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!

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

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….

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

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

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

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…