Kelsey in Korea

There's only one more until it's Christmas!

2010-12-23T22:32:00.000-05:00

Where has this month gone?? I mean, really!!! It's super crazy! Tomorrow is CHRISTMAS! I can't even believe it.

So yes, today is Christmas eve! I plan to do a lot of fun things today! but mainly I plan to getreally lost in Hongdae in hopes of finding the Coffee prince Cafe. this trip has been a year in the making and it's going down today. Then later I plan to possibly go to Dr. Fish. Depends on when I actually get out and about today. lol.

Then tonight i'm going to go see the Nutcracker!!! Yay!! Super excited about that!!! ^_^

Then tomorrow I am off to Jeju Island for the weekend with Gabi via Adventure Korea! YAY! Be prepared, pictures to come!

T&S

K.C.

Oh, So High!

2010-12-17T12:36:00.001-05:00

I know I already did the music of the month this month, however, this simply couldn't wait until January to be featured. I mean really, it's TOP and G Dragon!

I just found out about this song last night so I immediately pulled up the music video.

Now, TOP is my all time favorite Kboy. there is NO denying it. I just love him, always have and always will. and G Dragon, on the other hand, is the guy I love to hate. he's just so darn weird and yet totally smexy at the same time. I think it was the blonde hair that did it for me and it went from there.

Anyways, so I pulled up the music video to take a look. After the 3min and 9 second video I sat dumbfounded.

Never before have a loathed a music video quite so much. Don't get me wrong, I really really like the song! which is what makes this oh so weird. the song is great. It's provocative and fast past, just how I like it. The Music video on the other hand, makes me want to run and throw myself off the nearest balcony. Ugh. It's that bad.

I mean let's get real, it's G Dragon and TOP in a club with a bunch of ushered in FOREIGNERS who do nothing but stare at the camera and grope G Dragon and TOP. I would bet that half those girls probably didn't even know who they were.

My real problem though, is that I wasn't in the video! Darn It!! I mean, how did I miss the call for scanky blondes who want to rub up against TOP and G Dragon! NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! There went my one chance to fufill my fantasy... LOL.

Anywho... take a look and see for youself. I recommend you listen to the song by itself BEFORE watching the music video so you're not jaded. lol.

T&S

K.C.

P.S. Did you notice??? Huh Huh Huh????? TaeYang!!!!!!.... hehehehe. He's in the video in like 2 or 3 spots! If you don't believe me,. watch again ^^

Massive Drill in Seoul - Huh?

2010-12-15T05:49:00.001-05:00

Ok, I live here right??? how is it I totally missed this??? I didn't hear a siren, I didn't see anything? No one even told me about it at work. I mean, really?? Clearly this was not all that important to people. I would have liked to of known beforehand though. That would have been totally great, thanks a lot US Embassy. Why did I sign up for your notices again?

Note to self: Don't expect help from the US Embassy or the SK Government if all hell breaks loose because apparently we foreigners aren't important enough to inform T_T Yeah, it's not that big of a deal but what if it were something more important. then It would have been a big deal. I mean, this drill should have also been about getting information out to both citizens and foreigners. Just sayin....

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20101215/ap_on_re_as/as_koreas_clash
By HYUNG-JIN KIM and KIM KWANG-TAE, Associated Press Hyung-jin Kim And Kim Kwang-tae, Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea – South Koreans stopped their cars, donned gas masks and ducked into underground shelters Wednesday in the country's biggest-ever evacuation drill — a government attempt to prepare traditionally indifferent citizens for possible new attacks by North Korea.

Fears of war on the divided Korean peninsula have intensified since the rivals fired artillery shells at each other last month across their tense western sea border. Four South Koreans on a front-line island were killed; the North's casualties are unknown.

Many South Koreans have become used to regular North Korean threats to turn the South into a "sea of fire" and have reacted coolly to civil drills in the past. There has been widespread anger and shock, however, over the North's Nov. 23 artillery bombardment of South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island.

It was North Korea's first assault targeting a civilian area since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. Both Koreas accuse each other of staging the first provocation. The North claims that South Korea fired artillery toward its territorial waters, while South Korea says it launched shells southward, not toward North Korea, as part of routine exercises.

The nationwide 20-minute evacuation drills Wednesday were the largest since the country began the training in 1975.

In frigid temperatures, air raid sirens blared. Government officials and company employees stopped work and evacuated to underground shelters in basements, subway stations and parking lots. Housewives were asked to turn off the gas in their kitchens.

A dozen South Korean fighters flew over major cities to simulate North Korean airstrikes. Bullet trains ran at low speeds in a symbolic move to join with other stopped vehicles. In downtown Seoul, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) from the heavily militarized border and within easy range of North Korean artillery, the city's congested streets momentarily cleared as traffic halted.

There was no penalty for not going to shelters, but authorities encouraged participation, sending out word through the media and posting notices in residential areas. Officials expected up to 12 million of South Korea's 49 million people to take part in the drill.

So yup. Sounds like it was quite a thing. lol.

T&S

K.C.

Ballet in Korea!

2010-12-13T06:09:00.014-05:00

One of the many things I have really enjoyed while I’ve been here is going to the Ballet. I love the Ballet in Columbus and I was curious to see what the national ballet troupe would be like here in Korea: I wasn’t disappointed!

I first saw Cinderella in January and then Tchaikovsky in February. Both were really good! Tchaikovsky was the better of the two but I really enjoyed both!

Then my next visit to the Ballet was this past Saturday! Saturday Gabi and I headed over to the Seoul Art Center to see the KNB perform Swan Lake!

I was shocked to see that the music was going to be performed by a live orchestra! I was so excited!

The ballet itself was wonderful minus the ending. They performed the Yuri Grigorovich choreography which completely changes the original ending. I’m not going to lie, I always like a happy ending but hey, don’t change the story.

The best dance scene by far was with Odile, Rothbart and the Prince. That whole scene was really well done! Actually, the enter second half of the ballet was better than the first but this scene stood out in my mind.

I also have to comment on the staging as it was really beautiful! Most of the time in Columbus the stage is pretty bare or don’t change at all. But here the backgrounds for Swan Lake were both elaborate and changed throughout the storyline. I really liked the use of screens that could drop down for shadowing or towards the end, to display Odette in the background as the prince confesses his love to the wrong girl.

Overall it was a really great performance. The music was especially strong, thanks to the live orchestra.

My one main complaint, and this didn’t happen at the other performances, is that the troupe was constantly asking for applauses. I mean, really? they even did a whole ordeal at intermission where everyone came out and bowed…. It wasn’t even the end of the performance. And then, they came out AGAIN at the end of the ballet. Not to mention the bows during the actual storyline. I have to say, this was pretty tacky on the KNB’s part. I was highly displeased and I will be interested to see if they do it again for the Nutcracker. So yeah, that is really my only complaint about the night. Lol.

Next up is the Nutcracker! YAY! Gabi and I are going to go and see it on Christmas Eve! Can’t wait! If you’re interested, tickets to the Nutcracker are still available and run through Christmas Day!

T&S

K.C.

Oh! Christmas Tree!

2010-12-03T07:14:00.001-05:00

Well, I didn’t think I was going to do any decorating for Christmas seeing how I’m going to be in Jeju for Christmas and then I leave on the 30th. However, I just couldn’t do without a Christmas tree.

I had seen mini trees on sale at Home Plus the other day and decided to head back and get one. Unfortunately they only had pink left. LOL. So yes, I have my very own pink 3 foot Christmas tree!

In my search for a tree and decorations I can say with certainly that Home Plus had the best selection of trees from any place I went and Daiso has the best deals on ornaments. So, if you’re in the market you may want to check those places out.

Well, I pulled the tree out of the box and immediately knew I had to fix up this Charlie brown style Christmas tree. It just looked so bare and hopeless. Lol.

Here is a picture of the tree with just the lights and a few bulbs on it. (I was color scheming at the time. lol)

Well, I can happily say that my Christmas tree is a Charlie Brown Christmas tree no more! After about an hour to two hours of work, this is the final result!

Yup. I like it, even though it doesn’t feel like a real Christmas tree. Lol. Probably because of the color. The best part is the blinking light strand! It has like 5 different blinking sequences! Pretty cool! It blinks fast, blinks slows, alternates light bulbs, fades in, fades out, Etc. All put into different patterns!

Want to know how much it costs to get a mini christmas tree to look like this?

Tree: 5,000won

Lights: 15,000won

Bulbs: 7,000won
Star: 1,000won

Tinsel: 2,000won

--------------------

Total: 30,000won

Not too bad, if you ask me!

So yup. Getting ready for Christmas here! Just ordered tickets for Swan Lake and Nutcracker on Wednesday! Can’t wait!!!

T&S

K.C.

December Music of the Month

2010-12-01T19:00:00.001-05:00

December is here already and there is a ton of new music to choose from!

However, this month’s music choice wasn’t too hard to make. I have been addicted to this song since I first heard it!

So, December’s music of the month spot goes to….. Miss A’s Breathe!!!

Now, Miss A started out with a pretty different concept than most girl groups. They have that little bit of edge that I like in a group. Of course no one is as edgy as 2ne1, but they can all try. Lol.

While their new look is a bit more girly than before, their bold use of color and their wicked dance moves keep them being awesome!

The song is a bit more girly too, talking about love (of course), but they manage to pull it off and rock it out!

So here we go, Miss A’s Breathe!!!

Hope you enjoyed!!! ^^

T&S

K.C.

Thanksgiving! 2010!

2010-11-29T18:26:00.001-05:00

Wow! Where has November gone???

This past weekend Gabi and I celebrated Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is not a holiday here, as they have Chuseok. So we didn’t have the time off like all you in America. Lol. So I watched the parade live stream on Thursday (my Thursday night). This was such a lifesaver. I really love the parade and getting to see it was great!

Then on Saturday Gabi and I headed to Home Plus, picked up some supplies and headed back to my apartment. Then I cooked us up a meal with trimmings and all!

Fried Chicken

Mash Potatoes

Stuffing

Salad

Warm Rolls and Butter

Pomegranate

Wine

And for dessert , Soufflé cheese cake!

We hung out, ate, watched movies and just chilled!

Overall it was a great day!!!

T&S

K.C.

Kid's Cafe

2010-11-27T05:19:00.056-05:00

Our latest fieldtrip at ECC was to Kid’s café! We have actually gone before and the kids loved it. However, the one we went to before was about half the size of the one we went to today! It was crazy amazing!

Kid’s café is a mom’s ultimate paradise. One half of the café is a really chic café with chairs, private rooms, a salad bar, etc. you can order coffee and food and just chill out. The other half of the café is a gigantic playroom for kids!

Now, you’re probably wondering, would a mom really let her kids run off and play by themselves? Well, of course! Why, wouldn’t they considering that the whole playroom is wired with CCTV cameras and any wherever you sit in the café area you can see a live feed of all the cameras on TVs. Pretty awesome right?

Now, the concept of these cafes is kind of like Chucky Cheese on crack. This particular café was especially awesome because it had both a train .....

.....and paddle boats!

There was also:

A Merry-Go-Round!

Air Hockey

DDR

Costume Room

Silly Mirrors

Video Games

A sandbox

Ball Pit

Trampoline

Music Room

Supermarket

And even a puppet show!

Overall the kids had a blast and it was a really fun morning^^

T&S

K.C.

Seoul Lantern Festivel

2010-11-21T07:13:00.021-05:00

Yesterday Gabi and I headed over to the cheonggyecheon for the latern festival! Every year they create this huge pieces of artwork out of lantern material, put them in the middle of the river and light them up! The crowd to walk along the river was HUGE we literally had to wait like 20 minutes before we could even get down the steps to the river.

Now unfortunately my camera died half way through the displays… sad T.T but I still got some cool pics! Take a look!

After the river we headed over to Tomatillo for some Mexican food and Bandi and Luni’s for some book shopping! Yay!

T&S
K.C.

Pepero Day!

2010-11-11T18:48:00.026-05:00

Happy Pepero Day!

Talk about a “hallmark holiday” if I ever saw one, Pepero day is the day you g out and by Pepero for your loved ones and for your friends. As a teacher I got a LOT of pepero. Totally yummy!

