Celebrating with a little Seoul

Not a lot has happened over the past two weeks. Last weekend (November 7), ECC planned a foreign teacher's retreat to a few different spots in Korea.  It was a nice gesture and the day went pretty good.  We ended up going to see a temple in Songgwangsa, a traditional Korean folk village, and Suncheon Bay.  We had a big crew going to it was just another opportunity to spend time outside of ECC with each other.  The temple was like any other temple I've seen over the past six months (which, today, is my sixth month anniversary.  Congrats me!).  It was a pretty big area.  We had just arrived when the fog was just beginning to lift and the sun was shining through the trees.  It made for some pretty nice pictures which you can see below.  

 

A lonely, tall tree

 

The traditional Korean village was very interesting.  The entire city was encompassed by a fortress wall.  Inside, we saw houses made with stone, mud, and straw roofs.  Villagers were everywhere selling Korean souvenirs because it is apparently a pretty big tourist attraction.  There was a giant swing (which I'm not sure what it was used for) that we all HAD to take pictures on.  In one part of the village, there were models of traditional Korean warriors and they showed how some of the citizens were punished (see below, first picture).  The village was pretty cool.  They had a museum with all kinds of fake (or really old) artifacts.  Overall, the village was really cool to see, but I probably won't go to another one, as I'm predicting they're all the same.

A not-so-fun punishment

 

Taking a picture with the big swing.

The village from atop the fortress wall.

Next, we traveled to Suncheon Bay.  It was SO crowded.  Everyone and their dog was visiting this place.  It was a giant eco-park that traveled into the ocean.  It was really pretty to see.  We had to hike up this huge mountain (which I later regretted because I wasn't expected such a big hike).  All across the land, you could see water, some type of plants (reeds I'm guessing).  Below are some pictures of the park and bay.

 

The park

 The bay

This past weekend, we celebrated Katelyn's 24th birthday in Seoul.  A lot of the other foreign teachers went up on Thursday night because we had a three-day weekend.  But Katelyn and I stayed back in Gwangju for a night, ran some errands early Friday morning, then headed up to meet Brad in his area.  Sam and Stephanie met up with us too in Meyongdong which is the big shopping area in Seoul.  Katleyn's only birthday plans was to shop at Forever 21 and that we did.  We later went to Brad's apartment, began drinking a bit, then headed to a bar called 4 degrees Celsius. The beer holders were excellent as they frosted themselves and kept our beers cold.  We later went to a few other bars but called it an early night because the next day we were going back into the city.

After eating delicious bagel sandwiches and donuts at Dunk N' Donuts, we got dressed and went into a Seoul.  Seoul is bigger than I remember.  It reminded me of my love for big cities and how while Gwangju has 1.7 million people, it's still not big enough.  Being in Seoul makes me want to move to a bigger city.  Anyways, we got into Insa-dong where we found out hostel.  We dropped of our bags then went and ate Mexican food. No lie.  It was my first taste of TRUE Mexican food in six months.  It was heaven on a plate!  I had a burrito, some soft shell tacos, and a quesidilla.  I was a force to be reckoned with.  After dinner, we went to this bar down the street.  It was an awesome time!  Katelyn deserved an awesome birthday and I think she got it-- also known as beer and a tequila-shot-filled night.  The night started out with me, Katelyn, her cousin, Julia, Sam, Stephanie, and Brad.  Later, though, almost all of the other foreign teachers from our school showed up.  It got pretty crazy, pretty drunk, and pretty wild!  I ended having a dance-off with a Korean girl. And this dance-off was not to American music, but yes, to Korean pop songs.  I stood my ground and it was definitely and unfortunately, video taped. :(  A few other people ended up having a few too many drinks, so they went home and the rest of us continued our bar tour around Seoul.  We eventually called it a night at around 3:30 am.

 The next day, we went out to Insa-dong and did some shopping.  I bought a few things for my family for Christmas which was nice.  We also went to Subway where I had a Dr. Pepper.  This was also the first time I had Subway and a Dr. Pepper in six months.  So, basically, this was the best trip ever.  We were all pretty tired from the night before, so we left for Gwangju at 4:30.

When we got back to Gwangju, Katleyn and I went to see 2012 at the theaters.  This was my birthday present to her :)  The movie was really good, so if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it!  There is always something appealing about watching people in despair and the end of the world. 

Other than that, not much else has been going on.  ECC has been giving Katelyn and I hell about living together because they made a mistake by hiring another girl.  They actually had the retarded idea to ask if I'd move out of Katelyn's apartment in three months only to move back in to the apartment I'm living in now.  It's absurd.  Oh well-- it is all working out and Katelyn and I will be living together in a little over a week.  

Well, when something else happens worth blogging about, you'll be the first to know!  Thanks for reading!  Now back to my new addiction: green tea.  I never thought I'd say that.

