Today I turned 23!! I started off my day by meeting Shannon and Reuel at Dunkin' Donuts for some coffee and donuts. They gave me cards, and Shannon paid for my food, so that was nice! We chatted for awhile, and then went our separate ways.
When I got to work, Jessica (one of my Korean co-workers) gave me a huge can of Snickers minis. YUM!! Right before my first class, Teddy came into the office and gave me a package that had just been delivered. I wasn't expecting anything, so it was a wonderful surprise when I recognized the handwriting. IT WAS FROM HOME!! As an early Christmas present, my parents bought me a Kindle, and it came on my birthday!! Perfect.
Because there was extra room in the box, I got a few extra goodies: 6 packs of gum, a University of Tampa shirt from my dad, an electric SPIDERMAN toothbrush, Neosporin, and a really pretty hot pink case for my Kindle!! I had actually been looking at the exact one online-WOOT! They also included a pack of coffee for Darren which was really thoughtful. I'll give it to him tomorrow. :)
This weekend, we are officially going to celebrate my birthday by going to an island :) So awesome, right?! This coming Monday is a holiday, so we have an extra day to relax. We thought this would be the perfect time to go. The weather has cooled off a lot because Fall is officially here, so going to the island is going to be wonderful. We are still researching to figure out all the details, but it's going to be an awesome weekend! I'm definitely going to bring my camera for sure!! (and my Kindle!) :)
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
FC Seoul.
On Friday night, Shannon, Reuel, and I went to Grand Ole Opry. We've been wanting to experience a real Korean night-out, which means you stay out until the sun comes up and the subways start up again. We decided that Friday would be the night. We line-danced for SIX HOURS until 5:30am. It was super fun! We met a lot of new friends, and even taught some people how to line-dance. :)
We got home around 6:30am, and slept until noon. We had to get up and get ready for the FC Seoul soccer game. We got tickets for 10,000 won (about $10), and it included our ticket, a free hotdog, and a free drink. Pretty sweet deal! We met Reuel and her brother, Mattaniah, at the game at 4:30pm. There was a foreigners section that we were supposed to sit in, so we found some pretty good seats inside. It was such a fun game!! There were a few players on the team who weren't Korean. The MVP of the game was from Croatia, and one of their best defenders was from Brazil. When the game finished, we hopped back on the subway, and Reuel took us to Raintree Cafe. It was a really cute little cafe, with natural smoothies and tea drinks. The atmosphere was really fun. There were a few tables, scattered around. For the lower tables, there were pillows to sit or lay on. There were maps and travel tickets from all over the world hanging up around the restaurant, and candles lit on every table.
We headed home, and Shannon and I watched "Water for Elephants." I was SO disappointed!! I just finished reading the book-I read it in 3 days!! I just couldn't put it down. I've heard that the movie was good, so I couldn't wait to watch it! The movie left out so many great parts and details. I feel like none of the characters were built up enough, and a lot of the emotion between characters was missing. Oh well...I guess that happens a lot. The books are phenomenal and the movie just can't compare. I'll just have to remember how much I loved the book :)
On Sunday morning, Shannon, Reuel, Mattaniah, Arri, and I all went to Dos Tacos for our Mexican Sunday lunch. We headed to church and signed up for the Fall Retreat!! It's coming up in two weeks. It's only 10,000 won, which is really good! Shannon and I work until 9:30pm, so we won't be able to go on Friday night with everyone else. There's a late bus going to the retreat on Saturday morning, so we'll join them then :)
After church, we went to a bookstore to hang out before our small groups. I bought a Korean/English bible, with a Hymnal in the back, too! So cool, right?! Plus it's pink. :) I went to my small group at 4pm and had the best time! We have a great group of women, and I always feel so refreshed afterwards. When Reuel and I left our small groups, we met up with Shannon, Mattaniah, and Arri and went to a Fusion restaurant for my birthday dinner. It was DELICIOUS!! It was a big plate of chicken, noodles, and veggies. We ate it over rice. Yum! Shannon surprised me and had bought a cake from a bakery nearby! It was chocolate. Of course. :) They sang "Happy Birthday" to me, and I blew out the candles. Shannon paid for my food, so that was really sweet of her!
After dinner, we went back to Anyung, where Shannon and Reuel live, and went to a gelato and coffee shop. We had dessert (for the second time!) and hung out for a bit. Reuel paid for my gelato!! It was such a fun weekend!! I turn 23 on Tuesday, so I can't wait! I love being able to celebrate my birthday in South Korea. What a cool experience! :)
We got home around 6:30am, and slept until noon. We had to get up and get ready for the FC Seoul soccer game. We got tickets for 10,000 won (about $10), and it included our ticket, a free hotdog, and a free drink. Pretty sweet deal! We met Reuel and her brother, Mattaniah, at the game at 4:30pm. There was a foreigners section that we were supposed to sit in, so we found some pretty good seats inside. It was such a fun game!! There were a few players on the team who weren't Korean. The MVP of the game was from Croatia, and one of their best defenders was from Brazil. When the game finished, we hopped back on the subway, and Reuel took us to Raintree Cafe. It was a really cute little cafe, with natural smoothies and tea drinks. The atmosphere was really fun. There were a few tables, scattered around. For the lower tables, there were pillows to sit or lay on. There were maps and travel tickets from all over the world hanging up around the restaurant, and candles lit on every table.
We headed home, and Shannon and I watched "Water for Elephants." I was SO disappointed!! I just finished reading the book-I read it in 3 days!! I just couldn't put it down. I've heard that the movie was good, so I couldn't wait to watch it! The movie left out so many great parts and details. I feel like none of the characters were built up enough, and a lot of the emotion between characters was missing. Oh well...I guess that happens a lot. The books are phenomenal and the movie just can't compare. I'll just have to remember how much I loved the book :)
On Sunday morning, Shannon, Reuel, Mattaniah, Arri, and I all went to Dos Tacos for our Mexican Sunday lunch. We headed to church and signed up for the Fall Retreat!! It's coming up in two weeks. It's only 10,000 won, which is really good! Shannon and I work until 9:30pm, so we won't be able to go on Friday night with everyone else. There's a late bus going to the retreat on Saturday morning, so we'll join them then :)
After church, we went to a bookstore to hang out before our small groups. I bought a Korean/English bible, with a Hymnal in the back, too! So cool, right?! Plus it's pink. :) I went to my small group at 4pm and had the best time! We have a great group of women, and I always feel so refreshed afterwards. When Reuel and I left our small groups, we met up with Shannon, Mattaniah, and Arri and went to a Fusion restaurant for my birthday dinner. It was DELICIOUS!! It was a big plate of chicken, noodles, and veggies. We ate it over rice. Yum! Shannon surprised me and had bought a cake from a bakery nearby! It was chocolate. Of course. :) They sang "Happy Birthday" to me, and I blew out the candles. Shannon paid for my food, so that was really sweet of her!
