These guys are awesome...

... but what are you doing with my new pillows?!

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, September 30

1. Had the big eye appointment today with the lasik eye surgeon to see if I was eligable to have lasik eye surgery... appointment lasted almost 2 hours!!! The big surgery has been set for this Monday... oh gosh! I am so nervous!
2. As a part of the numerous tests they did, they also did tests with various eye drops. Eye drops #1 paralyzed my eyes so that the doctor could literally touch my eyes and measure them. Eye drops #2 were to see how much tears my tear glands produce. Eye drops #3 made my pupils go crazy big.
3. After 2 hours of testing, I left the hospital dizzy and looking like a drug addict (cause of the super dialated pupils!!!!!)
4. Had a bit of a freak-out at LotteMart when I went to look at my phone and I couldn't see anything on the screen.... the nurse WAS right... I couldn't see any kind of detail for about 4 hours!
5. Shhh, secret..... Ryan kind of helped me cook supper tonight for my dinner party with Kim Tae and Byung Hyuk. Yes, it's true boys. I feel better now that you know I didn't really cook the meal that you SO LOVED (ya, ok). So blame it on Ryan. Had we been in Canada, I would have got rave reviews from my quests...ha, ha, ha.
6. Byung Hyuk and Kim Tae arrived for dinner and brought some surprises. Kim Tae brought some homemade kimchi (awesome... thanks Mrs. Kim) and Byung Hyuk brought some of the world's largest pears!!! Ha, ha, ha.
7. Thought I'd share some Western entertainment with my buddies and so I surprised them a copy of my episode of "Match Maker". They were so shocked to see me on a dating show.
8. Turns out they were more shocked than I expected and so they kept on rewinding the video. Byung Hyuk even took pictures of the TV!!! Oh no!!!
9. The party moved upstairs to the balcony where the boys entertained me by teaching me some Korean hand games. The games were quite amusing but rather violent and abusive.... loser ended up either getting their hands slapped, their back smacked, or (the worst one) their wrist slapped!!!... it was SO much fun!!! Ha, ha, ha.
10. Oh my gosh.... Byung Hyuk tasted my toe! See... they smell like flowers! Hopefully the name, Princess Smelly Feet, will die soon. I'm not too sure what was up with him rubbing a pear on my feet though.... strange boy! Ha, ha, ha!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you have to go?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Gamppak- gamppak
-- Nurse
(turns out that means blink.... new word of the day)

1... 2... 3... kimchi!

And the winner is... "The Way"!!! It's funny how these kids really get into the silly competitions I create for them. They especially love singing competitions!

Highlights of my Day... Friday, September 29

1. Well today I taught my Eumbong elementary kids. I held a mini singing contest among the class table teams and, what was intended as a simple song, turned into groups coming up with dance moves and solos. It was hilarious. The winning group was Bonnie's "The Way". Their singing wasn't great but Bryan and Abels' totally exaggerated and strange dance moves left us all in tears! So funny!
2. In my grade 5 class, the girls were particularly touchy today!!! They LOVE skinship (my new word... thanks Byung Hyuk) Ha, ha, ha. One of the girls, Jamie, was all over me and it got to the point that I was just uncomfortable.
3. I was extra generous with my grade 5 kids with giving them an extended break-time. Mind you, the fact that I was getting a wicked back massage by the students definitely played the key factor in this decision.
4. Returned back to the middle school nice and early with plenty of time to... oh wait... do nothing. Ahhh... I don't like Fridays for the simple fact that I'm forced to kill 3 1/2 hours at work.
5. Amused myself my looking up random Korean phrases and text messaging them to Byung Hyuk and Kim Tae.
6. Byung Hyuk was a no-show for training tonight and so it was just Kim Tae and me... well, and Kim Tae's shadow. It seemed like every time I tried to talk to Kim Tae, this random dude would venture over and listen in on our conversations.
7. Amused myself by working-out without my glasses and then tried to journey home. When I reached the stop light I heard someone call out my name. I reconized the voice. It was Byung Hyuk. I didn't know where he was so I just stood there and waited. Me babo...ha, ha, ha!
8. My baby notebook returned home tonight! Mind you, it's got nothing in it's memory and the guy forgot to put Microsoft Word on it. I guess I can't complain though. Ryan saved me lots of money with his ingenious computer bill scheme....ha, ha, ha.
9. Second night in a row.... got word that Yong Chan came out to Cheonan again looking for me. Needless to say, once I found this out I stayed in my house and refused to go outside.
10. Practiced cooking tomorrow's planned meal for my dinner party with the boys. I'm anxious about whether or not they like it. I'll have to remember to Koreanize my meal by adding some kimchi on the side...ha, ha, ha.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Can you see?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
An eye for an eye only makes the whole world blind.
-- Gandhi

Ok.... so I was a little too bored today. Here's my poser shot with my new glasses. Ha, ha, ha! 

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, September 28

1. Had the day off of work and so my plans consisted of sleeping in late, lounging around the house, and sporting a mad case of bed-head all day. It was great.
2. Boredom definitely hit me around 4pm! After hours of singing totally off tune, dancing like a fool, failing at focusing on my Korean studies, and bombing with reading any of my book,... I then turned into a lean, mean, cleaning machine...ha, ha, ha.
3. I dusted, wiped, swept, washed, vaccumed, scrubbed, picked-at, picked-up, and put-away whatever I could get my little Polish hands on. I cleaned my house from top to bottom... and in-between. Ha, ha, ha. I even refolded all my clothes.... how's that for being totally bored!!!
4. Got word that my baby (that being my notebook computer, of course) isn't sick anymore! Great! I'm looking forward to my baby coming back tomorrow.
5. Realized just how boring life is without my baby.... no music, no emailing, no internet surfing. I felt totally disconnected from the outside world and life... it was great but I don't think I could stand it for a long time though.
6. I think my new Nike Shox shoes arrived today but I was so lazy and refused to venture outside of my apartment. Going to the first floor to check the mail was out of the question. I wanted to hibernate.
7. At 11pm I was caught off guard and much surprised when Kim Tae showed up to visit me. Very sweet.
8. I was so embarrassed to have Kim Tae see me with my glasses on and so I refused to wear them. Instead, I walked around as a blind woman. I couldn't see a thing!
9. It's hilarious hearing my friends speak English. I definitely find it amusing when Kim Tae struggles to say something and then instead blurts out "pass" (which means he is lost for words). Sooooo funny!
10. Found out much later Yong Chan found his way to Cheonan to talk to me. I don't understand this confusing individual. I admire his persistance but don't see any humor in him tracking me down like he's hunting me.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Did you just call me a pig?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Pass!
-- Kim Tae

He looks eagerly watches the old-fashion, super greasy, utlra-fatty, oh-so-tasty donuts getting made. I don't understand what all the hype is about though!

Highlights of my Wednesday, September 27

1. Taught my elementary classes at Wollang and then headed out to Seoul for the rest of the day.
2. It felt so good crusing out of Cheonan, leaving all my co-workers behind. I deserve some free time. See ya, I'm outta here!!!
3. While waiting in line for a nasty, totally unhealthy, super greasy donut at Krispy Kreme Donuts in Seoul, they offered me a free donut. Well, that really defeated the point of standing in line but I felt bad and so I was pressured into buying a donut. Ahh¡! stomach ache!
4. Ryan complained about how he hates how Koreans stare at us when we're together. I reassured him that he's lucky. When I'm not with him, they still stare at me. I guess he never thought of that.
5. Well my trip out to Seoul was a huge disappointment and so I was eager to return home.
Safe and secure in my downtown pad. It felt so good to hear nothing but my own breathing. My sweet solitude and quietness was shattered by Yong Chan and his random text messages. This boy loves drama! He's not normal.
6. Not that I think anyone has read my "Personal goals I'm working on", well besides myself and Zeph that is. But today I decided to update my list of goals.

Deleted goals:
a. Get married (are you really surprised?!)
b. Give my parents a grandchild (sorry mom)
c. Take Ryan on a trip to Canada (oh I'll send him on a trip.. one way ticket though¡! ha, ha, ha.)
d. Meet the Yoon family (had my chance, Ryan blew it and now I've lost all interested)
e. Meet Mr. Kim (Ryan's old boss) and try to kick him in the head (first this is juvenile and secondly, Ryan can fight his own battles).

