I meet a beautiful girl named Amy...

Today's positive post:

In my middle school class, we are learning storytelling and using sequence words (First, Next, Then, After that, Finally). I showed them a cartoon picture (a man was down on one knee ready to propose to his girlfriend). I start off the story and they have to finish it.

I started with "One day, I meet a beautiful girl named Amy..."

Here are some of the stories they came up with:

Group 1:
One day, I meet a beautiful girl named Amy...
First, I say, "Amy, I love you!"
Next, I show her ring.
Then, Amy is very happy looking at it.
After that, I kiss Amy.
Finally, Amy kicks me.


(on the back there is a picture of me kicking the man--I look badass!)

Group 2:
One day, I meet a beautiful girl named Amy...
First, me and Amy family.
Next, I give ring for Amy.
Then, Amy and me have wedding.
After that, Amy and me have 15 kids.
Finally, Amy and me happy life.

Group 3:
One day, I meet a beautiful girl named Amy...
First, I have a dinner with Amy.
Next, I go to the park.
Then, I sit down bench.
After that, I propose her.
Finally, Amy is a boy.
Amy: "Sorry! ㅋㅋㅋㅋ (ha ha ha)"

Group 4: (very simple)
One day, I meet a beautiful girl named Amy...
First, I ask her phone number.
Next, I call her.
Then, we date.
After that, I propose to her.
Finally, we marry.

Group 5: (my personal favorite)
One day, I meet a beautiful girl named Amy...
First, I drink soju with Amy.
Next, I tell her, "Oh, I'm sorry, my mistake!!"
Then, Amy says, "I have your baby!"
After that, Amy cries and shouts!
Finally, I ask Amy to marry me.


Their English isn't near perfect, but they are pretty funny kids.

In high demand

Today's positive post:

My middle school students have exams this week. I usually teach these classes in the morning. Since exams took place in the morning, my classes were canceled. They had open afternoon classes, so students begged my co-teacher to change their schedule so they could still have English class with me. She told them I was too tired from English camp over the weekend (which is true). So 2 of the girls came up to me after lunch, looked me straight in the eye and asked if I was tired. I didn’t understand, so I said no. Then they yelled in fury at my co-teacher for saying I was too tired to teach. It’s flattering that kids request for me to teach. I will miss them.

p.s. lunch was delicious today, as usual

Quick favors

Today's positive post:

I just finished my last English camp in Korea. It was very bittersweet. Anyone who has ever done English camps knows how exhausting they can be. They take a lot of planning and preparation, and when you live in a countryside like Bonghwa, you have to make sure you have everything you need because you can't afford that 1.5 hour ride to home and back to retrieve it. Regardless, camps are a nice break from my daily boring routine of classes since it fosters a totally different English learning environment from the classroom.

And I always have SO much fun.


I had some of my favorite students at this camp. I really liked the bunch because they were smart and enthusiastic about English. This makes teaching them more exciting and worthwhile on my part. Even though a lot of work goes into camps, I always enjoy doing them and getting to spend more time with my students (or with other wonderful students from other schools in the district).

The sad truth is, camps will be missed.

Yesterday after lunch, I waved over one of my favorite girls over and told her to buy me an ice cream. Without hesitation, she ran into the convenient store and came out with a nice cone.

I love that you can ask for something like that and not be reprimanded for it. And it's fun to see just how much my kids love and adore me! :-)

Consequently aware

Today's positive post:

In my after school class, many students enjoy playing on their cell phones during class (yes, every child has one, even when they're 5). So I find myself having to disrupt their awesome gaming by snatching their phones to keep until class is finished. One boy in particular is always caught playing. So today, he comes up to me and hands me his phone. He mumbled something in Korean, which I assume to be something like "please take this so I don't play in class." That made my job a lot easier!

Also, this is Korea-unrelated, but I spoke to my 5 year old niece. If you know Savannah, you can see how this pretty much sums up her personality.

She was looking through a real estate magazine so I asked her (via webcam) to pretend to sell me this house. This is how the conversation went:

Me: Hi, I would like to know more about this house. Can you give me some information?
Savannah: Okay sure. This is the biggest house of all. It is more huger and more spacious than other houses. You can put all your toys and things inside.
Me: Really? Nice. What else can you tell me?
Savannah: The stairs are realllllly long and it has a big backyard and huuuuuuge park.
Me: Ooh a park. What about the neighbors?
Savannah: The neighbors are really rice, unless their dog is barking at night then you need to tell them to be quiet.
Me: Haha, okay. I think I want to buy this house. Will you sell it to me?
Savannah: Well, I don't work here anymore. I used to but I got fired.
Me: What? How? Why?
Savannah: Umm, because I spit on the other houses.

