Thursday, December 24, 2009
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
So tonight was the performance of Handel's Messiah! It went swimmingly well. The church was pretty full, the soloists and orchestra sounded beautiful, and save a few trip ups, the choir totally rocked it. For those of you back home who don't quite get it (as my friends here didn't either) this was a legitimate concert. Orchestra, organist, conductor, professional soloists, and us... the choir. Haha... a couple pros, a couple music majors, and then the rest of us amateurs. :) A few ambassadors came including the ambassadors from America, South Africa, and Ghana. The whole place was buzzing after the concert about how we made the American ambassador cry at the end. Glorious. Ryan, the choir director who put this all together is trying to start a music company and this was the first show to see if he could really make it happen. I think it most certainly can. In fact already has.
Highlight of the night for me, singing Hallelujah. (typical) The lights were up in the whole place, (not even dimmed at all) the whole show so I could see everyone's face in the crowd; something I'm not accustomed to when performing. People were falling asleep, looking like they were dying, bored, etc. (some of the worst ones didn't come back after intermission.) It was rather discouraging so I started this game of searching for the people that were actually enjoying it and that was really nice to find the ones that were. Some just had this pleasant smile the whole show. But after Hallelujah, smiles all around. Big smiles. I almost started crying (I'm such a crier). It all made sense at that moment. I'll admit I thought about quitting a few times. I have very precious time away from work and schelpping myself about an hour by subway to reherse for 4 hours and home again an hour every Saturday (and over 8 hours for our 2 intensive rehersals... though I missed a few rehearsals so I can't complain too much) using my break time at work to study music (and admittedly still not totally learning all of the last song, woops) I was like ahh. Why am I doing this to myself!? But then after Hallelujah... That moment happened where it clicks and you actually make the desensitized masses excited for a moment over music. That is the song they sit through the rest of the show to see.
9 people came on my behalf and I'm so grateful. Wish all of my friends and family back home could have seen it but I was glad to have my Korea family there. :) Much thanks!
There was an audio recording of the show, and probably some photos to come too but I just wanted to write about it now before I forgot. Now I'm going to rest my poor tonsilitis throat (perfect timing huh? started a week and a half ago) and sleep the night and day away. That was fun but I'm so glad it's over! Back to my music stuff (well I didn't stop but more practice now!) and maybe studying some Korean again!
앗싸!!
Highlight of the night for me, singing Hallelujah. (typical) The lights were up in the whole place, (not even dimmed at all) the whole show so I could see everyone's face in the crowd; something I'm not accustomed to when performing. People were falling asleep, looking like they were dying, bored, etc. (some of the worst ones didn't come back after intermission.) It was rather discouraging so I started this game of searching for the people that were actually enjoying it and that was really nice to find the ones that were. Some just had this pleasant smile the whole show. But after Hallelujah, smiles all around. Big smiles. I almost started crying (I'm such a crier). It all made sense at that moment. I'll admit I thought about quitting a few times. I have very precious time away from work and schelpping myself about an hour by subway to reherse for 4 hours and home again an hour every Saturday (and over 8 hours for our 2 intensive rehersals... though I missed a few rehearsals so I can't complain too much) using my break time at work to study music (and admittedly still not totally learning all of the last song, woops) I was like ahh. Why am I doing this to myself!? But then after Hallelujah... That moment happened where it clicks and you actually make the desensitized masses excited for a moment over music. That is the song they sit through the rest of the show to see.
9 people came on my behalf and I'm so grateful. Wish all of my friends and family back home could have seen it but I was glad to have my Korea family there. :) Much thanks!
There was an audio recording of the show, and probably some photos to come too but I just wanted to write about it now before I forgot. Now I'm going to rest my poor tonsilitis throat (perfect timing huh? started a week and a half ago) and sleep the night and day away. That was fun but I'm so glad it's over! Back to my music stuff (well I didn't stop but more practice now!) and maybe studying some Korean again!
앗싸!!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Teaching Moments
Just felt compelled to write real quick blog about a couple little moments I've had teaching in the last few weeks. This week and last I've really been trying to slow down, forget about how much I work, and all the stress, and try to enjoy where I am right now. It's easy to get worked up, stressed out, and miss things in life.
In my kindie class the other day one of my students spilled her water on the table while doing her work. I rushed to get tissues to clean it up and scold her for not closing the lid and she begins to play in it with this huge smile on her face and exclaims "Pretty!" It reminded me of all the times and ways I looked at water and how it moved. Especially long car rides in the rain. I could stare forever at the little pellets of water and how they raced off the edges of my view as the car moved. And I thought... wow why is water such a big deal in such the opposite way now? Why is it always such a "mess" or an annoyance when it used to be so fun and beautiful?
I later in a book store I wandered to by following my instincts (a whole nother story) read a good portion of the follow of book to "Who Moved My Cheese?" called "The Present" and in it an old man was trying to explain to this boy as he's growing over the years what the present is. And he asked the child, as an adult, about a task he had performed. The boy described mowing the lawn and how he really enjoyed it being outside and trimming tight corners, and just the overall feeling of success after a job well done. The old man tried to explain that that is why he was happy. He was completely focused on the now and what he was currently doing at that time.
Seems so simple but I'm trying to adapt that to my life now.
