Après-ski

I don't really like to ski, but I LOVE après-ski! What a great activity! :)

Here are some pics of my trip to Chamonix with eight other coworkers from Spain. I am AWFUL at skiing. Seriously, I snowplow on a BUNNY HILL. It's that bad. That's goodness my friend Amy is from the Midwest and just as bad as I am! Despite my lack of skiing abilities, it was totally worth it for the scenery. I"m would do a ski vacation again in the lovely Alps, but next I'll either be snowshoeing, cross country skiing, or sitting at Chambre Neuf.

Hello 2011!

I"m going to try writing shorter posts. I feel too much pressure to write long posts! (Mostly from myself, but I can't stare at my empty blog anymore!)

I know it's a little late to introduce the new year, but better late than never!
The start of 2011 has been great thus far!! Some highlights...


1. Going to Manila to visit Alan for Christmas break.




2. Bre and Leah came to visit at the beginning of February. It was so great to some Korea folks!





3. Signing up for the Madrid half marathon! This is my first race in almost eight years!





I can 't wait to see what the rest of 2011 brings!

October 12th- Spanish National Day

I love getting random holidays off as an overseas teacher. It's usually an excuse to sleep, but it's also important to partake in the culture of the host country. October 12 was Spain's National Day. I got up early to attend a military parade with a few friends. Spain definitely flexed their military muscle. I've never seen so many tanks and soldiers marching on the street! They even had a ski patrol! It was also interesting being in the crowd and hearing Spaniards cry out for the love of their country and the hatred for the current president, Rodrigoi Zapatero.
Here's a video of the military parade from 2007. Wrong year, but you get the idea.
Vive le Espana! (I think that's the right phrase.....)

Alicante!

Here are some overdue pics from my trip to Alicante. What a wonderful beach town and an excuse to go on a Spanish road trip with my new friends!

Hemingway!

I am currently teaching the novel The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway to my IB juniors. During a presentation, one of students said her grandfather used to fraternize with Hemingway. I almost dropped my papers mid-presentation. I squealed with delight and asked her to tell more stories. She brought in a few photos to show to the class. Yesterday, she told me her grandfather used to date Ava Gardner. What??? What kind of kids am I teaching?

Espana principios....sort of.....

That's right. I'm back. It's been too long, but I'm back. Here's the skinny on my new life in Spain: I like my roommates, my new job, and the crazy city of Madrid. I'm still adjusting to the differences between Eastern and Western culture and not being the minority for once, and I still miss Korea quite a bit, but time is always the best medicine.


Here's a quick peek at my new life.

In front of the palace...



Plaza Mayor at sunset....


Roman aquaducts in Segovia....



See the rest of my photos on my Facebook page!!

노란색 별표! Estrella Amarillo!

I can get a little obnoxious when I start learning a new language. Once I muster up the energy and motivation to actually learn the language, I'll flaunt my new skills to a-n-y-o-n-e. I learned how to say Spanish shapes and colors last week, and I've constantly spouting out the colors of t-shirts and leaves in Spanish. My friends smile and laugh, but the occasional eye roll comes out when they've heard me saying "la blusa rosa" for the umpteenth time. My favorite phrase is "estrella amarillo" or "yellow star". I like the way it looks and rolls off the tongue.

Amidst learning Spanish, I realized that I have no idea how to say yellow star in Korean. This thought makes me panic, momentarily, that I didn't spend my time wisely in Korea simply because I don't know this phrase, or that learning Spanish right now means I'm "leaving" Korea too quickly. Luckily, the moment passes, and I silently laugh at my melodramatic logic. I think it's ok to be excited and sad in the same moment. Last week, I went on a retreat with my seniors and learned about a transition concept called R.A.F.T. It stands for Reconciliation, Affirmation, Farewells, and Think. The concept encourages people to properly say goodbye to their home and gives positive strategies how to transition to the next one. I've definitely done my share of transitions, but I don't know if I've ever properly said goodbye to a place. I think my exit from Korea will my first proper goodbye.

I will definitely learn how to say yellow star by next Tuesday.

