Movin' on up!

I'm officially a yellow belt. How cool is that? Ok so I know it's not that huge of an achievement but I gotta get to black one step at a time, right? I had my belt change test on Saturday but it was all kind of hectic because the belt change test was at 11AM and then I had to leave immediately to meet with Liz, Kate and Michelle to head over to Erin's wedding. I have to say my first experience with Korean weddings left me wanting more. First of all the ceremony is ridiculously short, like 10 minutes long (and no I'm not exaggerating). Afterwards everyone, from multiple weddings, goes into this big buffet/cafeteria type place. You give them the food coupon that you have and then you try to look for a table where people can all sit together, which may or may not happen and eat. Then when you're done eating you leave. That's it. It all felt a little cold to me. But on the positive side Erin looked absolutely beautiful, she was just glowing and her husband is so sweet to her. He even sang her a song. It was so cute.

On Saturday night I went downtown with my new friend JK. I vegged out for most of Sunday, but I think I needed a rest since last week was exhausting. For some reason I was having a lot of trouble sleeping. On, both, Thursday and Friday I didn't fall asleep until almost 6AM. Crazy I know, but this is sometimes typical for a nightcrawler like me. It was just a long week and I really miss my sister (well my whole family). Being in Korea is great but once in a while it gets a little lonely. If I didn't have Hapkido and my Korean friends I would probably be going completely crazy. This week I've decided that I am going to find a salsa club if it is the last thing I do. I'm going completely stir crazy with no dancing. Still, in Hapkido I'm learning some really cool stuff. I'm learning how to do fight choreography for Hapkido shows. I'm learning how to fight with fans of all things. Every time I practice I feel like Mulan (if you don't get the reference you need to go back and watch the movie). But anyway, it's so neat and we're working on new flips everyday. YAY! My backspring is still not happening at all but my front handspring is getting there. Hey I'm only a yellow belt...

Devil teacher

My new nickname is Susy, the devil teacher... and I'm so nice. I don't get it... ok, ok, I can hear certain people laughing from all the way over here. But lately in my more advanced classes I'm having trouble with some students that aren't doing their work and then they end up falling behind. The problem is that the punishments that are instilled here just aren't enough to actually scare them into listening. The kids get these little minus stickers every time they misbehave. If they get 10 stickers they have to stand with their hands up for a class period. The little ones don't want to do this but the older ones really couldn't care less. So something occurred to me. I said to them, "if you get 10 minus stickers you have to stay after class for an hour with Susy teacher." They shit a brick. One of them was like "No susy teacher, hands up ok, hands up ok." And I said, "no, you will stay after with me." The real fear of this is not really me, but what it means to their parents if they have to stay after. It means that they are doing bad and their moms are way scarier than I could ever be. When I got back to the teacher's room I told some of my co-teachers what happened and Jenny was like "Wow, Susy the devil teacher, you even wore your devil outfit" because it just so happens that I was wearing a black skirt, my red turtleneck tee, and my red high-heels. So yea, now that's my official Devil teacher outfit. Whatever, it's way cute. In the end, all the students except one did their work for the next class, and I actually made him stay. A punishment is no good unless you carry it out. Right?

But seriously I love my students. Most teachers wouldn't care enough to stay. I think it's always been part of my personality to not blow things off like "well that wasn't my job." As far as I'm concerned, if it needs to be done it's your job. Most people just don't give a shit. And I really do love my students a lot.

Especially my kindie kids. Last week we went on their monthly field trip. I'm so attached to these kids. They're adorable. And my class definitely has the brightest kids... maybe I'm a little biased.

(Pictures coming soon)

So there's good news and bad news...

