Tomorrow is one of the most romantic days of the year. Flowers, chocolates, hearts, and lace clutter the stores, begging you to buy something for your loved one. I was very pleasantly surprised that Valentine's Day is also celebrated in Korea. However, here it's known as the holiday where men buy things for their women...then White day comes along exactly one month later, and women are expected to return the favor to their guys! After living here a year, there is one thing that has caught my eye about this country. They take even the smallest reason to celebrate love. cutesy notepads, pencils, shirts, phone cases, ect...are all available here, applauding relationships. It's a HUGE deal if a couple (young or old) stays together 100 ... Read More
Weird Wednesday (01/30)
I've never liked bugs. I wouldn't say I'm 'scared to death' or anything by them, (except for one time in Panama City, Panama when a hissing cockroach turned flight to fight. The thing was the size of a baby's shoe...and had eight girls running for their lives. Terrifying.) but I don't have any interest in bugs. A few months ago, I was teaching one of my beginner English classes about pets. After getting through the basics...(rabbit, cat, dog, hamster, fish) I asked them about what pets they had at home. One little boy piped up that he had a _____(korean word ?). Having NO idea what that was, I spent the next 15 minutes of class trying to figure it out. Finally in pure desperation, I had him draw a picture. One thing about little Korean ... Read More
Weird Wednesday (01/23)
I knew it was just going to be a matter of time before a strange item would be sighted in a bathroom stall. Public bathrooms are just strange here. Not only do they make miniature toilets for the little ones, but they give you moist towelettes to wipe down the seat before you go. If you need to use the restroom in a more 'lavish' area, many times they have bidets instead of normal toilets. If you're not sure what a bidet is, it's basically a toilet that 'cleans' you, instead of you using toilet paper. Some of them even have heated seats. I don't even know how many awkward situations I've been in...looking at all the buttons (in Korean btw), and trying to figure out how to flush the stupid toilet! I'm actually not writing today to talk ... Read More
Weird Wednesday (01/16)
Today on Weird Wednesday I'm bringing up my students. I've observed many foreign things when it comes to what my students wear, eat, act like, and mention in everyday topics. Even just yesterday I had one of my 5-year olds throw up out of the blue on our way to his next class. The desk teacher (they're pretty awesome ladies who do not mind doing all the dirty work) came up behind the student and started hitting his back repeatedly...hard (meanwhile I was running to get a trashcan...I guess they don't do that here?) I'm used to a gentler approach of rubbing the rather sick individual's back, and maybe applying a cool cloth to the back of their neck. Ok, well whatever works. I've also noticed quite a few kids running around with tissue up ... Read More
Weird Wednesday (01/09)
There are some things that never cease to amaze me, or make any sense. Thus the reason for creating my weekly post 'Weird Wednesday.' You can check out the first post from last week here. As winter approached Geoje Island, I began to notice the lack of proper heating structure in Korea. Either you're getting heated out of your home due to the apartment above you having their floor heat on full blast, and the apartment below you doing the same thing (I call it the grilled cheese effect, and Derik and I happen to be the grilled cheese), or you're working in a school that, for some reason, still uses space heaters as it's only source of heat. I can live with the space heaters. I can live with wearing my jacket and gloves all day at school. ... Read More
Weird Wednesday (01/03)
Everyone enjoys strange and weird things, and living over in Korea now for the past year we've come across quite a few. The funny part is 90% of them are 'normal' to those growing up over here. Whether my reaction is a raised eyebrow, a tiny smile, or an outright laugh, I've decided to share these moments/items/ideas with you. I have come up with a new section of my blog to which I have fondly called 'Weird Wednesday.' As mentioned in the title, I will be posting one weird 'thing' every week. I hope these posts can add some entertainment to your life as well as educate you on the foreign (to you, not so for me) practices of those living in South Korea. My first Weird Wednesday subject is a little pack-of-perfection that I found at the ... Read More
