Now!

So a lot has happened in the last few months I've been M.I.A. from the blog. One person has disappeared out of my life and one has temporarily left. THANK GOD! However, many more important things have happened. 

Christmas

Carly and I went to Seoul for the holiday and we treated ourselves to a wonderful two days at the Seoul Lotte World Hotel. It was absolutely fabulous! It really felt like Christmas there with all the fancy lights and decorations. The hotel was connected to the Lotte Department Store and Lotte World and a theater that was showing Cats. Carly and I went to Lotte World on Christmas Eve like all the other couples in Korea and had a romantic evening - except for the part when she made me sit in the front on the log ride and I got my beautiful coat wet. Still, Lotte World was wonderful. The roller coasters gave us a thrill and the Christmas Parade made us feel sentimental, warm, and fuzzy. 

Carly really enjoyed making me look like a fool and making me pose for dumb photos. 

 This is me being Japanese

This is my tights falling down and Carly laughing her head off calling me a grandma. 

When we were at Namsan Tower, she made me climb a million stairs by myself and sit in some stupid pagoda thing so she could take a photo. 

Anyway, the whole month of January, Carly and I worked at the Jinju National University of Education doing Death Camp. I really almost died. I had to go to the hospital several times a week and I even had to get IVs. 

At the end of Death Camp, Carly went to Japan with Rhys, her boyfriend, and I went to Muju Ski Resort with some friends, Min, David, and Dorothy. Min's from Dallas, Texas and David was my T.A. for Death Camp (he's very...girly) and Dorothy is my Korean university partner's best friend. Skiing was really fun and our room was amazing. Two bedrooms, two baths, a living room, a large kitchen, a fireplace, and a great view. 

Back in Jinju, I finally met Rhys.

@ Sound Garden

Rhys is a nice guy and really hilarious because he doesn't intend to be. His muscles are his life - eating too.

These photos are from Sound Garden - a nice cocktail bar 

So that's what has happened.

Sucks.

It totally just sucks lately because I have nothing to do when I'm at work. Everyone else has class and I'm just in my office alone with nothing to do. I'm on my computer all day, or at least until I have to go to class. I check facebook, popsugar, my e-mails, and a bunch of blogs constantly. It totally sucks when I've run out of shows to watch too. I feel like such a loser.

This describes how I feel. Totally bored.

Nobody

THIS JUST IN: Funniest kid in the world discovered.

Oh my, my student David or Babe-id as my students fondly call him, is officially my funniest student. He saw the song "Nobody" on my laptop, and he asked if nobody is an English word. Another teacher said "of course!" and looked surprised that he would think it was any other language, and then Babe-id says, "ah, I know what that means. It means no body, you don't have a body!" Then the teacher smacks his head and yells, "don't go around telling people that you idiot. You're so embarrassing. Don't tell anyone that you're from our school. You're a nobody!"

Dick-tation

So there's something that I haven't mentioned yet. Lately, I've made a spectacular discovery. DICK-tation. It's my new life style. I just show people who's boss by tagging a dick and adding tation. I usually go around and tag a couple homs everyday. It's really satisfying and empowering. I also say "Miss" or "Sir" or "no offense" after everything I say because it just makes whatever I say polite. For example, when someone offends me I'll say "Puck you Miss!" That's so great because Puck isn't even a real curse word and Miss makes it seem polite. Another example, when I talk crap about someone, "she's the most fugly thing I've ever seen in my life, no offense." These are really great examples of how to be really hot. Talking like this just makes you a lot more interesting and really hot. It's hot to be a bitch sometimes, right? It distinguishes you from the fug girls, no offense. 

All of the above is dedicated to Judy and is completely out of humor and isn't true. However, the truth is that Summer Heights High is changing my life. My thanks goes out to Jonah and Ja'mie. 

Filming Jane

I had the most interesting feeling the other day. I got up from my bed and walked  into the kitchen where I opened the fridge and took out the orange juice. I unscrewed the cap and gulped the sweet, tangy fluid straight from the carton. I was standing in the kitchen looking messy, curly-haired, with my underwear on, no pants, drinking from the orange juice carton. I felt like I was being filmed. I was a character in a film, not just Jane. Jane alone. Jane alone in her own apartment. Jane alone in her own apartment far away, thousands of miles away, from the people who know her and see her. I felt... emancipated. Free to leave the apartment completely a dump. Free to not make my bed in the morning. Free to walk around in my underwear. Free to drink right out of the carton. No cups or plates or utensils necessary in this new lifestyle. Hands and fingers all the way. Just kidding, but I did feel free. The feeling was both good and bad. The good is that no one will say or even know what you're doing and how free you are because you don't know anyone. The bad is that you feel terrible and sloppy and gross for letting yourself be that way.

Pictures of Uiryeong and Jinju. I live a double life, literally. 11-12 hours of my day are spent in Uiryeong admiring the landscape and the rest is spent in Jinju where I live. 

Tourist

I am such a stereotypical tourist. I don't even try not to look like one anymore. It's so apparent in the way my head moves side to sides and my eyes stare curiously. These are some things that I discovered during my recent travels. 

Squash masks in Namhae.

The beautiful handmade lanterns in my city's Jinju Lantern Festival.

Tons of boiled crab waiting to be bought and devoured.

The PIFF. I watched one film, Pandora's Box. It's a Turkish film that made me laugh and cry - mostly laugh though. The 90 year old woman, Tsilla Chelton, was so cute!

Goals : FAILED

So, I had a lot of expectations for Korea.

I thought that I would lose tons of weight with all of the walking. I thought that Koreans didn't eat fattening foods and so my diet would also change into a non-fat one. WRONG. I haven't been walking that much, because public transportation is so convenient. I've been taking the buses, and if I get tired of waiting for the bus, I just get in a cab - pricier, but conveniet. I guess I'm American through and through. I can't trade comfort for anything.

Also, I'm always hungry here! I don't even eat healthy. I've been to McDonald's a few times and I eat ice cream ALL the livelong day! Weight loss: FAIL

I also thought that my skin would become smooth and clear because Korean girls have really great skin! I've been sweating so much all the time that my skin has no chance to breathe or be clean! I was sweating so much that someone bought me ice cream once. I guess the bug bites don't really fit in with clear skin either. Great skin: FAIL

Another wish was for my hair to grow fast. I was going to look for vitamins to promote hair growth. I was sure that health-crazed Koreans would definitely have them. Well... they probably do, but no one understands what I'm saying when I ask. I have no idea how to ask. Long Hair: FAIL

I thought my Korean was going to get so much better and that Koreans would be impressed by the Korean that I already know. WRONG. When I ask for things in Korean or I ask about things or basically ask anything, people give me this strange look, like they think I'm crazy or really stupid or something or they think I have something in my mouth and can't say something properly. Most say "moragoyo? mollayo!!!" (what? I don't know!) Some people just shake their hands or wave, signing that they don't know, even before I ask the question! Great Korean: Failed

Well... my expectations have failed as of now. Hopefully I'll be able to fulfill some of those goals. Lunch time calls - my favorite part of the day, at school at least.