HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

So... I wonder how crazy I can be!  haha!  I'm about to head out to go hang out with some friends in Jongno for New Years celebration... Korean style (hopefully! haha)!  As I was teaching one of my classes about New Years I found this youtube video! 
 

I was teaching my kids about the Bosingak bell ringing on New Years day (00:01).  They ring the bell 33 times for good fortune in Korea and thought it'd be awesome to witness it!  So I'm off into the 12 degree weather to check out this really cool event and hope to come back with great pics of the event and my limbs still working right.  haha!

I got to talk to my grandma for a few minutes and am really happy for this cause it helps me stay strong while in Korea!  My homesickness has subsided for now and I am continually falling in love with Korea over and over again!

Happy New Year everyone.  I hope you're year has been a good one and the new one is blessed with family, friends, and new memories!

아이리스!

So my Christmas went well.  Had some fun with friends and had pretty much a lazy weekend.  involved wine, christmas movies, and yummy food!!  ^^  we watched Sherlock Holmes at the cina city on christmas night!  it was pretty good but i was worn out so i actually dozed a bit... i'll definitely watch it again to help me remember it all!  haha!  i felt bad but i was definitely exhausted.  We got snow over the weekend... and although I think snow is pretty... it's really annoying and makes everything so dag-gum cold!!  I dont like it!  My friend says I have thin blood cause I'm from Texas... haha that could be true!  It gets cold in Texas but we rarely get snow... seriously!?!?  and then I think the snow helped me out and so I got a little sick... now i'm left fighting whatevers wrong with my stomach...

i took some time yesterday and today to catch up on 아이리스 (Iris) my Korean drama... finished up just about 10 minutes ago... seriously disappointed with how it ended but I also predicted it... as it was happening... even though i was really just joking around with the ending... that's what i get i guess... well!  i'm off to bed at 10:45 to get some sleep because even though last night I got roughly 10 hours of sleep... i was going to fall asleep in my classes between the sharp pangs in my stomach and the cold room temperatures.  SO here's hoping that with the extra sleep I can fight this thing off... especially before this weekend... I have no plans for my 4 day weekend but I'm glad and really hoping for rest and relaxation... maybe i'll spoil myself... hahaha that's probably not going to happen... paydays next week and i'm already stretching... (i sent a lot home this month and about to send a bit more this week... haha so maybe i'll sorta spoil myself... just in a cheap but great way!  *^^*

well off to bed!!

^^

브라이언 -Brian 내 여자 (My Girl)



This is Brian.  A Korean-American singer.  Previously one of the two members in Fly to the Sky.  I really like this song.  It's newer and hasn't been overplayed just yet.

^^

wanted to post something and thought this would be good!!

Hope you enjoy!!

Famous sighting?

While doing a little shopping down our little main strip here in my area... my new co-worker/ friend spotted a large group and said something about a famous person and of course being completely obsessed with kpop i freaked out... we were also standing by a MISSHA (face shop type store) with a famous actor as their representative (Lee Byung Hun from Iris)... and so I immediately was like if it's him i'll flip... so... haha... we're looking and we are also being pushed to the sides so they can get through... camera group... a bunch of young girls looking on and taking pics... i obviously took out my camera phone in hopes of getting a glance... haha... well when i saw who it was i didnt recognize them (*insert gasp!!*)... so... yeah if anyone knows who it was in the sungbuk/donam area today let me know!  hehe!  I even asked some korean girl:  누구???  (who???) but she didnt know either.  at first i thought she was rejecting my attempt at asking who it was but she wasn't acting like the others and looked confused as well.  so yeah... haha we spotted someone famous but didnt know who it was... what a bummer!!  haha!!

on another note!  Christmas is coming up in like 2 days for me!  haha!!  This is the first time I've actually felt a hint of homesickness... and loneliness but I'll be okay... just need to keep on going!  hehe!  i love korea and everythings going great.  tomorrow i'll have a great night with friends and friday maybe iceskating as well as a night in hongdae!  ^^  and the weekend to sleep!  hahahaha!!

well i'm off to sleep now... have to get up and work in the morning!

blah!!

^^

Merry Christmas!!



Christmas tree in McDonalds!

^^

All I Want for Christmas is You!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

^^

Mmm...김밥!!

Currently listening to:  Chu~♡ by F(x)

So.... as I await my Skype dates, I decided to make some lunch... Kimbap is what's on the menu today!  I'm currently eating as I type this too... haha!  I took pictures as I went through the fun process of making lunch for 1!  haha!  generally I eat spaghetti or ramen... only because those are quick and rice just takes so darn long without a rice cooker! but today, I decided it would be different!  haha!  Hope you enjoy reading about this easy to make lunch!


First... boil your rice... you'll know when it's done.... if not you can always taste test it!


You'll need tuna (if you want tuna of course!  ^^)
and I have this little packet thing to make rice balls if you dont want kimbap.
really good to use for the extra rice I always end up making...
And of course seaweed and a Kimbap roller... haha that's what i call it...
it's really easy to use and handy!


and this to help get the rice to stick to your seaweed...
if it's not already sticky enough!
 
 After your rice is finished....
you will lay out your seaweed on the seaweed roller...

 Add your rice and tuna... spread it out...
haha and mayonnaise is also supposed to go in this...
i didnt have any mayo since it definitely lacked in a bit of that taste... hehe!

Roll it and now you have a Happy Tiger!

^^

hope you enjoyed... haha!

MMM...김밥!!
김밥을 맜있어요!!

I'm in a weird mood and now I'm off to talk to my friends!

Currently listening:  G.O.O.D Luv by MBLAQ


Also:  this is my 100th Post!  yay!!

Ride...

