NapTime

We're on the bus, going to the gym, holding hands as any normal couple would. I start to doze off, but I'm holding the baby. Not my baby, of course, the one we're babysitting. When we get off the bus, I'm pushing the stroller, holding his hand. He asks what I want to do at the gym today. I tell him, the usual, just run probably, since I already went to Yoga. We have to walk down a grassy hill. He comments on how the grass has grown a lot. The stroller slips from my hands and begins to roll down the hill. I gently point it out to him, but he doesn't notice. I'm not panicked, fear doesn't grip me, but I calmly watch as the stroller continues to roll until it courses into the lake at the bottom of the hill. There it begins to sink, slowly.

We sit down in the grass that has indeed grown exceptionally wild. As he puts his arm around me, we notice a couple that just got married, still in their wedding attire floating by in a paddle boat. I wish I had my camera.


...ANALYZE THAT DREAM, will ya???

Best Job Ever

My job has proved to be a smidge challenging at times, but I'm slowly realizing that the perks of my job far out weigh the setbacks. Last night, my student at the beginning of class said, "How many students do you think will come to class today? I think 3." And I said, "I think 2." (Just for the record, I was right). And then he says, "Ok, if no one comes, we'll go get chicken and beer. And Mr. Eddie can come too." But then, another student comes in. So we tell him the bet. And I told my first student, "Well, I win! You owe me chicken and beer now." His response. "Ok, let's go." So we went :)

We had class at this place called the Frypan, it's a little bit western style...with fried chicken, chips and whatnot. It was me and the older man, and the young guy who I find to be quite attractive. And then Mr.Eddie joined us..and then his girlfriend joined us. My student was SOOO excited to see "Mr. Eddie." I had texted him to see if he could come, and he said he was coming out. Literally two minutes later, my student says, "Where is Mr. Eddie??" Looking out the window anxiously (this is like a 60 year old man mind you). And the my student calls "Mr. Eddie." "Mr. Eddie! Where are you? You come here now???" Goodness, it was honestly adorable.

They (the Korean people) ordered for me/us and they ordered the big beer. I was kind of hoping (since I was still technically working...) that I could just have like 1 small beer, but nope. Not at all. And then, when I wasn't paying attention, my older gentleman student orders a SECOND round of big beers. ha. I'm pretty sure Eddie's girlfriend thinks I'm not lady like at all...she sipped her one beer and then couldn't finish it...which is just silliness. BUT...when other people are paying for you, you have to eat/drink. It's cultural. :)

So, moral of the story, BEST JOB EVER.

In the mornings my students take me to coffee/buy coffee for me and bring it to class, and now beer in the evening :) I dig it.

Gahh Really Friends?

Today I stopped into Starbucks to get some coffee because I've been really tired today. I had a bit of a nightmare last night and didn't sleep well. I ran into a coworker and this is how the conversation went.

Coworker, who we'll call A: "So, I heard something's happening with you and Eddie."

Me: "Oh my gosh. Noooooo. Nothing is happening. He has a girlfriend."

A: "Oh really? Your cousin said you two are getting really close."

Me: "No. Just friends. He has a girlfriend."

A: "Oh. I heard his girlfriend isn't that great though. Everyone at work is talking about this."

Me: "Ughgalkjpoij! Seriously? No she's really nice. GAHHHH!!!!"<---literally said that in Starbucks. "We're just friends!"

A: "Well...the best love blossoms from friendship."

WHAT IS THAT?!?

Sooooo...not only am I the trampy American cousin...but I'm also the supertramphobagsluttastichomewrecker American teacher at work. The other women (Korean) teachers seriously don't like me...which is awesome. And the suck part is that because it's my own blood that's saying these things, people absolutely believe it to be true. Nonsense...(to a certain degree)...just nonsense.

Gossipgossipgossipgossipgossip.

Quarter Century Sadness

I'm extremely sad that my BFF's aren't able to celebrate my birthday with me...and my bestest buddy here is going home for the month. It honestly makes me not want to do anything at all. I'm going to have to celebrate with a bunch of people I don't know..and what if no one cares enough to celebrate with me?? It's such a big year, too. I mean I guess being in Korea is kind of a big event in my life in general, but I want to celebrate! I want to be surrounded by people I love.

So friends..I'm going to need you to spend all of your savings and come to Korea in two weeks. K, thanks.

What Personal Space?

Ajumah: Middle aged-old Korean lady who has no shame whatsoever in any given situation.

Example 1: I was coming home from Hongdae (Hongik University area...SOOO many foreigners) this morning on the train. Two ajumah's are standing and talking, and the seat next to me opens up and one ajume sits down. They're a little bit older, so I offer the other ajume my seat, being the polite, considerate young lady that I am. They argue with me about it for a minute, but I convince the ajumah to sit down. She says "Sorry and thank you." So now, I'm standing in front of them on the train. The ajumah who took my seat, then reaches out, grabs the flap of the zipper on my jeans (yes...in my crotch area...) opens the flap, feels the zipper, then pats the flap closed. Yes. That happened on the morning train. Did I get molested??? I'm trying to decide if A.) She thought my zipper was open and was checking it for me. B.) The zipper on my jeans was unique and she wanted to take a closer look. or C.) My jeans were kind of baggy, so maybe she thought I had a male appendage because the zipper lumped in such a way that could suggest so.

