some of my students, my apartment and, oh yeah, there was a wedding.

So far I dig my job, the days aren't too long and the kids, for the most part, are pretty great.  I have to be to my school by around 9:00 and can wear whatever I want, which is pretty great!  I teach two 80 min. classes in the morning and they are probably my favorite, these are the youngest kids I teach all day and probably the smartest too.  They will not let one word go misspelled or one wrong thing be said, and they are so darn creative and conniving, certainly a challenge that I welcome every morning.  My afternoon classes are not as enjoyable, the kids are older, seem to know much less English and are not very well behaved, but I manage and hopefully they'll come around.  Here are pictures of some of my youngest class, today we made sun hats!

This is Tay, she is very quiet and so adorable!

This is Blaze, he appears several more times and is the devil, but I can't get mad at him because he too is so cute and ridiculously smart.

This is Judy, she is a handful at times.

She wanted another picture once she got her hat on properly.

And then she wanted to be silly.

Blaze again, I believe he said, "Amy teacher, picture me now."

This is Kelso, he is a ladies man.

This is Julie, she is darling. 

Blaze, yet again.

This is Mallory, she is pretty quiet, and usually up to something mischievous. 

This is Sunny, she usually associates herself with Mallory. 

Kelso still being bashful. 

This is Sarah, she will be one of the first to correct anyone who says something wrong or the first to tattle when someone speaks in Korean. 

Blaze...again. 

This is Griffen, he is wonderful but was being uncharacteristically shy today.

So, those are only some of the students that I get to spend my days with, but certainly some of my favorites!

Now, on to my apartment.  I will be moving soon but I figured I would give you guys an idea of the living arrangements here in Korea.

This is the view from my entryway...sorry about the angle. 

This is my kitchen.

This is my bathroom, if you look up by the ceiling and above the sink you will see a shower head because, that is my shower...not at all separate from the rest of the bathroom, it actually isn't that bad once you get used to it!

My bedroom.

My room from another angle...and yes, I did bring a teddy bear. 

In my opinion the pictures glamorize my apartment a bit, but it isn't too bad.

On Saturday I went wandering around the markets and ventured into the area where they sell very, very fresh seafood...I think I may make a video of it later, but for now here are some pictures:

Sting rays, I believe...live sting rays, just chillin, waiting to be your dinner.

And Octopus!  A million of them, just squirming around...gross! 

I will definitely make a video, the pictures do this no justice. 

Oh yes and, as I mentioned in my very first blog post, my sister got married the day before I left.  Here is a picture of her and my dad during their dance. I still tear up when I look at this, she was an absolutely stunning bride and my dad looked pretty sharp as well!

I also gave a pretty good speech and, if you haven't seen it yet, it is worth taking a look at...I rewrote the lyrics to the Fresh Prince of Bel Air theme song...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzoUJcPaXWo.  I put it up on youtube, so click the link and it will bring you to it.

More adventures to come soon! 

pictures!

I think that is a children's clothing store...not really my first choice in names.

So, not authentic Korea food at all, but a super tasty sandwich that I had at a coffee shop.

A silly dentist office logo.

Not sure what the store is...but I think they have misused a word...

So you can't really see it, but it says innerwear, and I just thought that was a silly thing to call bras and underpants. 

Shopping area in Seosan.

More shopping!

I learned that in Korea they will wear clothes with English phrases on them that make no sense, merely for the sake of fashion, such as this shirt. 

Super tiny korean dressing room.

My new rain boots and umbrella take that, rain season!

Korean Shopping.

My word, it certainly is an experience.

I was about to head back to my apartment after wandering around and going into shops and making a few purchases, but when I saw a wifi sign in a coffee shop window I couldn't help but share this experience (I still have no internet in my apartment so these thoughts would just be swirling through my head with no outlet until morning, when I am sure to venture again in search of free wifi).

My first Korea shopping adventure was last night when I wandered in to some beauty stores in search of face wash, nail clippers, and the like.  All of the stores that I went into were modeled almost exactly like Sephora (a super snazzy cosmetic store in the U.S.), the set up, bright lights, the attire of the employees, all or it!  From the moment I walked in until I left I was the center of attention, almost celebrity-esque...and no, I was not the only person in the store.  There were several occasions where no matter which direction I turned I would inevitably run into an employee.  Any item that I picked up resulted in 20 more of the same but either a different brand or color being brought to me and when I walked away they moved right along with me. Finally, after making my purchases I was loaded up with goodies, I now have several face masks, tons of moisturizer samples and even a cream wash to make my skin whiter...not sure if I will be trying out the last one.

Next, clothes.
Ok, I am fully aware that I am not a tiny woman, but I am by no means obese either, apparently it is not just my nationality but my curves that are also foreign to this country.  Every time I make a purchase they ask in very broken English if I have the right size or if it will fit me, if I put something down they immediately grab the next size up and bring it over to me.  Ouch.  One sales woman also explained to me that we are bigger in America, thanks.  This woman, I might add, was at least my size if not bigger. I then found a nice pair of jeans and decided to try them on, though not without being asked several times if they would be the right size, which they were, but that is not the point.  I go into the dressing room, room being the misleading part of the description.  I stepped in and well, that was it (I will post a picture later), not only was I trying on new jeans in humid weather but I had no room to move! It is a good thing they did fit because I wouldn't have had much room to wiggle in or out of them had they not...I am hoping to coin a phrase about this, something along the lines of trying on new pair of pants on a humid day in a Korean dressing room. Example: "Amy, how was that marathon you just completed in 2 hours and 36 minutes," "Well, friend, it was nothing compared to trying on a new pair of pants on a humid day in a Korean dressing room." ...so it needs some work, but you get the point.

I also bought a hair dryer and will be picking up a straightener! Between writing things down, picking up items in the beauty salon and smiling awkwardly, I think I got what I wanted and maybe even made some friends with the beauty salon ladies, but we'll see.

Well, the coffee shop is about to close...more to come in the near future!

You work for boss man at 8:00.

Yay! I made it to Korea!

The flight went really well, though it did take sometime to find the person who was supposed to pick me up...when I did find him I was really, really excited. I started waving my arms around and he finally realized I was the person whose name was on the sign he put a hand up as well to acknowledge that he saw me and, so, I did what seemed most appropriate...and gave him a high five.  Not too sure what the Korea culture thinks of the high five though...

Anyway, we were on our way to his car and he says to me, "You work for boss man at 8:00". I was hoping it was a miscommunication and, luckily, it was.  He drove me to a bus terminal where I then boarded a bus to my city, Seosan (pronounced So-San...oops).  After sleeping on the bus for a little over an hour I was there, and with the help of a nice lady on the bus who could not understand a word of what I was saying I even got off at the right stop!  Immediately my boss, Mr. Choi (pronounced che...again...oops) picked me up and brought me to my apartment so I could rest a little more and shower before he would come back to bring me to the school three hours later.

After surveying my new digs (all 300 sq. ft) I realized I needed some things, so I went on my first big adventure in my new surroundings to get toilet paper, something to drink and something to eat, below are the results:

 I have no idea if that yellow bottle is cleaning stuff or not, but that's what I used it for.  The toilet paper said happy clean on it, so I knew that would be perfect, the can was some really tasty apple drink and the green box was vegetable crackers, all very delightful!

My director came back at noon to bring me to my school where he showed me around, introduced me to the other teachers and gave me a lot to read, I really wish I could take it out of the school and let people read it, the translation, rules, and wording are hilarious.  I also had my first authentic Korean meal and it was pretty good, I am still a little leery of the food but I will try it anyway.

The rest of the day wasn't too exciting, I already fell and was relieved when only one person was around, until I walked past my boss and he asked me if I was ok...there are cameras in the school because parents like to observe our teaching, so he saw the whole thing.  I also went to the hospital to get some tests done so I can get my alien card, once I have that I will be able to get internet and a cell phone!  Another teacher showed me to a market near my apartment so I picked up a few more things and saw some really awesome signs on my walk back to my apartment:

I am not really sure what a Chicky Ducky is, perhaps it is Korea's version of the turducken, or why that duck is holding a big slab of beef...but I found it quite humorous and felt it would be worth sharing.

Yesterday I observed several classes where I discovered I will be known as Amy teacher for the next year...awesome!  The kids are adorable and so funny, I am going to have a hard time keeping a straight face with these little devils.  After being introduced as Amy teacher to one of the classes they then decided to make everything a teacher, ex: pencil teacher, chair teacher, eraser teacher, then they were making students teachers and finally I ended up as Rapunzel teacher...not sure where that came from.

The end of the day I spent preparing for today because I am going to be teaching! I am a little nervous, but I think it will be fun.  On my way home I picked up some take out, and it was delicious.

They give you enough food to feed an entire family, plus they gave me a little cooler thing which was really nice!  As far as I am concerned I ordered chicken, at least that is what the box said...I walked into the place and the girl at the register smiled, showed me the menu and made the first thing I pointed at.  A lot of my interactions are just smiling and exchanging money, but everyone has been very friendly which  has made this transition much easier.

I haven't really hung out with the other teachers yet, the past two nights I was exhausted, though I think I am finally over the jet lag, I woke up at 6:15am on my own this morning, which gave me time to blog before I went to work!

I am sure there is more that I could have said, but I think this is a good start.  Hopefully my adventures will continue to get more exciting and i'll try to keep this as up to date as possible!

Soon I will post pictures of my apartment, even though I am going to be moving within the next week; I will also be posting pictures of the signs around here, they are hilarious!

Keep it real, and feel free to comment or ask questions!

I made it!

And, well, that's all I got right now.  I got to my apartment and it's not too bad, but I will only be there for a week and then I am moving to a different apartment that is not on the first floor.  The flight went well, my school/boss/fellow teachers all seem pretty cool, and I am ridiculously tired.  I will work on a better post in the days to come.

Minnesota.

I arrived safely in MN  several days ago and, as I expected, it has been crazy.  Not only do I get to spend time with parents and both of my sisters, but we also have 5 dogs to throw in there as well (Erin and Andrea both brought theirs and my parents have 3 already)...and this isn't even a full house yet.  My brother along with a good friend of Erin's will be flying in tomorrow to get this whole wedding weekend underway.

These are my nieces, Alf is on the left and Phoenix is on the right.

Oh, yeah, there is a wedding this weekend! So I have been packing and repacking (about 3 times so far...) and getting the final touches ready for the wedding.  It's been really great to spend this time with my sisters and help see that Erin's day is just how she wants it, and things have gone really smoothly! Speeches are written, dresses look stunning, and I have been practicing all of my best dance moves...this will certainly be a wonderful occasion!

The wedding/moving across the world combo is a little stressful, not gonna lie.  Getting my carry-on together has been a bit challenging, and sorting out what I do and do not need has also been a little difficult.  I am sure once I get there I will realize I brought way too much, and I didn't really need those three extra pairs of shoes, but I will wait until I get there to make that realization, and I certainly will not admit to my dad that he was correct when I make that discovery.

I think that's all for now, not too much going on, though I am anticipating my next few posts being pretty awesome...just sayin.

It's been real.

Wow. This is my last night in Milwaukee.  I've spent the past few weeks saying goodbye to friends, spent last night saying goodbye to my favorite watering hole, and I spent today packing my life in to my car.  This city has been so much more to me than I ever thought it would be the people, the experiences, the music, the culture, the people, the people, oh, and I did I mention THE PEOPLE!  I have met some of the most amazing people in this city, whether I have known them for the past 5 years or the past five weeks, this city would not be nearly as wonderful to me without them.

I'm being such a girl right now and tearing up as I write this because I am thinking of all of the good times i've had and who I had those times with.  Some of the people I don't even talk to anymore, and others have only been a part of my life for the past few weeks but goodness, they make this city hard to leave.

My last post was the morning of my going away shindig and, my word, it was a great time.  Here is a photo of my friends and me before the tour started:

After the tour we grilled at my apartment, and moved on to Yield where an epic dance party was had, after this day was done I am pretty sure I completed the majority of my bucket list.  

Tuesday was my last Brewers game and my goodbye with the two lovely ladies on the left side of the picture, holy waterfall!  I cried quite a bit.

Wednesday was supposed to be my last night in Milwaukee but I procrastinated a little bit on packing so leaving this morning was not going to be possible.  I did say bye to Caitlin though, she is to my right in this picture, she has been one of my best friends since freshman year.  She lived on my floor in the dorms and we bonded over our poli sci major and dry humor, she will be very dearly missed.  I had a few other goodbyes, one with a coworker who I became very close with and and another with the landlords of the house that I lived in for my last two years of college...did I mention I am going to miss the people in Milwaukee?!

I also had goodbyes today with several very close friends of mine and tomorrow is the goodbye that I am dreading the most, Milwaukee...oh, and my best friend and current roomie, Dani.  But, I am not even going to think about those anymore because I don't think my computer is waterproof and I would rather not ruin it. 

Here is a list of what I will miss about Milwaukee, in no particular order:

- Lake Michigan, yes, sometimes it smells and I wouldn't recommend swimming in it, but it is just so pretty and is so lovely to walk along and see as I am either entering or leaving the city.

- Alterra, such good coffee and the different locations are all so nice!

- My friends, sorry, they deserve at least one more mention.

- Lakefront Brewery, one of the best tours I have done with some of the most delicious beer.

- Comet Cafe, Cafe Hollander, Trocadero, Rock Bottom, Hooligans...all lovely restaurants with some pretty tasty food, I am sure there are others that I missing, these I just the ones I have been to most recently.

- The Milwaukee Art Museum.

- Walking on Prospect. 

- UWM. 

- Yield Bar.

- Turner Hall.

- Skeleton Crew.

- Brewers Games, though I didn't go to many they were always a blast.

- Adventures...this city was full of them.

- Live music.

- Live music on Bradford Beach.

- Jazz in the Park.

- The many places that employed me.

- Sledding down the hill on water tower road.

- Tomato romping.

There is more, but I need to get back to cleaning and packing so I can get some sleep before heading to MN in the morning. 

As a side little sappy note: I just want to thank everyone who has been a part of my life in Milwaukee, all of you made this city a great place to live, a hard place to leave, and a place I look forward to returning to.

 

Crapppppp.

So, it's been a little while. oops.

I am now unemployed, and it has been beautiful, though very very unproductive.  I am finally starting to go through my stuff and get rid of it, which has left my apartment a wreck...oh well.

I went to Colorado! and it was beautiful.

That picture is of me and two of my favorites from Milwaukee, Brittany and Michelle.  Such a wonderful time with such wonderful people resulted in the need for another tattoo...I think I will be good now for a little while.

Aside from traveling and getting tattoos I have also been doing more exploring around Milwaukee! Eating at restaurants that I haven't been to and checking out different parts of the city, it has been lovely! The following pictures were taken at Cafe Centraal on my birthday, I have food in my mouth, Katie is demonstrating how to eat a burger and Dani is trying to look mean but is actually smiling.

Crap. I could probably write a lot more, but I need to start doing things.  Today is my going away shindig which will consist of a boat tour to a few different breweries, grilling, and visiting my favorite Milwaukee watering holes.  It shall be a grand day, it is also my last Saturday in Milwaukee, I am hoping to make it a good one.

Shoot, I feel emotions coming on...