I made it! Yay! Christmas is checked off of my list of potential emotionally difficult hurdles. It was quite the busy few days. The festivities started off two weeks ago on Thursday with the somewhat feeble company Christmas party at Ashley's "An American Buffet" Restaurant. That label is...how shall I say...quite an interpretation. It was decent enough, I had some leche fruit which I enjoyed (kind of like a grape with a spiny nut like peel and a more citrus-y flavor) and some nice little office gossip. Friday night, my English club had their Christmas party which was a really really nice Korean dinner at a restaurant down town (marinated beef BBQ with pok em bop which is another kind of spicy rice) before going to a bar which had some really tasty snacks, the best of which was a species of rolled scrambled egg with vegetable that was mysteriously amazing with ketchup and mustard. The Koreans tried to teach us some drinking games in vain but we had fun trying. Next, we went to a noribong (yep, agaaaaaain...I think I'm done for a bit) and had fun trying to belt out some carols and random other songs.
The next morning, two friends and I made our way to Icheon which is the pottery capital of Korea, which is globally known for its ceramics. After my own ambitious semester of trying my hand at throwing pots and bowls, the best souvenir I retain is a healthy respect for anyone who can actually do it properly. Basically, there is a whole little street full of pottery shops, usually with the government accredited master's wife eyeing her husband's wares from the back of the shop, if not the master himself. The pottery was absolutely LOVELY. My favorite shop was unfortunately too expensive for the lowly likes of me to patronize but it was so cold that he told us to be silent and listen to the glaze cracking. It was the prettiest little "ping," it sounded like the clink of an English tea party or dozens of ricocheting bells. His detail work, as in most of the shops, was also amazing- lots of Korean masters specialize in this technique where they make a two layered pot- a solid one inside, and the outer shell a delicate foam of latticework. Goooorgeous. However, the most famous type of pot that Korea is known for is covered with a very distinctive green glaze. I think the only way to describe it is olive green with some jade mixed in to brighten it up. I got a set of two pots in this color, a popular man/woman pair in which the man pot is broad at the top before tapering down and the woman pot is narrow at the top before flaring out. They are both also decorated with cranes, who apparently mate for life and put together with the echoing shapes, I thought that was a really nice back story to some pieces that were stunning to begin with. I also got (what? I like pottery...) a short, squat little vase finished in a crackled white glaze with a blue painting of two birds and cherry blossoms. I fell in love at first sight. On a slightly less artistic plane (or not depending on the person), there was also an entire tub of ceramic penises, but surprisingly, we decided not to settle on that particular option. We did toy with the idea of buying some as presents (solely in the name of art of course) but spared our loved ones, so feel grateful. Hahaha. After perusing all of that street, we went to pizza hut for lunch and I made my way back home with heavy bags, a lighter wallet, and a smile on my consumerist face.
That evening, I joined my coworker for a production of "The Nutcracker" at the huge and daunting (I have even used the word sublime to describe the scale of this building...and if you don't know the proper definition of this term contact the Whitman College lit department) art center. Bar two creepy life sized dolls perched at the extremes of the stage, I thought it was lovely. I had only seen the ballet once maybe 8 years ago but I enjoyed it even more the second time through. In my opinion, the dancing ability was incredibly high. It was put on by the Bolshoi Ballet from Belarus, apparently the Moscow division of the same company gave rise to Michael Baryshnikov, the most famous ballet dancer of the 20th century. Anywho, it was good and I talked about sugarplums and dancing toys with NYU for the next few days because of it.
Sunday, I slept in and then met another coworker at the same art center to go see La Boheme. I liked the acting and the singing and the staging better than Carmen but I was disappointed not to recognize any songs...I did in Carmen and I know this to be a similarly renowned opera so I guess I need to get more cultured. Hahaha, guess that's what I'm doing. So, I also enjoyed that.
This week was the usual end of month flurry. Tests, evaluations, reports, topped off with a surprisingly fun Christmas Eve party (yes I had to work that day). The school actually went all out for this. They had all the parents send presents "from Santa" for their child so that John, a former teacher at my academy, could come back as Santa and hand each student their gift. We colored Santa pictures, sang jingle bells, sewed felt stockings and read both "T'was the Night Before Christmas" and a Christmas story about NYU that I wrote and illustrated for them before it was Show Time. Even at 7, while some were beginning to be skeptics, when Saint Nick actually showed up they could barely contain themselves. They even took him to the wall to show him the pictures they had drawn of Santa. To top it off, one of my kids got a live gerbil in a cage, completely wrapped, taken out of the Santa bag. I kid you not. Oh, Korea.
That night, another one of my coworkers made chile for all of the foreigners at my appt (because it's the only one big enough) and we all listened to Christmas music and watched Love Actually. One of my friends spent the night and Christmas day with me. We slept in, had breakfast, opened presents (thanks mom and dad and Cait and Aunt Sara and Grandma and Gretchen and Kels once yours gets here!!) and settled in for the great sloth marathon. I got lots of DVDs and books so my leisure time is set for months to come. We stayed in our PJs and littered my appt floor with chocolate wrappers, DVD cases and empty chip bags and 3 movies later, decided it was time to move, so we met our friends for a Christmas drink. I hurried home for a skype date with mom and dad and had one with Kels and Cait the next morning on their Christmas day. All in all, not bad. I feel proud of myself that I made the most of it because done wrong, Christmas could have been one big fat pity party but it was actually a nice day. That doesn't mean that I'm not looking forward to next year with my family but all in all, not bad.
Yesterday was a really nice day as well. I met a Korean friend at a nearby mall and we had a yummy lunch of shabu shabu (a pot full of broth in which you cook: vegetables, then meat, then noodles) which was yummy. Then, we walked around for hours waiting for our movie but in the meantime, I got some MAC makeup. Good to know it's there. Finally, we saw Sherlock Holmes, which I enjoyed. Due to my unfortunate obsession with Victorian England, I was bound to like it but I thought that it was pretty entertaining in and of itself. I probably won't get it on DVD but a good use of two hours. The one funny thing about the day, which is a cultural thing that I need to get used to, is physical contact. Between the same sex, both girls and boys touch each other all the time. Now, I'm all for hugs, and linking arms and all that, but it took some fortitude and determination not to laugh through 7 hours of holding a 27 year old girl's hand. Yep.
So, there's my belated update! Hope everyone is having the happiest of holidays! (See? 7 months out of Whitman and I can still alliterate...hahaha).
