I have to say, I love living in an age where we can have video chats across the world. I have been able to see and talk to my dad as well as Gma and Gpa, and on Sunday Jess and I had a video chat date. Then there's the phone calls. I've talked to my older sister twice this week, and Ana, and Mom. Thank God we don't have to wait for physical letters to arrive. I may not be able to be home for certain things, but I can at least see and talk to those I love. I also love checking in with Ana on her crazy family - or as I call them, my Mexican family.
Friday we had a pot luck at work. I brought buffalo chicken tortilla roll ups... or as I'm calling them, Texas Gimbap. Gimbap is kind of like a Korean sushi roll, only bigger and with meat that is usually cooked. I think I confused one of my co-teachers because he apparently didn't get the memo that I lived in TX for 12 years before coming to Korea. I still miss the pot lucks we had in Medical Records at GRMC. Those were EPIC! It was also so nice to have people to try new recipes out on. I wish I could have made my Philly cheese steak sliders, but that may have been a little too much of a pain in the bum. I am planning on making some beef stew sometime in Dec, and will have people over for that. Since I'm going to stay, I think I need to get a bigger pot and some more dishes. That way I could have more people over for things. You know, on those days where I'm feeling social.
The pot luck was nice. The food was AMAZING. There was a little of everything there. The tortilla roll ups may have been a little too American... C said they were salty. LOL. So C and I pretty much hung out together in one of the corners of the room. Turns out he's as much of a wino as I am, so that was nice. Also, that's a difference in Korean and American pot lucks - our boss supplied the booze. Hehe - before I came here, I read about work drinking outings and the 'bottoms up' culture. I actually got to witness this when my boss A told C 'bottoms up!' So funny. I ate way too much, and it turns out that one of the Korean staff (another A, we'll call her A2) actually makes tiramisu!! It was sooo good!!! So the pot luck started at 10pm (we had to wait until all the kids were gone) and went until about midnight. Then I walked home with the rest of my co-workers and a couple of the teachers from the other part (they teach older kids) of our company. It was nice and I think that there is going to be a pub trip with them, J and I in the future. She is so good at making me be social. LOL.
Speaking of which, I got my BH weekend this weekend. I've cleaned my entire apt including scrubbing the bathroom tiles and unclogging the drain. The laundry is all done, though I do need to get more detergent. I've been loving the solitude and I'm hoping that the quiet is being good for my poor bad ear. I swear, I'm going to go deaf in the right ear. Which is weird, because when I drove the mustang, I assumed it would be the left ear that would go - you know, the one near the road noise due to no air conditioning. Course... in order to hear my music I did have to turn it up pretty loud... so perhaps both ears are in trouble. In other news, I have a sore throat and swollen glands, so I'm going to see the doc about those on Monday. I'm pretty sure I can talk my co-teacher K into going with me. Sigh... dumb throat. I'm about to have tea and a stroopwafel for breakfast. Then I think I'll be making my bacon and brussels sprouts pasta with the cheese sauce for lunch/dinner, with a decent bottle of white wine. Dinner for the rest of the week will involve mushroom ravioli and marinara sauce with red wine. I will need to run to the store for more veggies eventually.
Anyway, nothing much is planned for the week. It's going to be a pretty chill one, I think. No plans for the weekend yet, tho I'd like to do something on Fri because that's Krampusnacht and I'd be interested to see if people in Seoul dress up. However, I probably won't want to go to Seoul on Fri. It's kind of a pain to get into Seoul on a Friday night. I may check out the war memorial on Saturday. We'll see what the day (and the weather) brings. Anyway, love to all, hope your Thanksgiving was great and please all in the colder places STAY SAFE! Remember, some days are full-coverage insurance days! Also snow tires are good, but staying home wrapped in blankets and sipping a hot beverage is even better!
Saturday, November 30, 2019
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
To care or not to care
I've had a decent case of the blahs for a good 2 weeks now. Mostly this has manifested in my comments regarding the need for another plague, flood, or other extinction-level event. Due to this mood, I've been more than willing to go out and drink. So I give you the proof that I'm able to enjoy craft brews in Korea.