Added goals:
a. Find a boxing gym closer to Cheonan (or in Cheonan).
b. Never become a fool to love again. It's not worth it. Keep my head on my shoulders as oppose to in the clouds.
c. Stop caring so much about what other people think and instead, put myself first.

7. I had asked the teachers in my English class yesterday how long they've been married and if it was hard or easy. Some said it was easy, others said it was work, and one teacher said he and his wife had to go to counseling. Most have been married for 20 years or more. Turns out Mr. PE Teacher has been married for 29 years! I can't do that. I can't even keep the same hair style for more than a month!
8. Blurted out to Ryan that I never want to get married. I don't want to marry him or anyone else for that matter. Marriage is a fantasy, an ideal, but it's not a realistic life for me. Why does everyone expect me to someday marry? Since when did happiness or a sense completeness rest in whether or not we're with someone?! I guess I view life differently.
9. Fell asleep in my chair by accident.
10. Woke up with a major kink in my neck and milk all over the place... oops.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do I really want another?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
If the shoe doesn't fit, try on another.
-- Unknown Author.

This breaks my heart!
I don't know this woman or her situation but I sometimes see random people in the same state. Today I must have emptied out all my pockets in her red basket. After which, I stood there listening to the music playing from her wooden box and watched helplessly as she continued down the busy downtown street.

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, September 26

1. First full day without my beautiful baby. Had to use the old-school chunky computer at school instead. This sucks!
2. Tomorrow my middle school students start their midterms and so today I thought I’d have a fun day for them. I created a mini-golden bell game (quiz game) for each class and added in some comical questions to help relax them for tomorrow. It was a huge hit! Great!
3. My class definitely won the award for the nosiest class today!!! Our golden bell game got quite competitive and silly. Boys were jumping up and down in reaction to the answers, girls were giggling, students were giving high-fives, others were clapping, and I wasn’t exactly quiet either! Ha, ha, ha.
4. Definitely considering brown-bagging it to school for lunch. Today they loaded up our plates with fish, fish, and more fish! The cafeteria ladies seem to get a kick out of my reaction but I think they’re trying to starve me to death.
5. Instead of eating the fish slop, I resorted to eating a choco pie, two mints I found in my drawer, a stale kimbab from the morning, and washing it all down with a cup of coffee. Ya… that’s really healthy. Yuck!
6. Today was definitely the polar opposite of yesterday!!! Got word today that I have tomorrow afternoon and all of Thursday off! Excellent!
7. Five minutes later… Mrs. Chung tells me that all the teachers are going mountain climbing and then out for dinner. Mind ya, within those 5 minutes, I had jumped on the phone and arranged plans for a trip to Seoul tomorrow. I have to go take my baby in (my computer that is). 8. Discovered the power of Power Point on the computer! It’s awesome! Within a matter of minutes I was able to ditch the old school paper flashcards and create a slideshow for tomorrow’s elementary classes…. Awesome!
9. What was suppose to be a quiet training session at the gym turned into quite the evening. First I ran into Kim Tae, chatted it up with him and then I ran into the three university girls. Came home almost 2 hours later! Oh gosh!
10. Ventured into a PC room for my first time and wow… so smoky! I think I was the oldest person there and definitely the only foreigner there too. Ha, ha, ha!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Could we be anymore nosier?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
It seemed the world was divided into good and bad people. The good ones slept better... while the bad ones seemed to enjoy the waking hours much more.
-- Woody Allen

오늘은 어쩐지 기분이 이싱해요.. My trip to Ssangyong-Dong made me start thinking about friends, specifically Mook. I miss Mook. 그는 어느 모로 보나 신사입니다. Ah Mook… you spoke very little English but 당신은 참 인시성이 밝으시군요!!! 몸조리 잘 하세요. You look great in my boxing club's shirt!!!

Highlights of my Day... Monday, Septemeber 25

1. Oh the horror!!! As I sat there in total disbelief, I listened as it chocked and then just went blank… my baby died!!! All the teachers stared at me as I got teary-eyed over my dead beautiful notebook computer.
2. As the tension escaladed and more and more teachers attempted to revive him, we decided to call in a professional; the Computer doctor. Unfortunately, he tried hard, but had no luck.
3. Mrs. Chung tried to cheer me up by saying, “It’s only a computer!”, but that definitely didn’t help. It is all my music, my medium for contacting friends and family back in Canada, all my pictures, documents, files,… it’s got two years of my life packed into it! It’s my baby!
4. Mental note to self: Keep all receipts!!!
5. The top of discussion in my parents/teachers' English class today was relationships and well, I've been having a rough time lately and so I blurted out, "Whatever I love gets taken away from me or spoiled anyway so I see no point in love, and, so definitely no point in marriage." They of course had NO idea what I meant but they didn't bother to ask me any more questions.
6. Ryan tried to cheer me up by taking me out for dinner and it worked somewhat. I’m ALL about the side dishes…. Corn with cheese, pumpkin, breaded pork, steamed egg, water kimchi, white kimchi, tofu … ahhh. I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it!
7. Amused the ladies in the back of the restaurant when I blurted out some Korean phrases about the food. I didn’t realize the restaurant back door was open as I stepped outside and totally exaggerated my words. Ha, ha, ha… they loved it!
8. Today I went from sheek to geek in a matter of a second as I took off my contact lenses and put on my new eye glasses. Oh gosh. Thankfully I’ll only have to wear them for a week prior to my surgery.
9. It’s true, you lose some, you win some. Today I lost my baby notebook but I gained my baby Oscar. Finally went back to Sangyong-Dong, my old neighborhood here in Korea, and picked up poor Oscar… Oscar the bike. He’s not doing too well but it’s nothing a little cleaning, love, or WD-40 can’t handle. Ha, ha, ha.
10. Discovered a glimmer of hope… I DID back-up my files and photos back in February/March and thankfully hadn’t deleted the last week of photos off my camera yet. I’ve still got the “kissing the fish” photos…ha, ha, ha Kim Tae!!!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What just happened?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
"It's just a computer."
-- Mrs. Chung

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, September 24

1. Spent some time with my little girl Sue. She recently went on vacation to a SEVEN STAR hotel in Dubai (rough life eh… and she’s only 7). It was funny looking at all her pictures of her, her cute mom and her gangster-looking doctor dad, but I was so happy to hear that she missed me. I love that mini-Korean!
2. Scored major points with picking up an oldies tape cassette for our (Ryan and me) little road trip out to Daejon. We must have listened to both tapes, both sides, at least twice and I’m sure we amused the fellow drivers on the road. Ha, ha, ha.
3. YES… it’s true. I broke my pinky-swear promise and said the “R” word… Ryan! He’s back.
4. Holy sensory overload! I love it! Ventured out to Daejon Costco to do a little grocery shopping but, like always, a little shopping always turns into a little more shopping and then a lot of shopping! Ha, ha, ha. I don’t even like shopping.
5. Ate a whole bag of M&Ms and I don’t care! Ha, ha, ha. Ended up with the world’s worse stomach ache… now I care. Ahhhhh!
6. As if going shopping wasn’t enough for me, I then came home and did some online shopping for new Nike Shox shoes. Sweet!
7. More shopping… stocked up on my favorite perfume. I don’t care what those boys say, I smell delicious. I’m not Princess Smelly Feet. I smell divine… when I’m wearing socks that is. Ha, ha, ha.
8. Oh the fear… tomorrow I’ll have to stop wearing my contacts cause of lasik eye surgery next week and so today I went a bought new eye glasses. I’m dreading this week all ready!
9. According to one of the polls on this homepage, I totally smoked Wonder Woman in “Who do you think is the strongest?”. I am winning by 47% of the votes, whereas she has a mere 7%.
10. Turns out my competition is Super Man, with 27% of the votes… but that phone-booth-changing, spandex-wearing, geeky, steroid-infested man has nothing on me! I’m 100% natural, which is the least I can say for his spandex! Ha, ha, ha!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you like kimchi?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
NO!
-- child at Costco

Here's a picture of Kim Tae (he's the middle dude) when he was in the military (like REAL Korean men do here).... gotta love a man in a uniform! Much respect to the Korean men.

