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

Buddha's Birthday!

Happy Birthday Buddha!
So, yesterday was Buddha's birthday and what other way would be better than celebrating it at Bulguksa and Seokguram?
First, a few facts about Bulguksa (Temple of the Buddha Land).  Bulguksa is a beautiful temple in Gyeongju that was built in 751, but was burnt down during Japanese invasion in the 1590s and rebuilt after 1604. The complex includes the Hall of Great Enlightenment with a shrine to Shakyamuni Buddha, The Hall of No Words (a lecture hall, but named this because Buddha's teachings can't be taught only with words), the 관음전 which is a shrine to Avalokitesvara the Bodhisattva of Compassion, the Vairocana Buddha Hall, and the Hall of Supreme Bliss.

I met Harry at 11, grabbed some lunch and took bus number 11 out to the temple. We took some time walking around Bulguksa, taking some pictures, watching a small concert in front of the temple. After that we did the 1hr hike up to Seokguram. It took a bit longer due to being a bit hungover, but eventually I made it up. ASSA!! Once we got up there we got in line for the Grotto.

Seokguram Grotto was constructed by Gim Daeseong in the 8th century during the Silla Dynasty. A legend states that Gim was reincarnated. Bulguksa was dedicated to his parents in his present life while Seokguram was dedicated to his parents in his previous life. The artificial grotto has a granite Shakyamuni Buddha statue that is 3.5 meters tall. The circular room where Buddha sits also has reliefs of Shakyamuni's 10 disciples, Avalokitesvara and two other bodhisattvas, as well as Brahma and Indria (two Hindu gods).
Usually the Grotto is behind a glass enclosure so you can only observe from the outside, but in honor of Buddha's birthday we were able to go inside and walk around the Grotto. It was amazing! Being able to actually see all the reliefs in the statues that you can't see from outside the glass, to touch the stone, to be inside something so beautiful was a great experience.

Feeling much better after being able to see the Grotto, Harry and I got some ice cream and started the walk back down the mountain. It was much easier! haha. We sat in the park area outside Bulguksa for a while then decided to grab some dinner in the village. We decided to try a restaurant that I wasn't familiar with, but the 비빔밥 wasn't great. I had better at another restaurant in that village before, so next time I will just stick with the place I know has great 비빔밥. 비빔밥  is a bowl with a mixture of vegetables, chili pepper paste, and an egg on top mixed with rice. While it wasn't the best, the kimchi there was really good! After lunch, we walked around, found a few places to sit for a while until the lantern ceremony at 7:30. We went back up into Bulguksa and while waiting for it to start ended up getting handed some candles, I even had a korean family give me a lantern (which, I might add, I kept! ^_^)
The lantern parade started with 3 monks playing the big drum in the corner of the temple. After that the monks inside the Hall of Great Enlightenment started chanting and worshiping as all the spectators outside the hall did the same. Then, everyone started walking around the pagodas in circles, carrying their candles and lanterns, and chanting. It was a great site to see! Harry and I walked in the lantern parade for a bit, took some pictures, then called it a night. We caught the bus back into the city, debated meeting up with friends for drinks, but I got home and immediately crashed! haha, such a tiring, but amazing day!

What an amazing memory!

Another great weekend!

This weekend came to surpass my expectations in how much fun it would be!
Friday night I met up with Nina, Kayley, and Harry (who is Nina's replacement at her current job). We introduced Harry to dwegi galbi and soju! It was a great dinner. Then we moved on to Grazie, as per usual. There were a lot of people there, I got to catch up with some friends I hadn't seen in a while, met some new friends, then went home at a decent hour.
Saturday I took Harry downtown, we walked around, went into a few shops, and I took him to 김밥천국 for lunch where we ate 참치김밥 (tuna kimbop)  and 라뽁이 (ramen and rice cake in a spicy sauce).  After that I spent the rest of the day preparing for a dinner party at my apartment. I made a Chicken Alfredo Casseroll, which was delicious if I do say so myself. hahah ^_^. We ate dinner, played a few drinking games, then moved the party onto London Hof. It is a really nice, typical Korean bar. We drank lots of beer and soju, played more drinking games, and even met some new Korean friends. We eventually decided to leave, to get food and move onto a 노래방 (singing room). It was so much fun, drinking and singing our hearts out. Eventually we ran out of time, but the night was not over yet. Most people split ways, but Kayley, Blake, Harry and I decided to go up to the roof of a 17-story apartment building. We sat on the roof, looked out over the beautiful city that we live in, and watched the sunrise. Nothing this weekend beat the feeling of sitting on the roof with three great friends, in the arms of a great guy, watching the sunrise over a mountain. I certainly hope to have many more moments like this throughout the summer before I leave. I can't believe I only have 3 more months here. Another great weekend, with wonderful friends, making amazing memories.

