For the second time, I promise this blog won't turn into a food blog. I saw this video via Facebook, and knew right away I had to share it. Strive to be like Birke!
25 January 2011
20 January 2011
What's in your kitchen?
I promise this blog is not going to turn into a food blog, or even have a food section. Its just that last night, I happened to actually cook. Thus, it needed to be documented. And today at lunch, I was so tired that I drank a cup of coffee. Thus, its 11:30pm and I'm wide awake. and bored. Yes, its weird that I'm awake at 11:30 ok? I know you are cool and go to bed at this time every night, but like I've always told my mom, I'm a 40 year old trapped in a 23 year old's body. (Sorry to all the 40 year olds I may have offended...and kudos to you if you still stay up late!)
Anyways, I got to thinking...maybe some of you wonder sometimes, "What does Rachel's kitchen look like? What kind of things does she buy from the grocery store over there? Can she buy the same food she does at home?" Well, for all 2 of you, I'm about to scratch that itch!
Starting from the back, we have some unhealthy cooking oil. This was bought my first week here when I was too terrified and exhausted to even search for good oil in the grocery store. Next we have soy sauce. This was bought at the same time, when I thought that since I'm in Asia, I should eat soy sauce. But you know what? I don't really like soy sauce. Since having realized that, the bottle is now purely decorative. The next two are EVOO and balsamic vinegar. I like to call these my lifelines. Next to the end is red pepper paste. I mix this with rice or sometimes eggs. And saving the best for last is my pepper grinder. Its not just any pepper grinder though. No sir-ee. Do you want one like this? Well you can't buy it! My Grandpa handmade this. BAZINGA.
If you turn around to face my island, you can see all of my morning and late night goodies. Oatmeal (thanks parentals!), yummy cereal, bananas, kiwis, oranges, and apples, a healthy attempt at chocolate, and coffee. Oh yeah, and a cute bread shaped cutting board. I bet you can't guess who made that for me too.
Cereal is a lot more expensive than in the U.S. That box cost $7! Most people eat rice and kimchi for breakfast. No lie.
Oatmeal is almost nonexistent. I can order some online, but its not the same as back home and its more expensive.
While some fruit is a little more expensive than back home, I don't even blink an eye before buying it without moderation. Fruit is just that awesome. Isn't that right Uncle Homer?
In the cupboard we have peanut butter, rice, and...wait what is that? POPCORN!
That small jar of peanut butter was about $5.50, but I don't care. If I go too long without peanut butter toast, I start to go a little crazy. Popcorn is not that hard to come by, but you get one choice and its only sold in the individual packages. Each bag costs about 80 cents. Before, I thought that only the Daiso (dollar store) in Suwon sold popcorn, so I would stock up when I stayed with Laurie. But I was wandering down the imported foods aisle at my grocery store this week and spotted the beautiful blue and yellow colors at the very bottom corner of the shelf. I quickly jumped down with joy to grab some!
It goes without saying that the rice is cheap.
Soy milk, sliced jalepenos (for my huevos), mini gherkins (I bought these tonight!), and some caffe latte drink a student gave me. Unless any of my friends want it, it will remain there for the duration of my stay in Korea.
Don't worry, this is the last picture. Damn this was longer than I expected.
From top to bottom, left to right we have salsa (courtesy of Costco and Rosalyn), prunes (In case you didn't know, I love fruit.), and my agua. No plastic bottles in this fridge!
And on the bottom shelf we have sliced carrots, some left overs from last night's gourmet meal, sesame leaves, and eggs. And do you see the open drawer at the bottom? And do you see that brown bag? Well, if you put your xray vision glasses on real quick, you can see that inside that brown bag is a plastic bag. And inside that plastic bag is a locked tupperware. And inside that tupperware is kimchi.
And, finally, a math lesson to finish this up.
Kimchi + a sealed tupperware container + a sealed plastic bag + a brown bag + a closed drawer = a still smelly fridge.
Good night.
Anyways, I got to thinking...maybe some of you wonder sometimes, "What does Rachel's kitchen look like? What kind of things does she buy from the grocery store over there? Can she buy the same food she does at home?" Well, for all 2 of you, I'm about to scratch that itch!
