Thought for today

I promise, this will be a short one today. But, I have some time to kill and funnily enough I have things to say.
Ha and i'm a poet and I didn't even know it.

Moving on :s

I was walking behind a girl on my way to school today and she was wearing this really nice jacket, the only thing was that all around the collar was fur. Now, I am not one to preach but I personally do not wear fur, I am against that whole fur trade thing. We have the ability to produce synthetic materials that look basically the same so why kill animals for the near same thing? But it did remind me of a time a few months ago when Jessie and myself took a stupidly long trip to the COEX Mall in Seoul. The mall is AMAZING and has a heap of stuff there if you can be bothered going all that way (the subway ride isn't direct from out dark blue line 1 - you need to change lines a few times and we ended up lost and missed our stop).

An old pic from COEX before Christmas... Looked beautiful all set up! Shoppers delight

We went into this shop called Top10 or something like that which is a great shop, they have really good discounts on super warm jackets, which is what we were shopping for. There was a really nice longer jacket there and I was seriously considering buying it - even though it had a fur collar.
So there I was in a store in another country and I found myself thinking "Oh, why do I care so much? The animal was probably bred for this exact purpose... And I eat meat and wear leather, right?"
I didn't end up buying it, but it made me realise how easily swayed my morals are. And I was really disappointed in myself. I mean, I understand about meat and leather and all that, but in Australia they have really strict laws about how animals are treated prior to slaughter so that everything is humane. I have no idea what standard practice is here in Korea but I am thinking it is NOT as strictly regulated as Aus. In fact, judging by some of the things I have seen regarding the preparation of dog meat, I can say with certantity that the animals for fur are not treated humanely.

I have become more fashion conscious since coming here, but I wont let myself get swayed again. I know I am directly contradicting my views i.e. no to fur but yes to meat and leather and whatever, but really people will do what they can in their own circle of influence. I have spoken about this in a past blog or vlog so I won't re-hash, but if my little change and impact is going to be that I won't wear fur then so be it. It is a step more that what many people take.

Anyway end rant. It was just something I was thinking about while sitting here playing pokemon at school.
Love my job^^

On that note...

I realise that it may sound like I have been complaining about school lately. I actually really enjoy being here and in general all the teachers are really nice. And it doesn't bother me in the slightest that I get paid to sit on my ass for 8 hours a day. Other people have to work really hard and I am thankful that I am in the position I am in. Just sayin'.

xoxo

Things I can't live without...

I have been cruising along in South Korea for 5 months now, and have gotten by extremely well for someone who has never lived out of home before. But I know for a fact it is due to being able to live pretty much the same way I do at home, minus a few things. But there are things in my life that I cannot do without. I mean, yeah, I might survive, but my standard of living and quality of life would be so much more reduced. Here are some examples:

Things I now "need' in my life...

• My Mac Book. I am not joking. This is by far one of the most used items I brought with me from home. And I loved it at home too, but here I have fallen even more in love with it. I take it to school with me now, especially since the internet isn't working on my school comp and I have nothing to do. When people ask me Mac or PC, I always say it depends on what you want it for... For me, I love using my mac as I find it user friendly, I have windows compatible software, I am not an avid gamer, I like to make movies and watch movies, and its really pretty. Mine is an older one, the white kind which I have decorated with Hello Kitty stickers and my name. 
• My phone... This is at the top of the list actually. I could not get by without it... It is my phone, my email, my maps, my translator, my dictionary, my games hub, my camera, my address book, my diary, basically my life. I have a Samsung Galaxy II and it is the best phone I have ever owned. So in terms of phone, I am not choosing Apple. Call me Korean, but I say Samsung all the way. I have it synced to my gmail so everything is backed up there in terms of my contacts and all that. This is the only downside of having a mac and an android phone... I don't think I can sync them. However of anyone knows otherwise please tell me because I would love to have everything connected. 
• My Hair Straightener. Now, mine is NOT a GHD it is some other brand which I will check when I get home, and I got it about the same time I got my Mac. So they are both white. I love it so much, even my sister was bitterly disappointed when I told her it was coming to Korea with me. I think I have had it 2 years now and it's still going strong. There is no way I would ever travel without it, especially now I have a fringe/bangs. Sound vain? Yes, I am. And getting more and more vain with age but whatever. This is my list not yours. 
• Internet connection. And by this I mean relatively unrestricted internet connection. I feel really sad for all the people around the world who do not have access to the net. And as I type this I can actually hear people rolling their eyes at me but the internet have become such a massive and integral part of my life I think I would suffer without it. Maybe it comes from being away from my family and friends, but I would be super depressed if I couldn't easily speak with them. I mean, yes, I could do the old fashioned thing and call, or the even more old fashioned thing and send them a letter but its just not the same as speaking face to face. Skype is such an amazing program and it really does connect people. And so does facebook! I am not putting this one in my list, because I think I could survive without it, but it is also a fantastic communication tool. I have raved about FB in the past so don't worry I won't get started again. 
• Hot water. How anyone can survive without hot water is beyond me. And I know I sound terrible (this whole list is terrible, because there are people surviving in the world with WAY less than this) but I wouldn't live anywhere where there wasn't hot water available. 
• A kettle. Yes, I could boil water on a stove in a pot, but a kettle is a great thing. It was the first appliance I brought when I got here. 

