Snow makes everything better

Dear snow,
You are welcome here in Gunsan anytime!

Well, last week we had our first legit snowfall. It was wonderful. I don't know what it is..maybe I just really love the first snow every year, maybe snow makes it look a little bit more like home, maybe it's that snow muffles the sound of screeching brakes and honking taxi drivers, OR maybe it's that the snow disguises the multiple pools of spit on the sidewalk that I seem to walk through every morning, but I LOVE that it snowed this week. Of course it's gone now, but it was so wonderful while it lasted. Here are a few pics. *SNOW!!!!!
* So it begins..this is one of the entrances to the market..I live in the depths
of this market *We still ride our scooters in snow storms in Korea * And this is what I woke up to!

Anyhow, I realize I am super late on this blog. BUT it's because I've been one busy bee these past few days. I've been cleaning, Christmas shopping, grocery shopping, and trying to get ahead because ERIKA will be in Gunsan in exactly 2 hours and 20 minutes! Also, last week was painfully uneventful, there were a few high points..of course the snow was the biggest highlight.

As for the other high points, here it goes. It turns out my students in my morning class have taken pity on my in this cold weather and have been giving me rides back to my apartment, so I don't have to walk through the snow. Speaking of that class, last week we said a temporary "goodbye" to Mrs. Ko. She is studying English in Tacoma, Washington for 6 weeks. I am so excited for her, and of course I begged her to take me with her, but she wasn't having it.

Also, early last week, my Chinese student came back and brought me some Chinese snacks. I tried the "gummy bear" type things but have yet to try the stuff that looks like a solid square of diarrhea. Also, the same Chinese student invited me over for lunch on Sunday. So, this Sunday, I went and had a Chinese lunch with 3 Chinese college students. I couldn't believe it..2 of them lived in a 1 room apartment that was probably a little smaller than my one-roomer. I don't know how they do it...I mean I'm stressin' a little with sharing this apartment with my sister for 6 days. Anyway, the food was delicious. We had beef with onions in some sort of sweet sauce and eggs with tomatoes (both apparently, Chinese dishes), a fruit salad, and this ham sandwich sort of thing. It was all really really good and I loved spending time with them...although it was difficult since their not really fluent in English. Our conversation was pretty much centered limited to topics such as Twilight, Harry Potter, Avatar, Britney Spears, and hamburgers.

Well, as you may know, South Korea has been a huge part of the news lately. And although some people say, this is how it's always been, I think they are mistaken. Last week the whole country held an Emergency drill. We were told to stay home or if walking, to get into the nearest building and stay there for the next 15 minutes. I was home, but I went and looked out the window of my complex and saw that their were still people walking around and school kids still walking in masses and taking up the WHOLE sidewalk. However, I heard later that many people did participate in the drill. It's really interesting being in a country that holds these kinds of drills.

So, last Thursday, I got an email from the U.S. Embassy saying that S. Korea would be holding these live-fire military drills on the island that was bombed last month. Pretty much the email said "Don't be scared little American, just keep yourself informed, and STOP emailing us to ask us if you should evacuate...we will let you know if the situation changes." The drills took place on Monday, and if you watch the news at all, it was one of the tensest moments I think this country has seen in a while. North Korea said they would deliver a "catastrophic" attack if the drills took place, Russia and China strongly encouraged South Korea to not hold the drills, and the U.N. decided they would get together and try to solve this thing once and for all (shockingly, that didn't work.)

Nonetheless, gutsy South Korea held those drills like nobodies business. Of course it would have been too predictable for North Korea to attack right then, but still people have been on their toes ever since the drills took place on Monday. All day on Monday, I carried my evacuation bag with me.

Yes, North Korea being a bully has been going on for awhile, but South Korea has never been so aggressive either...they are definitely at their tipping point. And it's almost like they are daring North Korea to try one more stunt so they could respond full force.

SO, please pray for this situation, for the safety of the people of South Korea, and for the freedom and release of oppression of the North Koreans. It's most definitely a very interesting time to be living in South Korea.

I'm sorry this blog wasn't as good as previous ones. I promise more laughs for this upcoming week's blog. Oh and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

YIKES....BIKES!

Dear Mr. Kim,
Seriously, you are one crazy dude. Next time you cycle next to me, I'm taking your pic.

Here I am sitting in the teachers lounge because it's cold and rainy and I just didn't feel like walking anywhere. I guess this is a major downside for working a split shift and living 2 miles away with no vehicle. However, I'm using the school's electricity and heat and therefore saving bundles on my utilities, right? right.

So these past several days have been a bit of a challenge..don't get me wrong, this week was another eventful and humorous week, but I really think I'm starting to get homesick. It's probably the holidays, birthday, and the fact that for the past however many years of my life, I've had AT LEAST a two week break from school and I could hang out with family and friends pretty much every single day.

