a past volunteer who is only here to visit), Jyoung Ah, and I took a taxi and a bus back to Gangbyeon. Malcolm, Andrea, and I talked the entire way back. Andrea is so sweet! I love her! I just met her, but I love her! She lived most of her life in Colombia and Mexico, but now she is living in California. She is Korean though. Her and Maria met in Mexico through their families and are best friends now.
Anyway, we talked about Uganda a lot and the work that Malcolm did there. We also talked about the current situation of Uganda with the government and the tribes.
When we got back to Gangbyeon, I decided that I just wanted to go home to Wonju. First I stopped in Jamsil to see if that would help with my decision to live there or not. It most certainly did NOT help, but it was nice to at least see part of the area. I headed to the express bus terminal this time because that bus spits me out closer to my home in Wonju (less of a taxi ride). I hadn't really eaten all day, so I ate some odaeng before I got on the bus.
Last night, I asked Miracle (one of my Korean friends) about some Korean guys who used to come to our Friday meetings because I hadn't seen them in a while. Well, one of the guys and I had unspoken considerations of dating, but then we didn't see each other for about a month. Of course Miracle had to tell him that I had asked about him and his friend. Apparently his friend moved to Thailand. He, however, was very much still in Wonju and texted to ask me if I wanted to get coffee tomorrow. I hesitantly agreed. Coffee tomorrow it is.
When I got back to Wonju, I went over to Ji Hee's place because both her and Hae In had been hanging out at Ji Hee's apartment all day. I finally ate a decent meal, and we just talked all night. I ended up falling asleep at Ji Hee's along with Hae In. This was after I had texted my family to tell them that I would come home tonight. Woops!
Still Studying... - Friday June 27, 2008
After playing with clocks all day for my second graders to learn "What time is it?," I spent the rest of the day in the first grade office. I was there until I had my guitar lessons at 2:30PM.
I don't remember what happened after guitar lessons...the problem with being slow to update your blog...memory loss.
I went to the meeting tonight. The topic was about traveling.^^ I love talking about traveling. The people in my group had been to Australia, the Philippines, etc. One guy took a biking tour from Wonju to Pusan over the course of only four days! That is an intense ride! We talked about most memorable traveling moments. One of mine was this amazing little girl in Myanmar named Thay Thay Win. Whenever I would ask her her name (I knew her name...I just liked how she said it), she would say "Thay Thay Win" in the cutest voice ever and bow her head as she said, "Win." I love that little girl. We hugged each other every time we saw each other, we danced together, and we just hung out whenever we could. Love, love, love that girl!
After the meeting, we headed to our usual Makoli place. I talked a lot to Hae In and Jay because he was actually at the meeting tonight!! So excited! He is one of my best Korean guy friends! At one point, I started worrying about my first tour I'm supposed to give at the Sharing House tomorrow, so I left for a bit to sit outside and read my notes. Seriously, I don't feel prepared to give all of that incredibly important information to a group of people during a museum tour. I'm sure it'll all be okay when I get started, but for now...semi-terrified.
I was only out there for a short time because Jay came to talk to me. We talked about the Sharing House a bit, and then he talked me into coming back inside. We spent a bit more time talking. I let it slip that last week is my last week in Wonju which means they may have a going away party for me. I was kind of hoping to avoid sad goodbyes, but I think it's inevitable.
I got home around 12:30 or 1:00 this time. Have to get up early to head to Seoul in the morning.
I finally realized that there is a bus that goes straight to Gangbyeon versus me taking a bus to Gangnam and transferring to the subway to head to Gangbyeon station. It only took me a year to figure it out. Ha!
Anyway, peace out.
I don't remember what happened after guitar lessons...the problem with being slow to update your blog...memory loss.
