tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22379691104367973842024-03-12T20:50:45.185-07:00STEF IN KOREAStefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-22501529077109243732012-02-25T06:15:00.001-08:002012-02-25T16:42:44.696-08:00Vinyl Williams & Toro y MoiIt's Saturday night as I am writing this. My last Saturday in Korea. And I'm sitting at home in my pajamas. I didn't feel like going out. But in a good way. Last weekend was the perfect end to my year in Korea so I didn't want to go out again this weekend and ruin the great things I feel by having a mediocre night. Because most of my nights out here have been quite mediocre. But that's not what this blog post is about!!<br />
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I had tickets to see Toro y Moi again because I had such an amazing time when I saw them here this past summer. My friend <a href="http://www.supercolorsuper.com/" target="_blank">Sean</a> invited me to go along with him and the opening band Vinyl Williams on their tour of Busan and Daegu - two cities I hadn't had a chance to visit. Of course I said yes!!! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie and I </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwc7qNuvvjoZs6JTK1AIub74C1ilkn4WGjh63WKilhyphenhyphenY-ervV0NBW2-6CO29jCHAaGnnRdc8CuOMZUjlDDIU-tBxfNyi9fM4_5eWmyG_mq0oHSnnKO5BQBV8he0tdNXhSwb06U9__zaBN/s1600/KOREA+238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxwc7qNuvvjoZs6JTK1AIub74C1ilkn4WGjh63WKilhyphenhyphenY-ervV0NBW2-6CO29jCHAaGnnRdc8CuOMZUjlDDIU-tBxfNyi9fM4_5eWmyG_mq0oHSnnKO5BQBV8he0tdNXhSwb06U9__zaBN/s320/KOREA+238.JPG" width="320" /> </a></td><td style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toro!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Strangefruit</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nikita and I</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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The next day I made my way to Seoul Station (every time I cross the river on the bus I try to really pay attention because I remind myself that it will be one of the last times I will be crossing the river, and I think it's really pretty). I met up with everyone: Nikita, Lionel, <a href="http://www.smokeybrunzwickstew.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">James</a>, Billy and Ian (whose mom was traveling with them because he is only 17 years old...how amazing!). We took the train to Busan which took about 3 hours. Korea is a tiny country! Nikita has this really beautiful crystal necklace. I really want one. <br />
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We got to Busan and they had to do sound check right away. I started getting to know the other band members better (they were sleeping on the train) and right away I knew they were the kind of people that I get along with really easily and well. They were all so excited to be in Korea and were really impressed with it. It was refreshing, especially for me, because I don't have the most positive outlook on this country. It was a pretty mellow show. They played really well. We hung around afterwards just talking and drinking (I think most of them can't legally drink in the States yet). I don't recall too many specific conversations (patterns/triangles/music/California/flea markets) but I know that I was getting great vibes from everyone the whole time. I was happy to meet people who have interesting things to say.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not traveling light</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lionel wanted my sweater...I figured if he could pull it off he deserved it</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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The next day we walked to around the city a little bit. The beach was beautiful. I could only imagine how insanely packed it would be in the summer. Towel to towel. Then we hopped on a train to Daegu. We went to a bunch of thrift stores which I was so happy about!!! I found some great things. Thrift stores are rare in Korea. I've definitely been missing them. We ate some food then went to the venue. I took a bunch of pictures through prism glasses, I had a blast :)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything was $2</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCVXiFIkLPZx8n-UODzkUAmVCkrbRJw5-7JXMf86_zcnrVEYJHeO4Rv9TZJqKQd2ok3GyOX8AIQNtt9lGvC_CyMHeyUwCYkZUtlUlszOHwA7C6s7chfkjW-81Ks7v8_s_IFQQHzcZVMAf/s1600/IMG_2472.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtCVXiFIkLPZx8n-UODzkUAmVCkrbRJw5-7JXMf86_zcnrVEYJHeO4Rv9TZJqKQd2ok3GyOX8AIQNtt9lGvC_CyMHeyUwCYkZUtlUlszOHwA7C6s7chfkjW-81Ks7v8_s_IFQQHzcZVMAf/s320/IMG_2472.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7bKW6PpgetoURNDQEOQr_U9ydU_WnCFKwrFo1x5zDnwZXdcpbem_xe4GaM_avllDIpfuhsFfIEvDsu5cyPkQIX8GEHzevFVklPdJYcsqSi19FwILZvfibxF5e8vhB64OT8hNnn4TSVEb/s1600/IMG_2482.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv7bKW6PpgetoURNDQEOQr_U9ydU_WnCFKwrFo1x5zDnwZXdcpbem_xe4GaM_avllDIpfuhsFfIEvDsu5cyPkQIX8GEHzevFVklPdJYcsqSi19FwILZvfibxF5e8vhB64OT8hNnn4TSVEb/s320/IMG_2482.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyP4mcmbDac5Yzn4UbYORLwDvdx3zd4IovDUREZD38LfxnWQXKYPLnHgjeWCHZaq4gOt4fa8RAejwYobVmf5RVPdoDZNotM018gs0zcoqw1Iazb73lkxJVATqNehb0nqbn8IM0sweMfPwj/s1600/IMG_2484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyP4mcmbDac5Yzn4UbYORLwDvdx3zd4IovDUREZD38LfxnWQXKYPLnHgjeWCHZaq4gOt4fa8RAejwYobVmf5RVPdoDZNotM018gs0zcoqw1Iazb73lkxJVATqNehb0nqbn8IM0sweMfPwj/s320/IMG_2484.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Okay I am obviously not a music critic. But, I've been to enough shows to be able to give my opinion on a live performance. But still, whenever I try to write it down I lose my words. If someone asks me about a show I've been to I can usually channel the feelings that I had during the performance when I start to talk about it. I know which bands were a lot of fun, really dancey, which were boring, which ones ignored the crowd, which ones sounded better live than recorded and so on. So let me try to explain why I enjoyed the Vinyl Williams performance so much, especially in Daegu. <br />
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They are all super passionate about their music and music in general. There is something that I really like about people who are passionate about something (except cars and most sports - haha - two things I can't relate to in the slightest). All of the members seemed to be hypnotized by the music they were making. They were so in tune with each other, maybe sending each other telepathic messages. They all took turns playing almost every instrument, rotating around the stage. The visuals were great, hundreds of colourful pictures overlapping and changing; washed out rainbows. There was a really strong energy in the room. Maybe it was because I was watching them through the prism glasses. Maybe it was because by the third time I saw them perform I really liked all of them as people. Either way, it was wonderful!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkRk_hMF4NiegQWRUEz2zeHBX9gLmnboAouVjyDnpigfv2YIqAdp-CQhQrN7qqvrwWEbiYvEKtUGnHyz_gyNBIAu_pp6GCbshH3Nt29eUU9G4DaROZg13jB9d251MHtSDKutXWZHfF19D/s1600/DSCN0293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPkRk_hMF4NiegQWRUEz2zeHBX9gLmnboAouVjyDnpigfv2YIqAdp-CQhQrN7qqvrwWEbiYvEKtUGnHyz_gyNBIAu_pp6GCbshH3Nt29eUU9G4DaROZg13jB9d251MHtSDKutXWZHfF19D/s320/DSCN0293.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MsbRt9p_VWOyiuE0ynmZqEh6Ipcgo-n1TSL5zo6pbui-AqFES3FZfthtZmk4YS3CaKOmU3C7xySQIoYyMR6Kkt3I7VV2airjppkK1dRp82sTIarwXHnHf6epL4YVkSOaKt6rCV4EEBvw/s1600/DSCN0273.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2MsbRt9p_VWOyiuE0ynmZqEh6Ipcgo-n1TSL5zo6pbui-AqFES3FZfthtZmk4YS3CaKOmU3C7xySQIoYyMR6Kkt3I7VV2airjppkK1dRp82sTIarwXHnHf6epL4YVkSOaKt6rCV4EEBvw/s320/DSCN0273.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2VuCC43mea7JPpW8scwTJIUNI4ftdnD0t8gRUWdvUbapXbhnv1nsEPUS2A0Je04pE5vYSydcaqgqsQ7BjFeI-hS2FlqoCR0RajVsiEcf5JjREZWSIN5QY5XckxLNWqfgVbyqSgLlZFbr/s1600/DSCN0262.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP2VuCC43mea7JPpW8scwTJIUNI4ftdnD0t8gRUWdvUbapXbhnv1nsEPUS2A0Je04pE5vYSydcaqgqsQ7BjFeI-hS2FlqoCR0RajVsiEcf5JjREZWSIN5QY5XckxLNWqfgVbyqSgLlZFbr/s320/DSCN0262.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4GO8gbu-quPO4BhWuyZuyWC9RJ-GYoeEvvf5XZkwYQ2mQEP8tNv7upZn0HPZ88JRwjUxQvUQID0INbetX3rBMUtKMgY182CowOPz__mP_kDdhqejlwb3N87wACFRNylyKvSqDjUIM5s3/s1600/IMG_0004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO4GO8gbu-quPO4BhWuyZuyWC9RJ-GYoeEvvf5XZkwYQ2mQEP8tNv7upZn0HPZ88JRwjUxQvUQID0INbetX3rBMUtKMgY182CowOPz__mP_kDdhqejlwb3N87wACFRNylyKvSqDjUIM5s3/s320/IMG_0004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I didn't really sleep that last night, then I got on the 6:30am train to Seoul. Got to Seoul Station at 8:30am, then hopped in a taxi straight to work. It was an interesting Monday. But I didn't mind being tired. It was a very memorable experience. I was introduced to a lot of great new music this past weekend. So many new songs that will remind me of all the fun that was had. I am going to California in April so hopefully I will get to meet up with these guys again. And I really do hope that they continue to be successful at making music.<br />
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Also, I am leaving Korea this Thursday and I can't even believe it. Sometimes I get little bursts of joy and clarity (like in a dream when you know you're dreaming), where I actually comprehend that in a few days I will be in Canada; in Halifax with my best friend Natalie. It's all really surreal. I can't believe another year of my life has passed. I say it really often but time flies!!!<br />
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I will probably write one final post from Halifax.<br />
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xxxxo<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/7lpmHXPQZzI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-51418559917312980792012-02-12T05:29:00.000-08:002012-02-12T05:29:54.597-08:00Sunday MisadventuresI was so tired today from going out last night and all I wanted to do was relax when I got home from dinner but instead....<br />
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Okay I will start at the beginning. I lost my camera this morning on the bus. I called the tourist help line and the girl on the phone was super nice and helpful and called the bus company for me since I can't speak Korean and my camera had been found! Good karma, I was happy. I just had to go to the Suwon parking garage to get it.<br />
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So I got on the bus and the driver asked me where I was going. Umm 'last stop, parking, ummmmm'. I got really flustered. I looked to the back of the bus and saw some young guys who I figured would speak English. Luckily one did and was able to explain to the driver where I needed to go. <br />
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I sat near him and we chatted for a bit. He was a first year student. He was so nervous and said 'oh my god' after every sentence he spoke. He told me it was an honor to help me and that he had never spoken to a foreigner before. He was really excited. I was really happy he could help. He asked me for my phone number and I gave it to him. This caused him to miss his stop. But ending up saving me.<br />
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I got to the bus depot and there was a row of portables in front of me, one of which was the office. My camera was safe! Now to get home....I wasn't sure if I could get the bus from there or not...the drivers asked me where I was going. Suji, I said. Where in Suji? UHhhh. Okay, I know I've been here almost a year but I still don't know the name of my bus stop. Ugh, flustered again. So my new bus friend had called me in the meantime but I didn't answer so I figured I could call him back and he could help me. <br />
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The driver talked to him for a while and then told me to come inside the 'office'. I waited inside but not sure what for so I called my friend back. He said he would come and meet me and help me get home. So I waited for a while in a warm space until he came. He told me he was worried about me and he wanted to make sure I was alright. Haha, I must've seemed so helpless. <br />
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We figured out which bus to take, which is the bus I thought we could take after all...I just wasn't sure if the depot was an actual stop. We had to wait for 20 minutes and it was really cold. Then I realized I forgot my hat on the bus!! So my friend told the driver and we went back to the bus and got my hat! <br />
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Our bus finally came, we got on, he stayed on until my stop and then got off and went across the street to head back home. I was so lucky! Koreans can be so friendly and helpful.<br />
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But what a night...not something that should happen to me after almost a year of being here. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_v7dUuVxrdjCjov2AmfC2EEfE_yn_KJFXXxd5AuQgNPeKIQYwFmeLjBTPiJmTvRP2eP2dZjZn7ZjBzIN8hru-ORdWjWAXDxk7hGwiPtTzNOwQ8k3trLp65ixyAOx6qR-Zd6WoU6OrvRHC/s1600/IMG_2331.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_v7dUuVxrdjCjov2AmfC2EEfE_yn_KJFXXxd5AuQgNPeKIQYwFmeLjBTPiJmTvRP2eP2dZjZn7ZjBzIN8hru-ORdWjWAXDxk7hGwiPtTzNOwQ8k3trLp65ixyAOx6qR-Zd6WoU6OrvRHC/s320/IMG_2331.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks Yoon Jun Young<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzuuBCOCS5Pml9BsfyfT7FtI-wJRo8EYrcuN3p48E_7zxMp5voyjUcc3iTHxPm11VsUHaDTCdPBRwKgG0q8jOwe4pRJyIwdYmUXrDAW9UqM_SkZ6DFML_6NRJEuwZBwE3tb_fZbvxSwtw/s1600/IMG_2330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWzuuBCOCS5Pml9BsfyfT7FtI-wJRo8EYrcuN3p48E_7zxMp5voyjUcc3iTHxPm11VsUHaDTCdPBRwKgG0q8jOwe4pRJyIwdYmUXrDAW9UqM_SkZ6DFML_6NRJEuwZBwE3tb_fZbvxSwtw/s320/IMG_2330.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodnight buses!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlf9kVx7vuzIQ5won65FHGXva4hjpDofnztgaGp9odE4BKFGCpC6mZ10AoE4zwPg4JIC6fZ_iRi01HEKE1KcFC6GyVy0uXL-cO9MAx5K1Vs7wJvP3zvd6iL7XOgSe_txmxnF0sM9dGfaG/s1600/IMG_2332.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOlf9kVx7vuzIQ5won65FHGXva4hjpDofnztgaGp9odE4BKFGCpC6mZ10AoE4zwPg4JIC6fZ_iRi01HEKE1KcFC6GyVy0uXL-cO9MAx5K1Vs7wJvP3zvd6iL7XOgSe_txmxnF0sM9dGfaG/s320/IMG_2332.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Offices</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-75078281943612231312012-02-07T03:23:00.000-08:002012-02-07T03:26:03.263-08:00Valentine's Day According to 11 Year Olds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I teach this speech class at Langcon and it's sometimes really enjoyable. The students can speak really well so I can actually have conversations with them and joke around. Also, the class is not taken too seriously by the students, my bosses or the parents. I really like this because there is no pressure on me. I can be relaxed. </div><br />