Pepero is the Korean version of pocky which are little biscuit sticks dipped in chocolate...

You can also get the kind rolled in Almonds or Peanuts...

As well as the “nude pepero” which is biscuit on the outside with chocolate in the inside...

Then there are the GIANT pepero sticks...

Now Pepero day is on November 11th every year and the explanation behind this is that the date [11 11] looks like a box of pepero. Cute right?

Anyways, overall it was a fun, sugar filled day! Check out the booty this pirate collected!

T&S

K.C.

22!

2010-11-10T18:50:00.001-05:00

So Sunday I celebrated my birthday! YAY! Of course, I had to go to none other than Hyehwa!!!

Gabi and I met up and went for a delicious dinner of Shabu Shabu.

The place in hyehwa (next to the mcdonalds) is especially good because they have delicious kimchi mandu. YUM!

Then we headed off to our favorite bar, The Flair Bar. My bartender was working and Gabi had dropped off a cake. Usually during their cocktail fire show they will bring out the cake and give you one of the drinks they make during the show.

However, my birthday was a little different! I got my own mini-show!!!

They came out with the cake, candles lit and all and played the birthday song. Off course they were on the microphone so the whole bar knew it was my birthday. Lol.

Then they brought out the traditional seaweed soup (which I was fed… LOL)

The best part, however, was my own little mini fire show where Smurf made me a drink and lit it on fire right by the table!

Then it was bottoms up. ONE SHOT! (Yes, it still is on fire while you drink it with a straw. Lol)

Gabi and I hung out for quite a while, ate cake, drank and had a great time!

Overall it was a great birthday in Seoul! YAY.

So yeah, now I’m 22 years old ^^

T&S

K.C.

Happy Birthday to me!!!

2010-11-07T02:48:00.001-05:00

Yes, today is my birthday!!!

22 years ago the world was introduced to the coolest, smartest, ...... just kidding.

Headed to Hyehwa to celebrate my B day. I'll have lots of blogs up and coming. I've been behind because a) Open day at work and b) I've been injured, which makes me cranky, slow and ot really up for doing anything. So blogs about all that coming soon!!!

T&S

K.C.

November Music of the Month

2010-11-01T06:43:00.002-04:00

November Music of the Month!
This month’s spot goes to none other than Nine Muses!
I first heard them at the G20 Concert and I was really impressed. Then all of a sudden their song was a hit! I like them for a couple of reasons. First, I like larger girl groups. The dances always look more impressive and they have a wider range. Secondly, and more importantly, their leader isn’t a long haired prissy girl. She’s still cute and girly but with a bit of an edgy short haired look at the same time. I get tired off all the girl groups going for this super cute long haired school girl look.
So without further ado, here it is,
Ladies by Nine Muses!!!

This is the song without video

This is a Live Performance

Hope you enjoyed!!

T&S

K.C.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T06:12:00.003-04:00

So Halloween at ECC has come and gone but we had a lot of fun! My school made a HUGE production of it and it was a whole day thing.

We started out the day with watching a movie, creating candy baskets and having a costume fashion show. Unfortunately I missed all of this because I was at the doctor getting a splint put on my foot for a sprained foot ligament. OUCH. But that’s a story for another day.

So when I finally got there, I quickly changed into my costume and then it was time for the games! We had limbo, donuts on a string and our own version of bobbing for apples, which was trying to find the chocolate in the condensed milk powder…yummm…..

The kids seemed to love it!

Then after lunch, it was time to go trick or treating! We broke down the classes into two groups and went to three students houses in each group. My group was my homeroom and then one of the year old classes!

First we headed to Christine’s house!

Her mom was so nice and their house was amazing! They even had an oven and a dishwasher… Super jealous! Her mom put our such a wonderful spread for the kids and then she gave each kid a huge bag of candy!

Next we headed off to Caesar’s house!

His mom put out an amazing spread as well! Can you see it?? Yes, yes those ARE real true to life cupcakes on the table! They were amazing! The first and only real cake I’ve had here in Korea! A-ma-zing. That’s all I can say. She too gave out HUGE handfuls of candy to the kids! By this time they were starting to feel like they were going to explode!

Lastly, we headed over to James’s house! His mom had big boxes of cookies out for the kids and coffee for us teachers. A much needed caffeine refill considering the excitement for the day.

Then, we walked back to the school. Yes, that’s right….I said walk. I walked back to school in my lovely new splint. It really wasn’t that far, but in my splint it felt like three miles. UGH. Tiring.

After the kindy kids headed home, we had the afternoon kids. The poor things had to take a test their first class but luckily for them we had a Halloween party during the second class. So we passed out candy and watched Charlie Brown and Scooby Doo.

Overall it was a pretty good Halloween, minus the injury. The kids all loved it and it made me excited because they were excited! Man, I miss the glamour of things when you’re a child. Everything just seems so much more exciting and new. Anyways… lol.

Happy Halloween Everyone!!!

T&S

K.C.

The Halloween Shop in Sadang

2010-10-28T05:48:00.002-04:00

As we all know, this past weekend was Halloween. Well, let me tell you…. Getting a costume in Korea is
not the easiest thing in the world if you’re a perfectionist such as myself. I don’t like to throw on a cape and say look… I’m superman…no. If I’m going to wear a costume, I’m going to do it right!

So with that being said, I tracked down the best costume shop here in Seoul. Unfortunately it was pretty far away from where I live but I decided to go anyways. Well, I had SUCH a hard time finding the place, I have decided to devote this entry to giving GOOD directions to get there, opposed to the crap directions I found posted on the internet somewhere else. So, here it goes!

The costume shop is called Halloween and it is located in Sadang!

First you must go out Exit 14 at Sadang station and begin to walk straight. it will look like this:

You will pass a small grassy area on your left and have to cross a little crosswalk almost immediately after you get out of exit 14 but keep walking straight!

Then you will pass this gate on your left BUT keep walking straight!

Finally you will come to what is called a “3-way” but really it looks like this:

You have to turn the corner a bit to get to where you cross.

Ok, so cross the street at the three-way. There is no crosswalk sign so you may have to wait in the middle island until you can get completely across and then you’ll be at a closed hospital building that looks like this:

Take a left immediately after crossing the street!

When you see a pharmacy that looks like this you will need to turn right:

Go down the alley way:

Keep walking down the alley way until you see this orange and black sign on your right. It’s small so look carefully!

The costume store is in the basement and it closes at 7pm on weekdays!

I hope this helps anyone who needs to find a costume! It was SO difficult to find that I spent almost 50 minutes trying to find the place and ended up grouping up with two other girls who were also trying to find it! As you can tell, we finally made it but it wasn’t easy!

T&S

K.C.

Let’s Go! G20 Concert – The Asia Song Festival

2010-10-24T08:06:00.004-04:00

So yesterday Gabi and I headed down to Olympic Stadium for another concert, the G20 Asia Song Festival Concert! ( I know, what a mouth full huh?) This concert was being put on by the G20 summit this year and guess what?? It was completely FREE!! That’s right… I said FREE. So keep that in mind for the rest of the entry! Lol.

So the day started out with LOTS of lines.

Because the concert was free, you had to go to the Asia song festival website beforehand and get an exchange coupon for a free ticket. So we got there really early in the morning so that we could wait in line to make sure we got one of the real tickets.

Now, who ever organized this concert should really be fired. Not only were there NO ropes, to keep lines in place, there were only 4 “guards” to keep people in control and there was NO since of timeliness. The website and coupon both said that tickets would be given out starting at noon. However, they did not start giving out tickets until 1pm and people were constantly jumping into lines, letting their 20 friends get in line with them, etc. Thus the need for ropes and guards. Lol.

Then, once they started to give out tickets, all hell broke loose. There was only one line for foreigners (which was the majority of the first half of the line) so we had to start a new line and then there was no rhyme or reason so people just started pushing forward and throwing themselves up towards the ticket booth to get their ticket! Ugh. But we made it up there and got our tickets. Gabi and I are pretty good at pushing our way through a crowd.

Now, on the website they advertised a free CD, glow stick and fleece blanket with a dollar donation to UNICEF. However, rather than having everything set up and ready to go so that after people got their tickets they could go and get their free stuff, they made us wait in yet another line. They hadn’t even brought the stuff in! we had to wait for over an hour and a half before they started handing out the free items and then when that line started to move, it was déjà vu all over again. People jumped the line, people pushed and there was no crowd control. But hey, we got it! Lol.

So after almost 5 hours of waiting in lines, Gabi and I were STARVING! We headed over to the baseball stadium and got some chicken strips at burger king. I swear, they may be the best chicken strips I have ever tasted from the two times I have gotten them. Or, it may just be that the two times I’ve eaten there I had been starving to death beforehand.

Anyways, after eating and chilling out for a while, we headed back to the stadium and had to wait in another line to get into our section. Imagine a thousand people trying to squeeze through a double door entry and two Korean guys with megaphones trying to control the crowd… yeah…. Not the smartest or safest thing ever! In fact, that is how a lot of people get killed at concerts. Come on now people, crowd control is key in safety but apparently the G20 concert commity disagrees.

Once we got into the stadium it turned out they gave too many tickets for our section and there weren’t any seats left. So we got to move to another section and had even better seats than we would have had if we were in the original section. YAY!

Now I know it seems like I have been doing a lot of complaining about this but seeing how it was all free, I can’t really complain too much. My main concern through the whole thing was safety and well, the fact that someone just had their head way up their ass when they did the planning. But when we got into the stadium and finally got our seats, none of that really seemed to matter anymore.

We had about three hours to kill between when we got into the stadium and when the concert started but we found ways to amuse ourselves.

Finally, at 6pm the concert started!

The concert started with a bunch of groups that were actually a surprise because they hadn’t been listed on the program or the website. YAY!

First was the group Nine Muses singing “Ladies”. Although they only sang one song, they were very good and I think they got the crowds in good spirits!

After Nine Muses came Rainbow! They too were very good and they sang their newest song "Mach".

Next up was E. via. She is a Korean rapper and is known as the “outsider” I guess? But she’s still very perky and bubbly and I really liked her music. She did two songs but the better of the two was “Pick You Up”

Then came Teen Top singing “Clap”. I actually like their song, but I have issues with Teen Top seeing how their all like 15 years old… lol. That’s like saying I really enjoy Justin Beiber’s music. It just makes me sound like a creeper.

After Teen Top there was an introduction to the concert.

Then where was a presentation of all the 20 nation’s flags. I felt that this was really cool and interesting. I know it was the G20 concert but I think this presentation made the whole thing seem more special in a way. Then it was time for the party to get started!

First up was 4minute (Korea) performing “I My Me My” “Hot Issue” and “Huh.” They were very good and somewhat of a surprise. I didn’t really like 4minute when they first debuted. Partially because they looked like 2ne1 wanna be’s and secondly because “Hot Issue” wasn’t the best song ever. However, since their debut they have changed their look and their newer songs, such as “I My Me My” and “Huh” are both awesome! I’m a born again 4minute fan I guess.

After 4minute was Bie the star. Now Bie is from Thailand and he is considered the Rain of Thailand… I don’t know if they call him that because of his popularity level in his own country but I can definitely say it is not because their skill levels are similar. Now don’t get me wrong, Bie did an excellent job! He was fun and lively but he just wasn’t on the same playing field as Rain. Still, he sang two songs, one being up beat and one being a ballad.

After Bie came 2AM (Korea). I know Gabi was super excited to hear them! I’m not usually a fan because they only sing ballads but still, they did sing the two ballads that I liked, “Even if I die” and “I did wrong”, so I was happy! And they sounded really good which is always a good thing!

After 2AM was Jane Zhang from China. Man was she good! She has a great set of vocal cords! She sang a song called “I believe” in Chinese but she also sang a song in English. The only thing about her is, I could never see her alone in concert or buy a CD because she sings ballads. Just not my style. But hey, I was totally impressed with her abilities!

Then came Joe Cheng!!!! I was SO excited to get to see him in person! Joe is from Taiwan and I have seen him in many Taiwanese dramas throughout the years! He was actually really good! Of course the song names were in Chinese so I have no clue what they were called but he was very good and it was so cool to get to see him in person! It was weird to see the superstar as compared to the aloof student in “It started with a Kiss” back in 2005. Amazing.

