i hate my boss!

my stomach hurts...is it something i ate...is it a side effect of medicine...is it nerves...oh my god who knows? well, my head teacher asked me what did i eat? and she showed genuine concern for me...she even sent me home early...she told me to go home and get some rest...now, that's what i call a good boss...LOL...okay, maybe that's not the criterion we should use for a good boss or whatnot...but i will say this...if there ever was a way to motivate me (as an employee) sending me home early one day a month (or per week...LOL) would definately and has definately increased my motivation aka (also known as) my morale at work~if you've read this then you know my title of this blog was a hoax...i caught your eye, didn't I?...LOL...

fall in korea~

fall in korea...what's it like? warm or cool? long or short? as august approaches an end, so too does summer...with the end of summer comes fall...ya, no duh...some might think...however, for me, a truly southern cali gal, the end of summer for me means winter is nearly here...and, how sad am i...okay, not truly sad, but, you know...fall is a typically a shorter season in korea...that means winter will be here...not that winter is a bad thing...but, winters in korea are a COLD thing...we're talking below zero cold...we're talking in the 30s and 40s cold...so, as fall approaches, so too the weather cools....the weather "cools" down to about the 50s and 60s...60s is bearable for this cali girl, but, 50s??? oh no!! when its the 50s i'm wearing my winter clothes...HA HA HA HA HA HA....it is soooooooo true!! Let's face it...i just love summer, the beach, the sun...what am i gonna do? well, so fall is coming and some people are happy...not this girl...EXCEPT, with winter means one day closer to going home...hmmm....now THERE'S a thought!! grandma, thanks for reading my blog!! grandma, you're the best!!

for my precious grandmother

the previous note was a dedication to my grandmother...she PROMISED me that she would read "every" single blog i wrote~how nice is she? boy did she make me feel loved...so, in that note i wrote basically about that...also, i've been thinking about getting a dog, a small one...i also have been thinking about what i will do when december rolls around...that's when my current job is supposed to (that's only if i don't end it sooner by quitting that job)...i wrote about what i consider to be my options at this point...

1. to live and work in cali retail store such as target or costco
2. to stay in korea and study korean
3. to live and work in korea as an english teacher and still study korean
4. to volunteer in another country such as guadalajara, cambodia or north korea

oh, i've also been learning how to use my ipod these days and have been adding songs, podcasts, and videos to it in english...so, this has been a godsend to me because i've been able to listen to one, the music or stuff i like that's interesting to me, and two, i've been able to listen to ENGLISH, which is a rarity in a foreign non-english speaking land...

so those are the things i've been up to, in a nutshell, lately...thaz what i said in my spanish post, for those of you non-spanish readers...haha...YOU'RE WELCOME~heehee

para mi preciosa abuelita

este carta es para mi preciosa abuelita...ella me prometo que ella me leye todos mis blogs y por ese razon estoy muy contenta...como es mi abuelos? y tambien como estan mis padres? yo no se porque ellos no me escribieron mucho y no se porque no....pienso que ellos son muy occupado o no me aman...pero no, no me aman no es la verdad...estoy pensando que comprar un perrito para la amistad...LOL...no, es la verdad!! tambien en esos dias estaba hecho downloading canciones y podcasts para mi ipod...es muy divertido, facil y interesante...y por eso razon estoy muy feliz para escuchar cosas en ingles!! o si!! tambein esos dias estoy pensando que hacer en diciembre....mi empleado se terninare y necesito hacer algo cosa...aqui son mis ideas:

1. vivir en california y trabajar en el mercado como target o costco yo no se exactamente
2. vivir en corea y estudiar coreano
3. vivir en corea y ensenar ingles aqui y tambien estudiar coreano
4. volunteer en un otro pais por ejemplo guadalajara o cambodia o norte corea

que piensan uds? que piensas abuela? que debo hacer?

mas escribiendo luego~hasta luego!!

my love life

i want love...i want to love and be loved...there is nothing on earth or in my life more important than love...so, when i reflect on my life and feel unloved, what a sad girl am i...yet, in reality i am not unloved...but, the sad truth is, most of the time, if not always, i feel unloved...in my opinion life is not worth living without love...i hope someday soon i can live a life of love...love comes in various forms and in various ways...through friends...through co-workers...through students...through random strangers and people, i can experience love...my heart yearns for love...when i have felt this love, it is never enough...i always want more...i love love, and desire more love...i don't know if it is right or wrong to feel the way i do, but, it is my feeling...my hope for love...from my heart...

pictures of songnisan mountains

The first picture is near the top of the mountain as we were climbing up. The bottom picture is at the bottom of the mountain; we are posing in front of the waterfall. The Korean girl next to me was my dance teacher a few months ago when I was taking a hip hop class. The guy is one of her friends from her university. They are both university students. The middle picture is on the way to our hut, about halfway up the mountain. The hut is where we stayed overnite. It's sort of like a Korean style bed and breakfast place, and the entire place is just really nice and relaxing!!

