Fall in Seoul

Sun-straining clouds, a breeze covers me, the chill of fall wraps me in its sharp arms. The sky rises, and then falls, looming ever closer, dropping from the heavens, I can almost touch it. I can taste it, the smell of it permeates my mind...Fall in the East, winter fast approaching, and I spin round and round, reveling in the coolness and crispness of the air. The skyscraping apartment towers, that always seem to be reaching so high to touch that which they were built to span the distance too, are floating magestically, not now having to reach for the sky. I think it must be God's favorite time of year, as never are his heavenly lands closer, than in the late months of September and October. All things good and beautiful on earth are at their fullest, right before the long sleep of winter...the ripest of their yearly time. Lushness, mixed with the coming frigid...so beautiful, brittle, but magnificent. It will snap any moment, and I appreciate this strange fragility, as I know it is all too quickly vanished, beneath snow and ice, and then it is gone, as the next time you see life, it will be new. The Fall, as death fast approaches; it is as if life defies that which is inevitable, throwing its most beautiful aspects out in an overwhelming display of the brilliance that is only shown in moderation the rest of the year...as though this effort will stun death into halting its ever-patient advance. Death does not stop, but you know that it appreciates that which life has sent to try and distract it. Fall, the end of the old, a neccessary passing for the creation of new life, but the old life makes you feel so rich, as you see what it is fully capable of being. The colors, the scents, the textures, all in the air, floating around you, filling the space between earth and heaven, combining the two, and being, momentarily, a unifier of the two.

Holy Crap! I Left My Apartment & Went Outside!

So, I actually left my apartment this weekend, and went out into the city! LOL! Yes, my homebody tendancies have been controlling me for the past two months, but, like everyone says, I should experience this place while I am here. Plus, I needed an adapter for the cordless phone Johnny brought me! LOL! Here are a couple of fun pics from the walk to the subway...these are all around Seokchon Hosu; the lake I live by!






Then, we took the subway to TechnoMart (huge store with a pleathora of different vendors all selling the same thing), and here is a picture of that behamouth! (It is the blue buiding.)



After we left TechnoMart, Johnny thought we should walk down and see the river, which we crossed directly before our subway stop getting to TechnoMart. So, I said ok, and we started walking, looking for a way down to the river. Check out these insane apartment buildings we passed!



A mile later, we still hadn't managed to find a way down, and we were at the Olympic Bridge. That is supposedly the Olympic Torch, from when the Olympic Games were here in Korea. And I took a quick shot of a couple of darling little Korean soldiers who walked past us going onto the bridge.





Here, Johnny says, "Let's walk across it!" He looks so proud of the idea, that I can't bear to tell him that I am really not a "walker," so I say "OK!"



So off we go. This f-ing bridge goes on FOREVER! It traverses the width of the Han River, so it is pretty cool to watch the ships, and we can see the other bridge, the one we came across on the subway on, so I feel like I have come very far. I got a nice close-up of the torch part too!




And then I see Lotte Castle, and realize how much farther I have to go. (The two matching gold buildings off in the distance...If you scroll back up and look at the second picture I posted, the one of the balloons, you will see part of it in the background...just to give oyu an idea of how far I have gone on foot!)



Freaking Hell! Anyways, we keep walking across and finally get to the other side, and then Johnny says, "Let's keep going. We are almost there!" Now, I absolutely adore this man, but seriously, I feel like my feet are about to jump off the bottoms of my legs and kick my own ass! Yes, they were that angry! So, I felt as though I must assert myself here and said, "Ok baby. If you want to!" Ahahahaha! I know, I am a sucker for a cute smile!



LONG story short, I lasted for an hour and a half before I sat down on a subway vent and said, "Get a cab, I am not going another step!" He was very sweet about it, and kept telling me how proud he was that I had gone so far (we had walked between 4 and 5 miles, over an hour and a half period) and promised me food and a nap when we got back to the apartment! This made me less grouchy, and a bit more philosophical about the whole situation. It had been a very nice walk, I had gotten some lovely pictures of the city, and I had gotten some exercise and fresh air. All in all, not a bad Saturday...

Now Sunday evening, when my leg muscles were on fire, I was ready to kill someone, but that is another story! LOL!

Addendum: The gentleman shown in this post no longer (as of 11/3) holds the coveted position of "My Boyfriend!" No, I am not heartbroken, and it was a fairly civil break. So, those of you who are secretly in love with me, and pine for my wonderfulness daily/hourly/continuously, you will be thrilled to know I am back in the single saddle! LOL!

