Have you ever forced yourself to stay asleep so you could finish a dream? I rarely dream and even more infrequently do I remember my dreams. I was determined to write this one down before forgetting, but alas, I have forgotten a good portion of it.
I entered a fancy hotel and took an elevator to the top floor. The top floor ended up being the roof. I didn't really know why I was there, but I wasn't surprised when I was greeted by a number of my elementary school classmates; it was an elementary school reunion. We awkwardly chatted and caught up after the dozen of years apart. There were no chairs...there was fog....and clouds... The annoying feelings of nonacceptance managed to reappear even after all these years of attempting to convince myself that I didn't really care what those people thought of me. My frustration led me to exit the area where my peers all stood, and somehow I was back in a room with gaudy, fancy, red hotel carpeting. I re-entered the elevator. The elevator turned into a rollercoaster and it was whipping me every which way. Finally coming to rest on the bottom floor, the doors opened, and I stepped out slightly oblivious to what had just occurred and slightly knowledgeable but willing to not force memory. (One of the things I can't remember is the name of the elevator. It was the name of a famous singer; one only that I could vaguely recognize at the time.)
After forcing myself to remain awake at around Noon, I lounged around watching Scrubs most of the day. I met up with Lauren at 7:30PM to go see a movie. We decided to see Golden Compass. We had heard both positive and negative critiques of the movie from friends, but it ended up not being too bad. One of my friends sent me an email about all of the anti-God symbolism that can be found in the movie, but I need to read over it again. Perhaps I'll write more later about the trilogy.
After the movie, we found a cute little toast place; I didn't know it existed until today! I'm excited about it! We can get toast and fruit juice for pretty cheap. The name is Isaac, and there are biblical quotes on all of the plastic fruit juice cups; I'm going to take a guess that the restaurant is Christian-affiliated in some way, shape, or form.^^
Got home around 11:30PM, said goodnight to the host fam, and headed to bed. We have to head out to Gyeongido for a birthday party early in the morning.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Friday, December 28, 2007
Winter Camp Day 3 - Friday Dec. 28, 2007
Since today is the last day of winter camp, I decided to do something really fun with each of my classes. Unfortunately the only class that didn't tick me off in the process was fifth grade. With the third grade, I had a pancake breakfast. My host mom helped me make 20 pancakes this morning for them. BTW, I am officially the worst cook ever! I'd like to blame it on the gas stove that I'm still not used to, but in reality, it's ALL me. I would have gotten then hang of it eventually... Anyway, the kids were to decorate the pancakes with chocolate syrup, sprinkles, and almonds. They made a little bit of a mess (ok...they're kids), but they weren't being incredibly helpful in cleaning up. I went to get some rags, and then they helped clean up. One girl came up to me to tell me that she had a stomachache, I told her that she would be okay. When I got back over to the class, she was still eating the pancake drenched in chocolate syrup. I said, "If your stomach hurts, STOP eating the pancake." She didn't realize that she didn't have to eat the whole thing. Is that strange only to me? Don't kids normally just stop eating if they don't want to eat something?
I semi-went off on a fourth grade student who was mocking me every time I read a students name off to get their invitations back to them. I took him to the back of the room and made him stand there. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but this kid has been pretty disrespectful each of the three days of camp. They finished their invitations, and I told them I had a surprise for them. We threw a real party. The fourth graders weren't very polite...or rather the fourth grade boys. I wasn't very happy with them. I love the fifth graders though. They were happy to have a party and actually thanked me. We were working on party manners. "Can you please pass me the ____." "May I please have some more to drink?" "May I please have some more chips?" "How is everything?" ^^
After school, we went to a buckwheat kalguksu restaurant. It was the first time I had had it. It was good, but I think I like the original kalguksu better. Hee went with us; I was really happy to see her!! When Seok and Hee dropped me off at home, it was really sad! I told them that I would stay in touch over the next two months.
My host mom had to take me back to the photo studio that Hee took me to, because somehow they lost my picture file. There was crazy traffic downtown, so my host mom parked in the church parking lot nearby, and I just ran over to the photo studio. I was literally in and out in about a minute. When I got back to the car, my host mom thought I had gotten lost, because I was back so soon. Ha!
