Day 2 or When the Jet Lag Kicks In

I woke bright and early this morning, ready to meet new people and see new places - including my flat (apartment). My buddy and I hopped on the tram and headed to the administration building for my faculty with the intention of getting some paperwork done. When we arrived, however, the halls were full of undergraduate exchange students (part of the Erasmus program across Europe). It was clear that my questions could wait until my smaller graduate orientation on Friday. My buddy likewise tried to get her work done but the admin person basically told her, "I don't care. Come back a different day." So she and I both ended up getting nothing done. Still, I did run into two Canadian girls in my same program, which means there are at least three people in my major - and that's a good sign that there could be more! They were both very friendly and I'm glad to have met them by chance.

After getting nothing done at the admin building I headed down the river to my flat to meet my roommates and to see where I'll be living for the next four months. First impression of my roommate: she seems outgoing, athletic, and adventurous. We hit it off right away, as we did via email, so I felt a wave of relief. The flat itself is located in a nice neighborhood, very close to the river and close to several parks, including the city's botanical gardens - which is funny to me since my brother lives across from botanical gardens in Philly. The kitchen is spacious, the bathroom has a tub and is pretty spacious, too, and the rooms have big windows with sheer curtains that let lots of light in, so those were all great perks I noticed immediately. On the other hand, I'm out of practice living with other people, aside from family (and even that was hard to adjust to this summer), so living with five strangers who are all Czech will be an adventure and probably a challenge. I think I'm up for the challenge...?

After seeing the flat, my roommate and I headed out for lunch. We walked a bit until we found a Chinese restaurant and had a nice meal - with tofu (which, coincidentally, I saw for very cheap at the supermarket yesterday, which was a huge relief). Then I headed off to meet my buddy to go back to her flat, but got a bit lost-ish in the process. By lost-ish I mean I knew where I was supposed to go, and had an idea of where I was, but had no sense of how far I should walk and if the streets were going to get me there. Happily this meant that I accidentally took a detour through Old Town and ended up on the main tourist street, Karlova, which turns into the Charles Bridge to go to the castle. It was so fun to be swept up in the mass of people walking by, to pass the tables of patios filled with people eating, drinking and people watching, and to see the amazingly beautiful buildings along the way. Luckily, with some help from my discreet mini map and from my buddy's texts I managed to turn around and head to Namesti Republiky to meet her, and get away from the throngs of tour groups and their flag-waving guides and back into lovely narrow cobblestone lanes.

All of the walking and wandering and being lost-ish made the jet lag kick in, so I settled in for what I meant to be a short pick-me-up but turned into a two hour long sleep. I woke to a text from my college friend, S, and realized I was supposed to be meeting her and another friend, M, right then. I scrambled to meet M since she lived in the area, and planned to meet up with S in the city center, but my phone died and in the end I didn't get to connect with S. Still, I had a really nice time with M. We headed across the Charles Bridge and down into Campa, which is a cute neighborhood just south of the castle along the river. We found a bar and each had a glass of Kozel, a black beer (only one glass, dad ; )), and had a great chat, catching up on life and talking about travel and living in new places.

Whew, I didn't plan to write this much, especially when I wrote a lot yesterday. Right now everything still feels so unreal that it helps me to write it down just to keep everything straight as I'm adjusting! As I walk around I feel like I'm constantly mentally pinching myself. I feel as if I might wake up tomorrow in Madison and have dreamt this.

First Impressions of Praha

After two surprisingly smooth (but relatively sleepless) flights - Chicago to Madrid, Madrid to Prague - I arrived safe and sound in Prague. After changing some money and rearranging my luggage I headed out to the waiting area with some anxiety. I had plans to meet my university "buddy," who said she could help me with my bags and offered her home as a place to stay until Wednesday, when I move into my flat. What we hadn't discussed included: where exactly we'd meet, our appearances, phone info or backup plans.

As I glanced around trying to look nonchalant but secretly flipping out, I heard my name ring out from the crowd. I spun and saw my tall, composed, and beaming buddy coming towards me to save me from my nerves. Luckily for me, she had assumed that I would not look Czech or Spanish, and that I would have more luggage than most people. When I (being obviously neither Czech nor Spanish and lugging more than my weight in suitcases) stepped out of the doors she knew she'd found me. I've never been so happy to be an obvious American.

