Oopps!

Ok now, don't get upset with me, but...I actually forgot that I had a blog to maintain :( With the holidays literally around the corner and me trying to get ready for Kory's arrival (1 week 1 day 6 hrs and 30 minutes!), I kinda fell off. But if I may remind you...you did get two entries in one day. So technically, we're even.

I believe the last thing we talked about was the FRAUD going down at my school...yea. Can't get over that one...

Anywho, I didn't do much during the week (I don't remember so it must not have been that great if I did). Saturday was Jason (we met him a little over a month at the King's Tap in Sinchon)'s birthday. We went out to dinner in Hongdae (a really popular area next to a big university) and then went to his favorite tavern where we drank, ate some more, laughed and did the Cupid Shuffle (if you don't know, YouTube it). No one in there could Walk It Out like me if you know what I mean ;)

Today, I met with Christina and we went to Gangnam to try out the place where we are going for Christmas diner. The directions that we had were all wrong and since I hadn't eaten all day my patience were wearing thin. If you know me, you know that I am at my evilest when I'm hungry, and it seemed as though everyone in Gangnam were messing with me. I camera crew comes up to me and ask what do I think of the arcade games with the crane and you win a prize (now of coarse they didn't ask the question that well. it took about 2 minutes for us to understand what they were asking). After I gave them my answer in the most annoyed looking face I turned around a walked away. So if you're in Korea and see me on MBC, I'm a lot nicer than how I may appear. We finally found the place and it was 5:25 and they didn't open until 6. Talk about mad. However, they did let us come in and sit. The owner was very friendly and after what seemed like ages we were able to order.

After we ate (I had a delicious burger), we went to Dr Fish. Now, if you're not familiar with Korea, Dr Fish is a place where you go to have piranhas eat the dead skin off your feet. "Aren't piranhas meat eaters?" you ask. Only red-bellied piranhas are meat eaters. The rest are vegetarians (learned that in my Fall term Giga class!) First, you have to order some sort of food or drink (it was inside of a café...weird I know). I ordered a Sweet Potato Latte (if I have learned anything since being in Korea, its that Koreans love sweet potatoes and Kimchi. I'm waiting to see a kimchi latte...not that I'll drink it, I just wanna see). I was all ready and mentally prepared, but when I went to put my feet in the tank I couldn't do it. The man there gave us a couple minutes to get use to the fish and then he started our 15 minutes. I really never got use to it and only ended up putting my heels in. It tickled way too much. I'll try again another time.

*Don't my feel look fat...but those are the fish munching away*

*The view we had of Gangnam as the fish were munching*

**Silly me, I have to back track I remember 3 things that happened this week. First, I got a co-worker to call Merry Maids for me. Now, I'm not a slob, I clean my dungeon everyday, but one thing I hate to do is bathrooms. Mine isn't dirty, I just want it to get a good scrubbing. And I figured while they're at it, they can clean my windows and mop my floor. I had already look online at their prices and estimated that it would probably cost me about 20,00-30,000 won which I am more than willing to pay. So my co-worker called and they had their Korean conversation and she tells me that it is a flat rate to come and clean my entire room...150,00 won! They must be out of their D*** mind! ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND won to clean what's already clean? H*** NO! Their website is definitely false advertisement. I don't even have 150,000 worth of room to clean. That made me mad. So I just figured I would have to do the job myself.

The second thing that happened has been an ongoing problem for a couple weeks now. I'm not trying to be gross so I won't go into detail, but you know how much I love food. One day last week I noticed that a lot was going in but nothing was coming out. Now, I'm not the most regular person, but I couldn't recall when the last time I went and I was getting bad stomach and back pains and I knew that was the reason. I finally broke down and went to the pharmacy to see if I could get something to help me out because not even my Raisin Bran was working. I looked up the Korean translation for laxative on my cell phone and I show the woman at the pharmacy. She shook her head and went and got this little pink box and brought it over. Of coarse everything is written in Korean so I had no clue what it said. It felt like a bottle inside so I asked her how much should I drink. She said "oh no" and pointed to her butt...H*** NO! Nothing goes up there! NOTHING! My co-workers started to laugh and the lady go a little tickled as well. I told her tablets, pills, something other than what was currently in my hand. She took it back and gave me some pills. Geesh. What an experience. I didn't even know people still used those, but this here girl won't be.