Tonight, I watched about 4 episodes of Heroes with my host family. My host dad downloads them to his computer and then uploads them onto the little silver trashcan looking thing. So, we watch a few episodes at a time.
I decided not to go to the Friday Korean English meeting tonight. 1) I didn't have any desire to discuss the topic that had been posted. It was about what you do with bad Christmas gifts. This was not something I was willing to spend an hour of my life discussing. 2) I was watching Heroes with my host family until 10:30PM. 3) I didn't really feel like going. It's kind of sad that I chose to stay in instead of going out to meet friends, but I really am quite content sticking around the house. Pretty soon, I will be traveling and gone for weeks at a time; I want to spend time with my host family. I do miss the people of the group, and I'm going to try to go next week, but it is the day before I leave for my workshop trip. I felt even worse when Chan (the leader of the group/like a father figure to me) called to ask if I was there because he was getting ready to head over. Sadness! I love Chan! He's such a great guy, and his son is adorable! Many times he leaves the group early; when I ask him why he's leaving using my puppy dog eyes, he explains that his son called asking why he isn't home. It's super cute! He's such a good father!
I semi-went off on a fourth grade student who was mocking me every time I read a students name off to get their invitations back to them. I took him to the back of the room and made him stand there. Normally it wouldn't bother me, but this kid has been pretty disrespectful each of the three days of camp. They finished their invitations, and I told them I had a surprise for them. We threw a real party. The fourth graders weren't very polite...or rather the fourth grade boys. I wasn't very happy with them. I love the fifth graders though. They were happy to have a party and actually thanked me. We were working on party manners. "Can you please pass me the ____." "May I please have some more to drink?" "May I please have some more chips?" "How is everything?" ^^
After school, we went to a buckwheat kalguksu restaurant. It was the first time I had had it. It was good, but I think I like the original kalguksu better. Hee went with us; I was really happy to see her!! When Seok and Hee dropped me off at home, it was really sad! I told them that I would stay in touch over the next two months.
My host mom had to take me back to the photo studio that Hee took me to, because somehow they lost my picture file. There was crazy traffic downtown, so my host mom parked in the church parking lot nearby, and I just ran over to the photo studio. I was literally in and out in about a minute. When I got back to the car, my host mom thought I had gotten lost, because I was back so soon. Ha!
Tonight, I watched about 4 episodes of Heroes with my host family. My host dad downloads them to his computer and then uploads them onto the little silver trashcan looking thing. So, we watch a few episodes at a time.
I decided not to go to the Friday Korean English meeting tonight. 1) I didn't have any desire to discuss the topic that had been posted. It was about what you do with bad Christmas gifts. This was not something I was willing to spend an hour of my life discussing. 2) I was watching Heroes with my host family until 10:30PM. 3) I didn't really feel like going. It's kind of sad that I chose to stay in instead of going out to meet friends, but I really am quite content sticking around the house. Pretty soon, I will be traveling and gone for weeks at a time; I want to spend time with my host family. I do miss the people of the group, and I'm going to try to go next week, but it is the day before I leave for my workshop trip. I felt even worse when Chan (the leader of the group/like a father figure to me) called to ask if I was there because he was getting ready to head over. Sadness! I love Chan! He's such a great guy, and his son is adorable! Many times he leaves the group early; when I ask him why he's leaving using my puppy dog eyes, he explains that his son called asking why he isn't home. It's super cute! He's such a good father!
Winter Camp Day 2 - Thursday Dec. 27, 2007
Today in classes, I let the students finish up their dream home drawings. Some students were REALLY creative! I like the assignment. In third grade, we went on to talk about breakfast, lunch, and dinner foods. In fourth and fifth grade, we started talking about and making theme party invitations. Many of the girls got into it, because they could make cutesy little cards; many of the boys got into it as well, because they could make computer game invitations. I felt a little disorganized today, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that there are only three 40 minute classes in the entire winter camp for each grade. (Except the fifth grade actually had 4 classes but they were super late the first day.)
After school, the teachers went out to a tofu restaurant. I feel like they are building their lunches around me since I am a vegetarian. I think most teachers haven't caught onto the fact that I can find something to eat anywhere. It is really nice of them though, and I appreciate it!
