Mullen's Not So Korean Connection

New York City update.

2010-01-26T08:12:00.002+09:00

whoooooa updates.

Alrighty so, I'm now in school at Pratt Institute doing Library Science as of last Wednesday. It's going well I think. Apparently a lot of people complain about the program, but I think it's okay so far. But going to this program involved moving up here to Brooklyn from SC. It's taken some getting used to. No matter how many times I leave home (DC, Spain, Korea, and now NY), it's always hard to leave especially this time because I was home for such a significant amount of time. You know what has been amazing though? Having friends around who are willing to go out and do things and whom I can be myself around. That has made everything worth it.

But oh golly, have I spent alot of money. I need to stay in my apartment for the next few days so I won't spend anything.

Buffy vs. Edward

2009-09-21T10:10:00.001+09:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZwM3GvaTRM

this proves who is better...and who is creepy.

Photo Story of my Summa

2009-09-16T13:49:00.012+09:00

Sometimes, photos just say it best so I'm gonna let them take the stage...

My cousin and I at an outdoor concert (we saw Snoop later that night..amazing)

cousin and I again at a wedding

Family and I at a wedding which my bro was in (he's making a weird face, but it's of all of us)

Gwynn's wedding!

Before seeing HP6

Cousins and cousin friend

Inside joke behind this pic which would take too long to explain here, but needless to say, it's an awesome pic.

Erica and I in Hilton Head

So those were some pics of my summer..twas a great one! I'm sad to see it go...

Going Through The Motions..

2009-09-03T09:53:00.004+09:00

My last picture in Korea So today marks the anniversary of me leaving and going on my round the world trip (first with just Erica and then Erica, Liz, and Kirsten)....What an experience. Life changing and then I came home and that was a whole other adventure. As you could tell if you've been reading this, it hasn't been particularly happy. I really needed to be home in the beginning and be with my family because not only had I been gone for a year but I also hadn't lived in SC since high school. I really wanted to have that experience...and to tell you the truth, I hadn't thought of what else I should do. It was wonderful to be home at the time I was because there was a lot of family stuff going on, which really felt rewarding for me to be there for. Also, I got to have a better relationship with my cousins and of course, my immediate family. All good things...

I'd say the most challenging part of this year hasn't been living at home or not finding a job, it has been not having a lot of friends to share it with. Now I have friends in Greenville, two friends since high school particularly and a cluster of acquaintances I have met, but it's just very different with them. It's not the kind of friendship where I can say "Hey let's go to the movies or this new restaurant or this concert." I had been spoiled in college and in Korea by having lots of friends or at least acquaintances around me a lot, who wanted to do things spontaneously. And after I had been home awhile and the holidays were over and I didn't have a job, I really needed friends...I just needed people to do stuff with! msyelf for a long time and not feel alone, but as soon as I'm out in public by myself I feel more alone! Funny how that is. That has been my biggest grievance with this whole year.
A friend of mine who I taught in Korea asked me what is more important? Environment or people? My answer has always been people.

So I'm comparing this year of my life to the six season of Buffy (without that weird Spike relationship)...I felt pretty similar to Buffy and I know I'm not the only one- lost, unmotivated, and melancholy. But you know what, things are looking up! This next year will be like the seven season of Buffy (without that weird Spike relationship)...and maybe I'll save the world from apocalypse again...who knows.

Pocket Philosopher

2009-07-09T12:39:00.003+09:00

I've learned something in my 24 years.
Life is weird, unexpected, hilarious, and full of possibilities.

This blog used to be devoted to my life in Korea and now it's devoted to life after Korea. Sometimes it's unbelievable how different those lives are. I'm so proud of what I (and my friends) did last year. I really am. Of course, I feel that way a little so I can justify my life now (well I don't have a 'real' job now because I did THAT last year), which I know is ridiculous and just temporary. But it's also pretty cool what we did.

I'm in a good mood right now and figured I should share that with the bloggers out there!
I'm very proud of my friends, can I just say? I love them. Of course the number of my friends getting married (or who are married), made me feel I don't know kinda weird, kinda jealous, but also just with the feeling "But you're so young!" Now, I don't feel that way. I feel happy for them, which I know I should have felt before, but I also feel that if you find somebody that you love, hang onto them! But I'm also glad I have not met someone yet because I'm just not ready, but one day I will be...

I've been thinking about living in NYC, at least for a little while. I have many friends there or who will be living there and it just seems right I guess. It seems very scary as well, but I think it would be a good thing. I have thought about studying arts administration or film preservation. Not sure...I would like to go back to school especially if I went to New York.

oh and I was going to be in a movie here in SC. It was to be called Daisy Doom about this run down town with a local legend about a family who never leaves their house, but the town folk see this girl in the window and there's always a daisy on the front porch steps. Anyways, the main character was this frustrated kinda d-bag who has a sad life (mother has run off, father is not all there, sister gets beaten by her boyfriend) but meets this odd girl in the woods who he strikes up a friendship with. Well I was to play the odd girl named Estella...I thought it would have been fun and challenging. Then the entire thing was canceled on Sunday because of this huge misunderstanding..Very frustrating. Well here's the dress I would have worn! I got it from a local vintage shop. Oh well :(

me and all my friends, we're all misunderstood

2009-04-13T14:12:00.003+09:00

Just talking with Erica tonight, I realized something. All of my friends my age are in this annoying state of limbo. We have had the accomplishment of finishing school and now everyone just seems to be waiting....for that next thing. In most everyone's case, it's a freakin' job (economy), but it's also getting maybe a better job or waiting to move or start school or get roles or even when to get married and where to live. I guess it helps to know that my friends are not feeling confident and second guessing themselves. I know it comes along with being in your early 20s and done with school, but I just want something better for all of us! Or to at least have some answers to why life is kinda sucking right now.

I'm just glad to have started watching LOST because nothing sucks you in and makes you forget your own life like that show. kudos jj abrams.

Zooey Deschanel

2009-03-25T14:10:00.005+09:00

If I would want to emulate the career of anyone famous right now, one such person would have to be Zooey Deschanel. I just think she's the bees knees. She's not annoying like so many actresses of today and her life is not plastered all over the tabloids. I think what I admire about her career is that she's done films that I admire and like and she's cute, quirky, and has a nice vintagey style. Also she is in the group 'She & Him' with M. Ward. Of course you wanna think "Oh what's this actress doing releasing an album." But seriously, it's one of my favorite albums of last year.
She & Him video- Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?

"I love old music, old movies, screwball comedies, vintage clothes and basically I'm an old-fashioned gal."- Zooey

Updates on life-like things.

