I'm a student again. I'd mentioned to Sunbin that I'd like him to teach me Korean since we spend a lot of time together anyways. Allison was interested as well so we casually talked about meeting up once a week and getting books. Sunbin took it into his own hands to make both Allison and I our own personalized photocopied books with our pictures on them! He also bought us a notebook, vocabulary book, eraser and special pencil. So, that just made it official. The lesson went for about 3 hours. I felt very comfortable and learned so much. I miss learning the conventional way. Obviously, I learn on a daily basis just by living life (especially in Korea), but I really enjoyed highschool and college classes with books and a teacher, and this was close to that style of learning.

This idea came up over the weekend while we were at my new friend Joe's house. I've met a lot of Joes here in Korea. Anyways, Joe had us over for a fantastic burrito breakfast which turned into a day of wine, enjoying the sun in Tae Jo Sun park and delicious Indian with Sunbin, Monica, Allison and Joe. Talk about a Sunday fun day! I had a blast!

Saturday was equally as blast-worthy. I went to the cherry blossom festival with Monica, Krista, Emily and Rachel again and this time there were flowers!! The streets were so white lined with the trees. It was a sight! Afterwards we went to the university park and grabbed dinner. We met up with a bigger group at a beautiful wine bar that looked like a bohemian place you'd find in southern Spain. Gorgeous decor. After wine we continued to Rock Station and sang karaoke till the early hours of the morning.

Another wonderful weekend, turning into a wonderful week, and surely to turn into another amazing weekend again.

I just got back from dinner with Monica and Allison tonight. I really enjoy being with them. Monica teaches at Langcon school, where one of my old kinder students went after kinder graduation. When Monica found this out, she told my old student, Lauren, that we were teacher friends and Lauren thought that was so cool, of course!

Lauren wrote me this little letter (as an assignment) in Monica's class journal : "Dear Emily Teacher, I love you teacher. I will meet you. Please go to Langcon and we can see! Why are you just teaching at SLP school? And when you go to Langcon I will say hi to you. Yours truly, Lovely Lauren."

I was so touched that I wrote her a real letter and gave it to Monica! What a sweetheart!

Last week was one of those weeks again, where I barely got a moment to sit down... but that's the way I prefer it. I've always enjoyed keeping busy.

On Tuesday, after the gym, I met up with Soo and MJ for coffee and girl talk. We had the best conversation that night that lasted hours longer than expected.

Meeting for coffee is quite the popular thing to do here. Coffee shops litter the streets. So, Wednesday, after the gym, I met with Monica for coffee and girl talk. She's been very busy at her job, so we hadn't seen each other in a few weeks. A few weeks in Korea is like a few years.

On Tuesday, I mentioned to Soo a little problem with pain I had in my back. Koreans are generally very concerned with health, so she insisted we go to the doctor on Thursday after work. I love her for insisting. She's very caring. She came and got me by my work to go to the doctor. It was drizzling Thursday and I didn't have an umbrella. Soo gave me a hard time because of the radioactive rain coming from Japan. We met up with MJ after the doctor's appointment. MJ also gasped at me for my lack of umbrella on such a radioactive day. To make up for it, we ate at a restaurant specializing in spice. Everything they serve is coated in super spicy spice. It took the three of us an hour to eat a small plate of spicy chicken. Soo and MJ had spicy tears rolling down their cheeks. It was quite a painful meal.

After meeting with Soo and MJ, I went over to Julie's house because she was throwing a dinner party for the kinder teachers. It was one of the most delicious dinners. She's a great cook. I admire people that can cook. I need a lesson or two. Julie's leaving in a few weeks. I'm going to miss the delicious smells wafting out of her apartment!

After a hectic week, came the weekend, and it didn't slow down. Over the weekend, a really big group of us went to Bugil Cherry Blossm festival, but sadly there were no blossoms. The festival was held at a nearby high school so the students had a lot of games and fair food and art. The students were shocked to see such a big foreign crowd. We got interviewed and a boy asked to take a picture of my boots. Aftterwards, Sunbin took us a few minutes away from the festival to his university which overlooks a very pretty lake. It was an area I hadn't been to before, and on such a beautiful day, it just made me so happy to be there in that moment. Afterwards, we all went to Vientnamese near my house. From dinner, we continued back onto the roof, which has become routine now that the weather is so nice! I love that roof!