World's Worst Teacher!

Oh! My! God! I did it again! Another kid in one of my classes got hurt today, and it was pretty bad. My darling little Joey (the one who gives amazing hugs) tripped during a game today and slammed his head into the edge of a plastic bookcase in the classroom. There was blood EVERYWHERE! I was actually pretty proud of myself, because I stayed really calm and tried to keep him calm. And I didn't pass out, and I mean, there was blood everywhere. He opened maybe an inch and a half long gash right up under his hairline on the left side of his forehead. And he kept rubbing at it cause it hurt and stung and itched, I am sure. I had to make him stop, but he had blood all over his face and hands...it was horror film-like. I picked him up, and told the other students to stay put, then carried him up to the teacher's office. Several of the other teachers immediately helped me, and we got a shirt on his head to try and stop the bleeding, I had Laura get my Wet Wipes (courtesy of Taryn) out from my cabinet and wipe his hands clean, cause I am fairly sure the blood was terrifying him, and we got him calmed down...So I went and finished the last 20 minutes of my class, calmed the other kids down (the two little girls were pretty shaken up), then went upstairs by the pool and bawled...Blair Witch Project-style.



Update: I just got off the phone with Miss Lee, and Joey's mother! Both were assuring me that Joey is alright and that they do not blame me at all. I started crying, and they started laughing. Which I guess is ok, because I would rather they laugh at me than be mad at me or think I am a terrible person! So anyhow, Joey is my second kid in three months to get stitches. I hope this ends my streak in that particular field!

Update 2 (9/21/06): Saw Miss Lee on my way out last night. She told me that Joey is fine, but that he got 40 stitches, three layers deep. Lord! She and I are going to visit him at his house next week, so I need to find a gift for his mama. Something that says, "thank you for inviting me into your home, sorry I almost killed your child!" But Joey is ok, so that is all that matters. Poor baby!

Update 3 (9/22/06): So, I actually ended up going to Joey's house yesterday afternoon. We went, and I talked to Joey, met his mom, and helped him do his homework that he had missed, since he was gone yesterday (Thursday). Miss Lee had also bought two puzzles and gave me one to give to him, so that was nice. Anyways, his mom was incredibly nice, and she served us tea and doque (this weird Korean dessert that I actually hate, but Joey kept stealing my fork and stabbing me a new one, so I had to eat it. It was actually kind of cute...) and fruit. It was very nice. Joey was crazy and running around, showing off all his robots and such to me, doing flips on the couch, and stopping my heart several times! We stayed about an hour, and then I came back and finished my intensives, and went home. Today (Friday) Joey was back in full vigour, and was full of kisses and love. God, I adore that little boy! So, all's well that ends well.

K-5A

So I wanted to post some updated pictures of my students, as I have gotten some new classes, moved some kids up levels, and gotten new ones. I broke them up into posts by classes, so these are my K-5s. This is my newest class and they are all 4 years old, and are just about the cutest little things you have ever seen. This is their first English class, but they have English time in general kindergarten (I also teach this, but not their class) so they know a little. Right now we are working on "Hello, my name is..." and "Hello...! My name is..." It is fun; we have songs and games to play to learn the language item, so it is always a good time. We color in class, and play with flashcards, and they laugh ALL the time! I walk out of that class with a permanent grin on my face. Their giggles are infectious! Anyways, there are four of them, two girls and two boys, and i got to give three of them their English names...One of the little girls' mom wanted her name to be Chelsey, but the other girl I named Alli, and the boys I named Felix and Henry.

K-6A Conversation

These are my K-6s...they are about 5 and 6 years old. There are 8 of them, two girls, the rest boys! This is my FAVORITE class! We get to play and have snack time, and "talk" in English. They are so adorable, and each of them is a total character. We get to draw in class a lot, and now my apartment is covered in pictures they have drawn for me! Some of them are really good too. It brings a lot of color to my little personal space.

K-7D

This is my oldest class here at JM...oldest as in, it was the first class I got when I arrived. They are Korean age 7, which means they are about 6 American (in case I haven't mentioned it before, Koreans count the year at the New year, so if the kid was born in December, 2004, they would turn "1" in January, 2005). This is the class that James (my little king fu man) was in till two weeks ago. He and Sally got moved up, and I think this clas sis becoming a remedial level class. All three boys in the class are adorable and sweet (most of the time) but one of them has serious behavioural problems, one is a beginner (just started English classes a month ago), and one is, in my un-proffessional opinion, a little behind his peers. But they are all fun and loving and they rally seem to like class, so it is a lot of fun. A bit more stressful than my other classes, because they are everywhere constantly, always into mischief, but they are definately exciting! And they are little drama hounds...look how they ham it up for the camera...the one was giving me his best "stressed-out" look. He would smile as soon as the flash went off!

And the clock keeps ticking

So, I started teaching three new classes yesterday (Monday). I have two 40 minute general kindergarten classes, with about 10 to 15 4 and 5 year olds in each, and I have a new English class with three 4 year olds. I got to give them their English names, and I named them Alli, Faith, and Felix! Aren't those the cutest names? Anyhow, along with these new classes, I lost two of my students...I am a victim of my own abilities, I guess. My favorite students, James (the little karate boy) and Sally both got moved up to the higher level class. I seem to have a knack with the remedial students, so I will be teaching a class with all of the kids that can't be put into the other classes for whatever reasons, be they behavioural, or level wise. I am really sad that I don't get to teach James anymore, but it was good that he got moved up...I hadn't been able to give him the attention he needed, cause the other kids in the class were more time consuming. I miss him and Sally. They were such darlings. I think that this is really the first thing I have discovered that is really bad about teaching, the kids keep passing through your life. It really sucks. You have them for a few months, or a year, and you grow attached, and then they are gone. That is definately the worst part about teaching. It is also the part that has made me realize just how much I want kids. So that I can watch them and help them through their entire life's journey. But the clock rolls on, and I have some absolutely adorable and sweet new kids to teach now. So I am still loving this job so much! When I think of all of the other crap I could be doing with my life, I know that I have made the right decision! Night!

Cultural Differences

So, we all remember snack time in kindergarten, right? There was milk, and cookies or something of that nature, and it was great. Well, at my job, everyday I teach an advanced kindergarten class of 5 and 6 year olds. I say advanced because they are at a very high level of proficency in English. Anyways, everyday, at 3pm, we start our conversation class off with snack time. I make the children line up outside the bathroom and they go in, two by two, and wash their hands. They have to tell me what they are doing as they do it too, part of their English usage. And then we all sit down around a table for snack time. This includes milk and some kind of snack, usually muffins or jelly sandwiches or mandu (a high treat). Things that, for the most part, you would find at snack time in an American kindergarten. Except that today, we had something a little different. And before I tell you what we had, let me tell you that my kids were more excited about this snack than anything else we have had so far. That includes muffins, cookies, cake, jelly sandwiches, and other assorted pastries. The snack du jour? Boiled sweet potatoe. The purple kind. They had been scrubbed, but all the skin was still on, and they were kind of rooty-looking. The kids grabbed them, broke them in half, and started eating them like they were candy! I proceeded to tentatively try one and found it to be delicious. But still, the thing was a squiggy root! What 5 year olds do you know that would sit down and eat a boiled creepy looking root? Anyways, goes to show further the cultural differences! I love this place!

Neato finds!

I just discovered the funniest new site...YouTube...and then discovered a new love! Check out these guy's blog! They are absolutely hilarious!

TwoChineseGuys

I know these are a little late...

But I just got these from Jillian, so here are some more pics of my birthday!

Becoming established

So, I am now more than a full week into my third month here in Seoul, and am feeling less and less like a tourist, and more like a resident. Granted, I still can't read a lot (although my grasp on the alphabet IS increasing, as is my vocabulary) and I tend to want to stay in places I am familiar with, if I am going to be by myself, but I think the "lost little American" look has finally left my face. I am practically innured to the stares, and I am shocked when I see another westerner, or overhear spoken English. The transition is finally hitting me, and I have found it to be an incredibly interesting alteration of perspective.

Where I was completely exstatic about everything Korean when I first got here, like the food, the fashion, the city layout, I now recognize and acknowledge the aspects that are less than desirable, such as trash, stray animals, and an overwhelming vanity. Where I was all set to completely immerse myself in Korean culture, like straight black coffee, I am now more likely to ask for just a little western "sweetener." I am starting to seperate the "propoganda" from the reality, and to see past the shiny polish that everything was covered in when I first arrived. And these changes in understanding accompany, indeed aid in the development, of an ever deepening love for this strange and unique country.

