Alright, over the homesickness...but! I got sick again!! This kiwi chick is not used to real cold weather.. Kept waking up in agony the last couple of night.. Couldnt bare to speak at all.. But pushed myself to go to class yesterdzy and the night class i teach at daelim..bthankfully, i got a much needed rest today after going to the doctor and her shrieking at ow sore my throat looked..haha.
I tried to run away/ get out of getting the ass jab this time... Didnt work :( ...
And i fought so hard to not get sick! Went to seoul avnd got loaded up on vitamins, sarted an extra healthy food regime, joined the gym, drank ridiculous amouns of green tea!
Only problem is i made a new friend who likes to stay out late... And then i have to walk home in the cold. He is the son of the new assistant at work. Theyve kinda adopted me :) we get on really well and she has made my work so much nicer to be in!

Being crook in Korea....

Sucks. Dont feel like its acceptable to take the day off at work...the kids dont really compensate in their attitudes... No one is around to give you a hug and put you to bed or leave a little get well package or flowers or lemsip.. I went to the doctor this morning who told my boss i have a cold especially in the throat? But it feels much worse... Ive had colds before but get other symptoms so not easy trying to convince them you might need antibiotics... Got a shot in the arse without know what was going on and some bags of pills.. But unsure what they are either! A little worrying considering im allergic to some cold medicines... Can anyone let me know what they might be? Especially if they are pseudoephidrine?

Its been three months now and luckily, not signs of homesickness although there were a couple of times that i wish i were home just to snuggle up on a familiar couch :) but life here is easy. Sometimes too easy.. I have started going to the local library in the mornings to teach myself korean. So far, I've been called 'cute' for my efforts in speaking the language.
Probably one of the most intesting thins i find about korea is the obsession on being perfect looking, they are neve satisfied with themselves, and will not hold back on telling others whther they are pretty or not.
They call their natural eyes " traditional eyes". And have a number of. Mrthods of trying to achieve "sag ah pul" which is the eyelid, which makes he eyes appear larger. Nicholas and i were approached in the park oneday by two korean girls. They basically demanded that wqe tell them which one was prettier. Clearly the one on he left was a lot prettier than the one on the right. The one on the right had dyed her her ginger, probably in attempt to be blonde, like me ;) which honestly did noting for her complexion. She also had no style. The girl on the left was by all cultural standards, beautiful. She had long healthy black hair, a beautiful face and generally well presented. So ... We were in a pretty awkward position. Nicholas prides himself on the tatic of giving them both compliments and luckily we made it out without making one of them cry. Which most likely would have been the ginger one.
My friend eva has had extensive plastic surgery on her face and body. Her father even told her that he prefers her face now more than before. It is a strange thought that your own father would prefer a face that isnt really yours or his infact. Yet, it is just aswell as it is the face she has chosen now. There is a song about being ugly by 2ne1. Its kinda like the opposite to christina aguileras you are beautiful. One lyric bothers me the most which is, dont tell me that im pretty, i know im ugly. But apparently, this is what korean girls feel like most of the time so they have decided to release a song about it." I think im ugly and no body want to love me, just like er i wana be pretty, dont lie to my face cos i know im ugly..." How damn depressing. These girls are suffering from a fear of being ugly becuase they are scared tehy wont get a rich boyfriend which will in turn determine their worth in society. A korean guy i know also told a girl he was starting to see that if she wanted to go out with him then she needed to go on a diet and lose some weight. Totally acceptable.
But as i am writing all of this, i distance myself from it as i dont want to get emotionally caught up trying to change something i cant. I saw an anorexic girl being flung out of a bar the other day onto the street, completely passed out. I did get angry then, it made me really sad knowing that it was a result of the extreme pressures to be thin here but this problem is everywhere in western society so it is not anger i felt against korean society, just the general lack of help girls recieve for these insecurities in many places in the world. Beauty is everything to a man, money is everything to a woman. Is this much different from our culture in ways? From a young age, adults always compliment a girl on the way she looks to make her happy, and ask boys what they have done today, giving them praise for what they have done to make them feel good. Girls be pretty, boys be successful.. Maybe just in a more extreme version to what i am used to? But i love it. I love how it is so different here and there is so much to learn about this culture. It strikes me all the time how lovely they are to me and generous and sharing and thoughtful. I like how koreans dont complain, they just get on with it. It is like they know life is difficult, so we arent going to stand around thinking about how the world is against us, we'll just grab some soju and be on our way.

