i've never seen a more festive bus

one day last week, i took the bus as i usually do to get to my korean class. i was feeling particularly tired that day, so i was wonderfully relieved when i found a seat immediately. i had my eyes closed when i felt the sudden urge to open them and noticed to my bewilderment, just how many crazy christmas decorations were on the bus! shiny garlands, reindeer window stickers, and yes, even a fully decorated christmas tree. have a looksy!

this was what i saw when i first opened my eyes:

and then, i noticed the tree:

that's the most smug motherfuckin snowman i've ever seen:

how lovely are thy branches, covered with random bits of cotton puffs!

it's a hard-knock life

let me just tell you, the level up test from 3 to 4, was hella more difficult than from 2 to 3! i took my test this morning and i don't think i fared well. nope. not all all. in fact, i think i bombed it. it's a hard-knock life. and sometimes, you just gotta pick yourself right back up, un-like humpty, who had an irreparable fall.

tomorrow is christmas eve. it doesn't feel much like christmas at all, but tomorrow i don't have to work so, it's beginning to feel a lot more like christmas than yesterday, when i had two days instead of one more of work. can you tell i'm getting just a tad bit crusty about a certain thing called work?

merry christmas to you. merry christmas to me. happy merry holidays to all.

post blog:
apparently, i didn't bomb as much as i thought i did. on one hand, i'm rather skeptically impressed. but, on the other hand, it means that level 4, is going to be a real DOOZY.

c is for cookie

that's good enough for me!

something about being able to bake chocolate chip cookies makes me feel more at home. tonight was my first ever batch baked in korea and i've gotta say, the cookies are damn good! i added coconut flakes for a slight variation on the classic recipe. yummers!

i had been searching for a cookie sheet that would fit in my oven for a while now, so, you can imagine my giddiness when i finally found a cookie sheet and a muffin tin as well at home plus, another version of emart, the grocery wonderstore. mmmmmm, mmmmmmm, good!

random fun

a few weeks ago, i was out with my girlfriends in hongdae, aka, the party district of seoul. it was nearly 5 am when we called it a night and right before we were about to get into a cab, this guy and i struck up an entertaining conversation about the stupidity of idiots (men, mostly) who are either too drunk or too stupid and lack the brains to realize that getting into a fight is a seriously lame idea. this random guy overheard my commentary about a fight i had witnessed and added his own insights, which i appreciated and found humorous. we exchanged names (his name is nick) and numbers and this past saturday night, chilled in his friend's phatty apartment.

my friend amanda and i went to seoul station to meet nick and friends and were so impressed and envious of dudes' apt: nice and spacious living room, kitchen complete with an oven and dining room set, three bedrooms, and balcony. wtf. it was so so so wonderful--i wanted to move in and call it my own.

the dudes: nick from cali, john from hawaii, jared from atlanta, and brian from new orleans.

the connections:
nick and john play in a band together.
john, jared, and brian are all roommates in said dope place.
amanda and i went to the same high school.
we are all english teachers. all from the good u.s. of a.

the occasions:
jared's korean girlfriend, jieun, finished her last semester of college. congrats!
it's too cold to go out so let's chill in the nicest apt, ever.

the drinks:
red wine
cass beer

enertainment:
random fun!

it was really hilarious to be in the company of such boys. BOYS in the best way. silly, goofy, giving each other tons (TONS!) of bullshit, but all in a fraternal kind of way. really cute, actually. it was also really wonderful to be around american boys. there's something really special about the american interaction, that comical, sarcastic, yet still affectionate way of communicating. i love random fun!

bookstore dinosaur

i went to the bookstore tonight to investigate the quality of english as second language books for adults. holy shit fuck. they are pretty damn awful. whoever designed, or rather, had incredibly poor judgement in designing those books need to learn that simple is better. there's too much information everywhere and the layouts are a nightmare! i felt like i couldn't focus on anything and i fuckin know english! imagine how incredibly distracting all that information may be to a beginner. good grief!

instead of finding any decent (truly! anyone want to co-design english books with me?!) english books, i found two fun children's books. while i was waiting at the check out line, the cutest lil boy who was with his mother (who, may i add was purchasing a butt load of books!) turned and looked at me. we made eye contact and he growled at me. yes. he growled. and guess what. you know it! i growled right back! he growled again, louder this time and like dinosaurs, we had a mini growl-fest. his mother turned and smiled at me (she probably wanted to make sure i wasn't some sort of freak!) and then i began speaking to him in english. the mother turned again, this time, with a priceless look on her face.

