The final days..

So, I currently have 8 days left in Korea. As you know, this isn't forever, just a bit of a break back in Minnesota. Strange thing is, part of me doesn't even want to leave. I'm sure not many foreigners here would say the same, but I am not looking forward to the reverse culture shock of my own culture. As I've been welcoming new westerners here I get to remember what it was like when I first arrived, how much I've learned, and how different life really is here. It will be strange when everything is easy in America. I'll be able to understand the people, the signs, and even the TV! There will be no more stares, no more random "hello!"s every time I leave the house, and especially no more random compliments on my "beauty." Regardless, there's a lot to look forward to, and at least another year back here in January so I'm welcoming the cold of Minnesota with open arms (and oh so many people there too!)

I've been quite busy the last week or so. On Saturday the 13th my school had a special camp. Basically, it was my directors half assed attempt to get new students which meant me working a Saturday morning (but also getting some much needed over time cash, which was good). I did most of the preparation (with some help from my co-worker and his girlfriend). Then, we were shoved into my school with 60 random kids with random levels of English and we were supposed to have mock banks, restaurants, libraries, etc. It was pretty unorganized and stupid, but it kept me out of trouble on a Friday night and gave me money for my Saturday night.

That night was lovely as usual. Dom and Katie and I got dressed up for an evening of food and drinks. Surprisingly, right as we were about to enter our favorite restaurant I ran into my director, her brother and her sister, and her nephew, the ever so cute Shi-Ho. For some reason he seems to absolutely adore me outsides the confines of iSponge, but whilst inside he prefers to play hard to get. So this meant him shouting repeatedly in his 2.5 year old English accent "MOLLY TEEEACHAAA" the second he saw me outside of school. If that wasn't cute enough, as I was leaving I said "I love you Shi-Ho" and he shouted across the crowded downtown streets "I lub you MOLLY TEACHAA" and all the Korean's hearts melted as they saw his cuteness. Strangely, there was even another foreigner gal walking by just then who also couldn't help but think that shit was the cutest shit ever.

So, we consumed our favorite meal, Spicy chicken galbi, and met up with Oliver and Em to spend a night out. We even ran into Dom's co-teacher too. Here's some pictures where you can observe my lovely new highlights.

They love to give us the bibs!

Monday and Tuesday drifted by while I waited anxiously to make my quick trip to Seoul/Incheon. My friend Krish finally arrived in Korea and me, being the amazing friend that I am, agreed to meet him at the airport. This also meant we could go out in Seoul for a night and make a long awaited trip to see the dude who told me about Korea in the first place. It was like a "Minnesotan's who convince other Minnesotan's to come to Korea" Convention. We ended up going straight to the heart of foreigner-ness in Korea, Itaewon, and had some drinks, Noraebang, and much needed rest. But, before all of that fun started we had to take a coach bus to Seoul where I subsequently forgot my purse. YES, MY PURSE! Who does that?! To make matters worse, seconds after I realized it was missing I also realized that it could possibly contain my passport, immigration card, credit card (which I have now paid off all in full, btw!) and my brand new iPod Touch 4 that Krish brought for me from America! After a quick check I remembered that I put the touch in my backpack instead of my purse, decided not to bring my passport, and called the company. I was able to pick it up not far from where we were staying the next morning with everything in tact. God I love me some Korea.

By Friday I was back to the daily grind and I learned that mid-week breaks can be more harm than good. I lacked in the motivation to finish my day, and basically it set me up for my last week of half assing it at work. I also had another good weekend to look forward to so that helped distract me. It started off right at Laura and Westley's house where we had a good ol' American style dinner. Complete with glasses of wine, and two more good friends, Dom and Krish. As our evening of chatter turned into a late night of loud yapping we realized we had to find a new spot to hang out before her landlord killed us. We ended up going to a bar near their place, appropriately named Ice Bar. There the mugs are plastic and placed within mugs made out of ice, which you then can throw to win a prize. Obviously, because I'm sports challenged I did not participate in throwing my mug, just drinking from it. After moving on to another bar and playing (briefly on my part) some darts we realized that the night needed to end and I realized Saturday was going to be painful.

