Last weekend Jinny (one of the female Korean teachers I've been writing about) and Sup, her husband came over for super. We planned it about a week in advance and I thougt about what I would make them to eat for dinner. It was such a weird experience for me! I usually go all out and plan a huge fancy meal, but without an over I wasn't sure how much I could make. We had just bought groceries, so I used only what I had on hand. Unimaginable! Looking back I'm realizing just how uncharacteristic is was of me. It really turned out well no matter what. I made herb roasted potatoes with butter chicken (a mild curry dish) and for a vegetable we had carrots and canned corn mixed.
The one thing that was similar to when most people visit is we needed to clean the house. Curtis and I also moved around some furniture to make out seating more comfortable. While we were cleaning we realized how much we like our house when it's clean. Unfortunately, it probably won't make much of a difference because we're both too lazy to keep it that way! The truth hurts.
I started to cook super and Curtis was finishing the cleaning when they arrived. Jinny was wearing a dress and at first I felt like I didn't tell her we were just relaxing. I realized a couple minutes later that Jinny often wears dresses and that she was probably more comfortable to over dress than to under dress. We had met Sup before and we knew we could keep conversation going so it wasn't awkward too much. Jinny was interested in what I was doing in the kitchen and she helped me chop a few veggies. We chatted and she made lots of compliments. I'm not sure how it started but Sup and Curtis started talking about video games (I think they saw the Wii in the corner). It turns out that Sup really likes video games too, not only that but he plays some of the same ones as Curtis! I was really happy and relieved to know that they found something in common.
Jinny and Sup had brought us a little styrofoam present that said Baskin Robbins that they put in the freezer. It could only mean one thing... ICECREAM! We waited patiently until one of them suggested opening it...
We ate supper and mentioned that we have board games and Jinny and Sup were both really interested in that as well. Curtis is going to look into getting some rules translated into Korean so that he can teach them. The activity we planned for after super was to watch Juno. Click the purple bit to read more about it. It was great and when it comes out to video you should all see it.
Finally we got to open the stirofoam box! I had no idea what to expect. I though mini cups of different kinds of ice cream or maybe ice cream cones. It was an ice cream cake! It was so scrumptious! It was similar to Dairy Queen except it didn't have the fudgy layer that makes their cakes famous. The top was really gorgeous and Jinny and I took pictures. I'll add them when they're developed.
Just before we finished having ice cream Andrew popped by to say hello. We invited him in and told him about all the fun we had the previous day with Matt and Amber at Namdemun. Oh yeah - So, Jinny and Sup came over Sunday night and we went to Namdemun and watched a movie with Amber and Matt on Saturday. The movie we watched was Jumper. I'm not going to bother posting a synopsis because there wasn't muh of a plot and I thought it was a terrible movie.
Shortly after Andrew appeared, Jinny and Sup decided they had better head home. All in all a great evening.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Life is a mystery no more!
I was daydreaming and marking the other day and I had an epiphany. Those of you who know me well know that I have been having trouble deciding what I'd like to do with my life. I mean, in terms of a profession. Yesterday I was imagining my own classroom. It would be decorated to look and feel like a jungle and the kids would actually call it the jungle! hehehe.... I'd have plants and we'd do things a bit different in my class than in any other class. I have some vague ideas about what that might entail, but lets just say that my plot will be to foster free thinkers and world changers. :) We'll see how it goes, but when I snapped out of my daydream I had a warm tingly feeling all over. So yeah - grade school. Who knew?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
WE WILL ROCK YOU!!!
They certainly did rock us!! C A M E G , MK and I went to a musical written around the music of Queen!!! It was amazing! It was the Australian cast and they were great. A couple years ago, Curtis and I were hooked on a T.V. show called Rockstar INXS. The lead for the musical tried out on that show!! He made it really far too - like 3rd place! It was amazing to see him doing live theater because when we watched the show - he was so dramatic that's exactly what we though he should do. It was also a little bit like we knew him because there were interviews on that show and it ran for 4 months in the summer. All in all Amazing!!
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
The Doctors Office
So the weekdays are still pretty much uneventful - but our weekends you have to admit have been chalk full of adventure and excitement! Well do I have a treat for you! I went to the doctor's office on Thursday! YAY!!! No it wasn't a field trip, I was actually feeling quite ill. In fact the doctor said I had a sinus infection and a pharynx (that's the top part of your throat) infection.
