Korean Christmas 2

Last year I wrote a painfully uninteresting and undetailed account of my Christmas. But this year, don't fret my friends, I had a particularly interesting Christmas, so I'm in a gooooood mood, and I'm ready to share this all with you.

As I had mentioned before I got to attend a bunch of cool events last week, starting with Fever Seoul Live and ending with the T Social Party. I'll review these events and include some pictures and videos for all of you to enjoy.

Fever Seoul Live was interesting. It was much shorter than I anticipated, but it was pretty cool. It was definitely centered upon bboying, which I liked, but I would have liked to see more dumbfoundead and less Jay Park. Don't get my wrong, I like Jay Park, but he seems to me to be just pretty good at everything and not particularly awesome at any one thing. He's a pretty good bboy, he's a pretty good singer, he's an okay rapper, but nothing he does makes me want to jump out of my seat. Korean people like him because he's cute (but his ears are distractingly large) and he speaks Korean and English (wow). Dumbfoundead performed She Don't Care acoustic with David Choi on the guitar, and Manifest beatboxing. He also performed Liquor Store Blues with David Choi, which isn't my favorite but that's okay. And he did Bullets of Truth which is probably my favorite of his old songs (download it y'all! Support him... he's dope). And he did Clouds with Jay Park which has a dope verse by dfd, but Jay Park's verse is kind of lame compared to his other stuff (I actually really like Bestie, which he performed)

DFD (left) and Jay Park (Right)

I went there with my friend Dre, which was fun. I hadn't hung out with him in a long time.

Then on Friday after school I basically sprinted home (okay, so I didn't actually run anywhere, I took a taxi) to get ready for the T Social Christmas Party. The party began at 8 p.m. and was all the way in 강남 which is pretty far away. I thought I was really lucky because my co-teacher got invited as well and she would drive me. I got off work at 4:15 (yay sneaking out early!) and she was going to be at my apt at  5:20 so I had to book it home and get ready. I wore this gorgeous new Lanvin <3 H&M black one shoulder dress with exposed zipper and some new heels I got in 이태원. I unfortunately don't have a picture of the whole outfit, which is super unfortunate. I did my make-up blingbling-tastic (that was the dresscode... bling bling). I forgot to put on mascara in my run out the house a full 5 minutes late. I was supposed to meet my boyfriend in Gangnam at 6:45. Unfortunately, we got stuck in some really horrifyingly bad traffic. Basically, it would take about 50 minutes to 1 hour to get to Gangnam from where we live, but since it was rush-hour on a Friday which also just so happened to be Christmas Eve, after one hour, we were still in Incheon, barely to Bupyeong. I was really really upset, because I didn't want to be late, and it was really boring. I could have just taken the train and it would have been easier. We finally got moving only to get stuck in even worse traffic in Youngdeungpo, which is about 10 minutes driving (usually) from Gangnam. After sitting in that traffic until about 7:00, I was like fuck this. I told my co-teacher that I would find the subway and take the subway. I got out of the car in the middle of the street, and crossed through oncoming traffic in -15 degree Celsius weather, hailed a cab and had it take me to the closest subway station. It took me another 30 minutes on the subway (i had to transfer twice), but I still beat my co-teacher by something like 2 hours. She evidently took a wrong turn and got onto a highway headed to Busan (the southernmost point on South Korea basically... not good). I met my boyfriend and we walked to the club (after a minor detour where we got totally lost and I had to call Mina to get directions). Got to the club, with unusable fingers due to the cold, and was really snappy to my boyfriend (Sorry BOOOOO!) but then we were inside! We didn't miss anything except 360 Sounds' DJ set. We saw Leessang (리쌍) and Se7en (세븐) and GD&TOP. Our view wasn't the best, but since we are both really tall, we could see well enough, in spite of being a bit far from the stage. The performance was a little underwhelming, because there were too many people at the club and people were acting really stupid. But Se7en, GD & TOP were all really awesome. Se7en sang Digital Bounce, I'm Going Crazy, Better Together, LaLaLa, and 열정(Passion, my FAVORITE). And GD came out and sang Heartbreaker, and TOP sang Turn It Up and then they both came out and did High High, Oh Yeah and 뻑이가요 (Knock Out). OMG SO FUCKING AWESOME.

