I was very fortunate to be able to see the DMZ this month. We had to sign up in advance and the price is usually around 90,000 won. However, a special price was running at this certain time and it only cost 42,000 won. The money pays for the bus to and from the DMZ. Also, we are given a traditional Korean lunch at a village outside of the DMZ.
The trip started at 7:30am. We had to take the subway into Seoul to meet up with the bus and other tourists at 9:30am. Once we were on the bus, we had a quick 1 hour ride to the "Freedom Bridge" site. This is the bridge that once connected the two Koreas and also the bridge that refugees once used to escape North Korea. Prior to arriving at the bridge, our bus was stopped and a soldier came on the bus to check everyone's passports. I was a little frightened but it went by quickly without any problems. After the bridge, we went to the village and had our lunch. This village is were only a few hundred people live and they are exempted from taxes and military service. However, they are not allowed to leave the village. They are mostly farming families in this area.
It was always a little scary because when we would get off the bus the tour guides and military would say "Don't wonder too far and stay with the group!" Sure, I'm just going to go wondering around the DMZ by myself. I might be blonde, but I'm not a complete idiot!
After our lunch, we went to the site of the third tunnel. "The Tunnels" are four tunnels created by North Korea and discovered by South Korea. The starting points are at various places in the North and all connect into Seoul. They were created for a surprise attack during and after the Korean War. There are believed to be 20 more undiscovered tunnels. We were allowed to go into the third tunnel, but no pictures could be taken. We had to wear hard-hats and it was very cramped. The tunnel itself, is 700 meters below the earth's surface, so we had to go down a tunnel to get to the actual tunnel. It was quite a workout!
After the tunnel, we looked around the museum dedicated to the tunnels and at the beautiful garden outside. The garden had traditional Korean statues and structures. When I took a closer look at the fence though, it said "MINE" with a skull on it. That took away the beauty of the garden! But I had no time to worry because it was back on the bus and off to the observation deck into North Korea!
When we arrived, everyone was very excited because this is what the big tour was leading up to! We were actually going to see North Korea! When we got to the deck, we discovered this big yellow line that was the "Photo Line." We could not go past the line to take pictures and if we did our cameras would be taken and searched. The reason for this is if the pictures got into the hands of the North Korean military, than they could see the advantage point that South Korea has from the observation deck. The actual view wasn't great. It was a little foggy and we just saw mountains and trees. The only interesting thing was on either side of the actual line seperating the countries is two massive flags. One for the South and one for the North. But of course, I couldn't take a picture of that!
The final stop was to Dorasan Station. Basically, this is the biggest waste of money ever spent. It is a station that was built in the DMZ for the HOPE that one day it will be the first station a subway will go through to North Korea. A train goes to and from this station only once a week and it's for the Korean military. The tagline for Dorasan is "Not the last station from the South, but the first station to the North." I don't see that happening anytime soon and I think it might be time to ask for your money back! We got to go on the platform and look at the tracks that "may one day" lead to North Korea. It was the most boring part of the trip, which was fine with me because we were all dead-tired!
Seeing the DMZ was really great! I learned a ton about the Korean War and got to see a great part of history. I hope to have more experiences like this during my time remaining time in Korea. Only 3 more months!
On a happy note, I want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful sister! She is lucky to be at home with our parents on her special day, and I can't wait to see all of them very soon!
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Buddha's Birthday
This weekend was a time of celebration all over Korea. It was Buddha's Birthday and it is a huge holiday for the country. Almost every school (except for private academys) had Thursday thru Tuesday off for the holiday. Thursday of last week, was Children's Day. A day to celebrate kids, buy them presents, and take them to a rowdy amusement park. I went to a wonderful festival for Children's Day in Ilsan. It was the Flower Festival and the entire park was covered in flowers and displays. It was a beautiful day and I had a great time! Then it was back to school on Friday.
On Saturday, a group of teachers and I went to go see the Lantern Festival, which is the celebration for Buddha's birthday. Before heading into Seoul, we stopped in Itaewon for a Western meal. I remembered seeing a restaurant called The All-American Diner and I promised the teachers a real breakfast like back home. Well, I forgot where it was and we walked around for about 30 minutes. Luckily, we started talking to a Korean couple from America and they pointed us in the right direction. It was so worth it! We all had breakfast at 1:00pm. I had eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, and hashbrowns with a big barrell of coke to top it all off! It was wonderful! Except that it cost about $15. At IHOP it would have only cost about $8! But I will make the sacrifice for a little taste of home.
