Eat your heart out Kelly Clarkson!

Wow! Another absolutely fabulous weekend! A couple weeks ago, the other girls from work and I set up plans to go shopping and see some sights in Seoul. As I am the only female foreign teacher, it was 3 Koreans and myself. It was great to have Koreans show me their national monuments and for some of them it was their first time to see them as well. The best part about the weekend is that it made me feel like I finally have friends here. It has been so difficult to make connections at work because we don't often have breaks together or when we do we are so busy marking that we hardly notice each other. Our conversations end up being more about grammar and word use than about our interests or histories.

Friday we went to bed early because Curtis had a headache. I got up on Saturday with enough time to laze about the house for a bit and get ready at a leisurely pace - ahhhh, just how I like it. Jinny and MK met me at the school and from there we proceeded to find the bus that would take us to Itaewon. By the time we got there (it was an hour and a half ride) we were all feeling a bit hungry. MK noticed this one burger place that she really loves called Kraze Burger. We went in and it's set up like a nice diner. We ordered a burger and a club and had them cut three ways so that we could all share them. I've shared a lot of food in my life, but this was something else. It was so organized. A lot of the food here is communal so it makes sense, but it still surprised me. The food was really nicely presented with artsy swirls of sauce on the plate, like a desert so we took pictures. We also took one of MK and I taking the first bite of our luscious burgers. It had hot sauce on it which I managed to get up my nose and it slowly started to get hotter and hotter and hotter! I had to go to the washroom to flush my nose with water! The girls were laughing so hard - it was nice to make them laugh.

Next we started strolling down the streets in Itaewon. I can't say that I'm overly impressed. I found the shops really dirty and full of really cheap - I mean trashy not low price. I know this is not typical for Koreans. Their shops are usually really clean I'm not sure about the quality of merchandise but I haven't seen anything quite that gimmicky in our area. There were all sorts of things too. It wasn't at all what I'd pictured. I had heard about one English bookstore I really wanted to find though so I asked a couple people where it was. It seemed that everyone was looking for it and almost everyone knew where to find it. When I got there I completely understood why. The place is amazing! Itaewon is saved by the few shops that provide imported goods you can't find elsewhere. I bought a Korean travel guide, a phrase book, a Thailand travel book and book with Korean myths translated into English.

From there we were trying to meet up with Erin who was already in Seoul since she had a massage appointment in the morning. We stopped an bought a little snack on the side of the street. It was like a mini muffin made with pancake batter and had red bean filling. Red bean is quite sweet actually - or the way they prepare it here it is. It was quite delicious. We hopped on the subway and make a transfer. On one of these rides I discovered that the subway seats are heated! No wonder everyone fights tooth and nail for them! When we stopped I figured out that we were actually meeting Erin at the Gyongbokgung Palace. We walked about 15 minutes and were there. It was so colourful and had so much detail in the painting and woodwork. In the middle of deciding weather or weather not to get a recording device the ticked window closed and we weren't allowed to enter anymore. Erin was already inside but said she didn't mind leaving since we weren't able to enter. Jinny was a bit disappointed that we couldn't get it as it was her first visit to the palace as well. I promised that we'd to together a different day.

The next place we were headed was called Insadong-gil. It was just another 15 minute walk back toward the subway. It was amazing! There were tonnes of little shops everywhere that were selling art - not just nicknack's. We looked inside one shop that had amazing artistic quilts on display and in the basement you could by a pack of coordinated fabric to make your own quilt. It really reminded me of how 1950's Korea really is. There were quilted aprons, baskets and cutlery holders. It was so "Betty Crocker" or "Martha Stewart". I really don't say that with any disdain though. It's just so much like a time warp and I haven't figured enough of the culture out to decide whether it's a good or bad phenomenon yet. The quilts upstairs were amazing though. They created pictures and abstract mosaics - there were ones like it at an art show in Peace River. Brooke - you would have loved it! I thought of you the whole time. :) There were lots of little artsy shops like this everywhere. Of course there were still your run of the mill tacky tourist souvenirs, but they were easy to weed out from the other cultural gems.

