Mamma Mia!

Sunday was my 200th day in Korea, which was EXCITING! Sunday was also my lazy day, so I slept until mid-afternoon. When I got up I cleaned the floors in my apartment because the dust seems to accumulate by the pound everyday. I also took some time to get caught up my blog. Since I was having such a chill day I really wanted to go to a movie, so Tracy, Holly and I headed to dinner first and then Tracy and I went to see a movie while Holly headed home. We ended up seeing Mamma Mia! It was such a fun and amusing movie. Being the ABBA fan that I am it was the perfect movie for me. Tracy and I sang along to all of the songs, but most of the words were changed for the movie, so we just sang the lyrics we knew. After the movie ended we headed up to Holly's place for a bit and hung out with her, Tyfany and Kyle. When I was finished hanging out at Holly's I headed home and just relaxed the rest of the night away. My weekend was very chill, so getting up for school this morning was hard. What was even worse, getting my weekly schedule and finding out that I have 6 classes everyday this week except Wednesday when I have 5. It's because this week is a four day week because of the holiday on Friday. It is Foundation Day, so we have yet another long weekend. I have the grade 4's and 5's for the next month, which I hope goes by fast, so I can have my grade 3's back. Anyways, considering today was a 6 class day it went by incredibly fast. I didn't finish teaching until 2:40 p.m. so I only had less than 2 hours to hang out before school ended. After school I headed to shabu shabu with Tracy, Holly and Nick because well, that is what we do on Monday's. Then randomly on a whim we headed over to a noraebang and sang for an hour and a half. It was a total 80's themed song night, which was really fun. Of course, Tracy and I sang Mamma Mia because we were still feeling the affects of the movie. I headed home afterwards to go grocery shopping and then for a run before heading to bed.

It's Time For A Circus!!

I slept away most of Saturday because I had no plans until the evening time. I managed to sleep until just before 3:00 p.m. when I had to finally get up and get ready for the MC Mong concert that I was heading to with Nicole and Lindsay. We met a few hours before the concert, so we would have time to get there and eat before the show. Since the concert was in Incheon we didn't have too far to go, but you can never be too sure with public transit. We opted to take the bus there and after about an hour passed by we were so hot and restless we decided to get off and cab the rest of the way. When we finally got to the stadium we had over an hour to kill, so we grabbed some street food, had a beer each and bought glow sticks. We also put the finishing touches on Nicole's homemade MC Mong t-shirt.

Nicole coloring in the last bit of her MC Mong t-shirt. I would just like you all to take note of the Monkey, I drew that bad boy on her shirt.

This was my concert outfit. When in Korea do what the Koreans do...dress like it's 1980. I actually love my sunglass shirt, so stop laughing at me.

Nicole, Lindsay and I anxiously awaiting the concert to start. Yes, we went so far as to put MC Mong stickers on our faces as well.

Then the moment the three of us were waiting for AND the hundreds of other fans...MC MONG!!!!

For the last hour or so of the concert we decided to try and see if they would let us enjoy the show from the floor. Turns out because we paid the highest ticket price for the show we were allowed to be on the floor, so we got even closer to MC Mong.

Here he is singing with a school choir. Most of them seemed very uninterested in being there.

I wasn't kidding when I said we got closer to him. We could actually see him perfectly and almost reach out and touch him at a few parts.

Nicole and Lindsay after the concert ended. See how close to the stage we were...It was Amazing!

I just had to get a picture of me at the end of the concert, especially since we got to see the end of it from the floor, so very close to MC Mong.

Below is a video of MC Mong performing my favorite song, Circus. The quality isn't great because I was standing and screaming and dancing, so if you get a headache at any moment during the presentation of this video, just stop watching it.

