Beef...it's what's for dinner!

On Friday night all of the middle school teachers were invited by one of our students to a Brazilian BBQ restaurant. We didn't really know what to expect being this is Korea (aka very far from Brazil) and even Chinese food is served with a Korean influence. We departed from school at 5 to Lake Daejeon, which is where the restaurant is located. I had never seen the lake, but it is absolutely beautiful. We got there just in time to take a few pics and watch the sunset as we enjoyed an amazing meal. By far the best meat I have had here. It was served the traditional Brazilian way. They just keep bringing around more and more food and they will put it on your plate until you tell them to stop. I tried all the meat, including the chicken hearts. I thought they were done after those, but then they brought out grilled pineapple, followed by potatoes (the only thing I said no to because I could not fit anymore in my stomach!). Afterwards they had a live band outside while we sat around the bonfire and chatted. It was really fun. When we got back to the city we talked all the female middle school teachers, including the headmaster's wife, to come to the noraebang with us! It was so funny to watch some of those women in their 40s--or older--let loose. And two of them were new teachers who had never been to the noraebang. We all had a good time.

 

Other highlights of my weekend were helping out at the XC meet--I gave out the popsicle sticks to the runners as they crossed the finish line so they new what place they had gotten--visiting Expo Park and riding the roller coaster there (see link below for some pics of this place), and watching The Office and Grey's season premiers. :) Overall I had a really good weekend because I finally got the chance to explore Daejeon a little. It made me realize there is so much more here I need to see and do!

Also, I have posted a lot of pictures recently so here are some links to various albums. Enjoy!

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020324&l=14612&id=78300441

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021343&l=12283&id=78300441

*new album! //www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021429&l=2fa6a&id=78300441

To bike or not to bike...problem solved!

I had been thinking about getting a bike because it would allow me so much more freedom to explore more of the city and there are some great places to ride. There is a lake right outside the city which is supposedly really beautiful, and there is a nice trail at Hannam University right next to our campus. Plus, it would allow me to start training early for RAGBRAI. :) What was holding me back, besides the money, is that the traffic here is crazy. Cars don't yield to pedestrians at all, and the bigger the vehicle the more control it has of the road. There aren't even any stop signs! I didn't know if I would feel safe riding my bike amongst all the bad drivers. Yesterday on the way to Home Plus I actually got hit by a car! It just bumped my elbow, but still, it just gives you an idea of how careful you have to be (and a great story. hehe). But, after thinking about it I realized that if I could get hit while walking, too, why not just ride the bike and get there faster. Last weekend one of the dorms was trying to get rid of some of their old bikes...for free! I couldn't pass up a free bike so I went to check them out. They are really dirty and rusty and need some air in the tires, but other than that they work great. All the gears are in proper working order. So, I made the decision; as of today I now have my own wheels.

A Whirlwind Week

Wow! This week has been crazy busy. We got back from Busan and I had one day of rest (which I used to sleep all day) and then we went to one of the teacher's mountain homes. It was good to escape the city. We grilled, ate, visited the pottery village where almost every store was closed, and swam in a mountain stream. It was a lot of fun and very relaxing. 

Then, on Wednesday when we started school it was Spiritual Emphasis Week (SEW). The rest of the week was set up like a youth conference except with less free time. A band, Station 2, and a speaker came from the U.S. We also spent time in small groups, tracks--which were basically just fun time; I was in charge of the board games track--and rec time, which usually involved running around the O-jung Dong (aka our neighborhood). It was fun, but it is still really warm here. Especially last week...it was near 90 everyday! The heat and sun and running combination made me completely exhausted at the end of each day. Overall SEW was great; it was nice to see my students in a different environment and connect with them on a deeper level. The band was great, too, and the students really enjoyed having them here.

On Saturday I didn't get a break because I left for Gwangju at 8:00 am where I went to meet up with Bethany. We didn't do too much there, but it was still a good day. We went to an art exhibit (that was kinda disappointing), watched some dance crews and a magician, shopped a little, bought some English books!, ate Pizza Hut, shopped some more, ate Bingsu--it is a lot of fruit, shaved ice, and ice cream and is really refreshing, watched a random parade, were followed for 45 minutes by a creepy Korean man, played with a really cute 4-year old Korean girl (she was the host-sister of one of Bethany's friends), and ate at a inexpensive meat place. Then, I took the 9:00 bus home, arrived just after 11:00 and crashed.

I was really happy I was able to travel on my own with only minor language difficulties. I have taught myself to read Korean which is really exciting. I still struggle with some of the vowels sometimes, but I have all the basic ones down. And, of course, I usually don't know what I'm reading, but it is a step in the right direction.

Today I spent most of the day working at the school, because I haven't planned for so long. We also had a potluck after church today and someone made taco salad, someone else made chili, and Sarah made Andes mints cookies. It pretty much made my day. Anyway, I should head to bed. Back to school tomorrow!

