Seoul Tripping

Gyms in Banghwa

2011-09-07T18:49:00.000-07:00

I finally joined a gym!!!!!! After 2 entire years, I decided to put my nerves aside and just go for it. I always get nervous going to do things like that because my Korean sucks and they usually don't speak English. However, I dragged an 오빠 with me to go check things out. He translated things and got me all of the information I needed. I went back a couple of days later to the one I wanted.

So, which one did I decide on? Well, it's a secret. hehe

BUT. I will tell you about other gyms available in Banghwa (Banghwadong, Gangseogu, Seoul).

The most popular one would be New York Fitness (or maybe it is New York Total Fitness?) which is located near Exit 3 and 4 of Banghwa station. It's located directly in the subway station between the exits. I almost joined this gym because it's pretty awesome. Their GX (group fitness) classes look incredible because they have such a wide variety. It's a new gym and there are a lot of people that work there that look very attractive. If you're looking for Round Eye friends, you'll find them here. It's a good gym that is reasonably priced (about 600-something for a year for "Health" and "GX") and is an even better deal if they're running a special promotion. I don't think they speak much English but you would definitely be able to go and sign up on your own.

FACT: Some gyms will give you a discount if you pay in cash. Ask about this!

Another option is the gym located in the neighborhood community center. I think they also offer some fitness/dance classes as well. I do not have much info about this place though. I think it is pretty cheap (maybe free?) but the gym quality isn't very good but might be a option for you if you're on a budget. To get there: Go right out Exit 2 of Banghwa station. After you pass 7-11, cross the street. It's the first building once you cross the street. You'll know you're in the right place if the Children's Library is on the right side of it.

Next up we have the Dreamtel International Youth Hostel. This place is interesting because they have a gym (or "Health"), fitness classes, and A SWIMMING POOL. That's major. I'm sure there are plenty of indoor swimming pools in Seoul...but I only know about this one. I think it's pretty small (maybe 25m?) but it's nice to have in the area. I found the website (it's all in Korean but you can figure it out) that has all the information you could need (prices, hours, facilities, blah blah blah) here: http://www.iyc.or.kr/sports_center/center_02.jsp That's for the gym and classes. Go to the swimming pool tab to get that info. I think it's about 35-40,000 a month? Maybe you could get a better deal by signing up for a year if that is an option. Getting there: Walk out Banghwa station exit 3. At the intersection turn left (you may want to go ahead and cross the street to the GS25 side) and walk for a few minutes. You'll see big green signs for it and it will be on your right. From the subway station it is probably a 10+(?) min. walk.

I didn't know this, but Curves is international! Curves is a women's only gym which is great if you feel self-conscience about getting your fitness on in front of a bunch of hot Korean dudes. I have no idea about prices but it is located on the 5th floor of the same building as New York Total Fitness. Go out Exit 4 and the entrance to the building is next to the Noodle Tree restaurant go up to the 5th floor.

There is a boxing gym but I have no real information about that. From Banghwa station go right out of Exit 2. Walk for a while and turn left and the BIG intersection (there should be a Lotteria and a Mr. Pizza on your right). Walk down this street and you should see it on your right. I think if you see the Hana bank then you've gone too far. Sooooo, yeah. I'm not exactly sure where it is but keep your eyes open for "Boxing Gym" because it is written in English and there is possibly a picture of a gorilla on it. There might be more than one of these gyms located on this same street.

OK, do you remember Gaehwasan Land? In this same building there is a gym or a studio of sorts. I'm about 80% sure there is a gym here and I am 100% sure they offer yoga and dance classes. I forget the name and I have no idea about prices. I think it is located on either the 2nd or 3rd floor. I'm sure the information is located in the building somewhere. Just look for Dance or Yoga written in hanguel. This is by Gaehwasan station. I can't remember the exit though! Refer back to my Gaehwasan Land post.

I'm sure there are even more options but these are just the ones I have noticed. I hope that helps!!

First Post of 2011. O_O

2011-04-24T23:57:00.000-07:00

Oh my. Libby is actually updating her blog.

Supposed to have a teacher's class today. Exams are next week and they're still working on making the questions. Soooooooo, everyone conveniently forgot that there was a teacher's class. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice. Maybe this would offend some NSETs....but not me. Gives me time to rest and make an update on ole' blog.

When was the last time I posted anything? Oh. December 2010.

Blogging in 2011 FAIL. I'll try to remedy that.

A quick recap:
January: Winter Camp. Super chill. Super easy. Cute students.
February: PARTY IN THE U.S.A. Chilled in America for the entire month. It was great seeing family & friends.
March: Back to the grind at Hwawon Middle School. New schedule. A few less teachers.
April: Spring finally showed up!!!!!!!! Let the outdoor activities begin.

Anyway, that's the Reader's Digest version of the past almost 4 months. O_O Time has FLOWN BY. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was chillin' at home with Mama and Gary.

Speaking of Mama...she sent me a package on the 15th for Easter. Oh yeah. I am hoping and praying that I'll go home today to find a paper stuck hastily on my door saying that I have a package downstairs. I want these...

And these....

Soooo delicious. And so not available in Korea. Sad face.

I have a couple of posts to make regarding the past couple of weekends so stay tuned for that.

I promise to try to make posts happen more frequently!!

2010-12-29T20:33:00.000-08:00

I decided to venture out of my apartment...to the caffe' bene downstairs.

Who are all these people that have time to come in for coffee in the middle of the day? Some look like university students so I get that they're probs on vacation but all these other people? I don't know but it must be nice. One older guy is periodically napping. Typical.

Christmas WAS AWESOME.

First of all, Santa was super good to me this year. Why? Because I got this little guy...

I LOVE IT. Plus, I got lots of other presents which are also fantastic - Thanks, Mary!!

And Christmas Eve??

WOW. WOW. WOW.

The show was fantastic. GD might be my new future boyfriend because he was SO GOOD. I'm also obsessed with the new CD. I've been listening to it on repeat because it's that great. If you're interested just YouTube High High by GD&TOP to see what I mean.

Christmas Day was spent traveling with JC to Gapyeong. It felt soooooooooo good to be outside of Seoul. Driving down country roads...ahhh. Sometimes it felt and looked exactly like Tennessee. If it wasn't for the very Korean boy next to me I would have believed that I was back home. Speaking of him, he gave me a gorgeous pair of Swarovski earrings for Christmas. He was so nervous that I wouldn't like them but I think they're grand and wear them constantly.

Anyway, I found out that Gapyeong is "famous" for the Petit France theme that it had going on. It was very strange because they had a "French Village" and there were tons of people waiting in line to go it. Strange-ee. It was way too cold for me to want to deal with that weirdness. Then we went to Costco where I had to fight ajummas and small children to get the goods. Ugh. Never go to Costco in Korea on a Sunday.

And that wraps up the Christmas 2010 Review.

2010-12-21T21:52:00.001-08:00

I read blogs. Like...A LOT of blogs. I read the writings of people from all over the world about a number of topics.

I've seen a lot recently being all, "Oh my god, it's Christmas and I'm away from family this year. Being _______ miles away from home is hard."

I get it. I understand it. I feel it.

The people who are talking about being 300, or 500, or even 1,000 miles away from home have made me think about some things.

This will be the second Christmas that I will be in Korea. I haven't been on U.S. soil since August 22, 2009. I had zero idea about how far away Seoul is from Morristown so I had to do a google search. The answer? Just over 7,000 miles. Whoa, now.

I'm in a country where Christmas is a freakin' COUPLE's holiday. Most people don't even celebrate Christmas. Sure there are Christmas lights, trees, and displays but it's just not the same. It's not the big family holiday that I'm used to seeing in America. In Tennessee there's a big focus on the "Christ" part of Christmas. I'm not really into that but you still see nativity scenes, songs about baby Jesus, etc.. all around. I haven't seen anything like that in Seoul, but then again, I don't do churchy things either. Oh, no Christmas parties either.

I was doing a Xmas presentation and asked my students if there families had a tree up. Most of them answered no. From what I've heard only very young children get gifts (maybe just one or two) on Christmas morning if they get anything at all. No Christmas dinner. Maybe some people do stockings but not many. It's kind of like any other day.

Unless...

YOU'RE A COUPLE. Then, you can be excited about Christmas.

So, if you're in America bitching about being X miles away from home. Get real. Just kidding...sort of. Christmas wasn't easy last year...kinda hard, actually. This year? Eh, just like Thanksgiving, it has been easier the second time around. It also helps that I have met some really great people to surround myself with. I heart my Seoul Friends.

There are two other BIG reasons why Christmas is different this year...

1) I'm one half of a couple. Well, I haven't officially accepted the invitation to be his girlfriend but we're dating. More importantly - we're doing CHRISTAS TRAVEL. Eeeeeep. We booked a place a few weeks ago but that was super difficult. Why? Because those Krazy Koreans had booked everything across the peninsula for Christmas WEEKS before we did. WTH. Anyway, we just had to accept whatever was available and it looks like we're going to Gapyeong. It's northeast of Seoul. Not sure what's there but we're going to rent a car. I'm pretty excited about it.

and 2)...which may be the most important of all. On Christmas Eve, thanks to Melissa (who makes dreams come true), I will be going to this...

I am SOOOOOOOOOO FREAKIN' EXCITED. Because I get to see...

OMG. I'm dying already. TOP!!!! GD!!!! Swoon.

I also get to see the hot piece known as....

SE7EN. Wow. I hope and pray that he does Digital Bounce. How could he not? But I will be super sad if he doesn't.

So, yeah, those ^^^ things all make Christmas in the ROK awesome.

2010-12-19T17:14:00.001-08:00

I miss my Big Man Cat....

2010-12-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

Another weekend gone. Booooo.

BUT. I heard some great news when I sat down at work this morning. "Did you hear about your schedule today? You don't have any classes." Niiiiiiiiiiiiiice.

I left work early on Friday. I originally thought that I needed to go to the bank to deposit some money into an account so my Christmas present from my mama&Krissy could be delivered to me. However, my co-teacher called and we set it up that it would be delivered on Saturday and I could just pay the woman in person. Co had already asked if I could leave early so we just pretended that I still needed to leave. Left school at 1:30pm. It.was.awesome.

I cleaned my apartment, watched a movie, ate a late lunch, and showered while I waited for JC to get off work. We ate 갈매기살 (bbq pork) which was de-freaking-licious. Omg. Sooo good.

Saturday lunch at Noodle Tree again and this time I got the 떡만두국. It was awesome. It's a soup (국) that has slices of rice cake (떡) and dumplings (만두). Mmmmmmmmmm. Then I took a nap.

I have a Cafe Benne in my building so I walked downstairs to grab a cup of coffee to wake me up. I used to walk down the street to Dunkin' Donute but it has been cold so I don't even bother with that nonsense now.

I went to Jongo to meet some CulCom friends (+1 "handsome guy"), Sonya, and Melissa. We had bbq pork again and soju. Went to another place which I definitely want to go to again (building with the shooting game. 6th floor. for future reference.). Then we went to Table / Sante Fe. We were there earlier than usual so we actually got to sit at a table for once. Had some beer. Took a tequila shot and wanted to die. Danced a little. Requested songs which they did NOT play. Went to Helios (a Night Club). Hated it. Angrily ate a chicken burger at Lotteria. Took a taxi home. In bed at 4am.

