One more year, Korea, one more year.

What a week! There has been a lot going on across the pond these last few days, some good, some not so good.

First, the Belt family has had quite a rough past few weeks. My uncle dropped a giant TV on his foot and pretty much shattered it, my aunt (his wife) who is a breast cancer survivor (Thank God!) got her brand new "perky and slightly bigger" (her words) boobs so she's been in the hospital and is having quite the un-fun time recovering, my grandma was in the hospital for heart palpitations and to top it all off, my dad had a minor heart attack and was also in the hospital for a few days. All of this happened within the last, oh, 10 days or so. Needless to say, it's not been quiet for the fam. Everyone is doing fine, though, just so you know. A bit stressful, but everyone is fine.

On the Korea front, I've been sick. I've been the picture of health for at least 4 months thanks to Vita 500, a small, citrusy tasting "beverage" that contains 900mg of vitamin C. Over the last 4 or 5 months, whenever I felt the first signs of a cold coming on--say a slight tickle in my throat--I'd down those babies like it was my job and all symptoms and the cold itself would be gone before my body even recognized there was something wrong. Now, if this only happened once I'd say it was a fluke, but it's been three times now that those little drinks have saved me from illness.

...Not this time. I was healthy, healthy, healthy, healthy, BAM! ACUTE BRONCHITIS! I have no idea where I picked it up but it came on and came on fast. All I know is that I went to bed feeling slightly off in my chest Tuesday night, like it was a little tight, so I downed a Vita 500 before bed. The next morning I felt fine, my chest was still a little "full" feeling so I figured I had something coming on. Literally each hour I got worse and worse until finally I was at school, completely voiceless with my chest on fire and Hyun Ju had to take me to the doc. Here's the fun part. The doctor trip took a whole of about 30 minutes from walking in the door to the clinic to walking out of the pharmacy with my meds. I go in, show them my alien card to prove I have insurance, wait 5 minutes, the doc (who has very good english) asks me what's wrong, I praddle on, he listens to my lungs, gives me my diagnoses, writes me an Rx and sends me on my way. I pay $4 at the desk and head to the pharmacy where I pay $1.80 for 5 different pills, three times a day for two days. If I had no insurance it would've cost me a whopping $10 instead. I really have no words. What is so broken with the American healthcare system? It's frustrating, really frustrating.

I took the last of my meds this morning and while my chest feels astronomically better for the most part, I think it's worked its way up to my head because I'm a bit congested. But that's alright, a head cold is much easier to get rid of than bronchitis. I'm just hoping I'm feeling tip top shape before heading home next weekend...it's all I really care about.

In much more exciting news than mine and my family's health issues, we had an EARTHQUAKE! It was Tuesday night about 9:30. I was sitting on my floor in front of the computer when my floor starts shaking underneath me. Obviously my first thought is "omg earthquake" but that left my mind quickly and was replaced with NORTH KOREA IS SUPPOSED TO BE TESTING A NUKE. So I immediately, and this is no joke, sprint to my window to watch the horizon for something glowing and heading my direction. I stood there, heart racing, for at least 5 minutes, waiting. After I realized that I'm not, as of yet, dead from a nuclear explosion courtesy of Kim Jong Un, I sat back down and posted a status on facebook about it praying that I wasn't the only one who felt it. Within minutes a few friends said they also felt it. I'm not crazy: confirmed. Now, moving on, what was it exactly? First obvious answer would be earthquake, but all of us who felt it were frantically checking website after website for any news of an earthquake that would have been felt here in Busan. Nothing. So then we all start freaking out thinking it really was Mr. Kim and his test. After much speculation and getting each other worked up, it was finally updated on KMA (Korea Meteorological Association) that there was, in fact, a magnitude 3.5 earthquake about 2 hours northwest of here. I wipe the sweat off my brow and save my worries about The Great Leader for another day. My total earthquake count is now up to three. One in Japan (not the big one, a completely unrelated one but still significant, it rattled my windows and doors for a solid 10 seconds), one in West Virginia of all places (the one that struck close to DC the summer before last) and now this one here in Ktown. Nutty.

