The little puppy has had a rough week

Poor Momoko.  This has been a rough week for her.  First, she moves to a new home.  Then, she goes to the vet and gets shaved completely.  Right as she was starting to feel better from that she started vomiting every time she ate and has been to the vet twice more.  Today she had an x-ray and blood work done.  There's no obvious cause of the vomiting but she does have pneumonia.  Right now she's at the vet getting an IV to rehydrate her.

It's only been 5 days since we got her so it's a lot to go through in one week.   Hopefully she'll feel a little better after the vet today.  If this is a chronic issue it could explain why she has been abandoned so much.  Hopefully it's not, but even if it is, we'll just deal with it and love on her when she's not feeling well.

Also, now we're being told she is 2 years, maybe 3 years of age.  Every time she goes to the vet she gets a year older! ;) 

Momoko and other updates

I am writing this with our newest addition to the family sitting on my lap.  Momoko, an adopted dog, has been to the vet today to get a checkup and grooming done.  Because they had to shave her completely (and really clean out her ears), she's a little traumatized and refuses to leave my lap.  But more on that in a minute.

First, some updates!

Ok, so Adam and I are moving back to the US for around a year.  We will arrive in Michigan around May 1st-2ndish.  After a trip to MI we will move down to Alabama where we will live and go to school.  We are attending an alternative program at West Florida University where we will receive our teaching licenses and all credit hours (12) towards a Masters degree at WFU.  After we receive that we will look into International jobs (or teaching on military bases abroad) as we aren't quite ready to stop being expats.  So we look forward to seeing everyone in a few months!

Because our original plan was different, and involved a lot more travelling after my contract, we were going to wait to adopt a puppy after we arrived in the States.  But then plans changed and we heard about Momoko (or Choco as her foster family called her).

We thought she was under a year old but apparently she's 1-2 years of age.  So she should be fully grown.  She also was terribly matted.  So, today she went and got a shave (poor thing, in the middle of winter, but it was so bad they were afraid it was already going to cut her skin and they couldn't wait any longer).  Now her mommy spoiled her with loads of jumpers and sweaters to wear inside and out. :D

Here are some cute pics of our little used-to-be-scruffball.

The last picture shows how scruffy she used to be.  Now hopefully her hair will grow out nice and smooth.  :D 

Shoes!

I found the cutest pair of shoes this weekend!  Now, I am as tall as Adam. ;)  Perfect shoes to go with my dress for the wedding dinner in a few weeks!  Now I just have to find accessories.... :D

Let the countdown begin....

I only have two more weeks of teaching and then ONE week of vacation!

Which means... 18 more days until Japan!!!!!

Weekend with Adam

I had a great weekend with Adam.  We were able to plan some more and make some more decisions.  We also picked up our rings.  While I hate to post something like this on a public place, I have been receiving messages asking to see the ring.  It will be easier to post it in one place, so here it is. :)

Of course I love it. :)  And the band is twisted with the little diamonds on the side.  Then, the wedding band also has the little diamonds and fits into it.  It's really pretty as a set.

Things have been super busy here.  Only one more week of work and then a 2 week vacation, though! I can hardly wait.  I definitely need it.  

Planning

This past weekend Adam and I got a lot of planning done for our Japan trip.  I'm getting super excited to go! These next few months will be busy--I am glad I get a 2 week vacation in two weeks!

A month (exactly) after the two week vacation, Adam and I will go to Japan for four days.

Then a month and a week after that will be our wedding.  A month after that will be the holiday season starting with Thanksgiving...

Every month for the rest of this year has something!  Things should die down a little after the New Year though.  At least it's all exciting and fun things to plan for. :) 

Successful Saturday

Adam and I had a busy day ahead of us today but were were able to check a few items off our list of things to do and to talk about.  Which means that hopefully we'll have some answers to some of the questions we have been getting.

1.  Are you getting married in Korea or America?
     We're getting married in Korea.  Then, when our contracts are up (at some point in 2014) we'll head home and have celebrations with our friends and families.  We'll keep you updated about this when it is closer to the date.  As of right now we don't know when exactly we'll be home as it'll depend on a few things that will be decided within the next few months.

