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Published: April 26th 2010
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first haircut
in daegu, just went to a random place and it was only $10! i can't seem to get it to curl that way though... Just a quick note...I can't even believe it's been over a month that I've been living and working here. There have been a lot of ups and also some downs.
Most days I have those "I love Korea!" moments. They usually involve food...hahaha. The food here is amazing, not just Korean food, but also the markets! We made spring rolls last week and the fresh veggies were so cheap.
I'm also trying to get more involved...Cindy and I went to Daegu to volunteer for an animal shelter. They walk dogs at a popular park in Daegu and hand out fliers about their shelter to try to get the animals adopted. It makes me really want a dog, but knowing my work schedule and the lack of space here, it would be hard to have a dog. I think I'll keep volunteering at the animal shelter though, the dogs are so cute!!
Some downs...my "monster" class...long story short, I have a class of 12 children and as a group they don't get along, there are fights, tears, tattling, attention hogs, and the parents are starting to complain about my class management. I want to tell these parents that honestly,
shopping in daegu
i found a store named after me! where is my cut?! their kids are the problem. I can manage them fine...it's when they hit each other and don't feel an ounce of remorse that gets me. Like I told the Head Instructor at work: "Am I supposed to teach them manners too? Isn't that the job of the parents?" *sigh*
Started the month of April with a huge down...laryngitis. I went to the doctor 3 times because each time he gave me a prescription for 3 days of medicine to see how I would react. Apparently I got it because of a couple of things: my job and the air quality in Korea. Doctor advised me to speak slower and drink more water to take care of my larynx. He also stuck a metal stick down my throat and it was a camera that took a photo of my larynx. That was my least favorite part about seeing the doctor...it was hard to swallow in the first place now there's a camera down my throat?? Grrrr...I also don't have my medical insurance card yet so I had to pay out of pocket for each visit, which wasn't too bad. It totaled around $40 for all 3 visits. I can get
my favorite class
busy busy, but so much fun. you can also get an idea of what my classroom looks like reimbursed when my medical card finally comes in.
An up AND a down...the shopping...most people know I'm fairly frugal, but as my parents say: "yung batang yan, bato pero malaki pa rin ang gastos" (basically translates to "she's cheap, but still spends a lot"). So true, Mom and Dad! My apartment is outfitted with a lot of things from the dollar store, but I've also found a lot of excuses to buy clothes and shoes, especially during the three trips I've made to Daegu. I need to reign in my spending though because I have goals....I want to go on three trips this year: Thailand in the summer, Japan in the fall and the Philippines in the winter. That will require a good amount of cash...let the budgeting begin!!
I also went to my first Korean wedding! A Korean friend that I met in Tottori got married a few weeks ago. It was really nice to be with Tottori folks even though I didn't know all of them. Made me think that Tottori
is really a second/third/I don't even know which number home. The wedding itself was very different from any other wedding I'd ever attended. I seem
Korean and Japanese friends
we met up the night before the wedding in Busan. you can tell who had too much too drink...Asian glow! to be going to a lot more of them lately...getting older...Near the end of the ceremony, my friend (the bride) Hyo-seon, was crying and I just didn't understand why. Hung-chan explained to me that it's a very sad feeling to leave your family and marry into a different one. Somehow it didn't click in my head that getting married meant leaving your current family and becoming a part of another one. In my head, it was creating a new family and union and should be joyous. I mean, yes, Hyo-seon smiled eventually, but I guess I can kind of see how it works...Hung-chan told me: "Just wait until it happens to you, and then you'll understand." Hmmm.
One up and down from the wedding weekend was that most of the time, I was speaking a weird hybrid of Japanese and Korean. Barely any English. I arrived in Busan on Friday night and met my friend Hung-chan and we basically hung out the whole weekend. We mostly communicate in Japanese. By late Saturday, after the wedding, my mind was so tired and forgetting many words in Japanese. I felt embarrassed. I ended up calling Cindy that night because I just
Typical wedding photos
they did a photo shoot and there was a slide show playing before the ceremony. beautiful!! wanted to talk to someone in rapid English...
Had a great time yesterday at Bukbu beach. I rented a bike for 2,000won (roughly $2) and went up and down the beach area. The sun was out and of course that always makes me feel better. Definitely a good stress relief after a long week at work. Also this past Friday night, I went out to dinner and coffee with some co-workers and that was really nice! We don't get a lot of time to just chat at work and it felt good to just chill and hang out with coffee and dessert. In hindsight, coffee might be a bad idea at night for me though..I was up till 4am that night >.<
Thanks for a great first month, Korea...can't wait to see what the rest of the year will bring.
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AteJ
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Cute pics Precious! Glad to see that you are enjoying most of your stay so far. Yup! I was wondering how you would handle kindergartners..They are very unruly indeed, especially little boys. Advanced Birthday Greetings to you & hope to see more stories develop..You had a great 1st month!