goodtoast

Things have been hectic over here. Every time my schedule lightens up the slightest bit my school says, "oh hai. ur not buzy, k? heres moar work. ilukthnxbai."

I had an open class on Friday, and I've got another one on Tuesday this week; I'm now in charge of planning a teacher conference for July, and working on my complete lesson plans for three weeks of Summer camp. The last I'm not too upset about because my after school kids are my favorites--they're so smart, and love English and I can make them work from the textbook for weeks on end and they're more than fine with it.

However, summer English camp is going to be much more fun. Every day is going to be a different holiday, which is pretty clever, if I say so myself. It gives me the chance to teach a little history, and work in American customs and cultures, and they're genuinely excited about it. They see the 4th of July in movies, but they have no real idea what we do. They don't know what Martin Luther King day means; they've never heard of Hanukkah.

But more important than all of that...

I'm going to be for Christmas!!!!

I talked to my co-teacher and Vice-Principal, and we were trying to work out a way I could have my 18 days off (which with weekends, it's almost an entire month I'll be in the US), and the best way we could come up with was to let me leave a week before school ends for winter break.

I'll leave Korea Christmas afternoon, and arrive in Seattle around noon, still on Christmas Day (God bless Korean Air and their non-stop flights).

Hush, though. As of right now I'm not telling anyone in my family I'll be home. I might have to change that because I'll need a way to get from the ferry to my house, so maybe I'll tell my brother. But, that's something that can be figured out after I buy the ticket, and when it's no longer 100 degrees outside :D

Even though it's May, I'm starting to think about my summer break plans. I don't know a whole lot, but school is out from mid-July to the end of August. I'll have to teach an English camp for two weeks of that, but at the very least, I'll have a week and a half of paid vacation.

Should I try to come back to the US? As of right now, the cheapest fare is $1200 (twice what I paid to get here), and I'd have to stop in Japan. The non-stop flight is $2000, but the overall trip would be 8 hours shorter.

Or, my other option is to save my vacation time until Christmas. Airfare would be the same, but I could have three weeks of paid vacation, and I'd kind of love to surprise my family on New Years Day.

What do you think? Terrible idea?

Operation cellphone and internet was a success!


I've definitely seen this phone in a drama, but I can't remember which one. Way to go me. Other than that, it's a touch screen and it has video conferencing and a whole bunch of other things that have blown my mind.

Internet is being installed on Tuesday, so updates will be more frequent. And yes. I do have Draco Malfloy hair right now. I both love and hate it, but it will be going away (for a more manageable blonde) when my roots start showing in a few weeks.

So I've just got to brag that I got to see Iron Man 2 last night. For whatever reason, it opened in Korea a week before it will in the US. I'll say no more until it has opened in the US, but I had a lot of fun.

Other than that, Korea is pretty good. My school is amazing, my apartment is sparse, but whatever. There's great people over here, and I'm going to attempt getting a cellphone tomorrow. I'm going to put money on me getting one that has been in a Korean drama. Because I'm a real winner like that :P

Arrived in Korea safely. Thanks for the wishes guys : )

I've been in orientation for the last week, and it's been much more fun than I thought it would. There is Cute Canadian Boy on the scene (from Toronto, no less; I feel so international), and handfuls of friends from Australia, South Africa and...Seattle. Unfortunate for me (and him) he's working in Icheon, while I'm going to be down in Gwangju. It's a three hour train ride, but, we'll try and make it work. If not, no big deal. Easy come, easy go.

Seoul is kind of amazing. There are bars and restaurants themed for anything and everything. We found a bar devoted to Banana Yoshimoto the other night, although it was full when we tried to go in. We've also found a Canadian bar (Cute Canadian Boy was very enthusiastic about this), called (I'm not joking), The Maple Bar. It was situated right next to a Texas-themed bar. There's also the Bau House Cafe, where the owners have roughly 20 dogs running around for people to play and cuddle with. I'm particularly excited to go here, but no one is interested in joining me :(

Coffee here is weak, unless you go to Starbucks. And if you go there, it's $5 for a tall cup of coffee. It kills me, but I've been spending it daily because I've been so jet-lagged. I'm going to stop next week. I'm going to stop next week. I'm going to stop next week.

My roommate here is hilarious, and adorable. She's Korean-Australian, and the most enthusiastic person I've ever met. She woke me up at four this morning so that I could call my family *headdesk* I should be livid, but somehow she has gotten away with it. She was very T&E last night, and declared that we were meant to be roommates because, "we watch dramas, are girls, and we both play the Sims." LOL. If that's not a bond, I don't know what is.

Tomorrow I head down to Gwangju, meet my school and move into my apartment (?). Hopefully I'll be observing at my school for the rest of the week, but I'm not entirely sure. Cute Canadian Boy found out his school this afternoon, and that's his situation, but it could be different for me.

As soon as I get situated, I'll move things to a proper blog for traveling.

I hope things with everyone else is well!

Theophilus London-Humdrum Town. I've been listening to this song on repeat for the last couple of days. It's amazing, and oodles better than Kid Cudi.

Leaving for Korea tomorrow. Just felt like that was something that should be posted ;)

More details when I arrive...

Are cooking forum people the biggest douchebags on the internet?

I went to a forum asking how I could roast vegetables without an oven, because I won't have one in Korea. All the responses I got were things like "learn to eat Korean food," "stop being so American," and "kimchi is the most delicious food in the world. Love it."

What?

I'm sorry, I didn't ask your opinion about Korean food. I was asking your opinion about roasting food on a gas cook-top. Is it too much to think that I'm not going to want Korean food every single meal of every single day, and instead would want to come home to roasted butternut squash soup?

So, my question still stands. If any cooks out there have suggestions on how I could get that delicious roasted flavor without using an oven, please let me know. Maybe blanche or boil, and then pan-fry? I really don't know.

( Presenting: The NBC Olympic Crisis 2K10 Drinking GameCollapse )
If you've got any others...let me know. There's a week and a half left, and I've got to power through :)

People who have ordered The Writer's Tale: The Final Chapter from Amazon:

When is yours supposed to ship?

I ordered my copy from B&N right after Christmas (I had a gift certificate), and after they delayed the shipping date twice, they told me to wait another month this morning, so I'm wondering if I should just cancel, and buy it from Amazon.

Dear NBC (and to a lesser extent, CBC),

( You realize that the Olympics are in North America, right? Really? Because you've only been advertising for the last two years, so I wasn't too sure.Collapse )