Smart Lunch 09/01/2011
Today, DH actually woke up in enough time before work for me to drag him out of the apartment and out to lunch. It was a good thing, too. I'm starting to get pretty unimpressed with going to work with no lunch, which of course, I feel perfectly fine blaming on him still being asleep at noon. I know, I know, it's not really his fault. I'm an adult and am perfectly capable of getting food for myself, but I am not motivated when the whole house is still sleeping at noon to get up and do much myself, so I don't, and then 12:30 sneaks up on me, it's time to rush to work, and I haven't had anything to eat. So.... today, we headed to Pizza Hut, for some smart lunch.  Pretty flowers at a church across the street from our apartment.  Pizza Hut at Jihaeng Station.  When we sat down, the waitress promptly gave us the English menu and tried to take this one away. I very, very kindly asked her to leave this one, since... well, we wanted the smart lunch, and it's not listed in the English menu.  What's left of the small sampler we got. There were three wings, three chicken tenders and two potato skins. Yummy!!   DH gave her the money to pay for our lunch... and... she promptly ran off to get change, leaving the cash register open the entire time. Umm? Bad idea, chickie. Thankfully, we are honest folks, and didn't cause any harm.  I think this guy had the smartest lunch of us all! :) So, it was a good lunch. We had two mini pizza's, the mini-sampler, and two cola's, all for 23,000 KRW. It's still Pizza Hut in Korea expensive, but not as expensive as it can be there. The best thing was spending time with my hunny! Happy September, friends!  Nothing to do with lunch, but.. just sad. :-( 4 Comments Being Positive and Thankful... 08/27/2011
There are times when it's maybe a challenge to see anything positive, and times when you aren't really sure what there would be you could possibly give thanks for. These days, I'm feeling a lot of pressure at work, and so being positive and thankful hasn't really been on my list of priorities. What I am noticing, though, is that I'm becoming way too negative, and that's not great, either. I do feel like negative energy can attract more negative energy, and then it just becomes a nasty cycle. So, this weekend, while DH and I are relaxing, resting, and not really doing much at all, I just thought I'd share some things with you that I'm thankful for. Friends! I have some really amazing friends. Just the other night I really needed to share my stress at work with someone, and asked a friend for a visit, and we had such a great time. It was a huge relief to just talk out my thoughts, frustrations, and concerns, and to know that someone was listening, giving feedback and offering help. I have another friend who I know will also do the same for me here if need be, and an amazing friend who I can message and he will always be there for me, giving advice, information and just kindness without judgement. I am truly blessed by some wonderful friends. Family! As much as they drive me nuts sometimes, they really do truly care for me, and are always there when I need them. Even my father was texting me one evening this week to see how things are going, and although we didn't text for long, it was nice to know that he cared enough to ask!   Taking Action! DH and I have made a decision about what our next step will be, and although I'm not prepared to share it yet, I am excited about it, happy with what's coming, and scared out of my mind. Haha... It will be great, and it is what's best, I'm sure, but will just be strange for the first little while. Fall! It's coming. There are times when I feel it in the air. I am very much looking forward to to cooler weather, and even more importantly, what comes after that.... meaning, winter, and Christmas! My Husband! Yes, he's pretty awesome, and I am very thankful for him. He always knows what I need and does his very best to be there for me when I need him. He is a wonderful listener, and is a super daddy for our kitties!! They just love him! And, with all of this, it always helps that God is good, and He has an ultimate plan for us. We may not be sure yet 10 On 10 - August 08/10/2011
 Working on a Christmas project... with a little help from Caramel!          Korea & Background Checks 08/09/2011
I just wanted to write quickly. Our blog gets a lot of traffic from Google, and one of the queries that brought people here is the question "Do all hagwons ask for criminal background checks?" For those who are interested in traveling to Korea, and working here, it's not the hagwons or the public schools who are requesting a background check, but rather immigration. When I first came to Korea in 2000, background checks were not needed to get a job. Things have changed a lot, and in my own opinion, I'm sure a lot of the changes, in regards to necessary documents has to do with some pedophiles who were busted, and it had been discovered that they'd been teaching children in Korea. Of course, I don't know for certain, and don't hold me to it. I will say, though, that if something like that can protect children, the I'm all for it. What I don't really appreciate, though, is the need for an apostilled degree thingee. It would make sense that if I can provide the original, then that should be good enough. The problem, though, is too many people were able to provide fake original degrees, and so a real original is no longer enough. That, I find annoying, but it's all good. There are processes to go through to get both required documents, and so just get them done. If you have questions about what kind of things on a background check might be a deal breaker for immigration, it's possible your school or recruiter can provide more information. Friday Field Trip - Honey Land, Paju 08/05/2011
