The Merge

We received some news this week that I'm not so crazy about. Our campus and our neighboring campus at Sunae (the next subway stop) will be merging into one due to the Korean economy. So unfortunately, my attempt to skip the states and its' economic downturn has been unsuccessful. Although I don't feel as affected as I did back in the states, the fear is still there.

We learned the news of the merge last Friday night and that it will take effect immediately (as in one week from now-the first week in April. Thankfully, I will not have to switch campuses and I can continue to be at my school rather than the other campus. But I fear that all hell may break loose within the next two weeks as we will have more students, teachers, another boss, and a new curriculum to learn. I was given the option of switching campuses but I decided it was best for me to stick it out with what is familiar considering I've only been here a few months. Also with the merge, I will now be getting paid overtime (time and a half) for a few hours each week as I will begin teaching a phonics class to little toddlers. It may be a headache but the extra pay will be nice in the end. I also don't have an option due to the merge...

There's always a silver-lining! More complaints to come I'm sure...

I'm such a mess at times

Did I mention I lost my cell phone this past Saturday night? Yes, it's true. I had it for one week. This is why I hate "non-zipper" clutches. (Of course the alcohol had nothing to do with it!)

They do say good things never last...

The Telephone Game

So today my favorite class talked me into taking a break from our studies to play the game of telephone. For those of you who don't know the game of telephone, it's a listening game that is actually quite simple. One person thinks of a sentence and then whispers it into someones ear and then that person passes along what they heard into the next person's ear until you reach the end of the "telephone line". Then that person has to say the sentence out loud to the class.

Well as you all know my favorite student Denny started the sentence, "We just made a statement."

By the end of the telephone line, Sally announced the sentence was, "We just ate steak man!"

Now, to give you the full impact of why that sentence is SO hysterical is because everything somehow revolves around steak--as in that slab of beef cooked rare, medium, or well-done. Koreans love it and it's somewhat rare to have it. Steak is usually saved for very special occasions as it's very expensive. So I've had team names be Team Steak vs. Team BBQ, students who have wanted to change their English name to Steak, there are steak flavored potato chips, steak flavored sunflower seeds...really the possibilities are endless.

2 Chicks and a Plastic Bag

This ain't no shopping trip with your girlfriends! This blog is literally about 2 baby chickens and a plastic bag. Allow me to continue...

So I walked into my classroom today to begin teaching my second 2 hour class and there on Lily's desk laid 2 baby chicks that were hardly moving. It was chaos! Everyone was crowded around the poor animals trying to pick them up and touch them. It was actually quite sad, especially looking at the plastic bag Lily carried them in with.

My first instinct was to have everyone get up and go wash their hands. These things were probably loaded with germs and diseases and the constant germs I already come into contact with on a daily basis is quite enough for me. I ran to my counter staff for assistance with the children and birds. I sent almost every student back to the restrooms to wash their hands again, this time using soap (because they really don't do that here). Yuck!

We made it through the rest of class without any more distractions but I never would have imagined I'd walk into a class with chickens.

That's Korea for ya! I'm slowly learning just to always expect the unexpected.

Desperate Times Call for Desperate Measures

It's midnight on Sunday and Paulina, Sionna, and I are in super snacking mode. We had a sudden craving for pizza but learned our place was closed (and most likely all other restaurants being that it was Sunday).

Paulina: "What about grilled cheese?"
Si: "Oooo, BLTS? I don't have any bread though!"
Paulina: "I'll run to the store..." (10 mins later) "I checked 2 places and no bread."
Si: "Well we could just eat a shit load of bacon." (Pauly and I look at each other in complete disgust.) "Well, we could make lettuce wraps!"

Well this ingenious idea did the trick. We gathered all of the ingredients for our BLT wraps and stood over Sionna's sink shaking our heads in agreement that this was a good decision. Then we realized we had created American galbi. Galbi is a very traditional Korean meal where you are served raw meat and you cook it yourself on a grill that is built into your table. You are also served a ton of sauces and small sides to fold into lettuce wraps.

Bacon: $8.00
Lettuce: $3.80
Tomato: $2.50
Processed Cheese: $4.00
American-style Galbi at Midnight with your girls= PRICELESS

These girls are like a good meal, they make me feel stuffed with feelings - great feelings! (Thank you Paul Blark).

