Monsoons.

I had to switch my blog back to the old theme (but kept the header!) because all the other themes cut off my photos and captions really badly. Anyone know if there is another solution to this? Otherwise I’m stuck being a one-theme woman.
July is officially monsoon season in Korea. What does that mean? Rain, [...]

Things that elicit a ‘whaaaaat?!’ reaction.

Yesterday all the subject teachers (English, home ec., art, music) went on a field trip to an ‘herb village’ just outside of Seoul. The herb village was basically a huge garden/farm of beautiful plants, flowers, birds, vinyards, orchards, butterflies, bees, sculptures, etc., all perfectly tended to by an army of gardeners. It was really cool, [...]

A quick post by a busy girl.

So, my blog has been sadly neglected lately but I have a good reason: my co-teacher (church girl) and I have to plan and teach an ‘open class’ this week. This means that we basically have to organize the perfect English lesson, complete with flashcards, powerpoints, songs, and games, to ‘perform’ in front of the [...]

Off the top of my head.

2 more Korean oddities that have been floating around in my thoughts:
1. Dog walking:
Most Seoulites have very small dogs to fit in their very small apartments. The most common dogs are dachschunds, poodles, and yorkies. Whenever I see Koreans out walking their tiny dogs on a tiny leash, the dog is always dragging them! It’s [...]

My first (full) Korean wedding.

Last weekend, I went to Alex’s co-teacher’s wedding. Her name is Iris and Alex teaches 5th grade English classes with her. I really didn’t know what to expect because the only remotely Korean wedding I’d been to was between an American girl and a Korean guy. Their wedding ended up being largely American style with [...]

Korean eating habits.

As I was picking the fish bones out of my lunch today, I started thinking about how strange Korean meals or eating habits can be.

First off, Koreans eat SO much rice. I mean, not just rice in its most basic form… everything here is made from rice! Crackers, cereal, bread, cookies, etc. I guess the [...]

To shelter, or not to shelter?

Koreans definitely have a list of priorities they emphasize during their children’s younger years. Some priorities are universal among all parents: to feed, clothe, house, protect, and provide a nurturing environment for their kids. But Korean parents take nurturing to the max. They insist that their kids focus on nothing else but studying until they [...]

Korean oddity #709809

Korean women are generally always shooting for class, which I definitely admire (there’s nothing I hate more than an American in track shorts & UGGS). The women here wear heels all day, all night, with every outfit, for every occasion. Sometimes it seems like a serious hazard. See picture below.

한국 말 하는 의국 의사 있었어요.

Yesterday I took my first sick day and subsequently, my first trip to see a doctor in Korea. My ordeal began Sunday when I felt a tickle in my throat and heaviness in my limbs. On Monday morning I awoke at 6am with a raw, painful sore throat and fever. I decided there was no way I was [...]

Cabin fever!!!

Last week I told my co-workers that I had cabin fever and they got really worried. I realized very quickly that they haven’t learned this saying yet. I had to explain that it wasn’t an actual sickness, but a feeling people get when they’re sitting indoors for entirely too long! That’s exactly how I feel [...]