On the road again...

As most of you know I will be in the air in about a week. I'm sure most of you have also heard about the Northwest Airlines flight to Detroit that had a failed attempt of a bombing. I have been reading these stories, and all the extra measures they are putting in place. I am worried. Much to my dislike, I have to fly through the USA, on an NWA flight, to get home. I really dislike this route even when everything is nice in the world. I only have an hour and fifteen to get off the plane from Tokyo, pick up bags, and go through customs and security and whatever else they may ask... I hope the cards are in my favor:)

FREEBIRD

Jinny, Scarlett, Rachel, Ruby and Me
I am so FINISHED!! I am thrilled to finally have a vacation. It will be nice to really have no plans. I am looking forward to Christmas. I hope that I can make some of my favorite things, and have a really nice time with Mark and friends.
My coworkers are the best! I don't think I could have made it without them. They are so kind and funny and sweet. I am glad I have friends like these for my time in Korea. See you later girls. I'll miss you

Experimenting with Picasa

Full Circle

ONLY 10 WORKING DAYS LEFT!!! ASHA (thats korean for I have, and very excited). I am so over this contract. This year has had its ups and downs, but for the most part it was positive. I love most of my kids, and my fellow teachers are brilliant. I am really going to miss those girls. Thankfully I will still be able to see them after the curtain falls.
I really like Korea. It has a beautiful landscape and most of the people are friendly and kind. I don't particularly like the foreigner culture because it is often saturated with alcohol, which when consumed in these vast quantities the outcome is never good. I am so lucky to have Mark, otherwise I may have caved a long time ago. I see other people struggle with loneliness, and it doesn't look like much fun.
I'm a little nervous but mostly excited to come home. It is going to be great.
See you in 33...

My New Nephew

His name is Ethan, and he is pretty cute!
I must say that I was anxious and nervous for his arrival. By the sounds of it Auntie Mandy was losing it more than momma was. I am not sure why I was so worried. But it was so intense like grounds for mental incarceration break down! Poor Mark had to deal with an overly hormonal me, and we aren't even the ones having the baby.
Anyway I can't wait to get home and meet him!
My dear friend Glenis also had a baby this week, Tyson. I can't wait to get home to all the screaming babies!!

Is your screaming child pissing you off?

... then just park the stroller and the baby outside on the street, and leave. He will stop crying eventually right? I just saw this happen. Ok, now he comes back in to Starbucks even more upset because his mother left him alone screaming and crying on the street! wtf

Korean Halloween

Halloween is not celebrated in Korea. I thought sweet! I hate Halloween. The day before I get the news that the foreigner has to dress up. I ask is anyone else? No, just you! Oh great! I was angry. So I decided to be Hello Kitty. I was angry Kitty for awhile, but then I just got over it. It was fun, but one sure has to develop a thick skin, as all the students laughed and pointed and screamed in horror, as they passed by with there dagger like fingers in my face. It was awful.
Like all children on sugar, my classes consisted of a lot of screaming for no apparent reason. Is that why I don't like Halloween?

Holy Heck its almost October!

Where has all this time gone? I remember being overwhelmed and wanting to come home, seems like yesterday; or maybe that was yesterday! No I had yesterday off. Korea is always so much more enjoyable when I am not at work.

I applied for a public school job. I hope it works out. It maybe less pay, but more vacation! I hope to have an interview in the next month. I hope it is a sweet school so that I can stay for a couple of years.

The thanksgiving holiday is this week!! YIPPEE. It is called Chuseok. It is the biggest National holiday. It is similar to Christmas in North America. Many people go to there grandparents houses where they eat and drink into oblivion. I am so excited to have 5 days off, I don't know what to think. I think we are going to hang around Busan and see all the sights we have yet to see. I am pumped.

So I am also entering week 6 of my Body-for-Life program. It is intense weight and cardio training. I have shed about 1-2 kgs, but my body shape has definitely changed! I am so pumped. It is a 12 week program, and for my prize for working through it, is buying the little black dress (or any dress really)! I am so excited. Finally doing something that is completely for me, and it is going to improve my life exponentially!!

