Random things...

First of all, today's lunch might possibly have been my favorite lunch of all! Wednesdays, I can almost always count on a good lunch, but today was really good! We had this 국수 (noodle soup) that was just a basic broth with vegetables and noodles...they're kind of like angel hair pasta noodles. Anyway, we also had kimchi (which was only fermented to perfection today), this yummy rice stuff that was served in ball form which made me skeptical at first, the best rice cake things ever (they are the size and shape of the cookies that have hershey kisses on them, but they're rice cake with red bean in them...kind of a sweet taste), and drinkable yogurt. Now, looking back on this list, I feel like an alien, saying that these things were delicious. However, they were absolutely great, and I am SO full now...I almost got more just because it was so good, but now I'm glad I didn't...I think I might have burst!!

So, on a different note, I have some thoughts about some cultural Korean things. First, let's talk about whorehouses. Now, you may think that we stepped back into the old west when I say this, but, it's a little different. Nonetheless, there are actually places here that are protected by the government that are businesses housing prostitutes. Now let's talk about the men that frequent these places. Scumbags, sure. Poor people, not likely since it costs money. Classy business men, yes. Married men, yes. "Christian" men, yes. Married "Christian" men, yes. Young hormone-raging men, not as often as the old married men. Now, I'm hoping by this point that you're throwing up in your mouth a little bit. This is a part of the culture that I simply can't understand. Now, a couple big questions....first, do they think it's ok/not wrong: mostly. Second, do the married men's wives know that they do this: most of them. It just makes me sick to my stomach to think about the fact that people think this is ok! I mean, I know that sin is sin and I know we all struggle with sin in our lives, but most of these people have convinced themselves that there's absolutely nothing wrong with going and getting a little side lovin' from a complete stranger before they go home to their wife. I don't know if there's anything I can do about this aspect of the culture, but I'm open to suggestions. Lol. But seriously, I wish there was something I could do to change this.

Speaking of things I wish I could change about Korean culture, stay tuned for my next blog...I'll be talking about some other thoughts I have from being here... :)

It's Been Awhile...

So, it's been a while since I've written a blog. I'm going to start out by talking about my last class. They are a low level class that is incredibly enthusiastic. The problem is that their attention span is even shorter than mine. Yeah, I didn't know it was possible either...but it is. And they have proven that. Anyway, they're a fun class...exhausting and all. There's a kid in there who always goes "I LOVE ENGLISH!!!" So when I was teaching them the phrase "Really? Why?" I asked him if he liked English. He said "YEAH!" I said "Really? Why?" and he said "BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!!!!!" Haha...one of my prouder moments as a teacher. :P Then there's another kid in this class. Honestly, he's the most adorable boy of any of my boy students. And whenever he sees me in the halls, he's always sheepishly smiling and saying "Hello Tori." Well, today, he was combing his friend's hair...yes. Combing his hair. This is a point at which Korean boys are SO much different than American boys. They will comb each other's hair, walk down the hall holding hands, sit on each other's laps...just about anything that Korean boys do (besides beat on each other) is very foreign to Americans. So, when I offered the chance to win candy, this adorable boy raised his hand. I told them that they just had to do what I tell them to in order to win candy. So, I told him "Stand up. Come to the front. Repeat after me: I will not....comb my hair....in your class....anymore......good, now give me a high five." Seriously, this kid is precious, and the whole class roared when I told him not to comb his hair in my class anymore. Funny funny.
Oh, another funny thing that was said in class today was this. I was in a lower level class, and we were talking about using phrases like "I didn't hear you." I gave an example. Then I asked them what they needed me to do (meaning say it louder, softer, faster, slower, etc). I said you need me to say it.....?? and this girl goes "In Korean!!" Ha. Ha. Ha. I laughed so hard at it. It was probably the most effective and accurate answer I've gotten in a while. :)
Now. Let's talk about lunch today. There's this stuff in Korea called 순대...have I talked about it before? If I have, I'm sorry, because I'm getting ready to talk about it again. It's called Soondae, but what it is is blood sausage. Yes, blood sausage...you read it right. So, I've had it once before, and I choked a piece of it down that time. This time, I was deceived. I saw this fried stuff, and a teacher sitting down already said "Very delicious...많이 먹어"...meaning eat a lot. so, I grabbed three of them, my best guess being that it kind of looked like it could be chestnuts. So, I get to the table, sit down and say "What is this?" And they all say "Oh, Soondae, very delicious!!" Great...because I remembered my first experience eating soondae (right as I put it in my mouth a teacher said "blood sausage!!"), and I didn't want to relive the gag reflexes that took place that day. So, I prepared myself, shoved a piece in my mouth, and chewed like crazy. I'm actually having a reflex to simply thinking about it...as in I feel like I might throw up right now. I think that actually, it's not the taste of soondae that's so terrible, but rather the texture. It's kind of the texture of rice, and I think there's rice with it, but it's meat. Bring on the raw beef please....I'd rather have that.

