Ok, so I'm home. I was in Myanmar for 2 weeks, which I think most of you were aware of. As much as I would like to, I'm not going to be writing about my experiences on my blog. If you are interested, please ask me.^^
I actually got home two days ago but have been trying to process everything and get back into the swing of things. My host family was incredibly welcoming to me and were very happy to see me. My host sister jumped into my arms and repeatedly said, "I missed you. I love you. I missed you. I love you." Haha! She has been much more clingy since I got home.^^ My host brother has too...oddly enough. Last night we watched a movie as a family, and my host brother leaned on me and used me as a pillow. I'm used to my host sister reacting that way but was a little surprised about my host bro. I wish I didn't have to leave again so soon. I love my host family!
Oh, I forgot to mention. I screwed up big time! I thought that I was getting home the 19th, so that is the last thing I texted my host mom with. I said 6:45AM on January 19th. At this time I had realized that I was actually getting in on the 20th, but mistyped it when texting her before my trip. So, she and the entire family were worried about me for a day. I felt SO bad!
Today, Lauren and I met up near Lotte Cinema. She has mono, so she had to quit her internship and cancel her trip to Japan. How horrible?! It was interesting explaining mono to my host mom. She looked it up online and of course it is listed as an infectious disease, so naturally my host mom was worried about me meeting up with Lauren. I then explained that in the states, we call mono the "kissing disease" and that I wouldn't be kissing Lauren. Ha! I also explained that it is from eating and drinking after people, so we would just be careful. Mono is NOT common in Korea at all. Also, my host mom's family came into town unexpectedly, but I already had plans with Lauren. I saw them for a bit because they drove me to Lotte Cinema, so I wouldn't have to take a taxi. Anyway, Lauren and I ate lunch together and went to a movie; we saw Sweeny Todd, Johnny Depp's new movie. Let me tell you about this incredibly morbid, dark musical. First of all, I was shocked that Johnny Depp was singing until I remembered my favorite movie of his, "Cry Baby." Second of all, I was shocked at how dark and graphic the movie was. Not necessarily in a bad way, but it took me a while to process. I went into the movie knowing absolutely nothing about the plot line. I probably should have done a bit of research beforehand. Haha! If you haven't seen it, see it, and you will understand what I am talking about.
For now, I'm just hanging out at home trying to get everything put away from my trip and trying to clean up my room. I will try to keep the blog up-to-date as best as I can over the next month and week of break.^^
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Thursday, January 3, 2008
ByeBye Kyung Chan - Thursday Jan. 3, 2007
I got a grand total of 2 and 1/2 hours of sleep last night. I couldn't get to sleep....so I started packing, played with the stumble button on my computer, and some other random researching online. I had to wake up at 8:30AM to go with my host sis, host bro, and host mom to Seoul to meet my host mom's sisters. We took the bus and got in around 11:30AM. My host mom's sisters wanted to take her out to lunch for her birthday. We went to TGI Fridays; it was like I entered the twilight zone. Everything was the exact same as a TGI Fridays in the states. I was completely blown away. I searched for something to make it Korean; the only thing I could find was a tiny Korean flag up on one of the shelves all mixed in with the random antique-y looking decorations.
We ate SO much! Fried mushrooms, calamari, salad bar, pasta, dessert, etc. We were all stuffed even before the entrees came. My tummy was a little unhappy with all of the fried, greasy food for a while, but it got over it. My host sister kept hugging me and telling me she loved me about a billion times while we were at the restaurant. She is leaving for Shanghai today for a week, but I will be gone for about a week after she gets back as well.
My host bro, host mom, and I went shopping after the aunts dropped us off. There is a large shopping area below the express bus terminal. I never had a chance to shop there, because I was usually running through there in a hurry to try to catch a bus. I bought three shirts for about $10 each and my host mom bought some stuff too. My host bro and I joke around about window shopping, because I don't do a very good job at it. He always asks me, "Are you going to buy that?" Haha!
