My 22nd!

My lovely Irish girlfriend, Rachel, and I dancing our bums off later that night. 

Joy, the little girl next to me in the purple, bought me a birthday cake!! The whole day the kids were giddy and I got countless little notes and small little presents. It made it really fun and special. 

Christmas Shopping!

That flash of Blonde is Rachel on our Saturday shopping trip to Myeong-Dong. It was one of the worst decisions of my life to go there on the Saturday before Christmas. It was like a moving sea of black hair. 

A pretty fall moment

Yellow ginkgo leaves littered the ground of Seoul this fall and made everyday bright. 

A trip to the jjimjilbang

Rachel, Afsheen(the new teacher taking Diana's place) and I ventured to a Jjimjilbang last week for a casual soak. And we got oh so much more. I wish I had pictures of this place, but as it stands, taking pictures of unsuspecting naked elderly women is frowned upon in most societies. 

I'll explain: Jjimjilbangs are like upscale spas that only cost 6,000 won to get in (under $5) and then extra if you want certain special treatments. They separate you between men and women and give you a uniform(Korea loves their uniforms), a locker key, and a towel. The uniform looked like a little kids Karate uniform thus we decided to forgo it and be truly korean with the au naturel look. 

So essentially we went in, stripped down and stuck all of our stuff in our lockers. Although all of us were non-korean, none of the women batted an eye at our appearances. I can not same the same for myself, however. I was openly staring at people for the entire rest of the time we were there. To much flesh to try and be aloof about. 

The place is like a deluxe dream bath house. They have all kinds of different hot tubes, including a really cool green tea one, saunas, showers, pools, massaging water -jet pools, etc. But they also have rows and rows of individual vanities which have counters, sinks, removable shower heads, soap, exfoliating scrub, and lotions. So you go soak, scrub up and go home. 

After an hour of being there we finally decided to check out this one sectioned off corner of the spa. This is where I can safely say I almost got kicked out of the spa for laughing. For 15,000 won you can have two or three little korean women clad in black lacy bra and panties exfoliate you from top to bottom and in just about every crevice you think you might have. Not only does this look hilarious being done it is just a hilarious concept of multiple women, old enough to be your grandmothers, scrubbing you down like you were 5 years old again. 

And because I'm me, I think have to go get it done this week as a special Korean birthday treat. How can I resist old women in black lacy undergarments scrubbing me??? I mean can life really get more awkward?

Notes on November

We started a new term on Monday and with it we got a mass of new students. My school highly suggests students choose an English name for class purposes. I'm still not convinced this is for the students "immersion benefit" as it seems more for the school's reputation;  their native English teachers are not butchering the Korean names of their students. However, most kids choose their own name before they come to class. If they don't, we are allowed to choose one for them. Sadly I have only given out two and both have been pretty weak. One was my brother's name, Drew, and the other was Doug (aka, Doug Funny). 

But Monday I had a student without on English name on my roster and I got oddly excited. The thought of naming someone gives me a little thrill. So when I got to his name on the attendance chart I had my sheet of potential names in hand and was ready to start firing them off. He beat me to the punch however, and proudly stated that he was going to be named "Potter". At first I thought he said, "Peter" and I wanted to scream because I already had about 6 Peters in other classes. But he calmly repeated himself again, "Potter". He was about 7 years old and had decided to not name himself "Harry" but rather the surname "Potter" and was completely convinced that he had named himself appropriately. It was one of those shining moments of defiance and pride in a little kid's life and despite it I laughed to myself for the next hour every time I called on his proud little soul. 

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In the after math of Obama's win in the states, black people in Korea have become the new blondes. They are few and far between here, with the majority of them Africans who sell purses on the street in Itaewon. Thus Koreans didn't necessarily have a good view of them until now. In the past few weeks however, even old Korean men and women who can not even pronounce the english word "hello" have learned the name "Obama" and the word "President". It is incredible how many times people will see me and ask "meegouk saram?" which means "American person?" and when I nod they say "Obama President!!!" and give an often golden toothed grin coupled with a double thumbs up. And now everytime my students see a  picture  of a black person in one of my lessons in unison they yell, "teacher it's OBAMA!!" The attitude toward the race of black people has done a drastic shift here and it feels really cool to be at the epicenter of a change like that in a foreign country. 

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I have been hanging out with a fair amount of Brits in recent weeks and I guess from movies and some previous traveling I felt like I was pretty accustomed to the majority of their lingo. But as it stands I have laughed harder at some of their terms or maybe simply at the nonchalant way they have been expressed, than I ever had before. Terms such as "gangrape" to mean something is a rip-off,  "cunt", "tosser", and "wanker" all used like the word "jerk" in the states , and of course the term "pissed" for when they are really drunk. Thus making conversations eternally entertaining and wildly inappropriate. 

Halloween at CDI

A few pics from Halloween at school. It was a great day altogether- I bribed the kids with spider rings and candy I brought from the states with me to wear costumes and it worked. My classes were the most dressed up. I made a halloween trivia game for them to play and they loved it.

Now I'm a gym girl

I also joined a gym finally. The place is awesome because it's brand spankin' new. I actually signed up for a special they were offering even before they opened the gym. It works out that for 8 months I pay a little less than 300 dollars. Which for Seoul, is not too shabby. 

The best part about it is that we have to wear uniforms (almost every gym here makes wear them) They are hilarious. They have two sizes- large and extra large. The shorts graze the top of my knees only if I roll the top once, and the shirt goes down to the middle of my thighs. But I must say, not having to wash your gym clothes every night, especially when you don't have a dryer, is pretty nice. 

Also, the gym is so new that they don't have to many patrons yet. Thus making me- the ONLY non-korean- stick out like a sore thumb. The guys who work there know me by name and come check up on me mid run on the treadmill. I think this is out of sheer boredom however, because although I'm blonde, I'm wearing the equivalent of a chubby boy's high school basketball uniform and sweating profusely. 

Pepero Day

This is one of the gifts I got from a student on "Pepero Day" which is November 11th. Because it's 11/11 Koreans give two sticks of "pepero" to everyone they love. Pepero are just like chocolate dipped pretzel rods but they are more like a bread stick underneath. Yum! We, all the teachers and I, got enough to last us till valentines day. I ended up giving them all back out to the students so I didn't have to bring them back to my apartment to tempt me every time I opened my cupboard.

Fake bums

That's right. It's a fake bum. Let's be honest, it's not even an attractive fake bum either. I am just waiting for the right excuse to buy one and parade around wearing it. Perhaps my birthday....

Girl Friends are lovely

My best girlfriend here, Rachel! The saying is so so true, when one door closes another one opens. We have spent a ton of time with each other the past few weeks and I don't know what I would have done without her the past week. 

And notice my newly cut in bangs.... totally had to fit in with the koreans. They all have "fringe"

Cha cha changes

Well since my last blog, some significant changes have taken place...... 

 I am now single and living in Seoul. Blake and I made the split just over a week ago. It's really hard to put on to paper the roller coaster of feelings I have had about it, but now that it's sunk in a bit and we have spent time apart I realize that it was a good break. We were spending so much time together that we were neglecting our friendships with other people and the things that we came to korea for. It was sad- I'm still sad- but that's what your twenties are for I suppose. So I have spent the past week and half really concentrating on my other friendships and making myself a good group in seoul. 

Sea of Japan and Fish market

My feet in the Sea of Japan. Icy cold!

These are sea worms.... better known to us as, well, sea penises

This man took a huge 3 foot fish(behind his feet) out of the water, let it flop around, then smashed it with a baseball bat. I was a few feet away and I screamed I was so shocked!

A view of the fish market.

Seoraksan!

Gorgeous view from almost at the summit!

Giant Metal Buddha!

The traveler's mecca. Above it is the mountain that we continued hiking to the top of! Pretty intense!

I made it!!!! (view from the summit)

The ultimate trek!

I'm not a novice when it comes to hiking- by all means. Yet having said that, the hiking experience I had on saturday was like none other I have ever had. Think, state fair ground meets hardcore moutineering. I'll explain how I ended up at this madness.

