Instagrammin' | September 2012

In September, we spent the beginning of the month re-adjusting to school life and officially beginning our second year in Korea. 

1. Teaching at the Jeonpo Welfare Center. These kids are always so happy and give their best effort in class. I love teaching them. 
2. Chuseok gift sets. Korea's equivalent of Thanksgiving is Chuseok. For gifts, they give presents like spam or canned tuna.
3. Soul Food. I was having a bad day and Markus prepared a delicious dinner of BBQ ribs, and corn bread. I'm a lucky girl.
4. Reunited. Markus and I were finally able to meet with our original little brother, Dae-hwannie.

5. Brainstorming. Markus and I are currently working on a children's book and we spend many nights at cafes brainstorming. Although, most of the time it's Markus creating beautiful sketches and me being amazed.
6. My old college roommate, Angela, visited Korea, but we were unable to meet. Although, she was still able to send me some goodies from home via her cousin. Oh how I've missed the yummy taste of Aunt Jemima's.
7. New Sunday Tradition. Markus and I started a Sunday tradition of pancakes and Are You Afraid of the Dark? How awesome is that? 
8. New shoes. While in the UK, I was finally able to find shoes that fit me and these ones were adorable. So happy to finally buy a new pair of shoes! 

A Classy Birthday Celebration

My birthday this year, I have to admit, was a really classy affair. Markus really outdid himself and I'm so thankful for him. As I've gotten older, I've realized that my birthdays have become more and more subdued. This year, Markus and I planned a very low key but exciting day.

The night before, Markus gave me a few presents to open. He created this personalized memo pad. He knows how much I love pandas and that I always say that they're my best friend. I'm also going through a bit of a fox phase, so that's why he drew a gentleman fox balloon. On the back, he drew a persimmon machine. Since moving to Korea, all I can do is eat these things. They are so delicious and have been one of my favorite fruits since I was a kid. I love that Markus always creates these little personalized gifts for me. They mean so much more than purchased gifts.

My other amazing presents were these amazing socks with mustaches, bow ties, top hats and astronauts. He also bought me this beautiful leather purse. I've been dying for a classic brown purse and this one is perfect. It's a beautiful tan color and big enough to fit all of my stuff in.

When I woke up, Markus made a delicious pancake breakfast. Then we went to Seomyeon for a mini-shopping spree. Almost everything I'm wearing in these pictures is a birthday present from Markus. Korea has great fashion and clothes. My closet is literally overflowing with clothes. It's one of the things I'm going to miss the most when we leave.

We both decided that on the day of my birthday we would go to Haedong Yonggungsa or as I affectionately like to call it, the water temple. This was definitely the best temple I've ever seen in Korea, because a lot of the temples tend to look the same. They have the same color scheme and structure, but this temple was breathtaking. It's right on the shoreline and the surrounding areas are just as beautiful. I'm glad that we saved this for my birthday because it was a nice way to stay in Busan but still see something new.

After Yonggungsa, Markus treated me to a yummy dinner at one of the nicest places I've been to in Busan, Taps and Tapas. It's more of a bar/bistro than restaurant and is located in Haeundae. I've been to a lot of bars in Busan, but none of them had the same feeling as Taps and Tapas. It was very stylish and chic. It felt a bit like a bar back home. The decor was really sophisticated and they had a full menu of cocktails and mixed drinks. The food was surprisingly delicious. Usually, when we go to a "western style" restaurant, there are still touches of Korean cuisine. Everything at Taps and Tapas tasted very good, not completely authentic, but still very good. Markus and I are already planning when we can go again.

When we finished dinner, we headed back home and ended the evening with kimbap, Moscato and chocolate cake. It was a long day, but it was a great day. I spent it with the most important person in my life, doing the things I wanted to do and feeling loved and cherished. I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Wandering Wednesday | Tennessee Road Trip | 1 of 3

In the summer of 2009, Markus and I went on a second road trip. At the time, I was teaching middle school and high school students at a private Christian school. This school was very different from other schools. They encouraged the teachers and students to form healthy relationships. Teachers were seen as mentors and role models for the students. I know it sounds a bit strange when you're outside of the situation, but many of my old students still check in and catch up. Some even still ask for advice, so in all honesty I think it was a good thing. 

I explain all of this because in the summer of 2009, Markus and I went on a road trip with some of my students, Trevor, Jordan and Victoria. Victoria's grandmother owned an awesome cabin in Tennessee, so Victoria planned a trip with Trevor and Jordan. Through a strange course of events, Markus and I ended up going with them as well. Which was very fortunate.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

UFO House

We made a lot of great memories on that trip. One of my favorites was when we drove through the night from Florida to Chattanooga, Tennessee. We were all exhausted and tried to sleep in the car on the way. It was impossible. We went straight to Ruby Falls when we arrived in Chattanooga, but we were too early, around 4 am. We didn't check into a hotel over night because we were going straight to the cabin after Ruby Falls. 

So, we decided to camp out in the parking lot and sleep. All five of us tried to get comfortable and finally we all fell asleep. I remember waking up and only seeing four of us in the car, Trevor was missing. I was sitting in the driver's seat and looked in the side view mirror and saw Trevor's feet and legs on the ground. He was lying behind the car. I freaked and immediately jumped out to see what happened. When I finally reached him, I realized that he was just sleeping. We didn't run him over. A few minutes later, a security guard came over and told him he couldn't sleep on the ground in a parking lot. It was quite funny and we all couldn't stop laughing.

