"Em" Time

This week was certainly far from eventful…the weekend is where I usually get all my stories from but I decided to stay in all weekend and have "Em" time. I always enjoy "Em"time… in fact, most of my friends stayed in this weekend and enjoyed "detox time" for themselves (once Tuesday comes… aka, Hong Kong, plenty of drinks will be had. We've got to save ourselves ya know). I had a really nice time just relaxing… I got quite a few pages done in my scrapbook sketchbook done, I watched a variety of different movies and shows, did a little reading and of course ordered some of the best pizza in town. When Sunday came around, my friends and I all thought we should definitely have some human interaction. We all met up for a couple of good movies, popcorn, dinner and endless laughs.

I added some pictures out of my sketchbook… thought you might be curious as to what I am creating. It's been so relaxing, yet fun, putting together this scrapbook. It allows me to reminisce/reflect while I paint/draw some of the best memories of my life. So, as you can see from the pictures: The picture is one from the beginning… my sweet mom hid several goodies in my bags as she was helping me pack. When I unpacked I found several sweet treats, a stuffed bunny and a letter. I taped the letter in and drew what the bunny looks like… I clearly couldn't tape the bunny in, he keeps me warm at night.The middle picture is one from the beginning of the book as well, when my trip first began. I taped in my boarding passes and drew different images around them that set my journey off. One very memorable thing I roughly sketched was my incredibly heavy luggage. I will never forget those HEAVY bags of mine… lugging them all over the airport and bus station (one was 60 pounds and the other was 80 pounds). The last picture: bamboo- this was when my good friend Katie and I took a crazy adventure out to this little town and explored the bamboo forest as well as the random little town that surrounded it. Taped onto the page is my ticket into the bamboo forest and the card from the little Korea man who painted the fans for us. This sketchbook has been so much fun to create… as my adventures continue, so will the book.

Other than the fact that my colleagues and I had to redo several lesson plans,tests, scopes… you name it (hard drive crashed and lost most everything), the work week went very well. I think I am one of the proudest teachers at TN… I can't get over how well my pre-K kiddies are doing. Now of course, they have their bad moments but they are kids… it's only natural. This week I made the time-out chair and man is it sad. Since the girls don't understand exactly what I say, I found some really sad and angry faces which I colored and taped to the back of the chair and on the wall that the chair faces. I really got their attention when I did this… threatening the chair when they don't follow directions makes me feel like such an evil teacher but you can't always be nice. My friend Molly said.. "how bad could the chair be, is there a child molester sitting in it"… ohhhh Molly- how I look forward to spending 5 days with you in Hong Kong! So anyway… my liaison had a little talk with me this week and congratulated me on a job well done. Apparently the Korean staff is so happy with the way I have been doing things (especially with the pre-K class) that they have now put every bit of confidence in me. They are sad to see me go in August especially since my Kindergarten class will only be half way through. The parents will not like it when a new teacher takes over my class right in the middle of the school year. Speaking of my Kindergarten class… it begins in only a few short weeks (March is when their school year starts). Everyone is signed up for the Kindergarten class. Other than Jen and Jenny, I've got Jasper and Bruce. Ahhh haha, it's Bruce Wayne to be exact. Bruce's older brother Kevin is in the Kindergarten class now and he named his little brother. Since he loves Batman so much he though Bruce Wayne was a fitting name, I love it. I can not wait for this class to begin, the months are just flying by.

I am currently packing for Hong Kong… pulling out fall clothes, not missing hats, scarves and gloves. It's not quite bathing suit weather but it is going to be gorgeous. I am excited to finally wear my new Ray Bans because every day we are there we've got perfectly sunny skies and warm temperatures to look forward to. It will get cold at night but a light jacket will be so much better than a heavy, down one. We will not be back in Gwangju till late Sunday night so, don't expect a blog till later in the week. Hopefully, it will be well worth the wait.

Korean Facts/Korean Randomness

Curious about the Korean New Year… here is some facts:

Korean New Year is the most important festival in Korea. It is a family oriented holiday. Korean New Year is also commonly known as Seollal. Korea follows a lunar calendar and for this reason, the dates of Korean New Year vary every year. Korean New Year 2010 was celebrated on February 14 while Korean New Year 2011 will be observed on February 3. Seollal 2011 will be observed on the first day of the lunar calendar. The New Year celebrations in Korea last for three days and the three days are declared as public holiday. Apart from the Korean Lunar New Year, they also celebrate International New Year with the rest of the world on January. However, the enthusiasm and grandeur with which they celebrate the traditional New Year is missing in the International New Year celebrations.

Seollal or Korean New Year 2011 will fall on the 2nd New Moon after winter cosmic time. If you follow the traditional, it is noticed that Korean New Year shares the same day of new Year in China, Vietnam, Mongol, and Tibet. As Chinese New Year, Korean New Year is also called Lunar New Year.

The first day of Korean New Year is known as Sol-nal. The first day of celebrations is restricted within the family. All the family members unite and gather for New Year dinner. During the Korean New Year eve, the Korean people keep rakes and straw scoopers at the entrance or on the wall. They believe that these articles will save their family from any evil force.

