So anyway, here's my latest.
This is Marina, Tiffany, and me at the palace in Seoul.
Original photo:
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Fun photo
Confession: I have an addiction to editting photos and making them look cool/artsy.
So anyway, here's my latest.
This is Marina, Tiffany, and me at the palace in Seoul.
Original photo:
So anyway, here's my latest.
This is Marina, Tiffany, and me at the palace in Seoul.
Original photo:
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Pros of Korea
Well, I'm back into the swing of things for real. The homesickness is still present but getting easier to manage as time goes on. I'm being reminded of things that I love about Korea. I should make a list of these to consult when I get back home.
Note-worthy pros of Korea:
1) Glasses and contacts are super cheap in Korea. I decided earlier this week that I wanted to get a new pair of glasses to wear when my eyes get tired of contacts. I have a nice, practical pair that I wear when it's late at night but I decided I wanted a fun pair too. Here's what I ended up with:
The frames themselves were only 35,000 Won (the equivalent of $25) and I gave them my prescription to make the lenses, which cost 30,000 Won ($22). So in total, I got a quick eye exam for free and the rest cost only 65,000 Won ($48). Nice-uh!
It was pretty funny going into these stores and trying on glasses. The general fashion in the eyeglass world of Korea is big square frames. My face does not do well with large square frames. Literally every worker in the stores I went into kept commenting on my small face. My favorite was this man who kept yelling at me whenever I picked up a pair of glasses that were "warm" colors, like red. "NO too warm! You cool face, need cool color." And he was getting frustrated because he kept handing me smaller frames that were always still too big for my face. Oh fun.
2) DVD Bangs. They really need to start these in America. You go into the store and pick out a movie you want to watch. Then you get shown to your own private viewing room that has a huge screen and a nice bed/couch/futon for you to relax on with loads of pillows and snacks. I went last night with my friends Marina, Tiffany, and Sophie. We rented "Enchanted" and nearly fell asleep in the room. Only 4,000 Won a person. Not bad.
3) The food, of course! My favorite to date is a soup called Shabu Shabu. It has a million different ingredients including beef, noodles, potatoes, mushrooms, kimchi, seaweed, etc. The soup is kind of like a tomato soup consistency but super spicy. It is A-MAZING.
Plus, the fourth perk to Korea...no tipping in restaurants. :)
There are loads more, including the shopping which I love too much, but I'll stop there for now since it's almost my bed time.
In other news, I found a church! It's called Suwon Central Baptist and it's really close to where I live. The other churches I'd been going to were an hour or more away, this one is about 10 minutes by subway and then a 10 minute walk. I could probably take the bus there but the walk has been nice. I'm meeting some cool people there. The congregation is pretty small but the teachings are solid and the pastor is hilarious!
This upcoming weekend is the Lunar New Year, so I get a four-day vacation from work! Hooray! We're not planning anything terriby exciting, but I think a facial and/or massage is going to be involved. And something cultural, like a museum trip or something of that nature.
So there'll be another update soon................
Note-worthy pros of Korea:
1) Glasses and contacts are super cheap in Korea. I decided earlier this week that I wanted to get a new pair of glasses to wear when my eyes get tired of contacts. I have a nice, practical pair that I wear when it's late at night but I decided I wanted a fun pair too. Here's what I ended up with:
The frames themselves were only 35,000 Won (the equivalent of $25) and I gave them my prescription to make the lenses, which cost 30,000 Won ($22). So in total, I got a quick eye exam for free and the rest cost only 65,000 Won ($48). Nice-uh!
It was pretty funny going into these stores and trying on glasses. The general fashion in the eyeglass world of Korea is big square frames. My face does not do well with large square frames. Literally every worker in the stores I went into kept commenting on my small face. My favorite was this man who kept yelling at me whenever I picked up a pair of glasses that were "warm" colors, like red. "NO too warm! You cool face, need cool color." And he was getting frustrated because he kept handing me smaller frames that were always still too big for my face. Oh fun.
2) DVD Bangs. They really need to start these in America. You go into the store and pick out a movie you want to watch. Then you get shown to your own private viewing room that has a huge screen and a nice bed/couch/futon for you to relax on with loads of pillows and snacks. I went last night with my friends Marina, Tiffany, and Sophie. We rented "Enchanted" and nearly fell asleep in the room. Only 4,000 Won a person. Not bad.
