Hello Auggie Teacher!

New Blog Location: New Blog Name!

2010-12-01T19:22:00.001-08:00

Hello Readers

I have moved my blog.

You can now find me at

www.auggie-talk.blogspot.com

I will no longer be making full updates on "Hello Auggie Teacher!" however, all previous posts I have made have been imported to the new address. Really, it's the same blog, just a new name.

A couple of things are going to change, and I'm still in the process of importing the website information and links from this blog to the new one.

Anyway, I hope that you all will continue to follow me at my new (not really but kind of) location!

Thank you thank you!

See you at Auggie Talk!

~A.

GMAT and the Plank: A painful combination!

2010-11-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

It's Sunday morning here in SK and the sun is shining brightly!

Plans today include studying, laundry, studying, exercise, and then more studying.

Also I will be making regularly scheduled visits to ART ESPRESSO and CAFE BENE. I considered Rotiboy, but I doubt I'd have enough willpower today to stay away from the "Cream Cheese Boy" bun. At 218 calories it doesn't seem too bad, but man, they load that thing down with sugar!

SK Bread

Sugar. That's the issue I have with a lot of Korean baked goods. Even the breads (not the pastry items, the BREAD) is sweetened and it drives me absolutely up a wall.

I pass a bread shop and see GARLIC BREAD sitting temptingly in the window. Before I go in I have to remind myself what my first Garlic Bread experience was like here in Korea. I was so excited to see it! I went in, bought it, came out and walked home with a happy skip in my step. When I settled in to snack up on a piece, I took one bite and....

BLAH!!!!!!!!!

I didn't even chew more than once. It was all in the garbage in a heartbeat. It tasted like a garlic SUGAR COOKIE.

GMAT JOURNEY

Yesterday's blog post included some info on how my GMAT prep is going, but I somehow managed to erase it and publish without double checking so it got lost.

Anyway, in short, I sat myself down at ART ESPRESSO yesterday and took the 3 hour GMAT evaluation test.

My results?

Abysmal.

Seriously. It was bad. I didn't even finish the Math section. In 75 minutes I finished 28 out of the 37 questions. Yikes.

The unfortunate thing about my studying for the GMAT is that I have to LEARN math. Yeah, sure, I took classes in Highschool. I even took a college Algebra class. But I didn't learn anything, because my attention was never present in the classes with me.

The majority of my teen years were spent day dreaming. I'm surprised I even remember my highschool days considering that I was always a little non-present during school hours. Honestly though, a humming bird hyped up on 6 shots of espresso probably would have had more of an attention span than I did in Highschool. Especially in Algebra class.

Funny how your parents eventually end up being right about almost every single thing.

Dad and Mom: "You should really study. You need math for all kinds of things!"

Me: "I don't need math for what I want to do. Subtraction, addition, simple multiplication and division. That's all I need."

Dad and Mom: "Hm..."

5 years later

Reality: *SLAP!*

Me: "OW!!!!!!! HEY!!!!!!"

Dad and Mom: "Told you so."

Good thing I started studying early. The majority of what I've read about GMAT test prep is that you shouldn't start studying months in advance because you wear yourself out. Well 'oops' is all I can say. I'm going to be attempting to cram 2 years of lost High school algebra into my memory bank, I need whatever time I can get.

KINDNESS

I tell you what, kindness is a HUGE pick me up. Even a small kindness really makes my day. Yesterday while I was taking the practice test the owner of the coffee shop came back and presented me with a free cup of tea. She offered it to me while saying something along the lines of "You're working hard", "It looks hard" (not 100% sure there). Her facial expression gave away her sympathy towards my predicament. The tea was appreciated, and even much more appreciated was her support.

I was blessed by her. ~ ♥

Well, just for a bit of fun.

Exercise Video of the Day

Nothing fancy. It's just the "Plank".

All you fitness Gurus out there are cracking a smile, but everyone else, yeah... it looks easy, doesn't it?

My only response is:

"OMG OW!"

Enjoy.

Beauty Video of the Day

For those of you who have actually talked to me, you know that I'm nuts over make-up, beauty products, and fashion. So it's no wonder that I am in love with the following woman.

Enjoy her Holiday Make-up video and check her out on youtube here.

Introducing: Michelle Phan

Time to study!

Until next post,

~A.

Updates and Reality Check

2010-11-27T03:42:00.001-08:00

Hello Readers,

A special and awesome happening going down in about 11 days. I can't tell you what it is yet, but as soon as I get the opportunity I'll let you know!

This next week is looking busy busy! The school is holding a speech contest for the students on Friday and rehearsal for the contest will be happening on Monday and Wednesday. The almost all-day rehearsals are topped with Kindergarten graduation photos that will be taken on Wednesday morning/afternoon for an estimated total of 4 hours. Upside to the photos, we get off work early on Tuesday to go home and 'rest' so that we'll look fresh and rested for the Kindy graduation photos the next morning.

Whew!

The speech contest is a huge deal at the school. A few of the best student speakers will be hand picked by the director to go to Seoul for the school's nation wide speech contest. It's hilarious... the majority of the speech scripts were practically written by the teachers for the students because the student's English writing capabilities are so horrible. This entire ordeal strengthens my opinion that English Academies in Korea don't focus enough on grammar and developing writing techniques and styles. The majority of what I've experienced the focus is on speaking and conversation, which is all well and good until you have to write an English paper. Then you're up grammar creek without a paddle and no skills in spelling or punctuation whatsoever.

Anyway, enough about school.

FITNESS JOURNEY

T-Tapp is going well. Still practice whenever I get the opportunity and I'm feeling it! I threw in a few more exercises to concentrate on my core muscles especially and I'm so sore! It feels great! I can already feel everything tightening up, and the results (not to mention how good I feel) keep pushing me onward.

However, I know that I'll have a difficult time doing this by myself. I don't know the first thing about training myself. I get loads of advice from my brothers (who are both gym junkies, and in amazing shape) and other guy friends who are teetering on 5% body fat, but everyone has something different to say and I'm getting just plain confused.

So I've decided to look for a personal trainer. I figure that it's the best move for me as far as my fitness goals are concerned. Since I'm looking for a real change and not a casual 'keep the lbs at bay' exercise plan I figure it would be best to go to someone who knows how to teach and encourage. So, yeah, I'm looking now. If you know anyone... haha

****NOTE****

I had a lot more written about the GMAT, but somehow in editing it was all erased and I pressed "Publish" without double checking so it's all lost! Ugh! I'll make a new post later to update you on what's going on with me and my horrible math skills.

The end of the last Saturday of November 2010 is fast approaching, and Sunday is on its way. Then busy busy week! WOW! 28 days until Christmas ya'll!!!! Woo!

Until next post,

~A.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T19:45:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

Yes. I'm a day ahead of most of you, but here in SK, it's Thanksgiving day.

Today is a slow day at work, and these past few weeks especially I've been giving a lot of thought to my life and what I myself am all about.

And I find that I am thankful.

I am thankful for my tendency to run headlong into things, with passion, and with determination. Though a few times this habit of mine has lead me down the wrong road, I learn... I grow... and become less reckless, yet more passionate, about the decisions that I make.

My journey in life has molded and shaped me into a better woman and a better person, and I find that I regret nothing. I am thankful for the strength God has granted me to bounce back, to keep going, to be undeterred by failures or mistakes. I am thankful for the same God granted willpower to keep moving forward, to keep my passion, to keep at least some of my reckless abandon intact.

Maybe I can't claim ownership to the most practical thought processes known to man, but no one will ever be able to say "She hasn't ever done anything, really."

I am thankful for the strength I had, and am maintaining, to CHANGE MY LIFE FOR THE BETTER, by taking control of my health. I'm thankful for the success and the support I've experienced from my journey to a healthier body and mind.

I am thankful for my FAMILY who, despite disagreeing with me at times, ALWAYS supports me, ENCOURAGES me, and LOVES me. I know that I am NEVER alone. I have been and continue to be SO BLESSED by the family God gave me. I don't think any other family in this world could have handled me. :)

I am thankful for the FRIENDS who have stuck by me through the years. Despite any flaws they may have discovered in me or my personality, they have loved, they have endured, and they have enriched my life more than they will ever know or understand. Continually, every day, I find new blessings in their friendship and their love.

I am thankful for every opportunity I've been given, and I am thankful for the opportunities that still present themselves to me.

I am thankful for a God who has never, not even once, given up on me. Even when I was ready to give up on myself.

Thank you GOD for never turning your back on me in my troubles, for always guiding me through the storm, for never leaving me lonely or wanting, for always keeping me up on my feet, ready to go, ready to conquer, ready to continue dreaming, growing, and loving.

I know that I haven't been the most bragworthy daughter, Lord. I know that there are many times when I wander off, when I don't listen, when I do things my way instead of yours. I know that I have come to you a million times over asking forgiveness for the SAME THINGS. Any person would refuse to forgive, but you, father, no... you accept me back every time. You heal me every time. Then, despite what most would consider better judgement, you give me yet another chance.

I can always find you, God. And no matter how far away I've wandered, and even run at times, I'm always surprised to find you standing right next to me when I reach out in fear and confusion.

I AM THANKFUL! More than I could ever express.

Today is Thanksgiving. And today, though there is no turkey at my table...uh, and though I have no table really to call my own anyway... and though I am thousands of miles away from the family and friends that love and care for me, I feel extreme, deep, indescribable thankfulness. And even when I don't express it, I feel it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Every moment of my life the thankfulness is there, welling up inside of me, glowing brightly even in the darkness.

I celebrate this day with joy.

THANK YOU GOD! THANK YOU for blessing me with all of those reasons I have to remain thankful every day.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!

Until next post,

~A.

The Korea Predicament and T-Tapp Challenge Update

2010-11-23T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

I need to make a post to let everyone know that I'm okay! We're all okay here.

Yesterday North Korea attacked a South Korean island, killing two marines, destroying houses, and causing mass panic.

Read about it here.

I know that a lot of my family and friends have heard about it on the news, and I just want you all to know that I'm fine. There's no pandemonium here, but everyone is a little on edge. Me too.

Keep South Korea in your prayers ya'll. And not just South Korea, North Korea too. You know those people are in a really bad situation now, and a lot of them don't have any options. It's a scary atmosphere there, and they need prayer just as much as anyone.

Now, moving on to lighter hearted things...

T-TAPP challenge update.

I'm still learning the basics. Going by the book is a lot more difficult than I originally thought. Apparently, I'm a visual learner. It's easier for me to learn how to do something by seeing it done. So, I end up having to read directions over and over again until I can get it right. It's not too bad, it just takes longer.

I'm looking forward to buying the 'Basic Workout' DVD in a few weeks.

I'm feeing fantastic!

I can feel the strength in my stomach muscles, and my posture has really improved. I pay more attention now to how I'm sitting and standing, and it's really improved a lot of things.

Also, I've been doing Hoedowns after meals for the past few days. haha Hoe downs are an exercise that have been known to lower your glucose spikes by 60-80% after eating. It looks like a really simple exercise and can be done almost anywhere, but man... it's not as easy as it looks by the second set.

It gets my energy flowing big time! I feel more awake and energized after doing a set of hoedowns than I do after a cup of coffee. And what's better? No caffeine crash!

My back muscles are staying sore, which is a good sign to me. It means that I'm finally working those muscles that were always so neglected before.

The added energy and strength that I'm already feeling in my stomach and back is really keeping me on board with T-Tapp.

Want to see something amazing? Watch this video:

Until next post,

~A.

Little Update

2010-11-21T21:16:00.001-08:00

Hello Readers,

I'm trying to get through a rough spot. :) Everything's okay, but things are a little stressful at the moment. I suspect that I'll be ready to get back to my regularly (kind of) scheduled blogging activities in a week or so.

Just a random update for now: Dunkin' Donuts coffee is the worst. THE WORST.

Also, I plan to introduce fruit back into my diet starting this evening. Wish me luck. :P

Will be starting the GM/MM eating plan a lot sooner than expected, but I'm looking forward to it.

Expect a T-Tapp update soon.

Well, that's pretty much all for today.

Until next blog (which will hopefully be of more substance than this one),

~A.

Bump in the Road

2010-11-18T19:40:00.000-08:00

Hello readers!

I haven't blogged in a few days. I have an explanation... and a confession.

I officially fell off the wagon. Yesterday and the day before I stepped a bit off the deep end emotionally and ate food that I wasn't supposed to eat for another 2 months. I'm not going to go into detail. All you guys need to know is that I blew it because stress won out over my willpower.

These past few days have been extremely stressful for reasons that I'll explain on a later date.

I've found that in the states, I never had trouble with binge eating. I would eat food that wasn't very good for me, but I wouldn't gorge myself to that filling point. In Korea? I've done it on more than one occasion (not recently, at least not until yesterday). It must be homesickness. I have to learn how to battle that kind of thing if I want to succeed with the goals I've given myself.

Thankfully I'm on an exercise plan now which helped balance out my little indiscretion. But, it still knocked me back some days.

Today, I woke up feeling 100% dedicated to getting back on track.

I guess I needed that little dip in the road to get me fired up for continuing on to meet my goals.

I want to say, to those of you who are struggling with your exercise or diet plan, don't get overly discouraged if you mess up. You didn't ruin everything! Don't think that way! A mess up doesn't mean failure, it means temporary lapse! You can get right back on the horse, and maybe even be a little stronger for it.

Though I'm still feeling stressed, I feel more ready to handle the stress that's facing me. I have a plan, I have a goal, and I have a dream to follow with the support of those whose love is the most important to me.

I'm very happy to announce that I'm back on track! With health, with fitness, with my life in general!

I'll publish a proper blog later with updates on my T-TAPP challenge.

Everyone have a great rest of the week! Round it out strong!

Until next post,

~A.

Challenge Update: God Made/ Man Made

2010-11-15T21:13:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

Wanted to post a blog for the daily update of my T-Tapp and fitness challenge.

I'm telling you, things are already starting to change... and I haven't even started the program full force yet!

CHALLENGE UPDATE

BREATHING

I've been paying more attention to my breathing. I've discovered that more often than not I'm breathing quite shallowly. This causes me to yawn and feel very tired and run down.

OBVIOUSLY!

I'm not getting enough oxygen to all of my system! Oxygen is key to a well functioning body. So, I've been breathing deeper. I've even started taking a few moments every now and again to just breath in, expanding my lungs and ribcage as much as possible, and then breathing out (completely, using my diaphragm to expel all of the air until I feel my muscles tightening).

Can you believe that I'm actually yawning less? And I NOTICED it?

WATER

I'm still drinking my 64oz + a day. My body just feels less sluggish in general. I've started craving soda less and less, and even though I don't look forward to drinking water, I don't exactly look forward to drinking a whole 500ml of Coke Zero like I used to either.

STRETCHING

I'm stretching my limbs, my major muscles, and muscles that I probably don't even realize are there. I'm getting my limberness back and I can finally touch my toes again. Huzzah! My muscles are remaining a little (not very) sore, and it feels good to know that I'm finally working those areas that have probably seen little to no activity for a long time.

ENERGY

My energy levels are up! I'm not ready to run marathon or anything, but I can feel it in my body when I wake up in the morning. Speaking of which, this past week it's been easier to rise and shine earlier. Before, I pressed my snooze alarm for 1 hour and got up around 8. These days when the alarm goes off the second time (around 7:15) I'm up and at'em!

God Made/ Man Made

I won't begin this plan until February, but I wanted to give everyone a heads up, because I think that this is a great idea. In the book "Fit and Fabulous in 15 Minute", Teresa Tapp explains an eating system that she calls "God Made/Man Made".

It's very simple. For two days you eat only 'God Made' food. The ideal is whole/organic foods, but fresh foods work just as well! Don't eat anything that has been made to last for a long time.

Fresh vegetables

Fresh, lean, meats

Dairy products

Whole non-processed grains

Fruit (in moderation)

Make sure that what you put in your body is free all of the 'extras' that tend to get thrown in to prepackaged or premade food, such as cheese slices, canned meats and vegetables, and even 'Low Fat' products. Anything with a long shelf life is probably not your best bet!

After 2 days of eating God Made, you give yourself a day of 'Man Made'. The eating plan is not about restrictions, and on this 'splurge' day you have the freedom to eat whatever it is you want (in moderation. Don't go bananas and eat a whole pizza).

The guidelines for Man Made are "home made" is better. Cookies and sweets are better made fresh at, instead of bought in boxes and tins. The same with bread. If you're a bread eater, find yourself a bakery that makes their breads fresh every day. Frozen or slammed with preservatives = no good.

Then, after your Man Made eating day, go back to God Made for 2 more days. Alternate. That simple!

I wish I could explain everything to you, but I'm no expert (I'm not even going to start this eating system until February) and I don't want to steal any of Ms. Tapp's thunder. She explains everything PERFECTLY in her book. You should check it out!

Go to the T-TAPP website or order from Amazon now.

Remember the book is called "Fit and Fabulous in 15 minutes."

This fitness challenge is for ALL AGES and ALL FITNESS levels.

DO IT. The book is only 16$. If you like what you see, then you can buy her DVD workouts, or any of the other T-TAPP products. All it takes is 2 weeks. Isn't getting in shape worth 2 weeks of your time?

Anyway, that's my spiel for the day.

Until next post,

~A.

T-Tapp Challenge Update

2010-11-14T18:34:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

Just want to give you another update.

T-Tapp challenge is going well. I've given myself 1 week to get trained for the actual challenge (which I will start on Saturday). The 1 week training will give me time to read through all of the information and become more familiar with the techniques of the exercise.

Since I'm going by book instead of visual instruction (like the dvd's) I knew it was going to take me a bit of time to get everything down.

Training Day 1: Saturday

I read through all of the information, and took a few notes. This stuff is amazingly interesting. I want to give you details, but you should really buy the book for yourself and give it a read.

Training Day 2: Sunday

I practice proper KLT stance and the first exercise. I was amazed at how much my body was actually working to do moves that seemed so simple.

Training Day 3: Today

I was shocked this morning to discover that I was sore! Back muscles and muscles around my shoulders were sore, and I can't really recall a time when I've felt soreness in those areas. It feels nice to know that I'm working all of my muscles, and not just the biggest ones. My legs feel really good today too. The KLT stance really keeps me working.

I've noticed over the weekend that I'm paying more attention to my posture now. But tucked, shoulders back, to keep my spine in line. I've made an effort not to cross my legs while sitting down. Thankfully my desk at work is too low to allow me to cross my legs comfortably.

This morning I practiced one of the exercise moves I learned yesterday, and I plan on learning a new one this evening.

Hopefully by the end of the week I'll have all of the basic workout moves down so that I can start the challenge properly this weekend.

Water Intake:

I have been drinking water like I can't believe. In the past I've rarely had even one bottle of water a WEEK. These days it's at least 64oz (4 bottles of water a day) or more. I'm amazed at how much this has actually helped me as far as my weight loss, energy levels, and even overall feeling.

Water really is important! I still hate it, though. Wish there was a way to make it more enjoyable to glug. Blargh.

I'm searching for someone to help tutor me in math. I'll be taking the GRE and GMAT exams early next year and I need some serious help in the math department. I mean, seriously.

If you're reading this and you've taken the GMAT and scored a 600+, I will PAY YOU to tutor me in math. (Proof of score will be needed.) No joke.

Korean weather is getting colder, and as much as I want to go out and buy a new sweater, I know that by next month it won't fit properly. I won't be able to start investing in clothes again until around the end of February. Oh well, saves me money.

Anyway, I hope that everyone has a fantastic Monday! As for me, break is over and I need to get back to work. :)

Until next post,

~A.

BOOYA! THAT'S RIGHT!

2010-11-13T23:48:00.000-08:00

Until next post,

~A.

My Success, My Challenge

2010-11-13T03:01:00.001-08:00

Hello Readers,

Another update!

Unfortunately I didn't get to go to Seoul today, as I planned. I was unable to book tickets online because (for some reason) the Korail website wasn't letting me select 'next' at the last page of the booking process. So, I could select my seats on the train, but it wouldn't let me enter my card information to pay for it.

So, I woke up early this morning and got myself to the nearest KTX station. All of the commuter trains (the cheaper ones) were booked solid, so I was keeping my fingers crossed for a seat on the KTX. I got there like, 3 hours early, so I thought there would be SOMETHING. Nope. I got in line for the ticket, and when It was finally my turn everything but standing room and first class was sold out. Realizing that I tried to select a 'standing' ticket, but those were gone when I got back to the selection screen. GEEZ! Those tickets go fast!

So, I wasted 20,000 won on taxi fare to and from the station. Great.

Oh well. I ended up having a very good and productive day at my apartment. I studied for about 4 hours, exercised, read, and took a stroll to Lotte Mart to grab something I needed.

All in all it was a very relaxing day.

Now to the whole point of this post.

GETTING FIT JOURNEY UPDATE

As all of you know (or at least those of you that either know me or have been reading this blog regularly...ahem) in September I made the decision to start getting myself into better shape.

My weight has always been a little high, especially considering that I have a rather small frame (aside from my shoulders. Thank you Daddy!). Exercise was not my friend for a number of reasons.

Reasons:

1.) Couldn't find an exercise that I enjoyed doing.

2.) Got bored easily

3.) Wasn't seeing any results, so got discouraged.

3.) Anxiety. I HATE exercising around people. I hate gyms, and I hate jogging in public where people can see me. Why? I've always been self-conscious. I could just imagine people thinking "Wow... yeah, she NEEDS to be exercising!"

I know. Stupid, right?

Wrong.

I think that a lot of people have problems with exercising because of one of any of those reasons, or a combination of them. Just like me. I'm not the only person on the planet who has these problems with exercise.

But, as my brothers always say, "If the engine is hot enough, it'll burn anything."

That's why I decided to take the step.

I challenged myself in September to lose weight by altering my diet. I knew that once I got down to my goal weight it would be easier for me, self-confidence wise, to shape up my life. I wasn't wrong. It's already easier for me to exercise a little more. I'm even more confident about running across the street to make a green-cross walk sign! (Baby steps)

When I stand next to skinny Korean girls, I don't think to myself "Man, I wish I could be that skinny". I feel good. I feel healthy. And the best part of all... I'm getting healthier!

I'm still not down to my goal weight/size. I have a few more months left of my food program. But I added an extra challenge as well. The current program I'm on is only for resetting eating habits (6 small meals a day, balanced, and healthy), and metabolism. It doesn't firm, tuck, or lift anything.

For me, it's also all about KEEPING the weight off once the food program is finished.

That's where exercise comes in.

So, I've decided to challenge myself.

I purchased the following book and have been reading and reading. My brain is just eating it up:

I originally decided on this fitness program because while I'm following my current food program I can't exercise heavily. The more I read, and the more I researched, the more I realized that this program was claiming to be more than just a 'get you started' deal. It's gotten so many good reviews and has been featured in a number of popular health and wellness/fitness and fashion magazines. I thought, "Why not give it a try?"

I'm really excited to get started, and I can't wait to let you all know the results. I'll be posting regular updates over the next 4 weeks, so we'll all see how this goes.

For journey update.

In September my measurements were as follows:

42-35-39

As of today, November 12th, these are my measurements:

37-29.5-35

The difference has astounded me. I'm excited about the changes, and I can definitely tell that I'm becoming a more confident person.

Well, that's the update for today.

I hope that you'll continue to follow me on my many journeys. My journey in Korea, my language journey, my fitness journey, and all the journeys to come. I appreciate your support and your continuing visits to my blog. Just seeing the numbers is a huge inspiration!

Everyone have a great Saturday!

Until next blog,

~A.

Apartment, Coffee, Seoul, and Such.

2010-11-11T19:54:00.000-08:00

Hello Readers,

Sorry everyone for the hold up on a post.

Things have really settled down nicely, and now I find that I have sufficient time to write a blog.

I won't make it too long, even though there's been a ton of stuff going on .

Firstly

I moved into my new apartment! I've been living here now for almost two weeks and it feels very nice. It's clean, it's cute, and it's a good size. I bought a bed and a desk, and I'm enjoying my space.

I still need a few more pieces of furniture (such as raised stools for the kitchen counter/bar) and some other chairs for company. My co-workers came over for birthday dinner a few nights ago and we stood up the whole time, haha. Well, those things will come when they can.

Seeing Seoul...oh...and Coffee!

Last weekend I traveled the 1 hour 45 minutes Seoul (by slow train) to meet SK. We spent the day out and went to see a bunch of different things. He showed me around well!

While waiting for SK at Seoul Station I sat in CAFFE PASCUCCI and had (you guessed it) a Cappuccino. I'm telling you, it was the absolute best one out of all of the (franchise) places I've tried so far.

Here are my personal (and non-detailed) ratings for the coffee quality (Cappuccino quality included) and atmosphere quality of some of the coffee places I've visited so far. (All scores are out of 10)

Rotiboy

Atmosphere: 8

Coffee: 8.5

Angel-in-us

Atmosphere: 7

Coffee: 8

Dunkin-Donuts

Atmosphere: 6

Cofee: 5 (their coffee really isn't that tasty.)

Caffe Pascucci

Atmosphere: 8.5

Coffee: 9.5

Cafe Bene

Atmosphere: 9

Coffee: 9

The Tree and Bicycle (This isn't a franchise coffee house, so you'll have to come visit me if you want some of their coffee and amazing atmosphere.) ;)

Atmosphere: 10

Coffee: 10

The Tree and Bicycle is a little expensive, but it's definitely worth it.

I'd love to own a place like that someday.

WEIGHT WATCHING

I'm officially down 8kgs. I'm hovering at 62 kgs, and hoping that I see the scale move again in the next week or so. This past weekend, because it was SK's last weekend before his 1 month basic training, I decided to go a little off plan. It messed with my weight loss, but It was worth it. Now I'm ready to get back on track and get to goal.

6kgs to go! Hoocha hoocha hoocha! Lobster! (10 bonus points to anyone who recognizes the reference).

TOPIK

I'll be taking the Beginner S-TOPIK exam in April. That gives me about 4.5 months or so to prepare. I don't feel too stressed out about it, but I know that the bigger jump will be taking the Intermediate level S-TOPIK only 5 months later (in September). Yoiks!

It can be done! It will be done!

In Other News

SK left for his Basic Military Training camp today, the 11th day of the 11th month. Pepero day, Ya'll. Neither of us eat candy that often, so it was kind of silly to buy chocolate, but it happened anyway. It ended up being shoved off on my students. They didn't mind. They eat chocolate like they breathe air... naturally and without thinking. Gobble gobble!

With Halloween and Pepero day being so close together it's amazing that these kids still have all their teeth by the end of each year.

Weekend Plans

This weekend I have plans to return to Seoul on Saturday for a field trip with my recruiting agency and some other foreign teachers. I'm looking forward to meeting some new peeps and having a good time in general in S-town.

I'll take pictures.

Anyway, here are some photos of my apartment AND picture of the week.

APARTMENT

Photo Of The Week

Well, there you have it. The update!

More updates to come! Of course.

Until next post,

~A.

Birthday and Bookmark Posts

2010-11-07T20:01:00.001-08:00

Hello readers,

Sorry for the delay in posting. I'll be putting up a proper post soon. This last week has been extremely busy!

Moving into a new apartment, getting settled, and then celebrating my birthday this weekend (today is my birthday! Happy birthday to me!) has been taking up a lot of my time.

I just want to write a quick post to let everyone know that there's a blog post coming!

Everyone have a great Monday.

Until next post,

~A.

Halloween Party and 5,000 Views.

2010-10-29T04:29:00.000-07:00

Hello readers!

Today was the fantastical Halloween Party at my school.

