Boracay in Pictures

Picture Perfect Blue-green ocean

Gorgeous Orange Sunsets

Sunset Sailing

Poisonous Snakes

Daytime Cruising

Watching the setting sun from the cove

Eating Exotic Fruits on the Shore

Only in Boracay

Lounging in Paradise

Perfection

I woke up every morning to this

Sunset on the Sand

Top Moments of 2009

I'd like to think about my goals for 2010 while I am away for the next two weeks in the tropical paradise that is Boracay. This will be my last post of 2009, so I thought I would choose my favorite moments of the past year...

1. Coming out of a laid back rooftop bar in Chiang Mai to find a baby elephant trudging along up the road, which we then proceeded to pet and kiss like crazy.

2. My Italian dinner date with Lacy and Maddy in Chiang Mai - it was the origin of the A Team, a collaboration prophesied by the ancients and written in the stars.

3. Swimming to a deserted island on Koh Chang. We swam in the open ocean for an hour, all the while thinking about sharks and ugly black rock crabs. Then we had to drag ourselves over slimy rocks in only inches of water for what seemed the length of a football field because we the rocks were to slippery to walk on. We made it to the beach eventually and broke coconuts with rocks then drank the fresh juice.

4. Standing at the observation deck of the world's tallest building, Taipei 101

5. Covering ourselves in mud for hours on end at Mudfest.

6. Our idyllic mountain top bungalow in Koh Phagnan where we met our "shaman" and passed a magical night celebrating his birthday.

7. Standing in the sea on Tsushima, Japan after surviving an arduous bicycle odyssey.

8. Luxury noraebanging with our new friend Kevin in Busan (noraebang is a karaoke room)

9. Bungee Jumping- it was horrifying, but I did it.

10. And finally, writing my 100th blog post today and discovering that I have had 2,000 profile views this year. Thanks to everyone who finds the time to read my ramblings, I hope they've been somewhat amusing. Here's to more adventures next year!!


Happy Holidays

20 '09 Resolutions Revisited

I started off my blog by making 20 resolutions/predictions for the year ahead. Let's take a look and see how it all went...

1. to see a bamboo forest. Hmmm, well, no, didn't do that... To be honest I'm not really even sure where to find a bamboo forest around here... maybe next year in Japan.
2. to stand on the Great Wall of China. Okay... off to a slow start. No China yet.
3. to go swimming in the ocean in every place possible. Thailand, Japan, Korea, the Philippines... not bad, not bad.
4. to hear wild elephants trumpet in Chiang Mai. Saw, played with, kissed, fed and heard plenty of elephants in Chiang Mai... magical
5. to smell the cherry blossoms in spring time. I even took a picture, Korean style...
6. to taste sushi in Japan. I did this just in time, as I've now given up seafood.
7. to touch an ancient Buddha. I have had my Buddha fill over here and it never gets old.
8. to learn to meditate in a temple. I never wrote a post on the temple stay I did in Korea recently, but we did in fact practice several types of meditation in a temple.
9. to remember how transient life is. A work in progress. I still try to be mindful of this whenever possible.
10. to forget my limitations. Did that on more than a few occasions... Sometimes it doesn't have quite the desired effect...
11. to keep up with my yoga! Happy to report I have done this. I took an amazing Hatha (hot) yoga class with Maddy just last night!
12. to read at least five modern classics. I've read about 45,000 books so far this year, so I'm going to consider this accomplished. The best? Tropic of Cancer, Murakami's short stories, Shadow of the Wind, and The Heart of the World by Ian Baker
13. to find new friends in unusual places. This I have done for sure. (Read my blog for proof!!)
14. to write about fear and loneliness. My blogs seem to be overwhelmingly positive, which has matched my mood this year. I have to say I have never been so consistently and overwhelmingly content and my writing has reflected it. I think I was very nervous (and still home!) when I made this list. Still, I'd like to delve into these emotions.
15. to travel to a place whose name I don't even know yet. Koh Chang, Koh Phi Phi, Krabi, Busan, Tsushima, every suburb/dong in Seoul, Boracay... the list continues...
16. to teach with passion, commitment, and silliness in proper doses. I couldn't begin to comment on this. I love teaching, I want to be a good teacher, I try to be a good teacher. There are also days when I just can't find the motivation.
17. to conquer the Korean language... or maybe just learn a few conversational bits... BA HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! No, but seriously.... BA HA HA HA HA HA!!
18. to say yes to new opportunities even when i feel like being a hermit. I'd like to thank Maddy for helping me accomplish this one...
19. to organize a trip to Bali. Oh Bali, plane tickets to you are very expensive, so your cousin the Philippines won out. I want to see you so bad. Let's play next year. Your friend, Brittany
20. to plan another year as if it were my last. 20 '10 Resolutions doesn't have the same ring to it, but I'll have to come up with something equally genius before I fly off to paradise.

