Monday, December 13, 2010

Changes

Juana, Jessica, and Eric

The teacher in the middle, Jessica, has left our school and I'm going to miss her dearly. But on her last day, all the teachers had a secret going away party after work (without the school staff) and we had such a great time! We literally had to sneak away one by one so other people wouldn't find out. My school has become my family and the other teachers have become like brothers and sisters to me. I would be lost without them : )

Abri, Me, and Anlia

'Tis the season

Hongdae
I went to Seoul in an attempt to go the DMZ with some friends. However, with the recent "accidents" that have occurred between N. Korea and S. Korea, our DMZ trip was canceled. We decided to go up to Seoul anyway and get out of Ulsan for a breath of fresh air. And it worked! It was really fun to walk around different parts of Seoul and see another side of Korea. We stayed in Hongdae and this area has such cute coffee shops and boutiques! I would definitely go back again just to visit and relax. We also had a delicious dinner of samgyupsal and kalbi!


Kayla and me

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Expectations

A couple weeks ago, I attended a choir performance at our local arts and culture center to see one of my students perform. It turns out that the performance was an hour of Czech children singing and maybe 4 songs by Korean children. It just shows that I never know what to expect here in Korea.


On another note, I joined the local gym and went this morning to workout. It felt really good to be active, especially since it's getting so cold here and all I want to do is stay warm inside! It was quite the site to see, though. Some differences I found between American gyms and Korean gyms: they give you clothes to workout in every time, there are public baths and saunas, and I'm pretty sure it's the only place where you'll see a woman in a shiny leotard walking on a treadmill eating chicken : )

Monday, November 15, 2010

Comfort Food


 I decided to make something for my friends this weekend and I chose Spinach Mushroom Pasta.
Although it may not look so appetizing, it was quite delicious and it sure did taste like home : )


Oh and here's some silly pictures of us in the elevator! Photos courtesy of Miss Anlia.



Better Late Than Never


Happy Belated Halloween!

 Anlia and Abri's First Halloween

 
The Three Little Pigs


Autumn


It's true...I'm a spoiled Californian and I'm getting really nervous for winter. It's only fall and I'm freezing! However, with the downs there's also the ups of living in a place that has distinct seasons. The trees are beautiful, the air is crisp and I get to stock up on a collection of cute gloves and scarves : )




I took these pictures when my friends and I went for a stroll through Ulsan's Grand Park. It was a perfect Sunday afternoon. 

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Jazz Festival


There was an International Jazz Festival in Ulsan about two weeks ago. They had bands from several different countires like New Zealand, Spain, and Brazil. On Saturday, they put on a parade but it didn't really seem jazz oriented...


Foreigners







And of course, there were fireworks at the end : )




A Korean Wedding

I apologize for the lack of updates this past month but I'll try to catch you up! Things have been going really well and smooth. The excitement of everything has died down but I'm still enjoying and learning new things. The weather has cooled down and the weather has been beautiful! So lately I've been enjoying my time outside, doing mini excursions to Busan, and hanging out with new friends.


The highlight of this past month was definitely my Korean co-worker's wedding. Her name is Jessica and she has to be the sweetest thing ever! She looked so beautiful and happy. Her husband and family were very welcoming and greeted us (the foreigners) right away when we walked into the building.





Most Koreans get married in these big, impersonal convention halls where there's basically one wedding after another. As soon as one couple weds, their picture goes down in the entryway and the next couples' picture goes up. The only thing personal I noticed about the wedding was the order of the program and the wedding dress. Although, there was a shower of confetti at the end and I'm not sure if that is common : ) After the wedding, pictures were taken and then we all had dinner in the convention hall.


Once again, I'm sorry for not being a better blogger! I'm going to try harder, I promise. 

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

My Backyard


This river has to be one of my favorite things in Ulsan and it's only two blocks away from my apartment! There's two paths on both sides of the river, one for biking and one for walking/jogging. Many people kayak and fish on the river as well.

It was a very hot, hazy day when I took these, so they're not super clear and not that many people were outside, but I'm sure I'll be taking more pictures of my friendly neighbor as time goes on : )

Sunday, September 5, 2010

Rockin' out in Korea

Well, sort of... Here's some pictures I took of people playing traditional Korean music in old downtown Ulsan (which does not feel old at all! everything is just as nice as new downtown). There was a lot of drumming involved and other loud noises : )


The little girl in the middle would not let go of her dad's costume!
It was so cute. She followed him everywhere.

Break dancers!

That same day I went to another part of town and there was a little outdoor concert going on.



One thing I have learned about Koreans is that they love performances! The most popular music here is pop music by bands of at least 5 or more people in a group because, as my coworkers have told me, they're more fun to watch. Oh and only boy bands or girl bands... no mixed groups.

Hope you have a fun Labor Day weekend!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Photo Booth!


My friend Juana took me around Ulsan this last weekend and we went to a photo booth and took these pictures. There are stores filled with these types of photo booths in Korea. They're pretty silly but we had so much fun taking them : )



After you finish and print the pictures, you can make them into stickers!

Party Time

Even though it's been a while since I've been here, the staff at the school wanted to throw a "Welcoming Party" for me. Koreans seem to love to be hospitable and they were so excited to throw this! We started off at the school eating really good greasy, fried chicken and drinking beer and this other drink called "Makgeolli"(alcohol made from rice that looks kind of milky). From there we went to a karaoke bar where we had our own room and sang the night away!


I was thinking it would be a little bit awkward at first, but I couldn't have been more wrong. As soon as we entered the room, everyone started singing and picking out songs to sing and clapping their hands and using tambourines! It was, to say the least, amazing. I heard some people were there til 3:30am!!

Abri and Anlia (my two South African co-workers)
possibly singing an Abba song.
I wasn't kidding about the tambourines! They loved them. 
Lee, the school's director, singing his heart out.
He cracks me up!