Lazy Monday

Well I woke up around 1:30am for no reason that I can figure except I was feeling really hot and a little hungry. I had a snack but then I felt wide awake. Lucky for me, Jacob was awake watching the Holland-Mexico game. He and I chatted a little bit until the game finished--a win by Holland that had Jacob on the edge of his seat and jumping for joy at the end. After the game, he went to sleep, but I was still awake. I finally fell asleep later on.

Thank goodness Mondays have an easy start for me. This week my 6th graders wrote some postcards. It was an easy lesson to teach and a lot of fun. At the end of the day we had a staff meeting. It finished early and so I was able to head home early.

Since I passed my Korean level test last week, I now have classes on Wednesdays. It was nice not to have to go to class today. I don't think I would have been able to sit through class fully functioning otherwise. At home I had a snack and cleaned up my place a little. I did some errands around my neighborhood and relaxed. It was nice to take it easy on a weeknight and stay in. Jacob met up with one of his good Korean friends for dinner--he finished the initial part of his military service on Saturday and has a week off.

Repeat of Last Weekend

This weekend was so similar to last weekend, but it was great all the same. Jacob came over for brunch and I made some breakfast sandwiches with bacon, eggs, mushroom, onions and used the sauce from last nights dinner. They also turned out quite delicious.

When we had finished tidying up, we headed out to soccer. We got to the I'park mall early so Jacob stopped in the Adidas and Nike store to check out soccer stuff. We then went to warm-up. A couple guys were already there. The guys juggled the ball around, but I just sat in the shade out of the sun. It was so hot out. As it turned out, after the "mishap" of having 4 teams last week, we told the high school boys not to return til late fall. And then, people came late and we ended up only having about 10 people total. It would have been nice to have 3 teams so you could sit out and take a break since it was hot. There were a couple new faces this week too.

After soccer, Jacob and I took the subway to church. We stopped at the Tom n Tom's cafe and got a pretzel and cleaned up for church. This week there was a new Korean priest. He was pretty good. When church was over, we headed to Jacob's neighborhood for dinner again at the kimbap shop. Dinner was delicious-I ordered bulgogi stew and Jacob got the "military stew" (it has spam, hot dog, ham, noodles, vegetables and a spicy broth). This dish was popular after the Korean War because many ingredients were scarce or hard to find. We also got mandu. Every meal is served with side dishes, and tonight we were given 6 different sides! There was so much food on our table! We finished dinner and I took a bus home. On a whim, I stopped in the Emart to see if meat was on sale. It was marked down 49%! I snagged 3 packages of ground beef to restock my freezer.

Delicious hearty breakfast sandwich!

Skype and another Lazy Saturday

Yet another lazy weekend, but with the World Cup early mornings it seems like I need to catch up on sleep often.

Jacob came over and we skyped with Mom, Grandpa and Mart. It was good to see all of them again. Jacob got to meet Mart finally, too. And of course we were entertained by Toby walking in and out of the room in the background.

After skyping, we went to lunch in my area. The rest of the afternoon we just hung out and watched some TV and relaxed. For dinner, I made "unstuffed" stuffed peppers. It had ground beef, bell pepper, onions and tomato sauce. It turned out really good. Jacob tried the sauce as I was cooking and asked if I could make it a little bit spicier, so I added some gochujang (red pepper paste) and it was a really nice little added kick to it. We ate it with the healthy (black) rice that I have.

Jacob did the dishes and we let dinner settle a bit before heading to Baskin Robbins for some ice cream. Always a nice treat!

Delicious healthy dinner

Ice cream!!

TGIF~~Another Long Week

I stayed up til 3 to see the end of the US-Germany game. The lose was a disappointment, but it didn't matter; the US still advances to sweet 16 in the World Cup! I can't lie, in the 2nd half I did keep dozing off--it was so hard to stay awake, especially since I had been woken up around 5:30 am the previous morning from the construction site. That means I was almost up for 24 hours straight. Yowza!

My alarm woke me wayyy sooner than I wanted it to! I got ready for school and somehow managed to get to school a little early. Classes went okay; two of my 5th grade classes on Friday are really far behind the other classes-it was strange to teach them a lesson that is almost 2 chapters behind.

After work, I went in search of some fruit (small peaches) and stopped in a kimbap shop to see if they had japchae bap (the noodle dish I like). They did so I decided I'd order that as my dinner and bring it home. I also got some bread from a bakery. I came home and tidied up the place a bit. Things got a bit neglected during the week. Then I went to the bibimbap restaurant in front of my building and got Jacob a take-out meal. Jacob came up to my area for dinner and we had dinner in. It was nice to relax and stay in. The rest of the evening was pretty low key-we just watched some TV and relaxed before he headed home.

Lions Club Farewell Dinner

Nothing too exciting at school. There were some computer desks along the window and they were never used but the students always played with them. As it turned out, they finally took them out. So, we had to go to the students' homerooms for 2 class periods. I love teaching the 4th graders because they're so excited about English and the activities. I had a writing game where they had to pick one word out of 6 on the screen. Hidden behind each word were "stars"; they needed to collect stars for points. You would have thought they won the lottery when the word they wrote had 6 stars behind it! "YAAAAAYYYYY!!!" Haha.

