대한민국 화이팅!

Korea Fighting!

Ok, so I last lest off with the Korean elections and have really been slacking on the blog since then.
Two exciting things have happened since then. Three weeks ago I got a call from Matt saying that his director was starting to look for his replacement and that he wanted to give me a chance to take it before he posted it for everyone. After a long and emotional weekend of debate, I decided to take it! The next weekend I had an interview. It had to be the most awkward interview ever! haha. I showed up and she only had 3 questions for me and was quiet a lot of the time. I took the opportunity to ask a few questions myself, but overall it was a very quiet and awkward sitting. So I left with her telling me she would think about it and call me later that day.
My friend Travis and I decided to go to Seoul for the day, so after the interview I met him at the train station. Since whether or not it would be my last trip to Seoul was pending, we decided to take the KTX (fast train) since I hadn't yet (It's 45,000 won compared to a 27,000 won bus). We got onto the KTX and found that it was slightly smaller and less comfortable than the Mugunghwa train that we had to take to Daegu before transferring to the KTX. We took a walk through the trian, but all the cars looked the same, though we were surprised to see computer stations in a few cars. I will also say this, it's much nicer to get to Seoul in 3 hours via train than it is to sit on a bus for 4.

We got to Seoul and had lunch at Bennigans then made our way to Insadong when it started to rain. I went into a shop and bought a few souveniers, then we decided to leave. We went and found building 63, which we had been told you can go to the top of, but we couldn't get in. There was a little plaza next to it where there was a wax museum and an aquarium. We went into the aquarium and it was kinda cool. We saw some penguins, lots of fish, seals, an eel, otters and they had the same fish that they have at Dr. Fish cafes so we were able to put our fingers into the tank and the little fish eat off the dead skin. It just tickles a little.

After that we just sat in a coffee shop as I got anxious about still not having received a call from Cate about the job. At this point it was nearly 7 and my interview had been at 10 that morning. We moved on to Hongdae, the university area and found a bar to watch the game. Most of the bars and restaurants, even coffee shops were full of people watching the Korea v. Greece World Cup match. Eventually we got off the main roads and found a nice little bar with only a few people. We got taken to the upstars bit where they had a projector and screen set up, ordered a beer, and watched the game.

We left for a change of scenery and found a nice little dive bar to watch the next game, then made our way to Itaewon to meet a friend. In Itaewon I met up with a guy who had couchsurfed with me. He took us to a gay bar where he had been with his friends. We ended up running into some of our other friends from Gyeongju and Pohang there, so we stayed and had a good time.

After a bit we made our way back to Hongdae with the intentions of finding another bar to watch the America match, but instead went back to the Hotel where I immediately fell asleep haha. The next morning we got on a bus and went back to Gyeongju. I had given up on getting the job, had told all my friends that I hadn't heard back and wasn't optimistic. After a 4 hour bus ride, as we were pulling into the city I got a text message from Cate saying "Ok, I'll work with you" haha.
I GET TO STAY IN KOREA FOR ANOTHER YEAR!! ^_^

From that point on I was excited about my life here, still am! Last thursday for the second Korea match was another memory that made me sure I had made the right decision. Liz, Ryan, Katherine, and I went to the soccer stadium near our house where they were playing the match on the scoreboard. It was a great time! We met up with some of the other foreigners and just enjoyed the atmosphere of sitting on the field with all the Koreans.

Since Korea has now made it through to the World Cup, I'm hoping Saturday's game at the stadium will be just as memorable.
That's all I have for now!

Korean Election Day!

While I don't know anything about Korean politics, the campaign was certainly a source of entertainment and annoyance leading up to election day (which was today). In the weeks leading up to the election, there were candidates and their supporters (in groups ranging from 1-10) standing on street corners during the day bowing, in true Korean fashion. Yes, bowing to oncoming traffic and passersby. The crowd of bowing Koreans wore shirts of a certain color with a number on it, depending on which candidate they were supporting. They also were accompanied by trucks, on the back of which were larger posters with the candidate's picture and playing songs (and sometimes the crowds of bowing supporters would dance to the songs!). It was certainly entertaining to watch, and I am disappointed I didn't manage to get a picture =( It also became a major source of annoyance when it got within 2 weeks of the election and the trucks started coming out and blaring their music at 7am.