After dinner, we went back to Anyung, where Shannon and Reuel live, and went to a gelato and coffee shop. We had dessert (for the second time!) and hung out for a bit. Reuel paid for my gelato!! It was such a fun weekend!! I turn 23 on Tuesday, so I can't wait! I love being able to celebrate my birthday in South Korea. What a cool experience! :)
Friday, September 23, 2011
I love surprises.
On Monday, I gave my laptop to Teddy to take into the Apple store to have it fixed. The voltage in Korea is double that of the U.S., so it fried the back of my computer. Apparently this is a problem with all Macs sold within the past two years or so...If the computer heats up, the back will fall off. Luckily for me, I contacted Apple, and they sent me a new back for free! Unfortunately for me, it was sent to the States where I couldn't get it...I thought my laptop would last for a little while longer, but I was definitely wrong about that one! Teddy took it in on Monday, and got it back today, Thursday. When I asked him how much money I owed him, he said they fixed it for free! He said their computer system showed that I had already been mailed the "free backing" so technically I couldn't get another free one. But Teddy told them that I'm an English teacher from the States, and they offered to replace it for free! Yay!
So...I've been gone from the computer for awhile. I've been able to check email once a day at work between classes, but have been cut off from the rest of the world as far as Facebook and my blog go...pity... :) But, I'm back!!
Last night, the director of the school took all the teachers out to celebrate Beth's year of teaching here. After work, we all rode together to the restaurant. We had galbi and drinks and just chatted with one another. It was a really relaxing night, and I actually got to know two of my Korean co-teachers much better. It's difficult at work to sit down and have a conversation with each other, so last night was the perfect opportunity to do that. After we were at the restaurant for a few hours, we walked down the block a bit to a seafood restaurant. I tried raw tuna for my first time, and found out that I don't really prefer that....But at least I tried it! :) It was about 3:30am when we decided to call it a night. I took a taxi home and crashed right away. Luckily for us, we don't work until 2:15pm every day, so I was able to sleep in and get a decent amount of rest.
Tonight, a group of us are going back to the linedancing bar after work!! We're going to celebrate my birthday (Woohoo!!) and just relax after this week. On Saturday, we're going to a soccer game here, so I'm really looking forward to that. Sunday is church and small groups again. Sunday night, a group of us are going out to a restaurant to celebrate my birthday AGAIN! :) I do love birthdays.
I had an interesting Tuesday morning...I had just gotten to work and this huge delivery came into the lobby. There was a ginormous mattress pad that was rolled up, a HUGE cardboard box, and a smaller box beside it. Darren came over to my desk and told me that the delivery was for me. I told him I hadn't ordered anything and that it was a mistake. I asked him who ordered all the stuff, and he looked at the tag and said, "you." I told him that I promised I hadn't bought anything, and I didn't want to take someone else's stuff if they accidentally delivered it to the wrong place or something...He opened the big cardboard box and saw the shipping paper inside. It read, "Denise Traster," and "Jena Myers." My mom and my sister!! Turns out, my parents, sister and bro-in-law, grandma, AND stepmom had all ordered new bedding and towels for me from a store here in Korea!! What a wonderful surprise! Apparently it came a week early, but I don't mind. I have a wonderful bed (that's really comfy now!) and brand-new towels. So exciting! That pretty much made my whole week. I love surprises.
And you know what's even better? Darren offered to put it all in his car so I wouldn't have to walk home with all of it. (I couldn't have carried that box if my life depended on it anyway...) He called me when he was leaving work, and drove it to my house AND carried it up all three flights of stairs, right to my doorstep. What a wonderful boss :)
So...I've been gone from the computer for awhile. I've been able to check email once a day at work between classes, but have been cut off from the rest of the world as far as Facebook and my blog go...pity... :) But, I'm back!!
Last night, the director of the school took all the teachers out to celebrate Beth's year of teaching here. After work, we all rode together to the restaurant. We had galbi and drinks and just chatted with one another. It was a really relaxing night, and I actually got to know two of my Korean co-teachers much better. It's difficult at work to sit down and have a conversation with each other, so last night was the perfect opportunity to do that. After we were at the restaurant for a few hours, we walked down the block a bit to a seafood restaurant. I tried raw tuna for my first time, and found out that I don't really prefer that....But at least I tried it! :) It was about 3:30am when we decided to call it a night. I took a taxi home and crashed right away. Luckily for us, we don't work until 2:15pm every day, so I was able to sleep in and get a decent amount of rest.
Tonight, a group of us are going back to the linedancing bar after work!! We're going to celebrate my birthday (Woohoo!!) and just relax after this week. On Saturday, we're going to a soccer game here, so I'm really looking forward to that. Sunday is church and small groups again. Sunday night, a group of us are going out to a restaurant to celebrate my birthday AGAIN! :) I do love birthdays.
I had an interesting Tuesday morning...I had just gotten to work and this huge delivery came into the lobby. There was a ginormous mattress pad that was rolled up, a HUGE cardboard box, and a smaller box beside it. Darren came over to my desk and told me that the delivery was for me. I told him I hadn't ordered anything and that it was a mistake. I asked him who ordered all the stuff, and he looked at the tag and said, "you." I told him that I promised I hadn't bought anything, and I didn't want to take someone else's stuff if they accidentally delivered it to the wrong place or something...He opened the big cardboard box and saw the shipping paper inside. It read, "Denise Traster," and "Jena Myers." My mom and my sister!! Turns out, my parents, sister and bro-in-law, grandma, AND stepmom had all ordered new bedding and towels for me from a store here in Korea!! What a wonderful surprise! Apparently it came a week early, but I don't mind. I have a wonderful bed (that's really comfy now!) and brand-new towels. So exciting! That pretty much made my whole week. I love surprises.
And you know what's even better? Darren offered to put it all in his car so I wouldn't have to walk home with all of it. (I couldn't have carried that box if my life depended on it anyway...) He called me when he was leaving work, and drove it to my house AND carried it up all three flights of stairs, right to my doorstep. What a wonderful boss :)
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Grand Ole Opry.
Words can hardly express what an incredible weekend I just had. SO. GOOD.
On Saturday afternoon, I met Shannon at her place, and we headed to Gangnam to meet Arri. (Shannon and I were dressed up and wearing our cowgirl boots!!) The three of us went to lunch/dinner at a new taco place. Arri had to leave after to meet up with another friend, so Shannon and I bummed around town a little bit. At around 7pm, we caught the subway to Itaewon, where the country line-dancing bar is. Two of our friends were going to meet up with us a little later, so we stopped in at a GS25 for a snack and drinks. While we were inside, we met another foreigner. He was from Chicago, and was hanging out with two of his buddies. We ended up joining them at their table outside. They invited us to a soccer game next weekend. They were selling tickets: only 10,000 won (just under $10) and it includes a hotdog and drink, and admission to the soccer game. We both bought tickets and bought two more for Reuel and her brother. We're looking forward to next weekend already! :)
Our friends, Sarah and Stephanie, finally joined us in Itaewon, and we headed to the Grand Ole Opry, the line-dancing bar. We got there early, around 9pm, and there was no one there. I mean, it was ALMOST empty, minus an old guy at the bar and three guys hanging out at a table. Anyway, it was pretty dead. We knew that after awhile, the bar would fill up, so we just hung out for awhile and enjoyed ourselves.