We ducked into a side street and had supper in a beautiful restaurant. The entrance had little mini lights on the trees and had wooden walls and beams to make it feel traditional. Their were even rooms where you could sit traditional style on the floor. A fireplace make the mood feel very cozy and inviting. We looked at the menu and bit our fingernails at the first glimpse of the prices. Luckily they serve lunch until 6 pm and it was only about 5! Our scrumptious food was filling and wonderful and it was only 7,000 won (about $7 Canadian). I had bulgogi soup. It's kinda like beef that's slices really thin and marinaded in a sweet almost teriyaki sauce. The broth was really nice and there were some veggies in it too. My mouth is watering again just thinking about it.

After we were satisfied we headed back to the subway. On the way, there was a courtyard type area off the side street where a man was making rice cake by hand. Rice cake is basically what happens when you put sticky rice under lots of pressure. It all gathers together and is this chewy mass of tastelessness. Hehehe... anyway, to make it by hand, you need a huge, heavy mallet and a big mortar (stone bowl). You basically whack the rice enough that it is all pressed together. We came right at the end of a batch and he was scooping it out of the bowl. I was about ready to leave when he pulled a fresh bag of hot rice out of an insulated chest. I was so amazed and speaking loudly as per usual. He gave me a taste of the rice and he began whacking it. I was taking pictures as this loud whacking noise was attracting onlookers. He make a motion with his hand which I mistook for step back - he was calling me forward! I put my camera down and handed my mitts to the girls. He showed me where to grasp the mallet and before I knew it, he had me swinging away! He didn't come rescue me after a few tries either! He sat there watching telling me to swing harder! It was hilarious! There was quite the crowd too. I got another couple whacks in and then he came back. I'm sure I didn't even put a dent in work that it takes to make rice cake!

After Insadong, we decided to go to Nore-bang. I had no idea how talented my co-workers were. Jinny is AMAZING! I am not exaggerating. She sang songs from The Cranberries without the slightest effort. She sang a couple of really great Korean rock songs too. When I was talking with Jinny on the way home I found out that she used to be the singer of a Korean rock band. Oh the people you'll meet! Erin was really great too and she totally put me to shame on any English ballads. She hit some really high notes and was right with the music for every note. MK was really tired and didn't feel like singing too much but her and I did "Bohemian Rhapsody" with gusto and enthusiasm. This experience left me with one thought - I have a lot of practicing to do!

I got home at about 9:00 pm and at about 11:00 Curtis and I headed out to do just that!! There were a few songs that we'd noticed our first couple of times at Nore-bang that we didn't dare try in front of others. Some were really obscure which doesn't make for a fun time for others, and other songs we just weren't exactly sure if we remembered how they went. After about an hour we were hungry for more and paid for another hour. We forgot that they usually give you some bonus time so after about 3 hours of singing, we decided that we were a little over zealous. My favorite songs to sing at Nore-bang thus far are Black Velvet - Alana Myles, Angel - Sarah McLaughlan, and Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen! I'll try some Kelly Clarkson next time!

Sunday morning came and because we'd stayed out all night we forgot to set our alarm. We had arranged to meet someone at a bus stop so they could help us find the church we've decided to try out. With a quick apology note we set up plans for next Sunday and I'll let you know how it goes. The rest of the day was fairly lazy and ended with a movie the the theatre. We saw Sweeny Todd. It is seriously messed up. Part of the time you feel like you should be laughing, but you feel like it's also supposed to be a bit serious. They show lots of blood and corpses landing on their heads. It's also a musical - picture it, slashing throats with straight razors to almost campy Broadway style music. Yep, that sums it up - a bloodbath to over dramatic music.

It's Monday night. I've decided that Mondays are my favorite teaching days. It's because I really love the kids I get on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Wednesday isn't quite as enjoyable because of the book report marking rush and Friday we get more book reports in. It feels as though just after you've finished a big pile of marking another big pile of marking starts to form. I am getting the hang of it. My goal is actually to be finished by Tuesday night and have neither hide nor hair of book reports on Wednesday. I'll let you know how that goes too.

Once again - thanks for reading. Hopefully it's entertaining enough to keep you interested. If not, it will make a damn good personal record. Shalom!