The last thing that happened is that I went to Yongsan IPark Mall to look for a portable DVD player. I found one (more than what I wanted to pay for but since a lot of my Christmas gifts are DVDs and my friggin laptop is being uncooperative, I had to do what I had to do) and I'm back in the game again. Thank you Jesus!...and Mommie for paying for it!**
Back to where I left off
After we left Dr Fish, I went to E-mart to get my cleaning supplies since I will be doing the hard labor myself. 80,000 won for cleaning products. I can't complain because I got myself some Tide and Downy. I don't know who makes or what they put in their fabric softener here, but it leaves my clothes feeling like bricks, has made the leather label on my Express jeans bleed, and has put a hole in my favorite pair of jeans. So I am more than willing to shove out the extra money for a brand I know and trust.
I get my hair done next week! If you haven't notice, there are not many pictures of me. It's because my hair looks like who did it and ran..or who DIDN'T do it. I had my mom send me a perm (no I'm not doing it myself! I'm gonna have the lady who does my hair do it. She has perms, but since I've been using Olive Oil products, I figured I should try the Olive Oil perm. I'll let you know how it turns out.
And I already said it before but...KORY WILL BE HERE SOON!! He just finished up his Hampton collegiate career. Internship Spring Semester and Graduation in MAY! YAY! Hopefully, I will be ther to see it.
I can't really think of anything else, although I'm sure more has happened. If I remember, I'll be sure to let you know.
Until Next Time!
& Happy Holidays!

Egh

So this entry is going to be short. Just giving you a little something to read. I'm really not in the mood to write right now.
I got my hair done on Friday and finally, my hair and I are on speaking terms again. I was so relived when Kim (the lady who did my hair) broke out with the olive oil instead of the coconut oil! So, if you are in Korea, and have "ethnic" hair. see Kim. She does a really good job and her prices are very reasonable. Message me if you want her number. I'd rather not put it out there for all of internet land to see.
So on my way home my hair and I had a long conversation. Since we hadn't spoken in two weeks, there was a lot to catch up on. Our first topic was about one of my horrible students telling me that I resembled the gorilla in the story book. I believed I was the bigger person in this situation and said "No Ye Won, you're the on that looks like a monkey." And left it at that. Now, some of you might think that was immature of me, but if this was a year ago, I would have had a lot more to say. So I think that was a big step. My hair however told me that I should have cussed that ignorant child out, but then that would have just frustrated me even more because I would have had to break down what I was saying to her in simple sentences which would lose the whole point that I would be trying to make.
Another discussion my hair and I had was when another of my jerk face students told me I was a lesbian. Again, being the bigger person, I told him that he like boys and that's why he sat next to the same boy everyday. My hair told me that I should have returned with "That's not what your daddy said last night!" All I could do was laugh because that was the first thing that popped into my head when that little A**whole told me that. Clearly you can tell that my hair knows me very well. But if I told Min-Suk my witty come back, I think it would have went right over his head, So I decided to leave it be.
Speaking of Min-Suk, he disgruntly informed me that I have been pronouncing his name wrong. And then proceeded to tell me how to pronounce his name. "Teacher, its Min SEEEEOOOOOK." I wish you could have seen the face he had when he said this. All I could think of was that this boy drops his jaw a little too low for me. Also, I kept thinking "Go to the US Min-Suk, and wait til all the little boys and girls start to say 'Min-Suk sucks...!'" After half an hour of me trying to get his name right, I just told him that he will never say my name right and I'll never say his correctly either. So get over it! Maybe I should have been a little nicer, but it was the last time I would have him in my class (for at least 3 months anyway) so I really didn't care...Bad Teacher!
I went out Saturday after school. Erica, the girl we met in the French village is leaving on Wednesday, So we were having our "farewell" evening. We went to Rodeo Drive (yes, in Korea) ate and walked around a little then went to Gangnam to meet up with Kara's co-workers. We had a really good time and I like her co-workers. They're a lot of fun.
I didn't do anything yesterday but laid around and watched "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." It's a good show. And since I would like to move to Atlanta, it shows a little about how life is like in ATL. Well, one type of life. We all know I will not be living in a mansion and be invited to grand parties and such. I'll be lucky if I can get in a club...
Speaking of moving to Atlanta, I will need a job when I get there, but I have no idea what I want to do with my life. This experience has already proved to me that I am not cut out to be a teacher despite the fact that I love kids. Eh. So that now narrows my future careers paths to Attorney, Child Psychologist, Writer, or something in International Relations. I'm doing research to see exactly what it is that interests me, but have interest in all of them. Maybe I'll be able to figure it out sometime before I need to take the LSAT or GRE.
It's Monday so I have the "blah" feeling. "I don't wanna be here." "I wanna go home." You know... I'm sure I'll feel better tomorrow. But then again, I don't know. Thursday is Thanksgiving and I'll be at work... I am going to Thanksgiving lunch at the Hilton, but it still won't be the same. Anyone wanna front a thousand dollars do I can come home?? LOL.
I've been feeling a little neglected lately which I'm sure is adding to my "blahness" (yea, you know you like that word. I think I'm gonna copyright it, along with my first and iddle names). I don't expect every one's lives at home to completely stop since I'm not there, but I also don't expect for people to ignore me either. One thing I hate is being ignored. And of course its not taken seriously because I'm AviEllé...Miss Melodramatic....The Princess of Pessimism. But I really feel ignored. Ugh. I guess I'll get over it. Don't have any choice do I? And for those of you who read my blog regularly, I apologize if you suddenly have the urge to go to the roof of whatever building you are in and jump because of my lack of optimistic thoughts. And for those who are not regular followers, don't read any past entries. I don't want you to suffocate in my pool of negativity (consider yourself forewarned. I will not be held responsible for anything you do if you read past entries). From here on, I will only look at the bright side of my experience (or at least only blog about the bright side).
Today starts a new term so I'm going to go to school early today. I have to find this "Welcome Packet" that I haven't heard about since training, and no one at my school has told me where I can find it, so I guess I will go on the hunt alone. Nothing new. Also, everyone at home is either sleeping or out. So I might as well go in and be productive,
Well, this entry was longer than I expected (hope this is satisfactory for you Mom :P)
Until Next Time

