Good Stuff

Apparently a typhoon is headed towards Korea at the moment. The same warning was sent out a few weeks ago and it didn't even rain, so I'm not too worried about things. Also, it already had landfall in Japan and I heard from a friend there things weren't that bad, just some heavy rain. People lost power, but come talk to me when bridges start falling over, mkay? 

Either way, some schools here have canceled school for tomorrow and it's possible that our school will as well. It's not raining at the moment, but if things get worse over night, they'll cancel. But, in typical nonsense Korean fashion, it would only be canceled for students. Say what?! Total ridiculousness. I mean, I thought it was about safety. And why on earth would you make teachers come in when there are no students and nothing for us to do. Especially if the storm does get bad and we have to risk our lives to get there! Honestly, I wouldn't mind a day to get some stuff done, but walking to school in a typhoon sounds pretty unpleasant. Anyway, we'll see tomorrow I guess. Again, I'm not too worried...hoping I don't have to eat my words. Just in case, I bought some Doritos at the store today. I also have two bottles of wine, a huge bottle of Soju (Korean vodka, but more intense) and some Nutella so I'm set if the power goes out. I should probably go buy some candy as well. Don't want to get caught stranded with a sweet tooth. 

In other news, my Pinterest thinks I'm fat and it's depressing. Literally every other pin is about how to get rid of cellulite. How does Pinterest know I'm a fatty? I'm going to the gym Pinterest, get off my back! Jeez. Also, I'm pretty sure none of those things work. I haven't looked at any of them, because cellulite is the least of my body problems, but I just can't imagine that any of them actually get rid of it. Seems much too easy. Anyway, I did see this gem on there, so it redeemed itself a little...

Hahaha..so funny and so true. I often think that about people who get all up in arms about the stupidest things that don't even really concern them. Unless someone or something is directly affecting my life, I generally don't give a shit. 

For some more fantasticness, watch this video:

This video makes me so damn happy. Gangnam is actually a city near where I live, which makes it even better. I had seen people talk about it on facebook but I only saw the cartoon part, so I wasn't really interested. Then I heard it played in a bar and was all, I gotta watch this. And it has changed my life for the better. I think it is so freaking hilarious, especially since people are now doing the dance in bars and clubs. Oh, and also because all the kids at school are singing it. Oh, AND because they played it at Dodgers Stadium...just makes me smile so much. 

Also rocking my face off at the moment, KPOP. So fabulous. The videos are beyond ridiculous and I'm a sucker for cheesy pop, and this stuff is the cheesiest of them all. I especially love when they throw some English in there. Fantasticness. I am having a real tough time believing some of the boys in these groups are straight, but I have been assured by many a Korean that they are. You can check out some of the groups on YouTube...B1A4, Beast, Super Junior, Mighty Mouth....I know, awesome names, right? 

For a last bit of good stuff, I went bowling Saturday night and KICKED ASS. I am not sure how I got so awesome I bowling, but I stomped everyone with a 132. The other girl we were with got a 19 and the two guys got an 80 and 90. I rule. Then I stomped everyone at darts at the bar. Wasn't even drunk. I've decided to take a drinking hiatus...probably until this weekend, haha. Or tomorrow, if I end up getting rained it. 

Dream big people! 

Denied

Well, damn....my great plan to show Land Before Time has failed. Apparently the kids mentioned to their mommies that they've been watching TV at school and the mommies shut that down pretty quick since their children can "watch DVDs at home." We only got through the first 20 minutes of the film. I am pretty pissed about the whole thing. I've already talked it to death with anyone that will listen, but my main points are as follows:
1. We were only watching it for 10 minutes a day.
2. They can watch this DVD at home, but chances are, they aren't since it's like 20 years old. Also, I am not in their home to pause the video, talk about things that are going on and discuss it in English.
3. All the other resources they have for us to use to teach the kids about dinosaurs are videos...and most of them are waaaaay over their heads in terms of language and content.
4. We have nice, new big screen TVs in every classroom...what is the point if we can't watch some movies sometimes.
5. We were doing other work while watching the video...like coloring and writing sentences.
6. It's 2012...time to use multimedia in the classrooms...even if it's 20 year old animated movies.
7. The kids loved it! I wanted to show it to them because I knew they would love it...not because I am trying to avoid teaching them things. Today they all got excited for the "DINOSAUR MOVIE!" but I couldn't show it because my co-teacher is anti-fun and lame.

And since they really wanted to watch it, I thought maybe we could show some of it during play time but the co-teacher shut that down as well. SO ANNOYED. The whole thing is just really stupid and pisses me off. Especially since it's essentially my co-teacher's decision when it should be mutual...or mine, actually since I'm the one in charge of theme class (dinosaurs) and she's not.

So that's that. In other news, things have been super busy! I am pretty sad because one of my best friends in Korea leaves tomorrow and Korea is just not going to be as fun without her. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of birthday and going away parties....with lots of drinking. Too much maybe. Mainly because I never sleep that well when I drink, so my sleep schedule gets all thrown off and then I end up being tired all week. I also end up being a useless blob during the day and accomplish nothing with my life. The worst part about that is that by Friday I'm not tired anymore and I'm all ready and raring to go for some more partying. It's a vicious cycle. I am hoping to convince myself to take it easy at least one night this weekend and get a good nights sleep.

Nothing else too interesting going on. The time here is flying by...today is my 6 month anniversary in Korea! I honestly cannot believe I've been here that long already. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess. I am pretty excited about the next 6 months will hold for me. Well, I'm not excited about winter...but everything else...bring it on! Starting with "Pajama Day" on Friday! Nothing better than having to wear long pajama pants to work during summer and monsoon season. And when you're not allowed to watch movies. I love my job, but damn if they dont' have some stupid ass rules. Anyway.

Dream big people!

Oh My Goodness

One of my favorites, Joshua, says this phrase ALL the time. He uses it when things fall, if I make mistakes on the board, and lately, when he is just floored by things. We started a new unit in Musical English (it's a different teacher, but I'm in the room with them) and it uses Finding Nemo and he was so pumped about the characters and all the pictures. He said it like five times. And if that wasn't cute enough, today we watched some clips from "The Land Before Time" and he LOST his mind. It was soooo funny. Based on his reaction, I decided I am going to show the entire movie over the next few weeks, in like 10 minute increments. I am going to try really hard to get some video because it is so hilarious and cute, I need to share. All the kids are all about dinosaurs and I guess Littlefoot and his friends just sent Joshua over the edge. He sits right in the front and he kept looking at me like, are you seeing this jacky teacher??!!! I was all, I KNOW. Land Before Time is a classic...the kids need to see it. I'm doing them all a favor, really.

Dinosaurs is kind of a difficult unit to teach on because I really don't know that much about them. Usually, I have some knowledge about the things we talk about. I rocked the sea animals unit and did ok with everything else I've done. However, my dinosaur knowledge is pretty limited. Not only that, dinosaur names are hard to pronounce. Luckily, my buddy Ray is a dinosaur expert and he knows most of the names of the dinosaurs so I just ask him when I'm stumped. And before you start thinking I am a terrible teacher, I have been doing some research trying to educate myself more about dinosaurs, but the scope of dinosaur is a little intense and it's kind of difficult to water it down into information 4 year olds with limited English will understand. But I'm trying. And that is where Land Before Time comes in. Littlefoot to the rescue! Plus we're going to make dinosaur masks on Friday and it's going to be awesome.

That was my day. In other news, AT&T sucks. They are a terrible company and I hate them and maybe their creep internet stalker people will find this. So you can just pass this along, AT&T internet stalkers, to whoever matters: You are an awful company, I hate you and you have lost a customer. I will save my entire rant for another day. I have to go to bed now. Big day tomorrow. But yeah, boo on AT&T.