Pictures from Gwangju and Barbara's mountain home:http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021342&l=c7ec4&id=78300441

Where, Oh Where...

I lost my house keys. I don't know where they could be, but I have retraced every step I have taken in the last 2 hours and I still can't find them. So far, I am having really bad luck with not losing things. This probably isn't a surprise to everyone who lived with me last year, however, it is much worse when I don't have people to call and let me in. :P I already lost my SECOM card once this year. That is the card that you need to open everything in Korea, and TCIS is no exclusion. Someone did find it and turn it in the next day, though. If only I could have been so lucky with the house key. Somehow the entire key ring managed to slip off the lanyard that holds the rest of the keys, and I didn't realize until I got to my door. After a series of phone calls, I finally got ahold of Mr. Kim who called the locksmith, who then showed up in less than 10 minutes. So now he is here changing my locks...well, was. He just said something in Korean and left with the lock half-changed. Oh, I wish I could understand what people were saying! I can hardly wait for Korean class next week!!!

Chusok in Busan

So right now I am enjoying a 5-day weekend thanks to a wonderful Korean holiday called Chusok. It is basically the Korean thanksgiving, and it is a huge family holiday where everyone exchanges gifts and gets together with extended family. For the holiday, 7 of us took a little vacation to Busan, which is on the Southeastern coast of Korea, by the East Sea (aka the Sea of Japan, but NO ONE calls it that here :-P) Because of the holiday, it wasn't busy at all, which was really nice. It was a really good trip consisting of spending time on the beach, seeing beautiful nature, shopping, resting a little, eating a lot (including really good Indian food, which I had never tried before), a night ferry ride, visiting the aquarium and the fish market, and riding bumper cars. My favorite part was a place called Taejondae (see 2nd video below) where we rode a little tram that made stops all over this mountainous island just outside the city. It was absolutely beautiful with cliffs right on the water. I also really enjoyed the fish market. It was so interesting; I wish all of you could have been there to see it. I tried to capture the moment on video (see below), but it was a crazy experience. Overall, it was a great trip and a great break from school. And the best part is I still have tomorrow off!

If you want to see some pics from my trip to Busan use this link: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2021159&l=d981b&id=78300441

Here are the videos I took on the trip.

Back in touch with the world...

So, I have officially been here 6 weeks. I can't tell if it seems longer or shorter than that, but either way, time is going quickly.  Only 38 more weeks and I will be headed back to the U.S.A.  This overall was a good week because it was short; we start Chusok holiday tomorrow, which is the Korean Thanksgiving. But the short week wasn't even the highlight of this week. The best part was Wednesday afternoon when I received my cell phone! I know some of you probably don't believe that I went 6 weeks without having one, but I honestly did. It was really weird (and strangely liberating) and now I almost feel cell phone illiterate. I couldn't figure out how to space when texting, I couldn't find my recent calls menu, and I always forget to take it places! I feel much safer traveling now, though. We got them at the perfect time because tomorrow 7 of us are headed out on another mini-vacation to Busan, a coastal city nicknamed Korea's hollywood. I hope we have some time to relax on the beach and not think about school! :)

On a completely different note, today I made my first of hopefully few trips to the doctor's office. I hadn't been hearing well in my right ear and especially in the morning it felt...I don't know...plugged. I went to the school nurse who told me she thought I had an ear infection, so this afternoon I went to an ear, nose, throat doctor. No one there spoke English, but I talked the school nurse into coming with me the first time. I walked in, and before I could even sit in the waiting room chair they called me in.  I sat in what looked like a dentist chair while the doctor used this little camera to take a picture of the inside of my ear. The problem ended up not being an ear infection, but a buildup of earwax that was completely blocking my ear canal! I saw the picture and it was disgusting! Apparently it is a pretty common problem here due to the pollution and dust in the air. Anyway, the doctor took his little scissors and pulled out all the wax and gave my ears a good cleaning. After about a minute sitting in this little machine in which I held two heaters/dryers up to my ears, I was free to go. The entire visit couldn't have been more than 15 min, and now I can hear crystal clear!

Fotos

Oh more thing. I have been updating my photo album of pictures from around Taejon, so be sure to check it out.  Here is the link again if you lost it. :)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020324&l=14612&id=78300441

Haircut!

