Love at First Sight...

Love at First Sight...
Lanvin Happy Mini Pop Bag

Thursday, September 24, 2009

thursday....

first thing...
so, last night i set my alarm to wake me up hella' early, as i had to be to work about an hour prior to my usual afternoon schedule. i was to be a judge for an english competion. so with that being said, first thing this morning i immediately got up and did the usual...

that's what i do...
my blackberry went off and i almost cried outloud at the sound of it. it seems i had just laid down and all i wanted was another few hours of sleep. so i shut off the alarm. sat on the side of the bed and stared at my feet for about 10 mins. i then decided to get out of bed turn on the shower and begin the routine of showering, flat ironing my hair and painting my face.

next thing...
once i finished all of the above and answered a few internet emails and skyped for a few it was time for me to get dress put on my shoes and head out the door.

yesterday's horror...
so today i carefully chose my foot attire. although yesterday i had on a wedgeheel pair of shoes (the most comfortable type of shoe on planet earth) and today i decided on a chocolate pair of mary jane wedgeheels. i figured i couldn't go wrong with this selection. so after i decided on the show, i then grabbed my laptop and my "work bag" and bolted out of the door. especially careful to not fall. Lord knows i did not want to re-live that dreadful incident yesterday.

a star is born...
so i arrive to work and i am walking on eggshells the entire day. my knees and legs were still quite sore from that "dive" i took yesterday. upon my arrival i immediately head to my judging quarters where i will gather the survey sheet and lyrics to the song and dance competition that i solely will be judging. talk about pressure. the winner and or loser depended on my one and only vote. either they are "in" or they are "out." and it is all on me. a lot of pressure i know. so the competition was insanely adorable and it was such a tough competition to judge. everyone obviously work so hard on their sing and dance. but i do think i chose the perfect winner per category.

wine and cheese or something like that....
so, during an intermission during my judging i was taken to the inside of this really cute office area and was served snacks. and i was a hot ass mess eating them. there were nuts that i wasn't quite sure how i should eat them. there were drinks and there were little wrap things and grapes. i ate the food as goofy as could be spilling food and acting as if i had absolutely zero home training. i think i was still a little off from landing on my "coconuts" yesterday (that is what my adorable niece would say). after the snack i then head back to judging the competition.

and the winner is....well, actually...
so, i put in my votes for who i thought should win and after 4 hours of judging, my work was done and i scooted off to the cafeteria as it was lunch time and i wanted to get in there before the crowd was scheduled to arrive..

mmm good...well mostly
so, i grab my chopsticks, grab my tray and my spoon from the beginning of the line and i go down the line saying "thanks, thank you, thanks, gam sam ham ni da, thank ya." i grab a seat and i put down my "work bag" and i begin to eat.

on the menu...
so on the menu today, was the same as every damn day...lets see we had: kimchi, white rice, squid, soup (actually the soup was so good i ate damn near every single bite the only think i didn't do was take the bowl hold it to my mouth and gulp it down and lick the sides-which is what i may have done at home.) the soup was seriously good. so kind of fish / tofu plank thing, the worlds best salad (seriously the salad was insanely good. omg so fresh and the dressing on the salad was delicious they have insanely great dressings great (mom you would love the salad dressing here) i of course at that so quick i damn near went back for seconds on just the salad alone. and then there were eggs. yes baby eggs. whose baby? i am not sure but someone or something with teeny tiny eggs about the size of a quarter. but the eggs were pretty good. (for the record i asked my Emma Boo what kind of egg they served here she told me pigeon eggs. now how true is this, i have no idea. whatever they are, they are tasty). so i ate my food and returned my tray and stood at the water stand and chugged just about all the water that was pumped to me. i then waddled back to the lounge area wondering why in the world would i drink so much water. you know the feeling you get when you drink an insane amount of water and with every movement you can literally feel and hear the water swooshing from side to side in your belly. ugh that was how i felt. and just why did i drink so much water, i just don't know.

finally at an end...
the day is over and i am on my way home. i literally damn near ran out of work and onto the street corner and hailed a cab got in and requested that the cabby drive me home.

home is where my korean heart is...
so, i get home and decide to go with pizza again. this time i decided to not bother Miss Gina and attempt to make that call myself. i stare at the menu for a good 10 mins and then i pick up the phone and dial out (which by the way, is only about my 4th time actually dialing out on my home phone). so i get the same voice that sounded much like the woman the day before. i then say pepperoni pizza. before i could get the rest of the words out as far as my location and or number she says "oh no english call back." i then say okay. hang up the phone and have no intentions of having pizza that night let alone calling them back. next thing you know (within minutes) my phone rings. i assume it is my Emma Boo. she is the only person who ever calls me on the house phone. well either she or my neighbor Miss Rachel. so i answer the phone and i am shocked to find that it is Pizza Hut on the line they ask they verify my address and phone number and ask if i would like the same order as before. i say sure why not. i hang up the phone and dance across the room and go into the kitchen to close the cabinets tonight was going to be dinner and a movie without the worry of cleaning my kitchen. whoop whoop!

birds in my bedroom???
about 30 mins later i hear the distinctive sound of birds and a hawk. and i am wondering just what in the hell is going on. i then hear the someone at the door in broken english yell "PIZZER HIAT." and i assume thats my food! i trot to the door and open the door and again like last time i am greeted by the most pleasant delivery guy ever. he goes into his delivery skit and i just nod and smile and grab the box and bow and say thank you like 20 times. i put down the box and then i grab my shoes and open the door and push the button next to my door and stick my head inside of my apt. Lord and behold the sound of birds and hawks and crickets is my door bell! i learn something new every single day.

and that will be it...
well, i enjoy my dinner, chat on skype, chit chat on facebook, gmail a little and work on a powerpoint for the next day call it a night and head to bed.

overall today was a really great day. mom's always seem to know best. i was somewhat having reservations about going to work today. my mom via skype re-assured me that no one would mention my tumble yesterday and that no one actually probably even witnessed it. and true enough no one mentioned today. it wasn't awkward. and today like everyday was an amazingly great day. thank God i am having a wonderful time in s korea and God has truly had my back.

nothing too fun nothing too exciting just another day in my world. and it was pretty damn good.

until next time...
Smooches!





Wednesday, September 23, 2009

what a day wednesday...

no different...
now, today was no different than any typical morning for me. i got up showered, flat ironed my hair, painted my face, put on my clothes and got ready to leave the house and i was going to have a longer day and longer evening as usual.

why longer?
well, today i was to meet with my coteacher and jestin and his co-teacher for dinner around 8pm. and also today is wednesday which means that it is volleyball day at my school.

and we all go tumbling down....
so i meet up with my co-teacher and we finalize the plan, which is to go next door to the volleyball tournament and then to head over to tom toms for coffee and then to decide on a location to have dinner or something along those lines. during the intermission of volleyball drinks (alcohol of course) and food is served. i drink and eat and drink and eat. i meet another foreigner and we begin chatting it up right away. after about an hour of chatting the foreigner (by the way her name is rachel and she is canadian) and i decide that we are going to scoot on out of the building and head back home. well atleast she was. now with that being said since i had already planned to have dinner later it was best for me to just stick around and hang out until it was time to go. needless to say i take a seat next to my co-teacher and continue to chat for a few and watch the 2nd round of the volleyball game. so, my co-teacher and i are chatting it up and i decide since it is 5pm and i have been done working since about 2:30pm, i am going to go ahead and head home and meet up with her at 8pm tonight at the coffee shop. i got up and told her i would phone her before i left home and that i would see her tonight. i get up walk out of the gym. say good bye and bow to everyone as i head out of the door. next thing you know the unthinkable happens. you are not going to believe this.

stop, drop but not quite a roll...
so, as i am walking out of the gym. some kind of a way, my heel gets caught in the mat on the ground and i am flying across the floor and i somehow land on my hands and my knees with my bag across the room. the entire gym says, "ohhhhhhhhhhh." i am thinking. are you serious. shayla, did you really just fall in front of the entire administrative staff? seriously? so i quickly get up, probably the fastest i have ever gotten up off the floor. i then wipe off my dusty knees and hands and i quickly grab my bag and hightail it out of the gym. and all along smiling and telling everyone, "it's okay i am good, thanks, but i am fine, no really i am, hurts a little i'll be okay, but thanks, no really!" i literally run out of the door, down the stairs and hail a cab. thank God the cab pulls up just as i hobble out the front of the gym. i was so disoriented. i couldn't remember if i was in the back of the school or in the front of the school and i couldn't remember if i was going home or coming to work. i was out of it for a good 5 seconds. i crawled into the back of the cab and told him where to go. i sat in the cab re-enacting the fall and shame that i just endured. wondering how many people actually saw me bust my ass. now when i fell. it wasn't graceful. it was one of the falls where you really cant say anything about it. it is one of those falls where you would just go up to the person with sorrow and pity and ask if there is anything you can do for them. it was a mess. a hot ass mess. and i fell in front of the entire staff. now, it could have been worse. Lord knows it could have been worse. but this was kinda bad.

home at last...
so once i arrive home. i crawled out of the cab and said a silent "ouch ouch" with every step to my apt building, onto the elevator and all the way up to the 7th floor. my knees were hurting pretty bad. i immediately called my co-teacher explaining to here that i didn't think it was going to be such a good idea for me to go to dinner today, considering i had damn near broken both ankles, back, neck and knees. she totally understood. and even lied and told me that she hadn't seen my fall. i think she said that to spare my humility and shame. i was thankful for that lie. so after that fall i came home, made popcorn (because junk food is about the only thing that makes me feel warm and fuzzy on the insides) and then i propped up my legs. because i knew that if i didn't it may not be good the following day. and then i got on skype and chit chatted with one of my Boo's Miss CiCi. i told her everything that happened. she laughed of course and gave absolutely no support and or sympathy. which was okay. and then we shared our skype screen and watched the final episode of last seasons the hills. we were gearing up for the new season of the hills next tuesday.

in a nut shell...
so, inspite of the horror that happened at work today. my day wasn't too bad. it can always be worse and Lord knows i have had my fair share of embarrassing moments. so this was one of those things were i am sure no one will remember come monday morning. now tomorrow yes for sure they will remember and they will also remember this tragic fall on friday but come monday it will be old news. well, until the next volleyball game on wednesday.

had a bad day...
so i could say that i had a bad day. but to be honest there was nothing bad about it. yea i tripped and tragically fell across the gym in front of the entire staff. but hey, it could always be worse. atleast i have a job to fall in. and atleast i didn't break anything.

nothing else happened today, nothing too fun and nothing too exciting.

until next time....
smooches!


