Annyeong, Korea!

After a few short catnaps Sunday night, I finally awoke for good around 5:30 am Monday morning. I dragged myself out of bed, into the shower, and into a taxi for a short ride to the Airport Limousine Bus stop. I climbed onto the bus around 8:45 am and did my best to stay awake during the trip to Incheon Airport.

I arrived at the airport just before 10:00 am and was told I needed to first stop at the Immigration Office. Unfortunately, despite all my sweet talk and eyelash batting, the woman at the desk refused to back down, and I was forced to pay $100 for my lost Alien Registration Card. Strike 1. Then, I went to the check-in counter and discovered that I had to pay $135 to check a third bag (I swear the woman on the phone said $35!!). At that point I was so tired and ready to get out of the country that I did not use common sense (which would have been to toss out some clothes and get everything into two bags) and instead paid the ridiculously high fee. Strike 2.

Finally, I boarded my plane for Tokyo at 11:00 am, and we took off at 11:30. Again, I miraculously managed to stay awake for the short flight. After departing the plane in Tokyo, I had to wait for a shuttle bus to take me to a different terminal. I then had the brilliant idea of plugging my Dell MP3 player into an outlet to charge while I waited. Eventually the bus arrived, I was swept to a new terminal, and as I was about to board my flight to the States, I realized that I was sans MP3. @#$#(&$!!! Strike 3....and I wasn't even out of Asia yet!

The rest of the trip went without much of a hitch. I got a sweet bulkhead/exit row window seat on my long flight home, got to watch "The Island" on my personal movie screen 1 1/2 times too many, and we even arrived in Atlanta early. Oh, and I think I took about a two-hour nap as well! Flying into Atlanta, I felt a sense of pride and joy rush over me, but after about 20 minutes in the airport, I was already starting to miss Korea. Of course, I instantly realized how much I had missed the southern charm and friendliness, but the grating accents, obesity, and Tommy Hilfiger, khaki pants, and big hair that surrounded me were almost too much to handle.

I later settled into my final flight of the day on a teeny tiny plane with no working toilet. As expected, we had a late take-off. Finally, at 8:00 pm, approximately 26 hours after I began my long trip home with that first taxi ride, I arrived in Valdosta, GA (and it was still Monday!!!). I excitedly greeted my parents, and, per my request, we went to the Cracker Barrel, a southern-style restaurant with amazing biscuits and strong coffee. After dinner, we headed home to their house nestled in the woods of North Florida, and after a marathon chat with my dad, I finally snuggled into bed at 2:00 am....about 52 hours after climbing out of bed from my last real sleep Sunday morning.

My Last Korean Weekend

With only a few days left until I leave this country forever, I knew I wanted to spend it with my favorite people doing the things that made me happiest! Friday night, I met up with a crowd of friends in Sanbon for Shabu-Shabu. Afterwards, we ended up at the Pirate Bar for some final ice-throwing and Texas Hold 'Em. I was up for a while, but of course, in typical Tiffany form, lost it all on one game...I blame it on ADD.


Me and the boys... 

Saturday morning my friend Mike and I headed to the world's largest electronics market in Yongsan. My goal for the day was to finally suck it up and buy a digital camera. After much window shopping, I finally settled on a Pentax and 1GB memory card, which I will never even use to its full potential, but bigger is better, right? I then went to Hongdae to get my hair done, which took absolutely forever...I finally got on the subway home at 4:30 pm, not arriving at my apartment until 5:30 pm. The problem? I had reservations and plans to meet up with about twenty of my closest friends at a restaurant in Gangnam at 6:00 pm. NOT going to happen!


Does your camera do this? 