2.  When are you getting married?
     So, Adam and I both want a fall wedding.  However, with our future in mind we want to be married before next fall (I'll get to why in another question) so that we can move on to the next job (abroad--sorry guys, not heading back to live in the States any time soon!).  So, we decided today that our wedding date will be October 26th, 2013.  Yep.  In a few short months.  Since we're having such a simple wedding here it's definitely more than feasible to do!  We decided to have a small ceremony in a park here.  It sounds simply lovely. :)

3.  What are you doing next?
    We haven't decided what exactly we're doing next.  My contract ends in May and Adam's ends in August.  After visiting home we'll head back abroad with a married couple job within Korea or another country.  We will do some more research about what the best options for us will be.

Other than that being discussed today we also went ring shopping!  We were able to get all three rings. :)  They're being sized right now but I'll be sure to post some pictures soon.

Now I just need to find an awesome dress that will go well with a fall wedding.  :) Exciting and busy months ahead for both of us! 

101 posts...

This is my 101st post! And mom says I never update... ;)

This post is a mini update/answering the questions I have been receiving a million times.

Here goes...

I am officially staying in Korea for another year.  I signed the contract a ...week, two weeks? ago (I have no sense of time anymore) and will start my new year on April 29th and end it on April 30th, 2014.  Or, something along those lines.

I don't know when I will be home.  No seriously, I have no idea.  And no, I don't know when I'll know.

Also, no one here is concerned about North Korea.  No one is stockpiling kimchi and rice.  The supermarkets are full.  In fact, I haven't heard a single Korean talking about it.  Not in over a year.  So.  Stop worrying please.  We all know how the media likes to blow everything out of proportion! :)

That being said, I am also on the list that the embassy contacts in case something ever does happen. This means I'll be the first to know when and where and how to get out of the country.  So again, no worries.

And finally, I am soooo much safer here, even if the country is still technically at war, than I was during my years at EMU. ;)


Ok, so now that that mini update is though with answering all of your pressing questions.

100th Post!

Since the number 100 is important in Korea (100 days after a child is born, 100 day anniversary, etc.) I have been saving this 100th post for something extra special.

Just kidding.  I just never remember/never have anything to write in here.  ;)

But! Never fear (mom), the long-awaited journal update is here.

This blog shall be about the adventure Adam and I had during the previous weekend.

It was a holiday weekend in celebration of Seollal; Lunar New Year.  Since we had a long weekend (and it was cold) we decided to try out Lotte World, which is the largest indoor amusement park in the world.

The day started off with a rocky start when I led us the wrong direction on the subway (I know, I know...) but I quickly caught my mistake and we turned around at the next stop.  A stop later a group of three little kids sat down across from us, with one holding an enormous tub of popcorn. They were all munching away happily and enjoying their holiday weekend when the lady sitting next to Adam loudly said something to them and then snatched the popcorn from the little boy's hands.  At first I thought it was his mother or something but I quickly realized that it wasn't! Some lady just stole popcorn from these three little kids!   The looks on their faces, the poor things...

The men with the children calmed the boys down but the little girl (also the youngest) didn't understand why her popcorn was gone and kept asking for it and crying.  The two boys tried to make her happy and succeeded in making her laugh a few times but she would quickly remember that her popcorn was gone and start crying again.  Eventually she had to "take a walk" to calm down.  I felt so bad for them.

Meanwhile, I also felt bad for the lady who took the popcorn.  She was clearly homeless (and probably very hungry) and probably had mental issues since she was shaking her finger at the popcorn and muttering to it.  Thankfully our stop came quickly after that so we were able to get off and transfer.

You never quite know what you're going to get when on a Seoul Subway...

Once we arrived at our destination the day was pretty great! Since it is such a huge holiday weekend we knew that either the place would be relatively dead (for something happening in Seoul, that is) or jammed full.  Thankfully it was pretty empty! This meant that we were able to ride on all the rides that our hearts desired!  You know me and my love of roller coasters....so that meant ALL of them!

This was Adam's first time riding a roller coaster (he had me eat crab and I had him ride a roller coaster--not exactly a fair trade off but ...) and he did extremely well and took to it quickly!  We rode the good rides twice, our favorite ride three times, and a few of the other ones only once.  There was even one that went upside down which is always exciting for an indoor amusement park! We only rode that once though since it was so hard on the head.