Dream big people!

Thumbs Up

Today I was on the subway with a male Korean friend and this old man sitting across from us kept giving me the thumbs up. Like, over and over. He kept gesturing and then giving me a weird smile and a thumbs up. I was trying to tell my friend, but he doesn't speak the best English so it took awhile, but he finally saw it as well and then the man kept saying something to him. When we got off, my friend told me the man was just kept saying "nice" in Korean. He doesn't know what exactly was nice, but the whole thing cracked me up. Maybe he thought one of us was good looking...or he just really likes to see international friendships...I don't know, but it was hilarious. Our friendship gets the old Korean man stamp of approval. We were coming back from the Korean version of the dollar store and on our way, we happened upon a ukulele concert in the mall, which was pretty awesome. It was in honor of some Hawaiian festival and it was quite lovely. They played a bunch of songs and did some singing as well, and also played Pachabel's Canon...one of my favorites. Pretty good stuff for a free mall concert.

I've been making some more Korean friends lately and I have to say, it is quite nice to have someone that knows what is going on when you're out and about. They can read signs, menus, understand announcements...all the things I have no clue about. It's awesome. Plus, it apparently makes old men happy. Huge plus.

Anyway, my week back at school was kind of rough. I wasn't feeling great and had a fever for a bit. Also, the AC was on the fritz at school so it was unbearably hot in the classroom. It's hotter here than is it at home, in Charleston! I  didn't think summers got hotter than Charleston but I was wrong. This week will cool down some because it's supposed to rain all week..just in time for the AC to be fixed. I'm feeling a lot better as well. That is another benefit to having Korean friends, they know what kind of medicine to buy you at the pharmacy AND can tell you how and when to to take it. Fantastic! I really should learn some Korean. I really think I would benefit from it.

Last week I also saw Wicked for the third time and it was amazing, as always. I just love that play so much....musicals are the best and that one is exceptional. It was all I could do to keep from jumping out of my seat and singing along to every song. Our seats were terrible, but it was still great. And a surprisingly packed house for a Wednesday night.The Koreans were, of course, on a picture taking frenzy in the theater, so that was some added entertainment. I wonder how some of the things get translated...especially since some of the words are just made up nonsense. I'm guessing they don't pick up on all the puns either. Oh well, it's still enjoyable, even if you don't know what they're saying. I guess it's just like when I watch operas or listen to KPop.

Oh, and I finally jumped aboard the "50 Shades of Grey" book. And I'm not at all sure what all the fuss was about. I thought the book was pretty terrible. Pretty much just like any other romance novel with all the gratuitous sex, poorly written and completely unbelievable. A little weirder than most (not that I've read a lot) but I still don't understand the phenomenon. I was pretty disappointed.  If you need a good book recommendation, I read "The House at Tyneford" over vacation and it was fantastic. Depressing, but great. For some humor, Mindy Kaling's "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?" Mindy and I would totally be best friends. "There is no sunset so beautiful that it's worth waking me up over." My thoughts exactly. We're spot on for lots of other things as well. But a lot's happened since I read it so I forgot them all. I also read a book about the real Downton Abbey, which was pretty interesting. I haven't seen the show, but I might start watching. "Porch Lights" was a bust, not surprising, but I didn't have anything else to read. That author writes a lot about Charleston and it's all ridiculous, superfluous, and predictable. In my opinion. Now I need new books...recommendations appreciated!

So that's my life. Things are still going great in Korea. I really like it here. I am tentatively planning a trip to the Philippines for Chu-Suk...the Korean Thanksgiving. I think it's so awesome a trip to another country is just a short flight away. I really want to go to China, but it cost American citizens $200 to get a visa to go..even if it's just for a few days. The flight to Philippines cost only $100 more, so I think I'll wait and go to China when I have more time and can get more bang for my visa buck. Or maybe China and the US will work out their differences and I can go for free one day! Would be nice. I am not doing a great job of saving money here with all these trips but other countries are just too fun to resist.

Dream big people!

An Opinion

I should probably talk more about Thailand and how awesome it was...and maybe I will one day, but it's kind of hard to put into words. The whole thing was just amazing. Also, I kind of feel like giving my two cents about this whole Chic-Fil-A nonsense.

I find it a bit confusing. I am mainly confused as to why this is just now becoming an issue. I thought it was well known information that the founder was a crazy pants Christian who put his money towards crazy pants Christian projects. I have been eating there for as long as I can remember and I feel like I have always known his views. I mean, they're closed on Sundays, that screams Christian, and they have a bunch of stuff on their walls about the other various Christian things they support. I mean, I was in LA last year when a store opened in Hollywood...which is next to West Hollywood...which is a huge gay community. That opening went off without much controversy and is doing well. How the gays of WeHo could stand it and now all of the sudden no one can, I don't know. Now, am I in support of gay marriage? 110% yes. I am honestly astounded this is still an issue and cannot understand in any way, shape or form why people continue to fight this. People should be allowed to marry whoever they want. I could go on forever, but I'll stick to my points.

I completely think the founder, and anyone else that is against equal marriage rights, is a total and complete moron, but I also think everyone is entitled to their own opinion and can do whatever they want with their money. I also am not sure what the end goal is for people that are going to boycott it. To close down the restaurant? I disagree with that only because that would put a lot of people out of a job...a group that most likely includes gay people, as well as nice, sane people that also support gay marriage. Do they think boycotting is going to change the Truett's minds? Highly unlikely. I might feel different if I were gay, but if I were, I would be more likely to go to a restaurant (or try to find out where Dan and Bubba hang out) and just have a big ole gay party there. Maybe do some making out and buy the cheapest thing on the menu. Or don't even buy anything...just hang out and be gay in everyone's faces. But I might be able to resist not eating anything because the food is super good.

I also think that, for me personally, my consumer options would be extremely limited if I went around boycotting every company whose policies I didn't agree with. I also wouldn't have a job since I don't agree with someone of the policies my school has. I know Forever 21 and In-N-Out burger print Bible verses on their containers and bags...I wonder what their founders think of gay marriage. I mean, does anyone know what Dave Thomas' take was it? What about the guy that founded McDonalds? Or any other restaurant for that matter. Also, isn't it really that silly foundation he supports rather than the actual restaurant that is causing problems? The crazy pants Christian Society or something like that?

Basically, I think the best way to make change is lead by example and keep living a good life and keep fighting the good fight. I guess, if you want to boycott places, just do it and go on with your life. Eat chicken from somewhere else. Spewing hatred at a franchise probably won't do anyone any good. And same for the other way. I mean, if you don't support gay marriage, fine. I still think you're being extremely closed minded and ridiculous, but carry on. Honestly, I am not sure what my stance would be if I were at home. I certainly wouldn't intentionally increase my patronage there to show any support, but I don't know that I could give it up completely. It's just so damn delicious. I would be torn. I also, in general, think boycotting huge companies is pretty useless even though I did once go on a short lived Starbucks strike because the woman that worked at the one near my work was a total bitch and refused to give me my free birthday drink.

I also don't understand where these people find the time to physically boycott (by standing around outside) and/or throw massive amounts of support at the place. Don't people have jobs? Who has time to stand around and yell at companies? I've also never understand the amount of hate and intolerance that comes from "Christians" when it comes to the issue of gay marriage. It seems to me that hating and not accepting others is the complete opposite of what Christians are supposed to be. I realize gay marriage goes against what you believe the "legal" definition of marriage is, but shouldn't treating actual humans with respect, decency and equality trump legality? Not going to go into the whole separation of church and state issues, but lets just remember it for a moment.

