Rainy Thursdays call for Makgoli and Jeon

I had to come to work today, while almost all other teachers and staff did not. My coteacher (EunHee) doing camp with me also was at school as was Alex Teacher (she was busy doing other school work). I had some minor frustrations working my computer; it wouldn't connect to the printer so I hopped from computer to computer only to discover most aren't equipped with Microsoft Word. Finally I found one and was able to print worksheets and other materials for camp.

EunHee Teacher and I were able to have a "camp" lunch, from the camp budget, so we went to a restaurant near school. We were going to go to Berezza, a popular Italian place frequented by many teachers, but yesterday I had seen a new restaurant called Ten Bistro just a few doors down and suggested that. It was also an Italian restaurant, with pizza, pasta and salads. The inside was pretty contemporary and modern inside with plain walls and light bulbs hanging from the ceiling and a big chandelier. The pasta and salad were mediocre, but the pizza was actually quite good! I was impressed.

After lunch, EunHee teacher needed to go to a nearby bakery to discuss camp snacks with the shopkeeper, so I tagged along. I also treated her to coffee while we were there. We sat and chatted for a little before returning to school to finish work.

When the work day was over, I headed to Sinchon and decided I'd walk there (it takes just a little over an hour). I arrived a few minutes before my meeting time with Alex. He and I had joked about meeting at 6:41 so that when he finally arrived and we made eye contact, he covered his face and walked away saying that we couldn't meet yet because it was too early.

I finally found someone as indecisive as I am! I gave 3 options for dinner and we finally selected the Cuban restaurant I'd been wanting to try. Once we got there, it took us a long time to pick a dish to share. We finally settled on a pulled pork dish that came with a bunch of sides, including yucca, which lead to some research about what it was. It, for the record, tasted and looked a lot like potatoes. The meal was pretty good, I'd be happy to go back and try something else, especially the Cuban sandwich.

After we finished eating, we sat and talked for a bit. I was right next to the windows (they were covered so you couldn't see outside) but I could hear the rain coming down. I've truly turned Korean. When it's hot I want to eat nengmyeon (a cold noodle soup) and when it rains I want to drink makgoli (a kind of rice wine) and eat jeon (a kind of savory pancake). Hearing the rain, I asked Alex if he had tried makgoli yet. Since he hadn't I suggested a place that was just down the street, so off we went into the rain.

Inside, the place was pretty crowded with young adults, affirming my desire to drink makgoli. Again, we came to a tough decision narrowing down what kind of makgoli to order. We finally chose strawberry banana. The server told me we also had to order anjoo (a side dish) and I picked a kimchi cheese jeon. When he set it down in front of us, I got a bit worried as it smelled strongly of seafood. That was confirmed when I saw bits of octopus, shrimp and crab inside. *sigh* I tried picking out some of the bits, like the octopus (easy to spot) but the crab was harder to get out. So I probably ate the most seafood ever in this jeon. After we finished our drinks, we parted ways and I took the bus home.

Class and early bed!

Today was the last day of the semester! It was definitely bittersweet. I didn't have to do too much work today, mostly planning for summer camp next week. I had to give a little going away speech to the school which was put on the broadcasting system (our school has a kind of TV producing room and then it gets shown on the TVs in the classrooms). EunHee Teacher translated for me.

At noon, all the subject teachers went out for lunch. We went to a place just across the street and most of us ordered some kind of nengmyeon (cold noodle soup). After lunch, we went in search of a coffee shop that would seat the 9 of us and ended up at a Tous Les Jours bakery. We sat and chatted for a bit; it was sad because 2 of the subject teachers are just substitute teachers and their terms are ending, and of course I'll be leaving as well. Most of us returned to school and I did a little bit more work til the end of the day.

I headed to the post office and then downtown after work. I ended up stopping at a more upscale kimbap chain to try their bulgogi kimbap. It was pretty good, but not worth the almost 5,000W price tag! I then got an ice cream cone on my way to class.

Class was okay, but it's still a bit challenging. I'm just proud I'm still sticking with it and going each week. After class I headed home and was finally able to get to bed at a decent hour. Yay, sleep!

Girls Night

Today was an easy day at work; the few 6th grade classes I have on Tuesdays were moved to yesterdays empty class periods and I had already said goodbye to the 5th graders last week. That meant I had no classes to teach. There was a fair amount of work to do planning for camp, so that kept me busy during the workday.

After work, I headed to Sinchon and I decided I would walk there. I met Sumi and her sister, JiYoon there. I gave two options, the kalbi jjim that I had on Friday or another kalbi place I wanted to try. We settled on the new place. It was an ok decision. We ordered flavored beer (peach for me and strawberry for JiYoon) and a creamy makgoli (it tasted like melted ice cream!) and the only dish was a kalbi (steamed ribs) stew with ddeok, (rice cakes) french fries and lots of cheese. The dish was alright, but there wasn't a lot of meat. At the end, we asked to make it bokum bap (fried rice) which was good, except there were...fish eggs? mixed in as well. I would have been okay with them, but they kept popping and cracking as I ate the rice and I couldn't stand that. Boo on seafood ruining a dish for me!

When we finished eating, we walked around Sinchon debating what to do next. We settled on a little bingsu (shaved ice) cafe and ordered a mango bingsu. It was quite delicious and came with homemade mango sauce. Yum! It was a fun girls night with Sumi and JiYoon. I appreciate having girlfriends in the area.

Back into my routine some

Today was the last day with the final classes. I rounded out my 2 years here by saying goodbye to some 6th grade classes. They didn't seem too torn up about my leaving (unlike my very emotional 5th graders). We took it easy for the last class and watched a Doctor Who episode. For the most part, they seemed to enjoy the show.

After work, I had no specific plans, for the first time in almost a month I'd say. I was actually a bit relieved to just have a night in and figured the best thing to do was finally go for a run! I went out and actually had a pretty decent time considering I haven't been running in a long time. It felt so good to be out there running (even though it was super hot!) When I got home, I got a message from Tommy, inviting me to Hongdae to meet his friends. I showered really quickly and got ready. He messaged me again saying that they were running behind and pushed the meeting time back an hour. I figured there was enough time for me to walk to Hongdae, so walk I did. I arrived and sent him a message and waited on a bench in the park. I waited some more and heard back from him and waited at the chocolate dessert place. His friend from U of M and his girlfriend were just passing through Korea on their way back to the US from Japan. She held them up a bit looking at makeup. When we finally met up, the original place had stopped serving bingsu (shaved ice) so we went to a different cafe. After bingsu, we went to Maekju ya for some drinks and darts. There is a strawberry lime cider that is quite good! Darts was also fun to play, even though I lost all rounds.

Norwegians last day here

This morning I slept in a looong time. When I finally got up and got ready I messaged Alex to see if he wanted to study some Korean together and get some cake. We set a time in the late afternoon. I tidied up my place and then walked to Hongdae to meet Alex. Then we walked over to the Sangsu side to my (new) favorite dessert place. We shared a strawberry tart and got some slushy juice.

Then it was time to meet up our group for dinner. We had quite a large group; Sumi and her sister JiYoon came, Hakon and Stine, Alex and of course Orjan, Kjersti and Philip for their going away dinner. We went to Kongbul, a different kind of BBQ place and ordered a bulgogi dish for one table and the other table got a spicy one. Over dinner, we asked what Orjan and Philip's favorite things were from the trip. I had bought a bottle of grapefruit soju for Orjan to take back to Norway and made a card with all of the things we had done together so I gave it to him then.

After dinner, most of us went to Maekju ya for a drink. Sumi and JiYoon headed back home though. Tommy and Rasmus came and joined us there too. It was a nice relaxing way to end out the evening and the Norwegians trip. It was sad to say goodbye to them and I will miss them and cherish the times we spent together.

Action Packed Day

What a busy but fun day! It started with an early rise to get to the completely other side of the city for the Color Run. However, I somehow mis-remembered the meeting spot and went to Jamsil instead of the Sports Complex station. Anyway, it was only a minor glitch and I had enough time to spare so it wasn't a big deal. I met up with Michelle in the subway station and we went to go collect my racing gear. There was a bag check and we checked in our bags, put on our sticker tattoos and got in line with our race-time group.

The first part of the 5k course went through the Olympic Stadium on the track. Many participants didn't want to walk around the whole track and were hopping over the barriers or skipping it in general. Also, hardly anyone was running. Michelle overheard some people, upon seeing some runners retort, "why are they running?!" We were kind of shocked at that because it was a 5k RUN after all...No matter. We decided that we would lightly jog it just for the heck of it, even if no one else was running. The first color station we got to was green. We didn't get too much colored powder on us at that point and we kept jogging to the next color station, orange. Along the way, we saw people sitting down and taking selfies; by far the strangest run I've ever done. After the orange, blue came next and there was a fair amount of blue thrown at us. We also had a water station and they squirted us with water guns. The final color was pink and it was a pink explosion! The people at this station were armed with SHOVELS to throw the powder. Needless to say, we were quite pink when we finished.