Adam convinced me to go into the House of Terror or something like that.  It lived up to its name.  I was terrified throughout the entire thing!! It was fun but I am a little too jumpy in places like that... ;-)  (Adam: "You jump on these roller coasters like they're nothing but a little haunted house terrifies you...")

We also rode on this giant loop.  It's just this big loop that the cars go around (think the huge swing ship only it keeps swinging until it has enough momentum to continue).  All day we would look over to see if it was running and only saw it go around occasionally.  The ride was open--it just didn't run very often because no one was on it.  This told us that it was either a really lame ride or just terrifying.

After eating dinner (because we're idiots) we decided that now was the time to try out this ride.  So, we went and immediately found a seat since there was absolutely no line for it.  The moment we sat down I knew this was a bad idea.  And poor Adam, he was still getting used to the whole ride thing and I dragged him on this one...

The ride started and it was the scariest 2 minutes of my entire life.  At one point the worker asked Adam and I if we were ok on one of the loops around, probably because of the looks on our faces.  The moment it stopped I think every one stumbled off as quickly as our dizzy bodies would allow us.    

But despite the one awful ride, all in all it was a great day! It was nice to be warm, indoors, and active.  We rode rides for 9 hours straight!  It was made even better by there not being crazy long rides since everyone was at home or out of town for the holiday.  Now I have been to the two main amusement parks in Korea and I almost think I like Lotte World a little better for the sole fact that it's indoors.  The rides were just as fun in their own way and there was definitely plenty to see and entertain ourselves with.  I don't think it could have been any more perfect of a day. :) 

Great things!

I received two books in the mail yesterday, courtesy of my friend Jay!  They were both graphic novels and they both had me giddy with excitement.

For those that know me, you probably don't know how huge of a firefly fan I am.  Generally this dorky side of me is kept under wraps as much as possible.  But this is too cool not to gush about!  It's a graphic novel about Booker in the series!  Pretty awesome.  Then, "Strugglers" is about a few people just graduated from Uni and trying to make it in the world.

Definitely a great thing for my Thursday afternoon.  This may have been my favorite present, ever. :-D

And now I am going to go back to pretending that I am not a major nerd.  

Mini-update

Just a mini update to update that there is nothing to update.  :-p

Life has been busy and full...but certainly mundane and repetitive so nothing interesting to talk about on here.

This week, after I am done teaching my classes for the day, I have to be one of the judges at the "English Speech Contest."  Yesterday, the first day, was full of 3rd grade students performing skits.  These skits were pretty amazing (and definitely entertaining).  I had a lot of fun watching them and hopefully they enjoyed performing the skits!

That's pretty much all I have to update on right now.  Until next time. 

All is quiet once again

Quiet, perhaps, but certainly not dull! I have been extremely busy (and about to get more so) this past week.  I have decided to become more productive with all of the spare time that an English teacher is blessed with.  So, I have started taking some free online classes.  These classes are equivalent to a class one would take at an University.  This is a good way for me to continue to keep my brain cells alive as teaching basic English at an elementary level, apparently, is not.

This week I have started my sustainability class.  So far it has been very interesting.  While it promises to be a lot of work it's definitely worth it.  In a few weeks I will be starting a history class and possibly a class on Greek and Roman mythology.

Teaching is going to well.  I still haven't taught a full week since coming back from camp. This was supposed to be the first "full" week but the students didn't have to come to school tomorrow because we were supposed to have been hit by a typhoon.  Which definitely did not happen.  It was rather anti-climatic.  It didn't even really rain except for maybe 15 minutes around lunch time.

So to sum up, lately my life has been full of lesson planning, reading, writing papers, and taking notes while fitting in an absurd amount of teacher dinners in.  (Not that I mind about the dinners...I swear my life has been revolving around food lately.)  

Curiosity killed the cat...

This past Saturday was fun.  Alex had some friends, Chris and Emily, in town visiting from Singapore.  I decided to tag along for a day of fun with them.

First, we visited the base where Alex works and were able to play with helicopters! This is the helicopter I played in. :)

 The inside looks very complicated and was definitely cramped.  But it was pretty cool to see.   There were also many more outside (and inside where we were while they were being worked on).