2009-03-16T10:59:00.018+09:00

Life is good. I am content..or at least I'm on my way there. Let's just say I am much better than I was in a couple of months ago. November was probably the most down month for me. October I came home from traveling, had my cousins wedding, went to WV/ DC/NC and saw all of my friends. I was on a high! It was kind of a honeymoon period- happy to be home and in the U.S. This is me at the America restaurant in D.C.

Then November hit and the reality of everything just crashed into me (hey that's a Dave Matthews Band song). There were no jobs- I'd go into an establishment, fill out an application, and then they'd never call. So I'd call them and it was always, always the same response..'The manager's not here, but maybe you could call back on Saturday..She might be here then.' I'd call Saturday and she wouldn't be there. It was just a vicious cycle. Plus, I didn't have any sort of plan then. And I know other people were trying to help, but it seems like everyone would just give me more career suggestions- you should be this, you should try that....It was a total funk.
My only obligation was driving my cousin around because she needed that.

In December, things started looking up a bit. Plus I just love Christmas so I automatically felt better! For Christmas, Julia and I had three Tales of Beetle the Bard between us! J.K. Rowling represent! Also that's Dexter in the back!I saw in the newspaper that GLT had auditions for Inherit the Wind. It's such a wonderful play that I decided to audition. I found out later that I got a part. Although it wasn't the part I had wanted, I knew that being in a play was going to be fun.
Each month has gotten better. Christmas in December was great because of all the family and Julia and I watched a lot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. haha.
In January, rehearsals started. I only knew one person in the cast because we used to go to school together but everyone else was a stranger. I didn't talk much at first to anyone, but after a couple of weeks I started to get comfortable with everyone. In the middle of January, I met up with Erica, Kirsten, Liz, and Lauren in NYC. This trip was such a blessing for all of us. I had missed them so much. Just having friends who are intelligent, funny, sarcastic, and understand you is just wonderful. We saw Equus (Daniel Radcliffe and Richard Griffiths) and Dear Edwina (with Janice Mays!!!) and both were FABULOUS. I really want to live in the same city as them one day. This is Kirsten, Erica, Lauren, and Liz while we were trying to look for Erica's old apartment! It was sad to leave that group of friends, but that was why coming back to rehearsals was another blessing.(seriously could I use the word blessing anymore?)
And then there was Kim's wedding. It was beautiful. Jessica, Renee, Emily, Kim's cousin Cameron, and I were all bridesmaids. We hadn't all been together in so long. Kim and I on her big day!It was nice to be able to share that with Kim.
In February, we basically had rehearsals every night M-F. When I was in school, I used to complain about having to go rehearsal because I knew all of the stuff that I had to do when I got home. Plus, all the people I saw in rehearsal, I saw everyday so when a show ended, I didn't really miss anyone. So doing this show, I looked forward to rehearsal because I probably hadn't done anything else that day and I knew when I got there, I could just be in the show and not have to think about anything else. Our opening night party, Rick, Aaron, and Jared being well...themselves. Also I knew there would laughter.
But other than the show, I still had no job. Well my mom's friend Judy used to work at the Peace Center and she knew someone still working there. So basically Judy called her friend Ellen who I met with. She told me they needed someone to come in and fill in as intern. Ellen is the Vice president of Education so I help her out. It has been a nice opportunity. I don't want to do arts administration, but I'm still glad to have it. The only thing is that they don't pay me. :(
My final frustration caused me to take my mom's advice about making a little profit in my neighborhood baby-sitting, house- sitting, or pet-sitting. I don't know why I didn't do it before...It's consistent and last minute, but it's something and I've gotten to know my neighbors!

Also I applied for a program for next year. The program is in film restoration in Rochester, NY. I think it sounds very interesting so we'll see! I hear April 15.

March has started off very well. We started our performances and they went very well. That's Henry Drummond and Bert Cates in the front making some awesome faces and us jury members in the back. I'm the one with the lopsided hat. My cousin Julia and her friend/roommate Nathalie came to see it which was wonderful. We took this pic on the set!They stayed for the cast party too which was at my house!

So today we did strike for the show and it was sad... :( I really had a good time.

This definitely puts things into perspective..

2009-03-12T12:18:00.000+09:00

http://www.nbc.com/Late_Night_with_Conan_O%27Brien/video/clips/everythings-amazing-nobodys-happy-10208/1049744/

Inherit the Wind

2009-02-13T14:14:00.002+09:00

So I'm in a play (yay!) and it has been a little ray of sunshine for me. I liked going to rehearsal because I could just go and do my thing. It hasn't been particularly challenging- more community theatre-esque I guess. It's just been fun to go and not have to talk. Is that sad? I don't like talking to new people anymore? I don't like all those same stupid questions of the 'What do you do?' variety blah blah blah..so I've tried to avoid those kinds of situations but naturally they come up. We've been rehearsing since January 5 and I've pretty much successfully avoided talking about myself which has been awesome. And then it came up tonight when some of the cast when to eat together. I got that same question 'What do you do?' three f-in' times. By the third time, I just freaked the guy out and he was like 'Sorry I asked..yikes.' Arrrrrrrggg...and now I'm back home and feeling bad and writing about it here....
I will not resort to computer gibberish.....gjakllkgjlajgljigjakljfgjgfklajglkjfglkjfdglkjlkldkgjgdfgjajglajgklgkdfgfdkgjdflkgjl;

yup that's how I feel.
darn.

Bueller......

2009-02-10T13:37:00.003+09:00

I have seen Ferris Bueller's Day Off twice in the last week after having not seen it for several years. Seeing it again made me realize it's loveliness. My favorite Hughes flick for sure. I mean you can't find a better character than Ferris especially in a high school '80s flick.
Who doesn't wish they had a little Ferris in them sometimes? I know I do! Also, who talks to the camera better than Matthew Broderick?

This is the scene in which Ferris gets on the parade float and sings Twist and Shout. You've probably seen it, but just watch again. You can't feel bad while watching this. It'll cure all ills!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rNM765xAQRA

ANNNNNDD one of my favorite bands Rooney named their bands after Edward Rooney, the principal from the film. Awesome.

25 things

2009-02-08T15:03:00.002+09:00

I already did a list of 25 things on facebook but I didn't do them about me, they were about my friends. I thought I would then put my other 25 things on facebook because it forces me to do some introspection which I'm not so good at. I don't talk about myself very well so here's a good chance to remedy that.

1. I have never been a "wisher" (I wish I was this, I wish I was that). However, I think it would be nice to have naturally black, curly hair...think Elizabeth Taylor or Diana from "Anne of Green Gables." I just think its such a beautiful hair color.

A Plea.

2008-12-05T13:31:00.003+09:00

It's weird to think that three months ago I was an English teacher. I had a job which required a lot of my time and energy and I did it in a foreign country. I tried the best I could and I think I did pretty well. Of course I had some familiar faces around, but still it definitely wasn't easy at times. Then after I finished teaching, I traveled for a month which was another totally different and challenging experience.

