Update from the Weekend

I have definitely been slacking on the blogs lately. It's very hard to sit down at the computer and try to write about everything that is going on when you spend your entire day out and about. I have come home extremely tired every day the past week. I know I will catch up on sleep when I get home....

Friday we took our students ice skating. This time it was complete chaos. A lot of the kids didn't know how to skate so we spent much more time in a lesson than we did actually free skating. However, my students were much cuter this time. When we went with the older students, they had a game going that they got stickers from the native speakers if they said English phrases. So of course, they all only wanted to be by us to get stickers. This time, we had no contest so the students that were skating by our sides, holding our hands, wanted to be there. Their smiling faces always make me laugh... I'm going to miss them after tomorrow (it's our last day!)

Friday night, Danny and I took my host family to Itaewon, the biggest foreigners area of Seoul. My host family has never been so Danny wanted to show us around. It was a lot of fun not being the only person for the Koreans to stare at. My host brother made us laugh because he was constantly saying "OHHH foreigners" when we walked past anyone. Then of course I wanted to show them something they probably don't ever see in Korea...... TACO BELL!!!! It was a brand new one that just opened. I miss American food so much and you can't get better than fake Mexican American food. My host mom loved it so much that she ended up with about 3 orders of food by the end of the meal. I thought it was cute!

After dinner, Danny and I stayed in Itaewon and hung out with some of his friends. They walked me up "Hooker Hill" which is one of Seoul's red light districts. There was definitely nothing there that I hadn't seen before, being from Vegas and all. I called it a night at about 11 and headed home.

Saturday was Danny's going away party. His friend John, who will be travelling with him for the first 3 months of the trip, hosted it at his house. Imagine an apartment about the size of a normal American master bedroom, and cram 30+ people into it for a party! It was fun seeing faces I had already met and even more fun meeting new people. Everyone enjoyed themselves to the best of their ability. I had know curfew so I definitely took advantage of seeing parts of Seoul I hadn't seen yet! It will go down as one of the best nights on the trip.

Sunday morning we went to my host father's mom's house way out in the mountain. It took us about two hours to get there. It was this beautiful log cabin style home surrounded by gardens and a small stream. Just like any other Korean meal we have had, the lunch table was completely covered with food. Only this time, it was pizza, chicken, and all sorts of American style meals. The family chowed down while we joked about things. I taught my host sisters and their cousins how to french braid hair and now they are experts. As we went to leave, the grandma handed me an envelope and told me it was my allowance. More money!!!!!! I cannot believe how gracious this family is with everything they do....

When we got home, instead of having the planned spagetti dinner, we went out for Sam, my favorite meal here. Think super thick chunks of bacon that you cook on a grill in the middle of your table. It cannot be beat!!! Afterwards, we went to karaoke. Thanks to Danny requesting "Barbie Girl" the first time we went to karaoke and then not singing a word of it before handing me the mic and telling me it is too many girl parts! My family requested me to sing that right off the bat. I gave my best attempt again and managed to get a 98 out of 100 score. My host father belted out his usual "Bad Case of Loving You" and "My Way" songs. I am going to record him singing them tomorrow so I can post them and everyone can see how excited he gets during these songs. I will also post video of my host sister playing piano because she is AWESOME! High score of the night went to my host brother and I. We busted out "Sexy Back" and got 100!!! We called it a night after that because we knew there was no way to beat it.

My host family told me last night they are going to save up all of their money so that when I get married some day, they can come to the U.S. for my wedding. It made my night that they want to be there for me on my special day after only knowing me for 3 weeks!!!


Every day more and more I realize how much I am going to miss this place. I had my little moment after my first set of students were done with camp but I sucked it up and told myself I would be okay. It hit me again Saturday night, watching Danny say goodbye to friends he has had his entire stay here in Korea. One of his Korean friend's actually lived with him in Canada 7 years ago and then they rekindled their friendship here in Seoul when Danny moved. I could tell when he walked out of the room to walk them to the train station that he was going to be very sad saying goodbye to them. Little did I know that it would be the scene I saw. He walked back in, completely teary eyed and couldn't say a word to anyone. He just sat in the chair. As JoYoung and I tried to comfort him, I could see how much of an impact Korea had on his life over the past year. That's when I realized how much of an impact it has had on me in just six weeks....

I have made relationships here that will never compare to relationships back home. It says a lot when a woman (my host mom) you don't even really know yet comes in to give you a stomach massage when your sick because she knows your mom isn't there to comfort you. It says a lot when your host sister buys you a present for just being a friend to her over the past few weeks.

There are numerous people here that I am going to miss with all my heart. They know who they are so no need to pinpoint anyone individually. People who have comforted me in times of sickness. People who have made being away from home that much easier by just being a good friend when I needed one. These are people that I know our paths will cross again in the future because I will make sure I head in their direction when I get a glimpse of their trail in the distance. Whether it is them coming to my wedding, or me making a special trip just to visit, I will keep these relationships together for as long as I can...


Enough sentimental stuff.... Tomorrow is last day of classes and then packing! I have been dreading buy my 3rd bag because I know that means it is time to go... but I have to do it! I will probably be a very sad girl tomorrow!!! Wednesday is the trip to the DMZ and dinner with the Mayor and our host families. Wednesday night I am going to hang out with Danny and some of his friends as we wind down our final hours in Korea. If anyone talks to me over the next few days before I come home, expect some water works!!!

I know I am going home to place where I have been missed dearly over the past few weeks so I will be perfectly okay with closing this brief chapter of my life and heading into the next!!


See you all on THURSDAY!!!!