I just hung out at home the rest of the night. My host fam and I were going to watch a movie, but there are some frustrating points when trying to watch a movie with my host family. 1) My host dad finds it necessary to explain everything that is being said in English to my host sibs even though there are subtitles. 2) We usually get about 15 minutes into a movie (just enough for me to get into the movie), and we have to change it because it is inappropriate for my host sibs. (I can kind of understand this one, but it still is annoying.) So, we went from watching Love Actually to some movie with Kevin Bacon that I don't remember the name of to an episode of Prinson Break that I have already seen. Apparently, the version of Love Actually in Korean doesn't have the sex scenes like the American version.
I decided to stick to Scrubs for the rest of the night. I'm obsessed with Scrubs. I'm almost done with Season 5!!
After school, the teachers went out to a tofu restaurant. I feel like they are building their lunches around me since I am a vegetarian. I think most teachers haven't caught onto the fact that I can find something to eat anywhere. It is really nice of them though, and I appreciate it!
I just hung out at home the rest of the night. My host fam and I were going to watch a movie, but there are some frustrating points when trying to watch a movie with my host family. 1) My host dad finds it necessary to explain everything that is being said in English to my host sibs even though there are subtitles. 2) We usually get about 15 minutes into a movie (just enough for me to get into the movie), and we have to change it because it is inappropriate for my host sibs. (I can kind of understand this one, but it still is annoying.) So, we went from watching Love Actually to some movie with Kevin Bacon that I don't remember the name of to an episode of Prinson Break that I have already seen. Apparently, the version of Love Actually in Korean doesn't have the sex scenes like the American version.
I decided to stick to Scrubs for the rest of the night. I'm obsessed with Scrubs. I'm almost done with Season 5!!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Winter Camp Day 1 - Wednesday Dec. 26, 2007
I set my alarm to 7:00AM, so I could get up and plan a little bit for the classes today. Remember me saying that I can't actually get up to an alarm if I go to sleep after 2:00AM? Luckily, whatever occasionally malfunctioning sorry excuse for an internal alarm clock came through for me today. I woke up at 8:00AM, got dressed, and my host father drove me to school. It was so nice of him to drive me to school! Before I rode with him, because he was taking his children anyway.
I hurried up and finished my powerpoints before the winter camp orientation began. I was introduced to the students much more intensely than the other teachers; I'm not entirely sure why, but I assume it has something to do with me being a foreigner who speaks English. That's usually the way it goes around here.
My first class was 3rd graders. I actually really enjoyed teaching them. That's how the first day of Winter Camp went. I really enjoyed teaching the kids. I think, in part, it's because they were classes of half the students I usually have to teach; it's much more personal. Plus, the class was fun. I've realized that I'm not going to teach something that's not fun for me to teach, because I figure if it's fun for me to teach, the students will have fun learning it. The opposite is true as well; if I am bored teaching something, then the students are probably going to be bored. I believe this is partially because I think and act like a kid in a lot of ways still., which I'm completely okay with.
We started by playing knots and using English directions; the third graders had a hard time with it, the fourth graders caught on pretty well, and the fifth graders were quite good at it. I actually only taught my 5th graders for 20 minutes, because the teacher before them lost track of time. It's okay, because I teach them 4 times instead of 3.
After playing knots, I introduced some household objects vocabulary, and we discussed the different rooms of a house. I then showed a powerpoint of "Homes of the Future." They were really random house designs that looked really cool. Then I told the students that they were to get in pairs, think of their dream home, and draw it. I'm going to pick the top three and have the students vote for the best house on the last day during our party; the winner will get a prize.
After the awesome day of classes; I went out to eat with the head English teacher, Seok teacher, 2-4 teacher who organized the camp, another teacher, Hae Yeon, and the two vice principals. We went to the same restaurant that my host family went to on Monday; never had I been to that restaurant before this week, and now I have been there twice in one week!^^ It's super tasty, so I was psyched to go. I think tomorrow we are going to KalGuksu. It was mildy frustrating that the entire lunch, the head English teacher, Seok, and 2-4 teacher were talking about my diet. The head English teacher doesn't think I eat enough, Seok kept telling me to eat more and got offended when I didn't eat the soup because I was full, and they were comparing the way I eat to the way the last ETA ate. GAH! One of the most frustrating things is that I actually eat more than the head English teacher who is saying I should eat more.
