Mission Accomplished- I can go home now.

As you may or may not already know, a Kpop group called Girl's Generation had a big influence in my decision to come to Korea. Basically, they're what got me interested in the country in the first place. So, naturally, one of my goals while I was here was to see them. As luck would have it, they were promoting their new single "I Got a Boy" in Seoul while I was there with my family!

The promotions aren't concerts though; they're tapings for music performance shows. When a Korean artist/group has a new single, they perform it on these music countdown type shows for a while. The interesting thing is, you don't have to pay to attend the taping...you just have to be a REALLY devoted fan. Essentially, it's first come, first served, and the fans run everything. The day of the taping, you have to go to the venue with the artist's newest album and find the fan who got there first. This person is in charge and will put your name on a list. They only allow a certain number of people in, so if you get there early enough, you're in.

The show I wanted to see (Mnet Countdown) was the day after the album released. I was a little worried that they'd be sold out, but there were plenty. 

I painted my nails the night before. It says 소녀시대, which is Girls' Generation in Korean. 

The day of the show, I got to the venue around 5:30am, which seems unnecessarily early but I knew it wouldn't be.  It took me a while to figure out what to do. I met three people from Finland (Sarah, Freddie, and...I can't remember the other guy's name). Eventually we figured out (with the help of some Korean girls) that the first fan for Girls' Generation had posted a sign on a lamp post. It said to take a picture next to the sign, text it to him, and he would tell us what numbers we were on the list. 

As I feared, we ended up being numbers 113-116. Girls' Generation were actually performing two songs that day: "Dancing Queen", which they had recorded in 2008 but never released, and "I Got a Boy", which was brand new. We were told by another girl that the first 50 people would get to see "I Got a Boy" and the first 150 would see "Dancing Queen". We were pretty bummed because we really wanted to see "I Got a Boy" but we also just glad to be able to see them at all. 

The text said to meet outside at noon, so we sat around waiting for a while. Finally, we went outside and the first fan was there calling out names and lining us up. They checked to see that we had the album and then wrote numbers on our wrists. I guess the numbers were meant to tell which performances you could see/what order you would be allowed in. I think the people farther ahead of us were told a different meeting time but they told the four of us to meet back again at 2. 

The guy who's name I can't remember went back to their hostel for a bit to rest and Sarah, Freddie and I just waited around again. Probably about an hour later, we were approached by another fan who said something along the lines of "Hey they're doing performances up there now if you want to try to go check it out." We decided we might as well give it a try, so we took the elevator (Freddie is in a wheelchair) up to the next floor. Here's where the miracle starts. Everyone was lined up like sitting on the floor and then the line continued up the stairs. Well, obviously, we couldn't take Freddie up the stairs, so the employees just pointed like off to the side and had us wait there. They also gave us the fanchant (small sheet of paper with the lyrics, along with things you're supposed to yell in bold). Then, when they were ready to start the performances again, they opened the door, pointed to us, and said "first". It was the absolute best possible scenario. We weren't even supposed to see that performance, and we got to be right up against the ropes. When I walked in, I was stunned. The girls were just hanging out on the stage right in front of us. They're much smaller in person and even more beautiful. We saw them perform the full song twice and then they did it once like from the middle. Between performances, they'd wave to us and talk a little. It was better than an actual concert in some ways-much more intimate. 

When we walked out, we discovered that No-Name guy had also somehow made it in, although he was toward the back. Then it was time to wait again, until 2. This time, Sarah and I actually did end up having to line up on the stairs. No Name guy made a fuss about pushing the wheelchair this time because he thought he'd be able to go in first that way. In my opinion, it was kind of a shitty way to act. Anyway, the setup for "Dancing Queen" was a little different. The fans were able to get closer to the stage (for "I Got a Boy" there were cameras separating us). They performed the song twice and the second time, they dropped confetti. (Side note- because of the different set up, Freddie and No-Name guy actually ended up going in last, behind the camera equipment. I felt bad for Freddie but serves No-Name right for trying to use his friend's disability to his own advantage.)

So, in the end, it was pretty much a day-long ordeal but it was 100% worth it!

Here are the performances I saw. The way they edited it, "Dancing Queen" is first. 

Artist: Girls' Generation

Songs: "Dancing Queen" and "I Got a Boy"

Album: I Got a Boy

Released: January 2013

Minnesotans in Korea

During my vacation in January, my dad and sister came to visit me in Korea for two weeks. They were interested in seeing Seoul, so we spent the first week there, and then went back to Daegu. My dad became obsessed with "Gangnam Style" shortly before coming and often asked random Korean people if they knew it, before proceeding to sing it (badly) and do the dance. Most laughed and some actually joined him. Anyway, that obsession is what led to us actually staying in Gangnam in Seoul. We spent most of the week pretty much just exploring the area and trying out different restaurants.