Love,
B
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Concerning the kiddies
It's been a while since I blogged solely about work so I feel I'm due for an update. I sent out this long looong Christmas email a few days ago where I said that my kids have been one of the more constant joys of my time here. Well, that's still as true as ever. Their quirks and bizarre species of logic keep me on my toes and affix a permasmile on my face. Columbia has gotten crazy hyper as of late...we got a new student, which brings our number back up to 12. This is the biggest class in our kindie program and the second lowest grade which makes for a busy busy Becky Teacher. Since they have gotten better at reading and are sloooooowwwly getting a smidge of fluency, we've started upholding a strict "No Korean" rule. The funny thing is that the kids have taken it up with something approaching fanaticism to the point where my class has become the McCarthy Era run mad: "Kevin speak Korean!!" "Jaden no English!" "Angela said KIMCHI!!" "BECKY TEEEEACHER!" It's a constant witch hunt which has become pretty darn amusing. Besides that, they've developed an endearing habit of breaking out in "Jingle Bells" in any down moment in class. They know about this far "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the waaaaay" before it basically becomes "oh wafun islide one horse waaaaaaaay." When they are not making me pull out my hair I adore them. Today, the littlest, sweetest, cutest, girl was absolutely in tears "because Kevin wouldn't play with me" so I had such a mom moment of picking her up and calming her down. It's enough to convince me that I do theoretically want kids...but the other thirty nine minutes of class are enough to convince me that it won't be for a bloody long time.
NYU is also doing great. They are progressing really well. I had a really really proud moment where they broke through the dreaded adverb barrier. I quote: "OK so Becky teacher, we read the sentences, pick the wrong ones and rewrite them correctly?" YEAH correct grammar! My mind exploded with mental confetti and streamers, it was palpable progress. I am also being a total stickler for saying "finishED" and not "finish" and making them pronounce every single s at the end of a word because of late, they've been falling to the wayside. In other news, I am also running furious Santa interference and have been for the last two weeks. They are just at the age where most still believe in Santa (but are discerning enough to demand "real" details) while there are maybe one or two who are very vocally think the opposite. There have been a good three or four times when I have just had to awkwardly blunder my way in the conversation "So who likes SOCKS??" to manhandle it to safer territory. Given how important Christmas is to me (and my traumatic unveiling of Santa-as-an-idea through that tragic turtleneck incident) I am absolutely bound and determined I will not be the Becky Teacher who stole Santa. The big guy stays, at least within the bounds of my classroom.
My afternoon kids have not been bad, and even managed a few endearing moments of their own. I've made snowflakes with a few groups and blasted some Bing at them (best Christmas music of all time, I have a soft spot for the classics) which made for fun times. One of my students has been plying me with boon ah pang for a couple of weeks now which is essentially a Korean street doughnut friend in the shape of a fish with red bean paste inside. Very Korean and increasingly yummy to me, I'm acquiring a taste for them. Today I got one of my kids who is sporting some very prominent holes in his mouth to sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..." which was fantastic. It's also kind of sweet how respectful some of them are. Especially among the older kids, it is very rare that a student will ever give something to me with only one hand and they usually bow when they see me in the hall. They also never address me as anything but "Becky Teacher" as a kind of status thing whereas my kindies sometimes just revert to "Becky" which is fine with me but less formal. One student in my last class always makes sure that I have a seat perfectly situated in the back of the class when I have them practice their dialogues as a movie, even if it is his own. It is sweet though and it always gives me this weird flattered feeling like I'm growing up but don't quite deserve it yet.
All in all, I have had my share of frustrations but I can also see progress that I myself have contributed to which is satisfying. Next week I will have been here 4 months.... (WHAT???).... and it is nice to feel like I know what I am doing, at least in the littlest increment. I still have miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep (Columbia even finds it challenging to sit down at the moment and my post kindies would much rather hit each other and crawl under the table than answer reading comp questions) but we're going in the right direction.
In other news, I still feel like time is running quickly through a sieve out of which I only catch the occasional grain, it is going so so quickly. My days are pleasantly packed (though I've been really tired lately because of it and having the MOST bizarre dreams- I've been married twice and a princess in a musical) and the holidays haven't been unbearable so far. This week, I have a social engagement literally 6 days out of 7, this is my one cherished down day. Sunday, I had coffee with another Whitman grad in Daejeon (small world) before watching Charlie Brown Christmas and Nightmare Before Christmas with Chad, monday I had pizza and beer with Chad while watching the Grinch, Tuesday we all met some of the foreign teachers from the other ECC for drinks, Thursday ECC is taking us out for dinner as a Christmas party, Friday is the English Club Christmas extravaganza and Saturday I'm going to Icheon with a friend to see the famous Korean pottery. Sunday, blessed blessed Sunday, will be a much needed respite. Anyway, for now love you all! Still going strong!
Love,
B
PS- I said this in the email but just in case, my Christmas request from EVERYONE (if you are reading this blog it means YOU) is an email letting me know how you are to help keep up my connections back home over the holidays. You all mean so much to me and it keeps me strong and happy over here feeling secure in those relationships.
My afternoon kids have not been bad, and even managed a few endearing moments of their own. I've made snowflakes with a few groups and blasted some Bing at them (best Christmas music of all time, I have a soft spot for the classics) which made for fun times. One of my students has been plying me with boon ah pang for a couple of weeks now which is essentially a Korean street doughnut friend in the shape of a fish with red bean paste inside. Very Korean and increasingly yummy to me, I'm acquiring a taste for them. Today I got one of my kids who is sporting some very prominent holes in his mouth to sing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..." which was fantastic. It's also kind of sweet how respectful some of them are. Especially among the older kids, it is very rare that a student will ever give something to me with only one hand and they usually bow when they see me in the hall. They also never address me as anything but "Becky Teacher" as a kind of status thing whereas my kindies sometimes just revert to "Becky" which is fine with me but less formal. One student in my last class always makes sure that I have a seat perfectly situated in the back of the class when I have them practice their dialogues as a movie, even if it is his own. It is sweet though and it always gives me this weird flattered feeling like I'm growing up but don't quite deserve it yet.
All in all, I have had my share of frustrations but I can also see progress that I myself have contributed to which is satisfying. Next week I will have been here 4 months.... (WHAT???).... and it is nice to feel like I know what I am doing, at least in the littlest increment. I still have miles to go before I sleep and miles to go before I sleep (Columbia even finds it challenging to sit down at the moment and my post kindies would much rather hit each other and crawl under the table than answer reading comp questions) but we're going in the right direction.