Seok dropped me off at home, while the rest of the teachers went back to school. All teachers are still at school through today. In the car on the way home, a teacher looked at me and said, "You look bad" with a smile on her face. Haha! What she meant to say was, "Are you sick?" Cracks me up! Koreans flat out tell you what they think, especially when it comes to appearances.
I watched a few episodes of Scrubs and took a nap until dinner. After dinner, my host sister came into my room and started counting all of the penguins in my room.^^ CUTE!! My mom sent me about a billion penguin things for Christmas! Super excited! Amongst everything, is a dancing penguin who sings "I'm Singing in the Snow." My host sister came in and asked if we could dance with it, so we did!^^ I gave her a penguin snow globe pen that my mom sent me. I'm slowly passing on my penguin obsession!!
I hurried up and finished my powerpoints before the winter camp orientation began. I was introduced to the students much more intensely than the other teachers; I'm not entirely sure why, but I assume it has something to do with me being a foreigner who speaks English. That's usually the way it goes around here.
My first class was 3rd graders. I actually really enjoyed teaching them. That's how the first day of Winter Camp went. I really enjoyed teaching the kids. I think, in part, it's because they were classes of half the students I usually have to teach; it's much more personal. Plus, the class was fun. I've realized that I'm not going to teach something that's not fun for me to teach, because I figure if it's fun for me to teach, the students will have fun learning it. The opposite is true as well; if I am bored teaching something, then the students are probably going to be bored. I believe this is partially because I think and act like a kid in a lot of ways still., which I'm completely okay with.
We started by playing knots and using English directions; the third graders had a hard time with it, the fourth graders caught on pretty well, and the fifth graders were quite good at it. I actually only taught my 5th graders for 20 minutes, because the teacher before them lost track of time. It's okay, because I teach them 4 times instead of 3.
After playing knots, I introduced some household objects vocabulary, and we discussed the different rooms of a house. I then showed a powerpoint of "Homes of the Future." They were really random house designs that looked really cool. Then I told the students that they were to get in pairs, think of their dream home, and draw it. I'm going to pick the top three and have the students vote for the best house on the last day during our party; the winner will get a prize.
After the awesome day of classes; I went out to eat with the head English teacher, Seok teacher, 2-4 teacher who organized the camp, another teacher, Hae Yeon, and the two vice principals. We went to the same restaurant that my host family went to on Monday; never had I been to that restaurant before this week, and now I have been there twice in one week!^^ It's super tasty, so I was psyched to go. I think tomorrow we are going to KalGuksu. It was mildy frustrating that the entire lunch, the head English teacher, Seok, and 2-4 teacher were talking about my diet. The head English teacher doesn't think I eat enough, Seok kept telling me to eat more and got offended when I didn't eat the soup because I was full, and they were comparing the way I eat to the way the last ETA ate. GAH! One of the most frustrating things is that I actually eat more than the head English teacher who is saying I should eat more.
Seok dropped me off at home, while the rest of the teachers went back to school. All teachers are still at school through today. In the car on the way home, a teacher looked at me and said, "You look bad" with a smile on her face. Haha! What she meant to say was, "Are you sick?" Cracks me up! Koreans flat out tell you what they think, especially when it comes to appearances.
I watched a few episodes of Scrubs and took a nap until dinner. After dinner, my host sister came into my room and started counting all of the penguins in my room.^^ CUTE!! My mom sent me about a billion penguin things for Christmas! Super excited! Amongst everything, is a dancing penguin who sings "I'm Singing in the Snow." My host sister came in and asked if we could dance with it, so we did!^^ I gave her a penguin snow globe pen that my mom sent me. I'm slowly passing on my penguin obsession!!
Christmas Day! - Tuesday Dec. 25, 2007
Soooo...what's a Christmas like in Korea. My fam keeps asking me back home, so here ya go. Some people in Korea celebrate Christmas; many do not. The religion base is nearly half and half Christian and Buddhist here. Many Buddhist do not believe in Christmas and often state, "I'm not Christian" as there reason of not celebrating Christmas. My host family does not celebrate Christmas; however, this year they told me that they would because I am a part of the family, and my host parents want their children to experience "my" culture.
