Moohak, Happy Birthday, and Costco

I can't believe its already Sunday night, and I have to go another 5 days before the weekend comes again. Boo! I definitely appreciate my weekends a lot more now that I have to work so hard for them. Which is why this weekend was so frustrating...

Saturday, I didn't have any definite plans, but Tab and I had decided to meet up in the afternoon, after she went hiking with some other people. I declined the invite since it was still undecided until the moment they left. I figured I would sleep in, get up and clean, then meet up with Tab around 2. Well, 2pm came and went, and still no word from Tab. Around 4pm, I messaged her, thinking maybe she had gotten home and fallen asleep. Around 6pm, I was legitimately worried. She had told me she would be home at 1pm, and this is getting close to 6 hours later... By 7pm, I was mad. I spent my entire day waiting for her to contact me. Finally around 7:45, I got a message from her that she had just gotten home. 

While I know she did not have a phone to call and let me know she was going to be 7 hr late, I was still pretty upset. I value my weekend time so much, and I want to make the most of every moment. I did nothing but clean my apartment, watch movies, and lay around. I know some people would love this, and it was nice, but I also determine the quality of my day by the sense of accomplishment I feel at the end of it. I felt like I had completely wasted my Saturday. When I finally spoke to the outside world around 9pm, I was in tears. 

I am a planner; no, I am an obsessive compulsive maniac planner. I had been trying to reach my friends on the military base in Seoul to try to figure out when we were going to meet up on Sunday, and had gotten no where with that, had spent my Saturday like a hermit, and all that combined made me extremely homesick. The key to not being sad when you're away from home is to do something, go somewhere, experience something awesome and new! I had done zero of that, and felt miserable. (On a side note, I think some hormones were probably a participating factor in my completely distraught state.)  

I finally dried up the tears and went to sleep before midnight (a rarity for me these days...). I woke up today with plans to meet Michelle (my Korean BFF) for church. I left my apartment around 11am and caught a taxi. Have I mentioned how cheap cabs are here? I was in this cab for around 25 minutes, and paid less than $6. I mean... seriously? It's more expensive than public transportation, but when you need a cab, you can be glad it's this affordable!

Looks like a mega-church, right?

When I got to the neighborhood the church was in, I had to ask a little old Korean woman where it was. She sweetly pointed in the direction that the masses of people were walking (duh, should have known!). I followed her family up the slope to the church - Moohak Presbyterian Church. It reminded me of a mega-church in the states with a coffee shop, kids play area, elevators, and sleek contemporary design. I waited for Michelle by the information desk, which I thought was quite unhelpful since they offered no assistance when I was clearly looking around confused. (I mean, obviously I was there for the English service, they could have pointed me in that direction!) 

But I waited for Michelle and when she arrived, we set off for the English service. We headed in the direction of this big sancutary, and I got excited - it reminded me of several churches I'd been to before. When we got to the door, Michelle asked where to go, and we were pointed down a back alley, and told to go in the far building and up to the 4th floor.

Performing Amazing Grace

I couldn't help but laugh; sure, shuffle the foreigners off to the corner! We made our way in that direction, and finally found the room. It was the size of a small classroom, with about 15 people in it. I felt so awkward; I was 1 of 2 white people. They were in the middle of praise and worship when we entered, so we found a seat in the back and joined in. 

Well, at least these guys had a projector... the only musical instrument was an electric piano, and the vocalists... well, let's just say they should probably pursue a non-musical profession. I knew a few of the songs (although at times, between the horrible pronunciation of the words and the skipping around of the verses/chorus, I didn't totally recognize them). After we finished singing, there was a little performance of Amazing Grace by a choir-ish-thing. (A line of 5 people and a violinist). THEN the preacher came up... 

Sneaky photo taken of the pastor

I said I was 1 of 2 white people - he was the other. And he looked about 19. When he said he had a wife, I think my jaw literally dropped. The kid was young. And Canadian. I attempted to take him seriously, but he just didn't have that commanding presence. Plus, the way he talked, I'd be surprised if the audience (all 12 of them) knew what he was talking about. I mean, he didn't have an accent that was hard to understand, but he used phrases that I was fairly certain most intermediate-level English speakers would not know.

After an hour, I asked Michelle if her husband was ready to go (he had gone to the Korean service), and she said yes. We left before the service was over, but I don't think we really missed a whole lot. When we stepped out, a guy followed us. He wanted to put my phone number on a text-messaging list for the people who go to the service. Michelle explained I was just visiting and lived far away, so not sure if I would return (all of this said in Korean), and I was so thankful she saved me! I wouldn't have known how to decline politely :( 

When we were far enough away to speak freely, we both had a little laugh over the situation. She felt bad, because she didn't know it was so small and basic. I told her I didn't mind, but it wasn't what I was used to. She said that the Korean service is much better, and I told her that I actually would be interested to experience that, even if I couldn't understand any of it.

I want to add that, despite the service being lackluster, it was actually really amazing to be with brothers and sisters in Christ all the way on the other side of the world. About half of Korea is Christian, the other half is Buddhist. I didn't realize how much Christianity had permiated their society, but it was amazing to see. And, you could tell they were not there out of obligation or tradition. They wanted to be there. They love Jesus too. Just like me! We don't speak the same language, we come from totally different lives, but we were connected by a savior. Pretty amazing to experience...

We met up with her hubby (I taught her that word - she thinks its hilarious), and set off for lunch. We ended up going to a shopping complex that had a lot of food options. When we were driving into the parking garage (since they have a car! which is awesome!), the attendant was wearing a baby blue sash over his uniform. From the back seat, I couldn't see it too well, but I did see that it said "Happy BirthDay!" then had some Korean underneath it. So, being the friendly American that I am, I yelled, from the backseat of these Koreas' car, "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!" .... The guy looked completely bewildered. Michelle and her husband just start laughing so hard, and he quickly rolled up the window and scooted the car inside. Between fits of giggles, Michelle managed to get out, "Chelsea, I think it's the store's anniversary!" Hahahaha!!! Oh man... I explained to her that occasionally, in American, some people wear things like that to celebrate birthdays or bachelorette parties, etc. Not that they usually wear it to work, but I seriously thought this guy was just really excited about his birthday. I was wrong... Later, inside, I got a photo with a mannequin wearing the sash.  

Happy BirthDay!

When we got to the food court, they went through each place and explained what it was to me. I ended up getting some seafood pasta with cream sauce (without the "small fish spawn," please and thank you!). They got Korean hot-pot. We chatted, I taught them the word in-laws (they were going to see her husbands parents after lunch), and got to know each other better. I absolutely love her, and her husband is great, too. He doesn't speak as much English as she does, but he understands some. I just know that they will be friends for life, and hopefully we can all (I'm including Michael in this despite that he has no idea I've volunteered us) meet up once in a while, maybe go to Australia (where Michelle lived for 9 years) or Thailand! Couples vacations! :D

They took me to the lower level of the shopping complex to show me around, but then they had to go meet up with the in-laws, so we said our goodbyes. I called Ed and found out that I could pick up my stuff from him in the evening. Rather than go home and wait, I messaged Tab to see if she wanted to go to Costco, since there was one relatively close to where I was. I waited for her to get ready and catch the subway to where I was at (which ended up being around 1hr 45min...), and we set off for Costco.

I had known I wanted to go Costco, even if only for cheese. But, since they only sell in bulk, I knew Tab and I should go together. When we got to Costco, we split the price of the membership card (~$35), but since she was the only one with an ARC, she got to be the "holder" of the card. We will be going together all the time anyway, so it doesn't really matter. First thing, we got some food. Even though I ate 3-4 hours before, I was hungry again. We went to the food court, and I got the best food I've had in Korea: American style pizza!!!!! It was so good, I took a picture! And, to make it even better, a fountain Coke! (Convenience stores only sell bottles, and the only fast food I'd been to had Pepsi.) It was glorious!!!

