Thursday was a big day for me, since I invited my co-teachers over for a huge dinner to show them how grateful I have been for all of their help this semester. I left school a little early since I wasn't teaching all day because the kids had tests. So I started the slicing and cooking and last minute cleaning.....all the great hostess work you have to think about when having guests over. Throughout all the planning, I had my mind on all the hard work my mom does at home each time we have company over and was thinking to myself how grateful I am for all those delicious meals she prepared for our family.
Keith took off kickboxing after school to help me and be there with my teachers to socialize. We made fruit/vegetable plates for appetizers (apples and carrots placed decoratively on the table with my parents "fall leaves" that they had sent from Chicago (another decoration). I had to borrow a table, some chairs and some silverware from my neighbors because there were 4 Koreans teachers coming over, as well as Keith and I. Keith served the teachers tea while I was finishing cooking the pasta meal. The meal consisted of spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, brocolli, onions, mushrooms, crabmeat, and red, yellow and green peppers with mozzerella cheese melted over the top. I also made homemade garlic bread with whole wheat bread (which is rare to find here!!). This is my favorite dish, and luckily my guests all really enjoyed it as well. Although it was sooo funny because we never eat spaghetti at lunch, but for the first time ever, we had it that same day at lunch at school.....I couldn't believe it!!! I was laughing the whole time but it was ok because the spaghetti was just with marinara sauce, so very different than the dish I made. For dessert, I made banana, chocolate, pb smoothies (with our new blender we just bought) with a chocolate pepperostick dipped into each glass. YUMMMMMMMMM It was delicious!
Although my teachers arrived at 5pm, they stayed until 9pm! I was so happy though because this meant a lot that we all had so much to talk about and were laughing and sharing stories the entire time. The time flew by without us knowing! My co-teachers shared with us a lot of things from the culture that take place in everyday life. For example, they showed up at the door with a 30 pack of toilet paper as a gift… It was really hard not to laugh when they gave this to us, but they explained that it symbolizes the unwinding/unraveling of life’s problems and is often given as a generous gift for those that have achieved something great. The best students in school receive toilet paper for finishing top in their class. So… I know I will be considered an awesome teacher once I get my first 30 pack! Even though I understand the meaning more, it is still hilarious to me. They also brought lots of fruit as a gift for welcoming them into our home and we truly appreciated these gifts along with the TP. They also explained there fear of fan death, which is basically where if a fan is left running in a room and the windows are not open, it sucks the oxygen out of the room and the individual dies from suffocation. I think this is more a belief with the older generations however, because the two younger teachers seemed to snicker when the two eldest teachers brought this up. This fear of the building or home being ventilated also explains why they refuse to close the windows in my school during the winter, and why all of the fans have protective covers on the switches and fans themselves. The fans will kill us! :)
When the evening was over, I felt very accomplished with my cooking and my hostess ability, and excited that I had a chance to really get to know my co-teachers outside of work. I feel very close to them and am so thankful to have them during my first year of teaching and being in a new country.
This weekend I had a girl's night with some of my friends here who live in the next city over, called Shinjeju. My neighbor, Kristin, and I took a bus over and met two other friends of ours, Shaeley and Kelly, at a Tom and Tom's coffee house where he sat and drank Bubble Tea (I love this stuff and finally found it at this coffeehouse/ it is a juice drink with huge balls of tapioca in it), and shared a few things to eat (apple french toast and a mini veggie pizza). Then we shopped around the city (this is the new city in the area so has more western restaurants and newer clothing stores and nightlife). I found some comfy boots that I have been searching for. I was super excited to find my size because it's very difficult to find a woman's 10 shoe size...it's about a 145 in their size here. I chilled with them for the rest of the night.
Then the next morning I did my long run while Keith was teaching his Saturday school class (for extra $). When he got back, we spent the afternoon shopping for some winter clothes he needed, checking out the outdoor market, and planning our winter trips on our laptops at a coffeehouse. Keith was able to buy all his winter running clothes (3 hats, 2 hoodies, 2 pairs of gloves, 4 pairs of pants) all for 100 dollars! Korea is awesome for shopping, because although some places are super expensive if you buy from brand names, you can almost always also find amazing prices if you look in the right places.
We also went through the meat market for the first time by accident, and it was awesome. Literally tons of animals: fish being chopped up, tossed, dismembered, crushed, pulverized, and put on display. Actually, it wasn’t awesome, I kept running from corner to corner laughing and trying to escape the slaughter around me. It was pretty disturbing and sad to think about. I am just not used to this kind of open marekt! We made it out eventually, but it definitely opens your eyes to how raw some of these traditional markets are. We also saw tons of skinned pig heads and faces on display in front of many of the markets. It is a symbol of good luck to put them on display and to serve the brains as an offering of luck. If you’re queasy at all, do not go to the market on a Saturday afternoon.
After shopping and surviving the meat market, we went to Tom and Tom’s coffee(again this weekend, I know!) to plan our upcoming trips to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. We were there for 5 hours! The best part however, is that internet is free and you don’t even need to buy anything to use the facilities. We still bought coffee and pretzels (we are not that cheap) and enjoyed our time planning the trip there. We are really excited! We are going to be able to see nearly all of Cambodia/Laos and will cover the main things to see in Vietnam. However, Thailand is too long, so we are only going to see the northern half of the country this winter, and see the beaches and bottom half next winter. After that, we just went home, did some chores, made a huge pasta dinner at 10 P.M. and went to bed early. It was nice to get in bed before 3 A.M. on a Saturday.
Sunday we woke up early and went to church in the morning. After church, we headed over to Shin Jeju for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants called “The Plate.” They have a brunch on the weekends so we headed over there for some traditional toast, eggs, omelets and breakfast meats. From there, we went to the traditional 5 day market (which is only held every five days) near the restaurant we were at. It is a huge open market under a covered tent and you can find ridiculous deals on what would normally be expensive items. Keith and I finished our Christmas shopping there and we checked out all the market had to offer. It featured everything from foods, to pets, plants, clothes, furniture, sweets, toys and anything else you can imagine. It’s awesome, and truly the place to shop for bargains. It was really cool to see some of the unique traditional items at the market as well. I can’t really put into words what a beautifully organized madhouse this was. After the market we went over to our friend Mike and Kayla’s for an early Christmas celebration to make Christmas cards. There were lots of snacks and finger foods, along with hot chocolate and other holiday sweets. There were about 15 people there for the celebration. By the rest of the evening, it became even more evident of how unique the people were on this venture. Talking with everyone, you realize that every person that is around you is from a different part of the U.S. or another country. The closest people at the party in proximity of our hometown is Columbus Ohio. It is incredibly empowering, insightful, and life changing just to be around these individuals and here what there lives have been like up to this point and also there philosophies. One friend talked to us about limo rides to Napa valley for 5 dollar wine tastings with her friends, another discussed living on Vancouver island and going kayaking with a bunch of beers on a lake to take in the nature, another person discussed there summers of tree planting in Canada and roughing it for 3 months with the moose and bears and needing a helicopter to escape the area they were in. Others are from the U.K. and talk about soccer and football riots on the streets. One lost his wife and is trying to move on in life without her for a new start, another turned thirty and calls it the new 20 as he drinks/parties religiously, another is surfing junkie who is here to meet Korean women with his friends, while another dreams of becoming a writer around the world. Some are in there 30’s and are trying to escape the real world while others are seeking of how to find themselves and climb back into it. Some were college athletes, some have been here for years and a few have taught Keith and I how to grow a fungus/bacteria called Kombucha that can cure cancer and aid in your energy and digestion (It’s a living organism that you drink, and when it has a baby, you use the baby to make more drinks). Not really sure if I'm actually gonna drink this yet though. In 4 hours, we learned about cultures, philosophies, the meaning of life, the journey we all go through, who we are, who we want to become, and how we can help others reach the same goals. Most importantly, we learned there is so much more to experience/see/create/venture to find and be a life long learner from these experiences.
