Happy Black Day

Black Day is an informal Korean tradition that follows in the steps of Valentine's Day and White Day. April 14th is for those who did not receive gifts on Valentine's Day and/or White Day...hence the "Black" part. If you were unlucky enough to be a part of this lonely sector of being, then tradition dictates that you gather your other single friends and eat jja jang myun - noodles with black bean sauce.

I coincidentally ate this dish on April 13th, with two of my single co-workers, so I think this counts. However, I am still trying to master the art of eating noodles with chop sticks. What this means is that I had to teach my last class with my vest zipped up all the way so the students wouldn't see the black bean sauce I had managed to splatter all of my shirt. I am not exaggerating...I mean all over. My next few sessions with this dish will also be accompanied by an apron.

So, in conclusion, if you are single, use this day to appreciate your singlehood. Celebrate by eating some noodles, any noodles will do, and enjoy being independent!

I Just Got Back From The Hospital

Did I worry you? Good. I wanted to illustrate the power of words and their meanings. Ok, you can stop worrying now. By "hospital" I meant "doctor's office." In Korea, when they say "hospital" they mean "doctor's office." On numerous occasions, my Korean co-worker, Christine, has told me about having to rush from the hospital to work. I also have a young student who was always going to the hospital after class. Imagine my concern, for these two people. Why was my friend and co-worker spending so much time at the hospital? After months of being really concerned, I came to find out that it was merely routine doctor visits, NOT scary hospital stays, and I was just unaware of the word usage.

I have also been perplexed by the number of my students who shake their heads "no" everytime they see me. I usually react with some nerdy adult response such as "NO? Why are you saying no to me?" In time, I came to find out that shaking your head "no" at someone is the same as waving hello. You use this greeting when you are either: A.) lazy; B.) your hands are full; or C.) both a and b. It still takes me a minute to stop myself from saying something stupid, before I can respond "hello" back to them.

On a sadder note (don't worry, no one died), two people that I have grown very close to during my life in Korea, have left to go back to Canada. On the bright side, they are going on an adventure around the world: first the Trans-Siberian Railway to Moscow, then touring Europe, then Home. On the dark side, I don't get to see them everyday and spend time with them on the weekends. They will be lifelong friends, and I am sad that I didn't get to spend more time with them, but they have proven to be inspirational to me and the things that I want for my life.

Jennifer won a contest and got to have her photo displayed in two
different coffee shops in Seoul. Unfortunately, it was stolen before
Lawrence could pick it up! I miss them so much already!



Here's to meeting and making good friends, no matter where you go!

I Do Not Remember THAT Part of the Story

The following is a section from a child's novel study homework. The novel? The Cricket in Times Square. The assignment? Define 10 vocabulary words from Chapter 10. The result? A correct definition but in a very incorrect context.

Don't see it? Look closer...

I would like to send a special thanks to my friend and co-worker Jennifer. Without her, this post would not have been possible, and this gem would have gone unnoticed. Don't worry, no Korean children were harmed in the making of this post. If the student had known the meaning of the words she had written, it wouldn't have been written at all.

Happy White Day!

Men, get your chocolates in the mail...you can send them To: ME; In: SOUTH KOREA. White Day is celebrated one month after Valentine's Day on March 14th. If a girl, Sally, gives the boy she likes chocolates on Valentine's Day and he, James, feels the same about her, she will receive chocolate from him on White Day. The month long wait period seems a tad unnecessary, but hey, those are the rules. If Sally still likes James when he gives her the chocolates one month later, then maybe they were meant to be.

As for my classroom Valentine's and White Day practices, I have not been picky. Boy or girl, I have told them they need to bring me chocolate, it is even their homework. (Don't worry, even with the language barrier I have made it clear to most of these kids that I am joking. (Except I am joking, but not really joking if you know what I mean.)) A few of my students, whom I really love, did give me candy. For any teachers out there, you know how good it feels when the kids give you something, even if it is a brown nosing move.