Woke up at 8am wanting to die. Worst.headache.ever. Took some medicine and went back to bed. Woke up later and called JC to make a plan for the day and decided on...

Itaewon. Ewwwww. Just kidding. I have a love/hate relationship with the 'Twon. Decided to trade in some of my books at What The Book and pick up a few new ones. They finally started carrying this book which I have been looking for for AGES.

I think it's better than Making Out in Korean. After basking in the awesomeness that is What The Book we headed to the other end of the strip to another favorite place of mine...the Foreign Food store. Bought 2 jars of Ranch dip because they're usually sold out. And some Cheez-Its. Super excited about those purchases.

Next up was Mexican food. It's not great but it'll do. JC is no longer a Mexican food virgin. Blah blah blah. Just chillin' with my book and finishing my marg when in walks Melissa with a Kboy. Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat. It was very surreal.

Then we went to Cheers. Awwww. Always reminds me of MK & AD. Had a couple of drinks and played pool. I was the winner! But JC helped me so it wasn't a true victory.

OH MY GOD. Just now remembered a hilarious moment in Sate Fe from Saturday night. There was a SUPER MEGA DRUNK guy. Just wasted. At first, I think he may or may not have tried to touch either Melissa or Sonya...or maybe he was trying to start a fight...I'm not really sure, but Jay had to keep stepping in and cutting the guy off from creepin' on us. At one point the guy started pulling down his pants at the bar. Hahahahaha I was laughing so hard because it was so funny. At one point he started pulling EVERYTHING off and eventually some girl got him to pull everything back up again. I think he fell down at one point. It was pretty hilarious.

Back to Cheers...some super young looking foreign dudes walked in while we were playing pool. I don't think they were old enough to be teachers. They seriously looked like they were maybe 18. Maybe Army? But they didn't look like military dudes. Not sure what their deal was...I guess I could have asked but y'all know I'm not one to talk to random foreigners.

And that was the 3rd weekend of December 2010.

Sorry if it was boring, Krissy.

Harry Potter & 부대찌개

2010-12-17T18:23:00.000-08:00

Krissy said my blog was boring. -_-

Well, what-ever. My life is kinda boring right now. I've been trying to save money so I can pay for the plane ticket to visit YOU GUYS in America. So, saving money = not going out.

I haven't been anywhere this week. I didn't even go to CulCom because I've felt so tired lately. OH WAIT.

I lied.

I went to Yongsan on Wednesday to see mothereffing HARRY POTTER. In IMAX. It was pretty awesome. However, I am still a little miffed that it was at CGV instead of Megabox. Megabox offers super delicious cheese popcorn. CGV now offers....onion popcorn. Ew. Ick nast. Who wants to eat that crap?

I met up with AK and we ate Budujiggae (부대찌개) which is this...

It's a stew with a bunch of crap in it and you can choose to add more crap in it like ramen and slices of questionable cheese.

Let me give you a history lesson that is told to me every time I eat this with a Korean. True story...every.single.time. Around the time of the Korean War, Koreans were freakin' hungry. Starving even. And meat and other nutritional food was hard to come by. The American Army was in Korea at the time and they were getting more than their fill of spam and hotdogs. Soooo, the Koreans were ridic jealous and would try to jack some of the delicious spam and hotdogs from the American Army. Some bought it, some may have stolen it, and others just went through the garbage. Once they had their spam and hotdogs they could throw in anything else they had laying around (kimchi, ddeok, red chili paste, etc..) into a big pot and called it 부대찌개.

And there is your Korean history lesson for the day...which may or may not be accurate.

Anyway, AK and I ate that and then we met up with Sarah to go watch the movie. HOWEVER. That was a big damn deal. Why? Because the Yongsan...mall? shopping center? thing? is insane. There are different wings and sections and it's impossible to locate somebody because of the terrible design. Also, every floor is about same-same. Pretty sure there were at least 3 Lotterias.

We found each other though and watched a pretty kick ass movie. Yay for fun Wednesdays.

2010-12-12T00:22:00.000-08:00

Friday was a "training" day at some museum in Gangseo-gu. There wasn't any real "training" involved this time. More like...think of after school club ideas because you're going to have to do one next semester. Then we ate lunch, looked at some art, did some rubbing, and then painted a picture. We left with mugs. And stolen oranges. And a few snickers too because they're expensive.

That was about it.

On the subway ride home there was a guy who was falling asleep. The usual. Then, the train stops a bit more abruptly than usual and the guy goes flying across the floor. It was crazy. I thought he had died or something. He got up and sat back down but got off at the next stop to sit down on a bench and close his eyes again. It was weird but that is definitely not the first time I've seen that happen.

I came home and cleaned my apartment. I even busted out the vacuum cleaner for the second time ever. JC came over and we ate samgyeopsal at the place I always go to. After dinner, I think I just went home and passed out. I was super sleepy.

Yesterday, I woke up and went to Noodle Tree which is one of the best places to eat if you're in Banghwa. It's pretty delicious, nice atmosphere, and not too expensive. Then, I took a nap. Later, JC and I went to Emart so I could buy a wireless router. It was really nice to go to Emart with someone for a change because I usually go alone. Anyway, bought the router and JC bought me one of those foldable tables that you use on the floor. He did it because I usually eat on my bed and he thinks that is "too dirty". Ooooh, K~boys and their OCD.

We set up the router. Success. Even though installing it was just clicking random buttons because my computer doesn't have hangul. Whatevs. Went to Chicken Mania for some chi-mek (chiken & beer). It.was.awesome. Then, we went on a jjimjilbang date.

I have been wanting to do a jjimjilbang date for AGES. There is a jjimjilbang close to Gaehwasan station so we headed there in the freezing cold. It was a small place but it was clean and we had a nice time. Definitely got noticed and was called the foreigner or the American at Chicken Mania and Gaehwasan Land. I think I stand out more when I'm with a Korean guy.

Anyway, the date was fun. I drank some amazing peach ice tea. We ate the boiled eggs. Did the massage chairs which are beyond awesome. Watched a Kdrama on the ondol with the other families. Ate some ice cream. I left feeling very relaxed. On the way out, we noticed that there is a Total Fitness on the second floor which has dance and yoga classes. Definitely need to go back there and check that out at some point.

Came home and made a Jack & Coke and watched a movie. I forget the Korean name but the English title was "Thirst". I would definitely recommend watching it. I mean, it was totally bizarre but interesting.

I think I slept most of today away. I ate pizza for lunch. I washed my rugs. That was about it. I need to search waygook.org for a Christmas Lesson plan for tomorrow and that'll be about the extent of my Sunday. Super Lazy. Eh. I'm okay with it.

I think this weekend is one of the few (if not only) weekends that I spent entirely in Banghwa. I usually find myself itching to be out and about. But lately, I've been content just staying in and reading or watching movies. Plus, it's just been too cold for me to feel motivated to be out there. I feel like such a weenie because the worse is yet to come. Ugggghhh. Definitely dreading those 20 degree highs.

PS- I'm gonna try doing it Korean style tonight...on the floor. I'm turning the ondol up, throwing down the sleeping pads, and I'm gonna sleep on the floor.

2010-12-08T17:22:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite things to do these days is paint my fingernails. I used to go to Min-Hee at I Love Nail (in my building) to get my nails done but I'm trying to be more frugal. Sooooo, I paint my nails at least once or twice a week. Nail polish is dirt cheap. Like, 1,000 won cheap. If I go to the nail shop and get my nails done, I usually end up using a color from O.P.I.. That's a good brand but my color ALWAYS would chip off within a couple of days. LAME.

But one of my favorite stores in Korea also sells some of my favorite nail polish. Let me introduce to you...

Skin Food. I love this place. I love every product I've ever bought. Skin Food uses natural food and produce in its original form as ingredients in their products. Anyway, I love the nail polish which costs 1,500 - 3,000 won depending on what type you buy. I just painted my nails on Tuesday using this color...

This was last week's color choice....it was ballin'.

I could go on and on about Skin Food. One time I went in to buy nail polish and came out with a whole bag of "service" (aka free stuff!) which included two roles of paper towels. I remember the cashier proudly holding them up as she was placing them into the bag and saying, "Present!".

If you haven't been there, then you need to go. Like...now.

2010-12-08T17:07:00.000-08:00

I should really be using this time to plan for winter camp. Buuuuuuuuuuuut...I'm not. Instead, I'm on facebook, reading Perez Hilton and other blogs, checking the Korean news feeds, and updating this thing.

One of the blogs (Seoul Eats) has made me start craving this street food...

It's called hotteok (호떡)and it's pretty much my favorite thing ever. It's warm. It's delicious. It makes me very happy.

Wikipedia tells me...The dough for hotteok is made from wheat flour, water, milk, sugar, and yeast. The dough is allowed to rise for several hours. Handful-sized balls of this stiff dough are filled with a sweet mixture, which may contain brown sugar, honey, chopped peanuts, and/or cinnamon. The filled dough is then placed on a greased griddle, and pressed flat into a large circle with a special tool with a stainless steel circle and wooden handle as it cooks.

Seoul Eats says that one of the best places to get hotteok is outside Jongno 3-ga exit 6. I'll probably be in Jongno on Saturday and you better believe that I'm going to hit that up. One hotteok costs anywhere between 500-700 won (about 50 cents) for delicious goodness.

It has been super cold lately and hotteok is a great way to warm up. Mmmmmmm. Considering that I'm sitting in the office with a scarf covering my legs, a Missha (미샤) blanket across my shoulders, and cold feet...I could really use that hotteok.

2010-12-08T03:43:00.001-08:00

This week means exams for 1st and 2nd graders. 3rd grade finished their exams a couple of weeks ago but thank goodness they let me have this week to just chill with the other 1st and 2nd grade teachers.

Regular class resumes Friday but I have to go to a "teacher training" with other NSET's that day. That's cool. I mean...kind of. It means a change of scenery which I am totally and completely down for. I love my school but getting a break and going somewhere else is nice too.

The head of the language department (who just happens to be one of my Co's) came up to me this morning and told me that the VP wanted me to change my lesson plan that I needed to submit to SMOE. The district supervisor wanted all of the NSET's in our district to submit a lesson plan and materials that she would make into a book and then give it to us. She did not give us a template. Just a "make a lesson and materials" kind of order. It was due Tuesday. I handed mine in to a Co last Thursday. However, the VP thought my lesson was too simple. She thought the lesson plan looked a little janky. Ugh. Whatever. So, I had to use a template that she suggested and added a bunch of unnecessary stuff. I was stressed about it for a hot minute but it actually turned out to be a pretty ballin' lesson. She came up to me later and said that she submitted the new lesson and said "Every day we are learning. Happy time." .....lol.

After the lesson plan debacle...it was time to have an "English teacher meeting". This meant almost all of the English teachers went to Mokdong to a (very) mediocre buffet to eat lunch. I guess they couldn't seat us all together so the 3 main English teachers (they're all heads of some dept.) sat together and then the rest of us sat at another table. The food was just...ugh. Not delicious...but I can't complain too much about a free lunch. It was pretty boring and I wasn't feeling so good. Plus, most of my Co's are just so...not interesting. I miss Judy.

lalalala

Mark those calendars, y'all.

2010-12-06T03:16:00.000-08:00

I had to look at my facebook profile to find the name of my blog. That's a sure sign that I have totally failed at maintaining this thing. Sadz. I had such high hopes for it too.

Even though I never ever write for my blog I read tons and tons of other blogs. In fact, my job at work consists of: teaching, facebook, reading blogs, and planning. In that order. I'm reading so many other interesting things that it seems like my life is super boring in comparison. How crazy does that sound? I live in Korea! My life is awesome! It's way more exciting than being in Morris-frown.

I shouldn't knock Mtown though...because I am SO STINKIN' EXCITED TO BE GOING HOME. That's right, y'all. Mark your calendars. I will be arriving at Knoxville McGhee-Tyson airport on February 1 and I can't wait. I have a "Going Home Countdown" paper at school where I mark off the days until I hop on that plane.

Don't get me wrong - I still LOVE Korea. I'm not going back home permanently any time soon. BUT. I need to get out of here and back to the good ole' U. S. of A. for a bit. I'm going to be home until March 2 and it's going to be a month of pure American goodness. Minus taking the GRE. That is not goodness.

This is how I want to spend my winter vacation:
Give Gary lots & lots of hugs
Spend lots of time with family
Tons of time with friends
Eat loads of American food that I can't get in Korea
Cook loads of American food that I can't cook in Korea
Driving
A couple of days in Nashville
Laying/sitting on a couch. I miss couch.
Being able to get crap done by myself and using only English. With ease.

I need to do those things and then I'll be ready to dive back into Korean life.

Rafting, Paintball, & Other Fun Times

2010-06-28T02:31:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned CulCom? Hmmm...maybe only briefly. Anyway, Malia & I finally got down to the Hyehwa branch and signed up. She has a K~girl (Suri) & I have a K~boy (Mo) as Korean language teachers. They're both really nice. So, on Wednesday nights we meet in Hyehwa and study Korean for one hour. After an hour, we go into groups with other Koreans and have discussions in English. The Koreans usually study 2 days a week from 8-10:30pm and they have to pay some kind of fee. However, it's free for foreigners and it's awesome. The environment is nice and relaxed and a really positive way to study another language. We've been going for a few weeks now last week we were told about a rafting trip to Gangwon-do (I think.) which sounded bad ass.

Sooooooooo, that's what went down this weekend. Actually, the weekend started on Friday night in Hongdae. Oh, Hongdae, how I've missed you! Dani is back in town so we just had to go out to catch up. So, MK and I arrived super late (Sorry Sorry) to meet Dani and Neel. We had cocktails and two super cute places and a few other people joined us (WooJoo, Jun, and Ran) which was just too fun. A lot of alcohol was consumed and then we made our way to the Michael Jackson party. When we were getting a cab home a miraculous thing happened...there were 3(!!!) other people going the same way home as me. Shock! Awe! It was a good night as I hadn't seen most of them in ages (minus MK & Neely).

The next morning we had to meet at Sinchon station to get on a bus. The ride took longer than usual because traffic was mad crazy. We finally arrive at our destination thanks to our cool looking bus driver who looked like a lion (and later wore a bad ass blue [soccer?] uniform for funsies). It was basically a house/hotel thing. First we did introductions and then we played around outside for about an hour. We had been told that rafting would take place on Sunday but they changed it at the last minute (soooooooo typical) because of potential rainage. So, we changed clothes. Well, the foreigners did. The Koreans mostly just wore what they had on. TIK. We go to the rafting place which had cute country boys as guides. They fitted us up like we were going extreme white water rafting but I think I've been down more exciting rivers while tubing. Regardless, the scenery was beautiful and it was fun. My shoulder feels terrible today though which I blame on the rafting.

After rafting, we showered (Malia and I repping the only foreigners in there thanks to our jjimjilbang experience). When we got back to the house we chowed down on some delicious food and drank until the Korea game started. That was a lot of fun and we played a bunch of drinking games. Sadly Korea lost :'( and then I went to bed only to wake up a couple of hours later to watch a wee bit of the American game and eat ramen.

We woke up on Sunday feeling sleepsies but we still had one activity left to do. Malia and I signed up for paintball so we did that with almost all of the other foreigners and a handful of Koreans (about 14 of us). I've never played before and probably won't do it ever again. I like shooting things. I like shooting people. I do not like being shot at though. Scurry. That experience was so-so but at least I can say I've tried it. After paintball we went back to the house, grabbed our stuff, and got on the bus to head home which went by much faster than the day before.

Great weekend.

Dragon Hill

2010-06-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

One of the most interesting and unique experiences that Korea (along with other Eastern countries) has to offer is the idea of: bath culture. To do this you go to either a jjimjilbang (찜질방) or a mogyoktang (목욕탕). A mogyoktang is basically a public bath house that usually comes with with lockers, showers, jacuzzis, steam rooms, massage and barber shop. These are super cheap and cost about 3,000-5000 won which is about $2-$4 per visit. However, a jjimjilbang is mogyoktang plus way more. MK & I decided to finally get up the nerve to go when our friend Claudia offered to take us since she 1) speaks Korean & 2) had been before so she was able to confirm how awesome they are.

We went to the Dragon Hill Spa near Yongsan station. This is probably the most famous and well-known jjimjilbang in Korea. They film many scenes for Korean dramas and variety shows just so you’re in the know. Here’s how it all went down…

You walk in and pay 10,000 won to the lady and she’ll give you a bracelet with a key on it. There is also a magic pad thing on it to which allows you to buy things by just swiping your bracelet at the register. So, you do your thing and then at the end you can pay. It was too easy to buy stuff. The nice lady will also give you a set of clothes – think pajamas. The bracelet has a number on it so we had to take off our shoes and find a small locker with our number on it. This small locker is for our shoes and then we head up to the floor that is for Women Only. Once you enter the Women (or Men) Only section get ready to see a lot of nudity. We found our lockers and put away our bags and then went to buy some stuff. You can buy soap, shampoo, body scrubs, wash cloths (but more intense), razors, tooth brushes, facial masks, etc…

Once we bought our goodies it was time to get down to business. As we were standing there getting undressed there was a Korean girl who had a locker behind us. I thought she was going to be OK with the whole ‘no clothes’ thing because I’m sure she’s done it countless times. Maybe it was because we were foreign but homegirl was being super modest about everything which was wierding us out. If she’s being awkward about it then how are we supposed to feel? Whatevs. We eventually get the nerve up and join the rest of the ajummas. We headed to the showers where people scrub their bodies very vigorously for what seems like hours. After the shower, we hit up the numerous baths. They all had different names and properties that were supposed to be super good for this and that but it just felt like any other bath.

After bath time, we headed back to our lockers to change into the clothes they gave us so we could go to the other floors where men, women, and children chill. We were feeling pretty famished so we hit up the restaurant where the woman didn’t understand what I wanted. Whatever. We got it all sorted eventually. After dinner, we hit up some of the different saunas. We could lay on salt, or in pyramids that are aerated through crystals (huh?), or in an ice room, or ovens that could kill you. We also paid 2,000 won for 10 minutes in the most bad-A massage chairs EVER. Totally worth it. I played some arcade style basketball where I was a true baller. We also had roof time and could watch TV virtually anywhere. We could have even gotten our Starcraft on if we really wanted to. They had a full spa and other services (waxing, nails, etc..), a gym (but you had to pay for it), and maybe some other stuff that we didn’t get a chance to check out (i.e., an outdoor pool or a noraebang).

I wanted a facial so we headed back up to the Women Only floor to hit that up. For 40,000won we got a one hour facial that was pretty rad. We felt soooo relaxed but wanted to shower one last time since the facial leaves you feeling ridiculously oily. I think if I go again then I would definitely be interested in having an ajumma scrub my skin off to make it new and fresh.

Oh, you can also spend the night there since 1) people were sleeping everywhere and 2) they have sleeping rooms. I saw where there was a huge pile of suitcases by the door so I know people use it as a place to stay. Dragon Hill is one of the most “expensive” places you can go but you’re paying about $8-9 for all the free bath stuff, saunas, and a place to crash. Not a bad plan in you want to visit Seoul and want to sleep on the cheap.

Overall: It cost me 67,000 won for a facial, dinner, one game of arcade basketball, dip’n’dots, 10 minute massage chair time, scrubber & soap stuff, plus all of the other stuff that you get (baths, saunas, tv, etc…). Basically, it was awesome. Definitely one of the coolest things that Korea has to offer.

You may be thinking “OK, yeah, but really…how was the nudity thing?” It was nerve-wracking at first. I was afraid that people would really be staring at me because 1) I’m foreign, 2) my body type is the exact opposite of a typical Korean girl, and 3) I have piercings. Dragon Hill is pretty famous and well-known so lots of foreigners visit there so it’s not so shocking that I’m not Korean. The truth is, Korean girls and women come in all shapes and sizes so I didn’t feel too out of place about that either. I do have piercings but nobody seemed to notice or care…except for maybe the ajumma who gave me a facial and asked if I was from Russia.

Another thing that is popular to do is to go on a jjimjilbang date. Ahhhhh. I want one! You see them in Korean dramas and there are always couples laying around together in the saunas. Another popular thing to do is to take your towel and roll the ends up and put it on your head to look like Princess Leia or Mickey Mouse. Everyone does it but I’m not sure why.

OK, finishee!!!

It's official.

2010-06-06T19:33:00.001-07:00

Could I be any more FAIL at this blogging business? Aiiisssshhh. Whatever. You’ll take whatever I give you. ^_^

A decision has been made. I am OFFICIALLY going to renew my contract. I’ve already had my open class and now I’m just waiting to take the next step which involves an interview (??), more paperwork, & a medical check. Things are going to be totally and completely different the second time around because I won’t have my dear MK or AD around. Even Neel is letting me down by not renewing and let’s not forget that Miss Dani will probably go to a faraway land. ᅲ_ᅲ Sad times, indeed.

This means that Libby Teacher is going to have to find some new friends and new hobbies. The tentative plan is to start going to Korean class again as well as pick up a day (or 2?) at CulCom. Culture Complex is a café/bar where Koreans can practice their English and foreigners can learn/practice their Korean. I’m also planning to find a gym and hit that up. I’m also looking into the idea of a hiking or swing dancing club too. Or archery. Maybe even Taekwondo. Seoul has tons and tons of clubs/organizations – it’s just a matter of finding them in English. I also hope that next year will be dedicated to me becoming a better teacher. My students are incredible and I want to be able to give them the best lessons that I can.

I’m going to end this with a picture of my new fave “idol”. Idols are usually young and beautiful Korean celebrities. They’re usually singers but also include actors and actresses.

Let me introduce to you….Jinwoon Jung from the group 2am. He is the “maknae” (youngest member) & is just too adorable for words. He’s a youngin’ as he just graduated from High School in February 2010 and he is 185cm tall. Love him.

Here's smokin' hot Jinwoon:

Here is super duper cute & adorable Jinwoon:

^^My favorite picture.

2010-04-30T00:22:00.000-07:00

This week was a very special week for Libby Teacher. Monday was a "training day" for the Middle School NSET's in the Gangseo Disctrict. Even though we ALL live in Gangseogu, some nutjob decided to put our training facility all the way out in eff'ing Yangjae. Yeah, ok, it's in Seoul but it does mean an hour and half trip via the subway with 2 transfers, a walk to a bus stop, and a shuttle to the hotel. Lame. I thought the main reason for such a training was to discuss District Summer Camp but there was virtually no information about it because they hadn't planned any of it. Typical SMOE. We did listen to a few presentations which I found to be fairly interesting and useful. It was also nice to catch up with the other NSET's who I haven't seen since the last "training" we had. I found a few new people who are living in Bongwater (My hood. Real name: Banghwa.) so I made sure to pull a few numbers so I'm not totally alone in the middle of nowhere.

