Twilight

Last Saturday, I went hiking in Amnam Park with 4 other English teachers (Susan, Patrick, Aaron, and another girl - not sure what her name was). While we were on the hike, I climbed this huge tree overlooking the ocean and Aaron snapped this picture. He's a photoshop feind... and just sent me his final product! Kinda creepy huh?! It reminds me of the scene in Twilight where they're flying in the trees...

Too Much Pressure...

This morning, during tea time, the teachers were talking about 2 junior high girls who climbed to the 25th floor of their apartment in Hadan (3 subway stops from my apartment) 2 days ago and jumped to their death together... all because they did not achieve the test scores their families expected from them. It's a tragedy, the pressure that Korean students experience with education in this country. Test scores should never be the reason to end life... I am sick over this.

Best Week Ever!

I'm definitely having one of the best work weeks since I've been here!

1) Monday, Stella and I left early to go to dinner together!

2) Tuesday (Yesterday), I went on a $1000 shopping spree with my school's money!!

3) I arrived at school this morning, and Stella had left a juice and breakfast pastry on my desk! (I love little surprises like that!)

4) Since our new principal has arrived, he has decided that Wednesdays should be devoted to staff volleyball... So, every Wednesday, the teachers can leave 2 hours early to go play volleyball with teachers from another school!

5) I love, love, love pineapples and was given an entire pineapple from another teacher at tea time today!

6) I have this Friday off work for Chuseok (Thankgiving) and am getting out of town and venturing into the countryside with Jess and Carlos for a couple days!

Christmas in October!

Looks like Santa came to my apartment in Pusan, huh?!

Korea is definitely living up to it's "Dynamic Korea" slogan!   Yesterday, Stella (my co-teacher) informed me that she and I were going to be leaving school early to go shopping for things for my apartment!  Funny that this is happening after I was told there was no money left in my budget to even buy a few bowls and plates a couple months back.  As it turns out, there is PLENTY of money in the budget... 1,300,000 won worth, which is approximately $1000 US dollars!

So, today, Stella and I went to Lotte and did some serious shopping!  We filled an entire cart with whatever I desired for my apartment and ordered a bigger bed and some furniture to be delivered next week!  I felt like I was a contestant on Supermarket Sweep!  (Remember that show?)  Last week was an awesome work week, but I think with having Friday off work this week, and getting to go shopping with school money, on school time, THIS ONE DEFINITELY TAKES THE CAKE!  I don't remember ever getting to do stuff like this at Millennium! 

Need a Toothbrush?!

While I'm on the topic of bathrooms... I'll throw this one in for kicks.  I found this sign in the bathroom stall at the Lotte Casino in Seomyeon.

Dinner and Laundry all in 1 stop!

This is the bathroom of a very nice and classy Korean restaurant in Seomyeon!  

Fashion masks...

Since the swine flu scare is still in full affect, some of my students have been wearing masks to class... But not just any old plain mask - They usually have some sort of korean anime or video game character on them! How funny is that?!

My Bus Ride...

This morning, on my way to work, I gave up my seat on the bus to a 70 something Korean woman who didn't have anywhere to sit. She was sooo thankful, as they always are. When she sat down, she patted (sp?) her legs as if she was inviting me to sit on her lap. As a side note, when an older Korean asks you to do something, YOU DO IT! I thought this was a weird gesture, but figured if she asks me to sit on her lap, I guess I should. I waited though until the bus stopped, since we were on a hill, and it was fairly unstable.

The bus finally stopped, and just as I was about to move towards her to sit on her lap, she reached for my purse and set it in her lap and gave me a really big smile!

Can you imagine if I would have sat on her lap?!

Get it Kristen!!!

Last night, Kristen invited us to her dance recital!  She has been taking hip hop classes for the last 4 or 5 months from a studio in Seomyeon, and was invited to perform in their yearly show!

Colin, Colin's co-teacher, Rob, Kate and I all sat in the 2nd row to cheer her on!  Here are some pictures of the show!

We got to see Kristen before the show.  Kate called me and told me she was really nervous, so I stopped at the Family Mart to get her a chocolate "Crunky" bar, her favorite, to settle her nerves!

This was the only lyrical performance of the show.  Kristen is in the purple on the far right. 

A little ballroom action...

After Kristen's hip hop performance, the MC pulled her out on stage to showcase the fact that she was the only foreigner in the show.  She told him she had friends who came to watch and pointed to all of us (her "chingu" friends) in the 2nd row!  

Kristen's on the far left, in the front row (GO GIRL!)

This salsa dance was really awesome... The 2 girls in the front are instructors at Kristen' studio. 

This dance was a replica of the Brown Eyed Girls song called "Abracadabra."  It's one of the most famous videos in Korea right now.

For the finale, the 4 instructors did a really awesome hip hop dance, set to K-pop songs!  It made me want to start taking classes again! 

Kristen has made soooo many friends from the studio.  These boys are some of her favorites!

The whole studio!


Kristen, Congrats on your first Korean Dance Performance!  You rocked!  Love ya!

The Magic Show!

During Tea Time (between 1st and 2nd period) this morning, I was given the good news - "3rd and 4th period are cancelled because we're having a Magic Show!!" Could this work week get any better?! Yesterday was a hike, and today a magic show! To top it off, the teachers are all allowed to leave at 1:50pm instead of 4:40pm, so not only do I get to leave early, I don't have to teach my teacher class this afternoon! I think all these new perks are from the new principal... If so, I LOVE YOU GYO CHUNG SUN SENG NEIM!!