Actually, I found that it was EVEN MORE stressful than our open house yesterday. I finally had time to start making some games for the kids for the party. Each teacher was in charge of some game or other. I was assigned two different games, to appeal to two different age groups (kindergarten and elementary). I was given a BUNCH of freedom for this project.

I had to make some kind of "Face Making" game, where the kids could somehow make ghost faces. Then for the older kids, I needed a speed card game (some flash-cards or something like that).

Since we didn't have any sort of flash-cards for halloween, I thought I'd go ahead and make my own deal. Anyway, it took a lot longer than expected, and while I had a lot of fun making it the 'crunch time' earlier this afternoon before the elementary party had me singing the blues.

Anyway, I have a few pictures to share. I took them on my camera phone so the quality is quite bad. Forgive me, I'll find a way to charge my camera safely soon!

Halloween Party! Yeah!

First is the game for the kindergarteners. I decided to do something along the lines of "Pin the Tail on the Donkey", but Halloween style. So, I made the following layouts:

Pumpkin!

The pumpkin was fun to do, but coloring with

markers is a pain (literally, my hand started to hurt!). I had to put two A4

pieces of paper together to make it big enough, since we were out of A3.

So.... that explains the ghetto tape job at the bottom.

Then there was the skull!

Again, another tape-jobby. But, it's not too bad.

Especially after being laminated.

Finished Products!

I put velcro tape in all the appropriate places and made eyes, noses, and mouths for the layouts. With all of the pieces in all of the right places the final results look like this:

AND

I was so glad that the game worked out. They had a good time spinning around in circles and yelling directions at each other.

♥ Here are some of my babies. ♥

The following pictures are of the game for the elementary school kids. I actually didn't get to finish it, because I ran out of time. The background came out rather nicely, but I didn't get to fix the cards the way I wanted to, so I had to rush-job them, and instead of 26 cards +2 bonus cards, there are only 18.

Actually... it turned out that less was better because some of them had a really hard time grasping the concept of the memory game. Oy.

But they still had fun! I think.

Even if they didn't think the games were 100% fun to play, there was a pretty great incentive to participate.

I am proud to say I did not eat one piece! I REALLY wanted to though! I just kept telling myself that Halloween isn't the only time of year I can have a piece of chocolate. That kind of thinking actually worked!

And finally, I would like to share with you all a picture of me in my Halloween outfit, which consisted of my regular, every-day, clothes, a silly witches hat, and ridiculous make-up. The ridiculous make-up and the witches hat made my every-day clothes look kind of fun! Anyway, voila!

I think that I accidentally bought a children's size hat. It was so small! I kept having to pull it down on my head. Actually, even now that it's off, I can still feel it there, creating its storm of static in my hair.

Oh... and I would like to mention that several Korean people in my area now think that I'm a freak. Why? You may ask yourself. Well, it's because during a short break I traveled down with Head Teacher S to get coffee. She kept telling me that we would get it to go and wouldn't go anywhere too public. I went out minus the hat, just with the make-up. Several strange looks later Head Teacher S finally admitted that I actually looked kind of crazy.

Well, at least I'm sure I accidentally entertained some people this afternoon.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! PLEASE LEAVE A SUBSTANTIAL TIP!

I'm sure all of you have sufficient Halloween shenanigans planned! As for me, I'll be moving to my new apartment! I'm sooooo thrilled! I'll let you know all about it when I can.

OH!

I just want to say a big THANK YOU FOR OVER 5,000 VIEWS!

It may not seem like a big deal to a lot of you, but to me it's a milestone. I wasn't expecting anyone other than family and a few close friends to check my blog. It's an honor to know that others are stopping by. To you, whoever you may be, thank you!

And HAPPY HALLOWEEN WEEKEND!

Until next post,

~A.

Apartment Renting for Expats. Oh, and Clothes Too.

2010-10-26T15:17:00.000-07:00

Hello readers.

IT'S COLD!

So much for that lovely autumn weather I wanted to keep for another week before winter winds started blowin' in.(After writing this sentence, I felt like something was strange. When I went back to read it again I realized that it rhymes awkwardly. I like it! I'll keep it!).

Anyway, enough of the rhyming shenanigans for now. I'm serious, it's COLD. WHAT HAPPENED? I stuck a hand out my front door yesterday morning to test the air. It seemed chilly, but nothing too bad. I was pretty sure my light weight jacket and a scarf could handle it.

WRONG.

My hands were freezing in the cold air, and my legs were starting to shiver. The added discomfort of not wearing enough layers was the fact that my jeans were so big that they continually worked their way down and caused the butt and legs to sag like a family of 5 had just moved out.

Now, I'm not complaining that I've lost weight. No, I'm super excited about that! What I am complaining about is the fact that almost half the clothes I brought with me aren't fitting me properly now.

I LOVE clothes shopping, and I really want to go and buy new stuff to replace everything that's too big. But, there are a few problems.

Problem Numero Uno:

If I lose anymore weight, it'll be the same story, and I'll have wasted my money on more clothes that I can't wear. I'm still striving to lose a bit more, so I have to be careful.

Problem Numero Dos, ya'll:

It's costing so much extra money to move into a new apartment, that I have to be uber careful with what I spend until after payday (a week and a half. Not too bad).

THE DOWNLOW OF APARTMENT RENTING:

The following information could be rather helpful for those of you thinking about finding your own place in the ROK .

For the new teachers here in South Korea, I'm going to tell you it's not likely that you'll be able to afford to live anywhere other than where your school provides unless you've got quite a bit of money stashed in your savings account back home.

RENT:

A nice 1 bedroom apartment usually varies from 400,000-500,000₩ per month. Now, when I heard this I was ecstatic. That's cheaper than back home, and I don't even live in a big city, so I can't imagine what that price is compared to someplace else.

The ones I looked at were between 450,000-500,000₩ . This affords me a nice building, with a nice (CLEAN) apartment. There's plenty of storage space in the kitchen, and closet space elsewhere. If you're lucky you'll be able to find a 2 story apartment (a 1 bedroom with a loft area) for about 500,000₩.

These prices WILL be higher in Seoul and in the highly populated areas of Busan. If you live in a more suburb city in Busan, though, you'll probably be able to find pretty much the same.

If you decided to move out of your school provided housing your school should offer you a monthly stipend for rent. The standard in Seoul and Busan is usually 400,000₩ per month. The standard in smaller cities is usually 300,000₩ per month.

Don't get too excited, here comes your possible financial crisis.

Key Money/ Deposit Money

This is where it becomes difficult for a lot of foreigners to afford to live in an apartment on their own. The Key money, or the deposit money, required is usually much higher than what any new expat has in their savings account. The standard key money IN MY AREA (not in Seoul or Busan) is about 5,000,000₩. Yeah, it's not cheap.

Now, you get this deposit money back when your lease ends and you move out of the apartment, as long as there wasn't any kind of horrible damage done while you were living there. But, it's still kind of difficult to cough up that much before hand unless you've been saving.

If you and your S.O. are planning on moving in together it might be a little easier. Combining forces with a partner or a roommate is going to be your best bet in regards to affordability. However, if you're out to live on your own (like me), good luck!

I'm really lucky, honestly, that everything worked out. I feel 100% blessed about this entire situation. I hope that it'll be as easy for you if you make the decision to move into your own place.

And last, but not least,

REALTOR COMMISSION

Finding an apartment is a lot easier through a realestate agency. However, most of us don't speak enough Korean to handle speaking to a realtor. This is where having Korean friends helps. Or, if you trust your school enough, ask them to help you! I wouldn't recommend that though, because it's usually good to keep the relationship with your school as low-stress as possible.

If you use the assistance of a realtor to help you find your place, you have to pay their commission. In my area it's 9%. Double check with your realestate agent about the commission percentage before you make any commitment to one realtor or another.

The 9% commission is based off of the key-money. The commission price for an apartment with 5,000,000₩ key-money deposit is going to be about 450,000₩.

You have to pay the commission, key money, and first months rent up front. So, you're looking at about 6,000,000w upfront payment for renting a new apartment.

That's not cheap, ya'll. Not cheap at all.

That's why I commented earlier about new expats not being able to afford living separately from their school. If you're a new expat and you plan on staying in Korea for a few years, it would be a good idea to start saving for the apartment now.

Well, and look at it this way. That 5,000,000₩ key-deposit is really just 'forced-savings'. You get it back when you move out! And then look what you've got! You're 5,000,000 richer. :D

Har har har.

Anyway, if you're looking for your own place I wish you the best of luck!

Back to the Previous Topic of Clothes

I and two of my Korean co-workers went clothes browsing yesterday at a little shop at the bottom of our school building. We were drawn in originally by the 5,900₩ long sleeve shirts out front. They were really cutsie (can't wear them to work), but it grabbed our interest so we went in.

It was so fun shopping with them! After looking around and being all girly, we each managed to find an article that we really really liked.

Teacher K found a lovely sweater dress just bursting with color. It matches her personality well. She's a very warm and friendly person and she absolutely ADORES those kids at school. When I mentioned that they'd want to hug her even more now because of the softness of the sweater she gave a happy squeal.

Teacher S found some cute black dress-shorts. You know the kind. They're made out of dress-pants material but are shorts. Really short ones. But they looked so cute on her! I was so shocked to see her legs! They were PERFECTLY TAN.I thought she was wearing pantyhose at first, but then noticed that she was wearing sheer ankle socks instead. When I gasped and mentioned how perfect her tan looked she smiled really big. She's naturally that color! I can't lie, I was kind of jealous! haha

And finally, after much rummaging (I liked about 80% of the clothes in this store, but I needed something practical that I could wear both outside of work and at work), I discovered the skirt wrack. I rifled through and pulled out one after the other. All of us had a good laugh about the majority of them (the floral prints were just... ugh!). My hand landed on a grey flannel skirt that I originally thought wouldn't look cute at all.

When I pulled it off the wrack, it swished to life! It was LOVELY! After much coaxing from K and S to buy it, I decided that I'd actually consider it. But, I put it back for the time being. We had to get back to school!

K decided to wait on the sweater as well, so for the rest of the day we were telling each other "You should buy it! You should buy it! I'll by the skirt if you'll buy the sweater! I'll buy the sweater if you buy the skirt!" and so on.

Finally, when it was time to go, I looked at K and grinned and she said "Let's go!".

We went back to the store and purchased our items, and left feeling giddy and satisfied with ourselves.

I wanted to put up a picture, but I didn't have time. Hopefully an update later with some pictures added? Maybe.

Possibly.

It was nice making a clothing purchase for myself. It will be one of the last 'frilly' items I can buy for a month or so until my finances get settled with the apartment/school. Then, all will be well, my period of transition will be winding down and I'll be ready to get back to living a full life (- financial worries, please!).

Everyone have a great Wednesday!

Until next time,

~A.

Coffee Time!

2010-10-25T04:57:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers!

Just a quick update. (And so soon after the last one! Boy, I'm good!)

Since my last post I've found a new apartment to stay in. If all things go well (let's hope and pray that they do), I'll be moving into the new place by Sunday night. I want to tell you more about it! But, I should wait until it's 100% sure that I'll be moving in. Then I'll give everyone the awesome details.

I've found a lovely new coffee spot. Before moving out of Busan, I really enjoyed coffee at Angel-in-us. It was a good atmosphere and the coffee wasn't bad either. Tonight after work, and while waiting to go see the apartment, I stopped by a little place called "Rotiboy". I ordered a cappuccino (my favorite recently). It was bliss.

The atmosphere was awesome, the coffee was wonderful, and the people were really sweet. It makes my day to meet kind people. After a Monday of classes, spending some nice, relaxing time at Rotiboy was totally what I needed.

Here's the ROTIBOY website. Beware, your mouth may begin to water.

It's getting colder. Tonight was actually coatworthy weather. At least to me it was. So I guess it's time to break out the brand new coat I bought myself before coming to Korea (the coat that is now too big for me -_-. Oh well, It's a coat. Isn't the motto for a warm coat 'the bigger the better'? Am I wrong?)

Tomorrow is Tuesday, and it's all about prep time. It's a great opportunity to get work done, and get ahead so that stress levels stay low.

Oh, and lately I've been obsessed with stickers. I have been buying up loads of stickers! I have this odd urge to put stickers on everything. But I love it! Every-time I go into a stationary store these days I look for stickers. I'm going to have an impressive collection before long. Though I'm not entirely sure yet what I'll do with all of them.

Well, I hope that everyone is staying warm.

More updates later! Seriously, check out Rotiboy if you live near one. There's a store locator on the website, so you may be able to find a store near you.

Until next time,

~A.

Getting Settled, Getting Healthy!

2010-10-23T20:54:00.001-07:00

Well, I guess that it's about time that I posted an update.

I arrived back in Korea a week and a day ago, and I've settled in rather nicely I think.

There's plenty to discuss so let me get right to it.

Firstly, The school is FANTABULOUS. I mean, I love it. I didn't feel nearly this much excitement for working at my previous school. Not only is the school a bit smaller (smaller classes = more one-on-one with the students) the curriculum is more well rounded and teachers have more freedom in class.

My co-workers are unbelievably friendly and relatable and I expect to continue to get along with them very well! The director can speak English (THANK YOU GOD!), and likes talking about a wide range of topics (from extreme sports, to robotics, to acupuncture) and is constantly giving me tidbits of random information to think about. Everyone is very on-top of things, and questions are usually answered right away and problems addressed quickly.

Mutual respect is kind of a theme at the school it seems, which is a really BIG improvement from the last academy.

The teachers are all pleased with the director and I have heard nothing negative. The school provides lunch (which has so far been yummy each time) and gives the teachers a time to sit around and chat with each other.

More positives? I love the city! It's the perfect size for me. The area I'm in is big enough to have everything I'd want/need, but small enough that there aren't 10 story buildings looming on all sides of me. It's a small town feel with the big city advantage. Only downside? No subway station. GAH! I have to take a bus into town, which isn't so bad, it's just not as easy for me to be sure where I am and which stop I need to get off at. Well, at least I can take a bus to the subway and then take the subway if necessary. I'm not really too worried about it.

School is a 25 minute walk from the apartment, but a bus gets me there in 10 minutes (and keeps me warm on the blustery days). Lotte Mart is nearby and there are plenty of parks to play around in!

BIGGEST DOWNSIDE?

My apartment. The provided apartment is absolutely... horrible. Considering that a string of men have lived in it, I'm not surprised that it's dirty (sorry guys, you aren't exactly known for your cleanliness). However, a lot of small things make living here most uncomfortable.

EXIBITS:

Mold, dust, and dirt caked around the bathroom door where the faux wood floor-paper has been pulled up and cut awkwardly. This is present in other areas throughout the apartment.

The bathroom ceiling. Littered with mold and other icky stuff.

The shower is actually part of the sink. It's not unusual for the entire bathroom to function as a shower in apartments, and normally I wouldn't mind it at all... except....

...Hello loose electrical outlet in the bathroom, the room in which I take a shower and soak virtually everything. I'm going to guess that your'e not really 100% safe hanging out there.

On a bit of a side note, when I first arrived there was an extension chord and extra outlets hanging from the water hose in the bathroom. WTF?

The bathroom also serves as a laundry room, with the washing machine placed in the corner. The washing machine uses electricity, which bothers me since the bathroom is a shower. The washing machine is filthy and looks like it hasn't been used in ages. It probably hasn't been! I wouldn't use it! I couldn't anyway because the hose is not attached to anything.

There are more photos. Mostly of the poor condition of the floor and windows. Alos, there's a BRAND NEW air conditioning unit in my apartment. The hose has been practically ziptied across the wall and leads out the window. This causes a problem because the screen and window are constantly ajar (they can't close because the hose is in the way) so all manner of bugs and misquitos get in throughout the day.

Oh, and did I mention BED BUGS? No? Well then... BED BUGS!

The apartment has been the only downside so far, and I'm really surprised that the school provides this type of apartment because everything else is so nice. Anyway, when I expressed concern about the living conditions and requested to be allowed to move there were no troubles at all, and as per standard, the school offered to pay me a monthly stipend to assist with rent at my new place (I'm currently looking for one).

Hopefully I'll be moved out of this apartment and into a new one within the next week and a half. Yep, that's the goal.

IN OTHER NEWS

About a month ago I started a rigorous diet program. After seeing myself in some pictures taken before I left Busan, I realized that I seriously needed to make a change.

And now?

15 LBS LOST!!!!!!!

AUGUST: At my heaviest since Jr. High

Beginning of October, 7 lbs lost! BUHBAM!

As of today! 1lb away from 15lbs lost! I'm ECSTATIC!

(Excuse the crappy quality of this picture, I wasn't in the mood to do anything legit.

I just snapped a photo in the mirror with what I was wearing for the day).

I feel great! I have more energy and my confidence has been boosted. I'm still truckin' along and I haven't met my goal yet, but it doesn't seem too far off! I'll be ready for swimsuit season for the first time in my life next summer. Yeeeeah!

I've read some blogs in the past from gals living in SK who have gotten themselves down about their weight because they're surrounded by tiny women. First of all, Korean women are just tiny. Often even the overweight ladies in this country are 'smaller' than me. They wear a smaller size, and generally seem more petite. I'll never be their size, even if I weigh 110 lbs! Everyone has a different body shape, and for western women, most of us tend to be broader in the shoulders or hips. The goal should be HEALTH. HEALTHY HEALTHY is the key! My problem for the longest time was that I was bummed out about my weight but would never do anything about it. Gals (and guys) if you want a change then you have to make the change for yourself. It's totally possible, but you have to decide to do it first!

In some other blogs I noticed girls who ranted on and on about how "sad" it is that other girls care so much about their weight and appearance. In all honestly I think that if you're overweight, and you know it, that you should be concerned for yourself. Maintaining a healthy weight (which I didn't for years) is important not only for your physical health, but also for your mental well being.

You should be proud of who you are no matter what, but if you see something in yourself that you want to change (your weight, your attitude, your outlook, or even your hair color) then you should make the effort to do it. No one is holding you back but yourself. It took me what seems like forever to realize that.

MUCH LOVE to all of you out there who are trying to make a healthy change in your life. GOOD LUCK! You have my support! I am totally cheering you on! *\(^o^)/*

Well, hopefully I'll be moving into a new place within the next few weeks. When that happens I'll be sure to take plenty of photos to share with all of you.

Halloween is coming up! What are you spooky holiday plans?!

Until next post,

~A.

Back at Chicago Int.

2010-10-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers,

Finally a new post.

Sorry for the lack of updates recently, but there hasn't been too much going on. At this moment though, I am sitting (again) at Chicago International airport waiting to board for my flight to Korea.

I arrive Saturday evening! It'll be a bit of a whirlwind, as I'm due to meet my recruiter at the airport and then my director at the bus station. It's a God send to have those people willing to meet and guide me. The assumption was, at first, it seems was that I could get around on my own since I'd lived in Korea before.

Er... NO! Guys, one thing you need to know about me is that I get very nervous when it comes to wandering around by myself. You put me with at least one other person and I'm pretty good with directions (unless I'm driving on a busy road, in which case I usually get lost because I'm so stressed out, and then end up having a semi-break-down. But that's off toipc...)

Anyway, the director will show me to my apartment tonight (no love hotels for me this time! Thank you!)

I'll have to make a run to Lotte Mart, which I think is nearby, to buy some bedsheets and blankets. They are provided, but I have a rather strange phobia.

First let's look at this word... PHOBIA.

A PHOBIA is an irrational, intense and persistent FEAR of certain situations, activities, things, animals, or people. The main symptom of this disorder is the excessive and UNREASONABLE desire to avoid the feared stimulus. (That's a wikipedia definition, ya'll).

Alright, now that you see the definition of PHOBIA, I would like to point out that the following is not exaggerated.

I have a severe phobia of communal cloth touching my bare skin, especially my feet.

That includes, but is not limited to:

Hotel bed sheets/blankets (this makes it really difficult to travel at times, I have to bring my own blanket).

Hospital robes, spa robes etc.

Thrift Store/ second hand store clothing.

Couches and chairs in public places that are CLOTH, not leather/faux leather.

Taxi cabs with cloth seats.

How do I react when I'm faced with this things? I get grossed out, kind of sick to my stomach. I get really uptight, and can't relax. When sitting in a taxi with cloth seats i make sure that no part of the seat is touching my bare skin. Sometimes this results in me sitting at the very edge of the taxi seat. It's really awkward, and uncomfortable. But I just can't sit back and allow the back of my legs to touch the cloth.

When it comes to bed sheets, I can't even describe the feeling. I'm just incapable of sleeping in them. The idea of my bare feet (or even socked feet) being tucked under sheets that aren't mine (or don't belong to someone I'm close to) makes me want to cry.

Holes are even worse. If there's a HOLE in the cloth, I... will...freak...out. ESPECIALLY if it's a hole in bed sheets.

TANGENT OVER

So, yeah, bed sheets. I have to buy some of those.

I'm excited to get back to Korea, but it was a little harder to leave home this time. I had to leave my childhood home the night before my flight, so that my parents and I could spend the night in a hotel and arrive early enough (5:00am) at the airport.

While I was packing everything up and getting it ready to be put in the car, I felt really upset. I kept trying not to cry. Though, the feeling was a SAD feeling. It was so strange.

Of course, having to hug my Mom and Dad goodbye again was sad for me. I love them so much, and they have always been (and continue to be) such a huge and important part of my life that it's kind of hard to let them go for such a long amount of time.

I kept asking myself "Why is everything I want so far away from home?"

I'm divided. My family is in one place, but that place holds no opportunity for me. I kept wondering how my interests ended up finding themselves so far away from my childhood hometown. First, Japan, then Italy, now Korea. What am I considering next?

Well...Taiwan, or graduate school. But even graduate school will be far away. All of the programs that I'm interested in are offered in those 'big city' areas where there's the most cultural diversity. That = a difficult time coming home as often as I'd like.

It's hard to realize that in life you sometimes have to sacrifice the things you want and cherish (like being close to family and childhood memories) to pursue bigger goals and dreams. It's give and take. I guess I understand that, and little by little I'm starting not to mind. But, it's hard to transition from home to -world-, especially when home is so nice, haha.

But, the world is calling to me! All of the adventures that it offers convinces me to be brave and continue on! Tally-ho! What, what, my good fellow... and all that.

Er...I apparently lack sleep.

It's true! I'm running on less than 4 hours + a nap on my short flight from home-state to Chicago.

I'm hoping to catch a little bit of sleep on the flight to Korea.

Anyway, I've blathered long enough on this post.

I'm going to stretch my legs and try to find something else to do for the other 40 minutes until boarding.

★★★★ See you in Korea!!!!!!!!!!! ★★★★

Until next post,

~A.

Amazon Kindle. Getting Ready, Getting Organized.

2010-10-06T19:30:00.001-07:00

Hello Readers! ~ ★

It's getting closer to the time that I return to Korea!

I've been getting everything together and investing in a couple of things that will be super helpful.

First of all, I bought an Amazon Kindle.

I initially invested in the Kindle Wi-Fi, but decided (after speaking to a Kindle rep.) that the 3G would be better for me since I'll be out of the country. The Kindle 3-G connectivity is available pretty much all over South Korea, so it'll be worth the extra money.

Want more information on the Amazon Kindle? Just follow the link below and read the information provided by Amazon. There's also a comparison chart at the bottom that will help you make the decision in regards to which Kindle is best for you.

KINDLE INFORMATION

THOUGHTS ABOUT THE NOOK

For those of you living in Korea, or planning to live or travel abroad. If you're considering an e-reader, I bet you've thought about purchasing the NOOK from Barns and Noble. It's gotten some pretty hyped up review recently. Unfortunately the NOOK does not work outside of the U.S. All of your book purchases must be made in the States. While you're abroad, you can still use the NOOK to read the books you've already downloaded, but you won't be able to purchase anything new until you're back in America.

ALSO, if you're someone who likes access to TECHNICAL books (like exam study books, language books, and guides/informational books) you'll find a much wider selection on Amazon.

I think that the NOOK is a great product, but not if you're considering leaving the States for any lengthy period of time, and not if you think you'll be downloading a lot of language/test/technical books.

KINDLE COMPETITORS

What I've found through reviews and internet browsing is that there seems to be a lot of Kindle 'competition' out there. Numerous people consider the Kindle to be outranked by items like the 'iPad' and other tablet devices that, while allowing you to read e-books, also function as mini-computer.

The purpose of Kindle is NOT to be a hand-held computer. The Kindle was created to be, and is focused on being, an e-reader. It's an easier way to purchase and read books! That's it's main purpose, and according to founder Jeff Bezos, that's not going to change anytime soon.

I personally love the fact that Kindle isn't overly complicated with millions of computer options. Not to mention it's inexpensive! In comparison to the iPad (the boasted features are stuff that I already have on my laptop) it's hundreds of dollars cheaper, it's smaller in size, lighter in weight (lighter than most paper-back books!), and also has a NO GLARE screen with zero backlight.

Not to mention there's a 1 month battery life on the Kindle, AND no heating up.

Personally I prefer that the Kindle doesn't have a touch screen. Touch screens drive me a little bananas. I can't type or use the keyboard nearly as quickly with a touchscreen (which is why I haven't purchased a smart phone). Some people might prefer the NOOK because there's a color screen at the bottom (beneath the reader screen). As for me, I don't care if I see the book covers in color or not. They print books in black ink, and very rarely are there any pictures drawn into books (non-children books) that have any color. So, what's the real point behind having a color display? I have color display on my laptop, and when reading a book I'm not concerned about the cover.

I love the feeling you get when you read a book, and the Kindle allows me to maintain the feel of having a book in my hand, rather than a small computer.

The Kindle is also going to give me a much better option to carrying around a bunch of books. I can't take too many with me on the plane (just weighs everything down) and the books that I buy in Korea will just end up being a hassle for me when it comes time to move again. Having an e-reader like Kindle simplifies! Yay!

I buy so many books every year. So, I know that this will really help me money wise in the long run. However, I do still maintain that dream of having my own library someday, so I will still be purchasing those paperback books. I'll just be more selective about what I'm purchasing. Sounds like a good idea to me!

IN OTHER NEWS

I wanted to make a pretty long blog post that included a lot of my news and what not, but now that I've reached this point, I'm kind of tired. So, it'll have to wait for another blog. There's still a lot to chat about, though! So, don't you worry. Blogging will be picking up again soon.

Until next blog,

~A.

Fashion Misadventures and a Few Bruises.

2010-09-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

Hello readers!

I appreciate those of you who have continued visiting even during the blog down-time!

Everything has been pretty busy recently, but I finally got some time to just sit and do nothing, though I feel incredibly guilty about it because there are other things that I could be doing that are a little more important than updating a blog.

Like studying.

Ugh, I'll tell you what... studying Korean alone without a teacher and class-room is driving me more than a little bit batty. I'm a class person. I can learn on my own, but I prefer having a structured system that includes EXAMS and GRADES because those are the very things that keep me accountable.

Anyway, I'm slowly creeping along the path of Korean language learning, but I've got to learn to divide my attention. I've still got the GRE test to study for (though that's a little less pressing) ANDDDDDD I have to keep up my Japanese skills.

Why is that? You may be... ARE PROBABLY... asking yourself.

Well, it turns out that the majority of Graduate programs that I've been looking in to require 2 Asian languages. You have to be fluent enough to do research in at least one of the two Asian languages you speak. Well, I figure that if you're learning 2 languages and you have to be fluent in one, you might as well make the stretch and go for fluency in both.

And that means....

CHALLENGE! YEAH!

Anyway, that's not the main point of my post. Actually I was going to make a post today about a comic strip that I saw recently.

