- The highlight of July was Mudfest - this huge festival that I went to in Boryeong, South Korea. None of my co-workers seemed interested in going so I decided to join this tour group thing on facebook and I ended up meeting lots of foreigners living here in Daegu on the journey. Basically it was like spending a weekend in a frat house! We left really early on Saturday morning on 2 buses for the 4 hour drive up the eastern coast of Korea. Boryeong is known for it's mud and it's mud is known for it's healing properties! It's supposed to be amazing for your skin, and the city just happens to be on the beach, which was a definite plus! So on the bus ride, people are already drinking heavily at 9 in the morning. The bus ride was quite an adventure, it involved me having to pop a squat, in the pouring rain, along side the road at one point. Lesson learned here - never drink on a bus again! Our bus also happened to be a norebong bus! So we sang karaoke the whole way there! It was crazy! We arrived around noon to this huge party house with lots of rooms and floor mats to sleep on, very common in Korea. From there, the heavier drinking began along with playing in the mud! It was amazing! The best way to describe this experience would be - a HUGE mud party! They had everything, you could get painted in different color mud, mud massages, mud facials, mud baths, mud everything. They also had tons of the big blow up things that you see at fairs and such with the slides and instead of water, they were pumping out mud down these things! Mud was flowing a bounty! After you got muddy enough then you ran and jumped in the ocean to rinse off before going back at it again! It was a very unique experience and definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done! I posted pictures on facebook if you want to have a peek... After an exhausting day of drinking and playing in the mud everyone showered and got ready for the huge house party that our group threw! I did my first ever keg stand that night even though I hate beer and I met a lot of cool people. It was like being at a frat house...the party went on into the wee hours of the night and then the next day I woke up, hung out at the beach a little bit, and then we headed home on the bus. This 4 hour ride was sooo peaceful and quiet! No drinking, no norebong..just silence because everyone was drained and hungover!
- Another highlight from July, we added two new teachers to the Hanvit family, Hayley from the US and Elspeth from Canada. Both arrived within one week of each other so we got to throw 2 welcome dinner parties at our favorite Galbi restaurant in Manchon! They teach at the Beomeo branch so I don't see them on a daily basis but we all hang out together after work, on the weekends, and such.
- I finally moved in July also and what an interesting experience that was! My apartment finally sold so I only had to commute to work for 1 week luckily. The movers arrived at my house at 8:00 in the morning and although I had packed up most of my things, they came in with boxes and packed up everything else. It was chaos, they arrived and within 1 hour they had completely gutted my apartment. In Korea, they take EVERYTHING, the washer, the stove top, the refrigerator, and they even ripped the air conditioner off the wall! I'm surprised they didn't bring the toilet! Gina, the lady that handles all of our company's finances and living arrangements, arrived around 9 to pick me up and take me to my new place. When we arrived, I was surprised by how big and nice it was! We hung out for a while waiting for the movers. 20 mins. passed, then 45 mins. passed, then 1 hour 30 mins. passed before we both started to wonder where the movers were? It was also a little awkward sitting there with someone who doesn't really speak that much English. I was getting desperate. Gina called them and you're not going to believe this one...they STOPPED for BREAKFAST in the middle of my move! Holy shit! ONLY in Korea would something like this happen! WTF, who stops in the middle of a job? Not only that, but everything from my fridge was on the back of these two pick up trucks spoiling! I was livid! They eventually made it and when they found out that I was on the top floor they weren't so happy anymore...2 men carried everything up these stairs! It was quite the site to see! They put everything where I wanted it and before I knew it, I was all settled in to my new place. It was an interesting culture experience but moving sucks nonetheless, it's never a fun task. I do however enjoy my new neighborhood much more! I'm located close to the subway now, and I'm only two stops from downtown! It's very nice! The only thing my new apartment is missing is a bathtub! I've been missing my bathtub at my other apartment!
- Also a highlight in July - more like lowlight - I taught summer intensive courses. It was brutal. They last for almost a month while the students were having their summer vacation. It consisted of me going to work at 10:30 every morning and working until 10:30 at night. 5 extra hours of work everyday! UGH, I was sooooo exhausted. I was relieved when it ended. I got paid extra for the work but when my paycheck finally came this month, it really didn't seem all that worthwhile. :-/ They last from like July 20th - August 18th. I did get a 4 day vacation during this time frame but I would blame the summer intensive courses for my lack of blogging.
- The summer here was almost unbearable. I honestly don't know how these people can stand it. I've walked into so many shops without A/C and I just want to shake these people and be like "what the hell is wrong with you?" Thank goodness for air conditioning at my school. Being at work for 12 hours out of my day definitely kept me out of the brutal humidity of Daegu, which in the end, I'm thankful for. I'm so glad that fall has finally arrived. About 1 week ago it just cooled down over night and has finally leveled out to a normal temperature. Low 80's and sunny during the day with cooler nights around 68. :) Heaven!
- We also had a summer vacation break when the students did, right in the middle of summer intensives. I went to Taiwan with Karissa! It was absolutely fabulous and I will have to write another blog post dedicated solely to that.
- On the weekends we attempted to do stuff as a group, we tried to go zip- lining once but couldn't find the right bus. It was a failed day. We also tried to go to Busan to the beach one sunday but it started pouring the rain as soon as we got there and continued to rain the whole damn day! It was awful. We don't seem to be having much luck recently with day activities.
- I joined a new gym in my neighborhood, it's alright. It's not as nice as my other gym but it's cheaper at only 50,000 won a month and it has everything that I need!
- My sister Chelsea left for Africa sometime recently...I wonder what how she's holding up?
- The guy scene here needs some serious work....it's pathetic...
- Also, did you know, that Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world!? If I can remember correctly, they are #2, Japan is #1. I can definitely see why though. The asian societies put too much pressure on themselves. Especially when it comes to personal image. The only thing my students ever worry about is "losing face" - aka being embarrassed or a disappointment. This cultural aspect definitely shows in the way my students behave on a daily basis. It's so interesting to see how culture shapes a person and how they view the world.
- Karissa's parents visited recently. They came to Korea for a little over a week. We all had dinner together one night last week. We, of course, ate gabli, traditional Korea BBQ. It was really nice to have some new people around and especially two adult figures.
- There is going to be a huge concert in Seoul Oct. 9th, called Global Gathering. I really want to go but I'm not sure if i'll be able to afford it. One of my favorite DJ's - Armin Van Buuren is going to be there along with Justice, Fat Boy Slim, and some other DJ's I've never heard of. It's going to be a like a big dance party! Eeck! I hope I have enough money at the end of the month to go! I would kill to see him play!
- There has been 2 typhoons this summer. Pretty interesting.
- Also, there are many atheists here in South Korea, I've met so many people that don't believe in anything! It's kind of shocking actually...
- I took a bad fall about 2 weeks ago on the sidewalk. It was around 12 o'clock in the afternoon and sadly I hadn't been drinking when it happened! I'm just blind I guess! It was pretty bad though, skinned up both my knees really bad and my foot. I almost lost it there for a min. but after I had regained my composure I was laughing hysterically at my own stupidity! haha
- My student loan payments are starting in 10 days and they will slowly be the death of me....someone I know..PLEASE win the freaking lottery! I can't suffer in this misery of the greedy american civilization just for some education which hasn't done anything I was told it was going to do. :(
- I have recently developed a new punishment for my students. One day I got the bright idea to make them write sentences! I remember having to do this in the 1st grade one time and it was the worst thing ever! So, when they do something bad or forget their book or something I make them write a sentences about whatever they did bad! For example: I will not forget my book - maybe 50 times! It works like a charm! :)
- One of my students asked me the other day randomly that if the world was going to be destroyed tomorrow, what would I do? This caught me off guard, they were probably asking just to get me off topic but nonetheless, I stopped so we could talk about it. It was interesting to hear their responses. I said that I would probably go to Disneyworld because that was about the most appropriate thing I could think of at the time! haha
- Another interesting thing I am going to try out this week is this activity called "Draw your Habitat," you ask your class to draw a picture of their house and then you ask them to draw a picture of what a house is supposed to look like and see if there is a difference. I find this to be mind boggling because for some reason we all think that the house WE live in is what a house is supposed to be like. It's hard to think outside the box sometimes. I wish we could all come to this realization about things in our life, that maybe our way isn't always the right way...
- One of the foreign teachers at our branch, Robin, finally left monday! AH! What a relief, I wasn't sure how much more of her bipolar self I could take! It's so much more quite at work now!
- Some other exciting news is that I only have to work 4 days in the next 2 weeks! Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving, is this week. We have to work Monday and Friday but then we have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off from work. Then I have to work Monday and Tuesday next week and then it's off for another vacation while the students take their exams! Karissa and I have booked tickets to the Philippines and are going to bask in the glory of white sand beaches and cheap rum for 5 days! :D It's going to be awesome! We hope to go diving or snorkeling while we are there too! We're sooo excited!! I'm really glad I have her to vacation with everywhere, we make a good team because we are so much alike, especially when it comes to traveling!
That's the best update that I can give for now.... it's been an exhausting summer and I'm so glad fall has arrived. I vow to blog more! It WILL happen! Good news is.. I've been here for almost 4 1/2 months! Time seems to be flying recently! Before you know it I will be almost half way done with my contract and then just another 6 months to go! I can do it!! :D
BTW, thanks to everyone who has sent me a care package at some time or another since I've been here. I truly appreciate it more than you'll ever know. It's nice to get things from home! :)
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