Polar bear swimming

Jumped in the ocean last Sunday, February 15th.

Brrrr… but it was probably the most fun I’ve had in an afternoon thus far.   I think the temperature was around 5 degrees?  I forgot to check. 

Oh, also we were on the cover of the busan newspaper the next day !  There were a stupid amount of cameras in our (foreigners’) face, or people asking to take a photo. 

Check it out: (photos credit of my lovely southern friends brittany and kathleen who chose not to jump into freezing cold water)

papparazzi

 

RIP DIXIE

Well shit, it’s been a while since I last updated…

Hmm, lets see.  Beiijing was a whirlwind of sightseeing.  I’ve never done so much in a span of 3 days in my entire life. We saw : The great wall (amazing), the summer palace, temple of heaven, tiananem square, the forbidden city, a jade factory, a pearl factory, a Chinese acrobatic show, the most insane and violent market EVER, and more.  

Note to Family back home,  lookout in the mail for a little package!

Here are the photos.  And this is the link for the video I made of the trip: 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53_oGJjG8-Q

In other news, Koreans seems to like stealing from me.  Dixie Firecracker was taken from my apartment… no more craptacular oil leaking scooter .  I loved her, but she will be replaced when another used baby comes on to the radar.  I went with Keith to get something on his bike fixed, at the shop near my place, and guess what I saw in pieces?  A scooter that looked exactly like mine.  Coincidence?  Poor Dixie…

Anyway, some hanging around Busan photos:

 

Mark had us for a "party"

 

eating galbi with D

LATER YO!

FIRE !

Off to Bejing for the Chinese New Year on Saturday, and I’m super-mega-big time excited.  Fireworks galore, sightseeing, an awesome itinerary… and 150 foreigners along for the ride.

In other news, the bar I was in Sunday night caught fire.  Our beloved “Starface”, a mere few hundred meters from my apartment and home of Sunday night pub trivia, went up in flames….WITH US INSIDE. 

Probably the most adrenaline I’ve ever experienced was running underneath the flames, above the only entrance, to get out.  Luckily noone was hurt, and we all escaped quickly enough.  Here are some photos another regular took of the aftermath:

Never a dull moment!  Get better soon, Starface.

i make videos when it’s cold outside

Yo family and friends,

I made a video of clips from the past month or so.. check it out!  

http://kr.youtube.com/watch?v=DCekABZgAgI 

xoxox

chewin’ real good.

I ate some wiggly octopus tentacles Friday night.  They were literally moving around on the plate. 

After a few beers, we headed to the fish market, found a tank full of mini octies, and ordered up a couple for din din.   Those squirmy buggers were sticking to the plate, the chopsticks, and then the insides of my mouth.  Despite the  chewiness and suction action though, they tasted pretty good.

 

dinner

Why hello there, 2009!

I’ve been neglecting you, blog!

The holidays have come and gone, and it was a marvelous time full of:  beach front condo fun, exploring some more of pusan, my boss getting kicked out of a bar, still being sick, more drunk korean men talking to me on the subway,  eating at gigantic buffet restaurants, finding (I’m sure it was) sets for korean seafood horror movies, and a mish mash of other adventures.  

Nights out feel like a novel with different chapters unfolding because so much tends to happen in a single one.  

…and they’re always unpredictable.

So anyway, this month is what is called “intensive month”.  Sounds scary huh?  Actually, it worked out well for me… not so well for most of my friends.  The kiddies are off school for winter vacation so they have ALLLLLL day to go to English hagwons and learn! This means longer classes, and a switch to daytime schedules for us afternooners. My hours are now 9:30 to 5:30, and it’s nice to be back to what feels like “normal person shifts”..  

I have a great bunch of kids (or maybe they’re just suck-ups).  Lookie lookie … one of the new words was “teacher” and I told them to make a sentence.  

They think I’m handsome.

More photos of what I’ve been up to lately:

Dixie is still alive and kickin'!

Went to Busan Tower.. here's the view from the top

Christmas Eve dinner

Merry Christmas Hat courtesty of Muriel Church

Decorative bundles of cabbage? on the street

We match!

