Fordpride

I haven't left my apartment in five days. This is even more impressive considering my apartment is the size of a closet. I'm starting to get real antsy. Which perfectly coincides with the fact that I have no more bottled water or food in general, including ice cream bars. Necessities. There is a local grocery/convenience store probably 100 feet from my apartment building, but that even seems far away. The woman who owns the store is the nicest lady. We have an upstanding waving/hello relationship every time I pass her store, which is every time I go anywhere. And when I went in on Monday, wearing my death mask and reeking of the flu, she even gave me a discount. I think she felt sorry for me. And I accepted being felt sorry for. COT made a stop by yesterday. It was mostly awkward. She knocked and I opened the door and she stayed three feet beyond the open door the entire time, randomly taking full glances of my apartment. I don't know if she came to see if I was d...

Bored to death, its true The Swine isn't leaving soon. I miss Qdoba. Football poster here I stare at it every day All thanks to you Jill! Koreans love teeth. They brush theirs five times a day. Sometimes I chew gum. happy birthday d. i have nothing to give you except for my love. i love halloween. there is no halloween here unacceptable.

Saturday I went up to Seoul for some shopping. And for some pictures with our favorite cartoon characters! Pikachu was the first one we saw. I literally ran after him. I was so excited. After we took this picture I told him I loved him. He told me he loved me back. It was pure magic. Shrek wasn't as shy. As was Stitch, from the one and only Lilo and Stitch. Which I don't actually like. But it was there, and so I took a photo. Yeah. Awesome.

So one time I went to Seoul to see Beyonce. Oh wait that was last week. And it was awesome. Unfortunately, as we all know, taking pictures during concerts is hardly a worthwhile endeavor as the pictures always come out blurry and suck. And since I can't upload videos with my internets, these are all the proof I have. Before the show started, we noticed there was some commotion going on in a different section. So naturally I had to go investigate. I found a nice boy who spoke some English and asked him. After asking a few other people, it turns out some Korean Idol star was there. I went down to get a closer look: I'm not sure if I actually took a picture of the Korean Idol, but we can pretend. Hey. Look! Korean Idol! We were really excited to be in Seoul and we were even more excited to see Beyonce. She performed a ton of her new tracks as well as some throw back Destinys Child, which I loved. One of my favorite aspects of the show was that I was surrounded by hundred...

there were some of you who requested a replay of my shopping cart incident. here is the best i could come up with. i refused to go back on the streets with this, so my apartment is the locale. In case you can't tell, the basket is hitting me right in the middle of my calf. Needless to say, I bruised after that little shenanigan. And check it! I'm shaving my legs here. I'm so modern.

This is me at this exact moment. Ok so like three moments ago. But I look the same. And I look goooood. This is the only spot in my apartment where the internets is good to me. And yes it is in the very corner of my 'clothes dryer' room. But hey, I'm not complaining. Also, you can barely make out my newest knitting creation. I dig it. (I found a yarn store here!! I'm so excited. I walked in and there were three old Korean women knitting/crocheting to their little hearts content. I think next time I go I'll bring my supplies so I can hang out with them. Not joking). Ok so we have a LOT to catch up on. I've been living the Korean dream here, and I want to share every step with you. But first. It got me. The swine. The H1N1. However you spell it, it still comes out SUCK. Yesterday I woke up in utter pain and anguish. I knew it had finally hit me. So when I got to school this morning I knew I'd be sent right back home. I would've called, but CO...

I've been trying to get a bank account open here for awhile. I've asked COT time and time again and finally last week I got her to take notice. It was after school. I was at my computer. She was at hers. A couple days before she had mentioned that the bank closes at 4 pm everyday. It was 3:13 pm. I had to work fast. I nonchalantly said it would be the perfect time to go open up my bank account. She agreed. Only she had no intentions of actually coming. She looked to the Korean Child Prodigy. He was in our office cleaning and as soon as she asked him, he looked nervous. Yes, she had pawned off going to the bank. And she had pawned it off on a 13 year old student. Is it just me or would that never happen back home? So KCP and I walk around the corner from the school to the bank. We get to the teller. KCP is nervous. He explains what needs to happen (in Korean). And then he turns to me and says I need a paper from the school verifying my employment. So we call up to ...

