Hello, Buddha.

 belldruml

Also, I went to a Buddhist temple called Jogye-sa Temple. Going through my pictures, I realized I never took a picture of the front of the temple. Sorry! The picture of the pole-like statue is actually said to have some of Buddha's remains. To the left of the statue, people lit incense and candles for some sort of prayer/offering to him. The inside of the temple was beautiful. I tried to take a picture of it very quickly, so I wouldn't get yelled at. I'm so rude. Hopefully, you can get an idea of the inside.  A gold statue of Buddha was the center of the room. Worshipers kneeled on mats and prayed. 

I need to go back on a better day. At this point in the day, I was so over the rain! :)

Hmmm... Which One Shall I Choose?

Hello! Today, I had quite the adventure. I went to the biggest palace in Seoul called the Gyeongbok Palace. It was very beautiful and large. The weather was chilly and rainy, so my pictures did not turn out as well as I would have liked. Oh, well. I will give you a little history lesson. The palace was first built in 1395, but has since been rebuilt and restored due to fires and damage. This palace was the king's primary residence, as well as four other palaces in Seoul.  During King Sejong reign (1418-1450), very important inventions were created. This included the sundial, rain gauge, water clock, and celestial globes. Woohoooo! Your excited, right? :) The grounds of the palace was beautiful with trees, a pond, and gardens. I didn't go to the garden area, because I thought I would wait until spring. 

OK, a little about the pictures. The picture of the two pillars are actually chimneys. Cool huh? I'm not sure where the actual fire was held, being they were not connected to any part of the temple. 

Gargoyles were found on all of the roofs.

The picture of the dragons were part of the ceiling inside the palace.

The picture with all the men are my future boyfriends. They decided to dress as traditional guards for the king and queen (me...ha). Wasn't that nice of them? I haven't decided which "guard" I like best. I'm not sure if I like fake beards... or any, actually. Their outfits are pretty sweet. I know you want to borrow one. 

Freak Show

Hiii. I made it through my first week and a half of teaching! Wohooo! It went really well. The kids are very cute and fairly well behaved, but I had to be more strict with them this week. Uh oh. :) They come up to me a lot and point to my freckles or stare into my eyes. Basically, I am a freak of nature and they like to stare at me. Maybe I should join the circus. Ha. I have done a little more exploring, but I have SO much to see. The neighborhoods are so different everywhere you go. There are a few areas that are full of bars and restaurants. They look like Time Square on speed... times 5. Seriously. I'm not exaggerating. They are full of lights on every building. The churches here have crosses that light up too. Its pretty funny.  I didn't get to do any exploring this past weekend. I came down with a cold and have spent the last few days hibernating. I have been pretty bored during the week, so I bought paint to make fabulous pictures. I am not an artist by any means, but I need some new hobbies. If three year-olds can paint, I have to be able to come up with something creative...or not. I'm also joining a gym here and will actually workout (unlike at home). If you have any other ideas, please let me know. I am really excited to make a trip to Cosco this week. I need some real coffee. Everything here is instant coffee and tastes like crap. 

 I have to get back to teaching! I will be taking a lot of pictures this weekend! Hopefully, I will have more interesting things to report. Miss you all! Love.

xoxo

- Gift giving is very important here in Korea. It shows respect. The kids give me random things everyday. For example, sweet potatoes, candy, rice cakes, chocolate, and weird little toys. I only eat things that are wrapped, so I throw most of it away.   

Supercalifragilicious Expialadocious!

I feel like I have so much to tell you all! My apartment is cute. I will put up pics soon. It's a studio apartment and has pretty much everything I need! However, I am not a fan of the shower situation. The shower is not separated from the rest of the bathroom. Basically, I am showering in the middle of the bathroom. I am not the most coordinated person (don't laugh), so I managed to get water on every inch of my bathroom and some in my main room. This will be interesting. There should be a sign saying, " Shower with Caution."

Guess what? I made a new friend today! I was trying to find E-mart (massive grocery store) and couldn't remember how to get there. I passed a guy who was sitting outside at Starbucks and decided to ask him for directions. He was the first English speaking person I had seen outside of my school. We ended up chatting and I went out to lunch with him and his Korean friend. Yeah for new friends!

After lunch, I went to E-mart. I think it resembles a Super Target or Super Walmart, but bigger. It was an experience. Everyone was staring at me the entire time, which I am starting to get used to. There were people everywhere and I had to use my mad skills to weave around everyone. I listened to my ipod the entire time so I wouldn't freak out. Missy Higgins can put anyone in a fabulous mood! :) It was like Walmart on move-in day for college...times 5. Seriously. They had samples everywhere, but I couldn't figure out what most of it was. Girls were trying to sell all kinds of products and had ridiculous outfits on (matching shirt/short skirt and leg warmers). There was a huge gathering around the Head and Shoulders display. I don't understand how that could be so wonderful and worth your time to hear about. ha. Also, I have never seen such a large seafood section. I think I am going to go back and spend an hour trying to figure out what everything is. Oh! They sell Caribou Coffee there too! Weird, huh?