Ciao

28 and lovin' it

It was my first birthday in Korea. It was a little difficult. My two good Canadian friends in Busan happened to be away, so instead Mark and I went for Chicken and Beer with my Korean coworkers. It was fun. But 2 out of 4 don’t really drink much, and the other 2 out of 4 don’t really speak much English, so it was difficult to relax and both parties were struggling to express themselves, and have the others understand.
On Saturday we went to Wazwan for some delicious Indian food. It was awesome!
At school on Friday both groups of teachers bought me a cake and sang happy birthday. Then a number of my students and classes wished me happy birthday as well. They were cute. We had fun together.

....

OH yeah, Mark brought me home a ring.... don’t worry folks we won’t be getting married until we get back to Canada. It will be another 2 or 3 years. That’s all the details we have.

Our First Dinner with some Rich Korean Guy

My co-worker friend Vannet invited us to join her and her family friend for dinner on Sunday night. Our initial plan was to go scuba fishing, but it was canceled do to rain. Her friend, Jae Hyun, wanted to meet foreigners and make some friends. At first sight me did not know he was excessively rich. We enjoyed some nice Nolboo Jigae and then went for coffee. He gets his car and it happens to be a sweet black Audi Sedan of some kind. I felt really funny in that car. That car is probably more than all the money I have had access to in my life. He is either an architect or a construction manager of his own company, and he his only 35. He is single which also seems strange as rich men don’t tend to last very long in Korea, so I have heard. It was a little difficult to communicate as Vannets English is limited and Jae Hyun is more limited; and as for Mark and I our Korean is nil. All in all it was fun and we are going to go to Taejondae together in a couple of weeks. He is very activate, which mean he will be able to show us some great stuff around Korea.

Randomness

A few things have been happening that I have met to write about. It can all be summed up in one word ‘strangee’.

A couple of weeks ago I was waiting in the subway station to meet Clare for dinner. While I was waiting I noticed a crowd of maybe Southeast Asian men milling around. One in particular walked past me a couple of times. On his next trip by, he stopped to ask me a question. I am not sure what language he was speaking, so then he tried Korean, which I replied no again. I said I was from Canada, and he made a funny sound that indicated I was a hopeless case. Before he departed back to his friends, he gave me an ice cream cone! I tried to decline, only because I was going to eat supper in 10 minutes, but he insisted. Needless to say Clare and I enjoyed a laugh and an ice cream cone before dinner.

Another night after a delicious meal at Wazwan (greatest Indian food restaurant in Busan), we were on the subway politely minding our business waiting for our stops to arrive, when suddenly this old Korean man is saying “coffee, coffee” and give us each a dollar. I was surprised and a little freaked out. At first we tried to insist that he take his money back, but he would have none of that. So we sat there uncomfortably, not touching the money and not really knowing what to do, and the train full of people looking at us to see what we would do. It was my stop so Michaela and I decided that we would just leave the money on the seat. Unfortunately for me, I was getting off at the same stop as this guy, so I ran to another exit and successfully lost him. I was never really afraid he was going to hurt me, he was just really creepy.

I find out later that there are such things as ‘coffee girls’. These women are essentially escorts. Prostitution is illegal, but in Korea a person can get anything delivered at anytime. The lady delivers the coffee, and you can imagine the rest. I am not sure what that old guys intentions were; maybe he just wanted to talk to some foreigners.

Hello... Anyong.... Gudentock???

I have a German kid in one of my intensive classes!!! Seriously... My co teachers didn't tell me anything, except "This Simon kid is kind of ...troubled.." No mention that he only speaks German, not Korean or English! I met his mother outside of class and she apologized for his behavior. I asked her what his English name is and she responded with "he doesn't have an English name, that's why he's here, to learn English." I later find out his name is Simon, that sounds like English to me. He is a good kid, but he is easily bored and distracted. I kinda like having another European person in the room. Now I am not the only one they stare at!

