Happy Birthday Buddha!

This might be the only time in my whole life that I get the chance to say I have a day off of work for Buddha's Birthday...so I am going to take advantage of it. Spring has sprung and lanterns were hung in honor of this day. The cherry blossom trees were absolutely GORGEOUS and Korea is much greener than Colorado. I am in love with spring time in Korea.

Baby Buddha lantern in Sunae

Cherry Blossoms

Monk at a Buddhist Temple in Busan



Buddha lanterns in Busan



Absurd Korean Moment #1 and #2

After 6 months of observing the strange goings on of South Koreans, I have to decided to dedicate some blogs to the extreme absurdities and oddities that I have witnessed. These are #1 and #2.

Absurd Korean Moment #1: The Man with Half a Shoe
One Sunday evening, while my friends and I were reliving our middle school days as we sat at the mall people watching, the most peculiar thing happened. An older gentleman sitting next to us began to rip the rubber soles from his sneakers...that were on his feet. He continued ripping until the soles were completely removed from the shoe. He spoke with his friend for several minutes and then stood up and walked away, leaving the soles behind...and I cannot begin to think of a rationale for this behavior.

Shout out to Kenny Yang and his amazing iPhone

Absurd Korean Moment #2: The Laziest Man I Have Ever Seen
While on the KTX train, I observed a couple in their 40s. The husband sat there like a two year old invalid while his wife fed him an entire order of ketchup dipped Burger King french fries. It only got worse when she picked his nose for him...I have no words...

Happy 6 Month Anniversary

Folks, I am proud to announce that today is the 6 month anniversary of my love affair with Korea. We have had our ups and downs, and at times I wasn't sure we were going to make it, but we stuck together. I feel as if these 6 months have gone by so quickly and yet so slowly. When I think back to my arrival in this country, I can't believe my feet carried me out of the airport when every ounce of my body and mind was telling me to turn around and buy a return flight home. When my cab driver dropped me off outside of my school, I felt that I had made a mistake for sure. Everything was literally foreign. Being told by my boss that I had an apartment but no furniture only reaffirmed my belief that this was not meant to be. I was wholly unprepared and inept for teaching most of my classes. Yet somehow, I managed. I made it out of the haze that was my first 2 months here. I fully believe that the only reason I made it was due to my zombie-like state caused by shock, jet lag and time difference. The following is a list of things that I have learned about myself during my time here:

1. I love fried foods...in any country.
2. I will not get along with or enjoy everyone that comes into my life, something that was hard to accept.
3. I can find friends in another country with similar likes and beliefs.
4. While some Koreans love foreigners, others highly dislike us, and I finally know what it's like to be the minority and treated poorly for the way I look.
5. It is only possible to live in a country without knowing the language, with several Korean friends who go above and beyond the call of friendship to help me. I will be eternally grateful to them.
6. I will never get my haircut here again.
7. I can commute successfully by bus, subway, or taxi. Getting lost or making mistakes is the fun part of it.
8. Mexican food is my crack cocaine...I am going through withdrawals.
9. Coffee makes me a better teacher.
10. I still have to import some of my American Toilettries. Korean toothpaste, deodorant and gum just won't cut it.
11. This country is a college student's/poor man's dream. Let me explain. The "trash" piles in my town are full of "gold." People throw away the nicest furniture and accessories. I get a rush everytime I see a new heap of gleaming treasures. Just last night we found a barely used leather couch for my friend Tiffany! I look forward to watching movies on that couch...after a good scrub down of course.
12. "Amanda going clothes shopping in South Korea and being successful" is an oxymoron.
13. Pedestrians in this country do NOT have the right of way, and failure to recognize this will result in severe injury or death.
14. The crispiness of an air dried towel is incomparable to a warm towel, fresh from the dryer.
15. I miss my friends and family dearly!

I have another 6 months on my contract, and after that the world is my oyster! (That one's for you Kelly)

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.