My Saturday was hijacked by S promising to introduce me to an Irishman. You all know I think that there is a tie for sexiest accent between Irish/Scottish and Australian. So naturally I dragged myself out to Seoul to hang out with people. Now... on thing that I keep on learning over and over again is that not everyone has this pressing need to 1) be on time and 2) know what time we are meeting. Earlier in the day, I had been told 7 pm meet up. I decided to leave a little later because I'm always early or on time and end up waiting. Well... while I was on my way into Seoul I got a message saying that it would be more like 8. Then at my first stop, I got a message saying it would be more like 930. Finally the last message I got was that one person had forgotten their ID, so they had to go back and now they would meet me at 10.
Here's the thing - I am either the most laid back person in the world, or I am the most apathetic. I had my kindle, I was at a place that has brews that I enjoy, and I was content to wait. I'm not sure if it's a testament to my general state of mind or not, but most of my pix are of the brews. I do have one of a rugby team because... well, you'll understand. It's just been one of those weeks/turning into months where I wonder why it is that I don't really mind anymore when plans don't work out like originally advertised. With one exception - due to my introverted nature, I do like to have a headcount of the people I'm meeting up with and who they are. The thing is, I do like being alone - and I've gotten to the point where I'm ok being alone in a bar reading on a Saturday night. That may be a dangerously new level of single/awesome that will darn near make me invincible. I keep seeing things online about how dangerous it is to be 100% ok with yourself. I can't say that I'm totally at 100% (I'm a work in progress after all), but I'm darn close. I know I am 100% ok to be in my own company in public... which is not totally new, but is still not culturally accepted anywhere, really. I'm not sure what the point I'm making is except - never leave home to meet people without a kindle and a back-up plan.
Here you see a Yeongdong Porter and a shot of Jameson. This was my 2nd beer after the Imperial Stout that BrewDog had for their 1st anniversary. The imperial stout came in a smaller glass, cuz that one was 10% alcohol. The shot happened at around when I realized it wasn't even 8 yet and our meet-up time had been pushed back to 930.
I wandered from there to the actual meeting spot and in all fairness, it was right around 10 when they finally did show up. Anyway, we played darts for a bit (J (the Irishman) and I narrowly won against S and W), then went outside. And then this happened... a rugby team took over the bar, all dressed as Freddie Mercury. This is a pic of them dancing to... you guessed it... Queen songs. The best part is that I was hanging out with a fantastic Korean man at the time, and he was enjoying this just as much as I was. Apparently S works with a couple of guys on the rugby team, so that was just even more fun.
Then we went on to one of my personal favorite places, where I got a Guinness - and another shot of Jameson. I don't know how they did the "Good beer with good friends" thing, but I loved it. The bartenders love us at that place, which is always nice. Hehehe.
So then we went to another place and they didn't have what I really wanted, so I got this because it made me think of Doug. And I'm pretty sure that this is the last beer I had. There was soju later, which is probably why I had a bit of a hangover the next day.
So that was my evening of hanging out and having drinks. I can't really complain too much about the weekend being hijacked... but this weekend may turn into a true BH weekend. We'll see, cuz S is talking about going out again, and it is fun to hang out sometimes. The thing is, I'm for sure more of a 'let's hang out in one place and have drinks' as opposed to a 'let's go multiple places and get drinks' kind of gal. However, considering how down on humans I am, being around humans may not be the best of ideas. Who knows, I'm just in one of those moods. I need a dog. On an fun note, I wore a fun green dress to work today and my artistic student sketched me as a fairy. Hehehe... I look good in wings.
So yeah, that's where it's at right now. I am still bummed that Thanksgiving this year will not consist of me going to see Gma and Gpa. I really, really enjoyed my trips to see them at Easter and Thanksgiving. We are having a pot luck on Friday, where I will be bringing buffalo chicken pinwheels cuz that's gonna be easy and yay for cold appetizers. We'll see what the weekend brings. The week so far has brought mocking lessons at work, call with Dad, call with Mo, Wed will be date night with J and then my Friday call with Ana. I also need to set up a phone date with Jess. Thank God for my people and technology that keeps them all within reach. Also for truck stops with wifi. Anyway, happy Thanksgiving to those at home! Wish I were with you, but in the meantime have some turkey for me. I think my Thurs meal will be my bacon and sprouts pasta with parmesan cheese sauce and wine. I may be able to con a slice of pumpkin pie off of J, but we'll have to see about that. Apparently she's addicted. LOL - American desserts strike again!!
