Ok, so tonight had to have been one of my best night's out here so far!
A bunch of us foreign teachers met up to watch "The Chronicles of Narnia" in 4D! It was awesome and another story for another time.
What was so great was the aftermath of the evening. Some of us went out to "wind down" from the week and began discussing our plan for the "Santa Con" adventure for tomorrow http://www.theyeogiyo.com/News/Articles/2010-2/11/23/Santarchy-2010.php
Before we went to our destination, we played a few rounds of "The Claw" (the machines that have stuffed animals and prizes in you try to win by moving the claw) Well, no one was having any luck but somehow I scored a nice midsized "Mr. Mu" (a stuffed radish). It made my night since I never win with those machines!
But he fun part starts after that . . .
We started talking about Christmas Carols and ended up penning a few for the ride up to Seoul!
Here is the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx4dXWb2eII
Here are the lyrics:
"The Twelve Days of A Hogwon Christmas"
One the first day of Christmas, my hogwon gave to me
A contract not legally binding
On the second day of Christmas, my hogwon gave to me
Two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the third day of Christmas, my hogwon gave to me
Three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the forth day of Christmas, my hogwon gave to me
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the fifth day of Christmas, my hogwon gave to me
Five Mr. Mus
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the sixth day of Christmas, my hogwon gave to me
Six sweet potatoes
Five Mr. Mus
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the seventh day of Christmas, my hogwon gave to me
Seven games of Starcraft, Six sweet potatoes
Five Mr. Mus
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the eighth day of Christmas, my hagwan gave to me
Eight pints of Cass, Seven games of Starcraft, Six sweet potatoes
Five Mr. Mus
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the ninth day of Christmas, my hagwan gave to me
Nine Agimas sweeping, Eight pints of Cass, Seven games of Starcraft, Six sweet potatoes
Five Mr. Mus
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the tenth day of Christmas, my hagwan gave to me
Ten vaction days (not), Nine Agimas sweeping, Eight pints of Cass, Seven games of Starcraft, Six sweet potatoes
Five Mr. Mus
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the eleventh day of Christmas, my hagwan gave to me
Eleven Norabong tunes, Ten vaction days (not), Nine Agimas sweeping, Eight pints of Cass, Seven games of Starcraft, Six sweet potatoes
Five Mr. Mus
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
On the twelfth day of Christmas, my hagwan gave to me
Twelve bottles of Soju, Eleven Norabong tunes, Ten vaction days (not), Nine Agimas sweeping,
Eight pints of Cass, Seven games of Starcraft, Six sweet potatoes
Five Mr. Mus
Four Pepero Sticks, three sides of kimchi, two million won and a contract not legally binding
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
I'll be home for Christmas . .
. . . you can count on me.
You read that correctly. I will be coming home for Christmas. Unfortunately, my grandmother fell and broke her hip recently. Luckily they were able to patch her up, sort of speak. However, during her recovery in rehab the therapist over worked her and they left her in worse shape than when she went in. My family suggested that I come home for a visit, in the event she takes a turn for the worse, which we all pray won't happen. I was extremely lucky that my school is allowing me the time off to come home because the only day we actually get off work here is December 31st. My parents were sooooo generous to buy me the round trip ticket. I will be leaving Korea on December 24th and luckily with the time change I arrive the morning of December 24th! So I will be able to spend Christmas with the family. I will be in the states until December 30th, when I fly back and back to work on January 3rd.
I am really excited about the opportunity to come home but not necessarily for the unfortunate reason. I know I had mentioned in my last post that my Christmas package had just arrived but it was sent before we decided to bring me home. I have already been getting so many requests from other foreign teachers on what to bring back for them in addition to my list of necessities. Plus the Korean teachers are making their lists too. Don't worry I'm getting the money up front!
I won't have a car or access to one while I'm home, so if anyone wants to get together, if I have time, please let me know and we can try to schedule something. Also, I had not mentioned this before but I have been having problems uploading my pictures from my camera. This explains why you haven't seen any pictures from me yet. As soon as I get to the states, I am going to get that fixed so I can post them!