This bar was legit. Wooden dance floor in the center (super small!!), American flag on the wall, American alcohol, REAL country music. Shannon and I were so happy. We frequented a line-dancing bar in Orlando every week, and we had been missing it. This pretty much exceeded all our expectations, especially being in Korea!! We never would've thought a place like this actually existed! After about an hour of just taking in the surroundings, Shannon and I were itching to dance. Other people had wandered in, and the place was starting to fill up, but no one was dancing. We decided to break the ice. We went out on the dance floor and started line-dancing. After some hoots and hollers from people around us, a few other people came out on the dance floor with us. It was an AWESOME time! We basically started the line-dancing trend...Not to toot our own horns, but toot toot! :)
We met a bunch of people that night, some teachers, some military. One guy, Joe, came over and introduced himself. He taught me how to two-step, which I've been wanting to learn! I'm not too good at it quite yet, but we two-stepped a lot, so I got some practice. :) I tried to teach him some line dances, but he was a bit clumsy...
Shannon and I line-danced and two-stepped our way through Saturday night. Some people joined us on the dance floor, wanting to learn. We taught a few of the easier dances, and people seemed to have a really good time. The bar was all foreigners, no Koreans at all. At times, it didn't even feel like we were in Korea. At midnight, everyone took off their hats, and the DJ played "The Star-Spangled Banner." Everyone stopped what they were doing, stood up, faced the flag, and sang at the top of their lungs. It was so awesome!!
This line-dancing experience was way better than I could've imagined. We met new friends who also appreciate good country music, and already have plans to go back again this weekend. :)
Today, small groups started at church!! Shannon and I went to the service, and then grabbed lunch afterwards. Her small group was at 2pm, so she had to hurry off. I hung around for awhile, read a book on her Nook, and then met up with Reuel and her brother. My small group didn't start until 4pm, so we chatted for awhile. Finally, I met my small group! It's a women's small group, led by the female pastor of the church. We all met up right outside the church and then walked together to a small coffee shop a few blocks away. We had an introductory session where we introduced ourselves and talked about our expectations for the group. All the girls were really genuine and open, so I really appreciated that. We talked about our plan for the group and what we will be studying. We took prayer requests and prayed for each other. We ended up meeting for 2 1/2 hours! We all lost track of time, but no one seemed to mind :) I'm really looking forward to meeting up with these girls every week.
We are assigned a different prayer partner every week. We're supposed to do our best to check-in on one another and encourage and pray for each other. This week I'm paired up with Martha, a girl from South Africa who's here teaching English. There are so many different people in the group, so it's going to be a lot of fun getting to hear about their lives and experiences. I already feel like New Harvest is my new church home, and this small group has definitely confirmed that for me. :)
On Saturday afternoon, I met Shannon at her place, and we headed to Gangnam to meet Arri. (Shannon and I were dressed up and wearing our cowgirl boots!!) The three of us went to lunch/dinner at a new taco place. Arri had to leave after to meet up with another friend, so Shannon and I bummed around town a little bit. At around 7pm, we caught the subway to Itaewon, where the country line-dancing bar is. Two of our friends were going to meet up with us a little later, so we stopped in at a GS25 for a snack and drinks. While we were inside, we met another foreigner. He was from Chicago, and was hanging out with two of his buddies. We ended up joining them at their table outside. They invited us to a soccer game next weekend. They were selling tickets: only 10,000 won (just under $10) and it includes a hotdog and drink, and admission to the soccer game. We both bought tickets and bought two more for Reuel and her brother. We're looking forward to next weekend already! :)
Our friends, Sarah and Stephanie, finally joined us in Itaewon, and we headed to the Grand Ole Opry, the line-dancing bar. We got there early, around 9pm, and there was no one there. I mean, it was ALMOST empty, minus an old guy at the bar and three guys hanging out at a table. Anyway, it was pretty dead. We knew that after awhile, the bar would fill up, so we just hung out for awhile and enjoyed ourselves.
This bar was legit. Wooden dance floor in the center (super small!!), American flag on the wall, American alcohol, REAL country music. Shannon and I were so happy. We frequented a line-dancing bar in Orlando every week, and we had been missing it. This pretty much exceeded all our expectations, especially being in Korea!! We never would've thought a place like this actually existed! After about an hour of just taking in the surroundings, Shannon and I were itching to dance. Other people had wandered in, and the place was starting to fill up, but no one was dancing. We decided to break the ice. We went out on the dance floor and started line-dancing. After some hoots and hollers from people around us, a few other people came out on the dance floor with us. It was an AWESOME time! We basically started the line-dancing trend...Not to toot our own horns, but toot toot! :)
We met a bunch of people that night, some teachers, some military. One guy, Joe, came over and introduced himself. He taught me how to two-step, which I've been wanting to learn! I'm not too good at it quite yet, but we two-stepped a lot, so I got some practice. :) I tried to teach him some line dances, but he was a bit clumsy...
Shannon and I line-danced and two-stepped our way through Saturday night. Some people joined us on the dance floor, wanting to learn. We taught a few of the easier dances, and people seemed to have a really good time. The bar was all foreigners, no Koreans at all. At times, it didn't even feel like we were in Korea. At midnight, everyone took off their hats, and the DJ played "The Star-Spangled Banner." Everyone stopped what they were doing, stood up, faced the flag, and sang at the top of their lungs. It was so awesome!!
This line-dancing experience was way better than I could've imagined. We met new friends who also appreciate good country music, and already have plans to go back again this weekend. :)
Today, small groups started at church!! Shannon and I went to the service, and then grabbed lunch afterwards. Her small group was at 2pm, so she had to hurry off. I hung around for awhile, read a book on her Nook, and then met up with Reuel and her brother. My small group didn't start until 4pm, so we chatted for awhile. Finally, I met my small group! It's a women's small group, led by the female pastor of the church. We all met up right outside the church and then walked together to a small coffee shop a few blocks away. We had an introductory session where we introduced ourselves and talked about our expectations for the group. All the girls were really genuine and open, so I really appreciated that. We talked about our plan for the group and what we will be studying. We took prayer requests and prayed for each other. We ended up meeting for 2 1/2 hours! We all lost track of time, but no one seemed to mind :) I'm really looking forward to meeting up with these girls every week.
