Coming Home!

Well, guys, this is it! I'll be leaving for the airport in about an hour. Yay! See you soon! :D

The final Hweshik

On my last Thursday in Korea, my school had a final hweshik (employee party) together. It was a blast. Lots of food, friends, and, yes, beer and soju.



This noodle dish was CRAZY SPICY. Noodles and seafood in a red sauce of spicy death. I had the "no spicy" version and it was hot to me. Whoo!

Here Rachel is dishing up the fishcake soup. It was pretty good. I didn't care for the actual fishcakes, but I did like the noodles and fish broth.


THIS was my favorite: seafood and green onion pancake. YUM. I would not normally think I'd like this, but it is probably one of my favorite Korean things.


This is Jin and I. Jin was just starting at CDI when I was leaving. She moved into my building and bought a bunch of my furniture off of me. It was a great arrangement.

And that was the hweshik. Lots of fun. I was the only person there who doesn't drink, but no one got crazy drunk (because it was a school night) so it didn't get awkward. It's boring being with drunk people when you aren't drunk. Just saying.

Last week of teaching

As of Saturday, I am officially unemployed. Wow. Crazy! Can you believe it's been a year? I know I can't.

I am done touring (sad, I know) and I am spending my last few days getting everything packed up, thrown away, given away, etc. It's a fun process. I'll be hauling my matress up to one of the new teachers on Tuesday morning before I leave for the airport.

My last "touristy" thing I did was a TRUE final visit to Namdaemun and Myung Dong to get the very last bit of souvenirs. My luggage is AT THE LIMIT now!

I was out all day on Tuesday shopping and I got a little hungry so I decided to grab a bit to eat.

I passed on the pigs feet. They look... I don't know. Just, not an adventure I want.



Instead, I finally waited in line at this bun place that always looks super popular. It was totally good. I had a bun stuffed with cooked cabbage, carrots, and other veggies mixed with pork. Um, it was uber tasty. It was so tasty that I forgot to take a picture for you (sorry) so here is a picture of the fresh grapefruit-ade I got at Dunkin Donuts. I like the little cup holder. :)



Like I said, I'm now unemployed. This was my last week of teaching at CDI. Sad day. Wednesday was my last day with my lower level elementary kids. They are such a crazy bunch... they drive me nuts! I love them dearly, but I am happy to pass them on to another teacher.

Take for example, dear little Ricky.



Ricky is such a sweet heart. He is nice to other students, a smart kid, and an all around nice kid. HOWEVER! This guy CANNOT SIT DOWN! AH! He is up and down, all over the place and talking, talking, talking. I can't fault him for that, though. He's just hyper. I mean, wouldn't you be hyper after a full day of school and then three more hours at a hagwon? And when he talks it's always in English so I don't get too mad. I just joke with him and tell him to sit down. Turns out he appreciates my patience because he gave me flowers on my last day of class!

The wrapper says, "Ricky Thank you Olson teacher."



Aawww... how CUTE!!



But, really, Ricky, you gotta go work with your group now and stop bugging Erica.



I had a competition between my two lower level classes and the winners would get a snack party during break with treats provided by me. Well, my elementary kids lost (sorry, guys) so they decided to make their OWN snack party. All on their own. One kid brought four boxes of little strawberry snack things to share.



Another bought a liter of cider to share. They were going to use the little envelopes from the water cooler, but I told them to hold on a minute and I went and got us some teacher cups (dixi cups). It was pretty snazzy.



After our little snack party, they worked on their final projects to present to the class. Here's little Eric and his partner in crime Erica.



An example of a pencil case. Every student has a pencil case. Most have super cute designs. I personally am in love with Erica's new Cookie Monster case.



Peter has really gotten ten times better this term. At the beginning of the term he was a total punk: making fun of other students, not doing his work, refusing to speak any English during class. It was a struggle. Suddenly, in the last 5 weeks he decided it was cool to be an awesome student. He's still a little pill, but no more so than any other 5th grade boy.



Jennifer and Olivia are hard at work making a super fancy poster for their presentation. Want a good way to keep elementary kids entertained? Get them glue, construction paper, and silk flowers. Seriously. These kids went to town on their posters.



It's hard to read but it days "hit the chicken." It's become kind of a classroom joke because in Korean 닥쳐 (dahk chyu) means "shut up" as well as "hit the chicken." Why? I don't know. So when they would get really chatty while I'm trying to start class I would make a joke about frying chicken or killing a chicken and they would laugh and get focused again. They thought it was hilarious so who was I to roll my eyes?