We hopped on a bus, transferred to a tram, and then walked up to her lovely flat - which is home to the oddest lift (elevator). The lift stops at the half floor, which means you have to still go up or down a flight of stairs to reach the apartments. After showering off the stench of airplane (a noxious mix of sweat, stale air, alcohol from the winos in front and behind me, airplane food, and lavatory odors...) we headed out to walk from across the river and through the cobbled streets of Praha 1 - Staré Město (Old Town).

Prague is separated into different districts, all numbered. I'll be living in Praha 2 - Nové Město (New Town), which is south of Old Town but still really really really old - by American standards at least. New Town has existed since the rule of Charles IV, who also founded my university in 1348. So it's not that new anymore...But it is home to many beautiful buildings, most built in the 19th and 20th centuries with some still surviving from earlier times.

Back to today. After being a bit touristy and pulling out my camera several times to catch shots of the castle, the river, and the architecture, we met up with my buddy's flatmate and the three of us headed to Zizkov, in Praha 3. We had a tasty meal at a restaurant named Lavička, and were able to enjoy the warm, sunny fall weather on the patio, overlooking a garden. If I hadn't been almost falling asleep in my delicious mushroom risotto it would have been even better, I'm sure.

Back in Praha 7 at my hostess' home we decided to venture out to the Sparta v. Slavia game at the stadium nearby, despite hearing that the game was sold out. Walking over, it became clear that the game was not only sold out but also a huge deal to those in attendance. Like Korea, drinking alcohol in public is allowed here, so the area around the stadium was filled with people tailgating...and as I write, those same people are now filling the streets and cheering as they stumble home from a 3-0 match (for Sparta). Earlier in the day we even witnessed a man chuck his half-drunk beer cup out the window of our tram - and apparently his mouth was a foul as his littering habit. Anyway, when it became clear that we had no chance of getting in to see the game, we hung out on a side street and watched the police drag people out who had become too aggressive, while catching glimpses of the match through a gap in the stadium. We cheered along with the first two goals, which rocked the stadium as fans leapt up and bellowed their appreciation in unison.

While it would have been amazing to stand among that mass of people (the TV estimated 20,000 in attendance), I was happy to walk home, take off my shoes and say na shledanou (goodbye) to my first day in Prague. I'm looking forward very much to an indefinite number of wonderful days ahead in the city that will be my home.

Prague Prep.

In two weeks I should be somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean on an Iberia flight to Prague via Madrid. In three weeks I'll be starting my first day of graduate school classes. Last month I was starting to think my plans were falling apart, but somehow things are coming together.

I left Korea in early June after a wonderful 21 months, and came back to Madison to get my Czech visa. Unfortunately I didn't have a background check from Korea...so I spent the whole summer waiting for that one piece of paper to arrive and watching the deadline to get my paperwork in get closer - until it passed.

Now, I have my background check from Korea, as well as one from the USA, along with the other stack of papers I need to get my student visa - but it's too late to get it from the US. Instead, I'll be arriving in Prague as a tourist, taking a day trip to Vienna to go to the Czech consulate there, and then waiting and hoping for everything to go smoothly. If all goes well, I'll have my visa about 60 days after I arrive. If it takes longer than 90 days...well, I'll be seeing stateside sooner than planned...

I'm practicing "Don't be worry," on the advice of the woman in the international office at my school. Seriously, she said this, in her latest reply to my somewhat panicked email about the airline (which claims it will not let me on the plane with a one-way ticket unless my visa is in hand).

So on that advice, I have paid for Czech health insurance, paid for my flight, set up a visa appointment in Vienna, reserved a hostel for my arrival, and (just today) secured a room in a flat near my school. I found a roommate online (...) and put aside my paranoia when she wrote about being a semi-vegetarian, with similar interests, and a willingness to live with me. How could I say no? This room is for four months, so even if it turns out to be awful (which I don't expect it to, but you never know) I'll be able to look for places in the meantime.

The only thing left to do is pack, which is going fairly smoothly since I only ever half unpacked from Korea. Still, I should probably get to it...