And I think thats it for now. I am sure things will come to me but these are the main things that come to mind when I think of how I get by every day. I guess if I had never been introduced to these luxuries then I would't think I needed them, but the fact remains that I was born to a society where such things were available and I have grown accustomed to a certain standard of living. And these are the things I now think I need to get by. If push came to shove I wouldn't die without them, but luckily I don't need to make that choice. 

Makes me realise what type of world I live in, and what sort of person I am. Disappointing huh?

Meanwhile, in the 'real world'

I think pharmacy medication in Korea is better than at home. I had some sort of tummy bug Sunday night, it came on suddenly in the middle of the night and I was up for hours spewing and, yes, i'll say it, the other end too. By 4am all that was coming out was water and I was a little bit concerned. I decided that if I was still not able to keep anything in by the morning I would take myself to the hospital. Luckily I was a little better by then but I couldn't go to school. My beautiful friend Jess called by in the afternoon and brought with her a stash of medicine from the pharmacy... some tablets, a sachet of some gross granules and a vitamin drink. Anyway I took it all and then went back to bed. And today, I have woken up and feel so much better!!! I am currently at school and everything! Still not very hungry, but was there ever a better time to start a new diet?

I am convinced that my speedy recovery is due to great over the counter medications. I do understand that a pharmacist is NOT a doctor, but they go to school for a really long time and they understand drugs and medications really well. So I feel that they give good advice. Most people do not develop terrible diseases, generally people get colds or tummy bugs or common things like that. So why can't a pharmacy hand out stronger things over the counter? I am convinced its just doctors getting more money. Going to the doctor at home can be expensive and I think its stupid how expensive some medications are. Bah.

Camp

Yes, I made it to the end of Winter Camp at school. Thank fuck I never have to do that again... It was such a drainer, the kids had a shit time and just wanted to go home (who can blame them?) and the afternoons dragged. Last week was better thought, because I had the grade 5's and they have better English and they are pretty easy to get along with. The activities went ok but they just didn't want to work. And I know I should have been more strict and made them do things but I really didn't want to. They are kids, and they were on holidays. So if they would rather play minecraft then thats cool with me. 

The best activity was the paper mache globe idea. I am really glad I went with that, it was both fun and time consuming. But they weren't so excited to paint them. And they loved the cooking. I just wish I had access to an oven, because then we could have made some really good stuff! Another good activity was the dream catchers, they liked going outside and looking for things to add to their dream catchers, but actually only the girls finished theirs off. The boys all got distracted towards the end and just played minecraft. 

If I could do camp over? I would include more active games. The weather was really bad and we couldn't go outside, but if I end up having a summer camp I will def be going outside for activities. 

Girls painting their globes after cooking 

Globes

... while the boys play Minecraft on their phones

Globe painting

The cooking we did was peanut butter and jelly cookies in the microwave... it was ok. There recipe is here at this site. They went over better with the older kids than the younger ones. We ended up making 2 batches, but make sure you use a ceramic plate or something, I used a paper plate and they didn't cook as well as the previous week when I used a proper plate. 

