i love lamp!

I know, I know, you don't have to tell me, it has been awhile since my last blog! So sorry, everyone, but hopefully this will make up for it! My last week and a half since I have written have seemed to fly by! Mainly I've been busy with school, which has been getting a lot better; but my weekends have been where all the action has been. So instead of writing a few pages worth of every detail, I've decided to highlight my last two weekends in pictures. I think pictures will be able to capture the moments better than my words can!
Ok, so this last weekend, Adam, Trena, Morgan, and I took part in "An Amazing Race" similar to the reality tv show, minus the cameras and prize money. 15 teams of 4 basically had a huge scavenger hunt all over Seoul. We had to solve certain riddles and get to different landmarks. At each point judges were waiting for us. We had to answer a trivia question about Korea and also do a "challenge," ie- walking blindfolded, hackey sack, shouting loud in a park...Along the way we also had other opportunities to gain points (all documented on camera, of course.) It was a great way to explore the city and a great time as well. The race didn't leave us too much time to explore, but now we all have ideas of places to go to again and actually spend some time at. Our team, "I Love Lamp" placed 9th out of 15... You could say our team had "An Amazing Stroll" to say the least, but it was a pace well suited for a team who gets easily distracted!

Here we are at one of our checkpoints during the race. In our clue envelopes we were given photos of places to find. Then we had to find that place and take a photo too. This is an entryway to a park, whose name I forgot already. Notice the great green duct taped lamps on our shirts??

Here is a pot of boiling beondegi (silkworms). The literal Korean translation means "chrysalis" or "pupa." These are popular snacks sold on many corners by street vendors. If you are up for a tasty treat then 500 won(50cents) will get you a dixie cup full. I guess these snacks are popular among children and older generations. Back when Korea was going through it's war it was a very very poor country. I'm assuming this was a popular and cheap way to get protein at that time that has just stuck.

Yep, you guessed it... a mission for the Amazing Race! I thought you might appreciate the before and after pictures! I wasn't sure if I wanted to take one for the team or not, but I'm a team player so I had to!

It wasn't that bad...really! Actually, it tasted like you were eating grass... gross grass. Grass with silkworm pupas in them, yeah that's it! Yep, it was disgusting!

Our scavenger hunt ended at a huge fish market! It was amazing! This picture doesn't even capture the immensity of the market. Anything you could ever imagine coming out of the sea, plus things I never even knew existed were here! Most of it was live too...crabs, fish, octopus, squid, mussels, sea cucumbers. The people were constantly moving around, rearranging their fish. People are everywhere bargaining and buying. The floor is constantly wet from melting ice. Lets just say I definitely smelled like fish when I got home!

Now skip back a weekend. Here we are at the St. Patty's day festival in Hyehwa. It was impressive! Live Irish music, leprechauns, free samples of Guinness and Baileys, food stands, kids games, street vendors and tons of people! I guess I wasn't expecting Korea to get down with an Irish holiday in such a big way! It was kind of weird though, because when we walked off the subway onto the street it was almost like we weren't in Korea anymore, there were so many foreigners around. In a way it was nice, but I almost didn't like it! I have been getting used to seeing so many Korean people that it is almost a shock to see someone similar to you! A lot of the foreigners here are from Canada. I have also met a few from England, New Zealand, and even Ireland!

Here is a picture of the Banner that greets you as you walk into the festival.

So there it is... a quick photo recap of my last week and a half! I'm still waiting on a paycheck which comes April 10. I have 30 dollars to last me til then. After my payday I am planning on doing some more exploring outside of Seoul, because then I will be able to afford it! And as I said earlier in one of my blogs, I am still eating kimbop almost everyday! At least I'm not sick of it yet! Ok, well, I will end saying I have good intentions of blogging a little more faithfully, but we will see... Hope all is well back in your part of the world!

gorilla in the kitchen

aren't they the cutest kids?????

I smell like children! At school today I kept sniffing myself because I thought maybe I smelled funny. I couldn't figure it out though... finally it hit me, I smell like children! At the end of the day I feel like I come home looking nothing like I did in the morning when I left home. I am dirty and wrinkled, my hair is a mess and I probably have kinder-boogers all over me! Maybe that is a sign that I am a good teacher, who knows! I have to laugh though because anyone who went to college with me knows how much I really wanted to teach middle school. I still want to do that someday, but I am really enjoying being a kindergarten teacher! My kids are so cute and really smart. Most of these kids do not know any English at all, but some know a little. One kid asked me the other day, "Teacher, did you get a perm?" My mouth dropped open when he said that! It really is amazing to see how much kids absorb!

Today was actually my most frustrating day of teaching yet, but I am still optimistic because I know they are so young and they can't understand most of the things I am saying. None of my kids seemed to have a good attention span at all today! I couldn't get them to sit down, none of them would stand up, they just seemed to be going off the wall. On top of all the lack of concentration, I had a kid puke all over himself today, another one needed me to wipe his butt, one almost cut his tongue with the scissors, and I have two little girls that cry most of the day! There was a point in time today that I just said ok, just play...I didn't know what else to do! I had to collect my thoughts and rethink how I was going to handle my class, but let me tell you, it was soooo tempting to think about giving them an "all day" recess. After lunch the day went a lot better, but man, it was a rough day today!

Let's see, this week has flown by! On Tuesday, Trena and I went to the gym to take our first aerobics class. The class was called Power Jam so I just figured it was some high impact aerobics class. Well, when we got there we met our 3 instructors. They were probably the most beautiful Korean girls I have seen yet, all dressed in the latest hip hop gear! As soon as I walked in the class I knew I was doomed! I have no sense of rhythm whatsoever and when our class warm up seemed like it came straight out of an MTV video I knew this was going to be one of the longest hours ever. First of all, all the instructions were in Korean, which was to be expected, but I didn't expect the little granny in front of me to be better than I was, which she was! Needless to say, the music was great and I got a good laugh at myself in the mirror (and I'm sure all the macho men lifting weights in the area surrounding our studio got a good laugh as well). Next was Max's Kickboxing class. I decided to stay for that because I still needed a workout. The class was awesome! I only stayed in for the first half though. I ended up pulling a muscle or something in my foot. The past few days I have barely been able to walk on it! I feel pretty silly at school because I have been limping around.

Since I needed to give my foot a rest, Adam and I took a day off from the gym yesterday. Yesterday also was White Day, so we decided to splurge. White Day is a funny Korean holiday... On Valentine's Day women confess their love to their husbands, boyfriends, or even a man that doesn't know she likes him. They give chocolate and gifts, similar to our Valentine's Day in the states. On White Day, a month later, it is the man's turn to reciprocate to the woman. He gives her candy, gifts or takes her out in return. It was crazy to see all the stores that had huge displays of candy on the sidewalk. Since Jason isn't here I thought it would be nice if Adam gave his favorite roomate some candy, but no, I wasn't so lucky. I did, however, get a nice box of amazing chocolates and a cute little "I love you" note from a boy in my class! Since Adam and I skipped out on the gym we decided to go out for dinner. We picked a place in Apujong, the really really rich part of Seoul, that we walk by every night on the way to the gym. It is called Gorilla in the Kitchen and it is awesome! The ambiance was great and so was the food. I got black pepper chicken and black rice. It was so good! It is hard to just find grilled chicken breast here so this was a nice treat! After dinner we grabbed a coffee and had some tiramisu. It was actually a really nice way to veg out in the middle of the week. And Jason, you can still send me some candy for White Day, I don't mind if it is late! hahaha!

Plans for the weekend are up in the air, we are going to celebrate St. Patrick's Day in some way or another, but I think a parade will be involved! Also, another random thing I noticed about Korea: when you lock the door you turn the key left, not right like you would in the States. It is not righty tighty, lefty loosey. It is left to leave, right to return. I know that is random, but it still strikes me as odd everytime I unlock the door!

so i forgot something...

I forgot to post pictures in my last blog, sorry! Here are some from this weekend!


Trena, Jade, and Jasmine. It was soooo cold outside!

Hmm... octopus! This was my first bite!

This is how the octopus was served. There is a little grill under this big dish. It cooks while you eat your appetizers and when it is ready the server comes and cuts it up with a scissors so you can eat it. It is funny because nobody uses knives here, everything is cut with scissors! The dish was basically octopus, onions, and a spicy red sauce. I ate mine with a bowl of rice. Very tasty, but no onions for me!

This is a picture Adam took of one of the little convenience stores on our way to the gym. There is usually a ton of fresh produce sitting outside the store. I thought it was a nice picture.

familiarity in a land of so many things unfamiliar

I'm sitting here on Sunday morning with my cup of coffee, looking out my balcony window feeling very content. I really am starting to feel at home. Not just because my apartment is finally almost unpacked and clean, but because I am starting to see familiarity in a land of so many things unfamiliar. I'm starting to recognize things in my neighborhood, I'm learning the names of all the different parts of Seoul, pronunciation of words doesn't seem quite so difficult, and I actually am learning how to navigate the huge subway system here! I think what really struck me though was running into someone I knew while riding the subway last night. Obviously it wasn't someone that I knew really well, it was a teacher from Sullivan School the previous year, but how random is it that in an area of 18million people (Seoul and its outlying cities) I would see someone familiar on the exact same train car that I was on!

Ok, enough with the subway rusings... I have officially completed my first week of teaching! This week has been hard work, I have been told that the first month will be the hardest, but I am optimistic because that means there are only three weeks left of my first month! There is still so much to be done when it comes to establishing routines in the classroom, both for myself and the children, lesson planning, figuring out what materials I have to work with, and maintaining a comfortable classroom environment. Since I have 4 year old kindergarten, most of my week was spent establishing rule routines and playing so the kids felt comfortable in my classroom. As of Friday I still have one little girl that bursts into horrible sobs if I even look in her general direction. Two others only cry once in a while, and the rest are very, very energetic and adorable children. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow because I know that it will be almost like starting over again, reinforcing the rules that everyone forgot and making sure the children are comfortable in my presence! However, anyone who has taught knows the importance of sticking to your boundaries and establishing routines and rules in the classroom. I know all the repetition will be my saving grace in a month or so!

School has kept me almost completely occupied this week! After school Adam, Trena, and I have been going to the gym. By the time we get home there is no time for anything else. Starting tomorrow we will be going at 6am so we have our nights free after school. This weekend I got a chance to explore more of Seoul. On Friday most of our staff met and went out to Itaewon, which is a part of Seoul close to the army base and is known for all the foreigners that hang out there. We went to watch a band play and continued to go "out on the town," if you will. I guess Saturday nights are much busier than Friday nights, so I don't think we truly experienced the crowded craziness of an Itaewon night. The bars don't have a closing time so the time passes very quickly. We were all dancing and having fun and when I looked at my watch it was 4am! By the time we took a cab home (and got lost on the way) it was almost 6am! Let's just say it was a good time!

I made a new friend! Adam and I were so fortunate to get an apartment that was stocked with so many things for us, but we never expected a friend to come with the apartment! One day I answered the phone and a girl, Jade, was calling looking for Sonya, the lady who used to live here. She had just left that day so I was telling Jade that we had just moved in. We got to talking but since it was the first day in our new apartment I told her to call back another time so we could talk again. A few days ago she called back and we made plans for Saturday night. Adam and I were very excited because we both want to make Korean friends, not just foreigners. Trena came along too and we ended up meeting Jade in Hongdae, which is a very artsy area of Seoul right by some big universities (think Uptown for all you Minneapolis people.) We actually figured out the subway by ourselves. We accidentally started off going the long way on the subway line so we were a little late, but we did make it! Jade is an amazing girl! She speaks great English and knows a lot about the area. She is more than happy to help us with our Korean skills and answer all of our questions. Last night was so bitterly cold that we didn't get too much of a chance to explore Hongdae, which is kind of unfortunate because there are so many cool shops and street vendors, live music bars, and good art everywhere! We ended up going to a restaurant that only served octopus and squid! At first I was a little leary about trying them, but they were delicious!! They were both cooked, not raw, so I think that helped a lot! I'm not so sure how I feel about eating raw octopus! After dinner we grabbed some coffee and then headed home. Jade doesn't drink and she loves to explore so I am happy to find a friend who wants to do other things besides drink here! I am looking forward to hanging out with her again!

Other than that, not too much else has been happening. I did finally realize that I have been going up and down the wrong side of the stairs the whole time I have been here! The other night some man looked at me really crazy and said something in Korean, which I'm assuming was something along the lines of, "get on your own side!" There are so many people everywhere it is hard to pick a "side" sometimes. I did see arrows marking which way to go up and down, which is opposite than in the states! We go up and down on the left here! I know it's a small observation but it still struck me funny!

Sorry for the long blog, I know it has been awhile since I have written. At the end of my day I usually have so much to write about but no energy left! I will try and do better next week. I hope everyone has a great week!

jasmine-teacher

Here is the gym Adam, Trena, and I joined. Formely known as California Fitness, it is now appropriately named California Wow Experience!

As I write this, I am saluting all of my previous teachers... wow did they have a lot of work cut out for them!! I was always told the first few years of teaching will be your hardest, until you get into your groove. Today is only my second day and I am exhausted! I think that my job may be a little harder at the moment because none of my kids speak any English! I am teaching the Koala Class, which is 4 year old kindergarten. This is the first time most of the kids have ever set foot in a school and today I had three kids cry all day! On top of my kindergarten class I am also teaching 4 after school classes until 6:30 every day! I know that once I get my routines figured out, straighten out my school books and basically get organized things will get much easier! Needless to say, I have been consumed by school lately. Also, I think it is cute that all the kids call me, "Jasmine teacher." In Korean it is respectful to refer to your teacher by their name and then the korean word for teacher after it. In English this literally comes out as Jasmine-teacher. Some of the kids will say Ms. Jasmine, but most don't. It is better than Ms. Hetfeld, I guess!

Adam, Trena (another teacher from school), and I joined a gym! It is absolutely amazing! I have worked at a few gyms and this is by far the best one I have ever seen. It is like something you would see in the movies. It is 5 floors, with rows upon rows of exercise equipment (and really good looking people using the equipment too!) The picture I put up is of the outside of the gym at night. You can also check out their link here: http://www.californiawowx.co.kr Since I quit working at the gym in Merrill I have gained a few pounds so I am hoping to lose it again while I am in Korea. I think it will be possible too, because already I have noticed that my diet is much healthier here. I am eating a lot more vegetables and rice. I haven't had much meat or bread, and I haven't even really touched potatoes since I have been here! Drinking is a big part of the culture here and I have heard that many teachers gain weight when they are here because they drink so much! I, however, am hoping to avoid getting sucked into that part of the culture!

Despite the fact that school and working out have been taking up most of my time lately, I am still trying my best to explore the city! This weekend will probably be some sort of cheap exploration of a different part of Seoul. I am living off of about a hundred dollars until April because that is when we get our first paycheck! Luckily, Adam and I have found a great place to eat that is only 2,000 won per meal (about $2.00). We are both broke so we have been eating Kimbop! Basically it is rice rolled in a seaweed wrapper with different things inside. I like tuna kimbop the best. I haven't seen any kimbop with raw fish in it so I think all the meat in it might be cooked, if you even want meat at all. I also really like Mandu, which is a steamed dumpling that can be filled with different things; like kimchi, meat, spinach, etc.

So, that's me at the moment: broke, living off of kimbop, busy with school, (missing a certain someone) but happy! It feels good to be finally doing something that I have been wanting to do for a while. My next quest is to convince Jason to get a job here next year! Ok, hope all is well with everyone else. Feel free to send me donations! hahaha!