All the people in Korea wear colorful and new dresses on the New Years day. This symbolizes a new beginning. Everyone gather at his or her respective house to greet the eldest family member. In Korea, there is a popular tradition of ancestral memorial rites, where the young members in the family bow to the elderly members. The elders pray for the good health and opulence for the young members. The elders also present money to the younger members as a good luck charm.

Without food any celebration is incomplete and Korean new Year 2011 is not an exception. All the family members sit and join in for the New Year feast. The traditional New Year meal include ttokkuk, a must-have dish, which is made of rice cake. According to the Korean New Year traditions, this soup can add extra age to a human being's lifespan.

Koreans also play a number of traditional Korean New Year games on the eve of New Year. Some of the games are yut nori, stick game, and see-sawing. Yut nori is a very popular broad game, which the entire family can take part in. The male members of the family fly kites. They also play jegi chagi is another popular game for men in Korea. Jegi chagi is more like football. The female members of the family play neolttwigi, a traditional game of jumping on a seesaw. The kids play paengi.

Bitter Sweet

Top: My Liaison (Michael), boss and his wife all out on Saturday night
Middle: tubing/sledding at Family Land
Bottom: Bank of Korea Field trip... me in the face of a 500,000 won with my Pre-K class



I made it out for a fantastic weekend…. thank God I recovered from the stomach flu. I actually felt 100% by Thursday; Korean medicine definitely works wonders.

As I told you before, my good friend Dominque had a birthday party this weekend. Saturday started out with some good clean fun and ended with too many gin and tonics…. my drink of choice (while I'm on the subject, let me remind you that this country does not have limes- their substitute is a lemon and a gin and tonic is not the same with a lemon). On Saturday, a large group of us met at the bus station where we took a couple taxis to Family Land: a big amusement park (went there once before with the Kindergartners). Koreans pronounce "F" with a "P" sound so when I told the taxi driver, "Family Land jusaoh (please)"… he looked at me like I was crazy. Luckily I had some friends with me that knew you needed to say "Pamily Landa!" The 18 of us got there and sledded for a few cold hours. This sledding was the most organized sledding I've ever seen. I was sure it would be madness… you know, kids running up and down the hill, flying all around, maybe even a few crashes… bloody noses. I was wrong! Once you get your tube, a moving ramp takes you to the top where you wait to slide down. An announcer gives direction and a new group steps up to the starting line… hanna, doo, say (1, 2, 3). You just wait till the electric pushes sends you flying down the ice coated hill… what a blast then it's back up for some more rides. At one point during the day, we told the announcer that it was Dom's birthday. We had everyone singing Happy Birthday… well, those who knew the English version that is. The Korean's were all laughing as they stared in amazement… 18 foreigners, that had to be the most any of them had ever seen at one time. After freezing our tushes off, we warmed up with one of the most delicious Korean dishes- duck fried rice, duck soup and duck pate (reminded me of Honey Backed Ham but better). We all went home to rest and get dolled up for the evening.

We reconvened downtown around 11. I invited my liaison out and to my surprise he brought along my boss and my bosses wife… a good surprise of course- they are always good company. Seth drove his car which was nice… that's 8,000 won there and back I get to keep in my pocket. The night was spent bar hopping… dancing, singing, laughing…just having a really fabulous time with so many wonderful friends. This whole experience is so bitter sweet, ya know… whenever you meet another wonderful friend, you find out that they are leaving in a month… a week, it's sad to have to say good bye all the time. The great thing is, you have friends all over the world who you can visit. I am already planning a trip to Canada when I get home. After several hours of the downtown scene, my boss took the TN English crew (5 of us including myself) out to eat. Seth (my boss) drove us home. He probably shouldn't have been driving but that's just something Korean's with cars do. I'm half asleep in the back seat of the car, dreaming of my warm, cozy bed when finally we stop… we get out , but wait a minute? We aren't at TN English, why the hell did we stop in this alley way? Maybe someone had to throw up or maybe Seth realized he was too drunk to drive. "Where are we you guys… what's going on… are we lost?"… "It's okay Em, we are getting massages." That sounds nice… no complaints out of me. We went into this very classy building and into these little rooms where we changed clothes. All the women wore these little pink outfits and all the men wore orange ones- was this a cult? They forgot to give me my pants so I walked out in my tights with this big pink T-shirt on. The Korean women freaked out and quickly sent me back into the room with pants/shorts. The language barrier always gets me…. haha, well really, I was kinda drunk and it was 3 am. We all got escorted into this big room with that was sectioned off for each person. We laid on tempurpedic mattresses while getting the most incredible massages. After this one.. maybe two hour long body massage, we went to sleep. Odd… I've never gotten a massage before but I am pretty sure your not supposed to sleep there. I kept peeking across the way to see if Iian was still laying there. I didn't want to get left at this place. Morning came and we all woke up, got dressed and hit the road. I accidentally saw a reciet for our time spent there…. close to 600,000 won for that massage trip- good god! I feel pretty lucky! The niceties still weren't over… my boss took us out to breakfast. When I think breakfast, I think bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, etc… not in Korea. We had spicy egg, bean spout and onion soup with rice. It sure did cure my hangover, maybe that was the idea. Sunday was spent relaxing and reminiscing with friends about our good times. I love weekends in Korea.

Work has been going well. I did not realize that with my pre-K class, I am not supposed to let them speak ANY Korean. I just figured in the beginning it was alright because I was trying to get them comfortable with their surroundings and with each other. I have never taught ESL so i have no idea how it works.. it's a learning process. After telling the girls that they are not allowed to speak Korean, it's amazing to see how much more English they are picking up. I guess they understand that if they want to talk at all, it's got to be English. They repeat everything I say.... like I said before, repetition is the best method right now. Since they are such quick learners I am pushing ahead and teaching some more difficult things. I've got them counting all the way to 20. They know shapes, farm animals, zoo animals, fruits, vegetables, colors, ABCs, body parts, ohhhh and so much more- I am a very proud teacher! Classes are going well but the planning process/test making is a bit stressful right now. The main computer at work crashed and the hard drive was not able to be recovered. This mean that 3 years of work is gone... and we do EVERYTHING on the computer. It's beyond me why they never backed up the work. So, on a lighter note, we went on a field trip last Wednesday to the Bank of Korea. It was the Kindergarten classes plus my pre-K class that went. I was so proud of my girls, they were very well behaved and had their listening ears on. I am not exactly sure what was discussed at the bank because it was all in Korea but it seemed interesting... the kids seemed pretty enthralled in what said/shown.


Korea Facts/ Randomness:

- My trip to Hong Kong is getting closer and closer. The city we are going to be in is called Kowloon. Here's a little information about this area: Bearing the meaning 'Nine Dragons', Kowloon, which is only a few square kilometers, is one of the world's most densely populated urban areas with both residents and tourists. At the peak of the peninsular is the neoteric shopping district of Tsim Tsa Tsui. Further up north are Yau Ma Tei and Mong Kok, both more traditional with street markets and old buildings. Tsim Tsa Tsui East and Hung Hom on eastern Kowloon are noted for the milieu of luxury hotels, shopping centers, expensive restaurants, and trendy nightclubs.

Shee Shee, Teacher!!!

Top: A lovely crew of ladies
Bottom: My pre-K cuties (Jenny and Jen)


Those of you who look forward to reading my blog on Sunday... my deepest apologies for not being prompt...(typically, punctual is my middle name but Korea has changed my ways ever so slightly). The weekend is so short and I have to make sure I fill it up with loads of fun! I was sure I would get my blog up by Monday evening but Monday took a turn for the worse. Out of nowhere I found myself extremely sick late Monday afternoon. I won't go into any great detail but just imagine all the symptoms of a stomach flu. My liaison taught my last class of the day (Monday) so I could go upstairs and take care of myself. As nice as he is, he took care of my throughout the evening but then made me go to work the following morning. Feeling like shit… still having all the same symptoms, I unhappily went to work. I went to the hospital (you know in Korea…. the hospital is just like going to the doctor… hearing that probably makes it sound like i'm deathly ill- I'm not). Sure enough, the stomach flu is what I've got…. it's going around in Korea right now. I am sure 10 more people will have it by next week cause I know I spread my germs all over school today.

Work has been going swimmingly! I am so happy to report that my Pre- K class is progressing at such a rapid speed. The moms are out of the room, even out of the building. I am pretty sure they sit downstairs in Emma's Cafe and watch me teach on the big screen. At the beginning of last week, The Korean teacher sat in the room for some time and then I had her leave to see how Jen and Jenny would react. These little girls are way smarter then any 3 or 4 year old I've ever met. When the Korean teacher left the room, it was nothing but screams and tears. I tried to entice them with any and every fun thing in the room but they knew they could out smart me (not for long though). "Ajasheeeee", they would scream (this means, "I have to go to the bathroom"). The second I opened the door they ran out to find the Korean teacher... hmmm, I could tell where this was leading. A few flushes later, never anything to actually flush…we were back in the classroom, the screaming continued. I wanted to wait it out and show them that crying and screaming gets you nowhere (don't worry ya'll, I'm a nice teacher... they are just so unfamiliar with my non-Korean face). "Dong, teacher, Dongggg" (can you guess what this means... poop). Okay, so I let them out to poop but this time, here's what I did. I poked my head out the door and told all the Korean teachers to hide. I walked out with the girls and they ran through the halls, tears running down their sweet little faces, screaming for the Korean teachers who they could not find. Once they realized they weren't in sight we went back into the classroom because of course... no one really had to shee shee or dong. I was amazed at how well this little trick worked... they didn't outsmart me for long.. muahahaha (evil laugh). I guess hanging out with Emilie teacher is better than no teacher at all. Each day has gotten a little better. They are becoming more and more comfortable with me and I just can't cant enough of them. A picture says a thousand words and you know the one above is so precious. Like i've said before, their attention span does not last for very long. I am lucky to get them concentrating on something for four or five minutes. Now that they are getting more comfortable, they sit in class and talk up a storm, ahhh... they are so freaking cute I only wish I knew what they were saying. They still don't understand that I don't understand anything coming out of their mouths. I know pee and poop but that's the extent of it. I just nod my head and smile because you know how little kids are. I'm pretty sure they are just blabbing...smacking their lips with random nonsense (my mom has a blue car and we ate chicken for dinner last night... I fell down yesterday and pooped four time... haha, you get the idea). They have learned so much in the last week, it's incredible how quick they catch on. Other than the structured curriculum, they have memorized the clean-up song ("Clean up, clean up, everybody everywhere, clean-up, clean-up everybody do your share"), "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes", "If You're Happy and You Know It" and Old McDonald Had a Farm (mostly, they just know the "ei, ei, o" part and the animal noises). As much as I like to plan, I love how unpredictable teaching can sometimes be. No day is ever the same... I look forward to this week's chaos.