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

tuesdays....

and then there's today...

today, nothing much happened. last night i went to bed super early. i was so tired. so after, chatting online, fbooking, gmailing and skyping i decided to head to bed as i had an earlier day than usual today.

why so early? ....
well, i was asked on behalf of the school to judge a writing and speaking competition with the entire school, and i had planned to be there super early today.

up and at em'...
so, considering i had an early day. today i did the unthinkable. i actually got up. showered, painted my face, flat ironed my hair and got dressed and i even did laundry before i powered up my laptop. okay well, wait a minute so i told a little white lie. okay so one of the first things i did when i got up this morning was powered up my laptop. but however, i did not actually get onto it until all of the above was completed. wait, actually, come to think of it. okay so, actually i got up, powered on my laptop, showered, painted my face, skyped my mom flat ironed my hair while chatting, put my clothes in the washer. hung up with my mom. skyped with my boo BHolley and then hung out my clothes and then proceeded to get ready for work. okay so, i lied a little. but i did actually get the important things first before i thought of getting on my laptop.

judging...
so, i arrived to work judged the competition (which by the way was interesting) and proceeded with the rest of my work day.

to eat or not to eat??...
today's menu at the cafeteria was super spicy as usual. nothing out of the ordinary. rice, kimchi, spicy squid w/all of it's tentacles,some kind of soup, some kind of really good chicken and spinach. oh yea and a yogurt for dessert. this was a pleasant surprise!!!!

see ya' wouldn't wanna' be ya...
so, i finished my lesson for the day and hightailed it and came back home.

gotta a taste for something...
so, i get home and immediately go onto my porch area and check my laundry. hoping that it is dry. to my surprise they are just about dry. a little damp. but dry enough. i then decide to just grab a fresh washcloth and a towel bring it inside and leave the rest on the rack to continue drying. so, once i did all of that i was kinda hungry. and just wanted something simple. something close to american. something satisfying. something other than kimchi. something good.

mom's goodies....
now, just last week my mom sent me a huge box filled with goodies, i could have easily gone into by cabinets and fixed something that would have "hit the spot."to be honest i was over shoving twinkies in my mouth and chocolate cakes (which by the has had my stomach so super bloated-i am looking almost identical to the michelin man -you know the big marshmallow guy on the tire commerical) but i still wanted something more. so i got to thinking about the lunch Miss Rachel and i had on Sunday afternoon and i went into my wallet and grabbed the Pizza Hut business card that i snagged from the counter and called them to place my order.

pick up or deliver-what????
so i pick up the phone and call Pizza Hut and immediately say "english only." the woman on the phone proceeds with this long conversation which i was assumed were the specials for the day. i then repeat to her "no Korean, English only." she then says in perfect english "ohhhhh, you call back later." so i said okay thanks and called it a day.

i get what i want...
so, after speaking to emma about my situation, she then suggest that i go online to possibly make an online order. My Emma Boo sure does have a brain when she wants to use it!!! j/k (kinda). so i go online to the Pizza Hut site and Lord and behold it is in friggin' korean! and there is not an option to change the text to english. so then i stare at the menu for a good 5 mins and then i decide to turn on my aim and contact my boo, my boo Miss Gina that is. thank God miss gina speaks korean fluently.

my boo comes through...
so, after about a 10 minutes of Miss Gina and i going over the menu options we finally decide on a Pizza Hut pepperoni pan pizza. Miss Gina made the call and about 25 mins later it was delivered and it was hot and it was delicious.

now what???
so, i enjoyed my pizza beat Miss Emma on not only one game but two games of Skype bingo. chatted with Miss Josie on skype for a few. i then fbooked a little, checked out the gossip links on the computer, showered and got ready for bed.

it in a nut shell...
nothing fun and exciting happened today. but overall today was a really good day. thank God for that.

alright, well until next time...
smooches...



Sunday, September 20, 2009

its been awhile...w

hello readers...

it has been about a good week and a half since i posted my last blog. i haven't been feeling too well for a few weeks now. and nothing really happened. in the past week. so i will just start from this past friday....(check my photos on my fbook page from this past wkend)

friday....
so, the same as usual i woke up showered, painted my face, flat ironed my hair and left for work. today was a little unusual that usual. my first class was very challenging. well, not necessarily challenging but they were more difficult than the rest. nothing really to be concerned about. my advance students were loud somewhat obnoxious and even a little disobedient. i quickly had to gain control of my classroom and kick about 6 students out. here in s korea the children are raised to have respect for their elders. they obey honor and listen to their elders. so when i saw this particular group acting out. i had to quickly nip this in the bud before it got out of control if not it would have been a long year.

how was it nipped in the bud...
well, i stopped my lesson in mid sentence. told them to shut their mouths when i am speaking. continued with my lesson. the cool kids in the back continued to chit chat amongst themselves as if they were not in class. i then walked to the door of my class room pointed to about 6 boys and individually told them to get out of my classroom and they were not to return until they had learned the meaning of the word respect. i then closed my door and proceeded with my lesson plan.

kids in the hall....
so, about 15mins later the kids that i kicked out of my class came in with another teacher and bowed their heads to me said they were sorry and sat down. we all continued with the class and it was smooth sailing after that. no worries and no problems. i think this class knows where i stand.

cafeteria food...
so, at lunch today i sat down with the other teachers and vice principal. i usually go to lunch relatively early or i will sit with my "ladies." today, i was asked to have lunch with one of the teachers where we sat at the teachers table. during lunch the food is still very very very spicy. and usually as i am eating my lunch i look around the room at the cute little ones and wonder how in the world do they eat such spicy food. i can hardly tolerate it. so i at lunch ate all of my soup which was especially yummy, i ate all of the rice and that was about it. my co workers noticed that i did not eat all of my food. which is uncommon here. it seems that the men and the women have really hearty appetites. now i am twice the size of everyone here and i can not eat the amount of food they put down their throats. it is a wonder how the women are so tiny and they eat so much! well no, i actually know they answer to that. exercise is heavily recognized here and the food that is consumed is very healthy. back to the point of this section of my blog...so my co-workers noticed that i had not eaten most of the food on my plate ( i am watched as i eat) and they asked why was i not eating the food (which by the way i did try to sample everything and attempt to eat everything on my plate) i then had to explain to them the food is amazing however, it is really spicy and i have to get use to it. ugh, it is so annoying having to explain your self and your actions to people. this is one of my biggest pet peeves. people questioning me about ridiculous things and or wanting explanations about my actions and or my thoughts. so super annoying. i however, quickly finished all that i can muster up the courage to eat and excused myself from the table and went to my room.

mokpo bound...
so after work, i headed to the bus terminal and waited for about 1 1/2 hour for my bus to arrive. where i was to get on and head to mokpo to see Miss Emma and Miss Josie.

get on the bus...
so, i got on the bus and to my surprise this was a pretty nice bus. the bus had nice red leather seats. double seating as well as individual seating and a Karaoke machine. i thought this was going to be a nice smooth 2 hour bus ride.

yea right until...
the bus driver drove so hard and so fast. it felt as if i was on a never ending rollercoaster ride. and it did not help that the tv was going and the objects out the window were passing by at the speed of lightning. i have discovered in the past couple of weeks that i get motion sickness pretty bad. the taxi drivers here drive aimlessly and carelessly through the streets and the bus drivers are no better. as a result of this i get queasy when i am in a taxi and or bus.

arriving...
so, prior to my arrival at the bus terminal in Mokpo, Miss Emma and i had decided that we would meet in the glass tv room inside of the bus terminal. i arrive and immediately spot this glass tv room and put down my 30 lb bag and wait for Miss Emma. so i sit and wait and wait and sit and sit and wait. i look up and notice what appears to be Jared and Alex walking to a seated area. i then stand up and then see about 6 people with their backs to this glass seating room that mind you i was suppose to meet Miss Emma in. i then proceed to walk out of the glass seating room and then i notice the backs of Hwannee, Josie, Rina, Jared, Alex and oh wow the back of EMMA. i'm like oh no this bitch didn't have me sitting in the glass waiting room for about 20mins. which by the way was were i was told to meet her and she is out here having a good ass time with the homies. did i tell her that. oh yea. was i mad. nope, actually i was just thrilled they were there to pick me up and shocked that i was going to see and hang out with so many people!

Korean BBQ...
so of course we chit chat, hug and then we start walking to the Korean BBQ place. we had dinner and i got this bright idea to try a bug that was one of the side dishes on the table. this is the first time that i have seen bugs as a side dish on a table. so i figured it must be pretty darn good. so i, of course had Miss Hwannee to count me down (1, 2 and 3) and i shoved the bug in my mouth and began to chew it. it was disgusting. I spit it out. and gagged about 8 times. ordered a beer to wash down my bug juice and ate Korean BBQ.