We got home around 5:00PM and I tried to work on Japan plans until dinner. We had curry for dinner, and I talked to my host bro a bit; we were the only two home eating dinner. I talked to him about PSP, his hagwans, and I asked him if he was going to miss his sister. He said no. I asked him if he was going to miss me. He said maybe. Haha! I told him that the correct answer is yes.^^
I'm getting frustrated with Japan plans. I've been trying to get my former BCA director to help me contact my host family in Japan, and he's not responding to my emails. A Japanese friend of mine is helping me with plans for hostels...it's going to be expensive. Then I got this brilliant idea to ask my host family, but I don't really have the Japanese ability to do that. So, I asked my Japanese friend if she would mind doing it. If she says she would prefer not to, I'm going to attempt to bust out my awesome non-existent Japanese skills. It will at least be mildy entertaining for both my host family and me. Oh, and the flight, continues to go up in price. I was finally ready to book it at a ridiculous $650, and it then went up $70 more. GAH! I'm still booking it, because I did research into other flights and everything is basically booked that is any cheaper than that. Also, I thought that it would be cheaper to just fly into Osaka and take a train to Sapporo, but the overnight train is about $250 anyway. Everything will work out; I'm sure it will. I was trying to get everything taken care of before I leave on Saturday, but I don't think that's going to happen. I'll at least have a flight. I can figure out a place to stay later and how I'm getting there from the airport. No problem.
For now, I'm brushing up on my Japanese in case I am going to attempt that host family phone call. I now need to figure out how to say, "I will sleep in a little ball in the corner. You don't even have to feed me."
We ate SO much! Fried mushrooms, calamari, salad bar, pasta, dessert, etc. We were all stuffed even before the entrees came. My tummy was a little unhappy with all of the fried, greasy food for a while, but it got over it. My host sister kept hugging me and telling me she loved me about a billion times while we were at the restaurant. She is leaving for Shanghai today for a week, but I will be gone for about a week after she gets back as well.
My host bro, host mom, and I went shopping after the aunts dropped us off. There is a large shopping area below the express bus terminal. I never had a chance to shop there, because I was usually running through there in a hurry to try to catch a bus. I bought three shirts for about $10 each and my host mom bought some stuff too. My host bro and I joke around about window shopping, because I don't do a very good job at it. He always asks me, "Are you going to buy that?" Haha!
We got home around 5:00PM and I tried to work on Japan plans until dinner. We had curry for dinner, and I talked to my host bro a bit; we were the only two home eating dinner. I talked to him about PSP, his hagwans, and I asked him if he was going to miss his sister. He said no. I asked him if he was going to miss me. He said maybe. Haha! I told him that the correct answer is yes.^^
I'm getting frustrated with Japan plans. I've been trying to get my former BCA director to help me contact my host family in Japan, and he's not responding to my emails. A Japanese friend of mine is helping me with plans for hostels...it's going to be expensive. Then I got this brilliant idea to ask my host family, but I don't really have the Japanese ability to do that. So, I asked my Japanese friend if she would mind doing it. If she says she would prefer not to, I'm going to attempt to bust out my awesome non-existent Japanese skills. It will at least be mildy entertaining for both my host family and me. Oh, and the flight, continues to go up in price. I was finally ready to book it at a ridiculous $650, and it then went up $70 more. GAH! I'm still booking it, because I did research into other flights and everything is basically booked that is any cheaper than that. Also, I thought that it would be cheaper to just fly into Osaka and take a train to Sapporo, but the overnight train is about $250 anyway. Everything will work out; I'm sure it will. I was trying to get everything taken care of before I leave on Saturday, but I don't think that's going to happen. I'll at least have a flight. I can figure out a place to stay later and how I'm getting there from the airport. No problem.
For now, I'm brushing up on my Japanese in case I am going to attempt that host family phone call. I now need to figure out how to say, "I will sleep in a little ball in the corner. You don't even have to feed me."
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
And the Dreams continue... - Wednesday Jan. 2, 2008
I don't know what the deal is. I have been having a lot of weird dreams lately. I nearly NEVER remember my dreams when I wake up, but that isn't the case lately. Again I forgot to write this one down earlier so I don't remember a lot of it; I always think that I'll remember because they're so strange, but I never do. This one had something to do with being on a mountain and there being high rise platforms or rocks that a few people had to cross. I don't remember anything else. How incredibly random?! I think I need to start keeping a dream journal.
