... ate 2 silkworm cocoons at dinner last night... climbed up a cliff overlooking the ocean, holding onto only a rope... ate something raw out of a seashell... have 4 different recycling/trash bins at my apartment (paper, plastic, glass, food, and trash)... walk and ride a bus to work... taught two 29 year old Korean women how to use a tampon at a coffee shop... work at a school with holes in the ground for toilets... take showers in the middle of my bathroom and the water sprays everywhere... tripped and fell on the stairs at my school 2 times in 1 day... sang Hotel California in a NoreBang (Karaeokee room) filled with all my Korean speaking cowokers... drank an entire cup of makeju (beer) because I lost in rock, paper, scissors 4 times in a row with a teacher at my school... ate the side of a fish head... paid 35,000 won (equivalent of $30.00) for a tube of tinted sunscreen... don't own a car for the 1st time in 12 years... have never had to pay at a restaurant that I ate with another Korean at ... walked home from Nampodong Market - 3 hours in the dark and I was completely safe... have yellow hair... am addicted to DVD Bangs (private movie theaters)... had a 3rd grade student wearing playboy barrettes in her pigtails today... my school overlooks the ocean... blog almost everyday. Who knew I was such a writer?!... love pancakes mixed with shredded veggies and seafood... am married to a man who owns a scooter... can buy new and fashionable clothes for the equivalent of $5.00!... saw a teacher at my school hitting one of the 6th grade boys... have to use a Korean version of Microsoft Word and Powerpoint at work. I have no idea what anything says!... work at a school where the kids are allowed to have the keys to their classrooms... wear stockings to work everyday ... was teaching about Mexican food and none of the moms in my parents class had heard of tacos or tortillas!... was on a subway that stopped because someone had jumped on the tracks... see small white dogs on a weekly basis with pink, blue, or purple dyed hair... have a cell phone charm... carry my groceries up a hill and then 5 flights of stairs to my place... taught an entire 50 minute teacher class on the topic of: New Kids on the Block... get to wear comfy slippers at work... live in a country where there's no toilet paper in any of the bathrooms... get free stuff, from the clerk, everytime I shop at the market by my apartment... eat bowls and bowls of fresh cherry tomatoes everyday ... am living in a studio apartment the size of my childhood bedroom... and believe it or not, I love it here!
Yes, even I can't believe the things I've experienced sometimes!!! Cheers to all the things I can't believe have happened since I've been here... and another cheers to all the things that are bound to happen in the future!
This is amazing Jillers! Almost brought tears to my eyes thinking of all you have done that you never dared or dreamed you would do. Such an amazing part of your life and I absolutely LOVE that you are writing about it constantly and allowing us to go along on your journey with you. As much as I miss you I am so glad you are where you are and that you are able to experience, see, and do things so differently than what you and all of us in the U.S. are used too. Go Jillers! Love you sis
ReplyDeleteKels
no toilet paper?
ReplyDeletewhat if you have the runs?
and teaching how to put in a tampon... wow.
i have to really reflect on what you've learned. amazing. such a different life.
life w/o recess duty! nice.
Hey! It sounds like you are having an AMAZING time! I am so glad you are enjoying yourself, although you are very missed! Its really fun to hear about it all!
ReplyDeleteKelsey
I really enjoy reading your blog, makes me miss Korea. Just wanted to let you know that generally bathrooms in Korea have toliet paper... Maybe not so much in the countryside, but they definitely had toliet paper in most of the toliets I used in Seoul (or else I would have been in trouble!) It's not like Tibet where in urban areas instead of toliet paper they have a bucket of water to clean your hand! -_-
ReplyDelete