Happy Halloween!!!
Monday, October 31, 2011
Time flies when you're having fun, and rice.
Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long since I've posted anything. Life sort of gets away from me. I always mean to post and then I get distracted by something and then I turn around and it's time for class and then I turn around and it's time to go home and then I look at the clock and it's two in the morning. So, exactly like home. :]
The last few weeks have been relatively uneventful. The week after Seoul I had a bit of a cold but nothing serious and it faded within a few days. After spending two weekends traveling and sleeping in strange places, I was ready for a relaxing weekend at home. Spent two days cleaning, doing laundry, watching movies, reading and thoroughly enjoying doing nothing. :]
The next week I unfortunately got my first migraine in Korea which came on Wednesday night and stuck around until Saturday afternoon. I called out of work Thursday and Friday and had to cancel my plans for the weekend to head to Busan to see the friends I made at Global Gathering, celebrate Mark's birthday, and see the International Fireworks Competition. I was disappointed but after two days in bed, a big weekend just wasn't happening. Since I was feeling better on Sunday I decided to finally make my way out to Jangsa beach, the closest beach to my house. Which is about a dollar and 15 minute bus ride. It was wonderful to have my feet in the sand and waves crashing at the shore. I felt like I was home. I've decided as long as I'm by the ocean, I'm never too far from home. Then I grabbed a bus and went to Pohang for some grocery shopping and dinner before heading back home and calling it a night.
Monday came too early, as usual, but with a nice surprise of no student class and only one teacher class. Also, apparently Mr. Pa and Mrs. Keong have decided that they don't want to have English teacher class and since Oeja had a student class this week, that was canceled too. :] The rest of the week sped by with Halloween lesson plans for the high school students and the rest of my easy Directions lesson. Following directions (as in to a place, though I think this week we might cover directions like "Close your face" and "Be silent") and a review on giving directions.
This weekend was fun. I spent Saturday hanging out at home and then got ready and went to Pohang to Tilt for a fabulous costume party. :] I was a black cat. I made ears out of foam board and super glued them to a black headband. Pair that with a black dress, stockings, and some serious eye makeup and eyeliner for a nose and whiskers done by yours truly, and I was pretty attention getting. ;] I met a Marine :D, some of Mark's friends, and a few asian guys on the street haha. I only wore some of the eye makeup (no eyeliner or other face makeup) on the bus, and no ears, which for me was still a lot of makeup, way more than I ususally wear, but the asian guys apparently thought I looked great. And not out of place at all. I felt totally painted but I guess in a culture where women don't leave the house without being dressed and makeuped to the nines, my normal is just not doing it for them haha. Good thing I'm not here to impress anyone. :] So anywho, I had a wonderful time dancing my heart out and enjoying the festivities until about 4 then took a taxi and crashed for the night. Sunday I had plans to go hiking up a mountain on the outskirts of Pohang but a completely overcast sky and shivering temperatures decided otherwise for me. So I spent the day hanging out in Pohang and then made the journey home to my lonely kitty. She misses me so much when I'm gone and is such a cuddler when I come home. Even if it's just being gone at work. It's so cute.
So, now it's Monday again and tomorrow is the first day of November. Hard to believe I've already been here 2 and a half months. I've already seen so much and I can't wait to see everything else the country has to offer. Hope everyone at home is well. Miss you and love you. ♥
The last few weeks have been relatively uneventful. The week after Seoul I had a bit of a cold but nothing serious and it faded within a few days. After spending two weekends traveling and sleeping in strange places, I was ready for a relaxing weekend at home. Spent two days cleaning, doing laundry, watching movies, reading and thoroughly enjoying doing nothing. :]
The next week I unfortunately got my first migraine in Korea which came on Wednesday night and stuck around until Saturday afternoon. I called out of work Thursday and Friday and had to cancel my plans for the weekend to head to Busan to see the friends I made at Global Gathering, celebrate Mark's birthday, and see the International Fireworks Competition. I was disappointed but after two days in bed, a big weekend just wasn't happening. Since I was feeling better on Sunday I decided to finally make my way out to Jangsa beach, the closest beach to my house. Which is about a dollar and 15 minute bus ride. It was wonderful to have my feet in the sand and waves crashing at the shore. I felt like I was home. I've decided as long as I'm by the ocean, I'm never too far from home. Then I grabbed a bus and went to Pohang for some grocery shopping and dinner before heading back home and calling it a night.
Monday came too early, as usual, but with a nice surprise of no student class and only one teacher class. Also, apparently Mr. Pa and Mrs. Keong have decided that they don't want to have English teacher class and since Oeja had a student class this week, that was canceled too. :] The rest of the week sped by with Halloween lesson plans for the high school students and the rest of my easy Directions lesson. Following directions (as in to a place, though I think this week we might cover directions like "Close your face" and "Be silent") and a review on giving directions.
