Halloween in Korea

Korea doesn't exactly celebrate Halloween. They sort of half-way celebrate in some parts of the city, for the sole reason of making money off of GIs and English teachers who want to party for Halloween. And it works... So Laura and I ventured into Hongdae to partake in the festivities.

But... when you live so far from the center of the city, a train ride in full costume to a Halloween party 45 minutes away can mean; 9 dirty looks, 18 awkward second glances, at least 5 photo-ops and 2 scared Korean children.

Happy Halloween!



Lollipop and Lady Gaga :)

Amanda Teacher Ate My Head!

Today a 5th grader told the class that he had a dream that I ate their heads.

Does that mean that I'm the scary teacher? lol... Sweet.

When in Korea...

... do as the Koreans do and play badminton!

Yes, I have taken up badminton. :) Aren't I rad?

Badminton is so freakin' hard, I really had no idea. It's really fun though! I started getting lessons last week from a teacher at my school who is a badminton badass. Day 1 was a disaster! I was trying to hit the darn shuttlecock while using the appropriate form and I was missing 80% of the ones that he threw at me! I looked like a fool... not to mention the fact that I was the only one in the gym with a red face and sweat dripping down my face.

Day 2 was better, I relaxed a little and just did it. I played for 30 minutes or so with my coteacher and again I transformed into a sweaty tomato. Why don't Koreans sweat?... Anyways, after that my coteacher was like "Oh and here comes Mr. Her to give you your lesson". I was thinking in my head "Shit, I just exerted all of my energy and now I need to go concentrate on not making an ass out of myself by not missing every birdie." The lesson went okay, but Mr. Her is hardcore and I was dizzy by the end of it.

I'll keep you updated on the badminton experience... so far I just do a lot of sweating and my arm is sore all the time. Come to think of it the whole right side of my body is pretty much dead. Yay for exercise!

Counting My Blessings

I had a day today that made me realize just how happy I am with my life. I have amazing friends, though it may not be a big pool... it's quality. I've worked hard on several things in my life lately; they include improving myself, having meaningful relationships, learning about the world, being open-minded and more recently, being a good teacher. I thought for a while that I wasn't doing so well... I thought maybe I needed to change my strategy. But I had an interesting day today, an emotional day to say the least... multiple interesting conversations blew me away today.

And all of the sudden I realized that I am so happy. And I am proud of myself. I haven't really felt like this ever... or it's been a while. I am going to revel in this moment until I find something else to improve. I realized something else today... I am so lucky. No scratch that, I am so blessed. I don't think that I know what "blessed" really means because I think that it implies a gift from god and I don't know if that is what this is. But in any case, I have a loving and supportive family, two of the best friends that a girl could have, I live in Korea just cause I want to, I meet new and interesting people everyday... I can go on and on.

Wow. That's all I have to say. I feel so at peace. Thank you to everyone in my life who has helped me to become the person that I am. Thank you for your support and your love. Thank you for those people who have made me cry and those who have made me laugh. Thank you to everyone who has impacted my life. I like me, and it's because of you.

Shinbanghak Elementary

I wanted to post a few pictures of my dear elementary school where I teach. I love my school and my students. Still feeling popular and having a good time! :)

Oh, and if anyone wants to send me some mail here's the info:

(If you send me something it would make me feel oh so special :)

To send me a letter:

Rexion Officetel #1212
Banghak 1 dong, Dobong-gu, Seoul 719-2

South Korea

To send me a package:

310 Banghak 3 dong

Dobong-gu, Seoul, South Korea

132-830

I miss you all!