3월 25일

Today I made Tteokbokki for dinner using maangchi's recipe. You can find the recipe here.

Here is a picture of what it looks like:



And to change up maangchi's recipes, I added an extra tablespoon and a half of sugar too make it sweeter and taste almost like the sweet bagged chip style tteokbokki I like to eat. I also added the seafood stuff that vendors add, carrots and mushrooms. ^^ 아주아주 맛있어요!!!

There are two kinds of Tteok because I used the left over from my red bean porridge (the bigger ones) and bought some bagged stuff at the store. I must say, the store bought brand doesnt taste as good as the amazing fresh made stuff. :(

3월 23일 Working lots again finally.

I am now know as 과선생님 (science teacher).

I have a new kindergarten where the theme is learning english through science.

We basically are making really easy things like making toothpaste, feeling things in a box, and growing barley seeds and radish seeds. its all really fun.

I do this on Tuesday and Thursday as two different kindergartens. Fun though ^^

I am glad I get friday and saturday off. Because I'm super tired.

Also, I went to the a kindergarten that I only go to twice a month. It is always lots of fun. Here are some pics of the fun game I made ^^

He couldn't figure out what to do with the face... So I help a little.

He was also confused lol

She totally knew what she was doing and BOY! was she angry.

Lol ^^ Super cute.

"I'm GREAT!!!!" ^^

Good JOB!! HIGH FIVE!

(after they do something I give them high fives. Its painful after a while)

3월 21일 Boy are stupid.

Today I saw this young girl, she was maybe 9 or 10 years old, and she had this messenger bag that said, "Boys are stupid" in bold letters and underneath it, it said, "Never underestimate the stupidity of boys in large groups."

Beside the phrase there was a picture for a bunch of cartoon boys heads representing a large group.

It is funny as hell. ^^

Something I remember from a long time ago.(3월16일)

Although they say it was banned.. I don't remember if it was or not but I remember it was funny as hell for someone my age to see on TV. ke ke ke

They best this about it is when he gets jersey-ed (spelling??) for being such an ignorant American. (ignorant meaning = he doesn't know anything about something)

Extra pics

We are on the bus to the subway station.

I'm being silly.

Very interesting stairs. They go up pretty far and around the corner is very very steep.

Another look at the multi-layered-ness of Seoul.

And thats all...

3월 15일

Beautiful garden/yard at the CJ Headquarters.

CJ is a popular prepared food brand, like curry or kimchi or pickled radish. All very yummy, mind you.

P.S its real grass. You can't find real grass anywhere in Seoul most of the time...well not where I live at least. And most schools either have just dirt or fake grass.

This dude has a small putting range on his rooftop yard. Here in Korea, its not illegal to have an apartment on the roof. I want one because you get the whole roof to yourself and no one can come up there because the door to the roof is locked unless you unlock it but I was told that its very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter because there is no protection from the elements and the insulation is probably shitty.

A view from a gap in the street.. I am basically on the top of the hill and you can see many different layers of apartments old and new. Its very very interesting. Its almost like Morocco (if you've seen pics of Morocco) but... multi coloured, because Morocco is mostly white or tan or brown-ish.

This is a view of Namsan Tower from the Seoul Station. Its a very popular tourist attraction.

Namsan means South Mountain(or hill).

We walked about 20 minutes to get this close and still... it was really far. Jannik had to go somewhere so we walked back down. It was too far to keep walking up a steep hill to get to a tower that was at a steeper hill and we didn't know where to cross the street.

We had fun and I studied a long time. ^^

3월 11일

Today I woke up early-ish. (8:30am) I had to work at 2 - 4pm, so I left my house at 12pm to get there by 2. It was 6:30pm when I got home >_< such long subway rides!GAH!

But when I came back I went to

3월10일

It snowed today. There was like at least 5 or 6 cms of snow on the ground before I left in the morning. I have some pictures.

The day before this... all the trees were brown and green not white. This is the mountain just at Seoul National University.