This weekend was fun. I spent Saturday hanging out at home and then got ready and went to Pohang to Tilt for a fabulous costume party. :] I was a black cat. I made ears out of foam board and super glued them to a black headband. Pair that with a black dress, stockings, and some serious eye makeup and eyeliner for a nose and whiskers done by yours truly, and I was pretty attention getting. ;] I met a Marine :D, some of Mark's friends, and a few asian guys on the street haha. I only wore some of the eye makeup (no eyeliner or other face makeup) on the bus, and no ears, which for me was still a lot of makeup, way more than I ususally wear, but the asian guys apparently thought I looked great. And not out of place at all. I felt totally painted but I guess in a culture where women don't leave the house without being dressed and makeuped to the nines, my normal is just not doing it for them haha. Good thing I'm not here to impress anyone. :] So anywho, I had a wonderful time dancing my heart out and enjoying the festivities until about 4 then took a taxi and crashed for the night. Sunday I had plans to go hiking up a mountain on the outskirts of Pohang but a completely overcast sky and shivering temperatures decided otherwise for me. So I spent the day hanging out in Pohang and then made the journey home to my lonely kitty. She misses me so much when I'm gone and is such a cuddler when I come home. Even if it's just being gone at work. It's so cute.
So, now it's Monday again and tomorrow is the first day of November. Hard to believe I've already been here 2 and a half months. I've already seen so much and I can't wait to see everything else the country has to offer. Hope everyone at home is well. Miss you and love you. ♥
Monday, October 10, 2011
Music Lyrics and Mondays
Happy Monday.
or something like that.
So for the last two weeks when I come in on Monday morning to the high school, there is a note or two on my desk on these square white pieces of paper. But the notes are actually lyrics to love songs. They are written in English and it's a man's handwriting. Today's reads "Even though it seems I have everything, I don't wanna be a lonely fool. All of the women, all the expensive cars, all of the money don't amount to you." And the back says "I want something else to get me through this semi-charmed kind of lie." I unfortunately did not keep last weeks, which was lines from 3 different songs, as I assumed it was something random accidentally left on my desk, but I am going to start keeping them from now on. I have no idea who is leaving them but they are not there Friday afternoon, I know because I bring my notebook back from the middle school and leave it on my desk on Friday afternoons, but they are here when I come in Monday morning. It's a mystery... :]
As for this weekend, Seoul was amazing. Friday afternoon I ran home after school for a quick shower and to pack, met up with Mark and Parag (Mark is the guy that lives in Yeongdeok too, and Parag is an English guy from Yeonghae, a town about 10 minutes north) at the bus terminal and was Seoul bound by 6:30. We got in about 11:15 or so, made our way to the subway for a 32 minute ride to Honguk University (I know because they made a bet it would take over/under 30 minutes) and then separated to find our hostels. Mark and I got to ours and the owner tried to tell us that we had booked 1 person for 2 nights instead of 2 for 1, which we argued out, then after insisting he had no room he took us to the sister hostel (we booked at Hey Backpackers and stayed at Hey Backpackers 2), 2 minutes away. We finally got everything sorted, then Mark and I dropped our bags and headed out into the Seoul night. We planned to only stay out for a bit so as not to wear ourselves out for the night to follow, Global Gathering was scheduled to run til 4am, but of course, time got away from us and we crashed back into the hostel at 6:15am. I was in bed asleep by 6:30. Unfortunately, the room I stayed in was right next to a construction site and since it was morning, they were working. Loudly. Pulling steel cable. Continuously. Did I mention loudly? Needless to say I did not rest. So I got up about 8:30 or so, waited for the shower, showered, then crashed on the couch in the main room. I slept there, much better than in the room, until about 10:30 when the owner woke me up asking why I wasn't sleeping in the bedroom. I explained about the noise, he said close the window, duh, it was closed. So then he tells me to go sleep in the other room on the other side of the hostel, where lucky Mark got to sleep in quiet all morning. So I did. And slept, roughly, because by this time people were up and moving around, making no effort to be quiet in the room, until about 12. Then Mark and I gathered our things and headed out to meet up with the group. Except then I found out that instead of neither of us having somewhere to stay Saturday night, Mark's friend had offered to let him stay in the hostel with them, but there was only room for one. So we went around to the hostels in the area trying to find me somewhere to stay, to no avail, and I decided to figure it out when it came time to sleep. My plan basically evolved to, stay out and party til 6, take the subway to the bus terminal, grab a bus, and sleep on the 5 hour ride home. Sounded good, and free, to me.
