Busy Days

In 5 days I went from roughly 10,000 total video views on 30 total videos to almost 20,000 currently. I also had a mere 9-11 subscribers, and now stand at 56. Yahoo!

Also, today was hella productive. I had a super busy day at school: 5 classes back to back, including the two worst classes at my school. Then I managed to get off work early and hit the bank to pay a bill AND the post office to mail Christmas gifts back home (last year I barely managed to send my gifts before January 30th). Then I took a bus to the 한의원 for acupuncture. Got my acupuncture and discovered I've lost 2.5 kilos so far (YAY). Then I took a cab back to my neighborhood (it was raining) and picked up contact lenses. Then walked home (it stopped raining) and stopped to get some mandarins from the traditional market, and then some granola bars for breakfast this weekend. Now it's 6:30 and I don't really know what to do.

Not eating dinner at all really takes the fun out of evenings.

I'm pretty exhausted though. Hopefully I'll hit the sack early today.

My Phone. My ipod touch. My gadgets.

So. I officially have downloaded about 20 or so apps for the phone. It got easier to download apps once I discovered I didn't have to do them off the T-Store because the T-Store is entirely in Korean. This makes it good for things like subway maps, but terrible for other things, like me finding apps that are actually useful or comprehensible. I found the android market (it was a pretty clearly labeled app on my app page, so I'm pretty dumb for not seeing it) and have snatched up a few must haves. These are the things I've downloaded so far:

1. A subway map. I actually downloaded this before I downloaded twitter or facebook apps. It's that freaking important.
2. Facebook for Android
3. Twitter for Android
4. Incheon International Airport Information (maps, incoming flights and delays and stuff)
5. Big Bang Schedule (uh, pretty damn important)
6. Pipe Tycoon (a game on the T-Store that is like that ipod app with the pipes and water)
7. 할인 항공 a Korean discount flight finder app. It's all in Korean, so we'll see how much I use it.
8. Justin Bieber- Baby ringtone and bell app (My boo's ringtone)
9. Taeyang- I need a girl ringtone and bell app (my phone's standard ringtone)
10. My Coex: An app for the Coex mall. Maps and some discount information and event info
11. 오! 마이 디데이 (Oh! My D-Day): Korean people use the term d-day as a konglish interpretation of a countdown. This is simply a countdown app. I currently have a countdown till me and my boo's 100 day anniversary and a countdown till Christmas.
12. Flash: Flashlight app
13. 2NE1: A 2ne1 app with all their music videos, all their albums, a fuckton of pictures and stuff, a calendar and a bunch of other shit for fangirls or fanboys.
14. 볼뿌요: like bejeweled but super speed and with add layers of interest. Really fun. addicting.
15. CGV: an app for reserving movie tickets at CGV, the biggest movie theater chain in Korea
16. Photofunia: A photo editing app. Funsies.
17. GoStop: what is sounds like, a go-stop app
18. myExpense Pal: A budget monitor
19. Gator News: A Florida football news aggregator
20. Florida Gators: A Florida Football Fan App
21. Korea NextBus!: A moderately useful bus tracking app. I need to figure that one out still.
22. Google Translate
23. NYTimes
24. Blogger-droid: To blog with.

To those of you with androids out there, what apps do you recommend I check out? Anything for kpop? Anything special for Big Bang that I haven't found? Any Hello Kitty apps? Any Korea related apps?

I also got my 5th generation ipod touch at school today. Actually I think it came on Friday, but I went home from work early, so I didn't actually receive it until today. It's beautiful but it desperately needs to be covered and protected from the dangerous world out there. I already got a case for my phone (it sucks, but it'll do... it's already gotten a dozen or so compliments) but the ipod touch is probably more at risk for scratches due to the patent glossy silver back. It has the camera in the front and the back which is suuuuuuuuuper awesome. Plus I can do facetime video recording on it, which strangely I can't seem to figure out how to do on the galaxy. It's weird because you can do facetime calling on my phone (all cellphones have that function here pretty much) which requires video, but I can't just record a video on the front-facing camera. I do have a bunch of fancy camera settings on the phone though (haven't checked out the ipod's camera yet too much).

