Church Thanksgiving

I really missed having Thanksgiving in America. Our church did make a great substitue though! It was a big Thanksgiving meal after the service the weekend before actual Thanksgiving.

We all got together and bought turkeys and mashed potatoes and corn and baked beans and bread and salad and cranberry sauce... However, fun little fact: (Most) Koreans hate turkey. Its too "gamey" for them! Needless to say, the turkeys were very difficult to find because of this.


We had a lot of set-up and cooking the day of. Trying to make sure we have enough for everyone to eat! And informing people in both English and Korean... haha. That was also my first time tearing apart a turkey with my bear hands! (Or, "carving" the turkey... haha)

Our kitchen crew was fun and I loved seeing everyone enjoy our delicious food! I am definitely having "real" Thanksgiving food when I go home though... ㅋㅋ

Food...

So I have a little over a month till I will be back in America again! And besides my family and friends, all I can think about is food. hehe. I really miss the variety of America!

Here is a short list of things I will DEFINITELY eat during my short 10-day trip:

Planet Smoothie
Ben & Jerrys
Mexican food (REAL chips and dip, and quesadillas!)
Lasagna
Banana bread
American Chinese take-out! (specifically: Orange chicken and Pad thai)
Meatballs
FRESH veggies! (No more fermented kimchi)

...And that's just a short list off the top of my head. I'm sure when I go home there will be plenty more. ^^

I can't wait!

A Scary Experience

There's a Korean proverb that says "Men are wolves." It's true.

A few nights ago I was out with my coworker and other friends at one of our favorite hang-outs, and had one more drink than I should've. But I was with friends so I figured it was ok.

There was also a friend of theirs that was there. They really talked him up and they trusted him, so I trusted him. When we all parted ways, they had him walk me home because he lived close by me.

Well, walking home was fine up until the point where he started to get too friendly. When we got to my apt he got WAY too friendly. He wasn't listening to "no" or anything that sounded like it.

Thankfully I was able to eventually get him to leave but not after being sufficently traumatized.

That will not happen again and I definitely plan to be more careful in the future. I am not trusting people--specifically men--that I don't know. My friend Jin was pissed that I didn't call the police... and has now given me their number. ^^ Let's just hope I never have to use it.

To my girl friends... please be careful! To my guy friends... please help protect us!

Thoughts

A few things about Korea and me living here:

1. I've eaten more tofu in my life here in Korea than I ever thought I would. Ever.

2. This is the most excited and motivated I've ever been about learning a language... and I'm actually not bad at it!!!

3. I really do like teaching. But only sometimes do I like teaching kids.

4. I don't like Korean bosses. Or older Korean men in general...

5. I like listening to Korean pop music! Never thought I'd admit it, but I do.

Halloweeeeeeeeeeeen

Since it was two of our dear friends birthdays, we decided to throw a party for Halloween! However, it ended up having to be on Friday night the 30th instead of the 31st... no matter how fun it was, I am never throwing a party on a Friday night after I finish work at 10 pm again.

Koreans don't really celebrate Halloween. It's definitely a Western holiday (and South Africans don't celebrate it either!). There was only one costume shop in the whole of Daegu that had some decorations and outfits. However, since they were the only supplier... they could charge whatever the hell they wanted. :( Needless to say, we made do with tons of black trash bags and candles. haha.

We did have some pretty great drinks though. And enough snacks to last us into next week!


But people's costume's were fantastic! And it was great giving everyone a reason to dress up and have fun with us!

Me, Tharine, and Eli