So I was a little nervous to get my haircut, but yesterday I decided to just do it.  Jenn and I went to a place downtown where Ellen had gone before. We walk into the place, and it is a little intimidating.  It is two floors and there were probably about 50 people getting their hair done! We asked for Jin Hee (who we were told by other TCIS folk, speaks English) and they motioned to the next floor. We went up, not knowing what she looked like or how we were going to find her.  We asked again and that told us to wait.  I was thinking, we are probably going to be waiting forever with this many people all in curlers and foils. However, not more than 5 min. later Jin Hee came up to us. Her English was a little broken, but she understood most things.  She told me to go get my hair washed, which is in a separate room.  It has 6 sinks or so and there are two ladies there who just wash hair all day. I waited for the people who arrived before me and then it was my turn.  It was amazing! She gives you a head massage while washing and it felt so good! When it was done she motioned me back to Jin Hee, who was now working on Jenn's highlights.  Another lady came over and took off the towel and brushed my hair...then left. Maybe she was a trainee. :) I really didn't know what was going on, but before long Jin Hee came over and cut my hair.  She did such a good job! Probably the best haircut I've had, and I LOVE it! She even thinned it exactly where it needed to be thinned. When she had finished cutting, yet another lady came over to style my hair.  She dried it and straightened it and Jin Hee cut a little more to shape it and she dried it again.  haha. The whole process took about an hour and a half, I think (my hair almost took as long as Jenn's who was getting highlights), but it was so fun.  And only $20 with no tip! I will definitely be going back there.

My favorite activities

Lately I have been trying to not work as much; I am waking up in the middle of the night thinking about all the stuff I have to do! So, every Tuesday I play tennis with a couple other teachers, then Wednesday night is staff volleyball night (every week it is getting more competitive. I LOVE IT!), and now I have started taekwando on Thursdays. This week was our first class.  It is being taught by a student who is really sweet--a black belt herself--but doesn't have a lot of teaching experience so she is always shy.  It was a lot of fun, though, and definitely a way to relieve stress. :) She says she is going to take us to watch some shows so that we can see "real taekwando". hehe. In addition to my own physical activities, fall sports have started here, and I have found my new favorite high school activity to watch...boys volleyball!!!  I have already gone to two games this weekend because it is just so much fun! The game is fast-paced, they can jump serve, and they spike really hard! It is so much fun to watch! I can't wait until the next home game! Go Dragons!

 

Birthdays!

So, lately we have been all about birthdays here in Korea. First, it was Kirsten's, one of my fellow Spanish teachers. For her b-day we found this awesome little meat restaurant near school. I will definitely be going back there. In Korea, meat is usually sold only at certain restaurants and is quite expensive. You always cook it on the grill in front of you. Anyway, the night of her actual b-day we were on the retreat, so we got together for some no rae bang. Then, Sunday was Christie, the other Spanish teachers, birthday. For that celebration we went out in style to Bennigan's (which is really expensive here, btw!) which was fun. Then, last night was my friend Lyndsey's birthday. We went to a really nice Italian restaurant in a part of town near to where TCIS will be relocating in a couple years. Afterward we had cake and ice cream. Needless to say, I haven't been starving! :)

Pictures of b-day celebrations: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020902&l=225bf&id=78300441

Gyeongju Retreat

Hello all! Sorry it has been so long since I've written, but things have not slowed down. This past week of school flew by, and before I knew it I was on a charter bus (1 of 18!) to Gyeongju for the faculty/staff retreat. We took so many buses because it was all faculty, staff, and families from TCIS as well as GSIS, our sister school in Suwon. I really enjoyed meeting the staff from GSIS, including the Spanish teacher. She is from Brazil, but her dad is from Malaga. She taught for 3 months in Morocco and 6 months in Israel before coming to Korea. Talk about some cool stories! I think she is going to come visit us at TCIS in September. Anyway, Gyeongju is one of the most historic cities in Korea. It kinda reminded me of an Asian version of Pella because all the buildings were of the traditional style: gas stations, shops, restaurants, etc. There were no high-rise apartment complexes like in every other Korean city. And there was so much green! We stayed in a very nice hotel, ate great food, and had ample free time to explore the city. I hiked a mountain from base to peak on Saturday AM. It was one of the coolest things I've ever done, but I was so tired after. There was an awesome view from the top (you could see to the ocean) which made it well worth the muscle pain. From the top we looked down and saw our hotel, where we left from, and it was such an amazing feeling. In the PM I took a cultural tour. We visited a Buddist temple, a museum, and some tombs. The tombs are mounds of grass which just look like big hills. Inside, all the kings and queens of the silla dynasty are buried. One has been excavated and you can go inside. It is pretty cool. Then for dinner we had bulgogi and watched a cultural show, complete with dances and drumming (see video below). The nights of the retreat were a lot of fun, too. On Friday we found a no rae bang and about 42 TCIS and GSIS people all squeezed into a room meant to hold about 15. Then, on Saturday, we played games until way later than I wanted to be up, but it was a lot of fun. I feel like I know the returning staff a lot better now. So now it's Monday and it was back to normal! At least for another couple weeks until our next break

to see more pictures from Gyeongju, use this link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2020871&l=cb8e8&id=78300441