I went to the meeting tonight. The topic was about traveling.^^ I love talking about traveling. The people in my group had been to Australia, the Philippines, etc. One guy took a biking tour from Wonju to Pusan over the course of only four days! That is an intense ride! We talked about most memorable traveling moments. One of mine was this amazing little girl in Myanmar named Thay Thay Win. Whenever I would ask her her name (I knew her name...I just liked how she said it), she would say "Thay Thay Win" in the cutest voice ever and bow her head as she said, "Win." I love that little girl. We hugged each other every time we saw each other, we danced together, and we just hung out whenever we could. Love, love, love that girl!
After the meeting, we headed to our usual Makoli place. I talked a lot to Hae In and Jay because he was actually at the meeting tonight!! So excited! He is one of my best Korean guy friends! At one point, I started worrying about my first tour I'm supposed to give at the Sharing House tomorrow, so I left for a bit to sit outside and read my notes. Seriously, I don't feel prepared to give all of that incredibly important information to a group of people during a museum tour. I'm sure it'll all be okay when I get started, but for now...semi-terrified.
I was only out there for a short time because Jay came to talk to me. We talked about the Sharing House a bit, and then he talked me into coming back inside. We spent a bit more time talking. I let it slip that last week is my last week in Wonju which means they may have a going away party for me. I was kind of hoping to avoid sad goodbyes, but I think it's inevitable.
I got home around 12:30 or 1:00 this time. Have to get up early to head to Seoul in the morning.
I finally realized that there is a bus that goes straight to Gangbyeon versus me taking a bus to Gangnam and transferring to the subway to head to Gangbyeon station. It only took me a year to figure it out. Ha!
Anyway, peace out.
Everybody Was Kung Fu Fighting - Thursday June 26, 2008
I don't really remember classes for today.
I hung around and talked with the teachers for a bit after school per usual.
I went out to eat with my host family and my host mom's friend's family. They dropped me off on the way back to the apartments. I walked to my last Jazz Dance class. We finished the song we were dancing to which was perfect timing. Although, I don't know how well I actually remember it. ^_~ After class, I told the jazz dance instructor that it was my last day. She was really sad which made me really sad. She had wanted to make me a mixed CD with all of the songs to the dances we had learned, but I hadn't given her enough warning. I think this is pretty consistent for me...I don't like drawn out goodbyes...too hard. Maybe that's why I've drawn out this decision for so long. If I haven't really decided yet, there doesn't have to be as much sadness. Anyway, she gave me a CD that she had in her case that has two of the songs on it. So sweet of her! She also gave me her card so we can stay in touch. She doesn't speak English really and I speak very little Korean, but we'll figure something out.
After dance, I went to guitar for a few hours before I met up with my co teacher to go watch Kung Fu Panda!
We had been wanting to go for so long, but there was always one of the three of us that couldn't go. Ji Hee told us to just go ahead without her. She's our third musketeer, so it was a little sad, but the movie was awesome! I loved it! Lots of laughing!
Afterward, we walked home. Hae In's apartment is much closer than mine, but the nights have been so wonderful lately, that I really like to walk at night. Plus, I thought it would help clear my head about this moving situation. It didn't, but the walk was nice anyway.
Time for bed.
Peace out.
I hung around and talked with the teachers for a bit after school per usual.
I went out to eat with my host family and my host mom's friend's family. They dropped me off on the way back to the apartments. I walked to my last Jazz Dance class. We finished the song we were dancing to which was perfect timing. Although, I don't know how well I actually remember it. ^_~ After class, I told the jazz dance instructor that it was my last day. She was really sad which made me really sad. She had wanted to make me a mixed CD with all of the songs to the dances we had learned, but I hadn't given her enough warning. I think this is pretty consistent for me...I don't like drawn out goodbyes...too hard. Maybe that's why I've drawn out this decision for so long. If I haven't really decided yet, there doesn't have to be as much sadness. Anyway, she gave me a CD that she had in her case that has two of the songs on it. So sweet of her! She also gave me her card so we can stay in touch. She doesn't speak English really and I speak very little Korean, but we'll figure something out.
