Christmas Break. Night 2

This is night two.

Today is so cold. SO COLD. You might think you know what cold is, and maybe you have part of an idea of cold. But this is colder. I don't care. Unless you have been somewhere REALLY cold I don't even want to hear it. For example, Tennessee has never, NEVER had it this cold. And Canada... well maybe. But I have been in some cold in my life and I feel like maybe, just maybe this wins. Plus you are not here. So I don't wanna hear how I should be ok, blah blah... Its cold.

Happy Christmas eve!!!

Today I slept in til the late late hour of 10am. WOW. Then I got up and went to the Green Turtle Salon in Iteawon to get my hair done. It was kind of my present to myself. I got it done by a very nice gay Korean man named... wait for it... Michelle. Dang. I think he was gay anyway.. could have been just very metro, but I feel like gay is more of the right term. Or Homosexual. lol Whatever. He was really cool and did a good job and I am back to being blonde the way I should be =)

It doesn't feel like Christmas eve at all. I am used to a certain feeling of slight panic and overall craziness the night before Christmas. But this is calm, unhurried and basically unaffected. (korea). It's nice kind of. Makes me think about the actual reason for the season. Which is, you know, the birth of Jesus =) I came down into the subway hole, which is what I call the subway system, The Hole, and there was a man playing a harmonica in the entry way. He was playing Oh Come all Ye faithful. It was so nice. I felt full of joy and peace instead of irritation and sadness like I was expecting. Also... unrelated to Christmas, there was a man who I am pretty sure was from South Africa, on the train beside me speaking Africans... I think thats how its spelled, but I could totally understand him. Maybe that is not the language he was speaking. Someone from Africa set me straight please. It's like English, but not.

I also gave myself a nice present of a warmer jacket. Another jacket. I have bought sooo many jackets since being here. Like seriously, too many. I will never need this many ever again. But I felt it was time to go Korean. So I got a giant Korean looking jacket. And a massive scarf. Korean clothing tends to be MORE. More everything. Longer, thicker, deeper, warmer. Like, things will zip right up your face. Like, jackets for example. The zipper usually goes right up the hood, or at least high necked. The collars are higher, and this is the coolest i think, scarves. Its like you are wearing a giant afghan around your neck. Not joking. You get a scarf, its a mile long and two feet wide. Then you wrap it around your neck and face till you are just almost lost in it. Then you go outside. Its very nice and warm and comfy. Basically you look like a tiny top of a head on top of a giant blanket pile, with a small body underneath. I'll have to take a picture and put it somewhere. It's kind of incredible.

Hmmm, so here I am. Listening to Lady Gaga, in my coldish apartment, looking out the window and my city all lit up. Its Christmas Eve and I feel good. Although that might just be because I had coffee earlier for the first time in a couple weeks. =-D But It's Christmas. I have very little, or nothing to complain about. I mean, I wish I was less sick all the time. And I wish I was with some people I love.... Family, thats you, and Friends!! The hardest part about Korea I think, is going too many consecutive days without hugging anyone. I miss getting hugs all the time. I let the kids climb all over me at school just because it is nice to feel the connection with another human.... But it is not really the same and a nice grown up hug! Sometimes if I go more than a week without seeing Christina I feel like something is missing, and then I see her and she hugs me and I realize what it was that I was missing =) You know that thing with th orphans that were dying because they were not being held? Well I am pretty sure that need for human contact never ends. People, all people, babies, old people and people in between have a need to be touched, appropriately, of course! So hug some people for me this Christmas! When you take away the crazy consumerism that is Christmas in North America and strip it down to what really matters, hugging is pretty high on the list! I actually thing Korea has life figured out a lot better than most of North America, but thats another blog, for another time.

So Merry Christmas to you, In fact, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight ;-)

Michelle

Christmas Break. Night 1

This is night one of the epic break.

Today was longer than any other day, excpet maybe yesterday. Yesterday was probably the longest day in the history of long days. Let me tell you about it.

First of all we didn't have to go in to school til 2pm. Which I am sure sounds lovely, and under normal circumstances would have been. But since I am prone to all kinds of illnesses over here I had a fitful sleep due to a fever, sore throat, cough and bad dreams. So sleeping in til 2pm was probably the only thing that saved me. So we went in at 2 and proceeded to sit for two hours doing pretty much nothing. The kids were rehearsing for their Christmas program and the Korean teachers pretty much had it under control. So Hannah and I sat. Forever. We had a nice long wait til dinner time, then another wait til the program actually started. In between we moved to another building and set up for the epic Christmas program.

Second of all, they told me that I was going to co-hosting this Christmas event with Hannah and that we were going to have to just fill time sometimes while the kids got ready for their next act. Whatever, I can talk you under a bus. But... not when I have a splitting headache. So I was concerned about this. Obviously. Well, my headache started to go away and I started feeling a bit better, thanks to some lovely drugs I took. (all legal, no worries) While I was getting organized and trying to figure out what I was going to say, our principle came up and grabbed me on the arm and literally dragged me off thrusting programs into my hands and telling me to greet the parents. When I say she literally dragged me, I am not kidding. I actually had to do a hop/skip half run to keep up with her. It was intense. She is intense!

That would be the third thing. We had to welcome everyone as they came. So we were just standing out there waiting on parents to show up. Lucky for them we already had their kids, all they had to do was come. How nice for them. Eventually they all got there and it was time to start. I did an amazing job of being an MC, if I do say so myself. It might just be my one true calling in life. Although I find public speaking in front of non-English people to be a million times less stressful than in front of English people. There is something comforting about knowing that everything you are saying is being translated. Also they tend to be in love with me over here, hopefully THAT doesn't go to my head, and it is always easier to talk to an adoring crowd.

Fourthly, the program was at least two hours long. At this point we had been hanging out with these people since 2pm and it was now 8pm. LONG DAY. The program finally ended and then we got to clean up. Oh my. So we didn't get back till 10pm. Moral of the story- Longest day ever.

Ok so today was also long. But not quite as full. Hannah and I again found ourselves sitting in the office waiting for something to happen. Hannah was more anxious than me I think, she was waiting to go to Thailand. I was only waiting to get OUT. We had kind of an off day. The kids were tired from the Christmas program so they were just coloring and watching movies. Pointless excuse for a day.

After my school duties I booked it to the mall. I needed to buy another hoodie and some turtlenecks so I don't die in this cold place. So I got what I needed then decided I needed to do my nails. So I got them done by some silly Korean ladies who were just laughing the whole time about how they couldn't speak English. Another woman getting her nails done got my number so her son can call me about math? He's like, 9 so I am thinking its a tutoring thing. (oh i got a cell phone) Then I decided I should also just get a massage. So I went to my favorite E-mart and got a foot massage. SO NICE. ahhhh. It's foot and all the way up to your knee. It is wonderful. Then I also got a chair massage, Mmmmmm =) Basically trying to pound the stress out of myself via a Korean man... That sounds really bad. But it's still true. They are pretty violent sometimes. They kinda just beat you to death and it feels great. haha, still sounding bad. Whatever. Its not bad, Its good =)

After my beating I came back because I remembered the church social/Christmas party was happening. It was over however. Also, while you are enjoying the Trans Siberian Orchestra, I am enjoying the trans Siberian wind. Its SO cold. Takes your breath away the second it hits you. Anyway the party was over, but some people were still hanging around so I found Pastor Peter and coerced him into stealing the Christmas tree from Kinderest so I could put it in my apartment. Makes me pretty happy. I don't really know what is better than sitting in the silent darkness of Christmas and just being in the glow of the tree. That is my ABSOLUTE favorite thins to do. This is my very first fake tree experience though. And it is just not the same as a real tree. No matter how you spin it. Fake trees are fakers. But its better than nothing.

So, I am relaxed and tree-ed. And feeling better. I was getting into a bad funk. Getting all depressed and such, but I have decided to change my attitude. So there. No more depression. =) Life, and Christmas can be good wherever you are and whoever you are not with. Just go shopping. hahah. Ok no seriously, its fine.

And now I have discovered that YouTube lets you create a playlist so I am just listening to SO much Christmas music. Its the first I have really listened to this year. Korean's don't really do Christmas. At least not the crazy part like Americans. For example, I went to the mall, which anywhere else on the day before Christmas eve would be so out of control crazy it would just not be worth even going, and it was just like any other day. Even slower if possible. No traffic jams, no angry crowds stampeding. It was lovely. But also not too many Christmas songs. Some places play them, but its not like overwhelming your senses like some places. Also nothing closes for Christmas. Wheee.

Anyway. This is long. I will stop now. Happy day before Christmas Eve ya'll!!!

Michelle

They forgot to tell us.

