12.26.09

Well it has been a while since I was able to update this, so there is lots to share.......

Lets see, last weekend Andrew was just getting over his weird stomach sickness/food poisoning. We have learned that apparently you should not mix crazy Korean pills with alcohol. This of course was done unintentional but nevertheless Andrew felt the pain of the combination. Saturday Andrew and Jason had their first band practice with Jinu. It went well....they practiced at the bar and I watched them and drank! A friend met us up and after the practice we ended up bar hoping and of  course drinking soju. The night went well except for the fact that I kept falling asleep at every single place we went to. The night ended with Andrew scraping his forehead and the top of his head on lord know what, because none of us can remember what happened lol. He was very bloody....and the children were very concerned at school. Naturally we explained that he was walking carelessly and that darn low tree limb just scraped his head! Andrew being the handsome giant that he is can get away with a lot in Korea.....we will just leave it at that. :-D

Sunday we decided to venture out yet again to Costco. I needed more supplies (and by that I mean survival food) and everyone was in the mood for cheap and amazing pizza. This time we dragged our friend Ben out. The bus ride over was an adventure in itself..... The very bumpy roads of Korea mixed with the the typical Korean driving (I'm not being mean....it really is horrible) = me being very motion sick on a bus. I guess it didn't help that we were in the back seats. All was going well when the bus was pretty vacant and our little celing window was open. Then a weird looking dude come aboard the bus......looks around at every empty seat on the bus, and practially runs to get the very back window seat next to me. He didnt even give me a chance to stand up to let him in. He ran up the two stairs, put his right foot over my head, proceeded to stick his rump in my face and awkwardly wiggled and squirmed his way into the seat next to me. My reaction was something of a mix of shock and hysteria. Let me be very clear on one fact- the bus was empty.....this means that were were plenty of other unoccupied seats available. Once I was able to gain my composure I still was managing to have a decient bus ride when this crazy man abruptly reached over me to slam shut the window blowing a nice breeze in my face. About 20 minutes later we had to get off the bus way before our stop so I wouldn't vomit everywhere. Eventually we did make it to Costco and I think Ben may have feel in love..... Costco is a beautiful thing in most places in the world but in Korea.....it litterly is a heaven on earth.

The week proceeded quite normal....Andrew only threw up once randomly in the morning and I joined a gym! It's called View Fitness. It is very close to my apartment and it's on the 8th floor....when I run on the treadmills I get a fantastic view of the city and mountians! It's a small but clean gym- I think I will enjoy it! Our school was a bit annoying this week- they will be enforcing some really stupid changes soon.....like a seat change. Apparently they are enforcing a seat change in the teachers office.....this is basically just to seperate Andrew and I. I will never fully understand the stupidity of this decission, especially because they assigned us there in the first place....but that's the type of place we work at I guess!!! There is a lot of other drama with the school that I won't even get into. Basically your first year teaching at a Hagwan school = you being their slave. You won't have a say in anything and they will control your life, but you will have a good experience in Korea and after your first year you can make bank at another school.

I was very excited for this weekend because it was Christmas!!!.....Andrew and I went out for a very nice vegetarian meal Christmas Eve and naturally I started vomiting half way through dinner. Perhaps I caught the flu  because this vomiting proceeded throughout the night and into Christmas Day. Thankfully I stopped throwing up around Chritmas morning, but I was too achy and feverish to really be able to celebarte the holiday.......unfortunatally this meant that I ruined Andrew's Christmas along with mine! Although I still feel terrible about that, I must say that Andrew is amazing. He turned down all other (and more fun) offers to lay in bed with me allll day and night. He was nothing but a saint and I am so lucky to have him. He really is holding up his end of the bargain promising to take care of me!! I never planned on our first Christmas together being quite like that but, in its own way it was really sweet. I love him.

I did, however, miss everyone back home terribly!!! I am so sad that I wasn't able to skype with anyone!!! Christmas was not the same without being around my family...... <3 <3 <3

Today I feel a lot better and only have a cold! Jason took off to Daegu for a few days so Andrew and I hung out all day. We went to the world's largest department store and then to Heaundae for a strol on the beach. Andrew also purchased a phone there and we got some amazing authentic mexican burritos!!!!!!!!!!! We also went to the Fuzzy Navel bar for an awful margarita which I had trouble chocking down due to the salt content. We are having a pretty chill night tonight, and we might try to go and find some chick peas to make homemade hummas tomorrow!! YAY!!!!

I just want to clarify to everyone that I don't hate Korea.....well it's more of a love/hate situation. It's eaiser to write about the funny and bad things in a blog but Korea does have its highlights! The bars are amazing- not generic like the ones back in the states. Living in a city is great because every night is an adventure, and you never really get bored! We are meeting really great people from around the world. We are surrounded by mountains and the ocean!!! Public transportation is really cheap and really clean. Everything is open REALLY late in Korea- so you never have to worry about bars shuting down just when you were starting to have a good time. Cheap living. Korean kids can be a lot to deal with...but are pretty cute. I now know what it is like to live in a culture and not know a lick of their language (an experience that I believe everyone should have).....it has been really hard because Korea is NOT in the least bit condusive to a vegetarian lifestyle and I am NOT in the least bit willing to give up that lifestyle living here. Korea and I are enimes in the sense. Even when I learn the proper words to say "vegetarian" "no meat" "only vegetables" this is so forgien to Korea that they don't really understand.....there is no ultering the menu. Today I walked into the largest department store in the world and the massive food court only had a small salad to offer me to eat. I don't think people understand that when you can't eat....its really really hard to enjoy yourself. I am learning though. We have found some dishes that I can eat...and even awesome places to eat further in the city. There is a really cool place opening by my school that will serve vegetarian options- so that's helpful. I just have to cook for myself more (which is what I did in the states) and always have food on me. The food thing and missing my family/friends are the hardest parts. I think not having a computer and being able to skype is making that extremely more difficutl.....but hopefully soon that will change. Overall, I am very happy to be here and experience this culture. I am growing as a person, learning more about myself and bettering myself for the future. I have a great sense of accomplishment even though my journey has just started......I am traveling the WORLD just like I have always wanted to do!! ....I now appreciate what I had back home more than anything lol but it is still a great experience. I truly think everyone should have this type of experience.

I hope to talk to you all very soon. I am so lucky to have all of you in my life. Going to Korea hasn't let me forget anyone, in fact just the opposite- I think about you more often than I did at home and I realize how special each of you really are! I love you!!! Update soon! xoxo <3