Life.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I finally moved into my apartment. 

Scratch that.  I just moved into a crack den.

Updates to come.

Techy Korea.

There was a flair show at one of the bars we stopped at the other night.  The bartenders were throwing flaming bottles around everywhere.  After watching for a while, we started to get thirsty.  There were no waitresses in sight.  We were just about to leave before someone realized that the iPad in front of us wasn't just something a drunk person left behind, it was a menu.  Ordering was so easy.  You punch it what you want and, poof, it's headed your way.

Flair Bar in Gangnam.

You Owe Me A "Juice" Box

If you know me at all, you know that I enjoy an occasional drink or two.  And if I enjoy a drink or two, Koreans enjoy the whole bottle.  They have a drinking culture that I sometimes can barely keep up with.  Bars in this area basically stay open until everyone leaves.  It doesn't matter if it's midnight or eight in the morning.  You can also drink while you walk down the street.  Without penalty.  So rad. 

When we went into Seoul this weekend, we stopped at a small vendor for a drink.  Turns out they come in bags.  I felt like a kid drinking a Capri Sun as I wandered down the street drinking my screw driver.

I love Korean bag drinks.

Hangin' out on the streets of Gangnam.

My Babies.

This is my "Jaguar" class. I see them every day of the week for 90 minutes and they are so stinkin' smart.  They're only 4 years old and can speak, write, and read English better than I could at age 10.  It's ridiculous, but I love them already.

KPOP Rules.

So basically, Korea seems to be stuck in the 90s when it comes to their pop music.  I've already discovered many of these bands, so I'll just be dropping these little gems in this blog from time to time. 

Meet the Korean Backstreet Boys, 2 PM.  Hope you're ready to get your socks rocked.

I heard one of my 5 year-olds singing "Put your hands up.  Put your drinks up."  the other day.  It was a bit disturbing at first, but now I completely understand.

The Sing Off.

One of the coolest things I've discovered in Korea so far is a noraebong.  A noraebong is basically kareoke, but you get a private room for just you and your friends.  There's a huge screen to read the lyrics with music videos playing in the background, AND you can bring your own beer.  Although there are plenty of Korean songs, we spent the better part of 2 hours belting out classics like Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys.  I wish I would have taken a video, we'd probably be a YouTube sensation... 

Signed. Sealed. Delivered.

Here's my address.  Just in case any of you feel like sending me a love note - or maybe some holiday cheer.  (And because everyone keeps asking for it.)

Jess Vetter
Suji SLP
5F. Joongsu Plaza, 1080-20 Pungdeokcheon-Dong
Suji-Gu Yongin-City
Kyeonggi-Do,
South Korea
448-170

...and yes I know it's like a million lines long.

Playing Telephone.

Here are some photos from the day I made "telephones" with Bear class.  They're around 7 years old.  The materials we were given to make these included: 2 cups, a spring, and 2 matches.  Why the school thought matches would be a good idea to hold the spring, I'll never understand.  Trying to keep 4 kids from burning down a building was quite difficult, but worth it in the end.  After the chaos of making them was finished, they spent almost half an hour singing Christmas carols to each other through their phones.

Thanksgiving in Korea.

On Saturday a large group of foreign teachers went into Seoul for an "American Thanksgiving".  Aaaand it was great.  Although many of the teachers I went with are actually from Canada-and so was the chef, everyone seemed to enjoy the meal.  They had all of the Turkey Day staples, from turkey to stuffing to cranberry sauce.  They even had repeats of American football games playing on the bigscreen TVs.  Here's a picture of our Korean friend, Jung-Eun, before she dug into her first Thanksgiving meal.

Thanksgiving in Korea

You Have Got To Be Kidding Me.

In one of the classes I was observing today, we read a story about a pelican.  Upon completion, we showed these 3rd graders a bunch of pictures of different kinds of birds.  There was everything from parrots, to hummingbirds, to chicadees.  After spending time going over each bird, the kids were supposed to write a paragraph about their favorite bird.  You know, what it looks like, what it eats, etc.

I am not kidding that 7 out of 8 kids wrote about...

wait for it...

Angry Birds.



I give them points for creativity, but you've got to be kidding me.  Angry Birds are huge over here.  These kids have angry bird socks, backpacks, erasers, you name it.  But seriously, in class?  I'll admit that I've wasted countless hours playing that stupid game, but we couldn't stop laughing as they all read us their serious descriptions of their favorite bird and how it likes to eat ugly pigs.

Happy Thanksgiving.

I almost forgot it was turkey day today, until I went to the coffee shop and saw that they make sweet potato lattes here.  That's right, swett potato.  On a whim I decided, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, to try one.  I must admit that it kicks the Starbucks pumpkin latte's butt.  Strange as it sounds, I would order it again.

