last night, i did the coolest thing i have done in korea. i finally opted to do standup seoul. i was in a sixteen-person lineup entitled "rant for ramyeon". second and third place got delicious noodles, first got 80.000 won in cash. let's just say that my prize didn't involve snackz. ;-)
SUCCESS !!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Sunday, September 5, 2010
misery
"you know, all those people that come to korea and bitch and moan about it just hadn't hit rock bottom in the us yet."
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
field trips and life decisions
i apologize, dear reader, for falling off the face of the earth. i've been falling apart a lot lately over the decision to extend through the end of the school year (february) or just go home at the end of my current contract (september). somehow this became a huge deal for me because i am a child and am incapable of decision-making in any capacity, apparently. BUT as of yesterday, i am indeed staying through february weeeeeee !! at the end of the day i realized that there's not a huge difference in terms of time spent away from home, but i think that i'd feel like ass if i left so much incomplete here. and, as backup for that argument, photographic evidence of our past three field trips!:
such active listeners when korean adults speak to them in korean !! learning about ehnuhgee at the energy museum.
at some point you just stop trying to make irene be a part of the picture.
hangin' out with some former 6b besties (clara and lucy). heartz !!
TEATUH JAUMP !!
ㅋㅋㅋ tony and daniel love them some chloe teacher.
and then there was that trip to the park slightly to the left of everland. just enough to give them a taste of what they were missing, what with the t-express being visible just beyond the trees. bus role call!
tony and tristan!
raura and irene!
becky and daniel!
lisa and nancy. it should be noted that they practiced this pose.
group shot !!!!
group shot part two; or, "chloe has a really cute hat."
scampering into the sunset.
and of course, the aftermath of an all-day picnic/romp in the park:
and of course the FIRE STATIONNNNN !?!?
tony's hat is ready to party.
"ZOMGZOMGZOMG WE GET TO PLAY WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHERS SOON THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER !!!"
the girls are slightly less impressed by this opportunity. laura especially. why is she so difficult to impress?
this was really embarrassing because i got really jealous watching fifty five-year-olds get this opportunity (we were spraying water from fake fire extinguishers onto a giant blow-up model of a house on fire) so i asked if i could jump in with the last round of kids. then, when we were done, they asked if any teachers wanted to try.
best coteacher everrrrr ♥
action shot !!
apparently we needed a fireman in every shot. he is clearly a prop.
hey look, i'm a teacher!
such active listeners when korean adults speak to them in korean !! learning about ehnuhgee at the energy museum.
at some point you just stop trying to make irene be a part of the picture.
hangin' out with some former 6b besties (clara and lucy). heartz !!
TEATUH JAUMP !!
ㅋㅋㅋ tony and daniel love them some chloe teacher.
and then there was that trip to the park slightly to the left of everland. just enough to give them a taste of what they were missing, what with the t-express being visible just beyond the trees. bus role call!
tony and tristan!
raura and irene!
becky and daniel!
lisa and nancy. it should be noted that they practiced this pose.
group shot !!!!
group shot part two; or, "chloe has a really cute hat."
scampering into the sunset.
and of course, the aftermath of an all-day picnic/romp in the park:
and of course the FIRE STATIONNNNN !?!?
tony's hat is ready to party.
"ZOMGZOMGZOMG WE GET TO PLAY WITH FIRE EXTINGUISHERS SOON THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER !!!"
the girls are slightly less impressed by this opportunity. laura especially. why is she so difficult to impress?
this was really embarrassing because i got really jealous watching fifty five-year-olds get this opportunity (we were spraying water from fake fire extinguishers onto a giant blow-up model of a house on fire) so i asked if i could jump in with the last round of kids. then, when we were done, they asked if any teachers wanted to try.
best coteacher everrrrr ♥
action shot !!
apparently we needed a fireman in every shot. he is clearly a prop.
hey look, i'm a teacher!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
i don't ask a lot, girl
new haircuts !! as a reference point, this is the stalker picture that i took of a girl in bargules while joanna pretended to pose because i was too shy to go ask her for pictures of her hair:
so, in his defense, it's not the clearest picture. but it's pretty obviously a bob with bangs. now, the reason i keep going back to this two (the adorable couple that owns the salon) is that, despite his complete inability to copy a picture, he always does amazing things. so, without further ado, the george harrison:
ps sweet new glasses: $10 frames, $15 lenses. 담양, 사랑해요~
so, in his defense, it's not the clearest picture. but it's pretty obviously a bob with bangs. now, the reason i keep going back to this two (the adorable couple that owns the salon) is that, despite his complete inability to copy a picture, he always does amazing things. so, without further ado, the george harrison:
ps sweet new glasses: $10 frames, $15 lenses. 담양, 사랑해요~
Saturday, May 8, 2010
sleepover!
