The Prettiest Me

"You would be the prettiest girl in the whole world, if...(insert insult here)".  I am not sure what jerk thought this was an appropriate line to say to any woman but unfortunately it was a line I have heard more than once in my life.  It has always been followed by "if you would only lose a little bit of weight."  Ok, in all honesty, have you ever met a woman (that was wearing makeup) that you could possibly think she doesn't want to be pretty?  Every woman spends her precious and valuable time every day to make herself the prettiest person she could possibly be at the time.  Who are you to say that she is not pretty? 

Anyways, I have literally gotten sick from dealing with this.  Do you know why I have that weight? It is from poor lifestyle choices I made as an adolescent.  Not as a mature adult.  As a "mature adult"  I have done everything I could to lose it.  Including unhealthy lifestyle choices.  I tried eating healthy; I never eat fatty or "unhealthy" foods except for special occasions.  I exercise three hours for 5 days a week running, jiu jitsu, and muay thai (an hour a piece).  I have dieted all of my life.  The most weight I lost, was 25 pounds from gallbladder disease.  That's right folks.  Every time I ate meat, I vomited.  That's a real healthy way to lose weight!  Let's face it, some people just can't get skinny the healthy way.

I moved to South Korea in 2010 and lost about 30 pounds my first year.  I didn't really diet.  I switched to Korean food and exercised daily.  I also walked or rode my bicycle everywhere.  I hardly ever rode in a car.  I tried losing more weight, but I couldn't.  I dieted for the next 2 years and got no where.  When I became engaged to be married, I was desperate.  For once in my life, I really didn't want to hear the words, "She would have been the prettiest bride in the world, if she had just lost a little bit of weight."

I know some people are going to judge me.  Especially, those same people who thought that I would be the prettiest girl in the world if only blah, blah, blah.  They will always come up with something that makes me unpretty.  I didn't do it for them.  I did it for me.  I gave up trying to be pretty for everyone else.  I want to be pretty for me!  It is my wedding day!  I deserve to be pretty for my wedding day!!!!!  So, I lost the weight.  You may judge me all you want.  Go on and say I went to unhealthy extremes.  I don't care!  I have paid all my adult life for unhealthy lifestyle choices I made as a child.  I want to be pretty for at least once.  You can say I went to unhealthy extremes, but you cannot say I didn't work hard for the goals I achieved.  Yes, I dieted harshly.  Yes, I exercised excessively.  No, I am not anorexic.  No, I am not bulimic (I haven't vomited from food since having gallbladder disease).  I love eating healthy but I want to be thin.  I am dieting to lose the weight I gained as a child. I am dieting for myself!  I want to be the prettiest me for my wedding day.

So, there it is.  My weight loss story.  It may seem a bit off topic for a blog entitled Daejeon, South Korea, but since I live here that's where I'm going to put it.

Getting Married

So, I'm getting married.  In South Korea.  That's the plan.  Lol.  Here's the details:

My fiancees name is Min Dong Shik.  My family calls him Min.  I met Min at a dinner meeting for his company.  My friend, Alex, did English interviews for Min's company, Kyeryong, and they asked him to dinner.  He brought me along so that I could meet more mature Koreans.  Usually, Alex introduces me to his college students.  It was definitely a new and fun experience for me.  I made drinks for some of the bosses in the company, and they really liked them and everyone had a lot of fun.  After dinner, as everyone was going home, Min gave me his business card and said, "You know, I'm not married."  This was surprising for both Alex and I because we had assumed that everyone at the meeting was married.  The next day he texted me all day.  That's not unusual for a Korean guy to do, but the next day, he texted me and asked me to have coffee with his mom.  That is a very unusual thing for a Korean guy to do.  You usually do not meet someone's parents unless you are a big part of their life for a long time.  Anyways, his mom really liked me even though my Korean is horrible, and she can't speak English well either.  After meeting his mom, she invited me to their church.  It's a Korean church, nothing is in English, but I have never felt more at home in a church.  The people are so welcoming, and they often try to talk to me.  So for three months, I went to church with him every Sunday.  I was really frustrated that he never asked me on a date.  I was sure that he didn't like me.  Finally after three months, he asked me to be his girlfriend.  He said that he had waited so long because he wanted to make sure that he really liked me for me and not because I was something new and different.  Shortly after we were officially dating, he asked me to marry him.  I guess when you're sure, you're sure, right? lol.  Anyways, we kept our engagement a secret for a few months until we went to my parents' house to tell my dad.

So, that's it.  Now, we're making wedding plans.  I bought two wedding dresses.  A short one and a long one.  One for the wedding in America and one for Korea.  We also have a date: April 6, 2013.  I will be going back to the US for most of March to help with the plans for the wedding there.  It's going to be really small and relaxed nothing special.  Probably more like a barbecue party than a wedding. Then, after the wedding in America we're going to fly back to Korea with my parents, show them around Korea, have our big wedding here, and then go on our honeymoon.  Nothing else is set yet, but at least we have a general outline, the dress, and the date.

stepping up

Alright, so many changes have happened this contract year.  I have a new apartment (it is niiiiiiiiiiccccccccccceeeeeeeee)!!! But I also have a crazy new schedule (it is painful)!!!  Thankfully my apartment is right next to my work so there is no exhausting commute.  And thankfully my schedule is getting better.  So, I have my usual three morning kindergarten classes back to back with no break.  Then, lunch with the kindies, and on Mondays/Wednesdays one afternoon class with them and then my first break.  On Tuesdays/Thursdays, I have two afternoon classes with the kindies and no break.  I go straight into my elementary early afternoon classes.  In the beginning, I had all three classes during that time, but thankfully two of my classes were combined so now I have a break during one class time.  On Tuesdays/Thursdays, I finish early at 4:15 but on Monday/Wednesdays/Fridays, I have an extra class, and I finish at 6:35.  Originally, the schedule was so exhausting that I could barely do anything after work.  Now, it's better, but my ability to do things and comprehend things is really low.  It has made exercising nearly impossible.  I tried to get back into jiu jitsu, but the truth is I don't want to do it right now for several reasons.  First, it's dangerous for me to do it when I'm not completely focused and aware.  Most of the time, I'm fighting people a lot stronger than me so I have to pay attention to both of us so that I don't get hurt.  Case in point, my third black eye.  The guys (especially the beginners) do not like it when they think I'm beating them.  Therefore, they get very aggressive.  Not a big deal normally, but when I'm exhausted already, I don't have the energy to maintain a safe fight.  Second, I can never spar to show my techniques or even practice what I know because I'm not supposed to win against the guys.  Initially, I started practicing jiu jitsu for exercise.  I stopped getting exercise when I started winning because no one would spar me; now, I can spar people but only if I don't use any skill or strength and therefore I'm not getting exercise either.  I don't have the time or energy to do something that I won't receive any benefits from.  I'm not learning anything new.  I help other people, and they become better than me because they are stronger, but also other people help them too, but no one helps me.  It's incredibly stupid.  I have seriously taught three people who now have blue belts to do armbar, triangle, guard pass, and kumera.  Maybe I'm being selfish or too sensitive, but I'm a bit frustrated.  I teach all day long.  I come to the gym to exercise and work off the stress from teaching.  I don't want to teach any more.  Plus, when I have to take the time out to teach I don't get exercise and I'm not even receiving any benefit from it at all!!!!  I'm still a white belt while everyone else has gotten their blue.  I've trained longer, trained every day and worked harder for it, but it doesn't seem to matter.  If I was super thin and didn't need exercise or even if I wasn't completely stressed out, I wouldn't mind taking that extra time.  But the truth is I'm a snowman living in a world of stick people and I'm sick of it.  So, to avoid having to take time out of my workout schedule.  I've started to skip jiu jitsu and run longer and then I go to diet boxing.  I want to start up my own exercise routine between running and diet boxing, but we'll see how the energy level goes. Right now, diet boxing is extremely difficult for me because it's only in Korean and it's difficult to watch the hands and feet at the same time.  My Korean is getting better, but the gym is so noisy sometimes that I can't understand anything and again I get frustrated.  For example, the other day Pyeong-Ha was teaching a difficult combination and I was trying to listen, but this kid (who for a whole hour sat on the couch playing games on his cell phone) decided that was the moment he wanted to start working on the punching bag.  It was all I could do to contain myself from yelling at him.  Seriously, that's the moment you decide to work out?  I really feel like sometimes its not a gym, but a daycare center.  Anyways, all I heard was blah, blah...pow pow...ka ching...pow pow.  And then Pyeong-Ha looks at me and says "ok?"  Tears were forming in my eyes I said, "no, one more time.please."  Then, Pyeong-Ha and I both yelled at the kid to stop for a minute.  Ugh.  So annoying.  I seriously like this gym.  I like the workout I get from diet boxing, and I like learning it.  It sucks that I'm a little slow at understanding it sometimes, but  that's how things go sometimes.  I really wish the gym would go back to how it was before all of the kids came.  I love kids don't get me wrong, but I just spent all day with kids that don't want to learn now its my turn to learn and the kids still don't want to learn and it's distracting!  Anyways, to try and step up my game a bit more; I signed up for a weekend dance class.  It's way more expensive than the fighting gym and its only two days a week! But, I'm going to try it and see how it is.  If I like it, I'll do both.  I've already noticed a difference with skipping jiu jitsu and going for a longer run.  So, I'm hoping that it will keep up.