I went to jeju island in the weekend just gone with my korean friend eva, which was amazingly beautiful! So cheap too considering.. Taxis are a godsend in korea. We traveleed from one end of the island to the other for only 30$ and stayed in a beautiful place overlooking the sea for $50. There is scuba diving available on the island for $80 a session, the cater for first timers and more experinced divers also. The water was the most beautiful emperature. I would highly reccommend visiting in september. The rainy season is over, the holidays are over, no one is on the beaches, and the temperature is just perfect! Best trip away so far. We mainly looked around the jungmun beach resort area on the south side.
Jeju is known for being the honeymooners spot. There arent really many clubbing places and few bars, but in jeju si you can find a few more on the main road. There are many more attractions i haent done on the island so i hope i can make it in october! Jeju is famous for its beauty in the autumn months.
The weekend before thatk i went to an island over the chuseok period with my foreigner friends from nz and sa mainly.. Very chilled out beach, had a good break away with good wine and was the first time in a while i had caught up with pauline too! :)
Daelim gave me 200 000 won to go shopping with for chuseok becuase the are so happy with my teaching! The have offered to get me a job in their company once i learn korean. The ceo seems to really like me, saying im like his daughter he doesnt have. Very sweet.
Oay? Im sick of writing now! Lots of love til next time x x x

Korean questions..

My students...

Teacher, why is your hair blonde slash long?
Teacher, do you have a boyfriend?
Teacher, what colour are your hot pants?
Teacher are you richie?
Why are you come to Korea?
Are those your real eyelashes?
We play a game? We change our names? We have free time?

Adult students from Daelim company..

Do you like Korean men? Do you want a Korean boyfriend? Why are Korean men better than men from your country? what are men from new Zealand like?
Korean men are tall, do you like tall men?
Would I look good with blonde hair?
How old are you? Who is in your family? Do you like sushi? Do you like beer? Amongst other foods they then bring me haha

My boss
What are you doing tonight? Wha t are you doing tomorrow? What are you doing this weekend? Why are doing that? Who are you going with? How often do you see them? Why did you only see them once since two weeks ago? How did you meet them?

My sweet new Job!

