More Quarantine Meals

 

Mango juice, rice, omuk (fish cake), rotini in tomato sauce, kkakdugi (radish kimchi), I forget what that was, then soft tofu and a pork cutlet 

Green tea, a spicy meat dish I dunno the name of, black rice, cabbage salad with kiwi dressing, kongnamul (soy bean bean sprouts), kimchi, black beans, another kind of kimchi, boiled egg, and I think more omuk. Fun fact: the bean part of the soy bean sprout is practically indigestible - like corn. ;)

The broth is crab broth and there's little pieces of omuk/odeng in there. 
A sausage stir fry thing (sliced hot dogs, mildly spicy red sauce, carrot, onion); 2 little sausages, some kind of kimchi, macaroni salad, another kimchi. AND Behold! It arrived. Tentacles for dinner! Octopus and beef stir fry. (i only got 3 pieces of octopus)

Kkakdugi, soy sauce flavored shredded meat (not sure if pork or chicken?), myeolchi bokkeum (stir fried hatchling anchovies with peanuts and pumpkin seeds (yes, very fish smelling)), pickled hot pepper rings, a whole piece of fish, descaled, but bones in, and soft tofu w/ soy sauce.
(i opened my windows for ventilation. i hope it doesn't smell bad in here) 

Kimchied garlic scapes (i think?), 2 mini fried pot stickers (mandu), kimchied perilla leaves (these are very spicy), 3 fish cake balls, kimchi, macaroni salad, cabbage salad with kiwi dressing, black rice, and gungjung ddeokbokki (aka royal court rice cake). It was pretty good. Oh, and more corn silk tea.

Which brings me up to lunch today: 

Muscat grape juice (yay!); some form of oi sobagi (kimchied cucumber); 2 I don't actually know the name of them - they're the rice ball tofu-y wrapper things wrapping glass noodles and tiny veggie bits (pretty tasty); another thing I don't know what it is, kkakdugi (kimchied radish), a hamburg steak with sauce and soft tofu w/ soy sauce. And white rice. The sauce on this patty tasted like sloppy joe. 

Quarantine Lunch and Dinner

 Here's a bunch of food pictures. (I can't quite remember the order I ate them in) Mostly, black rice came with dinner, and white rice came for lunch, though there are some exceptions.

Rice, probiotic drink (like yakult but not), corn salad (mayo, corn, tiny bits of carrot and onion), kimchied radish, roasted-salted seaweed flakes, mini 'sausages' (hot dogs), what I assume was something like dalkjjim (braised chicken thighs in a soy ginger based sauce), and extra soft tofu with soy sauce for seasoning. 

Omuk (fish cake balls), acorn jello, black beans, tiny pickled peppers, kimchi, and other kind of kimchi, cabbage salad with kiwi dressing (yes, kiwi. it's sweet), black rice and japchae (potato starch noodles with veggies and there should be beef in there.... to be completely honest, and blunt, this japchae wasn't seasoned well)

Rice, kamja bokkeum (stir fried potatoes), another kind of kimchi, radish kimchi, semi dried squid sticks (i dunno the name), bulgogi (stir fried beef in a soy sauce based sauce, if i recall), and salad with kiwi dressing. Almost forgot -- the drink is black bean soy milk.

Black beans, tiny fried mandu (pot stickers), kimchi (i forget the name type), pickled something.. it's a vegetable but I don't know what it is, kimchi, omuk (fish cake balls), cabbage salad, black rice and bulgogi of some kind. (bulgogi is usually beef, sometimes pork. it's braised, and can come in a lot of different flavored sauces or broths. it's usually thin strips of meat and long thin vegetables like green onion, onion, carrot, etc). This was the first thing I ate when I got in on Sunday.

 It came with this corn silk tea. Yes. That's what I said.

Thin strips of fish cake, 2 sausages (hotdog), yellow pickled radish, cabbage salad, I think kimchied perilla leaves, kimchi, black beans, black rice, and something that felt like dalkbokkeumtang but it wasn't spicy and it had no broth. (spicy braised chicken thighs with potatoes and carrots, kind of stew-ish) Drink - oolong tea, unsweetened

Rice, kimchied perilla I think, boiled egg, little burger patties, radish kimchi, some kind of bulgogi with cabbage, and a salad with balsamic dressing. 

More fish cake, two chicken nugget type things, kimchi I forget the kind, more of that vegetable I don't know the name of, kimchi, and tiny pickled peppers. Cabbage salad with kiwi dressing. Black rice. A fish patty (it wasn't a filet, it was more of a minced meat ish). AND the cup to the side is curry!! (it was not the best curry, but curry is one of my comfort foods. so even less than good curry is still good curry. that creamy spicey sauce with potatoes in it. mm potatoes.) 

That's about half of the meal pictures I have. I'll save the other half for another post.

Korean Breakfast - Quarantine Edition

Sometimes you don't know you're different until you experience different. 

I have had 4 breakfasts here so far. Our menu alternates between sandwiches and juk (rice porridge). 
Normally, Koreans eat regular food for breakfast. What do I mean by regular? Well, like what they might eat for lunch or dinner. A solid breakfast for them would be some soup and rice, or at least a rice ball or kimbap (you might know 'onigiri' and 'california roll'; these are pretty much the same). 

It turns out, the States are a bit different. We have specific foods we designate as breakfast. (i'm not sure if this is a European thing? i feel like it is. if you know, i'm curious!) We have cereal, toast, bacon, eggs cooked in specific ways, pancakes, etc. And if we eat them at other times of the day it feels "special" because they're not regular foods. 

So sandwiches and porridge sound weird for breakfast, but here in Korea, it's normal. (and i believe there are plenty of countries that are the same way too?) 