My Korean front gate ^^

Be envious. (lol)

This is my front door. I live on the 4th floor ^^

Although oddly enough...the 1st floor is almost half underground.

Did you know that just like in Japanese the number 4 is a deathly number (almost like our number 13)?

And usually apartments or hotels skips the 4th floor. So it will go from floor 3 to floor 5 sometimes but in my apartment... we have a 4th floor.

4 is my favourite number ^___^

3월 9일

Um yeah, so amazing-ness known as a webcam was delivered to me today and not a single person wanted to chat with me. :(

Kinda sad... So I tested it out with some pictures and some videos ^_^

I will post them here.

We chose the camera setting as upside down for the last one.. but all of these pics are mirrored to myself. So my left is my left and my right is my right ^^

also.. March 7th

So... I guess I suck at writing blog posts at proper times... I decided writing my last post after midnight right after I finished my crochet baby booties. I should really at least give myself a day,

but it was all fresh in my head at that time. Now, I want to make a new post to expand what happened during my day on March 7th. Ha Ha Ha

So...Um today I wondered why all of us foreigners in Korea completely avoid each other when we pass or look at each other. As an example; I would rather walk up to a random Korean and ask them questions (sort of) than to go to another foreigner and talk to them. The only foreigners I talk to in Korea are the ones that go to the same Korean study class as me but other then that, I completely avoid all and any other foreigners. -.-;;; Its kinda weird.

Also today, on the subway there is this retarded guy (maybe he's not) but he was walking around the train retardedly and with slurred speech (I usually believe its acting) with gum in his hand saying, "ahjumma, ahjossi, ahjumma, ahjossi," every time he passed a person. He was basically trying to get people to give him 1000won for a 500won pack of gum. Usually people would give that much because they believe he is retarded and needs help (but so many people do that). A lot of people just ignore him or turn their head in shame or embarrassment. I have even turned my head away from these people, shamed. I don't buy into the scheme that this person trying because there are also these so called "blind" people on the subway with little coin baskets in their hand and sad MIDI music that sounds like crap. I have discovered that they are fake blind people, as one of the regular "blind" guys that walk the train had recently bought a new leather bag. And do you really think that blind people can maneuver through people in a straight line on a moving train without faltering?? I think not. I can barely stand or walk on the train without staggering like a drunk maniac. (ha ha ha ^__^)

AND I'M NOT BLIND!!

Damn it... I haven't done my eyebrows all week. I've been lazy since I don't work much right now. I feel like a behemoth. The hairs that have grown in are bugging me because I know they are there and I constantly touch them. Its super annoying.

Well... I'm not completely not working. (yay, two negatives ^^) I do have my tutoring and I do start Wizard of Oz Kindergarten this Wednesday, of which I MUST make some material soon or.. else u.u But I would like to do more tutoring, I would like to try and get something without my recruiter. It would be awesome-ish.

Interesting Fact:

One way to tell the "loser" foreigners that are here only for teaching, drinking and sex is that they are super ugly (to our eyes) and always have super big, gross noses and lots of acne(sometimes).

But what is super weird about them is that they always seem to be good looking to Korean girls...usually the girls that are called "passport chasers". (The name speaks for itself)

Today with Ho Jun, we had the best conversation that I have ever had with an 8 year old boy. He is only wild child and very smart too. I actually have audio clips of two of our conversations... its interesting. I will figure out a way to upload it or put it in a video. Super funny.

Something new to ponder...

1. why do ahjumma hike up mountains with high heels (or platforms)?

2. And why how come mens shoes haven't changed since way before the 1600's. -_-

Want to know how easy it is to go bus surfing (which is often) with heels on? Keep guessing... Yes! Its VERY hard yet how do these girls in Korea wear 4 inch stilletos(sp?) on a fast moving scary bus...????

Also, my webcam is coming on the 8th. Hopefully it comes before noon ^^ Yay me!

The last webcam I had cost me probably $6. It was just as cheap in quality as the price... but I was dumb enough to leave it in Canada.

So we are getting a new one that cost around $35 and shipping is basically free here ^^. It is a 2009 model logitech laptop webcam.