Accepting someone and their lifestyle doesn't mean you have to agree with it. And however someone else is living their life doesn't really have that much of an impact on me and my life so I'm not that concerned with other people. Murderers, ok we've got problems, but gay people? Do what you want. Christians? Live your life. In my experience, I've been pestered more often with Christians pushing their agenda than I ever have with gays. Can't even tell you how many times someone has tried to save me. Not once has a gay person tried to get me to switch teams. Just saying. Also, just to be clear, not trying to only target Christians...there are lots of good Christians out there that don't think this way and there are lots of other religions that also practice intolerance towards others' lifestyles but this particular issue involves a Christian organization so here we are.

To sum up, I just feel like there are bigger and more important things to put your energy towards, rather than trying to bring down others and their lifestyle, or shut down businesses for supporting the stupid crap they believe in. I would be an angry, yelling, boycotting machine if that is how I chose to live. It would be an endless cycle of cutting out businesses because I don't agree with the social issues they do or don't support.

Well, hope I haven't offended anyone. Not my intention at all. Just wanted to give my opinion...mainly because I haven't had a chance to have a real conversation with anyone about it yet. Just keep seeing the posts and "news" about it all. Thought I'd weigh in even though it doesn't even matter in the slightest to me because there are no Chic-Fil-As in Korea. There are KFCS, though. I wonder what the Colonel thinks about all this.

Dream big people!

Back to Reality

I should definitely be asleep right now, but since I literally slept all day, I can't fall asleep at an appropriate time. Seriously, I got out of bed at 3:00 pm. Then I went to the bank, the grocery store and came home and took a nap. Then I got some dinner, took a walk and here I am. Thailand apparently wore me out. But in a good way. Once I finally stopped telling myself I needed to be productive, I enjoyed my excessive napping and laziness. Now I just have to remember how to function like a normal, working adult tomorrow and everything will be fine. Luckily it's just a teacher workday, so I have at least another day to pull myself together and get some energy for my 16 babies. I am actually really looking forward to seeing them! I missed them on vacation! And I got them Thailand presents so I'm excited to give them out.

Anyway, Thailand was pretty awesome! For a quick recap, because I can feel my sleep meds kicking in...

I started off the week a little skeptical. Bangkok was a good kind of crazy, and I really enjoyed sightseeing there. I was getting a little put out, though, because it's obvious people are out to scam you and take as much money as they can get. Our first Tuk Tuk driver (FYI-Tuk Tuks are like motorcycles with a carrying basket on the back..an awesome form of transportation) was so nice and friendly and took us around the whole city for the ENTIRE day for 50 Thai Baht (which is like, $1.50). His name was Mr. Sing and we only understood about half of what each other was saying most of the time, but he was so nice and friendly. Then, for dinner that night, another driver wanted 200 Baht ($6) to take us on a ten minute ride. Umm, no...by that time we were street smart but still. Also, Bangkok is crazy polluted, so we rode around just feeling totally gross. Still, a lot of fun. And really good food!

After Bangkok, we had a bunch of rude people on our flight to Phuket and were bombarded with people wanting to drive us and/or sell us things when we got off the plane, so I was a bit overwhelmed. Korean vendors are usually not (places I've been anyway) throwing their wares at you, asking you to buy things, but it's pretty different in Thailand. I was getting a little put out with someone asking me to buy things, literally, every 5 seconds. No, I do not want any DVDS and I'm almost positive you heard me say that to the guy that asked me just before you did. It took some getting used to, but I had a hard time with some of the vendors. Not only can they be annoying, but just casual looking is not an option. If you even glance at their stuff, they are all over you. What are you looking for madame? What do you want? I make special price for you madame. And if you don't buy anything, it's like you just ruined their life. It was rough. But I learned to just keep walking...or don't walk down the street where all the sellers are, haha.

Kata beach was really beautiful. We had a great view from out hotel, with an awesome balcony and sea view. My mom and I mainly just hung out on the beach, ate good food, read on the balcony and usually went to bed by 9 or 10 pm. I loved it. Then we met up with my friend at Patong beach, where our hotel was also amazing, and right across the street from the beach. We got more beach time and made a day trip to Phi Phi island, which is sooo beautiful and way more chill than where we were. We also managed to find a street with more chill vendors and spent a lot of our time there instead of the main street with the merchandise madness.

We also went ELEPHANT RIDING on my BIRTHDAY!! It was fucking awesome. I mean, a birthday elephant ride? Pretty amazing. My mom and I rode together on Patsa and I even got to ride on her head for a while. She had some pretty prickly hair but I didn't fall off or anything, so I consider it a success. It was seriously the coolest thing ever.

Anyway, more on all of it later. I should try to get some sleep. The cicadas have come to Korea, which everyone knows means it's hot as shit. Gonna be hard to function tomorrow, regardless of how much sleep I get.

Dream big people!

Sawatdeekah

Phonetically, that is hello in Thai. Haven't mastered much else other than thank you. Life is great...rode an elephant for my birthday this morning. 27 (!!!) is going to rock.

This is my view while blogging:

Dream big people! And thanks for all the birthday love! Kapoohnkah!

Adventure Time!

More good days!

Friday Mom Teacher got to visit Cherry Class and it was such a good time! They all sang for her and drew her pictures and loved her! We had such a good time! I also got more birthday surprises which was so lovely. My class made me a card and sang me happy birthday, the school also sang me happy birthday and I got a moon pie and a Starbucks gift card. I also got an amazing package in the mail from New York! I got to wear lots of my new things from the States and I was looking like a million bucks. Everyone at school was super nice to my mom and the principal even gave her a gift. So nice!

That night we went to Korean BBQ, which was, as always, soooo delicious. I love it so much. It was incredibly hot in the restaurant and we all got the meat sweats pretty bad, plus I got meat juice on my birthday dress, but it was well worth it. And, my friends bought me a cake! They sang me happy birthday and then the whole restaurant clapped for me! Yay, thanks random Koreans! Then I took my mom to Daiso,  and of course I found at least 10 things to buy, and she did as well.

And now it's almost time to fly to Thailand!!!! This is turning out to be the best birthday month ever!!! I love vacations, I love birthdays, I love my mom, so great!!! I love Korea and I have a feeling I'm going to love Thailand as well. So excited!!!!

Dream big people!

A Good Day

Today was amazing!

First off, Happy Birthday Dad!!! I hope you got my email and have a great day! :)

And since it's almost my birthday, I got a birthday present at school from my precious little Joshua...he gave me a pack of very fancy pens. Much appreciated. Usually, for teacher's birthdays, the school gets you a cake..but the kids don't really do anything. But, today we had our monthly birthday party for the kids and the moms included me!!! I felt so special..it was awesome. My name was on the sign and everything! I felt kind of bad because they didn't do anything like this for my co-teacher last month, but she also didn't tell the kids every day in June that her birthday was coming up....like I've done all of July. Whoops. But I love birthdays!

I did not get an awesome Sesame Street hat, but I did get lots of cupcakes, some tissues, some churros and a bunch other random treats..as well as a card from another teacher. It is a good start to the birthday celebrations! Sadly though, the cupcakes, like most Korean baked goods, looked a lot better than they tasted...they were super cute Cookie Monster and Elmo themed, but tasted pretty blah. But whatever, what Korea lacks in sweets, they make for with BEEF! Birthday celebration continues tomorrow with Korean BBQ!!! Soooo yummy, definitely my favorite thing to eat here!