Another Carne Station Episode

Saturday was an eventful day to say the least. After a full day of running errands all over Seoul (after not going to bed until 4am), the three of us girls (Si, Pauly, and I) rallied and got dolled up in about 30 mins for another night out at Carne Station (a buffet style restaurant with a self serving, all you can drink bar for $25.00). We met Aaron and a rather large group of his friends for a birthday celebration. It turned into another shit show, just like the last, except this time it was my turn to be the sloppy mess (Sionna still reigns as queen of night at Carne Station #1). We were sat next to a table of about 6 young Korean men who definitely had drinking on the mind. I look over and there were about 30 pints of beer lined up on their table, and it was pretty early. And then the chugging began. It didn't take much time at all for all of us to become quick friends with chugging contests and loud cheering tucked in the back section of the place. What seemed to be the "leader" of their table, even came over to Sionna and said, "YOU (pause) are bery sexy! And then he looked over at Paulina and myself and said, "I am....not...looking for you. You are bery beautiful." haha...so pretty much saying we were out of his league in the most god awful way.

Anyhoo...we got kicked out of Carne (because it was closing time) and we headed off to MB and Harlem..two clubs around the corner. Well we stepped outside and to our surprise, it was completely downpouring. I quickly purchased a giant umbrella and we ran to the clubs. Unfortunately, I wasn't exactly in a state to truly remember the events that followed other than I suddenly became a wreck of a dancing queen, hand selecting every Korean in the place to share the experience. Because of my crazy antics, I got split up from Sionna and we spent the rest of the evening not finding each other. Sionna had even sent out a search party showing pictures off of her camera from earlier in the night to her new military friends. I just remember some guy grabbing my arm, pulling me off a Korean and saying, "Your friend's looking for you." "What!? You are you...lol?" I stumbled up to Sionna and she was NOT happy but thankfully she didn't leave me behind because I managed to lose my new week-old phone. We hopped into a cab, went around the block to a love motel, learned it was fully-booked, so the next thing I know, we're heading to Sionna's with 3 guys from the military.

I woke up the next morning not feeling so hot...GOOD NIGHT!

Queen of Carne Station #3 is now in your hands Pauly...it's your turn to shine!

Company, at last!

I had my first company come over to my new home this past Friday night. Si and Pauly decided it was about time to make the trek from Youngton to Jeongja (my neck of the woods) for a little dinner and a sleepover. All week long I worked hard in between work and classes to prepare for their arrival. Buying this and that to make my place a little more appealing. You know, give it that "homey-feeling"...do it up C-Dizzle style! Not only did I make sure I had enough blankets, tp, and towels, but also plates, glasses, forks, etc because they were coming over for DINNER!!
Being the chef that I am and the fact that I'm severely food-network deprived, I planned a menu, bought the freshest of ingredients from the market, and made a production schedule (event planner style) to organize my thoughts. Think of it as a to-do list really.

I whipped together 4 courses in my teeny, tiny kitchen and served a selection of white and red wine to complete my authentic Italian inspired meal. The girls had a little trouble in the transportation area but we managed to begin our spaghetti dinner at around 1am. My evening was complete! I have to admit, I was really proud to finally show off the place and get some attention in my hood. I would say the only thing I was really missing were all of my fabulous cookbooks! Giada would have really come in handy!!

So in the situation, I did what I do best and thought of my girl Julene and a quote we stumbled upon together: "When in doubt, add more wine." And boy did we ever! A few bottles later and the three of us were walking riverside at 3am enjoying the evening smog, bright neon lights, smoke from a random bon-fire, and the sound of fish that splashed around like they were the size of dolphins. It was a true Kodak moment.

My new haircut...

The subject of this blog sounds like a story I read with my students...ha!

Anyways, yes I did finally get a haircut. After a grueling 8 months (yes 8!) since my last haircut (back in July) I decided my hair had reached a decent length to try and get some sort of shape! So no more awful, awkward haircut! No more mullet and no more duck tail. You could say my new style is something similar to the "Rihanna", or "Posh", or "Stacey Gagnon" bob. My "do" is still pretty short but at least all of the layers are catching up to each other. I feel like a new woman!