The mindset of the people here is one so different to Americans. For the most part, working for 10 hours a day is an accepted, unwritten standard, and being sick truly is not an option. When it comes to work, these people are dedicated, driven, and industrious. A huge portion of the population holds Master's Degrees; indeed, an MA/MBA is looked upon basically the same way a Bachelor's Degree is looked at back home. But the people also play very hard. It is no longer so shocking to see a 60 year old man puking his guts out in the gutter while his friends look on and laugh (I am convinced that the only thing keeping this country from having an alchoholism rate of 100% is the fact that they don't acknoledge alcoholism).

However, the constant rush and bustle, and ant-like industriousness of so many people has still not intruded upon my own sense of time. You know how at the end of "Queen of the Damned," Lestat and the girl walk away down the street, and the people blur into streams of light around them, and yet they seem completely unconcerned? Yeah, that is how I see myself when I am walking with Koreans...I am in slow motion, and they are just little darting beams of light. It makes every journey interesting. *For those of you who want to be contrary and miss the entire point of this comparison, I know that Lestat and the girl are actually the ones moving quickly...I reversed the image for my own purposes...thanks for dealing with it!*

Also, I am starting to have a greater respect for the feminine here. For a culture that is quite obviously patriarchal, there is an incredible respect and awe for all things feminine. Something that we seem to have lost in America. Women here still fight for equality in the work place from what I understand (although they are farther ahead in the political arena than in America, as the leading opposition party is headed by a woman), but you would not know it to look out at the street. Women are gentle creatures, full of laughter and beauty, that are tended with great care and pride. Perhaps that is the love Western men have for Asian women, that they are not hardened like so many American women have become. Women here wear dresses and heels, and they do their make-up and hair, and they are dainty and sweet; I know every feminist that reads this will hate me, but perhaps embracing the feminine is just as powerful as rejecting it...we are the more beautiful of the two sexes, so should it be lessening ourselves to cultivate that aspect? Also, it seems to help the female to female relationships...there is not the constant back-stabbing and competition that drowns so many women back home. And men here admire that softness...it is not even questioned that a man will open doors, hold umbrellas, offer a hand when a woman is exiting a car, or carry her bag if it gets too heavy. I can not even imagine any of the guys I have dated ever offering to do something similar, but then, being immersed in the sense of the feminist as I was, I always made it prefectly clear that I could do for myself. But these women here can do for themselves, they just gain joy from letting their men do for them...I don't think that is so terrible. And in return, they respect their men, and, to the outside world, seem to cleve to the men's wishes (however, what little I have seen makes me question how far into the home this "submissiveness" goes). So there is a perspective that has changed in me.

Anyways, what I am saying is that I no longer sense the alterations in me. The changes are not noticable. So where once the changes in my perspective were like that of losing a limb or gaining a super-power, now they are like getting a tan, or growing longer hair. They are slow, and intregal, and are more powerful, I think, because I do not notice them so quickly. I just looked up one day and realized that I no longer felt as I had. The alteration of my self is...exciting. I am becoming a new me.

What's up with...

Seriously, what is up with Koreans and Steven Segal? And on a tiny bit lesser level, Jean Claude Van Damne (sp?)? Every time I turn on the fricking television, there is at least one movie staring one of these creepy guys. Seriously...I am getting scared. Korean people, these guys are gross! Stop watching their movies! LOL!

End of vacation!

So, it is Saturday, and my week of summer vacation is officially over. Tomorrow is Sunday, and that starts the "getting ready to go back" process, and therefore does not count as vacation time. So today is my last day...and I didn't do a damned thing for the whole week! It was mildly heavenly. I even forgot as my 2 month mark slipped by (July 26th) and spent the week sleeping in and going for walks in the rain--yes it is still raining here--jogging (a mile and a half, three times a week so far), and attempting to utilyze my Windsor Pilates series (jeesh is that HARD)! I also made the trek to Insadong with Jillian (about a 30 minute subway ride) and bought the cutest little fan...it is pink with a soft wood frame and I just adore it! I feel like Karl Lagerfield (Jacob will get that reference)I walked about a half mile to the kimbap place several times, and discovered a new treat there...hasta su mandu...basically mandu in a sweet and spicy sauce with lots of veggies. It is delicious, but I am saving it as a treat. Seriously though, this kimbap place that I go to is regarded as fast food...I would love to see one of our fast food places back home serve up a filling meal, with as few calories, for the approximately $2.50 I pay at this place for an order of kimbap and mandu!

