This is an even longer over-due update than the last one...
Where to start... As you may or may not know, Costco's exist in Korea as well. As soon as I arrived here, I split a membership with another teacher. We will make trips periodically to get the goods that are otherwise radically overpriced or unavailable to us. Korean Costco is similar to the ones at home, but filled with Koreans (obviously), the samples might consist of ramen noodles instead of a delicious taco dip, and it is extremely difficult to get there. Public transportation is fantastic for traveling to most places, but a trip to Costco is not one of them. The last time we went, my co-worker Hayley had the idea to bring our luggage in order to carry it home. Before, we would do the backpack/box thing, but this time, we meant business. Hayley, Jackie and I got there with 2 bags which we had to check before entering. This was semi-embarrassing, but it ended up being the most clever thing in the end! The "food court" food at Costco is similar to that at home, a large piece of pizza, a great hotdog, or some ice cream are a few items you can find on the menu. There is a catch though: (courtesy of my co-worker Jackie): "At traditional restaurants, you'll order your main dish but have about three free side dishes you can refill to your hearts content. So at Costco, the trend has been to improvise the sidedish by using the condiments for hotdogs. That's right- they will take platefulls of chopped onion (meant for the hotdogs) and smother mustard and/or ketchup all over, and eat it with a fork like a side dish." (Thanks Jackie!) She described it so well. The most annoying part of this is I then have to stand in line for the ketchup, mustard and onion for my hotdog while they're just loading it up on their plate next to their calzone!
Enough about Costco. My dad was kind enough to send a care package with items for us to celebrate the Fourth of July in Korea. It was so kind! We were able to round almost all of our teachers up and have an indoor BBQ. We got cheddarwursts (at Costco), baked beans, and made a salad, taco dip, and chili. It was a bit untraditional, but still amazing!
A few weekends ago we went to Mudfest. It was at the beach on the west coast of Korea (Daecheon Beach). It was a very fun day. The name says it all- it is where a bunch of people, many being foreigners, get together and cover themselves or other people for that matter in mud. There are inflatable things such as slides and mudpools, you can paint yourself with colored paint, and they had a stage for entertainment. It was very fun, and the ocean was very nice. The waves were rough, but the temperature was alright for us Minnesota girls!
My students just continue to amaze me. I am so proud of them! They really have come very far in the past 5 months. It's incredible! The other day, I had a student say, "I need to practice." And I asked him what he needed to practice, and he responded with "Hip-hop. I really like Hip-hop. But I don't know how." I couldn't help but laugh, and tell him how great his sentence was!
Jackie and I found a restaurant called Tomatillo, it is supposed to be similar to Chipotle. So we decided to check it out. It was set up just like it, and the decor screamed Chipotle. The differences... you didn't get to chose what you want on your burrito, and the carnitas has an awful taste that made me sick for the following 5 days. I'd like to give it another shot if I'm ever in that area, but I will be sure to steer clear of the carnitas!
We are all getting very excited for our summer vacation. There are 6 of us going to Thailand. We're going to the island of Koh Samui. Google it! The pictures are gorgeous! I bought another new camera, so I'm sure I will be putting pictures up eventually when I get back! I feel like I have never needed a vacation more than this, ever in my life! It seems to be a group consensus around Helen Doron! I think the reason is we've really only had 2 vacation days since we started in March, so it was a 5 month stretch with 2 days off. I think we get more holidays in the US, either that or they are spaced a bit more nicely than in Korea!
I hope things are going great on the other side of the world!
Miss you all!