So I started teaching an older student at my Hagwon who works for a company as the second in charge and wants to learn better English so when he is the CEO, he can makes more business deals internationally. Teaching him has been a breeze becuase his english level is so high. the only bad thing is that I found it hard to teach him and my other students at the same time becuase he demands so much time and attention. I also felt the need to make our lessons go over time into my own time to make him happy. However, I think my intuition served me well this time because, since he liked me, he wanted me to be the english tutor for his Company.
The company name is Daelim. One of the top 3 construction companies in Korea, hence of of the largest in Korea. They have their own Universities and numerous sections of their company spread across Korea. I'm working at the construction company in Pocheon who are construting a new Nuclear power plant starting in three years time.
My first lesson was a bit of a worry. I was severly alcohol posioned thanks to my bosses efforts on teaching me how to drink soju. havent touched it since. I had been sick all day and had to teach them at 8 at night till 10. My boss pressed the idea of teaching them the meaning of vice versa. Honestly. It took the entire lesson. They were like why are we learning this? And I was like I'm never doing what my boss tells me to do ever AGAIN!!!!!
But i managed to get myself through it and the next time round when my boss wanted me to teach them an acronym for success I said i would, but i didn't. What a rebel! Instead we went out for a luxurious meal in place of our lesson. I wish i had my camera! It was the most amazing meal I've had in Korea!!! We started out with raw meat finely sliced. Then the whole lot came out- raw crab in a hot sauce, Makaelli- the best version of rice wine I've had yet also, Bulgolgi- beef BBQ, with salads, mushrooms, many types of kimchi, dumplings, spring rolls... I wish i wasnt on a deadline that day to get back.
There is a sauce here that you dip your Bulgogi into, its a fermented bean paste with coriander and garlic in it with red peppers. I havent tasted any condiment that comes close to being so good! But it is served at most restaurants whilst eating andy of the BBQs..
I call the CEO of the company Captain! I've been told that I can ask for a meal anytime becuase they allocate 10 000 to 20 000 american dollars on food each month. All i have to say is, qulte "Captain give me some food!" and he'll take me out for some food. In return I give him my loyalty. haha sweet deal? He also wants me to stay for ATLEAST 3 years in Korea and be friends with his son.  yuss Might be a cheap travel buddy on the horizon? Which I took as a sign that he wants to build a workig relationship with me so maybe likes me?But the cutest thing that happened that day was when they gave me the last piece of meat after telling me that no one eats the last piece but I got it cos I'm "very special"..
Nawwwwww...... too much.
I've loved hearing about the customs from them in our lecture about the difference bwtween Korea and Western Countries.
Many Koreans believe in staying with one company throughout their working life as the workplace is treated like a family unit. This is changing though as westernisation is creeping in. Which is sad becuase i really love being part of this close knit workplace. They socialise with their workmates at all levels very often- drinking 3 times a week together and going out for lots of meals. They all gave me their cards when i first met them. I bowed to all of them then recieved their cards with both hands making sure i took time to read every one before thanking them. When i sat down opposite them all, I line them up so that they were in place of each person facing me. I was doing all of this off memory from some lecture back at university last year. I only hope these were the rules for KOREA!!! haha
It was awesome though. It really inspires me to learn more Korean and Korean customs.
Next lesson we are going to a Sushi Restaurant. A really expensive one! And we're having our lesson there so that should be fun! YEAHHH!!!!! Kihi Kihi x x
 

A little more soul

Original plans were to make my way south to a new city but with the rain and need for recovery after Jisan, I settled for a three day visit in Seoul..
We stayed in a love motel in Itaewon for 40 bux which is pretty cheap for Seoul.. Very basic but I welcomed the prospect of sleeping in a bed with air condition and a shower once again! I was so tired after Jisan and actually still am while I'm writing this post, I made the most of being able to buy a few coffees from Starbucks also, the coffee chain I would still hate if they weren't so good and providing my greatest weakness which is a creamy soy latte with a tad crystalised brown sugar on top... So itaewon remains the place for the weakened foreigner who wants a piece of western love.
I used my afternoon venturing out to find cosmetics that actually suit my skin. I was on the subway to somewhere where all the upmarket western brands are until I met an American family who suggested the coex mall was the place for shopping.. Talk to all foreigners. They know stuff! This is the most amazing mall I have ever been to! Hitting myself for making plans later that night, I could only spend an hr and a half. You could spend a week here its friken massive! This is when I realized why Asian girls are so bored in new Zealand. Shopping here makes you so happy! Commercialism grips onto you like an intense lover. You know it's bad for you but you love every moment. Ohhh I want every colour nail polish with every possible accessory! But I escaped almost unscathed having only bought the one thing that I really needed. Except for the nail polishes. Sporting the smurfette blue and daisy look today. so hot.
Tuesday, I visited Yi sun shins statue, the man responsible for inventing the turtle boats. Between himself and the picturesque mountains lay another monument of the man who created the hangeul alphabet. King Sejong sits all gold like and proud in his raised chair. Can't wait to see it in the winter I can imagine it's stunning!
If you carryon walking along the beautifully clean street, you will come across a stream which has been created to leave an impression on any visitor. People dip their feet into the cool water which has been artistically designed for lovers and families to enjoy. Including matching couples. As I said earlier, there a. Couples that want to match themselves to each other.. These guys went just a little more extreme than usually matching their shoes, bags, pants, he was totally wearing girls pants, shirts with mickey mouse on them, hats, and matching belts. I will add a link for your stalking pleasure.
Next stop was where you can find anyone a gird from Korea like art work or other touristy things. This is where I went back to my favorite cafe with my mates. It's just so cute! And after talking about how cute it was for the previous ten minutes, they all agreed it was the cutesy cafe also that they had come across.
This is why it's cute! You go up some cute little steps into a cute little wooden door then make yourself up some cute little steps and into a cute little cubbyhole type seating area you can only just fit into, that's teamed with a sweet guitar for cam to play his tunes.. Scoping through the cute handmade menu, we decided on chai lattes and coffee with cheese cake. Tis is when we decided that this place is the type of place that you see advertised in a magazine saying" look how cute this place is! " which is why it isn't just cute, it's adorable. It has the best coffee in korea I swear! Cams coffee had coffee art on the top!
Cam, Stephanie, Pauline, jermaine and I made our way up the N Seoul tower next where people lock hearts symbolizing their love for each other onto the railing. And Christ, there are a lot of heart locks. We were just chilling in the rain waiting to enter to tower for an ho ur and a half when all of a sudden a Korean girl is crying and making a bit of a scene actually.. The guy ws like whaaat, whaaaa? He had just proposed, the cliche Location for proposals it turns out...Is the n Seoul tower. And she wasn't giving him an answer just crying for god only knows how long leaving the poor guy wondering if he should have spent so much on the ring instead of some other new gadget all his friends are getting.. But she eventually calmed down, and I think it s a ....yeeees? oh happy days!
Up the Seoul tower, our saffa friend jermaine was peaking about there not being a sign for south Africa.which led him to two conclusions. Either south Africa died doesn't exist since I last left and I have no home to go to, or sty Korea doesnt give a damn about my country or me, all they want is my English speaking abilities. Not a happy chappy.
Luckily Korea loves new Zealand however so we feature up the top of the panoramic view of Seoul city on the glass window. We will forgive you for spelling us newzeland too because the view was insane. Can imagine how much bigger Seoul will get in the next ten years as you see the massive buildings expanding across the city.
here, you can take the cable car down the side of the mountain. Skip past the black cabs that want to rip you off with a 40 buk taxi ride home and look at you like you're cheap for not accepting.
Spent the night in the jimjilbang once more. Perfect way to end some five hectic days.. Love and peace homies! X x x