I Think I Hate Kids...OK. Not Really. But I'm D*** Sure Am Getting Close!!!!

OK, so remember last week when I was liking my Tues/Thurs Mega class. Well, that was only temporary because I can't stand those little B*******! I also can't stand my EC3 class. The one that I showed you pictures of. Thank goodness next week is the last week of the term. I dunno how much more of this I can take. But with my luck, I'll get them all again next term. UGH!
And they got their level up results and it was just as I predicted. Except for one girl. I dunno how in the world she passed. She is a cheater, so she was probably looking at one of the other 2 kids that passed tests'.
So I'm working on all my kids report cards. This is where I get to vent and tell the parents that their kids are stupid little pricks and will never learn English. They might as well stop wasting their money and give them something else to work on like basket weaving. Now, not all my kids got reports like these. The majority of them say how wonderful their student is, his/her enunciation of English words is very good, grammar and reading comprehension are above average, blah blah blah. It's just those 2 Mega classes and some of my EC3 who's parents should invest in another subject. Maybe "Manners 101." Can you sense the disdain and I have for these monsters??!!! They are trying to make me lose my Jesus. But they don't know that me and He have a tight relationship. Nothing can break our bond. Not even these little jerks.
Tuesday was "Pepero Day" here in Korea. "Pepero Day" is like Korean Valentine's Day. You exchange chocolates and gifts with other people and Pepero sticks (To wish someone to grow as long and slender as a Pepero stick). They are these stick things dipped in chocolate and may have something extra on or in them. The kids that I actually like brought me boxes of these and I gave some out. They are so cute. They said "Teacher here. Pepero Sticks for Pepero Day!" Those will be the kids that I will really miss next term.
I also got my hair done on Tuesday. And the thought that Black people can do Black hair is a D*** LIE!!! THAT IS SOME TRUE BS!! Now I was told that this woman does braids really well, but the way she had my hair looking was a disgrace. To all of the African American females reading this, do you remember back in the day when you got your hair pressed, and then would go and run around outside with your friends and 2 hours later your hair is so thick you can't even scratch your scalp?? Well add that to about 4 handfuls of coconut grease (you know that ISH is thick) and you get what 4 hrs of what her P*S* POOR WORK amounted to. I had to come home and flat iron it again. My poor hair wouldn't even curl. It said "F you! How dare you let that Hoe do me like this!" And I had no words after my hair cussed me out. Although her words were muffled by all the grease pounded on her, I still got her point loud and clear. So, my hair isn't speaking to me and its hard to style her because I only have one good hand. She told me that until I give her the love and care she deserves, we won;t be friends. You just don't know what my hair and I have been through. Bleaching (YES!), lots of highlights, braids, cornrows, twist, my moose stage, gel and jam, and just recently, weave. Out all of that, my hair was always by my side (rather my head), but this time she is hot. So I am again looking for someone to do my hair. I got a couple more numbers, but am a little reluctant to try them out. If my hair really gets mad she might just fall all out. And then what the H*** will I do? I know it may sound vain, but I've always been known as "the girl with the thick long hair." If I lose it, I will just be know as "the girl." So lets all hope that my hair and I get back on speaking terms and I find someone to treat her right before I am able to use my thumb.
On a much lighter note, I'm going out to dinner on Saturday for Andrea's birthday. She invited the girls to Dulkalbi (a Korean dish) at one of the restaurants in her area. I was a little skeptical at first (there is actually no duck. just chicken), but it is actually delicious. So I'm really looking forward to that.
I'm also going to Lotte World on Sunday. Lotte World is an amusement part here in Seoul. Again, it'll will be us girls hanging out and riding roller coasters all day. I love roller coasters. But my roommate from Jr & Sr year was looking at amusement parks and found out the South Korea had the most amusement park accidents... am I still going?? YES! This is the same person who got on "Superman" at Six Flaggs after it got stuck the same day 2x. But don't worry. I'll be sure to blog when I get back. I hope they have some funnel cake there. And I guess it would be pushing it to want a turkey leg huh?
Nothing much else going on, but if something does, I'll be sure and blog about. For now, my stroganoff is calling!
Until Next Time!