In other news, I still feel like time is running quickly through a sieve out of which I only catch the occasional grain, it is going so so quickly. My days are pleasantly packed (though I've been really tired lately because of it and having the MOST bizarre dreams- I've been married twice and a princess in a musical) and the holidays haven't been unbearable so far. This week, I have a social engagement literally 6 days out of 7, this is my one cherished down day. Sunday, I had coffee with another Whitman grad in Daejeon (small world) before watching Charlie Brown Christmas and Nightmare Before Christmas with Chad, monday I had pizza and beer with Chad while watching the Grinch, Tuesday we all met some of the foreign teachers from the other ECC for drinks, Thursday ECC is taking us out for dinner as a Christmas party, Friday is the English Club Christmas extravaganza and Saturday I'm going to Icheon with a friend to see the famous Korean pottery. Sunday, blessed blessed Sunday, will be a much needed respite. Anyway, for now love you all! Still going strong!
Love,
B
PS- I said this in the email but just in case, my Christmas request from EVERYONE (if you are reading this blog it means YOU) is an email letting me know how you are to help keep up my connections back home over the holidays. You all mean so much to me and it keeps me strong and happy over here feeling secure in those relationships.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Concerning baby it's COLD outside!
The holidays are here! It's official folks, December 21st my foot- winter starts riiiiiiiight now. Hmm....last week. Not much happened actually which is really odd because somehow I feel frantically busy. In a good way. The weekend was another great one. At English club, I was up for a 3 minute speech so in true Becky nerd form, I totally gave an academic lecture on how the gothic functions in society and how it is recurring in the latest vampire mania in western culture. Can you tell I saw New Moon the night before? Yep. For my part, I thought it was incredibly entertaining though Kristen Stewart is still incapable of anything save biting her lip and looking constipated. After, we went to this great tiny hole in the wall dumpling shop. I've had mandu before but it has always been frozen and fried. Here, I saw the ahjimas (respectful way to say old woman) on this table in the corner with a mound of stuffing, putting it into hand rolled dough that was almost transluscent it was so thin. Then, no hot oil for these suckers- they were steamed which made them sticky and much much easier to eat with chopsticks. Yummy.
Saturday, I had a lie in, talked to some friends on skype, and then felt a tiny bit restless. So, I went to Seoul. As you do. I still love that I can do that on a whim, it reminds me how much of an adventure this can be. I hopped a bus, spent a good 45 minutes in the sadistic wind trying to find a jewelry market (Dongdaemun) but I eventually got there, got some last Christmas gifts and the makings for a fantastic new headband for moi. After, I shlepped on over to Forever 21, drawn by the internal western compulsion for shopping around Christmas. I wasn't disappointed, the walkway was glaring with lights and the inside blared with Mariah Carey. I got a dress, belt, earrings, and BOOTS (QUITE a feat I'll have you know as I am convinced I found the only normal sized pair of shoes in Asia). I got home, ordered pizza, and tucked into a Korean drama that I have recently become hopelessly addicted to. I think it aired about 5 years ago, it's name is "Coffee Prince" and it's about a girl who pretends to be a guy to get a job to support her family and how her and her boss end up falling in love with eachother. Very complicated, very melodramatic, very fabulous. It's the first one I've watched and I've got it bad- I have lost sleep in the last week due to this show.
Anyway, sunday I got myself to the gym and grocieries and watched more TV. So far, this week has been pretty standard work-wise. I have gone into Christmas craft frenzy though to decorate my kindy rooms- we've made presents complete with bows, colored Santa pictures, and made slowflakes up the wazzu. I love that I don't have to be politically correct here- we're celebrating Christmas gosh darn it because I can justify it as "cultural education." They do celebrate it here but not to the same extent. The other adorable thing about this week is that Columbia just learned "I Love You" and I've been serenaded with about five "I love you Becky Teacher!"s every morning. It's really hard to be in a bad mood after that.
Hopefully, I'm in for another great weekend coming up. We have tomorrow (thurs) off so a coworker and I are having a Christmas day with more shopping at the local department store mall which is so decked out with Yuletide Splendor that it intimidates even me. Imagine all the commonplace lights of Asia. Then imagine all the lights of Asia...around Christmas. Scary indeed, especially when considering the electricity bill.
Anyways, still merry and marvelous here in SoKo. Enjoy the holidays everyone!!
Love,
B
Saturday, I had a lie in, talked to some friends on skype, and then felt a tiny bit restless. So, I went to Seoul. As you do. I still love that I can do that on a whim, it reminds me how much of an adventure this can be. I hopped a bus, spent a good 45 minutes in the sadistic wind trying to find a jewelry market (Dongdaemun) but I eventually got there, got some last Christmas gifts and the makings for a fantastic new headband for moi. After, I shlepped on over to Forever 21, drawn by the internal western compulsion for shopping around Christmas. I wasn't disappointed, the walkway was glaring with lights and the inside blared with Mariah Carey. I got a dress, belt, earrings, and BOOTS (QUITE a feat I'll have you know as I am convinced I found the only normal sized pair of shoes in Asia). I got home, ordered pizza, and tucked into a Korean drama that I have recently become hopelessly addicted to. I think it aired about 5 years ago, it's name is "Coffee Prince" and it's about a girl who pretends to be a guy to get a job to support her family and how her and her boss end up falling in love with eachother. Very complicated, very melodramatic, very fabulous. It's the first one I've watched and I've got it bad- I have lost sleep in the last week due to this show.
Anyway, sunday I got myself to the gym and grocieries and watched more TV. So far, this week has been pretty standard work-wise. I have gone into Christmas craft frenzy though to decorate my kindy rooms- we've made presents complete with bows, colored Santa pictures, and made slowflakes up the wazzu. I love that I don't have to be politically correct here- we're celebrating Christmas gosh darn it because I can justify it as "cultural education." They do celebrate it here but not to the same extent. The other adorable thing about this week is that Columbia just learned "I Love You" and I've been serenaded with about five "I love you Becky Teacher!"s every morning. It's really hard to be in a bad mood after that.
Hopefully, I'm in for another great weekend coming up. We have tomorrow (thurs) off so a coworker and I are having a Christmas day with more shopping at the local department store mall which is so decked out with Yuletide Splendor that it intimidates even me. Imagine all the commonplace lights of Asia. Then imagine all the lights of Asia...around Christmas. Scary indeed, especially when considering the electricity bill.
Anyways, still merry and marvelous here in SoKo. Enjoy the holidays everyone!!
Love,
B
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Concerning Thaaaaaaaanksgiving!
Hello!
What a great week. To start off with, I get to stay in my apartment. Yes, I still have to pay the monthly difference between it and the other studio apartments but in my mind, it is beyond worth it to have the comforts I have here. Namely, a bath tub, guest room, a counter, and space enough for a couch (or two). Yay! That's a huge load off, now I feel completely at peace here and comfortably settled back into my little Korean life.
