Right now, I'm baking bread.
Yes, I realize it's 10:00 PM, and I have other things that are more important to do. But this is pretty dang important. See, today I bought wheat flour and brown rice. I was super excited because that meant I had food (rice) in my room for tomorrow morning ... say ... breakfast. Or lunch. Whatever.
Well, I got back to my room at like, 7 PM and was pretty hungry since I hadn't eaten since noon. So I decided to cook some rice for dinner. I have a rice cooker. This is NOT rocket science. It's measuring rice and water and hitting the switch. When the light turns green, the rice is ready to eat. NOT HARD.
Evidently, it is beyond my abilities to use a RICE COOKER to make rice. I failed. Miserably. So, I am now baking bread out of necessity because if I don't, I will not have food tomorrow (with the exception of whatever they're serving in the cafeteria ... which ... is sometimes hit or miss).
How I failed with a rice cooker, I'll never know.
___
Anyways. I also might have messed up my bread since you're supposed to mix all-purpose flour with wheat flour, and I didn't really have enough all-purpose flour so I tweaked the recipe and improvised a little ... but it's easier to eat messed-up bread than it is to eat messed-up rice. Trust me on that one. This isn't the first time I've failed at making rice (nor will it be the last, probably).
___
And yes, I've been ignoring this blog - although I'm getting pretty good at my once-a-week updates. (but I HAVE been doing that "31 days of pictures" garbage on my *new* CyWorld [which 지선언니 made for me]).
So what did I do last week? Well, as always, there was church on Sunday. I love church. I love that church. Specifically, I love the people at that church. I know I've said it before, and I'll probably say it many, many, MANY more times, but I'm so blessed by the people I've met there. I'm so very, very lucky. And I know sometimes I may be viewed as the odd-ball ... since, you know, I'm Catholic (with a big "C") and some people really don't seem to understand that ... but we have thus far managed to overcome our differences, haha.
Monday was Matt Loutz's last FULL day in Korea ... for this time around ... since I didn't have to work, he and I met up at 서울대 (Seoul National University) and walked around ... a lot ... since the campus is pretty HUGE. We went to the museum there - not the art museum, but the regular one, and practice reading in Korean. We also got to talk a lot, which was nice since it's been FOREVER. PS, I've since decided that I want to go there to study a little ... maybe some graduate school ... maybe just to study something random. I don't know. But I'll keep you posted on that.
At some point in the past week (the days all kind of got jumbled in my head), I went to the National Museum of Korea (국립중앙박물관) to explore. First of all, that museum is HUGE. I'm not joking. I was there for over two hours, and I only made a small dent ... as in I only made it through half of one floor (intensively) while merely glancing at everything else. It's got an AMAZING set of collections. Oh, and it's free. That's right - free. If you want to see the special exhibitions, well, you have to pay ... but if you just want to go peruse the permanent galleries (which is what I did), it's totally free. They even offer free tours in English (and other languages), but I chose to rent a headset for like, a dollar. Less than a dollar. uh-MAY-zing. And I will be returning SOON to finish perusing everything.
Yesterday (Saturday), Chang-gi and Nick and I met up in Seoul, which was cool because it's been a while since the three of us have been TOGETHER. Come to think of it, I guess that was the first time since we were all at the Saint. Wow. That's pretty crazy. Oh, and I just realized that it's been almost three years since I graduated university ... which seems like a long time ago (or NOT). But, that reminiscing is for another day (and another post).
I didn't stay long at church today - I peaced out right after the sermon so I could catch that bus from Suwon Bus Terminal to Gimpo at 5PM. The general gist of the message today was on dating/courtship. It was sorta interesting, and I got a good look into the mindset of ... Korean Christians in regards to dating? Or, at least, into my pastor's thoughts? We'll see. Again, that's for another day and another post.
___
Mainly I just wanted to tell you how much I FAIL with a rice cooker. Oh, and that Winter English camp starts tomorrow and I'm all sorts of not prepared - I haven't taught anything since maybe the first week of December ... that was a long time ago ... I feel WAY off my game. Luckily tomorrow is just introductions (lesson plans be damned).
I'll let you know how it goes ...
___
Oh, and today (and yesterday, for that matter) was WAAAY too cold.
Sunday, January 16
Wednesday, January 5
Random Odds and Ends
"You have to at least say goodbye before you leave. If you don't, I'll hunt you down, kick you in the shins, and run away. Korea is a small country - it wouldn't be that hard to find you."
"And then you'll write to me? After you kick me and run away?"
"... yeah."
"Well, there's a KFC to the right and an Italian place to the left. What do you want? I wonder what else they have at the KFC ..."
"Chicken."
"... thanks."
~~~
Went to the Marc Chagall exhibition today in Seoul with my friend - I think the best way to sum it up is to say that his art work REALLY evolved throughout his career (which spanned like, 6 decades or something). My favorite ones were "The Acrobat", "The Prodigal Son", "View from a Window", and one that was of a vase of flowers - it was very bright and cheerful, and I can't remember/find the name of it. The first one, "The Acrobat", is of a woman who appears to be holding some sort of hoop. I'm not sure why I like it, but of the pictures in his "Circus" series, it stuck out to me the most. Now, before you start, let me be the first one to admit I'm anything BUT an art aficionado. In fact, I'm kind of set in my ways - I know what I like, and what I don't like, and that's that. But, it was fun to go to the exhibit, and see everything. And, of course, it was great to hang out with my friend.
After the art exhibit, we grabbed lunch which is where the "KFC vs. Italian restaurant" quote came from (and the decision of where to eat was decided by a simple game of rock-scissors-paper). Then came coffee, where conversation ranged from university requirements to military to church to religion to architecture (I still believe that that building is best described as "the one with the hole in it") to whatever else in between. Finally, we went to the Kyobo bookstore at Gwanghwamun Station (it was too cold outside to do anything else). Then, I fell asleep on the bus on the way back to Gimpo (but luckily woke up before my stop, unlike this morning on my way to Seoul).