Happy Halloween!!

So today is Halloween and what am I dressed as? My favorite person...AviElle' Domoni! Gosh I Love Her! LOL! I suggested that Kory be Barak Obama and I'll be Michelle handling some international affairs in Korea, but he didn't seem to be feeling it. I also heard that my brother is no longer dressing up because Halloween is a Pagan's holiday... WHAT 10 YEAR OLD SAYS THAT?? I think he's being brained washed by his school.
I'm at school right now. I was gonna blog when I got home, but I might go out tonight, and I couldn't keep you waiting.
My thumb is ugh. It throbs every now and then but I just take some Motrin800 and go to LaLa land. I get my stitches taken out on Monday. (They are Hampton Blue, so in a way, I've been "Rocking the Blue and White.") I just hope it doesn't hurt. And I'm glad many of you found my last entry of pain hilarious...I'm glad my thumb hanging off brought tears to your eyes (Mommie...). Maybe next week I'll try to break my leg. Will that leave you rolling on the floor?
Here is something for you. I was in the subway and was walking up the escalator (this is before the thumb incident) and fell. Only I fall walking up the darn steps... I jumped up really quick and power walked my butt outta there. I know everyone saw, but I didn't want to give them time to actually look in my face. I just didn't want to see their smirks cause I may have felt compelled to give them a few choice words.
The last half of the week has been iBT test for the students. I'm glad because I really don't do anything except for proctor the exam and grade their writing and listening. Yea...I grade half of their test. Some of them are wishing that they were a little more nicer and less of the little jerks and A**Holes that has made me despise them (My Tues/Thurs class). Although cussing at them in Spanish has helped a little. And by the look on my face, they know what I'm saying isn't "Oh Franky you're such a great kid." They know its something bad, they just don't know what it is.
I've been trying to find a place where I can go to get my hair done since I can't do it myself for the time being. But it seems as though no one here can answer that simple question. It's not like I'm saying "Hey, where can I find some weed?" So, if you're are reading this blog, and are currently or have been in South Korea recently and know of a place where I can go to get my "ethnic" hair done, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
The Homecoming Bazaar at Hampton is today. I love the Bazaar. I can always get me some fried fish, rice and beans, and plantains (all Caribbean style) and wash it down with a huge lemonade (gosh do I love food). I told Kory to get me some, and he said he would, but will he really no! He's not gonna put it in his freezer and bring it when he comes. So I'll just have to wait until Homecoming 2009 to enjoy it again. By the way, does anyone know where I can find plantains in Korea? I'm sure I can't but maybe I'll just plant a tree and wait.
Don't forget to vote on Tuesday! This is the most important election you may ever participate in and I don't wanna come hunt you down like a rabid dog because you couldn't get off your booty and walk down the street (cause I'm sure it's no farther than that) and cast your ballot. And I am so serious...I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN!
So I put my jeans on this morning and they felt a little tight. These ones have always been tight, but it just reminded me that I CANNOT gain weight while I'm here cause where the H*** am I gonna find clothes that fit. Maybe a shirt here or there, but pants, jeans, and skirts...IMPOSSIBLE! So I will have to turn away from one of my best friends for awhile. So long tasty and delicious food. How i will miss thee.
So I gotta go and give these children this test and watch the panic on their faces. Call me mean, but I think I'm enjoying it...Yea, I am mean. But I am such a nice person...LOL.
Until Next Time!

