Have to get away!

I'm back from Thailand. And I know I say this after every vacation, but whoa, just whoa. It was good! And as always, I'll post pictures and write about it in the near future. In the meantime, here is this.

It was taken on the Friday before vacation, so the kids that are there (small class because one had already left on a trip and the other had fallen victim to the hand and mouth disease that has been rampant at school in the past months) are a bit hyper. But I love them so much anyway! This video really captures what a charmer SunWoo is. The school recently hired my replacement :( and she emailed me a few weeks ago, and asked about the kiddies. I wanted to tell her "no. I'm sorry. They are mine"

AND, if you haven't already done so, google/youtube the floods that happened in Seoul while I was gone. There are many pictures/videos to see since phones are a permanent fixture in the hands of all Koreans. But it is actually really sad, AND IT IS STILL RAINING! And every day in the 10 day forecast says "RAIN" Ugh. Welcome back. Maybe that guy in the Netherlands (or maybe Denmark, I don't remember) who build an ark a few months back wasn't that far off his rocker.

spotted

Yesterday, I SAW THE SUN!!!!

On Saturday, I saw an ajumma holding a child, crouched in a relatively isolated corner of a subway station. As I got closer, I realized the child was doing her doody ON THE FLOOR OF THE SUBWAY STATION. Really?REALLY??? In France, I became quite accustomed to seeing people (men) peeing wherever they felt the urge. But aside from little kids in China, I've never seen anyone going number 2 in a public place. It really surprised me here though. The Seoul subway is pristine. There are bathrooms (usually more than one) in every subway station that are cleaned regularly. So why? Why the need to defecate on the floor of a subway station? It seemed unbelievably disrespectful and entirely unnecessary. The older generation of Koreans, women especially, have an unreal feeling of entitlement. There are few videos that have been circulating the internet within the past several months. One was of an ajumma attacking a girl on the subway, the other is of an ajumma, arriving late to a wedding and pushing the bride out of the way as she is walking down the aisle. Obviously those are both extreme, but I witness daily that "I'm going to do whatever I want and I dare you to try and stop me" attitude from ajummas and ajeossis (though to a lesser extent). And I know it's just part of their culture, but younger Koreans do nothing but take it, knowing that their turn will come someday. However, since I am not Korean, and I have no plans to grow old in Korea, my turn will not come. So when I am on the receiving end of a two handed push from an ajumma, or when they cut in front of me in line at the grocery store, it takes every ounce of self control I have not yell or push back. How can anyone think that is ok? Grr.

I have such a love hate relationship with this country and its citizens.

MAISON DE QUALITE!

As I've mention a few times now (haha), IT NEVER STOPS RAINING HERE...ever. Finding the motivation to leave my apartment and do anything is becoming increasingly difficult. So when I woke up this morning to the familiar sound of rain hitting the window, I knew it would be another lazy Saturday.

But, oh so much I COULD be doing. Next Saturday I am leaving on the first train to the airport, so this weekend I need to get stuff, specifically- nonKorean sunscreen and sandals. As I discovered in Jeju, sunscreen made in Korea actually attracts the sun. And I don't have any sandals here because I think walking around a city wearing mostly open shoes is gross. I know where to get the sunscreen, and that will be easy to do during the week. But the shoes! I've heard talk of a store in Seoul that specializes in size 8.5 shoes and larger. It is exciting for my size 9 foot. I've been laughed at when I go into stores here and ask for size 9 "Hahaha...oohhhhh, no no no"

BUUUUUUUT, that shoe store is kind of on the other side of the city. And do I realllllly need sandals for Thailand bad enough to go out when it's pouring? Meh.

So I thought, well, I could go to the white people stores (H&M and Forever 21) to see if I can find some dresses that are summery (i.e. cotton). Most Korean dresses are made with synthetic material and have linings. Yuck and yuck, as beautiful as the dresses are here. I looked a little the other day, and got a few things. But I'd like to get enough so that I won't have to repeat anything, because as I learned in Beijing, traveling in Asia in the summer requires a different outfit daily, or access to a washing machine.

BUUUUUUUUUT, do I really want to go shopping that badly? So rainy...no.

What to do? Watching tv is not really an option since the only English on TV here Saturday mornings is usually in the form of crappy crime movies/tv shows. No thanks. I have two unread books, but I am trying to save those for vacation reads. My kitchen is too tiny (plus I am lacking most ingredients needed for baking anything) to enjoy baking. So by about noon I was getting pretty stir crazy.

I didn't want to leave for sandals. I didn't want to leave for dresses. But I needed to leave my apartment for my own sanity. So I thought to myself, what is the one thing that will always motivate me to go out, regardless of weather? Food.

Enter Paul. While I was living in France, I gained a lot of weight. 13 lbs in 8 months...twice. But whatever, if you don't gain weight while living in France, you haven't really experienced France. And one thing that helped me gain those 26 lbs was Paul. Paul is a boulangerie chain. It's not the cheapest, nor is it the best in my opinion (fact). But it is good. And in France, it is everywhere. There is one in Seoul, but I hadn't been yet. It was on my to do list, and I decided today would be the day. I will leave my apartment in a monsoon for good bread and pastries.

