Sorry

So as usual, it took me a while to update. However, I've got a few posts below of some highlights and I'll catch everyone up on the last, oh, month or so. It has actually been pretty eventful. As you'll read, I went to the Zoo and had my first taste of World Cup madness. I was also oh so lucky and managed to get deathly (well it felt deathly) ill for a good 4 days. According to my boss it's normal to get terrible shits and feel like you are gonna die, it's summer yanno, gotta be careful what you eat? Riiiiiiiiight. This sickness gave me a general "Fuck you" Korea sentiment. It happens occasionally, but its definitely amplified when you are alone in a shoe box apartment sick and on the toilet the majority of the day. I had a chance to call home and I did break down a bit. I'm always a baby when I'm sick, which has happened TWICE now in this damn town. And like before I went to the hospital, they did nothing but put me to an IV and my director then told me I need to be back to school for my afternoon classes. The Koreans notion that coming to work sick is okay is really upsetting. So of course I put my foot down, retreated to my apartment, and took a nice long nap instead of attempting to teach English.

After being laid up for those few days I really realized how much I need to/want to take better care of my body. I had started going to the gym 2-3 times a week in May and after the sickness I'm now up to 5 times. I mean, c'mon, I can't come back home not looking awesome. So far so good too. I'm down almost 10lbs and feeling great. Another inspiration for this recent upgrade in my workout schedule is my summer plans.

As some of you may know I had been planning a nice long sight seeing filled week in Japan with Dom but our plans had been royally shat on. Her director, who owns the same franchise as mine, decided to change their summer vacation time by one week. So close, yet so very far away. This left me all by myself to travel Japan. I suppose it may seem like something I'd do, seeing as though I moved to Korea by myself. But a vacation by myself? No thank you. I spend enough alone time M-Thursday after work. I don't want to spend eventful days observing Japan and have no one to discuss or enjoy it with. So I contemplated my options. Of course I could just stay home, relax in Korea, and save some money. But once again I'd basically be alone here since nobody else had time off. I then found an amazing Korean website (in Korean) that had cheaaap prices to travel around Asia and even get to America for a pretty good price. Going home seemed like a pretty ok option. I mean, I miss everyone, and I for sure could use some new clothes and shoes. But realistically, I've only been here a month, and I'm sure nothings changed back home. Then it hit me. My dear friend Annie moved to Sweden about a year and a half ago and has been begging for a visit ever since. I had always looked up tickets on travelocity.com or Orbitz but they were alway so damned expensive. So I checked the Korean website and almost died in shock. I will be getting to Sweden for a mere $850 dollars. I'm also extending my week by another 5 days and will hopefully have an amazing time. This of course has inspired my gym increases because nobody wants to go see an old friend lookin frumpy! Plus, the Swedes are a bit skinnier than Americans so I hope they'll have my size in clothes. More pro's about this trip: Free stay, I've never been to Europe, and of course, I'll be able to totally satisfy my longing for home by seeing one of my best friends ever, Annie! Her boyfriends pretty damn cool too! So I'm very excited. I will be purchasing the ticket on Monday, and after a bit of a screaming match with my director I got the time all taken off. I can't wait. You'll have many late night photos shoots of us to look forward to seeing, much like this one, taken January 09.

That's about it. Oh, I'm currently working on a great project. It's a rap song about living in Korea. It will be fully equipped with a video and everything. Give me a few months on that one though, haha. Bye!

World Cup Fever

So, being from Minnesota, the only thing I know about Football is the Vikings are #1 and Packers suck. On the other side of the world, it's a different story. Soccer is now called Football and the World Cup is theee biggest thing since the invention of Kimchi. I, however, had no idea. So, while spending hours at my favorite store, Home Plus, I was a bit confused as to why people were buying devil horns and Korean flags. Then I was reminded that there was Korea's first World Cup game that night. I was quickly distracted though, I found clothes and a pair of sandals my size so that obviously took precedence.

Later that evening, Holli, Dom and I decided to try the new Mexican restaurant that we have attempted to eat at at least 3 times with no luck, and were once again in that same boat. They were playing the game, and doing a free Korean style BBQ, which meant no Mexican. Free food is always a plus though. So we had a few beers, had some BBQ and decided to wander around the area. We rarely are over in that district so it was interesting to see the nightlife, especially on such an epic night. Additionally, it was a University area so you can imagine the liveliness that ensued.