I can't wait to listen to the all Christmas music KOST radio, watch the 24 hours of a "Christmas Story" and "Elf." Plus I am really hoping that the family can have our all night board games evening on Christmas Eve. Did I mention that I have a list of the American restaurants and food I want to gobble down while I can. And of course, I am really hoping to make a pit stop to my park, Disneyland. I want to see the "Nightmare Before Christmas" Haunted Mansion. (This all depends on grandma's blessing and health of course).
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers for me!
You read that correctly. I will be coming home for Christmas. Unfortunately, my grandmother fell and broke her hip recently. Luckily they were able to patch her up, sort of speak. However, during her recovery in rehab the therapist over worked her and they left her in worse shape than when she went in. My family suggested that I come home for a visit, in the event she takes a turn for the worse, which we all pray won't happen. I was extremely lucky that my school is allowing me the time off to come home because the only day we actually get off work here is December 31st. My parents were sooooo generous to buy me the round trip ticket. I will be leaving Korea on December 24th and luckily with the time change I arrive the morning of December 24th! So I will be able to spend Christmas with the family. I will be in the states until December 30th, when I fly back and back to work on January 3rd.
I am really excited about the opportunity to come home but not necessarily for the unfortunate reason. I know I had mentioned in my last post that my Christmas package had just arrived but it was sent before we decided to bring me home. I have already been getting so many requests from other foreign teachers on what to bring back for them in addition to my list of necessities. Plus the Korean teachers are making their lists too. Don't worry I'm getting the money up front!
I won't have a car or access to one while I'm home, so if anyone wants to get together, if I have time, please let me know and we can try to schedule something. Also, I had not mentioned this before but I have been having problems uploading my pictures from my camera. This explains why you haven't seen any pictures from me yet. As soon as I get to the states, I am going to get that fixed so I can post them!
I can't wait to listen to the all Christmas music KOST radio, watch the 24 hours of a "Christmas Story" and "Elf." Plus I am really hoping that the family can have our all night board games evening on Christmas Eve. Did I mention that I have a list of the American restaurants and food I want to gobble down while I can. And of course, I am really hoping to make a pit stop to my park, Disneyland. I want to see the "Nightmare Before Christmas" Haunted Mansion. (This all depends on grandma's blessing and health of course).
Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers for me!
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Christmas Came Early
Today I received my Christmas package from home! I was so excited but so were all the Korean teachers because I ordered them special gifts from home. I knew they were on their way, so when I got the boxes today I didn't open them right away. Usually I open them at work for two reasons: 1) I can't wait to see what surprises my mom threw in and 2) everyone huddles around me until I open them because they want to see what's in them.
Before I opened them I asked the girls if they wanted their gifts now or closer to Christmas. As I suspected, they wanted them now. So I opened the boxes and began to pull out the giant comfy and fuzzy animal slippers. They all started screaming and fighting over the different designs. The ladybug and bee slippers were the favorite and they had to do "Rock, Scissors, Paper" to decide who would get them. The cow, pink dog and frog were also popular. Nobody seemed to want the pigs, so we gave that pair to our boss! Haa haa! She tried to switch with the other girls. It was so funny, but it made me happy. Except I got them because I thought they would all want to wear them at work, since we can't wear shoes and we have to wear slippers in the building (another little difference). Everyone decided they would rather take them home. Which was a good idea because when I walked out of our teachers lounge in my ladybug pair, all the kids started screaming and asking me to give the slippers to them. I quickly decided to keep mine at home too. But I did get some photos of all of them in their slippers.
Aren't they adorable? If you want to get your hands on a pair, you can get them from "The Red-Eyed Grasshopper & Little Cricket" Gift Shop in Orange, CA. It's my aunt's gift shop and they make great gifts! Plus they are really comfy and warm! Check them out on Facebook: Red-Eyed Grasshopper on Facebook or call (714) 771-6006
Let the 25 of Christmas begin!
Before I opened them I asked the girls if they wanted their gifts now or closer to Christmas. As I suspected, they wanted them now. So I opened the boxes and began to pull out the giant comfy and fuzzy animal slippers. They all started screaming and fighting over the different designs. The ladybug and bee slippers were the favorite and they had to do "Rock, Scissors, Paper" to decide who would get them. The cow, pink dog and frog were also popular. Nobody seemed to want the pigs, so we gave that pair to our boss! Haa haa! She tried to switch with the other girls. It was so funny, but it made me happy. Except I got them because I thought they would all want to wear them at work, since we can't wear shoes and we have to wear slippers in the building (another little difference). Everyone decided they would rather take them home. Which was a good idea because when I walked out of our teachers lounge in my ladybug pair, all the kids started screaming and asking me to give the slippers to them. I quickly decided to keep mine at home too. But I did get some photos of all of them in their slippers.