The gym was intense this past week. I got to know the trainer who works there.. only a little bit though because his English is minimal. He's got me on a strict work out plan. He cracks me up because he is constantly making reference to the calendar on the wall (Janurary's picture is a sexy, toned, tan, blonde, white girl with abbs or steel). He is pretty sure he can get me looking like her before I leave... I just laugh and say okay. Lukcily, I have a little more time before bathing suit weather because Taiwan is a no go.

No Taiwan... so sad! My friends and I are just so damn indecisive. Last week, my friend Molly and I decided we were not going to wait around anymore for our friends to make up their minds. We looked into doing Hong Kong for the Lunar New Year/Chinese New Year- how fun, right!? Well, it's actually going to happen. We booked our flights last week. Molly (Minesota), Felicity (England) and I will be leaving February 2 at 3 am... we will catch a bus to Seoul for our flight out to Shanghai... change plans and head to Hong Kong till the 6th. It's a given that my blog will be very late that week. Felicity has been to Hong Kong twice before so she knows all the hot spots. We will be very lucky to have her with us. Did I mention the weather in Hong Kong is going to be gorgeous... highs in the 70's- PERFECT! I am so ready to be out of the snow... it's freaking frigid here.

This weekend I went out with a big group of girls... it reminded me of college all over again. What a great bunch we had... some Canadians, a few Americans and of course the lovely Felicity from England. They are all older than me (25-27)... I'm the baby in the group, fine by me though and they don't seem to mind- it's all relative. I had every intention of just doing dinner and a few drinks with them but the evening was so much fun, the rest of the night just couldn't be wasted. After dinner at a tasty Mexican restaurant (actually… the same one from last weekend). I tell ya, this place just can't get it together. Last weekend, right when we got there, the gas broke. All they were serving was nachos. This weekend, the gas was working but the heat wasn't… it was quite chilly in there. We left the college campus and headed downtown where we went to the usual three foreigner bars. We thought we'd mix it up and head to a Korean night club… wow, what a scene. This place looked like something out of a movie…. three levels of stages, bars, dancing and many, many Koreans. From what I could see, my girlfriends and I were the only white girls in the whole place. The best part of the evening was when my friend Vinita and I wondered off in search of a bathroom, stubbled onto a big stage with black lights and strobe lights… what else do you do when this happens, you dance. I don't know if it was the alcohol or the lights but I don't think I've ever had so much fun dancing… so much for finding the bathroom, haha. My group of friends slowly whittled away as the night went on. 10 to 8… 8 to 6…6 to 4… 4 to 2 and then the sun came up… time to go home! What a great night…

On Sunday, I slept in which was so nice because I rarely do it anymore (I prefer it this way). I had one of my friends over for dinner that evening. Her birthday is coming up so I thought I would make her an early birthday dinner. Mmmmm.. we had pasta in a white wine, butter cream sauce with fresh broccoli, mushrooms and chicken. It was so nice cooking/entertaining for somewhere (that's one of the only things I miss about having a boyfriend haha). As sweet as Dominique is, she brought dessert… home made whip cream and strawberries- delicious! After Dom went home, I knew I was never going to sleep… definitely the worst thing about sleeping in on Sundays (why do I continue to do this to myself). I went to see a movie with some coworkers. We saw "Love and Other Drugs" which came out in Novemeber in America but here, I've said this before… movies are 2 months late. I guess they have to get the subtitles going. I am just glad it's in English and I don't have to read the subtitles. When you buy a ticket…you pay, then pick which seats in the theater you want to sit it (similar to how you would buy tickets on a plane- there's a big electronic chart that you select from). Anyway, this movie was great!! I definitely recommend it, if your in the mood for a good, romantic comedy. I saw it with two guys and they really liked it so it can't be too girly!