Best part is that it only cost 15,000 won or $15.00. That's amazing considering I used to pay $95.00 back home!

An Unlucky St. Patty's Day

Well, my St. Patty's Day was anything but lucky. It all started around 1:00 am when I had a terrible, not to mention random, pain in my stomach. I was fine all day but as time ticked away that evening, the pain grew worse and worse to the point where I was rolling on the floor, shaking, and on the verge of falling unconscious. I tried to stay calm and hope it would pass while arguing with myself on whether I should phone for help. Eventually, I threw up continually until about 4am where I finally felt some what better and fell asleep. I'm pretty sure I just ate some bad eggs earlier in the day and my body was punishing me for it. The next day, I stayed in bed until I absolutely had to shower and get ready for work. I felt okay, but far from my normal self. I went to work (because Koreans don't believe in sick days. You literally have to be on your death bed with a note from a doctor.) I then prepped all of my material for my (2) three hour classes and received a text message from my co-teacher Sarah. It read: "I look like a monster! The Doc. said I have Scarlett Fever and I should stay home for 5 days. Jae (our boss) wants me back to work tomorrow."

So many thoughts rushed into my head. Scarlett Fever?!? Isn't that a book? Didn't settlers get that as they crossed the Oregon Trail? Don't you die from Scarlett Fever?

Well despite Sarah's horrible news, I decided I was ready to attempt getting some food into my system. As I'm walking out the door, my boss starts running after me. She then proceeded to ask me to teach both of Sarah's classes because they couldn't find a qualified teacher as they were higher level classes. Like I had a choice! So I scrambled to prepare another set of lesson plans. And really, not exactly the best day to ask me for favors. I was already feeling terrible and then she sprung this news on me. Talk about anxiety. I had a few minutes left to get some fresh air before classes would begin. I called Sionna only to learn that she too was having an "unlucky" day. She tripped and re-injured her knee carrying heavy boxes, spent an unexpected large fortune at the post office sending packages home, and was running late to school.

Apparently the "luck o' the Irish" wasn't in our favor that day! We should have all just stayed home!

March 14th = White Day

Here in Korea, Valentine's Day is on steroids (which is why we skipped town for the weekend). The date of February 14th is very much a "lover's day" but the customs or rituals are much different than the western ideals we are accustomed to. Now, you may be wondering why I'm rambling on about V-Day when the title of this blog is about "White Day". Well, allow me to explain.

On Valentine's Day, February 14th, women ONLY give men chocolates. Nothing else really. And on White Day, March 14th, MEN only give girls candy (but they can't give chocolates and likewise). So 3/14 is all about the ladies and 2/14 is all about the stud muffins. It's cute actually - kind of more special for one person. (Eww, I think I just puked in my mouth a little bit. Forget I said that). But it's definitely a way for advertisers to make a killing on not only one holiday, but two!

So naturally, on Saturday night, the theme was all about White Day. Pauly, Si, and I ventured to Songtan, a little air force base located about 40 minutes from Suwon. We arrived in the late afternoon and to my surprise, there was not a single Korean in sight. Nothing but handsome Western men roaming about. We relaxed in an attractive lounge with giant sofa-like chairs, enjoyed a bottle of Pinot Grigio, check into a hotel, and ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant (which I hadn't yet seen in Korea). Soon after, we changed into the night's themed wardrobe: Everyone must wear and article of white clothing. So in SPC fashion, (Si, Pauly, and Cass) we all wore white bottoms and black tops. We looked quite sightly as Si wore long linen pants, Pauly wore white Capri's, and I wore a very mini white skirt. The night was fun, short lived but fun, full of random Russian girls serving kettles, Western meat, and an unconscious walking girlfriend (name to be left unmentioned). Her dead weight fell down about 80 million times on the way back to the hotel, taking me down with her each step of the way. My highlight of the night were the frantic soldiers jumping out of the shadows each time we went down to see if we were all right.
Me: "Yea, we're fine. She's just an asshole."

We eventually woke up, checked out, ate some great Thai food, and did some shopping. Needless to say, I think it was a successful weekend ended by a great movie and homemade ice cream sundaes!