Aren't they adorable? If you want to get your hands on a pair, you can get them from "The Red-Eyed Grasshopper & Little Cricket" Gift Shop in Orange, CA. It's my aunt's gift shop and they make great gifts! Plus they are really comfy and warm! Check them out on Facebook: Red-Eyed Grasshopper on Facebook or call (714) 771-6006
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A tug on the heart strings
I just got off a skype call with my mother, which as many of you know can be tough thing. This distance has begun to help bridge the gap between my mother and me. The first weeks I heard from her every day but as time has rolled on, our conversations are becoming more substantial with greater depth and time between them. Who knew that it would only take 6000 miles distance to work on our relationship, OK many of you. At least it is working, or so I think.
The kicker is that I received an FB message from my sister today that apparently I had a conversation with my mother Sunday morning (Korea time). Mind you that I had been out for my friends goodbye party that night. When I researched the accusation, my sister was correct, I had a 20 minute conversation with my mother which I completely don't remember. (Grandma would be so proud, just kidding).
I was a little ashamed to talk to my mother now to find out what we discussed while I was inebriated. Luckily and surprisingly she was more concerned than anything. How refreshing because I was worried that things would have been different. As so many of us here are learning, this experience is helping us to grow, not be afraid, be more confident and not worry what other people think. This is especially true for me. I feel I have always held back from communicating with my mother because I didn't want to be judged or I was tired of being judged since she often compares my life to hers. Things are beginning to change. I was able to talk to her tonight about what had happened yesterday. She laughed. Sigh of relief for me.
She reminded me briefly about our conversation and filled me in on the latest news with everything. The part that pulled at my heart strings was when she told me that my grandma thinks of me as one of her daughters. (Tears, again). That statement means so much to me because I have always called my grandma my life coach and I would not be here if it weren't for her blessing and encouragement. She has helped me through most every major decision in my life. I have been sooo soooo soooooooo lucky, fortunate, grateful, appreciative and every other word used to describe my admiration for my grandmother, who I have lived with for the past four years. I am still shooting myself in the foot for not having a tape recorder handy during the late night chats I had with her about her life and experiences or finishing the cookbook we began working on for all the women in the family when I moved in. WE HAVE TO FINISH IT!
Of everything, I miss my grandma. A huge part of me wishes I was there to help take care of her, as best I could. I know I'm not a caretaker, but I tried my best and of anything I have always wanted to be there for my family and especially my grandma. I also know that most of my family has been so supportive of me exploring the world and I am so grateful. Thank you.
I sit here also, thinking of my other grandmother, Grammie. Losing her a year before my college graduation was one of the toughest things I have ever had to live through. She was my biggest champion for finishing college. She was one of the luckiest grandparents to have every single one of her grandchildren graduate with a college degree. Education was so important to her and I so wished she could have seen me graduate. I may not have had the closest relationship with her, but she has been such a huge motivator in my life. Her influence helped me return to school and finish! She was my biggest supporter and I never had the chance to thank her for it. I miss you Grammie! Thank you because without my degree I wouldn't be here now.
Things just got too emotional. Time to cut the string.
The kicker is that I received an FB message from my sister today that apparently I had a conversation with my mother Sunday morning (Korea time). Mind you that I had been out for my friends goodbye party that night. When I researched the accusation, my sister was correct, I had a 20 minute conversation with my mother which I completely don't remember. (Grandma would be so proud, just kidding).
I was a little ashamed to talk to my mother now to find out what we discussed while I was inebriated. Luckily and surprisingly she was more concerned than anything. How refreshing because I was worried that things would have been different. As so many of us here are learning, this experience is helping us to grow, not be afraid, be more confident and not worry what other people think. This is especially true for me. I feel I have always held back from communicating with my mother because I didn't want to be judged or I was tired of being judged since she often compares my life to hers. Things are beginning to change. I was able to talk to her tonight about what had happened yesterday. She laughed. Sigh of relief for me.
