Getting your **nails** done in Korea

Today marked a very special day for Citygirl here in Korea. It was "treat" day whereby Roxy and her awesome Texan buddy Christina,  headed off to get their nails done (something they swore to do every 2 weeks but have actually only done  so twice before).

Getting your nails done in Korea is really really cool, with loads of designs and colours to choose from and for only W15 000 a pop (about $15), it's not too bad :) Of course mine ended up being a little more,  owing to the fact that I just had to try the  "gradient" design  and I may have had a nail that needed fixing (they do this here too, super cool) ending up rounding off to W30 000. The cherry on the cake for me? Cashing in my "nail voucher" which Igot from Farmboy for my birthday...what an amazing boyfriend hey *:)*

We go to a great little nail bar at our local HomePlus supermarket, they seem to have them at every Lotte Mart & HomePlus...

Choosing the right colour can be a stressful process you see...

The "gradient" painting process :) *yes, it is a process involving layers and layers and sponges and sponges!*

But in the end...totally worth it!

So what are u waiting for! Go and treat yourself ~you deserve it!

"Hey Christina, how was my Texan rally girl impression??"

:)

*Korean Friendships*

One sunny afternoon while making my way to Korean class on the always stuffy and crowded bus, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see a very smiley face clutching a cellphone and pointing it in my direction. I wasn't quiet sure what exactly i was suppose to do with the phone, so I took it and saw that   a long message had been typed on it for me to read. In English. Feeling slightly intrigued I began to read...

"Hello. I hope you don't mind but I was hoping that you could be my friend. I would really like to chat with you and improve my English skills and it would be a great pleasure to speak with you. If you are free, lets meet together"

And that was the start of a wonderful friendship with my new friend Sohee! She invited me to her new house a little while ago where she feed me the most delicious food! Not only does she get the opportunity to practice her English, but I have gained a lovely friend and am learning a whole lot more about Korean culture too :)

*Spelling*

This is a small apology (well in some cases its a little bigger than small). I do it, and I do it often...(*thanks mom for sending me countless emails where I have mispelt "quiet" & "quite"*)

*S*P*E*L*L*I*N*G mistakes! You wouldn't say that I competed my undergraduate degree in Enlglish Literature, and am now an English teacher, would you :) Well i just want to say sorry If I've made anyone mad...I just get so excited when I blog (and I've never been very good at proof reading) ...I will try to be better at checking my spelling (*stupid spell checker faulty thingy!)

Thats all...

Dear Diary…the beginning

I feel little iffy about personal blogs. I can't help it. I feel that the other people out there couldn't care less about how I had an argument with that mean co-teacher who often ignores me on my walk to school and today just wouldn't stop snorting next to me in the staff room while yakking away on her cellphone and broadcasting her "neeee"'s throughout the room???? But...I thought to myself, why not write something a little more on the personal side about my life so far here in South Korea?

I'm gonna try my hand at writing about some of the actual happenings out here. And this time, you have a choice about whether you want to read it or not. These posts will be filed in their own private section of the website, so you won't get bombarded with stories about how frustrated I am, or who is irritating me today, or which student told me I look pregnant...you control just how much "Roxy babble" you want to read...cool hey!

I'm not gonna make any promises that there won't be spelling mistakes or that I will write often, let's just see where the road takes us shall we...So enjoy/skip/read/ to your hearts content :)

Over and out...

Roxy

xox

Friday afternoon *treat*

Last week was a long one. Mainly because it was our first week back after our wonderful holiday in Cambodia, and that meant back to business. Back to screaming kids, back to kids who couldn't care less about English, and back to kids who refuse to answer ANYTHING in class. But that's ok, that's what were here for right? Feeling very tired, stressed, and just plain pooped, i decided to head to the Leechard Pro Hair Salon for a bit of TLC...and they never disappoint. I was given a complimentary manicure (well they always come around to do your nails there... must be a special treat for foreigners...see images below), a complimentary hair treatment, cut,  style, hot chocolate and piece of yummy cake all for W12 000 (that's about $12/R60)....YAY!

So I can say that I am totally prepared to kick some butt today at school (yes, it's a Saturday, and I never work on Saturdays as all the other Korean teachers do, but I took last Monday off for Chuseok (and Cambodia!!!) and am now making up for it this morning). At least I get to go home at 10:30, after my 2 lessons.

