Month 16: Update

I feel like a slacker. I apologize that I haven't updated this in a few months.. I guess nothing extra special has happened, but little things are worth mentioning. So here's a quick update as to what I've been up to...

Cherry Blossoms:

The Spring Cherry blossoms have come and gone yet again. They're only in bloom for about two weeks and then they sadly disappear. It's one of my favorite times in Korea. The weather starts to change and the streets become a winter wonderland full these beautiful flowers. We attended the festival and ate some necessary fried street food.

Andong Orphange:

I started volunteering at the local orphange here in my city, where I teach five middle and high school students. They are an absolute joy to teach. All of them are full of life and very eager to learn. There are six foreign teachers and a few lovely Korean university students who pair up with us. It was my turn two weeks ago, and the students were great! My friend Scott was grand and accompanied me on Monday, because there were no Koreans available. Then on Thursday I headed there by my lonesome, and had a great old time with them. I brought along LCR (greatest gambling game ever. If you don't know what it is, you need to get on that. It often comes out at many of my family functions.. Yes, I was introduced to gambling by my family at the age of 8.) Anyway, I use it a lot in the classroom. Instead of gambling with money, I use it to study  English expressions in unique ways. These kids are great, and it's very comforting and satisfying to know I'm helping to build their English language skills. This will aid them tremendously.

10K:

I ran my third 10K last month. Cut time off my last race. And didn't stop ONCE! EXCITING! A bunch of my friends ran the 5K. Saw some of my students and my school's vice principal. An all-around great day =)

Suzanne, Lisa, and me

Bull-Fighting:

Last month I headed down to Cheongdo, a small city, outside of Daegu- famous for two things and two things only. Bulls and Persimmon. So, two friends and I headed to the famous Bull-fighting festival to see what it was all about. Personally, I've never been to any kind of bull-fight so all I had to go on was what I've seen and heard about Spanish bull fights. It was definitely not as exciting as all that. I admit that it was actually quite boring. The worst part was probably how much time draggggged on between fights. It took them forever to bring out the next pair of bulls. To top it off it was actually frigid that day, so we didn't stay too late. My friend Angel bet on a bull and won- that part was exciting! haha After that, we headed on over to the famous Wine Tunnel where we bought ourselves a bottle of Persimmon wine (the only wine for sale.) Leave it to the foreigners to not think twice about buying an entire bottle. (Every Korean had gotten themselves a single tiny glass for themselves.) We also bought a thing of Brie.. which was delicious. I always forget how much I miss cheese. I practically NEVER get cheese in this country. The good cheese is off the charts expensive, so it's a true treat.

Field Trip:

I recently went on a field trip with my fourth graders to Gumi, a city about 90 minutes away. I was  very surprised that it was not a hike. Every field trip I've been on so far involved a hike (which is great and active but noticeably a bit boring for the students after a while.) This trip was a nice change. They started out at a gorgeous park where they had a tour guide who lead them through fields of flowers and pointed out the various species of trees. Students each had a small notebook where they had to jot down notes on each leaf and flower. After, we had a picnic and then headed to Gumo Land (a small amusement park.) Yes, I went on one of the rides.. pictured below. It was actually a bit eerie. No one else was there except for our school, so it was like a set-up for a creepy horror movie. Ghost town.

Cheongryangsan Part II:

Probably the most difficult hike in Andong is the famous Sky Bridge hike. I hiked it last year so I decided to give it another go.

Me, Jay, Natascha, and Lisa

Decorated for Buddha's Birthday

Me, Lisa, and Natascha

Principal's Art Exhibit:

A few weeks ago I was asked to help my principal write the English translation to his resume/professional background which was going in the back of his new published art book. I had no idea this man was such a talented artist.

My principal is the one in the blue tie to the woman's left.

Last Friday evening he had the opening ceremony of his art exhibit, which I gladly attended. A good amount of the staff from school were there as well as other admirers and fans. They had food and a ribbon cutting ceremony- It was a nice hour of Korean culture and conversing.

