Maybe I found my calling...

I came into this teaching job completely from left field with no experience, no prior teaching skills, and not being too fond of children. And since I have arrived here in Korea, I have fortunately liked it a lot more than I thought I would. This week, our school conducted parent/teacher meetings where I had to sit in one on one with a parent and an interpreter. Every meeting, I nervously walked in and to my surprise, most of the meeting was the parent giving praise towards me.

"My child has been really stressed but he always looks forward to your class."

"I was getting worried about my child because he's been a downhill slope. But since he's had you as a teacher, he's making so much progress. He's back on track again!"

"You say my child needs to move up a level but then she will have a new teacher. I don't want her to move up if you can't move with her."

"My child really, really likes you. She talks about you after every class."

I've never felt more honored. And here all along I didn't think I knew what I was doing. Apparently I'm doing something right!! :)

Korean Men + Capris = VERY BAD IDEA!!!

As the heat of the summer approaches, it seems as though the layers of clothing peel away. Girls begin sporting summer dresses and sandals while the men loose their sports jackets and trade them in for bright colored polo's. But as you may have guessed, typical summer attire doesn't exactly apply here in Korea. Everyone has the freedom and divine right to dress as they please. They may dress to impress but without a doubt, its also to EXPRESS.

On a daily basis, I am haunted with the sight of men in business suits with socks and sandals, sun visors that cover your entire face, umbrellas the same pattern as your shirt to shield you from the sun, and the latest tragic trend: men wearing capri's.

I assure you that even though this may sound appealing, it is far from it! Its like Africa far and I don't even know if that covers the distance. So if any man is thinking of rocking capri's out there, do us all a favor and please JUST DON'T!!!!

A not so lovely love note

Teacher's Day is this Saturday. It's another one of those fantastic holidays that I have come to love. It's an entire day dedicated to teachers where students show their appreciation by giving gifts. Today, I walked into class to this note written on my board:

Dear Cassandra,

I like you, but I don't love you because umm...I just don't like you when I have to write.

Love,
Denny

As you all know, Denny holds a special place in my heart as he is my first student crush. But unfortunately for me, he doesn't feel the same way as I do for him. It looks like I won't be waiting 20 years for him after all.

And another one bites the dust...

Wednesday, the new Friday

My new favorite day of the week is Wednesday because:

1. It marks the middle of the week
2. It's a great excuse to break up the work week
3. It's open mic night at Dublin's
4. It's open mic night at Dublin's :)

With the stresses of teaching, sometimes Wednesday just doesn't come soon enough. Once the clock strikes 10 o'clock, I bolt out of work and head straight to Dublin's. As for this past Wednesday, the night went from playing pool and chillin' out to a shirt changing, song blastin', dance partying crazy time! I made a new guitar-playing-all-star friend and let's just say we hit it off. I belted out the only girl song he could think of and we just rolled with it. "I will survive" became the anthem of the night and I managed to score a weekly gig.

Closing the bar was not part of the plan...

Beach Cruiser vs. Bikrim Yoga

I've been desperately yearning to get back into Bikrim or "hot" yoga especially considering that I paid a ton of cash for a gym I'm not crazy about. There's barely any equipment and it's about a 20 minute walk one way. I know...excuses, excuses. But lately I've just had no motivation to go. So I've recently discovered a bike rental shop and have fallen in love with the joy of bicycling, especially on a hip beach cruiser. Having one in my neighborhood would be so convenient and ideal with all of the back and forth I do and the many bike paths Bundang provides. So I've visited a few bike shops lately and found a yellow beauty that includes a basket and bell that I'm absolutely in love with. I've also conveniently discovered there is a hot yoga studio closer to my house than the gym. So it has come down to choose one over the other as both options are a bit pricey.

Today, I started my first yoga class. I'll let you know what happens next month. But boy is it good to be back!

Korea, the Land of Plenty

Korea is a fascinating city full of great food, people, culture, and plenty o' great holidays! Children's Day, Couple's Day, Parent's Day, Teacher's Day (just to name a few) are among my newly and happily acquired Korean nuances.

So over the Children's Day vacation, a day dedicated to kids who can ask their parents for anything they want, and their parents have to provide, I managed to visit a lot of places and cover a lot of ground. I got to know the area around Bundang, Aaron's hood in Incheon, Bupeyeong, Jonga-do, Insadong, Apujeong, Sinsadong, and Meyondong. Who would have thought that you could have so much fun exploring by yourself in the land of plenty!

I LOVE THIS PLACE!!

A day trip that I'll have forever...

I finally took the time to check out the signs at the bus stop to see where I can get around to from Jeongja. I tried out my first bus to Gagnam (Seoul) and to my surprise, it only took 20-25 minutes! This was great news because the subway ride took a solid hour! Once I got off the bus, I headed for Insadong which is an area of Seoul known for antiques and the oldest book store in Seoul. I found the main strip where people were hawking different merchandise and great souvenirs. There were also street entertainers, ton's of people, and the smell of various street food filled the air (ie corn on the cob, snails, mandu, chicken/sausages on a stick, roasted chestnuts, red bean filled pastries, fish paste...ya know - the usual!)

