An old friend to remember

Dear KT$,

I often think of you and wonder if we would still be friends today. Every year on this same day, I think of you and wonder was there anything I could have done? Could I have been a better friend? Could anyone have changed the decision you made that day? I can sit and ask myself question after question and fantasize about the “what-if” scenarios, but unfortunately this won’t change anything. How much I wish you were still around won’t change anything either. Although, you may not have necessarily seen yourself this way, in my eyes you were a kind, loving and care-free individual. I hope you are in a better place now and I miss you.

angel

The 25th is approaching fast

Here I am. 5:30 am and I’m awake with a tummy ache; thank-you delicious salmon alfredo pasta. Side note – can you tell I work with kids? I just said tummy. Before I go any further, it's story time. I spent last night out and about in town. We went for dinner, coffee then of course to a bar called Pump. With two long islands and two games of darts down we decided to head home. As we're walking towards the main street to catch a taxi, we see a taxi literally stop about ten, maybe fifteen, feet in front of us. We continue to walk, but as soon as I saw that taxi's light turn on I knew we were in business. Through the window, I could see the passenger hand the cab driver money. In my tipsy state of mind I decided to book it to the cab. No one was getting this taxi, but US! So I ran with my hand in the air towards the taxi. The passenger opens his door and starts to get out of the cab. The next thing I know, as this man turns to leave the cab I'm right in his grill. As you can guess, he was pretty startled to see a person in his face. He immediately did this with his hands and made this face: 

I of course start laughing and say, "I just want this cab." He replies by saying "high-five." We exchange high-fives and go our separate ways. Looking back, the person was an older Korean man...so maybe he didn't say high-five. I gave him one anyway.

Another week down at the job and it feels good. For some reason, the weeks here tend to fly by. I don’t know why, but they just do! I finally posted the few pictures I brought with me from home in my apartment. It feels good to see some familiar faces everyday! I'm working hard at TEFL, well trying too. I have plans to go to Caffé Bene later to try and work more. I really need to stay motivated with this one. This is the prime reason why I only took one on-line course; I’m just not motivated enough to sit down and do the work. Plus, it’s really freaking boring. I definitely have more to say, but seeing how it’s only 6:18 am and I’m tired again, I need to jump on this opportunity of drowsiness and try to sleep. BRB.

Ok, I’m back. I never fell asleep, but I did watch Fried Green Tomatoes. I forgot how much I enjoy this movie. It’s a good one; I suggest watching this one. To Wanda!!! It’s 9:45 am and I’m currently at Caffé Bene ready to go. Unfortunately, nothing is going my way. For some reason the wireless is not working. I’m connected, but nothing. Why is it every time I am ready to sit down and work nothing really goes as planned? I mean really?! I was just here a few weeks ago to kill time. My battery was full of life and I had all five bars of internet. Not one problem.

Monday January 24^th, 2011 will be my 25^th birthday.  God, I feel like I’m getting old. I will be 25 years old and all I can think about is what I haven’t done. I’m damn near thirty and I feel like I’ve done nothing with my life. I’ve just been. I slowly feel my time and youth being sucked out of me. I can’t help but think of the future and where my life will go. What will I do when I leave Korea? Will I go back to school? Will I get a big person’s job? Ok, yes you’re right; I’m being a little dramatic, but I find myself pondering these thoughts fairly often. What have I done with my life, how have I contributed to this world, what will I be when I leave Korea? I absolutely hate that I do this. I never stop and just enjoy today. I’m always thinking of what will be. I remember being in middle school and how I was so over 7^th grade. I couldn’t wait to start high school and surround myself with a more mature crowd. Of course, once I saw how high school was, I started thinking, man I can’t wait until college.

 From the time your young you’re asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up”? The time you spend in high school is solely spent on figuring out what you will do with your life/preparing for college. The time spent in college is no different. You are preparing for “adult” life; that fancy job, a spouse and yes, of course kids. I just feel we are trained to always look to the future; into what will happen instead of enjoying where we are right this very instant. Well, I’m done. I’m tired of always looking into the future and wondering what will become and what I will do. I don’t want to obsess over the future anymore. I want to enjoy now. So, this is my birthday gift to myself. I promise to stop worrying myself with what will happen and just trust myself and the decisions I make. I’m going to enjoy Korea and every day I have on this earth. I’m no longer going to wonder what I will do, but instead make sure I’m contributing to this earth in a positive way. I will continue to volunteer and help those in need. I will actively try to be the best person I can. Everything will work out and if it doesn’t, well that’s ok too. I’ll figure it out when the time comes.