This weekend was one of the longest weekends ever. I got pretty much zero rest and did a billion things. The most important of which was of course...my Hapkido tournament. Now for the good news: I am currently a gold medalist in Hapkido... wait, wait, don't get too excited. The bad news: I am a gold medalist only because there was no one else in my weight and belt to fight. But of course, they can't just give you a medal for showing up and being the only one. So I had to fight...........a BLACK BELT. Are you effing kidding me??? I'm sitting there, waiting to get called up and I'm looking around and I see no one else that has a belt below black. So I'm there putting on padding and I see that the only other girl in padding is this crazy looking black belt. This chick was rock diesel and she kicked hard as hell. Let's just put it bluntly: I got my ass wooped. She seriously just went off on me. Now, don't get me wrong. I didn't just sit there and take it. I kicked her back, I blocked as much as I could and I avoided her taking me down twice. Nonetheless, I got my ass kicked. So if I got my gold medal for taking a beating like a man, well then, I earned it. Realistically, I'm only a white belt. I've been doing this for 3 months and I went up against a girl that was bigger, stronger, and had been doing this for upwards of 2-3 years (which is the minimum time it takes for a black belt), so there was no way I was going to win unless she just stood there. But I tried as best I could and that's all I could do. And no, I will not be posting that video in order to avoid my humiliation.

Practicing before the tournament (I think the look of consternation of my face is pretty funny... I'm very angry at the pad, lol).

This is a big group shot of all the people from Hapkido.

The Hapkido tournament was all day (we left Daegu at 6AM and got back at 11PM) on Sunday. And Susa and I had barely slept as it was. Previously that weekend we had gone out for drinks with Luke and Megan (2 of the teachers and my school) and some people that they've met here on Friday night. But that was after me doing two hours of Hapkido and teaching 9 classes that day, so I was already exhausted. Then, on Saturday Susa and I woke up pretty early and headed out to Seomun Market. I wanted to show her all the weird stuff they have.

Case in point: The octopus is HUGE. Use the lady in the background for a size comparison.

I got some really nice (bootleg) Roberto Cavalli sunglasses for W20,000 :-) and some delicious and very cheap strawberries.

This is the strawberry salesguy. He was funny!

Susa bought some of the very weird stuff including a dried chicken (that she ended up having to leave here since we realized there's the whole bird flu issue and she'd probably get arrested) and this really large weaved tube thing (that we thought might look cool as a decoration). The tube thing got a lot of attention, though, people kept looking at us, laughing and motioning their hands like an empty hug. We, of course, had no idea what the hell they were doing until finally one man told us that the thing is called a Bamboo Wife. Apparently, people sleep with this thing... Mulayo (I don't know). But all I know is that all the Koreans thought it was hilarious that we were walking around with it. After Seomun Market we headed downtown. Mind you, while I was at school teaching during the week Susa spent her time going downtown everyday to go shopping. She is heading back with sooo much stuff that it's crazy. We shopped a little bit more (at my cheap-everything-for-W2,000- store) and found some cute stuff and then we went to exchange a dress Susa had bought during the week.

Susa sitting in the big pile of clothes at the cheap store.

That night we went back downtown with Liz and Mi Kyong to hit up the Noraebang. Yup, we reveled in most Korean's favorite pastime. Singing crappy kareoke at the top of our lungs. It was funny as hell and we had a good time.

Susa belting one out at the Noraebang.

But by the end of the night I was freaking out about my Hapkido tournament the next morning (and in hindsight, I had good reason to).

Then on Monday morning we woke up again at 6AM to take the KTX into Seoul, to then go straight to the airport. We got to the airport at a decent hour and went to check in her bags, only to go through the biggest mission ever. When Susa came into Korea she had two 50-lb bags and a carry-on, but at the counter they were telling her she could only take back 30 kg (that's approximately 66lbs). WTF? They wanted her to pay an overage and they said she couldn't carry on the bamboo wife thing. Yea, right!! I guess the people at the counter are used to the mentality of people just doing as they're told (as is common in Korea) but they apparently had never dealt with two pissed off Cubans. In the end, they didn't charge her anything. But from there things only got worse. Susa's flight into Shanghai, where she would connect to Atlanta, was very delayed. It's all over the news that there was a massive earthquake (7.8) in China and it caused a bunch of stuff to be affected. So she got to Shanghai too late to make it to her next flight, so on my train back to Daegu I got the most frantic call from Susana telling me that she's stuck in Shanghai for the night. MY GOD!!! What a mission. Luckily, the people ended up getting her a hotel and she was able to get a flight for the next day at the same time.

Susa and I went hiking at a mountain that is like 3 blocks from my apartment.
At the top of the mountain (any strange behavior is strictly due to the altitude... I know I'm silly).

Susa with my kindie students. They're so cute!

