A Fat Girl in Seoul (Korea, books, and calories)

An Old Married Woman

2012-01-18T21:45:00.003+09:00

Well, I am back. I am really coming back to this blog. I miss it. I miss writing my thoughts down and keeping track of my weight loss and I miss books.

I got married in April 2010. It was a beautiful wedding. My parents, brother, and future sister-in-law flew up from Washington. One of my best friends from high school flew in along with some friends from Japan and Thailand. It was a crazy mess of photographers canceling three days before my wedding to extra guests with not enough seats. Trying to blend a Korean and an American wedding was absolutely crazy and fun. My dress was beautiful. It was great fitting into it and not feeling fat. I felt beautiful and loved. I am still not skinny. I will never be skinny but I am okay with that. I teach aerobics twice a week and go to the gym two times a week. I joined a roller derby team that keeps me skating on the weekends. I feel good when I move. Moving keeps me happy and healthy.
I have decided that I will continue writing here and post updates at least once a week.
Tomorrow I will give my two year update on my weight loss surgery. :-)

Another update

2011-03-26T11:42:00.002+09:00

I feel so badly that I have been neglecting this blog. It was such a big part of my life. I went to Ulsan to get fitted for my hanbok last weekend. It was a blast and not as uncomfortable as it usually is when I visit bf's family. My Korean is actually a lot worse than it was two years ago as I am not doing any studying or taking any classes. I keep trying to make excuses but with everything that I have been doing, I don't have time to take classes. Everyone tells me that one day a week we should only speak together in Korean, but my conversation would be limited to the weather and food. It will happen after I finish my Masters degree. I will not be doing the school yearbook next year either. That has taken all of my time.

My wedding dress came in the mail yesterday. I tried it on and it's VERY tight. It was a custom fit but all the reviews told me that I should give myself a half an inch since it's pretty tight. I didn't because I am still losing inches, well I was, I am kind of stable right now only because it's so cold. I can afford to lose another 5 pounds and I will be able to sit with the dress on.

My parents, brother, and best friend from high school will all be here in one month for my wedding! I can't wait.

Alone in Kuala Lumpur

2010-12-23T11:31:00.003+09:00

In August AirAsia, a budget airline had a huge promotion to celebrate their introduction to flights direct to KL from Incheon. When I saw that the cheap flights I decided to go with a friend during the Thanksgiving holiday. I work for an American school so I get American holidays. At the last minute my travel partner could not go and I would have to go alone since these were super discounted prices and totally non-refundable, non-changeable tickets. I have traveled alone before and while it's not my favorite thing to do, I don't mind it. I just wish I had known she wasn't going with me before I booked the hotel because when traveling alone it's better to stay in a guesthouse or a hostel so that you can meet people. I stayed at the Hotel Equitorial, a five star hotel with views of the Petronas Towers. It was a nice stay but it was a business hotel. I always find business hotels so impersonal. The Indian bellhops made my stay worth it as they were quick to help me out with any kind of travel question. I could tell they felt sorry for me.
The best and worst part of Kuala Lumpur? The food! I love the food there. I love the blend of cultures and all the different types of food. The food was the problem too. I have a tiny stomach and I was alone. I would go to a restaurant and order food usually the waitress or hostess would come to the table and talk to me since I looked so lonely eating alone. After taking a few bites I would be full and they would always ask me, "Oh, you didn't like it?" I would reply that no, that I loved it but was full. They all gave me a look that they didn't believe me. I felt so bad like I was insulting them, but I couldn't just tell them about my surgery. It's too weird. I often feel like I have to explain myself to everyone. It's difficult.

Here is a picture of some curry and toast:

Before:

I'm full:

Oh, and I made sure that my Coke was almost flat...

Almost Normal Weight

2010-11-13T12:21:00.004+09:00

It's almost time to change the name of my blog. I am a couple of pounds from being normal weight. It's very exciting. I have been really bad about exercising with all that is going on in the school. I am teaching in the classroom, yearbook sponsor, student council co-sponsor, and trying to finish my MA degree. I will start up at Sogang again in December to continue on with my Korean studies.

I really do better when I am busy. I really feel that way but I need to make sure that I continue working out to keep my sanity. I miss my walking partner so much because she would force me to go out and walk with her. I live so close to Namsan. I decided that I will start this week walking up to Namsan at least two times a week and will continue on with Chad's Zumba class on Monday and Wednesday.

Tonight I am going to the Seoul Lantern Festival. I can't get over how cold it has been. It has been a strange couple of months, weatherwise.

Weight Loss Support Group in Seoul

2010-11-11T09:58:00.001+09:00

I am super interested in starting something like this in Seoul where we meet somewhere once a month and talk about our experiences. I keep getting emails from people who have had surgery in the states or here and I think it would be great to meet up. If you are interested email me using the button on the side and I'll see if I can set something up.

Size 8 and weddings

2010-10-04T17:13:00.003+09:00

I love it. I am down 78 pounds now and in a size 8. A real size 8, not like a vanity sized Old Navy size 8, although I fit into those too. I really need to buy some new clothes and the truth is I don't see myself losing THAT much more weight. I would love to be in a size 6 at my wedding in April.

Speaking of weddings, we spoke to people at the Dragon Hill Lodge and found out our options for dates. We will be bussing his family up from Ulsan to Seoul so we need to make it a early afternoon wedding. MJ said he would ask his favorite college professor to marry us, in Korean, I am assuming and then we will have a translator. My family keeps bugging me to pick a date but I am waiting for us to go down to Ulsan to have HIS family pick the dates. It's a pain because I want to pick the date and be done with it.

The Dragon Hill Lodge on Yongsan is a beautiful place to have a wedding. I am just a little worried because the open bar will not have Soju and the Korean food on base is not the best. I hope MJ's family will enjoy it. We are doing a Korean-style wedding and an American reception. I do want our first dance to be a Salsa song, though.

Here is a new picture of me at a wedding:

I mentioned that I am back to teaching in the classroom. What the HELL was I thinking? I LOVE it but I forgot how much work it is. The kids are amazing, smart, and so much fun. 5th grade is really such a great year. I truly love each and everyone of my students. I was lucky because I taught about half of them 2 years ago as their 3rd grade Spanish teacher. I knew everyone's name by the 2nd day. It's way easier to learn 25 names than 250 names as a specialist.

Making Samyangju (Korean Liquor)

2010-08-12T17:56:00.004+09:00

I keep telling myself that I need to get a hobby. I have been meeting new people lately and have been stumped when they ask the obligatory, "So, what do you usually do for fun?" It's not a difficult question. I could easily lie and say running or hiking, or just go with reading and watching movies, which is true. I don't know why I get so tongue-tied with this question. I really want to get into crafting because that is what a soon-to-be married women do, right? Anyway, I have all this time off and I got an email about making Korean liquor next week. I like drinking, although, unfortunately I don't drink as much as I used to due to my tiny stomach. I like cooking and baking so making alcohol sounds like a fun thing to do. I remember going to parties where my friend's "cool" friends would bring their own homebrewed beer. Tasty! There was even a party where a guy brought his own moonshine! That was so gross.
Anyway, the class is in English, so it is especially for foreigners. It is at the Susubori Academy. I have never heard of Samyangju before. MJ doesn't really drink liquor so when we go out we usually just drink beer. I am really excited about the class. 50,000W is a great deal considering you get 4 sessions and you get to take the liquor home. I'll update the blog once the classes start next week.

Lasers!

2010-08-05T10:14:00.002+09:00

Two years ago I had Laser Eye Surgery at Dream Eye Center in Myongdong and I blogged about my experiences here. I finally talked MJ into getting it done. He has the ugliest 80's style glasses. I hate them and have been bugging him for years to get this done. I finally just made an appointment for him at the center just to talk to the doctors there. He was so great about helping me out during my surgery that I told him that I would do the same for him. I had to have LASEK, which is the week long recovery. I accompanied him to his appointment. The people there remembered me! The last time I was in that clinic I was 70 pounds heavier and had braces! The lady who helped me the most was surprised at my transformation. MJ was approved for LASIK, which is the short recovery time surgery. We went into the office to set up the appointment for the surgery there is a picture of all these foreigners who had surgery. MJ asked me if I recognized anyone as a lot of teachers from my school went to this clinic and I pointed out a picture of me. It's weird seeing photos of myself so much heavier. I never felt that heavy. He scheduled his surgery for tomorrow, Friday August 6th.

Burger places everywhere!

2010-07-29T09:18:00.004+09:00

That is what MJ noticed most about the US. He couldn't get over how many burger places there were from drive-thru fast food joints to the sit down burger places, such as Red Robin, YUM. It was MJ's first trip to the United States to visit my family. Last year he went to Puerto Rico with me, and although technically in the US, it is not culturally the United States. I think I was most excited to show MJ the very large parking spaces in the US so that he would understand that is why I have a hard time parking in Korea. Koreans are the best parkers in the world because they have to be. Those parking spots do not leave any room for error.
I am glad that World Cup fever was still in full swing. MJ was able to bond with my father and younger brother over soccer. My dad even bought Panini FIFA Sticker Booklets for all the "boys" in the family. They spent a couple of nights outside trading and posting stickers. It was great!

Everyone loved MJ. We had a great time. We went rafting, boating, to an amusement park, and shopping. I didn't really buy that many clothes because I am still losing weight. I am fitting into size 8's now. I can't wait to get into the size 6's. We only spent a little over two weeks in Spokane because we needed to go back home to pick a new apartment. Itaewonfatty is moving back to Itaewon! :-)

Vegas with the girls

2010-07-23T13:21:00.003+09:00

MJ was really worried about me going to Vegas with my besties for a long weekend. I would officially be only 5 months after surgery, not six. Oops, I can't count, so I am not really supposed to drink until six months. MJ has met Sam and has only seen Vegas on TV. The media shows Vegas as a place of debauchery with casinos, drinking, and prostitutes galore. MJ wasn't too worried about the prostitutes but there is that whole saying "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."
Who are these girls I went to Vegas with? Only my best friends from high school. Pretty cliche, huh? I think the reason we have stayed so close over these last 11 years is that we truly understand each other. We were all military brats (the children of US military members) living in Panama. The military brats definitely have their own subculture. We had our big 10 year high school reunion in Orlando, Florida last year and Adele, Sam, Adriana and I decided to plan something so that Megan could join in. We had fun at the reunion but we had more fun just hanging out at the hotel gossiping with each other. We planned for Vegas the summer of 2010 and it worked out. Adele got pregnant and was due a few weeks before our weekend getaway so she wasn't able to make it.
Sam has a friend who own vacation timeshares everywhere and was able to set us up in Vegas for almost nothing. It was a little off the strip but the hotel had a lazy river and it was a two bedroom suite.

So what happened? We were back at the hotel by 12:00am each night. How did this happen? How did we get so old? We are not even 30 yet? It was just that none of us gamble and we weren't feeling the club scene. The hotel had awesome accommodations and all we really wanted to do was spend time with each other gossiping! We didn't go to bed that early because we would usually just talk until about 3-4am. We would still wake up refreshed to hang out and drink along the lazy river.
The last day we were suckered to watch this 3 hour timeshare presentation. I am such a dupe and signed up for a trial version but it was a complete rip-off because since I live in Korea and I am a teacher I only had vacation time during their "red season." I was able to get my money back, thank goodness because MJ and I had to buy new "grown-up" furniture this summer to get shipped back to Korea. Those sales-people are so talented.

No reason for "What happens in Vegas" stories. The truth is what happens in Vegas, ends up on facebook.

I weigh about 150 in that photo! Getting closer and closer to my goal. Oh and I didn't drink, that much. It's impossible with my tiny stomach.

The Korean Language

2010-06-11T22:09:00.005+09:00

I have a love/hate relationship with the Korean language. When I came here I had no intention of learning the language. I was only going to be here two years before I received a transfer to a school in Sunny Okinawa with all the beautiful Marines or to a base somewhere in Italy or Spain. Who would have known I would have fallen for a ~~Korean man~~ wonderful Korean man. So after meeting MJ I decided to start to learn the language.

I started taking a class on base with the University of Maryland, and although I only attended 3/4th of the classes I received a solid B in my first class. I don't remember learning anything except the written language and the formal conjugation. Really, because that is going to help me get around... I gave up for a while--more like a year. The next year I decided to start going to Sogang for their wonderful program in the evening. I really enjoyed it in the beginning and I was really learning a lot. Towards the end it started to feel like a chore and no longer fun. It got to be REALLY difficult when I went to level 2a and everyone in my class had been held back from the 2b class so they were SOOO ahead of me. I hated Korean class. I am a language teacher, I know how important motivation is. I was not motivated. I quit Sogang and took a break from Korean.

Last March I found an ad about a small study group of people at the high beginner level of Korean. I decided to join them and since they were using the Sogang books and at level 1b, I felt like I fit in because it was a review for me. It was great, but now that we are in level 2a and it' getting difficult, I have lost all motivation.

"It's too hard. The other students are to far ahead of me. I am stupid." These are the phrases that I am telling myself. It's hard because I never really had to work at anything academically. I never excelled at anything either. I was just always a little above average with everything. Well, I am NOT above average when it comes to Korean. Everyone keeps telling me that it should be easy to learn Korean, I already speak another language. I didn't learn Spanish in a classroom. I grew up with it. I took it in high school and college because it was easy. I am kind of lazy. I don't want to be, I NEED to learn this language so that I can speak to MJ's family. MJ can speak to mine already...in TWO languages. :-(

I also want to blame my parents for letting me quit things I was not good at. Hahaha. I am only half-joking. They always wanted me to be happy, and I was happy, but I might have been better off if I were forced to finish things.

**I love my Korean tutor now, it's only hard because I am expected to study outside of class. I tell my students that if they really want to learn Spanish they need exposure to it EVERY day. I don't have exposure to Korean everyday. I know I live in Korea and I live with a Korean man but my Korean exposure is limited to my Korean class. It doesn't have to be like that, but it would take motivation to change it.**

Boracay and Manila

2010-05-17T18:05:00.004+09:00

I knew I would love the Philippines. I have been obsessed with Filipino literature for the past year. I was especially interested in getting a copy of the 2008 Man Asian Awardbook Illustrado by Miguel Syjuco, which is only available in the Philippines. When one of my coworkers needed someone to share a room with on her Spring Break trip to Boracay, I jumped at the chance. Tickets from Seoul to Manila were only about 300,000W ($290) using the budget, no-frills airline Cebu Pacific. It was a 4 and a half hour trip to Manila. No frills means no water, you have to pay for everything, even the best seats on the plane. The seats were so tiny and on my 5'2 frame you know it's bad when my knees touched the seat in front of me. 600,000W was what all the other airlines quoted us when we looked up flights. Cebu Pacific didn't show up on any of the airfare sites, like kayak.com or cheapoair.com. We got to Manila at 1:30am in the morning, which kind of sucked. We booked a hotel and had the hotel set up a shuttle to take us from the airport to the hotel. The shuttle service was 16.00, which is REALLY expensive in the Philippines considering we didn't go very far, but there were 8 of us and it was 1:30am. The hotel we stayed at was St. Illian's Inn in Makati. It was a really cute guest house. It's not the place to spend a long time in Manila, but it was perfect for the few hours of sleep we needed.
Here's a picture of the TINY room in the hotel.

Oh and I can't forget the funny sign in the hotel above the toilet!

After a night in Manila, the next morning we went to the domestic airport. We had our hotel book our flights from Manila to Boracay with Seaair. I think it may have been cheaper if we booked it directly, but with a big group of 8 people, having the hotel fix everything was the better choice. The hotel we stayed at was Nigi Nigi Nu Noos 'e' Nu Nu Noos. (Say that 3 times fast) It was one of the best vacations I have had. We spent a lot of time just hanging out by the beach. I feel like this year has been pretty stressful so it was perfect. I just wish MJ could have gone with me, because I feel like he would have loved it. I think I loved the fact that I was wearing sizes 10-12 shorts. Although I loved my trip to Vietnam, I often felt so bad about myself on that trip. My weight was such a hinderence. Often Filipinos would come up to me and look at me as though they didn't know if they could speak Tagolog to me. Then of course, my VERY Caucasian travel mates would come around and they knew I was a "foreigner." It felt good to feel like I "belonged," although I know I really didn't. I don't speak Tagolog but I really felt like I could be HOME, if that makes any sense. Maybe it was because it looked so much like Latin America.

Here are some pictures of Nigi Nigi:

Me in front of the hotel:

Manila could be anywhere in South America:

Oh and I bought the book for a little over $6.00! Can you believe it?

Lately

2010-04-26T16:03:00.003+09:00

I keep telling myself that I am going to update the blog. A lot has happened in the last month. I went to Anmyeondo, the Philippines (finally), got engaged, and am no longer obese!

The first is that I am down 47 pounds now. My BMI is now 29.7 BMI of 30 and higher is obese -in the beginning I had a BMI of 38.4 which is just two points of morbidly obese. I hit that morbidly obese for about a week!

Engaged! Yes, we are doing it. Not sure when. We keep arguing over dates since I need to give my family and friends ample time to come to Korea. We are having the wedding in Korea because it just makes sense. I don't really have a hometown and my closest friends span the United States. I am thinking I can plan some day trips for them while they are here to make the trip to Korea worthwhile.

The trips to Anmyeondo and the Philippines will come in the next update because I have pictures. One in the Philippines I am wearing my new size 10 shorts!!!!

Donjak Cloud Bridge Cafe

2010-03-20T16:21:00.003+09:00

I love how Seoul puts so much money into the Han River Parks. They are amazing for walking, biking, rollerblading, and pretty much any other kind of thing you would want to do. My walking partner and I walk along the Han River several times a week and it never gets boring because there is always something new and interesting going on. After a walk around Seoul National Cemetery near Donjak station we walked by one of those Han River cafes along the bridges that looking like Air Traffic Control Towers. I hosted one of our book club meetings at one of those after checking it out. It was so fun and pretty. We chose the Cloud Cafe (Gureum). It's a great place for a date since at night you get a perfect view of the Banpo bridge light show. I don't know when they will start that again. The food and coffee is decent, the ice cream is better but people come for the view. I had a really hard time finding good directions to the cafe.

Go out at Donjak Station exit 1. Turn left and you see this:

Go up the stairs and follow the little cartoon yellow guy, who happens to be the cafe's mascot.

Follow the sidewalk all the way to the big control tower.

Press the open button on the door --not the elevator, that only goes down to the Han River Park.

Voila, you are there!

The servers were all super friendly and spoke English to me, although I was trying to practice my Korean skills.

It's been 6 weeks!

2010-03-04T21:15:00.002+09:00

These last couple of weeks have been insane. I turned 29 on Saturday the 27th of February. This birthday was interesting considering I couldn't drink or eat any food. I think this was the first time I have been sober on a birthday since I was about 17. Hmmm...a little creepy. I forget why I can't drink. There's a good reason, I am sure. I was told that I can not drink for 6 months after the surgery. It just so happens I will be in Vegas when six months hit! MJ and I were playing around with getting a cake made out of splenda to bring to my birthday party, but it didn't quite work out. So we picked up a cake that I could not eat. Everyone else enjoyed it.

I am down 30 pounds now. I am kind of at a small stall. It happens around the 6-8 week mark, I have heard. I am still getting in about 700-800 calories a day. I haven't been doing well with the shakes because I can't stand the thought of them. I am trying to make sure that I get my protein in by diet, but it is not quite working out as well as it should. Have I been working out? Not as much as I should. I am trying to start to get back into my crazy walking with my walking partner. My graduate class is finishing this week so I will have more free time soon. I have been doing aerobics videos at home, but need to get into something a little more regular.

I am very happy about my surgery. I still get a little acidy when I eat too quickly or something that I shouldn't. It's like Pavlov's Dogs, though. I don't want to go through with that again, so I stop eating the items that are painful.

Yummy and expensive Turkish food

2010-02-15T16:02:00.006+09:00

I went to a going away lunch for a friend who is moving to Hanoi and was introduced to Pasha. Pasha is a delicious Turkish restaurant in Gangnam. Its interior is absolutely beautiful with Middle Eastern lamps, pillows, and decor.

I am finally on solid foods so I can say that the food was delicious. Especially the Adana and Asvar Kebabs and yogurts. Luckily the group was open to ordering several dishes and all of us tasting and splitting it up. I still can only eat about 1/2 cup of food at a time so it was a little over the top for me but every "taste" and literally, bite of everything was amazing. Everyone really enjoyed the pasta, but that's the one thing I did NOT try, I am supposed to stay away from carbs. The food was quite pricey but the website has a 10% coupon you can use. The girls were nice enough to split up the check and have me pay for less because I was only able to eat very little, but I need to get used to paying 20 dollars for less than half a cup of food if I am going to keep going out to eat.

The place is worth the money. It is definitely date-worthy. How to get there: From Gangnam station take exit 5. Turn around and walk left into the side street. You can see it on your left hand side within 50 meters of walking into the side street.

Here is a map:

After a month I am down 25 pounds.

Weekend in Yongpyong

2010-02-10T18:16:00.004+09:00

I don't ski, I don't snowboard either. I really don't like cold weather and am a summer sports girl. I have skied (I checked, it is "skied") before in Germany when I was in high school and even tried snowboarding in Pennsylvania when I was in the military. I just could never get into it. Skiing and snowboarding are pretty big here considering all the mountains Korea has.
I normally don't do much during the winter in Korea. I don't like leaving the house when it is cold. After my surgery, I started feeling a little "cabin fever" so I booked a hotel in Yongpyong for the "International Ski Festival." The festival happens every year in February. There are races, discount on rooms, discount ski passes, parties, and even a dance party at the end of the festivities. I went with a Korean friend of mine. We didn't participate in any of the festivities because we were too tired after our day of snow hiking and sledding. Paying 40,000W for a buffet doesn't sound like the best thing to do after weight loss surgery.
I was kind of disappointed with the room at the Dragon Valley Resort in Yongpyong. It was old, the carpet was stained, and the bathroom was dingy. I expected so much more after paying 190,000W for one night, and that was with a discount. I heard there is a couple other of hotels and hostels in the area. There is even a youth hostel on the resort and if I could do it again, I may stay there next time.
Here is a picture of the room:

There are a lot of Winter Sonata Drama pictures and landmarks. It was a lot of fun to go to all the places. I haven't gotten into Winter Sonata yet, only have seen the first 4 episodes.

Anyway it was beautiful and it actually changed my mind about skiing. I think I may take it up next year.

From the cable car:

Oh, we even went bowling! There are lockers in the resort area to leave your valuables while you ski, or bowl.

The shuttle bus to Yongpyeong was easy and cheap. A roundtrip ticket for 26,000W. We took the bus from Apgujeong station at 8:30am and got to Yongpyong at around 11:30.

Dating Korean Men....

2010-02-02T19:05:00.004+09:00

I have spoken to several Western women who have been interested in dating Korean men and spoken to several more who have dated a few. Korean men are men first, then Korean. Best advice I can give? PLEASE don't get all freaked out when the Korean men start talking about marriage with the first couple of weeks dating. It does not mean that they want to marry you RIGHT NOW. Just tell them that you don't feel comfortable talking about it so soon. If they call or text you all the time, just tell them that you are busy. Most of the time the guys feel relieved that they don't have to do this anymore. These are just the norms that they are used to. MJ has a lot of friends who regularly date foreign girls. I love hearing all the stories...

Thanks pirateygoodness for letting me use your photo!

Multi-cultural life...

2010-01-31T19:16:00.002+09:00

MJ and I have a lot in common. As I mentioned before, what brought us together is the Spanish language. MJ even likes my Latino comedies/novelas and is the only Korean I know that has a Hector Lavoe ringtone. Hector Lavoe is one of the kings of Salsa. I love that he can appreciate the music that I grew up on. I often forget that he's not Latino/American. If I can't figure out how to say something English, I'll say it in Spanish and he'll understand what I am talking about. We don't speak as much Spanish in the house as we used to. I do miss that.
Today we were watching George Lopez. He's a Mexican-American comedian that I love to watch because a lot of the skit that he does, relates to my own experience of growing up in a Latino family. MJ gets the jokes. I think I have mentioned that he has studied in Mexico and traveled throughout South America and he understands Latino culture.
I realized that he wasn't Latino or American when George Lopez started talking about Jack-in-the-box. He asked me what kind of restaurant it was. I told him that it was named after the childhood toy a "Jack-in-the-box." He looked at me with a weird face. I looked it up on youtube to show him what a Jack-in-the-box was. I don't think our relationship would be as strong as it is without youtube, google, or naver. He didn't understand why kids would like that toy. :-( I loved my Jack-in-the box.

Oh, and I am down 17 pounds!

Weight loss surgery in Korea

2010-01-24T10:44:00.003+09:00

I have received several emails and comments asking about doing weight loss surgery here. It was difficult for me to find information about the several clinics and hospitals that do it but luckily my boyfriend (Korean) was able to do a lot of research for me. He was always supportive of my decisions but was really nervous because this is a life changing surgery. Doing his own research in Korean helped him find the information to help me and ease his mind. Although we communicate very well, medical terminology is always difficult if you don't have the training in the language.
So there are several clinics that do the different weight loss surgeries in Korea. There are fat people in Korea. Asians do have a smaller bone structure so their BMI has a lower threshold for what overweight/obese is. If you don't believe me read this link from BBC. So I went to several different clinics to do my research with prices, facilities, and research about the doctors. The price ranges from 6 million won to 9.5 million won. It is ALL inclusive. I chose Soonchunhyang Hospital mostly because it was closer to where I live and I got a really good feeling from the doctor. The one thing that the people on obesityhelp.com or verticalsleevetalk.com is that you don't want to go to a Dr. that has done less than 500 sleeves. Well, that is impossible here in Korea. The several doctors that I went to had all done around 15-20. Don't let that scare you. Gastric cancer is the most frequent cancer in Korea, most people think it is due to the high salt content of Korean food. All of the doctors here were (or all still) stomach surgeons that have done thousands of stomach cancer surgeries over the years. The most common way to remove stomach cancer is to cut out the part that has the surgery and sometimes that includes the gullet. Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy (VSG) is an easy surgery after that. Here is some information about Gastric cancer HERE.
The hospital stay was great. I stayed in a room with two other people, that was my choice. I didn't care to stay in a room by myself because it was so much more expensive. 16,000W a night to 120,000W a night. I was lucky because one of my roommates was a foreigner having the same surgery. The only problem I had was that sometimes there were some language barriers. The nurses were sometimes embarrassed to try to speak English to you. I mean we are in Korea, so it is expected. I luckily had the boyfriend with me most of the time. The other foreigner in my room would often have nurses from the international clinic come up to help her with explaining things. With the more expensive clinics you get your own room and own private nurse...
Recovery time is about a week, you spend 3 days in the hospital. You go home to a liquid diet and then in two weeks you move up to pureed foods, three weeks, mushy foods, and then solids after that. It is NOT an easy way out. This is serious surgery. In the beginning most people get a lot of acid reflux. Whenever I start to get acidy I start to walk around the room, or I take my dog out on a walk. It helps tremendously. The doctor probably won't clear me to do any high impact exercising until 6 weeks after surgery but expects me to walk at least 30 minutes 3 times a week. No problem.
The doctor expects me to lose 75-80 pounds in a year. It seems a little low, but I have done tons of research and most women around my age and starting weight and height lose that 75-80 pounds in 6-8 months. The more you weigh, the more you lose. The studies say that you will lose 60-80% of your excess weight in a year, if you follow the directions.
I chose VSG over the lapband because I didn't like the idea of a foreign object in my body.
I must go make a protein shake now! Yuck, I am so sick of those things. After surgery I am supposed to get 60 grams of protein in a day, how do I do that when I am on a liquid diet? Protein shakes....I used to like them.