I had caught my little bug on Wednesday and began sniffling - by Thursday I was feeling like hell! At 6 pm I went to the doctors office. I was very impressed by the cleanliness and the atmosphere. It was really nice! I waited all of 30 seconds and the doctor saw me for about the same amount of time that a Canadian doctor does. The first thing he did was take a tongue depressor and as me to open my mouth. Normal enough I thought. While he was looking he reached for a nozzle on a stand behind him. It looks like the thing a dentist uses to give you a rinse with. He sprayed a mist into my mouth for about 5 seconds. I was shocked - I think I jumped. It was so weird for me. At first I thought it might be to take away my bad breath, but Rachel (who accompanied me there) told me it was medicine. The Dr. then looked in my nose. Once again he grabbed a different nozzle and sprayed in each of my nostrils! I think I actually recoiled a bit!! He pressed in my sinuses and then told me I had sinusitis and pangitis. When I left I got a prescription. Whatever the medication was it must have been strong because it was only 3 days worth.
Before I left the office I was lead over to a corner with three machines hooked to the wall. They all had tubes coming out of them and I had seen one patient with a tube in his mouth - inhaling the gas that was coming out of the machine. The nurse changed the mouth piece and put the timer on and motioned for me to have a seat and put it in my mouth. Rachel told me to breath in the gas, again she explained that it was medicine. I think it is actually an oxygen machine - the idea being that the oxygen will help speed up your healing. I think it's brilliant! There was also a mentholy kind of smell - so some other "medicine" could have been added as well.
Friday I was still feeling terrible and was actually having a bit of vertigo in my first 3 classes of the day. I was dizzy and sweating and felt like I wasn't actually present and that I was hallucinating. Weird huh? Saturday I laid low and took my meds and lots of liquids. Sunday I was feeling much better and by Monday I was nearly back to normal. Yay!!! I've survived a Korean cold!!! The Dr's bills and the medication was a total of 33,000 Korean won. That's about $36 Canadian buckaroos. They do a few things much better here!
I had caught my little bug on Wednesday and began sniffling - by Thursday I was feeling like hell! At 6 pm I went to the doctors office. I was very impressed by the cleanliness and the atmosphere. It was really nice! I waited all of 30 seconds and the doctor saw me for about the same amount of time that a Canadian doctor does. The first thing he did was take a tongue depressor and as me to open my mouth. Normal enough I thought. While he was looking he reached for a nozzle on a stand behind him. It looks like the thing a dentist uses to give you a rinse with. He sprayed a mist into my mouth for about 5 seconds. I was shocked - I think I jumped. It was so weird for me. At first I thought it might be to take away my bad breath, but Rachel (who accompanied me there) told me it was medicine. The Dr. then looked in my nose. Once again he grabbed a different nozzle and sprayed in each of my nostrils! I think I actually recoiled a bit!! He pressed in my sinuses and then told me I had sinusitis and pangitis. When I left I got a prescription. Whatever the medication was it must have been strong because it was only 3 days worth.
Before I left the office I was lead over to a corner with three machines hooked to the wall. They all had tubes coming out of them and I had seen one patient with a tube in his mouth - inhaling the gas that was coming out of the machine. The nurse changed the mouth piece and put the timer on and motioned for me to have a seat and put it in my mouth. Rachel told me to breath in the gas, again she explained that it was medicine. I think it is actually an oxygen machine - the idea being that the oxygen will help speed up your healing. I think it's brilliant! There was also a mentholy kind of smell - so some other "medicine" could have been added as well.
Friday I was still feeling terrible and was actually having a bit of vertigo in my first 3 classes of the day. I was dizzy and sweating and felt like I wasn't actually present and that I was hallucinating. Weird huh? Saturday I laid low and took my meds and lots of liquids. Sunday I was feeling much better and by Monday I was nearly back to normal. Yay!!! I've survived a Korean cold!!! The Dr's bills and the medication was a total of 33,000 Korean won. That's about $36 Canadian buckaroos. They do a few things much better here!
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Seollal - Lunar New Year!