On Sunday, Sunbin took Jenny, Josh and I to a seaside town an hour away for sightseeing and dinner. The town was purely for seafood. We walked around a bit and finished with a shellfish dinner. Sunbin cooked the shells for us on the grill. I'd never done that before. When the shells got very hot and ready to eat, they'd pop open, as if to say "Eat me". It was such a fun dinner with the best company! I laughed the whole night. Sunbin is such a charasmatic guy!

This weekend was without a doubt one of those weekends I'll look back on and become so nostalgic that it will almost hurt to think about.

I have so much to say, but isn't that always the case.... big gift of gab over here.

Two weekends ago, I went to visit Hannah Howard (formally Hannah Dorrell) and her husband Stephen Howard. I am so happy for them both. They recently got married in Korea. Jenny and I took a four hour bus ride and arrived in Changwon by noon. We walked around the town on a very beautiful spring day. Her city is very walkable and green. There is a big lake and lots of open green spaces. She also took us to a little thrifty area of used clothing... something I miss about back home so much... thrift shopping with Susie and Audrey! That night, we went to Changwon's showing of Vagina Monolouges as a fundraiser for women in Korea. It was an excellent performance. We had a wonderful dinner and met her friends afterwards. The next day, she took us to her favorite coffee shop and taught Jenny and I how to sew little hair accessories. I have now taken up sewing in my spare time...I love making these hair crafts!

After Changwon, the rest of the week was busy and just flew right by. Every night after work, I was off doing something, preventing me from keeping up with my blog, or anything for that matter. Monday night, we went out for a coworker's birthday. Tuesday is a blur.. not sure. On Wednesday I met with these two girls, Soo and MJ that had found me on a website for local Cheonaners. They wanted to have an English conversation partner/ friend, though their English is already fantastic. Soo even speaks Spanish! We were seriously talking in Spanish, Korean and English back and forth the whole night. It was un poquito urriupta (which means "difficult" in Korean). Anyways, we hit it off so great! I feel so lucky that they found me out in cyberspace and it transitioned so easily into the real world like that. On Thursday, all the coworkers went out to celebrate Jessica and John (our supervisor) on their last days at SLP. Whenever all the coworkers are together, it's a good time.

And then this weekend begun. Friday after work, I literally threw my books onto my desk at the 6:20 bell, ran to the taxi at 6:25 and arrived at the KTX train by 6:35 to catch the 6:45 train with my friend Sunbin to see MGMT in Seoul! We met his friends there. They are all so funny!! It ended up being me and four Korean dude friends at MGMT. It was such a fun experience just being with them rather than the actual concert experience. The band was great, don't get me wrong. MGMT pleased the crowd with a few Korean expressions and played well. Afterwards, we went to Joon's house for a bit and then he drove us back to Cheonan.

The next day, Sunbin, Joon, Jenny Josh and I went to see a Cheonan soccer game. They were'nt very good, but I need a replacement sport for volleyball so it'll do. It was fun anyways. I had a great time with good company. We got free bags of  delicious oranges from the sponsors. Afterwards, Sunbin took us to a shellfish restaurant that we hadn't tried before. It was delicious and nice to try something new!

And finally comes Sunday, which was another day packed to the brim. I woke up and cleaned the apartment and made tuna for our rooftop party at 4. It was such a nice warm day, which was lucky. There was a great turnout of people and everyone vibed really well together. Though I love getting big groups of people together, it makes me extremely anxious when different groups aren't hitting it off. In this case, it was honestly just perfect. I wouldn't have had it any other way. When the sun set, it did get a little chilly, but we simply moved everyone down to my tiny apartment and kept the party going into the night.

And then it was Monday night and here I am, finally taking a breather, slumped in my big chair, recounting the last weeks.

It snowed a pretty good snow today, March 24th. A little late for snow in my opinion, especially since I was wearing short sleeves a week ago. Luckily tomorrow I'll be going to Changwon, down south to visit Hannah, where hopefully it is a bit warmer. My gym trainer told Josh, Jenny and I with all seriousness, in a very stern voice, "Be Careful!" of the changing weather patterns.  I'll beware.