Yay for crochet 3월 7일

Welcome March. Well, well, well where the hell did February go???This is insane. The amount of time I have been in Korea has been so long already, although it is hard to be believe that I even left Canada 7 months ago. hehehe

So, for the past to days I have decided to do some crochet. And I made these super cute Baby Booties from Theresa at Crochet Mania. She is the greatest teacher of crochet that I have ever come across on the net or maybe in real life. I learn everything I need to know about crochet from her, except for tapestry crochet because she hadn't made an actual full post about it yet, I looked it up myself and tried it once... I kinda failed lol. She also makes videos about her patterns or techniques so you can easily do them and she even does the in slow-mo sometimes. Her youtube channel is here. Just in case anyone wants to try crocheting ^-^

This is my first time doing one of her patterns and finished it. Although the pattern was slightly confusing and different than the pattern in the video that goes with it but I pulled through. Here are some pictures of the finished product.

They also have super cute crochet olive green ties. Its the perfect for a baby that will one day come into the world in the future.

But alas, these are no for me. These are for a friend that I met in Korea that found out she and her hubby are having a baby. I decided it would be a nice thing to do.

I decided on white because it symbolizes new and pure, and I chose the green ties because to me, I guess it symbolizes healthy growth. You know, like grass and leaves grow. Kinda like that.

But maybe in all true reality, I chose those colours because I only had white and green and black. And... to give someone else's baby something with a really dark black, just doesn't seem right. For my future baby, it is okay but no for someone you haven't known for a long time. And my red is too bright and used up... I have no more yellow or blue. Only green and white.

But hey... Green is a unisex colour. Because she had recently found out that she is pregnant, she doesn't know the sex of the child.

On other news, my old friend found out that she is having a baby girl!! She always wanted to have a girl! I am so happy ^^ I wish I could send her something crochet (and that would make it the second thing that I have handcrafted for her lol) but we kinda live too far away.

Maybe I will...But that means I still have to wait until I get paid to buy more white and some sakura pink (cherry blossom). It kinda sucks that yarn is kind of expensive here, but it is real wool.

I also kind of wonder, is it bad to use real wool? Isn't it stealing an animals protection from the elements? Sometimes I would rather want to work with synthetic yarn because it feels thicker and less stretchy on my hook.

But yeah, it is super expensive. I wish there was a salvation army or value village here in Korea, so I can buy bags and bags of it for the same price as buying two in the normal crochet/knitting store. ><>

P.S BTW, I hope this changing of fonts wasn't too annoying. hahaha ^^

2월 25일 - So much for books :(

Right, now I won't be able to borrow any books from Jang Ik's library because he just graduated on Monday and is no longer a student. I believe there is a library near our apartment, we will try there but I don't believe they will have many books in English.

Yesterday, February 24, was beautiful. It was 16 degrees Celsius and I went for a walk after dark. It feels like almost the beginning of summer. But anyways, I went for a walk and checked out a couple stores - just for the hell of it because I love to look at things for no reason. I love touching things. Especially things I can't buy. lol But I went pretty far, like 15 minutes walk away from my place and saw a second hand(used) book store. I asked if he as any English books.

"영어 책 있어요?",

"영어 study?" (I think thats what he said.)

"아니요. 영어 읽다. 읽다. " (yeah.. great conjugation there Katie -_-)

then I mimed opening a book and reading it. Lol...

"아, yes."

"감가합니다." I said.

Then he showed me a whole bunch of old english books. Grammar, pronunciation, and normal novels. There was a few "romance" novels (the ones that tell all the sex scenes) and some Michael Crichton( the guy who wrote jurassic park and the sphere). There was a huge book with three of his novels as a special edition. It was so cool. I really wanted to get it, because I like his writing.

But then I found a book I had wanted to read in High school that I never got to read. A book that has a movie and I wanted to read the book ever since I saw the movie - -It was called Little Women.

(NEW POST) 2월 21일 Spider pig???

Okay, two really cool and fun things.

