Pictures Continued...

Pic one is the Canadian National team at Interski- a bunch of Marie-Eve's friends. Pic two is some Korean traditional dancers at the Interski opening ceremonies. Pic three is Shauna, Me and TY a few weekends before on the chairlift at Pheonix Park, four is synchronized skiing from Interski (how cool!!) and 5 is me as usual being a fool on a (insert place name here) ski hill.

Pictures co. Marie-Eve

Okay, first pic is of me RIPPING down a green run. I sure schooled all those beginners!! Second is the flags of all the countries participating in Interski. Third, me with a real cool and effective sounding drink: "Fat Down." Hmm.. wonder what it's for?? Four really needs no explanation. And five is one of the Korean guys in traditional skiing or hunting?? (dunno- Tarzan?) gear at the opening ceremonies of Interski.

More Kid's Comments

Today was one of the few days I actually wore my hair down. Because it's curly and red it always causes such a stir I prefer to tie it back. Well actually for those of you who know me I always wear it tied back, I am just trying to make myself sound way cooler than I actually am ;)

Anyways first thing in the morning I walk down the hall of my school and three girls I teach start squealing and pointing at me and saying, "Teacher! Hair!" So I flip my hair like a supermodel and strut into the teachers room. Yeah, I'm soo cool!

In my first class, I'm sitting with the kids, and one of my girls says to me, "Hilary Teacher, your hair looks like long worms attached to your head." I nearly fall out of my chair laughing. What a way to describe hair. The funniest part is I think she meant it as something nice. Ahh me and my long wormy hair!

Korean Saunas

This weekend Marie-Eve and I went snowboarding/skiing again. At one of the hills - Yong Pyong (the city Vancouver beat out for the 2010 Olympics), they were having the Interski Congress - it's like the world cup for ski instructors for all over the world, held once every four years. So there were teams from all over the world - Canada, Montenegro, Italy, GB, NZ, Slovenia, etc. To name a few. Marie-Eve knew a bunch of the Canadian team so we spent some time hanging out with them, which was cool. Also the American team wasn't there on account of it being Korea and security problems (quel suprise!). On Sunday morning we got to see the opening ceremonies, which were a bunch of Korean dancing, drums etc. And each team doing one run down the hill doing synchronized skiing. Very cool!

Anyways back to my original point, we spent the night in a hostel. And this isn't the first place I've stayed that thinks a good ambient sleeping temp. is about 30 celsius. No joke! It was like trying to sleep in a sauna. And Koreans seem to just think this was great. I think I got about 2 hours of sleep for the night!

Culture Shock

Hmm... Haven't posted anything in a while.. what to write?

Anyone ever read that chart of the stages you go through adjusting to a new country? If not, check out http://student-services2.utoledo.edu/international/predeparture/shock.html

From my time in China and my time here in Korea, I'd have to say it's fairly accurate. Unfortunately I am in the "irritation" stage. I am annoyed with everything and everyone. I hate that everything is a big hassle - for example I finally found out yesterday where to take my recycling. Until then I'd been covertly sneaking plastic bottles out in my trash or taking them to the subway or other places with garbage to throw away... I hated doing it but had no idea where they went! And of course not speaking Korean, I had no idea who to ask and didn't know what I would ask anyways.

Also of annoyance is the fact that I haven't been sleeping well. One of my neighbours thinks it's really cool to practice his electric guitar nights between 12:30 am and 3 am, most nights. Also there's a bar outside my window which inevitably means there are some drunkards running around and yelling outside almost every night as well. I want to get a sniper rifle and sit here in wait. The other night these people were yelling at the top of their lungs for so long.. All I could think was "Aren't you cold? Go home!!" And then of course is the food issue - don't get me wrong... I love Korean food! But the food I am served at school is rediculously bad! Well, it's prepared in a tiny kitchen by one lady for about 100 kids, so I can't fault her.. also kids like things that are more bland then adults... But I'd say most days of the week there's only rice and some other dish that I don't mind eating. Some days there's nothing. And even the stuff I don't mind is starting to get on my nerves!!

And then of course is the fact that all my friends live so far away. So going to see them is such a big trek. In the busy subway or train all crushed in with all the people. And don't even get me started on the smog...

Sigh. Last night I spent awake tossing and turning because of a fever, what else is new? Hilary is sick in Korea....

Anyways I am gonna stop this post before I depress myself even more!

Initiated into the Club

What club you might ask? Well - read on to find out!!

I have a new class in the afternoons. It's 5 kids that are "six years old" in Korean speak, that usually means that they are 5. Here, they turn a year older on Jan. 1st - so in Korean, I am 24 not 23, even though my birthday is not until May 31. Even if the kid is born on Dec. 31 - they turn one on Jan. 1, so theoretically a kid could be one year old but really only one day!

Anyways, the class hardly speaks English and there's one little girl that is only 5 (4 in real age). Last class, she spent the better part of 30 minutes with tears brimming in her eyes and her lower lip quivering - and finally broke down so I had to take her out of class. Today, she almost immediately started crying, so I took her down to the front desk. I finally got a teacher to translate, and she said that she missed her mom. When they finally brought her back to class, she started crying again. So I picked her up like a doll and carried her around for a bit. Then I put her in a chair at the front and sat with her and helped her do her work. This seemed to suitably distract her, and she even went and sat at the table with all the other kids by the end of class so she could colour!

But anyways in the midst of all this, she starts walking all funny and says something to me in Korean, which I intuitively took to mean, "I have to pee." So I follow her to the bathroom wondering to myself, "Can 4 year olds go to the bathroom by themselves? Do I have to help? To what extent do I have to help?"

So she goes, and I kind of leave the door half open and awkwardly stand there, until I hear a little "Haseyo." (Done). So I go in - thankfully she knew how to go herself, so I just had to help her pull up her pants and tuck in her shirt.

So I'm finally initated into the little kid bathroom club! I've heard other teachers that teach the little babies talk about having to do that but until this day I never had. First time for everything!

Japan Pics, Courtesy of Arnel

Here are some Japan pics, courtesy of Arnel... The first is Me, Arnel, Keiko (his wife) and some of their friends on the day they got married. Second, is me eating traditional soba noodles on New Years Eve, and third is again New Years, having dinner at the Buddhist temple we stayed at.

Things I've Learned This Week:

1) According to Korean kindergarteners, the colour of my hair is "silver and gold" (hahaha)

2) One person can sure produce a lot of snot (you probably didn't want to know that, but whatev)

3) It's possible to hurt yourself coughing.

4) Sleeping pills don't own me, I own THEM!

5) Never underestimate the power of a really good nights sleep!

One Pill Makes You Larger...

And one pill makes you small. And the little blue half-pill? The strangest of them all. Just ask your Korean doctor...

I realize I haven't finished my Japan-logue.. sigh. But since I've come home, I've developed a rather nasty 'mystery illness' (avian flu?). I started to run a fever on Wed. night. Thursday at school, I still had it. Let me tell you - it's REALLY cool to try and teach kindergarteners when you're coughing, sneezing and running a fever. Now you're probably reading this and thinking "Why wouldn't you just go home?"

Well - in Korea, sick days are frowned upon... And I want to try and use mine letter on to currie a favour, but we shall see. At this point I hadn't slept in quite a few nights - up coughing and sick and whatnot. Friday comes, I'm even worse, so I come to school teach one block. By teach I mean sit in the corner with my head in my hands while I make the kids colour. After this I had a break so I go to the doctor who listens to my chest and says my breathing is bad (pneumonia? bronchitis?) and of course her English is not the greatest so I really have no idea what's wrong - she prescribes me "rest" and to stay away from "big cold winds" and a slurry of pills.

Each dose is about 4 or 5 pills. So I go back to school, at this point I ask for the day off but because another teacher is off sick I can't go. I take my pills. I begin to feel VERY drowsy. Then it dawns on me that perhaps I took the pills for night, and it turns out I did take the package of pills that contains a sleeping pill of sorts. So I teach the rest of the day fighting off a sleeping pill.

I ask another teacher what the pills are. And now I think that they are not supposed to help my cough or my flu at all. He told me a few of them are uppers like ephedrine, a few are downers and one is a sleeping pill... real cool. So I'll be all hopped up for the next few days - the problem was I couldn't ask anyone 'cause they only spoke Korean.