Well, this afternoon I get to teach my lesson on American schools. It should be interesting, but the kids in the first lesson of it seemed interested enough. Ah well...I should probably do some actual planning during this planning period. I guess that's what they're here for. Anyway, hope you enjoyed my stories!

Oh goodness, the ups and downs

So, I'll start by telling you a funny story from this morning. Now, yesterday from afternoon on was terrible, and I do not want to relive that. However, something stemming from last night happened this morning, but since I'd had sleep in between then and now, it was humorous to me.
So, I got on the bus this morning, on time and all that jazz. I sat down, opened my purse to get my Zune out (a lady in front of me was popping her gum), and there was chocolate ALL OVER my purse. Yes, that's right....chocolate. Last night, I had bought these chocolate covered hazelnuts for comfort food when I was feeling bad. I left them in my purse last night...I keep my purse on the floor....my apartment has heated floors...do the math. So yes, there was melted chocolate all over everything in my purse. It was quite funny actually, but a little ironic that the food I bought as comfort food was actually causing me more trouble.
On to other things. I got an email last week about an extra teaching opportunity through the district (the only other legal way for us to make money here) and so I replied right away, but 4 other people beat me to it. I was disappointed, but I continued on with whatever. The next day, Julie told me about a teaching opportunity at her school, which was more money for less work. I was loving the idea of that, so I talked with Jenny about it, and got lined up to teach there. Then today, two days later, my school asked me to teach an extra class. Lol. This kind of stuff just really cracks me up....when it rains, it pours. All that to say, I'm going to be able to make money to come home and visit this summer! Yay! I'm pretty stinkin' excited about that. And yes, I'm giving up the freedom of my Saturdays...but I'm ok with that...I think.

Frustration...

In Korea, I've come to the conclusion that it's assumed that if you are a teacher, you do not have a life outside of school. This is completely ridiculous because it's impossible to plan anything outside of school without them walking all over it.
Take today for example. It's 4:20 (10 minutes before I leave for the day), and the teacher sitting across from me tells me that the teacher who sits next to me, who doesn't even teach English, wants us to help her with a speaking test. This test is supposed to be AFTER 7th period....7th period is the after school period that takes place on Thursdays. So this period would start at 4:40...(if you're a mathematician, you've already discovered that 4:40 is 10 minutes AFTER I am free to leave for the day. The fabulous thing about this is that I'm having a bunch of people over to my house for dinner tomorrow. Insert sarcasm. So, the 7ish people that I've told to come to dinner at my house, I now need to try and get ahold of to tell them that I either A: can't make them the dinner I promised, or B: make the dinner considerably later than promised. Great thing about this is...well, I'm done...there is no great thing about that.
Frustration.

Organization and Pre-planning: Not One of Korea's Strong Points!

So, my day today did not start out well. I woke up when my alarm went off, and I somehow convinced myself in my half-conscious state that it was Saturday. So, I went back to sleep for another hour and a half. I woke up about a half hour before I was supposed to be at school. Now, I usually leave for school about 45 min. to an hour before school in order to catch a bus there on time. The bus itself only takes about a half hour, but the waiting for a bus can be tricky at times. So, this morning, when I woke up at 8:00, I was thinking "Last night, Courtney and I were both saying 'Oh gosh, I need to go to bed'.....now what was I thinking that for...what do I have going on today....??" Then it hit me. It's Monday. Ugh. So, I fumbled down my dangerous stairs and made my way to my bathroom. When I got ready, I knew I would have to take a taxi in order to be there a half hour late, like I had told my teacher when I called him. So, I hopped in a taxi, and told him my school. Along with every other taxi driver in Cheonan, he did not know where it was. So he, of course, took the time to enter it into his little GPS, and then the WHOLE way to my school, he was rambling on about how he is just not sure of where my school is. It was pretty funny...and I got to school about 20 minutes late, which all things considered was NOT bad.
When I got to my school, I found out that I still do not have a schedule. Now, I can do this "fly by the seat of your pants" thing for about a week....but it's exhausting having to constantly rush to a class every time someone calls and says "You're supposed to teach this class...come now."

On a different note, I had a really good experience last week at Bible Study. We've been studying the Old Testament, and it'd been a few weeks since we'd had Bible Study because of Hal being gone. So, we got there this week, and we just talked about why we come to this Bible Study, what God was doing in our lives, and what we were struggling with spiritually. Normally I hate conversations like this, because I feel like everyone is just going to analyze everything I say. However, this was a really positive experience, and we all got to really share things that were happening in our lives. It was also a bit comforting, because it seems like most of my foreigner friends here also struggle with finding a routine with God, getting life balance in order, etc. It's funny how going to a different country will throw you off kilter! Anyway, we're taking a break from the OT and studying John for a while. It'll be good to have something that's a bit easier to chew for a little while. Even though I was really enjoying being challenged by the OT, I feel like I have more to contribute to the Bible Study when I feel like I understand the scripture better!
So, all that to say, Bible Study was good, and quite encouraging. And now, I am SO hungry (lack of breakfast due to extra sleep), so I'm going to go to lunch now. Yay for not having a 4th block class and for being able to go to lunch early! :)

And the Whole Office Cheers....for Coffee!

So, today has been a day that I've wished I brought my journal with me to school. #1 because I don't teach today, #2 because I didn't have internet for a large portion of the morning, and #3 because there has been so much going on, it's hard for me to just mentally process all of it.
This morning started out with me being SO tired because last night I came to find out that the pictures I'd put together last semester as an introduction were nowhere to be found. I stayed up late looking for pictures to use for my presentation, knowing in the back of my mind that if I didn't put it together, I'd have to teach today and would not have anything prepared. So I finally got out of bed, putzed around and got ready, then headed downstairs. I didn't have any milk, so I thought I'd just go grab some kimbap at the GS 25 (like a convenience store, a gas station with no gas) that's attached to our building. I love that GS25....it seems to have everything I need in it...any sort of random groceries that you'd need last minute, my morning kimbap, an ATM, a place to charge my bus card....everything. I went down this morning and it was closed....not just closed....like shutting down. I just love how they do things here with businesses. They just close down without any forewarning, and we're just left to figure something else out. So, I went on, without breakfast, thinking surely my bus would come before I could go grab something somewhere else....which it didn't....I sat there for about 15 minutes waiting for my bus. Good times.
So, I get to school today and realize just how clueless I am at this point. See, in Korea, they like to play office swap at the beginning of every year, and the teachers just all get moved to different offices...maybe it's for co-worker dynamics...I don't know. Anyway, there had been some hussle and bustle about where my office would be up until today. I didn't know where to go, whether I'd be teaching or not, and I now no longer know even half of the staff at our school! I called my head teacher only to realize that there was a meeting starting and I was unaware. So I rushed off to the library, sat through a meeting full of stuff that I didn't understand, and then found out that I would be placed in the office on the 1st floor, where i was sure to be lost and confused. My head teacher is now on the 5th floor...great. I also found out that until who-knows-when, I'm not teaching...I'm not teaching at all today. Of course I'm not teaching at all today, because I stayed up all night getting ready to teach! haha.
I also decided today that the IT guy who works for our district must HATE his job....everyone gets jumbled around and then they expect him to set up their internet and printers and all that at the drop of a hat...and as he was in our office, his phone rang at least 20 times, no joke! That poor guy....I wanted to give him a pat on the back, but he didn't have time. :P
So this whole "new teachers" thing...it's like being the new foreign teacher all over again. I'm this novelty that all the new teachers are staring at, wondering how on earth they're going to communicate with me. The teacher sitting next to me said something to the effect of "I want to communicate with her, but can't speak English" earlier...the English teacher that sits on the other side of her was just like "she understands." Which I do....it's just always an interesting process at the beginning!
Alright, one of the funniest parts of the day was this: the teacher sitting next to me held out a packet of coffee and offered it to me...then someone else saw and was like "Oh....you have coffee??" So then she just started handing out coffee to everyone who wanted one, and the whole office just lit up with excitement. I think it was just what they needed in their day. But they were all just going on and on about coffee! Yay coffee!! Haha...it was great, and definitely made me smile. It made me feel like someone knows how coffee makes me feel! :)
Oivey, I think I'm going to end this for now....my brain is a little scattered for the time being. Maybe I will be able to study some Korean later....do something productive with my time!

Nothing to do with Korea

So, this has nothing to do with Korea, but I just had to say it. It is constantly amaazing to me how music can move people. I am always in awe of the power of music, both in the little things and the big things. These past few days, it's been lots of little things, but as songs from my "past" have come up, I have flooded over a number of emotions felt during the times of listening to those songs the most, and thought through many memories associated with those songs. The song that triggered this post is an Album Leaf song called Streamside. It's nothing special really, just simple instrumental music. However, it used to be the ringtone on my phone for a while, both for text messages and for my wake up alarm. So first of all, this song reminds me strictly of the US. I picture myself being in my room in that crazy house on 97th St, Isabel at my side, waking up for another day of driving, driving, driving, then teaching, teaching, teaching. All of the people who were strong influences in my life at that time pour into my head, showing up in both positive and negative form. Now, this song is only one of about 20 that has given me this sort of experience in the past week. It's interesting, because I put together a "chill" music mix for my housewarming party, and so much music from that playlist has been the cause of nostalgic thoughts for me. I think often of the fact that I am doing "just fine" being away from the states, but then something like a simple song will trigger so much emotion and nostalgia for me. All this to say I really do embrace the great memories I have from things in America (and even the not-so-great memories)...they are so much a part of who I am, and as much as it makes me miss them and long for them, I remember that everything in life is a journey. I can embrace the memories of those times knowing that these times will later produce the same kind of satisfying thoughts. And I just wonder to myself....what will be the soundtrack of this time...what will be the songs that trigger my memories of my little 20th floor apartment in Korea? What songs will bring up fond memories of my friends here? I wonder....