Back Off Fall.. Winter Wants In!

If you know me at all, Fall is my favorite season. It means boots, scarves, warm colors, my birthday, and pumpkin EVERYTHING! So clearly.. I was excited.

Korea's Fall turned out to be absolutely beautiful. I regret not taking more pictures. Not quite sure why I didn't. The colors on these trees were so alive. I always thought NY had beautiful Fall colors, but there was something even more breathtaking about Korea during this season. I think some of it had to do with the overly vibrant colors paired with the backdrop of traditional houses and modern buildings. I absolutely loved it.

The day before my birthday.. colors just starting to come out

Though like all seasons, they eventually come to an end to make room for the next...

I was told that Korea has a very short Fall season... unfortunately that's the truth. For the past few weeks now it has been bitter cold. I finally gave in to turning my ondol heating on.. only for a little while, and then I think about money, crawl into my bed with 4 layers on and watch some Modern Family. When we first arrived in Korea, *gasp*- 9 months ago, we were told we had just missed the bitter part of the season by a week.. but we still got a taste of what Korean schools were like during this time. It's always so funny to me how your body and mind forget how cold you can get when you were used to sweltering summer heat for months, and vice versa. The only difference here is that Korean schools do not believe in heat. Very few classrooms have it. But every single person I've talked to have come up with the same conclusion... hallways and bathrooms remain unheated. Students and teachers wear their jackets all day long; teachers sneak heaters into their classrooms; they wear blankets over their laps and walk around the hallways with them draped over their shoulders like capes. I've worn gloves while teaching, because I can barely move my hands due to shivering. I am grateful my school gave me a personal space heater last winter, so I am actually one of the lucky ones. It stays in my office and has become my best friend.

Two gifs from kikinitinkorea.tumblr.com :


When I need to use the bathroom at school in the winter.. I sit there and think to myself...

When my co-teachers open all of the windows in  Winter.. I just want to ask...

Like everything here, we assimilate, suck it up, and learn how to deal with it. Complaining gets us no where. So I wear my Uniqlo heat tech leggings under all of my clothes, (best stuff ever)  and never leave my house without a huge scarf, my gloves, and most importantly my patience.

I am getting over a cold that thankgosh only lasted a few days. I never really get sick, which I'm grateful for, but this weather has been making everyone get serious colds, so I guess my invincibility stood no chance. I did as the Koreans suggest, drank hot tea and got lots of rest.

On another note, my mom's "pumpkin package" arrived today. Complete with the Trader Joe's works, powerberries, pumpkin butter, tea tree oil face pads, jelly bellies, honey sesame seed nuts, along with homemade pumpkin bread and pumpkin cookies. That woman is one amazing person, as I am sure to tell her every chance I get. I really am so very blessed to call her my mom. It is her number one concern to keep the five of us comfortable and happy, even if it means sending things half way around the world.

I actually took a break from writing this post, and during that time I left work early for nausea. You think a sickness is gone, and then bam! back it comes. I've been barely able to eat anything for the past few days because of dental work/ flu symptoms,  so I'm going to go back to sleep. Hopefully it'll turn around soon.

To everyone back home.. I hope you have a wonderful, safe Thanksgiving. One of the churches has been kind enough to act as the venue for a huge dinner here on Saturday with everyone in Andong. I volunteered to be in charge of mashed sweet potatoes, so hopefully those turn out somewhat decent with no oven... 

Happy Thanksgiving!  

Extreme Makeover: Andong Shinae Edition

So when I first moved to Andong, downtown or "Shinae" was pretty great. It's basically the most western Andong gets. It contains stores like Adidas, Lacoste, Baskin Robbins, Pizza Hut.. the works. It's where high schoolers meet to flirt and catch dinner between their 14-hour school days, where you can find Ahjummas selling their fruits and veggies displayed on huge canvas mats on the concrete, and where we foreigners find comfort in the abundant amount of English everywhere you look. I'm lucky that it's only a 10 minute walk from my apartment, even though I never knew this until six weeks into living here. (I was such a lost kitten. Oh how things have changed.) Anyway, Shinae was great when I first got here, then it changed to mind you.. somewhat of a s**t whole while it was being re-constructed. Home Plus, a major grocery/clothing/hagwon-included/God-like/everything store in Korea opened up in April or May (I honestly forget.. the opening was postponed so many times) much to the dislike of small business owners in the Shinae area. Quite understandable. 

The solution: HomePlus agreed to pay for the construction of Shinae, as well as close their store every third Sunday.

During construction there were huge ass construction trucks out in the open where children were walking (no warning tape, etc.), demolition everywhere you looked, and a HUGE canvas tarp covering the dirt from where the concrete was ripped up. The dirt underneath was uneven, pipes and random sharp objects sticking out amongst other foreign objects. It was a sprained ankle waiting to happen or worse. It felt like the construction was going to go on forever.. but of course like everything in Korea, it all seemed to come together in a moment's time. (I swear stores are closed down one day, and VWALA! --- a new fully furnished coffee shop, open and ready for business a week later.) A week before the Mask Festival we started seeing visible changes in Shinae... and fast. As of now, it's basically finished. Although we swear new statues, or little things here and there are still randomly popping up. I'm convinced they secretly work on it in the wee hours of the night.

Here ladies and gentleman, is the new Andong Shinae- and it's beauteous!

A stage. Yes there are performances

This little stream goes all the way down the length of the main street in Shinae. I've often seen children make little paper boats and watch them race down it. Adorable

I call this one the "Breastfeeding Fish"

These are my absolute favorite! These tables have beautiful pictures under the glass tops and water pouring out of the sides. SO COOL! Inventive Korea!

For the lovebird couples... or tired children

Ha this is fun 

Fun design