While we were sitting, we had a Korean family in front of us. The little baby waved at us, and Tab and I discussed how extremely small children knew how to wave in Korea. Like, babies their age in America can only drool. I decided intelligence is not only a product of constant study and endless schooling, but it must be genetic, too. When we were throwing our trash out in the many different bins ("food waste", "plastic" "plates" "silverware" "cups" "paper" etc), I saw something that both grossed me out and intrigued me. An onion grinder machine. Apparently, Koreans love their onions. I knew I had smelled it while eating, but I didn't realize the mass quantities in which they were consumed. Literally, plates full of onions with mustard. *Shiver*

Onion machine

Each Korean had a plate full of onions.

We finished up and made our way into the insanity that was Costco. There were so many people, and they do not observe the walk-on-the-right rules we Americans stick to. They park their carts wherever they want, and don't take a hint to get out of the way! We stuck to the food floor, since that was what we came for. Both of us had our goals: mine was parmesan cheese and cream sauce for pasta. Tab's was granola and granola bars. We found all of that, and more! I found my pasta sauce and parmesan cheese very quickly, and we got Fiber One bars like in America. I also got some croissants, pancake mix, and eggs. Tab was having a hard time finding granola, so I asked a worker. He motioned me to follow, but the crowds were so thick, I had to leave Tab with the cart behind. I literally ran after the guy, and he took me to 2 different people before they could direct me to the appropriate aisle. But, in the end, we did find it! I also grabbed some frozen chicken breast, and Tab and I decided to split it, since it was all individually packaged. On a side note, I'm kind of proud that I am figuring out how to cook and eat without the use of a microwave. I mean, it sucks in a lot of ways, but I'm sure it's healthier too. 

We realized when we checked out that they don't offer to sell you bags at Costco. This is probably because 90% of what they sell would not fit in a bag. But, neither Tab nor I brought our reusable bags. Thankfully Tab had a backpack, and we were able to cram some stuff in that. The rest we carried. We flagged down a taxi and headed for my place. Walking to the cab, and from the cab to my apartment was ridiculous. I have a photo to prove it, too.

Oh, did I mention, this entire time I've been wearing HEELS?! Yes, my feet are absolutely killing me. When we got to my place, we split up the things we had decided to share. Then, we headed back out to the subway; Tab heading for home, myself for Itaewon to meet Ed with my package from home. 

So, more time on the subway, walking to the gate, and back to the subway loaded down with a backpack full, a bag of groceries, and a box with my foam mattress pad from the sates. I thought about cabbing it back home, but the fare is around $12 from Itaewon, and I'd already spent almost $10 in taxis today. I decided to just hack it on the subway. It wasn't that bad, besides taking a while. 

When I was waiting for my connecting train, a Korean guy came up and asked me how to pronounce something in English. And another word. And just kept talking. He got on the same train as I, and was telling me about how he is studying English, and wants to practice and there is no one to practice with, and would I be willing to talk to him, etc etc. I couldn't be rude; I talked to him for a while and he got my Kakao (Korean text messaging app) name, and wants to meet up sometimes.

He was very nice and I felt guilty telling him no, but I felt slightly uncomfortable with that idea. I politely told him that while he is welcome to text me to practice, when I am not at work, I prefer not to work. I think he understood. On the subway, he jabbered away. He was so excited to talk to an American; wanted to show off his knowledge of American things. He asked me to quiz him on the states and their capitals. Then he asked me one, and embarrassingly I didn't know. Well, no, I just couldn't think of it on a dime. Plus, he pronounced "Vermont" as "Beaumont" and I told him I didn't know that state. He probably thought I was an idiot. But, an English speaking idiot who was nice to him. Poor kid...

I finally made it to my home station, onto the bus, and finally to my apartment. First things first was to put my new mattress pad on my bed. Oh, man... does it make a difference or what!! I love it!! So happy I got something. The Korean mattresses are only slightly better than sleeping on concrete. 

All in all, my day was good but exhausting. I am looking forward to sleeping tonight, and maybe I'll make some pancakes tomorrow!! :)

My amazing, incredible, beautiful Korean BFF!!!

Shabu-Shabu

I'm starting to get really annoyed at Korea. Yes, I said it! I've been having issues with my door. Last night when I got home, apparently my door did not shut all the way (it usually closes by itself, and then has an electronic lock). Before I went to bed, thankfully I caught it. I had to fiddle with the locking mechanism for a minute before I got it to auto-lock. Then, this morning when I went to work, I sat there and made sure I heard the lock turn before I left. Apparently, I didn't wait/look hard/long enough, because my door was OPEN when I got home tonight. No, not wide open, but it was not shut. I think the lock did turn, but the door had not fully sealed. I pulled it open without having to punch in my code. This freaked me out! I checked all my things, and everything was still there. Thank goodness I live at the end of the hall, and Koreans are generally very honest with non-criminal tendencies. I'm starting to get pissed at this door situation.

But, in other news... IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I literally did a happy dance when I woke up. Been waiting for this day alllll week! :) I woke up a little late, again, but no matter. I treated myself to a waffle for breakfast. When I got there, I decided I wanted the choco-nut waffle, but I wanted whipped cream. Last time I ordered this as well, but without whipped cream. It would have been infinitely better with whipped cream, so I asked for it this time. What I got instead, was ICE cream. While I'm certainly not complaining, it was hilarious. And absolutely delicious. Best lost-in-translation mistake EVER. On the way back to my apartment, I got a Iced Chai Tea Latte, but I don't think the girl knew what I mean by soy milk, and my latte tasted a little funny. Who knows what ended up in my drink?!

I finished getting ready, talked to mom and dad, and left for work. When I arrived, I got all prepared, even doing the things I don't usually like read over the lessons entirely, and made the extra things like laminated cards. The laminating machine was so fun!

Classes were fairly normal. I officially can't stand my youngest kids. They are WILD, have waaay too much energy, absolutely no attention span, and have the blankest looks on their faces when I speak. My next group of kids is not much better, but the class is smaller. One girl, Belle, sometimes I wonder if she has much more than crickets going on in her head. She just stares. Today, I asked her to do her work, did she understand, and why wasn't she working? She just looked at me. Then she dropped her pencil, and when I asked her to pick it up, she looked at me like I was speaking another language. (Oh, wait... I was...) I knelt down and asked her in my most patient, simplest words, to pick up her pencil. She sat there frozen. I finally had to grab a Korean teacher to ask her to speak to Belle. The teacher had to stay the whole class to help her. Extremely frustrating. The other kids all get it. It's like some kids just don't try, don't care to learn, don't give a you-know-what that their parents are paying out the @$$ for them to come to this academy to learn English to have a better chance at a successful future!!!! *heavy, angry breathing going on as I type* Well, actually, all that is probably true, unfortunately.

My other classes got gradually better after that. The kids were extra-rowdy today. I guess they were as excited about the weekend as I was. My 2SAP girls took a quiz, which they all promised me they studied for, but I still had to not only give them a word bank, but break it up into sections so there was only 3-4 choices vs. 12 choices. Does this make sense? Like, instead of 12 words as options for #1-12, I said "#1-3 has these words as choices" etc. I was quite frustrated. I feel like I really try to help these kids, and they can't even do well then. Ah, such is the life of a teacher. We feel like we fail when our students fail. Or maybe that's just a rookie mistake.

Well, my last class was great, as it usually is. The boys were pretty hyper, but they all got 100s on both quizzes I gave them (Hallelujah!), and I was able to sit down at the table with them to work on most of the lesson. It's nice to sit down, and it's nice to be on a level with them. Maybe in Korea, this is frowned upon because the teacher seems less of an authority figure to be respected (they're all about the hierarchy), but in America I think it's a good thing. Teachers don't seem so cut off from the kids, like they are there to help and can be approached for help.

By 8:00pm, I was dancing another happy dance! I decided to make a significant effort to be friendly with my fellow foriegn teachers, and asked if anyone wanted to get dinner. We decided to go downstairs to the bottom floor of the building to get shabu-shabu. This was described to me as a soup. I will take you through my culinary journey...

First of all, we sit traditional Korean style: on the floor. Now, I'm all for the fung shui and all that, but my legs fall asleep and my back starts to ache after about 10 minutes of this business. But, when in Korea....

Thankfully, we had a Korean with us at dinner. She was able to order for us and we knew exactly what we were getting. (Well, Erin and Brian Teacher already knew since they've been here quite a few times before.)

We ordered, and they brought a bowl of broth and turned on the burner. Once the broth was nearly boiling, we added veggies. Once these had shrunk down to a normal size, we added the meat. The meat cooked very quickly, so we had our first "course" - meat and veggies. We had been given 2 bowls of spices/sauces, and I found that I really enjoyed one of them. Don't ask me what it was, because I have no idea. I greedily ate as much meat as I thought was socially acceptable, being that the whole table shared the pot.

After this "course" was finished, we let the broth heat back up and added a plate of noodles (flour, not rice, thankfully). Those cooked a while, and the broth became more of a gravy consistency. It was absolutely delicious. The best really Asian dish I've had so far (I would say "Korean" dish, but I don't think it is Korean... I think it's Japanese...).

After the noodle course, the waitress added some more broth (we were all sipping it, so it evaporated quickly), and when it was good and boiling, added the rice and egg concoction. It got very thick and was actually quite nice as well.

All in all, it was an extremely good dinner, and I tried a sip of "sansachun" which is some Korean wine made from "red fruits of the sansas" - anybody know what sansas are? Me either... It wasn't bad, though. Almost like a cider... I only had a small cup (and by Korean standards, when I say small, I mean less than a shot glass size), but I would like to try it again.

I left a bit early, giving some money to Sean for him to pay my portion of the meal, and headed home. I had left my phone at home, and felt naked without some form of communication. Mostly because Tab and I had briefly talked about our weekend plans this morning, and we hadn't decided anything when I left, so I wanted to get back and make sure she wasn't expecting me to be over there or something. And then, of course, I discovered my door is a POS and I need to get it fixed.

I decided to just stay in tonight, and good thing because it's raining now. I love that I can hear the pitter patter on my window. :) I found a few really cool things while I was procrastinating writing my blog. I love/am addicted to Instagram (photo taking app which puts cool filters on your pics). I have previously used Postagram, an app that takes your Instagram photos and turns them into postcards. It's awesome, because the price is less than buying a postcard here and mailing it, plus I can put my own photo on it! I brought to Korea a few Postagrams I had sent to myself and also received. I put one of the photos on my desk under the glass top at school, and I loved looking at it all day. I decided I wanted some more photos! So, I found two awesome websites: StickyGram and Printstagram.

StickyGram is a website that you can turn your Instagram photos into magnets! It's $15 for a sheet of 9 magnets. They also offer free worldwide shipping (awesome!!!!) and if you fancy getting some, use the code FRIENDA771 and you can get $2 off! I am super excited to get mine in the mail. I already have some photos on the fridge, but these will really help my room look more personal.

Printstagram is a website that you can get simple prints of your Instagram photos. You can do regular squares, or minis! You can also make albums and other goodies. I wanted regular squares to put on my desk, so I got a set of 24 prints for the incredible price of $12!! Unforunately, you do pay shipping here. To a US address is $7. But, including tax, my total was still less than $20. 

I am super excited to get all these photos in the mail! I am obsessed with Instagram, and I definitely see more orders for these prints in the future! **Sorry for the tangent about these companies, I am just so excited!**

I wonder what this weekend will have in store....

Immigration and Chicken Costumes

Today was a particularly long day. Not so much due to work, just sheer hours on my feet. Just so you know, this is going to be a longer blog than normal (I can just hear you: "wait, it can get longer?!"... yes, it can.) I will discuss: my walk to work, going to apply for my Alien Resident Card, and things that happened at work. Here we go...

This morning, I slept in past my alarm. Not to worry, my alarm is set for 5 hours before I actually need to be at work. So, sleeping in an extra 30 minutes is not an issue. YAY! So, I slept in a little, then got ready for work. I'm loving my own apartment, by the way. It's so nice to have my own little space. Even though the actual physical place is not tooooo much different than the motel, it's wonderful that I can make myself at home. :) 

Heading to work today with my UH cup! Thanks, Dad!

I had to be at work by 12:30 to leave to go to Immigration. I knew I had a few things to prepare for before classes, and I didn't know when we would be back from Immigration. So, I decided to go to work extra early, to make sure I was adequately prepared. This means I left at 11:30. Since I didn't technically need to be at work for an hour (and the walk takes around 15 minutes), I decided to take some photos for my loyal fans. :) I have an interesting walk to work, so I'm going to share some familiar sights with you...

First, my view crossing the street, looking back towards my apartment. 

When I get past the major street (which the photo above is crossing), I enter the neighborhood. I live ~3/4 of a mile to a mile from work. I zig-zag through a neighborhood most of the way, and there are some interesting things to see, and some interesting people who stare at you. My first favorite sight going into the 'hood is this thread store. They open up the wall in the mornings and you see this huge color-arranged wall of thread. The photo is blurry, as I was walking while I took it to avoid looking extra-weird. And there was an old man walking behind me that said something when I took this photo. I smiled and said "pretty!" as if he understood. Which he did not.

Next, I aim for alleyways, since there are fewer people to gawk at you. There is usually a lot of trash piles, which are gross, so I spared you guys a photo of that... You're welcome. After a few blocks, I see a lot of fruit and vegetable shops. They have palettes of their foods in front of tiny stores. A few places you can see old women and their daughters picking the seeds and stems off peppers, or other fruits. The piles of pre- and post- stemmed peppers are oddly beautiful. These women work hard.

Pre-stemmed on the left, stems/seeds in the middle, and ready-for-sale peppers on the right. 

I am nearing the end of my journey when I enter a traditional Korean market. I'm not sure what makes it traditional, because it's just a lot of fresh fruit/veggies stands, and a few small shops selling junk. But the big sign you walk under to go down the street claims it's "traditional." Here, I usually see ajummas (old Korean women, usually with a tight perm and permanently pursed lips) browsing the wares and gossiping (I assume), all while blatently staring at the freakish girl with "yellow" hair. I sneakily snapped a photo, pardon my finger in the frame. :( Oh, did I mention that if you're over 30 in Korea, you permanently have an umbrella in your hand (rain or shine)? These Koreans prize white skin (damn, I must be of more worth than gold!), so they must shield themselves at all times lest the sun rays get you.

After passing through the market, I cross another major road. Today, this little hunched old man with a cart loaded with cardboard and other junk he can sell (which he salvaged from trash piles) piled higher than his head, just started walking across this street. There is a "walk/don't walk" sign, and it was currently red. This little old man was either blind and deaf (the lady next to me started yelling at him) or just felt that he had paid his dues and the cars would stop regardless. All I know is I held my breath for the minute or two it took him to cross the street, grabbed my camera, and snapped a few pics. Brakes were screeching, but this old man just kept hobbling along. I suppose this is Korean culture. This man was old, probably older than anyone I've ever met, and he earned the right to do whatever he pleased. This idea is also seen when little old ladies no more than 4' high push and shove past you to get on the bus first. No one yells or curses or complains (well, that I can hear or make out), they just accept it because she is older and therefore deserves respect. 

When I finally got to work, I was extremely efficient. I like going early, when there are only a few people in the office. It's not crowded and I can work much better. I plugged in some country music on my iPod, and got nearly everything done that I needed to by 12:40 when Sean, Jamie and I left for the Immigration Office. We had to take a cab, and it was only $8 after 30 minutes. Wow! 

