Where Did It Go?

Wow, I can't believe the weekend is already over! I had many things on my to-do list when I went to bed on Friday, including catching up on some emails, watching BOTH of my class videos for my stats course that started last week, doing a bit of shopping, finding the hapkido dojang that's nearby and getting in some exercise down by the river.

However...

Saturday morning I got up and cleaned up my apartment. I once marvelled at how little time it actually takes to do a proper clean of the place since it's so small... on this day I marvelled at how LONG it can take when you'd rather be doing anything else!  :)  So a few hours after waking up at 7 I'd played with the dogs (who are doing great btw), showered, cleaned my place, finished the book I've been reading (Weiner's Geography of Bliss, recommend it 4sure if you like that kind of thing), and decided to get on a bus into Seoul to find some new clothes.

Though I did not relish the idea really, having NEVER had much success clothes shopping in Korea, I put on the 'what the heck' attidude and caught the bus. So what if I was going to spend the afternoon squeezing myself attempting to squeeze myself into some Korean clothes, maybe I could fit some of the adjumma stuff in the camping stores, lol...

When I got where I was going, Noon Square and Young Plaza in the fashionable Myeong-Dong neighbourhood of Seoul (which, I might add, I might have not tried if not for the recommendation of a coworker), I was totally intimidated by the size of the stores and the absolute CRUSH of shoppers that filled the aisles. Once I got in there and started picking things up to try on I was so happy I could burst... Korea's fashion district has INTERNATIONAL brands and stores with M Y   S I Z E!!!  Even though many of the items in the stores were WAAAY overpriced (even for my new non-comparative KRW/CAD$ brain): THEY FIT ME! Now granted, many things I tried on did not LOOK nice, but THEY FIT! THEY FIT! THEY FIT!

I can't even begin to explain how good it felt, to try things on and actually be able to pull pants up over my hips, or shirts down across my shoulders without contorting myself into some sort of pretzle-shape!! 4 1/2 hours of shopping, an hour of getting lost and walking until I was sure my hip was going to give out on me, 3/4s of an hour of wandering a new-to-me-palace that I'd stumbled upon, and 2 hours of bus rides later I was back home again. With me were 2 tank tops, 2 polo shirts (more of those to come, the material is incredible soft brushed cotton!), and a gorgeously simple black bead-accented long dress for the wedding I have to go to next weekend. Eeeeee!! I'm still glowing with the self-satisfaction of the whole ridiculous shopping adventure, lol...

Sometimes, happiness is finding clothes in your own size in a country where few people seem to be!

Sunday I woke early again around 7am with big plans to catch up on emails, finish up my blog from LAST weekend away (almost done, but I want to put the pictures in before I post it, it's coming - I promise!!), and attend my courses from last week. I woke in a bit of a funk, so I dragged my sorry butt out for a walk in the early morning sunshine (we have no snow here, sorry 4Us back in Canada, feel bad for ya!). About 6 minutes into my walk my MP3 player died, even though I just charged it 2 nights ago (must have left it turned on again, argh!), and I lost most of my motivation for a long walk.

(That, and my hip was KILLING me last night when I went to bed, and even moreso when I woke up this morning - I have to get that figured out as it's causing me pain even after just WALKing now, not running!!)

I searched out the hapkido dojang (mini search really, a couple of blocks up and down from the bridge) but didn't find it, and then returned home again to get started on school. Long story short, my day included rollerblading, another walk, reading a new book in the park (Coehlo's Like the Flowing River), had ramyeon for lunch and shrimp fried rice for dinner, had a caramel mocha latte for dessert, watched SEVeral episodes of Chuck and Army Wives (all caught up now, thank you Vuze torrents site!), wrote (but didn't photo) last weekend's blog, watched HALF of one class, and played with the puppies... not a lot accomplished, but overall I feel very rested.

Lesson learned at the end of the weekend after spending much time sitting with my back up against a tree in a park, talking with it about life (my life) in general: I need to join one or two more activities that could lead to making some more friends. My coworkers are good at work, but not so social outside of it; other foreigners I've met have been great, but far away and/or a bit flaky and/or reclusive; the girls at Korean class are nice but 20; my Korean friends are also sweet but unreliable (in their early 20s) with making plans... they get a LOT of stomach aches, lol... it would be nice to have a few people to possibly make plans with, even if it's just a movie sometime on the weekend: you know what I'm saying??