I looked up the directions, and discovered it was actually close to the big girl shoe store. Okkkkk, as long as I was in that part of the city, I might as well go see the store. I took my umbrella, put on my rain boots, and headed out. It was a ways away on the subway, and then a bit of a walk after getting off the subway. So by the time it came into my view, I was hungry. It almost seemed like a mirage. It was something I have seen so many times, but not in my Korea life. It was the same, but entirely different.

I had hoped to just eat my food there, and then go find the shoe shop. But this Paul was different than the ones I have seen. There were people waiting to sit down. There were menus. There were waitresses. What the what?

I walked in to see what the skinny was. Ahhhhh, the smell was the same. There was a counter, and a giant bakery case. Same. The food was the same. The decor was exactly the same. The girl working at the register gave me a warm smile and said hello. Different.

So I got my old favorite-the sandwich mixte. I also got a raspberry tart and a pain au chocolate. I have to make up for lost pastry eating.

I felt like such a jerk when I ordered though. Out of Paul habit, I put articles in front of the food I ordered, and said the words in my busted up bad French accent. It was only after the words left my mouth that I realized what I had done. I felt like that a$$h*** that tries to speak in a Mexican accent when ordering at Taco Bell. At least I didn't start with "Je voudrais" I guess.

Because of the weird restaurantesque set up of this Paul, I had to take my food to go. And because it has been raining for a gajillion days, there is no place dry to sit outside and eat. So I decided skip the shoe shopping, and take my bag of deliciousness back home and eat. I was hungry.

But the food was the same, and SO yummy. Le sigh. I'm French food starved. I would have taken pictures of it, if I were the type to take pictures of my food, because never have I seen something so beautiful. But I am not a food photographer. That requires more waiting to eat than I care for. My trip to Paul took over 2 hours. It was quite a trek for lunch, but so so worth it.

And in other shoe happenings, sadly my Target rain boots were no match for the Korean monsoon season. That brings my total number of shoes ruined to five. Five shoes ruined in a little over a year. Well played sidewalks of Seoul, well played.

umbrella arm

I found this random English teacher's blog. It perfectly expresses my thoughts on the weather in Korea. Sorry if the curse words offend anyone, but everything in it is just SO TRUE.

http://www.onedayillflyaway.com/2011/06/four-seasons.html

This blog is being generous though in saying the good seasons last for a month. It's more like 3 weeks.

Since the weekend of my birthday, there have been 3 days where it did not rain. Three. And the sun only made a brief appearance on one of those three days.

I love summer. Aside from Beijing last summer, I've never found heat or sun I did not like. Korea is robbing me of my favorite season.

Korea has without a doubt the worst weather of anywhere I've been. Sorry for being a negative Nancy, but it's hard not to be when it's rained for almost 23 days straight, and every day in the 10 day forecast says "RAIN...but it's your fault because you chose to live in Korea, sucka!" And it's not just rain, it's downpour.

There is one positive to this rain-I spend my walks to school thinking of better designs for umbrellas. So far I have nothing, but I know I have at least 10 more days of cursing my umbrella and wet arm, so maybe something will come to me.

Meet Earth Class, part 1

4+ months into the school year, I realized I haven't given enough blog time to my new kiddies. My relationship with these kids is a lot different than my relationship with Cassiopeia and Big Dipper class. Probably the biggest change is that I don't split the class with a Korean teacher. The kids are usually better behaved (out of fear) for the Korean teachers. They see the Korean teachers as being the disciplinarian, and treat the time with the foreign teacher as an easier, more fun class. But since these kids don't have a Korean teacher, I have kind of a mix of both relationships with them. My new class is also definitely better behaved than Cassiopeia and Big Dipper class. These kids are also way smarter, yet often days seem younger.

I would like to think I will give each child their own blog entry, where I post cute pictures and explain what makes them so unique and special...but I know I won't do that. If I feel like it, I may post some pictures and videos I've taken the past several months.

BUT there is one student in my class who at the very least deserves her own entry. Meet SunWoo.

In my nearly 3 years of ESL teaching, I've taught countless kids, and SunWoo is the best kid I've met...ever. She is a treasure/animal. There are a wide variety of faces in the above collage, and I see most of them on any given day. On the first day of this school year, one of the moms brought in these little pastries for the kids in Earth class. Like everything else in Korea, they were individually wrapped. Trying hard to be on their best behavior, all the other students gently pulled the wrapping off, and nibbled. Leaving hers still in the wrapper, SunWoo pulverized the pastry first, then ripped a hole in the wrapping, and squeezed it into her mouth like a GoGurt.

She hugs me a lot, but it's usually preceded by a punch to my stomach. I think it's her way of showing love.