Every week they are given a new speech topic and have to write a short essay about it and then I edit it and they present in front of the class. Today's topic didn't seem super exciting but three kids managed to make me laugh with their speeches...so I photocopied them and took pictures to post on here. I hope they are legible. Enjoy!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuhzSDXbahXiSmW2o1dnDMC6k3sMJDZkzanCHSKKRqOTGMrEhaJ6g0dk2prjWHuUKzt41T5eNkiPjdKzZVWdqagZkbOy2anwO2aVmDmLuzXZNqIRFG3uegza9D9IiqjeqNrmFYwbYbOuL/s1600/IMG_2262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRuhzSDXbahXiSmW2o1dnDMC6k3sMJDZkzanCHSKKRqOTGMrEhaJ6g0dk2prjWHuUKzt41T5eNkiPjdKzZVWdqagZkbOy2anwO2aVmDmLuzXZNqIRFG3uegza9D9IiqjeqNrmFYwbYbOuL/s320/IMG_2262.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Valentine's Day is about being with the one you really love: YOURSELF :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjik8TgNgDeoJju_sjtKVFk7JfvL4TcPwQQG6FiyANhsVX3PMooDRKzx_t3qEMdCRdcUFi99sFXx9fogIiRPtaS9A86kpW5ZnbQqzTf5-IAyhNCf4tU0yAvXfD1yBnWxUYFxmHci3ESXZtB/s1600/IMG_2264.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjik8TgNgDeoJju_sjtKVFk7JfvL4TcPwQQG6FiyANhsVX3PMooDRKzx_t3qEMdCRdcUFi99sFXx9fogIiRPtaS9A86kpW5ZnbQqzTf5-IAyhNCf4tU0yAvXfD1yBnWxUYFxmHci3ESXZtB/s320/IMG_2264.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He figured it out early on...girls are very crazy and stupid! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YoulU2JyqCbHE1bPPrNDQjzdFQIA_aUmP9aaCXG8qZN33hMTv623cWCykEW9p3jD3Sg-SyZMy6Xt9KTFzP2cNbzWAU3QhZNcErnT5AfPdAQ-e8zpymIg9SHdBkdfvQoVrQuR0iTiqf05/s1600/IMG_2263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5YoulU2JyqCbHE1bPPrNDQjzdFQIA_aUmP9aaCXG8qZN33hMTv623cWCykEW9p3jD3Sg-SyZMy6Xt9KTFzP2cNbzWAU3QhZNcErnT5AfPdAQ-e8zpymIg9SHdBkdfvQoVrQuR0iTiqf05/s320/IMG_2263.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A very Korean Valentine's...a lot of meat, instant noodles, a jjimjilbang, PC room, arcade...the fun doesn't end </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY EVERYONE XOStefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-49495095859630230522012-01-24T04:30:00.000-08:002012-01-24T04:45:42.237-08:00Happy Lunar New Year & Goodbye Sam!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Sam got back from Thailand last Tuesday and left for Paris this morning. Spending the week with her was perfect. She came to school with me on Friday and watched a bit of my class in the morning. It was a special day because of the Lunar New Year. All of the kids were wearing their traditional Korean clothes called Hanboks. They had to learn how to bow and then bow for our principal in exchange for socks. At home, the kids bow in front of their elders and receive money. Here are some cute pictures from that day. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqwEHG1Eed9MCoUWvev3BAaNAQUXlorWqyyRpq18moy-A_eybDDSTDc32UCjA7UcNUTEC7mpBLQp7GO8NAz8I32txr170ha8PBZUFr5xMZYBlVEqgvub1idinSDCe0Bc0M9aB6uRgSGiOa/s1600/IMG_2174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqwEHG1Eed9MCoUWvev3BAaNAQUXlorWqyyRpq18moy-A_eybDDSTDc32UCjA7UcNUTEC7mpBLQp7GO8NAz8I32txr170ha8PBZUFr5xMZYBlVEqgvub1idinSDCe0Bc0M9aB6uRgSGiOa/s320/IMG_2174.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQyqIrGx98hmDdwAK_GyDwWNxxAfQLHgHsepZcu6FGv2_5B6OA2yhyL5mL0y94pqjyCiZvtiw18pDeA4MMXIyFmPNVhcl2EYrvJrBNVAJj9ytrT2no84ThkIJi6cCm_LmsKe-j7VhrW5N/s1600/IMG_2176.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheQyqIrGx98hmDdwAK_GyDwWNxxAfQLHgHsepZcu6FGv2_5B6OA2yhyL5mL0y94pqjyCiZvtiw18pDeA4MMXIyFmPNVhcl2EYrvJrBNVAJj9ytrT2no84ThkIJi6cCm_LmsKe-j7VhrW5N/s320/IMG_2176.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry, Bosco and Sean</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRRTfZiz75FADAiPYp6omEjQ1b3cEUNF6vzQ45fSTJYO7plTnwVNZa0_P2ft7LzyRtccVgQ13N2MJF-Bv8Va08vdVVufY5_1tkv8QOtNORb4HK_94DwZDO9iNVE9hlzQt-yXtKvgo3ExA/s1600/IMG_2177.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglRRTfZiz75FADAiPYp6omEjQ1b3cEUNF6vzQ45fSTJYO7plTnwVNZa0_P2ft7LzyRtccVgQ13N2MJF-Bv8Va08vdVVufY5_1tkv8QOtNORb4HK_94DwZDO9iNVE9hlzQt-yXtKvgo3ExA/s320/IMG_2177.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWG3fezP-Bbtqdop_61uk7cha2TXSzIA4ub6v2VHbwfuSKsMTV33AIZNdJR2ehbm5z8lY8HvPiEU0lF7iX83ydQrvxv1Gp6PfgpA-IKOxpDDjqvp-Atlpyh1BJO44y_rw7rg6cmhh0umS/s1600/IMG_2178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtWG3fezP-Bbtqdop_61uk7cha2TXSzIA4ub6v2VHbwfuSKsMTV33AIZNdJR2ehbm5z8lY8HvPiEU0lF7iX83ydQrvxv1Gp6PfgpA-IKOxpDDjqvp-Atlpyh1BJO44y_rw7rg6cmhh0umS/s320/IMG_2178.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJC5h5Rr1eKvIpGEoiRiNuB_sg2uXVAwAnvB6YNbCS0taTjcPjuU-hy8ZCTEtztQCL-6iSRzpZxMlb_za2tsL6A2wWRWN7fPmQYFOpnnNWf7V5FdPwXb_QX0tJRiKfXcNosnzuvS5TymVF/s1600/IMG_2183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJC5h5Rr1eKvIpGEoiRiNuB_sg2uXVAwAnvB6YNbCS0taTjcPjuU-hy8ZCTEtztQCL-6iSRzpZxMlb_za2tsL6A2wWRWN7fPmQYFOpnnNWf7V5FdPwXb_QX0tJRiKfXcNosnzuvS5TymVF/s320/IMG_2183.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hera, Grace, Annie and Jenny</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4ie3LVRrympis61D5HnapeJAXdkEb0LwixcKd979FgNtUUbzGSYj-5EZUif0nnTUCzJK1qVFwlwmNcLXPZW16tHNaZeRRzqfu2HBcldXEwoxSK9rSdyDqj5M1cqUJO0ZR1KFDBzRWmXi/s1600/IMG_2186.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG4ie3LVRrympis61D5HnapeJAXdkEb0LwixcKd979FgNtUUbzGSYj-5EZUif0nnTUCzJK1qVFwlwmNcLXPZW16tHNaZeRRzqfu2HBcldXEwoxSK9rSdyDqj5M1cqUJO0ZR1KFDBzRWmXi/s320/IMG_2186.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bowing</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrioe47tDb4FpzPWLJp454dNUpq7dLAcMugx5yUO54noNGI5PmHTyBZZ0PEUfXUrKglYh4ie9HVy-jgZqT8iF8vINLJpMubZXmPSnyVv8x3UvQvRxq2D_omFqbpiCLCCuh9WWaEE2Tsx4/s1600/IMG_2189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDrioe47tDb4FpzPWLJp454dNUpq7dLAcMugx5yUO54noNGI5PmHTyBZZ0PEUfXUrKglYh4ie9HVy-jgZqT8iF8vINLJpMubZXmPSnyVv8x3UvQvRxq2D_omFqbpiCLCCuh9WWaEE2Tsx4/s320/IMG_2189.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
We had Monday and Tuesday off work, because of the holiday . What an amazing and much needed break. Sam and I didn't do much but it was perfect. We took turns cooking, watched movies, and just talked (sitting on my heated floors) for hours and hours. I'm going to miss Sam so much. Not just because she is leaving Korea but because I don't know when we will live in the same city again. <br />
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That's the downside of having friends who also love to travel. (The upside of course being that you are likely to meet up somewhere in the world and you've always got a place to stay). But you never know when you will live in the same place. So there is this perpetual 'missing'. But as long as it's mutual and both friends put in the effort it's not that hard to keep in touch. (I have really come to appreciate and love Skype while living here). <br />
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Sam and I have become so close in the five months that she lived in Seoul. Out of all of my best friends, she knows what I've been going through the most right now. And she has helped me become so much happier and healthier. I know that we've both depended on each other a lot lately. And have also had some really fun times going out and great laughs staying in and doing nothing at all. Oh, and we've eaten plenty of amazing vegetarian food. So thanks Sam! I am so glad I could convince you to come to Korea for your study abroad! ^^<br />
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Oh, five weeks left!!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8SVGqKdWRe4o8miZ3tEzXCeW9sKY3RWCTWuMt9LNhmschpydmo9DtazxLLHoFQQh6PEXRmlUSMuT5Z5E_Btv0tmEj5h4_A0TrnHBEg39wyXqyTnsbeknFOb9LJa4vYJrLIRDNv8L_iE1/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjm8SVGqKdWRe4o8miZ3tEzXCeW9sKY3RWCTWuMt9LNhmschpydmo9DtazxLLHoFQQh6PEXRmlUSMuT5Z5E_Btv0tmEj5h4_A0TrnHBEg39wyXqyTnsbeknFOb9LJa4vYJrLIRDNv8L_iE1/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam and I - our first night out in Seoul</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-41684851640619964752012-01-14T19:12:00.000-08:002012-01-14T19:33:54.845-08:00Seoul Electronic Music FestivalLast night I went to the Seoul Electronic Music Festival (SEMF) with some friends from Suji. It was quite a trek to north Seoul, Ilsan I believe, and the venue was not the best...but I guess you're limited to where you can have a music festival in the winter. Anyway, it was a great show!!<br />
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First we saw a Korean band called <a href="http://www.myspace.com/idiotape" target="_blank">Idiotape</a> and they were a lot of fun! Really good energy, and the crowd was really into it. Koreans are all about jumping at shows. Then we danced to Crystal Castles who put on a great show! I was really happy because I had seen them before and the first time I saw them they were pretty disappointing. But I think that was because they played outside at a music festival and the sound quality was really poor. <br />
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Finally Justice, who I was really stoked to see! They were at Coachella in 2008 but they were the very last artist of the festival and we had absolutely no energy left and we had just watched Roger Waters preform and somehow we couldn't transition to electronic music after his set. Anyway, Justice put on an amazing show too! I haven't heard much of their new stuff, only one song, and I didn't like it. So I was glad to hear mostly old stuff. <br />
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Overall it was a really fun night!! Ah, what a lazy blog post. I am tired! But SEMF got me really excited about Coachella!! I CANNOT WAIT!!!!<br />
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P.S Six (and a half) weeks left in Korea! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQqYZnJ1Hj0ZYiuJYlI5sFrxHWB4_bn8YodnUS5Cc_RoeNUL3PPWllPUIqsvUd_2Z_C80birO1Yxu9zo0jpdx50INf8XYK9DfQhIbx317qj1BLIGEzbOUckp9VHN6Wkv3ahTb9gTtwLsa/s1600/IMG_2104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQqYZnJ1Hj0ZYiuJYlI5sFrxHWB4_bn8YodnUS5Cc_RoeNUL3PPWllPUIqsvUd_2Z_C80birO1Yxu9zo0jpdx50INf8XYK9DfQhIbx317qj1BLIGEzbOUckp9VHN6Wkv3ahTb9gTtwLsa/s320/IMG_2104.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tristan and I</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_0tD8LOe6nA2KEpl39nYTDJFu5gVFP-i1YtS4U8IUo_k12DHzgZ1l-P8fzNAfGq_hwadA_kS288WCO0h1WwtuKQVOWtPO2_swClynzCLSRfBRIsOYkyJIAwL8beNcqZ01NrXQc_cqUIS/s1600/IMG_2119.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB_0tD8LOe6nA2KEpl39nYTDJFu5gVFP-i1YtS4U8IUo_k12DHzgZ1l-P8fzNAfGq_hwadA_kS288WCO0h1WwtuKQVOWtPO2_swClynzCLSRfBRIsOYkyJIAwL8beNcqZ01NrXQc_cqUIS/s320/IMG_2119.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Idiotape</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMHRGgu0iiTbDhpEAhpcbLRsbJgqeczh8HWcHKje9tdTqUz0lnQOD6Z8-DydFsL2B3QRbh4cT-sncCNM3JI_N7jJBhifOh72sPCIkH369GuEflSkZ6vF4pEtyJbhHH00RCbMLiybpZ_ns/s1600/IMG_2114.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirMHRGgu0iiTbDhpEAhpcbLRsbJgqeczh8HWcHKje9tdTqUz0lnQOD6Z8-DydFsL2B3QRbh4cT-sncCNM3JI_N7jJBhifOh72sPCIkH369GuEflSkZ6vF4pEtyJbhHH00RCbMLiybpZ_ns/s320/IMG_2114.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura and I</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXI9jirFsImBQZ-7YkyUhih1fiIEcDiixn_45PMMC21l-abZ6QgPQ8XSnw_ovnJGQKymSvm0fyh2S9_9ao5_9X3zNaHPnyd415ymIleS9MZJF-Yzn_Hqa5a3SVkgRwc4V-yr9GbfUh0ra/s1600/IMG_2116.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJXI9jirFsImBQZ-7YkyUhih1fiIEcDiixn_45PMMC21l-abZ6QgPQ8XSnw_ovnJGQKymSvm0fyh2S9_9ao5_9X3zNaHPnyd415ymIleS9MZJF-Yzn_Hqa5a3SVkgRwc4V-yr9GbfUh0ra/s320/IMG_2116.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill, what an artist ;)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmxX2FpkgdzkYx5s9f1ihQh0_s4knxGXVmwXWocjKzsaU6gzdnCOIo0akQLK2BIA_2nhkLISOMuvAweYSXcNL1yctzTAMl0raozcLgApXJSehoLZkwqTLZF2_hGsgKdmF9lJdazbGdo8b/s1600/IMG_2118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpmxX2FpkgdzkYx5s9f1ihQh0_s4knxGXVmwXWocjKzsaU6gzdnCOIo0akQLK2BIA_2nhkLISOMuvAweYSXcNL1yctzTAMl0raozcLgApXJSehoLZkwqTLZF2_hGsgKdmF9lJdazbGdo8b/s320/IMG_2118.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">CROSS</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0ksJG2yOkbnnr_xJEiOnmtQ5rWjtCXu2-p1JuyDetR3ytbyNOf-2dfscibstf7mTD__vArov7Uy1yvJfCQaI6BIJPZm57Ejm1LRwwfAFWaNJGqzIUiecTl_Qsgp9rGnrQgAIahjJCVSE/s1600/IMG_2123.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb0ksJG2yOkbnnr_xJEiOnmtQ5rWjtCXu2-p1JuyDetR3ytbyNOf-2dfscibstf7mTD__vArov7Uy1yvJfCQaI6BIJPZm57Ejm1LRwwfAFWaNJGqzIUiecTl_Qsgp9rGnrQgAIahjJCVSE/s320/IMG_2123.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh hey Songjae!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_DFNzhrHylxYv-jJAtzIGHK60SKxV2slCm7P2cvK0hLIq_GW-ayluP8QlGiW_tCpejBxUqju0lhkMB8qoSIxFYqPhiHoQST57glBVH1ABJKgZmoW3fa_m7whJbifwdbZ44WICHroSYl-x/s1600/IMG_2135.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_DFNzhrHylxYv-jJAtzIGHK60SKxV2slCm7P2cvK0hLIq_GW-ayluP8QlGiW_tCpejBxUqju0lhkMB8qoSIxFYqPhiHoQST57glBVH1ABJKgZmoW3fa_m7whJbifwdbZ44WICHroSYl-x/s320/IMG_2135.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jenna and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3vcQUIaumNkeBAqezidiILZGQrQ6BAWcjWx8mz18qhr2a_fkHBM5WT9stHBi2blX0OpI29KN9LWdFgksb-t_DCU8shqo1tvDv2rQFDmF4Zrte1tqr1HnvMeUxXNWrtcuE0BsfZZCvzWi/s1600/IMG_2145.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC3vcQUIaumNkeBAqezidiILZGQrQ6BAWcjWx8mz18qhr2a_fkHBM5WT9stHBi2blX0OpI29KN9LWdFgksb-t_DCU8shqo1tvDv2rQFDmF4Zrte1tqr1HnvMeUxXNWrtcuE0BsfZZCvzWi/s320/IMG_2145.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-66287721846018799932012-01-02T05:11:00.000-08:002012-01-02T05:11:30.343-08:00Why I Love the GymMondays are obviously the worst day of the week, nobody likes to go back to work after the weekend. If you do, you are lucky. And the Monday after a week of vacation is even worse. Especially after New Years. I was super tired and grumpy all day. Also, I felt like I was starting to get sick. I was really terrible to my end of the day classes. I even got mad at a kid for laughing too much! I actually yelled, 'can you please tell me what's so funny right now?!" <br />
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Anyway, I was in a really bad mood. I didn't want to go to the gym. I was trying to decide if I can make it to yoga. I wanted to come home and nap but I knew that would make me groggy and leave me feeling worse overall. So I went to the gym. And I got sweaty and coughed a bunch and powered through my work out...and in the end I FELT GREAT. I left the gym in such an amazing mood. I felt refreshed psychically and mentally. I made it to yoga. The class was perfect. <br />