After dance, I went to guitar for a few hours before I met up with my co teacher to go watch Kung Fu Panda!
We had been wanting to go for so long, but there was always one of the three of us that couldn't go. Ji Hee told us to just go ahead without her. She's our third musketeer, so it was a little sad, but the movie was awesome! I loved it! Lots of laughing!
Afterward, we walked home. Hae In's apartment is much closer than mine, but the nights have been so wonderful lately, that I really like to walk at night. Plus, I thought it would help clear my head about this moving situation. It didn't, but the walk was nice anyway.
Time for bed.
Peace out.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Slacker - Wednesday June 25, 2008
Pretty standard day...
I did, however, have my teachers' class for the first time in quite some time. Where to pick up at. I decided to do a speaking activity practicing different topics. I had them draw 10 straws...of random colors. Black = Embarrassing moments (Ex: I went to class after going the bathroom and my skirt was tucked into my under), Red = Where you want to travel, Blue = Goals for the future (Ex. Read the Bible everyday after retirement. Ex. Travel to Amsterdam for the reason many travel to Amsterdam.), Green = Happiest time (Ex. Children being born, Living in another country, Child's first laugh/smile/walk), Purple = Adjectives to describe yourself (Ex. Shy, Introverted, Selfish, Laid Back).
I've basically become a slacker; I chose again not to go to yoga today. I think I'm just trying to slowly pull out of my activities in Wonju so it's not as overwhelmingly sad when I leave. Or I'm just lazy...one of the two. ^_~
Exciting post, right?^^
Peace out.
I did, however, have my teachers' class for the first time in quite some time. Where to pick up at. I decided to do a speaking activity practicing different topics. I had them draw 10 straws...of random colors. Black = Embarrassing moments (Ex: I went to class after going the bathroom and my skirt was tucked into my under), Red = Where you want to travel, Blue = Goals for the future (Ex. Read the Bible everyday after retirement. Ex. Travel to Amsterdam for the reason many travel to Amsterdam.), Green = Happiest time (Ex. Children being born, Living in another country, Child's first laugh/smile/walk), Purple = Adjectives to describe yourself (Ex. Shy, Introverted, Selfish, Laid Back).
I've basically become a slacker; I chose again not to go to yoga today. I think I'm just trying to slowly pull out of my activities in Wonju so it's not as overwhelmingly sad when I leave. Or I'm just lazy...one of the two. ^_~
Exciting post, right?^^
Peace out.
Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day - Tuesday June 24, 2008
I finally sent the email this morning when I woke up. Exhaustion set in.
In addition, I realized that I really don't want to live in Seoul, but that appears to be what I have decided to commit to.
When I told my co-teacher at school, she was sad...I started crying.
The first few minutes of my first class...I tried not to cry and for the most part succeeded.
I told 1-5 teacher that I was going to move...almost started crying again.
Walked from school to my tutoring lessons...crying but trying to hold it back. This was amazingly emphasized by the fact that I had more kids say hi to me than EVER before on my walk to my Korean lesson.
I got to my Korean lesson. Pulled myself together. My tutor asked me what was wrong...I started bawling. Guess that's what I get for holding in weeks worth of frustration and sadness about this damned moving decision.
My tutor being as amazing as she is, she didn't once suggest studying but just sat there and talked to me. She brought up the Buddhist quote that says, "When we meet someone, we are destined to leave them." She then said that we should get out of there and go for dinner. So we did. We went to have Kal Guk Su. I felt better.
I did, however, refuse to go to my jazz dance class.
So, I just went to my guitar lesson instead.
By the end of the day, I was physically and emotionally drained.
Tomorrow is another day.
Peace out.
In addition, I realized that I really don't want to live in Seoul, but that appears to be what I have decided to commit to.
When I told my co-teacher at school, she was sad...I started crying.
The first few minutes of my first class...I tried not to cry and for the most part succeeded.
