Badminton Competition and Being a Creeper

Last night I found out about a badminton competition between different Yeoju schools teachers.  Essentially a teachers badminton competition.  I knew another foreigner who was going to go, so I thought why not.  I contacted the waygook but he didn't respond and I decided to venture out on my own and see if he was there.  Well I get to Sejong High School and go in to watch the competition.  I do not see my friend anywhere, which made me the only waygook in the building.  Interesting.  Anyways, I was walking to my seat and I ran into some of the teachers from my school (who I had no idea where going to be there).  I say Hi to them and bow and tell them I am going to watch the game.  Well it turns out that cute math teacher was one of the players.  I did not originally see him but then he turned around and said hello.  When I saw him I was so ready to leave because I probably looked like a super creepy stalker.  Which is not the case.  I totally regretted my decision to stay, but stay I did.  I watched my schools teams and once the competition was over I left with my teachers.  They then asked me to eat dinner with them.  Which made me feel even weirder but I did it anyways. 

So last night I turned into a creeper, but I got dinner out of it.  I think I should hide in a hole for a few days so I do not run into cute math teacher anymore.  To being a creeper.

Friday Night Flirting

I thought I had posted about my Friday night but I did not.  So this past Friday I went out with friends and had dinner and drinks.  We went for bbq pork with beer.  We talked about how I had asked the cute math teacher to coffee and how it was later in the afternoon when I did it so he did not reply by the time I left work, so I had no idea what he would say or think.  They all know I think the guy is super cute and that I am a complete creep.  Anyways, after dinner we went to Sool Dog and had some more drinks.  At Sool Dog we were having a good time and laughing, when who should walk in but the cute math teacher from my school with another teacher from the school.  Needless to say I waved and left it at that.  Once the group I had came with started leaving, I found my way over to the other table of waygooks, who had just arrived.  I told them that he was a co-worker and they told me that in instances like this one should go and say hi.  Well drunk Kara thought this was a great idea.  I thought I would just say hi and maybe smile or whatever.  Well he totally invited me to drink with them and I did.  Totally flirted with him but I also got shit faced.  Soju and beer will kill you.  I had already drank quite a bit of beer and mixing it with soju was not good. But the wonderful thing was the cute math teacher said that coffee sounded great, so we will see.

Hongdae!!!!

Last night I went on a girls night out with some fellow waygooks to Hongdae, which is a college/party district in Seoul.  It was my first night ever in Seoul and it was EPIC.  We were celebrating a girls birthday with food and clubbing.  First of all we had reservations for dinner at 8:30 and we took the 6:30 bus to Seoul because it should have only taken about 1.5 hours to get to Hongdae.  Needless to say traffic was so horrible and backed up that the 1.5 hour trip turned into a 3 hour trip.  It was horrible and not good for my stomach but once we got there things worked out.  So we went to this burger joint for dinner(which was good but my stomach couldn't handle the greasy).  After dinner we went to a hookah bar and had some drinks and did a hookah.  It was relaxing and a lot of fun.  Once we were finished we went to some clubs and danced the rest of the night.  Obviously there were creepers at said clubs because we were a bunch of girls just having a good time.  Seriously dudes it is not okay to crab onto a woman and act like you were there from the start and if we say to leave us alone, leave us alone.  But whatevs, we totally had fun!  At about 3:30 the birthday girl wanted to go home, so we found a taxi and went back to Yeoju.  The only thing is people can smoke everywhere in Korea and they do, so I came home smelling so bad.  UGH!  Overall it was a good first time in Seoul and I am sure I will have many more like it.

Creeper Level 1000

Seriously so cute.  He is wearing plaid today!  Again.  Such a Creeper, I know!

Office Cutie

Seriously the math teacher is so cute!!!

That is all. 

Emergency Room Culture?

For the past few days I have not been feeling that well.  My stomach has been hurting and I would vomit after some meals.  I thought it was just stress and my body getting used to the food here in Korea.  However, on Tuesday night I had some really greasy food and it made me overly sick the next day.  Wednesday was hell.  Because of this I called in sick for work.  My co-teacher (Boyoung) was worried, so she came over and was like we need to go to the emergency room.  So I went to the emergency room.  Which was an interesting experience.

Like I thought originally, my vomiting was a result of stress and me getting used to the new food.  The doctor said to take it easy and try to avoid greasy or spicy food.  Which if you know me, the spicy food part is going to be way to hard.  I love spicy food.  Seriously!!!  I am still not feeling the best but I think with sleep and time I will be better.