We hopped on the subway and were greeted with looks ranging from surprise to disdain. I personally liked the color and think that everyone should be covered in colored powder to be more colorful! It was fun! Michelle hopped off at her stop and I continued on to Sinchon. I arrived before the group I was meeting and sat outside for a bit. Sumi and JiYoon finally arrived and I met them inside the Twosome Place cafe by the subway station. Brandon, Sumi's friend was waiting inside as well. Not long after Kjersti and Philip arrived, so we were only waiting on Orjan to show up.

There was some confusion but finally we were able to get our wristbands to do the Slide the City. We decided to get lunch before we started the water slide and went to a ramen place Brandon recommended. There was a long wait (especially with a big group) and so we went in search of a different place. Alex dropped by, as he and his friends were considering doing the slide, but he said they decided not to do it after seeing it all set up. We finished lunch and then went to go wait in line for our inter-tubes. We had split up so that Kjersti waited in line for the slide and the rest of us went to get the tubes. So after we got to tubes, we went to find Kjersti; they let us hop in line and we didn't have to wait long at all which was really nice. The water slide was pretty cool, but it was a very short run for the amount of time we had to wait! After coming down the first run, we went back in line to go again. While we were waiting, it did start to drizzle a bit and the lines started moving a bit faster (there were only 2 slides). Kjersti and Philip had to leave and Sumi, JiYoon, Orjan and I decided to make one more run. It was almost a full downpour by the time we were done sliding.

We all parted ways to get cleaned up and set a meeting time. We were all pretty much late for the meeting, but no big deal. Orjan brought along Stine and Hakon and Brandon returned to join us for dinner. I wanted to take them to Imo's place (I haven't been there in ages) but when we got there, they said they were closed, even though it was only about 8:30. We walked back closer to Hongdae and went to a Mapo Kalmaegi restaurant. The only bummer was at first there weren't 2 tables next to each other so the group got split up. About halfway through, one table opened up so my table moved to be together. After dinner, we grabbed a few grapefruit soju bottles and went to the playground; basically it was all that Orjan was talking about-playing some games in the playground with grapefruit soju. We hung out in the playground for a few hours before some of the group split. The rest went to Zen to enjoy some music and dancing.

Trying to play catch up again...A teary day at school

Here I am another few months later, trying to play catch up again...

Today was a very sad, difficult day at school. I had the first last classes with some of my students. I had been prepared for two of them. My 5th grade coteacher told me we would be finishing our semester classes with them so we planned a lesson special for the occasion. First we started by telling them I was leaving and they asked me questions about why and such. Then we let them write some letters to me and say whatever they wanted to. That took most of the class as they were decorating their papers as well as writing. As they were working, I walked around and took some photos with each group.

My other 5th grade coteacher came to class and told me she didn't realize but it would be the last class for our students too! We had planned to teach a song (I had picked "Let it Be") so we started class and told them it was my last class. They then practiced the song and Alex Teacher recorded it as a parting gift for me. Now, I was feeling a bit sad after saying bye to the first 2 classes, but I was doing alright. As the 3rd class was finishing, I noticed one girl was teary eyed and sniffling which made me start feeling pretty sad. We had the students line up as usual to head out the door where I always say goodbye to them and I noticed a lot of the girls were looking pretty gloomy. I decided to send the boys line back to class first. When the girls line started to leave, each girl gave me a hug and many of them were crying and sniffling. Which tugged at my heart and I couldn't help it but by the time the last one had gone I was crying as well.

The last 5th grade class came and they announced as they walked in, "all the girls from class 5-2 are crying!" This class is made up of very bright, cheerful students; they luckily did not cry at all and were acting their funny selves while singing which helped a lot.

After work, I stopped home briefly and then headed to Hongdae. There was an adoptee I had met earlier in the week, Michael and he was having a going away get together. First we went to get BBQ for dinner. After dinner, we went to the Beastro for a few classy drinks. We stayed there and chatted a bit. It was a big and pretty mixed group. We had Ashley, another adoptee from MN and her language partner friend Kyung Chan; Kjersti and her son Philip from Norway; Kris an adoptee from NY, Charles an adoptee from CA and Orjan also from Norway. It's always fun meeting people from all over!

Next we headed to a Western pub, Mikes Cabin. There we were able to sit and talk, play foosball and dance. A few more of Mike's friends joined as well; another CA adoptee and one from OH.

North Korean dinner and Makgoli

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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!

On the Hunt

A typical Sunday morning--headed to church and had mass.

After church, I was on a mission. I wanted to find the perfect Easter brunch spot for when Mom comes. I walked from Hannam to Noksapyeong (which I normally do anyway) but I went up and down side alleys and through back streets scouring menus and scrutinizing the interiors of restaurants. As I went along, I snapped photos of places and menus making notes of them. By the time I finished, I had a big list of restaurants that would be nice not only for Easter brunch, but that I would like to try in the future. My next task was lunch. I wasn't feeling that hungry and I was also thinking that I hadn't eaten Korean food in quite some time. So I decided to head home first and go from there.

When I got off the subway, I saw a poster for a restaurant that I had noticed quite a few months ago but never got a chance to go and try their food. Even better, I had been thinking about eating jjoelmyeon (a chewy noodle dish with spicy sauce and fresh vegetables) and that was on the menu for that restaurant. I glanced at the poster and went out the exit. Except I hadn't paid close attention to which direction I should go specifically. I figured I'd walk a little bit and should stumble upon it. Instead, I found a dog cafe (no, they don't eat dogs here) called Bichon. This place had grooming on the first floor, a cafe with Bichons on the second floor (bring your own or meet the live in crew!) and a hotel for Bichons in the basement. Wow. I checked it out and then took off. I ended up going back into the subway to try and figure out where exactly the restaurant was located. After getting the information I found it very easily.

I looked at the menu and they had the jjoelmyeon or jjoelmyeon plus mandu for an extra 500W. While it's only an extra 50 cents or so, I decided I'd get my noodles to go and make my own mandu at home. I returned home with my food and made mandu and watched some tv before packing up for soccer. It was nice out and kind of warm, but not as nice as last week.

In April we are having a kind of tournament playing against parents of domestically adopted kids. This week, the families all came so we could practice and scrimmage against each other. They told us we should be gentle and play softly. Eirik scoffed and said there's no such thing as that in soccer. At first we really crushed them-making goals left and right. Then they called in for backup and some of their sons (high schoolish aged) arrived and hopped in relieving the older dads. They were decent and gave a little bit more of a challenge, but it was still a walk in the park for us. I saw how good we were at passing and making good plays. Also unusual for us, they wanted to play for 20 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. We were all kind of antsy and didn't like having to stop and rest. Some of the guys were annoyed and also annoyed at the sportsmanship of some of the opponents-they were pushing on us, but complained if we pushed back. Oh well, it's all for fun anyway.

Long Chats

This morning I skyped with my mom and Grandpa. It was good to talk with both of them together. Toby also made a small appearance.

After talking with them, I decided I'd go for a short run. The weather wasn't too cold and it was sunny. I felt like I needed to get some exercise in since I hadn't run in a long time! It was a nice run and lots of people were out walking along the stream.

I got home and made a plan to go to Itaewon before meeting Michelle for dinner. I would get a tea and possibly sit by the Han River outside for a little bit. I started getting ready when I got a message from Liduvina asking if I had time to talk. It was around 1:30 so I figured I had plenty of time. She and Joel had just bought their tickets to Korea! She wanted to ask about how to get to my place from the airport and get some ideas of what to do while they are here. We talked through some ideas and she suggested seeing another city. I decided Busan would probably be the most fun so we will go there for a few days. We also did a lot of other catching up-we send messages here and there, but this was the first time we had a proper chat in a long time! We were talking and talking and talking...when I realized we had been talking for almost 2 1/2 hours! We were starting to say goodbyes when Joel came home and he wanted to ask a few questions as well. So in total, we talked for 3 hours! I had to cut it short because I was running late to meet Michelle.

I rushed to get to Itaewon and was about 20 minutes late. I met Michelle in a coffee shop near the subway station and we walked to Craftworks for dinner. I had seen a promotion if you showed them their ad, they'd give you their beer paddle sampler for free! We ordered sandwiches and got our free beer paddle sampler. I got the buffalo chicken sandwich and it was really delicious! We remembered that today was Pi day and I tried to think of somewhere we could get pie. Of course Sugar Daddy's came to mind, but their apple pie is not the best of their desserts and not a good introduction for someone new there. (It's possible just because my mom makes amazing pie crust nothing else can compare) Instead we went to a place called Sweet East and got a strawberry funnel cake. It was served with a small dish of whipped cream and ice cream. YUM!

After our dessert, we went to a meetup group for foreigners and Koreans alike. It was held at a kind of bar/club. Michelle and I met a Korean American, Ken and a Korean, Joon. Then our goal was to mingle and try to meet a bunch of different people. At one point Ken sat down and we said that sitting kind of defeats the purpose of mingling so we went in search of other groups to meet. After awhile, we checked back in with Ken and he said he was thinking of going to Hongdae instead. We decided we'd move there with him and told Joon. He joined us as well and we took the subway to Hongdae. Joon left us to meet up with some of his friends and the three of us went to the Playground to sit outside. There weren't too many people at the Playground and I guessed it was because everyone was actually in Itaewon at all of the foreign bars and restaurants to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day. We went to Monster Pizza to get a slice of pizza-it was pretty delicious. Can't go wrong with a slice of pizza! We called it a night shortly after that.

