Two Worlds Collide

 Well it finally happened. My dear friend Kim Dearing finally arrived in Korea. I grew up next door to each other, and we have been best friends since the age of 7 when we met on a soccer team that dad was coaching. Our families have always been close, and have seen each other through it all. I was giddy all day when I was getting ready to see Kim. It was weird when we met up, it was almost like I didn't know how to act. I hadn't thought about how it would be to have my old life collide with my new life. I have a routine, and a way of doing things, and staying happy and sane throughout the day. I think it was so different than I thought it would be is because she isn't here to visit, She is here to teach in a town about an hour away from me. This means that she needs to start figuring out her own routine, and way of doing things over here. It is so neat that we are able to have this adventure together. Of all things, here we are together. I am lucky that she is here for the holidays.

I took her to a Norabang (singing room) for her first night out. We went out for dinner with Aidan and then went and played darts (I destroyed the competition), and then we went and sang our little hearts out.

 One of the million nice things of having Kim here with me, is that she understands when I complain about just how cold it really is!

 I brought her out to meet all my teacher friends. Below we have Habiba, James, JP, Nicola, and Greg

 Nicola and I at Greg's house for his birthday. This girl has really helped me over here. She has very quickly found a place in my heart

 Kim and I bundled up trying to keep warm!

 Out for a day of Christmas shopping with Kim in Insadang. It was an outdoor market, so it was freezing!

 Korean dancers/drummers/performers

 And of course....Pickle! She reminds me so much of Toaster

Say Thanks

Korea. There have been many moments over the last few weeks where I have not wanted to leave. I love where I am. I am thankful for my life.
From the begining to now. I may not have always been thankful, but as I reflect on my life, and my present life I am so grateful. My family has loved me, even when I made it hard for them to. My family has provided me with more than I deserved, and set me up with opportunities that have made this life possible. My family gave me my education, gave me strength, courage, and most importantly gave me love. This applies to my whole extended family. Sometimes I am afraid to tell people about my family because I am afraid I will jinx it. My sisters are my best friends, and my brother (whether he likes to admit it) is one of my favorite people. My parents taught me so much about life, and honestly I am grateful for the way I was raised. I was raised with very strong morals (even if I ignore them from time to time). I used to blame a lot of my problems on other people, especially my parents. They didn't do anything wrong.....I believe with all my heart that they are incredible parents, and I would be lucky to turn out to be half of the parents they were to me.
I am thankful for the people I have met here. We have become our own little family. The relationships built in the time I have been here are stronger than I could have imagined. We had our own Thanksgiving, so I was able to enjoy all the delicious foods from back home.

      

Jewel - Stronger Woman

Homemade happiness

Out for a casual stroll on a Sunday afternoon =)

Aidan lurking in the trees haha. I feel very blessed to have met a friend like him

Foggy winter days =) Walking along the river. It was so relaxing

Yellow nail polish. it may sound petty, but I feel more comfortable here painting my nails outrageous colors...colors I would never use back home. Aidan and I walked until we found a cafe on the river and got some hot chocolate.....well I got mint hot chocolate. He was jealous of mine =)

Making your own happiness means having the right ingredients.....sometimes we have all the ingredients, but we either don't use them or we choose to use the ingredients that aren't as good for us or that are just easier to get a hold of. This moment below is an example of the right ingredients and knowing what to do with them.

Nicola, Greg and I went out for Mexican food in Itaewon. Afterwards we decided to go for a casual cocktail, which then turned into our own mini pub crawl. We had one drink at one bar, and then we would move along.....choosing bars at random. It was a great bonding night.

The friends I have made here....they support me. Almost more than some people I surround myself with back home. They seem to believe in me even though they have known me for a just a few short months.
Here I am...no make up...morning after our "pub crawl" very excited to open mom's boxes! Mom sent me a whole box of candy!! Horrible for my diet, but Aidan and I loved it! All the teachers at school say "Oh, Vi...THANKS"

Halloween For Grown-ups

So after the school's halloween party, we felt that we owed it to ourselves to have an adult halloween party. I decided to have all the teachers over to my apartment for some wine before we headed to Itaewon for dinner and drinks. Here are Nicola and Greg on my bed =) They are a lot of fun to have around!

 James (left) and Jp (teacher) with their hilarious costume. Of course Jp couldn't wear this to work

 Nicola and Brian. He is Harry Potter, and I told him he should be Ron Weasley instead....he took offense to this haha. Ron is my favorite character though. Guess I should have mentioned that also.

 Dinner at the most delicious (and expensive) Italian restaurant. It was just like a real restaurant! They waiters came and checked on you, refilled your drinks without you having to yell across the room. They spoke English, and the walls were even painted!! All of these things are rare over here. Honestly, it's the small things that you don't realize you miss.

 Nikki teacher and I =) I am Tom Cruise from risky business! It was a hit

 A bar on the rooftop of a bar. My first time being here, but it was a lot of fun. There are always a lot of miltary men and other foreigners in Itaewon. That is what it is known for.

 =)

 Of course it just ended up being just Aidan and myself going around to different bars dancing all night until the next morning.

 ME =)

Halloween was much different from what it normally is back home, but it has been a major breath of fresh air to be around new people all the time. Learning everyone's story and living as the person I want to be...not the person I am known for from all my friends and family that I have known my whole life. Living abroad has given me a fresh sheet of paper to write a new part of my life in. I am loving it. It is most interesting to get feedback from people that I've met, or gone out to dinner with. To hear how they see me, and how I presented myself seems to be different than back home.

HaPpY hAlLoWeEn

Happy Halloween! It is funny to me how some holidays are world wide and some aren't. I was talking with some of my friends about what we have done in the past for halloween with our friends, and other well known drinking holidays we have...sharing stories, only to find more and more in common with each other =) I told them what we do for St. Pattys day and they thought it was hilarious because they don't eat some of the food we traditionally have on that day, or know any of the typical Irish bands that all the bars will play. Anyway, Halloween was huge here at CPI. We prepared the whole month of October. All the Korean TA's decorated the halls with spiders, and ghosts etc. In our classroom we practiced our Halloween song "This is Halloween" from the Nightmare before Christmas, and got ready for the big Halloween party! Here we are carving a pumpking for the contest. These are my Kinder kids the Leopard Cubs, and this is my very first pumpkin I have carved! Stencil free and everything! 

The eyes are finished! The kids got such a kick out of watching me do this

We all had fun taking our turns taking pictures with the pumpkin! Notice the L shaped nose..L for Leopard cubs...ah ah ahh see what I did there... =)

Kelly and I. She is a very affectionate girl

Everyone had so much fun except for Amy. She cried and pouted...but my kids know that I don't respond well to crying. So I just took a picture of her.
Here is Harry the Superman! He is one of my preschoolers =) He is a very happy boy

Trick or treating to all the other classrooms

Habiba is a Nora bang (singing room) Kareoke =) and next to her is Nicola and JP

Leopard Cubs pumpkin didn't win...but I was still very proud!

It was a lot of fun to be celebrate such a fun kids holiday over here. It was fun to do halloween like we're supposed to do halloween...The kids had a WONDERFUL time, and that is the most important thing. I thought I would eat a lot more candy than I actually did, but luckily we didn't really pass out chocolate bars!

Take a walk in my shoes

Each morning, I wake up and this is what I see... I wake up about an hour before I have to leave for work....I usually wake up and skype in the morning, and have about 2 cups of coffee. Then it's off to work at 915am

 I leave my apartment building here, and turn left....

 ...then I walk up this small hill....

 and then down this hill....it takes a total of about 5 or 6 minutes to walk to work. I actually really enjoy the fact that I don't drive at all, it is quite freeing...

 ....then I come in and set my stuff down at my desk. This is where all of the teacher's desks are. Mine is the second one in with the black  coat hanging on the chair. We spend a lot of time in here doing lesson plans, and reports...but mostly we mess around on facebook and watch funny and inappropriate youtube videos =)

 Then it's off to my main class the leopard cubs. I have them monday through friday from 9:20-2:00. I usually get mobbed by my kids....I don't think they understand that this is a little overwhelming so early in the morning

 Check the lesson plans for the day. Starts with circle time, which is conversation time about the date, days of the week, weather, and how they are feeling. Followed by phonics, language book, journal writing book on Tues/Thurs, then 10 minutes break time, song performance time, and theme activity. Then we all line up for lunch

 The rules that they have to write over and over again, for about 10 minutes a day, 3 days a week. This helps them learn how to write more neatly, but also it is teaching them discipline to sit quietly.

 Class =)

 School Lunch. Cafeteria food isn't good in America, and it's still not good in Korea.

 Aidan busy doing teacher things

That is just a small glimpse of my day at school. On my  long breaks I try to go to the gym once or twice a week, otherwise we will go get coffee somewhere and have snacks, Being a teacher is definitely not the healthiest lifestyle.
It is cooling down a lot here, so the walk to school is starting to take me a little bit longer. I am not warmed up enough to move so quickly early in the morning when it is so chilly. I feel like how the weather is right  now, is about as cold as it gets for winter back home in Phoenix....apparently I am in for a long winter because they say that this is nothing compared to December and January!