Anyway, the rest of the day, I just lied around again. I seriously need to break myself of this pattern. I also tried to figure out Japan plans. I'm getting a little frustrated, because my friends in Sapporo haven't been responding very well. I need to buy tickets within the next two days if I'm still going to go when I want to go, but if I just go without planning anything else, I won't have anywhere to stay or any way to get there from the airport. Gah! I can't stay with my friend, because he lives in an all male dorm. Hmm....
Oh, I also stumbled upon the website "Stumble Upon" and have been wasting a lot of time with that link. That's about it for the day. I'm going to go spend some time with the host fam.
Ok. Update! I love my host family!!! Love Love Love!! My host dad, mom, and I sat around talking and drinking; my host mom and I drank wine, and my host dad drank a warm alcohol similar to sake (the Japanese rice wine). We talked about how we were stupid as children. Haha! My host mom (5 years old) lost her sister (1 year old), because she went out to play when she was supposed to be watching her sister. She was gone when she got back home, but luckily a lady from downtown had found her and was watching her. My host dad told me about three of his scars. One is on his forehead, because he ran into a garage door that was partially open. He has two on his wrist; one is from when he was three and he slid off of the roof (Why he was on the roof? My host mom could only assume that he was a very stupid child.) and the other is because the doors to his house were locked so he tried to jump over the fence that surrounded his house. Unfortunately, it had broken glass at the top to keep out burglars. Again my host mom and I assumed that he was trying to break into the house until he informed us that it was his own house. Hah! Oh, he also dropped my host brother when he was a tiny baby. Who doesn't do that?! So, in exchange, I told them about many stories from my childhood. I was a very stupid child, so I only let them in on a few. Hitting my head on the toy rocking dog I had as a child, being bitten by two different dogs (once on the hip by my dog and once on the lip by my aunt's dog), being bitten by a turtle when I tried to kiss it when I was super young, when my sister put me in the bathtub to see if I would actually get sucked down the drain, when I put my hand through the glass window on our door when I was trying to shut it, when I threw a shoe through one of our living room windows because I was mad at my sister...I think that is about it...at least of what I told them. Oh, yah, and when I stabbed a hole in the top of my foot while playing hide and go seek with my cousins at my family's chalet. Now I'm done.
My host sis was crying when my host mom put her to bed. We are all riding the bus to take my host sis to Seoul to meet up with her aunt. They are going to Shanghai together. My host sis is afraid to travel without her mom; it'll be the first time. My host sis also got mad at my host mom for talking about her. My host mom had told me earlier that when Kyung Chan and Chan I were little, my host bro talked my host sister into putting rings around her arms, then tying an elastic band around both the rings and from the ceiling. My host sis then jumped off of a desk, the elastic band broke, and she tore up the underside of both her arms. Now, my host sis informed my host mom that she understood everything that my host mom was telling me. I just don't think that is true, but I do think she understood that her mom was talking about her and I remember how annoyed I am at my mom when she does that to me...so I kind of understand my host sis' aggravation. She's 10 though; her mom is going to talk about her for the rest of her life. That's what I've figured out with my mom.
When my host mom and I were getting ready to go to bed at 1AM, my host mom looked at me and said, "I had fun." Super cute! I returned the sentiment. She also told me that if I didn't want to get up for breakfast, I could sleep in for a bit. I might take her up on that.^^
*Still trying to figure out Japan plans, but for now, I'm ready to head to bed. It was a good night!
Anyway, the rest of the day, I just lied around again. I seriously need to break myself of this pattern. I also tried to figure out Japan plans. I'm getting a little frustrated, because my friends in Sapporo haven't been responding very well. I need to buy tickets within the next two days if I'm still going to go when I want to go, but if I just go without planning anything else, I won't have anywhere to stay or any way to get there from the airport. Gah! I can't stay with my friend, because he lives in an all male dorm. Hmm....
Oh, I also stumbled upon the website "Stumble Upon" and have been wasting a lot of time with that link. That's about it for the day. I'm going to go spend some time with the host fam.
