Venture to Korea with Amanda & Abi

To all our friends, families, and vistors - thank you for visiting. We will be updating this blog as our adventure develops.

TAKE IT EASY!

My my, how things change over a year....

A little across the sea update from two chics soon not to be across the sea.....We are currently resting our jungle trekked bodies on Koh Chang. The "elephant island" in the south east of Thailand, near the Camobodian border.

Last week saw the end of our Korean teaching careers and with heavy hearts and lots of hugs we said goodbye to the kiddies and hello to our replacement teachers. It was weird to say the least but they're in good hands with the new crew for sure. Some of the kids have emailed both Amanda and I already with stories of their new teachers and their summer vacation's.
 
The Sunday after our last day of work we boarded a flight to Bangkok. From there we switched airports and took a few more planes, buses and taxis and ended up in a little village in the north of Thailand called Pai. It wasn't far from the Myanmar border and was absolutely gorgeous. We stayed in a place called the treehouse...a little jungle covered bungalow on stilts. While we were there we went on the most serious/dangerous/exerting hike either of us has ever been on. I think we climbed most of, if not all of, more than two or three mountains. We also made our way over, under and sometimes through jungle rivers and streams. We got to see farmers in the field, and their babies, and hill tribe villages which was really cool. Later in the week Amanda rode an elephant! It was huge! I chickened out but Amanda went for it with nothing more than a few "it's a bit alarming"-ish statements. She really liked it too.

After another two days of traveling and a night in Bangkok we landed on the island and have been enjoying the beach and relaxation. Making some new friends from around the world and getting sunburned. I think today we truly understood why now is in the low season. It's rained at night since we've been here but nothing too serious. Last night at dinner we were sitting out on the patio and one of the workers went out to the edge of the patio and waved his hands in the air a bit. He turned to us and told us we should go inside because "maybe rain." We moved inside and literally just as they had moved the last table in and pulled down the last tarp the skies dumped out a small lake. This morning, walking the 10 yards from the breakfast spot to the bungalow we were drenched to the skin!!! There are fewer tourists and things sure are cheaper but when it rains, look out! It's occurred to us now to check some local weather patterns, just in case!

We both excited and nervous to come home but mostly really happy to see you all! Much love!

~Abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 08:46 | link | comments |

5 weeks

Hey y'all. It's been far too long. Apologies for the lack of writing. It's easy to get lost in Korea land it seems. I wonder if anyone even reads this anymore?? Yes, five weeks of teaching left for both of us, and then it will all be over. We are going to go to Thailand for a while after the contract ends. Amanda will be back before me, I'm going to spend a third week in Thailand. One of my friends is teaching there and has a pretty good setup and they're looking for other teachers. Don't get alarmed, just going to check it out.

As our time here comes to an end, it is of course bittersweet. My friends are killing me with the "come back" begging and the "we are your family too" defense when I mention the fact that my whole life is in America. They are sweeter than sugar but it's like a knife to the heart at times. My kids are equally sweet although they seem to be excited to have a new foreigner and seem to understand that I need to go home. It's nice that my brother is getting married because they understand that concept and support me being present for that.

Cute kid story....my first class is a nightmare and a half. Somehow all of the bad boys ended up in one class. 13 boys, one girl, and a whole lot of adolescent energy. I've offered my coworkers to pay them double to switch classes with me but no one is interested. My bosses solution to the problem was to give me a mini baseball bat to smack their hands with when they're bad. I gave it a shot, it is Korean culture, but I can't bring myself to hit them hard enough. They think it's funny and will do things purposely so I'll hit them. It's a bit of a joke. Anyway, this class loves to swear, I don't know how they learned it all but these kids have some bad words in their arsenal. Last week one of them learned "god damn" so I had to hear that every day for a week or two but they've since forgotten about it. Anyway, one student in particular gives me a run for my money every day. Calls me stupid, ugly, fat, boring, anything you can think of. I pretty much assumed the kid hated me, and I'll admit he wasn't my favorite either but I try not to show it. They have to make sentences with their daily vocabulary words and this week one of the words was "miss". He waved me over to his desk, leaned in and said "when Abi teacher go america, I will miss her." He didn't want anyone else to hear him of course and I was stunned! The look on my face must have shown my surprise because he immediately added a disclaimer "a little". It was priceless. Oh kids.

Last night I had dinner with one of my City Hall students, his wife, and daughter. It took a while for her to warm up to me but I was feeding her watermelon shortly after I got there. She was adorable. It was the first Korean home I've seen and they're really nice. It's an apartment, of course, but they own it so I guess it's more like a condo. It really reminds me of how set we Americans are on having our space. Even if there's lots of extra useless space. My last apartment was the same size as theirs and they have three people living there...I had only little old me. Perspective perspective.

I have no life plan but have become extremely comfortable with the idea that I'll be able to do anything I want when I get back and I can just follow my gut and find something that makes me happy. Exciting.

I won't miss the weird factor in Korea. Literally, something weird happens EVERY DAY! Most of the time it's Korean people, but it's often foreigners too. There's always a surprise around every corner. Today I was walking on the beach and there was a dachsund, tied up to some sort of harness which pulled a little wheelie cart with a teddy bear on it. He was just trotting around with a teddy bear in a cart behind him. Why? It's just that my capacity for understanding human behavior has stretched further than I ever would have imagined. I can hardly comprehend the things that happen here. Moreover, because I don't understand that much Korean, I never really get to know why they're doing the things they do. It's entertaining to say the least.

Miss you all and want to make sure everyone knows about Amanda's party at her parents place in West Bend. August 18th, lots of fun Korean stuff and of course we'll be there too. Family friendly and plenty of room to pitch a tent and spend the night. Amanda's dad sometimes has surprising things to add to fire that make for quite a good show! Looking forward to seeing you all and wishing you the best!!!

~abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 10:29 | link | comments (4) |

14 weeks

Yep, that's right, 14 weeks!! The countdown has switched from months to weeks so it's serious now! We're in the home stretch. Really thought it would never happen. Those first few months were rough. I think rather than having clarity about my future plans, I'm becoming more confused. Thinking about leaving these people, especially with the add on of probably never seeing them again, makes me quite sad. On the same note, the homesickness and missing people is stronger for me now than it was before. I just yearn to talk to all of you and laugh and be my normal self. It's going to be a fantastic homecoming, that's for sure.

Friday is test day, as mandated by the head honcho and every other week we have to give recording tests but the other fridays are our choice. Usually I give them a little review test from their text book but this week I tried something new, a music test. I printed the lyrics to a song and erased some of the words and they then had to listen to the song and fill in the blanks. My first class has a horrible reputation in the school. They are mostly boys who often fight, swear and don't do any work. I think they were actually specifically given to me as it was thought I could straighten them out. I think I've failed at that as two of them got in a fist fight after my class on friday but I'm finding them to be much more mellow lately and I enjoy their company. I've also been doing a competition between all of my classes for a pizza party so they're working really hard to get their points. Anyway, I chose a Cake song for the music test and that first class was so negative. Complaining that it was boring and they didn't like the song and they were tired, etc. etc. So of course I'm thinking "gosh I'm an idiot, now all I'm going to hear all day is how much this music sucks and how much they hate the music test....great!" Going in to my next class I was weary and ready to defend my musical taste when I noticed that during the song some of them were dancing a little and lots of them were trying to lip synch along with the song. After it was over they wanted to hear the rest of the cd and they loved it and wanted to dance. It was so cute. Every class after was the same. They got into it, even the 13 year old boys (who, by the way, may be the worst population of people ever to live. There's not much more annoying than a pack of 13 year old boys bound and determined to be negative about everything!) were asking to borrow the cd to burn it into their mp3 players. I felt so happy that I had connected with them over something that I love and that they bought in and loved it too. Saying goodbye to these kids will probably be the most difficult thing I'll have to do here.

 

On the other side of the spectrum I finally was able to get ahold of Barb, Dave and Severen, former house mates of Amanda's and long time friends of both of ours. Super sweet people. Little Severen was two when we left and was able to say both of our names and "no home" when it was time to leave for the night. I've been trying to call them the entire time I've been here but always seem to miss them so to hear their voices took me right back to being in Milwaukee and having those excellent conversations with all of my excellent friends. Then they put Severen on the phone who was babbling away in full sentences faster than I could understand. Telling me he loved me and missed me and saying my name in a cute little way. I was just standing in the phone booth crying and thinking about how much I missed everyone, especiallly the little ones that grow up so fast and feeling like I missed out on so much over this last year.

