Yeongdo Meet Up!

About a week ago, Aaron, Meagan and I were talking about how we should find a way to get all the Yeongdo English teachers together for dinner... We knew there were other foreigners on the island, but just didn't know who!  So, on Monday, I sent out a post on the Facebook "English Teacher's in Korea" page inviting anyone who lived on Yeongdo to dinner at the Samgyupsal place under my apartment!   I wasn't all that worried if no one showed bu the 3 of us, but we were all hoping at least a couple people would turn out!  

Fortunately, we had 9 people come, 6 of which I had never met, or even seen on the island!  

We all had such a great time getting to know each other and sharing stories about our lives back home (America, Canada, and Puerto Rico) and in Korea!  We're planning to get together again for grilled clams in some BBQ tents on one of the beaches on the island!  Cheers to living on Yeong-do!

Date night, Italian style!

 What girl doesn't love a text saying, "Do you wanna have dinner together after our workouts tonight?"  I do! I'm a huge sucker for date nights!  Aaron and I have been together so long now, and spend so much time together, that it seems we don't really need to go on dates to "reconnect" or "re-ignite the flame", so to say... but, he takes me out anyway, and I love it!   Last night we went to Amant, a new Italian/Asian place that just opened in Nampodong!  It was on my blog about restaurants I wanted to check out before leaving Busan!

The food was to die for!  It was so good, I actually found the manager to tell him just how much I loved it!  Everyone loves a compliment, right?!

Any time you can see directly into the kitchen of a place, you know you're getting good quality food!  That's the truth for this place!  Not only was the food amazing, the atmosphere was romantic, classy, and just plain comfortable.  We sat for a couple hours, just chatting away...

 

... and feasting on this steak and pepper Asian/Italian fusion spaghetti, caesar salad, bruschetta, gorgonzola pizza (YES PLEASE!) and a fresh limeaid slushy! 

After dinner, we took a stroll through the shops in Nampodong and enjoyed the cool weather!  This season, minus the stickiness from the rain, is fantastic!

I stopped to snap a picture of Aaron, and an old drunk Korean man excitedly stumbled over to me, with his equally drunk and excited girlfriend, snatched my camera and shewed me over towards Aaron so he could take our picture!  It turned out pretty good for having a drunk photographer behind the lens! :)

Aaron, thank you for loving, respecting, and caring for me! I love you... and love our life together in Korea!  I wouldn't have it any other way!

Headin' to kindergarten!

Every morning, I wave good morning to this kindergarten student who rides his bike (all alone) with cute little training wheels, in the middle of the street, all the way to his school!  Cars constantly swerve around him as he wobbles on his rickety little bike.  

Serious, where are his parents?  

Crafty hands!

I've been told I have "crafty hands," which is a complement as far as I'm concerned!  I've always loved making jewelry, sitting for hours-stringing popcorn for christmas tree garland, hand cutting tiny pieces of paper to make personalized greeting cards, decorating cakes, meticulously hand sewing entire homes worth of bedding, pillows, and curtains, and more recenrly, decorating my english classroom!  And by "more recently," I mean, "today!" 

I came to work this morning and found out I didn't have any classes due to test prep!  Ssoooo, I put my "crafty hands" to work to decorate a couple walls that needed a change of scenery!  Monica had commented a couple times about how she wished she was creative enough to come up with a way to change them!  

So, I considered it my little gift to her, since it is technically her classroom afterall! :)  

I went next door to the teachers resource room and collected some paper and felt and got to work!  I made this wall first!  These are random questions we ask our students on almost a daily basis during the lessons.  Some of them STILL can't remember what they mean, so these are for them!  No excuses now kiddos!

This one took about 4 hours because I had to write the Korean sentences over and over again to get the spaces and the characters just right...  The title took 5 minutes... butterflies took 10 mins... flowers 5 mins... and the rest was salvaged from the last board! :)  Good news was, when this one was finished, the kids came in for class and were reading all the sentences and crowding around the board!  I love their enthusiasm!

I had 4 sentences left and no room to put them, so I stuck them on the adjacent wall... but they were lonely all by themselves, so I added some balloons with the names of colors!  Aaron said this was his favorite!  Who doesn't love a wall of balloons, right?!  It took about 10 minutes to make and hang the balloons.  Luckily I had some twine from DAISO in my drawer that worked perfectly for the ribbon! 

Piece of cake!

