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.
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
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!
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!
Tuesday, July 21, 2015
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.
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.
Monday, July 20, 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, July 19, 2015
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.
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.
Saturday, July 18, 2015
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.
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.
Friday, July 10, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
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.
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.
Wednesday, July 8, 2015
Korean Class
Just a typical day with my 4th grade cuties. I have one more week (class) with them next week.
After work, it was to the post office and home to get my Korean books before going to class. It was the first class of the new session. We had to make introductions and everyone kind of "awed" in amazement when I said I was an English teacher. Class was alright; I have all of the answers in the book because I am retaking this class.
After work, it was to the post office and home to get my Korean books before going to class. It was the first class of the new session. We had to make introductions and everyone kind of "awed" in amazement when I said I was an English teacher. Class was alright; I have all of the answers in the book because I am retaking this class.
Tuesday, July 7, 2015
The Vault
One of the last "Terrible Tuesdays"! They really aren't so terrible these days, just very long days.
After work, I headed to Hongdae to meet up with some adoptees. Orjan had invited me to join some other adoptees he had met to do a kind of "game night" at the Vault. I'll go into the concept in a bit. There was Michael, Ashley, Kjersti, Philip, Orjan and me. First we met up and decided what to have for dinner. Michael, the one organizing the event said he wanted Chinese but didn't really know any place around there. I knew of a restaurant so I led the way. Most of us ordered jjajangmyeon, the noodles and black bean sauce dish.
We finished dinner and headed to the Vault. A few more members joined us there; Gordon (an adoptee from Canada I had met a few years ago at Thanksgiving) Pat, and Hee. There were 2 different "rooms" to choose to play. One was more mission impossible inspired with laser lights and the task of "stealing" a diamond and getting out of the room. The other was just more a mental challenge with clues to figure out how to get out of that room. We split into different teams as there were 9 of us. I headed to the mission impossible inspired room. We were given 45 minutes to try and figure it out. At 30 minutes they came and asked if we wanted a clue and gave us a hint. It did not help us and we were not successful in stealing the diamond! The other group doing the mental task did not have any luck in getting out of their room either. It was still a fun experience though.
Next, some people wanted to try the new grapefruit flavored soju. We went in search of somewhere to have it and saw a bbq restaurant quite close with advertising for it. Inside, we were told we couldn't just order drinks, so we got a small order of meat to share with everyone. It was a fun time eating, drinking and chatting with new friends. We stayed pretty late, but I was able to catch the last subway home!
After work, I headed to Hongdae to meet up with some adoptees. Orjan had invited me to join some other adoptees he had met to do a kind of "game night" at the Vault. I'll go into the concept in a bit. There was Michael, Ashley, Kjersti, Philip, Orjan and me. First we met up and decided what to have for dinner. Michael, the one organizing the event said he wanted Chinese but didn't really know any place around there. I knew of a restaurant so I led the way. Most of us ordered jjajangmyeon, the noodles and black bean sauce dish.
We finished dinner and headed to the Vault. A few more members joined us there; Gordon (an adoptee from Canada I had met a few years ago at Thanksgiving) Pat, and Hee. There were 2 different "rooms" to choose to play. One was more mission impossible inspired with laser lights and the task of "stealing" a diamond and getting out of the room. The other was just more a mental challenge with clues to figure out how to get out of that room. We split into different teams as there were 9 of us. I headed to the mission impossible inspired room. We were given 45 minutes to try and figure it out. At 30 minutes they came and asked if we wanted a clue and gave us a hint. It did not help us and we were not successful in stealing the diamond! The other group doing the mental task did not have any luck in getting out of their room either. It was still a fun experience though.
Next, some people wanted to try the new grapefruit flavored soju. We went in search of somewhere to have it and saw a bbq restaurant quite close with advertising for it. Inside, we were told we couldn't just order drinks, so we got a small order of meat to share with everyone. It was a fun time eating, drinking and chatting with new friends. We stayed pretty late, but I was able to catch the last subway home!
Monday, July 6, 2015
Bohye!
Work felt a little bit overwhelming. I met with my coteacher to discuss summer camp. She has revamped it from how I did it last year; changing things from the textbook to class schedule. It's not a problem, but it's a bit of an adjustment and more planning required.