Here's my breakfasts so far: 

It's very loosely like chicken salad. It's chicken bits, yellow cheese, 3 bread layers, lettuce, tomato, mayo. Lots of mayo. 
There's also, from left to right - milk, mango juice, Kellogg's chocolate chex cereal, shrimp crackers, bbq potato crisps. (i feel like the snacks were just given as extras. that's not typical breakfast fare)

Possibly the best breakfast ever! I'm biased. 

This is juk (rice porridge). This one was mushroom juk. It's got little bits of crushed dried seaweed and sesame seeds sprinkled on top. It comes with kimchi and a garnish (i treat it like one. it could be a side dish. i've forgotten the name of it. but it's chili sesame paste. i think there's ground up shrimp or squid in it). This came from Bon Juk, which is a popular chain restaurant that sells rice porridge. I used to get this once a week (and it also came with jangjorim - soy sauce braised beef with quail eggs. i can't wait to get more.)
With the porridge, there is soy milk, milk, and strawberry yogurt. 

The bag they put the sandwiches in is cute. 
This is milk, frosted flakes, the same kind of sandwich, mango juice, peaches (tastes like any ol' fruit coctail type fruit), and a baked donut. (the donut was really good) 

Today was shrimp rice porridge. I didn't open the containers, but it looks pretty identical to the porridge pic above. It came with froot rings and another baked donut (yay!). Froot Rings is Froot Loops, only the name has changed here. 

Koreans do eat breakfast cereal, mostly kids from what I was told. It's considered a kids' food. I'm sure they're including the cereal especially for us foreigners since it's familiar and "normal" to us. More Koreans these days do eat like toast or eggs for breakfast. (they love eggs) 

So that's 4 quarantine breakfasts so far! I'm sure others in other places are getting different things. 

That Quarantine Life

I've been in Quarantine for about 3 days now. Here's a little of what it's like. 

3 times a day, food is delivered to your door. The doorbell rings and you can pick up your meal. 

Around lunchtime, you can put your bagged trash outside the door for them to pick up. 

Trash in Korea is different from the States. Because Korea is a small country, they are careful to not fill up their land with landfills. They try to recycle as much as possible, and they compost food scraps. I'm big on composting too, so this makes sense to me. 

Here's my front door. 

It has a motion sensor light above the door and in the closet! So cool! The door on the right is the bathroom. 

It's a really nice clean bathroom. It even has a bidet! I'm not brave enough to try it out. But I will tell you that it has a seat warming feature. 

Obligatory bathroom mirror selfie

I love how the hotel provided products smell! They're baobab. And they have a light scent. I've used a few rando products recently, and this baobab shampoo and conditioner make my hair feel nice. 

I also love reading the products. 

Please excuse the clutter on the floor in this next picture. My luggage broke and I am still sorting the items and trying to figure out how to best repack everything so that nothing falls out when I move out from here. 

I spend time at the desk to eat and to do online orientation for my job.  

The bed is huge! And there's a tv on the wall opposite the bed. It's so comfortable. I can lay there and watch Korean tv. I've been watching dramas in the evenings. Which reminds me, I could be listening to Chinese dramas right now! The tv has a Chinese channel and a Japanese channel. This really suits my taste. It feels homey to me. 

I can also look out the window and enjoy seeing the faces of other teachers in quarantine here. 

The plant is fake. So no worries about how it gets watered. 

I'm sure quarantine is not easy for everyone. But so far I'm doing pretty good. I am good at keeping myself amused. I brought some books. I have things I can study. I brought notebooks and pens. I can do yoga (this bed is pretty good for yoga). I can chat to people back home and share these photos with you. And I can work on ideas for lesson plans. One interesting change is that sometimes classes may be taught online through something like Zoom. Although I have 2 years of in-class teaching experience, I have never taught online. I'm kind of excited to try it. How can I adapt activities? What other kinds of activities are possible because it's a computer format? How can I keep students on task? I like the challenge. 

I'm also studying Korean. You might already know, but I'm a language nerd. I could spend a really long time studying. 

Oh, one more thing! In organizing my things, I found that nothing is missing from my luggage! The left flip flop that was missing somehow ended up in the bottom of the bag. The very bottom. Despite its having been on the top. Also the sash I couldn't find was in the other checked bag. I know for a fact I packed that sash with the dress. So I think when the bag was broken by whoever broke it -- they tucked the sash in the other bag to keep it safe. I'm glad everything is there. 

I'm still tired from the jet lag. But my stomach is adjusting to the time difference. The first 40 hours or so, my stomach was upset. It likes to get food at certain times, and when it doesn't, I get heartburn. At least I know this. I've got snacks to eat so I can keep my stomach settled. And last night I was able to sleep for 6 hrs straight! 

Okay. I should eat lunch and get to work on online orientation. 

 

 

Fly By the Seat of Your Pants

I'm back 

I remember when I first came to Korea back in 2013, this was the motto of the orientation EPIK (English Program in Korea). It still feels true. 

When I first came here, I thought that an 11hr layover in JFK airport was bad. 

When I booked this particular flight, I had second, third, and fourth thoughts about the route. I bought it because it was a really good deal, and only 1 layover. But this nagging voice said "That layover is too short." (it was a delay in my departing airport that made me miss my flight back in 2013 and sent me to JFK to wait 11 hrs) 

This time around, we boarded the CRJ2000, and I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not too long after, we were deplaned, told that there was a hydraulic fluid leak in the right landing gear (or something). It was unsafe to fly. And it was going to take 30 minutes for the mechanics to even arrive. Not good. The time between this plane and the next was only an hour or so. Even better - the pilot himself came out to explain what happened. He said this kind of repair requires the jet being put on a lift. It takes all day. The flight was cancelled. He was apologetic (and Canadian).

