Kayla in Korea

Halloween

2009-11-16T21:24:00.006+09:00

I realize that I have violated the standard rules of blogging by leaving you all hanging for so long. However most of you know why I have failed to write recently, which is that I have been consumed by the horrible and overwhelming task of leaving Korea and returning to the States.

BUT, now that life has calmed down a bit, allow me to fill you in!

First of all, Halloween. My very last day of work was 10/31, oddly enough. Now Halloween, as I've probably mentioned on here before, is not widely celebrated in Korea, since it's not a Korean holiday at all. However, since I teach at an English Language School and am a foreigner, the parents and kids like us to have a little celebration so the kids can see what it's all about. And despite the fact that it's not celebrated in Korea you can bet that every single kid knows exactly what Halloween is all about....CANDY.

So all the foreigners at my school dressed up and it was a wild and fun day and, to be honest, the hectic tone of Halloween probably made my last day bearable. It was a very emotional day. Lots of hugs and presents from students. I cried only once after my favorite class which is made up of four students whom I teach every day.

Anyway here are some pictures at Halloween and my last day of work at SLP.

I was a Japanese woman in a kimono and Fran was a rock star

Dan was a member of Gryffindor house (NOT Harry Potter) and Glenn was a mad scientist

Some of my students on my last day

One of my older classes

My going away dinner. The girl on the right with the blond hair is Kelley, my replacement

My boss and me

Dinner led to karaoke with all of the staff...

All in all it was a very bittersweet last day of work!

Someone Told Me It's All Happening At The Zoo

2009-10-07T16:31:00.010+09:00

(name that tune...)

So last weekend my friends and I went to the Seoul Zoo which turned out to be really really nice! I've heard zoos in Asia can be quite depressing. I think this is more true in China where there are some less than ideal sanitary conditions and the animals have really tiny habitats (except for the Pandas who get treated like royalty). Anyway the Seoul Zoo is the largest zoo in Asia and is about the same size, if not bigger than, the Philadelphia Zoo. It was really enjoyable and it was a gorgeous, crisp fall day (Boy do I love those kinds of days. My friend was making fun of me because every few minutes I'd say, "Can you believe what a gorgeous day it is!? I just love how all the leaves are changing colors!!" - So this is a shout out to my mom for teaching me to derive joy from simple things like sunny days and changing foliage!)

Anyway here are some shots from my zoo trip. Also in the evening we went to Seoul Land which is an amusement park in Seoul (the 2nd biggest of the 3 in Korea). It was really fun and the best part was it was only $10 for admission even though its usually $36 because (a) it was after 5pm and (b) there was a foreigner discount. I love getting great deals! Anyway, enjoy:

Mr. Giraffe who walked over and posed for me - how thoughtful!

Mr. Seal, who popped his head out of the water just in time for a photo-op

How about this bear, eh? Have you ever seen a non-cartoon bear sitting in this position? I mean he looks like he's watching the news or something, but really he's just staring at the people...who are staring at him... and probably thinking how he can manage to devour one of them...

This is me, talking with Mr. Llama

Around the entrance to the amusement park (I didn't take too many pictures because it was dark and, well, amusement parks pretty much look the same wherever you are).

Apart from this, of course. Here, your young child can be sealed inside a plastic bubble and float around in a pool without getting wet. Somehow I think putting kids inside sealed bubbles with no air holes might not catch on at amusement parks in the States...

Sitting in an autumn-themed Cinderella's carriage

Happy Fall!

2009-10-07T14:10:00.004+09:00

I keep trying to blog but for some reason over the past week the Blogger website hasn't been allowing me to upload pictures. Hopefully this will figure itself out soon! I went to the zoo and to an amusement park last weekend and have some pictures to share so I will try to get those up soon. I hope you enjoyed the little slice of Korean pop culture I shared with you last week. If you haven't watched the music videos I really recommend you do that - if for no other reason than for a laugh. :)

Also I have an email address update. As I will, sadly, no longer be "Kayla in Korea" come November 9th (sniff sniff), I have a new email address: kaylaruthw@hotmail.com. I'll check both for the next few months but please update your address books!

This is going to be such a busy month - there is so much I want to do before I leave. I'm trying to savor every minute before it all ends. This is a very sad week for me because my best friend Sarah, from England, who arrived the same week as me in September of 2007, is leaving Korea for good on Saturday. We were both here for 2 years and are leaving Korea a month apart. I think it's a little less sad for Sarah, though, because she's heading to India, Australia, and New Zealand before she goes home to England. You might remember her as my travel buddy both in Hong Kong and in Tokyo! She is such a dear friend and I look forward to visiting her in England and/or having her come to visit me in the States (she's never been!). Last night I completed a scrapbook for her of her 2 years in Korea. We also bought a Korean flag and had all of her friends sign it. We're having a goodbye party for her tonight which promises to be a tear-filled event. I am glad I will only be in Korea for one month without her!

I hope you are all enjoying the arrival of fall as much as I am. The weather here is unseasonably warm (76 degrees!) but the nights are cool and the trees are starting to change colors. Oh how I love fall!

KPop 101

2009-09-30T11:34:00.005+09:00

I feel like I haven't shared enough with you about Korean pop music so here we go... Because of Korea's size and somewhat homogeneous culture, when there is a popular song or band, literally EVERYONE knows them. If I took all of the students at my school aside and asked them to sing a song by Big Bang or Girls Generation there is no question that every single student would be able to do it. Probably all of the parents too. Not only this, almost every one of them would be able to do the dance that they do in the music video. There just aren't as many popular singers here as in the US so the famous ones are absolutely everywhere.

One of the insanely popular groups in Korea right now is called Girls Generation. A group of 9 (NINE!) girls who sing and dance to what is just about the most bubbly music I can imagine. Exhibit A, one of their music videos - I recommend you watch until at least until the chorus but beware...it's catchy!

Girls Generation

One of the most popular boy "bands of the moment is Super Junior. Their most popular song can be seen here. (by the way they aren't singing "naked" even though it sounds like it - it's the Korean word "nege") Oh and if you want to follow along here are the lyrics. And in case your wondering, YES all of those boys are in the band, YES they are a 13-member boy band and YES that makes them the largest boy band in the world. Only in Korea!

Super Junior

Mexican...in Korea

2009-09-27T17:55:00.003+09:00

I can't really explain how hard it is to find good, ethnic kinds of food in Korea. Granted, it's easier in Seoul than in the rest of the country but still. In Mt. Laurel I have pretty much all kinds of food within a short drive. I can even choose between which restaurant I want to go to! (Chili's or On The Border? Olive Garden or Carrabbas? P.F. Changs or Chinese takeout?) ENJOY THE LUXURY OF CHOICE! I have become used to the fact that certain foods are just not an option. If they are here, they are located far away, and there's just one option and it's ridiculously expensive. I guess this makes sense. In Korea, soju is cheaper than bottled water (about $0.40). In America a bottle of soju is $18! I shudder when I think that I haven't had Chinese takeout since November 2008! Aaah. Speaking of years, it just hit me. It's almost October and I haven't seen a single member of my family yet in 2009. Aaah. That's horrible. I can't even let myself think about it.

Back to food. Aaah food. The point of my story is that through some miracle of wonderfulness, Korea has obtained the unauthentic Mexican restaurant chain known as On The Border, just a 15 minute subway ride away from my house. Now I know this is not real Mexican food. But I don't care. It's tacos and burritos and fajitas, people, and you just can't find that kind of thing in Korea outside of the tiny foreigner's area (think Chinatown but full of non-Koreans) which is over an hour away (and in a scary part of town, too). I almost never go there. When the landscape of your day-to-day life is dominated by millions of Asians it's disconcerting to be around large groups of foreigners. It makes me nervous! Don't ask me what I'll do when I get back to the States. Probably go into some kind of shock and live in a cardboard box until it passes.

So when I heard they were opening an On The Border nearby I immediately arranged for a group of my friends to go. So we went last night and we apologetically gorged ourselves on all things Mexican and it was AWESOME. A day later I'm still full and so satisfied. While I like having the choices we enjoy at home (and can't wait to have them back) waiting a year to eat a certain type of food really makes you appreciate it.

My Prodigies Part 2

2009-09-23T12:19:00.002+09:00

Here is another student-written story, as promised. Read the other ones I posted here. By the way, this next story was written by a boy (not that you need me to tell you that, trust me) and the spelling and grammar are not quite as good as the others but the story is riveting, if you ask me. I'm leaving it unedited for your increased enjoyment.

Jungle Adventure
by Se-Hyuk

This story's characters are: Kanko, Jugia, and Kock. They look like straight, short, blue hair and they are friendly and brave. They go to a jungle and see a rattlesnack. They fight the rattlesnack but Kock was bite from the rattlesnack so Kock couldn't go on. They slept and they went on and they found gold. Suddenly the killers attacked. So they ran away and hid in a cave. They fought the killers and they one. But the killers shot with a gun and killed Kock. So he died. So they were so sad.

They went home. They wrote a diary and they became famous people. And again they went on a trip for the sea and they ride a boat and they see dolphins. They draw pictures of dolphins. But they are far from theys house and they see shark. The sharks attack the boat and they are very surprised. Kanko shot the sharks so the sharks were angry. Kanko and Jugia go to an island and sleep in a tent. They 8:00 get up and wash face. They walk around the island. They didn't see any peoples. So they were very afraid.

This night strange peoples come to the island so Kanko and Jugia hid behind a rock. Tomorrow they fight the strange peoples and they won. They go to their house. But their parents is died so they are so sad again.

The End

Things I loved:
-the spelling of rattlesnake as "rattlesnack"
-the spelling of won as "one"
-the way he writes, "They look like short blue hair" instead of "They have short blue hair" in response to me telling him to write what his characters "look like".
- How he tried to make people plural. "They didn't see any peoples"
-making the possessive of they into "they's"
-how he tells us they got up and washed their faces in the middle of all the descriptions of shark attacks and bloody battles "They 8:00 get up and wash face."

I especially love this story because you can tell this boy just got caught up in his imagination and the story which is exactly what I wanted. Many of my students have a hard time writing creatively in English because they feel like they just can't say what they want to with their limited grammar and vocabulary. I love that this student just went with his story and wasn't hampered by the language barrier. I love the creativity!

I also love how downright "boy'" this story is. Read my girl student's post entitled The Love Story in addition to this one and you'll have an excellent lesson in gender studies. In the girl's story there is a perfect ending where the hero and heroine get married and have a baby and live happily ever after. In the story above, even after defeating the rattlesnack (c'mon do I really have to make him change the spelling?) almost everyone in the story still ends up dead after a fight.

Love it Love it Love it!

Great Balls of Fur!

2009-09-23T11:50:00.006+09:00

Yesterday, in my third class of the afternoon, I noticed one of my students was carrying her pencil case very strangely in the hall. She was holding it against her chest with two hands and once she was in the classroom some of the students were poking it gently and whispering. When I asked what they were doing the student smiled and said, "Teacher! It's nothing!" I thought maybe it was some sort of novelty pencil case with something soft on the outside or something. I didn't pay much attention. Until later when it became clear the students were not paying any attention to me at all and were completely focused on whatever was special about this pencil case.

So I went over and told her to open it. And to my surprise, inside were two itty-bitty hamsters! It was a soft, mesh pencil case so you couldn't see inside if it was closed but air could still get in. On the bottom she'd place bits of shredded newspaper and hamster food. The look on my student's face said, "Please don't be angry! Please don't make me get rid of them." It was an unnecessary plea since my heart had pretty much already melted into goo the minute she opened the case. Something about these teeny little balls of fur huddling together in a pencil case made me smile. I can just imagine being the 10 year old girl who got two new hamsters and couldn't bear to leave them at home alone and so devised, what I think was, a fairly genius plan to bring them to school with her.

And my school doesn't have any explicitly-stated rules about hamsters in the classroom. And they weren't hurting anyone. And they were so darn cute. So being the hard-line, slave-driving, rigid disciplinarian that I am...I let them stay and began cooing over them which my students got a huge kick out of.

When I jokingly asked her if I could have one she replied in all seriousness, "Teacher! This one is girl. This one is boy. Boy hamster and girl hamster....make some baby! Then I give you baby hamster! Ok?"

Ok.

And so the mystery of the strange pencil case was solved.
Or should I say...

Case closed.

C'mon that was funny!

My Prodigies

2009-09-22T13:40:00.005+09:00

As you may or may not know, ever since... well, birth, I suppose, I've loved anything to do with words. Writing, reading, stories, speeches, acting, talking, you name it. As a toddler this manifested itself in endless streams of babbling and I guess in some ways not much has changed (I mean - have you read this blog?). As I got older my family, friends, and teachers nurtured my affinity for words, whether by reading my poetry and stories or by attending my various performances or (and perhaps this is the most award-deserving) simply listening to my endless rants.