In other news, I still love my new students. They are easy going and it's honestly effortless to be with them. They are the reason I love my job instead of dread it. Though it was a little bittersweet watching my old students move to new classes and a whole new program, I was relieved to have a fresh start. However, four little boys in my old Aries class (Kevin, Jeff, Tom and Daniel) need an extra tutoring class, and I was available to do the job every Tuesday and Thursday. It's a little hard establishing new terms as their elementary teacher and not kinder, but they're doing a fair job respecting my rules for our new special class. I'm honestly really happy to teach these boys again for my remaining months here.

A few posts back, I clamied to be one of the biggest Cheonan Skywalkers Volleyball fans. Well, I'm going to go right ahead and retract that statement. I'm 100% sure the biggest fans wouldn't miss the playoffs! There was a playoff game yesterday and today. I know this because I watched them on TV at the gym, wearing my Cheonan skywalkers t-shirt (unplanned t-shirt coincidence.. I think the fan in me just knew). So, we're going to the last playoff game this coming Tuesday. We had a hunch that playoffs were around the corner, but we just did not play off that hunch like a true fan would! I blame this mishap on my meager Korean skills...hard to be the biggest, truest fan when I don't speak Korean. Better believe this Tuesday I'm going to cheer my little heart out.. let's go Skywalkers!!

The past few weekends I've spent in Seoul, which is such a breath of fresh air. Though I love Cheonan and it's smaller, intimate feel, the big, international and eclectic city is a fun place to visit. And, it's only a 30 minute train ride.
A few weekends ago, we went to support Josh in an art auction (fundraiser for unwed mothers in Korea)  in which he had a couple of his pieces. It was an excellent art show that included a spoken word section as well. The speakers were very passionate and talented. After the event, we stayed the night in a jimjilbang (a public bathhouse). Jimjilbangs usually have more than one floor. The first floor is usally the bath areas (one for men and one for women). The other floors are a common (not quiet area with restaurants etc) room, a common sleeping room and seperate male and female sleeping rooms (all on mats on the floor). Jenny, Josh and I decided to stay in the common sleeping area and figured it'd be the best bet. It was so loud and brightly lit and a few weirdos sleeping way too close for comfort. For only 8 bucks, what can you expect?

This past weekend was beautiful. We spent the afternoon out in the warm sun exploring Hongdae art market. Jenny, Josh, Julie and I got little caricature cloth dolls of ourselves... they are very cute and creative. Hopefully Josh will be able to bring his art to the market soon. Afterwards, we went on  boose cruise along the Han River. No one really cared for the music, which was a downer, but it was such a clear, crisp spring night on the water to enjoy. Afterwards, we went to a burlesque show. It was a good show with good music to dance to. And again, we slept in the jimjilbang, but we made sure to do it the smart way. So, we said goodnight to Josh and went to sleep in seperate male/female sections. These sections are basically like 40 little dark caves on the floor for people to crawl into and sleep in individually. I find it really cozy and safe, but of course a little hard on the floor. It's actually kind of fun.
The next morning, waking up at the jimjilbang (bathouse), I had a place to shower, get in the hot tub and enjoy a little time in the sauna before starting my morning. It's very refreshing. We all went to All American Diner for breakfast. We got free refills on coffee, which is such a simple but delicious American pleasure!
After breakfast with everyone, I seperated and met up with Sohee in an area called Meyongdong. The shopping there was exceptional and I found a Forever 21! We had coffee in the cutest little place. Really the place is meant for couples because there are tiny, seperate, curtained off rooms on the floor with a tv, a small table and lights that dim (wink). After coffee, catching up and shopping, we got a very delicious Japanese dinner that I'd never had before called Omurice. So delicious!
I took the train home and here I am... off to another work week!

I'm almost famous. One of my student's father saw Jenny, Josh and I on the Korean KBS sports channel for a televised volleyball game. Maybe famous is a bit of an overstatement, but this is the first step... air time on Korean television... few years later rolling with the big dogs in LA.

