My new iphone!

I've never been one to buy a fancy phone!  Most of you know I actually hate talking on the phone in general and the idea of having a phone to show off just didn't ever really matter to me... but after Aaron convinced me that it would be the greatest purchase I would ever make, I gave in and got one!  We both did actually!

It was an added blessing that my co teacher Okk offered to do some research for us and found a company that would give us (foreigners with an E-2 visa) the same plan as Korean nationals!  Usually they make foreigners pay up front for the phone - about $800 (a huge inflation from American prices)!  So, with a fairly inexpensive plan and an extremely good discount on the price of the phone, we walked away new iphone owners!

What did I do this morning on my walk to work, you ask?  

Oh, no big deal... I just called my mom on video skype, FROM MY PHONE!!

How crazy awesome is technology!  I love it!

My stroboscopy! OUCH!

I've been sufferring from an annoying cough for 3 weeks now!  I had had enough this afternoon, so after work, I went to the hospital!  (Seems dramatic, I know!  But it's what we do in Korea.)  After checking in at the front desk and pointing to my throat, saying "Apuda" (I'm sick), the receptionist sent me up to the 5th floor to meet with an Otolarynologist.  Try saying that 5 times fast!

Luckily he spoke PERFECT English!  Praise God!  He sat me down in a chair, with all kinds of crazy utensils and scopes laid on a steel countertop next to me and began to ask me question after question about my condition.  These Korean doctors are thurough, that's for sure! 

After the gazillion questions, he wheeled his chair over to me, grabbed my tongue with some gauze and began to stick a long metal stick down my throat... lower, and lower, and lower!  OUCH!  Then he told me to say "EEEEE," take deep breaths... do it again... and again... It took everything within me not to gag!  (I later read that a local anesthetic is suppossed to be given to prevent pain and gagging during a stroboscopy... but apparently I must have looked tough, because there was definitely NO ANESTHETIC given!)  Uuugghhh.

But the beauty of the procedure was that I got a fun picture of my vocal chords to show off!

The not so fun part is that I will have to take these pills 3 times a day for the next 7 days, and drink all of this entire bottle of cough syrup before next Tuesday!

Oh, and in case you're wondering, I have some sort of inflamation on and around my vocal chords from, and I quote, "Working too hard and talking too much!"  hahaha!  Think my principal will give me a day off of work?!  Here's hoping! 

breakfast bagels

A couple weeks ago, I did a presentation, on the school TV news program about what American's eat for breakfast!  I talked about how we love to eat bagels, but that I was sad because I couldn't find any bagels in Korea!  My students are constantly asking me if I've been able to find my beloved bagels yet!  ...This morning, some of my 4th graders were huddling around my desk, jumping up and down, all excited before class!  When I asked why they were excited, Anna, put her hands out and presented me with 2 fresh bagels that she and her mom had found at a bakery!  It was as if she was presenting me with gold!

I love this picture because it's a perfect representation of how things work in Korea!  Before anyone can ever give me a piece of food, cake, candy, coffee (anything really), my kids are already trying to eat it!  You'd think no one ever fed the poor little guys!  As much as I knew it was the right thing to do to share my bagels with them, I didn't!  Sad for them... happiness for me!

Sunday Randoms...

It was finally sunny today!  Ahh, how I've longed for a sunny day to rid Korea of it's wintery gray cover that's been here for 6 months!!  And to make things even better, it was Sunday, so I had the whole day to enjoy it!! 

Aaron drove us on scoot, over to the local market this afternoon, so we could get out in the sunshine and soak in the happy rays it offers! 

This is not an uncommon sight in this market...  Since I've lived in Busan, I've seen 3 different Koreans scooting on their stomaches, with their deformed legs wrapped tightly in a black rubber package, through the busy market, begging for hand outs.  It's devastating really... and to witness their own fellow countrymen quickly passing them as if they're contageous or disease ridden is beyond heart wrenching...

We walked and walked and walked today and spotted, in the "foreign goods" area of the market, these 3 MRE packages!  Sweet irony that we're in Korea and able to purchase United States Military meals...