Jisan Rocks!

So with a weary head, I made my way after work to...only the biggest rock festival in Korea! The Jisan Rick festival is situated in the natural environment of Jisan valley, party central by summer, ski resort come winter!
It's a three day festival starting on Friday finishing on Monday morning if you choose to spend the extra night snuggling with your new found hubby or perhaps incoherent enough not to realize the party is over...what is a rock festival without someone smashing their foot into a rock in attempt to show how well they can jump a puddle? And puddles there were galore as mos t of the happy drunks smiled their way through torrential rainfall, soaked skin and running mascara.
If you have blonde hair, or are really tall, you might get yourself a couple of free hot meals though to warm you up? I managed to get myself a couple.
Huge festival though, so huge that Pauline couldn't find her way back to our tent till the Sunday night.. X
Jenna and Sera did an amazing job at setting up our crew of bout 20-30 into tents for the weekend! Cheers guys! I have a new artist to add to my playlist... Pros Ella Ann, amazing live... I was hanging off her every note she has a stunning voice. Probably my personal fav of Saturday!
The thing with Korea we decided, is that they are a sucker for advertising so they will attend the bands that are the most advertised. Which made watching incubus an easy one to raid the front line as the locals hadn't heard of them and they weren't on at the main time! Dead band suede came next and all of a sudden the main stage is packed listening to what I found to be rather cruddy music. skipped that one for a chilled out dance to a beatles take off band.
Whilst dancing in the jägermeister tent that night, I had an interesting suprise as a Korean lad started grinding me from behind. Cracking up laughing I kept my eyes forward laughing away with cam and Pauline as they looked onwards from yonder. Eventually the entertainment finished with him sAying "I have to go now and find my friend." sweet cya..? I love the Korean girls here! They make you feel like a superstar screaming "you're so hot!" and the like while your dancing!
So overall a fantastic weekend meeting heaps of new great people and chilling out with the familiar with great music and other festivities. Coming home with a crap load off free stuff makes the whole experience pretty sweet also!