I told 1-5 teacher that I was going to move...almost started crying again.
Walked from school to my tutoring lessons...crying but trying to hold it back. This was amazingly emphasized by the fact that I had more kids say hi to me than EVER before on my walk to my Korean lesson.
I got to my Korean lesson. Pulled myself together. My tutor asked me what was wrong...I started bawling. Guess that's what I get for holding in weeks worth of frustration and sadness about this damned moving decision.
My tutor being as amazing as she is, she didn't once suggest studying but just sat there and talked to me. She brought up the Buddhist quote that says, "When we meet someone, we are destined to leave them." She then said that we should get out of there and go for dinner. So we did. We went to have Kal Guk Su. I felt better.
I did, however, refuse to go to my jazz dance class.
So, I just went to my guitar lesson instead.
By the end of the day, I was physically and emotionally drained.
Tomorrow is another day.
Peace out.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Holy Lack of Sleep, Batman! - Monday June 23, 2008
I woke up a little later than what I had expected. I hurried downstairs to get changed. I had been assured that the subway started at 5:00AM by one of my fellow ETA friends. Unfortunately, I found that the subway starts at varying degrees of 5:00. The line I needed in order to make my 6AM bus started at 5:40AM. The woman telling me the correct time was wrong the first time too. The first time she said 5:25. So, the math running through my head was as follows: 5:25 + :25 = 5:50 = 10 minutes to get off the subway, get my bag from the locker, and get my butt over to my bus. 5:40 + :25 = Screwed. So, I checked in on another line that left from the station...only to be incredibly confused at the direction it was going. Because of course, the only other line out of that particular subway station is the dark blue line which intersects and drops off at points and does all kinds of crazy shit. At this point it was almost 5:30, so I just left the station and found a taxi. I figured it wasn't TOO far for the two points. Sadly, it was a little further financially than I initially thought...about $6...which again doesn't seem like a lot, but I come from Wonju where I don't like to take a taxi ride over $4 or $5. Ha!
Anyway, I got to the station with 15 minutes to spare, so I figured out how to get my bag out of the locker I had entrusted nearly 12 hours ago. I think I put another $1 in when I didn't have to...note to self...figure that out for next time.
I slept all the way home and took a taxi straight to the apt. I got in around 7:30AM which meant that I still had about an hour before I had to head to school. Hmm...what to do, what to do. Sleep! So, I did...off and on. I woke up for about a 5 or 10 minute breakfast, watched my host sibs head to school, I had about 3 minutes until I figured I absolutely had to go to school...annnnd I fell back asleep. Host mom definitely woke me up at 9:00AM. 20 minutes after I was supposed to be at school. Luckily I didn't have an actual class; I was just supposed to be helping out with the English Village.
I pulled together a lesson...a pretty cute lesson if I do say so myself. ^_~ The first class was 30 minutes late. To a 40 minute class, my first class was late by 30 minutes. Ok.
Here is the ingredients for a 10 minute lesson:
-Patience (The teacher probably just forgot about the English class that her children have been going to for 16 weeks. Could happen to anyone?)
-Brief "How are you today?"
-Last two sign language letters
-The song "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes"
-Time is up! I will see you next time!
-Flexibility (What the hell can you teach a child in 10 minutes that doesn't end up being...can roll my tongue, want to see a magic trick?)
-Confidence(That teacher thinks you can teach her children all of the secrets to English fluency in 10 minutes. You must think the same! Haha!)
In all reality, I have learned quite a bit of flexibility with this job and everything I say really is in sarcasm, because it doesn't bother me when the classes are late. I have come to expect that it will happen, on average, once a week at least.
Second class. was. frustrating. They didn't want to listen to me, and I was still tired which made me cranky. This made an incredible combination! We did very little with the activity I had planned, and by the end of the class, I detained two children who had given me the most trouble. The teacher informed me that they were sick...now did she mean that they are "sick" in the head (thinking it was this one) or literally sick. Either way, I don't accept a student misbehaving that repeatedly in my class. And perhaps if their teachers didn't write them off as mentally incapable, they would have learned some classroom etiquette by now.