"School Day Quotes"

• "Teacher...your hair is always different everyday!"
• "Teacher, you should be a famous actress! You are bery, bery funny at this." (While reading a story)
• "You are so crazy teacher!!!!"
• "Ahh teacher noooooo." (While handing out a grammar quiz)
• "Teacher! Play game - NO more study!"
• "I am so hungry teacher! Teacher, please buy me snack!"
• "I like your clothes today. They are bery beautiful."
• "Teacher, may I drink the water?"
• "Oh teacher! Ahh. You have TWO earrings in one ear? Ahh! That is so crazy!"

This is a short list I have compiled of the funny things my students have said to me or say on a regular basis. You can't truly get the real effect through writing, but it's absolutely hysterical with their cute little accents.

Connected at last...

Yes everyone, I have re-entered the world. I have finally purchased a new cell phone after my much anticipated ARC card came in the mail from the immigration office. Without this magical card that takes a month on average to process, you can't get any channels or cable on your television. You can't install the Internet. You can't open a bank account. And you can't buy a cell phone!

The new phone is very stylish and a pretty plum purple with many features including the Internet, a Korean dictionary, a camera/video device, a tv, and a subway may of Seoul..among many other things. The sight of me and Sionna in the phone store must have been an interesting sight to all the passers-by as we acted out what we wanted. The poor store workers spoke no English at all but the phrase, "OK". They would say something to us and we would just look at each other all confused and say, "What!?! I have no idea what he is trying to tell me." But we somehow managed to get a year contract, a new phone, and a cute cell phone charm. (If you don't accessorize and style up your phone with little charms - you're sooooo not hip and cool). So I have arrived at last in Korea! Purple cell phone and all...

My first Korean pay day

It has been since early December that I have received any sort of income. So when March, 10th rolled around, I was the happiest girl for miles. There's so many things I want to do...

• Purchase my first bottle of wine in Korea (along with an opener) since I've been without my daily glass for months...
• Wire money to my U.S account
• Buy a house plant
• Get a few necessities for home that I've been putting off
• Put a down payment on our trip to Beijing in May
• Visit our favorite restaurant in Seoul (It's truly a hidden treasure)

Really, the list just goes on! But you best believe I hopped right onto a bus that night after work and headed to Sionna's. We had a celebratory dinner at Pauly and Si's favorite local fried chicken place. It may not have been Hooters (where we celebrated their first paycheck), but I assure you our 3 baskets of chicken and the random potato melody was finger lickin' good!

Throughout the course of dinner, we enjoyed some great conversation and had some good laughs. All I could do was smile. That's the thing about great girlfriends. They can do so much for your state of mind.

Tut tut, it looks like rain...

I know I've mentioned it before, but I happen to enjoy the rain. Or at least I did more so before I learned about the rain here in Korea. I was recently told by a Korean girlfriend that if you are not carrying an umbrella while it's raining outside, to make sure you wash your hair as soon as possible.

Me: Why? I'm not worried about my hair getting wet...
Girlfriend: Your hair will fall out. Over time you can go bald.
Me: Are you serious?!!? No way!
Girlfriend: Yeah! It's because of the pollution.

Well shit! I mean I've been loosing a lot of hair since I've been here due to the water in general, but there's no reason for that too! Well, at least I know. Don't leave the house without your umbrella. You never know when you'll get caught in a Korean rain storm and develop bald patches! Ugh!

Things I've noticed about Korea...

So throughout my month of living in a new country, I've come to make a few very interesting observations. Listed below are some of the "fun facts" that I've compiled:

Transportation:

1. Koreans can't drive! They don't feel the need to stop at red lights and stop signs and they drive 100mph everywhere!
2. "No Parking Zones" don't apply to drivers here. They feel as though they can park their vehicles anywhere and everywhere...on sidewalks, in store fronts, in the middle of the street...anywhere!
3. "The Scooters don't stop!" (said in my best ELF impersonation.) Delivery men drive scooters on the roads and sidewalks and you best move if you here any kind of motor near you...because they won't stop!
4. The Scooters have built in gloves on the handle bars...it's amazing. You just have to see it!
5. Everything and anything you can think of, can be delivered to your doorsteps. Pizza, McDonald's, Donuts, Documents...These Koreans aim to please!

