My trip to China, and other wonderful things!

Wow, I have so much to catch up on! At the end of January I went to Beijing, China for 1 week with 3 of my friends. Ellen and I went to Seoul earlier in the day so we could go to Itaewon (the Westernized part of Seoul) to get some yummy food and hit up an English bookstore called What the Book. So after a 3 hour bus ride we arrived in Seoul and took the subway to Itaewon. We went to a small restaurant called Petra, thanks to a suggestion from my friend Alana. Anyway, the place was super cheap and amazing. I got a falafel wrap with vegetables and tsatsiki sauce. It is really nice to go to Seoul every once in a while and get different food. In Andong, where I live...there are not very many options. Although today I went to an Italian-ish restaurant with my friend Jinsuk and got seafood carbonara and it was actually not bad. I will never understand why their garlic bread is sweet though.

So after going to Petra we went to What the Book and browsed around for about an hour and a half. I swear I could spend all day in a bookstore its kind of a problem. This bookstore is also nice because it has a lot of used books as well. So me and Ellen took forever trying to figure out what books we were going to buy...I just settled on one so I didn't have to lug even more stuff to China with me. We then made a trip to Starbucks which is a necessity when going to a bigger city, they don't have one in Andong. Mmmmm...peppermint white chocolate mocha! After that we hopped on the Subway for 1 hour to Incheon, where the airport is located.

We stayed the night in Incheon at a hotel so we could catch our flight the next morning. Our flight to China was only 1.5 hours so we got there by noon. We then took the subway all the way from the airport to our hotel in downtown Beijing (about 1/2 hour). Our hotel was directly next to the subway station which was nice. Sadly when we got to the hotel they had lost or never received mine and David's reservation....so we had to sit in the lobby for 3 hours until they figured it out. Once we finally got to our room, it was pretty nice and I was thankful that everything worked out.

The next morning we woke up at 8am to meet our tour guide for The Forbidden City, The Summer Palace, The Temple of Heaven, a silk factory and  a pearl factory. It was a very long day but everything was amazing. We also had a very good Chinese meal with lots of vegetables...I think it may have been the best meal since I have been to Asia. There was this one dish with scrambled eggs and tomatoes...my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Most of our time in Beijing was spent walking around and checking out the city. I spent a lot of time in grocery stores because there was so much American food. I found a grocery store that reminded me of my Food Co-op back home, lets just say Ellen and I were in HEAVEN. I was able to pick up many things to bring back to Korea such as beans and lentils that I cannot find here. Clothing is also very cheap in China so of course I had to go shopping. I went to a park on Chinese New Year where they were having a HUGE festival with thousands of people. There were vendors everywhere selling all different kinds of food and everything rabbit because it is the year of the rabbit. I am talking rabbit masks, rabbit socks, food shaped like rabbits....rabbit craziness. I found a vendor that was selling beautiful scarfs for the equivalant of $3.50 USD....so I bought about 10 of them!!!

A few days into our trip we planned to go to The Great Wall. We had to wake up at 6am to catch our shuttle. We went with other people, one girl who was a teacher in Korea as well, such a small world. We were so smushed in the shuttle it wasn't the most comfortable ride. We sat like sardines for about 3 hours, and when we arrived the wait was well worth it. We hiked for about 1.5 hours up because we stopped to take so many pictures, and 45 minutes back. We didn't spend that much time there, but it was beautiful and the highlight of my trip to China. There were barely any people there so we had the whole wall to ourself it seemed like. The view was beyond breath taking...and it was hard to take it all in. It wasn't until the next day that I had registered in my mind where I had just been. I never thought that I would see The Great Wall in my lifetime. Overall my trip to China was wonderful. The people are caring and welcoming, just like in Korea. I am sooooo happy I was blessed with the opportunity to go.

 Our delicious meal, and the yummy egg dish.

      Stretching Silk at the Silk Shop

The Temple of Heaven

America: written in Chinese by a cute little man with a water paintbrush on the sidewalk.

Me, Eddie, Ellen, & David on The Great Wall

The Great Wall

The Forbidden City

Roots Reggae Bar ~ So thankful for live music!!

At Ditan Park on Chinese New Year

A fruit called Boboboboeeee or something like that, delicious.

Ellen and I with our aloe and coconut drinks from the grocery store.

The year of the RABBIT!

Just enjoying a Tsingtao with David, fun night!

Being in Korea has allowed me to experience other cultures, and is giving me the opportunity to travel.  I leave for Taiwan on May 5, 2011 for 5 days. I am ecstatic, and cannot wait to go surfing and lounge around on the beach all day. Also I will be coming home from  June 29- July 17th. Can't wait to see all of my wonderful friends and family especially during the best time of the year in Washington, SUMMER!!!!

Work, sleep, work

January 11, 2011

Today I was walking to work with Ellen, we usually walk to work and sometimes home...it's 2.5 miles each way and it is good for us. Anyways, we were walking across the walking bridge and what do we see but a poor little fish lying in the middle of it. Well it was kind of a big fish. The water was probably 30+ feet below, so we decided since it was suffocating that we should save it. I took off my gloves, picked it up (fish blood all over my hands) and decided to toss it back into the water. I think it lived...well I hope so. So after doing our good deed for the day, we started to think....hmmm...how did the fish get there? We then remembered that we had seen fishermen before fishing off the bridge. I looked up to a lone fisherman staring our way, we had thrown his fish back into the water!!!! It was so funny, but he looked kind of pissed off so I said sorry and kept walking. It was very odd that he just left the fish lying there half alive, not in a bag or anything. That is pretty much the only super exciting thing that has happened lately haha. Actually I take it back, I am super excited about reading Blue Like Jazz, I am already almost 1/2 way through it in 3 days.