The comic is called ROKetship. After I started reading it, I tell you, I could hardly stop laughing. There were so many of the strips that just had me saying to my computer screen "I KNOW! RIGHT?!"

Luke Martin (the creator of ROKetship) is not only very clever and observant but also has this gift (his creativity) that allows him to portray, with near perfection, some of the hilarities that expats face in Korea.

ROKetship has, unfortunately, ended as the creator and his wife are leaving Korea. It's absolutely worth a look for everyone, living in Korea or not.

ROKetship

Anyway, the following strip was the whole reason behind me making up a post today.

Behold, culture clash.

(야하다! Translates as "Loud". We use it the same way in English. When something is too showy or attention demanding.)

This is absolutely not exaggerated.

Foreign women and Korean women both give in to the natural tendency to judge each other based on outfits. The majority of what I hear from Korean gal friends about foreign female fashion is that they tend to show way too much cleavage. Now, tank tops and what not aren't the problem here. I myself have seen some shirt choices that have me gawking in disbelief at the 'leave nothing to the imagination' exposure.

On the other hand, foreign gals (including myself), find the Korean fashion trend of 'booty shorts' to be a little too booty and less shorts.

However, the majority of these young Korean women don't have an ample backside, which makes booty shorts a lot less inappropriate than they would be on a woman of substance. But still. Why not just wear a loincloth. It'd probably cover more.

On both hands you've got fashion styles that are balancing dangerously on the edge of "indecent exposure".

Ultimate cleavage and booty shorts have their place. Beaches, mostly. And I'm not saying that I think women should dress in ankle length skirts with long sleeves and a collar up to their chin. Please. I enjoy showing a bit of skin as much as the next girl. But a bit is a bit and more than a bit, especially when doing daily activities like grocery shopping, is a bit too much.

***************************************************************************************************************

Anyway... newsflash.... while writing this my little brother arrived at the house. He's a big college boy now, so he doesn't live at home. While walking down the stairs to greet him I slipped (wood floors+socks= you should probably hold onto the stair rails doofus).

Yes. I fell down the stairs. The scream of surprise came first. My little brothers laughter followed and then was cut short by the sound of "THUD THUD THUD" as various parts of my body made contact with a few stair edges.

The laughter is normal... do you know how many times I and he have slipped on those stairs and yelped but actually never fell? The clumsiness just started to become funny after a while.

Anyway both Mom and little brother came hurdling up the stairs to make sure I was okay. I carefully tested limbs and then stood up to make sure everything was peachy. No serious damage, but there will be some crazy bruises.

It was basically one of those "slip on a banana peel" moments. My feet went right out from under me and I landed on the stairs and just slid the rest of the way down.

And yes, I cried.

Don't judge.

I'm a girl, I can do that.

At least it didn't happen in a public place while wearing a skirt and carrying and armful of books. (That already happened. Crosswalk. University campus. First day of college.)

Anyway.

No news yet about the exact day I'll be arriving back in Korea. I'm hoping to know by next week. I'll keep everyone updated. This time around it's going to be a little different. I plan to do a lot more traveling and going out. Hermiting myself away in my apartment to study didn't do me much good the last go, so I'm gonna change it up a bit.

I hope that everyone had a great 추석 holiday!

Until next post,

~A.

Back To Korea

2010-09-14T07:44:00.001-07:00

Hello Readers!

Been a while. Sorry that you haven't seen a post from me recently, no explanation other than that I was just enjoying my time at home and trying to get organized for future escapades.

Speaking of that, I've finally landed a good position. It took a while because I was being really really picky about the location. But, thanks to a wonderful wonderful recruiter (who I will link at the bottom of this post), a position was found and the school wants to hire me just as much as I want to take the position.

There were a lot of teaching positions available to start at the end of November. That's just... not soon enough. I mean, I love being home with my family but I don't have anything to do here. Even getting a part-time job is a nightmare. The second full day I was home I went out and drove around the city picking up applications from numerous places. Turned them all in and got this funny look from the majority.

I'm sure some of you know this look. It's the,

"You're a University graduate with experience overseas and you want a PART-TIME job?"

They knew. In their busy little brains they knew that I wasn't looking for a long-term position and that as soon as something better came along I'd be scooting on out.

But my thought is... DUH! It's a PART-TIME position! Can those people really expect their part-time workers to stay for years and years?! Maybe if it were a full-time position or a managing position. That's different. Those are possible career paths. But part-time? PLEASE.

A year or so ago I was applying for a part-time secretarial position that paid pretty crumily (but seemed interesting!). During the interview they asked me about my future goals and after finding out that I eventually wanted to attend graduate school they politely told me that they were looking for a more perminant fill to the position. I must have stared at them funny because things got kind of uncomortable.

A perminant part-time worker. Well, I guess it's possible. I mean, if someone were paying for my house, my food, my car, and whatever else then sure, I guess I might possibly consider a part-time position as an actual career choice.

THE PLAN

Yes, you all know about 'The Plan'. This thing that keeps changing and evolving. This thing that never stays still!

'The Plan'.

"The Plaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan."

Anyway.

I've decided to make it a little more basic. Trying to map out all of the little things has become similar to trying to get rocks to float.

1-YEAR GOALS

- Pass TOPIK exam level 3 (at least. Hey, that's right in the middle.)

- Retake GRE and maybe score above "You must be special" on the Math section.

- Launch ELA

I'm sure I'll come up with a few more, but the rest of them that I'm considering making actual goals are a little high reaching for the 1-year plan.

Good News!

I'm coming back to Korea! Oh yes. It's true!

Since getting back to the States I've been searching for another teaching position. It's been hard finding one since I've been so picky on location. I was pretty much refusing to take any jobs outside of this particular area, so getting a job offer was proving difficult.

However! After getting offered a job at a really questionable institute and having to turn it down due to all of the online-black lists this school was archived in, I finally got offered a fantabulous job and I accepted yesterday.

Exciting!

It's looking like I'll be back in Korea in either early or mid October!

Until then I'm going to enjoy my time at home, relax, and eat a lot of ARBY'S chicken salad sandwhiches. Because I missed those.

Well, I'll be sending out another update again, certainly before I head back to the ROK.

Everyone have a great week!

Until next blog,

~A.

Waiting for the Train (er... Plane. Whatever!)

2010-09-04T23:33:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers,

Well, I'm sitting in the Narita Airport in Japan, waiting for the flight to Chicago to start boarding. It's already been a long day! But, I was really blessed and lucky to meet a young lady who was on her way to Canada to study abroad. She introduced herself as Kelly. 15 year old Korean middle school student on her way to live abroad, for the first time.

She was very friendly and her English was pretty good considering her age and the fact that she'd never studied abroad before. We had a bit of conversation on the 2 hour plane flight to Narita from Pusan. It was her first time traveling alone and she was really nervous. Our layovers were the same, and she kept asking me questions about what she was supposed to do after landing, so I offered to help her find her flight (we both had 4 hours, plenty of time to wander around). We finally found where she was supposed to be, then went and got her boarding pass. This all took about an hour and a half!

During this time we stopped at the restroom where she picked up a baggage claim receipt off of the floor as a women rushed by. She tried to call after the woman but to no avail. We looked around for her for a while, but then gave up and took the receipt back to the bathroom and placed it on the counter, hoping that if she realized she was missing it she would come back to the bathroom searching.

Amazingly, about an hour later we ran into her coming back towards the bathroom, we got her attention and told her about her missing baggage claim receipt. She was understandably surprised, thanked us, said a quick prayer asking for it to still be in the bathroom where we left it, and ran off.

Narita isn't exactly a small airport. It was a bit of a miracle we ran into her again. So, interesting!

Anyway, it was about an hour until she had to return to her terminal to get her seat assigned for the flight, but she didn't want to stay behind at her empty terminal alone so she came along with me when I went to go get my boarding pass. That turned into an ordeal! There was apparently some problem with some travelers passports and it was taking forever to process them. The line kept getting longer. We were at pretty near the front but still waited for about 40 minutes. After finally getting the tickets, we walked back to her terminal together.

It was nice to makes friends! She was happy to have help getting around, and I was happy for the company of an enthusiastic English student! I believe that she'll do well in Canada. I'm glad I could help her, I certainly wish there'd been someone around to help me the first time I traveled alone (still recalls the numerous episodes of tears after a series of delayed and missed flights that left her stranded in Detroit without a clue in the world what to do).

Anyway, so here I am now, resting, and really wishing to get some sleep soon...

I stayed up too late last night with friends having dinner and singing at Norebang to celebrate my last night living in Hwamyeong. After all that was said and done I came back to the apartment and repacked my stuff and finally climbed into bed at about a quarter to 4. I set my alarm for 6, and finally dragged myself out from under the covers at 6:50.

So, I'm running on about 3 hours of sleep, a twix bar, half a moon pie, a bite of pineapple, a wheat roll, and two or three forkfuls of really really dry horrible chicken from the plane meal that was served on the way to Japan.

Anyway, I'm hungry and tired. That means that I'm getting kind of cranky.

Well, I have another 4 hour layover in Chicago after landing, that gives me plenty of time to get through customs, recheck my baggage, and get my ticket.

Well, they're about to call for passengers to board. So, I'd better close this post here.

I'm sure you'll be hearing from me again soon!

Until next post,

~A.

Change of Plans and Trip Home

2010-09-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Hello Readers!

I am heading back to the USA tomorrow!

There has been quite a drastic change in plans, and instead of being home for 3 weeks and returning at the end of September, I will be staying in the US for over a month and returning to beautiful Korea around the end of October.

The decision was made suddenly, and believe me... it's caused me a lot of turmoil. But, I think that it was the best choice.

Bottom line: I'm leaving Busan. It was a nice stay here in this beach area, but I'm a country girl. Didn't you know? All of the partying, and the traffic, and the overcrowding... that's been gettin' me down. Way down. I've gotta get out.

So I've chosen to relocate my little self to another part of the country that's much smaller (though still quite a city I've heard) and a little less manic. I'll let you know the details close to the time.

I'm going to spend the time at home getting myself together. Unfortunately the school I first worked for greatly tarnished my first experience here in Korea and left me a little shaken. I have no doubt that the next time around will be much better.

Anyway, in the case of me going home for a longer period of time I have to rethink my packing. Since the weather is going to start getting cooler in the states after I arrive, I need to be ready for it.

On a rather sideways note...

I have a very strange feeling inside, and I think that pretty soon there may be trouble coming, but I'm not sure what kind. I just have to keep focused and remember my goals.

Learn Korean

Pass TESOL

Prepare for Graduate School

Be the best woman I can be. (Sound cliche? Well shush. Go count rocks or something.)

But, who knows. Maybe there is no trouble on its way. Maybe I'm just paranoid because this past week has been a gift from Hades.

Well, anyway. This trip home is going to give me time to regroup, pull myself together, and enjoy being around people who love and care for me. That'll be the best rejuvenation.

My flight leaves tomorrow morning. I'll be home by 8pm Sunday the 5th.

I'm excited to see my family and friends!

I'll miss all of you in Korea. Especially you (you know who you are).

But! I'll be back in about 6 weeks, rested, rejuvenated, and ready to tackle a new job!

I'm sure I'll be posting a blog here and there while I'm in the states.

Though, the majority of the bogs I post while I'm Stateside will be found on www.autumnalbutterfly.blogspot.com. So check that out.

Well then. Everyone take care!

Until next post,

~A.

Vacation Prep. and Book List

2010-08-27T21:30:00.001-07:00

Back to back posts. Separated for the sake of organization.

My plane flight to the states is set for next Sunday. I have to leave my current, school provided, apartment by Wednesday morning so a lovely friend of mine is going to let me stay with her for a while. She's just moved in! A new teacher at my current school.

The teacher she replaced headed back Stateside last week. He's a great guy, but MAN did he leave a mess in that apartment! I went over to help AL clean up and arrange her new haunt. She inherited some of the furniture that I bought while I was here for my apartment. Cleaning that place was a new level of UCK. It took hours, but it was actually kind of enjoyable.

I'm sure it was a sight to behold, two blonde headed foreign girls decked out in dusty t-shirts, jeans hiked to our knees, no make-up, hair a mess (I personally was sporting a bandana over my hair like a cleaning lady) manhandling furniture together from one apartment building to another. My my. We got a couple of sideways glances, but that almost made it even more entertaining.

Lovely AL returned the favor the next night and helped me clean and organize my apartment.

The Joys of Packing

Somehow, I've managed to go from being ' the girl that takes everything with her for her 1 week vacation in 5 suitcases and a cary on' to 'the girl that can fit everything she needs for 3 weeks into one suitcase and still have room for all those souvenirs she bought for her family, and possibly even that small pine tree that was growing in her shower drain when she first arrived. Yeah... that can come too. It'll go right there in the corner. Next to the shampoo."

Actually, I'm kind of digging the transition. It's gonna be easy as pie getting around those airports with just one suitcase and an overnight bag.

Anyhoodle.

I've got some lovely reading material for the flight. I took a trip with some friends to KYOBO BOOKS in Seomyeon. They have an English books section. Of course, it's not exactly extensive, but if you look hard enough you'll be able to find yourself some good reading material. You might even be forced to step outside your comfort zone with book topics out of desperation. That's not necessarily a bad thing.

As for me, after about an hour of looking at the same 2 book cases, I finally found 3 titles that piqued my interest.

The first one was

GOOD OMENS by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett

Aside from the fact that I LOVE Neil Gaiman, one of my other favorite authors of all time (Clive Barker) had the opening comment on the front cover.

"The Apocalypse has never been funnier."

Back cover reads:

According to The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes

Nutter, Witch (the world's only completely accurate book of

prophecies, written in 1655, before she exploded), the world will

end on a Saturday. Next Saturday, in fact. Just before dinner.

So the armies of Good and Evil are amassing. Atlantis is rising,

frogs are falling, tempers are flaring. Everything appears to be

going according to Divine Plan. Except a somewhat fussy angel

and a fast-living demon-- both of whom have lived amongst Earth's

mortals since The Beginning and have grown rather fond of the

lifestyle--are not actually looking forward to the coming Rapture.

And someone seems to have misplaced the Antichrist...

The next title:

SHOGUN by James Clavell

A 1,152 page epic novel by a #1 New York Times best selling author.

The back reads:

A bold English adventurer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life, two ways of love. All brought together in an extraordinary saga of a time and place aflame with conflict, passion, ambition, lust, and the struggle for power...

And the 3rd title:

The Interpreter by Suki Kim

This is one of those books that I probably wouldn't have been keen to pick up right away. It took me a couple of minutes to decide that I might as well give it a try.

The back reads:

Suzy Park is a twenty-nine-year-old Korean American interpreter for the New York City court system who makes a startling and ominous discovery about her family history that will send her on a chilling quest. Five years prior, her parents--hardworking greengrocers who forfeited personal happiness for their children's gain--were brutally murdered in an apparent robbery of their store. But the glint of a new lead entices Suzy into the dangerous Korean underworld, and ultimately reveals the mystery of her parents' homicide.

Apparently this was Suki Kim's first novel, written back in 2003. So I'm kind of looking forward to getting into it and seeing how this Author writes. No idea if she's kept writing over the years. But if this book is any good, I'll have to hope that she has. When I find an author I like I hoard their work.

Anyway, that's my reading list for the flight and the 3 week vacation time. I'll be spending a lot of time home alone since my kid brother is back in school and it's the middle of the year so parents, older brother, sister-in-law, and other family are going to be working.

Well, I might get another post up before my vacation officially starts. If not, then you'll be hearing from me at some point during and especially after I arrive back in Korea.

Until next post,

Rant Rant and the Count Down.

2010-08-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

It's been a while readers!

Things have been hectic lately. This last full week of school was on full blast, and I had to maneuver getting tests ready, digging up information on leaving procedures (how much is going to be withheld from my paycheck for my flight here, what day I have to leave my apartment, when the director will take me to the immigration office, when I'll get my final pay for LAST month AND this month. That kind of thing).

My first length in Korea has been a bit of a bumpy ride, but I guess that's all part of the learning process.

Readers beware. Rant ahead.

-Rant Start-

Something funny. I've noticed that there seems to be some strange pissing contest going on between foreign guys in this country. I haven't encountered this at all with the gals. Older guys especially tend to be REALLY condescending towards new foreigners.

I love getting advice from people that have lived in this country for a few years. It can be good advice, and they've been through a lot of what new foreigners have complaints and qualms about. It'd be biting your nose off to spite your face not to listen to them. BUT, and I strongly emphasize the BUT here, when you start using your experience as a spring board into arrogance, the listening stops.

If your sentences begins with "Because I'm a qualified teacher...." then you're going to be better off talking to a spoon, because I certainly won't be paying attention to you.

I don't have an ME degree, I haven't been here for a decade, and I'm not married to a local... but that doesn't translate into me automatically being a transient, unqualified, crap teacher. I have a university degree, experience in working with ESL students, am TESOL certified, and I have a passion for teaching. But these guys think that what makes a GOOD and QUALIFIED teacher isn't the passion, or the hard work and determination, or the good attitude... it's a 2 year ME degree and a Korean spouse.

Please.

Your degree doesn't make you a teacher.

The only thing those guys have going for them is their experience. But even that gets wasted because they use that fact to continually boost their ego.

Anyone else met any guys like this? Am I the only one that gets irritated with them?! I may be green when it comes to teaching classes, but being new doesn't make someone the scum of the earth. Get over yourself, and start being helpful why don't you. For goodness sake.

-Rant Over-

Well, now that that's out of the way...

I've got 8 days left until my flight back to the states for my lovely 3 week vacation!

I was able to get this time off because I don't start at my new position until October. My last day at the current school is Tuesday (thank you God), so I've got a whole month of nothing to do before my training starts at the new place.

I'm admittedly going to miss my kindergarten students. I really adore them. They have been my little rays of sunshine at that school. I looked forward to seeing them every weekday morning.

They don't know yet that a new teacher is coming. They'll find out on Monday when she shows up in my class with me, I guess. I'm not sure how they'll react, but I'm hoping it'll go over well. I have people telling me that kids adjust well to new things and won't have a problem, and then I have other people telling me that it's hard for kids to make big changes.

I'll miss their hugs and kisses, their mischievous ways, their refusal to let go of my hand once they'd gotten ahold of it. They're bright. Very very bright. They've learned so much so quickly. I know that these little kids have a great chance at growing up well. I'll think of them often! And I'll find a perfect picture of them to add to the picture frames that will litter my new apartment.

Well, this was a bit of a catch up post.

I have some other stuff to blather about, but I'll leave that for a separate blog.

Everyone have a great weekend.

Until next post,

~A.

He's Gonna Get It.

2010-08-16T05:58:00.000-07:00

Hello readers.

I thought about this for a long time before I finally decided that I should post this.

I'm not going to go into any great amount of detail as the following is extremely private... but I just want to post this up as a warning to any of the girls reading.

WARNING TO ALL FEMALES

A little over a week ago, in the middle of the day, I was sexually assaulted in my apartment building elevator.

A month before my assault another girl was attacked in the building next to mine by a guy matching the description and using the same method of assault as the one who attacked me.

I went to the police and they've been doing the best they can with what they've got (a very crappy CCTV image capture).

Unfortunately, this weekend another girl was assaulted. It happened in the same buildings, in the same way, and probably by the same guy.

Girls, be on your guard. Korea is safer (crime percentage wise) than most of the western countries but that doesn't mean that bad things will never happen. WE'VE GOT TO BE CAREFUL.

First of all, don't ever get on an elevator with a man that you don't know. I never thought about it before, but that's just plain stupidity. Would you walk in to a windowless closet with a strange man and then shut the door behind you? Uh... no. Elevators are no different. While it's traveling to a certain floor it's an exitless box.

Secondly, if something like this ever does happen to you... don't keep it quiet. GO TO THE POLICE!

Staying silent is just giving the man who hurt you another (and better) opportunity to hurt someone else.

Don't just keep those keys ready in your hand when you're walking down the street at night alone. Don't expect it to be some drunk man on a friday night that makes an attempt. If you're alone then you should always keep an eye out, day or night. You don't have to be paranoid, just be aware.

Also, if you do get attacked, FIGHT! Knock the crap out of the guy. Hit him with whatever you've got. I don't know the details of the last assault but I hope that the girl managed to at least give him quite a wallop.

I'm really hoping that the police will catch this guy soon. Hopefully they have enough (crappy) CCTV images to get a better idea of who they're looking for.

Well.

Just be careful ladies.

Until next post (one that will hopefully be a little less serious),

Just a BTW.

2010-08-12T19:06:00.003-07:00

Hello Readers.

I know it's been a while since I posted, and I'll tell you something... a lot has happened.

I don't have the time to go into details about it now, but you know, it's been insane lately.

I'm counting down the days until I can move out of this little piece of hades disguised as an innocent -gu.

Really, this place isn't all that bad. It's just the experiences I've had here that kind of dinge it up. The school, the latest incident, dealing with officials who are just as stressed and MORE stressed than me. Not being able to speak Korean in dire situations. You know, the usual.

But, It hasn't all been a disaster! I'm still pretty much in love with this Country and I'll be looking forward to moving to a new area in Busan and starting anew come the end of September!

I just wanted to make a quick post letting everyone know that I'll be writing an official blog soon with updates about what's been going on.

Thank you for all the support from home! And from friends.

Love you all greatly.

And also, to my readers who continue to stop by: I don't know who you are! But I know you're there! Thank you!

Until next post,

~A.

Special Post: In Loving Memory

2010-08-03T17:21:00.000-07:00

This post is made in loving memory of my great-grandma who passed away last week on Thursday. Her funeral was yesterday. I found out today via an e-mail from my mom. I didn't know her very well, though she lived in the same town. I saw her from time to time and knew her as my great-grandfather's second wife. I'm sorry that I didn't get to know her more than I did. But I will always remember her as a wonderful and interesting lady.

God bless her daughters, my aunt S and aunt D, and especially her grand-daughters (My mom and aunt, and my cousin Al.), and everyone else grieving now.

Greatgrandmama was 85 years old. She lived an interesting life, with tons of people to love her, and tons of people to love. I'm very thankful that I had the opportunity to sit and talk with her before I came to Korea. She had a lot of amazing stories to tell, and great wisdom to share with me.

With great great love to my family, and in respectful and loving memory of Great-grandma.

May she rest forever in the arms of God.

~A.

Plans, Vacations, and The Seasons of Change.

2010-08-03T05:04:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone.

Midweek has arrived!

And what have you been up to lately?

As for me:

These days off have already given me a chance to really gather my thoughts about a couple of things.

Moving to Korea is certainly one of the best choices I've made in my life thus far. The complete upheaval has really given me the opportunity to self evaluate and get started making some solid future plans. In the years before everything kind of seemed up in the air. I knew what I wanted but had no real direction, no way to get started.

Now that Korea has become my starting point I feel a little more organized, my goals somewhat established.

Anyway

ELA is coming along well. Thanks to those of you who inquired. There's still room for people interested in joining the project, the link to the original informational post is HERE.

The ideas have expanded, and the work load required to get the ball rolling on this project has just gone up a considerable amount. But, you know, I like the challenge. Research is key. It's time consuming, but actually rather enjoyable.

On a personal note

Things are changing. Everyone knows that change is inevitable, but it's hard to avoid the emotional effects, even if we've braced ourselves for the change over.

My parents are talking about selling the house. Yeah, I knew it would happen eventually. That place is too big for just the two of them to really enjoy it. It was meant for a couple with 3 kids living at home 99% of the year.

Now, one kid is married with a family living in his own house, another one (that's me) living in another country entirely, and the youngest just about to start the second year of University... it seems about time that Mom and Dad started doing what all of us dreaded; seriously considering a move to a smaller place.

We grew up in that house. Well, my older brother shared his childhood between two places but his attachment is the same. I was 6 when we moved there and have little memory of the house before it , and my little brother has absolutely no recollection of any other home except that one.

It's hard to think that soon we'll all have to give it up. Not the memories of course, but a physical representation of a huge chunk of our lives. Getting used to a new place will be next to impossible.

It's hard to think that I won't be bringing my future family to that house for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Summer time. That future hubby (whoever he may be, your guess is as good as mine) might meet my parents in a strange new setting instead of that comfortable place of my childhood. Kind of grips me a bit when I know that I won't be able to freely show them that house and those rooms that I loved so much and were so much a part of me. I know that my brothers feel the same way, but we can't expect our parents to keep the financial and physical burden of that house for just the two of them. My mom and dad aren't old, but they don't want to waste their free time cleaning that place from top to bottom. My parents will be official empty nesters soon! It's their time to start living their life freely again.

What will that place have for me in a few years aside from it's title as my hometown? Parents are considering a move to Georgia. Aunt and Uncle will move to Texas. The siblings will all wander their way out of that town onto their own places to start there own lives. There won't be a reason for me to go back there anymore after a while, and that's the saddest part.

I'm too sentimental for my own good sometimes.

I'll be unattached, floating. I guess that's not such a bad thing. Everyone experiences that at some point in their life. I'm barreling right on through my early twenties, I guess I should have expected the feeling of detachment, the bitter-sweet freedom, sooner or later. To belong to nowhere... it'll be a strange sensation.

A free sailing ship with no home harbor.

But, I'm not bitter. It's all part of the adventure.

Future Plans

I discussed this before in some previous posts. I gave a general outline of what I'd like to do in the next few years. The plans have become a little more solid these days.

Not ready to lay them as official just yet, but it all seems to be coming together, and at least I have some healthy goals.

The most demanding goals at the moment are finishing this TESOL course and getting set in to seriously studying Korean and Chinese. Chinese has been easy to get my little hand into because there's so much available online. Korean has been a bit harder in regards to self-study, but thank God for KLIFF.

KLIFF

If you live in Busan and are looking for a place to take Korean language classes 1-5 days a week (regular or intensive, group or private) then you should check out the Korean Language Institute for Foreigners (KLIFF). They have locations in both PNU and Haeundae.

Vacation

Vacation is already half over, but after the vacation ends I've only got three more weeks of work left before I head home in September to visit my family.

15 more work days left at that (insert choice words and a vehement rant).

Anyway, I'll be heading to Daejon this morning for my out of town trip. Not entirely sure what there will be to see! But I've heard that it's the science and technology area of choice. That's gotta be interesting.

If I can locate my camera between now and the time I leave to catch my KTX train maybe I'll be able to put up a few pictures when I get back!

I know you all love pictures! Yes you do!

Anyway.

That's all for this post.

Until next time,

~A.

Heat, Private Schools, and Controversy In the Classroom.

2010-07-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

Well readers, I'll tell you one thing.

IT'S HOT!

Yes it is. It's just as hot and humid here in the beach towns of Busan as it is back in the South. The moment you walk outside you can feel the oppressive wet heat soaking through your skin.

You know, I actually wouldn't mind it that much since I come from a similar climate. But....

MY AC IS BROKEN!

Well... not broken exactly. It still blows cold air just fine. However, it leaks like crazy. I have no idea what's wrong with the thing, and I'm not too keen on going to my school for assistance on the matter. I've learned via observation that asking them for help on any issue concerning the apartment is just not a good idea. (Barely restrains herself from going into details.)

Anyway, my apartment is sticky and uncomfortable at times, which makes for the occasional semi-cranky attitude.

TOPICS

Well, there's quite a lot to talk about today. This week has been full of revelations and plan making. Things have really been changing lately. None of those changes are bad, they're all either good changes, neutral changes, or just expected changes that can't be controlled.

I thought that I'd start off with yapping about a topic that's come up, especially lately, a lot in conversation with foreign teachers.

Private schools for kids: Are They Establishments of Satan?