So that's on the list this week... along with a visit to my doctor's office tomorrow at 2 for a referral about my hip (accupuncture maybe?), MUCH school work so I'm all caught up in time to attend Fridays' stats course lecture (I can get the first half hour live, yay!), and searching for an english yoga class near home. That, and of course the emails and pictures that I still need to catch up (I'll get to them, I will, really!)...

Hope you are well, and that your own rambles are leading you to happiness and peace in the rain, sleet, snow or sunshine, whatever your case may be!!  Sending you sunshiney wishes from the Korean peninsula.... S.

Saturday Wanderings

Today I went shopping. I'll write more about that by the end of the weekend, but that's enough to say for now. Note: I did not buy any of the bags you see in the photo, they just made me laugh. I walked and walked for about 5 hours in Seoul between Myeong-dong and Ghwangwamun and trying to stumble across the Canadian embassy. I had a fabulous time shopping for clothes for the FIRST TIME EVER in Korea, and then I decided to walk a bit more since I was already out for the day and not ready to go home.

I came across some... interesting art at a small art museum... there's a Rodin exhibit there now, but I haven't planned to check it out at this point...

I'm not sure what the story was behind the shoes with legs, lol... the hen had some eggs that were visible inside, the aliens lit up at night when you walked by, and the fish and pig were made of recycled stainless steel rice bowls, plates and cups... strain-jee...

I found myself in a palace in lieu of another temple ~ ^.^ ~ and wandered around for a good hour in there, until about the time that my feet were starting to hurt...

Gate into the palace...

 

 The King's hall where he received visiting dignitaries

The King's throne...

The garden and fountain in front of the attached museum... they're rebuilding the building covered by the banner, and apparently that's what it'll look like when they're done!

A really amazing water clock that King Sejong was said to have designed... it told time using water and bells/chimes/gongs that responded to particular water levels (of course it is missing some pieces and no longer works, but I thought it was really neat!!)...

Speaking of the King (and I don't mean Elvis!)...

I never plan to get over for my love of the way Korea wraps the new around the old without ripping it all down and building over it... heritage sites are prized here, not razed...

There was a nifty bit of grass all about this particular palace (something that is in limited supply in Korea, especially soft grass you want to scrunch your naked toes in!), and it wasn't just limited to the lovely fountained garden you saw above! In the event that you thought it actually would be nice to take off your shoes and run barefoot in it, these little signs dotted the green spaces...    :(

2 of my favorite things... doorways and rooftops...

After leaving the palace I wandered up and down a couple of sidestreets where I stumbled across the art museum above, as well as this church that I thought looked interesting...

I never did come across the embassy, even though I walked well over the 500m the sign indicated in the direction it pointed (and it was in ENGLISH!!!). I did pass a large numbers of foreigners on tour buses who stared and pointed at me just like Koreans in small towns do (thanks, oldies on some kind of UN tour it seemed), but I never did find the little piece of home!

At the end of my 5 hours I decided to walk back to find a bus home. I had to walk an extra 10 blocks beyond what my hip thought was tolerable, so needless to say when the bus finally arrived and my tears dried up I made plans to visit the doctor this coming week!!

I'll find the embassy another time!

{Webpage Error} Damn Microsoft!

I was about 90 minutes into writing and photoing a post about the long weekend and for some reason Blogger deleted it without the autosaves after I had a spontaneous "Webpage Error" (thank you Microsoft Explorer Error). I will redo it, but it will probably have to wait for the weekend, sorry!

I did have an incredible long weekend away at the coast... I visited the seaside and remembered why I want to sign my next contract in Busan maybe, but I'll keep you posted on that one!

You can check out my photos at these 2 links HERE and HERE... they're not in order of places visited, but they do have little blurbs that talk about them a bit, you'll just need more time/patience to look through if you don't have the time/patience to wait for my update!! You can also look at them through the Flickr link on the right side of my page where you see the block of small photo thumbnails, it'll take you right there! I went to the sea, a mountainside-seaside Buddhist hermitage, Green Tea plantations (never saw green like that before!) and YulPo Beach. I'm looking forward to sharing it with you, but it'll wait for a rainy day!

