Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!!!

So, I know I haven't been the best at blogging but I realize why, it's because I used blogging before as a way to get through the hard times here in Korea and lately I feel as though I need no escape through blogging because I thoroughly LOVE my life here.  I have officially gone over the halfway mark and it is incredible to think about how at home I feel here.  Lately the thought of going home frightens me more than the thought of staying here another year.  I have developed a new way of life here, one with freedom and a set schedule that I know I will not have once I move home (at the beginning).  HOWEVER I realize too that I am thinking of life continuing as it did when I was a student living at home but who knows how much things have and will continue to change.

 

All Nations Bible Talk

Oh man, I haven't updated since December 2nd, so let me start with my FIRST Christmas without my family!  In Korea, Christmas isn't a big thing like the Western world and to make a comparison it is treated more like Valentines day.  That being said, in the working world here in Korea I only had the 25th off, putting a damper on the whole "OMGOSH CHRISTMAS BREAK" experience that I have had in the past.  My friends and I knowing this information ahead of time, were able to make the best out of it.  On Christmas Eve I was supposed to get off at 7:15pm but one of my coworkers so graciously switched shifts with me, allowing me to leave at 4pm and head into Seoul to meet up with some of my friends.  We ordered fried chicken and potatoes and headed to another one of my friends house who had decorated her place with a small Christmas tree, candy canes, stockings, presents, loads of cakes/pastries,  "A Bing Crosby Christmas Album" playing in the background and the festive spirit began.  The three of us ate like champions and ended the night watching the Grinch where everyone fell asleep but me.  That allowed me time to meditate on my year and look out the window to find it snowing!! It was a WHITE Christmas after all. 

My presents Christmas Morning

We woke up and opened our presents and stockings, enjoying one another's company before heading to Church and a talent show that would be held afterwards.  It was a DIFFERENT Christmas, not at all bad...actually it was thoroughly enjoyable.  I am so thankful for my friends who made it super special and memorable.  On Christmas day, I was also able to skype with my family which was really awesome.  I got to open stocking and presents with my mother and then skype with my dad's side! It was a lot of fun and I didn't miss a whole lot until I saw everyone!  Regardless, it was a good time where I have and will continue to learn to enjoy the unknown.

A week or so after Christmas we were given a week off and a friend of mine and I decided to go to Japan.  We were able to stay with one of my best friends from high school who is teaching English there and we had a great time.  We spent the New Years at the biggest temple in Japan, most of it standing in a line we didn't know what it was for.  A few times we would ask people what was going on (and they of course didn't know what we were talking about), a few time others foreigners asked us the same question.  Two hours later we found out that the line we were in for the past 2 hours and 30 minutes was to pray at the temple and throw money at it. Now, I am SURE this holds significance to some people but my thinking was "I don't need to wait till midnight to pray to God and through money into the air".  So, we left and walked around the area for a while discovering a super intense outdoor food court with loads of hot teas, desserts, noodles, meats, soups and other unknown things.  This is where many of the foreigners were, as well as many freezing Japanese people.  It was a good time! It amazed me how very different the culture and atmosphere was from  Korea.  There was so much variety in how the people looked, many more fashions represented and I felt it wasn't as clean as Korea but, the ONE awesome thing was that I didn't get stared at every move I made!  As much as I enjoyed experiencing Japan, I was looking forward to coming home to Korea. 

Some of the girls learning to Bow Korean Style

Some of the 6 year olds learning how to bow

This has been the first work week back from vacation and life here has been going well. I am loving the kids more and more with every day that passes.  One of the hard things about working at a privately owned school is that kids can come and go as their parents please! In the past few weeks some of my favourite students have left (I know as a teacher I am not supposed to have favourites...but hey it happens).  It is part of life, I know...it still stinks though!  On top of all that, things have been a little hectic lately with Kinder graduation (which believe it or not is a huge thing here).  I had to write a musical for all the 7 year olds based off of the Mamma Mia soundtrack which was an interesting experience.  On top of that, they have to memorize all their lines AND do presentations for all the parents (also memorized). I didn't know you could fail kindergarten but hey, power to these super talented English Speaking Korean babies :)

