Only in Korea

So I went out of town yesterday with a few friends to Yeong-Am, a nearby town that has a huge mountain and a National park. My friends were to climb the mountain and I was to wander the park, find some quiet spot, read, relax, and just have some time to myself. It is so noisy here, it is virtually impossible to find quiet.

Well, ol' Korea stayed true to herself; I did not find quiet!

The mountain was swarming with Koreans dressed in their finest hiking gear. It looked like a Mountain Equipment Co-Op fashion show. There was not much room to wander around that was not uphill towards the mountain top. To top things off, who should arrive right next to me, but Mr Kim!

He has been constantly asking me to come to his house in Yeong-Am. I always decline as he does not speak much English and I am always too tired on the weekends to spend a day fighting to be understood.

Well Mr. Kim decides that I need not hang around the mountain (Wolchuson), I must go to his house. So, he whisked me away to his house, then his son's house, attempting to feed me, etc. I tell him I am only there for an hour or so, then I must get back to my puppy. He takes this to mean that we have an hour together and then he will take me to the bus station!

It is funny and I did see the comical side to it for sure. But, it is also aggravating. He is my boss, (much higher than me in the hierarchy) so I am careful not to offend him. I do appreciate his kindness, but he doesn't even ask, or concern himself with what my plans were. He just decides he will do what he wants with me! His English is good enough to understand what I was doing there and to ask if I want to do things, but in Korea, this is irrelevant. One is expected to simply go along with things. I see the teachers at my school do this all the time.

Finally, I had to put a stop to it, less my trip to carve out a little peace and space away from the constant demands Korea puts on me, turn into another day at school. I kindly told Mr. Kim I needed to walk, I was not hungry, and he took me back to the mountain. (mind you, not without following me around for a bit, lol)

I managed to secure around 15 mins of quiet time...

Video

Check out Jake in his sling:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udXMG22FXlE

Jake the Destroyer

I affectionately call my puppy this as he barrells through the house knocking everything over in his path, putting his nose in everything! He tries to jump up onto the bed and hauls down anything near him in the process. This however, does not deter him!

Korea

Korean take out: food is delivered in actual dishes, and when you are finished you put the dishes outside your door and the driver will come back and pick them up!
another silly English sign; "fum" rather than "fun"
"pizza", ketchup, peas, corn, and other unidentifieds on bread.
highheels everywhere!
I don't think Nike had this in mind with their slogan "just do it". Most Korean women wear highheels everywhere, with everything, doing everything.

Meet Jake

After much thought I decided to get another puppy. Initially, I had no intention of going for round two, but when I went into the shop to discuss Jack, there was this cute little guy that stole my heart. I deliberated for two days and against logic (I am in Korea remember?) I got him.

He has been a handful to say the least, but a rather cute one. I really and truly had no idea puppies were such hard work! I don't have our future all planned out yet (believe it or not), but he is bringing me a lot of joy right now, and that is something I definitely need! Meet Jake...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8O_GPdwbfU

Funny

Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y75RmUKoOZw

A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood

Jan's first time so she needed a little help!



Marnie

Moi
Les trois filles (not my hat!)

Rollerblade vendor with cool hat :)

Today I dragged myself out the door into the bright sunshine. I called my buddies and got them out too! We started at MacDonald's for breakfast, went to Peace Square and rollerbladed, then back to MacDonald's for icecream.



Check out the korean women riding their bike... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvSM0W4nN80

Pictures

Can I wrap my calbi in this?
We're happy, on our way to the Outback to eat REAL food!
SoYeong and me
Super duper toilet. You can even get a shower... just ask Jan!
Space age hand dryer

So Yeong interviewing me

This video is of one of my grade three extra class students interviewing me. It is quite funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IW_EeEMTeZs

It's been a long time...

Wow, it has been awhile since I posted. Not a lot to report, experienced a few setbacks, but am back on track now. Only 2 months (and a few days) left of teaching and then I am off on vacation!! Woo hooo! I am heading back to Bali (Ketut has promised a tour) and to Thailand for the first time. Can't wait.

I have decided to go home to Canada for awhile. I did want to take off to somewhere else after a month, but I think Canada will be a welcome relief. I miss proper teaching, relationships with kids, and of course all the other things that home has.

This year has really made a mark on my soul. What comes first to my mind are the challenging things, the bad experiences. However, believe it or not, there have been some positive things too. Wait...did I really say that? I have learned more about myself and have definitely grown. Some of it was painful growing, but necessary I think. I ended a friendship that I should have ended long ago and despite the hurt, managed not to shut myself off again. If anything, maybe I have opened up more. It is much more clear who and what kind of people I want in my life. This is something I struggle with. I would rather stay home and watch t.v. than hang out with someone who is "fine". I choose not to spend my time with people I don't have anything in common with. It seems as though I am always defending this choice. When you are in school, or in Korea teaching, there are a lot of people around you that you have no desire to spend time with. But, often in an effort to fit in, I do anyway. In the past I have twisted and turned trying to make my round self fit into the square hole!

The last month has been really difficult emotionally. I had a significant problem at school with a co-worker ( I actually told her she was a bitch! Which I have never done anything like that in my life) and my sweet little puppy died. I tried to help him but he was not strong enough. For about a week I really did not care about anything. I was so stressed from Korea in general, that these two things combined pushed me right over the edge. I cried so much about Jack (the puppy), I surprised myself. He was to be my source of happiness for my remaining time in Korea.

Slowly, but ever surely, I am feeling more like myself again. I resisted the urge to shut myself off. The co worker problem is being managed and I have only a short time left here. I have a tendancy to think in absolutes, negative ones, and I must learn to stop this. There is always tomorrow and even though we can't see it at the time, things usually do work out for the best.

When I was a kid and things got bad, I would always think about tomorrow. I loved the song from Annie and would often try to sing it in my best C minor (as Bob says) off key voice! So, when things get rough, just remember that tomorrow is another day, another chance, another opportunity for things to be different. Hopefully, things will be great!

I have some new pictures of the kids and the interesting Korean bathrooms, but I am at school so I will have to do it from home.

Stay tuned...