But how could we pass it up?!  Neither of us have ever eaten an MRE meal, so we thought it would be a nice chance to see what our soldiers eat everyday!  For about $4.80, we snatched up the chili and beans package!  When we got to my place later in the afternoon, we opened it and were pleasantly surprised to see a regular size pack of wild berry flavored skittles was inside!  There was also a package of yummy wheat crackers, strawberry banana dairy shake powder, coffee, creamer, 2 pieces of gum, cheese spread, mexican style corn, and of course, chili and beans!  Aaron excitedly said, "This is gonna be one of the best dinners we've had in a long time!"   We won't speak too soon though, we haven't actually tried it yet!

I love, love, love the old Koreans who push carts through the market, selling fresh fruit, rice cakes, veggies, or in this case, some sort of Korean jelly style treat!  *** I especially love this pictures because of eye candy to the right!

Little schmooch on the back of his dad's scooter!  Small dogs are usually treated like children in this country!  Just like in America, come to think of it!  Although, boo me if you have too, Korean dogs are much better behaved!

Since clothing in Korea happens to come in 2 sizes - small and very small, there are plenty of alteration places throughout the market, where you can have your clothing let out, taken in, buttons added, sleeves taken off, you get the idea... And it'll be done by a hard working old Korean woman, with her 50 year old, pure steel, sewing machine, in a dark alley of the market!   It's classic!

When we had had our fill of the market, we jumped on scoot and rode about 15 minutes, over to my old neighborhood where we stopped to say hello, and love on, our favorite Korean dog, Becksoona!  She was sooo excited to see us!  Her tail was waging a mile a minute...

Until I picked her up like this!  I had to...  She wouldn't turn and look in Aaron's direction for the picture.  Don't worry, contrary to how it looks, she wasn't harmed... She just got really submissive and a little sad... but we gave her lots of extra love to make sure she knew we adored her and she was happy as could be again!

Later in the afternoon, Aaron took me over, to the harbor on the island, to try out one of his newest photography techniques, called "The Brenizer Method" where about 70 pictures are taken and then meshed together to create one picture.  He's still putting all the pictures together, so I'll share that with you in my next blog!

Time to cook our military meal!

Skype with the Murphys!

My sister, Kirstin, and I love to e-mail back and forth throughout the week, but it's not very often that we can work our schedules out to get a skype date in with each other!  This morning though, we put each other on our calendars and made it happen!  And thank goodness we did!  It's always such a joy to catch up with her and the boys!  BTW: Her little one, Caleb, isn't in the picture because he's playing cars on her butt!  He's got an interesting imagination!

May there be many more 2 hour long skype dates with tears, laughs, and great conversations for years to come!  Love you 4 and thank you for making my day complete!

 - Auntie Jillers

Window to my world...

Aaron took this picture yesterday, looking out to the street, from my bedroom window!

This is the window to my world in Korea...

You can check out his other pictures, from around the neighborhood, here:

www.flickr.com/aaronosteen

Ice Cream with the girls!

Last night, after work, Hyung Jung (the math teacher at my school), Okk (my co-teacher) and I all walked from school...

...to Baskin Robbins, for some ice cream and girl time!  I think it's worth mentioning that I ordered blueberry and oatmeal ice cream (what the heck, right?!). Hyun Jung got flower seeds tea and Okk got green tea ice cream!  Are we in Asia or what?!

How could I not be smiling?  Ice cream with great new friends!  I love my life!

A Little Song and Dance!

Singing is a HUGE part of Korean culture... So, to have a 4th grade class, full of enthusiastic kiddos, singing and dancing to an English song, is a common occurrence in my classroom! Aaron hates to teach the songs at his school, but I'm a sucker for a good performance, so I relish in song days... plus I get to choreograph dance moves!!

Introducing the vocal stylings of my darling 4th graders... singing, "Good morning!"

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Funny Counting!

Last Friday, I had the pleasure of getting to leave school 2 hours early, so I walked over to Aaron's school to meet his after-school- english-class students! Since we have the same work schedule, we never get to see each other in action, so this was a real treat! Unfortunately though, Aaron was administering a level test, so I didn't get to see him in his full teacher mode!

I did, however, get to see some funny things; like this kid, Noah (4th grader), who, when asked to count to 25 during the test, said it like this! I couldn't help but think it was adorable, and asked if I could video him!