Today my school went on a field trip. We went to Honey Land, in Paju, South Korea. I'm sure Honey Land has seen better days, but really, it's all good. We did have a great time, the kids were happy, and the swimming was refreshing! OH, I also got a wicked burn. Thankfully, I have all weekend to recover!  Team Jennifer, ready to go!        It's been a long, hot day, and everyone is tired on the way home! Yes, that's what a student said today, to one of my co-workers. I'm pretty sure that she was NOT too surprised to hear this. It is not the first time something like this has been said in the same class. The student was being disrespectful, he has been for a long time now, and she asked him why he was being this way, and this is the response she gave him. She then called me into the room, and asked him to repeat what he said to her. I told them both that I wasn't surprised, because I knew he didn't like me either, and asked him, "Student, do you like me?" To which he responded, "No, I don't like you because you're fat." This boy is consistently rude, disrespectful, arrogant, and very full of himself. He's all of nine or ten years old, and has a very smug air about him. It's terrible. The sad thing is, I'm sure he must be like this because of what he's been taught. I'm not sure, though. My co-worker did ask him if he's learned this from someone else, and he said that no, it's just how he feels on his own. I did suggest to him that maybe I don't like him because he's Korean, and is that fair? When he suggested that to judge him based on that was not fair, he still could not see how it related to being unfair to also judge my co-worker based on her skin color, something that she hasn't any control over. I did ask him why he wants to learn English, and he told me that he wants to learn the language so that he can meet and talk to Americans. I suggested to him that if he goes to America and makes comments like this to people there, then he will not make it there for very long, and certainly won't have many friends. Deep down, I think I'd really like to see him go to somewhere like New Orleans, and see how he survives. Well, you know, not as a nine or ten year old, but once he's older, and probably still has the same backwards ideas. Here's the problem I have. I'm always trying to find an excuse for the behavior. I know there's really no excuse for it. This child has been offensive, and needs to be taught the right way to treat people. It is wrong to be this way. BUT, at the same time, if he has grown up hearing such things, then of course he's going to believe them, isn't he? His parents are both teachers, and his mother is constantly coming into the school apologizing for his behavior, and trying to see how we can improve his attitude, but, as in many hagwon situations, the truth is not always told to her about how he is behaving. How can we assist her and help her teach her son to behave better, if she isn't told the things that her son is doing? At the same time, as a teacher, how do we react to such statements? How do we more appropriately teach children that this kind of thing is offensive? Do we tell them that it's okay to think that, and feel that way, but is wrong to say it? Most people have that kind of line in their brains that says that such a thing is not appropriate to say, this child does not. Of course, what he said to me, well, that's fair. He wouldn't be the first to say it, and while it's not a good reason completely judge someone and base it on whether or not you like them, I get it. It's fine. As for skin color, though, it's hard to imagine that in a country where people are already seen as xenophobic, and unkind to foreigners, what hope is there if kids, even at this age, have such ideas and think this way? Will Korea ever become an open society, where every one is treated equally, and skin color is just that, a color, not something to be judged by? I really hope, that someday, everyone in Korea will take the time to get to know people, to understand their situations, and to really grasp what kind of amazing world awaits them. It would be a fantastic movement for this country. To judge someone based on skin color, or weight, or even just because someone is not Korean, is really just deplorable. Wake up, Korea. Teach your children how to respect and be open about all kinds of people, from all over the world. A Trip To The Vet At Yangju E-Mart 07/30/2011
Today we took our kitties to the vet, to get some shots for them. It was fun. They, of course, are superstars, and handled it all very well! I just thought I'd share some photos with you, of our trip.  I think they knew something was up. We had to find them first.  There's one!  There's the other!  She is not happy!  Yes, the babies are heavy! LOL. They do weigh about the same, 6.68 KG's, or almost 15 pounds, with the carrier.  They so patiently waited to see the vet. Actually, the only time they were really noisy was in the taxi ride to E-Mart, and then it didn't really matter, because the taxi driver is also a cat owner, and so he understood.  This cutie lives at the vet's office, I think. :) He or she is such a poser, laid like this as I was snapping photos, and turned back around as soon as I stopped. LOL   How cute are these guys? They were so fun to watch! Just playing the whole time we were there! Loved them!  After they both had two shots, we went down to the food court to have a late lunch/early dinner with some friends. The cats drew a lot of attention. They were rockstars, though, and just sat quietly in their cases, waiting to go home.  Thanks for hanging out, guys! The cheese pizza was great, and the company was fantastic! Have a safe trip home! After pizza, it was time to go home, and the cats were so quiet in the taxi this time. They were great! Once we got home, everyone settled in for a nice nap, and then they were rewarded with some mushy foods, because they really are the best kitties EVER! By the way, we didn't get any photos of the shots being done, because well, DH is creeped out by needles, and so I had to hold the cats down, while they were being given, and he had to leave the room and couldn't take photos. It's all good, though, I'm sure everyone can imagine what it's like to see a cat getting shots. Monsoon Season 07/28/2011
We are in the midst of monsoon season in Korea. This week I have been on vacation from Wednesday until next Monday, and that's a bonus, since I haven't had to go to work in this weather. Sadly, though, many people have had to. It's been very bad weather. Rain, floods, mudslides. If you've been following the news at all, you've probably heard about it. It is terrible. There are many photos all over. Actually, yesterday, I stayed home, and listened to the rain, thunder and all of that, but did not even look outside until it started to get dark. Then, I saw how bad it was, half of our road was flooded with water. Still, we were okay, in our fifth floor apartment, all was well. We had to go take Jingles to the vet today, and we saw what a mess the weather had made then. One main road has been blocked off, because of a big mudslide, and trees and mud are blocking the road. There is actually mud everywhere! Still, though, I didn't really the extent of the damage. DH decided to go to Bosan, to get a game at his favorite shop, and once he got there, he had the surprise of his life. Bosan is no longer the shoppers paradise it always was. It is a muddy, messy disaster. I couldn't bring myself to go there and take photos. My heart is breaking for these people. Many of these people are small business owners, and their businesses have been wiped out from the flood. It's terrible. If you'd like to see some photos of the damages, please check out the Backpack Bee's site. They have documented it well. Please keep the people of South Korea in your prayers as they deal with this extreme weather. Today we had a break in the rain, but now it's starting again, and we are supposed to get slammed again. It will get worse before it gets better. Thank you for your prayers. Some Questions About Us... 07/28/2011
I found this at this great blog, Bles-id. Please join me as I share some information about DH and myself with you! TELL ME ABOUT YOU AND YOUR HUBBY.. Your names: Derek & Jenn How old are you? Both 33 When did you start dating? August 7, 2006 When were you married? October 25, 2010 Where were you married? At my sister's house in Oakland, NB, Canada What was your first dance song? We didn't have a wedding dance, but our first song was Hero, by Enrique Iglesias. Did you take a honeymoon? if so, to where?No, it was back home and back to work the next day. Soon, we'll celebrate a honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand. Any kids? (Names, ages):No kids yet. Any pets? Two cats, Caramel and Jingles How many kids do you want? One or two, I think. What do you and your husband do for a living? I teach English as a Second Language, and DH is a stay at home hubby/cat-cleaner-upper-afterer. Where did you meet: He worked with my mom, and helped her move into a new place, and me in with my mom. Favorite vacation you've been on with your hubby: We went to Portland, ME once for a weekend get away. That was really nice. Favorite things to do? Play games, watch movies. Where do you live? South Korea What are your spouse's favorite things to do if they had ANY choice and unlimited funds: Hmm, I'm sure he'd live in Toronto, and volunteer at Air Canada Center, so that he could watch every Toronto Maple Leaf's game possible. What are your favorite things to do if you had ANY choice and unlimited funds: Travel, do crafts, and continue to write. Perhaps go to school to learn a trade. Favorite foods? Pizza for me, and salad with Catalina dressing for DH Last but not least, if you could offer one piece of marital advice, what would it be? Just be patient, loving, and learn how to listen, even when nothing is being said. Always let him know how much you love him, even if at that moment you don't. Forgive, and don't punish for mistakes. 30 Hour Weekend - Boryeong Mud Festival 07/24/2011
**Apologies in advance for long, long, picture intensive post!** This weekend was the Boryeong Mud Festival in Daecheon, South Korea. Please come along with me as I share with you thirty random things about our weekend, from 6am Saturday morning, as we got up to get ready to head to the festival, to 12 noon on Sunday, when we finally arrived back home, tired and exhausted, after little sleep, and lots of great times! 1. We love our cats. We've been worried about Jingles this week, since we got him fixed, but he seems fine. DH decided to feed the babies mushy food as soon as he got up at 6am, and has learned a valuable lesson about early morning mushy noms. As soon as Caramel, or as DH lovingly refers to her, Guts, finished eating she came directly to our bed, and proceeded to be sick all over the bed. Nasty stuff first thing in the morning. So... note to selves... save the mushy foods for later in the day. We were hoping that this was not a sign of things to come as we headed out to our destination. 2. On the train, one girl was asleep right away. She was a bit all over the place in her sleep, and at one point some creepy old man got up to get off the train, and smacked her hard on the head with a CD case he was carrying. The girl didn't even budge when smacked, so I guess she was okay. 3. Then, as if the entertainment of the train just wasn't enough, DH started giggling over this guy sitting next to him who was also asleep and drooling all over the place. It really was kind of funny. Icky, but funny. 4. Finally, we arrived to Yongsan station, to catch the train to Daecheon, and since we were there an hour early, decided to get some breakfast at Lotteria. Now, I usually have chicken strips at Lotteria, since NONE of the burgers really interest me. I'm not sure why, but this Lotteria had no chicken strips, but did have what appeared to be a promising new chicken burger on their menu. It looked like it was a chicken burger, maybe breaded, with tomato, lettuce and mayo. Umm. No. It was some kind of dark meat all smushed together burger, swimming in some kind of yucky sauce. Yeah, lesson learned. Just don't bother trying with Lotteria. The photos are really NOT a real representation of what you are getting. 5. We ate our breakfast in the parking lot.   6. It is quite annoying that the platform at Yongsan station, when catching a train that is not the metro, has no or very little benches at all, for waiting passengers. While many trains actually come early enough that you can go find your seat quickly, our train seemed to come somewhat late. 7. Thankfully, the train ride was pretty uneventful. I slept most of the way, woke up in time to see that DH was sleeping and we were almost to our destination, and so I stayed awake.    8. Once we arrived we had to figure out how to get to the beach, since the train station didn't seem to be near a beach. We asked for help at the information desk in the train station. They struggled with who could speak English with us to give us directions, and after some time, finally just said, "Can you read the sign?" The sign. It was right next to the window, with all the bus/taxi info needed. So, a. why didn't I see it before, and b. why didn't they just direct me to the sign with the information to begin with? 9. The bus ride was a little crazy. This photo entertained me, though. It is of students being crazy, drinking soju and smoking. Not sure what the message is, but it cracked me up.  10. As soon as we got off the bus, there were guys there asking us if we needed a hotel. Perhaps we should have gotten some information from them, but I'm sure the hotels would have been crazy expensive. 11. There were some cool attraction sites near the beach, like this water park, which is great, I guess, for those who are tired of sand and salt water.  12. We weren't sure where the beach was, or how far we had to walk to get there. Until we looked across the street and finally saw what we'd been missing.  13. We finally made it to the beach. Our friends had not, though. They overslept and then missed a bus, and were waiting for another bus. That's okay, though. We didn't mind waiting for them. 14. So, we searched for the perfect place to hang out and wait.   15. It was after noon, and the party was getting started.  16. While we decided not to have alcohol, I did get some chicken to eat something, so that I could take my sore throat meds.  17. The chicken was NOT so good, but fulfilled it's purpose and I was able to have my meds before going and relaxing on the beach. 18. The tide was out, so there was some good walking places on the beach. It was nice. 19. The water was chilly at first, but really, it was just amazing to be swimming in the ocean. 20. Suddenly, I didn't care anymore about the mud festival, and just wanted to swim in the ocean!   21. Our friends came, though, and eventually wanted to check out what the mud festival was all about, so off we went to see...    22. It looked fantastic, and a lot of fun, but by the time we got there, there was only 2 hours left, and the lines were very long to get in to do anything, and so we opted to check out the booths, and get some food. We did get our feet all muddy, though, and enjoyed that! 23. Lauren and I made fish candles! That was fun. She's so creative!  