Now for the really important news: DUM DUM DUM...I'm staying here in Busan for another year. Yes, yes, all I've been talking about is wanting to get back to Japan and yadda yadda. Well, Japan just isn't working out the way I want/need it to. A few weeks ago I resigned to the fact that we probably would have to stay in Korea. Fine. Whatever. The only super crappy thing was having to give up my great job (when it comes to holidays and hours) and our really big ("big") apartment. Who knows what kind of jobs we'd get next? Are gonna end up living in a shoebox like most people? I knew that no matter where I worked next, it was unlikely I'd get a job as good as what I had now. So, it really has been hard saying goodbye to it. Well, this past Wednesday (doctor day) the teacher who would be replacing me came in for an observation/training day. It was sort of a sad thing for me, knowing I'm passing on my kids to a stranger. But then some interesting news trickled in just this afternoon...they decided not to hire her because apparently she's left two or three of her hagwons in the past 8 months (or they closed or something something...it's all he said/she said) and Mr. Song (the head dude at our company) wanted to resign Al and myself for another year at our current jobs. Okay!

Al really wanted to look for an after-school program like I have and our company does have a few, so he's first in line for one when a position opens. But the way these cards fell means that I get a five week vacation in the US while Al just works straight on through without stopping. It's really, really unfair, and obviously I can't do anything about it now, I just really do feel bad for him. So that's been going on today, we made that decision then they went to immigration with our new contracts to extend the visas and blah blah. So, we're all set for another year!

It's Friday night here and we have a long holiday weekend ahead of us (no school Monday) which means four more work days and I'm off to America! Sucks I'm sick, but I'd rather be sick right now, when I have three full days to recover and four easy peasy work days to get through. Here's to my good health before the 16th!

See everybody soon!!! xoxoxoxo

Longest January Ever.

19 days...19 days...19 days...

I feel like every day is an eternity. This has been the slowest and longest countdown to something in my life, I swear. I don't remember the days leading up to my departure from Japan being this excruciating. Sure, I was anxious to get home and there was a lot to look forward to once I arrived but it seems that this time around it's practically painful watching the days, hours, minutes and seconds tick by while every thought I have is about going home. I have gone through a million different scenarios for each millisecond I'm on American soil in my head. My airplane outfit, getting a carton of milk tea in Narita, will the plane have AVOD?, seeing Corey for the first time, our conversations on the plane, I want to go straight to Target from the airport, how will Eers react to seeing me?, finding Cor some tofu BBQ, I'm glad that Korean restaurant I found has kimbaps, I hope they let me pick my rental car, driving is going to be a nightmare, plugging in my iPod and singing at the top of my lungs for five hours to St. Louis, will I be able to find my hotel alright?, a big king bed just for me!, I need to get some new outfits for STL (new city, new outfits), I'm so stoked for the art museum, I bet the arch is huge, will I be able to find the perfect black mesh cut-out dress I've been looking for?, I have a 10 hour drive home, I'm so gonna cry when I see my grandma, I also might cry when I see she made me corn bread, I'm sitting around Aunt Kathy's orange countertops playing with Taya...

And on and on and and on it goes. I practically think of nothing else. It's probably not the healthiest thing ever to have my mind being consumed by this one thing but I can't help it. I think it still seems a bit unreal that I'm going home. I have everything booked and ready to go. Flight, hotel in STL and my rental car. Everything else is at my whims and that's the greatest feeling, knowing that I have more than a month in the US just to do whatever I want, whenever I want. Now if only these next few weeks would just fly on by...

I've started some lists of things I need to make sure I buy and things I can't forget to pack and that helps, seeing it on the fridge and slowly crossing things off. I think once I actually start packing it'll get a lot more real and time will go by fast because I'll be busy. Now that I have everything booked and planned I've nothing to do but sit around and think about it. It's turning my brain to mush.

Actually, I think right now I'm gonna go drag out my suitcase and start putting in things that I know I won't need over the next 19 days...Yep, that's what I'm gonna do!

xo

AMERICA, I'm coming!