Premature Nostalgia? Or, Why I Love Korea

I'm not great with expressing emotions. Actually, that's only partly true. I am fairly capable of expressing anger and frustration. I am more than happy to show when I am feeling happy, or excited, or overjoyed. Sadness, though, has never been my forte. I don't like feeling sad. I don't like others to know when I feel sad. I work to hide it, or avoid it, which means it usually catches up with me at inopportune moments. But, I'm working on learning from my mistakes instead of repeating them, and am starting to think it's time I learned to let myself feel sad when I am. So, hey, I'm sad. In fact, it's not even sadness as much as a premature sense of longing for what I will soon miss: everything in Korea. Ok, not everything. Still, there are so many things I will miss that I feel completely overwhelmed by how much this city and country have become my home in the time I've been here. I don't have doubts about going to graduate school, and I certainly have no doubts about going to Prague in the fall. It's the leaving Korea part that's hard.

I am not making a bucket list for this last month. I have plans to do things that I've wanted to do all along, but I am not suddenly thinking of the things I need to do one more time before I go, and I'm not going to try to think of new things that I should have done. One of the best things about Korea has been the way in which I have gained patience and an appreciation of the present. I've gotten much better at enjoying what is happening without worrying about what is coming next. And if you're reading this and thinking: Ha! Yeah right! I get it, I'm still not great at this - I'm simply getting better. So, to honor that trait, I am trying to just live this month. I am trying to get things done to leave early, so that I can continue to appreciate whatever events and opportunities come my way, and appreciate those things rather than wishing I'd done something on a list.

Still, it seems strange not to make some kind of list. I'm a big fan of lists. I make to-do lists and pro/con lists and playlists...I love lists. So the following list has been building for, well, the whole time I've lived here.

At Namsan Tower in Seoul they have a fence with locks, mine is in the middle. I like the idea that it will probably be there for a while.

Things I Love About Korea (and will miss)

(in no particular order)