*cross your fingers that I am all better by Saturday. A big group of us are going sledding at Family Land for Dominique's birthday. I don't want to miss out! :)

Korean Facts/ Randomness:

- So much for hot, delicious, buttered popcorn at the movies, bring on the hot, buttered squid.
-Being that it's so cold out, restaurants don't bother serving chilled water. They think that since it's cold outside, they need to serve warm or even hot water. Maybe it's just me but warm/hot water doesn't really quench my thirst.
-The nurses at hospitals don't get to wear cute scrubs like American nurses do... they all have to wear the exact same little outfit (the ones I saw were wearing tight white pants- scrub pants, a pale pink button up with a white color and a mint green cardigan)- so cute in their pastels
-The more friends I make, the more friends I see leave. It's really hard to watch your friends go home. Most people have one
year contracts so people I met when I first got here are leaving soon. Luckily, the new people I have met just got here within the last few months so they will have to watch me leave. It's a weird, sad concept.

A New Face, A New Name

Top: pig faces... they taste great!! ha... just kidding...
Bottom: some friends enjoying the weekend: from the left: Laura, Wesley, Krish, Katie


Wow… I forgot how amazing it feels to be a normal person and go to bed and wake up at a decent hour! I'm actually eating three meals again.. yes! This week was definitely a lot, but it was great. Work started in the middle of the week; Wednesday and Friday were rather exhausting working from 8:45 to 7:30 but Thursday (my shorter day… 8:45 to 4:20- random times I know) was a nice change/break. I adore my pre-Kindergarten class that I teach early in the day (9:00-12:00). I only have two little girls, they are actually the sisters of some of the Kindergarten students. Jenny and Jenny… wow, thats a doozy- I had to change one of their names. Jenna, one of the Kindergarteners named her little sister and she did not want me to change it so we settled on Jen, haha! This class is a lot more difficult than I thought… I really tried not to go into to it having a lot of expectations because it's nothing like anything I've ever taught before. First of all, these little girls are 5 in Korean age, which means they are 3 or 4 in American age… young! This is their first school ever and a 3 hour day is not easy. The attention span of a 5 or 6 year old is 15 minutes… what is this 3 hour crap? I am constantly switching up and changing activities. For the most part, in these next 2 months my main goal is to get these little girls comfortable with me and school. I am hoping that I can ween the moms out of the room in the next week or so. It was a little intimidating having the moms sit in the room and watch me act like a fool- singing, dancing… you name it… anything to get a laugh or smile out of these nervous little girls. The hardest part about this class is that it's TOTAL immersion which means I can not speak a word of Korea (not that I know much). These little girls don't understand that I don't know Korean so when their moms try to leave the room for a few minutes it's really hard for me to comfort them and tell them it's going to be okay. They look up at me with tears in their eyes saying who knows what and all that I can comfort them with is my smile and the soothing tone of my voice. This week, Jen was blabbing on and on and on and I knew something was wrong but I didn't know what she was saying… "it's okay Jen, let's color and watch Elmo sing a song"… finally, she just ran out of the room, turns out she had to go "she she" (pee pee). Thank god she didn't wet herself ! When Jen and Jenny are content and attempting to follow my directions, I've seen that they are already very smart little girls. They can both say their ABCs and count to 10. Jenny has an excellent memory… I taught them fruit last week and by Friday, Jenny could name 7 out of the 10 fruit without any help. I am so excited to see how my Jens will progress throughout the next two months. Come March, they will be in my Kindergarten class with hopefully more students. Teaching is very rewarding and even more so with the little ones because their progress and growth is so extreme.

At 12:00 when our day ends, we all wash our hands and enjoy a traditional Korean lunch. Lunch is also a lovely benefit in having an early schedule. Emo, the cook is always making something tasty and interesting. For example, on Thursday we enjoyed fish cake and tofu soup, kimchee, rice and miniature salted fish (tiny little fish- marinated in something salty… you eat the entire fish… sprinkle them on your rice like a condiment- pretty tasty I must say). This meal might not sound good to you but ya know what, beggars can't be choosers! When it comes to food… I rarely complain! Luckily I have an hour break after lunch which is nice considering I have such a long day.

I got a new student added to my Leopard 4 class (2nd grade level). She came in without an English name so I got to name her. I thought she deserved a say in what her English name would be, but she had no preference. I asked what her favorite letter was… "K" and so we went from there. I made a list on the board: Katie, Kelly, Kendra, Khloe, Karen, Karla… she was not fond of any of those names. I told her I would brainstorm and come up with something perfect. Thanks to my buddy Luke, we came up with the name, "Kylie"… she LOVED the name and so do I! Thank god these kids have English names because I feel like a total idiot when I try to pronounce their Korean name. My friend Soo Young is the only Korean I know who does not have an English name… I like that about her. By the way… "Soo" is pronounced "Sue".

