new school year

tonight, i had a dinner party(?) to go to for my school. it was mainly to say good-bye to the teachers that are leaving to different schools for this new school year and for a teacher that is retiring after 39(!!!) years of teaching. Koreas school calendar starts from March-July, August is their summer break, then the second half is from September-Mid December. it was kinda weird having to say good-bye when it's only the end of february and i still have 5 more months at this school. a new thing i learned about Koreas education system is that after 4 years at one school, teachers must move to a new one. so, out of about the 20 teachers, only 5 are staying! i don't like how the teachers i developed relationships with have to move to different schools, because they've been so good to me. this new school year doesn't guarantee the same warmness that i received from a few of the teachers at my school. i don't know why the system makes teachers move after 4 years at one place, it doesn't really make much sense to me. i see more hassle than anything else.

the whole night i was bored. i felt like i belonged at the kiddie table. there were 3 little kids there, running around the entire place, and i would have been better off joining them...at least i would have gotten some what of a work out chasing them around. i feel bad towards the other teachers because i think they have to try and make conversation with me so that i don't feel left out. oh the joys of a language barrier.

pros about work parties:
-good food
-good food
-good food

cons about work parties:
-drunk teachers/administrators
-forced conversation
-awkward silences
-karaoke

i love being on break again :) DUDE!! this coming weekend marks 7 months..insane, i tell you.

there's too many things i haven't done yet
there's too many sunsets i haven't seen
you can't waste the day wishing it'd slow down
you would have thought by now,
i'd learned something

200 day Anniversary

Yesterday marked the 200th day of me being in the motherland!! that number sounds so big, and it makes it seem like i've been here for a long time (but it's only been 6 1/2 months!!) at least the days i have left (164) is less than the days i've been here (201) because it used to be the other way around for the longgggest time! don't worry, the only reason i know how long it's been is because i've hand-written in my journal everyday since i've been here, and not because i hate being in korea. there's also an online calculator that did the math for me too :)

i couldn't ask for a better way of celebrating this special day...i ordered chinese food with my university partner along with her friend and stuffed our faces with the best jjajangmyun, tangsuyuk, and jjamppong! the one thing that i love about korea is the home delivery. you can order pizza, chicken, chinese food, spaghetti, meat, mcdonalds...almost ANYTHING to be delivered FOR FREE and all within 15-20 minutes. now, that's great service for you. back in the states, the only thing that gets delivered is pizza and it costs a grip because there's a service charge on top of a tip andddd it takes like 40 minutes if you're lucky. too bad i suck at ordering food because the workers always talk SUPER fast and i get so nervous and start freaking out/getting all self conscious about my korean. it's also hard for me to say my address, and i feel like i talk too slow (because koreans are ALWAYS in a rush, no matter what time of day) i've only ordered in once, but i think i should really try and take advantage of this great service before it's too late!

sometimes, i think i have a sign on my forehead that says, "talk to me, i'm bored". the other day, as i was walking, i got stopped twice within 10 minutes of each other. one was wondering if i attended church or worshipped buddha and the other, i had no idea what they were saying to me. my university partner told me there's a lot of weirdo people that try and talk to you, ultimately to get you to give them money or join their cult/wannabe church. there's also this one time this woman told me she gets good vibes from my face...i guess that person is trying to be a tarot card reader and practicing on unsuspecting foreigners that can hardly speak korean (like me). because you know, that makes perfect sense? my partner told me to never trust them and just tell them i'm a student, so they'll leave me alone. because, why? students = poor. students ain't got no money to give to these psycho people. koreans are weird.

waiting for the weekend...