Example 2: I'm standing on the train this morning, it's full and there are no seats. There's a salesman selling these weird socks. An ajumah buys one box of the weird socks. The seat next to her opens up, and I begin to shift (not actually because I was going to sit next to her, I was perfectly fine with standing at this point). So she puts her one box of socks on the open seat, looks square at me and then looks away, to be sure I know, I'm not allowed to sit there. Then, the train comes to another stop, Korean people enter the train, and when she sees a KOREAN person making a move toward the empty seat, she moves her box of socks. Rude.

Example 3: I was standing in front of the doors on the train this morning, leaning on the bar on the left side of the door. NOT in the middle...on the side, holding onto the railing. The door comes to a stop, and ajumah's get on the train. Instead of going around me, to the right, an ajumah rams straight into my arm and tries to break my grip on the railing. Apparently I'm the size of an elephant that takes up the entire doorway now. For this one, I stood my own, did not let go of the railing and did not move. She eventually realized she could walk around the other way and that my body is not a mile long.

And

Ajushee: Middle aged to old Korean man who practices some kind of creepy inappropriate behavior that is somehow acceptable in Eastern culture.

Example 1: On the train last night, there was a little girl with her mom. Her mom was standing and she was sitting in a row of empty seats. She had to be about 2 years old. An [random] ajushee comes and sits next to her, puts his arm around her shoulders, and rubs her arm, drawing her closer to himself at the same time. All the while he's telling her, "I'm your daddy." And she's saying, "You're not my daddy." How is this not child molestation???

Example 2: EVERY DAY walking down the street, ajushee's make a it a blatant point to stare at my chest. They apparently don't believe in the courtesy of subtlety.

Holy FartBucket

Today started out on an excellent note when I walked into class to find the two women in my class crying and yelling at each other.

The one woman was complaining that the other talks too much (and not well enough, which is the most ironic thing I've ever heard in my 25 years of life). And then I got there and the lady asked me "Do you think I talk too much?" I want to be honest (but have no idea how to handle conflict) so I said "Yes..sometimes you have a lot to say." BUT (and I had been hoping that that lady would stay after class for a while, she sometimes does and I really like talking with her, she's cool people), I teach ADULTS. Not children. So the first lady (who then KEPT yelling at the second lady about how rude and inconsiderate she is) wants me to regulate the time, so each person can speak for 10 minutes and we can just kind of go around the table...uhm, yeah, you're not children. It's a conversation class. We're there to converse. If you don't know how to converse, that's kind of your own issue. Am I right??

So THEN the lady turns the tables and starts yelling at me about how the material is too difficult and that "they" are not American and I'm American, so it's easy for me. Uh...pardon the language, but no shit Sherlock. The problem is that, she's the ONLY one in that class that struggles with the material I bring. She wants me to baby her and go LINE BY LINE through the articles, but the rest of the class doesn't want that (because they understand the material)...so essentially, the lady who was complaining was the one who's causing the problem in class.

I presented the problem to the office (i.e. my cousin), hoping they could handle the situation, because I just don't know what to do (other than to tell that lady, "Hey you need to go to another class because this one is too difficult for you...") and the office told me I need to handle it. Bahh. Ok? How do I handle it??? WTF do I do with that? They want to kill each other!

And there's normally 2 guys in class, but today there was only 1. And that poor guy seemed just as uncomfortable as I was.

GAHH!!! Geez louise. On a Friday too.

Would it be considered favoritism if I called the student who got yelled at an apologize?

And the first lady (who complained) apologized for complaining at the end of class, and I, being the people pleaser that I am, normally would have consoled her like, "Oh it's ok, you just want to learn and have your opportunity." But I was so pissed at her that I said nothing and she felt my anger haha. FEEL MY WRATH. Turrible.

*EDIT*

I didn't think my day could actually get worse. Uhh yeah.

I went to the gym today..and actually I was really proud of myself, I got my time back up and it felt amazing! I was literally smiling while I ran like a nerd.

Then, after the gym, I jumped on the bus and I don't know what happened, maybe I was on the wrong bus, but nothing looked familiar. It didn't go anywhere near my house. So I kept riding, hoping maybe it would loop back around, and it didn't. I rode until the end of the line and apparently the driver was done for the evening, so he went to the bus parking lot annnnd told me I had to get off the bus. And he must have thought I was a ridiculous foreigner, just riding the bus for fun.

At first, I was ok. It was like an adventure! Then I realized I was going to be late for work. Then I started to panic because I had NO IDEA where I was!!!