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This isn't the first time something along these lines has happened. So I guess what I'm saying is that if you're feeling low in whatever way, you should get up and go exercise!! People have become so lazy. We are animals, we need to keep moving!!!Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-3709891225595071062012-01-01T02:43:00.000-08:002012-01-01T02:44:06.823-08:00Salvaged Winter BreakI only have two weeks of vacation in the year - one in the summer and one in the winter. Sam and I had been planning our trip to the Philippines since the summer. We bought our plane tickets and booked our hostel far in advance. We were soooo excited! It was meant to be a nice goodbye after the four months we spent together in Korea. So we went to the airport Friday night because our flight was at 7AM on Saturday. On the way there it started to snow pretty hard but we didn't mind because we were heading for white beaches! <br />
<br />
Woke up in the morning and went to check in. Got seats together, checked our bags, ready to go. Suddenly, the check in girl picks up my passport again, looks at it, sets it down, and runs down the conveyer belt after my bag. Strange. "I don't like when they do things to freak you out like that", said Sam. Foreshadowing. <br />
<br />
She comes back and tells me, "Sorry, but I can't let you through. Your passport expires in four and a half months and you need at least six to get into the country." I was in shock! I had heard of this rule before but I thought if I had a return ticket, was going for a week, and had an alien registration card in Korea saying I have a full time job it wouldn't matter. Well I was obviously wrong! It felt like a bad dream. There was nothing I could do. I had to tell Sam to go through so she didn't miss her flight.<br />
<br />
I waited for my bag, cried, called my mom, and was just generally frustrated and hated how helpless I felt. I may have caused a bit of a scene, sobbing to myself, lying on my pillow, sitting on the airport floor. Calling my mom only made it worse because it made me so homesick. "I don't want to be in this country anymore, I just want out!!" Haha, I really said things like this to my mom. Anyway, once I got my bag I pulled the case off my pillow, threw it at the wall and headed home, defeated. <br />
<br />
I texted and called a couple of people, including Ann. Luckily Ann called me back and she told me that Stehpy was staying in Seoul all week and gave me her number. So I spent most of the week with her and three of her friends - Nick, Matt and Alec. Mat was visiting from the States, Nick teaches in Andong and Alec teaches in Seoul. <br />
<br />
We went out drinking on the 24th and 25th. I was feeling really down those two days and I had a pretty miserable Christmas. I really missed my family and friends. But I tried to stay in good spirits. I learned how to play shuffleboard, that was pretty fun haha :) Then Nick invited me to Andong for two nights, so him, Stephy, Matt and I spent the 27th and 28th there. I didn't bring my camera for some strange reason! But it was a really cute traditional Korean town. We did a pretty grueling hike there, I thought I wasn't going to make it! We went to a temple, walked around, went out, went to a market... it was a really great trip! <br />
<br />
On the 29th I just relaxed at home and went to yoga, then on the 30th I went to this <a href="http://www.sanchon.com/english/" target="_blank">amazing restaurant </a>for lunch with a Korean friend of mine. It was temple food - all vegetarian. I loved it! Definitely some of the best food I've had here. Then Stephy and I went to Myeongdong to buy something to wear for New Years from Forever 21 (of course). We found some awesome sequin shirts. <br />
<br />
New Years was so much fun!! I think the less you plan and expect, the better of a time you will have. I never have fun on New Years but this year was really great! We met up with some coworkers of mine, and a couple of other friends and went to this cool little club/bar called <a href="http://www.facebook.com/clubobeg" target="_blank">Obeg</a> in Hongdae. It was so much fun! We danced a lot, and drank and Ann and I checked out another bar as well. It was a great start to the new year, as cheesy as that sounds. <br />
<br />
I am super exhausted today because we didn't sleep much, but worth it. I had a great winter vacation thanks to some awesome people. It's such a relief to meet people who remind me of my friends at home. It's nice to feel that people understand me. I Don't want to go to work tomorrow at all, but I think everyone feels that way. Two more months!! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IJT22RL4Ygc/TwAtchTpw5I/AAAAAAAAARE/Qe9KejCEZeQ/s1600/IMG_1974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IJT22RL4Ygc/TwAtchTpw5I/AAAAAAAAARE/Qe9KejCEZeQ/s320/IMG_1974.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cookie-cutter apartments that make up the Korean landscape...on the way back from the airport</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VSxFQj0aTjE/TwAwJ_qMjbI/AAAAAAAAARQ/Z97dryV2S0g/s1600/IMG_1975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VSxFQj0aTjE/TwAwJ_qMjbI/AAAAAAAAARQ/Z97dryV2S0g/s320/IMG_1975.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luckily this didn't stick</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uX4lB0B4boo/TwAwtaYOlPI/AAAAAAAAARY/Eos19c2UoFY/s1600/IMG_1976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uX4lB0B4boo/TwAwtaYOlPI/AAAAAAAAARY/Eos19c2UoFY/s320/IMG_1976.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I should be on a beach</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yt5m9O6JtE8/TwAxfXK5D9I/AAAAAAAAARk/X6TUeVIJVCc/s1600/IMG_1977.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yt5m9O6JtE8/TwAxfXK5D9I/AAAAAAAAARk/X6TUeVIJVCc/s320/IMG_1977.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stephy</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UPL3adqohXY/TwAxycraYgI/AAAAAAAAARs/agpUs-phY20/s1600/IMG_1982.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UPL3adqohXY/TwAxycraYgI/AAAAAAAAARs/agpUs-phY20/s320/IMG_1982.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New Year's dinner: Quiznos veggie sub with jalapenos and red wine</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--zuNLH9AooA/TwAyIrug6zI/AAAAAAAAAR0/8zkGuiMAx8U/s1600/IMG_1983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--zuNLH9AooA/TwAyIrug6zI/AAAAAAAAAR0/8zkGuiMAx8U/s320/IMG_1983.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FOCUS (Matt and Ann)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kj3tTJ12Lw8/TwAyUmyn5BI/AAAAAAAAAR8/GE8MAuU20b8/s1600/IMG_1984.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Kj3tTJ12Lw8/TwAyUmyn5BI/AAAAAAAAAR8/GE8MAuU20b8/s320/IMG_1984.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-puOTf1mLm38/TwAyfIHYRAI/AAAAAAAAASE/cj6DYGHFYdk/s1600/IMG_1985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-puOTf1mLm38/TwAyfIHYRAI/AAAAAAAAASE/cj6DYGHFYdk/s320/IMG_1985.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5BbxMRqsHqI/TwAyrwDyXBI/AAAAAAAAASM/BPAMmt8ZT1U/s1600/IMG_1994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5BbxMRqsHqI/TwAyrwDyXBI/AAAAAAAAASM/BPAMmt8ZT1U/s320/IMG_1994.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We lost the subway race</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_aOWWbHz8cI/TwAy-yxaLvI/AAAAAAAAASU/LRA0eMfD-YQ/s1600/IMG_1999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_aOWWbHz8cI/TwAy-yxaLvI/AAAAAAAAASU/LRA0eMfD-YQ/s320/IMG_1999.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Have we crossed the river yet?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXwfpcS21CM/TwAzTYGmccI/AAAAAAAAASc/Cn8WiL6pPso/s1600/IMG_2004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bXwfpcS21CM/TwAzTYGmccI/AAAAAAAAASc/Cn8WiL6pPso/s320/IMG_2004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztFIw69Mxb8/TwAznPu7BXI/AAAAAAAAASk/WZvyBZ7h5QA/s1600/IMG_2005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ztFIw69Mxb8/TwAznPu7BXI/AAAAAAAAASk/WZvyBZ7h5QA/s320/IMG_2005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Obeg</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f99l70v-blU/TwAz4GGaTgI/AAAAAAAAASs/mEAK6Y3bUsk/s1600/IMG_2006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f99l70v-blU/TwAz4GGaTgI/AAAAAAAAASs/mEAK6Y3bUsk/s320/IMG_2006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nick, Stephy, Ann and I</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NujSsNTIa7U/TwA0HngLFYI/AAAAAAAAAS0/95chZxQNkVM/s1600/IMG_2009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NujSsNTIa7U/TwA0HngLFYI/AAAAAAAAAS0/95chZxQNkVM/s320/IMG_2009.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">DJ</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7WcN0G18-MQ/TwA0bn2HC7I/AAAAAAAAAS8/mUBgveRQ5mQ/s1600/IMG_2012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7WcN0G18-MQ/TwA0bn2HC7I/AAAAAAAAAS8/mUBgveRQ5mQ/s320/IMG_2012.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo Op</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NotLi5VpqG4/TwA0xf7JGxI/AAAAAAAAATE/Zym5yV0Wb4A/s1600/IMG_2027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-NotLi5VpqG4/TwA0xf7JGxI/AAAAAAAAATE/Zym5yV0Wb4A/s320/IMG_2027.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bye Matt!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span id="goog_1449210806"></span><span id="goog_1449210807"></span>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-17971850160885113322011-12-26T05:29:00.000-08:002011-12-26T05:32:07.712-08:00Frances' Visit<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Frances and I traveled together down the coast of Queensland for two or three weeks in 2009. We also lived together in Melbourne for four months that same year. And by that I mean she took me in when I ran out of money...she let me live with her for free! If it wasn't for her I would've had to leave Australia early. We shared her room and even though we were always hanging out we never got tired of each other or got into any arguments. She is probably the most easygoing person I know. So when she said she was flying to Korea to stay with me from November 15th to December 8th I knew that I didn't have to be worried about us sharing a small space once again. Funny enough, my whole apartment is probably the size of her room that we shared in Melbourne. <br />
<br />
She is now living in London and I am so happy for her! But also jealous because Sam is moving to Paris very soon and they will be so close to each other. And because I want to live in London!! The grass is always greener I guess...<br />
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Anyway, having Frances here made me appreciate all of my best friends so much more. It's so nice to have that person who you don't have to ask if they want to hang out on the weekend because it's assumed that you will be. Ah, two more months in Korea. <br />
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I miss you guys. </div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zOkY6fwEXN4/TvhmkCaS_4I/AAAAAAAAAOo/C9OevIsXUaA/s1600/IMG_1845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zOkY6fwEXN4/TvhmkCaS_4I/AAAAAAAAAOo/C9OevIsXUaA/s320/IMG_1845.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frances, Sam and I at the Seoul Lantern Festival </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wj-aQEcfrzg/TvhmOTUXiII/AAAAAAAAAOg/dmuk8JOwGo4/s1600/IMG_1808.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wj-aQEcfrzg/TvhmOTUXiII/AAAAAAAAAOg/dmuk8JOwGo4/s320/IMG_1808.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegetarian Korean</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GlP75tSx_Jc/TvhnIl7xqBI/AAAAAAAAAOw/JBXVWVrE02Q/s320/IMG_1853.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Should've bought the jacket<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CxtOPP5JqyI/TvhtmL12pYI/AAAAAAAAAPg/90xuFZ7USHs/s1600/IMG_9713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-CxtOPP5JqyI/TvhtmL12pYI/AAAAAAAAAPg/90xuFZ7USHs/s320/IMG_9713.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0hM9WzJzw1k/TvhtrsKpuEI/AAAAAAAAAPo/LXxHiG8wnn0/s1600/IMG_9715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0hM9WzJzw1k/TvhtrsKpuEI/AAAAAAAAAPo/LXxHiG8wnn0/s320/IMG_9715.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I7QzKlYJ2u0/TvhtyfQCrtI/AAAAAAAAAPw/_9vVrwUxkw4/s1600/IMG_9720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-I7QzKlYJ2u0/TvhtyfQCrtI/AAAAAAAAAPw/_9vVrwUxkw4/s320/IMG_9720.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jxbAHLE7xoo/Tvht4yQY7HI/AAAAAAAAAP4/_4SmLWTg3T4/s320/IMG_1899.JPG" width="320" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span id="goog_1065123393"></span><span id="goog_1065123394"></span>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-77359053659660495922011-11-29T05:54:00.000-08:002011-11-29T06:09:51.470-08:00For Dad<div style="text-align: left;">This post and video are both for you dad...my number 1 blog fan. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've given up on this blog months ago. But you called me out on being a slacker...I was guilted into updating it even when I didn't feel like it. And I'm glad I stuck with it!! <br />
<br />
Also, if it wasn't for you, who knows what kind of food I would be cooking here?? As I have said many times before, being a vegetarian in Korea is not easy. I've learned a great deal from watching you cook and eating your amazing food (note - my dad is not at all a vegetarian). So thanks dad!!!! I Love you!!<br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwaxfwUerGRxoppL9CglQonHbgacQlAWHZaZmRN9o9KE9wbZ4P67eOC6ykRja2P0SoThun5gzATugzJ85pN2w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-29123337649756167772011-11-26T21:21:00.000-08:002011-11-26T21:21:45.679-08:00Faking ItHere is a video that Frances made of me teaching. She spent a day with me and filmed my kindergarten classes. When I first watched it all I could think was, 'does my voice really sound like that? So fake and annoying and such a weak attempt at enthusiasm!' Anyway, then we made another video (which will soon be posted) outside of school and I thought my voice sounded normal. Haha. So anyway, here is a bit of insight into how I spend my weekdays. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dw0bV9uE40kWuB_vJgqAbZT8BR1dbJGi80ZsM9Tao8tHP_FHNZStamWUKVVwhKYiCz1yeeWLTYN7R7npF8Q8Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-51327655357801774892011-11-21T05:43:00.000-08:002011-11-21T05:51:50.329-08:00Halloween<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This post is a bit overdue but here are some photos from Halloween. It's not a huge holiday in Korea, but some people celebrate it... mostly foreigners. English private schools usually have special Halloween events and the kids get dressed up. </div><br />
Sam and I went out with a couple of her friends and I was a biker/tattooed badass. She was Lara Croft. We felt a bit like celebrities being out in Itaewon, with how many people wanted to take pictures with us. Well, at least reality show celebrities. It was a decent night out but it definitely doesn't compare to a Halloween night in Canada (or America I am sure). All of the bars in Itaewon had generic Halloween themed parties, but something was missing. Maybe it was the authenticity. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The highlight of the day was definitely seeing the kids dressed up. I don't bring my camera to school often but I knew this would be worth it. All of the girls in my class dressed up as princesses...as did the majority of the girls in the other classes. The boys were a little bit more creative. Check them out below! ^^</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam and I</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">xTuffx</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtz_yc97K9nZCA7GCXOwroe08YHFNaraGXAnm4hKKQLuVC3zrW0sZkEy5nGB0HlUIQgCD6pf142bdDjD4Vr9yCxX_XiBUTsEIHUCcuhc2B-NAikHOsMPuKM3Msh1FhYON63aKrX7wdqAZ/s1600/IMG_1692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXtz_yc97K9nZCA7GCXOwroe08YHFNaraGXAnm4hKKQLuVC3zrW0sZkEy5nGB0HlUIQgCD6pf142bdDjD4Vr9yCxX_XiBUTsEIHUCcuhc2B-NAikHOsMPuKM3Msh1FhYON63aKrX7wdqAZ/s320/IMG_1692.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mickey (who in the meantime quit the school), Caleb and Bosco </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annie and Sean the Knight </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhbjYXHt9HEGXrLcu1x28BD-DJJ2-aDM_WTZPU5Kb0y4Cb5ZtWejGfiaTPd1ISbX6IDBNWLpotpDjZ5vUkB2G40rJFuugakUMW5SfvG0TM2uKkcq4i4avLw2JkUeCvap0_ggXXi-SPsAF/s1600/IMG_1715.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhbjYXHt9HEGXrLcu1x28BD-DJJ2-aDM_WTZPU5Kb0y4Cb5ZtWejGfiaTPd1ISbX6IDBNWLpotpDjZ5vUkB2G40rJFuugakUMW5SfvG0TM2uKkcq4i4avLw2JkUeCvap0_ggXXi-SPsAF/s320/IMG_1715.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Singing Halloween tunes</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boys being cuties</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7K9U8s2tjiErIB2mRjME6i76kMqDP_I2-HlBe_dRf6530k9pwa5S_EXMOsjvLE00m6DP2SE88SQxq-xNl0eXj9ooltgbaNKqBzjnz5P7RUPoQdmMs2xKQTJPzfT2C6HIRphb7PTCqU5bN/s1600/IMG_1708.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7K9U8s2tjiErIB2mRjME6i76kMqDP_I2-HlBe_dRf6530k9pwa5S_EXMOsjvLE00m6DP2SE88SQxq-xNl0eXj9ooltgbaNKqBzjnz5P7RUPoQdmMs2xKQTJPzfT2C6HIRphb7PTCqU5bN/s320/IMG_1708.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pooh Class</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-35576521928615458032011-11-07T02:37:00.000-08:002011-11-07T02:37:56.955-08:00Plastic<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/world/asia/in-south-korea-plastic-surgery-comes-out-of-the-closet.html?_r=3&ref=asia">Here</a> is an article that will give you some insight on the plastic surgery craze that is occurring in Korea. The more I read about it, the more fascinated I become...I can't help it!Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-20231064525372001332011-11-02T06:52:00.000-07:002011-11-02T06:56:12.708-07:00Thick Thighs"Asian girls are so tiny" is a generalization that I have heard many times and thought to be true myself. And yeah, maybe they are, but it doesn't always come naturally. The rest of what I have to say is in reference to Korean girls because I am not sure of others, but it likely applies.<br />
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Korean girls are generally small. They have a small frame and are fairly short. But if they are skinny it is usually due to a conscious effort on their part. It is in terms of what they eat and drink more than how often they work out. I am not completely criticizing this because I am attracted to slim and toned healthy bodies. Also, I am a small girl myself and I work for it - at the gym and I watch what I eat. I haven't always been in the shape I am in now, so I know it takes a lot of effort. But the difference is that I like that my body is toned, and I think girls with muscle look great. That doesn't seem to be the case with most Koreans. <br />
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So if you see skinny and small Korean or Asian girls don't think that it comes super easy to them. There is sooo much pressure in this part of the world, even more than in the west, I think. At least it's a lot more forward and accepted here. From bleaching skin, to plastic surgery, to other crazy beauty solutions (that I might do a blog post on), Korea's got it all!<br />
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Anyway, this post was inspired by this video that was brought to my attention. I find it completely ridiculous and offensive! And sad, really. I am not too familiar with many aspects of Korean media - I don't watch TV or read magazines or anything - but I think this is a pretty good representation because Arirang is a major TV network. Enjoy!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/1vVR_s6Uv1A/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/1vVR_s6Uv1A&fs=1&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="http://www.youtube.com/v/1vVR_s6Uv1A&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash"></embed></object></div>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-2054037618658446172011-10-28T08:24:00.001-07:002011-10-28T08:24:49.552-07:00The 10 Worst Things About Teaching in KoreaThis isn't meant to be a big rant or complaint, just my honest feelings about teaching English in Korea. I have been here for 8 months and I think I have a pretty decent understanding of what life is like for teachers on a one year contract. This list is specific to my lifestyle, which maybe differs from yours. Oh, and these are listed in no particular order. <br />
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<b>1. Korean parents</b>: Korean parents who have the money to send their kids to a private school spend a lot of money for their kids to be there. It can cost $1000/month, give or take. Also, signing up is done on a month by month basis. This means two things: the parents can be very, very demanding; and they will need to have their asses kissed constantly by the Korean staff (and sometimes us) so they don't quit the school. Also the parents are so incredibly worried about their kids getting hurt. And by getting hurt I mean getting a scratch or bump from playing. If the kids have even a tiny scratch on their face, the parents will freak out! Kids gets hurt!! They are kids!! Why is it such a huge deal if it's on their faces? AAAH. <br />
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<b>2. Being a vegetarian</b>: This is huge for me because at home I am a strict vegetarian and I don't eat fish or seafood. Here, I still don't eat fish or seafood but I make many exceptions for other things. I eat kimchi even though it has fish oil, I pick meat out of things, etc. There are many vegetarian restaurants, mainly in Seoul, but they are generally much more expensive than Korean restaurants. Also, to get things like beans, chickpeas, tahini (I make my own hummus, can't buy it in stores), you have to go to an international food store in Itaewon. Maybe this is close to where you live but I live an hour and a half away. <br />
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<b>3. </b><b>Working with kids:</b> Alright so this might come as a surprise because I chose to work with kids so therefore I must really like them, right? Well I was never sure before, but now I am, and I don't! Haha, at least not working with them. They are super cute and sometimes really funny and entertaining. But a lot of the time I am really frustrated and annoyed and I rarely enjoy the interaction between me and them. Especially not the kindergarten kids. I feel like I am always faking it. I don't like reading story books and singing songs and doing all of that. But I guess I had to experience it to know. And my class is really small now and the kids are really good and easy to teach. So it's not all bad, I just wouldn't do it again. <br />
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<b>4. Not living in Seoul:</b> If there was only one thing I could change about living in Korea it would be my location. I really, really dislike living in Suji. It doesn't matter that I am 40 minutes (to an hour and a half) away from Seoul, I am not in Seoul. I never go there during the week because it's not worth the trip and it's really inconvenient on weekends. I can take the bus or subway when I go out and my options for coming home are waiting until 5:30am until the buses/subway start running again or taking a $25-$40 taxi home, depending where I am coming from. And there is nothing to do in Suji except for drink, which I don't do during the week...or on the weekends in this city. <br />
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<b>5. The landscape: </b>I really don't mean to offend any Koreans reading this but the Korean landscape - natural and architectural - is not aesthetically pleasing. All of the cities are made up of cookie-cutter high rise apartments, Family Marts, Paris Baguettes, E-marts and Lotte Marts. The beaches are okay (to be fair, I haven't been to Busan), and the mountains (that I've seen) are okay also. I will sound condescending saying it, but if you've never traveled anywhere else then maybe you will be impressed with the Korean landscape, but I find it pretty dull.<b> </b><br />
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<b>6. Lack of good cheese:</b> On a lighter, but still serious note, I have been living without cheese for the past 8 months. You cannot get good cheese here. Not at your local grocery store at least. You can get blocks of cheddar and those standards at the international food store but its just from Costco and really expensive. I miss cheese!!!!<b> </b><br />
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<b>7. Price of fruit: </b>I love fruit. A lot. And I honestly think a fair portion of my paycheck goes to buying fruit. It can be really expensive. Watermelon is $15! Okay that is an extreme example but I am not exaggerating. Grapes, kiwis, grapefruit, peaches, all can be really expensive. Even apples. I definitely frequent the fruit sale section at the grocery stores I shop at. And there are fruit stands around too, but they are usually overpriced. Sometimes I find pretty good deals, especially when things are in season. <br />
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<b>8. Rainy summers: </b>It must've rained for 75% of the summer. Grey skies and rain that went on for weeks. Not constantly throughout the entire day, but yeah, it was not an ideal summer. And this is typical Korean climate.<br />
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<b>9. Plastic surgery: </b>So this obviously has nothing with teaching English...but this country's obsession with plastic surgery is disgusting, terrifying and pretty sad. It is the least taboo subject imaginable. Subway stations, bus stops, university hallways, magazines, and many other places are covered in ads for plastic surgery. It is very common for women (and some men) to get surgery to change the shape of their eyes, to have a nose with a bridge, a small chin, smaller cheekbones and just a smaller face in general! The end goal is to resemble a Korean as little as possible. I know that people get plastic surgery all over the world but I haven't heard of any other country where the obsession is so big. <br />
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<b>10. Homogeneity: </b>At first, it seems like there is so much going on here. So many bright lights, so many shops, so many bars, sooo many restaurants, so much street food, so many clothes and accessories being sold everywhere! But then you sort of realize that it's kind of all the same stuff.Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-22614264613952561782011-10-28T08:24:00.000-07:002011-10-28T08:25:08.100-07:00The 10 Best Things About Teaching in KoreaThere are many things that I really like about living and working here. It's definitely an easy life. <br />
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<b>1. Free rent and flight: </b>This has to be the best thing about teaching in Korea...at least for me...it's what brought me here. That and the fact that you can teach here without any kind of certification (you just need a Bachelors degree in anything). Every school will pay for your return flight, give you a furnished apartment and pay for half of your health insurance (which is mandatory).<br />
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<b>2. Finishing bonus: </b>All schools (I believe) give you a month's worth of pay upon completing your one year contract. Also, all schools are meant to take out close to $100 of every paycheck and then double it at the end and give it back to you...something to do with a pension plan.<br />
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<b>3.</b> <b>Minimal work: </b>The job itself isn't hard. Yes, it is often very exhausting because you are working with children and they require a lot of energy...but if you work in a private school the curriculum is laid out for you and you don't need to create lesson plans. This means you don't have to come into work early, stay late, or take your work home with you.<b> </b><br />
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<b>4. Living in Asia: </b>I went to China over my summer vacation and I am going to the Philippines for a week over Christmas. There are so many interesting places within reach that I would love to travel to. Unfortunately, I was pretty stupid with my money within the first few months of living in Korea so I don't get to travel as much as others. However, I hope to teach in Shanghai next year and travel around South East Asia during that time.<br />
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<b>5. Alcohol availability:</b> I am referring to the convenience. Being from Canada - a country where you can only purchase alcohol between the hours of 10AM and 10PM from a government owned establishment - I have really enjoyed being able to buy alcohol at 7 elevens anywhere and at any time. You can't buy hard liquor there. But they've got all the Soju, beer, rice wine and coolers you want. I guess nothing is perfect.<br />
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<b>6. Seoul: </b>I have to admit it is a good city! There are some really cool areas to explore that I wish I could have gotten to know better by living there. And because its population is so big there are always people out doing things, which I really like. From what I've seen, the city doesn't really sleep. And it's a great place for people watching. Oh, and you can drink in public. <br />
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<b>7. Bibimbap: </b>It's by far my favourite Korean dish. It's vegetarian, really cheap and available everywhere! It's made up of rice topped with some seasoned veggies, an egg and a chilli pepper paste. It costs between $3-$5. Oh and like most other Korean meals, it comes with unlimited sides! <br />
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<b>8. <a href="http://supercolorsuper.com/">Super Color Super</a>: </b>An amazing production company that puts on a lot of live shows here. They get a fair amount of indie bands from North America and other parts of the world. I went to see Toro y Moi a few months ago and it has been my favourite show in Korea!<br />
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9. Staying fit:</b> This is really easy to do in Korea because people are quite health conscious. There is an abundance of gyms and memberships are decently priced. I go to the gym and yoga everyday and love both. A lot of teachers get into taekwondo while they are here. Also, there are a few hiking groups, and plenty of places to go hiking. <br />
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10. Transit: </b>Although it's super inconvenient that the public transit stops running so early, Seoul still has a great transit system. It extends out really far and connects the city really well. It's quite cheap, very reliable and clean. <br />
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If you stumbled upon this blog because you are considering teaching in Korea or have already signed a contract and have any questions for whatever reason, feel free to send me a message.Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-40201692048244300272011-09-18T06:16:00.000-07:002011-09-18T06:16:28.697-07:00Sam is HereLife is good! Sam has been here for 3 weeks and it's been amazing having her around. My life really feels more complete. It's also been fun to hang out with her friends from Hanyang University. They are all international students from Europe, which is a nice change because I feel like everyone I know in Korea is American. Nothing against Americans of course, but change is always refreshing. Sam spent the first weekend at my place and I spent the next at hers. The first weekend we went to Club Volume to see a <a href="http://www.myspace.com/fantasticplasticmachine">Japanese DJ</a> . We met up with my friend <a href="http://www.sjnr.co.kr/">Songjae</a> and some of his friends. It was a really great night, Sam made it pretty late considering she was really jet lagged!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bus stop photoshoots, of course :)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSPBucrv9SO2mUFLB47ttyOeI-PGU0xuG5DmViKMK1dd8tR6TG2a7nCmKApCfcMBisa3Dd4gimvwTxFTlfi2NKVCJSL_I_8LuW5Ra1nDmiIT2-sbsjn0OFmnfBRyxx2jKpx5gmegqc24A/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSSPBucrv9SO2mUFLB47ttyOeI-PGU0xuG5DmViKMK1dd8tR6TG2a7nCmKApCfcMBisa3Dd4gimvwTxFTlfi2NKVCJSL_I_8LuW5Ra1nDmiIT2-sbsjn0OFmnfBRyxx2jKpx5gmegqc24A/s320/4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Predrinks</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjong-Dv8gufZ-dClzCUJD-HcQVmZaPssL3k4D0tiLCewKKZwsk-DGCLd8Kn9sAoC29ns7u12AjC3DSia9PLyQUHxQcvRLiSUeOa-Q5UMxf6U2y9tDxo_rZWwASuAY1I5IICdkjnpCfelRX/s1600/28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjong-Dv8gufZ-dClzCUJD-HcQVmZaPssL3k4D0tiLCewKKZwsk-DGCLd8Kn9sAoC29ns7u12AjC3DSia9PLyQUHxQcvRLiSUeOa-Q5UMxf6U2y9tDxo_rZWwASuAY1I5IICdkjnpCfelRX/s320/28.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.sjnr.co.kr/">www.sjnr.co.kr</a></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: left;">Last weekend was a 4 day long weekend for Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. I was planning on staying in Friday night but I called Sam and she was going out for someone's birthday to Club Ellui so I decided to meet up with her and her friends there. Again, it was such a fun night! I don't know why I was so opposed to going to clubs when I first got to Korea. They're actually a lot of fun. Especially when you don't need to pay cover, heh :) I don't have many pictures from this night, except for these of us in the bathroom, entertaining ourselves with the Gargle Dispenser. <br />
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Saturday night we met up with some friends of mine from Australia who are visiting Korea for a few weeks. We met up in Hongdae, ate some Korean food, and went to a concert...which we all left early for different reasons. It was good to see them and I hope to catch up with them when they're back from their trip to Jeju Island. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgI5rxzKtIcdYbSYLKYuqinLEy7dycoO0Ubs3Ph9Z0PVlgMkZMG4HeZBVZTMeIeqQz7ZiH1-6NqBJkmM27HCrDd3Xpyx1o1rWbUaiO1zJXxQEHuy4f_zIFTjU35yb4btdVNy8Mivln68o/s1600/IMG_1497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqgI5rxzKtIcdYbSYLKYuqinLEy7dycoO0Ubs3Ph9Z0PVlgMkZMG4HeZBVZTMeIeqQz7ZiH1-6NqBJkmM27HCrDd3Xpyx1o1rWbUaiO1zJXxQEHuy4f_zIFTjU35yb4btdVNy8Mivln68o/s320/IMG_1497.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Having Sam here has been great on so many levels. It's way more than having someone to go out with. It's having someone here who I really love and who really cares about me and understands me. It's been very comforting. And Sam is really into healthy eating and she is almost a vegetarian and she loves to work out and be active -- all things that are really important to me. Although we've been friends for 10 years (!!!) we haven't lived in the same city for 6 of those years. And as much as we've always been able to tell each other everything it's so different to be living so close and be around each other more often. I think we are both realizing we have so much more in common than we thought. And we both really needed each other in ways that we didn't know. So, yeah, I am happy :)Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-5673987093201404382011-08-20T21:37:00.000-07:002011-08-20T21:57:17.498-07:00Shanghai<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Ohhhhh Shanghai. What a great way to spend half of my summer vacation. Both Bill and I agreed that it was perfect because we had done so much sight-seeing in Beijing that all we wanted was to relax and eat good food and party and check out markets. And we did all of those things. <br />
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Probably one of the reasons I loved Shanghai so much is because I had no specific expectations. I didn't know what the city would be like. I had learned about it in one of my planning classes but I had forgotten how much European influence its architecture had. It was such a beautiful city, especially at night.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Bund</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsGHCkEYpAJtdQsJSavazZDdthyphenhyphenmXBqcG029wWIfI1NNKMDt0yzxEhc3wJqTQvt2Jd8_D552ELZMfoCEVua_wDETy8vMuFq-cctPqfjdQz2QovcWokYTPTIEQvskjTrE80RnAu-SERPnY/s1600/IMG_1210.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDsGHCkEYpAJtdQsJSavazZDdthyphenhyphenmXBqcG029wWIfI1NNKMDt0yzxEhc3wJqTQvt2Jd8_D552ELZMfoCEVua_wDETy8vMuFq-cctPqfjdQz2QovcWokYTPTIEQvskjTrE80RnAu-SERPnY/s320/IMG_1210.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain's Hostel rooftop bar</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cz7O0h2c3HLa-3AD_ZPIfMKIne2u14KoKqwvDcqKPvJJJoJFbymWbS0INCEnhrooH0doLGRgW1n7QvFEUFMx0-lAUdzDh5dgT3DIZ4VV7mNpkwKInLjNCxGNs_3ykTDy0FDJGof_VrWf/s1600/IMG_1212.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-cz7O0h2c3HLa-3AD_ZPIfMKIne2u14KoKqwvDcqKPvJJJoJFbymWbS0INCEnhrooH0doLGRgW1n7QvFEUFMx0-lAUdzDh5dgT3DIZ4VV7mNpkwKInLjNCxGNs_3ykTDy0FDJGof_VrWf/s320/IMG_1212.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Oh you know, just posing</td></tr>
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The next day we checked out the urban planning exhibition hall. I have never seen a model anywhere close to the size of the model of Shanghai. The pictures don't really show its scale. It was pretty easy to get lost in it.<br />
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Walking around the city, I was impressed with how much green space there is. Not in comparison to Canada of course, but definitely in comparison to Korea. The French Concession was probably my favourite part, and I really felt like I was walking around a European city.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge76dBIQazwTtlV6H1nnzUnomMyTIlqFqg7HIWgN7d9enpvj423dlljLJgYDmY6KDC_bkN263F-xeiNqL2mnLnxXNqYoMF-oaC3J8B_gSclP98mkEHNWS723RRLF10_ZTN01zqQOiAXaRt/s1600/IMG_1265.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge76dBIQazwTtlV6H1nnzUnomMyTIlqFqg7HIWgN7d9enpvj423dlljLJgYDmY6KDC_bkN263F-xeiNqL2mnLnxXNqYoMF-oaC3J8B_gSclP98mkEHNWS723RRLF10_ZTN01zqQOiAXaRt/s320/IMG_1265.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24a8hcxglgVOlFzf1iNwvGVnIFO8W7CGgKmhmhCcISibRLvWGT8wQp8g7wsCD7OhmlcshFYnayu83JnlZLRMgIXe8IkDhat_8r_76jrLRBYcDE3w226wBpShXN80QsKeJ6j51xlXSPUCV/s1600/IMG_1266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi24a8hcxglgVOlFzf1iNwvGVnIFO8W7CGgKmhmhCcISibRLvWGT8wQp8g7wsCD7OhmlcshFYnayu83JnlZLRMgIXe8IkDhat_8r_76jrLRBYcDE3w226wBpShXN80QsKeJ6j51xlXSPUCV/s320/IMG_1266.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzx4HYWaPAB0fjbkEBGrCMv19q9U80exURATaoUmMhhpfSIL3UOAf6peKrnn8HIzI_vKgAIbsB7-0dGj9pFe8FSzT07IN-3mrE_AhAxftZ0HHTRyOOWpHEqmt4ODuiz1fXxMb0Lt67y69/s1600/IMG_1268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixzx4HYWaPAB0fjbkEBGrCMv19q9U80exURATaoUmMhhpfSIL3UOAf6peKrnn8HIzI_vKgAIbsB7-0dGj9pFe8FSzT07IN-3mrE_AhAxftZ0HHTRyOOWpHEqmt4ODuiz1fXxMb0Lt67y69/s320/IMG_1268.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zjU95uwrz_afdHE2gmVFe4v0rQfVSyyXqWjJ9CyKTsbZLJ-WefxZ68qZLCVJtKtPn4rwOPfdzP5Jm-OcDWnxNb_Z1TZzRllTAnrFb3gJaalTMZzhgSnfngIOhlJNy11gJoEmPnHZ6ikH/s1600/IMG_1282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3zjU95uwrz_afdHE2gmVFe4v0rQfVSyyXqWjJ9CyKTsbZLJ-WefxZ68qZLCVJtKtPn4rwOPfdzP5Jm-OcDWnxNb_Z1TZzRllTAnrFb3gJaalTMZzhgSnfngIOhlJNy11gJoEmPnHZ6ikH/s320/IMG_1282.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyl8K53Bm19Ae-Ibm2_S3WWMAGiUqywhMBPtDiSxGGRt82jZNsl4cuWMr3pAijt7ZwZeuKFIxv_cphf4AcoKvcjaHM9bSLGLN9zOfobslUd-PfKE1MDOA2ket5v_rgVCg165pllsD8eutn/s1600/IMG_1279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyl8K53Bm19Ae-Ibm2_S3WWMAGiUqywhMBPtDiSxGGRt82jZNsl4cuWMr3pAijt7ZwZeuKFIxv_cphf4AcoKvcjaHM9bSLGLN9zOfobslUd-PfKE1MDOA2ket5v_rgVCg165pllsD8eutn/s320/IMG_1279.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqRiIci8d_INumG8T-3A6bTzjrK2nLwm19gAjvifBsd58ZKjfeeZowPdi-GMoqlWCXA1LogIdqcqn-9IScVXdM2ERKuUNO_yRUxa2efRPujBWYHK_uA5tl1YZYlZD47FBwp6Z7-TX0M0f/s1600/IMG_1271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirqRiIci8d_INumG8T-3A6bTzjrK2nLwm19gAjvifBsd58ZKjfeeZowPdi-GMoqlWCXA1LogIdqcqn-9IScVXdM2ERKuUNO_yRUxa2efRPujBWYHK_uA5tl1YZYlZD47FBwp6Z7-TX0M0f/s320/IMG_1271.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiok1Mh4l1ZgvBOLJqTczoO725EptgU2xDNdbVibPXfhPeFPnbmhyphenhypheniz9dpUy6ZkiObZrPOZbQ74LzPEyezxd8T8Z3DM8smV-XgKGeY7XgyGj6g1owcIirA2_TM_B0OjYBVCglLWxLbnVjPV/s1600/IMG_1269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiok1Mh4l1ZgvBOLJqTczoO725EptgU2xDNdbVibPXfhPeFPnbmhyphenhypheniz9dpUy6ZkiObZrPOZbQ74LzPEyezxd8T8Z3DM8smV-XgKGeY7XgyGj6g1owcIirA2_TM_B0OjYBVCglLWxLbnVjPV/s320/IMG_1269.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
One of my favourite things about Shanghai was how affordable everything is. I've described the city to some people as LA in Europe in Asia. There are so many really classy and new and well decorated and designed bars. And rooftop bars! I love them! And really great restaurants. Pretty much, you could afford to live a really good lifestyle there. It wasn't super cheap but it was justifiable. Maybe it was because we were on vacation? I'm not sure. <br />
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I also celebrated my 23rd birthday in Shanghai. It's definitely one of the most fun birthdays I've had. It kind of sucks being away on your birthday because strangers can only care so much but I had a great time! Bill look me out for lunch at a really nice rooftop restaurant. At night we went out for dinner with our new Spanish friends from our hostel. We had great Spanish food and wine and mojitos, then danced for most of the night. It really was great time! <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">O'Malleys</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8KXntCZb8KdC3TS4SOZVwNLDkvDGBpKDW8qRCtS5d9hTQArTrtrB1n48TAYpzlKvaLpNa_hSVI-LU-NCV86i1_g-IRER42fBbasrZmZvneAW5QwHgO2xMTKuN3C1fevfpWVVG_fHoopu/s1600/IMG_1317.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ8KXntCZb8KdC3TS4SOZVwNLDkvDGBpKDW8qRCtS5d9hTQArTrtrB1n48TAYpzlKvaLpNa_hSVI-LU-NCV86i1_g-IRER42fBbasrZmZvneAW5QwHgO2xMTKuN3C1fevfpWVVG_fHoopu/s320/IMG_1317.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKUocLPoiAEuB1fIdCXPxQoPzx3j8K8aZPqTEa1x15gE3mODvQVWz9c_6qDcrvpdOqd2AFrtlk1aVj0F_QEaUkj3wZ1p3Cxn6KNIXjST4ZbNZK0IS6CJbIs548yr6kwsyVMVzBDL4LPfW/s1600/IMG_1319.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTKUocLPoiAEuB1fIdCXPxQoPzx3j8K8aZPqTEa1x15gE3mODvQVWz9c_6qDcrvpdOqd2AFrtlk1aVj0F_QEaUkj3wZ1p3Cxn6KNIXjST4ZbNZK0IS6CJbIs548yr6kwsyVMVzBDL4LPfW/s320/IMG_1319.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPAODJpcDCUlJhsZZKEP1ycbelOqlI_O80dhyphenhyphenjtwoGL2IQrguTmy6DFieS1sKe62PK9NMeiWLX0LCuqYQctmIKBlEzZQvlk-kpcpT0t0ds7n2H0hihvHAdCN-QfDcsoiELnE-iy3GfybA/s1600/IMG_1330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRPAODJpcDCUlJhsZZKEP1ycbelOqlI_O80dhyphenhyphenjtwoGL2IQrguTmy6DFieS1sKe62PK9NMeiWLX0LCuqYQctmIKBlEzZQvlk-kpcpT0t0ds7n2H0hihvHAdCN-QfDcsoiELnE-iy3GfybA/s320/IMG_1330.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VW7Rqdxf_FEsJKgJJSJ7A-lyaBmd3qtHLhWmIv1nWuzU3WTjL8byNItHkv1OCI6s4i67fuMhQZr28Uh5ooKM19FFeRgLiOZU1fZ_8syyV8rQ4yiPR6kWBoZiomuPq8t3lY33TTh1UtnB/s1600/IMG_1331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VW7Rqdxf_FEsJKgJJSJ7A-lyaBmd3qtHLhWmIv1nWuzU3WTjL8byNItHkv1OCI6s4i67fuMhQZr28Uh5ooKM19FFeRgLiOZU1fZ_8syyV8rQ4yiPR6kWBoZiomuPq8t3lY33TTh1UtnB/s320/IMG_1331.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenYqrNXGjFRmNus8Mc-mEnerKEUv6RkNusV19k0LrsUeXXYOto6xQbtUwO6NwbRJCW31pfb46SkhDy57PQ9k6vCTh5uDjiKJWPHuXwv8UtF94Zshqeswgxcg8OSc2jciOWvPCRkgo4Qsw/s1600/IMG_1333.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhyphenhyphenYqrNXGjFRmNus8Mc-mEnerKEUv6RkNusV19k0LrsUeXXYOto6xQbtUwO6NwbRJCW31pfb46SkhDy57PQ9k6vCTh5uDjiKJWPHuXwv8UtF94Zshqeswgxcg8OSc2jciOWvPCRkgo4Qsw/s320/IMG_1333.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese food is great, very vegetarian friendly!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>So overall, a perfect vacation. Everything went right. I really loved China and would definitely go back. It's such a huge country and we saw such a small part of it. I know the rest would be completely different, but it seems very interesting. I would love to live in Shanghai for a year, so if anyone knows of any jobs there, send them my way ;) Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-78753773105192257262011-08-19T07:32:00.000-07:002011-08-20T21:58:16.856-07:00Backdrifts (Honeymoon Is Over)I'm at the halfway point of my year in Korea and, well, like the title of this post states, the honeymoon (phase) is over. I am no longer happy to just be here because it is new and exciting and I am living abroad. I am starting to get really annoyed with many aspects about Korea and my job, and about what I will do next. So this will probably a rant, maybe a bit negative, but I need to get it out.<br />