I was so close to buying that house.

Flattery to no end

Today's positive post: (wow Justin, look at me go!)

We were playing a game in class where students often had to write their answers on an individual whiteboard and then show me the answer. One girl wrote her answer and flashed it quickly for me to read.

And at the bottom of the whiteboard it read "Amy, I love you! <3"

This superficial flattery will never cease to amuse me. Korean kids are so smart.

3.5 months and going down...

Wow, since the start of my 2nd year in Korea, I've only posted 3 times. Guess not much has changed.

BUT. I am dwindling down to my last 3.5 months and it's a strange feeling.

Over the past few months, I said goodbye to some wonderful people and this has shifted life in Korea quite a bit. I only have 3.5 months left. And while the influx of new people keeps coming, it is difficult to meet anyone knowing how short my time will be here. Life in my town is dying a slow death and my eagerness to return home is growing at an exponential rate.

I've lived a nomadic lifestyle for quite some time now (never staying in one spot for more than 2.5 years since I was in grade 3), so hitting my 2 year mark makes me anxious to move. My passion for teaching in Korea has burned out and I've become a zombie at school acting as a tape recorder. There is very little room for creativity and my brain is now completely sour mush.

I yearn for something new, fresh, and challenging. Nevertheless, I will significantly miss Korea. There are many wonderful and heartfelt things about Korea and its culture. I've met some amazing people. I've killed my liver but thickened my taste buds for spicyness. And there are some aspects that make me want to rip my eyes out (i.e. the overbearing importance of appearances). Basically, it has become a love/hate relationship over the last 2 years.

So in order to keep the love part thriving during my last few months, I'm going to try my best to post (more or less once a day--no promises) one positive thing about my day.

Today's positive post: I wore dangling earrings to work today and one student pointed and shouted, "Teacher! Wow, very sexy!"

Into Year 2

I have gone home and am now back in Korea for Year 2. Home was good. I saw a lot of people, ate too much good food, spent time with the family, and got to speak English all the time.

In retrospect, Year 1 was amazing. I learned a lot about myself, westerners, and Koreans. I gained a better perspective on what it means to be Asian and how I can carry this mentality towards my own Hmong culture. I also learned that culture clashes go deeper than I previously believed, but with time and patience, clearer understandings can come about. I also learned that some people just don't get it and probably never will. I may not always get it, but I know for a fact that I at least try.

I came into this job with extremely high expectations. But anyone who's ever worked here knows that the system is inconsistent and always changing, so these expectations are often not met. And while it's frustrating and disappointing, if I try hard enough, I find other things to be thankful for. Things like how good it feels to have kids run and hug you when they see you and spend 10 minutes trying to explain how your hair looks like the girl nemesis in a Korean drama. And this comes from students who never made eye contact and refused to speak to you at the beginning of the year. The progress of their English abilities is minimal, but it's the little things that matter.

Living in this Korean culture has been rewarding and interesting. I won't get into details, so let's just say it had its up and downs. I thought hard and carefully about my decision to return for a second year. Since I've been back, standing alongside my decision has been tough. Aside from just missing my family, knowing I made another year long commitment only creates more doubt. So I promised myself I'd overcome these insecurities simply by changing my way of thinking.

I decided that I'd work harder on my Korean so that communication would be less of a barrier. I would also try my best to eat foods I avoided all year to make meals smoother (I am trying to eat mushrooms and octopus all the time--not quite there yet). I would accept the fact that my teaching material can sometimes appear mundane and repetitive. And I would not be easily frustrated by the changes and disappointments that often take place in this education system.

But within the first two weeks of school, I was broken. The day before school started I got a new co-teacher. This was a great thing. But then on the first day of school, I learned I would not teach at my small school (which I loved) and would all of a sudden teach at 2 middle schools (which I had never done before). I was immediately frustrated that my seniority meant nothing or that I wasn't notified sooner. Then I was told my after school pay was being reduced. And then my salary was also being reduced (or rather, was written incorrectly), despite what EPIK had declared. Then I learned I was actually correct and got my salary upped again after all the agony of arguing.

Then I decided to accept my position at the middle schools and taught one day at one of them. I was immediately charmed by the students, the teachers, and the school...only to learn the next day that I was being kicked out and sent to the elementary school.

I take my job quite seriously, and now it feels like I'm just a big joke. All the change is exhausting and leading me to believe I made the wrong decision to come back. At this point it's either let it go or go home. And I don't want to go home. You'd think after a year of this, you'd get used to it. But somehow they still always seem to know how to get you. It's push push push until you can't take it anymore. But now all that's left is to just push back. The ultimate test. No expectations = no disappointments.

When I lived in Chile, I think I was so desperate to get away that I dealt with the cultural differences easily and nothing seemed to bother me. But since I made this choice to come to Korea, knowing what was left behind, I feel the need to be more satisfied with my decision. But I often lose sight of the fact that I still make a decent income, I have a home, I'm healthy, I never go hungry, and I'm constantly developing experiences and memories to last a lifetime. This decision is a good one if I allow it to be.

At the end of the day, it's really all about the students and their willingness to talk with you, the teachers that cheer for you when you make an awesome serve in volleyball and then make sure you're well fed, the black belt with your name on it, the friendships you will always remember, the self-awareness that develops, the gained perspective on the world, and the Korean men who suit up so well they make Barney Stinson jealous.

Pop a squat!

Disclaimer #1: This blog entry is for Justin, who likes to remind me of my pathetic failure to update this blog as often he updates his. So with this crappy (pun intended) post, here's to you, Justin.

Disclaimer #2: This is a shitty post (pun intended). It's not about how wonderful flowers smell or how beautiful the sunset is. It's rated PG-2 for the urinating/pooping outside of a diaper audience. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Disclaimer #3: I am writing this while sitting next to the boys battling it out in an intense game of Starcraft at a PC 방 (room). I tried to just play Tetris but the plethora of Starcraft games going on lagged my game and I kept falling into 5th place because of it in the Sprint 5P game on Facebook. And my friend is playing the same damn Korean song ballad over and over. It's a shame because I really liked it and I predict that after tonight I will hate it.

Okay, to the real story. SQUATTERS. So I've spent nearly a year with these good fellows and well, today reminded me of the good times we've shared. Despite my newly developed legs of steel (entirely due to squatters and none to Taekwondo), it's been quite a relationship. We've had some joyful moments, we've shared some laughs, but we definitely also had some poopers (literally).

Every relationship begins with a bit of awkwardness. How do I approach it? I don't want to scare it off right away. I should be gentle. If I come on too strong that could be a disaster. Take it slow, Amy. But...how do I charm it? Will it be kind to me and accept me? How can I ease this tension?

I flush for good measure.

Seems to be working alright. Okay, so we've broken the ice. So now it's all about reading each other and knowing how not to piss (pun intended) each other off. Which direction do I face? So do I take off my pants entirely? How far down do I squat?

Squat...squat...squat...annnnnnnd GO! SUCCESS! Whew! Relationship established.

But in every long lasting relationship comes the first quarrel. A lot of times it's shitty. And in this case, super shitty. Stop reading now if you're disgusted easily, because I may easily disgust you now.

I went out with my school at the beginning of the school year. We had a large raw beef and seafood dinner (meh) and then went to the norae bang (singing room). That undelish food didn't settle too well so I rushed to the bathroom, which of course had a long line of my school staff. When it was finally my turn, it HAD to be the squatter. I wasn't ready for that step in our relationship yet, but things (aka my stomach) had taken a turn for the worst. So in a hurry, I just ripped off my bottoms and let myself go! And after full relief (I told you, gross), I looked up to find NO toilet paper! So the other teacher waiting after me comes in and I'm scrambling to ask her for some more (A LOT more) in my non-existent Korean. Welcome to the school!

But this helped break into our relationship and it's been pretty good ever since. We still managed to have our ups and downs, though. Like the time I was in such a hurry to catch the bus after school that I pissed myself off! Like, pissed all over the bottom of my pants. Or the time I found a dead baby rat floating around in my school's bathroom. Or every time I walk into an unflushed squatter (or even worse a blasted disaster) from someone's previous poop-a-thon. Or when I take a step back and my foot accidentally falls in. Or how drunkees can't aim well and puke lands all over the sides, making me nearly do the splits just to pee. And can't forget the rebounded pounds and liters of intestinal excess (little bouncers).