in keeping with my need to post in large clumps, i present you with a review of my weekend in seoul with chloe teacher (my partner teacher/bestie).
the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and we even caught petals for good luck! (it was significantly more difficult than it appeared, i will have you know.)
also, korean boy scouts?!
the palaces in the city are so awesome, because even though you're in this seriously ancient-looking structure, seoul's assortment of modern architecture is clearly visible in the background:
king sejong! chloe was really impressed that i knew it was him, even though at a distance it was a guess (since, you know, he's the only king i can name), and also his name is printed on the pedestal (shhhh).
joanna attempting to channel cute daegu girls, chloe being korean. ^^v
also, i fell in love with this little boy:
after we left the palace, we headed to myeongdong for some final shopping (before we started our month-long detox, which is going pretty well, i might add). i also purchased my first kpop albums: t-ara (breaking heart) and g-dragon (heartbreaker). in. love.
chloe and joanna point out chloe's newest vocabulary word.
AND THEN !! we had a sleepover at chloe's house! her mom was so cute and said all of her english and applauded our shit korean. she made us a magical spread of food: 잡채 (cold noodles with vegetables and egg), 김치전 (kimchi pancakes), some sort of 갈비 (beef) dish, and her delicious kimchiiiiii. word on the street is, her dad wants us to come over again soon. which is good, because i'm looking forward to the opportunity to talk to her brother about his amazing film collection.
the cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and we even caught petals for good luck! (it was significantly more difficult than it appeared, i will have you know.)
also, korean boy scouts?!
the palaces in the city are so awesome, because even though you're in this seriously ancient-looking structure, seoul's assortment of modern architecture is clearly visible in the background:
king sejong! chloe was really impressed that i knew it was him, even though at a distance it was a guess (since, you know, he's the only king i can name), and also his name is printed on the pedestal (shhhh).
joanna attempting to channel cute daegu girls, chloe being korean. ^^v
also, i fell in love with this little boy:
after we left the palace, we headed to myeongdong for some final shopping (before we started our month-long detox, which is going pretty well, i might add). i also purchased my first kpop albums: t-ara (breaking heart) and g-dragon (heartbreaker). in. love.
chloe and joanna point out chloe's newest vocabulary word.
AND THEN !! we had a sleepover at chloe's house! her mom was so cute and said all of her english and applauded our shit korean. she made us a magical spread of food: 잡채 (cold noodles with vegetables and egg), 김치전 (kimchi pancakes), some sort of 갈비 (beef) dish, and her delicious kimchiiiiii. word on the street is, her dad wants us to come over again soon. which is good, because i'm looking forward to the opportunity to talk to her brother about his amazing film collection.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
대구~
i am the worst blogger in the history of blogging, which i believe says a lot. i will, however, attempt to recount the past three or so weeks for my eager public.
a few weekends ago we went down to daegu to max and relax, as well as see a temple. the ride down was rather arduous:
after a nine-hour workday, we took a bus to the metro to a two-hour bus to the ktx which, oh by the way sorry we forgot to mention, requires UTTER AND COMPLETE SILENCE FOR THE DURATION OF THE RIDE. it was only an hour, but seriously, korea?
buuuuut we finally made it to daegu in one exhausted and mildly-to-extremely inebriated piece:
after significant drama surrounding where to stay and whether or not we would be permitted to drop off our luggage before going out, michael found us a room in this quaintly inspirational love motel:
(the word behind the hite bottle is "spore," i believe.) and, speaking of quaintness, check out this vending machine:
yes, those are sex toys. yes, they are for rent.
the next morning we headed for 해인사 (haeinsa), a temple up in the mountains about an hour and a half from daegu, though it is inexplicably still considered to be a daegu attraction. it was one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. i kind of forget that, even though we live in the 'burbs, the air here is just not very clear. once we were up in the mountain, though, it was pretty evident. the air was so clear and beautiful and there were trees and the implication of forest creatures, even though i didn't really see any because THERE ARE NO NON-DOMESTICATED ANIMALS IN KOREA. allora:
we got up a small hill before we decided we needed to take a beer break in the parking lot:
the temple had a few different levels, it's apparently the most sprawling in all of korea. this is us near the bottom, trying to coax a reluctant john to stop smoking at, you know, a temple:
near this spot was a sort of prayer maze, in which you walk through giant swastika shapes on the ground while praying (which i just typed playing, because i am korean).
i know that the swastika was buddhist first, but i still have trouble reconciling its presence everywhere sometimes.
i didn't get as many pictures of the actual temples/area as i would have liked, because it was really hard to do them justice. hopefully with my new camera that will change?!
some detailing on the ceiling of one of the temple buildings.