Anyways, onto my personal life.  I've been hanging out with more of my Korean friends lately, and I've met some new people.  I've started going to church again.  The only thing is this church is all in Korean so it's difficult for me to understand.  However, I feel more comfortable there.  The thing is English services in Korea (in my experience) are often filled with people who are at the English service to learn English and not study the Bible.  It's a bit disheartening to me and it makes me feel uncomfortable.  It is more comfortable for me to attend a service in Korean knowing everyone's heart is focused on the service and not on something else.  Plus, the people there are very welcoming.  Many even speak English well.  As I mentioned before, I've been meeting a lot of new people lately.  It's fun and exciting, but as we grow closer sometimes I feel like the only reason they want to hang out with me is to learn English.  Honestly, I don't mind because its fun, but at the same time, usually that means that they are going to eventually get tired of English and go away.  I wish they would tell me in the beginning that way it hurts less when they leave.  

Wow, I know this post seems a bit depressing, but I'm ok really!!!!  I like the challenges of living in a foreign country.  My life here is never boring.  For example, the other day I walked into the gym and found a dead, dried out fish lying on the floor staring at me.  Naturally, I was disgusted and asked what it was doing there. Jung Su just told me one of the guys knocked it loose while sparring.  I was like, "yeah, but what is it doing here?"  Apparently, in Korea, some people believe that if you put a fish in your new business it will be profitable.  Whatever works right? lol.  But seriously, I can't unsee the fish.  It's always staring at me while I'm working out now. lol.  Anyways, now that my schedule has kind of sorted itself out for now; hopefully things will get better and less stressful.*^^*

LASEK

Ok, so several weeks ago I got LASEK done at a clinic in 둔산동 called 눈 사랑. The total cost was 1.2 million won. You can get it done for cheaper at other clinics (or so I've heard), but you often are stuck waiting for long periods of time to be seen by the doctor. This I know because I tried one of those clinics first. Plus, this clinic is pretty reputable with well educated doctors that speak English well. Most of the doctors graduated from Chungnam University with some sort of honors in their fields. Another bonus, is that all of the visits are covered by the 1.2 million won. The pre-op/assessment visit, the operation, and several follow up visits. I'm not sure if this is the case at other clinics. Also, I've never really met anyone that went to another clinic so I'm not completely positive how well their doctors are or how well you are treated. This has just been my experience.

I first learned about 눈 사랑 after passing by their office on my way to see another doctor in the building. I decided to look them up online later. After looking them up online, I asked around my office about them and my coworkers had said that they were a reputable company, and that a lot of people get LASIK or LASEK done there. So I decided to check them out. I went first to the office on the 2nd floor where I discovered that floor was just for regular checkups. I was then sent to the 7th floor to talk to them about making an appointment to have a counseling session and an evaluation. They suggested making it a bit later since I had been wearing my contacts every day. I think they said two full weeks without your contact lenses was best. When I came the next time, I waited maybe five minutes and then was ushered through a series of tests to determine which procedure was the best for me. The nurse who helped me spoke English well (I got an English speaking nurse every time, however I think some don't speak English well). Immediately after the tests, I saw the doctor who examined the results and did a checkup. He then told me that I should get LASEK done. I have steep corneas so I am not a good candidate for LASIK. I think LASEK is better anyways because it lasts longer, and the recovery process is really not all that painful. He showed me a quick video about the procedure. After, the nurse gave me a few more instructions about the surgery and post-op care instructions. I was then able to setup a time for the surgery for the following week. I couldn't believe that I was getting the surgery done so soon! Then, I remembered that I didn't ask how much the surgery would cost. For some reason, I began to feel really nervous because when I had inquired about it before in the US it was about $5,000 at one of the reputable clinics. When she told me that it was only going to be 1.2 million I was thrilled! So fast-forward to the surgery day, I had chosen that day because we had a four day weekend starting the day after. I always have a bit of break on Wednesdays so I scheduled it for the break, and I had planned parties for the classes that I was teaching after the break so that I wouldn't have to really do anything. I went to the clinic and was given one more series of test to ensure nothing had changed. Then, I was off to the surgery room. Of course, I was a bit nervous. I would be awake and see every part of the surgery. However, I often operate on the theory that if it's meant to be then some how, some way it will happen no matter what. So, I figured if I'm meant to be blind then here it is. Anyways, on the table, I watched them cut into and peel away part of my eye as I stared at this light above me (something was holding my eye open so I couldn't close my eyes). I was told to only stare at this light and try not to move my eye. Of course, there were moments where my eyes wanted to close, but the thing held them open and I didn't move them. They sprayed liquid in my eye, replaced the part they peeled away, and put a corrective lens over my eye. They repeated it on the other eye too. The whole procedure took less than 10 minutes. The total visit was maybe 45 minutes. I was able to go home and take a bit of a nap before returning to work. When I got to work later that evening. I found out that I had to make my lesson plans for the new semester using all new books. I really could not see very well, but it wasn't too terribly painful. I spent over an hour reading and writing right after my surgery. It didn't hurt it was just difficult to focus on letters. The next few days I rested and went out with friends. I was able to do everything normally. I was already able to see way better than I could before. The only pain came three days after the surgery, and it wasn't really all that bad. Actually, the night before I had gone to eat at a 삼겹살 restaurant, and I had also worn a strong perfume. I think the mixture of the smoke and the perfume aggravated my eyes a bit. I wasn't able to open my eyes fully the next day, and they watered a lot. It was more of a mild discomfort than a pain. It felt like I had slept in my contacts and couldn't get them moistened. I just repeatedly put the drops in. That weekend, the doctor checked my eyes to make sure that the procedure had gone well, and of course it had. Then, on Monday, the doctor took the protective lens off of my eyes. It felt so good to have the lens off. It almost felt like the lens was causing most of the discomfort. I went back again a few days ago to make sure the process was going well. It seems to be going really well. So I'm definitely really excited about it. Oh, I almost forgot post-op instructions. The big one is putting drops in your eyes. Also, no drinking/smoking for a month. Take vitamin C. No exercise or makeup for two weeks. After two weeks, light exercise, but no sweating. Sweat cannot touch your eyes for one month. No exercise or activity that could be harmful to your eyes. Always wear glasses outside for one month (sunglasses during the day, clear lenses at night). I bought an additional pair of glasses with no prescription for the sole purpose of wearing them out at night. I think that was about it. I would totally recommend this surgery to anyone. I would definitely recommend going to 눈 사랑 in 둔산동. It is very convenient for me because I live near Time World and there office is right across the street. If you have any questions about the differences between LASIK and LASEK, this site: http://lasik.lifetips.com/cat/62944/lasek-surgery/index.html is really informative. If you want more information about 눈 사랑 their website is www.eyelove75.com. It is mostly informative in Korean. However, they do have a short page in English.

Another year in Korea

Ok so I'm about to begin my third year here in Korea, and this year some things are different. For starters, I had to completely renew my visa. Meaning, I had to get an FBI background check and get my university diploma apostilled. In case you have to get a visa for Korea, please make sure that you give yourself about six months to do so. Sound like a lengthy process? That's because it is. You see, I sent my fingerprints to the FBI in mid November. It arrived in their system December 15th. My parents got the FBI background check on February 5th and tried to get it apostilled. However, the state of Georgia doesn't apostille federal documents so then they had to Overnite it Fedex to the US Department of State. They mailed it to the address that the FBI and the Superior Court Clerk's Office suggested to have it processed within a week. When they didn't get it back in that week, they called to find out the status on my document. They were then informed the address they sent it to was not the address to process it in one week but 2-3 months. Did I mention that my visa expires February 28th? Yeah, so that doesn't work out well for me now does it? Anyways, my parents made some calls, I made some calls, and my boss made some calls. My parents are still working on getting my background check, but my boss and I were able to get a two month extension on my visa. It was a miracle! I'm so thankful! However, I still know nothing about my background check...this weekend was Presidents' Day so obviously the offices were closed. It's funny how we get so excited about days off of work, but when we really need someone to be at work and they're taking the day off, it seems really inopportune. So yeah...stay tuned! Lol.

On to the next one, this year I'm getting a new apartment. I will be living a block away from my school! I'm really excited about this because right now I live about a 15 minute bike ride from school. I also live about two blocks away from Time World in Dunsan Dong (in case you don't know Daejeon, that's one of the prime shopping/eating/partying areas). I'm also a lot closer to my gym now. Really, I'm a lot closer to anywhere I really need to be. I will be living on the 10th floor. I have two huge windows overlooking the city. My apartment has a loft, a bigger bathroom, a bigger refrigerator, more closet space, and a washing machine with a dryer!!!!!! I haven't had my clothes dried in two years!!!! I'm pretty excited about that. Lol. The downsides: I have to take an elevator everyday (or walk up 10 flights of stairs), my bills will be twice as much, and they say not to flush toilet paper down the toilet (I still haven't decided if I want to try it or not). Lol. All in all, it seems like a pretty good deal.

Also, I'm getting paid a bit more. Since my bills will be higher, it's definitely a good thing!!! But none of the Korean teachers got raises this year even though it states in their contracts that they should get a raise. Most of them aren't too upset about it, but it makes me feel wanted knowing that my boss wanted me to stay so badly that he gave me a raise and a nicer apartment. Seriously, my new apartment probably costs twice as much as the one I live in now. I do feel badly and a bit selfish that I asked for and got what I wanted, but in Korea, that's kind of how things work. Foreign teachers (especially ones with experience) can usually find a better job somewhere else and will walk if they don't get what they ask for. Also, I didn't ask for nor did I get a raise last year. I asked for a different apartment but they didn't give it to me. So at the same time, I kind of don't feel as bad.

This year, we will only have three foreign teachers at the school. I'm kind of worried about this because I might have more classes, but at the same time, right now I'm working the maximum number of hours that I can before receiving overtime. So, if I get more classes, I will get overtime.

Anyways, I'm pretty excited about these changes, and I'm definitely looking forward to another year here in Daejeon. I move into my new apartment after orientation on Saturday, graduation is next week, and then the new semester starts the week after. A busy end to this semester and a busy start to the next one. I can't wait for things to slow down and get back to normal. I miss my regular schedule at the gym and now that it's warming up some, I want to start running again! I can't wait!!!!

Things that I've learned

I'm coming up on the end of my second year here in Daejeon. I've learned a lot about the city and how to live and get around without knowing the language well. I like to share as much as I have learned with others because it was difficult learning it at times. I will break it up in two parts: medical and general living.

Health is pretty important so I will start with the medical:
1. Always go to a doctor that is comfortable speaking English. Ok, this may sound like a no brainer, but I made this mistake. I'm fairly comfortable speaking Korean about a few things, and I'm a pretty busy person. So I decided to visit a doctor's office because it was closer to my work. While he is a very good doctor (according to Koreans), he cannot speak English. My tiny problem turned into a bigger problem which would have been beneficial to have a doctor that I understood and that understood me better. While I did get through it, it was not fun and not comfortable.

2. Only go to a regular doctor for mild medicines. Basically, if you want the best over the counter medication go to a regular doctor. If you want something stronger that will take care of whatever it is your kids gave you this week, visit a specialist. My favorite specialist is the 이비안후궈(the ENT) because it never fails that's what my kids give me. My favorite ENT is across from Time World in the building next to the NongHyup with the pharmacy and the eyeglass store on the bottom floor. He's on the sixth floor. I think its called 주인이비안후궈. His English is pretty good, but the medicine he prescribes works every time. The best part about visiting the specialist is that it doesn't cost much more than going to your regular doctor. Unless, you go to a big hospital or the OBGYN.

3. Unless its an emergency, don't go to the emergency room. I've visited the ER here in Korea a few times. Twice at Eulji University Hospital in Dunsan Dong and once in Boryeong. One thing I have learned, no one speaks English. Two of the times that I went, it was an actual emergency that I needed medicine for. It was definitely cheaper than the emergency room back home, and they were able to give me medicine to ease the pain. One time I had to stay in the ER because the doctors office closed, but they wanted to give me an IV. That time was horrible. None of the nurses would check on me because they didn't want to speak English. My IV stopped 5 times, and an old lady in the bed next to mine flagged down the nurses every time until she left. After she left it stopped two more times. A 5 hour IV turned into an 8 hour IV. I told the nurse to just take it out, I was leaving at 7 hours there was still a good 1/3 of the bag left. It was ridiculous.

4. Go to the hospital for most specialists. Except for the ENT I mentioned before, the hospital is the best place to go to for specialists. My hospital of choice is Eulji University because they have an English translator on staff during regular business hours. She will accompany you through your entire visit, and she ensures that you understand everything.



Now onto General Living:
1. Live close to your work. Winters suck here in Korea, and it is not fun trying to get to work when you live a 45 minute walk from work. Taxis are impossible to find in the morning when there is ice on the ground. You will end up having to walk which for me takes 15 minutes longer when there is ice because lets face it when has anyone in Georgia ever had to walk on ice?

2. Buy a bicycle. Rush hour sucks in Daejeon so most of the time it is faster to ride a bicycle. Not to mention it saves a ton of money!!!! The only time I don't ride my bike is when there is snow and ice on the ground (if your wondering why refer back to #1).

3. Join an activity. It doesn't matter what the activity is. Meeting new people is never a bad thing. If you're worried about joining alone, don't be. I've done just about everything on my own since I got here including joining two different gyms and a church. Yes, it's nice to join with a friend, but you will meet more people by yourself. Korean people are kind of shy when it comes to talking to foreigners. So if you are always around another foreigner, a lot of the times they won't talk to you.

4. Learn Korean. Even just the reading part. I cannot tell you how many times being able to read Korean has saved my butt. It just makes life easier being able to tell the taxi driver where you want to go, read the signs that are in Korean, and order things properly.

5. Diversity!!!! No matter what aspect of your life financial, friendships, food...diversity is important! But in this case I mean friendships. I am in no position to give advice in any other area. lol. No matter where you live be it Korea, America, Canada, Mexico, Africa. It is very nice to have a very diverse group of friends. It makes things interesting! You can learn new things, try new foods, and play new games. But more specifically in Korea, have a good group of foreign friends and a good group of Korean friends. Foreigners are always leaving Korea. It is very nice to have a person that understands you and your culture. Most Koreans will always stay in Korea. It is definitely nice to have some one constant. It is a balancing act (TRUST ME). Often Koreans don't understand your foreign friends and your foreign friends don't understand your Korean friends. If it is too much, just keep them separate.

6. Fighting Gyms. I've been to two fighting gyms here in Korea and have run into the same problems at both gyms. From my understanding, all fighting gyms are like that in Korea. Here are the reasons. Most Korean women hate to exercise (sorry to generalize this is what I'm told and this is what I've seen), but they also want to lose weight. Most of the time, they join a gym for a month, maybe 2 max and then they quit. From my observation 1 out of 7 stay longer than a month and 1 out of 20 stay longer than a year. Therefore, instructors don't spend as much time training women as they do men, so often women that actually want to train feel excluded. Also, a lot of Korean men are "too shy" to fight women, and by "too shy" they mean they don't want to be embarrassed if the fight doesn't go well for them. Another problem, Korean high school boys and college boys say what they think without filters. This is everywhere! And even if they absolutely love you, they will say stuff that seriously hurts your feelings even though they are only high school kids. So my advice, find a gym that the owner is very understanding and that will help you get through these things.


These are just a few things that I've learned, and they are my experiences. Maybe there's a different Korea out there somewhere, but this is what I've seen. lol. Feel free to post your own advice and lessons on here. I'd love to not have to go through some bad experiences. lol!

And It's Back to Love...

I just have to say that I have the best kwanjangnim (gym owner) ever! I am not going to lie to you he has got to be one of the most genuinely nicest guys ever. Even though my attitude lately has been poor, and I've created so many problems for him, he still does everything he can to help me.

So if you read my last post, you know that I've had trouble at the gym while trying to train jiu jitsu. If you've followed me for quite sometime, you might know that I had similar problems at the last gym. I am training in South Korea, so there is a bit of language barrier. Even though I sought help from the first kwanjangnim repeatedly (at least 10 times, I even had real translators each time), he never really tried to do anything about the problem. He always told me that he wanted me to train there for a long time, and that he really valued my commitment; but really it didn't seem that way because he never did anything about how unhappy I was. Eventually, I couldn't not handle the stress from work and the added stress of training at that gym, so I quit. I decided to train at another gym. At first, it was pretty good, but then the guys realized that there was a chance that they might have to tap out while sparring me so they decided not to spar me. The kwanjangnim at the time spoke perfect English, and although I shared my frustration, he did nothing. I decided not to train jiu jitsu for a while and just do muay thai and fitness training at the same gym. Of course, after a while I got bored and wanted to train jiu jitsu again. All of the old guys that wouldn't train with me had left the gym (it's quite common in Korea for people to train for only a short period of time), so I figured it was worth a shot even if it was just for a little bit. While I was training muay thai, we got a new kwanjangnim. His English is good, but not perfect. We often have problems communicating, but he is very understanding. I trained with the guys for about a month this time before I noticed that I was sitting on the sidelines too often again. Kwanjangnim noticed it too. He also noticed that I didn't like how the guys treated me. So he started instructing the guys to spar with me. Still some would come up with the excuse that they were hurt somewhere and couldn't spar with me (obviously not too hurt to spar with a guy that's 20 pounds heavier than me and significantly stronger). Before I even talked to him he understood that I was disappointed. He understood my anger and frustration. So, he took the time to spar with me. Even before I talked to him about how I felt. One day while we were sparring, he asked me why I was upset. So I asked him if he were me and everyone refused to spar with him, would he be happy. He said, "no". The next day, I talked to him for a long time (with the help of Google Translator of course...which by the way has got to be one of the worst translations, but to give it some credit Korean and English have very different sentence structures and styles of speech so it is difficult for a computer to translate accurately). He said that he understood and that he had the same problem when he trained at a gym in Australia. The guys didn't want to spar with him because they thought he couldn't understand anything because he was Korean. Eventually, it all worked out, and he was able to spar quite a bit. Obviously, its not going to be the same for me. I have two strikes against me. Even if I wasn't foreign, I'm still a woman and no guy wants to tap out to a girl. Even though I have been training for over a year and a half so I should be better than some guy that's never done grappling before, they don't understand that. Their pride doesn't understand that. I know this. Kwanjangnim knows this, but he wants to change it. He told me that I shouldn't worry about the guys that don't want to spar with me because they aren't worth it. They probably won't be training for very long. He promised me that he would help me train more and that little by little he wants the gym to change. He also said that he wants more girls to train. I honestly don't mind training with guys (like I said before sometimes girls are a pain and there's too much squealing), but I don't mind paving the way for other girls who seriously want to train. Talking to kwanjangnim really helped, I feel better about everything. He still asks the guys to spar with me, and I still spar with him after. If one of the guys asks him to spar, he makes them spar with me first. Sometimes, if a guy refuses to spar with me, he makes them spar with the big hyungnim who in return kicks their butt because he loves me! Hahaha. Seriously, I spar with him everyday; I do get my butt kicked, but in a much nicer way.

I also read some articles about some of the professional MMA girls that train jiu jitsu. They said that they had similar experiences. Even after winning multiple professional matches, the guys still won't train with them. I also read that some of the girls won't spar with guys that aren't at least blue belts because the guys cannot control their strength. To be honest, there are only a few blue belts at each gym here in Korea (like I said most people don't commit to a gym for a long time in Korea). Most of the time, blue belts don't train every day because they get bored training with beginners (and women). So, I have to train with white belts. I'm not complaining as long as there are people to train with. When I spar with a guy for the first time, I always take it slow, and I let him make the first move. If he moves quickly, I will move more slowly than usual. If he is really strong, I will tap faster. I do try to give them a good spar, but I still let them win in the end (unless they do something stupid, like basically handing me an armbar). I do this out of respect for Kwanjangnim, not because I like the guy. Kwanjangnim asked me to go easy on most of the guys unless they are really good. There are only two or three guys that I'm allowed to seriously spar. I think that it is better this way for my safety and for the guys' safety as well. Even though, it's their own fault for being too prideful; I don't want to be responsible for hurting some one seriously. There have been several times that I do a submission on a guy, and they do everything they can to not tap. I know that they are in pain, but their pride is in the way. So, I just roll away and make them start again.

I really admire people like Kwanjangnim. He is an all around good guy...a genuine hunnam.

Jiu Jitsu: Love and Hate

Seriously, jiu jitsu , at least for a woman living in Korea, is bipolar. One day, its fun and challenging; the next day it's dull or angering. Is this a problem other women jiu jitsu players have?

Okay, to be honest with you, I hate sparring with most women, too. I will not blame a man there. The truth is if you squeal when I do a move or cry when you get a slight bruise; I don't want to deal with it. If you have long hair, I don't want to deal with it. If you have long nails, I definitely don't want to spar with you. These are things that I have experienced doing jiu jitsu with women, and I hate them. Therefore, I cut off all of my long, beautiful hair. Do I like having long hair, of course, but at the same time, I don't mind having short hair and it's a little more convenient when playing jiu jitsu. Am I saying you should cut off your hair? Of course not. You can play with long hair, just make sure it's secured firmly on top of your head and out of the way when sparring. As a consideration to those I am sparring with, I also clip my fingernails weekly. They are never past my fingertips. The truth is when you grab someone to do a move, there is always a chance that you will scratch them; no one likes for you to draw blood. Of course, no one really likes bruises either but bruises aren't really messy and its a part of the game so you kinda have to get used to it. Also, it's dangerous for you too. Nails get caught on clothing often and get get ripped off which is very painful (and bloody...trust me on this one.) And now to the squealing part, yes, jiu jitsu is painful, but no one is really out to intentionally harm you. Everyone is just trying to get in a position of submission or win the game. That is the purpose of jiu jitsu. If you get bruised or a bump a long the way, do not cry or squeal. That just makes other people feel bad. It really is poor manners. Have I wanted to cry? Yes. Have I wanted to scream out in pain? Yes. But out of manners, I don't. Also, I spar mostly with men; so I know that if I scream or cry, they will not spar with me any more because they will think that I am too weak. All of these dislikes go for men to....I hate sparring men with long hair, long nails, and that squeal and cry. (****Ok side note here: I know from the sound of it, I seem like a very boyish sort of girl. I can assure you that I am not. I am quite possibly the girliest girl you will ever meet. I wear skirts or dresses everyday. I am definitely a high heels and make up person. I always have my toes painted. I'm girly even down to my favorite color, my favorite color is pink. Koreans consider me very much a "cutie style" person. I have what they call "egy-yo".)

So with so many sacrifices, I am continually asking myself why do I play the game. I play because this kind of fighting came naturally to me. I instinctively defend myself. It is fun at times, but it is also very painful. So why do I keep doing it? In my heart, I feel that I have to for two reasons. One, self defense. Two, it is a full body workout. We'll start with the latter. If you have met me in person, you know that I am not a small person. I could easily be very fat. If you know me well, you know I eat very little and still am not small. Therefore, I have to exercise excessively to stay fit. Jiu jitsu provides a good exercise for a short amount of time (I do not depend solely on jiu jitsu though, I run for my cardio workout). Now on to self defense, as a woman, I know what it is like to be in a situation in which I was completely helpless. I wished with all of my being that I was stronger and knew how to defend myself and others. I wanted to learn a kind of fighting in order to defend myself and others. I tried tae kwan do, but it was really repetitive and kind of boring and I never really got to try anything for real. It just seemed like a lot of pointless moves. I also tried kickboxing but once again too repetitive and it required a lot of repetitive prep work before actual sparring. There is judo, but that's mostly just take down here in Korea. The mat training here is kind of limited. Also, I would run into the same trouble in judo as I do in jiu jitsu. So jiu jitsu it is...

Now, here are the reasons I love jiu jitsu. As I said before, it is a really good exercise. Also, I am good at defense naturally. Also, it requires flexibility which I have a ton of. It requires technique which I am good at learning. I have a lot of technique. So most of the time, I get to spar the more challenging people because of my technique. I spar the biggest or the strongest or the quickest. But usually, only one time. I only get one chance. If the guy feels like I am not challenging enough, he will refuse to fight me again. If the guy feels like he could lose to me, he will not fight me again. Very rarely, here in Korea, will I find a guy that will except the challenge of fighting me continually. Do I mind fighting guys that are too big and could crush me every time? Not really. I want to practice. The truth is, if someone attacks me in real life, they aren't going to take one look at me and think "eh, she's not challenging enough...I'm just gonna walk away." Yeah, that doesn't happen. It makes me feel good when I am asked to take on the big guys. To me, it is the highest praise you could give me (on my jiu jitsu skill of course). Many people tell me my jiu jitsu is good, but they never want to spar with me which is pretty insulting to me. I feel like you are saying that I'm good, but I will never be good enough. These are the same people that are chatting me up after class or asking me out on a date. Really??? I'm sorry if you really cared anything about me, you would help me to learn to defend myself properly. So I feel like to them, I will always just be another pretty face. So, I dislike them intensely. No matter how much they compliment me; I will always dislike them. Yes, I know I keep getting back to the negatives...ugh...grrrr. Okay, so another positive, because I have technique, people often ask me for advice on what to do in certain situations. Even though my Korean is bad and there are other people that speak Korean that are better than me, they ask me because I'm weaker so they know that I can teach them how to fight the bigger and better people. Strong people don't always realize that it is difficult to do certain moves. Another positive, if a person really wants to train jiu jitsu, they ask to spar with me so they can learn. There are very few men, here in Korea, that are willing to sacrifice their humility to spar with me, but there are some. I also love the challenge of fighting someone that is bigger and better than me. It doesn't matter to me if I win or lose. I want to be the best me that I can be.

Lately, jiu jitsu for me has been unpredictable and very up and down. Even in the same day. For example today...I walked in and one of the long time kickboxers asked me if he could spar with me. He explained that he wanted to learn jiu jitsu, but he wanted to train with me because I had technique but I wasn't very strong. So he felt like he would learn more. After sparring for a short time, he was tired. So I was left alone. I sparred with no one. Seriously, I came down from a serious high quickly. The truth is jiu jitsu is a good exercise...only if you are sparring. I honestly have no clue how to get people to spar with me. I tried to go easy on people...even just taking positions with no submissions. I tried going my hardest and submitting people continually. I have never once complained about being hurt. I have never cried out or screamed when I was hurt or in pain. I have done everything I can to play this game...what am I doing wrong? What do I need to do to be able to practice? Seriously, I just want to exercise and learn how to defend myself. Has anyone else been through this? How can I get past this challenge?

할머니 and 할아버지

Ok back to back posts are weird I know, but I just had an amazing thought about the experiences I've had here in Korea. This post is going to seem especially weird since it is so opposite of the last post. One of the biggest reasons I love Korea is because of the 할머니 and 할아버지. Old people in Korea are the best as long as you are respectful and treat others kindly. See, Koreans believe that you can feel if a person is good or bad without exchanging words. I believe this too. Mostly because I have such good relationships with people that I cannot communicate well with. Anyways back to the old people. A big example of their kindness is a couple of experiences I had today. I had gone shopping at Costco and I had a big backpack full of groceries. This old lady asked me several times to sit next to her and I told her that I was ok standing. Finally, I told her that my stop was next. She was so concerned about me, a person that most people consider a foreigner and could careless about (and if you read my last post, even kick me out of their restaurants). Seriously, it was very touching. Then, on my way home I decided to get 만두빵. The old man serving it teased me because I didn't say how many I wanted at first. He said you want twenty? I told him I only wanted one, and he said no you have to buy twenty. It was funny. I really thought he was serious at first. So I was like, yeah I guess I'll have twenty. Then, he told me it was going to be twenty dollars instead of one dollar. Hahaha. Then, he asked me if it our transaction had been fun and I told him that it was. He definitely recognized that my spirits had been lifted a bit and so he told me to always be happy. Old people are so much wiser than younger people. I'm sure if I met that man everyday I would always be happy. The truth is everyone has difficulties. Everyone has a hard life. Everyone has stresses. We think that the people we run into everyday have it easier than we do, but the truth is they don't. No one in this life has it easy. You never know what anyone is going through at any time. A person may get angry at you or do something to hurt you for seemingly no reason at all. Sometimes you just have to let it go because the truth is you don't know what they are going through. The old man I met today may or may not have been able to feel how heavy my heart was, but he knew that after meeting him my heart was much lighter. You never know what differences you can make in another person's life just by treating them kindly. It is because of people like the 할아버지and the 할머니that I met today that I love Korea and wish to stay here a very long time!

cuz i'm all white...

