13 months of teaching English in Korea are finished and here I sit at the airport, waiting for my flight home. I can't wait to relax and just visit with people and of course not work for a month! But I will actually miss work I think. Honestly, I can't even express how much I love my job. Yesterday one of my Korean co-teachers shared with me that my students' parents have all told her that they love me and that they look forward to my class and that I'm their favorite teacher. And when I told my students I wouldn't be here next month and that they'd have a different teacher in November, they all groaned! But their faces lit up when I told them I'd be coming back. It made me so happy!
This month while I'm in the States I'll be flying out to Pittsburgh to visit my best friend and her family and also flying up to Massachusetts/Connecticut to visit my sister's family and then my brother's family. In between I'll be soaking up time with other family and friends and celebrating a wedding, a birthday, and Thanksgiving. I have a feeling that before I know it the month will be over and I'll be back at this airport. :(
I am looking forward to this next year in Korea with anticipation though. Kicking things off with a tour of Vietnam and Cambodia certainly helps! So does having a job you love and a great group of friends.
Time to board...
Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
In December I Will Be Traveling to...
Cambodia & Vietnam! That's right! It will be more of exotic Southeast Asia for me come Christmastime! I'll be traveling with my good friend Tabi and we'll be going from Seoul to Hanoi Vietnam, onto Siem Reap, Cambodia, and then back to Saigon, Vietnam. It will be a week long trip, leaving on December 27th and returning on January 2nd. I'm SO EXCITED!
When I tell people that's where I'm going they usually ask the following questions so here is some information in case you are wondering the same things...
Q. What's in Cambodia??
A. ANGKOR WAT!
Q. What is Angkor Wat?
A. Angkor is an ancient city that still stands in Cambodia. It's most popular structure is the magnificent "Angkor Wat" - a magnificent temple complex built in the early 12th century and said to be the Ancient World's equivalent to The Vatican. The Smithsonian has named Angkor Wat one of the 28 places to see before you die, alongside The Pyramids, The Great Wall, and The Taj Mahal. Angkor Wat is just one of thousands of ancient structures built in Angkor between the 9th and 15th Century. It is said to be the world's largest single religious monument.
In 2007 an international team of researchers using satellite photographs and other modern techniques concluded that the ancient city of Angkor had been the largest preindustrial city in the world with an urban sprawl of 3000 square kilometres - that's roughly the size of Los Angeles. Angkor was abandoned after Siamese invasions and the great city and temples remained hidden by the forest until the late 19th century when French archaeologists discovered them and began a long restoration process. Here are some photos - these are just of the temple, not the rest of the city which is HUGE!
Q. What's in Vietnam?
A. Saigon! Also known as Ho Chi Minh City. It's home to excellent museums, beautiful gardens, breathtaking waterways, as well as elaborate temples, pagodas and churches. There is so much history and beauty, it's incredible!
One site we will be visiting there are the tunnels of Củ Chi - an immense network of connecting underground tunnels that underlie not only Ho Chi Minh City but most of the rest of the country as well. They were used by guerrillas as hiding spots during combat, as well as for communication and supply routes, hospitals, food and weapon storage and living quarters for numerous guerrilla fighters. The tunnel systems were critical to resisting the American troops and eventually persuading them to withdrawal.
We also plan to visit the Reunification Palace where the joining of North and South Vietnam was made official. Our itinerary gives us a free day in Ho Chi Minh so we are currently doing lots of research as to what will "make the cut" on that day.
Here are some pics of Ho Chi Minh.
A fruit market
Most people travel by motorized scooter
The reunification palaceI'll write more about these places and preparing for the trip in the coming months. For now, I'm working on getting through a busy 10 days before I'm back in NJ!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
2 Weeks From Friday!
I'll be home that soon!
Here are some pictures of my apartment since I got new furniture and some other random ones!
The hall outside my apartment - elevators are to the right, my apt is the first door on the left
Taken from my foyer
The "Living Room" - I heart my new bookcase!
The "Kitchen" - look Mom all my dishes are washed and put away! :)
The "Bedroom" - I heart my new queen size bed!
The "Office"
My kitchen food cupboard - I found fruit loops last week!
My dishes cupboard
Here are some pictures of my apartment since I got new furniture and some other random ones!
Below: My door/foyer/hallway/closets/fridge/bathroom to the left!
The hall outside my apartment - elevators are to the right, my apt is the first door on the left
Taken from my foyer
The "Living Room" - I heart my new bookcase!
The "Kitchen" - look Mom all my dishes are washed and put away! :)
The "Bedroom" - I heart my new queen size bed!
The "Office"
My kitchen food cupboard - I found fruit loops last week!