• The market women on my street whom I pass almost daily, and who always smile and acknowledge me in return. They were the first people to make me feel like I was part of the neighborhood.
• My students - or 95% of them - who will be the hardest people to leave behind, and who have made my time here worthwhile beyond a doubt.
• The ex-pat community in Busan, which made me feel welcome, gave me a place to belong, and has produced countless friendships that I hope to maintain for years to come.
• The KTX - and the Mugunghwa and Saemaul - trains.
• The Hadan 5-Day Market
• The Juice Farm cafe in Dangni, my first neighborhood coffeeshop.
• Hands in Dangni, my most recent coffeeshop.
• The walk to Hadan.
• Nice taxi drivers, especially those who engaged me in conversation, and therefore put up with my attempts to speak Korean.
• Learning to speak Korean
• The Kimbap ladies who let me order meals without meat and fish, and even smile at me now, even though I think they hated me for being a picky vegetarian for the first few months.
• The subway.
• The 1001 bus, and all of the other buses to boot.
• Busan harbor at night.
• Busan harbor during the day.
• All of the beaches, but especially Gwangan-li and the bridge.
• PIFF
• The Fireworks Festival
• The lanterns hung around the city (and country) for Buddha's birthday
• The Dadaepo Kite Festival
• Visiting Pyeongtaek, where I made friends with the unlikeliest of people from my past and can't imagine not having that friendship now.
• Visiting Seoul and becoming better friends with someone from the past who I'm so grateful to be closer to now.
• Discovering a group of female friends in Busan who have shown me nothing but acceptance and warmth.
• My coworkers, both present and past, who I've been grateful to have with me on the journey that is working at a hagwon.
• The random people who have come and gone, and in doing so have opened my eyes to new experiences, ideas, and cultures.
• BSNL
• The Busan Musical Revue
• The Vagina Monologues 1 and 2 - and Eva's, where my picture still hangs from the 1st show in 2010.
• The usual places and faces in Kyungsung on a Saturday night
• The view of the ocean from the walk around Dongbaek
• The ocean in general
• The mountains outside my window
• The mountains in general
• Seeing and trying to read Korean everywhere - and the moments when I realize that I understood what I read
• Hearing Korean - and the moments when I realize I've understood what I've heard
• Trusting things to work out even when I have no idea what's happening - like when I was in the hospital, or whenever I've gotten my hair cut...among other things
• Eating outside my cultural norms and comfort zone: raw octopus, grilled octopus, roasted and marinated silk worm larvae, pickled squid, processed fish, raw oyster, fried shrimp and pickled everything
• Learning that I like pickles
• Trying new foods that are within my comfort zone, and learning to make (some of) them at home for myself: ddok bokki, bibim bap, kimbap, kimchi, and (my favorite) sun dubu jjigae
• Learning to live without foods and other things that I'd taken for granted (like cheese)
• My apartment (though for the first 4 or 5 months I despised it with a passion)
• My kayageum, and learning to play despite a serious language barrier with my teacher. Luckily, music is a universal language, and can help us overcome almost any barrier in our way.
• Having lots of free time
• Learning to love myself and my body, even when naysayers (like my students and strangers on the subway and in stores) tried to make me feel inferior and out of place. This is a love in progress.
• Won, especially the 50,000 notes, which are really beautiful.
• My bank teller, who always is kind and flatters me, and makes banking a breeze.
• The ajumma at the GS25 down the block, who just the other day grabbed my hands and rubbed them because she felt bad for me that they were cold when she handed me my change.
• Cute Korean babies, which are everywhere.
• Nampo-dong and Jagalchi
• The mornings I spent last spring learning that I am capable of being calm long enough to do yoga, followed by Korean classes, followed by reading the news and doing the crossword at a cafe in PNU - if I had a regret, it would be that I stopped that routine.
• Temples. Every single one I have been to has left an impression on me. Despite meeting many people who feel like seeing one is like seeing them all, I still find a different kind of magic and energy at each temple I've visited. I think it's fair to say I loved Yonggungsa the best, perhaps because we went on Lunar New Year's Day and it was so full of people and prayer and promise for the coming year - plus I went with two amazing friends. Tongdosa is probably second on the list, or Daewonsa, which was stunning in the mist and drizzle of a fall day.
• Jirisan, despite the fact that hiking that mountain was utterly miserable in the rain. The challenge was met, and I felt like I was on top of the world when we reached that peak.
• Crazy nights spent out until the sun rose
• Artbox, and all of the cutesy products they - and other similar stores - sell
• My students' pencil cases
• Lighting fireworks and sparklers on the beach
• Spending the 4th of July at Camp Humphreys
• The traditional village in Suwon
• The Cherry Blossom Festival in Jinhae
• Our trip to Jinha beach, including a wild ride on...something...at an old amusement park
• The motorbike trip we took back from Jinha along the coast from Ulsan to Busan
• Gamcheon Wildflower Park (ok, if I had a bucket list, this would be on it...)
• Walking across Yeong-do in the snow on the crazy snow day earlier this year with an amazing friend, on the way to see other amazing friends
• Taking my kids outside to the parking lot to catch snowflakes on our tongues when it first snowed a few flurries
• Feeling safe almost all of the time
• Learning that I can pick up and move across the world and make a home and a life for myself

Thank you to all of the people who have made my life here in Korea amazing. I will miss you all when I go, and hope to come back and see some familiar faces in the not-too-distant future. I look forward to the time I have left with all of you, and know we'll make the most of it : )

There's a spring in my step...

So spring is in full force, the sun is shining, and my spirits are high. This past weekend I took two fantastic trips to the nearby countryside to see the sights and enjoy the flowers in bloom.

On Saturday, a group of us headed to Gyeongju, a two-hour ride on the slow train north of Busan, to rent bikes and ride around the lake. The train went along the coast and was a beautiful start to the day. Although the day didn't go as smoothly as planned, we had a wonderful time. We grabbed some lunch, and then spent about 20-30 minutes just crossing the four-lane street because we couldn't decide where to go first and didn't know which side to catch the bus.

We finally settled on taxis, and it's a good thing we did since the traffic was terrible and it took us 45minutes to get to the lake, which would normally be a 15-20min drive. Once at the lake we rented our bikes (5,000w each for 2 hours), and went on our way...until we were stopped by traffic cops.

Apparently the path around the lake was for pedestrians only, no bikes allowed.