Tuesday was a teaching day for Libby but I only had to teach 3 classes which was ballin'. Tuesday was also the night that MK & I met our new friend Alex for Mysterious Hoegi Mexican food. It was great! The food was soooooo cheap considering that it was Mexican food. A burrito cost 6,000 won & was delicious. There were two more things that guarantee a return visit: 1) Cocktails & 2) MUSIC REQUESTS - yesssss. AD met us later after we were several drinks in and then it was time to head home.

I saw an EPIC blackout Korea moment on the subway. Actually, walking down the stairs to the train brought me dangerously close to a nice fresh pizza. A "pizza" in Korea refers to a nice big spalsh of vomit on the ground because it often resembles a - you guessed it - pizza. So, I was hoping there would be some fun drunks nearby but no such luck. However, when I got on the train there was a man in a full business suit who was laying on the ground and passed out. The man was even snoring and was just laying in the most uncomfortable position ever but he looked so peaceful. I was just about to pull out my handphone to get a picture but then train guys came on! That was wild to me because the train guys never get on in the middle of a train ride for anything. It took 2 guys to get the man hoisted up enough to drag him off the train. It was unlike anything I've ever seen...epic.

Wednesday - Friday were midterm exam days for my poor students. Awww, sorry babies...but that is great news for any teacher. It means no teaching and leaving early. Woo hoo! Unfortunately, I've been ill since Wednesday so I just went home and crashed. MK came over (yeah- to Bongwater!!!) to eat dinner at Noodles Tree where we had some yummy food before getting on the train to head to Incheon to pick up Mary!! Eeeeep. We were both super excited to be picking her up from the airport because it's been months & months since we've seen her. Yay for Mary being back!!

Thursday was Wang Galbi @ Hoegi as usual. Neel met us and I ate a ton of food. It was a little ridic. When I got out of school, I headed over to Hoegi early to meet Mary and chat with her and AD before MK got out of school. It was a good time.

Today was the last day of exams but I had to "proctor" with Judy. This just means that I sat in the back of a classroom while the students took their tests. Soooooooo boring. I came back to Banghwa at 1pm and decided to be brave and eat Korean food for lunch since I knew we would be eating western food for dinner. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I was able to successfully order tuna kimbap on my own. Cha cha cha. It was delicious...and cheap. I've spent the last couple of hours doing a whole lot of nothing (i.e., youtubing videos of U-Kiss, showering, listening to Lady Gaga, and eating said kimbap). I really don't know where the time goes.

^^Choi Siwon of Super Junior. I just HAD to share his hotness with you.

I need to start getting ready to head out to Hyehwa to meet MK, Mary, & AD to hit up some Bennigan's. AD and I may get our drink on and then we'll all go noreabang (karaoke in your own private rooms). Maybe we'll catch a movie...or some other type of shenanigans. *sigh* I have no idea what to wear & I still have to go grab an Americano from the boys at Dunkin' Donuts.

2010-04-22T19:14:00.001-07:00

That last post was actually from a month and a half ago but I can never update when I want to. My school and blogger do not get along. Facebook chat? Don't even get me started...that hasn't worked for me since I've been in the ROK. Period.

I've been busy busy lately but haven't been feeling stressed which is great. I do have to be careful and plan for some downtime otherwise I just get too rundown and end up crashing. The additional 2 before school morning classes haven't slowed me down though. Also, the sun is shining brightly through my window before 6am. No joke. It's kind of nice in that it always wakes me up but I look at my watch and I could still be sleeping for another hour and a half! I like to get my sleep on, y'all. However, going back to sleep for an hourish and then trying to wake up is b-r-u-t-a-l.

Hmmm, where to begin on what else has been going on? I really need to start being more on top of this blog...

I'm now in Beginner Level 1 of Korean class and it is kicking my butt. I may have to retake the class if I don't pass the exam which would suck. I'm pretty lost but I just need to buckle and study and I think I'll be alright. I think I will be able to get some help from the newest Korean addition to my life - YG. More to come on YG in another post...

I'm listening to Electric 94.9 online because it reminds me of home and driving in my car. They're still playing all the same music that was on when I left. The new stuff that they are playing sucks! Kpop is WAY better than this crap. I ♥ Kpop.

Speaking of Kpop, I have to tell you guys about my screen saver at school. It's just pictures of hot Korean celebrities. Actually, it started off as a glorious montage of Korean boys but it has grown to include a Chinese man, Hanson, Chris Robinson, and a few Japanese boys thrown in for good measure. Lee Min-Ho & Kim Bum are heavy favorites with several (like 5-7) pictures of them alone. DBSK & Hero&U-Know make quite the appearance along with Big Bang (mostly TOP - yummmmm). I love love love the group U-Kiss and now have a new favorite member - Kiseop. That boy is b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l. Apparently, he's a "Ulzzang" which means "best face". Soooo true. Enough about my screen saver even though it's BA.

^^The smokin' hot Kiseop.

Just finished my last class of the day with 1st graders. Man, they are sooooo cute. Oop! Time to go!

Korean Class

2010-03-10T18:59:00.001-08:00

Visiting MK in Hoegi on Tuesday was a delight...as usual. A trek to Hoegi usually = me getting tipsy so I can endure the super mega long train ride home.

MK and I started the evening by talking Travis on Skype. Awwww, T~rav! The sound kept getting messed up but we were able to carry on a nice conversation. I also took the liberty of buying Malia nail polish remover so I could take that off while I was waiting for her to get ready. After saying goodbye to Travis we decided that it would be nice to have a G&T. Money.

Neel FINALLY called us and we went to meet him at our favorite place which I can never remember the name of. He had the whole spread for us set out and even had our beer poured. Aw, whatta a guy. It was delicious and there was good conversation so it was a nice time. I also drank most of the bottle of soju and we went through a surprising number of beers. Neel peaced out and Malia and I went back up to her place. We had another G&T and more girl talk. I knew it was time to leave when I was telling Malia that she had "double eyes". The ride home was uneventful because I woke up just before my stop. Nice-suh.

Yesterday was the first day of Korean class. I was running late because AD and I were waiting on each other at different places. Hul (this is a noice that my students make ALL THE TIME). Anyway...even though I missed the first class I learned sooooooooo much in those 2 hours. It was great. The teacher was amazing and I got some help from the girl next to me to catch me up to speed. The class is free and I only had to pay $10 for the textbook. Money!

After class, Neel and AD peaced out (it's becoming a terrible habit, boys!) which left MK and I on our own for dinner. We immediately decided that Outback was the place to go since Neel and AD would have complained about it. We ordered the cheese fries and salads which is what we always do. We're creatures of habit. The cheese fries were smothered in cheese and were so awesome. What was NOT awesome was waiting for our salads for what seemed like an hour. That took way to long but they were decent once we finally got them. It was an AFD for us but it would have been nice to have a buzz on the ride home. lolz I worked in my workbook from the Korean class on the way home so it was nice to do that.

New semester - New Mindset

2010-03-10T18:55:00.001-08:00

Today was supposed to be my second day teaching. However, I could tell that something was going on once the bell started to ring. Something major was going down but I had no clue what that could be. Then, I saw the packets that looked like the packets they use for exams. I don’t know if this was a complete surprise for everyone but it definitely felt like it was disorganized and crazy. I was supposed to teach 1st period but no one came to get me so I was just going to keep sitting at my desk. Eventually one of the new teachers came to tell me that the 1st and 2nd graders were taking a test and that meant that I wouldn’t be teaching today OR tomorrow. Money. Oh, the life of an NSET is full of surprises.

I have FINALLY figured out my new schedule for the semester. I have a 3 week rotation schedule. Let’s try to break it down:

Week 1:
1st grade who are all mixed levels. 2nd grade: Advaced and the Low level classes.

Week 2:
2nd grade: Intermediate levels. 3rd&2nd grade: Advanced level that is a special class that will not follow the text book.

Week 3:
3rd grade: All levels.

I will also teach a 90 minute class on Tuesday and Thursdays after school. I will also be teaching a morning class on Wednesday because…

I have enrolled in a Korean Language class. That’s right, I may actually learn to read Hangeul. On Wednesdays I will leave school early to make it to my 4-6pm Korean class at City Hall. Neel and I are in the Hanguel class because we’re stupid and MK will be in the Beginner 1 class. Each class is a month long and at the end of each month we will be given an exam. If we pass the exam, then we move up to the next level. We should have signed up for this 6 months ago but whatevs.

I’m going to MK’s tonight to meet her and Neel for Galbi at our favorite place in Hoegi. Seriously, we go there all the time but it’s just so DANK.

Bali

2010-03-10T18:51:00.000-08:00

Bali was awesome. The weather was warm (actually it was super duper mega freaking HOT) and the atmosphere was relaaaaaaaaxed. Even though we were in a foreign country, it felt like I had gone back to America. There were so many American products/restaurants/TV shows and everyone spoke English really well which made me feel “at home”. I felt so much more comfortable there than in Seoul based entirely on the culture. Everyone was soooooo nice and laid back which is so different from S-town.

In Seoul, you have to be dressed to the nines…at all times. You also don’t speak or even pay attention to people that you haven’t been introduced to. In Bali, EVERYONE talks to you. Mostly it was because they wanted you to buy something but even people who were just around would ask us questions and really wanted to make conversation with us. It’s so hot there that everyone one is just in flip flops, shorts, and a tank top. It was SO REFRESHING to be in such a relaxed atmosphere.
Whenever we would walk out of our hotel people would ask us to buy something like transport/massage/manicure/mango/sarong/ etc. We never felt threatened though and everyone was super nice so it wasn’t too terribly annoying. It usually ended up being quite humorous.

We usually woke up around 9:30am in order to make our way to eat a DANK breakfast buffet. That was so balllllllin. We would stuff our faces every morning because 1) it was free, 2) it was awesome, 3) it was western breakfast, and 4) there was real cheese and butter. After breakfast we would head back to the room to get ready and then go to the pool or the beach for the day. We always ended our afternoons by the pool where we would order drinks or food because we were ballers. Once pool time was over we would go back to the room and shower to get ready to grab some dinner. The getting ready time was a glorious time for me because I could watch Korean TV with English subtitles (awesooooome) or watch Kpop videos. Dinner was definitely NOT Korean food though and it was always yummy. Getting ready time and dinner usually consisted of alcoholic beverages which may or may not have been delicious.
We bought some vodka and apple juice on our first day in order to save money by making drinks in our room. WRONG. The vodka was disgusting which resulted in little consumption. Eventually we figured out that the Indo beer Bintang was quite delicious so we would hit that up instead of the poison known as that nasty weird name vodka.

We did make a couple of drinks with the vodka and apple juice though and apparently we left one cup half full of the concoction. However, a terrible accident happened because we left it out in the open. Malia went to make a drink with that cup the following night when she told me that there was something in that cup. We looked. We freaked out. It was a newt. Or a salamander. A lizard thing. Anyway, it was dead because of the deadly mixture of vodka and apple juice. Sadz. I was really creeped out by the incident and then Malia threw it off the balcony. She said it was a bad omen and I totally believed her.

On Tuesday, we hired a driver to take us to Sanur beach where we did “water sports”. The beach was much nicer here and the whole area had a different vibe to it. We did parasailing and something called the Fly Fish. The Fly Fish consisted of us laying down in a contraption which was then pulled by a boat. Once we got going fast enough it would cause us to go flying up in the air and over the water which brough us into a standing position. Does that make sense? It was pretty cool. It was my first time parasailing and I was afraid I was going to die. I just kept thinking about that at any time I may possibly fall through these straps but I was able to enjoy the beautiful view of the island so whatevs. I survived!

One night we ate dinner at a Chinese place that had duck which was so money. We ate too much but it was delicious. On Friday night we decided to grab some Bintang and sit outside the MiniMart to watch the sunset because we’re romantic like that. We didn’t know how to open our bottles of beer so we asked a guy that had a bottle opener on his keychain. We later saw that there was a bottle opener attached to the tree but who would expect that?

We had a photo shoot and then we decided to start playing a drinking game with the cards we brought. The dude that let us use his opener saw the cards and asked if he could show us a card trick and of course we said “yes. Impress us.” And he did. We deemed him cool enough and asked if him and his friends wanted to play a drinking game with us. It was the beginning of a fun night with him, his female friend, and her little brother. Did I mention that they were Indonesian? Their English was fantastic and they had studied abroad. They took us to eat Balinese food on their scooters which was too much fun (and delicious!). It was a great night.

We saved Saturday to be our spa day since we had to kill a lot of time before our flight at midnight. We had scoped out a hotel earlier in the week to make sure we had a legit spa experience. We found one that would last 5 hours and it included an aromatherapy massage, facial, body scrub, flower bath, manicure, and pedicure. It was awesome. After our day of relaxation we found a restaurant where we were super ballers. I had the steak which was not that good and we both had plenty of drinks to go around. As an added bonus a live band appeared out of nowhere to start playing which was sooo cool. Malia and I really enjoyed it because they played some Skynyrd, Ben Harper, and the Eagles. We then tipsily tried to find some last minute gifts which was interesting. I think MK broke something in the process. LoL typical.

The airport was also an interesting experience and was unlike any other airport we had been to. I won’t go into it because it’s boring but it was super annoying. They definitely double checked my ticket, gave me the side eye, and asked “seoul?” at two different points trying to get on the plane. Yes, I know I’m white but dang…I’m not retarded. White people live in Korea too, man.

I didn’t sleep at all on the ride home but MK was passed the eff’ out next to me. I was jel. I was wearing shorts and a tank top (whore) when we landed in Seoul which was still in the 20’s with snow on the ground. We walked off the plane and MK and I both said “cold” in Korean when a nice lady turned to me, smiled, called me teacher, and said some stuff in Korean. It was nice to have a random Korean lady to talk to me so kindly.

Overall, it was a great trip with the bestie and a nice break from life in the ROK.

Bali Bali Ballin' 2010

2010-02-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

Get ready, Bali! MK and I are coming to you in t-minus. Let's backtrack though...

Last night ended up being pretty chill. I met Dani, MK, and Andrew at Sinchon. I was talking to Dani while we waited at McDonalds where she found an umbrella that somebody had left. I usually feel bad about taking someone else's stuff because maybe they would come back and get it but I decided to go for it. Why? It was cute and came in the most adorable umbrella bag thing and it was kind of snowy/rainy out. We went to a Mexican place called On The Border where we ate way too much food. Dani left us and next up was Beer O'Clock. I had heard of it before but only from other foreigners and now I know why. We had a drink and watched super loud drunk guys. There were zero Koreans so I probably won't be going back anytime soon. haha Anyway, we called it an early night.

Today is THE day. The day that MK and I get leave this way too long winter cold snow place called Korea and go to the glorious warm and tropical Indonesia. The only bummer? It's the wet season. BK! It will be nice just to be in warm weather though. I'm hoping we'll get to see an image like this...

ALL of my coteachers were kind of downing on the idea of me going with Malia. Why? "Because it is honeymoon place! You should go with a boyfriend." Ok, whatever. I think we're going to have an awesome time and I can't wait to get that party started.

I need to get crackin' on the packin' though. I need to leave in 3 hours and haven't packed a thing. I'm such a procrastinator.

I got mahhh hurrr did.

2010-02-11T23:07:00.001-08:00

MK and I made some grand plans to meet up in Hoegi at around 3pm yesterday to get haircuts and manicures. I was running late (surprise) but stopped by Holly's Coffee to get my usual Americano with an extra shot. There should have been 3 shots in there but it totally tasted like there was just one. Lame! Anyway, MK is running on the treadmill and doing laundry and had to take a shower. Blah blah blah. So, we didn't get moving until 4:30 pm...fail.

I was super duper nervous about getting my hair cut. I think Korean hair stylists are amazing. They really know how to cut and style hair....Korean hair that is. However, many have never cut western hair which can be totally different from what they're used to working with. I had heard horror stories about people getting some really funky stuff done to their hair. The language barrier doesn't help matters either. Malia and I printed some pictures off to show them how we wanted things done. Thank goodness I did that because I was looking through the magazines which were all Korean hair and not of any help to me.

The main hair stylist guy started cutting my hair and it was a little nerve wracking because he couldn't speak any english. He did tell me that I was beautiful though so props to him. haha Anyway, after he's chopped away at my hair he asks me if my hair was original. Ummmm, yeah, dude. Hair can be naturally curly. I have styling my hair curly down to a science so I just asked him to straighten it and it looked pretty good. The true test would be when I took matters into my own hands. The result? Ehhhh. The top part looks amazing and halfway down is good but the last bit is a bit wtf'ish. It's not terrible but it just looks a lot thinner than the rest of my hair. I'm thinking about taking the scissors to my hair but we'll see. Even though it's not 100% perfect, I'm still really happy with the results. It was the best $15 hair cut I've ever had. Since MK had her hair cut by some lady that was not the head honcho she only had to pay $10 and her hair is bangin'. Koreans know how to cut hair.

Next up was getting our nails done. For $15 they file and shape your nails, do some extensive cuticle work, do a massage or a hand scrub, and will slap some polish on. They didn't speak much English but they did play kpop music while MK and I aggonized over what colors we wanted to get. In Korea, it's all about using two colors on your nails. Which nails you put what color on is up to you but it's tough making all these decisions when there are so many things that can be done. MK immediately messed up a nail while waiting for hers to dry and had to have the girl redo a nail. lolz They said we should be careful with our nails for the next 8 hours. haha I think they had a point though because we both jacked up our nails a little even after an hour or so of trying to be careful. The girls were soooo helpful in helping us get our money out, helping us into our coats, and pulling our hair out so it wouldn't be caught in our jackets.

We then headed over to the Coffee Bean to meet Mr. Dillon and some cute K-boys said hello to us as we passed. I think AD was pleasantly surprised to see my hair in all of its straightness. We popped over to the BK for some pre-K-BBQ goodness and then back to MK's where she was still trying to finish her laundry. Kyung Han showed up after a while and he was also shocked by my hair. He was very enthusiastic about it and thought it looked much better. We played a couple of rounds of spades and then Jun came around. I met Jun through Kyung Min. Jun was the dude that gave me a shout out at his performance. Turns out, he's Korean but has lived in Australia for the past few years and has the cutest accent ever. He also liked my hair which makes me think that I should really get on this magic straight action. Anyway, we headed out to the restaurant that we always go to across from MK's and then to the grocery store to get loads of beer for BEER PONG.

We ended up playing several rounds of beer pong, listened to music, did some dork ball action, and played taxi. Vivian and Amy joined us for a bit which was mad groovy. They kicked us out at midnight and we retreated upstairs where we played more taxi and some kill. The k-boys left sometime after 2 and then we craaaaashed. It was a good night and I think everyone enjoyed themselves.

Here are a few images for you to enjoy...

This one is so you can get a nice look at the straight hair going down.

It is already 5:30pm and I don't know where the time has gone. I'm going to meet up with MK, AD, and maybe a few others in Sinchon at 7:30 for some dinner. I'm not sure what kind of night it's going to be but I'm going to stop by my local Dunkin Donuts to get some coffee just in case it turns out to be that kind of night. Hopefully, DD boy will be working and I can chat him up a bit in hopes of getting double stamps. haha

Ramblings

2010-02-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

The Kpop scene has been seeing a lot of new music recently and I am loving it. "Oh" by SNSD (or Girl's Generation) and "외톨이야" (or I'm a Loner) by CNBlue. These songs are sooooooooo catchy and wonderful. You should check them out.

It's nice to have these fun pop songs blaring out of every speaker you walk by because it's easy to get the winter blues here. It seems that all there is to do is eat and drink. Maybe catch a movie or watch TV. Or shop.

Speaking of movies, I saw Paranormal Activity a couple of weeks ago with KH which had me on pins and needles the entire time. He thought it was boring but I was pretty creeped out by it. Maybe it's because I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE fan of the show Paranormal State on A&E. I totally believe in it. Scurry.

In other news, I've been spending a lot of time at home but also over at MK's place. It takes almost 90 minutes to get to Hoegi but I've been super bored lately. We had school from Feb. 1-5 but I did very little teaching and lots of desk warming. I've been on vacation the rest of the time so I don't mind at all to ride the subway for such a long period of time. It at least gets me moving and around people.

Korean Dramas & Movies

2010-02-10T18:56:00.001-08:00

Winter is creeping by. Yesterday it was raining instead of snowing so I was hoping that MAYBE we were starting to inch out of winter. However, I wake up this morning to see snow on the ground and it was sleeting or something. I think it's getting colder as the day goes on because it has now turned to snow. LAME. I'm lucky because in t-minus 2 days, MK and I will find ourselves on the beach in Bali. Bali Bali Ballin'!

In other news, my knowledge of Korean Pop Culture has grown by leaps and bounds. I now read several Kpop culture blogs which helps me keep up with what's going on. I should probably start reading the Korea Times and Korea Herald too but those contain real news which just isn't as fun as keeping up with hot Kpop stars.

I've also been watching Korean dramas and movies. I've watched the entire series of Boys Over Flowers and The First Shop of Coffee Prince. The latter might also just be called Coffee Prince. I've recently started watching You're Beautiful which is really just the same as Coffee Prince and BOF combined.

YOU MUST WATCH BOYS OVER FLOWERS. Seriously, I loved this show and the actors are hotttttt. They're so hot in fact that I bought a calender which has all their lovely faces in it. Lee Min Ho and Kim Bum are totally hot.

Just check out that eye candy. The far left (Kim Bum) and second from right (Lee Min Ho with curly hair) are my faves. Seriously, give it to me. Lee Min Ho will be starring in a new drama that will be coming out in a couple of months called Personal Taste which will have him pretending to be a gay to win over the girl who only befriends gay men. Eeeep. Can't wait.

I also watch a couple of other dramas that are currently on TV such as High Kick Through the Roof and Pasta. Pasta stars the dude with the hot voice from Coffee Prince. The star of Coffee Prince, Gong Yoo, just got out of his mandatory military service and has been in several new advertisements seen around town. He can give it to me too.

I've watched a lot of Korean movies too but the best one is My Sassy Girl. You need to watch this too. There was an American version but it SUCKS. However, the Korean version is wonderful. You can watch all of these movies/shows at mysoju.com or at Vikkii.

Some Backlogged Updates

2009-12-25T19:34:00.000-08:00

Time really flies in the ROK. I can't believe that I have been in Korea for four (4!!!!) months! Wow. I feel like there is never enough time during the day, the weekend is over before I know it, and let's not even talk about how fast a month can go by.

I hope the next few months go by just as fast. Why? Because it's really freaking cold. I'm freezing! I'm sitting in the teacher's office but my feet feel like blocks of ice. I hate having to go out into the hall because they're not heated and I can usually see my breath. Not cool, dude.

This weekend was pretty eventful. On Friday, I met MK, AD, and KM in Sinchon to meet with some of KM's friends. We went to Waggle Waggle --> of course. We sang Happy Birthday to KM and ate some delicious cake off of a white chocolate plate (TIK). I think everyone had a good time. Most everyone peaced out but me, KM, and KH decided to keep the party going so we went to a Japanese place. We had a bottle of sake and some of that soju that looks relly girly and tastes like cough syrup. They kicked us out at around 5:30am which meant that we could take the subway home. This meant that I made it home sometime after 6:30am. I stopped in at 7-11 for some breakfast and took foreeeeevvvveeeerrr trying to decide what I wanted. Decisions are so tough at that hour.

KM invited me to see his performance in Hyehwa on Saturday night so I was totally down for that. I really miss watching live music so that was nice. Being a white foreign girl has its advantages because I totally got a song dedicated to me. Score!

Hmmm...speaking of being a white foreign girl. On Friday, I was telling KM and KH how easy it was to talk to K-dudes when one randomly comes up to our table. He introduces himself to me and asked where I was from. He then proceeded to ask for my opinion on the subprime mortgage crisis. Really?! haha That was awesome. I am a sociology major and have read entire books on that topic so I think he didn't know how to handle my answer. He got flustered and sat down but KM&KH were really impressed that people just come up and talk to me. It's rare for strangers to talk to fellow strangers so I was a little surprised by it too.

After the show on Saturday, we went to a place to eat and drink with everyone who performed. It was a nice time. Everyone was really super nice!! I love Koreans. They really know how to take care of this silly American girl. Oh, there was a HUGE dog there which reminded me of 1) how scared I am of dogs and 2) how much I miss little Gary!! Anyway, KM and I called it an early night because we stayed out too late the night before. I was home by midnight! It was a miracle.

On Sunday, I spent a lovely afternoon in Hongdae with MK, AD, and DK. We ate yummy Italian food, creeped on cute k-boys, and found the Hidden cafe. Hidden was pretty cool because they had notebooks and crayons to play with which MK was all about. It was really great to spend the afternoon chillin' with crew. The rest of Sunday was spent straight relaxing. It felt amazing.

Sorry Sorry

2009-10-27T03:12:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of updates, dear readers! The title of this post comes from one of Korea's many famous boy bands - Super Junior. Or Suju or SJ if you wanna be into the K-pop scene. Super Junior is not a band at all but rather a group. A large group. There are 13 members and they hold the record for largest boy band in the world. I'm not afraid to admit that I love "Sorry Sorry" and I even know part of the dance. The dance mostly consists of rubbing your hands together and...oh just youtube it.

Aren't they...cute? Definitely not one of the best looking groups out there. But trust me that there are some HOTTTT K-Boys out there that I will touch on in another post to come in the near future.

I've been reading tons and tons of blogs from fellow ex-pats in Korea and they've inspired me to try to take care of my little b~log. Plus, it's nearing the end of the semester (already?!?!?!) so my teaching schedule is nonexistent. I still have to plan lessons for winter camp but there is no actual teaching. I'm not going to lie, it feels really nice to have a break. My typical weeks are usually jammed packed and crazy and the weekends are even wilder. As a result, time flies and I have bags under my eyes but I'm loving it.

The longer I stay here, the more that I enjoy Korea. I really really love it here. Don't get me wrong, there are definitely things that perplex or frustrate me on a weekly (sometimes daily) basis. I think one thing that would help me enjoy my life in Korea even more would be to learn the language...and get a hobby. So, I'm going to be looking into Korean classes and a possible hobby. I know a few phrases and some words. Korea has two number systems and I know one...kind of. The other one I can count to three. Actually let me make a list of stuff I know how to say.

Hurry
Hurry Up
Let's Go
Thank You
Hello
How much is it?
1-10 in one of the # systems
1-2 in the other # system
Titles for various people
Where is the bathroom?
Cold
Mummy
Sweet Potatoes
Coffin
Pumpkin
Give me
Blind Date
Beer
Beer + Soju (not to be confused with SuJu)
Beer + Chicken
Friend
Names of foods
Delicious
I love you
Tell me
.....and that's about it. Needless to say, I have a lot to learn.

I also want to try to start cooking more because that desperately needs to happen sometime in this lifetime. Cooking in Korea can be a little bit more difficult as I only have a microwave and a stove top. No actual stove. No toaster oven but I do have a toaster which I use frequently. Not to mention the fact that I have a hard time finding my way around the grocery store thanks to my lack of Korean skillz. Honestly, it's probably not that hard but I never cook and don't know what ingredients to buy or how to transform them into something delicious.

So, what do I eat? Ramen (it's amazing here), eggs, toast, peanut butter sandwich, protein bars for breakfast, and that's about it. Wow. I eat lunch at school which helps supplement my diet. I drink lots of coffee. I get pizza from a place called Pizza School because it's cheap and dank. I get a hotdog and fries from Steff Hotdog.
And that's it. I usually eat with friends on the weekend though and there is usually some time during the week where I have to eat with teachers for some random thing or I meet Malia and AD for dinner. So, as you can tell, I need to learn to cook.

Speaking of food...Libby Teacher is starving! Time to hit up my emergency stash of cashews in my drawer.

Lotte World + Hongdae = Good Times

2009-10-27T03:10:00.000-07:00

So, a number of weeks ago I went to Lotte World. It's is a less cool version of Disneyland. There is a castle, some characters, shows, and attractions. Lotte (World) is an indoor/outdoor theme park but it's a lot more than that. Just wikipedia it and you'll get the picture...

One of my co-teachers (the head English teacher) invited me to go with her and her daughter and another native English teacher. So, early on Saturday morning we meet at my subway station to go to the other side of Seoul. It was about 1.5 hours on the subway but we eventually made it. There were 6 of us in our group and three of the girls were close to my age or a little older.

It can get very crowded so we had to get there early to beat the crowds. Like everything else in Seoul, the theme park made very efficient use of the space. There was a ride or some other attraction everywhere you looked. Most of the rides had lots of detail and some pretty hilarious setups. Most of the rides were like the Blazing Fury at Dollywood...only marginally better. There were some thrill rides though so it wasn't just for little kids. Most of the people that were in Lotte World were people my age.

The Lorry and Lottie are the Mickey and Minnie Mouse of Lotte World. I think they're raccoons. There were many shops and kiosks that sold headbands with various ears or bows on them and EVERYONE was wearing them. It was strange seeing people my age and older wearing those silly headbands. Literally, everyone had a pair.

From September until the end of November, the park was having a "Halloween Party". I don't think it was much different than any other time of year other than a few pumpkins and some characters dressed up in halloween costumes. They did have a parade late in the afternoon that was a special Halloween themed dance/music shindig. I noticed that many of the dancers were not Korean, in fact, they were white! I learned that most of the dancers and entertainers in Lotte World and other theme parks are Russian.

As we walked around, I kept seeing people dressed in crazy costumes. Think: harajuku girls and guys dressed in ridiculous outfits. I even saw "broken dollies". haha I thought maybe they worked at Lotte World and were fitting in with the Halloween theme because I assumed they were Korean. I was quickly informed that they were Japanese and were perhaps at a "conference". Yeah, maybe there was a comic con but I highly doubt it. I think they just wanted to dress like that.

We made it an ALL DAY event at Lotte World. We were there for-evs so I didn't get home until 8'ish. I had planned on going to Hongdae with MK but was afraid that I was too late. Luckily, I was able to throw on a dress and sprint out to meet MK, AD, and her cousins. We ate yummy noodles and then headed out to the coffee shop to get a draaaaank.

I had a whiskey and coke which is my signature drink in America but a rarity here in Seoul. Then we headed to the Road Haus which is a bar that sells a lot of international beers. We met some of Dani's friends and we were having a good time when we were reprimanded for being loud. I'm not sure why that always happens to us.

So, we moved on to our next location. OK, check this out...it was a bar that had dancing downstairs and they only played Korean music from the 80's and early 90's. People were crazy for it. They would raise their drinks in unison and sing the songs. I did not even see them dancing but I heard that it is way more intense. It was the Sassy Anne's of Korea.

We played some fun games and enjoyed being outside. Our beer came from a tea kettle which was neat-o. We decided to move on and we had some hot dogs from a street vendor. Mmmmmm street food when you're drunk is the best. MK and AD peaced out but the rest of us went to a club called Cacoon. It was pretty crazy but we had a blast. I was a little taken aback by how touchy feely some of the Korean dudes were. I was like, "ugh - save me!" and Dani and her friends would save me from Mr. Creepster. We danced until after 4am and decided to call it a night. Cacoon was still hoppin' when we left because clubs don't have to close until 6am. Koreans like to party.

I was exhausted when I got home but I smelled like a cigarette. I was thinking, "Ooooh, I smell like I've been to Sassy's." So, I took a shower and crashed around 5am. Needless to say, it was a looooooooooooooooong day. Lotte World AND Hongdae?? It's almost too much to handle.

Weekend Festivities

2009-09-27T04:12:00.000-07:00

I officially have the internet in my apartment! Wooohoooooooo. I have been dreaming about web surfing for AGES and now I can skype with confidence. Like everything else in my apartment, my internet setup falls a little on the janky side. SK Telecom had to run the cable in from the outside of my door so it's a tad wonky-looking. Good connection though so I'm not complaining too loudly.

I have so many things to write about but I will start with this weekend's adventure because it was awesome. Dani (Malia's cousin) was a coordinator for an international student camp 2 years ago. Her group was placed in a certain "camp" and she had to develop a program. The "camp" is actually a small village in a rural area of South Korea. It's about a 2+ hour bus ride plus some hitchhiking to get there. I can't remember the name of the town but it has not been Americanized like Seoul has that's for sure.

First of all, it's in a rural setting which was fantastic. I think we (me, MK, and AD) were all excited to be getting out of the city for the day. There were mountains, trees, and fresh air and I was loving it. Secondly, the village was just oozing traditional Korean culture which was also refreshing.

So, here is the breakdown of the day.

I woke up around 7am and took a shower to be ready to leave for the subway station at 8am. I grabbed some orange juice, water, and crackers at "Buy the Way" and then I was on my way. I had to do 2 transfers but finally made it to Nambu station 15 minutes early. I headed to the bus terminal and bought a breakfast sandwich from Dunkin Donuts and then I got a call from Dani. Apparently, there is more than one subway station for a bus terminal and I had gone to the wrong one. So, I hopped back on the train to backtrack a couple of stops. No biggie, but then I could not find my way out of the subway to the correct exit so that took a while to figure out. Anyway, I finally met up with our group that included myself, MK, AD, Dani, and two of Dani's friends.

We bought our bus tickets and I was pleasantly surprised to find that we were on the pimpest bus I had ever been on. The seats were uber comfortable and there was lots of leg room. We were on that bus for about 2'ish hours and then we got off to wait for another bus. The next bus we were waiting for only comes by once an hour so that was kind of a BK. There was a girl sitting who had already been waiting for 20 minutes so at least we knew that we wouldn't be waiting for the whole hour. After not such a long period of time, we got on that bus and we headed for a rural area. We were on backroads and many of the bus stops were in the middle of nowwhere...literally. Finally, we get off the bus because it's the last stop and we get some lunch a small resturant.

We had no means of transportation from the resturant to where we were going so we just had to hoof it. We tried hitchhiking whenever a truck passed but we didn't have any luck for a while. So, we just enjoyed the scenery and the fresh air which was awesome. I read "On The Road" this summer so I was stoked about the idea of hitchhiking and was sad that we wouldn't be able to. But then, we struck gold and a truck stopped for us so my dream came true! We were on the road.

We arrived at our destination and kicked around for about an hour. We picked up some chestnuts and surveyed the area. Then things started getting interesting. We saw some traditional Korean clothes/music/dance to celebrate their community / Chuseok...ok, I'm not sure exactly. (fyi: Chuseok = Korean Thanksgiving). It was really cool to watch.

After that, we went into the auditorium to watch a performance. Even though I don't understand a word of Korean, I still enjoyed the performance. The performers were really talented and had a lot of energy so it was fun. At the end of the performance they were pulling people from the audience to play drums and dance and AD was one of the lucky ones to be given a drum. haha

After the performance, we went outside to be seated at very low tables. We had food and a traditional Korean alcohol - makkoli. Makkoli is a type of rice wine but this was a special kind because it was homemade and made from dark rice instead of white rice. Also, it was made with no extra sweetener which is different from the type you usually get in the city. It was delicious.

We met some very interesting people that included:
Some of Dani's friends that she knew in the village. One of them serenaded me in front of everyone.
William - the cutest Korean child ever. I want to adopt him.
A Buddhist monk.
A teenager who did not go to high school but instead travels and learns what he wants.
A funny and sweet man who sold me a crocheted dish cloth. I think he was very interested in us.

After we finished our many drinks, we decided to stumble back to the bus station and hope that we would find a ride back to Seoul. There is only ONE bus that goes by the village and it only happens once a day and we had no idea what time. It must have been our lucky day because that ONE bus came barrelling down the road and we jumped out in front of it. We were in the middle of the road in the middle of nowhere but the driver picked us up anyway. By this point, we were all about to pee on ourselves but we had to hold it until we got to the bus station. It.was.tortue. but we made it to the station, peed for hours, and got tickets back to the city.

So, Saturday was awesome. It was a very unique experience that few foreigners get to experience.

Now, for some photos...

One Month...Already?!

2009-09-20T04:52:00.000-07:00

My first month in South Korea has come and gone. I can't believe that it has already been an entire month. Time as gone by soooooo fast. Weekdays fly by and the weekends go even faster. That's always the case with weekends though, isn't it?

I HATE that I haven't been updating my blog. It's not completely my fault though - I promise! I am still Internet-less in my apartment so it makes it hard to update via the interwebz. Imagine that. I have a huge number of posts to make though so stay tuned for insight into surviving Seoul.

This will be my first week in teaching my entire schedule which consists of:

22 hours during regular school hours
7:40AM-8:30AM class on Mondays
3:20PM-5:00PM classes on Tuesdays and Fridays

This means I'm teaching anywehere from 4-7 classes a day and have to plan 5 lessons a week. It's not too terrible. I get paid "overtime" for my extra classes on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. These extra classes will add about $500 dollars to my paycheck every month so that's nice.

I should get back to planning my lessons now...

Be sure to check back for some riveting (not really) posts!

Happenings

2009-09-02T01:28:00.004-07:00

I just finished introducing myself to another 3rd grade class. They were clearly not advanced students. I also think it depends on who your co-teacher is. I was with another new English teacher (She's Korean) and it takes the students a while to warm up to new teachers even the Korean ones. It is going to be like pulling teeth to get these students to speak English. They are just so shy and do not want to make any mistakes. Ah well.

Judy just informed me that on Monday we will go to the immigration office to apply for my ARC card. Sweeet! Having my ARC card means internet, cell phone, and getting a multi-entrance visa! Woot. Judy also told me that we will do some more shopping. Shopping is always fun.

I was just talking to the new co-teacher I just had class with and she gave me some insights to the Korean classroom. She thinks that the students do not speak in class easily because they are so accustomed to just listening, taking notes, and not giving their opinions. Addtionally, they are not given the opportunity to speak English outside of class. The teacher also told me that the students can understand me but they just have a really hard time producing the language.

Did I mention that I still haven't completely unpacked? :-/ ← I heart emoticons.

Differences

2009-09-02T01:28:00.003-07:00

So, I think I am going to list some cultural differences between Korea and America. The 3rd grade class is doing a section on cultural differences so I may mention some of these during my lesson.

1)Squat toilets. Yes, squat toilets. It is basically a hole in the floor where you squat down to take care of business. The handle is on the floor and the toilet paper holder is lower too. I finally broke down and used the squat toilets today at school. The ladies restroom has one western style toilet and about 5 of these squat toilets. I'm not sure why there are so many of these in Korea. Maybe they use less water?

2)Hand Holding. I noticed that all of the girls hold hands with their girlfriends. I even saw some guys getting in on the hand holding action. When I was out walking in the city, I saw two ladies holding hands and I wondered if they were lovers or just friends. I'm assuming just friends. While this is not too strange, it is very different from America where most hand holding is between members of the opposite sex.

3)Living with your parents until your married. Even if you're 30. I had heard MK talk about this from visiting her cousin last summer but actually meeting people who are in their 30's and still living with their parents is so much more true life. This is not a bad cultural difference at all but it is very different than what I am used to. The ladies that I have talked to that most women live with their parents until they're married. Many of the women that I work with are not married and live at home with the 'rents even though they are much older than me.

4)The shoe thing. Yes, Koreans always take off their shoes when they go into their homes. Yadaa yadda yadda. Not surprising. I asked my co-teacher what the dress code was and if I needed to wear a certain type of shoe. She said that teachers can wear their outdoor or indoor shoes in the school. It doesn't matter. However, many of them wear their outdoor shoes to school and then once inside they put on their comfortable shoes which are usually some type of ugly (but comfy) sandal. I found it absurd that women wear these insane stilettos up the freakin' mountain and all over town only to change into their comfortable shoes when they are inside sitting down.

5)Oral Health. When you walk into the bathroom at school, there is a shelf where teachers can place things there. What do these shelves hold? Oral hygeine products. All of the teachers seem to be obsessed with oral care. However, I think it is less about healthy teeth and more about not wanting to have bad breath because Korean food is spicy and can make your breath smell ranky. There are sooo many cups in the bathroom filled with toothbrushes and toothpaste. I find myself brushing my teeth after lunch and breakfast too because I don't want to be the only teacher to have funky breath.

6)Koreans are all about Korea! Judy is always talking about how great Korea/Korean goods are. For example, we bought the pillows that were made in Korea because they were much better than the ones made in China. She said, “Even though the ones made in China are cheaper, we will get the Korean ones because they are better quality. The ones in Korea are more expensive but they are much better. Plus, she is always talking about how healthy the Korean food is. I wouldn't be surprised if Judy claimed that kimchi can cure AIDS. No joke. Judy said, “Do you remember SARS? Every country in Asia had SARS except for Korea. Koreans did not get SARS because we eat kimchi. This was scientifically proven. The scientists said 'Koreans did not get SARS because they eat lots of kimchi.'”. She also claims that the Korean food is very low in calorie and that I should eat everything on my plate because it is very nutritous and will not make me gain weight. Yeah, ok, I highly doubt that but whatevs. Even though these are strange claims, I think that it is a good thing that Koreans take such great pride in their culture.

7)Koreans will sleep anywhere. When I was at orientation I noticed that there were many people who would just lay down on the nearest bench and take a nap. They're not homeless...just sleepsies. Even at school, Hee-Yuon will lay her head down and take a nap. I've seen other teachers fall asleep in their chairs and everyone falls asleep on the subway.

8)Dress code. The students at our school must wear uniforms. They are not allowed to wear earrings and their nails must be short with NO nail polish on them. The students are also not allowed to have perms or do anything fancy to their hair. They are also not allowed to wear make-up. The teachers can wear whatever they want. Many teachers wear shorts or even jeans. Oh, and Korean teachers can hit their students but most don't.

Hmmmm, that's all that I can think of at the moment. I will be sure to keep you posted as more strange things happen.

Banghwa Park

2009-09-02T01:28:00.002-07:00

After work, I was feeling good because I drank lots of green tea in the afternoon. I had seen on the local neighborhood map that there was a Bangwha park. I just realized that I didn't mention Bangwha in my last post! How silly of me. As previously mentioned, I live in the Gangseo district or Gangseo-gu. Within Gangseo-gu there are many smaller neighborhoods which are called “dongs”. So, my neighborhood is Bangwha or Bangwhadong. It is the last stop on Line 5 of the subway. It's pretty much in the middle of nothing remarkable.

Back to Bangwha park...So, I decided to go out in search of the elusive Bangwha park. The park is just a few blocks (like 3? Maybe 2?) away from my apartment. It's pretty k-rad. There is a track that goes around and through the park. There is a playground, basketball court, soccer tennis court, some random exercise equipment, lots of trees, and a stream. It's a pretty nice park that is well maintained. I am very happy that such a quiet nature place is so close to my apartment. Maybe I will start running? Pfffft. Maybe.

Libby Teacher! Libby Teacher!

2009-09-02T01:28:00.001-07:00

Today I had to introduce myself to the faculty and then to the entire school. My intro to the teachers was fabulous but the intro to the students was ehhhh. I also introduced myself to two 3rd grade classes which was fun. I enjoyed that.

For the school assembly, the students were supposed to line up according to their classes (I think). The gym (?) teacher spent a solid 10-15 minutes just getting the students into lines. Then the lines moved back. Then some of the lines moved back further. Then the students turned to the side. Then they moved forward. Then they turned back to the front. Then some more students moved back further. Then they turned the the side and so on. It was pretty weird. I'm not sure what that was all about. I guess to impress to new school principal. In Korean schools, the VP does everything while the principal just hangs out in a big office. So, I'm sure the students don't care about some dude they will never see or talk to.

I really like the students. They come up to me in the teacher's office to talk to me and they always want to talk to me in the halls. The teachers keep telling me that they are very excited to meet me and that they will love me. I don't know about all of that but they do seem pretty cool. With a group of friends, one brave one will come up to talk to me while the other friends just giggle and laugh. They will also just yell out my name and say Hi! Or Nice to meet you!

Lisbeth is very hard for the students (and teachers) to pronounce so I have decided to go by Libby. Libby is what my family (and Duncan) call me so it's not that strange. I actually really like being called Libby instead of Lisbeth because it's hard to mess up Libby. I take that back. They pronunce Libby as Lee-Bee. Haha It's all good.

First Day of Skool

2009-09-02T01:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my first day of school. I met many teachers but I can't pronounce or remember many of their names. I feel terrible about it but I just have such a hard time with K-names. They sound very foreign to me and if I can't see it in writing then I know I will not remember it. I remember all of the teachers who give me their English names though.

The school is nice. It has an awesome English room that is very high tech. I can request to use that room but I don't think I can use it permanently. I will have to ask if I can use it more often than not. The teachers are all very nice. I sit beside a young teacher who is my age. She is very cool and we talk often. Her English is very good so it's easy to talk to her even if she teaches Korean. Her name is Hee-Yuon. All of the English teachers are very nice and they can speak English well. During orientation, they warned us that our fellow English co-teachers may be old, lame, and unable to speak English despite being an English teacher.

