http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2008/05/202_23414.html

So I am starting another student tonight! I am very excited. I was feeling very frustrated for a while but I think its going to be okay. I have to ride a bus for an hour and twenty minutes to get to their house but honestly I don't care because I have a new student!

Also counting down to the big double digit next week. I found out one of my students canceled so I'll have most of the day off on my birthday! YAY!

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2008/04/123_23308.html

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/04/116_23337.html

So yesterday Eddie and I went to Dongdaemun to get him a new pair of jeans. After we were finished shopping we watched a dance performance on a stage near the shopping area. After the performance was over they started doing a dance competition with people from the crowd. Of course I stuck out so they picked me and I had to go up in front o everyone and dance to the Wonder Girls "TELL ME" song. I was in the last 5 out of 10 people but I didn't make the last round because I didn't know the choreography! haha! It was interesting... Also lots of trouble in China right now about the Olympics... :(

And some pictures from our Korean family..

STRESSED!!!

So Danny called me to inform me that one of my students has to quit because she is to stressed out getting ready for her college exams!! It was Amy, which is Sery's older sister. Sery is still going strong but thats $160 out of my paycheck!!!!! They are one of the only ones that never cancel! So I am really stressed and worried. We haven't gone out for dinner, or a movie or even ice cream in a while because we really don't have the money for anything fun and now we have even less!! On the plus side I have a new student but her mom heard I only charged $30 from my friend so she is only paying $30!!! So still more in the hole then out of it!! I am supposed to start one more student on Thursday's but I haven't heard anything from them yet so who knows! ARG! I am really ready to be home but my contract with Danny is for at least 10 months so I have to stay to the end of July.... ummm my birthday is a week and some days... no plans currently... kind'a a strange thing... I've always done something exciting for my birthday..hmmm... Just feeling kind'a overwhelmed! My first student for tomorrow canceled but I have my new student Eugin at 5pm so thats a little money! Also she is really sweet and I think I am really going to enjoy teaching her. My two other young students are kind'a pills so I look forward to working with her because she wants to learn...

Check out this video: korean baby singing hey jude



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on the subway

So I finished The Good Earth and I am currently reading THE FOUR AGREEMENTS by Don Miguel Ruiz. Also I am getting 3 new students which is very good news!!!!!!!!


So I was on a crowed subway Tuesday night and a drunk man was standing beside/in front of me. I was in a corner near the doors and he stood holding onto a bar right in front of me. He was falling asleep and jolting around every few seconds. After about ten minutes of his falling all over he started to fall onto me.... he ended up making it to second base in fact so I jumped out of the way and as if he were in a dream he picked up his foot and stepped on some guy's face that was laying on the seat next to him. No one was hurt but both guys stayed awake for the second half of the ride. The one that was stepped on seemed upset but didn't get too angry because the man who had stepped on him was obviously much older and drunk so it seemed as though it were an accident and the drunk/sleepy guy just stood there trying to keep his eyes open... It was interesting...

Also Eddie and I went running! I haven't done that in a long time and I thought my lungs were going to collapse but I survived! YAY!

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/04/117_23084.html

more from last week

Here's some pictures from my mom's angle...

Here's us in an alley at Inadong on the first day.






Here's the first meal we ate together of Shabushabu.






Here's us at Swasadeeka Thai restaurant in Sinchon.






And us at the subway on another one of many trips around Seoul. I think I had just yelled "mom don't take a picture here!" But I'm glad she did.












Scott and I at Yeoido park (with my eyes closed) on Monday. It was a beautiful day. We would have sat on a blanket but they charged $4.






Us at the hostel with Peter, his wife Rosa, and the youngest sister Kyoung Sook.(And my grandma looking absolutely thrilled, which she was!)







And us walking back from lunch at Bulgogi Brothers.

The air is thick and hot. Sleeping seemed almost impossible last night. The buzz of mosquitoes kept me awake and swatting. They always find the most awkward places to dine. My blood must be sweeter than Eddies because he always looks fresh in the mornings and untouched. We finally got the air conditioner to work but I fear next months bill! Life seems so boring now without a family waiting to be entertained. I'm enjoying The Good Earth more and more. When my family was here I didn't cook much so I'm getting back into that and I enjoy it. My lesson canceled for the next 3 Mondays so tomorrow I'm hoping to find something exciting to fill my day. Eddie says we are going running tomorrow which seems unbearable in this heat but I think it will be good.


http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/04/116_22824.html

2 weeks with the family!

