Jamie in Busan

I just LOVE free things! I got this cute portable cup at ArtBox...

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 18:12:42 +0900

I just LOVE free things! I got this cute portable cup at ArtBox for some reason I couldn’t understand. Yay!!

Yarrr, the Typhoon!!

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 10:06:14 +0900

The students don’t have to come in because it might be too dangerous.
“What about the teachers?” you ask.
“Screw ‘em, they gotta work!”

Luckily, I got into the building RIGHT as the rain started.
But there’s no school-served lunch, so I’m going to have to trek out into the sideways rain to get some sustenance. Phooey.

Thanks a lot, Typhoon Bolaven. I WAS going to go to Immigration to get my visa renewed, but instead, I’m going to go home at 4, crank up the air conditioner, and re-watch Dexter for the 2nd time until I fall asleep.

Hmm. I guess that’s alright.

Ice cream and vodka. Livin’ la vida bachelorette.

Sun, 08 Jul 2012 21:33:01 +0900

Ice cream and vodka. Livin’ la vida bachelorette.

My students dream about me

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 12:45:00 +0900

Today, one of my fifth grade girls told me she had a dream about me last night.

She said I was on a popular Korean drama, and I was eating 5 boxes of sweet potatoes for every meal.
But also, I was very rich because I was on the drama.

I don’t right quite know what to make of that, but I suppose if I want to get rich, I better buy some sweet potatoes by the crate!

Tell me my fortune!

Mon, 09 Jan 2012 00:39:28 +0900

Went to Gyeongju yesterday and went to Millennium Park! Whilst there, we went to a fortune teller.
I decided to get mine told for fun and this is what I can remember…

- I will be VERY rich. I should open a bulgogi restaurant in New York.
- I will have a husband who will love me very much. But he will be quite feminine.
- I’m going to have a lot of children.
- My lucky color is black.
- My lucky number is 5. Because apparently I have all five elements: water, fire, earth, gold, and wood. Only 5% of people have all 5 elements. Five five five five five!
- My life has had a steady incline of happiness. It will continue to get better. There will be no major highs or lows. But it will be boring. >_<

Well, see you in New York! I gotta get to work on making my proposal for my business loan!!

Dinner and drinks with co-workers

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:10:52 +0900

Today was the first time I went to dinner with my co-workers.

We went to a great buffet called The Party. Stuffed my face silly there. Too much seafood for my taste, but the other dishes were delectable.
There were quite a few unique dishes as well. Not just your run of the mill stuff.

Tried a piece of blueberry pizza. It’s where they used blueberry sauce instead of tomato sauce. It was actually quite good. ^_^

Then went to a large bar/restaurant called Hurshimchung Braü where we shared a large thing (I don’t even know what it’s called) of Pils beer. Finished only a few sips short of one glass.
Blegh, me no likey beer.

All the workers were dressed in German Oktoberfest-type clothing. Fun.

MAAAA! I shook hands with the Queen of Jordan!!! And she was...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:05:30 +0900

MAAAA! I shook hands with the Queen of Jordan!!! And she was soooo purdy!!

Last Tuesday, my school held the storytelling contest finals.I...

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:03:39 +0900

Last Tuesday, my school held the storytelling contest finals.

I believe my 3rd grader performed the best. This is one of the girls who was in the top three (either 2st or 2nd place).

She was so adorable! ^_^

tumbleweed

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:01:24 +0900

Holy moly, Ma, I forgot to water the blog!

Look how dry and cold and ugly it is! WHOO-WHEE, we need to put some fresh picken’s in!!

Apparently I dun turned COUNTRY on account-a me bein’ here in good old South Korea.

Around midnight, last night, I heard a small auto collision...

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 22:22:48 +0900

Around midnight, last night, I heard a small auto collision outside my window. Caused me to get up and look.
Then I couldn’t sleep. Decided to take my camera out and snap a photo with my 50mm f1.8 lens.

Graffiti in the bathroom stall… How inappropriate!!

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 16:44:10 +0900

Graffiti in the bathroom stall… How inappropriate!!

Just come in already!!!

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 11:24:19 +0900

For the past three weeks, my elementary school has had a flood of student teachers from the university this school is attached to.
Every day, student teachers come into this office to ask questions or get their English lesson plans signed off by my supervisor.

And EVERY SINGLE one has the same behavior:

- Shuffle up to the door
- Peek in
- Knock very lightly
- Peek their head into the crack of the door
- Say “ohhh” in a very quiet voice
- Wait until my supervisor acknowledges them
- Bow their head down low as they shuffle into the office

Now, I am always an advocate for humbleness and modesty, but COME ON!
These people are training to be teachers, not nuns!

I was hoping for one…just ONE to come in with an ounce of confidence!