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It makes me feel so miserable to be constantly yelling at kids, very small kids. They are 4 and 5 and 6 and I am yelling at them because they cannot 'sit nicely' and because they shouldn't speak Korean and because they just want to talk to their friends and be kids. But at the same time, I see how they act in my Korean co-teachers' classes and it angers me that I get much less respect than they do. And I am so tired of our 10 minute morning meetings where we are told the exact same thing everyday, in broken English 'care your kids but have fun with them too'; Tuesday is PE Day (we love gym day); Wednesday is theme park day (a deceiving name); blah blah blah Pooh class parents are very sensitive; did you know that Daniel bit through Andy's T-shirt at jungle gym? His parents are very worried.....<br />
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I'm sick of where I live, Suji. I seriously traded Waterloo for a significantly less exciting place in Korea! Ah Seoul, so close yet so far away. Convenient but so inconvenient. Sure, the bus costs $1.50 but it doesn't help that it stops running at midnight and doesn't start again until 5:30am. At least I've got the gym and yoga here. Those keep me occupied throughout the week!<br />
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I think I went from not having a clue how to teach, to getting the hang of it, to getting over it in too short of a time span. Working with kids is just not for me. At all. And I guess I expected after half a year of living here to have friends that I am closer with than I do. And maybe I thought that the Seoul situation would somehow sort itself out. I'm even getting fed up with the lack of food options as a vegetarian here. I want cheese!! Haha...<br />
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Okay, okay I think that's enough of me feeling sorry for myself. I am still glad to be here, really, but mainly due to my financial situation. And wait, there's more! There's a light at the end of the tunnel! My very good (and beautiful and amazing and fun) friend Samantha is moving to Seoul for the next 5 months! And she will be here next Friday. And I know things will change for the better! I will have someone I love close to me. Someone to be girly with, and get ready with, and go out with, and someone with who it is just assumed that I have plans with every single weekend (because we will). No need to even ask. I miss that. I miss those people....they know who they are <3<br />
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So yes, I should end on a positive note because really, when it comes down to it, life is great!! And if I am still dissatisfied with Korea in the end I don't have to come back... and who knows where I will end up next??!!!! Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-40581463461721533372011-08-06T01:14:00.000-07:002011-08-06T09:35:14.483-07:00Home in MarchSoooo coming to Korea I thought that I would teach here for two years and not go home in between. And although I might still teach here another year, I have decided to come home at the end of my contract. Two reasons: first, Korea didn't magically change my spending habits and I am not even close to saving as much as I should be; and second, I must admit that I miss everyone back home in crummy old KW.<br />
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I will be back in the beginning of March for about a month or so. Then off to California and Coachella with my lovely Roxy in April and then I am not sure what after. I will have to stat figuring it out by the end of the year. Maybe I will come back to Korea to teach (adults though, no more kids). Maybe I will get lucky and find a job in Shanghai, my most recent fixation. I have no idea where I will end up really, but I am excited about that!<br />
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So it may be seven months away but mark your calendars! March 2012 I will be back in Southwestern Ontario.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2WyvPGjNk_xtmPdImHzVwC7ewr_483D4Be9KUhItB8ef_P8TUmiwIGvcGKG0cgWou7kPhNwB0JATSjsUJoHoGhdMqr1zWgnrOKWePWBGEL8LqOu2TJvvnbSa5UtGs-Kgryj_VEQgs0CR/s1600/IMG_1189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis2WyvPGjNk_xtmPdImHzVwC7ewr_483D4Be9KUhItB8ef_P8TUmiwIGvcGKG0cgWou7kPhNwB0JATSjsUJoHoGhdMqr1zWgnrOKWePWBGEL8LqOu2TJvvnbSa5UtGs-Kgryj_VEQgs0CR/s320/IMG_1189.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do you miss me? Cause I miss you!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-14925819496043128852011-08-03T06:52:00.000-07:002011-08-20T21:56:32.555-07:00Beijing<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Last week was my summer vacation so my friend (and coworker) Bill and I went to China. It was such an amazing trip that really exceeded my expectations. I think that may have been because I didn't really know much about China before going, so I didn't know what to expect. We flew into Beijing and spent 4 nights there and then took the new high speed train to Shanghai, where we spent another 4 nights. The two cities couldn't be more different, so I will write two separate posts about my experiences in each.<br />
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Beijing is definitely a reflection of old China. Not only is there so much history there, but the people seem to be a few years behind in terms of fashion and other things. Beijing felt very crowded and the people there were pretty pushy. There were so many tourists, and a lot were Chinese. We got many stares but they seemed more curious than judgmental. It was very hot and humid (mid to high 40's with the humidity....I think that's about 110+ in Fahrenheit) and it rained a lot. Incredible amounts of rain that I don't think I've ever experienced elsewhere. <br />
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Just walking through the food market from the subway to our hostel, both Bill and I felt that we had seem more culture than in the 5 months we've been in Korea. Beijing is so interesting and unique and different to what we're used to in the west. After the food market, where Bill ate a scorpion, we visited Tienanmen Square. At night we took a rickshaw-type taxi to go out but nightlife in Beijing wasn't too appealing. But we still had fun adventuring around the city.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Food Market</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bill eating a scorpion!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDxqcx2bvm-y-ZGC_YsHWX3uvLU7jH0DrxvJpDJNFZ3J-ltIal-NLxmj07pjXhZt_khPtnYuckAqhzq1A95v7K9Ci6QkUEpJMNZkqIU4a0576B7tYw__86eYrlbwk9ci9j9YCKn-_tAEz/s1600/IMG_1016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdDxqcx2bvm-y-ZGC_YsHWX3uvLU7jH0DrxvJpDJNFZ3J-ltIal-NLxmj07pjXhZt_khPtnYuckAqhzq1A95v7K9Ci6QkUEpJMNZkqIU4a0576B7tYw__86eYrlbwk9ci9j9YCKn-_tAEz/s320/IMG_1016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breathe in that fresh air!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ohXzTat1xNAVysExGZXwrE54KEqX9tJNNbTYFM-1xfJOboOuP_baUi3i5UOqhwHe6ot8suCKLx8cOdVXfLKsb45gqaQoYWzBH74uiUSHe_FGVcx3djC_QnzVpoOuDDK6z4rossJxmjtw/s1600/IMG_1053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5ohXzTat1xNAVysExGZXwrE54KEqX9tJNNbTYFM-1xfJOboOuP_baUi3i5UOqhwHe6ot8suCKLx8cOdVXfLKsb45gqaQoYWzBH74uiUSHe_FGVcx3djC_QnzVpoOuDDK6z4rossJxmjtw/s320/IMG_1053.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Taxi"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>The next day we walked around the Forbidden City which was enormous and beautiful. Afterwards, we decided to check out the Summer Palace and as soon as we got there the rain started. It was raining so hard that the water managed to reach ankle level in some places. We waited it out and when it stopped we walked around the Palace. It's easy to get overwhelmed in these type of places. And because of their scale, it's difficult to really capture what's there with a simple point and shoot digital camera.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw1r3Ifo3Fv02GeI11IsfqyOr4SUQNglhA_Nlli91w4d_qOroILISF-ak4tH1gsuQrWX5fwZL7krA4XJoIHdt-yuMO5AFUIkv6AX67kQMttyD6LFQKAowE5PMIS9v_oLbF4pbu2amtk9H/s1600/IMG_1075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuw1r3Ifo3Fv02GeI11IsfqyOr4SUQNglhA_Nlli91w4d_qOroILISF-ak4tH1gsuQrWX5fwZL7krA4XJoIHdt-yuMO5AFUIkv6AX67kQMttyD6LFQKAowE5PMIS9v_oLbF4pbu2amtk9H/s320/IMG_1075.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Forbidden City</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG4jkRHZtvOhWPHve54unXnV-5IpEQDqYzFeiWK1UWLFAcRTI-DPSlxon2UMQgzvSdphhsLQt2_itX2PLomAW3BX27K0Y9IpnHI4nN14rgaKjG_eScXcZ8rH2WoApiOity6XQ9-PvdeZQ/s1600/IMG_1078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIG4jkRHZtvOhWPHve54unXnV-5IpEQDqYzFeiWK1UWLFAcRTI-DPSlxon2UMQgzvSdphhsLQt2_itX2PLomAW3BX27K0Y9IpnHI4nN14rgaKjG_eScXcZ8rH2WoApiOity6XQ9-PvdeZQ/s320/IMG_1078.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vtF16SFF3aODLchYoF_EwjhvshESbxTzPjw-Q00J2WkbHhw5khQPmQcOTGNdRpMtino3O1ahROp6moqA03RdaZoL8EB9eFm7fJTijPDo5WFPd5MttCKDndah_Cdb9o5OIKYntTcSXkUs/s1600/IMG_1079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1vtF16SFF3aODLchYoF_EwjhvshESbxTzPjw-Q00J2WkbHhw5khQPmQcOTGNdRpMtino3O1ahROp6moqA03RdaZoL8EB9eFm7fJTijPDo5WFPd5MttCKDndah_Cdb9o5OIKYntTcSXkUs/s320/IMG_1079.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zM6YBmg_NnqrEZ0H5FC76Vr5Y4b-pENN9tJ7KmXzlr_TqaoZU-jXVOH-rMGcyKNQ9e5w67LAk6ls026QAsHjshqBajra9us_BFIt-HAodxNwJe7zzy4jvCZ1bKnpZrubHamu_h7Cmkkf/s1600/IMG_1102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4zM6YBmg_NnqrEZ0H5FC76Vr5Y4b-pENN9tJ7KmXzlr_TqaoZU-jXVOH-rMGcyKNQ9e5w67LAk6ls026QAsHjshqBajra9us_BFIt-HAodxNwJe7zzy4jvCZ1bKnpZrubHamu_h7Cmkkf/s320/IMG_1102.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out that rain!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C9FsLYLCn7onEDonwWvnkQSubOlwG3tmC2SHjtnTV_PYRQj3iTAIQ1Uki_jPebdgW7fOVjVaaR9zUCMBZJOdqcvBn1-2KELRLRvVtYfGNO-ry9Eckd2tDZe-6-Pqa9_HJi4EfV-J99L2/s1600/IMG_1108.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5C9FsLYLCn7onEDonwWvnkQSubOlwG3tmC2SHjtnTV_PYRQj3iTAIQ1Uki_jPebdgW7fOVjVaaR9zUCMBZJOdqcvBn1-2KELRLRvVtYfGNO-ry9Eckd2tDZe-6-Pqa9_HJi4EfV-J99L2/s320/IMG_1108.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summer Palace</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WLPCHulO7u1zFsn0dzjMAz4jommK9GcJdwmBB-FAaIIjTdjuQ0OLX5BqX7Hr6LFHO3knvKQOhw3GHK8zZoC3iPuXQ-FNWkJofUSPvJvnB3Ck1zJi8p_-PZPTyyjoSJiNZC9lxhx_9hA_/s1600/IMG_1112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1WLPCHulO7u1zFsn0dzjMAz4jommK9GcJdwmBB-FAaIIjTdjuQ0OLX5BqX7Hr6LFHO3knvKQOhw3GHK8zZoC3iPuXQ-FNWkJofUSPvJvnB3Ck1zJi8p_-PZPTyyjoSJiNZC9lxhx_9hA_/s320/IMG_1112.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjmM-Oy5XdWR5UVC0KDUV6ImXg7MW8YP1b3cm0o7hm1FxVUPQHFcrTkucAx8syYyalrfzBkBBpCasiymUk5KKl167mYdApLzmcUks0yiHD8gl-0O4j1zFOgAAYoTOmMXYyepqEfbxwWJT/s1600/IMG_1117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcjmM-Oy5XdWR5UVC0KDUV6ImXg7MW8YP1b3cm0o7hm1FxVUPQHFcrTkucAx8syYyalrfzBkBBpCasiymUk5KKl167mYdApLzmcUks0yiHD8gl-0O4j1zFOgAAYoTOmMXYyepqEfbxwWJT/s320/IMG_1117.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The next day was more relaxing, we walked around the 798 Art District which was really interesting, especially in comparison to what the rest of the city was like. It covered a really big area and was made up of old warehouses that had been converted into art studios and spaces. Unfortunately, all of the major galleries are closed on Mondays so we didn't get to see any of them, but there was still plenty to see. Later on we went to a clothing market where we haggled till we dropped, I guess you could say...<br />
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Our last full day we did a trip to The Great Wall, which was definitely the highlight of the first half of the vacation for me. The bus drove us three hours away to a less touristy part of the wall and we had 4 hours to hike once we were there. I don't think my vocabulary has enough words that could do the scale of the Wall any justice. It's something you have to see for yourself. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6OxjP0mCLHpPYGF4sM8t76_C2K_pri79lUL5bIcG6eqt31KeqxFPSv16rY_gjMPpojpIbbshPYyOBNc44oLoNOSWWXK8sVMBhod8B_7KeeHdb3Ws-8TwzONm4LJGVvy8MbuyRhgrPPBS/s1600/IMG_1155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH6OxjP0mCLHpPYGF4sM8t76_C2K_pri79lUL5bIcG6eqt31KeqxFPSv16rY_gjMPpojpIbbshPYyOBNc44oLoNOSWWXK8sVMBhod8B_7KeeHdb3Ws-8TwzONm4LJGVvy8MbuyRhgrPPBS/s320/IMG_1155.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc59LAaFHS1ITS23H6AS8qhD0gCQQ1gqrZgr232tJsqxCjbzTNEWlxgTTRDyE_uSeyAyMIvxkXKqdhVJiEqbcott8hVG9dSSJbjnT5FhV4u7eDq8gucfW62HzoPVsSuMHE3oH2rCNknk8/s1600/IMG_1162.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKc59LAaFHS1ITS23H6AS8qhD0gCQQ1gqrZgr232tJsqxCjbzTNEWlxgTTRDyE_uSeyAyMIvxkXKqdhVJiEqbcott8hVG9dSSJbjnT5FhV4u7eDq8gucfW62HzoPVsSuMHE3oH2rCNknk8/s320/IMG_1162.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZ4O6EFhFYIFWUB9InCeFt4RX74QpVKnw41ykHoslx4rdAWo81JacFQ2szvsUOUFLf1lyS-IedfPJ7EP6298vdSX-Y_hhV-JQdkPp6EXCjYIvNptSSXp0JLbd7w3JSzHi9xFb-Ath2kyD/s1600/IMG_1165.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOZ4O6EFhFYIFWUB9InCeFt4RX74QpVKnw41ykHoslx4rdAWo81JacFQ2szvsUOUFLf1lyS-IedfPJ7EP6298vdSX-Y_hhV-JQdkPp6EXCjYIvNptSSXp0JLbd7w3JSzHi9xFb-Ath2kyD/s320/IMG_1165.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxj84wa4fGnmF3qch0683iYEa1OGvu_jiDwCafGm4kDt95lmqYCe_loNfLPWOuX0ufs1AhH9PL__pOeBrvw24tRjtTATX9iph3X8vcx-Ckop1tyD2AqscEG7MqRwEUSUswuK5nnntnd1RB/s320/IMG_1180.JPG" width="320" /> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Beijing was a good city to visit but I wouldn't go back. I think I've seen all that I need to see there. Shanghai on the other hand...</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<span id="goog_57713779"></span><span id="goog_57713780"></span>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-7481869386595774432011-07-10T08:05:00.000-07:002011-07-10T08:09:33.533-07:00QuirksThis list is in no way exhaustive, but it's a start. Here are 10 things that I find strange about Korea. I am learning that it's better not to ask yourself 'why'?<br />
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1. Drunk old men sometimes hold hands and can be seen passed out on benches and on the street<br />
2. Couples wear matching clothes<br />
3. Guys carry their girlfriends’ purses<br />
4. Public bathrooms usually have bars of soap, not liquid soap<br />
5. Public bathrooms almost never have paper towels<br />
6. People walk on the treadmills at the gym<br />
7. People go for walks outdoors at slow speeds but swing their arms back and forth with intensity, and wear full hiking gear <br />
8. People have their umbrellas out even when it is not sunny or rainy<br />
9. Little kids get perms <br />
10. Women bleach their skin<br />
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I will make a list of 10 awesome things about Korea later, because there are definitely plenty of those too!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmiMxQHGBnukUuO1eTvYhpmQoMTZTkOXf63cERq9UKyVTTASmrm_AcGdiSsw2CIeLka0rci6mKwvbv-2h-k_prsG_hxTlxP_6Zq8jGZBwUi8JixDQYYkGFl2fu9fxM-K2LvCCophuiTVJ/s1600/IMG_0993.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQmiMxQHGBnukUuO1eTvYhpmQoMTZTkOXf63cERq9UKyVTTASmrm_AcGdiSsw2CIeLka0rci6mKwvbv-2h-k_prsG_hxTlxP_6Zq8jGZBwUi8JixDQYYkGFl2fu9fxM-K2LvCCophuiTVJ/s320/IMG_0993.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soju and oysters, anyone?</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-62425042305543387322011-07-07T08:03:00.000-07:002011-07-07T08:51:20.318-07:00Pooh Class Drop OutsThere has been some recent drama at my school that caused my class size to drop from 18 to 11! It all happened fast but then sort of got dragged out over a few weeks. I won't mention what started it but all of the sudden the parents (mostly the stay at home moms) started having meetings and calling each other to complain about the things that they were unhappy with in regards to our school. <br />
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These things included: the kids not having enough time with the foreign teacher, meaning they wanted me to spend my lunch with them; too much colouring time (remember these kids are just turning 5 this year); the weekly outline that the parents receive of the work we do at all school not being detailed enough; too much play time in the morning (which we got rid of!)....and other such 'issues'.<br />
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So in total I lost 4 kids from blue team and 3 from pink team. The kids were all friends and their parents didn't want them to go to a new school and not know anyone so they stuck together. Some of the kids I was indifferent to and some I was pretty sad to see go. But to be honest, it makes it so much easier for me. And I think in the end they will get so much more out of their classes because now I can focus on them individually as they need it. <br />
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That's my school update....and next weekend is the Boryeong Mud Festival and the following weekend is our summer vacation so I am off to China for a week....so there should be plenty of pictures and hopefully more blog posts!Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-5105454253572015792011-06-14T07:16:00.000-07:002011-06-14T07:23:07.697-07:00The Beach, the Mountain and Toro Y MoiThe first weekend of June was a long weekend and I spent most of it outdoors in the sun. We rented a pension right on Sockcho Beach on the east coast. Pensions are small basic apartments that are usually owned by older Koreans and rent out. If you get enough people together it's pretty cheap. We bought enough food to cook for the whole weekend. It took was a bit of a trek to get there, about four hours on the bus...and then about 30 minutes of going around in circles in a taxi because apparently addresses in Korea don't really mean much. We eventually made it and the weather was perfect for the entire weekend! The first day we hung out at the beach. The water was freezing so there wasn't much swimming going on...but the sun was hot and that was enough for me.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside our pension</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJPgXXM7-E5cKMVdLJ1bxC70WAsqmnK69Ff58yB5-w2fco5FnhDIssnVpVmuxHmFbvEeGF4buClXdRD-MzM3b_M-AQiaYK6HVMXZt93p3fx3FptuAS3znUpDxhfr4V7LeeLYpe7mVftgo/s1600/sokcho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibJPgXXM7-E5cKMVdLJ1bxC70WAsqmnK69Ff58yB5-w2fco5FnhDIssnVpVmuxHmFbvEeGF4buClXdRD-MzM3b_M-AQiaYK6HVMXZt93p3fx3FptuAS3znUpDxhfr4V7LeeLYpe7mVftgo/s320/sokcho.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beach!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0wfD3L1C2H7QLkPFgJq1UMJruiyao_ibOrVb-_SBQF0FRu6Ak3YDXfZ77jY8IKyBzvQPdaNtbRlproMJ7fx2wozX-mWK4gy4hmaa0zpvyb36fTIBA3iuGUKzQ3qrAt2jDFrQwj2kK1yj/s1600/IMG_0908.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI0wfD3L1C2H7QLkPFgJq1UMJruiyao_ibOrVb-_SBQF0FRu6Ak3YDXfZ77jY8IKyBzvQPdaNtbRlproMJ7fx2wozX-mWK4gy4hmaa0zpvyb36fTIBA3iuGUKzQ3qrAt2jDFrQwj2kK1yj/s320/IMG_0908.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
The second day we took a bus into Seoraksan National Park which is one of those places you have to see while you are in Korea, or so I was told. I would probably agree, it was really beautiful. First we did a 2 km hike up to a waterfall and then we took a cable car up to a higher peak. I was too scared to climb to the top because I knew the way down would be terrifying...so I took some pictures instead. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hiking to the waterfall</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We made it</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpU2lZ-D9p3eVxOmG1SfM-E7K8fjBNzmTJBDFeLS8B7mTluOHKXsPydm5X1POkLTI_RbCf2bHU593ZRVQFehwcuAI5HbqFVor2xCp3oXDaF6tkB0n-DKSVrPcAveFyihOly-dPonZqDP7/s1600/IMG_0926.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinpU2lZ-D9p3eVxOmG1SfM-E7K8fjBNzmTJBDFeLS8B7mTluOHKXsPydm5X1POkLTI_RbCf2bHU593ZRVQFehwcuAI5HbqFVor2xCp3oXDaF6tkB0n-DKSVrPcAveFyihOly-dPonZqDP7/s320/IMG_0926.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting around to take the cable car</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOoNwcf0rKzybg9deyrz6KLHvGE1HVfcVKQ8WhovD9Fcfg-cMijC131u5SEYTMjm4N87jsGN5APhrUXkeJ82d1BhL8wE3i__g1Z3SBYRblcZTFT8LYbiU-scIvUPd_KS2IZQs0GdV2-a5/s1600/IMG_0949.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfOoNwcf0rKzybg9deyrz6KLHvGE1HVfcVKQ8WhovD9Fcfg-cMijC131u5SEYTMjm4N87jsGN5APhrUXkeJ82d1BhL8wE3i__g1Z3SBYRblcZTFT8LYbiU-scIvUPd_KS2IZQs0GdV2-a5/s320/IMG_0949.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The cable car brought us to this</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ45ItJD85gXnRWgSn-86iBgcK3CUbFVVvTsOu3W60_gKgDsiiq-8Q6dvUB7rJ_NLoV0EtAC29bnACmnw1uz0P0ROL2Pic9nTXdLGluX4am6XHuDuv4J_YPW8iBQEu73JSCdEDciDSSuoL/s1600/IMG_0951.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZ45ItJD85gXnRWgSn-86iBgcK3CUbFVVvTsOu3W60_gKgDsiiq-8Q6dvUB7rJ_NLoV0EtAC29bnACmnw1uz0P0ROL2Pic9nTXdLGluX4am6XHuDuv4J_YPW8iBQEu73JSCdEDciDSSuoL/s320/IMG_0951.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRdfUdEVBdPz7HljjisL6DzFT2nJ1wN5miau9M82MHtp8C9lsBs-gnruk_a7ceZHFl8-uT2ZFe76pW_iSDFI7m_dRD_8Gs0QWBbrIc5gaOfKGSsKDFBoUmS6zG3BT5f4xJjuq5itdgaGk/s1600/IMG_0952.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisRdfUdEVBdPz7HljjisL6DzFT2nJ1wN5miau9M82MHtp8C9lsBs-gnruk_a7ceZHFl8-uT2ZFe76pW_iSDFI7m_dRD_8Gs0QWBbrIc5gaOfKGSsKDFBoUmS6zG3BT5f4xJjuq5itdgaGk/s320/IMG_0952.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everyone hiked up to the top</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7UO7IEaEVYEdIk9yRxPkPxSUbHdxsTUIUdJH6pEJkfGQws_e6JWV_bzLgWWY7pnoHk51Um8ri6BFk1gxe7YTH0LRK1DcfoRdMU4jSj5D6cGfrDRx312yz8wjbsMPQfx2q8grRoJVaJsi/s1600/IMG_0961.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7UO7IEaEVYEdIk9yRxPkPxSUbHdxsTUIUdJH6pEJkfGQws_e6JWV_bzLgWWY7pnoHk51Um8ri6BFk1gxe7YTH0LRK1DcfoRdMU4jSj5D6cGfrDRx312yz8wjbsMPQfx2q8grRoJVaJsi/s320/IMG_0961.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I stopped here</td></tr>
</tbody></table>The next day we spent lazying on the beach. We took the bus back to Seoul around 6pm and that took 4 hours...and then I had to take the subway for a half hour and another bus for about 40 minutes back to Suji so I got back pretty late (for a school night) but it was all worth it. I got to see more of Korea and got a sweet tan. Oh we also stopped in at a fish market/restaurant to eat some raw fish...I of course did not partake, being a vegetarian, but I was still entertained. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMqVXwqoQJLDw1eldjmhPeIsiCodpEL-qxoLjgsx6VNDP5ZKX11hyphenhyphen_zFe8xpRkVReo1xzI-d0Itha8Tvj4ni9BSaUG316h4ojIE0555eOFK2q-DEqKnccMiZE1g9_GmGEcAdwy9gH-DKv/s1600/IMG_0976.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNMqVXwqoQJLDw1eldjmhPeIsiCodpEL-qxoLjgsx6VNDP5ZKX11hyphenhyphen_zFe8xpRkVReo1xzI-d0Itha8Tvj4ni9BSaUG316h4ojIE0555eOFK2q-DEqKnccMiZE1g9_GmGEcAdwy9gH-DKv/s320/IMG_0976.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Koreans like to swim fully clothed</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDvb4HSmF-CQrcwQEK4CUXY4RqRTcg8p6Pw5slYlN20AnbvdrOSiYgGWQq8YtQTzxCxhdPCws0LBhoHaU7w01-cq5B_WonA7srFZPZhsEr7hSHtambN0xX5oOpjmSTZb4Bj-CnXx1lXqA/s1600/IMG_0974.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhDvb4HSmF-CQrcwQEK4CUXY4RqRTcg8p6Pw5slYlN20AnbvdrOSiYgGWQq8YtQTzxCxhdPCws0LBhoHaU7w01-cq5B_WonA7srFZPZhsEr7hSHtambN0xX5oOpjmSTZb4Bj-CnXx1lXqA/s320/IMG_0974.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pick your own live fish</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcx3eRjNHxPa3xFbhddlm8TUdPcxYElYduzsrijs3yXe1XxYrbEITLU95pkL0t363MlI38WAWV5qVchZcbMGGuBfpO8ehzxyhcQnNZZSrNdNIQp6jPA56iow_d3BedVBbPJ9cpd2XLG40l/s1600/IMG_0985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcx3eRjNHxPa3xFbhddlm8TUdPcxYElYduzsrijs3yXe1XxYrbEITLU95pkL0t363MlI38WAWV5qVchZcbMGGuBfpO8ehzxyhcQnNZZSrNdNIQp6jPA56iow_d3BedVBbPJ9cpd2XLG40l/s320/IMG_0985.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yeah, they're what you think they are</td></tr>
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On a different note, this past Thursday my friend Max and I went to see Toro Y Moi in Seoul. Both him and I are pretty big fans, and I know we both really appreciated being able to see a familiar band live in Korea. We got pretty rowdy for a Thursday night and I wish I could remember more details but I know we talked to the band for a bit after and went to another bar for the afterparty. Here are some pictures that I obviously did not take. It was definitely worth being hung over at work on Friday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii4ANqup33jUZbgGzLfp0JDG2LeSWkXLFRM9vNNchPJHn2ub3ey-EzmIPNtz1jlzSJs7X9drAzBpR07HSRTTpVw4iX4-GUA9sTUXeZoyzwGFhPZ2BtDsuUDeO_SsRBQomf-TBZvs_Y72VM/s1600/toro1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEii4ANqup33jUZbgGzLfp0JDG2LeSWkXLFRM9vNNchPJHn2ub3ey-EzmIPNtz1jlzSJs7X9drAzBpR07HSRTTpVw4iX4-GUA9sTUXeZoyzwGFhPZ2BtDsuUDeO_SsRBQomf-TBZvs_Y72VM/s320/toro1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Max and I</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05q-DwCjM1sAgleKJOznMierz-8icwmpFFkjyy_acNUwMnxEByhZx2mEDhLeg_eFuHLb6WdIJJznyNEZqjXV93vnLMskgIa93bM9Niqdww5r02oc8CfzQhTWz86JfArvyhNVVqAXlM1KH/s1600/toro4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj05q-DwCjM1sAgleKJOznMierz-8icwmpFFkjyy_acNUwMnxEByhZx2mEDhLeg_eFuHLb6WdIJJznyNEZqjXV93vnLMskgIa93bM9Niqdww5r02oc8CfzQhTWz86JfArvyhNVVqAXlM1KH/s320/toro4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The photographer and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOD49Zjfv339eWbcSiysE5H9E_73n1S_gnRv90qfLs2ts0AioE802JufUu2HTQhrm0t8HzZGxsdGIhZ9bkWYSi29daE6PRQ8Klz5O0nSGjSBgB-FMfG9GGdK5gkQrcUsK5wpIbjzAUi2pN/s1600/toro.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOD49Zjfv339eWbcSiysE5H9E_73n1S_gnRv90qfLs2ts0AioE802JufUu2HTQhrm0t8HzZGxsdGIhZ9bkWYSi29daE6PRQ8Klz5O0nSGjSBgB-FMfG9GGdK5gkQrcUsK5wpIbjzAUi2pN/s320/toro.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaz and I</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Did I mention that I love Korea?Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-55573243929185616542011-05-29T07:31:00.000-07:002011-06-14T07:24:27.145-07:00A Month of FunThis is my first post in a month - maybe I am not cut out for the blogging world. Regardless, I've been having a lot of fun and loving Korea more and more. I can't believe it's been three months already! The weeks fly by because work has finally become easy. I really love my Pooh class and I've become really comfortable teaching them and just teaching in general. When I leave the class at the end of the day the kids run up to me and latch onto my legs, it's super cute.<br />
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The rest of my classes are great also - with the exception of the 6 year old Supsok kids. Their progress has been so minimal and I really dislike teaching them. But there's not much I can do about that except keep try to stay positive and cheerful when that's not what I am feeling at all. But maybe with time it will get better...and really, no job is perfect. So here are some fun things I've done this month.<br />
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One of the teachers from my school, Brian, introduced the new teachers to his friend Seowoo (aka Steven). It's great to finally have a Korean friend because I do feel like there is generally a big divide between foreigners and Koreans. The first thing we did together was the Cherry Blossom Festival, which was really beautiful.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie, Brian, Me and Seowoo</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIs9cjdklmZxVKwIYvzMW-cPGfITz0oMRRZc3L5Oyx2bLegb8SVeQAqSTzSIC0iNEjpedrWzcTKmb7_a7oxGg6oFPj1bD9GFuttinXpGo-2a-iOpHZyxbEu34nRN6huVgMeX44AVjNHMD/s1600/IMG_0658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYIs9cjdklmZxVKwIYvzMW-cPGfITz0oMRRZc3L5Oyx2bLegb8SVeQAqSTzSIC0iNEjpedrWzcTKmb7_a7oxGg6oFPj1bD9GFuttinXpGo-2a-iOpHZyxbEu34nRN6huVgMeX44AVjNHMD/s320/IMG_0658.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
At the beginning of May we had a long weekend, it was Children's Day. So the day before that was Green Day (made up by our school)...which was just a day of fun activities for the kids. Which was also perfect for us because it meant we didn't have to teach!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMf3pbzkcbOKdHZyXyct1N4J32EMKykX4DMvyrB-0lHGYVhyphenhyphenIttI1NPBNI1gbJX7M5dDPm6G1hw0PEKTbKyK1nqXpcUfIf2ooXvOjfTBs2wWuzKdToalVsh637_f_ynk4JQG0wpgdLaJB_/s1600/IMG_0697.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMf3pbzkcbOKdHZyXyct1N4J32EMKykX4DMvyrB-0lHGYVhyphenhyphenIttI1NPBNI1gbJX7M5dDPm6G1hw0PEKTbKyK1nqXpcUfIf2ooXvOjfTBs2wWuzKdToalVsh637_f_ynk4JQG0wpgdLaJB_/s320/IMG_0697.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pooh Class</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Probably the most fun thing I did this month was World DJ Festival in Seoul. Katie, Bill and I shared a tent and made many great memories :) But really, it was an awesome time and we even though it rained the first night it was sunny and hot and amazing the second day. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0A8cty9-Mmdxx8O7ujHygGEk2B1k0V36acFRCURCHHNmv_Th0MxONrr-zEKWeaAhGnxHNnaqEoBDj_Bx5xYhMFsyp4loE4X75erAoa5D0ke7wesoKH43Ax2AjdC2k8t-zK1HKRSAF6z4P/s1600/IMG_0778.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0A8cty9-Mmdxx8O7ujHygGEk2B1k0V36acFRCURCHHNmv_Th0MxONrr-zEKWeaAhGnxHNnaqEoBDj_Bx5xYhMFsyp4loE4X75erAoa5D0ke7wesoKH43Ax2AjdC2k8t-zK1HKRSAF6z4P/s320/IMG_0778.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Katie, Me, Bill and Max</td></tr>