10 Ways I've Become Korean This Year

1. I enthusiastically use scissors to cut up my food. Maybe it's not elegant but it's just so convenient.

2. I use phrases like "same same," "it is your privacy," and "Oh! Do you know?!?" in everyday conversation.

3. I am horrified by wearing shoes indoors. Unless, of course, they are indoor shoes.

4. I don't find it strange when five different students fall off their chairs during one class period.

5. I feel really guilty if I'm tired and want to leave the bar before the sun rises. "I'm so sorry guys, I just can't hang. It's 4 am and I really just need to go home."

6. If I can't get my way I resort to making long whining noises until people give in.

7. Forks feel kind of big and clumsy...

8. "I'd like a cop-ae latte please. Yes, that's right, a coppee"
"Let's drink a few Cass-uh and go to the dance-uh club."
"What time is it? Oh, let me check my watchee."

9. My next boyfriend will have to wear matching outfits with me, hold my purse when we go out, and stage dramatic parting scenes on the subway.

--and--

10. It's a holiday and that can only mean one thing: drink soju with your coworkers until someone is dancing with a fire extinguisher while a few others sing horrendous karaoke and someone gets sexually harassed. I forget... is this standard practice in America as well???



Happy Holidays!

빼 빼 로 Day!

Today is 빼 빼 로 (Pepero) Day in Korea, a holiday managing to be just as lucrative for the Korean candy companies as Valentine's Day. The holiday, most likely started by mega corporation, Lotte, is celebrated by exchanging Pepero (a Lotte bran) sticks and other small gifts. A Pepero is a cookie stick dipped in chocolate and other toppings. The celebration came about as a clever marketing tool because the date 11/11 resembles the Pepero. I've come to learn that Koreans adore anything related to love and cutesy gifts, so it's not surprising that this holiday took off.

There is at least a dozen other holidays celebrating love and friendship in Korea. And stores having been showing elaborate Pepero displays for two weeks now. I loved watching the Korean men scramble to buy Pepero for the girlfriends last night. I'd love to see what would happen to the poor schmuck who managed to forget somehow.

I came to school this morning and was immediately swarmed with students flinging chocolate at me. Luckily, I came prepared with plenty of 빼 빼 로 to exchange. Check out my stash in the picture above. Assah!

Thailand Part 1: Solo in Bangkok

My very first Samsong bucket in Thailand (well this trip anyway)

with Dan

It's so true... beverage cart on Khaosan Road

My fabulous driver and his tuk tuk

The Golden Buddha

I haven't been able to write a thing. I've literally done nothing for a week during my quarantine, but I just couldn't write. There is too much to say. I think I am going to have to write a series of shorter posts so that I don't feel overwhelmed.

Let's start with that incredible feeling on my last day of summer camp. My kids got away with everything that day because I was already sipping buckets with Maddy on a tropical island in my mind. After camp, I booked it home to finish getting ready and headed off to the airport to begin the first leg of my epic journey: solo in Bangkok.

My original plan was to get into BKK at around 1 am and meet up with some friends and spend the night with them. Well, those plans changed when I came out of immigration at 4 am and found out the airport was two hours from their apartment. Instead, I did the only rational thing, which was to go to Khaosan road and drink to avoid paying for a hotel room.

My first lungful of the stench of Bangkok was glorious. Cockroaches scuttered on the sidewalks, farangs and Thais wandered about drunkenly, and I felt at home! The streets were pretty empty by this point, so I parked myself at a nice outdoor patio and ordered a Singha... aaaah Thai beer crushes shitty Korean beer any day of the week.


I really enjoy traveling alone because it is basically like walking around with a sign that says "I want to be friends with you!!!!" Within two minutes I was taking tequila shots with some really funny British guys who were sitting at the table next to me. It was 5 am and we were having a blast. All I could think was, "It's day one, the adventure is beginning... AND I'M GETTING PAID FOR THIS!"

I separated from the boys at about 9 and went to find some breakfast... coffee, fresh fruit and yogurt. Beautiful. I decided to spring for an individual room because I was dreaming of a nice hot shower and a rest. The first hotel that would let me check in at 10 became my new home. Then, after my shower I wandered Khaosan and took in the chaos. After about 80 tuk tuk drivers offered me a ride (a tuk tuk is a little taxi that is kind of like a tripod motorbike... love them!) I decided a little drive around would be nice. I found a nice guy who was going to take me to a few temples for an hour or two for the steep price of 40 baht ($1).

I saw some beautiful temples and the driver was really cool, plus I just like driving around the city catching a breeze and escaping the heat. You never escape the hustle in Bangkok though and I was taken to two tourist agencies where I had to make up fake questions so my driver could get a free gas card. Then we stopped by to see his "friend" at a tailor shop. If you have ever been to Bangkok you know it is just brimming with people trying to custom make clothes for you. If you are in the market, its amazing - great clothes for real cheap. If you aren't, it's just kind of annoying. Eventually we made it back to Khaosan, however, where I vastly overpaid my adorable driver and promptly ran into my new British friends in the street.

So, it was off for a bite to eat and a few beers, after which we snuck into a rooftop pool and drank fresh coconut juice while we had a swim. Later on I met up with some friends I had met last time I was in Thailand and we went out for some drinks and dancing at Gulliver's. They're teachers in Bangkok, so the next day I went to hang out at one of their apartments to have a relaxing day before my journey south. I was shocked at how nice their places were. They live about an hour north of the city and we had a good laugh when all the Thai people in the neighborhood were pointing and staring at me. I don't think they get many blond farang women in that part of town.


I took a taxi to the train station in the evening and found out I could get a spot on a sleeper... but it was going to leave in two minutes. An incredibly competent (thank you thank you) information lady dragged me to the ticket office, got my tickets, and ran with me to the train where I hopped on the last car with about 30 seconds to spare. Mission accomplished, I was on my way south to find Maddy and her friend from home, Andrew. Paradise awaits, as does the rest of this story...

Summer, that perpetual sneak, has breezed past me yet again in a blur of heat, haze, and sun (sometimes). Teaching summer camp has been a welcome break from the monotony of the national curriculum. Although it is more work, I have enjoyed having complete control over my lessons. I have been able to teach topics like camping, baseball, pirates, oceans, drama, and super heroes. My students and I have played games, sponge painted, written stories, listened to music, and created our own TV commercials. We even had a game of handball out on the playground.

The last week of July I taught at an overnight Gunpo City summer camp for five days. I stayed in a cabin in the mountains and taught cooking class. Making homemade ice cream with 75 students is a complete mess, but its a fun and delicious one. I was exhausted at the end of the week, but I really felt like I bonded with the students there and I had a great time hanging out with the other councilors.

Outside of school I have been spending lazy afternoons by the pool or listening to the drum of the rain on my apartment window. I've gone river rafting, bungee jumping, and to a Manchester United vs. Seoul football game that had Maddy and I ecstatic for the entire game. We couldn't help but join in on the "Fighting!" cheers and the calls for South Korean Manchester United player Park Ji Sung, who sat on the bench until the final 20 minutes. That didn't stop the camera man from showing his face on the big screen every 5 minutes, however. South Koreans sure love their own. Another highlight was when Kpop girl group Girls' Generation performed at halftime. It was a complete surprise and even with several lip synching mishaps, it was awesome!

Vacation time is staggered throughout the summer so there are always friends coming and going on two week adventures. I've had to wait until the very end for mine, but I am finally taking off for Thailand tomorrow. Don't expect any posts for the next two weeks, but expect that when one does come it will be epic!

It's been a long eventful week in which I've barely stepped foot in my apartment. Last Tuesday through Friday I had a GEPIK (Gyeonggi English Program in Korea) Teacher's Workshop so I traded in my regular work days for a sleep over camp/prison for foreign teachers. I was able to sleep in a bit on Tuesday before heading to Guemjong Station where they promptly carted us off to the middle of nowhere. The Workshops used to be held in the city, but the teachers spent a little too much time at the bars so this time we were headed for Guam. We were told we couldn't leave "the compound" past 7 pm, but that the convenience store on the premises would sell beer. There was also a driving range, walking path, and some nighttime entertainment. Goody.

The opening ceremony was interesting, to put it mildly. We were told we were going to see a performance and then in walks three very scantily clad Korean girls with instruments which they preceded to "fake play" to recorded music while they danced provocatively. It was all a little much for a Tuesday morning, but hey, it's Korea. The rest of the time we attended lectures on teaching techniques and co teacher relationships and did some practice teaching. Some of the lectures were really interesting and I left with a lot of new ideas to use in the classroom. At night they played Korean movies and we just hung out and had a few beers. We watched a great movie called the Host which I highly recommend if you can get your hands on it. It was a monster movie, but minus all the Hollywood cheese. This one was funny, thrilling, sad, and satirical all at once.

On Friday we finished at 11 am and the sun was shining. I couldn't wait to get home and was extremely grateful for the half day. I had to unpack then repack immediately because I was off to Jeju Island for the weekend. Jeju is known as "Honeymoon Island" or "The Hawaii of South Korea", but I laughed off both descriptions feeling absolutely sure there was nothing even closely resembling Hawaii in Korea. It's located just off the southern coast of the country and I thought it was too far north to look the way it had been described to me. I was wrong, however.

Maddy and I had signed up for a biking trip through meetup.com and we were leaving early Saturday morning. Luckily, Maddy lives right near the airport, so I spent the night at her place, avoiding waking up before dawn.

The trip was absolutely amazing. The weather must have decided it owed me one, because despite forecasts of rain we only saw sunshine and blue skies. On day one we biked around Udo Island, a smaller island off Jeju's East Coast, then hiked up a volcanic crater for a nice view of the island. We went to ride horses after that, which was more of a kids' pony ride than anything. The horses trotted around for a while then ran around in circles on a track while I tried to hang on to both the saddle and the ridiculous cowboy hat they made me wear.

In the evening we headed to our lovely hotel by the beach for a BBQ (complete with tofu for us veggies) and a campfire under the stars. The next day the weather was even more perfect and after spending the morning at the beach, Maddy and I decided that we just couldn't bear to leave for the scheduled itinerary that consisted largely of being indoors. We opted to catch a cab and meet the others at the airport, so we spent the rest of the day lounging on the sand and eating delicious fresh seafood at a Japanese restaurant overlooking the ocean.

So Maddy and I had a delightful Honeymoon amidst the palm trees and blue green water. We came home refreshed and significantly sunburned and after two weekends away, I'm ready to take on the city again.

Enjoy the pictures below!!

I teach therefore I am... mental

They like to choose English names...

My teacher's day gifts! (I got some yummy sushi too)

Break time = drawing on the board time for Brian and Kay

Shelly and Brian clowning around in English Club

Today is Teacher's Day in Korea and when I arrived at school it dawned on me: somewhere in these past five months I became a teacher. Now this should seem obvious, after all, I came here to teach. When you leave for Korea, however, you think about the flight, you worry about how you will fit in, if you'll like the food and the people, if you'll be lonely, and how difficult the language is. The one thing you don't think about is the very thing you are coming to do. At least that's how it went for me.

_

I've always loved kids and worked with kids, but this is something new entirely. I find myself talking about class control when I'm out for a beer. I smile on my walk to work. I hear "Teacher! Teacher!" in my sleep. I enjoy writing "teacher" instead of "student" under occupation when I am filling out immigration forms. I hope I'm good enough, funny enough, strong enough, and patient enough. After believing I'd never be content in any occupation, I find myself happy, I find myself caring.

_

I have no control over any of my classes. I am the world's biggest pushover and it's got to stop. I spend my days yelling over thirty screaming voices. I beg, plead, bribe, and threaten to no avail. "Game Teacher! Game!" It's the only thing that shuts them up.

_

I choose favorites. Sometimes it's just because they are so cute I want to pinch their cheeks. Others crack me up with their dead on impressions of the characters on our CD-ROM. I have a student who named himself "baby dog" and another who wrote "Brittany" on the back of his name tag, which he shows when only I (and not my co teacher) can see. The third grader who runs to me and hugs me every time she sees me is a clear favorite, as are all my English Club students. I love the fifth grade boys who act so tough, but then crumple up and cry at the slightest incident and remind you that they're still little boys. And I'm endlessly amused by the sixth grade girls who have made it their life missions to teach me Korean pop culture and the Korean language in rapid, excited, impossible to follow lessons.