She reminded me briefly about our conversation and filled me in on the latest news with everything. The part that pulled at my heart strings was when she told me that my grandma thinks of me as one of her daughters. (Tears, again). That statement means so much to me because I have always called my grandma my life coach and I would not be here if it weren't for her blessing and encouragement. She has helped me through most every major decision in my life. I have been sooo soooo soooooooo lucky, fortunate, grateful, appreciative and every other word used to describe my admiration for my grandmother, who I have lived with for the past four years. I am still shooting myself in the foot for not having a tape recorder handy during the late night chats I had with her about her life and experiences or finishing the cookbook we began working on for all the women in the family when I moved in. WE HAVE TO FINISH IT!
Of everything, I miss my grandma. A huge part of me wishes I was there to help take care of her, as best I could. I know I'm not a caretaker, but I tried my best and of anything I have always wanted to be there for my family and especially my grandma. I also know that most of my family has been so supportive of me exploring the world and I am so grateful. Thank you.
I sit here also, thinking of my other grandmother, Grammie. Losing her a year before my college graduation was one of the toughest things I have ever had to live through. She was my biggest champion for finishing college. She was one of the luckiest grandparents to have every single one of her grandchildren graduate with a college degree. Education was so important to her and I so wished she could have seen me graduate. I may not have had the closest relationship with her, but she has been such a huge motivator in my life. Her influence helped me return to school and finish! She was my biggest supporter and I never had the chance to thank her for it. I miss you Grammie! Thank you because without my degree I wouldn't be here now.
Things just got too emotional. Time to cut the string.
Monday, November 29, 2010
The Things You Do When You're Away from Home
Here is a shocker for many of you. I just finished cooking most of my meals for the week! Yes, that is right I cooked. I still can't believe it myself especially since I have to make everything fresh and only have a two burner mini-stove to use. Yep, no microwave! (Oh how I miss my microwave popcorn).
I started cooking because I grew tired of just eating Korean food and thank goodness I have a friend who lives on an American military base in Daegu so she can help me buy items that I can't get at the grocery store here. Thanks Kristen!
I have made quesadillas, chicken and beef Philly cheese steaks, various pastas, vegetables, enchiladas, salads (very very hard to find here, although they have all the ingredients), breakfast potatoes and many more. I found out from a fellow foreign teacher that he made eggplant Parmesan in a toaster oven! I can't wait to get that recipe. The funny thing too is that I tell the Korean teachers at my school and most of the stuff they have never tried, so I bring it in for them to taste. I wish I had a tape recorder for my grandma (Ms. Gourmet Chef) to hear them say I'm a good cook. Haa haa! It cracks me up how they comment on the dishes, because like I said they have all the ingredients just never thought of mixing them all together I guess. I'm not sure what their favorite is but so far they have really enjoyed the potatoes and quesadillas.
This weekend I was lucky enough to find dried cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese to make a "Brownstone" favorite (thank you Kim & Glen) , the harvest salad sans raspberry vinaigrette. I also whipped up a semi-Greek salad. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. I am really looking forward to making breakfast tomorrow for some of the other teachers. The menu will either be breakfast sandwiches (thanks Vinaka), breakfast burritos, or omelets with breakfast potatoes and bacon.
Oh I also made smoothies last week, which even though there are a bunch of Smoothie Kings around, the other teachers hadn't had a banana, strawberry, blueberry and apple juice smoothie (another props to Vinaka for that quick fix).
If you have any suggestions or stove top recipes that you could share I will try my best to gather the ingredients and attempt cooking it. I am always looking for an excuse to go to Costco, which I still have not been to yet. Oh and the Daejeon International Culture Center will be hosting free cooking classes in January so I am hoping to learn how to cook some of my favorite Korean dishes.
Love to all and look forward to hearing from you!
Annyong-hi chumuseyo
(Goodnight)
I started cooking because I grew tired of just eating Korean food and thank goodness I have a friend who lives on an American military base in Daegu so she can help me buy items that I can't get at the grocery store here. Thanks Kristen!