My Saturday was hijacked by S promising to introduce me to an Irishman. You all know I think that there is a tie for sexiest accent between Irish/Scottish and Australian. So naturally I dragged myself out to Seoul to hang out with people. Now... on thing that I keep on learning over and over again is that not everyone has this pressing need to 1) be on time and 2) know what time we are meeting. Earlier in the day, I had been told 7 pm meet up. I decided to leave a little later because I'm always early or on time and end up waiting. Well... while I was on my way into Seoul I got a message saying that it would be more like 8. Then at my first stop, I got a message saying it would be more like 930. Finally the last message I got was that one person had forgotten their ID, so they had to go back and now they would meet me at 10.
Here's the thing - I am either the most laid back person in the world, or I am the most apathetic. I had my kindle, I was at a place that has brews that I enjoy, and I was content to wait. I'm not sure if it's a testament to my general state of mind or not, but most of my pix are of the brews. I do have one of a rugby team because... well, you'll understand. It's just been one of those weeks/turning into months where I wonder why it is that I don't really mind anymore when plans don't work out like originally advertised. With one exception - due to my introverted nature, I do like to have a headcount of the people I'm meeting up with and who they are. The thing is, I do like being alone - and I've gotten to the point where I'm ok being alone in a bar reading on a Saturday night. That may be a dangerously new level of single/awesome that will darn near make me invincible. I keep seeing things online about how dangerous it is to be 100% ok with yourself. I can't say that I'm totally at 100% (I'm a work in progress after all), but I'm darn close. I know I am 100% ok to be in my own company in public... which is not totally new, but is still not culturally accepted anywhere, really. I'm not sure what the point I'm making is except - never leave home to meet people without a kindle and a back-up plan.
This is so that my preview photo isn't of booze. Hehe.
So yeah, that's where it's at right now. I am still bummed that Thanksgiving this year will not consist of me going to see Gma and Gpa. I really, really enjoyed my trips to see them at Easter and Thanksgiving. We are having a pot luck on Friday, where I will be bringing buffalo chicken pinwheels cuz that's gonna be easy and yay for cold appetizers. We'll see what the weekend brings. The week so far has brought mocking lessons at work, call with Dad, call with Mo, Wed will be date night with J and then my Friday call with Ana. I also need to set up a phone date with Jess. Thank God for my people and technology that keeps them all within reach. Also for truck stops with wifi. Anyway, happy Thanksgiving to those at home! Wish I were with you, but in the meantime have some turkey for me. I think my Thurs meal will be my bacon and sprouts pasta with parmesan cheese sauce and wine. I may be able to con a slice of pumpkin pie off of J, but we'll have to see about that. Apparently she's addicted. LOL - American desserts strike again!!
Wednesday, November 20, 2019
Still adjusting
One thing that I don't think I'll ever get used to is the 'we' kind of culture that most of Asia, and certainly Korea, has. America is a highly individualistic society. It's probably best described by Minerva Mayflower in Hudson Hawk - "Why is the world jam packed with such idiots? Every Schmo has a fantasy that the planet revolves around them. It rains, a car crash happens, they say 'How can this happen to me?'" Everyone is so used to seeing themselves as the center of the universe. When we are forced to see things from another perspective, it adds to the expat stress. It was really cute walking around with J when she was in the boot or the elbow brace - every Korean person expressed sympathy, usually without words. Also when I was sick, the kids were generally on better behavior. The coffee shop lady was really cute when she realized I wasn't feeling well and at least 2 of the Korean staff tried to get me to go to the doctor. It's at the same time refreshing and disconcerting.