Banana Heart Summer by Merlinda Bobis

2010-01-20T12:47:00.006+09:00

Banana Heart Summer by Merlinda Bobis
Another great novel from the Philippines. I have always been interested in the Philippines. I grew up around the world on US military bases, and there has always been a large Filipino population in the US military, especially the Navy. I don't quite understand why, but I will do some research later. One thing that I have always noticed is that the Filipino and Latino culture are very similar. (I wonder why? I mean Spain ruled Latin America and the Philippines for hundreds of years)

This is not the book to read after having stomach surgery.

The book uses food as an introduction to each chapter, along with mouthwatering descriptions of the dishes. The protagonist, Nenita (which means "little girl" in Spanish) lives in a poor barrio in the Philippines in the 1960's. She is the oldest of five and decides to drop out of school at 12 to work as a maid for a wealthy woman. Nana Dora, the local cook, who teaches Nenita how to cook also tells her the legend of the Banana Heart, where if someone eats it, they will never be hungry. She starves for her mother's love and often uses food to get a connection with her family. Nenita's coming of age happens during one dramatic summer where she finds her own banana heart.

I loved this novel. Merlinda Bobis is a poet and you can tell that with her gift of language. I couldn't find any information that the book was translated and think it is amazing that people can write beautifully in a language that is not their native tongue. I loved all the Filipino used in the novel, I am not sure if it was Tagolog because I don't recognize, but I could figure out what was said through the context and the bit of Spanish that is used in the Filipino languages. I can't wait to be able to eat real food again so I can try some of these dishes, in small quantities of course.

GIVEAWAY!!
I plan on giving this book away to anyone that is interested. Please fill out this form to be entered: Banana Heart Summer entry form

Cervantes Institute in Seoul!

2010-01-18T22:09:00.007+09:00

I am so excited! I just read in the Korean Herald that the plans to build a Cervantes institute is in the works. I had heard this a couple of months ago but I thought it was just a rumor. The purpose of an Instituto Cervantes is to promote the Spanish language around the world. They usually have Spanish-language library, Spanish classes, and even methods classes for teachers of Spanish. I would love to go to some Spanish teacher method classes. The one in Korea will start Kyung Hee University Global Campus in Suwon but eventually they want to be their own entity. No date in the article for when it will be opened. I will keep my eye on it. There's an Instituto Cervantes in Tokyo, and I can imagine that it would be set up the same. They have some great classes and cultural events set up. Here is their website: Instituto Cervantes en Tokio

Where have I been this past week?

2010-01-17T15:31:00.003+09:00

I wasn't going to share it with everyone. I wanted this information to stay with my close friends and family, but I realize there is not a lot of information about this in Korea, or if I wanted to make this blog to track my weight loss, or lack thereof lately, I need to be honest with myself and my readers. I had weight loss surgery last week. Yes, me the person who was calling it an easy way out last year. I had been doing so well with losing weight and working out and then when I stopped working out I had pneumonia and my chronic bronchitis I had almost gained all my weight back. I was on track to Diabetes II at the age of 28 and I needed to do something about it.
I had the surgery done in Seoul at Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital in Hannam on January 14, 2009. Today is my 3rd day post op and everything is okay other than I am having a hard time getting my protein in - I don't mind the protein shakes, but I can drink that fast right now. I also have a headache from hell. I heard it could have been due to the pain killers I was on, or the fact that I only consumed 300 calories yesterday. I tried to drink more, but I just couldn't drink fast enough.
The procedure I had done was the "Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy." Which is not as intense and the gastric bypass, but a little more so than that lap-band.

Image borrowed from NYU's Thin For Life Program

Caucasia by Denzy Senna

2010-01-10T11:10:00.004+09:00

Caucasia by Denzy Senna
Racial (or Ethnic-in my case) identity is something that has always intrigued me. Caucasia is the story of two biracial children that are separated when their parents split up. Birdie, who could pass for white goes with her white mother as they go into hiding from the government. Cole, who is a lot darker than Birdie, goes to Brazil with her black father, where race relations are supposed to be better than 1970's America. The story is from Birdie's point of view, which is an innocent child who is dealing with the racial identity issues. It doesn't help as she has to pass as a Jewish girl in a New England town. It is a coming of age story and when most teenagers have enough issues, with hormones and peer pressure; Birdie has to add a schizophrenic mom and new identities to the mix.
This is SWBC's pick for January and I am glad we decided on it.

The Bread of Life

2010-01-09T20:43:00.004+09:00

Jetstar has the cheapest fares in Vietnam for domestic flights. Be careful because they screwed us twice out of our flights by canceling them. The first time they sent us an email telling us our flight was canceled and we were scheduled on the next day's flight. Thank God for my Ipod touch and free wireless everywhere. The second time was before an international connection and we found out on our way to the airport, no friendly email that time. Luckily, Vietnam Airlines was able to book flights for us but we had to wait for 5 hours in Da Nang. The Da Nang airport is not a place where you want to hang out for 5 hours. I looked on Tripadvisor.com for a place to go to in Da Nang for a cafe that we can hang out in for a couple of hours. "Bread of Life" was listed as #1 in restaurants for Da Nang. We picked up a cab from the airport. We used a metered cab. The restaurant was amazing. I had the most delicious burger and the girls had some delicious mac & cheese and soup. They serve American food with delicious sweets.
Bread of Life was started by Bob and Kathleen Huff. They train and hire deaf employees. The deaf employees "speak" Vietnamese sign language and American sign language. The proceeds from the restaurant goes back into the deaf community and deaf ministry. The servers were so sweet and cute. One in particular, Chan, kept us company during our wait. He even taught us some sign. I'll includes some photos of the restaurant.

We were all exhausted!

Lazy Me

2010-01-09T20:28:00.006+09:00

I often hear, "You have lived in Korea for 3+ years, how do you not know this?" Having a Korean partner really makes a person lazy. I don't ever eat Korean food without him. I think my Korean might actually be BETTER if we didn't live together. Oh well, I am starting classes up again in February. I need to learn for my future in-laws.

Not Nha Trang but Da Nang

2010-01-04T11:53:00.005+09:00

We didn't have set plans in Vietnam because we all decided we wanted to be flexible. It's a good thing we did. Plane tickets around Vietnam are cheaper when you go to airline counters at the airport and/or travel agencies throughout Hanoi. You have to be careful with the travel agencies and do your research with ticket prices online first. We wanted to go to go to Nha Trang, a coastal city and capital of Khánh Hòa province, on the South Central Coast of Vietnam. Unfortunately, we didn't think Christmas would be a big travel time in Vietnam, due to it being a Communist country. We were wrong. The flights were booked and we had to make other plans.
We decided on Da Nang, another coastal town which is here:
Thanks Wikipedia.
Da Nang is about 15 minutes away from the famous China Beach (now called Non Nuoc), an R&R spot for American military during the Vietnam War. We stayed on the Sandy Beach Resort We was very wary of this resort after reading the negative reviews on tripadvisor.com. The staff is really friendly and helped us with everything we needed. There were not a lot of people in the resort but I think it made the place better. We felt we had our own private resort. This is definitely not a "party hotel" as they don't allow outside guests after 9:30 and the live entertainment ends right about midnight. Here are some photos of the resort!

Here I am!

Reading Challenges

2010-01-03T15:39:00.003+09:00

I will interrupt my Vietnam travel blogs with my 2010 reading challenges. I failed my 2009 challenges miserably and promise to do better this year.

Here they are:

The Medium Challenge
Read two novels from each of these continents in the course of 2010:
Africa
Asia
Australasia
Europe
North America (incl Central America)
South America

and

** Pick 12 books – one for each month of the year - that you’ve been wanting to read (that have been on your “To Be Read” list) for 6 months or longer, but haven’t gotten around to.

** OPTIONAL: Create a list of 12 “Alternates” (books you could substitute for your challenge books, given that a particular one doesn’t grab you at the time)

** Then, starting January 1, read one of these books from your list each month, ending December 31. )
1. A Message from God in the Atomic Age by Irene Vilar
2. The Foreign Student by Susan Choi
3. At the Tomb of the Inflatable Pig: Travels Through Paraguay by John Gimlette
4. Banana Heart Summer by Merlinda Bobis Finished January 19, 2010
5. Beijing Doll by Sue Chun
6. Between Two Worlds: Escape From Tyranny by Zainab Salbi and Laurie Becklund
7. Delirio por Laura Restrapo
8. Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
9. Lima Nights by Marie Arana
10. Monkey King by Patricia Chao
11. Once Removed by Mako Yoshikawa
12. Silent Dancing by Judith Ortize Cofer

Good Morning, Vietnam!

2010-01-01T18:17:00.004+09:00

Vietnam was not my first choice for my Winter vacation, but it had some of the cheapest fares from Seoul. I really didn't know what to expect but I had grown up watching the "Nam" movies: Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now, Hamburger Hill, and Good Morning, Vietnam. I read Catfish and Mandala by Andrew X. Pham to prepare for the trip as I was sure it had changed a bit from the "Nam" stories I have heard. I'll write about that novel later. I was excited and was able to get two of friends to come along with me, as the boyfriend couldn't come due to work. :-( We booked our first two nights in Hanoi and had no plans after that.

The hotel we stayed in the first two nights was the absolute best guesthouse around. It was not a guesthouse in the way you would think of a hostel but a boutique hotel. The hotel is called The Hanoi Lakeside Hotel. It's in a perfect location right by the Hoan Kiem Lake and right in Old Quarter. The staff was very friendly and helped us with everything from plane tickets, tours, and even finding a pharmacy. The best part of the hotel is that they had "family rooms" that could be set up for three people--no hard fold-up beds in this hotel. (Traveling with three people is HARD)

Here is a picture of our room:

Here is the street hotel is on; it's just so pretty

More Vietnam news to come!

A gem in Hyehwa

2009-12-21T22:32:00.008+09:00

I love Coffee Shops. I am not really a coffee drinker. I loved flavored cofeeish drinks. I am a big fan of Starbucks' Dark Cherry Mocha, not real coffee, I know. I am more of a tea drinker. Anyway, my goal with my bookclub is I try to find cool interesting venues in Seoul. I usually just do some random searching on Naver (Korea's google). I don't really read Korean very well but I use Naver as someone would do a logic puzzle. I put the words I do know together and try to figure out the rest. The boyfriend is usually very impressed with my Navering skills.

The area around Hyehwa station is called Daehangno. It is a very fun, eclectic area that's filled with universities and students. The Holy Spirit Campus of the Catholic University of Korea, Korean National Open University, Seoul National University Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University, and Hansung University Design campus are all in this area. I found this cute cafe that has been around since 1956, that says a lot for Seoul, since it seems like business go in and out of business very quickly here. The Cafe is called Hakrim or 학림. Here are some shots from inside.

It was very quiet on a Sunday afternoon and perfect for a bookclub meeting or writing by yourself. The staff was very friendly and filled the cafe with beautiful classical music - on vinyl!

The website is here: Hakrim Cafe The link to the map is on the site. It is only 50m from exit 3 so dont' go too far!

Night Fish Market

2009-12-16T16:54:00.010+09:00

Last Saturday while the boyfriend, Cousin, and I were watching K-dramas -- well I was watching K-dramas, boyfriend was playing some online majong-like game, and Cousin was talking on the phone -- we all decided that we were hungry. It was 1am and all of the delivery places were closed and there was no place to go to pick up food other than the random snacks at the local minimart. Cousin had the bright idea to go to the Noryangjin Fish Market. At 1am? I have been trying so long to get MJ to take me to this fish market to have fresh food, but he never wanted to go. Now he wants to go at 1am? The catch was, I had to drive there. Just so you guys know, I hate driving in unfamiliar places in Korea at night...doesn't everyone?
Noryangjin Fish Market is on Yeouido right off of Hangang Bridge. It's right by Noryangjin Station but that is not going to help much at 1am when the subway is closed.
Here it is:

We were able to get fresh sashimi for less than 10,000W and the supermarket in the fish market has some awesome deals on bulk items.

Yummy fish heads!

It was so empty!

Here is our raw fish feast. Yes, we are using a Korea Herald as a placemat. It's all about recycling. :-)

Marché de Noël in Seoul

2009-12-10T20:07:00.003+09:00

This will be my last post on Seorae Maeul for a long time, I promise. I just hope everyone that reads this and lives in Seoul will make a trip out there someday.

Every December the residents of Seorae Maeul put on a Christmas Market, or Marché de Noël. This year the market was on the 5th of December.

It was a perfect day. The market was in Ginkgo Park. They have about 15-18 booths of French cheeses, wines, artwork, baguettes, crepes, and even a booth of Korean food. :-) We are in Korea after all.

The best part that it started snowing right in the middle of the market. The first snow of the year!

I have heard it is Korean culture to walk with a loved one in the first snow. I have yet to do it.... Boooo...

So the German Christmas Market is this Saturday in Hannam-Dong

The Cupcake Shop and my obsession with Seorae Maeul

2009-12-07T16:51:00.004+09:00

I have this new obsession with Seorae Maeul. I just keep going back and there is so much there. I can't believe I spent three years in Seoul without discovering it. I have heard of cupcake shops growing popularity in the US and Canada, I just haven't ever really see one. When Cath and I went to the Seorae flea market we came across one. It is called "Life is Just a Cup of Cake". I hear there is one in Itaewon too.
Anyway, looking for a place to buy 5,000W cupcakes? There carrot cake cupcakes taste just like what my mom used to make, only better. Just so you know, eating cupcakes will NOT help you lose any weight. I will continue the weight loss part of the blog later. Until then....Cupcakes!!! It's right by Ginkgo Park in Seorae Maeul.

There's my arm and the delicious cupcakes:

The store is so cute!!!

They even have baking classes!!!

I need to go learn Korean now so I can take these classes.

It's right by Gingko Park.

French Cooking Classes in Seoul

2009-11-27T23:31:00.006+09:00

I am currently in the middle of my Thanksgiving break weekend. I waited too long to plan any big trips so I decided that I would try to find something interesting to do in Seoul. I found that the Global Center in Seorae Maeul, the French part of Seoul that I visited last week offered French cooking classes every so often. Unfortunately, a lot of the Global Center classes are during the day on weekdays. Since I knew I had this Friday of I signed up for the class. I had the greatest time with a whole bunch of Korean and French housewives learning how to make Pot au feu and Flan. The class was only 12,500W.