I synched my old apps from my old ipod touch (which I sold maybe 3 weeks ago) and I realized how few apps I actually had. But then, I only had the touch for two weeks maybe. And its only wifi so I couldn't download things whenever I want (I'm basically addicted on the 3G on my phone). But I'm working on getting more things. I'm having some issues with downloading games on the droid os. idk why, but it only downloads maybe 2 out of every three I select to dl. And I can't access the droid market for games only on the phone. So I guess the touch will be the game and music gadget and the phone will be the camera and phone and internet gadget.

Which brings me to my next question: What ipod apps should I be downloading. I have Korean Air, nytimes, papertoss, skpe, sudoku tap tap revenge, time mobile, wikipanion, and naver maps. suggestions?

So tonight I made nachos. With the giant block of sharp cheddar cheese that Beks got me at Costco. I bought redpepper and chopped em up and seasoned up some frozen popcorn chicken (you know, you make due with whatcha got... didn't have time to go buy fresh chicken or beef) and tossed em on some tortilla chips. The cheese was clutch because the rest of it was kind of ho-hum. But hot damn that cheese.

Tomorrow I'm gonna go to the gym and exercise those nachos off and then I'll make eggs and cheddar cheese. There is a lot of cheese that needs to be eaten and I'm not gonna let that 10,000 won I spent on it
go to waste.

xoxo
A

Goals

Tomorrow's goals:

1. Go to the bank. Transfer a bunch of money.
2. Go back to school. Pay off a good chunk of my student loans.
3. Buy my sister a gift for being awesome enough to do me a huuuuuuuge favor.
4. Make my lessons for next week.
5. Finish all of the Intro Sogang University Korean course. (Start level 2?)
6. Transcribe all of Big Bang Vol 1 onto www.reallykpop.com (So far only two songs are up)
7. Translate Digital Bounce by Se7en
8. Go to the gym at 6 a.m. and get in a short workout (cardio and abs only... no time for weights)
9. Make speaking exam questions.
10. Actually buy a desk for my damn apartment.

Let's see if I can even get half of that done. Thank god it's exam day. Hopefully that'll empower me. ^^

Blah.

My fall league is on this annoying losing streak. Also, I'm kind of sucking.

I have to go to the gym tomorrow. And I want to buy this Em Polham sweater, and a coach bag, and some other things. And I have to wire transfer some money back home.

Most important is wire transfer. Then gym. Then shopping.

I have have have have have to lose 6-7 kilos (for my non-metric friends and readers, that 13.2-15.4 lbs). I'm not setting a time goal because usually that just serves to either discourage or make for an unhealthy goal. I need encouragement on this goal. I don't just want to lose weight, I want get back in shape. I remember junior, senior years of high school and freshman, sophomore years of university and I LONG for that. I felt so healthy.

I don't think there is that much going on here these days.

I've been busy this week with my first week of summer camp. I made it really active for my girls because they're grade 1 and if it isn't engaging their totally zoned out. So on day one, we did music listening challenges. Then on day two, we had a cooking class. We went down to the home ec room (가사실) and made banana and peanut butter pancakes. The students really liked them. Some even took pictures with their phones and set their pancake pictures as the backgrounds on their phones. Then on Wednesday, we wrote movie plots. They had to chose a genre and a main character and describe the characters and then write and outline of the story. I gave them a sample story that involved a second Korean war, YoungBae falling in love with me, and me being a prisoner of war. Basically, it was epic. Thursday we made movie posters for our movies. Students had all class to make their posters and some students presented, but not many. The pics of the movie posters are below. Horror movie was the genre of choice.

(My picture)

This weekend, I have another date, and on Sunday I'll play frisbee. Then, Monday-Thursday I'll be on vacation. No solid plans yet. A visit from the boy. Maybe Bekah and I will go to Busan or Gwangju, but it doesn't look good in the planning department.

I have to read James and the Giant Peach with my students for my other camp. I have never read it before (this may seem like blasphemy to childrens lit fans, but I was never into Roald Dahl. In fact, I don't know if I've read any of his books). I discovered that the book uses the word 'ass' twice (well, so far... I'm almost done) which seems moderately inappropriate for 7th graders. But maybe not. I just feel like I shouldn't be teaching students English swear words.