Keith told me that it is these moments you realize you are in a unique situation that gathers thought and inspiration from around the world in 1 place to unite for a common purpose…Live life, find ourselves and learn from each other and the journey ahead of us. The possibilities are infinite, and he said he could not describe that feeling/atmosphere until he arrived here around these people in this environment. He is forever changed and will forever be changed by this experience alone the rest of his life. I love when Keith thinks this way and realizes, as I often do too, the positive impact that others bring to you each day and how everything happens for a reason....we must be traveling and meeting all these people for a specific purpose. Maybe to learn more about life and the meaning of it. :)
Keith took off kickboxing after school to help me and be there with my teachers to socialize. We made fruit/vegetable plates for appetizers (apples and carrots placed decoratively on the table with my parents "fall leaves" that they had sent from Chicago (another decoration). I had to borrow a table, some chairs and some silverware from my neighbors because there were 4 Koreans teachers coming over, as well as Keith and I. Keith served the teachers tea while I was finishing cooking the pasta meal. The meal consisted of spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, brocolli, onions, mushrooms, crabmeat, and red, yellow and green peppers with mozzerella cheese melted over the top. I also made homemade garlic bread with whole wheat bread (which is rare to find here!!). This is my favorite dish, and luckily my guests all really enjoyed it as well. Although it was sooo funny because we never eat spaghetti at lunch, but for the first time ever, we had it that same day at lunch at school.....I couldn't believe it!!! I was laughing the whole time but it was ok because the spaghetti was just with marinara sauce, so very different than the dish I made. For dessert, I made banana, chocolate, pb smoothies (with our new blender we just bought) with a chocolate pepperostick dipped into each glass. YUMMMMMMMMM It was delicious!
Although my teachers arrived at 5pm, they stayed until 9pm! I was so happy though because this meant a lot that we all had so much to talk about and were laughing and sharing stories the entire time. The time flew by without us knowing! My co-teachers shared with us a lot of things from the culture that take place in everyday life. For example, they showed up at the door with a 30 pack of toilet paper as a gift… It was really hard not to laugh when they gave this to us, but they explained that it symbolizes the unwinding/unraveling of life’s problems and is often given as a generous gift for those that have achieved something great. The best students in school receive toilet paper for finishing top in their class. So… I know I will be considered an awesome teacher once I get my first 30 pack! Even though I understand the meaning more, it is still hilarious to me. They also brought lots of fruit as a gift for welcoming them into our home and we truly appreciated these gifts along with the TP. They also explained there fear of fan death, which is basically where if a fan is left running in a room and the windows are not open, it sucks the oxygen out of the room and the individual dies from suffocation. I think this is more a belief with the older generations however, because the two younger teachers seemed to snicker when the two eldest teachers brought this up. This fear of the building or home being ventilated also explains why they refuse to close the windows in my school during the winter, and why all of the fans have protective covers on the switches and fans themselves. The fans will kill us! :)
When the evening was over, I felt very accomplished with my cooking and my hostess ability, and excited that I had a chance to really get to know my co-teachers outside of work. I feel very close to them and am so thankful to have them during my first year of teaching and being in a new country.
This weekend I had a girl's night with some of my friends here who live in the next city over, called Shinjeju. My neighbor, Kristin, and I took a bus over and met two other friends of ours, Shaeley and Kelly, at a Tom and Tom's coffee house where he sat and drank Bubble Tea (I love this stuff and finally found it at this coffeehouse/ it is a juice drink with huge balls of tapioca in it), and shared a few things to eat (apple french toast and a mini veggie pizza). Then we shopped around the city (this is the new city in the area so has more western restaurants and newer clothing stores and nightlife). I found some comfy boots that I have been searching for. I was super excited to find my size because it's very difficult to find a woman's 10 shoe size...it's about a 145 in their size here. I chilled with them for the rest of the night.
Then the next morning I did my long run while Keith was teaching his Saturday school class (for extra $). When he got back, we spent the afternoon shopping for some winter clothes he needed, checking out the outdoor market, and planning our winter trips on our laptops at a coffeehouse. Keith was able to buy all his winter running clothes (3 hats, 2 hoodies, 2 pairs of gloves, 4 pairs of pants) all for 100 dollars! Korea is awesome for shopping, because although some places are super expensive if you buy from brand names, you can almost always also find amazing prices if you look in the right places.