The other moment I wanted to talk about came today. Mondays and Fridays are my worst as far as packed schedules, and rowdy classes. Well in my afternoon class of my oldest kids (pre-middle school) I had only 2 out of the 3 girls today (the one missing being the most talkative of the 3). The last 5 minutes or so of class we were done and they got out their books for the next class to study and one of the vocab words was "rude". So I went to grab my notepad of Korean words and phrases to jot it down because its one I always want at hand to explain to a student when they are not being respectful. In any case one girl took an interest (as they do every time I have it in class) in my notepad and flipped through it, correcting mistakes and explaining things here and there about Korean. Then she said "Teacher you are..." and quickly grabbed her phone to use the dictionary. She showed it to me and it said something like "dedicated to study" and a few other definitions. I said yes... and she confided pointing at herself "Me too. With Japanese." I was baffled... "You go to another hagwon (private academy)?" No, she studies by herself, and made a gesture that kind of made me realize that was part of the meaning of the word she had attempted to translate for me.
It didn't really sink in until later what that meant for her to study on her own. She doesn't leave my school until 8:20 MWF, much later than me, and probably starts studying earlier than I go to school and comes home to mountains of homework. Not to mention regular exams to study for. Where does she find the time? Where does she have the passion left to teach herself something on top of the piles of information squashed into her head every day? I think it was a really nice moment. Its good to show the kids that we are kind of the same in some ways. I think the kids that are old enough to get it appreciate the fact that I'm studying and trying to learn a difficult and foreign language too and I'm not just sitting up on a high horse beacuse I know English. I know teachers are not supposed to try and be friends with students, but we are supposed to be humans.
Today was great. It was a coteacher's birthday and we all went to her house for cake and champagne (though I didn't partake in the latter) and talked about life and politics and cultures. We were so invloved it took the clock going to 12:59 for us all to realize... wow. Time to work tomorrow.
anyway. Just wanted to share!
In my kindie class the other day one of my students spilled her water on the table while doing her work. I rushed to get tissues to clean it up and scold her for not closing the lid and she begins to play in it with this huge smile on her face and exclaims "Pretty!" It reminded me of all the times and ways I looked at water and how it moved. Especially long car rides in the rain. I could stare forever at the little pellets of water and how they raced off the edges of my view as the car moved. And I thought... wow why is water such a big deal in such the opposite way now? Why is it always such a "mess" or an annoyance when it used to be so fun and beautiful?
I later in a book store I wandered to by following my instincts (a whole nother story) read a good portion of the follow of book to "Who Moved My Cheese?" called "The Present" and in it an old man was trying to explain to this boy as he's growing over the years what the present is. And he asked the child, as an adult, about a task he had performed. The boy described mowing the lawn and how he really enjoyed it being outside and trimming tight corners, and just the overall feeling of success after a job well done. The old man tried to explain that that is why he was happy. He was completely focused on the now and what he was currently doing at that time.
Seems so simple but I'm trying to adapt that to my life now.
The other moment I wanted to talk about came today. Mondays and Fridays are my worst as far as packed schedules, and rowdy classes. Well in my afternoon class of my oldest kids (pre-middle school) I had only 2 out of the 3 girls today (the one missing being the most talkative of the 3). The last 5 minutes or so of class we were done and they got out their books for the next class to study and one of the vocab words was "rude". So I went to grab my notepad of Korean words and phrases to jot it down because its one I always want at hand to explain to a student when they are not being respectful. In any case one girl took an interest (as they do every time I have it in class) in my notepad and flipped through it, correcting mistakes and explaining things here and there about Korean. Then she said "Teacher you are..." and quickly grabbed her phone to use the dictionary. She showed it to me and it said something like "dedicated to study" and a few other definitions. I said yes... and she confided pointing at herself "Me too. With Japanese." I was baffled... "You go to another hagwon (private academy)?" No, she studies by herself, and made a gesture that kind of made me realize that was part of the meaning of the word she had attempted to translate for me.
It didn't really sink in until later what that meant for her to study on her own. She doesn't leave my school until 8:20 MWF, much later than me, and probably starts studying earlier than I go to school and comes home to mountains of homework. Not to mention regular exams to study for. Where does she find the time? Where does she have the passion left to teach herself something on top of the piles of information squashed into her head every day? I think it was a really nice moment. Its good to show the kids that we are kind of the same in some ways. I think the kids that are old enough to get it appreciate the fact that I'm studying and trying to learn a difficult and foreign language too and I'm not just sitting up on a high horse beacuse I know English. I know teachers are not supposed to try and be friends with students, but we are supposed to be humans.
Today was great. It was a coteacher's birthday and we all went to her house for cake and champagne (though I didn't partake in the latter) and talked about life and politics and cultures. We were so invloved it took the clock going to 12:59 for us all to realize... wow. Time to work tomorrow.
anyway. Just wanted to share!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Song and some back woes
For those that say I haven't written in a while. A big blog is coming up sometime... I'm not sure when... but its coming. Have to write about my island trip and Halloween! Lots of photos.
Fools in Love by Inara George.
I smile cus I mess up... but since you can't even hear the guitar it doesn't much matter hmmm? I bought this external mike so you wouldn't hear all the computer buzzing and I thought it was working but now the buzzing is still there. Oh well, on with the song!