Ok, I just erased about a half a paragraph on what I cooked and ate this week. I determined that it was just incredibly boring, and no one would be interested in reading about it! LOL! Isn't self-editing the bomb? Anyhow, I only have one more thing to tell about from my vacation week...I went NOREBANGING! For those of you not in the know, a Norebang (pronounce nor-ee-bahng) is a place where you go to do the karyoke...bu thte best thing about these places, is that it is your own private room. I mean, I went with Jillian and another girl Danielle, and we had our own room, but there were rooms that would hold 20+ people. Inside, there is a disco ball type light, a nice 4 screen tv display, and 2 microphones. There is also a table, two booth style couches, and a tamborine (which I seem to have a bruise from today). The rooms are sound proof, and the glass in the door is frosted so that you can only see in through a little slit, I suppose so that the proprietor can make sure that no hanky panky is going on! ANyways, we snuck in a couple of bottles of soju and some jiuce, and proceeded to get fershnickered! Now, you all know that I am totally against singing in public, and so I didn't realize quite how smashed I was until I realized that I was singing Scorpion's "Rock You Like a Hurricane" in my best rock star voice, at the top of my lungs. Needless to say, I had a blast, and have no voice today!

Well, anyways, that is the end of the excitement for my vacation...tune in again to see what happens next, in the life of Sojourner_rho!

Post-note:
As my fabulous "little-bro" points out in his comment, I totally failed to mention the most awesome news! Baby Ethan is now a full-on member of the free-breathers! Welcome Baby Ethan...you are so beautiful, and your parents love you with all of their hearts! I can not wait for the day I get to meet you! Listen to your big brother Logan...he already knows the ropes! All my love goes out to the family in MO!
Give the new baby a kiss for me, Brettimus!

Mud Festival

So, we went to Mud Festival, and I discovered a very important fact about myself...I HATE being dirty! LOL! The weekend was ok, but it rained the whole time, and everything was covered in MUD! Go figure, right? Anyways, here a re some pics for ya'll to take a look at...like the new way of displaying them? Loves!

Korean Commercials

Wow! Korean commercials are a total trip! I have three top favorites that I want to share with you!
The first is three Korean girls sitting around a table drinking lemonade. It is an American brand, which caught my attention. What really kills me though, is that the three girls sit around this table, drinking their lemonade, and they all suddenly start having massive orgasms. It is totally surreal!

The next commercial is this guy sitting in a pew in a large traditional church. All of a sudden, you hear this horrible sound of someone gulping (like nails on a chalkboard times 10 to me). The guy looks over his shoulder and this priest is sitting there drinking a glass of milk! He gives this little guilty shrug, and the first guy kind of giggles. It grosses me out every time!

The third is my personal favorite! It is an ice cream commercial and it starts out with this ice cream cup thing walking down the street. It is very obviously a "she" by the long legs and sulty walk. The "she-cream" goes past all of the "he-cans" of soda, and then, once she gets past them, she turns her "back" to the camera and then opens her "coat." All of the "he-cans" suddenly blast their pop-tops and spray white liquid high up into the air...Quick zoom around to the "she-cream" and you see all kinds of chocolate and nuts and caramel swirling around in her innards...The "he-cans" continue to blow their tops! It is fricking hilarious! I am sure most of you can see why!

Anyway...Korean commercials really trip me out!

My Birthday Weekend--Dirty Fun in the Sun

Ok, for those of you who forgot...here is your reminder! Saturday is my birthday! Yaaaaaaay! E-cards are very acceptable gifts...especially if they are incredibly cheesy! Anyways, Friday night, we are FINALLY going to see Pirates of the Carribean 2, and I am very excited. Then, on Saturday, I have to go to GS Mart (think giant super-dooper wal-mart) with Christie and Jillian to find clothes for the Mud Festival, and if we don't find it there, then we are going to head over to Itaewon (there are more western clothes to be found there) and then have dinner at one of the foreign places there....there is this awesome Indian food place that has incredible chai tea! We will make Saturday night a pretty early one, as we have to be up and on the subway by 8 am the next morning, to meet the bus going to the festival...then it is two full days of dirty fun in the sun! I can't wait! So, I will have pictures and updates for everyone next week. I am so excited for this weekend, that I am not even focusing on the fact that I am now officially OLD! Ok, well, at least not completely! I do feel that maybe I should bring some arthritis medicine for after the mud games...Anyways, cheery-o and all that butter!