The best part, setting up to eat...

They are having a couple of more cooking classes. If you have Fridays off I would recommend trying it out. The cooking instructor Sonia is awesome!

Here is the link to the Seorae Global Village Center

President Obama's Visit

2009-11-25T20:03:00.003+09:00

Last week President Obama came to Korea. It was pretty exciting knowing he would be flying into Yongsan. The elementary school decided to line everyone up on the road where he would be passing by with little American flags. Here are some photos of the excitement.

The main event, luckily my friend Steph, was able to snap in the 30 seconds when he drove by. One hour waiting in the cold with 1200 kids for 30 seconds....

Seorae Maeul - the French part of Seoul

2009-11-17T16:17:00.006+09:00

Who would guess that this picture was taken right in the middle of Seoul. It was taken in Seorae Maeul (서래마을), which is right next to the Donjak bridge and the Express Bus Terminal in Seoul. It is often referred to the French District and the International French School (Lycee Francais de Seoul) is located here. I heard there are a little over 500 hundred French residents in this town, a little under half of all French in Seoul.
Why is there a French District in Seoul? Well, after the Asian Financial crisis in the 1990's Korea wanted to work on its rail transportation. They wanted something fast and reliable. Several companies bid on this project but the French TGV (high-speed train) won. Many French families moved to Seoul to develop the KTX, which is based on the TGV.
So here are some interesting photos.
Down the main street you can see it is lined with French and Korean flags.

Here you can see a street sign in both Korean and French:

Here is a picture of a store where you can get any kind of French cheese you want, it's adjacent to Ginkgo Park when you turn left from the Starbucks on the main road.

Oh, the reason I went to this town this weekend was for the Seorae Global Village Center Flea Market that was in Gingko Park. I expected more French artsy stuff, but I may have gotten there too late.

I love how anyone can sanitize their hands anywhere they go in Korea. This antibacterial stuff was so hard to find in Korea three years ago. Now it is everywhere. This bottle was on the bench right in the middle of the flea market.

The Seorae Global Village Center has a lot of classes and activities, a lot of it revolves around France and French Culture. I will be taking a French cooking class there next week. Here's their website: Seorae Global Village Center. Be sure to check out events and sign up ahead of time, since the classes fill up quickly.

I even found some Spanish there!

Which comes from this beautiful mural.

There were tasty wine bars and wine shops all along the main street.

Great Battle of Myeongryang Festival

2009-11-10T22:47:00.003+09:00

Every October the island of Jindo holds The Great Battle of Myeongryang Festival. This year they invited 200 people from the US military bases for a free trip down to the island. I had signed up and MJ wanted to go, but the invite specified foreigners so he didn't go, but there ended up being quite a few Koreans on the trip.
On October 26th, 1597, Admiral Yi Sunshin of the Korean Navy, with his 13 ships took on the Japanese fleet of 333 ships off the southwestern tip of Korea and won. Yay Korea.
The reenactment was a lot of fun. There were costumes, dancers, and decorated fishing boats that were donated by the local fishermen for the festival.

Here is Admiral Yi.

I love Turtle Boats!

Photos of the battle

The Japanese retreating!

Dancers

This is the minbak we stayed in. Many people had issues with sleeping on the floor. I think the tour operators forgot that they were dealing with foreigners that don't really live in "Korea."

Here's a picture of a random Youth Hostel I didn't want to forget if I ever go back to Jindo.

Common Sense

2009-11-09T21:36:00.002+09:00

I don't understand ~~Koreans~~ a lot of people who live here in Seoul. I have a dog. He looks like a mix of a Chihuahua and Cairn Terrier. He's a Beta Male and is a complete pansy when it comes to anyone/thing that shows any dominance. When I was a little girl, I remember hearing "animals can smell fear." When I walk my dog, he is usually okay with walking along, minding his own business. If someone comes along and screams when they see him (maybe they think he is a rat?) he starts barking. He is a small dog --on a leash. He's not going to attack you. Ignore him and he will ignore you.

Costumes in Seoul

2009-10-31T08:04:00.004+09:00

It may be a little too late for some of you but a friend of mine pointed this store out to me. It has all kinds of costume makeup and costumes. It is out of Sadang Station exit 14 and open Monday-Friday 9:30am to 7pm and Saturday 9:30am to 4:00pm. Here is the website. I am going in about an hour to pick up last minute stuff for Halloween.

Seoul Halloween Store

It is in the basement of the building with a Korean restaurant on the first floor.

For all your art supply needs

2009-10-25T11:07:00.003+09:00

When you don't speak the language of the country that you live in it is often difficult to find the items that you would normally take for granted. When I moved here three years ago, I remember asking my mentor teacher where I could find items for my classroom, for decorations since my shipment from the US would not get here before the school year started. I hated to think my 5th graders would come into an empty room without the colorful craziness that I wanted my classroom to look like. My mentor teacher showed me some amazing website that shipped to my APO and the tiny Alpha store in Ichon. After three years I know better, although I still do not have a command of the Korean language, I know there is more to Korea than ordering online to my APO. I started with that Alpha store in Ichon. My thought process "Hmmm, I see Alpha stores everywhere. It's obviously a chain. There must be a website." Alpha stores are a chain of stationary/art supplies. After hours of "navering" I finally found the website and then looked around that to find the biggest Alpha store. I did use MJ's language skills a little, but it was mostly me and my amazing deduction skills.
The biggest Alpha store is in Stationary Alley in Namdaemun. I didn't even know there was a stationary alley in Namdaemun.
Last week an artsy friend and I explored it together. The map from the website was not very good but luckily there was an information booth that helped me find it. I updated the map from the Alpha website here:

From Hoehyeon Station (Namdaemun Gate) on Line 4 go out exit 5 and turn right. Pass two small blocks and turn left.

You will see the yellow sign and store on your right hand side. The store is four floors of stationary and art supplies. There is even an art gallery on the 5th floor. My artsy friend was able to buy all kinds of watercolors and canvases for her artwork. The watercolors ranged from 5,000W ($4.00) to 150,000W ($125). She bought all kinds of charcoals and pastels. I am not an artist so I was looking for things for my classroom. I found all kinds of supplies and things for art projects for the children. They had rolls and rolls of felt.

Here is a link that shows what is available on each floor. It's in Korean but there are pictures. You need to open it with Internet Explorer as it doesn't work on firefox. Alpha in Namdaemun
I can't wait to go back!

El Comedor in Itaewon

2009-10-19T20:45:00.003+09:00

Empanadas, delicious latino pastries filled with meat, vegetables, cheese, and everything else you can think of. I remember buying empanadas from the "Empanada Guy" near my high school in Panama for 25 cents each. They are kind of like turnovers but instead of sweet things, you could get chicken, beef, ham, etc. inside of it. They are called many things in Latin America such as empanadillas, pastelitos, and pastelillos. I remember reading somewhere that they originally came from Galicia, Spain. Hmmm...useless triva.
In Itaewon there is the cutest little restaurant called "El Comedor." The owner is a Paraguayan woman who is married to a Korean man. It has the best empanadas this site of the Pacific. Each empanada is under 5,000W each. The owner speaks Spanish, Korean, English, and even Guaraní, which is the native language in Paraguay. My co-worker did his Peace Corps time in Paraguay and speaks Guarani fluently. It's nice to go and speak Spanish to the owner and workers. The other dishes are delicious as well, I am just not familiar with them, as they are South American dishes. The sopa is some kind of cornbread dish and in Puerto Rico, sopa is soup. :-)

"El Comedor" is right across the street from the Wolfhound Pub in Itaewon, behind the main street when you turn right at Gecko's Terrace. It's worth a round, especially if you are dying for some empanadas like mom used to make and to speak some Spanish.
Here are MJ and Enrique inside the restaurant enjoying Cokes:

Here is a photo inside the restaurant:

Yum, Empanadas!!!

Muuido (무의도) Island

2009-10-17T10:21:00.012+09:00

Muuido Island is a small island off the coast of Incheon, about 5km from the Incheon airport. It is the island that the movie Silmido (실미도). I still haven't seen it but it is comparable to the Dirty Dozen, but based on a true story.
Click on images to see full size.

The island was very easy to get to. My walking partner and I took an airport bus to the airport. From the airport we wanted to take bus 222 to the ferry but it only comes once an hour and since we knew that the ferry terminal was close we decided to take a taxi. Huge mistake on our part. After telling the taxi driver where we wanted to go he started the trip without turning on the meter. Once I found out I got angry and told him that he needed to turn on the meter. He didn't want to and started to argue with us that it would cost us 20,000W to get to the ferry terminal (which was supposed to be 5km away). The taxi driver turns on the meter and starts going around the airport and finally making it to the ferry terminal. What an asshole, next time I will be waiting for the bus. The ferry to the island is only 3,000W.
Here's a picture of the ferry and the island in the background:

The island is absolutely beautiful with wonderful hiking trails and delicious seafood. There were two main beaches on the island and they both had 3,000W entrance fees. There are pensions and beach huts all over the island for a nice overnight. I hope to do one in the Spring.
Here is a picture of a cute hostel nearby the beach trek to Silmido.

They even have entertainment for the overnight, I am thinking ahead!

Here is me in front of the path to Shilmido, it is only crossable through low tide, so keep a tide chart handy or look it up before you go.

High tide:

Low tide:

Pictures of the hiking -

Here are some pictures of some of the houses that were used for filming of a Korean drama. Pretty, huh?

So this was a pretty easy getaway from Seoul. I have heard great things about it in the fall as well. My walking partner is actually setting up a hiking trip to go with the hiking spouses group on base. I can't wait to hear all about it. You can walk all over the island, but there is a bus system that will take you to all the important parts if you have items to carry. You can also bring a car but I didn't do all the research about that.

Oh, and I am aware that "do" means island in the context of Muuido, but just calling Muuido sounds strange, so I will continue to call it Muuido Island. :-)

Hansel and Gretel

2009-10-04T09:54:00.006+09:00

I watched an unexpectedly good Korean movie this weekend.

The movie begins with with Eun Soo waking up from a car crash to a young girl dressed a red cape in a forest. The girl, Young Hee, leads him through the forest to her beautiful, fairy-tale-like house. In the house he meets her brother Man Bok, younger sister Jang Song, and two perfect but creepy parents. After many attempts at reaching civilization and leaving the house Eun Soo finds out he is trapped there. His cell phone has no signal and the unplugged television keeps playing the same creepy bunny cartoon. Something sinister is going on underneath the beautiful facade.
Hansel and Gretel has such beautiful cinematography and music. I can see why it was compared to Pan's Labyrinth. I believe he movie was miscategorized as horror and think it would have better as a artsy suspense/thriller so it wouldn't be lumped into the Asian horror genre. There were some scary parts, most of them included the young boy, Man Bok, going from adorable to psycho-revenge killer in two seconds. I personally think he made the movie.

*Giveaway has ended*
So I have a DVD of this movie and would like to send it to someone who could appreciate the movie. It's often difficult trying to find foreign movies with English subtitles if they are not one of the big popular movies, which I don't think this was since I haven't heard about it until this weekend. To receive this movie please either leave a comment or email me. I will send it out to someone on Friday. I'll be willing to send it anywhere.

I went away this weekend for Columbus Day so I gave a couple more days for the giveaway. I received 6 emails and/or comments. I went to Random.org to pick the winner and the result is Jerry!
The DVD will be in the mail on Tuesday. Congrats.

Pneumonia!

2009-10-02T22:43:00.002+09:00

Well I found out why I have been so sick this month. I have pneumonia. I always thought pneumonia was a cold that wasn't taken care of. I feel better now that I know what is wrong with me. I refuse to be sick this month so I am going to stay home all weekend doing nothing but resting, reading, and getting better. I don't want to miss fall in Seoul. I have lots of exercising to do. I am itching to get up and do something. I have been so depressed since I couldn't even walk from 500 meters without coughing a lung up. It's depressing after feeling so healthy and new to get completely beaten up by this sickness.
MJ and I are planning a fall trip. I think we may go to Hangangtang. http://www.cwg.go.kr/english/

What I love about my boyfriend...

2009-09-26T12:50:00.002+09:00

Silly girl title, I know. The funniest thing about dating someone of a different culture is all the quirks that you don't realize are cultural until you try to explain them to someone.

The funniest thing that I didn't realize was an "American" thing until recently. In the US all over the counter medicine is child-proofed. My parents sent me a wonderful care packages filled with Theraflu and cough syrup - the best part of this cough syrup it has this "warming" liquid that when it goes down your throat it feels like you just had some warm tea. Anyway, so MJ caught my horrible cold, bronchitis, sinusities, or whatever the hell I have and I gave him some of this miracle drug to tide him over. He wanted to take some more last night and he had no idea how to open the child-proof lock. I explained to him the importance of this and he then told me that the medicine shouldn't be in the reach of children anyway. It took him over 10 minutes to figure out how to open it.

The Gifted Gabaldon Sisters

2009-09-21T18:15:00.002+09:00

Since I haven't done anything in the last week except read, I thought I would take some time to do a review. It is Hispanic Heritage Month - September 15 to October 15th so I thought I would review a book by a Latina for my first one in months.
The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters
by Lorraine López
Image from http://www.lascomadres.org/lco/lco-eng/index.html
Was Fermina a witch that gave the Gabaldon sisters supernatural gifts? That is the question that weaves in and out of the novel that explores the lives of these Mexican-American women. The Gabaldon sisters lost their mother at a very young age and their father and an older Native woman by the name of Fermina raised them. She always told them that she would give them each a gift when she died. Bette can make anyone believe any tale; Rita can curse people; Loretta can heal animals; Sofia can give anyone a reason to laugh. Were these the gifts or curses that were left by the mysterious woman? The sisters unravel this mystery in the novel of their lives.
I had a hard time getting into this novel, but once I fell for the sisters and their dysfunctional families, as a novel can not be about Latinos without drama, I couldn't stop reading. I found a little of myself in all the women.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month, everyone!!!

The changing of seasons

2009-09-19T13:00:00.003+09:00

I have been so sick for the last couple of weeks. It completely messed up my Okinawa trip, my work. It happens every year, but it seems like this has been the worst in the last couple of years. The lucky thing about this cough is that I haven't gained any weight since I am not eating. Getting back to working out will be difficult since it has been over two weeks since I have done anything. Walking my dog to the end of my apartment complex winds me and I begin to cough and wheeze. Yuck! First the Dr. thought I may have whooping cough, but I didn't and it was just bronchitis brought on by my allergies. I have had to take 2.5 sick days from work! I hate taking sick days. It is such a pain because I feel worried about what the substitute teacher is doing, and where the students and did I write down my correct schedule? It really is more work than just going to work.
Anyway, I haven't seen anyone socially since I got back from Okinawa and am feeling a little cabin fever. I am going to try walking with my walking partner on Monday, we'll see how that works out.
I bought an air filter from gmarket. I have heard that the air purifier can help people not get as sick. I am allergic to everything and I think it would help MJ and I be a little healthier, especially with this construction going on right next to our apartment. I'll update you to see how it works out.
On another note, I am excited about Autumn. I hope that I can get some more hiking in my workout routine once I get better.

You can never go back...

2009-09-09T10:58:00.004+09:00

I look back at my time in the military as bittersweet. The experience helped me grow up and got me into the DoDEA system, which if fact is my dream career. I hated the military in so many ways, but loved it at the same time. When I think of the military I mostly look at my time in Okinawa as the best two years out of the four years I did active duty. I loved the weather, the people, the culture, the language, the diving. I really can't say there was something that I didn't love. One thing that I do regret is not getting out on the Japanese side of things. I was so boy-crazy and obsessed with my relationships that just turned into more notches in my bedpost. I did gain some valuable knowledge about myself and my self-worth. I wish I could have done that and explored the island as well.
When I got a chance to go to my cousin's wedding in Okinawa and take MJ with me for free using miles I jumped at the chance. I would love to show MJ how beautiful Okinawa was and show him what a beautiful place it is. It is a (sub)tropical paradise only 2-3 hours away by plane.
The first thing we did was rent a car. It was the cutest little box car, in one of my favorite colors, purple. It was difficult because although I had lived here for two years from 2000-2002, I hardly recognized anything. Is it possible that it changed so much? Is it just my spotty memory? MJ couldn't understand how I continued to get lost on the island, especially since it's so small. Nothing was how I remembered it. I couldn't even find my favorite Coco's restaurant, I ended up finding a "new" one. MJ asked me if I had any Japanese friends while I was living on Okinawa. I couldn't remember one. I had my dependent friends and my military friends, no more. I don't know if I expected a time warp when I went back. I expected to see my old friends still 19 and 20 years old, eating Coco's after a night of drinking, or watching the sunset over the Sunabe seawall, but I was happy with the experience with MJ showing him a piece of my history and a slice of paradise. He told me that he would love to go back.

Nami Island

2009-08-21T09:20:00.008+09:00

Nami Island is a tiny island in the middle of Han River near Chuncheon.

It is absolutely gorgeous and I am dying to spend a romantic weekend there. I have been there twice once in the early Spring and the other two days ago, so late summer. The famous Korean drama Winter Sonata was filmed there. It was only about an hour and a half bus ride from Seoul, on the Insadong/Nami Bus. You can also take the bus from the Express bus terminal, but this one will drop you off right at the gate to where you pick up the ferry and pick you up there too.
The bus leaves from Insadong at 9:30am on Wednesday-Monday (No Tuesday). The info that I found online said that you would pick up the tickets at Tapgol Park, formally Pagoda Park, (Jongno3ga station exit 1) at the information center. When I went my friend and I could not find an information center but luckily saw this bus:

It was 15,000W round trip. It leaves at 9:30am from Insadong, I would get there early to make sure you can get seats, at 9 we were the only ones there to buy tickets but it filled up by the time we left. It leaves at 4:00pm from Nami Island in the same place where it dropped you off (right by the ferry). You can make reservations (I would if you are going on a weekend) at 02-753-1245.

Since I didn't have my camera I thank MinneSeoul for letting me use his beautiful pictures to show how beautiful this place is.

I keep hearing there are ostriches on the island. S and I walked all along the perimeter twice and through the island and never saw anything that remotely looked like an ostrich, but I see MinneSeoul did:

Sunblock

2009-08-19T20:01:00.001+09:00

I know Koreans do not like to get dark. I see skin lighteners everywhere and I have heard something about it being a class thing. Where Americans will worship the sun and go to tanning booths, Koreans will have their parasols out and wear long sleeves to the beach. The sun in Puerto Rico is insane. I wanted a nice tan but I didn't want to burn like I had the last time I was in Guam. My skin was so blistered I couldn't even dive. So I went to local Kmart in Puerto Rico and picked up SPF 15. I thought of MJ, he doesn't want any sun, he wants to stay as pasty as he is in the winter time. I find an SPF 85 and buy it for my Korean. In Puerto Rico MJ and I go to the beach everyday and I spray and put the SPF 85 on him. Two days before he leaves, he asks me, "Why am I not getting a tan?" I do my best to try to explain the SPF system and he gets annoyed with me. He can't go back to Korea from Puerto Rico as white as he was when he left!!! The last two days of Puerto Rico were not good Sun days....

Puerto Rico pics

2009-08-18T20:39:00.003+09:00

I never did get to talk about Puerto Rico. I still have no idea how I am so busy when I can't remember what I have been doing. MJ and I had a great time, especially in Vieques. Here are some photos. You have excuse them since they came from a waterproof disposable camera. MJ told me the pictures look as they came from the early 80's since the coloring is horrible.

Spinning Class

2009-08-18T20:37:00.002+09:00

I did a Spinning class today. It was pure torture. I can barely move today. I'll have to check the bodybugg to see how many calories I burned in the hour of torture, probably like 50,000.

Look at Fatty Hiking (part two)

2009-08-09T15:52:00.003+09:00

I walk all the time. I workout all the time. I go jogging with my boyfriend almost every day. Why can't I hike? My walking friend asked if I wanted to take an easy hike to Umyeonsan on Saturday. The last time I went hiking was that fateful day at Soraksan, when I almost died. Well I didn't almost die, but I felt like it. Umyeonsan is in Seoul, a short walk from Nambu Bus Terminal. Go out exit 5 and turn left to and walk to all the trees. Once you get the main road you will see this in the distance. You can climb the stairs, cross the road, and begin the hike.

Follow the signs to Somangtap:

I thought the hike was pretty hard. I was walking very slowly up the whole way and it looked like I had taken a shower in my clothes. What can I do to help with my hiking skills other than hiking? I walk and jog all the time!!! Anyway, here are some more photos of the hike.

This one is of me with the city in the background. The guy's face beside me is classic!

Here is the beautiful city view from the top. I can see my apartment!!!

Watch out for the mines! When you continue the hike, for me it was to get to the fresh water springs, we came across a couple of these signs along with old bunkers. Creepy!!!
I need to hike a little more so I can get used to it. I was so happy I did it, but I feel pretty sore today!

Exercise Plan

2009-08-06T13:08:00.003+09:00

This is what I have been doing to help with my weight loss. I know I could be doing more but I get to my 3000 calories burned a day with this.

I walk with a buddy around different parts of Seoul, usually up Namsan or along the river. The walks usually take about 3 hours. We don't powerwalk but it is faster than a casual stroll and we cover usually about 8-9 miles. A couple hours later I will do a 30-40 minute aerobics tape. I range from the Nintendo WII Fitness Coach, EA Active on the WII to Pilates DVDs, Bellydancing. I get bored with the same old routine so I try to change it up. I usually download the workouts from Torrents and connect them to my TV to workout. Since walking doesn't really use any weights, I use this to get my strength training in. Then at night time around 8-8:30 MJ and I will walk/jog along the Han river. We walk/jog about 4 miles but it is so great for our relationship to share this time together.
Where do I find the time for this? I don't do anything else!! I try to do this 6 days a week, but it usually ends up just being 5 days a week. I am not a fitness expert, this is just what has been working for me. I am still in Size 12's but considering my favorite jeans, that were tight last year were 18's, I am doing okay!

Diet Plan

2009-08-04T17:43:00.005+09:00

I want to rave about this meal replacement shake that I have been using. I am not a big fan of slim fast because I am always still hungry a couple hours after drinking it. After researching about the Korean fat camps and deciding I didn't want to go through with going, I decided that I would try the meals that they use there. I replace one meal with this vegetable drink and it really helps my eating. I don't get hungry until about 6-7 hours after drinking the meal. I don't know how long this ad will work on gmarket -Korean Diet Drink- I think it's really yummy.
I also make sure I am eating a lot of fibre along with drinking a lot of water. I am off the adipex but my stomach still feels really small.

Disaster Flick - Korean style

2009-08-01T14:21:00.004+09:00

I think I have given up on trying to review books on here. I will continue when I have more time. Yes, more time, because I am spending all my time on the internet searching for more books to read, instead of just reading them.

Here's a Korean movie flick instead:

Last night I saw Haeundae or 해운대 with English subtitles at Yongsan CGV. I was actually hoping to watch Harry Potter since I think I am the only one who has not seen it but they are not running it anymore at Yongsan CGV!!! MJ tells me because Harry Potter is not very popular and they started playing Transformers again. On another note Harry Potter is playing at Land Cinema next door to Yongsan CGV, if anyone is interested. Overall I like Korean films, I don't always get Korean humor, but the ones I have seen have been great. I saw the movie Haeundae was on the schedule with English subtitles. I had no idea what it was about, except that I assumed it took place in Haeundae Beach, Busan. I bought tickets for me and a friend and went to see it last night. I wish I would have read the synopsis. The movie itself was great. It was the story of several people who are all connected in a Seven Degrees of Kevin Bacon sort of way living and working on Haeundae Beach. They all have a connection to the Tsuanami of 2004 in Indonesia as most of them were fishermen. In the movie a seismologist starts to notice some interesting patterns that are similar to what happened before the big tsunami in 2004. He starts to do more research and when he predicts a MEGA tsunami will hit Busan, nobody believes him. The story continues with the characters lives, background, and eventually the aftermath of the tsunami. I cried in several different points in the movie especially when it came to the coast guard man.
What I didn't like about it? Tsunamis scare the living crap out of me. I used to have reoccurring nightmares about them when I was younger. I felt I was going to have a hard attack during most of the movie.

Excuse the annoying voice but it was the only English video I could find on youtube.

Time off

2009-07-30T19:53:00.002+09:00

I don't know how I fill up all my time off. I don't have to go back to work until the end of August but I am exhausted all the time. I am working out twice a day to where it ends up being about 4 hours in all. This is not 4 hours of intense working out though, it's moderate but the results are still coming in. I am stuck at another plateau, it seems at each decade I can't get past it. Oh, only fat people talk about their weight in decades. I am trying this meal replacement shake thing, it's Korean and tastes like vegetables. Today was my first day and I am not eating it all the time, just replacing one meal. It's supposed to have a lot of fiber so I won't feel hungry. We'll see if it works. This meal replacement drink is what the Korean Diet Camps will have everyone drink. I was thinking about going into one since it was only about 160,000 W a week, which is about 150 USD. It's not bad considering fat camps in the US are about 2-3 thousand a week, at least. I was sad to find out that the Korean fat camps do not have exercise programs. They just won't let you eat anything other than this diet drink and water. They have facilities for you to work out in, but not forced Gillian-style fat camp workouts.
When is the Biggest Loser starting again?

Yummy Paella in Albaizyn

2009-07-28T22:23:00.004+09:00

Although most people absolutely love my paella, I often love to try other places to see how it compares. MJ has always loved my paella so I have always have been a little overconfident over it.
Anyway, my friend HC's cousin owns a Spanish restaurant in Seoul. Well, he actually owns two Spanish restaurants, or they are the same restaurant but with two locations. She and I have been trying to get there several times but the timing never works out, the restaurant is closed, or we were with vegetarians. I can't imagine vegetarians do not do well in Spain, unless they wanted to live off bread and cheese, which I do believe is possible. Today was the day we finally decided to go. The location we went to was the one in Hongdae. The restaurant is called Albaizyn. The website is in Korea, but the maps are pretty easy to read. The place is tiny, bit adorable. Empty Spanish wine bottles line up on the bar. Potter and pictures decorate the place beautifully. It looks like a tapas bar you would find in a tiny Spanish town. The only thing missing is the paper napkins littering the floor to show everyone what a great place it is. Her cousin lived in Spain for many years and many of his photos line the other location, which is also bigger. Here are some photos from our visit today.

The last photo you can see a bit of me. We had the "Paella Negra" --black Paella. It is black due to the squid ink, but it gives it the best taste. It is a little on the expensive side, but the dishes are big, you can share them.

Directions: Come of out exit 4 from Hongik University Station. Pass the Seven Springs Restaurant and Lotte Cinema. Take the next right and it is right up the road.

I love Cabbage

2009-07-24T09:12:00.003+09:00

MJ and I take our daily couple walks along the river. In one area there is a place where people have vegetable gardens. I am not quite sure who owns the gardens as I often just see random people gardening the area. I love to try to identify what everything is, they usually have signs in Korean, but to read Korean I actually have to think/concentrate. So we pass by some kind of large leaf patch and I say, "That's Cabbage!" I was right! How did I know?

Yep, the Cabbage Patch Kids from the 1980's. I wish I still had mine.

I am back in Korea

2009-07-23T09:39:00.002+09:00

I am back in Korea. It's too much pressure to write up the thousands of notes I took over the summer before getting back into the swing of things. I have been working out twice a day since I got back and really felt it yesterday when I slept 15 hours. I just hope my body can get used to it. My mom lost so much weight by working out like that and I hope to follow in her footsteps.

I don't have to work until the end of August. I love waking up everyday and not having anywhere to be. I keep waking up at 7am, I don't think it's the time difference, it's the annoyingly bright bedroom. I need some blackout curtains PRONTO. I just can't get back to sleep. I am glad I seemed to have missed monsoon season, which I do every year. It is so hot. Last year I lived in a place that my utilities allowance was a lot higher, so I used the AC with no problems but here we go over utilities just by being alive in the apartment. I have had to roast with a portable fan wherever I go.