I have made quesadillas, chicken and beef Philly cheese steaks, various pastas, vegetables, enchiladas, salads (very very hard to find here, although they have all the ingredients), breakfast potatoes and many more. I found out from a fellow foreign teacher that he made eggplant Parmesan in a toaster oven! I can't wait to get that recipe. The funny thing too is that I tell the Korean teachers at my school and most of the stuff they have never tried, so I bring it in for them to taste. I wish I had a tape recorder for my grandma (Ms. Gourmet Chef) to hear them say I'm a good cook. Haa haa! It cracks me up how they comment on the dishes, because like I said they have all the ingredients just never thought of mixing them all together I guess. I'm not sure what their favorite is but so far they have really enjoyed the potatoes and quesadillas.
This weekend I was lucky enough to find dried cranberries, walnuts and feta cheese to make a "Brownstone" favorite (thank you Kim & Glen) , the harvest salad sans raspberry vinaigrette. I also whipped up a semi-Greek salad. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. I am really looking forward to making breakfast tomorrow for some of the other teachers. The menu will either be breakfast sandwiches (thanks Vinaka), breakfast burritos, or omelets with breakfast potatoes and bacon.
Oh I also made smoothies last week, which even though there are a bunch of Smoothie Kings around, the other teachers hadn't had a banana, strawberry, blueberry and apple juice smoothie (another props to Vinaka for that quick fix).
If you have any suggestions or stove top recipes that you could share I will try my best to gather the ingredients and attempt cooking it. I am always looking for an excuse to go to Costco, which I still have not been to yet. Oh and the Daejeon International Culture Center will be hosting free cooking classes in January so I am hoping to learn how to cook some of my favorite Korean dishes.
Love to all and look forward to hearing from you!
Annyong-hi chumuseyo
(Goodnight)
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Opps! It has been awhile!
Obviously I'm not very good at this blogging thing but I hope to fix that now. After talking to my friend Vicki back home yesterday, she helped motivate me. My goal was to write about everything and as each day passed my list of things to write got to be so big that I started to get overwhelmed. So thanks to her advice, I am going to try to post what I'm doing now. Thanks Vicki!
I just got home from my Thanksgiving dinner with 25 other foreign teachers at a steak restaurant. It was delicious but I did miss the turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie! Apparently, it is very rare to find turkey anywhere and if you are lucky to find it at Costco, it is really expensive. Plus no one I know has an oven! We discussed how we could cook a turkey in a toaster oven. We were all surprised that everyone showed up to dinner also because we were all together last night for some friends goodbye party and many of us did not get home until after dawn! It was a great dinner with wonderful company and definitely amusing seeing all of our beautiful faces the day after a long night.
Things here are going well. I am really enjoying the experience of immersing myself in the culture. I have been trying to learn some Korean because not many of the people in my area speak English, even at the school I work at only 2 of the 5 Korean teachers speak English well. It has been challenging but fun. I live above a chicken restaurant about a 5 minute walk from my school but my neighborhood is a suburb of Daejon and downtown is about a 30 minute bus ride. It isn't bad and actually I think its better for me because if I lived downtown I would be broke!
I am the only foreign teacher at my school, which so far hasn't been too bad. I was confused the first day because I was shuffled from classroom to classroom, which I thought was weird because I thought I was going to have my own classroom and that I would be only be teaching kindergarten. Come to find out that I would be teaching 12 different classes throughout the day for times anywhere between 10, 20, 25, and 50 minutes. What? This seems weird and how is this going to work? That is the way the system is set up.I actually really enjoy it because it makes my day go by fast, I don't get bored and it keeps me on my toes. But it is overwhelming to think that I teach 175 students! Thank goodness I don't have to grade papers! The other nice thing is that the school provides us dinner every night, so I have been able to try most of the Korean dishes. Gotta say though that my favorite is the BBQ and shabu shabu (Shabu-shabu means “swish-swish,” referring to the swishing action when you cook a very thin slice of beef in hot water. It is cooked and eaten at the table.)
I know there is much more to share but I want to keep these short. Please feel free to post questions or what you wanna know and I will try to answer them as soon as possible.
Until next time,
Happy Thanksgiving
I just got home from my Thanksgiving dinner with 25 other foreign teachers at a steak restaurant. It was delicious but I did miss the turkey, mashed potatoes, and pie! Apparently, it is very rare to find turkey anywhere and if you are lucky to find it at Costco, it is really expensive. Plus no one I know has an oven! We discussed how we could cook a turkey in a toaster oven. We were all surprised that everyone showed up to dinner also because we were all together last night for some friends goodbye party and many of us did not get home until after dawn! It was a great dinner with wonderful company and definitely amusing seeing all of our beautiful faces the day after a long night.
