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Slippers, slippers, slippers, all the time!

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It may seem obvious to some, but in Korea and most of Asia, people take off their shoes and wear slippers when they are inside buildings. I had originally thought that this was only for the home, but no, it is for many places. And each place has their own set of slippers you wear only in that location. There are house slippers, and then there are bathroom slippers, and there are work slippers! Yes, I teach in slippers, not shoes! I have to check my shoes at the door, stow they away in a wooden cubby. Even if you go to the hospital they give you special slippers! It is odd not wearing shoes all day, but I am getting used to it. I opted out of getting house slippers at the moment, it is hard to find ones that fit and don't have cutesy designs.

Talk to you soon...happy

Coffee in Korea

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Hi all!

Sorry for being absent for a few weeks...it was a combination of busy and lazy..lol

I will be posting more this week up
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Coffee in Korea

Unlike their Chinese neighbors, Korean LOVE coffee! Although there are tons of coffee shops where you can get a fresh brewed cup (Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts are very popular here), it is much more common for Koreans to drink instant coffee. When I walk around my town's downtown, there seems to be an instant coffee machine on every corner! They are cheap and fast. However, it is different than the US in this respect: it is a powder mix that contains coffee, sugar (usually a lot), and powdered milk. It’s mixed together with SCALDING hot water, and usually in a small, thin, 8-10 oz cup. They also sell a million different canned coffee drinks. I have seen Koreans drink tea, but it does not seem that they as fanatical about it as China, nor do they have a strong habit of drinking it everyday. It is not common to drink it with meals, usually it is an after meal or late night drink. The coffee isle in the supermarkets I go to are much larger than the tea isles/sections, which I was surprised about. I had Korean style tea from a machine that makes instant coffee as well, tasted like caramel popcorn or that sweet toasted rice cereal…it surprises me sometimes what foods/drinks Korea puts sugar into! Especially since many of them do not like sweet things. Korea definitely has a much bigger sweet tooth then I anticipated, which is evidenced by the many western style bakeries, and sugary snacks in the supermarket. At work, coffee is made the same way as the machines on the street, except you do it yourself; pour a packet of mix into a small cup and then go to the instant hot/cold water machine (which is as common in every building as a roof is) and pray you don’t burn your fingers! Instant coffee isn’t as strong as normal brewed coffee, but Koreans don’t care, they can’t wait for the coffee to brew!

Well…I finished my cup, so I will talk to you guys again later. coffee




Week 1 Highlights

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I will summarize my first week in Korea, going through some highlights..and check out some of my photos as well! bigsmile

Saturday, 2.20

Arrived early morning at Incheon airport. I flew on Asiana Airlines..and it was very nice, non-stop flight, with 3 good meals and lots of entertainment on their touchscreen head rest monitors! I also made a friend on the plane!

Incheon airport is awesome! Super clean and modern, it has a ton restaurants and lots of shops. I didn't go there myself, but it also has a free spa/lounge room with leather lounge chairs and masseuses for travelers that want to get some rest or unwind.

Sunday, 2.21 - Thursday, 2.25

I arrived, via bus with a bunch of fellow teachers that went through my same agency, at the training center for orientation in Asan. The whole next week was orientation. My orientation group was 35 fellow teachers, from various nations: USA, Canada, South Africa, and New Zealand. Lots of cool and interesting people! The schedule was jam packed.. 9am to 9pm everyday, with Korean meals in between of course. We heard talks from many different teachers, both Korean and Western, about different topics, all of which displaying different teaching styles. We had to do a short group presentation as well. Saw a really long and intense Korean movie about the history of Korea, called Te-guki [te goo key] (def:national flag), which I will write about in more detail later. Had an awesome farewell party..great food, and lots of fun at karaoke!

Friday, 2.26 - Saturday, 2.27

Was picked up and driven to the apartment that I will call home for the next year! It is bigger then I expected; two rooms, a dinning room/kitchen, small bathroom, a separate area for the refrigerator and washing machine, and a small balcony area.

I will be living in a town called Dangjin [taang gin]. It is a small, mostly farming and industry area in the northwest of Chungnam province. I am not in the middle of nowhere though, the downtown is close by, 10min by bus. It has lots of shops and restaurants, even some western places and a large department store. There is also a bus terminal, so, it is easy to travel to Seoul or other cities. Bus travel is one of the most popular ways to travel in Korea, especially since the train doesn't go to every city/town.

