Sunday, September 30, 2018

Simple Beauty


I love walking down the street here and suddenly seeing something so beautiful that I have to stop and take a picture. Since my school is on top of a mountain I feel as if I can reach up and touch the sky sometimes. Makes me feel closer to God.


originally written fall 2016


$3 eight hour city tour


I posted this in my city's facebook teacher group last night.

For the NEWBIES (or oldies) 
Just got back from Gwangyang's city tour. We had lots of fun.  A charter bus takes you to several tourist spots in the city~ 1:30 ~ 9:30pm
Rose garden of Seocheon park
Mt. Gubong's Observation deck
Marine park Footbridge 
Neuraengigol Resort of colorful lights $6
Tour $3 (so only $9 bucks total)
Sea food dinner
(or you can brownbag and have a picnic on the boardwalk)
2 pick up spots~Jungma (near the bus terminal) and Eup (Town office bus stop).
Call to reserve a spot 061.797.3333
(Newbies, your CT can call for you)
Fun way to spend a Saturday.
The $3 price is only for the next 3 Saturdays.





Did you know you could have happiness delivered?


I saw this truck downtown today and had to take a picture. 
Who knew that you could order happiness and have it delivered?





Senior citizen in moped accident Sept 2018


There are (too) many senior citizens who ride mopeds in Korea. 
Most don't have any kind of formal training. For them is it a cheaper and easier way to get around without a car. Some use bikes or tractors. Because just about anyone rides these mopeds there are lots of accidents in bigger cities where there is a high level of traffic of both cars and mopeds. 
My little town is different. We have less than two hundred thousand people for both sides of my area, the new and old part of the town. 

I was sitting behind the bus stop downtown two days ago, Friday evening.


All of a sudden there was a loud screech and bang.
We all ran to the street and there was a moped lying on its side in front of a grey SUV.
Underneath the bumper of the SUV was an older woman. Her body was rolled forward and her head was right under the front bumper and left tire. 
We all held our breaths as the driver jumped out to see if she was okay.
For about ten seconds we all stood still...until slowly she unrolled her body from underneath the bumper. 







I didn't realize how scary the moment was until everyone on the street exhaled. Thankful for her saved life. Grateful that we had missed a tragedy. The old woman refused to sit down and walked, holding her arm in an awkward position, two blocks down the street to get her husband. Meanwhile the driver moved the moped from the street and waited for the police and emergency vehicle. The emergency workers wrapped up her left arm and took her to a local hospital, I assumed. 

Life is so precious. You never know when your last moments will be on this earth. 

Love and live with your entire soul, man. 

Gun in the 3rd grade classroom


Sooooooo...two of my 3rd grade munchkins had this in class yesterday. No one blinked an eye. 
Not even an eyelash. 

All I could think about was how different the reaction would be back in the states. Possible suspension, possible call to the police, an over reaction to a piece of plastic that holds a history of senseless violence in one country but...is just a toy pen in another country. It is what it is but... it just made me sad. I wish it was different for us back home.



My beautiful city on a gorgeous Fall day


Biking today was so amazing.
It was a beautiful day.
I was happy today. It has been so long since I felt happiness that the taste was raw, sweet and filling. The bike ride lasted about four hours as my washed hair dried naturally and my body slowly heals.

Sunshine and joy are the best drugs in the world.









My children's picture book is ALMOST ready to print!


Yes!
My children's picture book is almost ready to print.
I'm waiting for the final file from the artist and hoping (and praying) for a quality product to put on the market. He is very talented and agrees with my diversity mission for the book.
It is both scary and nerve racking to be at this stage. I'm happy that I did not give up but also scared for the printing and marketing steps that are ahead of me.

But I've always taught my children to live life fearlessly so I can not back down from this challenge. Life is too short to hide your light. I've hidden my natural talents for too long out of fear. Fear of failure. Fear of success. Going forward I will do my best to continue to step thru my fears.

I've decided to submit an essay about expat life to an anthology about women living abroad. It's a little scary to expose your life to the world but maybe it will allow others to live a more open life.

Life is always best lived by stepping into your light. 
Don't let anyone try and diminish you. 

Recycled hair...don't judge me


Times are tight. The budget has lots of items on it. 
I say all that to say...I decided to use recycled hair to get my hair re-braided. Don't judge me. LOL.
Look, times are hard. Beauty is expensive. 
Yeah, yeah, natural beauty is priceless...in theory.

If I could get away with using soap and water for my beauty regimen I would. But no, that was quite a few years ago. So my hair cost about two hundred dollars to get done each time. The salon is about three hours away and six hours round trip. I have to pay for the bus trip, taxi and meals before I even pay for the hair treatment. 




So I've been going to Deagu for over two years now and usually use that time to visit a nice, older Korean couple that I know there. Cumulus and his wife, Miss Lee, are kind and friends. They have shown how sincere they are with their actions. I will, however, see them less going forward because I may try a hair salon in Gwangju in December. Money is tight and I gotta find a way to cut back on the cost of my hair treatments. So wish me luck. Sometimes you try and save money and get a poor product. You get what you pay for, right?
I hope my braids don't fall down in the middle of the street like the last time I took a chance with a braider in that city. 

Hilarious. 

There is a post a few years ago where one of my students found one of my braids in the classroom after I left. He came running after me, "Teacher, Teacher, hair."  What could I do? I smiled, took my hair back and thanked him. 
Heck, at least he used English. LOL.

All you gotta do is put some Englishee on it.





One of the joys of living here is seeing all of the creative English expressions on clothing.
There is even a social media page dedicated to these pictures. 
Here are a few of my favorite. And YES, I do stop people in the street and ask to take some of these pictures. No shame here!







I will add more as they come up. These always put a smile on my face.