One month!! How did this happen?

One month in pictures. Still no Internet at home (not until may 19th!!!) so this will have to do for now. Most of these require no explanation. I'll take lots of pictures of my apartment as soon as I get a little more set up!

OMG I LIVE IN JAPAN

Pretty much every time I leave the hotel, that's what I think. OMG I LIVE IN JAPAN.

In the last 48 hours I have:

• Pointed at the only picture on the menu and burnt my face off because the udon was too hot. 
• Met two of my new coworkers, both of whom are friendly, interesting people. 
• Went to the spa on the roof of my hotel and sat naked in a hot pool with some Japanese ladies. 
• Realized I will be expected to buy a fridge for my apartment. And a lot of other expensive things. 
• Smiled and bowed a lot. 
• Decided I need to learn Japanese and fast. 
• Eaten fish and soup for breakfast in my Japanese robe in the lobby of the hotel. 
• Wandered around Kumamoto with said coworkers. 
• Discussed how lucky I am to be here. 
• Seen a lot of dancing people. Apparently Japanese people love festivals but no one I know seems to know why they are dancing. 
• Lamented how hot and rainy it will be in a few short months. 

Japan is great so far. Tomorrow, I will go to the university for the first time. I will then (hopefully) find an apartment really, really quickly and start getting other important things like a cell phone and a bank account. I have a couple of weeks of orientation and then start teaching soon. I'm looking forward to not living out of my suitcase and getting settled at work. I'll update you all in the relatively near future. You know how I am about blogging... 

Also, as you may have noticed, I changed the name and layout of my blog. I hope you like it!

P.S. My visit to the U.S. of A. was perfect. Thank you to everyone who helped me feel so at home again, especially to Nadine and Brendan who let me invade their house for a couple of weeks. I can't wait to see you all again. And you should all visit Japan!

Four Weeks in Korea, Three in America, Then Two Years in Japan!!

As of today, I have four weeks left in Korea. My departure is bittersweet. I think as anyone who has lived in Korea, especially as a teacher at a hagwon, life is good here. But it is also complicated. I have met wonderful people, eaten delicious things, seen amazing things I had never dreamed of before and generally had a great time. I would say that covers about 90% of my year in Korea. But I've also had trouble communicating, been scammed by cab drivers and other annoying things I can't think of right now. Mostly, I'm sad to leave, but I'm also really excited about my next step.

As of February 25th, I'll be spending three weeks living it up Seattle/Prosser style. Eating Mexican food, drinking dark beers, going wine tasting, hugging it out, living the retired life with Dad, breaking in Nadine and Brendan's couch with Diane, Andrea and Katrina, helping Laurie and Tim celebrate their baby, partying with everyone, hanging in the Sviks living room and a million other things I haven't done in almost a year. I can't wait. It's been too long. There really is no place like Washington. I'm excited that I'll have so long to enjoy it.

But all vacations must come to an end, so at the end of March, I will leave home once again, this time for Kumamoto, Japan.  I have somehow convinced Sojo University that I am the perfect candidate for my dream job. I think I tricked them. Don't blow my cover. I will be a lecturer, teaching English to Japanese university students. In addition to that, I will be helping develop curriculum and other things I'm not quite sure of yet. I will work two 15 week terms. That means 30 weeks a year. I am not only getting my dream job, but I'm about to be the queen of vacation. I'm really excited. I can't wait to explore Japan, be in Seattle a bunch and travel the world over the next two years.

Right now, a lot of things are still up in the air. I don't know all the details of my job yet, but I'll try to keep you all posted. I am so excited about the next couple of months. I guess I'll have to think of a new name for the blog, although I hear K-Pop is really hot in Japan right now. I'll let you know in a few months!!!!!!

Pictures!

I posted pictures to Facebook today after a long hiatus from sharing any information about my life. I've been busy, it's been cold, etc. Sorry for the absence. I don't have the energy to also post all the photos here, but I believe you can see the album even if you don't have Facebook using this link.

I hope you all enjoy!

빼빼로 DAY!

While Americans are celebrating veterans and the sacrifices they have made for America (or enjoying a three day weekend), Koreans are celebrating a completely different kind of holiday. On November 11th every year, Koreans exchange 빼빼로 (Pepero), tiny breadsticks covered in chocolate. No one really knows how this tradition started. According to Lotte, which makes 빼빼로, people just started doing it. I'm inclined to believe they actually started it. According to the all-knowing wikipedia, Lotte does 55% of their 빼빼로 business in the month of November. Every store that's worth anything has a huge display to encourage them. There are gift baskets. 


Anyway, the idea is that 11/11 looks like four sticks of 빼빼로 and therefore we should all exchange them!! If you're following, that means that 11/11/11 is the 빼빼로 Day to end all 빼빼로 days. My students spared no expense. Here's my haul from 빼빼로 Day (minus two boxes which were shared with students...)

Some off brand, peanut, almond and regular!

All in all, a very successful 빼빼로 Day. I felt very loved by my students and ate entirely too many chocolate covered breadsticks. There are worse things. 

Now, back to a holiday with a purpose, but sadly, much less chocolate. Thank you, veterans, especially to my dad. This summer, I was lucky enough to go to Vietnam with my parents, as most of you know. What you might not know is that my dad was drafted during the Vietnam war. It's not something he talks about very much, understandable so. Before we decided to go to Vietnam he said something along the lines of "Seems strange to go to Vietnam on vacation, since I spent so much of my adult life trying to avoid it." We got a chance to talk more about his experience. 

TANK!

HELICOPTER!

He never actually went to Vietnam, but instead served his time mostly in Germany. It was really interesting to hear about that time in his life. I got to see some of the tanks and guns he was trained to use. It's so strange to think about my dad, such a peaceful and fun-loving guy, as a trained soldier. And crazy to think how the luck of the draw changed his life forever. 

The museum which housed these impressive relics was called the War Remnants Museum. It was made up mostly of photographs. It was really intense and really moving. It's not every day you get to read the perspective of the country that BEAT America, so the text was really interesting too. I learned a lot. Unfortunately, these are pretty much the only pictures that I took.

To sum up, Happy 빼빼로 Day! And Happy Veteran's Day. I also just realized how many pictures I have, both from Korea and vacation with my parents, that I have yet to share. I'll work on that. 

How to Stay Safe in the Forest

So, every week, we do a Creative Thinking Project. Students brainstorm an idea, write a script and perform. This week the topic was "How can you stay safe when hiking?" This is one of the best and most hilarious videos any group has created in the 7.5 months that I have been in Korea. (I know you're thinking "SEVEN AND A HALF MONTHS??? But where did the time go?" I feel the same way. Anyway, check out this video. Pay special attention to Ryan. He's one of my favorites. 

I owe all of you an update or two. I'm going to try to give you some more leisure reading this weekend. I might just be too busy being awesome, though. I guess we'll see.

BLOW YOUR MIND

Oh man, this has been stuck in my head ALL DAY!!