I rushed inside, changed clothes, did my best to look presentable, and ran to the bus stop to wait for Mike. He arrived, and as we were walking to the bus, the heel on my shoe broke! It was already after 6:00 pm, my phone was ringing nonstop, and I had one shoe! I was on the verge of tears, ready to throw it all in the bag and just go home and go to sleep. I went back to my place, changed shoes, and Mike and I decided to pay $20 to take a taxi. Fortunately, we arrived at the restaurant at 7:00 pm. It was an all-you-can-eat-and-drink place from 6:00 to 8:30 pm, so we had a little bit of time to get our money's worth. After dinner, we headed to Itaewon for some final laughs together, and I finally settled into a cab home just before 2:00 am.


A final hug goodbye...handing off the torch to my soccer replacement, Melanie. 

Sunday morning I finished my packing, as I had to be out of my apartment that afternoon before the newbies arrived. I made it to the soccer game with forty minutes remaining and afterwards celebrated the victory with the boys at a Galbi restaurant. I said a sad goodbye to my favorites on the team, leaving them around 8:00 pm to meet my climbing friend Erin for one last goodbye. I then met up with my friend Jessica for a bit before finally heading back to my home for the evening to prepare for a long night. I came up with the brilliant plan of staying awake all night so that I can time my sleep perfectly on the flight home to avoid jet lag. We'll see how that one works! I cannot believe I am leaving tomorrow!!!

Oct. 31 - Nov. 4: Last Week at Swaton

Well, I just commenced my last and final week of teaching little Korean tots how to speakee the Englishee. Monday was a full day of Halloween fun, and I spent the better half of the day painting some of the ugliest pictures ever onto unsuspecting children's faces. However, my excitement of the day turned into exasperation when I was told that I had to move out of my apartment and into my coworker's apartment (he moved in with his girlfriend) the next day!

So...that evening I transferred most of my things and thoroughly cleaned my smelly home for the next six days. On Tuesday I headed home right after getting off work early to pack the rest of my things, only to find my boss digging in my medicine cabinet! I almost had a heart attack right there, pleading with him to let me deal with my bathroom articles. We finally got everything loaded into the moving truck, driven across town, and up into my new apartment. I was NOT a happy camper.

Fortunately, I had a lovely evening that really made me forget about my day's troubles. I went out for a final dinner of Dalkgalbi with my friend Mike, and then we went to a "Game Board Room" where you rent out games by the hour for super cheap...we played Battleship for a bit before finally succumbing to the craving for ice cream.

Wednesday morning I taught my favorite kindergarten class how to make banana splits. After work, I met up with Erin for Pho at my favorite Vietnamese restaurant, and then afterwards she came over to my house for some chatting while I packed. Thursday was an easy day, and as I was leaving work around 6:00 pm, I got a fantastic surprise when my cell phone rang. It was one of my favorite six-year-old students calling to tell me that he was watching TV and that tomorrow was going to be a bad day because I was leaving! After I got off the phone with Kevin, I went to dinner with my two private students, Frank and Julia, and their families, followed by the now traditional Wine Night with Jessica.

Today was a sad day. I tried my hardest to be a terrific, attentive teacher , but my mind was not there. My boss's wife took all us teachers to lunch, and when we came back to the school we were greeted by about fifteen mothers and a room full of food, such as fruit, cakes, cookies, crackers, etc. We had a party, the children gave us cards, and we said goodbye. After my midday break, I taught three more classes, and then at 7:30 it was all over. I am offically retired from my teaching career! It was quite sad saying goodbye to some of my students, particularly my morning kindergartners, but at the same time I am ready to go.

Halloween

What a terrific weekend! Once I knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was no longer my final weekend, I was able to relax a bit more and concentrate on having the perfect costume for Saturday's Halloween Party.

Friday night was a typical night, spent at the Pirate Bar in Sanbon. I knew I needed to have an early night so that I could be prepared for a long day Saturday. Saturday morning I awoke to a beautfiul autumn morning, and after lazying around for a bit, I set out for a early-afternoon walk through Pyeongchon and our very own Central Park to collect leaves. The leaves were part of my grand scheme of going to the party as a "Wood Fairy."

The girls preparing for the big party... 

Therefore, all of Saturday afternoon was spent hot gluing various shapes and sizes of autumn leaves in brilliant colors of red, yellow, and orange to a skirt and top. Of course, I already had the necessary accessories ready: wings, wand, fishnet stockings, body glitter, and eyelashes. Around 6:00 pm, I began getting ready, finally carefully wriggling into my costume just as some of my friends started arriving. About eight people came over and we took pictures and had some snacks before setting off into the cold. I was half-naked and therefore freezing, and the cab ride was a laugh because I had to sit on my knees facing the back windshield so as not to ruin my costume.

No chance in hell... 

We arrived at the party just as it began at 9:00 pm...we wanted to take advantage of the $25 we paid for the open bar from 9 until 1:00 am. We had a great time dancing and socializing before the final and most anticipated event of the evening: the costume contest. Now, I was not at all going for a sexy look with my Wood Fairy getup...if anything, it was cute and innocent. But someone deemed me sexy, and I won! I owe it all to my loud-mouthed friends in the crowd who cheered for me. Anyway, I won a DVD player, which is probably the last thing I need a week before leaving! Oh, well!

Nope, she's not the sexiest, and neither is he... 

After the contest, we hopped into taxis and headed to Itaewon. We ended up at Polly's Kettle, where I managed to lose any remaining leaves from my costume...and MY WALLET! That is wallet #2 in the last couple months! I am an idiot! The only thing in that wallet, other than money, was my Alien Registration Card. Rumor has it that one has to pay a $100 fine to immigration if the card is lost. Just my luck!

Managed to crawl into bed around 5:00 am, and other than a fruitless trip to Itaewon in search of my wallet, today was a pretty low-key day. I am just now getting excited about the idea that I will be leaving in eight days!!!

Seodaemun Prison and Gyeongbokgung Palace

Well, I was supposed to take advantage of my last three-day weekend by lying on a beach in Busan, but the rain began falling in torrents Thursday night without any sign of letting up, and the weekend's forecast looked pretty grim. Therefore, around 9:00 pm Friday night, Erin and I decided to scrap our plans and make the most of the weekend in Seoul.


Seodaemun Prison Cellblock. 

Therefore, we met up with some friends and spent a bit of time at the Rockssin open-mic night before finding ourselves in a Noraebang. It had been ages since I have partaken in the good-time Korean-style singing rooms, so I rounded up the troops and twenty of us crammed into the small space. We sang our hearts out until the manager had to finally kick us out at 6:30 am.

Saturday I was awaken around 10:30 am to the phone ringing and an immediate searing pain through my chest. My pain had been bearable for the past week, but this was the worst feeling I had ever had. I tried to shrug it off and accepted an invitation to a day of ice skating and shooting. However, once I was outside meeting my friends, I was doubled over in pain, unable to breathe or speak. I decided to bow out of the plans and get back into bed. I then awoke around 2:00 pm and knew it was time to see a doctor. So I went to a man who barely knows English, and after a chest X-ray and cardiogram, was informed that my heart was okay and that he would be prescribing me "mind medicine" for my "anxiety"...cue the anger. Long story short, I went off on him for even implying that I was a head case, telling him that I never suspected heart problems but just wanted something for the pain! He meekly gave me a prescription, and I got the heck out of there.


Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Saturday night, still unable to breathe, I went out for an Indian dinner for Kelly's birthday in Itaewon. It was a short night for me, to say the least. Yesterday morning I awoke feeling much better, even though I still had not mustered the courage to take the pain medicine. I invited Kelly to be my sightseeing partner, and together we headed first to Gyeongbokgung Palace in North Seoul. We arrived just in time to see the ceremonial changing of the guards, but I really had no interest in touring the palace.


Seodaemun Prison Entrance. 

After the palace, we went to nearby Seodaemun Prison. This is the famous prison that held the "patriotic fighters" during the Japanese occupation during the early to mid-1900s. The tour of the prison included the cells, execution room, and torture chambers. It was a very eye-opening and appalling experience, and a reminder as to why the Koreans still have such harsh feelings for the Japanese.

Saturday night I went out for another birthday dinner in Itaewon, followed by some dancing with friends. This morning I awoke feeling quite tired and run-down...it's 4:30 pm, and I am still sitting around in my pajamas. Everyone needs a lazy day like this every now and again, not to mention it is probably just what I need to recover from my chest injury thing!

Sept. 26 - Sept. 30: Countdown

Assssaaaaahhhh! This week I officially began the final countdown until I leave Korea...one month to go! I am so excited, but now can feel the heat on me a bit to get out and do some sightseeing and kick my social life back into high gear!

Wednesday night was the kick-off for the countdown. I had dinner with Kelly to celebrate her birthday, commemmorate our eleven month mark, and catch up on some lost time. Thursday night I had wine night with my good friend Jessica. And now Erin and I are planning for a fantastic three-day weekend of beach and sightseeing five hours south in Busan, Korea's second largest city.

Also, I am extremely excited that I am now the proud owner of my very own rope, quick draws, slings, webbing, yada-yada-yada...basically a nice rack of climbing equipment so that I no longer have to mooch off people. Of course, I am leaving in a month, but I could not pass up the deal. My climbing buddy has decided to do a "midnight run" from his job because he scored a teaching position in Spain, so he offered me all this fairly new equipment for the sweet price of $200.

Unfortunately, there will not be a chance to play with my new climbing gear on this weekend's trip to Busan. For about a week I have had a major, sharp pain through my chest...so bad I thought my poor little boob was going to fall off. Thanks to the internet, I have self-diagnosed myself with "Costochondritis." It is a fancy name for a pulled chest muscle, and frankly, I like saying I have it. However, I am starting to lose faith in my diagnosis, as the pain gets worse and worse each day, to the point that I have difficulty breathing, regardless of the fact that I have taken a break from any upper-body exercise.

Oh well...the weekend should be a fun time!

Sept. 21 - Sept. 25: Lazy, Lazy, Lazy!

There's nothing better in this world than having a 3-day work week. Unfortunately, the three days seemed to drag by...it now feels like ages since I was in Seoraksan! Of course, I was feeling quite refreshed from my camping and climbing weekend, so I managed to make it to Friday without too much coffee.

Thursday night was a leaving-due party for one of my friends in Sanbon. It was sad to have to say goodbye, but it actually was exciting to think that I will be the next one to go! I cannot wait! These next five weeks will be here in a flash!

Friday night I went out with some of my soccer pals. I am really finding myself trying to make an effort to put an end to my anti-social ways here in Korea. Ever since I started climbing, I have devoted most weeknights to the climbing gym and weekends to traveling. Now that I only have a few weeks left, I am trying to spend time with some of my old friends that I have frankly set aside along the way.

Saturday I went with Erin down to the Icheon Ceramics Village. Ceramics and whatnot are definitely not my thing, but the pictures in my head of a quaint little village and exotic pottery in the middle of Korea sparked my interest. However, upon arriving (and after numerous transportation mishaps and headaches), we found that the famous village consisted of just a few small shops and straight-from-the-factory, mass-produced bowls and plates. I was miserably bored, but made it up to myself later with a visit to the Baskin-Robbins.

I did not get home last night until 10:00 pm, but I was in the mood for some fun. I went to a "70s Party" in Pyeongchon (and it absolutely killed me that since I had no time to throw together a costume, I did not get to dress up), giving me the chance to see many people I have not seen in ages. We later headed to Itaewon, finding ourselves at the end of the night dancing (and sliding) on the slippery dance floor at the infamously grubby Polly's Kettle. I finally made it back home and into bed as the sun was rising.

Today I did nothing. I had great plans to do some Seoul sightseeing, but instead I sat around in my pajamas all day, eyes fixated to my computer screen. Hey, at least it gave me a fine chance to catch up on all my blogs!