Food:

1. They don't have 3 distinguished meals throughout the day. For breakfast, all of the children eat kimchi (very, very spicy fermented cabbage) and fish heads. Yum!
2. Yogurt is a drink. Literally, it's called "Drinking Yogurt" and it's in a milk carton.
3. All food can be found on sticks. It's the land of Kabobs, I swear!
4. Children eat Ramen noodles like we eat a bag of chips. They just open a package of Ramen, break up the noodles, dump the seasoning in the bag, shake it around, and viola! Snack-time! (And yes, it is uncooked.)
5. "I'm too lazy to go get milk (or insert item here) at the store" is an excuse you will never hear because there is a convenient store on EVERY block. Think of Starbucks in NYC but way worse.
6. Koreans think pizza is a garbage plate. You can get anything on one. I've seen a pizza with apples, bananas, grapes, mushrooms, and corn. Oh! And corn and cheese pizza and potato and cheese pizza is the most popular of choices. It's like our cheese and pepperoni.
7. There is no such thing as tipping. If you leave a tip, they will chase you down the street screaming that you forgot your money!!
8. Magic Buttons are located on every table (Yugio buttons). You literally press it when you are ready to order, need a re-fill, the check, etc. They won't ever come up to your table to bug you. It's fantastic!

Fashion:

1. You know someone is dating or "official" if they are wearing the same shoes, jacket, shirt, entire outfit...whatever. No boundaries apply, even matching couples under-garments! So don't get caught checking out another Korean's man because she's clearly marked her territory!!
2. Tights, in every style and color, are worn on a regular basis by Korean women. It's like an outfit isn't complete without them. (Remember my yellow tights!?!?)
3. I'm in the land of SHORT SHORT skirts (which I don't mind so much because I'm a huge fan of the mini). But they have re-defined short here. And come to find out, it's because Koreans don't have hips or an ass so all that's left to show off and attract potential suitors are their long slender legs. Hey, whatever you've got to do!
4. Don't leave the house without your designer handbag. And that goes for both men and women alike!

Home:

1. Koreans have re-defined what a bathroom truly is. Notice the words that form the compound: Bath and Room = bathroom! Meaning: A room in which you take a bath. So the shower head is located over the sink and toilet. At least its easy to clean!
2. Heat rises. To keep your home warm, heat comes from the floor. It's actually really nice. I hang out more on my floor than in my bed!
3. I can't get kids to understand what a lawn or yard is because they don't exist in Korea. Everyone lives in tall sky rise apartment buildings. Makes me appreciate my rural upbringing that much more.

Now I'm not saying any of these "fun facts" are bad nor good. I happen to like many of them. They're just different that's all! And that is exactly why I absolutely love this country!!

More observations to come...I'm sure of that!

Lion

tigers and bears...oh my!?! I may be in the land of Oz, but there's no cowardly lion in this story!

Allow me to share with you the name of my newest student - LION. Among the Terry's and Jerry's of the class sits shy Lion, a middle school aged-boy. I have to give the kid credit for keeping it real! Unfortunately for him, every time I called on him in class today, I chuckled to myself... just a little bit. I couldn't help it! :)

And on the note of new students, I now have a second crush. His name is Peter and he is 9 years old. He really doesn't say much, but he just stares at me in awe throughout the entire two hour duration of class. He has the sweetest big brown eyes and soft mannerisms. Just such a cutie-pie!

So watch out Denny! If Peter ever starts warming up to me...you may loose your spot as number 1!!

Stay tuned for further "crush" updates... I seem to have MANY here!! :)

One month down...

Can you believe that Saturday was my one month anniversary of being in Korea???

I feel like I just got here and one month of my eleven month contract has already passed by. But even though I've been here a month, it feels like I've been here for years at the same time. (If that makes any sense at all!?) I'm just so comfortable here...I feel home! I'm also beginning to develop some sort of a routine (finally!) and I'm also pretty sure the jet-lag has finally passed from my system. I honestly couldn't be happier.

And that makes me wonder: If after all of the hardships I went through to get here, what if I had just given up? What if I decided not to come...that it was too big of a risk? That all the bad things people were telling me about taking the leap across the ocean would stand true?

Would I still be happy?