If, like me, you happen to be working at a school that has a somewhat lax regard for (following) rules and laws, then you might be put in the situation where it's May and you haven't received your Korean tax return. Which was supposed to come back to you in March.
Now I generally like to avoid doing anything remotely responsible or adult ever, so I realize this is highly out of character for me. But it just so happened that my school flat-out refused to pay one of my foreign coworkers and "forgot" to pay the rest of us on time this week, so I was in a real mood. A real responsible (read: vengeful) mood this Thursday, which we happened to have off (yay!) because my school doesn't want to give us the full week off in July we were promised (boo!).
So, I'm in a mood because of all this crap going on at work and I decide I'm going to stop complaining and start doing something about it. Thanks Mom. "Doing something about it," near as I could figure, meant going down to the tax office and filing paperwork and just generally having a miserable existence. But my desire to stick it to my boss hard outweighed my desire to not have a miserable existence, so there you go. Hence how all atrocities (i.e. child-rearing, exercise) are endured.
First, I found my district tax office online. Then after an almost ridiculous amount of googling, I found out it was pretty close. So I hopped on my bicycle to work off some of the highly glutinous rice taking up residence in my thighs and made my way to the tax office.
What greeted me when I arrived was perhaps the most depressing place of business I've ever encountered in Korea. Granted, I haven't had much cause to frequent many such places here, but I can most closely liken it with the DMV. Luckily, I'm a foreigner, so I didn't have to wait very long. Occasionally, this racism thing works in my favor.
After explaining my situation to the first person ("I need to check if I am owed or was paid taxes for 2012."), I was met with a chorus of blank stares. Then came the translation services--I bow at your almighty hand! I explained my situation--ish--to the person on the phone who then translated it to the person I was attempting to communicate with. Finally, I was taken to a filing room where I filled out a lot of paperwork with confusing math--"Cross your salary with this number--60.17--and then subtract it from your salary and then completely disregard that number and subtract 130,000 from 130,000." Yeah. Okay.
Eventually, I got the point that I'll receive 130,000 KRW in the mail...eventually. But I'm not sure what this money is from. It could be my tax return from 2012 or I could've accessed my pension fund early. Or it could be magic money, origins of which I am wholly unaware. All I know is--WOOO! FREE MONEY!
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Monday, May 13, 2013
Organ Soup
...what I accidentally ordered for lunch.
See, in Korea, they have this thing called 해장국 (haejangguk). It means "hangover soup" because a) why not? and b) the massive drinking culture means this is a regular occurrence in the lives of KoreanGROWN-ASS MEN people. It's this delectably spicy soup chock-full of wilted greens, green onions, ox ribs, and occasionally, potato (my favorite)!
But apparently, this term can be applied to any number of foods eaten to cure hangovers. Cue the horror music. Also, reading that Wiki is like horror music all of its own. I didn't realize I'd been eating congealed ox blood all this time. Ew. Anyway, I decide its high time to try that poppin' restaurant down the street from work and order the haejangguk. I hear something in Korean that I don't understand. I nod my head and what arrives is...terrifying. A greyish-purple liver is floating in my broth, pocked with holes as if it needs air. A string of *gulp* tripe twists in a malignant spiral through the dish. Other unidentifiable pieces drift by.
And that's how I first tried tripe. And liver. And other things.
When in Rome, eat organs!
See, in Korea, they have this thing called 해장국 (haejangguk). It means "hangover soup" because a) why not? and b) the massive drinking culture means this is a regular occurrence in the lives of Korean
But apparently, this term can be applied to any number of foods eaten to cure hangovers. Cue the horror music. Also, reading that Wiki is like horror music all of its own. I didn't realize I'd been eating congealed ox blood all this time. Ew. Anyway, I decide its high time to try that poppin' restaurant down the street from work and order the haejangguk. I hear something in Korean that I don't understand. I nod my head and what arrives is...terrifying. A greyish-purple liver is floating in my broth, pocked with holes as if it needs air. A string of *gulp* tripe twists in a malignant spiral through the dish. Other unidentifiable pieces drift by.
