I'm still alive!

Fear not world! I am still alive. I've just been a bum and haven't been updating. Anyhoo what have I been up to you ask? Well work has been the same ole same ole. Go to work at 2, plan for two hours and then work until 10. Come home, grade papers, go to bed, repeat. Weekends are usually spent out with friends. Fun fun fun.

This past week was a little special though. Why? Because it was a holiday meaning we had Friday off! WOOHOOO!!!!!!!!

Diana finally made it safely to Korea and spent the weekend at my place. Another woohoo!

At night we went out with my coworkers but during the day we wandered around Seoul.

We managed to see Gyeongbok Palace. Now, I've been there before, but it was at night so seeing it during the day was a totally different experience. It was so picturesque and seriously looked exactly like it came from a period piece drama.



Don't let the picture fool you, they're real people!

Big drum BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM


Reunited and it feels so goooooooooooooood!

Since Diana was here this weekend it was the perfect excuse to see Ms. Stephanie. We all did Camp Adventure in Korea two years ago and it was the first time all three of us had seen each other together since. It was definitely a lot of fun.

As the day continued we managed to make our way to Yeouido. This past weekend there was a fireworks festival thing in Yeouido. The fireworks were pretty amazing but the lame part was that A. there were trees in our way and B. there were soooooooo many people around. Oh well, I am determined to see fireworks again sometime soon (perhaps New Years???).

Anyway these two things were probs the highlight of the weekend. Long weekends are always fun but it SUCKSSSSSSSS going back to work on Monday. Oh well. I leave you with some fabulous eye candy. Or should I say eye foody?? Eye desserty? I don't know..


*green tea chiffon cake. on the right is a yogurt fruit cheese roll.
I love you Migo. You have the yummiest cakes EVERRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Teaching

So I've finally finished my first week of classes! Woohoo!!! Teaching isn't as hard as I thought it would be but at the same time it isn't as easy as I thought it would be either. My classes are really cute though, so that makes teaching even the hard stuff a lot more fun.

I will prove to you just how cute they are!


Here is one of my classes. This is my super cute super smart class. I'm missing three boys in the picture. When I took out my camera they all ran way. Sad panda. The girls, on the other hand, jumped all over the chance to have their pictures taken. I swear 80% of the kids I teach wear glasses. I actually teach a total of five classes. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday I teach three and Tuesday and Thursday I teach two.

Kids these days are so smart. They know how to use computers, cell phones, they speak multiple languages. Even my uncle's daughter (okay, not my real uncle) she can text like nobody's busy and shes only 10!!!!!!!! Maybe I'm just old. I certainly felt old when I asked one of my students when she was born and she said she was born in 1999. Another one of my kids said he was born in 1993. 1993!!!!!!!!!! I can't imagine what its like to be born in the 90s or even the 2000s. I am definitely feeling like a grandma here...

So I don't know about what its like back at home ( oh how I miss you Portland!!!!) but its still pretty warm here. What's the best thing to do when its hot? EAT ICE CREAM!!!!!!!!!!! Korea has incredible ice cream here. What's even better is that you can get it with ice! Okay, that probably sounds a little weird but it makes eating ice cream so much more enjoyable and refreshing!

Yesterday I met some friends in Gangnam and we had pizza. After eating pizza we decided it would be best to eat patbingsoo. So patbingsoo is Korea's take on an ice cream sundae. Basically what it is is ice with ice cream, fruit (or in some cases fruit cocktail, you know, from a can) red bean and depending on how fancy the place you're at is, dduk (rice cake/mochi).
Well I was in a group of 12 people so we decided to get two HUGE bowls of it. When I say huge, I mean HUGEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

This picture doesn't do it justice and yes, there are tomatoes in there. Look to the right. That's a tomato. Yum Yum. NOT

Me in relation to the huge bowl of patbingsoo. This picture still doesn't do it justice.

Its so big you have to eat it with a shovel like thing. Okay, I lie, but they definitely do give you shovels for it! Eww, my hair is not looking so fly here.

I'm having fun in Korea but I still really miss home. YOU ARE MISSED HOME! SISTERS AND FRIENDS, YOU ARE ALSO MISSED!!!

Guess I've gotta make a trip to Seattle now...

So after a fun filled night of YUMMY YUMMY flambe and bowling I checked my email and found out that I have a visa number! I don't know how I feel about getting the number.

Side note**
The flambe was delicious and it was FREE. They didn't have vanilla ice cream and instead gave us chocolate. It was still delicious but it tasted even better because it was free ^^. Good job Touche!!! My friends and I left happy and full of fattening goodness!!






Going to Korea after I graduate has been something I've talked about for such a long time and now that it's happening I don't know how I feel about it. I'm really going to be gone for a year. My family is really going to be thousands of miles away. My friends are really going to be super far away having tons of fun without me (super sad panda about this, I LOVE YOU FRIENDS). I won't be able to drive for a year!!! Okay, so it's not like I love driving to begin with but its a convenience factor. Things in Korea overall just won't be as convenient as at home.

I've been to Korea a couple of times and have loved every moment I was there but to be there for a year? 365 days of flashing lights (insert Kanye here hehe) and polluted air. Disgustingly hot summers and frigidly cold winters? Hmm... It's probably the jitters that are getting to me. I really do love Korea. There is so much to do in such a small space. Korea is smaller than Idaho!! Okay, now I'm just rambling.

Well by this time next week, in theory I should have my visa and that means DUN DUN DUN I'm that much closer to stepping on a plane to the ROK. This is like going away for college all over again. I was a terrible blubbering mess before I went to college and ended up loving it. No tears yet but I still have that horrible anxious feeling again. Whats a two hour drive in comparison to a 12+ hour plane ride costing easily over 1200. Le sigh