Last week, Blake's coworkers invited us to come with them to Seoraksan, a very popular hiking destination for just about every Korean on the eastern border of North and South Korea. (North Korea, by the way, is officially closed off to all foreign visitors as of last week....bummer). We jumped at the chance to go with them because first, this weekend was the height of the colors and second, the guy organizing the outing is Korean and from Soraksan area, so he knows all the best places to go. It was also a great deal, we each paid 100,000 won ,which now is like $60, for the whole weekend. Which included the 15 passenger van there and back, all our meals and booze, entrance into the park and a spa trip after the hike.

We left Saturday morning at 6:30 and got there around noon. As soon as we unpacked we set out for the hike. I wasn't sure what to wear because it was really sunny, but it had been cooling down a lot every night. But in the end I chose not to bring my water proof jacket to instead have room in my backpack for more important things.... like a water bottle of whiskey(Blake and his friend's Jason's idea, but I didn't hate it). This, as one could guess, was my demise.

We had hit some traffic on the highway coming out of Seoul, Jason(leader of the trip) said that it was the most popular weekend for hiking, so it was to be expected. However, nothing could have prepared me for the mob scene that ensued once we entered the national park. People, people, people, vendors, vendors, vendors, MADNESS. We parked so far away because of the sheer lack of parking spaces, that it was a three mile journey to get to the base of the mountain.

Eventually we got on the actual trail but it was no less conjested, probably worse- little korean women shoving elbows as they adjusted their visors and weaseled their way past us, throngs of Korean teenagers wearing all-stars and talking on their phones, and mothers and fathers dragging along their sullen little kids eating weird Korean candy. We felt like we were at an amusment park rather than a remote mountain trail.

It only got better though. Half way up the mountain, as we, the out-of-shape Americans, huffed and puffed up the hill, getting passed up by little Korean ladies, we found the reason why hiking is so popular in Korea. A few thousand feet up, the crazy Koreans had built some sort of mecca for travlers, where soju and beer flowed like a fresh moutain spring. Jason had hiked up ahead and ordered us a spread of traditional hiking foods, potatoe pancakes and soy sauce, egg omelets with all kind of vegtables, and plenty of liquor.

Maybe it was the altitude or maybe sheer thirst, but after our little break I think it's safe to say everyone in the group was about one beer away from being completely bombed. This made the next portion of the trail a slight blur, only sharpening once we reached the bottom of what Blake called, the stairway to heaven.

The weather had done a 10 minute turn around- dark rain clouds blowed in, the temp dropped to 40 at the wind picked up enough that we had to sit down when big gusts rolled by as to not blow off the side of the mountain. All of the sudden everyone stopped laughing and got really cold and nervous. We were above the tree line and it was just us, some boulders, and a metal staircase. I was determined to make it to the summit. The next hour, however, was sheer verticle climbing at 40 degrees, drizzle, and high wind. I forgot to put my gloves in my back pack and my hands were numb from holding the metal hand rails... it was pretty miserable.

But we made it. And it was like God came out to congratulate us. Although the wind was still really strong, and it was still really cold, the rain had stopped and there was a huge rainbow hanging over the sea. It was really breathtaking.

After we had clammered down the hill, legs shaking the entire way, we were all at our wits end. It was a long, long way down and a long, long walk back to the car. But relief was in the near future and we were all just trying to hold out for it. Jason bought us tickets for a spa next to our hotel.

The spa was phenominal. It was basically made up of a series of hot tubs and saunas. It had an outdoor path of them, set up in an order that is most beneficial for your body (temp wise, smell wise, etc). They had all these beds and seats in the hot tubs with special jets that massaged your different muscle groups. It was like heaven. But a heaven that makes you rent shower caps... seriously we all had to wear them. Wish I could have taken a picture. That's a lie, I would have burned a picture of me in that thing. I looked just about as attractive as a lunch lady with a hair net.

The next day we hit up an outdoor fish market and the beach, both very cool and very chill. It was a long weekend though and I am still wiped out today. Hope you like the pics.