Then came AKB48. They are from Japan and they have that name because there are in fact 48 members in their group but they break the group down at times into groups “A” “K” and you guessed it, “B”. They were very fun to watch! It was like watching a bunch of anime characters in school uniforms dancing and singing an anime theme song. However, it was super super easy to see that they were lip syncing. Sad.

Next up was Kara (Korea)!! Kara sang their songs “Lupin” and “Mister”! I love love love their song “Lupin” so I was super excited to get to see it live! Overall they were very good! The only thing I can say is that I wish they had worn pants for the “Mister” dance because with skirts on it just made their butts look big.. I dunno, it just didn’t work right. However, overall very good!

Up next was Michael Wong from Malaysia. He was another ballad singer and I’m gong to be honest with you, I had to pee so badly by this point in the concert that I ran to restroom while he was on. So no pictures from Michael but I did hear him and his voice was very good, perfect for singing ballads.

After Michael was B2ST!!! Pronounced Beast, they are from Korea as well and were amazing! They opened with “Shock” and finished with Breathe. I have loved B2EST since they debuted! Their music is always pretty bad ass and their dancing is awesome! YAY!

After B2ST came… wait for it….RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that’s right, I got to see RAIN!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have wanted to see Rain FOREVER! After all, he IS the superstar of Asia!

I have to say, I was a bit surprised. He was pretty soft spoken and almost shy in front of the crowd. BUT, that didn’t damper his performance! His microphone didn’t work for his first song, such a bummer, but it was still awesome! Oh Rain, the voice, the dancing, the hip thrusts!! YAY! Lol. So yes, I got to see Rain perform “Rainism” “Love Song” and “Hip Song”!!! I may never be the same person again!!!! Oh Rain, how I love you!

After Rain came BoA!

I have to say I was really disappointed with the crowd! After Rain they all started getting up and leaving!! WTH!!!! I mean really??? You’re going to walk out on probably the best performer here??? OMG!

So yes, we watched BoA perform between the lines of people leaving… But hey! She ROCKED! Their Loss!!! She started with “Copy and Paste” her newest single which she didn’t perform at the SM town concert, so I was really really excited to get to see it! Then she performed “Hurricane Venus” awesome as usual and last was what I believe was a remix of some of her older songs, but I can’t be sure. I can say it was something I hadn’t heard before!

Overall, the concert was amazing! It was such a treat to get to see not only several top performers from Korea but also from other Asian nations as well! I was really impressed with the special effects throughout the concert! Lots of fireworks, flames, smoke. You name it! Then, after the concert, there was even a fireworks show!

I can honestly say that I’ll never be able to go to a concert in America again. They just can’t compare with the dancing, singing, and even the special effects put on by Asian concert! Not to mention I LOVE the fan etiquette here compared to that in America. SO yes, last night was a total success! I mean, who could ask for more?? B2ST, Kara, 2AM, 4minute, Joe Cheng, BoA and Rain???????? Yes please! :-)

T&S
K.C.

Queen for a Day

2010-10-21T01:36:00.000-04:00

"Teacher, you should be a queen for halloween. If you are a queen you will be more pretty."

This is why I love kids :-)

Mexican Food in Seoul

2010-10-16T09:28:00.036-04:00

One kind of food that I have missed terribly since I left America is Mexican food. We ate some version of Mexican food pretty regularly at home and when I got to Seoul there was no Mexican food in site. This caused me to go in search of Mexican food in Seoul and here is what I have found!

There are four main categories of Mexican food I have found here and I’m going to tell you where to find each and every one of them!

The first category is expensive Mexican: On the Border
The only nice "sit down" Mexican restaurant here in Seoul is On the Border. Yes, I know that is an American chain restaurant and in America we would totally pass it up for something way more authentic but hey, you get what you can here in Seoul.

There are two On the Border locations that I know of here in Seoul: Coex Mall and Sinchon. I have been to both and both are good. I find you get more generous portions at the one in Sinchon and the service is a bit better. The best thing about On the Border is the all you can eat salsa and chips. This is the only restaurant here in Seoul that has that. The other nice thing about On the Border is that the menu is the most extensive you’ll find here in Seoul, at least in my limited experience.

Next up is a more medium price option: Dos Tacos

Dos Tacos offers nachos, soft tacos and hard tacos. However, they are most known for their wide range of burritos. You can get everything from a bean and cheese burrito to a fajita burrito. I usually get the hard or soft tacos and a set of three will put you back 10,500 won before getting a drink. Dos Tacos is located in Gangnam and Hongdae. It’s not really my favorite but it’s a quick fix for a craving.

Then there is the cheap category of Mexican food: Taco Bell
Just this past summer the very first Taco Bell opened up here in Korea. Located in itaewon across from the Hamilton hotel, Taco Bell is my recommendation for cheap Mexican here in Seoul. Hard Tacos are 1,500won a piece and there are several different combo meal options. I’m not going to lie, this really hits the spot but I was a fan of Taco Bell back in the states as well. Yummmm.

Lastly is the do-it-yourself category!

I have done this as well. Recently soft taco wraps have become available in grocery stores, such as Lotte Mart and Home Plus. As well as a “golden medley” shredded cheese, which is a combo or white and yellow cheese, perfect for tacos! I recently made my own for the first time here in Korea and it turned out quite well. I bought ground beef and made my own taco seasoning. Then I used left over taco bell sauce packets for the sauce! They were really good! I also made my own salsa :-)

I have heard of some other Mexican food places but have yet to try them out. If I get a chance and they are worth writing about, you’ll probably be seeing a part two to this blog. However, for now, this is what’s what in the Mexican food market here in Seoul. I hope it helps anyone who craves Mexican food as much as I do!

T&S
K.C.

Dream Forest aka North Seoul Forest

2010-10-14T08:35:00.066-04:00

So yesterday my school took a field trip to Dream Forest in North Seoul. I’ve driven by a billion times to and from my way into central Seoul but I’ve never gotten a chance to go! Needless to say, I was pretty excited to get to go and see what it was all about!

So we headed out in the morning and got there, took a walk around the grounds (also known as the hour we take pictures to market the school….) and then we headed over to this open space to do a sort of field day with the school’s gym teacher. Sanggye ECC also came on the field trip so of course it was Junggye team and Sanggye team all day. Lol.

The Sanggye ECC students and teachers had put this huge orange star on their backs before they got here, probably to tell the students apart, but it totally looked like a scene right out of Dr. Suess’s Snitches… You know, “stars upon thars” Yeah, it totally was.

If you have no clue what I’m talking about… check it out below! Lol.

Anyways, back to my story.

We had a sort of field day with racing, obstacles and lots of different games. The kids had a blast!

Then it was time for lunch. Ever wonder what a Korean mom packs for her kid? Check it out!

After lunch we headed up this huge hill to get to the observatory tower.

We had to go up this long hill, then steps inside the building

then a slanted elevator then a normal elevator…

but hey, we made it!!

I was pretty excited because the observatory was used in a really famous Korean drama called IRIS so it was decorated in an IRIS theme. YAY! I love me some T.O.P.

Afterwards it was time to head home.

I really wish we had gotten to see more of the park because there are a lot of really nice trails and they have a deer sanctuary and a moonlight waterfall and a lot of other nice areas but I think it would have been too difficult with the kids so I will DEFINENTLY be going back to the dream forest in the near future before the leaves drop! YAY!

It’s really nice, living in a HUGE city, to have so much nature surrounding me. That is actually one of the things I like the most about Seoul: The fact that they have incorporated so much nature into the city that you can always find a nice retreat. Places like the dream forest allow me to escape the concrete city and helps me to relax. And seeing how it’s not too far from where I live, I will be going back very very soon!

T&S

K.C.

October Music of the Month

2010-10-12T09:20:00.028-04:00

Ok, so something I used to do, before even getting to Korea was music of the month. Well, when I got here it got put on hold (ok, ok I got busy and lazy, sue me) but now Music of the month is back!

I mean, how could I NOT bring it back with all the amazing music coming out right now??

Each month I will showcase both a female singer/group and a male singer/group that have songs I’m totally digging at the moment.

And for this month I will show case two in each category because I’m so behind and such a failure! Lol.

First up is one of my all-time favorites! BoA!

BoA has a whole new CD out and I think her hit “Hurricane Venus” is probably my favorite song she had ever done. However, the song I am featuring this month is her newest song, “Copy and Paste”! Not only is the song good, but the dance moves are pretty wicked. Check her out! :

Next up is 2ne1!

I mean, how could I not… 2ne1 is probably the most kick-ass girl’s group out there. There is no beating them. Although 2ne1 had 3 new amazing song’s come out, I am picking “Can’t Nobody” for my monthly pick because well, it’s just the most bad-ass of the three. Not to mention I like the music video the best. Anyways, 2ne1’s new song “Can’t Nobody” is a must hear! Check it out! :

Now, on the other side of the gender scale we have two fabulous new songs, Taeyang’s “I’ll Be There” and TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess”

Now Taeyang’s “I’ll be there” get’s special props from me because I love love love the music video! The dark, almost vampire feel is just awesome and I love the ending! What is also nice about Taeyang is that he is making his songs with English version. Unfortunately his English version change the lyrics and they aren’t as good…but it’s still much appreciated! Anyways, check out “I’ll Be There” below!

Lastly is TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess”. Now the first time I heard this song I had no idea who TRAX was. In fact, it was in concert at the SM town love concert here in Seoul that I first saw them. But they blew me away and I was an instant fan! So began the journey to figure out who they were exactly and what they were known for. Well, their very first mini album just came out and “Oh My Goddess” is the main track. What really blows me away about them is their guitarist. He rocked in concert and does an excellent job in the MV. So without further ado, I give you TRAX’s “Oh! My Goddess.”

Well, I hope you enjoyed all the music!

T&S

K.C.

Seoul International Fireworks Festival

2010-10-11T11:16:00.067-04:00

On Saturday Gabi ad I decided that we would head out to Seoul International fireworks festival. Now, I should say that I am not a huge fireworks fan. I don’t really like the pop sound they make and I guess I’m just not as easily impressed as other people are by them. I always expect so much from the idea of brilliant lights in the sky and I am usually disappointed. However, I felt that I should at least see one fireworks display while I am here in Korea if for no other reason than comparison.

So Gabi and I headed out to Yeouido Han River Citizen Park. We got there by taxi and got dropped off at the perfect spot. We walked down a little path and were right there! There were tons of people there playing in the water, riding bikes, sitting and eating, flying kites… the whole vibe was just amazing. Not to mention music was playing and there were little performances going on throughout the park.

We walked a little ways towards the 63 building (not super close) and found what we thought would be a good spot for the show.

Well, turns out the show was featured directly in front of the 63 building and bridge by it. While we could see the big fireworks the little ones featured by the bridge were barely visible. This was a pretty big disappointment to me because I’d read about it and was hoping to see the whole production.

It also meant that we had to turn sideways, rather than facing the water, to see the show, making it not super comfortable.

However, the fireworks were very good. They had some spectacular ones that were colored fireworks and cascading fireworks combined. Those were by far my favorites.

One thing I did find interesting about the fireworks show was that it wasn’t one long show but a bunch of almost mini shows. It was like they did the firework displays in sets or bunches, so to speak.

We stuck around for three sets but then we decided we were all fireworked out (and cold to boot) so we headed out before the majority of the crowd.

Overall it was a pretty good show. I can’t say I was blown away but then I never really am from firework shows so that’s not saying much. I do wish I had known where the fireworks were going to be positioned so we could have had a better view but hey, you live and learn right? I did absolutely love the park and plan to go back very very soon! I wished I lived closer because that would probably be a daily visit for me if I did! If you live near Han River Citizen Park and have never been or are just looking for a nice place to relax by the water, you should totally check it out!

T&S

K.C.

Korean Etiquette School

2010-10-10T11:52:00.108-04:00

After chuseok I still got to experience some very traditional Korean customs.