Friday was probably my saddest day because they were seriously my favorite group of students. Honestly, I have never had a better class. They were low level middle school which is normally a really tough crowd, but they were just amazing. I hope they stay that way. :)

From left to right Tony, Taehyun, and Clara.



Left to right Jimin and Julia.



On Saturday I met up with my friend Katelyn for a last lunch date. She took me to a freaking AMAZING restaurant called Mad for Garlic. And they weren't kidding when they say mad for garlic. The place is decked out with garlic cloves and every dish uses copious amounts of garlic.

We started out with cheese fondue. Yes, that is two whole bulbs of roasted garlic you see in a tiny dish of melted cheese. It was SO GOOD. I cannot get over how delicious this place was.



The lovely Katelyn enjoying her fondue.



After my final day of teaching (yay!), I met up with her again for noraebang!! I have only gone the one time because I didn't want to ruin my voice for school. I was super sad that I hadn't been able to go as much as I wanted so we went. AND IT WAS AWESOME! We need noraebangs in the States. Why? Because it's so much fun to sing until you can't anymore in your own private room with a big screen tv and tambourines! Why do we not have these in the States!?



Also, my throat hurts today. IT WAS WORTH IT!! And I want to go again before I leave but I don't know if I'll be able to sing anymore! XD

Tomorrow is my last full day in the country (crazy!) and I'll be doing chores like take care of last minute bills with Mr. Han (who doesn't speak English... it will be fun!) and transferring money home. Then it's homeward bound, folks!

Things I WON'T miss...

As the day to leave gets closer and closer, my feelings about leaving Korea are very bittersweet. It's like graduation day all over again. You look around at all the people you've interacted with everyday and realize, "I will probably never see any of these people ever again..." and you get a little misty eyed whereas the day before you had been throwing your homework in the air screaming "FREEDOM!!!"

There are lots of things I will miss about Korea. However, there are also many things that I definitely WILL NOT miss.

My apartment


No dryer, tiny, kneeling to put away all my clothes, tiny, no oven, TINY... I'll be pretty happy to have space to store things again.

My bathroom


Even more than the apartment itself, I will NOT miss my bathroom! I am very ready for a toilet area that is separate from my shower, thank you very much! In fact, when I'm feeling really homesick and ready to leave, I start counting how many showers until I go home (2 more showers!!!).

Air drying clothes


Scratchy towels, cardboard jeans, little lint balls on all my nice shirts... I miss the fluffing effects of a dryer.

Pushy sales people

While I LOVE the shopping here in Korea, I will NOT miss the pushy sales people! In some places, they will follow you around the ENTIRE FREAKING STORE and comment on every little thing your eye falls on, and even things you couldn't care less about.

No online banking!

I am currently having banking problems. I went to the bank this week with a Korean friend to help me transfer most of my money from my current bank to my American account. Well, apparently because I am a white foreigner (as opposed to a Korean American, who would not have this problem, apparently) I have to get a document to prove that the money I've been paid has actually come from Chungdahm. The document got to us TODAY so I can't send any of my money to my American bank until MONDAY. MONDAY!!! Cutting it a little close, aren't we? And before you say anything about how I should have done this a long time ago, yeah, yeah yeah. I KNOW. It just never happened, okay?

So, it might just be my current predicament, but I am really not liking the lack of online banking here. Grrr...

Squat toilets

Never used them. Never will. That's not an adventure I really want to have. Sorry.

Random nasty sewer smells on the street

The sewer lines are very close to the surface of the street here so you sometimes get a nice whiff of, well, POOP.

Communication

Though it is rather freeing to get to say pretty much whatever you want in public and know that people will only understand maybe half on what you are saying (at most), it can get rather frustrating. Especially when it comes to things like TALKING TO YOUR DOCTOR. The language barrier does get a bit annoying... and I really only have myself to blame for that since my Korean is, um, abysmal. As in, non existent.

Things I will miss...

The countdown to when I go home is officially in the single digits (for a more accurate number, visit the countdown to when my plane leaves Korea ). I'm a little sad, a little crazy thinking about all the things I need to do this week, but mostly excited to be back home and getting ready for all the trips and grad school planned for the next year.

This countdown to when I leave Korea has left me thinking about all the things I will miss when I leave Korea. So here's a nice list of some of the things I will miss.

