I went to see a movie with Jiyoon and Nik today and after the movie we walked outside into a winter wonderland. In two hours, we got enough snow to cover and turn everything white (which quickly turned grey...). We saw one girl totally wipe out in her stiletto heels and continue to slip as her boyfriend tried to help her up. Jiyoon said it was okay because she was with her boyfriend. hehe.
It snowed pretty hard for a few hours and then on and off the rest of the day. By the time I was heading home, around 9 pm, the roads were a mess. I was planning on taking the bus back home - there is only one bus that goes up the mountain where I live. I got on and the driver asked me where I was going and when I told him my apartment complex he said it was too slippery and he wasn't going there today...
He told me to take another bus that would take me close to home. I waited for a while, but then decided to suck it up and take a taxi. (I actually forgot my wallet at home today... So for a second I thought I was stuck. But taxis take transportation cards, and luckily I recharged mine yesterday). So I hailed a taxi and got in. He got about 20 ft. on the mountain and got stuck. He spent about 3 minutes tried very hard to get up the mountain, but to no avail. So, I had to get out and walk all the way up the mountain. Really slipper, but good exercise.
Good night~
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Friday, January 14, 2011
The Tests Are Almost Over~ For Now...
Hiya~
So, let's see... what's new. I hung out with Sarang and her cousin on Saturday. We went to Insadong and had lunch and then to another area near there with a bunch of really cute cafes~ We had a feast for lunch! Man, the restaurant was really expensive, except they had a lunch special, that included a ton of side dishes! It was really nice inside too~
After lunch, we wandered around Insadong for a bit and then went to a chocolatier cafe and had hot chocolate. I ordered the hot cocoa with the most cocoa in it, I think 75% maybe... It was so bitter! I had to add a lot of sugar to it, but it was really good!
Nik came back to Korea on Sunday, so we had dinner together. I was supposed to be studying, but that didn't really happen... oops. But it was fun to see him and hear about his visit home and his adventures in LA, California~
I'm almost done with midterms. I had my writing exam on Monday, and my speaking/reading/listening exams on Tuesday~ I did okay. I was really annoyed with myself about my writing exam, because on the last page, I used the wrong grammar ending for the entire page, so I got -7... If I had used the correct ending, I would only have had -2 off... Ce la vie~ I did well on my listening exam and actually, I aced my reading exam. That was a surprise, because the listening exam was so fast, I didn't feel like I actually caught what was being said.
Next Wednesay, I have my speaking interview with the teacher, and then we'll get our speaking exams back~
Anyhow, after work on Tuesday I met up with an unni, I met through a friend. We went to dinner and then to a cafe. It was really fun, and nice to get a chance to practice speaking Korean~ I got home pretty late, but my host sister had gone out to and was picking up pizza for us to eat, since I finished my exams! so sweet!!! So, even though I had eaten, I ate again. I can eat sweet potato pizza anytime!
On Wednesday, I went straight from school to Aehwa to teach ASL. I had new students, so we just went over the basics. I swear one of the girls asked if I was pregnant... Maybe not, because she asked it in KSL to one of the teachers. But, I swear that's what she said... lol. I guess my sweatshirt was kind of bulky... um. But the kids are really great and very sweet. (and apparently, very honest ^^)
After volunteering, I headed over to Nik's. Even though our exams are over, we still had to make our videos of memorized dialogues from our book. Two classmates came over and we filmed at Nik's. After filming, we made dinner and hung out with was really fun! I taught my classmates, one from Japan and one from China how to say "drop it like it's hot." And today in class, they said it to the other American in class, who got a kick out of it~
Today, teaching went really well! I was very pleased and felt like the kids actually learned something. They seemed to have calmed down a bit, although this school has always been pretty good... Hopefully I don't jinx myself! Afterwork, I met Nik and we headed to Hyehwa to meet up with Sarang, Nathan, Hyeonjung, and Hyeonjung's friend, Meejoo for dinner. Sarang called while we were on our way and we figured out that we were riding the same subway! lol! It was rush hour so the crowds were terrible!!! The subway station was jam packed full of people! We had to transfer, and Sarang didn't think there was room for us, but we were already running late, so I said we should just go. So, we shoved our way onto the train and made it. Unfortunately, the door we needed to exit from was on the opposite side of the train... So, we literally shoved our way through a mass of people and made it out. Whew.
Met up with everyone and went to Korean BBQ and then to Baskin Robins for ice cream. It was really fun, linguistically confusing, for me any how...^^ Hyeongjung and her friend, Meejoo are Korean KSL interpreters, so they know Korean and KSL. Nathan knows ASL and KSL. Nik know Korean and English. Sarang knows Korean and English. I know English, ASL, and Korean (sort of..). So, for example, if Nathan was talking in ASL, I would translate it into English and then Sarang would translate the English into Korean. A very entertaining experience ^^
Oh, and on the way to the ice cream shop, I totally wiped out! I told Nik earlier, on our way to meet everyone that I was gonna wipe out sooner or later... The roads here are terrible!!!
