It's MARCH!!

Hellllllooooo. I hope you Minnesotans are enjoying your fresh spring snow. ha. I'm actually a LITTLE jealous. I don't think we will be getting a big snow here. The weather has taken a turn towards spring, which is making me VERY happy. A new season makes for new adventures and time to soak in the sun (you all better use sunscreen). However, I am going to soak up some of the last traces of winter and go snow boarding this coming weekend. I haven't done it since I was in 5th grade(?) during Ski Jammers (ski lessons extravaganza every Sat) and tried for an hour or so. It didn't end well. Out of frustration for my lack of awesome skills, I took off my board and walked down the hill. I haven't tried it since, but
i think Korea will be the perfect destination to be awful at something. For some reason, I have never-ending patience here. I think it's due to the fact that I am frequently lost or confused about something, so EVERYTHING takes longer. ha. I'm not sure how great the boarding will be, but I will probably be on the bunny hill and falling on my butt the majority of the day. It's all artificial snow and I'm pretty sure the mountains are more like really big hills- nothing compared to the beautiful mountains of Colorado. Anyways, I am pretty pumped and a tad nervous. If you have any tips, please pass them along.

This weekend, I went to this place called Nami Island which is on the Han River. It was pretty hilarious and odd. Supposedly, this island gained it's independence from Korea 2 years ago. I think it was more of a touristy place than anything. I guess they used to film a soap opera there. lame. They were having a festival for foreigners for the next 2 weekends, so we thought it was the perfect time to go. Plus, it was free entry for foreigners. The website said to bring your passport for proof of our "foreigner status", but got there and realized our faces gave us away. Who woulda thunk it? We got to the island and we were immediately being filmed and interviewed about the Nami experience. It was so strange. We were practically the only foreigners there. The island seemed like a small state fair in the middle of nature. I saw random bunnies that were clearly not native wild bunnies. I think the "Nami people" must have dropped off some random animals from the pet store to make it more of an animal friendly island. weird. I think it would have been better if we went during spring when everything wasn't brown and dead looking.


did you know...


-Squid, Pumpkin, sweet potato, red beans, and corn are staples in food here. If I don't know what something is, it's likely to be one of those. Have I mentioned that I HATE SQUID? I can't escape it. I walk 10 feet and I see it.
- One of the first things you would ask a potential boyfriend of girlfriend is what he/she blood type is. Strange. I guess O is the best. B is the worst. I am bloodtype A, which is an ok type. Apparently being Type "A" means that I am timid. hmmmm...
Koreans also love you if you have a narrow face, a skinny and long nose, round eyes, and very white skin. Basically, they love people who do not look Korean. It's very sad. Most Koreans, like some Americans, are very self absorbed. They are constantly looking at themselves in mirrors or anywhere they have a reflection, and taking picture of themselves on their phones. It's very funny. I can't tell you how many people I see on the subway just staring at themselves in their pocket mirrors, MEN and WOMEN. ha.
- I saw a couple wearing matching bunny ears.
- I saw an old grandma wearing a black hat with neon pink letters that said 'PIMP'. I'm guessing she doesn't know what pimp means.
- I got a card from one of my kindies, Christine, that said " Thank you for being my teacher. I liked learning in your class. I love you." I think there is a still a puddle near my desk where my heart melted. Those 3 sentences made all the bad days worth it.
- One of my alchy adult students' Bruce, (who named himself after Bruce Lee and I like to call "suck up") decided he needed to tell me that he was going to use the toilet for about 10 minutes. Apparently the alcohol from the night before was ready to leave his body. Gross. I love hearing these things at 745 a.m. It makes the beginning of class interesting and I get to laugh to myself or out loud for a good minute or two.
- I was eating a tofu/seafood soup the other day and had to remove a few disgusting things: fish brain, squid tentacles, and whole shrimp- head and legs still attached. Just another day of eating food in Korea. Inspecting my food is very important.
-You know your in Korea when a little child runs up to get a sample of sardines and eats it like candy. GROSS.
-Most, if not all koreans live with their parents until they get married. Thank God it's not like that in the US. My parents could be stuck with me until I'm 40 or worse...FOREVER! ha.