They don't tell you that getting used to a new culture, a new country and a new way of life will be the easy part. They don't tell you that you will adapt quickly to a different pace, a new job and a new home. They forget to mention that while all these things will be easy that the hard part will be keeping yourself intact. Keeping your heart alive and remembering the things that matter the most. That the pain and homesickness will creep up on you while you aren't looking and sink its teeth in when you least expect. And that the things you miss the most, turn out not to the food or the language, but the familiar faces and the everyday mundane activities you used to take for granted. The friends and places and things you could do. That the people you miss them most may not be just your family, but the random people you are used to seeing. They should tell you that in orientation.

Sabbath

I woke up this morning to prepare for a day full of singing and talking, laughing and sharing, only to discover that I had lost most of my voice over night while I was sleeping. I went to church, thinking that perhaps somehow it would come back, but throughout the morning it got worse and worse. This really wouldn't be a problem normally, but I was supposed to sing a solo in a choir for a festival. Clearly that didn't happen. They still made me go and stand up front and pretend to sing... But no solo.

The main purpose of this blog is to vex Christina. She was going to blog and couldn't due to crappy internet. So I am seizing the moment to get even further ahead of her. Ha. I am such a nice person.

But after the music festival we went out to eat. We sat on the floor and made soup on our table. Basically. They put a pot on a burner, put some yellow liquid in it and let it boil. Then brought a whole heap of veggies to put in it. Things like lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, onions, pumpkin and tofu. So we cooked that first. After that got good and soggy we all ate it, with some fire sauce. Then the next thing was to cook more veggies but this time add frozen beef. I have never eaten beef, until tonight. Peer pressure I guess. The meat comes in a roll, frozen and red. You put a role into the boiling veggie water and it turns brown and gets wrinkly. Then you fish it out with chopsticks and eat it with the veggies and fire sauce. So we did that for a while. Then the next thing was noodles, in the leftover veggie and beef water. They were pretty good. Once we ate most of the noodles, leftover beef and veggie particles there was hardly any liquid left. Then it was time for a rice goulash. Rice with some onions and an egg, thrown into the pot, water added and then mixed till most of the water evaporated and you are left with rice and goo. And then you mix fire sauce with that and eat it. Yum.

Fire sauce = Chili sauce that sets my mouth on FIRE.

It was a pretty cool process. My friend Lucy, who is also a teacher, helped me through the steps. Explaining what to do and then getting me a fork when my chopstick skills started to fail. I am not very good with the chopsticks yet. She was also super sweet and kept the Kimchi far away from me. I do loathe Kimchi.

That's it for now I think

I hope you all have/had a wonderful Sabbath =)

Michelle

Friday again =)

It is raining in Korea. I am hoping the temperature doesn't return to it's negative digits, or we are all going to be skating to church in the morning.

This afternoon Christina and I visited a Sushi bar for a real Japanese Sushi experience. We were not disappointed. It was delicious!

We then spent almost an hour walking around the stationary store. Stationary stores are the most fantastic thing in the world. They have EVERYTHING you could ever want in them. From slippers to art supplies. Huge construction paper, webcams, clocks, instant coffee, notebooks and planners. You can stock up on paint, canvas, pencils, glue, sticky-back vinyl, and even backpacks, or giant stuffed dolphins. And it is all pretty cheap.

This week was difficult. I think the children are restless and in need of a break. I know I sure am. They have started doing the thing where they just won't listen, and no amount of threatening will get them to pay attention. Half of them didn't have gym class all week due to bad behavior, and it was like they didn't even care. I am anxious for Christmas, even if I end up sitting alone in my apartment staring into space doing nothing. That will be much more relaxing than dealing with bored, annoyed, tired children.

Today I cleaned my room. I think there is more dust in Korea. Every week there are dust bunnies the size of real bunnies hiding in all the corners. It is challenging to stay on top of them and keep them from taking over my tiny room. And, on a grosser note, I finally washed my sheets today, for the first time since arriving here. Or I should say, sheet. Because I only have one. But I also did my pillow cases. It was time.

I made a paper chain earlier this week to help make my room possibly more festive. I am not sure I achieved what I was going for. But it does add color.

I am in charge of vespers next week. We all take turns doing it and next week is mine. I am planning a Christmas music type program. I have several people doing special pieces for it and have Bill, one of our teachers, reading the Christmas story for me. I hope it goes well. We shall see. I got roped into singing a duet with Charles, our front desk/everything guy while one of my students, JeHo, plays piano, Pastor Mark plays sax and our coordinator, Melvin, plays trumpet. Should be interesting I think.

Today my religion students and I went to Hollys Coffee for a tea party. They love tea parties here in Korea. It was a nice relaxing time!

Now I must get ready for FNF, which is what we call vespers. Not even sure what FNF stands for... But I think it means something important, like vespers. =)

Happy Sabbath to you all

Michelle

Ski day Sunday

So I guess it's my turn to fail at blogging. I feel like a lot has been happening, but at the same time it has become fairly routine and so it is hard to think of it as interesting and blog worthy. But at least one new thing has happened. On Sunday I went skiing at Vivaldi Park. Which is awesome. We haven't had any real snowfall yet but the mountain had a couple runs open, full of everyone's favorite white stuff, man-made snow. Which is basically cheating if you ask me. Even though it is technically snow.

My roommate Hannah and I went with my Korean teacher for the five year olds, Elin. We were supposed to meet at the institute at 6:45 am then go together to the bus where Elin had reserved seats for us. So I hauled myself out of bed, ate a quick breakfast and Hannah and I rushed off eagerly to the institute where we found Elin was not. We were first confused, was this where we were meeting, what time was it, etc etc. We decided we were right and stood waiting for her for a while. It appeared that she was a no show and so we decided to leave without her. So we hustled on across the road to the bus. Then we realized that the reservations would be in her name and we didn't even know what her Korean name was. So we stood there feeling a variety of emotions, mostly angst, and wondered what to do next... Then, in the distance I saw a small Korean girl running full speed, carrying a bunch of random crap and dodging random people on the sidewalk. ELIN was coming!! YAY. She rushed up gave her name to the driver and we all got on. Phew. close one.

The bus ride was about 45 minutes all together. It was pretty peaceful. Most people fell asleep, I couldn't sleep and just sat there wiping the fog off the window and watching the country go by. It was nice.

We arrived at the mountain and quickly went to get our gear. Elin wanted to buy a seasons pass and after that and a quick bathroom break we all headed to the change room to get our snow pants on. Then we went to the rental area. I was shocked. I know things in Korea are usually nicer and more impressive than anywhere else I have ever been but this was just amazing. In the past I have been given a pair of crusty ski boots, some dull skis and some dinged up poles. I wade throught the people and find a space to put my stuff, hope that no one steals it, get dressed, wade back out through the people, get treated like a bum and then have a dangerous skiing experience. Complete with irritated frozen ski lift operators, annoyed people pushing and shoving in line, general disinterest in ones well-being. NOT so with this experience.

First their rental area was nice. Big, open, bright. Happy. Several helpful people took my ticket with my size and height and rushed off to various places to collect my ski stuff. It literally took them two seconds. The boots we nice, not broken or destroyed. The skis were in super good condition, even the poles seemed nicer than normal. They had a nice locker area set up, also nice and bright. So we got our stuff on, stowed our valuables and headed for the lift. Korean employees anywhere you go are really nice. Always saying hello, waving, smiling and just all round pleasent. So we were greeted happily at every step of the journey, from bottom to top.

I had almost forgotten what it felt like to ski. And the first trip down was interesting. Not bad, just interesting. Remembering the way to stand, move, turn etc. My knees were not too excited either. WE went down the easy hil a few times and then I wanted to go down the big hill. The hill we were on was not really that small, but it wasn't extremely steep either. I wanted something bigger. So we went to the very top. OH MY. It was scary. I wiped out a million times the first time down. At one point I was sliding down backwards on my back and Elin had to grab my pole to keep me from falling right off the edge of the run. So the first time was basically a disaster, so of course we decided to go again. The second time was much more successful. I only fell once.

We skied and skied. At 11am we took a break to eat food. Then we skied some more. At about 3:30pm after going non stop since our food break we were all pretty worn out and so we went to have tea time. Which is another very Korean thing. Instead of just calling it, going to get coffee/tea, they call it tea time. They look forward to it and as Elin put it, it's her favorite part of the day. So we sat there sipping some hot beverages while a dance crew did a dance for the people waiting for the lift outside. We watched the people coming down the mountain, laughing at the huge crashes and the people who were about to fall. You know the ones.. They start flailing, and swerving and then then just kind of freeze and either run into something/someone, or fall over. Its very entertaining.

We decided we were done and headed back to return everything and get changed and find our bus. And soon we were on our way back. And thats when the achy tiredness began. Hannah and I went to Emart and got leg massages in an attempt to stop the pain before it really took over. That was a whole other adventure. It was very nice, very soothing. That's going to be the thing I miss most I think. The ability to at any time just walk over to Emart and get anything massaged and have it only cost about $20. Ahhhh

Then came home and crashed. Although today it felt like I hadn't even slept. So I am going to bed early again in an effort to get control of my tiredness before too much of the week is gone. So thats all I have for now... I love skiing again and can't wait to go do it more! I will probably go over Christmas break since I am no longer going anywhere/doing ANYTHING. Boooo.

