Fordpride

I'll be honest. It was a little strange not being home/in the country for Christmas. I missed my family and our traditions, but despite these differences, it was still pretty rockin'. I went up and stayed with some friends in Seoul and we had a couple dance parties, good food, and good times. I had a few students come in with little Christmas goodies and that also made my life a little better. The one I got today might be my most interesting gift ever. Yes, I know. I should make movies professionally. I'm considering it. Oh, and that thing they call the eye? Not an eye. It is, in fact, a beak. I had no idea squids had beaks. You can google that, but its gross. I don't recommend it. But I do know you're not supposed to eat it. (I can relate to that kid though. Sometimes I eat things I know I shouldn't. Just because I can. And before I started recording he said he wanted the whole squid, and he pointed to his gut. And that right there made me think ...

(Merry Christmas friends!!) ------- A couple of my friends and fellow English teachers mentioned a few weeks back about how some of their students had told them that Santa had died. We tried figuring out where this lie came from; maybe the students were told this to encourage less requests for gifts, or maybe it was just some random kid trying to make us Westerners believe something wack. Either way, we all agreed it was sad. I mean, Santa can't be dead. He has a job to do. So last week in one of my classes, I was spreading some Christmas cheer by throwing out candy to my students, and I nonchalantly asked if they had Santa Claus in Korea. There were a couple students who said yes, but then there were a couple students who exclaimed: "Santa is dead!" (I'm pretty sure every time someone says that, a reindeer loses an antler) Since my students are older than my friends students, I figured I could try asking them where this absurd information comes from. None other th...

Sometimes I come up with really good ideas. This is one of them. It stemmed from this photo taken last summer. My dear Deanna was in Mexico and we would spend a considerable amount of time gchatting (it's an addiction), making me frequently late to work/class. To honor our relationship, this photo was taken. And I must admit, it is a classic. (PS if anyone needs pointers on how to maintain a successful long distance relationship, Deanna and I have mastered the art.) Fast forward to about a month ago. Webcam+camera+friends=success Now, this is a fairly recent phenomena, so if you would like to chat via webcam/have a photo taken, let me know. We'll make it happen. Rachel was the first. This was taken at school. Bringing a webcam to school to entertain me=second best idea ever. Since Todd doesn't read my blog, I have no qualms in posting this next photo. It is both terrifying and comical. Like unto our relationship. This is just a good one. Darren, you have never look...

Why, this is! Don't recognize him? How about now? Yes, he is the one and only Ahmal James from the hit blockbuster sequel, Sister Act 2 ! Fun fact: He wrote the hit song "Miami" for Will Smith He was also in the group City High, who gave us this gem: He is full of genius. Obviously.

in direct relation to my wake-up call fire drill, i slept in and neglected to take a shower. this meant hair was back and my forehead was exposed, in all its glory. it must've been the first time my tuesday classes saw me like this because the first thing a student said when i walked in was (pointing to his forehead) "wow, teacher, very big!" thank you, child. thank you. ------------ saturday night i went up to seoul to see a performance of handel's messiah. it was beautiful and the best thing to get me more in the christmas spirit. - i took the metro back home and about 7 stops from my city, i heard some american voices. i looked down the train and was surprised to see a couple of my friends on their way home from drinking. it was so random! i only say they were drinking because of the following reasons: 1. they went to this bar crawl where you had to dress up like an animal. so, they were wearing animal outfits. they definitely got some good looks. 2. the m...

There are a lot of cultural differences between the U.S. and Korea. Forks vs. chopsticks, for example. But one thing I was not anticipating was the amount of physical touching between human beings. In Korea, its not really awesome to have a lot of PDA with a significant other. There are signs on the subway that show its not cool to kiss a boyfriend or girlfriend on the train. But when you're not dating someone, it seems like anything goes. Especially for people of the same sex. I mean, its cute when you see two old ladies walking down the street, holding hands or linking arms, making sure they don't fall. But what I'm really surprised about is the amount of touching that goes on between my students. Yes, my students at the all boys middle school. They hold hands. They link arms. We're watching a movie this week, and they have cuddled up with each other on the floor. And thats just the beginning...but I'll stop now. You get the picture. But we're talking ...