So I jump off the bus, and hail a taxi. And tell the taxi driver to take me to the major train station near my house, Suwon Station. And I call my cousin who I work with to tell her the terrible news. She then talks to the taxi driver to tell him where to take me (to the office). She tells me that it should take 10 minutes from where I am. But..it took 40 because of traffic.

The entire drive...NO LIE...the driver would look at my chest...readjust his penis...and then keep driving. Every other minute or so for 40 minutes. And to make this an even more awkward situation...I was crying. Literally bawling my eyes out. What a rapist.

So we get to my office and I tell him to keep going to my apartment because I want to change..but he doesn't understand. So I tell him [in KOREAN] "keep going, over there" and he'd drive like 2 feet, "here?" he'd ask. "No over there!" 3 feet, "here?" "NOOO. OVER THEEEEEERRRREEEE" and then some random korean nonesense that I couldn't understand. Finally, we get to my apartment and I hop out and run..still crying. I'm an hour late at this point. Get to my apartment, have a panic attack, straight up AGAIN. Change and then run to work. My students were good today though, thankfully. There were only 2 of them which I think made the atmosphere much better.

And then, in my last class I was a little flattered because my brand new super hot korean man student (one of 2 korean men that I've found to be attractive...in ALL of Korea, thus far...lucky me he's in my class!) told me I'm a good teacher because I make the students feel comfortable. So that made me feel a little better. (Kind of like E telling me I'm the coolest person he's ever worked with in Korea this morning after my stupid class craziness.)

However, I'm still kind of a disaster after today's nonsense...and am definitely drinking Soju from the bottle with a beer chaser...alone in my apartment. ALCOHOLIC? And still crying..because I'm a girl and I cry about stupid things from time to time.

SuYoga

My yoga instructor (the one that's the size of my left leg), has decided that my body is capable of doing things that it just...can't. She'll call out a pose..and then come over to me to try to push my body further into it (so it's "correct"), and she'll push and push...and to no avail. My body just simply doesn't bend like that...yet(?). And she's really nice but she keeps telling me how difficult it is, I wonder if she's hinting at the fact that I should try another class...maybe the beginner level? I'm enjoying the challenge though. I have to physically stop myself from being self conscious though. When it's just me, I feel ok. But then I see these itsy bitsy middle school sized Korean women walk in and I start to feel like a giant. I mean, I'm short, I think, and I TOWER over these ladies! And I'm a smidge of a chubbawub...so I literally feel like YogiGodzilla.

And my body hurts...a lot. I've been to the gym every day this week as well. My plan is for the first like 2-3 weeks (maybe until my birthday), to just kind of beat my body into submission. It's going to hurt like hell, but it'll be worth it in the end...hopefully. Or I'll pass out somewhere along the way.

And I have to have a constant awareness about my posture during this time period. I figure while I'm beating my body into submission, that will be another thing to make it learn. GOOD POSTURE GOOD POSTURE GOOD POSTURE!! It's so natural for me to slouch because my chest is so large and I've always been a little embarrassed about it, but I've recently come to terms with it. My chest is large. SO WHAT? The weird old korean men are going to stare at the ladies whether I'm slouched or have the girls up and out where they should be so...I might as well, right? And they're beautiful. Painful (for me) but beautiful. :) I should wear them proudly!

Health Club

I joined a gym yesterday! It was quite possibly the easiest thing I've ever done...honestly probably because I don't speak Korean and the front desk lady couldn't be bothered to try and translate. So, I didn't have to do anything except put my name and phone number on a piece of paper and pay the fee. Amazing. In the States, they give you the run around, so maybe not speaking the language has it's advantages.

This gym is funny though. It's a little far from my house, which was kind of sad. My cousin suggested one that is right across the street, but when she called them, they told her they're shutting down next month. So...sad. This one is Eddie's gym (which honestly makes me wonder if maybe the gym across the street isn't shutting down and this is just a ploy to make us spend more time together, since she's already declared that he and I being together would make her happy. haha!)

But they have those super old fashioned machines where you put the big rubber band around your waist and then it jiggles you. HILARIOUS. I wanted to take a picture sooooo badly. And they have a variety of other absolutely useless machines.

And the naked culture here is a little unnerving. I went into the locker room and the women are just chilling in the nude. I had to ask a question and the lady answered as if absolutely nothing was wrong..it's perfectly normal to talk to a complete stranger while standing in the buff. Uhhh...yeah. UNCOMFORTABLE!!

It felt soooo amazing to be at the gym though. I was very disappointed with my performance, I've lost a lot of stamina, but I'll get it back. I'll probably be there 5 or 6 days a week, which is also nice because it's going to fill in the empty time in my day. I'm also thinking about joining the yoga studio that's in the same building as my office and doing that on Tues/Thurs, because I have a longer gap. I get out of work at 11am and don't have to go back until 8pm on T/Th...so I could go to Yoga after work and THEN go to the gym. How healthy would I be?


