World Cup

So I skipped my post last weekend because it was super busy. So here's what happened. On Friday, Douchi and I hung out with Simpson again. We stayed by Hannam and watched some of the World Cup soccer match that was on that night. We had a fairly early night. Then, on Saturday night, we went to the gym to watch the Korea vs. Greece World Cup match. Korea won which was pretty sweet. So we all went out afterward to celebrate. Kwanjungnim, the gym master, even came out with us. It was a lot of fun! We went noreabonging and just hung out and had a good time! We stayed out until the buses started running again. I had on a Korea Red Devils t-shirt, and I was sporting a Korea tattoo on my cheek so the bus driver loved me! I have no idea what he was saying but I think he was asking me about the game and telling me what a good game it was. It was funny! He had a huge smile on his face. I ended up falling asleep for a couple stops and when I woke up he was looking in the mirror at me and he was still smiling! Hahaha. On Thursday, we watched the match at the gym. This time Korea played Argentina and lost. Everyone was so upset! Most people just wanted to go home, and I had to work on Friday so we called it an early night. Then on Friday, we went to the zoo with the school. I really enjoyed it with the kids. While we were in the monkey exhibit, I was trying to point out a monkey to the kids because he was swinging on the vines. Apparently, one of the other monkeys didn't like it very much because he jumped on the glass right in front of where I was standing, and it scared the crap out of me. The kids thought it was so funny, and the helper teacher was so freaked out she made us leave the exhibit. Hahaha. On Friday night, I just hung around the house because I had some things I had to get done. It was still an interesting night because Mellissa called me at about 11ish to tell me that some guys had been fighting in the walkway by her house and one had fallen on the ground and wasn't moving. She said he was laying there for 10 minutes and people kept walking around him as if he weren't there. She asked if I would come with her to check on him. So, we went to check on him. However, he did not want or appreciate our help. He told us to go home because it was his life. In all seriousness, the guy was in his forties wearing a polo shirt and dress pants, laying on the sidewalk while bicycles were nearly running over him. I think he needed some psychological help, but whatever, like he said it's his life. So last night, Saturday night, Douchi and I went out with several of the guys from the gym and one of her friends from out of town. The guys finished their finals this week so we wanted to hang out with them to celebrate. It was a lot of fun. We don't really get to hang out much with some of those guys because they are always studying, but they were hilarious! We found out that they like to dance; so I think we are going dancing next time! Yay!

Hanwha Eagles Game

This week was pretty sweet! We did not have school on Wednesday because it was Election Day. So Douchi, Nari, and I went out on Tuesday night. We tried to get some of the guys to go out with us, but they all had other plans. So we were sitting at our usual table in Mr. Chicken and Beer (the cajun chicken salad is amazing!!!!), and in comes Tae Su, one of the guys who had other plans. He came in with a group of guys that he had just played soccer with. He was so excited to introduce us to his group of friends; it was funny! It's interesting because when we see the guys outside of the gym with their friends, they always get so excited to show us off. Its hilarious! Anyways, we just sat around talking and laughing. I love it!

Friday night, we decided to try again. We asked around to see if anyone wanted to go out, and of course, they all said no. Final exams are coming up so everyone is still pretty busy with school. So once again, Douchi and I made are trek up to Mr. Chicken and Beer. This time Son Ha joined us for a bit, but she had to leave early. After Son left, Nari came in. Mr. Chicken and Beer really likes us because we come in all of the time. So, they made us some french fries to show us how much they liked us. After Mr. Chicken and Beer, we went to Song Kwang Min's Bar. Kwang Min wasn't there because it was late, and he had a game on Saturday. But his parents were there and told him to come back because we were there. It was funny because he was sleeping, but he didn't make it back before the bar closed. We weren't really disappointed because we didn't expect to see him there anyway. But I think his whole family likes us because they kept bringing us food too. Just like Mr. Chicken and Beer. The Koreans that go out with us get so jealous because apparently that's not normal???? Hahaha. Oh well, free food! It was definitely a fun night, and we talked to the people at Kwang Min's about going to the game on Saturday. They promised to save us some seats in the good section. SWEET!

On Saturday, we got Trevor, the Canadian guy at the gym, to go with us to the game. It was just Douchi, Son Ha, Trevor, and me, but it was so much fun. We were right in front of the cheerleaders, and we had some really good seats! We could see everything! Not to mention, they gave us more free stuff! Hahaha! Seriously, I don't know what this is! It was a really good game! Kwang Min had a home run, several rbi's, and made some amazing plays! The Hanwha Eagles won the game 10-6. After the game, we were going to try a different restaurant, but they were closed. So of course, we ended up at Mr. Chicken and Beer. After Mr. Chicken, Son Ha had to leave. Then, of course we stopped by Kwang Min's to congratulate him on a game well played. Nari joined us at Kwang Min's. She was so excited to meet him in person! Hahaha. Once again, he sat and talked with us a bit. I think he even studied some English since the last time because he was very talkative. He is a very genuine and down to earth kind of guy. Which is very impressive considering he's "kind of a big deal" hahaha. He gave us all a signed baseball, and some cake too. You already know it, more free stuff! Nari had to leave early, but one of the guys from the gym decided to go out karaoking with us. His nickname is Simpson (I think his real name is Sim Shyun). He speaks English very well, and he was so much fun! He has never hung out with us before so we really got to know him. We karaoked for a bit then went to another restaurant that we always go to at the end of the night and talked forever! It was such an amazing evening! He's planning on coming out with us again next weekend. I'm super excited!!!!! I can't wait because the other guys promised to join us too! SWEET! I love it!

Another Amazing Weekend

Wow, I seriously get super excited for the weekends now. Hahahaha. When I first got here I didn't really get excited about the weekend because I knew most of it would be spent alone. Now that I have made some really good friends, I get so excited about it! Hahaha. This past weekend, Douchi and I invited the Master and some of the guys from Daejeon MMA to hang out with us. Another girl named Nari went with us as well. She is new, and super sweet! It was so much fun! We went to a Korean Traditional Bar. It was a very nice place. I loved the atmosphere and the decor. We sat at one of the floor tables. In the middle of the meal, Master made everyone change places because the guys were bored. Apparently Korean men don't really talk to each other unless there is a female present. I don't know. So they split Douchi, Nari and me up. Whatever, it was still fun! The guys crack me up. After we ate, we sat and talked for a bit, and one of the guys went out for ice cream for everyone. It was hilarious because he came back to the bar with a bag of Popsicles from the gas station. They are such kids sometimes. After a bit, we decided to go karaokeing. It was awesome because the guys are really good singers, and they sang a lot of Korean songs. I love it! I am so glad that I found this gym because we all have so much fun!

This week is going to be pretty sweet too! Tomorrow night, I am hanging out with my friend at his bar. Tuesday, Douchi, Nari and I are going to go out because we all have Wednesday off for elections. I love four day work weeks!!!!

Buddha's Birthday Weekend

Alright so this weekend was seriously amazing!!!! I cannot begin to describe how perfect this weekend was! We had Friday off for Buddha's Birthday which was awesomeness in itself! But what to do with a three day weekend? After much debating whether to hit up Seoul for the festivities or go to Busan for the beach, I decided to stay here this weekend. It was the best decision I could have possibly made! On Friday, my Korean friend Son Ha and I went to Sikjongsan to climb up 4.5 km and back down 4.5 km to see the temple there. It was an amazing hike and very challenging! My butt and calves are still sore! At the top, they served us a meal of Kimbop. It was delicious! The view was spectacular! The temple was small but there were fewer people there. It was a good experience anyways. The nature was gorgeous! I could not have asked for a better hike! We saw new born baby birds following their mother on our way back down the mountain. It was incredible! They couldn't even fly yet.


