Lately

So sorry I haven't been updating about the happenings over on this side of the world. I've been meaning to and finally feel completely over a sickness that seemed to last for way too long. It's nice to be able to breathe again!

I'll start with the weekend before last. I had a four day weekend, but since I was still on antibiotics and not feeling so well, I decided to stay home and get myself better for one of my favorite holidays: Cinco de Mayo! Really, I have to admit its just an excuse to drink margaritas and eat Mexican food, but what can be better than that? A bunch of us went to La Merce, the only "Mexican" food in the area. It is a poor excuse for Mexican food but they do have excellent ritas.

Jillian and the sombrero:

Alicia and I. The beer is good too:)


Mariko and Brandon, some of my favorites:


Having a discussion on the dating rituals of boys:



Although overall a pretty uneventful weekend for being so long, it was nice to chill and relax. I also bought some much needed curtains. Now I am sleeping until AFTER the sun comes up. It can be very bright on the 34th floor, you know.

This last weekend was much more eventful. Alicia and I went to the National Palace in Seoul. It's where the Royal family lived, but it was burned down and torn down by the Japanese on two different occasions(couldn't tell you exactly when, but it was very very long ago). The final restoration was in 1990, and it is very impressive. Supposedly, Koreans are so obsessed with the novelties of American culture that having such a large and sacred part of Korean history restored and kept up is pretty rare and special. It was really really cool. There were a couple museums there we didn't get to explore, so hopefully I'll get back someday. They had a little march by the "Royal Guards" in front. Here are a few of my pictures. I'll try to put the rest of them on facebook ASAP.

The showing of the Royal Guards:




The front of the Palace:


Throughout the day, we kept getting stopped by various students with assignments to perform an interview in English. Here's Alicia getting one. I had just gotten one right before this, and Alicia took my video, so it was only fair that I put this picture on my blog.


The architecture is very cool:
What I would look like as a Royal Guard:

A pagoda:


Kids painting the scenery, so quaint!



Beautiful scenery. This is the party house of the palace. Looks like fun!





After the Palace, of course we couldn't resist some good ol' Korean shopping:



Just kidding. Actually, we did go to the shopping district in Seoul again. Made some very crucial spring purchases. Later, we had Thai food in Itaewon, the part of Seoul where "all the foreigners hang out". Meaning, lots of Army and Air Force people, Indians, Africans, and of course, English Teachers from all over the world. Anyway, its a good place to eat, a sketchy place to go to bars, unless Army boys are your thing. My favorite part of the night was running across this vendor selling overpriced, dirty bracelets and jewelry. In case you can't read the warning, it is prohibiting vendors for setting up there. It warns that they will be severely punished....I wouldn't mess with Korean government either!

Hope you all have a great week!!!

around town

So I've been trying to take more pictures, but still only have a few of the area that I live in. I've been wandering a lot by myself, trying to get my bearings, and also find some interesting things. Today I found a Din Tai Fung, which is a Famous Taiwanese handmade Chinese dumpling place. Super excited about that one.

Here is a picture of Cafe Street, the area right down the road from me that is packed with cafes and restaurants. There are a lot of Italian and wine places, but also some Chinese, Japanese, and maybe American(and Korean, of course). Its a little pricey, but could be fun for a cup of coffee or some wine on a weeknight. I can't wait for the spring when all the trees will be in bloom. More pictures then.





Last weekend, I made my way to this department store, Shinsegae. It is right next to an E-Mart, the Korean equivalent to Wal-mart(classier, though). Shinsegae is a very high-end department store, with Louis Vuitton, Channel, Coach, and all those special names. There is also an over-priced Gap, and I was thrilled to find a Kiehls and Aveda store. Yay!





This weekend was my coworker Joel's birthday. We went to a Brazilian restaurant, where I attempted to use the little Portugese I knew with the waiters and we overdosed on meat. It was far from being close to as good as real Brazilian food, but it hit the spot for the time being. Afterwards, we went to a "Clubby Bar". It was here where a few of my coworkers bet me $50,000 won(a little less than $50) for me to go into the crowd and dance with a Korean guy. If they knew me, I'm sure they wouldn't have bet that much, because of course I jumped right in there and danced a song with a guy. Anyway, after that, the guy assumed we were bff, and all his friends came over and started to talk to us like we were celebrities. These girls were so excited to meet us, so I asked for a picture with them. Don't they look so happy???!





At the next bar, nothing significant happened, but this scary mask was hanging on the wall right next to me. Weird.





And finally, here is a picture of my new picture collage. I spent last night watching Vicky Christina Barcelona and putting these up. I like it a lot. All of the pictures are from within the last year. Also, Vicky Christina Barcelona is an OK movie, not great, but worth seeing just for Penelope Cruz's preformance.


And that is all. I joined the gym in my building, so I am trying to get motivated to work out. Marian suggested putting on my workout clothes and seeing if that helps. But Sunday afternoons are for naps, right??

well, I'm here.

Yes! I made it to South Korea safe and sound! I left California early Monday morning for my journey. It went amazingly well. I think the more I worry about flights these days, the better they seem to go. The girl at the check in counter for China Airlines didn't even weigh my bags! I was super worried about the weight, since I have the tendency to always be over the allotted 50 pounds. I was also pretty worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep on the plane. Leaving in the middle of the night has its benefits though...I slept like a baby. Despite the uncomfortable seats and having nowhere to lay my head, I was awake for only about 4 hours of the 14 hour flight to Taipei. When I arrived in Seoul, I found a taxi easily and made it safely to my new apartment, where my boss met me. The first day, I just stopped by the school to meet all the teachers and then took the day to rest and unpack. I was delighted to find that my new single occupancy apartment is on the 34th floor of a very nice building, complete with a gym, pharmacy, bank, convenience store, and several restaurants.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were my training days. This just involved observing the veteran teachers and meeting all the kids. I will be teaching a Kindergarten class in the morning and an elementary class in the afternoon. I didn't meet my Kindergarten students yet since they will be brand new on Monday! I am already expecting lots of tears and possibly wetting pants. My classes are very small--only 10 students. So much better than Taiwan in that aspect! I have really been impressed at how smart and well-behaved they all are as well.

So far, I couldn't be happier here! The teachers I work with are all amazing. So helpful and fun to hang out with. My boss is also pretty cool. He is willing to help has repeatedly told us that whatever we need he will do what he can to help. On Friday we all went out to dinner and drinks and had a blast. I'm excited to get to know these new friends:


After dinner, we ended up at a Norebong, the Korean KTV or Karoke:



Here are a few of my apartment:






Pretty nice, huh?

I'll try to get out the next few days and take some pictures of the area...very nice. There are lots of cute cafes and restaurants in the area, as well as good parks for running and exploring.