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, September 23

1. Just my luck… thought I had the whole gym to myself today but no such luck. Mr. Cocky-Pants shows up and where does he stand?!.. right in front of me while I’m doing dumbbell curls in the mirror. I swear, I was one step away from throwing them at him!
2. Meet up with Kim Tae and Byung Hyuk for ANOTHER bowling rematch… this is like the 2nd rematch. Ha, ha, ha.
3. Killed my finger at bowling but was too determined to care. There was no way I was going to lose to these two boys!!!
4. The big surprise of the night was definitely Byung Hyuk’s victory at bowling! That’s a first! I came in 2nd and Kim Tae was definitely upset with losing to me… a girl. Ha, ha, ha. I’m sure there’ll be yet another rematch though.
5. Treated the boys to a good meal out at one of my favorite restaurants, Mainz. We ate like royalty and feasted out.
6. Revealed the “secret” of my hide-away loft downtown and oh, is it ever a juicy secret but I’ll never tell YOU! Ha, ha, ha.
7. I am officially Koreanized. After eating, the evening didn’t finish. Instead, we ventured over to a singing room where we busted out the tunes and belted them out on the mics…. Oh my gosh. This was definitely a first for me and I was so nervous.
8. WOW! Was totally blown away by Byung Hyuk and Kim Tae for singing English songs. However, I’m sure they really don’t know exactly what they’re singing and so it was very amusing to hear them sing such lyrics. If only they understood… oh gosh! Ha, ha, ha.
9. Today marks my one week anniversary of meeting my new friend… the super spy. Well, I don’t think he’s a spy… I’m convinced he’s the leader of some kind of run-away gypsies or side-show circus. Ha, ha, ha…just joking. There… Zeph, are you happy with your shout-outs? Ha, ha, ha. Ya.. you go and enjoy your Hawaiian paradise... hope you get a sunburn...ha, ha, ha!
10. Today also marks the one week anniversary of meeting someone else… who apparently now thinks he loves me. Boys… I’ll never understand these creatures. What ever happen to them being the simpler species?!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Are you ready to lose sucker?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The word "lose" is not in my vocab bank!
-- Me

This is the life.... lots of laughs, good times, great friends, and memories that will last a lifetime!

Highlights of my Day... Friday, September 22

1. Apparently there’s some mystery rule at my school and it goes along the lines of something like, “don’t fill Amy in on what’s going on”. I’m convinced of this. Not only was my first class cut in half (time wise) but my next class consisted of grade 4s, 5s, and 6 graders. I don’t even teach grade 4!
2. When I questioned the teacher what’s going on, she got all flustered and handed me a pile of Harry Potter movies…. Scrapped the movie idea and played a massively long game of soccer! Awesome.
3. Came back to Eumbong Middle School and literally past out in my chair.
4. Discovered a perfect way to cap off my work week… fishing with two of my ultimate favorite guys… Byung Hyuk and Kim Tae. They bought me a fishing pole and taught me how to fish, Korean-style! Ha, ha, ha! They tried to show me how to cast out the line and on my second attempt, I ended up hooking a HUGE live one… myself!!! My fingers actually and dang did it ever sting! Wow!
5. Of course none of us thought to bring a flashlight for our late-night fishing excursion and so we stumbled around using our cellphones... definitely added to the amusement of the evening!
6. Fishing rule was you had to kiss the fish if you caught one. Byung Hyuk didn’t catch one but he kissed my fish anyways, for good luck I suppose. Pucker up baby! Ha, ha, ha.
7. Well it was a toss up with which smelt worse, the bait or Princess Smelly Feet’s (me) feet…. Ha, ha, ha! I personally couldn’t smell the bait and I think my terrible sense of smell, and lack there of it, kind of freaked them out. Oh my gosh… I am my father! He can’t smell skunks, I can’t smell things too!
8. Between giggling, eating rommian (noodles), playing with the bait, and making fun of each other, we did actually do some fishing…. “some” being the key word here.
9. Fish caught were ranked according to size, so, a big fish could score you more points than catching many fish. The winner for the best fisherman went to Kim Tae (7pts = 2 small fish), 2nd place went to me (4pts = 1 fish) and Byung Hyuk scored no points.
10. We ended up freezing our butts off but that was part of the fun! Award for the cutest fisherman definitely went to Byung Hyuk for wearing my super small sweater and then going home in it….ha, ha, ha. I’m sure he definitely got some funny looks!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Who's smelly?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I have a clean body.
-- Kim Tae

Ah... meet Zealot. As a joke I changed his seat so that he's beside the window. When he asked me why, I told him it's cause it's easier to throw him out the window than out of the classroom. He loves horse-playing in class.

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, September 21

1. Turns out my student Chloe has been picking up same rather humorous English phrases by watching American English movies. Today as I passed him in the hall, he turned and said, “Yo baby!”
2. Today was the day of our big presentation to the Korean teachers regarding how Mrs. Chung and I prepared our two students for the big English contest… and guess who didn’t get to go, yup, me! Go figure. So much for this being our presentation. Apparently it’s cause these Korean/English teachers don’t understand the very subject they teach… hmm.
3. My curiosity in the qualifications of teachers here is really frustrating me. I find it interesting to note how some of these teachers (a good majority actually) can major in English, do the tests, get the marks, and then get the sweet job. BUT… apparently no one has bothered to have a simple conversation with them. I’m embarrassed for them!
4. Always am amused at the words and phrases my Korean friends and co-workers come up with. Today’s phrase of the day was “foot’s neck”… “Ah, I hurt my foot’s neck”… this of course referring to the word “ankle”. Ha, ha, ha.
5. Still reaping the royalties of the successful English contest. Today my student’s mother took me and Mrs. Chung out for a hearty meal at “The Rich House”… and yes, as the name implies, it’s definitely got rich taste. I ate a steak fit for a king!!!
6. Although I think my student’s mother is incrediably generous and sweet, I was rather confused to hear that she is an English teacher and yet she didn’t speak a word of English throughout the entire meal. Instead, I struggled with understanding her Korean and then having Mrs. Chung act as a translator.
7. My much anticipated new after school drama club (F.S. Talents) was a flop today as the kids refused to speak up and participate.
8. Chocking on a mouth full of peanut butter… not one of my finest moments today nor do I want to make a hobby of it. Dang… they should put a warning on Skippy!
9. Well, well, well… Byung Hyuk finally showed up at the gym for training. Mind ya, he was 40 minutes late and we didn’t actually train together. He came out to here to get the inside scoop on my latest “fan club member”… Yong Chan.
10. Turns out both Kim Tae and Byung Hyuk are definitely not fans of Yong Chan… they’re definitely anti-Yong Chan…ha, ha, ha. Well, I trust their judgement and so Yong Chan’s gotta go.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Is there something I'm missing here?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Common sense is not so common.
-- Voltaire

Cheers to the great Korean men who touched my life today.... Charlie-Bear, Yong Chan, Hyun Bin. Okay, okay... so Hyun Bin doesn't even know I exist but I just told my elementary students that he's my new boyfriend... ha, ha, ha.

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, September 20

1. Playing bingo with my elementary grade 5 students turned into an all-out class war as kids really pushed the competition and started getting too excited. It was rather amusing actually.
2. I have officially renamed Charlie from my grade 6 class “Charlie-Bear” as he gave me the biggest hug today. He sad he was sad because I had no boyfriend. I told him that with hugs like those, what girl would need a boyfriend… ha, ha, ha. Thanks Charlie Bear! As a joke I blurted out that my new boyfriend is Hyun Bin but somehow I don't think they believed me...ha, ha, ha!
3. After teaching four straight classes, doing crowd-control on a bus of elementary students (who don’t speak a word of English… ya, that’s interesting) and then walking one of my students home, I then had to rush to class at the middle school. My energy and patience was running low. I just wanted five minutes of quietness…. didn’t happen.
4. Like every Wednesday… I’m not excited about having to rush back to teach another class. I asked if they could change my schedule but my request was met with such resistance. I wasn’t impressed…. I teach more classes than almost all other teachers and so the least they could do was help me out… didn’t happen, so I went for a walk to cool off.
5. Ended up playing baseball with some of my middle school boys who were quite impressed with my homerun. Not bad for a girl, eh… ha, ha, ha. Being a girl has NOTHING to do with it… talent baby!
6. After a long day at school it was nice to see Yong Chan and just cruise around in his fun-mobile while singing to some good beats. Must admit that he doesn’t have the greatest of voices but the fact that he tries so hard to make me laugh, hmm, ya… major points.
7. Am convinced Yong Chan talks more than my mother and me combined… it’s shocking but it’s true!!!
8. As me and Mr. Celebrity (Yong Chan) strolled the streets in his hometown, he received various calls from his father. I’m convinced someone called his father and ratted us out. Ha, ha, ha. I can only imagine what they said.
9. Ate like a queen at VIBS restaurant… so delicious but now I don’t think I can eat for a week. Ha, ha, ha.
10. While returning home on the subway I started thinking about life's lessons... obviously I've learned nothing from past relationships except for the fact that they all end. Maybe it's my destiny to be like Ms. Ross from highschool... she bought a lot of cats and grew old alone. Am I destined to be like her... a SPINSTER? Oh gosh... scary.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Is it wrong to want something that is so bad for you?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
If you have to think about it, the answer is no.
-- Me.