Heated floors in the winter

I. LOVE. My heated floor! It feels so nice to lay on the hot floor and take a nap when it's chilly outside. Not that cold weather is currently a problem right now. You know, what with it being SUMMER and all.

Amazing Subway System



While driving is a convenience I do miss, having such an amazing public transportation system that can take me pretty much within walking distance of anywhere I want to go is pretty freaking awesome.

My own apartment



I'll be living with my parents for a while when I get home (they've offered to let me live with them rent free while I do grad school at PSU *fingers crossed* and I'm cheap soo...). Much as I love my parents, I will miss the little freedoms that come with living on my own.

Fast, cheap, internet!

Shopping, shopping, SHOPPING!!

Quite possibly one of the things I will miss the most about Korea (aside from some of the awesome people I have met here) will be Myung Dong, Namdaemun, Insadong, and all the cheap little jewelry, cosmetic, and random assorted crap stores behind. I have a feeling my wallet will thank me, though, especially with grad school coming up.

SOME of my students



There are just days I absolutely love them! So, so much!

Random people trying to speak English with me



Seriously. On the street, subway, shops, random people will strike up a conversation to test their English skills. Sometimes it's annoying (for example, old man on the subway trying to ask me out... awkward), but mostly it's really fun.

Seeing other foreigners

You see a person who is obviously not from around here and you share a kind of moment. A nod, smile, a quick recognition of, "Hey. You're not from around here either? Cool."

Getting to walk to work

While sometimes it is annoying if it is really hot or really cold, I do enjoy my little ten minute walk to work.

My singing washing machine

I mean, come on: IT SINGS TO ME.

Subway Romance

I take the subway a lot here (if I want to go, really, anywhere) and I usually do so with little to no incident. There have been a few times when an old lady wouldn't stop staring at me, when a man starting yelling at some woman really loud and had to be physically held back by other passengers when he started hitting her, or the occasional teenager who goes through the whole, "Hello, how are you? I am fine, thank you." routine with me and then they giggle and the conversation ends there.

Or babies. Babies and little, little kids are fascinated by my blond hair and blue eyes and they will STARE. I'll sometimes wave and say, "Anyang!" and they'll flip out. It's cute.

Occasionally I'm "lucky" enough to make a new "chingu" or friend. This usually means someone will strike up a conversation with me and with their meager English skills and my even worse Korean we have a mini life connection. Most of the time it's pretty fun.

Kendra and I once met two elderly gentlemen who told us about how they were retired Korean army veterans (which, in a country where every man has to serve their country for I believe at least a year in the army, it was rather interesting to see two men who had made a career of it). They had fought in Vietnam. I think they were paratroopers... they talked about jumping out of airplanes with pantomimed machine guns. They welcomed us to the country and hoped we had a happy time while we taught English.

One day coming home from church, Kendra and I met a man who had had a little too much soju with his lunch (seriously, it was like 2pm and he was already weaving). The man thought we were missionaries. Well, we're Mormon, but not missionaries. I guess the only time you see two white girls together in skirts below their knees in Korea is when you see Mormon missionaries. I can respect that. We had to convince him that we weren't from Utah (well, at least I'm not). It was interesting because I haven't met many Koreans who know that much about Mormons and this guy knew about Utah and everything. It was funny.

There are other fun incidents, but today I had a singularly interesting experience.

I was on my way home from church when this older gentleman struck up a conversation sitting next to me on the subway. I really wasn't it the mood to struggle through a conversation with this guy and I gave monosyllabic answers and then I'd look away. I was polite, but I think it was obvious I didn't want to talk. He was not deterred. Okay. That's fine. Yes, I'm American. Migook-saram. Yes, I'm a teacher. At a hagwon. CDI. Nice to meet you.

The conversation was much more complicated than that since his English was pretty limited and he was pantomiming and using English and Korean interchangeably. Frustrating and a little annoying but I didn't want to be rude. He decided we were "best friends" and I laughed and said, "Uh, okay."

Then it got awkward. He started asking about "bap" which means rice and is often used to talk about food in general (so I've heard from Korean friends... I really am pretty vague on many aspects of Korean culture) and I was like, "What? Does he want to know if I like Korean food?" I was confused so he started pantomiming eating and pointing to me and then him. I thought, "Is he trying to ask me to go eat with him? That makes no sense... Wait. Now he is calling me beautiful. Is he asking me OUT?!"

I pretended as if I didn't understand (and, frankly, what if I was wrong?) and then he said. "You, me? Cuhpee (coffee)? Datuh (DATE)?"