The Cutest Dessert Shoppe EVER...
so, Miss Emma had been telling me about this really cute PopenSue place that had swings and flowers on the inside of it. and she assured me that i would love it and would want to take a million photos of the inside of it. sure enough i walk inside and it is kinda like love at first sight. this place was so frigging cute. flying chubby pigs hanging from the ceiling, floral archways ohhhh and swings, swings and more swings...too cute. Miss Josie and i took about a million pictures. after our photo session we sat down and enjoyed a couple of bowls of large popensue and get this, toast with whip cream. i know it sounds really really odd but it is actually amazing. yummy!

like we need anything else in our mouths....
it was pretty late at night. mind you, i left my city of Suncheon immediately after work had about an hour and a half layover and it took me about 2 hrs to get their so after dinner and ohhhh wait i totally forgot something. let me back up....so while we were at the Korean BBQ place, there were about 4 ladies who were staring at me off and on the entire time. Alex who by the way speaks Korean came to me and told me that the ladies at the table would like for me to join them. i said "okie dokie." got up and headed to their table. which became very odd and very interesting. all the women wanted to do was tell me how beautiful they think i am and stare at me and flirt with Alex and feed us food and drinks. really interesting flattering but interesting.

back to like we need anything else in our mouths...
so, we are walking the streets of Mokpo and stumble upon a super cute cake shop with the worlds prettiest cakes (maybe not the worlds but the cakes were really pretty) and then we decide to head in and get more "junk."

hanging out and having a good time...
i can't remember every single detail but be sure to check out my photos for more details of my trip to mokpo and muan.

on to saturday...
saturday afternoon i head back to Suncheon and i arrive late saturday afternoon.

sunday's...
so, the night before Miss Rachel (the neighbor) and i made plans to go to lunch at Pizza Hut. So that morning we touch base and finalize the plan. we were to meet up at 1pm and head over to Pizza Hut. the food was so good. we had a Margherita Pizza, Salad Bar and I had an order of chicken strips with mine (had been wanting chicken for days). as always Miss Rachel and i had a nice conversation and a good time. a couple of hours later we head back to our home.

winding down...
i come back home and i am so super tired i decide to take a nap and sleep for a lot longer than what i anticipated. i woke up to find it dark out side and i had let most of the day past me by.

fbook, skype, gmail...
so i get up, power up the laptop to see what i had missed. i check my fbook emails. now let me back up for a few minutes here. a couple of days ago. i went onto my fbook page and thought to myself i have way too many posts on my home page and i was not really that interested in the silly things that are posted on my home page. they are not comments posted to me but you can see every post that your friends make. now let me just say that my fbook page is relatively new. infact i only made a page about a month prior to my departure to s korea and it was as a means to keep in touch with my immediate family and close friends. and that was it. i hadn't really thought about adding coworkers and or highschool friends that i haven't seen and or talked to since 1997. i knew that i would be posting my blog on my fbook page and i really didn't think anyone would read it except for my mom and my aunt roz. so with that being said. i quickly accumulated almost 200 fbook friends. (now that really isn't a lot by fbook standards) but it is somewhat a lot when you post personal information about yourself that was originally only intended for family and real close friends. so i decided to delete the people that i never talk to on fbook or who i didn't know all that well. not thinking it would be a big deal and also not thinking that anyone would actually notice...right?

wrong!
well, let me tell you this. as soon as i deleted members from my page the same people i deleted noticed they were no longer on my page and requested me back. and one chick in particular actually even sent me a fbook friend email stating she noticed i deleted her from my page and didn't understand why i no longer liked her. YES! apparently fbook is that serious. again, i have been misunderstood. i never even really thought that anyone actually came onto my page. i only get comments and or emails from the same few people. so i assumed no one would think much about it or consider it a big deal. i sure as hell didn't and if i were deleted from someone's page. i really wouldn't think much of it. well, take that back, i would if it were someone i actually spoke to via fbook. then i would be like "oh no that bitch didn't!"

Absolute Ridiculous-ness...
okay, so this is it in a nutshell. it appears that your fbook friends are a big deal and i don't think i will EVER delete someone from fbook again. it has truly become a social network and people actually consider fbook people your "real friend." it no longer matters if you actually connect well with the person. nor does it matter if you have anything in common with the person and it sure as hell does not matter that you actually never speak or talk on fbook nor off of fbook. but your fbook friends are your true friends and they should never be deleted. HA yea right! some people just didn't make the cut this round and i just don't know why they are taking it so friggin' personal. this is facebook and it is a computer generated website. and that is all that it is. if you are deleted from someone's facebook page. i can assure you it really probably has nothing to do with you personally. i didn't delete people for personal reasons. you were one out of the 100 and something that just didn't make the cut. get over, it is so not that serious. but i love ya' anyway. peace...

until next time...
smooches

Saturday, September 12, 2009

I am so over it…

As you know, as soon as I got in yesterday I immediately, put fresh linen on my bed, showered, put on my pj’s, took my medicine and crawled into my bed. I was awakened about 5 hours later from the sound of my laptop ringing on Skype and then my house phone. But, I was not able to get up and I did not want to get. My nose was burning (the insides from all the blowing and sneezing from the night before). My head felt so stuffy. My throat was so scratchy and I just wasn’t feeling like my usual self. I was not well. I was far from well. Not good. But the show had to go on. So, I checked my Skype and had realized that my Emma Boo finally had her internet set up and she was now on skype so I immediately called her back via webcam and of course she was not home by this time. So, I called her on her Korean cell and told her to call me via Skype when she got home.

Blackberry’s…

So, my alarm goes off and I am not in the mood. I had taken my medicine twice the night before and I had such a rough night last night that the last thing I wanted to do was get up and get ready for work. Well, I will tell you what if I was in America. There would be no doubt in my mind that at that moment of feeling like hell I would have picked up the phone and or sent a text via blackberry. And that message would state that I would not be in the office today. But with me being on unfamiliar territory and unable to pull the stunts that I have pulled and been able to get away with in America I did the complete opposite of what I would have normally done. I snoozed my alarm making sure that I would get up the next round.

Another day another dollar…

So, I lay in bed, half asleep half awake. And I finally decide to get up out of the bed. I walk into the kitchen and decide to make myself a bowl of cereal. I pour my cereal into the bowl, pour my organic soy milk over my cereal (just enough to cover the bottom half of the bowl) and I go to my desk and power on my laptop. I begin checking my emails, my stomach begins to get a little upset. I immediately stop eating my cereal walk over to the toilet pour all the contents of that bowl into the toilet, flush and walk back to the desk. I then skype and check my emails and then I did what I so did not want to do.

Routines….

So, I mustered up enough energy and strength to sweep the floor (emma boo is coming for the wkend and I don’t want her to see the dust bunnies all over the house), clean the bathroom, put away clothes and then I get showered, paint my face, flat iron my hair (actually again today no flat ironing was needed) put on my clothes and quickly rushed out of the door. I did a quick check in the bathroom mirror just as I was heading out of the door. And had a sudden change of heart. The top and the pants that I was wearing would definitely require a “high” heel. And I remembered the bathroom situation and I remembered that I am much better in a dress. So, I quickly ran to my closet area (armoire chest) and grabbed a dress. A blue dress. One that does really require much. One that I can wear my converse or coach canvas shoes with. A dress that I can run down the hiil in to catch my cab.

Risky or Frisky???

So, did I decide to keep what I was wearing on and trot down the hill in a pair of really high heels??? Under non-sick circumstances yes I would have done so. And under American circumstances where I have my pimped out car and no hills to walk down in a pair of heels yes I would have stayed in the outfit that I had on. But this is S Korea and although it is the land of super trendy and ultra chic and cute. Um, I was not going down that hill in a pair of 4 inch heels. Now, my Korean gal pals are notorious for wearing their 4 inch heels going up and down hills. And they are so super fierce with it. But I am just not going to do this. Well, not just yet! And Lord knows I miss my cute 4 inch collection of heels and in fact that is mainly all I ever wear back in the States but, I absolutely can’t walk down a mountain in them. Not in S Korea and not today. Here in S Korea I have adopted the girl next door look. I am not too trendy. I am not flashy. I wear shorts, jeans, cardigans, I wear t-shirts (yes tee shirts), and I wear flip flops. Hell, I even wear converse and coach sneakers almost on a daily bases (well when I am not going to work). Things that I wore on rare occasions just 2 months ago. I am so laid back and I am actually kinda diggin’ it. Now will I and have I adopted this look from here on out? Hell no! Don’t think I didn’t send a long ass detailed list of shoes and clothes that I will be needing my mom to send to me from my detailed and organized fashion filled closet at home.

Back to back…

Oh okay, so now that I have gotten the above off of my chest let me proceed with this journal. So, I change my clothes and grab a dress from the closet / armoire. Grab a cardigan. Grab a pair of wedge heels and quickly change my mind to put on my “coach” canvas sneakers instead. I grab my work bag and literally run out of the door. Yes literally. I then trot down the sidewalk (jog/walk pace) and hop into the back of the cab, state my location and sit back.

Always on time…

So, I arrive to work at 10:20 am and my first class isn’t until 10:50 am. Yes, you are thinking wow all that and I am still a half of an hour before schedule! Not to me. I like to be atleast an hour early so that I can take my time changing shoes, saying my “anneyahsayeohhhs” (hello’s) and not rush to my class. So, I arrived to work and I immediately say hi to everyone and go to my principal. Where of course she gives me a quiz on my Korean words. And I totally bombed out. Now I hadn’t seen her much this week. And she didn’t quiz me daily like she usually does so I forgot some of the words. She told me that I had a quiz on Monday for the words that I could not remember and I promised her that I would get an “a” on Monday and that I would make her proud with my Korean speaking ability. Have I actually learned a lot of new words? Yes I have! Can I remember them all. Absolutely not! But I will!