Stuff about stuff

Ok, I promised Michelle that I'd try to write more often, since apparently it's an issue. We've been here about three months now, and I feel that time has passed quickly but also, oh, so slowly. Every day seems like it's three days long at least, but the months seem to fly by. Very strange.

This last Friday, we went on a field trip to the English Village about an hour and a half from our Kinderest. I do not enjoy spending an hour and a half in a van filled with ten 5-year-olds. Not one bit. Sure, they're cute and they're adorable and I love teaching them. But put them all in a van and make them sit still for an hour and a half... Well. Not an experience I'd like to relive any time soon. It was nice to get outside of the city though. I'd mostly forgotten what things like grass and wide open spaces look like.

My religion class last term was fairly standard as far as religion classes here go. There were four members, aged between 30-70. On average, two to four of them would show up each class period.

So far this term, my religion class has been hectic. Anywhere between one and six people will show up. I've had people show up one day and not come ever again, show up for a week and not come back, register two weeks into classes and show up for the first time 45 minutes into class... It's starting to be difficult to know how to proceed with the class, but I'm trying my best. It's hard to be welcoming to new students who've come into class 30 minutes late, proceed with the worksheet study and catch them up on everything they've missed for the past few days because they've been absent. Then again, I'm getting a lot better at improv.

Ok, I think that's about it for now. Off to work on religion class materials.

~Christina

Friday

Friday night....

Today we went on a field trip to a Latin American Culture Museum. The museum wasn't that spectacular, it was alright, but very small. The best part was the trip there. I got to ride in the front seat of the Kinderest van, so I had an excellent view of everything. The fall colours made me homesick as we drove alone the highway which could have been any road in North America. It was such a familiar sight in such a foreign land. We came to a toll booth and I almost lost it. Over something as silly as paying toll. It seemed so normal after months of anything but normal.

As we would approach the toll booth we would roll over the rumble strip, causing the van to vibrate and roar with the sound of the tires bouncing along. The first strip we hit sent JiWoo into a fit of hysteria. I couldn't help but smile. The simple things in life. This little girl has the most contagious laugh. Its very throaty and deep, and gurgling. She laughs from the depths of her soul, her whole body become consumed by it. So as we rumbled over the strip, she burst out in laughter and somehow, that laugh made everything right again.

It is so nice to be back in a country that uses the metric system. I love Kilometers. LOVE THEM. I had my first remembrance of this love when I was running in the gym. The treadmill was keeping track of my distance and speed. Kilometers go by much faster than miles and so it seemed like I was running much further than normal, as well as much faster. Then today on our drive, the speed limits make sense again, the distance markers make sense. I can judge distance again. I can tell you what the temperature is. It is a beautiful thing. To me the metric system makes so much more sense. Another little piece of home.

My birthday was excellent. I was overwhelmed by the Facebook love I got! The wonderful thing about the huge time difference between here and home is that my birthday lasted two days! I got birthday love all day straight, for two days. Some people, who's name I won't disclose, *cough Justin cough* thought they would be difficult and not say happy birthday to me until it was my birthday in America. Silly silly. The kids at Kinderest sang to me, twice, I got a lovely card from the six year olds and the teachers bought me a cake at the end of the day. Then my roommate Hannah and I met up with Christina and we went to our favorite Mexican place, The Taco's, to gorge ourselves on delicious food! Christina, bless her heart, bought me oatmeal for my birthday! I have never been so excited to see the Quaker man before in my whole life. I love him. and I love her! thanks Xtina! Then I came back and fell into a birthday induced coma... Twas very nice.

Thank you all who wished me happy birthday by the way! It means a lot to hear it when you are this far away from home. I never realized how much human interaction meant to me. I still have human interaction but it is different when there is a huge language barrier.

So now it is Sabbath. End of a long long week. I have a club to do tomorrow. Need to make a worksheet for it. But other than that it is time to relax and recuperate, and prepare for another long week =)

Happy sabbath all!

Michelle

Please do not worry!!

Sorry to all that I concerned in my last post. I just wanted to let you know, in case you missed it at the bottom... I am NOT planning on making a habit out of going places with complete strangers. I fully intend to take back up with me if I ever go anywhere again. Also, I have no interest in this man. None whatsoever. He is just a friendly man who wanted to hang out. He did not try to harm me, or coerce me into anything I didn't want to do. And we were never alone at all the entire time. I also was packing heat... lol. Not really. But I had my mace and a pocket knife with me. I also premeditatedly wore running shoes, in case I needed to flee, and met in a well lit area and told everyone where I was going. I know being a female is just dangerous regardless of how safe you are. But as far as crime in Korea goes, its the foreigners you have to watch out for, not the Koreans. BUT I AM BEING CAREFUL!!

Snow

I woke up this morning and saw the angry gray sky and said to myself, "it looks like it could snow today." The wind was howling most of the day and the air was cold on my nose. And wouldn't you know, tonight, as I was returning from a most fantastic meal, I came up the stairs from the underpass and there, flying down to meet me, were at least four snowflakes! I was so excited I think I actually chortled.

Let me back up a few days before I tell you about my fantastic meal experience. On Saturday night I decided to go visit Christina on her end of town. So I about 8pm I set off at a brisk walk to get on the subway and go to her place. I am not a fan of the "must look frumpy and unkept because I am in a foreign country" thing and so I like to at least look like I thought about what I was wearing. Being Saturday night I also put a little more energy into it. So I am listening to music, walking along, not really paying attention to anything. I get to my transfer and basically run to the next train because I want to catch it and I always miss it and have to wait for at least 20 mins til the next one comes. I get there and it is gone so I sit down. I sit beside some girls and another lady sits on the other side of me. And we wait. Eventually more and more people show up and the train finally makes an appearance. I get on and settle into my seat for the short ride to Hoegi station. Again, just listening to my music, people watching, etc.

I exit the train and head out of the station. I am in a hurry because Christina has been waiting for me forever so I am not strolling, I am power walking. I head down the short avenue that separates the station from the main road and just as I am about to come to the crosswalk a Korean man catches up to me and says hello. I am not surprised, random men often say hello. They ask me what I do, I tell them I am a teacher, we make boring small talk and then go our separate ways. But this one decides to tell me something else. "I have been following you since Cheonho." Oh my. this gets my attention. I look around nervously just to make sure there are people around. I think I might have done the nervous giggle and I know I stepped back in alarm. So I look at this guy. He is a little taller than me, not huge, not tiny. He is carrying a brief case and wearing glasses and a suit. He looks to be about 30, but I am never sure with Koreans. He seems harmless enough. Plus I am armed. I have many sharp and heavy objects in my purse. Then he adds to his first shocking statement, "you are very beautiful so I had to follow you." goodness.

The light changes and we cross the street. He tells me that he is a business man and gives me his card. I mispronounce his name and he is annoyed, but amused. We continue walking. We come to the place where I can either cut through the dark alley, or walk around the long way on the main road... and for some stupid reason I chose to walk my normal route through the alley. He keeps pace with me and I momentarily plan my escape if he should chose to assault me. So far he still seems harmless and I would hate to be that American girl who was so paranoid that she never went anywhere. I walk wide around dark corners, and bushes, things that seem like a person could get lost in. We get to Christina's apartment and he whips out a starbucks drink from his man purse. And all smooth like tells me that he bought it for me and the station but there were too many people around to give it to me. So he says, stay have a drink with me. So we stand outside of Christina's apartment and drink coffee. He is a fine fellow. Not scary, but nothing exciting. I am not really into dating Koreans. Thanks anyway. Somehow I gave this man my number.

Fast forward to Sunday. He called. Which I was not expecting. Called himself the subway man. Asked to take me to dinner. So I agreed. I don't know why. I probably should have said no. But Whatever. He took me to Walker Hill. Which is an amazing place up on a hill overlooking my lovely city. It was so fancy. I felt horribly under dressed. But he said it was ok. Anyway, he bought me food. Taught me some history. Said he would love to take me everywhere and show me all of Korea. He also told me I was beautiful about a hundred times...which was awkward. I told him we could be friends. I don't know if he believed me. I am going to try to be very busy the next time he calls. I would not like to give him the wrong idea.

I like Korea. I like that random guys want to take me places. But I realize this is not safe, nor advisable. I do however know that there is strength in numbers and I will hopefully drag Christina along with me next time. But what better way to see the real Korea than with a native who wants to take me places? Hmmm... something to consider.

On the way back, it snowed. Perfect.

November

It's November.

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeek! =) YAYAYAYAYA!!!

The end

Michelle

Monday....and other things...