 

Needless to say I think I'm further from understanding my emotions and what I should do next. But there is one thing I'm extremely grateful for and that is that I have so many people, in so many differnt places that love me so much and who I love back twice as much. It's bitter sweet of course, because I can only be in one place at one time. But I do realize, now more than ever perhaps, that I'm one lucky girl. So thank you, to all of you, for everything and know that I love you truck loads!

~abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 09:14 | link | comments (1) |

Four months and counting

Sorry it's been ages since I wrote but here's the update, at least on my end!

We've reached the eight month mark, can't believe how quickly that time passed. The week before last I was in Thailand for nine days which was amazing and perfect and wonderful! I had a great time, met some fantastic people and thoroughly relaxed. Getting a massage in a grass hut on the beach while the sun goes down isn't too bad of a way to spend the day. It was strange though, leaving Korea and then coming back. It made Korea feel like home. I can tell already some degree of the culture shock I'll have when I get back to the states as I was extremely put off by people smiling at me in Thailand because it usually only happens here if it's spiteful. Sad but true. I've convinced my pal Amanda to go to Thailand with me again when our contract finishes to scrub the kim chi off and relax before delving back into America and before making all those great life decisions that feel so monumental. There's lots more I'd like to see and hopefully we'll make it over to Cambodia for a while as well.

My students were displeased with their substitute teacher who hit them with pencil cases and candy. Not too hard, they say, but they're obviously angry at me for being gone as they were like satan's little worker bees this past week. I never thought I'd have to tell a 13 year old Korean boy to stop teaching the class what "transgender porn" is. Where he learned it I don't know, but I have a whole class of 14 that now know what it means. Near the end of the week they finally calmed down and stopped telling horror stories about Tommy teacher, who they hate. We also had to have the "Abi teacher is leaving" conversation again. They're still upset but they came around when I promised them pizza on my last day. They now want me to leave tomorrow. Sheesh.

Had an interesting experience this week, going to get my hair cut. The things you take for granted, like being able to tell your stylist what you want them to do, just come smashing in your face sometimes. After about 2 milimeters were removed and I tried to explain that I wanted him to cut it however he wanted, what other option did I have, he began trying to blow dry it straight with a comb. Now for those of you who have seen me, which should be everyone, you know how curly and thick my hair is....well he didn't know and after 30 minutes, enlisted the help of his friend and periodically massaged his biceps. Two of them at once and an hour later I had somewhat straightened hair...until one of them decided to spritz a little water on it.......thirty minutes later it was straight again and they began trying to style it. We then had to have an intermission when the stylist discovered that my eyes were blue and told me how beautiful they were. Incidentally, everyone else who worked in the salon also had to come over and get about an inch from my face so as to decide whether I had blue eyes, green eyes, blue and green eyes, or blue and green and yellow eyes. Thank god I had brushed my teeth. I ended up leaving the salon wondering exactly what it was I had paid for but like most things in Korea, you just laugh and are happy  that you get the crazy story to tell everyone.

Back to the grind of daily life here. I'm also teaching adults at city hall in the morning which I love. They had to pick English names so I've got a Bill Clinton and a Nicolas Cage. I tried to explain that they can't take other peoples' names but they either didn't understand or didn't care. They've invited me to go to a flower festival with them and their department which is exciting. They keep me laughing even though I have to wake up at 7 and take three subs to get there. I like teaching adults, much less stress than the little buggers but also much less cuddling and "teacher beautiful" comments. Although, the adults tell me I'm beautiful too...and that I have blue eyes. Maybe they think if you have so many eye color choices in your home country that you might somehow forget the color of your own eyes, and they should help you out by reminding you. Who knows.

Hope all is well for all of you and I apologize for any repeated information from the bulk email.

Much Love

~Abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 14:21 | link | comments (1) |

Kimchi Madness

It took me months of trying bit and pieces here and there to actually enjoy it. Within the last month I've developed cravings. And just today, I made scrambled eggs with kimchi, finally working the dish even into my breakfast.

So here's the recipe for those of you back home. It's a long process and I haven't tried to make it myself. But, I'm well aware that I'll need to learn when I come back.

