Nothing too special at work, I was just dreading the upcoming goodbyes for two of my 5th grade classes tomorrow.
I came home and took a short break. Around 7 I went out to meet Orjan for a late-ish dinner. We decided on the North Korean restaurant that I've been to a few times before. I ordered the nengmyeon, cold noodle soup and he got bibimbap. When we went to pay, the gentleman working there asked where we were from and we had broken conversation in English and Korean.
Next on to Insadong to try yuja (a citrus fruit) makgoli (Korean rice wine). My coteacher had recommended this place before so I wanted to try it. It was pretty good, but I'm not sure Orjan enjoyed his first makgoli experience. It can be an acquired taste. We sat and talked for awhile over the makgoli and it was a lot of fun. We were getting warm in the restaurant even though we were sitting upstairs with all the windows open, so we decided to take a walk. We wandered to Cheonggyecheon and took a short stroll there. Then we got some snacks and sat and talked some more before parting ways.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Korean Class
Just a typical day with my 4th grade cuties. I have one more week (class) with them next week.
After work, it was to the post office and home to get my Korean books before going to class. It was the first class of the new session. We had to make introductions and everyone kind of "awed" in amazement when I said I was an English teacher. Class was alright; I have all of the answers in the book because I am retaking this class.
After work, it was to the post office and home to get my Korean books before going to class. It was the first class of the new session. We had to make introductions and everyone kind of "awed" in amazement when I said I was an English teacher. Class was alright; I have all of the answers in the book because I am retaking this class.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
The Vault
One of the last "Terrible Tuesdays"! They really aren't so terrible these days, just very long days.
After work, I headed to Hongdae to meet up with some adoptees. Orjan had invited me to join some other adoptees he had met to do a kind of "game night" at the Vault. I'll go into the concept in a bit. There was Michael, Ashley, Kjersti, Philip, Orjan and me. First we met up and decided what to have for dinner. Michael, the one organizing the event said he wanted Chinese but didn't really know any place around there. I knew of a restaurant so I led the way. Most of us ordered jjajangmyeon, the noodles and black bean sauce dish.
We finished dinner and headed to the Vault. A few more members joined us there; Gordon (an adoptee from Canada I had met a few years ago at Thanksgiving) Pat, and Hee. There were 2 different "rooms" to choose to play. One was more mission impossible inspired with laser lights and the task of "stealing" a diamond and getting out of the room. The other was just more a mental challenge with clues to figure out how to get out of that room. We split into different teams as there were 9 of us. I headed to the mission impossible inspired room. We were given 45 minutes to try and figure it out. At 30 minutes they came and asked if we wanted a clue and gave us a hint. It did not help us and we were not successful in stealing the diamond! The other group doing the mental task did not have any luck in getting out of their room either. It was still a fun experience though.
Next, some people wanted to try the new grapefruit flavored soju. We went in search of somewhere to have it and saw a bbq restaurant quite close with advertising for it. Inside, we were told we couldn't just order drinks, so we got a small order of meat to share with everyone. It was a fun time eating, drinking and chatting with new friends. We stayed pretty late, but I was able to catch the last subway home!
After work, I headed to Hongdae to meet up with some adoptees. Orjan had invited me to join some other adoptees he had met to do a kind of "game night" at the Vault. I'll go into the concept in a bit. There was Michael, Ashley, Kjersti, Philip, Orjan and me. First we met up and decided what to have for dinner. Michael, the one organizing the event said he wanted Chinese but didn't really know any place around there. I knew of a restaurant so I led the way. Most of us ordered jjajangmyeon, the noodles and black bean sauce dish.
We finished dinner and headed to the Vault. A few more members joined us there; Gordon (an adoptee from Canada I had met a few years ago at Thanksgiving) Pat, and Hee. There were 2 different "rooms" to choose to play. One was more mission impossible inspired with laser lights and the task of "stealing" a diamond and getting out of the room. The other was just more a mental challenge with clues to figure out how to get out of that room. We split into different teams as there were 9 of us. I headed to the mission impossible inspired room. We were given 45 minutes to try and figure it out. At 30 minutes they came and asked if we wanted a clue and gave us a hint. It did not help us and we were not successful in stealing the diamond! The other group doing the mental task did not have any luck in getting out of their room either. It was still a fun experience though.
Next, some people wanted to try the new grapefruit flavored soju. We went in search of somewhere to have it and saw a bbq restaurant quite close with advertising for it. Inside, we were told we couldn't just order drinks, so we got a small order of meat to share with everyone. It was a fun time eating, drinking and chatting with new friends. We stayed pretty late, but I was able to catch the last subway home!
Monday, July 6, 2015
Bohye!