So, our 2 hours of biking ended up being about 15min of biking, parking our bikes, taking pictures and relaxing by the lake, then a 15min bike ride back. Though not quite what we'd planned, even the short bit of biking was lovely, and it was fun to take in the sights. We grabbed a taxi back, leaving 45 min to get to the station to catch the train...and this time it took 15-20min to get back, leaving us time to rest at the station before heading home.

Once in Busan, a few of us went to JK Factory, a new bar that was opening overlooking Gwangan-li Beach.

They were offering free quesadillas, and when they brought beef, they were kind enough to make me an additional, also free, cheese and veggie one! We played some darts, had a couple drinks, and then called it a night early, around 10pm, when most people were arriving. We took some pics and a break on the beach, and then caught the bus. It was a full, beautiful day, and I slept soundly for the first time in a week.

On Sunday I headed to Ulsan via the KTX to meet another group of friends for a day trip to Yangsan, just north of Busan. The KTX line has made it faster for me to go to Ulsan than to go across the city.

High speed rail is genius. 8,000w for a 20 min trip that would take 2-2 1/2 hours by subway/bus. I got there faster than my friends from Ulsan. Ok, so anyway, we met there and then took the #13 local bus to my friend's cafe in Yangsan. It's called Lakeside Cafe Somok, and he's also building a gallery to showcase indpendent artists' work, and hoping to do some independent films screening there as well in the future. The location is stunning, and I highly recommend visiting if you're taking a trip to Tongdosa, which is about 10min away by car or bus from his cafe.

For the cafe get off the 12 or 13 bus at Bang-gi Cho-dong Hak-gyo/ Bang-gi Elementary School. We lazed around there eating and sipping coffee and wine, and having great conversation. It was a relaxed afternoon in the sun, with the cherry blossoms and mountains providing a great backdrop to the good company and food. As the sun started to head for the mountains, we headed to Tongdosa (Tongdo Temple). The drive was beautiful, as we passed a cherry blossom festival and streets lined with the full trees.

The road to the temple was hung with the first round of lanterns in preparation for Buddha's birthday in a few weeks. The temple grounds were stunning, with multiple temples dotting the landscape. Buddha's remains are in a special courtyard, instead of the usual statue. It's good luck to walk around 7 times, and you make a wish, which I spontaneously decided was exactly what I needed right now, and promptly joined behind two other women. It was a peaceful experience, and I went away feeling lighter and more calm. As the sun set, the buildings gained an added beauty, and the calm that was settling over the whole place was mesmerizing. I could have stayed for hours, but the light was going and we had to get back.

Weekends like these make me so grateful to be here.

Snow Days, V-Days, St.Patty's Day and Birthdays!

...Disappearing Days...

This blog has not been as easy to keep as anticipated. In part, this is due to the inordinate about of time I spend on other things. In part, it's simply because I've been too lazy to collect my thoughts in this manner. When I have time, I rarely have the energy to sort through events and put them down on "paper." I remember thinking, "Wow, it's February. Where has the time gone?" Already, I'm facing the last day of March and can't figure out what happened to the last two months. February had some great moments. A few friends came to visit from Seoul and we went to the Trick Art Exhibit while it was visiting Busan. The pictures we took are a lot of fun - this was one of my favorites, just because it reminded me of the way I felt when I read books as a child. I always wanted to just climb into another world.

...Valentine's Day/Snow Day...

On Valentine's Day I woke up to a very special sight - SNOW! This time it wasn't just a few flakes, it was a Busan Blizzard. Of course, that's not anything like a real Wisconsin/Michigan/New York blizzard, but it was exciting nonetheless. We even got a snow day at work, with all classes canceled! I yelped for joy :o) I went outside with a childishly happy grin plastered over my face, stuck out my tongue to catch the flakes, and practially skipped down the snowy sidewalk. As I walked, I took in the sights: cars swerving and squealing as their brakes fought for traction, people trying to shovel the sidewalk with cardboard torn from boxes or with dustbins, and happy couples shielding themselves from the falling snow with big umbrellas. In the midst of all of that madness was a cheerful blond from the northern states of the USA, thrilled to be walking in a belated winter wonderland - and even happier knowing it wouldn't last long : ) I joined my friend, Alice, for coffee and shopping, and bought a skirt in a size I haven't worn in three years - so that was exciting! Then, we headed out to visit our friend on Yeong-do, an island in Busan. We took the subway to the bridge, and then waited for a bus. And waited. And decided to get a taxi instead. And waited. And finally got on a bus going over the bridge just to get on the island, figuring we could catch the right bus on the other side. In the end, from the time we started waiting until we got to the other side, it took about an hour to an hour and a half. Normally it's a ten minute trip, tops! The traffic was so terrible that I was almost scared. As we crossed the bridge we saw an ambulance lifting a man off the ground in a lane going the other way. He looked to be alright, but I wondered how many other accidents were happening around the city. It was madness all around. We finally got to the other side and hopped off, only to discover that all of the buses to our friend's side of the island had stopped running, and none of the taxis would take us that direction. We debated: give up and trek back over the bridge and home, or walk to our friend's. We walked. And walked. And walked. Down a hill, up a hill, and along a beautiful coastal path we trudged, along with many others who had gotten stranded that evening. It was one of the most beautiful nights I've seen in Korea. The snow muffled the usual sounds of the city, and the whiteness clung to every surface, except the sea, which reflected all of the lights of the harbor onto the screen of snow blanketing the hills surrounding the port. It was breathtaking. The picture doesn't do it justice at all. The next morning when we woke, we looked out my friend's window onto the rocky coastline and couldn't see a trace of the snow from the day before. Once we walked down to the bus stop, we saw a few patches here and there, but if I hadn't had the pictures to prove it, I might not have believed the snow was ever there.

...V-Day/The Vagina Monologues...

A few weeks later it was time for our second annual performance of The Vagina Monologues. I was thrilled to be one of the few returning cast members from last year, and happy to meet a wonderful new cast of women. Last year we raised approximately $1,600 for a shelter south of Seoul that supports victims of sex trafficking in Korea, particularly near US military bases. In addition, we gave 10% of our profits last year to the women and children of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where rape has been widely used as a method of war. Last year, that was the spotlight charity for the V-Day foundation. This year we found a women's shelter in Busan to donate our proceeds to, and had a goal of beating our total from last year. In the end, we not only beat our total from last year, but we more than doubled it! Our final total was 3.5million won, or approximately $3,300. I had the job of counting the cash, and I was so astonished that I counted a third time to be certain that the number was correct. I was blown away by the support of this community. I know that money is going to make a huge difference in the lives of women and children in our community here in Busan. To start the weekend of raising funds and awareness, we held a "Voices for Vaginas" all-women acoustic music night the Friday before the show. I sang "Landslide," by Stevie Nicks, and "Piece of my Heart," by Janis Joplin, and a number of other talented women performed as well, to a packed crowd that often sang along. We started collecting money that night and we filled two huge donation boxes of clothing and toiletries, too. That Sunday, the show was sold out, and, unfortunately, we had to turn lots of people away. Amazingly, some of them came back at intermission or later in the show to get standing room or to take the places of people who left early. It was a wonderful show. I was in two of the pieces. The first piece was done with two of us - a Korean woman and myself - telling the story of the Korean "Comfort Women," who were forced into sexual slavery for the Japanese Army during WWII. She spoke in Korean and I gave the translation. The "comfort women" who are still alive go to the Japanese Embassy every Wednesday in Seoul to ask the Japanese government to acknowledge this history and to apologize to the women. To this day no apology has been given. There is a house, The House of Sharing, where some of the women live. It is also a museum dedicated to teaching people about the "Comfort Women," and educating people about sexual slavery, particularly as a part of war. I hope to get there before I leave Korea. After the piece, most of the audience was in tears, and Yuni and I were shaking when we got offstage. I didn't even realize how emotionally overwhelmed I was until I was sitting down and we all were just shaken and crying. I spent weeks memorizing, and thought I'd gotten desensitized, but in that room, saying those words to a crowd of Koreans and foreigners, I was completely taken over by the power, sadness, and anger in the words we were speaking. I'm grateful to have been able to be part of telling a story that needs to be heard and remembered, especially here. The second piece I did was written by Eve Ensler. It's for a woman, Myriam Merlet, who was an activist in Haiti - she actually brought The Vagina Monologues to Haiti for the first time in 2001 - and who died in the earthquake. It was the spotlight piece for this year, and 10% of our donations went to the Women and Children of Haiti, this year's V-Day charity.