EE-DAY-HO

Went to a Lotte Giants game on Thursday. We played the Kia Tigers and kicked some ass!! We left after 7 innings (14-2). They had this paper cutout of EE DAY HO. He is one of their star players. They have a great chant every time that he comes up to the plate. It is really fun to be at the games. They have chants and songs for anything and everything possible. Unfortunately we were sitting in the opponents section so we didn't get the full feel of the locals, but nevertheless, it was still awesome.

Camping Trip

We camped out near a temple. There is a beautiful creek and there were many people frolicking in the river. We had to cross the river to set up our tent, IT WAS COLD. We were woken up on Thursday morning by the mad screams of an old lady (ajumma) giving hell to some young campers who had set their tent up in front of hers. I didn't think people would get upset about that, being Korea and all! When we came out of the tent, we found that some one had parked in front of our tent.
People playing and picnicking on the river.


Suknam-sa is the name of this temple. It happens to be the only temple in Korea where there are only female monks. It is also one of the only temples where a temple stay is not allowed. It is so beautiful. Set right in between the mountains and a river. This temple also houses one of the oldest pagodas in Korea. You can see the pagoda in the picture.
Corn on the cob is a common snack in Korea. A monk gave us as a treat. It tasted kinda gross, sort like more rice.
The river that winds through the temple grounds.

Another excellent Monday

Michaela and I had a great day of coffee, shopping, hiking, dinner and a movie. It was so awesome to get back on Jangsan. I had been hiking that mountain 3 times a week before this dreadful rain. Much to my surprise the trails were washed out and it looked like it just finished raining. Apparently Busan has not seen this much rain in the past 20 years, so that explains everything. Here are a few picks from the day.
This is part of the path that was washed out.

A nice place to take a rest.

Highlights from Mudfest

Boryeong Mudfest

This is the beginning of one dirty day. We had a hard time finding the mud, so we were in the mud prison where they threw buckets of mud at the prisoners.

We had just found the colored mud.

Apparently the mud has qualities in it that are good for your skin. But with about 2000 people rolling around in it I think I am lucky i didn't get crabs! This year is has been extremely rainy so some school children, and some Mudfesters actually developed a skin rash. It was uncomfortable but the medi-tent had pills and cremes on hand.

Most Awesome Monday

Today was just a really super day! It was so much fun! I had the best haircut and color today. My blond hair had turned green on me, so I wanted to take care of that. We decided to go brown-red. I also got my bob style back. I just may never have long hair, unless of course it is fake. I was a bit overwhelmed because most of the time there were two people on my head at all times; blow drying and applying dye. They had these little ear caps (like a shower cap) they were handy. They put a dryer on my hair for a while, and it played lullabies. At first I didn't believe my plastic covered ears, but then I recognized 'London Bridges' and 'Twinkle Twinkle'. It was odd as I wouldn't want to fall asleep under that heat.

After the wonderful 2.5 hour hair experience, Clare and I went to Costco. It just opened last weekend. I can't believe that I am a card carrying member. I hate shopping there at home, and I think the same goes for the Korean Costco. But we found PICKLES, CHEESE AND CINNAMON BUNS. My oh my I never thought I would get that excited over a pickle!

On the way home we caught a cab. The driver could speak some English, so he started to show us pictures of his grandchildren and children. We started making comments 'like the baby is so cute' and then when a picture of his youngest son came around 'Oh, he is cute'. We all started laughing. By the time we got home, he was telling me that his son and I should have a "booking". His son is a trainer, so that is what I think he meant by booking, but he could have meant date for all I know. It was hilarious!

Such a wicked day!

Mandy's Book Club

I finished "Mouthing the Words" by Camilla Gibb. She is so amazing. I love her style. Her descriptions are so vivid, it sometimes is a little creepy. I thought is was an easy read, but the more I reflect on it the more I get out of what she was trying to say.

I also have finished Still Life with Rice by Helie Lee. It is a story about a Korean American woman who writes about the life of her Korean grandmother. It is a great historical piece as it follows the grandma from before she got married, her fleeing to China as the Japanese invaded, their return to Pyongyang, North Korea, and then ultimately their long and ardous journey across the 38th parallel in South Korea. It is such a compelling story. It gave me some insight into Korean culture and why some times they seem so hard, and why some have a genuine dislike for waegooks (foreigners). It was a really great book.