Work felt a little bit overwhelming. I met with my coteacher to discuss summer camp. She has revamped it from how I did it last year; changing things from the textbook to class schedule. It's not a problem, but it's a bit of an adjustment and more planning required.
After work I stopped at home before going to meet Bohye. We picked Sindorim. I actually abhor this subway station when trying to transfer, but just leaving the station isn't a big deal. It's the station from hell because line 1 and 2 (biggest lines) meet here and its heavy foot traffic and is pretty crazy. Outside the station, they have a beautiful park surrounding the whole area. There are benches built up stadium style with some sections that have reclined seats. It's quite nice. We decided to go to Charles Kimbap and thought getting it to go would be really fun so we could eat in the park. The weather was pretty nice for being outside too. We ate and were talking about my Mom when Bohye mentioned that KakaoTalk (the messenger service that all Koreans use) had a new update and it included video calls! So, we decided to try it out and called Mom. It was a fun surprise and I got to see little Chev. After the call, we walked around the park a little bit. The sun was setting and the sky was an absolutely beautiful coral pink color. I tried snapping some pictures with my phone, but they could not capture the actual color well. We were getting ready to part ways because Bohye has gaya-gum (a traditional Korean instrument) lessons early in the morning, but she wanted to find the piano staircase. So we went in search of that in the station. There are about 10 steps that are wired and light up, when you step on them, they play a note. She and I had fun running up and down the steps for a little. She played "Mary had a little lamb".
We parted ways and I contacted Orjan to see what he was up to. We agreed to meet in Jongno and headed to Koba to get a drink. It was good to see Mr. Lee and Orjan was able to sign the wall and drew the flag from Norway. We had a nice time talking together.
After work I stopped at home before going to meet Bohye. We picked Sindorim. I actually abhor this subway station when trying to transfer, but just leaving the station isn't a big deal. It's the station from hell because line 1 and 2 (biggest lines) meet here and its heavy foot traffic and is pretty crazy. Outside the station, they have a beautiful park surrounding the whole area. There are benches built up stadium style with some sections that have reclined seats. It's quite nice. We decided to go to Charles Kimbap and thought getting it to go would be really fun so we could eat in the park. The weather was pretty nice for being outside too. We ate and were talking about my Mom when Bohye mentioned that KakaoTalk (the messenger service that all Koreans use) had a new update and it included video calls! So, we decided to try it out and called Mom. It was a fun surprise and I got to see little Chev. After the call, we walked around the park a little bit. The sun was setting and the sky was an absolutely beautiful coral pink color. I tried snapping some pictures with my phone, but they could not capture the actual color well. We were getting ready to part ways because Bohye has gaya-gum (a traditional Korean instrument) lessons early in the morning, but she wanted to find the piano staircase. So we went in search of that in the station. There are about 10 steps that are wired and light up, when you step on them, they play a note. She and I had fun running up and down the steps for a little. She played "Mary had a little lamb".
We parted ways and I contacted Orjan to see what he was up to. We agreed to meet in Jongno and headed to Koba to get a drink. It was good to see Mr. Lee and Orjan was able to sign the wall and drew the flag from Norway. We had a nice time talking together.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Returning from Blog Hiatus and Return from Singapore
Wow, it's been over 2 months since I've posted an entry! I kept thinking about doing it, but the past few months have been so busy! First, with my Mom's visit and then planning for my best friend Lilly's visit and finally my trip to Singapore with lots of preplanning. All of that required my extra time and so blog was pushed aside. I will work on updating posts, working from present to mid-March when I last posted. Yikes! Hopefully pictures will follow, but...who knows.
Today was a tough day to come back to work. After a nice 3 day weekend spent in Singapore I was greeted with my longest teaching day. The good news is the 3 remaining work days are all pretty easy.
After work I did some errands and worked out. It has suddenly become hot here in Korea; we hit mid 80s for the high. While I love the sun and heat, going for a run in this weather was quite discouraging so I decided to do some other exercises in my room instead of a normal run.
Today was a tough day to come back to work. After a nice 3 day weekend spent in Singapore I was greeted with my longest teaching day. The good news is the 3 remaining work days are all pretty easy.
After work I did some errands and worked out. It has suddenly become hot here in Korea; we hit mid 80s for the high. While I love the sun and heat, going for a run in this weather was quite discouraging so I decided to do some other exercises in my room instead of a normal run.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Travel Day
My flight out of Singapore was scheduled for 1:20am. The flight was delayed because of bad weather in Hong Kong. When I finally boarded the plane, I immediately fell asleep. When I woke, maybe an hour and a half later there was a boxed meal on my tray. Inside, an egg sandwich, an orange juice, kitkat bar and some fruit. I ate some of the food and possibly watched a movie (unfortunately I can't remember...)