I am a bad girl

2009-07-16T00:02:00.003+09:00

It has been so hard to get online to post over vacation. I miss Korea and internet everywhere ideas. Puerto Rico just doesn't have the same priorities. I get back to Korea on Sunday and I have all these notes that I have to write up from vacation. Especially since the boyfriend and I had an amazing time in Puerto Rico.
I needed to share this link TODAY, before I forget. I grew up watching my mother watching Mexican telenovelas on the kitchen television. We lived overseas most of my childhood so they were usually taped from Puerto Rico and sent to us. Telenovelas are soap operas, but like miniseries after all the drama, they actually end, unlike the American ones that have been around from 40+ years. To keep up my Spanish I started watching some. My grandmother, Abuela Hilda, the one we stayed with in Puerto Rico has a 24 hour telenovela channel in her cable package. I would often find her watching telenovelas at 2-3am. So, I found a site where you can watch novelas online. Novelas y Mas

The Beach

2009-06-21T00:52:00.002+09:00

We are having a fabulous time here in Puerto Rico. We spent Thursday night in Vieques, one of the islands off the coast of Puerto Rico. I will update this space with a a hotel review and tips for Vieques.

Oh, and Susan, you won the book! :-)

Airports

2009-06-14T20:13:00.003+09:00

After almost 30 hours of traveling I am still not at my final destination. It's my fault since I overlooked my 14 hour layover thinking it was two hours. I was able to see my younger brother in Seattle. I get to Puerto Rico at 11am Atlantic time and MJ will follow me and get there tomorrow at 9pm AT. I am so looking forward to this. I really wish we were traveling together, but next time....

I read 4 different books so far on this journey. One surprisingly good novel that I read on my trip was Festival for Three Thousand Maidens by Richard Wiley. The book is a fictional tale of an American who comes to Korea to teach English. Pretty original, right? Well, the man is serving in the Peace Corps and is "stationed" in Taechon (Daechon, they use the old romanization in the book) in the 60's. The author did teach in Korea and it is obvious that he did a lot of research for this book. I loved the references to places that were familiar, but very different to how I know Korea in the 2000's, especially the references to Itaewon, which I loved to read about. It is not currently in print and I would like more people to read it so I would love to send it to a reader in Korea. Leave a message and I will pick someone by Friday, the 19th.

Results!

2009-06-07T11:51:00.003+09:00

I have been so busy with the end of school that I haven't had a chance to post anything! The weight is coming off even faster!! I haven't really changed anything except for the fact that I am making sure that I burn 3000 calories a day. MJ has been joining me in my workout regime and it has been really great to have someone to workout with. We have been walking/jogging along the river and it has been wonderful with the exception of my sportsbra chafing disaster. I haven't figured out what to do about my gym clothes. I only have 4 of those amazing Enell jogging "big boob girl" sports bras. One day when they were all dirty I just went ahead and wore two regular sports bras to keep them in place and I ended it up with the most painful burns around my ribcage. I didn't have any burn creme and the next day I had to go to the school nurse so she could give me some aloe vera sunburn creme to alleviate the pain. Anyway, now I won't workout without the enell bras. I just wish they weren't so expensive!!! MJ is even able to tell the results and feels great.
We went to breakfast today and saw the amazing former fat woman (the one who had the gastric bypass) and I told him that she was bigger than me last year. He told me that was proud of my results and shouldn't even think about the WLS.
Annoying Korea time - as I was jogging along the Han river trail a guy in a bike kind of growled at me and grumbled "fat" in Korean. Uh, hello?? I am jogging!!! I am not sitting at a McDonald's eating a Big Mac!!! Sometimes I hate Korea.

I love art

2009-05-27T22:42:00.004+09:00

Especially bronze statues, next time I am in Mexico I will make sure I make a stop to Perote, Veracruz to check this one out.

"Patient Zero" of the AH1N1 now has a bronze statute to show the world "Mexico lives"

The above picture is from vivirlatino.com

If it were not to late to change around my travel plans, I would spend the summer in Mexico. I'm sure the hotels at the resorts have some big discounts going on....

Bigote be gone...

2009-05-27T21:48:00.004+09:00

It's gone. Today was the beginning of my laser hair removal appointments for my facial hair. It's horrible. I remember when I was in 5th or 6th grade and a boy in my class, his name was Julian, yelled really loudly how he had the most facial hair out of all of the boys in the class. He was so proud, and then he looked at me and told me that I had the most facial hair in the whole class. Until that point I never realized that the dark patch above my lip was in fact, facial hair. I had a Judy Blume moment and went home that day found my mom's razor and shaved it off.
I went to an American school in Italy during these difficult years. Italians are known to be pretty hairy, but my peers were mostly Caucasian and it wasn't I could easily talk about. After years of waxing I finally decide to do the laser hair removal here in Seoul.
I started looking for blogs that had people who have experienced this in Seoul. Well there wasn't a lot out there. I found a couple of outdated blogs and others with broken links but nothing specific. I asked MJ to go look it up on his Korean blog sites - Koreans blog about EVERYTHING - and he couldn't find anything either! Oh, that's right Korean women don't have hair... I guess a person wouldn't write about their flaws on the internet for everyone to read. I am just glad I don't teach high school. I can now see some of these posts coming back to haunt me. Having hair "lasered" off is embarrassing and most people do not "blog" about it.
So after hours of research MJ decided that to get upper lip hair removed should cost between 100,000 - 150,000W (90-110 dollars) and should take about 5-6 sessions. I ended up finding a place who will do it for 250,000W for all the sessions. The Dr.'s English was great and I saw all these other foreigners around so I decided it would be worth it.
I went to Woo Skin Clinic right next to Sookde Station. It is right outside Sookdae (Sookmyung Women's University) Station on Line 4, exit 1 it is connected to the first building on the right.
It was pretty easy. I am a big baby when it comes to pain and it just felt like a really hot wax job. I still smell the burnt hair 5 hours later, but other than that, I have no complaints. I will return next month for the next appt.

Korean movies/dramas online

2009-05-25T16:59:00.004+09:00

I love my streaming tv shows. I would get a lot more done if it weren't for Surfthechannel.com and Pandora.tv I love the latter one because the boyfriend and I can watch TV shows together and he doesn't feel like he misses anything (they have Korean subs). I am also a big fan of foreign films, I lie, I like films in general, anything that will help me waste time. Anyway, usually I go to the electronics mart near Yongsan station and just ask the illegal DVD vendors to see what Korean movies they have with English subtitles. I love the fact that for 5 dvds for 10,000W ($7.50) I don't have to worry if the movie is horrible.
My favorite Korean movies are:
1. 200 Pound Beauty - I think the reason why I like the movie is obvious, I hope to never see that 200 pound mark EVER again.
2. Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance - it's part of the Vengeance trilogy, I personally liked this one better than Old Boy.
3. Il Mare - The Lake House with Sandra Bullock is a remake of this film
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Weird - Oh God, this movie is actually my number one choice, I am just too lazy to change my post around.
5. Ditto - Hollywood made a remake of this one. Hollywood's version is called Frequency.
6. My Father - adopted son goes to Korea to look for his b-parents.
7. My Sassy Girl - hilarious

Oh, for those who do not live right next door to Yongsan Station, you can go here to check out most of these movies with English subtitles. Oh and if you are into dramas, they have some of those. I recommend Boys over Flowers. I never thought I would be one of those that would watch them...after almost three years in Korea...

You're in where?

2009-05-24T11:05:00.003+09:00

One of my "book" friends moved to Korea to teach English. I was so excited to have another person to share books with and she seems like a great person to be around. She arrived with her boyfriend to Seoul last Friday (the 15th). They have had the week from hell with teacher training classes, grammar tests, and medical exams. Now they are both in quarantine with the rest of her "training group." One of the women who came in with them tested positive to H1N1, according to the news article. They aren't even showing any symptoms. I feel a little bad since I told her she would love Korea. I am sure this is not the welcoming committee they had expected. I am sure this will all blow over soon enough.

You must read her blog!
Ruby's blog

Former President Roh

2009-05-23T12:57:00.001+09:00

Former President Roh committed suicide this morning. Suicide is such a commonplace event in Korea. He has been under investigation for bribery and other crimes, but is suicide really the answer?

You can read more here.

Bodybugg Update

2009-05-22T23:03:00.000+09:00

I guess I didn't estimate my calorie intake very well. I thought I was at or below 1600 most days. I also usually shoot for burning 3000 calories a day, ouch. I need to work on it next week.

Funny letter

2009-05-19T21:03:00.001+09:00

This is a letter I got from a parent after I called the cops about leaving her car running in a no-parking zone. I changed the names but the grammar and spelling errors are all hers...

May 19, 2009

To whom this may concern:

On May 19, 2009 at 13:16 pm I, Crazy Mom, called (the) Elementary to tell Ms. Teacher that my son was not to ride the bus home and his mother would be picking him up. As I wait in the kiss and drop to pick my son up after about 10 mins and not seeing my son I get out the car and go to his class and see that the Teacher has already taking the kids to the bus. At this point I’m scared because I already have one child at the hospital and needs to get there. So I run to the bus stop and as I’m running I see his Teacher and ask her where my son at this times she lets me know that he is on the bus to Somewhere. I run to stop the bus because no one is home and he has to have an adult to get him off the bus. After all this I get my son safe and we are walking to the car to. I see that a lady (that's me!) is talking to a MP (military police) and pointing at my car.
As I walk to let me son in the car and turn to get in, she walk up and tells me that I can’t park there at this I tell her I know but it was an emergegy and I had to get my son. She then said so you can’t park there don’t care what happen you are holding up traffic for other parents who are doing the right thing. I let me know that it wasn’t my felt and I turn to get in my car and she step in the door way of the back seat where my son was. I then tell my son to shut the door so we can leave. She doesn’t move so then I tell her she needs to move away from my car and get her finger out his face. She tells me that she called the Mp and gives them my tag number at this time I told her fine and that she needed to move from my car (again). When she asks me what was my name I then gave her my name and she still wanted to make a big problem out of this. She then started to ask my son who was his teacher and what grade he was in.
When my son didn’t answer her she raised her voice and at this time I get out my car and tell her that she has two minute to get out of my son’s face before I called the MP’s. I gave (her) my information I felt that this had nothing to do with my son so I didn’t understand why she was asking him those questions. As I get in the car I then called the school on my way to the company to inform my husband what had happen, And (she) was in my son’s class for what reason I don’t know because my son did no wrong I tell Mrs. Teacher to gave her all my information and have her call me. At this time (teacher) starts to say that my son knew not to get on the bus and still did. I tell Ms. Teacher that I just called not even an hour earlier and that if he forgot that’s what she was there for. At this time I’m starting to feel like they was gaining up on me so I go to the office to speak to the principal or someone who could help me at this time Mrs. Secretary takes all the inform down. I ask her to please have them gave me a call when they get out of their meeting. It is 18:33 and no one has taking the time to call and make sure that me and my child was ok.
At first I had no idea that this was a teacher because of the way she was acting. I feel like she is not someone who I want around my child. During the time that this was taking place my husband’s XO (that's a commander) was in a taxi and saw most of what was going on, I will have his statement in my report. I am forwarding this E- Mail to all the school personal that I was giving today so that they will be informed of what is going on as I get others involved. This is not the first time that I have had a problem at this school. The last Time I followed the chain of command like I was supposed to do and feel that I got nowhere. I explained to the principal what my concerns were and she let me know that she would handle it and I never heard anything else back. Here is my contract information if anyone needs to get in contract with me.

Thank you,
Crazy mom

This is me now. I never once spoke to her son and she never threatened to call the police because they were there the WHOLE time! I don't think I will contRact her anytime soon.

Ugh...I had a bad day...

Thirst

2009-05-17T21:58:00.001+09:00

I want to see this! I heard a rumor that is is coming out with English subtitles this week.

I love this director, he did the Vengeance trilogy (Oldboy, Sympathy, etc). I have heard from several Koreans that it was bad, but I don't really care

I found the info. It is playing at Yongsan CGV, which I can see from my apartment. If you click here you can search for times. You need to look for 박쥐 (영어자막추가) to make sure it has the English subs Yongsan CGV site

Book Fair at the COEX

2009-05-15T19:47:00.000+09:00

I was so excited when I saw the ads for the 2009 Seoul International Book Fair. I could imagine all the books in different languages from around the world in the COEX convention center. I kept imagining all the wonderful Spanish books I would buy or unknown authors I could discover. I forgot for a while that I lived in Korea and the unknown international authors would either be in their language, or in Korean.
The Book Fair started on the 13th and I am surprised that I had forgotten about it the first day. Today, I had a dentist appt in Apgujeong and since I was in the Kangnam area, I thought might as well stop by. I am so glad I went today and didn't waste my time going all the way out there, just for the fair.

There were a lot of books, don't get me wrong, but they were in Korean. I am not complaining, it was my mistake for being ethnocentric enough to expect a plethora of novels in English. The books were so cheap. I wish I could read Korean well enough to be able to spend 4-8,000 W (about 5 dollars) on a brand new hard cover novel. There a lot of Japanese books and several stands with Japanese literature (in Japanese) and Japanese literature translated into Korean. I was excited to see several other stands with books in other languages, Italian, French, Arabic, etc. They had to have SOME kind of Latin American/Spanish stand --especially since there was Italian.
After scouring the scans and the trusty map that I found off the floor I saw there was no Spanish language book stand. I decided since I can read Italian I could pick up an Italian book for fun, or a bilingual Italian/Korean book and the lady tells me that the books are not for sale - they are just for display to the distributors. I decide to give up on the idea of buying books and I wander into the children's book section.
There are so many children's books! There were a lot of English books for sale along with Korean/English bilingual books. As I was perusing and trying to read the simple Kindergarten reading level Korean, I hit the jackpot. There was a pile of CHILDREN'S books in SPANISH!! Not only that but the books were translated from popular Korean folktales and stories. Not only could I use that in my classroom, but I can use it with my future mixed Latino/Korean children!
I ask the man in my broken Korean how much the books are. I was ready to buy them all. He tells me in slow Korean that they are NOT for sale and just to show how Korean literature is all around the world. I would have to go to Mexico to find these Korean folktales in Spanish books. WHAT?? I am still very sad about this, as I don't plan on going to Mexico anytime soon.
The book fair also had screenings of movies that were based on books. The movies were all ones I had seen before. The fair also had loads of artwork and information for people who want to get involved in book illustration. The Korean children's books' illustrations were absolutely beautiful.