I feel like I should blog, since it's been a while. However I also feel like I have nothing new to say. My birthday is approaching. I feel slight fright at this birthday... a quarter of a century. No laughing matter. =) I know, I know, I am still young and have a long way to go... But, when its the furthest I've ever been, it seems old.

It's becoming winter here. Rapidly. I reminds me a lot of Canada. All the time actually. The sudden drop in temperature, the frigid wind whipping at my face. The sun shining brightly but not really doing anything. I remember years where it snowed on my birthday, and I feel like this could also be one of them. We shall see. Also I remember my mom always saying how it looked like snow. "those are snow clouds", she would say. And she was usually right. Also the smell of snow about to come. That is a good smell. Haven't smelled it yet, but I did smell the smell you smell right before you smell the smell of snow coming soon. Also an OK smell!!

On Monday I went and decided it was time for a little Michelle TLC. So I went to get a facial. On the way to the facial place i happened upon a chair massage place. I was intrigued so I checked out some prices, finding it reasonable I decided to get a 20 minute "relaxation chair" massage. A friendly Korean woman got me all situated and then proceeded to beat me to death. Or, beat me into relaxation. It was pretty intense. But also fantastic!

Then, fully relaxed (beaten) I continued on to the facial place. They talked me into getting the premium package which was an hour and ten minutes long. Lovely. I put on the little gown thing and went into a room full of beds. I was told to lay down and so I did and wouldn't ya know, it was heated. SO nice. So I laid on a nice heated bed, all warm and toasty with a blanket on me and had a very sweet Korean girl give my face a facial. This included having my face covered in cold goo, having it scrubbed, rubbed, massaged (ahhhhh), covered in a mask of some sort, and a scalp massage. Also included was a back and upper arm deal. The only part I didn't like was when she told me to close my mouth and eyes and not to move them, then covered my face in some kind of cloth that shrunk onto my face and kinda tightened there. It didn't harden, just stuck and I couldn't open my eyes or my mouth. I started getting a little claustrophobic. But it was alright. I survived.

So naturally after getting my face cleansed/moisturized, I thought I also needed a manicure. Wheee. First one ever actually. The girl who did it didn't speak a word of English. So she whipped out her phone and got on the internet, onto Google translator. And we proceeded to have the longest conversation via the phone translator. It was really fun. I was the only one in there so we had a great time. Then at the end another lady came in and was waiting, and we continued our awesome communication for a while and then as i was leaving i wanted to say thank you to here and tell her how sweet she had been. (she got my purse for me, brought me tea, zipped up my jacket). So I was trying to type it and the lady sitting there waiting said, in perfect English, "OK, what do you want to tell her?" It shocked me... Thanks English speaking Korean who has been sitting here watching us type back and forth. haha, then she said, "I didn't want to interrupt, it seemed like you were having fun." Which is true, at least, I was... =) Communication was my major after all. Should use it somehow!

Pretty much the best Monday of all time.

That's almost all the new news. Oh today we had a costume party at Kinderest. Check facebook for pics!!

The end

Michelle

The One about Shopping

A few teachers from Kinderest and I went shopping today by the Ewha Women's University. Unfortunately, it was mostly window shopping for me, since I'm already over my shopping budget for the month. I can't wait to get paid again! We only get paid once every month, so budgeting is important.

I love-love-love shopping here in Korea! Everything is so cute and, if you know the right places to go (NOT department stores like Lotte and Hyundai), relatively inexpensive.

For example, if you shop at places in the subway, you can get shirts for about $5-10. Of course, you have to watch for quality, but for $5, hey, why not?

Anyway, that's about all for now. Another new week... End of our first term is almost here. Time flies...

~Christina

Month TWO

This is the 16th. And that means we have been in Korea exactly two months. Not that I'm keeping track....

Last month I posted the things that I have learned. This month I don't think I really learned anything new. I feel like I am becoming adjusted. I feel like this is a good place. I am not crazy in love with it at the moment, but I also do not hate it. I feel very... complacent? Mmm, yes, perhaps.

I think I might be finally kicking all the sicknesses that have been ruining my life this past month. So that is good news. I think I got a little setback when I received a delicious jar of Nutella from my mommy. I pretty much devoured the entire thing immediately. Feel free to send more!!

I also made some delicious apple sauce today. I have been having a huge craving for it for a while now and so I made some. It was an interesting learning experience. I didn't ruin it, so that's the good news! I feel fairly self-sufficient at the moment =) Maybe one day I will own an apple sauce maker thing, like we had when I was little. And I can make huge amounts of applesauce and eat it forever!! What a good little homemaker... haha

Other than that... I am trying to go to Thailand for Christmas. I think it would be pretty fun. If I can save the money for it!

The end!!

Michelle

Ear doctors and such

My beard count is up to 14, for those of you who are following that.

If you want a true adventure I suggest moving to Korea, getting an ear infection and then trying to find the Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor, alone. (no translator)

This is what I did on Monday. I first asked my Korean teacher, Marianne, if she knew of one. She said, yes, right on the corner, in the Brownstone building. So after teaching I set off to find this ENT. The Brownstone is a confusing building regardless of the language barrier. There is no real main entrance, and then once you actually get inside there are two sections, one for renters, I guess and one for businesses. Of course I went in the wrong one at first. It was pretty obvious that I was not in the right place so I quickly exited and stood out on the sidewalk to survey the situation. Which is really code for, I stood on the sidewalk and squinted at the building, trying to read Korean. And then I saw another door. Big, huge glass doors, of course. So I went in and there was a front office, thank goodness. I really like the part where I go into places and they start talking to me in Korean. Like I have any idea what they are saying. Anyway, through some sign language and charades I managed to ask the guy where the ear, nose and throat dr was. He laughed at me. Imagine that. He shook his head and "told" me it was across the road. OK

So I headed off across the road. I saw a sign that looked like an ear so I figured I was on the right track. After climbing SEVEN flights of stairs I arrived in what appeared to be an abandoned office building. I was confused. So of course I decided to go in. It's really the only thing to do after you have climbed that many stairs. I headed down the dimly lit hallway, trying not to think about robbers and kidnappers, and then I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. Literally. A woman sitting at a desk through some glass doors. Wheeee. I burst in on her, sweating, panting and coughing. Did I mention I also have a cold? So I do my charade and she keeps telling me something in Korean and then telling me to sit... there weren't any chairs... so I just stood there. Trying not to look anxious. Then a man appeared and he could speak English. YAY. Turns out I was in a language academy, not the Dr's office. The friendly man drew me a map. I needed to walk down the road to this other building, across the road. Of course. I left. I headed back to my regular Dr. Right beside my institute. I got in very quickly and he looked in my ear and told me I needed to go to an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor. No way! So I told him, YES. where? So he also drew me a map, to the same place the last guy had shown me. Back across the road.... When I say across the road its not really, just across the road. Much more complicated than that. I have to cross the turning lane first, which can be sketchy. There are no real rules for crossing the turning lane... traffic does as is pleases. Then I have to walk a little further to the crosswalk and wait. Forever. With a whole bunch of people who are in various stages of impatience and using various methods of transportation. The most important thing to do when crossing the street is wait half a second after the light changes before dashing. Buses are known to run red lights, also scooters use a red light as an opportunity to make a U-Turn, or go straight through, or turn, or do whatever they want. So make sure no buses are coming, watch for scooters, stay in the center of the crowd and you will be fine.

Ok so I made it across the road, to the building but of course I have no idea what floor this dr is on. So I ask, using my perfected charade again and find out he is on the 9th floor. The Elevator doesn't appear to be moving. So I decide to run up the stairs. NINE FLIGHTS. What is wrong with me? I get to the ninth floor, gasping and panting, sweating... choking... a whole slew of awesome respiratory issues. They look at me like I have lost my mind... and tell me that this is not the right place, its tenth floor. Ok, up another flight. I get to the tenth and they say, haha, nope, 7th is really where you want to be. For real?

I finally get there. Literally about to pass out. They check me in and within minutes I am seeing the Doctor. He was very nice and spoke excellent English. He noticed I was fanning myself and turned the fan on me, such a nice man! He looked in my ear, then took a picture of my eardrum, which was really cool. Then he sent me for a hearing test. Like the beeping kind. Push the button when you hear the sound, etc. After that back to his chair. He told me I have a middle ear infection. I could have told him that. I can't hear... I just wanted some drugs! So he told me all about tubes and sinus's and drainage and such. Quite informative. Then he said, let me check your nostrils.. lol. He takes some plier looking things, shoves it up my nose, pries my nose open and shoots something up it. Medicine to open my airways... it ran down my throat and tasted like metal. Gross. Then he swabbed out my ear and told me not to clean my ears so much. He said they were too clean... Heh, go figure. Wax actually stops infection. I thought I was done but no no, then his nurse put me at this table thing with these things that looked like hairdryers. But not... they were infrared heaters? You hold them over your ears and sit there for one minute... it promotes health and wellbeing, according to the label on it. Whatever, it felt nice.