I'm feeling a bit blue these past couple of days. Maybe it's the withdrawl after a busy busy weekend that is keeping me from being more happy and active. Perhaps it's the number of things on my 'to do' list that I haven't managed to get to... my apartment needs a cleaning, laundry needs to be done, I'd like to print some photos off for my walls, class has started up again and it's statistics (which I *hate*), it doesn't help one bit that my textbook hasn't arrived either, and I have no idea already about what I'm meant to be doing 2 weeks into a 6 week course! I still have to listen to the lecture from last week and I have 2 monthly tests to make this evening before I go to Korean class. The pile is manageable, maybe I just have to break it down into parts that make it feel more manageable!!

I think I'll go for a rollerblade on my afternoon break and get the blood pumping, that can only help, right?? That, and breakfast... I'm going to go and make some breakfast. Change of perspective and I'll be right back on track again! Have a wonderful day, talk soon...

Scared... of this???

Can you believe that some people are actually afraid of these guys... sometimes when I'm walking Maggie down to the yard I pass people (women AND men) who actually jump to the side of the hall and say "OhMa! OhMa!" (like OMG, OMG) while screeching and trying to scrabble up the wall itself...



This is just a clip of Maggie and her friend Deacon outside... they're like this the whole time they play together, it's hilarious! And I think it'll make you smile :)

Teachin' the Vet

Here is my vet's office (also my friendly neighbourhood petshop!).... thought I'd give you the mini-tour since I've been there so often in the past month!!

Tons of good brands of food to choose from, window seats for people and dogs, and a little playpen for daycare dogs...

Toys, beds, carry bags, and (most importantly) canned chicken... the surgery room is in the back there, along with xray machines and all that other junk that vets need...

Play area for kitty (who is usually out during the day since the big Tom loves dogs) and lots of space for puppies to run around during office hours 9-9 (one of my favorite things about this vet)!

Maggie has had a full checkup and declared entirely healthy, she's been fixed, and today she had her stitches out (yay!). She was a trooper at the vet's, though she's been a little down since our visit... touchy puppy. Murphy goes in for his second shots on Thursday, same time Maggie goes in for a bath and hairdo (but no cut!!). Conveniently I'll be away this weekend, so they'll hang out at the vet's "puppy hotel" until I get back (mommy has a play-date with other grown-ups, yay!).

Tonight after my Korean class I finally started meeting with my vet to teach him English once a week. He asked (though one of my Korean friends) awhile ago, and we're just getting aroud to it now. I've stopped in to see them (and spent much of my pay in their little shop!) every time I have a Korean class (it's in the same building), but he hasn't been ready to officially study. Mostly tonight we just chatted, I kinda needed to figure out what level he's at (he usually defers to his assistant to translate when I'm in the shop so I thought he didn't know much). Turns out that his vocabulary is actually pretty decent so it was an easy start.

He's a bit slow to talk as he's finding the words, many Korean "uuhhhhhhhhhhhhh" delays, but no trouble following what he was saying (plus there's the handy online dictionary that translates if we can't figure it out). All in all, it was actually kinda fun to have a conversation with an adult, lol... didn't really notice that I'm starting to miss those!   :)

No Too Fat

Yesterday on the way to the vet I passed the sock truck. Usually I don't stop here, because I think a person can only have so many cute pairs of socks (truth be told, it's more that I just don't really like their patterns/characters or I'd have bought the woman right outta stock!). Today though I noticed that there were packages of nylons - score! I wasn't REALLY expecting they'd be my size, but what the heck... worth a shot, right?


The woman who runs this particular sock truck isn't all that put together. In fact truth be told, she often walks around talking to herself, she's pretty grubby and I'm not sure if or when she combs her hair, but she is very friendly (even to this foreigner once she found out I could speak Korean) and she loves Maggie.


I figured there was a good chance that the nylons were good-ole'-Korea-one-size (which translates directly into not YOUR one-size big fat white girl!) but I thought I'd ask anyway.