We are assigned a different prayer partner every week. We're supposed to do our best to check-in on one another and encourage and pray for each other. This week I'm paired up with Martha, a girl from South Africa who's here teaching English. There are so many different people in the group, so it's going to be a lot of fun getting to hear about their lives and experiences. I already feel like New Harvest is my new church home, and this small group has definitely confirmed that for me. :)
Friday, September 16, 2011
Line-dancing in Korea??
I had a really quick week-only three days long!! It was surprisingly exhausting though, so I'm grateful that the weekend is here again. Nothing too crazy happened on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Just more of same. :)
Teddy is going to take my computer to the Apple store on Monday, so I will FINALLY have that fixed!! I won't have my computer for a few days which will be a major bummer, but it will be totally worth it! Hopefully it won't cost me too much for the fix...we'll see...
Last weekend, I went to a bookstore and bought two books. One of those books was "Water for Elephants." It took me all of three days to finish it. I finished it tonight on one of my breaks at work. SO GOOD. Jessica, one of the Korean teachers, saw me reading it and was super jealous. I left it on her desk before I left school. :) I hope she loves it as much as I did!
Shannon and I are HUGE country music fans and HUGE line-dancing fans!! We frequented a line-dancing bar in Orlando every week, so we've been going through some major withdrawals since we got to Korea. Last weekend, one of our friends just happened to mention that there is in fact a country line-dancing bar IN KOREA!! Who even knew, right?? We're going to check it out tomorrow night. We're. so. pumped. We knew we brought our cowgirl boots to Korea for a reason... :)
Teddy is going to take my computer to the Apple store on Monday, so I will FINALLY have that fixed!! I won't have my computer for a few days which will be a major bummer, but it will be totally worth it! Hopefully it won't cost me too much for the fix...we'll see...
Last weekend, I went to a bookstore and bought two books. One of those books was "Water for Elephants." It took me all of three days to finish it. I finished it tonight on one of my breaks at work. SO GOOD. Jessica, one of the Korean teachers, saw me reading it and was super jealous. I left it on her desk before I left school. :) I hope she loves it as much as I did!
Shannon and I are HUGE country music fans and HUGE line-dancing fans!! We frequented a line-dancing bar in Orlando every week, so we've been going through some major withdrawals since we got to Korea. Last weekend, one of our friends just happened to mention that there is in fact a country line-dancing bar IN KOREA!! Who even knew, right?? We're going to check it out tomorrow night. We're. so. pumped. We knew we brought our cowgirl boots to Korea for a reason... :)
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Spiderman Body Pillow :)
Today, Shannon and I woke up early, ready for our big hiking day! We invited our friend, Arri, to come with us. While we were waiting to hear from her to figure out the details, we went back to my place to bring some of my stuff home. I brought two bags with me to sleep over at Shannon's for the weekend, but accumulated more things by the time today rolled around. :) Shannon was kind enough to ride back on the bus with me to help me carry my bags!!
We dropped my stuff off, and Shannon checked in with Arri. Arri was sick today, so unfortunately, she couldn't go hiking...We changed our plans and decided to go to Home Plus. This was the first time Shannon and I had ever been in a Home Plus before. The store has been compared to Target and/or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. We were really looking forward to checking it out for ourselves.
When we got there, we ate in the food court. Shannon got her spicy octopus dish that she LOVES, and I got kimchi mandu. My food was a little spicy for me (shocker, I know!), so we got ice cream from McDonald's to cool our mouths off. Ice cream here is only 500 won, which is about 40 cents. Not bad. :) Then, we decided to tackle every floor of Home Plus. All six of them.
We found so many exciting things!! We looked through all the bedding, dreaming of our beds back in the States with memory foam and soft sheets...We wandered through the clothes and shoes section, and finally made our way to the home decor section. It was there that I found my favorite purchase of the day: a canopy for my bed! And you know what's even better? It was 3,000 won, which is about $2.70. No big deal. With that and my new Spiderman body pillow that Shannon got me as an early birthday present, my bed is looking pretty awesome!! Did I mention that Shannon got me a Spiderman body pillow? It's a pretty sweet gift, I think. :)
Home Plus was definitely a success. I bought a few things, which is always fun. The prices are really good, and there's a food court, too. What's not to love?
When we got home, Shannon and I decided to go hiking after all. There's a huge mountain behind her house that we wanted to tackle, so we changed clothes and headed out. It was around 4pm when we started hiking, so the weather had cooled off a lot, making the trip a lot more bearable. The hike up was pretty difficult. It was rough terrain the whole way, and at one point, about a billion steps to climc!! But the view was absolutely incredible. We finally made it all the way to the top, stopping a few times to make sure we were still alive! We took pictures at the top and rested awhile on a big rock overlooking the city. It was magnificent.
The way down only took us about half an hour, so that wasn't bad, but, it was working completely different muscles in our legs. We were worn out by the time we reached the bottom. Great exercise, great hike, incredible view. We definitely want to go hiking again, but we've both decided that we need to invest in some hiking boots. Tennis shoes just weren't doing the job up there on the mountain.
After our hike, we relaxed a little bit. We ate dinner and watched Titanic on Shannon's computer until our friend, Sarah, came to visit. Shannon and I did a lot of really fun things this weekend and break. I'd say it was a pretty successful Chuseok. :) School starts up tomorrow...and I only have a three-day week until the weekend again! Woohoo!
We dropped my stuff off, and Shannon checked in with Arri. Arri was sick today, so unfortunately, she couldn't go hiking...We changed our plans and decided to go to Home Plus. This was the first time Shannon and I had ever been in a Home Plus before. The store has been compared to Target and/or Bed, Bath, and Beyond. We were really looking forward to checking it out for ourselves.
When we got there, we ate in the food court. Shannon got her spicy octopus dish that she LOVES, and I got kimchi mandu. My food was a little spicy for me (shocker, I know!), so we got ice cream from McDonald's to cool our mouths off. Ice cream here is only 500 won, which is about 40 cents. Not bad. :) Then, we decided to tackle every floor of Home Plus. All six of them.
We found so many exciting things!! We looked through all the bedding, dreaming of our beds back in the States with memory foam and soft sheets...We wandered through the clothes and shoes section, and finally made our way to the home decor section. It was there that I found my favorite purchase of the day: a canopy for my bed! And you know what's even better? It was 3,000 won, which is about $2.70. No big deal. With that and my new Spiderman body pillow that Shannon got me as an early birthday present, my bed is looking pretty awesome!! Did I mention that Shannon got me a Spiderman body pillow? It's a pretty sweet gift, I think. :)
Home Plus was definitely a success. I bought a few things, which is always fun. The prices are really good, and there's a food court, too. What's not to love?
When we got home, Shannon and I decided to go hiking after all. There's a huge mountain behind her house that we wanted to tackle, so we changed clothes and headed out. It was around 4pm when we started hiking, so the weather had cooled off a lot, making the trip a lot more bearable. The hike up was pretty difficult. It was rough terrain the whole way, and at one point, about a billion steps to climc!! But the view was absolutely incredible. We finally made it all the way to the top, stopping a few times to make sure we were still alive! We took pictures at the top and rested awhile on a big rock overlooking the city. It was magnificent.
