Back in the USA

I'm back home after spending 11 months in Korea! I was released early from my contract and was able to escape the horrid Korean summer for a muggy Missouri summer, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Being released from my contract early was the best thing for me: my stress level was so high and I wasn't enjoying my job anymore. When you work six days a week and you really abhor entering the building, you know it's time to go home. Not to worry though, I received all my money (momma didn't raise no fool)!

Right now I'm ready to accept another teaching contract that would start at the end of August and would end in September 2011. I love Korea and I am excited to have time to actually explore the country and perhaps learn the language this time. There will be a better work/sleeping schedule, more time for roller derby practice, and I will be out of debt by the time I'm done! Last week I paid off my credit card from my European Adventure and boy, it was amazing! That is why I am ready to go back, have a better job, and pay off the debts that way I can move anywhere I want in the world and not have to worry about how much money I make.

The world is good again, now if only the FBI could hurry my background check along.......

So many things have happened in the 3.5 months that I have last written. I do not notice the stares that Koreans give me when walking down the street, I'm so used to it at this point. Work has gotten less stressful but it is repetitive. My students know me and I know them, I love them and they are all such cute little people. And above all, I have made several wonderful friends!

I took Korean language classes from the first of October until the end of December on Mondays from 10:30am until 12. Hangul aka the Korean alphabet was easy to learn but I didn't try that hard to learn anything more than that. I know, I know. What a horrible expat I am. But I met some pretty cool cats in that class which was nice because it helped me branch out from just hanging out with the teachers that I work with.

As far as adventures go, I haven't had many. I last traveled/explored traveled in October to see the Busan Fireworks Festival. Roads and beaches packed with rude Korean bodies all pressing against me and craning to see over my head. Koreans do not have bubbles, the concept of personal space is not known here. People will bump into you if they are in a hurry, people will wedge themselves into a bus or subway that way they don't have to wait five minutes, etc. I usually do not have a problem with it but that festival night, ack!!!! There were thousands of people in the second largest city in Korea all cramming together onto one beach to watch giant fireworks. I count my blessings that I am a giant and that I could at least see/breath. My friend Julie was not as fortunate and just grabbed a hold of my backpack and was dragged through the throngs of people.

Halloween was indeed a celebration. It was on a Sunday but our school asked the teachers to dress up to teach at 9am and have the students trick or treat at the end of class. I dressed as a Fairy for school and just wore a black shirt with my green, black, and white tutu along with white wings. Other teachers dressed as a gym teacher, Korean school girls, a devil, and a cat.

That evening we went out and I added a shirt covered in Soju labels to the costume. Soju is a very cheap and potent rice liquor that is similar to vodka. I crafted a soju bottle wand and my outfit was complete! My fellow teachers and I went downtown and hung out at all the foreigner establishments and ended up in a club towards the end of the night.

As the soju fairy, I had a lot of soju in my bag that I was distributing to all the good ghouls and goblins of Daegu. Unfortunately I had a bit too much of the potent goodness and turned into the roaming fairy aka I ditched my friends at the club and searched for more adventure. I ended up finding Harry Potter and my boring/non-costumed pal Cliff on the streets and we ended up at Burger King. After a nap in the cab on the way home and telling him the wrong street to drop me off, the Soju Fairy was seen bounding through the streets of Siji at 4am in search of her home.

To Be Continued.....

Sleeping Schedule

..... or lack thereof.

Working in the late afternoon is horrible. I feel the need to stay up and do whatever until around 6amish when the Korean sun is beginning to peek over the mountains. Do I do anything really productive during that time? Nope, just playing with facebook, watching my Asian soaps, and catching up on American movies. High five for me for not being that foreigner that spends all their free time drinking it up every night and such. I don't know how others can do that night after night.

I am trying to sign up for Korean classes so if that happens, I will have to go to bed at a decent hour some nights of the week that way I can wake up. My Korean is zilch, just Hello, Thank You, Left, Right, and Straight. Gotta know how to talk to the cabbies that way I can get home or to school. I really want to learn how to read Hangul and know what the different types of food are on the menu and be able to order.

Speaking of food...I had a pumpkin porridge last night that was amazing. Who knew I liked porridge???

Term 2 - Teaching Schedule

Our terms last for 13 weeks. During week 11 the students take their level up tests. If they pass, they move up to the next class but if not, they have to retake the same class again. We make sure that the students don't have the same teachers in a row but sometimes you may have them again depending on how the cookie crumbles. The first class is only for Junior Level aka elementary school students from 4:00 to 6:55pm. The second class is for Senior Level aka middle school students from 7:05 to 10:00pm.

Here is my not-to-awesome schedule:

Mon EC4 (English Chip 4)

Reading Birdie

Tues EC3

Reading Par

Wed Memory Tera

Off early!

Thur EC4

Listening Birdie

Fri EC3

Listening Par

Sat Memory Tera

Off early!

Sun NO WORK!!!!