Ok I'll write a bit since the video is taking forever to load...
So I've been having some back issues. I went to an acupuncturist for the first time. Which is a big deal for those of you that know me. I'm scared of needles. It wasn't so bad. I bit my lip for the first 2 and then the rest just kind of pinched a little as I imagined myself floating on that infamous air mattress down on the river... ahhh. But before all that I just layed on this hot bed for a while with suction cups going at my back. The one on my arm tickled and I was just laughing by myself in my little curtain room. I went 3 times and after no improvement decided to try something else.
So off to the orthopedic doctor. Some x-rays and telling him my symptoms and well... he thinks its my neck. I happen to disagree, especially since he didn't even bother to x-ray where my back is hurting because he ALREADY decided it was my neck. He told me to stretch and exercise and prescribed me some pain killers and muscle relaxers (chill out parents its only for 3 days and to be honest I don't feel any different after taking them, perhaps they are sugar...) and phsyical therapy. I did one session and decided it was all bullox. More hot beds only this one had these poundy thingies that shook me up and they put these air boots on my feet to squeeze them up real good. Then more suction cups. I'm beginning to see a pattern. Not my idea of phsycial therapy, seeing as no one ever actually touched me or showed me how to stretch or sit right. McTherapy. A few hot beds are cheaper than a staff that actualy *gasp* works with a patient.
So after all that I just ended up feeling like a baked potato or perhaps tenderized meat, and still no improvement. I'm just gunna stretch and exercise myself. The internet says the leading cause of upper back problems is muscle atrophy in people that sit at computers all day. Check on that one. Also might try a chiropractor or massage, probably both.
First it was my throat. Then my stomach. Back to the throat. Now my back. It seems I have a traveling health issue going on months. Apparently the stress has gotta go somewhere. I can't see there being much improvement until this year is up. I'm trying my best to destress but Korean work ethic isn't really designed for that. In fact quite the opposite...
Dreaming of getting back to the USA having some long tour in my little car stopping at farms and riding my bike, chilling on the beach, seeing friends and family. Ahhh...
Fools in Love by Inara George.
I smile cus I mess up... but since you can't even hear the guitar it doesn't much matter hmmm? I bought this external mike so you wouldn't hear all the computer buzzing and I thought it was working but now the buzzing is still there. Oh well, on with the song!
Ok I'll write a bit since the video is taking forever to load...
So I've been having some back issues. I went to an acupuncturist for the first time. Which is a big deal for those of you that know me. I'm scared of needles. It wasn't so bad. I bit my lip for the first 2 and then the rest just kind of pinched a little as I imagined myself floating on that infamous air mattress down on the river... ahhh. But before all that I just layed on this hot bed for a while with suction cups going at my back. The one on my arm tickled and I was just laughing by myself in my little curtain room. I went 3 times and after no improvement decided to try something else.
So off to the orthopedic doctor. Some x-rays and telling him my symptoms and well... he thinks its my neck. I happen to disagree, especially since he didn't even bother to x-ray where my back is hurting because he ALREADY decided it was my neck. He told me to stretch and exercise and prescribed me some pain killers and muscle relaxers (chill out parents its only for 3 days and to be honest I don't feel any different after taking them, perhaps they are sugar...) and phsyical therapy. I did one session and decided it was all bullox. More hot beds only this one had these poundy thingies that shook me up and they put these air boots on my feet to squeeze them up real good. Then more suction cups. I'm beginning to see a pattern. Not my idea of phsycial therapy, seeing as no one ever actually touched me or showed me how to stretch or sit right. McTherapy. A few hot beds are cheaper than a staff that actualy *gasp* works with a patient.
So after all that I just ended up feeling like a baked potato or perhaps tenderized meat, and still no improvement. I'm just gunna stretch and exercise myself. The internet says the leading cause of upper back problems is muscle atrophy in people that sit at computers all day. Check on that one. Also might try a chiropractor or massage, probably both.
First it was my throat. Then my stomach. Back to the throat. Now my back. It seems I have a traveling health issue going on months. Apparently the stress has gotta go somewhere. I can't see there being much improvement until this year is up. I'm trying my best to destress but Korean work ethic isn't really designed for that. In fact quite the opposite...
Dreaming of getting back to the USA having some long tour in my little car stopping at farms and riding my bike, chilling on the beach, seeing friends and family. Ahhh...
Monday, October 12, 2009
Just some self portraits
Did these today and figured I'd post them.
I have 2 blogs I for sure need to write. One of which is my Chusok Trip blog that will def rival, if not top the Temple Stay blog for massive amounts of photos.
Anywhere here they are:
Oh and here are a couple polaroids from the day I met with photographer Saeho Kim who also cut my hair:
I have 2 blogs I for sure need to write. One of which is my Chusok Trip blog that will def rival, if not top the Temple Stay blog for massive amounts of photos.
Anywhere here they are:
Oh and here are a couple polaroids from the day I met with photographer Saeho Kim who also cut my hair:
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Quick Pre-Chusok Blog
In other news. I saw an odd occurrence on the subway that was very subtle. See, here there are a lot of young couples here that like to wear matching clothes. It's pretty ridiculous, especially because they are usually awful or really girly. I saw a couple wearing pink shirts with some sort of giant animal face on the front once. Also saw a couple once wearing matching pants... and they were really tight even for the girl. In any case this morning I saw what I thought was an older couple matching on the subway. Like... grandma age and I thought... how odd. The old matching couples are more rare. Then the man caught sight of the woman I think because he walked to the other end of the subway car. They weren't together after all! They just happened to be standing in the same spot of the subway car with the same exact shirt on. I can't imagine the odds of that...
I might be the only one that finds this amusing but that's ok. It's my blog.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Parks: Good. Dentists: Bad
So I went to the dentist today. I have 4 cavaties, which oddly enough are not the same cavaties the last dentist found. Not sure what to make of that but I'll just leave it alone. Unfortunetely the cleaning and cavaties aren't covered by insurance. I have no idea why the cleaning isn't but the cavaties is because I want white fillings. Bummer. But its still cheaper than back home. I did the cleaning today and the cavaties are next week. They aren't that bad though. One is "small" and the other 2 are "medium". Luckily the clinic is literally around the corner from my school on the same floor and the nurse and doctor speak decent English.
Now on with the fun stuff,
Last night I met up with Hee Jin and 3 of her friends in Hyewa. I can't remember their names for the life of me. They were among some of the most difficult to pronounce Korean names I've encountered yet..\ We attempted the Western naming thing again, as I did with the last friend of Hee Jin's I met, "Summer" (Sun-mi). I named 2 with ease and the other guy, I couldn't quite figure out a name suitable. We ended the night vaguely calling him Kutcher after him saying he should be named Ashton Kutcher (he was quite a joker). Ashton didn't fit. lol. The other 2 are Jordan and Amelia. Amelia didn't speak any English but the boys did. All these photos are shot on Amelia's camera which is a Canon nicer than mine and got my gears a turning in the old head about all the camera stuff I want to buy but shouldn't.... We went to the park after having some coffee (well, I had a green tea frap) and climbed up this steep hill and about a billion stairs to this park with a beautiful view. We each drank a Cass (the Bud Light of Korea) and had dried squid as a snack. I wasn't a fan (too sweet) but I found it wonderful all the same that squid would be a beer snack. Ahhh Korea...
Out side the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with "Jordan"
with.... Kutcher?
Hee Jin, Kutcher, Amelia and Jordan
Of course I got ahold of the camera and had them do my typical ghostly shots.
Grabbed the camera again and changed the settings to get more of the view in!
And no night of playing with a camera can be complete without jumping photos...
Heading back down.
Now on with the fun stuff,
Last night I met up with Hee Jin and 3 of her friends in Hyewa. I can't remember their names for the life of me. They were among some of the most difficult to pronounce Korean names I've encountered yet..\ We attempted the Western naming thing again, as I did with the last friend of Hee Jin's I met, "Summer" (Sun-mi). I named 2 with ease and the other guy, I couldn't quite figure out a name suitable. We ended the night vaguely calling him Kutcher after him saying he should be named Ashton Kutcher (he was quite a joker). Ashton didn't fit. lol. The other 2 are Jordan and Amelia. Amelia didn't speak any English but the boys did. All these photos are shot on Amelia's camera which is a Canon nicer than mine and got my gears a turning in the old head about all the camera stuff I want to buy but shouldn't.... We went to the park after having some coffee (well, I had a green tea frap) and climbed up this steep hill and about a billion stairs to this park with a beautiful view. We each drank a Cass (the Bud Light of Korea) and had dried squid as a snack. I wasn't a fan (too sweet) but I found it wonderful all the same that squid would be a beer snack. Ahhh Korea...
Out side the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf with "Jordan"
with.... Kutcher?
Hee Jin, Kutcher, Amelia and Jordan
Of course I got ahold of the camera and had them do my typical ghostly shots.
Grabbed the camera again and changed the settings to get more of the view in!
And no night of playing with a camera can be complete without jumping photos...
Heading back down.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
What can Monica do in a week in Seoul?
Happy Birthday Jennifer! We need to find a time to skype chat soon!
What can be done in a week in Seoul?
Well a hell of a lot aparently with overtime for phone teaching, going away parites, welcome parties, birthday parties, weddings, and you know... general life. Things just keep on moving...
Here is a rundown of my week:
Monday
-Ate dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant with Marika and saw "The Ugly Truth". The food was good but damn do I miss Little Saigon!
Tuesday
-Went to Julie's going away party at Metro bar.
-My memory won't tell me what happened before the party... Not because I drank (I didn't) but because I had just worked 20 hours in 2 days...
Wednesday
-Was mostly vegging. Possibly ate mandu and kimbap solo for dinner?
-Went for a walk with Jin.
Thursday
-Rode my bike to school and back. Realized the way there makes me want to do it every day, and the way back home makes me want to run people over and throw my bike over the side of a mountain. Can anyone walk in a straight line around here? Or decide which side of the sidewalk each direction should go?
-Studied Korean more than most days (at least an hour or so at school after my work day ended)
-I think this was the night we went to Cheers and welcomed the new girl, Erica, but I might be confusing days...
Friday
-Jin's show/Frank's birthday at 1971 Guitar bar.
-Food afterwards at some random place down a side street
-Used the smallest "bathroom" ever, guided by our waitress who grabbed my hand and ran me there (around the corner from the place)after realizing my perfectly excecuted (yeah right) "Where is the bathroom?" in Korean was followed by blank stares as you see, I have not yet learned to understand the answer...