In other news...

Billie and Georgia did really well at the Summer Royal in Melbourne, coming first in her led class. They didn't place in Champion but it was a really good result for her first comp. They are planning on other shows in the coming months so good luck and fighting!!!

I missed Steph and Billy' Australia Day party. It wasn't their official engagement party but I will miss that too. Depression city. I hate that I am missing big family and friend things at home. But these are the sacrifices we make for our own happiness and growth I suppose. 

Australia Day for me was a dull affair. I mean, I went out on the Sat night but no one even knew it was Australia Day, and when I told people they were like oh ok, what does it signify? And I was like, uh, I have no idea :| clearly I am the worst Australian ever. I just said, oh, its just a day where we eat lamb and drink beer... 

I have since googled, and for anyone who is interested it commemorates the landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove. Happy belated Australia Day I guess. Mia and myself are the only Aussies I know who live here so the even went by quietly. I am predicting Lunar New Year will be different... Its the weekend Rob is leaving so we will be out drinking, but I think I would like to see if anything in happening in the city too. Seems like a fun time of year. And the weather is finally getting a little better, its supposed to hit 12 degrees on Thursday!!!

Till next time, friends

xoxo

Deskwarming - Day 11

Well, actually its day 11 of camp, so not necessarily day 11 of deskwarming. But nevertheless this is what I am up too -

Nothing
Facebook stalking
Pokemon (why won't the freaking Patrat's piss off??)
Kakaoing Blair
Working on my next YouTube upload

I was going to do some more Korean practice, but I haven't decided yet if I will actually do that or have a nap... Because Co has gone home!!! We had a super awkward hour where he sat at his comp and I was on mine, and he was on a phone call most of the time and then didn't bother to try and make any conversation. I didn't think it was possible but perhaps out strained relationship is getting worse... Do you think he is breaking up with me???

Actually, Co had a big revelation for me last week - he got married over New Year. WTF??? Now, I have said it before and I will say it again, I am sure he is a really agreeable person most of the time, but we have our differences. It seems he had a secret girlfriend the whole time and went and got hitched and didn't tell ANYONE. By anyone I mean not even his friends knew. When he came into school last week (not 2 weeks ago mind) he told me his happy and exciting news and then proceeded to say that he now had to tell all his family and friends. I repeat - WTF?? So he didn't tell anyone?!?!?!
Now, this is very un-Korean. From what I can gather, weddings are really big events here, and pretty much anyone the couple know is invited. So, was I deliberately not invited??? I know other people from other schools were invited to their co-teacher's weddings... Does he hate me that much? But when he said that he needed to let his university friends know he was married that made me think again... Perhaps it was a small intimate affair? Who knows, its a mystery. But all the best to him, maybe now he is getting some he might be a little more pleasant. And actually I am happy for him, because it would suck to be an older guy here and not be married.

You must get married

Its like a golden rule here or something. The shelf life for a woman is 30, once you hit that you are over the hill and you had better already be married. I have been told multiple times that 28 is actually the best age for a woman to get married so I still have some time. But I have also been encouraged by many of my co workers to get a boyfriend soon, because I am not that young and should not be too picky as I get older (I am 26).

Guys can get away with being single for a little longer, but I think 30 is the general rule of thumb. You wanna be married by then and move out of your parents home. One of my best friends is an exception to this rule. I mean, she is still super young but she doesn't believe that she needs to get hitched anytime soon and is happy to go it her own way. If only all young Koreans were like this! 

And I refuse to be depressed about not being invited to Co's wedding, especially because I have a wedding here coming up soon! And that will make me less depressed about missing some of my beautiful friends's special days at home.

Shout out - 

Shout out here to Louise and Ty, whose wedding I will miss, Elise and Aaron, who's wedding I will also miss and also to Steph and Billy whose engagement party and all that fun stuff I will miss. Sorry if I have missed anyone and congratulations.

