Forgive me friends and family, for I have sinned...

...I have not updated my blog in far too long!

My students and school are going amazing, just take a look at my class!

4th and 5th graders are sent from the Korean gods, they are wonderful, participate, and absolutely adore me. 6th graders on the other hand, think that they are very 'cool' and talk in class, don't do their work, and get lots of yelling from Teacher Sumi. I really feel like I have settled down here and the school is used to me and vice versa.

Korea is the shit, plain and simple. A few things I have done/gone to since I have been here... an electronic concert, KPOP concert, to the norehbang (karaoke) 3 times, had dead skin eaten off by little fishes! Gone to a Nanta show (YouTube them, they are amazing percussionists/chefs!), out to bars and clubs till 6 am in Seoul, to the Gyeonggi Museum, out in Itaewon where foreigners ruled the all of the streets for Halloween, and recently, apple picking and bottomless apple wine drinking at a orchard/vineyard.

Apple wine leads to drunkenness
(yes, I am asleep with the apple to my face) 

Something I quickly realized was that Seoul is ENORMOUS!!! One of the largest cities in the world. There are so many different parts and so much exploring can be done there. I have been to a few places in Seoul. Myengdong has the BEST shopping I have even encountered. There are just streets beyond streets of outdoor shopping in the middle and stores surrounding the entire area. It was insane. I spent far too much, but I don't regret anything I bought!! Hongdae is the coolest area by far. It is very artsy, modern, and just has an amazing vibe throughout the area. The food is scrumptious and the people there are friendly and talented. I ended up in an underground bar there, where it was a whole nother world! I slowly emerged at 6 am. Itaewon is practically America, there is all types of foreign restaurants here and here is where I would go to find any foreign products or foods I want. Gangnam is the closest to me (30 min bus ride) and it is a lot of fun. It is fancy, has lots of photo booths, is still full of mainly Koreans, has good American brunch food, and of course, good shopping.

Ok, so let's move on to the juicy and interesting things I have learned about Korea and the culture:

- All restaurants have buzzer bells on them and this is how you get the server! So smart, America needs these. 

- Lots of men carry their wife or girlfriends purse, its really cute. 

- Plastic surgery is very very common here. Most women have undergone the eyelid surgery (basically if they have eyelids its unnatural), jaw shaving- koreans have square shaped faces and they do not like this,  nose jobs- get this, they actually add humps in their nose! bc their noses are flat, public hair implants- I am not joking, they believe the hairier the better! And lastly, they break their shins because during the healing process they gain height. So if you are in Korea and see an above average male (taller than 5 feet 8 inches) and female (taller than 5 foot 4 inches) you should ask yourself, have they been breaking their shins to gain height??

- Koreans hate Chinese and Japanese people with a passion. 

- Korean use the universal X (they make it either with their 2 pointer fingers or with thier arms) all the time. It is very helpful and useful everywhere around the country. 

- The police are nonexistent here. Seriously. I have no idea what their job is, but they are barely driving around on the streets, or giving out speeding tickets. 

- Pedestrians have no rights here. If you are crossing the street and a car decides to ignore the red light (very typical), you better run for your life!

- Male culture is very different. It is normal to go out heavily drinking with coworkers, go to the norebang, and then for Korean men to go to prostitute houses, even if they are married and/or old. It is very normal and a part of their culture. 

- Women wear stilettos everyday! It's crazy. Koreans always look very stylish and put together. 

- Convenient stores are open 24 hours and can be found on every street corner! 

Might I add. Autumn in Korea is beautiful...

"It's hard to stay mad when there's so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I'm seeing it all at once, and it's too much. My heart fills up like a balloon that's about to burst. And then I remember to relax, and stop trying to hold on to it. And then it flows through me like rain. And I can't feel anything but gratitude for every single moment of my stupid little life."

Funk and Seoul

Hey guys! Korea is AMAZZZZING. I am already in love with the country. I reached here Tuesday evening and was greeted by pouring rain, 85 degrees, 100% humidity, and lightning! It was actually pretty interesting. I had a cab driver that was holding a sign with my name and he was super nice. My co-teacher and his wife were waiting for me at my apartment with lots of gifts for my new place. I'll be posting a video of my apartment, but it is pretty small, but very comfortable for one person. After about 45 mins of being at my place, as I was walking my co-teacher out, I saw Lauren wandering the streets calling my name. We ran to each other in slow motion and hugged for about an hour, just like in the movies. We than wandered around to find that fried chicken and Cass beer (Korean beer) are very popular and decided to make that dinner. Almost everyone does not know English, but a few words in Korean, amazingly good hand signals, and a large smile go a loooooooonnnnnnngggggg way.

Wednesday was the Korean Thankgiving, Chuseok and we, I mean Lauren but I tagged along, were invited over to her landowner's home. The house was a flat on top of a English academy, on the 4th floor. It was beautiful and really spacious. We were escorted to the "guest eating room" where we sat on the ground surrounding the low table. The table had a grill installed within the middle, where all of the meat was cooked. As we sat eating delicious beef and pork grilled before our eyes, eaten off the hot stove like thing, we chatted with the landowner and his son who is majoring in English. Showing respect to elders is shown in many different ways, but we got lessons on the proper way to hold a cup and drink out of it when an elderly person pours for you. It is so interesting, words can not explain, so a video of that will be coming soon!




Eating at a Korean's home was somewhat like
eating at my house. The women mainly stayed in the kitchen and were in charge of food and serving. They were all so welcoming and also offered us home made dessert wine and SoMack (20% Soju and 80% beer). They taught us their cheers "Gun Bae" which we were told translates to "We are young, we are the world." How cool is that?!