Jenny and I started watching volleyball games while running on the treadmills at the gym a few months back but never realized Cheonan had a team. We are the Cheonan Skywalkers!!! Our trainer, Lee, told us about the games and we've been to about 5 of them. We're pretty big fans. And as far as the foreign crowd, I'd say we're the biggest fans in Cheonan. For some reason volleyball is extremely popular as a national sport and it's quite a hit with the teenie boppers. After the games the young schoolgirls (sometimes still in uniform) chase after the players and wait at the team bus for them. I may or may not have chased after a few players myself just like the rest of the giddy schoolgirls...

Because of our enthusiasm last Saturday, we were even interviewed by a woman that works for Hyundai (the sponsor of the Skywalkers team). I was estatic!

As sad as I am about the change of semester, having to say goodbye to my very first kinder students (Gemini and Aries), I'm excited about the next six months with my new classes, Leo and Pisces. They are 7 year old, first year students, so they speak very little English, not much beyond the ABCs. I met them on Friday and fell in love already ! :) I guess I'm pretty easy to please when it comes to teaching adorible little kids every day! In Leo class there is one little boy named Lion. What a cute name! They are all so sweet and well-behaved (fingers crossed). There are only 7 students in Leo class and only 6 in Pisces! This is going to be a breeze compared to my last group of students in Aries and Gemini. I'm also glad that these students get to start the year with me so that I can set rules and boundaries my way rather than picking up halfway through the semester like I did with Gemini and Aries in September. I'm looking forward to this new change!

Lately I've been feeling really comfortable and very aquainted with Cheonan. It feels like home here, not like a year-long vacation. Not to say I don't love Cheonan. I love it more than I ever have. It's my six month mark here in Korea and I have six more left. I'm neither excited nor bummed that I'm halfway through my contract. It's almost as is this experience is starting to feel like less of an exotic getaway and more like my life. I don't feel like I have a time limit here (which realistically I do). It's as if I'm at home in Virginia living life one day at a time, which I think is why I haven't written in awhile.

This past month has been very busy because the change of semester happens in March, so all the teachers are tying loose ends and figuring out curriculum for new classes. My kinder classes graduated last weekend. I've never seen such a big ordeal for a kindergarten graduation. It was exhausting. All of the classes performed plays. Gemini class did Three Bill Goats. They pulled it off very well, though during practice in classtime they drove both me and my Korean co-teacher, June, insane. They recieved little diplomas and big yearbooks with a blown up 11x8 picture of me and each student.  Insane. At the end, the parents rushed up and gave us flowers, took pictures with us and their kids, and thanked us. It was very rewarding. But over the top and weird.

The last few days of class, I taught the kids the expression "Let's keep in touch". They loved it and applied it to everything. When they wrote letters to their teachers, a lot of the kids wrote "Keep in touch" to me and my coteacher. Danny, however, wrote "Let's keep in hand". Cute!

I got to celebrate Valentine's Day with kinder the last week we had together. I got lucky in that I celebrated so many holidays with my very first kinder classes (Chuseok, Halloween, Christmas and Valentines). They loved the valentines and candy hearts my mom sent. On Valentines Day in Korea only the men receive candy from their women. On White Day, the men in return, celebrate the women only. And for all those lonely, miserable singles there is... drumroll please.... Black Day. How dreadful a name. I can't imagine how me and all my single Koreans will celebrate this dismal dark Black Day. I hope I'm not expected to buy myself chocolate.

Aside from the busy days at work, life is good. I am constantly meeting new people almost every weekend. I've been hanging out with a few new girls, Monica and Allison. It's so easy to make friends here because the foreigners all pick each other out because there are just a handful of us in Cheonan. And as far as making Korean friends goes, it's equally as easy. They are some of the kindest people I've ever met... very generous and appreciative. And a lot love practicing English, so why not be friends?

Speaking of Korean friends, my friend Daria is all torn up because her foreign boyfriend left to go back to California. She cried over a few beers with Jenny and I a couple weeks ago. It's a lot harder on her because her Korean friends and family don't take her relationship seriously because it's a foreigner. No one seems to understand why she is so upset over a "foreign fling" except for us. On top of that, the language barrier is so tough for them that a long distance communication is impossible.