After work, I stopped at home briefly. Then I went to one subway station to meet Jacob. We went to the Gwanghwamun area to meet up with the Lions Club. As we left the subway station, an elderly gentleman asked me which direction Gwanghwamun was. At first listen, I didn't understand him and was just going to shake my head and hands and keep going; Jacob was still in motion too. But he said it again and I spoke a little Korean and pointed the direction to him. I felt happy that I helped him.

We waited for the group to arrive and saw them entering the building next to where we were standing. Jacob and I walked over there and saw the InKAS president; even though Jacob works for her they're not on good terms because he also works for GOA'L (and she despises GOA'L). So, it was a little bit awkward. She was so surprised to see us there too, but Mr. Kwon greeted both of us with big hugs. He pulled Jacob aside as we were walking to dinner and said "whatever you do, don't mention you work for that other ogranization!" We kind of chuckled and said we know, and she already knows that he works there.

The dinner was at a nice Italian place. We were greeted warmly by the Korean Lions. I saw one elderly member who I remember from my trip. He actually went out with all the guys and me to watch some of the World Cup soccer game that was being played at City Hall in the rain! Jacob and I sat at one of the "kids" tables. I also ran into another adoptee, Adam. I met him in Chicago at the Lions Club picnic in 2012 and randomly re-met him in Korea through my friend Krystle and her friend Tina. (Small, small world!) He was surprised to see me there. His brother was on the tour so he was visiting with him. Jacob was feeling a bit uncomfortable with the president there; she also kept glaring at us I think. But he decided he'd stay after all. The Lions Club members had some speeches and Ms. Kish was given a special award as an honorary Lion. Then we were flooded with InKAS propaganda and a major plug for them. (They help provide touring stuff for the trip; volunteers and some planning) Dinner was broccoli soup, a salad and a small, thin steak with some vegetables. After dinner some Korean Lions were leaving and Jacob and I thought it would be a good time for us to duck out too. I said my goodbyes and got hugs. It turns out Mr. Kwon will be here 2 more weeks, so I'm hoping I'll be able to see him a few more times before he leaves. Though he is staying longer because his older brother is sick and he's not sure when he will be back in Korea.

After dinner we went back to Jacob's area. He stopped at Burger King to get a snack and we sat and ate in the park. We went to his guesthouse so I could fill up some water bottles before I grabbed a bus to come home. I ended up staying up til 1 to watch the US-Germany soccer game.

The Lion that I met in 2010

Giving Ms. Kish her honorary award

Mr. Kwon giving a very heartfelt speech-as always.

That's my baby.

Steak dinner!

LIONS CLUB REUNION!

 Right before I had my first class walk in, I noticed I was getting a call from Mr. Kwon! I answered and chatted with him briefly. He told me the Lions Club group was going to the DMZ tour and having dinner and going to a show in the evening and I could join. He said he'd call back later.

Classes went fine-our 4th period was cancelled because they were having an educational video for the students to watch I guess. At lunch Mr. Kwon called back and I also talked with Jason. He told me to meet them at their hotel when I was finished with work. The afternoon passed slowly-I was so excited to see some familiar faces.

I took the bus and made my way to their hotel. I arrived a few minutes before them and saw the bus pull up. The first one off the bus was Ms. Kish. She was also a chaperon for my trip, though she is not a Lions Club member. She gave me a big hug. I saw Mr. Kwon next and got a big hug from him. :) He introduced me to some of the kids before they went to their rooms to freshen up. I also got a hug from Jason. Brenton participated in my group as well and was there as a "role model"/cool guy for the participants I guess. There were also 3 women that were in their 40's+. One of them lives in Grand Rapids and is active in an adoptee group that I know of. She actually heard about the trip through me when I posted information about it. I felt kind of proud to have contributed to the group numbers.

Jacob was going to meet us for dinner, but when I found out the show was in Hongdae, I figured it would make more sense for him to just stay there and skip dinner since he was running late from work too. The group walked to a Chinese restaurant in the area. We all got jjajangmyeon (a kind of black bean sauce with noodles) and shared mandu and sweet and sour pork for dinner. It was pretty good. When dinner was over, we walked to the subway and headed to Hongdae. I felt like the expert telling them to stand on the left side of the car because the doors to Hongdae would open on that side.

We met up with Jacob outside the exit and I introduced him to Mr. Kwon first. Then as we were walking he also met Ms. Kish. Who told him to take care of me or she would beat him up. She's a character for sure. I introduced him to Jason as we got closer to the venue for the BBOY (break dancing) show. It turns out Jacob had already seen the show last year, but it was still a free performance for us. It was okay, but the seats were just benches which was really uncomfortable. My leg started cramping up really bad. There was one performer that looked like our friend Todd from the mentoring program. It was a story about these high school kids and them fighting and becoming friends at the end even though they're all different (jocks, geeks, etc).

After the show, we got some pictures and went our different ways. I ended up walking back part of the way with Jacob and taking a bus home.

Mr. Kwon and me!

Got to introduce Jacob to my Chicago Appa!