And now my life is totally different again. It's maybe even morechallenging now because I feel very unsettled. This is the first time ever that I haven't had something to do every day. I'm not in school and I'm not teaching and as of now, have no employment. I know that I will find all of that soon, but all the questions "What are you going to do now?" and "What's next?" etc. etc. etc. Not that they aren't vaild, but it's almost like I don't wanna talk to anyone until I have answers for them. Which is stupid because it shouldn't be about what other people think, but I gotta admit I do care what others think. It's always been a problem.

So what I'm trying to say is. please don't ask me about what I'm doing or gonna do with my life. When I have answers, I'll let you know.

as for now- annyong!

OBAMA!!

2008-11-05T13:42:00.003+09:00

I have soooooooooooooooo much else to update on and I will do that soon. But I just want to celebrate this particular moment because its so important.

Barack Obama was just elected the 44th president!!!I just want to live in this moment right now because I couldn't be happier. I am going to be proud of my president...that has never happened to me before! After eight years of (sorry to say) an awful president, it's just nice to be happy about the results!!

WOW.

2008-10-12T10:58:00.002+09:00

I seriously SERIOUSLY failed at updating this blog while traveling.

I'm sorry for the two people who probably read this.

Okay so at the moment I am home....yup so basically I did not update my blog at all..woops. So now I'm just going to have to go back in time and let you know what went on. However, I need my computer to do so because I also want to display pictures along with my stories..

so I'm sorry you are just going to have to wait a little bit more.

I will say this I got to visit four amazing countries. Once I have more perspective I will realize how great of a life experience this was and how I'm so lucky that I got to share it with four close friends.

JAPAN!

2008-09-03T14:38:00.003+09:00

Our trip has officially begun..

bye bye Korea! bye bye SLP!
hello traveling!

first stop- Japan
we landed yesterday in the morning in Hiroshima. We were going to stay one night but because of the trouble we have had with Indian visas, we opted to just stay in Hiroshima for the day and take a train to Tokyo! We got to see Peace Memorial Park yesterday where the Atom Bomb hit in 1946. It was very moving to see the park. On all of the monuments, they stressed peace and that the awful horrors of the atom bomb never be repeated. It gave us a lot to think about. Really glad I saw that.

Last night, we took the four hour train to Tokyo. It was very nice. Japan is so so so so so clean! I like that it is organized...Last night we stayed in a fabulous hotel. I'm so glad to be here!

About to leave..

2008-08-27T23:21:00.002+09:00

Wow...sorry for the lack of updating...
This month has seriously FLOWN by! Since I came back from the Philippines (which was a great trip by the way), everything just seems to be going really fast. I like it that way thought..if things go by fast, that means I am enjoying myself.

As of today, I have two more teaching days left. TWO..wow! I never thought this day would come.
It feels very strange. Some of my kids have said "Don't go America teacher!" Its so sweet of them...but some I can tell are ready to be rid of me....haha.

Of course, its not only the stress of leaving and getting everything packed but I also going on an awesome fantabulous world trip so I definitely want to have everything prepared for that! I'm pretty excited about it especially since I am going with Erica, Kirsten, and Liz. I'm so excited for....just life right now! (of course a little nervous as well)

Some people ask "Why did you go to Korea?" Well here's the thing, when someone takes a trip others will often say that they are jealous or they wish they could do that too. I never wanted to have that happen...I never wanted to be that person. So thats why I came to Korea, so I could take advantage of this awesome opportunity.

While I am traveling, I will be sure to update this blog so come back for stories!

summer vaca

2008-07-24T23:52:00.002+09:00

Finally finally finally!!

I will have a summer vacation! It's only a week and hey beggars can't be choosers.

Best of all, my summer vacation will be spent relaxing on the white sandy beaches of Boracay in the Philippines.

This is my first ever vacation in which the motive is to relax. I'm so excited.

Oh Korea.

2008-07-09T22:58:00.003+09:00

So all of my Korean co-teachers think that I LOVE Korea. Not that I don't love it...I just think its funny. They just think I like everything about the country. I think I started liking it here when I accepted the food and the culture, but I'm definitely not an expert by any means.
I'll replay a scene had between my supervisor and I.

Supervisor: Wow Andrea you like Korean food. You watch Korean dramas. You listen to Korean music. Is there anything you don't know about Korea?
Me: Well I don't know Korean.

I just think its funny...

Oh and here are some recent pictures from this month.

Me at the Kimchi Museum!

Some of my co-workers!

Kirsten and I on her birthday!

WOW its July!

2008-07-02T21:42:00.007+09:00

So open house went decently. Some of my kids were constantly getting out of their seats and trying to run around and I had to politely say (*ear to ear grin*) "Sit properly please...." Whereas normally I would be like "SIT DOWN!" haha I remember when I first started teaching in September I was astounded by how mean and domineering I was. I've only ever been like that when I was playing a character, but I've never been outwardly like that in real life. Its kinda liberating I should say, but yelling is sure exhausting sometimes.

I am now definitely used to an enjoying life in Korea right now. Weird how I start to get used to and then I'm leaving, but then again teaching six year olds without hardly any holiday or breaks I could definitely do without. But my friends here have definitely been a blessing. Next Thursday, my co-worker Carla is leaving to go home to England for the summer. We have gotten really close and its gonna be really strange here without her.

Us at Seoul Land (along with some other new friends)

Erica and Carla

This Friday is the 4th of July! Hopefully us CUA Seoulites will be doing something...maybe the Han River cruise. Hopefully we can shoot off fireworks somewhere (they have no laws about that here).

Open House...aka shoot me in the face.

2008-06-25T22:39:00.003+09:00

Tomorrow and on Friday, my school is having an open house. This isn't like the open houses that my schools used to have in which the parents would go at night and meet the teachers and talk, eat snacks, etc etc. For our open house, the parents come in and watch us (only the foreign teachers) teach a class. It's awkward because the parents just stare and the kids are like little Stepford children. They sit properly and they never talk out of turn. It's weird. I did it once before in January. But this time, I'm doing it with my six year olds....eeeek.

In case I've never explained it, I have two six year old classes that I teach from 10-2:30. One class, the Lovely Ladybugs, are amazing. I mean yes they tend to get a little rowdy and the girls have amazinly high pitched voices (I have to tell them to use their "small" voice), but all in all they are very cute and sweet and SMART! I love them. But my other class on the other hand- terrors. They are the "precious"( haha) Polar Bears. In this class, there are some little devils who don't listen and have no respect for me. I mean I can't fault them too much...they are actually five years old (six Korean), but man they drive me up the wall. The girls are really sweet though and much smarter than the boys (isn't that always the case?)