By this time, I was on a roll and wasn't ready to stop!  So, I decided to re-do the other huge wall in the back of the classroom!  I thought a big tree would be cool, which I could make into a family tree lesson wall!  Luckily there were huge sheets of green and brown felt to make the tree, so I got to cutting!  All in all, this one took about 4 hours!   Luckily the street and house scene at the bottom were salvaged too!  I love the way it turned out!

Can't wait to come to work tomorrow and enjoy my new decor!  

It's all in a days work for this girl and her crafty hands! 

Dinner at Okk's!

Last night, Okk had Aaron and I over to her family's home for dinner!  Yes, she still lives at home.  It's the thing to do in Korea. People live with their families until they marry.  She said this was one of the first time's she'd ever had guests over, other than family members, to eat dinner!  It's really uncommon for Koreans to invite friends over to their homes. They'll usually meet friends for coffee or dinner somewhere else.  I'm not sure why?  Maybe they're embarrassed to show their homes.  Who knows?  Anyhow, I knew this was a big deal for her to have us over, and an even more big deal for her family, who can't speak English!  She said they were really nervous, so we made sure to come bearing gifts, and big warm smiles! :)

Okk cooked her "own special food!"  The main dish was a cabbage, topped with mayonaise, teriyaki sauce, dried fish scales, and strips of bacon.  She said it's a type of Japanese dish. (She lived in Japan for a year!)  Then, she made cabob's with cucumber, tomato, bacon, and balls of rice, seaweed, and cheese!  .... and no meal is served without soup and kimchi! 

Okk lives with her mom, dad, older brother, sister in law, neice (5 yrs old), and nephew (1 yr old).  Unfortunately, her neice, brother and dad were away at her neice's kindergarden talent show, so we only got to meet her nephew, mom, and sister in law, who don't speak English at all, but definitely know how to smile and make you feel welcome in their home!  We had such a great time with her family.

Okk is definitely one of my favorite Korean's I've met since living here! She's funny, quirky, smart, outgoing, sensitive, caring, and like a sister to me!  Not to mention, she can speak fluent English and understands our jokes and sarcasm!  She's a gem and a total blessing in my life!

Silver Town

Once a month, some of my school's 5th and 6th grade students visit a retirement home, which they call "Silver Town!"  ...obviously a ko-nglish term!  So, yesterday, I was asked to come along to take pictures so my school could submit an article (with my pictures), to the city newspaper, about their philanthropic adventures!  Let me think... leave work early, take photo's of adorable kids and old people, that could potentially be published in a foreign newspaper, and help people while I'm at it. Done and done! 

So, we arrived around 2:30pm, and the staff began wheeling in all of the "old folks," which automatically felt really depressing.  I never wanna be stuck in a place like that! 

I immediately had a new respect for my principal, who's idea it was to come here and have a mini talent show to lift their spirits.  The kids were so cute and excited to perform!

But, it wasn't long after the show began that I realized the real reason my principal organized this show. Anytime I would take a picture of the kids, he would run over and say, "Chelsey, only photo of the whole room and me making saxophone with sign! Very important Chelsey!"  It wasn't about lifting the old folk's spirits or helping them in any way!  It was about him getting recognition when an article would be published about what a "wonderful principal he is" in the newspaper! Uggghhhh... I was immediately turned off, and dissapointed with Koreans in general.  It seems that nearly every philanthropic thing that Koreans do (which is a lot) is for their own personal gain... and you better believe there will lots of pictures to prove their act and a professionally made sign, hanging on the wall, to tell everyone who they are and where they're from.  Here's the sign my school paid to have made.  My principal moved it 3 times during the show, just to make sure it was in a good location for the pictures.  Ridiculous, huh?!  I don't know exactly what it says, but I can tell you my school's name is printed on it TWICE!  Recognition, recognition, recognition...

So, there I was, standing in the back of the room, taking boring pictures of the back's of their heads, like this, so they can be submitted in the newspaper and people can praise my pincipal for his acts of service!  SAD!

And of him "making the saxohpone," of course! 



When I got back to my desk at work, my phone rang... which I never answer, because usually as soon as I say "Hello," the person on the other end just hangs up on me!  So, I didn't answer this time either, but I figured it was my principal asking me to send him the pictures!  Sure enough, I was right, because when I didn't answer my phone, he walked up to my office.  "Chelsey, see photo's please!"  I showed him a couple of my favorite shots of the students, but he didn't seem interested at all... He kept saying, "next, next, next"  until we got to the pictures of him, playing the saxopone, with the sign, and the room full of people.  He said "OH, STOP," got really close to the screen and smiled.  His response? "Chelsey, very good!"  I ended up sending him 45 pictures of the adventure... some adorable pictures of the kids performing, old people smiling, and the kids interacting with them... but I can guarantee the picture that will be submitted will be of him, the sign, and his silly little saxophone.  sad... 

Put some clothes on!

Yes, I really did witness this... at 4:45pm, in broad daylight, on my walk home from work yesterday!  I'll be honest, it kinda stopped me in my tracks and made me chuckle a bit!  In America, you would be charged with indecent exposure and sent to jail if you were standing, naked, in public.  Not in Korea!  As I got closer, a police officer began to walk towards him and proceeded to calmly walk him home!  Only in Korea! 

You're invited!

Now, THIS is what I call a wedding invitation!  

It was so big it arrived in a box! 

 

Sarah, you're i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-e!  So glad you're my best friend!  Thanks for taking the time to make such special invitations for your wedding guests!  I speak for everyone who is invited when I say, THANK YOU!  I can only imagine what a stunningly creative dreamland your wedding will be!

Culture Day!

In Korea, elementary school's have what they call "Culture Days" where the teachers are allowed to leave work 2-3 hours early, for the purpose of doing something cultural!  The time is supposed to be spent hiking mountains, visiting museums or city parks, or touring a famous Korean historical site, but instead, we went to a movie!  So, when the principal asked where I was going when he signed my attendance sheet, I was told to say, "I don't know!"  Sneaky, I know!

There were tons of great Korean films playing, but the girls voted on The Lincoln Lawyer, which is pronounced "Leen-con Byun-ho-sa", because they wanted me to be able to understand the movie!  Very sweet!  :)

Here we all are, in the waiting room of the movie theater!  After you buy your ticket, you wait here and 5 minutes before the movie starts, you're allowed to enter! :)

After the movie, we walked over to Lotte for some dinner at Anna Bina (I think), a fancy Italian restaurant on the 9th floor where we feasted on seafood risotto, pizza, mozarella spaghetti, and some other fancy pastas.  We each ordered our own meal, but in true Korean style, everyone shared! 

 

I think we all needed a little girl time, and time away from work, to relax and enjoy each others company!  Cheers to another successful Culture Day!

Lotte Giants!!

It's a mystery to me why Aaron and I haven't been to more Lotte Giants baseball games since we've lived in Korea!  We both love baseball, and going to the games, and heck, the tickets are only $9.00!  It's such a fun date night!  Last night, we went to our first game of the 2011 season and had such a great time!  We wanted to sit with the rowdy crowd (above 1st base) but the tickets were all sold out, so we ended up above 3rd base, which ended up being perfect!

We were sitting amidst a crowd of co-workers who had brought a HUGE box of chips, meat, drinks, and ice cream, and were constantly offering us food and drinks!  (How awesome is it that you can bring your own food into baseball games here?  Movie theaters, too!)  One of the co-workers had brought his young son who was such a shmooch!  His English name was Martin, but couldn't speak a lick of English!

  

Then, like clockwork, at the beginning of the 7th inning, the orange trash bags came out!  These bags are passed throughout the crowd for the fans to collect their trash and throw it away, but the fans have turned it into a fantastic tradition of tying them on their heads to create a sea of orange heads (Lotte's colors are orange and black), until the game ends!   The guys sitting next to us snapped this photo with my iphone!  No shame!

I am loving this time of the year in Korea!  The nights are cool, but warm enough to wear short sleeve shirts and my rainbows, and as the sun goes down, it paints the sky in gorgeous hues of pink and purple!  I could definitely get used to this!

We left at the beginning of the 9th inning to bypass the crowd, and it was a tied game 3-3!  Not sure who won, but it didn't matter to me!  It was just fun to go to a game and be surrounded by avid fans who were also fans of sharing their yummy snacks!

Movie on the beach!

Last night, I took Aaron out (every guy deserves to be taken out once in a while!) to an awesome Vietnamese restaurant in Gwangali for some yummy pho and spring rolls!   Nothing like being greated by a life size Vietnamese statue when you walk in!

After dinner, we walked along the beach to the far east end for the Gwangali Beach Theater!  I've always wanted to come to the beach to watch a movie, but for whatever reason, I've never actually made it, until last night!  Aaron was a good sport and sat with me through Street Dance, a mediocre British film about street dancers teaching ballet dancers how to dance!  haha 

When the movie started, we got comfy on the sand, while sitting on my Thai sarong, which is much more Asian than a beach towel!  The sky was stunning in pinks and purple as the sun went down behind the mountains! 

I've gotta hand it to Korea.  They're always trying to come up with new ways to bring in tourists!  I don't think a movie on the beach is gonna do it, but it's definitely a fun start!  

After the movie, we went over to Seven Luck Casino for a couple games of roulette!  Lucky for us, we were both BIG winners last night!  I won 94,000 won ($87)  and Aaron won 140,000 won ($128.00)!  Thank you Seven Luck... AGAIN!

I stole Serry!

Well, I didn't really steal her, but I did take her for a run and then up to my apartment for some play time before bringing her back! 

Oh, how I miss having a dog around!!

Running Partners!

I've always wanted a running partner!  Problem is, I've never been a good runner, and most people with running partners get together and run miles and miles everyday!  I needed someone who could run a 1/2 mile... stop... rest... and then another 1/2 mile back!  Well, lucky for me, I've got myself a running partner, and a new friend!  I met Meagan when my school's volleyball team played hers a little while back.  Turns out, we're neighbors and live less than a 5 minute walk from each other!  We had dinner together on Thrusday and decided to become running partners to get our summer bodies ready for the beach!

We mapped out our jog/run with www.mapmyrun.com (which is awesome by the way!) and did a full pace run for 1/2 mile to Home Plus and then jogged back .62 miles, stopping at the convenient store for some ice cream at the end!  I realize this completely negates the calories we burned during the workout, but we felt we should celebrate our first day of running together!  

 

May there be many more neighborhood runs to come!

Crazy Hair Punishment!

Some of the teachers at my school are extra creative when it comes to punishments for not turning in homework!  헤란, the 5th grade teacher makes the boys put girls barrette's in their hair....

... and the girls have to put half of their hair up in a loop on the top of their head for the whole day!

Is it bad that before I knew this was a punishment I actually complimented her on her fun new hairstyle?!

K-League Soccer!

On Wednesday night, Aaron and I attended a K-League (AKA: Korea Professional Football League) FA Cup soccer game at nearby Gudeok Stadium between FC Seoul and Busan Transportation Corp FC. While the stadium seats close to 24,000 people, I'd wager that only about 300 people were at the game, most of which were foreigners living and teaching English in Busan!  Oh, and it was only 2,000 won (about $1.75!)

We plopped down in the foreigner section and had a great time laughing along with the guys behind us holding megaphones, chanting things like, "Give me a (insert alphabet letter)" ultimately spelling out "B-u-s-a-n  T-r-a-n-s-p-o-r-t-a-t-i-o-n  C-o-r-p-o-r-a-t-i-o-n  F-o-o-t-b-a-l-l  C-l-u-b."  It took nearly 10 minutes to spell the team's name!    

My 2nd favorite was to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it".  "If you ride the Busan subway, clap your hands!  If you ride the Busan subway, clap your hands!  If you ride the Busan subway, and ........... (Can't remember the words), If you ride the Busan subway, clap your hands!"  Funny because the Busan team is owned by the city's transportation department!

But, I'd have to say... my favorite part of the whole night was when the sky lit up in gorgeous tones of pink and purple, Aaron put his arm around me, and the first goal was scored!

Unfortunately, it was a goal for the other team!  FAIL... Better luck next time Busan!

Restaurant Row!

You'll have to forgive me for my last 5 posts, which for whatever reason have all revolved around food or vegetables!  I don't know what's gotten into me!  But for whatever it's worth, you'll have to put up with just one more!  I can't go another day without shouting from the rooftops how awesome this street is in Nampodong!  

 

It's honestly a hidden gem!  There's hardly ever anyone walking here, and it's easy to miss it...  If you live in Korea, you have to check it out!  

(***the purple street)

 I'm head over heels for all these restaurants offering everything from pork and sprouts cooked at your table...

 ...to Oh-Dang (Yes, that's the name of a Korean dish!)... 

...to grilled meats of all types in a Japanese inspired shougun atmosphere...

...to buffalo meat... (I think)

... to unbelievable boneless fried chicken and chips...

.. to burgers and coffee on the 2nd floor...

...to Japanese ramen noodles...

... to beer and other yummy stuff...

... to traditional Japanese food and wines...

... to Korean traditional pancakes, noodles, and veggie dishes...

... to more amazing deep fried chicken...

... and finally, to more Japanese food!!

 So, before you head to Haeundae or Gwangali to eat at Breeze Burns or Fuzzy Navel on the boardwalk (No offense to those places) come to my side of town and plop down at something a little more original and ethnic!  I promise it won't disappoint!  Who knows, maybe I just introduced you to your new favorite spot! (wink, wink!)