Another thing that takes some getting used to is the fashion here. I'd like to think that I'm open to many things, but the guys wearing pants that look like high waters to me still throws me off. Why, oh why do they want to show the ankles?! Women's pants are the same, btw. The short skirts also throw me off - that's for sure a cultural thing. Here it's no thing to walk around in a skirt that could be considered a belt, but you better cover your shoulders. So weird to a person from the US. I still dress fairly modestly, I think. A few more pounds gone and I may start experimenting with crop tops, but that's about 15 lbs and at least summer from now. Also until Thunder and Lightning give each other some space, I won't wear a skirt without leggings or shorts under it! LOL - chub rub is real. ;)
The last thing that still throws me for a loop is the lack of personal space. I can usually find my bubble when around a crowd of Korean people, however, the kids are constantly touching, hugging, holding hands, etc, and I have to stop myself from yelling at them to keep their hands to themselves! I swear, that is one of the first thing that American children learn. Keep your hands to yourself, don't touch other people's things, ask to borrow anything and use 'please,' etc, etc. I have a co-teacher who will come over and link her arm in mine and put her head on my shoulder, which also made me have to fight my natural reaction to move away and lecture her on American NO-TOUCHY policy. I have about 4-ish people at work that I'm comfortable enough to hug. The thing is, I have to make that decision! Korean people are a touchy people and I think they figure everyone must be the same way. I did learn a new Korean word from said co-teacher - Onni: means older sis.
The food didn't take much getting used to. I like a wide variety of food and South Korea is a globalized country. J and I have taken to having Indian food on Wednesday nights, which has been nice. I also plan on stocking up on Babybel next time T and I go to Costco. Been toying with getting a membership, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I do miss the places that I frequented in TX, but frankly pub food is pub food no matter where you are. For those who are wondering, yes, there is a list of places to go and food to have when I get home.
One thing that has been amazing and helpful is having phone dates with people back home. Whether we have a set day and time every week or it's a special occasion when the stars line up just right, it's amazing to be able to call people via an app on my phone or video chat thru the computer. It's a poor substitute for going out for margaritas and getting hugs from my people, but it's much better than writing letters and getting them every 3-6 months. I did let my job know that I'd like to renew my contract. We'll have to see if I can get the pay and time off that I'm wanting. The more I think of it, the more I know I need to come home for 3-4 weeks this summer. I miss my peoples and I want to take over a kitchen... ribs, veggies, cookies, cakes... anything that I can make with a real oven. I'll probably gain 20 lbs during that visit.
So there's not a lot really going on at the moment. It's cold today but supposed to warm up this weekend. The dating experiment is reaching it's inevitable conclusion (deleting the app, cuddling with my cat pillow and a heating pad this winter). Honestly there's no real reason that I haven't deleted the thing yet - either laziness or unwilling to get rid of the easiest way to meet people and then never have to follow up with them. LOL - I do have to say, I probably don't have the right attitude about it. Every now and then the app will let me know that I'm a catch and all I can think is 'Darn right I am.' LOL!!! I'm having a lean month due to how much I had to send home to cover my credit card this month. I need to stop using that darn thing. I have decided to go on a hot springs trip next month - a little Christmas present for me. :D Otherwise, I have no real plans for the next few weekends... which feels... weird, but good. I still have The Stand to finish, I can start Under the Same Sky, plan for M&M's visit in Jan, download Hogfather since it's almost Christmas (Hogswatch on the Disc), I just got The Fifth Elephant because it's another favorite and it takes place in Uberwald, which is cold... it's all good, really.
I do want to tell all of you who read this regularly - thank you. It's nice to know that I'm not just typing into an abyss. Those who just pop on whenever, it's nice to see you when you decide to stop by. I really do this for 2 reasons - keep people back home posted and to get some things out of my head. This is quite therapeutic for me. I didn't even have to go to a therapist to figure that out! Bachelors in psych FTW! If I ended up repeating myself, I apologize, but I never go back and read these posts, and I am my mother's daughter... hehehe... she is the queen of repeating stories. Much love to all, be kind, stay warm, and I'll check in with you after the weekend.