We've all pretty much drawn the same conclusion about it. No one can be sure exactly, but the answer has come to be - It wouldn't surprise me.

There are so many complaints about the mistreatment teachers (foreign and Korean) receive at the hands of private institutions (especially the ones catering to children). Unfortunately I didn't hear the warnings until after I'd already signed on for a position with one of these places. Of course, I naively thought that if my attitude was good then I could face anything. Generally this is true!

I guess my downfall with the 'good attitude' plan was that I'm not used to letting people spit in my face and walk all over me. Back in the States if my work environment would have been even remotely similar to the one I first experienced coming here, I would have bailed out ASAP and possibly even filed a complaint with the labor board.

I'm sure that this isn't EVERY case, and I do know that there are teachers that are very happy at their private school. Unfortunately I hear negative feedback from the majority.

You know though, I do have a bit of an issue.

It's unfortunate for the rest of us who have LEGITIMATE problems and complaints that we're stereotyped as UNGRATEFUL because of other people who are just LAZY.

I'd like to say at this point that if you are a person complaining about having 40 hour work weeks, you need to shut your whiney yap. 40 hours a week is standard full-time. Get over it.

Would I love to have a 30 hour a week job that had all the perks of my 40 hour a week job AND better pay? Who wouldn't exactly?

But those jobs are few and far between, and certainly aren't the standard. No one should EXPECT to find a job like that. If you have one, consider yourself darn lucky.

What you SHOULD expect though is decent pay, a good working environment, supportive directors/supervisors/head teachers, and a work load/stress level that DOESN'T try to crush you every day.

Another thing I'd like to point out is that no one feels any sympathy for the people that choose to marinate in alcohol the majority of their free-time and then complain about having 'too many hours' or about their job being 'too tiring'.

At least for 40 hours a week you aren't destroying your liver.

I have no problem with people drinking alcohol and weekend shenanigans are totally cool (and expected). You don't have class, you don't have work obligations, do what you want. However, during the week it's your responsibility to make sure that you'll be fresh for class the next day. If you have a hangover on WEDNESDAY don't be offended when no one seems interested in your problems.

Anyway

What I'm trying to say here is that there are plenty of people out there with legitimate problems with their working environment, but those issues are sometimes overshadowed by the brigade of ridiculous complaints from people who thought they were going to be working 20 hours a week for 2.1 mil a month.

Korea is not a desperate nation, and the number of QUALIFIED teachers has gone up over the years. Just like anywhere else you're going to have to work for the good jobs. Experience and credentials (or just plain luck<--- definitely don't depend on that) are going to get you the farthest. That means that you're going to have to put in your time at the bottom of the totem pole.

I'm not saying you should ACCEPT bad situations. No way. If you're being mistreated, threatened, swindled, taken advantage of, or lied to then you need to start sounding some alarms. But if your main complaint is that you're at work for the standard 8 hours a day then maybe it's time for you to take a weekend trip to the little town of "GROW UP".

If you want a better job with less hours then keep looking. Keep applying. Keep searching. You might find one, and that's great! But don't expect, or feel like you deserve one right away.

Aaaand.. On to the next topic.

ENGLISH CLASS: NOT YOUR SOAP BOX.

I'm not going to go into too much detail about this situation that I've come across on a forum. I just wanted to express my opinion about it.

Apparently there was a teacher who had some problems with other instructors at his Christian school. They were rather liberal and were advising the children/teens that they should be who they are. I would have no problem with this, because that's an awesome thing to advise children and teens.

However, the guidance continued on to introduce sexual freedom. The instructors were telling the kids that they are in control of their own bodies and can make their own choices in regards to their sex life/sexual relationships and what not.

This is where things crossed the line. Children should not be so openly exposed to the idea of 'sexual' freedom. THEY'RE CHILDREN. Even the teenagers have too much to be confused about without foreigners teaching them that sexual freedom is totally cool when their society says "NO WAY!". Besides, it is NOT the place of the teacher to instill those sort of personal moral values/beliefs into the students.

If I were the parent of one of those students I would be absolutely outraged.

As teachers it is our job to encourage the students and guide them into a brighter educational future. We are not their parents, older siblings, or their priests. It is not our place to discuss personal issues such as sexuality with them. Aside from sex education (which is highly technical and based the majority on fact and statistics and NOT personal feelings or opinions) topics of sex and sexuality should not be brought up by the teacher to students.

A teacher can live their life the way they want. Their life style is their choice, but it is not appropriate for them to encourage others to live the same way that they do, ESPECIALLY when their life choices are controversial. This is the very reason why religion can't be taught in public schools.

A teacher discouraging discrimination is a different story. Teaching children to be tolerant of people is one thing, but encouraging them to 'sew their wild oats' as much as they want is downright revolting.

I think that those teachers should be dismissed. Mostly my feelings about that are based on the emotional health of the children who don't need to be thinking about such complicated emotional issues anymore than necessary or BEFORE it's necessary. The rest of that opinion is based on the fact that it was apparently a Christian institution. A parent sending their children to a Christian school are going to be expecting a certain kind of environment and a director/manager/administrator should know better about how the parents will probably react when their kids come home with conversation topics on starting a sexual revolution in their country.

Anyway.

I have some other things to write about, but I'll separate the posts for the sake of keeping things organized.

By the way...

Highly serious topics finished for the day. No worries.

Until next post,

~A.

Emergency Rooms and Substitute Teachers

2010-07-23T19:55:00.000-07:00

Well, another weekend has arrived. This is one of those weekends where I have absolutely no idea what the plan is. I know what I’m NOT going to do, sure. I guess I’ll use this weekend to chill, relax, and recover from the week. And YESTERDAY.

Yesterday I woke up with the same cough and stuffy nose I’ve had for about 4 months now. I also had a very bad pain in my left back gum, right around my back tooth. I’d been having some discomfort there for a day or two, but nothing big. I thought I just might have eaten a tortilla chip funny or something.

This morning though, the pain was a little more intense. I checked it out, and didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. No swelling, no uber redness. I just made sure to brush gently and rinse a couple of times with extra strong mouthwash. The pain subsided for about 10 minutes.

By the time I was at work my mouth was REALLY hurting. I couldn’t even chew on that side. You never know how difficult it is to eat ONLY on one side of your mouth until you can’t use the other side for whatever reasons (dentist numbed you, got a tooth pulled out, soreness, etc.)

I had two classes in the morning, and after about an hour my throat was starting to hurt too. My thoughts were WHY?! WHY?! WHY?!

My guess is my lymph nodes were swelling up to fight whatever it was that was going on with my gum. But it was hurting enough that I had a hard time speaking, and I was getting really really irritated.

I had planned on going to the doctor that morning before work, but was hit with some shocking news from back home. I spent some of my morning talking to family, and ran out of time to see the doctor before work.

So, during lunch break I headed out to the doctors office. I got there to find an empty office, no one at the front desk. I called out and finally a nurse came out to greet me with her mouth mostly full of food. I tried not to think so, but that was actually pretty obnoxious. She motioned that the office was closed for lunch.

“Until when?” I asked?

Until 2 was the reply.

Well, That’s a pretty sweet gig. An over 1 hour lunch break at a DOCTORS OFFICE in the middle of everyone else’s lunch time when most people would be making their trip from the office to get something checked out since they close at 5 and no one gets off work until then!

Anyway, I decided to make a trip to the doctors office today. Of course, I had no idea about the mouth thing. I didn't know whether to see a doctor (because I was pretty sure it was infection), or go to a dentist. I planned to to go both. Dentist first, then the doctor.

For the last few hours of work the pain in my mouth and throat started to worsen and I was so swollen around my back tooth that I couldn't close my mouth properly. One of my beautiful co-workers had volunteered to take me to the doctor today so that she could help me explain to the doctor EXACTLY what was wrong. Well, I asked her whether or not she thought I should just to a hospital. A few of the other foreign teachers at my school had told me to go.

The reason I was asking my Korean co-workers opinion was because I didn't want to go by myself!!!! Hospitals are scary. They're even more scary when you don't speak the language. Besides. The EMERGENCY ROOM? Don't people only go to the Emergency room when there is an... I don't know... EMERGENCY?

I was in pain, but not prepared to enter an emergency room.

Anyway, my Korean co-worker (bless her, she's so sweet) was really concerned but she didn't get my hint that I wanted someone to go with me, so I left it alone. I decided that I would just wait until the next day.

However, on the way home another of my new workers (brand new, only 2 weeks in Korea) got in touch with me and said that he would go with me if I felt uncomfortable.

I still wasn't sure if I was ready to brave a trip to the hospital for mouth pain.

HOWEVER

My mind changed quite quickly when I got home and went to a mirror to check out what was going on back there. The gum was so swollen you almost couldn't see half of my back tooth. And... here's the kicker... the gum was turning BLACK! WTH!?

I got myself out of that apartment ASAP, swung by to grab my co-worker out of his apartment and headed to the Emergency room.

MY TRIP TO THE EMERGENCY ROOM

Some of you might be thinking that I'm just a big baby, but that whole gum being black thing really freaked me out. Tissue usually only turns black when it's dying, right? Yeah, I wasn't ready for that infection to possibly spread into my blood stream.

My throat was hurting really badly by this point as well. So I was ready to brave a Korean emergency room.

My co-worker and I arrived at the hospital emergency room quickly... since the hospital is literally just right across the street from out apartment building (the lights on the hospital sign shines through my window and sometimes keeps me up at night). There were some patients wandering around the lobby, and a group of middle aged women all talking with each other over a cup of tea in the lounge area.

There was no one at the information desk, and I wasn't sure if we were allowed to go through the emergency room doors. Luckily my co-worker is braver than I am and he opened the emergency room door and looked around. Saw no one.

Uh... now what?

Anyway, finally one of the baristas helped us out and lead us into the emergency room where some nurses were sitting behind a desk that was out of view from the door.

There were no patience in the emergency room. It was extremely quiet. The doctor finally came out, obviously having just been interrupted in the middle of his dinner. When I told him what was going on and looked at me kind of funny and said...

"Well, as you know we aren't dentists."

I felt something inside of me break. Perhaps it was the last thinly woven strand of control that I had left after that ridiculous day. I may have sounded a bit too harsh, I think, when I said "I KNOW that. It's not my tooth that's hurting it's my MOUTH and THROAT."

He said "Okay okay okay okay, we'll look."

At this point, I already feel stupid for coming to an EMERGENCY room for my problem. But it's not like they were busy.

Anyway, he gave my mouth a look and was like "Ah. I see."

He went on to tell me that it was an infection (duh). He said that this type of infection was most often caused by STRESS.

He said that with antibiotics and rest it would go away in a day or two.

The blackness of my gum ended up being (prepare for gross out) blood trapped underneath the tissue caused by the infection. It pooled and caused my gum to look very black in that area. Uh, ew.

His prescription ended up being about 40 pills (antibiotics, pain killer, and some pill to help with my digestion, I think.)

I took the first dose last night after eating something, it took about two or three hours but the swelling started to go down and I could finally close my mouth all the way.

I'm hoping too that the antibiotics will help with whatever is going on with my throat, and maybe even help with whatever else is going on that's kept me coughing for the past 4 months.

THIS MORNING

I woke up this morning, and the pain in my gum was pretty much gone. The swelling had gone down considerably. It's still very red, and there's still a black circle on the back of my gum, but it's no longer painful. However, now my throat is really hurting. Hopefully it's just my lymph nodes still fighting whatever infection I've got. The last thing I need on my plate right now is tonsillitis or strep throat.

I realized something really disturbing last night, too. When I first started using my AC, I found black mold in the vents. I cleaned it out myself and double checked and thought that I'd gotten all of it out... but I just started thinking that there might be more there than what I can see or reach. That could very possibly be the reason for my coughing/sinus problems. Or maybe it's the city air, I don't know. But man... COME ON.

WHY I'M SUPER IRRITATED

Yesterday I was in quite a bit of pain. I couldn't speak well and I couldn't eat or even drink a beverage without it hurting. I had 9 classes yesterday, luckily it was test week so it wasn't necessary for me to do a lesson. I tried playing review games with my first two afternoon classes but it required too much talking, so I ended up just giving everyone puzzles when tests were done.

Back in the states I would have called in to use one of my sick days. Unfortunately my current school doesn't have a system of substitute teachers. They don't have ANY WAY of covering classes if one of the teachers is sick.

What does that mean? It means that asking for a sick day is like trying to get permission to set the building on fire.

My poor co-workers have been sick too lately. No one's able to get a day off to stay home without someone having a fit about it.

It's not just my school that's like that though. I've heard from a lot of people that most private institutions are structured that way. I guess there aren't enough substitute teachers to go around.

ANYWAY

That's enough of that. Aside from the cough, weird sinuses, and sore throat, I am feeling better (no sarcasm there. I really am feeling much better). I haven't had a fever at all, which means that my body hasn't yet had to go into 'war' mode against any illnesses. I hope that is a good sign that whatever it is I have isn't anything to fuss over.

Well, a good day awaits. Got to finish up some laundry (washing machine is old and slow, takes 1.5 hours to wash a single load of clothes), clean up a bit, and then go see a movie later on this evening.

Anyone seen KNIGHT AND DAY? Heard it's crap, but have to see it for myself before I can judge.

Everyone have a great weekend!

Stay safe!

Until next time,

~A.

Mishap Hair

2010-07-19T05:48:00.000-07:00

Alright everyone.

I want to let you in on a little bit of craziness that's happened recently.

It's called... THE WORST HAIRCUT OF MY LIFE!

I won't tell you where I went to get my haircut, because I don't think that the guy is bad at what he does. In fact, I think he's pretty good. He just has NO clue about my hair, and I am super duper picky. Back in the states, the same guy has been doing my hair for years.

It takes a long time to get a feel for someone and what style they need.

Anyway. I posted a few pictures a little ways back depicting my hair style THEN and what I WANTED it to look like.

Here they are:

This was what my hair looked like in June. Right before I got it cut the first time. It was the longest it had been in quite a few years.

This was the style that I wanted for my hair. I loved this haircut, and was really excited to get it back.

So I went to the stylist, gave him these pictures, and got this:

Uh. YIKES! I look like a soccer mom! The mushroom look wasn't exactly what I was going for. Everyone was nice about it, but I know it looked bad!

I couldn't stand it anymore, so this weekend I went back to get my hair done again.

THIS WAS THE DISASTROUS RESULT:

Here's a sarcastic smile to start you off.

This is how my current hairstyle makes me feel.

Seriously? My hair is yellow.

And cut funny.

This side is longer than the other.

WTH?

But that's okay. I'll rise to the challenge.

Maybe once it grows out a little bit it won't look so awkward.

You're laughing at me. Aren't you?

That's alright. I won't hide!

I'm gonna laugh in the face of this hair mishap!

And be a tough cookie!

And so is the current story of my unfortunate haircut, which a friend of mine lovingly referred to as "The 80's british, James Bond lady, mushroom cut." Flippin' wonderful.

I'm going to try to wait it out and not venture to get my hair cut again until I visit home and can go to my own hair dresser. Until then, I'll just have to put up with this 80's throwback hairstyle.

Well, there it is.

Until next time,

~A.

On Coughing, TMI, and a Special Vacation Plan!

2010-07-17T22:58:00.000-07:00

Ladies and gentlemen,

Welcome to the 3.5 month mark.

Of what? You might be asking yourself.

Well... of my COUGH of course!

That's right. I've been coughing like veteran smoker for the past 3.5 months. Everyone's advice has been "Get thyself to a doctor! AND FAST."

Well, you know, I wouldn't have a problem with getting myself to a doctor if there was one around that I was comfortable with. As of now there's only ONE doctor's office anywhere near me that has a doctor that speaks English. Hold on... I take that back....there's an ENT doctor who can speak English well, but coughing isn't exactly in his field of expertise I wouldn't guess.

Anyway. I went to the doctor a few weeks back and was prescribed a ridiculous amount of medication for what was diagnosed as "Bronchitis". Someone tried to explain to me that the reason I was taking 15 pills a day was because it was illegal to 'combine' medications into one pill here in the ROK.

I don't know how legit that statement is, if it's true I guess it explains why I was taking 5 pills at breakfast, 5 at lunch, and 5 more at dinner time for 3 days.

But it wouldn't explain while, after all that medication, I'm STILL coughing.

I was supposed to revisit the doctor 2 weeks ago, but I chickened out. I wasn't ready to go on another 45 pill binge so soon after the first one.

I guess it's time that I get myself back there again to make sure that there isn't really any serious problems going on. Mom is freaking out about a possible pneumonia, but I feel fine. It's just the cough.

Doesn't an pneumonia come with exhaustion, aches, and a fever? I've had none of those symptoms, so hopefully it'll be diagnosed as "pesky, stubborn, bronchitis".

In other news

This weekend has been a basic emotional train wreck. Way too many ups and downs for my liking, and I'll tell you what... I never missed the "being confused" part of my life. And now, right when I had a plan all figured out for myself, I go and let myself get all confused again with the most ridiculous things.

And I'll tell you something else... I'd LOVE to tell everyone about what's been going on. Mostly because I just want to just rant my little heart out about it. It would make me feel better. Unfortunately, you're reading the blog of a girl who thinks her personal information should remain... well... personal.

So even now, while I'm fighting the urge to go into details, I have to remember that... I DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU!

That leads me into something else...

Freedom of speech. It's a beautiful thing. But just because you have the FREEDOM to talk about something doesn't mean you SHOULD. You get what I'm saying?

Ran across too many blogs lately that were filled with TOO MUCH INFORMATION. I get lured into a false sense of security with the cutesy presentation, or decent writing style, only to be blind sided by a WAY TOO DETAILED paragraph about a one night stand.

WOAH Y'ALL! WOAH! Back that pony up!

Shouldn't there be some kind of WARNING in posts like that? I mean, geez.

I've read some dating blogs that I found quite enjoyable because they were funny, witty, and clever. But, I think people begin crossing the line when they start divulging highly personal details about what goes on after the 'date' part is over.

I wouldn't think the kind of attention you gain from that is in any way positive.

But whatever, to each their own. I mean, at least put an 18+ rating on your blog there cowgirls.

Anyway, enough of that.

Good News

For those of you who I haven't called and screamed excitedly over the phone to about it... I'll let you know.

I'M COMING HOME FOR A VISIT IN SEPTEMBER!

That's right! My last day at old job is the 28th of August. I don't start my new job until October, and I have to make a visa trip out of the country anyway.

There was the option of sticking around here in Korea without an apartment for a month. Which, I'm sure, to some people seems highly exciting. However, that just isn't for me.

A few friends offered to let me stay at their place but very few things make me more uncomfortable than potentially burdening someone. Besides, I like my privacy pretty well. So, I'd want to stay in a hotel. Hotels may be cheap here, but not if you're living in one for 30 days!

And besides, I have a love-hate relationship with hotels. I love the feeling of being in a hotel room. It's fun, and there's an aire of adventure that adds to the excitement. That's the love part. The hate part? I can't sleep in hotel beds. Nope. Noway. Nohow. They gross me out. Just THINKING about tucking myself into sheets that have been used by thousands of people makes me want to go and get all ill.

So, aside from the fact that I TOTALLY MISS MY WONDERFUL FAMILY, it just seems the most practical to head home for the month.

I'll be happy to get some rejuvenating in.

Anyway, update over. There's plenty more to talk about, but there's too much to do today.

I'll keep you all updated.

Until next time,

~A.

Stationary Wisdom Part I.

2010-07-15T04:23:00.001-07:00

Just a quick jot.

I'd like to share a little bit of wisdom, bestowed upon me by Korean stationary.

"Everything Might not be as smooth as silk... but don't don't stress out too much."

"You will have the inner strength and ability it takes to accomplish what you desire."

"Action is the foundational key to all success. Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other. Don't aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally."

"If you don't believe that you are the best, no one will think that you are. So, you need to bring it out by believing in yourself first."

"It is obviously quite difficult to be no longer loved when we are still in love, but it is incomparably more painful to be loved when we ourselves no longer love."

"Somewhere there's someone who dreams of yours smile,

and finds in your presence that life is worth while.

So when you are lonely, remember this is true:

Somebody, somewhere is thinking of you."

Enjoy!

Until next time,

~A.

Stagnant Waters but a Hopeful Future

2010-07-10T19:55:00.000-07:00

안녕하세요!

你好!

こんにちは!

Well, the week is over. I'll refrain from using any expletives to describe it and just say that this past week was tense.

Had to put up with a bit of ridiculousness from certain individuals, but only for a bit more, and then I can start anew in a different town.

I'll tell you what people, I'm really missing Uni. right now. All of that studying, test taking, paper writing... yeah, that's my kind of atmosphere. This going to work and doing the same darn thing every single day is really starting to grate on my nerves. I wasn't cut out for monotony.

Hopefully new job will offer a bit more spice. I'll be working with adults as opposed to children. While I'm going to miss my little adorables (Kindergarten through 11 yrs old), I would not be able to truthfully say that I'm going to be all broken up over leaving the and 12-13 year olds. I like the kids, I really do, but I have to put up with major attitudes, and they're sometimes just plain rude.

Since I'm a foreign teacher I get a lot more crap from them than the Korean teachers do because those kids know that I'm not going to punish them the way that the Korean teachers would.

Also, since I work at a private school (after school hours for the little munchkins) usually the older kids are sick and tired of class by the time they get to academy. They have no energy, they moan, they space out, they stare at me listlessly, they straight up ignore me, and they even sleep sometimes.

Honestly, I feel bad for them most of the time because I know that a lot of them are just overworked and stressed out. But then there are those small few who aren't either of those, they're just disrespectful in general. But it's my job and responsibility to teach them, so I've got to do my best to push them forward in their learning whether they like it or not.

I'm now sorry to all of my high-school teachers who ever had to put up with any crap from me. Specifically my Spanish Teacher. Thank you Senora Pathman for all of the hard work that you put into giving me a good education. Thank you for encouraging me and being kind even when I didn't deserve it. Thank you for getting onto me when I didn't pay attention in class, and you were an awesome teacher so I'm sorry these days that I didn't listen to you more. Thank you for gently but sternly showing me that to get what we want we have to work hard. Sliding by isn't going to cut it, and if we don't work hard and as a result we do poorly we shouldn't complain.

I hope that in the future I can become a better teacher and teach the way that she did, with love, encouragement, enthusiasm, and passion.

How I Feel About Teaching

So far though I really love being a teacher. I didn't realize it up until recently, but I actually ENJOY the English language. I remember hating grammar in school, but now... When we start talking about present progressive and object pronouns in class I get this weird extra burst of energy.

Me: *backflip, toe touch, cartwheel* "OBJECT PRONOUNS! YEAH!!!!!!!!" *\(^.^)/*

Students: "Scary teacher...."

I know. Not that interesting for students... but this is their reaction when I try to talk about anything else.

Me: "What kind of music do you like?"

Students: *Blank Stare*

Me: "Uh... music anyone?"

Student: "Teacher... I music don't like."

Me: "What? Why?"

Student: *shrug*

Me: "Videogames. Who likes them?"

Students * Everyone raises their hand*

Me: "Alright, what kind of video games do you like to play?"

Students *blank stare*

Me: "Come on guys!!!!"

Boy student: *brings his hands up like little guns and points them at fellow boy student* "Pew pew!!!!"

Me: "Oooookay."

Now, keep in mind that this just happens with my older students. My younger students are all over the place with English. They'll talk about ANYTHING.

Me: "Who likes rocks?"

Younger Students: "OMG TEACHER! ROCKS ARE SO AWESOME! ONCE, I WENT TO THE BEACH AND MY LITTLE BROTHER PICKED UP THIS SHELL AND THEN....." *10 minutes later* "AND THAT'S WHEN THE ROCK TURNED ORANGE!"

Ah, who am I kidding. I'm gonna miss all of them a little bit when I change schools. Even the annoying older ones.

ANYWAY

There's really no major news update for the now, other than a reminder to all who are intersted:

EPIC LANGUAGE ADVENTURES project. Info is available in a few posts below. More info if you e-mail epiclanguageadventures@gmail.com.

Hope to hear from you soon.

Also, hope to have something a bit more exciting and interesting to post about next time.

Until then,

~A.

Friday Night Shenanigans and Interesting Commercials

2010-07-02T19:21:00.000-07:00

GUESS WHAT I DID THIS FRIDAY NIGHT!!!!!

I stayed at home and looked up language schools and scholarship information until 12:30am, and then made a budget sheet, and then spent another hour after that lying in bed thinking about 'the plan' and missing my family.

Productive!

Oh yes, it was a party to be sure.

Ladies and Gentlemen, if you don't know already.... aside from dancing the night away.... I'm not big into partying.

The minute you say "dancing", I'm putting on my 'dance all night' shoes!

Another thing I'll go out all night for: KARAOKE.

Dancing and singing. If the night includes those two things, you can bet I'll be there.

But if you just want to go hang out at a bar for 6 hours and drink until your liver cries out for mercy, I'd rather stay home and stare at my ceiling.

Do I like to meet people? Yes.

Do I like to hang out with groups and have a good time? Yes.

Do I like it when all of those people I'm meeting and hanging out with get too drunk to even remember that we met and hung out? No. No. No. No.

Anyway, that being said, I stay home a lot on the weekend, because I seem to be the only person I know who actually wants to go out and DO something. If you're reading this and you can relate thank GOD for you.

So what's really in the news today?

Not much.

ECLIPSE is releasing soon, and while I LOATHE the Twilight books (poorly written, overdone story line, with absolutely NO depth) the movies are kind of entertaining.

Speaking of movies...

I finally visited a movie theater here in Korea. It's funny, because I actually get the chance to see some of the good movies BEFORE my family back home does, because some of them release here earlier. Why? Not entirely sure about that... but hey, no complaints from me.

Anyway, quite an interesting set up they've got. The theater is literally RIGHT next to my apartment. I walk out of my apartment building and don't even have to stroll down a quarter of a block to get to the theater.

The tickets are about the same as they are in the States. 8,000 won which is about 7.25$. There's quite a lot more to choose from food/drink wise. The most interesting thing though is the seating. The theater I was in had rows of these couch looking things. Each one sat 3 people. They were cushy, and because I was the ONLY one sitting on my couchy thing, I had a lot of space. I feel sorry for the person who ends up sitting in the middle though, because there's no cup-holder or arm rests there.

That couchy thing is great for couples who want to cuddle, no arm rest in between them. But, I'm guessing it's kind of weird to be chillin' on a couch 'at home' style with complete strangers during a movie.

The seating is assigned. Yeah... that's kind of interesting. You don't get to actually pick where you want to sit. Your ticket has a row and seat number on it. While that seems like an okay idea on busy days or when new movies open, it's just plain annoying when you're one of the 3 people in the theater and you got assigned the back row.

I'm sure Koreans just move to wherever they want to sit in that case, but I'm not that brave yet.

17 TEA

I love this stuff. A couple of friends of mine back in the states said that it tasted 'like dirt', but I can drink it all day long. ESPECIALLY on a hot day in summer, it's an awesome way to cool down and relax. Yummy yummy yummy!

I had no idea that this was a 'diet' drink until I viewed this commercial for the beverage recently (about 1 minute ago).

This is probably one of the STRANGEST commercials that I have ever seen. I actually don't even know how to feel about it exactly. Yet I know that this marketing works!

Using a sexy, sensual female to sell a diet drink to other females is a good idea. Why? Because there are plenty of women out there who will see this commercial, covet the sensuality and beauty of the woman drinking the tea and then relate the tea to that sensuality and beauty.

But forget the commercial before, this one is even better:

I just have to laugh. This commercial looks like it would be better for selling beer, or hard liquor, or even condoms. But tea? TEA?

It just seems like with this type of advertising they're taking the "You too can look like this if you use our product" trick a little too far.

It's tea. Sure it has no calories, sure it boasts some 17 herbs and whatever the heck else that 'may boost your metabolism'. But it also may NOT boost your metabolism, and it certainly isn't going to give you HER body.

Unless your name is Jeon Ji Hyun, you will NEVER have her body.

But aside from that little rant... the tea is REALLY REALLY GOOD!

Body Image in Korea

The diet crazes here in Korea are, as they are in America, insane. The majority of women I see are having some crisis or other over their weight, or the shape of their face, or their eyes, or their nose. I see them and I see perfectly lovely girls with smooth features and pretty faces and thin bodies that girls back in the states would almost die trying to obtain, but their bodies just aren't living up to the standards that are fed to them via media or the standards apparently held by such a competitive society.

More Interesting Commercials

These commercials are for an energy drink called "Hot 6ix". The first time I saw one of these commercials I'm pretty sure I laughed so hard that I had a hard time breathing. I just wanted to share it with some of the people back home. Welcome to ultraconservative Korea!

Anyway, I've spent too much time on the internet today. Time to go out and meet friends, be social, and enjoy my Saturday!

Everyone reading, keep your chin up and a smile on.

Until next time,

~A.

Feeling That Feeling

2010-07-01T16:45:00.001-07:00

With the up in visits recently I'm starting to feel the nudge of obligation to post up a little more often.

However, I don't want things to become spectacularly boring for the readers (whoever you are. I mean feel free to leave a comment or something, stranger.)

As I've said before, my life isn't necessarily all that interesting at the moment (though it is undoubtably good). It's actually a tad humdrum. Stuck in a job I hate, have to put up with rude people for the sake of keeping the peace, and I'm just counting down the days until I get to shake off the shackles, the dirt, and the feeling of tepidity and spread my wings again.

This is definitely one of those times when I realize that I'm probably not made for working under other people's thumbs. I'm not office worker material.

Anyway, more on that as my thoughts develop. Right now it's just a big mess, like someone pranced right up to the pool of my mind and tossed in a tiger (that makes it only a fraction more chaotic than usual).

ANYWAY

So, World Cup is pretty much over as far as most of us here in Korea are concerned. Korea's out, USA is out, England is out, and even Japan is out now. The hardcore soccer fans are now picking random teams to cheer for until the end, and the rest of us are slowly coming down off of the World Cup high.

Good go for all of you! KOREA! USA! ENGLAND! JAPAN! You did your best, and you did well!

EPIC LANGUAGE ADVENTURES

Ideas are still being formed, and help is still being requested. Thanks to those of you who expressed your interest in ELA! I hope that more of you will send out an e-mail (even just to say "Good luck!", support is nice no matter who you are.) expressing your interest to participate in the language/culture project.

Looking for:

* People currently living in Korea, Japan, Taiwan, or China.

* Native or fluent speakers of Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese living anywhere in the world.

* Language learners of Korean, Japanese, and Mandarin Chinese (all backgrounds and levels. *beginners included).

* Language/culture experts (self proclaimed or otherwise) in all areas regarding Korea, Japan, Taiwan, or China.

*Anyone interested in honing their web development skills.

Also wouldn't mind hearing from anyone who just has some interesting ideas they want to share.

Please send an e-mail to epiclanguageadventures@gmail.com

Looking forward to hearing from you!

IN OTHER NEWS

There's not much going on, actually. Well, that's a total fib. There's PLENTY going on... but I am currently not at liberty to discuss these things.

I'll keep everyone updated as much as I can.

Until next time,

~A.

Saying a Prayer.

2010-06-30T04:54:00.001-07:00

This week has been hectic with numerous ups and downs.

It started out quite on the downside when someone took it upon themselves to treat me badly. I just continued to tell myself that people who are rude and disrespectful to others in order to gain some sense of self importance should be pitied and not despised.

I was struggling quite a bit with my feelings on the entire situation of my life currently. I've felt pretty much lost these past few weeks. I know the general direction I want my life to go in, but finding the right way to start going in that direction is what's got me all snagged up.

Today wasn't a bad day, in fact it went pretty well, but I still had that unhappy feeling of "What do I want."

Then, this evening right before I left work, a co-worker of mine was reading an article on the internet. She made a distressed noise, which had me turning around to see what was going on. The article had a picture of a pleasant and handsome looking man, and was written in Korean so I couldn't read the headline.

She explained to me with a thick seriousness in her voice that a famous Korean actor/musician had committed suicide last night.

It can never be explained... the sadness you can feel for another person, someone you don't even know.

I've never seen his movies, I don't recall ever hearing his music, and really... I didn't even know of him at all. But, standing behind my co-worker, staring over her shoulder at the picture of this smiling man, knowing that last night when I was thinking of all my hardships he was ending his life... I felt very sad, and completely ashamed of myself.

Isn't my life good? Don't I have a beautiful healthy family? Don't I have a healthy body and amazing opportunities? Don't I have the freedom and ability to do what I want to do? Don't I have all of these things? Then how can I sit for even one minute and feel unhappy about anything?

I walked home from work tonight knowing that somewhere people were grieving the loss of their son, their brother, their family, and their friend. I prayed for them, and all of the hearts that are aching from loss.

I prayed that all of the smiles that I was seeing would last, and be more frequent than any tears. And then I prayed for every single person in the world who is considering ending something that's too precious to waste.

You're in my prayers too, whoever you are.

Let's continue to be happy, love one another, and reach out to others.

Until next time,

~A.

Rest forever in the arms of God, Park Young Ha.

News Story: Park Young Ha suicide at the age of 33.

Explanation, New Projects, and Plans

2010-06-26T21:04:00.000-07:00

Surviving the Storm

Sorry that I haven't posted in quite a while, everyone.

Some very stressful things have been going on lately. I'm afraid that I don't have the freedom to write about it on the blog, as I'm never sure who is reading this and I don't want to cause any unnecessary chaos to add on to the chaos that's already very prevalent.

As for now, things are quite crazy and I'm doing my best to adjust to the situation and work it out for the better.

The most I can say is that I have turned in my resignation at my current school, and am looking forward to beginning a new job here in Korea in October.

I've been really focused on surviving the storm with little to no trauma, which is why I haven't been posting up recently.

I appreciate the support I've been getting lately. Please continue to send me your encouragement!

In Other News

I have started a new blog project.

The project name is "Epic Language Adventures".

The web project is being designed as a language/culture community for anyone learning one of the "Big Three" languages: Korean, Chinese, or Japanese. It's meant to be a home base for resources on all aspects of language learning (how to learn, where to learn, learning resources, cultural resources, tips/advice and so on.)

This project is being created with hopes that I'll be able to create at least a small community of language learners who are studying to master any, a combination of, or all three of "The Big Three" languages.

The blog project is currently being developed, so it's not yet available to visit or view. I don't want to open the project until it's 100%, so it'll probably be a while. But I'll keep you updated on the progress and hopefully be able to present to you a fun and interesting blog soon.

Side Note

If anyone is interested in being a part of the project (language learners or native/fluent speakers) shoot me an e-mail (epiclanguageadventures@gmail.com). Ideas and suggestions are always welcome.

Edit

I originally planned on ending the post after the "Side Note". However, as I finished up the post and started to try to do other things I just kept thinking and thinking about certain things. For me, it's best to write down those thoughts. What better place to do it than here?! Anyway, so this blog post is now going to be a bit lengthier than originally planned.

Future Plans

What are they?

Well, to tell you in all honesty, I've never been too good at making plans for years ahead of time. In fact, I'm downright bad at it. While I enjoy THINKING I have a plan, I'm a pretty spontaneous person when it comes to actually doing something. That would explain, ladies and gentleman, why after 4 years of Japanese language study at University I decided to move to Korea.

My inclination to change my mind, and suddenly do something that wasn't officially 'in the plan', drives my family bonkers. My parents especially are always trying to keep up with me and these 'plans' of mine.

Just recently, I finally gave up trying to make serious plans and just said "What comes will come."

So, plans out.

BUT, I do have future GOALS.

What are they?

Now see, this is where things get tricky... because I'm feeling the urge to write out a plan now INCLUDING my goals.

Ah well, why not...

TENTATIVE PLAN

The general idea is that before I start Graduate school I want to have as much language experience as possible, especially in Korean and Chinese (as Japanese has already had 4 years of my attention). To get into any good Grad school programs for language/history I need to establish a sturdy base in those languages. What better way than to actually LIVE in those countries?

And so, here I am in Korea. My goal (a.k.a plan) is to stay in Korea for a year or two. Staying longer than that will depend on the kind of job I'll be able to secure after. This 10 days of vacation a year thing isn't going to cut it for me for more than 2 years. I'm a family person, I've got to be able to spend more time with my fam than just 10 days per year.

After my time in Korea I plan to go home for a couple of months, bask in the glow of familiarity and comfort, and then get off my butt again and go to... you guessed it... Taiwan to study Mandarin for a year.

Then what, you may ask?

WHO KNOWS!!!! However, the real goal is to start Graduate school somewhere soon after that.

This plan is, of course, tentative. As life is always throwing little curve balls your way. I could accidentally become a famous author, or I could find an abandoned baby basket by the side of the road and then plan to adopt and become a mommy, or I could apply for fun to some grad program somewhere in the world and get in with great scholarships and start my studies sooner.

All of those things are HIGHLY unlikely, but it's exactly those type of things that you don't expect that HAPPEN!

Of course, my life isn't quite that interesting. But you get the point I'm trying to make. We never know.

Anyway, I'll let you know if the plan changes (which, I'm sure it will). We can make plans all we want, but to lead a happy life we should follow opportunity! That's what I plan to do. Follow opportunity.

Until next time,

Auggie.

Football and Life Changes

2010-06-18T17:58:00.000-07:00

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I guess we all have points in our lives where we don't know what to do with ourselves. When we're faced with so many options that it just seems impossible to choose one path to follow.

I'm currently experiencing that...again.

I guess it's normal to be this age and not know what to do or where to go. Having general plans seems pretty good, but there's always the real dream underneath the practicality that keeps vying for your attention, calling out for you to realize it.

I guess the most important thing for me to do is follow my own way, listen to advice, but in the end do exactly what my heart tells me. You only live once, so deciding not to do or experience something amazing because other people are expecting something different from you is the wrong choice.

Being in a shaky situation is never ideal or fun, but I guess that the best thing to do is think about what that means for you and opportunities. Sometimes opportunity comes knocking quietly and subtly on your door, sometimes it comes around screaming and hollering like a drunk freshman frat boy. And other times, it sits about quietly while your world is shaking and trying to crumble around you and opportunity just hopes you'll notice it in all the commotion.

I guess I've finally noticed it. Things go right, and then things go wrong. You either accept it, or change it.

This understanding has brought me lately to begin repeating to myself the "Serenity Prayer".

It goes a little something like this:

"God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference."

For now, I know that these things in my life CAN be changed. It's just a matter of courage. I have to have the strength and faith to take leaps. If I don't take them now, when will I ever?

I thought that the biggest and most difficult choice would be coming to Korea. That part was easy. Deciding what I want to do with myself while I'm here, that's another story entirely.

However, I certainly won't allow my time to be wasted. I've been given opportunity and I plan to use it, discover its full potential, and regret no decision.

***********************************************************

In other news. I went to Sajik Stadium Thursday night with some friends and co-workers to watch the Korea vs. Argentina game. It was fun... but man.... OUCH Korea! OUCH!

I thought they were holding it pretty good the first half. In fact, I allowed myself the room to believe that there might even be a tie, or at least the chance that Korea could lose gracefully with a 2-1. Nope. Second half came and something happened and Argentina began kicking some tail.

The last goal Argentina made had thousands of people leaving the stadium. Game over. They knew it.

However, since Greece somehow beat Nigeria (please, someone explain to me how that happened?) there's apparently more hope that Korea will advance. Korea plays Nigeria next week.

Anyhoodle. Here are some pictures from the Sajik game.

Oh, and I WAS ON TV!

Haha, for a very short time I and my friends were on the big screen at the stadium, cheering and clapping in support of Korea. *\(^.^)/*

Emma and I dressed in team spirit!

This was right after Korea made their goal. So I'm not sure why this little girl looks upset. She must have secretly been rooting for the other side! *Gasp!*

Cheering and happy commotion after the Korea score!

This little cutie got really confused when he turned around and realized that there were a bunch of foreigners staring at him.

Stadium was packed!

Well, that's all for now. Maybe more later. We'll see how the weekend goes!

Until next time,

~Audra

Awesome Weekend Part I: Football

2010-06-13T04:07:00.001-07:00

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Hello Readers.

Well, it's been a fantastic weekend! And, by the way, my hair cut turned out awesome! I'm SO excited. More about that later.

To begin, I'd just like to say...

대한민국!!!!
대한민국!!!!
대한민국!!!!

KOREA BEAT GREECE!

Now let me tell you, I've never been a huge fan of watching sports. Sitting down and watching other people play a sport just never seemed like the ideal fun-time for me. However, lately I've been becoming interested in soccer. Ever since I went to my first soccer match with a co-worker of mine I've been becoming more and more intrigued by the game. So I was excited about the world cup happening this weekend!

I ALMOST didn't go! Why? Well, because I hadn't eaten all day and I ordered some food somewhere and they were backed up so it was taking forever and the group I was going with suddenly planned on leaving earlier. The thought of not being able to eat anything until after the game was not one I took kindly too. So I initially thought "Well...is it really that big of a deal."

Yes. Yes it is. I discovered this later.

We watched the game at Sajik stadium, so we had to make a bit of a trip on the subway to get there. On the way we bought some face stickers/temporary tattoos and a couple of "Red Devil" bandannas. Then when we arrived we were greeted by a huge line of vendors selling light up devil horns, long balloons that you can slam together and they make irritating noises (this is instead of clapping), t-shirts, hair bands, and many other items that you seem to suddenly need when on your way to cheer for a sports team.

Ems and I bought headbands with big red crinoline bows on them. We all looked pretty great by the time the game started! The more "Red Devil" red you wore and the more stickers you had on you the better. It was so much fun.

Then the game started. I have never been so interested in a sporting event in my entire life. I was on the edge of my seat, sometimes even half standing in anticipation for a goal. I yelled, I cheered, I even cursed once or twice (shame shame :P).

I never realized what an interesting sport soccer was until last night when I couldn't get enough of watching all the footwork, the goal attempts, the saves, and the occasional violence (soccer's a rough game, I had no idea).

It was nice to watch Korea play, because I noticed they never played dirty. Some of the Greek team were tripping and pushing and fouling all over the place. There were a couple of times when I was definitely like "WHAT THE HECK?! DID YOU SERIOUSLY JUST DO THAT?!" after watching a Greece player very obviously (and painfully) foul a player for Korea. Thankfully one of the worst foulers got a 'yellow card' which I found out means that he can't play in the next game.

HA! Take THAT, you MEANIE!

Anyway. It was an awesome time, and I am totally cheering for Korea during their next game again Argentina on the 17th. Argentina is apparently one of the best teams in the world, but I have high hopes for team Korea!!!!

Here's a look at my outfit for that evening of Sajik Stadium Red Devil Super Bowl watching.

These are pictures that I took after the evening was over. That was around 5:45 AM because we stayed out to watch the England vs. America game at 3am. Yikes!

How's my outfit? Yeah... I love it too!

People really went nuts with the stickers/temporary tattoos. Mine say "I love Korea" and "Fighting!"

I also had a neat soccer ball with wings and the Korean national emblem on my arm! Heehee!

This picture is brought to you by my exhaustion and my t-shirt which says "Do u love Korea?" Can you guess my answer? :)

The England vs. America game wasn't as exciting. That's mostly due to the fact that I was really tired, and the other fact that there were English and American people screaming obscenities all around me half of the game. That makes for a very not-so-enjoyable atmosphere. I dozed off a couple of times admittedly.

Also, the game itself didn't really get anywhere, did it? I mean, those of you who saw it know. They tied. They each scored one goal and the rest of the game was footsie, and a couple of "OUCH! That looked painful!" moments.

Poor USA goalie got kicked in the chest with those cleats. The slow-motion recap captured the look of pain on his face as the collision occurred. There will certainly be a bruise.

Anyway. I have more things to write up about, but I don't have anymore time. Part II coming up later.

Everyone have a great day!

Until next time,

~Auggie

Tough Week Meets Retail Therapy: And They Lived Happily Ever After.

2010-06-10T07:36:00.001-07:00

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This week has been a bit on the crazy side.

Quite a few things have happened at work that have really made me and my co-workers feel frustrated and just generally upset. Unnecessary comments made during teachers meetings, unfair changes in schedules, and a few other things that make work really hard to enjoy lately.

Most of it is just completely ridiculous.

Small rant over. Now, I have to talk about the good aspects.

My job isn't that bad. Actually, it's a good job. I get paid well for what I do and it's putting me in the middle of a lot of opportunity. I feel thankful and blessed to be here in Korea and be working where I work. Nothing can ever be perfect, right? I guess I don't mind the imperfections since they're, in actuality, so minor.

I really like my co-workers (Korean and foreign), and the office atmosphere is pretty good (with small exceptions...).

The way things are run at that school, and the way English is taught... I would change some of that, honestly. But it's really none of my business. I'm just a teacher. I'm not a supervisor or an administrator. I'm just an educator. I have little control! Once that's accepted, it's a little easier. A little.

Anyway, all in all I'm glad to be here. As frustrating as the job can be sometimes, I like working at my school the majority of the time.

I guess what I'm trying to say all in all is: Life is good.

HERE COMES THE WEEKEND....YO!

The weekend is fast approaching. Tomorrow is Friday, almost always a day to look forward to. Even though it's one of my longest days, the classes seem to go by so much faster because with the passing of each minute I know that it's one minute closer to the end of the day and the beginning of the weekend.

This weekend in particular is worth looking forward to because my hair is going short again! I'm actually really excited about the transition back into short hair. How exciting!

IN OTHER NEWS

Small shopping spree today gave me a mood boost after a particularly horrible day yesterday.

Anna Sui Perfume

New Purse

Some shorts and two short sleeve shirts.

YES, Korean pants/jeans/shorts fit me here! Most Korean clothing shops carry up to a size 80.

For those of you who are wondering about Korean sizes: a size 80 is about a size 32 or an 11/12. The next size down is a 76 which is a size 30 or 9/10. It follows pretty much the same rules as any other jean/pant sizing. Some brands run bigger or smaller than others.

Also, the shirts in stores can go up to a 105, but the average large size is 100. Actually, the shirt sizes here tend to run about the same as in the states. However, boutique shopping can be a bit of a hassle. Boutiques don't carry larger sizes (since the majority of the gals in Korea aren't the larger sizes). Luckily though, the style now is big and baggy.

I bought a shirt the other day that feels a bit like a tent on me... and there was only one size. So it's not like I over guesstimated. The shirt was just styled to be that large. So if you're on your way to Korea anytime soon, don't worry about the clothing situation. More than likely you'll be able to find plenty to fit/suit you here.

A bit of make-up (fun!)

Some lovely smelling face-masks (strawberry, pomegranate, and green tea!)

Cute boxes and storage drawers for organization! <---- Super cheap!

Anyway.

Enough of my shopping recap.

I've really got to charge the battery to my camera so that I can get some pictures up. First I should probably try to find my other adapter... then buy a new one if I can't find it because having only one is a smidge troublesome.

Alright then, well, I probably won't post again until after my hair cut this weekend. Are you as excited as I am?!

Probably not. But that's okay!

Everyone have a wonderful Friday!

Until next time,

~Auggie

My Big Decision

2010-06-07T18:09:00.000-07:00

Alright ladies and gentlemen.

No huge update here, but I'm trying to make a decision about something so I thought that it would be helpful to make a pros and cons list.

If you're visiting here via facebook then you've already heard me chatter about this in my effort to make a decision (though I feel like I've really already made one).

Here is the dilemma:

Should I cut my hair?

HAHA! did you think it was going to be a big deal? Well it IS!

Since my freshman year of college I've kept my hair particularly short. Recently, and for the first time in 5 odd years, I've allowed my hair to grow out and it is now the longest it's been in quite a while. Upon expressing my desire to cut it I received responses with varying degrees of both enthusiasm and horror from friends.

First: The photos

This is my hair now (as of yesterday June 7th, 2010)

Here's another. Excuse my expression, I was having a hard time being serious

And now here are two photos of my short hair (last summer before i started to let it grow out). This is the haircut that I'm thinking of getting this weekend.

After showing these two photos on FB I got a lot of positive feedback about both the short and long hair, and no negative feedback for either.

So now it's just about what I want to do, and honestly, I'm leaning towards the short hair again. I miss my short hair.

But here's a pros and cons list anyway.

LONG HAIR PROS

* I can put it up in a ponytail on bad hair days.
* I can braid it and play with more 'updo' styles than with short hair.
* I have a wider range of hair style options with longer hair.
* It makes me look more soft and feminine (this was said to me, so I thought I'd add it).
* I like the way my hair looks when I wake up in the morning when it's long. But no one else sees that so it's kind of moot.

SHORT HAIR PROS
* It's stylish
* It's fun and cute
* It's summer and this hair style is cool and keeps the hair off my neck and my face.
* I have more volume with short hair than I do with long hair.
* Easily washed and styled. Not a lot of time required.
* Cutting it short will get rid of all of the dead ends that make my hair look dull and damaged.
* You'd be able to see my earrings.
* My neck would look longer.
* No more tangles!

LONG HAIR CONS
* High maintenance
* Tangles
* Use more shampoo and conditioner
* Dead ends make hair look less healthy.
* Volume at the top and volume at the bottom looks funny.
* I don't like pony tails. I don't think they look good on me.
* I feel like there's no style in it, it looks like so many other hair styles I see.

SHORT HAIR CONS
* Not very feminine?
* Can't do a lot of different things with it. It's a one or two style cut.
* Uh... that's it.

Actually, the choice has pretty much already been made, but more feedback is totally welcome.

I'll be going to get my hair done this weekend. So I guess everyone will find out what I officially decided to do after Saturday. Haha.

Tootles until next time,

~Auggie

Good Things Are On Their Way!

2010-06-06T04:24:00.000-07:00

There are some times when you feel good. When you feel like you're on the right path. Even when you know that not everything is in place, even when you feel that there's something missing, you know that you're going in the right direction and you're doing something right for yourself.

That feeling is amazing.

What seems like so long ago, and then just yesterday at the same time, I was aching for something and I had no idea what it was. I felt trapped, caged. Freedom seemed so elusive no matter what I did.

I was praying all the time for something to happen, not knowing what it was that I wanted specifically. I tried so many different things, but nothing felt right. Nothing turned out right. I believe now that it was mostly because I didn't know or trust myself entirely. I had no confidence in my dreams and the goals I wanted to reach. And I had no trust in God's timing. I was so impatient that I refused to wait and listen to directions and instead frantically tried to find my own way...only managing to get myself more and more lost.

When I reached one dead end after another I had the choice of giving up or admitting my faults, swallowing my pride, and asking for direction. The direction given was to trust myself, have faith and confidence in my dreams, and learn how to be strong enough to follow after them and accept the hardships and rewards with the same amount of gratitude.

I've finally reached a place in my life where I feel like anything is within my reach. I've also realized that it takes devotion, passion, strength, and patience to achieve goals. There can not be one of those things missing. Accepting that it won't be easy and that hard work is necessary is the first step to the happiness I'm searching for.

Though things are far from perfect, it feels wonderful... to know that anything is possible, to know that I'm going in a good direction, that I'm on a good path.

I'm grateful to my family and friends for supporting me and loving me through everything. No matter where I've been in my life you were there to hold me up, to encourage me, and cheer me on. You continue to do that, giving me strength daily to live life fully and discover more potential within myself to reach even greater heights.

Though I am far away from so many of you, I am thinking of you, appreciating you, and loving you as much as ever. Next time we talk, I hope you can feel proud that you are some of the reason that I am the person I am today, learning how to be a better person tomorrow.

It was a tough week, but I made it through, and better times are ahead!

Everyone keep a smile on. Keep your spirits up.

Good things are on their way.

Until next time,

~Auggie

Exercise, Snails, and... the Art of Flirting?

2010-06-01T04:09:00.001-07:00

Hello readers.

How is everyone? Things are still kind of stressful, right?

I actually talked to my Dad yesterday morning about what kind of things they were hearing over in the States about the North Korea-South Korea situation. My Dad is the first person who would be calling me and demanding that I come back home if anything even remotely bothered him about the current situation. He seemed pretty calm, and he wasn't asking me to pack my bags or anything.

Also , I got a nice e-mail from a friend of mine who is currently serving in the Korean army. Of course, he couldn't give me any kind of details but he let me know that no alert has been raised and he believes that there's no reason to be worried. He even went as far as to point out to me that I am predisposed to unease because I'm not used to the whole North Korea- South Korea relationship dynamic.

So as for now, I'm feeling less restless and more at ease about everything. I hope that the rest of you reading are starting to feel the same way.

Alright, moving on from that topic.

EXERCISE

I'm trying to get my rear into gear with this exercise thing. I've been doing a pretty good job, but lately I've had so much to do that exercise keeps being knocked to the back of the list. Right now "LAUNDRY" is at the peak of my list screaming at the top of its lungs for attention. I HATE doing laundry. Back home, I guess I didn't' mind it so much when it was actually time to do it. That's because I had a washer AND a dryer at my disposal. When I only have a washer and I have to hang up all my wet clothes in my one bedroom apartment to dry... laundry translates into "FRUSTRATING".

Anyway, I actually almost talked myself out of going jogging this evening. But I think that after this post is up I'm going to quit being lazy and actually go. If my brothers can run a combined 20 miles a day, I can jog 1.5 miles four times a week. Geez. (Don't laugh at me. I've just started this whole exercise thing. I can't exactly go for 5 miles yet, but I'm working on it. OFF MY CASE!).

Don't get me wrong, I like physical activities like biking, hiking, swimming, dancing (especially dancing) and all of that. But I don't get to do that on a regular basis. I wanted to start doing regular exercise, get into some kind of routine. So I chose jogging. Any of you exercise junkies out there want to give me some pointers on how to be more motivated?

A TYPICAL DAY AT SCHOOL

Whoever is curious about how interesting my days usually are, I'll give you a little peek into my life as a teacher.

"The flirting"

Woah there partner. Don't go thinking that I'm talking about ME when I refer to flirting. I'm not the one batting my eyelashes, and there's certainly no one posturing for my attention. I'm leaving that to the 6 year olds. That's right. You heard me...

In the morning until 12:40 I teach Kindergarten. I love my kindy class. Sometimes can really grate on the nerves, but the majority of the time they're just a great bunch of really intelligent, really sweet, kids.

Lilly and Benny

One of the girls, her name is Lilly, likes one of the boys in the class (his name is Benny). Lilly is the youngest, only 5 years old, but she's the biggest and she looks the oldest out of the others. Benny is a slim whip of a boy, who I'm sometimes afraid to hug because he's so skinny.

Today we were talking about the letter 'M'.

We thought of the word "MUSCLE". We all flexed our arms and had a great bit of fun. I pointed to Benny's arm (because he was closest to me) and showed everyone where we have muscle. Of course, Benny is mostly skin and bones but the kids got the picture. Anyway. Lilly reached out and grabbed Benny's arm and squeezed a bit here and there and then smiled and sat back, with her chin resting against the palm of her hand. It was one of the most adult looks I've ever seen on a kids face.