I joined a gym this week…. I gotta get my body looking fit since I'm hopefully going to be frolicking on the beaches of Taiwan next month for the lunar new year break. The gym is nothing fancy but it's got just what I need. I got a great deal too… about 130,000 won for 3 months, including gym attire (equal to about $110). This gym attire is not the cutest but I'm working out so who cares! Plus, less sweaty laundry… I mean, hell… I only packed 5 T-shirts anyway. When you go in, you can not wear the shoes you came in. Technically, the shoes you wear in the gym have to be indoor shoes… never worn outside (shhh… don't tell on me). The locker room is naked central- my god! There is a giant shower room attached to a locker room. Women don't bother to even put some panties while they are fixing their hair, putting on make-up… bla bla bla- everything! One of these days, I'll take a shower and see what it's like, it will only add to my experience. I've heard the Korean women are very interested in foreigners... eyeing you from head to toe (nothing more...at least I hope not?)… it's not like I've got 3 boobs or anything so maybe the stares will be minimal.

This weekend my friends and I ventured out into town for a day of "let's see where the subway takes us". I am disappointed in myself for never taking the subway… as directionally challenged as I am, I could handle this. I will say, it's only one line and one of the stations is right next to my apartment. We took a subway to Yang Dong Market… WOW! When we got off we were amazed and it didn't stop there… wide eyed with curiosity and excitement, we wondered through this spectacular market taking pictures of everything. This is one of those fantastic Asian markets you would see in movies. It started off as a fabric market. There were rooms and rooms or beautiful, bold satin and silk and women ready to create any type of hanbok (traditional Korean dress)that your heart desires. The fabric rooms led into a covered outside where we saw everything from fresh fruit and veggies to giant manta rays to whole/fresh pig heads. We didn't buy anything that day but I am really looking forward to going back and purchasing a whole plethora of things. My friends and I finished off our day with some delicious margaritas and nachos at a Mexican restaurant near the college campus, Chonum University.

Korean Facts/Randomness:

-This week came with quite a lot of name changes. We got a new Korean staff member and he didn't have an English name. He came in with a smile, a sweater vest and, well… I don't know, there was just something regal about him- in a good way of course. He was just jolly and happy! Iian didn't even have to think twice when our boss said, what should we name him… right out of his mouth came, "Stuart". Just like that, he had a name! I love it!
-After a woman has given birth, she not only stays in the hospital for 2 plus weeks but she is treated like a princess. Koreans think that after a woman gives birth, she is extremely delicate. She shouldn't try to do anything for herself… this includes walking.
-Have I told you about a Korean grocery store experience? Well, I don't think I have so I must enlighten you… When you go into the store you can't just grab a cart, you've got to insert 100 won (10 cents) into a little slot on the top of the cart and stick in the attached key and then finally, your cart is freed. Ready to shop… if your going to get any produce, you must find someone who works there to weigh it and post a sticker on the item. Once you've gathered all your things, go through the checkout line where you put all your things right back into your cart unless your me… after the 15th time and decide to just buy a special "E-Mart" bag. Why don't they just bag your things? It's not that easy… you gotta get a box. Okay, so after your things are back in the cart you head over to the box center. Now, these boxes are flat so you've got to fight your way in (remember, you've still got your cart full of items, it's not just you) , grab some tape and quickly put your box together. Once you fill up your box, put it back in your cart… if it fits and go return the cart. Once again, stick the key in the slot and yay, out pops your 100 won. Here comes the hard part… hauling a cab with a giant box at hand while everyone else is trying to do the same thing. Do you see why I decided to buy myself a special GREEN, "E-Mart" bag?! I never plan to buy more than what will fit in that bag and I save myself some aggravation.

Snow... Snowboarding... Blizzards! IT'S COLD!

Top: Kelsey and Michael- aren't that cute!
Middle: See Yeoung, Olivia and I on new year's eve
Bottom: Muju Mt. Skii Resort



Back to the beginning of last week, right before my vacation started…. it was a short week, only two days… thank god! A vacation was much needed because I was acting like a bit of a Scrooge. I don't know though, can ya blame me? One day before vacation started I was informed of my totally new schedule that would begin the day we come back from vacation in January. I am certainly not opposed to this new schedule… I am actually really excited. I will be teaching a pre-Kindergarten class that will be in session for only two months- winter immersion program (9 am to 12). It's very frustrating when your schedule is switched all around and the only time you have to prepare for new classes is when your supposed to be on your vacation or on the weekends. I couldn't very easily blow this off because I would be frazzled and stressed come Wednesday when I teach. I really didn't even have a choice, management told me I had to create a lesson plan for the first week. I teach ALL day long so I had to come in during my vacation… right after snowboarding and before my trip to Deagu. Luckily my liaison was around to unlock the very cold office. I got all my work done and I am comfortable and prepared to teach tomorrow. Management sat me down for a quick 5 minute meeting to inform me that this class was very important… "Emilie, if you do not do will with this class, no one will sign up for the post Kindergarten class and we will be very disappointed in you" … thanks you guys, maybe if you told me about this class before it was about to start then I would have time to mentally and physically prepare- I tell ya, where is the logic? I'm trying, I'm trying- gotta brush that small stuff off my shoulder. Anyway… now that I am prepared, I am really looking forward to tomorrow. I'm excited to tell you the details next week but I do know that since these students are so young, they do not speak a lick of English (unlike my other students). This is not like teaching typical Kindergarten or even pre school… it's going to be a whole different story. Let's just say, it's going to look great on the cameras because I will be using a lot of manipulatives and body language. Some of my students might not have English names, which means I will get to name them- that will be fun!