Starting from the back, we have some unhealthy cooking oil. This was bought my first week here when I was too terrified and exhausted to even search for good oil in the grocery store. Next we have soy sauce. This was bought at the same time, when I thought that since I'm in Asia, I should eat soy sauce. But you know what? I don't really like soy sauce. Since having realized that, the bottle is now purely decorative. The next two are EVOO and balsamic vinegar. I like to call these my lifelines. Next to the end is red pepper paste. I mix this with rice or sometimes eggs. And saving the best for last is my pepper grinder. Its not just any pepper grinder though. No sir-ee. Do you want one like this? Well you can't buy it! My Grandpa handmade this. BAZINGA.
If you turn around to face my island, you can see all of my morning and late night goodies. Oatmeal (thanks parentals!), yummy cereal, bananas, kiwis, oranges, and apples, a healthy attempt at chocolate, and coffee. Oh yeah, and a cute bread shaped cutting board. I bet you can't guess who made that for me too.
Cereal is a lot more expensive than in the U.S. That box cost $7! Most people eat rice and kimchi for breakfast. No lie.
Oatmeal is almost nonexistent. I can order some online, but its not the same as back home and its more expensive.
While some fruit is a little more expensive than back home, I don't even blink an eye before buying it without moderation. Fruit is just that awesome. Isn't that right Uncle Homer?
In the cupboard we have peanut butter, rice, and...wait what is that? POPCORN!
That small jar of peanut butter was about $5.50, but I don't care. If I go too long without peanut butter toast, I start to go a little crazy. Popcorn is not that hard to come by, but you get one choice and its only sold in the individual packages. Each bag costs about 80 cents. Before, I thought that only the Daiso (dollar store) in Suwon sold popcorn, so I would stock up when I stayed with Laurie. But I was wandering down the imported foods aisle at my grocery store this week and spotted the beautiful blue and yellow colors at the very bottom corner of the shelf. I quickly jumped down with joy to grab some!
It goes without saying that the rice is cheap.
Soy milk, sliced jalepenos (for my huevos), mini gherkins (I bought these tonight!), and some caffe latte drink a student gave me. Unless any of my friends want it, it will remain there for the duration of my stay in Korea.
Don't worry, this is the last picture. Damn this was longer than I expected.
From top to bottom, left to right we have salsa (courtesy of Costco and Rosalyn), prunes (In case you didn't know, I love fruit.), and my agua. No plastic bottles in this fridge!
And on the bottom shelf we have sliced carrots, some left overs from last night's gourmet meal, sesame leaves, and eggs. And do you see the open drawer at the bottom? And do you see that brown bag? Well, if you put your xray vision glasses on real quick, you can see that inside that brown bag is a plastic bag. And inside that plastic bag is a locked tupperware. And inside that tupperware is kimchi.
And, finally, a math lesson to finish this up.
Kimchi + a sealed tupperware container + a sealed plastic bag + a brown bag + a closed drawer = a still smelly fridge.
Good night.
19 January 2011
Watch Out Rachael Ray
My co teachers often ask me if I ever cook at home. I tell them no, because I normally don't go any further than scrambled eggs. However, I got a little fancy this evening.
Step One: Gather kimchi (courtesy of my Korean savior), eggs, and sesame leaves.
Step Two: Dump the rice and carrots into the hot tub until they are steamy and completely relaxed.
Step Three: Saute the kimchi, rice and carrots, and eggs.
Step Four: Voila! The sesame leaves are perfect for making little kimchi rice and egg wraps.
Step Five: Enjoy the meal in bed under the warm covers while watching Friends.
Step Six: Dessert. Let's see, what do I have....
Step One: Gather kimchi (courtesy of my Korean savior), eggs, and sesame leaves.
Step Two: Dump the rice and carrots into the hot tub until they are steamy and completely relaxed.
Step Three: Saute the kimchi, rice and carrots, and eggs.
Step Four: Voila! The sesame leaves are perfect for making little kimchi rice and egg wraps.
Step Five: Enjoy the meal in bed under the warm covers while watching Friends.
Step Six: Dessert. Let's see, what do I have....
18 January 2011
Winter Break
Since real school let out for winter break at the end of December, my days have been mostly peaceful and a little boring.