For the FIRST time in nearly 4 years in Korea the saleslady didn't tell me I'm too fat! Instead, what she said (in Korean) was "Oh Miss, you're a little bigger than Korean size, so you should choose from these packages."


I couldda kissed her!

Once I paid her (it was onlny $11 for 10 pairs, holy crapola!) she told me to pick a pair of character socks "service" (which means 'thank you for spending your money here, please take a free gift!') AND, when I got the nylons home: they fit perfectly - three cheers" for the socktruck adjumma!!

Protest or Call to Remembrance?

I still don't know the answer to that question, and have only my 'best guess'...

On Saturday afternoon I found myself wandering fairly aimlessly around Seoul once again when I bumped into these well decked-out young men... (riot gear constitutes a 'well decked-out' man this year, doesn't it?). Some might walk the other way but I think they're (mostly) pretty cute, and I wanted to know what was happening!

Now if you click on the picture and look at it enlarged (especially if you're my mom!) you'll likely get to wondering where the heck I was and what I was mucking about in, but let me assure you they're pretty harmless... see how they don't even have their gear 'on,' they're just waiting around with it? Had there been tension in the air maybe I'd have had different thoughts, but I'm always interested to know what's going on when they're in the vicinity. You always find them with bus after bus after bus lined up, and young police officers carrying full riot gear standing round in huge packs, of course I get curious!

I happened to be across the street from Seoul Station, one of the major transportation hubs in the city. At first I wondered if some kind of threat had been called in to the station, but I hadn't been redirected out of the subway tunnels earlier in the day so that probably wasn't the case. Next I wondered if there was some kind of angry union protest (that happens and gets this kind of response!) so I decided to go for a walk and see what I could find out!

This was taken once the majority of people had cleared out, but you can see the men on the stage in red and white... they were leading the rally...

Across the very big intersection on the steps of the station there were a few hundred people banging inflated red tubes together making an awful racket while a few strangely dress men on a stage were yammering (i.e. speaking too loudly and quickly for me to understand them!) into the microphone. There was much yelling and cheering from the crowd, and it seemed to be some kind of rally rather than a protest. It did not have an angry feel to it, and the officers attending were quite relaxed while they stood in their lines, so I didn't think I had anything to worry about by heading in to check it out.

Once I made my way through the three columns of young officers on the other side of the street (most of them hardly a day over 18 if there were that) I saw a bunch of boards and photos set up with flags from a lot of countries waving over top. The crowd on the other side of the boards was yelling and cheering, making a lot of noise while I wandered through taking it all in.

The photos were taken during the Korean war in the early 1950s. This June (on the 25th) is the 60th year anniversary of the start of the war. The photos showed so many things, bombed cities, destroyed landmarks and monuments, wounded soldiers, children playing, women and children scavenging from piles of rubble, planes flying overhead seemingly prepared to drop bombs themselves, god only knows where they were taken... As I wandered through the display (which was done in English and Korean) I couldn't help the tears that came to my eyes and the tightness that comes with deep sorrow as I witnessed by photo-replay a nation torn apart by war, so much destroyed, and so many others coming to its aid and therein suffering right alongside...

"In early Spring 1951 a young US marine soldier found a moment of quiet and solitude in order to offer up a prayer for the peace of mind and safety of himself and his comrades. War was a very difficult thing for this young fellow; to fight and kill other human beings even though they are enemy people. People in Korea should remember and honor those who risked, gave and sacrificed their lives to protect a country, Rebulic of Korea and its people which they might never knew or had even heard of."

If I thought it would really allow me to share the feeling of the moment with you maybe I would have taken more photos, but really I was too caught up in the experience itself and can leave you with only these images, which do really no justice to the content, as you can imagine...

Namdaemun Gate after an attack

"A Canadian soldier who wounded during the combat had a help from a US soldier. All United Nations Forces cooperated together in order to rescue Republic of Korea and its people from the Communist attack during the Korean War. June 25, 1950 ~ July 27, 1953"

"Purpose of the photo display: Publication of real history; Importance of the Alliance Policy; A Responsible and Proud Country; Inspiriation and Hope for the Future."