Things here are going well. I am really enjoying the experience of immersing myself in the culture. I have been trying to learn some Korean because not many of the people in my area speak English, even at the school I work at only 2 of the 5 Korean teachers speak English well. It has been challenging but fun. I live above a chicken restaurant about a 5 minute walk from my school but my neighborhood is a suburb of Daejon and downtown is about a 30 minute bus ride. It isn't bad and actually I think its better for me because if I lived downtown I would be broke!
I am the only foreign teacher at my school, which so far hasn't been too bad. I was confused the first day because I was shuffled from classroom to classroom, which I thought was weird because I thought I was going to have my own classroom and that I would be only be teaching kindergarten. Come to find out that I would be teaching 12 different classes throughout the day for times anywhere between 10, 20, 25, and 50 minutes. What? This seems weird and how is this going to work? That is the way the system is set up.I actually really enjoy it because it makes my day go by fast, I don't get bored and it keeps me on my toes. But it is overwhelming to think that I teach 175 students! Thank goodness I don't have to grade papers! The other nice thing is that the school provides us dinner every night, so I have been able to try most of the Korean dishes. Gotta say though that my favorite is the BBQ and shabu shabu (Shabu-shabu means “swish-swish,” referring to the swishing action when you cook a very thin slice of beef in hot water. It is cooked and eaten at the table.)
I know there is much more to share but I want to keep these short. Please feel free to post questions or what you wanna know and I will try to answer them as soon as possible.
Until next time,
Happy Thanksgiving
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Why the Sudden Change? Part One
Everyone who knows me, knows that I like to take risks, at least with life choices. Sometimes those choices are made in haste but everyone has a lesson to learn and if you're not learning than you're not living.
So, for those that are still wondering, here is how I ended up 6,500 miles away from home:
Part One
1. It was December 2009 and I had just finished up the 2009 PRSSA National Conference and completing my Bachelor's Degree! It was a very long road and one that could not have been taken with out love and support. I had finished! I FINALLY finished with the number one goal of my life, getting my degree. Okay, so now what? I know everyone has a plan or should have a plan and I usually did, to finish my degree!
SIDEBAR: (OK how appropriate that the "Olympic Spirit" by John Williams is playing right now?, not going to lie but I playing in the Olympics was also one of my many lofty goals in life and still has a strong hold) Never going to forget when I had the opportunity to work the Salt Lake City Olympics and had to turn it down, someone else was involved in that decision. Still a big regret, but hey everything happens for a reason, no regrets just missed opportunities. So I will find another way. Also funny considering S. Korea was host to the Olympics in 1988! Wait! This is too much of a coincidence, but that was the year everything changed!)
Anyway back to "Why Korea?" Well a lot happened between December and June. In January my grandmother got pneumonia. She was in and out of the hospital. I was so worried about her health. I also began to realize that things are going to change. Playing into my mother's negativity, I assumed the worst and thought about what the horrible possibility that grandma could die. I was beside myself thinking that way, as both my sisters can attest to based on lengthy late night hysterical calls from me. Than I thought about how grandma may not be able to live by herself and I became conflicted. I was conflicted about whether I was there to be her caregiver or whether we we there to help each other. I felt so much pressure to live up to my family. I did not want to be compared to other family members simply taking advantage of her.
I started to panic. What was I doing with my life? What did I want to do? Where did I want to go? All questions that should have been answered prior to graduation. Agreed. But for some reason all I could think of at the time of finishing school was "I need a break" as many college graduates feel. It is well deserved because as difficult as life may be, school follows you 24/7. At work, you may have a big meeting or presentation or tons of work to do but NEVER are you EXPECTED to work outside of "business hours," whatever that may be. With school you ARE EXPECTED to complete homework, etc. And the gold rule of education is to a lot 2 hours of homework for every hour you are in class! Enough said. Once finished, everyone DESERVES a break!
Wow, way off track! But relevant, thank goodness I'm not a lawyer, Jenny!
2. So during these panic stricken days, I was trying to "live" my life and invited friends over. A special thanks to those who graced your presence and for listening to my blabber plus offering assistance. It was during these events that I started to change and didn't even know it. I may have continued to repeat my foolish immature and masochistic ways, but the end result was an eye-opener!