 *The first pic is of my long nails~oh how I miss them! and the second one (the black polish) is how they were done yesterday at Leechard Pro...I had a little ceremony to honour my long nails, before i had to chop them all off as I have started climbing with Farmboy...but, it's definitely worth it!*

Off to school now, then to the Soccer at the World Cup Stadium here in Daejeon!

My cozy little apartment

The title says it all...and the video does the rest!

I stay in an area called Wonnaedong, which is the west most part of Daejeon, and is slowly on the up, which means apartments and other construction going up every where i look! So the noise is awful, but one gets used to it amoungst the other things (like my neighbour down the passage with his HUGE bulldog~which he keeps in his apartment!)...but life goes on :)

I have what is called a "studio" apartment, which means that I have essentially 2 rooms, one 'living room' and then another 'room' which houses my kitchen...and of course my bathroom, or 'washroom' as they call it here. All very compact, but very comfy!



(the pink colour co-ordination was entirely accidental :) )

My cozy little apartment

The title says it all...and the video does the rest!

I stay in an area called Wonnaedong, which is the west most part of Daejeon, and is slowly on the up, which means apartments and other construction going up every where i look! So the noise is awful, but one gets used to it amoungst the other things (like my neighbour down the passage with his HUGE bulldog~which he keeps in his apartment!)...but life goes on :)

I have what is called a "studio" apartment, which means that I have essentially 2 rooms, one 'living room' and then another 'room' which houses my kitchen...and of course my bathroom, or 'washroom' as they call it here. All very compact, but very comfy!



(the pink colour co-ordination was entirely accidental :) )

*4 months in...*

So today (or maybe its tomorrow) marks our 4 month anniversary here in Korea...at the moment im not sure whether to laugh or cry~and the weather is not helping.
We had been warned about this 4 month hump, but to be honest we had also been warned about the 1 month honeymoon period, the 2 month crazy spending spree's, and the 3 month culture shock. And now here we are at 4 months, plodding along, singing a song (which for us South Africans has got to be Waving Flag~*below*)

So what are we going to do with our general mood and attitudes, well lets think about what we have to be grateful for...we don't have a very strenous job, we get to interact with cute little kiddies all day, we earn a very decent salary, we are surrounded by friends all going through the same thing, we have a great home country that is hosting a world class event and of course we get to travel all over this dynamic country we now call home. Yes the weather is getting a bit too hot to handle, yes the schools won't let us put the aircon on, yes we all feel like we need a holiday, and yes we are all a bit tired of the staring, but i mean hells bells...

This is my 2cents to add about most peoples (including myself up until about 5 minutes ago) general dismal attitude.

Life is what you make it, so now that we feeling like we have been handed 10 trees of lemons~lets get to making that lemonade!

*4 months in...*

So today (or maybe its tomorrow) marks our 4 month anniversary here in Korea...at the moment im not sure whether to laugh or cry~and the weather is not helping.
We had been warned about this 4 month hump, but to be honest we had also been warned about the 1 month honeymoon period, the 2 month crazy spending spree's, and the 3 month culture shock. And now here we are at 4 months, plodding along, singing a song (which for us South Africans has got to be Waving Flag~*below*)

So what are we going to do with our general mood and attitudes, well lets think about what we have to be grateful for...we don't have a very strenous job, we get to interact with cute little kiddies all day, we earn a very decent salary, we are surrounded by friends all going through the same thing, we have a great home country that is hosting a world class event and of course we get to travel all over this dynamic country we now call home. Yes the weather is getting a bit too hot to handle, yes the schools won't let us put the aircon on, yes we all feel like we need a holiday, and yes we are all a bit tired of the staring, but i mean hells bells...

This is my 2cents to add about most peoples (including myself up until about 5 minutes ago) general dismal attitude.

Life is what you make it, so now that we feeling like we have been handed 10 trees of lemons~lets get to making that lemonade!

Wedding ~ Korean Style

This Sunday saw Farmboy and myself hitting the alter...to watch my Principle's daughter getting married (had you all there for a second hehe), in what turned out to be the strangest and most bizarre experience.

So I will try and give you a very detailed discription of what went down, because I have no pictures you see, well there was no time to take pictures is probably the best excuse...so here goes!

I had been warned to bring an envelope of cash ~W30 000 if you dont know the bride/groom, up to 100 000 if you are friends with either of them~ before hand by my co-teacher (and luckily I did because no cash=no lunch here in the land of Kimchi). Basically each guest brings with him/her an envelope of money to give to the wedding party, and it's all very business like...2 desks, one for friends of the bride, and one for friends of the groom. Once the money has been grabbed, it is counted and the amount is recorded next to your name, which you then sign. Upon receiving your 'gift', you are issued with a lunch coupon. Aparantly the money is counted up at the end of the ceremony and used to pay the buffet costs.



Coupons in hand, Farmboy and I walked to the actual wedding hall, well, the wedding was over before we even had time to raise our eyes to the alter, and then had to push and shove our way into the que for lunch. Which as it turns out was full on that floor, so we had to go and have our lunch with another wedding party on the second floor!

Basically these wedding halls have a wedding venue and a buffet room on each floor, if I'm not mistaken, there were 10 floors at the venue we were at, and each party gets 20 mins to say their "I do's" and then make like a tree and leaf, to join the other guests at the buffet. Its the stranges thing. Each floor has a different name, "Serenity", "Romantic", "Harmony", "Tranquility" etc and the 'flowers' and decorations are suited to each 'theme'...I say 'flowers' becasue they are all plastic and fake, which means less mess, and I guess less hasstle to organise and arrange for each wedding.

So think of it like a production line, one bride in, other bride out, next bride in, next bride out, and most of the guests dont even see the bride. I mean I have never met my Principle's daughter, I barely know my Principle, and I didnt even get to see the bride to say congratulations...oh but I did get to have lunch with about 4 wedding parties...each of us borrowing the bottle opener (and no, not for beers or any sort of alcohol, for coke and pepsi), and leaning over one another to grap our plastic cups and napkins

On the plus, the buffet was quiet yummy..but definately not worth R180 a pop!
All in all we were out of there in 55 minutes flat...hows that for efficiency :)

If you are living in Korea, you will undoubtably have to attend at least one wedding, its quiet an experience...just dont forget your envelope...and of course an open mind.

Wedding ~ Korean Style

This Sunday saw Farmboy and myself hitting the alter...to watch my Principle's daughter getting married (had you all there for a second hehe), in what turned out to be the strangest and most bizarre experience.

So I will try and give you a very detailed discription of what went down, because I have no pictures you see, well there was no time to take pictures is probably the best excuse...so here goes!

I had been warned to bring an envelope of cash ~W30 000 if you dont know the bride/groom, up to 100 000 if you are friends with either of them~ before hand by my co-teacher (and luckily I did because no cash=no lunch here in the land of Kimchi). Basically each guest brings with him/her an envelope of money to give to the wedding party, and it's all very business like...2 desks, one for friends of the bride, and one for friends of the groom. Once the money has been grabbed, it is counted and the amount is recorded next to your name, which you then sign. Upon receiving your 'gift', you are issued with a lunch coupon. Aparantly the money is counted up at the end of the ceremony and used to pay the buffet costs.

School Lunches~yummy??

As we are here to teach, and thus spend the majority of our days at school, I thought it would be appropriate to put some pics up of our typical school lunches. These aren't my pics, but they might as well be as the caffeteria food here is pretty much standardised!

So first things first:

bottom left ~ rice

bottom right ~ soup of some kind (usually brown in colour) The soup tends to be the most stable element (apart from the rice) and I am always able to at least eat that

top left ~ veggie mix (usually spicy)

top middle ~ KIMCHI (which is fermented cabbage...i still haven't got used to the taste so i politely delcline this option)

top right ~ meat of some kind

yogurt drink (very yummy sweet drink...not with every meal)

*This is the usual menu for each school, sometimes you might get a nice surprise and have some fried chicken/yummy curry/stir fry's/ but this is what you will come accross on most days :)

You get used to it, and then come to really appreciate the staff dinners you will have to attend, especially when you get taken for duck...its delicious...and of course all the yummy snacks in your staff room.

School Lunches~yummy??

As we are here to teach, and thus spend the majority of our days at school, I thought it would be appropriate to put some pics up of our typical school lunches. These aren't my pics, but they might as well be as the caffeteria food here is pretty much standardised!

So first things first:

bottom left ~ rice

bottom right ~ soup of some kind (usually brown in colour) The soup tends to be the most stable element (apart from the rice) and I am always able to at least eat that

top left ~ veggie mix (usually spicy)

top middle ~ KIMCHI (which is fermented cabbage...i still haven't got used to the taste so i politely delcline this option)

top right ~ meat of some kind

yogurt drink (very yummy sweet drink...not with every meal)

*This is the usual menu for each school, sometimes you might get a nice surprise and have some fried chicken/yummy curry/stir fry's/ but this is what you will come accross on most days :)

You get used to it, and then come to really appreciate the staff dinners you will have to attend, especially when you get taken for duck...its delicious...and of course all the yummy snacks in your staff room.

My English Room~Kyochon Elementary

So today a whole bunch of teachers & other VIP's are coming to have a little squizz at my English Classroom. I have become used to random important looking people strolling in during my lessons, snapping away with their camera's and my Principle grinning like a cheshire cat. Aparantly we have one of the best English rooms in Daejeon, im not so sure about that...but it's a nice thought :)

I thought I would post a few pics of it so everyone could get a chance to see what all the hype is about (i see no reason for getting too excited) but I must admit is is awesome! The reason I feel I am able to boast about this particular classroom is becasue on a monday & tuesday, I teach at another school, a country school (Hakha Elementary). Now Hakha, being a country, or rural school, is very basic. Whereas here at Kyochon all the kids come to me for their English classes (all +300 of them), ay Hakha I go to them, (all 20 of them). So you can see what Im getting at. Here I have all the perks, like my own little "Native Teachers Room" which doubles as the 3D interactive portal, I can customize the class and move the desks & chairs around however I (we~me and my co-teacher) feel like.

At Hakha, at the beginnning of every class, I am stepping into their territory...so this obviously has its disadvantages for me. The kids are a lot harder to control and of course as LOT harder to motivate, and because its their space, they go a little crazy!

But here at Kyochon I almost have the other extreme, my older classes (6th grade) are very reserved, and the atmosphere can feel a bit sterile. To combat this I have tried putting things up around the classroom to make it look a bit more inviting, but alas, my principle instructed my co-teacher & I to remove them because she thought they "didnt match the rest of the room"~ but thats exactly the point! Anyways,  I have to rely on my skills as a super Native teacher to get the kids iexcited about their English learning :)

My English Room~Kyochon Elementary

So today a whole bunch of teachers & other VIP's are coming to have a little squizz at my English Classroom. I have become used to random important looking people strolling in during my lessons, snapping away with their camera's and my Principle grinning like a cheshire cat. Aparantly we have one of the best English rooms in Daejeon, im not so sure about that...but it's a nice thought :)

I thought I would post a few pics of it so everyone could get a chance to see what all the hype is about (i see no reason for getting too excited) but I must admit is is awesome! The reason I feel I am able to boast about this particular classroom is becasue on a monday & tuesday, I teach at another school, a country school (Hakha Elementary). Now Hakha, being a country, or rural school, is very basic. Whereas here at Kyochon all the kids come to me for their English classes (all +300 of them), ay Hakha I go to them, (all 20 of them). So you can see what Im getting at. Here I have all the perks, like my own little "Native Teachers Room" which doubles as the 3D interactive portal, I can customize the class and move the desks & chairs around however I (we~me and my co-teacher) feel like.

At Hakha, at the beginnning of every class, I am stepping into their territory...so this obviously has its disadvantages for me. The kids are a lot harder to control and of course as LOT harder to motivate, and because its their space, they go a little crazy!

But here at Kyochon I almost have the other extreme, my older classes (6th grade) are very reserved, and the atmosphere can feel a bit sterile. To combat this I have tried putting things up around the classroom to make it look a bit more inviting, but alas, my principle instructed my co-teacher & I to remove them because she thought they "didnt match the rest of the room"~ but thats exactly the point! Anyways,  I have to rely on my skills as a super Native teacher to get the kids iexcited about their English learning :)

Hakha Happenings

Thought i would post a couple of pics from my other school ~Hakha Elementary~ which is a so called "country school". Im not sure if this is because it is situated off the beaten track (only a little though) or whether its because there are only 37 students in the whole school. Anyways I only teach there on a Monday and Tuesday, for a total of 7 lessons. The kid's english isn't so good, so its a lot tougher to teach them as the text book we "have" to use is to difficult for them. Anyways, here are a few pics from our Science Day (a day when most other schools were having sports day~we were doing experiments!) and a few pics from our 'Friendship Excursion', a little outing for the teachers to hang out together, away from the school :)

How cute are their yellow school outfits :)