Home Stretch...

After today I have two more Mondays of work left. It’s a bitter sweet feeling I get when I think that in 30 days I’ll be back in the US of A!!! I figured since my parents think I’m bitter and complain about being here so much, that I’d write about what I will miss about leaving this crazy country!!!! (I’m sitting here at work watching out of the corner of my eye, my co-teacher trying to get the space heater adjusted to her liking because I removed it from under her desk so I didn’t freeze my toes off while I was here last week ALL ALONE!!!!! Haha) Anyways, as much as I complain about being here and how much the culture here aggravates me beyond belief, there’s a LOT I will miss. The food, my friends, the subway, my OWN place, most of my students, the shopping, and the way they use English on products. Not to mention it’s where I’m from.

I’ve always been drawn to bigger cities. And as much as I’ve loved Seoul, I think that it’s too “big” of a city for me. More so the fact that it’s WAY too crowded. But I gotta say, Seoul knows how to do public transportation!! It’s gotta be the CEANEST subway I’ve been on and I’ve been on MANY different Metro’s/Subways all over the world. It’s also the easiest to navigate. English is EVERYWHERE and is almost in all the subway car announcements of stops. They hire ladies who come through with a broom and pan who sweep up and pick up all the used newspapers. I wish all the big cities would take a look at this amazing subway and take LOTS of notes!!!!!

The food here is excellent and has definitely helped with my spice tolerance. Lol Not only is it good, but it’s also cheap. I went to lunch with a friend yesterday and for the two of us it cost 11,000won = $9 for three things. You can go into a kimbap restaurant and get soup, or fried rice or kimbap, ramen, etc. for like 3,000won-5,000won. It’s crazy!!!! It’s what helped me drop almost 20lbs. when I got here. Well the food and also doing cross fit during the summer of crazy humidity. Thankfully, I can cook some Korean dishes and know of at least one Korean mart back home.

In the two years that I’ve been here I’ve made some pretty awesome friends!!! Coming over here knowing no one has forced me to a be a bit more outgoing than I normally am. I still tend to be shy and quiet at times, but I do have my moments. I’ve made some friendships that will probably not go further than my experience here, but I’ve also made some that I’m sure will last for years to come. It’s given me friendships from around the world and even more excuses to travel!!!! For that I cannot be bitter.

I don’t really have experience teaching in the states, so I can’t really compare the students, but it makes me wonder how different the students in the states are compared to the ones here. I know for a fact that the students here study soooooooooooo much more than the students in the states. Students have no life here until they get to university. It’s school, hagwon, homework, sleep. Hagwon’s, for those of you who don’t know are privately owned academies that students go to after school to study even more. Math, science, English, music, sports, etc. You name it, they’ve got a hagwon for it. Some stay open until 2:00 A.M. While teaching I catch a lot of my students sleeping and at first it frustrated me. But, since I found out that most of them go to bed at midnight and get up at 6:00 A.M. I really can’t complain. I’ll miss the funny comments I get for the slightest change in my appearance. I’ll miss the “Hi, Care-ro-li-ine”. I’ll miss them trying to teach me Korean. I’ll miss the Ki-Bi-Bo’s (rock-paper-scissors)to make decisions. I’ll miss the “oooooooh’s” when I reply to their Korean questions in English. I’ll miss they’re cuteness.

After two years of having a place of my own. Being able to come and go without the question, “where are you going?” “Who you going with?” "When will you be home?" It’ll be hard to adjust to living with my parents again. Not that I don’t love my parents. And not having to pay rent is a plus. But, it’s going to be a lot to get used to again. Having to keep my room clean, make my bed, keep my stuff picked up. Haha Oh the joys. Lol

Last, but certainly not least, shopping!!!! My favorite extracurricular activity. I can honestly say I might have a shopping problem. Haha And even though I saved a lot of money while being here, I think that if I hadn’t shopped as much as I did, I’d be coming home with a LOT more. Lol But, a girl’s gotta have a nice wardrobe and can never have enough bags and shoes. Am I right??? Lol You can thank Korea for that.

In reality, I wouldn’t trade this experience for anything. It’s helped me grow in ways I never knew I could and it’s given me a taste of my background. Had I only came here to visit for a short amount of time I would not be the woman I am today.

Pulling myself together...

It's Dec. 13, 2011 and I'm about to have my 2nd Christmas in Korea. Last years was the worst because I was so sick and alone. This year I'm hoping to not be sick and to not be alone. Right now I've got a bacterial infection and hope that it's gone come Christmas. I've got 34 days until I'm in England and 77 days until I'm back home in Oklahoma. I've had a rough couple weeks, but things are looking up thanks to my awesome friends and my mom and dad.

Who knew that 2 years would bring so many ups and downs. Despite the downs, I wouldn't give this experience up for anything. I've learned more about myself in these past two years than I have in the past 24 years of my life. I left the states a 24 year old girl who had no idea what she wanted to do and I'll come back a 26 year old woman who has decided on a career path, learned that 1st impressions really DO matter, that I need to be happy being alone in order to be ready for the real thing, thanked the woman who gave me life, and learned more about where I came from. And that you can dress up and still be comfy. haha

I could go on and on, but I won't. I've been contemplating how I'm going to get everything home and how I'm going to get rid of ALL the stuff I'm not bringing home. It's such a daunting task and I've been putting it off as long as possible. lol But now that I have less than three months I think I really need to buckle down and charge through it all.

Well...this will possibly be the last thing I post until I get home. Mostly because I'll be too busy and stressed trying to pack up the last two years of my life and saying good-bye to friends. So I look forward to seeing you all when I get home!!!

It's been a few months...

my bad. lol Haven't really had much to write about. I'm just ready to come home!!! I get a winter vacation in Jan. for two weeks after English camp in which I will meet one of my best friends April in England!!! We are also planning to make a trip to Paris as well!!! Should be a crazy time!!!

I've been ready to come home for a while as you all know. But lately, I've been so over Korea. haha I'm sure I'll miss it when I'm gone, but right now, I just miss home!!!



Other than that. No other big news. Oh...I did get my ticket home. If all goes well and I get through customs in time at LAX I should be home Feb. 29. If not, then Mar. 1. CAN'T WAIT!!!!

I'm just a tad bit bored...

So I saw this one a blog I visit frequently. I thought I'd do it to kill some time. lol

A. Age: 25
B. Bed size: Twin...I HATE IT!!!!
C. Chore that you hate: Dusting...horrible for my allergies.
D. Dogs: None at the moment...):
E. Essential start to your day: Good music
F. Favorite color: blue and lime green
G. Gold or Silver: silver
H. Height: 5’0"
I. Instruments you play: I used to take piano lessons and guitar lessons. No longer play either.
J. Job title: Native Speaking English Teacher
K. Kids: Nope
L. Live: Seoul, South Korea
M. Mother’s name: Linda
N. Nicknames: Carol (which I hate), skippy, Hicks
O. Overnight hospital stays: Touch wood, none.
P. Pet peeves: Bad drivers, ignorant people
Q. Quote from a movie: This is my diversion...They die on this version- Capt. Murdock from The A-Team
R. Right or left handed: Right handed.
S. Siblings: Zero.
U. Underwear: Yes.
V. Vegetable you hate: cauliflower
W. What makes you run late: Nothing
X. X-Rays you’ve had: Dental and right ankle
Y. Yummy food that you make: Cheesecake
Z. Zoo animal: White tigers and pandas

So you've heard of emotional eaters??

Well I realized today...I'm an emotional shopper. lol So I went shopping last night with my friend and today with another. Here are my purchases!!!

Great additions to my fall wardrobe!!! The boots are AWESOME!!! I've been looking for flat black boots for ages!! We went into this shop and I saw them! However they were in brown. So I asked the guy if he had them in black and he said no, but I can paint. I was like...huh???? He then showed us a pair of pumps he had painted black that were brown. I asked him how much he told me service. The boots themselves were 45,000won. I was SHOCKED!!!! So it took him about 20 min. and they turned out AMAZING!!!!!! So I'm super stoked and can't wait til it gets cooler out!!!

Back to work...

First day of work after a much needed break. After a successful summer camp I went to Boracay, Philippines with a friend of mine. Boracay was amazing! It was beautiful but also super hot. lol They had great food, great beaches, and lot of activites. Even though my friend and I argued quite a bit, I still enjoyed most of my time. We snorkeled and did an island hopping tour. I went scuba diving for the first time and had a blast! It's making me thinka bout getting licsensed. But it's such an expensive hobby. Then I went on an ATV tour where we went to Puka Shell beach and then up to the highest point in Boracay. That was pretty sweet. They had a small zoo up there and I got to hold a bat. It was crazy!! haha On Saturday night before we took our free sunset sailing trip I started to feel under the weather. Sure enough I got extremely sick. I spent all night Saturday in our room shivering and sweating with a fever and had a really bad upset stomach. Sunday morning I went to the hospital and spent the entire day there where they pumped me with fluids and antibiotics through an IV. Not so much fun. I spent the rest of Sunday night as I did Saturday. We then had to get up at 4:00 AM Monday morning to travel back to Korea. I had to make sure my fever was gone so I could return as well. So by Monday afternoon no more fever...THANK GOODNESS!!!! Still had an upset stomach, but it was not as intense as before. We got back on Monday and spent the rest of my vacation in bed resting up. Having a really high fever and upset stomach really took a toll on my body. I've lost about 6 lbs. which will most likely return. lol But, I'm hoping to keep most of it off.

I'm a mentor teacher again this semester. Last Monday I got a call from the District Supervisor asking me if I'd be one again this semester. She also asked me to check her documents for mistakes. lol She's such a cool lady. I just couldn't say no to her. So this semester I'll have two mentees. And instead of them coming to my school and then me going to theirs, they will just come to mine. So I think a lot less work this time. Thank goodness. lol

I can honestly say I'm a lot happier in the past two days than I have been in the past 6 months. Except maybe during that week in Hawaii. lol Although one of my girls is leaving on Friday and I will miss her terribly we had a great send off for her Saturday night. And the rest may have to do with a certain person...possibly to be named later. hahaha We shall see.

Anywhoo, 6 months and couting until I'm back home for a while!!! I think I'll be stateside at least for a few years before I even think about going anywhere else...if that even happens.

Well I'm off to do something else. lol Peace out!

OMG!!!!

I've become such an angry and moody person while being here in Korea. Friday can't come soon enough! I just need some time away from here to relax and enjoy time with my parents and hopefully when I get back I'll be ready to spend the last 9 months here. This experience has been life changing and I will never regret one minute of it, but right now I just need a break!!!!!!

The end!