I have now started "Native Son" by Richard Wright. So far so good.

DokkBokki

This is some of my favorite food in Korea. It is rice cakes, hard boiled eggs, fish cakes and noodles in a spicy red sauce. Most Koreans feel it is a snack. It is so delicious but the nutritional value is probably pretty bad, since it is all sticky rice and noodles. I add onions and cabbage to mine, as I need to have some vegetables in the mix. YUMMY YUMMY.

HUMID

Oh my gosh, it is getting very uncomfortable here. For the past three days it has been so foggy. Today it is finally raining, and I mean down pour. Apparently the humidity is about 90%! I use KMA to check the weather. Looks like no matter where you live, the weather people can never get it right;)

P.S. Of course kids say whatever is on their minds; "teacher why wet?" (pointing to my underarm), I gruff back, "because its hot!" Kids, they are making me so self conscious!

Mandy's Book Club

I have been reading like crazy. Here is the latest.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

This book is really good. It shows the tumultuous life of an immigrant family, and how the decisions from generations past, affect the life of a young hermaphrodite in the present. It was so well written. I won't spoil it.

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Well this was a painstakingly long read! I don't even know where to start or finish. I guess in reflection the story comes together, but it was a really slow start for me, it actually never picked up. But I just didn't want to quit as I had put in so much effort.

Next on the book list: Mouthing the Words by Camilla Gibb
She is one my favorites. This Wiki link doesn't say much about her. She has a PhD from Oxford in Social Anthropology- I wish!! Her other books are great. I love her writing.

Please send your book suggestions my way, I am always looking for a good read.

Happy Half Way Anniversary!!

It has already been 6 months. This week has been better. Apparently everyone gets a case of the blues at this period in their contracts; some say it can last 2 months. I bloody well hope not!

A friend and I have started project "perky butt"- yes just a fancy name for climbing Jangsan Mountain three days a week. We have done this 3 times and have yet to find the peak! Today we came to something that resembled the makings of a trail to the top, but alas, we just can't find it! The first day we hiked to the Helipad, but that wasn't the top either. Sheesh. The map at the bottom is obviously misleading. Whatever we have accepted our plight, and think that it is actually a good thing, that way we won't become bored with such ventures into the woods.

Mark is going back to Canada for the last time tomorrow. His defense is set for June 23. I am so happy for him. The school thing is going to be over. I wonder what it will be like? We have never been in this relationship without one of us being in school. I have a feeling will be just fine; and travelling a lot!! I think that he will be back in early July.

Well thats all for now folks, love you
Big Hugs

Korean Funeral

Funerals everywhere are sad and somber. When a young person dies it is tragic and heartbreaking. My Korean co-workers brother died of a heart attack while on a business trip in Vietnam. This was especially difficult as they had to go to another country to get the body released.
The hospitals work with the families as the services are in the basement. There is no body just a picture with flowers. Which I was extremely glad. I hate the sight or presence of a dead body. The tradition is that a person bows 2 1/2 times to the dead and 1 time the family. It was a very nice ritual. A sense of mutual respect and sadness. Most Korean people do not touch each other, so hugs are not often given.
The family has another room across the hall where the eating and drinking takes place. The family stays at this place for nearly three days. So during this time, people can come and go as they please. Which I also felt was nice, as then there is not just one awfully sad and for me dreadful day. I was told that usually these wakes are usually more lively and up beat as they truly celebrate ones life. My co workers and I went after work on the first night of the wake, so that's why we went a t 1130pm. Most of the people from the school were there. I was a little embarrassed as I was a crying mess. No body else was shedding tears, but leave it to me, I can cry for a thousand people. I was not sure if I should go, as I did not want to offend the family, so I was a bit emotional at work when I asked if it would be alright. I think I have utterly confused the poor girls that I work with.
The verdict on funerals-- they are crappy no matter what country they are in.

Almost 6 Months.... warning pity party ahead

Sorry about the shortage of blogs. Blah is how I have been feeling for the last 3 weeks or so. I have been sick for the third time this year. I never get sick.

I have been here for almost 6 months (13th). How is it going? Well it has its ups and downs, lately more severe than usual. Everything is always hard to do. So often I find that I would rather stay in my apartment than try to brave Korea. As I write this I feel so selfish. There has been a lot of death and sadness in some of our closest friends lives, so my concerns seem so lame. Part of me really wants to come home, but then what am I going to do?
Korea is not the place to be when you are trying not to concern yourself with where you fit, or what you should have accomplished by a certain age. A common opener is 'how old are you?', 'are you married?'. To the latter question I have resigned myself to just saying yes, as there is no Korean equivalent for common-law or shacked up.
I came to Korea for money and now I am paying for it. Whenever a person is motivated by money, the bottom always falls out. The money is not what I thought I would be making. I had intentions of paying off my student loans within a year, but that is far from likely. I am not sure how long it is going to take. That will teach me. I am going to do some better research so that my motives for being here, move away from money.
As for the job, I give teachers all the respect in the world. I am NOT a teacher, nor have I ever or will ever claim to be. I can not connect with these little kids. For one they have no idea what I am saying nor do they care. My older kids on Saturday I really enjoy as we often talk about things that I can't exactly ask my peers. Kids are so honest and they don't factor in what the country would want them to say. The last President recently committed suicide, so we talked about that. They were also able to tell me a little about their political views. I wish I could have those kind of classes all the time. I love being around people, just not little people.
I was thinking that I should become fluent in Korean and pursue a job in tourism or some corporate job. But once again I am the lazy foreigner (in comparison to a Korean) and have not taken any steps to get my shit together.
I am sorry for bringing you all down, I promise not to write the shitty stuff anymore, except for my funeral experience.

I hope you are well
Peace

Part Deux

The above is how you say... Seuh-ta-buk-seuh-kuh-pee... in Korean.
These photos were from the Insadong market. It was a really busy street and of course lots of foreigners.

Buddha's Birthday (May 2, 2009)

Finally here are some of the pictures from Seoul. I believe that each of these lanterns had some kind of note attached to them. I am not sure if they are even notes, I will try to find out.

SEOUL

I have finally made it to Seoul. My first impressions left me a little dissappointed. I was expecting giant buildings, and to feel overwhelmed like in London. (I heard I was in the wrong part of the city!) But this was very different. We arrived in at 10 am so we did not see any of the city lights. We also came in on a day that was overcast.

Our goals of the trip were to basically shop and eat Western food, and that we did. That dang sub was good;)

Our first shopping area was in Myeoung-dong (sp?). It is a large university area. We found Forever 21 which is an American clothing store, and spent nearly 3 hours in there. It was 4 stories high, and we took over the change room twice! It was nice to be able to find some clothes, but not pants:(

We then travelled to Itaewon. Which is THE foreign area of the city. The american army base is near there, so we were overwhelmed with foreigners or waegooks (in korean speak). I have to say that I do not miss being included/ evasesdropping on english conversation, especially american GI ones! I was expecting more from the area but left disappointed. But we did have a fantastic Thai meal at 'Buddhas Belly'- it was so good.

That evening we hit up a temple. It was Buddha's Birthday (May 2) and the temples were an exciting place to be. There were thousands of lanterns hung everywhere. It was so pretty, and we went at night so the colors were awesome. It was so peaceful and calm.  I will post some pictures later.

The next day we went to Insa-Dong, which is a traditonal market. It was exactly what I was hoping for. It was so busy, but they had many things, and things that I have not been able to find in Busan. I found some really cool Korean masks, but couldn't decided which to get, so I will buy them next time we are there. 

To finish a hard days shopping we went for a pedicure. It was nice as our feet were black, smelly and sore. My girl worked so hard. At one point she had to take a minute and stretch her shoulders, she was filing so hard. I promptly apologized, and we all had a great laugh. I think I embaressed her, so I left her a tip. Unfortunately she really took to much off my heels because they kinda hurt when I walk. 

We came back to Busan, and thankfully I had another two days off to recover. May 5 was Childrens day, so no work- yippee!! That was the longest vacation I will have in Korea, its so sad. It was so hard to go back to work yesterday. 