In addition to great birthday treats, my mom came today!!!!! HOOORAAAAYYYY!!!! I had sent her a Korean phone in the mail to use when she got here, but for whatever reason it didn't work when she arrived. So I figured I would just go wait at the bus stop for her..it's just down the street from my school. I got held up at school so I left later than I wanted (was getting information about my stupid electric bill...ugh, SO ANGRY about that thing), and I was walking with my friend, saying, haha, wouldn't it be funny if we walked up and she was just standing there? And guess what...she was! Luckily she had only been there for a few minutes, but she said she did have a mini moment of panic when she realized she didn't have a way to get in touch. But it's all good one...we had yummy dinner and now she's passed out (it's 8:30). She also brought me tons of stuff from home...she's like Santa Clause! It's awesome...I have a whole new wardrobe. Love it so much. Oh, and my awesome new glittery Toms that I am totally in love with. She also brought me mail that included a postcard from Finland, which I think is pretty awesome. Thanks, former CSL student! 

The only blip in the day was the electric bill. Mine DOUBLED this month and my friend at school called them for me and they said it was because I ran the AC all the time. It just doesn't make any sense to me though because I ran it the same amount as last month. They said last month I used 69 kw and this month I used 387. I'm sorry, but I'm calling bullshit on that mess.  Also, apparently I cannot go over 300 kw of electricity per month and then I have to pay a shit ton more. Which makes me sooooooo freaking angry because WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THIS? Then I was like, how would I even keep track of that? Oh, because there is a freaking meter right outside my door, that I have never even noticed until today. Ugh, so pissed. The whole thing is total nonsense and I'm angry. But whatever, I am not going to pay it until after vacation and then I'm never turning on my AC or lights ever again. I will get candles and now I have a fan, so fuck you Korean electric company.

Whew, now that is done with. I am excited for my kids to meet Mom Teacher tomorrow and then Korean BBQ and THEN THAILAND! OH MY GOODNESS. So much excitement in the next few days.

Dream big people!

Good Times

Well, here I am again, it's midnight and I am wide awake. I wasn't super tired today but there was definitely a time in the afternoon when I could have used a nap. And now it's time for bed and I have thought of a million different things I could be doing. I finally got a book on Thailand, so I have all that to peruse through, I have Pinterest  I could be looking at for more things in my apartment I should probably be cleaning, I have facebook, clothes to put away, birthday cards to make, the list goes on. But I'm updating this blog instead so all 5 of my readers won't be worried about me.

Things have been really great lately. I know I talk about it constantly but I just really really REALLY love my kids and my job. They make me so happy every day and I am legitimately sad I won't get to see them for 10 days. I am going to have to watch videos and look at pictures to have my Cherry class fix. I recently made a video of them singing (see fb) and it fills me with so much happiness every time I watch it...which is a lot. Ugh, they are just TOO DAMN PRECIOUS. I can't stand...I really can't.

Oh, and we had Parent/Teacher conferences last week and everything went fine. It was pretty awkward talking, getting translated and then sitting through 5-10 minutes of Korean but nothing terrible. The whole thing was just kind of weird, but whatever. I feel terrible I can't speak any Korean but that is what happens when you're lazy. Most of the moms were so cute and concerned about their kids. I found it harder to say bad things about their child in front of them though. I mean, I only have one kid who is sooooo frustrating and annoying and I was all ready to tell his mom, but she looked so nervous and was trying to speak English so I just kept my mouth shut. Plus she was totally weird so now I get why her kid is as well. I also got to meet Ray's mom (my precious devil child) and she just looked tired, haha. I can't even imagine what Hurricane Ray is like at home. Yesterday he came to school and was just crying and crying...he didn't want to come to school and his mom had to bring him upstairs (usually he's dropped at the curb) and I had to go calm him down in the hallway. I'm like the Ray whisperer. I finally got him to calm down, but it was quite a task. I guess he had a good day though because today at the drop off he jumped out of the car and into my arms, which made me feel super special. Oooh, he is so terrible but I just love him. The other frustrating kid is not as cute so it's harder for me to overlook his annoying-ness.

Tonight I had a little girls night and it was just so lovely. I miss just hanging out with girl friends, chilling and doing whatever. I realize this usually stops around college, but still. College was the best. I'll take a little slice of it back if I can.

And I am also SO EXCITED BECAUSE MY MOM GETS HERE IN LESS THAN 48 HOURS!!!! Woooo, I seriously cannot wait! MY MOM IS COMING!!!! I still can't even believe it. I am just so happy because I really had prepped myself for a year with no family. I knew it would be hard and somewhat depressing, but I had convinced myself it was possible. But now I don't have to! Hooray! And who knows, maybe someone else will come for my other breaks. The invitation is there! Come on over!! Um, also, we are going to THAILAND. Which is going to be amazing. Even though I've been freaking out over planning and all that, I just know it's going to be awesome. We are going to the really touristy part (I'm not even sure why..I didn't really decide that part) and there has been some terrible stuff about it online, but most people I talk to in person have good things to say. So it's been a little stressful (I know, champagne problems), but still really pumped about the whole thing.

There was tons of other stuff to talk about, but I for real need to go to bed. Gotta rest up for Mom Teacher's visit!!! We have a countdown in our classroom for her. I know, too precious.

Dream big people!

Being an Adult Sucks Part II

I think I've figured out what I dislike most about being an adult. Well, kind of life in general, I guess. Repetition. Man, things get so boring. I guess I am easily bored because I know there are people that do the same thing every single day and have done so for years and years, but I'm going on five months and I'm already like, well this is lame.

I am not talking about school...everyday is an adventure there and it's kind of hard to be bored when every minute of your day is occupied. I love school, but it's the other parts of life that are getting repetitive and boring. And maybe not so much boring, but more like, uuuugghhhhh, I feel like I was JUST DOING THIS.

For instance, the gym. I am NOT and never have been a gym person. You can probably tell this by looking at me. I reallllly wish I liked it though. For one, I paid to be a member, I should enjoy going. I wish it was a once a month..or even every few months type of deal. Like a cleanse..or a doctor's check up or something. That makes more sense, since I've never done a cleanse. I like eating and food way too much and dislike exercise too much for it to be compatible with the body I would like to have. I know this is not a unique problem, but I know there are people out there that like going to the gym. I feel that way about sleeping. I love sleeping. Too bad that doesn't help you lose weight. And the whole thing is just such a process...I feel like it takes up my entire afternoon. But maybe that is only because if I go to a class, it's not until 7:30 and then I don't get home until 9ish. I will usually hang around school until 6, go to the gym, go to the class and then get home at 9. So it kind of is my whole day. Whatever, I really should stop complaining, huh?

I should...buuuut, I won't . Same thing with cleaning. I am not the cleanest person in the world, but I'm not super dirty either. I get a little messy, I guess. I don't know. Either way, I feel like I am cleaning ALL THE TIME. Again, I guess it's part of being an adult and having an apartment or whatever but ugh, every time I have to do dishes/sweep/wipe/scrub/wash, I'm like, I just fucking did this! It's getting old. I need a maid. Or a boyfriend. Or a robot. Anything that can cook and clean so I don't have to.

And, also, healthy eating. I know that is stupid but making a lifestyle change to eat healthy is really difficult. I haven't decided to be a vegan or anything ridiculous, but making a conscious effort to not eat junk is difficult. Because junk is soooo delicious. Anyone that ever said nothing tastes as good as skinny feels is a complete idiot. Good thought, but you are so wrong. There are probably a lot of things that person has never eaten. Like galbi. Or ice cream. Or popcorn. Or Jelly Belly. Or a million other things. Also, if it's put in front of me, I will eat it. I have zero self control...so terrible.