The buzzing seems to get louder and louder as I turn over in my bed and fumble for my phone. The numbers light up as soon as I push a button. 5:23 am. Ugh. At first I'm a little dazed as to what is happening. It's too early and my level of functioning is low. Then, in a moment of inspiration, I realize that the sound is my buildings fire alarm. Great. My first reaction: put on pants My second reaction: pack my laptop in my purse in case the building goes up in flames. Once I put my laptop in my purse, however, I figured out I was probably jumping the gun. I decided to do some investigative work to see if I should jump this conclusion. I looked out the window to see if the rest of the tenants were gathering. There were none. So then I looked into the hallway. The alarm was flashing and beeping and I hated it. But I did not see one person leave their apartment. I went back to the window. Two women had made their way down there. They then proceeded to have a conversation ...

Yes, that includes you "Ninja Monkey" and "Neoteric Warrior".

My little bro's. (I really like how Asian Erik looks in this picture. Legit. ) We really like eating refreshing treats together.

You'd be surprised how much COLD this little bit of snow brought to my corner of the world today. Seriously. I'd take Colorado's four feet to this light dust any day. Freezing! Oh, and one more thing: (not everyone will get this reference (sorry). but those of you who do will love it. i promise)

The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Alicia Keys - Empire State of Mind (Part II) Broken Down www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor U.S. Speedskating He may not be Jay-Z, but this is just awesome.

Last fall, my mom and I went and saw Swan Lake performed in Denver. It was lovely. This weekend, I went and saw it again in Seoul. Two things about seeing it again: 1. I love the ballet in Swan Lake , but I love the music more. It's beautiful. 2. I miss my mom And I really want to buy opera glasses.

So, I'm on a quest to post a bunch of posts with pics tonight. Mostly because I haven't shown some vital photos of my day to day life. Take, par example, my school. You haven't even seen what it looks like! Until now. Welcome to a tour of where I spend so much of my time. And thats all I got right now.

I was going to title this "Bathroom Woes" but I thought it might give the wrong impression. If I talked to you before I came to Korea, I probably expressed my excitement about the potential of my Korean bathroom. I had read and seen some Korean bathrooms where the shower was connected to the sink and the entire room was essentially a shower. I was mostly excited about being able to shower and go to the bathroom...at the same time! (tmi?) Well, as expected, when I got to my little apartment I found what I was waiting for: Every morning I have to turn the little knob to make sure the water pressure goes to the shower head and not the sink. Sometimes I forget to change it back. Like today: This has happened 5 times in the past week. You'd think I'd learn.

This week has been pretty awesome as far as work is concerned. I haven't had to teach at all and Wednesday through Friday are designated half days. Well, half days at school. The second half of the day is 'work from home' time. I don't know if I'd call it all work, but I've definitely been productive with those half days so far. First stop: Isaac Toast. I was walking home and I always see this little food place and I decided it would be the day to taste it. It's a kind of french toast sandwich dealio type place and while there were no pictures displayed to point to, I was able to order a ham, cheese, and egg sandwich. (Insert: Today I was marveling at how I am able to survive in this country. I mean, I don't speak the language, but I get by just fine. It's seriously amazing). The verdict? Hands down the best sandwich I've had in Korea. Maybe even in my life. It was soooo good. Like heaven. They put this kind of sauce on the bread and ...

Last week I was telling my friend about how the night before I had a defining moment in my life when Avril Lavigne came on the radio in the cab and our taxi driver turned it up and started singing along. And then we all started singing along (except me because it was a tune I was unfamiliar with) and we rolled the windows and for that moment we were one with the old man Korean cab driver. Today I had a lot of defining moments. First, a student told me my Cher impression wasn't good. ... Excuse me, but have the rest of you been lying to me for the past 10 years? Because that's not very funny and I'm upset I had to hear this from a Korean boy. Ouch. Secondly, after lunch I went out and played a little basketball with the students. Its been awhile since I've been able to shoot hoops and even though it was short lived, I loved it. I think I'm going to make it a more frequent occurrence. But maybe only after it warms up a little bit. Aka March. Third. I joined a K...

A lot of you already know this story. In second grade I had a crush on a boy named Dominic. Dominic and I were in the same class and he was super cute. He's probably the first crush I can remember having. I mean, there was the boy in preschool that I used to kiss all the time (shout out to Matt!) but I'm pretty sure that was purely physical. Dominic was not only cute, but just so nice. So naturally, we did what most second graders in love would do: chase each other around the playground. This was all fine and dandy until one day during the chase, as I was coming around the corner of the field into the playground area, Dominic seemingly vanished. Not a second later I spotted him laying down in the sandbox (more like pebbles) so I walked up and sat down next to him. I began to cover him in these little rocks. I put them on his feet and hands and head....and ear. Recess ended. I ran into class. After class had started, I looked around and saw that Dominic was nowhere to be ...