Currently listening to:  We Belong Together by Big Bang featuring: Bom (from 2NE1)

This is a ride that was near Dongdaemun Stadium... so yeah.. hope you enjoy the craziness!!  ^^  Tomorrow, I'll upload the video of my kiddos!!  ^^

Here we go again!...

Currently listening to:  Here we go again by Demi Lovato...

After being home for the whole day... I've done quite a bit... haha!  I feel super lazy but a bit refreshed... I am actually going to bed early cause I'm exhausted from so much cleaning!  haha!  I still have clothes hanging up drying and trash ready to be taken out but overall I'm really proud of myself for having cleaned so much!  ^^

I remembered just like 10 mins ago that I had some videos that I wanted to upload which is why I'm back on blogger tonight!  haha!  So... here is 1 video... this one was in my station while waiting for friends... thought it was super neat to see them dancing!  haha!!




I'll have to upload the others whenever I have a faster connection... my computer is acting super strange... I probably should update everything... anyway!  1 of the videos I want to put is of my kids... at Halloween... haha so I KNOW I'm a bit late but they are just so darn cute!  (sometimes!)  haha!  ^^  can't wait to get that up!!

well hope you enjoy!!

^^

Dunk Shoot



Jo Kwon (from 2AM) and Whale

(Interesting Song and Video... haha... and it's just so catchy and cute!!)

So this day has been filled with cleaning and sleeping... haha!  I woke up at around 11:00... this week has been exhausting but great so the sleep was much needed... ^^... Last night I fell asleep at 7:30 (yes 7:30 PM) and woke up at like 9pm or so... then stayed up till about 1AM doing pretty much nothing... haha!  Had a pleasant phone call... which shouldve lasted longer (메롱!!)  finally got to sleep and woke back up around 10:30 or so... but laid in bed till about 11.  I decided this weekend would be filled with cleaning and washing laundry.  So I started laundry... swept... went through a bunch of junk... and am now sitting down to watch a movie... maybe He's Just Not that Into You... Love that movie!  haha!  always my "go-to" movie... ^^... I also am a bit hungry but since I've been cleaning all day I'm a bit grimey and dont want to really step out of the house... SO... I might... MIGHT... try calling in an order... haha we'll see how far my Korean goes... ^^  I'll update soon with a YES i've got food or No... i'm going to starve... haha!

^^

EDIT:
1 hour later... Okay so... I'm not going to starve!  yay!  BUT i didnt order it myself... *sad*...I tried!  haha!  I called 1 place and

I said:  영어하새요 (English? but I think he thought I said Hello... and only heard the last part) he said:  yes.  and then i said:  Pizza?  (haha...same in korean as english...) and he said yes.  I said deliver?  and he said hello (in Korean) and I said 영어하새요 (again... English?) and he said: 잘못해요. (I dont know [English])  and i said:  괜찮아요. (that's okay)  감사합니다. (thank you)  then  I called one of my co-teachers/friends from work to ask about where to find phone numbers... cause i was going to attempt Papa Johns down the street... well apparently she was near it so she volunteered to order it for me... how awesome of her!  So now i'm waiting for the pizza to arrive... I really look grungy from having been cleaning... haha so hopefully I dont scare the deliver guy!  ^^ actually... haha as i finished typing that the guy came... was greeted by my 2PM and MBLAQ posters on the front door... haha... i can tell he must be cold by just opening the door... and seeing that he's in a mask and suit to hopefully keep him warm.  haha and he set off my door alarm... haha now it's freaking out!

well now i'm off to eat... watch movies... and relax for the night!

^^

Tired of waiting...

Well let's see... this week has been filled with just work and what-not.  I went to Dongdaemun and Myeongdong with my friend to buy an outfit (^^)... found a cute outfit and shows and was happy to spend time with my friend!!

I have been really happy this week actually.  I can't really say too much about that right now but hopefully soon... ^^

anyway... this weekend I won't be doing too much.  maybe cleaning... catching up on sleep and maybe some school work that i don't want to have to worry about next week... like paper evaluations... I'll also catch up on IRIS!!  YAY!  it just finished this week so I wont have too much to catch up on!  I need a new drama to fill my life... one that's current would be good!  haha!

I can't believe Christmas is next week.  it's really crazy!  And although I wont be able to go see 2PM play in Gangnam on Christmas Eve, I'll be chilling out with friends having yummy chili and maybe watching sappy love movies (maybe i'll do that this weekend!!)  haha!  On Friday (Christmas Day), we're thinking maybe Hongdae club night... hahaha!  I'm going so I'm doing SOMETHING and not so homesick and because it's fun to hang out with friends!  Christmas is my favorite holiday... and it feels strange to not be with my family at this time of year.

But I'm used to kinda being on my own so maybe I'll get used to it as I will be staying in Korea for a long time... ^^

For New Years... no plans so far but hopefully I'll have some before then... haha still have like 2 weeks i guess!  ^^

but as I do more I'll try to update... sorry it's boring for those that are reading!  for now I'm kinda working on saving money so trying not to do much but still have some fun!

i'll update with Christmas stuff soon!

^^
안녕!!

yes you...

야!  공부해요!!

행운!!

메롱!!

2NE1 In concert!!

Okay so my favorite girl group... 2NE1 is going to be performing on January 2nd in Gangnam... I'm super excited!  Seriously!  I hope to get more information on it and I'll update here for everyone out there wanting to check out some awesome artists!  hehe!  they're going to be at a club so i don't know how that all works out!

*fingers crossed* still for 2PM at the same club in Gangnam on Christmas Eve!

^^

and if you watched G-Dragon at the club this last weekend... I want to know how it went!  ^^

well back to work!

*^^*

Kimchi. Seaweed. Love.