-Crashed at Jin and Frank's to save on taxi fare
Saturday
-Woke up early to go home not knowing what time the wedding started
-Went to a traditional Korean wedding of my coworker Matt and his wife. Ate way too much at the buffet after and talked to Layne's friend Tim about how he likes living in a small town near the sea and working way less than me. Toyed with the idea of taking his job for my second year! haha...
-Went on a ridiculously long shopping escapade with Lexi where on the way, we happened upon some sort of pet shop row and got super depressed. And saw a cat that did the exact face of Puss in Boots from Shrek. Only it was real and its face was like 2 inches big. And you know things are cuter when smaller. I spent too much money but on the other hand I brought almost no winter clothes so they weren't frivolous purchases.
-Came home long enough to change and record some videos... but all the covers I did sucked cus my voice wasn't warmed up. Jumped the gun and got too excited cus I hadn't played guitar or sang all week!
-Went to Itaewon for drinks and dinner. A woman on the subway told Layne to stop talking so loud and we were all kind of dumbfounded cus she wasn't talking particularly loud! It was kinda funny if it wasn't so rude. We dodged Itaewon pretty quick, too many military folks and girls dressing like they want people to think they are Russian hookers. I felt like I never left Orlando for a minute there. Ugh. Foreigners.
-Hopped over to Hongdae by taxi and fought with the ridiculously large crowds at sensations and Gogos. Encoutnered crazy foriengers dancing with a manequin head. Why?
-HeeJin crashes with me to save on taxi fair
Sunday
-Had Korean "breakfast" or really lunch, with HeeJin. Picked a different restaurant after we tried a sample soup at another restaurant and totally walked out after they brought out all the service sides and water because I didn't like the soup! That would not be tollerated back home. Glorious.
-Met a photographer/hair dresser who took some polaroids of me and gave me a free haircut in the fanciest salon I've ever encountered. He was very cool and there was a whole studio above the salon, and roof access! There was a beautiful assistant, clad with a walkie talkie ear peace by his side at all times whislt cutting my hair. The two jointly combed tangles out of my hair and blow dried it! I felt like a princess. Salons here are quiet. For whatever reason he only tried to make chit chat while I couldn't hear cus I had 2 blowdryers in my ears! I think Dad would prefer that huh? No loud gossip going on. We are going to do portfolio work together!
-Wandered to an unknown mountainous park near the salon alone (and wearing sandals with a slight heal) and had a quiet lunch and watched the Ajumas and Ajashis climbing up and down the hills in their full climbing getups and sneakers. (Older women and men for those unfamiliar with the terms). I must have looked insane sitting on the rocky clay, fresh haircut, skinny jeans, newly bought towel underneath me eating this thing called "Cheese and Cheese" that most definitely DIDN'T have cheese in it, and reading "The World Awaits: How to Travel Far and Well" (which inspired the solo park journey in the first place) as I swated the most giant mosquitos off me ever.
-Home now writing this blog and telling myself "I will go to sleep early and remember to return that late video in the morning!" (Oh and I finally got to watch the season premiere of House)
And over the whole week total I somehow also:
-Worked over 47 hours
-Watched the Little Mermaid in Korean... possibly twice?
-Showered (crazy right?)
-Ate meals (even weirder!)
-Studied Korean
And I'm certain I could have squeezed in more today if I hadn't done the Korean narcoleptic thing and totally passed out at 6 pm on the subway ride home from the park. Hence laying down and watching TV all tonight and listening to my body when it said "CHILL OUT!"
Some photos from Saturday in Hongdae thanks to Lexi:
Upstairs part of Gogos before it got crowded. HeeJin and her friend from school, Lexi, and I.
I know. You thought you'd never see the day I'd be in some sort of sweater dress mutant baby. But here I am.
Only 4 days of work until Lexi and I do our trip for Chusok! (korean thanksgiving). Lame we only get 3 days off but they are gunna rock! I know the Monday after is gunna whip around and hit me in the dead before I know it and it will be off to planning my winter break trip. Hence this blog at this moment because... Well it won't be long before another monster of a blog of this upcoming island trip!
And here's a video for the heck of it. Trying to be less paranoid about sucking and just record and practice and play in front of people more anyway. There are multimilionaire musical super stars that suck sometimes (or even all the time) so I guess its ok for me too sometimes.
What can be done in a week in Seoul?
Well a hell of a lot aparently with overtime for phone teaching, going away parites, welcome parties, birthday parties, weddings, and you know... general life. Things just keep on moving...
Here is a rundown of my week:
Monday
-Ate dinner at a Vietnamese restaurant with Marika and saw "The Ugly Truth". The food was good but damn do I miss Little Saigon!
Tuesday
-Went to Julie's going away party at Metro bar.
-My memory won't tell me what happened before the party... Not because I drank (I didn't) but because I had just worked 20 hours in 2 days...
Wednesday
-Was mostly vegging. Possibly ate mandu and kimbap solo for dinner?
-Went for a walk with Jin.
Thursday
-Rode my bike to school and back. Realized the way there makes me want to do it every day, and the way back home makes me want to run people over and throw my bike over the side of a mountain. Can anyone walk in a straight line around here? Or decide which side of the sidewalk each direction should go?