*EDIT*
Joined the yoga. It's "ashtanga" yoga...I usually don't pay attention to what kind of yoga I'm doing, so the names are all kind of the same to me. But this one was RIDICULOUS. I only recognized maybe 1/4 of the poses...and the rest were some crazy acrobatic shiz for women without bones. And the instructor was super nice but she's literally the size of my leg. Sooooo....ouchy. She would come to help push me further into a pose and I tend to tremble...regardless of whether I'm in pain or not, it's just how my body responds to being pretzleized, and she would go "Oh..." and then like awkwardly walk away, lmao! Luckily though, it's getting cold, so I might check out a hot yoga. I'm super happy though that I'm able to do all of this. Working out makes me a happy camper.

AND...this may be premature, so I may be sad and have to take this one back later but....HE'SSTAYINGHE'SSTAYINGHE'SSTAYING!!! THAT makes me heppy.

Heartbreak Hotel

I miss you a little less everyday. But every so often, I will catch a glimpse of you and the physical pain in my heart of not being able to hold you in my arms and press my face against your neck is almost unbearable. I miss you most during the early hours of the day, when you would sneak quietly into my room and wait patiently for me to wake up. I would give anything for you to be here with me.

Hipity Hopity

Yesterday I went into to Seoul to meet some new people. It was really nice! We had a late lunch/early dinner at this american style breakfast place called Butterfingers. DELICIOUS. But they give you about the same amount of food as an IHOP's would..and in Korea normally people share. But since we're all fatty American's we got our own plates..and the Koreans, oh how they gawked.

Then we went to coffee.

Then SHOPPING!!! In MyungDong, which is like the big touristy, shopping area in Seoul. It's kind of comparable to 5th Ave, or Fashion Ave in NYC, but there are a lot of cheaper, more affordable things there. So I bought my BIRTHDAY DRESS!!! And a pair of shorts. I might buy another birthday dress, since I'm considering having 2 parties: a rooftop party on Friday night (that way I can invite a ton of people, like students and family members and whatnot) and then a Seoul party on my actual birthday on Saturday that will be for the good crazy new friends only...so I can be a partying fool without judgement!

After shopping, I met some new friends who were friends of the friend I met earlier. I know, confusing stuff. But we went out for drinks and started at a hauf, which is kind of like a restaurant, I think. Then we went DANCING. Amazing, amazing stuff this hiphop club. I went to a techno club a few weeks ago and it wasn't that great. But hiphop, I can do. However...Korean guys are seriously worse than American guys when it comes to the clubs. They have no filter for what's appropriate or not...or they assume because we're foreigners that we have no filter so they can just go for it. No bueno, por favor. But, it was a lot of fun and I'm really glad I went out (and went out with someone other than my coworker!)

I really do value his friendship and whatnot, but I'm glad to be making new friends. Having only one serious friend in the country is kind of tough on the nervous system...(I don't know what that means haha!) but it's not fun. Because unfortunately he has a life outside of me...so I can't hang out with him ALL the time, nor would I want to.

PS: I love when I eat too much and the Korean's stare. I had bibimbap (again...for the 3rd time in 24 hours...!) with mandoo (potstickers) and it was A LOT of food. And THEN I went next door the the Paris Baguette for coffee and ended up getting a pastry thing too...super disappointing though. It looked like a chocolate pastry..but it's not, it's beans. I mean, delicious sweet red beans, but beans none the less!

And SIDENOTE: I love that I can clean my entire apartment, floors, bathroom, kitchen and all in about 30 minutes. It's FAN-tastic.

Bad News Broke

I'm in serious trouble now. Today after class I decided to go get something to eat (actually my body decided for me..because I tend to get "the shakes" if I don't eat...low blood sugar issues...my dad actually thinks I may be diabetic. AWESOME.) So I went looking for this restaurant that left a brochure on my door (which is very common, it happens at least 4 times a week). But they had some food that I am familiar with and enjoy.

I found it.

That's where the bad news comes in.

They have bibimbap...which for those of you that don't know...bibimbap is my FAVORITE food in the entire world. It's rice with vegetables, an egg and sometimes meat on top, mixed with a spicy red pepper paste. I thought they only had bibim-nangmyun or ramien, which is the same thing except instead of rice it's noodles. But no. They have straight up bibimbap. <3<3<3<3<3!

They also have some of my other favorites like mandoo (potstickers), kimbap (kind of like Korean sushi, but no raw fish)...thuckboki...(spicy ricecakey things).

OH MY WORD. Those people will know my name by the end of the year...shoot, by the end of the month! And it's SOOO cheap. Bibimbap is only 5000won, which equals about $5. AMAZING. And kimbap is only $2!!

And it's next to the Paris Baguette..probably the best one I've been in so far. They have a huge variety at this one. CRAZINESS.

Nonesense.