We also went through the meat market for the first time by accident, and it was awesome. Literally tons of animals: fish being chopped up, tossed, dismembered, crushed, pulverized, and put on display. Actually, it wasn’t awesome, I kept running from corner to corner laughing and trying to escape the slaughter around me. It was pretty disturbing and sad to think about. I am just not used to this kind of open marekt! We made it out eventually, but it definitely opens your eyes to how raw some of these traditional markets are. We also saw tons of skinned pig heads and faces on display in front of many of the markets. It is a symbol of good luck to put them on display and to serve the brains as an offering of luck. If you’re queasy at all, do not go to the market on a Saturday afternoon.
After shopping and surviving the meat market, we went to Tom and Tom’s coffee(again this weekend, I know!) to plan our upcoming trips to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. We were there for 5 hours! The best part however, is that internet is free and you don’t even need to buy anything to use the facilities. We still bought coffee and pretzels (we are not that cheap) and enjoyed our time planning the trip there. We are really excited! We are going to be able to see nearly all of Cambodia/Laos and will cover the main things to see in Vietnam. However, Thailand is too long, so we are only going to see the northern half of the country this winter, and see the beaches and bottom half next winter. After that, we just went home, did some chores, made a huge pasta dinner at 10 P.M. and went to bed early. It was nice to get in bed before 3 A.M. on a Saturday.
Sunday we woke up early and went to church in the morning. After church, we headed over to Shin Jeju for breakfast at one of our favorite restaurants called “The Plate.” They have a brunch on the weekends so we headed over there for some traditional toast, eggs, omelets and breakfast meats. From there, we went to the traditional 5 day market (which is only held every five days) near the restaurant we were at. It is a huge open market under a covered tent and you can find ridiculous deals on what would normally be expensive items. Keith and I finished our Christmas shopping there and we checked out all the market had to offer. It featured everything from foods, to pets, plants, clothes, furniture, sweets, toys and anything else you can imagine. It’s awesome, and truly the place to shop for bargains. It was really cool to see some of the unique traditional items at the market as well. I can’t really put into words what a beautifully organized madhouse this was. After the market we went over to our friend Mike and Kayla’s for an early Christmas celebration to make Christmas cards. There were lots of snacks and finger foods, along with hot chocolate and other holiday sweets. There were about 15 people there for the celebration. By the rest of the evening, it became even more evident of how unique the people were on this venture. Talking with everyone, you realize that every person that is around you is from a different part of the U.S. or another country. The closest people at the party in proximity of our hometown is Columbus Ohio. It is incredibly empowering, insightful, and life changing just to be around these individuals and here what there lives have been like up to this point and also there philosophies. One friend talked to us about limo rides to Napa valley for 5 dollar wine tastings with her friends, another discussed living on Vancouver island and going kayaking with a bunch of beers on a lake to take in the nature, another person discussed there summers of tree planting in Canada and roughing it for 3 months with the moose and bears and needing a helicopter to escape the area they were in. Others are from the U.K. and talk about soccer and football riots on the streets. One lost his wife and is trying to move on in life without her for a new start, another turned thirty and calls it the new 20 as he drinks/parties religiously, another is surfing junkie who is here to meet Korean women with his friends, while another dreams of becoming a writer around the world. Some are in there 30’s and are trying to escape the real world while others are seeking of how to find themselves and climb back into it. Some were college athletes, some have been here for years and a few have taught Keith and I how to grow a fungus/bacteria called Kombucha that can cure cancer and aid in your energy and digestion (It’s a living organism that you drink, and when it has a baby, you use the baby to make more drinks). Not really sure if I'm actually gonna drink this yet though. In 4 hours, we learned about cultures, philosophies, the meaning of life, the journey we all go through, who we are, who we want to become, and how we can help others reach the same goals. Most importantly, we learned there is so much more to experience/see/create/venture to find and be a life long learner from these experiences.
Keith told me that it is these moments you realize you are in a unique situation that gathers thought and inspiration from around the world in 1 place to unite for a common purpose…Live life, find ourselves and learn from each other and the journey ahead of us. The possibilities are infinite, and he said he could not describe that feeling/atmosphere until he arrived here around these people in this environment. He is forever changed and will forever be changed by this experience alone the rest of his life. I love when Keith thinks this way and realizes, as I often do too, the positive impact that others bring to you each day and how everything happens for a reason....we must be traveling and meeting all these people for a specific purpose. Maybe to learn more about life and the meaning of it. :)
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