These past few months have been filled with nothing but longing to be in the United States. I miss the interstates, greenspace, strip malls, oversized parking lots, a trashcan when needed, central heating, being literate...and a plethora of other things that you can't even imagine.

I had been waiting and waiting and waiting on answer from a job in Japan (which I still haven't heard from) before coming home. To avoid a very large argument, I figure I should just keep waiting to book a flight home. My window of opportunity of being able to come home at all was closing and closing fast, so I had to bring up the idea of going on home with or without an answer about a job. It went smoother than I could've hoped for as I mentioned that I can wait on an answer or look for other jobs regardless of the country I'm sitting in...so here it is, a few days later and I'm sitting pretty with a beautiful itinerary in my email saying I'll be arriving in the good ol' US of A on Saturday, February 16th. (Thanks to my mom, thanks mother!!!)

My last day at Nammun is Friday the 15th then I leave out at 8:30 the following morning. I'll fly Busan-Tokyo-Chicago-Nashville and arrive in Nashville at just before noon. (Hooray!) I was desperately hoping to leave out of here the 9th, but they couldn't get a replacement teacher that fast. Miss Corey Ellen is flying down from PIT to stay with me in Nashville for the weekend, and since she had to fly through Chicago anyway she's now on MY flight right next to me! (Hooray #2!) We'll spend the weekend together then I'm gonna head the 5 hours north to St. Louis to visit Zack and Jess (Hooray #3!) until that following Monday. Lucky for me, I-64 runs from St. Louis straight into WV so it'll be a breeze getting to the old LC.

Here is an ever-growing list of things that I am looking forward to/plan to see/do in just a few short weeks:

Meet miss baby Taya
The fam
Jess
Target
Taco Bell
Drive
Tokyo airport (Japanese food/drinks yesssss)
Diet Pepsi
Destroy the buffet at Sesame Inn
More Target
Olive Garden
Corn bread
Tour Cor around Music City
Warmer weather
Mountains
Drivers obeying red lights
Reading signs/menus
Wendy's
Sweet tea whenever I want it
Heat
Toaster Strudels
An effing BATHTUB
A proper hairdye job
Zack
Jess (#2)
Arch
Flipping through the television channels at my leisure
Sleep on a real mattress
El Rincon
Did I mention Target?
TJ Maxx
Cheap Sevens at TJ Maxx
Radio stations
MTO Sheetz man, MTO Sheetz
Shoes that fit
Someone bags my groceries for me
I-79
Forever 21

...and many, many, many more


February 16th, you can't come soon enough!!!!!!

Goodbye, 2012!

2012 was the longest and shortest year of my life. Since I've been in Korea now for over a year, it seems like it's dragging at a snail's pace, yet I can't believe that an entire year has passed since moving here.

Like I've mentioned before, this life I lead isn't a stressful one. Teaching abroad is simply an escape from real life for a while. My Facebook news feed is full of "real life" and each day I'm glad I'm still not yet a part of it. I'm not scared or running away from anything, I'm just really and truly enjoying my child-free, nomadic lifestyle. This past year, I've seen many of my hometown friends and acquaintances have children and every single time I think, "Thank God that's not me".  Not that I'm not completely elated for each and every one of them (I am), I would just feel so absolutely and utterly trapped if I were to have children anytime soon. I love knowing that I have no one to take care of except for myself (and occassionally Al) and the only life I am responsible for is my own. Call it selfish if you will, I just call it having a really great, care-free time. I'm not going to say that one day I won't want children, I would just rather spend my extra money on going to Bangkok or London than on diapers and onesies and I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

2012 had way more ups than downs and I have my friends here in Busan to thank for that. These last few months have been some of the best of my entire life and it's because I've finally let myself fully enjoy what life decided to put in front of me. No more holding back. It's taken me what seems like quite a few years to understand what thoroughly enjoying life really entails, but I feel like I'm definitely getting to that point. I live a pretty unique life and I'll have a lot of amazing stories to be telling at my 10 year reunion thanks to my huge balls to up and move overseas a few years ago. I've seen some incredible places and met some extraordinary people this year and I wouldn't trade it for anything.