My favorite 1st grade class on our last day. They are my favorite in spite of the girls who simply must hide their faces in all pictures. They are lucky their boy classmates make up for that.
It wasn't always boring and peaceful though. I had two weeks of winter English camp. One week for each grade. I was excited for the 1st graders, as they aren't too cool for school just yet. Those 15 campers were fun, behaved, and all had high levels of English. But for some reason, on the last day the boys decided to surprise me and "act a fool". Nonetheless, I called that week a success.
Lovely well behaved girls on the last day of camp, playing the game correctly.
Demon boys on the last day of camp, drawing grotesque pictures inbetween their wrestling matches, since having miraculously finished the game 30 minutes before the other two groups.
The next week was the 2nd grade winter camp. I was not looking forward to this, since the 2nd graders during normal school are in that "I'm too cool and smart to listen to you, and even though I love pop music, I'm going to look bored out of my mind when you spend a whole class listening to my favorite songs" phase. Eunji even said she felt sorry for me, because she had to do summer camp and the 2nd graders were horrible. Thanks Eunji.
However, the spell I attempted must have worked. There were only 7 that came every day. They were all well behaved, laughed at my dumb jokes, and got my sarcasm. Hell, even a couple of them coul throw something back every now and then! Rachel Teacher was impressed. But nothing compares to their taste in music. While doing "work sheets" and "English" winter crafts, I would ask them what they wanted to listen to.
Muse!
Green Day!
Hell. to. the. yes.
Me: "Do you know 30 Seconds to Mars?"
Paul: "Yes, play their songs!"
Me: "Do you know Jet?"
Students: "No. Will you play their songs still?"
Me: "Hell to the yes!" (On second thought, I probably just said yes.)
While winter camp is over, I still have a parents' class twice a week. Apart from the blind date setter-upper (see my George Bush has Charisma post for more info), the moms are fun to talk to and very smart. We have talked about things like North Korea, where their parents were during the Korean war, Korean versus American schools, food, traveling, and their stories from when they lived overseas. One mom even told me about her mom's living in Hiroshima and evacuating right before the bomb was dropped.
One mom works for a marketing company.
One mom used to work in finance at a multi-national company.
One mom used to be a news anchor!
And they all love to talk. So basically, I sit there for one hour and listen to them talk to each other in English and occasionally ask them questions and answer theirs. Its pretty sweet.
Side story: The Georgey Bushey lady wanted to take us all out for noodles after class on Thursday, so we took two cars to get there. As we pulled up to the restaurant, I noticed there was no available parking spots. There was, however, some orange cones out front to keep cars off the sidewalk in front of the doors.
So what does Miss Georgey Bushey do? Gets out and moves the cones, so the two cars can just pull right up to the door.
Korea, you never cease to surprise me.
Anyway, when I'm not working for those 2 hours a week, I'm deskwarming. This term has many meanings for native teachers. Some meanings are:
-watching movies
-reading
-thinking about lesson planning, then surfing the internet
-chatting on Facebook and Gmail
-irresponsibly shopping online (Mom and Dad- there will be a package delivered soon)
-thinking about lesson planning, then watching TV online
-2 hour lunch breaks, nap included
-And for poor Laurie teacher, it means double duty winter camp this week. :(
It also means cleaning out and organizing one's desk for the first time since arriving in Korea.
I wonder how long this will last once school starts again. And by "this", I also mean the quiet hall ways, small classes of good students, and the silence of the deafening bell.
My favorite 1st grade class on our last day. They are my favorite in spite of the girls who simply must hide their faces in all pictures. They are lucky their boy classmates make up for that.
It wasn't always boring and peaceful though. I had two weeks of winter English camp. One week for each grade. I was excited for the 1st graders, as they aren't too cool for school just yet. Those 15 campers were fun, behaved, and all had high levels of English. But for some reason, on the last day the boys decided to surprise me and "act a fool". Nonetheless, I called that week a success.
Lovely well behaved girls on the last day of camp, playing the game correctly.
Demon boys on the last day of camp, drawing grotesque pictures inbetween their wrestling matches, since having miraculously finished the game 30 minutes before the other two groups.