So then I geuss that makes me "twelve-nine" years old!  Sounds good to me!

Spitting inside!

For whatever reason, Korean's spit indoors!  It's disgusting if you ask me!  Just this week, Aaron and I were on the bus and an older Korean man, to the side of us, hawked up some flem and spit it onto the floor!  Then he put his shoe in it, smooshed it around under his toe, and commenced to cross his leg, exposing the greenish yellow loogie which was now stuck to the sole of his shoes!  I almost threw up!

Then tonight, Aaron and I were at the grocery store (think Target) and a Korean man was shopping with his wife.  I was a couple feet to the right of him and all of a sudden, without even looking where his mouth was pointed, he spit... INSIDE THE STORE... IN THE FRUIT SECTION... and as if that wasn't bad enough, MOST OF IT WENT IN MY BASKET!

Oh Korea... I love you so... but some things just drive me crazy about ya!

Happy St. Patricks Day!

To celebrate St. Patricks Day, Gill and I headed over to Thursday party at Gwangali Beach, for a couple drinks and some girl time!

While I'm not a beer drinker, I will say, I kinda wish I liked it, because Thursday Party had green beer for $2.50!  Very fun and festive for St. Pattys!

We ran into Anne and Crystal there too, which was a great added bonus to our girl night!  These 3 girls are some of the funniest girls I know!  It's nearly impossible not to smile when you're with them!  I love it!

Cheers to great girlfriends and an extra cheer to the late missionary and Bishop of Ireland, St. Patrick!

"I am Patrick, yes a sinner and indeed untaught;

yet I am established here in Ireland where I profess myself bishop.

I am certain in my heart that "all that I am,"

I have received from God.

So I live among barbarous tribes, a stranger and exile

for the love of God."

My news debut!

As a young child, I had 2 lofty aspirations - I was dead set on either becoming a maid (no joke) or a news reporter!  I couldn't think of anything better than cleaning and being a famous person on TV!  Who knew I'd become a teacher in a foreign land and actually live out 1 of my aspirations!

Every elementary school in Korea has a news broadcast in the mornings, run 95 % by the students!  They fix the mic controls, man the cameras and give the signals throughout the broadcast!  It's amazing to see children with such a big responsibility!

On Wednesdays, Okk (my co-teacher) and I have our own little 10 minute English broadcast!  I'm l-o-v-i-n-g it!  I guess I am a sucker for attention!

Here we are this past Wednesday, after the show, with the 6th graders who run the program!

Okk and I taught about American culture our 1st week!  I spoke in English and she translated for me!  

My news reports may be for an audience of 470 Korean elementary children and consist of "story telling," American history, breakfast foods and making smoothies, but I'm still living out my dream, right?!  Man, I love this job!

Sound the alarms!

I'm always alarmed when I hear the alarms!  (No pun intended!)  Once a month, Pusan does an emergency drill, where they blast alarms and announcements, through loud speakers, all over town!  Literally, no matter where you are, I guarantee, you'll hear it! 

Growing up in Fountain Valley, we never had anything like this, so I'm always super shocked when I hear the alarms go off...  But to be honest, I'm really impressed with the way Koreans are able to instantly spread pertinent information; especially when Tsunamis and gigantic earthquakes have been happening nearby.  Today I shot a video out of my window.

So, trust me, if something happens in Korea (a war, a tsunami, a fire, etc...) I'll instantly know about it and run for cover!!  Praying that'll never really happen, but glad things are in place, just incase.  :)

Stella's Back!

I'm ssoooo happy to have Stella back from America!  As you may or may not know, Stella was my very first co-teacher in Korea back in March of 2009!  She and I instantly hit it off and became the best of friends... and have stayed close ever since!  But she's spent the last 6 months living and working in New Jersey as an English assistant teacher in a 1st grade classroom... She even spent a couple weekends with my sister Amy in Manhattan!   That was fun to share my Korean friend with my American sister!

Tonight we met up in Nampodong, at one of our favorite Korean restaurants, for delicious, grilled at the table, thinly sliced pork, sprouts, and some other yummy rabbit-style-food mixed in! 

We picked up right where we had left off, which was sooo fun! 

I'm beyond excited to have my sweet Stella back!