Benny kept flexing and finally Lilly looked up at me with that amused expression and motioned casually to Benny's arm and said "It's not muscle, I think."

Benny got all flustered and in an attempt to prove himself to Lilly he flexed again and said desperately "No! I'm strong!".

EunSung and HeeGwon

Another daily example of the flirting that goes on amongst the kindergartners is usually by HeeGwon and EunSung (I don't know their English names). HeeGwon is a big 6 year old. He's tall and a little chunky. EunSung is, my korean co-workers think, 'some kind of midget'.

EunSung is really tiny, and she's absolutely one of the cutest little girls at my school. You can see a photo of her with me if you go a few posts back.

Anyway. Where there is EunSung, there is HeeGown.

HeeGwon is constantly crowding EunSung. He's always holding her hand, keeping her from getting pushed, telling her to stop running, or demanding that she behave when she acts out. In Art and Science class he asks questions for her and makes sure that she's doing her project right before he concentrates on his. He also caries her things to class for her. Sometimes he even carries HER to class.

One day I walk out of the teacher's room in time to see HeeGwon holding EunSung under her arms like a kid with a puppy, walking off to class. EunSung seemed unsurprised and was just kind of hanging there obediently.

If they grow up and get married to each other, someone owes me money.

THE CASE OF THE SNAIL

Snail is not a metaphor for anything. When I say 'snail' I mean 'snail'.

Today was science class, and the project was 'examine snails'. So we got a bunch of plastic cups, some packets of dirt, and a tupperware container full of large brown snails.

My reaction: "Uh... why?"

Anyway, out of fear for the snails lives I inform my kids that they are not to touch the snails, blow on the snails, pokes the snails with anything, or even speak loudly at the snails. They are to keep their hands to themselves and pay attention with their eyes.

Each kid gets a snail, so I have to put on some nice little kitchen gloves and distribute them out. I wasn't grossed out, but I wasn't exactly thrilled either. However, as time passed I actually started to get interested in those little creatures. I held one of them out over my hand to see if he would come out for the kids to see.

After a while his shyness went away and he slowly unfolded himself from his shell. I discovered, staring into the face of that little thing, that snails are cute. Snails are very cute. I got attached to the one I was holding for the kids to see. He got attached to me too. Literally.

The snail must have felt comfortable because he came all the way out of his shell and started looking around, craning his little head this way and that way to see what there was to see. He explored my finger for a while and then settled down a bit and just wiggled his little eyes around. That's about the time I realized that I could get him off of me.

There was no panicking, but I knew that I was in a predicament. How do I get a snail off of my hand without hurting it? I poked at him a little bit to see if he would retreat back into his shell. He folded his eyes away, but didn't move otherwise. I might as well have been tickling him for the amount of fear he showed at being poked at.

After distributing the rest of the snails to the students I head out of the classroom and to the kitchen to ask for help. After amusing some of the other teachers with the "Look, he's upside down and still holding on!" trick, we finally figured that water was the best idea. We sprayed some water on him and I wiggled at him to get him unglued from me. Finally the water did the work and with a little "thuck' he came unstuck from my hand.

I experienced a little separation anxiety at first, and I still fear for his little life in the hands of that 5 year old kindergartner. You know you lack some kind of important companionship when a snail becomes your best friend in the span of 5 minutes.

Quotes of the Day

Me: This is the baby chair!
My Students: Baby chair?!
Me: That's right. If you do something bad you have to sit in this chair
so that you can be laughed at and ridiculed by your peers.

Student: (Trying to describe himself) "I have a black hair."
Me: "Really? Only one?"
Student: "Uh....?"

THE HOLIDAY (that we don't get)

Well everyone. Tomorrow is some kind of holiday (election day or something like that), and public schools and some work places get a little vacation. That does not include my school. Nope. We'll be working that day, teaching kids who are going to be 10 shades of ticked off to be at private school when they have a holiday from public school.

I wonder how many just won't show up tomorrow.

DANGER LIVE: CLUB WOMB JUNE 19th

For those of you who don't know, there's going to be this really big shindig down at Club WOMB at Gwangali on the 19th of June.

Here's the event info: DANGER LIVE

Club WOMB is pretty great, so I suspect that this event will also be awesome.

Pre-sale tickets - 13,000₩

Before midnight June 19th - 15,000₩

Anytime after midnight - 19,000₩

Contact email : busanpockets@gmail.com

Subject header : Danger

>First and Last name:
>Ticket amount:
>phone number:
>email:
>total cost:

(Information provided by "EVERY EXPAT IN KOREA" on Facebook)

Alright now, that's about it for this blog entry.

For those of you who work at public schools, enjoy your time off!
For those of you working tomorrow, take it easy!
And for those of you state-side and elsewhere, have a great day!

Until next blog,

~Auggie.

We are the CHAMPIONs: Clubbing with the New Girl (that's me)

2010-05-29T20:47:00.001-07:00

Last night was a blast for so many reasons!

First of all, I'd like to thank Emma who absolutely, without a doubt, has made my life suddenly brighter with her presence in it! ♥ I met a lot of very kind people last night, all of whom seem to be absolute dolls. It was the first time that I'd been out in such a big group of foreigners before. To be honest, I was a little worried, because some foreigners here can be kind of ridiculous. You know, what I mean? As in, they get completely plastered and act like complete idiots and make fools of themselves. But, I guess those people are everywhere, no matter where you go.

It's just that, for some reason, I thought that there seemed to be more of them in Korea than normal. I guess I just needed guiding, haha.

Anyway. The people I met last night were lovely. Here's the downlow on what went on.

Around 9:30 Emma came by my apartment and we headed out to 700 club where everyone was met up. Apparently two of the groups really good friends are leaving Korea today (Sunday) so it was some what of their send off. They were funny, and boisterous (but totally not over the top), and sooo friendly!

I was surrounded by couples. I was the only single gal in that group, but I didn't feel uncomfortable at all because everyone was so relaxed. Via a speech made by the 'Man of honor' (the man leaving Korea) I discovered that they'd all made quite good friends over the years and through a few of the people sitting at the table he'd met his future bride (who was sitting right next to him beaming with this gorgeous smile).

This man was big guy, quite tall and broad with a shaved head. He looked like a biker (and he was technically, somewhat, from what I gathered from the speech). He got teary eyed. That's right. I almost cried myself, and I don't even know these people. It's mostly because when men get so emotional that they start to cry (even a little bit) then the situation is pretty serious. I just thought it was so sweet, and I'm a sucker for sweet things.

Anyway... after that we did some shuffling about doing this and that and finally headed out to our destination...

CHAMPION

CHAMPION night club. Now, THAT was an experience. Upon arriving you notice that there are tons of men in black suits running around and ushering people about very formally with ear pieces in. They looked like FBI. Upon entering I noticed how DARK it was. Geez. I could barely see anything except the faint outline of cushy chairs and the tables with little dimly glowing red lamps at the end (I guess so you don't run into them).

Apparently it's a VERY expensive night club. To even enter in the first place you have to purchase 'platters', big plates of fruit, veggies and other little snacks, as well as drinks. The whole place was rather swanky, and set up almost like a dinner theater with a huge stage and dance floor at the front.

A couple of DJ's started playing and when the dance music started everyone would get up and go out onto the floor and dance it up. Most of the dancing was REALLY awkward, and one of my friends said something extremely, and hilariously, accurate.

"They all look miserable, don't they?"

It was true! Almost every person dancing out on that floor looked bored and even upset (like they were doing this grudgingly). We also noticed that most of the Koreans just tended to sway around a bit to the music, there was very little actual 'getting down', if you know what I mean. Though, I can understand that for the girls because some of them were wearing dresses so tight I don't know how they even sat down.

Anyway, the Dj would play for a bit and then stop and everyone would go sit back down. The starting and stopping really disrupted the mood, but it also gave everyone a chance to rest for the next DJ to play. One of the DJ's kept stopping the music to make noise or say something into the microphone so the beat got lost like every four measures. A liiiiiiitle annoying, but fun none the less.

And then....

SURPRISE! MALE STRIPPERS!

Wait... What?

Not really. I'm kidding. There weren't any strippers at this club, though it suddenly became that kind of atmosphere. Korea is obsessed with boy groups here (and I understand the fetish, I'm not knocking it or anything.) CHAMPION night club took that idea and hired a group of handsome guys (all young, all cute for different reasons to appeal to most every girl) and they have them perform on stage. These guys lip-sync and dance to popular songs and drive the girls absolutely nuts. There was literally a horde of girls crowding the stage to touch these guys.

It was pretty entertaining.

In the group there was:

The Show Off: He looked like he would be the leader of the group. Kind of a Bad-ass type with a 'The devil may care" attitude. Lots of suggestive facial expression and gyrating to get the girls to scream and jump up and down.

The Tough Guy: Your token guy who looks like he might have a bit of a mean streak. But may also be a total softie on the inside. Great dancer, looks like he spends his free time smoking cigarettes and riding a motorcycle around town.

The 'Cool' Guy: You know the type. The type that's flirty with everyone, but totally not in a suggestive way. Kind and elusive enough that the girls just can't get enough of him. They want to get to know him and crack his playboy exterior and become 'that girl' that officially steals his heart.

The Cutie And then there's the 'Cutie'. This guy is almost a little awkward, but in a really charming way. While he can dance, he often has a bashful look on his face. His features are boyishly handsome and he looks like the romantic type. Probably sensitive and sweet, a guy who gives flowers, candy, and new little trinkets to his girlfriend, takes her out on picnics, and shyly gives her a kiss in the glowing light of the setting sun. That type.

These four guys cover most bases with what appeals to girls. And they drove them all BONKERS. It was cute, hilarious, and interesting all at the same time to see how these young women were reacting to these untouchable men.

Here comes the whole stripping thing.

At one point during the dancing the lights dim and a vague outline of 'The Show Off' is seen walking behind these moving screens, pulling his shirt off. The girls are already going nuts. The next song starts and the screens raise and there he his, shirtless, with this expression on his face that could have melted a glacier. The girls go even more wild.

A guy having his shirt off is no big deal. But when a guy has a body like that guy had AND when he's dancing the way that guy was it becomes a deal as big as the Trojan war. I know I had this look on my face that was a cross between "This is fun!" and "Uuuuhhh...okay...."

Anyway. 'The Cutie' was the next to take his shirt off, and of course the girls put forth a new screaming wave of enthusiasm. This is another thing about 'The Cutie' that you have to know. 'The Cutie' is SO adorable, that you never guess that he's actually built like Adonis under his graphic T-shirt. This drives the girls even more crazy as it's all part of the 'prince charming' attraction. You know... a sensitive man who can understand a woman and be in tune to her as a female but at the same time be totally masculine.

Guys, this was what I was thinking as a group of shirtless men were dancing on a stage in front of me. Sure I was having a good time, but I was also ANALYZING the entire situation. Do I need to be admitted somewhere? Back into graduate school, that's where.

Wouldn't that be just so much fun? Go around from nightclub to night club and document the scene and then write paper after paper of thoughts on what and why? (But I think someone has already done that, oh well. Fresh perspective!)

I MISS UNIVERSITY!

So...

Sure. CHAMPION was a great time, and the dancing was nice. After a while I left with Emma and her Hubby-to-be and we went out to Gwangali to a place called "Thursday Party", met up with some other people and had a great time.

I was actually kind of worried about going out that night, because I'm not a big drinker and you know... clubbing and bar hopping usually involves a lot of alcohol. So I was a bit concerned, but aside from maybe a beer (and not even a whole one), and a single shot of soju at the beginning of the night (I hate soju, I had the shot handed to me because everyone was doing a toast after their friends speech and I didn't have a drink. UGH. Soju=do not like) I didn't have anything but water. I didn't get tired, I didn't feel exhausted when 3am rolled around. I was totally alert, energetic, and ready for more dancing!

DANCING ANYONE?

For those of you who don't know, I love dancing. Find me a good nightclub and I'll stay there all night, not even joking. I used to hate it back at University when the dance clubs would close at 2am. WHY?! Stay open until 5-6am like the rest of the clubs around the world! People are just getting started at 2am!

Anyway, it's great exercise, and if you really enjoy it and you dance for hours then you burn so many calories. Gals, when going dancing LEAVE THE FLATS AT HOME! You MUST wear heels! Most girls wear what a friend of mine refers to as '2 hour heels', the really spiky stilettos that cram your toes in and really hurt your feet. Why do you even own a pair of shoes like that?

Buy a pair of comfy 'all night' heels. Those would be CLOSED TOED heels with a thick chunky heel instead of a stiletto. The chunky heel gives you more balance, and the closed toe doesn't rub blisters into feet as easily because your feet have nowhere to slide back and forth like with strapped shoes or open toed shoes (which also get uncomfortable because your foot is being semi-shoved through a small opening at the tip of your shoe).

But the reason I say WEAR HEEELS is because, wearing heels while dancing is GREAT exercise for your ab muscles and legs. Having to keep your balance on heels while move your hips and shoulders around at the same time requires more leg and middle body strength than you'd expect.

Anyway the I LOVE DANCING being said, if anyone knows of a good night club out in Busan then give me a holla'. I'm up to trying new places.

I've been to FOXY, WOMB, and now CHAMPION but there's got to be more out there.

So, if you live in BUSAN you should totally give CHAMPION a go. It's fun, entertaining, and really worth the money (which I still owe to someone because we left early. WHO DO I PAY?! )

Well, everyone. I know I keep promising pictures and then don't deliver. But eventually it'll happen, don't you worry your little selves about that.

I'm off for now. More exciting adventure recaps later.

Until next time,

~Auggie

Date Night With Busan

2010-05-29T04:34:00.001-07:00

Ugh.

Yeah, that's right. 'Ugh'.

Ever had that feeling? When everything is absolutely great and you should be totally, entirely, and ECSTATICALLY BLISSFUL...but there's still one or two small things that are really bothering you, like the fact that you have to finish laundry sometime in the next millennia? Yeah. That kind of 'ugh'.

Aside from a small emotional breakdown this week was fantastic! I have to add that the breakdown was just par for the course. Living in a foreign country so far away from family gets to you every now and then. I'm surprised that I hadn't had an episode before now. But don't worry, I'm fine. I talked to my mum, ate a lot of Kimchi Jjigae, and then bought a whole bunch of skin/make-up products from "Skin Food" and started to feel better. Thanks for being concerned.

UPDATE ON 'THE ISSUE'

Not really a whole lot of news on what's going on with N and S Korea. However, China has finally decided that they're not going to 'support anyone' in this situation. I'm not really sure what that means yet. I don't really know if anyone is entirely sure what that means yet. We'll just have to wait and see, but life is going on as usual. Lotte isn't getting mobbed for groceries by people who think that other people are going to mob Lotte for groceries and no other major forms of pandemonium have broken out anywhere.

Here's some update for you:

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100529000023

http://www.koreaherald.com/national/Detail.jsp?newsMLId=20100529000052

Now for nicer things to think about

I've been wondering lately what my talent is. I actually sat down and thought about it.

After a bit of figuring through all of the jumbled mess that is my mind I came to the following conclusion:

I am a jack of all trades.

You know the saying.. "Jack of all trades, master of none." Yep, that's me for you. I've got my hand in a hundred different interests, but I'm so busy sharing my attention and changing my mind about what I feel like doing that day that I don't have time to become spectacular at anything in particular. Which honestly... is just peachy with me.

Why?

Well, I feel really lucky to have so many interests and opportunities to pursue them. I get to do so many things that people never get to do, and even if I'm not the 'best' at it or not even particularly 'good' at it, at least I'm enjoying it and having a fantastic time.

Photography
Writing
Singing
Fashion
Make-up art
Languages
Dancing
Acting
Music
Movies
Gender Anthro
Blogging
Cooking
Drawing
Biking
Hiking
Frisbee
Puzzles
Teaching
Dog walking
(and so on)

I've got a ton of interests, and honestly a moment should never pass when I'm bored. But I have bored moments all the time, because inevitably there are times when the one thing I want to do is the one thing that I can't do at that moment for some reason or another.

I want to write more, because at the moment I've got a lot to say about nothing in particular. But I'm just about to head out for a 'night on the town' (BTW anybody want to explain to me where this saying came from? Because when I think about it, it just sounds weird. 'On the town'? Does that mean that the town is paying for everything/providing the fun, as one particular meaning of 'on' would be... or what? Someone give me a hint) with some new friends.

Apparently there's a difference between a 'Club' and a 'Korean club'. I'm about to find out what that difference is, and I'm sure it will be nothing short of exciting.

Look forward to more random updates.

I plan to take pictures sometime, of something.

Anyway, to tide you over until then check out these guys:

WONG FU PRODUCTIONS

Until next time,

~Auggie

Monthly Tests: A Form of Emotional Torture.

2010-05-26T15:47:00.001-07:00

Hello readers.

I'm not going to beat around the bush with tales of sunshine and butterflies. I've had a hard week.

There. I said it.

Also, I know that a lot of you back home are wondering about this situation going on lately with North and South Korea.

There's the talk of war in the air. I know that's nowhere near a 'small' thing, but there's no use panicking about it when there haven't even been any decisions made yet. As most of you know, on March 26th a South Korean ship was sunk near the disputed North Korea/South Korea sea borders. 46 soldiers lost their lives.

Originally there was a lot of trying to play down the possibility that North Korea was responsible. Now, it's just accepted information. Currently South Korea is working on placing more sanctions on North Korea, and has appealed to the U.N. According to news reports 'anti submarine exercises' are already being engaged by the military in South Korea, and US support is high.

I'm no International Relations expert, and I'm certainly not savvy on politics and war prevention, so I can't even begin to predict what might happen. From what I can tell North Korea is something similar to a dying animal. Its only lifeline is Communist China who apparently still isn't 100% convinced that it was North Korea that sunk the Cheonan.

If North Korea's last lifeline were to be cut off they would be in even worse shape than they already are. Their population and their army are aging, their dictator's health is failing, their economy is practically non-existent. Their means of survival are few, and there's a lot of suggestion that this may turn out to be their 'final stand'.

But, like my mom said, "A rabid dog, even a dying one, is dangerous."

Best case scenario.... North Korea makes a weak 'last battle' effort and fails miserably resulting in a South Korea take over that sheds minimal (if any) blood. The two Korea's will be united after all this time and after (what will probably be years) a while everyone will be happy and well adjusted in their newly reunited country.

Let's all just think about the Best case scenario working out.

That's the update there. I'll keep all of you stateside informed on what's going on as I find out myself.

In other news....

Monthly tests are happening this week, and so far they're been half of a disaster. My younger classes passed with flying colors, the majority of them making quite decent grades. My older students, however, aren't in such good test grade shape. I understand that the majority of them are busy with their regular schools (I work at a private school, which the older students attend AFTER their regular schooling is over for the day). It's stressful for them to have so many classes, and the pressure put on kids here in Korea to do well and study hard is pretty intense. But the society is a competitive one, and to do well you have to work hard.

I don't mind it if my students have tried and still don't do well. If they do their homework, pay attention in class, and then don't exactly Ace their monthly test, I'm kind of okay with that. I don't get upset, because I add in all the other factors.

But when the students don't do their homework, don't pay attention, and then after a test review during which I GIVE THEM the answers for the test and they STILL FAIL... then I'm upset. There's no excuse for that. If that child is so busy that they don't have any time to study for their English class then the parents need to reconsider spending their money on it. It's my responsibility to make sure I do what I can to teach their children English while their IN my class. But I can't control what they do outside of my class. I can't make them do their homework, I can't make them study. And don't you know that is the most FRUSTRATING thing.

I have all of these super intelligent students who could be thriving in English language, but they can barely put together a coherent sentence because they didn't do their homework and have NO idea what's going on in class that day.

Now that I've talked about it, I feel less upset about what happened yesterday with one of my older classes. Two of the six students passed with flying colors. The others? Failed. Failed miserably. After asking them a question they don't even respond "I don't know", they just stare at me.

I ask each of them right out, "Did you study for this test?" and they each replied (bashfully) "No."

After the tests were done I sent the two who had made good grades out of the class. I've raised my voice more times working at this school than I think I ever have in my entire life, but my only other option was to quietly tell them I was disappointed and hope they felt sorry (when there weren't any consequences). So I yelled. I told them that they should be ashamed for disrespecting their parents, me, and themselves by not even trying to do well on their test. I told them that I understand that they're tired, but that there are thousands of other students out there who have heavier work loads than they do and they don't fail their tests. I pulled the whole "What will your parents say when they see your grade?" card.

Thinking back on it, it was pretty harsh. But man... I was upset. Those questions weren't difficult. We'd been on that unit for an entire month and all of the sudden I feel like I'd been wasting my time. That's not a good feeling, people. Not a good feeling at all.

I'm suddenly sorry to my teachers for those times that I didn't study well for my exams, and then didn't make the best grade I possibly could. I'm especially sorry to Senora Pathman from Spanish III in High school for not putting forth my best efforts in class and them complaining when I didn't' make the grade I wanted. I now understand a little bit of what the teachers must have felt when their students didn't even try.

Anyway...

We're doing make-up tests on Friday. They'll take their test again, and they'll have an opportunity for bonus points (I made them write sentences for bonus points). They'll bring home decent grades to their parents and everyone will be happy. That's the plan.

*sigh*

Well,

That's the post for now. I'll put up another one later because I actually recharged my camera battery and took a couple of photos recently. I know all of this text is getting kind of daunting from some of you.

Everyone take care.

Until next time,

~Auggie

It's A Lot Of Something Good

2010-05-22T19:29:00.001-07:00

안녕하세요.

It's been a while, hasn't it readers? This past bit of time has been really busy. I've been working quite a lot on top of studying for the TOPIK exam which is coming up in September. I haven't exactly had a whole lot of extra time to type up on the blog.

Ugh, my whole being is tired! It's been 'go go go!' pretty much non-stop since the last post. Open House classes at work made things really stressful for everyone, but thanks to the hard work and all of the effort that everyone put forth we believe that it was a success. Working at this private institute is sometimes really daunting, but I tell you what... I'm proud of it. I'm proud of the school, I'm proud of my co-workers, I'm proud to say that I'm a teacher there. While there are some things that I don't agree with (like some methods of teaching and what not), overall the programs are incredible and I enjoy being a part of it. It's certainly not what I want to spend the rest of my life doing, but for now I'm happy where I am.

This weekend was a holiday here in Korea. Buddha's Birthday. I think about it being kind of on par with Martin L King's Birthday back in the states. It's a holiday, no school, some work places are closed... but there's not really any kind of amazing celebration happening. Everyone just gets a day off. Having a three day weekend gave me the perfect opportunity to head up to SEOUL!

SEOUL SURVIVOR

As for the title, it's actually borrowed from some sign that I and the group I was with saw at a sports bar in Itaewon. Kind of clever, I guess.

Anywho. I had trouble getting online tickets for the KTX trip up to Seoul because I don't have my Alien Registration card yet (by the way... where is my card anyway? The 90 day deadline is approaching and I haven't even heard anything about it since my first week in Busan). Getting to a station to buy tickets was a problem because of my hectic work schedule last week. Luckily my good friend Jeongmin came to the rescue!

Jeongmin is the whole reason I was going to Seoul in the first place. You want to hear a touching story? Well, I'll tell you one....

OUR STORY

Jeongmin and I met in the 10th grade of Highschool. That put us both at about 16 years old. She was an exchange student from Seoul, South Korea. How in the WORLD she managed to find herself studying in Hot Springs, Arkansas is beyond me, but it happened and there she was. My school wasn't exactly diverse, with the majority of the student body being white, middle class and she was the first person I'd ever known from a foreign country. We had an Oral Communications class together and also played the same instrument in band (flute). We started chatting and after a while an awesome friendship formed.

I tell everyone, and this is true, that she's the reason I became interested in Asia in the first place. It was so amazing to me ( as I was this ignorant, unwordly, awkward teenager) that someone could come from such a different environment, surrounded by such different things, and still be so similar to me. That year was the year I really started to think about the differences and similarities in people. People everywhere... are people. Despite culture, religion, upbringing, language... we can all connect to each other. How awesome is that?!

The end of our 10th grade year was pretty sad, because Jeongmin had to go back to Seoul. Her year of study abroad was over. We kept in touch. Before we had facebook we e-mailed and occasionally talked on the phone. Even though we were on separate sides of the world and even though YEARS were going by, it always felt like she'd only been gone for a few days.

I started college hell bent on Asian Studies. I learned Japanese (there was no Korean program, unfortunately), studied abroad in Japan, and worked with students from all over the globe at a language center. Seven years later, and who would have EVER guessed this would happen (I mean, really), I end up in Busan, South Korea.

Friday was the first time in 7 years that I'd seen Jeongmin, and it barely felt like it'd been even seven hours!

BACK TO THE SEOUL SURVIVOR THING

Jeongmin, her boyfriend, and her best friend from college all greeted me at Seoul station. We went around all over the place, and while I can't remember the name of the area exactly, it was pretty fantastic. And it was HOT! HOT HOT HOT! I'd dressed in jeans and a heavy quarter sleeve shirt thinking that since I was going further up NORTH that it would be cooler in Seoul than it was in Busan. WRONG! I thought I was going to melt.

We had an awesome time.

We ended up in Itaewon because I'd told Jeongmin that I wanted to go to "WHAT THE BOOK" a mainly 'used' bookstore that offered all English titles. We all browsed some, and I bought two titles by Haruki Murakami. After that we met up with Jeongmin's friends brother (I would use names but I really don't know if they'd be okay with that. So, you're just going to have to put up with the 'friends friends cousins brothers ex girlfriends goldfish' explanations) and browsed around the area until we found a cozy little sports bar to chill at and talk. It was a good time. :)

The whole night was a good time. When you're with a group of friendly, good, people you can't help but have a good time. You feel safe, you feel comfortable, it's all great.

Jeongmin and a new friend I'd made from the evening out ate lunch together the next day and spent some time shopping around Seoul station before it was time for us to part ways. Even though I only spent a little over 24 hours in Seoul, it was a great time and I definitely know I'll be going back.

And to think.... I was actually DREADING Seoul. The only reason I was going in the first place was to see Jeongmin. That's it. But Seoul turned out to be pretty cool. I guess I can admit that.

Anyway,

It's another busy week looking at me from just over the top of Sunday's head. I can't tell whether it's smiling or scowling... I guess I'll find out starting tomorrow. Monthly tests for the students are at hand! That either means that I'll be glowing with pride or afire with irritation at the end of the week after countless hours of speaking/listening/ and writing tests with students who may or may not have studied for them.

That's all for now. The biggest highlight was Seoul... oh, and yeah, I guess I did emotionally survive the open houses. That's something pretty nifty in and of itself.

Until next time,

~Auggie

Early Mornings and Midweek Posts.

2010-05-05T15:15:00.001-07:00

안녕하세요.

Hello readers. Well, it's Thursday, bright and early! And I'm up gazing out the window into a perfectly dreary morning. Cloudy, grey, and rainy it is on this 6th day of May, and I can only remember to be thankful that the weather wasn't like this yesterday on my day off.

Anyway. Not really a whole lot going on in particular. It's just 7:17am and I'm not ready to get down to any kind of business yet, so here I am on Blogger.

Lately I've been making a few lifestyle changes, and I'm proud to say that they're going rather well.

1.) Wake up early

Going to bed super late at night, and then waking up very late in the morning always had me feeling kind of sluggish. I'm not really a night person. I enjoy the daylight and the sunshine. I get very few things done at night, because I feel less motivated. So, I decided that it was about time to start setting my alarm clock back a few hours.