Mini 2010 Reunion! L-R: Brenton, Jason, Mr. Kwon, me and Ms. Kish

Terrible Tuesdays

What a long day of teaching. I had my tough class of 6th graders and after them one of the worse 5th grade classes. It's sad because that 5th grade class hadn't been so bad, but recently they've taken a turn for the worse. One boy had his cellphone in class and I asked to have it during the class period. He thought it was funny and was hiding it and wouldn't give it to me, so I told him he would have to 1. Give me the phone and 2. Wait after class (this period is right before lunch) for wasting our time. At the end of class I made him stay and he seemed a little bit unsure of himself and not as class clown-like. My coteacher said he seemed a little scared to be alone and have to stay.

The first class after lunch has one boy I had been struggling to reach and had the turn-around in the past month. I make it an effort to praise him as often as I can since he's been doing so well.

On Monday I had my friend MK order rain boots for me through her account and have them mailed to my address. While I was at school I got a text message saying the package would be delivered between 11-1 and if I wasn't going to be there could I send permission to leave it with my building doorman. I responded (with more help from MK) that it would be fine. When I returned home, I saw my package! I tried on my blue rain boots-they're a little on the bigger side, but I think it will be okay.

After work I came home and started working on dinner. I had a lot of veggies that I didn't want to go to waste. I made stuffed mushrooms, meatballs, homemade tomato sauce and pasta. Everything turned out pretty well. Again I was able to use the second burner, but it  still took me an hour and a half to get everything completed. I think having the small work space puts a hamper on my efficiency and slows me down some. At least I hope so. Jacob arrived as I was finishing everything up. It has now become routine that he does the dishes after I cook. He was looking for a translator for his friend and I remembered my volunteer from the mentoring program, EunHa. He gave her a call and they chatted a bit to work things out. I was glad to have helped his friend out with a good translator.

Dinner is served!

Test Day

Nothing too exciting at work. We had a staff meeting and it went a little bit long. After work I stopped at the post office before heading on to my class area.

I studied a little bit before going to class. Class went alright. The last 25 minutes were for the test. I got a bit worried as I was taking it because there were some things I couldn't remember. Then I turned the test over and...there were 5 questions about the different verbs used for "wear" for different kinds of items (I briefly learned this in 2012 at Kyunghee University but don't remember any of it)...I had left class early last week and missed that part. AND it wasn't in the textbook as answers, just blanks to write the answer in! Well, our teacher ended up correcting everyone's tests right on the spot as people were finishing. There are probably about 15 people in class, so you can imagine that would take a bit of time; it was kind of frustrating because there are 2 aides, but they didn't check the tests at all. I ended up being the last person checked. It was kind of nice that it was one-on-one and immediate; I reminded the teacher that I hadn't been in class and she kind of said "oh yea...." and I think maaaaybe she didn't really count those answers wrong against me. I thought for sure I wasn't going to pass the test and was fully prepared to hear her tell me she'd see me next week. She wrote a 61% (ouch!) and said,"next level, Wednesday night". YESSS!!! But now I know I really need to work my butt off and study.

Another lazy day plus soccer and church

I had another pretty lazy morning. I lounged about and heated up some leftovers for brunch. When I got bored of lazing around at home, I headed over to Jacobs. We hung out at his place for a bit and waited for Sammy to go to soccer. Sammy played a lot in the fall and did part of the Winter league with us but stopped going in March. He decided he'd come and join this week.

Soccer was back at I'Park--it seems like it's been awhile since I've been there. We had quite a large group-a few old faces and they brought one or two friends with them. The high school boys also came this week. So we had 4 groups of 6. It was actually kind of frustrating because there was a lot of down time and waiting around for 2 teams to play before you could have a game.

After soccer Jacob and I took the subway to church. We had a Korean priest and he did a nice job with the mass. For dinner, we went to the kimbap shop near Jacob's guesthouse, taking a community bus. I got japchae (noodles)--yum! We stopped at Jacob's place so I could fill up my water bottles. I got lucky because on the weekends there is a longer time window to make bus transfers and I made it so I didn't have to pay for another bus fare! The little joys~~

Lazy, Lazy Day

I skyped with Grandpa in the morning and had a pleasant surprise--Aunt Pat! It was so good to see her and talk with her. The three of us chatted for about an hour before signing off.

Jacob came over and I made lunch. I made a spicy noodle dish with a salad on top and fried mandu (dumplings) as garnish. It turned out really good. After lunch, we just relaxed and lounged about doing absolutely nothing. It really was wonderful to not rush off anywhere or have to fight any crowds.

In the evening I made chicken mozzarella (no parmesan cheese in these neck of the woods!) with a homemade tomato sauce, pasta, broccoli and a salad. It was fun cooking again and I was able to use the burner that Jacob got me for my birthday.

We watched some TV in the evening before Jacob headed home.

There are noodles under the salad!

My chicken, pasta, sauce and broccoli!

TGIF

What a long week! And with the MT last week, I was really looking forward to Friday!

One of my classes was rescheduled so I had off the period before lunch, but had to teach after lunch.