After work I stopped at home before going to meet Bohye. We picked Sindorim. I actually abhor this subway station when trying to transfer, but just leaving the station isn't a big deal. It's the station from hell because line 1 and 2 (biggest lines) meet here and its heavy foot traffic and is pretty crazy. Outside the station, they have a beautiful park surrounding the whole area. There are benches built up stadium style with some sections that have reclined seats. It's quite nice. We decided to go to Charles Kimbap and thought getting it to go would be really fun so we could eat in the park. The weather was pretty nice for being outside too. We ate and were talking about my Mom when Bohye mentioned that KakaoTalk (the messenger service that all Koreans use) had a new update and it included video calls! So, we decided to try it out and called Mom. It was a fun surprise and I got to see little Chev. After the call, we walked around the park a little bit. The sun was setting and the sky was an absolutely beautiful coral pink color. I tried snapping some pictures with my phone, but they could not capture the actual color well. We were getting ready to part ways because Bohye has gaya-gum (a traditional Korean instrument) lessons early in the morning, but she wanted to find the piano staircase. So we went in search of that in the station. There are about 10 steps that are wired and light up, when you step on them, they play a note. She and I had fun running up and down the steps for a little. She played "Mary had a little lamb".
We parted ways and I contacted Orjan to see what he was up to. We agreed to meet in Jongno and headed to Koba to get a drink. It was good to see Mr. Lee and Orjan was able to sign the wall and drew the flag from Norway. We had a nice time talking together.
After work I stopped at home before going to meet Bohye. We picked Sindorim. I actually abhor this subway station when trying to transfer, but just leaving the station isn't a big deal. It's the station from hell because line 1 and 2 (biggest lines) meet here and its heavy foot traffic and is pretty crazy. Outside the station, they have a beautiful park surrounding the whole area. There are benches built up stadium style with some sections that have reclined seats. It's quite nice. We decided to go to Charles Kimbap and thought getting it to go would be really fun so we could eat in the park. The weather was pretty nice for being outside too. We ate and were talking about my Mom when Bohye mentioned that KakaoTalk (the messenger service that all Koreans use) had a new update and it included video calls! So, we decided to try it out and called Mom. It was a fun surprise and I got to see little Chev. After the call, we walked around the park a little bit. The sun was setting and the sky was an absolutely beautiful coral pink color. I tried snapping some pictures with my phone, but they could not capture the actual color well. We were getting ready to part ways because Bohye has gaya-gum (a traditional Korean instrument) lessons early in the morning, but she wanted to find the piano staircase. So we went in search of that in the station. There are about 10 steps that are wired and light up, when you step on them, they play a note. She and I had fun running up and down the steps for a little. She played "Mary had a little lamb".
We parted ways and I contacted Orjan to see what he was up to. We agreed to meet in Jongno and headed to Koba to get a drink. It was good to see Mr. Lee and Orjan was able to sign the wall and drew the flag from Norway. We had a nice time talking together.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Returning from Blog Hiatus and Return from Singapore
Wow, it's been over 2 months since I've posted an entry! I kept thinking about doing it, but the past few months have been so busy! First, with my Mom's visit and then planning for my best friend Lilly's visit and finally my trip to Singapore with lots of preplanning. All of that required my extra time and so blog was pushed aside. I will work on updating posts, working from present to mid-March when I last posted. Yikes! Hopefully pictures will follow, but...who knows.
Today was a tough day to come back to work. After a nice 3 day weekend spent in Singapore I was greeted with my longest teaching day. The good news is the 3 remaining work days are all pretty easy.
After work I did some errands and worked out. It has suddenly become hot here in Korea; we hit mid 80s for the high. While I love the sun and heat, going for a run in this weather was quite discouraging so I decided to do some other exercises in my room instead of a normal run.
Today was a tough day to come back to work. After a nice 3 day weekend spent in Singapore I was greeted with my longest teaching day. The good news is the 3 remaining work days are all pretty easy.
After work I did some errands and worked out. It has suddenly become hot here in Korea; we hit mid 80s for the high. While I love the sun and heat, going for a run in this weather was quite discouraging so I decided to do some other exercises in my room instead of a normal run.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Travel Day
My flight out of Singapore was scheduled for 1:20am. The flight was delayed because of bad weather in Hong Kong. When I finally boarded the plane, I immediately fell asleep. When I woke, maybe an hour and a half later there was a boxed meal on my tray. Inside, an egg sandwich, an orange juice, kitkat bar and some fruit. I ate some of the food and possibly watched a movie (unfortunately I can't remember...)
We landed in Hong Kong a little bit later than scheduled, which was fine with my connecting flight time. I transferred and then took a nap by the gate. We boarded and I fell asleep again right after getting on the plane. This time, my nap was a little bit shorter, maybe 30 minutes long and again, they were just serving the inflight meal. I picked a chicken rice porridge which wasn't that great. I watched part of the new Planet of the Apes movie, but missed the last 20 some minutes because there wasn't enough time.