Before we deplaned, I had asked the stewardess about making my connecting flight to Seoul. And this one dude on the plane was also going to Seoul.

The agents at the counter were not actually Air Canada agents, they worked for United, but I guess in some places/situations they share or borrow employees. (I had caught on the news that Air Canada had only just reopened flights between this airport and Canada (due to covid)). They worked hard for us to get everyone rerouted, and they started trying to ticket me and this dude first since it would be hardest. The route they wanted was sold out. We were given the Air Canada customer service number to call for ourselves to get a new itinerary. I knew from trying to call Air Canada a week ago that their customer service number is so busy that you can't even be put on a waiting list. I got thru to the menu only by calling at midnight, and then waited 20 minutes, giving up and googling for the answer to my question/problem. (it was a non-problem, thankfully)

So. I don't have a real cell phone. I haven't for 6 years. It's just a smartphone I use for wifi. I was told to go claim my baggage and use the payphone down there. 

But I had this thought to try Skype first (i can make calls with wifi, like a calling card. i put money into the account. i don't have a ton of money in it, but it's useful). The number was so busy, it didn't work the first few times I dialed it. It wasn't just me, the Korean guy who was also going to Seoul had the same problem. It was not possible. I had this feeling like I needed to stay there, not leave. 
I called my dad. He confirmed I had the right number, and got me the numbers for Priceline and the Aeroplan (air canada rewards). I tried them, but no use.
After some time passed, and another agent came to help, etc., I found out from the Korean guy he'd gotten an email from Air Canada. They emailed him a new itinerary. 

I guess technology these days. They can electronically do these things and within 30-45 minutes. He told me the flight was at 6am the next day, and that the airline was going to put him up in a hotel room overnight. So I checked my email, and there it was. My itinerary. Only, mine was different from his. I was to leave at 6pm for O'Hare, then to SF, then Seoul. (each with a layover of less than an hour between flights) These flights were with United. 

So, we had to go back to ticketing (outside the tsa secure area) to get rechecked in. I had to pick up my bags, and re-check them. (i had 2 bags, a total of 87lbs; then a carry-on and a laptop bag)

Seeing me struggling with my bags, a nice dude tried to help me get a cart. (the airport charges $6 to rent one. highway robbery!) So I get rechecked in, and the Korean dude wanted to know my itinerary because he wanted to get home sooner. He was going to visit his parents, and wanted to spend as much time as possible in his visit time. So I helped him, and someone got his tickets changed over. (oh yeah, we spent like 40 minutes standing in line talking to this man from New Foundland who worked "at the new cracker plant". Pretty interesting)

So the Korean guy and I got some lunch and waited for our flight. 

While waiting, I could tell this flight would be delayed. The jet wasn't at the gate yet. It should have been fueling and loading and stuff. But it wasn't there. I heard "Bad weather in Chicago." This plane was coming from Chicago and was delayed by at least 30 minutes because of storms. It would arrive too late for us to get on the connecting flight. Huge frustration. The United agent got us booked on an 11am to Atlanta, 2:25 to Seoul. It was with Delta. "You'll have to pick up your bags" "At carousel P." I finished for her. "You've done this before."
 The Korean guy pulled out his original email from Air Canada, and mentioned that they were going to pay for our hotel in the first place, and she agreed and got us confirmation emails for bookings (it's nice that all this can be done electronically, and thru email). She also gave us 2 vouchers each for food at the airport. (she asked if we were together. "No, we just met today. We even had lunch together. My name's Audrey, by the way." "Oh, I'm Kevin." The agent looked surprised. It was amusing.)
So we got some food, I picked up my bags again (and had to pay for another cart), and we waited for the shuttle bus. (after picking up my bags, i discovered i lost my totoro keychain :( )

When we went to check-in, the lady at the counter said they didn't receive any calls from United about us. I had pre-loaded my confirmation email so I could pull it up there without wifi. 
Even this was not whatever they needed. But the lady understood, and she goes, "Are you distressed passengers?"  "Yes. We are distressed." Kevin replied. 
She said she'd bill United. They still needed a card, something about like a $20 deposit type thing that would be refunded. (when i finally arrived, i got the time to look at my email receipt. i was charged $73. and the girl put down my name as Lauren. Apparently she can't read passports. I wonder if my bank will refuse to pay it since I'm not Lauren. LOL. I will begin the process of asking for refunds in a day or too. I'm still too tired.) ((the carts are free at the hotel btw))
Kevin and I scheduled the airport shuttle to arrive at 8:30am, thinking 2 hrs should be early enough to arrive. 

The room I got was nice. (receipt says it was a king room. like whut? i dunno) It was good to be able to shower and lay down. I tried to pre-check in online, but Delta (the 3rd airline) wouldn't let me. It said they had to verify I had the documents I would need to enter Korea (since it was a 1 way ticket). And to show up 3 hrs early to check the documents.
The current papers needed for entry to Korea are a negative result on a PCR covid test, performed and issued within 72hrs of departure. (in the case of a delay, they will honor the test, says the consulate online)
I had one, and the 72hrs were "up" at 3pm Friday. But they were still going to let me fly at 6. So. 

Oh, that was a sign. We got to the airport only for the Delta guy to be like "Yeah, I can't let you go thru without a new PCR test. Your old one is expired." He didn't care about the delays that caused this. Nope. He told me how to get to the testing place. So I had to run with my bags on the 3rd cart I had rented in this process. I paid for the expensive fast-read PCR test. It took 45 minutes to receive this email of my test results (was supposed to in 30 min). That wait was a fury of anxious prayers. 
(which, i should say. the nurse lady at the testing site was super nice and helpful. she said i wasn't the first person to run all the way there. she let me use her phone, since my old iphone doesn't autoscan QR codes. (which, it feels weird how we're all in a QR world now) i had left the phone I got from Victoria in a bag in the cart at the front desk of Hyatt (the test site is there). which by the way, Victoria, your phone has saved my entire trip!)

The Delta guy was like "Did you sign a ___?" I forget what he called it. He printed me off a "consent to quarantine" form. I'm like, I already have one of those (i signed it and mailed it in to get the visa). I had 30-40 minutes to get thru the TSA checkpoint and get to the gate. 

Miraculously, there was almost no one in line for the screening! I walked right to the front of the line with only 1 or 2 people in front of me. And the person pointed me to a row for x-raying bags/shoes/etc with no one in it. no one. it was empty just for me. the tsa stopped my bag and opened it in front of me, asking if i brought any weapons or dangerous objects. i think they were just doing this as a show. like they have to pull a random bag every hour. because she so half-heartedly looked at the items in my carry-on. it was just one more thing to hold me up.)

So from there, I kind of ran to the gate. I am SO glad the airport isn't huge. (and i like our moving sidewalks. those were nice when running to the Hyatt)

I made it. Kevin and I boarded for Atlanta. In Atlanta, we got Popeyes chicken. And took it to terminal F. 

Then I got the news that they would not accept a digital form of this PCR test. And all I had was pdf. No print out. The girl in the line acted like it was no big deal, that it could be printed and pointed me to the counter. But the woman at the counter was like "We don't have a printer. You have to go to Minute Suites, in terminal B. You better hurry. You have 40 minutes til boarding." 

F is semi far away from B. I moved rapidly, only to find Minute Suites' printer was down. She directed me to the Delta help counter. I was so stressed, I even asked the couple in line ahead of me if they were in a hurry, because I needed this printed asap. They were nice and let me in front of them. I wasted 6 minutes in this line only to find out "We don't have a printer. Go to the Minute Suites in terminal T." 

In Atlanta, the concourses are T>A>B>C>D>E>F. This was 2 terminals away in the wrong/further direction. I pulled out my phone on the shuttle train to look up the location of this Minute Suites in that terminal. The website said it was temporarily closed. WHAT. I get there and ask an employee if it was open. He said he thought it was and pointed me on. I asked another employee, and she was like "I never heard of that ever." So I'm walking down the concourse straining to read the far away signs. Nothing. I can't find it. No info touch screen either. I was panicking at this point. I had come so far, and for a paper to keep me back. I turned around to head back, when I saw a Delta counter and no one waiting in line there. Something told me (presbyterians aren't comfortable saying the Holy Ghost spoke to them) to go ask these people. So I spilled the whole thing to them super fast and they were like. Whoa. 
The one guy gets on his phone and the lady is trying to figure out what to do, telling me I better get back to my gate. That's when the guy says something and the lady says "The manager is coming."

Some Delta manager lady came and she was a bit surprised by the whole thing, but she agreed to print this document for me. I emailed her the pdf (victoria's phone) and she went to print it. The lady at the counter was telling me I'd have enough time to get back to F. I had like 20 minutes. As far as I knew, this plane was going to depart at 3:05 and it was 2:43. So I ran. Riding the train shuttle thing back to F felt like an eternity. I texted my mom and asked her to pray that the flight would be delayed. (the people back at the desk that helped me were like "we can't hold the plane for you.") I prayed furiously.

I am not a great runner. But I ran. I ran and hit the escalator so hard, someone gasped behind me. I didn't stop. Nothing fell out of my carry-on, so I kept going. 

I have exercise induced asthma. I was wearing a mask. This was not easy. In F, I had to cheat and slide my mask to the side to breathe. I was sweaty and breathless. I think my heart rate was 160. I could see down the way to my gate - that people were still there, lined up. They were still boarding. So I slowed down and caught my breath. The plane had been delayed by 45 minutes. So they had only started boarding a few minutes before I got there. I told Kevin that that was crazy. It was a religious experience.

Oh, and when I got on the plane, Kevin and I shared the middle row. Me, empty seat, him. Interesting. 

14 hrs and 34mins later and we landed in Seoul. (i might have slept 1 hr)

Going through quarantine and stuff is weird. I'll write about it later. It wasn't hard, just weird and too much info at once. 

So I get thru and go to claim my bags. The last one was the biggest. It was face down. And as I lifted it up off the conveyor belt, my stuff poured out of it. 
The zipper on the main compartment was broken. Like it is split open, and doesn't zip anymore. 

I dropped my purse and ran, scooping things up off the conveyor belt. I was worried it would suck my clothes in and damage them. This made an L shaped wake of items rounding the carousel. I was picking up my things and ferrying them back to the bag, and explaining to people about the mess. I had to try to scoop up my underwear from the airport floor before they were seen. And wouldn't you know, it was all these men there? LOL. 

After getting things mostly put back in, and trying to remember what might have been in there, I realized I only had 1 flipflop, the right shoe. I asked this baggage employee (he was reading bag tags, someone else's bags did not arrive. they ended up in LAX) for help. He didn't speak English. Somewhere between my Korean and some miming (i have no idea how to say "things went everywhere"), he understood and kept an eye out for items. 

I didn't find any. But the man whose bag ended up in LAX helped me lift my broken bag onto a (free) cart and he sent me to baggage claims. They also did not speak much English at all. I gathered from them that they did not find any loose items on the plane. And that there was nothing they could do. No claim to file. I would just have to accept it. I was so tired I didn't care. 

Leaving the airport is different now because of covid. You have to get a quarantine approved taxi or vehicle. It's basically a vehicle with a plastic shield between you and the driver.