After work, I came home and tidied up. Jacob came up to my area for dinner. We went to the bibimbap place in front of my building. It's been awhile since we were there. It was good, as always. After dinner, we watched some TV and relaxed. It was nice to have a quiet evening at home. The weather was also looking ominous so it was good to be at home and not worry about being drenched. I need to buy some rain boots soon!

MK's Bday Dinner and Eric's Birthday

Again, nothing too exciting at work.

I stopped at home to grab my computer for when we met Min Kyung. While walking home from school I had noticed the clouds were really, really dark. As soon as I got home, I heard pounding rain. I just missed it, though it was spitting a little when I left to go to the  subway to meet Jacob. I got confused and was waiting for him, not realizing that I had to transfer at the station. So I sprinted up the stairs and made it just as the subway was pulling in! We took the subway a station that has an underground tunnel so we wouldn't need to walk outside much.

We went to the meeting spot to wait for MK. We sat on a bench near the street. It was funny because Jacob looked back over his shoulder at the street and he happened to make eye contact with MK on the bus as she was arriving! When she met up with us, she asked him how could he turn and look at her right as her bus was going by! Haha!

MK picked shabu shabu (a kind of soup you cook right in front of you) for her birthday dinner. As I mentioned before, we usually let MK pick where to eat because she can only eat mostly Western food since her husband, Chris, doesn't like some Korean foods. Dinner was good and I treated her for her birthday.

After dinner we went to the cafe in the building I have class. MK helped me put my banking certificate on my new cellphone so I can do online banking on my phone. In Korea, there are all these different certificates you have to get in order to use different programs and accounts. It's a really big hassle and annoying, but it was nice of MK to help me get it all straightened out. I also gave her the NBA tshirt-she was so exited and happy and laughed when she realized what it was. She said it was the best present ever. I was so happy to know that she enjoyed it so much.

We walked to the subway with MK and said goodbye. She unfortunately has a hour and 1/2 commute home. Jacob and I stopped in Hongdae for our friend Eric's birthday. (He was our program coordinator for the Mentoring Program) It was nice to see him again--he is leaving Korea in a few weeks to go to Grad school back in the US. Our friend Kasey (also from the Mentoring Program) got a strawberry cake and it was really good.

Jacob and me with the birthday present from MK

MK's banking services

Kasey, Jacob, me and Eric

Itaewon for Mexican

Nothing too exciting at school today.

After work, I went to meet Jacob and we went to Itaewon for dinner. Friday we were going to try the Mexican place there, but decided to stick closer to home. We figured today would be a good day to go. It was really, really great! We shared a steak quesadilla and a chicken fajita burrito. They also came with beans and rice. There was chipotle sauce as well that was delicious. We'll definitely be going back there again.

We finished dinner and walked around some of the shops in Itaewon. We were both quite full from dinner, so we didn't get any dessert, though there are a few cupcake shops I do want to try at some point around there.

Instead, we headed back to my place for a little since we had an early-ish dinner. We watched some tv and hung out before Jacob left for home.

Steak quesadilla and fajita burrito--delicious!

Bohye! And a new Phone

I woke up early and tried watching soccer again (I might as well if I'm awake, right?!). Well, I'm still having problems with the settings and stuff. So I was pretty frustrated I couldn't properly watch the US play Ghana. I got ready for work and came in-again I couldn't even watch it at work, but was watching the score and updates; in the final moments Ghana scored once to tie the game and then the US scored to win!

I was dreading one of the 6th grade classes today, but they didn't do that bad. They weren't great, but they were better than they have been in the past. The 5th graders did okay-it was pretty easy since it was just a review day for them.

After work, I headed to Hongdae to meet Bohye! First she and I went to the phone store to get the SIM card. It will only cost about 8,000W (around $8) which is so cheap! After taking care of business, Bohye and I went to dinner. She had found a donkasu (pork cutlet) place she wanted to try, so we went there to eat. It was good-we shared a cheesy donkasu and a pasta dish.

When we finished dinner, Jacob and I met up. First we went to get a screen protector put on the phone (he paid which was so sweet!). Then we went to find a phone case. I found one that has room for my subway card and has my favorite green color on it, Then we went to Sinchon to look for MK's birthday present. We found a basketball tshirt for her. We were going to go for some tea, but then it started raining so we caught a bus and went to his guesthouse area. Then it started pouring when we walked from that bus stop to the bus stop for me. And of course, once I got on the bus, it stopped raining. We kept the evening short because Jacob planned to watch soccer in the morning!

We shared a cheesy pork cutlet and spicy (seafood) pasta

Most sleep in a long time and 5 months

I think I slept about 8 hours straight. That's what 4-5 hours of sleep for 3 nights in a row will do to you I guess! I felt tired and like I had had no weekend at all. Again, the blessings and the curse of the MT.

Work went okay-nothing too exciting.

After work I had class. I stopped in Myeongdong to look for a birthday present for my friend Min Kyung (MK). She and her husband like to watch basketball so I wanted to find a tshirt for her. I couldn't find anything, but will continue the hunt tomorrow. I did however, find a pair of shoes that can be dressed up or down for myself. Then, off to class. I left class a little early to meet Jacob for our 5 month. We met at the Baskin Robbins near his place so he didn't have to walk much, though his toe was already looking and feeling a bit better.