So, it has been a really long time since I updated this thing once again. I really like experiencing things rather than sharing them others. I suppose I'm being a little greedy especially since I don't get to talk to the people back home very often. I'm sorry! I will try to make up for it. So, here's the latest:

The super quick update on my life for those of you too busy to read past the first few paragraphs. I'm still single, still working out, still fighting, still making friends, still going out, and of course still having many adventures.

Now to expand on these points. Yes, I'm still single. There have been some men that I'm interested in and are interested in me. Logically speaking, it really doesn't make sense. The truth is while they are friends of mine, we still cannot communicate well. We understand each other based on actions and how we treat others. So for now, I'm single.

I go to the gym everyday. Living in a foreign country can be difficult, but I love working out my frustrations at the gym. It keeps me sane for the most part. Sometimes it is difficult especially with new people coming and going all of the time. Many Koreans (like many Americans) don't have much of a commitment for exercising. Of course, they realize it's good for their health and they should do it. So they come to the gym for a month or so and then quit. The people that are committed to the gym accept me as a Daejeon person and call me sister. They consider me part of the gym family. However, sometimes the new members call me the foreigner not realizing how hurtful it is to be considered that or how much more they are a foreigner to these guys than I am. The guys do try hard to make me feel comfortable and they do treat me well. However, the girls can be a problem sometimes. The girls are the worst. Maybe 1 out 20 will stay longer than a month at the gym. They all recognize the relationship that I have with the guys, and so they try to play nice. Most of the time, they want me to set them up with one of the guys or they want to practice their English. I don't mind doing either for them. However, I do mind their attitude. They like to talk about me in Korean which I don't mind as long as I can hear what they are saying (I do understand most things as long as I can hear them). However, when I walk away to get water or something they will talk about me so I cannot hear them. If I ask them to repeat what they said they ignore me. This has gone on for quite sometime. Lately, it has become annoying because the gym is no longer peaceful for me. One of the girls asked me to dinner and asked me if I liked hamburgers. I told her no. She continued asking me about fatty foods like pizza, steak, samgyupsal, and bulgogi. I told her that I don't really like greasy foods or beef. She then, told me that she didn't believe me because she could see that I was fat. I'm sorry say what? You come to the gym once a week and eat crappy food, and you are calling me fat? Yes you may wear a smaller size than me, but we can't all be small, and naturally thin Korean women. But whatever, its one girl and she really can't help being narrow minded when she hasn't experienced other cultures. And I was fine until the week after that, I went to dinner with some of the older guys, and one of them got really drunk and thought it would be fun to tease me. He said that I was very pretty, but only my face. Not my body. I was so angry. He did apologize when he was sober and said that it wasn't true and that he says that to all of the girls, and the other guys came up to me and said the same thing that he does say that to all of the girls. He promised never to say stuff like that ever again and so while I still don't feel fine and I don't trust him I don't want bad relationships at the gym so I gave in. But then, the next week, my friend Juli was talking to the girls telling them that her students say she looks pregnant. Then, the girls laughed, said my name, and spoke softly in Korean when I couldn't hear them. I wasn't comfortable especially with all that had been said lately so I asked them to repeat what they said. I asked them over and over in Korean and in English and they said nothing. Juli even asked for them to repeat and they didn't. So instead of starting a fight, I said goodbye and went to change my clothes. As I was trying to leave, the girls stepped in my way and asked me not to leave. I got very angry and I yelled in Korean at her, and then, I walked away angrily. Not how I wanted to leave because in Korea that is extremely disrespectful and I didn't want to be that person. I received a message later informing me that everything was my fault and the girls were very sad about what I did because I am not Korean we will have misunderstandings and I should have been more understanding. However, you cannot have a misunderstanding when words were not spoken audibly. I told them I will not be held responsible for this because I did ask them to repeat what they said, and it was them who disrespected me by not repeating what they said. I received a message back in Korean asking me to repeat what I said in Korean because they couldn't understand. I told them in Korean that I didn't want to speak in Korean because I can't speak Korean well. Honestly, I am too far away from home to be brought down by such negativity from a place that usually gives me serenity. I do hate that this has happened because I really don't know how much longer I can stay at this gym, but the truth is there is no other place to go. The gym owner asked me the next day if I felt better (obviously I didn't and I still don't because the truth is even while they may say differently to him I will always be the outsider and he will always side with a Korean person). He did tell me that he understood my feeling because when he lived in Australia he hated when people talked about him as well. And it has been better since then. I've been going at a different time so I don't see the girls, and the guys are even nicer to me now. Even still, there are times that I'm uncomfortable because the truth is there is really no one to do jiujitsu with me at the gym. The only guys that will spar with me are super strong or are high school boys. I do win against the high school boys (although I let them win too; otherwise they will never spar with me again). One boy makes it so awkward though. Everytime he sees me, he winks at me. Ew. Then, one time while we were sparring, he said, "Your eyes are blue. Very pretty." Seriously CREEPY!!!! I really don't want to spar with him, but as the people that will spar with more are limited I kinda have to. So there's whats up with the gym. I still run every day too. I have cut it back to only 3km because I think I'm getting worn out. I do have another marathon that I will run in November. I just hope it won't be too cold.

I do often go on trips with my friends as well as go out on the weekends. A few weeks ago, we went paragliding in Ulsan. There wasn't enough time for all of us to go so I didn't get a chance to paraglide, but the trip itself and the view was amazing! We did get a chance to go ATVing which was fun. I go out with my friends almost every weekend. Yesterday, I went out with one of my good Korean friends and his friend. We started out at a restaurant in Old Downtown. The guys had already started eating when I arrived. Shortly, after I got there, one of the workers asked my friend if we would leave. He asked what the problem was, and the lady said that she didn't like foreigners eating at her restaurant. Hahaha. Ok, stuff like that I don't mind because the truth is she doesn't know me. She's also just a worker at a small restaurant. I have way higher connections in Daejeon than she will ever have. She is more of a foreigner than I am. So it doesn't really matter. Plus, I made the guys leave their spoons in the dish when we left (some Koreans believe that if you leave your silverware in the dish when you are finished eating that it invites evil spirits.) The rest of the night was fine, no problems. My friend was really upset though; he kept saying that he was going to make sure that the restaurant was closed quickly. It doesn't matter though karma will get her eventually!

So I think that's about it. Even after all of that, I probably won't leave this country anytime soon. I'm still very much in love with it. Where else can I get paid this much money for my ability to speak English and still have time to have fun? Plus, besides my family and friends what is there to come back home to right now? A really crappy economy and an overworked society? No thank you, I will continue to have my fun and make my money.

mud festival and all that

So this past month has just been about relaxing. It seems like since I came to Korea every weeknight is spent at the gym, and my entire weekend is spent with friends. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love, love, love this about my life. But, I'm so tired! So while I'm still going to the gym and running every day (I've even upped my run to 7km), I've cut back on my weekends. I still go out a few times over the weekend just not every moment I'm awake. Will I stay like this? Probably not. I enjoy hanging out with people way too much! But this month I was able to save quite a bit of money even though I went on a weekend trip to Daecheon Beach. I do save a good bit of money every month, but this month I was able to save more.

So about that weekend trip....
As a foreigner in Korea there are certain things you know right away and certain things it takes time to learn. The Boryeong Mud Festival is something you know about as soon as you land in Korea (maybe even before). It's this festival with mud...shocking right? Who would have thought the mud festival would have actual mud? There are all kinds of games that you play...with mud. Who wants to get muddy right? Well, actually this mud is really good for your skin. So many people go to have fun and to give their skin a little therapy. Word on the street is that it used to be free. Now, they are charging people to get in...not bad or anything its $5 no big deal. But, they are also limiting the number of people that can go in at a time which means if you come too late (like we did) you don't get to go. Bummer right? Well, to be honest I didn't want to get muddy...I just wanted to be with friends. So we just went to the beach. I felt bad for the others because I know they really wanted to go to the festival, but we had fun at the beach nonetheless. Well, at least until I got sick. Like, really sick :( I had a migraine and I was vomiting a lot and couldn't sleep. I haven't had a migraine in probably over 10 years and even when I did I was always able to sleep. So my friend called an ambulance. We rode in the ambulance to the ER. We stayed in the hospital overnight. I got an IV and meds for the day. Guess how much I paid? $10. Yeah, American Healthcare System take notes. You can't even ride in an ambulance for $10 in America. In Korea, its free. Did I find out what was wrong? Not really...hahaha...jk...I found out in Korean and loosely translated my intestines were sick. The IV was amazing (until they took it out). The meds were good too....they kept me from vomiting and keeping the headache minimal. However, they only gave me meds for one day...so I had to go to another hospital when I got back to Daejeon. When I got to Daejeon, I decided to go to Eul Ji Dae Hak Pyeongwon (Eul Ji University Hospital). It is one of the most expensive hospitals in Daejeon, but I like it because they have an English translator on staff, its close enough to my house and work, and they are very thorough. There I was able to find out in English what they tried to tell me at the other hospital. I had an infection in my stomach caused by bacteria from food or water. So basically, food poisoning. They gave me another IV and some more meds (some were even the same as the other hospital). This time it was slightly more expensive a whopping $20, but I also got a week's worth of meds. Still not bad...it's cheaper than a doctor's office visit in the US (and you still have to buy the meds). My only complaint was that the IV was a five hour IV and I was left alone with nothing but my cell phone for five hours and the IV stopped 4 times. Nothing too terrible. Anyways, now feeling quite a bit better. I'm still a little weak from not being able to eat much and being sick. But much better than before.

This past week was my vacation week. While I was sick for most of the week, I was able to stay home and rest. I even studied! Shocker! I actually did my Korean homework too! Not gonna lie to you, I hate studying and even worse I hate doing homework. Two things I really never had to do when I was in school. I love learning new things...I'm not kidding there. I love learning new things, but I love learning through experience...not by studying, bookwork, or reading. Reading might be the worst. Anyways, my Korean is really bad, and my friends kind of make fun of me for it. They tease me that I've been here a year and a half and all I know is "Hello". Of course, that's not true...I know a bit more, but I still have a long ways to go to be proud of myself. You remember I said that there are somethings you know right away and somethings it takes time to learn. The Korean language is definitely something that takes a long time to learn. Something Koreans don't always recognize is that a lot of foreigner's listening is way better than their speaking because they don't fully understand the Korean sentence structure. For me, I rarely answer in Korean unless I can do so in one word sentences because putting things properly in a sentence confuses the crap out of me. Anyways, in order to improve my Korean and learn proper sentence structure and grammar, I am taking a class. I've already learned so much. I still don't quite understand the sentence structure, but I'm learning more and more. Even my vocabulary is improving. I knew a lot of words to begin with, but now I know more. Wow, I'm pretty sure I've bored you enough for now...so until next time....

The Beginnings of Summer

So after a long and brutal winter, summer has arrived. I'm pretty sure we skipped spring. At least, I didn't notice it being here. I love summer. I love the hot weather. However, I am not a big fan of the humidity here in Daejeon. Mostly because the humidity outside effects my apartment significantly!!!! Laundry takes a very long time to dry and often starts to smell bad before it dries completely, and the bathroom does not dry well after showers so mildew develops. In order to keep these things from happening, one must buy a dehumidifier or run the air conditioner. I opted for the air conditioner because dehumidifiers in Korea are super expensive. Unfortunately, my air conditioner did not come with a remote control, and the setting on the air conditioner was so low that it wasn't effective. My school provided me with a similar remote control that I was able to get to work randomly one time. However, I set the temperature super low because I thought it wouldn't work. Then, I couldn't get the remote to work anymore so I had to leave the air conditioner on, and my apartment got really cold. Well too cold for me anyways. 60*F. I was walking around in sweatpants and a hoody. Ugh. If this wasn't bad enough, my sink in the bathroom kept shutting off while I was taking a shower. Seriously? I was so grumpy! I walked into school almost in tears. My boss was like ok we'll fix it. Really? I had asked many times in a month's time in a calm cool manner, and it takes me almost crying for them to do something. Whatever, I got my remote for my air conditioner, but the landlord wouldn't do anything about the sink. So yours truly had to do the handy work for that one. Really, all of this added stress could have been avoided if they had given me the new apartment I had asked for when I extended my contract. I think my boss just hates me.

Anyways, now that everything is fixed, I'm a pretty happy Melanie. Just hanging out with my friends. Doing the same things I always do. Nothing really new. Oh except, Monsoon Season is here which means constant rain! It has rained almost non-stop for the past several days. All of the weekend plans got canceled because apparently everyone likes to hibernate when it rains. Thankfully, today we had a little break. So I went to the bike shop and got some splash guards for my tires and a basket that I can take off whenever I'm not using it. I really liked the shop owner. He spoke English really well. So naturally, I was curious as to how he could speak so well. He said he used to work for Microsoft (yeah, he was one of those guys that you called customer service and talked to...although, you probably actually would have understood what he was saying). He also had many foreigner friends that he trained and competed in triathlons with. He suggested that I should train and compete too. He told me of some public swimming pools in the area. It would be interesting. I love running and biking, both I do on a daily basis, but swimming...eeeeeeekkkk! I've only done swimming with friends before. Not that I've ran races or biked races before, but still. Maybe? It seems like it could be fun. I don't think I would race seriously to get first place, but just do it to challenge myself. It would be good. So really, nothing big and exciting going on. Just being me!

The Night Life in Daejeon

Ok, so for those of you who've never set foot in Korea probably don't understand that the serious, studious Asian that you assume is a very responsible, non-partying adult does not exist. From the day they are born, Koreans are thrown into an everyday competition of who can be the best, the brightest, and the smartest. To achieve such an honor, they sacrifice most if not all of their childhood. Their childhood vanishes because as soon as they turn five years old they are given an adult-sized dish of stress. Many Korean children do not know exactly what it feels like to play because everything they do they are forced (by their parents) to be the best at. Their after school playtime consists of swim team (where they have to be the best), maybe baseball or soccer, and of course English school and/or Math school. Their elementary and middle school years fade quickly into high school which is significantly harder than Korean college. They have to study hard to get into a good college (even though once at said college its not as difficult). They want to get into a good college that will look good on their resume so they can get a high paying job. Once in college, they continue to study English so that they will have the best TOEIC score because a high TOEIC score almost guarantees a top job. So with all of this stress and no childhood memories what do these hardworking Korean adults do to stay alive? Drink. A LOT. Seven nights a week. While most of the world saves hardcore partying for the weekend, for Koreans, every night is a party. There is no prejudice. Which brings me to the beginning of my story...

Every morning I wake up at 7am and every night after school I go to the gym so I like to get a good night's sleep; so I go to bed early, around midnight. Last night was no different. I went to bed and was asleep for a good hour and a half or so when I woke up to a noise at my door. I laid still for a minute assuming it was my neighbor going into his apartment, but my heart sank when I realized someone was trying to unlock my door. I got out of bed and walked to my door to confirm whether it was in fact my door. I stood a bit shocked for a second and reminded myself that I did have three locks on my door. Two of which can only be unlocked from the inside. I also reminded myself that Korean men often come home drunk. So, I assumed after a few minutes he would realize his mistake and leave. A few moments later he did in fact walk away. He went up the stairs to try one of those doors. For some reason, he decided that those weren't right either and came back to my door once more to try again. This time, he wasn't giving up. Finally, I very rudely yelled at my door in Korean for him to go away. He spoke back to me in Korean asking me to let him in. Once again, I told him to leave. Then, I asked him what he was doing. Once again, very rudely. He would not leave. So I called my best friend, Jeffrey, to have the police come to my apartment. The guy hears me talking to Jeffrey in English. He realizes I don't understand what he's saying so he starts speaking to me in English. Say what?!?!?! How was he too drunk to figure out he was at the wrong apartment, but not too drunk to understand and speak to me in English? So then, I tell him in English that he needs to leave because it wasn't his apartment that I've been living in this apartment for over a year. It definitely wasn't his apartment. So then, he asks me to open the door and let him see that it wasn't his apartment. Hahaha. I was like...uummmmmmmm...no. I am not opening up my door to some drunk man. He was like please just let me in. After that I just stopped talking, shortly after that he left to try upstairs one more time before leaving the building. Two minutes after he left the building, the police show up. Guess who didn't speak English? That's right the police. How can a completely trashed man who can't find his own apartment speak better English than the police? Fortunately, I was able to get my point across that the guy had left and Jeffrey was on his way to my apartment to help me out. They told me (in Korean) to keep my door locked until he got there, and then they left. Very helpful right? I did have a description of the guy, but they didn't wait around for Jeffrey to come and help out. Anyways, Jeffrey comes, and he's like I kind of want to see if the guy is still walking around. So he suggested we go get some juice from GS25 across the street. As we are walking toward the front door of GS, I look at the window and notice its covered in bugs...hilarious right? I'm telling Jeffrey, "Ew, disgusting look at all those bugs..." when I look past the bugs and inside the GS is none other than the guy trying to get into my apartment. What??? I shrieked and ducked down and was squealing "That's him. That's him." Dude...how does that even happen? Only in my world does this stuff happen. Jeffrey went inside (I stayed in front of my apartment) and asked some questions. The guy said that he didn't do it and the cashier said that he'd been at the GS since about 1:30 which is just after the whole door incident (it was definitely him, I know it was), Jeffrey said the guy just made a mistake, and he waited with me until the guy went home. Wow, what a night, and of course, I still had to get up at 7am to go to work. Ugh.

This is the world I have come to live in, and oddly enough fallen in love with. Even though there are people that don't make it pleasant sometimes, that is life and I still love it here. It's the same everywhere. The thing is while it wasn't pleasant last night. It was hilarious in many ways, and I'm still not afraid to live in my apartment alone. Now, don't get me wrong, not all Koreans are like this. Most Koreans do know their limitations and are not drunkards. It is only every now and then that a situation such as this pops up. Who can blame them for wanting to have a bit of fun after missing out on such a precious thing as their childhood?

Big Things Happening

Wow! Reading a little bit of my last post made me realize I should probably update more often. So many things have happened since I last posted, its crazy!!! So the guy I talked about, Glen, and I dated for a few weeks before we decided it wouldn't work. We still hang out a bit, but our schedules are so different it's difficult to figure something out.

I did end up quitting the gym near Hannam. It wasn't solely because of the stripe testing. I quit before the test. It was a big combination of things. It was too far from home, it was stressful and people were being rude. I found a gym closer to my house that I started in April. Its in Dunsan Dong. Jiu Jitsu starts later, and its so close to my house that I go home before going to the gym everyday. It's nice being able to unwind a little before working out so I am able to enjoy my workout a little more. I am not quite as stressed or burned out from the gym anymore. Plus, the environment at this gym seems to be a little more relaxed. So its nice.

Now on to current events...hahaha. My schedule at school lately has been pretty nice. One of my afternoon classes got canceled so now I only have two afternoon classes, and the vice principal arranged my schedule so that I can go home early everyday. On the other hand, I do have to sub for the other teachers quite a bit. Every teacher we have found to replace the Korean teachers that quit have decided that they cannot work with children and quit too. I really hate it for the students because they keep seeing new teachers and new teachers. Its not that big of a deal for me to cover the classes, but the students are the ones that are hurt by this. They often ask me why there are so many new teachers, and I don't think I can explain or should explain whats happening. On top of that one of the private schools nearby shut down unexpectedly (I'll explain more later) and so we have a ton of new students. We have a lot of students that want to enroll in our kindergarten classes, but none that want to enroll in our afternoon classes. Director Kim said that if we had to open new classes in the afternoon as well as in the morning he would have hired another foreign teacher, but that is not the case. We have to open two new classes only in the morning. So now we need another Korean teacher. I do not have any breaks in the morning so I do not have to take on the class, but two of the other foreign teachers do. Now all of the foreign teachers have a full schedule with no breaks except me. At the beginning, I had one of the worst if not the worst schedules, but I got used to it and everything was fine. Then, one of my afternoon classes got canceled and now I have the best schedule. Plus, in the very beginning none of my students spoke any English, and we weren't using books. So it took a lot of energy to teach every single one of my classes. Now, the students know more, and we can start using books which makes teaching quite a bit easier. I really enjoy my job now, and I love my students. Sunday is Teacher Appreciation so we got lots of presents from the students. A lot of students gave us lotions and flowers. One of my classes gave me a pot of flowers and 100,000 won bank gift card to use anywhere. That's always a nice gift.

Now about the private school that closed. As an English Teacher in Korea, you have to be very careful about the places that you work. English is very important in Korea so private schools can make a lot of money if they are good. However, not a lot of private schools make it big. They often run out of money and have to shut down. In most of these cases, none of the teachers receive their last paychecks, and the foreign teachers are left in Korea with no plane ticket home. However, sometimes there are rare cases where the school is successful, and they still shut down unexpectedly. That is what happened this week. One of the largest private schools in Daejeon shut down unexpectedly. I am not fully aware of all the details, even though one of my friends told me most of it. The school had a lot of teachers and a lot of students. Especially for a private school. I cannot be one hundred percent sure if the school had money problems or if the owner just wanted to keep the money for himself. Here is what I have heard. The foreign teachers there often complained that they didn't get their paychecks on time. I heard it from several of the teachers as early as last summer. When the school shut down on Wednesday, the teachers were told that they would not receive their last paycheck, their severance pay, or their plane ticket home. The landlords, however, would be sympathetic to their cases and allow them to live in their apartments for six months even though the bills for the apartments had not been paid either. The Korean teachers did not receive their paychecks either and are out thousands of dollars in wages and bonuses. The teachers at the school said that the director took the tuition money from the students and moved to New Zealand without giving any of the teachers their final pay. The teachers have worked for a month without pay. As I stated before, private schools shut down all of the time so it is no surprise that one shut down now. What is surprising is that such a large, reputable school closed down. To kind of give you some idea how big this school is (I can't be positive how many students there were) my school has 4 foreign teachers and maybe 200 students. At one point, this school had 20 foreign teachers. If the school has a similar student-teacher ratio that would mean there would be about 1000 students. Many of the parents immediately called other schools to enroll their students. Even though they paid one month's tuition already, they are willing to pay that tuition again to enroll their student in another school immediately. They don't want their child to miss one day of learning English, and these kids are between the ages of 5-15! Now back to the teachers as I said before I'm not sure how many foreign teachers there were when it closed but at one point there was 20. If that's still the case, 20 foreigners are stuck in Korea with no job, no money, and no way home. When a small school closes, its sad, but its not quite as devastating because it doesn't effect as many people. There are maybe one or two foreigners that work there, and maybe 100 students attend the school. This school's closing has effected most of the private schools in this area of Daejeon. I apologize if my details are not accurate; I have written what I have heard. If you know more information and can clarify things a bit more, please feel free to comment and correct things. I only wanted to share this event so that other foreigners that are interested in teaching in Korea are aware of things that happen here and can take caution. I didn't mention any names because even the news kept the identity of the school a secret.

If something like this happens at Wonderland, I do not want anyone to worry about me. I will be fine. Even though it would suck that I didn't get paid. It wouldn't be horrible for me. I would probably find another job here in Daejeon. Even if I wanted to go home, I do have some emergency money saved up. Also, my boss called an emergency meeting on Friday to assure all of the foreign teachers that nothing like that would ever happen at Wonderland, and that he will do everything he can to protect us as foreigners in Korea.

I guess that's all I have for now. I will try to do better about updating more often.

Wow back to back weekend posts!!!

Hey! I might actually be able to get back into this...just kidding. Don't get too excited this probably won't happen very often. I would be shocked if it does. So much happened this week I just have to share!

So Monday was horrifyingly busy!!!! All of the foreign teachers left school, so Max and I had to cover all of the foreign classes. That means, no breaks. Thankfully, Tuesday was Independence Movement Day or something which means NO SCHOOL! I needed that break after Monday.

So Tuesday night, I go to the gym. At the gym, I'm told that one of the girls that has been coming to the gym for one month is going to test for two stripes on the next test. You are supposed to wait about three months for the second stripe. Kwanjangnim said that since I'm her senior classmate he wanted my opinion. I told him that it didn't matter what my opinion was because he was the boss, and my opinion would not be fair or unbiased. Because truthfully, I've worked my butt off more than anyone else. I've trained harder than anyone else, and I've tried harder because I had to. For ten months, I've been going to this gym and never once have I gotten a break like that. I even had to wait even longer for my third stripe test. I am still really angry about this. If she receives two stripes as I'm receiving my third stripe, I will most likely quit the gym. The gym has been so good to me this year, and Kwanjangnim has been great. So I hate that something like this would make me want to quit. But the truth is, lately I've been feeling really left out at the gym. For several months, I was pretty much the only foreigner and the only girl at the gym, but it didn't seem to matter I felt like I belonged. Lately, there have been a lot of new people at the gym, and they have formed a sort of clique or something. I'm not the only girl any more and there are some more foreigners, but I get left out of good spars. I have to spar with the new people and the girls. For several months, I sparred with only the guys, and now, I have to spar with people that cannot challenge me. On top of that, Kwanjangnim wants to give the new girl two stripes???? That's not cool, and it really hurts that he didn't think it would hurt me. It was nice that he asked me for my opinion, but why would he not think it would hurt me?

Anyways, so after that, I really needed to go out! So Jeffrey and Mr. Park met me at the gym to go hang out for a bit. While I was waiting for them, these two guys walked by and wanted to talk for a minute. One of the guys, Glen, and I exchanged numbers and then I left with Jeffrey and Mr. Park. And like most good Korean boys, Glen texted me ten minutes later. Hahaha. While I'm hanging with Jeffrey and Mr. Park, Alex decides to come and join us. We had so much fun we stayed out till 5am. Which sucks for me because I had another busy day at work on Wednesday starting at 9am. Hahaha. Oh well, I survived.

Nothing really big or special happened on Wednesday, but I did receive about 15 text messages from Glen! I was kind of happy about that. He seems like a really nice guy!

On Thursday, Glen called me and asked if I would meet him later that night. Of course, I said yes! His friend, Jun Pyo, came along too which was perfect it made it quite a bit more comfortable. Those guys are amazing! Jun Pyo has a diplomatic girlfriend literally, that's her job. It was interesting learning more about them. Both guys are Korean, but they speak English amazingly well. They both are from Seoul but have jobs and live in Daejeon. They promised me next weekend they would show me around Seoul. I'm kind of excited about that because people always offer to show me places, but they never make plans to. At 2am, Jun Pyo decided to head home because we all had to work early, but Glen asked me to stay out a bit longer. So I did, we stayed out till 4am just talking. It was crazy! He's a super nice guy, and I really like hanging out with him. He's so much fun.

Which brings me to Friday, Friday sucked! It might have been because I was super tired, but most likely it was because I got all of the new, non-English speaking students. That's right, all of my lovely English speaking students that I trained to behave well went to all of the boy teachers. Who gets stuck with the untrained ones? Me. Ok, two of the classes aren't bad. The baby class killed me!!!! Seriously, one kid was grabbing my butt with both hands while another kid was pulling down my skirt yet another kid was stepping on my feet and still another kid somehow managed to reach up and pull my hair all at the same time. I wanted to scream, and I spoke Korean. I'm not supposed to, but it was necessary. Apparently, that's the standard baby class here in Korea. I'm told that sort of thing happens often. The only thing that brightened my day was text messages from friends and Glen's phone call. The end of school could not come soon enough!!!

Now party people, its the weekend!!! Friday night was Lindsey's birthday so I went to Yellow Taxi for a minute to tell her Happy Birthday. Seriously, it was probably a minute. The place was crowded, I was feeling sick, and I was tired. So I went home and slept!