From: Flavors of Korea: Delicious Vegetarian Cuisine
Servings: 2 quarts
Category: Side Dish
Ethnic Style: Korean

Ingredients:
1 large Chinese cabbage (2 1/2 to 3 pounds), cut into 2-inch wide slices
1/2 cup salt
6 green onions, green and white parts, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Korean red pepper powder or 1 tablespoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon grated fresh gingerroot
1 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup hot water

Instructions:
Wash the chopped cabbage. Drain and sprinkle with salt, and let stand in a colander for 2 hours. Rinse in cold water and squeeze out excess liquid. Place the cabbage in a large bowl. Add the onions, garlic, Korean red pepper powder, ginger, and sugar to the cabbage. Toss and mix all the ingredients so that the cabbage pieces are well-coated. Pack the cabbage mixture in a crock or a large glass jar. Pour the hot water into the large bowl that held the cabbage mixture, and swish around to gather up any remaining seasonings. Pour into the jar of packed cabbage. Cover the jar with a tight lid, and place in a cool room for 2 days before refrigerating. (This will allow the fermentation process to commence and intensify the flavor.) Refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving.

-- Amanda

posted by: 2SKLadies at 21:32 | link | comments |

 

 

 

When we first got here we both found Korean food to be usually nasty and always unpredictable. Now I think I can confidently say it may be one of the things both of us miss the most!!!. Usually when you eat Korean style you sit on the floor with a very large table that is covered by small dishes each with something different in it. There isn't usually individual dishes, like where you can put the things you like. You just all eat out of the same stuff. I can't believe we haven't gotten sick more! There's a chain place called 김 밥 촌 국  that serves very cheap Korean food. 김 밥 (sounds like kim pop) is a kind of food that is rice, strips of ham/spam, radishes, egg, carrots, some other veggetable, wrapped in a piece of seaweed, looks kinda like a sushi roll and costs a dollar. The word 촌 국 means heaven or paradise. Funny name, anyway they have big vats of kim chi and other side dishes and it's not uncommon to see the staff use the tongs to take a hung of kim chi out, feed themselves, and toss um right back in. On another occaision a little boy threw up all over the table in one of these restaurants and they wiped it up with paper towels and that was it. No bleach or disinfectant....yuk!  I'm going to have to be tested for a whole pile of diseases when I get back so don't share my lip gloss. I blew Amanda's mind the other day, reminding her that we only have 22 weeks left here. When you think about it, it's a very small amount of time. We're both still waffling on what to do next but time sure is flying. My poor children don't understand that I'm leaving. I told them I would be gone for a week for vacation and they got very upset. I then explained that I would be leaving in July. The dialogue went a bit like this....

A: "Abi teacher will go back to America in July and she will miss you very much."

S: "Abi teacher will go to America for one week and then come back?"

A: "Abi teacher might come back but probably not to KJC Allak Dong. "

S: "Why Abi teacher not stay in Korea?"

A: "Abi teachers brother will get married so Abi teacher must go home."

S: "Brother is married and then you come back?"

A:" Maybe, but maybe not."

S: "Amanda teacher and Alisha teacher will stay?"

A: "Only for one year, like Abi teacher and then you will have new foreigner teachers!!!"(said with a lot of excitement and vigor!)

S: "Abi Teacher and Amanda teacher go and then new teachers come for one year and then Abi teacher and Amanda teacher come back?"

 

etc, etc, Broke my heart. I think they understand but they're not very happy about it. Me either but I'm starting to miss some American things like hot water coming out of the tap, taking a shower and not having to hold the shower head, getting lost and being able to ask for directions, and not being a circus side show, you know all those luxuries!! Miss you all and much love to boot!!!

abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 09:28 | link | comments (1) |

