Thanksgiving ...

... was pretty freaking amazing.

Now, for those of you who know me, you know how strange of a statement that is for me to make. For those of you who don't know me, one of my biggest "things" is holidays. I really am not a holiday person. As in, at all. I'll go through the motions, and I'll do whatever, but generally, I'm not a fan.

However, Saturday night found me sitting on the kitchen floor in Justin's apartment, watching Jamie and Justin put the finishing touches on an AMAZING Thanksgiving Dinner. The apartment was crowded, no doubt ... what with nearly twenty or so people crammed into two rooms (three if you count the bathroom), but it all came together so wonderfully. And I was ... *gasp* ... happy.

It all started two weeks ago, when Justin sent out the notice that he was hosting Thanksgiving. Now, as I am A.) anti-holiday and B.) not fond of being crammed into a room with a bunch of people (as much as I may care about them, because I really do), I was hesitant to reply. In fact, I waited a few days, puzzling it out in my mind. Plus, there was the matter of preparing or purchasing something to contribute. In the end though, I did decide to attend, and I am really glad that I did.

Yesterday morning, on my way to my weekly meeting with Mrs. Yoon (Hyun's aunt), I swung by a vendor in the Shinsegae department store and picked up a cranberry tart. Later I found out that not only did it include cranberries, but it was ALSO dairy-free - SCORE!!! At least two of my favorite people are extremely lactose, and therefore ... no-dairy dessert options equal a good thing. Met up with Amanda and headed to Stone's in the evening ... his apartment smelled absolutely HEAVENLY. The two chefs (Jamie and Justin) had been hard at work all day ... and the results were uh-MAY-zing. They did a whole turkey (complete with a bacon cover), stuffing, hobak juk (pumpkin soup), gravy, and mashed sweet potatoes ... I think the only thing I can say would be a wholly awe-filled "oh EM geeeeee". Other entries included garlic mashed potatoes (Trevor), potato soup (Jeff), green bean casserole complete with the onions on top (Amanda), a Waldorf salad (Ellen), a green salad (Jonathon), a broccoli-based salad (sorry, but the contributor of this is unknown to me), and Sunny's abso-freaking-lutely delectable candied yams. And if that wasn't enough, dessert was tiramasu, Apple pie (Oh, Costco, how we adore you), pecan pie (I think it was pecan?), and the cranberry tart. And, we of course can't leave out the dozen bottles of wine or so. ;)




The bird.


Chef Kembrey and Sous Chef Stone


After we all had attacked the food ... this was only half of it - there was still the yams (on a different table), the soups (on the stove top), and most mashed potatoes.

Even better than the food (hard to believe, I know, what with that spread), was the company. It was amazing. For a good portion of the evening, I seriously just sat on the floor in the corner and listened to everyone talk. Some of the guys camped out and played video games (girls, too), there was music playing, and conversation flowing freely the entire night. It was absolutely wonderful. It never ceases to amaze me, the sense of community that we seem to have forged in this country, so far from home. Everyone really just comes together. It truly is a beautiful thing.

Afterwards, we headed out to Beomgye to celebrate Hannah's birthday and dance the night away at Slang, a new dance club/bar. It was pretty sweet.


Janet, Hannah, and Erica at Slang. Love them.

Good music + good people = fun times. Post-Slang, I ended up at ... not Okinawa ... but the bar/restaurant/whatever next to Oak Bar. It's name for some reason is escaping me at this moment. Anyways, ended up there with Justin, Trevor, Trevor's friend Seth who is teaching in Ilsan, Jamie, Dean, Angela, Jeff, and Stuart. Five plates of chicken, an assortment of beverages, and hanging out until the wee morning hours (okay, 4 AM or so). Good times, good conversation, all in all, tons of goodness.