Outside Incheon airport right after they arrived. Annie wasn't used to the lack of personal space in Korea and start cracking up when a Korean lady lined up super close to her for the bus terminal. 

Our first meal together in Korea. They gave us aprons to keep our clothes from smelling like meat. 

Our first restaurant sitting on the floor. 

Korean barbecue with a turtle grill.

Also in Gangnam, we went to Coex, a huge underground mall. There, we went to the aquarium and kimchi museum. It was actually a pretty impressive aquarium. Here are some pictures:

Kimchi Museum...that's not a real person.

Annie and I went out a few nights in Seoul, too. She could legally drink here, so that was cool. 

 We were in Seoul for New Years. They had these big balls lining the streets and guys would give you markers to write your new years wishes on them. At midnight they were released into the sky. We didn't see that though, because we met some people from Daegu in Hongdae. 

New years drinks!

This place was kind of cool. You get your own little room with a TV and MP3 speakers. We were later joined by a SUPER drunk Korean girl and her guy friend. She was a mess but really nice and kind of funny.

 At most coffee shops in Korea, you can find dessert waffles like this. Annie and I made it our goal to have one every day they were here...

We also went to other places in Seoul like Itaewon and Insadong. I'll add more pictures later when I have my camera. Annie probably has some too. For now, here are some random pictures we took of ourselves...

After a week in Seoul, we took the KTX back to Daegu. It was nice because Daegu was a lot warmer than Seoul and I'm more familiar with the city. In Daegu, we went to more restaurants and visited Palgongsan Mountain to see the big Buddah statue. We accidentally went for a hike before we figured out where the temple was... 

Buddah statue at Palgongsan

We also tried this virtual reality thing that I had walked by tons of times but never did. We ended up doing it more than 10 times while they were here. Annie and I LOVED it. My dad only did it with us like twice. It was this little four person cart thing and you choose which ride you want, they give you 3D glasses, and the thing moves around with the video. The best ones are the roller coasters. 

Outside the virtual reality thing. The Santa chipmunk dances...

As fun as that was, probably the best part was dinner and drinks with my friends. For my birthday, my dad treated everyone to barbecue one night. After that, we went to Traveler's (the big foreigner bar) for drinks. My friends really liked him and Annie and it was just a really good time. 

Just 13 of my closest friends...

It was really great to see some of my family, especially right around Christmas and my birthday, and I'm glad they got a chance to see what I've been up to and meet some of my friends. It would have been better if Seoul had been warmer, but overall, it was a good time. 

Speaking of "Gangnam Style"...I present PSY's newest hit:

Artist: PSY

Song: Gentleman

Album: Gentleman (Single)

Released: April 2013

Catching Up!

So I've royally sucked at posting anything. I've been kind of busy the last few months but also I've just been a bit lazy and then it seemed daunting once more time started to go by. Anyway, I'm going to start writing posts for some of the stuff worth talking about since January...here goes.

So for those who have been waiting to hear stuff...sorry!

Artist: Super Junior

Song: Sorry Sorry

Album: Sorry Sorry

Released March 2009

Merry Christmas!

This post is about what we did for Christmas day. We decided to have it at my apartment, since it's definitely the biggest. Originally, I think we invited about 15 people or so but eventually it ended up that we had 26 people coming. We ordered a Western-type holiday meal from an army wife who also has a catering business. Also, people brought loads of alcohol to share (mostly). We had plenty of beer, wine and soju and some people even brought other snacks (chips, cake, fudge, chocolate, etc).

Laura slept over at my place on Christmas eve and we both got up around 9am to start preparing. There really wasn't that much to do except I mopped the floor and we went to get some more cash in case the food arrived before enough people did. The food was supposed to arrive around 2pm and many people didn't know that until late so they weren't sure if they'd make it by then.

When the first people started showing up, it was kind of exciting. The whole greeting people and bringing them to my apartment made it feel like a real family Christmas where everyone meets up at one house. The food actually didn't show up until about 3:45 which ended up working out pretty nicely. By then, everyone was there and we had plates and cups and everything. Plus, it was closer to a proper dinner time. The food was awesome! Laura and I met the woman at my school and we directed her back to my apartment, where we had to enlist some help and take a bunch of trips to and from the car.

 We flattened out the futon, covered it in plastic bags, and set the food out there.

(Carrots, stuffing, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, broccoli, and green bean casserole! Not pictured: two turkeys and two hams.)

A delicious Christmas dinner!

Obviously you can't see everyone in this picture but this was how we sat down to eat. One giant oval in the kitchen. 

After dinner we played white elephant with wrapped presents that everyone brought. We were originally going to do Secret Santa but the website we were using to organize it kept failing and then people kept getting added to the event after the fact, so this worked much better. Some of the gifts were pretty funny and it was a blast. We didn't realize until we were finished but it took about an hour!