a new and perhaps unwanted development

Originally I thought the 6 month mark would never come, and if it did, I really thought I would be super happy to be halfway finished, with the end in sight, and expected the excitement of coming home and seeing friends and family to overcome me....however, that's not what's happening. To me at least, I can't speak for Amanda on this one. This past week/weekend I've been feeling really really down that we're halfway finished. Of course I miss people, so don't take it personally, but it just suddenly occured to me that I will never see these people again, ever. I know it's a bit early on to be thinking this already, after all, six months is a long time. I often say to my kids "guess what today is" and then I'll tell them "it's friday, woo hoo!!!" or if it's one of my friends' or family members' birthdays or an American holiday and they roll their eyes at me and ask to play a game. But this time I told them it was Abi teachers six months in Korea. They didn't understand the significance and I explained to them that in six months I would go back to America. I explained the contract to them, and they all seemed really confused. Now most of my kids are 12 or 13 and understand English pretty well, especially when I slow it down/make it easier for them. Some of the rambunctious ones were cheering, but others looked as if I had ripped their hearts out. I didn't mean to upset them and generally thought that they knew that i wouldn't be there forever as all foreigners generally teach on one year contracts. One of my students even wrote me a note, asking me to stay in Korea and saying that she'll never forget me and I have to promise not to forget Intermediate students in America. As if that wasn't sad enough, I went out on both friday and saturday night with my Korean friends. I hadn't seen one in a while so I told him that it was our anniversary and he looked so sad and said "Abi no, please please stay." My friend Gil kept smiling at me on saturday and then he'd make this sad face and say "six months." Don't get me wrong, of course I'm flattered and really happy that so many people love me and will be sad to see me go, it makes me feel really good. But more than good, I feel awful. Every time I hang out with my friends it feels like it's the last time I'll ever see them. I'm all emotional and telling everyone that i love them, even before I start drinking! Even worse, Eric, my Korean teacher drove me home and in the car outside my house started listing all the great things about Korea. Telling me about the food and the people and the pay. He just sort of steered the conversation into "Korea rocks." I almost started crying and told him I didn't have any plans other than my brothers wedding and anything could happen. Saturday was also our dearest friend Robert's babies one year old birthday, which is a big deal in this country. We got to go to this big party with all this crazy food, songs, dancing, traditional clothing and to watch him and his wife and his baby, I almost cried again. Then the Korean girl who was being our guide, because she speaks English, volunteered me in some contest, which I was unaware of, for having come from the furthest away for the babies birthday. Second place went to Seoul... :) Later while we were eating with her she was talking about when she lived in America and was talking about all the things about America she hated....which of course are all the things that I hate too, and probably most American's hate. And the icing on the cake is everyone asking me what I'm going to do when my contract is up. It's the worst question because I have no idea what I'm going to do. I don't feel like I have much left in Milwaukee but the idea of starting over somewhere else is so daunting. I'm so used to things here and it's such an easy existence now that I'm used to everything and can speak enough to get by, and then some. It's the first time in my life, I know I'm young, that I've really loved my job and that's something I once thought was impossible. It's also something about being out of college and being truly without a path. I know general things I'd like to do at some point but now it's all up to me what I want to do and when and it's so hard for me to decide what's best. So basically I just really needed to vent all of that, and I hope it doesn't read too crazily. Please know that I miss you all and being here is really hard on that end but, but but.....................

 

~as always...ms. confused abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 10:05 | link | comments (3) |

6 done, 6 to go.

On this, our six month anniversary, I felt I should finally update the blog with a few new bits of interest. During my first week here I wrote a list of things I liked and things I didn't like. The 'didn't like' list was quite long. But now I feel it's ready for publication.

Things I like about Korea.

1. Kim chi, donkas, kim pop, sue jay bee, soju

2. eating with chopsticks

3. feeling like one in a million due to skin color

4. being envied for my 'amazing' english skills

5. cute Korean kids who say funny things like "yo yo yo, check it out, say ho" and "fight the system" without having any idea what it means.

6. cheap cabbies and cabbies that want to marry you and believe you are a super star from America.

7. random people on the street giving you free things that you don't want.

8. being called beautiful for not having brown eyes.

9. pimped out motor scooters with flashing disco lights and blaring hip hop through the streets.

10. being able to pay off all my credit cards and double pay my student loans and still live comfortably.

11. walking.

12. the ocean

13. being able to reach things people on stools can't reach.

14. being seen as strong for being able to lift a box of paper.

15. making my kids laugh hysterically by telling tales of  "crazy America"

16. hiking mountains

17. being in a city that never sleeps

18. staying up on the beach talking until the sun rises.

19. the safety and complete and total lack of guns

Ok now on to the things I don't like. You'll notice the overlap. It's strange how some things can be a blessing and a curse at the same time.

1. always being noticed, pointed at, laughed at, approached and accosted by people of all ages who want to practice their English, especially when I'm having a bad day.

2. riding in automobiles as each trip feels like a gamble with my life

3. men living with no responsibility and women living with lots of it

4. boy children being more valuable than girl children

5. people believing that American movies accurately represent all American people and their culture

6. the frequency with which koreans get cosmetic surgery. it's hard to have your coworkers faces be constantly changing and acting like you don't notice.