As for the rest of the week, it was mildly busy as the last week of the academic session but as usual, I tried to plan ahead a bit so I didn't get too terribly slammed. No harm done. We did have an interesting morning on thursday as we had a professional photographer in to take some pictures of all of the 7 year old kindies who will be "graduating" into elementary school at the end of February. All of my NYU kids fall under this umbrella so I literally spent three full classes with them navigating them through five (count them, FIVE) wardrobe changes. America's Next Top Model, look out, this was a pretty serious photo shoot. I was in two of the five shots and one of them in particular was soooo painful because the photographer spent about a half hour with each child trying to get them to smile nicely which meant some incredibly sore cheeks on my part after 6 children's worth of this treatment. One of the pictures even had them in this formal Oxford style graduation gown complete with cap and tassel. Oh, Korea.
Friday night I went to English club again which was very interesting. The article topic of discussion this week was about the Korean practice of living with your parents until you are married. This represents a pretty big change from western practice so we had a great conversation about the different sides. It seems that here, there is such an established track to go through life and in that perfect track, children are the culminating and central event. As such, parents seem to almost feel inferior or remiss if they are not actively demonstrating their love, affection, and support to their cherished children and most often, this is through money and accomodation. Even members of the club in their early 40s admitted to still receiving financial gifts from their parents. We also did talk about how this practice is not just cultural, but equally the result of Korean economic conditions-- admittedly, housing is extremely expensive here compared to salaries, and with such a wealth of people, apartments are not thick on the ground. Obviously, everyone was very polite and receptive to my opinions as to why I value my independence (obviously still recognizing the support that I have gotten from mom and dad through my life...thanks parents!!). Even though I remain unchanged in my preference to live on my own and establish myself as a self-reliant adult, I do admire how vital family is to Korean social structure. So, I suppose as always, there is much to learn from both sides.
After the meeting, the members went out to a hof (a Korean answer to a bar which is more like a cafe as most Koreans go to drink beer and soju and get snacks with it) and then finished out the night at a noribong (remember? private karaoke room?). This part was pretty darn amusing. At one point in the night, I was serenaded by four middle aged Korean men singing "Barbie Girl." I couldn't make that stuff up. Then, we proceeded to sing some Beetles and topped it all off with some classic Christmas carols, as you do. Chad and I are in complete agreement that Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" is the best, hands down. As it is now after Thanksgiving (more on that soon) I can now give myself free reign to go on holiday glut mode and I'd imagine this will involve singing that song a time or two.
Saturday, I bustled about getting ready for my delayed expat Thanksgiving at my apartment. It turned out fantastically-- we managed chicken breast with a french sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, crudites, rolls, apple pie, ice cream, home made whipped cream, and bananas foster on a two stove burner AND it all was hot. Damn I'm good. Mom- I was so channeling your years of Tuscany dinner parties, I nearly put post-its on all of my serving dishes, I kid you not...haha. I also ended up channeling dad because I followed his sadistic and torturous tradition of making everyone say what they are thankful for just when the food is hot and smelling delicious and mouth wateringly ready. The apple does not fall far (except when it temporarily rolls to South Korea...). The company was great as well- it was all of my foreign coworkers from ECC (Theresa, Toby, Renee and Chad), Theresa's Scottish friend Nikki, her Korean friend Eun Ju, and my Korean friend from the English club, Hooney. I put a bunch of candles around the apartment to disguise the horrible wall paper and combined with the Jack Johnson backdrop and flowing wine, it wasn't a bad atmosphere at all. Very cozy, especially as most people ended up sitting in a little cluster on the floor of my living room and had a sort of picnic. When we were done eating (and eating and eating), we had an impromptu music session of all of our great Jr. High favorites so "The Bad Touch" (you and me baby ain't nothing but mammals...), "The Thong Song," "Yeah," "Slim Shady" and "Shock Collar" all came out and we completely mystified our poor Korean audience. Pumped up, we then all decided to randomly go dancing, so we did. It was a great time, we stayed for about two hours and scandalized most of the conservative Koreans with our crazy moves but overall, I had a wonderful evening and it scratched my Thanksgiving itch.
Today was mostly spent sleeping as the last two nights I have gone to bed at 3...but I cleaned up my poor little apartment in the meantime. Good day, good week, and a much much better attitude. I feel like my frustrations are slowly being managed and that I am finally FINALLY settling in to Korea, making friends with locals, learning more about the culture and having more of an adventure. That is certainly a relief.
Next up: should be a pretty good week, my schedule was changed so that instead of a late break in the day on tuesdays and thursdays, they bumped a class up so I get off at 5:30 two days a week now, woohoo! Also, tomorrow, I'm going to dinner with another English club friend, Ella, an adorable Korean English teacher. Love to all! Hope you all had very merry Thanksgivings and a promising start to the holiday season.
B
What a great week. To start off with, I get to stay in my apartment. Yes, I still have to pay the monthly difference between it and the other studio apartments but in my mind, it is beyond worth it to have the comforts I have here. Namely, a bath tub, guest room, a counter, and space enough for a couch (or two). Yay! That's a huge load off, now I feel completely at peace here and comfortably settled back into my little Korean life.
As for the rest of the week, it was mildly busy as the last week of the academic session but as usual, I tried to plan ahead a bit so I didn't get too terribly slammed. No harm done. We did have an interesting morning on thursday as we had a professional photographer in to take some pictures of all of the 7 year old kindies who will be "graduating" into elementary school at the end of February. All of my NYU kids fall under this umbrella so I literally spent three full classes with them navigating them through five (count them, FIVE) wardrobe changes. America's Next Top Model, look out, this was a pretty serious photo shoot. I was in two of the five shots and one of them in particular was soooo painful because the photographer spent about a half hour with each child trying to get them to smile nicely which meant some incredibly sore cheeks on my part after 6 children's worth of this treatment. One of the pictures even had them in this formal Oxford style graduation gown complete with cap and tassel. Oh, Korea.
Friday night I went to English club again which was very interesting. The article topic of discussion this week was about the Korean practice of living with your parents until you are married. This represents a pretty big change from western practice so we had a great conversation about the different sides. It seems that here, there is such an established track to go through life and in that perfect track, children are the culminating and central event. As such, parents seem to almost feel inferior or remiss if they are not actively demonstrating their love, affection, and support to their cherished children and most often, this is through money and accomodation. Even members of the club in their early 40s admitted to still receiving financial gifts from their parents. We also did talk about how this practice is not just cultural, but equally the result of Korean economic conditions-- admittedly, housing is extremely expensive here compared to salaries, and with such a wealth of people, apartments are not thick on the ground. Obviously, everyone was very polite and receptive to my opinions as to why I value my independence (obviously still recognizing the support that I have gotten from mom and dad through my life...thanks parents!!). Even though I remain unchanged in my preference to live on my own and establish myself as a self-reliant adult, I do admire how vital family is to Korean social structure. So, I suppose as always, there is much to learn from both sides.
After the meeting, the members went out to a hof (a Korean answer to a bar which is more like a cafe as most Koreans go to drink beer and soju and get snacks with it) and then finished out the night at a noribong (remember? private karaoke room?). This part was pretty darn amusing. At one point in the night, I was serenaded by four middle aged Korean men singing "Barbie Girl." I couldn't make that stuff up. Then, we proceeded to sing some Beetles and topped it all off with some classic Christmas carols, as you do. Chad and I are in complete agreement that Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas" is the best, hands down. As it is now after Thanksgiving (more on that soon) I can now give myself free reign to go on holiday glut mode and I'd imagine this will involve singing that song a time or two.
Saturday, I bustled about getting ready for my delayed expat Thanksgiving at my apartment. It turned out fantastically-- we managed chicken breast with a french sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, salad, crudites, rolls, apple pie, ice cream, home made whipped cream, and bananas foster on a two stove burner AND it all was hot. Damn I'm good. Mom- I was so channeling your years of Tuscany dinner parties, I nearly put post-its on all of my serving dishes, I kid you not...haha. I also ended up channeling dad because I followed his sadistic and torturous tradition of making everyone say what they are thankful for just when the food is hot and smelling delicious and mouth wateringly ready. The apple does not fall far (except when it temporarily rolls to South Korea...). The company was great as well- it was all of my foreign coworkers from ECC (Theresa, Toby, Renee and Chad), Theresa's Scottish friend Nikki, her Korean friend Eun Ju, and my Korean friend from the English club, Hooney. I put a bunch of candles around the apartment to disguise the horrible wall paper and combined with the Jack Johnson backdrop and flowing wine, it wasn't a bad atmosphere at all. Very cozy, especially as most people ended up sitting in a little cluster on the floor of my living room and had a sort of picnic. When we were done eating (and eating and eating), we had an impromptu music session of all of our great Jr. High favorites so "The Bad Touch" (you and me baby ain't nothing but mammals...), "The Thong Song," "Yeah," "Slim Shady" and "Shock Collar" all came out and we completely mystified our poor Korean audience. Pumped up, we then all decided to randomly go dancing, so we did. It was a great time, we stayed for about two hours and scandalized most of the conservative Koreans with our crazy moves but overall, I had a wonderful evening and it scratched my Thanksgiving itch.
Today was mostly spent sleeping as the last two nights I have gone to bed at 3...but I cleaned up my poor little apartment in the meantime. Good day, good week, and a much much better attitude. I feel like my frustrations are slowly being managed and that I am finally FINALLY settling in to Korea, making friends with locals, learning more about the culture and having more of an adventure. That is certainly a relief.
Next up: should be a pretty good week, my schedule was changed so that instead of a late break in the day on tuesdays and thursdays, they bumped a class up so I get off at 5:30 two days a week now, woohoo! Also, tomorrow, I'm going to dinner with another English club friend, Ella, an adorable Korean English teacher. Love to all! Hope you all had very merry Thanksgivings and a promising start to the holiday season.
B
Monday, November 23, 2009
Concerning too many ups and downs but at least there are the ups
Hi everyone!
What a week, by turns fantastic and terrible. To start with the terrible parts- I had a full on panic attack thursday night which was less than fun. I was anxious to begin with and on edge from the whole apartment business (of which more below) and reading a very upsetting part of my book where the main character has to kill an incontinent man out of pity. Having just gotten through the thick of it, I looked at the clock and happened to catch a reproaching glimpse of midnight, the neon glaring at me to get to bed. (Who needs mom when I have my own demanding sub-conscious and an alarm clock?) So, I decided to be responsible in lieu of reading myself into a better place in the book. That led to too many half hours of tossing and twisting my blankets until I heard a noise outside my door. Somehow in that moment I forgot that I have three locks and that opening my door emits a noise akin to an army air raid but was sure I was going to be murdered by burglars. I grabbed the only thing I could reach...my hair dryer...and set forth well armed to take on the imaginary intruder. It was when I got in my living room, hair dryer still in hand and door still firmly locked and closed, that I really really realized that I am aaaaaaaaaaalone here. Capital A. My whole subsequent anxiety about A leaving was for what I WOULD feel and now that's crossed the temporal line into what I DO feel. I sat down on my couch and had myself a thorough little pity party, very well aided by the fact that my parent's skype went on the fritz for about 2 weeks and I thought I wouldn't get to talk to them on the phone anymore and that both of my sisters were still sleeping. So, me myself and I blubbered for about twenty minutes before a very patient friend happened to call me on skype and listened to me blubber for about twenty more before I had got it all out of my system. The good news is that now that I have begun to adjust to being alone here, it's nothing I can't handle. Yeah, it didn't feel good or empowering to be sitting on my couch crying to an empty apartment at 1 in the morning but at the same time, I never lost sight of the fact that these were normal feelings and that I was just letting it out to get it over with. Even as upset as I was, I'm not questioning being here which IS certainly empowering in its own right.
So, as to the apartment stuff. Well, my school believes that it is compromising with me. I can remain in it at least until the end of March when they want the next employee's replacement to move in with me or me to move out. I do have to pay the 200 dollar monthly difference in the meantime but I think that as important as my space is to me, it's worth it. I am having a meeting with my bosses tomorrow to lobby for them to just let me pay the difference for the rest of my contract. I see no reason they wouldn't let me as they aren't losing a cent on it, they already made sure of that. So, we'll see, and honestly, if this is resolved, then my last little frayed edges of adjustment will be nicely smoothed into place. I hope hope hope that it does.
So, now on to the fun stuff. First, my parents repaired skype somehow so yay for that. Everything seems less desperate with a mom and dad in the picture to whine to. Also, they have decided that I should join them for a month long cruise that leaves 2 weeks after I get back from South Korea. As my age deadline for Holland America is rapidly approaching and I can't think of another opportunity when I could just take a month off of work, I think I might just have to take them up on that...especially as this particular cruise happens to be bound for Tahiti and Bora Bora....tough life.
Second, we had English club again on friday which was reasonably fun again. The discussion was kind of boring because it was on the Hyundai car market...but, not bad and I made a very sweet Korean friend who is in her mid twenties. We're doing dinner soon and I feel proud of myself to be branching out even just this little bit from my work bubble. Saturday, we had Mom's Day where the mothers come in for an interactive class with their kindies. Basically, I drilled their little pants off the week before so that they would be oh so spontaneously brilliant the morning of. Funnily enough, my brilliant 7 year olds completely clammed up (but were fine anyway) while my dubious renegade 6 year olds knocked their parents socks off by reading their sentences, complete with the word "delicious". It's bizarre, in the last 2 weeks Columbia has just decided that it can read after all. Huh. Must be doing something right somewhere along the way. After that, my work friends came over for a movie and then we went out for galbi (MORE Korean food, look at me go!), drinks, and a noribong (the private karaoke room experience). Fun night. Sunday I had the new teacher Chad over for dinner. He's a sweetheart and has the exact same taste in TV and movies as I do (Moulin Rouge, Glee, and True Blood) so this one's going to be fun to have around.
Last fun thing is that Thanksgiving is around the corner! Yes, I alternate between being excited and completely dreading the holidays but I am mostly harboring good thoughts about them now. I do wish I could be there with Dad today for his birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, LOVE YOU!!) but he's living the life somewhere around Mexico so something tells me he's doing just fine. AND, I just solidified some plans with a friend here for a Christmas sleepover extravaganza with PJs and movies and food aplenty. That, combined with our looming foreigner turkey party is this saturday (after another wedding that I have been randomly invited to), has brightened my spirits. Hope that this upswing just keeps on going but for now, doing better and better. Love!!
B
What a week, by turns fantastic and terrible. To start with the terrible parts- I had a full on panic attack thursday night which was less than fun. I was anxious to begin with and on edge from the whole apartment business (of which more below) and reading a very upsetting part of my book where the main character has to kill an incontinent man out of pity. Having just gotten through the thick of it, I looked at the clock and happened to catch a reproaching glimpse of midnight, the neon glaring at me to get to bed. (Who needs mom when I have my own demanding sub-conscious and an alarm clock?) So, I decided to be responsible in lieu of reading myself into a better place in the book. That led to too many half hours of tossing and twisting my blankets until I heard a noise outside my door. Somehow in that moment I forgot that I have three locks and that opening my door emits a noise akin to an army air raid but was sure I was going to be murdered by burglars. I grabbed the only thing I could reach...my hair dryer...and set forth well armed to take on the imaginary intruder. It was when I got in my living room, hair dryer still in hand and door still firmly locked and closed, that I really really realized that I am aaaaaaaaaaalone here. Capital A. My whole subsequent anxiety about A leaving was for what I WOULD feel and now that's crossed the temporal line into what I DO feel. I sat down on my couch and had myself a thorough little pity party, very well aided by the fact that my parent's skype went on the fritz for about 2 weeks and I thought I wouldn't get to talk to them on the phone anymore and that both of my sisters were still sleeping. So, me myself and I blubbered for about twenty minutes before a very patient friend happened to call me on skype and listened to me blubber for about twenty more before I had got it all out of my system. The good news is that now that I have begun to adjust to being alone here, it's nothing I can't handle. Yeah, it didn't feel good or empowering to be sitting on my couch crying to an empty apartment at 1 in the morning but at the same time, I never lost sight of the fact that these were normal feelings and that I was just letting it out to get it over with. Even as upset as I was, I'm not questioning being here which IS certainly empowering in its own right.
So, as to the apartment stuff. Well, my school believes that it is compromising with me. I can remain in it at least until the end of March when they want the next employee's replacement to move in with me or me to move out. I do have to pay the 200 dollar monthly difference in the meantime but I think that as important as my space is to me, it's worth it. I am having a meeting with my bosses tomorrow to lobby for them to just let me pay the difference for the rest of my contract. I see no reason they wouldn't let me as they aren't losing a cent on it, they already made sure of that. So, we'll see, and honestly, if this is resolved, then my last little frayed edges of adjustment will be nicely smoothed into place. I hope hope hope that it does.
So, now on to the fun stuff. First, my parents repaired skype somehow so yay for that. Everything seems less desperate with a mom and dad in the picture to whine to. Also, they have decided that I should join them for a month long cruise that leaves 2 weeks after I get back from South Korea. As my age deadline for Holland America is rapidly approaching and I can't think of another opportunity when I could just take a month off of work, I think I might just have to take them up on that...especially as this particular cruise happens to be bound for Tahiti and Bora Bora....tough life.
Second, we had English club again on friday which was reasonably fun again. The discussion was kind of boring because it was on the Hyundai car market...but, not bad and I made a very sweet Korean friend who is in her mid twenties. We're doing dinner soon and I feel proud of myself to be branching out even just this little bit from my work bubble. Saturday, we had Mom's Day where the mothers come in for an interactive class with their kindies. Basically, I drilled their little pants off the week before so that they would be oh so spontaneously brilliant the morning of. Funnily enough, my brilliant 7 year olds completely clammed up (but were fine anyway) while my dubious renegade 6 year olds knocked their parents socks off by reading their sentences, complete with the word "delicious". It's bizarre, in the last 2 weeks Columbia has just decided that it can read after all. Huh. Must be doing something right somewhere along the way. After that, my work friends came over for a movie and then we went out for galbi (MORE Korean food, look at me go!), drinks, and a noribong (the private karaoke room experience). Fun night. Sunday I had the new teacher Chad over for dinner. He's a sweetheart and has the exact same taste in TV and movies as I do (Moulin Rouge, Glee, and True Blood) so this one's going to be fun to have around.
Last fun thing is that Thanksgiving is around the corner! Yes, I alternate between being excited and completely dreading the holidays but I am mostly harboring good thoughts about them now. I do wish I could be there with Dad today for his birthday (HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, LOVE YOU!!) but he's living the life somewhere around Mexico so something tells me he's doing just fine. AND, I just solidified some plans with a friend here for a Christmas sleepover extravaganza with PJs and movies and food aplenty. That, combined with our looming foreigner turkey party is this saturday (after another wedding that I have been randomly invited to), has brightened my spirits. Hope that this upswing just keeps on going but for now, doing better and better. Love!!
