Finally!!! I saw mermaids!!!

Real life mermaids in Jeju-do!

I have been wanting to meet the "Korean mermaids" (hanyeos) since I saw a youtube documentary that showed these amazing women and their legacy. I am inspired by them and have added them to my list of "she-roes". The mermaids are senior citizen scuba divers who dive with no equipment to collect sea food on the bottom of the ocean floor.   They do this to raise their families and send their children to school. The Korean mermaids are dying off and their daughters are choosing not to follow in their foot steps. Once these strong beautiful old women die off so will their amazing legacy.

The documentary on youtube is less than an hour. Check it out and learn about these strong senior citizens who learned how to adapt and survive.

I love how they swim to the bottom of the ocean and come up as angels!

They remind me every day in So Ko that if life knocks you to your knees, swim to the bottom of the ocean and then (choose to) come up for air!

Playing in fresh mountain spring water

This weekend, my girlfriend and I found a wonderful water/valley spot that Korean families go to in order to beat the hot and hazy days of the last weeks of summer.

We had to take two buses. The second one climbed a mountain past my travel school in Chudong. The bus was crowded with teenagers, hands full of water toys, eager to splash in the cool waters with their friends. When we finally found the spot, even though it was 9am on a Saturday, the place was already packed with families, food and drinks in hand, ready to enjoy fresh water from the mountains.

Take a look. We had sooooo much fun!

So Sorry...I apologize (sorry/not sorry)

Please accept my sincere apologies. Most of the pics fell off my blog and I have to take the time to put them back.

 Please be patient with me as I put all 600 pics back up.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!

HUGS AND KISSES TO YOU ALL!!!

(so the teenagers in Korea use the expression "sorry/not sorry" to express a fake apology).

Luncheeeee!

Lunchtime at school is always an adventure, never sure what will show up. I am open to eating just about anything once.  I am, however, careful with the seafood in case I get an allergic reaction. There will always be rice, soup and vegetables at lunchee. 

OH, and of course KIMCHI!!! LOL.

South Korea's NEXT TOP MODEL

May 2015

We went to Namhae beach this past weekend with a foreigner tour group. We had a ball! Took tons of pictures. I acted like the next Beverly Johnson, Iman, Alek Wek, Naomi Sims, Grace Jones or Roshumba Williams.

Here are pictures of South Korea's NEXT TOP MODEL!!!

Don't drool at all the hot chocolate, babee!

You betta WORK IT GIRL!

In the middle of our photo session, some Koreans asked to take pictures with me.

Happens all the time. Were they attracted to the beautiful smile or the sun-kissed chocolate skin?

Cardboard boxes for the elderly

There are many people who sacrificed for this country after the Korean war. They gave up a lot in order for their beloved country to rebuild and prosper. Some of these same people have been abandoned/neglected by their society and/or children. Many of the senior citizens are left to sell food on the sidewalk or to collect cardboard boxes in order to survive. Many of the same vegetables and fruit are sold right near each other increasing competition and bringing down prices. The senior citizens also collect cardboard and it is sold by weight.

I don't pretend to know all of the factors that have led to this economic situation. All I know is that it makes my heart sad every time I see an older person collecting cardboard boxes. At this age, and after all they have experienced in rebuilding this country,  they should all be able to enjoy their golden years.

  

There has to be a better way to live. 

1 Year in So Ko! Woooohooooo!!!! What I have learned.

These are just some of the ways I (and others) have assimilated into the country of the morning calm.

If I missed any, please add, thanks.

*Teachers having to sit at their desk for hours when there is no one else in the school

*Being in classrooms so cold you can see your breath

*Wearing long johns, gloves, scarves and a coat...to teach

*Having to attend mandatory monthly teacher dinners where you are ignored while        everyone speaks Korean around you

*Having to break into your office daily because the school does not trust you with a real key

*3 hours mandatory, weekly teachers' volleyball games

*Your students coming to school sick and infecting you

*Not being able to call out sick because NO ONE takes a sick day here

*Being too sick to teach but coming to work anyway and infecting others

*Finally calling out sick when your fever is over 100 and your teacher stops by to make sure  you are really sick

*Having to fill out IRS tax-like documents just to travel to another country during your  personal vacation time

*Learning to wash your clothes on Friday so they will be dry for work...on Monday

*Getting used to drying your body with "crunchy" air-dried towels

*Learning to use toilet paper as napkins

*Eating unidentifiable school lunches on a regular basis

*Daydreaming of food from back home while eating the school lunch

*Being hungry right after eating the school lunch

*Being the only one in school who wipes off the chopsticks before dessert

*Being shocked when you are asked to sign legal documents/contracts (immigration,  medical, housing, phone) written completely in a foreign language

*Trying to find an app to translate the legal documents/contracts

*Trying to find a Korean to translate the legal documents/contracts

*Regularly signing legal documents/contracts written in a foreign language.

