Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Boryeong Mud Festival
Hello everyone! Long time no hear I know but nothing exciting has been happening. Anywho this past weekend I went to the Boryeong Mud Festival with 13 of my coworkers. It was amazing! I would definitely suggest going if you're ever in Korea during that time. The festival is for about 10 days but we only went for the first weekend. They have more events and concerts as the days go on. Apparently Boryeong is known for its mud and the benefits the mud gives your skin. However the festival is just like a giant mud party. People were smearing mud on each other with paint brushes and throwing mud at each other. There was an area you paid to get into where they had mud pits and water slides of mud and some other attractions. I have some pics from it...didn't take too many though didn't want my phone to get messed up.
Sunday, June 3, 2012
Sports Day....New Teachers...New Term
Lately I've been with this organization called Mannam. They are a volunteer association based in Korea. Here's the link for more information: http://www.mannamintl.org/ They are an awesome organization that are truly non-discriminatory. They aren't affiliated with any particular religion and it's a good way to meet other foreigners here that aren't from your job and do some good for people at the same time.
I digress though, the point is I went to an ultimate sports challenge they put together in Seoul for all the branches in Korea on May 19th! It reminded me of Field Day in elementary in school, it was so much fun and I liked watching the different sports being played. There were also little booths along the side of the field that were fun carnival type games where you could win raffle tickets.There were also a Tug of War and this strange paper airplane game lol it was a good time.
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| Stopped here for a quick bite to eat |
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| This is the ceiling of the COEX |
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| Ultimate Challenge time!! |
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| Soccer! |
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| Basketball! |
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| One of the members in our branch has the nickname Giraffe lol |
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| Me and another memeber....I don't have a tshirt yet lol |
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| On the bus ride home we had Norebang! (Karaoke) |
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| It was fun but a bit difficult with a moving bus lol |
Ok next new life event....NEW TEACHERS!!! We got 4 new teachers, the first two came the May 18th and the other two came May 25th. We have people taking this term off so new teachers is good plus now I'm not the newbie anymore lol They're all pretty cool too so that's good. This also leads to my next topic...kinda sorta not really lol but a new term has also now started! I now have new students and new classes that I'm teaching as well as every other Friday off....I have the best schedule out of anyone at work I think lol I do miss my old students...some of them two girls I had last term gave me chocolates they're so sweet!
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| Chocolates!!! |
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| More chocolates! Also a note |
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| The cute note she wrote |
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
I know I'm sucha slacker with updating...
Ok so a few things have been happening & I've just been lazy with this whole blog thing...my bad...now on to exciting events of life ^_^ ummm went to this fort called Gongsanseong. It was awesome I will post pics on the bottom. After looking around the fort we went out to lunch and then we were taken to a place where they make ceramics! I love ceramics and we got to make stuff as well ^_^
I went to Daegu for the day and saw some friends from training. It was a lot of fun, we went to this really nice mountain. I forgot what it was called though lol again I will post pics at the end of this post! Not much else exciting has happened aside from those two things. Oh wait, there was like a work "hike" that I did as well. I say hike but it was a paved road with shops along it on a mountain lol though there were trails that were actual hiking but I stuck with the easy way. I'm not much for hiking and it was pretty hot, or rather, it's been hot lately.
The term is coming to an end so things have been pretty hectic lately with the kids taking the TOEFL to see if they get to level up or not. I have started taking Korean classes so hopefully I can get some understanding lol plus I just joined a gym...the plan 5 days a week 1 hr workout...ugh...this should be interesting lol I'm definitely sticking with going considering how much I had to shell out for 3months >_< not happy bout that....
My computer has recently turned into an even bigger jerk...it's not even 2 years old yet...I've had more trouble with this computer than the Dell I used to have...On top of that my other student loans are coming out of deferment and I'm trying to open an account at Citibank in the US from here because if you have one here in Korea and one in the US you can transfer money for free....I wish someone told me that before I left -_- sooo if you plan on sending money back home open a Citibank account BEFORE you leave for Korea. Also, I will try my best to update more frequently...sorry to those who keep track and read this
Ok time for pictures yes?
First up is the fort called Gongsanseong
Now for the cermaics!!!
Day trip to Daegu!
Work "hike" lol
I went to Daegu for the day and saw some friends from training. It was a lot of fun, we went to this really nice mountain. I forgot what it was called though lol again I will post pics at the end of this post! Not much else exciting has happened aside from those two things. Oh wait, there was like a work "hike" that I did as well. I say hike but it was a paved road with shops along it on a mountain lol though there were trails that were actual hiking but I stuck with the easy way. I'm not much for hiking and it was pretty hot, or rather, it's been hot lately.