First of all, the cost was amazing.  For an IV, medicine and a stay in the emergency room, it only cost me about 45,000 won (about 45$).  That is unheard of in the United States.  The other thing that was interesting was the fact that they give you an IV for everything.  I don't quite know what was in my IV but it was supposed to help with my problems. 

Boyoung stopped by my place after work and brought me porridge, which is a rice mixture that has the consistency of a wet oatmeal but without the chunks.  It is something Koreans eat when they do not feel well and it is easily digested.  It was bland but I ate it anyways.  I thought it was sweet of her to bring it to me.  When she was there we were talking about the differences in emergency room costs and actually going to the emergency room.  I was telling her that I rarely, if ever, go to the doctor or emergency room (only for regular checkups).  She thought it was strange that I never went because in Korea it is common to go to the emergency room or a doctor when you are feeling even the slightest bit unwell.  She told me that it is a cultural thing and that most Koreans have had an IV at least once in their life.  She could not believe that this was the first time I have ever had an IV. 

Today, I am back at work and everyone is coming up and asking me if I am alright and how I am or if I need anything.  Apparently everyone was super worried about me and wanted to make sure I was ok.  It is nice to know that people care and it kind of makes me feel like a part of the office.  The Vice-principle came over and gave me his phone number just in case I need to go to the emergency room again, because he will take me.  Although I had people like that in the United States, it is kind of nice to have this here as well.  I came in thinking that I would be viewed as an outsider (which obviously I am) but they are so welcoming and willing to help this waygook, which is wonderful and part of the reason I am loving Korea.  The people are amazing and caring. 

Overall, the experience was interesting but something I do not wish to happen again.  I am going to take it easy for the next few days and hopefully get better.  :D

Randomness

So a lot of little and random, but fun nonetheless, things have happened to me today.  First, the animals teacher (Hyemin) went on a trip with some of her students for a fair or something.  Well she is going to be gone for 4 days and she has a pet.  She brought the pet to campus and had him sitting in his cage in front of my desk.  So cool.  He is this awesome little land turtle and you all know I love animals!  So much fun. 

Another random thing that happened (and keeps happening) is that my students keep telling me that I have a small face.  At first I did not realize that this was a complement.  I have always thought my face/head was too small but it is apparently a complement here.  Like it is good to have a small face and my students were just being nice and admiring my face shape.  Weird but nice I guess.  One of my flaws is actually liked here.  HA!  (Again I might get a big head but I have my money on the fact that once I have been here for a while they will no longer think I am pretty because I am no longer fresh and new) 

The only other thing that is happening is a dinner with some of my college students.  They invited me out for dinner tonight and we are going to get cold noodles.  Sounds wonderful and I am super excited for tonight.  :)

Yeoju Crew

Last night I went out for pork bbq with some of the other foreigners here in Yeoju and then went drinking with two of them after dinner.  The bbq was awesome and something I have never experienced before.  Essentially, you have a pit in the middle of the table where hot coals go into and you grill the meat right at the table.  It was so neat.  They had three different sauces, and an assortment of things to put into a lettuce wrap (if you so choose).

After dinner was finished, we went to the One Time and got some beer and sat around and chatted for a bit.  After two of the foreigners left, three of us went over to Alley Pub and drank with some Korean teachers (from one of the schools here in Yeoju).  The Korean teachers had no idea any foreigners were coming because Jaeman didn't tell them.  It took them by surprise and they freaked out (which is a common occurrence I have found).  Needless to say I drank a little to much and totally flirted it up with one of the teachers, which happens a lot when I drink.  It is called liquid courage for a reason! ;)

However, because I drank so much (and I am new to Yeoju still) I got lost on my way home.  It was bad!  I ended up getting a taxi and telling them Intel Zone (which is my apartment building name) to get me home.  It was quite an interesting experience.

All in all, it was a wonderful night with wonderful people!!!

Last Day of Chuseok

So today turned out different than I had planned it to.  I was just going to go to the grocery store and buy some food and clean around the house (including laundry).  However, on my way to the grocery store (which it turns out there is one right around the corner from my house and I was going to the one about a mile away: gah to being new and not knowing things!) I ran into a student.  She was with her daughter and she invited me out for lunch.  Well since it is still Chuseok, most food places are closed, so she took me to her house and prepared food for me.  It was so sweet of her and her family for having me over.  The food was so good too.  Because lord knows I do not cook, so any homemade food is appreciated!  We then went with her daughter to get coffee.  It was a lot of fun and I made a new friend in the daughter.  She said that she will show me around Seoul when I come up to visit, which is awesome because I can totally see myself getting lost.  (I still have no idea which way is North, which I need to know in order to not feel lost or be able to place myself in a place and where I need to go.)