The next week was the 2nd grade winter camp. I was not looking forward to this, since the 2nd graders during normal school are in that "I'm too cool and smart to listen to you, and even though I love pop music, I'm going to look bored out of my mind when you spend a whole class listening to my favorite songs" phase. Eunji even said she felt sorry for me, because she had to do summer camp and the 2nd graders were horrible. Thanks Eunji.
However, the spell I attempted must have worked. There were only 7 that came every day. They were all well behaved, laughed at my dumb jokes, and got my sarcasm. Hell, even a couple of them coul throw something back every now and then! Rachel Teacher was impressed. But nothing compares to their taste in music. While doing "work sheets" and "English" winter crafts, I would ask them what they wanted to listen to.
Muse!
Green Day!
Hell. to. the. yes.
Me: "Do you know 30 Seconds to Mars?"
Paul: "Yes, play their songs!"
Me: "Do you know Jet?"
Students: "No. Will you play their songs still?"
Me: "Hell to the yes!" (On second thought, I probably just said yes.)
While winter camp is over, I still have a parents' class twice a week. Apart from the blind date setter-upper (see my George Bush has Charisma post for more info), the moms are fun to talk to and very smart. We have talked about things like North Korea, where their parents were during the Korean war, Korean versus American schools, food, traveling, and their stories from when they lived overseas. One mom even told me about her mom's living in Hiroshima and evacuating right before the bomb was dropped.
One mom works for a marketing company.
One mom used to work in finance at a multi-national company.
One mom used to be a news anchor!
And they all love to talk. So basically, I sit there for one hour and listen to them talk to each other in English and occasionally ask them questions and answer theirs. Its pretty sweet.
Side story: The Georgey Bushey lady wanted to take us all out for noodles after class on Thursday, so we took two cars to get there. As we pulled up to the restaurant, I noticed there was no available parking spots. There was, however, some orange cones out front to keep cars off the sidewalk in front of the doors.
So what does Miss Georgey Bushey do? Gets out and moves the cones, so the two cars can just pull right up to the door.
Korea, you never cease to surprise me.
Anyway, when I'm not working for those 2 hours a week, I'm deskwarming. This term has many meanings for native teachers. Some meanings are:
-watching movies
-reading
-thinking about lesson planning, then surfing the internet
-chatting on Facebook and Gmail
-irresponsibly shopping online (Mom and Dad- there will be a package delivered soon)
-thinking about lesson planning, then watching TV online
-2 hour lunch breaks, nap included
-And for poor Laurie teacher, it means double duty winter camp this week. :(
It also means cleaning out and organizing one's desk for the first time since arriving in Korea.
I wonder how long this will last once school starts again. And by "this", I also mean the quiet hall ways, small classes of good students, and the silence of the deafening bell.
13 January 2011
Public Nudity
I can't believe I almost forgot to post this. I guess since I told my parents all about it, it escaped the "this must go into the blog" file. I feel that this is the most cultural experience I've had in Korea. And also one of the coolest.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to my first jimjilbang. I met my friend, Keara, and we had lunch first. She had been there many times, so it was nice to have somebody there who knew the ropes. We walk in and pay our 7,000 won. The lady gives us a towel and our shorts and t-shirt. First, we put our shoes in a locker. Then we give the shoe key to a different lady, and she gives us another key for our clothes locker. This is the part where I felt a little weird. Here in a big open locker room, you strip down. After getting over my initial "oh my god im walking around naked in front of all these Korean women and Keara" moment, we make our way into the public baths area. You are required to shower first before doing anything, so we head over to the only shower head not being used.
Before I go any further, let me paint a little picture.
Its a big square room with tile floors. Along one of the walls are the shower heads. There's also bath stations throughout the room where women sit on plastic stools and wash themselves. Another wall is filled with massage tables covered with naked ladies being scrubbed down by the workers. The back wall is home to a wet steam room and a dry steam room. The remaining wall has a cold water bath, a freakin' cold water bath, and a tepid water bath. In the middle of the room are the heated baths. Oh and there's also an area with heated stone floors to lay down on. Naked.
And it wouldn't be Korea without sinks for brushing your teeth.
So after I shower, I go into the dry steam room first. Its pretty crowded, so I'm forced to stand for a minute or two until somebody gets up. I then take their place, setting my towel on the bench before sitting down. I'm not going to pretend my eyes weren't wandering around. After all, its not everyday you get to see what Korean ladies' bodies really look like. I was surprised at all the flab. Of course there were a few of the typical Asian beauties, but the majority had pretty average bodies.
After a few minutes, my lungs felt properly saturated in steamy humid goodness. I got up and went over to the heated stone floor. You lay down on your back, naked of course, and just relax. I did cover myself with my towel, since it wasn't going to be used for anything else. A Korean lady was lying next to me, and Keara walked over for a minute. As she was walking away, the Korean lady threw her head up to watch her walk away. I guess Koreans are as curious as I was.
Picture this sans clothes and Star Wars towel-do
After my back was hurting from lying in one position, I decided I wasn't ready for the lying on my side with my ass hanging out yet. So, Keara and I tried out the warm baths in the middle. She then wanted to try out the cold baths, and for some reason, I went with her. I could only get in up to my stomach, and I quickly got out to jump back into the warm bath.
During all this, I observed. Old ladies are walking around careful not to step on their boobs, and little kids are running around without a care in the world. But the sweetest thing I saw were the moms washing their kids. It almost felt like we were in ancient Rome. And it may sound gross, but it was so clean. Everywhere you look, you see women exfoliating in the shower, lathering on the soap, and brushing their teeth.
Its interesting to think about from a cultural standpoint. Here you've got a typical conservative Asian country, where tank tops and flip flops are frowned upon. Yet, you walk into a jimjilbang and women are completely comfortable in their own skin with no inhibitions about being naked in front of their friends and strangers.
America, however, seems to be the opposite. Women can get away with wearing practically anything (nothing, rather), but get us into a locker room and eveybody's reaching for the towel from behind the shower curtain.
But there's more to a jimjilbang than public nudity. We walk out of the baths, and put on our matching pink shorts and shirt. After walking down a long hallway, we reach the co-ed part. There's little cubbies filled with Koreans napping, reading, eating, and talking. There's all kinds of different heated rooms to sit in. For instance, a salt room, charcoal room, lavendar room, etc.
They also have massage chairs (1,000 won for 10 minutes), which we took full advantage of.
Again, old people walk around, little kids run around and play. It's like an indoor central park. There's even a snack bar and restaurant!
I can say with full certainty that won't be my last trip to the jimjilbang. I feel clean and relaxed just writing about it.
A couple of weeks ago, I went to my first jimjilbang. I met my friend, Keara, and we had lunch first. She had been there many times, so it was nice to have somebody there who knew the ropes. We walk in and pay our 7,000 won. The lady gives us a towel and our shorts and t-shirt. First, we put our shoes in a locker. Then we give the shoe key to a different lady, and she gives us another key for our clothes locker. This is the part where I felt a little weird. Here in a big open locker room, you strip down. After getting over my initial "oh my god im walking around naked in front of all these Korean women and Keara" moment, we make our way into the public baths area. You are required to shower first before doing anything, so we head over to the only shower head not being used.
Before I go any further, let me paint a little picture.
Its a big square room with tile floors. Along one of the walls are the shower heads. There's also bath stations throughout the room where women sit on plastic stools and wash themselves. Another wall is filled with massage tables covered with naked ladies being scrubbed down by the workers. The back wall is home to a wet steam room and a dry steam room. The remaining wall has a cold water bath, a freakin' cold water bath, and a tepid water bath. In the middle of the room are the heated baths. Oh and there's also an area with heated stone floors to lay down on. Naked.
And it wouldn't be Korea without sinks for brushing your teeth.
So after I shower, I go into the dry steam room first. Its pretty crowded, so I'm forced to stand for a minute or two until somebody gets up. I then take their place, setting my towel on the bench before sitting down. I'm not going to pretend my eyes weren't wandering around. After all, its not everyday you get to see what Korean ladies' bodies really look like. I was surprised at all the flab. Of course there were a few of the typical Asian beauties, but the majority had pretty average bodies.
After a few minutes, my lungs felt properly saturated in steamy humid goodness. I got up and went over to the heated stone floor. You lay down on your back, naked of course, and just relax. I did cover myself with my towel, since it wasn't going to be used for anything else. A Korean lady was lying next to me, and Keara walked over for a minute. As she was walking away, the Korean lady threw her head up to watch her walk away. I guess Koreans are as curious as I was.
Picture this sans clothes and Star Wars towel-do
After my back was hurting from lying in one position, I decided I wasn't ready for the lying on my side with my ass hanging out yet. So, Keara and I tried out the warm baths in the middle. She then wanted to try out the cold baths, and for some reason, I went with her. I could only get in up to my stomach, and I quickly got out to jump back into the warm bath.
During all this, I observed. Old ladies are walking around careful not to step on their boobs, and little kids are running around without a care in the world. But the sweetest thing I saw were the moms washing their kids. It almost felt like we were in ancient Rome. And it may sound gross, but it was so clean. Everywhere you look, you see women exfoliating in the shower, lathering on the soap, and brushing their teeth.
Its interesting to think about from a cultural standpoint. Here you've got a typical conservative Asian country, where tank tops and flip flops are frowned upon. Yet, you walk into a jimjilbang and women are completely comfortable in their own skin with no inhibitions about being naked in front of their friends and strangers.
America, however, seems to be the opposite. Women can get away with wearing practically anything (nothing, rather), but get us into a locker room and eveybody's reaching for the towel from behind the shower curtain.
But there's more to a jimjilbang than public nudity. We walk out of the baths, and put on our matching pink shorts and shirt. After walking down a long hallway, we reach the co-ed part. There's little cubbies filled with Koreans napping, reading, eating, and talking. There's all kinds of different heated rooms to sit in. For instance, a salt room, charcoal room, lavendar room, etc.
They also have massage chairs (1,000 won for 10 minutes), which we took full advantage of.
Again, old people walk around, little kids run around and play. It's like an indoor central park. There's even a snack bar and restaurant!
I can say with full certainty that won't be my last trip to the jimjilbang. I feel clean and relaxed just writing about it.
10 January 2011
My Kind of Babysitting
This past weekend, my friend, Rosalyn, went snowboarding. This meant I got to watch her sweet dog for two days!
Lucy enjoyed the view, and I enjoyed having a dog to play with. Alright, alright, and have deep conversations with. I love having conversations with animals. Dogs always agree with everything I say.
Anyways, I took her with me on my run. She was a good running buddy when there weren't any birds around. She just had one flaw: she gave me a "you idiot, what'd you do that for?" look when I slipped on the ice.
The rest of the day was spent like this.
...followed by a few hours of this.
Lucy enjoyed the view, and I enjoyed having a dog to play with. Alright, alright, and have deep conversations with. I love having conversations with animals. Dogs always agree with everything I say.
Anyways, I took her with me on my run. She was a good running buddy when there weren't any birds around. She just had one flaw: she gave me a "you idiot, what'd you do that for?" look when I slipped on the ice.
The rest of the day was spent like this.
...followed by a few hours of this.
06 January 2011
George Bush has charisma, and Obama is an adulterer.
One of the parents I teach asked me to go to dinner with her tonight to practice her English. When she asked me, she specifically said, just you and me. This lady is very spastic, intense, and just a lot to handle. But, she's also very nice and sweet, and who are we kidding? I'm not one to turn down a free meal.
So, I got home from school, did pilates, threw on a shirt, put my hair in a messy bun, threw on my sneakers, and walked to the restaurant. Whatever, just get this dinner/English practice over with, so I can be warm in my PJs.
She walks to the door to meet me, and takes me to our table. As I'm putting my things down, I realize there's two guys sitting at the table RIGHT next to us. They are looking at us like they know her or something. One of them is really really really cute too.
"Rachel, this is my nephew and my son!"
Oh shit.
I immediately see the cute sweater hanging in my closet, the stylish black boots next to my door, and my hair straightener and brush just lying by the bathroom sink.
Luckily, my mind wakes back up in time to meet Max, the Korean with the heavy Australian accent from Melbourne who will graduate with an Accounting degree next year. And her son, who I've taught for four months, but have no recognition of who he is. Don't judge- I see 750 students each week. Still, it would have been nice if he were one of the few kids whose face and name I do know.
Her English level is low, but she is asking me all kinds of questions about myself. Questions like: Do you like sports? Max likes sports. I've heard Koreans like to fix people up and set up blind dates and such. I just didn't realize they would do it without asking you first. But, don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I kept waiting for the moment she would put food in her mouth, so Max and I could talk. After all, its not everyday you get to speak to a Korean who is fluent in English, has an Australian accent, weighs more than 100 lbs, likes Harry Potter, and gets sarcasm. And has an Australian accent.
Ugh, but then Korea and its common questions had to go and rain on my parade.
She asked me how old I was.
"23 in America, but 24 in Korea." (FYI-technically I'm 25 in Korea now, since its after January 1st. Everybody turns a year older after the new year. However, I refuse to say I'm 25.)
I then asked Max how old he was.
Smiling, he says "I'm 19 in Australia."
Fuck wank bugger shitting arse head and hole.
Anyways....Grace then says "You from Texas Austin! Georgey Bushey from Texas Austin!"
Me: "Yes, he is, unfortunately."
Grace: "I love Georgey Bushey! You don't like Bushey? Why?"
Me: "I don't think he was a good president. Why do you like him?"
Grace: "Oh, he has charisma!"
She then tells me she has a dog, and wanna know what her dog's name is?
Georgey Bushey.
Grace:"Do you like Obama?"
Me: "Yes, I do."
Grace: "He cheat on his wife. She is crazy and angry!"
Me: "Obama? Why do you think this is true?"
Grace: "It is in the internet! Go searchey in internet. It is there."
Oh well, at least I got a free meal with a side of ear candy.
So, I got home from school, did pilates, threw on a shirt, put my hair in a messy bun, threw on my sneakers, and walked to the restaurant. Whatever, just get this dinner/English practice over with, so I can be warm in my PJs.
She walks to the door to meet me, and takes me to our table. As I'm putting my things down, I realize there's two guys sitting at the table RIGHT next to us. They are looking at us like they know her or something. One of them is really really really cute too.
"Rachel, this is my nephew and my son!"
Oh shit.
I immediately see the cute sweater hanging in my closet, the stylish black boots next to my door, and my hair straightener and brush just lying by the bathroom sink.
Luckily, my mind wakes back up in time to meet Max, the Korean with the heavy Australian accent from Melbourne who will graduate with an Accounting degree next year. And her son, who I've taught for four months, but have no recognition of who he is. Don't judge- I see 750 students each week. Still, it would have been nice if he were one of the few kids whose face and name I do know.
Her English level is low, but she is asking me all kinds of questions about myself. Questions like: Do you like sports? Max likes sports. I've heard Koreans like to fix people up and set up blind dates and such. I just didn't realize they would do it without asking you first. But, don't get me wrong. I'm not complaining. I kept waiting for the moment she would put food in her mouth, so Max and I could talk. After all, its not everyday you get to speak to a Korean who is fluent in English, has an Australian accent, weighs more than 100 lbs, likes Harry Potter, and gets sarcasm. And has an Australian accent.
Ugh, but then Korea and its common questions had to go and rain on my parade.
She asked me how old I was.
"23 in America, but 24 in Korea." (FYI-technically I'm 25 in Korea now, since its after January 1st. Everybody turns a year older after the new year. However, I refuse to say I'm 25.)
I then asked Max how old he was.
Smiling, he says "I'm 19 in Australia."
Fuck wank bugger shitting arse head and hole.
Anyways....Grace then says "You from Texas Austin! Georgey Bushey from Texas Austin!"
Me: "Yes, he is, unfortunately."
Grace: "I love Georgey Bushey! You don't like Bushey? Why?"
Me: "I don't think he was a good president. Why do you like him?"
Grace: "Oh, he has charisma!"
She then tells me she has a dog, and wanna know what her dog's name is?
Georgey Bushey.
Grace:"Do you like Obama?"
Me: "Yes, I do."
Grace: "He cheat on his wife. She is crazy and angry!"
Me: "Obama? Why do you think this is true?"
Grace: "It is in the internet! Go searchey in internet. It is there."
Oh well, at least I got a free meal with a side of ear candy.
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