Fun Friday!

The first class was cancelled because students were voting for their class presidents. Instead, we had to swap and do it for 5th period later in the day. So, in the morning, I looked up restaurants to go to for dinner. The rest of the work day was rather uneventful.

After work, I headed to Jongno area where I had picked a restaurant and had idea of a coffee shop I would go to to study Korean after dinner. It was a bit early for dinner when I first arrived to the area so I located the restaurant, Koba and then went to Cheonggyecheon. I sat by the stream for a little bit soaking up the last few rays of sunshine and worked more on itineraries for my visitors.

I returned to Koba and was greeted with a smallish mostly empty restaurant. There was a older Korean man on the left side of the bar and an older Caucasian man on the right side. The young waiter was also doubling as bartender and he was very friendly, asking where I was from. I finally got my food (I ordered a vegetarian sandwich) and was enjoying it-it rivaled my favorite sandwich from Casablanca (though I like how Casablanca puts more veggies on the sandwich). The chef came out (his name is Simon and he's from Morocco) and saw me eating the sandwich-holding it with both hands and diving right in-and he applauded me and said it was good to see me eating a sandwich the "real" way. After I finished eating, G, the waiter asked me if I liked beer. I said I didn't mind it and he told me he was going to give me a free glass. I got my beer and joined the others at the bar. They ended up cranking up the music a bit more and we talked and sang and danced in our seats. G got a little crazy and was even flicking the lights on and off. After a little bit, some other people came into the restaurant and G said, "we have to act normal now!" and they turned the music down a little bit. I talked with the American man-he works for an NGO and was doing a business trip in Korea. It was really great to talk with him. As time went on a few more people trickled in and out. We were joined at the bar by a Japanese girl who somehow knew G. Then, we were joined by a Brazilian. He teaches music at Kyunghee University-has lived in Korea for 10 years. There was a drum in the restaurant so he ended up doing a few small "performances" for us and also was teaching us how to play the drum. Simon made some fried potato balls for us as service and they were delicious. It was a lot of fun meeting new people. I was there from 6 until 12:30! I never made it to a cafe to study Korean because I was enjoying the time at Koba so much. It was such a great find to stumble upon and I was thankful that G had asked if I wanted a beer and was friendly.

Staff Dinner

Nothing too special at work today. It was fun seeing my little 4th graders again. Some of the boys who were in summer camp and already know me kind of showed off to their classmates that they knew me so it was entertaining.

At the end of the day we had a staff dinner. We went to Gyeonggi-do (the province surrounding Seoul) to an area called Seollung. Last year we also went to this area, so I thought we were going to the same restaurant (and I was very excited because it was some of the most delicious meat BBQ I've had here) but was very disappointed when we pulled up to a different place. I rode in the car with my 4th grade COT who drove and a few other teachers.

The dinner was pretty good. There were lots and lots of side dishes all leading up to a bulgogi (beef) stew. I think they brought out at least 5 or 6 small "main" dishes before the final one. My principal went around to some of the new teachers, wanting to do a shot of soju with them and he also asked me if I wanted one. It's generally considered rude to turn down a drink (especially from a boss or higher up) so I complied. After eating, we did a kind of poem "game". They took the name of each new staff member and broke it down into the 3 characters (for example my Korean name is Kim, Jong Hee) and then started a sentence with each of the characters (so going with my example there would be one sentence starting "Kim", the next "Jong" and the last "Hee) I of course couldn't really participate but my 4th grade COT, Alex thought it would be funny to make a really sweet one to the new vice principal and sign my name. She translated it to me and had me write the English. Basically the poem went something like "the first time I saw you my heart started beating faster, I couldn't believe you were here. Is it destiny?" The next part of the game required teachers taking the papers out of a box and reading them aloud to the new staff member and then an exchange of sorts in Korean. Well, when they finally read mine I had to go up in front of everyone, but couldn't say anything at all. Just some awkward bowing and shook hands with the vice principal.

After dinner, my COT dropped people off which was nice. I had planned on walking back because it was around 2 or 3 miles. The rest of the evening I worked out an itinerary for my Mom's upcoming visit!

Issac Toast

I had my last "first class" and finally met all of my students and classes for the new year. Today was all 4th graders. They are so cute!

After work, I stopped by the post office as usual and then headed downtown. I was deciding what to have for dinner and picked Issac Toast. This is a chain of fast food grilled sandwiches. It was a lifesaver dining spot while I lived at Inje and the Biotech dorm dished up some crazy dinners. Many nights Emily, Jenny and I would get a sandwich from our beloved Issac's. Anyway, I decided I'd grab a sandwich and took it to go. I debated sitting by Cheonggyecheon to eat, but it was just a little bit too cold to eat outside. What to do? I went to the building of my Korean classes and sat on a bench inside to eat.

Class was okay; not many people showed up and my teacher guessed it was because of the cold weather. We were able to finish a little bit early and got dismissed about 10 minutes ahead of normal. It was nice to get home earlier than usual.

A night home

Previously Tuesdays were my most challenging day, but even though it was long, it didn't seem as difficult as last year. Like I said before, it's still a bit too early to tell for sure, but I'm looking forward to this school year, my last semester here.

After work, I decided it would be good to have a night in. I caught up on housework and other odds and ends. It was pretty cold so I didn't feel like venturing out. Hopefully this is one of the last cold days of the year.

Hello 6th Graders

I met five of my eight 6th grade classes today. I had most of these students as 5th graders last year. I was a bit apprehensive because as 5th graders they were quite wild. I know it was only the first day of class with them, but already they did seem a bit better. I think the way they were split into different homerooms this year was very well done. I think they will do a great job this year.

After work I met Michelle again for dinner. This time we went to Yeoido to meet. Originally I was going to take the bus route that goes to the island but takes about an hour. Instead I realized I could take one bus to a subway line that goes straight there. I tried it out and made it in half the time I predicted. I arrived early so I went to the IFC mall and just window shopped before meeting Michelle. Yesterday the weather was really nice-I played soccer in shorts. Today was COLD and WINDY! (Though I believe it was extra windy because we were on an island) We walked to Chalsu Kimbap, a kind of famous kimbap shop. The meat is stone grilled (so smokey and flavorful) and it's much bigger than a normal kimbap roll. We each got our own roll of kimbap and shared ddeokboki, rice cake dumplings in a spicy sauce. After dinner we went in search of a cafe. We found an Audrey Hepburn themed cafe and tried it out. There were tons of photographs of Audrey all over the cafe and they were playing Breakfast at Tiffany's (without sound) in one corner. Beyond that, there wasn't anything to do with Audrey. It was fun all the same. We had a good time talking and after awhile each headed home. I took a bus so I didn't have to walk as far outside when I reached my stop.

Soccer--on fire!

I was finally able to get to church after a few weeks of being gone. It was good to be back again.

After mass I went to Battered Sole, a British gastro pub I had heard about that recently started offering a brunch menu. I ordered a bacon breakfast sandwich and wasn't sure what to expect when they said homemade bacon. I was picturing typical American style bacon...but this was bacon x10! It was thicker than thick cut bacon from home-it was the most intense bacon I've ever seen! Anyway, it was served on a bagel with cream cheese and a side salad and hash brown patties. As a promotion they offered a free cocktail as well, so I tried the mango hard iced tea.

I went to Sugar Daddy's to get a slice of cheesecake for an experiment and then headed home. The weather was absolutely beautiful. I headed to soccer a little bit early just to be outside and enjoy the sunshine. Soccer was great. This week the high school boys didn't come so we played 5 on 5 for the full 2 hours. I had 5 or 6 goals and did pretty good on defense as well. I felt so good playing, but my legs were a little bit sore. At the end, Eirik asked me how many goals I had because he said he lost count after 6. I don't think it was that many but...it still felt great.

Garosugil/Sinsa/Apgujeong

This morning I skyped with Grandpa for a bit and then my Mom. It was good to finally chat with them after a few weeks.

I decided I would go somewhere new! I wanted to study my Korean in a cafe somewhere and picked the neighborhood Sinsa, with a famous street, Garosugil. I walked around there and found a cafe and bought a piece of carrot cake to go. I continued looking for a place that looked cozy to study. The weather was a bit warm and the sunshine felt so nice I enjoyed walking around stopping in different shops and cafes looking for the perfect spot. I finally picked one that had a kind of covered patio and got a tea and sat "outside" in the sun. I stayed and studied for a little over an hour. Then I looked up a place to have dinner. I found a pizza place called Ace and thought I'd give it a go.

I went in search of the restaurant and finally found it. Right below it was a burger place, so I had a few moments of indecision to pick what I wanted for dinner. The pizza won and I'm glad I chose it. There were several good sounding pizzas on the menu, but there was a build your own option for only 15,000W, with as many toppings as you wanted! I did that and put lots of veggies on my pizza. They baked the pizza in a brick oven and served it on a wooden paddle. It was really good! I didn't finish the whole thing and they gave me a container to take the rest home.