Tricky tricky tricky…

So, my class today was to teach an Advanced 6th grade English class. And I could not find this class for the life of me. Now with this class it is based on a curriculum and I will not have free range. No arts for them I have to do everything by the book. Now my class is usually held in my art room and all of the students come to me with the exception of my kindergarten classes and my 6th grade advanced class room . I finally find this class room. And the students are chatty and they are waiting for me to get situated as I had to get assisitance finding this room. (normally I like to be in the classroom waiting on the students not vice versa). And normally I am not feeling terrible. So, today I think I was just in a non-tolerable mood. The students weren’t misbehaving and they were too loud I just wasn’t feeling too well and was kinda agitated. So I then, shout to the class to hush their mouths until I call the roll. (now first day of me meeting them and I am being an ass) I then quickly remember that I am just sick and if I start off this way it would totally not be fair to them, as every other class has been amazing. So I sickly but quickly change my “tude” and explain to my students that I am not feeling well and just bare with me as I get set up and go over the rules and what will be expected of my classroom. They were understanding and completely respectful and the class was wonderful. As I did my power point introduction they laughed, I did a couple of games with them and let them watch an English cartoon (and tested their English ability). So 40 mins later I went to dismiss my class and they begged me to continue giving the more cartoon quizzes. I gave them a few more and told them I would see them next week. It was a success and I was done for the rest of the day. Well, I was done until my next and last class at 3:10pm.

What’s next??

So, I then go to the lounge area and power up my laptop and begin working on my journal and review lesson plan ideas for next week. And all the while wishing I was back in my Korean Apt taking medicine and sleeping.

Lunch date???

Um, no thanks I will pass on this today. Today, I did not eat lunch. As I wasn’t sure how my stomach would react. Well, I take that back, in the lounge room there were warm baked sweet potatoes (a standard Korean snack would be: fruit, breads, potato’s ) so I grabbed a sweet potato and considered that to be my lunch for today. Emma would be coming in later tonight and I didn’t want to be any more sick than I already was.

Coming home…

So, my day ended on a good note and I was on my way home waiting for my emma boo to arrive.
Yeaaa My Emma boo is here…

So, I hadn’t seen my Emma Boo since leaving Gwanju and I was super excited about seeing her. She arrived tonight and as soon as she got here we came upstairs to my apartment for a tour. We then immediately left my apartment and went to grab dinner.

Catching cabs is what I do…

So I really wanted to take her to the Bulgogi Korean Barbecue place that I love but for the life of me I just couldn’t remember exactly where it was. So after we almost got killed by the crazy and reckless taxi cab driver we arrived to this cute Italian Restaurant (that I also love) we ordered and sat and talked and laughed and ate and talked and laughed some more. It was pretty late and I wasn’t feeling too well and it began to rain so we headed back to my place. We would finish our touring of my city tomorrow….

Until next time…

Smooches

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Off to a late start…

So, last night I had to do laundry and I ate dinner later than usual (as a result of Emma Boo chatting my ear off). After dinner I showered and made a steaming cup of thera flu put on my pajamas and got into bed.

So soon…

Before I knew it, I was awakened by my blackberry / alarm and it was time to get up. Instead of getting up right away like I know I should every single morning I re-set the alarm for a later time and I went back to bed. Worried that I was too tired and I may not actually hear the alarm at the time it is scheduled to go off, I decided it was best that I go ahead and get up. I had another load of laundry to do and I wanted to be sure to hang them to dry before I left for work this morning (in hopes that I will be dry upon my return back home this evening).

Get a move on it…

So, I got up, had breakfast (frosted flakes), showered, flat ironed my hair (actually I didn’t really need to this morning), painted my face, put on my clothes and skyped for a few and was on my way out of the door.

Just in time…

When I left my apartment, luckily there was a cab driver downstairs, I got into the cab and headed to work. When I arrived to work I changed into my indoor shoes and headed to my vice principal to say “anneyasayoooohhhhh.” She immediately asked me what happened to me coming to volleyball yesterday. I explained to her my classes and how I was not able to attend the game as a result of my classes conflicting with the volleyball schedule. I was certain that when I explained this to her she would definitely understand that my classes came first. With that being said. She shook her head in disbelief and told me that “everyone” was looking for me and was wondering why was I not at the game. She the assured me that she would speak to the coordinators of my school and have all of my classes moved around so that I am able to attend the games. I then expressed my gratitude and told her that I would be ever so greatful for the opportunity of playing on their marvelous volleyball team. I walked away and headed to my first class. All the while wondering now how in the hell am I going to get out of this one. I guess I can just look on the bright side and and be appreciative of the opportunity of being able to exercise every Wednesday at 2:30pm.

Standing up…or stood up???

So, after I finished my two kindergarten classes I immediately hightailed it to the lounge area where I was anxious to see my “ladies.” When I opened the door they were not there. But lucky for me they arrived one by one shortly after I came in and got settled. One lady explained to me that again today she had classes and that she would not be able to accompany me to lunch and that It was best that I go soon. So I thought well, that actually worked out perfectly. Seeing as thought I wasn’t feeling too well, I thought that I would just skip lunch today and try not to put anything on my stomach. Minutes later my other “lady” comes in and she also tells me no lunch today and that she couldn’t go, but it was lunch time and that I needed to go now to eat. So I quickly got up and scooted off for lunch.

Always go with your first mind…

So, when I arrived to the cafeteria. I shuffled through the line (yes I actually shuffled, my indoor shoes were so friggin’ slippery I was shaking what my mamma gave me all across the floors on every square footage of the school. On the way to the lunch room an unfamiliar voice called out “shayah!” of course I was like who in the hell knows me in Suncheon, S Korea?? So I turn around. And I am greeted by a woman and her tiny baby. She says to me “you are Shayah, I Lucy Mom, She love you and say you Beautiful. I came to see and thank you. She right you are Beautiful Lady. Thank you for be Lucy Teacher.” I of course, bat my mascara filled lashes and say “gam sam ham nidaaaaaa.” And I also tell her that lucky is too cute for words (which she totally is!) So, I had my lunch tray and I sat down to eat and I attempted to eat a little bit of all of the portions that was given to me. I ate all of the soup, most of the rice and the chicken and a piece of an apple (which by the way I absolutely hate apples). I couldn’t eat anymore food and I immediately excused myself from the lunch table and headed back to the lounge. On the way back I my stomach began to feel really queasy. I said to my self. Oh no, please no. Oh God not right now, not on my favorite pretty dress. Oh no, I didn’t bring my makeup bag and If I puke I will look a hot mess. So I upchuck a little and swallow it back down. I did that another 3 times. Next thing you know I turned my head to the left and puke all over the flower garden! Twice! The gorgeous plants were ruined. I quickly hauled ass to the little girls room. Well, I tried to haul ass but it was more like a sickly trot, of course I felt and looked a mess by now. I get to the bathroom wash my hands rinse my mouth and look at my self in the mirror. Thank God for MAC. My makeup was still flawless with the exception of a smudge on the corners of my eyes. I slowly walked into the lounge and finished my arts and crafts project for my next class.

Tick tock…watching the f*$ing clock…

The time dragged from lunch until it was time to go home. I was getting worse by the minute. Somehow I managed to have another wonderful day.

Crawling out is hard to do…

I literally creeped and crawled out of the school and lazily stood next to the curb and stuck my finger out for a cab. I threw myself in the back seat and stated my destination. Of course the cab drivers wishes to exchange dialogue. And to my surprise, his English was pretty damn good. He asked where was I from. I told him. He then said where in America. I told him. He says ohhhh all beautiful ladies in florida. Ohhhhh. He then says he loves Americans. He asked for how long? I said one year. Next thing you know we were at my building. I got paid, got out and crawled, sweated, huffed and puffed until I made it to my apt door. Once inside. I immediately took my clothes off the clothes dryer, made up my bed with fresh linen and turned on the shower and got into it. I put on my pajamas and took my medicine.

That’s it for today, nothing special. Nothing exciting.
I am off to get better.

Until next time…
Smooches!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Wenesday's...

Um…not so much…

So, when I began this blog it was only to jot down things and experiences while I am living in S Korea for the next year. I didn’t think that I would have requests and or demands for me to continue updating my blogs. So with that being said, I am in my bed way past midnight on a work night. And I am doing my blog for the day as a result of many requests. So here goes…

Up and not quite at em’

So, usually every single morning my black berry/alarm clock goes off and I snooze it. Today I had the intentions of sleeping in. and I usually only snooze my alarm atleast 4 times every single morning. This morning. I turned off the alarm and literally re-set it to a new time. I was so super sleepy I needed more than four 15 minute snooze sessions. After I changed the time of my alarm I went back to sleep.

Waking up is hard to do…

So, my alarm went off and you would think since I stole an additional 2 hours that I would be eager to finally get out of the bed. Not so much! I snoozed my alarm for another 15 mins and then I finally rolled out of bed (literally).

Kellog’s in Korea…

So, the first thing I did was not the usual. Instead of doing the usual I immediately power on my laptop. Go to the fridge. Which by the way, I somehow left the door open to the fridge. Now I do vaguely remember waking up in the middle of the night dying of thirst. I guess I didn’t put the water all the way back in the fried and it was hanging out of the fridge this morning and there was water all over the floor. I immediately thought, oh great, I finally head to the grocery store and now I have ruined all of the grocery I just purchased.

Now what???

So, of course, I pull out the cereal (frosted flakes Korean style) and I grab my soy milk and a bowl and I pour it over the cereal. To my surprise my soy milk is still cold. So I grab my cereal shuffle to my desk and get on my laptop.

Wasting more time…

So, instead of me getting in the shower, flat ironing my hair, painting my face, putting on my clothes. I do the complete opposite I sit on the computer. Answer emails. Skype and act as if I have nothing to do. Next thing you know I have to abruptly stop everything I am working on and get ready for work.

Away we go…

So, I get ready for work, grab my work bag and my shoes and my extra set of clothes (today is volleyball day at the school and for some reason I wasn’t kicked off of the team yet) and I head out the door and I am on my way to catch my cab.

Um, no habla es Korean….