Another place we visited was Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee. I've always wanted to go to a plantation and added bonus, this one was supposedly haunted. The area around the plantation was the site of one of the bloodiest battles during the Civil War, The Battle of Franklin. The battle only lasted for five hours, but resulted in about 9,500 dead, wounded or missing soldiers. The actual plantation served as a hospital for the wounded and dying. When we toured the place we could still see blood stains in the floorboards. It was definitely eerie, but also very interesting learning about our history. 

The first part of our trip was a lot of fun. We stopped at random places we saw on the road. It was very reminiscent of our Florida road trip we took earlier in the year. We basically did whatever caught our eye. We were watching a lot of Supernatural then, so it was basically like were hunters on a weeklong hunt. We stopped at creepy caves in mountains, walked through deserted forests and visited haunted houses. It was great.  Though we never saw any ghosts, you bet your bottom if we did, we had gasoline and salt on hand. 

November Volunteering

This month's volunteering event was a Thanksgiving extravaganza. The kids created Native American headbands, hand turkeys, Pilgrim hats and sat down for a bit of face painting. It was one of the best experiences I've had in Korea so far. 

Every time I go to the women's shelter, I'm overwhelmed at how amazing and funny these kids are. They are the sweetest and cutest kids. I could go on about how adorable they are, but I think the pictures will do better.

Seriously, how adorable are these faces? I just want to pinch all of their cheeks, which I did for most of the day. To be fair, it didn't seem like they minded the attention.

This time around there were more volunteers than kids. The turnout was incredible and it was awesome to see so many people sacrificing their afternoons. Although, after spending 20 minutes with them, it's easy to see why it's not a hard sacrifice. Even though many of the kids don't speak English, their actions and faces show all of their emotion.

Kasim, Markus, Steven and Bathroom

Again, Kasim and Markus used their artistic talents to paint and sketch whatever the kids wanted. One of our favorite students, told Markus, Kasim and Steven that he wanted all of their faces on his face. After he was done having the boys painted on his face, he asked Markus to draw me and "tall teacher" on his hands. Words cannot express how much I love him. He's such a witty kid and is always joking around. 

While volunteering I met Jeff, who is the spitting image of a younger version of my brother, Chris. Every time I see him, it's hard not to feel an instant connection since he resembles family. It's actually quite nice to see a "familiar" face.

Me and Min-Gyeongie

I had such a great time with these. There was one girl, Min-Gyeongie, who wouldn't let me go. She kept coming back and hugging me. I think these kids lack a lot of physical affection and when the volunteers come, they see it as a way to fulfill that need. It's a heartbreaking truth, but it's a reality that these kids have to face. 

When I think about what these kids have gone through at such a young age, I get so angry. I look at their faces and ask myself, "why would anyone lay a hand on these children?" I'm so thankful that I can spend time with them. It's humbling to know that these kids look forward to just a few hours with a volunteer.  Although, spending time with them is also a blessing to me. I'm so thankful that I have the opportunity to do something like this while I'm in Korea.

Samgyetang and Darts

Junho, Me and Junnie

Recently, Markus created a logo for our friend, Junnie. He has a podcast that focuses on Korean politics with his friend Junho. As a thank you to Markus, they both took us out to dinner. It was unexpected but very sweet. Junnie is one of the sweetest and most genuine people I've ever met.

Junnie doesn't speak English fluently and sometimes we have to use Google translate, but it's worth it. His friendship means so much to us. Sometimes, he'll call just to say hello or to check in. Often when we meet for dinner, he'll research the best places in the area and take us there. Once, he he took Markus and I to KSU, a popular university area in Busan, and basically took us on a date. We went to this really fancy Italian place. Afterward, we went for a walk around a nearby college campus. When we finished walking, he took us to a really cute cafe. I asked him how he knew about all these places and he said, that he did all those things with his girlfriend Henna.

Samgyetang (삼계탕)

Galbitang (갈비탕)

Ginseng Pajeon (파전)

When we met recently, Junnie and Junho decided to take us to a samgyetang restaurant. Lately, I've been really sick and the minute Junnie heard my voice, he decided to take us somewhere that would help me feel better. Again, this kid is so thoughtful and sweet. He's always thinking about others.

Junnie said that the restaurant is very popular with older people because of the health benefits of the soups. He wasn't wrong, I think the four of us were the only young people in the entire place. There were even different varieties of samgyetang for specific purposes, like gender specific types. I was really tempted to order the female version for one of the boys. I ordered the samgyetang to help raise immunity and stamina.  It was really delicious and after eating the samgyetang, I felt revitalized.

After dinner, we went to my favorite dart bar. Before we arrived, I said, "Are you ready to lose?" I should've kept my mouth shut because my dart game was completely off. Usually, I kill at darts. I demolish everyone, but that night I was awful. Junho told us before that he's not good at darts but he obliterated us. There was no chance that any of us could beat him. We played three games and he won every single game. It was horrible. 

Despite my awful dart playing, the evening was great. We always have fun with Junnie. Junho was also really great, this was our first time meeting him. I didn't like that be beat me at darts, but it's okay. He was a really nice guy. I always enjoy moments like these in Korea because it reminds me of why we came here. We wanted to experience another country, but also see it from the point of view of the residents. Sometimes, I feel like an outsider, but moments like these, I feel like this is where I belong.