Where are you from?

....from Russia? 

Thankfully it was a woman asking me this dreaded question. It happens that she it learning the language and was thinking she could practice. I was so relieved that she was female, because for foreign women this question is often a proposition, not an information kinda question. 

I need to get a t-shirt that says I am not Russian.

Marks BACK!!

YIPPEE!! Mark is back. I am so happy! and so spoiled!

Book Comments: The Lovely Bones SPOLIER WARNING AHEAD!!

SPOILER WARNING!!

This book was a good read. It was written very well and from quite a different perspective: a dead girl watching from heaven. I have to honestly say that overall the book really freaked me out. Maybe I am a sucker for the psychic realms, but it just seemed to real. The way that this girl describes her life and death, and after her death, was truly haunting. I felt that it also speaks volumes about a parents instincts. They always know deep down what the truths are, whether they choose to follow through on it is another story.

I'll just leave it at that, to not ruin it for everyone. Please give me your comments I would like to hear them.

Next Read: 'Middlesex' by: Jefferey Eugenides

Old Man Alvin

One of my favorite students just cracks me up.

Me: How are you today Alvin?

Alvin: Not Bad (he says with his old man face and sly grin)

Me: What are you doing for Children's Day?

Alvin: Taking a Nap! ( he is 11)

I laughed for so long the students began to ask me "teacher what so funny?"
He just embodies such an old man, I love it.

Land of the Rude Awakenings

Ding dong ding dong, it is 830 and a mysterious message comes over the loud speaker in a language that I can not understand. Spring out of bed to find out where this noise is coming from. Whew, no one is in my apartment.
Bang bang bang, 10am, two men are at the door, and knocking on other doors as we speak. One man is carrying a strange canister, the other is the old man security dude from the front,luckily this is the one that can sort of speak English. They want to come in, what? So buddy comes in with the strange can and starts spraying. It stinks immediately in many ways; [whenever they come to 'fix' things they leave a huge mess and black foots prints everywhere]. The shoes prints are being laid, but thankfully he put on my slippers to meander through the rest of my apartment, spraying said substance.
Finally it is over, but now what. In broken and simple words we try to communicate. Spray for bugs, 30 minutes wash, 30 minutes bye bye. So effectively they have kicked me out of my house. Okay, guess it is a good time to go for a walk...

Twilight

Since I have arrived in Korea, it seems that I have been blowing through books. I think I have been averaging about 1 book every week or week and a half. So my old eyes are noticing the difference, but I am so glad I can read whatever I want-- no textbooks!!

I just finished the 'Twilight' series and was somewhat disappointed. The book is fantasy. A human girl falls in love with a vampire and her best friend turns out to be a shape shifter. This love triangle has its own problems as vampires and shape shifters are enemies. Needless to say the books were a bit over worked, and drawn out! She could have done it in 3 books easy instead of 4 at 600 pages each.

It turns out that the author is a practicing Mormon and her books reek of that fact! Throughout the entire series she is pushing her abstinence agenda. Without any question in her writings, the vampire and the human girl have to get married before they can have sex. And as many of these stories go, she gets knocked up the first time they have sex!! Why didn't she educate the girl about methods of birth control? I hate this abstinence agenda. People should be educated in all aspects of their bodies including their sex organs. They are not merely for reproductive purposes (if even your mother told you so, or better yet never told you anything at all). I know that the story had to follow this path to end, but there are so many places who rely on this agenda, and forget to empower their children with as much information as possible. It is just so sad that school boards and parent committees are not even allowing condom machines in high schools, and even some universities/ colleges in the US. They are old enough to make their own decisions, so shouldn't they also choose to protect themselves?

Well glad that's off my chest. Now on to something different - 'The Lovely Bones' by Alice Sebold.

I love paying TAXES...