It is nice to finally be getting the hang of somethings around here and finding new things out that I had no idea about.  I appreciated the home-cooked meal and the wonderful environment that her family brought.  More and more Korea and the people are amazing me.  They are nice, helpful, and welcoming.  The more I think about it, the more I realize that this was a good life choice!!!

Family Chuseok?!

Yesterday I got invited to Mr. Park's (my college co-teacher) family Chuseok feast/celebration.  He is originally from Yeoju, so he thought it would be nice if I came.  I knew going in that there would be a large language barrier but it all worked out.  Mr. Park's two daughters talked to me and his wife was wonderful.  The rest of his family was super welcoming and tried really hard to include me.  I helped prepare some of the dishes and played a traditional Korean card game (Go-stop).  We essentially sat around and talked and laughed and had a good time while eating delicious food.  It was a wonderful day, filled with all sorts of new adventures.  

The best part was how people reacted to things I did well or Korean customs I knew.  Like when I was leaving I bowed to the grandmother and said good-bye in Korean.  They all thought it was good.  They also commented on my use of chopsticks and how they thought I was so good for having only been in Korea for a little over a week.  I am sure I probably made mistakes but I think they liked that I tried to do what was expected.  

Overall, the day was fun and a good way to spend the holiday.  It made me miss my family but it was nice to see that kind of activity around me.  With kids running around and laughter and all of the things that go along with family get together's.  

Merry Cheseok Everyone!  

Quarantine Woes!

For those who do not know, my 7 year old American Eskimo dog was placed under quarantine because of a missing health document.  If moving to a new country isn't stressful enough, add in a dog (who is overly dependent) and you have one crazy ride.  I was frantic when I left the airport without Trixie, thinking I would not have a phone or internet to contact my parents and get the correct documentation for my baby.  Luckily my co-teacher met me at the hotel and gave me a phone, which I called home from.  I had Dad go to Indy and get the correct documentation and over-night it to me in Yeoju.  Simple enough.  I thought easy I could have her out in less than a week.  Boy was I wrong.  That was just the start of the problems.

For some reason my address or phone number (both maybe) were incorrect and UPS would not deliver the package.  I had no idea what was going on because I wasn't the sender and I could only see so much.  So I called Dad again and had him fix some information.  Well that information was not working (I blame my cellphone for being hit or miss with service).  So finally, yesterday (Monday morning), I had my co-teacher Boyoung call UPS directly in South Korea and see what was going on.  She called and had them deliver the package to the school.  It was only a question of if I would get the package before Chuseok or if I would have to wait until next week.

Luck was apparently on my side!!!!  The package came today and I was on the first bus (after my classes were finished of course) to Incheon to pick up my dog.  After a 7 hour ordeal, with 6 hours of travel because of Chuseok traffic, I finally got to show Trixie our new home.  And a bath.

Needless to say, I now know what exactly I need for my baby to safely travel without being quarantined.  However, I do not think I will ever travel with her again.  At least not to a different country.  We plan on staying in South Korea for a long time, so hopefully I will not have to deal with this painful and difficult process again.

The plus side to this story is it just established the awesomeness of my school.  Yes, I was in love with my school, students, and faculty but this just made them wonderful.  They really care.  From Boyoungs help with calling the quarantine office, and UPS and just being all around the coordinator on this end; to the school principle for letting me leave following my classes (which is about 4 hours earlier than I should have left) so I could pick her up before the office closed.  Most schools would never dream of allowing such a thing to happen and most co-teachers would not go out of their way to help like Boyoung did (although I think most of the faculty at my school would).  This process has just cemented my love for my school and the people in it!

Oh and I GOT TRIXIE BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Baking and more...

Yesterday turned out to be a good day.  After the school tour Hyeeun invited me to sit in on one of her baking classes (I think I might have made a friend!!!!).  She is one of the food preparations teachers and she thought I would enjoy the class.  It was awesome.  So that night (because of Chuseok) the class size was small and the students were making bread (which I have only done a handful of times).  They did not turn out too bad.  Although I did horrible!