For Chuseok, my school took the kids to a traditional etiquette school. It was held in an actual historic school near one of the palaces. It was a Confucius school which holds a ginkgo tree that is almost six hundred years old.

For etiquette school, all of the kids had to wear their traditional Korean clothing. Well, it turned out that so did the teachers. Eek! So I got to wear my first hanbok. Unfortunately, it was not quite big enough and I looked more like a red tomato than a regal Korean.

Oh well. It was actually quite fun being able to be in a historic building while dressed in traditional clothing. I could almost feel myself transported back into time. At least I could have if it hadn’t been for the 100 yelling hyper kids around!

The first thing we learned when we got there was how to bow. First the boys learned their bows and then it was the girl’s turns. We learned two different bows, one used only for special circumstances and one used more on a regular basis. I also learned that you only ever bow twice when you are bowing to the dead. Good to know! Lol.

After our bowing lesson, we got to learn two traditional Korean games. The first reminding me of ring toss, while the second reminded me of hacky-sack. Both were equally challenging and fun!

We then had a big tug-a-war contest between our ECC and Sanggye ECC. Yes that’s right Sanggye ECC, we dominated you! (Sure sure, we had like twenty more kids than you, but who’s counting! Just kidding…sort of….)

After the games we took a short lunch break. Let me tell you, sitting on the ground in a full out hanbok was not very easy, but I make it work.

After lunch we got one more lesson. We went to a different section of the academy and got to sit at traditional dinner “tables”. We then learned both how to make a traditional sweet and how to eat properly while in company.

When eating with company, you should hold one hand in front of your mouth while you put food into your mouth and chew it. This is so that no one sees you chew and is considered a polite courtesy.

After our last lesson of the day it was time to head back. All of the kids were wiped out, as were the teachers!

Overall etiquette school was a really interesting experience and glimpse into Korean culture. I’m really glad that I now know a bit more about Korea’s history and culture!

T&S
K.C.

Mass Wedding held in Asan, South Korea

2010-10-10T07:11:00.000-04:00

Mass Wedding Article

I don't know how I didn't hear about this!! Afterall, it was taking place in the country I live in! I feel like this happens a lot. A really cool thing will happen and I won't know about it until after the fact :-( must be one of the many negatives of the language barrier. Oh well, if you have time. check out the article and the pictures. I didn't want to post them here because I don't have permission. lol. So check it out at the link above!

T&S

K.C.

Chuseok in Korea

2010-10-08T11:34:00.002-04:00

Chuseok is something I had been looking forward to since I arrived in Korea. Not only is it the most traditional holiday in Korea it is the biggest as well.

Chuseok is deemed the “thanksgiving’ of Korea because it is a time where people gather with family, share food and celebrate harvest. However, there is also a lot deeper meaning in Chuseok for Koreans. This is the time they bow to picture of family members past, give offerings to the graves and celebrate the past of Korea.

For me it was just as meaningful but in a totally different way. I was going to get to spend Chuseok with my family as well!

My grandma was already here visiting and my mom flew into Korea the Sunday before Chuseok and had to leave the very next Sunday.

I had heard about Seoul turning into a ghost town during Chuseok because so many people left the city to go home to family. Because of this, I was really worried that nothing would be open and we wouldn’t get to do very much.

Boy was I wrong!

Not only were all of the main tourist attractions open during the holiday, most of them had special events going on!

So yes, I spent my Chuseok with family going to Gyeongbuk palace (for free because of the holiday) the folk museum, the palace museum, and the cheonggacheon. All places that I felt really give a great feel for the history of Korea and helped both me and my family understand a bit more about Korea.

I really think that times are changing here in Seoul. People talk about how dead Seoul is for Chuseok and everything is closed. However, everything was open, tons of restaurants were open as well and they were even packed with people.

In fact, I’m pretty sure I saw more people in places like Gwanghamun square, the palace and the museums than I have ever seen before. There was even a huge concert going on!

Even just the little things about Chuseok were really nice. For example getting to see all of the families out and about for the holiday. Some were even clad in traditional hanboks while walking the streets of Seoul.

While we traveled around seoul we were also enjoying lots of different traditional food, special for the holiday. My favorites were yakgwa and songpyeon.

Yakgwa is a dessert made of honey, sesame oil and wheat flower. To me it tasted just like a funnel cake without the powder sugar. Very yummy! But I only ever want one of these at a time. One is always enough! Still, it's a must try!

Songpyeon was also delicious. It is a crescent moon shaped rice cake that is filled with either sesame seeds, red bean paste or other traditional fillings and then steam cooked with pine needles. The pine needles give it a unique flavor and they are very yummy. I love the sesame filled ones the best, but that’s not unusual. I pretty much love anything sesame.

I also got to have some home cooked food from my mom and grandma, (skillet fried chicken, mashed potatoes, chicken and noodles YUM) which felt like thanksgiving to me! YAY!

Really, despite the things we did or the things we ate, what really made Chuseok so wonderful was being able to spend it with family. It was truly special to me to be able to tell people that my family was coming into town and that I was going to spend the holiday with them. I think because of this, I really came to understand the true meaning of the holiday and it is just that: Family.

Overall, Chuseok was a very special holiday for me in many many ways. I don’t think that I will ever forget my one Chuseok spent here in Seoul and I KNOW I will be finding a recipe for yakgwa when I get back! hehehe ;-)

T&S
K.C.

Cat Fostering in Korea- Nabiya Cat Shelter

2010-10-06T06:52:00.005-04:00

Now I’ve always been an animal lover my whole life. I’ve always had pets at home and I just have a weak spot in my heart for animals, so coming to Korea and leaving my kitty at home was pretty hard. I missed having that presence in my life and having that constant loving companion.

Before even coming to Korea I had looked into volunteering at an animal shelter or fostering while I was here. I had read that there was both a huge stray and rescue population of dogs and cats. The laws here in Korea can be a bit behind the time and it wasn’t long ago that if a neighbor complained about your dog barking too much, you’d have to legally get rid of it. Not to mention people get animals and decide they are too big for the apartment.

Needless to say, there are a lot of animals in need of homes here and cats are far less popular than dogs, making it even harder to find homes for them.

So in February I decided I was ready to bring a new buddy into my life. Gabi and I both decided we would become foster moms and headed out to Nabiya Cat Shelter, a wonderful nonprofit organization that’s sole purpose is helping cats and finding homes for them.

We got there and were welcomed in by one of the volunteers. She let us look around to pick out a cat to foster. Now I had been looking at several cats but one stood out to me. Not only was he smart (I watched him use his teeth to grip the rim and remove a metal lid off a food canister) but he was also twice the size of all the other cats. The girl told me that his owner had gotten cancer and the family had to get rid of him. She also told me that it was difficult find a place for him because most people thought he was too big for his apartment (Which doesn’t surprise me, he could probably eat half the “dogs” I see here in Korea).

I was still looking around a bit when I bent over to pet the oversized ball of sunshine. It was then that he got up on his hind legs, wrapped his arms around my neck and nuzzled his face under my chin.

That did it right there. I didn’t need to pick a cat because a cat had been the one to pick me!

Gabi too found a new special someone for her apartment: A black and white boy who was missing an eye due to a serious infection as a kitten and therefore, had been at the shelter for quite some time because people wouldn’t adopt him.

After finding a carrier big enough for my new buddy (not an easy feat) I strapped him onto my shoulder and we headed off with our cats in tow.

My cat, now named Sunny, was the perfect passenger. He laid down in his carrier, chilled out and never made a sound. Gabi, however, was not so lucky. Uyu, her cat’s name, cried and cried the entire trip. Poor thing. However, we both made it home and we were now foster moms!!

It wasn’t the easiest start with Sunny. He hid behind my refrigerator for the first three days and wouldn’t come out. Then when he finally did come out he would wake me up at 3am meowing and crying at the top of his lungs.

But after we got used to each other (and a couple of late night squirts from a water gun) we quickly became best buds.

Sunny is the most affectionate, loving cat I have ever met and he has been the perfect companion for me throughout my time here in Korea. I really don’t know if I would have made it through the homesickness if it hadn’t been for him and I love coming home each day to a big happy fur ball. What can I say, animal lover through and through.

I am now happy to say that I am in the process of going from a foster mom to an adoptive mom. With my looming return date back to America, the thought of leaving Sunny behind was just too much to bear.

So yup, now he is my Korean baby and I love him to pieces! I really think it was one of the best decisions I made here in Korea and after seeing how many cats that were in just that one cat shelter, I’m glad that I could help, even if it was just one cat.

If you too are interested in becoming a foster parent, adopter or a volunteer at a cat shelter please look into Nabiya Cat Shelter

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=18503143577&ref=ts

Contact Info

Email:

allie.cat.shelter@gmail.com

Website:

http://www.nabiya.org/
Office:

Cellphone # (Allie)010-2228-1008 / (Ju) 010 2412 3141

Location:

Seobinggo(near Noksapyeong or Itaewon)

Seoul, South Korea

T&S

K.C.

Dr. Fish

2010-10-04T08:03:00.019-04:00

Well, I went to Dr. Fish with my Grandma and Mom a couple of weeks ago and decided it was time to do a blog about it!
Dr. Fish is one of my favorite chill past times in Korea. Now, it is true that Dr. Fish is not native to Korea or only popular in Korea. In fact, Dr. Fish is now even available in America. However, I had never done Dr. Fish before coming to Korea so it is a special Korean experience to me :-)

When you decide to do Dr. Fish you must first find a Dr. Fish café. Now, there used to be a TON of these cafes in Korea, but it’s a dying fad now and therefore they are harder to find. I go to the one in Gangnam. I can’t tell you it’s name but I can tell you that it is located out of Gangnam station, ex 6 and is just past the BSX. If you pass the Teenie Weenie store you’ve gone too far. It is on the second floor in the same building as BSX and a pharmacy, so look for this symbol:

When you arrive at the café you first order a drink. My all time favorite, and what I always order now, is their royal milk tea. You also have to tell them that you would like to do Dr. Fish and they add an additional 2,000 won to your bill.

You get a buzzer and sit down while they make your drinks. Once the buzzer goes off you go and get both your drinks and an empty plate with an empty paper cup and a cup of butter and jam. This is for the bread bar located in the café. The bread bar usually had between three and five different types of bread and several toasters are available if you prefer your bread toasted. They also have coffee and flower tea available for you to enjoy in addition to the drink you ordered, which is what the empty paper cup is for.

The décor of the café is both chic and cozy to me. With rich colors such as orange, magenta and red and chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, it’s easy to see why it feels so chic. Not to mention the Asian influenced wooden flooring, brick walls and wall length windows letting in lots of light and allowing you a nice view of Gangnam. While at the same time the chairs are very plush and comfortable and the café has several different types of seating; making it very cozy.

After you are all finished with your drink it is now time to get your pedicure via Dr. Fish. Now, if the café is busy, which it often is, you sometimes need to wait until the attendant comes and tells you it is your turn to go. However, if it is not a busy day, you can merely let them know you are ready and walk up to the Dr. Fish area at your leisure.

When you go up to the Dr. Fish area, you fisrt remove your shoes before walking onto the platform.

You then wash your feet in a small basin so that you are not putting any extra dirt into the fish water and also so you don’t feed the fish anything unhealthy. LOL

After you have washed your feet it is now time for the feeding frenzy. Unlike anything I have ever experienced, you sit down on either side of this long rectangle pool filled with little fish. You then proceed to put your feet into the water and the fish have a great time nibbling at you feet and eating any dry skin you may have.

It really does tickle something awful at first, but now that I have done it several times it just feels like I have little jets hitting my feet. It’s like getting a pedicure and a foot massage all in one!

Now, for your 2,000 won you will get 15 minutes on the weekend or 20 minutes during the week with your feet in the pool. Then, afterwards, you have to rewash your feet in the same foot basin as before.

Before you go, they spray a mist on your feet. I’m not entirely sure what this mist is for, however, if I had to guess, I would guess it is an antibacterial spray, killing off anything you might have gotten on you in the pool. I’ve also had people tell me they think it is a vitamin spray for your feet. So, hard to say, but either way, it couldn’t hurt!