...St. Patty's Day/Shana's Birthday...

March began quietly enough, with a single weekend of rest before starting a month filled with birthday celebrations. I headed up to Seoul for St. Patty's Day weekend, from Friday night the 18th-Sunday the 20th, to celebrate my friend Shana's birthday, and to see the St.Patty's day celebrating in Seoul. We saw a lot of people dressed in green, some dressed as leprechauns, and some just there to see what the fuss was about. It was a fun weekend, but by the end I was exhausted, and I spent the following week just resting up to be refreshed for my own birthday celebrations.

...My Birthday...

My birthday was, in short, fantastic. Four of my friends from Seoul came to visit, plus I was surrounded by the wonderful friends I've made in Busan over the last year and half! I started the day with a trip to the Busan International Kite Festival, which was one of my favorite events last year, and was even better this year. I bought a traditional kite for myself, as well as a few modern, and thus more child-friendly, kites for my nieces and nephews! I had a blast testing out the kids' kites with my friend Derek. I also enjoyed watching the competitions with the traditional kites, where one cuts the string of the other - like The Kite Runner, if you've read the book or seen the movie (which, oddly enough, I haven't). The competitors have these amazing leather bags for their string, and a lot of them have these cool old grizzly beards that make it seem like the wind grew wispy clouds on their chins.

After our afternoon on the beach, we headed for a late afternoon tea at my favorite tea house in Nampo-dong, a part of Busan near the port and near the international market, which is huge. They gave us a new menu, which threw me for a loop, because I go often enough to know what I like, but then didn't know how to make sense of the new menu. Luckily, one of the female Buddhist monks from the temple across the way was able to sit down and help us sort out the types of teas. Then, she showed us how to properly pour the teas and how to drink politely: you set your cup on your flat, upturned left hand, and take the cup between the thumb and pointer of your right. With your right palm open, to hide the cup (and your mouth) you drink. That way, no one can see you drinking. See the picture for a model ; ) After tea, we headed to Kyungsung University area, where there are a lot of bars and cafes. We had a great dinner, and then headed to Cafe Radio, where each month they have an open mic poetry night called Wordz Only. I wrote two new pieces this week about happiness, which I read. A lot of the people I love most in Busan were there, some who read, some who were just there to listen, and it was such a wonderful way to spend my birthday. After that we went around to a few bars, ran into other friends, and met some new friends - including an Interlochen Alum, who was introduced to me by another Interlochen Alum I met here awhile back! Then, a small group of dedicated friends and I headed to norebang (karaoke) in the wee hours of the night/morning and sang our hearts out til the sun began to rise in the sky. At that point, the Seoulites and I piled into cabs and headed back to my apartment to finally get some shut eye. The next day two friends, Shana and Derek, stayed longer. We headed to the fish market and they got some sannakji (raw, fresh cut octopus), oysters, and a couple other seafoods whose names are escaping me. I wasn't feeling very brave, but I worked myself up to trying an oyster with some chili sauce (Ssam-jang) and white kimchee. It wasn't terrible! In fact, it was pretty okay! However, my tongue was a bit tingly, so I might be allergic to seafood...or I'm paranoid after so many years as a strict vegetarian! After our fishy feast we headed to an Italian restaurant that we couldn't get into the night before. We had a second feast of pizza and caprese salad there. Finally, we ended the weekend by heading to a housewarming for a few of my friends, where we got to just relax and talk with good people.

...To the Days Ahead...

So, I'm terrible at staying updated, but I'm grateful to have a place to record all of these moments, which have made my time here so fulfilling. Even if I'm the only person who will ever read this entire post, that's okay, because this blog has become more of a way to store memories than to entertain or share tidbits.

Love to all my friends and family who have made it with me this far - both in my blog, and in my life. It's been an amazing 24 year journey so far, and I'm excited for the path ahead!

~K

Time Flies When You're Working Through the Holidays...