Our school had set up an appointment for us with Immigration for 1:40. We arrived around 1:20, and found our way through the office. There was hoards of people, and it looked like if you did not have an appointment, it was a "take a number" system. We found the desk for "Reservation" and waited a while for someone to come and actually sit behind the desk. Finally, though, a woman helped us. I kind of had no idea what was going on, except that she took my paperwork and my health check, stamped some stuff, took $10, and gave me a receipt. It was stamped 9/20, and since today was NOT 9/20, I assume that is the projected day I can get my Alien Resident Card. 

^^The rows of stations to help people, which were
not doing any good for the 100+ people I was
too scared to take a photo of behind me.
<< Sean getting fingerprinted during his turn.

When we finished up like 10 minutes later, I smile apologetically to the masses of people still waiting the multiple hour waiting period (should have gotten an appointment, folks!), and we left. Jamie and Sean wanted lunch, so we figured since the appointment took about 10 minutes, and our school assumed it would take longer, we had some time to spare to get some food. We walked down a large street with many vendors and shops; Sean and Jamie had been here before. It was called Insadong.

Sean stopped in a bakery for a pastry, and the smell of sugar lured me in as well. When I walked in, the woman had just cut this churro in half. It looked, and smelled, heavenly. If I'd have had some money, I would have gotten one. Alas, luck was not with me and I had to settle for a photo.

We walked along the street and there were tons of touristy souvenier shops. I didn't even care how touristy I looked with my camera out, snapping photos of everything.

And then I saw them... 3 chickens walking down the road. Well, one rooster, and two chicks is more accurate. They were passing out flyers or brochures about something or other, and I stopped dead in my tracks. I took a photo, and when they saw me with my camera, they pointed and ran over to me. I just wanted a photo of them, but they crowded around me to take a photo with me, instead. I quickly handed off the camera to Sean, who did some nice spontaneous photography, and I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Of course, we must do a Korean peace sign. Alright!!! 

Apparently, they were advertising 99day Festival.
Who knows what that is, though, because once you
opened the flyer it was all in Korean. Score!

Passing out flyers!

 After 15-20 minutes of walking, we headed for the main road to get a taxi back to school. The ride back had loads of traffic, but since the fare was around the same as the way to Immigration, I assume Korean taxis charge by distance, not time. Good thing! :)

Once we got back, it was 5 minutes til first period. Good thing Tuesday/Thursdays I have break first period! I got to eat lunch and relax until 3:30 when I had class. I won't go into too much detail about my first few classes, since I've already elaborated quite a bit on my morning. We will just say it was a fairly good day :)

During several classes, Jackie Teacher came in or sat in, and I felt like I did a great job in front of her, getting the students talking and repeating and answering questions. Go me!

During my 5th period class, I had a girl tell me she had a loose tooth. I told her "Don't pop it out!"... what does she do? Twenty minutes later,  she raises her hand (the one that is not in her mouth) and asks through slobber and blood, "Teacher, can I go to the bathroom?" Sighing, and not a little grossed out, I send her to the Desk Teacher. She comes back a few minutes later with a tissue in her mouth and proceeds to do the rest of her assignments in such a state. Oh my... little kids.

In my last class, I learned about Koreans' fear of all things bugs. The classroom was hot, so I let the kids open some windows. It was around 7:30pm, and the sun had gone down. We were working on a review and we had the lights on. Suddenly, one of the girls lets out a scream. Of course, even if they don't know why they are screaming, the whole class suddenly has to contribute to the screaming. I finally figure out that a moth had come in the open window. These kids are terrified of this moth. When I grab a rolled up notebook and head over to kill the thing, I hear one girl say in tone which combined amazement and total confusion: "Teacher isn't afraid!"

I turned around "No, I'm not! But if I am going to kill this thing you have to be very quiet!" (As if the bug will let down it's guard if they are silent.) Well, it worked for a few seconds; the kids shut up and I crept toward the moth. Of course, it fluttered away when I got anywhere near it, which prompted more blood curdling screams. I was afraid that Jackie Teacher would hear and come running, and since I had finished early, I did not want her to come in and I have to figure out how to extend the lesson another 15 minutes. I told everyone to pack up and move to the classroom across the hall. If I couldn't kill the moth, I'd just move the kids away from the moth.

Good thing my lesson was over already, because the resulting breathless chatter in Korean - which obviously went something like "Oh my gosh. Can you believe we just survived that death defying ordeal?! I mean, a moth. Can you believe it? I'm going to write about this in my diary tonight!" - could not be quelled.

During my last hour in the office, I had nothing to do. I finished a few things here and there, but was killing time by around 8:20. Michelle Teacher and I talked about food, TV, and other silly things. She asked me to help her with her Phonics class. She has the hardest time saying the sound "Jj" - like in Jet. She kept cracking up when I would say it - she thought it sounded like a Chinese sound (she studied Chinese). And I kept laughing at her pathetic attempts, which came out more like "Ss". It was hilarious. I felt mildly guilty for not doing anything productive during the last 40 minutes, but since I had gotten to work over an hour early, I cut myself some slack.

After work, I went to the bank near me to get some cash out. After I did that, I stopped at the dollar store called Dison. I got some kitchen stuff - another fork (I currently owned 1, and about 5 pairs of chopsticks), a sharp knife, a colander for pasta, a pasta utensil (the kind that looks like a spoon with points at the end), a set of cups, a set of bowls, a few plates which I suspect are actually for kids but were the cheapest and the cutest there, some rubber gloves and scrubbies for washing dishes, and maybe some other things I can't remember. I paid $13 total for everything! Ya, what a great deal!

 I walked home and contemplated going to the crappy grocery store under the BauHaus department store to get some meat to make for dinner, but decided against it. It had been a long day, I'd been out of my apartment for 11 hours, and on my feet for most of them. It was time to get home and write a really long blog with a TON of photos! I hope you enjoyed today's edition. :)

Tomorrow is Friday, and although I don't have any set plans for the weekend, I'm definitely looking forward to it. :)

Hump Day with a PELTest

Ah, Wednesday.... one of my least favorite days of the week. Thankfully, today was not a bad Wednesday!

On the way to work today, it was perfectly sunny and temperatures were in the high 70s. By the time I got to work, I was a little hot, simply from walking a mile in the sun. But, it was the kind of weather that you can't help but smile at. I enjoy walking to work now that I can go alone. I know the way, and most of the teachers go in at various times (1230, 1245, 1, etc),s so we walk alone. It's a peaceful time. I get to listen to my music and think about whatever I want. I don't have to make conversation with anyone, I can just be with myself. I like it.

An aside: Koreans don't seem to wear sunglasses. Today was bright and sunshiny, but I was the only person wearing sunglasses! Maybe that contributes to the stares I get... Maybe.

When I got to work, I felt in control. I worked on my daily lesson plan, which I really enjoy doing! I have to turn them in to Jackie Teacher every day for 2 months, but chances are good that I will continue to do them for myself. (Each class has it's own lesson plans for the month, but doing a full day of plans with each class is helpful!) I even found the quizzes for 2 of my classes by myself and made the copies solo. I felt awesome!!! I finished up report cards, and had about 15 minutes to spare before class started.

My first class is my worst. I'm kind of glad of this, because once it's over, its mostly downhill after that. The class is made up of mostly 6-year-olds whose English skills are basic and have the attention span of a gnat. To top things off, there are 10 kids in the class... 3 are trouble makers, 3 are more advanced than the rest, and 4 just zone out for the whole class period (except to occasionally look up and copy the board into their workbooks). It's frustrating and wearing on my nerves... I can't wait for February when I can get rid of most of these kids. (Classes rearrange and change in February) The only kid I love is Tommy, whom I previously described. Bright eyed, eager to please the teacher, and raises his hand for every question. I love him!

My second class is also trying, but slightly less. This is mostly due to the fact that there are only 5 students, instead of 10. However, these kids are mostly all troublemakers. Two of them try and obviously enjoy class. But even they succumb to the incessant chattering of the others, chiming in and laughing at the most inopportune times.

Third period is one of my better classes. They are helpful when I am confused, receptive to my comments, responsive to my questions, and are willing to work. Granted, they are still young and therefore do get sidetracked easily. But I can wrangle them back in fairly easily.

Fourth period is my infamous 2SAP class: 4 (now 3) little girls who laugh at anything and everything, comment on everything, and generally suck any remaining energy from my reserves. One of the girls is taking a month vacation (I'm so jealous), so we have 3 now. One of those girls is significantly behind the others, but tries very hard so it's difficult to be too frustrated at her. Today, I had Jackie Teacher sit in on my class with them, and I was very intimidated. Korean culture leans heavily to the "constructive criticism" rather than "positive reinforcement" tactic with employees. Therefore, even when I do a great job, Jackie Teacher usually has a suggestion for me. Today, I was determined not to give her anything to say. She came in as we were reading the book, and I made sure we finished on time. When we were done, rather than moving on immediately, I asked the students some comprehension questions. To my delight, Rachel answered correctly on a question that was fairly difficult (predicting future events based on things that happened in the story we read). While she couldn't articulate her ideas with much finesse, she made her point and I reiterated it in the best grammar I could. Jackie Teacher seemed pleased, so we moved on to the next section. The girls did fairly well; Jackie Teacher only interjected when she felt like they were not understanding or the girls were not responding to my questions or prompts (come on, girls! you're killin' me here!!!) Overall, Jackie Teacher gave me a smile when she left the room, and I sighed in relief.

My next class was another large one, but these kids were fairly better behaved. They had a vocabulary quiz, after which they had a practice PEL Test. PEL Tests are the Korean education system's attempts at English Language Standardized Testing. 3 days out of the month, the kids do practice exams. Today was one of those days, so for 40 minutes of my hour long class, I got to sit down. This is a rare treat, and I enjoyed it immensely. The kids, unfortunately, suffered through 40 minutes of an hour long class listening to boring recordings and circling answers in a workbook. Poor kids, lucky teacher.

My last class was repeated in much the same manner, except these kids are at a higher level, so the questions were not repeated multiple times on the recordings, and therefore the test went by in 20 minutes rather than 40. So, I had 20 minutes to kill. I let them work on Homework (illegal), talk about their weekend plans (generally unacceptable), and pack up early (totally illegal). Thankfully, Jackie Teacher did not pop-in on this class or I would have been floundering.

After classes were over, I finished up some report cards I had missed in the morning, and made my lesson plan for the next day. Tomorrow, Sean, Jamie & I are going to Immigration to apply for our Alien Resident Cards, so we have to be at work at 12:30. Lucky us! I got the lesson plan done, which took care of one thing I would otherwise need to do tomorrow. Unfortunately, I was mentally checked out after that, so I did not prepare anything else for tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have some prep time before classes...

I talked to Michelle Teacher, my Korean BFF, for 20 minutes before I left. We made plans for the weekend - Sunday, we are meeting at her church for the English service, then getting lunch together. Her husband will be there also. When we left work, I waited with her until her husband got there to pick her up. She offered me a ride home, and while I don't mind walking much, I jumped at the offer. The other foreign teachers were still at work, so I would be alone anyway. Her husband picked us up a few minutes later and took me by my apartment. He was very nice!

I am very excited to spend Sunday with them! I also want to make plans with Tab for Friday night/Saturday, so I have something to look forward to the next 2 days. I think we might go to a Korean spa, or maybe a famous cafe. Who knows! (You will, when I blog about it after it happens!)

Two more days... two more days... WEEKEND!!!!

A Much Better Day

Man, I don't know what was up with yesterday! I could barely keep my eyes open... Okay, maybe that had something to do with the Advil PM I took. But, mentally! I was super beat. Literally I didn't want to think for half a second about my classes.

Today, though, was a different story. Tuesday/Thursday I have only 5 classes (rather than 6), so I got extra time to prep when I got to work. As soon as I got there, I had a little list of what I needed to do to prepare. Also, because I am new, I have to do daily lesson plans to turn in to Jackie Teacher. While some may think this is micro-managing, I love it. For a person as organized as I am, this is helpful to me as well as her. I get to go through every class and really make sure I am doing what I need to do.

I realized that I had 2 quizzes in 2 of my classes, so I made sure to get copies of those. I also got my 2SAP class sorted, since yesterday was so terrible. Finally, I began doing copies of Report Cards for each student who had a test last week. Thankfully, someone (Maggie, I assume) had already done them, I just needed to insert her comments and print. How nice!

Honestly, as long as my day is and as many classes as I go to, I can't remember which class had which issues, etc. But, I do know that I felt a million times better today. Not perfect, there were still a few glitches: one of the quizzes, I had to read them sentences, and I forgot the manuscript. Another class, the computer completely crashed when I had to get done 2x as much work as a normal day. And the list goes on...

One great thing was that Michelle Teacher got to move and now her desk is next to mine! :D This makes me very happy! She is so awesome. I decided I want to get a Bible Verse daily calendar we can share on the desk. :) I get them in emails from Air1 everyday, and one I received a few days ago really spoke to me:

"Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you who belong to Jesus Christ" - 1Thes 5:16-18. 

It reminds me that even when I am beat down and feel like I can't go on, I can have joy. If for no other reason than I have a savior who died for me. There are so many more reasons, though. Never stop praying - in every single situation, good or bad, invite God into it. He can take care of things infinitely better than I can. In my classes, in my relationships, in my walk to school, in my apartment, everything. Talk to him. Be thankful in ALL circumstances. I need to thank Him for the hard times, as well as the good. I came here for a challenge; to become a better person. And, I'm here and doing just that! Even when I'm tired, and the day is overwhelming, just being thankful can completely change your attitude. Even if you fake it 'til you make it, IT WORKS! And anyway, I'm where I am because of God, and his will for my life. That is something to be thankful for; I am taken care of.

This morning I made 3 eggs, and some toast. I ate a yogurt before classes began, and I'm still quite content at almost 10pm! That is so awesome, and a staggering difference from last week. Michael still cracks up thinking about me living on bread and coke. Every time we talked on FaceTime, he could see me with this huge 2L of Coke, drinking straight from the bottle. This is what living in a motel does to you!!! Now, I come home to a clean apartment with a bed, a kitchen, food in the pantry, and privacy! I am so thankful!

I am still tired, but I feel slightly less haggard tonight. I want to make plans for the weekend, so I have something to look forward to. I really appreciate weekends now! Tomorrow is Wednesday: hump day. Make it through tomorrow, and it's all downhill. Yay!

Michelle said she would go shopping with me on Saturday, so maybe we will do that. I don't want to seem desperate, but I would really like to do that. Hopefully she is still up for it! I also want to go see Tab. Maybe we will go out to her favorite place: Hongdae. Or, maybe I want to pass out by Friday at 8pm. Who knows!

This is a somewhat short blog; I need to get better about remembering my classes! It's so hard to think back and talk about what we did. Sometimes it's just so boring that even I can't make it interesting... Other times, it's so chaotic my mind couldn't even take it in. But one thing is certain: I am making progress. I still have a lot to learn, but it's getting better. :)

I am going to go make some dinner and maybe watch a movie - I made myself blog as soon as I got home so I wouldn't do a repeat of yesterday! Hopefully something interesting happens soon ;)

I'm too tired to think of a title

I decided today, instead of writing about what happened during my day in a chronological fashion, I will just ... well, ramble.

