My Final Thoughts!

1) DVD room... Skip, Katie and Krish
2) good bye dinner... stuffed after eating shabu shabu
3) Enjoying happy meals on the last day. Check out my shoe situation... I won't miss that. In finally be allowed to wear real shoes in my future classroom, not slippers.
4) The kiddies heading home on my last day.
5) Jen brought my these beautiful flowers to say thank you for being her teacher.. so sweet!





I left off in quite a fury. You will all be happy to know that I got all my money. It wasn't easy though, not like it should have been. I finally got my plane ticket on my second to last day of work. I took it to the pension office and filed for my 11 months of pension. I just hope it all goes through and that I receive my pension in the next six weeks. My last day of work was on a Thursday. I should have been feeling jubilant knowing that I will never have to go back but I wasn't. I still hadn't gotten paid… AHHH! I tried to be positive and just enjoy the last moments I had with my students. We had a good bye celebration filled with tears and all the fatty food and candy I promised. I went to the bank on Friday morning, when I finally got paid. God they are so slow and inconsiderate. They waited till after my last day of work… over two weeks late, to pay me for two months. Luckily I don't ever have to deal with shenanigans like that ever again. I attempted to go to the bank alone, get all my money and close my account. Again, it wasn't that easy. I could see the frustration in the eyes of the Korean woman helping me. I apologized over and over again and she just stared at me. When I realized our conversation was going no where, I called my liaison (he should have just come with me but like I mentioned previously, he has gotten really lazy and busy with all the bullshit at TNE). 30 minutes later, and passing the phone back and forth, I was out of there with quite a large wade of cash… they were actually able to give me dollars, how nice. For the next three days, until I made it back home, I made sure to keep that money on me.

I felt pretty jolly after collecting all my money on Friday afternoon. It made for a really fun time later that evening. All my friends met me downtown and we partied till the wee hours of the morning. It was the last time that we will share Korean night life together. I sure will miss Korean night life… bars not closing till six and eight am, taxis running at all hours, carrying drinks on the street from one bar to the next, being the minority in a sea of Asians… talking about any and everything and knowing that no one understands because most likely, they don't have a clue what your saying. I loved the foreign community in my town… I was sad to leave it. More so, I was sad to say good bye to… no, not my friends (oh course I'll miss them though), but…. my favorite Korean dish- shabu shabu, UGH! Man oh man will I miss Korean food. I know I will never be able to find food like it here in America. My town, Gwangju, is known for it's delicious food. I ate enough shabu shabu on my last night in Korea for at least three people. I left the restaurant in pain. Did I ever tell you about this meal… even if I did, I'm sure you want to hear all about it again. Okay so it starts off with a few side dishes- white, lightly pickled kimchi and red spiced, sesame, chopped cucumbers. While your enjoying these side dishes, your pot of soup is slowly cooking. The pot cooks on the table. A variety of tasty greens, mushrooms and onions blend with a delicious, red, spicy broth. After the soup is bubbling, you add the thinly sliced pieces of meat (beef). The eldest woman is always the one to cook and serve. As the meat cooks, you serve everyone a bowl full. You can use one or all of the different sauces that the restaurant offers. I like to mix them all… I've always loved condiments. I mix the spicy, sweet, zingy red sauce with a little soy and a big spoon full of wasabi. You know I'm not a afraid of a little spice! This combination is so incredible with the veggies and meat. You serve up the meat until it is gone then you add a bowl full of udon noodles to the soup mixture. The noodles cook until they are tender and saturated in the savory flavors of the soup. Okay… It's still not over and I'm already full just talking about it. Once the noodles are gone, the waitress pours the left over soup in a bowl and she brings back the soup pot. In the soup pot is a compacted mixture of fried rice, egg and minced veggies. Oh, it's so yummy. For every bite of rice, you drink a spoon full of soup. They really compliment each other. Okay, so is it obvious that I like this meal… or just food in general. I could probably write a book on Korean food alone.

After a delicious meal with friends, we enjoyed some coffee and a some time at a DVD room. I tried to stay awake because my bus left at 5:20 and I knew if I tried to wake up for that, I would be miserable so I just stayed up. My friends were so sweet… they all stayed up with me until it was just about time for me to go. They wanted to spend every last minute with me, what a great group of buddies! What the hell is a DVD room, right? Well, basically it's a place that you go with a small group. You pick out a dvd and go into your private, cozy room and watch. What's the real reason behind these rooms? They are really just another place where Koreans go to get away and do the dirty. The majority of all Koreans live with their parents until they are about 30 or so. When you live with your mom and dad… it makes it hard to have a relationship. A dvd room is a good place to go and have your relationship… hmm. I will assume that my friends and I were the only group that came in there and strictly watched a movie, haha. It was evident that these rooms are used for certain reasons because the couches in the rooms are like beds, the windows are blacked out and the bathrooms are supplied with showers, hair dryers, lotion, condoms, etc. Now that I think about it… I really should have laid down a tarp before I sat on that couch- eww!