part 2 weekend trip to the mountains

So, we are hiking up the mountain. Oh my God! It was a STEEP trek. We went far, but, not all the way to the top of the mountain. We went off the trail and got lost. I hope to go back in the fall, when the weather is cooler, and TRY AGAIN to climb this mountain. Heeheehee....The view was nice though. And, it sure was nice to get out of Cheonan for awhile and enjoy nature's surroundings.

young am singing room

After work I went grocery shopping for milk and on the way home ran into one of my new friends, Rick, another English teacher in the area, from Chicago. He was singing in the singing room with some buddies, and his buddy invited me along with them. Now, I know it was late, but, I was so excited to go and get out and have some fun. We all sang a few songs, drank a few beers, and had a good time. I needed some fun, especially after another hard day at work where all they do is see the bad in me; I'm such a terrible teacher; they don't appreciate me; they asked me for my opinion yesterday regarding my relationship with the head teacher, so I wrote them a memo describing my thoughts and opinions~oh my~what a mistake that was! Then they misconsrued my response to their inquiry as complaining. They had the nerve and audacity to say my complaining made them feel uncomfortable; what the heck~why did they ask for my feedback then~they are dummies. In all seriousness, we're not getting along too well. But, I will continue to do my best while I am employed there. And, get out and sing a song to "unwind".

a trip to the mountains

Songnisan mountains...located south of Cheonan, south of Seoul. Went with my dance teacher and one of her friends. I was glad to have traveling companions this weekend. Made the trip more enjoyable, even if their English level was "moderate" at best!! Even though they are Korean, they had never been to this national park before. So I took them and we had a good time. The weather was good, unlike the last 2 weekends. We were surrounded by beauty and nature, waterfalls and a creek. Very very relaxing...very very refreshing...I'll take another trip there perhaps in the fall...at least, I'm thinking about it now...it's kind of like Yosemite...a place you can go to over and over and over, and not get tired of it...but, unlike Yosemite, it's a 3 hour road trip as opposed to an 8 hour or more (haha) road trip from LA. I'll try to put up some pictures for you. My dance teacher gave me a gift for taking her(lipstick), and so did her friend(a Korean sombrero/hat). Ha ha ha...how nice was that? Imagine!

a trip to busan

Saturday I had to work in the morning for a couple of hours. Needless to say, I was anticipating the rest of my weekend. I spontaneously planned (now there's an oxymoron) a weekend trip to the southeastern end of the peninsula, to a popular city, called Busan. (I wanted to soak in the sun and enjoy the beach.) I took the highspeed bullet train to make it there in about 2 and a half hours. The weather was gorgeous. I talked with this old man, who was born in Japan, but was Korean, and spoke 3 languages seemingly well. He was interesting, and kind. Anyways, so, once I reached the beautiful sand, expecting a wonderful play day, ah, all I heard were whistles. As I approached the shoreline, all I could see were Korean bodies everywhere but in the water. Apparently they weren't allowing anymore swimming for the day, due to a high surf? Whatever the reason, I was disappointed I had traveled all that way for nothing. The next day it rained, so I kidked it at a local cafe, reading a book. And, this weekend, though I'm planning another trip to a national park, it is supposed to rain I hear. I guess I better be flexible and play it by ear, and have a fun time no matter what the weather!! In this picture I am so excited at the beginning of my trip; I am at the train station waiting to get on the train!

i hate my job

Look at these kids? Are they not adoreable? Then why do I hate my job so much?

One of my job responsabilities is to phone calling students. This means every month I have to call each student and talk on the phone with them for 3 to 5 minutes about whatever. I am failing miserably in this task. Therefore, I am also feeling unhappy about not being able to do a satisfactory perfomance at my job.

My options are to quit/find another job, hang in there, or talk with them (which past experience has taught me is fruitless. They are sooo hardheaded!) I don't want to quit prematurely because it's only another 5 months, and I can get my bonus at the end of completing my contract. In addition, they will pick up the tab for my airfare. Who wants to lose that?

I will hang in there I suppose, and realize that I can't do everything. Unfortuanately, that also means that students will suffer: grading essays will be done later, lesson planning may or may not get done, and preparing for class instruction will be insufficient. But, the students will have gotten their monthly phone call, so business is roaring...tsk, tsk...

That's all I have to say about that.

반코...only staying in my room

Here i am in Jeju (a korean island), on the last day of my bus tour (Tuesday) near songsan, famous for its waterfalls and scenic views. Was nice and relaxing to walk around there.

반코 or, bongko, is a korean word that describes my day today...it means, only staying in my room...after a couple of hours of work this morning, on MY saturday, i ate my beloved kimchi chigae, which is like a pork and kimchi stew, then i headed to my room and slept all day...it was nice, since i rarely get to do that, but also alittle bit lonely...i wanted to go to the beach or the mountains today, but it was raining hard...so, i opted to stay home and sleep...i hope next weekend the weather will be better...i want to do something FUN~!!!