I freaked out some of the students, with one coming into the classroom and freaking out and jumping back because I scared her.  HA!  Another was told he had to let me help and he whined that he did not speak English and it was hilarious.  However, the students were laughing and joking around with me, which made it that much better.

It was a long night but it was still a lot of fun!  I also got bread out of it, so there is finally something outside of wine and water at my house!

Campus Tour

Some wonderful fellow teachers gave me a tour of the campus.  They kept saying their English was horrible but I thought they did great.  They showed me around to the various areas of the school.  Including the animal housing.  They totally have horses and dogs and chickens and goats.  It is awesome.  I also got to see this huge greenhouse with all sorts of plant life.  There was this cool plant called an air plant, that apparently does not need soil to survive.  It was awesome.  I envy those who can raise such wonderful things.  Lord knows I have a black thumb and I kill everything.  HA!

The campus is huge!  We only walked for a little bit and only covered a small amount of the space this campus holds.  There are apparently pastures of cows and land dedicated to farming.  It is quite interesting.  The school is also the largest high school campus in Korea, which is cool.  Altogether this campus is still surprising me and I am sure holds many more surprises. 

Animals!!!

As most of you know, I am at an agricultural technical high school/college teaching English to kids and adults attending this school.  Most of my students will work in some form or another in agriculture.  There are horticulture majors, animal majors, and food science majors (at least those are the three that I know of right now).  One of the cool things about the school is that they produce all sorts of stuff (from baked goods to sausage to fruit) all from things that are grown on the campus.  I have yet to explore the campus at full length yet because it is huge and lord knows I would totally get lost.  But today I got to love on one of the many animals that are at this school.  One of the animal science teachers brought into the teaching office a ferret.  She had just gave him a bath and was showing him to me.  I was in love!  I mean I love animals (and when they told me the pig I was eating the other day was butchered and raised here I was like: ) but they also have cuddle animals like dogs, cats, and ferrets.  I am really loving this school and all the little things I am finding out about this school.  Only time will tell how things will turn out but for now my move has been worth it. 

Chuseok and a Clean Home

                Today I finally cleaned my entire apartment.  Before it was a hot mess, in need of some major cleaning.  I only got to clean the bathroom and vacuum this past week because of work and trying to get things settled in.  It feels so good to have a clean home without nastiness all around.  Now I only have to get a few more things to make this place feel like home (mostly my dog, who is still in quarantine).  Maybe I will do that next week when I have a 5 day weekend off for Chuseok. 

                For those who do not know, Chuseok is similar to American Thanksgiving, with people going back home to celebrate a good harvest.  It is a major holiday in Korea and because of this we get 3 days off to celebrate.  Not quite sure what I am going to do because I am sure some places will be closed but I might explore some more of my town, since it is supposed to be wonderful weather here for the next week.  We will see what happens and hopefully I can get Trixie soon.

First question of the day...SPIDERS!

   

           Where the heck do all these spiders come from?  I have two huge webs and spiders outside the window of my apartment.  There are even more on the outside of the building, in the shrubbery, and on the awning.  Is it just my apartment building that attracts these spiders or is this a Korea thing or is this a small town thing?  I have no idea and it kind of freaks me out.  I am so not a spider person!  But I guess as long as they do not come into my apartment I am okay for now.  Still sends shivers up my spine.

 

First Day of Teaching

Needless to say I was super stressed/nervous to begin teaching.  I had no idea what to expect from my students or the school.  Outside of talking to fast (which I need to work on), I think that my first day was a success.  The students seem friendly and the faculty is wonderful and welcoming.  I still have fears about teaching but I am sure they will subside once I get used to the students and what is expected of me. 

The only thing is I might get a big head because everyone keeps telling me that I am pretty or beautiful, which makes me blush.  No idea why they think I am pretty but I have a theory.  I think they like the fact that I look different, with my blue eyes, long curly hair, and super white (albino) skin.  I'm not ugly, I'm exotic! 

 

          Outside of school there is a group of waygooks here in Yeoju which have been more than welcoming.  They invited me to go bowling and play sports with them.  I think I might go bowling with them tomorrow.  Hopefully I do not get lost, since I still have some problems with finding places. 

           Still waiting to get the proper paperwork to get Trixie out of quarantine but hopefully it will be in my mailbox when I get home, so I can get her from the airport.  I miss my baby so much and feel horrible for her.  I am sure she has no idea what is going on and why mommy is not with her for the past few days (which might turn into a week because of my work schedule and finding the time to go to Incheon).  Hopefully I get to see my baby soon!