Also, yesterday and today I went to the immigration office. I went yesterday to get my Visa and Alien Registration Card extended so I could stay another year in Korea and teach at my wonderful school. My primary co-teacher, Kim Hyo-Jin went with me to the office, which is a 15-20 minute walk from my house/school. Then, today I went back to the immigration office because they didn't extend my visa, only my arc which is annoying because my co-teacher specifically asked, is this for both things or just one? Gah. 짜증나~ Plus I went with a different co-teacher that I don't really like as much because she makes me crazy with her methods of doing things. I had to go wither her because the others had left for trips to Singapore and Cambodia (omg so effing jealous).

My resolutions for the next year in Korea:
1. visit Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia
2. improve my teaching efficiency
3. pay off all my student loans
4. help sar-bear plan her wedding from afar
5. Actually keep in contact with more people.

Those are in no particular order.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that you can add nearly 600,000 won to my frivolous spending account as I bought a new Coach bag and Coach wallet. Seriously, they were so worth every won. I freaking love them. Unfortunately I can't use the purse often because it rains so much here and I don't want it to get soaked or messed up.

I will also leave you with Se7en's comeback song music video. I think he is hella fine, but his tattoo is ugly. But, Se7en in a total legend as far as k-pop goes. He's been around forever and he's finally making a comeback. I wasn't into him until recently, but listening to his older shit makes me really dig him.

10 month's Worth of Purchases

I figured I would catalogue all the things that I bought this year. Obviously, this doesn't include things like food, travel, alcohol, etc. This is pretty much just clothing, accessories, and make-up:

-10 pairs of 1,000 won earring from 못된고양이 = 10,000 won
- 3 pairs of not 1,000 won earrings from Forever 21 and Hongdae Free Market: 20,000 won
- 2 4,000 won necklaces from 못된고양이 = 8,000 won
- 2 5,000 won headbands from Bupyeong underground = 10,000 won
- 6 1,000 won headbands from 못된고양이 = 6,000 won
- 1 10,000 won headband from Hongdae = 10,000 won
- 2 skirts, 1 dress, 3 shirts, 1 coat from Forever 21 = 225,000 won
- 4 5,000 won t-shirts, 1 cardigan from 동인천 underground = 40,000 won
- 1 coat, 3 shirts from H&M = 150,000 won
- 2 pairs Converse Chuck Taylors (one hi-top, one low-top) = 120,000 won
- 1 pair Nike Air Legends = 60,000 won
- 1 pair Puma sneakers = 65,000 won
- 1 cardigan, 1 dress, 1 t-shirt, 1 sweater from Uniqlo = 115,000 won
- 1 t-shirt from Codes Combine = 25,000 won
- 1 sweater dress from Spao = 35,000 won
- 4 scarfs from various locations (인사동, 주안 underground, 명동)= 40,000 won
- 1 black cowl neck sweater from ehwa women's university shopping district= 25,000 won
- 2 pairs of gloves/mittens = 30,000 won
- 2 knit hats = 40,000 won
- 8 pairs of tights = 50,000 won
- 2 10,000 won purses from Bupyeong underground = 20,000 won
- 2 white, 1 blue Korea ultimate jerseys = 100,000 won
- 1 dumbfoundead t-shirt = 30,000 won
- 1 pair fake fob glasses = 10,000 won
- 20 bottles of nail polish (holy shit) = 33,000 won
- 2 lipsticks = 16,000 won
- 1 eyeshadow 4-way = 12,000 won
- 8 individual eyeshadows = 30,000 won
- black & brown eyeliner = 18,000 won
- all-over glitter = 5,000 won
- 1 dress from Thailand = 10,000 won
- 1 limited Edition silk screen t-shirt from Hongdae Free Market = 10,000
- 1 Coach wristlet = 60,000 won
- 2 belts = 15,000 won

Grand total: 1,418,000 won.