Seeing a specialist in Korea will cost you $13. I am not upset by this. Seeing the regular Dr, $2.00. I am huge fan of Korean health care =)

I got some antibiotics for the ear, which is full of fluid, according to my new favorite ENT. I had to go back today to get rechecked and back on Tuesday again. Hopefully by then it is all cured. Anyway. That was my Monday adventure!

Michelle

Wanna play sardines?

Did you ever play the game sardines when you were little? You know, like hide and seek, but instead of one person being 'it' and everyone else hiding, everyone is 'it' and one person hides, then you try to find them and hide with them. You all get crammed into a small space usually, kinda like sardines in their little tin can. Well, tonight we played a whole new variety of that game, only I wasn't trying to hide and no one won.

Its called Hi Seoul, and it is a festival. It is all over Seoul and there are different things happening the whole time, tonight was the night for fireworks. So being the good little foreigners that we are, Christina and I, along with some of our friends from orientation decided to journey into the depths of the city and try to watch the fireworks. Apparently every other human in Seoul had the same idea. We came to our subway station and joined the literal throngs of people waiting for the train. The first train that came along was already full. The doors opened and people poured out, and then people surged on. We didn't even make it onto that train. It was too full. The last people on were being held on by other people while the doors shut to keep them from falling out.

The next train along we were right in the front of the line. I followed Jason on, and was being pushed from behind by someone. I didn't know who, I only hoped it was someone I knew. Turns out it wasn't. It was a full body shove onto the subway. I couldn't go forward anymore, but the person behind me was still trying to move me ahead. I couldn't move either way. On my right was a man and his girlfriend, clutching ice coffee and looking concerned as my entire side trapped them against the wall. On my other side was part of Christina, and I could see a piece of Rebecca's face in the distance. I suddenly became aware that I was smashed up against Jason, so tight I couldn't even turn my head. He was smashed up against two tiny kids and their concerned mother who was muttering in Korean and trying to hang onto them. And behind me, flat up against my back was a slightly musty smelling Korean man. Thankfully, I was trapped directly under the air vent, so I had fresh air blowing on me. All was ok until we began to move...

Then we were one mass of swaying rocking people. I could have passed out and still remained upright. We came to our first stop and you could see the panic spreading like a wave. People jammed in the center of the isle, knowing that this was their stop but not able to move any of their limbs. Vic's camera caught on a girls skirt in the confusion and caused her to become very angry with him. It is always confusing when you can really move, and have an angry Korean girl yelling and gesturing. And you can't even see what the problem is...

So the first stop the doors opened and for a moment no one moved then it was like something popped and all of a sudden people started for the door. Squeezing their way past others, yelling in Korean, eyes wide, clinging to each other for fear of being separated in the mob. And then the music, signalling the doors were about to close, and just when I thought maybe I would have more room, a whole new crowd clambered onto the already overloaded train. I swear, half the population of Korea was in our car.

Thankfully we didn't have to go too far on the sardine train. We soon reached our stop and the train literally exploded with people. Of course all the escalators were broken, so we became on body surging up the stairs, moving as one, forward, upward to the outdoors and freedom.

After a brisk walk and a near death road crossing, involving me running full speed across a road dragging poor Rebecca behind and almost being run over by a car, we made it to the fireworks. The problem with fireworks is that I don't even care that much about them. They were lovely. Whatever. We watched for a while and then headed back... tired from the trip and ready to call it a night already. Feeling road weary and foot sore. Then we found out if was only a quarter to ten. Must be getting old.

That's the adventure for this weekend. More to come, I'm sure!

signing off!

Michelle

Weekend-time!

So, it's been way too long since I've blogged... Michelle is so much better at keeping up with this, but I'll try to update my posts a little more often from now on.

Life has settled into a nice little rhythm for me here in Korea. I wake up every morning sometime between 6 and 7 am, have my devotions and eat breakfast, then get up and get ready for my Religion class which starts at 8. We're using the "Footprints" poem as our theme and taking different topics to talk about from it, like how does God help us in difficult situations and what should we do when we feel alone. So far, it's been really interesting leading out, because no matter what we talk about all my students have their own perspectives on the topic.

After Religion class, I have a 30 minute break before I go to Kinderest at 9:30 am. While I'm there, I alternate 30-minute classes between my Green and Yellow class (5 and 7-year-olds). They're all messy, snotty, loud, hyperactive, and annoying in turn, but they're also adorable and incredibly intelligent for their age.

At noon, I get an hour break for lunch, and then it's back to Kinderest until 2:30 pm. Afternoons are easier, because I mostly teach P.E. From 2:30-3 pm I usually prepare materials for the next day and talk with my Korean teachers.

Then from 3-4 pm I work out at the gym at the Adventist university. It's about a five-minute walk from my apartment, past the Adventist funeral home and hospital. I signed up for a three-month membership at the gym, the rates are fairly reasonable, and I usually go with my roommate and another teacher who works at Kinderest as well.

After I get through working out and showering, I work on creating Religion class curriculum materials for about an hour each day. I'm working on creating worksheets based on the book of Esther right now, and it's been really interesting so far.

After I'm through with that, it's time to relax... I usually write in my journal, get on facebook, and watch some TV. Then, to bed.

Not too bad at all.

This weekend is a mandatory weekend off for all teachers at the SDA Language institute here, so I went to stay with Michelle in Cheonho, since her roommates are out of town this weekend. Cheonho is about 40 minutes from where I live by Subway, and even though it wasn't too far, it was a long way to go hauling all of my necessities for the weekend in my backpack, including my computer. Heavy!

Anyway, today we got to hang out with a few people from our orientation group, go out to eat at our new favorite Mexican restaurant, The Tacos, and watch some fireworks on the river. Michelle said she was going to blog about our adventures today, so I'll let her tell you all the interesting parts. Even though it was a bit of a hassle, it was still fun getting to see everyone.

So, I think that's all for me for now. Like I said, I promise I'll try to write more often.

~Christina

Love never fails.

This whole month and last, I have been studying 1 Corinthians 13 with my religion class and tonight I feel like I have had some kind of thought breakthrough. So bear with me while I try to share it.

Here is the verse we were studying tonight:

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.

So we got discussing what it means for love to never fail. And we decided that the only way that love never fails is if it is perfect love. And the only perfect love comes from God. This is not the breakthrough. Hold on. Ok so we decided that Perfect love come from God and that is why it can never fail, but what about the rest of the verse? Prophecies will cease, tongues will be stilled, knowledge will pass away. Alright, prophecies, seeing the future, foretelling biblical/spiritual events, will stop. Means that love continues past prophecy, right? Tongues will be stilled. All the languages and words we used will stop. No more babbling about uselessness, and then finally, knowledge will pass away. Knowledge we decided is reason or logic. Ok so here is what I got out of this, sorry if it is elementary, Gods perfect love is beyond reason. Which I know for most of you is not a shocker. BUT I think it is great because right now all over the world there are people doubting. Doubting in Gods existence because they have too much information in their heads, too much doubt. But here's the thing. LOVE takes reason. God is love. God takes reason. I don't care what you think you know about everything, science, whatever. God trumps it because God is Love and LOVE never fails. AH ha.

I guess basically, in the end it isn't going to matter what has been predicted, it isn't going to matter how many languages you know how to speak, it isn't going to matter how many scientific discoveries you made or read about. All that matters is that God loves us.

the end.

Michelle

October

I can't believe it's October already. Where does time go? It just keeps sliding away... Before ya know it it's a whole new month...

So far this month I have bought groceries. I went on the longest trek ever to Costco and bought some food stuffs. I should be able to live til next payday I hope.

the weather is crisping up and being a northerner at heart I love it. I like knowing it is cold enough to wear sweaters... In TN you never know... sometimes you can wear shorts until Christmas. I didn't realize how much I miss distinct seasons. Like, one day we woke up and could tell it was fall. That does not happen in TN. Tennessee flirts with fall. One day hot the next day cold, back and forth until about feb when it finally gives in and stays cold. Well, I like my seasons to know what they are doing and Korea so far is doing a good job of being decisive.

I dreamed last night that I went back to the states. But in my dream I was only dreaming I was in the states. It was very confusing. I woke up very disoriented.

Other than that life is good. The children all have a myriad of sicknesses they pass around, to each other and to me. I have never been sick so much in my whole life. I feel like I have had a cold for months. Hopefully I can kick it soon. I was talking with a friend and he suggested I get a can of Lysol and spray everything before I touch it. I was thinking also spray the children before they touch anything. And then he suggested for more of a serious attack on germs, wearing a bio-hazard suit, complete with face mask and gloves. I would like to take that one step further and suggest wearing bio-hazard suit and carrying a can of Lysol with which to spray everything, including the children... I think that would probably solve all my problems... I will look into it. The newest scary thing I saw on Friday was a kid with a crusty eye. If he has pink eye, we are all doomed. You can't escape the pink eye plague once it gets started. Especially in this school where the children rub themselves on you constantly. I had a little boy rub his snotty nose ON my hand. And then on Friday, a small child sneezed into my face. Full force. I couldn't avoid it. That's the problem with sitting in small chairs. It puts you at face level with all the wee ones and their air-born disease. I swear, if I make it out of here with my life nothing will ever be able to make me sick again. I will have become a super human. With super powers of non-sickness and a crazy immune system. Pfft, bring it on silly American illness, You got nothin on Korea!