And that's how I first tried tripe. And liver. And other things.
When in Rome, eat organs!
Friday, May 10, 2013
Cinco de Mayo
How did I celebrate my Cinco de Mayo, a holiday as close to my heart as Mexican food is to my food cravings? By making my first truly-from-scratch Mexican meal. Can you believe it?
Green Chile Pork
Homemade Tortillas
Halfway Homemade Salsa
You would think that finding these things in Korea would be relatively difficult, but thanks to my family back home for their meal-saving shipment of green chile and jalapenos, it was almost a breeze!
To make Green Chile Pork:
Green Chile Pork
Homemade Tortillas
Halfway Homemade Salsa
You would think that finding these things in Korea would be relatively difficult, but thanks to my family back home for their meal-saving shipment of green chile and jalapenos, it was almost a breeze!
To make Green Chile Pork:
- Eight cans of roasted green chiles
- One can of jalapenos
- Four red/orange bell peppers (because Lotte Mart didn't have green peppers)
- Two small onions
- A guesstimated teaspoon of garlic
- Two cups of water
- Flour/milk mixture for thickening later
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Favorite Students
Imagine the pride I felt on our field trip last week when I heard one of my kindergartners actually applying something she learned in conversational English. Can I just pause to gasp right now? *GASP*
So, here's what happened. Background: a couple weeks ago, I taught my kids about the human body--nervous system, arteries, veins--everything. We even went over the digestive system and the process of food being broken down by acid and being turned into waste. If that seems pretty heavy for a seven-ish-year-old to handle, imagine breaking that down for seven-ish-year-old to understand. It ended up being one of those things I had to shrug my shoulders and just hope they gleaned some useful information. It's not like they're taking the MCATs tomorrow or anything.
Fast-forward to our field trip. We were told we were going to see a "musical performance." It ended up being really fun for the kids (and really boring for the teachers, as everything was in Korean). They even passed out dough for the kids to roll and play with. The "cooks" had them roll it out into a long string, and then coil it in their hands until it looked like....a pile of crap. No joke, all the kids are shouting "dong! dong!" (the Korean word for poo).
So then one of the foreign teachers asked my student Raye, "Is that poop?" But Raye responded with "No! It's waste!"
Immediately upgraded to favorite student status.
So, here's what happened. Background: a couple weeks ago, I taught my kids about the human body--nervous system, arteries, veins--everything. We even went over the digestive system and the process of food being broken down by acid and being turned into waste. If that seems pretty heavy for a seven-ish-year-old to handle, imagine breaking that down for seven-ish-year-old to understand. It ended up being one of those things I had to shrug my shoulders and just hope they gleaned some useful information. It's not like they're taking the MCATs tomorrow or anything.
Fast-forward to our field trip. We were told we were going to see a "musical performance." It ended up being really fun for the kids (and really boring for the teachers, as everything was in Korean). They even passed out dough for the kids to roll and play with. The "cooks" had them roll it out into a long string, and then coil it in their hands until it looked like....a pile of crap. No joke, all the kids are shouting "dong! dong!" (the Korean word for poo).
So then one of the foreign teachers asked my student Raye, "Is that poop?" But Raye responded with "No! It's waste!"
Immediately upgraded to favorite student status.
Monday, May 6, 2013
Lately
Oof, I've been a bad girl. Always neglecting the ol' blog. When it rains, it pours, so lucky you. Time to catch you all up on my life.
--I have officially decided to pursue my masters degree, starting June 3, 2013. I know I vacillated significantly regarding all my options, so thank you for hanging in there with me. I decided to completely disregard my prior musings of concentrating on a Masters in Development. Although that is still something I am interested in, I couldn't fathom getting into that kind of debt without any guarantees for employment.