I'm not sure what 2013 will have in store for me but I'm hoping it will involve a lot of travelling. I think this will be my last year of teaching and there are still many more places I'm dying to see with my own eyes before moving on home. Anything could happen this coming year, but as long as I follow my instincts, which have been pretty good so far, I think I'll be happy. And really, isn't that all anyone asks out of life?

Here's to 2013, let's see what you got.

Sleep Deprivation Never Felt So Good

It's been a nutty last few days. Two of our five friends (Jess and Zack) who left a few weeks ago came back to Busan Monday after travelling around SE Asia to grab their stuff (including one very adorable puppy) and head back to the States. I knew this was the last chance I would have to see them for a few months (if at all ever, but that's another story...) so I wanted to see them as much as I could. I get off work earlier than most people so I headed to Abhay's to hang out with them for a bit before we met others in Seomyeon for dinner. It was so nice seeing their faces! We met up with more friends at Beer Chicken to eat and then headed out for the night. Although working the next day was inevitable, working at 2:00 really isn't that bad so coming home at 6am after a night of amazingness was worth it.

Wednesday was election day here in Korealand so that means NO SCHOOL! Me and only a handful of other friends were off. While the majority of the rest of everyone still had to work, it didn't stop everyone from a long last Tuesday night in KSU before Zack and Jess were off again home. It was one last hoorah for them to get everyone together so that's exactly what we did. We all went to Sharky's for old time's sake for dinner then off to KSU we went. About 4am (?) we left where we were to head to the Spaceship Noraebang (aka greatest karaoke joint in Busan) where we all stayed singing our faces off until 7:30 in the morning. I got in a cab and got home about 8 while Al stayed out a big longer. I went straight to sleep and woke up about three hours later unable to sleep any longer. Since it was a holiday I pretty much just laid around all day while Al went Christmas shopping for me (!). Later Wednesday night, a few people were going over to Abhay's for "Christmas Night" with Irish coffees, wine and Home Alone and Christmas Vacation. I went a little early since I was off work and bored and helped decorate Abhay's place, which now looks fantastic thanks to mine and Jess's amazing paper chain making skills. Once 2:30 rolled around and I was starting to get really tired I decided it was finally time to tell them goodbye. I holed myself up with Jess in the kitchen for about 20 minutes just getting some talking in before some very sad hugs, gave Zack a cuddle on the couch and went on my way.

After getting hit on relentlessly in the taxi by the very young driver, ("You have boyfriend?" "How old are you?" "Very beautiful!" "Oooooh, so beautiful." All while continuously turning around to look at me) I finally got home about 3:15 and slept for a glorious 8 hours that I desperately needed.

It's now Thursday evening and tonight will be the last night of getting any adequate sleep until Sunday night. Tomorrow night we're heading off on our ski trip! We have to meet everyone at 2:30am to catch the 3am bus that will take us 5 1/2 hours north to the resort. There are 30 people going I believe and it's going to be a blaaaaast. We're definitely not going to go to sleep tomorrow, it's pointless. And then Saturday night there will be 30 of us in one amazingly large "cabin" with some hot tubbing and a lot of booze...who's sleeping Saturday night? That's right. Nobody. So Sunday when we get back will be the next chance I'll get to sleep. And you know what? It's been worth it.

Some Gripes But Also Some Happies

Another Monday is done and over with. It's been a week since everyone left and I'm happy to say (and Al is happy as well) that I'm feeling much better this Monday than last. I was nothing but a sulky crybaby for like four days but after a very relaxing (i.e. no money) weekend and a fun night seeing everyone (minus five) on Sunday for family dinner I am definitely working my way back to feeling top notch again. Plus, there are some things to be looking forward to!

First things first, I'm waiting on some sort of message or confirmation or anything really to say that I've gotten a job in Japan. I had an interview a while ago and I'm praying and hoping and crossing every finger I have that I get this job. If I do, the second I know for sure, I'm booking my flight home and starting my planning and counting down to that. I'm hoping to get out of here mid to late February depending on a lot of factors. If I don't, well, I'm not really sure what will happen. I know I can't make any plans to go home, that's for sure, and a huge bummer to boot. I should hopefully hear back from him this week or next. I'll tell you one thing, I'm going absolutely stir crazy waiting to hear and it's partly to blame for my dismal mood over the past week. If it's a "yes", wham bam I'm going home. If it's a "no"...well...I better start figuring out what I'm going to do because our Plan B is practically nonexistant. We both want to get back to Japan but finding a job there is a lot harder. That's why it was so nice to be able to interview for a job taking over for a friend, and a good job that I would really enjoy for the next year on top of that. Fingers/toes/arms/legs/eyes crossed!

Another reason for my overall air of grumpiness is the fact that I SHOULD BE LEAVING. My contract is up within a matter of a few weeks and yet, here I am, not packing, not selling my accumulated junk, just staying put for another two months after I am supposed to be finished. Knowing that I have to stay when I could be going home or going travelling to some warm, exotic place in just a few weeks leaves one rather depressed and frustrated. So there's that.

The weekend before Christmas 30 people (most are good friends) are heading 5 hours north to ski for a few days. We rented a huge 3,500 sq ft penthouse/cabin thing right on the mountain. It's going to be sick. I haven't decided if I'm going to ski. I LOVE skiing, but I haven't been for a very, very long time...four or five years in fact. I just don't want to have an accident and break my leg or something terrible right before it's (hopefully) time to head home. There are some others that aren't skiing, just hanging out in the house hot tubbing and boozing all day so I may join them. It'll save me 70,000 as well. I'll probably decide on the bus on the way up there whether I want to or not. Either way, I'm dead excited.

So, the weather officially blows. Usually hangs around 45-50 or so. We've started getting highs only in the 40s as well and I know that it only gets MUCH MUCH worse from here. The bad part about arriving in Korea in the winter is that you technically have to endure two bouts of crap weather, whereas if you arrive in the summer you just have to get through that single terrible one. It's only December and I know that January and February have still yet to come, as well as those windy, bone-chilling days when you know that it's definitely below zero. It's different at home when the only time you're outside is to dart to and from your car to your door/work/grocery store but for moi, I have a 25 minute walk to work. I keep telling myself that I survived it last winter and just because I know how to use a taxi to get myself home this time around I'm not going to spend $3 every single day (and not getting the exercise either) just to avoid the cold. We'll see how this turns out.

School is the same as ever...just FREEZING. I could, again, complain and complain about the lack of proper insulation/heating/cooling systems but I won't. I'll just say that it's cold cold cold in school and it's completely miserable. The classrooms and offices have heat, yes, but is'a crapshoot on whether or not it will stay on all day or shut off automatically an hour and a half before it's time to head home. Even though the office has heat, the children (and some staff) are deathly allergic to SHUTTING THE DOOR so anytime I'm in there I'm up and down a thousand times to close it or the frigid air pours in. The hallways are the same temperature as the outside air because they keep the windows open 24/7. Don't even ask. There is no logical explanation other than that Koreans are on crack. It's actually like, a "thing", Koreans opening the windows in the winter. Do a google search, it's all a bunch of crazy nonsense. So the hallways are 40 degrees, the bathrooms are 40 degrees and the classrooms are 40 degrees unless I get in there and turn on the heat. There's nothing worse than having to pee while being at school because it's having to pull my pants down in a drafty, tile room where I can nearly see my breath to sit down on an ice block in the shape of a toilet. I try not to drink too much liquid or else I do my best to hold it until I get home. When the classrooms do have I heat I blast it as high as I can and then all I hear is, "Teacher! Hot!" Nope. Sorry. You're suffering. They also all have their big puffy coats on in class and when I tell them that if they're hot they should take their coats off they look at me with a mixture of "you're insane" and "What? Coat? Off? But...it's...winter? But...I'm hot? Take it off?? I don't know what to do!?" Then their head explodes from the logic. I guess it's just a you-have-to-be-here-to-understand-and-appreciate-what-I'm-talking-about-thing but let's just leave it at this: It's cold at school.