But, for some good news! I haven't felt like a total sloth the past few days. I don't really know what I'm doing differently and/or better, but maybe it's because I've made an effort to go bed before 12. Which is extremely difficult for me. I've always been a night person and even if I'm super tired during the day, I usually get a second wind at like, 11:00 pm. Also, I manage to find a million different activities to occupy myself at night. Painting, cleaning, Pinterest, blogging, reading, it goes on and on. OR PLANNING MY TRIP TO THAILAND!!! Oh man, so excited and soooo worried I'm going to pick the wrong hotel. I just want everything to be perfect...is that too much to ask for?! Deep breath, need to calm down.

And for some more good news, my walls have not been talking to me lately. Last week a man started speaking through the intercom system in my room and it scared the mess out of me. Apparently it means nothing, but it still startled me and made me a little nervous. There was no mass evacuation of the building so I guess everything was fine but I am really interested in what he was talking about. I should learn Korean. Another thing to occupy my time.

Anyway, now it's almost bed time and tomorrow I have to be alert. It is parent/teacher conference day so no kids, but moms alllll day long. I'm not nervous, but I am interested to see what the parents have to say...especially the mom that claims her son is a genius but he never does any work and it takes him 20 minutes to go to the bathroom. Can't wait for that.

Dream big people!

Being an Adult Sucks

It really does. I feel like I am finding that out more and more in Korea. I am really not sure how I managed to bypass all these pitfalls for maintaining an apartment/house before, but it seems like every time I turn around, I have something new I have to figure out how to fix/clean. Which is especially bizarre to me because this one room studio is definitely the smallest place I have ever lived. Maybe before I just didn't notice the problems/dirt or, now that I am older and wiser, it actually bothers me and I have to do something about it. Not sure...but anyway, the latest problem is the freezer. It has a ton of ice build up and I got to thinking, this doesn't seem right. Also, it's been growing since I moved in. A little internet research confirms my suspicions  and in I go with a spatula to clean it out. This did some good, but there is still a lot left in there. Most websites say to do an overall clean...this starts by unplugging the fridge. And here is where Korea specific problems come in.

Most places I've lived, I've had fridge problems...I didn't solve them all alone, but I at least knew where the plug was to start the solution process. Here, I don't even know where the plug is. The fridge is like, built into the cabinet. I can't move it to get to the back, nor do I see any plugs coming out of it. I checked under the sink, and there are quite a few cords, but who knows what they all belong too. I am afraid of unplugging anything under there, for fear of blowing up/burning down/melting/shutting down the entire building. So, my new plan is to eat all the food in my fridge/freezer (won't take long, there is hardly anything in there), let everything melt, clean it and start from there. Apparently this is a waste of energy but I really don't know how else to get the ice out. One site suggested using a blow dryer (with caution), but of course, I don't have one of those either. Hooray for being useless!

It's been a frustrating few days. Lots of reasons.  As I mentioned yesterday, my attempt at grilling for July 4th was a total fail. It was very sad. It's also kind of sad when you are pretty much the only person that cares about a holiday. And when there are no fireworks...very depressing. I love Korea but it (obviously) does not give a shit about the Fourth of July. Anyway, I am no grilling expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I have started a few fires in my day. Most of them were on purpose and I have done some grilling as well. But this new grill I bought was having none of that. I'm guessing it was the charcoal...and maybe it was my lack of lighter fluid, but I have started at least 3 charcoal grills with no lighter fluid so I really don't know what the problem was. I ended up grilling one kebab (so the night gets counted as a success) and then had to put the rest in the toaster oven. Second lamest Fourth ever. First was spent on a plane in Europe, where they also don't give a shit about the Fourth, but that time I didn't have sparklers...or friends...so it's the lamest.

Also, today we went on a field trip to the aquarium...which had potential to be cool but was a total mess instead. The aquarium here is pretty small and we were one of like, one hundred school groups that decided to go today. It was soooo crowded and terrible and we were so rushed. Instead of letting us eat there, the school makes us go back for lunch which means the kids were allowed to look at each exhibit for about 2.5 seconds. And that is if they could even get close enough to see anything. Also, the fun police (my co-teacher) struck again and we had to skip right over the "touch a starfish" portion of the tour, which, in my opinion, would be pretty cool for the kids. Whatever. I guess the kids thought it was cool, even though they definitely seemed to be more into play time when we got back. Also, aquariums and zoos always depress me a little bit because the poor animals go from the whole ocean or whatever habitat, to this teeny tiny space with people staring at them all the time. Oh, and I'm pretty sure the beaver there was dead. We watched it for at least 5 minutes and it didn't move at all. Unless they sleep in the water? Do they? I don't know, the only experience I have with beavers is from Lady and the Tramp.

Field trips make me exhausted (again, getting old) and something in the bizarre mix I had for lunch did not sit well with me, so I came home after school and took a nap. Not terrible, since it's nice and rainy outside but I always feel guilty for not going to the gym. Not only do I want to lose weight, but I mainly feel like I'm wasting my money every day I don't go. Tuesday I had the option of getting ice cream or going to the gym...and guess what I did. But, I guess I technically have that option every day and Tuesday was the only day I've done it, so maybe I'm not so bad after all.

So that's my life. Now I'm tired again and going to try to get 8 hours of sleep. I did go to bed early last night but I lost some time waking up at 3 and not falling back asleep for awhile. Going to bed early is really hard for me though! I'm such a night owl. But now that monsoon season has started, maybe the rain will put me to sleep earlier? That makes zero sense, but you never know. Trying to look at the positive side of the downpour that hasn't stopped since this afternoon. Another thing I wonder about...how did I live in the rainy South for so long without ever owning a pair of rainboots? I would like to remember because I need to figure out how to do it here as well. Oh, and my raincoat is falling apart so I need a new one of those as well. Boo.

Dream big people!

My Country Tis of Thee

....that is the song I played for my kids this morning. I, per usual, just randomly picked a YouTube song, thinking it would be fine and didn't listen to it before I played it for them. So when the full chorus (like, Catholic church style), my kids were giving me some weird looks.

Anyway, I was just doing some research, trying to figure out if my constant fatigue is caused by a thyroid problem. I don't have any of the other symptoms, but they said most people's problem is not getting a full 8 hours of sleep. So I'm cutting this post short and going to bed...hopefully that will help because tomorrow we are going to the aquarium and I need to be 100%. Fingers crossed!

More about my epic fail at a 4th of July bbq later.

Dream big people!

New Best Friend

I've got one, and it's name is baking soda. Apparently you can clean pretty much anything and everything with baking soda, and vinegar. I like baking soda more because it's cheaper (sorry vinegar). I have been on a cleaning marathon this afternoon and most of it has involved some sort of combination of baking soda, vinegar or lemon juice. The sad part is, my apartment still seems dirty. I think it is just inherently dirty. Everything gets realllly dusty inside, especially during the summer and especially with the windows open. Since my AC filter hasn't been changed yet, I am keeping the windows open. Hence, everything kind of has a dusty film on it. Sucks.

I also decided to do an at home olive oil hair treatment and I think I burned my scalp. Sometimes it sucks being an impatient moron. I do things while simultaneously thinking in my head, do not do that!!! And then I do it. So now, I think I burned a hole in my scalp by putting extremely hot olive oil on it. Stupid. I'm hoping that my hair will at least be luxurious and will kind of be worth the burn. My hair has been looking especially bad here in Korea. It looks fantastic the day I get it cut and blow dried by the hairdresser, but after that it is pretty much downhill. I'm not sure what is going on...last summer it was looking amazing and this summer it's just a sad mess. I'm hoping it's going to improve soon.

I think I'm going green here in Korea. I've been finding all these do it yourself with natural ingredients things to clean my apartment (and hair). Mainly out of necessity. I can't find of cleaning things here, and, I'm cheap. The combination is turning me into a DIY master. Maybe not master though, since like I said, my apartment still seems dirty and my scalp is burned. Hopefully I'll learn my lesson for next time, at least.

In other news, some people suck really bad and it is extremely disappointing. I hate more than anything having to move people over to the suck list. It's a terrible feeling.

Anyway, I also thought I had mastered the not having energy crisis but I was sooo tired today. Maybe I can find some natural way to give myself some energy because sleep, iron pills, coffee and exercise aren't seeming to work for me. I've tried some combination of those four over the last few weeks. Nothing seems to be working and I am tired of being tired. That's all for now.

Dream big people!

Frustrations

Ooooh, my goodness it has been an extremely frustrating day. Well, it started yesterday actually. I got all excited to go to E-Mart (Korean Wal Mart) and it's kind of a trek and I had a list and everything and we get there and it's closed. Of course. We actually should have known better because the chain stores close here every 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month to give the small businesses a break. So no E-Mart shopping, which was very sad. So I went to the gym and got a little more depressed because I am not losing weight even though I have been working out a lot more lately. Then, I got no sleep last night because I was up coughing and sneezing and that whole game. I couldn't figure out if it was because of my windows being open or because of the AC, but once I checked the filter in the "Air-Con," it was pretty obvious it was my DISGUSTING AC filter. Yet another thing I didn't realize I was supposed to be cleaning on a regular basis. I know that you have to change AC filters every now and again, but for whatever reason, it hadn't crossed my mind to change this one. But that shit is getting done ASAP because it is super hot and I do not want a cold.

And feeling crappy was just the beginning of the day. I mean, it really wasn't a bad day, just frustrating with a lot of silly Korean things I don't understand. For instance, you have to go into the bank to pay your bills here. I was asking someone at school about it and he's all, oh, you can get it set up so it just takes it out automatically. And I was all, FANTASTIC! Because I really do not like going to the bank here. For one, it's only open 9-4:30 so I have to find a window of time to sneak over during the day...which I always feel bad doing because I have to leave my class. Secondly, the tellers always make me feel like such an idiot. I know I am, but I don't really like being reminded. So I go during lunch today, thinking it won't take long, but of course there are 5 people ahead of me, all with lengthy bank transactions. I get up there, get the you're a moron look/talk from the teller. What really irritates me is that she acts like, so surprised I'm there and wanting to pay these stupid bills. I know for a fact I am not the only foreigner to go in there to do this because my friends go to the same bank and there was a guy before me doing the same thing! Anyway, she informs me I cannot set up automatic payments because that company doesn't have an account with my bank. Uggggrrggghhh. So I have to go there every month to pay this stupid bill. Which is retarded expensive, by the way.

So after that fun time, I go back to school and "PSA Mini Camp" starts for the first time. We had planned on making smores and hot dogs on the grill. Instead of hot dogs,  they give us microwavable corn dogs. Instead of graham crackers, saltines. And instead of a grill, they wanted to give us a little propane gas burner. Whhhaaattt the hell. Camping, Korea style I guess. Or maybe just my school. I don't know. I'm usually pretty flexible but I was a little irritated we basically had to start from scratch 30 minutes before the class started. Also, I'm not really sure why they couldn't find the real things, I know they exist. Anyway, we did eventually get a grill but the guy helping us didn't really understand that we needed a flame, so we had to put the marshmallows next to the charcoal to melt them. Totally ridiculous. And then the kids were just like, meh. These are ok. About smores! Nonsense!

After those good times, I come home to attempt some internet banking. I wanted to bypass the bank to transfer money home. They told me I could do it online, I just had to call and get a digital certificate. Korean online banking is TOTAL RIDICULOUSNESS. It has an insane amount of security features and they interfere with whatever you already on your computer, so you have to turn all your anti-virus stuff off, and only use internet explorer and go through a lot of really stupid steps...including in typing in numbers from your "security code card," and remember 3 different passwords. It's super annoying. At first the website would load and everything, it just wouldn't let me type in my user id and password, soooo aggravating! So, after an hour on the phone with this poor woman that probably thought I was horrible (and rude since I kept sneezing and blowing my nose...damn Air Con!), it turns out they had not set me up with international banking after all. The mean woman lied to me! She said I could transfer money online and I COULD NOT. Oh, I almost threw my computer out the window.

Anyway, to end on a positive note, I then went to yoga and the teacher is super super nice. I also have figured out how to make homemade galbi (grilled meat) AND I have the delicious sauce they serve with it (they sell it at the grocery store!) so my dinner was a-mazing. Probably not going to help with the weight loss problem, but that is for another day.

For now, I am going to try and get some sleep in my oven of a room because I would rather be hot than sick. Really hoping I get some sleep tonight. Tomorrow, my new after school program starts and I found out today that my least favorite student in my class (seriously, she sucks) just joined. Oh man, today sucked. Glad it's over. Thank goodness for some of the goober students that made me laugh really hard by calling the computer a turtle since it was going really slow today.

Dream big people!

My disgusting AC filter

Reasons to smile...check that wife beater!

Homemade galbi and awesome sauce...delicious! 

She say you look baby

...says my yoga instructor, translating for another woman in the class. Pretty much every new encounter I have with a Korean involves them commenting on some aspect of my appearance. Yesterday I was told my hair looks like a dolls hair (apparently thats good) and I’m most often told I have a small face. Also, apparently good. I think I confuse Koreans because they see that I’m fat, but still think I am pretty with my doll hair, small face and “face dents.” It is quite the paradox. But whatever, at least they are focusing on the good. And everyone is always super nice and concerned that I'm happy, so no complaints. I just haven't figured out the appropriate reaction yet. Like, thanks? I know? Smile and nod? Not sure.

I have also noticed that old Korean men really seem to like me. Sometimes I think they are smirking at me..but like, in a nice way. But other times they are just straight up delighted by me. Especially the taxi drivers. Which comes in handy when we want to take 5 people. I flash my dents and it is done! Maybe I remind them of their wives...curly hair is the style of choice for most older Korean women. Or maybe I remind them of their baby grandchildren...who knows. Hasn't gotten me any discounts so far, but I just know once I learn Korean they are going to be driving me around for free. So I'll get right on that.

Anyway, such a busy and great week! Kayaking was super fun, even though our boat had a hole in it and we pretty much sank. We had to get our boat drained twice and we ended up losing our group. I was paired up with an Austrian and we were Team Awesome....in last place, but whatever.

Oh, and I got my smart phone and we are in love. Match made in heaven. It definitely trumps the Blackberry and I think I like it more than the iPhone. I've only used other peoples and had an iPod touch, but I think it's a little more user friendly. Either way, I love my new Samsung and if you also have a smart phone, we can chat for free on Kakao or WhatsApp! Download them and get my number, stat!

Today we had a "Goodbye Spring, Hello Summer!" party on the roof for Cherry class. It was soooo fun! And hilarious. It was freaking hot outside, but totally worth it to see the kids in their sunglasses. So stinking precious, I couldn't even handle it. I want to figure out different ways now to get them in sunglasses more often. Koreans are pretty opposed to the heat so I don't know how much they liked being outside, but I had a great time! I'll take it over the cold any day, that is for damn sure. The kids are such goobers when it comes to playing outside too. I think they are just not used to it and don't really know how to handle themselves. We were having a pretty good time until one kid fell on top of another and we had to stop. That is how it works here...one injury and the fun is over for everyone. Very sad. But it was fun while it lasted. And my buddy Ray was back today. He had been on vacation for the past few days, so class it had been pretty quiet in Cherry class. But today Hurricane Ray was back in all his glory and I'm not going to lie, I missed him. He gives really good hugs.