Youtube Videos

I've decided to dedicate this post to my favorite youtube videos. Grab some popcorn, sit back and relax.

Translation for donka do balls = call me?!

First of all, the kid has a point. It's obvious the baby needs a band-aid and the only one who can see the urgency of this situation is this kid. Second, I would also be pissed if my baby brother was hemorrhaging from the mouth.

and now for the remix....

I definitely look up...down to someone who wont take anyones crap; especially monsters.

And for my cat lovers...

Hope you enjoyed!

I'm annoyed today

Its official, I declare today as "Get It Off My Chest Day." I don't know what my problem is, but I'm on edge. Maybe it's because for the past few days I haven't been able to fall asleep before 2:30 am. Last night I couldn’t fall asleep until after 3am. To top this off, the next morning I naturally wake up around 8am. I’m not waking up to an alarm – I just wake up. I lay in my bed wide awake looking at glow in the dark stars on my ceiling. I don't know what's going on, but it's really starting to piss me off along with many other little things. I forgot how difficult it is working/living with different types of personalities. Don't get me wrong, I'm very lucky to not be the only foreigner - I personally would be very lonely. BUT when you work with people all day and hang out at night AND hang out on the weekends, sometimes you really start to get on each other’s nerves. This always happens no matter how great of friends you are...you will get on each other’s nerves. It happens.

For some reason, I seem to clean my apartment everyday and by the end of the day it’s messy again. This is irritating. I can’t seem to find the motivation to finish TEFL and I'm annoyed I can't really talk to my family as much as I could before. I really miss being able to just pick up the phone and make a phone call without worrying about the fucking time difference.

Today I'm choosing my attitude - annoyed.

I finally got a phone..this is exciting.

I haven't really said this, but although my blog is titled Kimchi Anyone? I don't really like Kimchi. I think it's kind of gross. I am more tolerable now then I was at first, but it's still not a food I desire.

Byron if you are reading this - I know you are having a rough week, but despite todays post, things will get better. They always do. Don't worry, I'm telling myself this as well.

My two newest albums:

Kings of Leon, Cold Desert album ---- AWESOME!

City and Colour, Sometimes album ------AWESOME!

I think I'm getting sick

For the past few days my throat has been a little irritated. I think my sinuses are draining, which is not a good sign. When this happens my throat starts off a little itchy only to become really sore. I typically get a sinus infection that eventually develops into laryngitis and I can’t talk for about a week. I’m crossing my fingers this does not happen. I would like to keep my healthy streak going. Unfortunately, I had to leave my Netty Pot at home and this country doesn't believe in cough drops....someone send me honey cough drops - I beg of you!

It was field day for my Kindergarten class – we went to the musical Snow White. In my class I have five boys and only one girl. They moved my one girl to another class so she could enjoy field day with some of her friends. One of my other boys did not attend school today, so I was left with four boys. When asked if they were excited to see Snow White, they blankly looked at me and shook their head. You can tell from this video how they could care less about the show…they are the last four boys.

However, many of the other kids did enjoy the show. A lot of the smaller kids (~2-3 year olds) cried when the witch came out – on their behalf, she was pretty damn scary. Some also cried when Snow White died, but again I don't blame them; I could barely hold back my tears. My boys pointed and laughed. I've also inserted two videos so you back in the U.S. can witness a Korean musical (don’t worry they're pretty short videos).

Goals for the weekend:

1. Work on TEFL - I paid about $350 for it, I damn well finish it!

2. Clean and make my apartment more homelike.

3. Attend my first Korean wedding -- I hear there's no open bar or dance, so I'm a little bummed, but it should still be an experience.

4. Get a cell phone.

5. Clean the apartment.

One month anniversary

I've lived here for a month now...I actually can't believe it! It literally blows my mind that I've lived in South Korea for a month now. I personally only feel like I've been here maybe 2 weeks; man time flies. Since I've had plenty of time to observe some of the Korean culture and have been able to note the pros and cons of this country -- let’s discuss.