Fortunately, I slept in a bit late and was okay for my shopping adventure with Krish. We headed to Art Street where I was able to buy all sorts of Korean style trinkets to bring home and then we went to my favorite store, HOME PLUS! After what felt like hours upon hours of shopping I finally went home, napped and got ready for my evening out.

Seeing another 'ju

This last weekend Dom took the reigns and decided to plan a lovely trip out of town to take in the last days of fall, and of course the lovely fall colors that Korea is finally having. Our destination was Gongju, a historical and calming city about two and a half hours north of Gwangju.

Now that Fliss and Holli are out of the picture, we needed to branch out and get new traveling partners. The best and most obvious choices were my co-worker Oliver and his girlfriend Emily, Katie (Dom's new coworker) and a gal Dom recently met who is lovely and also named Emilie. The six of us planned to meet at the bus stop at 10am on Saturday. Naively, I managed to forget that Oliver has had a few problems with punctuality in the past, and without a working phone at the moment, we had to leave without those two. Don't worry though, after a few hours we managed to meet up in Gongju.

The bus wasn't as smooth as it could be. There was no direct bus from Gwangju to Gongju so we made a detour in Daejon. We arrived around 12 in Daejon, starving and ready for some food. Unfortunately, starvation had been a common feeling for me because I had spent the last 4 days carb free. FYI: That shit is stupid and it sucks and I gave up later that night. We went to a diner and I started to realize my "Living in Korea" seniority when I could explain all of the different foods and read the menu, unlike half of our newbie party. After eating literally 1/3rd of what I was served (because rice a.k.a. a giant ball of carbs, is the predominant staple in Korean food..ugh) we headed back on a bus to Gongju. Both bus rides were filled with chatter between me and my new friend, Emilie, who will make a lovely new addition to my friendship circle. She's also from North Carolina like Holli (don't worry Holli, you could never be replaced!)

Our first stop was the Royal Tombs of Sangra-si. Here is the copy and pasted 411 on this spot: Some of the tombs were discovered in the early 20th century, although the most famous of the tombs, the Tomb of King Muryeong, was accidentally discovered while performing maintenance on the other tombs in 1971. The discovery proved to be one of the biggest finds in the history of Korean archeology. The tomb contained some 2,906 artifacts, 12 of which were designated National Treasures.

While this is obviously interesting, we managed to be more in awe of the talking information headphone machine things that we got in the museum and the fact that the outside of the tombs looked like boobs. See here:

I kid, I kid. By the time we finished this the day was basically over and we finally met up with Oliver and Emily at the Bus Terminal's coffee shop. A place that I can now say is the first establishment I've ever been kicked out of in Korea. Apparently if you don't order an adequate number of hot beverages you are not allowed to hang out there, bastards.

Next on our agenda was finding a place to plop our packs down and call home for the night. As I may have mentioned, Love Motels are thee place to stay in Korea. They don't really have many real hotels here, just multiple tall buildings with flashy signs on the top and the well known Love Motel symbol on top. I don't even know what it is, something like three wavy fire-like smoke signs. I found an example from google:

Anyways, as you may know, I am the master negotiator in Korea. I think you're not supposed to be able to negotiate most things, but I use my favorite go-to phrase, "Gaka Chuseyo" and manage to get something out of it every time. But after three different motels, this was a no go. Oliver, who has witnessed my negotiation skills in and outside of the workplace was the most disappointed in me, though we still managed to get a decent price. So much so that we even sprung and only put TWO people per room instead of four. That means we all got to sleep on an actual bed. This was definitely one of our plusher trips.