Mexican Night!

Work was pretty easy-I had two classes and the other two my one COT told me I didn't need to come because she was just doing an introduction/orientation class. It was nice to have that time off.

In the evening I came home and had a little bit of down time before heading to Mangwon. I decided I would walk there since I didn't do any running during the week and it wasn't too far. The only problem was I got lost and went way too far down the street and had to backtrack a bit. I wasn't exactly late to the cooking class, but I wasn't there as early as I had wanted. Chef D asked for burners and I volunteered mine, but he didn't want to use it because it wasn't gas. Anyway, the cooking studio space was quite small and there were around 30 people.

First things first we made corn tortilla dough. He had already measured everything out, we just added water and kneaded it. Then we made jalapeno poppers, stuffing the jalapenos with cream cheese and wrapping with bacon. While those cooked, he showed us how he made his jalapeno jelly, guacamole and salsa. The poppers were finished cooking and we sampled them-spicy but so delicious! Next we took or tortilla dough and pressed them using a tortilla press. We also fried/cooked the tortillas. Then it was time to clean up and Chef D cooked the meat he had marinated. There was chicken and pork to fill our tortillas with and we had tiny tacos with salsa and his guacamole and special chili sauce. Yum! Then we also had nachos with a cheese sauce he made. He topped the nachos with a pork and kimchi mix, cheese, salsa and sauce. They were delicious. Finally, we had habenero brownies with avocado ice cream. The brownies were spicy but the ice cream helped cool it off. All in all, it was a delicious night!

Cuties

Today was the first day teaching! I met the 4th graders and they were cute. I saw some of my students from summer and winter camp. They were excited to see me.

After work I came home to take it easy and keep working on feeling better. It was nice to just stay in and take a rest. (Does "take a rest" sound strange? Koreans use this expression a lot, but I had another native English speaker say it sounds a bit unusual)

Korean Class

I still felt a little sick, but not as bad as the day before. Today was the last day to prepare before we had our first class! I did more planning and then met with my 4/5 COT to discuss our classes for the Thursday and Friday.

As usual for Wednesdays, I headed downtown before my Korean class. I was deciding what to have for dinner and figured some comfort food would be good. I went to Subway and got a BMT. After eating, I headed to class. It was okay.

When I got home, I made a donation for an animal group in Korea. I also signed up for a weekend trip to Jindo for a Sea Parting Festival in a few weekends. I'm looking forward to seeing a new city in Korea.

Sick

I woke in the middle of the night a few times with a lot of stomach pain. I couldn't sleep well even though I was exhausted. When it was time to wake up and come to school, it was so hard to get out of bed and go. I had considered calling my COTs and saying I couldn't come to work, but figured it would be okay since it was another planning day.

I got to school and just stared into my computer screen for about an hour before asking one COT if I could go to the nurses office to lay down. She took me down and explained how I was feeling to the nurse. My COT turned on the heated blanket for me and I slept for 2 hours. She woke me at lunch time and asked if I would eat. I was tempted to because she told me the menu was jap chae! But I didn't feel like eating though I knew I was hungry. I passed and just sat at my desk doing small prep work until the end of the day.

After work, I went to Hongdae to meet a new acquaintance. My friend Mike had a friend from Ann Arbor who was moving temporarily to Seoul to be with her parents. Her name is Michelle. She and I had made plans the day before to meet and I didn't want to cancel at the last minute and for the first meeting. So, we met at the station and I suggested a few places to try. We agreed Shabu Shabu (a kind of soup) sounded the best as it was cool and rainy. It was nice to meet someone new and we had fun chatting. We went to get bingsu for dessert. We shared a strawberry one and it was delicious!

Beginning of the (Last) School Year!

Back to work...it was a relatively easy day at work. We didn't have to do too much today except prepare for classes. At noon all the subject teachers went out to lunch. We were going to go to the restaurant we've been to the last two times, but there was no room for all of us. Instead we went to a place to have a rice dish with bossam (steamed pork) and other sides. One of the subject teachers paid for everyone's meal. I met the new 3rd grade English teacher; her English name is Jaymie and she's a year older than me. She was at our school when I first started here, but last year she went to teach in Taiwan. I also was able to get to know my 4th grade COT a little better; she was a 6th grade homeroom teacher last year. I knew her by sight but didn't know her well.

We returned to school after our lunch and had a staff meeting in the afternoon. After work I came home, organized my photos from my trip, and had dinner. I was still not feeling well so I took a hot shower since it had helped immensely the night before.

Return to Seoul

Our flight landed at 6am. I dozed off and on until we landed and was jolted awake by the plane touching down. We were waiting to get off the plane and the woman next to me was talking about how they had a 10 hour layover and wasn't sure what to do. I told her that my friend had worked in the airport giving tours to people with long layovers so she should look into that if she wanted to see Seoul. We finally got off the plane and after a 1 hour commute, I found myself back at home, quite exhausted. I took a nap until a little after noon. When I woke, I was feeling a bit groggy and not so good.

I unpacked and cleaned. Then I looked for something to eat for lunch. I also felt really sore from horseback riding. I started feeling worse, but had said I was going to soccer already so I figured I'd just give it a go and see how it went. I walked to soccer as normal, but it almost took me a full hour as I was not feeling well and was so stiff and sore.

As it turned out, soccer went pretty well though. There were a few oldies that returned and Johan brought a few new guys. The high school boys were there as well, so we had 3 teams of 5 or 6. My team did quite well and we were winning almost every game. I also scored 3 goals! It felt great to be playing again though I was worried that I would be off after missing a few weeks.

I returned home and took a hot shower and felt much better after that. I was exhausted and got ready for bed early.

Last Day!

I slept in til 8 or so and decided I wouldn't do any more temples. I had a leisurely morning and walked around looking for a place to have breakfast/brunch. I picked a cafe and had an omelet. After brunch I did some more gift hunting in the markets. I wasn't too hungry, but was going to be horseback riding at 2 so I decided I'd get a snack and found a really nice cafe-I wished I had room to actually try a meal there, but instead I ordered a juice and lemon bar. The cafe was started by two sisters from Australia. Their mission was to help provide jobs for locals so they could afford to go to school and get higher education.

I returned to the guesthouse ready to go for my ride. I was supposed to be picked up at 2 and I stood outside from about 1:50 waiting. By 2:25 I decided to call the ranch to tell them I didn't have a driver. I called and they told me to wait outside. I went back outside and the driver said he had been there since 2. I was kind of upset because originally I had signed up for a 3 hour ride but I wasted 30 minutes just waiting. I got to the ranch and decided I would do a 2 hour ride instead. I did the paperwork and then met my guide, Sophie. My horse was Paris, a 3 year old. We rode through some villages and along farms. We ended up trotting a couple times and also cantering. It was a lot of fun. I really miss riding. Once when we were cantering, Paris spooked and he took off. I was able to stay on even though I lost my stirrups. Thank goodness for all of those riding lessons.

After the ride I returned to the hostel and waited to meet Olivia and Brett for dinner. They got lost trying to find my hostel again and were a little bit late. We found a restaurant for dinner. The service was slow and the food wasn't that great. But we enjoyed the company and hanging out. After dinner I returned to the hostel to get my bag and take a tuktuk to the airport. I said goodbye to my Aussie friends and 20 minutes later arrived at the airport. I checked in and then waited in line through security. An American travel group was behind me in line and the woman commented that my bag was so big and I had a lot of stuff in my backpack. I told her that my backpack was all that I had used to travel for the last 16 days and she was so shocked! I chatted with them a little bit as we moved through security and immigration. While we were in line, a Korean woman ahead of us turned and started talking to me as well. She was in Cambodia on a missions trip with some other members from her church. She asked why I was Korean but couldn't speak Korean. I explained I was adopted and she told me her daughter had volunteered one summer helping international adoptees. After speaking with me a bit she told me she wanted me to meet their Priest so he could give me a blessing. It was very sweet of her.

In the departure area, I saw a sight for sore eyes: DAIRY QUEEN! There aren't any Dairy Queens in Korea and I decided I would get a blizzard before getting on the plane. Instead of a regular flavor, I tried the green tea blizzard with chocolate chunks. I was going to get a small size, but the young man working told me I should get a bigger size to save money. It didn't take much to convince me. We chatted a little bit in English before I left with my ice cream. I sat down near the gate and ate my ice cream. As it got closer to boarding time I saw people lining up, but recently I don't like waiting in the line and wait til the end so I don't have to stand in line so long. I was sitting and waiting kind of oblivious when I realized they were making a FINAL CALL for my flight! I jumped up and went to the gate-I was THE LAST PERSON to have my ticket taken and the last person on board. I was seated around the group of Americans I had talked to earlier and also the Korean woman was a few rows behind me. She said, "Oh, I was wondering where you were!" The return flight was only 4 hours, and we left around midnight. After a few hours we were served breakfast. It was weird eating at 2am...