Now, I'm sure I've forgotten several things. Probably more than several. And of course, my prices are estimates. Some things I know for sure (eyeshadow 4-way, earrings, nailpolish, coach wristlet) and others are estimates (some more generous than others... I def over-priced some things, I def under-priced somethings). also, this doesn't include other purchases such as a cactus (I needed company), new comforter/sheets,

Now, add in my tattoo and my computer, and the roughly 150,000 won I've spent on Hello Kitty shit (sad, but true) and those purchases total out to 3,500,000 won, which is roughly 2 months of my salary (after taxes). I have spent 20% (2 out of 10 total months) of my pay on shit like clothing and make-up. Oh. My. Fucking. God.

I guess I should look at it this way: I got a lot of cool new shit. Actually, I should look at it this way: what the fuck is wrong with me and my addiction to buying shit?

That's depressing.

xoxo,
A

The events of the day

Today I bought a new comforter. Unfortunately due to my lackadaisical shopping habits (mixed with only a mediocre knowledge of Korean, I purchased a fitted sheet (good), one pillow case (when I need two), and a duvet cover in lieu of an actual comforter. Luckily, the weather is getting warmer and my apartment is usually really really really hot due to my 10' by 7' westward-facing window. As such I will put off purchasing a new comforter (the old one is old and gross and also has a print that will show through the white parts of my duvet cover.

In my defense, how the hell was I supposed to know the 이불커버 meant comforter cover. 이불 just sounds like evil. granted, 커버 sounds just like cover, but still. What the hell is an evil cover?

After a quick Google Search, I discovered that this, in fact, is what an Evil Cover looks like. Or at least what A Touch of Evil cover looks like.

Anyways, my new comforter is really cute (not that my old one wasn't, it just had holes in it), and it's bright so hopefully after a terrible day of school, it will cheer me up. That's the goal. It does spunk up the place nicely.

Plus, the new comforter has *almost* inspired me to actually pick up a bit around the place. Currently on my bed there is only my purse, a sweatshirt, my cell phone and me. This lowers my average amount of crap on my bed by at least 80% Of course, now everything is just sitting in piles on my coffee table. I swear once I get rid of my stupid dell laptop, I'll fix everything. Luckily that day is quickly approaching. All I have to do is find the IP address or whatever it is so I can connect my computer to the ethernet that I am paying for (instead of stealing someone else in my apartment's wireless), and transfer the remaining word documents to my macbook, and all ties to my dell will officially be cut. Then my mac will take it's rightful place upon throne: a shitty, bowed, poorly constructed, duct-taped to hell gray desk.

홍익대 프리 마켓과 청계천

So the title of this post is Hongik University Free Market and Chonggyecheon. These are two of the places Melina and I went with Hyemoon, a former ELI student, last Saturday. Basically, I'll just post pictures, and very short comments

1. Hongik University's free market as got to be one of the coolest things I've been to in Seoul. It's basically a gathering of various artists, most of whom are 홍익대 students, who are selling their creations in the children's park directly across from the university's main entrance gate. It was really busy last weekend because the weather was so nice. I bought earrings, a t-shirt, and a giraffe postcard. Things here are a bit pricey, but you are usually getting one of a kind or limited edition things, and you're supporting local artists. Pictures:

 

2. Chonggyecheon is a place I've been to several times, but almost strictly at night, and almost strictly when it was bitterly cold. As such, the stream that runs straight through downtown Seoul has a totally different appearance and brightness that I had not before seen. There were lanterns up for Buddha's birthday, there were dozens upon dozens of families and couples and friends strolling beside the stream, and the plants were green and blooming and beautiful. It was deliciously breezy. Pictures:

 

 

In the background of the right pic is the Samsung Building. It's pretty cool looking.

xoxo
A

Movies

So, yesterday, my co-teacher and I went to go see the G-Dragon Shine a Light Concert movie at the CGV Theater near Incheon City Hall. Believe it or not, this was my first movie theater experience in Korea. I know, I know, I've lived here for over 8 months and I'm only just now seeing my first movie? Yeah, well, some of you may know that I'm not really a movie person. The only reason I ever watched movies in high school/university is because of Craig. Craig was a total movie guy and I just went along. hah. I just don't really like movies. The plots and characters never really stick with me for any time at all. People always ask me if I've seen this movie or that movie, and frankly, I don't really know because I can't remember. It's a problem i have.