So we rejoined the group, and started to the festival. This led to a subway ride, and an hour of lost walking, 2 blisters, and an irritated me with 4 men completely unwilling to ask for directions, admit they were lost, or listen to me, who knew where we were supposed to be going, but didn't want to leave the group. We finally made it to the festival, which was as far away from the subway as possible, about 3ish. Luckily, it was a beautiful day, so even with the walk, spirits were high and everyone was just glad to have finally found it. We sat outside for a bit and drank what people had brought with them as we were not allowed to bring it in with us. And started meeting awesome people from the start. About quarter til 5 we gathered our things and our group and headed in to see Example at 5. Checked our bags and claimed a place. Then thoroughly enjoyed the first performance of the night (that we saw.) The rest of the night was spent dancing, drinking, and laughing my cares away. The night ended with a bit of a frustrating walk out, repeatedly having to collect the men, irritating taxis unwilling to take us because the fair wasn't enough, and finally, a wonderfully soft bed, blanket and pillow. Oh yeah, because since we didn't stay out til 6, but rather left Global Gathering about 2:30 - between sore feet and tired everything elses, and a lack of performances worth staying for combined with remaining crowds being excessively drunk and all around not as much fun, there was a general consensus of departing - and some of the girls finding I had no where to stay (this is the same group Mark was staying with that only had room for one) insisted they would double up and I was to stay with them at their hostel. I'm telling you, the people I'm meeting here are some of the best ever. Thanks to Tash, Marie, Candace, Mark, Jason, and Andy (wife) for making Seoul amazing. It's not about the city, it's about the people. And I wish you all lived closer but I can't wait to see you in 2 weeks in Busan! :D
So Sunday morning, I was up and out of the hostel and navigating the streets of Seoul by 8. I found the subway by 8:30, successfully navigated (read CONQUERED) the Seoul subway system, then found and made my way to the bus terminal, grabbed a bit of food and jumped on the bus homeward bound. Not gonna lie, at this point I felt like a boss. Having come over here as public transportation illiterate as I was - I'd never taken a bus, taxi, subway, never used a payphone, or been lost on foot in a city (most certainly not without a cell phone), and just generally had no idea where I was or where I was trying to go (as far as names of stations), throw in the significant language barrier, and I feel like I king when I accomplish any of these things on my own. For most people they are small and insignificant but for me, from Scottsmoor, I've come a long way. Though it is always nice to come home to my small town with a taxi station but none cruising the streets, only one bus terminal, no subway, no trains, and a good ole small town feel. I miss dirt roads and rivers, horses and the country, but I could not be happier with where God has placed me in this country. They don't have country like we do at home, but I'm as close as I could get without it becoming a major inconvenience. So thanks God, I don't know why I doubt you or your aims for me. ♥
The bus ride only took about 4 hours instead of 5 because the roads are clearer Sunday morning than they are Friday night and I was happy to see that my delivery of cat litter, scheduled for Saturday, was waiting for me at the door. Switch was happy to see me and very cuddly to show she missed me. I love coming home to her. :] Unfortunately, I've been doing a bit of research about bringing her home and I'm scared I won't be able to. I found an agency that will do door to door or port to port service but the door to door is 4000-4500 USD. Which is not going to happen. I'm looking into the port to port and I'll see how much that is. Also, when it gets closer, like next year, I will call American Airlines and see if I can just do it without an agency and how much it is that way. Some airlines will let you take the cat as carryon so I could just take her in the cabin with me, which would be ideal. And then during layovers I would just take her to the bathroom, etc. I just can't imagine leaving her behind. I love her and the thought of never seeing her again, just leaving her with someone else just kills me. I can't justify 4000USD but a hundred or two I may be willing to do. And if I'm willing to pay that now, and I've had her for two weeks, in a year I'm really not going to want to give her up. But I don't regret getting her, ever. Most especially now that we've got the training issues worked out. I don't know what the girl I got her from did to her but she is such an affectionate cat, definitely definitely a cuddler, and lets me hold her now. The girl I got her from said she wouldn't let her hold her, and that she wasn't much of a contact cat, not really a cuddler. Maybe I should tell her she was doing it wrong. :] If anything I would say the only cuddling problem I have with Switch is that sometimes she's too close and wants to be too close, read, on my face. Apparently cats think it's a good place to be since Dani did the same thing. Geez I miss my blobcat. Yeap, definitely can't imagine never seeing her again either. Cats just steal my heart, no bones about it.
Anyway, that's my update for today and this weekend. I need to actually do some planning. And figure out what I'm going to do in my English teachers class in 2 hours. Boo. I hate it. I've only had one actual class with them, then the makeshift pizza post-birthday party, then we had Monday off, a school fieldtrip, another Monday off, and then today. Blegh. Why can't they just teach themselves....
Back to work I suppose.
Miss and love you dearly.
♥
or something like that.
So for the last two weeks when I come in on Monday morning to the high school, there is a note or two on my desk on these square white pieces of paper. But the notes are actually lyrics to love songs. They are written in English and it's a man's handwriting. Today's reads "Even though it seems I have everything, I don't wanna be a lonely fool. All of the women, all the expensive cars, all of the money don't amount to you." And the back says "I want something else to get me through this semi-charmed kind of lie." I unfortunately did not keep last weeks, which was lines from 3 different songs, as I assumed it was something random accidentally left on my desk, but I am going to start keeping them from now on. I have no idea who is leaving them but they are not there Friday afternoon, I know because I bring my notebook back from the middle school and leave it on my desk on Friday afternoons, but they are here when I come in Monday morning. It's a mystery... :]
As for this weekend, Seoul was amazing. Friday afternoon I ran home after school for a quick shower and to pack, met up with Mark and Parag (Mark is the guy that lives in Yeongdeok too, and Parag is an English guy from Yeonghae, a town about 10 minutes north) at the bus terminal and was Seoul bound by 6:30. We got in about 11:15 or so, made our way to the subway for a 32 minute ride to Honguk University (I know because they made a bet it would take over/under 30 minutes) and then separated to find our hostels. Mark and I got to ours and the owner tried to tell us that we had booked 1 person for 2 nights instead of 2 for 1, which we argued out, then after insisting he had no room he took us to the sister hostel (we booked at Hey Backpackers and stayed at Hey Backpackers 2), 2 minutes away. We finally got everything sorted, then Mark and I dropped our bags and headed out into the Seoul night. We planned to only stay out for a bit so as not to wear ourselves out for the night to follow, Global Gathering was scheduled to run til 4am, but of course, time got away from us and we crashed back into the hostel at 6:15am. I was in bed asleep by 6:30. Unfortunately, the room I stayed in was right next to a construction site and since it was morning, they were working. Loudly. Pulling steel cable. Continuously. Did I mention loudly? Needless to say I did not rest. So I got up about 8:30 or so, waited for the shower, showered, then crashed on the couch in the main room. I slept there, much better than in the room, until about 10:30 when the owner woke me up asking why I wasn't sleeping in the bedroom. I explained about the noise, he said close the window, duh, it was closed. So then he tells me to go sleep in the other room on the other side of the hostel, where lucky Mark got to sleep in quiet all morning. So I did. And slept, roughly, because by this time people were up and moving around, making no effort to be quiet in the room, until about 12. Then Mark and I gathered our things and headed out to meet up with the group. Except then I found out that instead of neither of us having somewhere to stay Saturday night, Mark's friend had offered to let him stay in the hostel with them, but there was only room for one. So we went around to the hostels in the area trying to find me somewhere to stay, to no avail, and I decided to figure it out when it came time to sleep. My plan basically evolved to, stay out and party til 6, take the subway to the bus terminal, grab a bus, and sleep on the 5 hour ride home. Sounded good, and free, to me.