. . . to be continued
So, for those that are still wondering, here is how I ended up 6,500 miles away from home:
Part One
1. It was December 2009 and I had just finished up the 2009 PRSSA National Conference and completing my Bachelor's Degree! It was a very long road and one that could not have been taken with out love and support. I had finished! I FINALLY finished with the number one goal of my life, getting my degree. Okay, so now what? I know everyone has a plan or should have a plan and I usually did, to finish my degree!
SIDEBAR: (OK how appropriate that the "Olympic Spirit" by John Williams is playing right now?, not going to lie but I playing in the Olympics was also one of my many lofty goals in life and still has a strong hold) Never going to forget when I had the opportunity to work the Salt Lake City Olympics and had to turn it down, someone else was involved in that decision. Still a big regret, but hey everything happens for a reason, no regrets just missed opportunities. So I will find another way. Also funny considering S. Korea was host to the Olympics in 1988! Wait! This is too much of a coincidence, but that was the year everything changed!)
Anyway back to "Why Korea?" Well a lot happened between December and June. In January my grandmother got pneumonia. She was in and out of the hospital. I was so worried about her health. I also began to realize that things are going to change. Playing into my mother's negativity, I assumed the worst and thought about what the horrible possibility that grandma could die. I was beside myself thinking that way, as both my sisters can attest to based on lengthy late night hysterical calls from me. Than I thought about how grandma may not be able to live by herself and I became conflicted. I was conflicted about whether I was there to be her caregiver or whether we we there to help each other. I felt so much pressure to live up to my family. I did not want to be compared to other family members simply taking advantage of her.
I started to panic. What was I doing with my life? What did I want to do? Where did I want to go? All questions that should have been answered prior to graduation. Agreed. But for some reason all I could think of at the time of finishing school was "I need a break" as many college graduates feel. It is well deserved because as difficult as life may be, school follows you 24/7. At work, you may have a big meeting or presentation or tons of work to do but NEVER are you EXPECTED to work outside of "business hours," whatever that may be. With school you ARE EXPECTED to complete homework, etc. And the gold rule of education is to a lot 2 hours of homework for every hour you are in class! Enough said. Once finished, everyone DESERVES a break!
Wow, way off track! But relevant, thank goodness I'm not a lawyer, Jenny!
2. So during these panic stricken days, I was trying to "live" my life and invited friends over. A special thanks to those who graced your presence and for listening to my blabber plus offering assistance. It was during these events that I started to change and didn't even know it. I may have continued to repeat my foolish immature and masochistic ways, but the end result was an eye-opener!
. . . to be continued
Day 10 in Daejeon
Today I was planning on taking a taxi to downtown Daejeon, which is apparently between 15-30min from where I live! Funny that I move across the globe for some new experiences and end up in a city similar to everywhere I have ever lived, about 15-30minutes from downtown. I compare the
living scenario with my Sunset apartment in SF. And I am falling into the same traps I did there, making bad food choices, not exercising and holing myself up in the apartment instead of venturing out.
Well considering I have only been here for a week and was thrown right in to teaching, maybe I should cut myself a break! There are a few factors contributing to my laziness, I don’t know anyone in this area yet, my Korean is horrible, mother nature's gift came early (surprising it made it through customs) , I have a lot of lesson planning to get done, it’s Chesok (similar to Thanksgiving in Korea), and possibly a soju and orange juice hangover. Regardless, I think it’s a good thing I didn’t head that way because when I did leave today EVERYTHING
was closed, so I could have wasted a trip. Besides I am heading to Daegu tomorrow to see a friend from school who lives on the American military base.
I do have to say thank goodness for the internet because I can still chat with my friends, at least the ones that contact me! I can watch TV and movies although both Hulu and Netflix can bite me for not being available outside of the U.S. and how do they know? So, Coco you may have your DVD shipments revoked! Just a fair warning. I am looking forward to tomorrow! One to finally see someone who speaks English and two to hopefully do some shopping. I would venture on purchasing Korean food, if I knew what it was but I haven’t even tried to recognize symbols!