Miss everyone!

ps GET SKYPE!!!!!!!!!!!!

Miss Diana

This is my girlfriend Diana. We work together at our Hagwan. She is from Salt Lake City, has been living here for two years, speaks fluent Korean, and is one of the craziest people I know. We keep each other sane at work when we want to beat the children. But she is leaving in December and I'll be devastated! 

Kelli and I

This is my friend Kelli who got me into the company I work for now. She and I had been chatting via email for months before we actually met and low and behold we are really good friends now! 

My little Devils

I ate this!!!!

These are boiled silk worms. I was forced to eat one. Funny, they tasted exactly the way you would think boiled bugs would taste. NASTY

Lotte Baseball Game

LCD Soundsystem Concert

Daejeon Balloon Festival!

Sleeping when I'm dead

October has been a month where I have been unconsciously been living out the phrase, "I'll sleep when I'm dead". Why? No real reason other than better things to do. But the true repercussions have started to hit me in ways I didn't expect.

 Such as: yesterday I went to the Homever to purchase a fan. Yes, I am well aware that it is swiftly approaching the end of October, but Seoul has not seen a lower temperature than 70 in the past few weeks and it is killing me. If I sleep with my windows open I get no breeze because I have buildings all around me and I get eaten alive by mosquitos. If I put my AC on at night it blows air but I never really cools down the apartment. All of which contribute to "I'll sleep when I'm dead". Anyway, I made the trek to Homever and bought the "fan". It was not until I got back into the elevator of my building that I noticed I had bought a ceramic space heater. Not only did it say "Ceramic Space Heater" in English on the outside of box,  the pictures in the box were in orange and red colors, vs the typical blue for a cooling machine. 

Thus, I need a bit more of a normal persons sleep schedule. 

While I haven't been sleeping I have been leading a very fun, busy life. I made a bunch of friends in my neighborhood which is has been really chill. Again, almost all guys. I have realized that most girls who have come here have boyfriends, which makes them unavailable to be normal friends. I wish this wasn't so, but I get along really well with the guys and I'm used to it now so I'll get over it. 

I got invited to go with them two weeks ago to a concert in Gangnam- the area where I did my orientation when I first moved here. It was an LCD Soundsystem show, one of my favorite electronica bands from home. I was already pumped about going but when I got to the subway to meet up with them before the show, my excitement tripled. Three of the guys were rocking Korean suits and ties. This sounds lame until you see Korean men suits and ties. The suits are silver, not a little sheen to them, but straight up SILVER. (picture will be attached) and the ties are glittery. The hot fall colors for ties currently are, hot pink with jewels on them, bright purple with diagonal glitter stripes, and neon teal in a satin material. It was hilarious and I knew that I wanted to be spending much more time with these kids. 

Two nights ago we went to a tradtional drinking house in an area called Insadong. Insadong is in the city central where most of the old palaces are and the traditional korean buildings. We went specifically to get this drink called, Makkoli. I wasn't sure what to expect, especially when they brought out this huge stone punch bowl and ladle but I actually really liked it. There are different kinds of it, but basically it's a rice wine with a milky texture and other flavorings thrown in. Ours was pine flavor... or so I thought. It was kind of chunky but had a subtle sweet taste- best part, it doesn't lend to hangovers. Bam!

So aside from those guys I have been hanging out lots with Blake boi. Last weekend we decided to get out of the city and adventure. We spent Saturday in his city, Suwon, visiting the Suwon Fortress because they had a huge festival going on. They had a big food festival.... enough raw fish and dried squid to make you want to hurl. Tons of vendors where you could by anything under the sun. Faux purses and workout wear for under 10,00o won (ruffly 7-8 US dollars now). Heaven really.  And lastly they had a huge fireworks show and martial arts show which were both pretty cool to watch with the fortress walls in the background. 

