OMG, my poor little feet!! I had the smart idea of wearing my stiletto heels to work today....now they're all blistered and pulsing!  NEVER EVER AGAIN WILL I WEAR THOSE GOD FORSAKEN SHOES TO WORK!!! NEVER!!!

So, work's been going pretty well.....enjoying my time with the co-workers, falling more and more in love with the kids by the day... heehee, so one of my third graders went on a field trip last week and brought me back a box of chocolates as a gift....and it was soooooooooo cute because as I was thanking him for the chocolates, I said, "Wow, Charlie!! These chocolates look sooo good!! I can't wait to go home and eat them!! Where did you go for your field trip?" I wait for a response, but Charlie just looks down all embarrassed and doesn't respond....meanwhile, the rest of my class giggles and whispers to eachother the big joke.....I ask his classmates, "Ok, where did Charlie go for his field trip?" Out of nowhere, little Sammy whips out his book, points at the title of the book, and screams, "CHARLIE WENT TO THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY!!!!!" The whole class bursts out in laughter and Charlie bashfully admits that he was indeed at the chocolate factory. So, last week I thanked Charlie for the chocolates and told him how much I enjoyed them....so today, he brought me another bag of chocolates....HOW SWEET IS THAT??  SO FREAKIN CUTE!!!!

As much as I've been enjoying work here, I can't decide whether or not I may want to stay another year here. Last week, my Director offered me a promotion in management as the Academic Coordinator....I guess I should feel privileged and take advantage of the opportunity....but man, I can't help but to feel that if I DO stay, I might end up making it harder and harder for myself to ever leave....maybe if I were persuing some sort of career here in Korea, it would be worth it, but I don't know man!! I miss my family and Je Suk an awful lot, but the boss wants my decision by Monday!!!!! EEEEEKKK!!! WHAT DO I DO?!?!?!

On a less serious note, it's choosok!! WAHOOOO!!! It's really only a few days we get off, but omg I'm so glad we have those days off!!! Tomorrow I got off for the Korean independence type of day and  I'll get a chance to just sleep in and grade some tests. Wednesday I go back to work and plan to have dinner with Changkee oppa and co. after work....Thursday morning I'm going to my cousin's place here in Seoul where I'll get to wear my brand new hanbok....YAYYY!! Then we'll visit our grandfather's grace and then to my aunt's place in Daejeon for the weekend.....Who knew visting family could be so much work, ay??

The highlight of tonight's coversation with the boyfriend

BF: I love you!

Me: ........

BF: Gosh, you never say 'I love you'

Me: ........

BF: you know, my mom says 'I love you' really good to me!

Me: (shocked/humored) OMG, you're JUST like my kids here!!! I always get on their case for making a DIRECT ENGLISH TRANSLATION of what they're thinking in korean!!! Ok sweetie, tell me what the problem with a DIRECT translation is.

BF: ....I meant to say, "my mom says, 'I love you' really WELL to me."

ME: ..... NO! Does that make sense in english? In korean the translation may make sense, but in english it makes absolutely no sense!! What you MEAN to say is, "My Mom tells me, 'I love you' all the time."

BF: (clearly embarrassed) ...............I HATE YOU!!

HEEHEE, I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Pictures I've been meaning to post since FOREVER ago.....

Eating some of the FRESHEST sushi EVER!! We got to choose which living and swimming fish we wanted to eat and they were cut up right before our very eyes!!

Eating all the sushi we want at an actual sushi restaurant....It's so cool, you get to pick whatever you want to eat off this tool belt!!

My gomo and cousin surpised me and cooked me a birthday FEAST before I left for work!!

hey hey!!!!

I write to you from my co-worker's apartment. HAHA, I'm so ghetto...I have no internet in my apartment, so I've gotta come up two floors to use his after work every night....my other co-worker and I like to call it Josh's internet cafe.

Everynight after a long day of work, we take a cab back to our apartment building as we share stories about all our students. I stop at the third floor to change into my jammies...then I meet up with them on the 5th floor where the "internet cafe" is located. Here, we read the american news, chat online with friends back home, and listen to our good ol' american music....everything from country to rock. Sometimes, we'll skip the internet cafe and just go to the local ggim-bbap joint....it's sooo good and sooooooooo cheap. There are soooooo many places to eat around here it's quite ridiculous.

~sigh~ If I had a dime for all the stories of "the neg" I'd be rich!! (that's what we like to call our neighborhood....sinjeongneggori = "the neg") In fact, today a co-worker of mine was in the bus, on her way to work.....and in case you don't know, the buses in Seoul during traffic time are like a warzone....It's packed, ppl are pushing constantly to get on and off, and the bus jerks like crazy bc of all the traffic and bus stops it needs to stop at......SO, my co-worker was in the bus on her way to work this morning and as usual people are pushing and shoving eachother....but this one woman was throwing elbows and pushing as if her life depended on it and my poor coworker was pushed across from one side of the bus to the other and fell to the ground, but not before her head hit the metal pole in the middle of the bus....so she came to work this morning in tears, with her nose gushing with blood, and a huge bump on her head. Everyone gasps as she walks in and rush her to the hospital....after the doctors examine her, we come to find that she's sufferring from a concussion...CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT?!?!!? and the lady who pushed the poor girl didn't even turn around to see if she was ok....she just got off her stop and carried on as if nothing had even happened. Hopefully, she's feeling a little better now, but I really doubt it.

Other than the dangers of riding the buses here, it's been pretty cool here. I actually enjoy work and I'm actually really appreciated for what I do. Kids bring me little gifts all the time. They wait for me at the teacher's lounge before class starts and fight over who gets to carry my books and folders to class. Parents bring expensive food or cakes for you and your co-workers to eat and sincerely thank you for all the hard work you put forth in teaching their kids. I LOVE all my students, they're all sooooooooo soooooooooo smart and they're all such ambitious little suckers....one of my kids even wrote in his journal entry last week about his plans to become the president of korea....SOOOOO CUTE!!! I could just eat them with spoon! =D

~sigh~ As much as I'm enjoying my time here, I miss my family back home...I miss Daniel. It's his senior year and he's been practicing football so hard, but I can't even go to one of his games....I wish I could be back home just to sit on those bleechers every friday night and cheer him on with some of the most embarrassing homemade banners and cheers. I didn't realize I was going to miss out on all those little things when I decided to work here, but I'm sure my older brother will take care of all those things....taking Daniel out to eat after the games, making sure he's studying for his SAT's, helping him with his college applications....and all that jazz....I can't believe how old Daniel is....I still feel like he's just my baby brother, but here he is looking into all these different colleges he might be interested in applying to. CRAZY!

Anyways, my co-workers are playing some really soft/slow songs and it's bringing my mood down....HAHAHA, notice how upbeat this entry was and how very sad it has turned in the last paragraph. HAHA!

OK, I think it's close to closing time here at Josh's internet cafe....so until next time....so long and farewell!!!

MISS YOU AND LOVE YOU JE SUK!!!!!

GREETINGS FROM KOREA!!!!

It's about 7 pm Sunday over here meaning I start training in 14 hours...I'm so excited and nervous about it all at the same time.  Ever since I got to korea, all I've been doing is EATING! My grandmother is no joke when it comes to meal time....for BREAKFAST she makes kimchi jjigae, samgyupssal, fish, rice, and of course a huge variety of banchan. And when I tell her I'm full and can't eat anymore, she really gets upset and I feel almost rude and ungrateful if I don't eat everything on the table. So in about a week, I've gained like 5 pounds, but it's ok....I'm no longer living under her roof. Yesterday I came up to Seoul with my older cousin and we're currently staying in a hotel, but tomorrow morning I make my move to itty bitty microscopic studio apartment.

Everything here is so different, certain gestures are considered inappropriate while others are completely normal.

HAHA, something my cousin taught me...when you walk into a store and the ladies bow and greet you, there's no need to return the greeting....HAHAHA, my cousin laughed sooo hard at me when I did this and I instantly felt like an idiot. Life here is interesting....my cousin told me to just ignore people who come up to you in the stores and try to sell you something or hand you a flier or when they greet you at the door....but apparently, that's not the best course of action all the time. Like when we went to the mall, I didn't pay much attention to the girl who was trying to get me to look at some of their new fall line...I must have seemed rude. HAHA!

Hmm...so much to say....but too lazy to type it all....  I miss everyone back home. Missing Je Suk like CRAZY!!!! I'm waiting ever so patiently right now for the time to pass so I can give him a call when he wakes up....heehee!

The best dduk boki  EVER is sold on the streets in these little carts!!! (my cousin Kyung Jin and I eating jjajang ddukboki and gotchujang ddukboki)

Drinking soju and eating galbi on a rainy night here in Seoul with my older cousin Yonghee unnie.

JE SUK, SWEETHEART....I MISS YOU LIKE CRAZY!!!!!!!!

teeheehee, I got my wisdom teeth pulled on Thursday and my cheeks are beyond simply chipmunk.....I now look like I'm wearing a fat suit......my brother keeps calling me Big Momma from the new Martin Lawrence movie. HAHAHA!

FOR YOUR VIEWING PLEASURE:

my brother is making fun of how ugly I look....

My massive cheeks:

And of course, Je Suk sent me the prettiest bouquet of flowers!!!