Buddha's Birthday and Other Happenings

After a not so hot week, today was great from start to finish. (It's not actually over yet, but with a wine and queso/board games party on the agenda for the rest of the night, how could I not assume this night is going to end great? )


I feel like I only share the good on here (except that one time I had to give the North Korea speech), so I'm going to get real for a minute with you guys if that's okay. ....if not, skip this next part. lol As always, I'll be sure to end with the happy and the good. It's extra good this time, too. :)

Let me preface this post as I have already said so many times before. I really do love Korea. It's a great, beautiful country and the people here are wonderful. I don't regret coming here at all, but when 6 months is up, I'll be running to the airport to get on that plane. It's the teaching part (ironically, the part that I'm here for) that gets me sometimes. The Korean school system is so different from the American school system. That's to be expected obviously, but sometimes it's just too much. I won't go into crazy detail, because really there isn't any, but it's very frustrating 3 out of 5 days. Looking at it from the Korean student's perspective though, I can see where they are coming from. If I was a tiny elementary student in America and got stuck in a room with 15 of my friends and one crazy Korean lady (or any other ethnicity that doesn't speak English) for 40 minutes every day and she didn't know anything in my language, I would find it difficult to want to listen and be there too. I get it, but from the other perspective  it's my job to teach these kids and I want to help them but it's close to impossible hard most days. Sometimes I wonder if it's just because I have been in so many American classrooms and I want mine to run that smoothly and for my kids to understand, but it's freaking hard when they understand about 2% of the words I say. I will say that my good days are great and I love it on those days. I've been asked if this experience has ruined me on teaching. My answer is, and always will be, no! I love teaching and I can't imagine doing anything else. BUT, as some people can teach children who don't speak their language, I prefer mine to speak my language. It's so much easier to control them. I know I'll have bad days when I have my own classroom in America too, but I know it will be different than this. And if it isn't whats another 10 years in college. lol jk..

On top of all that, my best friend moved to Arizona this past week. My little sister finished her freshman year of high school and my little brother finished his freshman year of college. (which isn't sad, but still..it happened and I wasn't there.) If you do the math, they're both on pace to graduate college before me. hahaha jk...I hope. Tornadoes ripped through Moore, a mile away from my boyfriend and his roommate's house. Luckily the house was untouched and they were at work when it all happened, but that's way too close for comfort. It also destroyed many of the places we like to go when I'm visiting them in Moore, as well as schools, homes, and the lives of innocent people. It breaks my heart to be 6000 miles away when all this is going on. I wish more than anything that I could be there to help with the clean up. My aunt also had her roof blown off her house, so prayers there as well. Your prayer list, if it's anything like mine, is probably so long you don't have time to sleep, but keep praying.

With all that out of the way, I think it's time to move on to something a little more light.

I can't remember if I said this last time or not, and I'm too lazy to go back and check but...my mom bought her plane ticket to come visit me!!!! I can't wait to show her all the amazing things I've discovered!!!

Last weekend was Buddha's birthday. Even though I'm not Buddhist, I love an excuse for a long weekend. My group of Oklahoma girls headed off to Busan on Thursday night. Busan is kind of like the Florida of Korea. Beaches, restaurants, bars, shopping. All the great things we needed on this long holiday weekend. On top of all that, a lot of foreigners,  especially from our program, were going to Busan as well. Reunions with these people are always fun! It was nice getting to see a lot of familier faces. We stayed at an amazing hostel and felt like royalty all weekend, got sunburns at the beach, stayed out entirely too late making new friends and having Korean soup for breakfast, shopping, visiting the aquarium* with possibly every other Korean in Korea and eating all that good Western food we'd been missing. It was a nice, relaxing weekend and I'm so glad we got to go. I didn't get many pictures for some reason, but here are a few I did get. I also got the sunburn of a lifetime.


*If anyone is reading this and planning on visiting Busan, personally, I think the Busan Aquarium is something worth skipping. I am no aquarium professional, but it's up there on my list of things I love right next to Butterfingers. I've been to a few in my day and this one claims to be much cooler than it is. It wasn't bad by any means, but for the amount of people and the price, Coex Aquarium blows this one out of the water. No pun intended. Maybe during a weekday it'd be better.

Haeundae Beach

Freezing water and a cute Korean girl laughing at us for being dumb enough to get in...to our ankles. 

Korean sun: 1   Kyla: 0     well played, Korea. 