-Studied Korean more than most days (at least an hour or so at school after my work day ended)
-I think this was the night we went to Cheers and welcomed the new girl, Erica, but I might be confusing days...
Friday
-Jin's show/Frank's birthday at 1971 Guitar bar.
-Food afterwards at some random place down a side street
-Used the smallest "bathroom" ever, guided by our waitress who grabbed my hand and ran me there (around the corner from the place)after realizing my perfectly excecuted (yeah right) "Where is the bathroom?" in Korean was followed by blank stares as you see, I have not yet learned to understand the answer...
-Crashed at Jin and Frank's to save on taxi fare
Saturday
-Woke up early to go home not knowing what time the wedding started
-Went to a traditional Korean wedding of my coworker Matt and his wife. Ate way too much at the buffet after and talked to Layne's friend Tim about how he likes living in a small town near the sea and working way less than me. Toyed with the idea of taking his job for my second year! haha...
-Went on a ridiculously long shopping escapade with Lexi where on the way, we happened upon some sort of pet shop row and got super depressed. And saw a cat that did the exact face of Puss in Boots from Shrek. Only it was real and its face was like 2 inches big. And you know things are cuter when smaller. I spent too much money but on the other hand I brought almost no winter clothes so they weren't frivolous purchases.
-Came home long enough to change and record some videos... but all the covers I did sucked cus my voice wasn't warmed up. Jumped the gun and got too excited cus I hadn't played guitar or sang all week!
-Went to Itaewon for drinks and dinner. A woman on the subway told Layne to stop talking so loud and we were all kind of dumbfounded cus she wasn't talking particularly loud! It was kinda funny if it wasn't so rude. We dodged Itaewon pretty quick, too many military folks and girls dressing like they want people to think they are Russian hookers. I felt like I never left Orlando for a minute there. Ugh. Foreigners.
-Hopped over to Hongdae by taxi and fought with the ridiculously large crowds at sensations and Gogos. Encoutnered crazy foriengers dancing with a manequin head. Why?
-HeeJin crashes with me to save on taxi fair
Sunday
-Had Korean "breakfast" or really lunch, with HeeJin. Picked a different restaurant after we tried a sample soup at another restaurant and totally walked out after they brought out all the service sides and water because I didn't like the soup! That would not be tollerated back home. Glorious.
-Met a photographer/hair dresser who took some polaroids of me and gave me a free haircut in the fanciest salon I've ever encountered. He was very cool and there was a whole studio above the salon, and roof access! There was a beautiful assistant, clad with a walkie talkie ear peace by his side at all times whislt cutting my hair. The two jointly combed tangles out of my hair and blow dried it! I felt like a princess. Salons here are quiet. For whatever reason he only tried to make chit chat while I couldn't hear cus I had 2 blowdryers in my ears! I think Dad would prefer that huh? No loud gossip going on. We are going to do portfolio work together!
-Wandered to an unknown mountainous park near the salon alone (and wearing sandals with a slight heal) and had a quiet lunch and watched the Ajumas and Ajashis climbing up and down the hills in their full climbing getups and sneakers. (Older women and men for those unfamiliar with the terms). I must have looked insane sitting on the rocky clay, fresh haircut, skinny jeans, newly bought towel underneath me eating this thing called "Cheese and Cheese" that most definitely DIDN'T have cheese in it, and reading "The World Awaits: How to Travel Far and Well" (which inspired the solo park journey in the first place) as I swated the most giant mosquitos off me ever.
-Home now writing this blog and telling myself "I will go to sleep early and remember to return that late video in the morning!" (Oh and I finally got to watch the season premiere of House)
And over the whole week total I somehow also:
-Worked over 47 hours
-Watched the Little Mermaid in Korean... possibly twice?
-Showered (crazy right?)
-Ate meals (even weirder!)
-Studied Korean
And I'm certain I could have squeezed in more today if I hadn't done the Korean narcoleptic thing and totally passed out at 6 pm on the subway ride home from the park. Hence laying down and watching TV all tonight and listening to my body when it said "CHILL OUT!"
Some photos from Saturday in Hongdae thanks to Lexi:
Upstairs part of Gogos before it got crowded. HeeJin and her friend from school, Lexi, and I.
I know. You thought you'd never see the day I'd be in some sort of sweater dress mutant baby. But here I am.
Only 4 days of work until Lexi and I do our trip for Chusok! (korean thanksgiving). Lame we only get 3 days off but they are gunna rock! I know the Monday after is gunna whip around and hit me in the dead before I know it and it will be off to planning my winter break trip. Hence this blog at this moment because... Well it won't be long before another monster of a blog of this upcoming island trip!
And here's a video for the heck of it. Trying to be less paranoid about sucking and just record and practice and play in front of people more anyway. There are multimilionaire musical super stars that suck sometimes (or even all the time) so I guess its ok for me too sometimes.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Filler
So I was really determined to have that Temple Stay blog up but I've seriously been editing photos and making the videos for a couple hours and lost stamina. The massive blog has defeated me and I must finish another night. So here are some random videos I made tonight having nothing at all to do with temples or Korea.