After spending a good 20 minutes trying to find a bar or restaurant that had space for us we landed outside of a convenient store. This may not seem like a legit idea, but it was probably the best spot in the whole district. We sat down in the plastic chairs, practically in the middle of a busy intersection, and could see the game in all the surrounding restaurants. The people watching was some of the best I've seen. We drank our soju, had some snacks, and could hear the cheers from blocks away when Korea made a point. People were dressed in red, sporting their red devil horns, and shouting "Fighting" and "대한민국" (taehanminguk) which means Korea. I think? haha. Needless to say, it was one of the more interesting nights out in Korea because never in all my years have I seen so many people excited over soccer. I too have joined the World Cup Fever and hope Korea rocks that shit! Dom was also the camera woman for the evening so she has some good videos, which I will add as soon as she sends them to me. I may be a biiiiit intoxicated, but hey, that's what Saturday nights are for right?

Visiting the Joo.

What's a Joo you ask? Well it's what all Korean's call a Zoo and it's starting to catch on amongst my friends and I. The most notable phrase being, "It's a Joo in here!" Which it usually is in Korea with the mass crowds and small spaces. This space issue extends to their Zoo's as well, those animals definitely weren't living in adequate habitats. Regardless, last Friday was a delight as we took the children to the local hot spot: Family Land.

As you may have noticed, about once a month we have field trips and so far we've been strawberry picking out in rural Korea, went to a Bamboo Festival, and now, the Joo! Each event gets better and better as the children come into class fully equipped with their outdoor gear: Giant hats to shade them from the sun, sunglasses, and now we even have special field trip uniforms. Even my boss's nephew, Shi-Ho, had his own miniature version of the uniform to sport on the field trip. More on his cuteness later!

Once we arrived I was a bit overwhelmed with the stench, but rotten smells are something I've seemed to become accustomed to living in Korea. I still don't know how they can be so advanced yet still have to put their shit filled toilet paper in a nearby garbage can rather than flushing it. There was a plus side to this awful smell situation, one of my students was able to communicate in English that in fact the zoo stank by saying, "Molly Teacha! Zoo smells bad!" Now this may seem like an obvious and easy statement but really, 6 months ago these children were about as advanced in English as I am in French. For those of you who don't know me, this means NO SKILLS AT ALL. And through their daily Kindergarten classes, all taught in English they've caught on so much. I may be going a bit off subject here, but it is really cool to see the progress they have made through my help. The zoo really helped exemplify their advancements too. They were able to name almost all of the main animals in English. Andy stepped it up a notch when we got to the Penguin exhibit with, "Molly! Igloo! Penguin House!" Man it doesn't get old.

Speaking of learning English, my directors nephew Shi-Ho, who is probably no more than 3 years old has taken a liking to English. He knows my name is Molly Teacha and he can do A-D and the best saying is when I'm leaving, with his version of "See you tomorrow" He says his name "Shi-ho tomoraw" He also had a lovely moment while we sat down for lunch at the Zoo. All of us were quite tired from the few hours of running after kids and looking at animals so the break was long needed. The moment Shi-Ho sat down he decided lunch wasn't necessary, as you can see here:

I made a few observations about the differences between American Zoo's and Korean Zoo's as well:

1) They had dogs, like regular dogs we'd have back home in the exhibits. Of course they were placed in shit cell like areas too, so that was rather depressing.

2) You could ride the elephants. Yes, for a mere 5 bucks you could get your own elephant ride. As sad as that sounds, I really wanted to ride an elephant but then all my students would get jealous that they couldn't. Next time!

3) They also had rabbits. Like common pet shop rabbits in an exhibit, and as a matter of fact, their living quarters were much nicer than the dogs... hmphm..

4) While this is not a cultural difference, I reall y sawfor the first time the way children react with amazement to the Joo. It was almost more enjoyable than the visit itself.

Of course, any Friday wouldn't be complete without some socializing, so after I got home, I went out to a late dinner with my friends at the best spot ever, the unlimited Sashimi for 20 bucks spot. We must have spent a good few hours there, devouring the food, drinking soju, taking pictures and enjoying the good friends we've made 1000's of miles from home. Afterwards we also had a chance to check out a new "lounge" in Gwangju that caters to the foreign community.