... especially when you get it back!
Thanks to the hard work of my mother-in-law my taxes are filed and I am filthy rich;) I am so glad that my bad debt is taken care of. I think it took a mere 5 minutes to pay off those stinkin' credit cards! I am glad I will not have to use those bloody cards again, at least until I am back in Canada! Just wanted to share the good news. Now only the student loans to take care. I am estimating another 20 months for that. That is great considering my pay back period is 14 years. Sick :p

CONFUSED

On Sunday I had another Korean language lesson. Unfortunately for me, the teacher this week could not speak a lick of English. We all had a headache a a look similar to this one throughout the entire class. However this was a great experience to have, as I could really feel the depth of what my students are going through. Like, she talks too fast, I only caught one word, why is she using her arms like that. I am glad that we had this teacher, but I hope the other teacher is back next week.
I picked up a book of words and a Korean-English dictionary on the way home to try and get a handle on this. It is very difficult, no wonder everyone stresses teaching children language. Adult brains question to much, do not repeat enough and are to self conscious and not confident enough. I sometimes ask my kids to teach me words as they will say it many many times until I get it right. Plus they get a kick out of how silly I sound!

po'k-kot ch'uk-che` [Cherry Blossoms Festival]

There are many events going on around the country this weekend, as it is peek season for the cherry blossoms. I am not going to make it, but I plan on checking out a beach/road where there are many trees. But I snapped a few pictures on the way to work to show you what my streets are looking like.
Enjoy!

... continued...

yes how can this continue? It can!!
Yesterday He actually managed to say 'phat', as I cringed he seemed confused. At least I was able to also teach him the word SLIM as thats what he was trying to describe, with the hand gestures.
I tried making a joke out of the situation, as the phat girl inside always does, when she is mortified/ horrified/ scared. He mentioned that my hair looked nice, so I turned it on him and said his hair looks 'two thumbs up'. We both laughed so I don't think that conversation was lost in translation.
Part of me considered stopping my exercise plans/ goals just so that he would leave me alone. But we are beyond that, because now he would tell me that I am getting fat! I guess I better keep on track and just get used to the constant attention that appearance gets here in this country.
I mean CONSTANT. I saw a girl walking down the street with a hand held mirror in one hand (and of course "hand p'on" in the other) [p'on= phone in English]. Women and men are always looking at themselves in any reflective surface there is. If there is no mirror in sight, the phone is held up and a quick picture is taken, to ensure proper hair placement.
So if I come back to Canada and can't stop looking at my self, please don't be offended;)

AWKWARD...

yesterday my boss decided to tell me what he thought about me. He thinks that I am getting more beautiful everyday, "did you get a boyfriend" he asked. Because in Korea women often get more beautiful when they have a boyfriend. Through the interpreter she explained that he went back to Canada, so he was confused. And asked, well what could it be then? I had to mime that I was running and that the weather is more beautiful, so I feel better.
He also told me that my head/ face was getting smaller, and gave me a thumbs up. It was really uncomfortable, but is was so funny. We were all laughing so hard. Usually he tries to stay miles away from me.
Mark you better get back so that you can beat him up for talkin' about your girl;)

Jalgalchi Fish Market

Jalgalchi Fish Market (click the link for better details)
After the lesson we walked around the market. It was a beautiful day and it was packed! The women are in charge of selling the fish, so there was really no men in the scene except for the ones shopping. These women are working so hard, because there are hundreds of them often selling all of the same products! What a life, any farming life how difficult (in Korean 'uh reup a'--difficult)
Here are a few pictures that I could get, my camera is sometimes to big for those candid snap shot opportunities.
Enjoy!

PAY ATTENTION!!!

Second language lesson under my belt.... but a little violation from the teacher will keep my ego intact. Little did the teacher know that I was actually trying to write the word for nose in Korean, in English, and phonetically. So maybe I was unable to talk as well. And then she tried to get me to stand up and have a "conversation" with another student. That is when i really panicked, and just getting repeating "no no no no no no no no no". I was really scared that she wasn't going to leave me alone!!
But teacher, just so you know, I will be ready for you next Sunday!!

Tears in my taco seasoning

I just received another package to day from sara bear and big D. My inventory has went up to 3 kilos of mini eggs, more soup and Old el paso taco seasoning. I almost cried, I felt so loved! Funny isn't it that soup and spice can make me so incredibly happy!!