I woke up around 10:15AM to a phone call from Lauren. The phone call reminded me that I had forgotten to set my alarm, because I had to be on the other side of Wonju by 11:00AM to meet Lauren for church. I hadn't forgotten that I was going to church with her...only that I hadn't set my alarm.
Sidenote: I've also realized that it has become INCREDIBLY difficult for me to get up even the slightest early even with an alarm if I have been up late (after 2:00AM). I used to stay up until 5:00AM and get up for 8:00AM classes or teaching at 7:00AM; what has happened to me?!
Anyway, I went out to ask my host family to call me a taxi, and I saw that they had opened their stockings without me. After last night, I was not surprised in the slightest. It doesn't bother me too much, because I know it is a cultural thing.
In the taxi, I called my fam in the states (Christmas Eve for them). Since everyone is in CVille for the holidays, the phone was passed around like it was during Turkey Day. I failed to realize that my host mom had called like 15 times, because I was on the phone (My host mom was asking if I took a taxi, because apparently the taxi we called wasn't the one I took. Ha! I didn't realize until she told me. I think I took a taxi that just happened to drop someone off at the exact time that I needed one.) So, all of the messages were vibrating on my phone when I got to the church. It was a 7,000 Cab ride ($7) which is expensive in Lauren's and my terms.
Hmm...church...it was nice to see Lauren and her new host fam (she moved four days ago to the music teacher's apartment), but it was difficult for me since I don't speak even close to enough Korean to somewhat understand a thing the preacher was saying. Oh, it was nice to see their 6 year old daughter, Esther too! Apparently she had been asking about me, which is super cute because I had only met her twice before. After the service, we walked to Lauren's new homestay apt (it's that close). We drank tea, and Lauren and I exchanged gifts. She got me this really cute passport cover and a card! If only I had my passport right now so I could take the new passport cover for a spin...Rebecca will have it until the flight instead.
We went out to lunch with her homestay. The music teacher was super cute; he was craving xiao jung myeon, was sad that we couldn't get it since I'm a veggetarian, and then super happy when he realized I could eat something else at the restaurant. ^^ I had something similar to ohm rice. Then the music teacher dropped me off at my apartment.
I hung out around the house trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to teach tomorrow for the opening class of Winter English Camp. I made a powerpoint until dinner; we had ohm rice.^^ I like it a lot, so it was totally okay to have it twice in one day. My host mom put cheese in mine, because she knows how much I love cheese!!! I love my host mom!!!
We left at 9:00PM to go skiing. We have night passes at a ski resort named Oak Valley. My host father bought me a ski pass with the rest of his family!! I'm not going to lie; I was in a super bad mood right before we left and as we were getting our gear, but as soon as we started skiing, I lost the attitude and was really happy to be there. The deal with the gear was that the guys who worked at the shop didn't realize that I wasn't 5 foot tall when I walked in the door and gave me pants that barely reached my thighs. So, I tried on two more sets of pants, and finally settled on pair three because I was sick of trying on pants. Then, they started me at 250 size boots...I need 270. So, we finally got out of there, and we realized in the parking lot of the ski resort that they gave me 2 lefts, and my host mom had one 250 boot and one 260 boot. So, the guys from the store scurried their butts to the resort to trade our boots out.
I was slightly terrified to ski for the first time after 10 years, but I guess you don't completely forget how to, because I wasn't as horrible as I thought I would be. My host bro fell a few times before we got to the lift, so I felt better about us sticking to the beginner course. The beginner course was really long, and I liked it. I didn't fall once, but I definitely need to work on my "S line." My host bro and host dad went to the middle course...when I finally met up with my host bro again, he used his hand to show me how steep it was. I decided that I most definitely made the right decision to stay at the beginner slope.
We literally finished at 1:00AM, took our stuff back to the rental place, and got home around 2:00AM. In the car, my whole host family was talking about wanting ramen when we got back except for my host mom. Unfortunately, the host sibs passed out on the way back and had no desire for anything other than sleep when we returned home. My host father really appreciates the cd that I made for him; he likes it a lot! I'm so happy! I was worried that firs of all it wouldn't play in his cd player and second of all that he might not like the songs.
