hong FOOD kong

Hi again. It's me, Megan. For Lunar New Year vacation, I was able to take a trip with some friends to Hong Kong. We were able to stay my a friend's apartment in the city, which makes my credit card happy. The websites and travel books were very accurate when they said Hong Kong is the place to shop. I have never seen so many places dedicated to shopping. A lot of the businesses were closed for the New Year. I was a little bummed, but shopping is not how I want to spend a vacation. As you know, I would much rather spend my time consuming the local food. Guess what? That is actually what we did. Because HK is a former British colony, they had A LOT of cheaper imported foods. We spent a lot of time looking in grocery stores remembering what food from back home looks and tastes like, and buying some that required no preparation. My favorite was the fresh salmon sushi rolls, Cheetos, and musseli cereal. When we weren't in grocery stores, we could be found indulging in the markets and restaurants. I ate enough dim sum to last a life time, but I see more in my future. In between eating, we did see some great sights.

Temple on New Year's Day

monk

temple grounds with the Buddha statue in the background

The incense aroma was everywhere on the temple grounds. It was a very peaceful even though it was pretty chaotic. There were hundreds of people bringing in offerings in hopes of having good luck this year.

cute family. Sadly the dad moved, but I didn't have the heart to crop him out.


Buddies

Don't talk behind this guy's back.

After giving up trying to find a good place to watch the parade, we opted for looking out the window from our friend's hostel. It was a great idea. Plus we ate snacks as we waited.


"Year of the Rabbit"

Coastal area of Hong Kong




Sleeping on the subway after a long day. I have a talent of being able to sleep anywhere.

Just call me Cinderella.

Hong Kong Disney Land


Lunar New Year firewoks

ferry ride of the city





Just a few thing I ate.

The next time I fly, it will be leaving Seoul. What a year it has been.

xoxo

Holy Smokes, February!

Hey everyone! I have no clue where the last month went. Time seems to be flying faster and faster these days. It can only mean one thing, my time in Korea is running out. I'm trying really hard to stay mentally present in the "now", but I am often times thinking of the future. I'm so excited for my upcoming trip, moving back to the States, and seeing people longer than a visit. I have started applying for teaching jobs, which is the scariest part of it all. It seems like teaching positions are few and far between these days. I'm optimistic I will find one, but I will also take any job that pays me money so I'm not homeless. Being homeless is not on my bucket list.

This has been an eventful month. In Korea and many countries in Asia, they celebrate Lunar New Year. It is a holiday to spend time with their families, wear their traditional clothing called hanbok, and children and unmarried adults bow to their elders for cash. Families eat a soup made of dumplings and rice cakes. For every bowl of soup they eat, it represents another year they will live. At school, we had a day of festivities for the holiday. We made kites, played games, and the children bowed to their teachers and the owner of the school to get money. I plan on bowing a lot when i get home. Mom and Dad, get ready. :)









Mercury class. As you can see, it is never a dull moment with this class. They drive me bonkers, but I love them all.

We went on a field trip to go sledding. It was complete chaos, but so much fun. About 30 Kindergartners fly down this small, icy hill on inner tubes hoping they will survive so they can go again. I would like to report there were no major accidents but a lot of criers. Some teachers went sledding as well. My butt barely fit in the tubes, but I was not going to miss out. It was a great day.


Kaila and I prepping for the big hill. I was hoping my tube wasn't going to pop as I went down.


Spidermen. Always a good idea.

William is another one of my favorites. Adorable. However, his head is in the clouds about 70 percent of the time. He is also a twin. Be have bonded.

Joseph is my favorite student of all time. Just look at him.


This week is my last week with my students. I'm really sad to say goodbye to them, especially my kindies. I will still see a lot of them when they come in the afternoon for elementary classes though. They graduate on Friday. I'm sure it will be Korean style graduation, so it will be over the top and ridiculously awesome. We have 9 teachers leaving this week and their replacements came a few days ago. Things are going to be strange for the rest of my time here. A lot of changes are happening, but I think it is going to make it easier to say goodbye.

xoxo

Happy Birthday, OLD FOLKS!

There were two VERY important birthdays last week.

Ancient human #1: HarOLD Ludwig(right?) Schwartz


In case you were wondering, Harold is the one in the pimped-out cart. He turned the BIG 9-0 this past week. He celebrated with a big party over the weekend. I wish I could have been there. I'm sure it was a craaazy party full of good laughs and lots of hugs. One of the many missed moments that have been so hard to be away from.

As one of my students said, "He's so old that he has OLD in his name!"
Love you Gramps. Thanks for keeping all my secrets and talking to me in the wee hours of the morning.

A little less ancient #2: RUTH Louise Schwartz- AKA Mom



She may not be 9-0 just yet, but she is still old. However, I would have to confess that she is young at heart. She is sweet, but tells inappropriate jokes when you least expect it and often times it leads to my embarrassment. However, that's what mothers do, so I forgive her. Love you, Mom.