The concert lasted 3 hours, which was insane and meant we wouldn't get back to Yeonsu to eat until late. We ended up walking for about 15 minutes before we could find a cab to take us to the train station. When we finally got back to Yeonsu it was after midnight and we were starving, so we went and grabbed some food before heading to Mad Max for some drinks. Mad Max was really quiet and we ended up leaving at 3:00 a.m. when they closed and heading down ajeshi alley for some late night eats and soju cocktail. Remember, I was sober all weekend, so I didn't drink anything. My night ended around 5:00 a.m., but I didn't go to bed until after 6.

A Sober Friday Night? It Happens.

Friday night was a great start to the weekend. A bunch of us headed to the SK Wyverns baseball game. Since I love baseball I really enjoy watching the games, but it was so cold Friday night that I just wanted the game to end, so I could head for warmth. You will also be pleased to know that I was completely sober Friday night, which has been a first in a while. My body needs to slow down and detox, so for the next few weekends NO drinking.

Mary Anne and I enjoying the game despite the weather. Mary Anne, Carolina and I at the baseball game. We are only pretending we aren't freezing our asses off. My friend Mike played a street game and won this bear dressed as a frog. I begged him for it and he eventually gave it to me once we sat down to eat.

Once we finished eating delicious dulkgalbi in Bupeyeong we headed to G7 for the usual Friday night party. I just wanted to go home because I was tired, so I went to wait for the bus, but it never came and since I'm too cheap to pay for he cab ride home I eneded up staying out until the wee hours of the morning and shared a cab home with Mike and Nick. G7 was really quiet when we first got there, but around 2:00 a.m. it picked up and was crowded. Paul was DJing, so the music was good, but the atmosphere was so different with all the newbies that were there. Us verterans hardly recognized anyone.

This is my new look I sported for the first part of the night. I was freezing, so I put Nick's hoodie on over mine and created the, "I Like to Wear Hoodies" look.

When we were finally finished with G7 we headed over to McDonald's for breakfast. Believe me, holding out until 4:00 a.m. for breakfast was highly worth it. After we finished breakfast Nick, Mike and I headed home. It was nice to finally be sober and not wake-up with a hangover tiredness.

??Crazy Question??

This week moved rather slow for me. I hardly had any classes to teach, which made for very long and boring days in the English Zone. Plus, I've decided to stop going out during the week because I'm trying to get/stay healthy, save money, have time for work-outs and be in bed by 10. It sounds lame, but my first six months in Korea were tiring and utter chaos, but fun to say the least. I think staying in during the week has added to the slowness of my weeks going by. Monday I had to do the grade 5 Golden Bell and Tuesday I had the grade 6 Golden Bell Competition. The Golden Bell Competition is when certain students compete in an English contest. They each have their own white boards to write the answers on. I ask them a question in English and they write the answer down on the board, in English. If they get it wrong they are out and the competition continues until there is only one person left to declare the winner. The poor grade 5 girl that won started crying while the grade 5 English teacher was congratulating her because she was embarrassed standing at the front of the gym with all the grade 5 students and teachers watching her. A boy won in the sixth grade and he did not cry. Wednesday night was the only night I went out and that was because it was Peter's last bowling night before returning to his homeland. I came home from school and took a 3 hour nap before heading to dinner followed by two intense games of bowling. Bowling always goes so late, so I never get home until after 1:00 a.m. so waking up Thursday was difficult, but not as tiring as I expected. I only had two classes to teach on Thursday and one ended up getting cancelled and moved to Friday. I was also invited to the kindergarten classroom to talk to them about myself and Canada because they were learning people of the world. They were the cutest little things and I wanted to eat them all up. I gave each of them a Canada pencil and as I handed them out to each student they would give me a hug. It was adorable and so friggen cute. The class gave me a gift as well for taking the time to come visit them.

These are the adorable pens they gave me as a gift. It's a Korean girl and boy dressed in traditional Korean clothes.