7. the obsession with 'good health.' these people eat cocoons because they're high in fiber....so is all bran!

8. foreigners who come here to drink and fight and korean's thinking that's normal behavior in our country.

9. my kids asking me if i have guns and how many people I've shot....

10. being honestly told all of my physical flaws.

11. constantly having to explain 'bushy's' decisions and mistakes as if they were my own

12. the racism. more than one korean has told me that african americans and hispanics are 'dirty, lazy and ugly.'

12 B. Not being able to explain the value of diversity and the flaws of stereotyping

13. Korean people trying to sneakily take pictures of us at all times, as if we're rare gorillas.

14. How expensive it is to travel, even to Seoul costs almost 150$ just for transportation.

So the good news is the 'like' list is longer than the 'don't like list.' All in all I think we've both adjusted to life here phenomonally. To the point that we joke frequently about the things we'll have to readjust too. Just today we were having coffee at starbucks and wanted to run to the store to pick something up and felt completely comfortable leaving our purses loaded with money sitting in Starbucks. And then coming back to find nothing was disturbed. We continue to be generally dissatisfied with many of the other foreigners here. You think that people would make this life decision for generally the same reasons and then you get here and so many of them don't care about diplomacy and are just here for the perpetual party. There is also a foreigner need for high competition. Everyone wants to know how long you've been here, how much you make, how smart your kids are.....I guess it's not much different than home but still frustrating. I've got two of my cutest students agreeing to come home with me in my suitcase! I'm going to take some photos this week and will post them with some other more recent photos soon. We're in the intensive semester now which means we work like 9 hours a day and I've got some overtime pay for an extra class I'm doing. It's draining but probably good for the budget. I've purchased my ticket to Thailand for my March vacation. I'm headed all alone and super excited! I can't wait to see somewhere new and want to travel so desperately. I've also been taking Korean lessons which is hard beyond a doubt. I've memorized 43 Korean words like cucumber, fox and soap. I'm not sure how they will be useful but my teacher claims it helps so I'll do it. As always much love from both of us! Can't wait to see you all again soon~~~

~abi

 

** Also, Amanda and I have a special request for everyone who reads this blog. We recently saw the movie "blood diamonds" and want to ask/beg/demand that everyone go see that movie. It's not for the light of heart and you will not leave feeling happy-go-lucky but it's close to reality, if not nicer than the actual reality, and so important for us as consumers to understand the situation and how we perpetuate it. Please please, spend the ten dollars, and do what little we can to end one of the worst atrocities to human kind. We are all in this together.....

posted by: 2SKLadies at 08:11 | link | comments (1) |

To all our loved ones out there who check this blog, we wish you....

(and, by the way - we wanted for a foreigner to come our way to take this picture. Noel, a very kind Australian and David, an equally lovable LA boy, took this fine picture. We then spent a couple of hours sitting on the beach, enjoying the sun, fine conversation, and average beer from the local market across the street. )

Beers = 15,000 Won.

Camera = Free (thanks Dirk!)

Wanting to spend Christmas with our loved ones? Priceless!

Looking forward to the next one with all of YOU!

posted by: 2SKLadies at 21:52 | link | comments (2) |

It's been so long!!

Well hello again friends! Sorry for the long lapse in posts. As time goes by, life seems more normal and it's difficult to think of funny and interesting things to tell you all about. Here's a little highlight of our lastest adventures in the cultural warp zone....

Shopping in Nampo Dong yesterday there was a shirt for sale that had the logo for M&M's on it and below it was the word METHODIST...apparently that candy coated goodness now has a religious affiliation!

I managed to chip a tooth on some banana chips and have been experiencing the joy of Korean dental work. The first day I had thirty minutes of drilling without novacaine. I now appreciate the inventor and implementation of Novacaine on a much higher level. After many tears and another appointment I was laughed at for being "not strong" and for being American. Luckily I have only one more appointment tomorrow and although I'm terrified, if it doesn't kill you right? On a lighter note the dentist who claims to be "fluent" in English was unable to tell me to open or close my mouth. Instead he says "shut" and "not shut" (which took a while for me to figure out). They also use "bite" and "bite up", which was a bit confusing as well. It's amazing the communication you take for granted when you're in a country that speaks your native language.

