Soju and Irish Jigs

Yesterday I attended the Seoul St. Patrick's Day Festival. It was nothing to rival Chicago's craziness and green river, but I had a blast, nonetheless. There was Guiness, Korean leprechauns, live music, dancing, a parade, and more. Though the March weather did not hold up and I froze my butt off in the 40 degree weather, it was worth it. Our celebration continued well into the afternoon and evening leading us to several different bars. After about 12 hours my friends and I decided to call it a night.

St. Patrick's Festival

we love free stuff

Jen and I with a leprechaun

the parade

we found green beer!

drinking some green beer with Lydia and Mya

green tongues

I had a fantastic time celebrating an Irish holiday as an American in Korea.

Namaste

Thought-Provoking Travel Lit.

"The destination was not really the point. The true desire was to get away- to go..."

"The clouds usher in tranquility. Below us are enemies and colleagues, the sites of our terrors and our griefs, all of them now infinitesimal, mere scratches on the earth."

"What we find exotic abroad may be what we hunger for in vain at home."

"Among all the places that we go to but don't look at properly or that leave us indifferent, a few occasionally stand out with an impact that overwhelms us and forces us to take heed. They possess a quality that might clumsily be called beauty. This may not involve prettiness nor any of the obvious features that guidebooks associate with beauty spots; having recourse to the word might be just another way of saying we like a place."

-Alain de Botton-

The Art of Travel

Namaste

Luck of the Irish

Happy St. Patty's Day to all my fellow Irish blooded people around the world! I showed my students a PowerPoint about St. Patrick's Day today and more than half of them had never even heard of the holiday. I was more than happy to share the love!

Missin the windy city today......

*photo from Wikipedia

Namaste

White Weekend

One of the first things I noticed right away when I came to Korea was the large amount of couples surrounding me at all times. There were couples on the subway, streets, stores, restaurants, at the movies, etc, etc. Obviously there are couples everyone you go in the world, but it seemed like every Korean I saw was in a 'couple'. Korean couples are quite humorous to watch. Often times they are wearing matching outfits. Sometimes it's a jacket or sweatshirt. Sometimes it's a baseball hat. 9 times out of 10 the guy is carrying the girl's purse for her. Not kidding. This is just common behavior here. Lots of times couples are fighting and Korean girls are putting their pouting faces to the test. I always see couples play fighting as well; hitting, kicking, and generally bugging each other just playfully. My favorite scene is when one member of a couple is leaving another, especially at the bus or subway stop. The goodbyes are so dramatic you would think they were auditioning for a soap opera. They are also usually accompanied by a wave-and-follow walk (or run) along side the road or subway.

Koreans celebrate Valentine's Day in a special way. February 14 is still the Hallmark holiday over here, but there is a twist. Girlfriends give their boyfriends presents (usually chocolates) on Valentine's Day. Then when March 14 (White Day) rolls around it is the boyfriends' turn to reciprocate. The guys usually buy their girlfriends chocolates or some kind of gift in return. There is even a 'singles' holiday (Black Day), although it does not sound like much fun to me. On April 14, single people in Korea eat a kind of black bean noodle called jjajangmyun and celebrate their freedom? Or cry into their sauce? I have no idea. Hopefully it is accompanied by friends and lots of soju.

I was lucky enough to celebrate White Day this year with my boyfriend, Sean. We kind of celebrated on both days this weekend.

On Saturday we went into Seoul and did a little shopping in Myeong-dong. Afterwards Sean took me to the Cheonggyecheon stream. It is a man-made stream of water that runs through the busy downtown area. It's really cute and surrounded by walking paths on either side. Lots of couples come to the stream on dates to take a stroll. Very romantical.

view from the street

Cheonggyecheon stream

Sean and I

lights at night

We came back to Bundang and Sean took me to dinner at a great little Italian restaurant where they film lots of Korean TV shows and movies.

Sunday afternoon we caught a ride into Seoul to meet some friends for a soccer game. The FC Seoul team was playing another Korean team at the World Cup Stadium. When we arrived the line for tickets was literally halfway around the stadium and we wondered how we were ever going to get in. It actually ended up moving quickly and we were inside before we knew it. The game was not very exciting, but I had a good time catching up with friends, drinking warm beers, and playing with these free blow-up clapping things they gave us to cheer with.

World Cup Stadium

FC Seoul game

the girls at the game

Sean and I at the game

Namaste

We Live On

Sometimes it seems like my life in Korea creates many highs and lows for me. I'm not going to lie, some days are hard. Not because I miss home and want to leave or anything, but because my job and daily life in general can cause some major frustrations. Some days are amazing and those are the days I look forward to and try to focus on. Today has been one of those days.

I am very pleased to report that my semester is off to a fantastic start. I have three new co-teachers. Two of them speak very good English and it is easy to work with them. One does not really speak English very well at all (don't even let me get into the "why did they hire her to teach English then?!" rant because I have no idea) and it can be difficult to communicate with her. I have one more extra class a week and I will also be teaching an English class for first and second grade teachers twice a week. I am teaching grades 4, 5, and 6 once again.

The first day with sixth grade I was preparing for the worst. When I walked down the sixth grade hallway and heard not a peep and saw the students in their seats through the windows, I almost had a heart attack. I could not believe it was the same hallway as one month ago. The fifth and sixth grade students have been well behaved and attentive so far. I really pray that it stays this way. (At least until October 6.) The fourth grade students are adorable. I love them. It was my first time to meet them and teach them this week and last. Some of the students I taught in winter camp, but most I had never seen before. It was so cute because when they saw me it was a succession of "ohhs and ahhhs" and they were really excited. It brought a big smile to my face.

The little girl I wrote about a couple months ago who always said hello to me in the hallway was in my class today. I realized that she must have some kind of learning disability. She was sitting in her seat, blurting things out at the wrong times. During my lesson she was cutting up something in her book instead of paying attention to me. No one seemed to pay attention to her and my co-teacher brushed her off and just let her do her own thing. It was actually kind of sad. The way that learning disabled students are treated here is far different from home and can be quite upsetting. I won't get into this today because I vowed to stayed on a positive note, but I will write about it at a later time.

Communicating with my co-workers can be trying. Some people speak English to me, but many cannot or choose not to speak English. This leaves me feeling like an outsider most of the time. I am used to it now and it doesn't really bother me that much. The only thing I really get frustrated about is when I hear my name in a conversation and unless someone feels gracious enough to translate for me, I have no idea what they are saying. Yesterday at lunch my co-teachers, some other co-workers, and I got into a conversation about my leaving next fall. They asked me what my plans were and I told them I wanted to pursue my masters degree or teach. They were like "no, don't leave- you are a good teacher and we will miss you." They complimented me on my organization, good control with my classes, and my ability to be open to the Korean culture. I felt like I had really been accepted by my co-workers and hearing them praise me as a teacher felt great.

I got way too overexcited the the other day when I found out that Gregory David Roberts is writing a sequel to his best seller, Shantaram. If you have not read this book and are not intimidated by 900+ pages, then do yourself a favor and go pick up a copy. NOW. There is something in this intriguing tale for everyone. His writing is beautiful and immensely impressive. It is hands down one of the best books I have ever picked up and I have been recommending it to friends since I first read it a few years ago. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.”

"If fate doesn't make you laugh, then you don't get the joke."

"Lovers find their way by insights and confidences; they are the stars they use to navigate the ocean of desire. And the brightest of those stars are the heartbreaks and sorrows. The most precious gift you can bring to your lover is your suffering."

"At first, when we truly love someone, our greatest fear is that the loved one will stop loving us. What we should fear and dread instead is that we won't stop loving them, even after they are dead and gone."

"Be true to love where ever you find it, and be true to yourself and everything that you really are."

"For this is what we do. Put one foot forward and then the other. Lift our eyes to the snarl and smile of the world once more. Think. Act. Feel. Add our little consequence to the tides of good and evil that flood and drain the world. Drag our shadowed crosses into the hope of another night. Push our brave hearts into the promise of a new day. With love: the passionate search for truth other than our own. With longing: the pure, ineffable yearning to be saved. For so long as fate keeps waiting, we live on. God help us. God forgive us. We live on."