Sunrise and Small Circuit

I woke at 4:30 this morning to go to see the sunrise at Angkor Wat. I signed up to share a tuktuk and do the small circuit tour through the guesthouse again. This time I met Curt from Georgia and a young woman from Germany and a guy from the Netherlands.

On the tuktuk ride we chatted a bit and Curt impressed us with his giant camera. He was excited to take photos of the temples. The guy from the Netherlands gave us a great tip-he said that it starts getting light around 6, but the sun does not actually rise until 7 and most people assume that there is no glowing red sun when they don't see it around 6 and they all leave. The trick is to stay til 7. So we arrived at the temple and walked in the dark to find a spot inside to watch the sunrise. It was so crowded, maybe 6 or 7 rows of people from the small pond to the grassy area behind. Curt and I found a spot on the left hand side to stand and wait as it got brighter. As expected, most people dispersed as it got light and then started walking around the temple a bit. We also explored a little bit, but stayed close to the pond to catch the reflection as it was less than an hour til actual sunrise. It was very beautiful once the sun did finally rise. Then we headed out to the tuktuk.

Again, I can't really recall all the temples we visited. I do know our first stop was breakfast and we went to our driver's sister's food stall. The food was overpriced compared to what you would find in town. Then he dropped us off at one temple and told us to make our way through about 3 or 4 of them in a row and to meet at the end. The first one was one that had 4 faces carved into the stones on each of the 4 sides of the pillars. It was pretty neat. Curt and I were really enjoying photographing everything and he gave me some tips as we went along. Our European friends were not so much into the photography and they moved through the temple rather quickly. We went on to the next one and they said we should try to go faster to make it through all of the temples before our meeting time with the driver. The 4 of us agreed to meet at the entrance before moving on. We picked up our pace and went through; this one required a steep climb up to get to the top of it. All was going well until the end when the signs pointed visitors to the backside rather than the front where we had agreed to meet. I found the Europeans but we waited and waited for Curt. The guy went in search of him and found Curt waiting for us on the other side. We continued on to the next two a bit faster and when we finally ended, our driver was kind of cross with us and told us we had taken too long. The main temple that the Europeans wanted to see was Tah Prohm (Tomb Raider temple) and so we ended up skipping a lot of the smaller ones to make it to Tah Prohm (as we had a noon deadline according to the driver). We asked to return to Angkor Wat, but as we got close to the temple he said we'd have a 10 minute walk to the complex and it would leave us with only 5 minutes to even see it. So we just returned to the hotel.

At the hostel, Curt and I had lunch together. Both of us were debating whether or not to return to Angkor Wat. We agreed we'd head back out around 3, giving us about 2 hours to relax. I was going to take a nap, but realized I wasn't that sleepy. Instead I took a fast shower and then went to the market to look around, not sure of what I would have time for the following day. We met up at 3 and got a tuktuk to Angkor Wat. It was neat to return there again at a different time of day and get a feel for the temple. We wandered around a bit and enjoyed the different lighting on the stones. We ran into Ellie and her friends and I shared the "wait until 7am tip" with her since she was going to see the sun rise the following day. There was a temple on the top of the complex and we had a very steep climb up. Once we were up there, we thought maybe we could stay there and see the sunset from way up high, but at 5:00 the temple closed and they were kicking people out. We climbed down and walked around the complex a bit more and found another place to kind of see the sky change colors.

I had made plans to meet with Olivia, Joanne and Brett for dinner after their group thing. When I returned to the hostel and I saw Kim. I invited her and Curt to join us for dinner. The three of us went into town and met up with the Geckos group at a restaurant. I stole Olivia, Brett and Joanne. We went for dinner, but they had already eaten so they just ordered drinks. It was fun catching up with them, even though it had only been a few days. We walked through the market and called it a night because the Geckos crew had the sunrise at Angkor Wat in the morning. I was on the fence about seeing another sunrise or not, but decided I'd see how I felt in the morning.

Temples!

I had a relaxed morning. I got breakfast from the hostel for $2! Then around 11 I met with Ellie, Kat and another young woman Kim to go on the big circuit tour of the temples. Our driver Randy was funny and tried to use as much English as he could.

Of course now I can't remember the names of all the temples; I could barely remember them even at the time. In total we went to about 7 temples. The ones that stood out to me where Ta Prohm, where Tomb Raider was filmed, Preah Khan (had a lot of trees growing out of the temples) and one that had 4 elephant statues on each corner. All of them were pretty amazing to see and unique in their own way; a photographers delight! I brought my DSRL camera and did not regret it at all. We had one stop for lunch and shared some dishes to try more foods.

We attached a sunset to our tour and met Ellie's friends from her university in China and sat with them for the sunset. After the sunset we dropped of Kim at the circus so she could see a performance. The rest of us went back to the guesthouse and Ellie left to stay at the same place as her friends. Kat and met up with Vivi and we went to dinner together.

Off to Cambodia

Olivia woke early and left with Brett, Joanne, Anastasia and Claudine. The 5 of them were also meeting a few other people and making a group before continuing on to Cambodia. I had almost done that part of the trip, but the dates weren't perfect for me and I was missing one whole free day in Siem Reap. On one hand I regret not going because they first went to Phnom Pehn and I would have liked to see that, but at the same time I so enjoyed my time in Siem Reap. But more on that later. So that part of the group left quite early. I had told Ryan and Katie I would have breakfast with them and we would meet Jenn and Leigh, but then we were all running late and then I double checked my flight and it was an hour earlier than I was expecting! I had to pass on the breakfast and grab a taxi to the airport. I said bye to Bac and a few others down in the lobby and I was off!

The HCMC airport confused me SO much! I wandered around trying to figure out how to get to the check-in counter for a good 15 minutes. It was frustrating. Then once inside, I wasn't able to find my counter for a few minutes either. It was because my flight was operating under another airline so it was a little bit confusing. I wasn't pressed for time at all which was nice and found my gate and waited to board. We had to take a shuttle to our airplane and then a surprising thing is that the airplane had two doors open for boarding! I was in the back, the last row, and it was a pretty empty flight so I had the row all to myself. It was a short flight, only an hour and we were given a bottle of water but no snacks or food.

After landing in Siem Reap, I waited to get my Visa. It wasn't very complicated and didn't take long. After passing through customs, I went outside to find my driver. My hostel had a free airport pickup which was really great. After about a 20 minute ride on the tuktuk I arrived at my hostel. I was able to check in and settle in. There was another young woman in the room, her name was Vivi and she was from China. We chatted briefly and she headed out to get lunch. As for me, I wanted to sign up for a sunset tour at one of the temples and check out Siem Reap a little bit.

Around 4:30 I met at the desk to go with another couple to see the sunset. We all needed to buy tickets for the temples and waited in line to get them. After that, it was on to Phnom Bakheng to see the sunset. This is a temple up on a mountain. The Canadian couple I shared a tuktuk with to the temple were not wearing proper clothing for the temple. They said they didn't want to go to the temple but just see the sunset but they made them wait until the temple closed before making the 10 minute walk. So we split up and I headed to the temple. I waited in a fairly long line to go up the steep steps of the temple. When I made it to the top it was a bit crowded with people sitting all over to watch the sunset. There were also a lot of people running around and taking selfies. It made me a little bit sad watching them as they angled the camera to show off their best self, rather than to stop and take in the beauty of the nature around us and the hundreds of years old temple we were on. The sunset itself was just okay. It set over the horizon so it could have been a sunset anywhere. For me, I enjoyed watching the light on the temple itself, the way it lit up the stone creating an almost golden glow and looking at the shadows that appeared from the carvings on the stone. After the sun set, the temple closed and the guards ushered people down off the temple. I made my way down the path and found the couple and our driver waiting for me. It was dark by the time we returned to the hostel only 20 minutes later.

I returned to my room and saw some new faces there. I said I was going to get dinner and asked if anyone wanted to join me. The girl in the bunk below me, Ellie from England, Vivi and the newest arrival Kat all wanted to come along so the 4 of us went in search of somewhere to eat. We wandered around and finally settled on a restaurant called Karo. The manager/owner was really helpful and his English was impeccable. He ran out to grab items to make drinks if it was not already on hand-great service! We asked for his suggestion on menu items and picked 4 dishes for the 4 of us to share. Food was incredibly cheap, I think our total bill came to $20 with everyone also ordering a drink or two! After dinner we walked around and looked for ice cream. Kat and Ellie tried "magic ice cream" which looks like something in Korea-ice cream in a candy cane shaped cone. Vivi and I went to a convenience store and got cones there. We walked through the markets a bit before making our way back to the guesthouse.

Ho Chi Minh City

Today most of the group went to the Mekong River and some tunnels. While I think it would have been a really cool experience, I didn't have a lot of spare Vietnamese cash on hand and I also wanted to see what HCMC had to offer on its own and not go outside of the city.

Instead, I spent the day with Olivia, Ryan and Kate. First we went to Tous Les Jours, a bakery from Korea for breakfast! After eating, we headed to the War Museum. It mostly featured photographs from the war. We all agreed that whatever country you sided with, the photographs all still showed the real story and the real struggle and suffering that people, humans experienced because of the war. The saddest part was seeing the side effects of Agent Orange on both Vietnamese and Americans, even 2 or 3 generations later. Chemical warfare is absolutely horrible-the lasting effects on the ecosystem and habit of Vietnam is awful.