After brunch, we went into Seoul to the Lantern Festival. It was unbelievable how many lanterns filled the city. Every street corner and store had a lantern hung up and the colors were incredible. We ended up going to a temple and observed many people praying and bowing to Buddha. After the temple and walking around the city, we stood on the streets of Seoul and watched the Lantern Parade through the city. The best part was seeing the hundreds of monks walking through the street with their offerings for Buddha. There were many floats in the parade and every float was a huge lantern. The parade lasted for two hours and when it finished it was 9:00pm. We decided to head home after a long day of being tourists.
As for my daily life in Korea, I have been working alot and actually enjoying myself at work. I feel like I am so used to this job that it just comes naturally now. Rarely do I have a surprise or get scolded at for not doing something because I am on top of my game! My friends are great and I have been bonding well with the new teachers. It's amazing how fast you become friends with people here, but us foreigners have got to stick together! I made the stupid mistake of joining a gym and now I feel obligated to go. 6am work-outs here I come! The Summer weather has started and that means humidity, rain, and poofy hair :( Also, Korea has the awful season called "yellow dust." It's when the pollution from China drifts down with the wind and creates a yellow dust in the air. The level of danger changes daily, but small children, the elderyly, and sick people should stay inside if it's at a high level. It causes phlem and people get coughs, etc. It should only last for a month, so hopefully it'll be gone for my Birthday! I don't want to be sick! Have a good day friends and family! Love you all!
The Ceiling of Lanterns
Inside the Temple
On Saturday, a group of teachers and I went to go see the Lantern Festival, which is the celebration for Buddha's birthday. Before heading into Seoul, we stopped in Itaewon for a Western meal. I remembered seeing a restaurant called The All-American Diner and I promised the teachers a real breakfast like back home. Well, I forgot where it was and we walked around for about 30 minutes. Luckily, we started talking to a Korean couple from America and they pointed us in the right direction. It was so worth it! We all had breakfast at 1:00pm. I had eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, and hashbrowns with a big barrell of coke to top it all off! It was wonderful! Except that it cost about $15. At IHOP it would have only cost about $8! But I will make the sacrifice for a little taste of home.
After brunch, we went into Seoul to the Lantern Festival. It was unbelievable how many lanterns filled the city. Every street corner and store had a lantern hung up and the colors were incredible. We ended up going to a temple and observed many people praying and bowing to Buddha. After the temple and walking around the city, we stood on the streets of Seoul and watched the Lantern Parade through the city. The best part was seeing the hundreds of monks walking through the street with their offerings for Buddha. There were many floats in the parade and every float was a huge lantern. The parade lasted for two hours and when it finished it was 9:00pm. We decided to head home after a long day of being tourists.
As for my daily life in Korea, I have been working alot and actually enjoying myself at work. I feel like I am so used to this job that it just comes naturally now. Rarely do I have a surprise or get scolded at for not doing something because I am on top of my game! My friends are great and I have been bonding well with the new teachers. It's amazing how fast you become friends with people here, but us foreigners have got to stick together! I made the stupid mistake of joining a gym and now I feel obligated to go. 6am work-outs here I come! The Summer weather has started and that means humidity, rain, and poofy hair :( Also, Korea has the awful season called "yellow dust." It's when the pollution from China drifts down with the wind and creates a yellow dust in the air. The level of danger changes daily, but small children, the elderyly, and sick people should stay inside if it's at a high level. It causes phlem and people get coughs, etc. It should only last for a month, so hopefully it'll be gone for my Birthday! I don't want to be sick! Have a good day friends and family! Love you all!
The Ceiling of Lanterns
Inside the Temple
Friday, May 6, 2011
It's So Hard to Say Goodbye....