Another thing that takes some getting used to is the fashion here. I'd like to think that I'm open to many things, but the guys wearing pants that look like high waters to me still throws me off. Why, oh why do they want to show the ankles?! Women's pants are the same, btw. The short skirts also throw me off - that's for sure a cultural thing. Here it's no thing to walk around in a skirt that could be considered a belt, but you better cover your shoulders. So weird to a person from the US. I still dress fairly modestly, I think. A few more pounds gone and I may start experimenting with crop tops, but that's about 15 lbs and at least summer from now. Also until Thunder and Lightning give each other some space, I won't wear a skirt without leggings or shorts under it! LOL - chub rub is real. ;)
The last thing that still throws me for a loop is the lack of personal space. I can usually find my bubble when around a crowd of Korean people, however, the kids are constantly touching, hugging, holding hands, etc, and I have to stop myself from yelling at them to keep their hands to themselves! I swear, that is one of the first thing that American children learn. Keep your hands to yourself, don't touch other people's things, ask to borrow anything and use 'please,' etc, etc. I have a co-teacher who will come over and link her arm in mine and put her head on my shoulder, which also made me have to fight my natural reaction to move away and lecture her on American NO-TOUCHY policy. I have about 4-ish people at work that I'm comfortable enough to hug. The thing is, I have to make that decision! Korean people are a touchy people and I think they figure everyone must be the same way. I did learn a new Korean word from said co-teacher - Onni: means older sis.
The food didn't take much getting used to. I like a wide variety of food and South Korea is a globalized country. J and I have taken to having Indian food on Wednesday nights, which has been nice. I also plan on stocking up on Babybel next time T and I go to Costco. Been toying with getting a membership, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I do miss the places that I frequented in TX, but frankly pub food is pub food no matter where you are. For those who are wondering, yes, there is a list of places to go and food to have when I get home.
One thing that has been amazing and helpful is having phone dates with people back home. Whether we have a set day and time every week or it's a special occasion when the stars line up just right, it's amazing to be able to call people via an app on my phone or video chat thru the computer. It's a poor substitute for going out for margaritas and getting hugs from my people, but it's much better than writing letters and getting them every 3-6 months. I did let my job know that I'd like to renew my contract. We'll have to see if I can get the pay and time off that I'm wanting. The more I think of it, the more I know I need to come home for 3-4 weeks this summer. I miss my peoples and I want to take over a kitchen... ribs, veggies, cookies, cakes... anything that I can make with a real oven. I'll probably gain 20 lbs during that visit.
So there's not a lot really going on at the moment. It's cold today but supposed to warm up this weekend. The dating experiment is reaching it's inevitable conclusion (deleting the app, cuddling with my cat pillow and a heating pad this winter). Honestly there's no real reason that I haven't deleted the thing yet - either laziness or unwilling to get rid of the easiest way to meet people and then never have to follow up with them. LOL - I do have to say, I probably don't have the right attitude about it. Every now and then the app will let me know that I'm a catch and all I can think is 'Darn right I am.' LOL!!! I'm having a lean month due to how much I had to send home to cover my credit card this month. I need to stop using that darn thing. I have decided to go on a hot springs trip next month - a little Christmas present for me. :D Otherwise, I have no real plans for the next few weekends... which feels... weird, but good. I still have The Stand to finish, I can start Under the Same Sky, plan for M&M's visit in Jan, download Hogfather since it's almost Christmas (Hogswatch on the Disc), I just got The Fifth Elephant because it's another favorite and it takes place in Uberwald, which is cold... it's all good, really.
I do want to tell all of you who read this regularly - thank you. It's nice to know that I'm not just typing into an abyss. Those who just pop on whenever, it's nice to see you when you decide to stop by. I really do this for 2 reasons - keep people back home posted and to get some things out of my head. This is quite therapeutic for me. I didn't even have to go to a therapist to figure that out! Bachelors in psych FTW! If I ended up repeating myself, I apologize, but I never go back and read these posts, and I am my mother's daughter... hehehe... she is the queen of repeating stories. Much love to all, be kind, stay warm, and I'll check in with you after the weekend.
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Either Korea or Fall is Breaking Me
So yesterday we had a training for all the teachers in our province. We had to be to work at 7:40 in order to get the bus that took us to the training site. For some reason, I woke up at 5:40 that morning, and then my alarm went off at 6:40. I met up with J at 7am and we walked in to work. A showed up with coffee for us, which was great, and I also got 2 for 1 cold brew at the local CU. The training started at 9 am and I was told that it would be done by 1 pm. We powered thru with no breaks and it actually ended at about 11:40, which was AMAZING!