This kid is awesome. He is turning 13 today. I wish I could be there to see him transform into a teenager, but I'm sure it'll be a smooth transition. He knows whats up. Erik! Happy birthday! My gift to you is a blizzard from Dairy Queen in approximately ten months. Don't forget. Miss you! Love you! PS Korean gifts will be shipped shortly. Hopefully in time for Christmas, but we'll see if that happens. No worries.

I have a super BFF named Jeff. Jeff and I were able to meet on our study abroad in Paris. It was a magical time with friends, French, and fromage. He was a brave soul and stayed strong and sane while being the only boy out of 30 people in our program. Yes, that means he was almost constantly surrounded by 29 girls. Impressive, eh? Jeff and I didn't hang out a ton on our study abroad, but it was only the beginning. Almost four years later, I have found Jeff to be a solid friend. He is a good example and a good time. We have shared moments of utter happiness, disappointment, and confusion. And one time he yelled at me because I was being obnoxious during a very important phone call. (I'm still sorry about that, JD) Anyways, the point of this is that Jeff is again living in Paris. He graduated and decided to fulfill a dream/work towards bigger goals by attending a prestigious acting school in the city of lights. Right around the time he moved to Paris, I came to Korea. ...

i love hats. its a fact of life. sometimes i love them because they cover up my greasy day-2 hair. other times i love them just because. korea has already provided me with some good ones: I know you've already seen my New York Salt Lake hat, but I had to include this picture for its awkward factor. This guy was our server at a typical Korean restaurant and he totally hammed it up for us. When he came to cut our meat or stir in our rice he was very theatrical, and we totally ate it up. I loved him for the night. So naturally I had to get a picture with him. Only when the camera came out he got real shy. And his coworkers laughed at him. Which explains his face. Oh, and this place gives you aprons to wear while you eat. Yes please. And sorry my face is so giant: I got my first Korean haircut! I'm legit starting to fit in here. My Korean name is Bomi (thanks Mark!), I have an Asian haircut, and I eat rice every day. Bam sucka.

It is my bro's bday today. I am sad I cannot be there to celebrate with him and the rest of the fam. Real sad. Kris is really awesome. I mean, seriously. He has a heart of gold and more faith and dedication than I can even fathom. I'm a real lucky girl when it comes to having the most choice brothers, and Kris is no exception. So while I know its the end of your day, I hope your birthday is most excellent. And the next time we happen to be in the same place, we're doing sushi. Miss you love you!! happy birthday!!

As I sat here following the game of all games on my laptop in Korea, I had nothing but feelings of love and truth and happiness as my beloved Cougs beat the nasty Utes. I got homesick for LaVell Edwards stadium. I wish I could've sat there cheering for my team. But I think they heard me all the way from here. As I'm reading up on the game, some quotes from Max Hall really stood out. And when I say stood out, I mean he was pretty harsh. And I kinda like it. I mean, its his last regular season college football game. Max said: "I don't like Utah. In fact, I hate them. I hate everything about them. I hate their program, their fans. I hate everything," Hall said. "It felt really good to send those guys home... "I think the whole university and their fans and the organization is classless," Hall said. "They threw beer on my family and stuff last year and did a whole bunch of nasty things. I don't respect them and they deserved to lose."...

Hankook Mart: This is where I usually do my grocery shopping. The first time I went there I wasn't so sure about it. It's smaller (and therefore not really stocked full of American food) but now I go there probably at least twice a week. There is this random man whose job is to talk constantly into a microphone over the loudspeaker. I have no idea what he's saying, but he sounds like a game show host. Someone said he's just saying the big sales or discounts. But sometimes when I walk in and he starts talking and I see people laughing I have this fear he's warning the store that a white girl has entered. Anyways. This week, however, heaven came to me in the form of an even greater shopping experience: Costco Did you know there are six (I think) Costco's in Korea?! I love it. I went with some friends and we walked in with wide eyes and happy hearts. Like kids in a candy store. I'm not even joking. And its not like it's super close to us. It too...