The term is coming to an end so things have been pretty hectic lately with the kids taking the TOEFL to see if they get to level up or not. I have started taking Korean classes so hopefully I can get some understanding lol plus I just joined a gym...the plan 5 days a week 1 hr workout...ugh...this should be interesting lol I'm definitely sticking with going considering how much I had to shell out for 3months >_< not happy bout that....
My computer has recently turned into an even bigger jerk...it's not even 2 years old yet...I've had more trouble with this computer than the Dell I used to have...On top of that my other student loans are coming out of deferment and I'm trying to open an account at Citibank in the US from here because if you have one here in Korea and one in the US you can transfer money for free....I wish someone told me that before I left -_- sooo if you plan on sending money back home open a Citibank account BEFORE you leave for Korea. Also, I will try my best to update more frequently...sorry to those who keep track and read this
Ok time for pictures yes?
First up is the fort called Gongsanseong
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| Walking up to enter the fort |
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| A ceiling in one of the look out post |
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| So pretty here!! |
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| A flower that looks like a bird |
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| The river that flows through it |
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| Guards! |
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| Guards again |
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| Me n friends with one of the guards lol |
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| Lunch time!! |
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| Explanation of the history & stuff |
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| My bumblebee bowl I made |
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| My duck I made...I named him Howard lol |
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| There was a shop at the place and all the stuff was made there...I bought these awesome tea cups |
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| Love road...people write their names on locks and put them there....I just thought it was funny the locks were made in China lol |
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| My friend on a rock lol |
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| We all climbed up after her...awesome view |
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| Downtown Daegu |
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| The start of the hike lol |
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| Lunch time! |
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
The Students
Korean students have it tough...man I thought my life was hard when I was their age; I had nothing to complain about. These kids do nothing but study, it's a shame. They go to school then to an academy or 2 or 3 and then go home. A lot of them don't even get home until late and most if not all also have to go to an academy on Saturdays. By the way academies are schools that specialize in a certain subject usually and they get homework from them as well as the homework from school.
I work at an English academy and my students are always complaining about being tired or being hungry, especially the night students. I have elemetary students from 430pm to 730pm and then middle schoolers 730pm to 1030pm....it's even tougher for the middle schoolers since they're being pressured to get into a good high school so they can get into a good university. They're always tired and you have to try and get them motivated and energetic which is easier said than done.
I do have some energetic ones which helps. In the last hour of the class we do this group project thing, they get separated into groups and then have to put together a mini presentation. The subject changes each class. One night with my middle schoolers, we were doing this and one group started singing YMCA lol I was cracking up I wanted to take a video of but as soon as I got my camera out they got shy but here's the video anyway ^_^
Another thing about the students is they're brutally honest sometimes lol they have no problems what they think about you or what you're wearing or anything like that. My coworker said a student told her that her blue nail polish was inappropriate. I've mostly had good experiences with that though they do like to play around too. I've heard from other teachers how they're students called them ugly or said they're no help, though said these things laughing so I think it's they're attempt to joke around. They definitely need to laugh with all the pressure that's put on their shoulders.
I work at an English academy and my students are always complaining about being tired or being hungry, especially the night students. I have elemetary students from 430pm to 730pm and then middle schoolers 730pm to 1030pm....it's even tougher for the middle schoolers since they're being pressured to get into a good high school so they can get into a good university. They're always tired and you have to try and get them motivated and energetic which is easier said than done.
I do have some energetic ones which helps. In the last hour of the class we do this group project thing, they get separated into groups and then have to put together a mini presentation. The subject changes each class. One night with my middle schoolers, we were doing this and one group started singing YMCA lol I was cracking up I wanted to take a video of but as soon as I got my camera out they got shy but here's the video anyway ^_^
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Seoul searching...
I spent this past weekend in Seoul...place is awesome & I got some really cool pictures.
Friday Night
The first hostel we stayed at was ridicuolously hard to find though...the woman's directions made no sense...suspect she used google translate because they were so out there. Once we found the hostel we met up with a friend of my travel buddy in Itaewon. Itaewon is like foreigners' paradise lol the most foreigners I've seen since I've been in Korea. It was a good night out, helped to clear the frustrations of being lost for a hour and half looking for the hostel. I met a fabulous tranny lol he was soo tall & that was before the stilettos. He was getting down too. We found a reggae type club, but although the music was good the men there were kinda annoying. They kept trying to dance with us even though we clearly said no...needless to say we didn't stay there long. However, it was still a good night.
Saturday
Well went to a fish market that was in a huge warehouse type plae. You could definitely tell how fresh everything was because it smelt like the ocean not like rotting dead fish. You would buy what you wanted & then go to the second floor to a restaurant where they would cook it for you. There is also the option of bringing it home & cooking it yourself but that really wasn't an option for us. We then went to a place called Myeongdong...shops galore, I wish it was after payday so I could've done some shopping...so many cute trinkets & jewelery & clothes (not that I could fit most of it). After going around there we went to Seoul Tower...it was awesome, though we had to take a cable car which wasn't fun for me because I'm afraid of heights. We didn't actually go inside the tower though because it cost money & I was on a tight budget. Afterwards we got dinner and then went to Hongdae. Hongdae also had a lot of foreigners around, & some interesting bars & clubs. We ended up running into someone I knew from training at a random dubstep concert in the park & hung out with him the rest of the night. The night ended up at a salsa club which was a lot of fun.