Next, I decided to stop at the Subway down the road for a turkey sandwich for lunch.  I've been trying not to each American food, but it seemed like the only option.  Bigtime fail, I was informed they don't serve turkey. So much for that.

UPDATE:  Subway totally serves turkey sandwiches here.  Whoever told me they didn't needs to get their facts straight...

My next stop after work is to try TGI Fridays.  There's one right down the block.  Hopefully they can whip me up a turkey club or something.

SLP

SLP is the name of the school I work at. It stands for Sogang Language Program. This is a picture of the school's most advanced student, Steve, and the teacher I will be replacing, Victoria. More coming soon!

Kimchi is Life.

South Koreans eat a spicy fermented cabbage dish, Kimchi, with every single meal. I'm not even exaggerating, it's everywhere. So far I've seen Kimchi as a couple different side dishes, Kimchi soup, Kimchi rolls, and my favorite-Kimchi Mandu.

Mandu is the best thing I've had in Korea so far. It's basically a big ball of dough with something delicious stuffed inside. So far I've tried the pork and the Kimchi. They're both to die for.

First Night Out.

I'm so glad I got to stay with Meagan instead of spend my first week in some kind of janky hotel.  It's nice having a built-in tour guide. 

Meagan, Ashley, and Rebecca took me to a cute Korean BBQ restaurant last night.  Eating is an experience here.  Everything is shared, family style.  There are about a million different dishes on the table of sauces and dips and sides-most of which I still have no idea what they are yet-and you prepare your own meat on a little grill that sits in the middle of the table.

We drank beer and had shots of something called Soju.  It's similar to vodka, but goes down smoother.  It can be dangerous (or so I hear).  Soju is a staple in South Korea and I'm told I will be seeing-or drinking-it often.  After dinner we met up with a few others at a bar about a block away.  Korean bars are interesting.  You grab whatever you want out of a cooler, then bring it to a counter to pay.  It reminds me of a gas station.

I have to go to the doctor, get a cell phone, make a bank account, and meet all of my classes tomorrow!  I'm super excited.

Pictures are coming soon-I promise.

Wino.

I absolutely LOVE international flights.  Sure it's a bummer to be sitting in the same place for fourteen hours straight, but as long as you don't end up in the seat next to a crying baby or a smelly old man, life is good.  Asiana had tons of new movies to watch, games to play, and best of all-they're constantly feeding you.

My favorite part of this flight (besides the solid shut-eye time) was the flight attendant that kept giving me wine.  If someone continually gives me snacks and practically forces wine down my throat for the equivalent of half a day, call me a happy camper.

I finally arrived in Korea on Monday night.  My bags were the first to arrive and after an easy stop at the customs office a school staff person named Jason was waiting for me, holding a big sign with my name on it.  It was awesome.  We drove an hour to the town of Suji-which is a suburb of Seoul and the place I'll be living and working for the next year-and he dropped me off at Meagan's apartment.  I'll be staying in her extra room until next weekend when Victoria leaves.

A couple of the other foreign teachers have just convinced me to go to dinner with them even though I can barely keep my eyes open.  Wish me luck.

Long Day, Long Night

I'm tired.  And by tired I mean like really, really exhausted.  After getting exactly two hours of sleep on Saturday night, I arrived at the Minneapolis airport around four on Sunday morning.  The only major bonus to this horribly early flight to Chicago was that they bumped me up to First Class.  Needless to say the heated seats helped me to snooze for the entire ride.  All 45 minutes of it.

Now I'm at the tail end of my six hour layover in Chicago and boy am I ready for a nap.

T-5 Days!

All of the sudden I'm so nervous I could puke.

How to pack?

I'm still not sure how I'm expected to fit everything I need for an entire year into less than 100 pounds of luggage.  Besides the fact that there are four seasons in South Korea-meaning I need to pack everything from winter coats, to rain boots, to bikinis-I just plain like clothes.  Choosing what to leave behind will be a long procedure.  There are plenty of websites with suggestions about everything that I'll need, but there's no way to tell until I get there.  Let's be honest, even though I'm starting the process early, I still won't be completely packed when it's time to hit the road in 5 days.

Wish me luck.

The Party.

The weekend before my departure, some of my nearest and dearest friends and family took off on what we liked to call the "Martin County Tour".  Here are a few highlights from the day...

  

Although the scavenger hunt might have gotten a bit out of control-it was SO much fun.  

Thank you to the Drapers for allowing us to get rather rowdy at their bar, and everyone else who was able to attend.  I'll miss you all while I'm gone!

And so it begins.

Here it is, folks.  This will be the place that I (hopefully) document the trials and tribulations of my year-long adventure to South Korea. 

Check back often, and feel free to leave comments. 

TOODALOO USA!