Finally after that was all settled we headed to find food. Once again I was reminded of how grateful I am for Gwangju and its prevalence of food everywhere. And not just any food, really good food. We must have walked around this neighborhood for a good 20 minutes until we found a place that served food that we wanted. We opted for Bossam, which is a steamed pork that I had recently discovered at this great restaurant downtown. It comes with a delicious version of Kimchi that is actually more sweet than the usual kind. You also get the regular side dishes and you just wrap it up and eat it. I even learned how to say how I wanted it prepared (without fat) a few weeks ago, but this Gongju version just wasn't as great. Dom was especially disappointed with the flavor. Thus, I was left feeling unsatisfied and my confidence in my food recommendations had been shattered. I did what any logical person dealing with this sort of guilt and shame would, and drank away my sorrows. Or I just drank because it was dinner with a bunch of my friends and I wanted to. Either way, I failed at my little no-drinking goal. Woops. Self-control has never been one of my strong points. So we had a few more at a different bar, and finally ended up at a Noraebang (once again, we all saw this coming). Katie got to experience her first Noraebang and I got to hang out with two girls (Emilie and Katie) who get drunk faster than anyone I have met in Gwangju. So much so that both of them managed to fall up/down some steps. Regardless of their clumsiness, it was a good time had by all, and we all were in bed by 1:00am ready for day two.

By 10am we headed out. We stopped and grabbed some infamous "Toast" breakfast sandwiches and walked across a long bridge to the Gongsanseong Fortress. We walked all around this fortress, catching some great views of the river that it was on. There were also a handful of interesting temple like buildings and even an old, and waterless lotus pond.

A close up, side view of the pond

After a good couple hours of walking around there (with multiple rest stops) we decided to head to Dom's most anticipated portion of our trip: The Pavilion. This was by far one of the most beautiful spots I have had the pleasure of seeing. The trees were all sorts of amazing colors, the greenhouse was lovely, the Koi fish were huge and gorgeous in the river, and the amazing weather made it all a perfect afternoon. Of course, the 4 sappy single girls couldn't help but think of how necessary a man and a picnic basket were for this particular trip, but we made it work. Oh, and Oliver's farts and obnoxious behavior also reminded us that being single ain't so bad. (Love you Oliver!)

We made it back to the bus station around 3:30 absolutely pooped. The crisp fresh fall air and day of walking had exhausted every last member of our group. Our weekend was over, and I think we all could agree that it was lovely to get out of Gwangju for a bit. On the bus ride home I tried to imagine what it would be like if I was actually moving home in a few weeks instead of visiting and I couldn't even imagine it. I need to start writing a list of things to do next year just so I'll be able to leave in 2011 feeling satisfied with my time here, because I still feel like it's just beginning.

Oh, one last thing. HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD. I love you. I'll try to stay up to call you, but if I can't, I'll be there soon for our ice fishing extravaganza!

P.S. All past pictures updated! Yay!

The end of October

So, the last few weeks have been quite eventful. The weekend before Halloween we started off early on a Thursday evening. Dom and I were eager to invite her new coworker out to the delicious sashimi place by my house. The owner, as usual, was more than happy to see me/us and gave us a free beer and a formal kiss on the hand. I swear, this place would be perfect if the hand kissing didn't exist. But if that's what it takes for unlimited Tuna, I'll take it (that makes me sound like a food whore... guilty as charged). I think he just does it because he sees it on American TV and thinks its normal, because I have never ever had this happen with a Korean before.

After dinner we headed up the road to the Fish and Grill and enjoyed a drink or two before deciding that Dom's new coworker, Katie, had to get a glimpse of downtown TONIGHT. So, after talking her ear off for about an hour (about anything and everything related to living in Korea) we headed to the normal spots, which were of course desolate on a Thursday night. On the plus side, we met two lovely guys who ended up joining our girl only group and giving us hours of entertainment Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night! Unfortunately, our new best friends were only in town for a short while, so we were then sent back into our manless reality by Monday.