The Shipping Man

I'm really going to miss the Korean post office. Seriously! Yesterday, Sarah and I brought ninety percent of our personal belongings to respectively ship to Spain, American, and Uganda. The whole scene was quite a circus with the myriad of suitcases and Costco bags hauled in! Then we met him: the infamous Korean shipping man. The man that makes his own cardboard boxes and packs an entire box of shoes, clothes, and ceramic figurines in under 10 minutes. (That includes bubble wrapping the breakables!) He packed 10 boxes in under 80 minutes. 10 boxes! I'm still mystified by his packing powers.....

Louis Vuitton in Saigon

I know, I know. It's not called Saigon anymore, but it has a better ring to it than Ho Chi Minh City. And Louis Vuitton is everywhere in this so-called communist country! For Lunar break, I traveled to Vietnam with my friends Jennifer and Breanna. I was beyond excited to delve into the historical and cultural vastness of this country. We spent the first half of our vacation exploring the Cu Chi tunnels, the Mekong Delta, touring HCMC on scooter taxis, visiting the home of a Vietnamese family, drinking tons of Vietnamese iced coffee, and desperately trying to find an open shopping market. If you ever travel to Vietnam over the Lunar holiday, none of the shops are open! You have been officially warned!

My favorite Saigon moment was encountering Tae. We met, er, hired him (and his other family members) outside of the Vietnam War Memorial to drive us back to our hostel on scooter taxis. I was scared that my other two travel companions would chicken out, but to my delight, they immediately hopped on! He dropped us off, write down his phone number, and encouraged us to call him the next for a personal tour of HCMC. I'm certainly glad we took! The scooter gurus drove us to museums, pagodas, shops, and finally to the family home. I was little nervous about the last part, but curiosity won us over. Tae and his family were extremely charming and hospitable. They live in a boisterous alleyway with a multitude of Vietnamese families near the river. We scuttled onto the floor with ten other people, and glasses of beer and soda were immediately shoved into our hands. Tae introduced us to everyone and told us stories about the neighborhood, his family, and his involvement in the Vietnam War. He fought with the American soldiers and proudly displayed the eagle tattoo on his inner forearm to prove it. He didn't (or couldn't?) elaborate too much on the war, but the brevity of his stories didn't matter. I was just thankful he was open to sharing! Since Tae was the only one that could English, our visit was finished once Tae's translating energy had exhausted itself. He drove us back to the hostel, shook our hands, and scooted away. I was sad to see him go. The remainder of our visit was spent curled up in bed. HCMC proved to be excruciatingly hot and knocked us all with heat exhaustion the following day. This is one reason why I like four season climates and will avoid living in a tropical climate if I can help it!

Midweek, we traveled to the capital city of Hanoi. It wasn't quite the beautiful North that I had expected; in fact, it was gray, dirty, and gloomy. I felt disappointed, but knew we would see interesting things despite the melancholy atmosphere. The first two days we spent on an overnight cruise in Halong Bay. The advertisement didn't lead us to believe that is would a "romantic getaway", but the trip consisted a couples and one single guy. Great place to socialize for three single gals! Nonetheless, we had a great time hiking, kayaking, socializing, taking pictures, talking, and enjoying some great food. We returned to Hanoi exhausted and happy.

We visited Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum on our last day. It was so strange and surreal! We waited in line for a half hour, then were ushered into a huge, gray monument. I got scolded for having my hands in my jacket pocket, so I hurriedly took them to avoid causing any trouble with the fierce looking guards. The whole experience was over in 30 seconds. We came, we saw Ho Chi Minh, we left. That's it. Ho Chi Minh himself looked old, waxy, and relaxed. A friend told me that his body is shipped off to Russia a few times a year to be "worked on". (Translate- new nose and ears. Eww!) I'm still baffled by the reverence the Vietnamese people hold for this man. Perhaps it's my limited viewpoint as a foreigner, but I just don't get it. It makes me curious how hysterical the North Koreans must get when Kim Il Sung is on display.



This is my fourth attempt going down into the tunnels. I eventually suceeded!


I might be fake smiling in this picture after encountering complete darkness and bats. Yikes!


Tunnel survivors!


Ho Chi Minh mausoleum:


Halong Bay:


Indochina junkboat- the romantic getaway!


Mekong Delta:


Buddhist shrine:


Remnants (and reminders) of the Vietnam War:


View from the scooter taxi:

Espana! And London!