You then put your shoes back on and you’re Dr. Fish experience is all finished!!

I highly recommend going and doing Dr. Fish. I find it so relaxing and unique at the same time! Not to mention the delicious royal milk tea!

I know that everyone I’ve gone with has always had a fun time! Some people have found it harder than others to let little fish nibble on their feet *cough*grandma*cough* But it always makes for a great time and I especially like to go there in the AM for tea and breakfast bread and jam!

Overall, I highly recommend going and doing Dr. Fish. I find it so relaxing and unique at the same time! (Not to mention the delicious royal milk tea!)

T & S
K.C.

Church in Korea- Youngnak Church

2010-10-03T03:11:00.002-04:00

One of the top things on my grandma’s list for when she came over was to get to go to a Korean church service. So the first full weekend we had together we headed out to go to church. Now, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it was going to be to find an English Presbyterian specific service here in Seoul, but thanks to korea4expats.com, they have a whole list of English services and I was able to locate two Presbyterian churches in Seoul with English services. One was almost two hours away because of its location. The other one, however was located close to Myeongdong, so that is the one we ended up going to. The church is called Youngnak Church and it is a very nice set up.

Rather than being in a modern building like most of the churches here in Seoul, the main building is an old chapel and very beautiful. Here the services are in Korean but there is a foreign section and you can put on headphones and listen to the service translation. If this isn’t your style, you can also go over to the international building of the church campus and go to an all English service.

The pastor is a very nice man named Bill and he is originally from Oklahoma. Actually, every single person we came in contact with was extremely friendly. It was, by far, the friendliest church I have ever been to. They really tried to make you feel welcome, find out a bit about you and interact with you as much as possible. What really surprised me is that people remembered my name through the whole morning. Now that takes some effort. Truly impressive.

The service was very nice. We went to the traditional service at 10am with a choir and hymns throughout the service. However, if you would like something a bit less formal, they also have a “modern” service at 3pm which has a praise band and I would imagine is more focused towards a younger crowd. Either way, no matter what service you chose, the message of the sermon is the same in both services.

They video taped the service and placed it on their website, so if you would like to see what the service looked like, you can follow the link. During communion you can even see my grandma and I (from the back lol).

http://www.myiwe.com/index.php/media/video/100912-10_am_worship

After the service there were refreshments and an optional bible study. We did not stay for the bible study, but I’m sure it would have been lovely as well. They also have activities for young people (such as myself) such as coffee get togethers, holiday retreats, etc.

So if you are looking for a church here in Seoul, South Korea, might I recommend Youngnak church? They have English services and you couldn’t ask more a nicer group of people.

Their website is: http://www.myiwe.com/

And they are located at:

YOUNGNAK CHURCH 2-69 JEO-DONG,

JUNG-GU, SEOUL,

100-032 SOUTH KOREA

I really recommend checking out the website if you plan on going. Their campus is pretty big and they have directions on how to get there, where to go once you get there, etc. They even have Korean directions you can print out and give to a taxi driver to get you there if you wish to go by taxi and the subway directions include pictures with land marks to help you get there.

All in all, you couldn’t ask for a more accommodating, foreigner friendly church and I really recommend that anyone who is interested should check it out!!

T&S

Mom in Korea- Wrap Up

2010-10-02T05:44:00.001-04:00

What really hit me hard was my mom leaving this past Sunday. She actually stayed an extra day so we could have some more time together but it was really really hard dropping her off at the airport and the homesickness hit me all over again. For those who don’t know, my mom is like my ultimate best friend. Ever seen Gilmore girls? Yeah well, we’re like Lorelei and Rory but without all the extra TV drama. So yeah, saying goodbye was really hard. We did, however, have a fantastic time while she was here. I tried to get in as much as possible because I wanted her to get a true feel for Seoul.

She came in the Sunday before Chuseok and I was afraid that everything would be closed and she wouldn’t get to do very much. Boy was I wrong. Not only were things open but they were even more busy than usual.

We managed to get a great deal in such as Dr. Fish, Dondaemun market, Gwanghamun plaza, Gyeongbokgung Palace, The folk museum, the Palace museum, the Cheonggyecheon stream, Namsan tower, The Teddy bear museum, Myeongdong, Insadong, Hyehwa, night walks in local parks, facials/manicures and lots of yummy Korean food! She even got to come to my school and meet my students! YAY!
These too will be in future “place specific” blogs, but here are some fun pictures from our time together!

Grandma in Korea- Wrap up

2010-09-29T23:38:00.001-04:00

Well, the time with my grandma was shorter than expected. Unfortunately, she became ill from a severe sinus infection and an acute case of homesickness, and had to go home.

However, before she went home we did manage to get in some fun things. We did lots of things, such as go to a Korean church service, drink tea and explore Insadong, we visited several palaces and toured Biwon garden, Dongdaemun market, Dr. Fish, the cheonggyecheon stream and I tried to expose her to as many kind of Korean food as possible.

Here are some pictures from our adventures. Don’t worry, I’ll blog about them more, however I want to do location specific blogs or else this blog would be thirty pages long.

The Duma in Korea Part 2

2010-09-24T12:13:00.000-04:00

Well, my grandma is back home safe and sound so now I can put up pictures! YAY! LOL. It will have to wait until after this weekend however, because my mom is here right now! Double YAYAY!!!

So anyways, expect a lot of posts and pictures coming your way really soon!!

The Duma in Korea

2010-09-15T09:49:00.000-04:00

Well, sorry for not being on the blog much, but it's been super duper busy!!! My Duma (that's halmeoni for all you who don't speak 2 yr old kelsey. lol) is in Korea!!!! in fact, she's been here for a week and a half now!!!

(I had to promise her, however, not to post pics until she's back in america, so you'll have to wait. lol)

So saturday the 4th, was quite an interesting morning. Went to the doctor, went to the dentist and had a cavity filled. Then Gabi, Karrin and I went to lunch at Dos Tacos in Gangnam and then we went to have our feet nibbled on by little fish and drink royal milk tea at a Dr. Fish Cafe! One of my favorite ways to spend a saturday morning!!!

Then it was off to the airport to pick up my Duma! Her plane arrived at 3:30 and I got to the exit gate at 3:35 :-)

Finally, after waiting and waiting, she came through the double doors!! It was such a wonderful feeling to get to see family face to face for thr first time in 8 months!!!

After a little bit of a reunion, I got our tickets for the airport bus and we were off!

After getting back to Nowon, we grabbed a taxi and headed to my apartment. I took her out for ShabuShabu and then she headed to bed for a long needed rest.

Since then we'e been doing both domestic things, such as grocery shopping, walking in the local parks, eating all the best korean foods, etc

and also touristy things such as tea houses and art galleries in insadong, palaces, hyehwa and even church.

Last sunday duma wanted to to church so I searched and searched for presbyterian churches with english services. I finally found one in Myeongdong. It was really nice and the service was excellent. everyone was extremely friendly as well.

It's hard to say what will come next! I can say, however, that my mom is coming for the holiday week!! YAY!

So i'll have two people here in seoul!!!! YAY!

Don't know when i'll post next, but be prepared for a TON after everyone is back home in the US, safe and sound. I'll need something to keep my busy after all the excitement of september :-)

T&S

K.C.

P.S. These are the kinds of pictures that get taken of you when you have family staying in your apartment LOL. yeah.... my cat likes to snuggle, whether i'm awake or not. lol

SM Town Live Concert 2010

2010-08-31T12:20:00.003-04:00

So two Saturdays ago was one of the most important events in my life....as a kpop fan that is. lol.

August 21 was the SM Town Live Concert in Olympic Stadium in Seoul . Gabi got tickets through a friend of hers so we got to be part of the selective 35,000 at the concert!

We started the day in lines of people, trying to figure out how to change the eticket for our actually tickets. After a little bit of difficulty we finally made it inside the stadium!

The concert began at 4pm and started with the lesser known singers, mainly known for drama theme songs they had sung.

The one thing that is pretty awesome about Korean concerts is the fans. In America the one thing I hate about concerts is you pay for a seat but end up standing the entire freaking time and struggling to see around the 6’4” person in front of you. No, korean fans are way cooler. They stay in their seats and chill out but are still really enthusiastic and hyper. It’s pretty awesome because everyone in the crowd had a balloon and they were waving them in support of the groups. Each color represented a certain group. It looked really awesome in person to see all of the balloon waving. Then later, when it got dark, people pulled out glow sticks to wave instead! It was pretty awesome! WAY better than the lighter/cellphone thing we have going on in America. lol.

Then finally we got to some good stuff!

F(x) was one of the first better known bands who came out. They were pretty good. I’m not a huge fan of theirs but I can’t complain.

Then Jessica from SNSD and one other girl came out singing Kesha’s Tik Tok. I kind of wonder whether they had the rights to use the song or not.... but no else seemed to be too worried about it and it was pretty entertaining to hear the “Barbie” version. lol.

Then SHINee finally came on! It was pretty awesome because they were the first real big name to come out and they sang their first big hit, “Juliette.” It was also awesome because they utilized all of the stages, coming super close to where we were sitting. Well, as close as they could get, we weren’t sitting down by the stage or anything.

After SHINee came TRAX. I hadn’t heard of TRAX before the concert, but I am a devoted fan now. TRAX is a rock group by SM and they well, rocked ^^ The guitarist was fantastic and it didn’t hurt that he was sporting white hair and a whole white outfit. Talk about hot. But seriously, their music was really awesome! It was a nice surprise to find a new band to follow!!

After TRAX was Girl’s Generation or SNSD. I liked them before the concert, but I have to say I lost a bit of respect for them. They sounded like the Chipettes for half the concert and their sickeningly sweet act got on my nerves. They weren’t bad though, when they sang their hits. It was the lesser known stuff that got annoying. lol.

After SNSD was finally Super Junior!!!!!!!!!!! They opened with Super Girl which is actually a song from Super Junior M, the Chinese branch of the group, but it was still really awesome!!!

Then, FINALLY, came BoA!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing to finally see the performer I have been following since high school. Never in my life did I believe I would be able to see BoA live in concert. Not only did I get to see her live in concert, I got to see her special 10th anniversary celebration and video. She was, of course amazing!!!!

Then, they had what seemed to be a good bye song. The concert seemed to be over....but wait.... was it????

NOOOOOO! It was JUST the beginning!!!! Well, ok, intermission! hehehe.

They turned everything off like it was over and we thought wait, it can’t be over, the concert is supposed to be longer than this. Finally after about 15-20 minutes laser lights started up and out came???

Super Junior singing...wait for it.... Sorry Sorry!!!!!

Yes, that was another all time amazing moment for me as a kpop lover. A-MA-ZING! The lights, the dancing, the outfits, everything. Fantastic.

Turns out the second half of the concert is where it was really at. All of the bands saved all of their best songs for this part of the concert. We’re talking, Sorry Sorry, Oh!, Bonamana, Mystery, Lucifer, Dangerous, Mirotic, Hurricane Venus, Wonder Boy, Let Me, Don’t Don, and SO much more!

So we’re jamming out, and the lights go out and these green laser lights start going off and this dark voice over the speaker comes on and say….. “WE ARE DBSK!”

Man, the whole place went CRAZY!!!!

Here came two members of DBSK on wires floating down from the top of the Olympic Statium!!!!

It was SOOOOOO amazing to get to see them! They even performed Mirotic, one of my all time favorites of their and one of their last songs before the broke up.

You see several members of DBSK got into a legal battle with SM over their contract and the group pretty much broke up over it. Which is also why there were only two members at the concert. However, it was STILL fantastic! I never thought I would get to see them live!!!

After DBSK there was several more songs from ever group.

SNSD ended with Oh!

SHINee ended with Lucifer!

Super Junior ended with Wonder Boy.

And last, but certainly not least, BoA and the entire concert, ended with her new hit Hurricane Venus.

By the time the concert ended it was 11pm. Yes, that’s right. The concert lasted 7 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It truly was an amazing day though. I can’t believe I only paid 44,000won to see all of those amazing groups and to pretty much hear every song they’ve ever been known for plus all of their current hits! It was SO fantastic!

K.C.

Hongdae Night Life

2010-08-29T08:38:00.002-04:00

One of the hardest parts of my job is constantly having to say goodbye. Not only do students come and go, but your coworkers are constantly leaving. Since I arrived here, I have had to say goodbye to 5 coworkers over a span of 8 months. When you think about it, that’s a lot! I’m not very good with goodbyes anyways. However, I’ve gotten more used to it and the next one leaving is ME! lol.

Anyways, Orla, one of my coworkers was getting ready to leave and go to grad school, so the weekend before she was to leave all of the coworkers headed out for a fun night.

We started out the night with all you can eat galbi in Sinchon. What can I say.... it was all you can eat galbi! lol. yummmmmmm. We also had several rounds of soju shots and beer.

I was planning on going home after dinner because I had an early morning appointment. However, I decided to stick around and see what the Hongdae night life is all about.

We then headed over to Hongdae. Now, I’ve been to Hogndae in the daytime, but this was my first time, in 8 months, that I had been to Hongdae at night to party.

We started at the park in Hongdae. We got some beer/KGB at the GS and listened to some music, watched some break dancing and just hung out and talked. It was really fun. I actually had a great conversation about literature! yay!

Then we headed to Orla’s favorite bar, the Hoe Bar by the park. There I had an “amaretto sour.” I use the quotation marks because it wasn’t really an amaretto sour. It was all amaretto and grenadine. ew. It was really sickeningly sweet. We got an extra one from the waiter so Derek, Orla and I decided it would be a good idea to stick our straws into it and slurp it down as fast as possible. Talk about sugar overload! lol!

After the Hoe Bar we headed to Orla’s favorite dance club, club Q.Vo. It was really fun! It costs 15,000won to get in, but you get a free drink card when you pay. So we head in and Orla gets us all Long Island Ice Teas... Now I’m already feeling pretty good from the soju, KGB and amaretto sours but by the time I drink the long island ice tea, I’m feeling pretty far gone. Then somehow I get stuck with another long island ice tea. I drink that down and I’m definitely gone.

Now anyone who knows me knows I don’t like clubs and I don’t like dancing. In fact, when I got there I was annoyed from people constantly running into me and kept myself up against the bar to try and stay out of the way. BUT, after that last long island ice tea I became a dancing machine. I didn’t say GOOD dancing, just dancing. lol. Orla and I headed out into the crowd and found some people to dance with. I danced with a couple of guys, made some new friends and had a blast!! Like I said, I was pretty gone. lol. I didn’t even mind having random people dancing up against me. It was like I did a 180. lol.

We finally headed out about 5:30 in the morning and I got to bed around 7.

It was such a blast! I plan to go back to Hongdae to party again. I do NOT, however, plan to take in that much alcohol ever ever again. lol. It was not easy getting up and heading out to the 7 hour long SM town concert the next morning... lol.
So overall, my first encounter with Hongdae nightlife was very good! I didn’t include all the details (some details remain a mystery to me too. lol) but I think you get the idea!

K.C.

The only proof of my crazy night, now long washed away.

Everland

2010-08-27T09:40:00.002-04:00

**Picture Credit: I didn't have my camera, so these pics all belong to Gabi!**

Two Sundays ago I went to Everland with Gabi and a previous student of mine and his parents. It really was a blast even though it was super hot and I turned into a babysitter for the day.

So we started out the day by getting picked up and we drove to Everland. Luckily we didn’t have any traffic so we got there pretty fast. Then we had to take the shuttle from the parking lot to get to the front gate.

When we finally made it we were met with what looked like a cute European landscape. It was pretty cool because from faraway it looked pretty real!

The theme at the time was Summer Splash so the whole place was done up with an underwater theme. However, my favorite part was a section that looked straight out of beauty and the beast :-)

Unfortunately I was the only one out of the five of use that liked roller coasters… However I still managed to get them to go on one small roller coaster! That’s what we rode first! Then we went on a water log ride which had roller coaster like mini hills, and you got pretty wet. It was really fun!

Of course we had to go on the merry-go-round. It’s an all time favorite!

As we were finishing the Carousel, the water parade began so we watched the water parade and then followed it to where they put on a whole show. It was really cute with lots of water explosions and bad guys, etc.

After lunch we went on a cute little train ride. Then it was FINALLY time for me to ride the T-Express!!!!

I walked up and there was, get this, NO LINE. I walked up and got on! I was pretty much in shock!

Here is some info about the T-Express!

South Korea's first wooden roller coaster
World's steepest wooden roller coaster(77 degrees)
Falling altitude : 56m (7th in the world)
Attraction time : 3min 00sec (the longest in Asia, 7th in the world)
Air time : 12 times (the most air times in South Korea)
Altitude : 56m (the highest in Asia, 3rd in the world)
Maximum Speed : 104 km/h (the fastest in Asia, 8th in the world)

It turned out to be SO amazing that I had to ride it again! I got off, walked around and got right back on! So yes, that’s right, I rode Asia’s biggest wooden roller coaster twice in a row… with no line!

After the T-Express we decided to go on safari. We got in line and had to wait about a half an hour. Not too bad. We finally got to the bus, which then took us around to the different sections of the safari.

The first section of the Safari was the Tiger section. They had white tigers and normal tigers together and they roamed free. It was really cool. The white tigers were definitely my favorite!

The next section had the giraffes, elephant, camel and zebras, but it was less exciting. These animals were in sections and were not roaming freely. I couldn’t help but feel that they really didn’t get enough space to live in. it was kind of sad.

Lastly we went to the bear section where the bears roamed free. It was pretty cool because the bears would come up to the bus and the bus driver would get the bears to do tricks for treats. Each bear was good at a different trick and they ranged from sticking out their tongue to sitting on their butt and grabbing their legs.

After the Safari we went on another water ride but this was more like a whitewater rafting type ride. Luckily they had these plastic sheets you put over yourself to keep from getting wet.

After that ride we went to see a Sea lion show. It was supposed to be the three musketeer story line but really it was just sea lions doing tricks. The kids seemed to really like it. So I guess it was good. Lol.

After the sea lion show Gabi and I were pretty tired. They wanted to stay on to watch the night parade so we decided to part ways.

The trip home was a story in itself, to say the least. However, we made it! We finally found the right bus station and got on a city bus which dropped us off at Gangbyeon. Hungry and tired, we picked up a Pizza School pizza and chilled at Gabi’s for a while. Then I headed home and zonked out pretty quick.

Overall it was a really good day! I think Everland is a one time trip. I don’t think I would go back like I would someplace like Disneyland or Cedar point. However, I’m really glad I went and got to ride the T-Express!

K.C.

My Morning Blunder

2010-08-19T05:46:00.001-04:00

I find that I do the stupidest things in the morning. For instance, this morning my alarm was going off and I kept reaching up to hit the snooze button. However, the buzzer didn't go off so I reached up and hit the button again. It STILL didn't go off. Then I mentally realize that it is my phone alarm going off and NOT my alarm clock... You see, I set my phone alarm and an alarm clock and put them next to each other on a stool next to where I sleep...

The funniest part of this story is that I went back to sleep and when the phone alarm went off again, I proceeded to hit the alarm clock snooze button...again... DOH!

Anywho, just thought I'd share my funny moment for the day :-)

T&S

K.C.

To Korea and Beyond

2010-08-17T09:36:00.004-04:00

Coming to Korea has probably been the hardest thing I have ever done.

The night before I was to leave for Korea, I finished packing everything, weighed my bags and set out my travel outfit. I then had my mom cut my hair. Everything was going fine. I set my alarm and went to bed.

The next morning, however, was a totally different thing all together. I woke up that morning realizing that I wouldn't see my family again for a whole year. I wasn't going to have my cats, my room, my books, my family, my car, my cell phone, my job, my friends. You get the idea. It really started to sink in and I lost it. I cried and cried and cried and cried. I'll never forget my dad coming into the bathroom, where I was crying with my mom, and asked if we were going back to bed. LOL.

I honestly, to this day, cannot believe that I made it to the airport and got on the plane. But I did.

We loaded up my luggage in the car and drove the 20 minutes to the airport. When we got there I took my luggage up to the American airlines. Now, I'm not lying when I say that my one bag weighed about 75 pounds. No joke. but by some miracle, I didn't even get charged an over weight fee. I really believe it's because the guy checking my in realized everyone was red from crying / looked upset. He asked me where I was going and I told him South Korea. I think he was being nice. lol.

After checking in my bags I realized I needed gum so my dad went and bought me like 20 packs of Juicy fruit, my favorite. :-)

After buying the gum we met up with my aunt and uncle who came to the airport to see me off. It was really nice to have so much family there to see me off. It made me feel a little bit better and I really think that helped me make it to the airplane.

After my goodbyes I had to go through the security check point. Made it through just fine, and then turned around and waved good bye to my family one last time. Yet again, not one of the easiest moments in my life but I managed to only get a little teary as I was walking to the airport terminal.

Made it to Chicago for my transfer on a tiny American Airlines plane.

Then I had to navigate O'Hara by myself. Had to take a tram to the international section of the airport, check in which Korean Air and then go through yet another security check. Ugh. I really hate taking my shoes off and then having to quickly put them back on. SUCH a pain. Anywho...

Made it to Korean Air and that is where the true trouble started. Got on the plane and walked towards my window seat (which I specifically reserved) to find a woman sitting in my seat because she wanted more privacy to breast feed her baby.... FML.

So I said ok, what ever. If only I had known it was going to get worse. See, I came to find out that I was in the baby row. and that baby next to me got a special baby crib that attached to the wall and came almost to my knees. PAIN IN THE ASS. It was the baby row all the way across too.....

If I had been in my right mind I would have made them move me. but I was too wigged out to make a fuss.

Then came the bibimbap and pinapple juice. I wasn't being too smart with that combination on an airplane but alas, I did it anyways. Which then led to some of the worst heartburn I've ever had. It didn't help that the stewardess didn't have any clue what an Acid Reducer was.... So the last 6 hours of the plane ride was spent with me in pain, downing bottles of water and trying to survive the turbulence we ran into.

Needless to say, it was NOT the best flight ever. I finally got to the airport and called my parents on skype to let them know I had gotten there in one piece.

Then I had to ask how to get to Nowon, exchange my money, buy a ticket and get on the right bus to Nowon.

The bus ride took a little over an hour and when I got to Nowon the driver helped me get my bags off the bus and then drove away.

So there I was, at a bus station in South Korea, waiting for someone to come and pick me up.

It was funny though, because I was waiting around a girl asked me, in English, if I needed any help. She was actually from Australia and was just visiting family. Then an elderly lady who was waiting for a bus noticed that the top of my coat was undone and my scarf was untied but my hands were full and I couldn't fix it. So she buttoned up my coat and tied my scarf for me. This little gesture, at the time, seemed huge and it helped me to feel like I was actually going to make it.

Pretty soon my manager and a helper helped me get my bags into her car and she drove me to my new apartment, well actually, Starville, was not my apartment but it was going to be until the next teacher left.

We got my bags into the room and they helped me get the heat on. The manager noticed that te only bedding was a stained "blanket" and sheet. No pillow or anything, so she went down to the bedding store down the street and bought me a brand new comforter and pillow set. Which was welcomed with open arms as I hadn't slept in FOREVER.

Sarah, a coworker then came over, brought me a bottle of water and a plug adapter. I was SO thankful for that water actually because without it I wouldn't have had anything to drink and nothing to make cup-a-soup with! LOL

I called my parents again after hacking into some wireless internet and talked for several hours.

I won't lie, there were some tears but I had made it all in one piece and my adventure had just begun. Like I said before, coming to Korea has probably been the hardest thing I have ever done but I didn't know it would also be one of the most rewarding things i've ever done as well.

K.C.

Oopsie

2010-08-16T09:29:00.000-04:00

Ok, I've done it. I can't believe that I'e done it but I have. I've become one of "those" bloggers. Yes, you know who i'm talking about. Those bloggers who start blogs and then get over seas and are never heard from again. To be honest. I despised those bloggers when I was looking at blogs about Korea and Taiwan. I would get so angry. Now, I've become one of them.