Seoul Day 2

Leah and I woke up late on Sunday aka noon. (It's okay though, it's my only day off. I'm allowed to get my full 8 hours of sleep.) We take the bus back into Soeul and meet up with Jessica and Jenny in Itaewon aka the foreigners area. It's near an Army base and has a Taco Bell, english bookstores, sports bars, mexican restaurants, clothing for giants, and more! We went during the day and had a leisurely lunch at a sports bar and watched DVR'd college football games and indulged in some Budweiser. Mmmmmm!

Jessica then took us to the Gagnum Underground Market. It's a narrow market about 600-800 meters long (I'm guessing, I didn't get to see it all) full of cheap clothing, shoes, and home decor. It's full of people and get this, it's not air conditioned! This is when I start missing the good oldUS of A but I did find a dress and a bunch of earrings. After that, we all went our separate ways. I stayed with Jenny on Sunday night so I could be closer to the train station in the morning. We went to Home Plus and bought some veggies for her to make some soup with. Her crock pot rocks!

Woke up late on Monday morning but after a 45 minute subway ride, make it to Seoul Station and hop on the KTX at 11:30. I was back in Daegu by 1:15pm and at work at 1:50. Pretty good timing eh?

Fun Fact about Korean couples: They like to go out and about in public wearing matching shirts. There are even stores that just sell Couples Tees... if anybody needs a set to cement your love I'll hook you up!

Weekend in Seoul

This past weekend I traveled to Seoul to meet up with a few buddies from training aka the week from hell and to take in the sights and sounds of the city. Yes I did stay in Seoul for a week during training for my job but let me tell you, we did not leave our hotel for nothing. Training week was hard since all of us were majorly jetlagged and freaking out about the intense workload being thrust upon us. We kept getting told that only 87% pass that

first week and let me tell you, a few of us were freaking out. But more on that later....

As we all know, I am the Queen of Procrastinating. When I should have been packing for Seoul I was watching "He's Just Not That Into You" on TV. My packing was officially finished by 4am Saturday morning. The only problem: I had to be at work by 8:30am to teach at 9am. Good thing I only have one class on Saturdays. As soon as that bell rang at noon, I quickly changed out of Teacher wear and into Tourist gear. I hopped onto the su

bway, took it to the train station, quickly bought my ticket from the machine, and hopped on the 1pm train to Seoul.

The KTX train goes as fast as 300KM/hour so obviously, the train is the fastest way to Seoul. I took a nap and arrived in Seoul at 2:45. Yes everyone, I arrived in Seoul even before the second class was out at 3pm at my school. Technology is awesome! After I arrived at Seoul Station, I hopped onto the subway and proceeded to ride another 50 minutes to Gangnam where my pals Leah and Jessica were waiting for me. Leah is from England and is super nice and smiley. Except when she gives you the creepy British eyes...you know that look. Jessica was my roommate at the Coatel Hotel during training. She was the best roomie ever!

We had coffee drinks and gabbed at Angels-In-Us, a delightful cafe chain filled with cherubs, feathers and fake flowers galore. It even had a gold, glittery toilet seat in the loo. Ahhh Korea, trust you not to forget about over decorating the bathroom. Jessica and Leah had heard about a show called Nanta and bought tickets for the show. It's the oldest Korean show running and has been performed all over the world. After a walk in the rain and a taxi drive to point us in the right direction, we arrived at the theater. It was a bit pricey at 50,000 won but it was AMAZING! (click the link to see a preview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XQ-hFrhE_Q)

After that, we proceed to get lost (like all good little tourists do) but we did see import car dealerships. It was the closest I have ever been to a Ferrari... I hope that wiped my face smudges off the window.... We finally located the subway station and were on our merry way to the bus stop. Jessica went back to her place and I went with Leah to hers. Leah lives in Dongton which is 30 min bus ride outside of Seoul. Her town is pretty cute, it's all brand new and designed as an eco-city. Lots of green space, trees, fountains, and wide streets for parking and driving! There was even a scrap booking store! A tropical storm went through that night so it was pretty fierce and wet. But well worth it to see some great friends!

Outback, Korea Style

Dear Outback Steakhouse,

I first want to say thank you for boxing my leftovers up for me. You could just drop a box by my table but Noooo, you go above and beyond that. You take it away and reappear a few minutes later with a giant bag filled with boxes. As I glance inside I see that my chicken tenders are separate from my salad (awesome) and you even threw in two loaves of you yummy bread and some to go ramekins of honey butter. Awww, you shouldn't have. That really made my night

Fast forward four hours: Mmmmm, it's Midnight and I'm ready for dinner. I do believe that I'll just have my delicious blue cheese salad leftovers to abate my hunger. GASP! I open my take out carton and what do I see? A plain garden salad staring up at me sans blue cheese dressing! "What happened to my salad," I ask myself. Where did he go???

I can only assume that you didn't deem my salad tasty enough to take home. Albeit, he was drenched and a little stinky but darn it! He was MINE! After I mourned the loss of my beloved salad I vowed never to get attached to my future leftovers ever again. But thanks again for the bread. It looks pretty amazing. Oh, never substitute my food ever again! I paid 16,000 won for it and I want every last won!

Love, Erica

P.S. Maybe you added another chicken strip to the box.......