Life apart from school is also going well! Two of my friends are getting married this month (one week apart from each other) which is SUPER exciting and I cannot WAIT for! :) I have never experienced a Korean wedding, so I am excited to see not one but TWO (the brides are not Korean) so it might not be "LEGIT KOREAN" but still!  This year I have decided to focus on ME and bettering myself in so many different areas and have picked the theme "Transformation" (I am aware that may sound selfish but I don't mean it in that way).  I have less than 6 months left in Korea and it's GO TIME! Oh man, even thinking about leaving Korea makes me emotional so we won't even go there.  Basically, I am enjoying life very much, learning lots about myself and enjoying the things that are being exposed to me.  I am so grateful to have the opportunity to live here, experience life here and continue to grow here!  KOREA 2013, here I COME! :)

Happy New Year to you all (by you all I mean the  people who read this...AHHAHAA) Sending Love your way :) 

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS! :)

So I realize I haven't blogged in a while and there are no excuses other than...I just haven't.  I am not sure if anyone reads this other than my family HOWEVER my mom got on my case about not posting so I thought I would start a new one.  First of all, the Winter weather is the highlight of my life!! I love the cool Korean weather!  Everyone wears large coats which also helps me not feel like a giant...haha! However I have begun to go gymming so maybe now that is a constant life thing I will not be so giant-like in the future!

On another note, the other day when I was walking home with my coworkers I saw snow!! It was only about 40 flakes HOWEVER it was snow and landed in my friends black hair which made it look more magical :) I took a photo of the first snowfall of my coworkers (Note the Dominican-Korean not enjoying it) haha :P I am super excited about Christmas and the month of December for a variety of reasons:

1) I get two days off in December (1 for elections and another for Christmas day)

2) It is Christmas and I LOVEEEE the sparkly lights and festive spirits

3) I get to go to Japan with some friends for 5 days

4) At the end of the month I will have reached my 6 month mark! Halfway...wow times flies! 

I have bought a little Christmas tree for my house along with some lights to turn on late into the night, when I bought them I didn't know they were the blinking ones that sometimes make me feel like I live in a dance club...oh the joy of not knowing what you are buying/ordering.  It helps me to appreciate the little things!

As I am writing this I am sitting outside on a lovely December day at a cafe sipping on a Vanilla latte! It is truly amazing how much has happened and how much has changed since the last time I posted.  Life in Korea is finally becoming my second home.  I am falling in love with the people, the lifestyle and my job on a daily basis.  I can proudly say that I am now able to make a few Korean dishes...and by dishes I mean seaweed and rice! haa I am figuring out how to embrace the culture and make the experience here like home.  Too often I have found myself saying things like "I miss home because of my mom's cooking" or "If I was at home I would totally be doing ______________ right now."  Then I stopped and realized that ALTHOUGH my life in Korea is different than home, there are still so many things I can do here that I would do at home.  It is amazing at how overcoming the mind is one of the largest challenges and yet makes ALL the difference.  Since I have made that decision to make Korea more like home I have become EXPONENTIALLY happier.  Korea is no longer a place that I work in or a travelling experience, it is becoming my home! :)

Only in Korea do these little glitches go unnoticed :P ha 

So, let's see all the things that have happened in the last little bit...hmmm well one of my friends started dating a lovely man, 2 of my friends got baptized AND three of my friends got engaged and their weddings are next month! Crazyyy right!??! Life in Korea is becoming more and more blessed the longer I stay here and I am just amazed.  I feel like I am living in a wonderful dream, however there are hard times and the amount of people all the time can sometimes be overwhelming.  School is very busy lately as some our kids will be graduating in February, so there are many things to plan such as a musical I have to write for the kids as well as speeches to perform  (It should be an interesting experience).

I am learning to do more things while being here and feel that I am gaining many talents that I will be able to take home with me.  It is incredible how much I see myself growing in a variety of ways including independence and yet how needy I can be at the same time being in a foreign culture and not speaking the language.  I have learned sayings and can speak enough to get by which really enhances my conversations with people.  I have also discovered the wonder of translation phone devices.  It is amazing at how well I now know my fitness trainers because of their glorious cell phone devices! :) I am starting to build a lot of routines which are becoming joys to me, running into the same people, having people know what I like or don't like, challenging me and pushing me to be my best...things are looking up.