I took the bus home--I really wish there was one bus that ran all the way from his place to mine. It's a bit of a hassle having to transfer buses. It stinks that it takes about 10 minutes by taxi between places, but about 30 by public transportation. The fastest I've ever gotten back was about 20 minutes, but I didn't use the stop nearest to him.

Soccer MT Continued

So, as mentioned previously--the MT did not allow for much sleeping time. I was kept up or woken up a lot by all the noise. There were also mosquitoes on the loose in the room and I got bit 3 times; the worst one being on the bottom of my foot.

Around 4am the room got bright when Stefano turned the TV on to start watching soccer. I finally got up around 6ish when I heard more people moving around and John started cooking breakfast. The first World Cup game of Sunday finished and the second was eagerly watched as it was England vs. Italy. We ate eggs, bacon and toast and got ready to head back down to the field to play. Everyone was a bit disappointed that Jacob couldn't play. We also lost another player--yesterday Ross decided he had to head back to Seoul to get some work done and left.

Well, most of the men on Yoon Jung's uncle's team were probably in their 40's-50's. They had a full team. Originally we were going to rotate with our team, the Russians and the Korean ajushi's (old men), but since we didn't have enough players, we had a few of the Russians join us and had some subs. We played 3 games. We lost the first one, won the second and lost the last one. They were pretty good, but we definitely could have beaten them. Everyone was just a bit off from the night before (lack of sleep) and tired from playing yesterday. We also were missing Jacob! It was fun all the same though. All the ajushi's called me "Maimy" (misheard my name) and were complimenting me and were surprised that I played.

After the 3rd game, we headed back to the pension to get cleaned up and packed up. Before we left, they invited us back down for bbq lunch. So after checking out, we went back and ate with them. The ajushi's wrapped some meat up and would feed me pieces. We stayed a short time-so we didn't hit much traffic upon our return to Seoul.

In the car, Yoon Jung told Jacob and me to get some rest and she would drive carefully. I passed out and slept until we reached the outskirts of Seoul. The traffic was not too bad-it took only about an hour. Though coming from the outskirts in, was almost another hour by itself. We got dropped off near Hapjeong Station and took a taxi back to Jacob's guesthouse. He didn't want to walk much because his toe was hurting.

Jacob took a nap and I watched a movie with some other people in his guesthouse. Then we made fried rice and ordered fried chicken for dinner. After dinner, I took a bus back home.

It was pretty hot out!!

The lone female

It was a lot of fun :)

Taking a break: Jon, Felix and Jacob

Soccer MT

I woke up early-just because. I figured I might as well try and watch some of the soccer matches. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get it to work-and all the live streaming had ads in the middle of the screen. Bummer.

I packed up and headed out to Hapjeong and met up with all the guys, including Jacob around 10. Coree Voyage (our friend Felix's French adoptee travel company) helped GOA'L sponsor our MT. They took their company van, John's friend drove a few people, Eirik also drove a few and Yoon Jung (the wife of a Korean guy that plays with us--he works with Felix at Coree Voyage). Jacob, Stefano (Italian adoptee) and I rode with Yoon Jung. I was glad to be in a small car and not the big van--better to not get carsick I think! In total we had 11 from our group; John plays with some Koreans from Uzbekistan/Kazakhstan/Russia and about 7 of them joined (and 2 brought girl friends). In total we had 23 people heading out for the MT.

We went out to Gapyeong, a city in Gyeongi-do (the province surrounding Seoul). Yoon Jung's uncle plays at/helps run and care for a soccer field out there. We rented a pension (rental place) near the fields. Once we arrived, everyone unloaded and unpacked. We settled for a little and then caravaned to the fields by the river. We played one game against the "Russians" as we called them. Jacob didn't have any regular outdoor cleats so he borrowed a pair of John's. They were bothering him a little bit at our half-time but he didn't think much of it. At half-time, we took a break and had pizza for lunch on the fields. It was pretty hot out. We started the second half and our team won. At the end of the game, Jacob took of his socks and shoes, complaining of a blister. Well...the blister was so bad--basically the whole bottom part of his pinky toe skin was gone. I could see the inside of his toe-just raw flesh. (Ew) I felt really bad because obviously it hurt a lot--and he just got back to playing only a few weeks ago after being out for 2 months.

Everyone packed up their gear and we headed back to the pension. A few people stayed a little bit to go down to the river to swim. At the pension, we cleaned up and hung out before starting a gigantic BBQ. John had bought meat and brats (Johnsonville Brats to be specific!!). It was a lot of fun eating and drinking with the group. We stayed up late, continuing to eat, drink and talk. Plans for the following day were to 1. wake up around 4 to start watching World Cup games and 2. play soccer against Yoon Jung's uncle's team at 8:30.

The best part about MT's are getting to hang out with your friends and eating a lot of food and having fun. The worst part about MT's is sleeping in a giant room with a lot of other people that may or may not make a lot of noise such as: 1. snoring 2. swearing in their sleep 3. talking in their sleep 4. making other strange noises
Lucky for us, 2 guys were able to knock off all 4 things in the short 3-5 hours of sleeping time we had at night.