Weekend Past

So, its been a fairly exciting last couple of weeks. The night with the girls went over really well, and we all had a blast. We hung out at my place and ate junk and played cards and goofed around for a couple of hours, then some went home and the rest of us went out to Mr. Yu's...That is our bar! The owner loves us and is so nice. It was a lot of fun, and little Jerry was there again, and he was very drunk, as usual, but still very funny. The poor guy went away to the army on the 10th. They have mandatory serving time here; two years he will be up along the norther border. Poor Bambino (my nickname for him, as he is only 20). Well, here are a couple of pics from that night.

We started off at my place...


Sahng-mi and Sunjung playing around...

The girls heading out to Mr. Yu's...

Laura and InHee glammin' it up for the camera...

Mr. Yu himself (aka Kevin) and Jerry (Bambino)...

That Saturday day, Jill, InHee and I all went to the Picasso exhibit. It was amazing! I still say he is not one of my favorite painters, but his work is incredible. He has this one painting called "Femme de fluer en gris" (I think that was it's name) that just captivated me. I seriously stood in front of this piece for about 20 minutes, just staring at the amazing depth it conveyed. I was in love! Unfortunately, I look like a giant troll in my only picture from the exhibit, so I am refusing to post it...just take my word for it...I went! LOL!

Last Saturday evening, Kevin (Mr. Yu) took Christie, Jill and I out for dinner. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly. I was nervous at first about this older guy taking us to dinner, but seriously, he just enjoys our company, and practicing his english, so it is all kosher...for those of you with alarm bells going off! LOL!

This weekend, I did not go to the DMZ on Saturday, like originally planned. And no, it wasn't because of the whole missile catastrophe with the North...we all just decided that we had a lot going on this month, and in the interest of finances, we decided to put it off till September...plus, it will be all nice and cool then, August is supposedly a beotch here! What we did instead, was have a pretty crazy weekend. Friday night kicked it off with Jill dragging Christie's and my butts out for an evening on the town. I had really not wanted to go out that night, as I was incredibly tired from the week, but I was really glad I did, it was so much fun. We went to Sinchon, which is the next hood over from Songpa-gu (my hood). This is a prime people watching place, as it is where all of the young people go to do their drinking and partying. It is kind of like Mill Ave in Tempe, only with less hippies and lesbians! LOL! Anyways, Christie and Jill know the owner of a bar there, too, so we went to Crista's and were given the total VIP treatment. I mean, this table they gave us was beyond the best in the house. It was right at the front of the bar, in front of the big picture window that looked out over the street and all the goings-on down there. It also had a nice unobstructed view of the television which was showing, you guessed it, soccer! We ate this awesome chicken dish, and had marinated cuttlefish, and drank kiwi soju! All of these random people kept walking up and talking to us, as well. And it was just a ton of fun...We left about 12:30pm and took a cab back to our street. Then, cause we were all still talking, we sat at one of the little tables outside of our local convenience store (People do this a lot here, as you are allowed to drink in public, and these little stores all sell beer and food) and ate ice cream. And again, random people kept coming up to us and talking...they would ask to sit, join us for 10 or 15 minutes, and then leave again. It was so fun and interesting meeting all of these people. I love Korea so much! I didn't take any pictures of these things, unfortunately, but this next section has a ton!

Saturday day, Christie, Jill and I all went to COEX (big mall!) and went shopping. They insisted I take the following picture...I guess he is some big Korean Movie star. My face is way too big...I look like a bobble head! LOL!


Saturday night was absolutely CRAZY! We all went out for Christian's birthday (friend of Christie's). We went to the Hongik University area and had dinner. We had Duk Galbi, which I was not too keen on at first because it is incredibly spicy, but it was so good. I mean, it was definately spicy as all hell, but the flavor was incredible, once the fire went out! Then we went to this bar called The TinPan. Here was where the craziness started. At first, I really didn't like the place...it had a terribly seedy feel too it. You know how, in college, or younger days, we used to go to bars where the "frat boy" partied, and he would be incredibly drunk, and just hitting on anything lacking a penis? Well that is what this bar felt like, only they weren't frat boys, but the "western guy" and the girls were all these really dumb Korean girls...It seriously had the feeling of a "Me Love You Long Time" kind of place. The girls came here to be picked up by western guys, and the western guys came here to do the picking. It was a drunken meat market. But then I started gettting plastered, and really didn't care anymore. I was having a lot of fun with my friends, and guys are stupid everywhere (No offense to those of you who are not stupid!), so I just ignored the worst of them. There were a lot of fun western people there too. I met a couple of really nice girls in the bathroom. I can't remember their names, cause I was pretty loopy by then, but they were very nice! LOL! Anyways, we also met some really funny people that night...there was Chris from the UK, these two really cute Korean girls, one of whom we did get a picture of dancing with Jillian, the other I liked a lot...she was very sarcastic! And I got hit on by my first Korean guy. It was actually kind of hilarious...he walked up to me and said, "I want to tell you something, but you will get mad." And of course, I was all "What? Just tell me!" So he leans in real close, and whispers, "You have really big boobs...they are great! Korean girls all have no boobs. I like your boobs!" Ahahahahahhahaahaha! I just about died, right then and there! And he really did keep calling them "boobs." It was just too funny. I had joked about meeting a guy with a breast-fetish, and here he was! And he was kind of cute too...really good arms! LOL! Anyways, I talked to him for a little while, flirting, and trying out my "western game!" It was fun. We also met a very drunk guy from Boston who later got into a fight during ABBA's Dancing Queen (How do you get into a fight during that song? I mean, seriously?) and then, after we left the bar, we met two brother's from Ireland, whom I entertained by asking if they all knew how to dance the Riverdance (They laughed and said no, but Phillip did a wonderful impression of a Leprachun's side leap...nowhere near as good as Turk's though), and if they farmed potatoes (Yes I was drunk and very playfully mean). I also asked if they had see the movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People!" They hadn't though. I was very disappointed. Anyways...the first of the brothers told us his name was Phillip (In the pic with me, wearing the red shirt and wristband), and I immediately blurted out that that was not a very Irish name, and shouldn't he be called Seamus or Lachlan or something of that nature, and his brother (the very cutest of all boys, whom we only got a side view of, but it shows his rather fabulous nose off to advantage) laughed and sheepishly told me that his name was Lachlan! I about fell over I was laughing so hard. Anyways, we were going Norebanging (Karyoke) and invited them to join. Lachlan wanted to go, but Phillip wanted to go to another bar. Lachlan and I were both a little disappointed...I will venture out on a crazy limb here and say that I think he was maybe at least a little interested in me...but I was drunk, so my perception of reality was really not what it should have been. Anyways, after they walked on, and Lachlan turned back to look and give me a final wave (tee-hee), we decided we were too tired for Norebanging anyways, and all piled into a cab and headed to Christian's house, after which, I left and came home. The cab dropped me off in front of my place at about 4:30 am. I did not get up for church the next morning...matter of fact, I didn't even get up for lunch, or dinner. I just barely made it to Mamma Mia!

Here are Jill and Christie! Aren't they pretty?


Jillian dancing with her Korean friend!

Me and the birthday-boy, Christian.

UK Chris.

My Korean boyfriend with the "boob-fetish!"

The drunken Boston fighter, when he was much happier.

Irish Phillip.

Lachlan...my future Irish husband...as soon as he comes and finds me! LOL! Don't you just love his nose? I have discovered that I am a nose girl...I am totally turned on by his schnoz!

Mamma Mia was AWESOME! It was Jill, Laura, Christie, Sora, Sahng-mi, and I, and we had the best time. It was all in Korean, but there were captions, and of course, I knew all the lyrics to ABBA's songs, so I totally was rocking out. You all know how excited I get at stuff like that. I was giggling and bouncing around in my chair the whole time. I guess at one point, the Korean couple behind us laughed and the woman said to her date, "She must really be enjoying this!" Sahng-mi told me about it at work the next day. But it was such a great production, and the actors were amazing singers. I cried at the part where the mom gives her daughter away at her wedding, for obvious reasons, and cheered at the end! I was also one of the louder singers, although definately not one of the better, in our group. At the end, they play all of the songs again, and everyone gets to sing along! It was fabulous! Anyways, that was my weekend, and I hope you all enjoyed reading about my crazy antics in Korea! Here are pics of Mamma Mia night! Lots of love!

This is the theater...isn't it cool looking?

This is us before the show...

This is the giant Mamma Mia sign...good pic, huh?

And here is Sora and Sahng-mi next to a blurb about the play, written in Korean. They are supposed to tell me what it says! LOL!