Sunday
We both made an appointment to get our hair done but before that we went to a really nice Thai restaurant for lunch...it was amazing and had really good food...ok back to the hair, I was getting a touch up & my friend was just getting her hair blown out & flat ironed. So we went to this Nigerian lady...yea not happy, my hair was made so greasy that my hair actually feels heavy & the same goes for my friend. She didn't do a good job straightening it either. Needless to say we will not be returning there...I should not have to fix my hair after getting it done. Well after that fiasco I had a date with the professor while my friend went to meet one of her friends for dinner. The date went well, had dinner & talked ^_^ we have another date on Friday night, he's coming here & we're going to the movies.
Monday
Woke up roun 10am and our train back was at 12pm...almost missed the friggin train! That would've been bad since work starts at 430pm and I still needed to fix mine and my friend's hair...anyways it all worked out in the end...can't wait to go to Seoul again! Hopefully next time with more money so I can actually do some shopping! Ok, it's picture time!!! Enjoy =^_^=
Friday Night
The first hostel we stayed at was ridicuolously hard to find though...the woman's directions made no sense...suspect she used google translate because they were so out there. Once we found the hostel we met up with a friend of my travel buddy in Itaewon. Itaewon is like foreigners' paradise lol the most foreigners I've seen since I've been in Korea. It was a good night out, helped to clear the frustrations of being lost for a hour and half looking for the hostel. I met a fabulous tranny lol he was soo tall & that was before the stilettos. He was getting down too. We found a reggae type club, but although the music was good the men there were kinda annoying. They kept trying to dance with us even though we clearly said no...needless to say we didn't stay there long. However, it was still a good night.
Saturday
Well went to a fish market that was in a huge warehouse type plae. You could definitely tell how fresh everything was because it smelt like the ocean not like rotting dead fish. You would buy what you wanted & then go to the second floor to a restaurant where they would cook it for you. There is also the option of bringing it home & cooking it yourself but that really wasn't an option for us. We then went to a place called Myeongdong...shops galore, I wish it was after payday so I could've done some shopping...so many cute trinkets & jewelery & clothes (not that I could fit most of it). After going around there we went to Seoul Tower...it was awesome, though we had to take a cable car which wasn't fun for me because I'm afraid of heights. We didn't actually go inside the tower though because it cost money & I was on a tight budget. Afterwards we got dinner and then went to Hongdae. Hongdae also had a lot of foreigners around, & some interesting bars & clubs. We ended up running into someone I knew from training at a random dubstep concert in the park & hung out with him the rest of the night. The night ended up at a salsa club which was a lot of fun.
Sunday
We both made an appointment to get our hair done but before that we went to a really nice Thai restaurant for lunch...it was amazing and had really good food...ok back to the hair, I was getting a touch up & my friend was just getting her hair blown out & flat ironed. So we went to this Nigerian lady...yea not happy, my hair was made so greasy that my hair actually feels heavy & the same goes for my friend. She didn't do a good job straightening it either. Needless to say we will not be returning there...I should not have to fix my hair after getting it done. Well after that fiasco I had a date with the professor while my friend went to meet one of her friends for dinner. The date went well, had dinner & talked ^_^ we have another date on Friday night, he's coming here & we're going to the movies.
Monday
Woke up roun 10am and our train back was at 12pm...almost missed the friggin train! That would've been bad since work starts at 430pm and I still needed to fix mine and my friend's hair...anyways it all worked out in the end...can't wait to go to Seoul again! Hopefully next time with more money so I can actually do some shopping! Ok, it's picture time!!! Enjoy =^_^=
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| Travel Buddy & a friend of hers |
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| Chillin! Lol |
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| I want this chair! |
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| Fish Market! |
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| More Fresh Fish!! |
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| Big Prawns |
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| At the restaurant about to eat what we bought |
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| Yummy! |
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| Vending machines have boxes of cookies in them O_o |
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| This is at Seoul Tower...looks like a Jell-O mold lol |
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| View from the tower! |
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| The actual tower |
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| Idk...but it was there at the tower and looked cool lol |
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| The moon was awesome! |
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| Cafe in Hongdae called Coco Bruni...awesome lights |
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| Salsa club in Hongdae! |
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| Lunch at a Thai place |
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| Travel buddy again! |
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| First course egg rolls! |
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| Yummy shrimp soup |
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| Followed by yummy noodle dish |
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| Dessert...had these weird fruits in it but it was friggin delicious! |
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