The Calming Beauty of Fall

Someone very wise told me that I needed to get out of Seoul, just to leave, unplanned, explore and experience. So I followed this advice and the "weekend Seoul trip" post from Google, recruited Anne and we were off the following morning. I had found what was supposed to be a beautiful island Nami as our first destination, then we planned to go to Chuncheon for the night and then head over to Gangwon to bike and hike up to Gugok Waterfall. Without much information to go on, we headed to the Cheongnangyi Station in Seoul to grab train #1 to Gapyeong. Unsure of when and if there were any trains we (so we thought at the time) very lucky to get one. Only set back was that, sadly it was only standing room. So we boarded our train and found 'seats' conveniently located next to the bathroom!

Anne and her wonderful seat in front of the garbage!

1.5 hours later we arrived in Ganpyeong, grabbed a taxi to Namiseon. There I think was our first hint at how popular Nami Island was. The line was ENORMOUS! First however we were very shocked and slightly worried as the ticket counter was labeled "Visa" and there was an "Immigration" section. I definitely started questioning what I had gotten us into with my lack of planning, but as we soon found out Nami Island is a republic and nothing was needed, it was just a funny tourist thang. Then we stood in this very long line as we worried about how long it would take to actually arrive at the Island. But in true Korean style the line took us less than 15mins total! YAY!

Once there we were mesmerized at the beauty of the Island and quickly decided that we had finally returned 'home' as the long lost Naminaraian Princesses of old. We walked around for a bit and eventually took the mini train around the island as we passed key scenes from Winter Sonata, a very famous Korean drama that was filmed on the Island.

FALL COLORS!

Ostriches are native to the Island!

A very unique and beautiful art installation!

After soaking in much of the beauty and realizing that we must come back as soon as possible, we grabbed a quick lunch, did a little touristy shopping and decided it was time to head back to the mainland and on to Chuncheon. However, so it seemed was the thinking of the all the other tourists. We ended up in a line that stretched the entire island and took over an hour to reach the docks! After this long wait we started what was to be the most difficult part of the journey; finding a taxi! There were large amounts of people everyone, but no taxis to be seen.... we eventually did notice some coming from the same general direction, so off we went. And after about 15mins of walking we found one. He took us on a very weird detour, picking up other passengers as well, but we made it to the train station and headed to Chuncheon.

Once in Chuncheon our first mission was to find a hotel to stay in. We took a taxi into Myeon-dong and walked around for a good 30mins before following a sign that said "TEL" in hopes that the "MO" were just broken. Luckily for us this proved to be true and we found ourselves in a very interestingly decorated room at the Drama Hotel!

The ceiling was lighted picture of the sea:filled with neon fish!

After a quick rest and changing of clothes, we headed out to find the Dakgalbi Street. According to the web, this street was filled of Dakgalbi restos (a chicken dish that originated in the area). And once again the web proved true. We quickly settled down in a restaurant and ate to our hearts content. Then bedtime!

The next morning we stopped at Starbucks (because I cannot pass one without stopping... so addicted ^^! Then we taxied it back to the train station and headed on to Gangwon and Gugok Waterfall. Once at the city, following the internet's sound advice, found ourselves a bike rental place, dropped off our overnight bags and headed down the trail. the way there was beyond tiring. I defiantly am planning on joining the gym this week!

At the entrance to the National Park, we dropped of our bags and started hiking. I will let the photos help get across the beauty of this area as words simply cannot....

On our way down we stopped for another Delicious lunch, the mountain bimbibop was local to the area. Then we biked back, dropped off our bikes and headed home. After this wonderful weekend that I shared with Anne, I feel renewed, a new peace with my life here in Korea It really made me realize that I could like in this country, if I could find a job in soccer I could live here for a long time. It is amazing how somewhere can feel like home. After this weekend, I would almost say that part of that is the due to the numerous similarities that Korea has to Washington. A country or state with big bustling cities but nestled in the quiet, peaceful beauty of nature. I dont know if that I would have called myself a nature girl, and I am sure that many people will laugh at that concept, but I cannot deny the peace that comes and the pull that nature has over me. I have started to realize that I need more alone time to think and process and I need to start craving out myself in this big city filled with millions of people because I think that not having dealt with that so far has not allowed me to settle in here and relax as myself. As Beka puts it, she is seeing a side of me that she has never seen, but I like this side of me. So what does that mean? What about Seattle makes me more serious and Seoul make me much more silly? Where do I really stand? Am I just a blend of these two extremes that I take on, does it mean that cities and people have a greater effect on myself and the presentation of myself than I do? Many questions left unanswered for I lack the time to explore them, and when I start so many more present themselves. And so I exist. maybe more trips into nature will help me sort and understand. Until then, time to finish my coffee and do some work in preparation for tomorrows classes.

Museum of Korea and Ice Bar

Well it was a fun day for sure. First we hit up the Korean Museum which contained some amazing pieces. I was fascinated with the section on Buddhist sculptures. It was very interesting seeing how different Asian cultures depicted and understood Buddha and the Bodhisattvas! Funny little story, as we were in the Museum shop looking around at stuff to get this Korean woman approached me and asked "Vanessa Hudgens?" I of course confused just gave her a look, to which she asked where I was from and if I knew High School Musical. "American, and of course I do" being my response. She then goes on to tell me how beautiful I am and say that she and her son thought I was Vanessa and she then asked for a picture of me with him. Talk weirdness. I complied and told her that hopefully he can at least convince his friends that I was really her! We had a good little bonding-joke moment and went on!

After that, we meet up with Anne and explored Hauinde University (I am killing that spelling but opps!) We had an awesome fried rice meal and then went on a very long journey trying to find Sub-Zero, an all ice bar. We were lost for a good hour, until I got their phone number, found a Korean who could speak English and had him call and translate directions for us! We eventually found it after much confusion and boy was it worth it! It basically is a room with only ice, ice cups, ice walls, ice seats, ice sculptures. Included in out entrance fee was a drink and an Eskimo get-up! It was basically cool!

Now am off to bed, hitting up a hopefully awesome shopping area tom.!

Pictures!

Pictures from the past weekends!

All us girls! From Left: Anne, Adriana, Rebekah, Me!

The Boys at WoodStock. From Left: Chris, Sangso, James

Subway Station: World Cup Stadium, totally decked out to Seoul FC!

View of the field

The Crazy fan Section!

The view from outside!

The view from outside of the Museum of Korea!

Museum of Korea

Famous Sculpture of the Pensive Buddha

Pagoda!

Singing the Night Away, Seoul Fc and new friends

So once again it has taken more longer than I wished to write. I find it sometimes difficult to write as spare time and personal time are scarce here, making time to actually think and absorb the days activities difficult. Things just kinda of happen here, experiences are had, enjoyed and passed by due to the lack of down time. I am hoping that this will change once our work schedule returns to normal.

Ok so last week: last Saturday after another LONG week, we all decided just to head to Woodstock for a beer and some down time. Well one beer turned into two bottles of soju and pretty soon we were off to Korean Karaoke. OMG, this has to have been the best thing ever. So as some of you mightn't know, Korean karaoke is different than in the states as you are given your own private room. This means it is just you are your people, in this case it was myself, Beks, Adriana and Hojin (a Korean from our work). And man what a time it was! We were off singing all the great oldies from Journey, to the Spice Girls and Abba. But of course thrown in were our newest Korean favs like Super Junior, NE1, 2pm and others. It was sooo much fun. We were all just singing and dancing and jumping around in our little room, that the prepaid hour went by so fast! Also in the misdt of all this Sangsou dropped by as he and his wife were just returning from something fancy and he wanted to introduce her. SHE IS SO CUTE!

So after this, Sangsou texted for us to come over to Woodstock and join the group so we headed on over. While there we offically meet Chris (one of his friends) FINALLY meet the bar owner and two Americans joined us. It was great times. I am really loving my little circle here, as we soom found out we have meet the nicest man ever in Korea through Sangsou, I feel so safe and cared for knowing what he will go through for us, he is sooo oue older Korean brother its amazing. So that was last weekend. We only had four days at work this week as it is chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving were everyone returns to thier ancesteral homes to eat and pay thier respects to the dead), but considering that we have worked 16/18 days we were all soo tired that at many times one out of the four of us were breaking down. It was a bad week, and of course here was tons more drama with the administration. I think that I would love my job so much more if they were not so divisive, but not much we can do except monitor what we say around them and make sure that they dont cause any unnecessary drama between the four of us.