A Very "Swine" Halloween!

What a week! I'll start off by talking about Halloween.


We celebrated Halloween at ECC last Friday.  It was a fun-filled day with little Koreans running around the school dressed up as witches, fairy tale characters, and the killer from the "Scream" movies.  For some reasons, my kids have a weird fascination with that costume, or it is possibly one of the only scary costumes you can get in Korea.  Friday was one of those days that I love my school, the people I work with, and my students.  It was a great day that was comprised of too much candy, face painting, and "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown."  


The day started with group pictures with EVERY Kinder class.  They were all so cute dressed up-- much cuter than western kids, I might add and if I haven't made that clear. :) If you can see me in the picture to the left,  I am the dude in the red jacket and yellow bow tie.  I went as T.O.P., a Korean boy band singer and actor.  He is from the band "Big Bang," which is one of the most popular bands in Korea.  The inspiration from my costume can be found by clicking here and here, as they are a mixture of both outfits from the music video "Lollipop."  Katelyn, who is on my left in the picture, went as Sandara Park from 2NE1 who is also in the music video, and her costume's inspiration can be found here, and yes, she is the one with the very tall, middle-of-the-head pony tail.


All of the teacher's dressed up at ECC.  Some were crayons, Ian was Optimus Prime, Steve, my new roommate was a cowboy, and a few Korean teachers went as Minnie Mouse, as well as scary monkeys and witches. We all had fun and it was a day to remember thus far at ECC.  It really makes me love my school, and I feel really lucky to work at ECC as I have heard many horror stories from other academies and schools around Gwangju from my other friends.  Anyways, below are some more pictures of ECC's Halloween party, and as always, the entire photo albums can be found on Facebook; however, if you want me to send you more pictures through email, all you have to do is ask.

The Playground 6 class I share with Olivia.  I have taught them for six months.  There are a few students missing.  This is a really good and smart class.

James is the new Korean student I'm going to still and bring back home.  He is one of Katelyn's students.  He would bow to me and say "Hello" in Korean every time he saw me.  He is the cutest kid at ECC.

After ECC on Friday, we all went to Miller Time in Bongseon dong.  It was Ian's last weekend in South Korea before he traveled Southeast Asia for three months.  He is coming back to Korea next year.  It was a good night. 

On Saturday night (Halloween), I met up with Young-tae, Jo, Beth, Kate, Lauren, and Amanda for some Outdoor Galbi and drinks.  The food as delicious (as always), and the 맼 주 was refreshing.  After dinner, in costumes, we went to Miller Time downtown.  I might add that we got some very interesting looks dressed up in costume, as Korea does not celebrate Halloween as a holiday.  Jo was dressed as a white dog, Beth was dressed as a gorilla, Kate, Amanda, and Lauren were dressed up as different triangles, Young-tae dressed as himself, and I went as T.O.P. once again.  So, you can imagine walking into a bar and getting concerned looks from at least one hundred Koreans.


This past week has been quite busy.  As always, it's the last and first week of the month, so it is very busy with new lesson plans, grading big test and book reports, and writing student evaluations.  I was ahead of the game this month and pretty much got everything done on time.  It's always such a relief to finish those two weeks because the next three weeks during the next month is a piece of cake-- just plan your classes, teach, and have fun.


This past week, I came down with a cold on Tuesday.  Tuesday night was a horrible night of sleep-- I could never get warm, even though I slept in pants, socks, and a sweatshirt.  When I woke up the next day, my lymph nodes were swollen and my throat was sore.  It wasn't going to be a good day at work.  On Wednesday, I felt dizzy, cold, and in general, sick all day.  I constantly checked my temperature to make sure I didn't have a fever, seeing that if my school found out I could possibly have the Swine flu, they'd FREAK out.  After my 5:40 class, I check my temperature once again and I had a 101.  So, I naturally told my school and they immediately snuck me out of the hospital (yes, the word "snuck" is intentionally used because the school didn't want any students to see me wearing a medical face mask).  After being dropped off in a dark alley by Alex, ECC's manager, I waited for Will to pick me up and take me to the hospital.  Will is our technology man at school who knows minimal English, so the car ride to the hospital was interesting.


At the hospital, I took my temperature, got asked some questions, got two steroid shots in the ass, got some Tamiflu and other packets of medicine to take over the next five days, and was on my way.  The hospital wants me to come back today (Thursday) for more tests, but I am refusing, as I want to see how these meds work before I go back.  The doctor said he thinks I have the Swine Flu but I disagree.  I think it was just a cold that eventually escalated.  Nothing too big.  I feel much better today, although I'm still a bit weak and now a little nauseated.  Teachers from work are covering my classes today so I basically have a sick day today.  Today will comprise of watching the fifth season of Lost, reading John Knowles' "A Separate Peace," and resting.  


And here I am, writing this blog, sitting, inevitably approaching boredom...