So on the way to the bus, I had to stop and take a pic of the pretty trees.
The best part of the training was the cultural show before it got started. First off, I'd rock this outfit. Second, the music that they were dancing and playing the drums to was great! Last, the dancing was super fun to watch.
The next part of the training was all about immigration laws. The second presentation was about Korean culture and history. It reminded me of how much Koreans love Korea. The presenter also reminded us that Korea is one of the only countries that has never actually invaded another. It was also kind of funny how many digs they got in against Japan. Korea is REALLY still not happy with Japan (for good reason, don't get me wrong, but DAAAAMN). Then we had a presentation on living in Korea which was kind of funny since most of us had been here for over 6 months at this point. We kind of already knew a lot of what the presenter was talking about. The last presentation I'm not totally sure what it was about because I had to go to the bathroom at that point and missed the start of it.
After the training, I went with T and S from training and walked to the train station. I had decided to treat myself to a day in Itaewon. I took myself out for a late lunch at Vatos. Then I went to Holly's Coffee and spent much of the day sitting in the sun and reading The Stand. I then decided to have dinner and drinks at BrewDog. The buffalo chicken sandwich I had wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as good without ranch to dip it in. The porters I had were GREAT! Then I decided to go home. Spent the rest of the night curled up in bed reading. So all in all it was a good (if long) day.
Today I'm being a lazy bum. It's raining and I'm staying in. I'm trying to decide if I want to read or watch movies. I'm also going to have snacks and drink tea. Hehehe.
So now you're updated on what I've been doing. As for the rest... I'm tired. Like, soul tired. I miss my family, I miss my oven, I miss baking and cleaning and driving when I'm stressed out. I also really wish I could be at Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving. I kind of want to hang out with people, but I also want to be alone. I want to get whiskey drunk because I'm sad, but I know that's not good, so I seem to be wanting to binge-eat instead. It's about to get cold tomorrow and Tues, according to the weather on my phone it's going to snow. Then by the weekend it's going to get warm again. I have no real plans for the week - get thru it as best as I can is as good as I've gotten. And yes, my body is a dumpster fire of hormones right now which is not helping the situation. I want someone to come over to give me a shoulder massage, bring me pizza and ice cream, snuggle, and watch movies. Sigh... guess I'll watch movies alone, snuggle with my cat pillow, make myself food, allow myself 2 glasses of wine, and eventually switch to reading more of The Stand.
I do still like living and working in Korea, don't get me wrong. I'm just sad and hormonal and lonely. Anyway, much love to all those who stuck through this post to the end. As usual, this too shall pass. Hope all is well in all of your worlds. MUAH! :*
So on the way to the bus, I had to stop and take a pic of the pretty trees.
The next part of the training was all about immigration laws. The second presentation was about Korean culture and history. It reminded me of how much Koreans love Korea. The presenter also reminded us that Korea is one of the only countries that has never actually invaded another. It was also kind of funny how many digs they got in against Japan. Korea is REALLY still not happy with Japan (for good reason, don't get me wrong, but DAAAAMN). Then we had a presentation on living in Korea which was kind of funny since most of us had been here for over 6 months at this point. We kind of already knew a lot of what the presenter was talking about. The last presentation I'm not totally sure what it was about because I had to go to the bathroom at that point and missed the start of it.
After the training, I went with T and S from training and walked to the train station. I had decided to treat myself to a day in Itaewon. I took myself out for a late lunch at Vatos. Then I went to Holly's Coffee and spent much of the day sitting in the sun and reading The Stand. I then decided to have dinner and drinks at BrewDog. The buffalo chicken sandwich I had wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as good without ranch to dip it in. The porters I had were GREAT! Then I decided to go home. Spent the rest of the night curled up in bed reading. So all in all it was a good (if long) day.
Today I'm being a lazy bum. It's raining and I'm staying in. I'm trying to decide if I want to read or watch movies. I'm also going to have snacks and drink tea. Hehehe.