[ I can't remember if I already wrote this in another post, but when I was in Myeongdong, I literally saw two city workers with a hammer and a chisel trying to hand chip all the ice that had formed. The roads were literally covered in sheer ice, from the snow that melted and refroze and also just because SOOO many people had already walked all over it and packed it down. ]
In any case, my shoes had no traction and we were going down a really steep hill and I totally wiped out. It was actually extremely hilarious. Sarang and I laughed and laughed. (actually, even now as I write this, I've started to crack up again...) So, since we were on a hill, aparently, I just kept rolling... If I recall correctly, I think Sarang told me that as I was rolling, I was laughing (I don't actually remember). And I had my backpack on, which is kind of blue. So, Sarang thought I looked like a blueberry rolling down the hill. So, after I stopped rolling, I tried to get up, but my bag was too heavy and I was on such a steep hill, I couldn't get up... So, I gave up and just lay there, until Sarang pulled me up. It was epic.
Anyhow, now I am finishing up editing our videos for class... I hope it doesn't take too long, because I want to go to bed...
Til later!
So, let's see... what's new. I hung out with Sarang and her cousin on Saturday. We went to Insadong and had lunch and then to another area near there with a bunch of really cute cafes~ We had a feast for lunch! Man, the restaurant was really expensive, except they had a lunch special, that included a ton of side dishes! It was really nice inside too~
kinda creepy looking, but tasty~
After lunch, we wandered around Insadong for a bit and then went to a chocolatier cafe and had hot chocolate. I ordered the hot cocoa with the most cocoa in it, I think 75% maybe... It was so bitter! I had to add a lot of sugar to it, but it was really good!
Nik came back to Korea on Sunday, so we had dinner together. I was supposed to be studying, but that didn't really happen... oops. But it was fun to see him and hear about his visit home and his adventures in LA, California~
I'm almost done with midterms. I had my writing exam on Monday, and my speaking/reading/listening exams on Tuesday~ I did okay. I was really annoyed with myself about my writing exam, because on the last page, I used the wrong grammar ending for the entire page, so I got -7... If I had used the correct ending, I would only have had -2 off... Ce la vie~ I did well on my listening exam and actually, I aced my reading exam. That was a surprise, because the listening exam was so fast, I didn't feel like I actually caught what was being said.
Next Wednesay, I have my speaking interview with the teacher, and then we'll get our speaking exams back~
classroom
some classmates during break time
Anyhow, after work on Tuesday I met up with an unni, I met through a friend. We went to dinner and then to a cafe. It was really fun, and nice to get a chance to practice speaking Korean~ I got home pretty late, but my host sister had gone out to and was picking up pizza for us to eat, since I finished my exams! so sweet!!! So, even though I had eaten, I ate again. I can eat sweet potato pizza anytime!
On Wednesday, I went straight from school to Aehwa to teach ASL. I had new students, so we just went over the basics. I swear one of the girls asked if I was pregnant... Maybe not, because she asked it in KSL to one of the teachers. But, I swear that's what she said... lol. I guess my sweatshirt was kind of bulky... um. But the kids are really great and very sweet. (and apparently, very honest ^^)
After volunteering, I headed over to Nik's. Even though our exams are over, we still had to make our videos of memorized dialogues from our book. Two classmates came over and we filmed at Nik's. After filming, we made dinner and hung out with was really fun! I taught my classmates, one from Japan and one from China how to say "drop it like it's hot." And today in class, they said it to the other American in class, who got a kick out of it~
Today, teaching went really well! I was very pleased and felt like the kids actually learned something. They seemed to have calmed down a bit, although this school has always been pretty good... Hopefully I don't jinx myself! Afterwork, I met Nik and we headed to Hyehwa to meet up with Sarang, Nathan, Hyeonjung, and Hyeonjung's friend, Meejoo for dinner. Sarang called while we were on our way and we figured out that we were riding the same subway! lol! It was rush hour so the crowds were terrible!!! The subway station was jam packed full of people! We had to transfer, and Sarang didn't think there was room for us, but we were already running late, so I said we should just go. So, we shoved our way onto the train and made it. Unfortunately, the door we needed to exit from was on the opposite side of the train... So, we literally shoved our way through a mass of people and made it out. Whew.
Met up with everyone and went to Korean BBQ and then to Baskin Robins for ice cream. It was really fun, linguistically confusing, for me any how...^^ Hyeongjung and her friend, Meejoo are Korean KSL interpreters, so they know Korean and KSL. Nathan knows ASL and KSL. Nik know Korean and English. Sarang knows Korean and English. I know English, ASL, and Korean (sort of..). So, for example, if Nathan was talking in ASL, I would translate it into English and then Sarang would translate the English into Korean. A very entertaining experience ^^
Oh, and on the way to the ice cream shop, I totally wiped out! I told Nik earlier, on our way to meet everyone that I was gonna wipe out sooner or later... The roads here are terrible!!!
[ I can't remember if I already wrote this in another post, but when I was in Myeongdong, I literally saw two city workers with a hammer and a chisel trying to hand chip all the ice that had formed. The roads were literally covered in sheer ice, from the snow that melted and refroze and also just because SOOO many people had already walked all over it and packed it down. ]
In any case, my shoes had no traction and we were going down a really steep hill and I totally wiped out. It was actually extremely hilarious. Sarang and I laughed and laughed. (actually, even now as I write this, I've started to crack up again...) So, since we were on a hill, aparently, I just kept rolling... If I recall correctly, I think Sarang told me that as I was rolling, I was laughing (I don't actually remember). And I had my backpack on, which is kind of blue. So, Sarang thought I looked like a blueberry rolling down the hill. So, after I stopped rolling, I tried to get up, but my bag was too heavy and I was on such a steep hill, I couldn't get up... So, I gave up and just lay there, until Sarang pulled me up. It was epic.
Anyhow, now I am finishing up editing our videos for class... I hope it doesn't take too long, because I want to go to bed...
Til later!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Christmas Jello, Pohang, and the New Year~
Hi~
Well, its been quite a while.
First off, happy new year!!! It's 2011!!!
So, for xmas, I made my student's Jello~ Nik and Emily both told me it was a good thing to bring, so I brought a couple boxes from America with me. The night I was making it, my host mom and sister came out to see what I was up to and they were fascinated. So, I made them a box of Jello as well ^^
Anyhow, I had one week of vacation from Korean class, but worked everyday except for xmas day and one other day during that week.
On Xmas eve, I went to Namsan Tower with Nathan and his parents, who came to visit from Chicago. That was fun, as I haven't been there in over two years, but it was mad busy - full of couples, because Christmas in Korea is more of a couple's holiday.
I had no particular plans for Christmas day. I was literally sitting in my room messing around on my computer, and skyped Emily, who was also not up to much in Pohang. And we had the ingenious idea that I go visit her (she was kind immobile due to her incident in the subway station where her body met an ajuma's elbow... and the rest is history). So, about 15 min. later, I was packed and out the door, headed to Seoul Station to catch a train to Pohang (actually to a city near by and from there a bus to Pohang).
I got in around 7 pm~ Emily's neighbor, who is an American teaching for EPIK was hosting an xmas party for a bunch of English teachers. So, we hungout there for a while and then went back to her apt. We went to great lengths to find a pizza place near her house, but we had success and ordered our traditional koguma (sweet potato) pizza. YES! Just like Yonsei days...
I spent three days there and headed back VERY early monday morning so I could get back in time to teach at 1... It was a great trip and most definitely worth it! And after teaching that day, I went straight to Sarang's grandpa's house for dinner and of course, got to see Sarang!!
On Tuesday, I went to the art museum with Pil and saw the Chagall exhibit, which was amazing!! Afterwards, we went to an Indian restaurant and had delicious food.
There was also a bunch of really pretty xmas lights up around the city!
I can't imagine how much energy they consumed or how much that cost the city... But they were pretty...
There was also a display about the North Korean bombings in Yeongpeong~
On Thursday, my work place was having a winter camp for the students and decided to cancel my class that day, so instead of teaching, I got to go on a day trip down south with Sarang and her mom and grandma! We rode the train and then took a bus to get to the city of Taebaek, which is an old mining city, and I guess is known for its winter landscape~ We went through the museum, which was very well done and mainly about the town's coal mining history. And then we went SLEDDING!
On new years eve, I went to out with Lea, Rae, Nathan and a few other adoptees in Sinchon. It was really fun and we ended up at this weird bar full of crazy foreigners. The bar handed out sparklers to bring in the new year - I LOVE sparklers, so I was completely content. ^__^
I got up really early on Sunday morning to go skiing with a few people from camp. Pil came and picked me up at my apartment. Neither he nor I realized that there really isn't anywhere to turn around once you past through the gate... So, we spent a good 15 minutes just trying to back his car up the hill out of the road in front of my apartment. Actually, we were at it so long, the security guard came down and kind of pushed Pil out of his car and did it for him. Victoria, who was also in the car and I just sat there as he skillfully maneuvered the car up the narrow hill. Whew. If not for him, Pil's car would probably still be stuck there...
Anyhow, we made a pit stop in Itaewon for breakfast, aka, KFC... not the greatest... And then drove another 2 hours or so to PyeongCheong, (incidentally, where Emily taught English last year!) to the famous Dragon Valley Ski Resort. We met up with Eunji unni, who had come down separately with her family and got ready to go skiing!!!!!!!