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I found this wig at the market/shopping area below the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul and fell in love with it. I wore it for most of the day on Saturday and so many Koreans wanted to take a picture with me, haha . I had fun :)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChkqDHzvWWVZpwbnwL1GG8OLunispezGfMrck6NvBG-K7ZiyouWJB48mP0z_lS90uK8DuLm3z2myX-IXOsO0Y5D1dgWSr7PaaKKueKV_u0D6qF3HO4DeuyHbMEjoOmxqREjNZcyQhwJzk/s1600/IMG_0805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiChkqDHzvWWVZpwbnwL1GG8OLunispezGfMrck6NvBG-K7ZiyouWJB48mP0z_lS90uK8DuLm3z2myX-IXOsO0Y5D1dgWSr7PaaKKueKV_u0D6qF3HO4DeuyHbMEjoOmxqREjNZcyQhwJzk/s320/IMG_0805.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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</tbody></table>And of course there have been many amazing nights in Seoul and other things I haven't taken pictures of. Even when I bring my camera places I find that I don't take many pictures, if any. Also with the whole blog thing...I work long hours every day, then yoga 5 nights a week and gym 3 so when I get home I just want to relax :)<br />
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But yeah, I love Korea!!!Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2237969110436797384.post-83989475492290702292011-04-28T07:19:00.000-07:002011-06-14T07:32:36.385-07:00Pooh Class!I am excited to finally post pictures of my kids, Pooh class! There are 18 of them in total and they are all together when my Korean co-teacher Katie and I are together. Otherwise, they are divided into two teams - pink and blue. When I am with them alone, I am with one team at a time. But nine 4 year-olds is still so many. These pictures are from the school website. It was P.E day when most were taken, so they are wearing their funny uniforms. Plenty more pictures to come! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJlREkmdxgEkITRZTtJgqfQG8hbT2pMvm_bIeXgiEfahoBf2lvamfwFINqHIEt2RDlIU44Op9keeGZatrA5BlmS7Dwe8js1CWCVSNZgfPGa-jV-VH1k26VMISro1O-WaKNqTMyZdb1RLp/s1600/pinkteam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJlREkmdxgEkITRZTtJgqfQG8hbT2pMvm_bIeXgiEfahoBf2lvamfwFINqHIEt2RDlIU44Op9keeGZatrA5BlmS7Dwe8js1CWCVSNZgfPGa-jV-VH1k26VMISro1O-WaKNqTMyZdb1RLp/s320/pinkteam.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pink Team</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBodnpr9vGYjAo1eNLeGJvRgNta6yD7_jeMJ-ZFQ5LXjRx4nvK_3AFYFBB92vqYZETJ_iBy1b7xW5ZZJuhnGI4Wv29NhEQderm0MegqkgXe6fA_aXkEwdtEHhetXLs7X5m8ZH2HLPoxhUL/s1600/bosco.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBodnpr9vGYjAo1eNLeGJvRgNta6yD7_jeMJ-ZFQ5LXjRx4nvK_3AFYFBB92vqYZETJ_iBy1b7xW5ZZJuhnGI4Wv29NhEQderm0MegqkgXe6fA_aXkEwdtEHhetXLs7X5m8ZH2HLPoxhUL/s320/bosco.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bosco: A newly emerging favourite. Bosco is always smiling, giggling and having a great time! He is fun to be around, we build blocks together. Also he is super smart.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTsWkbH4pEZiX8t5pKQvQ4xwtPzYjojnQ2IHBlhFuodZ9SBBAd_M61MuQQeA7sJNsHcPeNYVSK4TXwHz_tWLHVuDjqjior-vFG0l-ByNSPflUhD23okdpShOWjXTF3XNR3hHieKGm8Kaz/s1600/brian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyTsWkbH4pEZiX8t5pKQvQ4xwtPzYjojnQ2IHBlhFuodZ9SBBAd_M61MuQQeA7sJNsHcPeNYVSK4TXwHz_tWLHVuDjqjior-vFG0l-ByNSPflUhD23okdpShOWjXTF3XNR3hHieKGm8Kaz/s320/brian.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brian: Super sweet and shy, gives me daily hugs. Really smart and very trendy. Usually rocking Levis, flannels and cardigans. Was and instant favourite and still is! Jenny Star's bff. PS That's a perm...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFXOtGwuq6VLUjO9AU0nt6u_wctE-VG8gtfUoHd7Ouaql_mxC_fX3MGI-fI084qkHCXo43wXixZIaogpRLVF0TbZ_Wpp7QldUnzJmAcPlMnaOIFAWG59xY66xHaW9xk5v7QLVY2dnhoJl/s1600/caleb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFXOtGwuq6VLUjO9AU0nt6u_wctE-VG8gtfUoHd7Ouaql_mxC_fX3MGI-fI084qkHCXo43wXixZIaogpRLVF0TbZ_Wpp7QldUnzJmAcPlMnaOIFAWG59xY66xHaW9xk5v7QLVY2dnhoJl/s320/caleb.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caleb: Can you see the evil in his face? This kid gives me so much trouble! Likes to throw tantrums and chairs when I threaten not to give him stickers. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_qqA75QeRzDPYaPF-Y3dS2u4FqUVSDNJqZdqmuVKt1HigOGyMVTZ8fdcnBO0mX7DKNz1UyOkhzErAkNsrbq33ZCcO3yL4JWjfNr_ak_nzgmATm9EKI9m7hNwUsAboaABdAfgLstGn09D/s1600/lewis.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk_qqA75QeRzDPYaPF-Y3dS2u4FqUVSDNJqZdqmuVKt1HigOGyMVTZ8fdcnBO0mX7DKNz1UyOkhzErAkNsrbq33ZCcO3yL4JWjfNr_ak_nzgmATm9EKI9m7hNwUsAboaABdAfgLstGn09D/s320/lewis.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lewis: Natalie's crush/bff. He is a neutral kid I guess, smart and happy. Not much to report...which isn't a bad thing!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRO9SeMyGBClJ3S2xdeCLmSwdcPwDk6SHkY3_ZX3wLq3flfLV99lpn8XIjtrEOnMOQKUfJNUEc3JQxL9QZmDdL3ig6jjwm79M8x2LUMvPqQq4Osk3bjCJLPXJin_wiZbipwf8hwBiqr7le/s1600/sean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRO9SeMyGBClJ3S2xdeCLmSwdcPwDk6SHkY3_ZX3wLq3flfLV99lpn8XIjtrEOnMOQKUfJNUEc3JQxL9QZmDdL3ig6jjwm79M8x2LUMvPqQq4Osk3bjCJLPXJin_wiZbipwf8hwBiqr7le/s320/sean.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sean: The strangest one by far! I often see him licking the air, dancing, and poking other kids. Avid nose picker. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn83EBWpo1kxZchBmxINT0pxa0MsqgouOvCAWF8YapqUw_o8ZmkCHFF57-KBL7VTavq0XW78DOpP8-CJXsMjZzXoWedtq7AvJCQlThD6rv7SfNSXP8f0NXnmpBKjksDqZoHI9Euq0NKXfj/s1600/linda.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn83EBWpo1kxZchBmxINT0pxa0MsqgouOvCAWF8YapqUw_o8ZmkCHFF57-KBL7VTavq0XW78DOpP8-CJXsMjZzXoWedtq7AvJCQlThD6rv7SfNSXP8f0NXnmpBKjksDqZoHI9Euq0NKXfj/s320/linda.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Linda: Doesn't like to share her legos with me, or much else for that matter. But her mom told me that she pretends to be me at home and talks about me a lot so I guess she likes me!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNJ5TnL-dGoE7S2sH4M5DUhhYca5fGR1_sC_ePUiq57KvBNKXc3cJZ3WKK6dvv3bc8WZ_7DiUd5lL3OkcLAMxNSzTAvo6IsfKR_uvncWsoo5JqNWt8pI-HNkzZqypJwGz4VILW5MIBrW8/s1600/jennystar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoNJ5TnL-dGoE7S2sH4M5DUhhYca5fGR1_sC_ePUiq57KvBNKXc3cJZ3WKK6dvv3bc8WZ_7DiUd5lL3OkcLAMxNSzTAvo6IsfKR_uvncWsoo5JqNWt8pI-HNkzZqypJwGz4VILW5MIBrW8/s320/jennystar.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jenny Star: Favourite!!! Jenny is the happiest, most mature and probably smartest kid in the class. She is always in a good mood and is so considerate of others. Head and shoulders, knees and toes is her favourite song. Also, she is super trendy and usually wears cute leggings, skirts, knit cardigans and scarves. Her and Brian are bffs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4drG3og3R0W_bkNRguGKCv9XKsc6gClIYkJ5M0oRplof-U9o9flB66_-oQhoIWQCYrzpAXCVLwINBXnres0QzCeWNSLfW4w_yHILraCtMCtSkOUGgxh3W6XE4BONYv6HT-Pexiq1gVet/s1600/hera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL4drG3og3R0W_bkNRguGKCv9XKsc6gClIYkJ5M0oRplof-U9o9flB66_-oQhoIWQCYrzpAXCVLwINBXnres0QzCeWNSLfW4w_yHILraCtMCtSkOUGgxh3W6XE4BONYv6HT-Pexiq1gVet/s320/hera.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hera: Does she look like a bit of a space case in this picture? Because that's sort of what she's like. Doesn't pay much attention in class and is shy. But still cute of course. Favourite book: Brown Bear. Favourite classroom activity: bathroom breaks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsYiqmm4xAqwqBxg9_ktRgnXaDraNvc0W7FAtHDYefbmNCpz-Z47guvXulwoQYzsriteTv8tokpU4IiX_c46XnQ1OTPXC9aI-BK6F7BbJ2GLevhJsB5mRDnJ6BBsRn6bOGwM_rvnYhcc-/s1600/natalie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmsYiqmm4xAqwqBxg9_ktRgnXaDraNvc0W7FAtHDYefbmNCpz-Z47guvXulwoQYzsriteTv8tokpU4IiX_c46XnQ1OTPXC9aI-BK6F7BbJ2GLevhJsB5mRDnJ6BBsRn6bOGwM_rvnYhcc-/s320/natalie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Natalie: Class flirt! She loves Lewis and is always calling his name and following him around. Her mom complained that I don't play with Natalie enough so her and I have become better friends since, ha :)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0HyYbr_YhtCshig4VE0w_HkXGarunbXGkljEQAgc4khxKqN122tE_ikCE8d5R4flfrWOVk_QdvqwLh3H9ZuV0fRY40Vuvqbb-_HH7Syrq8d1n-E9GVbc4LG4P1JVdqMJbuoS7WdMmYv5E/s320/blueteam.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blue Team</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmueBZC2up-3cd4KhThcwDyXpEoLG7kPRxJLbz-i8-PrgCFDNuDz1x6HREWLvlrNluu1DNYXe4K1JzQDfedN5yXYUQRtKMrUJVaxcwfI3V9opsoN8J0Yhcv2Q4NkiIfevMXAgZPx3sAR9/s1600/mickey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJmueBZC2up-3cd4KhThcwDyXpEoLG7kPRxJLbz-i8-PrgCFDNuDz1x6HREWLvlrNluu1DNYXe4K1JzQDfedN5yXYUQRtKMrUJVaxcwfI3V9opsoN8J0Yhcv2Q4NkiIfevMXAgZPx3sAR9/s320/mickey.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mickey: Gives me hugs constantly. He is definitely full of love. Is a bit of a crier when he doesn't get his way though. What a cutie, I can't hold that against him. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjaHadw5sskJHdSnhjyhKh1txRlD_ue_4CeV4dj1Gktba4VxIA84JuVocF3JZ4k5SZvBC14StxqGQdkOaWGLQhKHOvF_WtKZOxP9097FrtC6WMIBq_6Atfe7ge5v-JLeF_Bt5lM3h1NN8/s1600/jerry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGjaHadw5sskJHdSnhjyhKh1txRlD_ue_4CeV4dj1Gktba4VxIA84JuVocF3JZ4k5SZvBC14StxqGQdkOaWGLQhKHOvF_WtKZOxP9097FrtC6WMIBq_6Atfe7ge5v-JLeF_Bt5lM3h1NN8/s320/jerry.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jerry: Will scribble on his book the whole class, throw it when he is finished, get me all worked up, and then wanna hold my hand as we walk downstairs. Caleb's blue team twin. Good thing he is is smart and cute!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR60FGM91Z1xPvhRME9UM58baib_QufiFZtFg7ZLacdYFx_Pj8dJ_5Aq0bVNX-DYMP6aor4CgTC3YY6V6CgD7KhxYCETqzQXOjsTdFjhwC_gaXR0KtzzVXsWyAxhAruK0HHN7mc25Gpulm/s1600/eric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR60FGM91Z1xPvhRME9UM58baib_QufiFZtFg7ZLacdYFx_Pj8dJ_5Aq0bVNX-DYMP6aor4CgTC3YY6V6CgD7KhxYCETqzQXOjsTdFjhwC_gaXR0KtzzVXsWyAxhAruK0HHN7mc25Gpulm/s320/eric.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eric: Such a cutie!! One of my favourites! He is the most excited one to see me in the morning. He is the youngest and is a bit slow, but he makes up for it with this love. LOVES dinosaurs!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIdnF6aNE78FH_QXiQAAu0zP2QoOMed6Yhry6V6s8-LMq-FQXK8y-V8fY1zS3PDncuic0aPVosjZTymQKMC8csY13as9-6-lBnWjmN638ruaonoKITiL8gkKZ2hjx1fbDugwUxH-1bANI/s1600/alan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCIdnF6aNE78FH_QXiQAAu0zP2QoOMed6Yhry6V6s8-LMq-FQXK8y-V8fY1zS3PDncuic0aPVosjZTymQKMC8csY13as9-6-lBnWjmN638ruaonoKITiL8gkKZ2hjx1fbDugwUxH-1bANI/s320/alan.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alan: Very smart, mature and serious. Likes to tell other kids to sit nicely and be quiet. Will probably grow up to be that guy in class who always puts up his hand and loves to talk until the professor has to cut him off. You know the one...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Lk5Ap-b5hFFeTd9iVm8Y39879qiIYL6ngoR1FUXIMXZPo89S4AMnPc-b1QZW9c8380X1dR65JpZEvB_T1ln4wUkGYQOGKhnPQyfQUy5L-RaqhnarBXGwICgyaHAl2wUZPJnHfo0y3SYh/s1600/vickie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Lk5Ap-b5hFFeTd9iVm8Y39879qiIYL6ngoR1FUXIMXZPo89S4AMnPc-b1QZW9c8380X1dR65JpZEvB_T1ln4wUkGYQOGKhnPQyfQUy5L-RaqhnarBXGwICgyaHAl2wUZPJnHfo0y3SYh/s320/vickie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vickie: A really happy and outgoing kid, but also kind of neutral. She has a lot of potential though and I could see her becoming a favourite in the near future..</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLjU_ELJ-Y77pfy2RnlxVxxmha1KCDTpNI8LovFAfx4Vj7v93cjW8slEcmVUO7wMWbgWlBoOSISG_sxpNH4FS7mJ-bwcv-pbusfaEYcTfgMrGvFJLe4UKkLKKl27c0ehT57gR1zPMH-yI/s1600/grace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYLjU_ELJ-Y77pfy2RnlxVxxmha1KCDTpNI8LovFAfx4Vj7v93cjW8slEcmVUO7wMWbgWlBoOSISG_sxpNH4FS7mJ-bwcv-pbusfaEYcTfgMrGvFJLe4UKkLKKl27c0ehT57gR1zPMH-yI/s320/grace.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grace: The smallest one in the class (along with Eric). But don't let her size fool you! She is really smart and outgoing and is always, always smiling. She rocks some great hairstyles. So cute!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgow2OXD8xbG1EAlnonXCfpkKu9zVSshZ-4P2pGLa_g661w51og_K1KVvkuEtBKz073GIxkO5a9OnW-uVDEr_oTSooN1ZQ_BDJXh3aIAYdalkeHkblHzIFDcN9FfUZ3B0g5GrYewQkn1drt/s1600/chloe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgow2OXD8xbG1EAlnonXCfpkKu9zVSshZ-4P2pGLa_g661w51og_K1KVvkuEtBKz073GIxkO5a9OnW-uVDEr_oTSooN1ZQ_BDJXh3aIAYdalkeHkblHzIFDcN9FfUZ3B0g5GrYewQkn1drt/s320/chloe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chloe: I don't really use this word but it's a good one for Chloe, cheeky. She is so funny! She's got more facial expressions than many adults, and is pretty stubborn when she doesn't get her way. Class tattletale. When a kid is being bad, she gives me the look and says, 'Stefany, Katie Teacher', meaning she will tell my Korean co-teacher about it. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6Zx8BdRoesDXVauyhLBxNQXjKvd7aAISScHDMJue9lXS9ltndslUxniHLs83TvYDFSahi4yg5SZWFY57-uNp0Pir0RV-gh9wLA6HUwOzdinJ2pq8_LbpaFqpKja43WgCSnrNUHiKSI5h/s1600/jennyheart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY6Zx8BdRoesDXVauyhLBxNQXjKvd7aAISScHDMJue9lXS9ltndslUxniHLs83TvYDFSahi4yg5SZWFY57-uNp0Pir0RV-gh9wLA6HUwOzdinJ2pq8_LbpaFqpKja43WgCSnrNUHiKSI5h/s320/jennyheart.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jenny Heart: Jenny is pretty mischievous. She gets in trouble a lot, but has the most genuine apologetic face, so you can never stay mad at her. She's got the best laugh too, so childlike and unreserved. She is really growing on me! </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkwhsz6eyilEOmO1gNuSA03AOz9BCVKaT3xISXXaPRvruwabFLq6jYAmhcbtl_sEaw7nBCjjsOmCUcU4kY6IORZkC8pFrSCaMrTKRpLpBEqJmSmYerD9k-9lT1MbbUgasWyahoPr70_XS/s1600/annie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwkwhsz6eyilEOmO1gNuSA03AOz9BCVKaT3xISXXaPRvruwabFLq6jYAmhcbtl_sEaw7nBCjjsOmCUcU4kY6IORZkC8pFrSCaMrTKRpLpBEqJmSmYerD9k-9lT1MbbUgasWyahoPr70_XS/s320/annie.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Annie: One of the smartest kids, she remembers more words and song lyrics than anyone else. Is really eager and I can definitely see her becoming and overachiever. Anyway, she is cute and she listens, and if all kids were like Annie then wow, I could probably teach for a very long time.</td></tr>
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</div>Stefhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15960226410813827766noreply@blogger.com2