The realization of this job has finally hit. When I was preparing to leave for Korea, I was so sad to leave all my friends and family back home. I didn't realize that I would come to Korea and make a new set of friends and have a "family away from home." It is unbelievalbe how close you can become with people in just a few months. It's amazing how you can develop a community of people you can rely on. This job has a constant turn-over and people are always leaving and new people are always arriving. I was very fortunate to have gone the first six months of my contract without losing any of my friends, but now the cycle has started. This weekend, we said goodbye to a very beloved teacher at ECC. He was an awesome person who always made the best out of any situation and he will truly be missed! I told myself I wasn't going to cry, but I had a wimper the day he left. We all did! But like I said, the cycle has started and at the end of June another teacher leaves and then another in the end of July. A month after that, I leave and I can't believe my year will be over!
Apart from having to say goodbye to my friends and fellow co-workers, I will be devestated when I have to say goodbye to my students. I absolutely adore these kids, especially my kindergarteners. They make my days better and put a big smile on my face! I wish I could see them grow more, but this job and lifestyle is a cycle that must keep moving. I think that four months from now, when I am packing my bags for home, I will feel as though my time is up and I need to move on from Uijeongbu and ECC. I was talking about this with a fellow foreigner and said that ECC has been a great place to have a first time contract. I have learned so much about Korea, private schools, and myself. This has been a challenging year, but a great one at that.
As I said before, we said goodbye to a teacher this weekend and it was his goal to leave Korea with a BANG! We celebrated his departure with the norebang and a trip into Seoul. By the end of the weekend, I was happy to see him go for the fact that I would never have to party like that again for awhile! The weather is finally getting warm enough to go without a jacket, but since this is Korea I will probably be sweating buckets in the humidity by next week. Korea is the land of extreme temperatures. It's either too cold or too hot and no in-between. Oh well, I'd rather be sweating my ass off than having it freeze off! Also, the rain has started and it just makes me feel so lazy. It's 11 o'clock on a Friday night and due to the rain, I am in my pajamas, in my bed about to fall asleep. I hope everything is going great back home! Miss you all and love you!
Apart from having to say goodbye to my friends and fellow co-workers, I will be devestated when I have to say goodbye to my students. I absolutely adore these kids, especially my kindergarteners. They make my days better and put a big smile on my face! I wish I could see them grow more, but this job and lifestyle is a cycle that must keep moving. I think that four months from now, when I am packing my bags for home, I will feel as though my time is up and I need to move on from Uijeongbu and ECC. I was talking about this with a fellow foreigner and said that ECC has been a great place to have a first time contract. I have learned so much about Korea, private schools, and myself. This has been a challenging year, but a great one at that.
As I said before, we said goodbye to a teacher this weekend and it was his goal to leave Korea with a BANG! We celebrated his departure with the norebang and a trip into Seoul. By the end of the weekend, I was happy to see him go for the fact that I would never have to party like that again for awhile! The weather is finally getting warm enough to go without a jacket, but since this is Korea I will probably be sweating buckets in the humidity by next week. Korea is the land of extreme temperatures. It's either too cold or too hot and no in-between. Oh well, I'd rather be sweating my ass off than having it freeze off! Also, the rain has started and it just makes me feel so lazy. It's 11 o'clock on a Friday night and due to the rain, I am in my pajamas, in my bed about to fall asleep. I hope everything is going great back home! Miss you all and love you!
Thursday, April 21, 2011
The Snowball Effect
Over a month since the last post, and I have a very good reason! At school, we just finish a huge two day event for the parents. It was called "Market Play" and we simulated a little town for the kids to go through with there parents. They went to the bank and got money from a little ATM, bought schools supplies at a market, and went to a cafe and ordered food. The play itself was only two hours, each day, but the preparation took a month. We had to make all the props, powerpoints, and teach the students chants and songs. We ended up staying at school until about 10:00pm on many nights. It was a mess to make, but a success in the end. The parents loved it and complimented the teachers on all their hard work.
However, I feel as though I am having a snowball effect with work because now it's on to the next task. This new task being another parent's day next month. There usually isn't two parent's days so close together, but for some reason there is now. We are making a hospital play. This one is an actual play were the kids will have scripts and costumes. I have already started preparing for it and feeling slightly overwhelmed. I was pretty sad after market play because I usually have this great feeling of relief, but not this time. The pressure is starting again, but I'm trying to take it day by day!
Other than school, my social life (or what's left of it) is going good. I had a chance to go to a Cherry Blossom Festival last weekend and it was so amazing. The trees looked like they were covered in fluffy, white snow and the amount of people there was insane! Speaking of snow, sorry Michigan! :( Mother nature just likes messing with you! The weather has been very consistent here. For the past month, it has been gradually getting warmer and it's been in the upper 60s.
Well I am very tired and ready to sleep until that awful thing called an alarm wakes me up. Good night everyone!
However, I feel as though I am having a snowball effect with work because now it's on to the next task. This new task being another parent's day next month. There usually isn't two parent's days so close together, but for some reason there is now. We are making a hospital play. This one is an actual play were the kids will have scripts and costumes. I have already started preparing for it and feeling slightly overwhelmed. I was pretty sad after market play because I usually have this great feeling of relief, but not this time. The pressure is starting again, but I'm trying to take it day by day!
Other than school, my social life (or what's left of it) is going good. I had a chance to go to a Cherry Blossom Festival last weekend and it was so amazing. The trees looked like they were covered in fluffy, white snow and the amount of people there was insane! Speaking of snow, sorry Michigan! :( Mother nature just likes messing with you! The weather has been very consistent here. For the past month, it has been gradually getting warmer and it's been in the upper 60s.
Well I am very tired and ready to sleep until that awful thing called an alarm wakes me up. Good night everyone!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The Cheese and Noodle Chronicles
This weekend, a large group of foreigners and I went to the Inter-Continental Hotel in Seoul. The hotel offers a buffet every Saturday for 30,000 won ($30) that consists of side dishes and alcohol. The best part of the buffet is the AMAZING selection of cheeses. For those that don't know, Korea does not have real cheese. They have the make-shift cheese like Kraft Singles, but other than that cheese is hard to come by. You could go to Costco and pay a fortune for a block of cheese, or go to the local grocery store and spend about $20 for a small container, but basically NO CHEESE! I ate about 3 plates of cheese and fruit (also expensive). Most of the other foreigners came for the large selection of all-you-can-drink wine, champagne, beer, and sangria, but I came for the cheese! It's safe to say that I ate my $30 worth!
Also this weekend, the weather finally became enjoyable. We were outside in long-sleeved shirts and not freezing our bums off! The snow is entirely melted and the cherry blossoms should be blossoming in the coming weeks!
An interesting thing happened today at the grocery store. I would like to share this with you because Korea is notorious for being kind and hospitable, but it's to prove that crappy people are everywhere in this world. I was with some of the other teachers and we were debating our future in noodles (because the noodle section is an entire aisle of choices) when this woman, maybe in her late 20s or early 30s, starts mocking us by repeating everything we say in a snotty voice. Now, I'm not sure if she was perhaps mentally challenged and didn't understand the concept of ears and that we can hear with them or if she didn't understand that we can in fact speak fluent English, but she was blatantly insulting us. We were not being loud or rude to anyone else, but we were simply examing the endless options of noodles ahead of us. I just wonder what goes on in the brains of people who would behave this way? One theory is that she is so ignorant of other people that she feels the need to put us down to make herself feel more superior. My other theory is that she is simply a huge B**CH. I can't decide which theory to go with, but I'm going to say it's a combination of both.
Even with that unfortunate incident, I do have to say that I encounter more good people than bad in Korea. It is really sad when things like that happen though. If I had just been visiting Korea for a week or so and something like that had happened, I would have a really bad impression of this country. Fortunatley, I've had plenty of time to meet some very cool people and make better assumptions about the rest of the country. Another sad thing is how ignorant people really are. Not just in Korea, but everywhere. This is the 21st century. We have more technology in this world than we know what to do with. Clearly, we can watch the news, go online, communicate with people across the globe and yet people still believe they are the only ones in this world. People still believe that their way is the right way and every other way is wrong. Many things in Korea are different. The way people talk to each other, the way people drive, the way people eat, etc. is all different. Does that mean it's wrong because I do it differently? No. Does it mean that I'm wrong for eating with my elbows off the table? No. Is it wrong that I abide the traffic lights when driving a car and Koreans don't? No. My final thought (I promise I'm almost finished ranting) is that if everyone in the world did things the exact same way, than what the hell am I doing in Korea? Why would I travel 6,000 miles and live away from everyone I know and love to go to a country that was exactly like the one I left?! The world would be "un-explorable" (not a word, but I'm making it one) if we all spoke the same language, drove on the same side of the rode, and all ate our food extremely loudly. Half the experience of taking this job is getting to learn a new culture! And despite the occassional b**tch, I'm loving every moment of it!
Also this weekend, the weather finally became enjoyable. We were outside in long-sleeved shirts and not freezing our bums off! The snow is entirely melted and the cherry blossoms should be blossoming in the coming weeks!
An interesting thing happened today at the grocery store. I would like to share this with you because Korea is notorious for being kind and hospitable, but it's to prove that crappy people are everywhere in this world. I was with some of the other teachers and we were debating our future in noodles (because the noodle section is an entire aisle of choices) when this woman, maybe in her late 20s or early 30s, starts mocking us by repeating everything we say in a snotty voice. Now, I'm not sure if she was perhaps mentally challenged and didn't understand the concept of ears and that we can hear with them or if she didn't understand that we can in fact speak fluent English, but she was blatantly insulting us. We were not being loud or rude to anyone else, but we were simply examing the endless options of noodles ahead of us. I just wonder what goes on in the brains of people who would behave this way? One theory is that she is so ignorant of other people that she feels the need to put us down to make herself feel more superior. My other theory is that she is simply a huge B**CH. I can't decide which theory to go with, but I'm going to say it's a combination of both.
Even with that unfortunate incident, I do have to say that I encounter more good people than bad in Korea. It is really sad when things like that happen though. If I had just been visiting Korea for a week or so and something like that had happened, I would have a really bad impression of this country. Fortunatley, I've had plenty of time to meet some very cool people and make better assumptions about the rest of the country. Another sad thing is how ignorant people really are. Not just in Korea, but everywhere. This is the 21st century. We have more technology in this world than we know what to do with. Clearly, we can watch the news, go online, communicate with people across the globe and yet people still believe they are the only ones in this world. People still believe that their way is the right way and every other way is wrong. Many things in Korea are different. The way people talk to each other, the way people drive, the way people eat, etc. is all different. Does that mean it's wrong because I do it differently? No. Does it mean that I'm wrong for eating with my elbows off the table? No. Is it wrong that I abide the traffic lights when driving a car and Koreans don't? No. My final thought (I promise I'm almost finished ranting) is that if everyone in the world did things the exact same way, than what the hell am I doing in Korea? Why would I travel 6,000 miles and live away from everyone I know and love to go to a country that was exactly like the one I left?! The world would be "un-explorable" (not a word, but I'm making it one) if we all spoke the same language, drove on the same side of the rode, and all ate our food extremely loudly. Half the experience of taking this job is getting to learn a new culture! And despite the occassional b**tch, I'm loving every moment of it!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Over the Hump
I can't believe I actually get to say that I am already half-way done with my year in Korea! February 25th marked my six months upon arriving. Where has the time gone! I told everyone that time would fly and I would be home before you know it and here we are over the hump!
Time is an interesting thing though. Especially time in Korea. In one way, I want to say "Wow, I've already been in Korea six months! I'm already half way done with my contract! I can't believe it!" But on the other hand I want to say "It's ONLY been six months! I'm ONLY half way done with my contract! I can't believe it!" In a way time flies and I can remember so vividly my first night in Korea and the feeling of being awe-struck by a new place. In another way, I feel like I have been here for years and I am so comfortable with this new way of life. It feels like it has been such a long time and I have become fairly comfortable with this way of life, that I have almost forgotten the differences from home. My philosophy is that time feels so slow because it was the winter season and I stayed home alot during the months of December-March. Now that spring is coming, I think I will venture out more and spend my weekends exploring new places in Korea. I have a list of all the things I need to do before leaving:
-Go to Busan. This is a very popular beach city in the very south of South Korea.
-Do a temple stay. You can actually go and spend the night in a temple!
-Go to Cheongdam Dong. High end shopping!
-Jang Heung Art Park.
-Han River boat tour.
-Lotte World. Korea's version of Disney World.
-The Peace Museum in Soyosan Mountain.
-Go to Jeju Island. An island between Korea and Japan.
The list will keep growing, but those are the things I need to do in six months! So far in Korea I have been to a palace, a folk village, the War Museum, Seoul Tower, and other places. I've got alot more exploring to do though!