Anyways, we have preparing for this open house for awhile. In the midst of this prep, my supervisor tells me that I have to change my voice to sound like some creepy Snow White flight attendant I guess. And then she says 'You were a theatre major right? You should be able to do that.'
When she said that, I was just thinking 'wow...I really dislike you.' It really made me angry.

So I have this open house tomorrow...lets hope it goes well.

Nightmare Concert and other happenings.

2008-06-15T13:26:00.005+09:00

Life in Seoul is good. The weather is finally warm and I'm enjoying my time here. My school is difficult but thats another story.

Jen and I are big fans of Korean pop and she suggested that we go see a K-pop show sometime. Jen found the "Dream Concert 2008" which is Korea's biggest concert and all or most of the big names come. We were confused before we went about how to get tickets. First, we thought we had to buy tickets online (or you buy a book and then you get a ticket free?) But we couldn't figure out how to do it! My Korean co-teachers and others told us that you didn't have to buy tickets because the concert was free and that anyone could get in! I was perplexed by this, but I was intent on going.
So Jen, her sister Cara, and I got there and there's already this mass amount of people. The fan clubs were taking up the most amount of seats...We even tried to blend in with a fan club but I think my whiteness gave us away! haha So by this point, there are huge lines and all of the doors are closed. We weren't sure how we were supposed to get in. We tried to just fit in with this crowd, but we were then shoved and pushed by crazy crazy angry fans. I have never been shoved like that in my life. The weight from the fifty people behind us was pushing and we then toppled over on the ground. I was so afraid of being trampled. It was so scary!

We finally did get into the concert. The concert wasn't so great. Some of the performances were good. Epik High was really awesome to see.
In Korea, all of the fan clubs wave balloons and they never stop waving them!

Here's a tip Korea. Give people tickets and ticket takers and scary, big security guys.

This is only for now

2008-06-01T12:35:00.003+09:00

I have much to update on, but for this post I thought I would focus not on teaching English in South Korea. I thought I would give a little shout out to my homies in the U.S.

There were many graduations this month, but in particular my cousin Julia graduated high school yesterday. Julia is an amazing student (she's going to UNC Chapel Hill in the fall) and she works so so hard! She was also the speaker at her graduation, which I was so upset to miss. I'm really proud of her and love her alot!

I'm gonna give another shout out to another class of '08...My CUAdrama loves! Congratulations!

Birthdays of past and present.

2008-05-19T20:33:00.011+09:00

My birthday, which has April 29, has usually been a wonderful day for me. When I was a student in school, it was always the end of the school year so the weather was nice and people are usually in a good mood. I've always loved celebrating it! The last four years I haven't been able to celebrate with my family because I was always still in classes and this year....well I'm in Korea so lately I've celebrated it with my friends. So this post is basically thanking my friends for making my birthdays special and to my family for being amazing.

Okay so freshmen year....well I don't have that picture. But I figured I'll just put in a picture of me and my friends from freshmen year. I remember we went to Old Ebbitt Grill in D.C. and I got crab cakes...and they were good!
Sophomore year... I was stage managing a show so I couldn't really do the whole going out to dinner thing. So after the opening night of the show, my friend Meghan, kept saying "Let's walk back to your room together...I'll go with you.." But I kept talking to people and then when we finally got back to my room, there my friends were with a big "Surprise!" That had always been a dream of mine to have a surprise party because I LOVE surprises. So that was amazing.
Junior year...Quite a different birthday. I had studied abroad that semester and at the end I thought I would travel with some of the people in the program. I really wanted to go to Greece and they said they would go too. I bought my ticket and they said "Oh its just too expensive..." So I ended up going by myself. So I was alone on my 21st birthday. That was kind of a bummer, but I was in Greece so you know....it was okay.
Senior year.....my birthday was on Gilby's. For our drama department, the seniors put on a kind of Academy Awards type show where they give out awards and put on skits/ parodies about the shows/teachers/ students from that year. Its a lot of work so I wasn't expecting anyone to really remember or at least not to make a big deal out of it because we were so busy. However, during the ceremony, I hear from CSmith "What if it was Andrea Mullen's 22nd birthday?" Then everyone at Gilby's sang Happy Birthday to me and I got a cake afterwards (Tweety of course)...I couldn't believe that.
This year, it was another great birthday. Us CUAers along with Carla, Aerim, and Aerim's friends Ellen and Young Gwan went to Seoul Land, an amusement park. It was fun and not too crowded so that was nice! Then my friend Carla took me out for a really nice lunch at this place called Top Cloud...it was fancy.

Basically I'm so grateful.

Colbert vs. Rain

2008-05-07T20:51:00.001+09:00

How fitting is this!!

One of my favorites (also he's from my beloved SC) Stephen Colbert and an awesome Korean celebrity Rain!

http://www.comedycentral.com/colbertreport/videos.jhtml?videoId=156555

China trip

2008-04-30T19:54:00.005+09:00

Mullens!

Mullens and some good folk

ummm all I can say is amazing!! It was so wonderful having my parents come to Korea and then to be able to go to China! It was a great family vaca. While in China (I came a couple days later than my parents because I was at school), we spent a day in Beijing seeing the Temple of Heaven and then some shopping (my brother is basically the best bargainer I've ever seen and the fact that he can now speak Chinese helps!).

We then left Beijing and journeyed to Xi'an, China. It's one of the biggest cities in China and its mostly famous because of the Terra Cotta soldiers. These soldiers have been underground because an Emperor wanted to have "protection" for his afterlife. Well those underground soldiers were then discovered in 1974 by some farmers...Anyways we went to see them and it was unbelievable. You'll see from the pictures just how many were made! Every soldier was made by a different person. I'd never seen anything like that. Wow! Our tour guide had been working there for 15 years and he was like a master photographer. He was constantly taking my camera and getting all these good shots. He was hilarious!

Terra Cotta soldiers

my family and the soldiers

this one is called the Archer

We then made our way back to Korea (sans Geoffrey) and my parents saw my apartment and came to my school. They took some videos and got pictures. It's nice that they now understand and can visualize everything I'm talking about.

April

2008-04-12T00:19:00.003+09:00

April has always been an amazing month...Well first of all its my birthday and springtime which is my favorite season. When all the flowers are in bloom and the weather is warm (you can really appreciate spring after an awful cold winter like we've had in Seoul), its pretty amazing. Also April always meant one of the last months of school (or in college, THE last month). Well that's not the case here because Korean school children are always in school....but I've accepted that.

Anyways, this April is going to be a fantastic month. First of all my parents are coming tomorrow!! I'm showing them around Seoul this weekend and then they leave to visit my brother in Beijing on Monday. THEN, I'm going to Beijing on Thursday and staying until Monday (the best part is of course I'm off from work for two days...its going to be glorious). It will be so nice to be with them...The times when we all get along really well are when we are on vacation.