the child was simply darling. DARRRRRRRLING! he was a little man in a kid sized black puffy winter coat. he was carrying a dinosaur box and i asked him if he knew the name of one particular dinosaur, the tyrannosaurus rex! i told him the name and he repeated it, even matching my tone. bitchin. we had a moment. and i was smitten. this kid is exactly the kind of kid i love to teach--funny, smart, and playful. he head-butted my legs and gave me, what i'd like to think, was a dinosaur-ish hug. 5 year old hugs complete stranger. yes, i'm that cool.

the mother and i had a brief chat (in korean!) about possible lessons. i gave her my contact information (business cards will be made soon! gotta get on it!) and although they live a bit too far north of the city for me to give lessons to the wee one, i was charmed and flattered nevertheless. i've decided that if i want to acquire clients, i basically just need to lurk around the kids' section of bookstores and randomly speak a few english phrases here and there. all the mothers will turn and look at me. but next time, i'll be ready for action, with business cards ready to be taken! RAAAAAARRRRRR!

they DO exist!

korean men don't necessarily have the most admirable of reputations and after hearing stories of their m.b.a status ("married but available"--yes, i know i'm generalizing here and lurking into dangerous territory...) i grew even more suspicious of their widespread (and yet, still unspoken) promiscuity, dogmatism, and flippant attitudes towards women, sex, and gender roles.

after a brief but rather annoying and consuming preoccupation with wanting to be in a relationship and all the boycraziness that accompanies such a desire, i snapped myself out of that ridiculous waste of time and energy and tried (although sometimes, perhaps not so successfully!) to regain focus and concentrate instead of improving my korean skills. enter the language buddy concept! language buddies are people who exchange conversations (and explain expressions, cultural references, etc...) in two different languages, in my case, korean and english, and the chats can occur over food, drinks, coffee or all of the above. i wrote an ad in craigslist which i posted in the "activities" section:

i realize that for me to improve my korean, i need and want to practice often and, most importantly, have fun! i hope we can laugh while we learn and share funny stories over good drinks, good food or hot cups of coffee.

i'm an english language nerd, meaning i can geniunely help you improve your english skills whether you're interested in improving your interview techniques, slang, or simply maintaining your conversation fluency.

i'm korean-american, 29 years old, female, expressive and outgoing.
my korean is still at the beginner level, which is why i need the practice.

i received quite a bunch of emails. some that only said "hi!" in the subject line but nothing in the actual email or others that simply didn't make much sense. the handful that stood out were the ones that actually wrote something about themselves and i really liked the responses that were in both languages! (now, that's what i'm talking about!) i met four in person and while all the guys (i know, i know, right!? honestly the strongest language exchange candidates were dudes. and, not so secretly, i certainly don't mind the fun flirtations during a study session.) were very nice and quite generous, (they all paid for my drink or meal! wow!) two of the guys were much easier and much more natural to talk to. so, now i have two buddies whom i meet separately once a week.

buddy one: eun soo.
buddy two: jae yeol.

nice, intelligent, attractive, charming, caring and hilarious guys DO exist. now, before you get all loopy on me, these guys are my friends--FRIENDS. and i happily admit that it has been so much genuine, honest to goodness FUN getting to know them. really. yes, i'm really that much of a sap.

hibernation

it's cold. it's dark. i'm like a bear. i want to hibernate.

lunchtime!

my korean class, including me, has only three students. i totally dig the teacher to student ratio as it has definitely increased my speaking practice and contributed to my continuous growth in confidence. (meeting with my language buddies has also helped greatly!) after class last thursday, my classmates, nigora, na-o-mi, our teacher and i went out to lunch. it was a grand time. we feasted on shabu shabu: thin slices of meat simmered in a tasty broth with vegetables. i'm shabu shabu crazy!