All things considered, I decided that I will be pursuing my Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in ESL online. This option will allow me to continue teaching abroad and will make finding gainful (oh, let's be real: lucrative) employment wherever I choose to go in the next few years. In addition, since my future career goals definitely include youth services, this further education will still improve my chances towards that end. Finally, I've been feeling the need to seek more professional development in my current position. As such, I think this option is best for me financially and professionally.
--I've officially been in Korea for eight months. As always, it feels like the time has absolutely flown by. I can't believe there is only one season left to go before my contract is up! As a small side-note, real-world-spring (as opposed to Arizona-spring), is the worst. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. What a tease. Bring on summer.
--I've been making a conscious effort to keep in contact with people back home in more ways than one. I have been enjoying sending snail mail to friends and family back home. I'm having so much fun picking out all kinds of cute stationery.
--I'm really loving teaching my kindergarten class. They are such hard workers and every one of them are adorable and brilliant in their own way. It's a surprise to me, too, that they have ended up being my favorite class, and I will definitely be sad when the time comes to leave them.
--I've got so many exciting opportunities coming up. In two weeks, we have a four-day weekend. I'm hoping to go out of town, maybe see Busan, or some other new city. Next month, we have another four-day weekend, which I'm hoping to use to go to Japan. At the end of July, we have a five-day weekend (that is partially causing me inward groans because two day week? Seriously???) that has yet to be determined. Be excited, folks. The possibilities are endless!
That's all for now!
--I have officially decided to pursue my masters degree, starting June 3, 2013. I know I vacillated significantly regarding all my options, so thank you for hanging in there with me. I decided to completely disregard my prior musings of concentrating on a Masters in Development. Although that is still something I am interested in, I couldn't fathom getting into that kind of debt without any guarantees for employment.
All things considered, I decided that I will be pursuing my Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in ESL online. This option will allow me to continue teaching abroad and will make finding gainful (oh, let's be real: lucrative) employment wherever I choose to go in the next few years. In addition, since my future career goals definitely include youth services, this further education will still improve my chances towards that end. Finally, I've been feeling the need to seek more professional development in my current position. As such, I think this option is best for me financially and professionally.
--I've officially been in Korea for eight months. As always, it feels like the time has absolutely flown by. I can't believe there is only one season left to go before my contract is up! As a small side-note, real-world-spring (as opposed to Arizona-spring), is the worst. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. What a tease. Bring on summer.
--I've been making a conscious effort to keep in contact with people back home in more ways than one. I have been enjoying sending snail mail to friends and family back home. I'm having so much fun picking out all kinds of cute stationery.
--I'm really loving teaching my kindergarten class. They are such hard workers and every one of them are adorable and brilliant in their own way. It's a surprise to me, too, that they have ended up being my favorite class, and I will definitely be sad when the time comes to leave them.
--I've got so many exciting opportunities coming up. In two weeks, we have a four-day weekend. I'm hoping to go out of town, maybe see Busan, or some other new city. Next month, we have another four-day weekend, which I'm hoping to use to go to Japan. At the end of July, we have a five-day weekend (that is partially causing me inward groans because two day week? Seriously???) that has yet to be determined. Be excited, folks. The possibilities are endless!
That's all for now!
Thursday, May 2, 2013
Jimjilbanging
Last weekend, I got to check an item off my Korea bucket list: going to a jimjilbang!
Okay, so in case you don't know, a jimjilbang is kind of like a Korean spa. Except that it's not just for hoity-toity white people.
Going to a jimjilbang, unlike a spa back home, is completely financially accessible. It's all of $8 to get in. This gives you access to the communal baths, the saunas, cold rooms, everything. Jimjilbangs are open 24 hours a day, which is why lots of drunk people choose to sleep here overnight.