If you don't know these OLD farts, you should. They are amazing humans that have supported me from day one and listened to all my crazy ideas. They may have thought I was crazy, but at least they never said it to my face.


xoxo

Hiroshima

Happy New Year!!! I hope you all had a lovely, safe celebration. I had a low-key night at the jimjilbang (AKA naked spa). It was another awkward experience, but it is my Korean New Years tradition. Enough said.

HIROSHIMA!!! Woop, woop! It was an amazing adventure! Everything fell into place wonderfully. I met a lovely woman on the bus from the airport to the city. She brought me to my hostel and wouldn't let me pay for the taxi, which was nice considering taxis start at $8 in Japan. Even better, I made it to my hostel with 5 minutes to spare until they were closing down the front desk, which would have made it impossible to check in. It would have left me homeless... again. It's funny how things work out sometimes.

I spent the first day exploring Peace Park and the Peace Museum. It was an incredible experience. I read everything and listened to testimonials of survivors of the A-Bomb. It was heart-breaking. I'm glad I'm not an emotional person because if I was, I would have been bawling. See, being tough has its perks.


Children's memorial. Money was raised by classmates of a little girl named Sadako Sasaki. She survived the bombing at age 2, but years later was diagnosed with leukemia and other illnesses due to the radiation exposure. There is an ancient Japanese story that says if you fold 1,000 paper cranes, you will be granted a wish. Her wish was to be cured. She didn't get her wish and sadly died at age 12. Children from all over the world still send cranes to the memorial site and can be seen in clear cases behind the statue.


The T-shaped bridge behind the statues in the US' target for the bomb. After the shock wave, the entire roadway on the bridge sprang up a few meters. It was repaired and used for 30 years, then rebuilt.



A-Dome
One of the only buildings still standing near "ground zero". It is exactly the same as it was the day of the bombing. They have put in support beams to ensure that is doesn't collapse.


another memorial


Shukkeien Garden: Perfect place to read and take in the beauty of the garden.


I was waiting out the rain under this hut/gazebo type place. These two and their entourage came over and took some wedding photos right next to me. It was really funny and awkward. I tried to get up and leave, but they insisted that I was fine where I was. I pretended to keep reading, but I was spying on them the entire time. Of course, I had to ask them for a picture. Duh.




My new friend Ran Ran and I. I met her at my hostel. She is from China, but is studying in Tokyo. We had a blast chatting about our strange lives and spent the next day exploring Miyajima Island.

Okonomi-mura: fried noodles, veggies, meat, and egg pancake thingy


SUSHI!! Count it. 6 plates. That's how I roll.

Fried oyster and cheese. A Hiroshima "must eat" food.

Fresh grilled oyster. yum.

Miyajima Island- known for shrines, pagodas, and DEER. It is a sacred island where no one is allowed to till, give birth, die or be buried on the island. I'm not quite sure how you can help most of those "rules", but there is no hospital or cemetery on the island. I guess you best do your business on or once you get off the ferry.

Miyajima Torii- one of the most famous sites in Japan. It is a very sacred and appears to be floating in the water during high tide.



Children running away from their parents under the shrine. The "secret escape route" is only runnable by munchkins or those who can run on their knees.

Beautiful shrine that I never wanted to leave nor did I believe I was inside of.



There really were deer EVERYWHERE. I read about this prior to my visit, but I thought the travel writers were being dramatic. As soon as I walked off the ferry, I saw four deer just hanging out on the walkway. They were very friendly but "wild". They tried to steal my oysters and maps. They let me pet them. We bonded a lot throughout the day.

Back in the city, there was a street that was filled with cheesy lights in the shape of such things as A-Dome, picture frames, Cinderella's carriage (minus Cinderella and the Prince), benches, etc. I have come to realize, in the nicest way possible, that asians love photo opportunities. I enjoy it. ALOT.

This is one of my favorites. We just starred at each other through the lights for a moment. He was cute. i think he thought I was strange looking.


I wanted to take her home...errr.. at least take a picture of her.

Because its Japan, any album would not be complete without a video game (Anime) arcade.


SO, as you can see, I survived my first trip alone (sorry Mom and Dad). I never really felt alone. There were humans all around me and I met some interesting ones along the way. It was a great trip of self awareness. A trip that showed me that I do have the ability to find my way and that I CAN read a map. I didn't get lost once, which is a shocker considering I get lost ALL the time. This includes the city I grew up in. Maybe I'm getting older and wiser or maybe I just got lucky. Either way, I overcame something that scared the crap out of me and you know what? It feels amazing. You should try it. I dare you. I double dog dare you.

I wish you good health, happiness, peace, and the ability to ChAsE YOUR dreams in the New Year. Cheers to 2011!

xoxo

xoxo