By then Holli was staying at my house, packing her bags, sending shit home, and getting ready to leave. It was sad to see her go, but probably much harder for her to grasp than me, since I was staying in Korea. I'm sure it's something similar to how my friends and family felt as I left. Her life is changing, but mine is pretty much going to be the same for the next year. She's going to travel around South East Asia, go to Grad school, and do something different. But it's strange to even imagine leaving Korea after one year, I've only just begun! And I'll still be able to do a lot of new things this year, especially with my added vacation/money.

Anyways, back to that weekend. I was also introduced to some of Dom's friends who came to visit from Canada and we had a grand time as well. It made me want my friends to come visit, and luckily, because of a certain awesome someones amazing skills at Wheel of Fortune, she will be visiting soon!! Either way, I'll be home in T-Minus 30 days so no need to fret.

This last week was spent doing the same old, plus a few dinner dates with Dom and her guests. Friday was the big Halloween day at school. We had been preparing for an all day party extravaganza, and I'm pretty sure we gave the children the best (and simultaneously only) Halloween party of their lives.

Friday morning started off with bobbing for apples. My only childhood memory of this was how cold the water was and how impossible it was to do. This time around I was able to avoid the horror with the excuse of ruining my hair and makeup, but Oliver and my Director were quick to try it (and actually succeed). The children on the other hand, were quite possibly the most hilarious shit show of bobbing I've ever seen. Some children were damn near afraid of the water, others couldn't seem to get the apple no matter how long they tried. Tommy, who is quite easily the "slowest" of my students was desperate to prove himself in this activity. See below:

(video will be uploaded, someday, haha)

One hour and one REALLY dirty bucket of water later, we had a haunted house. This thoroughly scared the children which in turn thoroughly amused me. We also did a little parade around the neighborhood which turned out to be the complete opposite of an American Halloween. Instead of kids running around collecting candy, they ran around giving out candy that had my Directors business card attached. Either way, they were super adorable and everyone loved to see them. I must say my favorite costume was Lisa's. She had a brides vale, Angel wings, a pink wand, and a bright pink dress. I decided that she was a "magical angel fairy princess bride"duhh. Or essentially any and every little girls dream costume.

Trying to get a shot of me holding hands with the worlds cutest: Shi-Ho

Taking a rest outside of the bank

Walking through the neighborhood

Ahhhhhhhhh!

By the time the afternoon hit, my tiny school had been filled with a good 50-60 children from the upstairs school (and their friends) lining up to go through our haunted house. Our haunted house was alright, obviously nothing on par with the ones you get back home, but since most children had never even heard of a haunted house, it scared the shit out of them. Literally shrieks of horror and disgust were ringing throughout that classroom. Being scary is hard though, after a few hours I was pooped. Emily and I retreated to my rooftop for a few drinks, Oliver soon joined with our 10 dollar each bonus from our director. Luckily in Korea that's enough to buy you dinner and a couple bottles of soju. After which, the only logical thing to do is go is the local noraebang, where i haggled us a 50% discount and probably broke the mic with my haggard attempt at singing.

By the time Saturday rolled around I was absolutely done with drinking, socializing, partying, and missing out on the gym. However, I pulled my party pants on and made it out for one last hurrah. I'd write about Halloween but there really wasn't anything too spectacular. Well, besides the looks we got from the Koreans, who don't celebrate. But as you can imagine, it was like any other night out. I spent Sunday being lazy and tired and I have now vouched to be drink free for the next few weeks. I'm also making a 100% effort to quit smoking entirely, which is only something I do when I drink these days, but even then, I'm ready to be done.

So my next month should be good. Dom and I are going to Gongju to visit some ancient tombs this weekend. Then in about two and a half weeks I'm going to Seoul to meet my friend, spend the night in Seoul with him and another Minnesotan buddy who lives there, and come back here when I'll have just a mere two weeks left until I arrive in the desolate, frozen wasteland, I call home. Oh and Fliss is leaving today! I'm not too worried about that girl though, we'll be leaving together in two months!