Things that annoy me about Korea:

• You don't exist to half the people you're around. no one gets out of the way when you're trying to pass by and no one looks at you (or they stare awkwardly)
• The other half of people think you're a freak of nature.
• Simple things are now much more difficult. like going to the store to buy something. you can't read Korean, so what's to do? I spent 30 minutes translating my air conditioning remote last night...
• There is dust everywhere. every where!
• When you walk down the street, there are 3 smells: fish, trash, or sewage. 
• You have a very limited pool of people to be friends with
• High expectations by your employer and coworkers.

Things I like about Korea:

• When you actually talk to someone (i.e.: store worker), most of them are fairly friendly. 
• I feel legit when I can actually say something in Korean
• My work hours are conducive to talking to friends/family back home.
• The kids are so cute!

Best part(s) of my day -

• I got to make bacon, eggs, and toast for breakfast!!! So delicious!
• Tommy in my New Hi Kids class is so precious and tries so hard. He looks at me with big, expectant eyes. I can just hear his brain sucking up all the information. Kid is smart, and eager to learn. Today, during class, another student (Brian) was pointing a pencil at me, and saying something in Korean. It must have been something like "I'm going to throw this pencil and hurt teacher!" because Tommy held his hands out in front of Brian to try to stop him throwing the pencil. He was protecting me! He is the only good part of that class.
• In one of my Reach Out classes, I knew exactly what I was doing and found everything I need on the computer. I finished all the work on the schedule and the kids were pretty well behaved. 
• Michelle Teacher agreed to go shopping this weekend for clothes with me. I am so excited to have a Korean come and help me!
• I got my bed fixed! It was falling over very badly...

Worst part(s) of my day -

• Immediately after my great Reach Out class, I completely fumbled the ball during my 2SAP class. I didn't have new books for the unit, I had forgotten to give them their homework over the weekend, and I found out later, I also forgot to give them their new Learning Calendar and Homework Checklist. So, basically, nothing got done.
• Nothing good to eat at lunch at work. Good thing I brought my own sandwich and snacks!
• My feet are killing me (what else is new?!)
• I have 4 more days til the weekend...

I am extremely tired. The long days get to me. Working until 9 will take a lot of getting used to. I'm so thankful I have mornings to myself, though. At least tomorrow I only have 5 classes...

I promise I'll get back to my usual descriptive blogs soon; I needed a breather tonight.

My Apartment!

Even though I technically moved into my apartment Friday night, today I finally started to "make it my own." I dedicated the whole day to this! I knew I needed to unpack, organize, and probably go get some things from the store for the apartment.

I started my work around 12pm, after sleeping late and talking to Michael in the morning. I so wish I had taken before photos, because I feel like I put a lot of work into getting things arranged the best way possible, and the room looks excellent now.

First thing that I knew I wanted to do was to organize the mess of cords by my bed. There was this huge bundle of cords all tangled and going every which way. I channeled my inner-Dad and got all the cords sorted and wound up so they were neat and tidy. After that, I decided that I really wanted to move my bed. I had heard that if you position the bed to where the headboard is against the wall opposite the entrance to the room, the room looks biggest. So, I pushed and pulled and got my bed turned 90˚, and against the other wall.

Since I was moving furniture, I decided to also move the fridge. Currently, it was kind of in the middle of the entrance walk way. Not terribly in the way, but awkwardly taking up valuable space. I moved it beside my wardrobe, facing the stove. This also makes getting food out to cook easier. The place I put the fridge was currently home to a hutch of sorts. Maggie had had a microwave/convection oven on it, so I guess it suited her needs. She sold that before I moved in, so the hutch was just an awkward short table-thing for me. I put it where the fridge had been, half to cover up the horrible looking floor where the fridge had been, half because that was the only place for it.

Being Chelsea - Homemaker !

My next endeavor was to get rid of the TV. The cable-cord came out right by my bed, but there was no where good to put the TV that the cable could reach. I decided that since TV rots your brains anyway (and I have a terabyte of movies on my harddrive), I would get the TV out of the way. Bonus, this eliminated a few cords that were clogging up that area. I decided to put the TV on top of the fridge, since it wasn't a full size fridge, and had a good 3-4' of space on top before the ceiling. I managed to pick up the TV, but lifting it over my head was not happening. I decided to wait until I could ask Sean to help me move it. (He came by a few hours later and we accomplished getting it up there). I also put the DVD player and remotes up there behind the TV (why would I need those anyway?)

I got some laundry going during this time and had to Google what the washer settings were supposed to be. I think I figured out "quick wash." I don't have a dryer so all the clothes go on the drying rack after the wash. (PS - it's been 8 hours since the first load came out and some clothes are still wet-ish).

Unfortunately, the result of moving furniture that hasn't been moved, let alone cleaned behind, in years is dust. Lots of dust. I began a list of things to get at the store, and the top of the list was some kind of swiffer type dust mop. Other things included: a rug, lamps, some kind of poster/wall art for next to my bed, decent pot/pan, school supplies, clock, new toilet seat (the current one was the kind with foam inside, and had a rip. The foam couldn't dry because my bathroom is a Korean style shower aka gets water everywhere. It was gross to sit on...), and lots of other things!

When I got most of the house-work accomplished that I aimed to, I set off for HomePlus, the Korean version of Target. I'd been before, but this time I had a list and I was on a mission. HomePlus is not very far from me, but I didn't know which bus to take. I contemplated taking a taxi there, but I knew I'd have to take one home with all my purchases. Somehow, I found myself walking the familiar route to school. The one time I'd been to HomePlus, I had left from school, so I knew which bus to take from there. I finally made it and got the bus just in time.

A few minutes after getting on the bus, the driver stopped at a red light... and turned off the bus. He jumped up and said something in Korean, and got off the bus. It was a red light, so there was no immediate danger, but I had no idea what was going on. None of the Koreans looked concerned, so I just kept looking around trying to figure it out. I heard the driver messing around with something in the very back of the bus (engine, maybe?) He raced back around, hopped in his seat, and the light turned green. I still have no idea what happened, but I was very impressed with his timing.

On the way to HomePlus, the bus went over a small river, When we were on the bridge, I looked out the windows and saw the best view I've seen since I got here. It was the mountains to the north of Seoul, and it really made me smile. I'm sure the Koreans thought I looked extra weird (already being weird for being a blonde American), but it reminded me that there is life outside this chaotic city, and it's really beautiful.

Once at HomePlus, I attempted to get some money out at the ATM, but it kept having a read-error. After 5 attempts, I gave up and decided to just make the purchases on the card. The fee would be more, but oh well.

This was one of those shopping trips that even though I had a list, I went down every single aisle. It was a good thing, because I found a few items I had not written down, but did need! Before I went to HomePlus, I had priced a few things at the small "everything-store" next to me, and there was a few things I was surprised were more expensive at HomePlus. Things like pots and pans and surge protectors were much cheaper at the small shop. Other things were better at HomePlus, though. I got the toilet seat replacement!! I splurged a few more dollars for the cute one with polka dots rather than ugly pink or blue.

I got a spatula for making eggs, some wall hooks for my jewelry to hang, a clock (luckily the only one that was contemporary looking, not basic black and white, was the cheapest too!), some batteries for my AC remote control, a lot of school supplies like red pens, some labels, a basket to take my things to class, a pen cup, some scissors, post-its; also, zip ties for the cords I had wrangled earlier, some hangers with grippy material on the shoulders for my tops that fall off the hangers I inherited. I'm sure there was more, but I can't remember now. I also bought some food staples: eggs, bacon, bread, special k cereal, some chips (Korean Pringles), pasta sauce (Maggie left some pasta in the pantry), milk, yogurt, cheese slices, laundry detergent and fabric softener (Maggie had left detergent, but no softener and I made sure to remedy this situation), chip-clips... hmm, I can't think of what else!