Last week we read a story about a girl who didn't want to eat what her mom cooked. So then the kids had to write a little sentence about what they want to eat more than what their moms/dads cook. Most of them wrote sentences along the lines of "I would rather eat ice cream" SunWoo's sentence was "I would rather eat seaweed and glue" And she drew a picture of a glue stick on a plate. And I do see her eat glue almost daily.

I recently had the kids write little "all about me" essays and draw self portraits. In SunWoo's self portrait she had red knee high boots, pink hair, and big boobs.

I had the pleasure of meeting her father at a science day we had at school a few months ago. I didn't spend enough time with him to know if that is where SunWoo gets her personality from. But, she definitely got her wild hair from him.

TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY I'LL BE SHARING A MANGO SMOOTHIE WITH A MONKEY ON THE BEACH IN THAILAND!! And I can't wait!

lazy blogger

Wow. I have been slacking. Where to start?

Rain, rain, RAIN, and more rain. Two weekends ago, the sky was bright blue with nary a cloud in sight. The sun was hot, just the way I like it. Then on Monday, it rained...and did not stop until the following Monday when we were treated to a gray, cool, and cloudy day. Yuck. But at least it didn't rain. Mama Nature made up for it though, by down pouring the next three days. I mean like serious rain. The kind of rain where you have to upgrade your umbrella from a compact one that fits in a purse and usually comes in pretty colors and patterns to a giant beast of an umbrella that comes nowhere close to fitting in a purse (really, would only fit diagonally in the trunk of a car), has a medieval weaponesque spike at the top and only comes in boring colors like navy or black. But since I am on a budget and I don't get paid for another week, I can't afford the umbrella upgrade. So I grab my lavender umbrella each morning on my way out the door. It's just for show though, so I don't look like the idiot foreigner who forgot her umbrella during monsoon season. It doesn't stand a chance in this rain. By the time I get to work, I am soaked. I don't mind a rainy day every week or two, but this is excessive. Dear summer, please come back. I miss you.

There is another huge problem with all the rain-Koreans think that letting rain hit their heads will make their hair fall out, or kill them, or something. So they don't dare close their umbrellas, even when the rain has stopped. I am sure you have all heard of the stereotype that Asians are bad drivers. If you believe the stereotype, you will be misguided about so many things. Asians (Koreans anyway) are not bad drivers, per se. It is more like when they are in motion in any way, they have no control over their movements and they are all wearing blinders. So naturally, they are bad drivers. But they are also bad walkers. This problem is made worse when they are all carrying giant umbrellas. Walking on the sidewalk becomes an obstacle course. If I make it through the next couple months without losing an eye, I will consider my time in Korea a success.

I should be computer shopping. My old computer turns on, but does nothing else. My new(er) computer has a whole slew of problems, the worst being frequent blue screen errors and sometimes not turning on, the most annoying being a few second delay between hitting the key and the letter showing up on the screen. Also the backspace button freezes, so when I try to use it, several lines are erased instead of just a letter or two. However, I reeeeeeeeeeeeally want to go to Vietnam before I leave. I can't stop thinking about it. I can't stop google imaging it. So any extra money I have that should be used on a computer will be used for my Vietnam fund. Priorities.

Also, does anyone want to go to Vietnam in October? I am a good tour guide.

In other October news, I will be returning to the US in October. Someone, please hire me. I need a job. I'll do anything. I even fixed my own toilet seat last week. I felt like Bob Vila.

Two weeks ago, I celebrated birthday 2 in Korea. Last year, I ate freshly killed, still moving octopus. This year, I wanted to only eat things that wouldn't stick to the inside of my mouth as I chewed. So I packed a bag with a bottle of water and a few granola bars, and set off on a rafting/bungee jumping day trip. Sadly, the bungee jumping was cash only and I forgot to stop and the ATM on my way. So I had to be a bungee jumping bench warmer. Hopefully next time...but it was still an A+ day, despite not a lot of white or rapid anything in the river. The scenery was beyond beautiful, and it's always nice to get out of Seoul. I wasn't able to bring my camera on the boat, since it is not water proof. But I did get a few shots of the bungee area. I am hoping for a return trip in August, that will include both cash money for jumping and more water in the (post monsoon season) river! And thanks for all the birthday Facebook messages, birthday cards, and birthday presents! I felt so loved!



My white whale! When my mom was here, she wanted to find a neighborhood that was known for Korean pancake, called pajeon. With the directions written down, we set off, only to find ourselves a few hours later, pajeonless and hungry. It's bothered me ever since. But last night, I was shown pajeon alley. Despite being loaded with octopus (NOT A FOOD, SO GROSS!), the pajeon was delicious, and the restaurant was super Korean-not a single chair or shoe in the place.

Three weeks from today I will be en route to Thailand, and I am pumped! I think I will be going to Ko Samui, Ko Tao, and Ko Pha Ngan. I would love to spend a day or two in Bangkok, but if it doesn't work out, no biggie. I really just want to sit on the beach with a book and think about nothing. And I hope to return to a different work environment. It's an all around win.