After the War Museum we walked around a bit to try and lighten up the mood. We stopped at a Hagen Daas ice cream shop for some ice cream. After our break we took a peak at the Catholic Cathedral and ducked into the post office which was famous for its architecture. We then went to the Independence Palace, where the South was "liberated" from American forces. It was difficult to think in reverse; that being liberated was the (communist) North retaking control of the South. After the palace we went to find a late lunch. I looked up restaurants nearby and we picked one called Propaganda. We ordered pho (noodle soup) and it was pretty good. We headed back to our hotel and decided we'd teach Olivia how to play Euchre! (I was pleasantly surprised my Canadian friends also knew how to play) We found a Starbucks and took a seat outside. After doing maybe one round, one of the employees came out and told us we couldn't gamble in public. We told him that we weren't gambling, but playing a card game. Again, he insisted that we were not allowed to gamble and that there was no card playing. So, we decided to leave and play in our hotel. It was kind of a bummer because we were enjoying the sun outside. Anyway, the biggest thing that surprised me was Ryan's adamant implementation of a rule I thought ridiculous--if your partner ordered up a card to you as the dealer, your partner had to go alone! WHAT?! So bizarre to me. They had also never heard of farmers hand and dealt the cards one by one instead of 3/2/3/2.... It's funny how some rules are a bit different.

While we were playing, Brett messaged me asking if we had seen the message at the front desk for us. Obviously we hadn't so it was nice he gave us a heads up and told us that we were having our final dinner and to meet in the lobby. We cleaned up and met with everyone, swapping day stories. Dinner was nice and Bac gave a speech and some of the guys thanked Bac for being a great guide. After dinner, we all went to a pub place for a few drinks. It was a nice way to celebrate the ending of a fun trip. Everyone was in good spirits and extra happy.

Long bus ride to Ho Chi Minh City

We had yet another long bus ride day. The biggest event from this day was a mis-buy of ice cream. We stopped for lunch and I was craving ice cream. I got a cone from in the ice chest and bit into it. First bite was mostly chocolate, but I saw the ice cream color was kind of yellow. Next, Olivia said, "oh no, it says the flavor is durian!" as I was taking a bite and the horrible taste of durian filled my mouth. Durian is a tropical fruit that is known for its strong smell and taste. It is not delicious. About 4 or 5 of us unknowingly bought the durian ice cream and most of us tossed it after a few bites. One guy, Dan, said it wasn't so bad when he ate it with the chocolate coating. I asked him "what happens when you run out of chocolate??" He responded, "I don't know".

Finally we arrived to HCMC and again Bac warned us to be careful with our bags. We found HCMC to be another big and bustling city, more modern than Hanoi with sky scrapers and less motorbikes but they were still quite present. We were assigned our final rooms together and then we all met for a dinner. Olivia and I again shared a meal. After dinner I went with Brett, Dan, Adam, Ryan, Kate and Olivia to get a drink together. It was nice to have more one on one time with Dan and Adam as they usually were with Hass and Erin so we didn't know them too well. Adam is really funny and always joking around; both of them are very easy going guys.

Boat Day in Nha Trang

Today we spent the day on a boat! We were picked up and our guide introduced himself as Lambchops. At the dock, we boarded our boat amid tons of other groups getting on boats in the busy harbor. First stop was a fishing village. It was neat to see the old boats that they used-bamboo with cow dung to seal it together. These days they buy boats in the similar style (small circular boats) but made of plastic, though those boats are much more expensive. We were then given a boat ride to a floating fisherman's "store". He had several wooden pallets tied together and nets in the water holding fish or other sea critters that had been caught. Our boat came to pick us up and we went to a spot near an island.

We parked the boat there and were given items to go snorkeling. It was pretty amazing! I think the coral and variety of sea life I saw in the Philippines were a little bit better, but it was still an incredible experience. I got tired from treading and was struggling with my flippers so I went back on the boat. I grabbed a towel and laid out on the top deck with a few others. A little bit later they called us down for lunch. We had quite a feast! There was rice, fried noodles, spring rolls, shrimp, grilled beef and chicken, green beans, omelets and fish. Everything was so delicious and we could hardly believe they were able to cook a big feast for us on the back of a tiny boat. After lunch a bunch of us went back to the roof to lay in the sun. Later Olivia, Brett and I went for a short swim around the boat, sans flippers. We dried off in the sun again and then got pineapple and watermelon but we all agreed they must have used the same knife to cut onion as the fruit. Whoops.

Finally it was time to head back to Nha Trang. We were given the option to meet up for dinner or do our own thing. Olivia and I were getting ready when Ryan and Kate asked if we'd like to join them for dinner. We went to a place we saw on the way to the port earlier, a brewhouse. I tried a strawberry beer and shared a meal with Olivia. After talking a long time we went in search for dessert. We found a place called Olivia and had crepe type pancakes. Delicious!

Long Bus day to Nha Trang

Today was a relatively uneventful day. We had a long bus ride from Hoian to Nha Trang. A few of us played some games to pass the time.

We finally arrived in Nha Trang around 7 in the evening. We had some time to settle into our new hotel and the group met to go to dinner. Most of us didn't like the feel of Nha Trang. I'm sure part of it had to do with the fact we had just left Hoian, which was a beautiful city. Nha Trang was a bigger and more developed city. It felt a little bit seedy and there were a lot of tourists and foreigners. Bac warned us to hold on to our bags and be a bit more careful.

Dinner was alright, and I actually ordered tuna for dinner! After dinner a few of us went to get some ice cream. It was nice. Olivia and I talked with Ryan and Kate and we tried to see if we could find an overnight bus to get out of Nha Trang the following evening instead of having to spend the night there. We made plans to talk to the concierge about it in the morning.

Fun Day in Hoian

The previous night some of us had talked about meeting around 9 and going to Hoian's beach. Olivia and I were dragging but managed to get up in time. We looked for our group but couldn't find anyone in the lobby and then tried the hotel restaurant. We found Ryan and Kate there finishing their breakfast. The 4 of us took a taxi to the beach. When we got to the beach Talia and Kathrine were already there-they had asked Bac about how to get there and he said it was 3km straight, but after 45 minutes of walking they ended up getting a taxi to the beach because it wasn't that easy apparently. We were able to rent some lounge chairs by promising the restaurant owner we would buy lunch from her. We relaxed under the umbrellas a bit and also strolled along the beach. The waves were quite large and the water was cool, but not too cold. Olivia and I hung out at the beach for about an hour and a half. Then we shared an order of spring rolls and fried rice. We took a taxi back to town so she could return to the tailor and pick up her jacket.

We arrived at the tailor and her jacket looked nice. The saleslady said "don't you regret not having something made?!" I did agree, but I just don't know what I would have had made. Maybe in the future I will return to Hoian and get something tailor-made. Olivia and I then went to a bakery and ordered some dessert and tea. It was nice to sit outside on the patio and people watch. Then we hurried back to the hotel to change and get ready for our bike ride tour. We got a taxi to the bike shop. There, our guide said we could call him Lucky. We were outfitted with bikes and helmets. My bikes seat was too tall, even when it was lowered so it was a little bit of a challenge for me. First we rode a short ways to the bay and put our bikes on a transport boat and we were ferried across to an island. Apparently this island is covered in water 2 or 3 months of the year during the rainy season! We biked around the island and saw some of the village houses. The kids there were all so cute, when they saw us they would run after us waving and yelling "hellooooo!!"

Our first stop on the island was the home of a man who made rice "wine". He had stepped on a landmine in Burma as a soldier and couldn't do fishing or farming which are the main professions of those on their island. He decided he would make alcohol instead. He showed us his little kitchen and the steps he did to make it. He also gave his piglets (in the same area as his kitchen) some of the leftover fermented rice so that he said his pigs were usually drunk! He gave a sample and apparently it was 70% proof or higher because it burned when he tried lighting it on fire!

Next we were off to a lady's home where she made rice noodles. We were able to try making them as well, if we wanted. We scooped the rice noodle batter onto a mesh tray and made into a round shape, over a fire and covered it with a lid for a few seconds. Then we added half another scoop and waited a few more seconds. Then we took a long thin stick to lift the batter now solid and voila, the rice noodle. The next step would be to chop the circle to get the noodle strands. Sometimes they bake the circular solid batter and its crispy; then they would put a fresh circle on the inside and fold it and have it as a snack-crispy and soft at the same time! After a few of us made the noodles we were served a soup with homemade noodles.