The way down only took us about half an hour, so that wasn't bad, but, it was working completely different muscles in our legs. We were worn out by the time we reached the bottom. Great exercise, great hike, incredible view. We definitely want to go hiking again, but we've both decided that we need to invest in some hiking boots. Tennis shoes just weren't doing the job up there on the mountain.
After our hike, we relaxed a little bit. We ate dinner and watched Titanic on Shannon's computer until our friend, Sarah, came to visit. Shannon and I did a lot of really fun things this weekend and break. I'd say it was a pretty successful Chuseok. :) School starts up tomorrow...and I only have a three-day week until the weekend again! Woohoo!
Monday, September 12, 2011
Dragon Hill Spa.
Today is Chuseok!! Happy Korean Thanksgiving! :) From what I understand, the Korean tradition is to go to the grandparents' house and share a big meal together. Nothing special; just every kind of Korean food there is. (With the amount of sides we typically eat at one meal, I can't even IMAGINE how much Chuseok food there is!) That's what I'd call a feast! Then, they make food and leave it for their ancestors, along with some gifts.
I talked to one of my Korean co-workers, Iris, on Thursday, and we were comparing Thanksgivings. They are very different. She told me that once you reach a certain age, you can choose whether or not you want to visit family during Chuseok. You can choose to spend time with your friends instead and take a short vacation if you want to. I told her that while it wasn't REQUIRED to spend time with family at Thanksgiving, it's pretty much expected. And if you have friends in college who can't make it home, you typically invite them to come home with you. No one is alone on Thanksgiving. :)
Since most restaurants and establishments are closed on Chuseok, Shannon and I decided to spend the day at a spa. Dragon Hill Spa. This isn't a normal spa that you would find in the States. It's called a "jjimjilbang."They are very popular in Korea, and very common. There's one big difference: There are separate floors for men and women. Why? Because there are many different saunas and hot or cold pools to soak in...and you don't wear clothes. WHAT?! Yes, this was a completely new experience for Shannon and I, but something that a foreigner should experience while in Korea. It's really wonderful for your skin, and just relaxing in general. After you get over the initial shock, you can really enjoy yourself.
After you're done in the pools, they give you shorts and a t-shirt (very stylish!) to wear on all the other floors. There are restaurants to eat in, co-ed saunas to sit in, an arcade, a movie theater, massage chairs, a garden, a terrace on the roof to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, napping rooms, a swimming pool. So many wonderful things. Jjimjilbangs are very family-friendly, and we saw a lot of kids running around.
After we spent an ample amount of time in the "women only" side, we put on our sweet matching outfits and wandered upstairs. We sat on the terrace and read our books for awhile. We got tired, so we went to the napping room to rest. I fell asleep while Shannon read some more. After that, we went to one of the restaurants and got some dinner. It was really yummy. We sat in a few of the saunas before heading back upstairs to change clothes and head home.
When you first arrive, you pay 10,000 won (under $10!!) to get into the spa, and they give you a bracelet to wear. It has a key attached which is your locker key, and also has a barcode on it. You have a locker downstairs for your shoes, and a locker in the women's locker room upstairs to keep your bag and clothes. Every time you buy anything, you just scan your bracelet, and they charge it. The bracelets are waterproof, so you wear them with you everywhere you go. When you leave, they scan your bracelet at the front desk, and you pay the extra money you owe. Really easy.
Today was the perfect day to go the spa. It wasn't very busy, and a lot of places were closed anyway. Shannon and I had the BEST time and definitely want to go back! And for only $10 for a trip to the spa, why not take advantage of that, right? :)
I talked to one of my Korean co-workers, Iris, on Thursday, and we were comparing Thanksgivings. They are very different. She told me that once you reach a certain age, you can choose whether or not you want to visit family during Chuseok. You can choose to spend time with your friends instead and take a short vacation if you want to. I told her that while it wasn't REQUIRED to spend time with family at Thanksgiving, it's pretty much expected. And if you have friends in college who can't make it home, you typically invite them to come home with you. No one is alone on Thanksgiving. :)
Since most restaurants and establishments are closed on Chuseok, Shannon and I decided to spend the day at a spa. Dragon Hill Spa. This isn't a normal spa that you would find in the States. It's called a "jjimjilbang."They are very popular in Korea, and very common. There's one big difference: There are separate floors for men and women. Why? Because there are many different saunas and hot or cold pools to soak in...and you don't wear clothes. WHAT?! Yes, this was a completely new experience for Shannon and I, but something that a foreigner should experience while in Korea. It's really wonderful for your skin, and just relaxing in general. After you get over the initial shock, you can really enjoy yourself.
After you're done in the pools, they give you shorts and a t-shirt (very stylish!) to wear on all the other floors. There are restaurants to eat in, co-ed saunas to sit in, an arcade, a movie theater, massage chairs, a garden, a terrace on the roof to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful weather, napping rooms, a swimming pool. So many wonderful things. Jjimjilbangs are very family-friendly, and we saw a lot of kids running around.
After we spent an ample amount of time in the "women only" side, we put on our sweet matching outfits and wandered upstairs. We sat on the terrace and read our books for awhile. We got tired, so we went to the napping room to rest. I fell asleep while Shannon read some more. After that, we went to one of the restaurants and got some dinner. It was really yummy. We sat in a few of the saunas before heading back upstairs to change clothes and head home.
When you first arrive, you pay 10,000 won (under $10!!) to get into the spa, and they give you a bracelet to wear. It has a key attached which is your locker key, and also has a barcode on it. You have a locker downstairs for your shoes, and a locker in the women's locker room upstairs to keep your bag and clothes. Every time you buy anything, you just scan your bracelet, and they charge it. The bracelets are waterproof, so you wear them with you everywhere you go. When you leave, they scan your bracelet at the front desk, and you pay the extra money you owe. Really easy.
Today was the perfect day to go the spa. It wasn't very busy, and a lot of places were closed anyway. Shannon and I had the BEST time and definitely want to go back! And for only $10 for a trip to the spa, why not take advantage of that, right? :)
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Utz Cheese Balls.
Today, Shannon, Reuel, and I all met at the bus stop and headed to church. We stopped at Dos Tacos (as usual!) for a quick lunch of yummy burritos. We went to church, and the sermon was excellent. Pastor Doug’s sermon was titled: “Why do you WANT to follow God?” He had a really good perspective on a passage I’ve read a million times! I always appreciate hearing different perspectives on a familiar story because it challenges what I believe in and forces me to re-evaluate.