Ok. Update! I love my host family!!! Love Love Love!! My host dad, mom, and I sat around talking and drinking; my host mom and I drank wine, and my host dad drank a warm alcohol similar to sake (the Japanese rice wine). We talked about how we were stupid as children. Haha! My host mom (5 years old) lost her sister (1 year old), because she went out to play when she was supposed to be watching her sister. She was gone when she got back home, but luckily a lady from downtown had found her and was watching her. My host dad told me about three of his scars. One is on his forehead, because he ran into a garage door that was partially open. He has two on his wrist; one is from when he was three and he slid off of the roof (Why he was on the roof? My host mom could only assume that he was a very stupid child.) and the other is because the doors to his house were locked so he tried to jump over the fence that surrounded his house. Unfortunately, it had broken glass at the top to keep out burglars. Again my host mom and I assumed that he was trying to break into the house until he informed us that it was his own house. Hah! Oh, he also dropped my host brother when he was a tiny baby. Who doesn't do that?! So, in exchange, I told them about many stories from my childhood. I was a very stupid child, so I only let them in on a few. Hitting my head on the toy rocking dog I had as a child, being bitten by two different dogs (once on the hip by my dog and once on the lip by my aunt's dog), being bitten by a turtle when I tried to kiss it when I was super young, when my sister put me in the bathtub to see if I would actually get sucked down the drain, when I put my hand through the glass window on our door when I was trying to shut it, when I threw a shoe through one of our living room windows because I was mad at my sister...I think that is about it...at least of what I told them. Oh, yah, and when I stabbed a hole in the top of my foot while playing hide and go seek with my cousins at my family's chalet. Now I'm done.
My host sis was crying when my host mom put her to bed. We are all riding the bus to take my host sis to Seoul to meet up with her aunt. They are going to Shanghai together. My host sis is afraid to travel without her mom; it'll be the first time. My host sis also got mad at my host mom for talking about her. My host mom had told me earlier that when Kyung Chan and Chan I were little, my host bro talked my host sister into putting rings around her arms, then tying an elastic band around both the rings and from the ceiling. My host sis then jumped off of a desk, the elastic band broke, and she tore up the underside of both her arms. Now, my host sis informed my host mom that she understood everything that my host mom was telling me. I just don't think that is true, but I do think she understood that her mom was talking about her and I remember how annoyed I am at my mom when she does that to me...so I kind of understand my host sis' aggravation. She's 10 though; her mom is going to talk about her for the rest of her life. That's what I've figured out with my mom.
When my host mom and I were getting ready to go to bed at 1AM, my host mom looked at me and said, "I had fun." Super cute! I returned the sentiment. She also told me that if I didn't want to get up for breakfast, I could sleep in for a bit. I might take her up on that.^^
*Still trying to figure out Japan plans, but for now, I'm ready to head to bed. It was a good night!
Bummin' - Tuesday Jan. 1, 2008
Wow! I can't believe it is 2008! I didn't wake up until around 1:00PM. I had ddeok mandu guk for lunch! YAY! Sadly, though, I missed out on making the mandu with the fam. I spent the day literally just lying around watching Scrubs, but I finished Season 6 today!! I'm totally caught up! We didn't end up going to a jimjilbang today. My host mom decided she didn't want to go. I haven't been to an actual jimjilbang with my host fam. The one time we went before, it was a traditional jimjilbang; hence, no nakedness. I feel like it would be quite awkward. I know my host mom doesn't really like jimjilbangs, but I wonder if part of the reason she didn't want to go was because it would be awkward. Hmm...don't know.
I had another strange dream last night, but I didn't get a chance to write it down before I forgot. That's about it for today.
I had another strange dream last night, but I didn't get a chance to write it down before I forgot. That's about it for today.
New Years Eve! - Monday Dec. 31, 2007
I randomly decided to leave earlier than I initially expected to head to Seoul; I got there around 2:30PM. I realized after arriving that my friends (Jen and Diane) whom I was supposed to meet were busy for the next few hours with Diane's co-teacher. So, I called Christine A. to see what they were up to. From that phone call, I learned that they were meeting Laura T., Min, and Julia in about an hour. Ha! There are always ETAs in Seoul; you just have to work your way around the phone chain. I called Laura, and we decided to meet at Apgujeong station, which is only two stops away from the express bus terminal.