Friday was also a very slow moving day for me. I only had three classes and the weather outside was so cold. Fall is in the air and I was prepared, but I'm so glad to be done with the heat. Also, Jiny tells me that the classes will be starting 20 minutes earlier this morning literally 2 minutes before they were about to start. This meant I would be finishing teaching over an hour earlier then I was scheduled. In my first class of the day, which is my favorite grade 6 class, one of the girl students goes, "Teacher, why are you from Canada?" I give her a strange look and start laughing, "Because that is where my parents are from." Then Jiny starts laughing and tells her to stop asking me questions. I thought it was the funniest question I've been asked thus far in Korea. What made the whole situation even better, her English name is Lauren. She thought it was fantastic when I told her that my sisters name was Lauren. She went so far as to high five me. To pass the time in the afternoon I talked to my family and headed to the bank to transfer more money home. The bank was a lot quicker than I expected, but I didn't want to go back to school, so I got on the bus and headed home 45 minutes early :)

6 Months Has Passed Us By........A Week Ago, Why Not Keep Celebrating?!?!

Last week was a short week because I only had to work for 3 days. However, I had two 6 class days and one five class day. The only good thing about so many classes in a day is that your days tend to go by faster. It did seem like Friday took forever to get here though, probably because I knew it was so close. Anyways, after school on Friday I headed to Bupeyeong to go for dinner and drinks with some friends. There were about 13 of us that met up for dinner, but we ended up splitting up because some wanted galbi and some wanted dulkgalbi. I opted for dulkgalbi since regular galbi is to regular an occurrence. Once we finished eating we headed to Woodstock for a few drinks before heading over to N's pub to meet up with more friends. We didn't stay long at N's pub because I had friends calling me asking me why I hadn't made it to G7 yet, so a few of us drank our one beer we had and then headed over to G7. G7 is the local Friday night hang-out in Incheon because it really is the only place to go and dance where the owner rocks and speaks English.

Tiffany, a Korean friend and Me getting our groove on at G7.

G7 is always a good time because the music is great, the company is great and the drinks are great. Plus, it always ends up being a rather late night/early morning for most people who party there. When a few of us had enough with the dancing and atmosphere we headed downstairs to the noraebang for some singing to end our night. I had a raspy voice from yelling all night, so I pretty much sucked at the singing part, but listening to everyone else was fun.

Me ending the night witha little bit of noraebang. It got intense. Then I lost my voice even more.

After singing Lisa, my Korean friend Jordan, one of his friends and me all headed for some food before getting on the bus home. Lisa and I both fell asleep on the bus and when she woke me up I had already missed my stop, so I had to catch a different bus home in the opposite direction. That's my first time missing a stop, I guess it happens. Again, I had another insanely late Friday night.
I didn't wake-up Saturday until mid-afternoon. Then I headed out for another night of drinking at Monkey Beach in Apgujeong. My friend Rudy was hosting an end of summer beginning of fall event, so I had to attend. Nick, Mary Anne, Carolina, Julian, Duncan and I headed into Seoul together and it took us a while to find Monkey Beach because we headed in the wrong direction first and then got directions from a lovely Korean couple. When we finally made it to Monkey Beach we indulged on the 12,000 won buckets of booze.

Carolina and I enjoying our Monkey buckets full of alcohol. That was 12,000 won well spent.

Rudy, her friend and I enjoying each others company at Monkey Beach.

Mary Anne and I were trying to have an adorable kodak moment, but Carolina the creeper got in there with her bucket and all...lol!

Nick and I hardly share kodak moments anymore, so this was special.

Then the glow stick ears came out and everything changed...I apparently got sexier...just kidding.

AND, I attracted a random Asian guy from Japan with perfect English to take random photos with me...

Once we were finished with Monkey Beach we headed into Hongdae to end our night. Unfortunatel, Carolina's ended early again when she passed out on Julian's shoulder ay Monkey Beach and then in the cab on the way to Hongdae. Once we got there we stopped for some food at a near by convenience store before heading to our first club, Jane's Groove where I ended up getting sick for my very time in Korea...I mean throw-up sick. I thin I got it from the convenience store gimbap triangles I ate because that is all I threw-up and I was completely sober and totally exhausted after getting sick. I did stick it out in Hongdae though until the buses started running in the morning. Nick, Mary Anne and I were the only one's who survived through the night/morning, but we all fell asleep on the bus ride home. Good thing for Nick and I the very last stop for the bus is the one we need to get off at, so the bus driver just woke us all up when he finished his route.