Welcome to my KONGLISH class... ha, ha, ha. Regardless of how many times I try to help them out by incorporating Korean in my lesson, the kids are always amused by my efforts. Ha, ha, ha!

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, September 19

1. Busted out in a giggle fit when Steve (Mr. Long legs from class 3-1) stood up in front of the class to present. He stood there exposing his long legs and we all thought he had no pants on. It was hilarious. Turns out he’s a fan of the short-shorts… Steve, you just made my day! Ha, ha, ha.
2. My student Ryan argued with me today over changing his name. He no longer wants to wear the same name of my ex…. he says it’s bad luck.
3. Out of all the spaces that stupid fly could had landed on, he had to pick my arm. And out of all the teachers who could have been there with me, HE had to be there. I know he got kicks out of smacking the fly dead on my arm with the fly-swatter. Nasty.
4. Revenge doesn’t solve anything but it is sweet. Fifteen minutes later it was MY turn to kill a bug. It conveniently landed on his coffee cup. I told a student to kill it. Maybe I should have also told the student to pour out the coffee after, or at least tell the teacher.
5. Struggled to tell him about the sinking bug in his coffee but I just couldn’t stop laughing… ha, ha, ha. That was SO wrong!
6. Always am amused with the conversations I have with the math teacher when she drives me home. Today she congratulated me on the newest member of my "fan club"... the “Young Pup” (as she refered to Yong Chan as) and then she made me pinky-swear that I wouldn’t say the name of “You-know-who”… so from now on he’ll be referred to as “Him”.
7. Despite the incredible stress I just can’t seem to shake off (thanks to “Him”), I will say that it’s been doing wonders on my body that I am thankful for. While some people resort to eating, or drinking, or smoking… I, on the other hand, seem to go into hard-core training mode. Saturday was a glimpse of that but today it continued.
8. Definitely kicked my own butt at the gym today. With no Kim Tae or Byung Hyuk there to stop me, I went full-fledge with pushing the weights and then went hard on the stairs in my apartment building.
9. It’s definitely nice to know that I’m not alone in this drama and so I just wanted to say thanks to all those, friends and strangers, who have shown much support to me while I deal with this “lovely situation”.
10. Oh my gosh… Yong Chan calls me more than Je Min use to… and I thought that’d be impossible to beat. Ha, ha, ha!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Is that it?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims.
-- Harriet Woods

Well apparently Kim Tae didn't like his picture on my homepage (Friday's entry) and so he sent me a different picture to post. Wow...!!!

Highlights of my Day... Monday, September 18

1. Not only did I wake up late, I woke up with the world’s worse bed-head and now no ride to school. Showed up an hour late for work and that was ok but showing up and walking into an intense staff meeting, not okay. So embarrassing.
2. Broke the news to my co-teacher…. my partner in crime, Mrs. Chung. She just sat there speechless and I had to help her pick up her jaw.
3. Skipped out on lunch because I knew I’d be the center of conversations among some of my students. I had dropped the news to a student but by second period I was already being bombarded with curious students.
4. I am officially the ring-leader in my 3-2 class… the “Heartbreakers’ class” and apparently my recent break-up has won me over with the girls in the class… ha, ha, ha.
5. It was definitely interesting to note the various mixed reactions I got from numerous staff and students concerning my break-up. Some said nothing, others gave me sad faces, some gave hugs, others gave candy, and so on. However, I definitely have to say that there’s two boys who stood out from the rest. One boy asked me out for dinner and another student told me his dad and I would make a perfect couple.
6. My parent/teachers’ class started up again today. At first my class consisted of the new principle (Mr. No-Smile…oh gosh!), a co-worker who I didn’t think understood a word of English (oh gosh!!), and one parent (oh gosh!!!). So, I sought out another teacher and the vice principle (both are regular students in this class).
7. As if having the new principle in my class didn’t make me nervous enough I then had to be his partner for the activity. And if that wasn’t bad enough, I laughed when he said his favorite color was pink and apparently he didn’t seem the humor. Then… he called me a boy cause I said I love the color blue, boxing, K1 fighting, and weight training. Thankfully Mr. Jo helped me out cause I was dying in the class!!!
8. On my way home I ran into one of my students at Yawoori. She had been arguing with her boyfriend and so I thought I’d treat her to supper. She laughed at my words of advice, “Boys stink!”
9. Decided to skip out on training and doing any original plans for the evening and instead ventured over to see Yong Chan.
10. I knew I’d like Yong Chan as a new friend the moment I asked him what he wanted to do and he responded by saying he wanted ice cream. Ah…. a man after my own heart!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do all boys stink?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
If ice cream were a man, I'd marry him!
-- Me

This was one of the first pictures of "us".

I'd be lying if I said I didn't love him but I'd be a fool to continue this drama. I'm sorry, I miss you, I love you... but I can't.

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, September 17

1. Broke the news to Yong Chan on the phone that I’m not Korean. It was quite amusing cause at first he was rather confused.
2. Was rather amused at “Babo” and how he tried to sell Yong Chan to me on the phone… okay, okay. I get the idea. Yong Chan is a great friend to have. Thanks.
3. After much thought, I came to the conclusion that today will be the day that Ryan and my story of “us” ends. It's not what I necessarily want but I think it's what I need. I think it's the right thing to do.
4. Waited..
5. … and waited
6. …. and waited some more for Ryan to come back to Cheonan.
7. He finally arrived and so I told him the news.
8. As I told him the news, he wasn’t shocked, he wasn’t sad, he wasn’t mad, he wasn’t happy, he wasn’t anything…. he was just Ryan.
9. Went to sleep totally clueless as to what just happened. Did I just give almost a year of my life to a man who is willing to fight with me but doesn’t see it in himself to fight FOR me? I’m confused.
10. This sucks!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How could I be so wrong?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
I'm speechless.
-- Ryan

... and the award for bravest guy of the night goes to Yong Chan, my new found friend, for busting a move on the dance floor to make me laugh. Brave boy! Thanks for the laughs. Greg and I had a fun time with you and "Babo" (Matt)... ha, ha, ha!

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, September 16

1. Woke up extra early just in case plans for today (attending the wedding with Ryan) were back on. No such luck though... that TOTALLY sucked and you have NO idea. But anyway, congrats to the Yoon family for, what I'm only left guessing, will be a beautiful wedding.
2. Talk about total self-motivation. Refused to mope around the house and so instead I went into super training mode! Ha, ha, ha. I went for a 30 minute run in the pouring ran and then did stairs. Started from the basement level 3 and busted my butt up to the 20th floor and then back down. Run Forrest, run!!! Ha, ha, ha!
3. Showered up and then hit the gym a couple hours later for more training. Training at the gym today wasn’t as productive as my run and stairs in the morning though but it was good. It was good cause at least it got me out of the house, my mind off of things, and I got to see my buddies.
4. Chatted it up with Kim Tae, my new friend (thanks to Byung Hyuk). The “close friend” count is now up to three… oh,.. watch out!
5. Byung Hyuk showed up late for training and he didn’t really train when I was there. Instead, we chatted and joked around about some English phrase book he got out of a cereal box. Man… they REALLY need to get native English speakers for editing these books. Brutal!
6. Came home and headed out to Songtan where I was once again smuggled into the club (they still have their silly “anti-Canadian” rule). At first they weren’t going to let me in and so Greg told them that I was his wife… nice. That definitely made for some interesting conversations among us two and them later on in the evening! Ha, ha, ha!
7. Got approached by this cute guy, Yong Chan, who was curious about the Korean marking on my neck. And so I, thinking he probably didn’t really understand English, told him I was part Korean so that I didn’t have to deal with a predictable confusing conversation. Turns out his English is awesome and so he was all curious about who in my family was Korean… oh gosh!
8. We were all about having a good time but apparently Yong Chan didn’t know how to dance and so I offered to be a kind of dancing teacher to him. It was so funny cause he totally has two left feet! Ha, ha, ha.
9. Low and behold, I also ran into Darnell while I was there. I haven’t talked to him in almost two months and so it was rather an intense conversation tonight. Our argument ended with me punching the wall and him taking off. I thought he had gone in the bathroom and so I went in after him. Chicken… I think he went out the back door.
10. Despite my opinion of Trouble Boy, he ended up being my hero tonight with calming me down. I don’t know why I waste my time on some people…. you just never really know people though I guess.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How do you define "friend"?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Golf is a lot of walking, broken up by disappointment and bad arithmetic.
-- Author Unknown