After playing with the helicopters we headed over for some yummy Korean food for lunch while we made plans for the day.  We were heading over to the fish market where Emily and Alex were going to eat Sannakji--or live octopus.  Chris was on the fence and I was a definite no.  Since I am not even a fan of sea food in general there was no way that I would try something that was still alive.

Eventually we wandered over to the market.  I was actually surprised that it was inside--for some reason I had a picture of it being an outdoor thing.  So we wandered around looking at rows and rows of...dead and alive animals of the sea.

We eventually came to one booth and the lady asked if we wanted to buy the octopus.  We asked where they would prepare it for us and she pointed for us to follow another lady.  The second lady took the bag with our snack and we followed her down what seemed like at the time to be a rather long and isolated alleyway/ramp.  At the bottom was a restaurant where they prepare whatever seafood was bought at the market and then serve it like they would a regular restaurant.  So we all had a seat and waited for them to bring it out to us.

Here is the video of that experience.

After that we had to decide what to do with the...body section.  So, brave Alex decided he would give it a try.

Once this was over, we decided to get some real food and then ended the night by playing some card games.  Overall quite the day.  I guess this is another time when I should never say never.

PS--that was probably the most disgusting thing I have ever done in my entire life.  

Time flies in Korea

It's hard to believe it's the middle of July already.  I have spent most of this month feeling a little sick on and off for most of the month.  I think it's all the weather fluctuations.  This past weekend I got really sick with a stomach bug.  I blame it on eating food that the kids prepared.

I'm feeling a lot better today, although still a little under the weather.  Things at work have been super busy.  I am still preparing for my summer lesson plans for camp that starts next week.  I am about 85% done with them which is nice.

In two weeks it's my birthday and in three weeks it's my vacation.  I am really looking forward to vacation.

There is not much to write about as I haven't ventured too far from home this month.  I made it to a baseball game one weekend so that was fun.  I haven't been doing nearly as much "touristy" stuff that I did last year--although that will probably pick up after the 3 month point as then I will be receiving full salary instead of the reduced.

That's pretty much all there is to update on right now. 

Monsoon season is upon us!

"Oh wait.  Not really.  Just kidding!"  --Mother Nature

The rains started on Saturday.  And boy did it rain.  Monsoon season is about two weeks or so later than it was last year and so I assumed that when the rains started it wouldn't be stopping anytime soon.  But after a day of raining, it stopped shortly after dinner time that same day.

Of course it would rain on the day we did our school trip.  I have to admit that a few times (mostly when we were climbing up or sliding down the side of a mountain) I had the thought, "These people are crazy.  Don't they know that rainy days are perfect for staying indoors, dry?"  But, I suppose if they had that attitude then they would never leave during the summer months.

Despite the rain, the trip was fun.  We hiked a little, went through a cave, ate delicious food, and had good company.  There was also the historical aspect of visiting a king's tomb and visiting where he was exiled so his uncle could rule instead.

Apparently the rains will be back later this week so we'll see if they actually stick around this time.  Right now it's in the upper 80's and sunny.  

Amazing discoveries

This past weekend was fairly busy.  The differences between living in Paju and Seongnam is pretty big.  The things that I have at my finger tips here is amazing compared to having to travel an 1+ one way to do anything during the weekend.

So, this blog is geared more towards those that are living in/around Seoul and want to know about some fun things I discovered this past weekend.

On Saturday I had a meeting about tutoring North Koreans.  There is a tutoring program which is ran through the North Korean Defectors' Freedom Association.  They meet on Saturday's from 12:30-3 in Daecheong, Seoul.  There is an assortment of ages, all the way from Kindergarten students to adults. While not all of them came directly from N. Korea (for example, the kindergarten students are the children of defectors) they all share the common need of needing tutoring so they can survive in this world.

So, if you're near this area I highly recommend this.  This is, of course, a volunteer position.  It's a good way to become involved in the community and to give back.  This organization has made it into the Korean newspaper and you can read more about it here.

Another discovery this weekend was a place called "Once in a blue moon."   This was an amazing discovery as it's so hard to actually find live music in Korea.  This place is located in Apgujeong (Exit 6 if you're taking the metro) and has performances between 7:30-12:40.  The admission is free but you're paying for it through drinks.  I believe a Cass beer was 16,000\ and it only went up from there.  I ordered an orange juice--just the juice and my drink was 15,000\.  I wasn't there for the food but I can only assume that would also be pricey--the atmosphere and the music (at least when I went) was definitely worth the cost of my drink though.