Welp, I've bored you long enough with all my ranting about stupid things so I'm off! Goooood NIGHT.

Farewells

I'm not even sure how to start this post other than to say that I'm très, très depressed while writing it. This past weekend was a lot of our extremely close friends' last weekend in Busan. As far as a group of friends go, I have to say that I believe ours is the best there could be. Of course, I may be biased, but regardless, we have a good one.

Throughout the past year, the group has grown and shrunk slightly but over the summer we got a pretty solid troop of people that have really stuck together to form what I consider pretty much the sexiest, most fun crew of people in town. There are about 15-20 of us who do anything and everything together as a whole and when someone isn't there everyone is like WTF.

If you read my last post you'll remember that just recently have I really come out to really and truly enjoy what this amazing group of friends I have has to offer. Not that I didn't know before, I just only appreciated it until 2:00am every other weekend or so. Now that I do know, it makes it that much harder to see people go.

What we do, this job, this teaching abroad thing...it's not real life. It's a fun life, of course, but for most of us it's temporary. Above all else, it's pretty much just a constant vacation. Yes, we work ("work") but it's just not real life. The friends you meet here aren't your best friends from home that you've known for 15 years but once you get here and meet these people that will be your family for a year...they will become those new best friends. The nature of this job and what we do is that it's generally for a year, some of us stay longer but mostly it's for that one short year. So because of that, there is always going to be someone you know leaving. Whether they are going back to their home countries or going travelling for a while, they will be leaving. This is what this last weekend was about. Saying goodbye to Zack, Jess, Sarah, Will and Eric. I love them all, each one for a million different reasons, and right now they are on a plane to Cambodia. Zack and Jess will be back in three weeks to pick up their things to go back home so I'll see them then (and then hopefully go visit them when I'm in the US) but as far as Sarah, Will and Eric...will I ever see them again? I don't know. It's just the nature of this job. And it's hands down the worst part of it. Leaving. Goodbyes. There will always be some happening. Those five were really the first of our friends to go...after now it's just a slow trickle of people going back home. I believe Brittany is next, then John and Ryan, then me and then Al.

We still have some amazing friends left in town, so I'm going to enjoy my last few months here (dying for them to be over and done with!) and then it'll be my turn to get on outta dodge. Until then, some of my favorite pictures from this weekend and recent ones past...

Weekends.

Tomorrow is a new semester at school and technically should be my last (but I'm gonna work through February, remember?). Getting ready to start our 11th month here. That's insane! It seems like just yesterday we were arriving, but to be truthful, our year in Japan was the fastest of my life and it seems that this year is right up there with it. Perhaps it's the nature of the job that makes time fly? Whatever the culprit for making the months zoom on by, I'm thankful. I'm getting kinda over Korea and I'm in need of a change, though I'm really going to miss a lot of people here.

I like to think I make friends easily and that I'm likable enough for people to want to be friends with me, but a lot of the time it takes me a bit to feel comfortable with a new group of people. Just in the last few months have I really started to feel as if I could hold my own with the group of friends we have. To be honest, I didn't even have anyone to call a good friend until at least summertime and once I started getting more at ease with everyone did I realize WHAT A GOOD TIME THERE IS TO BE HAD ON THE WEEKENDS. Call me a homebody or any other silly thing but sometimes I just like to lie around on the weekends and do nothing. If I go out, I like to be back at home by 2:30 and that's pushing it. But for some reason in these past few...well just past few weeks actually...I've realized that staying out until 5 really isn't so bad afterall.

I'm a Friday kinda girl. If I was going to stay out all hours of the night, I'd rather it be on Friday because then I have all day Saturday AND Sunday to rest up and do as I please. If I went out on Saturdays, that was when I wanted to be home at 2:30. Even if I was having the time of my life I'd have this internal struggle with myself because it was just SO late but I was also having SO much fun but-it's-Saturday-and-I-only-have-tomorrow-to-rest kept creeping into my mind. Within the last month, there has been something amazing and fun going on every single weekend.  And every single weekend I've stayed out past 2:30 (gasp!) and well on until I see the sun rise from the taxi windows on more than one occassion...and I've realized that it's quite fun to finally just let loose and forget about the time and just focus on what's going on and who I'm with. Maybe you think I'm a stick-in-the-mud but I'm just glad I realized this now and not when I'm 35 or something.