Thursday and Friday of our vacation were relaxing and amazing days. We spent them with Matt and Amber playing board games, eating, and going to nore-bang. Thursday night I had a little bit to drink and so Nore-bang was especially fun - wink, wink! I sang bed of roses like a real rock star. It sounded terrible I'm sure but I really belted it out and Matt, Amber and Curtis couldn't stop laughing. As per usual, when you're drunk and people are laughing at you, you do it more and bigger... so they laughed more and more. Good times.
Saturday we went to Erin's house at noon for a traditional Korean meal. We were a bit nervous because we weren't sure how much English her family spoke and we also weren't sure about what kind of food they would serve. We took the bus most of the way and were picked up by her dad and herself. We met them at a very large gate. It turned out to be the entrance of the state university. It didn't have doors but was more like a archway. It was made of marble with white stone carvings on both sides and on top. I'll post a photo when I get my pics developed. I'm starting to think that a digital camera would suit my needs a bit better.... hmmmm......
Erin's family was so great! They spoke quite bit of English and were so hospitable. They also invited another Korean-Canadian family for super so we had lots of people to talk to and lots of questions to ask! The food was amazing! The main course for the New Years meal is a soup called Duk-gook. It's a hearty broth with rice cake in it. Rice cake is not the little crispy cracker things we have. It's the result of rice under pressure - you know - hitting it with a huge heavy mallet over and over again. It becomes very dense and starchy - think of wheat pasta but instead of thin strings - lumps. It's quite chewy too, but I really like it. It's so different from anything I've ever eaten.
Besides Dok-gook there are a few different salads. One is iceberg lettuce with a creamy white dressing. Curtis and I love that one! One salad has clear noodles in it that are cold. The noodles are long and thin like spaghetti. There is sesame oil and spinach in it too. One other dish was these little cold pumpkin pancakes. You wrap fresh veggies in them and pop them in your mouth - delicious! Curtis' favorite were these little pork patties that were fried with an egg batter. They also had mushroom and fish ones. Needless to say we were fed like royalty.
After the meal, I helped Erin fold some of her wedding invitations. We got through 200 and then decided it was time to take a break. She's been pretty stressed out lately with all of the wedding plans so I wanted to help in any way I could. We took Erin's puppy, Money, for a walk. It was the cutest little dog I had ever seen. It was a Yorkshire terrier but not with wiry hair. They had a little dress on her. She had such huge eyes and they got bigger when you patted her under the chin.
We got back home at about 5 pm and relaxed around home for the rest of the night. We wanted to talk to some people back home so we decided to go to bed early and get up early on Sunday. We ended up only sleeping for 3 hrs and then after a couple hours of restlessness, got up and decided to see who was online. We had an early morning nap from 9:00 am to 12:00 and got up to a fairly normal day.
Jinny invited us to go out for supper with herself and her husband, Sup. We had tried to make plans at other times, but it didn't end up, so it was great to finally meet him. He's a really nice guy and we had a great time chatting through dinner. After dinner they wanted to show us a really neat area with shops and cafes all around a lake that was fairly close. We got there and couldn't really see the lake because it was dark, but the area looked really neat. The coffee shop had a really casual, rustic feeling. They served our tea in really nice pottery mugs. It was great.
Once again the evening finished with a round of Nore-bang. Geez... we're getting pretty predictable! Jinny has an amazing voice though so it was a treat to hear her sing some Korean songs for us. She also sang the song from the Mulan soundtrack "Reflection". I think it was sung by Christina Aguilera.
Monday rolled around and it seemed as if it was a regular weekend! Back to book reports, question words, and reading! Yay!
Saturday we went to Erin's house at noon for a traditional Korean meal. We were a bit nervous because we weren't sure how much English her family spoke and we also weren't sure about what kind of food they would serve. We took the bus most of the way and were picked up by her dad and herself. We met them at a very large gate. It turned out to be the entrance of the state university. It didn't have doors but was more like a archway. It was made of marble with white stone carvings on both sides and on top. I'll post a photo when I get my pics developed. I'm starting to think that a digital camera would suit my needs a bit better.... hmmmm......