After white elephant, we had dessert (four cheesecakes from the same woman) and just kind of hung out, talked, played some charades and took some group pictures. 

The guy who took these actually brought a tripod and does a really good job with editing so this was pretty cool. A lot of us are getting a print of the color one (with "bitches" removed haha...we appreciate the humor but don't want to have to worry about where we display it).

Probably around 7 or so, people started heading home (as we had to work the next day). Nina and Laura stayed until about 10:30 or so and got to meet my mom and dad via Skype. They also took some leftovers, which we had A LOT of. At the time I was kind of wishing we had gotten rid of the food, but throughout the week I've been really happy to have it. 

This Christmas was definitely different from my usual Christmases, but it was absolutely awesome! I couldn't have asked for a better Korean Christmas with a better group of people!

(Christmas Version)

Original Version:

Artist: Girls' Generation

Song: Kissing You

Album: Girls' Generation

Released: November 2007

Christmas in Korea!

So it's not Christmas yet, but I thought I'd share some of the things that have been going on leading up to it.

First of all, the past few weeks in school have been pretty relaxed. The students finished their final exams at the beginning of the month so there's really not much to do in class except fun stuff. That is...when I have class. The 3rd graders (US-9th) were preparing for their Christmas Carol Contest for the past two weeks so their English classes were almost always cancelled. To put it in perspective... I teach 22 classes a week. Last week I taught six. It sounds like it would be nice to have all that free time, and it was at first, but I actually started to get bored. Plus, the third graders will only have one more week in middle school (randomly in February) before they go to high school in March. Most of my favorite students are third graders so it'll make me a little sad!

I'll talk about the Christmas Carol Contest in a bit, but before that was Santacon! Basically a bunch of us (mostly foreigners) dressed up like Santa and walked around downtown singing Christmas songs. Apparently they do this in Seoul and have almost 100 people. Ours was probably around 30 but it was still pretty cool.

Some pictures from before we headed out!

We stopped at this stage in the middle of downtown and sang some songs while people took pictures with us and stuff, it was pretty fun. After that, it was basically a Santa bar crawl! We went to three or four different bars and requested for them to play Christmas music. It was a really nice night so I actually ended up taking off my Santa suit and storing it in a locker and one of the clubs. I kind of thought I'd never see it again since I still don't know my way around very well, but I happened to walk by the place as I was looking for a taxi to go home, so I left with my entire Santa suit intact!

On the stage downtown. 

Fast forward to day- Christmas eve! Korean schools are a bit different and we actually didn't have this day off. We have Christmas day off, and then we come back for Wed-Fri. Then their school year is over for two months. They come back for one random week in February, I think because the 3rd graders will graduate. And then in March, the new school year starts. 

Well, even though we did have school today, it didn't really feel like work. Classes were shortened to 30 minutes and then there was a short classical music concert by the students followed by the Christmas Carol Contest. I wish I would have taken a video of some of the classical music-especially this kid who is an absolutely brilliant violinist, but they were a bit formal about it. They didn't even applaude after the performances, so I guess I wasn't sure if it would be appropriate. I did take a bunch of videos of the carol contest however, which was a blast!

Took some pictures with students before it started :P

"We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and "Santa Clause is Coming to Town"
This one is probably my favorite. 

"All I Want For Christmas is You"

"Last Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock"
Very close second favorite!

Anyway, I started this post Christmas eve and now it's Christmas day! Today, almost 30 people are coming to my apartment. It should be crazy but a lot of fun. I'll post about that when it's over!

Merry Christmas!

Artist: Girls' Generation

Song: Santa Baby 

Performance December 2011

Putting Korea's Mountains to Use!

In the past four years I have not been doing nearly enough snowboarding, as Illinois is SUPER flat. Because of this, I was really excited when I found out about a ski trip being organized in Daegu. There's this group called "Explore Korea Daegu Travel Group" and they put together various events for (mostly) foreigners.

We left this past Saturday at about 7am for High1 Resort in Gangwon province. It was a huge group- three buses full of people. The trip took about four hours and then we stopped to rent ski clothes. I've never heard of people renting jackets and snowpants and stuff but it's a good thing that was an option, since most of us hadn't brought any of that stuff to Korea. In fact, many of the people who went had never even seen snow before. That absolutely blows my mind haha...

After we got our ski clothes, we went to the resort and had lunch before heading to our rooms. I was in the biggest room with 14 other people. There were no beds, just a lot of sleeping pads for the floor. This is actually pretty common in Korea. After dropping our stuff off in the rooms, we went to rent our boards/skiis. I ended up with boots that were too big but I didn't really realize the extent of it until I was boarding. It was difficult but I made it work. We had a little over two hours to board before dinner. It was awesome. I mean...the quality of the snow wasn't very good but the place was big and it was really exciting to be snowboarding after so long. Most of the people in my room took a ski lesson in the beginning so I mostly hung out with people who already knew how. Snowboarding tends to turn into a solo thing once you're off the lift but it's cool to have some people to ride up with.