So we rejoined the group, and started to the festival. This led to a subway ride, and an hour of lost walking, 2 blisters, and an irritated me with 4 men completely unwilling to ask for directions, admit they were lost, or listen to me, who knew where we were supposed to be going, but didn't want to leave the group. We finally made it to the festival, which was as far away from the subway as possible, about 3ish. Luckily, it was a beautiful day, so even with the walk, spirits were high and everyone was just glad to have finally found it. We sat outside for a bit and drank what people had brought with them as we were not allowed to bring it in with us. And started meeting awesome people from the start. About quarter til 5 we gathered our things and our group and headed in to see Example at 5. Checked our bags and claimed a place. Then thoroughly enjoyed the first performance of the night (that we saw.) The rest of the night was spent dancing, drinking, and laughing my cares away. The night ended with a bit of a frustrating walk out, repeatedly having to collect the men, irritating taxis unwilling to take us because the fair wasn't enough, and finally, a wonderfully soft bed, blanket and pillow. Oh yeah, because since we didn't stay out til 6, but rather left Global Gathering about 2:30 - between sore feet and tired everything elses, and a lack of performances worth staying for combined with remaining crowds being excessively drunk and all around not as much fun, there was a general consensus of departing - and some of the girls finding I had no where to stay (this is the same group Mark was staying with that only had room for one) insisted they would double up and I was to stay with them at their hostel. I'm telling you, the people I'm meeting here are some of the best ever. Thanks to Tash, Marie, Candace, Mark, Jason, and Andy (wife) for making Seoul amazing. It's not about the city, it's about the people. And I wish you all lived closer but I can't wait to see you in 2 weeks in Busan! :D
So Sunday morning, I was up and out of the hostel and navigating the streets of Seoul by 8. I found the subway by 8:30, successfully navigated (read CONQUERED) the Seoul subway system, then found and made my way to the bus terminal, grabbed a bit of food and jumped on the bus homeward bound. Not gonna lie, at this point I felt like a boss. Having come over here as public transportation illiterate as I was - I'd never taken a bus, taxi, subway, never used a payphone, or been lost on foot in a city (most certainly not without a cell phone), and just generally had no idea where I was or where I was trying to go (as far as names of stations), throw in the significant language barrier, and I feel like I king when I accomplish any of these things on my own. For most people they are small and insignificant but for me, from Scottsmoor, I've come a long way. Though it is always nice to come home to my small town with a taxi station but none cruising the streets, only one bus terminal, no subway, no trains, and a good ole small town feel. I miss dirt roads and rivers, horses and the country, but I could not be happier with where God has placed me in this country. They don't have country like we do at home, but I'm as close as I could get without it becoming a major inconvenience. So thanks God, I don't know why I doubt you or your aims for me. ♥
The bus ride only took about 4 hours instead of 5 because the roads are clearer Sunday morning than they are Friday night and I was happy to see that my delivery of cat litter, scheduled for Saturday, was waiting for me at the door. Switch was happy to see me and very cuddly to show she missed me. I love coming home to her. :] Unfortunately, I've been doing a bit of research about bringing her home and I'm scared I won't be able to. I found an agency that will do door to door or port to port service but the door to door is 4000-4500 USD. Which is not going to happen. I'm looking into the port to port and I'll see how much that is. Also, when it gets closer, like next year, I will call American Airlines and see if I can just do it without an agency and how much it is that way. Some airlines will let you take the cat as carryon so I could just take her in the cabin with me, which would be ideal. And then during layovers I would just take her to the bathroom, etc. I just can't imagine leaving her behind. I love her and the thought of never seeing her again, just leaving her with someone else just kills me. I can't justify 4000USD but a hundred or two I may be willing to do. And if I'm willing to pay that now, and I've had her for two weeks, in a year I'm really not going to want to give her up. But I don't regret getting her, ever. Most especially now that we've got the training issues worked out. I don't know what the girl I got her from did to her but she is such an affectionate cat, definitely definitely a cuddler, and lets me hold her now. The girl I got her from said she wouldn't let her hold her, and that she wasn't much of a contact cat, not really a cuddler. Maybe I should tell her she was doing it wrong. :] If anything I would say the only cuddling problem I have with Switch is that sometimes she's too close and wants to be too close, read, on my face. Apparently cats think it's a good place to be since Dani did the same thing. Geez I miss my blobcat. Yeap, definitely can't imagine never seeing her again either. Cats just steal my heart, no bones about it.