I checked-out, and filled up all my reusable bags I had brought. I lugged them out to a taxi nearby and the driver was extremely nice, a rarity in old Korean men who speak no English (in my experience!). I made it home, unpacked my groceries, and went to that small store nearby for the last few items; a non-stick pan for my eggs (Maggie's wasn't non-stick, and messed up my eggs this morning), a pot (the one Maggie left was questionable...), and a surge protector. I already had a surge protector, but it only had 4 plugs, and with all my technology, I need more.

Finally back at the apartment and cleaned up, I snapped some photos. Like I said, I definitely wish I could show you the difference from this morning. The room now feels much more open, bigger, and I've made efficient use of the space while maintaining a simplistic feel (aka: limited clutter!). Now I just need some color. I couldn't find a rug or lamp or poster for the wall. But, I did get magnets and have my photos of my family and Michael on my fridge :)

Brunch, Shopping, and New Friends

In case you aren't caught up on all my blog posts, last night was a late one. I didn't get to sleep until 4am. Tab and I went to the Dongdaemun Night Market. It was a crazy experience and I loved it! She spent the night and we woke up with a mission to find an American breakfast.

We have both been so sick of Korean food, and in particular, not having any western breakfasts! Apparently, Koreans eat kimchi and rice for breakfast. I'm not commenting on this practice, but you can guess my opinion.

We did our research a few days ago when we made the plan, and set off to Itaewon: Little America in Seoul. It is situated right next to the Army Post in Seoul, so it caters to westerners very well. We took the subway and met the cutest little girl on the train. I wish I'd gotten her picture, but the whole thing happened quite fast.

Tab and I were sitting on the train (which is kind of a big deal, seeing as seats are prime real estate and if a young person or a foreigner (or, heaven forbid, a young foreigner) sits in a seat, everyone over 50 years of age gives you the stink eye... ) Well, we were only 1 stop away from our destination, and the cutest little Korean girl got on the train holding her dad's hand. We waved at her and she waved back. Dad saw and literally dragged her over to us and (I guess) told her in Korean to talk to us.

Tab says "Hello!" and the little girl says "Hello, my name is Julie" (honestly, can't remember her name...) and we all have a basic conversation in which we find out that she is doing "happy" and we tell her we are Tab Teacher and Chelsea Teacher. She is so bashful but speaks well enough. The dad is so excited for her to talk to us! It was both cute and weird. He wanted us to keep talking, but our stop had come so we said goodbye.

This is probably the most attention I've received in public. Before coming to Korea, everyone told me to expect a lot of attention because of my hair and eyes (being starkly different from the Korean genetic pool choices). But, thus far, most people stare and avoid being in direct contact with me (like sitting next to me on the subway). This was so precious and I didn't even mind that the dad was shamelessly using us for free English practice for his little girl.

Well, once we arrived in Itaewon, we followed the directions to Richard Copycats: All American Diner. Score!!!! We arrived and the first thing I see is a room full of 18-year-old Army boys. We avoid the room and ask for a table for 2. The waitress asks "Smoking?" and points to the sparsely inhabited larger part of the restaurant, "or Non-Smoking?" gesturing to the room full of American guys. Sighing, we head to the small non-smoking, American section.

As soon as we enter the room, we are received with a chorus of "Helloooo ladies!!" (or some variation of the same sentiment). We blush, avoid eye contact, and sit down. Thankfully I got the seat that had my back to the majority of them. As soon as we sit down, we get asked "Come here often?!" I just blush harder and look away, but Tab responds with "Oh, not really." Haha, I just think she is so ironic sometimes...

We get menus and look over all the mouth watering choices. I hear the guys at the table behind me start talking louder (in a (sub?)conscious attempt at impressing us with boasts of how much they can drink or ignorant remarks about Korea). I started to get annoyed, but for the love of bacon I just suffered through it. After we ordered, one group of guys got their bill and stood up to leave. One of these guys came over and let us know that there were guys behind us looking at us. Wow, thanks Sherlock. I would never have guessed, being the only females in a room of about 40 18-year-old soldiers.

Incredible breakfast. Coming at least 1x per month.

Our food took a while but when it arrived, my jaw dropped. Both of us ordered the "Big Morning" with pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, sausage patty, hashbrowns, and toast. I sub'd my sausage for bacon, and she did the same but opposide. We each added cheddar cheese to our eggs. This was breakfast of champions if I've ever seen one. It was honestly a TON of food, but we heard "wow!"'s from the boys behind us who all got hamburgers and other lunch things. (It was after 1pm, but all day breakfast menu = heaven). Call me a glutton, but I wanted to eat every bite. I almost succeeded. I left half a pancake, and 1 whole hashbrown. Yes, I did eat several days' worth of calories in one seating, but by George, I loved every bite!

All said, including my OJ, I paid around $20. Glorious, glorious breakfast food!

After we left, Tab and I walked around Itaewon. I looked for a place to get data on my iPad, but was told to come back on a weekday when it could be activated (Korean phone activations will not go through on weekends). After that, we didn't really find any good shops (minus one street cart with "I love Korea!" t-shirts, which Tab and I both bought one of) so we decided to head to Myeong-dong, one of the best shopping districts in Seoul. She had head about their street vendors and I was on the hunt for a purse large enough for my iPad.

After looking in many stores, I finally found a store that only sold purses, and every single one was 10,000 KW, about $10. Now, the quality is obviously very poor. But that was the flat out best price I'd heard, so I found one that suited my needs: cross-body with enough room for my iPad and some papers, my wallet, hairbrush, chap stick, etc. I bought it in coral.

Along the way, we found some great deals at the street vendors. Tab and I both bought some headbands, and I got a silk scarf to use in my hair. We took a little break at a coffee shop and I got an iced chai tea latte, which was amazing.

Around 5:15pm, Tab and I said our goodbyes and boarded subway trains going in opposite directions. She was heading to her apartment and I had plans to meet some friends.

Back story: When I first told my dad that I had decided to go to Seoul, he contacted his Air Force buddy who was currently stationed in Seoul, Ed. Well, he and his family have since reached out to me several times and offered assistance in whatever I needed. Now, among the people I know, everyone says they are there if you need anything, but its just something they say. It's a passive friendship. If you need something, come to me. Thursday afternoon, I got a Facebook message from Heather, Ed's wife. She and Ed invited me to dinner Saturday and also offered to pick up some American groceries for me.

Maybe I don't have very high expectations of people, but this was something I never expected. It was not only kind and generous, they were actively attempting to help me in every way possible. These people have never met me, knew my dad several years ago, and owe my family or me nothing. And yet, they went out of their way to invite me over, offer me dinner, food, and help. I was overwhelmed with gratitude.

So, today I headed to meet up with them. They gave me directions, which of course I mis-read and almost ended up at the completely wrong gate. I managed to correct myself before much harm was done, and met Heather and her daughter at the visitors center. To sign in, I had to surrender my drivers license. No prob!

We headed to their home and they gave me a bag full of groceries she had got me: apples, breakfast bars, peanut butter, Cheerios, etc! Wow!! They also offered to take me to look at cell phones. Now, I had basically made up my mind to get data on the iPad and just get a flip phone for local use. But, I said sure, let's see what they've got on Post. I'm sure they have good deals for military members.

Well, we get there and I start looking at the contract phones aka smart phones. The guy behind the counter explained the contracts and my options being here only 1 year. I will skip the pro/con list and the deliberations and skip to the point: I got a 2 year contract with a 1 year return policy (basically, I pay the better price like a 2 year contract, but I give back the phone after 1 year). However, I am sorry to say, I could not get an iPhone. They do not have the return policy (which I could have guessed), so I was stuck with a choice between LG and Samsung. Samsung had the better deal on the phone and contract rates, and it was my preference anyway. Even though they are Apple's biggest competitor and I hate Android, at least it has unlimited data and tethering as well (basically wifi anywhere I go for my iPad!). And the price, you can't beat! $55 a month including the fee for the phone. iPhone contracts are at least $20 more a month plus stuck with 2 years. Finally, I got the phone much earlier than I expected because on Post, I could get the phone without my ARC. If I'd have gotten the plan otherwise, I'd have to wait til I had that.

