My awesome weekend

So I had an excellent weekend! I decided to substitute teach at my own school on Saturday. So I taught three hour long classes with some really smart kids. I was given some material to teach them and one class I was supposed to show them an anime episode in English and then give them the transcript so they could practice their fluency with each other. I told the manager that I needed the TV and he told me that was impossible because the parents  were coming in and they were using the TV. So I had to make up an hour and ten minute long class in three minutes with no idea what level students I was going to teach. FUN! 

 So this was an exciting way to start the weekend. It also got me up early. So I slept only a little but, it was such a lovely day on Saturday. I was glad! Shortly afterward Eric and I set off to the Ulsan Whale Festival!! We shopped around and bought some excellent souvenirs/gifts for the fam! We really enjoyed walking around and seeing all the sights. We tried some whale and took bunches of pictures.

 They had real whale soap in the shape of tiny shoes!

...and little whales!

 They had a candle making booth!

That night I made some alt milk. (alt milk = alternative milk; vegan milk made out of nuts or seeds!) I found my recipe at bonzai aphrodite's website. So I made mine out of peanuts and hemp seed. I didn't add anything during the blending phase, which is a possiblity, but it came out pretty well!

(Worry not! There will be a post about this and the recipe soon to come!) 

Sunday Dory came to visit from Daegu. We had brunch at Cafe Pascucci downtown. On our way home we picked up some sweet potatos and scoped out some garden veggies for future indoor gardens! Then we came home and made perfume. Dory got to try the peanut milk and we ate some jelly beans. 

Then we went back to the Whale Festival. We  took pictures and watched Koreans. 

Eric and Dory doing their thing in the hut

 We hung about in the huts for a bit until we found the natives. 

Here's a pic of Dory chillin with the whale sculptures

 In Korea they seem to provide small boxes for women to go in and

 breast feed their children. How thoughtful of them!

We found an area serving alcohol samples and we sampled away. One Korean took interest in us, and offered his favorite selections for our enjoyment. The booth he guided us toward was very crowded. He disappeared for a bit as we patiently waited in line. This booth was very crowded. Suddenly he came out of the crowd, with a full cup for us to try. After we had tasted and approved he presented us with a bottle of the wine as a gift. It was so strange and generous and wonderful. We continued to wander and enjoy the beauty that is Korea for a bit before we decided to head home.  

 On the way home we ate some delish bibimbap and picked up some bananas to finish off the night with banana peanut smoothies! Before settling in we ventured to the roof to see what it's like up there. We enjoyed the view of the mountains a bit before heading back in. While enjoying our scrumptious smoothies we set up the new tent I bought. We also set up some curtains in the apartment for privacy and rearranged some furniture this weekend. I love the new set up and now the apartment is ready for summer!! Our apartment is really beginning to feel lived in, and it looks all the better for it! Overall so many excellent things to make a weekend worth happy.

I'm still experimenting with the new formatting and I have soo much to tell you , but its late here, and I have school again tomorrow. So for tonight it is adieu, but fret not, for we shall meet again. Farewell. Farewell. I think of you often.


xoxo Claire

Hi

This is a lovely dog that lives in the neighbor hood. We think its a stray that is simply nice to people. 

Spring has sprung in Korea!

Ah... What a beautiful park...

Walks

Did I ever tell you that I like comments? I encourage them in fact. I will respond to you too!!

Enjoy Select photos from my most recent walk about. Its spring!

Select photos. 

Not a worry

Oy! How are you? I'm feeling okay today. I've been posting a lot recently huh? I think I'm using this as a place to think and express myself. Its tough over here, and I need some support from myself (I have much appreciated support from all over the world, so thank you), but shouldn't I be behind myself too? <- metaphorically at least.

So our bathroom sink is clogged with gross stuff, that I didn't put there. So I looked up a natural solution so we can avoid the harsh chemicals of customary bathroom cleaners. I found a great recipe on a website, which I looked further into. Her last post is about how bloggers frequently romanticize their lives on their posts leaving their readers feeling inadequate in comparison. People who write blogs aren't perfect, but sitting here thinking about what I want the world to know about me, I don't often want to show weakness or write about my difficulties. Her post is about that, and I appreciate it, and I hope (but only a little) that I don't make my life seem perfect. I want to be real, and have real conversations, and sometimes, life just downright sucks. So I guess in a weird way I hope you can see that here?

So here is a link to her blog, where I hope you can find as many wonderful things as I have. 

I decided in an effort to lift myself out of sad-panda-hood that I would read and indulge in inspirational media. I found two great things today that have helped a bit. Eric and I watched some youtube videos of Helen Keller talking. Man! If that isn't crazy enough for you, I looked up her book and the first 17 pages are available to read online. Honestly it was so amazing and I went straight and got myself a copy. I will be devouring that shortly, rest assured. 

Next on the road to happy-panda-hood I decided to watch an inspirational Ted video on leadership. This is the sort of thing I'm always talking about. I've often wanted to reach out and tell someone about how they've changed my life for the better and thank them, but I often don't. The video is about how you can change someone's life (and the world) by simple actions that you might not even remember. It reminded me that being a force for change is less impossible than it feels. The video is only 6 minutes long. I highly highly highly recommend watching it. Please do it? For me? Please?  If you find it awful, forget about it, but if you don't then share it with your friends. Share it with your enemies. Anyway thanks for listening reading. 

xoxo Claire

Daily life

 So I've been trying to figure out what to do with myself. I've crossed over the honey moon line with Korea. For those who don't know about living abroad its a roller coaster ride... I've included a link HERE to the 5 steps of the adjustment cycle. These don't always go in this order, but its a general description of the feelings. I'll be honest I think I'm somewhere between mental isolation and culture shock. 

 Above is a picture of Eric wearing the sleeping mask I recently bought at a local shop. Its a baby dragon I think. Its silly and fun. Korea's culture is so vastly different from anything I've truly faced before. I find it very daunting, but at the same time I think this is the sort of challenge I need to grow. I feel like my personal growth had stagnated at home recently. I know I needed something so different to better my understanding of myself and the world. 

 

Above is a picture of the dinner I made on Eric's birthday. Fried sweet potato and carrot chips, and tomato and cucumber soup. We mostly eat vegetables at home now. Below is a picture of some soup we had at a restaurant recently. The picture on the left is some of the stuff I found in the soup and the full pic is on the right. I felt like I was eating from a deliciously spicy ocean.

The main dish at the restaurant was the bacon. Here it is translated as rolled  pork. 

It was amazing. What a tasty feast!

 Our plan for tomorrow is to return to the market we went to last weekend and buy a turtle. Then we shall make turtle soup out of it. This is a long, and messy process, which I am not certain we are equipped for. If it happens I will collate a video montage and post it here via my youtube account. 

 xoxo Claire