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