At the bowling rematch tonight, Byung Hyuk thought he'd invite a friend who claimed he was a bad bowler. Ha, ha, ha. We thought it was a sure win and that he'd be paying the bill... we were wrong!

Despite his loss (and me uncontrollably laughing about it), Byung Hyuk was all smiles.

Highlights of my Day... Friday, September 15

1. With way too much prep time in the afternoon, I tried hard to humor myself and pass the time away. So, I put my nose in my books and studied Korean. Ended up trying to count how many Korean words/phrases I could recall. Got up to over 200 and then lost interest.
2. Find it rather ironic that I’m asking for relationship advice from two guys who butcherized my heart in the past.
3. Thanks to Sean for the “virtual hug”…ha, ha, ha. If you only knew what you were to me in highschool. Boy have times really changed things.
4. Nothing beats getting a hair cut while getting a free Korean language lesson, being fed Jeju Island oranges (oh, so yummy), listening to some good Korean tunes and having some cute guy make you tea in the background… all for 8,000W (= $8). I always fear getting my hair cut but tonight it was awesome. Thanks to my hair dresser’s cute neighbor for “conviently” dropping by to give me a Jeju orange and to make me tea. He doesn’t speak a word of English, he giggles at my Korean and always seems to show up.
5. Turns out tomorrow’s original plans to go to Ryan’s brother’s wedding are a big flop and so I won’t even begin to express my disappointment. I don’t even know where to begin and so, instead, I dedicate this song to you Ryan.... "Walk Away", by Christina Aguleira.

[click on this link to see the lyrics for this song]

http://www.lyricdude.com/christinaaguilera/walkaway.htm

6. Whoever said shopping doesn’t solve problems obviously never stepped into “Valley Girl”! Decided to bump myself out of this gloomy mood and what better way than getting all dolled up, strutting downtown to splurge on some shopping and then treating myself to ice cream. That’s exactly what I did and you know what, it worked like a charm.
7. Who ever said distracting yourself from the real problem doesn’t solve things obviously have never met my awesome buddy, Byung Hyuk. Tonight we had the big bowling rematch. Loser was to pay for the game. Byung Hyuk brought a friend, Kim Tae, who supposedly sucked at bowling… supposedly. He creamed us!!!
8. I can’t believe I lost to a guy… a guy who claims he doesn’t even know how to bowl!!! He beat me by ONE POINT… we won’t mention how bad I beat Byung Hyuk though. Ha, ha, ha. For a loser though, he’s really good about it. Ha, ha, ha.
9. I treated the boys out to a good meal downtown where we chatted it up, humored each other with our Konglish, and shared a lot of laughs. This is happiness.
10. Came home and jumped on msn where I spent some time talking to my mom and then my good friend Errol. Errol and I met in Korea but now he’s back in Canada. Everyone needs an "Errol"... you're awesome!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Is that normal?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Just do it.
-- Nike

Here's Carrie showing off the recent victim of their playtime... a spooked bird.

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, September 14

1. It may not be spring but love is definitely in the air! I’ve labeled my 3-2 class the “Heartbreaker’s class” cause of the school heart throbs and heart breakers that are all in this class. Today cupid’s arrow hit my student Ivy. He’s a big chubby, super sweet, teddy bear who spent my whole class in a total daze as he starred out the window at his crush, a level one cutie.
2. As class 3-2 ended, I rushed out to figure out who was this special girl who’s apparently captured ALL of Ivy’s attention. I thought Ivy would be embarrassed but he was quite proud to point her out to me. Oh, to be young again. So innocent, so pure, and so rich in feelings and thought.
3. Rumor has it my students were playing some crazy game and ended up breaking some bird’s wing. Not too sure what the heck they were doing but they were quite happy to show off the bird to all in the school.
4. Not cool boys… dropping the bird on my desk was neither funny or appreciated!!!
5. Skipped out on lunch today for the very fact that I just can’t stomach fish… cooked fish that is. Lunch today consisted of fish soup, mini fish dipped in some kind of sticky substance, and a huge chunk of fish too. NASTY! Needless to say the school definitely stank today!
6. I’ve always believed that things always tend to work out but I think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew this time and am clueless as to what’s next… do you know Ryan?!
7. If relationships tie us down to one person than I’m convinced relationships are definitely God’s way of torturing us. Not too sure why I deserve this though.
8. Jung Hyoi to the rescue! My hero for the night was Jung Hyoi. He totally surprised me when he jumped on a bus and ventured out to Cheonan from Seoul to cheer me up. I totally wasn’t expecting it.
9. Humored Jung Hyoi with taking him to some of my hot spots downtown Cheonan where I test out my Korean. While showing Jung Hyoi around, I was interested to realize just how many people I know (or at least are familiar with) and just how homey Cheonan has become for me.
10. Relationship advice 101 with Jung Hyoi… he’s single but maybe that’s the best testimony ever to relationships. They’re more trouble than they’re worth.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
What am I doing?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Relationships are hard. It’s like a full-time job, and we should treat it like one. If your boyfriend or girlfriend wants to leave you, they should give you two weeks’ notice. There should be severance pay and before they leave you, they should have to find you a temp.
-- Bob Ettinger

Look at me... I'm such a kid! I was loving it but I was having a giggle fest. It was quite amusing!

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, September 13

1. As I stood there waiting for Mr. PE Teacher, I was approached by my new building's hottie... the guy I told off in the elevator just the other day. Not only did I find out though that what I said was rude but, based on Hottie's reaction, he seems to had liked it. He leaned over my shoulder and said hi to me this morning. Now I'm definitely confused about this guy. Ha, ha, ha.
2. Today’s elementary grade 6 class focused on comparisons and opposites and so we did all these silly things to compare taller, shorter, etc. My demonstration of stronger turned into a whole class arm-wrestling competition. And guess who was the winner…. me! There’s was NO way on God’s green earth that I was going to loss to a bunch of 13 year olds!!!
3. My grade 5 elementary kids love doing mini dramas and so today I had written up a short play for each group to perform. Best actor award went to Brent for improvising the script and adding some hilarious Konglish. Best supporting actor went to Joe for his totally exaggerated lines.
4. After teaching four straight elementary classes I then had to load the bus up with all the kids, deal with their hyper-activeness and then rush back for class at my middle school. I’m curious as to who made this “beautiful” schedule cause I’ll be sure to NOT give them a Christmas card this year! This is brutal.
5. Murphy’s law… not only was the bus running late, as I rushed up the school’s driveway, I was greeted by one of my student’s parents who is also in my parent’s English class. Her other daughter takes the bus with me on Wednesdays and she wanted to introduce me to her husband. Showed up for class 15 minutes late.
6. The homework topic for my middle school level 3 students yesterday was who they’d want to be. Today some students handed in their homework early. One girl wrote my name down as her answer. I definitely flattered with her answer and reasoning but personally, I rather be a house cat… ha, ha, ha.
7. A turn of events and a surprisingly rude parting with “him” turned me sour and made me show up at the gym all annoyed. Mind ya, this just worked to fuel my workout and so I’m sure to wake up tomorrow with incredibly sore shoulders.
8. Turns out that not only can I kick Byung Hyuk’s Korean butt at bowling but I also got him with arm wrestling tonight at training. However, I should also mention I also tricked him with my “tag team” move… ha, ha, ha. Rematch for bowling was officially set tonight for this Friday... bring it on boy!
9. Ventured over to the movie store and picked out the cheesiest romantic comedy. Besides paying attention to the interesting and fashionable clothes on the leading actress, I paid little attention to the movie. That was two hours of my life I’ll never get back.
10. Late, late night text messages from the notorious “Trouble Boy”… he’s back! He’s now so incredibly intensive with his messages and now claims he loves me. Dude… you don’t even know my last name!