I asked this young guy working for the KTX (train) booth thing if he knew when the money exchange closed. I could see it just a ways out from this quarantine area. He said he would check. He came right back saying they were closing, and he would escort me over there to change my money! What a nice dude. 

That was a blessing. (it saves me from using my card which incurs fees) 

God bless that manager in Atlanta, and that guy who escorted me to change my money! 

The taxi driver was super nice. He asked what kind of music I liked, and I told him kpop or anything. I like music. So he played some kpop, and then an old singer. He went on to play trot music and he was teaching me trot stuff (it's a genre of music in Korea). He was cool. Very chatty. 

He helped me carefully load my bags in and out of the taxi and got a cart (free) for me in the hotel. 
At the hotel, the taxi driver was like "This is a good place to stay. When you get out, you can go directly buy a new carrier." He's right. 

I've been in this tiny room since. I'm jet lagged, and I really need to sleep now. (oh yes, i totally 100% needed a newer phone for the quarantine. my old phone won't even connect to the wifi here. i thought it might happen, since it is so old. no big deal.)

But God is good. 

Confession

You probably already know this if you know me.

I really, really (have always) love(d) boy bands. So when my friend Jess popped up asking if I wanted to go to a Boys Republic fansigning event - there was no question. YES.

I briefly saw them back in July when I went with Jess to an Inkigayo filming, so I already knew these boys are really kind to their fans. It's true.

(HUGE thank you to Jess and Jeff who make my fangirlish dreams possible. you guys read the korean and tell me what to do. i'm a terribly lazy fan. i need to fix that!)

I left for Seoul right after work, got stuck in awful traffic, had one metro train stop and tell everyone to get off the train, got to the right station but couldn't find the bookstore (Jonggak exit 5-6 is like... randomly placed and out of numerical order fyi). I ended up being 30 minutes late. >.<' I missed 30 minutes of awesome.

To go to fan events, there are certain things you have to do or buy. This fan signing you needed their latest mini album and a numbered ticket (like your ticket for a que). The album had to be bought at a specific store. Jess has friends in Seoul, so Suzie bought us all the album. (she's awesome) I got #60. :D

Once I managed to find my friends, I just sat and could barely say much. I was exhausted from over-heated buses and trains, but also now surrounded by a small group of fans and just something I've never experienced before. (don't get me wrong, i've gotten autographs from other musicians in the states, but this is a completely different experience)

I was in the face of absolute cuteness. 

In between signing, the boys would wave or talk to people in the crowd. 

Like make hearts or funny faces. (and when you get their signatures (signs, as we in Korea say) they talk to you a little, and you'll notice the guy on the right (SunWoo!) there is holding hands with the fan. yeah. they fearlessly hold our hands.)

They're incredibly charming.

I was reaaaallly nervous getting their signatures. What do I do? What do I say? My Korean failed me a bit. All of the other fans were more prepared than me. 

Not 100% sure... but I think that stuffed banana was a present from a fan? It had a cute face on it.

Fans have their cds open, and little post it notes lining the photo book. Each little tab has a member's name - for where they want him to sign. And on that page you can stick a post-it with a question to that member. So they can write an answer.

I was so poorly prepared. (i had only just gotten the cd 15 minutes prior.. in my defense, but still.. like... If I'd been collected, I could have quickly written up what I wanted to ask. I must buy adorable post-its just for this. Alas. I will have to go again! (heh no alas in that statement. it's really exciting.))

After I got home I realized I could have - and should have - taken my drawing and given it to them. >.< I guess I should color it and do that. (and/or do a new drawing)

I mean, just look at that. Cute. (i'm sorry these pictures are not crisp, clear, or close. i really am missing my camera. ever since the power cord died. for a long time i told myself the iphone camera was fine. and in most situations it is. but indoor lighting and back lighting are just not its fortes.) 

I should say before I forget... 

When I got their signs... Minsu was cute, asked where I was from (redish hair). SungJun (middle of hug guy) talked to me the most, asked if this was my first meeting and asked where I was from, how long I'd been in Korea, and told me my Korean was good (i'm so proud. i want to get better!). SungJun wrote "Be careful not to get a cold!" and read it to me. I gave him a sad look and said I already had a cold. He said he did too, and offered me his hand to shake. We had a moment sharing similar sufferings. SuWoong asked where I was from and I think with all of them I was like "yeah I came with Jeff and Jess". OneJunn was nice. He asked if it was my first time, where I was from, and wrote that I should go to more fan meetings. I forgot to wish him a happy birthday. I'm terrible. SunWoo actually greeted me in English. (oh yes, each one of them tried saying my name. that was fun! I think SuWoong and OneJunn did best at saying it) He shook my hand too. Uwah. He's charming. 

I was superfluously dazzled. I admit. I am a fangirl in my heart. Probably always will be. 

Busier than Santa on Christmas Eve ?

My last post was... July? Maybe. Wow. Sorry.

I fell out of the blogging habit. And to be honest, I've been tired these days. I work a lot during the week, and often brought work home to finish. This has meant that I do less of things I like. I even sleep less.

I have to memorialize my embarrassing moment today.
I went to church this morning. I had a really bad headache. The whole right side of my head and face was just pain. So I went home right after church. To get home from church, I change buses in CJ downtown area. My plan was to get off a stop or two earlier so I could hit up the atm and go to Starbucks for their Christmas cookie latte (don't judge. you'd be there too when you found you were lacking in ginger, cinnamon, and pumpkin spice flavored things. this latte tastes like ginger snaps. glorious, lovely gingerbread goodness).
Anyway. I got up and stood next to the door of the bus for my stop. Not sure if I was holding on to the pole, or if I'd let go for a second to swipe my card (to transfer buses later at no extra charge), but the bus had come to a stop already but it lurched forward a bit and I lost my balance and jerked right into the guy standing next to me. I dropped my bus card on the floor too. And the bus doors opened. Immediately I said "aigoo!" and "choisonghamnida" and in one motion squatted to scoop up my bus card and quickly swipe and step off. I was so embarrassed that I had to cover my face with my hand. >.< I know that guy looked at me a few times. I tried to just look embarrassed so he'd stop looking.

