October 2011
thetravelsofanoodlehairedgirl asked: Hey, I was reading your post of about Korean classes. I just moved to Korea recently and live in Seoul and would love to take classes. Do you mind me asking the details?
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How to Get a Korean Boyfriend
My friend just sent me a link to the website mykoreanboyfriend.com in which women who have married, are dating, or want to date Korean men talk about their cross-cultural relationships. This has inspired me to share some tips on how to get a Korean boyfriend which are not entirely serious but still kind of true. The truth is, Korean culture is hot right now all over the world, and only growing in...
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This just happened...
I was walking to the school cafeteria when one of the younger cafeteria workers, wearing a white chef coat and tall hat, stopped me. She asked if I spoke Korean, and I said I spoke a little, and then we talked for awhile and I learned that she had seen me in my costume in Itaewon on Saturday, and had asked me to take a picture with her boyfriend, and thought my costume was pretty. Then she gave me...
For the person who asked me how to get YG Concert...
This woman speaks English and buys tickets for people who weren’t able to get them. My friend ordered tickets from her once and it was legitimate: http://danceinkorea.com/shop/
You can also check Naver fan cafes, because a lot of Korean people sell tickets on there. However, you will probably need someone who speaks Korean and a Korean ID number to do this.
Hope this helped!
Sick!
I am still sick… the good news is that I think I will be able to breathe, smell, and taste by tomorrow! The bad news is I cannot do any of those things now. Although, compared to yesterday, it’s a lot easier for me to breathe, and I am not blowing my nose twice a minute anymore. I didn’t think my sickness was too noticeable but some of my students asked me if I was sick, and...
I’ve been feeling a little sad lately so I’ve decided the best way to get myself out of this is to spend less time locked up in my apartment watching past season of 30 Rock to start trying new things.
Today, for example, I made a really delicious avocado salad for dinner. Avocados are pretty expensive in Korea. One was 5,000 won (about $5!) but it was worth it. (I know avocados are...
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A Korean commercial for camera lenses was just so beautiful it made me cry.
I am going to spend $5 on an avocado for dinner tonight. I hope I can find balsamic vinegar.
It’s nice and warm here, but it’s snowing where I live back home. Strange.
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Halloween
I am so pink.
Halloween was kind of uneventful, like last year. Unfortunately, having to go to the wedding before made me tired early, and all my makeup and hair ruined early in the night (although I absolutely loved the wedding.)
The first thing we did was a Han River boat cruise which started at 6:20. It was advertised as a Halloween party boat cruise sponsored by one of our favorite foreign...
What a perfect start to a holiday weekend- I got to go home from work after lunch today! I haven’t had a half day in forever, because our administration decided we couldn’t go home after lunch during midterms and finals. It’s so quiet and peaceful around my apartment complex mid-day. I only saw a few old Korean people contentedly crouching on the sidewalk, watching their dogs go...
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I’ve just been sitting on my computer for the past 10 minutes ready to get my YG concert tickets. They don’t even go on sale for another 11 minutes!
Here’s a picture from last year! I was afraid my camera would get confiscated or I would get kicked out if I took too many.
Update: got the tickets! Standing section 005! Not so good, but better than nothing! We’re going...
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I was just thinking about how hungry I was and two big Dominos pizzas magically appeared on the office table. I only had to eye them for a second before one of the teachers told me to “help myself.” It was like fate!
I am going to buy groceries after school so I can make mashed potatoes and then wait until 8 PM when the YG Family Concert tickets go on sale on GMarket and try to buy...
Got my coat! (Burnt orange, long, tortoise-shell buttons, 50,000 won! Super-cheap and pretty.)
Got jeans that fit! (No more butt crack! I have NO jeans that fit me. I haven’t worn jeans in months. H&M, 49,000.)
Got a package from home! (Trident gum! Burt’s Bees chap stick! Two new super-soft washcloths! Missoni for Target barrettes! Cut-out magazine pictures and articles about...
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Another wonderful story about my awesome...
(I am being sarcastic.)
Since I am doing speaking tests right now, I spend the entire period in the private English room office. It’s the Korean teacher’s duty to send the girls in to me in the right order and quickly. I will give my CT credit- she’s been doing that well.
However, when I came into the English classroom after being in the office all period, I noticed that...
It's Park vs. Na in today's Seoul mayoral election
koreanewsline:
Civic activist Park Won-soon faces off today against National Assembly member Na Kyung-won in Seoul’s mayoral election, which is being widely viewed as a barometer of voter sentiment ahead of next year’s presidential election. A defeat for ruling party candidate Na, who was trailing Park in the most recent opinion poll, would deal a blow to President Lee Myung-bak’s Grand National...