My Weekend

So this weekend went pretty well. I went to school on Saturday and then met up with Christina later on that evening. We went to Itaewon to have dinner and look for cell phones. We ate at a Thai restaurant and I had red curry with beef. I Love Curry! I love spicy food so me and curry go hand and hand. Let me stop... I LOVE FOOD. PERIOD! Food and I have always been very close.
We decided to get a prepaid phone instead of a phone plan, so after dinner we went looking. I guess we went too late because there was only one store open. He had a lot of used phones, but he wanted 180,000 thousand won!! Not for a USED phone. So we are going to go to the techno mart Wednesday morning and hopefully we have better luck.
I went to E-mart this morning to do a little food shopping. It was a lot less chaotic and I was able to find what I wanted without people running over my heels and being pushed and shoved every which way. I found the right kind of pasta this time so hopefully, I want have a glob of yuck on my plate again and I also found 'Pasta Sauce." I also got some steak, rotisserie chicken, and snacks and things.
After I came, home and put my groceries away, I went and met up with Andrea. We went to lunch at On The Border (yea, I came to Korea to go to a Mexican restaurant...) and I must say I was actually full when we were done. The we went to Costco. There are some things there that I can't find at E-mart. I got hash browns, muffins, stuffed pasta, and chicken fingers.
After we finished our shopping (which was a lot more chaotic than my morning), I decided to take the bus home. Someone at the store told me that I could catch the bus and go right home and since I had a little bit of stuff, it sounded like a good idea. Andrea caught a cab and I headed for the bus stop. Well, every time my bus came and I told them the stop (in Korean mind you), they would shake their head and tell me no. That should have been a sign for me to walk my butt back to the train station and take the subway, but I was convinced that I was gonna learn how to navigate the bus system. While looking at the map, I noticed that another bus that serviced the stop went to my neighborhood so I decided to get on that. The bus came and I got on and about four stops later, things weren't looking right. I saw a huge mountain in front of me and I had crossed the Han River. Now, I know I live by a lot of mountains, but that one just didn't look familiar, and I live on the other side of the Han...Da Da DAAAA!!!! I'M GOING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION!!!! I ended up back by Andrea's house (where we went for lunch)! I was quite upset, but I didn't let it get to me. The man at Costco took me to the bus stop and told me to get on the bus there...WRONG...I needed to be across the street. So I just got off the bus and took the subway. I KNOW how to get home from the subway. So as a result, I am through with the Seoul bus system. Two bad encounters is enough to tell me that I need to stick with what I know...the subway.
So I made it home, reorganized my refrigerator so everything would fit and started to wash my hair. I love the feeling of clean hair. So I washed it, combed it out and talked to Mommie. I decided to blow dry it and call her back. So I plug my blow dryer into my converter and set it on high (what I normally do because my hair is so thick), but high was sounding and feeling like low. I tried adjusting the settings and still it wasn't working right. I just figured it would take me a little longer to get the job done, but I would manage. NOT!! Next thing I know, my dryer blows out and my converter started smoking...The roof, the roof, the roof is on fire! We don't need no water let the M'nFer burn! Burn Burn! Burn baby burn...OK, I'm back (LOL). Yea, so that's two converters gone. And of coarse they are the ones that I paid 13,000 won a piece for. So now, I am sitting here letting my hair air dry and it is just poofing up. I look like a poodle...
So what did you think of the VP and Presidential debates?? I wish I was in school. Being a poli sci major, any election can be very exciting. I just want to be able to discuss politics and what not but I haven't found a buddy for that yet. Still looking. But that Palin... she can't seem to answer a question! 'Question: Gov Palin, what do you think of alternative ways of energy? Answer: Well, being the governor of a great energy producing state, I just love to drill for oil. DRILL BABY DRILL! And I love this country. And the Maverick, Senator McCain, is such a great man and I can't wait to be VP of this great nation. And I wanna give a shout out to all my Hill Billy friends. And if I don't like you, you will be fired! Thank you. Audience: WTF??!!!?' And this is who the Republicans put their faith in?? I'm sorry, but I think I would prefer Shamu... but that's just my opinion. Really though, IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE!!! GO OBIDEN!! And my kids feel the same way. Maybe I can finagle a way to get them some ballots...any suggestions?
I would love to keep writing but I need to figure out something to do with this Diana Ross doo I have going on... man I miss Shavanni!! Anyone wanna come do my hair? I give you a couple thousand won!
Until Next Time!