Gangnam, Seoul:

Simon, Emer, Conor, Ariel, me and Marc

I made it to Seoul last weekend. Boy did I miss that city. This is the first time I actually spent time in Gangnam and didn't stop by. I once had breakfast there at Butterfingers, but I don't count that. It was literally just to get our western-breakfast fix on and then we were out. I met up with a few friends I haven't seen since February. Relaxed at Rainbow Bar, a fun, laid back hookah bar, where we listened to some great live music (video below). We then made our way around the streets of Gangnam where I gave in and indulged in the greasiest, most delicious burger I've had thus far in Korea. Complete with rice cakes in the meat? Why of course! Don't act surprised.. this is still Korea haha. Somehow we made it to Itaewon where we finished our night.

Met up with Tom the next day, with our new 8,000won rip off Ray Bans, and had...

Greek food!!! I've missed it sooo much! This was at Santorini in Itaewon

Here, we met two Finnish guys who were not our favorite people. Let's just say they were rippping America and Americans apart. My fiend Ariel and I did not hold back when it came to defending our country and our people. Now when it comes to American expats... I have no doubt that everyone of us has gotten some sort of criticism, vulgar smart-ass comment, and/or stereotype. What you choose to do with these situations says a lot about you and what you stand for. 

I mean let's face it. We don't have a lot of fans. A lot of the world does hates us. We credit this to movies, bad television, and our government's need to butt into everyone else's business. Having spent a month in New Zealand, traveled to Japan, Taiwan, and called Korea a home for 16 months, I am automatically a victim of this... just because I'm American. Even if it's as little as, "Where are you from?" "The States." "Hmmm American huh?" *the judgy look*. I can't count how many times that has happened to me. Whether it's followed by a laugh and a "just kidding." or a full on conversation as to why the guy doesn't like America and/or Americans. It's not a fun feeling. It's not comfortable.

I am stubborn as hell.. thank you mom. hehe. I stand my ground and I will make my voice be heard if I feel I am being judged or attacked. However, living abroad has taught me that as much as we travelers are all very tolerant, approachable people, you will still come across ones who have their opinions and won't open their mind to anyone who differs. These are the times I stop talking and walk away. And that's exactly what I eventually did to the Finnish in Itaewon.. We agreed on two things: First of all, yes, our government needs to back off other countries and let them try to work things out on their own. Many of them are fully capable. End of story. Secondly yes there are some Americans out there who give us a bad name. They are obnoxious, arrogant, and unable to judge a situation and act appropriately. I have seen this time and time again living here. Everyone knows the types of people I'm talking about. The ones you are embarrassed to be standing in the same room with. The ones you actually take pity on. I am blessed to know and be friends with people from various countries and backgrounds as well as Americans who are pleasant, open-minded, and can absolutely take a situation and adapt to it. As we explained to these two guys... yes, there are Americans like this out there, but that's not where it ends.
It doesn't have to become your problem. You don't enjoy someones company, you walk away.  Simple. These guys were so set on, "America this, Americans that..." You could see our words literally going in one ear and out through the other. It was a waste of time. The shaking of their heads and the dirty looks, and vulgar comments were enough to make us get the hell out of there.

This upcoming weekend is good old Buddha's Birthday.. which means a 3-day weekend for Korea. I have a Culture Trip organized through EPIK on the following Monday-Wednesday. So I have 6 day weekend coming up and I couldn't be more excited. Busan, Geoje-do, and Dok-do. I'll be posting an entry on that soon after. =)

Buddha's Day of Birth..means we take Seoul by storm!

Last Monday, we all had off for Buddha's Birthday.. and that meant a 3-day weekend in Seoul! Three days to forget about being a teacher, and live out our 20's. We fit 12 people into Joe and Alex's gorgeous apartment in Itaewon... and made it work. Of course it was a plus that they really do have a magnificent apartment with a huge living room, 2 couches, and 2 bedrooms. On Friday we ventured to a new rooftop bar in downtown Itaewon, right above Sam Ryans. We stayed there for most of the night and then wandered down to Homo Hill. Being in Korea is sometimes like a time warp back to the 50's in terms of racism and closed-minds. So being around so many outwardly gay Koreans was great! It's really one of the few places they have to be open and honest about who they are.

Me and Haelim

Delicious brunch at The Flying Pan

Rooftop bar

Me and Alex (1 of 2 of the most fabulous hosts)

Me and Ariel

On board the Taxi-limo

On Saturday morning we ate at The Flying Pan. It's a small western-style brunch restaurant, tucked away down these stairs. Thanks to Joe and Alex, we  probably would have passed right by it. I got a pesto chicken sandwich with sweet potato soup. Their food was absolutely amazing and we were all talking about it all weekend. The best part- their menu was a legit newspaper. Very creative. Later on we left for World DJ Music Festival in Yangpyeong, Narukke Park. We had bought these tickets a while ago, so the anticipation had been rising for this day. Personally, I'm not into DJ Music or techno at all, but the environment was more of what I wanted to get out of it. We had bought day passes, but our little rooftop bar kept us from it until about 8pm. Our friend, Damien, was able to pull some strings and get us taxi limos instead of taking the subway 2 hours. Now I was expecting actual limos, because that's what comes to mind when I think limo.. haha no way. They were basically just oversized taxi vans. However, they came fully equipped with tv's where we watched K-Pop music videos the entire ride. When we finally arrived, it was quite a scene. Food and drink tents everywhere, silent disco, the main DJ fest stage, and a 3rd concert going on in another tent. Dayna and I bought the wrong kind of chicken and almost went into some kind of heat shock because the spice level was out of CONTROL. I think she agrees it was an experience we never want to repeat. Of course we started our own dance party near the food and drink tents, before going into the actual concert. I think some of those Koreans were quite scared from our moves. bahaha. The concert itself was insane. Those Koreans loveeee their DJ Music. And LOVE to watch all the foreigners crowd surf and to not grasp the importance of catching us. Once most of our eyes were shutting on their own, and we were speaking in circles... we left for the subway. This was around 5:30am. Now, the subways don't re-open until 6:30am, so as we followed the mass of determined concert-goers back to the train, we ended up walking onto a platform with a floor made of people. The sight was just hysterical. SO for about a half an hour, we either stared out into a distance or started our sleep cycle on the platform until we heard the train. Here was where Simon and Marc got to the front and made sure we all got seats, since the mass amount of people were now like a herd of cows waiting to get onto this 2-hour train ride. Kind sirs. I'm pretty sure every car was like ours. Packed in like sardines. Every seat taken, Every corner stood in. Every square foot of the floor had people sitting, sprawled out, one eye-open trying to hold on to the handles. The best part- the ahjussis (elderly Korean men) shoving their way onto the train at around 7:30/8am all ready to start their day.. and their faces quickly turning confused at the sight of this. Let's just say when we finally got back to the apartment, we had a GREAT morning/afternoon sleep.

Me and Dan with our buckets

On Sunday, we had an easy-going day to say the least. Ariel, Marc, Simon, and I went for Thai.. which was AMAZING. I've got to say, Itaewon is known for being dirty and filled with foreigners, but the restaurants are out of this world, and so many options. So it's definitely the place to go when you're craving some good western or international food. We ran into a few EPIK friends that day which was great but not really surprising since Itaewon and Hongdae are where most of us wind up being while in Seoul. We went to Sam Ryans that night where my friend Adam showed up from Canada. He flew in that morning for a 3-week vacation in Korea. I went to New Zealand with him, and hadn't seen him in three years, so that was a great reunion.

Rooftop with Dayna and Dan

New friends.. thanks to Adam

Adam.. 3 years later!!

Its hard not to make friends with Koreans at clubs when they have the coolest moves IN the place

Ran into Warren, Kate, and Glen

Lazy Sunday

On Monday, Dayna and I had a lovely lunch at Buddha's Belly, a popular Thai/Indian restaurant in Itaewon and finally, in increments, the nine of us went our separate ways home, back to reality.

One thing about this weekend: I finally can say I feel very comfortable traveling around Seoul. The first time we went, as I wrote in a past post, we arrived late at night, it was raining, and the subway was completely different than NYC's so it was stressful to say the least. But now, I see the ease in it, and know my way around Itaewon pretty well, so that's very helpful since that's where we end up most nights. However I'm excited to explore Insadong again with my mom and Dennis. That will be a whole new experience in itself. I was only there once, and it was for a very short time.

I think we all needed this weekend in some way or another. Thank you Buddha for this wonderful opportunity to celebrate being young and forget about my cares for three days.