photos, finally

so i realize that it has been quite some time since i last uploaded some photos. as a result, there are 38475602 to choose from because i am such an addict.this is me with a korean soldier at the dmz (demilitarized zone, aka border with north korea) as you can see, the d in dmz is pretty much a misnomer. its one of the most heavily fortified areas in the world.

that concrete block running between the two buildings is the actual border between north and south korea. here, you can see north korean soldiers lining up right at the border to take pictures of themselves with us in the background taking pictures of them. hard to believe that these are the "bad guys". they looked like little boys playing dress up in their fathers' uniforms.

this photo is one of my very favorite korean meals, tacalbie (obviously i cant spell) its cooked right in the middle of your table. this dish is chicken, cabbage, potatos and a kind of rice noodle thing all mixed with a delicious spicy sauce. mmm.
soccer fans go wild after a goal is scored by my beloved daejeon citizens. they won this game, making them like the second worst team in the league. its a really good time.

korean countryside out the bus window on our way to the beach.

the beach at sunset. we got so sunburned the next day that my students made fun of my red face all week. and i couldnt say anything about it because i didnt have a voice. still dont, actually.

fireworks on the beach at night. everyone was lighting them off, it was almost alarming to see roman candles in the hands of 5 year olds. but nobody died, so i guess it was ok. it was a holiday and all.

et fone home

new phone and new number:

010-4401-0415


yay

surreal

i swear to god i just heard chumbawumba's "i get knocked down" blaring from somewhere in the distance. at one pm. on a saturday. in korea.

other things i could have done with the time i spent waiting around for nothing this morning

1. played nine holes of golf
2. slept an entire rem cycle, eaten breakfast, and ironed my clothes
3. watched four episodes of sex and the city and made a sandwich
4. played a full soccer game and gotten ice cream afterwards
5. taken the slow train to seoul
6. played a full game of risk
7. prepared for both of the classes i have left to teach this week
8. called my parents, sisters, and four or five other people
9. gotten my hair cut at aveda
10. gotten a hair cut, manicure, and pedicure at any other salon
11. read 8 chapters in my book
12. listened to my current playlist twice
13. cooked a small turkey
14. made 43 bags of microwave popcorn

congestion

i woke up this morning and it was saturday. glorious, beautiful, cloudy saturday where i can wake up at noon and not feel guilty that ive slept half my day away. saturday, where i can see the weekend stretch out before me like a billowing cloud of lazyness and...who am i kidding? i dont need a saturday to feel this way. it comes with the territory.
actually, this tuesday is chusok, the korean thanksgiving. korean families make the pilgrimage to the home of the eldest family member and give thanks for the "harvest". these days they just hang out with family. many of my students seem pretty underwhelmed about it, but this may be because the middle schoolers face intense exams from their public schools right when they return. regardless, the streets are packed with honking frustrated fathers with backseats full of kids who need to go to the bathroom. likewise, the markets are packed with the traditional gifts of chusok. and when i say "traditional gifts of chusok" what i really mean is spam gift sets. honest to god, there exists such a thing, and there are people waiting right now at my local homever food store to gift-wrap it for me. i almost bought one to mail to my parents, but then i realized something: SPAM IS DISGUSTING. so i didnt.
at my work we only get two holidays off during the year, and this just so happens to be one of them. by some small miracle my bosses gave us monday off as well, most likely because they knew no students were going to come to school. unfortunately, this decision was made a bit late, and there are no planes, trains, or buses to anywhere. seriously. daejeon it is.
it would have been nice to travel, but, as it stands, a delicate case of korean whooping cough or perhaps consumption has taken residence in my chest. so rather than do anything exciting, im snuggled up in my bed for the afternoon (have a pillowcase now!) with a steaming bowl of spicy ramen noodles, some tea from my new tea set (the bosses know that spam is gross), and an edward norton movie. and yes mom, im taking my vitamins.