So.  I realized that I'm in Love.  haha!  is it strange that I can't even fathom how much I love Kimchi and Seaweed.  I discovered this while walking home.  I kept thinking about what I was going to have for dinner... and I couldnt get out of my mind that I wanted Kimchi.  So i went to the 7/11 and hunted down:  Kimchi and some little sausages.  I got kimchi to last me on those days that I want some but never have any in my house... haha!

I was also looking for spaghetti sauce but they didn't have any.  For dinner, I decided that I wanted spaghetti.  haha!  so after leaving there i went to 3 other little convenient stores close to my house.  I think 1st a Ministop, a Buy the Way, and a little mom and pop shop that I like to go to around the corner.  I knew that if the other 2 "big" stores didn't have it that the mom and pop store should... so that was my final store to go to.  AND THEY had some!  yay!  so i bought 2 little jars... some ddeok noodle soup for another day and 2 bottles of juice (aloe and peach with crushed pieces in it... so yummy!)

I came home and immediately started making my spaghetti.  (i can't really cook... so spaghetti is a big feat for me!  haha i've even burnt water before... shh!  dont tell anyone... then i'll sure not find a husband!  haha)

I made up this little thing called spaghetti kimchi (actually i have no better name so i'll go with this)... i like to mix my foods and since it's all going to the same place...then why not.  So i threw my kimchi and little sausages into my spaghetti along with the spaghetti sauce (of course)... so yummy!  gave it a great bit of spice... mmm... and although I didnt have any bread to go with my spaghetti... I did have some seaweed (kim...mmm)... it was delicious... you can call me weird... you can say that it's not right... but for me...

it's delicious!

Everyday I notice I'm becoming more and more Korean... haha!  I can't stand a meal without kimchi... I love Rice and Seaweed!  Love Kpop!  KDramas!

I also do that thing where you're at the crosswalk (you know... the one you've been at every day for the past who knows how many months) and known the light is about to turn green but still wait with everyone else... haha sometimes i'm daring and start to walk then question myself... (even though I KNOW it will turn green... and everything else is Red...)... haha!

or when i can't imagine anything back at home from before without someone saying something in Korean or bowing...

Oh how I love Korea!

 

Ninja Assassin and fun in Apgujeong!

So I went to see Ninja Assassin today with Toni and her coworker in Apgujeong!  This morning we met up at close to 12 at my station.  We arrived in Apgujeong and got out tickets to see the movie with one of our favorite men... Rain!


And in my opinion, it was a pretty good movie.  He definitely had his sexy moments!  haha!  There's a lot of blood and what-not but overall I thought it was pretty good!  ^^

After the movie, I went and met my friend Karrin for galbi in Apgujeong.  I LOVE Galbi... seriously... and it's no coincidence that my name is so similar to galbi... haha i've even been called galbi a few times... amazing right?  *and yes there's sarcasm in how much i enjoyed that... ha!*

I headed home after dinner, started laundry, and am now settling back and catching up on Iris!



Hope everyone had a good weekend!  ^^  Good nights!!

Christmas Concerts

So while walking around in Jongno AND Hongdae... I found some awesome posters saying where some concerts/ artist appearances are going to be.  I think that it's pretty awesome!  Cause i never hear about things till the last minute!  haha!  but if anyone's interested!  here are 2 that I found.

2PM in Gangnam at Club NB... not sure about cost or anything.  Website is:  clubnb.com
Date:  December 24





 The G-Dragon one is 20,000 to get in... more info at:  partyluv.com  Date:  December 12

Still debating about going to see 2PM... we'll see!!  hmm... it would be cool!

"What'd you do Christmas Eve... Umm...  I saw 2PM perform... haha!!"

^_^.

^_^.

Alrighty!  So I'm going to try to do better on updating!  ^^ This weekend has been fun so far... and it's only now Saturday night.  haha!  This last week has flown!  I can't believe it's December already!  I think Christmas is definitely my favorite holiday.  December in generally can be a favorite!  So now i'm going to chat about my weekend before i forget!  haha!!

My friend, Toni, and I decided we'd go out dancing again yesterday in Hongdae.  We really enjoyed M2 so we thought we'd start there.  We started the night by meeting up and heading to Hyehwa to take some pictures in a picture booth and go to our favorite bar for the first drink of the night.  I met some of her co-workers and they were definitely nice!  After leaving there, Toni and I, headed to Hongdae around 11:30ish.  We wanted to grab dinner at Dos Tacos before they closed.  Well we got there and it was already closed!  *So SAD!*  well then we decided we'd try this Korean restaurant we had seen last week.  We headed that way and noticed it was definitely packed.  After finally getting a table by the window, we figured out what we thought we wanted to eat.  *side note:  be careful what you pick... because you'll probably make our mistake* we noticed they had Dalk.  Dalk is like hen/chicken.  But what we didnt realize was it was dalk bul (or something like that)... bul means feet.  so we ordered chicken feet and when our plate came out i was a bit shocked.  we rock/paper/scissored to find out who would try it first.  of course i'm horrible playing that game so i obviously lost.  definitely couldnt take and we ordered another set of food.  this time... something eatable!

We met a korean guy there, who later came out and hung out with us for an hour or so at M2.  We went to M2 at like around 2AM (<--- K-boy band btw... haha) and danced the night away (sometimes with good looking Korean men)... until we rock/paper/scissored at the end to find out if we would go home or not!  haha!  We left around 6ish.  Then went to a Korean restaurant for some food then headed home on the subway... *fell asleep on subway...hehe* and arrived home at around 7am.  It was a fun-filled weekend and again... alcoholic drink consumption: 2 (and both several hours apart... haha)

This morning after waking up at around 1pm... hehe not long enough but I needed to get up to be able to talk to one of my best friends from home, Stephanie!  ^^  After talking to Steph for a while, I headed out to meet Toni for.... (you guessed it) Dos Tacos at around 3:30pm!  We were so disappointed we missed it so we went back!  ^^  So SO SO YUMMY!!  we walked around hongdae for a little while until we froze our butts off!  It started snowing!  Like Flurry-like!  hehe!!  I love it but hate it!  it's so cold but so cool!  haha!  i'm looking for a really cool scarf but will probably wait till this week cause i get paid monday!  yay!!  ^^

Tomorrow morning... i'm heading out with Toni and another friend to see Ninja Assassin!  which features Rain (Bi) and we're super excited!! 