5 am finally came around… it was dark and rainy and I had to say good bye and gather all my things. Skip took me to the bus station and wished me farewell… how sad! I slept the entire four hours on the bus and until I arrived at Incheon National Airport right outside of Seoul. I lugged my 60 pound bag, my 65 pound bag and my 30 pound book bag all over the airport until I could finally check in. Oh course, I had to pay a rather large fee for my year's supply of crap. The woman who I checked in with told me that I could have to check my bags back in for every air line… that meant I had to pick my bags up from baggage claim and check them three different times. Oh this journey home was such a hassle. I arrived at Narita Aiport in Tokyo, Japan around 4 pm that Sunday afternoon. My bags went missing for several hours and I sat in the baggage claim and waited, waited, waited. Once I got my bags, I searched for my shuttle bus and headed to my lovely hotel. What I should have done when I got there is, settle in then head for downtown Tokyo. I was just too worn out to do much of anything… NO MORE traveling. Instead, I got all dressed up and enjoyed a tasty king crab leg meal at the hotel. I sipped red wine and tried to just relax and prepare myself for Monday's journey. Monday came quickly and I was up early, eager to get home. The shuttle bus was a wonderful convenience. I didn't have to worry about anything. Everyone was really helpful, I was happy to not lift my giant bags into the bus and onto a cart several times. I checked my bags once again and I was off. I flew to Japan on Japan Air and also back to America. What a lovely airline. I had lots of room to move around in my seat. My legs were not squished at all, not like on my flight over here with Korean Air. The flight attendants were so kind, the food was delicious and the movie and game selection were awesome. I was so pleased with the airline. I was so anxious to be back in America, I could not sleep at all on the flight. Instead, I played tetras for hours at a time… it really calmed my nerves. The ten hour flight was not bad at all. I was so incredibly happy when I finally arrived in America (Monday morning)… I gained a whole day coming back to the USA. Being in the airport was so strange. It was so weird to be surrounded by so many English speakers. I could actually understand everyone's conversation, not that I was trying to ease drop. I felt like I knew 5 out of 10 people that I saw. I don't know why… for some reason, everyone just looked familiar. I left OHare National Airport in Chicago around 11:00 am and arrived in Raleigh Durham Airport around 1:30 pm. For the last time, I lugged my bags out of the baggage claim and patiently waited outside for my family. I thought I was going to pee my pants, I was so happy, nervous and anxious to see them. It was unreal when they finally pulled up. I hugged my mom and dad and cried with tears of joy. The most exciting part was when we got back home and I finally got to meet my new nephews. My whole family came in town for my homecoming, how wonderful of them. After almost 11 months, I finally got to see my mom, dad, two sisters and their husbands and for the first time, baby Liam and baby Jackson. It will be a long time before I leave the country again.

So, its been about a week and I'm slowly adjusting. Everything was so wonderful when I first got home. It was almost too easy… I felt like I hadn't even left. When I woke up the first morning in my bed, I felt completely at home. Things were almost too good to be true. Everyone kept telling me…" watch out, reverse culture shock will set in…". After about the third day, it did. I went out with friends in the downtown area that I live in. I sat there enjoying friend's company and a good old American beer. The weirdest thing was sitting there and be able to understand all the conversations around me. I was so overwhelmed. In Korea, every time I saw another foreigner, like myself, I would smile or say hello. There was only 4,000 foreigners in a town full of 400,000 plus. Well, where I live now… just about Everyone speaks English… at first, I smiled at every single person who walked by me. After exhausting my cheeks, I asked a friend…" should I smile at everyone, is that right???" She responded with, "no Em, that really isn't necessary, haha!" It's going to take a little time to get used to things but I am confident that I will adjust quickly. It's hard to jump back into your old life after a year. I found myself in the car driving around the other day, just lost. Surprisingly, I knew where I was going but I couldn't bring myself to go home because in my head, home is still Korea. I'm ready to begin the next chapter in my life. As I patiently await replies for teaching positions in my area, I will work on adjusting to my life here in America. I will say, I have a completely different perspective on America now. As much as I love it and missed it… damn, coming back to it, I'm realizing what an ignorant country it is. Maybe that makes me sound like a snob but I don't care. I can't get over the way the media portrays everything and more importantly, the way the media doesn't portray anything at all. Since I've been home, the top story in the news is about a woman named Casey Anthony who killed her child. The stories are really awful and sad but enough already. Can't we hear about the real issues… government, war, etc. ???? Traveling in another country for almost a full year really opened my eyes to so the world as a whole and the things that really matter. It has allowed me to appreciate the things I do have, feel lucky for the things that I get to experience and feel fortunate that I have so many wonderful friends and family members who love and support me.

Life is so short… do as much as you can… see as much as you can… live your life to the fullest and be real…. one year of my life spent in Korea changed me completely for the best. I can't wait to see what is next. Wish me luck in all my future endeavors.

It has truly been a pleasure writing for all you followers for the past 11 months. Thank you so much for your support.

All my love- Emilie :)

Frustration Setting In...1 WEEK!

1 and 2- Saturday rugby
3- I Just love this picture, Eric is so cute. We were so proud of our plants that we grew in science.
4- Mongolian blue spots




It's a good thing I went to the gym and worked off some of my stress before I wrote this.. I started it and I realized I was going to be throwing out quite a bit of profanity your way. I'm classier than that.. ha.. so I will refrain. Here's what it really boils down to. My paycheck is two weeks late for the second month in a row. My contract has been broken several times before and I am absolutely afraid as hell they are going to do it again and just screw me for all my money- 2 months pay plus overtime, prorated severance, bonus and pension. How shitty is it that I pray every night that I am going to get paid… what I deserve. Some of you are probably thinking, why do you even go to work if you're not getting paid. Trust me, I've though of that. It's not that easy around here. If I make them angry in any way, they will wait even longer to pay me or just not pay me at all. Four of the guys that worked here a few months ago were curious about their pension. They went to the pension office and sure enough, they weren't getting it. The labor board called TN and discussed with them this issue and that's when everything went down hill. TN English decided… well shit, if you're going to go behind our back and do that, (I honestly don't see any harm in this, they were just watching their asses) then you will pay. Really… they were pissed they got caught and took it out on the boys who were already suffering. You see, the managers here pick and choose who they like. Thank god they have liked me thus far (I guess… then pay me and let me leave peacefully)… only because cause I shut my mouth and do what I am told, no questions asked. So… these four boys are still waiting on their pension. Supposedly, TN is on the shit list with the labor board. Every time they call TN, they don't pick up the phone… ignore emails and letters. Ugh, just when I thought I had a nice bond with them in Cebu. WRONG!