However, the GDragon concert movie was much easier to get behind because there is no plot to remember, and there is a very limited cast of characters. Granted, there were lots of special guests, including Teddy, CL, Dara, and ALL of BigBang (omgomgomgomgomg) but, I already know these people, almost intimately (they don't know me, but I know them... weird). GD had costume change galore, with two all-white outfits, an all red jacket and pants ensemble, a sweet jacket that was white orange and yellow (if memory serves), a ridiculous black outfit with a GIGANTIC BOW (omg, this was my favorite thing), and a black tee with a black vest with feathers. I love this man. He's so cute when he makes his little faces, but then so sexy and hard when he raps or gets really intense. Gaaaaaaah. Also, Taeyang was a special performer for Korean Dream and Look Only at Me (나만 바라봐) and it was wonderful.

Oh, and did I mention that I got a cool mini movie poster which I will be putting up in my room to continue the Big Bang shrine.

As far as movie theaters go, the CGV is by far the nicest I've been in. In addition to your standard movie theater fare, you could also eat at A Twosome Place or the foodcourt one floor below which has McDonalds, KFC, Baskin Robins, CanMore(<-- English!), or a number of Korean places with Mandu, Ramyeon (that's k-spelling of Ramen), Sundae (not ice cream), and a number of other things. Also, you can go to the arcade, which is about 5xs the size of a typical American Movie Theater arcade, and much better lit. Also, you can do a little shopping in the Movie Theater's gift shop (that's right, the movie theater has a a gift shop), which features toys, stuffed animals, trinkets and other chotchskies (thanks Ali!) that are typical from Japan, but occasionally from SK itself. We're talking Dragonball-Z figurines, stuffed Totoro dolls, phone charms galore, post-it notes shaped like dog bones, toast, fried eggs, or pineapples, and other various goodies. Plus, a Samsung Store, in case you want to indulge in a new Corby F that our beautiful 2ne1 girls promote during the movie previews, a video camera (because you were so inspired by the cinematography in the movie Kick Ass), or a new laptop to edit your future oscar-winner. Seriously, it's like a mini shopping center.

I almost purchased a stuffed version of this guy. He's so effing cute!!

Today is my birthday and mid-term exams for my students. They are stressing and I am relaxing. My co-teacher gave me a kick-ass Hello Kitty pillow thing for my chair for my birthday. This is the same co-teacher who loves BigBang and took me to go see GD's concert AND went to see Brian McKnight with me and Miranda. She is the best ever!

SPRING

This past week has been exceptionally warm prompting me to wear only a light cardigan and my peacoat in lieu of my down coat. This is very exciting because I haven't been able to consistently not wear my down coat for so long before. Anyhow, it got to about 60 degrees today which was amazing. I mean, it's not Florida April weather, but you know what? I think I might like this better. Now if we can just work on getting some consistent sun. Oh, and a pool or two near me to lay out at. *^^*

Anyways, my ipod still won't sync up to my itunes but next week I don't have frisbee practice, so I will be doing three things:
1. going to myeongdong to have the genius bar look at my ipod/laptop and try to figure out what's going on
2. going to yeouido (여의도) to see the Cherry Blossoms and maybe bike ride. I saw some of my friends rode bikes, and I want to ride a bike again really bad. *^^*
3. going to Sinchon (신촌) to celebrate the April birthdays in Incheon by eating a fuckton of nachos and cheeseburger.

Hopefully, I'll also get to work on some moooooooovies on imovie. teehee. That would be awesome! *^^*

Pictures, or, the things I have been doing

So here is my official recap of Thomas' visit. Unfortunately, I took no pictures of New Years, but the rest of his visit is fairly well-documented. So here goes.

The 63 Building: This is one of the tallest buildings in Seoul, although not the tallest. Built in 1985, it was the tallest building in Seoul, located on Yeouido Island on the Han River, until the Hyperion Towers surpassed it in 2003. The building, honestly isn't that tall, but it has a few interesting things to do in it. There is an aquarium, a wax museum, an art gallery, an imax theater, and a small observation floor. It has 63 floors, 60 above ground, and 3 below ground. We only went to the aquarium, which was pretty sweet, with a really cool otter area and lots of penguins.

