Fun Fact

Tonight when the clock strikes midnight my Korean alter ego will turn twenty-five. In Korea when babies are born, they are already considered to be a year old (so, already I'm twenty-four instead of twenty-three). On January 1st, everyone gains another year. For those of you with inquisitive minds like my dear friend Emz, if children are born on New Years Eve they will then be two years old the next day. Kind of crazy, isn't it? Another interesting fact is that Koreans tend to celebrate Christmas with their friends and New Years with their family. It's completely reversed from the Western way of celebrating the holiday season. That's my tidbit for the day.

Last New Years Eve I was driving around Dallas taking a cheese platter to my best friend's parents, and salsa dancing to 70's music with a Peruvian man. Life changes fast. I do miss all my friends and family, especially at times like this, but I would never trade this experience for the world. Every day I wake up knowing this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. How many times in your life do you truly have that feeling? So, tonight I'll make a toast to my dear loved ones, with a glass of soju in hand, and wish you all the happiness that I feel right now. Happy New Years!

Travel lessons from Hong Kong & Beijing

1. Invest in a quality backpack and pack LIGHTLY!!!
2. Bring a pen and notebook.
3. Never trustingly assume that travel agencies will always get you the correct visa.
4. Stand in the right line in customs when transferring flights, especially if you only have a one time entry visa. Otherwise
you'll have to shell out more money for another visa and hang out in the airport all day like these poor blokes:

Luckily I had a scarf and a random sock in my purse to keep me warm
Coffee isn't perking Emma up. What will work?...
Drinking her beer and mine should do the trick.
This is what happens when you don't finish your beer.
"Are your travel documents and visa in order?" Muhahahaha
Oh, Hong Kong airport, you now feel like a second home.

So, on our way to China, Emma and I were detained at the Hong Kong airport while Tori was getting kicked out of cabs, lost in Beijing. I think the most important lesson I've learned is that even the best laid plans can go array, and it's just better to enjoy the new adventure than to get upset. I mean if we would have caught our original flight, Emma and I would have missed the dramatic episode in the airport between two cheesy lovers as the girl was oblivious to the man's desperate escalator wave because she was too busy blowing her honker. Where was my camera for that one?

I'm back in the SK. It feels good to be home. Pictures from the trip will be up soon! Happy New Years!

Goodbye Hong Kong, Hello Beijing

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be in Beijing. Hong Kong has been amazing. I could definitely either stay for a long period of time slash live here. I know I'll be back.

Typical

Where else would I be in Hong Kong early Christmas morning?



MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I leave for China in four hours and I haven't packed yet. I'm currently waiting for my clothes to dry. Since there aren't any dryers in Korea, I've devised my own drying system. I've laid out half of my clothes on the heated floor and the other half are hanging on a rack with a fan blowing on them, full force. This is a typical Elizabeth scenario. I'm so last minute. When I went to New York with Mojo-Ad, I packed thirty minutes before we left for the airport. The night before I flew to Korea my mom and I stayed up all night packing, weighing, and unpacking my ridiculous hockey bags. I'm not proud.


I bought a pair of insulated hiking pants for Beijing. I got them at a little store by my apartment. The two ladies who run the store were so funny and cute. They were speaking Korean and I was speaking English, but with the use of creative hand gestures, we totally understood each other. I asked to try on some pants and they took me to a storage room without a door. One of the ladies stood solid in the doorway, daring anyone to barge in on me. She also served as my fashion consultant letting me know her opinion on each pair of pants I tried on. When we finally agreed on a winning pair, she grabbed my hand, giggling, and led me to a mirror in the store. As I stood in front of the mirror the two ladies had no qualms about pulling up my shirt and groping my butt to see how the pants fit (or at least that's what I hope they were doing). After purchasing my pants, they gave me coffee, patted me lovingly, and sent me on my merry way. I love how ordinary tasks become little adventures here.


Last night was the kindergarten Christmas show. Although I absolutely adored spending my evening with the kindies and watching them make their parents proud in their incredibly cute costumes, the Christmas show left me feeling a bit melancholy. Last night was the first time that I truly felt like an outsider in Korea (in the US that’s the story of my life. Insert Debbie Downer noise: wuuuh wuuuh). The foreign teachers were completely kept apart from the whole production except when they needed us for face value. After the show we were all standing around and the Korean teachers were getting ready to go out and celebrate when our kindergarten director told me and the other two foreign teachers, “You can go to your house now,” which was a polite way of saying, “scram.” I love love love teaching kindergarten, but the system is completely different from elementary. With kindergarten I feel like I’m kept at a distance and am less involved. There’s nothing worse then feeling useless, and that’s exactly how I felt last night. I think on top of that, it was just one of those days where I felt like throwing on a hat and blending into the crowd, instead of being put on display. I hate the feeling of being scrutinized in public because it messes with my head and I start thinking about all the ways I will never live up to certain expectations. I know these feelings will soon pass, and it's one off day in the midst of so many amazing days. I think I just need a break from Swaton. I’m ready for China (even if my clothes aren’t).



Can you spot the creepy foreign teacher?
Stud
Precious





"Once upon a time there lived Hansel and Gretel with father and step-mother. They were sooo poor." Guess who played father?


We had a little shindig at Tori's tonight to celebrate Christmas before we all went our separate ways.
Sporting my new Christmas gifts. Carly, I can now bring your headband trend to the SK.
Emo stocking



I hope everyone has a great holiday season! I'll be in Hong Kong from the 23rd-27th and Beijing from the 27th-30th. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Shabu Shabu

I'm officially on break from teaching until 2008! I still have to go to the kindergarten Christmas show tomorrow night (I'm the father in Hansel and Gretel), but I don't even consider that work. It's going to be so freaking cute. I love any chance I can spend with my babies. I honestly just want to take them home with me and spend a day with them. Is that creepy? They crack me up.



After classes ended tonight, my director, Michelle took all the teachers out to eat shabu shabu. Mr. Lee made a brief appearance, shook all the Western teachers' hands and made a speech about how his goal next year is to increase our enrollment to 400 students. Then he did a runner. Michelle bought all the teachers really nice scarves, or as she calls them, "mufflers." It was really sweet because she put a lot of thought into what color to give each teacher, so that the scarves fit everyone perfectly. Mine's a bright blue green color. I already have plans to rock it with some of my favorite t-shirts.

I leave for Hong Kong on Sunday! I think I'm more excited about Beijing. I can't wait!


Half of the group, left to right: Emma, Sienna (with the big orb), Lauren, Michelle (my director), Amy, Christine, and mwah. Michelle was so happy that her head looked "so small" in all the group pictures. A small face is seen as beautiful. Hmmm, Tia where do our giant melon heads fit in?
This is a version of the Japanese food, shabu shabu. We were each given a platter of raw meat that we boiled in a pot of water and then ate in lettuce wraps with rice, crab meat, and amazing sauce.
Once we finished our meat platters, we then added noodles and vegetables to the boiling water. Delicious!

Facebook: building friendships one add at a time

For the most part my body has adjusted quite well to my new life (excluding my short stint of a cold). However, at times Korea is not kind to my poor stomach. I woke up last night at three in the morning and had to make a mad dash to the bathroom where I spent a good half hour with my head close to the toilet. Needless to say it was a rough night, but I felt rested and refreshed when I woke up this morning...until I glanced at the clock. It was 10:15am. My first class starts at 10:00am. I sprinted out the door expecting the worst. About a week ago one of my fellow English teachers was three minutes late to her first kindergarten class and she got in so much trouble. Maybe it was my disheveled wild eyed look or the fact that I was about to burst into tears, either way the kindergarten director took pity on me and gave me a stiff pat and asked if I needed to go to the doctor (Yes, I looked that rough). I sighed a breath of relief. I know I sound like I'm five, but I hate getting in trouble. Today I had that same feeling that I experience every time I get pulled over for speeding. My heart drops into my stomach and I break into a cold sweat. I'm a baby.

Lee Myung-bak won the presidential election today. What does this mean for the state of Korea? I have no idea. Except for being amused by the candidates' campaigning trucks with tv's on the side (take note Obama), I haven't really been following the presidential debate/election. I will get better.

Last Sunday I took a train to the nearby city of Daegu to visit my friend Anna from Oklahoma. The funny thing is I hadn't officially met Anna before I went to go see her. She is a friend of a friend from The Richards Group who is also teaching English in Korea, and we've been planning to hang out for a long time since I added her on facebook. Oh, the powers of the Internet. Anyways, I met up with Anna and her friend Jake (who is teaching in Busan), and we visited the Donghwasa Temple and the Tongil-daebul Buddha Statue in Palgong-san Provincial Park. I had so much fun, and it made me want to hop on a train every weekend to explore a new part of the country. What's stopping me? Absolutely nothing. It's such a liberating feeling to know that I'm completely free. How many people can say that? I'm absolutely blessed to be here.


Crazy lost foreigners with their animal hats. Notice the look of fright from our friends in the van.

Scooping the magic temple water
Drinking like the monks do.

Even monks need satellite tv


"I'm gonna knock you out. Mama said to knock you out."


I have no idea why I feel the need to add annoying commentary

Creepy gifts to Buddha

To: Carly. Love, Elizabeth
This is the largest stone Buddha statue in the world. Two pieces of Buddha's bones are in the body of the statue.

TIKI Tuesday: The infamous face truck

The life of a Korean truck vendor is not for the faint of heart. You have to break through the clutter and competition of all the other street vendors and fight for your sidewalkers' attention. You have to think about what type of message you want to convey, and how and if your consumers will be receptive to it...or you could always just put a big face with glasses on your truck.

Tucked in for the night

Yes, she is serious. I couldn't make this up if I tried.

Now the moment you've all been waiting for. Mama Helen explains her reasoning behind the wig.

Heart Melters

My sweet sweet babies. Left to right: Joseph, Julie (who steals the show), May, and Becky (who runs off).

Tragic

A state of disaster has been declared for the western coastal region of Korea due to an oil spill in Taean County (69 miles southwest of Seoul). About 94 miles of coastline has been affected causing it to be the worst spill in the country's history. The damage occured when a Hong Kong registered tanker hit an 11,800 ton barge last Friday morning, causing about 10,500 tons of oil to be dumped into the Yellow Sea.



Yahoo News
The quotes from the local sea farmers are heartbreaking:
Kim Pil-Moon: "My mind is darker than this oil on the beach. I don’t know to where to earn my living from now on." BusinessWorld Online
Kim Bong-Bu, an 83-year-old fisherman: "The black oil has taken away the sea I made my living out of, the one that let me send my children and my grandchildren to school for years." BusinessWorld Online
Destroyed oyster farm
Yahoo News
An organization has been set up for expats to lend a helping hand. A lot of foreigners from Daejeon are planning on taking a trip this weekend to help with the spill. I have to work this weekend, but this is definitely something I want to get involved in once the madness of the holidays are over.


Resources:
The Korean Times
BusinessWorld Online
The Raw Story