And for some BIG NEWS: MY MOM IS COMING TO KOREA!!!!! I am so so so SOOOO pumped!!! She will only be in a Korea for 2 days, but my class will get to meet "Mom Teacher," and she'll get to see my apartment and everything so I'm really happy. She is coming right before my vacation and then we are heading off to THAILAND together! I mean, how awesome is that? My mom and I are going to Thailand. Thailand. Who would have ever thought? Apparently my grandma has started feeling pretty generous and is paying for her ticket here. This is also a total shocker, but I'm not questioning anything, I am just enjoying it. So not only do I get to see my mom, she gets to meet my kids, we get to go to Thailand but she also gets to bring me lots of stuff from home, yaaaayyyy!!! All the stuff I have been lamenting over not bringing, she can bring me! SO EXCITING! Also, I'm ordering stuff online and having it shipped to her so she can bring it. Can I really afford that? No. But I am going to pass up the chance to have some Target hand delivered to Korea? Hell no. Anyone that would like to add to the Target fund and/or would like my mom to deliver something, get it to her before July 17. Or, you can come as well. You just have to bring a suitcase that is 80% filled with stuff for me. :)

And for some lame news, I recently discovered I have to clean my washing machine. Right, WTF? Wash my washing machine? Egads! But I'm actually glad I figured it out because mine was DISGUSTING inside and probably the reason my clothes were still mildewy smelling after washing them. In fact, they smelled worse after I washed them than before! Anyway, it was kind of a frustrating process since the machine is all in Korean and translations were not to be found online. I finally figure out to clean it all the way through and even managed to hunt down some baking soda and vinegar, so things are smelling good these days.

Tracking down things here can sometimes prove to be quite the challenge. I wanted to make homemade playdough with the kids and it called for dried milk...nowhere to be found. Then I looked up other random experiments and they all wanted Borax...no idea where to get that. So we made cookies instead and it cost around $23 for cookie mix, frosting, sprinkles and butter. I made sure to get my money's worth and ate at least 5 cookies. I don't even really like sugar cookies but dammit if I wasn't eating those things!

Ok, well I have to get back to my online shopping now. Trying to make sure I get everything I want! Probably not the best plan, financially, but oh well! Big dreams don't come true when you're being frugal. (mmm, probably the opposite, actually but whatever)

Dream big people!

Hilarity

Just spent the last few minutes laughing extremely hard over this website:

http://kikinitinkorea.tumblr.com/?fwcc=1&fwcl=1&fwl

I don't know if you have to have lived in Korea to completely understand or not, but it's worth a look anyway. I cried.

Anyway, I also joined a gym yesterday. Which is a good thing because I just ate an entire roll of mentos in one sitting. There were 7 flavors in one pack. I obviously had to. So far, the gym has been ok. I am not really a gym person, but I'm finding that a lot of things that I'm "not really," I've been doing in Korea. Waking up early on weekends, loving small children for 8 hours a day, cooking my own dinner, showering in the morning, the list goes on. I signed up mainly because it's in our school building and trying to make myself run on the river path was not working. One woman Zumba classes in the apartment were also getting pretty few and far between. The river path was just too much....lots of stares, lots of bugs and not a whole lot of running. So I went downstairs and the guy offered me a discount and told me I was beautiful with pretty eyes, so I was in. I also want to eat my weight in galbi, so I need something to counteract that. I signed up for classes as well, which may have been a mistake. I did Pilates yesterday and it was basically glorified stretching with some impossible Pilates moves thrown in as well. I am aware the instructor is supposed to be thinner and better than you, but she was seriously the size of a 10 year old and could plank for like, 20 minutes. Kind of discouraging.

Same thing with Yoga today. Also, it was just me so I got a lot of one on one attention. Which was good and bad. Good because she was really nice and now I'm going to give her English lessons, but bad because I suck at Yoga and she was pretty disappointed in my non flexible self. She was also pretty disappointed in my weak ass hands and wrists. But she was nice and like I said, we are going to meet up sometimes so she can get English lessons and I'll get Korean lessons! And some Yoga pointers. Hooray! I ended up spending like, 4 hours there. I was kind of embarrassed. I went after school (around 5) and Yoga starts at 7:30 so I didn't want to go home because I probably wouldn't come back. And I had this great plan to show up after school in my cute dress, good hair and pretty eyes to say hello to the desk guy. He wasn't there but of course he showed up when I got off the treadmill and looked like a hot sweaty mess. I'm sure he also thinks I'm crazy as well because I lost my key (for my locker) and after having everyone look for it, I realized I left it in the bathroom. Oh, it doesn't end there. I was just sitting in the Yoga room at like, 6:50 since I got tired of the treadmill and he comes in and asks if I remembered that the classes start at 7:30. Hahahaha! Hooray. So that is what happens when I try to flirt. Won't be trying again for a while.

Also not sure how my arm use will be tomorrow since I thought it would be a great idea to do all the arm machines. I need to get some sort of routine...no idea what I'm doing. Also a little lost trying to plan a trip to Thailand. I've never had a "real" vacation and it is a bitch to plan. I'm sooo bad at it! Too easily distracted and worried I won't get the best deal. I know, waaaa, right?

Anyway, really looking forward to the weekend! Getting a SMART PHONE on Friday!! Helloooo again world!!! No more getting lost! Shopping, movie and dancing on Saturday (unfortunately not with the cute Korean boy...no boys for that matter) and kayaking Sunday! Hooray!

Dream big people!

Korean Beach Party

Some friends and I made a little trip to the beach Saturday and once we got there (we had a little detour), we were getting a lot of stares. Not because we were foreigners, but because we were pretty much the only people on the BEACH wearing bathing suits. I know! We are such freaks.

Koreans have a really odd beach culture (in my opinion). Apparently most of them are pretty anti-sun. They don't like to be exposed to it, they don't like to be tan and they don't like to bask in all the sun's glory and soak up all the vitamin D it has to offer. On sunny days (or even slightly overcast with a tiny bit of sun days) you will see lots of people walking around with umbrellas up. Not because it's raining or it's going to, but because they want to block out the sun. And if they want to take it to the next level of sun blockage, they will sometimes wear a visor...and a mask...and pants...and gloves...and if they don't already have on a jacket or long sleeves, there are special arm protectors they can buy to put on while outside. Arm condoms, if you will. It baffles me. Mainly because I don't understand how they are not MELTING. Sometimes it is sooo hot outside and they still have all the gear on. You don't see a lot of Koreans sweating, but I really don't understand how because they are dressed for a winter storm in 80 degree weather. Insanity.

And if they are not covered head to toe, they are wearing some sort of other ridiculous get up for the beach. Jeans, a suit, a fancy skirt, HEELS. Oh yes, that's right...saw many women today in heels trying to walk in the sand. And since this is obviously quite a difficult task, they pass their purse off to their adoring boyfriends, who carry it on their shoulder like it's theirs. If they aren't wearing heels, they may be wearing matching shoes with their significant other.

Anyway, it was a nice day, even if I was getting a lot of weird looks. For wearing a bathing suit. At the beach. It's kind of a trek to get there, so my next goal is to make a friend with a car. Let me know if you know someone. Next weekend is river kayaking! Hooray! Although it does mean I have to get up really early...earlier than I do for work. I find this happening a lot on my weekends. I like doing cool stuff, but I'm not sure why it has to start so damn early.