Joe came to visit again to get off his airforce base during Seolnal (Lunar new year) vacation. We went to Seoul with my coworkers to get away from Cheonan and to give our coworker, Andy, a send-off back to the USA. It was nice seeing Joe again. It was a very spur of the moment visit... text Thursday night and done deal perfect timing by Friday for dinner with my friends.

It's hard to believe it's almost March...one more week. The weather is improving here. It feels like spring! I can't wait to see all the cherry blossoms in bloom. I'm so excited for the next six months. If I could struggle through Korea's cold weather in the best of spirits, it seems only natural I will do the same but with beautiful weather to look forward to!

I was prepared this weekend to be sleeping on a freezing, hard, floor, in a tiny room, huddled with all my friends, robbing them of their body heat. As fun as that sounds, the weekend turned out a bit differently.

When our friend Daria invited us to take a pension trip with her, we blindly accepted without any idea of what exactly pension trip entailed. A little taste for adventure got the best of us, and we jumped at the opportunity. We were told that these Korean pension trips are like camping, so we were honestly expecting to rough it.

We were very pleasantly suprised when we arrived at our condo/pension at Daechon beach (up north about an hour from Cheonan). Except for the lack of beds (Korean style...sleeping on the floor), it was just like a cabin getaway you'd find at a nice mountain lodge in the U.S. It was much more spacious than I expected, with several rooms , TVs, a nice kitchen and a couch. Though there were no beds, there were more than enough mats, pillows and blankets we threw into the living room. It was like sleepover stlye straight out of a Babysitter Club book. It was very comfortable and cozy. Outside, we had a tent with a barbeque and table to have ourselves a little winter cookout.

Before settling in, the women (Krystin, Jenny, Daria, Judy and myself) scurried to E-Mart to get grocceries for the weekend. Daria and Judy are Korean so they bought a lot of Korean food to make for us. They were wonderful hostesses! Meanwhile the men (Josh, Andy, Ben and Beagle (a Korean bartender friend)) lazed around, while we shopped. I suppose in a perfect world they should've been chopping wood or something manly.

After shopping, Daria drove us girls to see the ocean. It was absolutely freezing, but beautiful. There is something very calm about a beach in the wintertime.

Daria and Judy really did a nice job taking care of us, organzing the whole trip, preparing amazing meals throughout the weekend. When they weren't cooking and we weren't eating their amazing cooking, we talked, goofed off, relaxed, slept, just passed the time leisurely until nightfall.

Saturday night we had a Korean style cookout. It was delicious, but nothing like a cookout back home. To give you an idea, just picture a big green leaf instead of a bun, little strips of pork instead of a huge hamburger patty, and a spicy sauce instead of ketchup. Oh and of course, throw in some rice. Who am I kidding... there's always rice. And any Korean cookout has beer and soju (comparable to watered down vodka). That is where you can find a similarity between Korean and American cookouts... booze... lots of it.

Once we were so cold that we couldn't feel our toes anymore, we headed back inside. Somehow or another a big dance party extravaganza ensued. I, for one, was in heaven. I love to dance. We all goofed around until we wore ourselves out, laughing so hard, we were falling to the floor in fits of laughter. Though Daria, Judy and Beagle don't speak much English and us foreigners are worthless in Korean, there is no barrier when it comes to genuine smiles, laughter and fun. I will keep these memories with me for a lifetime.

We went out for Reuven's birthday last night. It was an ordinary Wednesday night out at the bar until about 11:00. The bartenders were mixing drinks, showing off with a little cocktail flair. Then out of nowhere, regular customers started coming up to the bar and adding their own special ingredients such as spit, socks, cake, you know the works.. and thank god, tons of alcohol to get rid of all the bacteria (yeah right). Anyways, like a big dum dum, I thought they were just doing this for fun and games. Why they would mix a big bowl of nasty was beyond me, but so clear to everyone else that it was intended for Reuven to drink. I started to catch on when the bartender, Pooh, filtered this concoction through his own sock and into a nice martini glass. I've seen this kind of thing take place before at army events I have catered to and thought it was beyond odd. But since the army is cult-like, frat-like, I took it for what it was worth. Initiations and rights of passage are all the rage in the army, but to see this kind of thing in your average local bar in Korea was a shock. In a country so conservative at times, I had to ask myself how this was an acceptable social norm.

