Today is the last day of the semester and I am elated. I don't believe it phases the students because they still have to come to school on Monday. THe only thing they're excited for is a weekend without homework.

Last weekend, Katherine visited me once again from Cheongju. She arrived Friday night. Saturday was a Christmas shopping day so we hit the usual shopping places. For some reason, neither of is were in the mood to shop. Katherine was sick and I think I was overwhelmed. After wandering for a while, we headed to Sinchon to a cafe called Dr. Fish. This place has a pool in the middle where you can put your feet in and small fish eat the dead skin on your feet. Yes, fish eat the dead skin from your feet. I heard of this for the first time this summer. A friend went to China and has the same experience. So why not try it ourselves? Well, we both couldn't get over the tickling of the fish when they nibble on the bottoms of our feet. We giggled and clung to each other while the Koreans looked at us with annoyed looks. We eventually got used to it. My feet were a bit softer but I think I'd have to have them in that pool for much longer to make a real difference.

Saturday, we partied in Hongdae again and on Sunday we headed to the horse races. This course put Hastings Park to absolute shame. It was massive and extremely busy, with little black heads everywhere. We headed to the foreigners lounge. There were brochures and diagrams on how to bet and we were very impressed on how foreigner friendly it was. Its a beautiful location. Its quite far south of the city, and mountains surround the entire track. The sky was clear and blue and it was cold. We headed home after 4 races.

Wednesday night I met up with a woman who is friends with my old Keith Road neighbours, the Lewis'. Minjung lived in Whistler and Vancouver for a while, and is now living and working in Seoul. We went for coffee and got to know each other. She has excellent English and is a very lovely person. It was nice to hang out with someone from here.

This week has been really busy at work. As it is the last week of the semester, we've had to do report cards, tests, evaluations, awards, etc. Its nice to know I will have a fresh start next week. And by fresh start I mean being able to lay the smack down with my students on the first day. I'll never forget my first day of teaching, as I stood at the front of the room, not having a clue what I was doing, and the students KNOWING that they would be able to get away with anything. Not this time, children. Also at school, two male foreign teachers have been added to the staff. Before it was all women but one, and I could always sense the drama and estrogen up entering a room. I have always worked with mostly men and been one of one maybe two women on the team and I've had more fun.

And tomorrow, Saturday, is something that I've wanted to do since I arrived: the DMZ. The demilitarized zone between North and South Korea is north of Seoul. I have to adhere to a dress code and bring my passport.

Over and out. Check back in 24 hours.

Rain

Today I walked to work and along the way, it started to rain. It has rained a bit since I arrived here. I though that Koreans were used to rain and I think they are. But when it started, everyone started running like it was Armageddon. From building to building they would run. People were gathered in doorways looking up at the sky so maybe if they looked long enough it would stop raining. Everywhere I have been, there are umbrella vendors, so what's with the running? I just cruised through it because to me its nothing, but everyone else looked at my like I had 5 heads.

Yesterday was American Thanksgiving and to celebrate, some friends and I went to the USO Canteen for a turkey dinner. The USO (United Services Organization) is near the military base. Anyone can go in and have food. The prices are in American and its really cheap. We went for lunch. It was phenomenal. Turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie. So good. We had to work after and the triptofan hit us all like a pile of bricks.

The feel of the weekend is not truly conveyed without a photo...



I don't know his name but it looks like it should be Candy.

There are new pictures on Flikr...see link on the right

I felt the need to get down with my bad self this past weekend, so I did.

Last Thursday and Friday, my school had level testing for the students. For the students, its very stressful as it determines if they can move up, or if they have to repeat that level again. There is intense pressure from their parents and from their peers. I had no idea what to expect. But it was very stressful for teachers also. There was no actual teaching for us, which was great. But for 2 days, we were distributing, collecting and marking listening, grammer, speaking, vocabulary and level tests for all of our students. We each have 12 classes, so there was a lot of paper. By the end of work on Friday night, we needed booze. Lots of it. Denise, Steph and I went for dinner and had delicious sumgupsal (sort of like bbqd bacon) and beer. We headed to the local Canadian pub called Beer O'Clock for the rest of the night. We chilled there with some more cocktails and some shooters. It was a great way to end the week.