So this Thanksgiving weekend, I have spent more than a little time thinking about what I'm thankful for. There really are so many things in my life that seem to be going just so right, and it's not because of me. I'm thankful that I can be doing something I love, in a country that I adore, and I'm surrounded by people whose paths have seemed to cross with mine at precisely the right time. I'm thankful that I have a great support system of friends and my own created family back in the states (Japan and Korea, too!), who I love dearly and who love me as well. I'm thankful for hour-long phone calls, e-mails, MSN messenger conversations, and of course the postal service. I'm thankful for efficient subways, Korean cell phone service (and cheap text messaging), ondol heating, friends who have friends who send them Reeses peanut butter cups, and seventy cent busrides. Most importantly, I am thankful for every single thing that has happened in my life - as much as those events may have sucked at the time (and still do), I know that they have made me the person I am and brought me to where I am today.

Coming up? The Christmas season ... believe it or not, I actually found myself listening to Christmas music today ... and ... ... ... looking forward to Christmas time. Not only will Ms. Bahk be arriving (and I am extremely STOKED to see her again), but my amazing coworkers are planning a Twelve Days of Christmas Extravanganza. And it's gonna be off the hook.

Thanks for reading this looong freaking post. Pictures will be updated soon on Photobucket. If ya can't wait, just check out Mindy's Flickr. :)

I hope that you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday. (^_^)

Level testing, students, & Hwaseong Fortress

Well, Level testing is OFFICIALLY over with. HOORAY!!! Not that I am not a fan of level testing. Really, it doesn't bother me. However, I finally feel like we're settling back into a routine - let me tell you, having Level Tests only TWO WEEKS after Monthly Tests was ... well ... pretty hectic. Not only did we have Monthly writing tests to grade and behavior numbers to mark, BUT THEN we turned right around, and graded another set of writing from Levels AND had to do behavior comments WITH another set of behavior numbers. So now I feel like I can breathe. And address the "mundane" things such as practice books. Joyfullness. (^_^)

THREE WEEKS UNTIL MS. BAHK MAKES HER KOREAN APPEARANCE!!!

I'm SUUUPER excited to see Hannah ... and have her meet my friends (whoever will be in town and available) ... and show her parts of my life. I'm actually trying hard NOT to get excited, because I feel that will make time go SLOWER. Buuuut, Mindy had a point ... it really doesn't matter because time'll fly no matter what. So I'm just doing what I normally do - enjoying my life. Oh, and drinking lots of coffee. But that's a given.

Okay, Korean student moment of the day. Mindy and I were tag-teaming some goodness today ... and the assignment was to come up with interesting uses for chopsticks. They were working in partners or groups of three ... welllll.

Adorable little second grade girl - "Teacha, how do you spell 'son-of-a-*expletive deleted*'?"
*shocked face*
Mindy - "What?"
Adorable little second grade girl - "'Son-of-a-*expletive deleted*'."
*walks over to where the little girl is working with her group, looks at paper*
Mindy - "Maybe we should find something different ... like ... how about rude people?"

- meanwhile -

Second grade boy - "Teacha, what did she say?"
*big cheery smile*
Me - "Don't worry about it, just continue with your partner!"
Other little boy - "She said 'son-of-'..."
Me - "It's not important. Just keep working!"

oh-EM-gee.

I thought I was gonna die from holding in shock/laughter/surprise. And she really didn't have any idea what she was saying.

*** Note ::: I am unsure of exactly how the dialogue went ... but it was something to that effect. ***

That is my Korean student moment of the day.

So, another blurb about level testing. I am 99.9% sure that four of my students tested out of my highest second grade class. While I am especially sad to be losing them (they are pretty much AMAZING), I am so proud of them. They really are smart kids, and I know that they will do so well in the higher level. So, I really am happy for them. Now if I could only get my "lower level" (okay, 'dash'-2's) to "level-up" to my higher class ...

In other news ...

I went down to Suwon on Sunday with Mindy, Amanda, Trevor, Judy, Ellen, and Sunny. We toured Hwaseong Fortress - I'm not sure if that's the correct name for it, but I'll take it. Anyways, it was pretty awesome. I am definitely a fan, and will definitely be going back - probably in the Spring to see it when it's bloomin'. Anywho. Definitely a cool place. Check Mindy's Flickr (link is on the sidebar) for her uh-MAY-zing pictures ... I'll upload mine to Photobucket relatively soonish. Okay, when I say "relatively soonish" I mean sometime in the next two months. Because, as we all know, I pretty much FAIL at timely uploads.

Saturday (this coming Saturday) will be the Thanksgiving extravaganza at Justin's. It promises to be pretty sweet ... but we all know how much I loooooove holidays (please make note of the use of sarcasm). Anywho. I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of people and eating Justin's legendary cooking (and probably Jamie's too). And afterwards is Hannah's birthday celebration, so good times there too. All in all, it's shaping up to be a pretty sweet weekend.

Okay. I'm out for the night. That's my random, weird, ADD-inspired update. So since it's kind of uncoordinated, I'll leave you with pictures, haha. And, of course, because they're posted by me ... they're a little out of order. But, you wouldn't have known that if I hadn't told you ... unless you'd been there. (^_^) Enjoy!


Part of the reenactment from Hwaseong Fortress.


Walking up the steps at Hwaseong Fortress ... did I mention that we basically hiked up a small mountain?


Where we were. (^_^)




At the top. Pretty flippin' sweet. I really love stuff like this. I may not know the history, but I still can appreciate it. :)


The view over Suwon - to the East. I tried to find Olympia, but the fortress wasn't high enough, so I couldn't see that far. Sorry, guys.


The "Gang" - minus Sunny (he wasn't there yet). Posing with some of the participants from the reenactment. POLY photo!!!

Thoughts?

Top 10 Reasons Why Santa's Not Coming to Korea

'Kay. To be completely honest, I copied this from Mindy's blog who in turn copied it down from our whiteboard in our office ... because this is how my coworkers and I spend our time. Kudos to Erica, Trevor, and Justin - really made for some great laughs this week. :)

Reasons Santa's Not Coming to Korea.
10) He got sick off melamine cookies in China.
09) He's still waiting on his visa.
08) Dog isn't the only meat that provides "stamina." Look out Blitzen.
07) Korean parents report, "nice, but not nice enough."
06) He's tired of taking his boots off at every house.
05) Wait...where is Korea?
04) He's tired of taking hits to the sleigh. Apparently N. Korea takes that whole "DMZ" thing pretty seriously.
03) He's got all the drunken spousal abuse he can handle at home. Why even leave the house?
02) He's tired of lugging his sack of toys through all those Soviet Bloc apartments. Get a chimney!
01) Mrs. Clause hates kimchi breath.

Have I told you lately just HOW much I adore the people I work with?

It's gonna be cold today ...

In case you can't see it, that screen shot (okay, I cheated and used my webcam) says that today it will be NEGATIVE FOUR DEGREES CELSIUS!



And for those of you who can't do the conversion to Fahrenheit in your head, I did it for you. That means TWENTY-FIVE DEGREES FAHRENHEIT!

We better be getting some snow soon. And I better buy some new pants.

How to 101

How to Assemble a Bookshelf bought from Lotte Mart.

Step 1: Open box. (Check)
Step 2: Assess the contents. (Check)
Step 3: Take a break and eat a piece of pizza while contemplating how best to get started. (Check)
Step 4: Locate the directions. (Check)
Step 5: Realize that, of course, the directions are written in hangeul. (Check)
Step 6: Begin the process of assembling said bookshelf - aka beating the pieces together and then jamming screws into them while using the Phillips screwdriver that Tracey loaned me - thanks! (Check)
Step 7: Realize that there is another piece in the box that was overlooked in the process and now the bookshelf, which has begun to take on it's final shape (aka you only have to screw in FOUR MORE SCREWS and it's DONE) has to be disassembled in order to put in the back. (Check)

Hahahaha.


How to assemble a bookshelf:
This was STEP 2.


This was between STEP 6 and STEP 7.


This was STEP 7.
That white piece on top of the almost complete bookshelf? Yeah, that's the back. It was supposed to go into the groove thingies that I had been wondering about.


The finished product. Does it look cheap? Yes. Is it cheap? Yes. Is it functional? Totally.

This was my day project.

What else happened today? I have new wallpaper! YAHOO! Pictures will be posted soon, as soon as I put my things back up on my walls. "Things" meaning posters and photographs. Stay tuned for a full weekend report ... right now, I'm just too darn lazy.

Yay for floor heating and UNIQLO ...

Last night was cold, clear, and perfectly lovely.

The sky was perfectly clear. The air was crisp, and there was just the tiniest bite to it. I could see my breath in front of me, leading the way back to my apartment. It was the type of night where you light a fire, put on pajamas, and curl up under the covers with a good book.

Is that what I did?

No. Instead, I turned on the floor heater, put on the ol' PJs, and slept on the floor for a few hours. Why did I sleep on the floor? Because ondol heating is so stinkin' great for that. Really! I love my warm floor. It is one of my very favorite things about my apartment. Sometimes, I'll turn on the heater and just sit on the floor. For no reason. It's quite lov-er-ly.

Today ... today. OMG I bought a jacket! I think that this is the first time I actually bought myself a real jacket. It's white and about hip-length or so ... kind of fitted. Down. It's LOVELY. I am in love with it. It's from UNI QLO, and I think that I must revisit this store sometime in the future (in fact, I even looked up the Gangnam address because I spend a lot of time there). I feel the need to invest in a fleece. And maybe another sweater dress. :) Oh heavens, what is Korea doing to me? Dresses? Jackets? Nail polish? Earrings? Skirts? Heels? (if I haven't told you about my amazing blue heels ... wow) Korea is turned me into ... *gasp* ... a girl?

I also am the proud owner of the new Dong Bang Shin Ki CD (DBSK - or - TVXQ). What can I say? I was meant to be a teenaged Korean girl. I am in love with Korean pop/dance music, I now enjoy spending ungodly amounts of time painting my nails, I think shopping in the subway station is a perfectly legitimate way to spend time, I spend a little too much time/money on journals with random sayings on the front, I am obsessed with stickers, and I think that all things cute are worth my time.

Yes, I was definitely meant to be in Korea.

Now if I could only find a place to buy new stickers to replace the ones on my keyboard ... I've lost the ㄴ and the ㅇ and the ㄹ is threatening to disappear as well. :) Or, you know, I could just try to memorize which key was which.

Well, this was a happy, ADD-inspired blog post. What more can I add?

Oh yeah, level testing is now over with. Whoo-hoo! My students did very well - at least, I think they did. The writing section went well. I was definitely happy.

And that's all. I'll post something of more substance (and less distractions) later ... now, I'm so tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. Until we meet again ...

Song'o'the'Moment

Lyrics | John Mayer - Say lyrics

It's pretty awesome.

Meaning ... it's on repeat. Along with ...




Lyrics | This Day & Age - Second Place Victory lyrics

So, I don't know about you ...

... but back in the day (you know, like, high school), my friends and I would usually follow up a potentially lame story with "... and then I found five bucks." Or, whatever amount we thought would offset the lame-ness of the story. I think this started with my best friend's now-ex boyfriend ... but whatever.

Anywho, so tonight, Mindy and I went to Kim's Club in Bum-gye. Bought some decent strawberries ... and decided that we should tag-team a fruit salad. So loaded up on the supplies, you know - bananas, apples, whipping cream and sugar (because what would a fruit salad be WITHOUT whipped cream?). After our grocery shop, we were walking up the stairs to the street (because Kim's Club is in the basement of the New Core Outlet ... and then I found 10,000 won!



Really!!! I'm not just saying it! Mindy was there too ... a total legit find. Wahoo!

PS - the fruit salad? Rocked my socks ... amazing. MMMM, mmmm good. As soon as Mindy posts the pics that we took of it, I will steal them and repost. Because, you know, it's gotta be a part of the Korean food experience. :)

Seoul sucks the life out of me.

Don't get me wrong. I love Seoul, I really, really do. However, I'm finding that ... when I do spend time there ... there's just so much hustle and bustle and SOOO many people that Seoul just drains me.

Maybe it was the combination of Seoul and shopping. Because, we ALL know how much I just loooove shopping. Chyeah, right.

Today was a good day. Went to Itaewon and raided What the Book - came home with another Coelho book ("Zahir") and the seventh Harry Potter book (paperback!!!). Met Ellen and had lunch at a pretty decent Indian place - not gonna lie, I've had better (I think we both have) ... but ... it's the first butter chicken to pass my lips since being in Lacey with Nick and Hannah. Pretty sure that was in March or April. So, you know, totally worth it. And, just for the record, butter chicken is incredible.

Perused some stores in Itaewon with Ellen before we went our separate ways at Samgakji Station (삼각지) (of course, after picking up a jars of Nutella ANNNND Wasabi coated peas)- she headed back to 범계 and I went further north to 명동. I am in desperate need of clothes, haha. It's gotten to the point where I'm bored of my own wardrobe ... that's pretty sad (considering that has NEVER happened before). So, I was optimistic, and headed up to Forever 21. I figured that with three floors of clothing goodness, I would have to find something. Two hours later, I'm pretty okay with today's bounty (which included a pair of fishnet-esque, scandalous stockings that WILL be making an appearance at our next evening outing). And I'm going back to Seoul tomorrow with 규옥 언니 - probably 명동 again, maybe elsewhere - to look for more. Look guys, I'm shopping! For all of you who knew me back home ... you know that this is a milestone. Even more surprising? I'm buying GIRL clothes!!! GAHHH!

Now I'm in my apartment, too tired to upload photos (which, of course, include the butter chicken ... did I mention that it was pretty divine?) and too lazy to clean my apartment (PS I now have a bathroom light - after four months - and now need to retrain myself to close the bathroom door, haha ... TMI, I know). What's a girl to do?

Thank goodness for OCN (channel 28) showing "Deja Vu" for the thirtieth time this month.


::: EDIT :::

I didn't think my night could get any better ...

BUUUT thanks to Pho and Baskin Robbins cappuccino biscotti, it totally did ... thanks, guys!


::: SECOND EDIT :::

Can you believe it? It just got EVEN better! Was playing guitar hero with Evan, Trever, and Ellen at Trev's place, and my phone rang - it was 선형 오빠!!! Well, actually it was 성원 아빠 on 선형's phone, but it was so much fun! I hadn't talked to them in a REALLY long time, so today I texted 선형 out of the blue ... I guess he was trying to explain something to me, but he couldn't find the words, so when he was at his parent's house, he had his father explain it to me, haha. I loooove it! He's really busy, but maybe we can hang out in a few weeks ... or months, haha. I guess that's what happens when you both have "real" jobs - me being a teacher and him being a reporter. Awhhh well. And maybe sometime in the near future, I can go to 대전. That would be nice! (^_^)

One word ...

Obama-rama.

That is all.

I'm not one to advertise my political views. Mostly because I'm not even sure what they are myself. However, I must admit that I was cheering for Obama. And therefore, I was very excited to see that he had pulled it off ... and not even by a slight margin - the Obama-Biden ticket STEAMROLLED the McCain-Palin camp.

Historically, I would not consider myself a democrat or a liberal, or whatever. I grew up in a very conservative family - dare I admit it? - my father pretty much worshipped the ground that Rush Limbaugh walked on. However, as I grew, I began to form my own opinions. When people find out that I'm catholic or Christian or whatever, they automatically assume that because I'm religious and Christian of some kind, I must be a conservative republican. I'd like to characterize myself as a liberal Catholic, if there is such a thing (I'm told there is).

Are there things I disagree with in Obama's politics? Sure. I am 99.9% sure that no one will EVER agree with an elected official 100% of the time. However, I do believe that Obama will bring great change to the US - and I also believe that change will be for the better.

The American people have spoken. To those who disagree with President-elect Obama, it's okay to disagree. However, give the man a chance. He hasn't even had his first day in office, and people are calling him the Anti-Christ. That's ... wow.

Give him a chance. You never know what will happen.

Congratulations to President-elect Barack Obama and Vice-President Elect Joe Biden. Good luck!

There's no daylight saving's time in Korea ...

... which means now those I love are SEVENTEEN hours behind me, instead of merely sixteen.

That makes the math harder, haha. Don't ask me why. It was easier to compute when it was an even number.