So here's a blog of the last two weeks!!!



Tuesday we went to Gwanwhamun and looked around the Kyobo bookstore for a while then we made our way over to the Palace. Unfortunately it was closed but we still got to see most of it from the outside. We went to the Palace Museum and walked around for a while then had a very classy dinner in the cafe below the museum. I had to teach at 6 so we headed home around 5 then I met up with Scott at 8pm and we walked home together.
Wednesday my student canceled so we meet with Randy's Korean family. We all talked for a while in the living room of my mom's hostel then we decided to go get something to eat. Luckily the woman who ran the hostel was available that day and she helped with translating our stories back and forth. We ate at a restaurant called Bulgogi Brothers. Since Bulgogi is beef I just had some rice and kimchi. Luckily no one noticed I wasn't really eating the meat!! After our lunch we walked to a cafe that was just below my mom's hostel called Nori Cafe. I had some juice and they had coffee and we talked a little more. After our coffee and juice they had to head back to Inchon so we said our goodbyes. I was planning on teaching Danny's kids that night but I got a call at the hostel from Eddie saying that Danny wanted to take us out to dinner that night so we headed to Cheolsan. Dinner was a big chicken cooked in rice gruel that had almost no flavor. It was fun to have my mom and grandma meet Danny though. I know I have tried to explain his character many times to them but he is hard to understand. It was hilarious though because during the whole meal he was telling us all this stuff about how much he knows and what Scott should do and what my family should do. Then Anica and the girls left and he took us to coffee. He explained to my mom and grandma that I should work for a company because I have a strong voice, am able to work with people, and because I have a big smile. It was a very awkward conversations but my family all pretended to be interested. When we were finished I told him we could walk home (even though it was raining I had had enough Danny for the day) so we said our good byes and headed back to the hostel. Luckily we were only a few blocks away so it worked out fine.

Thursday my mom and grandma were ready for some more American food so we headed back to the waffle shop. After waffles we took a subway to the COEX mall which is on the other side of the green line from my stop (it was about an hour on the subway). We walked around the mall for a while then found the aquarium and went in. Luckily I brought my camera this time so have a few pictures of the beautiful fish and 2 headed turtle and the squirrel monkeys!!








We hung out in there for a while then made our way back to the subway. We headed to Omokgyo and found a spa there to sit in. My brother and I stayed in the sauna's with our spa suits on while my mom and grandma sat in the different baths. They were ready to head back after about an hour so we took a taxi to my house and picked up Eddie for dinner. We were close to Pizza Hut so we went in! Around 8pm we headed down to Hongdae and I said goodbye to everyone because I had to teach at 9 at the cafe.

Friday morning Scott and I met my mom and grandma at the hostel and we planned our day. We started with the Pho at Pho Hoa then went to Dongdaemun market. It took a long time since there was so much stuff to look at and because my mom seems to be a shop-aholic... After a few hours of walking we were all tired so we headed towards Seoul Forest were we were meeting Eddie at 4pm. It took a while to get back but we ended up getting there early so we found a really great cafe with big couches and we ordered some fruit juices. We also got some Kim Marie from a street vender then Eddie showed up. We walked for long ways until we found the back entrance to Seoul Forest. (we went the long way it turned out) We were amazed at what we saw because really it wasn't a forest at all. It was just a park with some small trees. It was nothing like the forest I was expecting to see. We had fun walking around and we even found a botanical garden and an insect garden (Eddie was happy about that). We walked through most of it then walked through a huge wonderful playground. It was probably the best playground I have ever been to then past some fountains and over bridges until we made it to the exit. We walked back to the subway and headed for Sinchon. We found a Sam gelp sul restaurant and had dinner. We cooked raw meet on a hot plate then dipped it in bean paste and wrapped it in lettuce. Luckily they had chicken so I could eat. After dinner Eddie had to go meet with Kenny and some friends so we walked around and found a Smoothie King. We all smoothies then headed back to our beds for the night.

Saturday I was gone most of the day teaching but we met up with the family at 5 and headed out for dinner at TGIF's. After dinner there wasn't much to do so Eddie and I took Scott to a movie to kill some time before the clubs were hopping. We saw Definitely Maybe since it was the only one in English we hadn't seen (not my favorite movie but I was entertained). We headed to Hongdae around 12 and went inside TINPAN2 which is bigger club in Korea. We stayed for about 3 minutes so Scott could see what it was like but it was kind'a boring so we headed back home.


Sunday I had to work until 6 then we met at the subway and took off for N Seoul Tower.



When we got off the subway we were all pretty hungry so we found a Chinese restaurant called Zao Pin or something like that. After dinner we made our way up to the cable car, it was a lot of walking but we made it. We waited in line for a while then rode up the mountain and into the night sky. The tower was like any tower but the view was amazing! We walked around, took some pictures, watched a light show, and spent some money. It was a good stop and I recommend anyone who has the opportunity to get up there to do it because the view is so beautiful!

Monday my student canceled so we met with the Korean family again.



They brought two cars down to pick us up and we headed for Ilsan. Mr. You drove one car with his wife (the oldest sister) and my mom and brother, and Mr. Gee drove his wife (Kyoung suk the youngest sister) and Peter (the oldest brother) and my grandma and me. We talked a little on the way up but mostly enjoyed the scenery. We walked around the Holt Orphanage then went out for some Sam Gelp Sul again (this time there was no chicken). I ate a good bit of pork and suffered for it later. After walking around the area we got back in the cars and headed South of Seoul to Suwon. We got to The Korean Folk Village around mid afternoon and got to explore for a few hours. It was a great spot. There were so many things to see and shows to watch. This is by far my favorite place. They dropped us off back at the hostel but we were hungry so we found a Burger King and had some snacks then walked down to a Baskin Robins for some ice cream. My brother tried the Green Tea flavored ice cream which really had no flavor. The rest of us stuck to our normal flavors.

Tuesday was our last long day together so we made sure it was exciting. We got off at City hall and walked down to Cheonggye stream.




It was very beautiful. We walked down to the stream and listened to a guy play some music for a while. We headed back to the main street and walked past a palace that was having a big changing of the guard ceremony. We watched it go on for a while then headed towards Namdaemun market. We walked around the market for a while and bought some dried fruit and my mom bought me a Korean doll! Its just like the one I used to play with at my grandmothers house! Although the scene was full and entertaining the old fish smell that filled the market air only allowed breathing for short time so I was ready to go pretty quickly. We walked over to the Namdaemun gate that had burned but they had it completely covered. They built a building around it to keep it safe while they are reconstructing it. I had to head off to teach at 6 so around 4:30 we walked back to the subway station and transfered over to the green line. After teaching for an hour I was back in Hongdae at 8 so we met up for some Catsu at at Japanese restaurant near the hostel. It was really good and pretty cheap too!

Wednesday I had to leave at 2:30 so we had waffles in the morning together, then walked around Hongdae. We found an at gallery and spent some time walking through there. We stopped for some gelato then it was time for me to catch the subway! That night my family went and saw a musical show called Nanta which they said was really great so I plan on seeing it before I leave Korea! Wednesday night was a hard night for me. I hardly slept as I lay there thinking about how sad it would be without my family here.

Thursday we met my mom and grandma at the subway around 8:20am (thats early for me) Scott and I jumped into a Dunkin Donuts for a quick "breakfast" if you can call it that. Then we caught a shuttle bus to the airport and I waited with them for a while then we had to say our goodbyes. It was hard but I had a book for the trip home so I got to do some reading in between a few tears. That night my lesson canceled so Eddie and I went grocery shopping which we badly needed to do. We also stocked up on water because our water was shut off most of the day but when we got back it was on again so we'll use it later.

Currently I am reading The Good Earth, and cleaning my house after the hurricane that came through...haha... I had a great two weeks and I am ready to head home soon!!

their last day

At the Folk Village
Scott eating some Sam Gelp Sul
Here's my grandma with our Korean family at the Folk Vilage

Here's a picture of my mom about to eat a whole octopus!!

So today is my last day with the family... It has been a wonderful two weeks! We have been so many places and done so many things! Today all we have planned is eating Waffles for breakfast and hanging out. I have to teach from 2:30 to 10pm so I'll be gone most of the day which is very unfortunate but I'm taking them the airport in the morning. So we are off for our last few adventures here together.

more soon I promise!!

So I've been super busy trucking the family around Korea but I'll have some time soon to update the blog and add some pictures!! Yesterday we went to N Seoul Tower and today we are going to Ilsan to visit the orphanage my uncle lived at. We are meeting up with his Korean family this morning and heading off. It should be an interesting trip because the language barrier is vast..