But I must say....I MISS YOU MESSICA AND BULLY!

^_^

So I haven't posted since Jessica and Rachel left, but not much has happened.
I'm feeling better these days. I'm less stressed out, really excited about what the future will hold, still lonely but I have great friends here who keep me busy and keep my mind off it.
I've registered to start an online course to get my TEFL certification. Hopefully, this will help me to get a job somewhere else in the world. Although, Korea pays the best. Since teaching isn't really what I want to do - it's more a way of making money, traveling, and having some adventure in my life - money is a big factor when choosing a job.
I want to go back to OSU next year, Winter quarter and maybe Spring, to finish up my Ancient History degree. After that I think I'd like to get another teaching gig somewhere. Maybe back here, maybe Taiwan or Japan. I'm not really sure.
I've also been reading a lot. This week I read "The Five People You Meet in Heaven" and "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time". The Five People You Meet in Heaven was really interesting. I don't really believe there is a god or that things happen for a reason, but I do know that all people's lives intersect in some way. You don't always realize how you affect other peoples lives, even with the smallest interactions or a decision you make that in turn affects other people. The Curious Incident... was really good as well. It is written from the perspective of an autistic boy. It's really neat to see how the world is seen from a different perspective, how the things we say everyday can be confusing or misunderstood by others. I find language to be a really interesting thing. Not only between people of different cultures and languages, but even how we say things to each other when speaking the same language. I'm always interested in how phrases like "the apple of my eye" and such come to mean what they mean. I'm not going to ramble too much about that, it's just something the book made me think about.
Next on my reading list: The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell, and I'm going to re-read Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett.
I've also decided to start Kite Boarding. I'm really excited! I'm hoping to be able to start lessons next weekend!
Not too much else. Today I went downtown with Harry, who is a new foreign teacher in Gyeongju. I bought myself a pencil case. (the pencil cases here are really cool- I love korean stationary!)It's a small box and the lid closes over the side magnetically. It also says "feel affection for successfully become popular" and "Today, because of you what I learned from you every choice I made was different and my life has completely changed". I love the English sayings on things in Korea. Yesterday, one of my students gave me a Teacher's Day card, in which she wrote "선생님 사랑해요." I had to ruin it by reading the small print on the back of the card-which as printed by the card company read: "Loving you is more than just a dream come true. Making love with you is all I want to do." I've also bought a sweatshirt here that says "this is prolly my awesomes shirt". Yes, it is awesomes. hehe^_^
Anyway, enough rambling. Sorry for the messy, random post. Tonight I'm hosting a little dinner party and I need to get the apartment ready!

Messica Jessica's Last night in Gyeongju

So last night was truly bitter sweet. It was definitely one of the most fun night's I've had here, but it was Jessica's last night.

We started out at Grazie's where there was a Beerfest. Kayley and I (Team Russia) quit after the third event. We made it through a beer bong (my first, and probably only, ever), a pitcher chug (Kayley did great! unfortunately the others were better...), and flip cup. After loosing at those three events, Team Russia resigned from the competition so we could actually enjoy the rest of the night. Team America won it all (Good Job Matt and Nick!), Team Canada 2nd, Team Duckling 3rd, Team Russia 4th, Team Korea 5th. After quitting, I ended up meeting some really cool new Korean friends. One of them tried to take me home with him, but the other guys were nice and not creepy haha. Hopefully we will all hang out again, improve my Korean and they can improve their English. After some pictures and crying sessions with Jessica we moved onto BOSS nightclub. Why do people hate this place? Haha, I thought it was awesome. You go in and pay for a table, which ended up being about 10,000won a person. Then you can go dance! I liked the music they played, the free beer we got with a table, and dancing with some of the greatest people I know! Every once in a while though, the DJ plays a few slow songs while "booking" is taking place. Basically it's what you probably think, guys can bid on girls in the club. I don't know the details about this, it's just the time when we go back to our table for a rest, and possibly a drink. We were there until about 5, at least that's when I left. It was so much fun to just be able to let go, to just dance!!