Dream big people!

Stranger Danger

Sooo, just in case you didn't already know how idiotic I can be sometimes...I am sitting in my room with my window open and I just heard people yelling (in Korean) outside. And I'm all, what the hell? Why are these people yelling in jibberish? Annnnd then I remembered I'm in Korea and it's not jibberish, it's Korean. And while I usually know this, I do still tend to think of if it as jibberish a lot. I know it's horrible and it's just me being stupid and lazy for not learning it. But when I'm on the Subway and I hear announcements, I just want to be like, I'm sorry...I'm going to need you to repeat that in a real language, thanks. I'm probably the only person that is thinking that. I also think that when I get random text messages in Korean. I'm all, WHAT IS THIS PERSON TRYING TO TELL ME?!?! Then a friend just tells me it's spam.

Anyway...speaking of weird Korean things. Today the kids had to watch the oddest video for "Uniform Day," which is pretty much an assembly. Usually it's in English but this month the nurse did it so it was in Korean. I'm guessing from the cartoon it was about not talking to strangers. Which is fine, ok..but one of the clips was a guy in a trench coat flashing a little girl. Then she ran home crying. What I thought was the weirdest is that she ran home and had to bang on the door for her mom to open. Why doesn't she know the code to get into her house? Also weird, they warned us not to scare the kids with stories of "stranger danger" (whatever that is) but I feel like that would qualify. Whatever. Another part of the video was (I think) the differences between girls and boys. I think that because it was a girl and a boy standing in their underwear (still cartoons) and then there was an arrow pointing to random body parts. Same...same...same...different! Six seems kind of young for that, but apparently some of the kids in the 7 year old class masturbate in class so maybe not.

Things are going well here in the ROK. I went to Norebang for the first time Tuesday night (we had Wednesday off for Korean Memorial Day) and it was sooooooo soooo fun. It's basically karaoke in a private room. People that know me well know I hate karaoke but LOVE to sing. It's not that I mind making a fool of myself in front of others, it's that I don't want to watch others make a fool of themselves. It hurts me. The other thing I hate is when people sing really awful songs and kill the fun vibe in the bar. So, this is great because you are with only you friends and you get to sing way more often than at a bar. Sadly, they did not have "Heaven is a Place on Earth" but they did have some Bieber so I was ok. They also had a sweet ass tambourine for you to jam on and I gave myself a hand bruise from rocking out so hard. I also now have mad respect for singers because I was trying to dance, jump around and sing and I got out of breath real fast. I'm not in the greatest shape, but damn...I guess my Zumba is not doing as much as I thought. Sadly, we did have one random girl that fancied herself a singer and sang some stupid slow song and made it lame for a while. I couldn't even tambourine to it, it was so slow and stupid. But she was a friend of a friend so she will not be invited again.

I have tons of fun stuff planned for the next few weeks so I am very excited. Especially since I might have some beaaach time! Love it! Being this far from the beach for so long is killing me! The ocean is in my blood, haha! I miss it! Plus today was super frustrating so I could use a little mini break. My job is not hard, really, and I totally love it but it's go go go all the time. I love being busy, but an extra cup of coffee kind of put me on edge today. Plus it was really hot in the teachers room so I was running around trying to get stuff done and then melting while trying to print things. I also decided to undertake a ridiculously time consuming project (totally self imposed) and I was trying to get everything ready all while thing, WHY THE HELL AM I DOING THIS? But I had already come so far so I wasn't going to quit.

My after school class was also especially frustrating. It's only two boys and they are sooo cute but one is really advanced and the other is....not. At all. One can read and today I found out that the other doesn't know his ABCs. He wasn't even really able to find the letters of his name. I would MUCH rather have them separately, because it's pretty much impossible to try and keep them both happy. The advanced one (Jake) is done with whatever I have them do by the time the other one (Tei...pronounced Tay...like ooooh tay) has started. And Tei just copies Jake so I'm pretty sure he's not learning anything. Today I had them arrange their alphabet letters and while Tei and I struggled to find the letters, Jake was done in a minute. So I had him start spelling out words. He would spell a word in the time Tei found a letter. I feel bad because they both want attention but that is not happening evenly. I was trying realllly hard to be patient today but ooooh man. Our class was like this:

Me: "What comes after S Tei?"
Jake: "T! It's T! TTTTTT!!!"
Me: "I know, good job Jake, spell out elephant with your letters. Tei, what is after S? What is the first letter of your name?"
Tei: shrugs shoulders
Jake: "Finished jacky teacher! I'm finished! Tei, it's T!"
Me: "Great Jake! Let him do it. Why don't you spell a word that starts with T please. Tei, can you find the T?"
Tei: points to the W
Jake: "Tiger jacky teacher! Tiger! Tiger starts with T!"
Me: "Way to go Jake! Tei, Tei! Where are you going?"
Tei: "Poo poo."

So that was good hour and a half of my life. Funny now...almost pulled my hair out this afternoon. Again, not mad he doesn't know anything...it's just super frustrating trying to balance the two of them. Especially since the class is supposed to be "Story Retelling" and not "Arranging the Alphabet." My co teacher is the one that made this class happen so I'm kind of pissed at her. I retaliate by being passive aggressive and letting the kids scream in the gym while she goes in the hallway to lay down her anti-fun laws on kids that were having too much.

Not really looking forward to tomorrow since it's "Color Day" and I really haven't done anything in the way of planning. Mainly because I have no idea what we are supposed to be doing. No one does, so I think it'll be ok. We'll see.

Norebang Dance Party!

Jake and Tei (Jake's Mom...whhhaat were you thinking with that outfit??)

Dream big people!

Dreaming with a broken heart

So I've come up with a new life goal. Well, something to add to my life goals anyway. I realize my life goals are petty and somewhat immature, but I'm cool with it. I definitely think they are an improvement on "get married, have a family." How boring.

Anyway, adding to the list of ride in a hot air balloon, drink champagne while riding first class and learn the dance from "Dirty Dancing Havana Nights," I have added: visit every continent....but not really Antarctica. I mean, I would go to Antarctica if I had the chance, but I'm not going to consider myself a failure if I don't make it there. Mainly because it's freezing cold and I hate the cold. Plus, I am pretty sure they don't have hotels or anything for me to do there. I think this new goal is a step up from my old college goal of make out with someone from every continent. I am currently stuck on five. I can't seem to snag an Aussie, but maybe while I'm here. There are a lot of them here. I know, I'm very classy. I think I shocked one of the Korean teachers by mentioning that past goal. I think she's only kissed her husband. Also, very boring. But whatever. I only have three for the visiting goal, I still need South America, Africa and Australia.

I also have made a new list of more specific places I want to visit. It's long, about 20 places but the big ones are the Great Wall, The Pyramids, the rainforest, Angel Falls, and Tokyo. I think I can knock out at least the Great Wall or Tokyo while I'm here.

It's funny, because sometimes I think, man, I am well traveled and worldly and woo hooo, look at me go. But then I meet other people that have been way more places, have cooler tattoos, can speak other languages and other cool shit and I'm all, damn. I need to step up my game. I sometimes have a hard time with just being ok with how things are and what I've accomplished, but for the most part, I think I'm pretty badass.

So that is my super random post for now. It was a fun with weekend. Too tired to go into details but involved a lot of meat, a lot of soju, and lots of random people...and two boys with braces, one of which thought the best way to try and pick me up was to run up, tap me on the shoulder, stick his tongue out at me, and then run away. Drugs much? People are so weird.

Dream big people!