class funnies

for my business conversation classes, i use a variety of topics to generate discussions. a few weeks ago, for the topic of ethics and morals, i asked my students to re-tell a fable or fairy-tale story to illustrate a lesson in knowing what's right and wrong. one of my students, yumi, began to tell the story of the little mermaid (unlike the disney movie, this version had a more pessimistic and unrequited, somber ending) and she couldn't remember the english word, "mermaid." i asked her to describe it to me, but since she struggled to find the words, another student, cool (yes, his name is cool! how rad is that?!?) volunteered. he told me that this creature was half fish, half human. but, BUT, he said that the top half was fish and bottom half was human! i immediately got this hilarious visual of a fish upper body with sexy legs and couldn't stop laughing. when cool realized his mistake, everyone joined in on the laughter.

another universal topic of discussion was stress. i asked my students how they coped or dealt with stress and one of my more outgoing students informed us that he usually releases stress by drinking soju, sleeping and then going to the sauna the next day. tickled, i said, "oh! you have the s-cubed method!" he looked puzzled so i explained his triple s stress relief. he got it, smiled and agreed.

this month, 5 of my business conversation students re-enrolled so we've already established a great connection. the new students are also engaging, so thankfully, these classes don't seem much like work. bonus!

it's december

it's outrageous. it's december and there are still mosquitoes feasting on me in the middle of night, disturbing my already unquiet slumber, and thus making me even more cantankerous in the mornings. lil persistent bastards. it's not very buddhist of me, but, i was not so secretly pleased when i smacked the lil bitch to it's quick and easy exit from this world.

it's december, how t.f. did that happen? i was hoping i would be less busy in the wintertime, but that's definitely not the case, as evidenced by my blog-lessness in the past couple of weeks. where shall i begin?

let's begin with my stomach. i just downed 4 rather well proportioned man-doo (만두) and i decided against eating the 5th, i'll save it for later. they were absolutely delicious! i bought them on my way home from my korean class, and right now, instead of having to get ready to go to work, i'm tickled that i have time to relax...you see, today, until this friday, i'm teaching morning classes in place of my office hours so i get to have a sizeable chunk of the day to myself. (APPLAUSE!) ah, you should know however, that i had to get out of my bed at 5:55am. no joke. before 6 am. my first class started at 6:40, followed by 7:40, and lastly at 8:40. OOOOOOOF! and surprisingly, i was incredibly alert and attentive to my business conversation students, who were quite entertaining.

besides teaching english and learning korean, i've been keeping busy by being what i'd like to call a language buddy slut. now, i'm not really being a slut in the traditional sense of the word, but rather, i've been adventurous in terms of meeting lots of different people for language exchange. it's been fun! it's sort of like internet dating only minus the dating part. i've met three guys so far, at cafes, restaurants and bars. tomorrow night, i'll meet another and i have a few more in process--see what i mean!-- mostly because it's difficult to even find a language buddy match!

just yesterday, my friend read my tarot cards and the cards advised me against any romantic interests. unrequited love from a player may strike...however, not all is hopeless. the card readings are only for a 3 month period and apparently, my work (a new job?!?) should be very very successful! hmm...interesting. interesting, indeed!

temple hike

nice ass

forever 21 opened up a store in myeongdong. good to know that the forever 21 "quality" is the same here as it is in the states! check out this mannequin flaunting her ASSets.





now that the weather has gotten colder, fried green tea cakes with sugary sweet filling has made a return and boy! am i glad they are back!

my friend, fearless shopper and foodie:

in the recording studio...

first korean tv, and now, audio!
these past few mornings, i went to soundworks studios and recorded passages (some short and some long, verrrry long!) for toefl test prep materials. i spoke very clearly and professor-like into the very sensitive mike. professor chong. the chong professor. yes, indeedy, i do like the sound of that!

lotte's favorite day

11.11, aka, pepero day is an excuse to buy pepero snacks. the chocolate covered thin stick-like cookie snacks, known in japan as pocky, are given (lotte, pepero's manufacturer created this day to boost their sales, and what a gimmick! everyone or nearly everyone has fallen for it, suckas!) to your friends, family, significant others, wannabe significant others...sha-la, sha-la.

i had forgotten about pepero day until my sweet korean language classmates presented me with my very own pepero package of yumminess!

happy pepero day!
xo.

then and now

awww, look at me a year ago. i remember exactly when i took this photo. it was in amber's home, in the hallway, outside of ella's/guest aka, my extended stay, room. (thanks so much again amber and ella for adopting me into your lives that blissful summer!) i was beginning my korean job search then and it's commonplace for korean companies to request your photo as part of the job application. now that i'm in korea, i realize that they were probably expecting a more "professional" sort of photograph, something similar to the passport variety, but i preferred my more organic approach.