So, I grab my cab, get in and another cab driver who was parked behind us jumps out of his car and runs over to my car door and insists on closing the door behind me. I thought, gee, they really know how to treat a lady. So, I am off. I quickly explain to the cab driver where I need to go. He then turns around and stairs at me. And I repeat myself again. Thinking he had no idea what I was saying I pull out the name of my school that I have written in Korean. He reads the sheet and repeats the same thing I just said to him. I thought to my self okay whatever. I then motion for the cab driver to hand me back my paper (I will probably need it again, and it’s equivalent to carrying around a black diamond-meaning its precious and very important). The cab driver then plays this cat and mouse game with me. Where when he hands out the sheet as I reach for it he pulls it away quickly. Now perhaps if I were feeling up to par this would have been cute. Creepy but cute. But I just kinda chuckled and smiled. He finally handed the sheet back to me. But of course not with out “feeling up my hand.” Yes, odd, very odd. He proceeds to make small talk. But not the kinda talk I can actually engage in. His small talk was all in Korean. I proceeded to tell Mr. Cabby several times that I did not speak Korean. He finally caught on to what I was saying and then stared at me in the rearview mirror most of the car ride. And I had no clue what he was trying to say to me. After a very long 10 mins I arrive to the school and I pay Mr Cabby. Of course when I hand him the exact change he proceeds to take my hand in his and held it for a long 5 seconds. And proceeds to “feel up my hand” for the second time. Again I thought okay this is weird. Mr Cabby reminded me of the creepy “older guy” that your parents wouldn’t let you speak to without them being there with you. Kinda like a creepy “Uncle Joey.”

Anywho…

I arrived to work, take of my shoes and slip into my indoor shoes and I am off to do what I do. Even if I have late classes. I almost always make it to lunch extra early to have lunch with my “lunch ladies.” When I arrived to day (later than usual but still ahead of my scheduled class) I was surprised that my “ladies” were not in the lounge area. I sat and waited a few minutes and next thing I knew it was time for my class to begin. I headed to class and realized I left something in the lounge room. When I walked to the lounge room an unfamiliar face calls my name is broken English. As I turn around she hands me a note. My “ladies” had this woman to write me a note in English. Saying that they would not be able to join me today. And that they would miss me, but for me to go ahead with out them and that they would see me tomorrow. I thought. How sweet was that? Of course I clutched my note with dear life and carried it back to my classroom and stuck it in a part of my work bag, that I knew would tear and or bend this precious note. My first love Korean love letter. Well, okay maybe not exactly a “love note” per say but the intentions were out of love. Today was going to be a very good day. Although I wasn’t feeling well, I tried really hard not to let it be known. I still had fun in my classroom and gave my students my undivided attention and when my day was over I prayed to GOD I would not have to play volleyball.

I call he answers…

So, after I wrapped up my classes I proceeded to grab my work bag and head to the bathroom to change into my “volleyball” clothes. And lord and behold my co-teacher calls my name and asks what am I up to? I casually mention to her that my volleyball team mates needed me and that I was on my way to change and get ready to play. She then tells me that the game has already started and that it really wasn’t necessary since I had missed so much of the game. I then of course pretend to be super pissed that I missed that opportunity. And I pretended to sadly walk away. Of course I pretended to be that way and quickly told her bye ran out of the school (literally) caught my cab and hightailed it back to my apartment grinning the entire way.

Home is where my Cold is???

So, I arrive home and of course. It seems like once you actually sit down and relax you get so super sick. My nose begins running nonstop, I am sneezing, coughing and carrying on. I prepare my lesson plans for the next day. Talk to Emma on the phone for a few, Skype for a few. Instant Messaged for a few. Facebook for a few and next thing you know it’s time for me to shower, take my Theraflu and get into my bed.

Girl in the mirror...

I reflect on the day and realize that yes, I am feeling hella crappy. But if my having an annoying cold is my biggest and only problem since arriving to S Korea, I humbly accept this cold and I am glad to have it. It could be much worse. And I realize that this has really been my only complaint. Well, this cold and wanting a regular sandwich, or that time I felt like faking a faint when crawling across that damn mountain a few weeks ago.

Life is good and I am exactly where I should be.

Alright well, until next time…
Smooches!

Tuesday's...

More like 10%..

So, again last night I took more thera-flu with the hopes of filling much better. I am still not feeling that well. My throat still hurts and I am still having shortness of breath and coughing and sneezing. I really think it is as a result of my apt being cool in the bedroom. Hot in the bathroom. Hot outside. Cold inside of the Cab, hot on one side of the school and cold in my classroom and then hot outside. Cold again when I jump in the cab and … well you get my drift.

Doing what I do…

So, this morning my blackberry woke me up pretty early as I had to be to work a little earlier than usual. Today my agenda was a little different. I was working a full day unlike the rest of the week when I only work for about 2 hours and call it a day. So, I had only 2 times to snooze before I really had to be up.

Alright already…

So, I only snoozed my alarm 4 times (I was going for 2 but, I really just needed the extra hour of sleep). I got up finally, showered, painted my face, flat ironed my hair (and I absolutely had too, I washed it last night and did not flat iron it just went to sleep on it, so I had no choice this morning put to bring the luster back in this “do” but flat ironing the hell out of it), put on my clothes, skyped for a few and put on my shoes and was out the door.

Hailed a cab…

So, I got my cab and hightailed it to work. I got to work early enough to go to the lounge area, prepare and print off a lesson plan and work sheet and as soon as I got comfy I was instructed to go downstairs to the kindergarten room. Now naturally I kept thinking to myself what in the world am I going to say to a bunch of kindergarteners who cant speak English. How is this going to go. To be honest. It was the easiest thing I have ever had to do. It came natural to me. Now, I don’t know if its because I love cute kids, or because I absolutely adore my neice and she is around the same age as them and when I was back home she and I spent a lot of time together, so I already knew how to interact with a child her age. I was told by the Principal that it was one of the best classes she had ever sat in….yea me!
Now, my day was so super busy! Today my schedule would be so super busy. I had a total of 5 classes. And although they are only 40 mins long that makes for a long day! Well, especially considering that I on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Friday’s I only teach two 40 min classes.

Lunch Dating…

So, of course, next thing you know it was time for me to meet up with the ladies and have lunch. Now today, I wasn’t feeling too well. And frankly, I wasn’t really interested in experimenting with the Cafeteria food! But when my “ladies” gave me the look. I quickly got up and followed their lead. And today, the lunch in the cafeteria was amazing. Yes, amazing. Now I don’t know if the food is so good because I am in such good company. Or if the food was actually good. But whatever the case, I was happy I took the walk (a very long walk) to the cafeteria.

Finishing up is easy to do…

So, I finished the rest of my classes and I grabbed a cab and decided to head back home. I was eager to take my Theraflu and head to bed.

Not exactly what I had in mind…

So, when I arrived home, my intentions were to shower, check my emails, skype for a few, make Theraflu and head to bed. Well I did all of the above. But it took a lot longer than usual. I actually caught up with new friends that I have made upon my arrival here in S Korea. And I really enjoy the company of the new friends that I have made. Even if it is via Skype by way of webcam.

Well, that is it in a nut shell. Nothing fun nor exciting and without all of the fun stuff and exciting stuff my day was pretty amazing…

Until next time…
Smooches!

Monday, September 7, 2009

Uh oh, please say it ain’t so…

So, last night, I was not feeling well. In fact, I hadn’t been feeling too well for days now. As I was sitting on my bed I realized that I had Theraflu in my luggage in the extra room in my apartment and figured it was best to catch this cold before it got out of control. What are my symptoms? And what exactly do I feel? Well, for starters my throat has been really bothering me lately. I have had a sore throat for a couple of days now. And I have been so tired and have had very little energy. Yesterday, when I went to the mini-mart to grab lunch, I could barely make back up the hill that I had walked down to get to the store. So, I opened my perfectly packaged luggage and turn it upside down grabbed the box of Theraflu and took out two packets, zipped it up and closed the door behind me. I fixed myself a nice hot cup of Theraflu, drank it and sat on my bed and got on my laptop as I waited patiently for it to kick in. The last thing I remember was sending Gina or possibly Cici or maybe Jeff a skype message on my laptop and rolling over and falling asleep. I totally forgot how Theraflu puts you into a slight coma.

Next thing I knew…

My blackberry/alarm was going off and I was rolling over to shut It off. And decided for the first time in a long time, I would not snooze the alarm but I would actually get up and take a nice hot shower. Did I actually do so. Yes, actually I did. And was I feeling a lot better now that I had taken my Theraflu? Nope, not really maybe a slight difference in sickness but not much to brag about.

Routine or not to routine…

So, I shower, plugged in my flat iron and half assed use it. Meaning I literally picked a piece of hair that needed to be turned under and pulled my hair back using two cute clips and threw on my makeup (okay not literally “threw” but it was not applied with all the passion and effort I normally use) put on a dress and called it a day. Today, I am not feeling too well and I think it just may show.

Upon my arrival…

I couldn’t muster enough strength to do my usual “anneyahhhhsayoooohhh” it was more like a “anneyasahooo.” It was so hard walking up that hill to the school and I was so out of breathe and my throat was hurting so bad before I even reached the front step. I crawled up the stairs and said my “anneyasayohhs” to everyone I saw and headed into the lounge area. Where of course my two bff’s were. The Art/Music teacher (whom we share the same room )and the other lady which I am still unsure what she does here. Whatever the case, I like them both. And I love the relationship we have. We say our “anneyahsayohhs.” We stare and smile at each other for a good 5 minutes and they continue chatting and I get on my laptop and do whatever it is I do. (right now it is typing on my blog and update every moment that has happened thus far).
Well, I guess in a few minutes (looking at the time) me and my clique “art teacher and other lady” will be heading to lunch soon. Since out communication is limited. I think I will sign off my laptop for now and get ready because when they give me the look I better be ready to go…I need for them to explain to me what our lunch will be for the day….Be back in a few with the lunch update for the day.