Reuel headed off for a retreat, so she left right after the service was over. Shannon and I decided to stay in Gangnam for awhile and look around. We went to the bookstore where I bought two more books. So exciting!! I’ve read the books that were left in my house from the previous teacher, so I was ready for some new reads. :)
After looking around Gangnam for a few hours, Shannon and I headed to Costco. Surprisingly, there wasn’t the huge crowd that we were anticipating. Every Sunday afternoon, it’s packed with people. It’s almost like Black Friday shopping after Thanksgiving, but it’s every Sunday!! Today, we expected that a lot of people would be doing last minute shopping for Chuseok, but the aisles were surprisingly clear. I had a very successful shopping trip. I bought a block of cheese (woohoo!), pineapple slices, granola bars, and…UTZ CHEESE BALLS!! I’m slightly obsessed with those back in the States, and I just HAD to get them. :)
After Costco, Shannon and I headed back towards her house. The weather has cooled off a lot; Fall is definitely coming! We thought that tonight would be the perfect time for a walk. Shannon wanted to show me the path where she jogs. It’s quite a hike to get there, but she runs around a beautiful lake. What we thought would be a “quick walk,” ended up taking TWO HOURS!! We detoured and went up in the woods at one point, following a trail. And by the time we made it around the whole lake, the sun had set, and it was getting dark. We timed the walk before we left. We left her house at 6:15pm. We got back at 8:04pm. Wow.
We wandered around a little bit looking for something to eat. A lot of restaurants and stores were completely shut down because of Chuseok. We settled for some kimbap and went to 7-11 for some sides and snacks for the movie. We ate our dinner and watched "Disturbia" on Shannon’s computer. (She brought a lot of movies from home, which was such a good idea!)
In the middle of the movie, we paused it and Skyped with our friend, Brandon, from back in Orlando. I just love technology so much. I’m always amazed how well Skype works, even when you’re hundreds of miles apart. :)
Saturday, September 10, 2011
New Friends!!
On Friday night, I packed my bags and headed to Shannon’s house for the weekend. We have the weekend plus Monday and Tuesday for Chuseok. Woohoo!! On Saturday morning, we woke up and got ready to go into Seoul. We met up with Sarah, Shannon’s friend from one floor up, and we all headed to the bus stop. On our way, we stopped at Rotti Bun, which is one of the restaurants inside Lotte Mart. They serve really delicious pastries that basically melt in your mouth when you eat them. That was the perfect start to my morning.
Sarah, Shannon, and I took the bus to the subway, where we rode to Seoul Station. There, we met up with five of Sarah’s friends, Anna, Duncan, Claire, Amy, and Doreal. We all walked around town and did some shopping. We stopped at a delicious restaurant for lunch where I had chicken teriyaki, something that I haven’t had since I’ve been in Korea.
After that, we all split up and went our separate ways. Sarah, Shannon, Amy, Doreal, and I all went to another area of Seoul, Myeongdong, where we walked around some more and did more window-shopping. At around 6pm, Sarah, Shannon, and I started heading back towards home. Sarah was ready to go all the way home, so she continued on. Shannon and I decided to hang around Seoul Station and look around a little bit. We went into all the expensive shops, and then walked around the Lotte Mart there.
At around dinnertime, we decided to go to Itaewon. Shannon had never been there, so we wanted to go check it out. (Itaewon is the really Westernized area of Korea.) We walked around a little bit, and then went to The Frypan for some chicken and chips. :) We walked around a little bit more, went to the Foreign Food Market where Shannon bought some peanut butter, and then caught the subway back home.
On the subway, we decided to finish a movie that we were watching last night on her laptop. We invited Sarah and Reuel to join us, and then stopped at GS 25 for some snacks on our way home. You can’t watch a movie without snacks, right? :)
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Chuseok Gift.
On Wednesday, the director of the school came into the office and gave all the teachers gifts for Chuseok. All the Korean teachers got these awesome portable grills. Apparently, they get those every year. :) One of the Korean teachers, Iris, was telling me that she's been at the school for three years now, and every Chuseok the Korean teachers get grills. She said she thinks the director has a contract with the grill company or something, so he gets a good deal when he orders in bulk. :) Too funny.
I didn't get a grill. I got a ginormous box that was wrapped in wrapping paper. I was told not to open it at work, so I had to wait until I got home. I opened it right when I got home. There were two different kinds of coffee (kind of expensive I think!), and five different kinds of tea. It was an awesome present! I already tried a few different flavors of the tea, and they're really good. I've never been much of a hot tea drinker, but Korea has definitely changed that. I typically drink coffee, but I'm finding out how good the tea is, too!
I didn't get a grill. I got a ginormous box that was wrapped in wrapping paper. I was told not to open it at work, so I had to wait until I got home. I opened it right when I got home. There were two different kinds of coffee (kind of expensive I think!), and five different kinds of tea. It was an awesome present! I already tried a few different flavors of the tea, and they're really good. I've never been much of a hot tea drinker, but Korea has definitely changed that. I typically drink coffee, but I'm finding out how good the tea is, too!
Happy Chuseok!
I've been without a computer for the past two days, due to a visit to the Apple Store. The voltage (or electricity?) here is almost double what it is in the States. Because of this, my laptop has been overheating a lot. Because of THAT, the rubber backing on my computer has completely fallen off. Teddy, the new Korean teacher at school, offered to take my computer to the Apple store on his way into work one day and see what they could do about replacing the rubber backing. I gave him my computer on Tuesday and got it back Thursday. Teddy said it would take them two days to fix it, so he's going to take my computer back sometime next week. I really love having people who are willing to help me and speak Korean. :) I bought a converter, so once my laptop is fixed, I hopefully won't have to worry about it overheating anymore. I just wish I had purchased a converter sooner...
This weekend is Chuseok (chew-soak), which is basically Korea's Thanksgiving. Chuseok is actually this coming Monday, but we have Monday and Tuesday off. And...my wonderful boss gave us today (Friday) off, too!! So...hello five-day weekend! :) There is a huge thunderstorm coming in on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and it's supposed to pretty much rain the whole break. That's unfortunate, but we're going to make the most of it. Shannon and I are going hiking with some friends on Saturday, and be back home before the storm comes. Then, we're going to get together with some other friends and just bum around town a little bit. We might go into Seoul or explore somewhere new. A lot of places are going to be closed, so it's going to be a little bit tricky finding things to do. :)
Fall is officially here. According to my calendar, the first day of Fall isn't for another few weeks. However, I think it came early. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL!! It's cold in the mornings and at nighttime, so I sleep with my windows open every night. During the day the weather is around 70 degrees. Perfect. Shannon and I have been anticipating Fall for a really long time. It's definitely my favorite season. :)
This weekend is Chuseok (chew-soak), which is basically Korea's Thanksgiving. Chuseok is actually this coming Monday, but we have Monday and Tuesday off. And...my wonderful boss gave us today (Friday) off, too!! So...hello five-day weekend! :) There is a huge thunderstorm coming in on Saturday night/Sunday morning, and it's supposed to pretty much rain the whole break. That's unfortunate, but we're going to make the most of it. Shannon and I are going hiking with some friends on Saturday, and be back home before the storm comes. Then, we're going to get together with some other friends and just bum around town a little bit. We might go into Seoul or explore somewhere new. A lot of places are going to be closed, so it's going to be a little bit tricky finding things to do. :)
Fall is officially here. According to my calendar, the first day of Fall isn't for another few weeks. However, I think it came early. The weather has been BEAUTIFUL!! It's cold in the mornings and at nighttime, so I sleep with my windows open every night. During the day the weather is around 70 degrees. Perfect. Shannon and I have been anticipating Fall for a really long time. It's definitely my favorite season. :)
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Costco Gold Card Member :)
This morning, I took the subway to Gangnam to meet Reuel and Shannon for church. We always meet at 11am to get Mexican food for lunch. We've decided it's going to be a tradition. :) We ate lunch and went to church. The church service was incredible, just like last Sunday. Pastor Doug talked more about small groups and encouraged everyone to get involved. Last Sunday I signed up for an all-women's group. Earlier this week, the leader sent out an email to all of us, confirming our spot in the group. Our first meeting is on September 18th, so I'm definitely looking forward to that.
After church, we grabbed some coffee and jumped on the bus. We headed to Costco, where Shannon and I became official Costco Gold Card Members. Thank you, thank you... :) We split the cost of a membership, so we only had to pay $16 each-what a deal!! It's definitely going to benefit us to do some of our grocery shopping at Costco. Prices are really good, and they sell some things that you can't buy anywhere else. For example, they sell cheese, a lot of other dairy products like cream cheese and sour cream, pretzels (you can't find those ANYWHERE!!), fresh fruit and meat, a lot of bakery items, etc. It's pretty much awesome.
After Costco, we went on an adventure. There's a small group that Shannon and I heard about through our Recruiting Agency, so we wanted to check it out. I've been talking with the leader, Ashley, over the past few weeks to find out the details. Basically, it's a group of foreign teachers who all meet and share about Jesus and worship and pray together. Their first meeting for the semester was tonight, and they were having a BBQ. Not a Korean BBQ. An American BBQ: Cheeseburgers, kebabs, pasta salad, chips, cookies. So good. They asked everyone to bring a side item to contribute, and they would take care of the meat. At Costco, Reuel, Shannon, and I had each bought something to share.
According to the bus system, we had to catch a bus near Costco, ride it for about 40 minutes, and then we would be in the area where the meeting was being held. (It was in Ashley's apartment in the next city over.) Well, we waited for the bus for about 45 minutes, and almost gave up when we saw it coming around the corner. We took the bus for awhile and got off one stop too early. At this point, it was after 5 p.m. already, and that's when the party/meeting officially started. We jumped on another bus to get to the next stop, but apparently took the one going in the wrong direction. We ended up even MORE out of our way, so we settled for the subway. At this point, I called Ashley and told her that we WERE still coming, but that we were having some transportation issues. She assured me that it was very informal and to not worry about being late. We caught the subway and went two stops, where we finally caught the correct bus. Whew! After that, we found her building, and took the elevator to the 20th floor and walked the last floor to the roof where the party was. Needless to say, we were exhausted when we finally got there.
The small group was really fun. There were 11 people there altogether. We grilled out on the roof of Ashley's apartment. There's a nice set-up up there, with covered areas and tables. There was a nice breeze and beautiful weather. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect night to be up there. After we finished eating, we headed downstairs to the apartment to worship and pray and share with one another. It was really good. Everyone was really genuine, and I enjoyed the time there. I'm going to give it another week to decide if that's somewhere I want to continue going or not. Once small groups start at church, that's going to make for a very busy Sunday. I don't know if I'll be able to make the commitment to the small group we went to tonight. I'll just have to see how it all works out. :)
I can't believe the weekend is already over!! I did so much, but I still feel like it flew by-good grief! I'm going to get to bed at a decent hour so I can go for a good, long run in the morning. Quick shout-out to the UCF KNIGHTS!! 62-0 win over Charleston. Woot! Thank you to my big sister, Jena, for keeping me updated. :)
After church, we grabbed some coffee and jumped on the bus. We headed to Costco, where Shannon and I became official Costco Gold Card Members. Thank you, thank you... :) We split the cost of a membership, so we only had to pay $16 each-what a deal!! It's definitely going to benefit us to do some of our grocery shopping at Costco. Prices are really good, and they sell some things that you can't buy anywhere else. For example, they sell cheese, a lot of other dairy products like cream cheese and sour cream, pretzels (you can't find those ANYWHERE!!), fresh fruit and meat, a lot of bakery items, etc. It's pretty much awesome.
After Costco, we went on an adventure. There's a small group that Shannon and I heard about through our Recruiting Agency, so we wanted to check it out. I've been talking with the leader, Ashley, over the past few weeks to find out the details. Basically, it's a group of foreign teachers who all meet and share about Jesus and worship and pray together. Their first meeting for the semester was tonight, and they were having a BBQ. Not a Korean BBQ. An American BBQ: Cheeseburgers, kebabs, pasta salad, chips, cookies. So good. They asked everyone to bring a side item to contribute, and they would take care of the meat. At Costco, Reuel, Shannon, and I had each bought something to share.
According to the bus system, we had to catch a bus near Costco, ride it for about 40 minutes, and then we would be in the area where the meeting was being held. (It was in Ashley's apartment in the next city over.) Well, we waited for the bus for about 45 minutes, and almost gave up when we saw it coming around the corner. We took the bus for awhile and got off one stop too early. At this point, it was after 5 p.m. already, and that's when the party/meeting officially started. We jumped on another bus to get to the next stop, but apparently took the one going in the wrong direction. We ended up even MORE out of our way, so we settled for the subway. At this point, I called Ashley and told her that we WERE still coming, but that we were having some transportation issues. She assured me that it was very informal and to not worry about being late. We caught the subway and went two stops, where we finally caught the correct bus. Whew! After that, we found her building, and took the elevator to the 20th floor and walked the last floor to the roof where the party was. Needless to say, we were exhausted when we finally got there.
The small group was really fun. There were 11 people there altogether. We grilled out on the roof of Ashley's apartment. There's a nice set-up up there, with covered areas and tables. There was a nice breeze and beautiful weather. We couldn't have asked for a more perfect night to be up there. After we finished eating, we headed downstairs to the apartment to worship and pray and share with one another. It was really good. Everyone was really genuine, and I enjoyed the time there. I'm going to give it another week to decide if that's somewhere I want to continue going or not. Once small groups start at church, that's going to make for a very busy Sunday. I don't know if I'll be able to make the commitment to the small group we went to tonight. I'll just have to see how it all works out. :)
I can't believe the weekend is already over!! I did so much, but I still feel like it flew by-good grief! I'm going to get to bed at a decent hour so I can go for a good, long run in the morning. Quick shout-out to the UCF KNIGHTS!! 62-0 win over Charleston. Woot! Thank you to my big sister, Jena, for keeping me updated. :)
Hello Kitty Yogurt.
On Saturday, I headed over to Anyung to see Shannon-She finally moved in to her new place!! :) We hung out in the morning and took a stroll through a wilderness-ish area nearby. It's so beautiful where she lives, and she has an amazing view of the mountains from her apartment. Lucky girl.
At 12:30pm, we met up with Reuel and headed into Myeongdong to meet one of Shannon's friends, Arri. Arri is actually a friend-of-a-friend, but Shannon had heard good things about her and was told to meet up with her. Arri has been teaching in Korea for awhile now, so she was going to show us around a little bit. We met up with her and hit it off right away. She's really great, and we had a great time chatting. :) We did some shopping: Forever 21, H & M, and a few smaller shops. (It was so nice that I finally had my first paycheck and a bank account set up because I was able to do a little bit of shopping!!)
Around dinner time, we headed to Hongdae. Reuel wanted to take us to this really famous restaurant that she's been dying to try, but we decided against it when we realized how far away it was. That will be for another time. :) We settled for a galbi place. It was SO SPICY!! I ate one bite and couldn't eat anymore. The other three ate it up, sweating a little bit, while I chowed down on rice and corn...I just can't handle how spicy some of the food is here. After that, we decided to go get some ice cream. The girls' mouths were still on fire, and I hadn't eaten much dinner yet. Ice cream seemed like the perfect decision. :)
We walked a few blocks looking around for what we wanted. We ended up at the Hello Kitty Yogurt place. Yes. There is a restaurant, decorated completely in Hello Kitty, where they sell yogurt and waffles. It was super yummy!! It's a two-story building, completely decorated inside and out with Hello Kitty paraphernalia. When we got inside, we had to choose our seats before we ordered. We chose a booth in the corner on the second floor. Reuel, Arri, and I all ordered yogurt, and Shannon bravely tried the waffle. All of it was delicious. :) We talked for a long time, and decided to go see a movie. There was a movie theater close by, so we went to check out movies and times.
We bought tickets to see Columbia, a movie which none of us knew anything about. It looked good from the picture, so we got the tickets. We had an hour to kill so we bummed around town and stopped in a convenience store for a popsicle. I know. More ice cream, right? :) Before the movie, we decided to order some popcorn and drinks. The popcorn in Korea is SO GOOD. There are different flavors of popcorn you can get: Butter, Caramel, or Honey. We each paired up and ordered a combo with drinks to save some money, but all of us got the caramel popcorn. It's definitely the favorite here.
When the movie was over, we all headed home. It was an incredible Saturday night. Extremely busy and non-stop, but really good. I just love meeting new people and seeing new places.
At 12:30pm, we met up with Reuel and headed into Myeongdong to meet one of Shannon's friends, Arri. Arri is actually a friend-of-a-friend, but Shannon had heard good things about her and was told to meet up with her. Arri has been teaching in Korea for awhile now, so she was going to show us around a little bit. We met up with her and hit it off right away. She's really great, and we had a great time chatting. :) We did some shopping: Forever 21, H & M, and a few smaller shops. (It was so nice that I finally had my first paycheck and a bank account set up because I was able to do a little bit of shopping!!)
Around dinner time, we headed to Hongdae. Reuel wanted to take us to this really famous restaurant that she's been dying to try, but we decided against it when we realized how far away it was. That will be for another time. :) We settled for a galbi place. It was SO SPICY!! I ate one bite and couldn't eat anymore. The other three ate it up, sweating a little bit, while I chowed down on rice and corn...I just can't handle how spicy some of the food is here. After that, we decided to go get some ice cream. The girls' mouths were still on fire, and I hadn't eaten much dinner yet. Ice cream seemed like the perfect decision. :)
We walked a few blocks looking around for what we wanted. We ended up at the Hello Kitty Yogurt place. Yes. There is a restaurant, decorated completely in Hello Kitty, where they sell yogurt and waffles. It was super yummy!! It's a two-story building, completely decorated inside and out with Hello Kitty paraphernalia. When we got inside, we had to choose our seats before we ordered. We chose a booth in the corner on the second floor. Reuel, Arri, and I all ordered yogurt, and Shannon bravely tried the waffle. All of it was delicious. :) We talked for a long time, and decided to go see a movie. There was a movie theater close by, so we went to check out movies and times.
We bought tickets to see Columbia, a movie which none of us knew anything about. It looked good from the picture, so we got the tickets. We had an hour to kill so we bummed around town and stopped in a convenience store for a popsicle. I know. More ice cream, right? :) Before the movie, we decided to order some popcorn and drinks. The popcorn in Korea is SO GOOD. There are different flavors of popcorn you can get: Butter, Caramel, or Honey. We each paired up and ordered a combo with drinks to save some money, but all of us got the caramel popcorn. It's definitely the favorite here.
When the movie was over, we all headed home. It was an incredible Saturday night. Extremely busy and non-stop, but really good. I just love meeting new people and seeing new places.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Korean Gym Membership.
Today was the beginning of a new semester. I had (mostly) all new kids. I like my new classes, but I definitely miss my other students. I know I'll grow to love these ones just as much. I saw a few familiar faces of students who had switched into other classes. It was all about learning names today, which wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The real test will come next week to see how many names I actually remember! :)
There is a new guy in our hagwon. His name is Teddy. He was hired to work on lesson planning and teach a few middle school classes. He's been Darren's best friend for ten years. :) We really like him a lot. I didn't get any feedback from the kids, so I'm wondering what their reaction is to a boy teacher...He's in an office with six women, but luckily he has Darren there to talk to! His English is really good, and he's already proven to be really helpful.
Tonight after work, Beth took me to the gym she goes to so I could officially sign up for a membership. Now that the weather is blazing hot, I'm losing a lot of motivation to run. Now, I'll have no excuse whatsoever to not exercise every day. The gym was nice. They have all the equipment you could need to have a good workout, and there are lockers and showers. Perfect. I signed up for a three-month membership, starting tomorrow!! :)
There is a new guy in our hagwon. His name is Teddy. He was hired to work on lesson planning and teach a few middle school classes. He's been Darren's best friend for ten years. :) We really like him a lot. I didn't get any feedback from the kids, so I'm wondering what their reaction is to a boy teacher...He's in an office with six women, but luckily he has Darren there to talk to! His English is really good, and he's already proven to be really helpful.
Tonight after work, Beth took me to the gym she goes to so I could officially sign up for a membership. Now that the weather is blazing hot, I'm losing a lot of motivation to run. Now, I'll have no excuse whatsoever to not exercise every day. The gym was nice. They have all the equipment you could need to have a good workout, and there are lockers and showers. Perfect. I signed up for a three-month membership, starting tomorrow!! :)
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