So...walking into the ladies portion of the joint was...quite the experience. As someone who never had to shower with other girls and had minimal exposure to locker rooms growing up (due to my aversion to working out), the amount of nakedness I encountered was overwhelming. There was just so much ... vagina ... everywhere! I wouldn't exactly consider myself a prude, but really? Is it really necessary to lay out on the communal benches, put on your make-up, do your hair, calm your screaming babies--in the nude? Needless to say, I didn't partake in the communal bathing. I was just too chicken, I'll admit it.
However, onto the part of the jimjilbang that wasn't overwhelmingly nightmarish--the saunas! I've never been the type to partake in sauna-ing before, so this was quite the departure from the norm for me. It was just so utterly relaxing. I could have spent all day there!
About a million other people who have taught in Korea wrote on their blogs about jimjilbangs and no one was nearly as terrified of all the nakedness, so that's probably just a "me" thing.
Okay, so in case you don't know, a jimjilbang is kind of like a Korean spa. Except that it's not just for hoity-toity white people.
Going to a jimjilbang, unlike a spa back home, is completely financially accessible. It's all of $8 to get in. This gives you access to the communal baths, the saunas, cold rooms, everything. Jimjilbangs are open 24 hours a day, which is why lots of drunk people choose to sleep here overnight.
So...walking into the ladies portion of the joint was...quite the experience. As someone who never had to shower with other girls and had minimal exposure to locker rooms growing up (due to my aversion to working out), the amount of nakedness I encountered was overwhelming. There was just so much ... vagina ... everywhere! I wouldn't exactly consider myself a prude, but really? Is it really necessary to lay out on the communal benches, put on your make-up, do your hair, calm your screaming babies--in the nude? Needless to say, I didn't partake in the communal bathing. I was just too chicken, I'll admit it.
However, onto the part of the jimjilbang that wasn't overwhelmingly nightmarish--the saunas! I've never been the type to partake in sauna-ing before, so this was quite the departure from the norm for me. It was just so utterly relaxing. I could have spent all day there!
About a million other people who have taught in Korea wrote on their blogs about jimjilbangs and no one was nearly as terrified of all the nakedness, so that's probably just a "me" thing.
Monday, April 15, 2013
Living a life you love
Waking up to the news of the bombs going off during the Boston Marathon this morning has left me thinking about life, particularly living one you love.
Life is too short to commit yourself to responsibilities that are only paying off in money. While I could be at home, paying my dues at a company and starting a 401k, what kind of life experience would I be getting out of that? Today, as I snuggled with one of my five year olds, I was reflecting on how much I truly love every single one of them (even the boy that touches himself constantly under the table). Not only am I being fulfilled by my work, but I'm loving it, also. I'm in a foreign country with the unique opportunity to learn and understand new people.
Sure, I'm missing out on being with my family and friends. But I'm expanding my family and friend circle here as well. I'm meeting valuable and worthy people that I'm hoping I will connect with for the rest of my life. So when I have to ask myself if I'm interested in doing another year here, the answer in invariably, undeniably: yes.
Life is too short to commit yourself to responsibilities that are only paying off in money. While I could be at home, paying my dues at a company and starting a 401k, what kind of life experience would I be getting out of that? Today, as I snuggled with one of my five year olds, I was reflecting on how much I truly love every single one of them (even the boy that touches himself constantly under the table). Not only am I being fulfilled by my work, but I'm loving it, also. I'm in a foreign country with the unique opportunity to learn and understand new people.
Sure, I'm missing out on being with my family and friends. But I'm expanding my family and friend circle here as well. I'm meeting valuable and worthy people that I'm hoping I will connect with for the rest of my life. So when I have to ask myself if I'm interested in doing another year here, the answer in invariably, undeniably: yes.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Lately: March in Review
My ma and brother came to visit! Although my boss wouldn't give me any time off, it was awesome to be able to hang with them by night and to receive a 50-pound suitcase full of goodies!
Lena and Stella
From the looks they are giving here, you would think that eating these cookies was like, the biggest punishment ever. But really, they were just lulled into being silent for ten minutes. It. Was. AWESOME.
Sigh.
So that was March!
Friday, April 5, 2013
The North Korea Situation
Okay. It's been so ridiculously long since I updated and the longer it's been, the harder it is to start again. But a rainy day seems to be just the excuse to do some updating. And boy is there a lot to update on! I'm going to break it up into a few posts so that you really get some tender lovin' over the next few days to make up for my atrociousness.
The North Korea Situation
I know that many of my family and friends are concerned about this issue. In fact, you're much more concerned than the average Korean citizen if you've worried even a little about it. Not trying to be flippant, but it's true!
Honestly, the situation has not affected my daily life at all. Well, that's not entirely true. There have been some changes. Like the price of food sky-rocketing ($7 for 5 apples or six potatoes--highway robbery, I'm tellin' ya!) and the devaluing of the Korean won. It's good news for visitors who will get a radical exchange rate, but bad news for those of us planning to exchange our money later on. Hopefully, by the time I'm leaving, this madness will have all blown over and I'll be back to making beaucoup bucks.
Every day, the news reports seem to get worse and worse. It's difficult to tell how much of it is sensationalist media and how much is informative and reliable. I've been taking it all serious-as-a-heart-attack and am in the process of preparing a 72-hour kit complete with emergency supplies and whatnot if the situation arises and I need to get out quick. A Canadian coworker checked in with their embassy and was told to proceed to the American checkpoints and was assured that all Canadians would be evacuated after the Americans. So I'm safer than the Canadians, at least.
Well, that's the most up-to-date news from my war-torn country *lament* and I'll make sure I check in here more often so you can all stay apprised.
The North Korea Situation
I know that many of my family and friends are concerned about this issue. In fact, you're much more concerned than the average Korean citizen if you've worried even a little about it. Not trying to be flippant, but it's true!
Honestly, the situation has not affected my daily life at all. Well, that's not entirely true. There have been some changes. Like the price of food sky-rocketing ($7 for 5 apples or six potatoes--highway robbery, I'm tellin' ya!) and the devaluing of the Korean won. It's good news for visitors who will get a radical exchange rate, but bad news for those of us planning to exchange our money later on. Hopefully, by the time I'm leaving, this madness will have all blown over and I'll be back to making beaucoup bucks.
Every day, the news reports seem to get worse and worse. It's difficult to tell how much of it is sensationalist media and how much is informative and reliable. I've been taking it all serious-as-a-heart-attack and am in the process of preparing a 72-hour kit complete with emergency supplies and whatnot if the situation arises and I need to get out quick. A Canadian coworker checked in with their embassy and was told to proceed to the American checkpoints and was assured that all Canadians would be evacuated after the Americans. So I'm safer than the Canadians, at least.
Well, that's the most up-to-date news from my war-torn country *lament* and I'll make sure I check in here more often so you can all stay apprised.
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Lately.
1) Eating kamjatang in my onesie. 2) Cool new train set-up. Maybe I'm the only weirdo who finds this newsworthy. 3) Finally getting exactly what I want for dinner at Korean barbecue! Imagine the fiasco of describing a variety of meats with your hands. 4) An entire aisle of tuna. For reals. 5) The price for grapes. I'm offended and constipated. 6) Some old friend-shaped pasta! In Korea! My world, I tell ya. 7) This beaut changed my life. I've been stuck in a ranch-gasm for weeks. 8) I'm writing for a website! Check it out:
http://www.gloobbi.com/travel/city-spotlight-hongdae-seoul/ 9) Missing this gal like whoa.
Check in on me next week. My ma is visiting! Squee!!!
http://www.gloobbi.com/travel/city-spotlight-hongdae-seoul/ 9) Missing this gal like whoa.
Check in on me next week. My ma is visiting! Squee!!!
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