I set my alarm to 6:15am. At first, I couldn't get myself up out of bed on time, so I set two alarms. One at 6:15am to get me out of a sleep, and another at 7:00am to get me out of bed. It went that way for a while, but more recently I've been able to get out of bed at around 6:30am with little problem.

This morning, the alarm went off at 6:15am. I clamored out of bed and crossed the room to where my alarm was, turned it off, then skedaddled back into bed. 10 minutes later I was tossing off the covers, fully awake and ready to start the day. It felt really good!

2.) Exercising

I've always been very interested in exercise. Unfortunately I've never been much with sticking to a routine. The idea of exercise is always a pleasant one, but the actual practice was hard to get into. My family is very athletic/healthy so I've always felt a bit of the odd one out.

My father is a former black belt in Taekwando who is currently a gym junkie at the age of 62.

My older brother is a marathon runner/gym junkie with experience in kick boxing and other such interesting athletics. His wife, my sister-in-law, has 9 month post-baby abs and is also a marathon runner, former rugby player.

My little brother is a cross country runner/biker/marathon runner/gym junkie, with experience in Martial arts, MMA, and is now currently training for a half iron man competition.

My mom doesn't need exercise, she's always been small, petite, and cute. She can lose 10 lbs by just eating properly, no exercise needed.

My 33 year old older sister has the body of a 20 year old.

And then there's ME! I'm not tall and svelt, like my brothers or my dad, and I'm certainly not petite like my mom. I'm quite in between. Am I totally unhappy with myself? No way! Of course I complain from time to time, who doesn't? But I was always content enough to just let things be the way they were and not change them.

However, in the past year and half the tom-boy part of me has come out to play. I love being outside. Biking, hiking, frisbee, swimming... if it's an outdoor activity I'm game. But the hard-core exercise thing has eluded me still. Until now...

Picking up my life and moving to a foreign country has done a lot for my self confidence. I've learned how to function well in a new environment and thrive. So now, the idea of exercise has become more appealing. Routines are hard to get into, sure, but when you have confidence as a beginner it's easier to keep going. Do I feel TOTALLY embarrassed at the jogging track when I can't go more than twice around without having to stop and walk? Well, yeah. But it's not the crippling kind of humiliation that makes me not want to be there. I just keep reminding myself that with time, and dedication, I'll be able to run around that thing without having to stop every quarter mile to wallow in the dirt out of pure exhaustion (not that I do that now...).

A very dear friend of mine, her name is Kalyn (Cavalier Girl),has recently reached some of her fitness goals, and has really served as an inspiration to me! Thank you Kalyn!

Also, little things like... the fact that my jeans are fitting me better now... give me confidence and keep me going. I also continue to think about all of the cute clothes I'll be able to wear in a few months if I keep this exercise thing up! Hey! A big part of me is still a girly girl!!! Don't judge!

Maybe I'll even get brave enough to start a martial art.... hm. (One step at a time, Auggie. One step at a time).

3.) Study Habits

I'm horrible at studying. I never developed good study habits. If the class was one I enjoyed, it was easy for me to retain information and study for it. If it was a class I disliked or thought was boring, I hardly even opened the book and I CERTAINLY didn't listen in class. Not that I made bad grades. I did well. But, I believe now that I certainly could have done better. In all honesty I never really had any GOALS to achieve. Graduating was about it, everything else was kind of up in the air because I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with my life. I knew that I wanted to go to Graduate school, but for what? My ambiguous future made it difficult for me to knuckle down and concentrate well because I didn't know what to knuckle down and concentrate ON.

Now that my desires and goals are a little clearer, It's almost fun to sit down and study. Even during the times when I'm not exactly feeling like it, I spread out my books and paper, get a pencil ready, and go to it. I'm getting better.

What am I studying now? Korean mostly. I've got some high reaching goals in mind, and it's going to take a lot of work.

Another study goal? TESOL. I want to be certified just for the heck of it. I think it'll help me a lot in the future. Though I'm not expecting TESOL to be anything that difficult to study for (watch me be totally wrong).

4.) Drink More Water

This might not seem like a big one, but let me tell you, I thoroughly dislike water when I'm not absolutely 100% thirsty. Drinking a healthy amount of it every day is a REAL task for me. BUT, at least I've been drinking it. Diet soda's certainly can't give me the hydration that water can. It's getting easier, little by little, but man... water is hard to drink.

Well, there's a little bit of that.

I actually feel pretty okay about making such a random post in the middle of the week like this. It might happen more often. Maybe. Possibly.

In other new, I think I've caught a cold. BIG surprise there considering I work with a bunch of kindergarten kids who don't cover their mouths when they sneeze or cough.

Well, here's to hoping a healthier life style will help me recover more quickly.

And here's to hoping that I can keep going strong with these goals and lifestyle changes I've set and made for myself.

Thank you readers for your continued interest in my blog. I have NO idea who you are, but I know you're there!!!! My daily counter tells me so!

Family and friends State side: Enjoy Cinco De Mayo! Have some Mexican food for me.

ROK peers: Children's day is over. Back to work! Have a great day!

Your blog host,

~Auggie.

Weekend Post Part II (on Tuesday): Life is Sweet and God is Good.

2010-05-03T16:42:00.001-07:00

안녕하세요.

Hello again everyone. I'm keeping good on my word and I'm writing up this "part II" post to the blog I began Saturday.

Beware readers... long post ahead.

Saturday was an... amazing... day.

I had recently begun to feel a bit homesick. I miss my family, and I miss my friends especially around this time of year when the weather is so nice. I began feeling a bit misplaced. Friday night I went to bed thinking about the awesome summers at home, all of the bike trails, the coffee shops, the pool, the lakes, all the other fun things to do.

That feeling of loneliness also started to close in on me. While I have plenty to keep me occupied during the weekdays, and lovely co-workers to chat with during the breaks at work, I didn't really have anyone to bond with. I haven't been able to make any friends due to my hectic schedule. I'd been searching frantically for groups or activities that I could get involved and help me meet people, but let me tell you guys, that's not as easy as it sounds.

I went to sleep Friday night feeling kind of down, but woke up Saturday with some strange kind of strength. I was determined not to feel blue. If I had to be by myself, I would do whatever it took to make that time totally enjoyable. I woke up at 6:30AM Saturday morning (don't call me crazy, it was great!), piddled around the apartment for a bit, then put on my jogging clothes, laced up my shoes, and set out to the park. No way I was going to spend that gorgeous Saturday morning cooped up in my apartment!

I didn't realize HOW gorgeous Saturday really was until I was setting foot in the park. That place is a little piece of paradise. Green grass, trees, big wild bushes, and one of the most breathtaking mountains views I've ever seen. That scenic atmosphere coupled with the warm sun and the cool breeze gave me some serious energy. My first trip to the park on Saturday was great, but it was my second trip that set the mood for what was to be a truly amazing day.

After jogging for a bit (a lot of power walking too, because I'm so out of practice with jogging) I began noticing a lot of guys in uniforms begin to filter into the park. Soccer players. The green grassy part of the park is actually made up of two soccer fields. Neato! I thought to myself "Hm. Soccer. Interesting sport. I need to be interested in a sport of some kind." So, I made up my mind after my exercise to go home, get clean, and then go back to the park to watch the soccer matches.

About 10 minutes after I arrive at my apartment, anxiety sets in. I'm not much of a "Go and do new things by yourself" type of person. Actually, I get quite terrified for the most ridiculous reasons. I began to second guess returning to the park to watch the soccer games.

"What if there's a huge crowd of people there and I can't find a place to watch, I'll just have to turn around and come back home and feel all awkward."

"What if these are actual games of some kind, and it's not just leisurely playing, and I have to pay to get in? I need so save my money."

"I don't know the first thing about soccer, what if I get there and totally hate it?"

Yeah. These were some of the things going through my mind. But, I still had that curious strength that was telling me to 'quit being a baby' and go.

I kept repeating Eleanor Roosevelt's words of wisdom to myself over and over: "Do one thing every day that scares you." ...or at least makes you feel slightly uncomfortable.

That last straw happened when I was just about to decide against going back out to the park. This thought, as obvious as daylight, came stomping into my mind. "You'll move to another country all by yourself but you won't walk to a park to watch a soccer game? That's weird. That's just plain weird."

Alright, I talked myself into it. Out I go again, armed with a book and some study material just incase I get bored. The first thing I notice upon arriving back at the park, is that there are no observers of the soccer games going on (two, one on each field). The only people in the stands are other soccer players waiting their turn. The people who didn't come out to play soccer are strolling, or jogging, or riding their bicycles. Very relaxed atmosphere. No crowds, no yelling, just people enjoying the Saturday. Score!

I scope out seating for optimum comfort/view and then take the long way around to get to the park benches on the other side of the field from where I am. I take a seat. Suddenly, I notice God.

You think I'm kidding? You've got another thing coming. That one moment, settling down on that park bench in the warm sun with the cool breeze and the shady trees, the mountains looming in the distance against a perfectly blue sky... the presence of God was so blazingly obvious that I think my entire mind shut down momentarily with an overload of 'happy'. I just sat there in complete contentment. I was SO content in fact, that I sat there for over an hour doing absolutely nothing but soaking in the sun and the scenery and occasionally watching the soccer matches going on nearby.

Bliss.

At some point an ajushi (older gentleman) strolled past. He had a mask on his face (to prevent from inhaling dust and dirt) and a tool that looked like a pick axe in one hand. As he past me he turned his head, I could tell by his eyes that he was smiling. I smiled back and he raised his free hand to wave at me. I greeted him and he smiled even bigger, and then strolled on by.

Kindness. It's AMAZING what bit of minute kindness can do to your day. Things were only getting better.

A little later another ajushi on a bicycle stopped in front of me rather suddenly. We smiled at each other and exchanged greetings. Then he asked me if I liked to ride bicycles. Of course! I responded. He chatted a bit more and then he told me that he rents bicycles for people to use. He asked me if I would be interested and I had to politely decline and say "Perhaps another time." I found out later that apparently renting a bicycle for a few hours is free. How neat is that?! So it's actually 'borrowing' a bicycle.

Just a few minutes after this I realized that I was starting to get a little bit uncomfortable. That bench wasn't exactly made of down feathers. So I finally gathered my stuff, got up, and made my way into town. I bought some yummy bread (thank you Paris Baguette for having wheat bread!) went to a little stationary shop and then headed home.

All of this was done before 1:00 pm. I LOVE early mornings!

Cup Overflowing

"God is not a 'just enough' God, he's a 'more than you asked for' God. He's not a 'cup half full' God, he's a 'cup overflowing' God. God's timing is perfect, his wisdom and mercy unfathomable. God is not a 'standby' God, waiting until you call on him before he enters your life. He is ever present, with you every moment, ready to give you wisdom, help, and love that you didn't even know you needed."

As I mentioned earlier, I had been battling the inevitable loneliness that creeps up on you when you're in a new place, adjusting to completely new surroundings with no one familiar about to make that adjustment easier. It hasn't been anything serious, just a little blue feeling every now and then. I was handling it quite well, I think.

However, I prayed that God would send me a friend, someone who I could connect with. Meeting people isn't spectacularly easy in a country where you don't know the language.

In answer to my prayers, God sent me Regina (해리).

Last week Regina posted a message up on Koreabridge about a conversation/culture exchange club that was meeting on Saturday nights. There was a phone number posted and an invitation to call.

Those of you who know me well know that I have a bit of anxiety when it comes to making calls to total strangers. There was even a time when I had difficulty ordering pizza! Of course, It's not that bad now. But anyway... I dialed the number a few times and then changed my mind before finally coming up with the brilliant idea to send a text message.

The response to my text message? A phone call! Regina lets me know when and where the club will be meeting and I'm invited to join! 7:30pm on Saturday night.

Am I excited?

ABSOLUTELY!

Saturday comes around and I make the 50 minute trip to Seomyeon where the club meeting will be held. I get kind of lost, so I call Regina for help and she comes all the way out to where I am to find me and take me to her office where the club meeting will be. As I'm waiting I hear someone call my name and I turn to see this young woman waving and smiling at me. My first impression of Regina? SO CUTE! She had such a big smile on, and she even gave me a hug.

The club meeting was fun, hilarious, and fantastic. I met a lot of kind, interesting, and friendly people. I thought that this was what it meant to be blessed beyond what you asked for. I asked for a friend, and God directs me to a whole group of nice people.

God wasn't done.

Apparently Regina, her brother Aaron, and a few other members live in the same city that I do! What are the chances?! One of the foreign teachers (a young man who was born in Korea and adopted by a family in the US) even lives in the apartment building next to me.

Also, over the course of the evening I hear someone talking about a church that they go to with Regina. I'm immediately on alert. I've been looking for a church, but there are so many here and some of them are kind of strange... so I've been really wary. There are a few English ministries around, but for some reason I wasn't feeling right about those. So, I ask Regina about her church and she gives me some info and then invites me to join her the next day at the 2pm service.

Podowan Presbyterian Church

I could write another full post about Podowan Presbyterian church. It was just an amazing experience. This section is going to be long, but not quite epic, I'll leave some stuff out so family and friends, if you're ready for me to talk your ears off, then ask me about everything else!

I attended the 2pm Korean service with Regina (there are something like 4 services, to accommodate everyone that wants to attend. It's the biggest church in Hwamyeong.) I couldn't understand the sermon, but the pastor was animated, passionate, and apparently really funny because there was a lot of laughing. My desire to learn Korean became even stronger.

My goals with Korean? Know it well enough to attend a university in Busan and understand a Korean sermon. Woo! Can I do it? You bet!

Before the service started Regina helped me fill out a 'guest registry' form. At the end of the sermon the pastor took out some papers and Regina turned to me and said "Okay, new members are going to stand up now."

What?

Stand up? As in, in front of hundreds of people stand up? HA! I'm already blushing, but I tell her "No no, maybe next time." thinking that all guests were to stand up together all at once. I was wrong. They called out each person individually. Right after telling Regina I would stand up next week, I hear my name. I freeze. I can feel my face getting red as the pastor calls my name again and looks around. By this time half of the congregation have turned around to look for me, and have found me.... because my name is definitely foreign and I'm the only blonde in the room.

The people who have spotted me are smiling, it's probably impossible to miss that I'm embarrassed with as red as my face must have been. The pastor calls out my name one more time and I stand up half way and give a weird, awkward little wave. I sit back down quickly and take a deep breath... but it's not over! A young woman comes to our pew and hans me a little bag with some things inside and asks Regina and I to follow her. So we stand up, again, and follow the young woman out.

We're ushered to a room where all of the other guests and new members are. The pastor enters and calls everyones name out again and speaks with them a bit, I'm sure asking questions about where they're from and what not. He gets to me and all I can do is smile and try not to look as awkward as I certainly feel. BIG smile from the pastor and he shakes my hand and says "Welcome". He and Regina speak for a bit and then off I go to speak with the people at the English ministry.

The English ministry people are kind. But I can't help but think that the English ministry atmosphere wasn't what I was being lead to. It was nice, at least, to know that they were there. I also got to meet another really sweet girl named Shelly. She's from Chicago originally and her parents are both Korean. She's also here teaching.

After meeting the English ministry people a new group of us all head off to the College meeting which is just like a Sunday School class. Children's Day is on Wednesday, so there was a lot of discussion about children in need throughout the world. I couldn't understand what was being said, but the slide show was pretty self explanatory.

I'm looking at the slide show, the slide changes, and all of the sudden there's my name up on the screen. "Audra from the USA". My reaction? UUUUUHHH?!!!!?!?! I blush five shades of red again as everyone turns in their seats to look back to where I am. All I can do is smile and wave again. This time I don't stand up, I don't think my legs would have supported me. That much unexpected attention is pretty surprising.

But, I enjoyed being there with all of the other young adults. It felt good to be surrounded by people around my same age with a heart for God.

After that meeting we break off into small groups. Regina takes me to her small group where I meet four other young women. They are SO kind!!!!! Go Eun is the group leader. She's a molecular biology major at a University preparing for entering Med-school. Her English is actually pretty good, and she's so sweet. They include me as much as they can in their study, ask me about my prayer requests, and then ask me to pray (I pray in English and Go Eun translates). Close to the end of the small group Regina asks me if I would like to attend the evening service too.

My response. Sure!!!! We have a bit of time after small group before the evening service so some of our small group meet up with Shelly and a young man about our age to go eat.

After dinner we all headed back to church for the evening service. The evening service is full of singing, music, and a variety of praise that really kept me smiling and made me positive that God filled that place and everyone knew it. There was a children's group that came to sing and I recognized one of their songs.

"Oh how he loves you and me.
Oh how he loves you and me.
He gave his life, what more could he give?
Oh how he loves you.
Oh how he loves me,
Oh how he loves you and me."

I almost cried.

Then I almost cried AGAIN when a young woman came up to play the violin. Readers, she MUST have been famous because she was INCREDIBLE! I have never heard, and I mean NEVER, someone play an instrument like this. Even seeing fiddle players and what not in Branson and at shows... they couldn't match her, not even close. She was so passionate, and she moved with the music, it was SO amazing. One of her songs even made people cry. Her tone was perfect, on key, notes crystal clear. Every time she played the high strings I got goose bumps. It was phenomenal.

More singing again, and then the service ended.

Shelly and I say goodbye to everyone. Regina heads home, and Shelly and I go to Lotte Mart. We chat for a bit and express how glad we are to have someone to chat with in English. Then hugs, and Shelly goes home and so do I.

Later that night I get text messages from people telling me that they're glad to have met me. I feel completely happy.

So what about this cup overflowing thing?

Okay, so, I pray and ask God for a friend.

God answers my prayer with:

*Regina
*Aaron
*Go Eun
*Shelly
*The girls from my small group (Their names are hard to remember! But I WILL remember them!)
*The people from the culture club
*And... on top of all of that... a church home for me in Korea.

Consider my cup overflowed! ♥

To my family and friends in the states: I miss you so much! But I'm doing great, so don't worry about me! Smile a lot!

To my new friends here in Korea: I feel so blessed to have you in my life!

To my readers wherever you are: I hope that you're healthy and happy and enjoying life!

Until the next blog!!!

Your blog host,

~Auggie

Runny Noses and Separation Anxiety.

2010-05-01T00:57:00.000-07:00

안녕하세요.

Hello readers. It's been a full week since my last post, and part of me actually feels a little guilty about that. So, let me explain.

This last week has been FILLED with blogworthy things. The drama at work has measured an 8.5 on the "Days of our Lives" scale, but unfortunately I care about peoples feelings too much to write up about their problems on a blog... even when their problems DO affect me and the entire office in a negative way.

But, what I can say is that now my school is looking for a new teacher, here at the beginning of a new monthly schedule, and it's got everyone pretty stressed out. Hagwon working is not for the faint of heart or those with a weak stomach. It is busy, at times disgusting (kindergarten children can be really dirty), and always measures a shade of "stressful", even on the days when there's not much going on.

At a Hagwon, or at least at some Hagwons, you are the slave to the children's parents. What the parents want when it comes to their children, the parents get. Already I've had some pretty interesting experiences with selfish, demanding, and totally spoiled Hagwon moms who think that because they're paying for their children to get a better English education that means that the teachers should treat them like royalty.

Do I have a problem with parents being concerned about their childrens educations? No, not at all. I think it's great that they look into it, and give enough of a flyin' flip to stop by and make sure we're treating their children properly. But when the parents watch classes and the criticism is "The teacher didn't cuddle my kid enough."/"The teacher needs to ask my kid more questions (when either that kid is the ONLY kid who talks in class, or when that kid is so absolutely rude and uninterested that they do everything short of throwing up the middle finger at you when you venture to include them in class)."/ "My kid has a runny nose, and the teacher didn't help her blow it!".... Yeah, it gets kind of ridiculous.

That last one... it's true. One of the youngin's moms came to watch the other day. Her child is wild, misbehaved, dirty (puts random stuff in her mouth all the time, blows her nose in her hand and so on), and generally a pain in everyone's rear end. But, she's really smart, she likes to play, and she can be really sweet. She's not a bad kid, she's just really misbehaved in class, and there's nothing we can do about it. Why? Because her mom gets upset when we punish her. We work on a 'sticker' system in the younger classes. If they're good they get so many stickers at the end of the period. If I take away any of this child's stickers her mom will have something to say about it.

The other day, this little girl was feeling kind of ill. I felt sorry for her, because no one likes to feel bad, and I don't want anyone to feel bad (especially not kids). She had a really runny nose, and her mom was watching that day. So what are my instructions?

"Help her blow her nose.".

Excuse me?

Help her blow her nose? Are you kidding me? This little girl is entirely capable of doing that on her own, in fact she ALWAYS does it on her own. She knows how, she's had a lot of practice. Her nose has been runny since I started working there, and I'm sure it was runny before that. She's got the whole "I can blow my own nose" thing down pat. But, since the mom was watching, I had to oblige.

Needless to say, it was disgusting, and I felt slightly used. Some of you reading are probably thinking "And she wants to be a MOM?! HA!".

To that I say "Hush up." Of course I want to be a Mom, I want a lot of kids. I can deal with kid 'icky' just fine when that kid is part of my family, or is a child that I am particularly fond of. Love does a lot to secure courage and almost complete indifference concerning that area, and I'm not worried even a little bit that I'll have a hard time with any of that when it comes to my children.

But someone else's kid? The most appropriate word I can think of is, "Ugh".

Anyway, I helped the little gal blow her nose, and her mom was pleased. So my discomfort brought forth positive feedback that I appreciate... and, I can safely say, worked hard for.

Letting go is hard to do.

When I began teaching, I had no idea how attached I was going to become to some of these students. I knew that I was going to be fond of a few of them, because I like kids, and spending that much time with anyone is going to entail some kind of bonding. But last week, I was given the opportunity to realize how attached I actually was (and without even knowing it!).

My oldest class (a bunch of 13 year olds) is my last class of the day on MWF. It's all boys, and one shy, hardworking, girl that doesn't talk much in class but is totally sweet and the best English speaker in that level. Needless to say, sometimes that class is pandemonium. The boys are chaos. They say bad words, they fight with each other, they speak Korean in class, they don't do their work. But they're all very intelligent, and we usually have a good time. They like to joke around, and their English is good enough to where we can have some interesting conversations.

That class is the biggest pain, but believe it or not it's my favorite. I see a little bit of myself as a teen in the girl, and there's never a dull moment with those boys.

One of the most difficult, yet hilarious, boys was "M". He hardly did his homework, and he fought a lot with the other boys in class, but when he put forth effort he did amazingly. He always had the most interesting things to talk about. His favorite topic? Music and G-dragon (a famous pop/hip hop artist here in Korea. Not exactly what I'd call the most appropriate role model for a 13 year old boy, but hey, could be worse.)

Friday was speaking test day, and everyone but one boy and the girl failed. Failed as in they could have scored better answering the questions in German. I yelled at everyone. I mean, I really made a show of being upset (even though, I really wasn't that mad, just disappointed). I almost made one of them cry, because surprisingly everyone thought they had done well. Pfffft!

Then, about 10 minutes later, I take each one of them out of the class and we have a 'heart-to-heart'. I encourage them and tell them that I know they can do better (because they totally can! They're smart kids!). They promise to study over the weekend and do better on their make-up test on Monday.

I was concerned about "M", because this was our conversation:

Me: "You're way too smart to be failing speaking tests. Did you even study?"
M: "Just a very little."
Me: "Well, you're one of the smartest kids in there (not a lie), so I expect more from you. You can be an awesome English speaker, but you've got to try. Okay?"
M: *still looking upset* "Okay."
Me: "So, are you going to study this weekend?"
M: "Maybe."

MAYBE?! I barely resisted the urge to smack him with the rolled up paper I had in my hand.

Anyway, I didn't have high hopes for him doing much better on the Monday test, but when test time rolled around he aced it. The look on his face when I showed him his grade was absolute pride. THAT kind of thing makes being a teacher totally worth it.

Then, right after the speaking tests were over, I re-enter the class and suddenly the boys are yelling. "M's last day! M's last day!!!".

What?

Apparently M and his family were moving to a new city in Busan, and M was switching Hagwons (same Hagwon, different city). At first my reaction was the same as it had been in the past when students moved with their families and left the Hagwon. I just wished them luck and felt basically indifferent.

But about 2 minutes later I start feeling... sad?! That's right. I was totally getting the urge to shed a tear or two. It was then that I realized, that even though this class was a pain, they were becoming like some weird little cousins of mine. It was my job to teach them, make them laugh, give them a hard time, and encourage them to do their best while using the "tough love" method to get the appropriate results. And it was their job to give me a hard time back, while totally making all the effort worth it in the end by surprising me with their intelligence, and occasional bouts of effort and episodes of maturity.

Do I feel proud of this class? You better believe it. So seeing one of them go was hard.

All of this makes me curious about what sort of "Empty Nester" I'm going to be, but when I start to think about it too much I begin to feel this bubble of anxiety form and I get the urge to swig gin.

Well, there's actually quite a bit more to write about (as my Saturday has been utterly spectacular so far), but I've got to be somewhere pretty soon. So, I'll put forth a valiant effort to write a "Part II" of this blog tonight or tomorrow.

Until then, enjoy my ranting. (And excuse any typos, I don't have time to proof read.)

Toodles.

Your blog host,

Auggie.

"You there. Yes you....give me your shirt."

2010-04-24T01:25:00.000-07:00

Today was a brilliant success! Though, it didn't start out that way. Actually it began quite ominously and I had a creeping suspicion that today was going to end with me crawling into bed and hoping that the sun would hurry up and set.

I had a bit of trouble getting motivated this morning. The thought of going out all on my own again was a bit daunting, but the idea of a possible haircut got me shuffling out the door.

My Hair Issues

My hair used to be really short. I'm talking... boy-short. I loved and hated it. But that's just the relationship that my hair and I have. Love, hate. Even now, I like my hair cut, but it's longer than it's been in over 4 years and for some reason that's bothering me. I see the girls here with all of their cute short hair styles and I get that inner tug to get my hair cut again.

So, I planned today to travel to Namcheon. I'd heard about a Salon there called "The Hair". The guy who owns it worked in London for a bit so apparently his English is very good and I've heard he has a large foreign clientel. That means that he'd be able to deal with my hair. My thick, frizzy, fine, blonde mess of hair.

I wish that I could give you guys a review of the place, but after taking the subway all the way there I find it, and it's closed. Not closed for good closed. Just closed. No one had told me anything about business hours, so I supposed it would have been a little intelligent of me to call before I went all the way there, huh? Only issue with that.... the Salon number wasn't working and I have a problem with calling strangers on their cell phone, even if it IS a 'work cell phone'.

Anyway. After standing at the door for a bit and trying to figure out what to do next I finally take a deep breath and turn around

Surprisingly enough, I didn't feel too bummed out about "The Hair" not being opened. I got to see a little bit of Namcheong.

Now, Namcheong isn't exactly a pearl of a city. It's small and 'quaint', which I very much like. All the buildings were shorter, the population in general was older. It was refreshing to be in a place a little calmer than Hwamyeong, especially with such magnificent weather.

Anyway....

I hopped back on the Subway and ended up going the wrong way. Fortunately my wrong direction still got me to Seomyeon, my destination after Namcheon, it just took about 15 minutes more.

Finally get to Seomyeon. Feeling a little down because the subway is dark and cold, and I'm getting tired of being pushed about by Ajummas who believe that they have the right away above everyone else, especially blonde foreign girls named Auggie. And then suddenly....

Euphoria

5,000₩ sales rack boasting a bunch of cute shirts and skirts that are totally my style. I didn't go overboard, I actually had willpower today. I purchased a couple of things and moved on to the next store with relative ease.