On Thursday we walked around downtown Yongin (the city we are both in). It was pretty quiet because of Chuseok, but we wandered into a restaurant where we ate some cold meat dish, which we thought would be hot. We still to this day have no clue what meat entered our body, but we are not diseased (yet), so all is good. Then I proceeded to get extremely lost on the bus and ended up in Suwon (the city West of Yongin). I jumped off the bus, jumped into a cab, where the driver knew absolutely no English. I called my co-teacher, Kyle, and he explained my address to the cabie in Korean. Lesson learned: do not take bus 66 from Lauren's house, but you can take the 66 from my apartment to get to Lauren. Huh?


On Friday, I met with Kyle. I picked his brain on how to use my boiler and washing machine (all in Korean). I'm a pro now. No more freezing cold showers and dirty laundry. Then we went over to Cheonggok, where I will be teaching. The school is very cute and I can not wait to share with you all my classroom (another video will be coming). I met with a few teachers who told me, "Oh my, the children will love you! You are so beautiful and smile a lot!" hahah. After my school tour, I again got lost on the bus trying to get home, but this time I switched buses and didn't need an English translator! Success.

Then Lauren and I jumped on a bus and headed over to Seoul, but not before we visited the internet cafe near my apartment, which was full of young Korean boys playing video games. Seoul= Lot of fashion and lots of foreigners!

Our New Glasses (check out my flower headband!)

WE FOUND A PHOTO BOOTH!!!!

We hung out there for a while, but decided that our city was more Korean, and cooler. So, we headed back and shared a pitcher of Yogurt Soju.

Interesting things:

- I have only seen 2 dogs here, there are absolutely NO animals. Like not even birds chirping. Nothing.
- There are no ovens or dryers.
- Every other place is an internet cafe, Family Mart (convenient store), or bar.

- Korean women have small feet. My size 8.5 can not fit into any of their cool shoes!
- It is really green in Yongin. The city is built on the flat land, and the rolling hills are untouched. Beautiful.
- No one wears sunglasses, even though it is extremely bright outside.
- The majority of make-up has lightening products in it.
- Cheese and cold cuts are rare and really expensive
- Only instant coffee is drunk, I have not seen brewed coffee in Yongin.

Gun Bae!

My family is like double chocolate fudge brownies- mostly sweet with a few nuts.

Funfetti Cake Mix w/ Rainbow Chip Icing!

            So, my family and I got together for my last family reunion before I flee the country. It was entertaining. The women sat in the family room, looked through old photo albums and gossiped about young Indians marrying out of our race, the men sat in the living room and planned their golf trips and probably talked about the newest, coolest, electronics that I can not afford, and the little ones played outside, meaning they dumped buckets of ice water on each other and showed off their newest interesting toys (i.e. itouches and freaky little electronic hamster looking things). 

        After I was shunned from the don't marry outside of your religion conversation because of disagreement, I walked around with my camera, took tons of pictures, dodged my grandfather who asked me for 538th time why so many people were over and why I am going to Korea (he has dementia), and made sure I was not too far from the mouth watering, the-last-meal-I-want-before-death, food (look at the scrumptious dessert!) 

Butter Chicken, Saag Paneer, Karai Paneer, Tandoori Chicken, Rajma, Raita, Naan

Neapolitan Ice Cream w/ Nilla Cookie, Double Chocolate Brownie, Funfetti Cake w/Rainbow Chip Icing

I love hanging out with the 4 generations, 36.5, In the Womb- 93 years old family members. We have a span of personalities, opinions, and sizes, and we all know how to have a damn good time. I know I will be seeing them before a year, half of them are already planning trips to Korea (I don't know if I like this). 

WOAH MOMMA!!!

I have a few days left before I leave and to be honest, I have been having so much fun being with my crazy family. It has definitely been an experience. I just saw my grandmother pass and my sister is about to give birth. I have come full circle... almost, please send good thoughts to Harleen so she goes into labor ASAP!

Minus the 85 degrees, humidity, thunderstorms, and pouring rain, I am almost so fucking ready to leave the country. Waaaahooooooo!!!!!!!!!!

An Interview With An American

Man, time is seriously tickin and I am getting closer to Sept 20th! Ahhhh! I am so excited. I thought it would be nice to introduce my classes to some family, friends, neighbors, and myself. I honestly had way too much fun making this movie (even though it has taken a few days) and I hope my classes enjoy it. I am definitely going to have to record them watching it. If anyone has any good ideas on future video ideas, please let me know, enjoy!

And the prepping begins

Korean E2 visa- check
Books on how to teach English abroad- check
CDs on how to learn Korean- check 
A bag- check

All that is left is for me to buy a ticket! My plan is leave SFO on Sept. 20th and arrive in Incheon, South Korea Sept. 21st. That leaves me with 26 days to pack a years worth of everything possible I need/want, can not get in Korea, and can fit in 2 suitcases. To be honest, I am the worst packer. I have an extreme attachment to my clothing and fashion is pretty important to me. I have been doing lots of Korean fashion studying and I am so excited to expand my closet. A few important things that I have read to bring to Korea are:

• Toothpaste- the one there does not taste very good
• 2 set of a twin bedding set- they do not have fitted sheets
• Full sized towels- the towels there are thin and hand sized
• Deodorant- Koreans do not smell and it is extremely expensive there
• Razors- Koreans are not hairy and have weak razors
• Tampons- They are not as common as pads
• Spices- everything other than salt and pepper is hard to find. 

Alright, time to get packing and practicing as much Korean that I can learn in a little over 3 weeks!