Friday night, my friend Douchi and I went to a few different bars. It was amazing. We were walking around figuring out which bar we wanted to go to when we saw this sports bar on one of the top levels. We decided to check it out. We walked in and sat down in one of the booths. I noticed a very tall and well built Korean at the bar wearing an Ed Hardy t-shirt. It was crazy because most Koreans aren't built like that and most Koreans don't wear Ed Hardy. But Douchi and I were sitting there talking and a Korean girl came up and offered us some menus. She asked us how we knew about the bar, and we told her that we didn't know about the bar; we just thought that it looked cool. Then she told us that the guy in the Ed Hardy at the bar was a famous baseball player here in Daejeon. He plays third base for the Hanwha Eagles. His name is Song Kwang Min. She asked us if we wanted a picture with him, and we said sure because we thought it would make the guys at the gym jealous. He came over and took a picture. Then, he sat with us a bit. He invited us to the game on Saturday. They told us they would save us some seats right by the cheerleaders. He also told us that we should invite our friends to the bar for a party. We talked for a bit about the game and baseball. Then the cheer captain came over to sit next to me. It was hilarious because he had kept looking over at us from his table, and so Kwang Min called him over to join us. He showed us a few of his cheers. It was fun. He acted a bit nervous. So I asked him if I was making him nervous because he was sitting next to me, and he said no but I made his heart beat super fast. Hahahaha. I was laughing so hard!!!! One of the girls reminded him that he had a girlfriend that he was about to marry. I only laughed harder. It was awesome! We stayed there until it closed at 2. After, we went to a restaurant down the road for a bit, but it wasn't as exciting as the first bar.

On Saturday, it rained so the baseball game was canceled. We were so bummed, but Douchi and I decided to go out anyways. We started out at Mr. Chicken because we both love their Cajun Chicken Salad. Then, we went to this bar called NASA which wasn't anything special. Then, we went to a couple of different "Modern Bars" that had a good chilled atmosphere but weren't exactly what we were looking for. Then, we walked into this one bar thinking that it would be a more upbeat place, and it turned out to be a gentlemen's club so we immediately turned around and walked out. It was hilarious! It's times like those that it would have been handy to be able to read the Korean. Finally, we ended up at the same restaurant as Friday night. One of the guys from the gym joined us, and we all had a really good time! I met a few guys that were sitting at a table near ours. They were really good guys. One is a soccer player (they kept telling me he had nice legs...hahahaha). The others were all kind of shy and didn't talk much except for one that really wanted to practice his English. He told me that he lives in Seoul and that I should call him if I go up to Seoul. So we exchanged numbers, and he texted me immediately after I had left. Hahaha. It's awesome that the guys here don't have issues contacting you within 24 hours of your meeting. They are always so polite too. It is definitely one of my favorite things about this city!

Today, I am just doing a bit of house cleaning and resting up for my work week. This weekend has been a lot of fun, but now I am exhausted!!! Hahaha.

Fighting

Ok since last week's blog was all mushy about boys; I figured I'd change it up this week and talk about fighting. Hahaha. So last Sunday, my instructor was hosting a kickboxing tournament at another gym. We met at our home gym first thing in the morning and took a bus to the other gym. I was one of two foreigners that attended the tournament. The other foreigner was also from our gym; her name is Douchi. She is awesome. I really got to know her at the matches. It was pretty sweet. We spent all day watching matches. They were really good matches. The guys from our gym did really well! The high school boys did alright; one guy won his first match and lost his second match, another tied in his match, and the other lost his match. Our adult heavy-weight fighter lost his match; it was his second time up against this fighter and the fighter is really good. He was really upset about it. All of our other adult fighters won their matches. Only two of them had to fight all three rounds. The first adult fighter went all three rounds and won. The second and third adult fighters' opponents threw in the white flag before the first round was over. The last adult fighter fought in a special match. He fought without headgear, and he was awesome! It was a really good match.

