It took awhile, but Spring has finally decided to arrive in Korea. Jack Frost definitely overstayed his welcome this winter. The temperature hasn’t even reached above 60F yet, but this weekend was the first in many months where heavy coats weren’t part of the daily attire. It was a gorgeous, sunny day on Saturday so to celebrate the nice weather, some friends and I decided to go bike riding along the Han river in Seoul. I hadn’t been on a bike in a while, so I was a bit wobbly in the beginning, but it came back to me instantly. We rode for a good four hours. It was nice coming out of hibernation and being outside for an extended period of time. Later on in the evening we took a river cruise along the Han and got to see the city lights. Aside from some sore muscles (and a sore butt), it was a great day.
Last weekend I went with Myra to visit Dan in Dongtan, a new community about 40 minutes outside of Seoul. We went to a bar, then went back to Dan’s and drank red wine, ate fried chicken with chopsticks, and wore paper Philippe’s hats that Dan brought us from L.A. I ended up passing out shortly after.
Since I’m currently not so busy at work (due to midterms) I started thinking about the places I’ve traveled to in my life. So, I decided to make a list:
Aruba
Bahamas
Belize
Cayman Islands
Curaçao
France
Honduras
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Korea (South)
Mexico
Monaco
Puerto Rico
Saint Lucia
Saint Martin
Spain
Tunisia
Turks and Caicos Islands
Canada New Brunswick
Newfoundland and Labrador
Nova Scotia
Ontario
U.S.A. Arizona
California
Florida
Idaho
Maryland
Nevada
New York
Pennsylvania
South Dakota
Utah
Virginia
Washington D.C.
Wyoming
Not to shabby for a 23 year old. I have to thank my parents for introducing me to traveling at an early age. I remember getting ready for trips when I was as little as 5 years old. I suppose this is why I have a serious case of the travel bug now. I just can’t seem to get enough. This list is sure to grow within the next few months, and that excites me.
I think it’s time I introduce all of you to another Kpop song. This one’s been around for a while, but it’s still pretty popular. I don’t hear it on the streets as much anymore, but it’s guaranteed to play whenever I’m out for the night.
I’ve been thinking long and hard about what I’m going to do after Korea and I still haven’t come up with a definite answer. Chances are that I may sign up for a second year, but my reasons for (possibly) staying run much deeper than just being an English teacher for another year.
Don’t get me wrong, as taxing as it may be at times, I love my job. I’d be lucky if I get to say that about the other career opportunities that await me in the future. The truth is though, I’m not ready to go back home just yet. Some may consider this a break from “reality.” A running away of sorts. I won’t deny that. There’s an air of escape, or rather, freedom that comes from living abroad. Like so many other of my fellow expats, I had a multitude of reasons for coming over here. I will admit, so far this experience has put me in a rather strange position. As much as I miss home, family, friends, I know I can’t go back to living my old life. I feel somewhat out of place. Being here has opened up the world to me. I feel liberated, adventurous. I crave to find answers to questions I didn’t even know I had. In a world filled with such bad news and perennial drudgery, is it so wrong to want to search for real meaning in life?
Last night, my mom came over and rocked out her amazing arroz con pollo. It was sooo nice having my mom’s cooking after so long. Like always, it was delicious, and I had a wonderful time with both family and friends.
Delicious!
Both worlds meet. Eating on the floor, true Korean style, except with Cuban food.
(I stole this video from Myra. Thanks for recording!)
Yesterday, my lesson for the 5th graders was on prepositions. As a fun activity after the lecture, I decided to have the kids act out prepositional phrases, so I brought mouse and cat ears to class so the kids could be different characters if they wanted to participate. I had simple phrases in mind such as, “The cat is in front of the mouse,” or, “The mouse is next to the cat.” I clearly didn’t think this through, because when the class busted out with “The mouse is under the cat,” or “The cat is on the mouse,” or the most awkward of all, “The mouse is in the cat,” the students went apeshit. I was a bit perturbed by the actions of Cat and Mouse. These are just kids, and I’m sure they didn’t have their minds in the gutter when they were saying these phrases, but as a teacher and someone with a potty brain, the situation was very uncomfortable. Needless to say, I tweaked the lesson for the following classes so as to avoid cat on mouse action again.
The Kimchi Chronicles