A new year, a new schedule- YAY! I am finally going to be normal again… not this going to bed at 4 am… sleeping till 12 pm bullshit.. NO MORE! Did I mention I was doing that a lot in the last couple months, it was awful. Now, i've got the morning schedule. Everyday I will go into work at 8:45 and teach at 9:10… have lunch at school at 12 with my little ones. I will still be teaching the majority of my older classes in the afternoon. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I will teach till 7:05 then I can go home. On Tuesday and Thursday, I will teach till 4:10 and I get to go home around 4:30. This schedule should continue throughout the rest of my time here… 7 more months. In March when the winter immersion program ends, I will start teaching the new Kindergarten class.

Alrighty then, enough about work….ahhhh time for vacation, let me reflect on it. Early Wednesday morning, 5:45 to be exact a rather large group of TN English folk hopped on a bus and headed for the snowy mountains of Muju. It was my first time snowboarding and boy was it an adventure. After gearing up… which took at least an hour and a half, a group of us headed up to the bunny slope where my boss showed us how to snowboard. What a hassle this sport is… fun, but a pain in the ass… literally. I can't tell you how many times I fell on my butt… it's still a little sore. I had a really good crash down the mountain- I wish I could have seen myself because it was quite a spill…. halfway down the bunny slope I got goin pretty fast and realized I had no idea how to slow down, when I attempted to turn (what was I thinking, I didn't know how to do that either) I tumbled twice over my board and pounded my face into the snow, hysterically laughing at myself I laid there with a mouth full of snow and a scaped up cheek. It probably took me at least 10 minutes to turn over and get myself goin again. Ah.. good times! Once more down the bunny slope and I was kinda surprised with myself because I quickly got the hang of it. In no time I went from the bunny slope to the tallest, most difficult slope in Muju. I'm certainly not a pro but I was just happy to stay up and glide down the mountain somewhat smoothly with… hmm… a little control. I definitely knocked over a few Koreas, woops! The "I'm a foreigner" excuse is getting old.. I think!

After a day full of snowboarding we all loaded back into the bus and went to my bosses condo which was about 30 minutes from the Muju Skii Resort (*a little fact: Michael Jackson loved the Muju Skii resort so much when he visited, he asked the Koreans if he could buy it… he was sadly refused- the resort is beautiful, it consists of several different hotels, spas, shops, bars, restaurants, cafes, etc.). We arrived at the condo and dinner was quickly served. We enjoyed some Korean barbecue; It was delicious as always but the meal was not complete without alcohol. Ohhhh man, you know Koreans and their alcohol. It's not a party unless everyone is plastered. My boss loves to see his American staff wasted so that's what happened. The snow continued to fall and the night just got colder and colder… we all got drunker and drunker! The pressure of drinking with your bosses is tough… it's like a sport and sometimes I can NOT keep up- i'm okay with that! Ya know…I often feel guilty when I rag on management because they are so generous… I know I vent and I complain about their finicky ways but it's work. I have to always remind myself that i'm not in America… they are doing things the Korean way… it's not necessarily to put us out personally, it's just their culture. I really do think they mean well… after all my boss is nice enough to invite his American staff to all sorts of events (skiing/staying in his condo, going to his "ham"/wedding… etc.). The night was so much fun.. but it ended rather quickly and early (for me that is)… I think a big group of the guys ended up going to sing karaoke at a bar. The sleeping situations were pretty interesting. The condo was like two apartments, each with about 4 rooms plus a living room/kitchen. There was no beds, just blankets and pillows… everyone grabbed what they needed and found a nice cozy spot on the hard wood floor. I was pretty stiff the next morning but it didn't matter, our time in Muju was so much fun…sleeping was hardly necessary!

We got home from Muju around 10 am, I ran to my bed and slept till 3!!! When I woke up I could not believe all the snow on the ground. I went into work to get my lesson plans done and then headed out into the blizzard for another snow adventure. The snow was so beautiful, perfectly white and soft… not wet like North Carolina's snow. By morning, it must have snowed at least a foot. It snowed all night and through the next morning and all the next day (New Years eve day). My wonderful Korean friend, Soo Yeoung, and I went shopping and shared a tasty Korean lunch. Have I mentioned Soo Yeoung yet? She dates one of my co-workers. Because she is often hanging out in the building, she and I have gotten really close lately. I am so thankful for her… she is so kind, patient and always willing to help me with anything (obviously, she speaks fantastic English). She has taught me so much about the Korean culture. It's really fun to have a close Korean girlfriend… not only do I have a buddy to hang out with but I have a friend who also teaches me so much about the culture I am living in. Later that evening a group of us headed downtown for a New Year's celebration. We enjoyed Papa John's pizza for dinner (brand new to Gwangju and even more delicious than American style Papa John's). You will be surprised to hear that I didn't stay out too late… the one night I decide to go in somewhat early (1:30 am)… it's impossible to find a cab. I had a wonderful New Year's Eve night but I wanted to start the next day without a hangover.