After the tournament, we all went out to eat. The guys were hilarious! They kept teaching me Korean phrases. It was really cool because the ones that normally don't talk to me tried to talk to me. A lot of them don't like to speak in English in front of other Koreans or they don't like talking to foreigners because they are afraid their English is bad. I hate it when they are afraid to talk to me. I don't want them to think that I am going to make fun of them. Most of the time their English is really good. One of the Korean girls, her name is Son, at the gym speaks English very well, but she was so afraid to talk to me. I had to encourage her to speak in English to me. But we have started talking a lot at the gym, and she is so sweet! She is also extremely strong!!!! She can kick my butt! Hahaha. There's also a Korean guy at the gym that speaks in English very well too, and he always talks to me. His English isn't as good as Son's even though his mother is a middle school English teacher. I don't like to talk to him as much as Son because he is super mean! He says he is just kidding, but he always talks about the same thing so I'm thinking he's not. Anyways, he rides the same bus as I do so if we leave at the same time he likes to talk. Luckily, two other guys from the gym ride the same bus too. I like the other guys, but the other day he started being mean right in front of the other guys. It made me so mad; I moved to stand by the door awhile before my stop. I think he might like me, and so he's trying to pull a jerk move by breaking my confidence. He's asked me a couple of times if I have a boyfriend, and he's told me that he doesn't have a girlfriend. Guys are so weird sometimes! Grrr. Anyways, this post is not about boys right? Hahaha, but it was cool riding the bus with the other guys because I got to talk to them a bit and learn more about them. One of them is one of the guys that doesn't want to speak in English to me because I'm a foreigner which sucks because he likes to use the jerk to interpret for him. I hate that he won't speak to me in English because we are about the same age, and he is one of the guys that is really good with the little boy at the gym. So I would like to hang out with him more, but the language barrier is definitely a problem. The other guy is awesome. He is a big guy, but his skin is so soft...so I call him Pandy like a Panda Bear. He speaks to me in English when no one else is there to interpret for him...his English is good from what little he's used anyways.

Friday at school, we had birthday parties for the kids whose birthday is in May. The teachers also got a lot of presents because Teacher's Day was on Saturday and since we didn't have school the kids gave us presents on Friday. I got a lot of flowers, candy, and I even got some lotion and bath gel. It was definitely really nice!

Saturday, the gym had testing for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I went to watch because I haven't been feeling well lately and I didn't think that I would do well. It was intense!!!! They had to spar over and over with several different guys. One of the guys didn't pass his test and didn't get his stripe on his belt. He was upset the rest of the day. We went out to eat again afterward, and he still wasn't happy. It was nice eating with all the guys again. After dinner, I rode the bus home with Pandy and another guy. They were nice without the jerk there. We actually had a good conversation.

Today, Sunday, I got up early to go to Korean tutoring. It was ok. It was difficult because they taught me the Korean alphabet last time, and they expected me to be able to read stuff this time. I told them that it was going to take me some time because I have to hear the pronunciation while looking at the letter. It's also hard because I don't have a lot of time to study. I have a lot of time to practice phrases because I'm in Korea where everyone speaks Korean so I get speaking practice in. Hopefully, they understood and weren't too mad at me. After that, I went shopping. I wanted some shoes, and I had to get my Dad a Father's Day present to ship home. I have to ship home my Mom and sister's birthday presents and my Dad's Father's Day present this week in order for them to get there in time. I got my mom and sister some accessories because they are easier to ship and all girls love accessories. Dad's present was way harder to find. I went to a shop and picked up some chopsticks, a sign that says office in Korean, and some pencils with Korean writing on them. Then, I went to twenty different shops looking for a ball cap written in Korean. It is so hard to find those because Koreans mostly wear MLB caps or caps written in English. I finally found one and got it. And now, I'm doing laundry and writing this so I think we're up to date.

Boys

WARNING: This post is me being all gushy about boys...so read at the risk of your sanity...hahaha...jk. But seriously, this week has been about boys. So that's what I am going to have to write about.

Perhaps, you might remember that a few weeks after my arrival I met a couple of random guys. Well, I have been keeping in touch with one of the guys. He just so happens to own a bar/restaurant by my house. On Sunday, he invited me to meet him at his bar and hang out with him. So, of course I did. Hahaha. He is the sweetest guy ever, and he makes a pretty good pizza. Yeah, he cooks. He is super cute too. Korean girls call him a Korean handsome boy; whatever that is supposed to mean. Hahaha. Anyways, so we had made plans to hang out on my day off on Wednesday, but his sister came into town and he had to cancel. In America, it wouldn't concern me that he was hanging out with his sister, but in Korea, it's different. When a guy says he is hanging out with his sister, it could mean he's hanging out with an ex-girlfriend or a girl that's a friend that he wants to be his girlfriend. So, I started thinking maybe we weren't on the same page about what this relationship was all about. In all actuality, I have no idea how to date a Korean guy. I mean there's a bit of a language barrier as well as a cultural barrier. It's like I'm back in middle school again trying to figure out if a guy likes me or not, and if I should hold his hand. It is not a fun feeling, but this guy is really sweet. So here's my plan, I am just going to treat this relationship as I would back in America. Until we have that somewhat awkward conversation about the definition of our relationship, I am going to treat him like a friend. I will continue to hang out with other people including guys. If you have any better ideas, please tell me because I am seriously way out in left field here. Although, my relationships in America haven't worked out very well, so maybe I should do it differently over here? I'm so confused on what to do here. Hahaha.

Anyways, so we were supposed to hang out on Wednesday, but that didn't happen (I went to get a massage instead). He told me that we would hang out today (Saturday) instead. So we went to lunch and talked a bit. He told me that his sister had come to visit his mom who is in the hospital here in town. So that eased my mind a bit about him being a player. But we had a good conversation. I learned a bit about his family and his ambitions. He is a really good guy. I am really looking forward to hanging out with him again.

In other boy news, there are a couple of guys at the gym that I think are interested in me as well. Or at least they are interested in whether or not I have a boyfriend so I'm thinking that means they are interested? Yes/no??? Anyways, they are all pretty cute, but I'm a sucker for guys with tight abs so...yeah, I'm not picky about looks otherwise. As long as they have a sense of humor and are courteous to other people...I'm good. Hahaha. They all try to speak in English to me which is pretty sweet. There's one guy in particular that cracks me up because he gets frustrated when I speak too quickly or throw in any colloquial words. Most of the time, I do those things just to tease him. Last night, though, he was so cute because there was a little boy that visited the gym because he wants to learn fighting. The kid couldn't be more than 8 years old. He was so tiny and very cute. But this guy took such good care of the kid, he showed him these different techniques and treated him like he was his little brother. It was so adorable! But yeah, I guess that's enough about guys for now. I'm sure that there will be more to come.

There is nothing much else planned for this weekend; except for a kickboxing tournament at the gym tomorrow. It's at the same time that I usually go to Korean tutoring, but the last few times I went to tutoring it hasn't been that great so I'm thinking I'm going to skip it this week. I hope they don't get frustrated with me and think I'm not committed to it; if they do, I guess I will be on my own with my Korean studies. It won't be too terrible because I am making a lot of Korean friends that can help me with my learning. In all honesty, I learn more from my friends than I do from the tutoring. Anyways, I guess that's it for now...later!

Miss Me?

Ok, so I know I missed my post last week. Sorry! My internet was not working. So last week, nothing much happened. I got a haircut. It looks really good, and it was super cheap. I have never paid so little for a haircut. It works out to be about $12 in America. Crazy right? It's like I went to some fancy haircutting place and paid the same price I would have at SuperCuts or whatever the cheap-o hair salon is called. As for last weekend, I hung out with two other foreigners from the gym. They were really great guys. We went out to eat after the gym. Then, we hung out the apartment. One of the guys bought a guitar over here, and so we just sang songs and talked. I met them at the gym again on Saturday, and they helped me with my Jiu Jitzu which was super sweet of them because the other guys laugh at me. Hahaha. It was so much fun! I can't wait to hang out with them again. I didn't hang out with them this weekend because I skipped the gym on Friday and Saturday. Yeah, I know; I'm slacking. So what did I do this weekend if I didn't go to the gym? Absolutely nothing!!!! Hahaha. Friday night, I watched some movies and gave myself a facial and pedicure. I know girlie stuff right? Does it help to know the movie I watched was Transformers? On Saturday, I cleaned my apartment and walked around the city a bit. Today, I walked down to the river and laid out! It was such a beautiful day. I could not waste it. I took my Korean study books with me and studied. I am hoping to pick up the language soon because I suck! I can't even tell someone where I live without them thinking I live in poop. Seriously. I say poop instead of neighborhood. I can't figure out which is which. But I absolutely love where I live. The river is right outside my neighborhood. It's maybe a five minute walk from my apartment. It's so nice because there is a lot of open fields where you can just lay out or even play some ball. There is also a track where you can run by the river. Amazing!!!! I love it! I am hoping that this nice weather sticks because it is gorgeous outside!!!!!!!