Well i'm off to bed now... I've been catching up on Iris and am getting tired!  Hopefully I'll get some new pictures up of what I've been up to!  Tomorrow I'll make it a mission to get pics!

^_^.

Tired of Waiting...



(press Play!)

Thanksgiving has come and gone here in Korea.  Korean Thanksgiving, called Chuseok, was in October (i think that's right... it's been a while)... I can't believe it!  I've been in Korea for 132 days... which makes 4 months!  is that not crazy!?  I'm still loving it here... definitely having some interesting moments and can't believe how much more I have to see... good thing i'm planning on living here for a while.

School is going well.  Kids are growing and learning... so strange!  these kids definitely make me miss my kiddos at home (brothers 6 and 10 yrs and sister 13 yrs...)

OH goodness it's like my brain has fallen out and I cant remember what's happened in the last 2 weeks... so i'll just chat about what's happened in the last week or so... haha

So on the way to Korean class... we're (2 friends and I) on the subway and an older Korean gentleman (ajusshi)  gets on the subway at some point.  I move out of his way cause i'm literally right in front of the door.  well somehow we started talking to him... well he told me that his son was a vocal trainer for big bang and 2ne1... amazing right... i was trying stay as calm as possible.  well then he goes on to say that he's looking for a wife for him and that i would be perfect.  after a while (me being apprehensive) he asks for my number so i say give me your card (cause hello!?...yeah)... so he does and then it's our stop so we're getting off.  we're off and we're like should i call him or not?  it's a bit strange but then from behind us he comes and apparently it's his stop too... so he's like call me now.  so i did... well anyway... (we're going to Korean class) but he asks us to go get a drink.  we're like sorry can't.. have to go.  so then in class i get a text saying we should meet up afterwards and that he'll wait in the subway till 10.  well then it gets weird... he takes us to a food stand where his "sister" works and buys a bottle of soju (terrible stuff... silent but deadly)... and some seafood for my friends and i... the entire time he's talking to ME.. it's not about his son... it's about HIM. he gives me pics of him and he asks to go to a noraebang by ourselves... i'm like uh.  have to work.  says i should come to his house and whatnot in the morning... well as we get ready to leave.  he grabs my hand... my hand freezes.  it's like wth!?  he's trying to HOLD my hand... like lace it.  i'm trying not to barf.  well finally i get free and hold on to my cell phone for dear life.  anywhoo.. it was strange.  he called me that night like a gazillion times (i exaggerate but a lot...) he texted me that night.  the next morning he called me.  text me the next day... this went on until yesterday.  strangest thing that has happened to me while in korea.  i still love Korea but i just want to say... stay safe and dont give numbers to strangers... even if they seem really nice... my directors assistant (male) called him and pretty much told him to leave me alone... that i didnt want to talk to him.  He just sent me the strangest text messages... gave me the creeps...

Then the other day on the subway on the way home from seeing my friend in Dongtan... i'm literally enthralled in my iPod and the Korean videos i can watch on this long train ride... and i get hit on... seriously?  i've never really been hit on but I knew KNEW that he was hitting on me... but seriously i was like ignoring him... a lot... he wasn't korean... he was a foreigner.  finally i just told him i had a bf and he left me alone... actually he got off at the next subway stop... not sure if it was his or not but i think so.  i dont care... haha

but pretty much that's the most interesting thing that's happened in a while!

HAHA EXCEPT!  my friend Toni and I went to club night last friday in Hongdae.  It was pretty good after we found some good places to go!  Recommended!  M2... TinPan Euro and TinPan... and another one but I cant think of the name!  We had fun and stayed out till 7AM.  in great moods (not drunk.  so no worries to anyone from home reading this).  I love being able to prove people wrong that you can have a great time without getting wasted!  haha!  ^^  i do it all the time!

anyway!  I am off to bed cause i'm sleepy!  This week is going by quickly!  and it's weird that it's december.... or is that just me?  haha!  My kids are learning:  What I want for Christmas is You... it's been a while since I've sung a song (besides in Noraebang)... but i'm hoping this will come out well... maybe I'll be able to videotape it and show everyone!  my kids are great... it's a difficult song but i think theyll get it before December 24th... haha!!

^^

Sorry sorry sorry...

yes i'm lame... had to start my title with something from Super Junior... but yes I'm sorry i've turned into a crappy blogger... it's not like i'm never on my computer but either i dont have anything interesting to message about or i'm too exhausted...

well you're in luck cause i have 2 weird things happen to me in the last week... unfortunately you'll have to wait until i have time cause right now i should be getting ready for work... but i wanted to apologize for my lack of blogging...

the time sure does pass by...

keep tuned... new blog... at the latest... tonight.

My Life as an English teacher can be fun/funny!

Yeah... my students tend to act just as dorky and are just as funny with their English... but i love it!  here you can check out some fun videos of some of my favorite Korean singers!  hehe speaking English or just acting dorky!!



SS501



SS501




Super Junior... hehe!



Super Junior!  hehe!  Titanic Scene!

"in the future don’t go where I can’t see you"...