After some running around to get the proper identification (my license was still at the gate, remember?) we got the phone in hand and everything signed off. I have to wait until Monday to activate it, though. Remember, Korea won't activate cell phones on the weekends.

After all this, we headed to dinner. Originally, they invited me to get some American food for me, but after my amazing brunch, I was not necessarily dying for a burger. We decided on an Indian food place in Itaewon. It was excellent, and I really enjoyed getting to know the family. Finally, I got a cab home (too many bags from shopping plus groceries. Also, I was dead tired and my feet were killing me).

Now, it's time to get my apartment set up. I am very glad I have a day tomorrow to relax and decorate before work starts again on Monday. I'm really living for the weekends now...

Dongdaemun Night Market

I left my apartment around 1020 and headed for the subways station. Tab was supposed to meet me around 1045, so I got there a little early. I waited at the exit I told her to meet me at. I waited for like 20-25 minute and finally saw her walking up from the subway.

When we got to the exit escalator, we discovered it had started raining. (Side note - this AM I looked at the weather and since it said "RAIN" all day, I wore rain boots to work. Walking over 1 mile in rubber rain boots is not fun, and it was SUNNY! So, heading to get Tab, I wore my crochet Toms. They have holes in them!) We grabbed a taxi right outside the station and told him "Dongdaemun Market!" He understood after only repeating 3 times (success!) and we were on our way! Tab had a big backpack that was super-touristy, but who cares. It was about a 20 minute taxi ride, and cost less than $8. Wow! And, thank goodness, this area of Seoul was not raining.

Dongdaemun is a huge area with something like 10 buildings containing all kinds of shopping both retail and wholesale. Outside the high-rise super-shopping complexes were street vendors. The first building we tried was kind of bad, so we left and went across the street to a much more neon-sign lit up fabulous looking building. On the way, we passed by some of the street vendors. We saw all kinds of fried foods on sticks (which, unfortunately, were not Oreos, brownies, or snickers... more like grasshoppers, seaweed, and squid), we saw knock off couture everything, we saw dancing singing stuffed animals. It was insanity. 

I stopped to look at a few of the knock off tables, and a Vivienne Westwood clutch caught my eye. I asked how much and she said $14 and held up 4 fingers. I'm thinking, "WOW! Maybe I can get her down to $10 hehehe" so I said "Will you take $10?" She looked like she was thinking, laughed, and said "Okay, discount. I give for $35." -- Wait, what?! Ohhhh... she meant "$40" not "$14". Ha! Well, I decided to scout my options. 

We headed into the big building, and it looked like a department store with all the different "brands" in little sections along the asile. These weren't actually "brands" like in a department store, but shops. There were some decent things, at good prices, but something at each place kept me from buying anything.

We wandered around some more, and saw a lot of interesting things. People sleeping in tents outside the buildings, specifically the wholesale market. I saw a bag in the wholesale market that was perfect for what I was looking for (something cross-body that could hold my iPad and papers for work), but alas, "no for shopping!" shouted the lady when I asked the price. Um, excuse me? What are the fifty thousand other people in here doing, then? "Wholesale!!" She shouts at me. Ohhh... damn.

We decided that the street vendors had the best stuff, so we headed back to the area where they were. After inquiring about several different wallets/clutches/handbags, I decided the original clutch I saw was the best deal and would be very useful to me. I got it for $35, and felt great! I also snagged some Tory Burch "T" style earrings for $5. And a gift for one of my friends back home. No names or description in case she is reading! I also looked for a gift for my dad for his birthday coming up, but I didn't like any of the ties (plus, he has like 200 already) and couldn't find much else. 

I wish I'd found some clothes, but that atmosphere is not ideal for me to pick out clothes. I need low-key boutique type situation. Maybe tomorrow I will have more success with clothes!

Tab and I got a taxi back to my place around 1:30am and she is crashing here for the night. Tomorrow we have big plans, and my feet are absolutely killing me! I should get to sleep since its 3:30am now... Loving my first night in the new apartment. Can't wait to make it "mine!"

Actually Teaching...

I would say that today was my first actually day on the job. Yesterday, I was alone in the classroom, but most of the classes were tests. Today, I actually had to teach!

I got to school about an hour early, because I was quite nervous about being prepared for all my classes. It was nice to be there early because it was actually quiet and not chaotic. I got some work done, mostly grading. I felt like there was probably much more I should have been doing but I couldn't even think of what to do! Eventually, the other afternoon teachers arrived and Erin Teacher helped me go through each class and make sure I was prepared.

They say experience is the best teacher and it is so true. The first class, I was a mess. I couldn't find any of the materials on the computer to show on the screen and the kids were crazy. I had a Korean teacher in the class with me watching ("making sure the kids behave and I can find my way" aka freaking me out!). She was helpful, I must admit. The kids are scared of her. Thats a plus!

My second class got a little better. Most of the classes were starting new Units so there was not as much work to do as there will be later in the month. So, most of the classes I got finished with everything I needed to. It felt weird to be the one making decisions. Of course, there are things I need to do, but then there are situations where I can make the call. If we don't finish a page for homework, I can assign it for homework. AND THEY HAVE TO DO IT! Whaaaat!!

Third class was also new curriculum, but my partner Korean teacher made sure we had the correct books. I swear, these kids have so many books. It makes my head spin! This class, I handed out 3 textbook workbooks, 1 story book, 1 bound spiral workbook, and 2 CDs. Are you serious?! How can I keep this stuff straight?!?!?

2SAP class was the worst, I think. We had to catch up from yesterday with the quiz, and the girls were so talkative (per normal.) It was Sarah's last day so we all took a photo. Apparently, she will be back in a month, though. She's probably the cutest kid I have, I will miss her. We finished the quiz, went over a few questions from the exam that many of them missed, and started book club. The girls also go to the Library on Fridays, so I had to squeeze that in at the end. I ended up assigning some extra homework for book club. I felt bad, but hey, they pay for me to give them work.

The last 2 classes are my 1 hour classes. By then, I was absolutely exhausted, but I was getting the hang of things. In many classes, the content is different, but we do very similar exercises on the same day.

Right before I began my classes, I had a moment. I was getting so overwhelmed with absolutely everything and couldn't keep things straight. I literally had to take 10 minutes and talk myself down. I prayed and had to remember that I am here for a reason! Everyone who does this work feels the way I feel at some point. And everyone gets the hang of things! And, as Erin Teacher pointed out, at least our mistakes don't kill people. Reassuring! ;)

After classes, I was POOPED! I sat down and had a piece of cake (it was one of the Korean teachers' last day so we had a little celebration. I just ate some cake.) We walked home, and Brian Teacher helped me get my suitcases (pre-packed from this morning!) and take them to my NEW APARTMENT!

Maggie Teacher was finishing cleaning and she gave me the how-things-work tour. I learned about getting hot water, working the AC, the stove, and the lights. Once she left, my first task was to get my WiFi set up. The apartments have ethernet cables, but no routers. Luckily, I planned ahead and brought an Apple Airport Express!

This little bad boy allows you to set up a WiFi network anywhere you go with accessible LAN or WAN ethernet. I got it all set up; the name is "You Shall Not Pass!" - can anyone guess the reference? ;)

Once that was set up, I got some pizza from the little place around the block and talked with Michael a little. Pretty soon it was time to go meet up with Tab...

I think I will end this post here, and resume my evening on the next edition....