Skype really has been wonderful, many times I hear people say, "I don't know how they did it back in the day without cell phones and internet." But I've been beginning to think of the internet and skype as a bit of a tease. It's frustrating when the connection is bad and the conversation is delayed a solid 5 seconds. I mean you skype or talk on the amazing magic jack (thanks MRS. BIVINS) for an hour or so with a group of your friends and it's great while you're talking. But then you hang up the phone or shut off the computer and you're sitting alone in a tiny one room apartment listening to your dwarf hamster obnoxiously drink from her water bottle. And then you begin to think, "I won't really see them for at least another 8 1/2 months." "Will we still talk this regularly in 7 months?"Is the phrase 'out of sight, out of mind' really true?" "When I do see them again, they will have experienced so much without me and vice versa, will we still connect?"

I could go on, but I feel like it would depress you. Needless to say, I miss a lot of people! And although, I just called skype a "tease" it's still pretty great to be able to see and talk to my friends and family. Most of the time after skyping my homesickness is like a 3 instead of a 7.

ANYWAYS, you're probably thinking to yourself, what's this about "bikes." WELL..Tuesday felt like the days when something always out of the ordinary happened on my walk to work. I was walking right past the food garbage place and I look over to my left and about 8 inches from my face was the man on the bicycle who is 100% positive that I'm 18! YES, SAME GUY! I jumped back, startled, and the same thing happened..he rode in line with my walking and asked me my age, and when I told him, he told me I was wrong and that I was 18. So, I asked him how old he was, he's 59. Then he asked me where I was from. I told him I was from Chicago..like I do everyone else who would be confused by the word "Dixon." Then he started spouting out American cities he knew, " San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Seattle, California." After he finished his list, he patted me on the back and rode away. I decided to call him Mr. Kim, until I find out his real name..because let's face it there is a 75% chance his name really is Mr. Kim.

A little while later, I saw a nasty accident that involved a school bus and a bicycle. Thank the Lord I didn't walk any earlier than I did. It was just a messed up bicycle and the school bus driver that was still on the scene.

Then I was half a block away from my school and I was about to cross the street and I had to tap into my goalie/catlike reflexes to stop myself from getting hit by yet another man on a bicycle.

So, that walk was a bit treacherous, and I hope it's not a foreshadow into these winter months. Speaking of winter months, early last week it snowed! It was so beautiful and I raced home (and by that I mean I briskly walked) to try to get a picture but it had all melted by the time I got to my camera. I hear the Midwest got hit hard yesterday with a snow storm, SO JEALOUS!

So I think I disappointed a few of my students last week. Last Friday I was on cloud nine when they all called me an "English genius," but I definitely don't deserve that title anymore. On Wednesday we played pictionary and the 12 year olds are absolutely repulsed if they are intermixed with boys and girls and there was only one boy. So, I decided I would be on Jay's team. We would work well together, I thought, he was the one who called me an "English genius." Sparing the bloody details, we got totally annihilated by those little girls...and to add to the humiliation, I was the one who made the pictionary words. Jay just looked at me and said in a disappointed tone, "teacha."

However, I'm pretty sure my adult students still think of me as an "English Genius." Again, they were full of advice for me this week. Sometimes right before class ends, they feel the need to give me advice about my life since I am so young and they are so...experienced. This week they told me that I need to marry rich and if that means waiting a really long time, than so be it (they didn't say "so be it," ...but that would have been awesome!). So, thanks for the advice Mrs. Ko and Mrs. Nam, I'll really keep it close to my heart ;) Mrs. Nam, not only did her results show that she is the most daring person in our class but she also went on and on about how handsome Clint Eastwood is and how if she could spend the day with someone famous, it would definitely be him. Watch out Mr. Nam.

So, I ended the work week by going to see Chronicles of Narnia at the theater with a hot date. You guessed it, Mr. Oh. He was quite the gentleman. He paid for me and opened doors for me. However, I'm pretty sure he could have got us kicked out, because every once in awhile I would hear him snapping pictures of the screen. Mr. Oh is an avid photographer..almost in a stalkerish kind of way. I'm pretty sure he took about 30 pictures of the movie.

The weekend was relaxing, I hardly did anything, but I still feel so tired! And if I read one more facebook status about how people are so happy they are home on a 4-5 week Christmas vacation, I might chuck Lily out the window in a jealous rage!

But seriously, if you are one of the lucky few that is home on an enormously long Christmas break I leave you with the words of Billy Madison, "Cherish it, CHERISH IT!"

Twenty-Three...a good age and a good basketball player

Dear citizens of Korea,
Stop moving to Seoul...being squished into a subway, paying an arm and a leg for a taxi because you sit in traffic jams for the majority of the time, and sweating like a Norwegian man while shopping because of the body heat from the ever growing crowd that follows is simply NOT worth it.

Look at this, it's Monday night and I am sitting down to blog. The dishes haven't been touched, my clothes are still all over the place, and Lily is practically swimming in her own feces, but by golly, this blog is being written ON TIME!

Well well well..you are now reading the writings of a very wise 23 year old. That's right, it was my birthday on Saturday the 4th. Turning 23 is exciting, and I'm not saying that because after a year of not being able to, I can switch the numbers and say I'm "32"...maybe it was my obscure imagination when I was younger but I remember being so excited when I turned 12 because I would switch the numbers and say I'm 21, or 31, or 41, and so on and so forth..you're probably like.."what the hay?" I don't know..I think I was out there as a child..the amount of imaginary situations I put myself in is just embarrassing.