However, to make up for this annoyance was the pleasure of getting election off work! Not all did, but a lot of schools canceled for the day so that the parents and teachers could go vote. So for the foreigners, who can't vote but got the day off anyway, it meant more fun than a normal week! We started out Tuesday night with a bar crawl. Stacy had the great idea of starting at a Family Mart and working our way through Sunggun dong (the university neighborhood) to bars we had never been to before. One of the awesome things about Korean convenience stores is that you can drink outside them. The particular Family Mart (like a 7 eleven) had two wooden picnic tables outside so we bought some drinks and sat outside. We made, if I remember correctly, drinks called "White Dogs" which is a mixture of Soju, a little bit of yogurt, and milkis (a Korean milky soda). They were really good. After a drink at Family Mart we moved to a coffee shop/bar called Yan (얀). It was a really laid back place. The guys had a beer, the girls Kalua and milk. From there we moved onto one last bar. Woodstock was a nice jazz bar in the basement of a building we passed. It was really nice, they had a setup for live music, one of the workers there played saxophone. They played great music - I'm sure we'll be going there more often! However, after a beer there I was ready to get home so I left the group there.

Wednesday I woke up excited for my day off which would be spent at Gyeongju World! (Our local Amusement Park) So the plan was for Harry and I to be picked up by our Korean friend MiGyeong who would drive us there. Harry had trouble getting a taxi so she picked me up, then we had to go find him, then we went to pick up two of her friends who made us wait almost an hour! She picked me up at 10:30 and we didn't get to Gyeongju World until after 12, I was not happy. THEN to add to the mess that was Harry's and my annoyance, Jude for some reason wasn't coming into the park. I'm not sure what was going on, but Harry and I should have met up with Candy, Taek, James, and Felisa at 11, so we left MiGyeong and the others at the gate to work it out so we could meet up with our friends. We found them about to get on a ride, so we waited for them just to find out they were going to get lunch.

So Harry and I went off on our own to just ride a ride and start having a good time. We were waiting in line for the Phaetheon (aka Pantheon haha) which was the highlight of the park, and just happened to see Amsbry, Dan, Ronan, and Stephanie. Harry talked me into sitting up front (which I had never done on a roller coaster!) and it was so much fun! We got off the ride to see that the group had waited for us (thanks guys!) so we spent the rest of the day with them. We went on a few roller coasters, a log ride, a raft water ride, and ended with the one that goes straight up and just drops you. I didn't do well with the last one haha, started freaking out at the top. We also wandered into the petting zoo, where we saw goats, pigs, a donkey, a cow, rabbits, and a dog. Yes, a dog in a petting zoo. 

But, my favorite memory will always be this kid we saw waiting in line for the raft ride. He saw me and yelled "외국인" (Foreigners!). A few minutes later he came up and just stared at me, to which I responded "Hello" and he ran away to his mom. We happened to run into this kid after the ride too, and he just stood there, staring and pointing at me with his whole arm extended with this astonished look on his face. To which I responded "안녕" (hi) and kept walking. The look this kid was giving me while just standing there pointing at me really made my day, it was hilarious. Again, I wish I would have gotten a picture of this.

After leaving the park around 6, we got dinner at Pranzo's Italian restaurant. Dan got a dish of pasta with squid ink. When he ordered the waitress said no, haha, then followed with "It's dangerous". She said that she worried because it was an all black dish, to which Dan responded "I like black things". Anyway, the dish was ok, it tasted like noodles with a bit of oil on them. The rest of us got more appetizing dishes (in my opinion) haha. After dinner we all headed home to end the day on a more relaxing note.

It was such a fun day! (and night before! haha) I had every intention on working on my TEFL worksheets and studying some korean, but neither of those got done. Back to work tomorrow, then should have a fun weekend. Will either stay here, or go to Busan for the Sand Festival! Another update to come soon! <3