People have been asking about my blog because I haven't updated since the end of November, so I'm finally getting down to the task of updating!

I looked at the calendar today and for the first time in weeks the date actually registered and I was shocked. Christmas was a month ago, and it's almost February. Time has been whizzing by this month because I've been working 42-45 hours a week since the end of December. While the students are on winter break from public school, they attend extra classes at our private English school. I'm working 6 days a week, 6 hours a day, plus an extra 3 hours a day 3 mornings a week (for the first two weeks of the break I was working 5 extra mornings, but luckily two classes got combined so I got two mornings off). My Sundays have been my day of much needed rest, though I've managed to go on trips or have auditions or rehearsals most of the Sundays anyway. With so much of my time and energy focused on teaching (which I don't mind, unless other friends remind me of all the time they have off right now) I haven't been keeping up with blogging at all.

It snowed - in Busan!! Granted the snow lasted for less than an hour in my neighborhood, but nevertheless I was tickled pink. The decorative cabbages on the streets looked so pretty with the little flakes of snow that lingered on their leaves.

So, a brief look at the higlights of the last two months:

On December 19th we held the Busan Musical Revue - a night of singing songs from different musicals. As a group we'd been rehearsng for about 2 months (or less?) and it was fantastic to be singing to perform again. I sang a solo piece - "Stars and the Moon," from Songs for a New World, as well as a duet - "What is this Feeling?," from Wicked. We sang two group pieces, "A New World," from Songs for a New World, and "Seasons of Love," from Rent, and I was lucky to have a solo part in each of those pieces as well. It was so invigorating to be back on stage singing, and also left me feeling wistful and nostalgic for the days that I spent filled with songs and rehearsals. My life feels so much more meaningful and vibrant when I get to sing with people and perform, and I miss having that in my life more.

My snowflakes, to keep me in the winter spirit!

For Winter Solstice some friends and I got together and had a cabaret night where we performed and had a potluck. In addition, we raised about $150 for a women's shelter, which was great.

On Christmas Eve, we had a "Dirty Santa" gift exhange, which means you buy a gift, but not for a specific person. Then, you choose numbers and take turns picking a gift. You can choose to steal a gift that the person before you opened, though, which is why the game is "dirty." My friend Carissa was stolen from 4 times, before finally getting that last gift left. If was actually pretty funny to watch. After, the teachers had a pancake night, which we did last year as well, and that was lovely.

We wore these reindeer ears for the week of Christmas.

For Christmas, (after work, because, yes, I worked on Christmas Day again) my friend hosted people for the weekend at her apartment, which is in a small city just north of Busan, but only 2o minutes by bullet train, now, which is great. We had fun playing boggle, eating, and opening gifts together.

For New Years Eve I got off work and headed out to join my friends for a few hours to cheers midnight, but unfortunately had to work early the next morning, so my plans to go to the beach for the New Years Sunrise Festival were kaput. After work I got some much needed rest, because it was also the end of my first week of teaching the extra classes.

That covers the last two months, basically! As for what's on the horizon...

Happily, I have gotten involved with performing again with my free Sundays! Recently we started rehearsing The Vagina Monologues again, as we did last spring. This year we'll be performing at the end of February. I'll be doing two pieces, both special focus pieces that are meant to raise awareness of women's issues in other countries. One piece, called "Say It," is written to honor and tell the story of the "Comfort Women" of South Korea, who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese army durin WWII. We will be performing, as we did last year, with a Korean woman speaking in Korean, followed by me, giving the English translation. It's very powerful, and extremely meaningful to our group here in Korea. In addition, I'll be readin a poem written to honor the memory of a woman who helped lead women's rights work in Haiti, before she died in the earthquake. The poem honors her work and draws attention to the unique strugles facing women in Haiti since the earthquake happened. I'm thrilled to be working with an amazin group of women again this year to put on the show, and look forward to bringing awareness to the community in Busan.

Aside from being involved in performing, I'm just working and enjoying my free time reading in coffeeshops and going for walks, or spending time with friends here. I'm looking forward to having more time on my hands in the mornings soon, to hopefully make the most out of my time left in Busan.

Much love to everyone who has taken the time to read this : )