Back to the birthday bonanza..Well, the celebrations started on Thursday. Yogita and Jemal took me to lunch on Thursday afternoon for a little lobster linguine. It was this cute little Italian place. It kind of looked like your blind great grandmother's house inside, but the food was amazing! They are great company and I am so blessed to have them as coworkers and friends.

Quick side story: Thursday afternoon, my 5 o'clock class was hilarious. This class is all 12 year olds. They are becoming my favorite class. They are goofy, smart, and pick up on American sarcasm pretty easily. So, this boy Dan brought this snack to class. It was raw ramen noodles and he put this spicy packet all over it and I mean SPICY! I tried a little, but being a weak Westerner, I couldn't take it, so I did the sensible thing and stopped eating it. However, all the other students did the UN-sensible thing and kept shoving the spiciness in their mouths. The room filled with the smell of spicy food and the students (except Dan) starting breaking into a sweat, then the sucking in of air through the teeth started (all but Dan), then the panting started (minus Dan), then as they were answering the questions I could hear a lisp and see that their tongues were getting bigger and bigger (but not Dan)..then mid-English exercise, I say, "Just go get water" and they all jump from their seats and rush out the door..but there sat Dan licking the last of the spice from the packet. He finished while I just stared at him, and he said with pumping fists, "Teacha, I am champion." And I said, "Yes, Dan, you ARE champion."

So anyway, Friday came along and it was such a special day. I told my adult students like a month ago when my birthday was and they made it a point that we celebrate it even if we had to celebrate a day before the actual day. So, Friday my adult students from the morning class took me for some Chinese food, which was fitting because I just got a new student in that class who is Chinese. Her name is Xian Jio or something like that, she's my age and she knows Korean fluently and is working on her English and Japanese. So in the car, we were trying to learn Chinese..."Nee How" is hello..and that's all I remember. The car ride was interesting with Korean and broken English being spoken mainly with a little Chinese thrown in here and there. It was one of those moments that made me say, "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

After lunch we went on a drive to the outskirts of Gunsan. We mainly drove around the industrial part of Gunsan that is situated right on the Yellow Sea. I read about it before I came here, so my students showed me the ferry that crosses the Yellow Sea to go to China. Again, another of those moments, "I'm just a ferry ride away from China. NBD." Then we crossed this new road that was built on this thin piece of land that goes to the islands near Gunsan. It was awesome to be surrounded by the Yellow Sea. It was a really windy day, so the swells were HUMONGO! I couldn't capture it on my camera, but I know I'll never forget it. I feel like those swells gave me a little glimpse into the power of God.

So my students brought me back, it's always a good day when I don't have to walk to work. Yogita surprised me with a gift of a hat, scarf, gloves, and nail polish..all matching. She's a gem. Later, the teachers got me a birthday cheesecake and sang happy birthday in Korean. My adult students in the evening class brought me pizza AND more cake and one of them brought me a "the king" bobblehead from Burger King. They also sang Happy Birthday to me! I was stuffed full of cake, pizza, and birthday wishes. I felt like one special teacher!

So, Saturday came along and thus the second Saturday in a row I've gotten up before 6:30 a.m. A group of us from my church went to Suwon, a suburb of Seoul to see this traditional Korean village. It was pretty neat. One of the men we went with grew up somewhere much like the village we walked through. It really is incredible to see the changes that have happened to this country in the last 70 years. And in fact, the man said that much of North Korea today looks like these traditional villages. I compare it with colonial America..if you've been to Jamestown in Virginia (or is it Maryland?) than you could combine what that looks like with an African village you've seen on TV or in magazines. The people who work there are all dressed in traditional Korean dress. We saw a traditional Korean dance and an abnormally flexible 60+ man do acrobats on a tightrope. Pretty entertaining stuff to say the least.

After our adventure into Korea's past, we dove right into modern day Korea and took the subway into Seoul..thus my introduction of my Seoul frustrations. We tried to get to the Seoul Palace before it closed but we were 20 minutes late. Bummer..but that's ok, we still stood outside the walls and went into the museum for a little while. Finally after our day of sightseeing and travels, we made it back to the Seoul bus terminal where the group bought me a Krispy Kreme snowman birthday donut! Then we got onto our bus and made the journey back to good ole Gunsan. The more I'm away from her, the more I appreciate this little "hidden treasure" called Gunsan, South Korea :)

Well, to all you Norther Illinoisians, I hope you are enjoying the snow...it's tradition that it snows on my birthday..unfortunately that tradition did not follow me to Korea. So go outside for me, make a snowman, snow angel, build a snow fort and throw snowballs at your siblings, neighbors, or complete strangers...enjoy the snow, don't hate on it.

*blowing out the candles on my 2nd birthday cake of the day..notice my
illustration of a camel from a previous class that day..that's art.
*Who has the best students? This birthday girl
*A little pregame stretch before the big show
*Some Chinese for lunch with adult a.m. class

*Traditional village group
*My birthday donut
* A little birthday dance :)