Dandelions and bumblebees ...

Photo o' the Day - October 19, 2008

Marcie's weekend plans in a nutshell:

Friday night - Hannah teacher's birthday party
Saturday morning/early afternoon - Maggie teacher's wedding
Saturday afternoon - depending on the amount of time between the wedding and the shindig, perhaps ... shopping? I need to go shopping. Desperately.
Saturday night - Justin's two year party
Sunday early afternoon - Shinsegae with Aunty
Sunday late afternoon - perusing bookstores looking for books to help me learn Japanese AND Korean

Somewhere in between? Lots and lots of sleep. (^_^)

My bed is calling to me ... I can hear it ... I'm out for the night.

PEEEEEACE.

Because I was gone for the weekend ...

... you can have TWO photos/videos/whatever other goodness.

One for each day. (^_^)

The weekend? Was pretty much fab. I think that's the best way to describe it. There was hiking (just a little), great scenery, Korean spas, BBQ, karaeoke, fireworks, sandy beaches, phone calls, staying up WAAAY late and having a dance party, hard floors but comfortable pillows, noodles for breakfast (mmmm, kal-gook-su), and bird watching (which turned into watching some men fish, haha). It was a very relaxing weekend. Plus, I slept pretty much the entire way there AND back. So not only was it relaxing, but I also racked up a few hours of sleep. Mmmmm, sleepy goodness. (^_^)

This is Ah-Jin (AJ). Her mother, Jinny, is in the background. Jinny is one of the desk teachers at my work. Isn't Ah-Jin just PRECIOUS?!

Fireworks on the beach - this was when I was just chillin' out and thought it might have the potential to be a cool photo opportunity.

Apple Candy, Pho, Baseball ... the list just keeps on goin'

This weekend, overall, has been a great weekend.

Friday night was POLY's semi-semi-(insert many semi's here)-annual dinner goodness. Our school directors took us out to dinner, and then, as is Korean custom, we ended up at a norae-bang. For those of you not in the know, a norae-bang is a karaeoke room. You pay X amount of dollars and rent a room with a screen, a karaeoke machine of types, and assorted percussion instruments for Y amount of time. Yes, it was amazing. Yes, I sang karaeoke (in a group). And yes, I laughed for unknown amounts of time while my two directors (Michael and Philip) wowed us all with their Korean rap skills. To sum up their performances in a word? INCREDIBLE.

Saturday started at noon - I met up with Heidi, Angela, Hannah, and Brian and the five of us went on an adventure to Insadong. After meandering through the streets for a while, we all came to the conclusion that we were hungry (minus Angela because she had to leave early) and that the apple candy I had, as delicious as it was, just wasn't going to cut it. So we kept on a'walkin' until we made it to Myeongdong (which, as we all know, is Marcie's very favorite place in all of Seoul). Found a restaurant called Pho Bay and ... oh goodness ... it was great. Not AWESOME, no. But it was still great. "Awesome" would have meant that each table was graced with a bottle of the sriracha (that fire-engine red hot paste) sauce instead of the weird gochujang concoction we were presented with. But still. PHO! :)

Then we wandered around Myeongdong for untold amounts of time, before eating AGAIN (don't worry, there was at least five hours between meal times) at a great restaurant with awesome chicken ANNNND a flat screen TV posted next to us so we could watch the gold medal baseball game (Cuba vs. Korea). We had to leave at the end of the eighth inning, but don't worry! Korean cell phone to the rescue!!! I whipped out my phone, and Brian and I could watch the game on the screen. It was awesome - when the Korea team made that final double play, the ENTIRE street cheered because EVERYONE was watching it on their cell phones. GREAT game by the way. :)

PS - Lotte Anytime mints are AMAZING. Just for future reference.

Sunday began at 11 - met up with the four PLUS Evan, and we headed towards the Express Bus Terminal and Shinsegae. Spent a few hours there with everyone - bought a new cd (YAY, Utada Hikaru!!!), and then returned to Beomgye. Spent an hour in Beomgye, and then hopped the airport limosine (not an actual limosine, but a really nice bus) to Incheon to meet Nico! The bus ride was only forty minutes - I was planning on an hour and a half - so I arrived early. Buuuut that was good because her flight was early too!

So now Nico is in Korea. That's pretty exciting, if I do say so myself. During the ride back to my apartment, I was trying to remember what it felt like to be in Korea for the first (or even the second) time. All I remember about it (arriving to work) was sitting in the back of Philip's car, answering the occasional question and being too shell-shocked to really say anything. Oh, and almost falling asleep. But that's normal, haha.

After getting back to my apartment and getting Nico settled (aka after she changed and then went to bed, haha), my phone rang. The number displayed was 000-0-0000, so I didn't know who it was and when I answered I was pleasantly surprised to hear from someone who I haven't talked to in FOREVER. Okay, "pleasantly surprised" is an HUUUUGE understatement for EXCITED OUT OF MY FREAKIN' MIND!

Needless to say, it was the best 23 minutes and 51 seconds (yes, I just checked the call log) of my entire week. :) So, thank you (in case you read this). It truly, truly, truly was a pleasure to talk with you again and hear your voice.

School starts this week for all of my friends back at good ol' Saint Martins. I'm a little bit sad, to be honest, that I won't be there. This is the first time in a LOOONG time that I will NOT be starting school in the fall. I can't believe that I've made it to this point in my life. I miss everyone dearly (as always) ... but I know that it's not for forever and we WILL meet again (starting with Hannah in December).