So basically the Mullens are taking over Asia...

watch out.

The parents comments

2008-04-03T23:09:00.003+09:00

Lucy and SoniaDaniel
This was the kid who cried everyday for the first week of school. He's actually really smart and so sweet. All of the Korean teachers seem obsessed with the fact that both of his parents are doctors. They mention it all the time! It reminds me of how in "Gilmore Girls" Lane's parents wanted her to marry a future doctor. I just think its funny.

Lina and Irina

Every month we have to write report cards and since this is my first month with these new kids, some of the parents left comments for me in English. They are pretty interesting to read. Enjoy!

Andy:
Hi! Andrea Teacher. Thanks for your message. He said. You're very kind and pretty voice. It's begging of term in new class with friends and ... teacher. But he like SLP. Because he is very exciting and fun. I'm thing proud of Andy. Thank you Andrea Teacher. Please be careful not to catch a cold. Have a good weekend~ -Andy mom-

Jenny:
Jenny is enjoys English learning when being dissatisfaction, Jenny is very gloomy. for example, it cannot hear English or the teacher to do well compared to in the friend, etc. when being like that, it has an interest and it gives and with playing which is different fun and it changes it comes loose. Just now, I hope Jenny enjoys SLP. Thanks you.

James:
Sir, I am glad!! James that go SLP amused. There is fear about Enghish yet, but there is greed which to learn. If come to home, English that wonder, and knows how speak various kinds in Enghish speaks well. Mistake is Ithabopni(I have no idea!) some on expression that want to get along well with friends. Now, that do not promise I do. Be obliging as is not originally extreme child. All teacher two persons like James. Forward, I want to study more joyfully. Thank you!!!

Daniel: (This one is actually intelligible)
I appreciate that you took good care of Daniel. He is getting better I think. He is adapting himself to SLP. I am happy for him. I wish he can make friends with his classmates and improve independency. Thank you so much. Daniel's mother

Oh no

2008-04-01T21:56:00.001+09:00

I can't log into facebook because I was trying to take off my cua email address and put my alumni address on there. Stupid mistake. Now it's saying none of my emails are registered...This is not good.

CanMore lady

2008-03-27T19:52:00.002+09:00

Sometimes during my break or after work I go to this place called CanMore for some coffee or a smoothie. It's a nice little place because I can sit down and read in their big comfy chairs (they also have swingin chairs) and get away from SLP. The lady who works there (she probably owns it) knows who I am because I've been there a couple times and plus her son went to SLP. She's so, so kind and she always gives me a confidence boost. Today I actually had a good conversation with her. She said "May I question your name?" After I told her my name, she said "Oh very hard.. (Her name is Jung-il Kwan I believe...at least I hope I got that right)...when I hear Andrea I think of novel or movie...I think of beautiful woman running and beautiful man running.."
She also said she'd miss me when I went back to America...she's amazing.

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T00:53:00.002+09:00

Life in Korea has been good....its definitely been getting better! Plus this week the weather got warmer...I've said sayonara to my winter coat. I can't wait to get all of my winter clothes out of my apartment! My kids are starting to speak English..slowly! March has been a bit rough because I'm teaching kids who don't know any English....and as I said before teaching them drama when they don't speak or read English and have the attention spans of a nat is difficult! I'm coming to love them though...well one class more than the other. One girl Jenny is adorable! She looks like a Korean version of Cindy from the Brady Bunch, except even cuter. Come August, I think it will be amazing to see how much English they have learned and can speak. I'm getting a new Korean teacher next week as Elie's last day is March 28. It's such a shame she's leaving (but she's getting married and moving to the other side of Seoul)..Also, I don't really like the supervisor because I don't think she's doing a very good job...

On another note, I bought a cd for Jesus Christ Superstar at a Kyobo bookstore this week and I literally can't stop listening to it. I forgot how much I loved this show. I saw it first freshman year with CSmith. She loved the movie and I hadn't seen it yet so we watched it together. At first I thought....interesting...they made a musical about Jesus...I guess we didn't really click at that time. Then sophomore year, CUA did the musical and I was apprehensive about how it would be. I remember everyone thought Judas was cute and he was, but seeing it then really made me love the show. It gave me a new perspective also. Most of the show is from Judas' point of view so it doesn't always paint JC in the best light. I never really thought before seeing this show about the betrayal and the denial of Peter and Judas. I enjoy seeing the musical more so than the movie. Of course JCS came to Seoul last year...naturally I missed seeing it. I would totally see it in Korean.
If you are in the US, you can listen to some of the music here:
http://www.rhapsody.com/album/jesuschristsuperstar

Also Happy Easter!

contemplation

2008-03-16T22:56:00.002+09:00

Sometimes, I feel that I am constantly defending myself because I am the opposite of what people think I should be.

The biggest one- I'm am an American, which recently I have felt somewhat attacked about. Native Koreans actually like America. Everyone seems generally interested/ curious when I say where I am from. However, its the foreigners in Korea that are the problem. Yeah okay all Americans are dumb, fat, and rich. Sure that doesn't sound judgmental at all...Maybe before you believe a ridiculous stereotype like that...how about you take a look at the sheer size of America and maybe think to yourself...hey maybe all Americans aren't the same? How about that? Also I really don't like talking about the U.S. Presidential election with people who aren't from America...

I am a Southerner yet I don't have an accent. The way people say "But you don't have an accent" really bugs me.. I was still born and raised there and just because I don't have an accent doesn't make me any less of a Southern girl.

I am Catholic...no I am not extreme or crazy religious. It's also something private for me and I don't pretend to think that everyone should have the same beliefs as me and I don't want to impose on anyone else.

I love theater....its another great passion for me. Theater has always been an outlet and has allowed me to just being the quiet, nice girl that is ignored but loved to something else. You don't have to loud and arrogant to be in theater...it takes patience, confidence, and skill...Its just amazing and something that I miss.

Okay I need to stop because this is making me sound angrier that I am.

Another school year begins...

2008-03-13T00:06:00.002+09:00

My co-workers at the goodbye dinner for th e teachers who left

In Korea, the school year starts in March, weirdly enough, so I now have all new students and classes. Its very strange because from August until February I taught seven year olds who had been at our school for two years. Naturally, they spoke English quite well. The drawback was they had an attitude and behavioral problems. Now I'm teaching six year olds who have just started speaking English last Monday...lets just say its interesting. They are still speaking Korean in class and they'll say things to me in Korean or ask me questions and I just look at them and say "I don't know what you're saying..." They are soo, sooo cute though and they look at me like I'm their god which is quite a difference from the seven year olds I used to teach. So March is gonna be difficult to get through. Oh and I also have to teach them drama....they can't read and oh yeah they can't speak English! How are they supposed to perform "City Mouse and Country Mouse?" I don't get it..

