Back and finally resting

I've been back now for almost 3 weeks.  I'm surprised by that fact actually, as it's gone by so quickly.  I've been busy I guess.  Upon returning from the US, I rested for a couple days and repacked for a week on a hillside with 100 winter English campers.  I had no TV and very limited internet access during that time, but luckily was so busy I rarely thought about it.  The facilities were alright, though I had to wake up extra early if I wanted a warm shower separate from the students, and the curriculum was more fun and less grueling than I expected.  I also couldn't have asked for a better Teaching Assistant, Scott.

With a schedule from 9am to 9pm, you'd think you'd be exhausted - and I was, honestly - but classes included clay art, dance, pop-up cards, a quiz show, and board games alongside the usual pronunciation, letter writing, speaking, reading, and drama classes.  (I lump drama in with the other dull subjects because it was just too difficult for the kids.  I mean, the same plays as the middle schoolers used the week before??  I don't think so.  Little 3rd-6th graders just can't memorize that much, nor do they have the attention span to want to!)  But, as I've said, I was happy with how the week went over all.  There was a good mix of fun and non-fun stuff, some cool activities, and the kids got to speak a lot of English.

Scott & Sonja's (self-named) English Student Army shortly after receiving their diplomas

Aside from the drama class, the kids also had to memorize and perform a song and dance routine masterminded by you-know-who.  I'll post a video below.  My students did much better on the song in rehersal, but they were very tired when it came time for the final performance.  Their drama still needed work but they really pulled it together at the last minute.  I was very proud of all their hard work and ultimately they took 3rd place; Each kiddie earned $2 in tiny paper money to redeem for candies at the camp shop. 

The Lion Sleeps Tonight - Performed by Scott & Sonja's English Student Army at Gijang County Winter Camp 2009

Then after all that, not realizing how tired I was, I quickly dropped my things at home and took the train to Daegu to visit a friend for the weekend.  BIG mistake.  I was only viable company on Friday evening before the crash.  All day Saturday I felt icky and that night I had planned to return to Busan to sleep it off, until a friend phoned and said she'd unexpectedly be in Daegu, and did I want to show her around my old stomping grounds?  Well, of course!  I'm always up for a party, plus I wanted to see these girls.  So, although I was having a terrible night waiting to feel better and instead feeling incrementally worse, there I was out on the town.  Whatever, I'm young right?  (Yeah, right!  Everyone I meet these days is like 20.)  Finally, Sunday saw me on the train back home and falling asleep by nine. 

This week I'm only teaching 1.5 hours on Mon, Wed, and Fri, and though I've been asked to "desk-warm" at my school the rest of the school day, there's no one there and nothing to do so I've been coming home after my class.  The real kicker is that the office is basically the same temperature as it is outside with no hope for that to change until the semester begins again on Feb. 8th.  Those of you who know me at all can attest: my absolute least favorite state of being is cold.  So, until something more exciting happens, I'll wave goodbye.

(In the future, look for:  DMZ tour, diving with sharks at Busan Aquarium, more articles published, and of course tales of misadventure in ROK!)

Wherever you go, there you are. (Where in the World 2)

Sorry to have kept you all in suspense!  I'm safe at home in Korea and generally very happy about life.  My visit to Arizona was a great boost for me and it was amazing to be able to spend all that time with my father and sister. 
To pick up where we left off, the drive out to the Hot Springs turned into a rocky dirt path and dad didn't want his car to suffer the last 5 miles of the road.  So we turned around and walked around at Lake Pleasant instead.  A nice afternoon which we capped off with another trip to the sushi bar.

Another day, the three of us visited the Phoenix Zoo, though unfortunately many of the exciting animals were put away for whatever reason. Somewhere in this trip, New Years had to happen - Ellie and I booked tickets for a very hot looking party in LA and made a reservation at the hostel in Hollywood! About half-way there, we realized that was the first road trip we'd ever taken together, surprisingly.

We met my Korean friend in LA (he just moved there to go to college), went shopping, and ate some yummy Thai food before the big party. We all had a great time that night, stumbled back to the hostel at 2:30, got up in the morning and went exploring for New Years Day excitement. Typically there's nothing open, but around Santa Monica and Venice Beaches we found a bit of entertainment.

Shortly after returning to Phoenix, my sister left to meet her man in Denver and embark on her "real" vacation in Puerto Rico (*lucky duck!!!*) and my dad and I were left to pack up and say sayonara to ours.  We did allow ourselves one more touristy moment: Taliesin West is located just outside of the city.  Pronounced "tal-ee-EH-sin" this is the name of a winter house Frank Lloyd Wright designed for he and his wife.  He also started a school of architecture where he would bring students each fall.

Overall, it was an excellent trip.  Though I did have the worst trans-pacific flight on record, and trust me - I know what I'm talking about.  I've now made that flight seven times.  I love flying.  I love meeting new people, and am pretty understanding of people's quirks and habits.
This time, my mistake was clear.  I had arrived in LAX over 3 hours before my connecting flight with a need to check in.  I was first in line to get my boarding pass, and like usual I was busy checking my paperwork, assuring that my baggage was checked through, figuring out the security checkpoint, and finding my gate.  Too busy to ask for the aisle seat I wanted.  (Damn that poor memory of mine...)

So because of that one small error, and the fact that I was on what was probably the oldest plane in Asiana's fleet, my flight sucked.  So.  Bad.  My in-flight entertainment worked only intermittently, my overhead light never worked (so I couldn't even read), and the people around me were pretty ridiculous. 

I was so happy to get off that plane, onto the KTX, then into my bed at home I can't even tell you!  It took me almost 4 days to really recover from the jet-lag, and all my photos are trapped on my laptop (with which I can no longer connect to the internet, for no apparent reason), so please give me some time.  I'll be sure to let you know as soon as I post all the evidence :)

In the meantime, let me link you to my recent published articles.  I wrote about Busan for my friends up at Daegu Pockets Magazine: Battle of the Bands, my favorite bar/restaurant, and a great sauna here.  Flip to page 13, that says 2 days and 1 night in Busan.  Enjoy!

Where in the World 1

Dec. 23: Gijang, Korea
I wake up at 7am. My boyfriend and I carry all my things on the bus, he sends me off at Busan Station, and my train arrives in Seoul at 1:30. The next bus takes an hour to arrive at the airport then my plane leaves Incheon International at 4:40.

Dec. 23: San Francisco, USA
I couldn’t sleep on the plane, but had some great food. Cheap airfare, thanks to US Airways, was complemented by stellar food and service, thanks to Asiana Airlines. Now, it’s 10:50 and I’m standing in the immigration line waiting to get my passport peeked at, though I’ve started to think I won’t be able to tour Alcatraz. See, I should have 5½ hours to escape the airport but as it turns out I don’t pass customs until almost an hour later and it takes me 20 minutes to basically hand my bag to a representative to re-check through.
Now, I’ve got around 4 hours. I get to the Castro for lunch at 1 o’clock and walk around this vibrant, hip neighborhood to find one of the places I had researched from home. I find the address of one, but the name’s changed. Nevertheless, it looks nice, and I’m hungry. I finally emerge an hour later full of fresh porchetta sandwich, lemon red pepper chutney, pork jus, mozzarella arugula salad, and Hefeweizen (hey, I’m on vacation!).

I just got back to the airport after wandering around the Castro some more; didn’t have time for the Alcatraz tour as I’d hoped. I get to the gate – eggnog latte and carrot cake in hand – find out my flight was delayed 35 minutes, and eventually board my plane.

Dec. 23: Phoenix, USA
Our plane lands 30 minutes late, I wait forever for my suitcase, and then meet my family at the car. We drive back to our hotel, which is really more of an apartment, and I finally crash around 9:30 pm.

Dec. 24-29: Phoenix, USA
Over Christmas my family opened presents around the fireplace, had dinner out at a 4-star restaurant, caught the NFL game, and held a pizza cook-off. Since then we have eaten Mexican food, sushi, Benihana, and BBQ shrimp shish kebabs; we have watched a lot of football, been treated to a spa day, and saw Avatar in 3D IMAX.
I took a bath in the hotel, grilled outdoors, ate Oaxacan chicken molé, and turned up for more than a couple happy hours! Even the sushi bar had many drinks and food items ½ off during happy hour.
Today my dad, sis and I are off on a car trip to Castle Hot Springs to see if we can take a dip.

Young and Old

Young and Old
Originally uploaded by Keugisa

This photographer, Joseph Christopher Buchman, will have his work on display in Daegu this December. I particularly like this portrait of men on the subway.

Dearth is a funny word. It's too close to death for me.

I truly apologize for the lack of writing lately. I'm not about to be that person who starts to neglect their blog just because she gets a little busy - I'll be back in true form after the holidays. The reasons for my shortage of quality posts lately (yes, there are a few) are as follows:

Sick: I've been affected by 3 different physical conditions in the past 2 months, 2 of which I had to see the doctor for.

Happy: My bf has moved in with me! After a tough run of arguements, we managed to come to a good place in our relationship. He got a job with a local hotel and moved to my little apartment in Busan.

Famous: Word of my Korean sauna blog has been spreading, and recently I was asked to review the biggest spa in Asia, Hurshimchung in Busan for the foreigner magazine in Daegu, Daegu Pockets.  I had been wanting to go there anyway, so I took the challenge; a more-famous photog Simon Bond (his photos on flickr) accompanied to capture the place.  You'll see my article in the January issue.
This little bit of work instantly led to more.  I was then asked to revise another article introducing the Korean spa experience which will be printed in February.  Next, a project for an overnight trip to Busan featuring the Haeundae area restaurants and bars along with Battle of the Bands.  That article will also go out in January.  So, basically, I have been writing, you just can't see it yet! ^^

Photos of the 5 bands to play in the finals of Battle of the Bands

I lovingly fed and nurtered my article, which then was told it needed to lose some serious weight: 1600 words down to 1000 or less.  So, that's what I'm doing now.  I'll be back later!