Anyway, that's my update for today and this weekend. I need to actually do some planning. And figure out what I'm going to do in my English teachers class in 2 hours. Boo. I hate it. I've only had one actual class with them, then the makeshift pizza post-birthday party, then we had Monday off, a school fieldtrip, another Monday off, and then today. Blegh. Why can't they just teach themselves....
Back to work I suppose.
Miss and love you dearly.
♥
Friday, October 7, 2011
Tide pens and tampons.
That was my weekend. Well, that and new kicks, friends, and nicknames.
Thursday and Friday were rough. My students were off the walls both days. Except for conversation classes, which are going wonderfully. Both days I had a class that ended up writing a paragraph about being quiet and respectful in English class, but Friday was the worst. The morning was fine. Nothing great but nothing terrible. Then my second to last class in the afternoon was miserable. Mr. Pa ended up spending 25 minutes yelling at the girls and sent 2 girls out. Then, he had to leave to go to a meeting and not 30 seconds after he walks out of the room the girls were back at it. So they spent the remaining 15 minutes or so copying down a paragraph about respect and being quiet in English class. Then my last class was absolutely amazing. It was the best class I've had since I've been here. So at least it ended well.
Saturday morning I met Susan, a Korean Canadian girl who lives in Yeongdeok. She's with the TALK program, which is like EPIK but a little different. Anywho, we met at the bus terminal and headed to Andong for the Mask Festival. Which was great. I bought a few souvenirs, got henna on my palm, got to dance in the performance with the group that we hung out with for the day, got free dinner, got nicknamed Bruce, and had an overall awesome time. All the people that we hung out with are Susan's friends from TALK and they are a really great group of people. Saturday night we, Susan, Kylie (our traveling companion for the weekend and Susan's roommate from orientation) and myself, stayed with her friend Zach. Sunday morning we explored Andong a bit and got some Jimdeok for breakfast/lunch. Jimdeok is famous in Andong and it was delicious. It is chicken and noodles in a sauce, very good. There is a picture of it on facebook. Then we went back and met up with Zach and another guy named Josh and headed to Daegu. The plan was to stop in Daegu for some American brunch at a place called Lazy Diner, a classic American Diner, and then continue on to Jinju for the lantern festival on Sunday night. However, while in Daegu, we were informed that the lantern festival wasn't worth the bus ride so we decided to just hang out in Daegu for the night.
Daegu is great. It is a city of 3-4 million people so there is lots to do. First, Kylie really wanted to go on this ride that she and Susan had done in Seoul and was in Daegu. So we found it. It was similar to the G-Force rides at fairs but different. Picture a big round saucer with inadequately padded benches about a foot wide, and a couple of bars above the backs of the benches to hold on to. So you spread your arms out to the sides and sort of have to lace arms with the people next to you to hold on. Then they spin you around super fast with one side up so you are spinning at an angle- this is the fun part. The less fun part is when they stop the spinning and start slamming the ride up and down. It is very fast and very hard. The only thing holding you to the ride is your arms which are outstretched and holding on to the railing behind you for dear life while you are being slammed up and down which makes you bounce all over the place. Except bounce is too gentle of a word. So, like bouncing but extremely violently. It's rather unpleasant. So this goes on for about 10 or 15 minutes. It would have been okay if it had been 2 minutes or even 5 minutes. But by 10 minutes, you are exhausted, you are sore, and you still have 5 minutes to go. Now, I should not have even gotten on this ride with my back and all, but in my defense, when we watched the people go before us, there was as much spinning, if not more, than there was slamming. Unfortunately, the guy running the ride apparently has a reputation for liking to really slam foreigners. :/ So with about 2 minutes to go, he gives a big slam, I slip off the bench, land repeatedly on my lower back and tailbone on the edge of the seat, like I have been doing the whole ride, and this time, still holding on to the bar behind me just barely, he slams, and I slam my left elbow into the edge of the seat about an inch above the joint. This bends my arm backwards, my elbow pops, I freak out a little, drop to the floor, attempt to scramble back up into my seat with one arm and without flashing everyone from behind, (jean slippage :/) and can no longer hold back the tears. I can't even see straight from the pain but figure I just have to get back up on the seat and stick out the last 2 minutes. But, Josh, who was sitting next to me, sees me crying, tells them to stop the ride, and Susan gets me off. At this point I don't know if I've rebroken my elbow or what, I just know it hurts and I can't move it. Hurray Korean ride with no safety anything. :/ So, Susan gets me off the ride, takes me into the bathroom to see if everything is okay. I pull myself together, determine it is not broken, I just can't move it, take off my watch because my wrist has swollen and it is uncomfortably tight, and go back out into the main room to wait for the others. They finish the ride and everyone gets off, we gather our things and we're out the door. Susan tells me that she has never seen anyone handle pain so well, which I take as a sort of compliment and fact of life, and the day goes on.
