Missy's introduction

As another means of looking super cool, a bunch of us Yeongjuans ventured out and purchased some pretty dope bicycles. I'd like to introduce the blogger world to my new best friend, Missy Corex.


Isn't she a treasure? Used and abused, I felt a bond immediately. I'm not normally a fan of purple, but I think being in Korea has changed my ways, much like me actually enjoying eating bean sprouts now. Missy and the rest of the bike gang took a mini trip along the Seocheon (Yeongju's river) and felt what we like to call freedom.

However, upon bringing Missy home for the evening, we had our first fight. She decided to be a stubborn little brat and would not get into the small elevator. We fought for a while until I got fed up and just picked her right up and held her handle bars until we made it safely up to the 4th floor. What a heavy load she is! I had to lecture her about cutting back on the bulgogi (beef) because then she'd have to start moving on her own. I thought I'd be a good mother and give her a wash. But immediately she proceeded to shy away from the shower when I stuck her in the bathroom, so washing her bum was a bit difficult and I ended up getting water all over the doorway. I scrubbed Missy religiously on my hands and knees and realized that I made about a .00000001% difference. But her purpleness does have a bit more of a shine to it, I admit. I attribute that to her natural glow.

Missy and I spent some time bonding and I realized that a lot of her behavior was due to her sudden separation from Sunstar, the beautiful hot pink bike with a blue seat that is now owned by Shannon. I reassured her that they could still be part of the same gang, so now we've reconciled. We talked about things and decided to work with each other more efficiently so that we can avoid similar problems in the future, so I've forgiven her for such behavior!

It's going to be lovely journey together, Missy! To bonfires and swimming parties and Homeplus and norae bangs! I'm excited! Aren't we cute together?

I just ate live octopus

So one of Koreans' favorite dishes is sannakji, a live octopus chopped up and served ready to eat. Okay, it's not really alive, but its relentless movement after being chopped up gives it that "still alive" effect, so it is very creepy indeed. Back home I wouldn't even dream about touching it, but seeing how I'm in a new country with a different culture, I figured why not. I've tried semi-cooked octopus already along with pig intestine, raw beef, and other stuff I'm not even sure what they are.



I never thought I'd eat something "alive" but I promised myself I'd at least try it once before leaving South Korea. Surprisingly, I had the guts to try it 2 months in. Of course, I freaked out. I was told that if you don't eat it fast enough, its tentacles will suck onto your throat and cause you to choke. So I chewed it at a superhuman speed.

Don't mind the poorly handled use of chopsticks. I did say I highly dislike the metal chopsticks.



Not bad. Delicious even. It's really not all that it's hyped up to be. After eating this, my coteacher said, "Okay, I think now you are Korean!"

I still don't think I will ever try silkworm larvae, though. Then again, I said the same thing about live octopus.

Scattered thoughts and other things

I haven't updated in a while, so here are some random thoughts and other things I've done over the past few weeks.

I went to Seoul last weekend and explored many wonderful things. My friend Nick and I went to Lotte World, an indoor/outdoor amusement park with rides, games, food, museums, and an ice skating rink.


We also went to an Ice Bar where you are given a thermal coat and gloves and taken into a giant refrigerator room made of ice walls and ice sculptures and ice cups. Very COOL.


Also found the coolest karaoke place (norae bang) ever. It came with free ice cream, a lofty 2 story room, and a window view so that everyone on the street could watch you sing your soul out. And probably the cheapest one I've ever been to!




I also went to the Bullfighting Festival in Cheongdo (my very first festival in Korea). It was a 4 hour train ride, so we were a bit exhausted by the time we got there. It was pretty interesting, but it turned out that it wasn't so much bullfighting as it was bullnudging. They nudge each other until one gives up and runs away. Still an interesting experience nonetheless.

I thought not having a dryer would be neat, as I love hang drying clothes. But I don't have a patio so they take forever to dry. Also, my clothes are bigger on me, but I have no idea if it's due to losing weight or just that my clothes are outstretched from hang drying.

Some classes I love because students actually pay attention and answer questions and really get into the activities. Some classes I walk in and immediately want to walk out and start wondering how fast 40 minutes can go. I started teaching 1st graders, though, and while they know NO English, they are the cutest little darlings and I just want to stick them all in my pocket.