I have been here for almost 5 months now, and I can't believe it has been this long because it has gone by so fast. I really love some of the kids so much, and you can't walk down the street without seeing the cutest babies. While we are on the subject of babies, I am pretty sure each Korean child is given a cell phone upon exiting the womb. It is like a departing gift showing the newborn appreciation for choosing their mother as their life provider. This experience has taught me that I am officially an old woman in two ways, both pertaining to cell phones, or "hand pones" as the kiddos call them.

1.) "When I was your age, we didn't have cell phones. I didn't get my first cell phone until I was 17!" GASP! I hate to admit that I have spoken this phrase more than once...I might as well add that I had to walk uphill both ways to school bare foot...and that over there used to be a field.

2.) Whenever I have to take away a student's cell phone in class, I show it to the others and say "Look at my new cell phone!" or "Hold on a sec, I need to call [student's name] boyfriend or girlfriend." I crack myself up everytime.

I think once I have crossed that bridge there is no going back. My days of house shoes and bad dye jobs are right around the corner, so I might as well enjoy what little time I have leftover.

Who Needs a Gym Membership?

Not this girl! Here in South Korea, I have continually been surprised by the plethora of outdoor gym equipment available in the most unexpected of places. In many parks and along river pathways, even on the side of hiking trails, one can stop to do a few leg-ups or elliptical reps to keep the body as fit as the mind. On a gorgeous winter day, a few friends and I stopped to do just this. Here is the evidence to prove it.

One machine I have never used in my life, or ever even seen in an American gym (perhaps I was not very observant) is one in which you lift your entire body weight...and trust me folks, that is a challenge.

We were the only equipment users under the age of 70, and that is fairly normal. Leave the gym membership payments to the youngins. One good natured ajuma (those seem to be very hard to come by) was nice enough to let us take a photo of her on the machine...I believe she struggled just as much as I did.

It was a great day that left us feeling sore in our core. Thank you, South Korea, for giving me the opportunity to work out for free.

The Scrooge of Vday

This Hallmark holiday has never been particularly enojoyable for people like myself. It started back in 2nd grade when we were required to give Valentine cards to every kid in class. I remember my Snow White Valentine Cards from the Walgreens Collection like it was yesterday...excitedly assigning my favorite cards to my favorite people, yet doing little more than scribbling in the TO and FROM section. My favorites list consisted of all my little girl besties, while it took much more time and effort in assigning the others. There were only so many "Friend/Platonic Relationship" cards, and once those were used up, boy was I in trouble. I had managed to assign all the appropriate cards to the appropriate people, sans two, Larry and Brian - who both smelled like poo. Brian smelled more than Larry, but my strong sense of smell dates back to these two boys. (Before you feel any remorse for these two, I must let you know that I remember them being very mean kids who probably tortured animals in lieu of doing homework.) With my back against a wall, I had few options, so the only reasonable one my 8 year old brain came up with was to scratch out the lovey dovey poem on the card. Yes, that is correct, the next day I delivered two Snow White Valentine Cards with the words crossed out, and that did not go unnoticed. I remember those two bullies saying something about it, but have probably locked those words far in the recesses of my painful memories.

Luckily, today I have put all of that behind me, and have been able to focus on making sure that my own students bring me gifts. My best gift of the day came from my Mom and Pops in the form of a beautiful bouquet of flowers! I also received some chocolates and a cute note from some students.

I saved the best picture for last. This was taken by my Korean co-worker Christine, who appropritately entitled it "Beauty and the Beast."

Overall, it was a great Vday, with hopefully more to come...God bless us every one. (Tiny Tim reference calling back to Scrooge in the title, and it rhymed...)

Love Locks

It couldn't be more fitting that I traveled to one of the most romantic places in Seoul, just before that dreaded holiday, Valentine's Day. I went to Namsan Tower with my coworker, Josh, and we had a blast. At the base of the tower is a huge fence and a few Christmas Trees covered in locks of every size, shape, and color. The idea is that you write something on a lock and then lock it to the fence with your love. The result is thousands of couples who have sojourned to this place to celebrate their love for one another. I was experimenting with the macro on my camera and I wanted to share a few shots.

Namsan Tower



So colorful!