We got back on our bikes and rode back to the "port" to ferry across again. We returned to the bike shop and then everyone split up for the evening. I decided I wanted to walk around Hoian a bit more so stayed out while everyone else headed back to the hotel to freshen up and do their own thing. Olivia planned to meet me later in the evening for dinner. I scoped out the area looking for a place to eat and found one that looked good, Cafe Hai. I met Olivia at the tailor so she could pick up her coat and we then went to the restaurant. At first glance it looked like the restaurant had about 4 tables on the porch and a few tables inside. But when we asked for a table we realized that there was a lot more to the restaurant! Next came the kitchen area and bathrooms, a big waiting room (also where they would host cooking classes I believe) with some low tables and benches and then a big courtyard with at least 20 tables if not more. It was really nice. We had to wait about 5 or 10 minutes before we were seated out in the courtyard. We shared a bahn mi (sandwich) and grilled beef. Everything was delicious but service was a little bit lacking-they all seemed so overwhelmed. But it didn't affect us too much.

After dinner we browsed some of the stores and ran into Brett, Dan and Adam so we decided we'd head back to the hotel with them. We packed up as we had an early departure from Hoian in the morning.

In love with HoiAn

We had an early morning-7am to be on the sleeper bus. The sleeper bus was a neat experience though. We had to take our shoes off and put them in a plastic bag as soon as we got on the bus. The seats were decently comfortable and the back could recline almost all the way down or be propped up to a seated position. We only had a 4 hour ride to HoiAn so it wasn't too bad. We stopped at a rest area around Danang and from there it was only a short distance to HoiAn.

In HoiAn we took taxis to our hotel and had an hour to freshen up. Then we started our walking tour of the city. Phil and Kristin had already given me a heads up as this was their favorite city while they toured SE Asia, and I was in love almost immediately. We stopped at a temple for a little and I got a fried banana pancake. Our walking tour ended at a tailor shop that Bac knew and the rest of the afternoon and evening was free time.

Olivia decided she wanted to have a winter coat made so I waited as she got her measurements and talked through details with one of the workers. Then we wandered around the city taking everything in. We found a small festival going on and walked through it. We noticed they were playing some kind of Bingo/Loto game and were persuaded to buy a card and one woman offered to help us. We didn't win anything, but it was a really fun experience to do! After Loto, we went in search of dinner and found a place with a small set menu that sounded good to us. After we finished eating we were sitting and waiting for our bill when a group of some of team walked by! They waited for us and then we all walked around together. Olivia and I got another banana pancake, but it wasn't as good as the one earlier in the day.

Hue and New Years Eve

We woke around 7:30 just to be sure we were ready for our arrival to Hue. We actually arrived closer to 8:30. We got off the train and found a bus waiting for us to take us to the hotel. At the hotel we had about an hour to clean up before meeting back with the group.

First order of business in Hue was a tour of the Imperial City. Hue used to be the capitol city of Vietnam so we went into the old city to look at the old palace. It was beautiful and some of the architecture reminded me of Gyeongbok Palace in Seoul. After wandering around there, next was our motorbike tour. We were each paired with a driver, hopped on our motorbikes and were off through the countryside of Hue. It was exhilarating and a lot of fun. I had one strange mishap though; my watch fell off. I tapped my driver on the shoulder to let him know and he turned around so we could go get it. One of the other pairs saw it fall and picked it up and they gave it to me which was nice. Luckily the only damage it sustained was a few gouges on the arm but nothing too serious! We continued riding and went to a temple. We were served a 4 course vegetarian meal that was pretty delicious! After the temple, we stopped at a small market selling souvenirs and a few people tried rolling incense.

On our bikes again we drove further out and had a nice view on a big hill overlooking the Perfume River. We also drove through a cemetery. Finally our ride ended at another temple. There famous monk known for setting himself on fire,Thích Quảng Đức, was from Hue and so at this temple they had his car. 

After the temple, we rode a "dragon boat" a pontoon kind of boat with dragons carved on the front, on the Perfume River for a little. It wasn't really anything special and the people on the boat tried to sell us souvenirs. After the boat ride our bikers drove us back to the hotel. We had some more time to clean up before meeting and going to dinner. The dinner was held at a Vietnamese family's restaurant, so a nice home cooked meal. 

When we arrived, they had us try some kind of leaf to chew. It had a very bitter taste and it made your mouth turn pink! Dinner was another 5 course meal, and it was pretty good. After dinner some of us went to a bar to celebrate New Years Eve. I was able to talk more with Ryan and Katie, the couple from Canada and I really connected with them. They are the same age me. It was fun because just before midnight the staff in the bar gave sparklers to everyone and we all waved them around at midnight. 

Long Day and Sleeper Train!

This morning we had a pretty leisurely morning on the boat. They made us breakfast which was alright-they had an egg station but only made us one egg each. Now, toast on the other hand, well...I think they we excited about toasting bread because there were HEAPS of toast. Literally enough pieces for each of us to have 6 or more. It was kind of foggy in the morning so it was a little disappointing the view of Halong Bay wasn't that great. After breakfast they also showed us how to carve flowers out of vegetables and make a "carrot net" which they used as garnish on the fish they served at dinner last night. It was actually a net made out of carrot!

We met up with Bac and the 3 that didn't do the tour with us and got on our bus back to Hanoi. Again, we stopped at a rest area and had a snack/late lunch. Olivia and I split some noodles and got ice cream. I think it's funny that the food cost less than the ice cream. Once in Hanoi, Bac organized us for a food walking tour before we were to grab our overnight train. We stopped at a few stalls-one with small sandwiches, steamed rolls with different fillings, and grilled meats. He wanted to show a few other things, but some regular stalls he was familiar with weren't open because of the upcoming holiday. We returned to the hotel and Bac was great by ordering some take-away food for us to have dinner on the train. We grabbed our belongings and took the bus to the train station.

Bac assigned us sleeper cars--I was with Olivia, Jenn, and Joanne. We were also in 1st class cars, so it was only 4 people to a car. It wasn't a bad way to travel at all really. We ate our dinner and chatted. A little bit later some of the other cabins started wandering around and we visited with each other. It was a nice way to get to know each other in smaller groups. Finally around 11 we decided we'd head to bed. The beds weren't that uncomfortable and the rocking of the train helped bring on some sleep.

Halong Bay Day 2

In the morning Olivia and I went to find breakfast. Outside we ran into Bac and told him that we wanted to find a bakery. Some of the places he tried to take us to were closed because of Tet. Finally we found one and got some bread to take along for our drive to Halong Bay. We checked out of the hotel but left our bags there because we would be returning to the hotel. The bus ride wasn't too bad. Along the way we stopped at a rest area that sold artwork and souvenirs for sale, most made by handicapped workers. The rest of the way I slept until we arrived to Halong. There, our group split up because there were 2 options. The regular tour was 4 hours on a boat and staying on the mainland. The add-on option was a cruise and overnight on a boat plus kayaking and going to a cave. I decided to do the add-on as well as 12 others.

Before we got on the boat, Olivia and I bought big bottles of water. I also saw sunglasses for sale and bought a pair. We got on a small boat to take us to our overnight boat. It was quite nice inside. We were given welcome drinks and introduced to the staff on board before being showed to our rooms. Olivia and I again shared a room. We had a little bit of downtime before we were supposed to go back to the main deck for lunch. Lunch was quite extravagant and there were many courses. I sat at the "dietary restrictions" table as I didn't want to eat much seafood. I sat with Hass and Erin-Hass doesn't eat pork; Olivia-no shellfish and Claudine-no seafood. It was all very delicious though. After lunch we had some time to sit out on the deck upstairs. It wasn't cold, but it wasn't warm either. Maybe an hour later it was time for our cave adventure. Halong Bay was very similar to the rock formations I saw around Phuket. Anyway, we walked through a cave and climbed to the top for a view. It was very beautiful. I slipped on a rock and scraped my foot, but was able to get patched up back on the boat.

Shortly after our cave exploration, it was time to go kayaking. They told us not to bring cameras, but I wish I had. Anyway, we did our own kayaking, not like when I was in Phuket, so it was quite an arm workout. We went to a lagoon and saw some monkeys and paddled around for quite some time. After the kayaking, we had time to get cleaned up before dinner.

Again dinner was quite nice with many courses. The coolest one was a dish with a candle inside an onion and it was glowing! They also turned off the lights before they brought it out for a very dramatic entrance! After dinner, we all went out and sat around the deck talking and getting to know each other. It was a lot of fun and I think the group bonded. The people in our group are: Dan and Adam-friends from Perth, Australia; Hass and Erin-a young (19 &20) newly dating couple from Melbourne; Claudine, Olivia, Brett-all individuals from around Australia; Kate and Ryan-a couple from Canada; Jenn-an individual from Canada, Joanne-a Korean American and Anastasia-an individual from Ukraine but living in Maldives. The three that didn't come with were Talia and Kathrine-friends from Australia and Leigh-an individual from Australia.

Anyway, like I said we had a great time out on the deck playing games and trying to fish for squid! No luck but we did see a few swimming around.

Hanoi and Start of Tour

It felt like I had barely closed my eyes when my alarm went off in the morning. It was tough to get out of bed and it was actually pretty chilly. The day before Van had lent me a cardigan which I was very grateful for. She told me I could use it until I returned to Hanoi in a few days. Anyway, we were up and off to Hanoi by 6am. It was still dark when we left so Van felt a little sorry I didn't get to see her house in the light at all.