We landed in Hong Kong a little bit later than scheduled, which was fine with my connecting flight time. I transferred and then took a nap by the gate. We boarded and I fell asleep again right after getting on the plane. This time, my nap was a little bit shorter, maybe 30 minutes long and again, they were just serving the inflight meal. I picked a chicken rice porridge which wasn't that great. I watched part of the new Planet of the Apes movie, but missed the last 20 some minutes because there wasn't enough time.
Finally back on Korean soil, I went through customs and traveled home. I was tempted to lay down and sleep, but seeing as it was around 2pm didn't think it would be the best idea. Instead I unpacked, did laundry and cleaned my room a bit. I then went through my photos on my computer and finally went to get some kimbap for dinner. I watched one of the last new Doctor Who episodes with dinner and decided to go to bed early-it was around 9pm when I was ready for bed.
We landed in Hong Kong a little bit later than scheduled, which was fine with my connecting flight time. I transferred and then took a nap by the gate. We boarded and I fell asleep again right after getting on the plane. This time, my nap was a little bit shorter, maybe 30 minutes long and again, they were just serving the inflight meal. I picked a chicken rice porridge which wasn't that great. I watched part of the new Planet of the Apes movie, but missed the last 20 some minutes because there wasn't enough time.
Finally back on Korean soil, I went through customs and traveled home. I was tempted to lay down and sleep, but seeing as it was around 2pm didn't think it would be the best idea. Instead I unpacked, did laundry and cleaned my room a bit. I then went through my photos on my computer and finally went to get some kimbap for dinner. I watched one of the last new Doctor Who episodes with dinner and decided to go to bed early-it was around 9pm when I was ready for bed.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Walked All Over
This morning, I woke when I heard Michelle's alarm go off around 7 or so. We all woke super groggy. She took off around 8:30 and then called me shortly after. She didn't have enough change to take the MRT to the airport and the taxi would take any card BUT a Visa...I went downstairs to lend her some cash and said goodbye again.
Back up in the room, Ryan and I got ready to visit the pool one more time. It was nice because I forgot to take pictures of the amazing infinity pool in the daylight (the night time photos are pretty spectacular, but I wanted to have some from the day as well). We spent about an hour up in the pool and hot tub before heading back to the room to clean up and check out. After check out we split ways as he was heading on to Hong Kong to visit a friend. But he will come visit Korea on Friday after he stops in Taiwan.
I had made a tentative schedule for Sunday before I came, but after yesterdays schedule was a little bit different than what we had planned originally and because I was a few hours after what I had envisioned I decided to improvise a bit. So first stop was the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens were really beautiful. The sun came out and it was really starting to get hot-the big thing on my mind was the beautiful infinity pool on top of the hotel that was towering over the gardens. I spent about an hour wandering around there.
Next I wanted to see the Merlion Park. As I was walking, I thought about what to have for lunch. I ended up just kind of wandering around through some of the different neighborhoods with no real plan set. I wanted to see whatever I could. I went through a couple different malls and stopped by the Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling originated from. I wandered through Little India and saw the Arab quarter as well. Most of the afternoon and evening was spent on my feet walking, walking.
Around 9 or so I headed to the airport for my 1am flight. I checked in and waited to board the plane. Super tired, feet sore, but another country checked on my list and some great memories made!
Back up in the room, Ryan and I got ready to visit the pool one more time. It was nice because I forgot to take pictures of the amazing infinity pool in the daylight (the night time photos are pretty spectacular, but I wanted to have some from the day as well). We spent about an hour up in the pool and hot tub before heading back to the room to clean up and check out. After check out we split ways as he was heading on to Hong Kong to visit a friend. But he will come visit Korea on Friday after he stops in Taiwan.
I had made a tentative schedule for Sunday before I came, but after yesterdays schedule was a little bit different than what we had planned originally and because I was a few hours after what I had envisioned I decided to improvise a bit. So first stop was the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens were really beautiful. The sun came out and it was really starting to get hot-the big thing on my mind was the beautiful infinity pool on top of the hotel that was towering over the gardens. I spent about an hour wandering around there.
Next I wanted to see the Merlion Park. As I was walking, I thought about what to have for lunch. I ended up just kind of wandering around through some of the different neighborhoods with no real plan set. I wanted to see whatever I could. I went through a couple different malls and stopped by the Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling originated from. I wandered through Little India and saw the Arab quarter as well. Most of the afternoon and evening was spent on my feet walking, walking.
Around 9 or so I headed to the airport for my 1am flight. I checked in and waited to board the plane. Super tired, feet sore, but another country checked on my list and some great memories made!
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