Happy White Day!

It was White Day today, one of Korea's many holidays where men buy their girlfriend's gifts to celebrate their love!  According to wikipedia, White Day gifts are traditionally cookies, jewelry, white chocolate, white lingerie and marshmallows!  My co-teachers were especially counting on Aaron to give me some yummy chocolate, which I would in-turn bring to work tomorrow to share with them!  
Luckily, Aaron does NOT dissapoint!  He bought me a box of chocolates (mostly because I told him Okk and Monica were counting on him!) to go along with our date night to see Black Swan!

  

Thank you A!  I love you... and so do my co-teachers!

Happy Music Monday!

Forgive me for falling off the Music Monday's bandwagon a couple months ago!  I don't know what happened...  Anyway, I'm hoping I'll be able to redeem myself from my lack of follow through with Music Mondays, by sharing this gem of absolute genius and CRAZINESS from the children of North Korea!!

Monica wears TOMS!

You couldn't imagine the surprise on my face when I noticed that my new Korean co-teacher, Monica, was wearing TOMS yesterday!

I knew she was awesome, but now I REALLY know she's awesome!  When I asked her where she found them (since they're impossible to find in Korea), she said "Oh, I bought them online at the TOM'S website. My daughter told me that if I bought a pair, the company would give a pair to someone who needs shoes, so I bought some!"

*** 10 bonus point for Monica! ***

English Tea and Coffee

It's not what you think!  This post is NOT about English Tea, but it is about speaking English while drinking tea and coffee!  Yay!  Tonight, I went to a darling coffee shop in Nampodong with two of my single co-workers (the married one's always have to run home to their kids and husbands and start cooking dinner).  The best part about it was the fact that we spoke English THE ENTIRE TIME, and not the baby beginner English, the grown up - American style English!  Ahhh, what a wonderful treat that was!  

These two are some of the sweetest Christian women, and the most fluent English speakers I've met in Korea!  Can you believe I'm lucky enough to get to see them everyday at work?!  Such an answer to prayer!   Hyun Jung (math teacher), Me, and Okk (one of my English co-teachers)!

 

Aaron

I always write about myself on here, but today I'm dedicating a blog post to my other half and his amazing photographs!   Aaron has basically taught me all I know about lighting, camera settings, focusing, etc, and has made my pictures so much better over the past year and a half!  He just recently bought a vintage NIKON film camera and has been shooting film images as well as digital!!  I thought I'd share his flick'r link with you, so you can check it out for yourself... and see just one more reason why I love him so! 

Click below:

Aaron's photographs

Spotted!

I was spotted by one of my students, after school, today.  It was bound to happen, since I live in the same neighborhood, take the same busses, and shop at the same markets as them...  But you know what the kid (5th grade boy) said to me?

"Hello.  Where is the boyfriend?!"

How is Aaron already more popular than me?  I showed them two pictures of the guy, during my power point presentation about myself, and now they're hooked!  Uuugghhh. 

Dinner Party!

In honor of Okk (right) and my's first week at DaeGyo, Monica, my co-teacher, took us out to a delicious Italian restaurant on the 11th floor of the new Lotte Building in Nampodong for dinner!  I love these girls and have so much fun when we're together!  Their English is great, and they're both so enthusiastic, positive, and funny!

We ordered risoto, pasta, and pizza, and shared it all - Korean style!

Then, after dinner, we walked over to Angel In Us, one of Korea's most famous coffee shops, for some coffee, but after Okk noticed the nearby Baskin Robbins, we all headed for ice cream instead!

It's so nice to have female Korean co-workers who love hanging out outside of work!  I think I'm going to have a lot of fun working with these 2 especially, and sharing an office space!  It's such a nice feeling to always have someone around to talk to!  Today, in the middle of the afternoon, the 3 of us crowded around Monica's desk and chatted about life, while we ate Korean rice snacks and drank tea like old girlfriends would!  My cup runeth over!  :)

Double date!

Dates in general are wonderful, but having the chance to double date with another couple you enjoy being around, brings a whole new dynamic to the table, doesn't it!?

This afternoon, Aaron and I met our friends Brian and Amber for some Vietnamese cuisine at a new restauarant in Nampodong called Pho!   Hot Pho soup was the perfect remedy for my

crazy cough that I've been fighting for the past week!

