Let it snow

This is the snow video. It was just flurries, but I still found it necessary to run outside the restaurant and run around like a crazy person. After laughing at me my friends followed and thus the video. In case you dont get it, the song is my snow version of the song sung by Buddy to his dad in Elf. Im not crazy I promise. :D

Ajuma

I dressed up as an ajuma for halloween (an older Korean lady) and went trick or treating. I was laughed at by a Korean man in the elevator but I think he was just jealous of my outfit.

Introducing Mortimer

My failed attempt to get Mortimer's awesomeness on film

Going to get Mortimer

Not really sure why I made this one, but it was supposed to show how scary it is to ride in a taxi in Korea. It didnt, but it is kind of amusing anyway.

My classroom

This is a very exciting video about my classroom. Try to contain yourself.

Sorry sorry

I have really not been doing a good job of this lol. Sorry it has been so long since my last post. It is just normal life now so it feels like there hasnt been anything to talk about really. We had our first snow a couple of weeks ago. It was just a flurry, but of course like a five year old I ran outside to play while my friends laughed at me. I finished my first term on Friday which means all new kids which makes me really sad. I really liked my old ones. We had Thanksgiving today made out of various tiny ovens and food ordered online. It was very delicious, though. I know the Koreans walking down the hall smelled it and wondered what those crazy white people were up to. I still love work which is weird, but the kids are really funny and always keep me entertained. We have yet to be allowed to travel out of the country... January at the earliest. I am really starting to like the food here, which is weird. I am still quite bad with the chopsticks and often have to have a fork brought to me. The whole restaurant will stare and laugh at whitey when you do that. It is funny though. My favorite is when people know english, see that I am white, and feel obligated to talk to me. This happens a lot with little kids on elevators. I met a little 6 year old girl on the elevator that way. Her name was Emily and she used up all the english words she could think of on that elevator ride. I still am horrible with the Korean. Same words as before, but hopefully I will eventually get better. My new pet hedgehog Mortimer is pretty awesome, but I dont think he likes me very much. Gerald thinks he is especially cool and loves to bother him. That is all I can think of for now, but I will write about my first day of the new term later. Love you!

Big Bang is a Kpop boyband that is ridiculously famous. I havent heard one of their songs yet, but I fully intend on seeing them in concert. I think they are in Seoul in December.

Army of Ajummas aka older ladies who wander around with amazing massive visors on. They are so cute.

Kimchi, once the bane of my existance is now one of my favorites. I even like some kimchi more than others. Such as the kimchi at shabu shabu (kind of food) which is so much yummier than any other kimchi. Its sour and spicy at the same time, weird but good.

Ah life in Yeonsu

So I have now been in the amazing country of South Korea for more than a month. I am having an amazing time. After all that dread about finding a real job, I seem to have found one that suits me. It is a neverending challenge here. So here are some things I have learned about Korea and life in general

-Kimchi is this spicy cabbage stuff eaten with most meals, takes some getting used to but very yummy
-Old ladies dress the coolest here they wear sparkly shirts and funny visors, there are 4 of them I see every day on my way to work picking up trash. Cutest thing ever.
-Once you know a few words you can really manage here
-There are always people blacked out on the street. Drinking is a real cultural thing here. It is really interesting. One of my students wakes as many up on her way to school as she can so they wont be late to work lol
-Respect is key here. If you take an object from an authority figure you use both hands. To use only one is a sign of disrespect. You dont make eye contact with your superiors also a disrespectful action.
-I am not Ms. Norris here, I am Heather Teacher. In class they just call you teacher. It took some getting used to but I like it now.
-As a teacher you are subject to much gossip, I am now supposedly dating my coworker Daniel and have a husband named Juan all because I wear a ring and we were shopping the other day and saw one of his students lol.
-Neon lights have grown on me. At first I thought they were obnoxious, but I really like them now.
-Karaoke bars are kind of a big deal. You go out and drink with your boss and then all of you go karaoke. So odd.
-Any effort to speak in Korean is appreciated, they can tell I have no idea what is going on
-I have only had to get a fork in a restaurant once, Daniel asked for it and the entire restaurant turned around and stared at me. Then they proceeded to whisper. Never again.
-Getting a massage is one of the most painful experiences ever, made worse by the fact that you cant understand a word they are saying
-Korean babies are much cuter than Western babies. With the exception of Gabe of course.
-Whether you know them or not you see a white person you talk to them. Just how it goes.
-Korean bunnies are crazy, I think mine is plotting to kill me
-Anyeong means hello and goodbye informal
-Camsahamida means thank you
-Ney means yes Aneyo means no
-Learning how to cook in a foreign country was not a good idea, I cant figure out what anything is
-You can hike up this mountain and get shown up by 70 year old men. They are beastly fit here.
-Many things can be eaten on a stick here, you would call them kabobs
-Rice is bop
-Metal chopsticks are now no longer a problem. I might have trouble using a fork when I get home, I havent used one since I got here.
-Dumplings are the only thing I have learned to make they are spicy and delicious
-They eat a lot of stews with rice, it reminds me of gumbo
-Living by yourself is super fun. You wake up when you want and leave when you want. Yes I dont spend much time in my apartment, but still its the concept.
-Korean pop (Kpop) is the most annoying awesome music ever created
-Korean commercials make no sense but are amazing because of it. There is a raddish who has multiple escapades and I still dont know what it is a commercial for
-Chusock is Korean Thanksgiving and we get a day off for it. Families get together, men watch tv, and women cook
-Any blonde hair on your head freaks Koreans out. Sometimes they will wait for the next elevator so they dont have to ride with whitey lol
-Korean drivers are the scariest thing ever, they do not abide by any laws
-There are musicals in Seoul all the time. Renee and I went and saw Rent and fully intend on going to see Legally Blonde. Even if it is in Korean.
-There are other people who enjoy watching entire seasons of shows in a short period of time
-If you go to a store and show interest in a product they attack. Imagine trying to negotiate with someone you cant understand.
-Miming what you want is embarassing but it always works. I mimed my way through getting a bunny.

.... more to come love you guys!

So this is a tour of my apartment. It is pretty awesome if I do say so myself. You also get to meet my roommate Gerald. I think he might be evil. He watches me when I sleep and gnaws on his cage. I think he is waiting for the opportunity to pounce, or hop if you will, and maim me. LOVE YOU!

Me and palace

Another palace

My cool outfit

Me and a palace guard

My training buddies and I under the arch of youth

Hello SK

So I finally got my computer cord which means that the blog can commence. I will be using my journal to write this since I have already been here for a month and cant remember half of what happened.
Okay so I stepped off the plane after a grueling 20 something hours on planes and in airports and before even being allowed into the country our temperature was taken. They are very strict about the swine flu not making it into their country. Customs and everything was fairly simple, but once I reached the outside I was totally overwhelmed. I had no idea where to go, but after much miming I got on the right bus. A couple of hours later, and a few more transportation vehicles, I reached my hotel. Quite fancy, very pretty. I made it up to my room and met my first friend in SK named Lana. Two more girls from our program were in the hotel, so in typical terrified desperation we all became friends. The day after our arrival we had to go to a medical exam. Poking prodding and blood drawing was the order of the day. I almost passed out when they took my blood, I had explained to the nurse (miming of course) that I tended to get sick so she made sure I was laying down. The next day I had my first subway experience. We didnt get lost, but it was very confusing what with the lack of English. My first Korean meal was very daunting, metal chopsticks are much harder to use than wooden ones. Training was extremely boring; we had to wear surgical masks every day to keep from "infecting" the Korean population. We kept from being completely bored by going and seeing some palaces. It was really cool. A week later training was over and we split up to move into our apartments.
Chapter two, my awesome apartment. So the city I live in is called Incheon and is about an hour and a half away from Seoul. Yeonsu is the section of Incheon I live in. Our company arranged a taxi to pick me and the others going to my branch up. There are two other newcomers to my school so I automatically had people to talk to. Really nice people.
We had the weekend and then we started work. I must say it is quite possibly the coolest job ever. These kids are genius. They are not really even a language school, they learn things like how to annotate a passage and synonyms for easy words they already know. I love my kids so much. They are extremely cool. I am also really lucky as far as friends go. All of the people at my school are really awesome. We are all friends and hang out every night when we get off work (10:30) One of my coworkers' first language was Korean so we go to all these really cool Korean restaurants and he orders for us. I went to see Rent with Korean subtitles last week. It was amazing. All in all I pretty much love it here. My apartment is really nice, it has a loft and everything. I have tv, internet, kitchen, and a bunny named Gerald who constantly tries to escape from his cage. All of my friends live in the same building so we all hang out a lot. I am learning enough Korean to get around, but I am going to take lessons. I found a book store with English books today and spent a ridiculous amount of money. This is pretty much one of the coolest adventures yet. :)

One year 3 new countries?

I hope my students are this cute. Mom this is for you :)

I want to live here

So how weird is it that on August 14, 2008 I was on my way to the lovely New Zealand. On August 14, 2009 I will be in South Korea. I will have been in 3 different countries after only one year. I swear I am one of the luckiest people in the whole world. I cant wait to see what this next country has in store for me. I cant wait to meet all kinds of new people; perhaps learn a new language. I am so excited. I will put updates on life in general on here as well so you can keep up with how the road to South Korea is going. South Korea here I come! I hope they are ready for me. :)

Land of Oz

On our jumping crocodile cruise

On a crocodile, notice my gangsta hat.

Me holding a baby crocodile, I named him Stuart.

Ze bush

Me and Emily. It was so hot. Hotter than Fl. even

So one of my best friends Emily was in Australia and I decided to visit her before I went home. Here are some pictures from that.

Here is a video of a baby seal I got. We got off the bus and went and looked at a waterfall and this is what we saw. They were so effing cute. The boys didnt care, but you can hear the girls squealing in the background.

Yet some more pictures

These are from my bungee site... the blue one is the thing on the door of the girls' bathroom. Hahaha. If you watch and listen closely you can hear you telling my bungy guy this is the worst idea I have ever had in my whole life, as well as the girls I was with cheering. It didnt hurt, I just did it wrong. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uV_uaZur5S8

Here are some more from the South Island.

Some pictures

Standing in a glacier

Standing on a glacier

One of our hiking trips. Pretty.

So I basically sucked at keeping up with this blog and now it is bugging me that none of my NZ pictures are up here. Now that I am planning on using it again I think it is best that I put up a few pictures from my last journey. There are a million of them so I will put up the ones I really like. The first ones are from my backpacking trip around the South Island.