Like I said, one of the longest weekends ever! But we made some great memories!

Time in Korea with Susa.

My sister has been in Korea for 4 days now and it's been so amazing to have her here. It's like a part of me feels like my life in Korea is not something that is real to the people back home and somehow I feel ...validated. Like now there is someone that sees what my life for the past 6 months has been and it feels more real. Although she's been pretty tired we've still managed to have a good time.

Susa's arrival in Korea.

She arrived on Saturday and we had to suffer through the two hour trip back from Incheon to the inner city of Seoul. But we did it.

Walking around Seoul.

We dropped off all the suitcases and then we went to go eat Samgyupsal. I think she liked it, but not as much as I do (I LOVE me some Samgyupsal!). Then we went next door to Pish and Grill and got some yummy Soju cocktails I know Susa really liked, "It's like candy that will fuck you up"). After that we went back to the apartment and Susa proceeded to fall asleep. I figured that she would because a 13 hour time difference is kind of rough but getting her to wake up was nearly impossible. We were supposed to go out so at like 10 I started trying to get her up and that did not happen. So I let her sleep a little more and then at like 11 I decided that even if we didn't go out she still needed to wash her face, so I started getting her to wake up (aka torturing her). Most of this was captured on camera in what I can only describe as one of the funniest movies ever! I love it! When I finally got her to wake up, I said, "ok, just go wash your face and go back to sleep" and she was like "no...I don't like that." So we got ready and headed over to Hongdae (the clubbing neighborhood near Hongguk University).

Looking cute before heading out.
We LOVE cotton candy!
Susa and I dancing on a table at TinPan.

We ended up at "TinPan" like I always do when I go there. God that place is such a shithole. I can't stand it at all. Luckily Susa had a fun time, but I am totally over it. There were so many stupid, drunk foreigners (sorry, I don't mean to be a traitor to my people but they seriously annoy the bejesus out of me, Ugghhhh!). Anyways, we were there until 5AM and then we were able to take the metro back at 5:30AM when the subways reopened. By the time we got back it was already light outside :-(. So we showered (cuz I would never want to go to sleep with God-knows-what all over me from that bar) and passed out.
On Sunday we woke up at like 11 or 12 and after we got ready we went to Namdaemun Market. We were able to get some cute, small things (like Susa got some sunglasses, and some cute imitation Chanel stuff). She found this amazing Louis Vuitton wallet but it was W50,000 so she didn't get it. I found a rack for my clothes, like the kind that they have in stores, for like W20,000. The problem was that the weather got pretty shitty. It was raining, and kind of cold and uncomfortable. We walked all of Namdaemun and a little bit of Myong-Dong but we were tired and a little out of it. I realized that I had left my mom's glasses prescription back at the apartment so we had to go back to get it and then go all the way back to Namdaemun. On the way there, I experienced one of the most frustrating, horrible taxi rides of my life. We got in a taxi to try to get to Namdaemun faster and instead it was a waste of money and time and definitely my sanity. We ended up having to take the subway anyway. We managed to make it in time to get the glasses and then we went to Itaewon to get shawarmas. After that it started raining a lot more, so after yet another frustrating walk we just decided to call it a night.
Monday we had an early train (10:05AM) to Daegu so we had to rush, but we made it in time. We got into Daegu at like 2PM and Susa finally got to see where I live. We unpacked a bit and then we met Mi Kyong for lunch. We had Posam which Susa really didn't like, and then we went out for coffee and chatted for a while. At night we headed into Downtown because I wanted Susa to be able to get there by herself. We just walked around a bit, and Susa fell in love with the million and one boutiques that have super cute clothes. And we also found a bar to have a quick drink.
Today I had to work but Susa had agreed to meet with Mi Kyong and go see some stuff at her University, so at least she wasn't stuck at home all day. And before she went she passed by the school and got meet my kids. In the afternoon, I finished work at 6 and we went to get Boor chicken, since poor Susa hadn't really eaten anything all day. We went to Hapkido at 8:30 and I sucked yet again. Susa says I don't attack enough. WTF! After Hapkido Kwanjangnim took us to eat Makchan and Wangalbi with Nam Sa, Jun Pyo and Ju Sung. We had a good time although the communication was difficult, of course.