3) The food, of course! My favorite to date is a soup called Shabu Shabu. It has a million different ingredients including beef, noodles, potatoes, mushrooms, kimchi, seaweed, etc. The soup is kind of like a tomato soup consistency but super spicy. It is A-MAZING.
Plus, the fourth perk to Korea...no tipping in restaurants. :)
There are loads more, including the shopping which I love too much, but I'll stop there for now since it's almost my bed time.
In other news, I found a church! It's called Suwon Central Baptist and it's really close to where I live. The other churches I'd been going to were an hour or more away, this one is about 10 minutes by subway and then a 10 minute walk. I could probably take the bus there but the walk has been nice. I'm meeting some cool people there. The congregation is pretty small but the teachings are solid and the pastor is hilarious!
This upcoming weekend is the Lunar New Year, so I get a four-day vacation from work! Hooray! We're not planning anything terriby exciting, but I think a facial and/or massage is going to be involved. And something cultural, like a museum trip or something of that nature.
So there'll be another update soon................
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Happy 2009!
My time home was wonderful. It made it hard to come back, but I think I'm getting adjusted again. I got new classes on Friday. I lost my junior high class and gained a new one, hopefully they will be better and more willing to learn. One of the new classes I got is a basic level. It's going to be a little bit more challenging to teach because these kids are young (but adorable) and their English isn't nearly as advanced. I kind of like this level more though, because their is a lot more to explain so the class is filled up with a lot more.
We lost a lot of students this month so my biggest class is only like 8 students now. I like the small class size better because they're easier to manage even if
they have a lot of energy and I get to know them better, I think.
I celebrated my 23rd birthday tonight with my co-workers and friends and it was a pretty good time. The girls went out and got manicures, my friend Marina paid for me as my birthday gift so that was sweet. :) Then we went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. You know how in America you get like a free dessert for your birthday normally? Well, this was very different here. First of all, all the waiters came and sang a Korean song to me (not the traditional "happy birthday" song I'm used to) and then gave me a loaf of bread covered in jam. It was definitely original!! Afterward, we went to Dr. Fish again and got the unconventional pedicures. My friend Julia had never experienced this before so it was quite entertaining watching her reaction. All the Koreans in the cafe were watching us and laughing.
All in all, it was a pretty good birthday. Low-key, but nice. I kind of forgot about my birthday since I was on the airplane all day but it was still nice to celebrate it with friends.
Seven months left in Korea. Then...who knows? We were supposed to be going somewhere for the Chinese New Year at the end of this month, but now we're either not going to do anything or go to North Korea (crazy, I know). It costs about 330,000 Won to go so I'm not sure yet. Anyway, I think if my parents don't end up visiting in August I am going to go to China and Taiwan before I come back home. Those are the two other countries on my "must see" list before I leave for Asia, especially China. We'll see...who knows when I'll be back on this continent though?
Love you all!
We lost a lot of students this month so my biggest class is only like 8 students now. I like the small class size better because they're easier to manage even if
they have a lot of energy and I get to know them better, I think.
I celebrated my 23rd birthday tonight with my co-workers and friends and it was a pretty good time. The girls went out and got manicures, my friend Marina paid for me as my birthday gift so that was sweet. :) Then we went out to dinner at Outback Steakhouse. You know how in America you get like a free dessert for your birthday normally? Well, this was very different here. First of all, all the waiters came and sang a Korean song to me (not the traditional "happy birthday" song I'm used to) and then gave me a loaf of bread covered in jam. It was definitely original!! Afterward, we went to Dr. Fish again and got the unconventional pedicures. My friend Julia had never experienced this before so it was quite entertaining watching her reaction. All the Koreans in the cafe were watching us and laughing.
All in all, it was a pretty good birthday. Low-key, but nice. I kind of forgot about my birthday since I was on the airplane all day but it was still nice to celebrate it with friends.
Seven months left in Korea. Then...who knows? We were supposed to be going somewhere for the Chinese New Year at the end of this month, but now we're either not going to do anything or go to North Korea (crazy, I know). It costs about 330,000 Won to go so I'm not sure yet. Anyway, I think if my parents don't end up visiting in August I am going to go to China and Taiwan before I come back home. Those are the two other countries on my "must see" list before I leave for Asia, especially China. We'll see...who knows when I'll be back on this continent though?
Love you all!
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