I eventually made my way back to Gagnam where I went out on a date...with myself, at a delicious curry restaurant. Sitting alone at the restaurant full of people I thought to myself, this is it. Could I really stay here another year or two if my closest friends leave me behind?

And then I had another thought, when was the last time I was this happy?

A trip to Incheon

The next day, we arose from our slumber at a decent hour and went for a morning hike. We came back, ate a light breakfast, and headed for Incheon to visit Aaron. The trek was long but not as hard as we were anticipating. We got some dinner, picked up some goods, played card games and chopsticks (Korean version of spoons), and headed to the most awful and dead hip-hop club that we've ever been to thanks to Mark. Our entertainment for the evening was Sionna trying to teach some thugged out Korean girls how to dance using their hips. (I don't think they quite got it.) We came back to Aaron's, slept for a few hours, and off they parted for a weekend in Busan. I stayed back, made myself comfortable at Aaron's place (thanks to his spare key) and eventually headed back home in the afternoon. 2.5 rainy hours later, I arrived home wet and exhausted. I got some dinner, rented some more movies, and went to bed early. Tomorrow's mission: make a trip into Seoul using a my newly discovered bus!

Joy Ride

Once reconnected, Sionna and I set off for Yul Dong Park, one of the most well-known parks in Bundang. After purchasing a few waters, we hopped into a cab with nothing but bike riding on the mind. Once we arrived, we soon realized we were dropped off at the back entrance of the park so we wandered around the lake aimlessly in search of a bike rental shop. Suddenly we looked up and saw a giant tower with the words "Bungee Jump" written in large, white, block letters. We immediately dashed for the tower in search for more information. We learned 25,000 won will get you one full-body harness (not ankle) jump over the water. Now considering we came to the park to ride bicycles, we decided to save that adventure for when Paulie came back to town.

Next thing you know, we reached a children's story theme park full of many different statues/sculptures. The first one I spotted was a camel but all of the statues were enclosed by a rope fence. Sionna said come on, lets go! I insisted many times that I don't jump ropes. As Sionna hops the rope fence, I decided why the hell not!

Sionna: "Rope jumper! Rope jumper!"

Next thing you know, Si and I were running around the park posing with camels, monkeys, quotation marks, giant Korean heads, etc. while completely avoiding the signs in Korean that most likely stated not to touch! Still feeling incomplete as we hadn't come across any bikes, we continued following the path around the lake. As we were about to lose all hope, there on the street were pretty little bicycles all lined in neat rows. Among the many bicycles, there were red ones, blue ones, adult sized, bikes with training wheels, double-seaters, mountain bikes, etc., we found "our bikes". A glorious bright green and bright pink beach cruiser fully equipped with hand breaks, a basket, and a cute little bell. We each paid the man 6,000 won for two hours of pure bliss. We quickly found a less crowded path along the river and began our great bike adventure!

Really wishing we had speakers to place in our baskets, I began singing any song that popped into my head. No Scrubs, My Girl, Irreplaceable, Ain't Too Proud To Beg, Rescue Me, Just Dance, Natural Woman, Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Lion King...really you name it! Sionna even requested Breakaway. As the time passed, I slowly began to recognize some of the path. Next thing you know, we're in Jeongja! We had come across the fountain that I run too! Feeling fully accomplished and somewhat tired and hungry, we headed back, returned the bikes, and went for $5.00 pizzas. We then figured out how to rent movies (Anastasia of course), treated ourselves to some delicious Cold Stone, and plopped ourselves down for the night at my place. With all of the fresh air, exercise, and sunshine, it didn't take long for us to fall asleep! GREAT DAY!!

Dublins, "Where everyone knows your name!"

The first day of vacation was quite a success. I caught up on a little bit of sleep, enjoyed some very much needed sunshine and in the early evening, Si came over for a visit! I prepared a dinner for two and Sionna insisted upon watching RENT (which happens to be a request I will never turn down). After singing every score at the top of our lungs in my tiny non-soundproof apartment, we decided to give the neighbors a break from our beautiful vocal chords and head over to my local pub - Dublins. We walked into the bar and made well, instant friends. For some reason, there was a lot of Aussie's there and they LOOOVED Sionna.

Favorite Moments of the Night (in no particular order):

1. It was open mic night...I really need to learn how to play the guitar!


2. (Insert your best Australian accent here) "Darlin' (to Si) you're gorgeous."


3. We had our SECOND encounter with a fellow NP alumni. Turns out he recognized Sionna because he played Hockey with Mikey (Sionna's college bo). CRAZY!!!


4. Si somehow managed to receive not only one but TWO souvenirs. First the bartenders gave her an inflatable hammer which she hit everyone on the head with. And she also received a fake silk bouquet of flowers from an Australian.


5. I wound up behind the bar playing DJ


6. Si ordered a few doubles


7. I actually had friends at the bar...sort of lol


8. Some guy made out with Sionna's cheek


9. By the end of the night, I had made friends with all of the bartenders and now we're on a first name basis.


10. I played pool ... and somehow carried the team