I will eat lunch at school everyday. It costs less than 3,000 won and it is pretty good so I decided to have the money deducted from my paycheck every month instead of foraging for food. I get to eat in the special Teacher's Cafeteria so I really feel like an adult. I'm not sure if we're served the same food as the students though.

I forgot to mention that I am not teaching for the first week. I just sit at my desk and “plan” lessons. So far, I have just read the English textbooks. I was very confused and worried about teaching because the Language Focus that I was supposed to “focus” on were just crazy sentences written in English. I then discovered that I need to have the Korean written next to the English sentences translated for me for me to know what I'm supposed to teach. I also sit at a desk with a defunct computer so I can't really do any work. I brought my computer today but the internet does not work on my computer and the computers at school only use Microsoft office which I do not have. The computer tech guy wasn't here today so I've just puttered around some more. I did get more clarification about the lessons though so that's good.

I saw my class schedule and it suuuuuucks. Let me explain my classes first. I will teach 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade students. However, I will only see each class every other week. My first week I have two 1st grade classes and twenty 3rd grade classes. The second week I will have eight 1st grade classes and fourteen 2nd grade classes. So, really I only have to plan 3 lessons for two weeks. Pretty sweet, huh? You're probably thinking, “But Lisbeth, you said it suuuuuucks”. Well, yes my schedule on Tuesday of week 1 sucks because I have classes allllll day. I have 6 classes which is ridiculous even by Korean standards. I also have to teach 5 classes one day each week. This is also not so fun but it's all good. Judy mentioned teaching 2 after school classes but I would get paid extra for those. I don't know if those classes are going to happen or not. We'll see.

*Update *
Another English teacher just came up and told me that I have a new schedule. I only have 5 classes on Tuesday now instead of 6. I will have to teach one 2nd grade class though the week that I teach grades 1&3. I don't mind that though.

First Day of Freedom!

2009-09-02T01:22:00.000-07:00

So, I have not been on top of this blog as much as I would have hoped. Sad. But don't worry! As things start to settle down, I will be able to give this blog a little TLC.

Orientation ended on Saturday and we were given an S.M.O.E. T-shirt and herded onto buses according to our district. I am in the Gangseo district. In Korea, “gu” means district so I would say that I am in Gangseo-gu. We were shuttled to the Gangseo District Office of Education where we were introduced to our Vice-Principal and our Co-Teachers. My Vice-Principal is a woman – how awesome is that?! I was so relieved to see my co-teacher who looked young and hip. Turns out, she's AMAZING. Her name, well her English name, is Judy. She looks like she's my age but she is really in her 30's. Anyway, the VP told me that my apartment wasn't ready yet but that it would be finished by 8 PM. This was at 2 PM.

So, Judy and I hopped in her car and went to a large store that sells many items. Think: Target. I think it was a Lotte Mart but who knows? Judy bought me some bedding (which was soooo expensive), some pots, a pan, utensils, plates and cups, pillows, and maybe some other items. I am very lucky that the school was able to buy these items for me because not every school has the budget to buy their native teacher these items.

After our shopping excursion, we went to her son's English program at his school. Judy has 3 children. She has 2 boys and 1 girl and they are William (10), Harry (7), and Tiffany (2'ish). Of course they have Korean names but I don't remember them. So, we went to Harry's program at school and the kids wore costumes and sang songs. They were sooooo cute! Judy says that she gave her sons the English names of William & Harry because they are her Princes. Awwww, sweet, huh? All of Judy's children are beautiful and are so smart and kind. I also met her husband who is a tall Korean man who is very nice. They're a pair of foxes.

After Harry's program was over, we dropped her children off and her husband joined us. We had some dank fried chicken at a restaurant that was within walking distance to my apartment. We also drank the Korean beer – HITE. It's my new Korean Keystone Light. One of the first things Judy revealed to me was, “I love beer!!”. Basically, she became my new BFF after she said that. I had such a good time with Judy and her husband. I still am unsure of what his name is. I asked Judy what his name was and she said it was Mr. Kim. So, idk. I asked them to give me a Korean name and it is: Kim Tae something that I don't remember. I think it is after a famous actress and her husband's last name.

After dinner, they helped move me into my new abode. For the next year, I live in a small box. Actually, it's not so bad. I have a queen size bed that pulls down from the wall, a desk, some closet(s), and some shelves. I have a small kitchen area with a stove top and a small refrigerator. I also have a wee kitchen table but I can't really use it because it is smushed between a wall and the washing machine. I also have a TV that has 4 channels. I usually watch TV and hope that maybe by some sort of diffusion I will learn Korean. The shows are crazy and fairly entertaining to a foreigner like myself.

The next day, Sunday, we (Me, Judy, and her

her husband) went to E-Mart. It is a HUGE store that really sells everything. It was in what used to be the international airport so it was gigantic. Because it was the weekend, it was poppin'! There were people everywhere. We ate at the food court and thank goodness Judy ordered for me. There are glass cases with plates of different foods with a price listed below it. You pick which one you want and go order at a single counter. They take your order and you pay the cashier. Then, the cashier gives you a ticket with a number listed on it. Then, you look at the different screens beside the place that is preparing your food and wait for your ticket number to pop up. You go and pick up your food when your number appears on the screen. It was pretty neat.

Then, we did some more shopping. Judy bought me a fan (it's a godsend), a small trashcan, multi-outlets, a kettle, a broom and mop, more bedding, a few other things. I also bought a few things that wouldn't be considered for the housing budget (I.e. a headset so I can skype!!!).

After all of the shopping, I was exhausted so I took a shower and hit the sack. I watched some crazy Korean TV first though. Duh, who would want to miss out on that quality entertainment?

FAQ's

2009-08-28T04:57:00.000-07:00

OK, so I promised to answer some FAQ's a while back. It is now time to answer some of those before jumping into more blabbering about Lockdown 2009 aka SMOE Orientation.

Whenever I first told people that I was going to Korea I would get many of the same surprised looks and questions. These are some of those questions...

1) Why are you going to South Korea?
My degree is in Sociology. I love Sociology and think that it is a really important field to study. However, it is really hard to get a job. When do you ever hear of someone saying, "Yeah, I'm a Sociologist"? It doesn't happen often. So, I needed some time to figure out what kind of work I wanted to get into. Buying time = Teaching English in Korea. South Korea pays the most money to native English speakers and they also pay for your apartment and airfare. Plus, MK and AD were going and it was easy to tag along. Because they had already gone through the application process, it was easy for me to apply.

2) How can you teach English if you don't have a degree in Education?
For many foreign countries, escpecially in Asia, they are desperate for Native Speakers of English to come teach their students. I suppose they think that by diffusion, their students will learn English simply because I'm speaking it. I am also not a "full" teacher, I am more of a "Teaching Assistant". Additionally, I am not there to teach grammar, they have their Korean teachers to do that. I am more of an English Motivator. It's my job to think of games and activities for them to take part in to get them speaking the language.

3) What's going to happen to Gary?!
Gary will stay with my Mom while I am in Korea. Gary LOVES my mom and she loves him so it works out. However, Gary is my baby and I am going to miss him sooooooooo much. I already miss my Big Man Cat.

Ok I am done for now...

Finally!

2009-08-26T06:29:00.000-07:00

I have finally gotten around to finding an internet connection so I can update from my computer instead of the public ones. The public ones are fine for checking email or facebook but people start giving you the stink eye if you hang around too long.

Anyway, I made it to Korea!!!

The flight was long but I watched a total of 5(!) movies which helped pass the time.

Movies I Watched:
I Love You, Man
Sunshine Cleaning (It was awesome.)
The Soloist
Adventureland
My Life in Ruins

I arrived on Sunday August 23rd and it was a breeze going through customs, finding SMOE, and getting on the bus to go to orientation. The only thing that was difficult was the luggage because I had too many pieces to handle but it's OK because AD helped us out.

I was a hot worn out mess by the time we arrived at the orientation site. I was awake for 24+ hours so I was a sleepy kitty. The orientation site is held at a university in Suwon which is about an hour south (I think?) of Seoul. Malia and I are roomies for the week during orientation. The dorm rooms are very clean and modern. They don't have refrigerators but the rooms are arguably nicer than No Limit Clement.

Anyway, orientation goes on until Saturday August 29th. The week mostly consists of us attending lectures which are intended to better prepare us for when we become official teachers. I have learned a lot about teaching and have gotten many ideas to use in the classroom. We've also been given quite a few online resources which will be invaluable in planning lessons.

I will be teaching Middle School, Malia will be in Elementary, and AD will be teaching High School students who think they're too cool. Middle school consists of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd graders. To us, that would be 7th, 8th, and 9th graders. 1st graders are still innocent and pure and will still be excited to learn English and not embarrassed to play games or sing songs. However, the 2nd and 3rd graders will think that they're too cool to bother with English and will start losing interest.

To be fair, they have to start taking exams in Middle School which can be soooo stressful for the students. Education is extremely important in Korea and families spend a lot of money on it for their children. Not only do students attend regular school from 9-3 they also attend private academies and other programs after school to help prepare them for their exams. In Korea, once you reach Middle School you're only goal is to make good grades on your exams so you can attend a good University. It is very common for Korean students to be in classes until 10pm and then they still have to complete their homework for the next day. It is very common for students to fall asleep during class, especially the English class with the foreign teacher.

So, yeah, that's just a wee bit of the knowledge that I have gained from orientation. I have also learned that Swine Flu is a BIG DEAL. We have to check our temperatures every day and now it is multiple times a day. I have heard that 2 people have been quarantined for having a fever which is a warning sign for H1N1. I'm swine flu free at the moment so that's groovy. I've heard that there have been several schools in Seoul to have not opened yet due to the threat of Swine Flu. I wouldn't mind being out of school for Swine Flu as it would give me some time to prepare some lessons and settle into my apartment. Right now, I have Sunday to chill and then I start school on Monday. Eeeep!

Even though I'm in Korea things do not seem much different. We are definitely in a controlled environment during orientation. We cannot leave the campus due to Swine Flu and the threat of us getting drunk, being hungover, and not attending lectures. SMOE has also posted signs in English for us which makes things much easier than reading hangul (Korean). Plus, we're surrounded by 400+ other foreigners who are in the same boat. I'm sure moving to Seoul and into my own apartment will make things feel much more true life and Korean'ish.

I've met some really great people which is awesome. Although, I already miss having all my friends around! I've also met some nice but very strange people. I question how they are able to function in their native country much less in crazy foreign SK.

OK, done for now!

Is this real life?

2009-08-20T00:05:00.001-07:00

I FINALLY finished my TEFL exam. It was an all day ordeal that I'm happy to be done with.

I leave on Saturday. That's TWO days away.

Have I unpacked from the apartment that I moved out of a month and a half ago? No.

Have I straightened up my bedroom to look semi-presentable? No.

Have I packed for Korea? No.

Really? Yes.

Oh - mi - oh - my

I'm thinking that I have waaaaaaaay too much stuff and not enough space in those tiny minuscule things they call "luggage".

Yeah, I'm starting to stress just a wee bit. Maybe I should get to stepping.

Tune in next time for some FAQ's and other nonsense.