My Korean co-teacher Elie is getting married and moving to the other side of Seoul so she's not gonna be my partner teacher anymore...sad story....

SLP Birthday Party

2008-02-26T22:53:00.006+09:00

Lauren and I

Some of the girls

Jasmine and Freesia classes

This video pretty much speaks for itself

An observation..which is of course rather obvious

2008-02-20T18:37:00.002+09:00

I am the red umbrella

In seven days, I will celebrate six months in Korea (which will also be Caitlin Smith's birthday!)...This is unbelievable. Had I not gone home for Christmas, I don't know how I would be feeling right now. But life right now is Seoul feels very normal I guess you could say. It always takes me awhile to get used to being in a different place. Every new experience I've had, I have always dreading going into and HATED at first! I like for the end to always be the best part. Thats why senior year of college was so amazing because I left at the top of the game when I felt happiest. Hopefully that will be the same for Korea. But yet I still feel so uncomfortable here in many ways. I don't think I'll ever get used to the shoving on sidewalks without so much as an "Excuse Me" in Korean of course or the staring (which as Tennyson pointed out, is understandable in children but when adults who know better, is ridiculous...moving on). But most other things about Korea, I'm getting used to.
Anywho, the observation which is of course rather obvious about Korea that I've just thought about has been the loss of anonymity. The place where I live here there aren't many foreigners so basically I stick out. The places I have been to a couple of times (like the coffee shop, movies, etc.), they know me. I'm used to blending in and looking like everyone else. I'll admit it is nice to be noticed because it gets people interested and curious about you, which I haven't felt before. But sometimes, I don't want to stick out.

Lunar New Year vaca

2008-02-10T22:52:00.000+09:00

So in honor of having a vacation from school, Erica and I decided to go on a skiing/ hiking trip to Gangwondo and Seoroksan Mtn. I know what you are thinking- skiing and hiking...that sounds like Andrea Mullen (at least I know my family would be surprised!) But I most definitely didn't want to be stuck in Seoul so this sounded great especially since we were going with a group. I left on Wednesday morning from Itaewon at 11am. We were supposed to get to the ski resort at 3, chillout, and go night skiing at 5. Traffic was awful (because everyone was traveling that day) so we got there at 5 or so. Oh and our bus ride was spent watching concerts. We watched Eric Clapton, Cher, some music videos, and then Shania Twain. Not everyone was thrilled with those choices! Thursday was spent skiing (after a Korean breakfast). I definitely took to the beginner runs. Friday was when things got interesting. We had to travel on Friday morning to the lodge near where we were hiking. The bus ride of course took forever so we had to forfeit hiking for that day. Also, our bus and our tour guide were never on time so this gave people on the trip the excuse to never be on time. It usually took us an hour to get anywhere. And because we were on a bus all day and didn't do much, this gave others on the trip an excuse to knock some back. It was like "Animal House" sometimes. Saturday we actually went hiking up to Seoroksan and it was beautiful! Not too crowded on the trails. We took lots of pictures! Then Saturday night before we traveled back to Seoul, our bus stopped! People had to push the bus about three times! This caused one guy on the trip to utter the phrase, "Korea is the most random country ever. No contest." Soooo true. The only time we were ahead of schedule the whole trip was getting back to Seoul. I'm not sure I would reccommend ZTravelbug to anybody, but it was an interesting trip!

Sooo wow

2008-01-25T15:53:00.000+09:00

So January turned out to not be such a blah month...in fact, in the lives of my friends from home in SC..it turned out to be quite life changing. And friends I'm sorry I am writing about you, but let me say you have been on my mind lately. I have never been one to always state my opinion because I believe there's a time and a place for things. There have definitely definitely been decisions that those around me have made that I haven't agreed with. Sometimes I feel that I let others peoples lives, mistakes, and happinesses affect me too much. I know that I should simply say "Its not my life..I can't control other people" and let it be....But I find that so hard! In my circle of friends from home, one lost a family member while my other friend got engaged all within a week. It feels really weird to not be there. Had I just been in college in D.C., I could fly home easily for the funeral for one friend and attend the wedding of the other. But I can't do those things. Its so scary to be so far away sometimes. However, I do my best to keep in touch. I wish more people but an effort in to keep in touch so those of you who do, I appreciate it wholeheartedly.

Back in the swing of things...yay?

2008-01-14T19:12:00.000+09:00

So January is kind of a blah month..but then again its always like that (plus there's no MLK holiday to look forward to). However, there is a holiday in February for the Lunar New Year which everyone and their mother is traveling in Asia. This makes traveling a wee bit difficult and expensive! Erica and I have decided to travel together (just like we did for Chusok in September) and we were going to go to Japan but that fell through...So I think the solution is to go skiing right here in Korea..My co-worker Carla and some others might come as well! I just want to have a good break because it'll be a long time before we have a number of days off...not until July! (We've gotta start planning that asap as well)

Oh and the Lunar New Year is when the year changes...as in "Year of the Rabbit" or "Year of the Horse." 2007 was the year of pig and 2008 will be the year of the rat!

Christmas and a Happy happy New Year

2008-01-05T10:17:00.000+09:00

So since I last wrote, my school had our Christmas concert.....wowza! It was some intense preparation let me tell you. Basically, our kids didn't learn much that month as we were ALWAYS practicing for the concert. But in the end, the kids are 6 (7 in Korea because they had a year on to your life) so the chances of them doing a 20 minute one-act play and 5 songs well was too much to ask. But you know what the performance turned out okay!

It was definitely nice when it was over! Then the next day I left to come home! I was sooooo ready for a break and to come back to SC and see everyone. With all of my traveling it was about 15 hours and when I landed in GSP, there was my family waiting (with Renee holding sweet tea I might add). It felt so normal to be home like nothing had changed which is not what I expected. I tried to get all of the food that I had missed so I definitely ate well while at home!

Whats strange is that its now 2008...crazy! 2007 was a wonderful and crazy year full of big changes. The biggest changes of my life. Thinking about where I was in January of 2007- a senior at CUA, living in Mil. North, doing No One Here Speaks French to now where I am a teacher (which still freaks me out a bit) in Seoul, South Korea. Its pretty unbelievable actually. Coming back to Seoul, I'll be honest here, I didn't feel so good about it (that could also have to do with the fact that I've been pretty ill lately)...So I'm gonna write the things I enjoy about Seoul and 2008!
-My friends here who truly make this experience worth it
-having my first real job
-my students who actually listen and seeing them learn
-Korean food that I actually like (oodang, bibimbap, dukbolgi are my favorites)
-movies are subtitled here, theres no dubbing!
-we found Mexican food....nuff said (GRACIAS DOS TACOS)
-the kindnesses that I have been shown by some Korean people
-Seoul is a safe city

2007:

Wedding dresses, movie nights, and Mexican food...OH MY!