Lollipop 2 (the second generation of the Cellphone I have) and

TOP(on left) and Taeyang (on the right) from the Korean Idol Group Big Bang ^^ so cute!

SPIDER PIG!!!

(need I say more)

(NEW POST) 2월14일 Happy Valentines day/Seollal

Today was Valentines day AND Lunar New Year (called Seollal in Korean)
We went to Jang Ik's parents house for the holiday and they bowed to the ancestors. I was kinda too shy to bow to the ancestors but I bowed to Jang ik's parents and his grandma, when we visited her at the old folks home. She is cute and didn't notice that I was a foreigner. She is really old and has Alzheimer's Disease. Jang Ik and I kinda believe that she has never seen a foreigner before and maybe thought I was just an odd looking Korean girl... with dyed hair maybe... but who knows... 


She really liked me though ^^ If Jang Ik's parents send pictures I will upload them later.
And his uncles said to me in English "Welcome to the Family" ^^ It makes me happy that they like me, because I know I will be with Jang Ik for a very very very very long time.

Also, on our way back home Baskin Robins was having some event where you put your hand in a big globe that was blowing white Styrofoam balls around and you have to grab a coloured ball to win (it just had coloured dots on it made with marker) and we both won these super cute hats ^^

They are matching penguin hats!! yay!! ^___________^

(NEW POST) 2월5일 and 7일 Whitney Houston concert and Cold Showers

On February 5th I had to go to a public bathhouse because my water had been like ICE all week and I didn't have a shower much that whole time... only washing special parts. So I went to the bathhouse, this is my second time in Korea but last time it was empty and I was with a friend. But this time is was filled with 30 naked Korean Women...
^^  it was awesome and wasn't as scary as I thought. Korean bathhouses are pretty clean and there are saunas, a cold water tub, a hot mineral tub and a hot tub of green tea leaves to soak in. Oh the niceness and best part, you can buy food and drinks (even beer or soju)
It was awesome.


The main reason I had to shower at a bathhouse and the reason why the shower was Ice was because Jang Ik was really busy, he was working for a part-time job at a whitney houston concert. I wanted to be clean to go there. It was a fun concert, well definitely not as fun as marilyn manson or TOOL but she really loves her fans and tell them so all the time  <3


It was good. ^^

Okay... So I just spent about 1 and a half hours making a post and it screwed up somehow and the half of the post was missing. So I'm kinda pissed now. I have no Idea what happened but I'm not happy about it

I took me forever to write it and my fingers hurt urrrgghgh

I will not post it again.

But anyways...

I finished reading Red Dragon yesterday and I will be reading Silence of the Lambs soon ^^ yay for Hannibal Lecter!

1월 28일

Right now, I am making 배추국 - 맛있어요! (Baechu guk - Its yummy) Its only tasty because I make it with love.
But seriously, its really good. Sometimes I put Tteok in it. I like TTeok... or Mandu. ^^ yummy!

but anyways, I'm kinda bored because my nampyeon is ...playing Sims 3... too much right now. I played yesterday and the day before (while he was gone) but today I didn't, at all.
So now that I figured out that there are really interesting people on youtube that vlog everyday (or nearly everyday) I have become addicted to it a lot more. Although out of all the popular/famous youtube channels I watch, I am only subscribed to one popular channel. hahaha I'm awesome ^^


so today, I basically had two Ahjumma stare me down as I passed them. It really makes me feel uncomfortable because they had an air about them that was "I'm better than you, so I'm going to glare at you while you pass and then gossip later about you".
Its not really a friendly attitude. ... I mean a lot of other people are nicer and stare at me like "she's cute" or "omg, its a foreigner" but in an air that is curious instead of bitchy... (sigh)

Yeah, that's about it for my day. I drank lots of coffee. I better cut back because I'm starting to hate my teeth.. they are kinda more... yellow. So... That's my first sort of new years resolution. I still have until Feb 14th until Lunar new year, so I can start then ^^ because Asia is cool like that.