So now you're updated on what I've been doing. As for the rest... I'm tired. Like, soul tired. I miss my family, I miss my oven, I miss baking and cleaning and driving when I'm stressed out. I also really wish I could be at Grandma and Grandpa's for Thanksgiving. I kind of want to hang out with people, but I also want to be alone. I want to get whiskey drunk because I'm sad, but I know that's not good, so I seem to be wanting to binge-eat instead. It's about to get cold tomorrow and Tues, according to the weather on my phone it's going to snow. Then by the weekend it's going to get warm again. I have no real plans for the week - get thru it as best as I can is as good as I've gotten. And yes, my body is a dumpster fire of hormones right now which is not helping the situation. I want someone to come over to give me a shoulder massage, bring me pizza and ice cream, snuggle, and watch movies. Sigh... guess I'll watch movies alone, snuggle with my cat pillow, make myself food, allow myself 2 glasses of wine, and eventually switch to reading more of The Stand.
I do still like living and working in Korea, don't get me wrong. I'm just sad and hormonal and lonely. Anyway, much love to all those who stuck through this post to the end. As usual, this too shall pass. Hope all is well in all of your worlds. MUAH! :*
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Another thinky post
Talked to Mo tonight for over an hour. When it was time to go she asked if she should let me go so that I could get some sleep. I said no, I wanted her to stay on the phone with me until I was asleep. Logistically and logically this was absurd, but I've missed having that connection. Which got me thinking - I've posted before about how much living in another country is stressful and how we are all trying to figure out how to manage it. However, I haven't really dwelt on our need for meaningful connections with our fellow humans.
I think that's part of the reason why when our expectations of how someone will be are not met, it throws us for a loop. As expats, we all miss those connections that we have with people back home - whether we live with them or not. So we try to make new connections here - we have so much more riding on these possible interactions with people that it seems things can progress at exponential rates. People we have only known a relatively short period of time can become totally crucial to our survival. When we are unable to form these connections, we search them out in other ways - which (I postulate) contributes to the hookup culture among expats. I also think that when one feels such a connection but the other doesn't, that is what leads to the 'real world' type drama that I abhor.
My friend James also said something today about how Korea is making him figure out new coping mechanisms. Dude, SAME! I don't have the option to go for a long drive, call my family randomly, clean my apt (this one is too small, I don't let it get dirty), bake cookies, or any of the other things I would do back home. What am I left with? Smoking cigs and drinking excessively. Not going to lie, I've been fighting the urge to get whiskey drunk for at least 2 weekends now. Yes, I know getting whiskey drunk isn't going to solve anything and will probably lead to more bad decisions, but it's something that is in fact available here in Korea! I had the thought that I could go the other way and become a fitness buff... but you should have HEARD the voices in my head laughing at that one. It may end up being what I go with - at least getting back into yoga or something. I've always had great unhealthy coping mechanisms, what about trying a healthy one and seeing if I can stick with it?
Anyway, these are the thoughts that I had when I realized that I've unlocked a whole new level of missing people. I'm glad that we live in an age where over seas calls can be made via free apps and websites, but there is no substitute for a hug from a person that you know loves you. I do miss my family - I know I'd miss them in the states too, but at least there I can call whenever I want. The convenience of home is what I miss most, I guess. Anyway, this has been the latest episode of Mandi's thoughts after midnight. Much love to all and I miss you. Nothing much planned for this weekend, so it might be a slow blog week. I'm listening to a lot of classic rock lately, too... this time of year, being so far away... it's gonna be brutal.
Love and hugs from Korea - Me
I think that's part of the reason why when our expectations of how someone will be are not met, it throws us for a loop. As expats, we all miss those connections that we have with people back home - whether we live with them or not. So we try to make new connections here - we have so much more riding on these possible interactions with people that it seems things can progress at exponential rates. People we have only known a relatively short period of time can become totally crucial to our survival. When we are unable to form these connections, we search them out in other ways - which (I postulate) contributes to the hookup culture among expats. I also think that when one feels such a connection but the other doesn't, that is what leads to the 'real world' type drama that I abhor.