The 63 Building

The headless penguin. Actually, it's just bent over to pick at its back, but it does look creepily like a headless penguin.

Go Gators!!

On Saturday, we went to the Coex mall, the largest shopping mall in Seoul, and the largest underground shopping center in Asia. We only went to Coex to go to On the Border, the deliciously American Mexican restaurant, for my friend Woody's birthday. Then went to a Canadian bar in Itaewon for drink which resulted in the single worst public transportation experience of my life. Basically, we missed the last train back to Incheon, so we took the train to Guro (but thought it was going to Incheon), and then had to take a taxi. The taxis were wildly expensive. They wanted to charge 10 dollars more than what a taxi costs from Hongdae, a full 6 subway stops in the exact opposite direction of Incheon. I bargained with the taxi driver to get 30 dollars (what it usually costs from Hongdae which is still a bit of a ripoff), and then when we finally got to my apartment, the skeezy driver said he never told me 30, but 40 dollars. I called him a liar, in Korean, and wanted to just get out, but Thomas paid him the extra 10 dollars, which was dumb, in retrospect. We should have just gotten out and left. But yeah. It was awful.

Happy Birthday Woody!

Sunday, went to ICE SKATING! They have an outdoor rink right in the middle of the city, and it was really really crowded but really really fun. I want to go again really sooooon. The famous statue of King Sejong (the most famous of all the Korean Kings) was right next to the rink, as was a really pretty Christmas tree. We also went to the King Sejong museum.

King Sejong, on a beautiful day

Me and the Christmas Tree!

Monday marked the heaviest day of snowfall in Korean history. Incheon received just over a foot of snow, nearly shutting down bus and above ground train services. Luckily, everything was just really delayed, not cancelled. Thomas and I tried to go see an Andy Warhol exhibit, but the museum was closed. Instead, we threw snow in each other's faces, and then went to Namdaemun, a huge traditional market area, where people ripped us off because we were foreign. We also went to the world's largest department store, a Shinsegae store located near Namdaemun market. It really was quite enormous. We went up to the 9th floor, but didn't go much farther. I got a Coach wristlet (Madison op art sateen wristlet, but in a different color than what they have online) on sale for 50% off, and almost a kickass pair of Nike Airs, but decided not to.

So much snow!!!

That night we went to Gangnam to meet up with Ara and Seonghwa, which was nice. We went to get dinner at this really good samgyeopsal restaurant in some backstreets that I could never get to on my own. This is when I fell in the snow. It was really embarassing because Gangnam is really busy and kind of ritzy and I ate it. Then we went to a Korean style bar which was also quite good. I finally tried dongdong-ju (rice liquor that is way way more delicious that soju), and a type of bamboo liquor that was served in a real piece of bamboo. It was cool. We had queran jjim (an egg dish that is quite tasty) and paejeon (Korean pancakes). I love Ara. She is positively wonderful and I am so thankful to her here.

The boys

DongDong-ju & Paejeon

Tuesday, Thomas' last day, we kind of just hung out in Incheon. We went to Chinatown and had overpriced Korean-Chinese food. Then we tried walking up a hill, but there was this car that looked like it was going to slip in all the snow/ice and come barreling down at us, so we avoided that, and in so doing, Thomas fell. It was awesome. Then we finally trekked up the hill to the numerous beautiful monuments located in the area. First, a statue of Confucius, then a look out over much of Incheon, then the monument to 100 years of allied work with the US, then the General MacArthur statue, then a statue commemorating the student soldiers from Incheon that fought in the Korean war. It was a beautiful, but frigid day. Also, an old man told Thomas he was very handsome, but that I, on the other hand, was nothing to write home about. *sad*

Statue of Confucius

100 years of Partnership with the US

Me at the monument!