_

Sometimes I want to kill my students. I imagine that they are giving me premature wrinkles and I get very bitter. They always want candy from me... and stickers. I am a candy and sticker machine with a good accent. Luckily, they are funny kids. Laughing makes the exasperation fade. Talking about animals, I asked my kids, "Do you like pigs?" "No, " a student replied and when I asked why he said, "Influenza." The kid can barely answer the question "How are you?" but somehow managed that. And today when I asked "How's the weather?" a student raised his hand and said, "The sun is very angry today!"

_

Best of all. Being the only foreign teacher in the school gives me rock star status. All the kids want to use their English so they are always yelling and waving to me outside of class. It makes me look cool in front of the other teachers.

_

So, Teacher's Day has been a good day. The moms brought me a pot of flowers and some sushi in the afternoon. My kids made me Teacher's Day cards. I'll end this post with some of the messages. You can tell by their perfect English how great a teacher I am...

Hello! Brittany! My name is so hyun. I like English study. It's very fun. Brittany, your like English and English study. I'm very English study. I love you. Goodbye.

_

Brittany, Hello Teacher! I'm Seo Young. Do you know what day is it today? Today is teacher's day so I prepared some present. It's a flower It made of paper. Teacher! I love you forever

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hello, Brittany. My name is shin-hyun-ji. Today is teacher's day. Today is happy day. Congratulation! Brittany Have a nice weekend!!

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Hello Brittany. Do you know today is teacher's day? Teacher is very kind. Good afternoon dye!

To. hee soung sheen

_

Hello!! Brittany? My name is Ji won Jung. Brittany, I like English. English is very fun. I love Brittany!! See you later!

_

Ho brittany teacher... Hello teacher, I'm choi seo young. Always, I feel very thank you. Happy teacher day to you and never hate you. I <3>

Buddha-full

Photos from the Lotus Lantern Festival to celebrate Buddha's Birthday:

Lantern Parade

Pretty temple door

Make a wish Buddha

Paper lanterns at the temple

Yeah, I made this. No, really, I did.

The Whole World is the Same

My second week at school went a lot better once I started drinking coffee again. The past month I got by fine with just tea, but that was only because I had absolutely nothing to do with my life. I need a lot of energy to keep up with the kids every morning, so caffeine is a must. Koreans mostly drink nasty instant coffee with creamer and sugar already mixed in. I was not having that, so I managed to find black instant coffee, which while still kind of gross, does the trick. I have to put at least two packets in each cup to make it even resemble real coffee, however.

Friday was class election day, so all the kids were ridiculously roudy. I teach 5th and 6th grades on Fridays and I nearly lost my voice by the end of the day from yelling over them. Luckily we were only doing fun things like a Little Mermaid role play and a country game, so I managed to keep their attention. I was a little sad because I didn't get any candy for White Day. White Day was on Saturday and it is a lot like Valentine's Day, only bigger. In Korea, on V-day women buy candy for the men they like and on White Day the men have to reciprocate. Apparently nobody loves me. Oh well.

Friday night I went out with some people who live in my neighborhood. It was great to finally meet other teachers in Sanbon. A lot of them live in my building and have been in Korea for at least a year. They had a lot of good advice for me, the best one being an introduction to yogurt soju, which, if you know my yogurt loving ways, I obviously am obsessed with. It's clear, comes in a pitcher, contains two bottles of soju, and tastes exactly like a drinkable yogurt. Oh heavenly! They also showed me the elusive Pirate Bar that I had read all about before I came here but couldn't find. It wasn't as exciting as I imagined, but they serve beer in ice glasses which you then throw at a target on the wall. The ice smashes and if you hit the target you win free drinks. I'm all for smashing things and free stuff so I'm a fan.

On Saturday afternoon there was a huge St. Paddy's Day celebration in Seoul. I met Maddy and we spent the afternoon enjoying Irish music, free Guinness, and a whole bunch of cool Westerners. We had a really great time - a great time that extended from noon until 6 am the next morning. I ended up falling asleep on the subway ride home and waking up every so often because I hit my head on the metal pole behind me. Luckily I didn't miss my stop and managed to climb into bed by 7:30.

I slept it all off this afternoon and now its back to work for another week. I'm crossing my fingers that my alien registration card comes in the mail this week so that I can open a bank account and get a cell phone. I managed to pass my medical exam even with my hearing impairment, and I made it to the dreaded immigration office, so once my card arrives I will officially be a resident of South Korea for the next year. I've got absolutely no problem with a year of this...