Yes. I got hit on by an old Korean man the subway.

Why me?

I didn't smile, didn't laugh (nothing to seem like I was enjoying myself) and said, "No."

BUT HE DIDN'T LET UP. Weren't we chingus? Today? Tomorrow? I said no again and this time crossed my arms in an "X" across my chest in the Korean "NO" symbol.


I was less dramatic than Wonder Woman here. But it's basically the same arm gesture.

Then one stop before where I usually get off, I said, "Oh! My stop! See ya!" He followed me to the door of the train and I was thinking, "Oh, NO, dude. See how fast I will smack you down if you follow me off this train!" But he just said goodbye again, told me I was beautiful again and then I left.

*sigh* And this right after a lesson at church about how important marriage is and (by default) dating. The singles are often encouraged to say yes to first date requests because, you know, it's hard to work up the courage to ask someone out.

I think they'll understand why I said no in this case.

"Last" trip to Namdaemun and Myung Dong

This Tuesday, all I really wanted to do was stay at home and sleep. But, no. I had a mission! I wanted to get all my last minute present shopping out of the way (buy those last few items for friends and family back home that I had been putting off) so I could sit back and relax for my last two weeks in Korea.

Of course, wouldn't you know it, it rained the ENTIRE TIME I was out. *sigh* Oh well.

I had a list, of course, which was supposed to make things easier while in Namdaemun especially. I was on a mission, you know. This wasn't an ordinary "walk around and kill time" trip to Namdaemun. I needed gifts for recently married peoples, those recently married peoples who decided to have babies (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE), and, well, EARLY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING!

I failed. *hangs head in shame* I got some of the things I wanted but, for the most part, the majority of the gifts I wanted to get just could not be found. *sigh* Top that off with the fact that Jesi asked for more make up and stuff today, and it looks like my last trip to Namdaemun and Myung Dong was not actually my last trip.

It was raining all day (as I said) but that didn't stop people from coming out to shop! Here are a few pictures from my little trip.

Tall, buildings, McDonalds... could be New York! Wait, no. Everything is in Korean. Must be Seoul.



I don't really understand why it's called the Matching Mole. But it's a total restaurant! Awesome.



And right next to Matching Mole is the Hellfire and Damnation booth! I see these guys all over. I wish I knew exactly what they were yelling at me about. I can imagine, but, really. They don't even have pamphlets or anything. They just stand with the same sign and yell at people over a microphone. I'm curious as to what they are trying to accomplish.



This store. I don't even know why it's so popular. All of the things it sells have pictures of teddy bears on them. Like, the teddy bear shirts you buy at little beach town stores because you are twelve years old and have no fashion sense. Not even cute. But it's called "Teenie Weenie." So that makes it an awesome store in my book.



It stopped raining for a while and all the little carts were setting up again. I went in to Smoothie King for a tasty fruit juice to kill some time while they were setting up so I could look around at them.



I love the fruit juice places they have all over the place here. Smoothie King also does smoothies (duh) but I just got the strawberry juice. They take strawberries, ice, mix it all up, and tada! Tasty treat. :)



I finally got tired of walking up and down the roads with no goal and headed into the subway. There was this machine making little rice cake things and the lady got all excited to see me and said, "GREE NUFFS!!" At least that's what it sounded like. I was like "... okaaay. From her tone, she is obviously saying something in English, but I have no idea what it is." Then I looked at what she was pointing at. "CREAM PUFFS!" I said. She nodded excitedly and showed me how they made them on this little conveyor belt thing. She was so excited about it that I bought a little bag. I had had something like this before with Tara and they were delicious. Mmm..

Here is the contents of my bag.



They are called "Deli Manjoo." I looked it up, and "deli" comes from the word "delicious" and manjoo is the Korean word for "dumpling." They were little corn shaped cakes. Taste a bit like pound cake but a little fluffier. Am I just describing regular cake?



The little corn shaped cakes are filled with a dab of tasty "premium custard." They were really sweet and the little bag was way more than I wanted to eat. I kept the rest in the bag and ate the soggy remains today before work. Very tasty... but better when I first got them.



Here I'm thinking, "Hmmm... how can I get deli manjoo after I get home? Probably a good thing I can't."

Dad, Jesi, and me!

Dad's plane was delayed in China so he didn't get to my apartment until really late. Jesi quit and went to sleep before he got here. She was a real whiner, too, while Dad and I were downstairs talking. What? It's not my fault the entire apartment is smaller than Mom and Dad's room back home...