Saturday, I met up with Alex and Ji Hyun for lunch at an Italian restaurant. Yummy! Then, we went for some coffee. Later Saturday night, we met up again this time with Douchi. We went to Musa's in Hannam. Musa is one of our favorite bars. They serve both American dishes and Korean dishes. Our favorite order is a combination of Korean and American dishes. It comes with gimchijan which is a sort of pancake thing but not really...its so yummy!!! It also comes with sausage, cheese sticks, french fries and tater tots. Yay! When we got there, we noticed that the whole staff was new. As usual, our waiter brought us some free soda as a "service". Normally,they do it when the owner is there because he's friends with us. However, we didn't see him. So we asked about it, and they said that the owners had changed. I'm not exactly sure why they gave us free soda then. Hahaha. It was really funny because all of the servers kept looking at us. One of them stared at me for the longest time. It was really kind of funny because he wanted me to look at him, but I wouldn't. So then, he took out his phone and started fixing his hair using the camera. It was hilarious. I mean he's not a bad looking kid, but seriously he's probably 19 in Korea which is 17 internationally. I would go to jail. When we left, he raced to the check out counter, so he could be the one to take our money. To my surprise, he spoke in English of course he had an accent that showed English was not his favorite subject in school, but at least he tried. I'm not so harsh that I'm not going to give the kid credit for trying, but still he's probably at least 5 years younger than me (I can almost guarantee he's 9 years younger). Anyways, it was a good time. I love my friends!

So I guess all that is left is today. Today, I went to Costco. I found New England clam chowder and chips and salsa. That's the jackpot in Korea. Then, I came home and did some housework. Later, I decided to go to Time World and spend my gift certificates from my students. I had received 300,000 won gift certificate to the Galleria which is all of Time World this year. I spent 100,000 on a backpack. So I had about 200,000 more to spend. Thankfully, they gave me mostly cash back when I didn't spend the whole thing this time. I bought some pearl earrings because I left mine in the States, and I bought a Swatch. I still have 20,000 left in gift certificates, but like I said they did give me a lot of cash back. It was definitely a good day for shopping! I am proud of all my purchases!

My wish for next week, please let the baby class be better.

One year Complete

So this week was my one year anniversary of arriving in Korea. I still love everything about Korea. I do get frustrated every now and then because it seems like people don't fully understand everything I say, but its a part of being in a foreign country. I am almost always confused about something, but for me, I think that is a good thing. I lived most of my childhood not challenging myself to do anything. If you knew me in school, you probably know I didn't study and I did my homework during my classes. I didn't study because I didn't really have to as long as I did the work, not too mention I didn't know how to study, and I hated the task of doing it. I never really had a challenge. Now, I live everyday in a challenge. Its a challenge to understand things. Its a challenge to understand people's feelings because they don't express them here. Its a challenge to learn the language and the culture more. Its a serious challenge to learn the manners and the social rules to go out with people. But I have never met a person, that never wanted to see me again because I forgot to give them water first at the table. It can be a bit embarrassing at times because they correct you in front of everyone, and of course, they all laugh. Its fun for me because its new, and its fun for them because I act like a Korean child even though I am an adult. Most people love teaching me about their culture and traditions. Most of the Koreans I have met have adopted me as part of their family, and they treat me as such. It is an honor for me to have met such wonderful people in such a short period of time. The hardest part of living in Korea is that everyone leaves. The past three weeks have been the hardest for me yet because I absolutely hate saying goodbye. Many of my younger brothers at the gym were called to serve in the army this past month. I knew Tae Su, Song Sok, and Simpson would leave this month, and I knew it would be hard for me, but I didn't know that Du Song, Jin Taek, and Seung Gil would go too. Tae Su and Song Sok were my best friends. It was really, really hard for me to see them go. They were really the only ones to take their time to show me things, and we would hang out after. I really miss them already. I don't think they will come back to Daejeon and that's what makes it so hard for me. This past week the foreigners that I worked with this past year left. No one decided to stay except for Max and me. So I had to say goodbye to them too. Also, this week many of the other foreigners I have become friends with this past year have left to go back home or to other places. I also have many Korean friends that graduated from college and are trying to find jobs overseas or have already found jobs overseas. This past weekend alone I had four goodbye parties that I attended. It was very hard for me emotionally. It has been hard for me at work lately too because Max and I have had to cover the classes the other foreign teachers used to teach. It has been stressful because we are supposed to make lesson plans for our new classes, talk to our Korean partner teachers about our new classes, train the new teachers, prepare them to take over our classes, prepare ourselves to take over the new classes, and at the same time finishing the curriculum for our current classes. On Monday, I only had one twenty minute break between afternoon and morning classes, and that was used to get the books I required for the afternoon classes I was substituting for. One time during the day, the Vice Principal came to find me while I was teaching one of my regular classes; apparently, they scheduled me to substitute in a class during the time I was teaching my regular class. She told me that I was supposed to be in the other class, and I told her that I have taught this class all year and asked her which class she wanted me in. Seriously, I cannot teach in two different classrooms at once; don't get angry with me when I didn't set up the schedule. This month has definitely been stressful and overwhelming, but I think it will be worth it. The rest of the year should be amazing. I have the same age group for morning classes that I had this past year, and I have the baby class. The baby class is so cute! I'm excited! I think I have good afternoon classes as well. Now, if only I can get through the rest of this week. Thank goodness we had Independence Day today and got the day off. I don't think I could have done this everyday this week!

Christmas in Daejeon

Its funny being in a country that has couple's holidays so frequently. Korea has a couple's holiday almost every month! Its odd that Christmas is even considered a couple's holiday instead of a family holiday. Its definitely interesting being single in a country such as this. I love that the singles go out and hang out together, and we all have a lot of fun. Unfortunately, some people had too much fun on Christmas Eve and so Christmas Day was quite boring for me. I just laid around doing nothing. It was a bit difficult especially since it was my first Christmas being without my family. I was kind of hopeful because I had made so many plans with people, but they were all too sick. I really wished that I had just gone home for Christmas even though $2,000 is a lot of money to spend for such a short time. Couple's holidays suck especially when you have to spend them alone! Right, right, I mentioned in my last blog that I had met a guy that I really enjoy being with, and the truth is he's still that guy that I really enjoy being with. But just like any other relationship I've ever been in, I have no idea what is going on. I am totally confused. Is it so hard to put your heart out on the line? Is it too much to ask to take a chance on me? Am I ever going to be that person that someone is willing to take the risk of being hurt? If my mom were here, she would hug me and assure me there was such a guy and I should be patient. She would say that if a guy can't see that I'm worth so much more than that; then he doesn't deserve me anyway. The truth is she's not here. The truth is there may never be that person for me. The reality is I may only have friends the rest of my life, and somehow I'm kind of okay with that. The friends that I have now are amazing! They are family. It doesn't matter to them that I am a foreigner. It doesn't matter to them that I can't speak Korean. It doesn't matter to them that my values, my views and my goals in life are a little bit different. It doesn't matter to them; they still love me, they still trust me, and they still would do anything for me. To know that there are people like that, it gives me hope that I will be happy the rest of my life no matter what the outcome is. For people like that, I am thankful. I am truly happy to have friends like that in my life. Because of people like that, I want to stay in Korea for a very long time.

Slacker

Yeah, I know. I haven't posted in forever! I'm such a slacker. Since it has turned really cold in Korea, I have become extremely lazy!!!! Seriously, I've even been slacking a bit in the gym department. I only went twice this week! I hate the cold weather!!!! But in my defense, I caught a cold from having to stand outside waiting for the bus. So you can't really expect me to want to go to the gym. However, it hasn't stopped me from hanging out with people!!! Hahaha. I always have energy for that! Have I mentioned lately how much I love Korea? So, here is whats new:

A few weeks ago, I met a really nice guy. We have so much in common its ridiculous! I didn't think I would find some one that shares so many of my likes and dislikes here in Korea, especially a Korean guy. We've gone out a few times, and I really had a great time each time. I am really looking forward to spending more time with him!

This past week was final exam week. When finals finished on Thursday, I went out with Alex and some of his students. I really enjoy hanging out with them! They are hilarious! We had so much fun! Alex always makes things fun! He has quickly become one of my favorite people to hang out with on the weekends!!!! Next to Douchi of course! But Douchi has been kind of boring lately since she's always studying! :.(
Although, last weekend she took a break from studying to go eat lunch with me and Ohma. I love Ohma! She owns a coffee shop in Hannam Dae called Nulbo's. They have the most amazing waffles, and of course delicious coffee. Douchi introduced me to her. She's such a lovely woman. She's the same height as my mom so when I stoop to hug her it reminds me of my mom. She's funny because she says I'm the exact opposite of her son so somehow that reminds her of him. Hahaha. I don't know! But back to Alex, hahaha, he called me on one of my breaks this week while Tommy, one of my students (he says he's my boyfriend ;D), was sitting in my lap. Of course, Tommy got jealous I was talking to someone else, and he started copying everything I said loudly! Finally, I asked Alex if he would talk to him, and of course, he said yes! It was too cute! Tommy said, "Hello, my name is Tommy". It was adorable. Then, he became shy! But Alex was a trooper! And it really made Tommy's day that he talked to Melanie Teacher's friend!

Of course there's Sun, my Korean sister. She's such a wonderful person for sharing her family with me! I really enjoy her nieces; especially, since my nieces and nephew are so far away! This past weekend, one of her nieces celebrated her first birthday. She was so adorable! Her cheeks were soooo chubby! It was ridiculously cute! Apparently, first birthdays here in Korea are a very big thing. It was a lot like Nicole Teacher's wedding reception. There was a buffet table with a lot of nice food. They played a slide show of professional pictures. They had a photographer taking pictures. They played a game where the baby picked up various toys that represented her career choice. She picked up a gavel which represented that she would become a Judge. She also picked up a 50,000 won representing prosperity. It was such a wonderful experience. I am so thankful to Sun for inviting me to such events!

I have met a lot of amazing people here in Korea, and I am truly blown away by their thoughtfulness. I am always meeting new people here, and I am always falling in love with them! I love everything about them and of course Korea! It has been quite a year, and I hope to spend many more here in Daejeon!