Sunday we took a train  an hour and half South to Daejon for the International Hot Air Balloon Festival. We hadn't taken the KTX, the major rail system in Korea, only the subway, so we didn't know how to buy tickets. We ended up buying 15,000 won tickets and just getting on whatever car we could. Because we are awesome, we ended up on the first class car, with no one else on it. They had huge leather chairs that reclined all the way complete with foot rests and tons of leg room. We both popped in our iPods and started dozing. It was too good to by true, because 10 mins after we were on we were kicked out. But when we tried to ask what section our tickets were the woman got so frusterated because  of the language barrior, that she showed us back to the same seats and let us stay there for the rest of the trip. Beautiful!!! Pictures of the festival are attached. 

This weekend I am heading out of town to see the colors. Doing some hiking and perhaps some kayaking! 

More updates to come. 

XOXO

My address and Email

Ok so I received my first successful package and letter from Dee yesterday so here is my address for anyone who would care to send me a letter or whatnot. 

Hyundai Dream Tower 1113 HO

Mok-Dong 923-14

Seoul, South Korea

Daniellecvachon@gmail.com

Blake Boy et moi

Cheonggyecheon Stream

This is a pic from the cool underground stream that runs through central Seoul. We are doing classic Korean picture poses. 

Ajumas!

These are the awesome 60 something women who rock massive visors everyday for every activity. I am a proud owner of one. 

Dobansan Temple

This was a gorgeous temple tucked into the Dobansan mountain. 

Bukansan National Park

Cheesy picture of me while we were hiking next to a cool mountain stream. 

Chestnuts anyone?

So my blogging has been a bit slower due to my neighbors catching on that the American in room 1113 is stealing their WiFi and are quickly putting security blocks on their internet networks. Damn smart Koreans. All those lovely networks that once were open and free to steal now all have little lock symbals next to them. Thus I have broken down and decided to actually pay for my own internet connection. It trully breaks my spirit when I think about it

In other news, I am covered in mosquito bites. This is not a delicate few, this is like, I have been living in a swamp in the middle of July for a week. If I didn't remember my chicken pox experience like it was yesterday, all those great oatmeal baths and calomine lube ups, then I would seriously think I had come down with them. Fall is slow to come here this year, so something about the lingering summer heat has created a mosquito infestation in my neighborhood (we are really close to a tributary of the Han river...low lands). It doesn't help that my studio doesn't have screens and I'm trying to save on heating/cooling bills by keeping my windows open. But regardless, I look like a freak.

This weekend, covered in red bites, I am going on a mandatory sweet potato and chestnut picking adventure with my school, in an effort to bond all the teachers and staff..... got to love Korea just for the sheer bizarrness in their bonding activities. I don't really eat either food. Honestly does anyone actually eat chestnuts in the states? I thought they just sound pretty in songs, "chestnuts roasting by an open fire" etc, but I don't recall anyone actually munching on them. Here it's a different story- Korean people love them and make some kind of soup out of them.

To throw in a little historical tidbit, until the Korean war in the '50s Korea was considered the poorest third world country in the world. So much of the food that is eaten today in traditional Korean restaurants is a product of this poverty. Soups, kimche, pickles, rice, and fish were all cheap and easy to make for large families with minimal amounts of money. The older people who grew up around this period are similar to the same war time age group in the states when it comes to eating everything on their plate and being very economical when it comes to food. Attaining free food, is still very important to them, this is very evident at grocery stores and cosco like places where they give out free samples. The etiquette in the states is to take one free sample for yourself... nope, not here. It is like a scene out of national geographic the way these people push each other out of the way for a free sample. And they don't just take one, they take the tray, eat them, then hover around until the next batch is ready to be served. My favorite example is when we were waiting in line to get a cosco hot dog we saw people taking full plates of onions, pickles, ketchup and mustard to accompany their hot dog. They didn't have to pay for it so regardless of whether they were going to eat it or not they wanted a whole plate full.

More later, a few students just wandered into my room early. "Teacher, teacher, teacher, what are you doing? Teacher is a fast typer. Teacher can I braid your hair?" I have to mentally prepare myself.