Erin's family was so great! They spoke quite bit of English and were so hospitable. They also invited another Korean-Canadian family for super so we had lots of people to talk to and lots of questions to ask! The food was amazing! The main course for the New Years meal is a soup called Duk-gook. It's a hearty broth with rice cake in it. Rice cake is not the little crispy cracker things we have. It's the result of rice under pressure - you know - hitting it with a huge heavy mallet over and over again. It becomes very dense and starchy - think of wheat pasta but instead of thin strings - lumps. It's quite chewy too, but I really like it. It's so different from anything I've ever eaten.
Besides Dok-gook there are a few different salads. One is iceberg lettuce with a creamy white dressing. Curtis and I love that one! One salad has clear noodles in it that are cold. The noodles are long and thin like spaghetti. There is sesame oil and spinach in it too. One other dish was these little cold pumpkin pancakes. You wrap fresh veggies in them and pop them in your mouth - delicious! Curtis' favorite were these little pork patties that were fried with an egg batter. They also had mushroom and fish ones. Needless to say we were fed like royalty.
After the meal, I helped Erin fold some of her wedding invitations. We got through 200 and then decided it was time to take a break. She's been pretty stressed out lately with all of the wedding plans so I wanted to help in any way I could. We took Erin's puppy, Money, for a walk. It was the cutest little dog I had ever seen. It was a Yorkshire terrier but not with wiry hair. They had a little dress on her. She had such huge eyes and they got bigger when you patted her under the chin.
We got back home at about 5 pm and relaxed around home for the rest of the night. We wanted to talk to some people back home so we decided to go to bed early and get up early on Sunday. We ended up only sleeping for 3 hrs and then after a couple hours of restlessness, got up and decided to see who was online. We had an early morning nap from 9:00 am to 12:00 and got up to a fairly normal day.
Jinny invited us to go out for supper with herself and her husband, Sup. We had tried to make plans at other times, but it didn't end up, so it was great to finally meet him. He's a really nice guy and we had a great time chatting through dinner. After dinner they wanted to show us a really neat area with shops and cafes all around a lake that was fairly close. We got there and couldn't really see the lake because it was dark, but the area looked really neat. The coffee shop had a really casual, rustic feeling. They served our tea in really nice pottery mugs. It was great.
Once again the evening finished with a round of Nore-bang. Geez... we're getting pretty predictable! Jinny has an amazing voice though so it was a treat to hear her sing some Korean songs for us. She also sang the song from the Mulan soundtrack "Reflection". I think it was sung by Christina Aguilera.
Monday rolled around and it seemed as if it was a regular weekend! Back to book reports, question words, and reading! Yay!
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Shuperman!
Ahhh... the first day of holidays! Nope it's not Saturday, not even Sunday... heck.. it's not Friday or Monday! It's WEDNESDAY!!! We have five days off in a row!!! WOOT!!! We didn't even book it and we don't have to use vacation days to cover it. Sigh, holidays are beautiful things. So you may be asking yourself, what kind of holiday is it? Do they really love Valentine's Day that much in Korea? NO! They celebrate Seoullal, Lunar New Year. It's technically Friday, I think. For this holiday families travel to their ancestral home (where their parents live) and prepare special meals to offer to their ancestors. Many of our students were going to their grandma's houses and were really excited about it. A couple even said "Happy New Years" as they left school on Tuesday evening.
For us, Seoullal means less crowds to wade through in Seoul. Amber, Matt, Curtis and I (that's becoming a mouthful... I'm going to change it to the AMCI and AMEGCI when Eddie and Gisela come too) went to see a movie called "The Man Who Was Superman". It was so excellent. I expect all of you to check it out in your local video store. It should be in the international section. ;) Anyway - it is about a man who goes around the city helping people. Staving them from traffic, chasing thieves, walking elderly ladies accross the street etc. He even tells people he has a small piece of kyptonite in his head which deminishes his powers so that's why he can't fly or lift cars. It's so funny at times and touching at times.
After that we headed to the COEX mall to browse at the CD store and see what there is to be seen there. We have a few more plans for this week, but mostly we're keeping a low profile. I'll keep you posted!
For us, Seoullal means less crowds to wade through in Seoul. Amber, Matt, Curtis and I (that's becoming a mouthful... I'm going to change it to the AMCI and AMEGCI when Eddie and Gisela come too) went to see a movie called "The Man Who Was Superman". It was so excellent. I expect all of you to check it out in your local video store. It should be in the international section. ;) Anyway - it is about a man who goes around the city helping people. Staving them from traffic, chasing thieves, walking elderly ladies accross the street etc. He even tells people he has a small piece of kyptonite in his head which deminishes his powers so that's why he can't fly or lift cars. It's so funny at times and touching at times.