One of the sad things though is that I have many foreigner friends who are also here on contracts and it is getting closer to the time when they leave.  One of my best friends in Korea is leaving in February and that saddens me, however I know that this is part of life and I will be heading to South Africa to pay her a visit before I come back to Canada.  Oh Korea, how I love you.  The idea of only having 7 months left is crazy to me, I feel like the time concept in Korea is strange because I feel like I have been here for years and yet time goes by sooo fast!  I am so grateful and blessed to be here, have met the wonderful people I have, given the opportunities I have and the list goes on.  

Time Flies When You're Having Fun!

So I am officially on my 4^th month in Korea.  It is amazing at how time flies here and yet at the same time I feel like I have been here far longer than 4 months.  I am really loving my job, I love teaching these kids and it is amazing how much I learn from them in return.  I have no idea how to be a mother and am no way near that point in my life however, I find that it’s so easy to love these kids ( I can only imagine what it would be like with my own).  Their gentleness and desire to excel while also being fun spirited in their youth is such an encouragement (they can be naughty and irritating sometimes too but the good far outweighs the bad).  I find that teaching is a job where you learn so much about yourself regardless of whether you are good at your job or not (I hope I am good at mine).  Coming into school every morning and being able to focus on them all day is such a blessing because I don’t feel as if I am in Korea or away from many of my friends and family.  When I am at work it’s a completely different setting where it seems my life is on pause until I walk onto the elevator down 8 floors to the exit of my little school bubble.  

          Most people say that in Korea once you hit your 3^rd month, life will be peachy keen and you will love everything about your new Korean life.  For me that didn’t happen, however I felt more peace than I had in a while.  It is by the 4^th month where all the feelings people were talking about has begun to happen for me.  I think about my next 8 months in Korea and I look forward to what they have to offer me.  It is amazing at how quickly things can change here which also adds another element to the whole comfort thing.  

          Working in a place where people are constantly coming in and out is hard on the students but also hard on the teachers.  At my school we have 3 foreign teachers and the one who basically trained me and was my first friend in Korea moved back to America and it was surprisingly REALLY hard.  I missed her, I missed seeing her at school and feeling comfortable to ask her anything I was unsure of.  Imagine that happening over and over again, that is the life of being here and although it can be hard I have decided to change my mind set to think about how many more opportunities I now have to meet more people and make more friends.  We got a new teacher and now it seems I am taking on that role of introducing her to the area and the whole teaching thing.  How quickly roles change!

          Along with the change of roles I find that I am feeling more and more like an adult.  I am so used to being a student and being viewed more as a child than as an independent woman, however being in Korea is teaching me how to grow up.  Being alone in a foreign place is a great way to teach anyone independence!  There have been a few times this week when I am sitting in cafes writing report cards and sipping a latte that I stop to think about where I was at this time last year…stressing over whether or not I would pass an exam while venting to my mother and sister about how over whelmed I was, oh life how much you change!

          Moving on from the whole working experience, life has been pretty great! This past weekend was super awesome and I had a lot of fun.  It all started with a haircut gone wrong which is actually growing on me (see picture for reference..this is my after work exhausted and not sure what is going on face).  After that event occurred, I found myself getting lost attempting to visit a friend.  Who knew that “Kyoungi” and “Kyounghee” were different places? I found that out as I was lost on a large University campus late at night feeling completely unable to help myself.  Thanks to an amazingly kind Korean student, he was able to get me a taxi and walk with me an hour to get to the right place I needed to be (yay for his English skills, super awesomness and studying abroad). 

          As a side note it is pretty interesting to me that wherever I travel in Korea I find that people try their best to meet my needs through speaking the little English they know to assist me.  Never when I am in my own country and people are trying to communicate with me from another place do I whip out a language to try and better help them.  Although I am “the other” in Korea I feel like I get taken care of and looked out for VERY well.  I want to be able to be more culturally aware when I come home. 

          Ok back on track, once I got to my friends place she warmly welcomed me and her apartment was about 4 times the size of mine and best of all, SHE HAD A COUCH! I cannot tell you enough how badly I have wanted to just curl up on a couch and watch a movie or talk with friends.  Since most of my fellow English teachers and I have such small places (not complaining just speaking based on the reality of the situation) we have room for our bed and that’s about it.  So sitting on her couch as she made popcorn was GLORIOUS!! It really is the little things that make a huge difference.  In the morning we made carrot-cinnamon pancakes and had a glorious breakfast and I felt like I was back home.  Later that night a friend of mine and I went to a midnight market (peak hours of shopping there are 12am-5am).  It was SUCH a cool experience with AMAZING deals that I will most certainly visit again in the near future! 

          Oh I also got a rockstar deal on contacts!! I got a year supply of contacts for 100$ AND they came with a large amount of contact solution followed by the coolest little case thing of life (see picture).  Korea is pretty legit!! 

          Then Sunday we woke up early to head to a park for a games service where we would eat together (LOADS OF FOOD) while also playing games split into teams.  I haven’t been able to be that loud and obnoxious in A LONG time but being with my fellow foreigners, we cheered on team and participated with much spirit.  I got a sunburn HOWEVER it was such a great day and I was able to meet some really great people!

          Korea is becoming more and more my home as time unfolds and I am slowly getting into routines of things I love to do and things that regularly occur.  Bring on the next 8 months :)! 

Officially hit my 3 month mark!!

Did Someone Say CHEER?

I have officially been in Korea for THREE MONTHS!! Woah! Let's just take a minute and soak that in...90 days (approx). It is amazing at how fast time flies by.  It's very exciting for me to finally hit this mark in my journey because this is the point that most people have said a person either decides to love Korea or hate it.  I have decided to love it and can now feel the drastic changes in my experience.  It's now my home, a place where I am learning about and meeting new friends (I finally met more CANADIANS, even one girl who knew my mother...weird right?).  I have officially lived through 3 typhoons, sang karaoke multiple times throughout the week, got new glasses, had Korean bbq on the roof patio of my school after work while drinking wine in the presence of all my coworkers and went to my first Korean baseball game.  I must address the baseball game...it is an incredible experience where cheering with your fellow fans seems to have more importance than the actual game (cheering is my forte, even in Korean aka I was in my ELEMENT).  I am having some really great opportunities and starting to get the hang of my new job and lifestyle.  It is now something that has become my life and no longer something that I can distance or separate myself from, this is my new reality and I am really enjoying it!

My Homeroom Kinder Class

This week has been fantastic and emotional for a variety of reasons but through it all it has allowed me to realize how much I really am enjoying my life here.  Through the turmoil, struggles and emotionally exhausting periods of the past 3 months, I have now come out of the storm and feel even stronger and better prepared for what the next 9 months have in store.  I wake up every morning looking forward  to going to school and seeing what my little munchkins will do today.  This past week the kids made me laugh hard every day and I am able to see how young they begin to develop huge personalities.  Watching the kids dance, communicate with each other and how thoughtful they are with one another warms my heart. 

My co-foreign teachers <3 Bye bye Jenn Teacher!

This past week was amazing but also emotional because this was one of my coworkers last weeks before moving back to the States after 14 months living in Korea.  It is amazing how after 3 months she has become one of my close friends and having her leave so soon after I have gotten here has been a challenge.  She was the teacher who trained me and my first real friend in Korea.  A group of people and myself went out with her last night and sang some rockstar songs, eating chicken and beer as we talked about how we would miss her.  Watching her say bye to the kids and my other coworkers was tough and emphasized a few things for me;

1) How amazing this opportunity is

2) The amount of influence I will have on some of these people and children

Baseball field <3

3) How quick a year flies by

4) How deep and real the friendships are here

5) How to make the best of every opportunity

The new foreign teacher came in this week and I was asked to show her the ropes, which was a new experience for me that has made me realize how fast things have gone by.  Sometimes I feel like I just got off the plane but in reality that was 3 months ago...wow.  I am looking forward to no longer being the new one and instead being able to test my abilities by helping teach the new teacher some things. 

One my favourite little ones :)

Next week is the last week of school before Chusok (Korean Thanksgiving) and I am super excited to have 5 days of chill time.  I am excited to spend some time with a cousin of mine who is passing through Seoul with her family as well as getting some time to sleep in, watch Disney movies with friends and explore areas of Korea...I am thinking I should climb a mountain next week or maybe go to a temple stay, possibilities are endless.  I feel that people from home have been so encouraging this past little while and I want to thank everyone for their support, emails, kakao messages and so on. 

I miss you all at home and cannot wait to see you again...after I have grown and developed into a better person in many areas of my life. 

Time for an update

So life in Korea is officially over the excitement of a foreign place and although I have a lot to learn and explore, it has now become my life.  I finally feel like I am slowly belonging more and more and finding my place in both the school and the environment.  I don't feel like a foreigner anymore, however due to my non-Asian features, I know I still appear as one. 

The weather is finally getting cooler which encourages my entire being (I am now able to walk outside without sweating like I have just run a 500km race).

Last week there were 2 typhoons (which I have just found out is the same thing as a hurricane), one was built up and all the schools in Seoul were closed.  Since all the schools were closed, my director decided to cancel school in our hagwon which meant NO WORK!!  I would like to say I was able to sleep in, however that was not the case.  The two foreign teachers and myself were afraid that we may die and didn't want to be alone, not to mention I live on the bottom floor of an apartment and if there was a flood it would most certainly be happening in my place.   We woke up at 8am and all met up at one of the other girls house, each bringing loads of snacks and wine in order to enjoy what may have been our last meal on this earth.  The typhoon was a complete fail, it didn't even rain let alone have strong winds...basically it was an unfortunate first typhoon experience (which is a good thing).  On a positive note, I AM ALIVE and well :).

Then two days after the first typhoon there was another, this one was much stronger and flooding occurred in the town I live in.  Of COURSE that day was one when we had to go to work and mission it home in the flooded streets (we took a taxi home and it only came out to 2 dollars, yay for Korean taxi's who don't cheat you!).  This week was most certainly memorable for a variety of reasons but the whole weather change is causing a change in the calmness of mother nature.  One thing is for sure, I am enjoying the change and CANNOT WAIT to walk around with a sweater and jeans in the cold winter weather. 

One of the downfalls in being a foreign teacher in Korea is that most people have contracts for a year and then they are headed back home.  Unfortunately for me, both of the other foreign teachers at my school have finished their contracts and will be heading home soon...we just started becoming friends too :( I just know that this means new people and new experiences so I am trying to put a positive spin on it.  I wonder if I will be able to train the other teachers, I don't think I know enough to do that but we shall see how the rest unfolds.

On another note completely, today I discovered another fascinating thing about Korea: they have specific underground floors for WOMEN parking only.  At first I thought it was for pregnant women but then my Korean friend told me it was a WOMAN'S only parking area because women are bad drivers and some men don't feel comfortable parking their cars in the same place. :O WOW feed into the stereotype why don't you!!! I laughed so hard and had to take these pictures as proof!!!  (Although I am no longer a visitor, things continue to amaze me!) HA!

I am enjoying working with my kids more and more each day, seeing more of their personalities and how much they love me makes me happy as well.  The other day my students kept telling the other teachers that "Erika Teacher is a very very very nice teacher", "Erika Teacher is a very good teacher and looks pretty today" they key word TODAY!  haha

I am REALLY REALLY looking forward to next week, not because it is the first week of September, which means it's closer to Korean thanksgiving (more holidays) but because my friend is coming to visit me from home for a week! I am SOOO pumped to have a taste of home and I feel like it is the perfect timing, God knows exactly when it is needed. I work next week so she will have to be a lone for most of the day HOWEVER I plan on making her weekend full of exciting Korean adventures (not sure yet but...something cool!)

The longer I am here (2 months and bit) I have realized that Korea may be one of the hardest things I have ever done both emotionally and spiritually but it is such a blessing in disguise.  I can see myself learning so much about myself and my personal journey to adulthood.  I am learning so much and cannot wait to continue to see what is in store for my future.  BRING IT ON (nice things would be appreciated :)!).

The Best Teaching Week :P

This week has been the best week of school because I have really only had to work 3.5 days! I wish every week were like this :P ha  

Wednesday was a national holiday and SUPER rainy but I was able to go into Seoul and hangout with some of my friends!  We did some shopping for our families back home and it was a pretty exciting experience.   As if that wasn't super fun on its own, I was also able to celebrate my friend's birthday and go out to dinner!  It was a super awesome Wednesday off!!  I then returned back to Dongbaek and went to school Thursday morning to have a FIELD TRIP with the Kindergartens! We went to a Korean play, fortunately for me it was a play about Peter Pan so I did a pretty good job following the plot.  The kids were so excited and screaming out at Captain Hook when things were happening that they didn't like, I don't remember seeing the kids so excited!  All in all it was a pretty good time, I am starting to fall more in love with these kids every day...who knew? (this is where all the mothers say "OF COURSE WE KNOW :p).

The Cast and one of the kinder classes :P

 I have been able to do a few exciting things the last couple of days that consist of some pretty great opportunities.  Thursday night my coworkers had a welcome party for me while also having a goodbye party for another person who works here at the school and is moving to Canada.  It was a lot of fun getting to know the teachers on another level.  Seeing who people are outside of work is truly a hilarious experience and the bonds that it creates are wonderful.  To start off the night we went to a restaurant called Pasta Bene (a lot of places here take on Italian or French names...very interesting) which is owned by a American-Korean guy from NYC.  Apparently he owns a bunch of restaurants in the States and is pretty much a BIG deal :P He also happens to speak fluent English and is super kind from the ONE interaction I had with him.  I will definitely go back and eat there again, the food was great! The teachers paid for both myself and the other girl who was leaving, which was SUPER encouraging.

The front of the room

After dinner we headed to Nora Bong which is their version of Karaoke.  It was AMAZING!! SO much fun!!!! First of all the room was huge, there were two large televisions with a flashy stage around them, so singing here is on a WHOLE NOTHA LEVEL! haha They gave us three microphones and a bunch of tambourines! It was truly an experience I will never ever forget and now that I know what it is like, I will be visiting again in the near future.  One of my coworkers and I really rocked it that night, we sang almost every song and had some actions to go with it. 

The Other side of the karaoke room

After the group split up and we went to a bar where I played darts.  I GOT A BULLSEYE!! I was so excited, however I lost twice against a drunk individual, which speaks volumes about my lack of skills OR her awesome skills.  Either way it was a lot of fun, I felt like everyone in the bar was cheering us on or at least watching us and making comments...it was a small bar and very community oriented.  We got free drinks and played darts for an hour or so before going home.  It was great to meet different people in my area and also spend some time with my coworkers. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and work with some really great people.

To make this week even better, I got a letter from a friend at home AND it is my sisters birthday and I was able to get her some pretty neat Korean things.  I am missing home but not in the way I have ever missed it before...it is more of a 'I miss the people but I do not want to leave Korea'...ha I am sure once my year is up I will be ready but I am looking forward to another 10 months here :)

This weekend I am heading into Seoul where I get to work on my TESOL while also going onto the army base to bowl with some friends (which should be super fun).  We shall see how the rest of the weekend unfolds.  This week was the perfect teaching week for sure :)

Oh Korea how I love you

As my time in Korea continues to unfold, I am finding myself feeling a lot more comfortable with the way things work here.  I am getting used to the smells, the missioning around from place to place with absolutely no personal space, being surrounded by children all day every day and finally, living on my own.  I'm finding myself becoming more and more aware of customs and instead of everything surprising me, I am trying to incorporate myself in the culture. I am asking Korean people to teach me different sayings and trying to memorize certain things that I use in my day to day activities such as "how much is this" or "Can I have a plastic bag".  The Koreans tell me my pronunciation is good but I think they are just being nice, if I were to say hello to someone here in Korean they act as if I just accomplished the greatest thing known to man.