Once I finally made it home to bed I slept all day Sunday only waking up to answer text messages and phone calls. The sleep was majorly needed and got me over being sick.

Mt. Seoraksan

Since there were only five of us left on Monday, Me, Tracy, Nick, Damien and Mary Anne, we all decided to head to Seoraksan National Park and see what it had to offer. It was a very hot day, so we were all sweating before we even got to the park. Once we got there we had to pay to enter the park and then we headed straight to the cable car that would take us up the mountain. We would have fully climbed the mountain, but it takes close to 7 hours to do.

Anyways, I will just post pictures on this blog and explain with pictures what the park, mountain and rest of the holiday was like.

The five us just had to put our feet together on this spoke. It just made sense after spending the weekend together.

Me excited to be out in nature and fresh air. Now, just waiting to take the cable car up the mountain.A view of the cable car with the mountain in the background. Who knew Korea had all this beauty to offer?!?!

A view of below as we were on our way up in the cable car.

Nick, Mary Anne and I climbed to the top of this mountain where the Korean flag is. I was utterly terrified.

This picture is proof of just how terrified I was climbing down the mountain. I reinvented the crab walk.

Once we got to the bottom of the mountain and back on solid ground we decided to walk around the park. We ended up seeing this giant Buddha. It was a place of worship and is just the most outstanding statue I've seen in a while.

My closest friend in Korea, Tracy and I on a bridge over not so troubled water ;) It led to a different part of the park, which might I add is HUGE!!

This is just one of the many beautiful pieces of scenery the Seoraksan National Park had to offer. I was blown away by how beautiful this park was, how clean it was, how clam it was and how fresh the air was in Sokcho in general.

These cute little trees were randomly in the center of a huge open pathway area on our way out of the park. Another beautiful sight inside the park.

Once we finished at the National Park we headed back to the pension and ordered some pizza, watched TV and played card games until about 4:30 in the morning when we finally fell asleep. We had an 8:00 a.m. wake-up call, so we could pack, get ready and clean the pension before heading to catch the bus back home to Incheon. It was such a fun and relaxing vacation that I almost forgot I was in Korea...I said, almost.

Now that I am back in Incheon I can look forward to my three day work week, but since one of those three days has just finished I now only have two days left of teaching before I can enjoy yet another epic weekend in Korea.

Chuseok in Sokcho!

This past weekend was Chuseok in Korea, which is Thanksgiving. Basically, Korean families get 4-5 days off to spend with their families. I spent my Chuseok with the people I consider my family here in Korea. There were 10 of us that were going on the trip, Me, Tracy, Nick, Damien, Ross, Julian, Carolina, Jonne, Mary Anne, and Brandi. However only 7 of us left on the Friday night. We had to catch a couple of trains and then our bus to Sokcho. The bus ride was 4 hours, which was a miracle because we were all told traffic would be crazy during Chuesok, but we got lucky. The bus made one stop for us to get off, stretch, pee and eat. We arrived in Sokcho before midnight, so we dropped our stuff off at the pension we were staying at and headed out to find some food.

On Saturday we all slept in and waited for Joanne, Carolina and Brandi to arrive. Once they got here we changed and headed to the beach to soak up some sun, swim and enjoy some rest and relaxation.

This is a view straight out into the middle of the beach from where I was sitting. It was absolutely stunning for a Korean beach. The beach was hot, and beautiful, but the sand was a bit too be desired.

Koreans aren't normally the swimming type and when they do swim it's usually with clothes on. Well, this one little boy was absolutely adorable playing with his sister on the beach in his white underpants.

We spent most of the afternoon on Saturday enjoying the beach and the insanely hot weather. Saturday night we cooked up our own food on the BBQ the pension provided us with, drank (not me, just so were clear), told stories, listened to music and just had fun doing nothing.

Julian was the chef for the evening, so he BBQ us some hot dogs and bread that were tasty. I'm not a huge fan of hot dogs, but it's better than starving to death. This was the crew I spent my 5 day long Chuseok weekend with. We were one great big happy family. From Left: Mary Anne, Nick, Carolina, Julian, Damien, Alyssa (she wasn't part of our crew), Brandi, Joanne, Ross, and Tracy.

Saturday night once we headed down to the beach for some night time fun. We bought some fireworks, met some other foreigners and hung out. Tracy and I turned in early again because we just wanted to be rested and we weren't drinking. The others stayed on the beach a while and then most of them came back to the pension shortly after we did.

Sunday we all slept in because most of the hungover people needed the rest. Once we finallt got motivated we ate, chilled and then headed back to the beach for some more sun, swimming and relaxation. However, the sun was shining as warmly on Sunday and it was very windy, so it made for a rather cool day on the beach.

Some of the crew going for a swim. The colors of the water was beautiful. I noticed a sailboat go sailing by while chilling on the beach, so I took a picture just for my mom. Cheesy? I know, but she does love sailboats.

Once we finished spending the day at the beach we went to eat dinner, shower and hang out for a while at the pension. That night we headed out into the night again and ended up on the beach for some more late night fun.

Carolina and I at the pension.Mary Anne and I heading down to the beach together. Oh! How much fun sparklers can be, but add a beach at night and they are ten times better. Carolina, Joanne, Mary Anne and I are proving that in this picture.

Sunday was the last night we spent together because five of the crew members had to head home Monday morning, so they could be back to teach on Tuesday morning...Suckers!

The Beginning of a Long Weekend!!

Thursday was a long day at school only because I had 5 classes and no school Friday. I find when you are looking forward to something a lot the days go by slower. The grade 6's were hellions again and drove me crazy, but I made it through the day. Thursday night was an eventful night of dinner, drinks and good company. Since I had no school Friday, myself and other friends who had no school took advantage and drank. I started the night meeting up with Tracy and Holly for dinner at our favorite galbi restaurant where we chatted, enjoyed a few drinks and devoured the food. Once we finished dinner we moved next door to Mad Max where we met up with Lindsay, Carolina, May, Nicole, etc.

Lindsay and I looking fabulous as always enjoying drinks at Mad Max.

Tracy and Carolina and I make a great trio. I don't know what I do without them, Tracy especially.

So, I bought these Zack Morris (Saved by the Bell) inspired sunglasses...Tracy put them on to see what they were like, but when the one pair wasn't enough...she added two more. This is why I love this girl, she is just so amazing and FUN!

Once we had enough of Mad Max and the jukebox, which we've taken over, we headed to ajoshi alley (older man), so the Korean friends we met that night through another friend could get some food. I wasn't hungry, but I sure was ready to keep on drinking and having a good time. We found a nice little restaurant that was open 24 hours, so the Koreans ate and the rest of us drank kiwi soju cocktails.

This is Chae-Jung and I posing together on the street after we left Mad Max and headed down ajoshi alley for more drinking and to feed the hungry Koreans we were with.

Natalie and I at a restaurant in ajoshi alley. She is the one who brought all the Korean friends we made along.

Chae-Jung and her boyfriend Mr. Choi pose with me. It was there one millionth day of dating, so that was exciting. I mean, who really keeps track of that?!?!

Nicole and I may have had a few drinks by this point, but I'll never tell...She is my 'Onion'dong companion.

Chae-Jung and I enjoying a soju cocktail shot together before parting for the night.

Natalie, Chae-Jung and I at the end of the night and we still look fabulous.

By the time the night ended and I got home it was after 5:00 a.m. I was definitely planning on staying out late, but I didn't realize it would be that late. Oops!