Hidy ho yalll this past week and a half has been interesting.. I'm learning more things about the korean culture. Well first work has been kind of stressful. I think I'm gonna sign up for a buddhist temple stay experience to really get some solitude and learn Zen Meditation which I heard is ridiculously good for the body and soul. Getting rid of stress! sigh... but thank GOD, my boss told me that it looks like I'm getting the hang of things. She actually gave me more work to do because I'm getting the swing of things! YAY!! =) Made some slipups.. but that's how life is.. How can one truly learn if they don't make mistakes or slipups?? That's how you learn... Learning ALOT about myself and children.. I know people tell me I'm good with kids.. Now yes and no.. the kindergarden has been a wee bit of a handful. But I'm starting to get the hang of things with them.. But it's a completely different setting than what I'm used to .. so I have to think like a 7-10 year old when I'm teaching these kids in class.. I'm used to teaching kids in the water.. when I can just say.. "okay! we're going under water 1,2, and 3!!!" I miss teaching swim lessons.. but oh well.. I feel annoyed with some of these kids now and then of course.. but that's part of experiencing teaching with kids...

I'm excited because my school is moving to a new office up the street... I'm especially excited because I offered to do some graphics work for my employers for the new office and they forgot that I have that skill!! =) YAY! I definitely want to keep up my talents when I'm here.. We have a Dollar Festival for the kids in the school coming up on July 24th I believe. It's pretty cool because the kids have to read books and every time they read a book they bring in a little slip that says that they read a book and then we paste it on a poster above their name.. Every slip stands for a dollar. Every classroom is going to be a store.. I will be the Photo-shop store, when I take the kids photograph and then put it in a piece of paper.. And make the kids feel like their actually in a store.. There's going to be the bookstore, fortune store, stationary store, tattoo store, and something else I can't remember. And the little pieces of paper that stands for each book that the kids read means that they can trade them in for a dollar and then go shopping at the Dollar Festival!!!!! I offered to help my boss Paul assist with the event. Especially since down the line I want to get into event coordinating this will be a step in the right direction.. I think I'm gonna teach english abroad for a couple years.. There was video on CNN.com about how EFL teachers are high in demand and that there is such a huge need for it that people that need tutors have to be on a waiting list. So that's pretty good and plus that's a financial benefit for me.

Now culturally.. I've learned that my korean friends that I've met. The girls all live at home until they get married... Man oh man! For me, that totally SUCKS!! I need my independence.. I'm just that kind of person... Completely different mentality than in the states.. I think that's one thing I'm grateful about in America is that they push being independent. Rather than here, it's kind of unheard of to have korean gals live in an apartment before they get married.

Based on my culture, I don't think it's very good because the korean girls seem to be very dependent which can be a kind of a bad thing.. But, not all.. For example, there are 2 korean gals that I met recently that are pretty independent. Even though they live at home now, before my friend Michelle lived and studied abroad in Australia for a year which influenced her to become independent and open-minded. Also my other new friend, Youngsun, she travelled to Holland and other places I can't remember what, to work in Missionaries.. and living on your own in another culture influences alot of independency. Which is really great... so you can tell their independent ladies even though they live with their parents' home. Although, honestly, what makes me feel sad in some ways is that it seems that you need the family's approval of who your marrying... Noww.. some of you may disagree.. please whoever is reading this please don't be offended.. I see this as it can be good or bad... Now just because your parents think that someone is good for you, Does that really mean that it's what is right in YOUR heart???? After all, isn't it you who's really in the relationship with the person than your family?? If your really in love with someone and your family doesn't approve... that can get things to be really frustrating. In some ways that can be a good thing, because if you have a good relationship with them than good.. but if your relationship with your parents isn't that close, that's where the belief of approval can cause stress that really isn't necessary.. Life is hard enough, why make it harder?? Parents should want their adult kids to be happy, whatever that means. If their happy, isn't that enough to know?

I've also learned that koreans shower ALOT.. No offense to the culture, it sounds a little much in someways.. Now, don't get me wrong it's good to stay clean for personal hygiene, etc. But I've heard that they shower before they work out and then after... Okay.. obviously showering after makes sense.. but before working out when your about to get all sweaty???? Honestly, it doesn't add up.. It's wasting water in a lot of ways when their gonna get all sweaty, doesn't it defeat the purpose?

Here they eat alot of Kim Chi, fish that literally look like fish, pig liver, porkmeat, cow, squid, dried squid, noodles, alot of garlic, seaweed in their soup, octopus. It upsets me in a lot of ways that their wasteful of food, but they don't realize it. I don't think they mean to on purpose, they just don't think about the starving people in North Korea. I think they take things for grantid in some ways.. Like Americans, in that sense.. they don't realize how good they got it. The other day, I literally couldn't eat lunch because it was too spicy for me. So I brought it back and they just threw it out!!! It amazes me.. WOW.. I barely touched it and they just threw it out.. No one else said they would eat it or could save it for later.. ****** THANKS MOM FOR TELLING ME, THERE ARE STARVING PEOPLE IN CHINA GROWING UP***** Kids and people need to know that.

And then I went to the Mud Festival!! Boy what an experience! I really have missed the beach and being by the water! It was amazing! I have no regrets about going.. It's really neat because there's an amusement park closeby on the street and then in the Mud Festival there was a stage where there was concert... I wanted to be there longer but unfortunately could only be there saturday and part of sunday... It was located in Boryeong, about 2 hours from where I live. I carpooled with my friends Michelle, Youngsun, and Pieter. And we crashed at a hotel for the night.. The hotel was really neat because there were fireworks at 9pm and we had a little balcony at the hotel and we watched the GORGEOUS fireworks from there!! It was soo beautiful!! The feeling of being in the mud and feeling my feet in the sand and being in the water was soooo incredulous! Feeling the ripples of the water and seeing what beauty holds in nature is such a privilege. Mother nature blows me away everytime I look around. From the beach of Boryeong you could see other islands.. I think from afar we could see China. Michelle told me it was probably China. One of the islands looked like a dragon sleeping from afar.. hahaha... there were bowls of mud and my and Youngsun painted eachother with MUD!!! HAHAHAHA.. Those of you who know that I'm a potter know that I LOVE the feeling of pottery clay, well this felt like I was in pottery! =) You can look up about the Mud Festival at this website : www.mudfestival.or.kr and you can click the English link.

After the mud festival, one of the people I carpooled with, Pieter, from South Africa asked me if I would go on the Viking ride with him. (at the amusement park) Now the The VIKING was terrifying! Oh MY LORD!! It's a ship ride where it's goes back and forth.. higher and higher and higher.. HOLY SHMOOOEEEEEE.. I got soo scared.. I was shaking when I got off... There was a bar that overlapped my lap, so obviously I couldn't get off.. but I didn't feel completely safe... But I thought to myself "Well, that fulfills my risk taking for the day". hahaha.. For those of you that know me, I'm not a fan of rollercoasters nor heights.. so I almost cried.. but I was screaming/laughing/about to cry at the same time.. while shaking... Well it's over now.. but just so you guys know. There was a ride that goes around in circles and bumps up and down.. Guess what? NO SEAT BELTS!!! I thought that was ludricous!! Oh and then Pieter told me he was on that ride and almost fell off.. to get on that ride.. you have to put your arms behind you and through poles so you won't fall off the ride!! Pieter has been here teaching for 5 years and told me that they don't have baby seatbelts for the baby rides... now I'd have to see it to believe but holy moly... he told me that they were trying to get seat belts issued to make things safer, Pieter told me that the parents voted NO!!.. Which is absolutely ridiculous!!!! Oh and then those of you, who love to play tennis.. Yeah, well apparently you can't just walk up and play. Everytime you go, you pay $20.00 to use the court. Some things about this country amaze me.. . But yet it's alot safer than back home.. I could walk around by myself and not get raped or shot.. rather than back home I could get raped or shot. Since guns are illegal here, I have an advantage. That really should be like that in the states, the government needs to work on that. That's all I have to say about that. I mean they wonder why we have school shootings.. hmm?

I can't wait for August when I heard that there is a Firefly Festival and then there's an amazing Korean Folk Village located in Suwon about 45 minute bus ride from me.. Where you can really see what the traditional korean culture was like..

That's about it for today... Also, I'm going to my first experience to a korean musical this saturday!! YAY! It's called : Our Town (The Musical) I'll have to get the translation online... But I'm going with 3 other korean friends and I'm sure they can help me out explaining what's going on. My co-worker somehow got tickets as a gift... and no one wanted to go, so they offered it to me... HEck Yeah!!

Oh not this weekend but the following weekend there's a volleyball tournament to fundraise money for the korean orphanage located in Seoul.. Well the volleyball benefit is in Seoul but the actual orphanage is located some place else I have to find out.. But I'm registered to go! So hopefully I'll be meeting more new people through that! =)
that's it for now! ta ta!!