Finally back on Korean soil, I went through customs and traveled home. I was tempted to lay down and sleep, but seeing as it was around 2pm didn't think it would be the best idea. Instead I unpacked, did laundry and cleaned my room a bit. I then went through my photos on my computer and finally went to get some kimbap for dinner. I watched one of the last new Doctor Who episodes with dinner and decided to go to bed early-it was around 9pm when I was ready for bed.
We landed in Hong Kong a little bit later than scheduled, which was fine with my connecting flight time. I transferred and then took a nap by the gate. We boarded and I fell asleep again right after getting on the plane. This time, my nap was a little bit shorter, maybe 30 minutes long and again, they were just serving the inflight meal. I picked a chicken rice porridge which wasn't that great. I watched part of the new Planet of the Apes movie, but missed the last 20 some minutes because there wasn't enough time.
Finally back on Korean soil, I went through customs and traveled home. I was tempted to lay down and sleep, but seeing as it was around 2pm didn't think it would be the best idea. Instead I unpacked, did laundry and cleaned my room a bit. I then went through my photos on my computer and finally went to get some kimbap for dinner. I watched one of the last new Doctor Who episodes with dinner and decided to go to bed early-it was around 9pm when I was ready for bed.
Sunday, May 24, 2015
Walked All Over
This morning, I woke when I heard Michelle's alarm go off around 7 or so. We all woke super groggy. She took off around 8:30 and then called me shortly after. She didn't have enough change to take the MRT to the airport and the taxi would take any card BUT a Visa...I went downstairs to lend her some cash and said goodbye again.
Back up in the room, Ryan and I got ready to visit the pool one more time. It was nice because I forgot to take pictures of the amazing infinity pool in the daylight (the night time photos are pretty spectacular, but I wanted to have some from the day as well). We spent about an hour up in the pool and hot tub before heading back to the room to clean up and check out. After check out we split ways as he was heading on to Hong Kong to visit a friend. But he will come visit Korea on Friday after he stops in Taiwan.
I had made a tentative schedule for Sunday before I came, but after yesterdays schedule was a little bit different than what we had planned originally and because I was a few hours after what I had envisioned I decided to improvise a bit. So first stop was the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens were really beautiful. The sun came out and it was really starting to get hot-the big thing on my mind was the beautiful infinity pool on top of the hotel that was towering over the gardens. I spent about an hour wandering around there.
Next I wanted to see the Merlion Park. As I was walking, I thought about what to have for lunch. I ended up just kind of wandering around through some of the different neighborhoods with no real plan set. I wanted to see whatever I could. I went through a couple different malls and stopped by the Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling originated from. I wandered through Little India and saw the Arab quarter as well. Most of the afternoon and evening was spent on my feet walking, walking.
Around 9 or so I headed to the airport for my 1am flight. I checked in and waited to board the plane. Super tired, feet sore, but another country checked on my list and some great memories made!
Back up in the room, Ryan and I got ready to visit the pool one more time. It was nice because I forgot to take pictures of the amazing infinity pool in the daylight (the night time photos are pretty spectacular, but I wanted to have some from the day as well). We spent about an hour up in the pool and hot tub before heading back to the room to clean up and check out. After check out we split ways as he was heading on to Hong Kong to visit a friend. But he will come visit Korea on Friday after he stops in Taiwan.
I had made a tentative schedule for Sunday before I came, but after yesterdays schedule was a little bit different than what we had planned originally and because I was a few hours after what I had envisioned I decided to improvise a bit. So first stop was the Gardens by the Bay. The Gardens were really beautiful. The sun came out and it was really starting to get hot-the big thing on my mind was the beautiful infinity pool on top of the hotel that was towering over the gardens. I spent about an hour wandering around there.
Next I wanted to see the Merlion Park. As I was walking, I thought about what to have for lunch. I ended up just kind of wandering around through some of the different neighborhoods with no real plan set. I wanted to see whatever I could. I went through a couple different malls and stopped by the Long Bar, where the Singapore Sling originated from. I wandered through Little India and saw the Arab quarter as well. Most of the afternoon and evening was spent on my feet walking, walking.
Around 9 or so I headed to the airport for my 1am flight. I checked in and waited to board the plane. Super tired, feet sore, but another country checked on my list and some great memories made!
Sunday, March 15, 2015
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.
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.
Saturday, March 14, 2015
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.
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.
Friday, March 13, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
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!
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!
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
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.
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.
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