Namaste

Herro Kitty

Korea boasts a wide variety of cafes in and around Seoul. Many are your typical cafes complete with an array of coffee drinks, desserts, and cushy seating with an ambiance perfect for a chat with your girlfriends or a quiet spot to write or read. Cafes at home don't have themes. At least not that I'm aware of. Some Korean cafes have taken the cafe theme concept and ran with it. I have written about the Dr. Fish cafe combining coffee drinks with pedicures performed by hungry little skin eating fish. The wedding cafe allows you to try on ridiculous wedding dresses and take tons of photos with your girlfriends (and sometimes guy friends). There are Internet cafes otherwise known as PC Bangs. There are also pet cafes where dogs or cats roam wild throughout the shop and are even known to jump onto your lap or even the table.

Some girlfriends and I checked out a cafe in Seoul yesterday that was dedicated to one highly popular cartoon character out of Japan. The Hello Kitty cafe in Hongdae is worth a visit. The shrine, I mean, cafe, was covered from head to toe in Hello Kitty decor. The outside of the cafe as well as the walls indoors were painted bright pink. Some of the walls had cut outs in the shape of Hello Kitty. There were Hello Kitty paintings on the walls. There was Hello Kitty memorabilia filling every available in of space inside of the place. The bathrooms were donned with Hello Kitty. The cakes were baked in the shape of Hello Kitty's face. The coffee drinks had Hello Kitty's face sprinkled on top. There was Hello Kitty silverware, plates, and cups. Even the water pitcher was Hello Kitty. It was any 6 year old girl's dream. Probably a larger dose of pinkness than any female should be allowed to take in for one day, but it was a fun experience. I just felt kinda bad for those guys in there who had to have been dragged in by their girlfriends. That's harsh.

Hello Kitty cafe in Hongdae

outside sign

inside the cafe

Sam and I

Hello, Kitty!

cute wall paintings

inside the ladies' bathroom

women's restroom

men's restroom

kitty coffees

Namaste

Are You in SHINee?

The name on everyone's lips lately is Kim Yu-Na. The 19 year old won the gold medal in women's figure skating last week and put Korea on the map. She is literally everywhere I look here. There are a handful of companies who have plastered her face all over their TV commercials. The day she skated her flawless performance everyone was glued to their TV cell phones. It was all anyone could talk about. After all the pressure that was placed on this girl to perform for her country and with the 'fate of Korea' in the 2010 Olympics on the line, I was so happy to see her win. She must have been overwhelmed with joy. She must have also breathed a sigh of relief. If it was the U.S. or Canada and she had fallen or slipped up and gotten the silver she would still be deemed a hero. I'm not so sure people would have reacted the same way here in Korea.

I never thought I would witness the mass craziness that was the grand opening of H&M in Korea. The European store is popular back home in America, but nothing to make a big fuss over. The clothes are cheap, cute, and a bit trendy. The store on Michigan Avenue in Chicago is always busy. H&M opened it's doors in Myeong-dong, Seoul on Saturday and it was pure insanity. I never thought people would make such a huge deal over a clothing store. My friends and I thought we would get to shop and check out one of our favorite stores from home over here. We thought wrong. There was a red carpet. There was a VIP entrance. There were men guarding the lines in suits with ear pieces. There was a line that was broken into three parts. The last part stretched all the way around the block. There was no way we were going to get anywhere near that store today. Oh, well. It'll be here next time.

the line for H&M grand opening in Korea

Korean women are obsessed with beauty. They are also not afraid to look at themselves in the mirror in public for minutes on end. In western culture, people fear they will be thought of as vain if they stare at themselves in the mirror for too long. Not here. There are mirrors literally everywhere; the subway, bathrooms, on the street, on cell phones. People take major advantage of this and I have even caught men scrutinizing over their faces in public as well.

I wrote about K-Pop and the craze over here. My friends and I love a group called SHINee that is composed of 5 boys between the ages of 14-18. They are very talented dancers and have decent voices, other than that, they are just darn cute and girls go nuts over them. They have a certain look; well combed hair (often to the side), perfect skin, cute face, skinny build, skinny acid washed or black jeans, blazers, dress shoes, etc. Every time we see anyone that fits the description my friends and I are tempted to ask if they are in SHINee. We also point them out to each other and say "I see a SHINee!"

The new school year begins this week and I have three new co-teachers to work with, new students, and a new schedule too. Looking forward to getting back to a normal routine with school.

Spring, where are you? Please come soon.

Happy March!

Namaste