Update!

Wow, where do I start? It's been so long since I've updated, and even the last time I updated, there was so much I didn't blog about. I'm so behind! I'll give brief updates and fast-forward to the present.

창덕궁 (Chang Duk Goong) 
I went here with my distant aunt, distant uncle, his wife and 3-year-old son during Chuseok weekend. My uncle wanted to take me somewhere "touristy." (They're so thoughtful!) This is the 4th Korean palace I have seen, and I was still in awe. The grounds are so so gorgeous. There are peaceful streams, luxuriously wide pathways, and lots of trees constantly shadowing you from the sun. The building architecture is similar, but there are also some landmarks that are more unique: You can find gazebos, stone walls, a tree in the middle of a lake, etc.I think it is more well-kept because they have more money available from the admission fees they collect. My aunt told me that parts of the palace are consistently closed for its upkeep. If a traveler had to choose one palace to visit, I would definitely tell him/her to go to this one. You can only get in by reservation, and tour reservations can only be made on the Korean website.

  

GEPIK orientation 

I went to an orientation that was arranged for all new elementary school teachers teaching for Gyeonggido English Program in Korea at the end of September... I loved it! Everyone there was so friendly and eager to meet everyone. Think first year of college. The usual questions: where are you from? (America? NZ? Candada?) Where do you teach? (in Korea) How long have you been here? (Seriously, foreigners are so friendly here. When Jessica and I first got here and went through the drama with our school, everyone we met, empathized with us and always wanted to help.) 

Everyone I met was so unique: from different parts of the world, with different backgrounds, with different interests. But, our differences don't keep us from mingling! Most people here are so well-traveled or are eager to travel. Traveling buddies! Jessica and I purposely didn't stick to each other like glue. We could have stayed in our comfort zone, but we wanted to get to know people too! I'm so glad we didn't because I think it would have been hard for people to approach us if we were constantly with each other (like we are at school..haha). Even now, the people I hang out with regularly are friends from orientation. 

We didn't just play; we worked hard too! We had seminars, lectures, group meetings, etc. I actually learned a lot too. I had already learned a lot of the stuff they taught through experience, but the lectures on powerpoint and class management were helpful. 

Everland Halloween

On the Saturday before Halloween, I went to Everland! My friend invited me to go with her and her relatives because they had gotten free tickets. We tried to get other friends to go, but people were too busy prepping for Halloween parties. They were free tickets, so we took it easy. We went on 3 rides. It was really crowded, so the waits for each ride were at least 1 hour long. We rode T Express last and this ride made the whole day worth it! Its speed is 200km and it's perfect because it doesn't put you upside down (that kind of ride really scares me). My friend's relatives were really sweet too. She's actually a native Korean who speaks good English. I met here through an orientation friend and we've hung out quite often. Her relatives are native Koreans too and they were so sweet. They picked me up, dropped me off, treated me to lunch, etc. I bought my first-ever pair of character ears. It's really too cute. One of my neighbors wore it for Halloween that night. That night, my neighbors and I went to Suwon station to hang out. Most foreigners went to Hongdae, but we went to Suwon station and still had fun! I really love my neighbors. I feel so blessed to know them here in Korea. They make me feel more at home here. :-) Jessica prepped a bee costume and she let me be a bee with her, since I couldn't find materials for my costume. 

Adventures with the cousin

My cousin Sam was in Korea for about a month because he attended a family wedding. We went to the tea museum in Insadong (which I would not recommend) and COEX aquarium (which I would recommend). The tea museum wasn't really a museum; it was more like a cafe with expensive tea. We were expecting to learn the history of tea or something, but there was nothing like that. I can see a lot of couples or a group of girlfriends going there because the atmosphere is actually really nice.

Tickets for the COEX aquarium are a little pricey, but it's worth it. The aquarium is HUGE. They have so much for you to see- almost to the point where you're like, "There's more?" It's very kid friendly too. They have a section dedicated to unique aquariums. I don't want to spoil it for others, so I won't post up too many pictures.

Lantern Festival at 청계천 (Cheonggye Stream)

This is a man-made river that's built in the busy city of Seoul. It's peaceful near the stream because it's below street level. To commemorate the G20 Summit, there was a lantern festival during the time the summit took place. There were lots of traditional Korean lanterns and there were also lanterns that represented other countries. It was a Sunday night, so there were tons of people- not only foreigners, but lots of native Koreans too. Luckily, my friends and I accidentally started off at the wrong end of the stream and had to walk for about 20 minutes to get to the festival location. We were lucky because there was a really long line of people waiting to walk down the stairs leading to the stream. It looked like it would have been an hour wait.

Haechi the Seoul mascot. I don't know who his red friend is?

Pepero Day is like Valentine's Day in Korea. It's on 11/11 because 11/11 look like pepero sticks! I thought it was bigger than Valentine's Day because of all the fuss that was made about it at the markets, but my co-teacher told me that Valentine's Day is bigger. Some of the schools ban the kids from celebrating Pepero Day because it's a commercial holiday. Literally, chocolate companies came up with this holiday because they needed a way to get people to spend money. I thought it would be lonely pepero day, but a couple of my students, some teachers, and my uncle gave me pepero. heheh Jessica was so touched when the after-school English teacher gave us pepero; She's a romanticist. ^_^

JYJ

Soooo I dragged Jessica to the Kim Junsu Musical concert. ^^ She fell in love with Xiah Junsu's voice and his Mozart dredlocks. I knew I could make her into a fan! hehe The fans were so crazy, especially during his performance of "Intoxication" (the floor moves were what killed them. haha). I really love how they made a orchestra version of the song. It was fitting with the Mozart and Elizabeth musical songs and still hot. We knew the concert would end pretty late, so we had packed our stuff to spend the night at a sauna. Before we went to the sauna, we found a Japanese restaurant to eat at and discovered that their plum wine is delicious! We ate and sang and walked to the sauna. Good times ^^  

I was jealous of her lustful pose with the poster, so we went back the next day and I made her take another picture for me. Better? 

A week and a half after the concert, JYJ held an album showcase in Seoul. I went alone this time; It wasn't as fun being at a concert alone, but it was still fun because it's JYJ! I fell in love with Ayyy Girl there. I loved everything, except that it was too short. 1 hour and 30 minutes? It's okay because they're having a concert in Seoul this weekend!! I've been promoting JYJ's English album to all the other foreign teachers here and I got 6 of them to go to the concert with me. I'm so excited for the concert and to introduce JYJ to my friends. I can't believe tomorrow is the first night. :-)