This isn't really a shirt that I'd wear out into public (at least I don't exactly plan to). This is a lounge around type of shirt. I added a photo of it up for my family and friends Stateside who I know will appreciate a cute kitten in glasses and a bow tie.

Do I love New York? Honestly. No clue. I've never been there. But I know people there who like it quite well. So, I bought this sweater thinking about them. You know who you are!

Comfy, comfy, comfy.

A couple of accessories later and I found myself oohing and ahhing (okay, I was practically squealing) over.... Scarves. Gorgeous, colorful, wonderful scarves. I don't know when it started, but at some point scarves began to seduce me with their wonderful and widely varying colors, patterns, and textures. I am now, quite happily, obsessed with them.

This one wouldn't hang properly on my white 'display shirt' because it's so much tinier than the others. But you get the idea. It's cute.

Aside from the scarves I brought home quite few nice things to add to my wardrobe, including a slew of adorable socks.

Happy Scents

I'm a big 'smell' person. Smells are the biggest trigger of emotion for me. If I'm in a pleasant smelling environment then I'm pretty darn happy. Today was filled with nice smells.

On the Subway on the way to Seomyeon a young man loaded on and then came to stand next to me. I'm suddenly on immediate alert. He was doused in cologne. Usually people would find this offensive, but this ... this was an amazing cologne. It was the type of cologne that made me want to lean over and bury my face against his shoulder (which would have given him the shock of his life, I'm sure). To guys like this I just want to say:

"You there. Yes you... give me your shirt."

Arriving back in Hwamyeong I was greeted with wonderful scents coming from street vendors selling sweet cakes, bread, and other yummy foods like this. The sun was warm and just getting ready to set, there was a cool breeze, and there were children running around all over the place. At that moment I realized something. I really do like Hwamyeong. It's a city, sure. It's a busy city, yeah. But it's got its charm, and it's just small enough to have quaint areas that are completely homey.

I have a feeling this summer is going to be amazing and memorable.

On the way back to Hwamyeong I stopped in at a little store that one of my co-workers suggested. Upon entering my first impression is "Oh, just another knickknack store." Then I see it.

Herbal Essences shampoo.

That moment was one of absolute joy. After picking up a bottle of shampoo and conditioner I look around to discover there are more western products there that I recognize. I walked out of that little store with the Herbal Essences shampoo and conditioner, a bottle of "Fresh White Musk" body lotion by Body Fantasy, and a gallon of Downy fabric softener.

These are smells of home, comfort, and summer. They are liquid happiness.

I'm quite pleased.

Yes. Today was definitely a success.

I hope you're all enjoying your weekend.

Your blog host,

(Edit: Apologies to everyone who read the original post and had to read "Bog host". While I'm sure this isn't always the most thrilling and interesting of blogs, it is certainly not a bog. And I am certainly not a 'bog host'.)

~Auggie Teacher

Breaking The Habit (With a Mid-Week Post)

2010-04-22T06:18:00.001-07:00

안녕하세요.

So. This is a little out of the ordinary. I'm making a post on Thursday night. Fancy that.

To tell the truth, I'm actually feeling a little stressed. Not entirely sure if that's meant to be surprising or not, but that's not the point. The point is, I'm itching for an outlet. Blogging seems to be the most readily accessible.

This week has been a blur, just like the past 4 weeks. Being so busy at work really makes time fly by, but when I finally have a moment to just sit and think it feels like I haven't rested in ages. I suppose I'm not really complaining. Though there is quite a bit that I would like to do that just can't be done because of my work schedule.

Korean lessons were the biggest thing, and very luckily I found a place to take night classes. My Tuesdays and Thursdays are filled to the brim with busy busy. 10:20 am head to work, get off work at 7 pm, 7:30 start the journey to KLIFF, 8:45 arrive at PNU, 9:00 Class, 10:00 start heading back home, 11:15 walk through my apartment door. And then sleep.

Very unfortunately nowhere around here opens up super early in the morning. There are no fitness or martial arts institutions (that I've heard of) that offer early bird classes at like 6 or 7 or even 8 am. That leaves me with a full morning of 'not much to do'. I've really got to get to that outdoor track... but it's been so wet and cold lately I just can't find the motivation. Where are you warm weather?

Upon entering work this morning the director smiles, says "Good morning" and then...

"It's cold! The newspaper says it's a new iceage!"

Oh goody. That means that this ISN'T average weather for this time of year in Busan. Fantastic. So much for escaping the bipolar weather patterns of Arkansas. Seems like I just brought them with me.

Hm.

Interesting fact:

I received my first living expenses bill since I've been here today. That bill was to the tune of 13,395₩ (That's about 13$ everyone). Surely I'm missing something, but my co-worker confirmed, it IS the utility bill. I guess I'm just going to have to wait until tomorrow to find out whether or not I'll really only be paying 13,395₩ this month.

Moment of flattery

Today I wasn't too keen on getting all gussied up for work, because it was cold and windy. So I opted for comfy clothes which consisted of jeans, a plain, grey, top and my long zip up hooded sweater. I pulled my hair back into a pony tail (it's actually long enough to do that now, and I don't know how to feel about that yet...) and then took one look at myself in the mirror and went "Ugh!"... so I added a pretty flowered barrette so I didn't look like too much of a hobo.

At work, one of the co-teachers greeted me and pointed to my flower.

Co-teacher: "It's pretty!"
Me: "Thank you! I got it in Seomyeon."
Co-teacher: "Oh, you've got a date?!"
Me: "Huh?"
Co-teacher: *Points to the flower* "You've got a date in Seomyeon?"
Me: "No, I got it IN Seomyeon."
Co-teacher: * looking skeptical* "Oh, I see."

Thinking about that conversation afterwards I started to get a little tickled. Here I am, dressed like a tomboy with a flowery barrette stuck higgeldy piggeldy in my hair and a co-worker thinks I'm looking ready for a date. I feel both flattered and mildly concerned about how I look the rest of the time in comparison.

Hm... but actually if I were dressed up for a date, that date wouldn't necessarily be a bad one now would it? I'm all for dresses, high heels, and styled hair, but tom-boy fashion means that the date is going to be action oriented; bike riding, hiking, frisbee in the park, that kind of thing. Sounds good to me. 호호호호

Anyway....

The decision has almost been officially made... Summer vacation trip will be to, ahem, drum roll please.... Jeju Island. *cheering and joviality*

A lot of people might question my choice, seeing as how the majority tend to hop over to another country for their vacation time. But me? I want to save the money it would have cost me on a plane ticket to another country and put it towards paying for a lovely and comfy hotel room. I want beaches and sunshine. And... I desperately want to hike Halla.

At this point it's looking like a solo trip, but who knows who I'll meet in the next three months. Hopefully someone interested in checking out Jeju and participating in both serious outdoor activity and serious relaxation/pampering.

Well, that's all for now. Nothing incredibly interesting due to the fact that I've really only been working since my last post. While my classes are at times hilarious, they are not quite interesting enough on the whole to write at length about. At least not yet/lately.

To all of you State side: Have a great day.

To my ROK peers: Get some sleep!

Your blog host,

~Auggie Teacher

Clothes and Curtains

2010-04-17T19:42:00.000-07:00

안녕하세요.

Annyoung haseyo, readers. It's that time of week again for another update.

A lot of realization went on this past week, though none of it necessarily bad. We learn, we grow, we think new things, feel new things, and change little by little into what is, hopefully, a better, more stable person.

Anyway, to start off:

Seomyeon Underground

Sorry guys, no pictures. My camera battery was out and I was actually afraid to try to plug it in using the voltage converter I brought from the states. The last few times I've tried to use that converter it's gotten so hot that I could smell burning plastic. I didn't exactly have good feelings with the thought that my camera battery might overload and explode. Dramatic? Hardly! There's already black burn residue on the bed outlet from the last overload incident (previous tenant).

Anyway. Seomyeon Underground is, of course, located in Seomyeon, Busan. It's one of the hub stops on the orange line, so it should be plenty easy to find your way there.

When coming off the line you can go one of two directions, left or right (how simple is that?). One way will take you into the Lotte Department store and the other will take you into the Underground Mall.

LOTTE DEPARTMENT STORE

The Lotte Department store is on par with Centum City in Shinsegae. What I mean by that is... it's expensive. Plenty of sales racks boasting items that go for 150,000₩ at half price. If that's not your style, then steer clear. Unless of course you just want to look around. OR, you're craving some delectable sweets. Entrance floor of Lotte Department Store can definitely help you with that.

I'm afraid I can't give you much information on this department store beyond that. I went in, went up a couple of floors, then came back down and went out.

Seomyeon Underground Mall

Cute clothes, shoes, and accessories PLUS major discounts. Yeah, that's my kind of place.

There are quite a few stores in SUM, and depending on your taste it's hit or miss. I can't say much about the mens clothing stores because I hardly noticed them (as I'm not male). So guys, good luck.

There are plenty of shops catering to female fashion, and there's plenty of variety. So girls, have a fun time! The only thing I caution about... some of the little shops don't put prices on their clothes. When you find something you like, you have to ask about the price. This can be pretty nerve wracking for someone who doesn't know Korean. ALSO these shops tend to be more expensive than the others. You'll find that most things are well over 40,000₩, so if you're a budget shopper then either steer clear or know how to say "Thanks, but no thanks" after looking.

Korean Customer Service

In America Customer Service in clothing stores is kind of 'hands off'. Sales Associates greet you, ask you what you need, and then let you roam freely to do your thing. You only get followed if the Sales Associate thinks you're a shop lifter.

In Korea, I've noticed, Sales Associates like to follow you around the store and stand very close to you. They make comments about the choices you make, and then pull more stuff down for you to try on. For some this can feel a little awkward. Mandatory shopping buddy. The awkwardness might make you feel embarrassed about saying "No, thanks. I don't want it." If you can't do that, you're going to end up buying stuff you A.) don't want, or B.) didn't want to spend that much money on.

I'm not bashing Korean customer service techniques. Those techniques are remarkably effective and I like knowing that I won't have to stand there and look helpless before someone will come over and help me out. But, I also have a tendency to feel obligated to purchase something when the store owner/associates have been so helpful. Slowly, very slowly, I'm learning how to say "Thank you" and then leave.

No one is going to throw anything at you. There won't be any tears or hard feelings if you come in, look around, and then leave without buying anything. So GO. See! Explore!

Warning: No dressing rooms. I repeat: No dressing rooms.

Girls, you're going to have to learn to be an amazing judge of size. Luckily, a lot of fashion (mostly tops) run fairly large as large is currently the popular style here. Long, oversized shirts and sweaters paired with some skinny jeans or cute tights and a great pair of shoes is a great fashion choice, day or night.

This is the first article of clothing that I've bought since I've been here. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to find anything to fit me, but the shop associate took one look at me and pulled out the correct size. Thank you shop associate.

A 'no big deal' simple hooded zipper sweater is perfect for dressing down but looking cute. Pair it with everything from a t-shirt to a frilly tank. I'm not short, but I'm not exactly tall either. I've got a short torso and hardly any waist, so long pocketed sweaters like this with a band at the bottom make me look a little more balanced, longer waisted... and, well, 'waisted' in general.

Another thing I love about the fashion here? The English.

I'm from the American South, and there's no way I'd be able to find any kind of T-shirt with this on the front of it that wasn't cropped or meant to form fit like a second skin. This top is 'girly tomboy' all the way. Here's to all the Super Honey gals who don't need a dress or a tight fitting top to show the world that they're sassy, cute, and totally worth the second glance.

Though I'm not entirely sure who this Frankie character is, though he sounds a lot like an Italian mobster, I feel that it's better to do what Frankie says... which isn't difficult to accomplish in this baggy top that's all about comfort. Mission accomplished Frankie.

This last purchase is quite a bit different from the others. A.) It was more expensive. I splurged just for the heck of it. B.) You can't exactly wear this style out to the park. Or at least, I wouldn't.

Not the best picture in the world, by any means... but you get the idea. This zippered vest dress, compliments of Seomyeon Underground, is perfect for a night, or day, out on the town. The billowed bottom coupled with the zippered layers sets the perfect stage for those legging clad legs to shine. Zip up to the neck to add a bit of intensity to the look, or keep it open and breezy with a layered top and the zipper to collar bone.

Unfortunately, I wasn't observant enough to catch the name of the stores that I purchased these things from. I'll get the names and update later. The first two items were bought at LOTTE Mart so they're not exactly difficult finds. For some reason I've heard a lot of people talk poorly of Lotte clothes. Why? They're cute and well made, nothing like Wal-mart clothes back home. No shame in shopping at Lotte Mart for your clothes.

NEXT ORDER OF BUSINESS: APARTMENT PROGRESS

Now, I'm no Nina Campbell, but I feel like I've succeeded just a bit in turning my 'hospital/dorm room' looking apartment into a warm, comfortable place to be.

BEFORE:

No curtains, no wallpaper, no warmth, no style.

AFTER:

Might not be to everyones liking, but it's certainly to mine. Amazing what some curtains and wall-stickers can do. Currently in the process of wallpapering the right wall. Not sure if I want to do the whole room. One wall might be all that it needs... or all that I can take. Wallpapering is NOT easy. Kudos to Mom for wallpapering and painting all of the rooms in the house. I never knew what you endured...

Well. That's all for this week's blog update.

Nothing thought provoking or deep this go'round, sorry. I leave that sort of thing to the Autumnal Butterfly. I plan on starting to post there again soon. So keep a look out.

Have a great week, everyone.

Your blog host,

~Auggie Teacher

Official First Picture Post

2010-04-11T01:41:00.001-07:00

To begin: I realize that my previous post is riddled with typos. For the time being, please ignore. I'll find the time to wade back through my post to correct the verbal spasms.

Now, next order of business

I wasn't originally going to do much picture posting on this blog because my internet connection was very questionable. 30 minute loading time per picture takes the fun right out of picture posting, agreed?

Well, good news for me (and maybe for you. Depends on how much you like looking at other peoples photos), the manager at my school swung by the apartment on Friday and fixed up my internet. I now have a reliable connection that will let me post up pictures with no problem. To commemorate this joyous occasion I present to you my first photo blog post.

Glorious park just outside of my city. It's located right near the river and the views of the mountains are absolutely incredible. I knew that I could probably never be happy living in a place where there weren't mountains, so I'm very lucky to have gotten a job in Busan, one of the most beautiful mountainous places I've ever seen.

Wild flower field near the park we visited for the Kindy field trip. Even though it was a pretty gloomy day, those flowers with their brilliant color more than made up for the lack of sunshine.

Me and one of our kindy students while at the park. "Teacher! Take a picture!"

More gorgeous Busan mountains.

Anyone still want to question why I choose to live here? Huh? Huh?

And so, that concludes this photo post. Please stay tuned for more exciting pictures.

Exciting for me at least.

Self Realization with a side of Boiled Eggs

2010-04-09T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been hankering to write a blog post, but I really wanted to wait until this weekend. I managed to, even though I started and stopped a couple earlier in the week. I'm not entirely sure why I thought it was a better idea to wait, but I know that I've been experiencing a bit of writers block lately, just because I haven't had time to sit and allow my brain to work itself out to a point where it could produce something resembling intelligent thought.

Now for a recap of my exciting week!

HELLO 3.5 WEEKS

I've been living herein Busan for a grand total of three and a half weeks. They've been lovely. I've experienced quite a few ups and downs, but I have to say there have been more ups, luckily. I starting to get into the swing of things, and I'm beginning to locate little things here and there that I'm going to find particularly useful as the time passes.

RUNNING TRACK

There's an outdoor running track/exercise field near my apartment. My co-workers have been telling me about it and I'm finally ready to give it a try. I love being outdoors, hiking, taking walks, playing fun sports, whatever it is I'll do it if it's outdoors (and it's not freezing). It's been a looooong winter, and I've put on a little bit of extra stuffing. I'm ready to get healthy again. Starting a jogging regiment is just the thing to get me back in the swing. There are also quite a few hiking trails very near by. I'm ready to check those out too.

BIKING TRAIL

There's a huge park, not that far from Hwamyeong, near the river. Running along the river is a bike path (sidewalk) for bikers and walkers/joggers. I've been thinking of investing in a bicycle at some point, and now that I know there's a trail nearby, I know that it'll be totally worth it. I've just got to find out how to get there from here.

KALYN! I totally thought of you while contemplating bikes and bicycle trails. I'll be reliving our summer-time fun memories while biking here in Busan!

Children And Their Plans to Ruin Your Self Esteem

Anyone who works with children knows that kids say what they're thinking, with absolutely no regard to how you might feel about what they say. This can be both good and horrifically awful at the same time.

Some highlights:

"Teacher! You look like a boy!"

One day I came to class with my bangs pulled back away from my forehead. I wore this style quite a lot at some point during college, because my mom is always telling me how nice it looks when my hair isn't covering my face. Upon entering the Kindy class that morning the very first thing that I hear is "Teacher! You look like a boy!"

My first feeling was mortification, which melted away quickly into that feeling that can only bee described by the use of the term "face-palm". The class then had an argument as to whether or not I looked pretty or if I looked like a boy. Thankfully it was a 1-5 poll, and "Cute and pretty" won out over "You look like a boy!"

"Teacher is not boy!" someone yelled. I love that kid now.

I know that my features can come off at times as a little masculine. I've actually received some compliments (ones that I was actually flattered by) where the complimenter referred to some of my looks as very "androgynous". In the world of photography this isn't necessarily a bad thing... but in the everyday world of "My life" it gets kind of weird.

That afternoon, just in case, I asked the Korean teachers if boys wore their hair back out of their face with clips here (because it's a style in Japan. Boys who play sports, and have long hair, pull their hair back out of their face with hair clips.) They told me that they didn't and then one teacher very firmly said,

"You are obviously a girl!". She is also now on the "people I love" list.

Face-palm score: (Out of 5) **

"Teacher! You look like an Ajuma!"

This one was stated yesterday. My students get particularly excited when my hair style changes (as it's wont to do). Yesterday i wore my hair curly, because I felt too lazy to straighten it, so... in went some hair product and out came my curly frizzy hair. Throughout the day I got a lot of "Teacher! Your hair!" comments, but the one that wins was from my 12 year olds.

One of my best students, a young, very talkative girl, started talking excitedly about my hair. And then she said "You look like an Ajuma!". The class began laughing and a couple of students said "Ajuma? Ajuma?" My eyebrow raised. And I said "Huh?" Realizing that she had spoken Korean my talkative students looked shy and said "No, no", which she often does when she's not sure of how to say something. At that point the laughter begins to pour from me.

For those of you who don't know what "Ajuma" is: Ajuma is a term generally used to refer to married women, often over the age of 50.

Face-palm score: ***
"Teacher! Your hair is 2 colors!"

In my oldest class we're learning how to describe things and talking about adjectives. I go around and ask everyone "What color is this" and what not. Finally I ask one of the students "What color is your hair?" His answer was "My hair is black. Teacher! Your hair is two colors?"

I respond "Two colors? What colors?"

The student then says, very seriously, "Gold and Black!"

WHAT?!

"Where's black?" I ask. Already knowing full well the answer.

"Teacher here!" he points to the roots of his hair. "Here is black!"

To salvage my damaged pride I address the class, pointing to the roots of my hair. "Guys, is this black?"

Students: "No Teacher!"

Me: "What color is it?"

Students: "It's brown!"

Thank you. Now that that's been clarified I can move on with the lesson.

My hair is naturally blonde. Unfortunately its current natural color is what is classified as "Mousy blonde" or "Dishwater blonde". It was as though my hair made the decision to become brown as a teen and then got scared and changed its mind before totally finishing the transformation. The fix? Highlights. The result? A purely hilarious moment 10 years of highlighting later when a 13 year old boy is the first to bring to public attention my unavoidable 'root' predicament.

Face-palm score: *****

Oh the Things you can See

This week was the first week when I really started seeing those strange sights that really make you chuckle.

Number 1: Wannabe tough guy conquered by very angry girlfriend.

Standing outside with one of my co-workers yesterday, waiting for the Kindy bus that would take everyone on the field trip, I was watching an older couple walking down the sidewalk together. They were arguing a little bit, but not loudly or even angrily. It was that kind of 'old married couple' arguing. I didn't think anything of it.

I'd heard horror stories about men beating their wives in the streets here, but hadn't seen anything remotely like that. When you expect something that terrible, something a little less terrible happening doesn't really shock you that much, but I still flinched a little bit when the man reached out with a hand and pushed his female companion quite harshly out of frustration.

That moment of "Oh no you didn't" that boils up inside of you when you see someone else mistreated only lasted for a moment though, because that woman got her shot in.

There is something here in this country that I would like to categorize as "The Korean Stare of Death". I've used this stare many times myself when dealing with particularly naughty students. The result is fantastic....

Basically what you do is fix your eyes on the perpetrator and stare at them with an absolutely blank expression. The fury (whether real or exaggerated) in your gaze typically translates into "You wanna die?", and is highly effective.

This woman stops walking and stares after her male companion with that wonderfully glassy expression. The man, who has walked ahead, actually cows down, rushes back to her, tucks his arm into hers and pats her hand sweetly, saying comforting, apologetic things, and off they start walking again.

Yes. I giggled.

Number 2: Children don't like wasting playtime on potty breaks.

I'm standing in the Teachers room earlier this week, waiting for the five minute between class break to finish so we can start class again. During this 5 minute break the Kindy children run crazily around and have a merry 'ole time. The break is short, so no one wants to waste any time.

While talking to the other teachers, I turned towards the Teachers room door just in time to witness the most hilarious "Can't waste time, must play!" tactic anyone may ever see.

One of the Kindergarten boys that I had seen running into the bathroom at the beginning of the break, came quickly waddling down the hall still trying to pull up both his pants and knickers. He couldn't be bothered with getting himself properly dressed in the bathroom when there was playtime going on!

A Little More on Getting Settled

Little by little I'm accumulating everything that I need to live comfortably. I still lack a decent iron (the one I bought won't get even the smallest creases out of my clothes), curtains, proper laundry soap (I got my current laundry soap for 1,000₩), and a rice cooker. Yes, a rice cooker.

I've been known to burn water, so how does anyone expect me to cook rice properly in a small stove pot?

Actually, I'm not a terrible cook. I can cook rather well with a recipe and proper cooking utensils. When you give me limited cooking tools and absolutely no information on how to make something I've never had to make before (like rice without a rice cooker) then you're just asking for trouble.

I was proud of myself today though. I made a particularly good pot of rice and mixed it up with some seaweed and crab. Very tasty. Rice and seaweed, aside from Kimchi, are about to become staple food items for me. I also boiled some eggs quite nicely (my previous attempts were more along the lines of 'soft boiled' and not 'hard boiled' which was what I was going for. I don't know... I guess I thought the eggs would start screaming if I left them in the pot too long.) So score 1 for me.

PIZZA MARU

If there's one of these little pizza places anywhere near you, I suggest giving it a try. A few times already I've hankered for pizza and twice I've found myself in Pizza Maru staring at their menu. Their crust is made green tea and 12 whole grains. While the pizza isn't crispy it's certainly delicious and the price is right (6,000₩ for a plain cheese that could feed two to three people, only a little more for toppings and extreme pizzas).

I've also been to a Pizza Hut. I haven't been to a Pizza Hut in YEARS, but I don't remember the pizza tasting any different back home than it does here. Thank you chain restaurants. The Pizza Huts here are MUCH nicer on the insider, however. They actually look like restaurants as opposed to those horribly 70's wood wall styled buffet shacks back in the States. Still, I prefer Pizza Maru.

RECYCLING

Back in the states, tsk tsk on me, I didn't recycle. The only recycling I did was PET bottle recycling and that was only when I was on the University campus and there were designated bins for it. Here? I got all excited about the recycling thing. I went through my trash (which was mostly cardboard from moving and buying things for the apartment) and meticulously went through everything and separated it just right. Corrugated cardboard, regular cardboard, paper covered in plastic, paper with no plastic, PET bottles, regular plastic containers.... and so on. Proudly I take my bags of recycling down to the Basement level of my apartment building. There I stand and stare at the bins trying to figure out where everything goes.

I don't see a "Cardboard" recycling receptacle, just one for paper. I stood out there long enough that the man that works down there (there's a car garage down there as well) came out to help me. He took my bag of cardboard/paper items and looked inside. Then looked at me, smiled and said "Paper" while pointing to the paper bin. He then emptied the entire bag into the paper bin, and we were done.

I was surprised, but pleased! Yeah I'd gone through all the trouble of separating all of that stuff, just to have it thrown in the same bin all together, BUT that means that in the future I won't have to worry so much about what's 'paper' and what's 'cardboard'. Just throw it all in there! Saves me 10 minutes.

There's plenty more to talk about, but I'm sure I'll be ready to write another blog soon, and I'll add all of what I've left out in that one. So no worries. Plenty more useless blathering to come.

Taking the Leap: Adjusting to Busan

2010-04-03T19:49:00.000-07:00

So apparently, as I've been told by numerous people, you eventually reach a point where you think. "Oh no, what am I doing here?!"

While my sentiments aren't quite that strong, I have been feeling lately a little bit home sick. I've been here for 3 weeks, and the novelty of this foreign country has started to wear off, and reality is setting in.

Realization number 1: I'm in a country that speaks and interacts in a language I don't know.

Realization number 2: I'm by myself.

Realization number 3: I'm forging my own way.

That's the biggest shock to my system, the whole "forging my own way" thing. Yeah. I actually pay bills now. I pay for insurance. I pay for education (albeit merely language lessons, but still). For the first time in my life I am actually completely, entirely, and inescapably responsible for myself. All of myself, not just the "what I want to do" parts. It's a little on the stressful side. Of course, I know that eventually I'll settle. As time passes things will be more familiar, easier to handle. I'll know some of the language, I'll know my way around, I'll know more people. Slowly but surely I will start to feel like a part of this place. But right now I feel like exactly what I am, an outsider. I'm standing out in the cold, tapping on the glass, looking in on a scene that I don't understand but still desperately want to be a part of. No one can let me in, I've got to let myself in. Unfortunately I don't know where the door is and I'm too afraid to move anywhere to go find it.

I've got my shyness factor to battle with. Sure, I'll move over to the other side of the world all of the sudden, no problem. Getting here doesn't take that much gumption, staying here certainly will. I'm usually quite reserved, so new things initially intimidate me unless it comes to something I know I can do properly. If I know I can do it, then you better watch out! I'm comin' through!

Take this for example: Martial arts is something that I've always been interested in, but have never tried. Why? Well because it's completely outside of the realm of things that I've done. It's like jumping off the high dive for the first time. You're up there, and you're thinking to yourself "I really want to do this!" but you're also thinking "I'm going to throw up I'm going to throw up I'm going to throw up." For me, I either need to be encouraged to jump, or just pushed right off. But since there's no one here to do either of those things for me, I need to learn how to encourage myself and just take the dive. Good luck to me, aye!

In other news, I've finally tried those nifty little wall-sticker things. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get them off once they were on, but they're made to stick just right and come off when pulled. No damage to the wall beneath it. Well, even if there WAS damage to the wall beneath it, it wouldn't matter in this apartment. The walls are already partially demolished.

Must also buy curtains.

On to Business

Thank you to the Korean Language Institute for Foreigners (KLIFF) for offering legit language courses in the Busan area. Classes are offered at both PNU and a location in Haeundae. Visit their website here for information.

Alright, it's about time for me to straighten up and get out of this little apartment and into the beautiful day!

I hope all of you are thriving wherever you are.

Oh, and of course,

HAPPY EASTER! He lives ya'll! He lives!

Psssshhh, come on. You know you wanna rejoice a little. Do a little dance or something.