Here begins the adventure...
So, we were looking for this specific restaurant called Butterfinger. Now, to hop into a taxi in Seoul with only the name of a restaurant in mind...well...it just doesn't work. We know! We asked 7 taxi drivers. We then discovered that it was on Rodeo (Yup, Seoul has a Rodeo Drive). We got in another taxi and from Rodeo were able to use landmarks to find this random restaurant that serves pancakes ALL DAY! The name is actually Butterfinger Pancakes. We waited for about 30 minutes and finally got a seat. There was one open next to us that we were going to save for the girls we were meeting, but they hadn't answered their phones or called. So, just as I'm calling and Christine picks up...we give away the table next to us...only to learn that our friends are right outside paying the taxi driver. Ha! Nicely enough, the waiters and waitresses rearranged our tables so we could all sit together. It was incredibly busy and not very big, but it has AMAZING food! I got a Belgium waffle and seasoned potatoes. We were basically in heaven! Yes we ate breakfast at 4:30PM...and somehow I managed to forget to eat the rest of the day. It was nice to catch up with everyone; it ended up being Christine A., Min, Laura T., Julia, Jenna, Sarata, and me. I forgot how nice it was to just sit around and talk about random everything.
After leaving there, we walked around in that area. It seemed as if we would duck in a store to escape the cold, make fun of some of the stuff in there, and then leave to head to the next store. To be fair, there was some pretty ugly stuff that deserved to be made fun of; we were in one of the uppity districts. For example: fur earrings, a gold necklace with a giant gold 3-D hot air balloon, a pair of white high top shoes with red leather at the top, white gogo boots, a $300 tank top that says "Whipped Cream: Now with extender novel. Now you can put toppings at the bottom of your dessert., a furry pink jacket. There's a funny story about that last one. We went into a designer store (forget which one) and Sarata was messing with this coat and mentioned that someone must have shaved a dog or something along those lines; the cell phone in the pocket then went off. Yes, it was someone's jacket who was simply trying on clothes in the dressing room. And yes, her boyfriend was sitting right next to the jacket. And yes, he understood her. Haha!
We split up for a bit. While Christine, Laura, and Sarata got their nails done, Julia, Min, Jenna, and I went to sit down and drink some wine at a cute little wine shop. We talked about winter break travel plans, after Fulbright plans, and random ETA gossip. We met back up with the other girls at a bar called Monkey Beach. They had American alcohol!! We got a "bucket" of midori sour and a "bucket" of vodka ice tea. They each had 6 shots of alcohol in them, but there were 7 of us. We had two rounds of shots after that. The waiter kept coming and giving us neon glow-in-the-dark bracelets and glasses!! Since we only had 2 glasses, we all chipped in to get each of us a pair of glow-in-the-dark glasses. I don't know about the other girls, but I wasn't incredibly sober at this point...I don't think the other girls were too on top of things either. We left from there and went to get french fries that we saw on the way to the bar. I remember checking our email there and eating the french fries really quickly.
We then headed to the subway and Christine and I separated from the others to head to our concert. We managed to figure out how to get to a specific station, and we met up with Jason. When we got to Olympic Stadium, Jen ran our tickets out to us. Apparently we weren't going to all sit together, because Diane brought her host sibs and they took our seats. We ended up being able to sit together anyway, because some people didn't show up near our seats. The concert was K-Pop (YG Entertainment), and it lasted for over 6 hours. It started at midnight, and Christine, Jason, Ray, and I finally left around 6:00AM. Jen, Diane, and her host sibs stayed a little longer, because they were being picked up by Diane's host fam. The bands included 1TYM, 45RPM, Big Bang, SE7EN, Jian, Gummy, and a few more other than that.
Did I forget to mention that it was FREEZING outside!? Oh my gosh...it was COLD. We separated at the subway; Christine and I stuck together because we were kind of going the same direction. She and I talked for a bit until I had to get off and transfer trains. I took a 7:30AM bus and got home around 9:00AM. I met my host father; he told me that we were going to go to a jimjilbang. I looked back and forth between the clock and him a few times. He then told me to "take a rest." Haha! He said we could go later in the day.