Guys getting ready for our first game; hanging out in our pension

BBQ Dinner

Eirik and Johan

John roasting a marshmallow

Date with Jacob

Finally Friday~~a big sigh of relief!

After work, I came home for a short break before meeting Jacob in Sangsu. Originally, we were going to go to Itaewon to try a new Mexican restaurant there. But, we didn't think going into Itaewon on a Friday night would be a good idea. Instead, we went to Julio's in Sangsu (it's a Mexican restaurant chain). We ordered an enchilada and the kimchi carnita fries--both were delicious. After dinner we went to the Red Velvet place for a piece of cake. Simply AMAZING. It is one of the best cakes I've ever had.

Then we walked to Hongdae to go to a phone store for me. Jacob has given me his "old" iphone5 since he now has the Note3. I figured if I'm getting a free phone, I might as well upgrade. We went to the store and the manager was really, really nice. His English was really good and he was helpful and patient. Unfortunately since I'm on Bohye's family plan, the number is registered to her (even though it's her old number) and not to me, so I needed her ID card to purchase a SIM card for the phone. The manager said we could bring in a copy of it to do it, but we would need the ID. I was a little bummed, but contacted Bohye right away to see when she was available to meet or if she could send a copy of her ID. It turns out she quit her piano teaching job last week! She is on a break for about a month before she will look for something else. So, fortunately for me, we were able to make plans to meet up next week so she could come into the store with me. I'm also glad I'll get to see her again.

Jacob and I went back to his guesthouse to hang out for a little bit before calling it an early night--since the World Cup started this morning, he plans on watching almost all of the games. There are some big early ones he wants to see in the morning. Plus, we have our soccer MT (Membership Training) too!

*PS: This was a full moon Friday the 13th! Nothing unlucky happened today!

Delicious enchilada and kimchi fries

Running and Running

Classes went alright today. The 4th graders had a test and played a review game so it was pretty easy with them.

After work, I took a short break at home. Then I laced up and went for a run to Hongdae. It was a little warm, but not too bad. It felt really good to go for a run. I got to Hongdae and stretched in a park. While I was stretching I ran into my friend Mark and his girlfriend Suzie. I found out that they will be leaving Korea in the fall. We chatted a bit and then parted ways.

I waited for Jacob to get to Hongdae from his work meeting downtown. He hadn't had dinner yet, so we went to his Imo's restaurant for him to eat at. After he finished eating, we headed to the subway station to meet his Camp friends from back home. I met "Momma Chang" and her daughter Christine. They've been helping at the Korean Camp Jacob's family helped start since the beginning. We went to Caffe Bene and chatted for a few hours before heading out.

PIZZA PEEL!

I had 4th graders today-they are so cute and love the role play activities. I think they must be the age of 3rd graders back home (though I'm not completely sure) solely based on the way they act. Well and they look kind of small and young.

After school, I called to Pizza Peel in Itaewon and placed a carryout order of 2 pizzas for Jacob and me. I went and picked them up and brought them home. I had assembled a salad for us as well. We got the Buffalo Chicken pizza and the Greek pizza. Both were amazing! I'm not sure if the pizza is so good because it's really good pizza, or because it's better than most pizza's in Korea. I'm pretty sure it's just plain good pizza. I also baked a small batch of cookies for Jacob to celebrate the end of the kimchi study.

One happy camper with delicious pizzas!

A quiet evening home

Well this afternoon it started thundering and pouring rain. Luckily since I have 2 umbrellas, I keep one at school just for situations like this--in case it starts raining during the day, I have an umbrella to go home with. While walking home it was pouring so hard! I almost think having an umbrella or not having an umbrella would have made much of a difference.

I stopped at the post office again--this time there were only 2 people in front of me. I guess no one wanted to go out in the rain! I walked home and when I got to my building another English teacher was getting into the elevator with me. I've seen him around a little, but I knew he was newer to our building. He asked what floor after he pushed 4 so I told him I was on the same floor. Turns out he's my neighbor. Oops. We introduced ourselves and did a little bit of small talk.

I made some rice in the cooker and tidied up a bit before Jacob arrived after he finished teaching. I also heated up some broccoli cheddar soup I bought from the grocery store. This was Jacob's last kimchi study meal! Finally! He was so glad to be finished with it. After dinner we chatted a bit and he headed out. Again it was pouring (it had stopped almost right after I got home) and thundering and lightening a lot. I walked out with Jacob because I needed to grab a few more vegetables from Emart. After I came out of Emart, it was barely drizzling again.

Monday Night Class--2 more left

As always, I'm so thankful for the period off on the start of my Monday morning. It worked out even better because I hadn't finished preparing everything due to the internet being out and a suggestion my COT gave me towards the end of the day Thursday.

After work, I stopped by the post office to mail some letters. I took my ticket number and saw it was 450. They were serving 430. I figured if everyone only took 1 minute, it would still be a 20 minute wait. I looked at the packages and envelopes people were holding and I knew each person would not be only a minute so I walked out. I went home, had salad for dinner and did my laundry before taking the bus to class.