20 gazillion points if you know what the quote in my title is from... hehe

so update from the last blog... things are going better... i got my heater fixed on friday morning... the day we had off for a school holiday or something... not sure what but whatever!  haha a day off is a day off!  i spent my day off doing scanning of books at my school... haha so i sorta worked... and getting ready for another observation at my school.  not sure if i mentioned this in a previous blog but i had an open class about 2 weeks ago with 1 of my classes and then the next day after that i got observed twice in another 2 classes so i had a stressed week!  but all is well and i have 1 coming up on tuesday cause it was previously canceled.  i'm trying to not really think of it cause it'll go fine and i've done well so far in the last (almost) 4 months!  it's so strange that it's already been almost 4 months!  haha!

         







well... ah.  yes so funny thing is... if you havent guessed... i'm obsessed with Kpop!  haha!  i've decorated my room and covered in Kpop... or Kmen should i say...  I never have people in my apartment so i never thought that when my heater and tv broke down that people would be in my apt... well yeah so i had a person from my school (who i work with... male late 20s/ early 30s maybe) see my Kmen dressed up walls... haha talk about awkward... then my landlady and mechanic guy who came to fix my apartment saw it... and i'm thinking the person who had to fix my tv saw it... haha probably thinking i'm super weird!!!  haha but whatever!  ^_^.  Oh here's my High Cut Wall... hehe!






so yes my tv and heater got fixed all before the weekend!  too bad i didnt stay in my apartment most of the weekend!  haha!

one of my friends invited me to come to her birthday get-together on saturday and i gladly came!  it was so much fun!  so my day Saturday started out going to visit my friend before the bday fun!  i went and got my hair done... took forever BTW!  haha but i had a good Kguy working on my hair... nice and tall and... okay i'm done... haha very cute to say the least!  hehe!  well i got in there around 3ish and go out of there and back to my friends apt at like close to 7... it was crazy!!!  but they did a wonderful job!  i love it!  just a trim and my hair lightened... ^^

then it was off to meet our friends in Itaewon.  we started off at Wolfhound Pub for dinner and starter drinks.  I had a Cosmopolitan and a Strawberry Margarita (which actually was just a slushy drink piled high!  haha)  then we were off to the Loft... get in for 5,000 and women get free drinks all night!  We met up with more friends there and just pretty much stayed there for a while!  haha!

I generally dont go out and party so this was my once a month hang out with my friends night!  it was great!  Then today, my friend was giving away a bunch of her stuff cause she's heading home next week!  I'll miss her!!  but she'll be back in January so i'm excited!  haha!  Got some cool things for my apartment... and definitely was a squished 30 min ride back by taxi!  haha! good thing there wasn't much traffic!!
 

Soon I'll be going to visit some Korean Museum with my Korean teacher hopefully!  She's trying to get a group from her classes to visit places in Korea like we did last time to the Village!

My Korean classes are going great!  i love the teacher and just learning the language... definitely can be difficult... especially remembering everything but i'm hoping that I can start to practice it a lot more and get comfortable using it with my Korean coteachers and Korean friends... ^^.

Also... if you haven't yet... you need to get started on Watching Iris and You're Beautiful... definitely 2 of my favorite K-Dramas at the moment!!


well i'm off to bed but hopefully i'll have more fun stuff to write about soon... my mood is more cheerful than the end of last week and I still Love Korea!!

^_^.

Bad Night.

So... it's been a while since I updated...nothing exciting going on right now... we had halloween at our school and it was pretty cool... pics soon... but other than that nothing... but it's okay...

until last night happened... i got locked out of my apartment... my own fault.  i left my key at my school with my Korean homework and well... it was like 12am.  i was so upset at myself and still am... my eyes are puffy (like it's bad...) and i'm worn out... i'm glad tomorrow i dont have school... hopefully i can sleep in a little.

a few other things wrong that upset me a little... i had my 1st hot shower in like a week this morning cause my friend, Rosie, let me crash at her place last night... even while i was  a crying mess.  i'm home now just trying to figure out if i should nap first or what... and when i walked in, i tested my heater box and well... it's still not working... i've had my manager's assistant come look at it but they seem to think i'm an idiot and that i just didnt push the button to turn it on... well guess what!  i've been here for close to 4 months... i think i've been taking hot showers up till last week... argh...
and i have 1 of 4 light bulbs working in my apartment... when i told them this they told me i need to buy new light bulbs... um what?... it was like that when i got here... i'm just scared that last one's going to go for sure...

OH yeah... and my TV doesn't really work... the smart card is expired... i haven't watched tv in like 3 months... since i got here... but now i really can't attempt to watch it cause i'm paying for it...

i'm sorry... i just needed to rant... this isn't an I hate Korea blog... i still LOVE Korea and will be here for a LONG while but this is an "i-wish-my-school-admin-would-cooperate-with-me" blog...

one high-point!  I got a new cell phone and contract!  which means guess who's staying for quite a while?!  i'll have to post a new video of how cool and cute it is!!   hehe...

well.. i'm off to think of what to do with my morning... sleep... get ready for school... or eat breakfast...

sorry for the sad blog...

my favorite song at the moment... FT Island:  Raining  (from their 3rd Japanese Released Album)...



Also... you should be watching You're Beautiful and Iris... new dramas!

Desperate Cry for Help!!!

Okay... so obviously Korea is getting colder... for those who live in Korea... you know this... well... i'm a small town girl from Texas... it gets cold in Texas... obviously... but we generally have heaters and the ability to read the heater controls...



 (Top part of the panel is on the Left and bottom part is on the right)

well i'm in Korea... (if you haven't guessed)... in the coldest... freeziest (yes i'm an english teacher let me be...) apartment in Korea... i literally locked up my windows to make sure no more cold was going to come through... but now I can't figure out the heating system...