After lunch, we headed over to play some screen golf on the 6th floor of a highrise building in Nampodong!  Brian was under the impression that he was supposed to look at this hands while he swung, instead of keeping his eyes on the ball!   So, Aaron graciously (and thankfully) gave him some pointers before we officially started!

Screen golf is a little like bowling, in that, when it's not your turn, you can sit back, relax, and talk with everyone!  It's the perfect activity for a double date!

We had lots of laughs!  It was Amber's first time ever attempting to golf, and on top of that, our sensor was out of whack and would send our balls in opposite directions of what we hit them...  This can be more frustrating than funny sometimes!  One time, it sent Amber's ball 150 meters when she had hit it so softly, it barely reached the screen!  

My goal was to get so close to the hole (without it giving me a double par and ending my chance at finishing the hole) that the floor would rise and I would get to hit a ball into the ACTUAL hole in the ground!  I only got a chance to do this ONCE in all the hole's we played, and I didn't even make it in!  ggrrr. But the fun part about screen golf is that if you pick up another ball and place it in the hole it thinks you made it!  :)

This is Amber and Brian.  (Amber is from Vancoover, Canada... and Brian is from Wisconsin.)  They have both been in Korea for 3 years and will probably be staying for a long time, too!  I'm telling you, this place is the place to be right now! 

Will someone please give this guy some A.D.D. medicine or something!  I can't tell you how many times we go to pose with a timer and he does something like this!  You can't see it, but he's throwing a golf ball up in the air!  I guess, if I think about it, it always makes me laugh... so I can't complain!  I love him JUST the way he is!

Cheers to a fun night with great friends!

Blondes have more fun!

...which is why I went back to it!  I've been thinking about how much I miss my blonde hair for a while now, so yesterday during my lunch break, I called and made an appointment with Gill's Korean hair dresser (Young Na)...

He is practically famous among foreigners in Busan; especially blondes, for being able to do highlights without turning his clients hair orange (or in my case bright yellow!  Remember that time?)!  He worked, and did his training, in London for 2 years, and has been back in Busan for the past 10 years!  He's probably the only hair dresser in Busan who had training with foreigners, which makes him a HOT COMODITY around here!  In fact, 90% of his clients are foreign, and unless you have an appointment, you can forget about it!  He's always fully booked!

This is his new place!  His salon is located upstairs in the ARK building... 

...and downstairs on the first floor, he built a hip and stunningly charming and art deco-ish cafe and bar for salon customer! 

Young Na met me at the door and welcomed me in with a smile!  We chatted for a little bit about what I wanted, and then he quickly got to work!  It's been a long time since I've had foils and bleach in my hair...

I had lots of time to relax while the bleach set in... but instead of sitting in an uncomfortable salon chair, I sat in the lounge area of his salon, where there's free wifi, ENGLISH gossip magazines, and all the comforts of home!   He handed me a menu while I was waiting and said, "drinks are on me this time, because it's your first time here!"   Ooooo!  So, I graciously obliged and ordered an iced caramel mocha, which was absolutely heavenly delicious!

After I was finished, Young Na gave me the grand tour of his new place!  It's such an amazing salon, which I recommend to EVERYONE living in Korea!  Granted, it's uber expensive, but completely worth it in my opinion!  You're paying for the hair, experience, and pampering, right?!

3 hours later, I said my goodbyes and headed home as a blonde! 

Tah dah!

Next time I'm gonna go even more blonde! Woot woot!

The Hair by Young Na

Busan Suyeong-gu Namcheon-dong 45-21

Tel. 051.612.8770

mobile. 010.4859.8770

e-mail. ben8770@hanmail.net

Why are you yelling?!

For the most part, my new apartment is nice and quiet, despite the fact that I'm literally right above a busy restaurant!  But sometimes, the fruit truck (similar to the ice cream truck in America) comes at a snail's pace, down my street, roaring it's pre-recorded-audio-sales-pitch, from loud speakers atop the truck!  It comes so often, I nearly have the pitch memorized!