Class went okay--the material is getting a little bit more challenging and I feel like I'm falling behind a little and dropping in understanding. It's partly my fault because I've been slacking and just gliding by--now I need to get back into the habit of studying a little outside of class too.

We finished class a little early and I was able to get home around 9:30 which was nice. I headed to bed early!

Lazy Day and New Soccer Location

Today was probably one of the laziest days I have had in a long time. I slept pretty late--the construction noise was not bad at all. Jacob came over and brought his lunch. We ate and then just hung out. We watched more TV and later I ended up falling asleep and taking a nap.

We had dinner and then got ready for soccer. This week someone had found a new location not too far from DMC (Digital Media City Station). We went and met up with the other guys there. After riding the subway, we had to take a bus about 7 stops to the field complex. The place used to be tennis courts, but they made them into 2 small futsal fields. We ended up using the two as one big, square-ish field and played 3 teams of 5. I had the best team, with all regulars on my team. I even scored a goal! Jacob was on the worst team, with one new person that was a friend of a regular. Towards the end, some people were getting too tired so we just played 2 teams, maybe 7 v 7. It was a bit cramped and crowded, but it was still fun.

After we finished playing, Jacob and I got a ride back from one of the new people that joined to DMC. He dropped us off at the station, but the station is quite large (it has 3 lines) and we were on the 'back' side for the airport line. We were walking around trying to find something familiar and finally decided we'd just go into the station and walk through instead. DMC was the perfect location because I can take the subway 3 stops to my place and Jacob can take a bus directly to his guesthouse in about 15 minutes.

Krystle and more time with Jacob

I met Krystle for lunch today in Hongdae. Her friend from Vancouver was in town (today was her last day here) so I got to meet her too. Krystle wanted her friend to try dak galbi (the spicy chicken stirfry) so I lead us on a hunt for one in Hongdae. Jacob had told me there was one near a certain store I knew, so we walked over there but I couldn't find it. Then, we saw on the 2nd story a dak galbi restaurant. I don't think it was the one Jacob had told me about, but we decided to try it anyway.

We sat down and one of the workers brought some eggs and started talking to us quickly in Korean. I think I understood what he was saying, but I wasn't completely sure so we asked if someone spoke English. He brought over another worker and he explained the menu and the eggs to us. I had understood it all; so I was glad I knew what they were saying! So the eggs were for us to crack into the pan while we waited for them to cook the chicken (usually you cook the dak galbi by yourself in front of you, not the kitchen cooking and bringing it to you!). That was a nice interesting touch. Lunch was good and I think this place used a lot more vegetables than other places I've been to. After we ate, we walked around a little. Since it was Krystle's friend's last day, they had other things on their schedule so they headed out. I walked around Hongdae a little and then Jacob came and met up with me. We had to stop at Hoya's again because the delivery man mixed up Jacob's meal boxes with someone else and he got some seafood dishes so he had to get new side dishes.

 After stopping at Hoya's, we went into Mecentapolis Mall. We saw a sign for a foot massage shop that have fish nibble your feet for a pedicure. Actually when Phil and Kristin were here, they considered doing that but we ended up skipping it. Anyway, we saw another shop offering that. We went in to check out the price (30,000W for the fish nibble, plus a foot/lower leg massage) but they weren't "open" between 2 and 5. It was 3pm. We went to HomePlus to look for a healthy snack Jacob could have. While we were there, we ran into an adoptee Jacob knew and chatted with her for a bit. Even after all that, it was still only 4pm. We decided it wouldn't be worth it to try and stick around for another hour PLUS playing soccer tomorrow, so we headed back to my place. We planned that maybe Tuesday we would go.

Back home we had our dinners (I've been buying lettuce and other veggies for salad) and Jacob had his kimchi dinner box. After dinner we watched more TV on my computer.

Krystle and her friend, plus our delicious dak galbi!

Korean Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day in Korea. A lot of Korean flags were on the street, but most stores and restaurants were still open.

Jacob and I finally caved into the whole couple-set or "matchy-matchy" (as Phil and Kristin called it) deal here. We both wore navy blue shorts and black tshirts. It was kind of fun to do, even though I never thought I would dress alike purposely with someone!

For lunch, Jacob and I went to Hoya's cooking studio. He needed to have a lunch and also pick up his dinner. Hoya was sweet and pulled out some extra sides and put together a small lunch for me as well. It was really good!

After lunch, we walked to the Han River and sat along the river for about an hour, just talking. It was hot out so we didn't get to do our original plan of going for a bike ride. When we got too hot, we headed to Myeongdong so Jacob could look at soccer jerseys. We stopped at Pita Pit so I could get a sandwich to take home for my dinner.

We had dinner at my place and then watched a movie on my computer. It was another nice relaxing day and evening.

Food from Hoyas--delicious!

Along the Han River

Couple set in navy shorts and black t-shirts

A Thursday that feels like a Monday and Friday!

Back to work for one more day. What a strange Thursday--it felt like Monday coming back in to work again, but it also felt like a Friday, knowing that it was the last day of the week. A strange combination!

