last weekend.
First of all, my lame roommate got fired! And I honestly couldn't be more excited about it. He is lazy and annoying. He majored in Ancient History and when I asked him what he wanted to do with his degree he told me "I got my degree to teach English in Korea." Say what, now? If someone had intentions of being a teacher.. wouldn't they major in education? He's always been really iffy to me. I'm glad he's gone. There will be a new teacher and new roommate soon. Hopefully that goes well.
Last weekend, Kate took me to the PNU area of Busan. PNU is actually "Pusan" National University. Koreans pronounce their P's as B's so sometimes Busan is referred to as "Pusan." And there's no such thing as an "f" sound in the Korean language. So coffee is pronounced like "coppy." Lunch was fantastic. We went to this cute place that had only four tables and they had a set menu. Each week the menu changes. We waited for almost an hour for a table but it was well worth it. Plus, Kate gave me some Hangul lessons. Hangul is what Koreans call their alphabet. The PNU area is awesome. There are lots of shopping areas. It's much like the Hongdae area in Seoul that I had visited when I went. I will definitely be back! The only thing that is annoying is that all of the awesome clothing shops won't let you try on the clothes. So it's really kind of like a guessing game. So far, I've bought two shirts here and they both fit! My eyeball game is on point. AND MY CONTACTS CAME TO KOREA AND THE WORLD IS A FANTASTIC PLACE.
That night, I met up with my couchsurfer friend and we got some BBQ for dinner and drank lots of soju. It was fun. I crashed on her floor and the next day we met up with her friends from South Africa. Did you know that in South Africa there are 11 official languages? And there are three types of people - Black people, Brown people, and White people. I kept trying to ask questions about the difference between black and brown but it was confusing. Anyways, we headed to the beach for the Holi Hai Festival! Holi Hai is a Hindu festival of colors and it celebrates the welcoming of Spring. We wore white shirts and were given colored powder and at noon, the festival began. There were mainly Indian people and westerners. It was great. Koreans lined the pathway at the top of the beach and watched in awe as we all threw colors on each other and danced. They probably thought we were out of our minds. It was beautiful outside so a t-shirt was sufficient. This one Indian man danced in the middle of a circle and showed us all the cool moves from his culture. It really was a fantastic time.
It's been so warm here and the flowers are starting to bloom. There are dozens of flower festivals for different kinds of flowers and I can't wait to attend as many of them as possible. I'm really excited to see some cherry blossom trees. Cherry blossom flowers only stay bloomed for about a week or so. I have a cherry blossom tattoo. They symbolize the fact that you should cherish things before you miss them. There's a festival in my city next weekend so it will be fun and super convenient. Tomorrow I am going to an apricot flower festival.
Last Friday was "Yellow Day" at the school. It's also the Korean holiday of "White Day" which is kind of like Valentines Day. The boys bring chocolates for the girls. I got more chocolate on this day than on Valentines Day! Tuesday, we went to a media center for our field trip. We got to sing and dance in front of a blue screen. It was super fun. I wanted to mention that the school has unisex bathrooms. I think it's so strange an inappropriate. There has been one occasion when a boy got really really mad that a girl saw him using the urinal. But WHY do we have unisex bathrooms? Public bathrooms here are a hit or a miss. Some don't have any toilet paper so it's good to carry some with you at all times. There are dozens of "squat" toilets and I refuse to use them. They are basically just a hole in the ground and you literally are squatting. I'd rather squat in the bushes than in one of those things. Some public bathrooms have a button that you can press that makes flushing noises in case you need to poop and don't want anyone to hear you. So genius.
I'm creeping up on three months. Wow, does time seriously fly by. The days are long but the years are short. I'm excited for Spring in Korea! I need to get to planning some fun adventures! I wanted to get a tattoo while I'm here but the only people who can give you a tattoo are licensed doctors. You basically need to know someone who knows someone who can vouch for you.. but technically if a doctor doesn't do it than it is illegal. Crazy! Alright, I'm out of here to do some researching. Later.
Oh - I forgot to mention that my co-teacher's friend, Cheryl, took me up on my offer for a free English lesson. We met with two of her friends for coffee on Thursday. We talked about the culture in Korea and the ladies had so many questions for me. I loved it. We are going to meet every Thursday and next Thursday - Cheryl is going to cook dinner for us. I've eaten at her house once before, she's a fantastic cook. Royals by Lorde came on in the coffee shop and I got so excited! They asked so many questions about the song and even wrote down her name to research her. Too funny. They are all in their fourties I believe, but I don't mind. They're so precious. I plan to meet some more couch surfers soon as well.
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| one of my favorite students - Kevin |
That night, I met up with my couchsurfer friend and we got some BBQ for dinner and drank lots of soju. It was fun. I crashed on her floor and the next day we met up with her friends from South Africa. Did you know that in South Africa there are 11 official languages? And there are three types of people - Black people, Brown people, and White people. I kept trying to ask questions about the difference between black and brown but it was confusing. Anyways, we headed to the beach for the Holi Hai Festival! Holi Hai is a Hindu festival of colors and it celebrates the welcoming of Spring. We wore white shirts and were given colored powder and at noon, the festival began. There were mainly Indian people and westerners. It was great. Koreans lined the pathway at the top of the beach and watched in awe as we all threw colors on each other and danced. They probably thought we were out of our minds. It was beautiful outside so a t-shirt was sufficient. This one Indian man danced in the middle of a circle and showed us all the cool moves from his culture. It really was a fantastic time.It's been so warm here and the flowers are starting to bloom. There are dozens of flower festivals for different kinds of flowers and I can't wait to attend as many of them as possible. I'm really excited to see some cherry blossom trees. Cherry blossom flowers only stay bloomed for about a week or so. I have a cherry blossom tattoo. They symbolize the fact that you should cherish things before you miss them. There's a festival in my city next weekend so it will be fun and super convenient. Tomorrow I am going to an apricot flower festival.Last Friday was "Yellow Day" at the school. It's also the Korean holiday of "White Day" which is kind of like Valentines Day. The boys bring chocolates for the girls. I got more chocolate on this day than on Valentines Day! Tuesday, we went to a media center for our field trip. We got to sing and dance in front of a blue screen. It was super fun. I wanted to mention that the school has unisex bathrooms. I think it's so strange an inappropriate. There has been one occasion when a boy got really really mad that a girl saw him using the urinal. But WHY do we have unisex bathrooms? Public bathrooms here are a hit or a miss. Some don't have any toilet paper so it's good to carry some with you at all times. There are dozens of "squat" toilets and I refuse to use them. They are basically just a hole in the ground and you literally are squatting. I'd rather squat in the bushes than in one of those things. Some public bathrooms have a button that you can press that makes flushing noises in case you need to poop and don't want anyone to hear you. So genius.
I'm creeping up on three months. Wow, does time seriously fly by. The days are long but the years are short. I'm excited for Spring in Korea! I need to get to planning some fun adventures! I wanted to get a tattoo while I'm here but the only people who can give you a tattoo are licensed doctors. You basically need to know someone who knows someone who can vouch for you.. but technically if a doctor doesn't do it than it is illegal. Crazy! Alright, I'm out of here to do some researching. Later.
Oh - I forgot to mention that my co-teacher's friend, Cheryl, took me up on my offer for a free English lesson. We met with two of her friends for coffee on Thursday. We talked about the culture in Korea and the ladies had so many questions for me. I loved it. We are going to meet every Thursday and next Thursday - Cheryl is going to cook dinner for us. I've eaten at her house once before, she's a fantastic cook. Royals by Lorde came on in the coffee shop and I got so excited! They asked so many questions about the song and even wrote down her name to research her. Too funny. They are all in their fourties I believe, but I don't mind. They're so precious. I plan to meet some more couch surfers soon as well.
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