These past two days, I have been busy cleaning the apartment (lots of dirt), shopping, exploring the town, and unpacking. It is slowly starting to turn into a home... smile

That brings us up to date!

I will be back later with more updates and stories.

Checkout the photos!

Leaving today!

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My flight leaves for Korea this evening!!


It will be a non-stop, 14 hour journey!

I will try to post at the earliest time I can, once I am settled and have internet access.
I will be in Seoul, then will be moving on to Dangjin, the city where I will be teaching! It is near the beach so, it should be nice during the spring/summer bigsmile

The next stage of my life begins once I step on that plane. I would like to thank all my family and friends who helped me prepare for my journey! Wish me luck!

Goodbye America, HELLO Korea!

See you on the other side.....bye

HAPPY Tiger!!

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Happy Lunar New Year!! party party party

It is the year of the Tiger, and to celebrate, here are a collection of really great pics of tigers.

Enjoy! cat













Chinese Tiger art:





Japanese Tiger art:





Korean Tiger art:







Indian Tiger art:

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TWAPOFFIC 01

A new weekly segment I am trying out called: TWAPOFFIC

The Weekly Awesome Post Of Fantabulous, Factual, & Interesting Content

Lets try it out...

Thanks to our plundering, ax wielding friends the Vikings, for the word for one of the best things ever, CAKE. It is derived from the Old Norse "kaka". They were one of the first in the world to bake, what is now the ancestor of the modern cake. Here is an interesting recipe inspired by archaeological finds in Denmark: Viking Cake


Holy Bookmarks Batman!

Opera Browser edges out the Dark Knight in Google search fight! Batman bloodied by Internet Browser


Translate:

Wally waddled to the Waddle, meanwhile, Roger was being raised by the Rookery. Carol convened with her Creche, to register new runts to roll with their Raft.

Any clues as to what this is all about??

................. PENGUINS!!

These are all types of Penguin groups!
A group of Penguins on land is a Waddle, a nesting group is a Rookery, a group of babies is a Creche, and a group in the water is a Raft.



Stay tunned for more next week...penguin penguin penguin


New Layout!

In Honor of my impending year long adventure in Korea...I have spent some time re-tooling my Blog. The header is a series of photos from various parts of Korea. Also, I have added a whole bunch of my favorite sites to my links page. Take a few seconds to meander over there.

Enjoy! cheers

3 weeks and counting!!

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3 WEEKS UNTIL I LEAVE FOR SOUTH KOREA!! [/COLOR]

It is almost time!! I am getting excited!!

Once I have landed, I will try to post once a week, and provide you with pictures and videos.

I am setting a countdown and soon I think I will post a segment on impressions/expectations of Korea before I arrive. I hope to do other similar pieces when I am there, to contrast.

I will leave you with some Korea trivia...ttys!

  • Population: 48.61 million (2008)
  • President: Lee Myung-bak since 2008
  • It is also known as ‘Hermit Kingdom’ and ‘Land of the Morning Calm’.
  • Its largest and capital city is Seoul, with over 10 million (8th largest city).
  • The eldest in the house is considered the most wise, and therefore makes most of the important decisions.
  • When you enter a South Korean home, the first thing you do is remove your shoes.
  • Kimchi, a pickled cabbage side dish, is eaten with almost every meal.
  • When the first night of the new year comes everybody hides their shoes. This is because there is a belief that a ghost will come down and try on everyone’s shoes. If the ghost finds a pair it likes it will take it. It is thought that the owner of the shoes will then have bad luck for the whole year.



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Packing my Bags!

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Hey everyone!

Sorry, I haven't had the time to really post...but that is because I am starting to pack my bags...for SOUTH KOREA!!!!!!

I am going to be an ESL teacher in Korea!

I will make sure to blog more regularly about my adventures there and I will include lots of pictures as well!

I am beginning to prepare and trying to organize a million things I need to do and get done before I leave worried bigsmile

I will try to keep the blog updated... 안녕[Anyo] Bye for now!


Enjoy this...



HAPPY NEW YEAR!

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Happy NEW YEAR everybody! party drunk

Does any one have any resolutions?

I want to not be lazy, and try hard at my new job!

How about you?


Enjoy the music:

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