Life in the Cheap Lane

I get my first official pay check on Oct. 10th. Until then, I have the money I came with, the $200 I got for moving expenses (pretty weak) and my flight reimbursement. So after a month I am dwindling in the funds department. There are so many unforeseen costs when you move somewhere. Korea especially because they believe in down payments for everything. To rent an apartment you have to put down a "key fee" which is around 6 months rent....ouch! When you finally are able to rent a phone(this is after you apply and wait for 3 weeks for your Alien registration card) its around a $300- $500 down payment. Then you have to buy the phone itself. But even before happens you have to rent a phone if you want to have an means of communication with other people. Mine rental phone bill for 3 weeks was a gawking $200 and I mainly waited for people to call me because incoming calls were free. 

All in all, my friend Paul and I are in the same financial crisis till payday so we decided Oct. 10th we are going to hit up the swankiest bar in our neighborhood called the "Sky Bar" on the 30 something floor of a building on the river. We are wearing suits, dresses, perhaps corsages and boutonnieres will be purchased- it's on the table at least. 

Aside from me eating mystery dumplings that I bought at the grocery store things are going well. Dumplings and yogurt are about all I have in my fridge because I still have minor panic attacks when I go to the grocery stores. This is because NOTHING is in english and every turn you make recently killed or dried fish are staring at you. In addition, Korean supermarkets are not understaffed establishments which can not really be said for American grocery stores. They actually have a staff member assigned to each aisle who is there to assist you on the spot if you look even the slightest bit confused. This does not bode well for me however, and I have now taken to practically running in the opposite direction when one of them approaches me. I can't take the rapid fire Korean. I crack under the pressure and just make some stupid hand gestures(why they don't understand what olive oil is when I perform a very convincing olive picking and squeezing act, will never make sense to me) and give an awkward smile and they stare at me in befuddlement until I retreat. 

Starting next week I start my ascent toward the light, in the manner of learning Korean. My head instructor, Clare, has her masters in education and is itching to use her teaching skills on students above the age of 12. So she has offered the other English teachers in my school and myself free Korean lessons. First I have to teach myself the alphabet which should take a day or two, then I'll be in business. The language is different from most other Asian languages because it follows a very similar alphabet as English, around 20 characters, making it easy to read and write. The challenging part is speaking it because they speak from an entirely different area of their body. We speak from our stomachs making much deeper sounds and they speak from their throat and mouth. It's hard to explain but once you hear the sounds they make and then you hear an American try and replicate the sounds, it sounds almost comical. Its tuff and I have my work cut out for myself. But I would really like to give it a solid try. 

In other news I took my first hiking trip of the season. AWESOME! So many things contributed to my utilization of that word. 1. Only a 2 dollar trip on the subway. Took an hour but really not that bad. 2. Sweet little make shift villages make up the base of the mountain made up of mountaineering stores, restaurants, and little vendors. This is where I had my first glimpse at fried chicken feet. Yes the feet of chicken. They boil them then fry them up in chili sauce. I almost maned up and tried some but I chose to put it off till then end of the hike incase of any after sickness and unfortunately by the end of the hike most of the vendors had packed up because of the rain. 3. The people watching on this hike was one of kind. Almost no one under the age of 50 hit the trails. It was shocking/ impressive/ hilarious. Women in their sixties packed up, threw on their awesome visors, and hit the trails on their own. These women were passing us on the trails. If that doesn't make you feel out of shape, I really don't know what could. I only hope I can be as fit as them at their age. 

Only bummer of the hike was the weather. I didn't complain because the lite rainfall was a nice cool brake from the 85 degree weather but it did prohibit us from taking some good pics at the summit because of the fog. Another day, another hike. I just can't wait to go back in a few weeks when the trees start changing- should be gorgeous!

Random funny things that have happened:

- I have now been yelled at by 3 Korean women on separate occasions to keep my voice down. Now they don't actually say this to me directly, they pull aside Blake or anyone else around me who looks Korean and tell them in Korean that the American they are with is too loud. Awesome. 