Update on school: The graduation went very well. When it's all said and done, there isn't much to stress about. The hours leading up to graduation were chaos, but afterwards was calm and no one had a second thought about it. The wedding I attended the previous weekend was very cool and very different from home! We showed up to the wedding hall and it was just this big building that pumped out wedding after wedding. On five of the seven floors there was always a wedding going on and they were so well planned down the very minute. We showed up at 1:58 and the wedding started right at 2:00. The bride walked down the aisle, bowed to her groom, they listened to a guy speak for 10 minutes in Korean, then bowed to their parents, and walked back down the aisle. There was no exchanging of vows, exchanging of rings, or kiss at the end. As for the reception, it was not a private party with just the weddiing guests, but rather a public party with all the wedding guests of every wedding that happened at the hall that day. We walked into a massive banquet room with a very large buffet. We ate, drank a Pepsi, saw the bride and groom for a split second, and left by 4:00pm. The overall feeling of a Korean wedding is how impersonal it was. There were no video montages, no pictures of the bride and groom anywhere, no toasts from family members or friends...just nothing. It was sit and watch a man blabber in Korean, go eat from a very odd array of food, and leave. BOOM: In and Out of a wedding in 2 hours. I do have to say though, the bride looked absolutely beautiful and they had alot of family and friends who came to be apart of their special day.
I hope all is well at home with my family and friends. I hope the snow melts soon and you have nice spring weather in no time! Love, Mal
The Bride's Family - The poor groom only had three family members there!
The massive buffet!
The bride and groom came to thank everyone for coming in Korean traditional hanboks.
Time is an interesting thing though. Especially time in Korea. In one way, I want to say "Wow, I've already been in Korea six months! I'm already half way done with my contract! I can't believe it!" But on the other hand I want to say "It's ONLY been six months! I'm ONLY half way done with my contract! I can't believe it!" In a way time flies and I can remember so vividly my first night in Korea and the feeling of being awe-struck by a new place. In another way, I feel like I have been here for years and I am so comfortable with this new way of life. It feels like it has been such a long time and I have become fairly comfortable with this way of life, that I have almost forgotten the differences from home. My philosophy is that time feels so slow because it was the winter season and I stayed home alot during the months of December-March. Now that spring is coming, I think I will venture out more and spend my weekends exploring new places in Korea. I have a list of all the things I need to do before leaving:
-Go to Busan. This is a very popular beach city in the very south of South Korea.
-Do a temple stay. You can actually go and spend the night in a temple!
-Go to Cheongdam Dong. High end shopping!
-Jang Heung Art Park.
-Han River boat tour.
-Lotte World. Korea's version of Disney World.
-The Peace Museum in Soyosan Mountain.
-Go to Jeju Island. An island between Korea and Japan.
The list will keep growing, but those are the things I need to do in six months! So far in Korea I have been to a palace, a folk village, the War Museum, Seoul Tower, and other places. I've got alot more exploring to do though!
Update on school: The graduation went very well. When it's all said and done, there isn't much to stress about. The hours leading up to graduation were chaos, but afterwards was calm and no one had a second thought about it. The wedding I attended the previous weekend was very cool and very different from home! We showed up to the wedding hall and it was just this big building that pumped out wedding after wedding. On five of the seven floors there was always a wedding going on and they were so well planned down the very minute. We showed up at 1:58 and the wedding started right at 2:00. The bride walked down the aisle, bowed to her groom, they listened to a guy speak for 10 minutes in Korean, then bowed to their parents, and walked back down the aisle. There was no exchanging of vows, exchanging of rings, or kiss at the end. As for the reception, it was not a private party with just the weddiing guests, but rather a public party with all the wedding guests of every wedding that happened at the hall that day. We walked into a massive banquet room with a very large buffet. We ate, drank a Pepsi, saw the bride and groom for a split second, and left by 4:00pm. The overall feeling of a Korean wedding is how impersonal it was. There were no video montages, no pictures of the bride and groom anywhere, no toasts from family members or friends...just nothing. It was sit and watch a man blabber in Korean, go eat from a very odd array of food, and leave. BOOM: In and Out of a wedding in 2 hours. I do have to say though, the bride looked absolutely beautiful and they had alot of family and friends who came to be apart of their special day.
I hope all is well at home with my family and friends. I hope the snow melts soon and you have nice spring weather in no time! Love, Mal
The Bride's Family - The poor groom only had three family members there!
The massive buffet!
The bride and groom came to thank everyone for coming in Korean traditional hanboks.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Homesickness is Upon Me
I made it almost six months without major homesickness spells. I realized that I truly wasn't missing convienences from home, appliances, food, or other amenities until recently. Sure, it sucks having to hang dry all my clothes. Yes, I wish I could shower in an actual shower instead of in the middle of the bathroom. And do I miss a furnace...Yes! However, I have been adjusting quite well and I take all the new experiences (even the unpleasant ones) as a learning opprotunity and a growth in a new culture. But, I got my first desperate craving for home and the beautiful land of America, land of the plenty. I wanted a Wendy's hamburger so bad that my mouth was watering. I figured "Hey they have Quiznos, Subway, TacoBell, and KFC here. They have to have a Wendy's." Apparently not. Way to go Wendy's. You didn't sell out like everyone else and join the international market.
But this got me thinking about all the other non-sentimental things I miss. First, I miss carpet! I have not walked on carpet in 6 months! Not in a store, at school, or anyone's home. Do they even sell carpet in Korea?! Also, I miss real potato chips. I'm talking about the really greasy ridged ones that go great with some french onion dip. The potato chips in Korea are paper thin and they don't leave grease on your fingers. That's not delicious! I want the grease! Speaking about food, I was in HomePlus the other day, and I found GoldFish crackers! I almost started crying out of joy! I bought a bag (which cost 5,000 won or $5) and ate them as slowly as possible, enjoying every bite!
I could go on and on about my homesickness. Of course, it goes without saying that I miss my family and friends, but I'm dealing with the seperation better than expected. Yes, I will get very sad from time to time, but I always remind myself that I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful family and great friends to actually miss!
Update on life...School is the same. Busy, busy, busy. Graduation is in two weeks and we are spending hours a day preparing for it. This weekend I will be going to a Korean wedding which is very exciting! Well, the marriage is between a Korean female and a Canadian male, but it's still a Korean wedding. The woman is a teacher at our school and she is finally marrying her boyfriend of six years. I'm excited to attend just to see what the similiarities and differences are between American and Korean weddings. Next week we have another vacation day. I'm not even sure what this holiday is, but all I know is I get to sleep-in and possibly go for a little adventure. Not sure where though haha :) Maybe up the mountain? Maybe to Seoul? Or maybe to Uijeongbu to check out the Spring collection of clothes I must buy? We'll see next week!
But this got me thinking about all the other non-sentimental things I miss. First, I miss carpet! I have not walked on carpet in 6 months! Not in a store, at school, or anyone's home. Do they even sell carpet in Korea?! Also, I miss real potato chips. I'm talking about the really greasy ridged ones that go great with some french onion dip. The potato chips in Korea are paper thin and they don't leave grease on your fingers. That's not delicious! I want the grease! Speaking about food, I was in HomePlus the other day, and I found GoldFish crackers! I almost started crying out of joy! I bought a bag (which cost 5,000 won or $5) and ate them as slowly as possible, enjoying every bite!
I could go on and on about my homesickness. Of course, it goes without saying that I miss my family and friends, but I'm dealing with the seperation better than expected. Yes, I will get very sad from time to time, but I always remind myself that I'm lucky enough to have a wonderful family and great friends to actually miss!
Update on life...School is the same. Busy, busy, busy. Graduation is in two weeks and we are spending hours a day preparing for it. This weekend I will be going to a Korean wedding which is very exciting! Well, the marriage is between a Korean female and a Canadian male, but it's still a Korean wedding. The woman is a teacher at our school and she is finally marrying her boyfriend of six years. I'm excited to attend just to see what the similiarities and differences are between American and Korean weddings. Next week we have another vacation day. I'm not even sure what this holiday is, but all I know is I get to sleep-in and possibly go for a little adventure. Not sure where though haha :) Maybe up the mountain? Maybe to Seoul? Or maybe to Uijeongbu to check out the Spring collection of clothes I must buy? We'll see next week!
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