Let me sneak in a quick post while I'm sitting here at my desk. I have so many stories and random daily quirks about living here that I can't wait to get back to normal blogging. I'm seriously taking notes during my days so I don't forget what happens. First things first: Beyonce. Amazing. It was a night of pure magical bliss. Despite not getting a seat in the almost two hour subway ride. And having a punk taxi driver on the way home, it was simply phenom. I LOVE BEYONCE. Secondovely: COT has turned a new leaf. She now plays random Korean music all.the.time. In our office. In the room next to our office. She just went in there with another teacher and I don't know whats going on. Maybe its a make-shift worship service. All I know is that if she keeps this up I'm going to start busting out BSB. Thirdly: I still don't have internet at my place. The thing with COT is that you have to ask her about something at the precise moment she will actually lis...

My dear friends. Guess where I'm going tonight. Here is a hint: More on this (and a story on opening my bank account) later. Now, I must practice Single Ladies one more time...

Yeah I'm not at home so I can't put my pics up. Tomorrow I finally have my ET/Chimp class again so I'm hoping I can work in a photo op. I know you're all dying to see it. And I'm dying to photograph it. Along with that photo, you can hope to see the giant bruise on my leg from the whole shopping cart/basket walk home from last week. Seriously. I looked down at my leg the other day and there is a bruise the size of Cambodia. And while I have your attention, I will tell you of the Korean boy prodigy who seems to linger around me and want to talk about subjects far more superior than what I teach in class (i.e. Michael Jackson). He is the boy who spoke to me regarding the European Union last week. I didn't understand what he was saying because I didn't realize these young ones could converse about such topics. You see, at my school the boys are required to clean the classrooms. Today boy prodigy, along with a few others, was assigned to teach my office/...

I know I'm in Korea right now. But I now have more of a desire to go to Vegas than ever. I just read on Erin's blog (I would link her but she just went private so it wouldn't be worth it) that GARTH BROOKS is coming out of retirement to perform in Vegas!!! 15 weekends a year, the Wynn will fly Brooks out to Vegas for four shows. Then, they will fly him back to Oklahoma by Monday morning. OUT OF CONTROL! I want. I think my favorite part of the article, however, was that CNN now gets news updates by text message. Awesome. OK but don't be alarmed. Cher is still first on my priority list for going to Vegas. But could you imagine a more amazing weekend then Cher AND Garth? I'm dying just thinking about it. That is all. (I looked for a picture of Garth and Cher together but it doesn't exist. Sorry) Also, I am currently sick. My voice gave out halfway through the day so I couldn't teach my last class. Being sick in Korea is bad news. I can't read m...

Dear 7-11 , When I first got here, I basked in your familiarity. In a world of BBQ chicken and Family Marts, you had given me a glimpse of the good ol' U.S.A. It took a few days to get used to 7-11 without gas pumps, but I soon forgave you for these shortcomings. But you are also a cruel, cruel deceiver. Every time I walk past your colorful 7, I immediately have want of a cold fountain drink or, heaven forbid, maybe even a slurpee. I dream of being able to own my own Korean slurpee mug that only would cost 1000 won for a refill. You see, when I think 7-11, I think these things. (and Raj) Alas, you cannot provide these necessities to me. There are no mugs. There are no slurpees. There is no icy cold Diet Coke. (and there are no day old donuts waiting to be bought). It is a land of cup o' noodles and top ramen. So while you are good to have around, I would prefer it if we stopped seeing each other. It's just getting too hard. And yes, this means I'll have to ...

You know those moments when you think you're an absolute genius for figuring something out? And then when you execute your genius plan it turns out to be worse than anything? My friends, that is the story of my life. At least it was the story of my tonight. I decided to go grocery shopping. Like, legit shopping where I buy more than some ice cream and a box of cereal. This is more difficult here, as I don't have a car to just throw all my groceries in and drive off. Ok so I've never actually had my own car. But that's beside the point. Anyways, I decided I had three options: I could take the bus (mostly) home. I could grab a taxi. Or I could walk. Since I had "take a walk" already on my list for this evening, I chose option #3. I devised the most excellent plan. I would simply buy one of those little rolly carts like you see old ladies drag around town! It would be a good investment AND I could carry a pretty good amount of junk. I got to the local ...

Good morning my friends in the USA! Weird how my Monday is ending and yours is just beginning. I love and miss all of you. And I'm pretty sure I really did just eat an entire small chicken. You see, here in Korea I don't have the luxury to really know what I'm eating. But its been a rule of mine that if it tastes good, I'll eat it. Last week we had some fried chicken as one of our 'side dishes' for school lunch. I was glad to recognize this food. But that was before I realized all our utensils included was a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. I froze. I tried to nonchalantly glance around the room to see what everyone else was doing. I was shocked. They were eating fried chicken with chopsticks. How this is done, better yet, how I figured out how to do this, is still a mystery. But I do know I ate that chicken and I ate it proudly. (also today I'm pretty sure we had some kind of heart. i took a bite-nothing special-and then i took a closer look at th...