I was so excited, as I have never had the opportunity to go skiing on an actual mountain!!! Pil had rented a condo room, but unfortunately Eunji unni and I had class the next day, so we couldn't spend the night.
We definitely crammed A LOT into one day~ It was Victoria's first time trying skiing and she was fearless! On her first run, she just went (not a bunny hill either!). I turned around to give her a few tips and tell her to wait when I saw her glide by... Pil, Eunji and I stood there and watched her go down the hill and then saw her sit down and crash on purpose because she didn't know how to stop... haha! By the end of the day, she was pretty good!
Anyhow, on Monday, Korean classes started back up and I have midterms next week, so I should go study~
Happy new year!!!
Well, its been quite a while.
First off, happy new year!!! It's 2011!!!
So, for xmas, I made my student's Jello~ Nik and Emily both told me it was a good thing to bring, so I brought a couple boxes from America with me. The night I was making it, my host mom and sister came out to see what I was up to and they were fascinated. So, I made them a box of Jello as well ^^
one of my student's grandma made these rice cakes~ the were amazing!
Anyhow, I had one week of vacation from Korean class, but worked everyday except for xmas day and one other day during that week.
On Xmas eve, I went to Namsan Tower with Nathan and his parents, who came to visit from Chicago. That was fun, as I haven't been there in over two years, but it was mad busy - full of couples, because Christmas in Korea is more of a couple's holiday.
random person looking out the window of Namsan
I had no particular plans for Christmas day. I was literally sitting in my room messing around on my computer, and skyped Emily, who was also not up to much in Pohang. And we had the ingenious idea that I go visit her (she was kind immobile due to her incident in the subway station where her body met an ajuma's elbow... and the rest is history). So, about 15 min. later, I was packed and out the door, headed to Seoul Station to catch a train to Pohang (actually to a city near by and from there a bus to Pohang).
I got in around 7 pm~ Emily's neighbor, who is an American teaching for EPIK was hosting an xmas party for a bunch of English teachers. So, we hungout there for a while and then went back to her apt. We went to great lengths to find a pizza place near her house, but we had success and ordered our traditional koguma (sweet potato) pizza. YES! Just like Yonsei days...
the train station in the morning~
On Tuesday, I went to the art museum with Pil and saw the Chagall exhibit, which was amazing!! Afterwards, we went to an Indian restaurant and had delicious food.
There was also a bunch of really pretty xmas lights up around the city!
I can't imagine how much energy they consumed or how much that cost the city... But they were pretty...
There was also a display about the North Korean bombings in Yeongpeong~
On Thursday, my work place was having a winter camp for the students and decided to cancel my class that day, so instead of teaching, I got to go on a day trip down south with Sarang and her mom and grandma! We rode the train and then took a bus to get to the city of Taebaek, which is an old mining city, and I guess is known for its winter landscape~ We went through the museum, which was very well done and mainly about the town's coal mining history. And then we went SLEDDING!
I got up really early on Sunday morning to go skiing with a few people from camp. Pil came and picked me up at my apartment. Neither he nor I realized that there really isn't anywhere to turn around once you past through the gate... So, we spent a good 15 minutes just trying to back his car up the hill out of the road in front of my apartment. Actually, we were at it so long, the security guard came down and kind of pushed Pil out of his car and did it for him. Victoria, who was also in the car and I just sat there as he skillfully maneuvered the car up the narrow hill. Whew. If not for him, Pil's car would probably still be stuck there...
Anyhow, we made a pit stop in Itaewon for breakfast, aka, KFC... not the greatest... And then drove another 2 hours or so to PyeongCheong, (incidentally, where Emily taught English last year!) to the famous Dragon Valley Ski Resort. We met up with Eunji unni, who had come down separately with her family and got ready to go skiing!!!!!!!
this igloo was supposed to be a tribute to the Vancouver Olympics.. They also had teepees...
Pil, Victoria, and Eunji
These animal hats are very popular here and people wear them with all seriousness
ramen for dinner!
I was so excited, as I have never had the opportunity to go skiing on an actual mountain!!! Pil had rented a condo room, but unfortunately Eunji unni and I had class the next day, so we couldn't spend the night.
We definitely crammed A LOT into one day~ It was Victoria's first time trying skiing and she was fearless! On her first run, she just went (not a bunny hill either!). I turned around to give her a few tips and tell her to wait when I saw her glide by... Pil, Eunji and I stood there and watched her go down the hill and then saw her sit down and crash on purpose because she didn't know how to stop... haha! By the end of the day, she was pretty good!
Anyhow, on Monday, Korean classes started back up and I have midterms next week, so I should go study~
Happy new year!!!
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