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....

Now THIS is worth writing home about...

Ok, so first of all, we had our first snow that actually stuck last night! I'm looking outside to a white ground right now! :) And last night was so much fun to watch the all the college kids out in the snow, sliding around, taking pictures, etc....it reminded me of college, which in turn reminded me of home. It was kind of nice to think of winter at home though-it was something I hadn't thought of much since winter started here.

So, yesterday, the teachers at my school went out to eat together (a celebrating finals type of thing I think) and we went to a restaurant that one of our student's parents owns. We had some sort of bulgogi/shabbu shabbu thing, chop chae, and various other sides. Now, if you recall from before, Shabbu Shabbu is a food that is loaded with mushrooms, but I somehow like it. After we ate our meal, the principal came through to each of us and poured us a shot of cider (Sprite) and told us about the things we'd done well this year and the things he looked forward to for the next year. I thought that was pretty cool. After this, the owner of the restaurant brought out a special dish as a thank you. The English teacher sitting across from me was like "Oh, Tori you need to try this...it's raw beef." Now, to those who don't know, the girl that's speaking right now is the same girl who wouldn't even eat the meat cooked for dinner if she SAW it raw. However, this is also the girl who wants to fit in culturally and not seem like a stuck up American who won't try new things. So, I did. Mom, Dad, Bud, did you hear me? I ate raw beef...straight up raw beef with just a little bit of sesame seasoning on it, paired with little slices of raddish. Can you believe it? It was the size and shape of meat that comes out of a grinder....you know, those little tubular shapes strings of meat? Yeah. Now for the kicker. Ready..................................................................... I liked it. Yeah....I liked it. It had a really good taste to it. And had I not been wigging myself out psychologically, I would've probably enjoyed it even more! Haha. Anyway, all this to say, I think my fear of uncooked meat has gone away. I had gotten over the site of it (especially when you walk past markets and stuff here where there's like pig hearts and intestines out for sale), but I've just taken it one step further. Now all I need to do is get over the mouth-noises-annoy-me syndrome. :)

A First Time for Everything

As I thought about writing this blog, I thought about how intricate the human mind is. I have found it so interesting that sometimes the things that make me go "Huh...", the things that make me homesick, the things that make my heart soar....they're often such tiny little details in life. The silliest little thing can make me so happy for an entire day. And the silliest little thing can make me really sad for a while as well. It's just interesting to me how complex of beings we are.

Anyway, now onto the "real" message here. Today is a first for me. It's my first family oriented holiday out of the states. Now, I've spent Thanksgiving away from my family before, but I think it's just different when you're so far away. Also, it makes a big difference when you're living somewhere that the particular holiday you're experiencing isn't celebrated. Korea already had their main Thanksgiving-esque holiday, so today is nothing special here. I feel like I'm overlooking something, like I'm missing out on something big! And Thanksgiving never really "feels" that super special...it just "feels" weird to not have it present. That's all. On a happy note, there are some people from my church and such that are getting together for a big Thanksgiving meal on Saturday. So that should be fun!

Tonight, I'm going out with the young teachers at my school. They're super fun, and their English for the most part is pretty bad, so it makes for a really fun and challenging evening! I don't know where we'll go to eat, but I am sure it'll be something very traditionally Korean. It tends to lean that way with that group. :) Another random thought is this: I am almost going bonkers trying to make sure things are in order for the first Sunday of Advent. I am partnered up as a head of the worship planning committee at my church. It's really interesting working with that, because it's not the kind of "committee" I've ever been on before. It's a different kind of responsibility within the church than what I'm accustomed to, so it's kind of a fun challenge. And I feel good being involved in the church too other than just the worship team. It feels like I have some responsibility to the church, which is nice. So yeah. I feel like I'm just throwing out random thoughts here and there, so I'm going to go ahead and go now before I say something ridiculous! Haha...enjoy.