Now, as I teach others to read and write and speak the English language effectively, there is nothing more rewarding about my job than seeing the fruits of my labor displayed in an assignment from one of my students. I am so lucky to have so many students who are eager to learn and anxious to please me (and yes I like the feeling of power that comes with being the wielder of the red pen).

That said, I am happy to share with you some absolutely fantastic stories my 5th graders recently wrote for me. Now, remember, not only are these 5th graders - they are 5th graders who are writing in a second language. How many of us could write a coherent story in a foreign language. I know I couldn't. Anyway, enjoy and be wowed:

The Student
by Hyun-Jung

Min-Ah and Sarah are in fifth grade. They are good friends and they are same classroom in school. One day their teacher says, "We are going to have the math test tomorrow". Sarah studied very hard. But Min-Ah didn't study math. She played with her friend.

Today is test day. They had a test. Sarah thought, "Wow it is very easy". Because yesterday she studied very hard. But Min-Ah thought, "It is very difficult". Because she didn't study. Later the teacher gave the test papers. Sara was perfect. But Min-Ah wasn't perfect. So Min-Ah went home and her mother gave her a hard time. So Min-Ah was sad.

Later the teacher said, "We are going to have the English test tomorrow". Min-Ah studied very hard. Today is test day. They had a test. Later the teacher gave the test papers. Min-Ah was perfect. So she was very happy. Her friend said, "Wow, Min-Ah your test is perfect! I envy you!" Min-Ah was very very happy. At home her mother said, "Wow your test is perfect! Great Min-Ah! Thank you!" So Min-Ah studied very hard so she began to be a good student.

The End

Makes my hear melt! Are you inspired? Keep reading!

A Love Story
by Ha-Yeon

In the year 5000, at a school, there was three friends. There was a very short and ugly girl named Cherry. There was a very tall and pretty girl named Corn. There was a very tall and handsome boy named Ice. Cherry was a friendly and kind girl. Corn was a bad and unkind girl. And Ice was a good and kind boy.

Cherry and Corn both loved Ice. One day, Corn made a confession of love to Ice. But Ice didn't like Corn so he refused her. So Corn got angry and said, "Who do you love?" He said, "I love Cherry." She said, "Cherry? She is ugly!" He said, "But she is kind."

Corn got very angry. So she wanted to hit Cherry! But Ice protected Cherry from Corn. In the year 5010 , Cherry and Ice fell in love and got married. So they bore a child. And they named it 'Cherry Ice Cream'!

Man, I love these kiddos!
More later!

Just Another Weekend

2009-09-21T23:39:00.011+09:00

So this past Saturday I had the privilege of once again being a tourist in this fantastic country which I call home (for now). I made my way, with a friend, to Gyeongbokgung Palace in the Northern part of Seoul. The palace is the main and largest palace in Korea and it was built in 1394. It was then destroyed by the Japanese when they invaded Korea (just one of many reasons Korea and Japan remain at odds) but was reconstructed in 1867. The palace grounds are HUGE. It takes hours to fully explore them.

Following Gyeongbokgung we walked through Insadong which lies on the edge of the cultural district and is teeming with antique shops, tea rooms, and artisans.

Colorful wares for sale

Handmade Jewelry

One of countless street food vendors

Outside the theater where I saw Jekyll & Hyde The Musical
(read about it here)

Aaah it was so good!

Sunday afternoon was spent picnicking in the park with my best friends...friends who are very talented as you can see below:

And here I am clearing the cobwebs off my softball skills.

Yet another fabulous weekend in Seoul.

The Inevitable

2009-09-20T00:56:00.004+09:00

This post should have come a lot earlier but I just couldn't bring myself to type the words.

As if somehow the painstaking task of typing each letter on here meant there was no going back. As if somehow not saying it out loud to others would lessen the unbearable strain on my heartstrings. As if keeping it inside would put everything on hold, stop time and space, and permit me to continue blithely along in this strange, Asian, alternate reality of a life that was entirely unknown to me just two short years ago but now defines me more than any other experience in my life.

I have a vague, dream-like recollection of writing a post on here, years ago (literally), which said something about my being apprehensive about acclimating to life in Korea. Well, I acclimated, alright. And that's the understatement of my life.

It's not that I'm not happy about what's coming.
I really really am.
But that's just it.
It's coming.
Quickly.
It's like I'm traveling on a high speed train and can't stop and can't get off. But I don't really want to get off. I just want to SLOW DOWN. Make it last longer. Enjoy the scenery. But it's all rushing past in a blur and I'm starting to panic.

And honestly, will someone please explain to me how a decision can bring such incredible joy and anticipation and also gut-wrenching devastation at the same time?

Anyway, here goes:

I'm leaving Korea and returning home (for good) on 11/11.

There I've said it.

Of Ducks and Cows

2009-09-08T23:59:00.004+09:00

On Friday night my boss took my co-workers and me out for yet another staff dinner to welcome two more new teachers (a lot's changing at SLP!). For the first time since I came to Korea I got to try Korean-style smoked duck which was absolutely delicious. Like other Korean specialties such as galbi (beef) or samgeopsal (pork) they bring you a plate of the marinated meat (and of course a million side dishes) and you grill it yourself. It was so good!

While the duck was excellent, my steak experience on Sunday was not. Now in Korea it's widely known that ideas here about cooking steaks are quite different from ours in the US. For example if you say "rare" they pretty much just bring you a package of raw meat, still in the plastic. Ok that's not exactly true but it's not too far off. Basically you just have to remember here that things are always a few steps rarer than the scale we're used to. So if you like your steak medium-rare in the States you should order it medium or medium-well here and it will come out the way you like. I, for one, like my steak medium-well with just a hint of pink and I mistakenly ordered it exactly that way, forgetting the Korean scale of steak cooked-through-edness. This is what I got:

Really? Medium-well? I hate sending things back but for someone who only likes a hint of red in her steak this was a bit much. Maybe I'll stick with the duck next time and save the steak for when I'm back in the States. Because if there's one thing we know how to cook in the U.S.A it's a juicy, mouth-watering, cooked-to-perfection sirloin!

This is Me at 23

2009-09-08T23:42:00.002+09:00

After I finished blogging the last post I looked over and saw this strange assortment of objects on my desk so I took a picture exactly as it was:

To clarify, what you see in this picture is an apple-shaped lotion holder, a picture of my parents and myself, a jumbo box of raisinets, a glass of white wine, a key to my apartment, and a frog pencil holder filled with sparkly gel pens.

It's a simple array but for some reason it struck me as profound. I guess I felt like it was saying, "This is me at 23"

Responsible and independent yet still childlike & fun-loving
Completely attached to my family but living 7000 miles away
Sometimes saying, "what a robust bouquet" and other times "that's the cutest!!"
1 part adult and 2 parts Daddy's girl
A serious independent woman who appreciates both the fine things in life and the simplest pleasures (such as a blue, zebra-topped, novelty pencil!)

A teacher, thinker, writer, traveler, daughter, sister, friend, aunt, and grown-up...

...almost.

Snapshots from the Classroom

2009-09-08T22:48:00.005+09:00

twins!

strange keychain things that my kids give me and which I now collect and hang on my basket

Broadway Comes to Seoul

2009-09-08T22:07:00.007+09:00

As part of my birthday weekend my friend and I went to see the Tony nominated Broadway musical "Jekyll and Hyde" which is currently in Seoul for 3 weeks, kicking off a tour of Asia. The musical starred Brad Little who previously played The Phantom in "The Phantom of the Opera" for 4.5 years. His voice is incredible and it was such a privilege to hear him and the rest of the cast sing. I really felt like I was in NYC rather than Seoul. Everything about the musical blew me away, from the costumes and sets to the powerful music and the story itself.

We saw the musical at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Seoul which is an absolutely gorgeous venue. There are small screens on the back of each seat which can provide subtitles if you are a Korean watching an English performance or vice versa. Anyway, it was a wonderfully enjoyable night out and I heartily recommend seeing "Jekyll and Hyde" if the tour is ever in your area!

My 23rd Birthday

2009-09-04T16:17:00.006+09:00

So for my birthday my wonderful friends here got together for an informal dinner at the restaurant below my school. We had two of my favorite Korean foods and they got me a cake and sang to me which was very special!

mmm Shabu Shabu!

Mmm Buddae Jiggae

Blowing out my candles

My chocolate cake with chocolate shavings on top with the number 23 in candles!

Everyone outside the restaurant

Weekend in Busan!

2009-09-01T00:38:00.006+09:00

First of all, here is a fairly recent picture (taken at a staff dinner 3 weeks ago) of some of the people I work with... I say fairly recent because since this picture was taken we've had two teachers replaced. It's kind of a rebuilding time at my school. I was so blessed that when I arrived there were three other teachers (my best friends) who arrived at the same time. All of them, like me, stayed in Korea for two years. Funnily enough we are all planning on leaving the school within the next few months. With 4 out of 10 teachers leaving for good, it will be quite a different school in a few months.

Old Friends and New Faces

So last Friday four friends and I traveled down to the southern, coastal city of Busan (the second largest city in Korea) to celebrate on of my friends birthday. Strangely enough, out of my 4 best friends, 3 of us have birthdays between August 25th and September 4th! It would have taken about 5-6 hours by car to get to Busan but in Korea we have a magical invention called the KTX which is quite similar to the bullet train in Japan. We traveled from Seoul to Busan in less than 3 hours, traveling at about 185 mph! The train was so comfortable and had wireless internet which cost only $1 for an hour.

on the way!

this was my beachfront hotel room with a view (can you believe the view???)
It only cost $45 a night!

excited to be at the beach!

telling what must have been a riveting story

it was my first time seeing my baseball team play outside of Seoul - and they lost :-(

but it was still fun!

ready for a night on the beach town!

Summer Vacation

2009-08-21T21:29:00.011+09:00

Once again, I apologize for the lengthy hiatus between blog updates. I had an amazing time in Thailand but I came back to an extra-rigorous schedule of classes and the month of August seems to have consisted of little more than work and sleep! As much as I love teaching, the long hours make work exhausting so I'm looking forward to next week when I'll be returning to a normal schedule and can once again truly enjoy my job!

So much news from Korea this month though! First up: Thailand!
Now I KNOW tanning is bad for you but I can't help sitting in the sun when I'm at the beach. I love the feeling of the warmth on my skin and the way it makes my hair and skin feel afterward. This time around in Thailand I really learned my lesson, however. I laid out for only 45 minutes with SPF 30 on and I was burned so badly for the next few days! It was horrible, blistering sunburn but luckily the only thing I had on the agenda for the next 7 days was...lie around and relax. Turns out that plus some aloe vera is perfect for curing sunburn!

Thailand was absolutely sublime. 7 days of perfect weather, clear blue ocean, and palm trees rustling in the breeze. I'm so glad I went back a second time - the beaches of Thailand are so pristine and gorgeous but the best part is they not covered with stores, resorts, and restaurants. Just some huts on the beach, a restaurant with few tables in the sand, and the occasional sparsely (but adequately) stocked store.

Enjoy the pictures:

Back to the Land of Smiles!

2009-07-23T22:50:00.002+09:00

Yep, tomorrow I'm heading back to paradise and I can't wait. And these pictures are actually from one of the resorts I'm staying at! Aaah so happy to be going on vacation!! I love sightseeing & being a tourist but there's a lot to be said for just relaxing on the beach for a week!! Thailand here I come!

Studying Hard...

2009-07-23T01:01:00.002+09:00

Mudfest Pictures

2009-07-23T00:41:00.007+09:00

Off to Boryeong with my awesome backpacker bag that my parents got me for Christmas!

Tabi had a big bag too!

On the train headed down south...

All the girls pre-muddy in the pension room. A pension is a typical Korean motel. Basically it's just a room with mats and pillows (which you can see in the background) and you can have as many people as you want sleep there...since everyone sleeps on the floor, Korean-style. It's not exactly the definition of luxury but it's inexpensive. It was only 10USD per person. The train there and back (3 hours each way) was about 20USD per person round trip. Gotta love how cheap things are here...

Lots of muddy people

Behind me is the "mud jail" where you go if you're caught with no mud on your body... you go in the mud jail and people throw mud at you. So it's worth it to get muddy right off the bat...

...which we did! My skin didn't feel especially soft or anything afterward but it was fun to get covered in mud... for a short while anyway. It started pouring soon after this photo was taken and suddenly we were all standing around, freezing cold, and covered in mud. After that it was back to the motel for hot showers and fresh clothes. We went out for delicious soup and seafood and spent the rest of the night dancing on the beach to Korean pop music. Definitely a memorable experience...

The Great Flood

2009-07-19T12:33:00.007+09:00

Ok that might be a bit of an exaggeration! Well, last week was quite the unpleasant week... it's monsoon season in Korea which really meant nothing to me before last week since the the supposed "rainy season" last year consisted of a few thunderstorms - not much more than we get in the summer months back home in NJ. But this season has been much more characteristically rainy and over the past several days this rain has come in the form of several monsoons where it comes down in relentless sheets and there is no hope for you if you're out in it, even if you have an umbrella. My street turned into a river and I'm sure there must have been flooding since the first floor apartments in villas like mine are partially below ground. I'm lucky to be on the 2nd floor so I thought I was out of reach of the water damage but sadly I was mistaken. I came home from work last Tuesday night at 9:15 to find a 1/2 inch of water covering my living room floor and coffee table. I had no idea the water was on the floor so this was discovered when I walked into my pitch-black living room to turn on the light and slipped in the rainy water. I got up and turned the light switch on - there was a huge POP and the light went out. I moved to a lamp and when the light came on I quickly realized with horror what had happened to my living room. Looking up I discovered the reason for the behavior of my overhead light - there was a huge water damage spot on the ceiling all around the light fixture and the water was dripping from the opening they made when the light was installed! Not exactly electrical safety considering at this point the wires up there for the light were sitting in water... I quickly turned off the electricity to that light and proceeded to clean up the mess and place an old pot under the place where the ceiling was leaking.

The next morning I talked to my boss about it as she is my liaison with the landlord. There wasn't really anything they could do because the rain, at this point, had not stopped so there was no way to do any work on the roof or ceiling until it did.. Sadly when I got home that night the ceiling was leaking in two more places! Now it's a week later and the rain has stopped and the ceiling is no longer dripping but there are still 3 large brown wet spots on my ceiling. The aesthetics don't really bother me but I'm nervous about what will happen next time it rains, particularly if it does do while I'm away on vacation next week...

Anyway this is what it looked like last week, it wasn't pretty!

how nasty is that rain water? I guess that's the color it turns after it seeps through the roof and ceiling... gross...

Time to Get Muddy!

2009-07-05T23:19:00.003+09:00

This coming weekend I am off to the Boryeong Mud Festival! This is a very famous event that takes place annually in the coastal city of Boryeong, Korea which is about 2 hours (by train) south of Seoul. Near Boryeong they dig up special mud which is considered rich in minerals and thus great for your skin. Apparently the health and cosmetic effects of the mud have been proven by studies at several different universities and health research centers in Korea. The town’s mud products (which you can buy at the festival of course) have passed the rigorous standards of international health agencies such as the United States’ FDA. Anyway, they bring the mud to the beach area in Boryeong and create a 'Mud Experience Land' right on the beach. About 1 1/2 million people go to the mud festival each year!

What can one do at the mud festival you ask? Well I'll be able to better answer that once I return from the trip but I know it involves lots of mud-themed activities such as mud showers, mud baths, mud pool slides, mud massages, mud wrestling, mud races, and even mud skiing! There are even fireworks on the first and last night of the festival which lasts from 7/11 - 7/19. So I'll be going with a group of friends from Saturday to Sunday and look forward to reporting back about my weekend of playing in the mud!

ps Here's an article by TIME magazine on the Boryeong Mud Festival!

Summertime!

2009-06-25T11:34:00.006+09:00

I'm sorry for not blogging in June, but I'm sure you understand how busy things get this time of year! Work and Korean class take up a substantial amount of my time and the warm weather makes it so that I want to be outside anytime I'm not asleep or at work!

Living in Korea has it's various ups and downs but the warm weather brings a lot of ups. One of my favorite things about the Spring and Summer months here is the readily available, cheap produce everywhere you turn. That might sound like a boring thing to be excited about but it's nice not to have to buy your produce in a big Wal-Mart like supermarket. Instead I have a variety of choices. I can buy gorgeous nectarines (5 for $1) from the old woman sitting on the road with her fruits and veggies in baskets in front of her. I can buy 10 plums for $2 from the tiny family-owned shop down the street where the couple behind the counter know me as a regular and smile genuinely each time I shop there. Of course I can always buy my lettuce and onions from the various men who drive around in pick-up trucks with a loudspeaker on the roof, blaring what vegetables they have that day and how much they are. The just drive slowly around town with a truck-bed full of whatever they're selling. It's nice to have so many options and it's nice to support small (sometimes extremely small!) businesses instead of large corporations. That's one of the many things I like about summer here.

Two downsides of summer in Seoul: mosquitoes and stinky streets. Something about the mosquitoes in Asia is not compatible with me. In the States whenever I was bitten, it was just a small red dot that itched a lot but was nothing more than an annoyance. Here my mosquito bites blow up to the size of a saucer and they BURN so badly! I showed the pharmacist and she couldn't believe it was a mosquito bite. It's not just Korea though, I seemed to have some kind of allergy to Asian mosquitoes - the same things happened to me last year both in Thailand and in Cambodia. Luckily it's only a problem in the hot weather when mosquitoes (Mo-Gees as the Koreans call them) seem to be everywhere. The hot weather also intensifies one of Korea's already existing drawbacks: stinky streets. Sadly because Seoul's sewage system is so bad, it almost always smell like...well...sewage. In the summer, that is. In the winter, it's not bad. Heat makes everything smell worse. But, after living somewhere for nearly 2 years, you get used to such things.

I'm really enjoying studying Korean despite the fact that it's extremely difficult and I feel like I'm not making a tremendous amount of progress. It's just so refreshing to be challenged academically and to be on the other side of the classroom after nearly 2 years of teaching. The hardest thing about Korean is that unlike many languages where my understanding of English, French & Latin would be very helpful, Korean is completely foreign and I can't find hints or clues in roots or prefixes. It's exciting to be studying something so different from my own native tongue, however, and it's fascinating how learning a language gives you insights into the culture itself. For example, Korean has certain endings and forms to be used when one is talking to an older person. You would be considered very rude to say hello to an older person without the appropriate form of the word. This is indicative of the huge importance Korean culture places on age and respect of the elderly. Also it's just interesting to learn the way a different culture says different things. One of my biggest gripes with the Korean language is that they have two entirely different sets of numbers. They have one set of numbers for counting and age and then a whole different set of numbers for money, months, dates, etc. The worst part is talking about what time it is. With time, you use one set of the numbers for the hour and the other set of numbers for the minutes! Aaahhhh! These two sets of numbers sound nothing alike either. Oh well that just makes learning the language even more exciting! Right now my study of Korean is just a hobby but it could turn into something more down the road which would be great!

I recently went on a ferry boat trip up and down the Han River in Seoul. Here are some pictures!
It's fun to be a tourist in your city - I never really feel like one anymore. Seoul is just where I live! Wow I bet you could have fun comparing that statement with some of my first blog ever posts in Korea! Anyway, enjoy...

watched the sunset over the river

one of my very best friends

The 63 building - famous in Korea

After the cruise we went to a place called "Vinyl" where you order your drink at a walk-up window and they give it to you in a plastic bag with a straw - I chose a "Melon Baller" - it was very yummy - lots of fruit and not a lot of alcohol which is exactly what I like! :)

I almost forgot to mention that for my one-week vacation this year (7/23 - 8/1) I will be going back to Thailand with friends since I had such an amazing time there last year and have been dying to get back ever since. I am so looking forward to cheap pad thai, fresh seafood grilled on the beach, drinking out of coconuts, sleeping in bungalows on the beach...but I promise to blog before then!

aMAYzing News

2009-05-28T12:21:00.006+09:00

As I'm sure many of you are experiencing, as the weather gets warmer, the schedules get busier. The weekends fill up and the sunshine seems to make time fly by. It's been in the mid 80's here all week! I spent a lot of my May mornings substitute teaching kindergarten at a friend's school and then heading to my usual 2-9 job. Teaching continues to be wonderful. There have been some cases of swine flu in my town of Gwangmyeong so everyone's a bit on edge and parents are concerned but it's still business as usual. When people aren't concerned about swine flu, worries of N. Korea's latest threats are always enough to keep you on your toes. These latest developments are definitely the worst since I've been in Korea but I'm registered with the US Embassy and their latest email said there's no immediate threat as things stand. Still it's enough to make one nervous...

In happier news, I've been taking a wonderful course in Korean language at a local center for migrant workers. The other students are Chinese, Vietnamese, and Filipino. My friend Sarah and I are really enjoying the class. It's 6 hours a week and the teacher is excellent but the language is just so difficult. I know a lot of survival Korean - the word for this, the word for that, how to say basic things. But actually learning the language with all the grammar and sentence structure and pronunciation is proving to be incredibly difficult - plus it's showing me how little vocabulary I actually know. Still it's nice to be in "school" again and it's refreshing to be challenged in a new way.

I recently took a trip to Lotte World, one of the three amusement parks Seoulites have available to them. It has the unique status of the being largest indoor amusement park in the world. It also has a small outdoor section. It was fun...the decor and atmosphere were excellent, although quite the Disney rip-off (see the castle below). It had a lot of things to do and lots of gimmicks as all parks do but it's big rides were really lacking. It wasn't as good as Six Flags. The rides were quite short which is always a bummer but on the positive side the lines were short. All in all it was fun, but I'm looking forward to checking out Everland, the biggest amusement park in Korea, sometime this summer. Enjoy pics!

Just Flew in from Japan....

2009-05-05T22:03:00.013+09:00

and here are my pictures!

So Tokyo is HUGE! It took us two hours by train to get to our hotel from the airport. Our hotel was more like a hostel except that we had a private room which they cleaned every day. It had bunk beds! It was in an area called Jim-bo-cho which is quite close to the center of Tokyo.

One of my first impressions of Tokyo - all of the buildings are uniquely designed and very beautiful. They don't just build office buildings, they build really cool-looking office buildings! Also it was so much cleaner and well-organized than any other city I've seen. I never felt like I was in a city of 30 million people. There's no smoking on the streets and the air feels clean and clear. You can tell they work hard to keep their city clean - the subway system was so much more elaborate than Seoul's and was somehow even cleaner.

looking up at buildings

look familiar?

View from an observation deck. when you go to the top of City Hall and look out at Philadelphia, or go to the top of the Empire State Building and look at NYC you can see the end of the city. It stops at some point and you can see where the water is or where the next state is. In Tokyo you can see nothing but Tokyo. The city never ends, it goes on and on and on and on. All you can see in all four directions is the city. It's HUGE.

In the business district of Shinjuku

Feel like you need a vitamin? You can get them in this vending machine, conveniently located in a subway station

Hanging out at Roponggi Hills - a really snazzy new shopping area with lots of designer shops both outdoor and indoor. Very modern and zen.

Worst part - gigantic spider sculpture in the center. Eeek!

Sunday morning in Tokyo - lovely breakfast of tea and toast at an outdoor cafe.

We went to the Meiji shrine at Harajuku.

We found a random kimono-clad woman and asked to have a picture with her!

gift shop

seeing a woman in a full kimono is really amazing

It was amazing seeing both sides of Tokyo culture. On the one hand the delicate and lovely kimonos. On the other hand is cutting edge, sometimes bizarre fashion which you can best observe on the bride over Harajuku station. Here Tokyo's stylish teenagers hang out and make incredible fashion statements. Everything from goth to glam and even dressing up like anime or manga characters. It's what they do on the weekends and it's amazing to see!

The Japanese teenagers are way more openly rebellious than the Koreans! :)

Takeshi-dori - busiest place I've ever been. This is THE place for funky teenage fashion and weird stores. If it's bizarre, you'll find it on this street.

It was too crowded to move so we took a picture!

Making a statement

Harajuku Street!

Here I am in Ginza - the "Rodeo Drive" of Tokyo. In this picture I'm outside Mikimoto - the mother of all pearl stores. Get it? :) Ginza has every designer you could imagine: Tiffany's, Fendi, Armani, Louis Vitton, Gucci... Being there made us feel poor.

My favorite part of the trip was the evening we spent walking around the huge district of Shinjuku at night. It was so alive and bustling, a neon forest that was always exciting and never felt dangerous. Restaurants, bars, stores, clubs, anything you could imagine, this place was incredible to experience and it went on forever.

At some smaller restaurants in Tokyo you place your order before you go inside by pressing a button on a machine like this one that has all the choices on it. Cool!

We opted to eat at a Sri Lankan restaurant that night. You might be wondering why there aren't more pictures of us eating Sushi and other Japanese cuisine. Sarah doesn't eat and is terrified of all fish with makes eating Japanese food pretty difficult. So we ate lots of other cuisines on our trip: Indian, Sri Lankan, Thai, Turkish, and Swiss.

The station where our hotel was located: Jim-Bo-Cho

At the entrance to the East Garden of the Imperial Palace (where Japan's royal family lives). The actual palace where they live is only open two days a year. But the grounds and gardens (which are mind-blowingly huge) are open to the public. Also behind me in this picture is Tokyo Tower!

The east garden of the Imperial Palace - it was so beautiful.

again

Looking for butterflies

A group of Japanese students who were in a photography club asked to take our picture and after they were through they took one with my camera.

After the Imperial Palace we went to Asakusa to see a Buddhist shrine and visit a market there. We ran into more kimono-clad ladies and of course had to get a picture.

The busy market in Asakusa

The gate and gigantic lantern at the far end of the market.

A 5-story pagoda

waterfall around the pagoda

more of the market

After Asakusa we went to Ueno where there is a gigantic park with lakes and fountains and there was a kind of carnival going on.

We ended up buying matching kimonos. It was such a fun trip!!! I highly recommend Tokyo! :) Thank you for looking at my pictures! Sayonara!

Off to Tokyo!

2009-04-30T11:28:00.006+09:00

Well it's been such a busy month of April that I hardly had any time to spend actually planning this 4-day getaway to Tokyo. But armed with a plane ticket, hotel booking and the always trusty Lonely Planet guide book, I will depart tomorrow for the economically booming, technologically dizzying, population-ly overflowing, seismically active Land of the Rising Sun.

In light of this, did you know that....

There are about 200 volcanoes in Japan, 40 of which are active

Japanese have the highest life expectancy in the world, about 81-82 years

The biggest exporter of frog's legs in the world is Japan

The oldest man to reach the summit of Mount Everest was Japanese

Japan's population is currently just over 127 million.

Metropolitan Tokyo has a population of approximately 12.7 million (when you include surrounding areas it's closer to 32,000,000!).

Sarah and I in Hong Kong last September!

Now off to Japan!

Spring

2009-04-12T23:44:00.012+09:00

"April hath put a spirit of youth in everything." - William Shakespeare

I love Spring in Korea. It has many of the sights and sounds of Spring back home (baseball, birds, flowers). And I can easily imagine the motorcycles going by are lawn mowers while I lie in bed in the morning. There are some unique Spring-isms to Korea that I particularly enjoy. Where I live is very residential and somewhat secluded for being in the city and there are always groups of kids playing in the streets as the traffic on my road is sparse. It reminds me of the 1950's growing up stories my Dad tells of playing in the street with his brothers and cousins. I never really had that experience as Timberline Drive was far too busy and dangerous for playing in. So I love seeing the kids playing with balls or bikes in the street, stopping when cars go by or to stare at me for looking so different - not a mean stare, just curious - and sometimes one is brave enough to say "hello" with a little prodding from his friends.

I have a break from 4-5 during the week and I walk home to eat dinner. Public school lets out around that time and there are hordes of uniform-clad teenagers walking home around me as I make my way. Here in Korea most if not all public schoolers wear a uniform. I love to see them - all immaculately attired in button-down shirts, vests, perfectly ironed trousers and skirts. And then you get down to their shoes. Apparently there is no dress-code for footwear and I think that's wonderful. These kids have so much being controlled in their lives and so much pressure but their shoes - those they have completely control over. And boy do they express it. There's something endearing to me about seeing an entire pristine uniform come to a halt at the bottom with Adidas sandals and socks - or a pair of bright pink high-topped sneakers. I love that the kids are allowed to express themselves in that way. As if the powers that be here realize they're putting way too much academic pressure on their youth but the only thing they could relinquish control of was shoes.

They've put up colorful lanterns in my neighborhood which add vibrancy to the somewhat dingy buildings. Korea was built quickly and while efficiency and maximizing space where taken into consideration, aesthetics were not so highly valued. While there are more exceptions to this in the main part of Seoul, in my area it's mostly box-like, brick buildings with flat roofs. Also, hills don't seem to bother the Korean builders. They'll build all over them, making for some pretty hazardous roads and exhausting trips to friends' houses.

In celebration of Spring, I've started going to baseball again here. My team, the Woori Heroes, lost their sponsorship over the off-season so now they're simply the "Seoul Heroes". Woori was a tobacco brand so that's fine with me, I think Seoul Heroes is nicer anyway. They ended the season in 2nd to last place out of 8 teams last year. I'm hoping they make the play-offs this year (top 4 teams go to the play-offs). This has been such an exciting last year for baseball in Korea between winning gold in baseball at the Olympics and finishing second in the World Baseball Classic. Many of my students love baseball and we have some fun conversations about it. I even have a baseball-themed game which I use to review before tests in my classed - complete with innings, outs, strike-outs etc. The kids love it.

As always I'm enjoying teaching so much. There are certainly slumps as could be expected in any job. But I am enjoying seeing myself grow and progress as a teacher. I look back at when I first came and I am amazed at how much I've learned and changed in my job. It's such an enjoyable experience (with a few exceptions) and I feel so blessed to be able to have this experience.

I am going to Tokyo, Japan for a 4-day vacation from May 2nd - 5th. I've only ever been to the Tokyo airport so I'm very excited for my first taste of Japan. I'm going with my friend Sarah (from England) with whom I went to Hong Kong last year. We are very excited about our trip - we're staying in a hostel/hotel and plan to do lots of shopping, sightseeing, and relaxing! More on that later...

Last weekend my friends and I celebrated on of the first truly gorgeous Spring days with a roof-top barbecue. There are some pictures below. Some of baseball, some of the barbecue, and some simply of Spring. Enjoy!

Traditional Korean Course Dinner

2009-03-07T13:55:00.004+09:00

Friday night our boss took all the teachers at my school out for a Traditional Korean Meal. I don't even know how many courses this meal had but it went on forever! It was delicious - the stuff that I was brave enough to try, that is!

traditional Korean table settings - in the carafe is green tea. in the little square dishes are sauces: a garlic sauce, red pepper paste, and soy sauce with wasabi

Some of my schools staff - many had already left and a few didn't come

Some of my favorites :) Jamie, Dan, Fran

spicy kimchi and seafood, raw fish wraps, pumpkin porridge, pork and cabbage

raw fish!

cold veggies and jellyfish

A kind of Korean-style beef stew - very yummy! Along with beef there are mushrooms, dates, chestnuts, peppers, green onions...

In the middle are paper thin slices of radish onto which you put the various veggies and then wrap up and eat after dipping in garlic sauce

veggies and fish

prawns - very yummy

What Happens When You Have British Friends...

2009-03-06T00:10:00.005+09:00

When your friends are English (as in actually from England not as in speakers of the language) you can't help but become a fan of English football (soccer to us Americans). So one of my best friends, Dan, second from the left, is a big fan of the Tottenham Hotspurs who, well, don't actually win many games but we have fun cheering for them anyway! Here we are watching the Carling Cup last Sunday night. It was a great game but sadly Tottenham lost to Manchester United in penalty kicks after 30 minutes of overtime. :(

Dan brought some Tottenham gear over and put it on my wall for the game...

Soccer holds me over sports-wise until baseball season which is just a month away... Which reminds me, if you aren't already planning to, you should watch the World Baseball Classic which started today. It involves 16 teams from all over the world including the US, Canada, China, Korea, Japan, Italy, South Africa... Japan won the Classic last time it happened in 2006 but Korea is really hoping to knock them out this year, especially since Korea won gold in Olympic baseball last year... I'll be cheering for Korea and the USA as usual and I hope you get to watch some of the games!

My Goofy Friends

2009-03-05T23:44:00.005+09:00

So to celebrate my new apartment that actually has separate rooms (a big deal after 1+ years in a studio!) I threw a housewarming party for all of my friends. About 25 people turned up... it was a lot of fun. Here are some pics...

Me with all the food I spent two days making for the party - before it was devoured!

First few guests/my closest friends here. From L to R clockwise Fran, Jamie (Hyo-Jin), Glenn, Dan, Dickie

the party grows...

boys being boys - misbehaving (Drew, Glenn, Dan)

girls being girls and not causing any trouble at all (Marie, Sarah, Kay)

Korean girls... Green, Jennifer (Ji-Hoon), Kelly (Kyoungee)

Re-enacting something funny that had just happened so I could take a picture. Glenn opened a beer, the cap somehow ricocheted off the ceiling and right into Fran's drink! :)

Aw - Katie, Taylor, Dickie, and Jamie

Drew and Green being silly

Dan and Fran - such a cute couple!

The shoes of my friends! :)

The New Place....

2009-03-02T16:45:00.007+09:00

Bedroom Before

Bedroom After

Kitchen Before

Kitchen After - if you're wondering about the jersey - I needed something to cover the place where I tore the ugly wallpaper from the door and it took the paint off. My Canadian friend (a big hockey fan) happily volunteered an extra hockey jersey the night of the party as a solution to my dilemma...

Living Room Before

Living Room After

Living Room 2

Hall to the Bedroom (that's a collage of my family on the wall)

Bathroom Before

Bathroom After: You might notice there is no sink and no separate shower. This is the Korean style. I was very lucky that in my old apt. it was a very "Western" style with a proper shower and sink - that is not the norm in Korea. Here it is the traditional Korean style with just a drain in the floor and a shower head. Usually the shower head isn't even mounted on the wall - you just stand there and hold it over yourself. But they attached it to the wall for me. :) And of course there's no sink - just a faucet on the wall - so I use that little basin for brushing teeth, etc. and then just pour it down the drain. It's not the most luxurious set-up but it works...

What you see when you enter - those dining room chairs aren't usually there but this was taken right before my Housewarming Party so they were there for guests to sit on. That white door goes into the bathroom. The living room is the first door on the left. The bedroom is through the kitchen on the left. On the other side of the kitchen is a storage enclosed-porch thingy where my washing machine is.

"Dining Room" before

Dining Room After - again before the Housewarming Party

A Good Monday

2009-02-23T23:49:00.004+09:00

Mondays are generally awful days for everyone. For teachers, it's hard to get motivated and it doesn't help that students don't want the weekend to be over (especially here where Sunday is their only day of the week without school). But today was one of my best teaching days of all time. When you teach 7 or 8 classes a day it's hard to be on your A-game 100% of the time. For me, every class is different and the curriculum and level change from class to class. Generally I have a few good classes and the rest are average. A lot of times its just drills or spelling tests or review. But today I was on my game in every single class and I felt like each class learned and I connected with all of the students. It was great.

Here's one nice thing that happened today:
In my first class of the day (6 students, all 8 years old) one boy was trying to spell the word "those" out loud. He kept on spelling it incorrectly so I kept encouraging him that it was ok and to try again. Unfortunately the other kids started laughing at him quite meanly. He tried to keep going but his little eyes welled up and tears started spilling over. Instead of comforting him which I figured might embarrass an 8-year old boy even more than crying in class, I gave all of the students a calm reminder that we all make mistakes and that part of a being a good friend is not laughing at each other when we mess up. One little girl was so convicted by this reminder that she started sobbing uncontrollably. I ended up having to take her out into the hall so she could calm down. As I stroked her hair she was still crying but saying, "Teacher! I'm very sorry! I am a good friend. I'm sorry!" It was precious. When the little girl and I came back into class the students started apologizing to the little boy they had laughed at and comforting the girl who had cried and it led to a nice discussion about what it means to be a good friend. I wish there hadn't been so many tears in that class but I felt like the kids learned a valuable lesson.

I'm Back!

2009-02-16T23:37:00.002+09:00

I'm sorry I haven't blogged for a while. Shortly after my last post, I found out I was moving in a few days instead of in a few weeks like I originally thought. Needless to say, it has been a very stressful and busy past couple of weeks with packing up, moving, and trying to furnish and arrange the new place. Moving in Korea was certainly different from back home. A few days before I moved the moving company came to my apartment and dropped off a ton of reusable boxes and large plastic containers. These were for me to pack in and have ready by the time moving day arrived. At 11am on February 9th as promised the movers showed up at my door. They loaded all of my furniture and boxes into a truck and I was outside my new place with all my stuff within 1 hour. I felt bad that since I'm on the second floor apartment the movers would have to carry all the heavy items up the big flight of outdoor stairs to get them into my place. I was mistaken. No sooner had we arrived at the new place with the moving truck that another truck pulled up. Instead of a truck bed there was a flat metal surface which, after being loaded with a few items, was lifted upward like a crane and movers on the second floor simple pulled my items off of it onto my balcony and then in the door. So there was no carrying anything up the stairs! I was impressed. I'm finally getting settled into the new place. It's much more homey than the place I was in before which, despite being clean and new, was hopelessly tiny. Living in a studio gets old really quickly. I will post pictures of my new apartment soon but there are still a few finishing touches to do before I'm ready to show it off.

Work is going well. We started a new school year this month so I've been getting used to a new schedule and new students. Overall I seem to have good kids this year. No one sticks out as a problem-child yet but there's plenty of time for that to change and kids are always dropping out and joining throughout the year which keeps things interesting.

I'm excited about going to my first concert in Korea. I'm seeing Jason Mraz (singer/guitarist) in Seoul on Saturday so I'm very excited for that. I've been a fan of his since freshman year of college and I never thought I'd be seeing him live in Korea!

I've been enjoying the Wii and Wii Fit I purchased recently (they are much easier to get and a lot less expensive here in Korea than they are in the States). I'm not really a big video game person but the interactive and social aspect of the Wii is really enjoyable especially when friends are over.

I'm not 100% sure and it's still a long way off but I have a 4 day weekend in May and I'm hoping I'll be able to squeeze in a Beijing trip then. The travel agency with whom I booked Thailand, Hong Kong, and Cambodia/Vietnam (I can't believe I've been to all those places!) has a 4 day/3 night Beijing sightseeing tour where you see all the big things. Obviously a longer length of time would be preferable but just in case I don't get the opportunity again, I want to make sure I see the Great Wall while I live in Asia.

On a more general note, I am really loving life right now. I am glad to be back in Korea, work is going great, and I am so comfortable and happy in my new apartment. Now if only I had enough money to fly home and see the people I miss whenever I want!

Changes

2009-02-01T21:08:00.003+09:00

So it's the start of a new school year, which means I now have a new schedule of classes and mostly all new students. It's an exciting time because I get to start all over and "reinvent" myself as a teacher. Plus after a whole year my students and I are pretty tired of each other and it's nice to get some new ones. I really want to be more organized this year as well...but we'll see how that goes.

In other news I am very excited to announce that I am moving in a few weeks out of my studio apartment and into a real 2-bedroom place. I am so so so excited! The new apartment is closer to my school and it's not in a big apartment building like the one I'm in now - it's in a villa. Very exciting...

Here are the hockey pictures as promised. Hockey in Korea is almost exactly like baseball in Korea. Same energy level, same constant cheering, same dried squid instead of nachos and fries. Just replace the clay and grass with ice. Actually it was quite fun, although it was packed since the arena only held 1200 people! The teams were the Anyang Halla (Korea) vs the Seibu Prince Rabbits (Japan). Korea won!

Pics are up!

2009-01-13T23:09:00.002+09:00

The pics of my trip are up, I did one post for each day so to see them in order, scroll down to Day 1 and start from there. Now that I'm back it's time for Winter Intensive classes so all this month I get to go into work 2 hours earlier every day and teach an extra conversation class. Other than the extra time required, it's really quite fun, my intensive class has 4 students, 2 girls and 2 boys, all highly energetic and borderline ADHD :). Getting them to pay attention takes about 3/4 of the class time.

Meanwhile, life is good, I've been spending lots of time with friends and trying to think about plans for this year. Plans are to head to a Korean hockey game this weekend so I'll be sure to post about that... bet you didn't know Korea had ice hockey! I didnt...

1/1/09 - last day of the trip

2009-01-13T22:41:00.004+09:00

Some final shots of Vietnam...

Love riding on the back of a motorbike!

Amazing Benh Tanh market

Goodbye Vietnam!

12/31/08 - New Years Eve in Vietnam

2009-01-13T21:57:00.008+09:00

A rubber tree farm we passed on the way out of Saigon - we were heading to see the ChuChi tunnels.

An example of a trap door for getting down into the tunnels during the war. The soldier actually demonstrated fitting down inside that tiny whole and once we closed the door you couldn't tell anything was there at all.

Me on top of a US tank that was destroyed by a landmine during the war

In the tunnels

Coming up from underground

After the tunnels we went to a place where handicapped people make these incredible works of art, hand-laying mother of pearl, egg-shell, etc.

Back in the city, eating Pho at the same restaurant where President Bill Clinton ate while in office

Cathedral modeled after Notre Dame

The reunification palace

The European-inspired post office

A US tank at the Vietnam War Museum

Later, ready to go out for New Years Eve

11/30/08 Cambodia IV and Vietnam I

2009-01-13T21:39:00.005+09:00

Last day in Cambodia - we visited two more temples

A restaurant

A gas station

On the way to Vietnam

ready for our first night out in Saigon

Eating Pho - one of the best foods ever!

An example of the strange cuisine in Vietnam

12/29/08 Cambodia III

2009-01-13T20:32:00.007+09:00

About to experience one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World

Ready to go out after a long day of sightseeing

Fruit market -where we bought 2 mangoes

Pineapple Fried Rice

Eating those mangoes we bought earlier

Enjoying the same cocktail that Angelina Jolie drank when she visited this bar a few years ago

Might have needed one more drink for this...here I am eating kangaroo, ostrich, crocodile, and snake. Snake was absolutely disgusting. The others were alright.

After dinner at a really popular bar, cleverly called "Angkor What?"

12/28/09 - Cambodia II

2009-01-12T23:40:00.010+09:00

Day 2 in Cambodia...

Enjoying breakfast at the hotel for heading out for a long day of sightseeing and fun.

On the way to the lake we passed some really rural towns

We headed to this huge lake and took a boat ride out onto it

The lake is actually home to a ton of people! They live on the lake in boat houses and make a living by fishing at night.

Lake house

We stopped at a place where they harvest crocodiles and sell them to restaurants - there was a souvenir shop and restaurant there and a woman sitting on a bench holding a live snake which she let me hold. I've never held a snake before - it felt really bony which I wasn't expecting.

Lake village

Running errands

Remember when you were 8 years old growing up on the lake and it was 85 degrees in the "cold season" and you would play in a boat you made for yourself out of a bucket? Fun! :)

Cambodian kids were so cute and friendly!

Baby on board...

The school the lake kids attend - it moves around as they do during the rainy season when the water rises.

She didn't seem thrilled that I took her picture

After the lake we went to a place where deaf and mute people do stone and wood carving by hand. It's incredible.

Work in progress

Restaurant for lunch - seriously nothing beats eating curry out in the open

After lunch we went back to the hotel for a couple hours so we sat by the pool - this is the terrace outside our room.

The beautiful pool!

After the pool we got cleaned up and then headed to the poolside bar for a pre-hiking drink

Then we headed up this mountain to a temple at the top where there were elephants and an incredible sunset.

Temple on a mountain (12th century I believe)

Beginning of the sunset

Breathtaking

Back in the city for dinner and some Cambodian beer and (can you guess?) more curry!

Curry, fish, and noodles. Amazing. This meal, including the beer cost $4. And it doesn't get much fresher than this as that fish is from the lake we took the boat trip on earlier!

Nothing beats a full-body massage at a spa after a day of sightseeing. Did I mention the massage was an hour long and cost $6?

to be continued....

12/27/08 - Cambodia

2009-01-12T22:47:00.007+09:00

Our trip day 1....

Here we are all excited at the airport in Korea, waiting for our flight to Siem Reap, Cambodia (we had a brief stopover in Hanoi, Vietnam on the way).

Outside the pretty airport in Siem Reap - 75 and sunny!

Inside the airport (how many airport have you been to that have a disco ball?)

The Angkor Hotel - where we stayed for 3 nights

Our bags being taken to our room - the hotel was really nice and the breakfast every morning was amazing!

All freshened up and ready for our first night out in Cambodia!

There were 2 options for transportation at night - on the back of a motorbike for about $1 or in a tuk-tuk for about $2. Either way we were guaranteed a hair-raising ride, which inevitably involved driving into oncoming traffic for extended periods of time (see the photo). A tuk-tuk, by the way, if you don't remember from my Thailand trip, is a cart with seats pulled by a motorbike. It's a great way to ride!

Us in the tuk-tuk

Motorbike traffic - everyone rides a motorbike, and you usually see more than one person on them, often entire families of 4 or 5 including little babies.

Enjoying one of the best parts of traveling in Southeast asia - eating amazing curry outside!

My travel buddy and great friend Tabi (from Toronto)!

first restaurant we went to in Cambodia

one of many incredible dinners - Cambodian curry a.k.a "Amok"

Another delicacy, this one a bit less appetizing to me - cockroaches for eating!

Shopping at the night market which was full of scarfs, art, souvenirs and handmade crafts

sorry!

2009-01-07T21:58:00.003+09:00

I will blog soon about my amazing trip but I'm working 10 hours a day right now and haven't yet found time to blog since I've been back! Soon...

Christmas in Korea

2008-12-24T20:04:00.003+09:00

Well it's CHRISTMAS EVE but it doesn't feel like it yet because I'm STILL AT WORK at 8pm!! Aaah!! Oh well, it's been a fun day, the students are so excited about Christmas and I wore a Santa hat to all my classes which they thought was hilarious. Also it's test day so it isn't a very demanding day of work. Still I would much rather be in NJ, heading off to my uncle's house or heading to church with my family! Having had Christmas a bit early while I was home in NJ I thought I'd try to keep my head down once 12/25 came around. I figured if I didn't really focus on the holiday I wouldn't be as homesick. Turns out it's next to impossible to let Christmas go by unnoticed, even in Korea. So about 30 minutes into today I decided to abandon that plan and get totally excited about Christmas even though I'm not spending it the way I'd like to be. So in an hour I finish work, put on the most Christmas-y outfit I can find and head out with my friends to a Korean private singing room to sing Christmas songs all night! Not too late though because for our Christmas dinner tomorrow I'm in charge of the turkey, the (from scratch) stuffing and the dip for veggies. We already had a cookie making/decorating night so those are all done and ready to be consumed with gusto!

Then on Friday it's Get-ready-to-go-to-Cambodia-and-Vietnam-because-I-have-not-put-any-thought-into-this-trip-at-all-since-booking-it-and-I-haven't-even-started-to-think-about-packing Day!! Wooohoo and I leave on Saturday!!!

Classroom Photography

2008-12-21T13:25:00.006+09:00

Where I live and eat!

2008-12-21T13:01:00.002+09:00

Here is a view of my apartment from across the street (it's the taller building in the back).

This is a picture of the gimbap nara (김밥 나라 ) by my house. Gimbap naras are small, cafe-style Korea eateries where you can get gimbap, bibimbap, kimchi jjigae and other everyday Korean dishes. They're small and have fast service so they're especially good if you're eating alone. This one is a minute from my house and I eat there several times a week as it's extremely cheap and food is so delicious!

Here's a picture of the menu and, yes, I can read it :)

Twas the Week before Christmas...

2008-12-20T17:25:00.003+09:00

The week before Christmas has been good, albeit not very Christmas-y. I did teach several of my classes some Christmas songs though! They mostly just hummed along through Jingle Bells except for when it came time to shout "Hey!". I'm hoping to get some video footage of them singing on Monday so I can post a clip on here - it's pretty darn cute!

In other news, I recently added a slow cooker to my modestly-equipped kitchen and I've had such a great time concocting things in it! Since I don't get home from work until after 9, it's great to come home to a ready-to-eat meal instead of having to come home and start cooking. Yay for crockpots!

So, let's see what else is going on... Most of my friends are traveling or have gone home for the holidays but the few of us who are still around have been trying to plan a Christmas celebration that will ease the bleakness of a holiday without family. We are having a girl's Christmas cookie making and decorating party on Monday night. On Christmas Eve we all work until 9 or later but we're planning to get together after work to sing Christmas songs! Then on Christmas Day three of us are cooking a traditional turkey dinner for the group. I'm feeling quite sad because I know it won't feel much like Christmas this year but at least it will be something. And then two days later I'll be on a plane with Tabi headed for sub-tropical Southeast Asia!! As I type this it's 82 degress in Cambodia...

My Christmas Party and New Phone!

2008-12-16T11:14:00.005+09:00

On December 14th I hosted a Christmas party for 5 of my friends. I had it at one of their apartments since it's a bit bigger than mine and has more seating...

I decorated and made appetizers (mini pizzas, stuffed mushrooms, cocktail meatballs, deviled eggs, veggies and dips, cheese and crackers) and served wine and hot cocoa with Baileys. After we ate we all painted wooden and ceramic ornaments and decorated gingerbread men with icing and candy! We used supplies I brought back with me from the States. Afterwards, we played card and board games until the wee hours of the morning! It was a lot of fun, and everyone said they had a great time! Here are some pictures:

The food buffet!

Painting and decorating...

Some sample Gingerbread Men!

The 3 Cranium Teams....

In other news, I got a new cell phone! It's a pink Cyon slide phone and it's sooooo amazing and wonderful!!! Here it is:

Have you eaten rice?