Then boo and I took a taxi back home and ate McDonalds.

I will tell you about my actual Christmas more specifically later!

Take It Slow Spanish

So I just found this:



Also, I want to add that OMG I'm going to a party Friday that will be me and in the same club as Se7en TOP and GD. And I get to wear my gorgeous new dress AND be with my BOYFRIEND!! Merry Christmas to me!

Diet

So I've lost 5 kilos!! Well, more like 4.5, but I'm gonna round up because I'm darn excited about it. I'm almost back to my freshman year of university weight. Now if I can just go back a teeeeeeny bit further into high school weight, I'd be practically euphoric.

Anyways, this weekend, I finally get to see my boyfriend, who, due to final exams, has been sadly absent for the last week and a half or so. And this weekend I'm going to be making some Christmas Cards. By some cards, I might mean a card.

I also got some students to participate in my video project. Yay!

Christmas is in a weeeeeeeeek! And it snowed a whole bunch yesterday/today. It was awesome! But it won't snow again for a long while... :-(((((

YAY!

xoxo
A

Christmas Time pt. 1

It is Christmas time. This is on a shopping street around the corner from my house. These lights were put up the day before United States' Thanksgiving but they didn't turn them on until the night of Thanksgiving which I am sure the city didn't realize but it was still nice to see some wait. Christmas music has been playing in Christmas stores for two weeks now

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I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas. I went to LotteWorld. It was awesome. I don't know what else to tell you. It snowed on Christmas, and it's snowing now. I love the snow so much. I actually giggled like a small child when I saw it was snowing on Christmas. It only snowed for a little while (maybe 45 minutes) and it barely stuck, but it was still wonderful.

Today I'm cleaning my apartment and figuring out some new years resolutions. I will let you know what I come up with.

xoxo
A

Merry Christmas

I unfortunately left my camera at school this weekend, and so this update will be picture-less. I am especially bummed about this because I took lots of pictures of my classroom, my students, and other things christmas-y. I guess I will just do a picture post later next week.

It's officially Christmas Day here in Korea. I was woken up by a text message at 7:30 from a student, saying Merry Christmas & Happy New Year. I was both touched and annoyed. haha.

Had some croissants for breakfast. It's not Mom's breakfast before, but it'll do.

Yesterday was a wonderful day of school. I was scheduled to have 5 classes, but I ended up only having 3, due to a special book program thing in the gym for all the students.

Because it was Christmas Eve, many students gave me Christmas cards. I got about 6 today, bringing my total christmas card count to 12. Not too shabby, me thinks. The cards from my students are my favorites, simply because I know the effort they put into making them. Some of them made cards by hand, others bought cards. Either way, they all wrote notes in English, which is impressive, and quite a challenge for some of them. They say the sweetest nicest things to me, and I love them.

Then, after work, my coteachers and I got together in the English room and they brought a cake! A Christmas Cake! You see, in the United States, it is our tradition to eat Christmas cookies. Here, they eat Christmas Cake. What is a Christmas cake you ask? Well, it's not any different than a regular cake, except it has adorable Christmas decorations on it. My cake, for example had a reindeer, two chocolate christmas trees, snowflakes and a bunch of fruit on top. I took pictures, which I will post on Monday.

Last night, I got to talk to Pav, and in about an hour I'll be talking to the parents! Quite excited for that.

My first Korean Christmas! As I told my co-teachers yesterday, hopefully not my last Korean Christmas!

xoxo
A

Christmas Time

It snowed on Sunday. One of my students texted me about it (this is a long story... my students know my phone number) and that was the only way I'd have known about it. I was in bed pretty much all day, trying to nurse a hangover. I got up around 5 p.m. to shower and finally get some food (I hadn't eaten all day). Hit up McDonalds where, to my chagrin, there were to families of Westerners with loud kids. You know you've been in Korea too long when you go somewhere and see Westerners and think, "God those westerners and their foreign ways, why can't they just try a little harder" I snarled at them a bit (and their kids who were going crazy in the play area climbing where they shouldn't have and then screaming wildly) and ate my chicken mcnuggets and bounced. Then had ramen for dinner at 10 p.m. Today my appetite is off. I wasn't very hungry at lunch, but now I am famished.

Anyways, this week I am showing A Charlie Brown Chistmas to my classes, and playing a word game (how many words can you make from the words Christmas Tree) and giving candy canes that my parents sent as rewards for the most words. It's gone over well. Students here don't know what candy canes are.

Anyhow, I'm trying to think of cool things to do next semester, and I am hoping to start pen pals with my grade 3s, but I need to find someone in the states who is teaching middle schoolers. I'm thinking maybe 6th graders or something. I will have about 100-150 grade 3 students and I would like to do a monthly penpal letter. My students would write their letters in class as part of their practice (homework is nonexistent here because students are so busy with school and then hagwons or private study) for one class period/month. Then, I would mail all the letters in a bundle back to the states and they students back at home in the states could respond. I am thinking that monthly would work okay. My students write a letter in class, I mail it the Friday at the end of the week, It gets to the States in about a week (so we are at 2 weeks time). Students in the states have a week to read and respond (homework?) and then US teacher sends bundle back to me (2 more weeks). Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. My students start in March. The only problem is that students would only be able to be penpals for 3 months. March, April, May, before school ends for summer vacation. That's the only downside.

It could still be fun for American students, and really really good practice for my students. If any of you know of some middle school teachers who would be interested in doing something like this, holla atcha girl.

So, Christmas is on Friday. It hardly feels like Christmas, even with the snow (of which there are still lots of remnants around my place). For a little while, weather.com indicated snow on Christmas, which would have been LOVELY, but it looks like they have since retracted that prediction. Bummer.

Ho Ho Ho bitches.

xoxo
A

Cold Cold Night

Today is freaking freezing. This week shows highs in the 20s. Huzzah, winter is here! However, Christmas predictions show now snow. In fact, prediction looks like highs in the balmy 40s!

Thomas is coming here soooooon! I cannot wait! He gets in on the evening of December 30th, which is my last day of classes. Then we shall explore Incheon (blah) for a day. By that I mean, we will go to Chinatown and eat jjajjangmyeon and sweet and sour pork and maybe see the peru, and then we'll go to Seoul for New Year's. Shooting for an all-night, which is very plausible, if not likely. Then Dongdaemun, cheongyecheon, maybe that one palace that I haven't been to yet near city hall. Maybe Myeongdong. 63 building. Busan? Who really knows?

I'm making Christmas cards for my coworkers right now. Making a snowman card, a snowflake card, a santa card, and one more. Maybe a Christmas present? I need a good idea. I have glitter glue to use, which is quite exciting. Back into craft mode, which is a relief. Things have been really crazy lately, so it's nice to be able to take a break. I gotta find wrapping paper and then a white elephant gift before Saturday so I can go to the Christmas party on Saturday AND so I can mail my Christmas gifts next week sometime. God. Working full time (at a place that isn't the mall) really impedes my ability to get Christmas gifts.

I didn't teach any classes for the last two days, which is good because I've finally had a break. I got some planning done for a teacher class I'm doing over winter break (which is good because LPs are due on the 17th) and I came up with some ideas for the camp at the boys school. Still no idea what I'll do for the girls, but that's easy enough I only have 4 hours to plan. And two hours are supposed to pretty much just be games, so that'll be easy enough, I suppose. For the boys camp, it'll be about 20 hours, which is a lot more demanding. Unfortunately I've received no guidance or information regarding the boys camp, so idk what the hell is going on with that.