In other news, I witnessed corporal punishment for the first time. One of my coteachers went up and hit a boy on the back of his head. Surprisingly, I was indifferent. Children also hit each other like crazy here. And it's taken pretty lightly. One girl smacked a boy in front of her really hard with her book and moaned in anger. My coteacher just turned and stared while she did it again, waiting for her to be done, but not saying anything about it. WOW. She'd be sent to the naughty room if this were in Madison!

My main handler coteacher has been throwing things at me very last minute (oh, no classes today because it's Science Day and everyone's working on projects OR Hi, do you want to use your summer vacation on so and so dates? Please tell me by Monday even though today is Friday and summer vacation isn't for another 4 months). I often find myself blaming her for everything (even if it's not always her fault) and putting all my frustration on her for not telling me sooner, so our relationship has changed a lot and I find myself not wanting to be around her. She's also been "too busy" in the mornings so I am now taking the bus to school. It costs more but I don't mind because then I get a chance to catch up on episodes of "How I Met Your Mother" and "30 Rock" while still avoiding awkward silences we have during the 20 min car ride. With many of my teachers, instead of me learning Korean better, I feel incredibly selfish and ignorant thinking they should learn English better so that they communicate with me since they have a better grasp of English than I do with Korean. This entire situation needs work.

I haven't received a bill from my gas company so my coteacher tried contacting them to get a price. And it turned out I only owe about $15 in gas, electricity, and water. But the company didn't believe what I had written when I recorded my gas usage so they made my CT come to my apartment to double check. Geez, it's called CONSERVATION. Apparently, I can't read numbers because English numbers are the same as Korean numbers. BULLOCKS.

This is why you do not stray from default: I once asked the lunchlady to give me a little more rice because we were having one of my favorite soups that day, so everyday since she's been giving me a wide load of rice. TOO MANY CARBS.

Sometimes, I just want to use a fork. Metal chopsticks hurt.

And every time I walk into a public restroom and find a western style toilet, I feel like I've won the lottery. Powerball too if there's toilet paper.

April Fools Day

I was given the day off from school as it was "school spirit day" so I was unable to play any April Fools jokes on people. Another EPIK teacher had played a joke on everyone via Facebook (including me), so right before bed, I decided I wanted to call my mom and tell her I was coming home. But then I figured once I tell her the truth she'll freak out and be all pissed (besides, I played a pretty good joke on her last year already). So I decided to freak out the rest of my family and friends instead via email:

Hi all,

I guess this email is coming a little sooner than expected. I had been struggling over the last few weeks with applying for my Alien Registration Card. When it FINALLY came in, I thought things would be great and that I'd finally be legal here. Turns out I'm wrong. Some REALLY big idiot down in immigration made a mistake and didn't let me know beforehand (because another teacher had dropped off my documents without my presence) and now I am being sent back home in 1 month (that's as long as I can stay in Korea without being a legal resident). And now my main school is very angry and I don't think they'll be wanting me back. So there you have it...I guess my "one year" abroad just went into fast forward. I'm looking to see if I can find another job in a private school since they're always looking year round. Either way, I need to come home first and sort things out.

So if you're around, I guess I'll be seeing you...I'm very very very upset but I can't go into detail right now because all of the crying I've been doing all night has numbed me to no end. I can hardly even finish this email without wanting to throw my fridge out the window...

I've attached my itinerary below for those who are really excited that I'm coming home early. (at least someone is!)

Love,
Amy

[recipient then scrolls down to find...]

APRIL FOOLS! Do you really think I'd give up this opportunity that easily?!?

Did I fool you or was that just completely lame and immature? Either way, I'm bored and it's still April Fools Day back in the States and well, my little brain just couldn't resist. Sorry it wasn't very clever...my brain power has been masterfully sucked away by a plethora of kimchi lately.

If I fooled you, it's okay to cry with disappointment.

And if you're reading this post-April Fools Day...then whoops, guess I'm coming home early.

I'm quite proud of how well it turned out, considering how impulsive it was. Nearly everyone was fooled! Some didn't even see the joke part until I responded back and let them know. I assumed everyone would see right through it but I guess I am cleverer than I thought! Muahahahahaha. Meh, it was a good laugh.

The end.