It was a great weekend. Like I already recapped - Halloween + Bar Boom = fabulousness. Meeting up with Kyu was great - and hanging out in Sadang? Something I hadn't done before, haha. So that was swell ... really! And then this morning I went to church with Hannah and her aunt ... and yes, I will be returning there. It was indeed an evangelical church, but you know ... I believe that God and one's personal faith in God can cross so called denominational barriers. After all ... Christian religions (and others, for that matter) all believe the same basic concept ... we just have different ways of getting to the same conclusion. So, while I will still be fervently searching for a Catholic church with an English service nearby, I am content with attending Sae Jung Ang Church. It's nearby, the music is reminiscent of Bucket, and it's English.

Had dinner and conversation with Mindy tonight, which was fab ... annnnd DELICIOUS. I'm learning that simple is the key to great home cooked food in Korea. Now I just need to figure out what I'm doing. And tweak my dwen-jang jjigae recipe. (^_^)

Some photos to tide you over?


Meet the relay team from the Former Yugoslavic Republic of Macedonia. FYROM for short.


Heaven on a chilly Saturday - Green tea lattes, hot chocolates (not pictured), friendship, and a warm cafe.

The coolest relay team you'll ever see ...

... from the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. We got by FYROM for short. Check it out, it's a real country. No lie. It has a flag (we googled it).

Halloween was a blast! After work (which included a nine member relay team, an oversized POLY student, Elvis, Mario and Luigi, and a ****ing gangster), a large group of us got the party started in Hongdae at Bar Boom. It was pretty rad. I'm 99.999% sure that a good time was had by all. (a few photos to come - but blogspot is being lame right now and not letting me upload ... sadddd)

Plus, the kids were soFREAKINGcute dressed in their costumes at school. My favorite? Little Jake (first grader) dressed as Batman. Complete with fake muscles. SOOO adorable!

Picked up copies of "The Alchemist" and "The Witch of Portobello" today - both Paulo Coehlo books. I've already read "The Alchemist", but I'm UBER-excited to read it again. ANNND I picked up a Korean language book with the help of Kyu, so I'm going to give it a whirl.

OH!!! Milestone moment of my Korean life? Okay. So, Kyu came with me to Beomgye and we got to hang out which was AWESOME. Then, after she got on her bus to go home, I headed back towards New Core and got in a taxi. Now, normally, this is how the dialogue goes when I get in a taxi ...

Me: "Baek-jae Sam-gye-tang."
Driver: " ... Oedi?"
Me: "BAEK-jae samGYEtang."
Driver: " ... Oedi?"
Me: "Baek-jae Sam-gye ... arrrrgh ... Hagwon-ga?"
Driver: "Hagwon-ga?"
Me: *somewhat frustrated sigh* "Ne ... Hagwon-ga."
*turning onto Hagwon-ga - where my work is located*
Driver: "Oedi?"
Me: "Cheek-chin, cheek-chin."
*going under the bridge*
Driver: " ... OOOOH! Baek-jae Sam-gye-tang!!!"
*sigh*
Me: "Ne."

Okay, so translation - "Baek-jae sam-gye-tang" is the name of some allegedly "famous" chicken soup restaurant which is our point of origin for the apartments in which we all live. I have NEVER been able to get a cab driver to understand me when I say this the first time around. Rarely do I get it the second time around. (my pronunciation is crap). Usually, by the third time around I'm so convinced that I'm NOT going to get it that I just give up and ask the driver to take me to Hagwon-ga, which is the street where I work, and then I "cheek-chin" it home. "Cheek-chin" means "straight".

So tonight, after I left the bus stop, I hopped in a taxi. I had mentally prepared myself before hand, and had even practiced under my breath. The cabbie pulled away from the curb, I took a deep breath, and said "Baek-jae Sam-gye-tang." AND HE JUST NODDED AND DROVE ME STRAIGHT THERE!

WAHOOOOOOOO!

(PS - I found out in the cab that Kyu and I took earlier that the driver DIDN'T think that Baek-Jae Sam-gye-tang was good as a point of reference ... thankyouverymuch) (^_^)