Saturday, I was hurting a little. But after 3 bottles of juice, I was good to go. Denise and I met up with a guy she met here named King. He's in the military and is really nice guy. He's been here for 2 months and has only been in the military since April. He's originally from Atlanta and is 22. He used to work for Bad Boy Records, but felt he wasn't learning anything there so he moved on.

He hasn't seen much of the city, so Denise and I took him to some of the more popular areas. I realized that I am fascinated with military life. I was asking him so many questions about how he got in and the way things were in everyday military life. He works in human resources at the base. Everything is structured, with curfew, rules, chores, procedures, etc. Duh, I mean how else would it be. I got so much info from him, so here are my favourite parts:

- One random story that came up was about him and his friends were out partying and one guy took a pee in a bush. He didn't get caught, but if he did, then he would be sent to military jail for 1 year.

- It takes $85,000 to initially train one soldier. This covers lodging, clothing, basic training, food, medical and dental insurance, you get the picture. I asked him about soldiers being discharged and its not something that is done lightly because of the investment that is put in.

- King was recently in the hospital with penumonia. Military medical coverage is unreal. There are all the things that one would expect from insurance. There are bonuses like having one plastic surgery procedure of your choice for free. When he got his wisdom teeth out, the bill was $4000, but he paid nothing. While he was in the hospital, King said he could order whatever food he wanted. Not hospital food, but basically any food that he could get on base. They have pizza places, Burger King, other burger places, pubs, Korean places, chinese food, italian food. Everything.

Anyway I thought he was really awesome and he said that if Denise wanted to visit the the base, I coud come too. Wooo ooo!

Saturday night we headed back to Beer O'Clock because there was a big bachelor party coming into town. Trevor, the bar owner, told us this the night before. It was a single girl's dream. Denise and I were 2 out of 5 women. The rest of the bar was full of guys. Turns out there is a supply of eligible bachelors here. We stayed there for a while then headed to the clubbing part of town called Hongdae. It was a great night. Denise and I met so many people and it was really fun to go party it up. I hadn't done it in a while.

Sunday was a write off. I loved it. I watched 3 movies and had a huge nap. Back to school yesterday and the retardeness of level testing.

A Date....With Myself

On Sunday, I took myself on a date. I woke up at 10 and bought myself a coffee. Then I went for a seven hour walk. I walked from my house to Yeouido (the Manhattan of Seoul), to Yongsan (the US military area) then to Sinchon (a trendy clubbing area). For those Vancouverites out there, its like walking from Heather and Paul's house, over the Second Narrows, into downtown, through the West End, around Stanley Park and then to Park Royal. Sounds crazy but it was so much fun. I had my ipod, my camera, a map and unlimited time. It was nice to see the city from street level, as I always take the subway. It was a beautiful day. I took the subway home on the last part, bought myself a bottle of wine on the way home and made myself pasta for dinner. I sure know how to treat a lady.

Its funny how some things are normalizing. Motorcycles on the sidewalk, normal. Kids at school on Saturday, normal. Drunk business men sleeping on park benches at 5pm, totally normal. Come on, who isn't tanked at 5? Well me for sure because i'm guiding young Korean minds. Underwear vendors in the park, normal. Kids playing basketball at midnight, normal. Women wearing facemasks and giant visors, normal. I've become accustomed to people staring at me. If they don't stare at me now, I think, what's wrong with me?

I'm content and pleased with the way things have worked out. I have a good job. I'm meeting lots of people. Some might say I'm making a difference through my work. I suppose, but I think many of my students will seek therapy in a few years. I have so much time to myself. Sometimes I feel a little bored, but I have not had this much time to read, watch movies and learn things in so long. Some travel plans are on the horizon. Maybe Japan for Christmas and Bali for the lunar new year in February.

Flikr page

Instead of posting photos on this page, they will all be on my Flikr page. Its easier to use, for me and I can most more than this allows. There is a link at the top right side of the page. Most are from Seoul, but there are some of home too. Enjoy!

The things I learned today

1. I really love coffee.

2. In Korea, the police have the right to come into any club or bar and do random blood testing. If they find any illegal narcotics in anyone's system, that person will be arrested.