Riding the gondola with Roger, Winnie and Adam.

After dinner we could either go back out again, hang out in the outdoor hot tubs, or just sit in the rooms. I did want to check out the hot tubs but I wanted to get as much snowboarding in as possible. I switched out my boots and went back out. It was better this time since I had better boots but it was colder. We didn't stay out as long this time because we had to get ready for the party later that night.

The party was about 5 minutes from the resort and it was pretty fun. They had free chicken, fries and beer and we played some drinking games and there was a little dancing.

At the party with Courtney and Michelle.

The party ended at 1:30am and we went back to the resort. There was a bit of an after party that ended up happening in our room but a lot of us were too tired/didn't feel like having a hangover in the morning so we went to bed early. 

The next morning we skipped breakfast and ordered Domino's instead. It was a bit of a challenge since they didn't speak English but eventually, we just had the lady at the front desk of the resort order it for us. The time before we left was pretty relaxed. We just packed up our stuff, had some coffee in one of the main buildings and then took the group picture and got on the bus. 

We were back in Daegu around 6pm on Sunday evening.

This is very fitting...

Artist: Girls' Generation

Song: Snowy Wish

Album: Hoot

Released: October 2010

BRB, Philippines for the Weekend

Following my trend of posting really late, this post is about three weekends ago when I went to Cebu City in the Philippines for a rugby tournament.

In another post, I talked about the team, the Seoul Sisters that I played with once before in Seoul. I also mentioned that they invited me to go to the Philippines with them for a tournament. You might be thinking that  a weekend trip all the way to the Philippines is a little insane. Well, you're right.

We all met at the airport where we were given further details about the theme before we boarded the plane. Apparently when the team goes on these "tours", as they call them, they choose a theme for the after-party. This time the theme was stewardesses. We were given a packet with some rules to follow such as, "You must gesture like a stewardess when you talk to people", "You can only call your teammates by their stewardess name", "You can only drink with your left hand", etc.

Our flight left at 7:40pm and when we got there it was around midnight. Walking out of the airport was a bit like walking into a sauna. I actually changed clothes right away in the airport because I had left Korea wearing a sweater. We got a shuttle bus to our hotel and chose roommates (I was with Sandy). When we got to the hotel, we pretty much went straight to our rooms, which were actually really nice. They were pretty small but they had big TVs and super comfortable beds with more pillows than a normal person would ever need...

The next day we were up early to head to the tournament. First we had breakfast at the hotel. From what I've had of Filipino food, I like it. It's different enough without being super foreign. Again, it was very hot and humid outside...which I'm guessing is the reason they shortened all the games for the tournament. We were playing 10s, so they would have been shorter than a regular game regardless...but we played 8 minute games. Usually in 10s, you'll play like two 10 minute halves. We played 8 minute GAMES. It was really strange but with the weather, even that tired us out by the end. We didn't win any but it was still a lot of fun.

After the tournament we went back to the hotel to get ready for the party. Remember how I said the theme was stewardesses?

Basically we looked awesome.

The party was pretty cool but we left before it was officially over to check out some of the other clubs/bars in the city. I only ended up going to one and it was pretty similar to most of the bars I see in the US. Some people stayed out pretty late but I didn't want to push it since I knew I was going to be rushing home the next day so I went with a group that left early.

Sunday was probably the best day. This was our day to be real tourists. We went out on a boat, went snorkling and hung out on a sandbar off an island. It was awesome. The water was warm and the views were beautiful. I had always thought snorkling sounded kind of lame but it was actually really cool.

We drank coconut milk out of the coconut. Then, I had them break mine open and I ate it :P.

Snorkling!

Stopping at an island for lunch.

Hanging out on a sandbar.

After the boat, we went back to the hotel and this is where the fun starts... I had to rush up to the room, quickly change my clothes and go straight to the airport. I had to leave earlier than everyone else since I had to go back to Daegu, which is farther from the airport than Seoul. I took a taxi to the airport and my flight left Cebu at 6pm. 

This was out my window on the cab ride to the airport.

Then, I had a 4 hour layover in Manila. I left Manila at 11pm and by then I was already exhausted. I even slept for almost the whole flight, which I'm almost never able to do. When I got to Incheon airport, I took a cab to Gwangmeong station and took the KTX to Daegu. I got to Daegu at about 7:20am and got back to my apartment with like 10 minutes to change before heading to work. Success! That day at work actually wasn't as horrible as I had been anticipating. All in all, it was totally worth it. 

Artist: Girls' Generation

Song: Himnae (Way To Go)

Album: Gee

Released: January 2009