She dropped me off at my hotel and I went in. I was originally planning on simply dropping off my bags and wandering the city, but the lady at the front desk told me my roommate had already arrived and I could go to my room. I considered, but then realized it was 6:30 and figured she was probably still sleeping. I mentioned this and the lady said there was a room that someone had checked out of already I could go into for a little bit. I decided I would do that and thought I would fall asleep. I wasn't able to go back to sleep but it was nice to lay down. Around 8:30 they called my room and told me I should move to my room.

I was greeted by a friendly Australian named Olivia. After I arrived, she started getting ready and we both decided we would go out and explore the city together. We wandered around and tried not to get hit by the motorbikes constantly whizzing around. The trick is crossing the street-the motorbikes don't stop and there aren't really any traffic lights. You should just step out into oncoming traffic and move at a slow and steady pace. The bikes will move around you. Olivia and I wandered around and found an information center and got some tips. Then we went to find lunch, a special fish dish my friend Van recommended. Yes, I actually ordered a fish dish! It was alright. After eating, we decided to go to the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum. We consulted the map and determined our route. About halfway there we got a little bit confused and also saw a few other tourists with maps out trying to figure the way there. One was an older German couple and the man was quite friendly to us letting us use his map and brainstorming the right way. The most hilarious part was when we stopped and asked a police officer which way to go and the German man acted out "being dead" (by choking) and saying Ho Chi Minh. The policeman chuckled and pointed us in the right direction. We finally got there and realized that the mausoleum itself closed around noon so it was no longer open. Kind of a bummer, but we went to the museum right next to it. That was interesting. There were a lot of documents and strange modern artworks and not much information describing exhibits.

Next, Olivia and I walked to the Temple of Literature, which was the first "college" in Vietnam. We bought our tickets and walked in, but then were confused and unsure we were actually in the right place. I looked again at the ticket name and it didn't have the same name as we were expecting, but I looked it up and we were in the right place. We walked through there-it was almost more a park than anything else, with a few buildings, but this was from a long, long time ago.

We returned towards the Old City area and stopped at a cafe. I got a water and a delicious carrot cake muffin. It felt good to finally sit since we had been on the go and walking all day. We got a bit turned around looking for our hotel, but finally found it and had about an hour to relax before our group meeting.

At the meeting we met everyone else to be on our tour. In total we are 16; 10 of them are from Australia, 3 from Canada, 1 from Ukraine but living in Maldives, another Korean American and myself. We met our guide, Bac and were given the rundown on our trip. The hardest part to deal with is the Lunar New Year which was starting during the middle of our trip. In Vietnamese, Tet, is the biggest holiday for them. It caused us to not get sleeper trains for 2 nights that we were supposed to meaning a few days would be spent on buses instead of in cities. After the meeting, we had a group dinner, and it was nice to chat with some of the others.

Hanoi, Vietnam!

I woke up suuuper early to catch my 8am flight to Hanoi. On the way to the airport I realized I forgot my sunglasses at home which was a bit of a bummer. I arrived at the airport and was greeted with a GIGANTIC line for check-in; it wrapped around and around. I tried to find someone to ask about a check-in spot if I wasn't going to check my luggage but couldn't find anyone plus I didn't want to loose my spot in line. When I finally got close enough to talk to someone she pointed me to another spot where I could check-in with my carry-on bag. There was also a line there, but it didn't take too long. The next giant line was for going through security. I tried to skip ahead because it was close to 30 minutes before boarding, but the security guy declined me. So I stood in line and skyped with Mom and Grandpa! :) I was getting a little worried about timing, but managed to get through alright. My gate was close to security and it was so late that I just walked right onto the plane. Yikes!

The plane ride was rather uneventful. I watched the movie "Fury" which was a World War II movie and kind of depressing. Luckily I found a second movie, "Hector and the search for Happiness" which was a bit uplifting and entertaining. I enjoyed it a lot. We landed finally and then it was time to get my visa and get through customs. It was a little bit of waiting but not too bad. Outside, there was a guy waiting with my name on paper to take me in a taxi to my Vietnamese friend Van's workplace. Once I got in the taxi he called her and I talked with her on the phone. She said it should take about an hour to get there and let her know again when I arrived. It was cloudy and drizzling a bit but it was still warmer than Seoul. It felt humid as well. We arrived at Van's work in about 30 minutes so when I called her again she told me to wait for her. She arrived a few minutes later on her scooter/motorbike and took me to get lunch. She had to go back to work and I stayed at the restaurant. I ordered a pork dish with rice and soup for a grand total of $2.5! Crazy!

Van returned to pick me up and we went to a market. Her cousin has a shop stall and she needed to get some things. We shopped around there a little bit and then hopped on her scooter to visit her grandpa for a little bit. He was very cute and served us some tea. Finally we headed to her mentor's hotel. (Her mentor is on the leadership board at Mount Mary) So I met Regine and we rested in her hotel room for a little bit and then headed to a restaurant Van liked. We met one of Van's friends there as well. The four of us enjoyed our Valentine's dinner together. The restaurant is owned by a famous singer in Vietnam. Her husband, also a musician is the main cook. They have a regular menu but also a special so we did the special. The first course was salad, followed by pate, next a duck liver, a beef and onion dish. We were also served copious amounts of delicious homemade french bread. Since I wasn't a fan of pate or liver, I ate a lot of bread. The singer and her husband both sang a few songs-they have a little stage in the restaurant so that was fun. After dinner we returned Regine to her hotel and then Van and I headed to her house.

The unfortunate thing was that Regine and Van were traveling to another city the following day and had to catch a bus at 7am. That meant I had to be up around 5 to be dropped off.

Her house was really nice, but a bit outside of Hanoi. Only her dad was awake when we arrived, since it was going on midnight.

6th Graders Graduate

Work was pretty simple today. Around 10:30 we went to the Eunpyeong Cultural center right across the street from school to see the graduation ceremony. I went over with Sangji, but she had to leave to attend her Mom's retirement celebration. It was hard to say goodbye to her. I watched the ceremony and felt a little bit sad. It was very bittersweet to see my 6th graders graduate. I was proud of them and will miss them since I've been with them for so long. After the ceremony I said goodbye to some of the students as they walked out. Then we had a staff lunch and got coffee to chat before returning to school.

Back at school i had to move my office from my cozy 2nd floor back to the main subject teacher's office. I was a little crabby about that-I really liked having the small space and the location right next to the ER. It didn't take too long to move my things upstairs and then I organized my desk. We were able to leave work early, so around 4pm I headed home.

Just a Thursday

Work passed slowly, but I had a tea-talking time with my COTs in the afternoon. At lunchtime, I ran to a bank to exchange KRW to USD and VND (they couldn't do Cambodian money). The best part of lunch were the strawberries, yum!

After work, I was supposed to meet Bohye for dinner in Hongdae, but she sent me a message yesterday saying she hurt her foot and wasn't sure she could make it. I offered to travel to Bucheon to meet with her, but she wasn't up for walking around too much. A little bit of a bummer because I was looking forward to hearing about her mission trip to the Philippines and tell her about my Mom's visit! Instead, I had dinner at home and did final preparing and packing for my trip!

Surprise Visitor and class

Work was nothing special. I did find out a few things that will affect me for next (school) year. My 6th grade COT will stay the same, my 4th grade COT will become my 5th grade COT (and teach one 6th grade class, like last time) and I will have a new 4th grade COT; she was the homeroom teacher of 6-6 (6th grade class). There will be a new 3rd grade teacher coming to the school as well, but she won't be my COT. Another thing is that I am being asked to go back up to the subject teachers office. I'm not too excited about moving and having to go to that office space. I really enjoy my office and it's quite comfortable; it's right next door to the English Room and I only share it with one other teacher. We don't have to pay for any of the extras that the subject teachers pay into (coffee, tea, water) and we can clean our office as we feel comfortable. I remember several occasions where I would be working and all of a sudden everyone got up and opened the windows and started moving stuff around to clean. Anyway, all that to say, I did request to stay and am waiting to hear back from the Principal.

The highlight of my day was a visit from 3 of my 6th grade students from last year. :) It was sweet of them to drop by, but they were doing their rounds of teacher visiting. I hope more come by! A little later in the afternoon the 3 returned with 2 other girls. We spoke in broken English and Korean together.

After work I stopped at the post office before heading downtown. I wanted to get a few gifts for people before class. I wanted to go to the bibimbap place for dinner, but they were closed for the upcoming holidays. Bummer. I ended up going to the kimbap shop that I've stopped at a few other times before and ordered a bibimbap there. It was pretty good, but I was craving the other one.

Class was a little bit rugged, but not too bad. I was expecting to take the level test, but I didn't have to take it. It was only for those students who were hoping to advance to the next level (Intermediate 3); I'm still finishing the textbook so it's part 2 of Intermediate 2. It was a relief not to take the test and it wouldn't have mattered because I know I wouldn't have passed. Just gives me more of a reason to study outside of class (which I did a little at work today!)

I was able to leave class a little bit early which was nice because I needed to get laundry done. The hard thing about not having a dryer is planning on doing laundry a few days in advance so everything is dry for packing!

Some cute 7th graders

Bibimbap and side dishes