I made some toast while talking to my fam back in the states after my host family went to bed. It was LATE, and I have to teach tomorrow. Gah! I talked to Matthew, Cory, Steph, Sheryl, and my mom. I had initially told my mom that I couldn't call on Christmas, but I forgot that I could call Christmas night/early morning the day after Christmas and talk to them.
I'm still not completely sure what I'm teaching tomorrow, but it is time for bed!
I woke up around 10:15AM to a phone call from Lauren. The phone call reminded me that I had forgotten to set my alarm, because I had to be on the other side of Wonju by 11:00AM to meet Lauren for church. I hadn't forgotten that I was going to church with her...only that I hadn't set my alarm.
Sidenote: I've also realized that it has become INCREDIBLY difficult for me to get up even the slightest early even with an alarm if I have been up late (after 2:00AM). I used to stay up until 5:00AM and get up for 8:00AM classes or teaching at 7:00AM; what has happened to me?!
Anyway, I went out to ask my host family to call me a taxi, and I saw that they had opened their stockings without me. After last night, I was not surprised in the slightest. It doesn't bother me too much, because I know it is a cultural thing.
In the taxi, I called my fam in the states (Christmas Eve for them). Since everyone is in CVille for the holidays, the phone was passed around like it was during Turkey Day. I failed to realize that my host mom had called like 15 times, because I was on the phone (My host mom was asking if I took a taxi, because apparently the taxi we called wasn't the one I took. Ha! I didn't realize until she told me. I think I took a taxi that just happened to drop someone off at the exact time that I needed one.) So, all of the messages were vibrating on my phone when I got to the church. It was a 7,000 Cab ride ($7) which is expensive in Lauren's and my terms.
Hmm...church...it was nice to see Lauren and her new host fam (she moved four days ago to the music teacher's apartment), but it was difficult for me since I don't speak even close to enough Korean to somewhat understand a thing the preacher was saying. Oh, it was nice to see their 6 year old daughter, Esther too! Apparently she had been asking about me, which is super cute because I had only met her twice before. After the service, we walked to Lauren's new homestay apt (it's that close). We drank tea, and Lauren and I exchanged gifts. She got me this really cute passport cover and a card! If only I had my passport right now so I could take the new passport cover for a spin...Rebecca will have it until the flight instead.
We went out to lunch with her homestay. The music teacher was super cute; he was craving xiao jung myeon, was sad that we couldn't get it since I'm a veggetarian, and then super happy when he realized I could eat something else at the restaurant. ^^ I had something similar to ohm rice. Then the music teacher dropped me off at my apartment.
I hung out around the house trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to teach tomorrow for the opening class of Winter English Camp. I made a powerpoint until dinner; we had ohm rice.^^ I like it a lot, so it was totally okay to have it twice in one day. My host mom put cheese in mine, because she knows how much I love cheese!!! I love my host mom!!!
We left at 9:00PM to go skiing. We have night passes at a ski resort named Oak Valley. My host father bought me a ski pass with the rest of his family!! I'm not going to lie; I was in a super bad mood right before we left and as we were getting our gear, but as soon as we started skiing, I lost the attitude and was really happy to be there. The deal with the gear was that the guys who worked at the shop didn't realize that I wasn't 5 foot tall when I walked in the door and gave me pants that barely reached my thighs. So, I tried on two more sets of pants, and finally settled on pair three because I was sick of trying on pants. Then, they started me at 250 size boots...I need 270. So, we finally got out of there, and we realized in the parking lot of the ski resort that they gave me 2 lefts, and my host mom had one 250 boot and one 260 boot. So, the guys from the store scurried their butts to the resort to trade our boots out.
I was slightly terrified to ski for the first time after 10 years, but I guess you don't completely forget how to, because I wasn't as horrible as I thought I would be. My host bro fell a few times before we got to the lift, so I felt better about us sticking to the beginner course. The beginner course was really long, and I liked it. I didn't fall once, but I definitely need to work on my "S line." My host bro and host dad went to the middle course...when I finally met up with my host bro again, he used his hand to show me how steep it was. I decided that I most definitely made the right decision to stay at the beginner slope.