The student teachers are great. They’re kind and they’re sweet. But sometimes, they just need to GROW A PAIR!
Even the guys!! >_<

This is Halloween

Sun, 30 Oct 2011 03:52:20 +0900

Mmm, celebrated All Hallow’s Eve tonight in Haeundae area.

Got liquidly loaded up and hit up a few places. =)

Haha, pretty sure I danced with a Korean lesbian. That’s a first.

Story is, went to a bar that was having a “drag queen” party, although no one was dressed in drag.
It was to support the LGBT community in Korea.

Haha, danced my butt off. It was FUNNNNN.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, PEOPLE!

Sand in my As--n't it a lovely night??

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:07:33 +0900

At Gwangli Beach surrounded by people. There not be one open spot in the beach to sit and watch the awesome fireworks.
I have a feeling I’m going to get trampled by the end of the night. What a way to go… Trampled by 80 pound Korean girls and their stiletto heels.

Sittin' here in a boring room...

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 12:15:10 +0900

Yes, “Lemon Tree” is stuck in my head. Any other English teacher here would know why.
It’s a great way to learn continuous progressives!!

I’ve been pretty lazy this entire week. I have been co-teaching 2 classes a day with student teachers.
I haven’t had to lesson plan at all.

This weekend is Halloween!! While there won’t be children running around in costumes, there WILL be drunk costumed-foreigners on the streets!
One of which will be yours, truly.

DERP. <___>

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:51:00 +0900

Dropped my iPhone while walking to lunch today.

Googled a place that repairs iPhones in Busan. After my after-school class.

Went to Dongbaek (a 30 minute subway ride away) after work.

Shelled out 150,000 won for a new screen.

Went to Domino’s here for the first time. Got a garlic chicken pizza.

Came home and ate it all out of depression.

So much for being thrifty…

T____________T

Light up the night!

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 22:00:54 +0900

Went to the Lantern Festival in Jinju last night. Jinju is a bus ride over 1 hour away from Busan.
It was GORGEOUS! But NOT what I expected!
I thought it was just gonna be a bunch of traditionally-shaped lanterns. Nope!

They were all sorts of awesome shapes! A lot of them floating on the water, some of them on land…Ohh, they were gorgeous!
Here’s an overview shot:

Funny story, the chartered bus was supposed to leave at 8:00 pm. We didn’t leave Busan until 9:30pm.
So our anticipated time of arrival to Jinju became well into 11pm (what with traffic and all.)
We ended up leaving Jinju at like…2am. By the time we left, EVERYTHING was closing down.

Okay, that wasn’t really a “funny” story.

It was just…crazy.

Coming home smelling like...ewww.

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:24:42 +0900

One of the really bad things about Korea…coming home and smelling like cigarettes.

Had a nice weekend so far, going to Beomosa Temple on Saturday and going shopping at Shinsaegae (largest department store in the world) today.
So glad I get tomorrow off. Only so few teachers get it off and I DO! YAYY.

It’s good because I haven’t planned a single lesson.

Oh boy.

I Dream of Root Beer

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:16:00 +0900

Yes, I have come to that point where I am now dreaming about the things I miss from the States.

Like root beer.

In my dream, I was in a soda shop in Korea that sold foreign sodas. I look around and sure enough there are boxes of root beer. But not just ANY old root beer.
Dad’s Root Beer. The brand.
I look at the price and it’s 5,000 won for a 6-pack. But not the regular cans or bottles. They were those half-can sizes. The ones invented for midgets and young, up-and-coming baby future diabetics.
5,000 won is equivalent to a little less than $4.

But in this dream, I was so desperate for root beer, that I thought “DAMN the cost! I am getting my root beer!”

This dream had me going so convincingly, I thought this would be me for the next few days:

“Sweet Jesus, root beer is surely the breast milk of God himself.”

But, no. It was a stinkin’ dream. T____T

So, last night I settled for Dr. Pepper.

You are NOT a proper replacement! I don’t care if you got your PhD in Tasteology for your dissertation on the dance moves taste buds make when encountering sweet, carbonated beverages!

Ridiculous sign near Club Ghetto

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:49:34 +0900

Ridiculous sign near Club Ghetto

Jamie in Busan

I just LOVE free things! I got this cute portable cup at ArtBox...

Yarrr, the Typhoon!!

Ice cream and vodka. Livin’ la vida bachelorette.

My students dream about me

Tell me my fortune!

Dinner and drinks with co-workers

MAAAA! I shook hands with the Queen of Jordan!!! And she was...

Last Tuesday, my school held the storytelling contest finals.I...

*tumbleweed*

Around midnight, last night, I heard a small auto collision...

Graffiti in the bathroom stall… How inappropriate!!

Just come in already!!!

This is Halloween

Sand in my As--n't it a lovely night??

Sittin' here in a boring room...

DERP. <___>

Light up the night!

Coming home smelling like...ewww.

I Dream of Root Beer

Ridiculous sign near Club Ghetto

tumbleweed