We went to the Lazy Diner after the ride as to avoid upset stomachs. So we get there, it is very cute, with English menus and the works. They had hamburgers for lunch and a breakfast menu with pancakes, french toast, bacon, and eggs. I , of course, went for the breakfast and ordered a french toast with scrambled egg, bacon, and sausage (and salad came with it) with orange juice. It was almost as good as home with the exception of hotdogs which apparently counted as the sausage. :/ But overall, it was delicious and wonderful. My stomach did not agree with that about an hour later but that's what I get for eating that much greasy food. After eating we walked around the streets of Daegu for a bit and found a hat and scarf store where everyone bought something, and then Susan's friend Matt met up with us. We got coffee, hung out, checked out an English book store where I found an awesome book called Soul Cravings, Zach found an English and Korean New Testament bible that he gave to me, and had a lot of laughs. Then Josh and Matt went to get food, and the rest of us, Susan, Kiley, me and Zach, did a bit of wandering around. I got my very first pair of real converse :D (light grey) and Kiley and I got our first Korean haircuts, which were a-mazing (wait til you see pictures.) Then we hit up a few bars and called it a night. Susan, Kiley, Zach and I made our way to a jimjilbang and crashed for the night.
A jimjilbang is a Korean bath house. You walk in and pay, ours was 7,000\, they give you locker keys, one for your shoes, and one for the rest of your things, and a pair of shorts and a shirt. Then you separate into gender specific locker rooms where everyone gets naked and you use a community shower room. There is also sometimes a hot tub, sauna, etc. Ours had those and showers. It was nice to sit in the hot water for a bit after a long day. Then you dry off and put on the clothes they gave you and go to the sleeping room. Most jimjilbangs have community sleeping rooms. So, one for everybody. Some have other options such as jade rooms, where the floor is jade, coal rooms, etc and at different temperatures. Where we stayed there was just the big sleeping room and a hot room which was about 32 C or about 90 F. Oh, and they give you mats to sleep on, cover up with, etc. This was the part I disliked the most. It was my second night sleeping on the floor and after walking around all weekend and going on that ride, it was a rough night and a rougher morning. But, it was cheap and somewhere to sleep. I will probably be staying in one again this weekend when I go to Seoul for Global Gathering. But more about that later.
So we spent Sunday night in the jimjilbang. Monday we had no school as it was a national holiday so we took advantage of being in Daegu and went to Costco. I got 5 lbs, 120 slices, of american cheese, which you can not get anywhere but Costco in Korea. Other people got other foods that you can't find and it was a good day. We grabbed lunch and we split up to our respective bus terminals to find our ways home. I took the subway to DongDaegu station - one of the main ones in Korea, and then a taxi to the little shack that my bus leaves from and was glad to be on my way home. It was the best weekend I have had so far and the first time I was glad that I wasn't going home the next day. I was excited to see what else Korea has to offer and glad for the time I have to enjoy seeing it all. But, it was nice to go home to my apartment and my cat at the end. Speaking of, Switch did very well for being alone for 2 days. She didn't pee on anything, granted I locked her out of my bedroom, but still. And she was skittish and mad at me when I got home but after she realized I wasn't leaving again, she was the sweetest she's ever been, and has stayed cuddly since. She's even almost turning into a lap cat. :]
This week has been good. Standard with not much excitement. I am definitely settling into the swing of things and getting a routine. Middle school is still presenting daily, and hourly, challenges, but we're making progress so it's worth it. And high school has been going on without any hitches which is nice. I am halfway through Friday and can't wait for it to be over. Or for this weekend to start.
After school, I am taking the 6:30 bus, with Mark, to Seoul. Then tonight we will stay in a hostel. And tomorrow is Global Gathering, an electronic dance music festival, which is the reason we are going to Seoul. Then Saturday night we will most likely find a jimjilbang close to the area and crash there for the night/morning and then grab the 2:30 bus home. I am excited. It means Switch will be home alone again this weekend but next weekend I am going to just relax and sightsee closer to home. 2 weekends in a row being away from home is enough for me. Especially since the weekend after next, the 22, there is a big fireworks festival in Busan that I hope to go to. I definitely need a breather in between. The sightseeing and traveling is fun but I need a break in there every once and a while. Plus I found out today that since Thursday and Friday of next week are midterms for the middle school, instead of getting out early, like I thought I was going to, (Mrs. Seong/Oeja told me I would get out after lunch), which would be awesome enough, Mrs. Keong told me today that I don't have to come at all. :D Yay 4 day weekend. Unfortunately, Mrs. Seong also said something about her, Mr. Pa, and Mrs. Keong coming over on Thursday after school for my "housewarming party" and Mr. Pa cooking food. Blah. He hasn't said anything about it though and neither has Mrs. Keong so maybe it won't happen. I'm not looking forward to it. Plus, if they do come over, I either have to take Switch somewhere else, possibly to Mark's, though I haven't asked him, or just tell them I'm watching her for a friend. :/ But with no seating in my apartment, I just really don't want them to come over. Well, that and because I'd rather not spend my free time with Mr. Pa and Mrs. Keong. Oeja I don't mind but the other two... :/ Anywho, I hope it doesn't happen. And then Friday Oeja is going to take me to Pohang so I can finally register my account to send money home and I can get that taken care of. Which is something I need to do but, I still hate errands. :/
Anyway, sorry this is such a novel of a post and that I haven't been posting more regularly. I also have a load of pictures to sort and put up. I will try to do that on Sunday if we don't get in too late. But I am thinking of you all daily. Miss you and love you.