It's not a normal heater... it's a floor heating system... called an Ondol heating system... underfloor... which sounds like a great idea cause heat rises BUT!!!... i dont speak enough korean to figure out what these buttons say... i've translated the korean words and all i get are:  timer... water... out (or as leaving) restart... and like a sleep function... does this make sense?  obviously the water one makes sense to me cause i use it pretty much every day... but i can't figure this floor thing out...

if you know what i'm talking about and can explain to me what buttons to push... then maybe i wont die in this cold and can report back to Texans that it's safe to live here in the winter... ^_^.

till then... i'll just sleep in as many sweaters as I can find and hope that i can keep my socks on so I dont shock my body in the morning...

nights!

*i couldn't resist...*

Some Music to Soothe your Seoul... ^_^.

I'm so GLAD tomorrow is Friday... yay!



How can Korean music not be addicting?!!  They have Hot Korean Men in them... and then they're super catchy... like seriously!?!

Pictures galore...




Field Trip?

How is it that I almost always forget stuff that I do DURING the week?  this tuesday, we had a break with no school cause teh school is under renovation... yay!  computers and tvs in the classroom... should be fun and interesting...hopefully... and then thursday we took the kids out to an private elementary school to play and have fun.  it was nice not really having to teach the kids and just letting them play and have fun... this last week was probably the most exhausted that i had gotten in a ridiculously long time... friday during school i just kept picturing going to my bed and barely hitting the pillow and being knocked out for ages... still hoping for more sleep tonight... i'll probably go to bed super early to "catch up" on sleep... of course only AFTER uploading my 3 or 4 videos... haha back to work...

Um... ... ... ... Special! Edition.. Album... Hello???

It's been 1 week since I last posted and my last post really wasn't anything but a music video!  SO... it's pretty much been 2 weeks since I posted!  ah!... Sorry Sorry Sorry Sorry (Super Junior...)... ^_^.  No but I really am sorry!  i have been so busy and have been crazy tired from all the running around and hanging out with kids and be pulled each way by kids that it's gotten me too exhausted to just sit and type...

So I'm here... hoping to update with pictures on video so you dont have a huge huge huge blog to read!  hehe!  Plus it sorta helps me to not worry about uploading them to this thingy and anyway... it's just more convenient!!  ^_^.

First, let me start by saying that I've started Korean classes as of October 6th and LOVE LOVE LOVE them!  hehe!  it's difficult but challenging... another reason i get busy... i've been studying!...  I go to class Tuesdays and Thursdays and every other Friday... I hope to keep these up for awhile... my teacher is super cool and yeah studying before coming really helped... knowing the alphabet before coming to Korea is a really good step forward you can take... Click Here for help!

Okay back to your regularly scheduled program... hehe

last weekend (October 17)... I went and met a friend out in her area and we just chilled out... got our hair done and a few other things.  It was definitely fun to hang out in a new area that i dont know!  hehe!  We hung out... ate pizza at Pizza Hut and shopped around the area... we just window shopped of course!  After just hanging out... we headed back to her place to get ready for a night out for our friend's birthday night!  YAY!  so we met up the birthday girl and headed to Hongdae to hang out.  Hongdae is a big party central.  Clubs... Pubs... Tubs... (okay maybe not Tubs... haha i tried though... haha)  so we went and got some dinner at a sandwich place to start the night and then went to Go-Go's.  It's a pretty cool place to chill out and have a few drinks with friends but after like 10 or 11 it gets crowded but everyone's so friendly.. (wonder why?!)... haha!  we had fun and just stayed in GoGo's for a long time... then at about 3am we headed out and ended the night with 2 Kebabs a person... So Yummy!!!!  Met some cool people that maybe I'll message to hang out again soon... or maybe not... haha we'll see!  An anonymous blogger that I've been following also was there that night and i was so close to figuring out who it was but i didn't know till i was home that i knew we were in the same bar at the SAME TIME!  so crazy!  haha!!

(Speaking of meeting bloggers)... I also have been reading a blogger by the name of Jennifer who has Jennipal.blogspot.com and one random day 2 weeks ago... i was in myeongdong with rosie just shopping at forever21 and i saw her!  lol me being super weird now that i'm in korea... looked at her and said:  I read your blog!  as i giggle... seriously being Korea has changed me... and i love it!  hehe!!  so if you ever spot me... please... please... please... say something to me!  hehe!!

anyway back to my story... so i stayed at my friends house after the long night and that was that weekend... just had some fun and hung out with friends!

This last Saturday (October 24)... I went to a Korean village called 한옥마을 or also:  남산골한옥마을 (Namsangol Hanokmaeul) (click link)... My Korean teacher invited us to go with her on Saturday at 10:30 am and even though it was early i didn't have plans so i decided that would be super cool!... so Saturday i met up with my friend and we got coffee and met up with my teacher in front of our company building.  we met up with 6 or so other people besides us two and took taxis to this little village on the hill under/to Namsan Tower.  It was fun to be out in nature and with new friends.  everyone seemed cool and we all had a thing or two in common.  we are all foreigners in korea... no matter if we were american... canadian... columbian... or japanese... we were there AND we were all wanting to learn Korean for one reason or another.  Hopefully i'll meet up with some of these people in the future... of course we have the same korean teacher... something is bound to keep us together... haha how cheesy am i... !!!


pics will be up of that adventure...