I'm heartbroken to loose such a wonderful person, but we will see each other again! We will keep in touch and I will definitely go visit her in Canada! She has been such a good friend. All my girls here have-Rachel, Nina, Kayley, and Jess. You girls are amazing, you are what has made my life in Korea so great. Of course, True and Matt are also wonderful. ^_^ I love you guys and hope that wherever we go in life, we will always remember the great times, the hard times, and why we love each other. A very wise soul once told me "The most important person in your life, is the person you are with right now". It's true. The people you choose to be in your life, to have an effect on your life, are the people who matter. You 6 are the people I want to be in my life, not only now, but I hope for the rest of my life. You are all passionate, caring, fun people-never forget that. No matter what happens, We will have each other! Again, I love you guys. Sorry for the sappy post. =P Now let's go have some fun!!

Gyeongju's Drink and Rice Cake Festival

This weekend was wonderful. It had a great start at Grazie Friday night where we all eagerly awaited Candy's return from England. She was here in Korea visiting some of her friends for 2 months and just liked it so much she decided to come back and teach for 6 months! ^_^ The night was typical of a Friday at Grazie. Drinking and chatting with friends.
Saturday was much more interesting. Around noon I get a text from Jun Kwon (the owner of Grazie bar) inviting Nina, Travis, and I out for lunch. We were supposed to meet Mi Gyeong, but she never showed up so we met with Jun Kwon and our other Korean friend Rachel and went out to lunch at a delicious samgyeopsal restaurant. Afterwards Jun Kwon dropped us off near Hwangsung park so we could go to the Traditional Drink and Rice Cake festival. We met up with a large group of foreigners we know and the fun began. We went to the Foreinger registration booth where we got a shot glass necklace. It was a ceramic shot glass (which was refered to as the "horn of plenty" multiple times throughout the day haha) with a string around it. From there you take your shot glass necklace around to the soju and wine booths where they pour you shot after shot of different types of Korean alcohol. At each booth you can also buy larger bottles of the product. After going around the booths once we went to a food tent and ordered some food and (of course) some Makeoli. We sat and talked with a bunch of other foreigners who came down to Gyeongju for the festival. After a while we went around the alcohol booths again, checked out the rice cake booths, and sat in the grass drinking all the alcohol we had just purchased.
A note on Korean rice cake. It's not the rice cake you are probably thinking of - the round, crunchy snacks they sell in in Western Countries. This type of rice cake is a really chewy and sticky consistency. Some have different flavors, some had different fillings, and some are covered in different powders or nuts.
After the festival we got some Dak Galbi for dinner and headed to Grazie. Grazie is usually dead on Saturday nights, because we are usually there on fridays, but it was pretty busy. I sat and talked with some people I had just met that day or had only met once or twice. Also got to talk to True for a bit (I was happy that things were normal and I didn't feel awkward at all ^_^). We continued the night to London Hof (this bar is more typical of Korean bars-big tables with big comfortable chairs and couches), and ended with Norae Bang. It was a fun day. Not what I had expected. My original plan had been to go clubbing in Daegu with Nina, Jess, and Rach. But since they weren't getting a bus until 1030 and I was enjoying talking to new people (and didn't want to make the effort to stay in Daegu all night) I stayed in Gyeongju. I'm glad I did. I'm sure I would have had a wonderful time with the girls, but it was great meeting new people.
Sunday I woke up a bit too early for having gone to bed at 4 am after 13 hours of drinking. I woke up at 12 so I could meet Mi Gyeong at 1. She ended up not picking me up until 2, then we met Alexander, 재욱 (also referred to as Jude or "korean guy"), and Caspar. It took about 2 hours, due to traffic, for us to drive up to Seokguram Grotto. This is located at the top of a mountain, there are temples and the main attraction is a large Buddhist statue inside one of the temples. We took some neat pictures, had some good conversations, then went out for some samgyeopsal and ice cream. ^_^
Another wonderful weekend with amazing people in a fantastic place.