2007-12-10T10:49:00.000+09:00

This weekend was great...one of my favorites since I've been here and you know why? Because I spent it with my amazing friends. The weekend started on Friday night with a text message from Murphy saying that she found this place called the "Princess Diary Cafe" and would I be interested in going. Its basically a place where you dress up in wedding dresses and take pictures....This is the kinda stuff that makes me happy. It was fantastic and of course, its so typically Korean because where else would you do this? (Other than maybe David's Bridal) Jen and I had so much fun...It had definitely been too long since the last photo shoot I guess you could say.

Saturday was filled with Christmas shopping in Insadong (this place with a lot of Korean souvenirs, crafts, ceramics)..A lot of the stores are kind of the same but it makes me for great Christmas shopping. I found some great things to bring home. Then of course, there was Mexican food as the first On the Border opened in Korea. Naturally we had to eat there and it was so fantastic. I felt so full afterwards. Full and happy. We had a movie night afterwards which consisted of Anchorman and Borat...

Sunday, I again went to Insadong and then watched Gone with the Wind.

Now I'm at work (its gym time right now so I don't have to teach)....hopefully today/ this week will go by fast!

The home stretch..

2007-11-25T22:50:00.000+09:00

I only have four more weeks until I go home for Christmas....I think December is going to be a really great month! At school we are just preparing for the Christmas concert so we aren't really doing the "regular activities." I'll be spending the rest of my time Christmas shopping and hanging out with my friends (hopefully watching Christmas movies)...At least I hope it goes well! And I know its going to go by sooo fast because December always does. I have Christmas at home to look forward to!

You know whats really annoying...itunes has a very small collection of the Christmas movies that I want! Its A Wonderful Life, Holiday Inn, Holiday (an old movie with Kate Hepburn and Cary Grant), and also The Sound of Music (yes its not a Christmas movie but hey I'm ranting here)...Itunes- you really need to shape up!

On Saturday, all of us CUA peeps watched Love Letter in Jen's apartment. Its a movie by this Japanese director called Shunji Iwai. It was a very sweet, well made film..But watching the movie with everyone in Jen's room, it really felt like senior year all over again. It was very comforting...

A change in weather...

2007-11-19T22:54:00.000+09:00

It got COLD here in Seoul! Man oh man...was it cold on Sunday and today! But now its snowing! Snow is truly the only reason for cold weather in my book. I love snow! Its so pretty. Anyways seeing the snow kind of lifted my spirits. I had kind of a really happy/ kinda crappy weekend. The good parts were hanging out with Erica and Hye Young on Friday and of course Liz's birthday on Saturday...When I'm around my friends, my spirits are usually high! But for some reason, I also felt quite low especially on Sunday. I got kind of upset so I went to Starbucks thinking the smell of Peppermint Mocha would make me feel better, but it only made me more upset. Oh man did I embarrass myself there. I was kinda glad for it on a small level because maybe the people in there could truly that its not easy to live here sometimes...I don't know..something about this week has been hard. Its most likely because of Thanksgiving and it'll be my first Thanksgiving away from home...thats really hard because its a big holiday for us. I'm trying to tell myself that its just a meal and I'll get to have all of the same sorts of foods when I come home for Christmas. Plus I'll be having a Thanksgiving meal with my friends here.
Whats nice is that Elie my Korean co-teacher recognized that I was a bit upset.....how perceptive was that! I feel really lucky to have a good partner teacher...Anyways Happy Thanksgiving to all you kids at home! I'll be thinking about you.

A letter to my family

2007-11-15T09:50:00.000+09:00

I wrote this letter a couple of weeks ago and I think it accurately portrays what life in Korea is like. I do feel better now about Korea than I did when I wrote this letter though so things aren't all bad! Here it goes:

Now I have become comfortable with living in Korea. Having some of my close friends from college here is truly a blessing. I wouldn't be here without them. I feel like I have been here longer than two months! In the beginning, everything was new and different, but scary and exciting (as usually happens in a new situation I assume). But after the first couple of weeks, I began to have a strong case of culture shock and it hit me pretty hard. Korea is a very fast paced country definitely more so than America. Working hard is expected here. No one really seems stressed out by their long hours. As I said its just expected. Seoul definitely never sleeps! I don't think they know what rest is. And they are so developed with technology! Most Koreans have been very kind to me. I have Korean teachers at my school and I am free to ask them for any help. They have helped me so much with things such as setting up a bank account or even just going to a store and translating for me. Its made me lazy though because I should be learning more Korean!

Oh well...But then there are things about Korea that just aggravate me! First of all, being a vegetarian is just unheard of so finding food has been a challenge. And I get stared at everywhere I go. Sometimes I don't care but sometimes it makes me angry becuase I know that they are staring at me for being white....Also, common courtseies that Americans have just don't exist here. I get shoved and pushed all the time by people trying to move ahead of me on the street or to get on the subway. I realize that these may seem like small concerns but when you deal with them everyday, it can get to you. However, I'm trying not to let those aspects of Korea bother me because I realize that they are just cultural differences.

There are foreigners in certain parts of Seoul, but not too many in the area I live! But learning English is considered an obligation for Koreans so most know certain words or phrases. Sometimes on the street I'll get people saying "Hi!" or "Nice to meet you!" or "I love you!" Its pretty funny. Korean kids are very competitive and work way too hard. The kids I teach in the morning (its considered preschool and I teach two different classes from 10-1) are seven and the amount of English that they know is amazing. But once I asked them "What time do you go to sleep?" and some of them said "12"..They are seven! One of my students Sarah (they all get English names) leaves SLP (where I teach) at 2:30 and then goes to violin lessons, piano lessons, swimming lessons, drawing school, and Korean lessons...All in one day! So of course she's always tired and she's only 7! I can't imagine how hard they work in middle school and high school.

As I said, the food in Korea has definitely been a challenge. Luckily I eat fish so I can eat most things. However, eating octupus and squid are not very appetizing to me! I don't know if you've had Korean BBQ but its very popular and I can't eat it! I have to get side dishes..I just have to know the names of foods and I'm fine. But I can't really go out to Korean BBQ or anywhere else by myself because eating alone is a social taboo. Its a very social eating and drinking country.

I know that not being home on Thanksgiving and missing some of the Christmas season at home is going to be hard and I'm trying to prepare myself for that. I'm looking into finding a place to have some kind of Thanskgiving feast. We'll see what happens. They have an American military base here so maybe I can sneak there!