-I got caught taking my garbage out to the dump in Lotte department store bags instead of the Seoul approved trash bags(17 dollars for 10 of them!!)  by a little old Korean man who started rushing toward me yelling in Korean. Because I'm mature I literally threw them on the top of the dump and ran for my building, taking every precaution not to be seen by taking the stairs to the 11th floor instead chancing it and waiting for the elevator. 

-Blake and I bought huge Korean lady visors and now wear them whenever we meet each other at the subway. They're quite a hit. 

That's all for now. Be well everyone and write me some fancy emails. 

p.s. I have skype all juiced up and ready to go on my computer so jump on the bandwagon and do the same. Skype to skype calls are 100% FREE!!!! If you need pointers email me but mainly just go to www.skype.com and follow the promps. You don't need to buy a plan you can just upload the program on to your computer and it will be just peachy. 

Love love love you all,

Dan

The boys

My two favorite boys. On the left is my buddy Paul. He works with me at my school. He's from Toronto, says Eh much too often, knows nothing about teaching(like me) but is lovely in every way. We literally have lunch and dinner together everyday. We both just bought tennis rackets and are going to hit the courts on sunday to embarrass each other.

Blake is my cute Korean/American. I think I'm going to keep him around for a while. ;)  

Vendor shopping

This is Blake about to munch on silk worms....thank the lord he chose not to eat them... aka saved me from voming on the street. 

Teacher Danielle's adventures in Seoul

Addicted to Kimche

Annyeoung haseyo!

Ok so that is still one of three words that I have learned in almost three weeks of me being here. I can't believe it's been that long, yet I feel like I've been here much longer. That is a good thing I suppose- just fell right into place. 

So I'll give an update:

Last night I had my first all staff dinner afterwork. I have yet to work for corporate America so I don't know how to compare the two work dinners... but if they're anything like here then sign me up. I'm putting a picture up at the end of this to show our table of people, but for the sake of the story there were about 20 of us all sitting at a traditional Korean table. You would think after all the yoga I've done and the ballet that I would be ok to sit under one of these tables for a long period of time... I was sorely mistaken, emphasis on the sore. I think my feet/legs/but all fell asleep before the first shot of rice wine. By the seventh shot, supplementing with beer of course, I think my face was asleep in addition to my feet/legs/but. That stuff is strong....whewww. 

Aside from my minor inebriation the dinner was great. I'm becoming a pro at chopsticks. I eat soup with chopsticks, any kind of noodle and rice dish, and Korean salad. I decided to help myself get better by buying chopsticks instead of silverware for my apartment too. Forks and butter knives are really rare here and when you find them they are all 4 dollars each. To buy a set of 4(fork, knife, spoon) is almost 50 dollars, where you can buy a few spoons and chopsticks for 10. Clearly I haven't gotten my first pay check yet!

The food is growing on me too. I secretly love kimche now- kind of crave it actually. It's been really easy for me to sample lots of different dishes because at Korean dinners you order for the table not just one person, . So I've tried stuff I probably would not dream of ordering. Such as... I tried something that mildly resembled coleslaw last night- hmm it was kind of chewing- tasted pretty good- turns out I was eating shredded dried squid with vinegar on it. So ok, I lived. Would never have ordered it, but hey, not to shabby. I also eat lots of tofu here. There is a really good soup they bring out before your main dish in ready that has a good scallion taste with cubes of tofu soaking in broth, yum. 

So this my came as a shock to all of you- but the only thing I'm having severe withdrawal from is Potbelly's. They don't believe in turkey in this country! It's really quite sad. This weekend is Chusok which is the Korean Thanksgiving, and I asked my students what special food they eat for the holiday. They all chanted something I couldn't understand that they explained was rice cake. One little girl promised she would bring some in so I could try it..... should be interesting. Anyway, I was trying to tell them about an American Thanksgiving and the food that we eat and it was like pulling teeth because they have never heard of pumpkins, turkey, or cranberries. You can buy potatoes here, but they don't have any recipes with them in them. I think it's more for westerners. 

This is short I know. I have a date with my friend Diana(only American girl I have met in Mok-Dong so far) to go get some ramen for lunch. Yum yum!

My apartment!