Tomorrow is my first day of class! I am so excited! I'm still not sure what I will be doing, but I am going in a few hours early to prepare. Ha. I'm not worried! 

I have learned so much about this culture already! It is so interesting and I really like it here so far. Jet lag is pretty much over. I went out with some friends from school last night and stayed awake until 1 am!! Wohooo. It feels wonderful to be back to normal.

-Things I Have Learned-

* Confucius ideas are very much a part of society and may be the reason why almost 50 percent of people do not practice a religion. A person's age is one of the most important things in society. You must respect elders of all ages. For example, during meals the younger person will serve his/her elders (pour drinks or cook at the table). The youngest must be aware of his behavior and make sure he is not doing anything that would be disrespectful (talking or drinking excessively). The oldest person/ male usually pay for the meal. Most people are only friends with others of the same age.

* Korean people drink A LOT. Drinking is a staple at all business meetings and they usually have 4-5 rounds. It is very disrespectful if you do not drink. It is common to have 3-4 business meetings evenings a week. I think it is more common among business men. 

* Korea has one of the highest suicide rates due to the people not meeting the high standards of education or employment.

* Kids are in school/lessons year-round from 8/9 AM to 9 PM . They have school every other Saturday.  

* They eat more ramon than the average college student.

*Rice is made into every form possible. 

* When I eat Korean barbeque, my mouth may swell and burn like hell from all the spices. :)

Hope all is well!

<3 

ps. My toilet does not have a Hello Kitty theme...yet.  

Quiet Voices PLEASE

11/01/08 - Dates posted are one day behind.

Well, I survived Halloween! I think I may still be deaf from all the kids yelling " Trick or Treat!" It was a lot of fun, but it would be fabulous if I never teach (elementary students) during Halloween again! ha! Halloween festivities are very exciting for these kids, because they do not have any celebrations outside of their English school. The kids consumed massive amounts of candy, popcorn, and pop (not soda). I feel a little bad for the families who had to deal with these children when they went home! Opps! We played games and carved pumpkins. The Korean teachers wanted us to light the candles that go inside the pumpkins, but I wasn't sure that it was a good idea. 6 year olds and fire do not mix. I kept imagining the entire building starting on fire. Not on my watch. :) I have had enough bad experiences with fire to last a lifetime. (Someone started my house in college on fire.)

Finally, I have my class schedule. I have 10 classes on M/W/F (1:05- 7:45) and 6 classes T/TH (3:00-7:30). We have two breaks coming up over Christmas and New years. I need to start thinking about where I want to go! China? Vietnam? Hopefully, the Won (Korean currency) will get stronger by then. 

I'm moving into my apartment today!! Woot! Woot! It will be nice to get settled.

I will try to answer emails tomorrow. 

<3

Fun Fact-  The toilets here at my school are decorated with Hello Kitty. I know your jealous. You need to go to the store IMMEDIATELY and purchase decorations for your toilet(s) at home. Hurry. Fast.  

 

   

Halloween Pics

First Day at School

Hello! First of all, I am writing on about 3 hours of sleep. Jet Lag is awful. Yesterday was a good day! I sat in classrooms and observed the teachers/children. I will be teaching kids from kindergarten to middle school. It is going to be a challenge, especially being I am used to the older kids. I have never been interested in teaching younger children, so this will be interesting! Most of the curriculum is created and there are certain books/workbooks that I have to use. The private schools (called hawgons) run like a business and keeping students enrolled is how they make money.  Hawgons want to please the parents in every way, so they will keep their children at their school. That is a little frustrating, but that is the whole culture here. If their child is not doing well, they will move him/her to another school. Grades are everything and determine what schools the children get into next (elementary to university). I will begin teaching on Monday. I'm excited and little nervous. I have no clue what I will be teaching, but I am hoping I will find out today! Ha. Can you imagine if schools operated like that in the states? 

Last night I went out to my first Korean restaurant. The chopsticks were very tricky, but I did manage to get some food in my mouth! We sat on plastic stools and the tables had coals in the center where we cooked the beef. I wasn't excited to eat the beef and was hoping I wasn't eating dog. Ha. It was actually pretty good! It was great to eat "real food". Peanut butter and crackers get a little old. I went out with American and Korean teachers from my school. They are all really nice and even paid for my first dinner here. :) I will be living in the same building as a few of them.  

Today is our Halloween party. I am going to wear a tiger hat and all black. I'm hoping I won't pass out in the middle of the day. Cross your fingers. 

So far, so good. Hope to sleep soon and be back to my "normal" self. 

Happy Halloween. Eat candy. Be merry.

Fun Fact- Korean's add a year on to their age, because they count conception to birth as one year. Isn't that exciting? Those of you who are almost 30 (I won't mention any names), you are one year closer here. haha.