In case you haven't heard, its official. I"m moving to Spain in August!!!!!!!! I received a position from the American School of Madrid about two days and will be teaching writing classes and some possible A1 IB. I can't wait to start learning Spanish!!

Here are some highlights from my London trip:

Tube Artwork:


Outside the Globe Theater. Every English teacher's dream to see!


Kir and I having an Austin Powers moment. London, baby!


Otherwise you will be hit by a double decker bus.....


London at twilight...

LONDON, BABY!

Squid Island

A few weeks ago I took a bus/boat/van trip with my Bible study group to a Korean island called Ulleungdo. The group wanted to get away for some much needed down time, so we decided to head to an island that harvests eighty percent of Korea's squid. It's a random place to go for rest and relaxation, but it turned out to be the perfect spot.

After enduring the most nauseating boat ride of my life, all seven of us hopped into a rented van and cruised around the island. I have never seen so much squid in my life! There were racks and racks and racks of squid around every bend and corner. After exploring the island, our final destination for the evening was a little cottage on a hill. It was absolutely adorable and absolutely freezing! Everyone was so cold that we all fell asleep by eight o'clock. EIGHT O'CLOCK ON A SATURDAY NIGHT! Who said teachers weren't exciting??? The next morning we drove around the island a bit more, then timidly headed back to the port. None of us wanted to get sick from the boat again, so anti-nausea pills were quickly purchased and consumed. As I napped on the way back, I kept dreaming of long tentacles trying to grab my legs. I think I've seen enough squid for awhile.



The car rental sign. How appropriate.



Ferry port at Ulleungdo



Squid, lots of squid......





Dinner!





The group



Our home for the night. What a great island!

Days of Scooter...

I think I look a little bit like Lloyd when I drive my scooter.

That's right; I am now the proud owner of a scooter! I've been contemplating buying one for months, but impulsively purchased one three weeks ago. It's been exhilarating (carefully!) whipping through the streets and alleyways of my dong (neighborhood). And yes, I wear a helmet every time I ride. She's not fast, but she's my 250,000 won bundle of joy. Any suggestions for names??

Yanji, China

Chinese sign:


Escape to Russia!



Back in Minnesota, fall break usually involved sleeping in, visiting an orchard, watching tons of movies, or shopping for new winter clothes. This year my fall break included celebrating the birth of Communism, walking halfway across a bridge to North Korea, and escaping to Russia through a wire fence. Every trip truly has its own charm.

Every 3-4 years, TCIS sponsors a trip to Yanji, China. It's a random place to visit, but many of our OCK's (out-of-country kids) come from this city. Their parents work as professors at Yanbian University of Science and Technology, otherwise known as YUST. It was fascinating to see the home of my beloved students! Apart from visiting Yanji, our troup visited other local Chinese sites: Baekdoosan, a beautiful mountain lake that is rumored to be the birthplace of Korea; Tumen, a Chinese sister city to North Korea; and the triangular intersection where Russia, China, and North Korea meet. The scenery of northern China is stunning. It reminds of the stillness and serenity of Minnesota.


Russia pics:





Every trip seems to contain an educational aspect. I learned so much about North Korea on this trip. The "hermit kingdom" is such a sad, horrific, and fascinating country. I was under the impression that North Koreans were not allowed to leave the country, but I ended up meeting several North Koreans on the trip. One night our group ate at a North Korean restaurant in Yanji. The food and service were incredible! The waitresses beautifully sang a number of North Korean karaoke songs while serving HUGE portions of food. One of our tour guides said the wait staff comes over to China for several months to work at the restaurant, but head back into North Korea to do who knows what. We tried to pry personal information out of the waitresses, but they remain extremely tight-lipped. I found a few online articles that slightly mirror our dining experience. Luckily, we were able to get photos!!!

http://globespotters.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/08/a-taste-of-pyongyang/
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/JB08Ad03.html


I've never been truly thankful for freedom until this trip. It's scary not being able to openly discuss faith and politics in public. I'm glad 70% of my salary doesn't go to the government. I'm glad that I have food on a daily basis. I have no idea what will happen to communist North Korea and China over the next fifty years, but the people were extremely wonderful. Perhaps Yanji will be your next vacation spot!



North Korean bridge, restaurant, house, and singing waitresses:






Baekdoosan pics: