So there is this coffee shop that I frequent, just a hop away from work, called Benesian. Today was a good day at work: I didn't get upset at/too impatient with my students and I actually enjoyed teaching them. For me, that is a great day. Then I wandered over to Benesian for a bagel and a chat with Jinny, who is always working there. She was so sweet! We did have a great chat and I felt really touched to be reminded of how much she cares for her customers. All seven of us foreign teachers from Avalon go to Benesian a lot, and she makes a genuine effort to get to know us all. I go there just for her friendliness. And it's really cool to see that she makes her coffee shop her ministry. Her friendliness and generosity don't go unnoticed and everyone loves her.
I'm just feeling happy, we had such a great chat about life, and how she lived in CA the last 6 years and moved back to Korea recently but really misses Cali. She can really relate to missing home. Just an encouraging, uplifting day today, finding support from my barista.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Good Day.
Updates! And practicing brevity:
-I discovered that in a nearby bookstore, they sell lots of art supplies!! I loaded up on acryllics, brushes and canvasses. I've already made my first painting. It's such an accomplishing feeling, and such a stress reliever! They also have very "Korean" stickers and cool, cheap pens.
-I am going to read tonight. Yay!
-A kid drew a picture of me, including my enormous earrings, and I was happily reminded that I am still an individual, amongst a sea of...hmm, what's a nicer word for conformists?
-I'm really happy with some adorable earmuffs I just bought. They're blue/gray, furry, and have a miniature bear and button on each ear.
-I am signing up possibly next week for a dance membership. Time to get in shape.
-I've been playing a lot of card games recently. It was a great weekend.
-I discovered that in a nearby bookstore, they sell lots of art supplies!! I loaded up on acryllics, brushes and canvasses. I've already made my first painting. It's such an accomplishing feeling, and such a stress reliever! They also have very "Korean" stickers and cool, cheap pens.
-I am going to read tonight. Yay!
-A kid drew a picture of me, including my enormous earrings, and I was happily reminded that I am still an individual, amongst a sea of...hmm, what's a nicer word for conformists?
-I'm really happy with some adorable earmuffs I just bought. They're blue/gray, furry, and have a miniature bear and button on each ear.
-I am signing up possibly next week for a dance membership. Time to get in shape.
-I've been playing a lot of card games recently. It was a great weekend.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
missing home
Obviously I miss my family and friends, but I'm surprised how much I'm realizing I miss Oregon itself. In my little town of three million people here, the buildings are so tall that I only get a glimpse of the sky, and when I do, it isn't the same shade of blue or even gray that we can appreciate in OR. The sky here seems almost colorless, especially in the winter, and it's beyond depressing to me. I miss mountains and being near any body of water... ocean, river or lake, I would take anything! I miss green grass and mud I can mush my feet into. I miss thick trees... for some reason all the trees I have seen here are thin and spindly-looking, and it kind of weirds me out, like this place was just born out of nowhere. I don't recall seeing a tree wider than myself yet. I miss real houses. I haven't even seen a house in the last three months! It's all apartments, apartments, apartments. I get excited if I see a patch of grass so I can run in small circles in it, but even then the grass is meager and emaciated-looking. I miss feeling like I'm breathing real, fresh air, and I miss the blackness of night in the winter at home. Here, the night sky is almost as lit up as it is in the day, with neon lights blaring at me from all sides and no curtains to hide it. (My blinds barely help.)
I miss Portland hippies. I still am a faithful one even here in Bundang, but I am alone amidst these trend-setting, smartly-dressed conformists.
I have no problem comitting to something for a year, but only if I enjoy it to a degree. My job itself is going all right, but that isn't the issue. Home, I miss you.
I miss Portland hippies. I still am a faithful one even here in Bundang, but I am alone amidst these trend-setting, smartly-dressed conformists.
I have no problem comitting to something for a year, but only if I enjoy it to a degree. My job itself is going all right, but that isn't the issue. Home, I miss you.
Monday, November 8, 2010
I realize I haven't written in for far too long. No excuses; it is what it is. I might fill in the gaps later, actually, because I did keep an updated journal for much of the time, but just didn't get a chance to post the entries online. And really, I feel like there hasn't been a whole lot of new things to say. It's been fun, but nothing too new and unique. I really do want to be better at writing, though. I am starting this thing called Novel November... I supposedly will be writing approximately 6 pages a day for 31 days, to have a completed novel by the end of the month. Of course this is probably a wishful goal, but with the support and encouragement of thousands of others online, this is a better push towards accomplishing my dream than anything else so far has been. So far I am at 10,000 words. Yeeaaaahh.