Camp update

This week I have grade 5 students, and I had a whopping 10 students today! And they were all pretty good and did the activities. I can't complain, they were polite and funny, although they really didn't make much of an effort with their english. I think tomorrow I must make it a rule - only english at english camp. Now that they know I understand a little bit of Korean here and there they tend to be a little bit more lazy. Which is lazy on my part too I need to be more strict. So thats my goal for tomorrow maybe.

They still love jenga and tumbling monkeys, but meh, as long as they get through the work thats all I am concerned about. Actually I am a bit amazed at the difference between grade 4 and 5 in terms of what they know... Grade 5 is way above grade 4 in terms of their ability. I would be very interested to see how many of them attend hagwon after school...

They boys getting ready for an intense Tumbling Monkeys game while the girls grab the Jenga

In other news...

I went out last night to Suwon to a really great Indian restaurant, I have no idea what its called but it was GOOD. If I ever find a link for it I will put it up, it was walking distance of Suwon Station. We then went to see the movie 'Cloud Atlas' which I can honestly say I have no idea what happened. It was directed by the same guys who did The Matrix and starred a heap of cool people including Tom Hanks and Halle Berry. I still don't know what the plot line was but the message I got from it was love knows no bounds and that your lives are not your own, they are for other people. I might be way off and need to see it again but there you go. Had a mix of humour, violence, grossness, and love. And of course a bit of sex for good measure. 

I have been asked by some people at home about what is the top of the K-Pop charts right now... I don't know what is at the top, but I know I hear a whole heap of Girls Generation. I Got A Boy is playing everywhere and also the song they call 'Dancing Queen' but its actually just Mercy by Duffy. Go figure. 

Milky is moulting like crazy and I have no idea why... Its still freezing here, so there is no reason for him to be losing so much fur. I can't leave the house without taking a cloud of white fluff with me. Its driving me crazy. And on the subject of the weather, I am really quite ready for it to warm up. I LOVED the snow, but I am tired of being cold. Never fear! I am still finding things to do and keep myself busy, although I am finally tired of being hungover so time to stah drinking and start saving my pennies. 

I have a big plan to go to Japan over my summer holiday so I want to have plenty of cash saved up by then. And then at the end of my contract I want to go to the Philippines for a few days and lie on the beach before I make the trek home. But that's still a while away. Its good to aim though!

I am actually nearly at the 5 month mark. Hard to believe it actually, I can't decide if I feel like I have been here forever or if I feel like I have just arrived. Either way this year os shaping up to be a fun one even though I am missing stuff at home. 

Peace out for now, I have an hour of my day left at school and there are still heaps of things I need to do...

xoxo

Desk warming - Day 3

Although I think I can finally start saying 'Winter Camp' rather than just desk warming.
After the abysmal child-free Monday I had 1 single boy turn up yesterday. Poor little DoWon had no one else to hang out with at camp, but we still managed to have an ok time. We filled in the time with different activities and he left a little before 12. Then I spent the rest of the afternoon fucking around on the internet, catching pokemon and making paper cranes. You can see a little more of my exciting day here:

Anyway, then there was today, which brought DoWon back, his little sister Cho Won and some other kid who called himself Harry...

Winter Camp - Wednesday

At first it was just Harry, and I wasn't sure if little Won was coming back so I figured seeing as Harry wasn't here yesterday he can do the passport activity. Naturally he wanted to make a Korean passport so he pretty much just coloured the whole thing in green and laughed about it. Harry told me that yes, he does go to Hagwon, but they really aren't doing a fab job with him. In saying that he doesn't seem to be the sharpest tool in the shed so maybe its his fault rather than the teacher - in fact I know it is. 

Anyway, then DoWon came in with his CUTE AS little sister who is somewhere between 4 - 6 years old. So yes I basically spent today babysitting. 

DoWon made his sis a passport so she felt included but she was pretty shy so I just gaver her some crayons and set her at a piece of paper. Worked for a bit until she decided that she wanted to do paper mache with the boys. Sure! Why not?