And today another misadventure consisted of me doing my urine sample at the hospital for some drug test. I had to pee badly but urine sampling over squatters makes me nervous. So it took me 5 minutes just to drop a drip, and as I shift myself for a better position, I drop my cup and scream "I GO!!!" (Korean version of "SHIT!"). And then it takes me another 10 minutes to finally fill the damn cup.

Anyway, it's been a rough year, but I think Squatter and I will make it through. Nothing can tear us apart. Except maybe a door stall, because if it's closed and locked, it means he's with someone else.

Bastard.

And I'm officially sick of this Korean song.

525,600 minutes

The end of the school year has to come to an end, and although I am re-signing for another year, I will be losing my 6th graders to the boy craziness, makeup, hairstyling, curse words, hygiene maintenance, and puberty that comes with middle school. So in remembrance of a fantastic year with my 6th graders, I made this end-of-the-year video for my main school's graduating 6th graders, whom I love and adore and will truly miss.

I added Korean to the writing because in order to effectively express the storyline, the students had to be able to understand it. I am also no expert at video editing and didn't have much time (crammed this whole thing in one day) so don't mind the lack of amazing video editing skillz.

I nearly cry every time I watch it. And it made many of my students cry and run up to me saying they'll miss me and begging me to stay. But then I reminded them that I AM staying and that they are the ones leaving! I even had students come crying to me that I didn't even think cared that much about me. Truly heartwarming.


Naesung 6th Grade Farewell from Amy Kue on Vimeo.

At my smallest school, I have a class of 11 6th graders graduating. At the very beginning, the girls opened their arms to me and I spent every afternoon there talking and playing with them. They even taught me my first Korean phrase ("I love you") by writing it in the sand. They are so pure hearted, sweet, kind, and very funny. Probably the only kids I've met so far in Korea without cell phones! I am going to miss them so much, so on my last day there, I bought a cake for them.



And then the girls all surprised me with farewell gifts, to which I did shed some tears.




This one's from one of the quieter girls with very little English skills. But she made me a pretty bead necklace, so I can't complain.









This is from one of my favorite students. She's a super bright girl who's funny, sweet, and going to be a great teacher some day. I wanted to express to her how wonderful I think she is, but I'm pretty sure she already knows.








This one made me chuckle. I know for a fact that she doesn't know this much English, so it was both impressive and amusing that she had outside help to conduct this letter. It was a sweet gesture.






This one's from one of my other favorites. She's super sweet and tries so hard to learn English. I visited her a few months ago in the hospital when she was hit by a taxi and I think she was appreciative of that.





This one's from a girl that's aspiring to be a writer, professor, and environmentalist. And any 6th grader that can say "environmentalist" is OK in my book. It's no wonder she bought me a planner as a parting gift. Super smart girl. Perhaps will be President one day.


So, how do you measure a year?

In Konglish, handuh pones, kimchi, bangs, mirrors, being called big eyed, easily amused faces, unforgettable whining, boyfriend and girlfriend gossip, Wondergirls, being best friends with Tae Yang of Big Bang, Bonghwa world stars, insanely lame yet catchy English songs, playing house, singing rehearsals, embarrassing students, soccer, badminton, free candy and tattoos, never-ending "hello"s and "hi"s and "teacha"s, like, like, and lots of love.

Missy out, Donna in

A recent purchase of mine was one of my greatest ideas since my arrival to Korea. When I was in Cambodia, my friend and I rented mopeds to ride through the countryside and absolutely LOVED it. So when I came back to Korea, I had to get one for myself. It was a brilliant idea because I could use it to ride through the lovely countryside to work and I could go visit many beautiful sites in and around my town all on my own. Plus it's upped me a whole lot on the coolness meter with my students when they see me cruising on my very own Prima autobike.

Welcome to Amy's world, my dear friend, Donna (get it? Prima...Donna):


Yes, check out the bullet holes on my muffler. I had to dodge the bullets from the local market using my fantastic ninja-like skillz when I didn't pay for my sHite beer.

I feel a bit bad because this means dear ole faithful Missy has been left out in the cold. I stuffed her into a hallway corner and she's now resorted to being the hall garbage tin where annoying teenagers that hang around the building like to dump their trash. Oh well, Missy always was a bit of a whore. It's only natural for her to attract other trashy things.

A while ago, I went to check on my moped's engine because it sounded funny. I went into the shop where I bought my moped at (since he offered 1 month free engine maintenance) with my Korean friend (who helps translate). But when I got there, he looked at it and with a red face and minimal eye contact, he said it was fine and that there's nothing wrong with it. Then as I kept pushing for him to at least check it, he stopped talking and finally admitted he was really drunk and that I'd have to leave it overnight and he'll look at it first thing the next morning.

This was at 4:00pm, a time when business is still going on and people need their bikes fixed. But it's no surprise since stores and other businesses open and close as they please.

But that's Korea for you!

Oh the things you get to see in the countryside with a ride as sweet as Donna. Oh sweet Donna.

Hide-and-no-need-to-seek

Today I worked at my small school (so classes of about 10 students). In between my first and second class is a 30 minute break. Instead of going and waiting in my 5th grade classroom, I waited until the last minute to go up. When I walk in, I see no one but I hear the kids yelling at each other. I think they're outside but then I see something dark move and find that one of my students is hiding in the corner behind a garbage tin. And then I hear more rustling and see the rest of the students behind the TV and shelf.

Apparently, they had been waiting for a good 20 minutes trying to surprise me, but I never showed up. They nearly suffocated on the account of a good scare (that failed). But I was impressed by how well they shoved 8 people into one tiny tiny corner. They were all really sad that I busted them but I told them if they want to surprise someone, make sure that person is actually going to show up. And don't talk!

Cute anyway.

/sign off

I'm flashy

I recently purchased a wonderful moped to ride to and from school everyday. This meant becoming more consciously aware of what I wear to work. I often wear skirts to work, and seeing how I am riding quite fast on the small county roads, I realized I can no longer wear a skirt while riding unless I want all of Bonghwa to see my granny undies. So I brilliantly decided to wear sweat pants on the moped and casually slip into a skirt once I arrive at school. When I arrived at school, in the parking lot, I slipped my skirt up over my pants and started to pull my pants down. For some reason, the drawstrings of my pants AND skirt somehow got tucked into my undies and when I pulled the pants down, it pulled the skirt down, which in turn pulled a bit of my underwear down. It was a 2 second flash, but nonetheless, a flash in front of the school. I'm not sure anyone really saw it, but I was sure surrounded by a ton of kids when it happened. Whoops!

Also, I dreamt in Korean for the first time last night. I am not really sure what happened in the dream, but I know a few Korean friends made their way into it and I found myself speaking Korean. It was all still very basic (only a few phrases here and there), unlike when I dream in fluent Spanish. I hope to keep this up. Once I start dreaming in a foreign language, I consider it to be forever ingrained in my brain. Yay!

Supplies! Happy Birthday!

Never try to plan a surprise birthday party with Koreans unless:

1) You can speak Korean.
2) The other party can speak English.

As previously mentioned, I've developed quite the relationship with a few of my Taekwondo girls. They're all younger than me, but they keep me highly amused and have become the little sisters I've never had. I enjoy their company and being so far from home, they are the closest family I've got here.

That being said, it was our good friend's birthday and we were all excited to celebrate it. Let's say off the bat that with this group of 4 girls, only one can speak English. And unfortunatly, it happened to be HER birthday we were trying to plan as a surprise. Success? You tell me.

Let's call it a failure #1:
I receive a text message from one of the other girls, Sora. All in Korean, of course. So I ask my coteacher to translate it. She of course does a poor job and I'm thinking Darima (the birthday girl who speaks English) is leaving Yeongju. So I text her asking why and when she's leaving. She's confused, obviously. So when I see her later on, I ask her to translate the message that Sora sent me. It basically said, "Amy, Darima's birthday is coming up, what should we do for it?? Should we do something special on Saturday?" Crap!

Let's call it a failure #2:
Sora relentlessly tries to plan with me, both of us using as much Konglish (English + Korean mix) as possible. We finally somehow come to agree that on Darima's actual birthday (Thursday), her and the girls would come to my place at 5:00 and buy a cake and presents and surprise Darima. Trying to plan a surprise for the person who is usually your translator is rough. Every once in a while, Sora would say to me (loudly and often in the presence of Darima), "Amy, Thursday, ok??? Uhh Darima, Thursday, five dirrty, uh, me, you house go go, ok??" Come on, SHHHH she's right there!!!!!!!! Crap!

Let's call it a failure #3:
Everything is going well, all the girls have their gifts and letters set. I ask my Taekwondo master if we could be a little late since we're throwing a small party at the same time as practice. So he asks, "Ah, so it's TOP SECRET?" to which I reply, "yes, so please do NOT SAY ANYTHING." To which he promises. Thursday morning on my way to school, he tells me he told Darima about the surprise!!!!!!!!!! WHAT. THE. HELL. I half yell at him and he oddly denies it but Darima and his daughter both confirmed he did in fact say something. I ask her what she knows and she claims she just knows there's a party going on. CRAP AGAIN!

Let's call it a failure #4:
SO, I am waiting at my apartment for the girls to come over so we can go buy the cake. They call me and tell me to meet them at some bakery which I can not find. We finally find each other and Sora says "Amy, me you cake. Bobae, Seong Eun (the other girls), gift." So I'm thinking they are going to buy her the presents (but I still bought her something anyway). After we get a delicious sweet potato cake, we go buy the "gifts" which turned out to be a bunch of chips, cookies, and crackers. Geez!



Let's call it a failure #5:
I had a perfect ploy for getting Darima to come over. I told her I bought a new moped (which I had planned to) and for her to come over after school so we can ride it to practice together (which we sometimes do anyway). Pretty perfect, yea? But Sora keeps calling and texting Darima to hurry and come downtown so ALL 5 of us can go to practice together. Meet at Amy's! Mind you, this is Darima's actual day of birth. Stop texting I say! Crap!

Let's call it a failure #6:
We lay out all the food on the floor to eat for the party. I want to move it to hide it so that when Darima walks in, she doesn't see it and know something's up. But they don't. And then they play some "happy birthday" background music as she walks in. Pretty obvious, but that's okay.

So, even though the element of surprise was pretty much non-existent, overall, it turned out to be a good time and I know she was really happy. The girls asked me to smash the cake in Darima's face because she would otherwise beat up the rest of them if they did it. So I did.



I still gave my TKD master crap about ruining the surprise, though. He told me a secret and said it was top secret and not to tell anyone. So I said I would tell everyone because to him top secret doesn't mean anything!

My darling Korean family:

Koreanization

In the spirit of Korea, I decided to cut my hair a couple of weeks ago. Twice. First time it looked like I had a lingering mullet. I tried to get it fixed the second time around and instead she just cut it shorter and shorter until it became this:


I got mixed reviews. Of course, my students with similar haircuts absolutely loved it! What I love/hate about Koreans is their honesty. Many others praised my new haircut as well and I knew they were telling the truth because of the expressions on their faces when they first saw me. And those who didn't like it much told me up front they liked my long hair better. There was no sugarcoating, no fake facial expressions. If their eyes widened and they smiled when they saw me, I know they liked it. If they looked indifferent or started shaking their head or whining "Aaaaamy/Miss Kueeeeee/Teeeachaaa I likeuh you hair longuh" it's pretty obvious they aren't fans.

The rest just said I look prettier than before. Hmm.

When I'm brave enough to REALLY be Korean, I'll walk around like this:

Korean friends

Apparently if you're an underage girl in Korea, you'll want to be my best friend. I don't know how I feel about this. It's not that I'm not making friends in Yeongju, I'm just not making KOREAN friends. At first I come off as uninteresting, just like any other Korean woman around town. This is especially the case when I'm hanging around other "white" foreigners (oOoO the exotic white person!). But once my charming and hilarious personality comes out, they cling to me like brown on brown rice.

Today I was asked by a student who my best friend is. I said I have many friends, but no one best friend. She asked if her and her friends could be my best friends. Sure, why not!

I had taken a few cute pictures with my students at my favorite school (it's very tiny so I get to know the kids better). I was very excited to show them to the world. They're some of the most innocent and enthusiastic kids I've ever met and they absolutely ADORE me.

I've also been quite popular with a few of the young girls at my Taekwondo school (all in middle or high school). 2 days ago, I pointed out to one of the middle school girls the building I live in. So the next day as I'm heading down the stairs to meet my Taekwondo master (who picks me up for class), she and another middle school girl were running up my stairs to see my apartment. We have 2 minutes to spare so I show them my dinky shoebox. One of them sees my thawing tater tots and invites herself over to come eat them some time. So today I invited them over after school and cooked them burgers and tater tots.

Then one of them was looking through my camera photos and deleted ALL of my pictures on accident. Was I angry? A bit. I took some cute photos earlier in the day! But she was mortified and they were both silent, thinking I was very angry. But they were so innocent about it I couldn't be angry. They're just pictures.