I know it's long, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed it was still moderately interesting.

xoxo
A

Bonus Picture: This is what I look like these days. I am this Korean. Also, I'm inside and I'm wearing: tank top, long sleeve shirt, sweater, cardigan, scarf, earmuffs, jeans, tights, sock. It's not that cold inside, but it's what K-girls do. Also, GIRAFFE EARRINGS

Namsan Tower

This weekend, I got to see Ara again, which was really nice. She had been really busy studying for the GMAT, so we haven't hung out in almost a month, since we went to Gyeongbok palace. Ara took the GMAT on Thursday (she got a perfect score on the math section and is taking it again to improve her English score a little bit more), so she had more free time, which I was really really happy about. I met here at Hongdae, which is where a really big University is. Hongdae is really well known for a couple things: 1. bars/clubs and 2. Shopping and the material arts. On the weekends in Hongdae there is something called Free Market which is when students from the University sell things they made. The things that they sell vary from clothing and hats to stationary to jewelry to knick knacks and everything in between. I bought a little ceramic giraffe with blue spots to add to my growing collection of giraffe stuff. I'm up to 6 giraffe stuffed animals or figurines and 4 pictures of giraffes drawn by friends. Pretty good collection (thanks to Alisha, teen, kate, nicki, justin and Charlotte for adding to my collection), if I do say so myself. The Free Market was really neat, and I definitely want to go back again SOON. Maybe I can convince Bekah to come with me next week.

After Free Market, we went to this moderately well known coffeehouse called Snob. They serve a number of cakes, which are the most well-known thing at Snob. But, Ara and I weren't really hungry so we just got drinks. I got a caramel latte (SO DELICIOUS) and Ara got Earl Gray tea. They brought out the tea in a white ceramic tea pot and had a timer for the tea, and they made a design in the foam of my latte, and it was really nice. Also, the coffee shop was super warm, and it was really really cold outside, so it was perfect. See pictures here and on facebook.

Oh, as an aside, before I met Ara, I went to Myeong Dong (the big shopping area) to get some winter gear. I got my first ever pair of mittens (OMG SO CUTE), one of those beanie hats that everyone wears but I thought look stupid on me but this one didn't, and this sweater tunic (but in ivory) that I am going to wear tomorrow regardless of how cold it is (high of 41, so cold). I also bought a cream colored scarf that is super warm and comfy from a street vendor. YAY SHOPPING (Sorry Paigey, I just read your blog, but some of it I actually needed due to the weather).

Ara and I were Snob for a really long time just chatting and it was really nice to catch up with her there. After about 2 hours there, she realized she had missed several calls from here sister Aya who was going to meet up with us. She called her back and Aya came to the coffee house we were at and we talked a bit more while she warmed up (she waited outside in 30 degree weather for like half an hour).

After that, we went to dinner at this chicken restaurant in Hongdae that was quite delicious. Noodles and Chicken and a little bit spicy sauce and potatoes and then you add rice to the sauce and it was taaaaasty.

Then, we caught the subway to Myeongdong and walked a bit up the hill to get to a cable car that takes you to Namsan Tower (N'Seoul Tower). You can walk up the hill to Namsan Tower, but it was way way too cold for that. Namsan Tower is really famous in Seoul for the beautiful views you can get from the top of the tower. We didn't go to the top of the tower (we went a bit late) but even from the base of the tower, the view were amazing because the Tower is on the side of a big hill/small mountain (I'm not sure what it qualifies as). The top of the tower is 1500 feet above sea level, if that gives you any idea. Also at the base of the Tower, there is a Teddy Bear Museum that tells the history of Korea with Teddy Bears. I didn't go to the teddy bear museum this time around, but I assure you, I will. Seoul Tower is famous for their love locks which you can see in the picture. Basically, couples from all over Korea and the world come and attach a lock and a love note to the gates surrounding Seoul Tower as a symbol of everlasting love. In a moment of utter cynicism and gloom (inspired by my seemingly irrevocable singledom) I asked, rather loudly, "I wonder what percentage of these relationships ended. 70%?" You could see people at a cafe on the bottom of the tower writing their notes on little heart-shaped plastics, and I was just like, gee, I hope you two stay together. But, it really was cool, there are thousands of locks everywhere surrounding the tower. I am definitely looking forward to going back to the Tower to the top. Maybe during the day next time, to see a really great view of the city, plus to go to the Teddy Bear Museum. ^^

Today I played frisbee in freezing temps, which was awful. I'm not going to lie, though, it was nice to be back at disc hotel (bekah, beth and dave's place) for the weekend. Dave was happy to see me/drunk Saturday night when he got back from being out, and that was a nice welcome back to disc hotel. Next week I think I'm going to make some pancakes for the apartment for being such lovely hosts to me for the last 2+ months.