The last place I am going to talk about is Butterfinger Pancakes.  The one I went to was in Gangnam (which is about 40 minutes away) but apparently there is one near me.  I refuse to learn where as I am afraid of always going there once I find out!

This place is absolutely amazing and puts I-Hop to shame.  I ordered a mozzarella and cream cheese pancake.  I was a little uncertain about the combination but it was absolutely delicious!  I also ordered.....

A rootbeer float!

That's right.  A rootbeer float.  In Korea!  

Needless to say, I was beyond full when I left that place and managed to sleep off the food that afternoon. :)  

So yes, three amazing discoveries this weekend in the Bundang area.  I love living here.  This weekend I will go rafting with my school.  In the rain.  I can't say that I am excited about being rained on (at all) but I am glad it'll rain! We're also supposed to get thunderstorms! I keep being assured that they aren't planning on cancelling the trip even with the rain so I suppose I should just prepare myself to be drenched as there is a 100% chance of it raining the entire day (and night).  

Summer Camps

It's now the middle of June (when did that happen?!) which means that summer is upon us.  In less than one month from now I will be teaching summer camp.

Last year, summer camp was pretty easy to plan because 1.) We didn't have a budget and 2) The co-teacher wanted everything to be super educational.

This year, not only do we have a budget but I also have to come up with fun themes to do.

So, I have decided for the older kids (4th-5th grade) to do a "Korea's got Talent" type of theme (kind of) and have the students performing most of the week.  They will make music videos, short dramas, fashion shows, and an "Iron Chef" segment, and then randomly thrown in there on the first day--science experiments.  They will also make their own 'commercials' and if they're anything as humorous as the commercials on the TV here I will be entertained greatly.

This is going to take a LOT of planning and organization but if I am able to pull it off it will be a pretty fun camp.  And I will have some fun videos to show as well.

Then, the next week I will have 2nd and 3rd grade students.  This won't be nearly as advanced as I have to make it fairly easy for their level of English.  I haven't planned entirely yet but I believe it will be something along the theme of "On the farm."   They can learn animals, foods, and general farm stuff.  Like I said, I haven't really thought to much about this one yet.

I have also been busy with other lesson plans as we're pretty much finished with the text book for the semester and won't start the next segment until mid-August. I have to admit that almost every moment of the entire day is busy with lesson planning.  Despite being drained by the end of the day though, I don't really mind.

A lot harder...

It's a lot harder to update my blog this year.  Last year I would usually write it when I was at school but for some reason this website doesn't work on the school computer.  Which means I have to write it when I am at home--and clearly that's not working out too well.

Once again I have nothing to write about.  One of these days soon I will post a video of my apartment.  First, I have to catch up on laundry so I won't have clothes drying everywhere in the video.  I feel as though this is a never ending battle though as the washer is so small that I am constantly doing laundry.  Especially since it's so hot and humid (and I walk so much) that I wear at least 2 outfits a day if not more.

It'll happen soon though.  I make a goal to have it done within the week...

Day off

It's Memorial day here in Korea which means I get the day off from school.  This couldn't have come at a better time as I definitely could use a day to regroup and recharge.

I don't have anything exciting planned for the day (possibly a picnic tonight with some people) and I really like that.  I think I am going to hard boil some eggs so they don't go to waste and maybe cook something now that I have the time.  You know, general lazy day things... I might go on a hike later.

The trip I took two weekends ago was a lot of fun.  Not much to tell--I just took a lot of pictures and walked everywhere.  The rafting part was cancelled so that never happened.  But!  I was given the option to go on another trip with them so I could go rafting.  It's the bungee jumping/rafting trip.  I am still on the fence about bungee jumping (it's pretty popular here), so we'll see.

This past weekend was relaxing as well. Saturday I watched Godfather with a friend and then came back to my apartment and cleaned.  Deep cleaned as this place is still pretty gross from before I moved in.  I made a lot of progress but I'll have to do more later.  Sunday I went to a picnic on the Han river with a bunch of people where we flew kites and talked and listened to music.  Then, a few of us went to an open mic night at a place near here.