I've been back from vacation for a week now so I could have written, but January's cold has turned me lazy. If I had a choice, I'd watch Sex and the City episode after episode, which I do anyways in whatever time I leave myself.

As to not bore my remaining loyal readers, I will keep my trip short, only highlighting the main points. Singapore is absolutely gorgeous. It is the cleanest city I have ever seen. They have a strict policy on smoking in designated areas. Chewing gum is not sold, and if imported, Singaporeans are fined 500$. A world without chewing gum? Get real! I can't imagine it, especially as a citizen of a country where we take pride in a wall covered in old, grimy, chewed gum. Check it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bubblegum_Alley.

A beautiful river runs through Singapore, with two main nightlife areas on the water known as Boat Quay and Clarke Quay. They were amazing, full of life. The climate was tropical, but mild, around the 80s. Unfortunately for me, a sun worshiper, it was rainy season. A local bartender told Krystin and I on our first night, "December is the worst month to come to Singapore." No regrets. Rain or shine, this city-country still had it all.

Singapore is a British colony, so most everyone speaks beautiful English as well as Chinese and a few other languages. A lot of the younger generation are bilingual and speak their own colloquial English, Singlish. It was amazing to hear everyone speaking in English.

It is a very walkable city. I learned this quickly from my 8am morning strolls, while waiting on my fellow travellers, Krystin, Reuven, Andy and Dennis to wake up. "Like mother, like daughter"...it couldn't have been clearer during this vacation. As much as I've resented my father calling me my mother's clone over the years, I have finally accepted it after this vacation. I didn't lose a minute of travel time. I will never be a museum/cathedral junkie like my mother, but I will soak up every minute of the day exploring. I've inherited her sense of adventure. I'll finally admit it.

On the other hand, I can't see my mother, even in her 20's, dancing till five in the morning in one of the biggest night clubs. I certainly did not inherit party life and late hours from her, that would be thanks to my father, Wild Bill. Holla! Singapore has an outstanding economy, but a beer or cocktail go for roughly 15$ a pop in the more bustling areas, such as Clark Quay. So, when the opportunity presented itself for five free drinks on Ladies Night at this huge club, Attica, I jumped at the opportunity. Plus, I'm a sucker for dancing my life away. Korea isn't big on dancing, and my body was aching for it! Unfortunately, none of my friends were up for it, but that couldn't deter my plans. I went alone, met the nicest Singaporean girls, they took me under their wing, and the rest is history! It was my best memory there!

Eventhough I was up till an unruly hour, I was still buzzing with energy, woke up at 8am again and took off to a teeny island called Pulau Ubin. It's known as the original Singapore, what it used to look like before booming into a modern beauty. The natural beauty of Pulau Ubin far surpassed the modern marvels back on the mainland. I love both areas for different reasons. I rented a bike for 5 bucks and toured around the whole island for a few hours. It was amazing how many different changes of scenery there were. At one point, I was zooming down a hill in the rainforest, monkeys overhead. Next thing, I'm in a big, lush, green field that ends at a rock quarry. A little later, swampland appears out of nowhere and breaks into a beautiful rocky coast, boasting clear, torqouise water. It had a very rustic charm: old, rundown, colorful houses and stores, rusty bicycles forgotten in overgrown grasses, tiny fishing boats tied to rickedy docks. It was such a simple, natural wonder.

Despite Pulau Ubin being my favorite, back in the city, there were phenomenal Buddhist statues everywhere, amazing shopping deals and fantastic food (especially fresh fruit!). One of my favorite areas was Chinatown because of my extreme passion for fashion (aka shopping). We hit the jackpot because during the Christmas season, a very central road known for high fashion shopping, Orchard Road, was decked out in the best display of lights I've ever seen.

Singapore was a wonderful choice, a country I knew nothing about. I hadn't even heard much about Singapore until I flew Singapore Air to Korea. Even then, what did I know... Singaporean flight attendants wear pretty floral pattern uniforms... quite the educated traveller. Such a small country, I really felt I did get the opportunity to educate myself and explore most everything Singapore had to offer.