Thank you, Mr. Van Straten

I am happy to say that I finally have some pics to post for you all to see! The wonderful images you are about to view are courtesy of Adam, since I still don't have a camera to take pictures with. I have so much to write about, but it took so long to post these pics and I have to get up early tomorrow so a longer blog will come tomorrow, I promise. But for now, sit back, relax, and live vicariously through the images you are about to view! I will post more pictures tomorrow too. Enjoy!

Here is the tiny potty in my classroom! Isn't it cute? Notice the shower head? All bathrooms in Korea have one, and that is how you shower. Everything is tiled and you shower without a curtain and everything gets wet. It's definitely different, but it does make cleaning the bathroom a lot easier. And no, just in case you were wondering, my kindergarteners do not take showers here at school! (And neither do I, for that matter!)

This is part of our first meal in Korea. Adam and I had no idea what to order, nor how to eat it! These are just the main appetizers that come with basically every traditional Korean meal. On the left is kimchi, the red cubes on the right are some type of radish, and I really don't know what any of the other things are yet, but they are all pretty good!

Here is a view of Seoul from the top of the Seoul Tower. Keep in mind that this is only part of the view, the city spreads out all the way around the tower. It is an amazing view!

Here is all the luggage Adam and I brought with us (and I am proud to say that I only brought two suitcases and Adam brought 4! hahaha) On the right you will see two weary travelers at 5:40 a.m. waiting for our ride to pick us up at the airport (and not trying to get scammed by any more taxi drivers!)

One week in!

Well, Adam and I have officially lived in South Korea for a week! Some times a week seems to fly by, but this weeks seems to have lasted a long time! I have to say that so far I am thoroughly enjoying living here in Seoul. The feeling of sensory overload still remains, but it is gradually subsiding. Even though it has only been a week, hearing and saying words has become a little easier. So far I only know a few words, hi, bye, thank you, water... basic words. Reading the characters however is a different story. I know with practice it will just become easier! I think next week I am going to start taking free Korean lessons at the city hall.

Adam and I finally got to move into our apartment! I have to say that it is amazing. Most people living in Seoul live in a little studio apartment, and a small one at that (think college dorm size). We were fortunate enough to live in what Koreans call a villa. It is basically a big apartment. We have one bedroom and one living room and a fairly spacious kitchen and bathroom. Adam is living in the bedroom and I made the living room my room. Each room has a wall of opaque sliding glass doors, mine actually has two walls that way. One of my sliding doors leads to the hallway and the other leads out to a little balcony. The sliding doors off of Adam's room lead to an atrium, which is a common place to dry clothes, grill out, or store things. All of the floors here are wooden. Heating is done through pipes on the floor. When you want your apartment to heat up, or your water to be hot then you have to turn on the heat and the pipes in the floor will start to heat up. It is actually quite an effective way to stay warm. We were very lucky to have had almost everything we would need in an apartment left behind for us by the people living here before us. We got some food, laundry soap, pots, pans, utensils, towels, bug spray, extension cords, an ironing board, bookshelves, shampoo... and the list goes on. It seems that most of the other teachers were left with only the bare necessities and they have to buy quite a few things. The apartment is still a mess; there is a lot to clean and sort out, but it is already starting to feel like home.

So far school is going well. The school day consists of two parts, a kindergarten program which runs from 9:30a.m. until 2:30 p.m. and an after school program which goes from 2:40 until 6:30p.m. Friday was our first day of after school programs and Monday we start our kindergarten classes as well. Things are a little crazy right now. The school is under construction right now so some teachers aren't in there rooms yet. Not everyone has all their books yet either. Despite all the chaos, I think the first day went relatively well for everyone. I spent my Saturday (today) at school for the most part just cleaning my classroom and prepping for Monday. I will be teaching the Koala class which is the 4 year old kindergartners that don't know any English at all. It should be interesting... Well that is all for now. I am about to meet up with a few other teachers and explore the live music scene here in Seoul. I will let you all know what I find. I hope this blog finds everyone well. Keep in touch, I miss you all!