It's a bit weird to be inviting little girls over to my place to "hang out." But I figure, they adore and love me, so why not relish in it while I can? It's nice to feel that special every once in a while, almost like having little sisters. It's also a good feeling to know that when I met these girls, they absolutely hated English, and now all they want to do is practice their English with me. They have already invited themselves to my future wedding. And they're pretty friggin' hilarious.

And when I think about it, some of my closest friends are way older than me. A friend is a friend. Age ain't nuthin but a number. The only drawback is that I can't go drinking with them. But that's okay, because I don't drink, Mom...

So, with an empty memory card, we took new photos:

Teachers Day

Today was Teachers Day. Most schools had big huge parties. Some didn't even have classes today. But my school sucks and we ran on a normal schedule. But I guess I shouldn't be complaining seeing how we had all of last week off (and I got to go to Japan! pictures coming soon!). Today the Teachers Room was filled with flowers from the administration and parents. We were even given 2 cakes. I initially thought maybe it was someone's birthday because 2 teachers blew candles out on them and one of them had a sign that said "Happy Birthday!"...but they were for Teachers Day.


I wasn't expecting anything all day, but one 4th grader tracked me down to hand me this letter. I was deeply touched and it came at a good time too (I had just received some bad news). It's moments like this that make me being here worth it. I love all the grammatical and spelling errors too--makes it more personal. Not bad for a 4th grader!

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?

Of course I'm cheesy...I'm from Wisconsin!

Talk about a sudden turn of events. Vis-à-vis my previous post, I have been a tad bit frustrated lately. There are still a million logistical things I need to get done as a working foreigner that I frankly don't want to deal with. Amidst this crazy . ordeal, I've been feeling all sorts of emotions and I couldn't handle it today. I realized how bad it was when we were leaving school and I realized I would not be able to participate in my base school's kickball game tomorrow because Wednesdays I am at a different school that is 15-20 min away and I have to stay there until 4 (the game is at 2) to wait for my ride back. My coteacher then told me that they have a game every other Wednesday. When I heard this (if you know me, you know I absolutely love kickball), I nearly started crying. Okay, I don't love kickball THAT much but I think it was the breaking point to all of the stress and frustrations I've had lately, from being homesick to the language barrier to the classroom experiences thus far to all of the paperwork and tasks I need to do. Kickball was the one last thing I could look forward to (for the time being). I couldn't wait to get to my apartment to just start bawling. And I knew I had no one to talk to because everyone back home was sleeping and I just met all the people here and it would be too awkward.

The moment I walk in my door, ironically "Seasons of Love" from Rent randomly plays on my Ipod and I suddenly realize what a douchebag I'm being and how lucky I am to be here right now. How so many people are envious of my experiences to come and would gladly give it all away to be where I am right now. I am living it for these people and here I am pitying myself plenty. So I run out the door on a quest to feel the life of the city and to bring me back to reality.

Never before have I been so right. I live downtown where it is full of shops, markets, cars, and people walking to and from. And behind one busy street through a lonely alley I found this:


Intrigued by a random large rock in the middle of the city, I explored further and found myself atop a mountain that oversees a lot of Yeongju. I live on the 4th floor in my building, so I don't have much of a view. I found this little mountainous park and have decided it is going to be my new haven. I know it isn't the most spectacular thing in the world and I've definitely seen better, but it was there when I needed it most...and as cheesy as this sounds,

it spoke to me.

Remember that scene in "The Shawshank Redemption" when Andy played the Italian opera music over the loud speaker? He said, "there are places in this world that aren't made out of stone...that there's something inside that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours." Okay maybe not that dramatic but that's how places like this make me feel amidst the pressures of daily life. I stood over the city atop [what I learned is] Guseong Park and stared at my life for the next year and couldn't have been happier. I'm glad to have found a place I can just go to when I need a break from all of the stress, especially in the city, even if it's a small one.

I took this as a sign, because my mom always calls me Slowpoke:


It was tonight that I truly realized why I chose to come here. And I know this won't really make sense to anyone, but it made total sense to me.




Plus now I can just climb this mountain everyday and save the money I'd be spending with a gym membership (there's a row of treadmills across the street staring me down every time I look out my window).

Also, I was so pleased I stopped at a 7-Eleven and bought myself some good ole fashioned Wisconsin beer. It even came with a little gift!



/Signing off