24. We ate pizza, and then Rick and I took some time out to help a poor, sad Korean girl who had a lovely Mercedes car that she got hopelessly stuck in a huge rut. Eventually a few other people came after us, one guy finally threw her out of the car, got behind the wheel, and we were able to get it out very quickly. Then, haha, she almost got it stuck again, until finally, the hero of the day got in again, and drove her out of the parking lot she was struggling with. At one point, she lamented that it's such a pretty car, but so bad because it's so stuck. It never really occurred to her that perhaps she doesn't have any idea how to drive the pretty car.  25. Then, it was back to to beach, where we were deciding what to do. DH had a nap, and Rick and Lauren decided to wait until sunset, well, hopefully some kind of sunset, before heading home.  26. I finally woke DH up to go for one last dip in the ocean with me. He didn't want to go, but I begged and pleaded and finally he gave in. Then, it was getting dark, and everyone was ordered to get out of the water. So, out we went, and we went to get changed into some dry clothes while Rick and Lauren stayed with our things. Coming back from the washrooms, we couldn't find our friends, but ended up next to the police station just in time to hear that DH's wallet had been found and turned in, so we had to go pick it up. Yeah, DH had his wallet in his pocket when I convinced him to go swimming with me, and it got lost in the sea, but was found by someone. The cash was gone, either by the ocean, or the finder, but at least all of our credit cards, bank cards, and his alien registration card were still in tact. That was a huge relief. 27. Rick and Lauren finally headed to the bus station, to try to get a bus home, but returned again when they found that the earliest bus was going to be at 6:30 am. So, we were there for the night, not sure of what we were going to do. The plan was to stay on the beach. So, we played some card games, Pitch and Scat, and at some fried chicken, drank some pepsi, and had some other snacks. It was fun. I mean, it always is with good company, and a lot of the time the music was good. We had a nice bench to sit on, up out of the sand, and there was lots of entertainment around us.   28. DH was wearing his sunglasses at night. Somehow, between the time he took his glasses off, and put them in the case, and the time that he decided to put them on again, one of the screws came loose (out), and his glasses were broken. So, most of the night he spent without his glasses, wearing his sunglasses, and in a lot of pain from his shoulder hurting (completely unrelated to the glasses issue). Thankfully, by the time morning rolled around and it had finally rained, his shoulder was no longer in pain. 29. Yes, it rained. Once we started feeling rain drops we weighed our options about what to do. We didn't want to get totally wet, and didn't have a plan to get a hotel room, so we decided to go to the train station and hang out there, expecting it to be open. We had the craziest taxi ride ever, I really feared for my life, and once we got to the station, found it to be closed. We waited, while Rick and Lauren walked over to the bus terminal, but that was also closed. We sat through some guys trying to get a taxi to take them home, which was far away, and somewhere that no one had ever heard of. Not to mention, getting a taxi with a friend who is so wasted that he is sick every five minutes is not really going to happen so easily. Eventually, we found that the station doors were open, we were able to go in, purchase tickets for the earliest trains, and then settled in, some in chairs, me on the floor for a rest/sleep until it was time to get on the train. 30. Finally, it was time to hop on the train and come home. 7:15 in the morning we got on the train, which was about 24.5 hours after we'd left home the day before. We still had another five hours of traveling to get home, but it was all good. We were on the train for five minutes, and I was out. I slept most of the way on the first train, and then eventually again on the subway. DH knew I was really tired, and so when we got to our stop, he so kindly carried both of our heavy-with-wet-clothes bags for me, and took good care of me. He's just great like that.  So, overall it was a long, exhausting weekend, but it was wonderful. Good company, good times, and wow, we love the ocean! September can't come soon enough. We will be on vacation in Phuket, Thailand, and it will be fantastic. I have a feeling that we will be spending a lot of time at the beach! Hopefully the water will be nice enough that we will get some good days in, enjoying the water as much as possible. If not, then there's always the pool at the hotel. Happy Summer, everyone! | Just some thoughts about life in the ROK.We are trying to make our way through life, with some fun experiences and challenges along the way. ArchivesSeptember 2011 CategoriesAll  
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