Here is the website: Book Fair Website

I wish I would have checked out the website before going, I would have seen the list of countries represented. I don't regret going, but I would have gone with less expectations.

Protest Party Time

2009-05-10T17:36:00.000+09:00

I woke up at about 7am to Protest music. It is really annoying, it was so much easier in the winter when the windows were closed, but now that it is getting hot I could not ignore it. When will they STOP!! I was able to find out that the protesters had a party planned for this weekend. I supposed that is why everything is even louder than before.

I guess it was "sealed off by police" but I still hear music!!

Here is/was (?) the schedule for the "protest party"

<프로그램>
May 9th
16:00 공동체놀이 한마당
17:00 범국민 추모제
18:00 저녁식사
19:00 추모미사
21:00 독립영화 특별상영 : 320 프로젝트 independent movie screenng

May 10th
07:00 기상
08:00 아침식사
09:00 행사준비
11:00 추모예배(향린교회)
- 마을잔치 Party!!!-
12:30 점심나누기(전철연. 향린교회) Lunch and snack
먹거리 장터-포장마차. 솜사탕, 커피나누기
13:30 두드림 드럼서클 Drum performance
14:30 운동과 놀이-쥐구, 쥐드민턴 Games and plays
16:00 ‘용산’ 노래자랑 Singing contest
17:00 저녁나누기 sharing food (maybe babecue 삼겹살 party)
20:30 독립영화 특별상영 : 워낭소리 Film screening

How to come: Exit 2 of Shinyongsan st. of line 4, go straight about 300 meter.

Everyone is welcome except for 쥐박이 and 쥐벼룩들(경찰) !!!

This info was found here.

Want to read some background information? KOREA: EVICTION STRUGGLE - The Deadly Face of Development: Struggle Against Evictions in Korea

5K time

2009-05-09T11:49:00.000+09:00

I have signed up for another 5k. It is two weeks away and I better get back to jogging. I have being doing a lot of walking with my new exercise partner along with the aerobics dvds.

I am a size away from not having to shop in the "fat girl stores" in the US. Ok, well, almost a size away. When I first started actively working out at the beginning of this school year I was between a size 18-20. Size 20's were always too big for me but size 18 in some brands were too tight. I got down to size 16 a while ago and last week I was able to squeeze into some size 14 pants! Yay! In the US the Plus-size starts at size 12. I am hoping to get into size 12 before I leave for the summer.

I am feeling good about my progress until the boyfriend comes back after a long weekend at home for Buddha's Birthday, his cousin's wedding, and reservist military training. Boyfriend tells me that we need to talk and that his mother is EXTREMELY worried about my weight. Fat women have handicapped babies and that is family can't agree to our marriage until I lose weight. Hmmm...I ask him if he agrees and he tells me that he loves me the way that I am but what his family thinks of me if very important to him. He thinks I am losing weight too slowly for his parents sake and I look the same as I did last year. Hmmm...I was seriously thinking about breaking up with him over this comment. I need someone that encourages me and stands up to his family. If I were hanging on the couch all day eating ding-dongs and watching TV, I would understand this "talk." I work out at least 1 hr 30min EACH day. I could drop my daily calories but I though 1600-1900 was a pretty decent number. I should go find out what my minimum daily caloric intake should be.

What am I doing dating a Korean?

The comment about fat women and handicapped babies is not mine---that was from his mother....

Smoking on the loo

2009-05-06T12:06:00.000+09:00

I have dated smokers before, heck I was a smoker for a long time. Is it just a Korean male thing? My boyfriend likes to smoke in the bathroom. (He's going to kill me when/if he reads this.) In our first few weeks after living together I noticed that our bathroom smelled like smoke. I didn't know what was going on until I caught him on the toilet with a cigarette. I asked my friend Jackie, who was another foreign girl dating a Korean male, about the issue and if her boyfriend, or any other male she knew did the same. Jackie's boyfriend did in fact smoke on the toilet regularly. I don't really care that he does it, but is it a Korean thing? Now that I come to think of it, all my past boyfriends were smokers, and none of them did this--at least, I don't think.

Some Bodybugg Results

2009-05-04T16:42:00.000+09:00

I finally downloaded a screen capture so I can show some results from the bodybugg. I love this thing. I am not as motivated as I was before and went though a lazy stage this last week, but that is over.
So here are my results over the last 4 weeks. It is an average of my calories burned, and an average of my calories consumed based on my measurement changes every week,(I don't do a food journal, although I should) and my caloric deficit. I should have at least 1000 deficit daily.

Pretty cool stuff. Now that I can do this screen capture, I'll update this once a week to keep myself honest. It's hard to be a lazy fat-ass when I post it all over the internet.
Tomorrow is Children's Day, everyone gets that day off except for us, on the base. Even my post office guy has the day off - I don't think he has any children. I have to keep telling myself, 5 more weeks until school is out!

Ugh, it was bound to come up...

2009-05-03T20:15:00.000+09:00

I was going to try really hard NOT to talk about it but I can't after reading the racist remarks of some Americans (I consider myself American, by the way). Exact origins of the outbreak are unknown, but was first detected in Mexico and since the largest amount of people infected are in Mexico it has been called the "fajita flu" or saying that illegal aliens are the carriers. Here is a quote from Michael Savage telling Americans how to avoid the Swine Flu:
“No contact anywhere with an illegal alien! And that starts in the restaurants you don’t know if they wipe their behinds with their hands!” (Article from MSNBC)
Jay Severin even said that emergency rooms are now "condos for Mexicans" and Mexico exports "women with mustaches and VD." I have even heard (read) of people on public transportation getting up from their spot as soon as a person of Latino origin sits near them.

Or I even read some interesting info from Malaysia where some people were trying to connect the swine flu with "pork eaters" and you can imagine what that means. One blogger from Malaysia overheard this racist comment (Keemanxp)
I personally heard a mid-30 woman said (translated) "Never mind, we won’t get swine flu because we don’t eat pork. Let them die with their pork!"

Yep, that is how the virus spreads...by eating pork. Seriously, the Swine flu viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork.

Update:
Thanks, Tracey, with your comment. I am glad to know that the majority of people in the US are not listening to Michael Savage and other crazy right-wingers. With most issues I usually lean on the right side of things, but this is just crazy....

I know not all Americans feel this way. I am American and I don't feel this way, obviously. I was often forced to listed to Michael Savage when I was in the car with my Dad.

Interesting Find on Etsy

2009-05-02T08:41:00.000+09:00

I love Etsy.com I can spend hours on that site just browsing everyone's handmade items. It's like going to the biggest craft fair in the world. Sometimes I come across something I have to have - a lot of the items are really expensive -- and other times I wonder who would buy that. Here is something that I found that I felt like I must share.

Yes, that is a menstrual calender. I guess am not as progressive enough to enjoy it. I am actually going to forward this to a friend of mine from college, because she is all about celebrating her womenhood and would LOVE this. The Etsy store is called Viva la Craft and be found here: Viva La Craft

Children's books in Many Languages

2009-04-29T19:21:00.000+09:00

I found the most amazing resource. I love reading stories to my students in Spanish. I have lent out some of my simple Spanish children's books out to friends who want to do some reading in Spanish. Well, this site has Children's book all around the world in MANY different languages. Here is a bilingual book in English/Spanish. You have to click the arrow to go forward.

The Boy Without a Name

How about a A Hamster Love Story in German?

Gifts of War

2009-04-28T20:42:00.001+09:00

It's been a while since I have done a review since I have changed the purpose of my blog...haha

Best book I have read so far this year:

Gifts of War by Mackenzie Ford

A beautiful story set in the turbulent times of WWI
During the Christmas Truce in WWII, a moment when enemies stopped fighting to celebrate life and Christmas, two men shared a moment that would change their lives forever. A British soldier made a promise to find the German soldier's girlfriend and tell her that he was thinking of her. After getting hurt on the battlefield the British soldier, Hal, went to keep his promise. He didn't expect to fall in love with the girl himself. The novel is not just a love story, but is a mix of espionage, adventure, families, and the "moral cost of war." This has been one of my best reads this year. I received this one through Bookbrowse's Early Reviewer's program as it will be released in the US in July.

I am actually going to give this away, so if you want it email supertalya @ gmail .com (without spaces) I'll send it anywhere.

This is what the plan on building around my apartment

2009-04-27T17:56:00.000+09:00

If you live in Korea, I am sure you have heard about the fire and ongoing protests that are near Yongsan station. I mentioned in an earlier post that I live right next door to all the action. From my ivory tower I can see all the little people trying to keep their slums and "special" barber shops. Before the area was knocked down there used to be one of the "double poles" on every corner. Which mean sex is sold there. I knew there would build highrises next to me, and I would lose my view, but here is a picture of what the Yongsan station area will look like when the developers are done.....

Strange huh? You can read more here:

Best Facial in Seoul

2009-04-23T20:15:00.001+09:00

I know there are many places to get a facial done, but I have a favorite. It is the HUE spa in Gangnam. It is outside Gangnam station exit 2. Walk down and right before the large YBM building you turn left. It is in the Tara building on the 6th Floor, I have heard good things about the dental office that is in the same building. I usually have the hour-long facial for 50,000 W. I was too poor to get facials done when I was in the US but my friend Sam, who came to visit me, is a regular facial person and said that the same service in the US would run about 110-150 dollars. They also have aroma massage and detox programs which I have yet to try. They use DELEOR products.

The number is 02-569-4775 and they are HUE Skin and Body Spa. Their English isn't the best, and I usually get the Korean boyfriend to set up an appt. for me, but there were a couple of times when I had to do it in my VERY broken Korean. They also have lunchtime specials.

Pictures from the top of the mountain

2009-04-21T21:23:00.000+09:00

Ooops, I forgot to post these.

This is from the top of the mountain we climbed, when I almost died because I am so out of shape:

Well not quite the top yet...

Well, that's not the top either, I guess I didn't take any since I was recovering. :-)

Anyway, I just wish these gave justice to how beautiful it was out with the cherry blossoms.

Look at the fatty hiking!

2009-04-19T13:36:00.000+09:00

The weight/workout plan, thyroid replacement, and apidex medicine seems to be working. I have lost about 5kg since I have been following the plan. I try not to eat 2000 calories a day and I try to burn at least 3000 calories a day and I usually make it everyday with the exception of the weekends. My bodybugg keeps me on track and I know what I have to do to burn that amount. I don't keep a food journal, which I know I should, but now I trust my body to know when to stop eating. The apidex also keeps my appetite under control, but I have been reading about intuitive eating. Here is a definition of "intuitive eating" according to Wikipedia.org
"Intuitive eating is a nutrition philosophy based on the premise that becoming more attuned to the body's natural hunger signals is a more effective way to attain a healthy weight; rather than keeping track of the amounts of energy and fats in foods or satiety levels. It's a process that is intended to create a healthy relationship with food, mind, and body. Intuitive Eating, just like the many books available today, goes by many names, including non-dieting or the non-diet approach, normal eating, wisdom eating, conscious eating and more." Link
Last weekend I went hiking in Soraksan with the friends, I mentioned it in my last entry. I barely made it up to the top where the cave was. I remember seeing that the cave was only 3.5 km away and I thought nothing of it since I always jog longer than that at least 5 times a week. MJ asked me if I would be able to make it. I laughed and then asked him if he could do it since I am always at the gym and he doesn't work out at all. Well I thought I was going to die up there. It was SOOO hard. I felt dizzy, my heart was pounding, and I got to the point where I started crying. I have always been the girl who enjoyed doing outdoor things and when I was in the military I always wanted to prove how tough I was by doing more than everyone else. I felt horrible considering it was only 3.5 km and I couldn't make it. I have done two 5k's and so proud of not being the last person to finish with my 12 min/mile pace. :-) That's when I decided I needed to step up the pace with the workouts and do more than just jog or jog on inclines. Here is a few pictures from that top

Seoraksan

2009-04-15T07:05:00.000+09:00

Last week was my Spring Break. My best friend from high school came to visit. She really enjoyed her time here, but she didn't feel comfortable in the big city and the pollution. I am glad that I planned a weekend away in Seoraksan, because that was the highlight of the week.
We went all over the internet to find the right place. I didn't want to risk going there and trying to go to a minbak and not finding any space, especially since the forecast said weather was going to beautiful, and it was. We checked out Accommadations on auction.co.kr You don't need to be fluent in Korean to understand this website. If you have a basic knowledge of Hanguel you can figure out how to search for accommodations anywhere in Seoul. It's harder to book a hotel if you can't read Korean, but you can find the hotel websites if they have one and then go from there.
We found this pension, it was actually a cabin. Soraksan Minbak It was adorable and the manager was such a nice guy. He set up the bbq, set up a campfire, and gave us some great advice about the area. The hotel is about 4 miles from the bus station. We drove so with the GPS it was very easy to get to since it's on the way up to Seoraksan. Here are some photos of the cabin:

Here is a picture of MJ, the BBQ expert:

Coco's in Seoul

2009-04-05T12:51:00.000+09:00

I made a discovery last week. I found out that there is a Coco's Curry here in Seoul. It's been open since LAST JUNE!!! When I was in Okinawa my favorite restaurant was Coco Ichibanya. It's the McDonald's of Japanese Curry. In Okinawa it was open 24 hours and I swear that the food had crack in it. It was so addictive that there is not a person I know who left Japan who didn't crave it every now and then. Each time I went to Japan over the last 3 years I made sure that I made a stop to eat at one. I would even search for it each time I went to Hawaii. I went to eat there yesterday, and although I was not hungry, I ate the entire plate of chicken cutlet curry with cheese. So many memories....

Anyway, for those who want to know where it is...it is out of exit 7 of Kangnam station, turn right at the CGV and you can see the yellow restaurant on the corner up the hill.

Please do not buy shirts with English words on them....

2009-04-04T07:22:00.000+09:00

My boyfriend came home with the most interesting shirt today. It had a picture of Johnny Depp along with the sentence, "His Vintage Glasses is so cool." I know he could have done a lot worse. He is in love with this jacket that says "Hysteric Gender" on it. I have told him to be careful with clothing with English phrases on it and he can always check with me before he buys it to make sure it makes sense. MJ's English is really good, so much better than it was when I first met him. (We would only communicate in Spanish back then.) Who comes up with some of these phrases?

I am just glad he didn't buy THAT one.

Laser Eye Surgery in Korea

2009-03-30T20:06:00.000+09:00

I had laser eye surgery in Korea. I have had a couple of people ask me for information so I decided to put some information about my experience here on my blog. I have worn glasses for almost 20 years. I started wearing contacts when I was in 13, but with my bad allergies I was never able to wear contacts all the time. My glasses were quite thick and I am pretty sure my vision was about 20/500 (which sounds ridiculous). I love to scuba dive and swim and anyone who enjoy these hobbies understands how annoying it is to have vision problems in the water. I remember when I would dive often, I used to debate about buying 500 dollar goggles since I had so many allergy issues with contacts. Anyway, so I have heard good things about getting laser surgery in Korea and I am so glad I did.
So what did I do, where did I go? I went to Dream Eye Center in Myeong Dong (명동). I called them up to make an appt. (The number is: 02 - 779 - 7888 and it is impossible to find on the English site, since the "Contact Us" button links to their email).
I set up an appt. at 5pm and they don't close until 8 or 9pm on some weekdays to make it very convenient for people that have strange hours. After the 2-3 hours I spent doing so many eye tests, the doctor told me that I didn't qualify for lasik. I have a really thin cornea and some other issues and I could only do the LASEK, which is like a new version of the PRK. Anyway I set up my appointment for a couple of weeks later since the LASEK has a longer recovery date (1 and a half weeks as opposed to 2 days). I paid 2.0 million won (they had a payment plan that would have been a 100,000 W more) and was in and out of the hospital in about an hour.
My boyfriend was there watching me and the surgery from outside. Each eye took about fifteen minutes. Although everyone spoke perfect English, I felt better having him there because he is Korean and I knew he would take me home. It hurt like hell the first couple of days and the only complaint I had is that I was only prescribed motrin when I felt I needed some intense pain killers. I had to have the boyfriend put eye drops in my eyes every couple of hours and was super sensitive to light but after two weeks I could see perfectly. The after surgery care is awesome. All the eyedrops were covered in your fee along with monthly checkups up until 6 months later. The best 2.0 million won I have ever spent. Oh, and if you can do the regular lasik, it's about 1.7-1.9 million won.

Here's the English Website:
Dream Eye Center
02 - 779 - 7888

Dogeaters

2009-03-24T15:47:00.000+09:00

I am reading Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn. It is a novel about the Philippines during the time of its late dictator. I am really enjoying it but I have found out I need some kind of glossary. Now I know what people mean when they say they need a glossary for books that use Spanglish. I can understand quite a lot because Tagalog uses a lot of Spanish words, but I don't know if they mean the same thing. I am going to start a list and by the time I finish the book I will have definitions for them.

Oh, I know that a simple google lookup will help me, but I want to write them down and look them all up later.

Update: Now that I finished the book, I was able to get Romel, my friend's Filipino boyfriend to help me with the words...

Puñieta - it does mean the same as the Spanish word "puñeta" and means "Damn it" or "Bitch"
Puta - It IS the same as the Spanish puta, which means prostitute or a woman with low morals.
Bruja - in Spanish it means witch, I can't tell from the context if it is offensive or not. It can be offensive, but not all the time.
Bakla - fag (like the offensive word for a homosexual male)
Putang ina mo -means your mom is a bitch or moron...very very offensive. (Supposedly this is one of the worst things you can say.
Itsura lang means It is asking "Do you think you are something special?" It is rude.

I'll talk more about the book soon. I absolutely loved it.

Confessions of a Yakuza

2009-03-21T22:13:00.001+09:00

Confessions of a Yakuza: A Life of Japan's Underworld by Junichi Saga This is one of the best books I have read this year. The book starts out with an elderly man walks into a doctor's office and takes off his kimono to show the doctor his exquisite, but faded body tattoo. The man, a former Yakuza boss, begins to tell the doctor his life story. The story is true and the author is the doctor who spent hours listening, recording the Yakuza's story. It is an exciting, engrossing read about pre-war Japan and one of the most elusive groups in the world.

This past week

2009-03-21T09:44:00.000+09:00

I can't believe how fast this school year is going. Terra Nova is over (our "state" assessments) and it's already Spring. My new computer is dead. I have no idea why. This laptop has given me nothing but trouble since I bought it. I had it serviced at the local service place but they just reformatted the laptop. I am going to send it to my dad who then can take it to a place in the US. I am using my old laptop, and I am so glad it works. I would be so lost without a computer right now.
I have been feeling pretty depressed lately. No specific reason. I am just going through a blue phase. I think it is because I stopped jogging regularly. I got sick and then haven't been able to get my fat butt back to the gym. I am doing aerobics but it is not the same as jogging. :-P
The bodybugg is awesome. It told me that I am not accurately logging my calories. Ugh, I was about 500 calories off each day due to the weight I lost this past week. Ugh, it's hard to keep track. Studies say that people underestimate their caloric intake by about 20-40%. Crazy, huh? I can see that. I have a friend who tells me that her problem is not what she eats, it's how much she exercises. She will tell me this as she is eating fish and chips. I can't even remember the last time I have had fish and chips. The weight is going away....slowly. I need to start jogging again.
I hate my new Korean class. The people are not very nice and I haven't connected with anyone. It's partly my fault for not being that friendly but I get annoyed that people in my class will refuse to speak English to me during the break. I don't speak Korean as well as everyone else, but I passed the test so I DO belong there. I wish my old classmates were still in the class with me. I actually left class early because I was so upset about it. I am kind of a baby about things and my PMSing doesn't help things.
The boyfriend might get a job in Chinhae. That's about 3.5 hours away. He wants to get a job on base because the benefits are better, but of all the bases in Korea...the one he may go to is the furthest from Seoul!!! AHHH...
Books I have read lately:
Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss
Slam by Nick Hornby
The Whole Sky Full of Stars by Rene Saldana Jr
What Was Lost by Catherine O'Flynn
Trino's Choice by Diane Gonzales Bertrand
The Sacred Sin Estevan Vega
A Version of the Truth Jennifer Kaufman
Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World Rita Golden Gelman
Travesuras de la niña mala by Mario Vargas Llosa

No reviews because I have a Thai cooking class I have to go to. :-)

Size 12 is Not Fat

2009-03-14T08:47:00.000+09:00

This is not really a review: I think Meg Cabot has come up with a cute idea for a mystery sleuth. An ex-pop star who has gained a couple of pounds and has to work because her singing career is non-existent. Heather, the ex-pop star, is such a fun character. I can't wait to read the others in the series.

I only wish I was a size 12 right now. Haha. Oh, my Bodybugg came in! I love it. I will keep using it and tell you what I think in another post.

Tiempo para quejar

2009-03-08T13:42:00.000+09:00

There is one thing that I want when I am sick. Theraflu tea- lemon flavored. It's not the best tasting medicine ever but it always makes me feel better. Since I work on base in Korea, I have access to the American grocery store on base. Since I have spent most of my life on military bases I have always shopped in these Commissaries. I have always had this medicine available. I went to the Commissary today and guess what they DIDN'T have! Theraflu!!! What am I supposed to do? That is how the Commissary works. You get used to product, you love it and then it is discontinued. I guess I will look on ebay for a Theraflu vendor.

Yellow Dust and my overall health

2009-03-07T21:06:00.000+09:00

I feel really bad about not updating. I told myself I would update often with a review of every book that I read and how my diet/exercise is going. Well, diet is going okay. I am still exercising. I stopped running, but I want to get back into it. I have finally gotten sick. Korea has given me chronic bronchitis the last two years and I think I may have it now. A little late in the year, but I think it may have been brought on by the Yellow Dust.
Yellow dust is the sand that starts out in Mongolia and the lack of trees in China create a duststorm that combines the sand with pollutants that include hard metals and carcinogens. Here's a picture of the yellow sand over Korea.

So I started using a face mask with a carbon filter. It helps, but I didn't start it early enough. Argh.
Korean classes started on Wednesday. Level 2 is really hard, I feel bad about skipping yesterday, but I was a mess. I'll regret it on Monday.

A Version of the Truth by Jennifer Kauffman and Karen Mack

This is an example of smart chick lit. I love all kinds of chick lit, but sometimes I get annoyed with the same kind of protagonist. Cassie Shaw was completely different kind of woman. Cassie is a widow, uneducated, loves animals, and has a reading disorder. She decides to lie about her education on a resume and gets a job in a university. She has found her niche but all good things must come to an end, especially if it was based on a lie. Will she be able to overcome who she was, who she is, and who she wants to be?

Tales of a Female Nomad

2009-03-03T20:38:00.000+09:00

Rita Goldman Gelman, an accomplished children's book writer and the wife and mother of two grown children, decides that she does not want the privileged life she has. For the next fifteen years she travels the world, learning Spanish in Mexico to living in a royal palace in Bali. She has the most amazing adventures. I felt so connected to the author that I felt like I was there during her adventures and mis-adventures. Not every escapade that Rita went through was positive and that is what I loved about the travelogue, it was real. I have traveled alone as a woman, and I know how difficult it can be. I recommend this book to any woman who have a desire to travel the world.

My Birthday and MJ's graduation

2009-02-28T12:44:00.000+09:00

Yesterday was my 28th birthday and MJ's graduation. I took the day off school so I could go drive down to MJ's campus down in Yongin. We didn't really think about the traffic going down there and we actually didn't make it to the graduation but we were able to meet with his family and school friends/professors to take loads of pictures. I will upload some up soon. It was interesting and I was one of the only non-Koreans in the whole area. It's so strange to look so different. For once I didn't feel like the fat foreign girl. I just felt like a regular "foreign girl." Sometimes, when I have met MJ's friends, I have felt so judged and people wondering what MJ saw in me, considering I am such a fat cow. I know a lot of it is in my head that they really aren't thinking that. I remember comments about "the fat girl." I remember when I first became "the fat girl." It's hard on your self esteem considering I used to have my self-worth dependent on what boys (men) thought of me. How many free drinks, dinners, and gifts I could get from them. I know people still make comments considering I now understand a lot more Korean than I did. I don't let it bother me anymore. I stopped riding the subway because if I heard "You are so beautiful, but so fat..." one more time I was afraid I would hit someone. Many people may think I am exaggerating but I have heard something along that phrase at least six times in my 2.5 years here. This is from people I don't know. I hate talking to people on the subway because they feel like they want to practice their English with me and tell me how they feel about America, me, my weight, how I need to exercise more, etc. I now pretend I don't speak English.
Anyway, so I felt pretty and good. MJ tells me that his family really likes me and there were times we took photos all together. I am crazy about him and I know how important the family is to Koreans. MJ is the only son and they approve of me. :-) I will explain the only son thing on another day. So my birthday dinner is tonight in Itaewon. I will update more after I am done. I have some books to review as well.

The Boyfriend's Graduation

2009-02-25T20:45:00.000+09:00

I have requested a day off on February 27th for my boyfriend's graduation. It's really odd that my boyfriend will be graduating on Friday when he hasn't been to school in the last 3 months. Instead of having the graduation in December when he finished classes, in Korea, they have the graduations in the end of February before the start of a new year. He's been stressed because he hasn't been able to find a job. With the Korean economy the way it is, and having a language degree, it doesn't look very good for him. He's so talented with languages and picks them up so quickly, he really would be an asset to any company. His mom asked him if they (his family) could stay with us, since they are coming up from Ulsan. He told them that he didn't feel comfortable. He later told me they just wanted to check up on us. I will get to see them again for the graduation. Am I nervous? Yes, I still can't speak Korean. I did pass my test and now am in level 2a in Sogang University Korean language institute! February 27th is also my birthday. I'll be 28! AHHH. Where did my twenties go?

The Lost Daughters of China

2009-02-20T10:25:00.000+09:00

The Lost Daughters of China by Karin Evans

This book is both a beautiful memoir of a woman's international adoption and a history/case study of international adoptions from Asia. It gives great information that spans decades of China/US adoption relations. The author does a wonderful job explaining the significance of Confucianism and China's "One Child" policy and how it has resulted in the "Lost Daughters of China." Anchee Min, the author of Falling Leaves, gives a beautiful forward to add to an already beautifully written and researched account. I have always been interested in international adoption and have friends who have been adopted interculturally. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in adoption, especially intercultural adoptions.

The Dentist

2009-02-17T22:24:00.000+09:00

Ouch. I went to the orthodontist yesterday for my monthly retainer checkup and they found a cavity! I haven't had a cavity since I was 10 years old. I have been going to this orthodontist once a month for the last 2 years and always have my yearly checkups. I was surprised to find that I had a cavity. The interesting news is, that not only do I have a cavity, but it's been there for YEARS. It was underneath a filling and has been hidden away from x-rays because the filling covers it. It is to the point where I need a root canal! If I want to save this tooth it is going to cost me 1000 dollars. Yes, that is 1,000 American dollars. I asked them how much it would cost in won -- they told me 1.4 million won. Ouch. I know that I go to the most expensive dentist in Seoul. It is called Columbia Dental and it is right in the middle of Plastic Surgery Central in Apgujeong--the richest area of Seoul. I could go to a cheaper dentist, but I know I will get the best service here, along with native-like English speaking Dentists. I don't have any dental insurance because I canceled it in November. I decided that overall I had good dental health, and didn't need it, especially since I see the orthodontist so regularly. MJ and I were supposed to go to Saipan for Valentine's Day weekend, we didn't get on the flight so I am going to use that money for the dentist.