When I say this was the BEST MAGIC SHOW I'VE EVER SEEN, it really isn't saying much since I can probably count the times I've seen one on my own right hand, but I will say that I oohed and awed the entire time, and said a lot of "WWWWWAAAAA"'s. (That's what the Koreans yell when they're excited about something and it's become a new habit of mine!)

This trick was by far the coolest thing I've ever seen! The girl is literally hanging with only her neck on the chair! I have no idea how he did that!


This trick, he took a piece of blue tissue paper and turned it red, and then made it into a paper rose, and then made it float in the air! UNBELIEVABLE!

The kids loved it!

This trick, he took a real rose, put it in his hand, and it turned into all these little pieces of paper!

All I know is, I want a floating table! If I knew how to do this, I'd take it everywhere with me and show it off!

If you're surprised that I volunteered to be an assistant, you don't know me very well! My hand shot up right away when he asked for someone to help him! The best part was that the kids started chanting my name so he would pick me!!! I was a hit, I'm not gonna lie! :)

After the show, he came out to greet the teachers. I felt a little bit like a high school girl meeting someone from Nsync back in the day! I think he was flattered!

What makes a GREAT hiking fieldtrip?

Today, all classes were cancelled, and the whole school went on a hike at the mountain directly behind my school! It was gorgeous weather, and the kids were all excited to be out of class for the day!! Now that I'm a pro with hiking (this was my 3rd hike in 5 days) I've decided to tell you what makes a good hiking fieldtrip for elementary kiddos!

So, here you go...

... friends to hike with... (April, Stella and I)

... boulders to rest on...

...Parks along the way that have weird things to play on...

... GIGANTIC hula hoops...

... a plentiful amount of sticks to fight with...

...bars to hang on...


...lots of grass and blue skies...


... interesting sculptures to look at...

... places to hang out in the shade...


... fun mirrored sculptures to take pictures on...


... lots of trees to eat and hang out under...


...sculptures to sit on (even if you're not suppossed to!)

... gazebos to sit in with friends...


... cute kids who always want their picture taken...


...a good sturdy railing to sit on to enjoy the view...


... and lastly, but definitely not least; A good teacher to guide the way!

Let's meet for coffee... or acupuncture!

Jess is an AVID fan of Eastern medicine, and loves getting acupuncture as often as possible, so when we planned a dinner date with some friends near her acupuncture place, she asked if I wanted to come along! When I was living in the US, I was terrified of the idea of having needles stuck in my body, and didn't understand how it would help... but Koreans swear by it, and are usually healed of their ailments when they endulge in the procedure on a regular basis! So, even though I didn't have any ailments, I went along for the experience!

This is an upclose and personal picture of one of the needles, and the metal stickers they put next to them.


Jess was getting treated for her allergies... 2 needles into the nose, 2 on her legs, 2 in her hands, and 2 on her feet should do the trick! :)


Once they put the needles in, you have about 20 minutes to lay and relax. It's actually really serene... believe it or not!


These are my hands! If you double click on this picture, you can see the needles, the metal stickers, and the cigarette bud looking things that burn on the metal stickers. When they are almost burnt out, you have to yell for the nurse to come pull them off!


All in all, I had 10 needles! ...2 in my legs, 2 in my feet, 2 in my hands, 2 near my elbows, one in between my eyes, and one on the top of my head (That one felt really weird!) While I don't feel all that different, I still think I'll do it again! Heck for the equivalent of $4.50, it's nice to have the experience!

What Is That?!

I found this parked outside of my friends apartment the other night... perfect for people with no balance!

Dinner at Chloe's!

Last night, I was invited to one of my co-workers houses for dinner! She is a 2nd grade teacher at my school, so we get to co-teach together every Wednesday morning! I gave her the English name Chloe! :) Chloe, her husband, and her son live in a gorgeous high rise apartment a couple subway stops from my place! They live on the 18th floor!

When we arrived, I was met by her 22 month old son 동하 (Dong Ha) and her mother in law, who they pay to watch their son everyday while Chloe is at work.

After we had been there for a while, I noticed this HUGE tub of Cheese Balls. I pointed to it and said, "Wow, that's a huge thing of Cheese Balls" and Chloe laughed and said she had bought it at COSTCO for her son, but that they were too salty! She asked me if I liked them... When I answered "Yes!" she handed me the entire thing and said, "Great! You can have it!" I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with all of these, but when a Korean offers you something, you NEVER turn it down!


Dong Ha was adorable! He was polite, well mannered, and smiled ALL THE TIME!

This was our dinner! Chloe ordered Pizza from Pizza Hut (my favorite), and we sat at her sons art table on the floor of her living room! :)


Love this kid!


At about 7:30pm, her husband arrived home! It's common for Korean men to come home VERY late! Most Korean women hate this... including Chloe! Korean marriages are VERY different from American marriages. Chloe and her husband were set up on a blind date, and neither of them really liked each other, but because they were in their early 30's, they both felt pressured to get married. Neither of them have ever actually loved each other. :(

On a happier note... We had an awesome time laughing, talking, and eating together! They offerred to have me over anytime I wanted, which I thought was extremely generous!! It's times like this that make staying another year extremely appealing!