3. There are a lot of weird foreign teachers living in Seoul. A LOT.

4. Will Farrell is THE funniest man on earth.

5. Doodling with a gel pen is better than doodling with a ballpoint pen.

6.The recent news of the Canadian teacher arrested in Thailand for child molesting has impacted the impressions of foreign language teachers with parents and students.

7. In 2 months, I have taken 1500 photos.

8. There is a non-existent supply of eligible bachelors in Seoul.

The first bike accident

Today I got hit by a truck.

Denise and I were riding to school on our regular route, which consists of 3 crosswalks, a park and a walkway. The only real road interactions are the crosswalks. Let me first say, if I haven't already, that Korean drivers are insane. Running red lights, driving really really fast, cutting people off, not stopping for pedestraians, swerving lanes, motorcycles on the sidewalks. I'm surprised I haven't witnessed an accident yet.

Anyway, we came to our first crosswalk. Denise mentioned that there was a truck going the wrong way. I saw it and it was actually backing up. He stopped so we started to cross. Then he decided to go anyway and was coming right for me. He kept going and hit me. My bike hit the ground. I was actually not hit, just the bike. My first action, when the truck was still moving, was to put my hand on the truck, because, you know, maybe I could stop the truck from moving. Anyway, Denise was pissed and threw her bike down on the ground and started giving this driver guy a piece of her mind, hands in he air, yelling. It was classic. He had gotten out by then and a small crowd had gathered. I can't remember what I said but I know that I wouldn't repeat it in front of small children. But it is highly unlikely that anyone around us even understood what we were saying. I was totally fine though, just a little shocked. The retard who was driving looked more worried because we were foreigners.

Its funny now, looking back. Denise stood up for me like it was nobody's business! She doesn't hold back. And my sweet bike is fine.

Movie Recommendations

I've seen some pretty awesome movies since I've been away: on the plane, all the pirated DVDs, the movie theatre. I can't even remember the last time I've seen this many films.

Here are some that I highly recommend. For those who know my sense of humour and whatever, then you can thank me later.

Shooter - Starring former original boy toy, Mark "Marky Mark" Whalberg. This military thriller is about a retired Marine Corps guy who get royally f %^*# d by the US government. Yes, probably not what you go see in the theatre or order on digital cable, but it is AWESOME. It made me want to be an assassin.

The Ex - Also something you probably groaned at when it previewed. Starring Zack Braff (he must have written some of it too because it is witty), it is about a husband dealing with his wife's high school ex-boyfriend, while he and the ex work for her father's ad agency. I saw it on the plane and I laughed out loud. Several times, by myself. Go get it.

Derailed - Starring Jennifer Aniston and Clive Owen. I watched it with Denise and we were stressed out the entire time. You know those movies that you yell at the screen because you can't understand why the character is choosing to go up shit creek. But I loved it at the end. Its a gooder.

You, Me and Dupree - eh, skip it and instead watch Wedding Crashers AGAIN, because its that funny.

Syriana - Another rad movie about the corrupt side of the US everything. Don't consume alcoholic beverages or watch it with someone who talks because it requires all your attention. When its over, you'll think a third time about driving your car to the corner store.

Love Actually - If you are PMS-ing and looking for an intentional cry, this is for you. Very touching, Hugh Grant is hot and clever and the film gave me the warm fuzzies.

Blood Diamonds - Very moving. A tear rolled down my cheek, I won't lie. Love the acting, the story, the message. Leo D is not one of my favorites, but he does a stand up job.

The Last King of Scotland - its good.

Clearly I'm just watching the big films from LAST year. But with rampant piracy all over Asia, I will be able to spoil all the good ones for you soon. That's all for this week's edition of Movies Not To Miss. I will update in another 2 months. Maybe.