QUESTION OF THE DAY…
Are all boys this stubborn?

QUOTE OF THE DAY…
Decide on what you think is right, and stick to it.-
- George Eliot

We won't bring up what happened to my other piggy bank (poor, poor piggy) but thanks to Jung Hyoi for the substitute piggy!

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, September 12

1. An already awkward moment turned into an even more awkward moment when the new principle sat down facing me and attempted to talk. He doesn’t really know any English and so I tried to make him feel more comfortable by giving my Korean my best try…. holy backfire!!! Not only did he give me this rude smirk but he also told my co-teacher (in Korean) for me to only speak English. I didn’t know if he meant to him or to everyone here but I kind of felt it was rather ironic though.
2. After sitting through 10 minutes of this grueling I talk -- she translates -- he talks -- she translates again, conversation, I then tried my best to confuse them both by using lots of slang and idioms. It definitely worked to cause more confusion and akwardness but finally it all ended. 3. Today in my 1-1 class I was trying to teach them how to use the phrase, “Do you want to join me?” So, we started talking about things we’d like to do tonight and well, apparently Terry did not understand how to use the phrase and asked me, “I’d like to sleep, do you want to join me?” Ha, ha, ha.
4. Recently I’ve been running into the new hottie that lives in my apartment… literally running into him that is, but he never laughs at our mishaps or says hi. So yesterday Byunk Hyuk taught me a new phrase to say to him next time I see him.
5. Did the mistake of forgetting not only my laptop cord but also my earphones and so I was stuck listening to the teachers in the teachers’ room complain and joke about the new principle. Seems like he’s got everyone stressed out… not good.
6. It’s funny how in Korea lines, signs, lights and roads loose all meaning when you’re on a scooter! Sidewalks turn into quick easy paths, red lights turn into “go on, be careful”, pedestrian walkways are used by both people and scooters, road lines are totally disregarded and considered only applicable to cars and trucks, and so it’s fair to say scooters definitely define their own road rules… no rules.
7. I trained solo tonight at the gym and it was actually pretty productive besides the university girls who never seem to interrupt me to chat. Kicked my own butt on the treadmill.
8. Shocked the socks off of the university girls when I weighted myself in front of them. I may be small but I’m definitely a lot of woman… ha, ha, ha
9. Decided, what the heck, and tested out my new phrase of the day that Byung Hyuk taught me, despite my uncertainty with the phrase. As I returned home from the gym I saw the new hot neighbor and so I quickly jumped into the elevator with him. When we reached the 7th floor, I stepped in front of him and said it when I exited. Mind ya, I was too nervous to turn around and see his reaction.
10. Yes…. I do miss you in Canada.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Did I just admit to listening to Paris Hilton's songs and liking them?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
That's hot!
-- Paris Hilton

Jokes, jokes, jokes.... I sense a pattern here with this boy!

Highlights of my Day... Monday, September 11

1. That’s right I did it and you know what it felt soooooooo good! I took the last instant coffee pack at work. And as I sat there the other teachers scrambled around looking for coffee. Here’s to all the time you guys refused to kill my much beloved coffee machine that STILL serves hot chocolate instead of coffee.
2. I basked in all the moment but was robbed of my glory when the vice principle showed up with another box or 180 coffee packs.
3. Today marks the 5 year anniversary of the twin towers 9/11. I can still remember having my eyes glued to CNN for days on end cause of it.
4. Tomorrow Mrs. Chung and I are suppose to hand in the script for our big presentation on how to prepare students for an English contest and so today Mrs. Chung and another followed me around like paparazzi. We need pictures for our presentation but it was rather amusing striking poses while trying to teach. Poser… ha, ha, ha.
5. Find it rather interesting that our presentation is going to be to an audience consisting of only Korean-English teachers and yet we can’t submit an English handout for them. Doesn’t a major prerequisite for teaching English mean you have to understand the language?!
6. Considering teaching Korean next year… sarcastically speaking that is! But hey, if we’ve got teachers teaching English who…. ah, never mind. You got the point.
7. Holy drama with my middle school class 1-2. Today such a small problem exploded into a huge problem and what started out with only involving me and a student ended up involving two class sets of students and two other teachers. So, what happened you ask… here’s the story:

8. Four hours later, what started off as a silly joke on Carrie’s behalf and exploded into a wrestling scene between him and I in front of his class, finally concluded at 4pm when he came and finally said sorry. He looked a mess and we both felt terrible. I didn’t know what to say so I gave him a hug.
9. In my attempt to encourage Byung Hyuk to stop smoking I have now agreed (well, threatened) to take up smoking as my new hobby. I told him that it’ll cause me to get really sick and smelly… then he’ll feel so bad and will have to take care of me. He wasn’t impressed, nor did it convince him to stop smoking. He said I’m already smelly… my feet that is. He’s right. Ha, ha, ha. My feet may be cute but, after a workout, even I don’t want to smell them… ha, ha, ha!
10. Ryan, Mr. Pasta Chef Master, made his signature piece tonight for dinner. I’m sure there were more calories in that cream pasta sauce and bacon than I’ve eaten all week but I don’t care. It tasted too good to not enjoy it! Ha, ha, ha!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do I really have to smoke?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Do not do an immoral thing for moral reasons.
-- Thomas Hardy

Today was definitely all about good times and lots of laughs. Thanks to Byung Hyuk for the awesome time.

What you're looking at is Byung Hyuk's attempt to hit the pins down... not too sure if I'd exactly call it bowling though but it was so incrediably funny!!!

Highlights of my Day... Sunday, September 10

1. Woke up and headed home to Cheonan. Today was the big bowling competition with Byung Hyuk and so I definitely didn’t want to miss it.
2. As I scurried out the bus terminal I ran into an old friend of a friend. Tasha, do you remember that guy who tried to do the splits to impress us?! Ha, ha, ha… ya, I ran into him. I was quite shocked that he remembered my name but was amused by the nasty look his girlfriend gave me… re-track the claws chic!!!
3. The bowling alley was busy with practicing bowling team members and so we asked to change lanes. We were the only ones not wearing those freakish looking, metal robotic wrist supports, ha, ha, ha. So, we bowled in the second last lane but still seemed to get the attention of various on-lookers.
4. Talk about pure luck; scored a strike in the first frame of the first game Mind you, the computer wasn’t working and so it was almost ignored. I knew this was a fluke and so I ended up waiting for the worker to come and add it into the computer. It’s this strike that ultimately changed everything in the long run though!!!
5. Turns out, as much as a bad bowler I consider myself to be, I’m a better bowler than Byung Hyuk. Mind ya, I don’t know what the heck he was doing. I don’t think it was called bowling. He had crazy form and didn’t even use all the finger holes in the ball. Must admit it was impressive but I laughed so hard. We definitely did more giggling than bowling.
6. Well, the deal was that the loser had to buy dinner and so off we went to Mainz where he then bought me dinner. I won by a measly 9 points! I was quite proud of my silly victory. Ha, ha, ha. Talk of another sports competition is one the way. Good times!
7. Returned home only to walk in on Ryan throwing out numerous things of mine. I didn’t clue into what he was throwing out until I notice three large garbage bags packed with stuff. Turns out he was trying to set up my new shelf units for me, as a surprise, and so he thought he’d help me sort out the stuff. What’s up with that?!
8. My bedroom finally looks complete… minus a bed, but then again I’m Korea and a bed is optional. I bought this new shelf unit and it’s looks great. It’s a dark rich brown.
9. Considering the fact that I’ve been out of my house basically the whole weekend, I opted out on studying my Korean vocabulary for tomorrow’s test and so now I have to think of some good excuse to get out of it…. hmm.
10. Spent the rest of my evening listening to music, updating my homepage and emailing.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Did you just get beat by a girl?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Sports do not build character. They reveal it.
-- Heywood Hale Broun

Nice pose Jung Hyoi! Thanks for the awesome day and all the laughs! You're cute but I'm still not going to show you those ugly pictures of me.... ha, ha, ha.