To be honest, the problem was I got behind and then didn't want to blog until I had time to sit down and catch everything up. Unfortunately, that never actually happened and now here I am, 7 months into my stay in Korea. So, I'm going to tell you right now that I'll never ever be able to catch you up on everything that has happened so far, but I am going to start blogging about what I've been up to and slowly but surely mix in older experiences as well. It's just gonna have to be like that or come december this blog is going to be empty. lol. So here we go.

Kelsey in Korea! Aja Aja Fighting!!!!

K.C.

Not Dead...LOL

2010-02-22T00:16:00.002-05:00

Well, in case you were wondering, I'm not, in fact, dead. lol. but my Internet source is! So I have been working on my posts and I will put them all up when I move in a week and a half and finally have some internet at home! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAY Can you believe it will be two months next week??? INSANE!!! I have LOTS of stuff to catch you up on. Plus a bunch of new things of course :-)

T&S

KC

Cold

2010-01-11T07:38:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the delay in posts but i've been down with a cold all weekend (when I was planning to up load my posts!) that combined with inconsistent internet, and a computer hog for a desk partner has made it hard to post yet. No worries though, I promise, I'll up load ASAP once I feel a bit better, and I'll even have some pictures! Who knows, maybe even a video :-)

Toodles and Schnoogles,

the very sick K.C.

made it!

2010-01-01T22:26:00.002-05:00

Yup! I made it! I'm in South Korea! :-) I'll have a much longer blog to come, I've just been so busy/homesick/jet lagged/busy! lol. to write so far! Anywho, gotta go, getting re3ady to go to my school. I'll try to blog tonight or tomorrow depending on what the day brings! :-)

K.C.

E Ticket ^_^

2009-12-29T12:55:00.006-05:00

Won't be long now!

Finally

2009-12-28T15:47:00.002-05:00

Well, my Visa FINALLY came in the mail today. However, as you might have guessed, it did not come in time for me to leave on my scheduled flight! So, I will be flying out tomorrow or Wednesday! Crazy! :-) Not too much longer now!

Hanging by a thread!

2009-12-19T21:40:00.002-05:00

Well Folks, the time is almost here! but get this, I am supposed to fly out on the 28th.. and my Visa Interview isn't even until the 23rd! eek! So i'm totally stressing out. There is SO much to get done!

So yeah, because the Korean consulate only interviews on certain days, they couldn't get me in until the 23rd. Then it takes 2-3 days for me to get my visa and passport back in the mail. through in Christmas and a sunday and the odds of me getting my Visa in time gets slimmer and slimmer! AHH!!!!

So yes, I'm freaking out right now. I hate being stressed like this right before Christmas.

and on top of that, I had to turn in my letter or resignation at work today. that was like the hardest thing ever. Everyone there has been SO amazing and it was really hard to be like "Thanks and all....but I gotta go!" lol. If you know what I mean.

Oh well, the store is closing in a month anyways. So I shouldn't worry so much. lol. but still, it sucks :-(

So yup. Stressing out. Getting ready for Christmas. trying to see everyone before I leave. trying to work. trying to get my interview in. etc.

Craziness! I can't wait until I can just zonk out on the plane. lol. a full 14 hours of sleep! lol.

Crawling to Korea

2009-12-13T18:52:00.001-05:00

Yay!!!!

My Visa Issuance number came in yesterday for my Director! So now I can send out my paperwork first thing tomorrow morning! :-) One step closer!!!!! Keep your fingers crossed for me that I can get a web cam interview! I really really hope they'll let me do one. Their supposed to be able to do one for out of state people, so we'll see :-S But anywho, one step closer to Korea!

On My Way..and very soon!

2009-11-27T01:41:00.002-05:00

Well, It's done.

I have decided to work for YBM ECC in their Junggye Branch in Seoul. The paperwork has been sent in and now I am waiting for my visa issuance number! When do I leave you may ask? Well, no other than the day after Christmas! Yes, I know. it's kind of (ok, majorly) a bummer, but it's better than before christmas and the job seems really great. I've talked to several people who work there, and a couple who used to work there and the feedback has all been great. The location, although not central Seoul seems really great and the apartments are nice. I also like the fact that YBM's contract is set up much better than other contracts I have been offered. PLUS, I get 50% off Korean language classes through YBM, which for me, is awesome!

So yes, I have given up on the public school job idea for now. There is simply too much competition for a newbie like me. I think, and this is just an idea, If I really love Korea and teaching in Korea, I'm going to do my one year at YBM come back and go to graduate school at OSU for my teaching certificate (a one year program) and then I'll head back to Korea to teach in a public school! That's just an idea though, like I said :-)

Anywho... So i'm simply waiting on my Visa Issuance number. I say the word simply because it has been about two weeks since my School got my paperwork and so I'm starting to go insane! lol. I need to be able to give my work notice about leaving, but I don't want to do that until I know I have a visa issuance number. As we all know, Jobs are not so easy to come by now a days! lol. Also, I still have to apply for my Visa and interview with the Consulate. All within 15 days, 11 if you take weekends into account! AH! crazy. I'm starting to go a bit crazy. lol. I can't wait until all this paperwork crap is out of the way and I'm finally there!

So keep your fingers crossed for me that my visa issuance number comes in first thing next week!

I'll keep you posted!

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

Superstitious

2009-11-23T14:12:00.003-05:00

So I know I haven't been blogging very much, but I'm still around :-)

I've interviewing, getting job offers, and making decisions. However, I don't want to post anything until it's a sure thing. call me superstitious, but after that happened with EPIK, i'm not taking any chances of jinxing myself. lol.

So no worries, as soon as something is decided, i'll let you know ASAP! :-)

until then,

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

decisions, decisions...

2009-11-20T14:26:00.005-05:00

Ok! So here is the deal, two job offers and about 24 hours to decide!

I have been offered a position at SLP Sungbuk, which I've heard is a good school, is in a good location, etc. It does, however, have a major fault. the Apartments. one (very small room) a mini fridge, and no washing machine, they're shared.

On the other hand, I have been offered a position at YBM Junggye ECC, which is a bit further away, but I've read it's in a nice area and the apartment is much better. I've had trouble finding much out about the school so i've contacted two people who are working there and will hopefully hear back from them soon to see what they say about the school.

The Pay, schedule, and age group are almost identical.

YBM does offer a settling allowance and reimbursement for the visa fee, which SLP does not.

AHHHHH decisions, decisions.

Any info/opinion/knowledge would be MUCH appreciated. :-)

YBM Apartment (the model):

SLP Apartment(from a girl's blog):

November Music!

2009-11-09T13:39:00.003-05:00

This song is awesome. the msuic video is even better! I've always been a fan of Dara, but now i'm seriously impressed :-) So without further ado...November's spot goes to...

Dara's Kiss!!!! ft. CL :-)

This song has been on constant repeat in my car for the last 3 weeks or so. lol.

Check out the Music video, it had Lee Min Ho from Boys before flowers in it!

I'm not kidding when I say that they should do a drama together!!! It would be freaking awesome!!! :-)

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

Margaritas and Fajitas

2009-11-07T23:30:00.002-05:00

On a totally non-korea related basis....

I Turned 21 today!!!! Yay me!

So this morning I went to the BMV, got my new license.

Then I went home and went back to bed until like 1pm. lol.

Then I got up, relaxed and then later went to Las Margaritas with the family and had fajitas and a margarita the size of my head...no joke!

Luckily for me, someone who HATES being the center of attention...especially in a restaurant on my birthday, the margarita had kicked in by the time the waitress had snuck up behind me, put a sombraro on my head and then surrounded me with staff memebers singing happy birthday in spanish. :-0 lol. but hey, I got a free dessert after it ;-) but seriously, it was actually very fun (thank you well made Margarita)

Then we came home and I opened gifts: Beautiful Silver bracelet my great great uncle brought back with him from England during WWII and a set of spacesaver bags(for traveling!) from my grandma, A gorgeous watch from my parents (and my Passport they bought me earlier in the year for my traveling purposes :) and dazzling black hills gold earrings from my brother(and parents. lol) which match my black hills gold necklace! Yay! So all in all, I got very beautiful gifts from the fam!

Then.... we had my all time favorite cake! Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Icing :-D LOVE IT! lol.

Then I finished off the night by watching the 6th round of the PBR (Professional Bullriding) Finals!

All in All, it was a very good and very relaxed birthday!!

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

lost again

2009-11-03T07:48:00.002-05:00

Alas, after accepting the public school position in Ansan, the school had a change of heart. Apparently, their current teacher decided to renew his contract. So, back to the drawing board. This is getting highly frustrating and I know part of it is my fault for wanting a public school position, but still. Argh. lol. So yes, moving on, looking again. I did have an offer from an SLP in Sungbuk. Anyone hear of it? It's private, obviously, but we'll see. everything is very up in the air right now. SO frustrating. but... I'm going to try and stay positive (try being the key word. lol.)

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

Ansan

2009-10-29T14:29:00.003-04:00

Well, I've done it. I have landed a public school, high school, position. The job is in the outskirts of Ansan and is 10 minutes walking distance from Banwol Station. Which puts me at about 45 minutes away from central Seoul. The problem? I have to begin Dec. 1. Which means, getting everything together, getting my Visa, flying out and saying goodbye in 1 month. YIKES. That also means, no more Christmas with the family, no going to see the nutcracker, no nothing :-( bummer. but really, what it came down to was giving up location for job environment or giving up job environment for location. You can see which one won. Now i'm incredibly nervous that I've made a wrong decision in trying to leave so soon, and to somewhere I know NOTHING about the area. Partially, because there isn't anything post on the web... lol. So yup. Encouragement, advice, info on Ansan, anything would be appreciated at this point! :-)

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

P.S. As soon as i'm there, I want to have a huge movie marathon at my new place! Anyone interested, let me know! and any movie requests are welcomed. I'm trying to decide what to bring! lol.

?

2009-10-19T00:26:00.003-04:00

What to do, What to Do. that seems to be the question of the week(s).

Ever since my "epik failure" I've been really confused and my family hasn't been much help. They all really don't want me going overseas in the first place, so needless to say, they weren't too crushed to hear that I hadn't been accepted into the program. they don't understand why I want to live in a different culture and especially one that is in such a "dangerous" location. Everyone really wants me to go straight into grad school. Well, you know what? I'm not ready to go to grad school yet. I'm ready to get out there, expand my boundaries and live life for a while. I just spent the last two years of my life taking double credit hours, busting my butt, having no life, in school, no time for fun, family or friends, no breaks, just work and school. period. So yes, I earned my bachelors degree in two years. now I want to do something else for a while. Grad school is NOT something I want to just right into. I can see the appeal. Get my Masters degree at the age of 22. Yes, that would be fabulous but I don't know exactly what I want to get my masters in, I don't have the money for grad school right now and quite frankly a little bit of change would be nice.

Anyways... My real problem here is that I'm so upset over not getting into EPIK that I can't even begin to focus on other options. I can't get excited about the potential of a private school position because I just spent the last 6 months pumping myselfup on all the reasons public school is better than private schools. Not to mention all of the hagwon horror stories.

Now I'm to the point where I an second guessing everything. Do I want to teach in a private school? Do I really want to teach at all? Do I really want to take a whole year out of my life for this adventure? Do I even have any options at this point? I mean, here are my options (so I feel) 1)Grad School 2) Full time Position at Hallmark 3) Private School position.

NOT that anything is wrong with any of these options. They are all great options actually. my problem is that I have become discouraged and now I just feel like I'm stuck in a hole andi'm never going to be able to get out. ARGH.

Right now I feel like I have no direction, no plan, no nothing and it's KILLING me. I always have a plan. that is the type of person I am. I have always had direction because it has always been school. getting through, getting done. well, now I'm DONE and that is that and now I'm totally left with no direction, no plan and i'm totally freaking out. Why? I don't know. this is all really stupid really but it doesn't help to have my whole family going against what I want to do and trying to push me in another direction. No one seems to understand what I'm going through or how I feel or what is that I want and I'm just totally and completely frustrated.

and now that I have totally bored you with my totally meaningless rant, I'm going to go to bed and hope for a better mood and fresh perspective tomorrow.

K.C.