So, all in all, it was a really fun day. (^_^) Tomorrow, I gotta buckle down and get some work done. Psssht, right.
~~~
Totally felt like a rock star yesterday - came back to Gimpo for the first time since vacation and decided I wanted to see some of my students. Walked into their study hall, and was greeted like a celebrity. No joke! The way some of my kids reacted, you'd've thought it had been months since I'd seen them (and yes, I know you can't make a contraction out of you+would+have).
Last night, I got to meet Chang-gi for dinner in Gangnam! We were also supposed to get together with Jae-Jun, but he didn't answer. *sad face* Jae-Jun will start his military service soon - which makes me kinda sad. Hopefully, I'll get to see him before he enlists. AHHH! ENLIST! That's the word we were looking for today to describe it.
I knew that would come to me eventually. Oh well. A little late (9 hours later), but ... meh.
~~~
OH! PS, my phone has made its comeback. Thanks to Seong-Don oppa ... he helped me take my phone to the service center yesterday AND fielded their phone calls AND took me back there this morning AND taught me the sentence I needed to say AND made me go up on my own to retrieve it. I still remember it, too - "한드폰 찾지로 왔어요" (or something that sounded like that. I probably wrote it wrong. But, I said it correctly! And the guy kind of started, looked at me, and said, "Ahhhhhhhhh!" And knew exactly who I was.
So, now I have a phone again. 성돈오빠, 고맙습니다!!!
~~~
Alright. I feel like I should be off now. Just wanted to post a short, rambling update. Oh, and I think you should read what my friend, Jen, posted on her site - http://jkganal.tumblr.com/post/2594905754/late-night-rambling
I especially like the part she quoted from the Catholic catechism. Think about it. Discuss. Let's talk sometime. :) Her thoughts kind of go along with some of the things we talked about today. Sort of.
Anyways. Food for thought.
(^_^)
"And then you'll write to me? After you kick me and run away?"
"... yeah."
"Well, there's a KFC to the right and an Italian place to the left. What do you want? I wonder what else they have at the KFC ..."
"Chicken."
"... thanks."
~~~
Went to the Marc Chagall exhibition today in Seoul with my friend - I think the best way to sum it up is to say that his art work REALLY evolved throughout his career (which spanned like, 6 decades or something). My favorite ones were "The Acrobat", "The Prodigal Son", "View from a Window", and one that was of a vase of flowers - it was very bright and cheerful, and I can't remember/find the name of it. The first one, "The Acrobat", is of a woman who appears to be holding some sort of hoop. I'm not sure why I like it, but of the pictures in his "Circus" series, it stuck out to me the most. Now, before you start, let me be the first one to admit I'm anything BUT an art aficionado. In fact, I'm kind of set in my ways - I know what I like, and what I don't like, and that's that. But, it was fun to go to the exhibit, and see everything. And, of course, it was great to hang out with my friend.
After the art exhibit, we grabbed lunch which is where the "KFC vs. Italian restaurant" quote came from (and the decision of where to eat was decided by a simple game of rock-scissors-paper). Then came coffee, where conversation ranged from university requirements to military to church to religion to architecture (I still believe that that building is best described as "the one with the hole in it") to whatever else in between. Finally, we went to the Kyobo bookstore at Gwanghwamun Station (it was too cold outside to do anything else). Then, I fell asleep on the bus on the way back to Gimpo (but luckily woke up before my stop, unlike this morning on my way to Seoul).
So, all in all, it was a really fun day. (^_^) Tomorrow, I gotta buckle down and get some work done. Psssht, right.
~~~
Totally felt like a rock star yesterday - came back to Gimpo for the first time since vacation and decided I wanted to see some of my students. Walked into their study hall, and was greeted like a celebrity. No joke! The way some of my kids reacted, you'd've thought it had been months since I'd seen them (and yes, I know you can't make a contraction out of you+would+have).
Last night, I got to meet Chang-gi for dinner in Gangnam! We were also supposed to get together with Jae-Jun, but he didn't answer. *sad face* Jae-Jun will start his military service soon - which makes me kinda sad. Hopefully, I'll get to see him before he enlists. AHHH! ENLIST! That's the word we were looking for today to describe it.
I knew that would come to me eventually. Oh well. A little late (9 hours later), but ... meh.
~~~
OH! PS, my phone has made its comeback. Thanks to Seong-Don oppa ... he helped me take my phone to the service center yesterday AND fielded their phone calls AND took me back there this morning AND taught me the sentence I needed to say AND made me go up on my own to retrieve it. I still remember it, too - "한드폰 찾지로 왔어요" (or something that sounded like that. I probably wrote it wrong. But, I said it correctly! And the guy kind of started, looked at me, and said, "Ahhhhhhhhh!" And knew exactly who I was.
So, now I have a phone again. 성돈오빠, 고맙습니다!!!
~~~
Alright. I feel like I should be off now. Just wanted to post a short, rambling update. Oh, and I think you should read what my friend, Jen, posted on her site - http://jkganal.tumblr.com/post/2594905754/late-night-rambling
I especially like the part she quoted from the Catholic catechism. Think about it. Discuss. Let's talk sometime. :) Her thoughts kind of go along with some of the things we talked about today. Sort of.
Anyways. Food for thought.
(^_^)
Saturday, January 1
Out With the Old ... In With the New
How 2011 began:
♥ Noraebang-ed it up in Anyang ("Noraebang" for those of you NOT in the know is Korean for "Singing Room" = 노래방) with some uh-MAY-zing people ... Matt Loutz (welcome back to Korea!), Yooooooooon, Trevor-and-SeulKi, "Grandpa" (Steve) and Mi-Hee, Dean, Judy. Seong-Don oppa, Danielle, Sung-Min oppa, Jung-Soo oppa, Dan, Rob-n-Hannah, et all.
♥ Coffee with a long-lost oppa at Starbucks (^_^)
♥ Dinner with Matt Loutz, Yooooooon, Grandpa, Mi-Hee, Dean, Rob, and Hannah
♥ Dropped my cell phone in a bunch of water (and it's not sitting in a bag full of rice - hopefully it'll dry out before tomorrow morning ... or else it may be i-Phone time)
♥ Currently in the process of falling in love with the movie "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" (and Robert Downey Jr. is now one of my favorite actors)
2011 has, so far, been a great year (minus the dropping the cell phone part). :) For lack of a better update, how about a review of 2010?
In 2010, I ...
▫ Rang in the New Year in style at Bar Rouge in Shanghai (www.bar-rouge-shanghai.com) with Mindy, Stephanie, Noel, and our two German hostel-mates Mahur and Christoph.
▪ Taught exceptionally smart children - the Lions Class at Knox School (Harry, Lucy, Hye-Won, Robin, Da-Eun, Nathan, Julie)
▫ Flew back to America for the first time in almost 2 years - less than optimal circumstances, but we do what we can, right?
▪ Started teaching a new class of equally smart (if not smarter) students at Knox - the Tigers class (Ethan, Ryan, Kipper, Dave, Lina, Angela)
▫ Celebrated the marriage of Trevor and Seul-Ki
▪ Made new friends at church and got to know people there better
▫ Spent untold amounts of hours at Central Park in Beomgye (not to mention at Cafe Harrar and Indigo Blue)
▪ Cheered on the South Korean football (soccer, to all of you in America) Team with awesome people in Beomgye
▫ Spent more time studying Korean (language exchange at church, study group, private lessons)
▪ Met up with Jae-Young and Sun-Joong in Seoul while they were in Korea for a vacation
▫ Welcomed Nick to the world of native-speaking English teachers in Korea
▪ Celebrated another birthday in August with some of the most awesome people ever (^_^)
▫ Spent a week as an unemployed person living in a foreign country
▪ Experienced my first typhoon (^_^)
▫ Went on my first ever "REAL" job interview for the experience, got lost, did the interview, and was offered the job
▪ Became a high school teacher
▫ Went on a church retreat
▪ Made new friends outside of work and church
▫ Watched Korea play Japan at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul (three cheers for Makoto Hasebe and Ji-Sung Park being in the SAME place at the SAME time)
▪ Baked my first pie ever (ew, pumpkin)
▫ Reconnected with old friends (^_^)
▪ Was in a Christmas skit at church
▫ Went to a sauna (spa) twice in two days
▪ Rang in the New Year Korean-style (that means NORAEBANG)
All in all, 2010 was a fabulous year. There were obviously good things and bad things that happened. Luckily for me, the GOOD outweighed the bad. Oh, and I know that the bad things were only there to help me grow.
And that's all. Here's to 2011 being an EVEN better year than 2010. (again, minus the phone dropping part) ^^
♥ Noraebang-ed it up in Anyang ("Noraebang" for those of you NOT in the know is Korean for "Singing Room" = 노래방) with some uh-MAY-zing people ... Matt Loutz (welcome back to Korea!), Yooooooooon, Trevor-and-SeulKi, "Grandpa" (Steve) and Mi-Hee, Dean, Judy. Seong-Don oppa, Danielle, Sung-Min oppa, Jung-Soo oppa, Dan, Rob-n-Hannah, et all.
♥ Coffee with a long-lost oppa at Starbucks (^_^)
♥ Dinner with Matt Loutz, Yooooooon, Grandpa, Mi-Hee, Dean, Rob, and Hannah
♥ Dropped my cell phone in a bunch of water (and it's not sitting in a bag full of rice - hopefully it'll dry out before tomorrow morning ... or else it may be i-Phone time)
♥ Currently in the process of falling in love with the movie "Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang" (and Robert Downey Jr. is now one of my favorite actors)
2011 has, so far, been a great year (minus the dropping the cell phone part). :) For lack of a better update, how about a review of 2010?
In 2010, I ...
▫ Rang in the New Year in style at Bar Rouge in Shanghai (www.bar-rouge-shanghai.com) with Mindy, Stephanie, Noel, and our two German hostel-mates Mahur and Christoph.
▪ Taught exceptionally smart children - the Lions Class at Knox School (Harry, Lucy, Hye-Won, Robin, Da-Eun, Nathan, Julie)
▫ Flew back to America for the first time in almost 2 years - less than optimal circumstances, but we do what we can, right?
▪ Started teaching a new class of equally smart (if not smarter) students at Knox - the Tigers class (Ethan, Ryan, Kipper, Dave, Lina, Angela)
▫ Celebrated the marriage of Trevor and Seul-Ki
▪ Made new friends at church and got to know people there better
▫ Spent untold amounts of hours at Central Park in Beomgye (not to mention at Cafe Harrar and Indigo Blue)
▪ Cheered on the South Korean football (soccer, to all of you in America) Team with awesome people in Beomgye
▫ Spent more time studying Korean (language exchange at church, study group, private lessons)
▪ Met up with Jae-Young and Sun-Joong in Seoul while they were in Korea for a vacation
▫ Welcomed Nick to the world of native-speaking English teachers in Korea
▪ Celebrated another birthday in August with some of the most awesome people ever (^_^)
▫ Spent a week as an unemployed person living in a foreign country
▪ Experienced my first typhoon (^_^)
▫ Went on my first ever "REAL" job interview for the experience, got lost, did the interview, and was offered the job
▪ Became a high school teacher
▫ Went on a church retreat
▪ Made new friends outside of work and church
▫ Watched Korea play Japan at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul (three cheers for Makoto Hasebe and Ji-Sung Park being in the SAME place at the SAME time)
▪ Baked my first pie ever (ew, pumpkin)
▫ Reconnected with old friends (^_^)
▪ Was in a Christmas skit at church
▫ Went to a sauna (spa) twice in two days
▪ Rang in the New Year Korean-style (that means NORAEBANG)
All in all, 2010 was a fabulous year. There were obviously good things and bad things that happened. Luckily for me, the GOOD outweighed the bad. Oh, and I know that the bad things were only there to help me grow.
And that's all. Here's to 2011 being an EVEN better year than 2010. (again, minus the phone dropping part) ^^
Friday, December 10
Hey, guess what!
It's raining. Again. Two days ago, it was snowing. Now, it's raining. We're not talking a slight mist. We're not even talking about a drizzle. We're talking all out POURING. We're talking rain coursing down the rooftop of the building next to mine. We're talking about mud puddles, and rain boots and umbrellas and rain hats and rain jackets.
It's also cold. Not just a little cold. Hot apple cider drinking, fireplace sitting, blankets and books cold. Steaming bowls of hot soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and marshmallows in hot chocolate cold. Upturned collars, layers of clothes, fluffy scarves, and big mittens cold.
I really don't understand this weather. But that's okay - I can deal with that. Oh, look - it stopped raining.
Tonight, I'm baking peanut butter cookies. Call it a trial run for next week. Next week, I plan on baking for my kids while I show them a movie. I'm thinking "Elf". Christmas movies and cookies - what do you think?
Why is the Decepticon SOOO much bigger than Optimus Prime??? And HOW could Optimus Prime take him down? Oh, yeah, I'm also watching the second Transformers movie. In the opening sequence, that Decepticon is SO much bigger than Optimus ... and yet, the Prime managed to take him down. Hmmm.
Well, that didn't last for long. Optimus Prime is dead. Josh Duhamel is exceptionally attractive. Randy and I grabbed dinner at a pretty freaking good grill restaurant in 마송/통진 (whatever you want to call it) ... but then went on a search for 호떡 which was unsuccessful. Unfortunately. GIVE US 호떡!!! GIVE US 호떡!!! Oh, well. 인사동에 가요! 호떡 주세요!
PS - if you receive emails from my YAHOO account, ignore them. I think my account's been hacked - I can't even get into it (even though I've reset my password) ... laaame.
Anywho. I'm off. Have a good night all. Next post? 31 days of pictures. FUN!
Yeah, right.
It's also cold. Not just a little cold. Hot apple cider drinking, fireplace sitting, blankets and books cold. Steaming bowls of hot soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and marshmallows in hot chocolate cold. Upturned collars, layers of clothes, fluffy scarves, and big mittens cold.
I really don't understand this weather. But that's okay - I can deal with that. Oh, look - it stopped raining.
Tonight, I'm baking peanut butter cookies. Call it a trial run for next week. Next week, I plan on baking for my kids while I show them a movie. I'm thinking "Elf". Christmas movies and cookies - what do you think?
Why is the Decepticon SOOO much bigger than Optimus Prime??? And HOW could Optimus Prime take him down? Oh, yeah, I'm also watching the second Transformers movie. In the opening sequence, that Decepticon is SO much bigger than Optimus ... and yet, the Prime managed to take him down. Hmmm.
Well, that didn't last for long. Optimus Prime is dead. Josh Duhamel is exceptionally attractive. Randy and I grabbed dinner at a pretty freaking good grill restaurant in 마송/통진 (whatever you want to call it) ... but then went on a search for 호떡 which was unsuccessful. Unfortunately. GIVE US 호떡!!! GIVE US 호떡!!! Oh, well. 인사동에 가요! 호떡 주세요!
PS - if you receive emails from my YAHOO account, ignore them. I think my account's been hacked - I can't even get into it (even though I've reset my password) ... laaame.
Anywho. I'm off. Have a good night all. Next post? 31 days of pictures. FUN!
Yeah, right.
Sunday, December 5
"So, how did that turn out?" - "... Not good." - "Oh."
I have an addictive personality. I can admit that. And that is why I should never try drugs of any kind. I'm not saying that I WOULD become addicted. I'm just saying that I would be predisposed to it.
Once again, let me declare my devotion to "Glee". I'm currently catching up on episodes. I'm on Episode 14 - Finn found out that he's not the father. New Directions won sectionals. Will found out about Terri's deception, and now he wants to date Emma. Sue is still out to get Will and Glee Club, and has now enlisted Brittany and Santana to get under Finn's skin. Rachel just met a guy from Vocal Adrenaline in the library (he seems like a prick). Has a nice voice, though. Oh, and Will is singing a Neil Diamond song. God, how I love this show.
Yes, I'm a "Gleek". Oh, and I love that Asian kid (Mike) and his dance moves. The boy's got mad skillz. And yes, I wrote that with a "z".
The weekend has come to an end yet again. After a mini-freakout in the office on Friday, I decided to hop onto a bus to Anyang. Snap decision, actually. Just needed to get away. So, I did. Hung out with the Anyang crew on Friday night, and then met up with Hyun in Seoul on Saturday (after a SUBWAY lunch with Evan) in Apgujeong. We got our hair did ... awesome salon in Apgujeong ... and then headed over to Sinsa and Garosu-gil. Garosu-gil is an amazing place. It's easy to forget how awesome Seoul is. There's so many great little nooks and crannies to discover and explore - Garosu-gil being one of these. Hip little shops, cozy cafes, trendy little restaurants ... Garosu-gil has ALL of these and more. I can't wait to go back. :)
Today at church, the sermon was from Judges Chapter 6, when God tells Gideon that it's his job to drive the Midianites out. The pastor went on to Chapter 7, where Gideon defeats the Midianites with only 300 men. The story in this passage seemed a little familiar, so I turned to Eun-Soo ...