B
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Concerning a pretty darn fine weekend
I actually had a fantastic week. It was fairly uneventful-- I still find myself pretty tired after my longer work days but the paycheck at the end of the month should give me some of that energy back. One of my kids did tell me that he'd seen a suicide in his journal which completely horrified me...it was in response to an autobiographical writing prompt and his two other classmates wrote about being in a car accident and being lost by his parents in the US. Not quite the upbeat learning exercise I was shooting for. Oh dear. I did find out, on a lighter note, that my 38 (but looks much much younger) old boss has a crush on my dad. I put some pictures up at work of my sisters, my family, and friends and she came over and gushed. I wish I could say that it's the first time that this has happened (*cough* Roche Harbor... dad...). Oh well, it certainly won't hurt me, at most we're looking at a smidge of preferential treatment because of good genes. Dad, charm away.
Thursday night, I had two coworkers over for banana pancakes and bacon which was nice. One stayed over for a while and we had a nice long convo. We had friday off which was lovely...I had such a lazy day and adored it. I slept late. I watched movies. I read. I watched TV. I made a BLT. I didn't get out of my PJs until 6 when I realized that I was not fit for public exposure, so I de-grossified and met my boss and another teacher for her English club.
Oh my, what a night. It began with my boss chattering the whole way there because she was nervous that we wouldn't like it or that there wouldn't be anyone there that week. She was so nervous, in fact, that she insisted on going into the room before us to prepare them that foreigners were coming in and to behave. Funny. Even so, when we came in the room everyone stopped talking and jaws dropped. Someone broke the silence with, "Wow! You're pretty!" And so it began. Everyone was definitely shy around us which I found hilarious as I was the youngest person there. Some more people trickled in and the "You're really pretty/you're beautiful/ you look like a doll" moment was repeted FIVE times. Yep, I counted. The club was unexpectedly structured- there were moments for interviews, short answers, speeches and discussing an article. It's pretty much the same every week. It was really fun, I didn't notice that it lasted 2 1/2 hours. Afterwards, we all went out to a bar until 1 am and I felt even more like a rock star than usual- it was truly bizarre, it felt like they were hanging on every word and wanted an American perspetive on everything. There was also a not bad looking guy there which certainly didn't hurt my night. I will probably go back next week, if only because everyone was so nice and it is such an easy way to learn about Korean culture.
The next day, I worked out, soaked in the spa for a bit, got a latte and some groceries and went back home for an early night that was a bit ruined by my late realization that South Korea does not do decaf. I got up way way too early the next morning to meet two of my friends in Seoul. We got lunch before checking out a shrine which was moderately cool and an adjoining palace. It wasn't as impressive as Gyeongbokgong Palace but for a dollar, I was happy to walk around and take pictures of the fall leaves...even if winter decided to arrive in full force, completely stinging my cheeks with the cold. It was not a bad day though. After, I got home chilled and tired and went to bed pretty early.
Work should be fine this week if a little busy, we're preparing for "mother's day" on saturday where moms get to come and observe a class. I did also just find out that ECC will not let me stay in my apartment by myself which blows. Apparently, they don't own it but pay a monthly fee which basically means that either I have to find someone to move in or I have to move out. Ick. To be honest, it does stress me out and I'm trying to decide what that means...though it might already be decided for me because I don't think anyoen wants to move. Well....huh. Not sure what to make of that. I'll keep everyone updated. Bye!!
Love,
B
Thursday night, I had two coworkers over for banana pancakes and bacon which was nice. One stayed over for a while and we had a nice long convo. We had friday off which was lovely...I had such a lazy day and adored it. I slept late. I watched movies. I read. I watched TV. I made a BLT. I didn't get out of my PJs until 6 when I realized that I was not fit for public exposure, so I de-grossified and met my boss and another teacher for her English club.
Oh my, what a night. It began with my boss chattering the whole way there because she was nervous that we wouldn't like it or that there wouldn't be anyone there that week. She was so nervous, in fact, that she insisted on going into the room before us to prepare them that foreigners were coming in and to behave. Funny. Even so, when we came in the room everyone stopped talking and jaws dropped. Someone broke the silence with, "Wow! You're pretty!" And so it began. Everyone was definitely shy around us which I found hilarious as I was the youngest person there. Some more people trickled in and the "You're really pretty/you're beautiful/ you look like a doll" moment was repeted FIVE times. Yep, I counted. The club was unexpectedly structured- there were moments for interviews, short answers, speeches and discussing an article. It's pretty much the same every week. It was really fun, I didn't notice that it lasted 2 1/2 hours. Afterwards, we all went out to a bar until 1 am and I felt even more like a rock star than usual- it was truly bizarre, it felt like they were hanging on every word and wanted an American perspetive on everything. There was also a not bad looking guy there which certainly didn't hurt my night. I will probably go back next week, if only because everyone was so nice and it is such an easy way to learn about Korean culture.
The next day, I worked out, soaked in the spa for a bit, got a latte and some groceries and went back home for an early night that was a bit ruined by my late realization that South Korea does not do decaf. I got up way way too early the next morning to meet two of my friends in Seoul. We got lunch before checking out a shrine which was moderately cool and an adjoining palace. It wasn't as impressive as Gyeongbokgong Palace but for a dollar, I was happy to walk around and take pictures of the fall leaves...even if winter decided to arrive in full force, completely stinging my cheeks with the cold. It was not a bad day though. After, I got home chilled and tired and went to bed pretty early.
Work should be fine this week if a little busy, we're preparing for "mother's day" on saturday where moms get to come and observe a class. I did also just find out that ECC will not let me stay in my apartment by myself which blows. Apparently, they don't own it but pay a monthly fee which basically means that either I have to find someone to move in or I have to move out. Ick. To be honest, it does stress me out and I'm trying to decide what that means...though it might already be decided for me because I don't think anyoen wants to move. Well....huh. Not sure what to make of that. I'll keep everyone updated. Bye!!
Love,
B
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Concerning an adjustment
Well, my roomie just went back home. This will probably seem a little abrupt to most of you because for her privacy, it is something that I haven't talked about with many people. She has been going through a pretty rough time for a while now and though we are absolutely as good as friends as ever and though we tried almost everything (and I mean everything) to try and make her comfortable here, her and Korea never got along. Home is where she needs to be. I am as positive about this as I can be in that I completely agree with her decision and completely dread the consequences. The good thing is that it is looking like I might get our apartment to myself for the next 10 months. I was very worried about moving to a much smaller and further apartment but they aren't replacing her until after the holidays, and likely not then, and work owns our place, so...I guess I now find myself in possession of Shangri-La Becky complete with guest-suite.