I sipped an iced vanilla hazelnut latte in my shower this morning, homemade with the french press mom got me. It was so delicious, and actually quite fun to drink in the shower. I felt so rebellious, but the cold drink was delicious under the pounding heat of the water.
I should probably say a bit about my birthday. It was really nice, and I'm thankful for the touching little things I got from so many people. Co-workers decorated my work computer with happy birhtday propaganda.... colored paper stencils and a party hat... and this was on the day our school decided to celebrate halloween. I came in dressed as a pirate and was touched to find my desk laden with little goodies... keychains, chocolates, air fresheners, candy. :) A lot of us foreign teachers as well as Korean teachers (don't get confused! The foreign teachers are the North American ones!) also went out after school for dinner and drinks. It was so fun to have a ton of people show up. It was a great birthday. And of course Jake was wonderful... he has given me lots of gifts and dinners and it's been so fun with him. My good friend from home KVL showed up on my birthday, which was a present in itself... :) She is just starting her own year-long contract here. Two of my good friends, both Katelyns, and myself, Katelyn, working in South Korea for year... haha how funny. The Katelyns unite! K cubed! K-power everywhere! It's going to be a good rest of the year with the three of us painting Korea red.
~~~~~
I drink a Chai latte from Benesian and am in total bliss. It's ridiculous how often I've come to dream about fancy coffee drinks and lattes... Starbucks peppermint mochas, Holly's Coffee Dark Belgium chocolate mochas and Vanilla Delights, Cafe Bene white chocolate mochas, Tom n Toms mint choco blended tommicinos... wow, that list went on for much longer than anticipated. I have so much work to do, and yet, it snowed briefly about an hour ago, and was so chilled to the bone I had an incredible craving for a hot drink. I use the "I deserve..." catch phrase to justify treating myself to one of my fancy coffee drinks all to often: to lessen the blow of the inevitable cold weather that has finally come upon us, to "celebrate Mondays" or make bearable Terrible Tuesdays, or to get over the hump on Wednesdays, or to celebrate Friday... but I've resolved to treat myself to only ONE fancy coffe a week. So far, I've been good about it.
I sign a contract stating in multiple paragraphs the exact same idea: I will not divulge Avalon's secrets! All the ridiculous schemes they go to, I am not to discuss with third parties... Um, right. But their schemes are just so FUNNY, how can I not?! The irony is that I'm signing my name in red, three separate times on the paper. Red signifies an immanate death soon to come! If I write my name in red, I'm basically admitting I am going to die soon, and they take this belief very seriously in Korea. It's ridiculous, the incredible lengths I am forced to go to to keep from signing a kid's name in red when I'm grading papers or trying to write with a red marker on the classroom whiteboard. I try to be respectful of this superstitious belief by staying very aware whenever I write one of my children's names, but with my own, I don't care.
I'm at school making flashcards for my next class tomorrow. I am so sick of making flashcards. But, I have no choice! And being at school is a brilliant time to blog it up, since internet is so poor at my house. I figured out how to hook it up at my place, but it would cost $40 a month and my cheap-O self refuses, when I could just go to coffee shops for hi-speed or steal a poor connection from my neighbors. All right, 9:30 and it's finally time to go home. See, why bother blogging when all I've got to write about are fancy coffee cravings or my loathing for flashcard-making? ...Will write again anyway, this time sooner rather than later.
I sipped an iced vanilla hazelnut latte in my shower this morning, homemade with the french press mom got me. It was so delicious, and actually quite fun to drink in the shower. I felt so rebellious, but the cold drink was delicious under the pounding heat of the water.
I should probably say a bit about my birthday. It was really nice, and I'm thankful for the touching little things I got from so many people. Co-workers decorated my work computer with happy birhtday propaganda.... colored paper stencils and a party hat... and this was on the day our school decided to celebrate halloween. I came in dressed as a pirate and was touched to find my desk laden with little goodies... keychains, chocolates, air fresheners, candy. :) A lot of us foreign teachers as well as Korean teachers (don't get confused! The foreign teachers are the North American ones!) also went out after school for dinner and drinks. It was so fun to have a ton of people show up. It was a great birthday. And of course Jake was wonderful... he has given me lots of gifts and dinners and it's been so fun with him. My good friend from home KVL showed up on my birthday, which was a present in itself... :) She is just starting her own year-long contract here. Two of my good friends, both Katelyns, and myself, Katelyn, working in South Korea for year... haha how funny. The Katelyns unite! K cubed! K-power everywhere! It's going to be a good rest of the year with the three of us painting Korea red.
~~~~~
I drink a Chai latte from Benesian and am in total bliss. It's ridiculous how often I've come to dream about fancy coffee drinks and lattes... Starbucks peppermint mochas, Holly's Coffee Dark Belgium chocolate mochas and Vanilla Delights, Cafe Bene white chocolate mochas, Tom n Toms mint choco blended tommicinos... wow, that list went on for much longer than anticipated. I have so much work to do, and yet, it snowed briefly about an hour ago, and was so chilled to the bone I had an incredible craving for a hot drink. I use the "I deserve..." catch phrase to justify treating myself to one of my fancy coffee drinks all to often: to lessen the blow of the inevitable cold weather that has finally come upon us, to "celebrate Mondays" or make bearable Terrible Tuesdays, or to get over the hump on Wednesdays, or to celebrate Friday... but I've resolved to treat myself to only ONE fancy coffe a week. So far, I've been good about it.
I sign a contract stating in multiple paragraphs the exact same idea: I will not divulge Avalon's secrets! All the ridiculous schemes they go to, I am not to discuss with third parties... Um, right. But their schemes are just so FUNNY, how can I not?! The irony is that I'm signing my name in red, three separate times on the paper. Red signifies an immanate death soon to come! If I write my name in red, I'm basically admitting I am going to die soon, and they take this belief very seriously in Korea. It's ridiculous, the incredible lengths I am forced to go to to keep from signing a kid's name in red when I'm grading papers or trying to write with a red marker on the classroom whiteboard. I try to be respectful of this superstitious belief by staying very aware whenever I write one of my children's names, but with my own, I don't care.
I'm at school making flashcards for my next class tomorrow. I am so sick of making flashcards. But, I have no choice! And being at school is a brilliant time to blog it up, since internet is so poor at my house. I figured out how to hook it up at my place, but it would cost $40 a month and my cheap-O self refuses, when I could just go to coffee shops for hi-speed or steal a poor connection from my neighbors. All right, 9:30 and it's finally time to go home. See, why bother blogging when all I've got to write about are fancy coffee cravings or my loathing for flashcard-making? ...Will write again anyway, this time sooner rather than later.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Money money money!
I go to Seoyeon, again returning to the dreaded hospital, with no expectations as I once again request medical reimbursement for my week's stay hospital bill. None of the nurses or assistants speak English well enough to figure out what I want, so they give me the invaluable time of one of their doctors. He looks young; early 30s, I would guess. “I am very busy right now, but if you buy me some bread, I will help you,” he says.
Oh Korea.
“Absolutely,” I say without hesitation. He leads me downstairs to the hospital coffee shop and picks up a chocolate muffin. I almost laugh. “That’s all you want?” I ask. “yes,” he says, and leads me into an office where I stand awkwardly in the doorway, unsure whether or not I should enter the room. He leads me out and tells me something about a hundred-something dollars. I feel tricked. If they are going to bother giving me a discount at all, they can at least make it worthwhile, or they may as well not honor the 50% medical insurance coverage plan at all. He flirts with me and tells me that he will give me not just fifty but eighty percent back. Did I hear him right?! How can he change the plan? My contract says fifty, and it's been an uphill battle for the last month just trying to convince my school I got here in time for the coverage to be in effect. The most I got out of them was "try going to the hospital to see if they will give you any money back."
He reaches into a drawer and pulls out several thousand dollars in cash and hands it to me. And not even so much as a receipt….?!? Needless to say, I take the money and run, never to return again.
Oh Korea.
“Absolutely,” I say without hesitation. He leads me downstairs to the hospital coffee shop and picks up a chocolate muffin. I almost laugh. “That’s all you want?” I ask. “yes,” he says, and leads me into an office where I stand awkwardly in the doorway, unsure whether or not I should enter the room. He leads me out and tells me something about a hundred-something dollars. I feel tricked. If they are going to bother giving me a discount at all, they can at least make it worthwhile, or they may as well not honor the 50% medical insurance coverage plan at all. He flirts with me and tells me that he will give me not just fifty but eighty percent back. Did I hear him right?! How can he change the plan? My contract says fifty, and it's been an uphill battle for the last month just trying to convince my school I got here in time for the coverage to be in effect. The most I got out of them was "try going to the hospital to see if they will give you any money back."
He reaches into a drawer and pulls out several thousand dollars in cash and hands it to me. And not even so much as a receipt….?!? Needless to say, I take the money and run, never to return again.
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