So, they promised me I would get everything by Wednesday… my last day is Thursday. Today when I brought it up they got all weird and said NO NO Emilie, we said Friday. What what what the hell!? Ha, and they always said their word is stronger than their contracts. They are full of so much shit. Haha.. so much for not cussing, trust me though, it could be worse. So today I made sure I was getting my pension all along.. indeed I was- yayy! Later, I went into the office and begged them in the nicest, most professional way.. "I feel as though I have been very compliant and helpful this past 11 months here at TN. I do not complain, I go out of my way to help the students who I love, and I don't tattle when you pay me late on more than one occasion. I could go to the pension office but I don't (cause I know you will screw me deep into the ground if I do). All I am asking is that you give me the money I deserve in enough time for me to make it to the bank before it closes on Friday so I can send my money home and close my account. And please give me my plane ticket that you have at hand right now, so I can show it to the pension office and soon collect my pension." "Well Emilie, you could just take all your money out of the ATM this weekend"…. "Okay, what about closing my account and changing it into US dollars and honestly, I don't want to carry $6,000 around with me while I travel through Korea, Japan and America." "You can do it at the airport, Emilie". "Well, actually, I travel on Sunday and the banks are closed on Sunday so why can't you just put the money into my account on Friday morning verses Friday evening"… so, friends and family, doesn't this sound very very very sketchy. It's as if they are trying to get away with not paying me at all. I think that they think I am some stupid idiot who is not going to ask these questions. There is actually only one very very shady person at TN English. That person is not the big boss, he doesn't even know about half the shit that goes on. It is Joseph… the idiotic, cheap son of a bitch that screws everyone for all that they are worth. The man who is in change of all the finances. That meeting in the office this morning ended in blank stares and them telling me we will discuss it later… then the bell rang and I had to teach. My plan for the week… I will push and push for my plane ticket and try to get the pension office before Friday. Early Friday morning I will go the office and sit and wait and ask every five minutes.. "did you put my money in, did you put my money in.. now? now? now?" The second they do, I will run to the bank and transfer all my money over then close the account and immediately start taking shots! Keep in mind that it's never as easy as it sounds. I have to try and speak Korean or hope there is an English speaker at the bank. My liaison doesn't help me any more because he claims it's not his job. He's worthless! No matter what, I am not going to let this ruin the amazing experience I have had with my students. I am getting my Kindergarten class happy meals and a plethora or cookies candy and ice-cream for Thursday afternoon. I will send them off with smiles and bellies full of junk! Just what any kid loves!! :)

It's monsoon season over here in Korea and boy is it nasty. Humid, muggy, rainy and worst of all, the mosquitos are just miserable. A typhoon hit Korea this weekend and just in time for Skip's rugby tournament this past Saturday. Together, we traveled to a town called Pyeongtaek. The town is known for it's large US army base and it scandalous hookers. It's been a long time that I was surrounded by so many good looking white boys…. boys from all over too, not just America. Yes, yes, I know I was with my boyfriend but it was just entertaining to talk to so many nice English speaking men. There was six teams at the tournament, three of those teams were army teams. While two teams were playing, the rest were hanging out under the tent trying to stay dry from all the rain. I had some interesting conservations with boys from South Africa, Australia and even some army boys from Raleigh, NC. I ate brats and drank American beer (the army bases are like little Americas) while watching the rain pour as the rugby teams tore each other up. What an intense sport… my god! Guys were running around with gashed open eye lids, knees and heads dripping with blood. Skip actually got really hurt after falling on his side and then being crushed by a 300 lb man. We ended up in the ER later that evening… no broken bones but he's in quite a bit of pain. He's seeing if the pain gets better before he heads back for a very expensive cat scan. Hopefully that won't be necessary. A lovely weekend… rain, rain, rain and a visit to the ER. I was just happy to spend it with someone that makes me smile.

It sure was nice to get all those laughs and smiles in cause today I had a permanent frown. For a minute there, the dark circles under my eyes were beginning to fade. They came back this morning along with about ten new zits- I've named each one: anger, stress, anxiety, melancholy, heartache, agony, woe, angst, uneasiness and of course, neurotic. HAHA… the dramatic side has spoken!

I can't wait for the weekend… I plan to blog at least once more, maybe twice. I've got my weekend fun ahead. Friday is my last big night out. Saturday is a quiet dinner with friends then very early Sunday morning, I leave for Seoul then Tokyo. Stay tuned… Emilie's Asian Adventures is coming to an end very soon.