Hmm... what else? I made a tree and put it on my wall. I will try to post a pic of it sometime... Its pretty impressive, for me anyway. I sometimes have random spurts of creativity that explode out of me. The problem is they can't be harnessed, and thus I am not consistent in my creativity. And that is a problem I think. People see a spurt and they think, oh this girl is good at _______. And then they set up unrealistic expectations... and then are surprised when I just don't have a good idea. silly people. It is so much easier to just be mediocre. Then no one expects anything ever and when something amazing happens, all are pleasantly surprised. Yes. this is actually a theory I have had for some time. Ever since I realized that if I was a good worker I would always end up doing way more work than everyone else. The key is to do a good job but not a fantastic job and then once and a while do something really amazing and everyone will oooh and ahhh over how amazing you are, and how much extra effort it must have been, when really it was nothing. It was almost easier than pretending to be normal. Ha. So far it works really well for me! except now I have let out my secret. Karma will get me!

I will stop now, I am sure you all stopped reading long ago, congrats if you stuck with it to this point!! Happy October! Let the harvest festivals, costume parties, pumpkin carving and apple bobbing commence!!!!

Michelle

Twinsies

I don't know where we were or what we were doing the first time this happened, but it happens all the time now.

Person, "hey are you guys twins?"

Us, "no, do we look like twins?"

Person, "sisters?"

Us, "hmm, sure, why not."

Or...

Person, "me and my friends have a bet that you guys are twins."

Me, "yes, we are, fraternal of course."

Person, "rats i just lost the bet, I thought you were just sisters."

Me, "Too bad..."

Apparently those are the only two options. Christina and I can't just be friends, we are either sisters, or twins, most likely twins! Hahaha

I think I will take it as a compliment, I think Christina is just gorgeous and if I can be her twin, that's fine by me!

Also my facial hair count is up to 11 as of today. I saw TWO men on the same street, at the same time with beards today. WOW

And another thing, anyone thinking about sending me any type of package, Please, please, Please send deodorant. I am almost out and really haven't seen any since being here. I guess Koreans just don't stink... Hmmm...

Michelle

Money money money

Tomorrow is my first payday since coming to Korea. Needless to say I am bursting with excitement! I have been pretty much broke since I got here. But this last week has been the worst. On Monday I had 3000 Won. Which is equivalent to $3.oo. Today I have just a few coins rattling around in my wallet. I bought a subway card to go see Christina and it cost 1600 Won. Then it didn't work. And I didn't get my money back. So what did I do? I hopped the gate and rode the subway anyway. (a little man told me to)

I have a whole list of things I need to buy. The most important by far is food. Following closely behind that is closed toed shoes. I guess winter is right around the corner. It has gotten considerably colder these past couple days. Like, to the point where I need blankets on my bed at night. I really thought it would never happen. And I found out on Sabbath that Korea has a very short spring and Fall. So winter is around the corner. I am pretty excited about it really. =)

That's about it for now. Payday tomorrow, then I can live again. Until then.... I gotta sit tight and not do anything expensive.... overnight!! Should be pretty easy.... =)

Michelle

Long day and then...

There are long days and then there are 13 hour long days. Days full of roller coasters, eating, walking, rain, and Asians.

There is Coke, and then there is Diet Coke. There are not interchangeable. No.

There is rain, and then there is Acid rain, which according to rumor will cause your hair to fall out and your skin to peel off in chunks... hasn't happened yet....

I woke up at the crisp hour of 12pm. Rolled over, got online... chatted for a bit then took a nap til 4pm. Then I got up, taught a 15 minute class and then came home and just sat around because,

there are weeks and then there are weeks of holidays!! Welcome Korean thanksgiving!!

There are men, and then there are Korean men... Who are alright as far as men go... But they like to hover. Shopping, right there, over my shoulder... walking, right there, next to me... in my personal space.

The end.

Michelle

AHHHHH!!

It's 4 am on Sunday morning, and I've been awake for an hour. Why, you may ask, are you awake at 4 am on a Sunday morning? Mosquitoes and a sore throat.

The mosquitoes here are not like the mosquitoes in the U.S. Oh, no. These are crafty Korean mosquitoes of death that go into hiding before you go to sleep and come out at the most inopportune times to wage crafty mosquito wars and torment your soul. Or at very least your limbs.

As far as the sore throat, I've gotten sick every weekend like clockwork. Traditions are important for solidarity, but it seems like my body could come up with something a little more fun, like a receding hairline or ingrown toenails.

And now, it's 4:30 and I have to be awake in 2 and a half hours. I repositioned my fan. Hopefully it helps.

~Christina

One day shy of one month

Tomorrow is the day. The day I thought would never come. It is the one month mark of leaving the US. The 16th of August seems like it was a year ago, not one short month. I remember the days when a month seemed to fly by at the speed of a day, or even a moment. The weeks go quickly now, but the weekends last forever. It used to be the opposite. I would spend the whole week thinking about how long it was taking to get to the weekend. So many things to do, places to go, sleeping to be done. Now I hardly have time to blink and it's Thursday. But then the time between Friday and Monday seems like an eternity. Probably because there are less things consuming my time. Even with the hectic-ness of teaching and being a missionary-type, I still have endless hours where I am just sitting. Or sleeping. And strangely it is in these times that I find myself missing the week with its hectic schedule. What is wrong with me? I am probably becoming a Korean.

So what have I learned in this month of Korea?

• I have learned to watch my back whilst walking on the street. (cars will run you over)
• I have learned to sleep on a rock. (also known as a bed?)
• I have gotten used to not understanding ANYTHING being said around me. (its actually kinda nice)
• I have learned to walk everywhere. (always)
• I have learned how to navigate the subway system with almost perfection. (not ease)
• I have learned to appreciate my umbrella. (it did finally stop raining. A Korean miracle.)
• I have learned to just eat rice. There is no sense trying to fight it. It is not going away.
• I have NOT learned how to enjoy Kim chi, in any form. (ever, for any reason.) (gross)
• I have learned where the cereal isle is in E-Mart. (a grocery/department store extravaganza)
• I have learned how to bow, all the time. When in doubt, just bow. (seriously)
• I have learned that the noise is not going away. Embrace the city. (or it will eat you)
• I have stopped being so overwhelmed with missing people. (YOU)
• I have learned how to nap several times a day and then still go to bed and sleep.
• I have learned to jump into and out of elevators. (the doors do not have sensors. they will crush and destroy you)
• I have learned to always repeat everything I say twice, at least.
• I have learned to always repeat everything I say twice, at least.
• I have learned that it is completely acceptable to stop in the middle of the sidewalk and take a self-portrait. (just watch out for scooters)
• I have also learned it is acceptable to stop in the middle of the side walk and take pictures of other people on the sidewalk. (even if you don't know them)
• Smart people take the bus, stupid people try to drive their own cars. (no parking)
• The smell of fish is normal for a sunny morning. (try not to puke in the street)
• I have learned that if you are a little old woman you can wear anything you want. ANYTHING. You can also sit on the sidewalk and peel veggies, smoke or just hang out with your friends.
• I have learned that 10,000 won really doesn't go very far. (neither does $10)

Too much? Maybe. But if there is one thing I have learned, more is better!!

Korea is growing on me. Hopefully this will continue to be a positive trend, not something unfortunate like having a tumor growing on me.

Love to all!!

Michelle

Beards. And other things

So far, since coming to Korea, I have seen exactly six men with facial hair. This facial hair ranged in length and thickness from a very short goatee, to a slightly stringy, two inch long, thin beard. And yes, as I walk through the streets I keep a running tally. That's as far as it has gotten.

I tore down my curtain today because it was blocking the view of the sky. I want to see sky. Thank you very much. I rearranged my room a little while ago to put my desk in front of my window. I thought it would be inspiring. But that silly curtain really blocked out most of the inspiration. Good thing its gone now. Let the creative juices flow!

Not a lot has happened since the last time I blogged. Oh, I did get some terrible sickness which lasted all of one day thanks to instant drugging by the friendly neighborhood doctor. I woke up Friday morning feeling like a had been hit by a train. My whole neck, not just my throat, ached. My whole body was throbbing, achy. I was hot and cold, shivering and sweating simultaneously. My head was pounding and I really just didn't want to move, swallow, breathe or think. So I stayed in bed. Until I was hauled off to the Dr. by my pastor. Good thing too. He got me on some antibiotics and I went back to bed. After about two hours I woke up and couldn't believe the change. It was like I had never been sick. Amazing.

I have gotten into some kind of a routine finally. All the classes are in full swing so I know how my schedule is. Its not too bad. I find it challenging but doable. Which is the way it should be I think. I have decided that in February, when the little munchkins graduate, I will not do another term of Kinderest. I will do my last six months just teaching adults. I think it will save me a major burn out at the end. Ya know?

That's about all I've got for the moment. Love and miss you all appropriately. =D

The end

Michelle

I love Korea, I hate Korea

• I love the fashion.
• I hate the sticky heat.
• I love that there's a coffee shop two minutes from where I live.
• I hate the acid rain.
• I love that my apartment has heated floors.
• I hate that my AC is too expensive to use with any regularity.
• I love the subway.
• I hate the pollution.
• I love feeling like I make a difference in my kids' lives.
• I hate having to say, "Please don't," 30 times in 20 minutes.
• I love the city lights at night.
• I hate that the only gardens are on roofs.
• I love the rice.
• I hate the rice.
• I love being an instrument for God.
• I hate not understanding almost everything people say.
• I love that the technology is fully 2 years ahead of USA's.
• I hate that I have to work longer and harder than I ever have before.
• I love feeling like God gives me strength to keep going.

The One about the Typical Day

Wake up. Devotions. Journal. Breakfast.

Go over my schedule. Am I missing anything? Anything I need to write down? Do? Remember to copy the grammar worksheets. Run a minute farther to get coffee. Hurry back. 9:31 am. A minute late.

Work, more work, meetings, more meetings, more things to remember I have to do. More erratic showers, more sea weed or cereal for lunch. More rice, more aloe juice.

Lay down. Hurry. Go back to class. More drills, more practice, get the kids to speak more English. Repeat after me, repeat, repeat. Think about my religion class, religion worksheets, make notes, Kinderest curriculum. What should be changed? What's working? Take the kids to gym. Play games with them. Supervise. More English. Back to the classroom for story time.

Repeat after me, repeat, repeat.

Cabbage and corn in the egg and toast sandwich I ordered down the street. Music to unwind, TV. Email, email back. Policies and staff meetings. Remember to stop by the academic office. Facebook. Skype. Remember to set an alarm for tomorrow. Don't forget to prepare for classes; what game are we playing? What pages are we reviewing? Prepare for special music for church, for the Friday night program. Repeat, repeat! Evaluate, discuss, question. Blog. Facebook again.

Journal. Message my dad.

Fall into bed. Sleep.

Repeat.

My name is Teacher Michelle

I am the only person in Korea with blue eyes.

I went up front today in church to be introduced and forgot my shoes at my seat.

I now sleep with a pillow under my knees.

I have gotten used to eating rice for every single meal.

I have also gotten used to sleeping while it's a million degrees.

I have started to repeat myself in regular conversation.

My name is Teacher Michelle.

First Week Teaching

Well, this week has been... Long. Hot. Exciting. Interesting. Frustrating. Fun. All of the above.

Teaching in the Kinderest (Kindergarten) program definitely takes a lot of energy. But it also is a lot of fun at times, too.

The typhoon came and went without any major damage to the area I'm in. In fact, I slept through most of it.

There are, I'm sure, precisely a million more things I need to write about, but for now this will have to do. I am well and I am busy and it's Friday night and I'm ready to go to bed.

I love you all!

~Christina

Typhoon

I went to sleep very late last night, for many reasons, one of which was it was just too dang hot to sleep. I just felt overwhelmed and oppressed by the heat. My fan did very little to soothe the situation. I eventually fell into a fitful, confusing sleep, full of strange dreams, and lots of tossing and turning. Around 3am I was jarred awake by a sudden crash. It sounded like a big tin thing had crashed into a wall. I tried to just go back to sleep but the wind was crashing into my window, shaking the air in my room and making my door rattle. This continual rattling is what really did me in. I can sleep through thunderstorms, hurricanes, lightning, wind, etc. But constant repetitive noises like my door clicking open and closed, over and over again, are enough to drive me mad.

So I got up, hoping to fix the problem. I jammed folded paper into the crack where the door and the door jam met. This fixed my problem for a couple minutes and I fell back asleep to the howling wind and the rain hitting my window. Then all of a sudden a huge gust of wind burst in and the paper flew out of my door and following directly the hideous rattling. I was pretty much irritated at this point. I got out of bed and opened my bedroom door, which caused the wind to gush in and ferociously tear through our apartment. I looked out my door and saw my house mate Julie frantically running around the laundry room. I didn't really know what she was doing, and I didn't really care so I went back to bed. At about 5am I was awakened again by the sound of an explosion and my fan shutting off. The power was out. A couple hours later I dragged myself out of bed to see what was going on. Everywhere I looked out the windows, power lines were blowing freely in the wind. The rain berated the house angrily and a large quantity of debris was flying around in the streets below.

Hannah announced that it was a Typhoon. How exciting. while we all stood around trying to figure out what to do next there was a massive explosion outside. A bright flash and then a cloud of smoke billowing up into our open windows. The horrible stench of burning rubber and what I can only imagine would be, the smell of electricity. Hannah immediately freaked out and said we should get out. I thought for a minute she might be right, that maybe our apartment building was on fire. I stood there in the door of my bedroom trying to figure out what I should grab in case we needed to exit...Somehow the only thing I really wanted to grab was my teddy bear.

Clearly my priorities are not right.

we decided to stay put as the smoke seemed to be clearing. But the wind and water continued. I got my stuff together to head to class and after walking down six flights proceeded to walk past a giant power line, lying in the middle of the road. A bunch of Koreans started yelling at me and pointing and gesturing. I am pretty sure they were trying to tell me not to lick the end of the exposed wire. I nodded my appreciation for the suggestion and hurried past, far away from the end of the wire and the big dry spot surrounding it.

I got to school only to learn that the bus was running two hours late and I didn't need to be there until 11:30am. So I went back to my apartment to take a nap. On the way back I passed a number of interesting things. A man squatting on the sidewalk collecting fallen berries from a tree that had broken in two on the side of the road. A light pole had fallen over also, possibly helping the tree break, i am not sure how it all went down. There were many many people sweeping the sidewalk, the sound of sweeping was taking over my senses. The most conclusive thing I saw was an abandoned umbrella, lying on a grate, turned inside out by the wind no doubt. It's skin was ripped from its frame and lay flapping there next to it. It was sad and defeated, but mostly passive. I thought it really summed up the general feeling of the morning.

The rest of today was mostly uneventful. We baked cookies at school and the kids were really really good for once. It was a nice short, easy day. We went online to check out the weather situation and this was the first Typhoon in 15 years to hit this area. It was also the most severe typhoon of the year period. How exciting that I could have been here for that!!

Thats all for now folks, more later, as usual...

Michelle

When I wake up in the morning...

The first thing I hear when I wake up in the morning, is the ear-piercing shrill of my beautiful new alarm clock. It most definitely is earning its keep, but also causing me undue stress first thing in the morning. I roll over and fumble for the off button to make it cease then lay there on my rock hard bed, listening to the sounds of Korea waking up outside my window. Cars rushing by somewhere in the distance. A recording of a Korean man repeating a Korean phrase over and over loudly, bike bells, people yelling to each other and horns honking. This city is happily devoid of dogs barking, or sirens going by daily. As the sun makes it over the top of the surrounding buildings my room suddenly gets very warm and I am almost forced to get up and get moving. I then trot off to the bathroom to take a shower to help me wake up. My shower is in my bathroom, and my bathroom is my shower. The toilet, sink and shower head are all on the same wall. The tap for the sink turns on the shower. The shower shoots out over the sink into the middle of the bathroom. I shower standing over the sink, with the toilet right next to me. It is very weird. After I shower I have to clean up all the water that got on the toilet, and all over the sink and then i head back to the biggest problem I have been having since coming to Korea. What do I wear today? I am already bored of the small selection of clothing I brought and daily berate myself for bringing so few shirts. What was I thinking? After dressing myself I usually turn on my computer to see who is up back in the states. I usually get lucky and find my favorite people on. This however is a huge distraction to my getting ready process. After eating a delicious breakfast of flakes and soy drink I gather my belongings and head out to school. I ride the elevator down the six floors to the ground level, exit the elevator quickly, because if you don't get moving the door will close ON you, and then exit my building and turn right. Its only about a block to the main road where I take another right. On my left is a small group of ladies sitting on the sidewalk under the shade of a bus stop, sorting vegetables. On my right is a parking lot which usually has someone trying to get either in or out, all the time. Koreans are crazy parkers. They can fit into the smallest spaces you have ever seen, turn the sharpest corners and back up the closest to any building. Very efficient parkers. You will never see them taking up two spaces, you are more likely to see two cars in one space. I arrive at my institute in about 4 minutes, or so, in total, from the time I left till the time I get there. Then I climb a bunch of stairs to the Kinderest floor and then my day really begins.