And other random thoughts from this week. -So since I dressed like such a hussy on Wednesday, I made sure to be extra modest on Thursday. I even wore a zip up hoodie just in case. And no headband. Mrs. Kim approved of my ensemble, which I was grateful for, because Thursday happened to be our faculty picture day! Boo.yah. I wish you all could've seen how awesome this experience was for me. All us teachers went outside (keep in mind this means no teachers inside with students-yeah. poorly timed photo session in my opinion) and did the typical class photo. To say that I stood out among the 40 or so other teachers would be an understatement. I seriously hope I get a copy. It needs to be shared with the world. -Today I had my first inappropriate comment in class!! Do not read further if you get uncomfortable easy (which, if you do, I am surprised you are my friend. And if you are a relative you have no choice). I walk into my last class of the day and I can tell its going to b...

This is what I wore to school today: This is the (constructive) criticism I received from COT: COT (in broken English): Um, I believe that your shirt might be...too low. Me: Oh, really? (I could've sworn this was appropriate!) COT: Yes. The older boys. They have hard time paying attention. Me: Oh. Well, sorry... COT: The Vice Principal (who thankfully I hadn't seen all day so I don't know how this was discovered) he does not like it. Me: Ok, I'll remember for next time. COT: Ok. And another Korean taboo is your white headband. Me: Really? COT: Yes. In Korea a white headband is worn at funerals and is kind of a symbol for death. Me: Wow. Yeah, I had no idea. Could I wear other headbands-not white? COT: Personally, I think you look better without it. With nothing in your hair. You wear it down-like yesterday. That is better. Me: Alright. Well, good to know. Thanks. le fin. So yeah, maybe one of the most awkward convos ever. But well appreciated. I don't...

So. Big things are happening over here. (Other than me getting excited about cake boxes.) I taught today! bam. It was definitely interesting. It started with my first class, which didn't go so well. My planned lesson for sure only got me a little past half way so the rest of the time in class was total improv. At one point I envisioned myself as Jerry Seinfeld doing stand up-I was that funny. But nobody really understood how funny I was, which was disappointing. So I started asking the boys about whether or not they liked American music. They threw out a few names of bands (like Green Day? and Boys Like Girls? Where are they getting this garbage!?). There was also mention of the Korean pop girl group Wonder Girls: (I couldn't make up stuff this good) Yeah. So like a good American citizen, I've decided to force music of my choice upon these young souls. To take up some time, when I had nothing left for my first class, I put on none other than Kanye West. They liked ...

I bought myself these little cake treat things. I liken them unto Little Debbies or something of the sort. I didn't necessarily buy them because I thought they'd be super good. I bought them because of what it says on the box: (The following is a direct quote) "You know that sweet things make smile. We love to see you smile with your people. So just taste this cake" I couldn't have said it better myself.

Warning: contains more pictures than usual. And is kind of long anyways. Today I explored a little fortress built in the late 18th century. It's called Hwaseong Fortress and its basically, well, a fortress. The outside wall is a little more than 3.5 miles long, and I'm pretty sure I walked up at least 200 steps to get to the top portion of the wall. Intense. As for a little history on this, which I'm sure you're all dying to know (and which Wikipedia is very helpful), it was built (maybe a better word would be commissioned) by King Jeongjo to honor and provide a resting place for the remains of his father. You see, his dad-Prince Sado-was murdered by being locked alive inside a rice chest by his dad King Yeongjo after refusing to commit suicide. Yeah, messed up. I knew I'd like it from the beginning. So first off, I took the subway then the bus to get to the start of this place. Of course I got on the bus at the wrong spot and almost rode it its entire cours...

When I mentioned to my COT that I went and saw Fame !, first she seem confused (disappointed?) that I saw it by myself. Which, lets be honest, I've done a billion times before and I don't see anything wrong with going to a movie alone. But then she got excited! She wouldn't stop talking about how she wants to see it because she loves movies with dancing and singing (she even elaborated on her crush on Patrick Swayze (rip) from watching Dirty Dancing as a teenager). This probably means I'll end up seeing it again with her, just because she was so excited. That was not my failed attempt. This was: My failed attempt was a sad event to take place. I had received an event invite for a gathering for English teachers around my city via FB. There was a plan to grab some dinner and then hit up a local bar (awesome for me...not really.) I had committed and I was excited-I mean, I was ready to make a friend here. Needless to say, I was late to the station we were meeting...