confrontation

i really don't like any type of confrontation because i tend to freeze up and my mind starts not thinking the right way. the past two days, two different men randomly approached me asking me for money. yesterday, i was sitting in Dunkin Donuts (in korea, it's basically a cafe that has lots of donuts) studying out of my korean book and out of the corner of my eye, i see a homeless person asking the people next to me for some "help". i knew that he would eventually come to me next, and i was quickly trying to think of what i should do. but, i froze. he came to me, with his hand sticking out and said, "please help me"...and what did i do? i just IGNORED him--like, foreal?! that's the BEST thing i could think of?! and he proceeded to just stand there for a few minutes, making me feel really uncomfortable and awkward. i really don't know why i just didn't take out my wallet and give him some change. after he left, i was thinking to myself, "what if that was jesus i just rejected? what if i just said NO, jesus, i don't want to help you?" it kinda got me sad. i wish my mind didn't have a brain fart like it did. then, again today, this random guy stopped me in the middle of the sidewalk and explained to me how he needed bus money and that he didn't have his wallet. he was obviously not homeless and i tried to pretend that i didn't know what he was saying and used the excuse "oh, i'm from america". but, he just kept explaining he needed bus money and so i asked him how much he needed. he said 2,600 won and so for some freaking reason, i pulled out my wallet and i had a 1,000 won bill a 5,000 won bill and tw0 10,000 won bills...you would think i would just give him the 1,000 won but NO, retarded me had to give him the 5,000 won bill. LIKE, FOREAL?! what the hell is wrong with me when it comes to people approaching me like this. i'm dumb enough to even stop and listen to what these people have to say, but on top of that, i give them MONEY. i'm so baffled at what just happened to me earlier today....i keep replaying the situation in my head and am in utter disbelief that i handed a perfectly complete stranger money. and he wasn't even homeless...i wish i wasn't so retarded when it comes to people asking me for money. i just don't know how to react or what to do.

but, in america, this would never happen. first, americans never walk anywhere, so there are no opportunities for people to stop you on the street and ask you for money. second, if any homeless person came into a restaurant/cafe/donut shop or whatever and was bothering customers, asking them for money, they would be asked to leave immediately. so, in reality, i don't how to react because i've never been in these types of situations back in the states.

ugh, but really? why am i so retarded..

betrayal

recently, i had at least 50,000 won ($50) stolen from me. i say at least because i don't know exactly how much i had in my wallet at the time...the only possible place this could have happened was at taekwon-do. this is how my day went prior to the stealing taking place:

-i read and had tea at dunkin donuts right before TKD (my purse was with me the whole time)
-next, i went to TKD (my purse was in the changing room)
-afterwards, we all went to a basketball game (my purse was with me the whole time)
-finally, i picked up some dinner and realize instantly that money was missing from my wallet

the only time my purse/wallet was left unattended would be in the TKD changing room...therefore, it had to be one of the other 3 girls that was there. the thing is, i'm pretty sure it's the TKD masters daughter (who was also one of my 6th grade students). she was the only one who didn't dress/participate in TKD that day (we had our belt tests). i noticed her go into the locker room and i thought to myself she was going to change and take her test, but when she came back out she was still in her normal clothes. then, during the basketball game she randomly pulled out her wallet and showed me her "chinese new years money" (which was all crumpled up in her wallet) that she received. my university partner said that elementary kids do have a tendency to steal from their teachers at school (and that's why women put their purses in like a locker type of thingy in their classrooms). i'm just really shocked that any of those girls would want to steal that much money from me when i've only been really good to them. i've bought them dinner, ice cream, candy, bread and whatever else i could think of, and this is how they repay me. i don't expect anything in return for me buying them anything, but to be that shady and steal money is straight up betrayal. it shows whoever did it has no respect towards me or my property. i talked to the TKD master about this and he basically didn't do anything about it. i obviously don't keep a hidden camera in my bag, so i have no proof that anything got stolen...nonetheless, nothing can be done-which is a shame. now, i'm super paranoid about my wallet and always count how much cash i have and make sure that my purse is never alone with one person.

this is why i always hated carrying around cash back in the states, in case i lost my wallet or it got stolen, but in korea it's not smart to never have any cash. i've found myself in a lot of not so good situations at night where i had less than $10 and almost got really screwed because of it. rule of thumb for me is to have at least 30,000 won ($30) at all times.

these upcoming months will be a lot different. my one friend in my city has gone back home, and 2 new teachers will be coming in at the beginning of march. it's so weird to think that i'm really alone now during the week. no one to eat with, no one to go to emart with. i don't hate korea anymore, i'm finally used to the lifestyle here (doesn't mean i like or accept it). but, at the same time, i miss home every single day.

number of times an ahjussi asked me if i had a boyfriend within the first 5 mins of talking to them:
7