This did throw me for a pretty big loop and I am not completely right side up yet. I am a little intimidated by the prospect of 10 months by myself on the other side of the world, but I am certain that I can do this and I'll get through the year in fine fashion. The other foreign teachers have been amazing through the entire situation, being incredibly understanding with Asteria, and very supportive to me. They were the ones today who, when I was blubbering a little after seeing Asteria off, gave me a hug, dried my eyes, went grocery shopping with me and then cooked me chile and put on Boondog Saints. Passable movie, fabulous friends. I won't pretend that this isn't an adjustment but it is definitely not the end of the world and I am very lucky in the people that I have here to help me past this. So, not a crippling change
, not a deal-breaker, and not a show-stopper, just a blip on the radar.
I had a pretty tense week leading up to A's departure but now that it's over, I think the anticipation was probably much worse than the reality. Now, I can hunker in and begin settling back down into my new life here. We did all have a really nice dinner on Friday, we gave Korean BBQ another shot af
ter our disastrous foray into pork belly meat our first week here. This, thank god, was delicious- tender, flavorful, marinated beef with yummy sides. It definitely redeemed the culinary genre and I'll be trying it again. (Me? In a Korean restaurant? ME? Liking a Korean restaurant? Progress? I think so!) Saturday, we all went to Seoul to get in some last minute Christmas shopping as I happen to have two parents with very particular shipping schedules. We had a lot of fun and I got some great gifts (get excited...). There was an apple festival going on, so I took a picture with a statue holding an apple, pretending to bite it and another statue even fed me one. We had a heavy but yummy lunch at a Greek place in Itaewon-- gyros and a cro
ss between chips and fries. After, we stopped by Dongdaemun which has booths and booths and booths of wholesale jewelry making supplies. It was really beautiful to walk through but a bit like what I imagine backstage Vegas to be- rows upon rows of sparkling beads and decals and jewels and feathers and buttons and headbands, basically an army of accessory materials. We were worn out after shopping so hard, so we took an early train home 
and tucked in.
I honestly think that I am in a good place right now with a lot of promise for the coming months. I was so happy to support Asteria through her challenges but I it drained me emotionally in ways I can only now see. I think this is an opportunity for us both to rest up a bit and get back to full speed.
A- love you honey, hope you made it back OK!
Love,
B
2 things I forgot to mention a while back:
1.) At Halloween, one of my kids cracked me up with a little twist on an old favorite. "Trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to eat, if you don't, I don't care, I WILL EAT YOU!!!" I think we have a new contender, watch out children of America. And Korea.
2.) I maaaay have already written this but I think not and this is by far the funniest thing yet to have happened to me so if so, you get it again. For Chuseok (remember a few entries back?), it is traditional to give little gifts. Expecting some scented candles and chocolate? Oh, no my friend. My boss gave us all entire kits of toilet articles. I am not talking nice, scented body washes or luxury lotions, but 8 tubes of toothpaste and 8 bars of soap. Korea takes hygiene to a whole new level. But, this gift didn't take the cake. My coworkers got little tokens of appreciation from some of the parents of their kids. Asteria got a gorgeous Dior lipstick, another got Chanel. What did I get? Beef. I kid you not. A cooler full, to be precise, of frozen, ground, spiced, beef. It's what's for dinner. (To be fair, I have come to appreciate this a little more- a.) because beef is incredibly rare and expensive here, they don't raise cows for meat but import everything from Australia and b.) because it's actually pretty tasty)
This did throw me for a pretty big loop and I am not completely right side up yet. I am a little intimidated by the prospect of 10 months by myself on the other side of the world, but I am certain that I can do this and I'll get through the year in fine fashion. The other foreign teachers have been amazing through the entire situation, being incredibly understanding with Asteria, and very supportive to me. They were the ones today who, when I was blubbering a little after seeing Asteria off, gave me a hug, dried my eyes, went grocery shopping with me and then cooked me chile and put on Boondog Saints. Passable movie, fabulous friends. I won't pretend that this isn't an adjustment but it is definitely not the end of the world and I am very lucky in the people that I have here to help me past this. So, not a crippling change
, not a deal-breaker, and not a show-stopper, just a blip on the radar.I had a pretty tense week leading up to A's departure but now that it's over, I think the anticipation was probably much worse than the reality. Now, I can hunker in and begin settling back down into my new life here. We did all have a really nice dinner on Friday, we gave Korean BBQ another shot af
ter our disastrous foray into pork belly meat our first week here. This, thank god, was delicious- tender, flavorful, marinated beef with yummy sides. It definitely redeemed the culinary genre and I'll be trying it again. (Me? In a Korean restaurant? ME? Liking a Korean restaurant? Progress? I think so!) Saturday, we all went to Seoul to get in some last minute Christmas shopping as I happen to have two parents with very particular shipping schedules. We had a lot of fun and I got some great gifts (get excited...). There was an apple festival going on, so I took a picture with a statue holding an apple, pretending to bite it and another statue even fed me one. We had a heavy but yummy lunch at a Greek place in Itaewon-- gyros and a cro
ss between chips and fries. After, we stopped by Dongdaemun which has booths and booths and booths of wholesale jewelry making supplies. It was really beautiful to walk through but a bit like what I imagine backstage Vegas to be- rows upon rows of sparkling beads and decals and jewels and feathers and buttons and headbands, basically an army of accessory materials. We were worn out after shopping so hard, so we took an early train home 
and tucked in.I honestly think that I am in a good place right now with a lot of promise for the coming months. I was so happy to support Asteria through her challenges but I it drained me emotionally in ways I can only now see. I think this is an opportunity for us both to rest up a bit and get back to full speed.
A- love you honey, hope you made it back OK!
Love,
B
2 things I forgot to mention a while back:
1.) At Halloween, one of my kids cracked me up with a little twist on an old favorite. "Trick or treat, trick or treat, give me something good to eat, if you don't, I don't care, I WILL EAT YOU!!!" I think we have a new contender, watch out children of America. And Korea.
2.) I maaaay have already written this but I think not and this is by far the funniest thing yet to have happened to me so if so, you get it again. For Chuseok (remember a few entries back?), it is traditional to give little gifts. Expecting some scented candles and chocolate? Oh, no my friend. My boss gave us all entire kits of toilet articles. I am not talking nice, scented body washes or luxury lotions, but 8 tubes of toothpaste and 8 bars of soap. Korea takes hygiene to a whole new level. But, this gift didn't take the cake. My coworkers got little tokens of appreciation from some of the parents of their kids. Asteria got a gorgeous Dior lipstick, another got Chanel. What did I get? Beef. I kid you not. A cooler full, to be precise, of frozen, ground, spiced, beef. It's what's for dinner. (To be fair, I have come to appreciate this a little more- a.) because beef is incredibly rare and expensive here, they don't raise cows for meat but import everything from Australia and b.) because it's actually pretty tasty)
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