"Did you ever see the movie '300'?"
"Hmmm, no, why?"
"This kinda reminds me of that."
"Oh really? How did it turn out?"
"Not good."
"... oh."
So, I've started utilizing my dictionary more in church. There's always words that I see or hear over and over again. So, sometimes I'll surreptitiously sneak out my cell phone dictionary and type in words I want to know. (Or to use it when Eun-Soo doesn't remember a word ... which happens EXTREMELY rarely. I think it's happened three times since September.)
Examples?
영원 - eternity (ps, I have a student named Young-Won), 땅 - the earth, 마음 - the mind, spirit, 아직도 - still, yet, 현재 - present (time), 영관 - an honor, glory, 평화 - peace, harmony, 세상 - the world, 고정관념 - a fixed idea (a negative thing), 의심 - a doubt
Trust - 신용, Obedient - 순종하는, Future - 미래
선포하다 - to proclaim, 송축하다 - to bless, to praise, 기뻐하다 - to be glad of, to rejoice, 경배하다 - to bow respectfully, 항복하다 - to surrender (oneself), 순종하다 - to follow obediently, 거룩하다 - to be sacred, to be holy, 종귀하다 - to be high, noble
Yay, vocabulary!!!
Okay. That's all I've got. Now, t'is the season for the tests. Gimpo HS students take their finals this coming week. Some of my friends have tests this coming week, too - one of them is related to several business/CPA-esque concepts that I don't quite understand ... and the other is kinda big (even if he doesn't want to tell anyone about it ... punk. I mean "punk" in the nicest possible way). (^_^) So, I wish everyone all the best - good luck and don't stress. Remember, the holidays are just around the corner. :)
And that's it. Love you much.
Once again, let me declare my devotion to "Glee". I'm currently catching up on episodes. I'm on Episode 14 - Finn found out that he's not the father. New Directions won sectionals. Will found out about Terri's deception, and now he wants to date Emma. Sue is still out to get Will and Glee Club, and has now enlisted Brittany and Santana to get under Finn's skin. Rachel just met a guy from Vocal Adrenaline in the library (he seems like a prick). Has a nice voice, though. Oh, and Will is singing a Neil Diamond song. God, how I love this show.
Yes, I'm a "Gleek". Oh, and I love that Asian kid (Mike) and his dance moves. The boy's got mad skillz. And yes, I wrote that with a "z".
The weekend has come to an end yet again. After a mini-freakout in the office on Friday, I decided to hop onto a bus to Anyang. Snap decision, actually. Just needed to get away. So, I did. Hung out with the Anyang crew on Friday night, and then met up with Hyun in Seoul on Saturday (after a SUBWAY lunch with Evan) in Apgujeong. We got our hair did ... awesome salon in Apgujeong ... and then headed over to Sinsa and Garosu-gil. Garosu-gil is an amazing place. It's easy to forget how awesome Seoul is. There's so many great little nooks and crannies to discover and explore - Garosu-gil being one of these. Hip little shops, cozy cafes, trendy little restaurants ... Garosu-gil has ALL of these and more. I can't wait to go back. :)
Today at church, the sermon was from Judges Chapter 6, when God tells Gideon that it's his job to drive the Midianites out. The pastor went on to Chapter 7, where Gideon defeats the Midianites with only 300 men. The story in this passage seemed a little familiar, so I turned to Eun-Soo ...
"Did you ever see the movie '300'?"
"Hmmm, no, why?"
"This kinda reminds me of that."
"Oh really? How did it turn out?"
"Not good."
"... oh."
So, I've started utilizing my dictionary more in church. There's always words that I see or hear over and over again. So, sometimes I'll surreptitiously sneak out my cell phone dictionary and type in words I want to know. (Or to use it when Eun-Soo doesn't remember a word ... which happens EXTREMELY rarely. I think it's happened three times since September.)
Examples?
영원 - eternity (ps, I have a student named Young-Won), 땅 - the earth, 마음 - the mind, spirit, 아직도 - still, yet, 현재 - present (time), 영관 - an honor, glory, 평화 - peace, harmony, 세상 - the world, 고정관념 - a fixed idea (a negative thing), 의심 - a doubt
Trust - 신용, Obedient - 순종하는, Future - 미래
선포하다 - to proclaim, 송축하다 - to bless, to praise, 기뻐하다 - to be glad of, to rejoice, 경배하다 - to bow respectfully, 항복하다 - to surrender (oneself), 순종하다 - to follow obediently, 거룩하다 - to be sacred, to be holy, 종귀하다 - to be high, noble
Yay, vocabulary!!!
Okay. That's all I've got. Now, t'is the season for the tests. Gimpo HS students take their finals this coming week. Some of my friends have tests this coming week, too - one of them is related to several business/CPA-esque concepts that I don't quite understand ... and the other is kinda big (even if he doesn't want to tell anyone about it ... punk. I mean "punk" in the nicest possible way). (^_^) So, I wish everyone all the best - good luck and don't stress. Remember, the holidays are just around the corner. :)
And that's it. Love you much.
Thursday, December 2
I'd Like to Talk to the Weather-man ...
It's raining.
Seriously? It's the beginning of December. It FEELS like it's freezing outside. And yet ... it's 9:51 PM and there's a THUNDERSTORM outside. A legit thunderstorm. Like ... I can see the water coursing down the rooftop of the building outside of my window. This weather is getting a little ridiculous.
Okay. Enough with the lame weather reports. It's confession time. I have a new obsession. Okay. I think I mentioned it before. I'm addicted ... to ... Glee.
Yes, I'm late jumping on the bandwagon. Now I'm catching up. Thank you, Randy, for supplying me with all of season 1 and thus enabling my addiction. It's the singing. The singing is amazing. For example, right now, Finn is singing "I'll Stand By You" ... ... ... ... ... amazing.
Okay. Really. I'm done now. Next week is finals - my students are CRAAAZY stressed. Well, some of them appear to be. Others grab me in the hallways just to chat. I've supervised study periods where the entire class diligently studies for an hour (although during the last five minutes I make them close their books and just relax ... it's okay, they already know I'm crazy), and I've also had study halls where I've ended up playing charades with some of the students in the back of the room. Anything to help them relax, haha.
I finished calculating my grades an hour ago - aigooo. Headache = major. I actually had finished doing them six hours ago ... or, at least I that I had. Then, I ran into Young-Joon. Young-Joon who, bless his heart, had sent me an email yesterday WITHOUT HIS ASSIGNMENT ATTACHED. Honest mistake. So ... I waited. And now I'm done. Hey, guess what - I've been working here for three months now. Wow, has it really been that long already? I'm going to miss teaching my second year students. They're great. I don't know what they'll think about me after they see their grades, haha ... hopefully they'll still like me. We shall see ... ... ...
I've decided that I really like working with high school students. It's really a lot of fun. Maybe a little bit rough in the beginning, but ... really? It's been pretty neat. I feel really lucky to have this opportunity. They're so daaang smart, and we're able to talk about pretty complex things. I've learned so much from them, even in just these few months. Yeah ... I'm pretty lucky.
Gonna meet up with Hyun this Saturday in Seoul ... perhaps a hair appointment should be pencilled in?? Well, actually, it already has been. :) We'll see what happens.
And that's my life. It's taken me two hours to write this while in that time I completed my grades and watched three episodes of "Glee". Now ... it's bedtime.
Seriously? It's the beginning of December. It FEELS like it's freezing outside. And yet ... it's 9:51 PM and there's a THUNDERSTORM outside. A legit thunderstorm. Like ... I can see the water coursing down the rooftop of the building outside of my window. This weather is getting a little ridiculous.
Okay. Enough with the lame weather reports. It's confession time. I have a new obsession. Okay. I think I mentioned it before. I'm addicted ... to ... Glee.
Yes, I'm late jumping on the bandwagon. Now I'm catching up. Thank you, Randy, for supplying me with all of season 1 and thus enabling my addiction. It's the singing. The singing is amazing. For example, right now, Finn is singing "I'll Stand By You" ... ... ... ... ... amazing.
Okay. Really. I'm done now. Next week is finals - my students are CRAAAZY stressed. Well, some of them appear to be. Others grab me in the hallways just to chat. I've supervised study periods where the entire class diligently studies for an hour (although during the last five minutes I make them close their books and just relax ... it's okay, they already know I'm crazy), and I've also had study halls where I've ended up playing charades with some of the students in the back of the room. Anything to help them relax, haha.
I finished calculating my grades an hour ago - aigooo. Headache = major. I actually had finished doing them six hours ago ... or, at least I that I had. Then, I ran into Young-Joon. Young-Joon who, bless his heart, had sent me an email yesterday WITHOUT HIS ASSIGNMENT ATTACHED. Honest mistake. So ... I waited. And now I'm done. Hey, guess what - I've been working here for three months now. Wow, has it really been that long already? I'm going to miss teaching my second year students. They're great. I don't know what they'll think about me after they see their grades, haha ... hopefully they'll still like me. We shall see ... ... ...
I've decided that I really like working with high school students. It's really a lot of fun. Maybe a little bit rough in the beginning, but ... really? It's been pretty neat. I feel really lucky to have this opportunity. They're so daaang smart, and we're able to talk about pretty complex things. I've learned so much from them, even in just these few months. Yeah ... I'm pretty lucky.
Gonna meet up with Hyun this Saturday in Seoul ... perhaps a hair appointment should be pencilled in?? Well, actually, it already has been. :) We'll see what happens.
And that's my life. It's taken me two hours to write this while in that time I completed my grades and watched three episodes of "Glee". Now ... it's bedtime.
Tuesday, November 30
"Wanna be a club advisor?"
"In order to be the advisor for the Spanish Club, do I have to be able to speak Spanish? No? Okay, then ... sign me up."
That's pretty much the conversation I had with one of my students today - Min. Min is super motivated when it comes to learning languages - he speaks English very well, is majoring in Chinese, studies French on his own, knows a little Japanese, and now wants to learn Spanish. If he's able to garner enough interest in his club, maybe I'll (re)learn along with them. Which is why I may or may not be currently listening to Spanish language podcasts on iTunes. I think this one is being taught by a Scottish guy (at least, he doesn't sound Spanish). I can't quite place his accent. And I have absolutely no idea about the woman's accent.
Hola? Que tal? Bien, gracias, y tu? Bien, gracias.
Hola? Que tal? Fetal, y tu? Yo muy bien, gracias.
Hola? Que tal? Es stupendo! Y tu? Phenomenal!!!
(Don't judge my spelling)
In other news - tonight, I went to a motivational speech in the gymnasium given by 김형석 (KIM Hyeong-Suk) who is a famous producer in Korea. He has worked with artists like BOA and 동방신기 (Dong Bang Shin Ki). I didn't understand most of what he was saying, because by the time my mind processed the words that I understood, I had lost track of the speech. But, I think the general gist of it was that he was encouraging them to keep working hard. It was cool.
Buenos dias!