There's a commercial that's on TV a lot. It's in Korean but it appears to be advertising apartments or interior design stuffs. It shows a happy woman in a beautiful house, putting blueberries on deserts and showing the place to her friends. Anyway there's this pretty little song in English that plays in the background. I always thought it was kind of a nice song until the other day when I listened closely enough to discern the words. Here they are..."I have a mandolin. I play it all night long. It makes me want to kill myself." Guess they didn't have a native speaker check that one. Hee hee.

We continue to be slammed into, knocked over, and pushed into traffic. On Friday we were at a dance club where the normal kind of bumping into people is to be expected. However, in a rather wide open space I suddenly received a slam from the back that caused me to dump my drink all over a friend and nearly face plant into a table (which would be horrible because I'd have to spend more time at the dentist!!). I turned around to check out the offender (admitedly I was a bit upset) and saw this rather small man who appeared to be Mexican who was apologizing profusely. Of course I excused him, no harm done really. Later while waiting for the bathroom I ran into him again and we spoke in Spanish for ages. You can go to the same place with the same people every friday and still have something completely new and out of the blue happen. It's one of the things I love about being here. It was also the first time since I've been here that Korean's AND Foreigners stared at me like I was from mars!

One of my students learned the word "damnation" from a video game. He asked me what it meant and I played dumb. Once they pick up this language, and if you respond, they'll tell everyone they know and repeat it daily. He tried to catch me off guard several times by shouting it out in class but eventually gave up. Fortunately one of Amanda's students has been listening to hip hop and has picked up and passed on the terms "ho" and "homo". *Monaca-Don't share that part with Gramma and Grandpa ok?* Even cuter than that is one of my prebeginner students who daily says "I am an iguana." He says it straight faced and dead serious. It's the only full sentence he knows but I'm not sure he knows what an iguana is. It's pretty adorable.

We had a Korean cabbie tell us that he hates Korea. He hates the food, he hates the people; he hates everything.It was really strange to hear it come from him. I assume that most of the time when I hate Korea it's because it's a culture I'm unfamiliar with, but to live here your whole life, have no other option for comparison and still hate seems strange....just like everything else here I guess.

I keep mentioning to Amanda that with the amount of cabs we take I wonder if we'll ever get the same driver twice. I really wanted it to happen because I like those moments where it may seem like there are a million people and you blend into the crowd but you realize that it's really a pretty small space. Yesterday we ended up in a cab and the driver kept looking at me and saying "eye". I thought he meant that I had blue eyes as Korean people seem to like to remind me, in case I forget or something. After a while we figured out that I had been in his cab before and had taught him where a rather important landmark is for taxi drivers. He thanked me for my teaching and I was happy all day!

We found patty melts. And they're good.

School is good. Our schedule changes to first shift for six weeks starting in January. I'm keeping all of the Intermediate students that I've had since I got here which is really great. I like being with the same kids and I think they like me. I also got another exciting assignment called "story". It's an elective class that I'll be the only teacher for (No Korean interference!!) where I teach the children to tell stories. I don't know what's going to happen and if it fails it's on my head but it will be fun I think. I got to pick out the books too and got some Dr. Seuss, Roald Dahl, and Amelia Bedilia! I wanted Strega Nona but my boss said it was too confusing, what with all the magic pasta pots!

We met with some Korean friends last night. One of them had just gotten back from Canada and told us what she thinks about Korean's. She said exactly this "if I'm being nice I'll say that Korean's are too honest. If I'm being honest I'll say that they are rude." She told us about how nice it was to not have to worry about her appearance and for people to be so kind and welcoming. She asked why we had come to Korea, we asked why she had left Canada!

Christmas is around the corner and it's actually really nice that it doesn't at all feel like Christmas. There's no snow, it's not really that cold, and the Christmas carols and decorations are kept to a minimum. I think if it felt more like Christmas I would notice more that I'm not home and can't celebrate like I always do.The other day in the subway I heard a strange and somewhat familiar bell ringing sound. Lo and behold there were salvation army red jacketed women, with the bucket, ringing that bell. I thought I could get away from one of the most annoying Christmas side effects. Darn it!

I know some of you want to send me some Christmas stuff and what I want most is books! I've been reading a ton and would love anything to whisk me away from reality!  Wishing you all Happy Holidays and asking that someone would please make a snow angel for me and throw a snowball at my brother! Much love as always!

posted by: 2SKLadies at 12:22 | link | comments (3) |

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