So yeah, that's all I've got pretty much. I have to get to work semi-early tomorrow (and by early I mean like, an hour) so I can make sure to finish all of my grading. No worries - I'm a trooper, haha.

PS - Good luck in your baseball game!!! :) Ganbattene!!! (please forgive my poor sounding-out skills when it comes to my limited Japanese, haha)

3 day weekends are the best.

Really.

This weekend was uber relaxing, which was precisely what I needed. I think it was what we all needed.

Just as a short recap, we had (in no particular order) ...

- beach volleyball, sweet potato cake, sling shot riding, ocean swimming, photography, never have I ever, a night out on the town, pizza, sketch accomodation (the first night), wonderful accomodation (the second night), bus riding, roman candles, late night frolicking, and lots of more wonderful things.

It was great. I'll post about it later. Promise. Now, it's too late and I'm off to bed.

But I'll leave you with a little somethin' somethin'. :)

PS - Congratulations to the AIE Students on a SPECTACULAR production. I've heard WONDERFUL things about Play Buffet X, and I can't wait to see the DVD! I miss you all so much, but I know that you're doing well. CONGRATULATIONS!

My One Problem with Korea -

If you can't see the picture clearly, let me explain to you what it says. It says that the current temperature in Anyang, South Korea is 79 Degrees Fahrenheit and it is partly cloudy. Then, if you look where I conveniently circled it in red, it states that it feels like 85 Degrees fahrenheit, and there is 91% humidity.

Ninety-one percent humidty. That is INSANE. I don't think I've ever experienced that much humidity before traveling to Korea or Japan. It's insane.

However, that is my ONLY problem with Korea. Other than the insane humidity and heat, I LOVE this country.

Work today was great - level testing. I now have a stack of writing tests to grade for first, second, and fourth graders. No worries. :) It won't take long at all.

PS, this photo is of my favorite time of day - the mad rush for the elevator. It was an easy night tonight - maybe ten of us or so. There's been times where literally, you just stand back and stare at the awesomeness of stuffing like, twenty kids in the elevator at once. Another note? That kid standing next to me in the white shirt who's taller than me? Pretty much the greatest student ever - just so you know.


Now I just have tomorrow, and then ... three day weekend! GAH! So, I could TOTALLY make it back to the states in time for Play Buffet and then back to work on Monday - what do you think?


Okay, just kidding. As much as I want to be there, I know I can't be. I've accepted it, I really have. There's just so much that I'm missing out on back in the states. But ... it'll all work out. You're just going to have to deal with looking at a bunch of pictures (as I post them on here and cry about it, haha).


Okay. That's it. I'm trying to update this regularly. So far, that means every night, haha. It'll soon taper off, I promise.

Photos of my place ...

My bed

My TV - above that on the wall is my air conditioner

My sink/stove/kitchen "area"

My desk with my computer on it

The side of my closet/armoir thingie

Three Cheers for Michael Phelps ...

So, today Michael Phelps beat PARK Taehwan in the men's 200 meter freestyle.

And I didn't let my students forget about it. :)

Today, in second grade science class, we were studying things in motion and the terms "fast" and "slow". The example given in the textbook used SWIMMING ... so of course I couldn't pass that up. So I would nonchalantly work in Phelps-related comments such as "So, if you swim FASTER than someone, it means you win like Michael Phelps. However, if you are not as fast, maybe you get SILVER, or second place." The response? "Marcie-teacher! VERY BAD! Marcie-teacher, you are Korean people! You should cheer for Korea!!!"

:)

I love my life.

Korea is still great, and I'm still happy. Really. However, I do miss a lot of people. Want to see them? These are just some of them ... in reality, there are tons more I miss.

Hannah June & Leah Marie

Father Benedict & Nicholas Dong-Jin

The AIE Students & Father Benedict

The AIE Students

Craig, Chrey, Jay, & Rachelle

The Bucket Crew

My cousin & my aunt

Kohsuke, Hannah June, & Makoto

Paschel, Jun-Ho, Chang-gi, John, & Nicholas D.

Emmy Brigid & Brian Christopher

Just a few of those I love and miss ...

:) I hope you're all doing well!

I Like to Take Pictures of Flowers ...

Strange, right?

Oh well. I had to think of something to title this post with. And then I found myself staring at the photo on my blog, a photo that I took while I was in Japan. And I realize that I have a large amount of photos of flowers that I've taken.

Okay, by large, I mean like twenty. Whatever. Don't judge. That's a lot for me.

So, another day, another dollar (or 1,000 won ... however you want to look at it). Today was a good day - I like Mondays because six of my classes are vocabulary classes. Vocabulary day is a really chill, laid back day. Then I have two reading classes, and a TOEFL class. Not bad at all. Plus it's fun to hear about what everyone did on the weekend.

Today was an especially special day, because it was one of my student's birthdays, so his mom sent him to school with a cake. It was so cute, watching this little boy (second grader) walk into the classroom with a big cake box and his backpack. Korean kids are adorable.

And it rained today, while I was at work. Not going to lie, I was pretty sad that it rained while I was AT work, but not while I was walking home FROM work. What can I say, I like the rain! But we'll see. Maybe it will rain tomorrow, on my way to work. That would be pretty cool.

Oh well. That's all I've got for now. Four day week this week! Wahoo! That means THREE DAY WEEKEND! BAM! Gotta love it.

Oh, yeah, and I have "CRAZY" written on my hand.