Buenas tardes! (I can't roll my "r's")
Buenas noches!
Excellente!
Adios! Hasta luego!
Hasta pronto! Hasta manana!
Me llamo ______.
Encantada!
Spanish comes so much easier than Korean. Speaking of which ... I should do my homework.
저는 Marcie이에요. 저는 영어선생님이에요. 저는 미국사람이에요.
방에 책상이 있어요. 의자도 있어요. 냉장고하고 옷장도 있어요. 우리 집은 학교 옆에 있어요.
이 사과 얼마예요? 한 개에 1000원이에요. 사과 두 개 주세요. 모두 2000원이에요.
몇 명 이에요? 5명이에요.
Okay. Now I want to start watching "Glee". I love how Finn (or whatever his name is) looks TERRIFIED of that girl. I can't remember her name. Will's wife is insane. This show is incredible. I think I'm in love. Sue is HILARIOUS. Emma's strange.
"You're very talented."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I would know because I'm very talented."
I'm out for now.
---
PS - this is my 100th post on my blog. Monumental? Meh. Have a great day! (^_^)
That's pretty much the conversation I had with one of my students today - Min. Min is super motivated when it comes to learning languages - he speaks English very well, is majoring in Chinese, studies French on his own, knows a little Japanese, and now wants to learn Spanish. If he's able to garner enough interest in his club, maybe I'll (re)learn along with them. Which is why I may or may not be currently listening to Spanish language podcasts on iTunes. I think this one is being taught by a Scottish guy (at least, he doesn't sound Spanish). I can't quite place his accent. And I have absolutely no idea about the woman's accent.
Hola? Que tal? Bien, gracias, y tu? Bien, gracias.
Hola? Que tal? Fetal, y tu? Yo muy bien, gracias.
Hola? Que tal? Es stupendo! Y tu? Phenomenal!!!
(Don't judge my spelling)
In other news - tonight, I went to a motivational speech in the gymnasium given by 김형석 (KIM Hyeong-Suk) who is a famous producer in Korea. He has worked with artists like BOA and 동방신기 (Dong Bang Shin Ki). I didn't understand most of what he was saying, because by the time my mind processed the words that I understood, I had lost track of the speech. But, I think the general gist of it was that he was encouraging them to keep working hard. It was cool.
Buenos dias!
Buenas tardes! (I can't roll my "r's")
Buenas noches!
Excellente!
Adios! Hasta luego!
Hasta pronto! Hasta manana!
Me llamo ______.
Encantada!
Spanish comes so much easier than Korean. Speaking of which ... I should do my homework.
저는 Marcie이에요. 저는 영어선생님이에요. 저는 미국사람이에요.
방에 책상이 있어요. 의자도 있어요. 냉장고하고 옷장도 있어요. 우리 집은 학교 옆에 있어요.
이 사과 얼마예요? 한 개에 1000원이에요. 사과 두 개 주세요. 모두 2000원이에요.
몇 명 이에요? 5명이에요.
Okay. Now I want to start watching "Glee". I love how Finn (or whatever his name is) looks TERRIFIED of that girl. I can't remember her name. Will's wife is insane. This show is incredible. I think I'm in love. Sue is HILARIOUS. Emma's strange.
"You're very talented."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I would know because I'm very talented."
I'm out for now.
---
PS - this is my 100th post on my blog. Monumental? Meh. Have a great day! (^_^)
Sunday, November 28
I'm Thank For ... (in no particular order)
Friends who let me sleep at their places, the girl on the bus who held my purse on her lap while I was standing because the bus was full, Thanksgiving dinners, friends who can cook (and who enjoy doing it), 사명의교회 (my church and all of the people there), letters in the mail, late night or early morning phone calls (depending on which country you're in), chocolate chip cookies, the ajeosshi who let me have the empty seat on the bus, text messages, snow falling in the city, hugs, people who are willing to teach me Korean, everyone who has ever had to or been willing to translate for me, best friends, mentors, my students, God's grace, digital cameras, e-mail, boxed sets of MacGyver DVDs, Indian food restaurants (and people who are ALWAYS willing to go with me to them), the right and the ability to make my own choices (and the lessons I learn from them), my family (the one I was given and the one(s) I have created for myself), kisses on the cheek from my friend's little brother, ondol (floor) heating, people who can always make me laugh, the guy on the bus who smelled nice (since we had to stand side-by-side for over 30 minutes) ... basically, people. And life. In general.
Sunday, November 21
Some people get all the luck ...
In one week, I spend at least 3 hours on a bus of some kind.
See, it takes almost exactly one hour to get from Gimpo Foreign Language High School to Hapjeong subway station on the 3000 bus (which makes limited stops). Since I absolutely hate riding buses, that's the best option for me. Then, I can hop on the subway (Hapjeong Station is where Line 2 [the green line] and Line 6 [the brown line] meet) and be in Beomgye or Suwon within an hour (strange how it takes about the same amount of time to get to both places, huh?)
Why am I telling you this? To complain. What am I complaining about? EVERY TIME I GET ON THAT FREAKING 3000 BUS, I ALWAYS END UP SITTING NEXT TO OLD MEN AND WOMEN. Once ... JUST ONCE ... I want to get to sit next to a cute soldier.
Yes, I know that's petty. But c'mon! On Thursday when I rode the bus, I ended up sitting next to a space-hogging ahjeossi (albeit, he had a kind smile) while Daphne (my coworker) got to sit next to a cute soldier. NOT FAIR! :P
Some people get all the luck.
(^_^)
Oh, and BTW ... if anyone has a recipe for pie crust, please let me know. Any and all advice would be welcome, too, as I attempt to make a pumpkin pie. I don't even like pumpkin pie, haha.
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!!!