Halloween at SLP

2007-11-05T10:17:00.000+09:00

=LOCOness

I didn't realize that it would be so exhausting! The day before Halloween we had to set up at SLP, but we had to wait for the evening classes to get out(they end at 9) before we could get everything up. The day of Halloween was fun especially because I was in the Haunted House and I got to scare kids! Some of them were so upset! This one girl Judy, after going through the Haunted House and crying hysterically, asked "Why does Halloween have to be so scary?" All in all, it was fun...can't wait for Christmas because I'm sure it will be a big deal! I'll post pics from Halloween up later!

"Pig Roast" and Falloween(fake halloween)

2007-10-28T22:40:00.000+09:00

Some co-workers of Kirsten and Liz's organized a "pig roast" where we took a bus into the mountains and had some dinner and sat around the bonfire and listened to music. It was so so nice not being in the city and seeing the trees with changing leaves. I think I really appreciate fall now! At night we celebrated Falloween as I call it. Check out the sweet pics!

Ciara concert

2007-10-25T23:59:00.000+09:00

C-I-A-RA...in Seoul! My wonderful Korean co-teacher Elie and I hit up some concert action on Friday and saw Ciara! Apparently its the norm in Korea to have like 5 million opening acts so first up were a couple of djs (something I need to be one of these days- DJ Jazzy Mullen anybody?), then a TLC like girl group called Candy Hill (TLC they definitely were not...so bad), a Korean rapper, then there was a Korean rap boy band called BIG BANG...I loved them and of course so did a lot of screaming teenaged girls...It was pretty funny. Anyways here's there music video in case you aren't familiar (http://youtube.com/watch?v=BBt1LLd36F4)

Then of course Ciara came on! Here's a video for her song Like A Boy (http://youtube.com/watch?v=YFRuUJR4LPI)

I tried to put my videos from the concert (that were taken illegally) and they didn't process! They are on facebook though!

SLP Field Trip

2007-10-24T22:05:00.000+09:00

I just like to show off my little hellions

Things are looking up

2007-10-18T09:30:00.000+09:00

at least I hope so!
I am sorry about my dramatic last post. I realize that I was being dramatic in talking about all the drama...Silly Mullen...Anyways I'm trying to look at the positives and there are alot in being here..I was just getting bogged down by the negatives. One positive is Halloween is coming up and its nice in working with kids that we get to celebrate at work! I'm dressing up as a vampire and I'm in charge of the Haunted House. Its gonna be awesome!

aarrrrrrggg..

2007-10-15T19:24:00.000+09:00

Everything seems to be so dramatic lately...Take Saturday for instance, some parts were really good (like going to see the fireworks and then the rugby game where England beat France) but other parts were just awful! Why is my life slowly starting to resemble that of The Hills? Lets see friendship weirdness, starting a job in a new city, and witnessing an almost brawl....yep its starting to look like it. I hate drama (well obviously not the theatre or I'd be a total hypocrite) and on top of everything else dealing with it is just too much.

SLP Athletic Day

2007-10-07T18:47:00.000+09:00

So last Saturday, our school had its Athletic Day, which basically means the kids and their parents play a bunch of games. They actually had 30 games in all! It was loco...and the gym teacher organized it all. Us foreign teachers had no idea what was going on since the gym teacher spoke in Korean the whole time....It wasn't too bad actually! And afterwards, all of us teachers went out to dinner. All in all, a good day and because we had to be there on a Saturday, we didn't have preschool on Monday. I didn't come in until 1! beautiful....

This pic is of my co-workers: Jessica, Aisling, Heather, and Anne!

2007-10-04T18:09:00.000+09:00

I'm pretty much in love with Anne of Green Gables...So many amazing quotable lines...here's one little gem:

"All life lessons are not learned at college. Life teaches them everywhere."
-Anne of the Island

Not a typical Monday

2007-10-02T00:08:00.000+09:00

We had athletic day on Saturday so all of us teachers had to work then, which meant that we didn't have to teach preschool today! So I didn't have to come into work until 1 which was beautiful because I definitely slept until 12. I didn't have a class until 4:30 though....I actually have two classes in the afternoon now as opposed to one because we got this huge influx of kids! But the new class I teach is BEAUTIFUL...its basically like tutoring because its seriously 2 students. They are 10, responsive, and THEY LISTEN....its a teacher's dream!

Then, Elie and I met Erica at Techno- Mart and I got a cell phone finally!

Beautiful day..

Okay so China....

2007-09-30T01:30:00.000+09:00

I was only able to go to China for four days because it was the Korean Thanksgiving Holiday. How amazing that it happened so soon after I got to Korea! Anyways, I wanted to go to China particularly because my brother is getting his Masters at Peking University and he said that fall would be a good time to visit and it just seemed perfect. Tennyson and I took a tour with Xanadu Travel, which is a touring company in Seoul for foreigners and they had a trip to Beijing! It seemed to all work out perfectly. There were a few glitches in the beginning because our flight was overbooked and it seemed to all be very last minute. But once we got to China, everything worked out perfectly. Its nice going with a tour because everything is planned out for you. You may not have as much free time as you would like but I know that if I had gone on my own seeing everything we saw would be almost impossible. I've traveled alone before and trust me its not so great. The stress just disappears when someone else plans it for you especially since its a vacation!
Basically we saw all of these things in order: Chinese acrobat show, Ming Tombs, THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA (!), Hutong Tour (in which we were biked around through the narrow alleys of "Old Beijing"), a tea house, Temple of Heaven, Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace...

It was fantastic. I had such a great time with Tennyson and meeting the people from our tour and I got to see my brother. It really rejuvenated this whole experience and made me realize that traveling is one of the main reasons why I came here.

So thanks China...you are pretty cool

oh and I bought a lot!

I went to China..

2007-09-26T22:55:00.000+09:00

I'm still absorbing it all. More to post later!

some pictures

2007-09-16T20:06:00.001+09:00

most of these were stolen or donated rather from the albums of Jen and Kirsten

I've almost been here a month!

2007-09-16T19:46:00.000+09:00

yo!! whats up bloggers? I totally copied Tennyson and decided to create a blog of my own...I would love to be able to send individual emails about this experience so people could keep up but I've decided that this would be best...at least to tell my side of the story!

So lets go back about a month to my departure from lovely SC here to Korea...My leave was emotional at best. Saying goodbye to people and me fully realizing who I was leaving was difficult because I am a home body, although it may not seem that way. I did not go to college 8 hours away, study abroad, or go to Korea to get away from my family or because I hate home. I just try to take every opportunity I can and while I still can! The separation is hard though. But I knew that at least I would going to Seoul with five of my close friends which was different because usually I'm doing these kinds of things alone...Its very nice to be here with them. Tennyson and I actually flew here together (we of course watched Harry Potter on the plane). We were separated at the airport because we were taken to our hotels. I stayed in a hotel my first five days in Seoul and then moved into an apartment which belonged to another teacher here. However, I am now moving again to be closer to the school!

I will definitely write more later...I don't want this post to be ridiculously long!