Highlights of my Day... Saturday, September 9

1. Surprisingly, after only 4 hours of sleep, I woke up refreshed. I raced to get ready and then checked my emails before scooting out the door and off to Seoul.
2. Word of the day, “jimoungous”. Ha, ha, ha… of course only a Pollack would come up with this word.
3. Good times reminiscing with Dudgeon the Cumudgeon about our past “thing”, the notorious bat phone, driving into snow banks, my cheesy-milk monster ways (ha, ha, ha), and all that good stuff from back in the day when I was a young little polish muffin. Now I’m a full-grown peerage, as he says. Ha, ha, ha.
4. Met up with Jung Hyoi in Seoul and he took me to see his university. It ‘s a pretty big school and it was great to see where he spends so much of his time. He’s quite the studious guy. Me being probably the only foreigner on campus was rather weird though and caused me to get many stares… ha, ha, ha.
5. Funniest moment of the day definitely was while we were eating ice cream. Jung Hyoi was looking at all my id cards in my wallet when he discovered some passport pictures. I quickly grabbed them and refused to show them to him. I ended up jamming them into my seat padding and it was so amusing to see his confused attempt to find them. Everyone was starring as I was uncontrollably laughing. The fact that his eyes seem to totally disappear when he laughs definitely added to the amusement. So cute.
6. Visited one of those photo booth shops and got our pictures done. It was so funny but the place was swarming with young teenagers and so we felt so old!
7. Vote Jung Hyoi one of Korea’s finest gentlemen! Definitely! He carried my purse, walked on the street side, shielded me from the mass of shoppers at the market, refused to let me pay for anything, and even helped me put my shoes on. He’s a rare breed, for sure!
8. Checked out Myungdong market with Jung Hyoi and checked out the newest hot noodle restaurant. I was quite impressed with my self-discipline with regards to today’s shopping. I ended up only buying lip gloss and eye shadow but oh was it ever hard to resist.
9. Thanks to Jung Hyoi’s father for giving Jung Hyoi his credit card for us to play with today! Ha, ha, ha… and no, we didn’t abuse it, were tempted but didn’t.
10. Jung Hyoi is so innocent. It’s refreshing but was also humerous to see how he greatly struggled with finding me a motel room for me to crash in tonight. I decided last minute to stay in Seoul for the night but we couldn’t find a motel and so we started exploring the infamous “love” motels. Best line of the night definitely came from one love motel manager who, when asked how much it was to sleep there, was totally confused and shocked. “Sleep, you want to sleep here?” And with that, we left.

QUESTION OF THE DAY…
Since when did being a gentlemen become so out-dated and rare?

QUOTE OF THE DAY…
I-like-it-a-lot!
-- Dudgeon the Curmudgeon

Here's my team... we were a rather hyper team but we got our butt kicked 3-1. The big guy beside me is one of my favorite students, Albert. He's a tough dude but taking a punch by him today (by accident) wasn't too cool.

... and her is the winning team. Well, most of these girls were on my team but during the mid point of the game, we shuffled players around. Their team caption was Bryan (boy in the orange shirt and glasses... Mr. Attitude boy)

Highlights of my Day... Friday, September 8

1. Game day with my elementary grade 6 students. We played our summer vacation gameboards (like Wednesday’s Wollang class) and it hilarious! As a part of the game, they have to do various exercises and so when English class ended, they were all exhausted. They’ll all sleep good tonight… and in third period class too for that matter. Ha, ha, ha!
2. Due to major attitude problems with my grade 5 Eumbong elementary kids, I had pinky-swore them that if they all did their homework I’d give them a game day today. So we took a vote and played soccer.
3. The boys whined about having to have girls on their team and so I agreed to play. Mind you, this also meant the girls on my team did nothing… dang!!! My team had all the girls as forwards and I was the only defense player. Eventually we switched up the teams and so we then only had a couple of girls. My team totally was leaning on me though so I definitely got my workout for the day!
4. In the middle of the game two of my teammates decided to have it out on the field! I rush over to break up this little fist fight but ended up getting punched by the biggest kid on my team. Talk about taking one for the team… I don’t think that that’s what is meant by that!
5. Jokes, jokes, jokes. Getting punched in the chest was apparently the highlight of my elementary boys. My teammate was extremely apologetic but they’re boys; they all thought it was pretty cool.
6. Returned to Eumbong Middle School totally exhausted from my morning game day with my elementary kids. Searched out a quite spot in the school and napped for about 30 minutes. Oh man, I’m getting old!!!
7. Apparently Supervisor Lee (my “buddy”.. ya, okay) was so impressed with my success at the English contest (Vanessa 1st place and Rachael 2nd) that he’s arranged to have both Mrs. Chung and me give a presentation to over 60 Korean-English teachers. The presentation is on how to prepare students for contests. He’s got this idea that we have some secret to success.
8. Script for the presentation is due on Monday and so it looks like I’ve got homework now for the weekend… great. Seems like the harder I work and the more success I encounter, the more work it just leads too.
9. It’s funny to note just how different my Friday nights in Canada compared to here in Korea. I use to bartend on Fridays and so Friday was always a very exhausting, action-packed night. Now days, my Friday nights consist of me curling up on the couch to my “Survival Korean” textbook and hitting the sack by midnight.
10. Oh my gosh… just as I was dozing off, Jung Hyoi calls me. Tomorrow I’m going to wake up early and head to Seoul to see him but tonight I ended up talking to him till 4:30am. Oops.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Are you okay?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
Natural padding baby, no worries.
-- Me

What you're looking at is the social science teacher punsihing a whole class for forgetting their textbooks and being too loud in class. I find it rather amusing but that's just me.

Highlights of my Day... Thursday, September 7

1. Drama with the middle school kids. While sitting at my desk, some frantic woman came rushing into the teachers’ room with her daughter, my student. Turns out my student ran away from home and today her mother caught her sneaking home for some stuff. So, instead of her dealing with her daughter, she imposed her on us teachers to deal with.
2. Never did figure out what the heck was happening but instead was able to comprehend bits and pieces of the story. I had known that my student was absent for two days but thought nothing of it.
3. After numerous teachers added their two cents about the run-away student and then having to listening and watch her homeroom teacher totally rat her out, I ended up being the shoulder for her to cry on. Did someone forget to tell them that she’s just a kid?!
4. Apparently I was the joke of the day in my level 1 class as I arrived to class without realizing my run-away student had apparently left some “stuff” on the shoulder of my shirt. Yes… it was gross but given the situation, I didn’t care.
5. Troy, my little shadow from my level 1 class, surprised me today with asking for the meaning of some English words he picked up.
6. Ended up searching out Conner, the new level 3 student, who’s apparently quite the naughty boy when it comes to English words. He’s got a fondness towards English swear words. So, thanks to him, my little innocent Troy isn’t so innocent anymore. Turns out Troy thinks Conner is cool and so he’s been listening in on Conner’s lunchtime chats.
7. Lately I’ve been receiving lots of emails from various people of the past. I’m starting to get the impression that me being so far away from everyone has kind of made it easier for them to express their thoughts to me. Whether it’s my former ex-buddy / wanna-be boyfriend, the prom date heartbreaker from high school, the shy girl I sat beside in home economics class, the Polish hottie I once dated, or my brother, it’s definitely been interesting re-kindling friendships with them and reminiscing, but, in some cases, very questionable.
8. With few classes, lots of prep time and even more free time after work, needless to say I’ve been doing a lot of thinking and daydreaming…. all those “what ifs”. Maybe some things are best left in the past, but maybe not. I know there’s a reason for everything but am still clueless as to what some of these reasons are.
9. Looks like things have changed again. Tonight I noticed some tall, skinny dude hanging around Byung Hyuk… turns out he’s the replacement guy. So this Saturday is Byung Hyuk’s official last shift.
10. Saw my little buddy there at the gym… the little brat who won’t leave me alone. Oddly enough I’m really developing a fondness to this little kid. He lets me practice my choppy Korean on him and is one of the few who don’t giggle when I speak Korean. The fact that he lets me kick him in the bum and play wrestle with him is a bonus.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
How Koreanized are you?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
You are a polski with some spicy kimchi on the side.
Dudgeon the Curmudgeon

Today class was definitely not work for me... it was me being a kid with my kids.... awesome!