I will say I miss my wardrobe! I realized I packed more stuff than clothes and trying to find clothes over here that fit “muscular” women is not an easy task, although I am surprised at the number of larger people, more than I was expecting. There is no wonder either because around the corner from me are tons of restaurants including a Korean version of McDonald’s, Dunkin Doughnuts, Baskin Robbins and a 7-11! I have yet to find the elusive Subway and Starbucks! Closer to downtown, I am sure.
Tonight is the first night I do not have the AC on, as it is a balmy 64 degrees but raining still! Again flashbacks to SF but with warmer weather, currently. I know the winters can be brutal here. Something to look forward to! I am listening to my new play list, don’t laugh, but for those of you who really know me will! But I spent a large amount of time last evening searching for the music from the waiting area of “Soarin’ Over California” Seriously, I did! Of course the last song is the one I really wanted, the main title from “The American President.” The best part was that I-tunes didn’t have so I had to scour the Internet to find it and luckily I did so I bought the whole album! I have been listening to it all day! It reminds me of home!
I have also been working on a“get-your-ass-up-and-workout” play list as well! Bummer is I don’t have an ipod alarm player. That is no excuse, but having my clothes start to get tight is definitely a motivator! I am NOT going to let all my hard work of losing weight go to waste!!!!!!!!!!
Starting Monday, my new routine: work out at least 30 minutes a day and develop good eating habits! I ask all of you to keep me on track and motivated! I don’t want to fall into the same traps I have in the past with all work and no play and not taking care of myself. So please help me!
I know tonight’s menu of Korean beer and fried pot stickers is not the best start but like I said Monday!
living scenario with my Sunset apartment in SF. And I am falling into the same traps I did there, making bad food choices, not exercising and holing myself up in the apartment instead of venturing out.
Well considering I have only been here for a week and was thrown right in to teaching, maybe I should cut myself a break! There are a few factors contributing to my laziness, I don’t know anyone in this area yet, my Korean is horrible, mother nature's gift came early (surprising it made it through customs) , I have a lot of lesson planning to get done, it’s Chesok (similar to Thanksgiving in Korea), and possibly a soju and orange juice hangover. Regardless, I think it’s a good thing I didn’t head that way because when I did leave today EVERYTHING
was closed, so I could have wasted a trip. Besides I am heading to Daegu tomorrow to see a friend from school who lives on the American military base.
I do have to say thank goodness for the internet because I can still chat with my friends, at least the ones that contact me! I can watch TV and movies although both Hulu and Netflix can bite me for not being available outside of the U.S. and how do they know? So, Coco you may have your DVD shipments revoked! Just a fair warning. I am looking forward to tomorrow! One to finally see someone who speaks English and two to hopefully do some shopping. I would venture on purchasing Korean food, if I knew what it was but I haven’t even tried to recognize symbols!
I will say I miss my wardrobe! I realized I packed more stuff than clothes and trying to find clothes over here that fit “muscular” women is not an easy task, although I am surprised at the number of larger people, more than I was expecting. There is no wonder either because around the corner from me are tons of restaurants including a Korean version of McDonald’s, Dunkin Doughnuts, Baskin Robbins and a 7-11! I have yet to find the elusive Subway and Starbucks! Closer to downtown, I am sure.
Tonight is the first night I do not have the AC on, as it is a balmy 64 degrees but raining still! Again flashbacks to SF but with warmer weather, currently. I know the winters can be brutal here. Something to look forward to! I am listening to my new play list, don’t laugh, but for those of you who really know me will! But I spent a large amount of time last evening searching for the music from the waiting area of “Soarin’ Over California” Seriously, I did! Of course the last song is the one I really wanted, the main title from “The American President.” The best part was that I-tunes didn’t have so I had to scour the Internet to find it and luckily I did so I bought the whole album! I have been listening to it all day! It reminds me of home!
I have also been working on a“get-your-ass-up-and-workout” play list as well! Bummer is I don’t have an ipod alarm player. That is no excuse, but having my clothes start to get tight is definitely a motivator! I am NOT going to let all my hard work of losing weight go to waste!!!!!!!!!!
Starting Monday, my new routine: work out at least 30 minutes a day and develop good eating habits! I ask all of you to keep me on track and motivated! I don’t want to fall into the same traps I have in the past with all work and no play and not taking care of myself. So please help me!
I know tonight’s menu of Korean beer and fried pot stickers is not the best start but like I said Monday!
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