at around 11 or 12... karrin and i decided to head back and grab some lunch cause we needed food!  haha!  so we met up with some friends at COEX mall... which was my first time going!  yay!  hehe!  first we at lunch at On the Border... so my 2nd time in my life and the 1st was in America... now in Korea... hehe!  Then we went shopping... I didnt buy anything till we went to a convenient store later in the day and then we went to a music store... bad idea for me... haha!  it was hard for me to find korean music other than online back at home but as soon as i walk into this store i found my favorite boy band... SS501... there new album came out this last week... i already downloaded it but i wanted a physical copy with diary and my first 2 posters of them... (which i have yet to put up yet... haha)... the CD is really good.  I would recommend listening to them!  they've been around for a while but they're in early 20s... so they'll be around awhile.  I also bought Goo Hye Sun's CD (Geum JanDi from Boys over Flowers)... it's all piano pieces but shes a good artist in general.  singer.  artist.  author.  actress... i admire her.


anyway after the music store we decided we'd grab some food and then head home for a movie night.  The girls and I had a movie night and I taxi-d it home at 6:20AM.  haha!!


it was fun to just have a chill night and hang out with friends.  I love to go out and have fun but staying in is good too... saves money too!  haha!!


this week should be a good week and i can't wait to see what the days ahead hold for me...

Look out for my videos of pictures soon to come after this blog... it just takes time to put them together and uploaded but i promise within a few hours they should be up!


please comment and let me know you're out there reading this!  haha!


^_^.
Have a good night (or day) wherever you are in the world!!

Betrayed...



this song has been stuck in my head ever since i watched this video but i couldn't find it in my youtube favorites and when i heard it on the street i could never find someone who knew it!!

ah!  i'm so happy i have to tell the world!!

Gyeongbok Palace

October 11th, 2009
Today, I visited Gyeongbokgung Palace.  According to my friend who took me to check out this palace... it's the largest palace of the 5 Grand Palaces (the wikipedia page attached above also confirms this... lol).  I had a lot of fun.  I met up with my friend at 1pm and we took a bus from our area to where the palace was located... i'm sorry if you want to visit cause i can't remember the bus but it's the one close to Insadong!  and it's really easy to find!  just look it up... obviously if it's large there's going to be some way to get there!  haha!... when we arrived we took a look around before buying our 3,000Won tickets to roam around this huge area!  we walked around most of the whole thing and later when to look at the museum off to the side.  I definitely learned a lot of information about Korean culture and hope to take time to learn a lot more.  It's all so interesting and i felt bad that my brain is so helpless with information told to me rather than when i read it... so i'm hoping that i can find a book to help me learn and then remember everything he said to me... lol!  After checking out the museum (it's a huge museum...)... in total i think we spent like 3 hours or so looking at the palace and the museum... i definitely enjoyed once again being outside... it was a cool day too so it felt good... not a large amount of those deadly stairs either!  haha!!  many families and school groups roaming around but it was all so fun!!  ^_^.  Please check out the video of the fun pics from my trip!  ^_^.

Suwon Folk Village & Chuseok holiday

So obviously Chuseok holiday was a week ago... and i'm just now getting to updating what fun i encountered!  ^_^.  not much really went on... our school had vacation from thursday, october 1st to monday, october 5th... I decided to stay in the area and sorta explore around.  On thursday, i went out with a friend to hang out.  it was nice to do whatever... we went to dongdaemun stadium for a little while and i bought what i thought was a shirt but turns out can be a dress (it's in-between... not short so it's ok!)... then later went to Itaewon.  Friday, I met up with Foreigner Joy (<--click her name to view her blog about the adventures we had the Suwon Folk Village!) and another friend Jei to go to the Suwon Folk Village in Suwon which is located in GyeongGi-Do... which means I stepped out of Seoul for the first time!!  yay me!!  I had a lot of fun checking out the village and just being out and about in and around nature!  everyday surrounded by city life makes you want some country times... haha... that's the small town texas girl in me... i guess!  ^_^.  I set up a video so I didnt have to fill this thing up with a million pictures!!  and videos!  haha!

when we got there we walked around and just looked at all the structures.  it was really nice to walk around... REALLY Nice!  haha... i would recommend anyone to go to get out... when we went they had scheduled times of different shows available for watching!  We got to watch "Farmer's Music and Dance", tightrope walking, a Traditional Korean Wedding, and sorta watched a horse show... we got interrupted though... lol tis k!  it was all so fun!!  ^_^.  I just love Korea and am happy here!

Saturday... I hung out with some friends later in the night.  It was so much fun to just hang out at someone's house doing almost nothing!  haha!  Sunday... just rested and Monday... nothing again... haha!  it's so much fun to just rest and chill out!!  haha!!

well i have not much more to say... another blog will come RIGHT after this so i dont wait too long again about today's fun adventure!  ^_^... enjoy the video!!:

chuseok vacation!

I have so much to write but so little energy... although today has been filled with cleaning and what-not... I am drained... and will be going to bed soon... thoughts of going back to work after the 5 day weekend are racing back and i am even more drained... i'm hoping to have energy tomorrow to post about the fun i had the last few days!

update will come soon... no worries!!

hope everyone had a great break!

^_^.

My kiddos!



Singing about the weather and seasons!

WhatTheBook?!

So I said I would write a blog on WhatTheBook bookstore in Itaewon.  It's pretty awesome!  It's a small-ish bookstore... i mean it's not like Hastings or whatever but it has a great selection on new and old books in ENGLISH.  Yes I said it... in English!  they're really great prices too!  you can find pretty much any book in this store... self-help... children's... scary... fantasy (twilight...fairies)...anything!  Also, if they dont have the book in stock... you can always ask the English speaking staff!  They are very friendly and are willing to help you.  If they dont have the book they can order it or check their warehouse to see if they have it (all on their handy computers)... if it's in they're warehouse it takes 2 days to get and brought back to their store OR it can be mailed to your location for about 2,000Won (if i remember right!).  When I was looking for a book... it was in their warehouse so i just came back 2 days later and it was there!  yay!  They can also order the book for you!