The job at the Institute is becoming somewhat redundant. I feel like all I do since this new schedule is work and sleep. I am hoping I adjust to it soon and don't want to sleep everyday until 11am!! Staring at the computer for most of the day is hard on the eyes....and the job itself is challenging when some students do not want to participate. I only have 1 or 2 classes like that though and I think it is because their English level is really low. I am praying it will get better. I have been spending my extra time at work reading and calling friends, so that is nice. I have one student, his name is Yeong Jay and he is so cute. He is about 7 years old and he always wears a cute stuffed animal hat. Today it was a white tiger hat...it made my day. I am thankful for times like these, it reminds me why I am here.

I am leaving for China at the end of the month yayayayay!

New Year...New Life January 1st 2011

So I am going to do a little back tracking because it has been awhile since I updated. I have currently left the Elementary school I worked for and am now working at the Gyeongbuk Educational Institute with 7 other foreigners. I am teaching students online and though it has its challenges, I truly feel blessed to have this opportunity. The program that we work for is brand new and from what I can tell it is kind of a big deal in our city. One of the other teachers I work with was actually recorded and broadcasted on television in Korea. I have my own little office so that is nice, plus I get to work with a good bunch of people. Andong has been very good for me and even though it is tough being away from home I am very thankful for my life here. I have heard some horror stories from other teachers about being stuck in bad situations. So I am happy that I am not placed in one of those.

This last Wednesday was my birthday and I went out with my co-workers and we sang karaoke...it was a lot of fun. My co-teacher from English camp (Jin Suk) went out with us, and we had a great time!! I love her, she is probably one of my best Korean friends and she has been super helpful to me since I moved here.

Tonight was new years and we all went out for drinks and to the local "booking club" where apparently if there is a table full of guys they bring you a girl! Interesting....But anyway I don't go there for any of that , I just enjoy going and dancing with friends and having a good time. For the rest of the weekend I plan on lying low....reading, cleaning, and talking to people from home. Sunday, I plan on going to church next door to my house. I believe that Pastor Kim is having a birthday party for me....how cute is that? I am really happy that I started going there, especially because it feels great to be surrounded by wonderful and welcoming people. I have been spending time with the girls who invited me there in the first place, one is my student from Bokju and the other is my landlords daughter, last weekend we went shopping downtown after church and got ice cream. I loved it~

I am excited for this new year and have a lot to look forward to...China in February, Hawaii in March, hopefully Thailand in the summer. I can't wait!!!! After all the great times and the hardships that 2010 has brought, I am looking forward to a new year. I am so happy with the way my life is going especially spiritually, I really see God working in my life and am so thankful for that. I hope that this year brings peace to the issues that are going on back at home in the states and that my family can feel the peace that I am experiencing myself. Happy New Year EVERYONE~~ I pray that its a good one :)

Today is the beginning of my new life

December 18, 2010

Tomorrow is a new day, I am excited. I am starting at Gyeongsangbuk-do Educational Research Institute. I have been very hesitant about this position and what it entails, but I decided today that I am no longer going to worry about it. I have been doing a lot of self-reflection lately, and it has made me realize that I have only been going through the motions of life and not fully living to my potential. I haven't been being completely true to myself, or my character....and feeling somewhat lost. It could be that I am a million miles away from home and everything I love. I guess I feel like I have been living only half-way, worrying too much, not making the most out of this amazing experience, sometimes forgetting my values and my worth. With much prayer and thought I now realize what needs to happen. I know that God has put me here for a reason and even though sometimes its tough, I know he has a plan. This is amazing to me, and I feel truly blessed to have this inner peace. So now with a better grip on things I am going to start getting involved in activities I am passionate about, I want to get out there and do what God intended me to do. I am starting on my new venture tomorrow (not only the new job, but something else I have been wanting to do), but I am going to keep it underwraps until I know the details. I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas.

"All seasons are beautiful for the person who carries happiness within."

This too shall pass

(December 18, 2010)

You can sure get a lot of thinking done when you can't sleep from 3:30am until 8:00am because first someone calls you from home in the U.S. and because they do not understand the time difference they wake you up. Secondly, Anthony  stumbles into your room at 4am and falls asleep sitting up....finally you get him to wake up and send him stumbling off to his own room. Thirdly, your dear friend David  is snoring so loudly on your bedroom floor that you could have built a log cabin by now with all of the logs he has sawed. Lastly, there is so much on your mind that even if all of these things had not happened you probably couldn't sleep anyway.

Last day of school

Today was my last day at Bokju, it was sad and bittersweet. I will miss it there. It is also Friday night....not quite sure what the plans are, but tomorrow night we are having an ugly sweater party!

Insomnia

It's 2:45 am, I have to be at work in 6 hours....I can't sleep! Tomorrow is my 2nd to last day of 3rd grade and I am really hoping I will have the energy to make it through the day. I am sure I will  because the kids are always so happy to see me that even if I was in a bad mood they would cheer me right up. The good thing is I am leaving at 12:30 after my classes so I guess I can sleep after that.

I miss Talia, my down pillowtop mattress pad, Gooie's oatmeal and oven hotcakes. Man do I miss those things. Ahhh, the comforts of home....

I did have some really good baked spaghetti at dinner tonight after the English camp final awards ceremony. Thank you to the Gyeongbuk Office of Education for picking up the tab! I think I am tired now, so I am going to sleep :) Oh I posted a picture of Jin Suk and I, she is my co-teacher from English Camp! I love her she is so helpful and a great friend!