So back to this week one more time. I have a fever blister bigger than Texas and so I was really nervous to go to school. It's bad enough to have everyone asking what happened, but it's a whole new level when I try to explain it to people who don't know the words fever blister. lol What did I do about that, you ask? Well, I told my 2, 3, and 4th graders I got bit by a lion. hahaha they believed me I'm pretty sure, and it was hilarious. They all said, "OH, TEACHER! A LION!!!!" So mean hilarious! Anyway, on Tuesday I called in sick because the fever blister had me feeling very under the weather, so my classes were cancelled. Today, one of my sweet second grade girls came to class even more excited than normal and hands me this....

Deer Teacher

I said, "Oh, for me?!" and she said, "Yes!! Open!!!" She was so excited, and I will admit that I was too.  So I opened the little home made envelope and pulled out this little gem....

Just wait, it gets sweeter. So then I open it and read it, trying to hold back tears. What a sweet little girl. Moments like this make all the other bad days okay. This also happens to be the smartest little girl I've ever met. Her English is better than most Korean college kids who have had English since 3rd grade. She's amazing and tells me her and her mother practice English at home all the time. Clearly that's a true statement. I guarantee this little girl wrote this letter without any help. I was so impressed. Read on...

It reads:

Deer teacher

Yesterday, do you have a sick? teacher, I want you'r health. Well, Good By

I love you

That's also a picture of me, clearly, and the speech bubble says, Hello? I'm Kella. lol Good try, kid.

Isn't that the sweetest thing you've ever read!? Koreans have a huge emphasis on health and are very concerned about exercising and staying healthy, so in the second sentence she meant she wants me to be healthy. lol

And here she is now...Sarah! She's the little angel behind this sweet letter. Isn't she so cute?

Then there's this...

What is that, you ask? Well..remember the sweet old ladies who are outside sometimes when I walk to school? And remember how I gave them a little snack a couple of weeks ago? Well they were outside again today. I walk up to them and bow, saying hello. They say hello and then a few things in Korean. I don't understand what they're saying..still, until one of them pulls that candy out of her pocket for me! I take it with two hands, which is how you're supposed to in Korea to show respect and I bow and say thank you a couple of times in Korean. They laugh at my Korean attempts again, but you can tell they appreciate it. Sweetest little ladies. They really give me a good start my day when they're out there.

Okay, that's all for now! Thanks for reading. Love you all and praying for America, Oklahoma, Moore, and everything else.

-Kyla

Seoul Weekends

It's been a while since I've updated, so I'll go over the highlights of my last couple of weeks.
Speaking of highlights, my hair turned out great! haha I love it and was very pleased with my hairdresser. His English was good and we even talked about Kim Kardashian, so I was a happy girl! I'll give you a small glimpse of our conversation: (his name is Michelle, so for the purpose of this he'll be M and I'll be K.)

M: Oh, is this your first time getting your hair colored in Korea?
K: Yes! I needed it so bad!
M: Oh, you are sooo nervous?
K: No, I read a lot of good things about you before I came here, so I know you can do it.
M: Oh no! Now I have to do good! Scary!!    haha he joked like that a few times.

M: So, no orange hair?


K: PLEASE NO ORANGE!
M: (laughs) Okay, I will try to make no orange hair.

Four foils away from finishing my whole head:

M: I think I will make your hair lighter, okay?
K: Uh, yes please. That's what I wanted you to do.
M: Okay good, that's what I do.

hahaha Good thing that's what I wanted.

Michelle looking at a fashion magazine:

M: Kim Kardasian. She has baby with Kanye. Kim Kardashian no more. She ruined that now.
hahaha I loved it! He also serenaded me the whole time he was doing my head. Guess that's why he couldn't tell me about making my hair lighter until 4 foils away from the end. Totally understandable. lol He also took a break to go eat ramen. "It is my lunch time now, you wait." So I sat in my foils and waited like I was told. lol So glad it turned out well!

Look at that blonde hair! 

After getting my hair done, I explored Seoul all day by myself. It was actually really relaxing and nice to go at whatever pace I wanted. I was a little worried I would get lost bored by myself all day, but somehow I managed! That night, I met up with one of my new friends, Tab. She's from Texas and has been super helpful with Korea things since before I got here, so we met up and went to one of her favorite bars. We ran into two of her other friends and hung out with them all night. I met a ton of new people and the girls were so much fun. I eventually turned in because I had been up for so long, I was pretty tired. We all met up the next day for some pizza and getting ready before the concert that we never made it to. lol But that's okay, because we still had an amazing night in Hongdae. Those girls are so much fun! I can't imagine living in Seoul, it's so much fun! We ended the weekend with some much needed On the Border. It was Children's Day here in Korea, but obviously we celebrated Cinco De Mayo instead.

Three of the four new friends before a night out!

Monday was the start of the school week AND finals week!! It also marked the last week of college for many of my friends! Special shout out to Kelsey! I'm so sad I couldn't make it to graduation, but you made it and I'm so proud! Give me 5 more years and I may graduate too! hahaha But finals week ended, and it is officially Summer break for this girl. It doesn't really feel like summer break since I did all online classes and I'm still teaching all summer, but that didn't mean I didn't want to celebrate by going to Seoul! haha

After school on Friday, Laura, Emilee and I set off to Seoul. (Can you tell I really love Seoul? Because I do. haha) We made it pretty early and decided to go to Taco Bell for dinner. Ironically enough, we ran into two different TaLK scholars while at Taco Bell. Obviously we are all missing that crappy "Mexican" fast food. lol But what's even more mind blowing is that in a city of 11 million people, we somehow manage to run into TWO people that we know?! HOW?!? I love it!
We ended up going to Zen Bar for a little bit and meeting this awesome Korean couple. They were so funny and their English was pretty good!


The next day we woke up and went to N Seoul Tower. It's a huge tower that overlooks the city. It was pretty cool, I'm glad we went. We took a cable car up the hill to the tower, then saw the Locks of Love at the bottom of the tower. It's so cute. There are fences with thousands (or millions, I'm bad at estimating) locks and other things with love confessions written all over them. The story goes, you and your significant other are to come to the bridge together and put a padlock on the fence with a message attached. When you lock it, you put the key in a box so that the lock is never opened, because obviously that would cause your love to end. There were all kinds of different ways to express your love. We saw cell phone cases, pictures, a wooden spoon with loving words written all over them. So sweet!

These, my friends, are love benches. They are purposely slanted so you can sit as close as possible to your loved one. 

Writing something....

Left my mark on one of the Love Benches! 

Couples leaving sticker pictures of themselves. 

Picture locks! 

Cell phone case locks! 

This was so much sweeter in person, but this dad was pointing to things and telling his son stuff. I'm assuming he was giving him life lessons about love. It was so cute! 

Millions of locks! 

Seoul Tower in the background

N Seoul Tower

We went back after the tower and rested before going out that night to the Lotus Lantern Festival. This festival is in Buddha's honor and held in Seoul every year with millions of lanterns. We made it to the parade and saw a lot of cool lanterns  then made our way down to some river that was lined with lanterns and had so many onlookers it was crazy. But that's the way it always is in Seoul, I guess! We ended up meeting back up with my friends from last weekend and hanging out a bit before calling it a night.

Parade of lanterns! 

A fire breathing dragon lantern float! 

The river was lined with beautiful lanterns. 

On the river

Lanterns and people as far as the eye can see!

Sunday we woke up and headed to Itaewon for brunch. It was so good and western! yum!!! It was much needed. lol After a delicious breakfast, we walked around in Itaewon for a little bit, then headed to Gangnam. We went into Coex in hopes of finding a jacket I had been wanting, but no luck. We eventually headed back to the hostel and rested before dinner. We found so many good places this weekend. I can't wait until my mom gets here and I can show her some of them!

Look at that plate of American goodness! 

Today is Monday, and our schools were on vacation so we stayed in Seoul last night. We woke up and took our time getting around and then headed to a little restaurant called Butterfinger Pancake! If you've been keeping up with the blog, you'll understand how pumped I was to go check this little gem out. Unfortunately the closest Butterfinger was still about 6,000 miles away, but it was such good food! I was too excited about it to take pictures. lol I highly recommend it if you're ever in Gangnam! Imagine the deliciousness of a Butterfinger pancake though...omg. That may have just moved up to the top of my list of this to do when I get back to America...in 79 days...not that I'm keeping track.

We finally made it back to Gunsan and are preparing for a super short work week. I'm always off on Wednesdays, but school was also closed on Monday (today) and Friday we have off for Buddha's birthday. I'm not exactly Buddhist, but man I'm glad to have the holiday time! Thursday night we're making our way down to Busan to lounge on the beach and do some shopping. Should be a wonderful weekend! This white girl needs some sun and some cute new summer clothes!

Love you all, thanks for reading and have a good week! :)

-Kyla

Just a normal time trying to exit the subway station

Found this little lady! 

Also found this! What in the world!!! 

And this! KD!! OKC represent!

And last, but definitely not least....check on this chunky little Korean nugget. omg I'm dying. I love him so much! We danced the night away in confetti covered streets! He was totally into too, if you can't tell by the excitement on his face.

Okay, the last two sentences are a lie. I may or may not have scarred him for life. He will likely hate foreigners forever, but I'm not even mad about it. He was too cute not to dance with. Omg I melt every time I look at this picture! Unfortunately, our feelings towards each other were not exactly mutual. haha

OMG! Look at those cheeks! Korean babies are the cutest!