Special needs students are quite readily looked over in Korean classrooms. Also, they are given much more leeway than any other student would be given. Often times, the teachers' reasoning for a student with special needs not being able to do something is that he/she has special needs. Special needs does not an incapable student make. Coming from an education background where we are taught to adapt classrooms to allow effective education for every student, this "let them slide" attitude frustrates the hell out of me.
I once asked about special education classes or schools. There is one in Wonju. A city of 300,000 people, there is one school. Nearly all students are mainstreamed. in a society where prestige is given to those who rock the test, many students (not only special needs students but especially special needs students) are being left behind. (This is not meant AT ALL to be connected to the poorly-handled No Child Left Behind Act)
After classes, I hung out in the first grade teachers' office. We always manage to get random food sent to us or bought for us. The parents are incredibly generous. Last Wednesday, I walked in on the teachers ripping a whole crab apart that 1-6's parents bought for the office. It was still warm and yummy too! It was hilarious watching the teachers go at it though (sorry full veggies out there...I've had to adjust to certain things.) I've been a vegetarian since first semester of my senior year in college, but at the time I was a full vegetarian. When I lived in Japan the first semester of my junior year, I began eating all kinds of crazy seafood. It wasn't a question in Japan, it was a must. So, eating seafood is a big part of me now. It has helped me a lot in Korea. Food is an incredibly important aspect of Korean culture. Since the WWII, when Korea was very poor, Koreans have worried about whether their friends and family are getting enough food. That is why in these days of a very healthy Korean economy, many of my fellow ETAs have host families who feed them too much. Hence, also, the common greeting, "Have you eaten?"
I went to the orphanage today. I love love love these kids! They are so adorable! We made paper thermometers with Celsius on one side and Fahrenheit on the other. I really think they could have cared less what it's technical purpose was, they thought it was really cool that they could make the red line go up and down though. Haha! We then did a coloring activity. They rock at their colors!
I told the woman who first helped me with them that I am not living in Wonju after this semester. I guess I just told whoever reads my blog that as well. Kind of a rough decision...well cross out kind of. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make.
I decided not to go to yoga today, but I still went to guitar lessons.
The lack of sleep comes into play when I decided that I wasn't going to go to sleep until I made a real decision about where to live next year. I told Susie that I would tell her by today. Well...around 4AM, I finally had written an email to Susie saying that I was going to move to Seoul. I passed out before I had the nerve to actually send the email.
Guess...that whole process didn't work out so well.
Anyway, I got to the station with 15 minutes to spare, so I figured out how to get my bag out of the locker I had entrusted nearly 12 hours ago. I think I put another $1 in when I didn't have to...note to self...figure that out for next time.
I slept all the way home and took a taxi straight to the apt. I got in around 7:30AM which meant that I still had about an hour before I had to head to school. Hmm...what to do, what to do. Sleep! So, I did...off and on. I woke up for about a 5 or 10 minute breakfast, watched my host sibs head to school, I had about 3 minutes until I figured I absolutely had to go to school...annnnd I fell back asleep. Host mom definitely woke me up at 9:00AM. 20 minutes after I was supposed to be at school. Luckily I didn't have an actual class; I was just supposed to be helping out with the English Village.
I pulled together a lesson...a pretty cute lesson if I do say so myself. ^_~ The first class was 30 minutes late. To a 40 minute class, my first class was late by 30 minutes. Ok.
Here is the ingredients for a 10 minute lesson:
-Patience (The teacher probably just forgot about the English class that her children have been going to for 16 weeks. Could happen to anyone?)
-Brief "How are you today?"
-Last two sign language letters
-The song "Head and Shoulders, Knees and Toes"
-Time is up! I will see you next time!
-Flexibility (What the hell can you teach a child in 10 minutes that doesn't end up being...can roll my tongue, want to see a magic trick?)
-Confidence(That teacher thinks you can teach her children all of the secrets to English fluency in 10 minutes. You must think the same! Haha!)
In all reality, I have learned quite a bit of flexibility with this job and everything I say really is in sarcasm, because it doesn't bother me when the classes are late. I have come to expect that it will happen, on average, once a week at least.
Second class. was. frustrating. They didn't want to listen to me, and I was still tired which made me cranky. This made an incredible combination! We did very little with the activity I had planned, and by the end of the class, I detained two children who had given me the most trouble. The teacher informed me that they were sick...now did she mean that they are "sick" in the head (thinking it was this one) or literally sick. Either way, I don't accept a student misbehaving that repeatedly in my class. And perhaps if their teachers didn't write them off as mentally incapable, they would have learned some classroom etiquette by now.
Special needs students are quite readily looked over in Korean classrooms. Also, they are given much more leeway than any other student would be given. Often times, the teachers' reasoning for a student with special needs not being able to do something is that he/she has special needs. Special needs does not an incapable student make. Coming from an education background where we are taught to adapt classrooms to allow effective education for every student, this "let them slide" attitude frustrates the hell out of me.
I once asked about special education classes or schools. There is one in Wonju. A city of 300,000 people, there is one school. Nearly all students are mainstreamed. in a society where prestige is given to those who rock the test, many students (not only special needs students but especially special needs students) are being left behind. (This is not meant AT ALL to be connected to the poorly-handled No Child Left Behind Act)
After classes, I hung out in the first grade teachers' office. We always manage to get random food sent to us or bought for us. The parents are incredibly generous. Last Wednesday, I walked in on the teachers ripping a whole crab apart that 1-6's parents bought for the office. It was still warm and yummy too! It was hilarious watching the teachers go at it though (sorry full veggies out there...I've had to adjust to certain things.) I've been a vegetarian since first semester of my senior year in college, but at the time I was a full vegetarian. When I lived in Japan the first semester of my junior year, I began eating all kinds of crazy seafood. It wasn't a question in Japan, it was a must. So, eating seafood is a big part of me now. It has helped me a lot in Korea. Food is an incredibly important aspect of Korean culture. Since the WWII, when Korea was very poor, Koreans have worried about whether their friends and family are getting enough food. That is why in these days of a very healthy Korean economy, many of my fellow ETAs have host families who feed them too much. Hence, also, the common greeting, "Have you eaten?"
I went to the orphanage today. I love love love these kids! They are so adorable! We made paper thermometers with Celsius on one side and Fahrenheit on the other. I really think they could have cared less what it's technical purpose was, they thought it was really cool that they could make the red line go up and down though. Haha! We then did a coloring activity. They rock at their colors!
I told the woman who first helped me with them that I am not living in Wonju after this semester. I guess I just told whoever reads my blog that as well. Kind of a rough decision...well cross out kind of. It was an incredibly difficult decision to make.
I decided not to go to yoga today, but I still went to guitar lessons.
The lack of sleep comes into play when I decided that I wasn't going to go to sleep until I made a real decision about where to live next year. I told Susie that I would tell her by today. Well...around 4AM, I finally had written an email to Susie saying that I was going to move to Seoul. I passed out before I had the nerve to actually send the email.
Guess...that whole process didn't work out so well.
NoKo v. SoKo - Sunday June 22, 2008
Jenna and Jeremy headed out earlier than I was willing to wake up, so I stayed and slept until 12:30PM-ish. My goal for today...veg. So, I went to take a shower, lied around in the baths for a while, messed around on the internet for a while, and talked to Lauren while hanging out on the third floor of the jimjilbang. Oh, I also ate an egg...not just any egg...a jimjilbang egg. They are left in the hottest sauna they have at the jimjilbang to slowly bake.
Around 3:30PM, Ray called me. I decided to meet up with him and Jen near Gangnam, where they were meeting one of our teachers from orientation. Bang Sansaengnim is definitely married and pregnant now. Through me for a loop. I was a little late meeting them because I stopped on my way through Seoul Station to listen to a Native American playing pipes. He was incredible, so of course, I had to buy one of his CDs.
The four of us walked around for a bit and then had to quickly say goodbye to both Jen and Bang Sansaengnim because Ray and I had to head the opposite direction. I was meeting some friends to go to a soccer game, and Ray decided to try to get tickets.
I got a phone call from Allon saying he was going to be a little late getting back. We had planned on meeting for dinner, but he was stuck in traffic coming back into Seoul from the water park in Everland. Traffic was nasty today...nastier than usual. I, instead, met Allon's friend Jake at the subway stop and we hung out (ie. Went to the grocery store nearby to get me some food since I hadn't eaten all day) until Allon and Anna could meet up with us. Allon, from South Africa, and Anna, from Korea, are the two I met at the Sharing House last weekend. Allon's friend Jake is the one who got us the tickets to the game between North Korean and South Korea, a world cup qualifying game. The four teams in the group are Jordan, Turkmenistan, North Korea, and South Korea. Really NoKo and SoKo are 1 and 2 of the group, so they will both advance to the next round no matter what the outcome of this game was.
This is the first soccer game I have ever been to...how fitting that it be between NoKo and SoKo. We speculated as to how in the world North Koreans were there to support their team. My thinking is that in NoKo, there are different classes/levels of people. There are those who are highly trusted, those who are basic civilians, and those who are closely watched by the government. My guess is that those who are highly trusted, most likely supporters of the government are the ones who were allowed to come cheer on their team. In addition there were quite a few non North Korean supporters supporting NoKo. Interesting.
Ray managed to get a ticket, but for some reason they wouldn't give him a ticket for the section we were in (they said it was full, but it was nowhere close to it), so he just got a random ticket. I took Allon's ticket out to Ray to get him into our section. Sneaky and it worked. I think it might have been easier because we are foreigners or the ticket checkers just didn't care. ^_~
The game, unfortunately, ended 0-0. Ray and Anna left a little early to miss the crowds. Allon and I left together shorty after them, but we went the wrong way...away from the subway. When we figured it out, we were right in the thick of the crowd. We got to the subway and right after Allon finished telling me that even though Koreans tend to be pushy, they are much more polite after games...we were like a school of salmon being pushed up and into a giant metal holding cell. My only reaction...to laugh. I had a huge smile on my face the entire time. I found it nothing but hilarious. At the stop Allon got off at, so did about half of the people on the subway. I did a little swimming/flapping maneuver to show Allon that I now had room to move. Haha!
Allon is hilarious. Sadly, he is leaving in only 3 months. I suppose that's the consequence of making foreign friends...they all leave at some point. There are a few lifers but very rare.
The game had started at 8 and finished around 10...no way to make it back to the bus station in time. Plus, I already bought my return ticket for 6AM tomorrow. So, I made my way back to my home away from home...good ol' jimjilbang behind Seoul Station. My goal is for them to start to recognize me when I go there and eventually ask for a discount. Ha! Not really, but a discount would be nice. It's a more expensive jimjilbang, because it is really nice AND you can actually sleep versus the alternative of not sleeping at most other jimjilbangs. Here, there are individual little bunk beds, and there are two separate rooms for men and women. Couples can sleep on any of the other floors together, but there isn't a room for couples. Sometimes it's funny to walk down and see the scandalous positions Korean couples get into. By scandalous I mean..normal cuddling stuff for us. I think it is more accepted in jimjilbangs though but usually is only seen with younger couples.
I tried to catch up in my blog a bit in the PC lab then went to bed around 12:30AM.
Oy vey...wake up call in T minus 4 hours.
Peace out.