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I am going to buy a new coat in Myeongdong after school because apparently it is socially unacceptable to wear the coat I bought here last year because I “practically lived in it for six months” (according to my friends.) But that coat is so warm! I want a tan, grey, or royal blue long wool coat. I hope I can find one at one of the big Western stores there (Zara, H&M, Forever 21)...
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Editing my co-teacher's research paper
Some highlights:
“As a society animal, we…”
“I was concerned about the students’ reaction to the lesson because my students are very naughty and young.”
“I plan to be an adventurous and creative teacher for my dear students.”
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More issues with my ‘problem co-worker’ stemming from the fact that she is useless, incompetent, and just plain dumb… now I have a headache, and I never get headaches.
Whatever, I have that quesadilla after work to look forward to!
And, even though I had a bad day (which is still not even over,) some of my sweet students really made it all better. That’s the main reason...
cmrubinworld asked: I love your blog. I am now following you. Would you take a look at my blog about global education and consider following me?
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It’s only 10 AM and I already have a headache. And I’ve only had one class. ㅜㅜ
No one told me that the schedule was changing so I was late to it, which meant I had to re-work the lesson. And then arriving to my classroom, I discovered that someone had thrown out ALL of the supplies I needed to do the lesson. So I had to spend another 10 minutes frantically getting everything ready....
I made a new ajumma friend in my elevator! She said I was tall and beautiful, rubbed my back, and gave me a sweet, big toothless smile.
I love ajummas (when they’re not shoving me around)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just saw a taxi driver hit an elementary school girl on a bike. (She’s OK.)
This is why I’m wary of getting a bike in this city.
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It’s raining and gross outside but today’s lunch made me happy: beef bone and potato soup (with unidentifiable green vegetables,) rice, fried tofu with seasonings, kimchi-fied unidentifiable green vegetables and white stuff (when in doubt, assume it’s some kind of root,) and the big chunks of cabbage kimchi. Yummmmy.
I have five classes today but three are just me overseeing...
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There is a truck parked outside my building with a big speaker on top that has been repeatedly playing the same pre-recorded, 20-second advertisement for some kind of fish for about two hours.
I am on the 12th floor and it’s louder than the TV show I am trying to watch on my computer.
I hope the people on the lower floors call and complain about it.
Earlier this week there was another...
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Hello, weekend!
I always feel lighter than air when I walk out of my fifth period Friday class because… that means my weekend has officially started! Even though I have to stay at school for another two hours I just do Internet Stuff and Facebook and that’s probably what I would be doing at home anyway.^^
I have a great schedule this semester because I don’t have to deal with my problem...
SOFA agreement in the spotlight again as anger...
koreanewsline:
The Status of Forces Agreement, or SOFA, that governs the legal status of U.S. troops in South Korea is under scrutiny following an alleged assault on a 70-year-old grandmother by a U.S. soldier and the alleged rapes of two women by two other servicemen. Local activists say the SOFA goes too far in protecting U.S. soldiers accused of crimes, with many seeking greater legal...
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Oh, my God! My sweet ahjumma neighbor was so troubled when I told her that the guard man said he didn’t have my package that she WENT OUTSIDE in the cold and got it for me! (No idea why he said he didn’t have it in the first place- maybe she signed for both the packages earlier but could only carry one back because her hands were full?)
AND she gave me a bag of tomatoes.
I gave her...
Just got back from the post English Contest dinner with the principal, vice principal, tech guy and music guy, head office guy, and all my other English teacher co-workers. I had a great time. I know I complain about my school a lot but I actually really like 99% of my coworkers, and everyone always goes out of their way to be friendly to me.
Highlights:
Being complimented on my chopstick skills...
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WatchEnjoy^^ the kiss scene from last year’s English contest’s performance of Romeo and Juliet
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English Contest Day!
I’m in a great mood because, even though I’m going to be stuck after school for like 2 hours and then have to endure a teachers’ dinner and possible drinking party for who knows how long into the night, it’s ENGLISH CONTEST DAY!
The school English contest happens once a year and is wildly entertaining. Only the most advanced English students from each grade are asked to...
Anonymous asked: About the 2NE1 pictures...I honestly don't see a difference in their style. How have they adjusted to fit a japanese audience?
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My One Co-Teacher
is really difficult to like.
She is slow and lazy; she barely speaks English although she’s been teaching English for like 35 years (she does not understand simple sentences like ‘Where is the book?’ and ‘I will do it’); and, worst of all, she does absolutely nothing to help me in the classroom most of the time. While I try to teach, and the students are loud and...
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My Hell Class
Fellow English teachers in foreign countries- actually, probably all teachers, everywhere in the world!- can identify with this. Have you ever had a class that you just hate?
I had to deal with my Hell Class today (middle school grade 3.) On the surface, they don’t seem so bad. Some of the smartest, sweetest students in the whole school are in that class. They always listen, never slack...
