Merry Christmas!

My Christmas in Korea:

My Charlie Brown Christmas tree and dollar-store decorations

Decorating the tree!

The finished product, complete with Christmas candles

Even better at night

Christmas eve get-together with friends at a "game room"

The punishment for losing the game was getting "bopped" by a stranger (hehe)

Merry Christmas from Korea!

Love and miss you all

Halloween 2010

Last year we were able to have a Halloween party at our apt... this year, we're all in different places and it makes me sad.

Also, I'm not able to participate this year due to being really sick from something the doctors keep saying "isn't serious."

Happy Halloween yall

Success!

I ordered food in Korean on the phone without the help of anyone else. And it came, too.

:D

I'm so proud of myself. hehe

My Life in Daegu

(Click here to check it out!)

Moving Day

Eli left this morning... and now back to packing.

I forgot how overwhelming moving is! My first move into Centro Palace, I didn't have NEAR this much stuff. Since I've lived here a year, I've bought all my major items (bed, desk, dresser). It makes a big difference.

I can't imagine what would've happened if I hadn't had to buy them, though. There's no way the school would've given anything to me! As it is, I had a hard enough time getting them to pay the key money to the landlord of my new place (even though it's in my contract)! Sheesh. Well, in the end they worked it out. No key money, more rent money.

As of now, my chest is going to explode with all this stress!!!

Apartment Found!

All that apartment hunting finally paid off! I have 2 apartments I can choose from... one is in the area I already live in, the other is in a different area not too far away.

Even though I want to take a day to think about it, I'm pretty sure I'm going to go with the one already in my area. It's just more convenient that way. I already know the school bus here, and the driver is expecting me too. And I pretty much know the shops/downtown area.

So even though the place in my area may be missing a few nice things the other had (clothing rack, big fridge)... I think all-in-all it's a better choice.

Signing the contract comes next! Let's just pray my school doesn't come up with any bullshit complaints. (I-goo!)

1 Year!

Today is my one year anniversary in Korea!

This time one year ago, I was working my first overwhelming day in Korea. I slept in a moldy, cold apartment empty of food or belongings. In the morning I went to my run-down academy, met my interesting co-workers, and realized my job was just as unorganized as I was.

One year later, I find that I am staying ANOTHER year. I'm living in a much nicer place with much dearer friends that I met at church.

Thank you, Lord, for protecting me and getting me through this year!

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

House Party!

On Saturday we had our official House Warming Party! We invited all the people we loved to come spend the night with us celebrating our new home in Korea. ^^ S.J. and Gloria brought their Wii, and later the guys came up with group games for us to play together! The party was so fun!

Here are some pictures from the night:

S.J. playing the Wii... everyone else chowing down^^

Spending time with Joo-hyung before the party got too crazy

Minkey & Hyun-jin playing the Wii!
They were definitely the most entertaining to watch... hehe

We had champagne for a roommate toast to celebrate our new "life" together! :D

Eli, Tharine, and me <3

Puppies!

So a few weekends ago, the three of us girls decided we'd been thinking about getting a dog long enough. Our friend volunteers at the local dog shelter, so we decided to stop by and see what there was to see.

There was an overabundance of shitzues and poodles... both of which I hate. (I'm sorry, but I'm into cute dogs. hehe) But there were a few cute ones! There was a large puppy we called One-Eye (for reasons you can guess) that we wanted to take, but the lady said that he would grow to be bigger than a Jindo (which is the white Korean dog as large as a Great Dane)... so we decided it wouldn't be the wisest thing to do.

So we decided on one... and then another! We were talked into it. ^^;

Both are mixes. The boy, Ba-bo (Korean for "silly"), is a Pomeranian mix--and I don't like those dogs either... but he's cute. The girl, Noo-na (it means "older sister," it's what Korean guys call an older sister or older female friend), is a Che-something. We couldn't understand the lady.


As of right now, they are both sick. Babo is very sick... and the vets don't seem to be very good here. People in Korea definitely think of their dogs as toys instead of living things. ~.~

New Apartment!

The new apt is everything I could have hoped for and more. *^^* I love living with Eli and Tharine!

Here are some pictures of our place for your viewing pleasure:

Living room with a wall of window <3

Our giant kitchen!
Complete with an oven AND a washer... hehe

My room! 2 walls of windows <3

We have the most amazing view overlooking the
Southwest side of Daegu and the mountain range

There are two more bedrooms besides. We're right next to downtown and in a safe area. I don't mind spending another year under these conditions. ^^

Starting now...

I have signed a new contract with a different school. So, that means I am here for another year. Obviously, this is both good and bad... It means another year away from friends and family back home. But it also means a little more time to make money. I guess that all-in-all it's ok because I'm not exactly sure where I would go after here anyway. I know I want to go back to Grad school... I just have no idea where. Or which subject I want to study more in depth.

I found out I wont be able to go home for Christmas, too. That about broke my heart because I've been set on the idea forever. BUT I think I will be able to go home sometime during the winter... *hopefully.*

So I start my new job Sept 1st, and I'm a little nervous but excited too.

I'm also officially moving into my new apt this weekend! I've already got a ton of stuff at the new place and only need to move the other half. I also have a gym membership in my building! I feel like I actually have a life here... it's strange. But I'm so excited to live with the girls from my church!

*ALSO* my Korean studies are going pretty well! So... hopefully I can learn enough to use it in America...?

Old vs. New

As promised, here are pictures of my previous place as opposed to my new one.

This was my studio:

Dirty front door area with a small dresser/TV

Bed area directly to the left of the doorway

Small kitchen area on the left, even smaller bathroom area on the right

Nasty mold area behind furniture. It was spread across the wall.

Now, my new place! It was too big for pictures, so enjoy the tour: