Advice, in Advance

Like most people, I have reflected on stages of my life after they've passed and thought about what I could have done differently.  Often my regret is simply that I didn't appreciate what I had when I had it.

College comes to mind, when a dilemma consisted of debates with friends over which restaurant in the dorms should be the meeting spot for dinner, which season of Sex and the City should kick off the marathon, or which college bar should be the first stop of the night.  (Don't worry mom and dad-I studied too.)

{2005}

I think it's natural to live through an event or a time period and reflect on what you would change if only you had known.  If given the chance, twenty-nine year old me would grab my twenty-one year old college self by the shoulders and say: 

-"Take more risks!  Study abroad for a term.  Ignore that fear of the unknown and fear of missing out and step outside of your comfort zone." 

-"Take a language class.  Who cares if it meets five days a week and you want Fridays off?!"

-"Enjoy the years living with girlfriends.  Sharing clothes and having impromptu chats in the hallway seems easy, but someday you'll have to check seven different calendars to make girl's night happen."

-"Live it up.  Stop chasing the future and enjoy the now.  Life will not be this simple again for awhile.  Maybe ever."

There will undoubtedly be things I will wish I had known as the next decade passes.  For that reason, I'm willing to take advice from someone who's been there before me.  

While I don't relate to every item on this list, many are things that I am constantly working on, and others are things I could definitely stand to remember.

     *     *     *     *     *

13 Things I Wish I Knew When I Was a Twentysomething

By Candace Walsh, via Huffington Post

Dear Twentysomething-year-old Me,

1. When that man you have a crush on asks, "Are you a good girl or a bad girl?" laugh in his face, spin on your heel and ignore his calls.

2. Wear sunscreen. At least around your eyes and above your currently pert upper lip's cupid's bow.

3. Just because you share blood with people doesn't mean you have to give them the time of day if they are hell-bent on making you feel small, misunderstood and wrong. You've given them enough chances. Cut the cord.

4. Sign up for small automatic savings deposits that kick in every time you get paid. You'll be making down payments on your own future freedom.

5. Rejection is not a sign that you should stop doing what you love. It is married to doing what you love. It should not be kneecapping you. Embrace it.

6. If you have a problem with a valued friend, bite the bullet and talk about it. Don't just disappear on her or him.

7. Tell the truth. People really do sense it when you lie to them, and it makes them distrust you or themselves. It's the darndest thing.

8. You were raised to think that you should be married well before 30 -- and that everything else you fill your life with adds up to failure if you remain single. That's a giant bucket of steaming dookie. Be choosy. The happiness you're chasing is actually suffusing your life right now. You will look back on this time very wistfully when you've got spit-up in your hair and a husband who expects hot meals, a sparkling-clean house and you to resemble the cutie he married.

9. Reconnect with your gut. I know you were raised to ignore it, and to first please others. Without a connection to your gut, you have no compass. Listen to it. If it squawks, pay attention. The more you listen to it, the more you'll avoid messy/self-destructive detours and align with your own satisfying path.

10. You are so beautiful right now. Your skin is amazing. Your metabolism is forgiving. You have epic amounts of energy and curiosity. Do not look to others to fuel up your self-esteem. You're made of awesome. Own it and others will see it.

11. Go easier on your mother. Every single thing (except for maybe three) that annoys and disappoints you about her will be something you recognize in yourself as you get older. That's one big bakery full of humble pie you're cooking up right now.

12. Don't be competitive. Be collaborative. There's plenty of room at the table.

13. Your dream life is not something that will appear to you, or not, like an elusive, mythical unicorn. You build your own specifically perfect life every time you listen to your gut, shake off rejection, honor friends, embrace choosiness, feed your savings account, recognize your own arrogance and ignore dudes who speak bimbo.

{Feel free to comment with your own bits of advice!}

The Cockroach

Last night, after returning home from a long day at school, I left my shoes at the front door and headed inside our apartment.  Upon realizing I needed something from a closet, I turned back around.  That's when I saw it, crawling near the door.  A cockroach. 

Now before you judge me completely, let me say that I have gotten over a lot of my prissiness since living and traveling in Asia.  I can accept less than ideal sleeping conditions, as well as bathrooms that would have at one point sent me running for the hills.  Cockroaches however, are one thing I can't deal with.  We found only one in our apartment last year, a little thing, likely a baby.  When we visited Don Det the creatures practically congregated in the dark out-houses.  I only went when absolutely necessary.

But back to to last night.  

I froze in a panic, not knowing what to do.  Quickly I opened the door, willing the visitor to leave.  It didn't.  I thought fast and ran to the kitchen to grab a mug.  When I came back, the cockroach was no longer in sight.  I momentarily panicked, then reasoned that the single step separating the small entry way from the actual apartment would likely keep a cockroach contained.  The pair of Uggs I had recently discarded lay in a heap.  I poked one boot with another nearby shoe and caught a glimpse of my enemy.  Quickly I brought the glass mug down on the Ugg and trapped him.  Then I did what anyone would do.  I waited until Ryan returned from Costco and calmly asked him to dispose of our little friend.

I tried to shake off the feeling that something was crawling on me for the remainder of the night, but it wasn't easy. Like I said, cockroaches are one thing I can't deal with.

A cure for the common cold?

I have a cold.  Ugh.  Probably the same cold Ryan had/has that is still lingering from last week.  I haven't gone to the doctor yet, and in the meantime I'm trying to fight the bug with a combination of Tylenol, Echinacea capsules and Throat Coat Tea brought from the US.  I've also recently introduced these items.

From left: Vitamin C drink, Vitamin C tablets, Melon flavored popsicle (for my sore throat) and Honey-ginger tea

Let's hope I get rid of this thing before the weekend!

The beginning of work and my new motto

My first official work week got off to an interesting start.  I'm still getting used to where the classrooms are, when I need to be in which one, and what I'll teach when I get there.  Trying to remember the names of every student in twelve different classes is about as easy as it sounds.  Picking up where the last teacher left off in the same amount of textbooks has also been a challenge, especially since everyone paces and organizes things differently.  I could continue the pity party.... but I won't.

Meanwhile Ryan was thrown into the head native teacher position this week, so he has also had to adjust to a new set of expectations and obligations.  Not only that, but after asking to change to a (slightly) larger apartment within our building that has a better view, we were given the ok, and asked to move by tomorrow.  Things have been a little hectic around here to say the least.  However, today was better than yesterday (for the most part), and tomorrow will be better than today.  

The good news is, we have a 3-day weekend right around the corner!  Until then, note my new motto.

I'm also very thankful for wine and mindless TV shows at the end of a long day.  And it's a good thing I found these in the foreign food section last week.

Here's hoping tomorrow is a good day!

Back in Busan: Our first few days

Ryan and I had been eagerly anticipating the first glimpse of our new apartment since we arrived at the airport late Sunday night.  Luckily for us, we were taken straight to it.  No Love Motel this year! 

Last year, after seeing where other English teachers lived, we realized that our former apartment, with its separate bedroom, bathtub, and small balcony, was way better than most.  It wasn't until we opened the door to our new place that we realized just how spoiled we really were.  The new place is one room (ok two if you count the bathroom) and is painfully small.  It can only be described as a studio, and a tiny one at that.

It's a good thing Ryan and I planned accordingly for limited space.  We packed significantly fewer clothes and shoes than we brought last year.  We do have a fair amount of closet and storage space which is nice, since clutter only makes an already small space feel smaller.  Perhaps the best part of arriving at 11:00 pm (really 7:00 am Portland time) was realizing that aside from basic furniture and two (don't ask me why) TVs, the apartment was completely empty. 

When we moved into our place last year after the previous teacher had vacated, we were left with plenty of kitchen utensils, various cleaning supplies, and small appliances like a tea kettle and rice cooker.  Our new place had nothing.  And I mean nothing.  From talking with our co-workers at school the next day, we realized that the apartment manager must have cleaned the place out, likely thinking he was doing us a favor by getting rid of the last tenant's leftovers.  However, last year we welcomed (most of) the leftover items we acquired last year and made sure to leave necessities for the person who moved in after we left.  But, I have to admit, it was nice buying a few new items for the place.  Our dishes last year were a mish mosh of the many teachers before us.  I was happy to find some cute matching dishes at the local "dollar store."  

After a terrible night's sleep (mosquitos buzzing in our ears and an uncomfortable makeshift sheet and pillow) the first thing we picked up from a neighborhood convenience store was a spray bottle of cleaner and some rags.  We went to work on the place, filthy from the bachelor who lived there before we did.  Then we ate our first Korean breakfast...

Don't judge, we had no dishes or utensils!  After breakfast we waited patiently for the director of our school to come pick us up.  She knocked on our door around ten, and we were taken to the school where we'll work the next year.  More on that soon... :)

We spent the morning observing classes, and the afternoon teaching some.  Lunch was Korean food from a nearby restaurant.  I had kimchi fried rice, Ryan opted for fried pork cutlet.

Kimchi bokkeumbap

Donkasu

Tuesday morning we were up at five, jet lagged and dazed.  Ryan had to be at school at 9:30, while I have the next month off until the teacher I replace leaves.  Darn! :)  I wandered around our new neighborhood, walking at least a mile in the wrong direction (twice) and cursing the humidity I'd forgotten about. 

Later that night I met Ryan and our school staff at the nearby baseball stadium to watch the Giants play the number one team in South Korea.  We brought in our own beer, potato chips, fried chicken, kimbap and dried fish.  All the baseball essentials.

After a painful loss but lots of fun, we went to a nearby bar and sipped beer with our new co-workers.  Then it was off to Japan to get our work visas!

From Bangkok to the Bay

We took a night train into Bangkok on Monday evening which turned out to be more complicated than it should have been.  

After being picked up by the company we booked our tickets through we were quickly shuttled to the train station in Laos.  We sat around for an hour before hopping on a small train bound for the Thai border.  After a quick ride we officially arrived in Thailand where we were to board our train to Bangkok.  Unfortunately we didn't get our exit stamp before getting on the train out of Laos.  This caused quite a commotion at the Thai border, where an official continued to shout, "no stamp Lao, no stamp Lao!" over and over without offering us any choice but to return to the border via a combination of tuk-tuk and minivan.  Luckily a bilingual young Thai woman was there to help us communicate, as she and her boyfriend were in our same situation. 

With the train's departure time looming, we sped back to the border with all of our bags, (the tuk-tuk was practically dragging on the road) hoping we could quickly solve the problem.  Luckily we could.  We made it back to the train station in Thailand with just twenty minutes to spare.

Once we arrived in Bangkok we boarded a city bus for Khao San and hoped for the best.  When we noticed foreigners were outnumbering  locals, we figured we were in the right place.  After dropping off our bags we took a tour of our new neighborhood.  Street vendors were selling everything from carmelized crickets to fake ID's.  Tourists sipping beer practically spilled out of the numerous patios lining the busy street.  Dancers performed among the crowds, and we noticed the banners for Songkran everywhere.  It runs from April 13-16 and is Thailand's New Year celebration.  Most people have time off and celebrate the hottest time of the year by soaking each other with water.  We already bought our dry bags and squirt guns in preparation after getting a preview of the festivities (being soaked with buckets of water) in Laos.

As we are rather templed out, we spent our first stint in Bangkok exploring the busy area of Siam Square which housed several malls rivaling the size (and expensive price range) of Busan's Shinsegae.  We also spent an intriuging afternoon winding up and down the tightly knit alleys of Chinatown.  We've been eating fresh Pad Thai as much as possible and have managed to get in a few relaxing Thai massages as well.

This morning we arrived in the southern island of Koh Tao, where Ryan plans to get some SCUBA certifications.  I'll cram in as much beach time as possible before we return to Bangkok for another couple of days.  Then it's home to rainy Oregon.  It won't be long now!

An Unexpected V-Day Adventure

Valentine’s Day was different this year.  Of course there’s the obvious; we live in Korea.  But the oddness of today reached far further than that.

I awoke early to a sprinkle of snow and kept my fingers crossed that school would be cancelled.  The to-do list for our fast approaching trip hadn’t gotten much shorter over the weekend and I spent most of Saturday night sick with food poisoning (or something equally unpleasant).  Sleep and errands on a Monday sounded fabulous to me.  Not wanting to get my hopes up too high for a day off, I got my morning work-out in.  More snow.  I chatted with a friend from home.  It snowed harder.  Just as I got in the shower to begrudgingly start getting ready for work, Ryan got the call.  Kindergarten morning classes were off (yay!) but we’d have to wait to hear about elementary afternoon classes. 

Ryan got some to-do's out of the way and I caught up on email responses from hotels for our first few days in Vietnam.  We got the second call.  Afternoon classes were off!  With the help of our supervisor, Ryan got some information on which local hospital would have the vaccinations we needed for our upcoming trip.  After mapping out the bus route we were off.  If only it were that simple. 

the view from our balcony

What was a light blanket of snow in our neighborhood, proved to be a full on blizzard as we got closer to the hospital.  When we realized the bus wasn’t making the turn up the hill and towards our destination, we got off.  A howling wind whipped our umbrellas around us. 

Before

After

With no taxis in sight, we asked for help calling a service.  No luck.  We were pointed back towards the bus stop.  After getting on the bus again, the driver informed us that buses weren’t making the trip up the hill.  We’d need to walk.  This was easier said than done.  We didn’t know exactly where we were going, and with the mix of heavy wind and snow it was hard to see too far in front of us.  With the help of a frustrated taxi driver (who refused to take us where we needed to go) and a group of police, we made it.  Then the real fun began.

After what seemed like a complete tour of the hospital we found the place we needed to be.  We were ushered around to multiple rooms and asked questions we couldn’t understand.  We were led around some more.  We were asked to wait.  We paid for the shots.  We got the shots.  Then we made the costly mistake of asking for a record of the vaccines we’d received.  The lone nurse who spoke a little English was clearly frustrated we didn’t ask for this before.  We were asked to wait again.  It was beginning to get dark and we weren’t looking forward to our trek home in the snow, but we waited.  An hour.  Finally the paperwork was presented, as was the news that we needed to pay for the records.  We struggled to understand the reasoning of a snappy doctor who argued every point we made.  No one told us we’d need to pay, we don’t need a certified copy, we’ve waited an hour!

After much haggling (and no records) we found ourselves on the street with sore arms, befuddled and freezing.  No buses.  No taxis.  Until finally, there was one!

Thank goodness for a welcoming host and delicious dinner at Green Spoon.

Happy (bizarrely hectic) Valentine’s Day honey!  I love you (and our crazy adventures) today more than ever.

♥

A case of the Mondays

Today is definitely Monday. 

The weekend didn’t seem quite long enough (does it ever?) and we woke up late to a gray, drizzly morning.  Having slept through the alarm, there was no longer time to hit the gym together and then leisurely get ready for school after an energizing work out.  Instead we rushed around to eat, shower and get dressed in less than twenty minutes.  We left the apartment like bats out of hell, running to the elevator and willing it to hurry to the first floor once we were in.  As she always does, our sweet neighbor attempted friendly conversation on the way down.  She spoke slowly and loudly as if that might help us understand Korean.  It didn’t.

Breaking into a steady jog, I looked down to shield my face from the rain and was shocked when I saw my feet. 

“Ryan!”  I squealed, “I’m wearing two different shoes!”

I wish I was kidding.  In my haste to grab the first pair from the shoe cubby near the front door, I hadn’t grabbed a pair of shoes at all.  In fact, one was black and one was brown.

Ryan immediately dissolved into laughter and although I was mortified, I had to laugh too.  I’ve never been so happy (or so quick) to remove my shoes at our school’s door and don my slippers. 

Oh, Monday.

It All Came Crashing Down

As I entered work this morning, a smiling co-worker encouraged me to go upstairs to the teachers’ room right away to see “the surprise.”  Since each of us shuffle between classrooms at various times throughout the day, the teachers’ room houses permanent desks for us.  Above these are personal shelves where we each store our teaching materials.  The room is also home to communal computers, books, and extra supplies.

Bewildered and curious, I made my way up at her request.  At the top of the stairs I spotted the school supervisor and director peering into the room in question.  I leaned in behind them to catch a glimpse.  My mouth dropped open.  The walls on half of the long and narrow room which had been lined with shelves…..were no longer lined with shelves.  Instead, the wooden remains and their entire contents lay on the floor in the middle of the room.  Overnight it seemed the screws had come undone, creating a domino effect, which brought the entire unit to the ground.  

Here’s Ryan attempting to retrieve a few things from my desk.  Luckily for him, his desk is on the other wall, which was not affected.  I had to laugh as he walked across the desks to get to mine.

For those of us who were affected, our stuff was everywhere.  Following lunch and a massive clean up, the room began to look somewhat normal again.

We feel so fortunate that no one was sitting at their desks when this occurred.  By Monday morning a new shelving unit will be installed.  All of the books, files, puzzles, flashcards and tea will go back on the shelves above my desk.  And hopefully they’ll stay there.

Water, water, where have you gone?

We woke up this morning and began our usual routine.  Coffee water was put on the stove, I  made a phone call, and following that, Ryan attempted to shower.  Breaking news right?  The problem is, after the sink did its initial job of producing water for coffee, it decided to be done.  No more running water in our apartment today.  

Ryan insists he paid the water bill so what’s the problem?  We noticed some construction around the building last night, so that might be the culprit.  

When you think about it, it’s really not much of an inconvenience.  I mean you really only need water for, hmm let’s see…. EVERYTHING!  Without it, no dishes can be washed and laundry can’t be done.  Not to mention basics like showering and using the bathroom are impossible.  Luckily we had bottled water which gave us the luxurious opportunity to brush our teeth this morning before heading to work. 

Upon her arrival to school, our co-worker who also lives in our apartment building reported that she too was without water.  We felt a bit better that she shared our irritation.

Going home at lunch I thought there was a slim chance our water might have returned.  No such luck.   After boiling my ramen lunch with the leftover water from the teakettle, I boarded the elevator to return to school, and noticed a printed paper on the wall.  There were some dates and times on the note, but of course, it was written in Korean.  I didn't have too much time to decode it, but realized it was likely some sort of an announcement about the water outage.  Helpful.  

Let's hope it's back on by dinner!

The cell phone fiasco

Yesterday was one of those days where essentially everything goes wrong.  
And it just happened to be Monday.  Ugh.

We finally attempted to get cell phones set up, which was easier said than done.  Thinking we’d be able to use the phones left behind by the teachers we replaced, we taxied our way to the cell phone store with the director of the school (for translation), as soon as the bell rang for lunch.  However, when we got there, we were informed that one of the phones “wouldn’t work” for us to use, and the other needed to be signed off by the previous owner.  We were out of luck until the former teacher returned to Busan later this week from traveling.  Knowing one of us would inevitably have to purchase a phone, I stepped up and picked out an affordable but cute used option.  Ryan had to leave to teach a class, busing back to school alone.  After the "ten minutes" the saleswoman claimed it would take to process the phone turned into over an hour, I bid farewell to lunchtime, as well as a coveted break of mine backing up to it.  I heard the phrase my parents can't seem to get enough of, repeating in my head:

"Things always take longer than you think."

But eventually, I was the proud owner of the perfect new (to me) phone.  Or so I thought. 

When I arrived back at school, rushing to prepare for my next class, starving for lunch and still trying to regain my normal voice from a cold I've been fighting (please forgive the pity party), I asked one of the Korean teachers if she would change the language for me on the phone.  After my class was over and I went back to my desk, she hesitantly approached me. 

“It’s not going to work…” she said. 

“There is no English on the phone, it’s too old.” 

Well crap. 

Wasting no time, I griped to my other co-workers about the frustrating situation, and one spoke up.  She is two weeks from ending her year-long contract and returning home to Canada.

“I’ve learned that nothing here is as easy as it should be,” she offered. 

 Not exactly hope inspiring.

After asking my director what to do, she phoned the woman at the cell phone store, then told me I could go back after my classes at 7:00, and exchange the phone for one with English.  As happy as I was (not) to take another trip, (this time alone) to the cell phone store at the end of a long day, where the woman couldn’t understand me and I couldn’t understand her, I was relieved when one of the other foreign teachers volunteered to come along.  She needed to reload her cell phone minutes so she joined me.  Unfortunately she wanted to walk.  The hill hadn’t seemed that bad from inside the taxi, but making the trek with my laptop (and still starving) was a different story entirely.

Of course it all worked out, and I got another phone, and it was in English.  So again, I left the store feeling satisfied.

And then I discovered the new phone was possessed.  I mean really.  Possessed.  Without even touching a button, it was skipping around to all the various options, claiming there was no set menu, and that I had to create one, choosing an icon for each application.  I wondered how I could do that when I wasn't even able to keep up with what the phone was doing.  It basically had a mind of its own.  Still starving, I went home and found something to be happy for.

THIS came today!  We ordered it online Friday, and it already arrived.

It may look like just a microwave to you, but to me it means that I can have POPCORN.  FINALLY!  And that makes me happy. 

Not to mention the beautiful plants we got over the weekend at the festival behind our apartment.  They make me happy too.

So yesterday wasn’t a total drag after all.  And inevitably, today was a better day. 

{I hate to make a "label" for "Frustrations", but let's face it, I know there will be more, hopefully (in hindsight) just as silly as this one : ) }