♥
Thursday and Friday were rough. My students were off the walls both days. Except for conversation classes, which are going wonderfully. Both days I had a class that ended up writing a paragraph about being quiet and respectful in English class, but Friday was the worst. The morning was fine. Nothing great but nothing terrible. Then my second to last class in the afternoon was miserable. Mr. Pa ended up spending 25 minutes yelling at the girls and sent 2 girls out. Then, he had to leave to go to a meeting and not 30 seconds after he walks out of the room the girls were back at it. So they spent the remaining 15 minutes or so copying down a paragraph about respect and being quiet in English class. Then my last class was absolutely amazing. It was the best class I've had since I've been here. So at least it ended well.
Saturday morning I met Susan, a Korean Canadian girl who lives in Yeongdeok. She's with the TALK program, which is like EPIK but a little different. Anywho, we met at the bus terminal and headed to Andong for the Mask Festival. Which was great. I bought a few souvenirs, got henna on my palm, got to dance in the performance with the group that we hung out with for the day, got free dinner, got nicknamed Bruce, and had an overall awesome time. All the people that we hung out with are Susan's friends from TALK and they are a really great group of people. Saturday night we, Susan, Kylie (our traveling companion for the weekend and Susan's roommate from orientation) and myself, stayed with her friend Zach. Sunday morning we explored Andong a bit and got some Jimdeok for breakfast/lunch. Jimdeok is famous in Andong and it was delicious. It is chicken and noodles in a sauce, very good. There is a picture of it on facebook. Then we went back and met up with Zach and another guy named Josh and headed to Daegu. The plan was to stop in Daegu for some American brunch at a place called Lazy Diner, a classic American Diner, and then continue on to Jinju for the lantern festival on Sunday night. However, while in Daegu, we were informed that the lantern festival wasn't worth the bus ride so we decided to just hang out in Daegu for the night.
Daegu is great. It is a city of 3-4 million people so there is lots to do. First, Kylie really wanted to go on this ride that she and Susan had done in Seoul and was in Daegu. So we found it. It was similar to the G-Force rides at fairs but different. Picture a big round saucer with inadequately padded benches about a foot wide, and a couple of bars above the backs of the benches to hold on to. So you spread your arms out to the sides and sort of have to lace arms with the people next to you to hold on. Then they spin you around super fast with one side up so you are spinning at an angle- this is the fun part. The less fun part is when they stop the spinning and start slamming the ride up and down. It is very fast and very hard. The only thing holding you to the ride is your arms which are outstretched and holding on to the railing behind you for dear life while you are being slammed up and down which makes you bounce all over the place. Except bounce is too gentle of a word. So, like bouncing but extremely violently. It's rather unpleasant. So this goes on for about 10 or 15 minutes. It would have been okay if it had been 2 minutes or even 5 minutes. But by 10 minutes, you are exhausted, you are sore, and you still have 5 minutes to go. Now, I should not have even gotten on this ride with my back and all, but in my defense, when we watched the people go before us, there was as much spinning, if not more, than there was slamming. Unfortunately, the guy running the ride apparently has a reputation for liking to really slam foreigners. :/ So with about 2 minutes to go, he gives a big slam, I slip off the bench, land repeatedly on my lower back and tailbone on the edge of the seat, like I have been doing the whole ride, and this time, still holding on to the bar behind me just barely, he slams, and I slam my left elbow into the edge of the seat about an inch above the joint. This bends my arm backwards, my elbow pops, I freak out a little, drop to the floor, attempt to scramble back up into my seat with one arm and without flashing everyone from behind, (jean slippage :/) and can no longer hold back the tears. I can't even see straight from the pain but figure I just have to get back up on the seat and stick out the last 2 minutes. But, Josh, who was sitting next to me, sees me crying, tells them to stop the ride, and Susan gets me off. At this point I don't know if I've rebroken my elbow or what, I just know it hurts and I can't move it. Hurray Korean ride with no safety anything. :/ So, Susan gets me off the ride, takes me into the bathroom to see if everything is okay. I pull myself together, determine it is not broken, I just can't move it, take off my watch because my wrist has swollen and it is uncomfortably tight, and go back out into the main room to wait for the others. They finish the ride and everyone gets off, we gather our things and we're out the door. Susan tells me that she has never seen anyone handle pain so well, which I take as a sort of compliment and fact of life, and the day goes on.