Korean Facts/ Randomness:

-So, last week, four out of my seven kindergarteners were our sick for the whole week with hand, mouth and foot disease. This week, one more student was out. Let's hope no one else gets is. Luckily, it rare for anyone over the age of 10 to get it. I guess that is what happens when our school doesn't provide us with soap, when you live in a county that shares everything at meals and when you walk around without socks and shoes... dirty dirty! Just so you know, I always wear socks and inside shoes/slippers. It's the kids who don't!
-My sweet, sweet Korean friend Soo Yeoung came to our rescue on Saturday night. Not a single person in the ER spoke English and we were shit out of luck. While waiting in the ER for Skip to get his X-rays, I was chatting and catching up with Soo Yeong. I was admiring her new born niece in the many pictures she had on her phone. I came across a very interesting picture in which the baby was naked and covered in what looked like bruises or blue ink. Ignorantly, I exclaimed, "what did you guys do to her here?" I thought maybe she played around in some ink or something like that. Silly me!? She said, oh, that is just her Mongolian blue spots/birth marks. All Korean babies have these. A Mongolian blue spot is a benign flat congenital birthmark with wavy borders and irregular shape, most common among East Asians and Turks (excluding Turkish people), and named after Mongolians. It is also extremely prevalent among East Africans and Native Americans. Authentic Mongolian blue spots disappear within the first four years of life. The most common color is blue, although they can be blue-gray, blue-black or even deep brown.
The Mongolian spot is a congenital developmental condition exclusively involving the skin. The blue color is caused by melanocytes, melanin-containing cells, that are deep under the skin. Usually, as multiple spots or one large patch, it covers one or more of the lumbosacral area (lower back), the buttocks, flanks, and shoulders.It results from the entrapment of melanocytes in the dermis during their migration from the neural crest to the epidermis during embryonic development.
Among those who are not aware of the background of the Mongolian spots, it may sometimes be mistaken for a bruise indicative of child abuse.
I learn something new everyday. How interesting!

Riding the White Horse... haha!

my two best girlfriends in SK (Katie and Molly)... being strange..
where.. and who am I going to sing karaoke with at 3 a.m. ... it's a lost cause after I leave this place :(


Welcome to the world Jackson River Almond. I am such a proud aunt. My other big sister, Colleen had a beautiful baby boy on Father's Day (June 19th). Speaking of, Happy Father's day to all the wonderful dads out there, especially mine. So, two new baby boys will be waiting for me when I get home. I can't wait to meet my sweet, adorable nephews.

The first thing I plan to do when I get home… other than sleep and eat some cheese is, start working on Jackson's nursery. I am painting a huge mural on the largest wall of his room. The nursery has a nature theme goin on so I plan to paint a large, artsy tree… an owl, some bright bugs and big, crazy blades of grass. I am really looking forward to painting, it's been too long.

The weeks are dwindling down and I just don't know what to do with myself. I'm really looking forward to coming home but my mind is in two places right now. I don't know where to focus my heart and my thoughts. My heart is stuck here… you know what I'm talking about. I've made so many wonderful relationships here, ones that have changed me in so many ways. The friends and the boyfriend I have come to love have taught me so much about myself and about life. Part of me has wanted to go ahead and shut it all off. I don't want to get any deeper in these relationships because it will be that much harder to leave. I decided that that was ridiculous… why not just enjoy it to the fullest and take back all those incredible memories right at the very end, when it's really over. When I say over, I mean my South Korea journey, not my relationships. I have every intention of keeping in contact with all my people here. I know I will see them again one day.

Skip is here for his second year and we were discussing how difficult it is to make friends and leave them. It's hard enough to do it once, like he has already done but to do it twice is just hell. He has been so hesitant to make lots of new friends this second year because he knows how hard it is to say good bye. I don't blame him at all.. it sucks!!! Even my roommate, Alicia… she has been here for almost four years. She doesn't even like to go out because it's the same old story with everyone and she is tired of hearing it.. "hello, where are you from, how long have you lived in Korea, when do you go home, what did you study"… ah yes, a new friend and then months later they are gone. After four years, I don't really blame her either. It's hard! Even though it will be tough to say good bye. I am glad that I have actually made great enough friends that are worth the tears. I'll never forget them! You will probably hear this spiel again, or something similar to it when I'm on the bus heading to the airport. SHIT! I have a lump in my throat just thinking about it now. Be strong Emilie teacher!!! Oh no… and saying good bye to my kids.. that's another mess of tears. SHIT!

A weekend of drunkenness with the people I enjoy most… nothing to write home about.. how about you just enjoy the pictures! I've got one more, full weekend left in Korea. It should be a good one. Maybe I'll go into more detail next week.

Korean Facts/ Randomness:

-The difference in Korean movies… I watched a scary Korean movie in last month. It is interesting to see the things they do in these movies they relate only to their culture. For example… there was a scene in which a man threw tons of fish hooks all over the floor of his house. He was trying to slow down his enemy because he knew his enemy would surely take off his shoes when he came in the house. Only in Korea would this be a problem: fish hooks on a hard wood floor, no shoes.
- My students were just flabbergasted this week when I told them that it was rare for an American to have a rice cooker in their kitchen. Every single Korean has a rice cooker, it's an essential…like having a toaster or a toaster oven. Koreans eat rice and kimchi for every single meal.
-I found out this week that one of my kindergarden students still breast feeds. In fact, he not only breast feeds off his mother but also off his grandmother… good god! You're walking, talking and attending school and you still latch on to your mother's breast. This is my oldest, most energetic, most talkative student… I don't like thinking he still breast feeds.. hmmm..?? To each their own, I guess.
-So, in the states we call liking Asians, "Yellow Fever." In Korea, if you like whites it is called, "Riding the White Horse."… no kidding!

No U Turns???

I will miss both so much... Skip and my Kinder class!