Lots of things have gone on. Most recently I had another open class last Wednesday (Nov 12) with the 3rd grade teacher. It seemed to have gone over well.
Peppero Day I only got 1 box of peppero, from my coworker David. I forgot the peppero I'd bought at home that day! (shame upon me!) so I brought it all in on the 12th. I made sure Min teacher got his box (he's kind of shy)... later he came into the office and eventually ate the other two boxes of the white chocolate cookie peppero. (your secret is out, Min teacher! you like sweets!)

I taught my talented English class about Halloween and they were enraptured by it all. We made paper masks and I gave them all candy. I wish I had photos. They were really cute.

I'm on cold #2 of the fall season. Cold #1 I caught around the 15th of October.
The weather has been around 30 at wake up, and sometimes gets to like 45-50 in the midday.

October was beautiful weather. Cool, dry air but still warm enough to be just perfect. It was so warm, in fact, that the trees barely changed until the first week of November. (you can check my facebook ios photos for proof! lol!)

I bought a lot of new clothes and things this fall. Some shopping bug overtook me. I really like what I bought though... but now I feel like a terrible spender.

I have been going to Korean class every Saturday, consistently, with the exception of about 3 Saturdays.. being sick and all.
Actually, October I also had a bad migraine and dizziness too. It was really annoying.

Halloween I wanted to go out and see people, but it was really cold and rainy. So I stayed in and watched House on Haunted Hill. (fantastic old movie, btw)

I'll have to take pictures of the clothes I bought.

Also, come December, I have news to announce so we'll see. I guess I'll take a lot more pictures and try to post them up. Reading back posts, I really liked the memories I have written down here. I wish I had written more. Anyway. Hope everyone else is staying healthy and keeping warm!

Inkigayo

By now you've probably figured out that I am not a consistent blogger. It's a good thing I'm not a professional. I'd starve or something.

I left you on a hot July day. I've done a ton of things since then.

The most notable was being able to go to Seoul and get into a live music show, well-known in Korea. I got into Inkigayo!! With the help and thanks to my friends Jessy and Jeff.

Inkigayo is a weekly music show where musical guests come on stage and perform their latest release. The name means "It's popular" and that's exactly what is on this show. It's always the most popular groups.

I went with the Boys Republic (소년공화국) fan club. They are really sweet to their fans, and their fan manager is really cool/nice. If it weren't for her, we wouldn't have gotten in at all.
In addition to seeing our Boys Republic perform live, no pre-recording, one take (and do it flawlessly) - I got to see Beast, B1A4, Sistar, Infinite, Block B, AOA, Hyuna, and lots of others I've forgotten. <3

Getting into Inkigayo is not easy. You have to get up at 5 to be outside the studio by 6am... it's a first come first serve system. Your fan manager or other person will record your name and you get a number in line. The top 5 to 10 are your best bet to make it in, especially if your idol group is less popular. However the more popular your idol group - the less likely you are to get an ideal number to make it inside.
(example: about 120 or more Block B fans showed up. They only let 32 Block B fans inside.)
The number they let in for each fandom is random. It could be 8, it could be 53. But it's likely to be way smaller than you could hope.
After you get your number, you wait around in the area near to the studio. The fan manager will tell you a time to come back and line up. This line up is in the hopes your group will have a prerecording.
If you have a prerecording - you can go in and watch your group perform before the show. If you're lucky, you'll get a ticket for the live recording.
Mostly the most popular bands have this.
Boys Republic got stiffed this time around.

That worked in our favor though, it seems. Because our fandom was only allowed... 14 people into the live recording. But because we weren't given any prerecording, the fan manager worked her magic, and begged or bargained to get more of us into the show.

My friends and I were 15 through 18 or 20? I forget which exactly. Anyway, it was not an optimal number.
So we made it in to stand in the very back.

It was my first live recording, and the first time I've ever been inside a TV studio.
It really was interesting.

Best part of all was getting to see all the performances. Sure, we missed a lot due to the pre-recorded parts, but we got to see Boys Republic do their whole routine and song. They nailed it.

After the show, there was a short fan meeting. The Boys came and greeted all of us fans. It was sweet. Lol. They didn't have much to say except that the next event and fan meeting would be bigger. But that's okay. They took time to greet us - which is more than you can say of most groups. <3

Here are some pictures of Boys Republic. (sadly the sun was in a bad spot)

From left to right Sung Jun, Suwoong, Minsu, Won Jun and Sun Woo. 

Video of Boys Republic waving bye

Places I Go - My School

I got a good picture of the front of my school today.

This is the school where I work. I have to walk about 30 minutes to get here. (or 10 min bike ride/5 minute bus ride + 5-10 minute walk... depending on buses) I usually choose to walk - because it's free and because it's good exercise. 

Some of my 6th graders were playing soccer when I walked by. They all said hi to me. :D It's good to see them being brave. (braver than that 5th grade boy this afternoon who kept repeating "teacher, no englishy. no englishy." (on my way to class, the 5th graders were in the bathroom getting their mops ready to clean my classroom. i heard this mop slapping sound. the one boy was whacking the water out of his mop by hitting the wall with the mop. he's not really supposed to do that. so i stopped to watch, and laugh at him. this is when another boy was saying "teacher, no englishy. no englishy." as if i was even talking to him. they asked me why i was laughing (in korean) and i said "it's funny" and then said the korean phrase which doesn't... exactly work. you see... chemiseoyo means "fun/interesting/funny". *facepalm* This is why my students will tell me "It's funny." but they mean "It's fun." We have a lot to work on.)) 