Here is a list that I'm going to make up now:
1) drink less coffee, more green tea (matcha)
2) stop buying random(I mean really random) junk
3) read 100 books before the next lunar new year
4) stop being so lazy
5) clean more, cook more, eat better things (ex: cut down on the ramyeon)
6) start running/jogging
7) Vlog more
8) Upload when you make the video and not 2 weeks later hahaha
9) learn/study korean harder
10) always be cute and loving towards all people, as usual ^^

Studying Korean 1월 24일

So today was very interesting,

On Sundays, I am now tutoring a boy who is about 10 years old (Korean Age), Grade 2 of elementary. I am tutoring him English Grammar and holy HELL! He knows more about it than me... He speaks fluent, natural English because his father spoke to him in English since he was born, so he is completely bi-lingual. His father works for a foreign bank (Australia-New Zealand Bank - I believe) here in Korea, so he had to learn English. Its pretty neat, I will totally try that with my future future children because its so cool.

Anyways, the main intent for writing this blog is to mention that, considering I have only been in Korea for 6 months (as of today), I am pretty - or somewhat but not actually - fluent in Korean (Just a VERY little fluent.)

Here is an example of my fluency - I had tried studying Japanese for 6 years (age 13 - to age 18) and I don't speak a word of legible Japanese (is that a proper sentence??) and in the 6 months that I've been here, I can carry on a small conversation of broken Korean/English (Konglish). and at least I can get my point across.

I am very please with myself. ^^ I can't wait for another few months, then I'll be a lot better. I know my pronunciation is super super good, unlike a lot of people.
People who use romanized Korean or Japanese are doomed and will never learn real pronunciation and no one will be able to understand what they are saying.
To me, using romanization of Korean gets me super confused and gives me a head ache.
Plus, in Hanguel, there is one way to spell things, with romanization; there is more than 10 ways to try and spell a Korean word and they are all wrong.

Like what the hell is this : jwe-song-ha-ji-mahn. ?? or this jeo-nun han-kook-o-rul jo-gum-bah-ke mo-tahm-ni-da. <-- I can't even read that in English.. how the hell will I pronounce it properly in my life! Unless I read the Hanguel I will never know. My Fiancee can't even understand these weird romanizations.
and wtf ---> mahn-na-bwep-ge dwe-o-seo bahn-gahp-soum-ni-da. Wow... that is one effing long word. According to the website that I got it off of - to get some examples of what gives me a headache (which shall remain unnamed) - It means, "I am very glad to meet you. "
But... I learn "Nice to meet you" as 만나서 반갑습니다. (and in Romanization I would spell it as - 만나서 반갑습니다 because I don't even know the Romanization AHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!)


ANYWAYS, enough of my rant! I am going to edit more youtube videos ^_^

시카코 (Chicago) Musical

so, on the 19일 I went to the musical with the tickets that I won from ArirangTv. I'm so happy that I won tickets

Wow. Chicago was very interesting.

Happy new year. 2010년1월15일

Its been a while since I posted on this blog.
I really have a hard time blogging because my life is rather boring.

But I'm starting a Vlog on YouTube
you can check it out on my YouTube page.

I'll probably add my video's here, then I'll probably blog more. I guess I do have some news, I got my hair cut in December it's really cute and short now haha
and I also have been taking a free Korean language class at Sookdae ip ku station in Seoul Korea. (I forgot the English name of the station because I don't know the English versions of the station names because I'm one of the smarter people (foreigner) in Korea to actually learn hanguel and only know the Korean station names. *sighing at dumb people*
Their website is at: Kongbubang

Well, right now its 10:30pm on Friday January 15.
For anyone studying or who knows Korean its;
2010년1월15일

I guess for now I will be putting up some Korean.
I may try a Korean learning thing, also on my Vlogs. I really like this one guy from Korea name Hyunwoo Seon and he is really good at English and actively teaches Korean.
His YouTube channel is here And his Korean teaching website is Here.
he does pod casts in English and teaches Korean. its awesome.

Ok, thanks and maybe I'll post later tomorrow..

oh BTW I won Chicago tickets in Korea through Arirangtv.com!! So awesome!