Today I was reminded why some Koreans are so completely and utterly illogical. Not all of them obviously but a lot of them. So, I left Skip's apartment Sunday afternoon and walked out to the street to hail a cab (hailing a cab means waving your hand downwards, low by your side… I don't understand how this makes sense because it's hard to see your hand when it's not raised up. I've definitely gotten yelled at by Koreans if I wave my hand upward). After 15 minutes of waiting, I finally got a cab. I got in and gave him my destination. The way I was going meant that the cab driver would have to drive to the next light and do a U turn… not a big deal, right!? In Korea, that is a very big deal. You've got to be going the direction they're going, or cross the road. When he realized he would need to turn around, he made a bunch of hand gestures, spoke a bunch of Korean and made me get out. I picked up a few words that he said and realized he wanted me to cross the street so he could pick me up on the other side. Did I hear this correctly? WOW! Well, I crossed the street and sure enough, a few moments later he was turned around and right there to get me. He could have made more money by taking me with him when he went up the street to do the U turn.. whatever. He probably saved me a quarter haha. Silly silly Korean ways!

The weeks are long but there aren't many left. This new schedule is not as bad as I thought it would be. I teach from 10 am to 6:20 with no breaks. I take that back… I have three 10 minute breaks and one five minute break. During those breaks I have to write my student evaluations (after every class I write a 3-5 sentence evaluations about each student). They are hardly breaks. I have a 20 minute lunch but I have to help the kids.. I quickly shovel in some food and then I run upstairs to write my evaluations. Occasionally I have time to get a cup of very strong, much needed coffee. I am trying to enjoy these last few weeks as much as I can. I am going to miss all my students, especially my babies. My kinder class is progressing so much. I've even got a few extra. It started with two back in February when they were pre- K (Jen and Jenny), now I have seven. I have named the last three students… Hailey, Jayden and Eric. It's funny when you name a student because you don't want to name them something that you would want to name your own child but you want to name them something you like and something you think them and their parents will like. It's an interesting concept indeed.

Only three more weeks and I'll be back in America. My stories are not quite over though. I've got one more big adventure left… my journey home. Since I have a 19 hour layover in Tokyo, I thought I might as well make the best of it and venture out as far as I can and as comfortably as I can in that amount of time. I will arrive in Tokyo at 3:55 p.m. on July 3rd. I've got till 11 am the next morning to cruz Tokyo. I made a reservation at the Holiday Inn near Narita airport. A shuttle bus will pick me and my years worth of luggage right outside the airport and take me to the hotel. The hotel offers a shuttle bus that will take you on a tour through the city. I plan on freshening up and taking the bus into town and hopefully enjoying a nice Japanese meal on my last night in Asia. I will be able to get a good nights rest and a shower before I sit on the plane back to the USA for 13 plus hours. I'll eat my complimentary breakfast at the hotel, shuttle back over to Narita, check in all my crap and board the plane back to America at 11 a.m. I like to plan ahead… way ahead, especially when it comes to traveling. I get so so nervous when I travel. Oh, I can't wait to be home and see my family!


Korean Facts/ Randomness:

In Korea, if you are younger than the people you are around, you are their "oni"- big sister. Your job is to take care of them and pretty much cater to their every need. In America, if you are older, you often take care of the person who is younger.
-Silly Korean ways… a waste of shoes is what I call it. At my gym you have to wear a different pair of shoes that you wore in. If you have to go to the bathroom during the time that you're at the gym, you have to put on a special pair of gym shoes that go over your tennis shoes… not the ones you wore in, the ones you changed into. These shoes are huge… after all, they fit over large tennis shoes. In the 45 minutes that I am at the gym, I wear three different pairs of shoes.. four if I take a shower. WHY!? UGH!

Scuba Pictures!!! :)

My Korean co-workers finally sent me their pictures... I thought I would share some with you!!

SCUBA SCUBA!!!!!

1) I thought that might grab your attention.. NO I didn't take this but I would have taken something like it or better if I had an under water camera (saw these everywhere!!!)
2 and 3) Nalsaun Island.. where we ate lunch one day (a popular island.. a lot of Korean actors and actresses are photographed here)
4) the beach in front of Ocean Player (our scuba site)
5) we ate mangoes every night by the pool... my Korean managers/co-workers
6) the hotel.. pool side
7) sunny skies... highs in the uppers 80's!
8) Magellan's Cross
9) sad begging children... my co-worker Christine looks rich in her white linen pants.. they knew who to ask..
10) these friendly locals really wanted a picture with me.. so cute
11) Laura, Ryan and I
12) glass...barb wire... crime filled city
13) this is what the taxis look like










Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I didn't get back from the Philippines until 3 a.m. Wednesday morning. We started a new work schedule that day and we are all working overtime now… I've been exhausted and very, very busy. On top of it all… I got food poisoning this past weekend. Luckily, my sweet, sweet boyfriend took care of me. He has now seen me at my very worst… what a doll he is for being so patient with me. It's times like these… when your sick as a dog, that you hate being in a foreign country. The worst part is, I am not allowed to take any sick days. Sine we are short on teachers and we are all already teaching overtime, we don't have any teachers to cover us if we get sick. The only way I could take a sick day is if I were to die. They would honestly rather me sit in the classroom with a throw up bucket than miss a day.

Thank god we did not have work yesterday (Monday was a national holiday- Memorial day). The only doctor available was the one at the ER so that's where I went.. a bit dramatic it may seem but trust me, it was necessary… only in Korea would I have done this. I needed to get better as soon as possible and the ER was there to make that happen. They gave me some shots, meds and an IV… about $60 and two hours later, I was home and in bed, getting better! If I had done that in America, it probably would have cost between $500 and $$800. Ha… In America I could have taken a damn sick day and just gotten better. The ER was a joke…. because it's so cheap and accessible, everyone uses it. In the two hours that I was in there I saw so much. I was most definitely the sickest person in there and I wasn't even that bad. I saw a little boy brought in by the EMS who had a scraped chin and elbow. One lady came in and took a nap.. they didn't give her anything. She slept whatever she had off and then left 45 minutes later. Several children came in with scratches… I watched the nurse put small bandages on them and send them home. I sat there and laughed… I was embarrassed to be there but not after I saw how dramatic most of the Koreans were. Out of about 35 people in and out… one woman really needed help, she broke her leg.