My friend James also said something today about how Korea is making him figure out new coping mechanisms. Dude, SAME! I don't have the option to go for a long drive, call my family randomly, clean my apt (this one is too small, I don't let it get dirty), bake cookies, or any of the other things I would do back home. What am I left with? Smoking cigs and drinking excessively. Not going to lie, I've been fighting the urge to get whiskey drunk for at least 2 weekends now. Yes, I know getting whiskey drunk isn't going to solve anything and will probably lead to more bad decisions, but it's something that is in fact available here in Korea! I had the thought that I could go the other way and become a fitness buff... but you should have HEARD the voices in my head laughing at that one. It may end up being what I go with - at least getting back into yoga or something. I've always had great unhealthy coping mechanisms, what about trying a healthy one and seeing if I can stick with it?
Anyway, these are the thoughts that I had when I realized that I've unlocked a whole new level of missing people. I'm glad that we live in an age where over seas calls can be made via free apps and websites, but there is no substitute for a hug from a person that you know loves you. I do miss my family - I know I'd miss them in the states too, but at least there I can call whenever I want. The convenience of home is what I miss most, I guess. Anyway, this has been the latest episode of Mandi's thoughts after midnight. Much love to all and I miss you. Nothing much planned for this weekend, so it might be a slow blog week. I'm listening to a lot of classic rock lately, too... this time of year, being so far away... it's gonna be brutal.
Love and hugs from Korea - Me
Monday, November 11, 2019
Apple Fest and Winery
The day started at a much more reasonable hour this time, though still too early. A and I met up at 7:15 outside of our apts. We took the bus to the train, which took us to the station where we could meet up with our bus to the winery.
We stopped off at a temple first. It was in the middle of nowhere and was located about halfway up the mountain. As you can see, it was a beautiful day.
No clue what these guys were doing... but they were cool.
It was SUCH a beautiful day.
Not a bad view.
Me at the main temple grounds.
The ceilings are so pretty!
LOOK AT THE TREES!!!
A dragon!
More pretty.
Me and my go-juice. You know I gotta have my coffee!!
The apples at the winery.
My pie... pre-baking.
The apple brandy barrels.
Me and my apple brandy.
Some kind of amazing apple pancake thingy... it was sooo good!!
That's right - free tastings... loooong lines.
They had chickens! A and I were hanging out near here, and it was such a trip to watch the small children totally enthralled with the chickens. Also reminded me of my chicken ladies.
I'm pretty sure I babysat chickens that looked like this.
My apple wine.
We also had pork, but they had "New York hot dogs" - they put them in the bun, put coleslaw and some potato salad like material on it, with ketchup and mustard.
See. Yummy.
My pie, post baking. It was delicious.
They put gold flakes in the apple wine.
Another banner.
A and the blueberry wine.
My wine happy face. LOL - also, yes, this is one of my favorite sweaters. I bought it forever ago and it still looks great on me. I call it my Marilyn Monroe sweater. Hehe - it shows the tats, so I can't really wear it to work.
So the day at the winery ended at 6pm. It was 10pm by the time we got home. I had thought of going out that night and decided to sleep instead. Honestly, most days when I choose to sleep instead of going out, it ends up really well for me. I woke up well rested and feeling amazing. Sunday I spent most of the day watching Netflix and munching. I made some great pasta that day, too. Today I found the Papa Johns in town, and enjoyed a garden pizza. Papa Johns here is goooooood!!!
So this week has nothing much going on. I have a gov training thing on Saturday, which should NOT be fun cuz I have to be to work at 7am that day. It's been a few weekends of getting up too blasted early. Ah well, such is life. Nothing much else is going on, so I'll sign off now. Hope you all have a good week, and sending hugs and love from Korea!
We stopped off at a temple first. It was in the middle of nowhere and was located about halfway up the mountain. As you can see, it was a beautiful day.
So the day at the winery ended at 6pm. It was 10pm by the time we got home. I had thought of going out that night and decided to sleep instead. Honestly, most days when I choose to sleep instead of going out, it ends up really well for me. I woke up well rested and feeling amazing. Sunday I spent most of the day watching Netflix and munching. I made some great pasta that day, too. Today I found the Papa Johns in town, and enjoyed a garden pizza. Papa Johns here is goooooood!!!
So this week has nothing much going on. I have a gov training thing on Saturday, which should NOT be fun cuz I have to be to work at 7am that day. It's been a few weekends of getting up too blasted early. Ah well, such is life. Nothing much else is going on, so I'll sign off now. Hope you all have a good week, and sending hugs and love from Korea!
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