Once in a while, I'll hear men yelling outside my window, while walking up and down my street!  It's the kind of yelling you would hear from the "Get your popcorn!!" guy at the major league baseball games!  I've always wondered what they're selling, so tonight, I opened my window, stuck my head out, looked down, and inspected the situation. 

I got caught inspecting when he looked right up at me!  I spoke to him in Korean, asking what he was selling and how much it was.  I was just curious, but the next thing I knew, he was walking toward's my apartment's entrance and coming up the stairs to my apartment.  I opened the door with my wallet in hand, feeling terrible that I had led him to believe that I ACTUALLY wanted what he was selling!
Luckily though, he was selling Korean traditional rice cakes, which I happen to like!  These are a rare (and more expensive) type because they are more sticky, served cold, and individually wrapped in banana leaves!

How could I resist a darling little box of rice cakes...

... from a man at my door, who had been yelling outside my window just minutes before!  Chalk that one up to a funny Korean experience and the first time I've ever bought something from a man yelling outside my window!

My 1st day of school!

Introducing Dae Gyo Elementary School!

Today was my first day of work at my new school, and it's fair to say, I ALREADY LOVE IT!  One of the funniest things happened as soon as I walked in the front door.  Monica, my co-teacher, met me by the shoe cabinets and said, "Jill, the principal can't say Alexis, so he wants you to pick a new name!  Can you pick a new name in 5 minutes?  You'll be introducing yourself and making a speech in front of the students and staff this morning!"  Talk about pressure - only having 5 minutes to chose a new name for yourself and come up with a speech!  Luckily, I'm quick on my toes after working in Dynamic Korea for 2 years!

5 minutes later...  (I'm standing at a podium in front of hundreds of kids and the staff)

"Goodmorning!  I am your new English teacher and my name is Chelsey!"  So weird! 

This is the beginning of the hallway, leading to my classroom!  Last year, my classroom was on the 4th floor.  This year I'M ON THE 5TH FLOOR!  If my legs don't look like a super model's by the end of the school year, I'm gonna be really dissapointed!

This is my classroom!  This classroom is soooo much brighter than my last one!  I can't help but smile when I walk in!

This is the view the student's have from the back of the class! ... and those are my 2 co-teachers, in the front of the room!

This is Ohk.  She is a part time English teacher at Dae Gyo, so I will teach six (5th and 6th grade) classes a week with her!  She's a doll and is so sweet, outgoing, and helpful!  I love her already!

and this is Monica!  She and I will be teaching 14 classes a week together!  She is, hands down, the most wonderful Korean woman I have ever met!  NO JOKE!  She laughs, and smiles all day long, and is such a positive a fun person to be around!  I'm completely and utterly blessed to get to work with these two rays of sunshine!  At one point in the day, we all met around my desk and talked about how fun the year is going to be, all working together and becoming friends!

In addition to having wonderful co-teachers, I also have a great office in the English library area of the classroom!  My desk is on the far right of the picture!  (This room is attached to the English classroom.)

...and I definitely lucked out with a great view out my office windows!  Last year, my view was of a mountainside lined with tombstones... and now THIS! 

As you know, my school is on an island, and it happens to be situated right on the port!  (This is the view, from the hallway outside my classroom.)

and as if that wasn't enough to completely sell me on why I love my new school... this completely sealed the deal - a FREE coffee machine!  That's right, I can have the most delicious, Korean style, milk coffee, any time of the day, as many times as I want (I'll be sure not to overdo it!)!!

Ordering supplies is as easy as cake, I can turn on the heater ANYTIME I want to in my class, there are drinking fountains on every floor, and there's actually toilet paper, soap, AND paper towels in the bathrooms here!  It's the little things that make me happy, I guess!

Oh, and the Principal took all the new teachers out to lunch today!  We had my favorite, bi bim bap!!

I'm over the top excited and happy about my new school!  The staff is wonderful, young, and most of them can actually speak English, which means I'll have lots of new people to hang out with!  I'm secretly hoping that the 2 gorgeous female teachers who look like they belong in the Korean pop group 소녀시대 (Girl's Generation) will give me make-up and fashion tips over the year!! :)

Can't wait to introduce you to my students!  That'll happen sometime next week, since my classes don't start till Monday (another reason why I love my new school!  They gave me the first 3 days to acclimate!  haha)