All I can say is thank God the glue is simply flour and water, and thank God it's non toxic. They had it all over themselves, and there was bits of newspaper everywhere! But they seemed to be having an ok time. Harry kept stuffing it up, he couldn't grasp the concept of covering the balloon, there were gaps all over his globe. And little Cho had paper everywhere and was covered in glue. It was on her clothed in her mouth, in her hair... So once the balloons were covered I tried to put the movie on. I figured they could watch 'The Lion King' which killed time and kept them entertained. I tried to photocopy some worksheets i'd made - no luck. Of course its all in Korean so I had no idea how to use the new photocopier. Oh well. And would the movie play? No of course not!! As IF my portable hard drive is compatiable with both Mac and PC!!! How foolish of me to think so! 

A moment of panic - wtf was I supposed to do with these kids? The boys were hitting each other with the balloons I had to think fast. Paints of course!!!

I gave them some paper plates and told them to make masks (notice how little English is being learnt here??? They spoke in Korean the entire time... Camp FAIL) which they seemed to enjoy. I tested the paints to see if they would wash off with water and thankfully they did, because all 3 of the kids had their clothes and hands covered in paint. In little Cho's case it was also on her face and in her hair. They painted a few masks and then of course got bored. I still had about 40 minutes to kill and I was completly out of ideas. My plan had failed. What now?

I ran next door to my office and found my saviour. Jenga. I brought it into the other room and the 3 kids occupied themselves for the next half hour playing jenga, throwing blocks at each other and building forts for mini cars and animals I had given them to play with. They were having such a lovely time I had to kick them out at 12! I felt sorry for Cho's mum, she was gonna freak out when she saw her adorable daughter covered in paint and dried flour... Meh.

Keeping themselves busy

DoWon paper macheing yesterday. Much tidier yesterday!

So my plan for tomorrow is this - cooking in the morning (making honey snap slice out of rice bubbles) so it can go into the fridge and get nice and cool for later, then paint the globes which will hopefully be dry, then get the slice out of the fridge and distribute to the kids. I am going to print off some basic worksheets for them to do, because there will probably be extra time at the end and I don't really want to be caught out tomorrow. Then on Friday we can do the Lion King stuff. So I have to plan a whole new week of stuff for them for the following week. With a bit of luck their parents won't make them attend. Because I have no idea what I will do with these kids for a whole other week! Sounds pathetic I know, but if there were a few more we could do some fun games, but what exactly can you do with 2 kids and a kindy kid?

In other news...

Nothing has really happened since I last blogged. I went to visit Heejin in hospital last night, and she seemed to be in good spirits. Poor thing broke her wrist on new years eve (long story short she slipped on ice and me and her spent out new year in the emergency room while everyone else got drunk in Hongdae) and had to have an operation. I want to go visit her again maybe Thursday. Cheng left for Thailand and Laos this morning and Mathilda is heading off tomorrow so I am super jelly of them both! I wish I was going somewhere warm for a week or 2. It has been freezing in Korea, most mornings I get up and it is around -12 degrees C but I think today it actually got above 0 which is a big deal. I am really excited for the winter to be over but we have a fair while yet. Apparently Jan is usually the coldest month so it won't start warming up till the end of Feb. Boooooooooo.

I think thats all for now. I am gonna try and do a few more cranes before I get some pokemon caught. I am as ready as I can be for tomorrow so wish me luck! I'm sure you'll hear all about it :)

xoxo

Desk Warming - Day 1

So obviously I didn't finish my reflections of 2012. And I also didn't post some massive thing about what I hope to achieve for this year etc etc. To be honest I have just been really slack with blogging lately. Since I last blogged my sister has been and gone, new year has been and gone, Christmas has been and gone... So yeah, a lot has happened and I just don't know if I can be bothered going over it again in my mind... So I suppose I will just acknowledge that these things happened and start again from now. But don't worry, citizens, tis deskwarming season so I am sure there will be many posts to come!!!

English Camp - Day 1

Day 1 was a complete flop. No students showed up. I suppose most people would be pretty happy about this, and in a way I am kinda relieved but I am also disappointed. I actually spent time planning this whole thing out, and even gave up an afternoon with my sister to get organised. So I am kinda pissed off... And I have a feeling that the rest of the 3 weeks will be like this. It was mainly grade 5 that signed up though, and I am expecting them in 2 weeks, so if nothing else at least I will have plenty of materials for them. I am still wanting to locate some poster paint and might have to check out some art shop that Jackie has been telling me about. 