Here begins the adventure...
So, we were looking for this specific restaurant called Butterfinger. Now, to hop into a taxi in Seoul with only the name of a restaurant in mind...well...it just doesn't work. We know! We asked 7 taxi drivers. We then discovered that it was on Rodeo (Yup, Seoul has a Rodeo Drive). We got in another taxi and from Rodeo were able to use landmarks to find this random restaurant that serves pancakes ALL DAY! The name is actually Butterfinger Pancakes. We waited for about 30 minutes and finally got a seat. There was one open next to us that we were going to save for the girls we were meeting, but they hadn't answered their phones or called. So, just as I'm calling and Christine picks up...we give away the table next to us...only to learn that our friends are right outside paying the taxi driver. Ha! Nicely enough, the waiters and waitresses rearranged our tables so we could all sit together. It was incredibly busy and not very big, but it has AMAZING food! I got a Belgium waffle and seasoned potatoes. We were basically in heaven! Yes we ate breakfast at 4:30PM...and somehow I managed to forget to eat the rest of the day. It was nice to catch up with everyone; it ended up being Christine A., Min, Laura T., Julia, Jenna, Sarata, and me. I forgot how nice it was to just sit around and talk about random everything.
After leaving there, we walked around in that area. It seemed as if we would duck in a store to escape the cold, make fun of some of the stuff in there, and then leave to head to the next store. To be fair, there was some pretty ugly stuff that deserved to be made fun of; we were in one of the uppity districts. For example: fur earrings, a gold necklace with a giant gold 3-D hot air balloon, a pair of white high top shoes with red leather at the top, white gogo boots, a $300 tank top that says "Whipped Cream: Now with extender novel. Now you can put toppings at the bottom of your dessert., a furry pink jacket. There's a funny story about that last one. We went into a designer store (forget which one) and Sarata was messing with this coat and mentioned that someone must have shaved a dog or something along those lines; the cell phone in the pocket then went off. Yes, it was someone's jacket who was simply trying on clothes in the dressing room. And yes, her boyfriend was sitting right next to the jacket. And yes, he understood her. Haha!
We split up for a bit. While Christine, Laura, and Sarata got their nails done, Julia, Min, Jenna, and I went to sit down and drink some wine at a cute little wine shop. We talked about winter break travel plans, after Fulbright plans, and random ETA gossip. We met back up with the other girls at a bar called Monkey Beach. They had American alcohol!! We got a "bucket" of midori sour and a "bucket" of vodka ice tea. They each had 6 shots of alcohol in them, but there were 7 of us. We had two rounds of shots after that. The waiter kept coming and giving us neon glow-in-the-dark bracelets and glasses!! Since we only had 2 glasses, we all chipped in to get each of us a pair of glow-in-the-dark glasses. I don't know about the other girls, but I wasn't incredibly sober at this point...I don't think the other girls were too on top of things either. We left from there and went to get french fries that we saw on the way to the bar. I remember checking our email there and eating the french fries really quickly.
We then headed to the subway and Christine and I separated from the others to head to our concert. We managed to figure out how to get to a specific station, and we met up with Jason. When we got to Olympic Stadium, Jen ran our tickets out to us. Apparently we weren't going to all sit together, because Diane brought her host sibs and they took our seats. We ended up being able to sit together anyway, because some people didn't show up near our seats. The concert was K-Pop (YG Entertainment), and it lasted for over 6 hours. It started at midnight, and Christine, Jason, Ray, and I finally left around 6:00AM. Jen, Diane, and her host sibs stayed a little longer, because they were being picked up by Diane's host fam. The bands included 1TYM, 45RPM, Big Bang, SE7EN, Jian, Gummy, and a few more other than that.
Did I forget to mention that it was FREEZING outside!? Oh my gosh...it was COLD. We separated at the subway; Christine and I stuck together because we were kind of going the same direction. She and I talked for a bit until I had to get off and transfer trains. I took a 7:30AM bus and got home around 9:00AM. I met my host father; he told me that we were going to go to a jimjilbang. I looked back and forth between the clock and him a few times. He then told me to "take a rest." Haha! He said we could go later in the day.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