P.S. I want to thank everyone who has been reading/commenting on my blog. you have all been SO supportive and that really means the world to me. Thank you SO much! you have no idea :-)

EPIK failure

2009-10-14T22:12:00.004-04:00

Well, sad news folks. incredibly sad but hey, it happens. Just got off the phone with my recruiter and my application for teaching in a public school has been denied. they never interviewed, looked at my paperwork, nothing. Apparently, they are saturated with applications and my lack of teaching experience just doesn't measure up? I'll never know for sure, it is now EPIK's policy not to inform you why exactly they have denied your application. the rushing feeling of tears hit first. then anger. then depression and now? determination. I am now going to be looking at private school positions. I'm still hoping for the Busan area, however, it looks like I may be in Seoul. It's really hard to say at this point. with my luck, i'll be denied from all of those schools too. :-S argh. MAJOR bummer. MAJOR sadness. time for a new episode of "You're Beautiful" and whatever sweets I can find in the kitchen...and I was doing so well with keeping them at bay. lol.

So, cross your fingers, keep me in your prayers. I'm going to need it!

K.C.

addicted!

2009-10-09T02:07:00.003-04:00

I don't know if I've mentioned this or not but I'm addicted to asian dramas. Taiwanese Dramas have always been my favorite but Korean dramas come in at a close (very close) second. In fact, my very first asian drama was the korean drama Coffee Prince. My favorite Korean dramas include Full House, Really Really Like You and Boys before flowers. and my all time favorite Taiwanese Dramas include My Lucky Star, Calling Love, ToGetHer, Smiling Pasta and Easy Fortune, Happy Life.

Anyways, now getting to my point, lol. I stumbled across a new series (thanks to PopSeoul) and am in LOVE. it has SO much potential. Now, I've only watched the very first episode but I think I'm going to LOVE it and I have to share. So, if you watch asian drama at all, take a peek!

http://www.mysoju.com/youre-beautiful/

enjoy!

K.C.

Photos!

2009-10-05T14:23:00.005-04:00

My first batch of Photos :-)

Stickers! yes, yes those ARE scratch off stickers! I don't even know what age group I'm going to be working with yet but I don't care! it doesn't matter if I'm working with Adults, they're getting stickers! lol.

My box of stuff i'm preparing to take with me. lol.

Luggage! the pictures really don't do them justice in regards to how big they really are! lol.

So yup. that's it for now! Still waiting to hear back from EPIK, when I do i'll let you know!

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

Music of the Month!

2009-10-02T17:08:00.004-04:00

Happy October! isn't it just amazing how when october rolls around the weather seems to instantly cool, the air gets crisp, the leaves start to change color and fall and everything just screams fall? I SO want to buy a pumpkin soon. I'm hoping to go and actually pick one out of a pumpkin patch but we'll see. lol.

Anywho...on to the Music!

Question: Who is the largest Boy Band in the World????

Answer: Korea's Super Junior! (13 members!)

I LOVE their song "Sorry, Sorry" Check it out. you won't be sorry! (no pun intended. lol) Their dance moves rock :-)

Dance Version mv!

On a side note, there are actually several other "junior" groups or sub units as SM calls them, handled by SM entertainment company. While super junior is the most popular (and I believe largest?) Super Junior M (for Mandarin) is also very popular. Their latest hit Super Girl is very good and is very similar to Sorry Sorry. Check it out:

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

one step forward

2009-09-30T18:43:00.002-04:00

Well, as of 12:44 my paperwork has made it to Taiwan! Now it just has to reach my Recruiter's office! Wohoo!

I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but I decided to go with Reach to Teach for several reasons. It was a really hard choice between Reach to Teach and Teach Away. I would recommend either of them in a heart beat.

Teach away was a bit quicker in regards to getting updated information to me, which I really appreciated. and person I worked with was incredibly nice and helpful.

However, I just really liked the personal feel Reach to Teach gave. I received regular phone calls to check in and make sure I didn't have any questions or to respond to an email I had written. I was very impressed with this. It's one thing to send an email, it's a totally different level to actually call and check in and talk about the whole process. It just really gave my a great feel for the company.

I also chose Reach to Teach because they host monthly get togethers and I like the idea of having that network/support group.

Also, I chose them because they are based and recruit primarily for Taiwan, which is where I would like to teach after teaching in Korea. The plan has always been teach a year in Korea, teach a year in Taiwan and then go on to graduate school. So having worked with them before will be very helpful for me in the future.

So yes, EPIK starts accepting application in about 3 to 4 hours! CRAZY! I'm hoping everything goes ok. lol. I'm nervous! but excited :-)

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

Signed, Sealed, Sent!

2009-09-28T20:50:00.002-04:00

Well, today I got the very last item needed for my Visa paperwork, the apostilles.

As soon as I got them, I rushed home, put my paperwork together and headed over to fedex. $65 later, My documents were in the mail on their way to my recruiter.

This has been the most stressful and expensive job application process ever. and it's not even over yet. I haven't even been accepted...yet. :-) lol.

I did end up saving a ton of money thanks to some favors from some very nice people. However, it still ended up being really expensive.

$30- Transcripts
$30- Background Check
$10- Apostilles
$65- Fedex

Total: $135

Ouch.

and that's not including the entire ink cartrage I used to print out and copy all of the documents. lol.

Oh well. It's DONE. and I couldn't be more excited!

One more step towards going overseas!!!!

Applications openings go live October 1st. I'm going to go crazy between now and mid october!!!!!

I'll let you know when I hear something!

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

Music of the Month!

2009-09-27T23:38:00.004-04:00

Well, here it is. my latest invention / bright idea. lol. Song of the Month Posts! Wohoo! So from now on, I'll be posting a new song every month. either one that I just think is awesome and deserves some credit (such as this month's song) or one that fits the mood of the month perfectly! So without further ado, September's Song of the Month! *better late than never right? lol)

This Month's music spot goes to....

G Dragon's Heartbreaker!

Although he is a member of big Bang, he has now come out with a new single album. Which, by the way, is now under fire for plagarizism. Oh well, it's still good! I actually don't like this music video, or G Dragon for that matter. But the song is catchy and has stuck with me all month. lol. Check it out (Watch the 2nd video for sure, the beginning is awesome! lol) :

Music Video

This Live performance is WAY better. check out the very beggining if nothing else.

FREE

2009-09-26T17:14:00.004-04:00

Guess what I got today????

8 photos, thats 4 sets, of passport photos for... wait for it... FREE!!!! Yes, that's right free and profressionally done. YES! If I had gone to Kinkos it would have cost me $13 a set. That's $52! Yay me :-) and Yay for the people who have been helping me out with this whole process. I got my Attorney Notary for free, which saves me from both paying for the initial notary and the county clerk signature (not to mention 2 trips. lol), I Got my Passport photos for free, I got one piece of luggage for free, one piece of luggage 70% off with an additional 20% off that = $45 for a $180 piece, and I've got some things such as jersey sheet sets for $8! YAY!

I am thankful for all the people who have helped me out during this process and that have helped me get everything I need! Cookies are coming your way! :-)

Next stop? Secretary of State Office for a $5 apostilles. lol.

Then all I have to do is ship all the paperwork out for about $45. not too bad, considering how much money i've saved! :-)

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

2009-09-24T18:36:00.003-04:00

Today was a good day.

I got my background check in the mail, Called my dad's friend who is an attorney, he came over and notorized my background check and Diploma copy and now all I need to finish my paperwork is the apostille which I can get in a single day! YAY! I do need to get my 6 passport photos taken still but Kinkos can do that for me in a matter of minutes. No big deal. lol. So yes, I'm on my way!

October 1st is when Applications are first accepted and I think that I'll have all of my paperwork sent to my recruiter by then, meaning my chances of getting my first location choice is pretty high (assuming I get accepted at all. lol.) So yup. EXCITING.

For a while there I was really freaking out about all of the paperwork but now it all seems so easy. lol.

Preparation has begun!

Last weekend my parents picked up an Eddie Bauer Soft Sided Luggage piece for me. It's HUGE! and totally awesome. It's a burnt orange (easy to find on the belt!) and it was originally $179, still is actually, but because they had overstock in the warehouse they had them at the outlet and they got it for $45! SWEET! lol. so that is pretty awesome too.

I'm getting really excited now. For a while there, proven by my earlier posts, I was totally freaking out! Probably because this whole "traveling overseas" thing could only be a dream because I was in the middle of school. Then suddendly, WHAM, I graduated and I can actually go overseas. It was like my own mini reality check, if you know what I mean. No longer the college student living at home, now the graduate who needs to either A) get a job or B) go to graduate school. lol. Traveling Overseas does two things for me. it A) gets me a job and B) lets me travel, soemthing I LOVE! I think I'm a pretty good traveler. :-) lol.

so anyways, Things are moving right along! I have all my paperwork and will get my background check and diploma either tomorrow or on Monday. Probably tomorrow. I think I'll go there before work and get it over with. lol. Then I can get my pictures taken either tomorrow night or Saturday and Fedex the paperwork by Monday! Wohoo! lol.

Anyways, I'm just getting really excited about getting things going and starting this big adventure! I'm hoping to be placed in Busan. I think it will be perfect. Beaches, Mountains, Movie Districts, Subway, high speed rail, first class shopping! it doesn't get much better! The only thing I think I'll be disappointed with is no snow, the super humidity during the summer an the long commute to Seoul. But I think I'll love it! lol.

So Yup. More updates to come, I'm sure. lol.

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.

Interviewed and In

2009-09-15T15:13:00.003-04:00

Well, since my last post things have been moving rather quickly. After turning in my resumes and cover letters to four different recruitment companies, I shortly received emails stating that I was through the initial application process and that they would like to set up an interview with me. So this is what the last three days have looked liked:

Sunday: Get ready for Colton’s soccer party, dinner, interview between 8:30 and 10.

Reach to Teach- This interview lasted about 45 minutes and was very thorough.

Monday: Work from 10-2, interview at 2:30, interview at 4, Colton’s soccer party.

1st = Travel and Teach- lasted about 20 minutes, pretty basic.
2nd= Teach Away- lasted about 35 minutes. Very thorough.

Today: Trip to Police station, trip to library, trip to bank, Interview between 2 and 3.

Gone2Korea- this interview lasted about 6 or so minutes. This is partially due to the fact that I was talking with someone who specialized in Public school positions and I wanted to discuss private school positions through this company.

Yes, I know. Busy busy!!!! I have to say, before my very first interview I was EXTREMELY nervous but after the first one, I was much more calm and everything seemed to flow.

All of the interviews seemed to go really really well and everyone I talked with was very nice and very helpful with any questions I had. I think my plan is to first apply for a public school position. If I do not get into this program I will then be looking at private school options. For Public school positions I am currently looking to go through Reach to Teach to Teach Away. Both very extremely nice, very helpful and I felt that they both really took the time to truly interview me, get a sense of who I am, what my potential is and what exactly I’m looking for. It’s really truly going to be a hard decision when choosing who to go with.

So yes, now the next step is deciding who I’m going to work with, getting the paperwork together and getting my application ready before October 1st so that I can secure a position with a public school.

Paperwork looks like this:

2 copies of sealed, stamped transcripts -DONE
Apostilled Criminal Background Check
Apostilled Copy of Diploma
Color Copy of Passport -DONE
Signed copy of EPIK application -DONE
Health Form -DONE
4 passport photos (a total of 6, 2 are needed at Korean Consulate)

What’s that? What’s that you say? You don’t know what an apostille is? Well… Let me tell you!

First, get your paperwork notarized with a seal from the county your in.
Then, get the county clerk to sign you notary.
Lastly, get your signed notary apostilled by the secretary of state department.

Now, of course, this procedure is different based on state, but this is what us Ohioans must do to get something with a seal of apostille aka internationally notarized.

So yup. I’m in the process of A) getting all of this done and B) bankrupting myself in the process. It’s not cheap to get all of the documents, let me tell ya.

Anyways, all of my interviews are now officially done and I have officially been accepted by all 4 of the recruitment companies. Yay! Now I just have to decide which one to go with…this is going to be the hard part!

Toodles and Schnoogles,

K.C.