Sunday we all went to the Seoul FC game. OMG what a great complex. The Stadium is pretty large, but surrounding the feild is a very pretty park complete with ponds, fountains, a great practice field etc. Really awesome. I, of course, bought a scarf! The team is a decent team, prolly wouldn't stand up against the Sounders, some pretty basic skills. There were two moments of brilliance with and very artfully forward pass that split the defence and allowed the forward through, but to no end. The first goal was bounced off the post, the strike than hit the the goal keeper (who couldn't handle it) then very very badly kicked (one of those slow rollers) into the net. OO nice thing tho is that at every goal: FIREWORKS! haha. It was interesting to note though, they have an Eastern European on the team who is a little better than rest (note he is number 10) and he was always pointing out the lack of support of the opposite side of the field which lead to a number of missed opporutities during crosses. But they did win 3-0 so that was a great result!

THE FAN SECTION! O next time we are def sitting over there. They are soo cool! They have this one song where they get in lined groups jumping up and down and going side to side in unioin, then bow to the feild. SOO COOL! haha also it was so interesting as at the end of the game they team walks around like usual thanking each section of fans, but in Korea they also bow to the crowds. So cool! We are def planning on going to the next home game.

So speed up to Thursday night and once again we were at Woodstock. This time around our friend Ann joined us and become much better friends with Chris, another Korean friendwe names "James", the owner, basically our whole little group. It was so much fun just goofing around and letting loose with our Korean/American group dancing and signing like fools! There was also another American group that was at the bar, but we didnt really talk to them....

Friday beks and I headed over to Iteawon, did a little shopping and got some great Thai food! So sorry Michael as I forgot to take pics. But it was great. I had fried rice with this very interesting sauce that was green and VERY spicy, I could only eat very little of the sauce but it added just a great flavor to the dish. O So yummy! Today we are going to Ichon to the National Museum of Korea, a nearby park. Also it is supposed to be "Little Tokyo" so we are gonna try and find some Sushi and hit up a Japanese market and find some food.

Will try to update on Monday after today's and Sundays outings!

love you all, het

Costco, Woodstock and Galbi

So Wednesday night we had our first Costco experience. I totally made me miss mommy! It was def a fun times, just walking around looking at what was there, what we could buy, and the prices. Oh dear the prices where outrageous! For example: peanut butter $10, tortillas $10, a bag of Mexican chips $5.50. It was a fun bonding time for Beka, Adriana and I. Beka and I ended up spending over a hundred dollars!

Ok so time for an explanation as I cannot believe that I had yet to have written about it: Woodstock. Woodstock is this pretty cool, chill bar like a stones throw away from our house that we frequent all the time. And by all the time I mean 3 times a week! It is a good place to just relax, chill and breath, outside of work and home. Basically we ended up befriending our barman, Sangsou and after just hanging out with him multiple times at the bar he invited Beka and myself out to dinner, and what a dinner was it! He took us for an hours' drive in his very posh Kia (yes there really are things like that here!) to a very nice restaurant where we had Galbi, a type of Korean bbq. It was soooo good!! We had two different types of meat: one seasoned and one unseasoned. It, as usual, came with tons of different types of side dishes that were mostly good. There was this one however that was not so good: thin slices of potato in some type yellow over-powering ginger sauce. It was very not good. Not good at all. We also had a very good raspberry soju, a good cider and this cold noodle soup which was very off-putting. Can you imagine the shock to the system when, even though you know the soup is supposed to be cold, yet something in your normal mind tells you soup = warm, that when you put the spoon to your mouth, it is a total shock! Basically it was a very fun outing with our new Korean friend, who def gave us tons of gossip for the next few days and a very yummy meal to boot!

And now it is Friday night and I am watching Grey's Anatomy with the girls and really really wishing I could skip out on work tomorrow cause Lord above knows that I really need a real weekend and break! I will update again soon as I am going out to an Ice Bar tomorrow night and then the Seoul FC game on Sunday!

Miss and love you all!

rainy days...

I know, I know... I have not posted in awhile. But things have basically taken on a very mundane pace. As does the world go. So I will give you the quick update.

Regard the Sat. work days: we did end up having a meeting with Hosung our boss, in which he proceed to let him know how unhappy we were having to work Sat's and at the way in which the whole incident played out. We ended up getting somewhere, but not sure. Basically hoping that it wont happen again. WORKING 6 DAYS STRAIGHT SUCKS! It would have been fine most likely, but I and Adriana are sick and I can't seem to fall asleep. So basically now I am tired, grumpy and sick! And the kids are getting outta control. Sometimes they are so funny and motivated, working hard and just helping create a good atmoshpere, but then someone starts hitting, or being a dinosaur or just messing around and it all goes down hill. Milosh is the prime example of this behavior. He is really smart, just unmotivated, and always touching people, walking around, ignoring my rules and goading the other children. And of course they are children, so eventually ignore me and want to play! I am trying to have patience. trying...

So thats work... This past weekend we had an interesting adventure. As I have mentioned to some of you, its funny that now in Korea I realize how important soccer has gotten for me. I seriously miss watching games, talking stratagy, running around kicking a soccer ball, all of it. And it is compounded here because it is near impossible watching Liverpool games as they are at midnightish here, and people really dont do soccer, and girls DEFINITELY dont do soccer. So this weekend when we found ourselves at a Western Bar in Itaewon and Burnley vs. Sunderland was on (two teams I dont really care much for, but I must admit that Burnley really impressed me with thier performance) I became totally uninterested in meeting people or the beer in front of me. I sat there drinking it all in, totally realizing how much I love this silly sport! Dad, this is totally your fault! Hahha I really must be your daughter cause I am seriously obsessed! This weekend I am def gonna try and convince the girls to go out and see the Seoul FC game Sunday and stay out a little late to catch the Liverpool game. We shall see though.

So with that in mind (and because I always love thinking about next steps) I have been weighing a couple different plans for post-Korea. One is to do Right Of Play which is another year commitment coaching soccer for development and peace, probably in Francophone Africa, but I also found a program in Honduras where I could coach soccer and do some planning and admin stuff with an NGO for 2-3 months which is actually sounding really good. Get in touch in Honduras, practice my Spanish some more (especially as it is a skill that is really marketable in MLS) but I dont know much about it so would def have to do some more research. Of course try and find a job at an MLS team (wouldn't Vancouver be awesome, working with an expansion team and all!) but shall see...

That whole future thing is crazy! I keep trying to think about how I can turn my time in Korea into a time where I can learn skills that will be important in the future so if you have any ideas! Unfortunately youth soccer here is almost nonexistent so thats a non-starter and I still can't really find anywhere to play.. but I am planning on buying a ball and just going out kicking around hopefully the international language of soccer draws in a couple takers!

Oh! Rain! haha today was the first really rainy day so far. Its still quite warm oddly enough, but dang does it pour! Like I have never seen such hard or so much rain in one moment. Really weird!

Also another funny story from the weekend. So Sat night we went out to Itaewon to find a burger, never got one but after watching the game we were on our way out when a guy complemented Beks on her hat. We ended up chatting with these guys for a bit before they invited us to a beer pong party. After a quick girl consultation we decided to see whats up and ended up at a total American house party, complete with a keg of Cass (the Korean PBR, which is actually quite good, though def getting a little old, could use something more tasteful now but there really arent many choices here in Korea oddly enough)! Anyways, we ended up playing a game, which was weird, but fun. Definitely an interesting experience for sure. Dont know if I will ever wish to repeat it but hey!

Well I think thats generally it! As alway, I miss everyone dearly and hope that all is well with you and that life is treating you all wonderfully!

Swine Days

For Michael:
These pics above are some DELIOUS Bulgogi that the three of us had after visiting Anne in the hospital. (Anne is a friend of ours who burnt herself with boiling water on Monday and is now sitting pretty ath a hospital about 40mins away for the whole week). Anyways omg what a great meal, we had sooo many side dishes... a kimchi salad, a regular salad, kimchi, a kimchi soup, some tofou dish (one of my faves), another type of spicy soup and this great eggy dish... and thats not even the bulgogi bit! For those of you who do not know, bulgogi is a meat dish that is made at the table with mushrooms and greens. You then use salad leaves to roll rice, sauces and the meat into a nice little bite! Basically YUMMY!!!!!

Today (Tuesday) we went on a hike to Inwangsan Shamanist Hillside (and by we I mean all four teachers: Jen, Adriana, Rebekah and myself). The hike was only about 30 mins away from our home by subway and was beautiful. I really enjoyed getting away from the city being among nature etc. There was some very ornate buildings and sites to see (and a great view of the city). We took a picnic and found a very pretty place up in the rocks...

After this we walked towards Independance Park, which was a park dedicated to liberation from Japan. It was a very pretty relaxing area...

Work news: As most of you know we had Monday and Tuesday off due to a confirmed case of the swine flu. Woot we all thought, untill we were awoken Monday morning and were told that we will HAVE to make them up the Sat's of 19th and 26th. Us teachers were NOT NOT NOT happy. As there is nothing in our contracts menioning this, nor saying anything about working Sat's we are upset. Espcially as this now means that we will be working 6 days straight, one day off, another 6 days straight, one day off, then 4 days at work. WHAT! So today we had a meeting with Hosung our director to get some answers about the situation as we really haven't been told anything. After that us teachers ironed out our feelings and thoughts and are going to talk to him tomarrow during our lunch break to discuss the poor communication in this matter and what we would like to see happen in future cases: mainly that we be included in the discussion for makeup days as we would have much prefered to have staggered the Sat. work days.

I know some of you think we should just suck it up, but our feelings are that knowing the seriousness in this country about the swine flu, there should have been a clasue in our contracts mentioning the rules for this instance. That and the improfessional manner in which we were informed was annoying. Bleg, anyways hopefully everything will be ok and we will make it through the next couple weeks.

Anways that is basically that is the jist. We are now off to bed to start our three day work week. It should be a packed week as tom. we are heading back to visit Anne, Thurs is korean class with Hosung (which will be AWESOME!, situtational Korean at a bar), Friday going out on the town with the ladies, Saturday we are going to listen to another Korean Traditional Music concert then to a Seoul FC game, and Sunday we are off to COEX mall to go to a English bookstore! Ahh I know right!

Pic from Korean Traditional Concert on Sat

Well as I almost always say at the end, I miss you all loads, but am having a great time. I have very quickly realized that as much as I like kids teaching isn't for me but I love love love Seoul. This doesn't mean that I am not happy to be here and that I took this step as I love my kids, more it means that spccer really is my passion! Hopefully I will be able to get great at Korean and find a soccer job here hehe! Well thats it my friends, more soon!

Seriously?!?

Ok, so as I eluded to in my previos post, one of the kids (actually one that is in my class but have not meet as he as been home all week) has been diagnosed with swine flu. Ergo our school has closed for Monday and Tuesday of this week for cleaning etc. However, I guess we are now being made to make up those days on two Saturdays the 19th and the 26th. Which would mean we would be working two six-day work weeks in a row!! Needless to say, this has the house in an uproar as there is nothing about making up classes in our contract and we definatly cannot imagine having to work 6 days in a row... TWICE! Now I am sure that many of you might think we are lame weak sauce as it really is not that bad, and as people will know I have many a-time worked straight weeks, but dang teaching takes a lot out of you! I think this is espcially frustrating as the four of us are not professional teachers and obviously we are really here to travel and explore while living in another country. And only one day to rest and no days to explore is really upseting.

So basically the oldet teacher (Jen who has also been here the longest) is going to talk to Hosung our director about this and hopefully it can be solved. We are hoping to only have to do one make-up Saturday a month so as to no cut into our lives too much. ]

In other news, our dear friend Anne I guess got burned with water and is in the hospital so we are off to visit her and bring her a care pack as she is far out and all by herself! Poor girl, its sad cause it couldnt have happened to a more sweet girl!

Ah so thats the drama for now... will let you know what else is up soon!

To combat this sad news here are some fun pics! The first is a grass sculputre of Haechi, the mythical protector of Seoul. The second is me (!) at the Palace!

Feckin Tourists!

Roomies: Adriana, Beka and myself!

Woot! After my first week of working I was very happy for Friday to come and to go out drinking with the ladies in Itewon (the more international district of Seoul) and boy what a night that was.We started the night eating at Mr. Pizza, a slightly overpriced pizza place, but well worth it. We had an Indian-inspired pizza with chicken, spices on it and the crust was to die for , cheese covered stuffed with sweet potato. They we headed out on the subway to Itewon were we first went to this pretty awesome latin bar where the floors were covered in sand and the maragartias were delicious! Then we meet up with some friends of the roomie and then proceeded to another bar to meet up with some more Americans. And at bar #2... FREE DRINKS for the ladies all night. I have no real clue what the marketing plan was in that move but hey, I'm not complaining! Out till 3ish, then home to bed.

Saturday we were off to a late start, but eventually got moving and went out to near Dongdaemun for lunch. We went to a resto called Everest, an Indian place that was sooo goood! Beka and I both had Chicken tikka masala. Really spicy but so good.

After that we walked to the Western gate that also marks the beginning of Dongdaemun market and took some photos, but after that we were pretty tired to headed to E-mart (basically a Walmart-type store with a lil of everything) to get some groceries and some room decor, and then went back home. I rearranged my room and it is now starting to look much better... still need somethings but getting there!

Sunday we decided to go to Deosugung Palace in downtown Seoul. It was such a beautiful campus... we got there a bit early to watch the changing of the guards and listen to their demonstration and then meet up with Adriana and took a tour of the inside.

There was also a free Korean traditional concert at 4om so we stayed and watched.... awesome music. Some really interesting and different musical instruments that combined create a very moving sound. Afterwards we went in search of food and ended up eating our favorite Ttockbokgi, a spicy red sauce and rice patty dish, some fun rice balls and some fried mandu dumplings... very yummy!

After that we headed down the main strip, looked at some awesome building structures and walked down Cheogyyi River. Above is a picture of some of the beautiful and almost oddly placed things in the city.

This river had been covered up and built over, but in the early 2000's during an environmental push, they city and uncovered it and turned it into a beautiful rest area for people. We stayed there for a long while, grabed some street food and sitting talking until it started to get dark. There were some pretty awesome light shows that went on as it got darker as well. We then explored some very interesting streets with tons of lights and little shops... bought some honey candy that came with a great explanation of how it was made... by the end of the day we were very tired!

Today and tomorrow we don't have school because of a flu scare so we are off to explore more! Will post again soon! I think today we are gonna go explore the city and bit more and tomorrow we are going to go and look around at some Shamanistic Temples in the mountains.. go for a little walk and picnic of sorts!

I'm a Teacher ?!?!?

"Teacher"? asked a random elementary aged girl on the streets.

And so has been passed the last couple of days here in Korea. Yesterday we started classes... and I was definatly nervous. From what the owners and other teachers said my class was supposed to be terrors, some of the work kids in the school. And after our one hour preperation the night before, I wasnt really sure what was going on. So I started and I was nervous, unsure of what to do I suddenly found myself in front of a classroom with a nuch of 4 year olds looking at my expectantly, calling me teacher and waiting for me to idk teach.

The first day was obviously very heticc and crazy. I didnt have all the books so the first 10 mins of every class that day was very confused. My young kids are actually GREAT! Logan is the cutest kid, so sweet and caring. Milosh is the one who everyone assumes is the devil and yes he is hectic but he is cute once you figure him out. Elizabeth and Suzzane are teachers helpers, always eager to help out. Timothy I havent quite figured out yet. Thomas however is a DOLL! So cute and always tries hard to get the answers right. Ewan is the devil, not one of my favs but when he likes the activity he is totally into. And lastly is Jeff, a super cute shy boy who is so sweet. With this class I do phonics, gym, writing, cooking, themes (which is a weekly theme that we center games etc around: this week is jobs) and a bunch of other things. I am with them from 10am to 1. Then I have a planning break. Then playtime with the babies. And then two grammer and english classes. The first which is my worst class and the last which is the BEST class.

Some random Korean things are people stare at us HELLA! It's so weird. We are not sure if it is cause we are foriegn and there are not many in our neighboyhood or if its my hair. The first day the other kids saw me they went crazy over my hair. It was funny. The food is still great! Tonight we are going out to get this really yummy chicken thing. Things are open soooo late here... like the mall is open until 10pm! Drivers are MAD here, its crazy.

About the appartment. Its actually really nice. I have a pretty big room with a queen size bed. Unfortuantly I have the wrong sized fitted sheet so its a bit awkward as I try to make due. The lived area is Big too. Will post pics soon. Our roommates (and the other two American teachers) are really sweet.

Basically thats about it. Will write more soon. Miss you all and love you bunches!

*side note: in a previous post I said that my breakfest was $60.. I meant to say $6... so yea. cheap for great coffee and waffles!*

Arrival and First Couple Days

Well after a mad day running around Seattle to get my passport and visa together (again!) I was on a plane Wed at 1:30 to get myself to Korea as fast as possible. The flight was pretty simple, I just read and slept. We landed early in Tokyo where I went and ate some GREAT sushi... what a concept. Sushi at the airport! YUMMY! The weirdest thing by far was the the number of people wearing medical masks... it was so weird. def made me realize that I was in Asia. That and omg the uniforms worn by Asain stewardess are soo awesome and fashionable! I would wear them for a day! After Toyko I arrived Thurs night at 8:30 in SEOUL, whre I meet up with Beks and Eunjung and we took a us bakc into the city. After arriving at our hotel (where we have been placed until today, monday, in order to make sure we dont have swine fu and infect the other teachers and kids) Beks and I walked around the main street and stopped and got some food... at 11:30! Things are open soo late here its crazy.

We had this chicken soup thing and some great little side dishes.. I ATE KIMCHI! haha, it definitely made me realize that I am actually here. My knowledge of korean is really quite small but it is nice that I can at least say hi, thanks and goodbye. Better than nothing!

Yesterday or Sunday, Beka took me to this cute little cafe were we had waffles and coffee for $60. Things are so cheap here it is crazy. We stayed there for awhile then went and hit up the mall. Now that was an experience. People generally stare as they walk by but at the mall, the workers followed us. Really creepy. Anyways we wen there and bought some umbrellas as it had rained a bit that morning and we explored the 10 stories that the mall held. Then Beka walked me to our school and our apt to point them out. Them we got lost! We started walking around, just looking at stores and street food vendors and ended up somewhere completely else. It was actually kinda fun getting lost and finding out way back. We keep trying to find a map of our area but to no luck!

Later that day we meet up with Eunjung applied for my cell phone and went out to dinner. OMG we had some AMAZING Korean food. Three dishes (a rice cake-sauce thing, kimbop, a egg-rice dish, dumplings and side dishes all for about $10! It was crazy. Beks and I soon after retired back to the hotel and passed out for the night.

OMG people. Coke here is the same as in the States... kinda sad about that. No new info for my "book".

Today I am off to the hospital for my health check and we move into the apt today! Very excited.

Miss you all dearly and hope all is well back home. Will update and post pic either later tonight or tom after our first day of work!!!

lol!

What A Life!!

So as most of you thought I was supposed to leave Wed Aug 26th.... after figuring out the visa thing (it was a minor headache to say the least) I got my passport and visa Tues. just in time to catch my flight. Thank God I thought, what a weight lifted off my sholder... or so I thought untill a couple hours later I realize that my passport is no where to be found. MAJOR PANIC INSUES! Needless to say, passport #1 still lost.

So I freaked out. MAJOR. and thanks to some smart words from a friend I was able to calm down and make a solid plan B which today I executed. The morning started with a passport run to the State Passport people. By 11am I had a passport. ( I know, who knew that you could get one so quick in an "emergency"!) Then crossed town to return to the Korean Consulate where they were so nice, but couldn't believe my bad luck!

I am now at home, finally preparing to peace out for a 1pm flight tomorrow (Friday) to meet up with Beka. According to her messages it looks like they have us up in a hotel for a couple days to make sure that we do not contract the Swine Flu.... (why flu's always make more noise in Asian countries I've yet to find out) and I think we start work either Tues or Wed. Most exciting about flight will definitely be the two hour layover in Tokyo, where I will most definitely be eating some SUSHI!

That's it for now... will update you more when I am in Seoul!

Yet another set back...

Ok, now if any of you have ever been aboard you will have already encountered the frustration that accompanies Visa requirements... and having already gone through more than enough (in my opinion) to get to Korea, yet another arrives.. in the form of a simple yet annoying Interview.

Last night I FINALLY received my "pin" number from my school in Korea, and first thing this morning call the Seattle consulate to finalize my visa and am told (quite rudely) that the first available appt in Sept 3. which for those of you paying attention is one week AFTER I am schuleded to fly fly away... difficult no? Well as of now they are being most uncooperative and not helping me out.

Tomarrow I go to beg the Consulate to take pitty on a poor girl and help her out... Keep your fingers crossed!!!

Visa Headaches and Life Realizations

Well, as you know I still have not yet left! But dang Korean Visa people are strict! We sent off all of our docs to Eunjung (a small bundle which cost us each $60!), only to hear that our transcript, as it didn't have the words "completion of graduation" didn't count. They were afraid we didn't graduate. Even though they ALSO have our diploma! That and they didn't believe Beka's California apostille was "as powerful" as my Washington one. (We are thinking that they maybe confused and think my Washington, is Washington DC so we are keeping that hush hush!)

So finally after a couple days of hectic calls back and forth we have mostly figured it all out... mostly!

We have officially crossed into the month left countdown. CRAZY! Sometimes I can't believe I choose to do this!

But I am so excited to get outta here and explore and live aboard again, most of my fears go away... Those of you who know me know I love plans, so I have once again been planning out my next few steps. After my yea in Korea I am hoping to have saved enough money to return to the UK for about a month to visit family and take a short trip back to "home" in France after which I would return to the states, either that or try to work in an NGO in Vietnam that works against Child and Women Trafficking.

I have been looking into soccer for development programs and have found an AWESOME program through Right to Play where I can coach soccer in war torn areas working with children who have been trafficked or have been forced into slavery, soldiering etc. Which is basically a perfect marriage of my two passions! After that year, I am hoping to be ready for grad school in England doing something in Econ. development, post-conflict studies and public policy at either University of Manchester, LSE or perhaps University of York (mainly cause I love the city!)

So yes, that is the current plans! Finally think I've got this whole thing sorted... kinda. I cant believe it took me this long to realize that I can use my love for soccer and marry it with my wish to help unfortunate children worldwide! It's this rather recent realization that makes me hesitant to go to Korea now because this trip started with the original intention of buying me time to figure stuff out and now that I have, it doesn't give me much except another abroad experience and some teaching experience in a realm outside of coaching soccer. But then again, I certainly do not know where it could take me so! I'm ready for another adventure!

MapQuest

So having found and now fallen in love with Google Earth I have a realitive idea of where in Seoul we will be. We will be in Dongdaemun-go Seoul (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dongdaemun-gu), which is supposed to have an AWESOME traditional market place, which is so awesome beacuse that is such a cultral thing that Western States just dont really have.

Today, I went out and sent $6o (!) to send my visa materials to the school. The overall process is this: we get all the materials together (which is a much bigger pain in the butt than you would think), we send them to our school in Korea, they apply for our visa, we go to the Consulate in Korea, they buy and send us our plane ticket, we bounce the hell outta here!

So as you can see its really a great deal. With our contract we will be making 2.22 million won (too bad its not dollars!) a month, so about $1800, we get a roundtrip ticket paid for and rent-free housing. Good deal no?!?

Once Upon A Time...

And so it begins... well I guess we are still in the pre-story as I am still a little over a month out from my departure to South Korea. The basics are this: At the beginning of my last year of university (gasp, Seattle U actually GAVE me a diploma!), I very quickly realized that I had NO clue what I wanted to do in life, for grad. school or the following year. I knew and still know now that I want to combine International Political Economy/Economic Development, soccer and children somehow, but the real question is how!

So realizing that that very minimal knowledge wasn't going to be enough to help me narrow down my list of graduate school majors, I started to look for another option. And I knew that staying in Seattle was not going to be one of them, I already had the travel bug and wanted to continue my journey of self-discovery and exploration of the world in which we live, I at least had a place to start.

And so begun my search...

I quickly decided on teaching English abroad, mainly because teaching had always been a background last resort so figured I might as well see if teaching was something I actually enjoyed and it gave me an easy way to find a job and move overseas. From this I decided on SE Asia because I thought that I might never have the chance or excuse to live in an Asian culture again, but after awhile figured out that SE Asia due to financial and age restrictions was not going to be an option for me...

And so South Korea popped up. And to be quite frank, I am so glad that it did. Having quite a bit of exposure already to the language and culture through simply living in Seattle, friends and family, I cant believe now that it wasn't my first choice. So I convinced my roommate and best friend Beka to join me, we started looking for a job, got on at an English and Music Academy in Seoul and are off the end of Aug for a year away!

We are both WAY WAY WAY excited both for Korea and all the other places we plan on traveling. I am looking forward to living in a place where it is relatively foreign, where I don't speak the language, and where I have no mental concept for.

This is going to be fun!