Like I said, nothing much to tell here.  Life has been normal and I haven't been doing anything terribly exciting.  But I have kept myself very busy which is why I am glad for this day off. 

This weekend...

Now that my open class is out of the way I can start thinking about what I will be doing on my long weekend ahead.  I am taking a trip with "Adventure Korea", this amazing tour group in Korea.  I am heading back to the place that I fell in love with last year (you can read about it here.)

Instead of describing what I will do be doing, I am going to take the description directly from Adventure Korea's homepage.  I highly recommend them if you're in Korea and want to explore areas that are harder to get to as a foreigner.

Summer is just around the corner, so it’s a really good time to hit the beach, before the crowds. We are offering you a great experience in sea rafting, deep sea fishing, cycling on some beautiful islands, as well as the famous Pumba Festival.

Sea rafting is a lot of fun and a great way to build up friendships with the people in your raft, and the Pumba Festival is a really laid back, entertaining while being an entertainer, type of festival.

On Saturday we will leave the big city and drive directly to the Pumba Festival (not from the Lion King). After the long-ish commute we will have the opportunity to travel back in time, and dress up like a pumba. These people would wear ragged clothes and often had dirty faces, but now-a-days they’re more like entertainers that often appear at market places, theatres and festivals. They would stroll around market places or villages seeking food, money or anything they could get. Pumba does not have a specific meaning but is a language mechanism for keeping rhythm. It was the word repeated in the songs of these street singers. These days, the word pumba generally refers to gakseori (a Korean tramp).

When we arrive, you’ll be given a costume to wear and your face will be painted, so you can really look and act the part. Then watch the pros as they mesmerize the audience with their acrobatic and musical skills. You will get the chance to join in the fun, and try your hand at various traditional Korean activities, as well as sample foods at the old market place. There are stalls selling yeot (Korean malt candy) cut with giant scissors that are also used to keep the pumba beat, taverns where you can sample makkolli, fortuneteller shops, rice cake shops where you can hear the echoes of rice pounding and rice cake songs, as well as a ceramics shop where you can make your own teacups and dishes. You will also find medicinal sales men who attract customers with their raucous sales pitch.

This is also a very good time to feel like a celebrity. The unique National Eumseong Pumba Festival, is one of the most photographed festivals in Korea. Many people from all over the country come to take pictures of the pumbas. So put on your best painted face and get posing. In the past our AK members have made the cover of the local magazine. It’s a lot of fun, and you get to pretend to be someone else for the day.

No wonder this festival is filled with energetic and exciting performances as well as endless laughter from the audience. Is there a better time to dress up as a beggar than now?

After the festival we will make our way to Seonyudo Island. This group of three islands, joined together by small bridges, are a great place to spend a weekend. The ferry over to the islands takes only 40 minutes and once there we will check into our hotel.

After we have checked in we will hike up Seonyubong Peak to watch the sunset, then hit the beach for some clam digging before dinner together.

On Sunday after breakfast, we will rent bikes and you can explore the three islands at your leisure, well, at least until 3pm. Make sure to grab some lunch from one of the restaurants, if you choose to try your hand at the deep sea fishing experience you will be out on the open water with no convenience store in sight!

When out on the local boats you will have the chance to haul in nets and various types of marine life, you can cut the live creatures up on the boat and enjoy sashimi, or bring it back with you. Deep sea fishing optional(35,000won extra), there will be a limited number of places on the boats, so let us know when you sign up if this is something you’d like to experience, and we will do our best to make it happen.

Around 6:30 when everyone has returned the bikes and have gotten off the boats again, we will have dinner together, if the fisher people caught a lot of fish we can have sashimi with our dinner.

Then free time until Monday.

We’ll have a quick breakfast together before we head off to explore more of the islands again, then we’ll return our bikes and make our way back to the mainland. Once back we’ll head to Boryeong where we will have lunch together before hitting the sea again, but this time on rafts. What better way to end a long weekend than splashing about with your new friends, dodging a few large rocks in the ocean, then playing games and racing the other rafts back to shore.

Once out of the water, we will board the bus again and head back to Seoul. This fun and action packed trip offers a bit of culture as well as some fun outdoor activities, so why not sign up now and get out of Seoul for the long weekend.