I hope the feeling stays, but with the cold weather comes me wanting to just stay bundled up in my house and not leave until March. It's not too cold yet but here in a few weeks it'll be getting freezing at night. Hopefully I won't have a change of heart when like 10 of our close friends are all leaving at the same time. Boo.

A few weekends ago there were a bunch of people with birthdays around the same time and thus the Pimps and Hoes party was born:

 



 

Then our friends Zack and Jason played at Sharky's which always guarantees a good time:

 



This past weekend was Halloween AND the Busan Fireworks Festival and I could easily say that it has been one of the best weekends I've had here. They were both supposed to be on the same night but it stormed like crazy all Saturday evening so they postponed the fireworks until Sunday night. (Thank God) But Halloween went on as planned Saturday night and the rain stopped just in time for us to go out and have a blast. It was also one of the warmest nights we've had in a while. How about just a picture tour of the weekend?



Al (PSY) and Urkel

The girls at Sarah's

Moi as Taylor Swift



And on to the most amazing fireworks I've ever seen in my life! I've never seen anything like it. I've also never seen a crowd like that either. 2 million people pack themselves on the beach to watch. I went at 2 and plopped on the sand and got myself a spot while everyone packed in later.




 

 

This weekend is our friend Brett's birthday (and then I think that's all for the birthdays...) at, where else, Sharky's, and I'm sure it'll be another long night...but instead of wondering where my night will take me and what time I'll get home I'm extremely looking forward to it. And if I get home as the sun is coming up, so be it.

Happy Teacher Once Again

Got some much better news than the last time someone here started with, "Samantha, by the way...". Looks like I get vacation afterall! I'll tell you what, I was fuming mad over the fact they were going to take my vacation away and they actually did some rearranging of it but I like it better this new way. I actually lose 1 day total but it's much better. Instead of Christmas day off, work 26th, then 27th-3rd off I now get the 25th-1st off straight. That's what I'm talking about! Now, unfortunately, I don't think Al gets much of anything besides Christmas and the 1st so not sure what I'm going to do. Maybe we'll go to Seoul for a weekend or something :) Either way, HAPPY HAPPY SAM.

What the what?

I've just received some extremely unsatisfying news from my school. Before I continue, I'll say that as far as a job goes, I have nothing to complain about. The children, yes, all the time, because 80% of them are evil minions but the JOB itself presents no stress or strain or any additional work on my part other than showing up for 5 1/2 hours a day and making my way to a few classrooms to teach during a small portion of that. I never get asked to do things I don't want to, I don't have to do anything extra-curricular, I don't have to take tests home to grade. All in all, they leave me alone and let me do my thing and I get good holidays.

Wait...holidays you say?

As far as teaching in Korea goes, the holidays/vacation time BLOW huge penis. Compared to Japan, you get barely a fraction. In a basic contract in each country it's 10 days compared to roughly 5-6 weeks minimum. That's an enormous difference, but, hey I knew that before coming in here, made my peace with it and learned to accept it for a year.

As I mentioned in my last post, It's 11 weeks (now 10, it's Friday night! Yay!) until my next day off work on December 19th. Then I get Christmas day, work the 26th, then are off from the 27th to the 3rd of January. Not too shabby and significantly better than most teachers. Well, all that is in the past. I was informed today (by an equally unhappy Korean teacher) that because of the two days we missed because of the typhoons they are taking away our winter vacation. Completely. As in I get Christmas day off and New Year's Day off and that's all. I don't know how two days of typhoons transformed into eight precious days of vacation taken away from me but there is nothing I can do. All I know is that I went from not having a complaint in the world about my job to seriously, seriously hating the school I work for within a few seconds. It's ridiculous and outrageous and I'm still fuming with anger as I type this. It's midnight and I was told at like 5:30. Yeah, I care deeply about my vacation time...

MAD MAD MAD