Adding Insult to Injury

And on top of being so ronery, my body is now freaking out. I honestly think it's the pollution. First the sinus infection and now I have this cough that I can't get rid of. It's a bit of a surprise cough, too. So at any given moment it will burst forth (usually when I'm talking). And I had a bit of a panic attack last night...and mixed with the random bursts of coughing, I had a bit of trouble breathing. It's like the panic part would knock the breath right out of me..and then the coughing part would keep the breath out of me.

WHAT IS HAPPENING?!?

I guess I should invest in those super creepy face masks that asian people where. You know? The sars masks, they're quite popular here.

And! I feel awesome. Breakfast consists of a can of tuna and coffee. Breakfast of champions.

So Ronery.

Today was the first day that I felt homesick. It's starting to settle in...this is my life. I'm not on vacation. And I don't get to home for another 11 months. ELEVEN MONTHS!! My days are boring and I spend most of my time by myself. I don't like it. I don't even have Warren to justify my alone time spent holed up in my apartment. In situations such as these a manfriend would be handy...but story of my life, none available...well, plenty available, none that are available for me. I guess I need to just get used to the fact that I'll spend the majority of my time alone.

Accepted and moving on.

None

You know, you try to be honest in the world and put yourself out there and everything just falls apart. You...I guess I should say I, because I seem to be the only one this ever happens to...I call things as I see them and end up broken hearted. And I'm usually the only one that ends up hurt. WTF. I need to grow that elephant skin and learn to keep my giant mouth shut at all times.

Maybe I should just be a hermit. Who needs friends anyway?

SMH

Fun stuff that happened to me today:

Met a new friend (she's a friend of a friend) and has been here for a while. I <3 her already. She's awesome and it was SOOOOOOSOSOSOSOSOOOOOOO nice to get in some westerner girl time. I miss my girlfriends! We went to Gangnam (pronounced G-AHH-NG--N-AAHH-M not gang nam) in Seoul. It's cool, very urban, lots of shopping. I bought some skin food nail polish and got a free face mask sample! I had a choice of a lot of samples, but everything was like skin lightening products to make oneself whiter (Asian vampire, remember?)

The bus back was really difficult to find because there's a ton of construction, and I wasn't the only one confused. As I was standing in line waiting for the bus, a girl comes up to me and in Korean asks "Does bus 3000 stop here?" And she asked before looking at me, and I answered, "3000? Yes, it is here" in Korean. But theeeeen she looked at my face and realized I'm not Korean...even though I clearly just spoke Korean haha! And so she asked again...this time with hand motions. And once again I said, "Yes. It is here. It just came." And she said thank you, went back to her friend super embarrassed and they laughed about it. WEIRD.

Finally got on the bus, and rode quietly the entire way home. It's only about a 30 minute ride which is really nice. I always think it's going to take like an hour. Then, at my stop, I hop up and try to scan my card (because remember you have to scan when you get on and off the bus?)...and it didn't work. This happens to me a lot for some reason or another, so I waited, scanned again and then went to step off and fell, right on my butt in front of my own apartment. Super embarrassing..but since I'm used to my awkward clumsiness I kind of burst out laughing and moved on without making eye contact with anyone. Wonderful, wonderful stuff this being clumsy.

Fun fact: Korean's live in a Korean Drama (A.K.A soap opera). They go on these amazingly cheesy dates where they do something typical, dinner or dessert or drinks...and they'll share dinner or dessert or have one beer each and just sip it. Then they stare lovingly into each others eyes and let the entire world melt away. If they've been dating for a while, they'll reach across the table and hold hands. Everything is extremely PG. Today, while I was waiting for my bus, I watched a couple say goodbye as he put her on the bus (a city bus, meaning she lives like down the street...not far away at all) and she took a window seat and wiped away one lone tear as he waved at her from the street. With love in her eyes, she watched him standing alone on the corner as the bus pulled away. Seriously....Seriously?!? And they have this sort of behavior until they get married (which is usually a very short time period) and then they have miserable lives that they complain to their English teacher about...true story.

And Again I Say...

More fun facts about Korea:

You have to swipe your bus pass when you get on AND OFF the bus, or else they charge you for the entire route....around the entire city, possibly multiple times.

I have to turn my hot water on using a button on the wall, though I could just leave it on...which I think might cost a lot. Who knows though?

Korean people are super concerned with their appearance. They're constantly looking in the mirror and fixing their hair. And plastic surgery is REALLY cheap here.

Concerning aesthetics, Korean's want to be pale, middle schooler small and tall. Basically...like an asian vampire.

Eavesdropping is not considered rude...nor is staring...or both at the same time.

It's like the 1950s up in this heazy. No one sits next to me on the bus (except for slightly more westernized youngsters), even when the bus is packed. And if I'm standing next to someone, they'll lean away from me. HA! Diseased foreigners!!! Don't touch me or I'll catch your contagious foreignerness and will suddenly have a desire to be tan, will gain 72 lbs and be a healthy, normal sized human being and (for boys) will stop dressing like a girl!!

Pollution is some serious business--hence my sinus infection and my clogged nasal passages...Dust allergy gone SERIOUSLY wrong.

For the most part, Korean's don't believe in western medicine. Soooo, when I went to the family mart (convenience store) to get something for this sinus infection (which may also be a cold...but I'm leaning toward sinus infection) there was NOTHING. So I asked the lady (which was a super awkward conversation that went something like

In Korean:"What are you looking for?"
In English: "Uhh...Tylenol? or Advil?"
Korean: "What??"
English: "uhhh..TY--Len---All...mmmmm...aspirin?"
Korean: "Ohhhh, tydenoool. Does your head hurt?" (she says pointing to her head).
English: "Kind of..." Me Korean: "a little." Me English: "More my nose is stuffed" (I say pointing to my nose, making a face and squeezing my hands together in a ball in front of my face to signify stuffed).
Korean: "Oh. We have this" pointing to a weird little bottle of unknown juice in a heated cabinet. Korean: "It's for your body." The lady in English "BoOOODDDYYY" pointing up and down at her body.

Even more awkward was the mini shop in my apartment building with an old man.
Korean: "What are you looking for?"
Me, English: "mmm...uhh...cold medicine?"
Korean: "What?"
English: "Cooolllddd Me-De-SIN"
He hands me a piece of paper and pen, Korean: "Could you write it?"
After writing "cold medicine" which clearly can't read AT ALL...I begin with the charades. I point to my nose and squeeze my hands into a ball, making a face, I say "stuffed." Then, "you know...mmm...Achoo? Achoo!" then..."uhh..cough?cough!"
Korean: "gobbledygookmumbojumbo that I can't for the life of me understand..."
Me in Korean: "Where is that?"
Korean: "More yippityypapityyapperdoo that I can't make out." Then Korean in English: "Bank."

...uhhh, WTF?

So anyway, Korean's really believe in Eastern medicine with the herbs and acupuncture. Which I suppose is all right. But if I've got a headache, I really just want some aspirin!

Funny Funny Korean Men

Last night I had chicken and beer with my cousins and my cousin's ex-coworker (whose name I have no idea). And it went terribly wrong, but hilariously so. This guy, the ex-coworker didn't speak any English at all but kept trying to have conversation with me. And I am terrible at discerning whether I'm being hit on or not, but the translated version I would receive was stuff like "let's spend more time together" "let's hang out again" "Your cute" etc. However, my older cousin decided that was a bad idea and she was not a fan of that, so when he would ask me, she would answer for me and say something like "No, she doesn't like you." The guy was a little offended by that, but it was quite funny. At the end of the night, he tried to reach in for a hug and my cousin got so upset. And then tried to shake my hand "western style" and again, so upset. "No! Don't touch her. She doesn't like you!" hahaha I love that I've got my unni looking out for me. This guy though, when I first sat down and started eating, I had some trouble cutting my chicken. So he completely took my fork and tongs from me and starting cutting. Then he tried to feed me....awkward.

But, I think I probably will not have a Korean boyfriend here...ever. It's really hard to understand what these guys want. Western guys are a little easier to understand. I can tell when they want a relationship or when they just need some action. But these Korean guys, I think mainly because of the language barrier, it's very difficult to tell. And I think they've got all these ideas about western women from the media, and will expect western women to be a certain way. It's kind of like a fantasy. So I just don't think it would be a good idea for me. On top of that, Korean men (like Korean women) have a lot of expectations for their significant other, and I would fail to meet the majority of those expectations. Therefore...no thank you. Unnecessary drama.

My only friend here might be leaving. I'm not a fan of that...not at all. I have no idea how to even try to convince him to stay. At the same time though, I of course don't want him to be miserable and want him to make the right choices for his life. But I'd be very sad without him...especially so early in the game.

A New Day

Yesterday...oh yesterday.

I had to go to the immigration office (AGAIN, second day in a row) to file for my foreigner ID card. Wow. Worst experience ever. I had to wait, with Judy, for 4 hours. Holy Margarine. Not fun. We literally passed out in the waiting room...drool and all. Finally when they called our number, we presented my paperwork and the lady informed Judy that it was incorrect because the policy had changed like yesterday (which was also why we had to wait such a long time). Judy asked the lady why she wasn't informed or there wasn't any sort of signage about the policy change, and the ladies response was "That's not our responsibility to inform you. You should have checked online." Judy was pissed. She's done this several times with the other foreign teachers so she usually doesn't check the policy. I had to take a new picture, instead of the one I had already taken. The one I already took (and paid for) was ok, not great, but not terrible. I could live with it (and they had photoshopped my face to be smaller!). The picture on my foreinger ID card has my hair completely pulled back--which in turn makes my face look super round and I wasn't allowed to smile. Worst picture EVER.

This morning my co worker accidentally slept in and I had to add his morning class to mine, making my class a total of 11 people. This is CROWDED for my hagwan and it made me a little nervous. My class was pretty upset about it as well. My class is advanced and his is pre advanced, so I tried to cater to his class a little and my class was very offended by it. Literally, "We're not middle schoolers." Uhh..ok...you're also not the only ones in class (these are full grown adults too haha!) And we were reading an article outloud and my class read completely first...so we were sitting at a round table..well rectangle and my class was sitting 2 on each side closest to me and the rest of the class was behind them. The reading usually just goes around and my class, to ensure they were taken care of, instead of reading fully around the table, one lady cut off another from Eddie's class, and just started reading and so all of my class read and then Eddie's class got to jump in. Geez louise. Sharing is caring people. But I suppose they just want to make sure they get the education they're paying for!

This weekend..or rather this upcoming Monday is Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. So that should be pretty interesting!

More Today!

I FINALLY got through to my middle school students! We played a 2 learning games to teach them adverbs and verbs. So HOORRAAAYYY. They had fun and I think they actually learned something. So I'm very excited about that, now I just have to think of new games for EVERY class! Geeeeez louise.

I suddenly have 6 new students which is really strange...but ok. This place really keeps you on your toes when it comes to your schedule. I was told by my boss on Friday not to come to my 10am class because it was canceled and yet got a phone call today because I had a student at 10am. Uhr....what?

And my emotions about...this place...are up and down. And all I can hear in my head when I think about it is robot voice saying "Emotions? What are Emotions?" There's a head tilt in their somewhere too. But...so I really like this place. It exactly what I've always been attracted to, a good scene, fashionable clothes, busy streets, high heels. However, now that I'm a little older, I'm realizing that maybe what I'm attracted to isn't the best thing for me? Clearly what I want has never worked out in the past, so perhaps I should change my wants...but when your heart is reaching for it's most wanted desires, it's extremely hard to tell it no. So, I'm sort of struggling with that. And the fact that I'm here for a year, so I can let myself be here and enjoy myself for a year, but what's going to happen when my year (or 2 or 5 or 82 years) are over? How will I feel then? Will I be able to change my heart? And I think that maybe I'm so enjoying everything because it's new. Will I eventually get bored with it? Like I do with the all the other cities? I don't know. But my roller coaster emotions are a little hard to deal with. AND there are times where I don't quite feel at ease, like I realize I don't belong and then my emotions plummet and it's a whole cycle of tough stuff!!

My mom is officially gone. She's on her flight back to the states, so I'm on my own! EEEEk, scary...but at the same time... FREEEEEEEEDOM!!!! And sooo thankfully we resolved our issues. I'm so glad for that because I'm not sure what I'd do without my mom, she's legit. my best friend which sounds super lame, but is actually awesome.

Oh, Korea.

Today's been pretty interesting. The best part I think, is that I stopped by my coworkers house just now on my way back up to my room because we were supposed to go for a walk today, but I got stuck doing something else all day that I will tell you about in a smidge. I peeked around the corner at his apartment and heard noise (like tv noise) and so I knocked on the door...no answer BUT the noise turned off. LMAO. AWKWARRRD. Luckily there aren't peep holes in Korea so he couldn't see it was me, though I don't know who else knocks on his door. I kind of assumed maybe his girlfriend was there.

Today I had to go to immigration to get my ID card. And it was a hot mess. There were 158 people in front of me, so about a 3 hour wait. We got their at 3 and around 3:30 we decided to leave because I have a class at 6. So I have to go back tomorrow :(

My co-worker was the one that took me. She's so funny...so Korean. She asked me where I got my perm done, and I told her it was natural. "WOW! Really? Can I touch it??" Hilarious.

On the way back to the apartment, she asked the bus driver if the bus went to my stop and he COMPLETELY ignored her. Didn't even look at her or acknowledge that she was there! And the guy behind us said it stopped there and then literally SHOVED us onto the bus. Really rude stuff people! Then he sat behind me and like hugged my chair so I couldn't lean back. But she kept commenting about him and you could tell he was totally eves dropping on our conversation. So eventually, he leaned back in his own seat. Strange people, these people.

But now...middle school kids :( BAHHH.

That Fan is Now Brown

Life has randomly spiraled out of control and I'm not exactly sure what's happening. Last night I went out with Eddie to meet his friend a few cities over. We had a few drinks and had some fun. The plan was that I was supposed to go have a drink or two and then come back and Eddie would stay there. But when the time came for me to hop on the bus, I realized..well I had had a few drinks, it was dark, I didn't have a phone because I gave it to my mother for her to travel to see her brother and it would have been the first time I was riding the bus alone. Needless to say, I chickened out and stayed there for the night. I texted my mom to tell her (which I personally think is a courtesy, since I'm an adult and haven't had a curfew for about 8 years now) and she called me. My aunts were apparently in my apartment... MY apartment...and I suppose it shined a bad light on me for spending the night out. But frankly, I wasn't out doing anything scandalous and if they want to judge and gossip about me being a tramp that's their business not mine or my moms.

However, that's apparently not how my mom saw it. And when I got back to my apartment the next morning, the shit hit the fan (pardon my french). And I'm not exactly sure why. I'm so incredibly upset about it and everything that's been said and done, but there's nothing I can do to resolve the situation because she can't see anything passed her own point of view, which is how it's always been. So now she's upset and I'm upset and she goes home tomorrow. While yes, I'll be glad to have my freedom back, I don't like the idea of her leaving on bad terms.

TGIF...yeah, right!

Today was kind of an interesting day. I started out not knowing what time I had to work, and then realized how unorganized things can be. I got to work, and didn't know what class I was teaching or where it was! And the Saturday class is 3 hours long, soooo...wow. I ended up with 3 people in class 2 women and 1 man. The guy kept checking out my goods and it made me a little uncomfortable because in that setting, I'm not quite sure what to do about that situation! But other than that the class went alright, I felt like I actually managed the time well, and they were very good at having conversations even if I wasn't necessarily leading it. However, I think that the man and one woman had some serious issues with each other because she's more liberal and modern whereas he's very conservative and they really bumped heads a lot.

Then, I had lunch and cleaned and took a nap and was pretty bored for a while. Luckily Eddie came over and we went for a nice long walk. I think hanging out with him is going to be good for my health, he seems very outdoorsy and healthy so that's nice for me! We walked to this random stream which is really pretty and that led us to a lake and a park and it was wonderful. It'll be a great place to go running before the weather goes sour. He also pointed out the redlight district when we walked passed it...two streets over from mine, awesome.

The street behind my house is really neat, it's called Rodeo [Row-Day-Oh] (like Rodeo Drive in L.A. not like the rodeo with cowboys and bulls). But it's really busy and full of restaurant and bars and street vendors. Today they were selling (?) little baby bunnies wearing jackets. TOOOOOO cute!

And kids in Korea drive their bikes or hotwheels like their parents are stereotyped to drive their cars...sooo, needless to say, little kids run me off the sidewalk on a daily basis. It's kind of a thing here that pedestrians really don't matter, so bikers (bicyclers, motorcyclers and mopeders) will run you off the street and then look at you like "How DARE you be walking on MY sidewalk?!?" because yes, they drive on the sidewalk. And the kids give you the same look. Craziness. I often wonder if maybe they do it on purpose to me because I'm a foreigner, or if they do it everyone haha.

Day 2, TGIF

Today was kind of challenging, but I think in a good way...maybe. I have discovered that my method of teaching is not exactly respected here. Korean's are very scientific when it comes to their approach to learning, so creative thought isn't accepted or understood. And as a creative writing major, I wanted to implement some of that creative element into my classes, and well I learned this morning that for most of my classes, that's a failure. Only 1 class took to it, and that was my class with the two ladies. They're really funny and very well educated, and speak English very well. All of my other students are business people, which surprised me. I expected to have some university students. I have 1 class of middle school/high school every other day, but that's it! That class is going to be rough, it's 2 hours instead of 1, so I have to figure out what to do with them!

Embarrassing story of the day. My second class of the morning is just 1 lady, and she's really friendly, but (I've noticed--maybe it's just me, but the ladies are often very forthcoming with their personal issues, i.e. marriage problems) she's a little sad I think. So today she was a little late, and I waited for her to show up. My stomach has been a smidge uncomfortable lately, I'm not sure why...but it was really bad today and yesterday. When I thought she wasn't going to show up to class, I packed up my bag and let one rip before turning to walk out the door. Before I got to the door, she rushes in! And it was SMELLY. So, I quickly pulled out my super delicious Vic. Secret lotion and slathered it on to cover the smell. She didn't seem like she noticed with was awesome.

My mom has gone south to visit her brother (and has taken my phone with her!), so I am on my own. It's kind of nice because my agenda is completely mine, but of course, I'm a little scared since I don't speak the language!

Korean fashion: Mullets, acid wash jeans, perms and highwaters are in style...but that's just the men.

I really miss my buddy. It's more that I miss him though. I'm really sad for him right now. I think when he goes back to my mom's house he'll be much better, but right now from what I'm hearing his behavior is breaking my heart, because as his mom I know he's really sad. He normally adjusts really well to new places, but I'm always with him in new situations. So, I think he's scared and he feels abandoned. And I don't like it. I don't like being away from him. And I KNOOOOOW he's just a cat.

*EDIT*
I feel so much better now! <3 exercise and "fresh" air...the air is not exactly fresh here...pollution and all. Eddie took me for a mini hike, we walked up to the wall (the fortress wall from my previous post) and we walked the entire perimeter of the wall. It was beautiful...SUPER hot, but gorgeous. And my back really hurts now, but the endorphins have kicked in and I feel much better than I did this morning. He's been great, though. Really helpful and friendly...though I think I talk a lot about stupid things and sometimes worry about that scaring people away, but oh well, I am who I am and who I am is who I am. :) It's too late to change now!