Sharing is Caring... and sometimes kind of gross!

Yesterday, I was sitting on my bus, waiting for it to leave the bus stop after school, and one of my 5th grade students ran up to the window with a big smile and said, "Teacher, here. See you tomorrow!" and handed me this half eaten cookie! 

She had actually been coughing all week, so for the sake of not getting ANOTHER cold, I thanked her profusely and quickly slipped it into a plastic bag I had in my purse. I've never been given a 1/2 eaten cookie before!  

Funny, Sweet, and Romantic

So, Kevin and I just finished watching the movie "In The Time of Butterflies" with Salma Hayak. It's a movie about the violence in the Dominican Republic under the regime of Trujillo. It was a sad and somewhat depressing movie, so at the end I said to Kevin, "That was depressing. Now we need to watch something funny, sweet, and romantic." He asked, "Like what?" Beore I could think of something, he had already typed the words:"funny, sweet, and romantic" into the Korean youtube website, and this came up as the most popular video for those 3 key words. We laughed so hard that we had to share it with all of you!

Just like new...

On Friday night, Stella helped me find a jewelry store that would do Rhodium plating for my wedding ring, which was looking dull and dirty.  This is a process that's very common in America, where white gold jewelry is dipped into Rhodium (the consistency of platinum) and comes out looking brand spankin' new!  I was so excited to find somewhere in Korea, and even more excited to find that it was the equivalent of $8.00, a 1/3 of the price I paid back in the states!  Heck, I might have it done every month!

Image is Everything!

I've been thinking about blogging on this topic for a while now, but when Kev told me about the Korean singing group "Big Mama," I couldn't resist! I knew it was finally time...

This is a picture of Big Mama, a quartet, known for their powerful voices, and their "big" bodies.

"These women were actually given their name because they are all overweight, by Korean celebrity standards. They don't wear size zero clothes, prance around in barely-there outfits or gyrate all over the stage when performing. So, until a top exec decided to give them a chance, these talented women had been relegated to singing backup." Can you believe this?!

It's a good thing that Korean fashion is to wear loose shirts and dresses, with leggings, because otherwise nothing would fit me in this town... and I'm a size 6!!! Forget finding a pair of jeans that would fit!

But, like the blog is titled, "image is everything" in Korea. For example... The English classroom at my school is currently being remodeled. Stella's responsibility was to chose a clock and a mirror for the room. Yes, a mirror was a necessity, "for the students to make sure they look their best," of course!

And this is a bottle of whitening lotion, which actually whitens your skin! Kevin was given this sample bottom from a beauty store near his school where he purchased some skin lotion. Apparently the clerk thought he might want it to whiten his tan skin! Koreans are crazy about this stuff, because the lighter the skin, the more beautiful you are considered. I'll be honest, I have put my bronzer away for the year, and will be wearing sunscreen and a hat when I visit the beach!

And lastly, I went to coffee with a gorgeous Korean teacher who works at my friend Jessica's school. We got onto the topic of image in Korea and she told us that her parents offered to buy her a "double eyelid surgery" so her eyes would be more beautiful. When parents give reconstructive surgery recommendations for their stunning daughters, you know that image is everything!

Time for me to go eat some carrots, so I won't be considered fat!

My morning soundtrack

On the hill behind our home, there is a small Buddhist temple.  This morning was the 1st time I could hear their drumming ritual from my apartment.  I've always been a fan of the sound of the Buddhist drums, so I muted the TV, opened all the windows and enjoyed the mix of birds chirping and monks drumming.  It was a nice reminder that I do, indeed, live in Korea.