  Without. Blinking. An. Eye.

*Not being able to find clothes or shoes because you are a "giant" on this side of the ocean

*Being surprised at how you still manage to accumulate more clothes

*Having to take out a mortgage to buy fried chicken, beef or ice cream

*Having to refinance that mortgage to buy fruit

*Paying $10 bucks for electricity

*Paying $15 bucks for a gas bill

*Making a great Korean friend

*Losing a great Korean friend who only wants to practice English on you

*Making another great Korean friend

*Losing a great Korean friend who only wants you as a trophy foreigner friend

*Making a great Korean friend

*Keeping the great Korean friend

*Getting used to seeing black-haired senior citizens slowly riding by on mopeds,

  motorcycles, bikes and tractors

*Hearing Koreans say "FIGHTING" all the time

*Wanting to strangle the next person who says "FIGHTING"

*Sigh. Saying "FIGHTING"

*Getting on the plane to Korea looking exactly how you look

*Stepping off the plane into Korea and becoming "HAN SUM" and "BEAUTIFUL"

*Having wifi everywhere

*Learning pretty quickly that a few foreigners/expats creep you out

*Vowing to stay away from creepy foreigners/expats

*Hanging out with creepy foreigners/expats regularly

*Horrified when a driver has an infant/toddler on their lap

*Still horrified when you see it six days/six weeks/six months later

*Never getting over the horror of seeing an infant/toddler on the lap of someone driving a  car

*Being puzzled at to why there is an empty seat next to you on a crowded subway/bus

*Rolling your eyes at the empty seat next to you on a crowded subway/bus

*Taking a selfie of you and the empty seat on a crowded subway/bus. Say "kimchi"!

*Losing your wallet/handbag

*Almost having a heart attack when a Korean returns it to you

*Never, ever, getting used to blackface on Korean television

*Starting to resent your co-teacher for passive-aggressive behavior

*Reading real co-teacher horror stories on waygook.org

*Bringing snacks to school to silently thank your co-teachers for the "lightweight"  torture

*Having a doctor visit last for 25 minutes from start to finish

*Not understanding a word that doctor says to you

*Being offered an IV just for the hell of it

*Getting a long string of medicine with NO NAME on it

*Taking the long string of medicine with NO NAME on it

*Paying only $4 bucks for the long string of medicine

*Being introduced to the squat toilet and vowing never to use it

*Using the squat toilet regularly and urinating on your legs

*Becoming an expert at using the squat toilet

*Puzzled as to why there is no shower divider in the bathroom

*Upset at how everything gets wet and moldy

*Learning to take a shower and clean your entire bathroom at the same time

*Being eager and idealistic about teaching your students English

*Spending hours on lesson plans to TEACH YOUR STUDENTS ENGLISH

*Classes being cancelled so the lessons plans are wasted

*Learning to do lesson plans in five minutes

*Watching youtube during your lesson planning/deskwarming time

*Starting to believe you have watched everything there is to watch on youtube

*Hearing your co-teacher speak 95% Korean in English class

*Being outraged at this

*Finally realizing we are not here to really teach English

*Beginning to daydream of where you will travel next while your co-teacher

  speaks Korean in English class

*Being outraged the first time a taxi you're in runs a red light

*Being outraged when a taxi you're in does NOT run a red light

*Being meticulous about changing into your sandals when you arrive at school

*Watching students AND teachers wear their sandals outside and even on the sandy  playground

*Doing the same damn thing

*Marveling at how the students and teachers all brush their teeth after eating lunch

*Marveling at how the same students and teachers neglect to wash their hands after #1 or  #2

*Disgusted when the same generous students offer you food with their hands

*Searching for Korean movies with English subtitles to watch during deskwarming

*Watching Korean movies by observing  their facial expressions and body language

*Enjoying and understanding 90% ( ok 95%) of Korean movies without English subtitles

*Learning to love KPop

*Wanting to meet your favorite KPop group

*Meeting your favorite KPop group

*Shocked at how acceptable plastic surgery is here

*Shaking your head at how common plastic surgery is here

*Considering getting a little (just a little) plastic surgery

*Being alarmed at how your presence generates mass hysteria

*Being angry that people touch you/take your picture without permission

*Agreeing to take a few selfies with a couple of teenagers

*Signing autographs while at the bus stop

*Not leaving the house until you are paparazzi-ready

*Sending money home to pay your loans/bills religiously

*Missing one month but hey that was one time

*Blowing your salary on a trip outside of Korea (hey you only live once)

*Forgetting who Fannie Mae is

*Going home for vacation to see family and friends

*Surprised that you miss many things about South Korea

*Loving and appreciating the beauty of So Ko, your adopted home