2008-12-12T16:25:00.003+09:00

Yesterday I ordered Korean food and when the delivery guy came in and gave me my food he smiled and said simply, "Big Sock". At first I thought he was speaking Korean but then he said it again clearly. "Big Sock." Having absolutely no idea what he was talking about I giggled nervously, smiled, and said, "Oh! OK!".

Later that day as I left my apartment it became clear what he had been trying to say. I have a big red Christmas stocking on the outside of my front door. A big sock!

Speaking of Korean food, yesterday my kids and I were studying the food pyramid and nutrition and we had to make a list of all the food we ate this week. If there were any doubts about whether I've adjusted to the food here, stepping back and looking at what I've been eating lately put them to entirely to rest. Here are two days from my list.

Wednesday
breakfast - rice, vegetables, egg, seaweed
lunch - rice, vegetables, egg, hot pepper paste, kimchi
dinner - rice, chicken, vegetables

Thursday
breakfast - rice, vegetables, egg, seaweed
lunch - spicy pork, rice, vegetables and kimchi
dinner - kimchi & rice dumplings, kimchi

Can you tell I live in a country where the question is not IF you will eat rice, but rather what you will eat WITH your rice? In fact in Korea when one person asks another person whether they've eaten yet, the question is literally translated, "Have you eaten rice?"

Cute

2008-12-04T17:21:00.003+09:00

Yesterday my student was writing about some spicy food. He wrote, "It was so spicy that my mouse was on fire." Hmm I think he meant "mouth"...

Today I had 2 students write the sweetest diaries:

"Today is wonderful because today I saw Kayla! In one month I did not see Kayla teacher but today I did saw her. Kayla teacher is very wonderful, cute, beautiful, and fun. I want to study with Kayla and my friends!"

and as if one wasn't sweet enough...

"Oh today is my very happy day because today Kayla teacher is come back from the USA! I am so very happy! I love Kayla! When Kayla teacher goes to the USA I have Michael teacher. Michael teacher is kind but he is very tired. I think he is not very funny. Michael teacher is one month we played no games. But Kayla teacher is many games and many candy and many funny times. I was sad because Kayla teacher is go to the USA but today I saw Kayla teacher again so I'm very happy. I want to see Kayla teacher every day!"

Aww it's so nice to be missed! :)

Good To Be Back

2008-12-02T19:02:00.004+09:00

After a wonderful and fun-filled month in the States I am finally back in the Land of Morning Calm (Korea). If feels wonderful to be home. The trip here was very long but it went smoothly. I still feel very jet lagged unfortunately. I wake up full of energy very early in the morning and then feel like crashing mid afternoon, shortly after I get to work. I come home from work and go right to sleep. I really need to force myself to stay up longer after work so I don't wake up so early.

Speaking of adjusting, my body is certainly glad to be back to Korean food! I didn't even realize how accustomed I had become to the rice, meat/fish and veggies diet. It really makes a difference when your diet includes little to no cheese or greasy food. Although I enjoyed going out to eat and having many delicious meals prepared for me while back home, my tummy was quite displeased with my food intake during the entire trip.

Going back to work on Monday was a lot of fun. My students were all glad to have me back and were anxious to report that the teacher who subbed for me played absolutely no games with them the entire month. They were so indignant over this blatant injustice that I indulged them with some games my first day back which not only appeased them but helped me ease back into the classroom routine as well. The "welcome back" gifts were many and numerous, consisting of stickers, knickknacks, and drawings (one involving a girl with a sad face listening to the substitute teacher with an imagination bubble in which I'm teaching and everyone is smiling). One student even gave me a rose! Aww...

Still working on unpacking as I'm trying to give the apartment a thorough cleaning before settling in. The jet-lagged energy levels are making this a slow process so far. Right now it seems that going to work is about all I have energy for... So it's off to the gym now to try and jump start my energy before work! Tonight is Euchre night with friends and this weekend I'm working on getting my visas for the Vietnam/Cambodia trip and then Saturday night is a birthday/going away party for a friend. Sunday is church (visiting a new one!) and then in the evening I'm hosting a small Christmas party for my closest friends. So much to do before then!

13 months later

2008-10-31T09:02:00.005+09:00

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...

In December I Will Be Traveling to...

2008-10-16T17:11:00.016+09:00

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 palace

I'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!

2 Weeks From Friday!

2008-10-15T00:10:00.004+09:00

I'll be home that soon!

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

Recent Pictures

2008-10-13T22:18:00.005+09:00

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

October

2008-10-13T16:03:00.003+09:00

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!

One...Whole...Year!

2008-09-30T00:34:00.001+09:00

I have officially lived in Korea for a whole year! Can you believe it? It seems like it was a totally different Kayla who, a year ago, decided to go for it, leaving everything behind, job, family, car, boyfriend... and boarded a plane headed halfway across the globe, nearly as far away as possible, with nothing but 2 suitcases and a desire for adventure. A year seemed like such a long time to be in Korea and yet it has passed so quickly.

A year ago I had never lived in a foreign country, I had never been to Asia, and I couldn't have identified the Korean language written or spoken. I had never lived on my own let alone lived in a city. I had never tasted kimchi or relied on public transportation. I had never taught a day in my life. Now, I am getting ready to start a second year in Korea. I live here - Here in the 7th most populated city in the world, bigger than New York, Tokyo, or Shanghai. I know where things are and how to get there. I don't have to use a subway map and when signs aren't in English it's ok because I can read Korean. I know enough words and phrases to get my point across. I teach about 100 students, know all their names, and what their English skills are like. I know my school's procedures and curriculum like the back of my hand and have become the person new people come to with questions or for help.

I love living here and this month has kind of been like a Korea "Renaissance" for me. I had been in a pretty set routine of hanging out with the same people and doing the same things week to week. But things have been changing and I've been meeting a lot of new people lately and trying to shake things up a bit. I think my second year will be different than the first and also better. There are some things I want to do differently - save more money, meet more people, travel more, exercise more, get more involved at church, and start volunteering somewhere. I feel exactly right about deciding to stay and am really looking forward to what this next year brings. I have grown and changed so much over the past 12 months and I believe there is plenty more of that to come during my time here.

I will be back in NJ from October 31st until November 29th. In there will be a wedding, a birthday (Meri's!), Thanksgiving, and mostly just time spent catching up with family and friends. When I come home it will have been 9 months since I was in the States and 13 months since I lived there. Strange...

In other news, teaching is better than ever. I'm at such a comfortable place with all of my classes. I've been teaching the majority of my students for somewhere between 8 months and a year and we've settled into a nice rhythm. Teaching comes naturally to me now, in a way I could never have imagined a year ago. I mean, in some ways it makes sense, I do enjoy speaking in front of people and I tend to be a leader rather than a follower. But, still it's hard to believe that a couple of years ago I was sitting in lecture halls, daydreaming about weddings, and now here I am in Asia, living on my own and teaching as though it's my true calling.

I am giving a lot of thought right now to where I'll be going at Christmas time. I'll be quite alone at Christmas since most of my friends will be away in various corners of the world. I have 10 days off of work though so I plan on using that time for some kind of incredible adventure, even if it is by myself (don't worry, I'll join a tour so I'm not completely alone!). Right now I'm considering Northern India. No plans yet, just looking into it. Every inquiry gets me more and more excited though, and I'm really starting to think it could work out. I'll keep you posted as things unfold...

Still can't believe it.

A whole year.

:)

Hong Kong

2008-09-17T16:10:00.020+09:00

Wow, Hong Kong was amazing! I had such a wonderful time.

The trip started early Saturday morning, when I met my friends Marie and Sarah at the airport. I have never traveled with them before so I didn't exactly know how it was going to go. Just because you're friends with people doesn't mean they are necessarily good travel buddies - you might have different tastes, schedules, and priorities on the trip which could get messy. Thankfully, the girls were really easy going about everything and we all had the same basic idea of what we wanted to see and do on the trip.

The flight to Hong Kong from Seoul took about 3 1/2 hours. We arrived in Hong Kong at around 2pm and got to the hotel around 4. We took a bus from the airport to our hotel. We stayed in an area called Wan Chai which was a really central location. Hong Kong's main areas are Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, Lantau Island, and the New Territories. We didn't visit any of the New Territories as they are farther north, closer to China, and there was nothing of interest to us there.

So, we stayed on Hong Kong Island, right in the middle of everything. The first thing we did was settle into our hotel which was really really nice. It was less than $100 a night per room (we got 2 rooms for the 3 of us and took turns having our own room) and it had a lot more than I expected which was great. After we got settled we went and bought Octopus Cards which are the transportation cards for the city. They're called Octopus cards because you can use them for so many different things which we quickly found out was no exaggeration. The money you put on them can be used for the subway, bus, ferries, trams, boats, and even at some tourist attractions throughout the city. You can even use them at convenience stores to make purchases.

We quickly found out the public transportation system in Hong Kong was incredible. The subway systems in Hong Kong were so clean - even cleaner than Korea which is impressive and they were significantly easier to navigate than they are here as well. I have to say, Asian public transportation systems put Western ones to shame. They are so much cleaner, easier to use, and more logically laid out from what I've seen. You'd really have to work at it to get lost in Hong Kong, I think.

The first thing we did was a bit of exploring. We took the ferry to Kowloon and saw some of the buildings over there like the Hong Kong cultural center. We walked along the bottom of the peninsula which is where the Avenue of the Stars is. The entire walk affords you a spectacular, panoramic view of the Hong Kong Island skyline. On the Avenue of the Stars we saw lots of Hong Kong actors and actress's names including Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Bruce Lee, and Chow Yun Fat.

We were there during the Mid-Autumn Lantern Festival so we saw some giant displays of lanterns in all shapes and sizes. In Kowloon there was an ocean display with lanterns in the shape of sea animals, kelp, bubbles, etc. It was really beautiful. We walked a long way north in Kowloon, taking in the city and scouting out potential restaurants. After months of Korean food and limited choice of Western fare, the one thing we knew on this trip was that everything we ate would be something we couldn't get (at least not easily) in Korea. We discovered an outside night market in Kowloon which took us hours to walk through and contained tons of local people selling literally all kinds of things: from art and clothing, to DVDs and toys. It was very busy and very hot - we decided to come back the next day to do our shopping.

That night we went back to Hong Kong Island and ate a delicious Thai dinner at a restaurant close to our hotel. It was amazing - they even had my favorite type of Thai curry. We called it a night early, planning to get a good start the following day to do some shopping. The next day we went from mall to market to market stopping for a smoothie or cold coffee drink here and there, in between. The outside markets were my favorite, they took hours to walk through, were full of sweaty people haggling for goods and we found lots of great deals. I got presents for my family which I had a lot of fun picking out and haggling for. My haggling skills have improved significantly since I first came to Korea - I had a hard time at first because I kept thinking I was doing something wrong, or ripping them off, but now I realize it's all part of the business and people aren't going to sell things to you at a price they're not making a profit on so I don't worry anymore.

That night we ate at an amazing Italian restaurant in an area called SoHo which is where a lot of the good restaurants and nightlife are. It was so nice to have real Italian food. There are some mediocre Italian chains in Korea but the food is "Koreanized" and not authentic which is disappointing. After dinner we went up the peak on Victoria Mountain which is a big tourist attraction in Hong Kong because you can see the entire skyline on both sides of the water from the top. We took a taxi up and a tram down, both of which were terrifying experiences. After the peak we went to Causeway Bay, an area West of Wan Chai where they had a Lantern Festival Carnival. We saw a variety of impressive lantern displays in the park there.

The next day we found a place that made real breakfast. Eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, omelets. There is no place in Korea that serves anything like that except maybe right in Central Seoul which would be over an hour away, a ridiculous trip to make for breakfast. We really enjoyed that meal!

After breakfast Sarah and I went to Lantau Island to see the Big Buddha there. It took us an hour on the ferry and then 30 minutes on a bus going up a windy, bumpy road to reach the monastery which was up in the mountains. Once there we climbed 268 steps to go up to the largest Bronze Buddha in the world. It was huge and the views from the top were breathtaking.

That night we ate at a wonderful Egyptian restaurant that had the most amazing falafel and I ordered the grilled lamb which was cooked so well it practically melted in my mouth. Just thinking about that meal is making me hungry again! After dinner we took the hour ferry right over to Macau to experience the casino scene there.

Macau brings in more revenue than Vegas and has 28 casinos including The Venetian which is the biggest casino in the world and the third largest building (sq. ft.) in the world. We mainly just wanted to experience the scene and walk through the Venetian - it is an incredible building, renaissance themed, and indescribably luxurious. It has actual canals running through it with gondola rides. The total size of The Venetian in Macau is equivalent to 56 football fields. It's big enough to park 100 Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Anyway it was incredible to see and we got the last gondola ride of the day. Our guide was from Northern Italy and he sang songs to us in Italian. It was lovely. We visited a few other casinos before heading back on the ferry. The next day we just finished up some last minute shopping and headed to the airport. It was a really fun, relaxing trip and I'm so glad I went. Hong Kong was such a fun place!

Sarah and me in front of a lantern display

Skyline

Hong Kong Cultural Center - it completely lights up and changes colors at night

View from the ferry to Kowloon

Light Show at night

Busy streets

Night Market stall

Night Market

Shopping!

Dinner at a Thai Restaurant

Light Show again

Dinner at an Italian Restaurant

On the way to dinner

Sarah and Marie

Love the reflections in the water

glow sticks

Lantern Festival

Waiting for the subway on the way to Lantau Island

At the bottom of the Big Buddha stairs

At the top

Gorgeous views from the top

Last dinner in Hong Kong - it was the most amazing Egyptian food!

Traveling...

2008-09-12T22:28:00.004+09:00

I'm in Hong Kong for 4 days!!!! Look for pics and stories next week!

School Days

2008-09-09T23:06:00.004+09:00

My students working on their penpal letters

The teacher's room, where all the teachers have their desks. That is my manager Lisa.

My desk. I proudly display more "desk flair" than anyone else in the office. That's a stack of English diaries waiting to be graded on the right. Note the artwork/photography of my precious nieces and nephews and some notes from students displayed prominently. That's a picture of my niece Violet as well. There's more artwork on the side of my desk.

There have been some interesting things happening at work lately...

First, I have started a penpal project between some of my Korean students and some American students from a co-op which my sister Mishael's family belongs to. My students are so enthusiastic about the project. They are thrilled about the idea of communicating with American students and the ideas about what to write just keep coming. It's a bit hard actually, because I see them coming up with so many topics and questions and things they want to say but their vocabularies are quite limited at this level and they get a bit frustrated. Which is where I come in of course, trying to help them figure out how to say what they want to say in a way the other students will understand. It takes a number of drafts and rewrites before the letters are suitable to send out but it's worth it for them to have such a hands-on, worthwhile experience. My goal is for both the American students and the Korean students to come away knowing at least a little bit more about each other's culture than they do now. If there is one lesson I've learned since moving here, it's that it's critical to realize that there are many different ways of doing things around the world and the one you are familiar with isn't necessarily the best.

The second new thing happening around the office is that I am, for the first time since I came here, teaching a Level 1 class. Level 1 basically means that it is a brand new class of very young students who do not know a word of English. I have taught all kinds of levels since I started this job but I have never taught a complete beginner class. My kids have always known the basics - their names, the alphabet, "hello", "thank you", "yes", "no". Most of these students are starting from scratch. When I found out I was being given this new class, I was really excited. It seemed like such an exciting challenge - like a blank slate! No previous teachers, no previous books, just them and me and me teaching them English. Teaching them to read and write! I don't know why, it just struck me as really special.

So, as I tend to do when new exciting projects are before me, I got really into it. Fruit shaped name tags, funny games, creative discipline systems. There's something special about a class that is, in a way, all yours from the beginning. I want it to go well. The first day of class was a complete whirlwind. I taught them the alphabet and completely left out the letter "G". Suddenly I looked at the board and realized it was completely missing and we'd been practicing without it. I guess I was nervous. Poor kids. They probably understood 10% of what I said to them. I had to really get creative in how I communicated. I had been explaining basic greetings as in, "hello, how are you, I'm fine thank you, what's your name, my name is...." etc. So then it was time to see what they'd gained from this lesson. I walk up to the closest student, a tiny, wide-eyed, little boy who looked absolutely terrified that I might actually talk to him. I start to shake his hand.

"Hello", I say cheerfully.

....silence...... I think I can see him shaking. He looks around to his fellow classmates for help.

"Hello", I say again, smiling as big as my facial muscles will allow.

He looks very pale and doesn't appear to be breathing. The boy sitting next to him whispers something in his ear.

"hello" he whispers, barely audible.

"What's your name?" I ask slowly and deliberately.

A long pause. His eyes suddenly light up as he recites,
"I'm fine, thank you, and you?"

Hmmm let's try this again.

"What's...your...NAME?"

He ponders and then says,

"What's your name!"

Ok. New tactic. I point to myself.

"My...name...is...KAYLA" - I carefully enunciate. I point to him.

"What's...your...NAME?" I ask again.

He obediently points to himself.

"My name is Kayla!"

Ok. ok. This isn't working. Let's try something different.

"How are you today?" I ask.

"My name is Soo-Min."

Sigh... :)

End of August

2008-08-27T16:26:00.002+09:00

As August comes to a close, I have to say I am not sorry to see it go. It was hard coming back from a paradise vacation in Thailand to a crowded, polluted city, where I had to teach 10 hours a day! 10 hours is a lot of time to spend in front of kids - I'm glad to be back to my regular schedule this week. Also, August has been very rainy - it seems like it's been sunny all during the week and then when the weekend comes and I have lots of outdoor plans, it rains! Probably the thing I least liked about August was the fact that the Korean Baseball League was on hold because of the olympics! Now, granted, I had an amazing time watching Korea go undefeated in baseball and win the gold medal! But, I guess I've been spoiled going to professional baseball games every weekend this spring and summer - I really missed the outings! Anyway, the league is back in session and I am heading to a game tomorrow and a game on Saturday! My team is 7 games back from a play off spot but there is still time!

Speaking of play-offs, I have to give a congratulatory shout-out to the Philadelphia Phillies, my home baseball team, for coming from behind to beat the Met's last night in a 5 hour, 13 inning game! It was a crucial win, and now the Phillies have a half game lead on the Met's for first place in the National League East. Anyway, I woke up early to listen to the game here online and was glad I did - it was one of those games that reaffirms why I love baseball so much: your team can be down by 7 runs and still come back and win!

I am working on plans for my Hong Kong trip next month - it's coming together nicely. People keep telling me what a fun and vibrant place Hong Kong is! I am going there with two girl friends, Marie and Sarah, they are both from England. And, I just realized, we are going to Hong Kong during the mid-autumn lantern festival - it is the 2nd biggest festival in China, after the Chinese New Year! This means the city will be packed and there will be things going on everywhere, exhibitions, performances, and....a gigantic fireworks competition! I promise to take lots of pictures and bring back all the excitement for you!

With August ending, it's an exciting time of year for several reasons... Autumn is coming and it's my favorite season, my trip to Hong Kong is getting closer, my 22nd birthday is in one week, and both my baseball teams are working hard for a place in the post-season! Also, I'm getting closer to my much-anticipated month off in November when I will be back in the States, voting for our next president, eating Thanksgiving dinner, and spending time with the people I care about most!

I'm Going to Hong Kong!

2008-08-21T17:11:00.004+09:00

Ok, since Beijing fell through, I've booked a trip to Hong Kong/Macau. Before I came to Korea I knew almost nothing about Hong Kong. I didn't even know whether it was actually a part of China or not. Until I came here and talked to many world travellers, it was never even some place I wanted to visit. However, I've now talked to enough people who have travelled all over Asia and so many people have recommended visiting Hong Kong that it was an easy choice between there and Tokyo when Beijing fell through. Now, I do want to visit Japan at some point. However, Tokyo is SO expensive. I can stay in Hong Kong for 3 nights for the price of 1 night at the same class hotel in Tokyo. Also, I am drawn by the fact that Hong Kong is WARM and has BEACHES. And, right now, I don't feel like leaving the 2nd most populated city in the world (Seoul) to go to the #1 most populated city in the world (Tokyo). I'd rather go somewhere with boats and beaches! And Macau has overtaken Vegas as the world's top gambling destination with 23 casinos including the biggest casino in the world. It's a short ferry ride away from Hong Kong. The Venetian Macau is not only the biggest casino in the world it is actually the third largest building in the world! It's something I want to experience! (Not the gambling just the city itself!).

So. A little lesson for those of you who, like me, didn't know much about Hong Kong before now. Hong Kong and Macau are two special administrative regions of China. You don't need a visa to visit either Hong Kong or Macau as a tourist. Hong Kong was a territory of the United Kingdom from 1842 until 1997. In 1997 it was returned to China under the condition that it would have a designated level of autonomy for the next 50 years (i.e. until 2047). So Hong Kong is a part of China but it operates completely separately in most respects. For example Hong Kong has its own legal system, currency, immigration laws, etc. However, the Chinese government is responsible for Hong Kong's defense and foreign affairs. Interesting set-up, isn't it?

So, since it was a UK territory for so long and is still a very separate system from mainland China, Hong Kong has a very unique culture. A blend of East and West, Modern and Ancient. It is in many ways a very Western City. I hear you can find Chinese herbal remedies and shark fin soup on one corner and then an English pub or Catholic church on the next. I have also heard it is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, with an absolutely stunning skyline. I also have information regarding a place in Hong Kong where I can find an actual reuben sandwich. I can't tell you how much I want a reuben sandwich after 8 months away from home!

Hong Kong is a port city and one of the world's leading financial centers. Since it's located all the way off the southern coast of China, just south of the tropic of Cancer, it's climate is "sub-tropical" with very hot sunny summers and mild, snowless winters.

Did you know that Hong Kong has been ranked as the most free economy in the world in the Index of Economic Freedom for 14 consecutive years? The things one learns from Wikipedia!

Here's what Lonely Planet says about Hong Kong:

Hong Kong has enough towering urbanity, electric streetscapes, enigmatic temples, commercial fervour and cultural idiosyncrasies to utterly swamp the senses of a visitor, and enough spontaneous, unexpected possibilities to make a complete mockery of any attempt at a strictly organised itinerary.

So, with that in mind I'm planning my trip as follows: a day tour of Hong Kong island, a beach day where I explore the surrounding islands, an afternoon and night over in Macau, and a day for tying up loose ends, shopping, etc.

Only 22 days to go!

No Beijing for this American - yet

2008-08-19T16:57:00.005+09:00

So, I won't be going to China next month, despite the fact that I went through a travel agent and already booked my round trip flight. China won't grant me a visa even though all of my documents are in order and I was going with a tour. Apparently everyone is having problems getting visas right now with the Olympics happening. Usually it's fine but with Olympics security is really tight, and a lot of people are being turned down. It's a shame, because I really was looking forward to the trip but I'll just wait and go on my 4 day break in February - things will be calmer then and I'm told I should have no problem getting a visa once a few months go by. Luckily I was able to get a refund on my ticket and now have to quickly decide where I want to go for those four days. My options are pretty limited so, I've narrowed it down to Hong Kong or Tokyo. I'll keep you posted!

Thailand Pictures

2008-08-18T21:32:00.013+09:00

Hot Town, Summer in the City

2008-08-14T17:10:00.004+09:00

Well, the Seoul summer is at its peak with temperatures in the mid to high 90's and mid 80's at night. The temperatures are very similar to those back home but there's more rain here. One thing I dislike about living in Seoul right now is that its difficult to get to the beach. I love the fact that in NJ you can be at a beach in 2 hours if necessary. The coast isn't really any farther here but without a car, I have to take a train and get a hotel and it can end up being a hassle. There's a great beach city (the 2nd biggest city in Seoul) about 3 hours south east of where I live and I hope to get there before the end of the summer if money and time allow.

Even though I just got back from Thailand I am already getting ready for another trip. Next month (9/13 - 9/16) is Chusok, the Korean harvest festival. You can kind of compare it to the American holiday of Thanksgiving. We get 4 days off from work so I'm taking that opportunity to do a trip to Beijing, China! I am very very excited about the opportunity to see the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square, etc. Also, it will be exciting because it will be just a few weeks after the Olympics.

Speaking of the Olympics, I have to say I am incredibly happy for how well Korea is doing this year. Obviously I am rooting first and foremost for the US but it's really fun cheering for Korea as well. Right now they have the 3rd highest gold medal count, second only to China and the US, two of the top 3 most populated countries in the world. That is pretty impressive in my opinion. My kids are so excited and all they want to talk about is the Olympics.

As many of you know, I spent a lot of my free time this Spring and Summer cheering for my Korean baseball team, the Woori Heroes. I have autographed balls from 2 of the players and I've danced on the dugout during the 7th inning stretch twice. Anyway, right now the Korean baseball league is not playing because the Olympic baseball team is made up of players from the league. Two players from my team are on the Olympic team. One of these players is Lee, Tae-Gun, the DH for the Olympic team and one of the players whose autographed ball I have! Last night, I watched the US vs Korea baseball game. I was torn between cheering for the US and cheering for Korea since I knew so many of the players on the Korean team. I decided that since The US wins so many medals and probably will end up medaling in baseball anyway, that I would cheer for Korea and the Woori Heroes players in this game. I was glad I did because it was a really really good game. Korea was down by 2 runs going into the bottom of the ninth. Then Lee, Tae-Gun hit in the tying run, stole 2 bases, and scored the winning run on a sacrafice fly. I was so excited!

I am, of course, extremely proud of how well the US is doing in the Olympics as well. Gymnastics was a bit disappointing but swimming has been very exciting with Michael Phelps. It's nice being in the same time zone (1 hour ahead) of the Olympics! I was able to watch the Opening Ceremony live during prime time. It was a bit difficult because the commentary is in Korean but it was good practice for me to read the names of each country in Korean as they appeared on the bottom of the screen.

I've been working on my Korean a lot lately. Classes haven't really been practical with the busy-ness of summer but I can read Korean perfectly and I can do money and count and I know a lot of classroom phrases. I am hoping to start another regular class sometime this winter.

Which brings me to the fact that I am officially staying in Korea after my year is up! I am very very excited about this decision. The main reasons are that I want to continue to travel more and I love my job so much. I will be coming home for a visit from 10/31 to 11/29. Sadly I won't be home for Christmas this year but I plan to use the week off to go travel somewhere exciting. (take the survey)

Well, I have a class to teach in 20 minutes so I'm going to go get ready. I'll write more soon!

Amazing Thailand

2008-08-06T23:25:00.005+09:00

Well, I've been back for week and am still trying to get out of vacation mode. Having to go right back to teaching 10 hours a day really speeds that process along! It's summer camp time at my school which means I teach 2 additional hours a day...not that much, but I'm really feeling it especially in contrast to a week of total relaxation and fun!

Thailand was even better than I imagined! It's hard to blog it because words can't begin to convey the breathtaking beauty of The Land of Smiles as it's often called. The nickname is certainly not a misnomer - every Thai person I encountered was oozing friendliness and grins. Often, they were attempting to rip me off (did a LOT of haggling in Thailand!) , but still, at least they were doing it with a smile.

A little background. Thailand is, as I'm sure you know, a country in Southeast Asia which shares borders with Laos, Burma (aka Myanmar), and Cambodia and to the South is Malaysia. The capital is Bangkok, it's about the size of California, and 95% of the population are Buddhists. Thailand used to be called "Siam" and is the world's biggest exporter of rice. Thailand has one of the largest monarchies in history but there are coups quite often. Most recently in 2006 there was a military coup and the military still controls the government.

The 2004 Southeast Asia tsunami caused a lot of destruction on many parts of Southern Thailand. The earthquake which caused the tsunami was the 2nd largest ever recorded! The tsunami wiped out everything on one of the islands I stayed on (Phi Phi Island) but it was remarkable to see how quickly it has been rebuilt. There are many reminders of the tsunami however, mostly in the form of Tsunami Evacuation Route Signs which was everywhere you turn.

So I arrived at Bangkok on 7/26 and took a flight down to Phuket, a big island in the south of Thailand. I stayed one night there and then took a boat to Phi Phi Island, about a 2 hour ride. After several days on Phi Phi I took another boat to a place called Railay Bay.

The weather was really good, it only rained for 10 minutes during my time there! There were a few cloudy days but mostly it was hot and sunny!

Ok, so on Phi Phi island I booked a nice bungalow overlooking the beach. Phi Phi is a tiny island, popular with backpackers. There are no paved roads or cars, just dirt roads, lots of bikes, and tons of 20 somethings. It was kind of a bohemian beach-party kind of place. One night my friends and I sat on the beach sipping Banana Coladas, listening to some guy in a bandanna jam on a guitar with the waves crashing in the background. My resort had a cascade pool looking out over the beach. Mainly I hung out in the pool, read/slept on the beach, wandered the streets and explored little shops, and ate a ton of AMAZING Thai food.

On one day my friends and I rented kayaks and paddled to a remote island beach which turned out to be a LOT farther than we expected (still sore!). It was more than worth it though with some amazing views! Later that same day we hired a long tail boat (a wooden boat driven by a local, powered by a used car engine - with no roads at either of the locations I stayed, I had to travel by long tail boat quite a bit). We took the boat to nearby Monkey Island which is exactly what it sounds like: a remote island whose only inhabitants are monkeys! We did some snorkeling there in between playing with the monkeys. It was my first time snorkeling (other than in a pool!) and I loved it.

After a few days the backpacker vibes of Phi Phi island got to be a bit much so we left and headed to the tiny, exclusive, paradise-on-earth, popular with wealthy families and couples destination of Railay Bay. Railay was the opposite of Phi Phi - it was even smaller, but the resorts were luxurious, the beach even whiter, the ocean bluer, and the views more spectacular. There was only one bar on the beach, a big contrast to Phi Phi island. The bar was very laid back, playing Van Morrison and Santana at a pleasant decibel and arranging bamboo mats on the beach at sunset so that you could sit there and enjoy a drink while looking at the ocean. Only 3 upscale resorts get to be located on the fabulous beach front at Railay, each with its own beach front restaurant (I ate at each one at least once - hard to get tired of eating fresh seafood cooked anyway you want or delicious Pat Thai right next to the ocean!). And when I say beach front, I mean quite literally that when I was eating breakfast and the tide was all the way in, the water was two feet away from me. Amazing.

So, one of the coolest things I did at Railay Bay was take a Sunset Snorkeling and Island hopping tour. A local Thai man took a group of 8 of us by long tail boat to 3 tiny, remote islands where we snorkeled all the way around each one. I have never seen so many amazing fish! I even saw a reef shark and some seahorses! It was indescribable. The water was so clear, and there were so many fish. It was like Finding Nemo but better! We were the only ones there and could take our time. Each time we got back into our boat after snorkeling, the guide had fresh fruit waiting for us - he brought a whole pineapple and sliced it up for us while we were in the water! After the snorkeling he took us to a tiny island with a beach and cooked us a fresh seafood dinner over a fire, right there. It was incredible. I'm running out of strong, positive adjectives to describe this trip!

Thailand was incredible, especially Railay Bay and I didn't want to leave :( I have more to write and I'm sure you're wondering where the pictures are. For some reason I have been having trouble uploading them. So I decided to just post this and I'll work on getting the pictures up asap!

On Vacation...

2008-07-26T03:00:00.002+09:00

I've been MIA for the past couple weeks since I've been teaching extra classes (11am-9pm every day) and preparing for vacation. I leave in 3 hours for 7 nights in Thailand. I can't wait to post pictures and write about it when I get back!

2 Weeks Till Thailand!!

2008-07-09T23:22:00.007+09:00

I'm so excited for my vacation to Thailand in 2 weeks. I'll be there from July 26 - August 3rd. My plane ticket is all paid for and my first night is booked. I'm going with some friends and will be doing some island hopping. I can't wait to lie on the beach and soak up the sun, eat real Thai food, get massaged on the beach, go kayaking around the islands, go snorkeling in sparkling, clear, blue water....

Here is the resort where I'm starting off in Phuket. My room has direct pool access - it has a little balcony you can sit on and it has a ladder to go right into the pool! Also, check out the swim-up pool bar in the 2nd picture! :)

Playing Around With The New Camera

2008-06-26T21:50:00.005+09:00

The Weekend Part II

2008-06-24T23:45:00.006+09:00

On Sunday, my friends and I returned to the Seoul World Cup Stadium once again, this time to see a qualifying match between North Korea and South Korea. It was quite an interesting experience. Obviously, there weren't any (identifiable) North Korean fans there although there were a few men holding a North Korean flag behind the team. They were selling special "unification flags" at the game. A white background with an image of a unified Korea in blue. Simple, yet powerful. When the national anthem began playing a huge unification flag was displayed. It was an exciting moment. Anyway, the game itself was completely dull. Based on previous teams' results, it meant absolutely nothing and the teams played incredibly conservatively. It ended in a boring 0-0 tie. Still, just being at a game with 50,000 people, watching North and South Korea, is exciting in and of itself.

Pre-game ceremonies

South Korea in red, North Korea in white
Interesting how their colors coordinate...

The only indication of North Korean fans in the entire stadium
Two fans
(and yes, in true South Korea soccer fan style I am sporting light-up red horns)

After the game, shaking hands

The Weekend Part I

2008-06-23T01:39:00.009+09:00

Saturday was an awesome day. First, I went to the travel agent and paid for my ticket to Thailand! I will be vacationing in Phuket ("Pooh-ket") from July 26th to August 2nd. I can not wait for the beach! Also on Saturday I bought myself a new camera. A Canon s5is. It is incredible and I am completely in love with it. It looks like this:

After these two big purchases, I went to a baseball game with my friends. My team (Woori Heroes) have been on quite a losing streak lately. They are in second-to-last place and ten games back from a play-off spot. Thankfully on Saturday they won 2-1 with two home runs. So here is the incredible thing: we've been going to so many games this Spring (I've actually lost count - we've gone nearly every weekend) that we have become great friends with the "fan club". The fan club has about 50 people and it is so much fun. We sit with them at the games and they give us free food and drinks and love the fact that we cheer for their team. My friends and I bought jerseys that we wear at the games. It is so much fun, it's like a big family. A few weeks ago I got picked to dance on the dugout in front of everyone at a sold out game and I was on TV!
Anyway, after all the games, the fan club people always ask us to come out with them for dinner and drinks and we often go.

Yesterday was so much fun, we went out with the group and I ended up sitting next to the manager of the stadium. One thing led to another and I told him my favorite player was Cliff Brumbaugh, a foreign player from the states. He's previously played for the Rangers, Rockies, and White Sox. [Each Korean team is allowed 2 foreign players. My team has one from the US and one from Japan.] Anyway, the manager told me that he had the home run ball Brumbaugh had hit that day (his twelfth this season) and that he would have him autograph it and give it to me!! As if that wasn't enough, he later told me that he wants us to wait around after the game next Saturday and he will arrange for us to meet the players, including Brumbaugh! So, next Saturday I get to meet my favorite team and favorite player! Anyway, I'm so excited. It's been so much fun getting into baseball here!

Enough talking, here are some pictures...

White Water Rafting

2008-06-12T22:29:00.002+09:00

I went white water rafting last weekend for the first time. It was a lot of fun but the water was FREEZING. Still, I ended up in the river twice. Once when we went cliff diving (so exhilarating!) and once when the rafting guide pushed me in! It was such a blast though. The views were indescribable! I am so glad I got to see this part of Korea. After rafting we stayed at this condo-like place which was really nice. And, that night, the owners of the accommodations cooked us this awesome Korean dinner. Here are the pictures:

The River!

The rafters! Glenn, me, Dan, Fran, Jamie, Raphael
Canada, USA, England, Canada, Korea, Brazil
My helmet is blue because the red and yellow ones were too big so
I had to use a child size. Story of my life... :)

After rafting and dinner, taking in the view

Me...

There were rice fields everywhere!

The girls

June News

2008-06-12T11:58:00.005+09:00

Well, it's almost 1/2 way through June. I have less than 4 months left here in Korea. It's so hard to describe how I feel these day. I want to savor these last few months and really make the most of them. At the same time, knowing I'm more than 2/3 of the way done makes me anxious to finish and come home! White water rafting was a blast. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I'm waiting for pictures from my friend's camera so I can post them. I'll write a separate post about the rafting when I get the pictures.

In other news...I have tickets to see South Korea play North Korea in a World Cup Qualifying Match on June 22nd. It will be quite strange I think. There will, of course, be no North Korean fans at the game. But it will be so incredible to see the two countries play. It's a big game too. Both teams really need the win.

The weather is really heating up. You wouldn't know by the way Korean people dress though. Korean women are afraid of the sun. Being tan in this society still comes with the assumption that you are poor and work outside (an archaic idea but it's still alive and well here). Many Korean women young and old carry parasols when they are outside to protect them from the sun. Even if they're just walking around the city. I have to admit, as someone who loves to lay on the beach at the Jersey Shore, soaking up the sun, it's a strange idea. Also, Korean people generally sweat less than Westerners. So even when it's hot you'll see many people wearing long pants and long sleeves. The heat just doesn't affect them the same way.

Teaching is still wonderful. Right now I have 8 classes on M/W/F and 4 classes on T/Th. I got the most precious note from a student yesterday. I didn't edit it, because it's cuter that way!

"Dear Teacher. I loves you. Because you is very wonderful and beautiful. Because your face is very wonderful and your eyes is very beautiful. Thank you for being my very happy teacher. You are my wonderful teacher. I love you, teacher! Love, Seung-Hyun."

That is the kind of thing I will miss.... That and the fact that they always always always have perfectly ripe avocados at the grocery store here. I love that!