Cover of the song "Reason to Love You" by Meiko
My attempt at reading a Korean book. How embarrassing... If you are Korean and somehow are on my blog. Just don't watch. It will hurt your ears. :)
And why not one more song. Ignore the fact that I'm 24 and already have a pretty developed furrowed brow... by the time I'm 50 there will be technology to just get a new face so I'm not really that worried about it. ;)
Let me take you back to 1995:
Merril Bainbridge- Mouth
And can I actually hear from you people for once? Stop being trolls and talk to me! Chances are, if you are reading this, and you miss me, or at least were curious enough about my life to read this, then I'm feeling much this same...
I'm soooo roooommmmnly... so rooowwwnllly...
;)
Cover of the song "Reason to Love You" by Meiko
My attempt at reading a Korean book. How embarrassing... If you are Korean and somehow are on my blog. Just don't watch. It will hurt your ears. :)
And why not one more song. Ignore the fact that I'm 24 and already have a pretty developed furrowed brow... by the time I'm 50 there will be technology to just get a new face so I'm not really that worried about it. ;)
Let me take you back to 1995:
Merril Bainbridge- Mouth
And can I actually hear from you people for once? Stop being trolls and talk to me! Chances are, if you are reading this, and you miss me, or at least were curious enough about my life to read this, then I'm feeling much this same...
I'm soooo roooommmmnly... so rooowwwnllly...
;)
Temple Stay/DMZ - Video and Photo Extravaganza!!!!!!!
Temple Stay: August 29-30th Bubheungsa Temple
Excuse my rambling:
(I made it really low quality because... its long and you don't really need to see me all that well...)
Also you can see a video of us doing the bows courtesy of adventure Korea! Also a lot of the photos you see that are the group doing meditation I got from them too. :) Some from Lexi as well.
VIDEO HERE
It pays to be the nerds in the front. Remember. These are the types of bows we did 108 of on the first night. And throughout the whole stay.
Enjoy:
Day 1:
Here are some sights from the river trekking.
Could have stayed here all day, or all week for that matter.
This is the practice temple made for temple stay where we did most of the activities. I didn't get many photos of the other temples we bowed and meditated at because they were far up the hill and we were mostly there in the dark.
Talking to us before the walking meditation.
Leave the shoes behind...
Meditate and walk. Enjoy nature.
This was the best part! Yell out the remaining stress!
Wash your feet!
Lunch time. You have to eat everything you get.
My eyes were bigger than my stomach but I made it!
Drum ceremony:
So I think forgot to put this part in the video. We each got to go up and hit the giant bell and make a wish. It makes such a loud sound you can feel the vibrations. I was so concerned about hitting it right I forgot to make my wish! But I guess I was thinking about it before my turn so it still counts right??
The sun was setting and there wasn't enough light! I knew I should have put on the flash. But is kinda nice, like a dream.
Mid bow:
The paper we were supposed to do the chants off of. None of us could keep up... esp since you are doing bows at the same time!
Last photo I took the first night before leaving my camera to go up to the beautiful temple and do the 108 bows. Recognize it? That's right, Sister Act (2?). They showed this video and another one of animals that shed their skin to teach us about.... well the Sister Act clip was to show how joy spreads. The skin shedding was about how you have to shed the old to have the new. Like how you have to empty a cup of water before you can pour a fresh cup.
After this off to the Jeokmyulbogung Temple to do our 108 bows and then sleep in another little place near it, at the top of a very steep hill. Sooo tired after all that! The temple has the ashes of Buddha in it I think? Though I'm not sure which Buddha. Some things def got lost in translation. Pretty sad I didn't get any shots of it. Lexi had some on facebook but it looks like they are gone? Might have to track them down later.
DAY 2:
Before the 5 am meditation. I'm so tired! In the Yaksajeon temple.
Back down to the practice temple again before breakfast. Katrina can sleep anywhere I think!
Traditional breakfast time! We are all so exhausted.
Here is the pickled radish and water I had to drink. You can't really see but there are food particles and stuff in there. It was not tasty. And then after the bowls are cleaned they stack into each other.
Making the lotus lanterns!
These rock stacks were all over the temple grounds it was so cool.
Trail up to one of the temples.
I can't seem to do a trip without these jumping photos. :)
We didn't do anything in this temple but it was closer than the other and it was cool looking so we stopped for photos.
One of the nice temples. This is where we did the 5 am meditation. Still not as pretty as the one we did the 108 bows in. Oh well.
Yaksajeon:
Inside the temple. You can see the Golden statues and above us are lotus lanterns with tags... not sure what for? And then on the sides you can see hundreds of dream pouches hanging. We hung ours up later on the opposite side.
The monk Sunim, doing the box knot for me.
This is the photo Sunim took:
After this we did a ceremony where we hung up the dream pouches.
The whole group!
With Sunim. How can you be sad looking at him? He's so peaceful.
DMZ:
This train used to run between North and South Korea. Can't remember all the history but note the bullet holes.
Mini museum on the way to the tunnel.
With Sabrina. She is my friend Emily's good friend from Philly and we finally met!
We weren't allowed to take photos inside the actual tunnel but you know... it looked exactly like this. With sneaky little North Koreans running around digging up stuff. Ok maybe not...
This guy was hamming it up for the foreigners. Maybe he was drunk?
This is the line we couldn't cross with our cameras. Such a bummer!
Say hello to North Korea! That's their flag in the middle of their propaganda village.
I dunno what you can see here. But from the binoculars we could see North Korea and their flag on one side, and South Korea and their flag on the other. They are 4 km apart. That is the demilitarized zone. :)
Yep. North Korea is behind us.
Then off to the train station. This is the ever optimistic map of how far the train can connect if North and South are reunited.
Mom, dad. Meet my new boyfriend. He's not the best to look at but he listens to all my problems.
Lexi is walking to North Korea. Byyyyeee Lexi!
The signpost. The train really does go to North Korea! I didn't know there was any movement between the 2 at all. Shows how much I know.
Fin. Finally! You guys thought I'd never do it but I did it!!
Excuse my rambling:
(I made it really low quality because... its long and you don't really need to see me all that well...)
Also you can see a video of us doing the bows courtesy of adventure Korea! Also a lot of the photos you see that are the group doing meditation I got from them too. :) Some from Lexi as well.
VIDEO HERE
It pays to be the nerds in the front. Remember. These are the types of bows we did 108 of on the first night. And throughout the whole stay.
Enjoy:
Day 1:
Here are some sights from the river trekking.
Could have stayed here all day, or all week for that matter.
This is the practice temple made for temple stay where we did most of the activities. I didn't get many photos of the other temples we bowed and meditated at because they were far up the hill and we were mostly there in the dark.
Talking to us before the walking meditation.
Leave the shoes behind...
Meditate and walk. Enjoy nature.
This was the best part! Yell out the remaining stress!
Wash your feet!
Lunch time. You have to eat everything you get.
My eyes were bigger than my stomach but I made it!
Drum ceremony:
So I think forgot to put this part in the video. We each got to go up and hit the giant bell and make a wish. It makes such a loud sound you can feel the vibrations. I was so concerned about hitting it right I forgot to make my wish! But I guess I was thinking about it before my turn so it still counts right??
The sun was setting and there wasn't enough light! I knew I should have put on the flash. But is kinda nice, like a dream.
Mid bow:
The paper we were supposed to do the chants off of. None of us could keep up... esp since you are doing bows at the same time!
Last photo I took the first night before leaving my camera to go up to the beautiful temple and do the 108 bows. Recognize it? That's right, Sister Act (2?). They showed this video and another one of animals that shed their skin to teach us about.... well the Sister Act clip was to show how joy spreads. The skin shedding was about how you have to shed the old to have the new. Like how you have to empty a cup of water before you can pour a fresh cup.
After this off to the Jeokmyulbogung Temple to do our 108 bows and then sleep in another little place near it, at the top of a very steep hill. Sooo tired after all that! The temple has the ashes of Buddha in it I think? Though I'm not sure which Buddha. Some things def got lost in translation. Pretty sad I didn't get any shots of it. Lexi had some on facebook but it looks like they are gone? Might have to track them down later.
DAY 2:
Before the 5 am meditation. I'm so tired! In the Yaksajeon temple.
Back down to the practice temple again before breakfast. Katrina can sleep anywhere I think!
Traditional breakfast time! We are all so exhausted.
Here is the pickled radish and water I had to drink. You can't really see but there are food particles and stuff in there. It was not tasty. And then after the bowls are cleaned they stack into each other.
Making the lotus lanterns!
These rock stacks were all over the temple grounds it was so cool.
Trail up to one of the temples.
I can't seem to do a trip without these jumping photos. :)
We didn't do anything in this temple but it was closer than the other and it was cool looking so we stopped for photos.
One of the nice temples. This is where we did the 5 am meditation. Still not as pretty as the one we did the 108 bows in. Oh well.Yaksajeon:
Inside the temple. You can see the Golden statues and above us are lotus lanterns with tags... not sure what for? And then on the sides you can see hundreds of dream pouches hanging. We hung ours up later on the opposite side.
The monk Sunim, doing the box knot for me.
This is the photo Sunim took:
After this we did a ceremony where we hung up the dream pouches.The whole group!
With Sunim. How can you be sad looking at him? He's so peaceful.
DMZ:
This train used to run between North and South Korea. Can't remember all the history but note the bullet holes.
Mini museum on the way to the tunnel.
With Sabrina. She is my friend Emily's good friend from Philly and we finally met!
We weren't allowed to take photos inside the actual tunnel but you know... it looked exactly like this. With sneaky little North Koreans running around digging up stuff. Ok maybe not...
This guy was hamming it up for the foreigners. Maybe he was drunk?
This is the line we couldn't cross with our cameras. Such a bummer!
Say hello to North Korea! That's their flag in the middle of their propaganda village.
I dunno what you can see here. But from the binoculars we could see North Korea and their flag on one side, and South Korea and their flag on the other. They are 4 km apart. That is the demilitarized zone. :)
Yep. North Korea is behind us.
Then off to the train station. This is the ever optimistic map of how far the train can connect if North and South are reunited.
Mom, dad. Meet my new boyfriend. He's not the best to look at but he listens to all my problems.
Lexi is walking to North Korea. Byyyyeee Lexi!
The signpost. The train really does go to North Korea! I didn't know there was any movement between the 2 at all. Shows how much I know.
Fin. Finally! You guys thought I'd never do it but I did it!!
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