Happy 3 Month-aversary!!!

Well what do you know, Korea and I have officially been together for three months! Seems unreal to me that I've been here for three months. And even though I really like Korea a lot, I'm looking forward to our break up on July 31st. It's been a good relationship, but I'm miss America. haha

I also miss:

• my friends, family and boyfriend
• Q'doba
• Panda Express (Don't tell me I'm in an Asian country and shouldn't miss fake fast-food Chinese, I love it, okay?) (Disclaimer- I actually really do like Korean food a lot and have already talked about going to the Korean restaurants when I get back, but I love fast-food-American-Chinese food. haha) 
• Dryers (My clothes are so stiff and gross all the time.) 
• Mexican food in general.
• Queso
• Jalapeños (They have a ton of spicy stuff here, but none of it is jalapeños.)
• Butterfingers
• Not paying $13.00 for a normal bottle of lotion that you'd buy from Target for $3.00. YES! $13.00!!! Outrageous, right?! Somethings are so strangely expensive. Lotion being one of them. 
• I actually don't miss driving as much as I thought I would, but I do miss my pretty new car!

With all that being said, I'm celebrating my three month-aversary by getting my hair highlighted. I'm starting to look trashy with my roots coming through, so tomorrow I'm venturing to Seoul alone to get my hair done. Scary! I'm more nervous about traveling alone to a city with over 20 million people in it than I am about getting my hair highlighted by a Korean man. I did extensive research on the topic of getting blonde highlights in an Asian country, since as you can imagine, blonde isn't the main color choice here. haha My hair guy seemed to check out though. I read several blog reviews about him and found out he studied overseas so he has a ton of foreign hair experience, speaks English, and works in Itaewon-the foreign district of Seoul. I think all of those things make for a good hair coloring time! Stay tuned for a blog on that though, it could go either way I suppose. I've heard several horror stories about girls trying to get their blonde hair done over here and it can go pretty badly sometimes. Korean hair is naturally much more coarse than Western hair, so the chemicals are so much stronger, plus as I said before, blonde isn't exactly the most popular color of choice here in Asia. I'm hoping and praying for a good hair do, but I'll be sure to take some before and after pictures!

This week I ate an octopus tentacle with some noodles and it was actually not bad. I think I'm getting the hang of this Korean thing. I also finally bought a bus card, so it's safe to say that I'm feeling pretty Korean today. haha So now instead of nervously fumbling for change when I get on the bus, I scan my card like a pro and keep walking. Funny thing about that though, I actually have only used it once. I scanned it and kept walking, feeling like a proud owner of a brand new bus card, only to have the bus driver yell something in Korean at me. Luckily for me, the nice guy behind me spoke a tiny bit of English and told me my card had an error and didn't read so I needed to try again. Embarrassing...  haha And there I was just strutting through the bus like I had done it a hundred times.

Also, remember the old ladies I befriended on the way to school a while back? Well, I took them a little snack from my house today. Koreans are always giving gifts to each other, so I figured it was only appropriate for me to give them something to show them how much I enjoyed them talking to me, (even though I still don't understand a word of it. It's kind of fun narrating our conversations though. haha) as opposed to the other end of the spectrum where they give you this death glare that basically screams, "What are you doing in my country!" That doesn't happen too often, but man, some people are really not happy to see me. Jokes on them, if only they knew I'd bring them snacks. lol So I go up to them on the way to school today and we have our normal hello time, then I tell them I have something for them (Yes, in English. haha I should have practiced that phrase in Korean..maybe next time.) So I pull it out of my backpack and they start acting like little kids on Christmas morning. They were so happy and shook my hand a million times. It was so cute. Then one of them pointed to her neck, where a necklace would be, and said something. I'm assuming she said, "Oh your necklace is so beautiful!" so naturally, I responded with thank you (In Korean this time, score!) So the other one, who's much more touchy feely, motioned me to come closer just like last time she looked at my eyes, except this time grabbed my necklace and gave it a shake, then said a bunch of things in Korean and they both laughed. I'm assuming it was more compliments on how beautiful my necklace was. haha I followed that up again with thank you (in Korean) and told them I had to go to school (in English). What fun little ladies.

Okay, that's all for now. I've gotta get some sleep so I can make it to the bus terminal and head off to Seoul tomorrow morning. I'm allowing myself a lot of extra time to get lost, just in case! Better safe than sorry, right?

-Kyla

Here's a little bonus video for you that was supposed to go in the Parting of the Sea blog post, but I forgot to post! It won't actually upload into my blog for some reason. Keeps saying there's an error, but I'll post the link! :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_ZnkJuT4MM