Goodbye Gainesville

So I'm at home. I got back yesterday early evening, after spending Friday homeless. Let me tell you, not having a house/apartment to go back to is just a crazy feeling. I drove aimlessly for a while, trying to figure out where I could go for free and occupy my time. I visited Spin Cycle and talked to Alisha for a bit. I went to Stacy's. I went to Pita Pit with Lamm. Cool thing happened there. I wasn't planning on going out to eat dinner, because I have roughly 30 dollars to my name right now. But Lamm called and said she would take me out dinner to as a going away present (hooray). I was kind of craving a tuna pita from Pita Pit, so we decided to go there. I met them, and Lamm and I walked in, while Joel stayed with Zoe (a long haired chihuahua) outside. we waited for a moment, and then began to order, but, alas, the cash register was frozen. They were trying to restart the computer and what not, but it wasn't working. Sooooooo, the manager gave us FREE pitas. HOORAY! So as it turns out, Lamm's treat ended up being free anyways.

Then I went to Dani's to get ready for my going away party. We got ready at her new apartment, and then we went over to Courtyards to finish getting everything together. People were slowly trickling in, and by 11:30 there were a ton of people there. It was really interesting because it was kind of a combination of the frisbee crowd and ELI people, but it worked out just fine. Naturally, beer pong was super popular, and people mingled at least some. Stacy and Laura ran the beer pong show for a little while, and Pav even played a game with one of my students, Diane. Meg and Pav dressed up like Koreans, and Stacy was the statue of liberty, which I LOVED. It was really fun, but very very sad at the same time. I cried three times in the course of the night, but I bucked up fairly well each time afterwards and really enjoyed my last night in Gainesville. One of my students, Alice, gave me a painting she did of a flower that is really quite pretty. I will definitely be bringing that to Korea to put up on my wall. I played lots of beer pong and got moderately drunk, and told Sarah and Nicki secrets about an ELI boy. I spoke a little bit of Spanish and a little bit of Korean and said bye to EVERYONE.

Saying goodbye to Nicki was particularly hard, as she is the one person I've known longer than pretty much ANYONE. What's crazy is I only dropped a couple tears when she actually left, but then a couple minutes later, when Alice gave me the painting, they noticed I looked a little down, and when I told them I had just said goodbye to one of my very best friends in the whole world, I started crying again. I went upstairs to put the painting with my stuff and I broke DOWN.

Regardless of the crying though, I don't think I would have wanted to have spent my last night in Gainesville doing anything else. Courtyards was my little party home, and it was only fitting that I sleep there that night.

The next morning, hungover as can be, I helped clean up Dani's apartment because they had to move out by noon. It was a little risky throwing a party the night before they had to check-out, but I would argue that it went really well.

Today I went shopping with Mom. I got a new LeSportSac tote, a coin purse, and this adorable sweater from the Gap.

Tomorrow I mail my visa application. This week I book my ONE-WAY flight to Incheon, South Korea. Two and a half weeks left in Gainesville.

This weekend was wonderful. I went home and got to see ALI! We caught up on a lot of what's been going on in each others' lives. It was great to see her. Plus, Eric and Kate were visiting too, so I got to see them.

The family and I went to this great restaurant in Lake Worth called Bizaare Avenue Cafe, which was delicious. I had gnocchi alla vodka, which was spicy and delicious. Also, I got to do lots of shopping for new work-type clothes. It's so weird that I'm going to sort of be a "professional" or at least that I have to dress as though I were. I got a new skirt (so cute) a little purple shrug sweater, a blue cardigan, and a couple tops (purple french cuff, wine colored button down, etc).

Got back today. Had mochi with work (froyo talk instead of coffee talk, haha).

Once I mail this application off, I'll just get to focus on packing and preparing and maybe squeezing in a couple korean lessons? Who knows.

xoxo,
A