i couldn't stop being in love with all of these lanterns, especially with the backdrop of the mountains:
also korean girls' innate ability to walk anywhere in heels, even down stairs that i felt i almost needed to sit on and scoot down:
later, john tried to convince a man guarding these wooden tablets of the entire buddhist canon to let him in to do, you know, journalistic research, we were escorted away, but towards this older structure behind the main buildings:
also, i don't know why i found this so fascinating, but i was super intrigued by the prospect of buildings still being constructed in the asian temple style:
and now, pictures of nature:
and a snack stand:
following our tragically unwanted descent from the mountain, shannon koh and our crew parted ways, as she could no longer handle what comes with being around ... some of my friends? (SORRY SHANNON)
then, on a beksaeju run, michael scored us some fake eyelashes and we were ready to go.
... so obviously we followed the birthday g.i. to a bar where salsa was king. not salsa music, allow me to clarify. just really, REALLY serious salsa dancers. there was a lot of pressure, and clearly we couldn't live up to it.
after a sufficient amount of jiving, the night ended as any should: with a three a.m. trip to 김밥나라.
sunday morning i spent about an hour watching adorable puppies squirm over each other and wake up and relocate for naps:
while they waited for their fancy time:
after the most amazingly western breakfast this side of the west and some traumatic piercing, we finally headed home sunday afternoon. and, to be fair, i rather appreciated the no-heavy-breathing rule on that end of the ktx.
a few weekends ago we went down to daegu to max and relax, as well as see a temple. the ride down was rather arduous:
after a nine-hour workday, we took a bus to the metro to a two-hour bus to the ktx which, oh by the way sorry we forgot to mention, requires UTTER AND COMPLETE SILENCE FOR THE DURATION OF THE RIDE. it was only an hour, but seriously, korea?
buuuuut we finally made it to daegu in one exhausted and mildly-to-extremely inebriated piece:
after significant drama surrounding where to stay and whether or not we would be permitted to drop off our luggage before going out, michael found us a room in this quaintly inspirational love motel:
(the word behind the hite bottle is "spore," i believe.) and, speaking of quaintness, check out this vending machine:
yes, those are sex toys. yes, they are for rent.
the next morning we headed for 해인사 (haeinsa), a temple up in the mountains about an hour and a half from daegu, though it is inexplicably still considered to be a daegu attraction. it was one of the most beautiful places i have ever been. i kind of forget that, even though we live in the 'burbs, the air here is just not very clear. once we were up in the mountain, though, it was pretty evident. the air was so clear and beautiful and there were trees and the implication of forest creatures, even though i didn't really see any because THERE ARE NO NON-DOMESTICATED ANIMALS IN KOREA. allora:
we got up a small hill before we decided we needed to take a beer break in the parking lot:
the temple had a few different levels, it's apparently the most sprawling in all of korea. this is us near the bottom, trying to coax a reluctant john to stop smoking at, you know, a temple:
near this spot was a sort of prayer maze, in which you walk through giant swastika shapes on the ground while praying (which i just typed playing, because i am korean).
i know that the swastika was buddhist first, but i still have trouble reconciling its presence everywhere sometimes.
i didn't get as many pictures of the actual temples/area as i would have liked, because it was really hard to do them justice. hopefully with my new camera that will change?!
some detailing on the ceiling of one of the temple buildings.
i couldn't stop being in love with all of these lanterns, especially with the backdrop of the mountains:
also korean girls' innate ability to walk anywhere in heels, even down stairs that i felt i almost needed to sit on and scoot down:
later, john tried to convince a man guarding these wooden tablets of the entire buddhist canon to let him in to do, you know, journalistic research, we were escorted away, but towards this older structure behind the main buildings:
also, i don't know why i found this so fascinating, but i was super intrigued by the prospect of buildings still being constructed in the asian temple style:
and now, pictures of nature:
and a snack stand:
following our tragically unwanted descent from the mountain, shannon koh and our crew parted ways, as she could no longer handle what comes with being around ... some of my friends? (SORRY SHANNON)
then, on a beksaeju run, michael scored us some fake eyelashes and we were ready to go.
... so obviously we followed the birthday g.i. to a bar where salsa was king. not salsa music, allow me to clarify. just really, REALLY serious salsa dancers. there was a lot of pressure, and clearly we couldn't live up to it.
after a sufficient amount of jiving, the night ended as any should: with a three a.m. trip to 김밥나라.
sunday morning i spent about an hour watching adorable puppies squirm over each other and wake up and relocate for naps:
while they waited for their fancy time:
after the most amazingly western breakfast this side of the west and some traumatic piercing, we finally headed home sunday afternoon. and, to be fair, i rather appreciated the no-heavy-breathing rule on that end of the ktx.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)