It is amazing that I have been here over 7 weeks now, there are still a lot of things I am still getting used to such as my lesson planning which I keep finding ways to mess up (crying shame).  I think travelling abroad is a great step for almost anyone, it really does help a person mature and become more independent (at least for a moment in time :P). 

The "plum" candy is a lie..it looks and tastes like a peach...fail on the plum front (One of the many glorious goodies we munched on while studying)

This week went by very quickly and I was very excited to start my weekend as I would be sleeping over at my friends place on Friday night and working on our online TESOL course for the evening while eating Korean snacks and chatting.  Friday after work I got on a bus to Gangnam station and then caught the subway to my friends stop however on the subway this very obnoxiously drunk man approached me.  My instinct was to be prepared for an attack but since he was pretty small I just looked down at the floor as he came up to me and started staring as he circled me (he was very much in my bubble).  He began to talk to me and put his hand in a bag he was carrying and handed me a red pepper (which is pretty expensive here).  I tried to tell him no but he insisted and put it in a bag for me.  Everyone on the subway was watching us and I wasn't sure what he was saying to me.  He held the pepper and kept saying "tomato" to which I told him it was a pepper but that was a fail, he just escalated yelling tomato even louder. Luckily the next stop was mine so I hastily got off the subway with the pepper in hand, I was pretty pumped to have gotten a vegetable since they are expensive and it was a beautiful pepper. :)

I headed to my friends place and although it is humid outside, this past weekend has been pretty nice compared to last week.  We stayed up till 3am and worked on our online course while eating some interesting candies and snacks.  The next day we woke up and headed to meet up with some people where we had a bible study and headed to a Dongdehmoon which is an ALL NIGHT market.  The negative with having a all night market is that it is cheaper as it gets later but the subways stop at around midnight which is a no go.

We got to the market and walked around only to find a few book stores open and a man approached us saying that the market was on holidays for the next 10 days (fail).  We were pretty bummed but then one of my friends who had been her a while mentioned another market that was really nice and sold traditional Korean things if we wanted to buy souvenirs.  We headed over to the cutest little market village type of area I have seen in Korea thus far.  There were many tiny little shops and people on the streets singing, it had a community feel to it and I will defiantly be returning.   I bought a few small things but enjoyed the atmosphere more than anything and the street vendors :P.

Us eating deep fried hot dogs in french fry batter and ketchup on a stick...mmm haha  (no idea how these Asians stay so skinny with this kind of food around)

After walking around for a few hours we headed to a little restaurant that was known for its pork cutlets.  Most of us got different kinds of pork cutlet: jumbo, cheese, pizza, fish...etc.  The restaurant was SOOO cold that I had to put on a scarf however it was a lovely change of pace from the constant sweating that has been going on.  We headed home after dinner and one of my friends and I stayed up till 4am working on our TESOL course and chit chatting about life.  It has been such a joy to have a friend from home that is going through the same "newness"  and culture shock at the same time as myself.  It is comforting to be able to talk to someone who understands the exact feelings at the exact time I am feeling them.  Yay for my fellow Canadian buddy :P

We headed to church in the morning and met with some people before going shopping in the subway system.  It is pretty funny how memorable we are just because we are not Korean.  I find that if we ever return to a store or cafe, the people there greet us as if we are old friends (hugging us and saying hello while proceeding to follow us around and offer help constantly).  It can be both a good and bad thing however I do enjoy the kindness I have been shown many times throughout my Korea experience thus far.

I GOT MY FIRST PAYCHECK AND IT FEELS SOOO GOOD!!! :) I also have Wednesday off this week, its a holiday!! PLUS on Thursday we have a field trip to see the play Peter Pan with the Kindergarteners which means no class in the morning :).  This week will be a glorious experience, I feel it!!!

Not sure who this man is but I felt he seemed like someone who could be leaned on...? 

All in all I am feeling more and more at home as time continues to unfold and my Korea life is turning from a learning experience to something I am beginning to love.  I have a lot to process but I am feeling much more confident and I KNOW that having a great support system really helps with that.