They claimed to be doctors….hmmmm

mini octies

YUM.

my boss and some students

creepy squid farm

Jackie in another one of his wonderful outfits.

Bye for now!

Love Karen xoxox

New cammy and meds

I’m guessing it’s because my students constantly run up to me and breath/cough/spit in my vicinity that I have this horrendous cold.  I can shake them in a few days back home, but its probably been a few weeks since I’ve had this cough.  My boss notices, and every day asks me if I bought medicine yet. Finally after my typical responses of “I have cold medicine from back home!”, and “It’s such a hassle for me to go to the doctor to get a prescription!” , he writes some hangul (Koran script) on a piece of paper, and sends me to the pharmacy before my class starts.  Antibiotics without a prescription? Weird.   Also weird, was the nasty brown “yuk package” they made me drink.   I tried asking my boss and Korean co-workers what is was exactly that I’m taking/drinking, but they failed to properly explain.  Is it bad that I have no clue what medication I’m consuming?

Yukky brown liquid shit and pills

In other news, I bought a new camera.  (Still pissed that I’ve had to buy two already while here).  

Here are some photos from yesterday’s “Club Tuesday Party” outing on the Haeundae boat cruise, a short walk from my apartment.  By the way, I know Club Tuesday Party sounds pretty lame…. but if you lived here you’d get it because of the bar chain that’s popular with foreigners called “Thursday Party”. 

The Orkyukdo Islets

made in canada

7,000 won/roughly $7 for a bottle of maple syrup.  

Jeeeze Louise.  

Definitely was worth it though. Mmmmm, French Toast (yeah, it deserves to be capitalized) starts my day off right.  

Speaking of pleasing my tummy… Mmmm Korean street food.

chug a chugga

I found out a few days ago that my boss is giving his favorite, and only, foreign teacher (meeee) 9 days off in January.  So, I’m going to the Philippines! …with these lovely ladies:

Brit, Kathleen and I also booked a very swank apartment on the beach (the same one this picture was taken in) for Christmas.  We invited a shitload of people to come party and celebrate the holidays with a potluck feast, christmas games and some good old fashioned fun. Should be a great way to spend Christmas away from home.  Any ideas on what I should make? 

 

Here are a some recent photos of our tuesday club outing, that I stole from facebook:

 

Shannon and I with the Haeundae Beach mermaid

my home-hill in the background (dalmaji!!!)

Burrito joint by the beach

Yup, this is where I live.

wowzers

It’s November 24th… November 24th!  I can’t believe it’s November 24th already.  They’ve started putting up Christmas decorations…. and I really only noticed today, because an annoying musical Santa Clause has been placed in the restaurant I often dine in at break time.  Have I really been here for almost 3 months? The weeks go by so quickly. 

I remember being a little girl, and whining about a two hour car ride that seemed like ages. Why is it that the older you get the faster time seems to move?  I know I’m only 24, but sometimes I feel old … like prime youth time is ticking.  

Someone told me a story this weekend about his grandfather, who had calculated how many weeks he had left until he wanted to die (at age 85 I think he said).  For every week there was a marble in a big jar, and each Sunday he’d take one out to remind himself to enjoy every day to the fullest. It’s a little depressing, but I kind of like how he actually made it visual. 

Anyway, here’s a conglomeration of moments from the past three months in pictures (all stolen from other people’s facebook accounts, since my camera was stolen and I’ve got no new photos).  

 

Little fish eating our nasty dead foot skin

 

prepping our tootsies for the vulture fish

 

I love the style these Koreans have! 

Twister at Paco’s going away party, in a swank beach hotel.

Sunday night trivia.  So much character in the room on this night.

My Birthday dinner.

The most interesting yoga class I’ve ever attended, led by dada (the guy in the orange… you can’t miss him)

Brit and I getting our Vit. C!  Liquid vitamins are in every convenience store.

Look gramma, I’m wearing my helmet and I’m not even on my scooter yet!  That’s how safe I am..

Bye for now! Hope ya’ll are doing good.  (ya’ll has somehow become part of my vocabulary from hanging out with these atlanta folk).