I can't believe I...

... 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!

The Insane Assylum

So, it turns out, there is a huge Insane Assylum behind our school. Lovely, huh?! You would think that the government would think twice about putting an Insane Assylum within 500 feet of an elementary school... Hey, gotta love Korea.

More funny Engrish!

Yesterday, at lunch, Stella said, "When women LAY a baby, the husbands usually give them a beautiful necklace (as a gift)." I laughed and said, "Stella, Chicken's lay eggs. Women give birth to babies!"

I asked our school nurse how long she had been married. Her response was, "2000 years," which made me laugh! Obviously she meant 9 years, since she got married in 2000.

I got a funny compliment last night when I was shopping. I was trying on a rain coat and the woman working at the store said, "You are beautiful door." I asked her, "a door?" and motioned like I was opening and closing a door, and she said, "Yes, You are a beautiful door." haha

Last week, I was on the subway, talking with some Korean high school age boys. When we got off the subway, one looked at me and said, "You have small face and big nose." At first, I was shocked at his remark, since having a big nose in America is far from a compliment, but in Korea, they all want bigger/higher noses... so I quickly turned my frown upside down and said, "Thank you!"

Last Wednesday, some of the 5th grade girls in my after school class asked me if my eyelashes were fake. I obviously took that as a compliment, but they legitimately could not believe that my eyelashed were as long as they are! :)

Today, in my after school English class, we were playing a very competitive game. It was boys against girls and when the boys team lost a point, one of them said, "Oh shit!" Mind you, this kid can barely say "Hello, how are you?" Why can he say "shit"? Lovely...

Our Saturday with Stella and Mr. Gong!

Yesterday (Saturday), Kev and I spent the day with Stella and her fiance, who I call "Mr. Gong."  We started the day off with lunch at Outback Steakhouse.  It was the 1st time we had gone to a Western style restaurant since arriving in Korea, so it was a nice treat!  What was even nicer was when Stella and Mr. Gong offered to pay for it!  They said it was their birthday gift to us and a "thanks" for letting them hang out at our apartment while we were in Japan!  

After lunch, we drove to a beautiful park and took a walk along the coast, down this tree lined path!

Stella said we looked like we were in a magazine and snapped our picture. :)

I had a feeling Stella and her fiance did not have many pictures together, so I snapped a bunch of them throughout the day to develop and give to her as a gift for taking us all around the city.

During the walk, we stumbled across the APEC building, where many of the world leaders met for a summit meeting in 2005.  It was a fascinating experience.  Just outside the APEC building, I spotted this budding photographer... What a cutie huh?!

We continued on our walk along the coast, past this lighthouse... 

We stopped for a little hip exercise!

...enjoyed the view...

... said "hello" to the mermaid...

... and ended our walk at the west end of Haeundae Beach.  We jumped back in the car and headed for our next adventure.  We stopped here, in a quaint little beach town with this beautiful pagoda.   This was where Stella and Mr. Gong had their 1st date.

We spotted this sign and are praying for great weather this Tsunami season!

We were all having so much fun together, so once again, we jumped in the car and headed east.

They ended up taking us to Yongsung Temple, which is perched on the rocks around the Sea!   This is one of 12 statues that commemorates people's birthdays.  Since we were born in 1981, we are turkeys!  gobble, gobble!

The entrance...

The lanterns...

There was tons of mist in the air, which was really cool... You could actually see it rolling through the temple grounds.  

We ended the night with a tour of their future apartment, and a really great dinner.  Yesterday was one of those days where I am so thankful that we chose Korea and that I was placed with Stella - my Korean sister.  :)

The Long Walk Home

So, tonight, I went shopping at Nampodong Market.  I ventured over there by myself, because Kevin was at a friends house for dinner.  When I was finished shopping, I looked at my watch and realized it was only 5:30pm.  There were no good movies to see at the theater, and I had already had dinner, so there was no reason for me to stay in the Nampodong area, but I wasn't ready to commit the rest of my night to sitting on my bed and playing on the computer, so.... I decided to walk home!  (7 subway stops)  Yes, I walked home from Nampodong to Goejeong, through the Daeti tunnel and everything!  3 hours later, I made it home, safe and sound, with 1 blister, 2 tingly legs, and a huge smile on my face knowing that I could tell Kev I walked home from Nampodong!!  I can't wait to see his reaction!