Around 3:30PM, Ray called me. I decided to meet up with him and Jen near Gangnam, where they were meeting one of our teachers from orientation. Bang Sansaengnim is definitely married and pregnant now. Through me for a loop. I was a little late meeting them because I stopped on my way through Seoul Station to listen to a Native American playing pipes. He was incredible, so of course, I had to buy one of his CDs.
The four of us walked around for a bit and then had to quickly say goodbye to both Jen and Bang Sansaengnim because Ray and I had to head the opposite direction. I was meeting some friends to go to a soccer game, and Ray decided to try to get tickets.
I got a phone call from Allon saying he was going to be a little late getting back. We had planned on meeting for dinner, but he was stuck in traffic coming back into Seoul from the water park in Everland. Traffic was nasty today...nastier than usual. I, instead, met Allon's friend Jake at the subway stop and we hung out (ie. Went to the grocery store nearby to get me some food since I hadn't eaten all day) until Allon and Anna could meet up with us. Allon, from South Africa, and Anna, from Korea, are the two I met at the Sharing House last weekend. Allon's friend Jake is the one who got us the tickets to the game between North Korean and South Korea, a world cup qualifying game. The four teams in the group are Jordan, Turkmenistan, North Korea, and South Korea. Really NoKo and SoKo are 1 and 2 of the group, so they will both advance to the next round no matter what the outcome of this game was.
This is the first soccer game I have ever been to...how fitting that it be between NoKo and SoKo. We speculated as to how in the world North Koreans were there to support their team. My thinking is that in NoKo, there are different classes/levels of people. There are those who are highly trusted, those who are basic civilians, and those who are closely watched by the government. My guess is that those who are highly trusted, most likely supporters of the government are the ones who were allowed to come cheer on their team. In addition there were quite a few non North Korean supporters supporting NoKo. Interesting.
Ray managed to get a ticket, but for some reason they wouldn't give him a ticket for the section we were in (they said it was full, but it was nowhere close to it), so he just got a random ticket. I took Allon's ticket out to Ray to get him into our section. Sneaky and it worked. I think it might have been easier because we are foreigners or the ticket checkers just didn't care. ^_~
The game, unfortunately, ended 0-0. Ray and Anna left a little early to miss the crowds. Allon and I left together shorty after them, but we went the wrong way...away from the subway. When we figured it out, we were right in the thick of the crowd. We got to the subway and right after Allon finished telling me that even though Koreans tend to be pushy, they are much more polite after games...we were like a school of salmon being pushed up and into a giant metal holding cell. My only reaction...to laugh. I had a huge smile on my face the entire time. I found it nothing but hilarious. At the stop Allon got off at, so did about half of the people on the subway. I did a little swimming/flapping maneuver to show Allon that I now had room to move. Haha!
Allon is hilarious. Sadly, he is leaving in only 3 months. I suppose that's the consequence of making foreign friends...they all leave at some point. There are a few lifers but very rare.
The game had started at 8 and finished around 10...no way to make it back to the bus station in time. Plus, I already bought my return ticket for 6AM tomorrow. So, I made my way back to my home away from home...good ol' jimjilbang behind Seoul Station. My goal is for them to start to recognize me when I go there and eventually ask for a discount. Ha! Not really, but a discount would be nice. It's a more expensive jimjilbang, because it is really nice AND you can actually sleep versus the alternative of not sleeping at most other jimjilbangs. Here, there are individual little bunk beds, and there are two separate rooms for men and women. Couples can sleep on any of the other floors together, but there isn't a room for couples. Sometimes it's funny to walk down and see the scandalous positions Korean couples get into. By scandalous I mean..normal cuddling stuff for us. I think it is more accepted in jimjilbangs though but usually is only seen with younger couples.
I tried to catch up in my blog a bit in the PC lab then went to bed around 12:30AM.
Oy vey...wake up call in T minus 4 hours.
Peace out.
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