happy one year anniversary!

i've officially been living and working in korea for a full 365 day cycle. hard to believe that that amount of time can seemingly pass in a blink or drag unnecessarily. it's been just over 2 months since i've changed jobs and while i know that the new gig is a better fit than the former, i know that still, there must be an even better place for me to work. i don't mind teaching adults, especially since i have a few returning students who are delightful. i don't mind the hours, i love that i have time in the mornings to attend korean language classes and to do so conveniently is an added bonus. now...what i do mind, is the typical korean office business culture. the strained, reactive, slightly chauvinistic, resistant to change and time-wasting attitudes unnerve me. and might i find this anywhere? not unlikely. do you ever get that feeling that sometimes you are just very very different from those who surround you?

lately, i've been thinking that perhaps my fierce independence is better suited to freelance private tutorship. i'm gathering information and don't doubt that there will soon be an exhaustive advantages/disadvantages tug of war. until then, i'm definitely relaxing, studying korean and remaining present.



missing you tremendously.
xo.

OBAMA-RAMA!

YES WE CAN! (and we did and we will!)

big mouth

i know that i can be a big mouth. really. i literally do have a big mouth. but my jovially laughing big mouth is not something that really needs to be quieted. okay. if i'm laughing very loudly while a very serious moment is occuring, then that's just plain fucked up. but i'm not socially inept or awkward. i know these things. i know when it's appropriate and not. and laughing loudly at a bar with other drinking laughing big mouth fools is a socially acceptable place to be laughing. so when a native korean man told me that i laugh too loudly and that i should laugh quietly, (dude, i'm not a silent laugher!) i wanted to bitchslap his sorry ass. but i didn't. instead, i drunkenly silently vented to myself. until we moved to the norehbang, where i sang my heart out. cultural differences are fucked up, man. fucked up.

face to face

the world can sometimes be suprising smaller than one might anticipate, much smaller. two weekends ago, i went to a friend's birthday celebration where i met another korean-american, who not suprisingly, is an english teacher. we exchanged numbers and since i'm not particularly picky when it comes to giving out my number--sometimes, unfortunately to my displeasure--i didn't think it an especially unique instance. i was a bit startled then, when he did call me! i found him attractive and of course briefly entertained dating possibilities but knew (gut feelings are usually right) that it--WHATEVER THAT "IT" IS--was not present. (sometimes, i want to say, fuck "it!") he called to invite me to appear on a tv show. SAY WHAT?!? not so secretly, i've entertained thoughts of well, entertainment, of being on tv (little know fact: i was on mtv--on a psa! and also on an aclu commercial.) and while this was entertaining, it more serious than any commercials.

i went on the arirang channel's face to face program where teams of english speakers are given a topic to debate. ours: we were in the proposition to the argument that genetically modified foods should be developed. my teammates, julius, victor, whom i just met that day, and i were probably the most ill-prepared debaters for that show. when i think of wingin' it, a mental picture of that show's set comes to mind. we didn't go cold turkey, but it was pretty damn close. the night before, julius gave me the impression that it was a very relaxed show and that i wouldn't have to prep. luckily, i did some research beforehand and was able to convince the judges (yes, there were judges!) that our team wasn't bonkers. i'm either a really good actress or i'm much more capable of bullshitting than ever before. it was a hellavulot of fun!

i gave our team's opening speech and spoke assertively and perhaps a bit smugly. pausing between choice words for dramatic effect. (you gotta start out strong motherfuckers!) apparently this strategy worked well. when the cameras stopped rolling (we lost by one point, not bad!) we met our opposition and one of their team members admitted that he was scared of me. poor dude. smartypants university students. they won, because unlike us, they researched and cited evidence and facts. numbers, statistics, ladies and gentlemen are very convincing.

so this is where the small world part comes in. just when i was about to sit in the the make-up chair (mmmhmmm, they did our hair and makeup! i've not worn that much make-up since...lordy, i don't even remember.) i see someone who i know i know. turns out its my friend of a friend's girlfriend. and gf is very very cool. we've gotten together several times before and everytime we hang out, it's great fun but those times are few and far between. i think it's the universe saying we need to hang out more often. how random or perhaps not so random. she was one of the judges! and if you think she was biased because she knew me, think again. very objective is she.

just as we were about to leave the studio, one of the audience members came up to me and thanked me for being such a good speaker! now THAT was delightful. that's the sort of compliment i would rarely tire of.

that time again

i should be doing my korean homework or cleaning house, but, i feel more like writing instead. it's nearing the end of october. november 5th, the day after election day, marks my year anniversary in korea and there's something about the one year marker that makes me feel very contemplative, appreciative, and homesick.

the good yet delayed news is that in 6 months time, i'll be returning home for a 2 week visit. i'm already looking very very forward to the it! i've already begun to make mental lists of places to visit, (nyc, dc!) friends to reconnect with, obligatory yet tedious tasks i cannot forget to complete (renewing my driver's license) and simply meandering. thinking of home, thinking of you.

happy birthday, dad!

i just skyped with my dad and wished him a very happy birthday! we shared stories, and bits of everyday information. he made me laugh when he said that i was a korean, now. i told him that i was too strong to be a korean-korean woman and that in turn, made him laugh.

it's raining, i'm craving more sleep, and in 15 minutes i'm out the door to my korean class. you have no idea how happy i am that tomorrow is friday. or, perhaps, you do!

why i love shavashana

i've recently finished reading the art of happiness by his holiness the dalai lama. (who, by the way, is still my hero.) in the final chapter, he informs his readers about how to begin to recognize and understand the nature of our mind. he gives instructions on how to meditate on nonconceptuality, which is not a state of dullness or a blanked out state of mind, rather it's the determination to reach and maintain a stillness, without conceptual thoughts. this is a very difficult task for me to do--to simply quiet my mind is hard enough!--but to try to not think, is something else all together. enter yoga and shavashana.

the other day i had a wonderfully therapeutic, rigorous power vinyasa yoga session and while i was in shavashana, i thought of nothing. yes, it's true. yes, it's also true that i think i entered the first layer of sleep but before that happened, i was in a blissful state of nonconceptuality. i realized this after shavashana, which means that i really wasn't thinking! but i was still present. awesome.

busan funnies

PIFF--해운대:haeundae beach

the busan/pusan international film festival's hub was at haeundae beach. while waiting for our films to begin, we soaked in some sun, overheard snidbits of conversations, and read on the beach.

what the fuck?!?

do you ever get the sinking feeling that whatever unfortunate and inconvenient issues were lurking just beneath the polished exterior of a workplace have suddenly been exposed and it's not the end but rather the beginning of a tedious and trying co-existence? yeah, welcome to my life.

somedays, i have a hard time comprehending what it is that people do as their jobs. just what EXACTLY do they do? based on my observations, people waste an incredible amount of time pretending to work or worrying and complaining about work but never actually DOING any work. the word efficiency seems lost and nonexistent in the korean office.

i'm not saying i'm the most efficient person in the world, by no means can i make that claim, martha effin stewart has just about everyone beat in that category. but, i do know how to manage time and lack of time managment seems to be the ultimate weakness in korea. i think one of the keys to "success" in life (fuuuuck, i sound like an annoying motivational poster) is the actual application of ideas, be they grandiose, innovative or simply smart. you've got to, as tim gunn, says "make it work!" and of course, making it work and making it work well produce two different effects. and what may i ask, what (and who) the fuck is working here?

my job is not the cream of the crop, nor is it peaches and cream, all that and then some. it's not. (it is also, thankfully, not the worst job i've ever worked) i never expected that--puhhhlease, i'm realistically idealistic so i'm grounded yet hopeful--but i did expect common sense to be present. the lack of basic knowledge was at first comical, but it is now getting absurd to the point of obscenity. whoa nelly! hold your horses...okay, okay, i'm adding waaay too much dramatic flair. but seriously, seriously?!?!?! in an unplanned meeting, my supervisor expected me to tell him the main points to a class curriculum i'm still creating. when i retreived my notes and explained spontaneously what i thought would be best, he then asked me to write him an email. confused by such a request, especially since i had just voiced my thoughts literally seconds ago, i asked him:

"you want me to write you an email about the things i just said?"
"yes."

welcom to office space, korean style.

extreme backpack

wow! what an extreme backpack! on a side note, check out the black t-shirt.

even fishier!