I was feeling so narsasitic today. I wore some of my new clothes which made me think that I am kinda pretty. I was just so happy. I have the best family (meaning parents and brothers and sisters) , thanks for taking care of me.

PACKAGE HAS ARRIVED!!

Mom and Dad your package finally got here!! You took me literally when I asked for soup- 9 boxes should do--lol and 2 kilos of mini eggs, nice. I think that was one of the best presents of my life! I am so happy I am just sitting here laughing, all by myself:)

Another note. I had my first Korean language lesson on Sunday. It was held at a Christian center, that was also a migrant workers center. The class consisted of people mostly from the Philippines . I later found out that English is a national language there. It was fun to be around foreigners who weren't white, American, English or Canadians. The lessons are free, you just have to buy the text book. [vowel sounds: a, ya, uh, yuh, oh, yo, ooo, euh,eee] I just have to memorize what the characters look like and I will be ready for next week.

After the class we had lunch. It was called Duek-bogi. It is a soup with ramen noodles, hard boiled egg, fish cakes and rice cakes. It is spicy and it was really good.

I then proceeded to go shopping. I found some pretty scarves in the market and then went to Seomyeon and found 2 dresses and 2 sweaters. I also bought some lipstick. It was such a fun day, I almost forgot that Mark was not here...almost.

On that note, it has been fine so far. I know that people were worried about that, and so was I. But I am in our home, with our things, even if it happens to be in Korea. It is spring here and the mood of the city and the people is changing. I guess no matter where you live spring can never come soon enough.

In Korea with spring comes 'Yellow Dust'. This is all the pollution coming over from China. It is apparently pretty bad for ones respiratory system, but thankfully it will go away soon. I guess I should buy a mask. I wouldn't want to get some yellow sickness.

Thanks mom and dad for the package, I will now proceed to gorge myself with mini eggs!

Mark is Gone....

what am I going to do without my constant?? I am imagine it will be lots of girl things, lots of pages of books and hopefully lots of Korean language lessons, so that when he comes back we will be able to go anywhere and eat anything that we want!!
I know he wanted to by me flowers before he left, so I picked up 3 pink roses, a bunch of yellow freesia and some green chrysanthemums. Quite lovely if I say so myself.
So don't worry about me, I will be fine. Call me some time though.

Update

Hey so it has been a while since I last posted. Some things went down so I didn't feel like thinking about home. But thankfully I have been able to talk with my sisters (brothers your next), and they made me realize how amazing my family, in every sense of the word, really is. They expect nothing from me and pass no judgments, they even think that I am kinda funny! Weird, right?!

Well the kids at school never cease to say the strangest things. On Saturday I have been teaching older students (13,14), and the student asks me what is that thing in my nose. So I explained, and he said "that's terrible" . I asked my and he replied because it would hurt. The other student pipes up and says " I don't like because it is made of 9/11 terror!" I strongly replied "NO". But what the hell is that all about? I have no idea where a kid who can barely understand English pull that from.

I got to play this fun game, Settlers of Catan, with some girlfriends last night. It was fun to have a girls night, as of course Mark was still plugging away at the dang thesis!! But we had fun listening to music and exchanging books and magazines. Thanks girls.
Sara and Dalas buy this game and learn how to play so that when I get home, everyone will know how to play already;)

I had the day off today, so a whole lot of nothing was accomplished, it was awesome. I keep waiting for the package Mom and Dad sent, but nothing yet!!

Ciao

RECESSION

Well it looks like my way to fortune has come undone. Yesterday the won closed at an all time low. So where does that leave me? I have no idea. Wait it out here... but I don't want to stay here for a decade to ride this wave. If I go back to Canada then what? I hope Starbucks or my brother in law will give me a job;) I am just worried, because I really wanted to pay off my student loans; probably so I can just get another one. Hopefully things will turn around in a short amount of time. Mark posted a really good piece on his blog about this topic check it out.

Peace

Photo Story (Full Moon Celerbration) continued

The Women Dancing.

The Stage and Traditional Dancers.

The Crowd Dancing.

The Fire Burning Out.