How can I not love my job when these are my students... they're so funny!

Highlights of my Day... Wednesday, September 6

1. Game day with my Wollang Elementary students was a TOTAL success!!! Last week my grade 6 students made these cool giant game boards and so today we used them.
2. What better way to amuse and entertain a room packed of students then have them play a game where they have to do silly exercises. In addition to having the students write numerous English sentences on their game board, I also had them fill in the remaining squares with a bit of army training. They loved it and it left everyone in giggles!!!
3. The game board and focused language was different for my grade 5 class but they too had to do army exercises. Turns out Kyle is not only the class cutie but the class strong boy! Kyle you’re awesome!
4. By the end of my classes all my students were exhausted and drained. Had a good laugh watching them in the lunch room. I was convinced half of them were going to pass out!
5. Met the new hottie in my building and it was so embarrassing. I was text messaging on my phone when the elevator door opened. I stepped out and totally colliding with this huge buff Korean! I’m sure that’ll leave a bruise (the phone stabbing into my chest that is). A neighbor of mine had told me about him and so there he stood in the flesh. Great hair!
6. New words of the day… “schoogle” and “skinship”. Apparently these are the new Konglish words. Schoogle refers to searching on Goggle search engine while at school. So it’s “school” plus “goggle”. As for “skinship”, I’m not too sure on this one but Byung Hyuk explained that it’s being touchy with friends. It’s not really flirtatious but instead relatively innocent touching (ie. someone’s arm, shoulder, etc.)
7. Apparently Byung Hyuk’s the biggest fan of skinship….ha, ha, ha. He likes my white girl skin… ha, ha, ha!
8. Turn of events… apparently my gym is having a hard time trying to find a replacement for Byung Hyuk and so next week is going to be his last week, not this Friday. Darn, eh?! Ha, ha, ha.
9. Byung Hyuk introduced me to three university girls who have apparently been eager to talk English with me. So he dragged them over and for the first couple of minutes they stood giggling. I thought I’d help by speaking Konglish but it ended up causing them to giggle more. Eventually we finally generated somewhat of a conversation.
10. No sooner did the university students leave and let me train but Byung Hyuk brought over a little boy. The boy didn’t speak a word of English but I found him a lot more interesting to talk to than the girls who apparently think my friend is hot and focused their questions around him. I find children are easy to talk to cause they use basic language and ask simple questions.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you like kimchi?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.
-- Franklin P. Jones

Well I may be living in Korea but I'm definitely not living it up in Seoul, or any city significantly similar to it. I live in Cheonan. It's a great city but not huge. My school, on the other hand, is in the middle of no where... Eumbong!

Highlights of my Day... Tuesday, September 5

1. Well my new furniture is here but for the time being I’m stuck only looking at it from the outside looking in. It’s sitting in my building’s security office cause of a joke gone bad… I won’t waste telling you the story but I’m hoping tomorrow I may be able to actually touch it… even take it home! Ha, ha, ha.
2. Wow… and if I didn’t think I had a great enough job, my job just got easier. A new English teacher came today. She’s super sweet and smart but she’s more of an assistant than anything… my assistant?! Tomorrow she’ll be my sidekick for the one middle school class I teach after elementary.
3. Due to the new class schedule, I have most of the afternoons off and so today I sat around enjoying the sun and studying my Korean. Nice life eh?!
4. Turns out my new principle knows more English that I thought, had hoped for, and had feared. Today he greeted me and then stood hovering over me as I sat at my desk. It was really ackward so I pretended to be busy and tried hard to avoid all eye contact. It worked.
5. With the Chosuk holiday (Korean Thanksgiving) coming up (first week of October) looks like I may be getting a week of holidays! Great… but didn’t I just have holidays?! Who cares!
6. And so the search has started… I’ve decided that for my week’s holiday I am going to get the much wanted lasik eye surgery done and so now it’s a matter of finding a doctor. How about Daniel Henney… just joking (he’s that cute doctor from the Korean drama “My Lovely Samsoon”)
7. In a haste to get directions, I called and called Ryan. Someone finally picked up the phone and spoke Korean. I asked and answered various questions and then said good-bye. Wow… I totally understood the whole conversation! Turns out I had just talked to Ryan’s mother!!! Oh my gosh! Can you say MAJOR BROWNIE POINTS!!!
8. Have you ever met someone and instantly connected?!… ya, didn’t get that tonight. With Byung Hyuk quitting the gym, I anticipated lonely work-outs and so I agreed to meet up with a potential work-out partner. It wasn’t a match.
9. Definitely have figured out who is and who isn’t my real friend here in Korea and I’ve narrowed it down to Byung Ryang (Ryan), Jung Hyoi (Koosy) and Byung Hyuk (River). What the heck was I doing searching out new friends (gym girl) was beyond me. I have three awesome friends already. Came to the realization of this during the uncomfortable drama that went down tonight at the gym in which I think Byung Hyuk got offended by. But, like all Korean dramas, there’s always a dramatic ending so tonight’s drama ended with me running back to Byung Hyuk to see if he was okay (I think she had offended him); he had already left the gym.
10. With Ryan out of town, I’ve had a lot of time and chances to do things with my two buddies. It’s definitely been an interesting Ryan-free week! It’s been great.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Who are you?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life. Rarely do members of one family grow up under the same roof.
-- Richard Bach

I definitely have to give a huge cheer to Cole and Marios for their brave performance. They're not top English students by any means but really shocked everyone with singing an English song. So proud of these two guys! Awesome!

Highlights of my Day... Monday, September 4

1. Today we had a pop song contest with the level 3 middle school students. It was so funny to see the boys try their best to impress the girls. I voted Kevin for biggest heart-throb…ha, ha, ha.
2. Once again Marios proved to be quiet the brave guy and, despite his great lack of English skills, he and Cole (another lower end English student) got up and braved the crowd together. They sang acopello and it was really good! They sang more English than I’ve heard come out of their mouth since the start of the year!!!
3. Turns out I was wrong about the girl who got eye surgery. It wasn’t the girl I had originally thought. Instead, it was this other girl who is quite a “relaxed” student. No offence but, if she really wanted to change her looks so desperately maybe she should try with a small diet… or a comb. Cutting up your beautiful eyes was not the answer… they were actually her strongest feature, go figure!
4. A friend of mine (foreigner) came from out of town to visit me and I was greatly amused when he handed his cell over to the taxi driver so that I could talk to the driver. I was the translator!!! Ha, ha, ha… it was pretty cool actually. Definitely a first.
5. Spent most of the evening listening to my friend’s relationship advice and defending mine… not so cool. His heart is good but I can’t help but think of what his real intentions are. It was fun though that he came to my neck of the woods for once, it gave him a chance to see how REAL Korea lives as oppose to those in Songtan (little America)
6. Hey Tasha… do you remember that guy from Mbar with the dreads?! I ran into him tonight and he’s still just as cute.... he still has the dreads too! I like his funky style. He was greatly amused by my Korean and tried eagerly to get me to go with him… go where, I’m not sure, but it was super amusing.
7. Realized just how much my opinion of foreigners has changed when I found myself shying away from being seen at Mbar. I’m sorry but some people are just so predictable and these dudes tonight were definitely not an exception.
8. I just LOVE IT how people point the finger at me and yet to notice three fingers pointing back at them… hint, hint. This message is for a couple of people in specific. Some people simply have more poop coming out their mouth than their butt… sorry to be so graphic but enough is enough.
9. Strolled over to my gym to show my visitor my gym and introduce him to my good friend Byung Hyuk (River). It was quite amusing to see the look on Byung Hyuk’s face as I walked in wearing regular clothes as oppose to my usual army hat and sweats. I think this was the first time Byung Hyuk has ever seen my feminine side.
10. Turns out Byung Hyuk was impressed by this feminine side of me and so I spent the rest of the evening responding to his multiple text messages…ha, ha, ha.

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do you ever stop?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
-- Author Unknown