My camp theme is The World is just Awesome, based kinda around the Discovery Channel ad. I will put the link in for the clip, it is really great.

I really love it... Shows diversity in a fun way. I thought it would be good for the kids to learn a bit about other countries, as most of them think that the only place outside Korea is America. So today was going to be a bit of an intro and make our own passports. And then I wanted to do a paper mache globe. Now, all of this I can still do, but only of kids show up! I made a mock passport for myself today to see how long it would take - 15 mins just for the activity. So coupled that with a powerpoint and actually trying to explain it to some kids I think I should get 40 mins out of it. Usually they stuff something up and want to start again so I might be able to push it further... IF THEY COME.

But what is "deskwarming"?

I had been warned about it, and now I am living it. Basically there are no kids here but I am still required to come to school. So I just have to sit here for 8 hours (should only be 5 cos kids are supposed to come to camp but whatever) and do nothing. Hence why I am updating the blog... SO I am going to set myself some goals for my deskwarming time.

• Keep my blog up to date and include fun pics of what I am up to
• Upload another YouTube video at some point - I haven't done one since October
• Study Korean and try to get good enough for the intermediate class
• Make more paper cranes

I have started making paper cranes, I want to do 1000 so I can make a wish. I am getting better at it, so far today at school I have made 12, and I have about the same amount at home. I am planning on stringing them up around my room. It will look a little creepy with them all dangling from the ceiling but it keeps me occupied. 

Actually, I hope I do get this time to myself, rather than having to sit in the office with Co. I just don't want any awkward conversation! I never know what to say to the guy!

Sissy in Korea

Ok, so maybe I will cove just this topic. 

Georgia was in Korea from Thursday 27th till yesterday 6th January. I had a great time and I really hope she did too. We did some fun things and she got to meet all of my friends who were in Korea at the time. A few she didn't get to meet as they were out of Korea on holidays but we still had enough people around for a fun week. 

We spent New Year in Seoul and had an interesting night in Hongdae, and did some touristy things before coming back to Songtan to just hang about. I really enjoyed her company and slept really badly last night. I have decided that although I enjoy my own company, I don't really like living along. I can do it, but given the choice I would rather have company. Gosh, aren't I learning heaps about myself!!!

We had a minor blue on nye but I think that was alcohol induced. Otherwise we got along really well. She is hoping to maybe come back in April before she goes to Europe with her bf, and I would love that if its in her budget. Anyway, I wont go on about it all, lets just saw it was an amazing week and I loved having her here. And I miss her now she is gone and I miss everyone at home. But, life goes on and thats the end of it.

Ice skating at City Hall

Sissy and Milky are besties

Us

New Years Eve

Snow time fun in Seoul

In other news...

Milky stayed at the vet while we were in Seoul for new year and was treated AGAIN for heatworm. The last lot of treatment (from the Songtan vet) didn't clear it up so he will go back in a month and get another test done to see if its gone. The treatment, plus his last lot of vaccinations, plus the boarding fee, plus heartguard all came to just under 600,000won. I nearly died. It's all gone on my Australian credit card which I was slowly paying off... Not so much now. So this month I am really going to budget. What I want to do is withdraw a certain amount every week and just spend that and no more. There is no reason for me to be spending so much money, I need to stop eating and drinking so much it's insane. I mean, I will always pay for anything Milky needs done because he is my baby (yes, I am becoming one of 'those' people) but in terms of the way I have been spending I really need to stop. 

And I also want to try and get a bit fitter. So from now on me and the dog can go for a decent walk after school every day. I kept putting off walking him properly because the snow makes him limp cos his feet get cold but there is not much snow coverage any more so time to get out of the house!!! And also I want to eat more fresh food - yes this is contrary to what I said about not spending so much on food but fresh food is better. 

In the meantime I can't go anywhere until after pay day, I am at the bottom of the tin this month! But it was worth spending all the cash because I got to hang with my sister :)

Anyway, thats about it for today. Thanks for tuning in, live from my desk at school!

And only 4 more hours to go :|

xoxoxo