This place is also filled with ENGLISH magazines... anything to fill your hearts desire!  lol!  I would highly recommend anyone to go and peruse this little area of Itaewon for books... books... and more books!
This is the map showing how to get to the store.  you're going to see the firehouse on your right and go up that street.... keep going until you see the blue what the book sign... at first i couldnt find it but it's cause i didnt go up far enough... KEEP GOING till you see the sign!


Then you'll find this sign... :)  go downstairs to books galore!


New and Used books... each sectioned off beautifully!


And Magazines!

I definitely enjoy going back to this place and finding things to read... I'm trying to get back into reading and it's good to know I can find a place here in Korea!!

^_^.

Chuseok plans?

Check out this facebook invite!  It's for Sunday and if you are in the area you should check it out!  I might go to this cause it looks fun!!


Event Hosted by Fusion



look there is ForeignerJoy! (lower right) (and now me but it doesnt show that...hmph)


Night on the Town!




Yesterday started out going to Itaewon to meet up with my friend Rhonda for a late birthday celebration.  ^_^.  We went and ate some really great Indian food to start the day at about 3PM so lunch time!  haha!  then after hanging out for a few hours at the restaurant we then went to WhatTheBook bookstore to check out some books.  Rhonda had been telling me about the books that the movie, He's Just Not That Into You, was based on so i was a bit determined to go find it.  LOL!  we found them and a few other books too.  WhatTheBook deserves it's own post so I'll do that next!  After leaving there, our food had taken some time to settle so we walked to find someplace to satisfy our sweet tooth.  We decided on going to Baskin Robbins (yes that's right Baskin Robbins in Korea... pretty much my 2nd time in my life to be in one... and they were both in Korea....hehe)... after ordering our Mocha Almond and Green Tea cups... Rhonda also decided to order a birthday hat... lol!  I refused to wear it!!  haha!  but as we sat and ate our icecream (BY THE WINDOW) i wore the hat... lol talk about attractive... haha!  Then we decided to leave and check out a few places... we walked up and down the main street in Itaewon looking for a bar to just sit and check out guys... (it's about 5 or  5:30 at this point)... so we found an Irish pub place in the backstreets and it was pretty nice.  We had a few lemon drop shots and I had a cosmopolitan.  there were unfortunately only old men around and no cuties waiting for our attention!  lol!

We left around 7 and I accidentally left my hat there... well Rhonda remembered and ran back to get it while the waitresses were playing with it!  lol!  so funny!!!!   After rescuing the hat... Rhonda decided she would wear it!  lol!!  so by this time we are hungry again and we decide to go to Outback (yes Outback in Korea as well... 1st time to go...) and split a plate.  It was pretty yummy... the waitstaff were sorta cute... kinda dorky but 1 guy accidentally dropped off a beer at our table and we were like wait what??  this isnt ours??  haha!  but whatever he was cute... we sent it back cause we arent really beer drinkers... haha

then after leaving Outback we decided to head to Helios.  I've never been Helios but apparently around 10 or so it gets bumpin... (oh yeah i said it... lol)... it was around close to 9... i think... lol and so we head over... sit at a table alongside 2 Korean women... who dont really know any english but whatever we're chillin on our own... Rhonda is still wearing the birthday hat at this point and has had a million people asking her if it's her birthday and of course we respond with YES!  lol!

After a while at Helios, we have had a few drinks (2) and are just hanging out still waiting for the cute/hot guys to arrive... it's apparently dinner time still and they're not out yet to party... cause at Helios it's like a restaurant/ bar/ club... we ordered fries and water when we got there and so it wasn't really into the swing of things yet.  Around 10 the music gets a bit happier and we're singing along and sorta dancing... haha at our table... cute guys are walking in slowly... around this time too the korean women next to us are attempting to talk to us and 1 of them is super drunk!  haha!  she's like pretty girl/ beautiful girl.  dance!  *scream* and at one point headlocks the waiter to kiss Rhonda cause it's her birthday.  (it didnt happen.. lol) but we were both like WTHeck!?!?  WOW!  we were both cracking up!  Then she decides because we are drinking water... that she needs to buy us beers... ugh!  i need to learn how to say I dont like beer in Korean!  but it's okay we didnt stay long enough to drink them just courteously drink it as she toasted... haha!  THEN she grabs my arm (this is where i know she's super drunk cause she grabbed me hard... lol) and pulls me to dance and i look at Rhonda and force her and the girls friend to dance and now we're on the dance floor... dancing away then she pulls Rhonda in to dance with (on?) her... that's when Rhonda regretted wearing the birthday hat!   we left after 1 1/2 songs... haha!  left  the beers and the super drunk new friend and sober (apologetic) new friend!

we had to catch subways back so we had to leave around 10:30...

Overall it was a fun night...

at the end before I got off the subway... I saw a cute Korean guy reading a book (in front of me cause the subways semi-packed at this point) and then as we both get ready to get off... he goes to put it in his Louis Vuitton bag (mini-bag) similar to this pic: 

i know that he's straight but i cant get past the Korean guys carrying purses... not all of them do it but most of them do... and they carry their girlfriend's purses too!!

AAHH!  well that was the end of my night yesterday... oh and i stayed up and finished the abridged version of the book i got!  haha!

^_^.

Movie Marathon anyone??

My friend Joy has posted an invitation for anyone in the area to have a movie marathon during the Chuseok holiday if you aren't going anywhere!  Check it out here at her blog!!

Sounds like fun!  So if you're interested contact either one of us!!  ^_^.

Happy Birthday to me!


I'm 21!  and in Korea!  YAY!

i got you in my heart... can't you see your face?

These pics are from Gangnam and Itaewon and some from Dongdaemun!... 


Hope you liked!  more pics on my facebook!!  please leave some comments!  let me know you've been here!!