And all this would sound all funny to me... If I didn't feel quite so horrible. And to top it off, I woke up today (well not really woke up - I got up after tossing and turning awake all night) and it seems I have developed a sort of eye infection. Gotta love Korea!

More Japanamia

I spent a good chunk of time while I was in Japan planning all the great posts I was going to write for my blog. Now that I am home, time has slipped away from me - so I'm going to write the condensed version.

The first full day, Arnel took me to Nara - this funky little area that has a ton of temples, shrines and DEER. About 1200 to be exact. And when I say they are everywhere I mean it! The area is crawling with deer. You can walk right up to them and pet them. I made the mistake of buying some deer cookies and had to deal with a bunch of deer headbutting me and biting me... Learned my lesson! Don't feed the wildlife!!

That night, we met with a bunch of Arnel's friends at a bar and drank and ate a bunch of small different dishes. I tried chicken cartalidge (what??!) and pork fat.. as well as some other more palatable options. We were gonna do the Asian thing and stay out until the first train at 6 am back to where Arnel and Keiko live but decided to head home around midnight. Then decided to go to Karaoke. So around 1 am, we grabbed some more beer from Arnel's and hopped on bikes. Interesting trying to navigate on a bike when you're half drunk! The karaoke place was in an arcade, so we spent a little time playing the stupidest games we could find - the dancing one, a silly hand rhythm game, an arm wrestling game, etc. Then spent a few hours singing all the classics at karaoke (just the two of us) like Boys II Men. We sounded SO good! Noone in Korea will go to karaoke with me! I wonder why...

The next day, we got up late, went and then (surprise!) Arnel and Keiko were getting married!! We walked over to the city hall where they signed all their papers and I got to be one of their witnesses! Very cool! Thanks for letting me be a part of it, Arns and Keiko (or should I say K.J.) ;)

Anyways... more to come! I just got home and need to go to bed now!

Strollin' in the Park

So if it's nighttime in Canada, I would usually be inside for fear of getting rolled or murdahed. However, Japan is beyond safe - I was told if you left a bag sitting somewhere for an hour and then came back, your bag would still be there. And I believe it!

The first night I was there, Arnel and Keiko had to work, so I took a long walk to the park. Arnel and I 'sampled' a bunch of Japanese alcohols. Then we get outside and Arnel hands me a beer - apparently it's legal to stroll around in Japan drinking! It was really surreal to be walking down deserted back streets of Japan with a beer in my hand and my good friend Arnel!

Anyways, the park was wicked! Wish we had parks like that in Korea. I sat down in the dark, and this little cat jumps up onto my lap. Then it stood up to look me in the face and meowed in my face, like it was talking to me. Sweet. The Japanese people were probably thinking that I was a strange white cat whisperer, as there was another cat by me as well.

It was quite interesting - there were people running, training, skipping rope, stretching, skateboarding all at 10:30 at night!

This was my first indication I was gonna like Japan...

Trip to Japan

The one woe I've had since coming to Korea... well should I say, one of the woes, has been money. My bank account was frozen because I forgot to tell the bank I was moving to South Korea...whoops! And instead of a bank account in Korea I have a secret envelope hidden under something in my room.

So when I decided to go to Japan, this all presented quite a challenge - not to mention it was Christmas and everything was closed. After playing phone and email tag with several different travel agents, I finally managed to book a flight to Japan for the 27th on the 26th... and if you know me, you know how I like to do everything WELL in advance!

The trip to the airport was sans stress.. I think the first airport trip that I have ever had that was stressless!! I got there so early, and even though I had to go to immigration and the money exchange, I did everything in a matter of minutes. And spent the rest of the time shopping (I have never shopped at an airport - they have good stuff!). Oh I guess the one faux pas I made was not having my phone number memorized. So when I went through immigration I had to make one up. Whoops, hope they don't call me on it!

Soon enough we were in the air. And then I was in Japan. I was thinking of just making one post about the trip, but the trip was so amazing there will be many posts to come... and pictures, courtesy of my friend arnel - the professional photographer and Keiko, his new wife (my wonderful hosts!)... Stay tuned.