Ya know, I live in Korea but I rarely hang out with Koreans. Obviously, it's the language barrier and the many cultural differences that keep us distant. With all this being said, I guess I kind of forgot what it was like to be around Koreans on a regular basis… other than at work that is. I spent my fantastic Philippines vacation with 12 Koreans and two of my lovely American co-workers (Laura and Ryan). Being around the Koreans all week made me realize, once again that all the bullshit that happens at work is not really personal… it's cultural. Their illogical ways are prevalent in the way that they do so many every day activities. Some other things I forgot about Korean culture… well, I wouldn't say I forgot, I just haven't been around it in a while. We all share food…even if I order something for myself… people are grabbing at it from every angle of the table. I had just ordered a big glass or water at dinner one night and my boss saw it and waved at me to give it to him. He nearly drank half the glass and then kept it at his end of the table. Wouldn't that irritate you? Somehow… it didn't bother me. I just ordered another drink. Okay, okay, on a lighter note before I go on and on about the Philippines… I had a fabulous time with every single Korean. I roomed with Mabel who is the head secretary at TNE. What a wonderful bonding experience I had with the TN family… just in time. One month left and I will be glad to leave with an open mind and a happy heart. I'll tell ya, it sure doesn't hurt to get hammered with your bosses… it's keeps things exciting. In Korea, they love to get you good and drunk. They were especially happy to see my silly drunken side.

So this trip was beyond wonderful. Money was of no issue on this vacation and my boss really made us all feel like kings… everything from private scuba instruction, delectable food and every day massages… ugh, it was all amazing. Really though, the best part was the atmosphere/culture that surrounded us in this beautiful tropical place.

We flew into Cebu (one of the bigger, more popular islands… best known for scuba). After arriving in Cebu, two large vans picked us up and took us to our hotel. Our hotel was so cute and the locals working there were so friendly. They had juicy, candy like fruit (mangoes… the fruit of the Philippines) eggs and toast made fresh for us every morning before we ventured out for scuba. I loved those hot sunny mornings. I got up early, drank my coffee by the pool and lathered myself in sun screen. Around 10 a.m. the vans were back to pick us up. They took us to Ocean Player, a scuba diving site on the water. The rides there were definitely something I enjoyed most. The area that we were in was called Lapu, Lapu.. a small city in Mactan- Cebu City. This area is definitely third world. I saw tiny run down houses and shops all lined right next to one another, almost on top of each other, people everywhere, children with no shoes, some with no pants on, endless amounts of dogs, goats and roosters. The funny thing about the roosters is that, not only where there hundreds of them running around and crowing but everywhere you looked, people were holding them like babies. Apparently, the popular thing you do with roosters is to hold them in a certain position… a position that hypnotizes them. I was sure everyone was holding a dead roosters until I asked some of the locals what the deal was. Something about this third world country made me feel relaxed and at ease. Most of the people we were with were a little taken back by the atmosphere… it didn't make them feel nearly as comfortable as it made me feel.

We were in the Philippines for five days and we scubaed for the first four. We would have scuba dived on our last day but scuba rules state that you can not fly in a plane at least 12 hours after you have been scuba diving… When you dive, your body absorbs nitrogen into your tissues. When you are on the surface after the dive, those gases slowly leave your tissues. However, if you go in an aircraft (especially an unpressurised one), or otherwise ascend to high altitude, the air pressure is much lower, so that gas wants to leave your tissues more quickly, which can form bubbles that lead to decompression sickness. It was a good thing we waited… I didn't need that! Scuba began with a full day of training: a three hour classroom session which mostly consisted of a video then later, practice in the pool. Our training was so in depth because we were not just practicing to scuba for a few fun days, we were practicing to get a lifetime certification. We had the most wonderful group of master scuba instructors. Two of them were Korean which was perfect for our large group of non-Korean swimmers (can you believe that out of 12 Koreans, only four of them knew how to swim….it blew my mind and, they still got their scuba certification. Apparently, since you wear a jacket that inflates and flippers, you don't need to know how to swim…). Because we don't speak Korean, Laura, Ryan and I had a major disadvantage. A lot of things were translated but not everything. Luckily, the videos we watched were all in English (Korean subtitles) so I really focused in on those. For some odd reason, I thought scuba was somewhat of a simple activity… boy was I wrong. Once we started the pool training I knew I was in trouble. It was hard enough to put together the inflatable jacket, attach it to the cylinder (tank) then hook it up to the regulator and the octopus regulator… find a a weight belt that fits correctly… yada yada yada, you get it, there's a lot of steps. I started catching on slowly in the pool the longer we practiced. Day two came quickly and we were already venturing out to sea. Oh god! All I can say about this day is thank you scuba instructors Denis and Sam. Without you there, I would have drowned! As much as I wanted to give up so badly and lounge on the boat, I stuck with it. I am so incredibly, unbelievably happy that I did because by the end of the third day I perfected scuba. I mastered all the underwater tests such as: fully taking off your mask and clearing it, maintaining natural buoyancy so that you can hover in one place, equalizing every five meters (basically just popping your ears), dropping your regulator (breathing device) and using your octopus then sharing with a buddy, taking off your tank/jacket and mask all at once and putting it back on without looking, using/understanding your SBG (submersible pressure gauge) correctly, understand how to control and use your BCD (buoyancy control device), knowing and understanding the many hand gestures, swimming in the correct position and lastly… most importantly, breathing correctly so that you don't hyperventilate and mess up your ears… thus making yourself sick. So… I've given you a little scuba knowledge. I am happy to tell you that with the scuba knowledge I gained, I passed my scuba exam (underwater and written) with much success. Hands down, scuba is the most amazing experience I've ever had… if you ever get the chance, please try it. Once I got comfortable underwater I swam around in awe. From the surface, the water was a beautiful aqua, down under, the water was perfectly clear and amazing. I saw thousands of different tropical fish that were every imaginable color and every imaginable pattern. I saw polka dots, stripes, zig zags and swirls.. ugh- I was so excited I peed all up in my wet suit! The star fish that were everywhere were bigger than my head and electric blue in color. I saw coral that was neon blue… every time I saw this coral I got really, really close just to see if it was real. An out of body experience is what I had… from fear to fulfillment… it was all worth while. I know one thing, my future spouse better like it because I'm getting him certified so we can scuba on every vacation. Oh, and… next time, I'll be sure to take an underwater camera.

Every exhausting evening ended with a delicious meal, a few cocktails and a Swedish massage. My boss is all about massages so each night before we went to bed, all 15 of us got an hour long massage. I've never had a Swedish massage, they were quite interesting. The Fililipino women massaged me from head to toe. Let me just say, the only part of my body they didn't massage was my vagina… thankfully. I could have done without the boob and butt massage but everything else was lovely.

Our vacation was packed full of fun activities… even the relaxation had to be scheduled. This trip was the first in which I woke up every morning before eight went to bed every night before two a.m. because on exhaustion alone. It was wonderful and I'm still recovering from lack of sleep! We did a little bit of everything. On Monday afternoon, after our dive in Nalsaun island/ marine sanctuary, we went into downtown Cebu for some sight seeing. We saw Magellans Cross (Magellan's Cross, located in Magellanes Street, is Cebu's most important historical landmark and an important shrine.In 1521 the Portuguese navigator, Ferdinand Magellan, erected the original large wooden cross at this location where Cebu's Rajah Humaton, his wife Juana, and 800 followers were baptised on April 14, 1521 and the first Catholic mass in Cebu (in fact, the first Catholic mass in the Philippines) was celebrated. The original cross gradually deteriorated as over the years the faithful took little pieces of the cross as mementos. In 1845 another cross was placed at the spot. The new cross was made of tindalo wood and inside a hollow inside splinters of the original Magellan's Cross were preserved.Today a tiled pavillion shelters the cross and a ceiling mural depicts the scene of the first mass and commemorates the conversion of the first Filipinos to Christianity). We went shopping, not only for souvenirs but for any and everything else you could possibly think of. Even though Mactan is third world.. just 20 minutes east and over a bridge is everything but third world. Believe it or not, Cebu has a mall (SM City Cebu) that is one of the largest malls in the world… top 15! Oddly amazing right!!?? The money that they use in the Philippines is the peso, not to be confused with the Mexican peso (they are very different). Every 44 pesos equals a dollar. There was so much jumping around… while downtown, there were half- dressed, disheveled children begging us for food and money, on the other hand there were five star hotels and classy restaurants all around. I really didn't know what to think. The country gets it's money from tourism, so all those ritzy places are really just there for the first class foreigners. Since South Korea is a rather wealthy country, a good majority of Koreans travel to the Philipines (especially Cebu) for their vacations.

The worst part about the vacation was going home! It was even sad to say good bye to the locals that ran our hotel. They were all so friendly and helpful. I even talked to one of them about coming back to Cebu and teaching. I've looked into it… it could be in my future. Mom… I hope your not expecting me to get married and have children anytime soon. I could easily move to Cebu, teach and scuba dive in my free time.

Philippino Facts/ Randomness:

-The language that people speak in the Philippines is called, Tagalog. The language uses letters, not symbols… phew. It was wonderful to see letters everywhere and not symbols that usually just confuse the hell out of me. The majority of the people who live there speak English and almost every single (97 %) sign, menu, tag, etc. had English on it). When we were in the car, I caught myself reading every single thing that we passed.
-The country is known for its delicious mangoes, papayas, jack fruit (looks like a giant green spiky banana) and kalamansies (a tiny green lime that plays a large role in Philippino cuisine). Often, this lime is squeezed into soy sauce along with some crushed hot, red peppers and used for dipping when enjoying barbecued chicken.
-The world's rarest and most expensive seashell, the "Conus Gloriamaris" is among the 12,000 species of seashells found in the Philippines. And 488 coral species out of the known 500 coral species worldwide are found in the country.
-The Philippine flag is the only flag in the world that is displayed upside-down when the country is in war (red on top and blue at the bottom when in war).
-I love this one… especially since karaoke is so big in Korea… The karaoke is a Filipino invention, not Japanese. Karaoke meaning "singing without accompaniment" in Japanese was invented by Roberto del Rosario. He called his invention "Sing-Along-System", which was later called karaoke.
- In Mactan, crime is huge… especially once the sun goes down. Our scuba instructors told us that almost everyone in Cebu has a gun. Since the majority of stores and restaurants are open, the top of gates are lined with broken glass and barbed wire.
-The airline was the only airline I have ever been on that does not have a complementary drink… it was a four and a half hour flight and you had to pay for water...$3 for warm water!… thanks!?

Can You Wipe Your Own Ass?