"The people of the Republic of Korea are still remembering the action and dedication of the 68 countries who helped and supported the Republic of Korea during the Korean War."

Grateful to have been raised in and come from a peaceful nation...

Teacher's Day Presents

I should also mention that my kids and their parents were beyond kind to me, because in addition to the piles of cards and notes that they gave me, I also got a bunch of lovely lotions, soaps, and other things for teacher's day.

In the mix were 4 or 5 carnations. Now I've seen these before, they also sell them for parents day and grandparents day, they are the traditional gift that you give on those days. I hadn't thought much about them before, but I started wondering about why carnations are the gift of choice for parents and grandparents (and teachers). On cue, as I was standing, musing, waiting for the elevator and laden with bags and flowers on my way home, a woman I'd never met before started chatting with me at the elevator.

Are you a teacher?

Yes, I teach kindergarten and elementary students.

Did you get the flowers from your students for Teacher's Day?

Yep, flowers are a nice present! The kids were really excited to give them to me.

Do you know the meaning of that flower in our country?

Umm.... appreciation? (me grasping wildly at straws)

This is the flower that we give to our parents and our grandparents to tell that that we are grateful they raised us and nurtured us and cared for us. It is the way to say thank you for raising me as a child. You should feel very honoured if your students gave these flowers to you, because it means the children and their mothers are thanking you for raising the children so well, like family.

Wow, I had no idea....

Teachers Day 2010 - My Love Extravaganza

In Korea every year on the 15th of May it's customary to show your appreciation to your teacher(s) by giving a small gift. We teachers get carried away hoping for much namebrand soaked goodness, with many noses turned up at the sight of flowers and goodies from the nearby bakeries. I love every single second of it all. I didn't go to work expecting presents (bad experience from another school led to the change in attitude there!), but hoping for cards from my babies. My kids bring me SOMEthing almost every day, lol... it might be a little ribbon, a warm candy they've saved in their pocket all day, one of their barettes out of their hair (yes, really, lol) or a picture they did the night before when they finished their homework, but they're always very proud and excited to pass it over to me... as such, I was hoping to get some good ones for teacher's day!

My little kindergarten kids were absolutely aDORable this morning when they (and I) arrived at school. Usually I make a quick stop in my classroom after the bus drops us off to change the date and job cards, and then I have 20 minutes to get ready for classes, do my photocopying and have a cup of coffee before tackling the day, but this morning I didn't make it out of the classroom door once I ducked in.

"Shauna teacher! Shauna teacher! Present!" could have been heard at the other end of the building. They were bursting with excitement and shoving presents and flowers and cards into my overloaded hands. They wanted me to open everything right then and there, but for every one of them the most important part was the card that they had written, drawn, or coloured themselves, and their love and care was shining right out of them as they watched me open it and read their little messages to me. I always make a big deal out of their handmade presents, and this morning was no exception, and I didn't even miss my coffee cup today...

I'd like to share a few notes and cards with you...

   

Jay made me a thank you note decorated with lots of hearts and flowers...

Daniel made me a dragon airplane with "teacher, here, dragon airplane, pshhht! pffbt! powbow! rawwr! weee!" sound effects as he described it all...

Eric and his mommy made a combined effort... from the parts that I can understand of the note...
"I was really worried when I first sent Eric to school that I made a mistake sending him to Best Kids school and now 3 months has passed... Wrapped in Shauna teacher's love and colourful notes and drawings Eric has become so happy going to school... Each time he shows the work he's done in his books from his school day with such pride I am so proud of him and I am so happy...I hope you will continue to love Eric..."

Justin and his Mommy also made me a card together...

Melody drew us both in her thank you card... I love that we both look so happy, so full of life and energy

 

Sean was about ready to throw away the gift he brought to get to the card, he was SO very proud of his picture, and I can tell he spent a lot of time and attention making it for me

And lastly a note from Sandy and  her mommy (whose English is really quite good!)

my heart is happier than ever that I decided to go back to teaching, and I am proud to have such amazing, caring, and thoughtful kids looking out for me...

Have a beautiful weekend everyone!