Highlights of my Day... Monday, March 20

1. Discovered I don’t know how to count when I sat back and counted the days since my and Ryan’s first kiss. Now I know why my highschool math teacher, Mr. Eaton, passed me. It must have been cause I was cute cause I now see just how much I suck with numbers… ha, ha, ha. Thanks Mr. Eaton, so kind.
2. While sitting in my English room I was suddenly bombarded with some kind of military wake-up call and some dude yelling “1-2-3-4… 10” in Korean. It scared the heck out of me and so I went in search of the source. Turns out someone forgot to tell me of their new stretching time during third period that apparently the WHOLE school takes part it. I’m sorry but I just couldn’t stop laughing.
3. Turns out there’s this unusual golden rule among us staff. Apparently if you buy a new piece of clothing then you’re responsible for buying everyone some food the next day. On Friday it was bread because one teacher bought a dress and today our VP gave us all ice cream drumsticks because last night he bought some new ties. Yup… I’m definitely living on the flipside!
4. Hosted an in-class writing contest for my new ePALS English club I’m starting up. My pride and joy from my level one classes, Lyndia, was so nervous that she ended up text messaging my cell after school. Don’t worry Lyndia, you rocked that contest!!!
5. Much to my surprise, Troublesome Timmy wasn’t troublesome at all today. He even volunteered to collect my pencils and wrote a great contest entry piece. Thanks to my co-teacher for talking to him for me.
6. Today is Ryan’s last day being 29 years old and he spent it up on a cold mountain doing reserve military training. What a trooper.
7. Thanks Ariel for the email but I thought I’d write an opposite list to your “you know you’re living in Korea too long when”… So here’s my list:

You know you’re one of “those” foreigners in Korea when…

a. You seem to forget that you’re in someone else’s country and yet get mad when they don’t speak YOUR language.
b. You refuse to eat kimchi when you know Korea prizes it.
c. You expect Korean girls to flock to you cause you’re different even though in your own country you’re the biggest geek!
d. You think you can change the Korean way of thinking when they’ve been thinking like that for generations.
e. You make fun of Koreans for living at home till marriage (hmm... family values) and yet your family is separated and doesn’t even get along.
f. You think it’s funny when a Korean asks you if you think rice is delicious when that’s probably the extent of their English vocab and you still haven’t mastered “anyoung haseyo” (hello).
g. You make fun of grown men in Korea for holding hands and yet your own girlfriend doesn’t even want to hold yours.
h. You’re the only one complaing about a motorcyclist driving on the sidewalk while you sit in traffic in a taxi wishing he’d somehow get around this intense traffic.
i. You point out the “creative” parking techniques of Koreans and yet you have no better solution for the over-crowdedness of this country.
j. You make fun of Korean men and joke about stereotypes and yet you’re too chicken to go to a public bath house.
k. Again with the stereotypes… and yet you’re the one with the chunky, overly-hairy body (directed at the men here, or maybe not) when in fact most woman prefer a smooth body!
l. You order pizza and it comes with corn and mayonnaise as well as a side serving of pickles to put on top and you still think it’s funny after a few months when this is how their whole country eats pizza.
m. You wear a chip on your shoulder and think your Western country is better when in fact Korea is better off without people like you.
n. You make fun of Korean men for wearing pink shirts and retro bone ties and think wearing your pants near your knees and sweaters you’ll hopefully one day grow into is styling.
o. You think Korean men are gay and silly for holding hands among friends and yet in your own country they marry gay couples… what’s sillier?
p. You swear that the Korean education system only robs children of their youth and claim you’d never put your kid into it but fail to consider doing that would rob them of any kind of descent future.
q. You complain about the “interesting” things Koreans eat and yet are too shallow minded to think of the logic or reasoning behind it, or too chicken to even try.
r. You consider Koreans as being fools for being workaholics and yet fail to step back and see how us foreigners are treated like royality here and so that’s the only thing that exempts us from it. It’s the Korean way.
s. You stick to eating at Western restaurants (or starving) and stick to hanging out with only foreigners and then still complain that Korea is boring.

... that's all I got (so far)

8. Spent the evening putting the finishing touches on Ryan’s birthday gift. I plan on hiding his gift and then posting up these three mini birthday signs I made. I even made a video on my camera that will greet him in the morning with a special birthday wish from me… props to me for my creativity!
9. Looks like Ryan and I are more alike than expected… turns out we both have the habit of doing our grocery shopping at our parents’ houses! Moving overseas kind of killed that habit for me. Shopped at their place at Christmas though.
10. Spent my evening remanising about my mother after I heard that Ryan’s mother didn’t remember it was his birthday. I felt so sad for him and so I tried to keep my memories to myself so he wouldn’t feel sad. Don’t worry sweetie, I definitely remembered your birthday!

QUESTION OF THE DAY...
Do I still have that birthday alien song tape my mom once bought for me?

QUOTE OF THE DAY...
The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.
-- Confucius