Not sure what to make of it…

So, on today’s lunch buffet was the usual which consisted of: Kimchi, white rice, some type of Squid tentacles, seaweed soup with bits of baby shrimp, fried fish and grapes. Now under usual circumstances I would have found something from that large variety of food that I would have really enjoyed. Today, not so much. I did not enjoy any of it. Infact it was a struggle to eat almost all of it. I have noticed that it does not appear to be apart of Korean customs and or traditions to waste food. In fact almost everyone eats all of the food on their plates. And it is shocking that although most Korean women are super tiny, they really can put away a lot of food. So once, the majority of my gang (the art/music teacher and the lady whom I have no clue what she does and who she is) once we completed our meals we were off to go back to the lounge area. On the way back…there was small talk. And the question of the day to me was? Did you like Korean food? Of course I had to tell them the food is amazing just too spicy! And they in unison replied by saying “nayyyyyyyyyyyy” (which is yes in Korean).

Before I knew it…

So, when we arrive to our lounge area (and I do mean “we” since my two bff’s and myself are the only three that occupy that room). Before I knew it, it was time for me to head to class. I had to go to work.

Amazing…

My classes were amazing. The children were so insanely sweet and cordial and they were super smart. I was expected them to not know any English. They sure coulda’ fooled me. My kids knew how to not only read English but how to read it as well. They were beyond smart. I was beginning to wonder why in the hell did they need me there. We played many games and took a few pictures did a few assignments and before I knew it the day was over.

Hitting the Streets of Suncheon…

My Teacher Assistant Rachel and I decided to go and grab dinner and hang out for a bit in downtown Suncheon. I was totally cool with that. So, we met up with a few of her friends and hit the streets. I was super excited we when walked past the street fish market. Yes! I have been seeing pictures of these vendors and was up close and personal. The fish market vendors is when you walk by and then have rows and rows and rows of fresh seafood and the food is for you to see up close and personal. I was a little disappointed that creepy crawly things were not crawling out of the buckets onto the sidewalks, but it was still really cool to see.

Names Names and Names…

So, as we are walking there were too many shoe shops to name. There was Nike, Converse, Puma, Addidas, Fila , K Swiss and every other sneaker shop you can think of on the streets. Too many cute clothing shops and too many cute everything.

Rachel um are you sure???

So, Rachel and her friends decide lets eat a real Korean meal. They ask me if I have ever had real street Korean food. Of course I am like, um no, not yet. Would you like to try? Um, sure okay. (which was how that conversation went). So Rachel orders several plates of food that I am so not even sure how to identify. So it was explained to me that one of the dishes was a pork (which clearly looked like intestines aka chitlin’s) the other looks like some kind of chopped testicle and the other two I recognized. I tried the chopped testicles (which was super gross) and the chicken (which didn’t taste at all like chicken). So, after a bite and two chews I was done and figured I would go by the store and grab dinner tonight (this I could not longer prolong and had I had grocery at home I probably would not have tried that).

Emart, nice to see you again…

So, Rachel, myself and her friend enter Emart and we go shopping. I pick up food and household items that I was in desperate need of. I was really excited to come across soy milk for my gigantic box of cereal. Cereal? Yes, they have regular cereal here. You cant go wrong with cereal. My grocery list consisted of: house freshner, bleach, bananas, cereal, chips, cookies, juice pops, soda, spam (which came highly recommended by Rachel) soy milk (which I was super excited to find).

Overall, the day was a great day…

Until next time…
Smooches

Sunday, September 6, 2009

Saturday & Sunday…

So yesterday, I slept the entire day away. I did not get in on Friday night until Saturday morning. And I did not get to bed until after 6am Saturday morning. Needless to say when I finally awakened it was around 7:30pm Saturday night. Yes! I had slept the entire day away. I had plans to go shopping Saturday. Get out and do a little more exploring of my city. But, simply was too tired and unwilling to do so. So, I checked my emails, aim’ed and skyped for the rest of the evening and was back in bed at a decent hour. I set my alarm clock so that I could get up really early Sunday morning to do a little shopping and explore my city and do what I had planned to do on Saturday.

The Sun knocks on the door…

So, I set my alarm clock for early Sunday morning. And decide the night before that I would get up, walk my city and explore and of course do a little shopping. Now the alarm goes off this morning and I just couldn’t get out of bed. So of course I decide well let’s not snooze the alarm just shut it off and I will get up later and atleast go shopping even if I don’t decide to explore my city.

5 hours later…

I finally roll out of bed throw on a baseball cap, a pair of drawstring sweats, tank top and converse and decide not to explore my city and not to shop but to go to the corner mini mart and grab something to eat.

So what’s it going to be???

I decide on a small box of cookies, a small bag of onion chips and a frozen rectangular pizza thing.

How was it???

Considering I didn’t eat yesterday (because I slept the entire day away and when I finally awakened I attempted to make dumplings and damn near burned my apt down). So, I was pretty hungry and the mini mart food selection was okay. Not necessarily good but not too bad either.

Finishing up is hard to do…

So, after I climbed the mountain back home and had my mini mart lunch, I of course thought it is the perfect day to actually really finish my e lynn harris book. Now I typically finish reading a book in about a day or two. For some reason it has taken me about a good month to actually read this book. So unlike me. Perhaps it has taken so long because I haven’t necessarily put forth the effort of making time to actually sit down and enjoy my book. Or perhaps, as a result of this possibly being the final e lynn harris book (he passed away last month) and I am trying to hang on to each page because I know it will be the last book my favorite author will ever release. Well, today, I actually sat down, made time and finished reading “basketball jones.”
Now, that I have sat around all day long and have done absolutely nothing. I didn’t wash my hair and trim it like I planned on doing yesterday. Nor did I get up and wash it today. I haven’t been shopping nor have I explored my city. I haven’t visited with friends or even finished the lesson plans that I have set out to complete today. Today, it is all about me. And I am going to do exactly what I want to do. Which is absolutely nothing. Rachel (my neighbor) and I were up until very early Saturday morning chit chatting and we discovered we are a lot alike. Perhaps our lengthy conversation into the wee hours of Saturday morning is the reason I have been so tired. It’s been awhile since I have seen the sun come up before I head to bed. So since I have a lot of absolutely nothing to catch up on …

I’m off…

To do absolutely nothing. Because that is exactly what I want to do today.

Until next time…

Smooches….

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Going to bed is hard to do…

So, last night I went to bed pretty late last night, actually, let me rephrase that. I went to bed really early this morning. And I was up before I knew it. I’ve really got to start going to bed a lot earlier than I usually do.

So, like clockwork…

My fabulous blackberry whose only purpose in s korea is the responsibility to wake me up on time. So, I was awakened this morning. As like always, I snoozed my alarm for the next hour and then realized it was time for me to go with just enough time to jump in the shower, paint my face, flat iron my hair (actually again, today no flat iron was needed but I always plug it in just in case), put on my clothes and shoes and head out the door.

Ahead of time…

So today, before I head out for work I decide on a dress with a somewhat ruffled bottom and of course a cardigan (in my mind anything paired with a cardigan gives it a classic look-so basically if I wear a halter dress and 4 inch shoes, if I have on a cardigan I feel so delicate and it takes away the “hooker” look-hey, my dresses may be a little too tight and my face may have on way too much blush and mascara and my 4 inch heels may be hooker-ish but I am a lady when I have my cardigan on…) So in other words, I should have worn my converse when bouncing down that hill this morning instead of my high shoes. Converse and a Cardigan will be my new look. I don’t know why every single morning I have been wearing extremely high shoes to work and only thinking of me getting a cab to work and not remembering I have to actually walk to the cab in those heels up a mountain and down a hill. Ugh. Back at home I could walk 5 or 6 blocks in my fancy heels. Here, not so much! Too many hills too many mountains.

That’s how I roll…

So, of course, I hail a cab and make it to work ahead of time. And of course as usual I did not eat before I left home and by the time I arrived to work I was already feeling famished and faint from the lack of food (last night I had no luck finding a cough drop or peppermint in any of my bags and was hungry and too lazy to actually go and get something to eat).

Say what???

So, I get settled at work and of course the first thing (after changing my shoes) I do is go around making my rounds and saying “anneyeasayooooohhhh” and bowing to every man and woman in sight. And rumor has it I am in time for lunch. I have arrived early enough to have lunch at work.
What in the hell is that or was that???...
So, I am ushered off by the senior women at work and they carry me off to lunch. We grab a tray and I am served, kimchi, rice (the only two things I actually recognize oh and a piece of sweet bread – I recognized that too), some meat, some animal, some squid dish and that some peppers and some dipping sauce. So I squish me and my fluff into this itty bitty chair so close to the counter I had to just about stuff my breasts in my panties to fit in that damn chair (ha come to find out once I squeezed into it the chair actually comes out-duh how stupid and embarrassing am I??) So I take a breath and stare at the kimchi (because I just simply hate it-just hate it hate it, hate it, hate it and I have learned how to say no thank you in Korean when it is offered to me, actually this may be considered rude to be like “oh hell no don’t put that on my plate I hate it-so instead of saying what I am thinking, I just graciously accept it with the look of horror on my face). So I eat all of my rice (you can never go wrong with rice), I eat all of the meat ( I don’t know what it was but I ate it so fast and so hard that the other two women at my table shoved me their plates and gave me theirs), I then attempted to eat the soup. It was actually really really good. Seriously spicy but really really really good. I was wondering how in the hell does a child eat this spicy food. My nose was running. And I attempted to eat it all. I then ate some of the squid tentacles and the stuff that was mixed in it. It’s actually pretty good and also seriously spicy. I couldn’t eat the other 2 objects. So I proceeded to tear up the bread. I figured since I don’t eat much at home I was better off eating all of the fillers on my plate.

Oh oh time to go..

So myself and the other two women whom I have become really good friends with (the art teacher and another older woman) grabbed my hand handed me water and we were off back to the lounge area. Now we have never really spoken more than 3 words to each other but we seem to get along really well. Well, as far as I can tell. We share coffee together every day. We eat lunch together when I am there for lunch and we sit around a look at each other. It’s a real passionate relationship. Talking is obviously overrated. Who needs friends you can talk to??? LOL

No room for anything else…

So, when we return back to the lounge area, my homies offer me a cup of coffee and remembering that incident yesterday when I wet my pants at work. I decided against the coffee. Instead I ran downstairs to my closet area and grabbed a huge bottle of water that I stuck in my wok bag before heading to work. I figured it would be better for me if I did have another “accident” that it would be best if my accident was of urine mixed with water versus urine mixed with coffee. I am really on top of things.

First day of class…

So, my first day of class was really good. I was able to have my art class as the supply closet was closed and locked and the staff forgot to leave me a key. So when in doubt “you tube.” I played the “Simpsons” and did a “listen and repeat.” And my students loved it. They were surprisingly very very very good in English.

Overall a fabulous day…

Until Next time…
Smooches

Thursday, September 3, 2009

And so it begins…

So, last night I felt kinda’ sick everytime I moved. I finally went to bed around 3am. Why so late? Hell-o, now you know I just got my cable hooked up yesterday and like a child on Christmas I was up all night playing with the channels on my tv. Could I actually understand all of the channels? Heck no! It did not matter that I could not understand more than half of the channels I was just happy to have cable.

Waking up is hard to do…or it should be…

So, of course I woke up at the crack of dawn this morning…what time did I get up? Around 6:30 am. Why? Because I am crazy and for some reason I usually always wake up this early. What do I do that early if I do not have to go to work that early? Dumb question to ask ME….of course I do what I do best, I surf the internet, skyped and check my emails.

The earlier the better…

Um, so you would think with me waking up early every single morning that every single morning that I actually wake up I would immediately get in the shower and get dressed and get that out of the way so that I am not rushing out of the door when it is actually time for me to leave. So did I actually follow my own advice this morning? Definitely NOT. So of course next thing you know it was like 45 mins before it was time for me to leave. So like always I...showered, painted my face, flat ironed my hair (actually today I didn’t have to flat iron my hair but I did plug in my flat iron just in case my “do” needed a bump or two), put on my clothes, grabbed my laptop, keys, shoes and ran out of the door.

Did I make it on time?

Of course I did! I like to get to work atleast 45 mins ahead of time. So I actually leave an hour before I am scheduled to arrive. And it is about an 8 min cab ride to my job. Only 8 minutes why not walk? That’s a dumb ass questions if anyone was thinking that. Now you know if it takes 8 mins in a car it is about 45 mins on foot. Sure would be great exercise and I would return back to the States so super sexy…yea I know, but I have to build up to that kinda’ exercise. I think eventually I will begin walking and or get a bike or a cute little Vespa.

Blah blah blah…

So I arrived to my job. Of course and I was starving. I did not eat before I left home. (and it’s not like I really had anything worth eating at my apt anyway) so I was so super hungry. I arrived at work too late to catch lunch. And I didn’t feel like walking to the store and I didn’t want to have to deal with the stress of actually trying to decipher what a menu says based on the photos that are provided. So I decided against eating. I figured if I actually did take that 45 min walk to and from school everyday, yea I would be so super sexy. However, if I just starved myself and not ate at all or very little I would still be just as super sexy when I return back to the states. And its so much easier and less painful to just starve versus walking up and down mountains and hills.

There is a GOD and he loves me...

So, I arrived at my job, took off my shoes put my bag in my closet area and grabbed my lap top and headed to the lounge. There on the coffee table was a box of rice bread and freshly brewed coffee. I was so friggin’ hungry it was like the gates of the heavens opened for me and I glided across the floor as soon as it was offered to me. Now that I no longer had hunger pains I could now successfully set up my laptop whip out my paperwork and pull up my facebook page. Now, why am I on the job on my facebook page? Duh, my facebook page is set up as my homepage and whenever I turn on the internet it comes up. So whether I want to be on that page or not, I am automatically forced to go into it. All I have to do is reset my homepage. Yea I know. But I don’t want to…

Say what??…

So remember I was saying that there was rice bread and coffee? Well, I had a piece of the rice bread (small of course, because I am working on my sexiness) and I had about 2 cups of coffee and 3 glasses of water. Before I knew it I really really really had to go to the bathroom. Not remembering that there are no “western style” toilets in the bathroom. I wait until the absolute last minute and made a dash to the little girls room. I grab the toilet tissue (there is no tissue in the stall you grab it from the outside and then go into the bathroom stall). So, I get into the stall, and of course, there is a squatter toilet. What in the world is a “squatter toilet?” Well for those that are not sure or do not know. A “squatter toilet” is a old fashion toilet where you stand with your feet apart and you squat down as if sitting but holding your weight up and you urinate over the in ground toilet. Yes! So, yesterday when I use the bathroom I had on a dress which was simple enough right? Well, today not so much. For some crazy reason I had on a pair of pants.

You know that feeling when….

It seems like you never have to go to the bathroom bad enough until you actually walk into the bathroom, put your key in the door or begin taking off your clothes. So, yes, this happened to me. I knew before I got to the bathroom I really had to go. But all of a sudden as I close that stall door behind me and try quickly to wiggle out of my pants the urge to “tinkle” becomes overwhelming and unbearable. I thought I was in the clear and said "whew" to my self. Next thing you know I feel a warmness all over my back side. And I of course think “oh hell to the no!” I have pee’d all over my friggin’ panties and spanx. So of course I have to take off all of my clothes to take off my soggy panties. Any anyone who wears a spanx knows what I am talking about! So here I am standing absolutely butt naked in the stall. Now wondering whats dry and what am I going to do now.

Thank God I know God…

Thank God the only thing that was tragically wet were my panties and my spanx so I put back on my top and bottoms (trying not to drop anything in the “squatter” and also trying not to dip my foot or pant leg into the “squatter.” I get dressed and grab my soggy undergarments and wash them out in the sink.

Stick it in your purse?...

Um, it would be very easy and less embarrassing if I had a purse to stick my soggy undergarments into. Of course, I did not carry a bag into the stall with me. So, after I washed out my undergarments I had to carry them back upstairs with me. Now, it wasn’t obvious I was walking around with panties and spanx. I did a tight roll and with them so no one could actually tell what it was.

What next?...

So, after all of that, I of course drank another 2 glasses of water because for some reason, I was so super thirsty today. And next thing you know it was time to go.

Manhattan girl style…

I packed up my laptop, grabbed my bag, discreetly placed my undergarments in my bag and changed from my flip flops into my 4 inch heels and ran out of the door. Okay, not ran, just swiftly trotted. I caught my taxi and fluently said the name to my apt building and was off. The taxi guy and I made small talk. Well, bless his heart he tried to.

Why is it that way…

So, of course as soon as we turned the corner to where I live, I got insanely hungry. And I I was feeling shaky and light headed so I literally ran to my apt (okay again, please don’t envision me actually running full force) more like I took long strides and swiftly walked to my apt and immediately heated up a cup of ramen. I am so over ramen. Now I could have gone by the store to get something or I could have ordered something. Again, this would have been too difficult and I just didn’t feel like it. Am I still hungry? No not really hungry but I just wanted something else. Not sure what but something else. Maybe I’ll just chew an Altoid or have a cough drop.

This is it…

Nothing exciting happened today. OH WAIT…I am sure you may be wondering well what happened with the many men who confessed their love for me last night? Did I see them today? Well, funny you should ask or think this…actually the one who slapped me on the butt. I did see him today. Well, atleast I think it was him. He went to say “hi” and I did a quick “hi…anneysayohhhhhh” and trotted up the stairs to the lounge. Everyone else that I saw said “hi shaylaaaaa.” And that was about it. It wasn’t weird and or embarrassing or awkward. My boss told me she was sick because she drank too much last night. I was glad that I didn’t have to be to work too early this morning. I probably slept off half of my liquor. Other than that nothing else went down.

Alright well…

That will be all for today. I am going to dig in my purse to see if I have any snacks, peppermints, chewing gum, cough drops or something to snack on.

Until next time…
Smooches

Wednesday, September 2, 2009

and so this is how it's gonna be...

Up and not quite ready to go…

So today I woke up so super early. I was not scheduled to be to work until 2 pm. But for some reason I was up at around 6:30 am. (perhaps it was the early sunrise in s korea).never the less, when I woke up I laid in bed for a few hours and read and caught up on my emails. And about a hour before I was scheduled to leave my apt, I then decided to quickly hop in the shower, paint my face, flat iron my hair and put on my clothes and prepared myself for my 2nd day at work.

Volley what???
So, naturally when I was advised to bring an extra set of clothes today (yesterday) for our weekly (every Wednesday staff volleyball game) I was like um okay…sure! I was actually thinking that the volleyball team would be really crappy considering I am in here in s korea, and they don’t play volley ball here right? Um, not so much. Needless to say, they kicked ass. The women were AMAZING. I was so terrible at the spot that my boss put kicked me out of the spot I was in (the spot everyone seemed to hit the ball to) and put me in the spot no one seemed to notice. But, I can toot my own horn and say that I really did a great job when it came to “spiking’ the ball. I was kicking ass and taking names! Our team won the score was 11 to 30. I was shocked and still amazed at the energy level and athletic ability of Korean men and women. They are so amazingly fit and active.

Now? Really?

So, once I actually got the hang of this volley ball game and was no longer screaming to the top of my lungs as the ball continuously came in my general direction. Before you know it, it was time to go. The cable company was on their way to my apartment and my coordinator and I had to go so that I could get my cable/internet and home phone hooked up. We arrived to my apartment and shortly after the cable people showed up too. It is very interesting to watch the Korean traditions from the natives. As soon as the cable guy arrived he said “anneyeasayo” and took off his shoes and began working. And worked hard and quick and was done in no time. There was no chit chat (unlike American folk) now, perhaps there would have been chit chat had I been able to fluently speak Korean. My phone, my internet and my cable was successfully installed. I finally have internet, cable and a phone. And yes, my cable does have American channels and yes the stations are in English…I am in the house. If all else fails I do have cable for the next year and that makes me very happy. Now why do I need cable in a foreign country and why am I not exploring the city? Um hello, I need my television and need to know whats going on. Whats in, whats out, whats hot and whats not. Of course I do plan on traveling why I am here. But I want to also watch the tube and be on my laptop and make my local calls from Monday thru Friday and I want to be happy and comfortable the entire year I am here….just saying…
Drinks, food, drinks and drinks and oh more drinks…
So, after I get my internet established. “cathy” and I head to the Korean bbq restaurant where the rest of the staff is located and we have a private room as we enjoy our table cooked food. I made the mistake of having one drink and accepting a beer from another employee and it was on from there. All of my superiors poured me drink after drink and each one really wanted to teach me Korean etiquette and the proper way to get drunk. Lets just say I learned alright, but I also had way too much to drink. About 7 or 8 co workers confessed their love and attraction to me. I was called, “beautiful” “pretty” “black diamond” “perfect face” “perfect eyes” and I even got slapped on the butt twice. This was explained to me that the slap on the butt is a term of endearment and that is just the way Korean people are. Now normally I would have just batted my eyelashes and say “gamsamhamnida” but considering everyone was inebriated, could I really take those compliments to heart. Were they genuine or was it the beer talking. You know everyone looks and becomes so much more attractive in person. So, I did what I do best, I said aw thank you and sat and waited for the next compliment. (cause that’s how I roll). Now was the guy who slapped my but mr lee? No it was not it was another guy. It is Korean tradition to see who can out drink the other (well atleast it appeared this way). And everyone drinks out of the same cup (meaning if there is a drink to be drank you do not wait for a clean cup or you do not search for your cup whomever is pouring your glass, tends to hand you their same glass and you drink out of it…) .

Enough already…

So after many many many drinks Mike and I decided to leave the get together. I did not realize I had had too much until it was time to go…ohhhh boyyyyyyy…..

Signing off and relaxing…

Until next time…
Smooches

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Monday,
So I wasn’t entirely sure where I was heading off to this morning….as I had never actually been to my job before. Didn’t know quite who to call to catch the cab, where to go to catch the bus and or which direction if I were to walk.

Speaking of…
So, yesterday, I was fortunate enough to meet Mike who ionically will be working at the same location as I. we made plans the day before (Sunday while meeting at the Homeplus) that we would meet up first thing Monday morning and catch a cab together…come Monday morning I think I was a little too early for our meeting and we missed each other. I am sure as I left the meeting spot he was arriving.

Nevertheless,
I ended up coming back to my room changing my clothes ( I wanted to be super casual in the even I decide to catch the bus). I made a call to “Cathy” (by the way whom is my coordinator) and she explained to me how to hail a cab in suncheon, s korea.

And away I go…
I walked to the location, I was told to go to and sure enough I spotted a cab jumped in and about 3000 wons later (about 3 american dollars) I was at my location.

More stuff and a great lunch…
After, I arrived I immediately met with “Cathy” and others. As I was taking a tour of my new location I run into Mike again! And just as I had assumed yes we missed each other by a matter of minutes.

Korean BBQ…
Now after a few confusion conversations we agreed to go to lunch, “Cathy” (I bet you are wondering why do I keep putting her name in “”?? Here goes, “Cathy” is Korean and “Cathy” is her American name-got it?-good). Now back to this Korean BBQ thing. So, we go into this cute restaurant and of course there were super tiny tables on the floor and of course we had to take off our shoes. Now I was wearing my favorite pair of ratty jean shorts and a top and my jean shorts are what you would call um lets see…tight hella; tight…now as I squat on the floor to sit in front of this table I felt so super odd. I didn’t have on anything loose. Nothing with spandex or lycra in the material. Hell, I wasn’t even wearing anything cut on a bias (my fashion friends will know what I mean by this) and I just had no room to expand my extra fluff (fluff = muffin top) confused? Okay fluff and or muffin top is the fat that people have around the midsection, so that when you sit down it Is much more so pronounced than if you are standing. I was a hot mess sitting on that floor. But the food was delicious (by the way I did learn the Korean way to say delicious-I just cant spell it yet). So, we had dish after dish after dish. I was so super stuffed but the food was amazing and by far the best I have had since landing on Korean Soil…

Tuesday’s…
Okay so, this morning…I got up super early, as today was my first day ( I know some had concerns if I actually had a job here in s korea, because all of my photos have been of me hanging out and doing nothing remotely similar to job related-but part of my job is to have fun and learn in Korea-and yes I know I have already been here for a month but today was my first day so here goes…) and you know the crap they say about first impressions. Well, I wanted to be on point. I wanted my hair to be flat ironed just right. My mac face to be on point and my makeup to be flawless and I wanted to take my time. So did I snooze my alarm? You know I did. Did I actually wake up as early as the alarm went off? Actually I was up before my alarm went off. But did I actually get up and start getting ready? Heck no, as usually I fooled around on my internet until I couldn’t fool around anymore and then I proceeded to shower, flat iron my hair, paint my face, put on my clothes (not quite shoes because I am really trying to follow this Korean Custom /Manners thing) and after I checked my internet one more time and made sure I had my laptop cord (cause for some reason I cant seem to stay off of the internet-it is my only connection to America) and I had to be sure I had my “indoor shoes.” Yes, us Koreans (me too) wear indoor slippers when we go inside of a building you never wear your outdoor shoes inside of a building (unless it is a grocery store or something like that).

Meet and Greet…
So, like Mike and I had established the day before (remember with “Cathy”) I am to meet him in the front of his building and then we would head over to our job.

It works…
So, there was Mike and Milly (now who in the world is Milly? Milly is a black chick from Canada also here for the same purposes she also has only been here for a short amount of time). Now we meet and we’re off to catch our ride.

Out with the old in with the new…
Now before I proceed with my first impressions on my first day at work. I must tell you about Mr Lee ( he has requested I call him “Oppa” which is more like a term for endearment for an older male person. Flattering yes. But, coming from him a little scary. So, I failed to mention yesterday when I met Mr Lee he wanted to tell and my associate over and over again, that even though she is one year older than me, that my boobs (his exact words were “breasts”) were bigger than hers. And he said that about 5 times. Mind you he speaks like hardly no English but managed to say the word breasts and my age and her age in perfect English. (he also made very vivid hand gestures showing the difference in breast size) he then proceeded to tell me that my face was very good but I was a little too round. (how do I figure this, well, lets see he then draws a face and points to my face and gives me two thumbs up and says very good. Very very good. He then, draws another circle and puts his fingers together indicating a little) and then says big. Now I have been so flattered and insulted my whole life. Well, yes I have but not by someone who speaks no English…so I had to tell you this little bit so that I can proceed with the rest of today…

Like I was saying…
So Mike, Milly and I split the 3,000 won (a buck a piece) and get out of the cab. Milly goes to her location and Mike and I to ours.
Announcements and a TV show what?
So, I clearly did not get the memo that I would have to formally bow and introduce my self to the staff nor did I get the memo that we were being filmed (not sure if that was an internal thing or national thing) but thank god I was having a great hair day and I was on point! So, what did I say? “um, my name is shayla um aneyasayo (which is hello) and I am very happy to be here.” I usually do really good on the spot but I totally bombed. Atleast I thought. Until…

This is the Until part…
So, after about a hour or so, Mike and I went into Mr Lees office where he handed me a sheet of paper that went over the benefits of the job. Basically he highlighted and underlines the following words: pregnancy, abortion, tooth extractions, vaneral disease and gynecology. So from what I gather was: If I get knocked up I am out of gas, if I have an abortion they may cover it if it goes over 100,000 wons and if I get a bad tooth issues it must be pretty major before they cover it but they will take care of vaneral diseases. Whew, thank god for that! I’ll be sure to not get pregnant and not worry if get a std. I am covered!!!!

So then…
Mike and I separated he went off to his section of this enormous massive sized still under construction building. I had lunch, bowed and said “anyeahsayo” (hello) to everyone and “aneyeakayseo” (bye) to everybody.

So, then I’m out…
So, over all today was an awesome day I was shown a lot of love and it was good. Just as I was attempting to leave I got called into an office where several women and men were sitting amoung themselves (the lounge room) and they wanted to know about me. They proceeded to tell me that I was “cutesy” and one even said I was “universally beautiful.” Why of course I said “gamsahamnida” (thank you) and batted my perfectly mascara filled eyelash. It seems that the Koreans don’t mind if your Korean is not good. They in fact think it’s cute when you totally butcher their words.

Now, I gotta get going..
So, I quickly ran out of that room, as I wanted to get back home I was so super tired. Needless to say Mike wasn’t able to come with me. His hours are different than mine. I had a moment of panic-ism as I wondered how was I going to get home alone. But it was no big deal I walked to the corner spotted a cab and gave a perfect “manhattan girl thumbs up” and got into the cab.
Now if you know you can’t speak English….
So on the Cab ride back to my crib the Cab driver proceeded to stare at my boobs as he drove recklessless and insisted on telling me he was single but had 2 babies and that he made a lot of money. Mind you I had to piece together the conversation (again, he made a lot of gestures and screamed for joy when I actually said the word he was trying to think of. I have never played charades in a moving vehicle) .He even turned off the meter when he got a good look at me. My ride was free!!! Scary but free!

Gots to go…
I have been informed tomorrow we have a big dinner for all newcomers and a volleyball game. As if climbing about 5 flights of stairs and walking around a large building isn’t enough. Well, I guess I should stop complaining about all of the exercise. Like Mr Lee and several other Koreans have said I will “lose my quote on quote chubby body like all the Americans when they get here), but I be damn if I wanted a herniated disk going up and down mountains, hills, stairs and galore. I don’t think Mr Lee circled pain as being covred. Not unless I get an std and that becomes painful.

Rattling on…
Let me go, I am just chatting about nothing. By the way. On Sunday I sat and typed a long meaningful heartfelt email about the stress of moving to a new location and for some reason my wifi went out ( I won’t get internet unti l this week) and the entire god praising, mom thanking email was discarded). I will be sure to post much more often.

Until next time…
Smooches…