We literally finished at 1:00AM, took our stuff back to the rental place, and got home around 2:00AM. In the car, my whole host family was talking about wanting ramen when we got back except for my host mom. Unfortunately, the host sibs passed out on the way back and had no desire for anything other than sleep when we returned home. My host father really appreciates the cd that I made for him; he likes it a lot! I'm so happy! I was worried that firs of all it wouldn't play in his cd player and second of all that he might not like the songs.
I made some toast while talking to my fam back in the states after my host family went to bed. It was LATE, and I have to teach tomorrow. Gah! I talked to Matthew, Cory, Steph, Sheryl, and my mom. I had initially told my mom that I couldn't call on Christmas, but I forgot that I could call Christmas night/early morning the day after Christmas and talk to them.
I'm still not completely sure what I'm teaching tomorrow, but it is time for bed!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Visa/Christmas Eve!! - Monday Dec. 24, 2007
We woke up and were out of the apartment by 7:30AM. We took the subway for nearly an hour to reach the exit for the embassy. We exited the station and hailed a taxi. Go figure...they had absolutely NO idea where the embassy was. We semi-expected this, so we went back into the subway station to check out a map to find the closest major building. We found some international language school that the taxi driver still had to punch into his navigation device. We got to the building and walked the rest of the way to the embassy. There were so many buildings that should have been on that map instead of the international school...like...oh I don't know...the Hyatt. That would have been something that the taxi driver would have actually known.
Anyway, when we got to the embassy, we realized that the opening time on the website didn't match the opening time on the sign. We went in and waited in the waiting area. We discussed how the ETA that went with Margaret last year wasn't incredibly reliable and ended up showing up at the embassy without any passport pictures. For real...who does that?!
We had received a letter from Fulbright to give to the embassy explaining why exactly we don't have alien registration numbers (the most frustrating thing in the entire world when living as a foreigner in Korea!) Because we are on A3 visas and employed by the government, we are not given these super vital little numbers that you need to do basically anything. We can't order anything on line, we can't get any sort of tickets, I have had problems with medical stuff and insurance stuff because of it, AND it almost cost us our trip! >_< I can't remember if I blogged about this, but a few weeks ago Margaret called Rebecca and me to tell us that the trip was going to be canceled, because we couldn't get visas without this damn little number. After throwing a fit and contacting about every embassy relevant to the situation, Margaret called back telling me that the woman at the embassy had done some research and that we could, in fact, get visas. It was a few horrible hours of worrying though. After all of that crap, we got our visas without a problem.
I, however, couldn't pick up my own passport. Rebecca picked it up for me, and I'll get it from her the day we fly out. I had to get back to Wonju to go to the orphanage. My host fam went out to eat about 10 minutes after I got back. We had bibimbap at this really cute restaurant in the country. I invited my host sibs to come with me to the orphanage. My host sis was ecstatic and skipped her English class to go with me. My host brother was really disappointed that my host mom wouldn't let him out of his math hagwan to come with. I was really surprised that they wanted to come with me so badly. It was awesome!
At the orphanage, we decorated paper stockings and stars for them to hang up in their living rooms (a girls' line of stockings and a boys' line of stockings). We also made yarn bracelets. I let them choose three colors, and we just did a simple twist method. We'll see how many of them still have them on after my vacation.^^ My host sis passed out candy canes to each child, and I gave an American calendar to the boys and to the girls. I also gave a box of South Bend's famous Chocolate Charlie to the office. They gave me a card and some cute traditional boy and girl key chains. I'm not sure how my host sis felt about being there. At first, she was shy and embarrassed, because everyone was asking who she was. I know she was tired afterward, but I think she enjoyed it.
My host father brought home a Christmas cake a few hours after we got home. It was sooo cute! Apparently, they do Christmas cake in Korea...very common. We ate dinner and cake, and then my host father disappeared for a while. There were some of his friends coming over, so I guess he went to get supplies.
There were two couples that came over; one I have met many times. One couple had a baby, and the other couple had two children; one my host sis' age, and one about 4 years old. SUPER CUTE! We watched Polar Express (my first time to see it!); how appropriate to watch on Christmas Eve. I was getting a little sad about Christmas, but I got over it quickly. My host parents and their friends were being loud; the man from downstairs came up and complained. After that, everyone went home; my host mom felt bad for the family downstairs and said that we need to be more careful in the future.