After that we headed to the COEX mall to browse at the CD store and see what there is to be seen there. We have a few more plans for this week, but mostly we're keeping a low profile. I'll keep you posted!
Our First Church Sunday
A month ago, I found a website for a church that I thought Curtis and I would enjoy. It looked pretty liberal and focused on the main ideas rather than the details. Afterall the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. I e-mailed the church for directions and the pastor gave my e-mail to a person from our area who attends. Her name was Naomi and we spent a couple of weeks making plans to meet her on Sunday and then breaking them. We decided to meet on a non-church day so she could tell us how to get there and there wouldn't be as much pressure on Sunday morning.
We had coffee on Wednesday Jan 30th and I really liked her right away. I wanted to make it a priorty to get to church the following Sunday as we had already missed two opportunities to go. We met Naomi at a bus stop and then walked a block and a bit to catch the next bus. It was about 35 min on the bus and a 20 min walk. We found out that the church is held in an international school. Basically, lessons in English for children of foreigners.
The main pastor was actually on holiday in Thailand so we heard the youth pastor preach. His message was about unlocking your calling. He translated alot of greek for us and really did a great job all in all. The music was really good too. In short we were really impressed and felt really comfortable. Somethings seem a bit weird sometimes though. I always find myself really analyzing everything on my first visit to a church. I note the songs that are really repetative (thanks Sharon!), the gender pronouns the speaker uses for God, or even the way the people in the church pray. This over critical view makes it hard for me to relax and enjoy church on any first visit, but incredibly enough I still felt renewed after this service. I think that's special.
There were also many people who wanted to meet us and greet us. It was great that so many people were welcoming, but it felt a little bit overwhelming too. Curtis was antsy to get back home as he had plans to meet up with his brother online and so it made conversation a bit awkward for him. The bus ride home was a bit tense because Curtis knew he was going to miss Clint. We often have troubles with the expectations either one of us has about our schedule. Oh no, I hear a Oprah voice in my head - COMUNICATION!!! Yes, yes, we know, but in practice it's so difficult so we are relying on forgiveness for now. Of course we never let it build up - but that doesn't mean everything is always peaches and roses.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out at home - I think Andrew may have stopped in. Nothing too exciting. The next week we knew would only be two days long!! We were both looking forward to the break ahead.
We had coffee on Wednesday Jan 30th and I really liked her right away. I wanted to make it a priorty to get to church the following Sunday as we had already missed two opportunities to go. We met Naomi at a bus stop and then walked a block and a bit to catch the next bus. It was about 35 min on the bus and a 20 min walk. We found out that the church is held in an international school. Basically, lessons in English for children of foreigners.
The main pastor was actually on holiday in Thailand so we heard the youth pastor preach. His message was about unlocking your calling. He translated alot of greek for us and really did a great job all in all. The music was really good too. In short we were really impressed and felt really comfortable. Somethings seem a bit weird sometimes though. I always find myself really analyzing everything on my first visit to a church. I note the songs that are really repetative (thanks Sharon!), the gender pronouns the speaker uses for God, or even the way the people in the church pray. This over critical view makes it hard for me to relax and enjoy church on any first visit, but incredibly enough I still felt renewed after this service. I think that's special.
There were also many people who wanted to meet us and greet us. It was great that so many people were welcoming, but it felt a little bit overwhelming too. Curtis was antsy to get back home as he had plans to meet up with his brother online and so it made conversation a bit awkward for him. The bus ride home was a bit tense because Curtis knew he was going to miss Clint. We often have troubles with the expectations either one of us has about our schedule. Oh no, I hear a Oprah voice in my head - COMUNICATION!!! Yes, yes, we know, but in practice it's so difficult so we are relying on forgiveness for now. Of course we never let it build up - but that doesn't mean everything is always peaches and roses.
We spent the rest of the day hanging out at home - I think Andrew may have stopped in. Nothing too exciting. The next week we knew would only be two days long!! We were both looking forward to the break ahead.
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