I got up early and hauled a cab to the bus station where I got a bus to Deagu. After arriving in Daegu I got a train to Waegwan (this is where my friend Kelsey and her family live). I was a little nervous to travel alone but it all worked out just fine. I sought out what looked like a Westerner here and there to ask for directions… everyone was so helpful, thankfully! So, let me explain Kelsey and I's relationship: we went to high school together, she was three grades ahead of me (I was a freshman when she was a senior) so we were really just acquaintances, not friends like we are now. Through Facebook, we saw that we were both in South Korea and that's what got us talking. She moved here with her husband and their beautiful 6 month old baby boy, 2 months ago. Her husband, Jason is an officer in the army which is what brought their family to Weagwan (military base). I can not even begin to tell you how wonderful it was to hang out with this family. Everything about their house and their mannerisms felt like home. They took me to the base where I throughly enjoyed some subway and taco bell (what carp… but man, I never loved it so much). Going onto the base was suddenly like being in America. Everything you bought had to be paid for with American money. Being there… In an odd way, was very comforting. The base has a big store, similar to a Walmart where I bought some butterfingers (haaa.. you know I wouldn't leave there without them) and some other American necessities. We enjoyed some of the weekend in Deagu (one of Korea's biggest, most popular cities)- we roamed around downtown and ate some fantastic Thia food. I hope I get the chance to go back and visit with Kelsey's family. They are a sensational bunch! Kels… if you're reading this- i've been dreaming about your breakfast burrito (it has real cheddar cheese ya'll). You were too kind to make me those :)


Korean Facts/Randomness:

-When I was in Deagu, I went to Costco with some friends... who knows about Costco? Well... it's like a Sam's Club or a BJ's. It is exactly the same as America's Costco. They even have the same lunch menu (hot dogs, pizza, etc.). They have the onion machine like they do in America... you turn the handle and it spits out onions for your hot dog. Well in Korea the Asians use the onion machine to make an onion salad. After filling their plate with a mound of minced onions, they squirt ketchup and mustard all over it and enjoy with a fork. When you walk into the food court section of Costco, your eyes immediately water because of the plethora of onions filling everyone's plates.
-In the world, Korea is in the top 5 for the worst/most dangerous/most accidents in driving
-when a woman has a baby, she has to stay in the hospital for a minimum or 2 weeks (my friend Soo Yeoung has a new niece and I was so confused at why she kept visiting the baby and the mom- her sister in the hospital... was something wrong.. no, thats just the Korean ways.
-Poor Soo Yeoung... her full name (Soo Yeoung Jang) translates into "swimming pool"- she said everyone made fun of her when she was little.
- While driving to Deagu… peering out the window at the lovely Korean county side… I noticed something that brought a tear to my eye. In America you typically see cows, goats, pigs, you know. Well, what I saw was rows and rows of cages. What do you think was in these cages? Dogs… all one breed and so adorable. They only eat one breed here- that's what I saw. Oh my gosh- that is one thing I will not taste.
-I love how Koreans are not picky when it comes to food (my kind of people), especially the children. Most of the Korean dishes are spicy or fishy and for them that is what they have grown up on. I think it's great when I see a three year old munching down on some dried squid, fish cake, seaweed and spicy kimchee… ugh, I am really going to miss Korean food when I leave this place.

Happy New Year!

Right outside my apartment during the blizzard!

Happy 2011 everyone! I wish you all a very happy, safe and lucky new year. I have a very good feeling about this up coming year so stick it, brush all those negative minor details off your shoulder and be happy/thankful for all the good you've got in your life! There is a lot of hate and sadness out there in the big, bad world... keep that chin up! I know I sound like a freaking Halmark card right now but hey... my optimism is helping me get through the "not so bad" nonsense in my life- let it help you get through yours.

I am happy to say that I am now another year older... haha... no, it's not my birthday! I can not get over this age thing (for the new year, if you're in Korea, you turn another year older)... this means I am 25 (you know, I am really 23). When you're born you are 1 (I don't get it but whatever, it's Korea). A friend of mine thought it would be nice to go back a year or two... I agree, as I'm sure you would too.

I am going to keep this blog short because I am on vacation in Daegu (Weagwan... 3 hours north or Gwangju) visiting what I can now call a really amazing friend (we were acquaintances before I came). I know there are a few of you who read my blog every Sunday (that's typically when I post)... you know I'm talking to you, Jack! So, for the sake of my vacation... give me a few days and I will WOW you with some exciting stories and more interesting facts about Korean culture.

If you've got the time and your interested, check me out- (I should have a blog up no later then Wednesday night)... I'll be home because it's back to reality come Wednesday.

Before I go... let me share with you the most overwhelming news of my week: Colleen, one of my pregnant sisters is having a boy! I am so taken back by the fact that I am going to have two nephews. My best friends in the whole world (my sisters) are going to be the most amazing mommas. 2011 will bring some beautiful baby boys- I can't wait! ;)

Love Love Love and SMILE!