In the afternoon, my internet wasn't working so it made doing some work a little bit difficult.

When I finished work, I got some groceries to make dinner for myself and Jacob came over. We had a relaxing evening and just watched TV on my computer.

X-MEN and Old COT

I had a relaxing morning. I've been keeping tabs on the construction across the way. It seems that it takes them about a week or so to move up one floor. They're currently on the 9th floor; the advertisement for the building looked to be about 16 floors, so the outside construction noise should be halfway through! I can make it!

I met my old Co-teacher in Hongdae for lunch. I haven't seen her since February. I did run into her on the subway once back in March maybe, but we didn't get a chance to chat much. It was good catching up with her and I realized I missed her a lot-she was a good person to work with. We went to Oodle Noodle for lunch and she enjoyed it. Then we walked around Hongdae and browsed through an interesting artsy shop. She suggested coffee, so I said we should walk to Hapjeong and go to the Starbucks there. I also was meeting Jacob around 1:45 there and said it would give us more time if we were at Hapjeong already. We got our drinks and Jacob joined us for a bit.

Jacob and I went to go see X-Men: Days of Future Past. It was pretty good. It's been awhile since I've seen a movie, especially in a theater. After the movie, we went to What's Pide and I got a sandwich to bring home for dinner. Jacob had his boxed meal to eat. We had dinner and hung out before he headed home.

It feels like a Friday

Yesterday was so HOT and pretty miserable with all the kids suffering in the classroom. Today, it was rainy and the rain really cooled things off. It was a bit chilly which was a nice change after all the heat (I'm not ready for Korean summer!). Tomorrow is election day, so we have the day off. It was nice to have an extra "Friday" thrown in the middle of the week. After our 5th period class, the principal came in and said they were going to be taking our old TV screen out and replacing it. So we had to go to the homeroom for our final class. After the last class, we stopped in the ER (English Room) to move the desks for the after school program. The TV is much smaller, but I'll be happy if it just works. I can't believe that as it is now June the TV problem is fixed (this issue started way back in November--that's almost 8 months of dealing with it before the solution of just giving us an old screen the school had lying around...)

When school finished, I headed home and did a little bit of grocery shopping. I got some stuff to make a salad for dinner. Jacob came over after he finished work. He started a kimchi study program, so he has boxed meals for the next week or so. He brought his meal along and he ate his dinner and I had mine. After we ate, we watched a TV show on my computer before he headed home.

Back to Work

It was tough heading into work--I had a long busy weekend (not to mention month!). May was a good month, but I'm ready to keep moving forward. All visitors have left and none are currently on the horizon.

Work went alright. Nothing too special or out of the ordinary--just another Monday. After work, I stopped at home for a bit of a break. I usually head right to Jongno area and window shop and walk around before class, but I was tired of doing that. It was a nice change to have an hour or so at home. I took the bus to class; class was the usual too. This teacher doesn't give us a break, but lets us come and go with breaks when we're doing exercises or practice which is nice. That means we normally wrap up a little bit before 9, which is really nice. I still get home around 9:45, but still.

27th Birthday

Wow--the big 2-7! In Korean age, I'm now the ripe age of 28. Korea sure has a way of aging you!

Jacob came over and we skyped with my Mom and then Grandpa which was a nice treat. When we finished our skyping, Jacob headed to Hapjeong to see our friend John. I went on to meet Phil and Kristin downtown. They already toured City Hall, Cheonggyecheon again and a little of the surrounding area before I got there. Then the three of us went to the King Sejong Museum and Admiral Yi Museum. From there, we walked to Myeongdong and Jacob met us at School Food for lunch. We ordered a type of ddeokboki (rice cake), kimbap, bibimbap and noodles. Phil's favorite was the ddeokboki. After lunch we walked around Myeongdong a little and I showed them the Cathedral. We went to Cacao Green/Red Mango for Triple Chocolate Bingsoo. It was delicious and everyone enjoyed it. After dessert, we headed back to our area stopping off at Ewha (Women's University), Sinchon and finally Hongdae. We parted ways before dinner to take a break. Jacob and I went to a coffee shop and hung out until 6. Then we went for jjimdak (chicken stew) for dinner. Min Kyung and Bora were there as a surprise arranged by Jacob. After dinner we went to Xylophone so Phil and Kristin could try soju. Bora bought a cake roll that we shared and they sang happy birthday to me. It was a fun evening.

After we had our drinks, Bora and MK left. Jacob and I walked Phil and Kristin back to their guesthouse to say goodbye. I was sad to say goodbye and see them leave. It was a short but good visit. I really wish they had had more time here.

Phil, Kristin and me at the King Sejong Museum

Phil and Kristin in front of the Turtle Boat

Triple Chocolate Bingsoo!!

Phil and Kristin in Myeongdong

Jacob and me

Kristin and me at Ewha Univeristy

In the red tube mirror at Sinchon

Jacob, Phil and Kristin at dinner

MK, Bora and me at dinner

Phil and me after dinner

My birthday cake!

Group shot; Bora is hiding!

Jacob and me

Jacob, Phil, Kristin and me

Birthday Cards and presents--so lucky!