See, it takes almost exactly one hour to get from Gimpo Foreign Language High School to Hapjeong subway station on the 3000 bus (which makes limited stops). Since I absolutely hate riding buses, that's the best option for me. Then, I can hop on the subway (Hapjeong Station is where Line 2 [the green line] and Line 6 [the brown line] meet) and be in Beomgye or Suwon within an hour (strange how it takes about the same amount of time to get to both places, huh?)
Why am I telling you this? To complain. What am I complaining about? EVERY TIME I GET ON THAT FREAKING 3000 BUS, I ALWAYS END UP SITTING NEXT TO OLD MEN AND WOMEN. Once ... JUST ONCE ... I want to get to sit next to a cute soldier.
Yes, I know that's petty. But c'mon! On Thursday when I rode the bus, I ended up sitting next to a space-hogging ahjeossi (albeit, he had a kind smile) while Daphne (my coworker) got to sit next to a cute soldier. NOT FAIR! :P
Some people get all the luck.
(^_^)
Oh, and BTW ... if anyone has a recipe for pie crust, please let me know. Any and all advice would be welcome, too, as I attempt to make a pumpkin pie. I don't even like pumpkin pie, haha.
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving!!!
Saturday, November 20
Don't laugh ...
Confession::: I may or may not be watching "Eclipse" (the 3rd Twilight movie) again.
Now, before you start making fun of me ... Well, okay, you can make fun of me. I'm making fun of myself. But, c'mon ... I can overlook the cheese-factor and the ridiculousness of it because ... there's shirtless "werewolves". And that makes it ALL worth it.
It's Saturday night. I just spent three hours killing countless numbers of trees (sorry, Mother Nature) in order to copy materials for my students to plan their arguments for their final test. I have eight different topics ... unfortunately, I can't remember all of them right now. I'm sure you're SUPER interested (psssht, haha) ... but you'll just have to deal with it.
Last week was a short week - all of the third year students in Korea took their college entrance exams on Thursday. It's a crazy, crazy day in Korea - it only happens once a year, though. And now that that's over with, all of the third year students in my school are gone. It's SO quiet in my building ... I can't believe it. On Friday, some of my students came to talk to me and were just in awe - "Teacher, we're almost third year students now."
Yesterday, I went to Seoul with Daphne to Apgujeong. We grabbed lunch at a restaurant called "Everest" in Dongdaemun - and it was pretty stinkin' fantastic. Mmmmm, Indian food. :) Then we went to a cafe (in Apgujeong) to have a short lesson on how to make the perfect cup of hand-drip coffee. That was pretty cool. I learned alot about coffee during that short 30 minute lesson.
After that, I met up with Kyu (my old roommate) at the Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun - REALLY freakin' awesome! I haven't seen her in FOREVER, so it was a lot of fun! She's so funny. I was also able to get hold of In-Chae, and I met him at his university (Dongguk University) near Namsan Tower. His university was pretty cool! Really pretty, and fun to see. He showed me around the campus (including the little manicured park areas on top of the buildings), and then we had dinner. Yay for yummy Italian food. :) :) :) Oh, and great company, of course. (^_^)
Ended up heading down to Beomgye for even MORE good food. Weekends = fat. Oh, and fun times at Trevor and Seul-ki's. :) Woke up this morning, and met Mindy in Gangnam for ... drum roll please ... BUTTERFINGERS PANCAKES! HECK YESSS ... french toast ... bacon ... eggs ... mmmmmmm.
And that was my weekend. Tomorrow? Church. :) For now? More cheesy movies. :)
Now, before you start making fun of me ... Well, okay, you can make fun of me. I'm making fun of myself. But, c'mon ... I can overlook the cheese-factor and the ridiculousness of it because ... there's shirtless "werewolves". And that makes it ALL worth it.
It's Saturday night. I just spent three hours killing countless numbers of trees (sorry, Mother Nature) in order to copy materials for my students to plan their arguments for their final test. I have eight different topics ... unfortunately, I can't remember all of them right now. I'm sure you're SUPER interested (psssht, haha) ... but you'll just have to deal with it.
Last week was a short week - all of the third year students in Korea took their college entrance exams on Thursday. It's a crazy, crazy day in Korea - it only happens once a year, though. And now that that's over with, all of the third year students in my school are gone. It's SO quiet in my building ... I can't believe it. On Friday, some of my students came to talk to me and were just in awe - "Teacher, we're almost third year students now."
Yesterday, I went to Seoul with Daphne to Apgujeong. We grabbed lunch at a restaurant called "Everest" in Dongdaemun - and it was pretty stinkin' fantastic. Mmmmm, Indian food. :) Then we went to a cafe (in Apgujeong) to have a short lesson on how to make the perfect cup of hand-drip coffee. That was pretty cool. I learned alot about coffee during that short 30 minute lesson.
After that, I met up with Kyu (my old roommate) at the Kyobo Bookstore in Gwanghwamun - REALLY freakin' awesome! I haven't seen her in FOREVER, so it was a lot of fun! She's so funny. I was also able to get hold of In-Chae, and I met him at his university (Dongguk University) near Namsan Tower. His university was pretty cool! Really pretty, and fun to see. He showed me around the campus (including the little manicured park areas on top of the buildings), and then we had dinner. Yay for yummy Italian food. :) :) :) Oh, and great company, of course. (^_^)
Ended up heading down to Beomgye for even MORE good food. Weekends = fat. Oh, and fun times at Trevor and Seul-ki's. :) Woke up this morning, and met Mindy in Gangnam for ... drum roll please ... BUTTERFINGERS PANCAKES! HECK YESSS ... french toast ... bacon ... eggs ... mmmmmmm.
And that was my weekend. Tomorrow? Church. :) For now? More cheesy movies. :)
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