Swine Flu and Slippers in School

So, today I'd like to start by saying that it's a miracle thus far that I haven't caught the swine flu. I have now been in direct contact with 3 people that had it, and am still (as far as I know) healthy as a bean. I hope beans are healthy, because that would be a poor analogy otherwise. Anyway, last Tuesday I got an email informing me that my roommate was prescribed medicine for the swine flu and that I needed to go buy a mask and move out of my room for the week. So I did so, and I moved into a room with a broken shower and barely any heat (in fact no heat on the first two days I lived there). It's been an interesting week to say the least! The girl I teach piano to also has swine flu, and my friend and Bible study leader found out Friday that he has it as well. Awesome. So, I'm staying away from it with all my might! So far so good! I feel like I've been cautious about it, but I haven't become a germaphobe or anything. Maybe I'm not cautious enough, I don't know, but I guess since I'm still living healthy, I'm doing something right!

Also, I have to make it known how much I love the whole "wear slippers in school" thing. During the summer I hated it, because it was just more hassle at the door. But now, while it's winter and cold on the way to school, it's awesome. I can wear my snow boots or tennis shoes to school in the morning, and then put on my school slippers from there. This is really convenient when I don't have to "look dressy" anywhere after school. Also, everyone wears crazy colors and patterns of socks. Your socks don't have to match what you're wearing at all! So the other day I wore bright pink socks that said "Wednesday" on them...it was Friday. Needless to say at this point, what used to seem like an extra task at the beginning of my day has now become a blessing to me-getting to wear whatever shoes I darn well please at the beginning and end of each day!

So I hope this finds you readers out there well. I know I haven't written much this month. I've been a bit ADD and I've also been a bit captivated by some Korean dramas online, lol. Pitiful excuse, I know, but it....helps me learn the language and the culture. Yeah. That's it. Lol. Anyway, one of the shows is kind of Alias-esque in nature, all about secret agencies and what not. Then the other show is kind of a childish one, but it's fun to watch. Anyway, I'll be trying to get on here more in order to keep you faithful readers updated on my life! Haha.

Writing for the sake of writing...

I wonder...should I write just for the sake of writing? I don't really have any earth shattering news to talk about when it comes to things these days. Normally I write with a certain topic in mind. Right now, I'm just rambling, but I feel like it's been long enough since I last wrote that maybe I should write something!
Well, here's a topic...the students in the middle schools in my town are participating in a pop song contest. Then they compete at the school level and get narrowed down for the city wide contest. I was asked to work with the students and get them ready for the competition. At first I thought "Wow, piece of cake...teach kids to sing in English...." but then I realized just how hard it would be. The kids participating in this aren't necessarily awesome at English...they can just sing pretty well. So, sometimes getting my point across can be a bit of a challenge. I'm so used to teaching music in English, that it becomes difficult to stray away from those typical words or phrases used in English and try to find other ways to describe what they need to do. I can't exactly pose the "Lift your soft palate" business with them! Their like "Lift my what??" However, as challenging as it may be, it's also very rewarding. I feel my joy in teaching music to these kids, and they think that I'm some amazing singer so it scores me hardcore brownie points when I want them to do something that seems a little off the wall!
Also, I should tell you about 패패로 (Pepero) Day. This is a day that most Koreans say was designed by Lotte (the makers of Pepero) as a marketing scheme. Pepero are these cookie/pretzel type of sticks and they're either filled with or covered in chocolate. Pepero Day is on Novemeber 11th (11.11) because the sticks resemble the date. People are supposed to give pepero to and eat it with their lovers, but it's turned into the same type of deal as Valentine's Day where people give them to classmates, teachers, fellow workers, etc. It was a fun day, and I got 6 boxes of Pepero! I'm gonna be a fatty soon!
So...there's a little look at my week, through Pepero Day and Pop Song Contest preparation...I hope you enjoyed!

Konglish = English spelled out and pronounced in Korean

So, I had some really good topic to write about on here, and I was going to write yesterday...then I didn't, and now I can't remember what I was going to write! Also, this might get interrupted, because I'm helping kids with this poetry reading contest thing-helping with a more natural sounding influxuation and such.
So, Konglish...I'm getting better at the Konglish side of things here in Korea. First off, it's something that makes reading in Korean very satisfying, because it's one of the few things that can be understood when you don't know many words. I think maybe my first Konglish that I read was "Cap hey lot eh." I read it and was like "hmmm...Whoa~ cafe latte!!" So, this dear language was getting easier to learn with random Konglish words thrown onto signs and on menus. The only problem with that was that when there wasn't any Kng on the signs, it was very defeating....it was like "I just read that whole sign and have no idea what it says."
Now, reading is one thing, pronouncing is another! I, at times, have gotten so excited when I saw something in Kng, then walked with confidence up to the counter and said "hazelnut white mocha." "Pardon?" "Hazelnut white mocha?" "Ummm...sorry. What?" "Hazelnut white mocha?" "Ummm....." "Uh, hay-ee-jul nuh wah-ee-tuh mo-ka?" "Ah!! Hot?" Lol. That's about how it goes. It's really entertaining when you're NOT the person experiencing it. However, I'm getting better at pronouncing things in Kng. and anticipate being a semi-pro before I leave. I can't kid myself into thinking that I'll know the language well, BUT, I sure will be able to speak Konglish.
Well, that was the bell, so I should probably go now...I have class in just a bit. I will try to get on here again soon and write...maybe if I end up thinking of whatever topic it was I was going to write about before!! :)

꿀호떡, the downfall of my healthy Korean diet...

So, in Korea, there's lots of street vendors and such selling random things out of trucks on the side of the road. Now, as some of these seem appealing, none are quite as addictive as the one that says 꿀호떡 on the side. This is pronounced "gool ho-duck." It's a pancake sort of thing, cooked on a grill (with plenty of oil) and inside this wonderful pancake-esque substance is brown sugar, crushed nut and a little bit of cinnamon. Now, this is one of the hardest things to eat while walking...it's hot and a bit crispy on the outside, but it's ooey-gooey on the inside. I've spilled on myself at least twice trying to eat them. And yet, I still get them. Why? Because they're so stinking good!
On the flip side of this, I had a tasty American treat the other day that made me so happy! We had a little bonfire with the youth group at church, and we made smores. I was a little skeptical about how our Korean smores might turn out, but I ended up liking it more than smores back home! The only difference really was the crackers...we had the closest thing to graham crackers here, but they were circular crackers with a sweet glaze on them. They tasted like Teddy Grahams. Just think....marshmallow, chocolate, teddy graham....yum!!!

Ok, now that I've sufficiently made myself sound like a dessert enthusiast, I'll say that life is going well here. I have somehow, even while living in a different country, managed to book myself up 4 nights out of the week. I'm pretty good at keeping my life busy. :P And although it's busy, I'm really enjoying it. The things that keep me consistently busy are as follows:

Monday nights: After school, I play badminton with some teachers at my school...it's gotten some of them to open up a lot to me, and it's good for their English and my Korean. After that, I teach piano to a 6 year old Korean girl...it ends up being a dual piano/English lesson, as some of the things I teach will be a LOT easier once she knows some simple English words.
Tuesday nights: Bible Study with some of my friends from church....we're studying the Old Testament which is good for me...it keeps me challenged.
Wednesday nights: don't freak out when you read this, lol...Korean lessons from some new found Mormon friends. They are missionaries here, and they know full anf well that we're Christian and don't have any intention of converting to Mormonism, but they have to do community service time for their mission....so they're teaching us Korean. It's two Koreans and two Americans...it's actually a lot of fun and really helpful for my Korean vocabulary.
and Thursday nights: free talking with a former teacher from my school. She's a friend of mine, but she wants to get better at her English. So, I talk to her in English, and she buys me dinner....I think it's a fine tradeoff. :)


Ok. Well, now that I've told you a little more about my schedule, I've got to go teach a class. My 2nd grade (8th grade) students are talking to my friends on Skype this week...it's been really fun so far, and hopefully it will continue to be! Anyway, enjoy, and I'll be back on sometime next week to write again! ^^