My Cons:

1.     Community bar soap (this actually really bothers me, but I promise I won’t bring it up again).

2.     No hot water in public bathroom sinks – yes, I wash my hands with freezing cold water and yes it is winter.

3.     Invasion of personal space – I’m actually really used to this now, but it can still be annoying at times.

4.     Everyone essentially looks the same – in the states people look completely different. I just wish Koreans were more exposed to other cultures/countries.

5. Clothes/shoes do not fit me :(

My Pros:

1.     Heated toilet seats

2.     Heated floors – why don’t we have this in the states?

3.     The fashion

4.     The food

5.     The fashion

6.     For the most part, things are really cheap here….I could eat a really good meal for less than $4. Sometimes even $2.50 (this actually happened).

7.     The fashion – if only things fit me.

8. The People

Basically, I’m just really happy I’m here – I’m having a great experience so far.

I finally received my first paycheck. Thank-you Jesus!! I was starting to get really nervous. I love having money again - life is good. Since I finally have some moolah, I decided to go to Café Béne for my break. I was already in route to my favorite café when I realized I needed to withdraw some cash. Since the bank is literally next door I decided to use these ATMs. I thought, “Ok, that’s fine. It’ll be easy. I was just there with my co-teacher and they’re in English.” Nope, I was wrong; unfortunately, the ATM's at the bank are only in Korean. After standing and staring blankly at the ATM machine, a guy who worked at the bank came to the rescue. He obviously realized I'm not from Korea and saw I looked liked this minus the microphone:

He taught me how to use the ATM machine and I was able to get my cash money. I will say, since there were a few people who cut in front of me we had to wait. Because of these rude sons-of-a-bitches, I was able to have a nice chit chat with the cute Korean guy – let’s call him ATM. So in reality I should thank them. Mmm, maybe next time.

Ps—I ran into ATM at Seven-Eleven today. The wind was blowing so not only did I have my hood on, but I was also looking down. After ATM so politely said, "Hi Angel." I looked up to see who the hell was talking to me and then tripped.


Pss --- To my new followers, thank-you and welcome!

2011 has started

It’s 7:30 a.m. and I’m wake. I’m not sure if it’s because my body has received the natural 8 hours of sleep we all aim for or because I was in the middle of a scary dream. I had just finished a half marathon to find out both of my feet had fallen off. To top it off, I was also living in my hometown – what a nightmare! Those who know me understand I’m not a runner, I love my feet and I would never move back to my hometown…ever. However, I’m not 100% opposed to training for a half marathon. Maybe, one day in the far future.

2011 has been good to me thus far. New Years Eve was the bomb diggety. The other foreign teachers and I went to a bar called Bubble Bar. It was fun; I drank a lot and danced a lot. Pictures below show how the night evolved. New Years Eve isn't really celebrated in Korea, but since Bubble Bar had a good combination of foreigners and native Koreans we had our own little celebration and countdown. To maintain the integrity of others, most picture were not posted.

Yesterday was the first day back from winter break. Let’s just say it was obnoxious and I was literally annoyed/pissed off from 3pm to about 7pm. Since it was the first day of the new session, we all received new classes, new students and new books. I spent all day attempting to organize myself and wasting class time getting books for students. This doesn’t sound too bad, but while trying to complete this, students continued to be added to my six classes or taken out of my six classes. As a result, it was difficult to get the accurate number of books. A number of times I was given the wrong book or they didn’t have a book for the teacher (this blows my mind) so I spent a lot of time copying the students book so I can plan accordingly for the week. For someone who likes structure and hates wasting time, THIS BLEW. We also didn’t get our final schedule until yesterday so I spent a lot of time figuring out my schedule. I obviously didn't spend my time wisely. For some reason I was under the impression I did not have a 5th period class. So, I thought perfect! I can spend this time clearing my desk of old books, writing my name on the new books and also gather books for my 6th period and Friday classes. It didn't work out this way. Turns out, I did have a 5th period class and I was about 25 minutes late for it. To top it off, we are still short one teacher. I don’t have any open spots to teach those classes, but I do want to give a shout out to the other teachers who are not only working their hours, but also picking up the extra slack! Thank-you!

By the end of the day, I tried to go with the flow and choose my attitude (thank-you Cyclone Aide experience); it all ended up working out just fine. I did get a copy of all books that are being used in my classes, well for the most part. We are stilling waiting to get a few, but every book that my students have, I have. Work is work and hopefully today will be better.

I finally received my alien registration card, so I finally opened my bank account. This means I will get paid on Monday....YAY!!!!