I will spare you that run down.

After everything is finally done I can go home and take a break. I try to climb the stairs all the way to 6th floor at least once a day. I think it will improve my overall endurance. I come into my room, drop my books on my bed and sit down to plan out the next day in my computer chair from hell. Not only will it not stay at the level you put it, but it also has a big melted spot on the fabric which makes a sharp pointy thing that digs into my leg. I am getting a new one ASAP.

The end

Michelle

Day 1 of teaching.

Day one of teaching = complete.

i don't even know what I did, but I know it is over. The kids are a handful. They aren't bad and it's hard to say really why it is so much work. Because really its not work, so much as... brain work? I don't know. It's a constant battle to stay one step ahead of them and their shenanigans. You have to be a little quicker than a five year old. A little more excited than a six year old. How do parents do this for so many years. It is exhausting. And all I really did was read to them. ALL day long.

Tonight is staff meeting where I will get my schedule for the rest of the classes I am teaching. Hopefully only one adult and one religion. There was some talk today of having me do another little kids class. I am not really sure what that is all about. Anyway. I am basically tired, and overwhelmed and hot. We don't have AC in our cute little apartment. Too bad. I am glad winter is around the corner. Oh man.

I decided when i found out I was going to be living on the 6th floor that I would walk up the stairs everyday in an effort to get some good solid exercise. Day one of that... I only did it once of the three trips I took and I was panting, and sweating by the time I got to my floor. I was also carrying a whole pile of books, that might have had something to do with the sweating.

I finally bought some razors... Its been a hairy couple of weeks and I am excited about shaving my legs again. I also got some soap. I have had some this whole time, but I was only borrowing. So I am also excited to be able to scrub myself with my own body wash.

I mentioned on Facebook that Korea is gorgeous by night. As I was being driven over here last night I was just staring, wide-eyed at all the lights, the people, the things happening. It is hard to explain the feeling it gave me. I was just very happy... or calm. Very calm. It felt good and it was so pretty. The Olympic bridge is beautiful in the daylight but at night there are lights all over it. All the tall tall buildings with their lights, the traffic is less heavy, there is not so much noise. People are walking around, wandering, talking, laughing, hanging out on the side of the road. It is all very cozy feeling. I liked it. I did not however, like the huge crash outside my window at about 3am. I think someone was delivering something, or ran into something. Not sure what happened but it woke me up with a start. But I was awake almost all night anyway. New bed, new noises, new heat....

I need a nap. I will try to keep up with this thing as time marches on. But I don't know how regular it will be. =)

Michelle

Day 13 I think...

Well, tomorrow is our last day of orientation. I really can't believe it's actually going to be over. I didn't think that it would ever end and now that it is I am a little afraid. Now I have to actually go forth and teach these Koreans. And my biggest fear is I have bitten off too much. I have to start teaching little tiny children on Tuesday, the regular adult English on Wednesday, then Wednesday the 8th I have to start teaching religion. So basically I have to get three different kinds of lesson plans figured out and teach them all, at the same time. Plus, weekend activities, which may or may not include, leading out in vespers, speaking for vespers, preaching and or any other random thing they may throw at me. Yay.

Nothing has really happened this past week. Just more of the same stuff. Learning how to teach... repeating lessons over and over all day til we all thought our heads would explode. So this is my update... Oh it has also been raining non-stop forever. I am tired of the sogginess. I would just like to be dry, and warm!! But other than that Korea is grand! We went out to eat at an authentic Korean food place last night. We sat on the floor, took our shoes off and everything. It was also delicious!

Thats all I got for now... Stay tuned though cuz the good stuff is right around the corner. =)

Michelle

The one about the Shower

The shower in our guest house is fully the second most complicated shower I've ever experienced in my entire life (Let's just say the first could be transformed into a sauna and had 8 heads).

This is how the typical morning shower goes: Turn the water on. Barely a trickle. Suddenly, it shoots full force to the wall. It is cold, and remains cold for 5 minutes. Go downstairs. Turn on the power and heat for the water. Come back upstairs. Wait 3 minutes.

Water gets hot. Get in. Trickle again. Get close to the shower head. Water full in the face. Etc.

The pressure and temperature of the water seem completely unrelated, as far as I can tell.

Confusing!

~Christina

Another day 7

Today I woke up exhausted. Never a good way to start the day. I eventually hauled myself out of bed and down to breakfast, only to discover that we needed to go introduce ourselves to all the Koreans before worship. Which meant I had to run back to my room and grab my stuff in less time than I had originally thought I had for all my morning meanderings.

After our brief introductions, and a quick run through the rain, I settled in for worship. It hadn't even started when Hetani, one of the leaders, came and pulled me out. Pastor Mark had come to get me to take me to Chunho (sp?) to observe the teacher there in the Kindergarten class. The one called Kinderest. I followed him upstairs and out to his car where his wife was waiting patiently. We climbed in and then just as I got settled he began speaking in Korean, his wife opened the car door and then opened mine and told me to get out. I was confused, not being Korean I had no idea what they were saying, but it seemed like I should get out of the car, so I did. Pastor Mark began pulling papers out of the glove box and it turned out that the car wouldn't start and he was calling someone to come fix it. Or something. He told me to go back downstairs and wait and that he would come get me when they were ready to go.

I got to listen to all of worship... It was pretty good. A Korean pastor who has been here for a really long time had it and he was talking about looking straight out at the horizon instead of down at the ground. At the end of his talk he forgot his closing point and so it ended rather abruptly. But we all had a nice laugh about it. Then Pastor Mark came and got me and we headed out again. This time instead of the small compact car we were originally going in, we got into a van.

I told you before about how the roads double as sidewalks. Well the alleyways are very narrow and people walk in them, park in them, ride their bikes, carry stuff, haul stuff etc. through them. So we headed down one of these narrow alleyways in this van, pretty fast. And there was a car approaching. And a woman walking... So the car slowed down and Pastor Mark veered to the side, the woman walking, dodged further right, pressed up against the fence but Pastor Mark seemed unconcerned. He just drove past the car, avoided the woman then proceeded to cross two lanes of traffic and dodge into another alley. And what was I doing this whole time? Sitting calmly in the center seat. Holding my breath.

We drove for about 15 minutes. 15 minutes of the most intense driving ever. It is nothing like Atlanta, nothing like Toronto. It is not like anything you experience in North America. People are driving like it is their one sole purpose. They have one goal and that is to get from point A to point B as fast as possible. No one uses blinkers, there really are no cops. It's a mad free for all. If you want into a lane that doesn't have space you simply start edging over and cause the person in the next lane to swerve away from you, or honk, or speed up. Any of those options are fine.

So we made it to the institute. parked and hopped out. I was pretty happy to be back on solid earth again instead of in the swaying veering van of death. Pastor Mark's wife, Julia took me inside and deposited me in a classroom with a woman named Amy who was reading a story about owls to a cluster of the cutest Korean children you have ever seen. They all turned to look at me with their beautiful brown eyes and I couldn't help grin. They were adorable. Only 5 or 6 years old, but they could say big English words. They could answer questions and responded to commands given by their teacher. I was impressed, to say the least.

I spent the rest of the day following Amy around, back and forth between classes. It was hectic. Each class lasted 30 minutes. There was no time in between to go to the bath room, gather supplies, or do much of anything besides run to the next class. She seemed frazzled. Lunch came pretty quickly and after meeting all the teachers I stuffed myself on rice and tofu. It was yummy. And free. Two of my favorite things ever. After lunch there was more scurrying.

I have to tell you about this kindergarten place. And it really is like its own little world. There are convex mirrors at knee level along some of the walls so you can see small children approaching. there is a staircase on the right as you come in the door that doesn't go anywhere, just up one side and down the other. Along the wall are big soft circles so if you fall into the wall you will be fine, if you are a small child. Then directly in front of you is a giant room encased in glass with tree branches running over it. So it basically looks like a giant tree, but it is their gym. Then as you turn and go down the hall the rooms are named colors and there are random circular windows cut into the walls and doors so you can look in easily. The whole place is bright and happy looking. Very kid friendly.

Anyway, after all the running to and fro Pastor Mark brought me back across town so I could rejoin my orientation group learning how to teach English to elementary school kids. So much learning going on. My brain must be expanding because it hasn't popped yet. Tomorrow I get to go again to Kinderest and observe some more. And I start on August 31. Which is sooner than anyone else has to start. Also Christina and I are not going to be living together. We won't be very far from each other though, only like a ten minute subway ride, maybe less... So I am sure we will see each other often. Kind of sad though, it would have been fun to live together. I get to see my apartment tomorrow. I will let you know how that goes.

That's it for now =)

Michelle