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.

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.

**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.





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 :-)







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)

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.


K.C.

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.

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.

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.