A weird weird day

Today has been a combination of awesome and awful. I'll spare the gruesome details, but will share this:
1. I broke a girls' spirit while playing review Jeopardy. She almost cried. She is the best student in that particular class. I was emotionally distraught
2. I was only emotionally distraught until I started filling in birthdays and American holidays on my new 2010 HELLO KITTY calendar. Oh. My. God. It is so cute.
3. My coteacher informed me there was a three day training thing going on in the middle of the time Thomas is coming to visit. I wanted to cry. Luckily, they are working it out for me.
4. After lunch, I have just one class. It is grade 1, class 1. I HATE THAT CLASS.
5. One girl in grade 1-1 made me cry today. She was incredibly disrespectful, and I had no co-teacher to monitor the situation. I almost lost it and swore and screamed, but I held it in. It was heartbreaking though. There are some really really good students in the class, and I feel incredibly bad for them because they want to learn, and there are about 5 girls who blatantly interrupt their ability to learn by being talkative, disruptive or rude for no real reason, except that they are poorly behaved and mean-spirited.
6. One student brought me a BigBang/2ne1 poster! SO HAPPY.
7. I am finally learning names. Lots of them. There is: Chrissy, Scarlett, Amy and Audrey, plus Jeong Yeon, Ha Eun, Eun Yeong, Jin Ha, Minji (times 3), Ara, Jinsu (times 2), Areum, Saerom, Hyeju, So-Yeon, Hyeon-bin (who has a pet goldfish named poo-poo. seriously, I can't make that shit up), Sara, So-un, Eun-bin, Da-eun, Da-un, Hee-Jin(school president) and some others than I'm forgetting at the moment but legitimately know. It's so hard.
8. My Korean teacher said that for the next term I should go to the intermediate class. HOORAY!
9. Delicious dwaeji-kalbi (bbq pork) for dinner.

It sounds like on the whole, the positives outweigh the negatives, but that one girl in my grade 1, class 1 really irritated me to the point that I questioned whether or not I can handle being in Korea for another year. I am over it now (sort of), but I think that now I will have this awful bias against this one girl.

On a lighter note, Christmas is in full swing here. Hooray! Pictures from Christmas in Korea:

At Myeong-Dong, the busy shopping area in Seoul. I wish I had taken a picture of the obscene crowds. At Christmastime, there are easily THOUSANDS of people crowded in this 5 block x 5 block shopping district. It's intense.

This is Etude House, a make-up/beauty store in Korea. It is very famous and popular amongst younger girls. It is adorable for Christmas, I think.

Also, I went to Lotte World (but only the ice skating rink, not the whole theme park)on Saturday with Ara. We had coffee and chatted (and met with Guenwoo, another former ELI student) and that was quite fun. Then we went ice skating which was AMAZING. There are some good pics Ara took up on facebook, including my new Korea-tastic profile picture. I was terrified at first (it's been almost 10 years since I've ice skated), but I got back into it in no time. However, my ankles were beat by the end. Afterwards, we went to Omuto Tomato, which is an omurice place. Here are pictures (AND VIDEOS) of that.

This band came on the ice and played instruments, while these two weird Disney-esque rip-off characters ice-skated around and sort of danced in a poorly choreographed manner.

It seemed to me like they were only concerned with actually choreographing only the band's movements and tiny portions of the characters ice dance, as much of the "dance" included off beat head bopping and knee bending, and occasional sidelong glances at each other in an obvious attempt to figure out what the other was doing and then mimicking it lamely. But the band was pretty good.

Video 1- The Doxology

Video 2- O Come All Ye Faithful

A Lovely Day

Today was made to be perfect.

I had fried eggs and toast for breakfast (so yummy, even though I did break a yolk on my flip).

On the walk to school, a guy was trimming some evergreen trees on the other side of the privacy wall, and it smelled like Christmas trees, and it was briskly cool out, which was glorious.

At school lunch today, we had pork loin that tasted EXACTLY like what my mom makes, and cucumbers and I basically died because it tasted so much like home. Comfort food, to the fullest.

My next door neighbors put out some Halloween decorations. Plus, I found out where I can get a real big pumpkin to put up for halloween in my classroom. I wish I could afford little bitty pumpkins for my students. Unfortunately, I have 600 of them, and that simply will not work...

Had a McDonalds choco sundae, which is literally the best snack a human being could have invented. At just under one buck, I can have soft serve vanilla ice cream slathered with thick hot fudge in exactly the perfect proportion. McDonalds is not a place I would consider known for perfection, but this is edible perfection in a plastic cup.

Korean class was freaking ridiculous, but I didn't care. I think I will learn a lot, as long as I study a LOT, and try to pay attention in class even when I don't know what the hell is going on. Flash cards, here I come.

This was extra clutch because last night I had been feeling a touch lonely and stressed, but those feelings have completely evaporated and I'm happy to say nothing could be better. ^o^

Back at home, readying myself for bed. yay!