Oh, I almost forgot the most random part of tonight. I was given a present at dinner to open; it was a beautiful purse! My host sibs couldn't wait to open theirs, so I let them. Then, at midnight, my host sister went running around wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Next thing I know, my host father is walking to the mirror in front of my room and thanks me for the hat. LOL! My host rents opened their presents without me around. It surprised me for about a second and then remembered that this is Korea.^^ They don't really open presents in front of the people that got them the presents.
I stayed up until about 3:30AM, so I could sneak my family's stockings out onto the couch.
Anyway, when we got to the embassy, we realized that the opening time on the website didn't match the opening time on the sign. We went in and waited in the waiting area. We discussed how the ETA that went with Margaret last year wasn't incredibly reliable and ended up showing up at the embassy without any passport pictures. For real...who does that?!
We had received a letter from Fulbright to give to the embassy explaining why exactly we don't have alien registration numbers (the most frustrating thing in the entire world when living as a foreigner in Korea!) Because we are on A3 visas and employed by the government, we are not given these super vital little numbers that you need to do basically anything. We can't order anything on line, we can't get any sort of tickets, I have had problems with medical stuff and insurance stuff because of it, AND it almost cost us our trip! >_< I can't remember if I blogged about this, but a few weeks ago Margaret called Rebecca and me to tell us that the trip was going to be canceled, because we couldn't get visas without this damn little number. After throwing a fit and contacting about every embassy relevant to the situation, Margaret called back telling me that the woman at the embassy had done some research and that we could, in fact, get visas. It was a few horrible hours of worrying though. After all of that crap, we got our visas without a problem.
I, however, couldn't pick up my own passport. Rebecca picked it up for me, and I'll get it from her the day we fly out. I had to get back to Wonju to go to the orphanage. My host fam went out to eat about 10 minutes after I got back. We had bibimbap at this really cute restaurant in the country. I invited my host sibs to come with me to the orphanage. My host sis was ecstatic and skipped her English class to go with me. My host brother was really disappointed that my host mom wouldn't let him out of his math hagwan to come with. I was really surprised that they wanted to come with me so badly. It was awesome!
At the orphanage, we decorated paper stockings and stars for them to hang up in their living rooms (a girls' line of stockings and a boys' line of stockings). We also made yarn bracelets. I let them choose three colors, and we just did a simple twist method. We'll see how many of them still have them on after my vacation.^^ My host sis passed out candy canes to each child, and I gave an American calendar to the boys and to the girls. I also gave a box of South Bend's famous Chocolate Charlie to the office. They gave me a card and some cute traditional boy and girl key chains. I'm not sure how my host sis felt about being there. At first, she was shy and embarrassed, because everyone was asking who she was. I know she was tired afterward, but I think she enjoyed it.
My host father brought home a Christmas cake a few hours after we got home. It was sooo cute! Apparently, they do Christmas cake in Korea...very common. We ate dinner and cake, and then my host father disappeared for a while. There were some of his friends coming over, so I guess he went to get supplies.
There were two couples that came over; one I have met many times. One couple had a baby, and the other couple had two children; one my host sis' age, and one about 4 years old. SUPER CUTE! We watched Polar Express (my first time to see it!); how appropriate to watch on Christmas Eve. I was getting a little sad about Christmas, but I got over it quickly. My host parents and their friends were being loud; the man from downstairs came up and complained. After that, everyone went home; my host mom felt bad for the family downstairs and said that we need to be more careful in the future.
Oh, I almost forgot the most random part of tonight. I was given a present at dinner to open; it was a beautiful purse! My host sibs couldn't wait to open theirs, so I let them. Then, at midnight, my host sister went running around wishing everyone a Merry Christmas. Next thing I know, my host father is walking to the mirror in front of my room and thanks me for the hat. LOL! My host rents opened their presents without me around. It surprised me for about a second and then remembered that this is Korea.^^ They don't really open presents in front of the people that got them the presents.
I stayed up until about 3:30AM, so I could sneak my family's stockings out onto the couch.
Monday, December 24, 2007
A Little Dose of Reality - Sunday Dec. 23, 2007
I have a lot to say about today, but I'm skipping it for now.
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