My dishes cupboard
Monday, October 13, 2008
Recent Pictures
Here are some recent pictures from around here. There are some from the last regular season Korean baseball game and then some from my friend Pip's going away party.
Vendors outside the stadium - if you can't tell, that's dried squid and gimbap (Korean sushi) behind the drinks
Waiting in line to buy tickets!
Tabi and Drew - Who's excited about baseball??
We were an hour early to the game so this is me watching one team take batting practice. Right after this was taken the guy batting hit a ball that came just to my right and I caught it in my glove (I'm standing in left field)!
This was me right after I caught the ball! I was so excited!
Enjoying the game
The scoreboard - sadly, our team lost.
With Tabi and Pip at Pip's going away party
Dinner before the party with Tabi and Sarah
Vendors outside the stadium - if you can't tell, that's dried squid and gimbap (Korean sushi) behind the drinks
Waiting in line to buy tickets!
Tabi and Drew - Who's excited about baseball??
We were an hour early to the game so this is me watching one team take batting practice. Right after this was taken the guy batting hit a ball that came just to my right and I caught it in my glove (I'm standing in left field)!
This was me right after I caught the ball! I was so excited!
Enjoying the game
The scoreboard - sadly, our team lost.
With Tabi and Pip at Pip's going away party
Dinner before the party with Tabi and SarahOctober
Not too much happening lately...
I've been making some new friends lately which has been nice. One girl Tabi and I have been hanging out a lot, she's from Toronto. We get along well and are thinking of traveling together in December. This Thursday one of my friends is having a Mexican dinner party and another friend is having a formal party on Saturday. I'm trying to put together a party for foreigners in my building the following weekend since there are so many and I have yet to meet most of them as I only see them in passing and we live on different floors.
I made Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner this weekend! It's actually the 2nd Monday in October but we celebrated on Sunday evening. I went import shopping on Saturday to get all the ingredients and then had the wonderful task of cooking all the food with only one stove burner. It all turned out great, though, and everyone enjoyed it. I am very lucky to get to go home for Thanksgiving this year but most of my friends won't be able to so I wanted them to be able to celebrate here.
I'm still considering India for Christmas but am now also considering a tour of Vietnam & Cambodia instead. I'll keep you posted on what I decide.
I've been watching all the most recent Phillies games here since they show post-season MLB and the World Series on Korean TV. I wasn't able to watch any of the regular season games so it's nice that the Phillies have made it this far. It's a tiring hobby though as the games are very early in the morning here (one was at 5:30am last Saturday!!) but it's been really fun to watch.
I had a very sad experience on Saturday. I was waiting for the subway and a man came up to me and said, "America?" and I said yes. He started yelling and cursing at me in Korean and saying what a bad country America is and telling me to go back there. Nothing like that has ever happened to me here, people have never been anything other than kind toward me so this was really upsetting. He has clearly a jerk and we got away from him as quickly as possible. :(
On a happier note, I'll be home in NJ for a visit two weeks from Friday! I hope to see many of you then!
I've been making some new friends lately which has been nice. One girl Tabi and I have been hanging out a lot, she's from Toronto. We get along well and are thinking of traveling together in December. This Thursday one of my friends is having a Mexican dinner party and another friend is having a formal party on Saturday. I'm trying to put together a party for foreigners in my building the following weekend since there are so many and I have yet to meet most of them as I only see them in passing and we live on different floors.
I made Canadian Thanksgiving Dinner this weekend! It's actually the 2nd Monday in October but we celebrated on Sunday evening. I went import shopping on Saturday to get all the ingredients and then had the wonderful task of cooking all the food with only one stove burner. It all turned out great, though, and everyone enjoyed it. I am very lucky to get to go home for Thanksgiving this year but most of my friends won't be able to so I wanted them to be able to celebrate here.
I'm still considering India for Christmas but am now also considering a tour of Vietnam & Cambodia instead. I'll keep you posted on what I decide.
I've been watching all the most recent Phillies games here since they show post-season MLB and the World Series on Korean TV. I wasn't able to watch any of the regular season games so it's nice that the Phillies have made it this far. It's a tiring hobby though as the games are very early in the morning here (one was at 5:30am last Saturday!!) but it's been really fun to watch.
I had a very sad experience on Saturday. I was waiting for the subway and a man came up to me and said, "America?" and I said yes. He started yelling and cursing at me in Korean and saying what a bad country America is and telling me to go back there. Nothing like that has ever happened to me here, people have never been anything other than kind toward me so this was really upsetting. He has clearly a jerk and we got away from him as quickly as possible. :(
On a happier note, I'll be home in NJ for a visit two weeks from Friday! I hope to see many of you then!
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