I took this on a smoggy day. See? This is what air pollution looks like. On a clear day, it's beautiful. But meh - smog. 

This is the view from the first building (the one you can see in the first picture) if you stand on the second floor. The building with the blue roof is the gym. I've yet to go in there. 

Here's my office. I share it with the Chinese teacher. (she's really nice) My desk is the second chair, the one in the back. I've got my red thermal cup and generally my desk is clean... except the line of sticky notes on the monitor to remind me of stuff. The space is pretty small, but that's ok - all the better to air condition (for the few measly minutes it will turn on.) 

My office is in the 2nd building, which is behind the 1st... so my view is this: 

Not very pretty. In fact, I'm right across the alley from the main office.... And in the summer our windows are all open. I realized that if they really wanted to, they could look over and watch me. It's a little unnerving. 

I realized it the one time I was rocking out to music on my headphones (while working, mind you... rocking out is stress relief... really). I hope no one saw me. 

That's about it. Nothing very special. Our school is pretty big. The cafeteria has 2 floors. I teach around 600 students, and I only teach 3 whole grades (most teachers teach 4). The way it is... I end up teaching 27 class hours - which is 5 over contract.... And I am not being paid extra for 1 of those hours. Even with a contract - they really do try to squeeze things in - and call in favors... and it's really stupid. 

I can't complain much though. I have decent coteachers and the kids are not all that bad. :D 

Recent Shopping

I wanted to post pictures of school but I can't seem to find the picture I took of the front of my school! SO I must do that tomorrow.
Has it really been a whole month since I posted? Time flies when you've been busy!
June flew by. It was filled with classes and even more lesson planning. Summer break is quickly approaching, which means summer camp is nigh.

So instead I'll show you my recent shopping.

Bought these almost a month ago. Not on sale. But I will love them to pieces (and quite literally, i'm afraid... i do a lot of walking, and korean sidewalks are very unforgiving. i just wore a hole in my favorite flats. those flats were about 11 months old! :(  ) ((i bought these from 'the god of shoes' here in JP. it's this store in shinae called Tomato. that man is like a shoe genius. he's got good taste, and he can find a pair of nice shoes from just a few questions.))

I bought these 2 dresses and the little sweater last weekend. You see - shoulders are 'sexy' here in South Korea, so to be able to wear these dresses (or a few of the dresses i own!) I needed to buy that little sweater. It's very light and quite see-through (loose knit, almost mesh-like).
I was excited that I got these dresses for 15,000 won each.
The pink one is very light and gauzy. I wore it yesterday and it was extremely comfortable.

Confession time: I rode the bus to school yesterday because it's really ungodly hot right now. The bus is air conditioned. I was lucky enough to catch the bus that goes right up to school. So there I am, wearing my light gauzy rose dress. But when I got off the bus, I kind of fall down/out of the bus. It's all very quick. And well, as I got off, my skirt flew up in the back.
>.<'''' I could have died right there. Except I think I caught it in time, and I told myself at least the people still on the bus are high schoolers or older (as the bus lets off in front of the middle school).
That's when I discovered the guy from the admin office also got off the bus right in front of me. I had to recover instantly so as not to give myself away.
He was very surprised to see me there. Ahaha. He had to practice his English first thing in the morning. ^^'
Builds character, right? (besides - i never quit practicing korean)

I also bought these shorts. I kind of fell in love with them as soon as I saw them. Totally wearing them to Korean class on Saturday. 

Which reminds me - this Saturday is the last Korean class of the semester! While I can't wait to sleep in - I also will miss going to class. Class motivates me to leave my house. I don't like going out with no aim. Now I'll have to find something to fill my Saturdays til class starts again. 

Okay. Now if I can remember to take a picture of my school tomorrow, I promise I'll continue the "Places I go" series. 

The Race - On Politics in South Korea

I'm interrupting my series on places I go to bring you a small, very small, look into the realm of South Korean political races, or advertising, really.

Wednesday, June 4th, was election day countrywide here. It seems to have been for local elections. And according to what I can make out from what I've heard from other expats, these elections happen every 3 or 4 years. Please correct any details that are wrong. I'd love to learn more (and before you say "why didn't you ask your co-teacher" - we've had a busy, hectic schedule the last month so I have had no time for non-school related conversations pretty much).

So here's what I've been experiencing the last couple of months.

First it was the random texts. The first one I noticed was one that read something like "Hello, how are you? (polite form) I'm so-and-so and I'm running for mayor of JP....."
I got that text like 3 months ago. In the last week, I think I was getting 3 or 4 such texts a day. >.<' And you thought American election commercials were bad? .... It's actually quite legal for these people to spam text you their ads.

Then the banners started showing up. I'd say they've been up for the last 2 months. We're talking banners on the sides of buildings that take up several stories of the side of the building. You can't miss them.

In the last 3 weeks or so, the game stepped up to a new level of invasion. The walking, paid political supporters.

Just your average street crossing? No. Look again. See the neon shirted people all in a row?
It's them. The political supporters. They are paid to stand and wave and smile at people. They hand out business cards. They will hound you on the street. You cannot escape them --- unless you have a white face like me. Then they ignore you. Sometimes they'll bow and maybe say hello. And a slim few of them won't care what you look like - they'll still try to give you a card. (one guy did. early one morning as i walked to school. not sure if my wearing a mask had him confused though)

Here's a better shot of them.

About 3 weeks ago, I was out to dinner with some girl friends and a political candidate was making rounds, telling people his plans and asking for support/votes. He actually stopped at our table and spoke a little English to us. He was very polite (and seemed to be over 50! it's rare older people speak any English!).