We went to the Lazy Diner after the ride as to avoid upset stomachs. So we get there, it is very cute, with English menus and the works. They had hamburgers for lunch and a breakfast menu with pancakes, french toast, bacon, and eggs. I , of course, went for the breakfast and ordered a french toast with scrambled egg, bacon, and sausage (and salad came with it) with orange juice. It was almost as good as home with the exception of hotdogs which apparently counted as the sausage. :/ But overall, it was delicious and wonderful. My stomach did not agree with that about an hour later but that's what I get for eating that much greasy food. After eating we walked around the streets of Daegu for a bit and found a hat and scarf store where everyone bought something, and then Susan's friend Matt met up with us. We got coffee, hung out, checked out an English book store where I found an awesome book called Soul Cravings, Zach found an English and Korean New Testament bible that he gave to me, and had a lot of laughs. Then Josh and Matt went to get food, and the rest of us, Susan, Kiley, me and Zach, did a bit of wandering around. I got my very first pair of real converse :D (light grey) and Kiley and I got our first Korean haircuts, which were a-mazing (wait til you see pictures.) Then we hit up a few bars and called it a night. Susan, Kiley, Zach and I made our way to a jimjilbang and crashed for the night.
A jimjilbang is a Korean bath house. You walk in and pay, ours was 7,000\, they give you locker keys, one for your shoes, and one for the rest of your things, and a pair of shorts and a shirt. Then you separate into gender specific locker rooms where everyone gets naked and you use a community shower room. There is also sometimes a hot tub, sauna, etc. Ours had those and showers. It was nice to sit in the hot water for a bit after a long day. Then you dry off and put on the clothes they gave you and go to the sleeping room. Most jimjilbangs have community sleeping rooms. So, one for everybody. Some have other options such as jade rooms, where the floor is jade, coal rooms, etc and at different temperatures. Where we stayed there was just the big sleeping room and a hot room which was about 32 C or about 90 F. Oh, and they give you mats to sleep on, cover up with, etc. This was the part I disliked the most. It was my second night sleeping on the floor and after walking around all weekend and going on that ride, it was a rough night and a rougher morning. But, it was cheap and somewhere to sleep. I will probably be staying in one again this weekend when I go to Seoul for Global Gathering. But more about that later.
So we spent Sunday night in the jimjilbang. Monday we had no school as it was a national holiday so we took advantage of being in Daegu and went to Costco. I got 5 lbs, 120 slices, of american cheese, which you can not get anywhere but Costco in Korea. Other people got other foods that you can't find and it was a good day. We grabbed lunch and we split up to our respective bus terminals to find our ways home. I took the subway to DongDaegu station - one of the main ones in Korea, and then a taxi to the little shack that my bus leaves from and was glad to be on my way home. It was the best weekend I have had so far and the first time I was glad that I wasn't going home the next day. I was excited to see what else Korea has to offer and glad for the time I have to enjoy seeing it all. But, it was nice to go home to my apartment and my cat at the end. Speaking of, Switch did very well for being alone for 2 days. She didn't pee on anything, granted I locked her out of my bedroom, but still. And she was skittish and mad at me when I got home but after she realized I wasn't leaving again, she was the sweetest she's ever been, and has stayed cuddly since. She's even almost turning into a lap cat. :]
This week has been good. Standard with not much excitement. I am definitely settling into the swing of things and getting a routine. Middle school is still presenting daily, and hourly, challenges, but we're making progress so it's worth it. And high school has been going on without any hitches which is nice. I am halfway through Friday and can't wait for it to be over. Or for this weekend to start.
After school, I am taking the 6:30 bus, with Mark, to Seoul. Then tonight we will stay in a hostel. And tomorrow is Global Gathering, an electronic dance music festival, which is the reason we are going to Seoul. Then Saturday night we will most likely find a jimjilbang close to the area and crash there for the night/morning and then grab the 2:30 bus home. I am excited. It means Switch will be home alone again this weekend but next weekend I am going to just relax and sightsee closer to home. 2 weekends in a row being away from home is enough for me. Especially since the weekend after next, the 22, there is a big fireworks festival in Busan that I hope to go to. I definitely need a breather in between. The sightseeing and traveling is fun but I need a break in there every once and a while. Plus I found out today that since Thursday and Friday of next week are midterms for the middle school, instead of getting out early, like I thought I was going to, (Mrs. Seong/Oeja told me I would get out after lunch), which would be awesome enough, Mrs. Keong told me today that I don't have to come at all. :D Yay 4 day weekend. Unfortunately, Mrs. Seong also said something about her, Mr. Pa, and Mrs. Keong coming over on Thursday after school for my "housewarming party" and Mr. Pa cooking food. Blah. He hasn't said anything about it though and neither has Mrs. Keong so maybe it won't happen. I'm not looking forward to it. Plus, if they do come over, I either have to take Switch somewhere else, possibly to Mark's, though I haven't asked him, or just tell them I'm watching her for a friend. :/ But with no seating in my apartment, I just really don't want them to come over. Well, that and because I'd rather not spend my free time with Mr. Pa and Mrs. Keong. Oeja I don't mind but the other two... :/ Anywho, I hope it doesn't happen. And then Friday Oeja is going to take me to Pohang so I can finally register my account to send money home and I can get that taken care of. Which is something I need to do but, I still hate errands. :/
Anyway, sorry this is such a novel of a post and that I haven't been posting more regularly. I also have a load of pictures to sort and put up. I will try to do that on Sunday if we don't get in too late. But I am thinking of you all daily. Miss you and love you.
♥
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