I'm sick

It started last Thursday with a sore throat and a raspy voice. Teaching aggravated the situation. By Friday morning I felt a fever coming on. I laid low Friday night. I had a pretty busy weekend, just checking out the city. My cough got worse and worse. By Monday morning, my voice was gone, I felt like crap and I was coughing up my lungs. My throat was sore from coughing so much too. On Tuesday at work, I was coughing so hard, I threw up. I had to leave my class unattended for about an hour. But there are no sick days at my school, so when I was done, I rinse all the eye makeup off that was running down my face, and got on with the teaching. Why hadn't I been to a doctor yet? Well I remember having something like this in that past and seeing a doctor, and getting the old "its a virus and there's nothing we can do". So I just went with that. On Wednesday I felt less barfy, but the cough was terrible. On Thursday morning, I realized it was time to see a doctor because I was coughing up blood.

There's an international clinic 3 blocks from my house. I went in, registered or whatever and saw the doctor, who spoke english. She asked me a bunch of questions. She asked me about shots or a shot. I haven't had any shots in a while, but later, someone told me that they administer medication in a doctor's office by a shot. Ah yes, I remember now Leesa telling me about her doctor experience. When they gave her whatever shot she got, they spanked her ass before they stuck the needle. That was all I could think about after that, sitting in the doctor's office.

Then I went to a small room and they gave me a breathing mask with steam and put some drops into some reservoir. I breathed that in for about 4 minutes, got my prescription and left.

The prescription was for 2 days. I got 3 little packets of pills for each day, breakfast lunch and dinner. Each packet had 4 pills in them. I got 3 packets of cough syrup (individual doses are in little packets, so cute!) for each day and then some other pills to take right before bed. It was a lot of medication.

I have to go back on Monday morning. I don't know what I have but I guess the closest thing would be a lung infection. It doesn't help that all my students are sick, as are half the teachers I work with. I feel better, however the mornings are the worst. I wake up a few times in the night from coughing. I feel sorry for my neighbour.

Writer's Block

I think of things to write ALL the time, on the subway, riding my bike, shopping, lying in bed waiting to fall aleep. When I sit down to actually write, I can't remember any of it. So I'll just try and think of things I have done in the last little while.

In addition to the cool Buddhist experience last Sunday, I went to the COEX Mall and the Aquarium. This mall is apperently the biggest mall in Asia. Its mental. We didn't even see all of it because we just kept going around in a circle. But we did go to the aquarium that is in the mall. It was amazing! I felt like a kid again. There were mostly small fish, but then there was a huge shark tank at the end which was definetly a highlight. We (Denise, Mike and Beth) sat in front of the shark tank for about 30 minutes and had beers that we snuck in. The sharks were huge. Lots of scary ones with ugly teeth and there was one with a saw like form on the front of its head. There were massive turtles and some other funny looking fish. It was so much fun.

There was also another trip to Costco last week. I picked up some food and other necesities. We hit the food court for hot dogs, which were delicious. At the condiment counter, we picked up the usual relish and ketchup and at the end of the table, there was a onion mill. A giant tub that rotated and distributed chopped white onions. Pretty cool for people that like onions. As we walked through the food court looking for a table, we realized that people were only eating onions. They got a heap of onions onto a plate, then doused it with relish, ketchup and mustard, and then dug in with a fork. Done. A whole plate of that. The lesson for that day was that Koreans really like free onions.

I've gotten everything I need for my apartment. The only thing I didn't have for a while was a tea pot and a plant. So now it feels like home.

One weekend, Katherine Mulski came to visit. I went to high school with her and she is doing a practicum in a town about an hour and a half from Seoul. Her practicum involves teaching teachers how to implement english curriculum in their classrooms. She is a teacher in Canada also. She is only here for 4 months so she is busy trying to pack it all in. We had one of the busiest weekends I've had since I've been here. Saturday was shopping in Namdaemun Market and Meyong Dong. Both are huge trendy shopping areas. I tried to find some cheap eye glasses but couldn't find any frames I liked. I was a succesful day. On Saturday night we went for a going away dinner for Lindsay and then partied in Itaewon. I left Kat to watch the Rugby World Cup game at about 2.30 am and went home to bed. Then she rolled into my place at 7am. Sunday was another day of shopping in Itaewon and Insadong. Unfortunatly we ran out of time in Insadong so she's going to come back another weekend and we'll tackle that place. We got some Christmas shopping done, I bought a dress and a toque. But we were so friggin tired by the end of it.