In the last 2 weeks, these have been popping up everywhere.

Just look at that! 

These trucks drive around and advertise for their candidate. They all have big screen TVs so you can see the candidates in action. They often blare loud slogans, or even display whole speeches given by the candidate. 

And on the back end there, do you see that white railing? 

Yes. This truck functions like a float in a parade. A one car parade. People stand on the back and wave. 

I've had the peace of my neighborhood disturbed by a few of these things. Some were drive-bys and one or two were parkers (they park and play a whole speech, blasting from loud speakers). 

In the week leading up to "the day", the political supporters were upping their game. Every major intersection in town was covered. And they were all singing and dancing. There's nothing like political slogans being sung to the tune of "If You're Happy and You Know It" and other familiar tunes (and some not so familiar). 

Ah, sweet synchronization. Such wave. Much support. Vote for me. 

I had to film the supporters in action. It was just too much. So here are two short clips. Sorry the quality sucks. Also, the uploader on here is... lame. So I will just link you. 

Blue #2 Supporters Wave/Dance of Support (encouraged by not only everyone stopping to watch the performance, but seeing others taking video and pictures, i got a better clip of this.)

Red #1 Supporters sing Happy slogan while onlookers dance too (the sound is almost non-existent for this. sorry! i was shy of filming, so I didn't get the best footage.)

Must.sleep.now. Getting up super early to go to Jeonju with my church. 

Places I Go (part 2)

This is the place I probably go to the most, besides work.

This is Dasan Mart - the grocery store I frequent. They have 2 floors. The first is groceries, and the second is kind of like a Big Lots type store (but all one store). So if you need peppers, cereal, a frying pan, a steering wheel cover and WD-40---- they have that. 

Maybe one day I will get brave and take pictures inside the store. I just feel weird doing so. I don't really know if people do that. Granted, Koreans take pictures of all kinds of things, but I rarely see them taking pictures inside stores. 

So instead, here are 2 chocolate bars I bought there. The first is the kicker bar. Mmm. It's a dark chocolate, bigger, 1 stick version of a kitkat. It's about 1.5 cm wide by 1cm tall. It's delicious. 

The second one I haven't tried yet. I'm saving it for the weekend. It is supposed to have a chocolate filling (much like a carmello bar, i hope). It looks dangerous for a lactose intolerant person like me... but I had to buy one. I mean - it has golden lips on it, for goodness sake. It practically screams "buy me for weirdness factor." So I did. 

I buy most things at the grocery store simply because it's cheaper than a convenience store. So soda, candy bars, batteries... I probably buy at Dasan. There are only two things I definitely buy from convenience stores. One is bottled water.

Koreans don't drink tap water. Or otherwise they filter and/or boil it first (yeah, and boiled water, they put rice or something in to change the color and flavor to mark it, so they know it's been boiled). 

I buy 2 liter bottles of water. No way I'm carrying it very far. So I go to the closest convenience store. 

The other convenience store go-to --- toilet paper. There is a nearby convenience store that sells 24 packs of TP for buy one get one free. TP isn't cheap, so getting this deal means I save a bit. It also means I don't have to walk forever carrying 48 rolls of toilet paper.

Places I Go (part 1)

My sister recently asked me to take pictures of places I like to go, or places I go to often.

That led me to an idea of taking lots of pictures - glamorous and banal and not so... good smelling.

So this is the start of a series of posts. Let's start with the most basic of places - the bathroom.

Ladies and gentleman - I give you the modern squatty, with flusher!
You can thank my sister for this picture as well. I was trying to describe to her this 'marvel' and so I braved the weirdness to snap a picture.

All of the bathrooms in my school have these. They have no western toilets (ok.. there is one i know of... in building 2 on the 1st floor, middle area, teacher's bathroom - special needs/handicapped stall... but really who has time to go that far?).

Let's start with how to use one - a survival guide for the new user.
1. Before considering doing any business - check for toilet paper. It's either in a dispenser outside the stall, or somewhere inside the stall. At my school, the roll is hung from the hook where you might hang up a purse.  No paper? You're sore outta luck.(very common in public) Consider always carrying a packet of tissues with you.

2. Toilet paper in hand, you can now proceed to do your business.

3. This next part is.. awkward for Western folk. You must place one foot on either side of the basin and squat.

4. Convince yourself you are not peeing on the floor. (this is harder than you'd imagine)

5. HOLD YOUR BREATH BEFORE GOING. There is some water in the basin. Not much. The smell from one of these things is much much stronger than a Western toilet, so unless you're somehow immune to the smell of bodily excretions, be prepared. (breathing through your shirt is also a good option)

6. Ok. You're done. DO NOT throw the paper in the basin. See that pink bin? Yeah. ALL toilet paper goes here. ALL. They say Korea's sewerage systems are old, or the pipes are small, or whatever reason you might get from someone who doesn't speak English natively might tell you. It doesn't matter. What matters is not clogging the thing. I mean... I have never seen a rectangular plunger.. and I'm not ready for the kind of adventure that might come from plunging a squatty.

Steps 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12  are to be done quickly.
Stand, pull up pants, step on flusher, zip pants, open door, exit stall.

13. Wash your hands. (oh yeah. there's no such things as hand towels. well... there are.. but no place ever really has them. unless you're in some fancy place.)

---
There you have it.
I find most bathrooms in Korea are smelly. Squatty or Western. Also rules 1 and 6 applie to all bathrooms Korea-wide. It's common to see signs inside stalls that tell you not to flush anything.
Don't ask if you're supposed to face away from or toward the flusher. I have no idea. I have never asked. I don't plan on asking.