At what age should you be wiping your own ass!? Kids usually start potty training between ages two and three. I'm pretty sure that if your old enough to attend school, you should be able to wipe your own tush! Right!? Okay, oaky… so, I teach little kids and they may need some assistance at times. That's okay… really, I don't mind helping them out but the Korean way is just a little ridiculous. The little kids don't even try to wipe themselves after pooping. They can finally handle taking off their pants on their own but that's about it. They scream my name after their done. When I walk in the bathroom they are bent over next to the toilet with their hands around their ankles… this is what their moms probably taught them. I should start making them do it on their own… it's a process, at least they can wipe after peeing without my help! After what Skip told me this weekend… I might re-think my idea. He taught at a private school last year and when one of his 8 year olds asked him to wipe his bottom after he pooped… Skip looked at him like he was crazy and said NO! Confused as ever, the child wiped himself without Skip's help. The student went home and told his mother what happened. Completely and utterly enraged, The mom called school and reprimanded the staff for Skip's wrong doing… "my child should NOT have to wipe his own bottom!!!!" HAHA! Five weeks of teaching left.. what should I do! Risk getting in trouble for not wiping a few tushes or just continue to wipe those tushes!?

This weekend was wonderful. I finally made it to the beach!!! The beaches of South Korea of nothing like the beaches of North Carolina, but they were still pretty great. On Saturday morning, a big group of friends and I met at the bus station with all our gear, where we bought our tickets to Heanam. Heanam is at the southern most tip of South Korea. It is about 2 1/2 hours away from Gwangju. Our bus dropped us off right on the beach, it was so convenient. Luckily, we had warm weather and sunny skies. We immediately set up camp, made lunch and got into our bathing suits. Lunch… haha! Camping to me means roughing it. Skip and I packed our bags full of non-refrigerated items such as bread, peanut butter, nuts, dried fruit, hard boiled eggs (those were fine for 24 hours without being cold), seaweed and fruit. We were happy with what we had until Molly and Fliss pulled out their grill, marinated chicken and veggies.. damn! We were a little jealous. We lathered up in sun block and baked in the sun for a few hours while enjoying a few cock tails. I thought to myself… what alcoholic beverage is always delicious, warm… red wine of course, a little cab sav.. you know Daddio! I don't know many people who sip on red wine on a warm day at the beach. I will say, its quite satisfying. The weekend was off to a good start. Hours went by as I collected handfuls of shells and finished off a few more glasses of wine. As the sun went down, I thought I would try to build a fire. With the help of my toilet paper to get it goin, I made a lovely little bon fire. Thanks to Ryan the pyromaniac… ;) we had a great fire that lasted us until bed time. Luckily the rain waited until we were snuggled up in our tents. The rain scared away the monstrous ants and we slept pretty good throughout the night. The waves crashing and the light rain falling on our tent was such a peaceful, relaxing sound that certainly put me right to sleep… the wine probably helped a little as well. When morning came, we all crawled out of out tents trying to avoid the huge ants and curious Koreans who were fascinated by us. All the old people in the town were walking along the beach in amazement that foreigners knew how to camp. We aren't retorted ya know! Our beach camping adventure had come to an end… and that's probably the only use I'll get out of my new tent. New biggie… It said it was a three person tent but Skip and I barely fit. I guess that means three Korean people… Skip was a few feet too tall for that little tent! WOOPS!

Oh, I am so glad we have three days of work this week! Monday is gone… Tuesday and Wednesday will fly. Thursday doesn't count to me only because we have a fun field trip. Right when school starts, I am taking my cuties to Pizza Hut where we will learn how to make pizzas. We will create our own pizzas all morning then enjoy them for lunch. After lunch, we will come back to school and everyone will head home. That's when the vacation starts. Even though our school doesn't have any money… a huge limousine bus is picking us all up at 2 p.m. in front of TNE. It will take us directly to the airport and we will fly away to Cebu, Philippines. Tune in next week for my Cebu/ scuba blog. I don't get back from Cebu until late Tuesday evening so I will either have a very late blog or I will skip a week.

Korean Facts/ Randomness:

-To carry on with last week's blog… "No Creative Thought" … I was thinking more about it. Even my students agreed with me on the subject. I was praising them for their hard work. They were laughing at me because I said "good job" in so many different ways (wonderful, lovely, great, awesome, fabulous, terrific, beautiful, fantastic, amazing… etc.). We all agreed how crazy it is, the fact that there are SOOOO many ways to say, "good job"/ give praise. It's funny because in Korean, there is only one way to say good job.
-Because Koreans have to take their shoes on and off constantly, all the backs on their shoes are destroyed. The majority of them don't even fully put on their shoes. They step on the backs and their shoes turn into slip ons. I was looking at all the shoes on the shoe rack at my gym the other day. Out of about 45 pairs of shoes, 10 of them, including mine were not ruined by smashed in backs.
-A lot of kids in Korea can't tie their shoes… since kids have to take their shoes on and off so much, their parents buy them slip ons or velcro. They never get the chance to practice tying because they don't have laces.
- Children in Korea are not educated on sex or drugs in school. Korea has the highest abortion rate than any other Asian country because men and women are so uneducated on the subject. I feel like I'm living in the 1950's sometimes… this country acts oblivious to so many things! It's absurd!
- Koreans believe that it is good luck to throw old teeth and umbilical cords on the roof of your home (not just any old tooth or umbilical cord.. I don't know who would have these lying around anyway haha. Obviously, your own teeth and your child's umbilical cord). This is what I researched as far as teeth go: "If it is a lower baby tooth, throw it up onto the roof; and if it is an upper tooth, throw it underneath the 'en-no-shita' (the lower portion below the floor of a Japanese/Korean house). It is done so that the upper tooth grows healthy downwards, while the lower tooth upwards" (Multicultural Pedia).