The next day we headed out to do some final touring before they left the next day. Lucky for us, it was hot, humid, and POURING the entire day. Good thing the weather decided to be so nice for us.

We first went to see the statue of King Sejong. He is one of the most famous kings of Korea (apparently) and is most well known for Hangul or the Korean alphabet. Until 1446, Koreans used Hanja (Chinese characters). It took years of study to master the complex Hanja, time the average citizen did not have. So Sejong created the less complex 28 letter alphabet of Hangul which people can learn with a few hours of study.

And I totally mean that. It does not take all that long to learn how to read Korean. Now, understanding what you read is a completely different matter.

Anyways. Here's King Sejong in all his awesomeness.



After marveling at the terrific King Sejong, we walked to Gyeongbokgung Palace which we could see from the statue.



Look at that fantastic weather. If it looked like this in Oregon, it would be freezing. Lucky for us it was hot and humid. Yay! *sarcasm*



We braided Jesi's hair the night before to make it all wavy and pretty. It did look pretty awesome when we took it out. However, the humidity made it get really fluffy and by the time we got to the palace, she had contained it in a ponytail.



The palace is really pretty. I love the colors they use on the beams.



Same building, farther away.



Jesi found a friend at the palace! He would look great out in the backyard, eh, Mom? It's a really good thing I'm 5,000 miles away right now. :)



After walking around the palace and the adjacent museum for a while longer, we went to Insadong for lunch. I almost got us lost, but HA! My keen sense of direction *cough cough* kicked in and I was able to get us there with no exciting detours.

I was not feeling good (again... but for different reasons) and all the pharmacies I found were closed so I couldn't use my "eeboopuhlohpehn joosehyo" (I'd like ibuprofen) line that I've learned. I was trying not to be grumpy because, well, when it feels like your body is eating you from the inside out, you tend to get snippy.

After looking through the pictures, I have since thrown away the poor camisole that is failing to give me a decent neckline right here. Also, I think I wore this dress nearly every day in Vietnam. It was totally worth the 12,000 won I spent on it (about $12). I might need to burn it when I get home, though.



We had delicious beef bulgogi. It's pretty much the same thing as the chicken I ate with Jesi except there is more broth in this one. It was delicious. I will miss this...



I WON'T miss kimchi. I wish I liked it... but I don't. I do like the colors of kimchi, though. I'm currently debating whether or not to go take a kimchi cooking class next week as one final adventure before I go home... we'll see.



In Insadong, we watched people make the dragon beard candy. I LOVE this stuff! Jesi bought some to try.



She tried to be all dainty while she ate it. How cute. It makes a mess, but it is really good.



Speaking of sweet treats...

After looking around Insadong for a little while, we got back on the subway (AGAIN) and went to Gangnam for Dr. Fish! Jesi and I were supposed to go there on Wednesday but we had decided against it because of the flooding. It was her last day there and we had to make sure she got a fish foot bath.

They make you buy something to eat as well if you want the Dr. Fish treatment so we got a shaved ice bowl. It has strawberries, bananas, kiwis, pineapple, fruit cocktail, a scoop of sorbet, and little squishy marshmallow things that are actually made of rice. Oh, and a GIANT scoop of shaved ice with sweetened condensed milk on it. DELICIOUS.



It was super yummy. Here is Dad enjoying his shaved ice thing. :)



Once we had finished eating our tasty treat, we went to the Dr. fish zone for a fishy foot bath!



This is where you sit, put your feet in the tank, and let the fish EAT YOUR FEET.



Jesi and I opted for the tiny fish. It tickles SOOO much!



If it weren't for taking Jesi here, I never would have gone back to this place. It tickles too much!! Ack!



I took a video of us getting our foot baths.



While the fish were nibbling on our feet, we could look out over the streets of Gangnam. It was absolutely POURING! Just buckets and buckets of water coming down like a broken rain machine on a movie. Cars were sending up sheets of water as they drove.



You can't really tell in this picture, but the first half of the sidewalk was about a foot deep in water. There was no going around it. If you wanted to cross the street, you had to wade calf deep in water. Ick! By the time we got outside, they had cleared the drains so the water wasn't so deep anymore. Also, we took a taxi. Yay!



The rest of the night included packing, dinner at the mall, and a second viewing of the new Harry Potter movie. So good. The next day, my chicky and daddy left for home. I miss them, and I'm counting down the days until I get to see them. It's less than two weeks now and I'm getting really excited (and a little sad) to head home.