Kwanjangnim and the Hapkido boys out to eat Makchan and WanGalbi.

It was a nice night overall.

Catching Up... (News + Susy Ninja continued)

The procrastination of writing the blog got so bad that I actually put "Post blog" on my To Do list. That's pretty bad. But the reason that I haven't written is because I truly don't have any extended down time to sit and think and write. And when I do have some time I'm often so pooped that I just want to veg out. Anyway, time to catch up.

First off, I'm SUPER EXCITED because in less that 24 hours Susa will be in Korea. Yup my little sister is coming to visit me. I've been so busy that I didn't even have time to blog about it. Plus, it was super spur of the moment and last minute but she had a school break and I was able to get her a reasonably priced ticket so now she's coming to Korea. She'll be here for 9 days (which seems extremely short to me) but I only work 4 of those days so that's not so bad. We'll be spending the first few days in Seoul and then heading down to Daegu for the rest of the time she's here. Hopefully, she'll have fun. I'm also excited that she'll get to go to Hapkido and see what I spend so much time doing.

That brings me back to the Susy Ninja thing. So, I know this is going to sound a little (ok, a lot) odd but I am going to be in a Hapkido Tournament on May 11th. Truthfully, I have absolutely no idea what I'm getting myself into. I've only been doing Hapkido for 2 and a half months. But two weeks ago Kwanchangnim walks me over to the calendar and the conversation goes something like:
Kwanchangnim: Today (pointing to May 11 on the calendar), Suji Hapkido matchi. Ok?
Me: (With a blank, deer-in-the-headlights look) What?
Kwanchangnim: You, Suji Hapkido fight? Ok? Ok.
Then he walked away so that was the end of that discussion. So now I'm entered in a Hapkido tournament. We've been practicing a lot, but last Tuesday while we were practicing sparring I kicked one of the guys in the elbow as he was trying to block my kick. It hurt soooo much, I felt like my foot had shattered, but I didn't want to look like a wimpy, whiny girl, so I just kept going. Well, there's a reason why hindsight is 20/20. I should have worn foot padding because I ended up kicking someone twice more in the elbow. And that was only during the first class. In the second class Kwanchangnim drove me to another Hapkido dojang where Sisengnim (Hapkido Grand Master) was so that I could spar with another girl. Since I had already hurt my foot I think I did horrible because everytime I would actually land a blow it would hurt me more than her. By the end of the night I was totally limping. Then, the next morning I woke up only to find that my foot was completely swollen. And in only got worse. After two days of the swelling not going down I went to the doctor, and luckily its not broken. But it hurt like
hell. I had to miss Hapkido for 3 days.
When I went back I was really worried that I wouldn't be able to compete in the tournament any more. But Kwanchangnim said we should try. Still, since it looked (and hurt) pretty bad, Kwanchangnim, asked Che Ha, who is a nother Hapkido student that is an oriental medicine doctor, to do Acupuncuture on me. I must admit that I was skeptical at first but I am now a HUGE fan of Acupuncture. It has helped a lot, although my foot still hurts and it's uncomfortable as hell to hit the pads with that foot but whatever... I'm just dealing with it. No pain, no gain right?

School is going pretty well. I absolutely adore my kindergarten students. Mind you, I want to murder them half the time, but I think that's only because I love them so much that they have the ability to make me crazy. Oh well! So last week we took them on the first field trip of the school year, and I had so much fun just messing around with them. This one student named Ricky, who has quickly become one of my new favorites, was doing the funniest things. At one point he calls out my name so I turn to face him, and he proceeds to kick his foot up in the air, hold it there, and yell "Yoga pose!" I snapped a picture and I about lost it laughing. I have no idea where he got that from. Also on that day Erin teacher took one of the cutest pictures ever. It's of me with Jin, my little darling, climbed on my back. I love it. She's been so lovey dovey lately. All of them have actually, it's great. That's what I love about kids, they don't yet have issues about showing affection (although--on the bad side it also means that they don't know they're not supposed to stick their hands down your shirt, but whatever). And since I see these kids everyday, I naturally get very attached. The other day I was teaching and Susa called me in the middle of class. Since I knew it was a Skype call I answered it and I said "Class say 'Hello' to Suji teacher's sister." So they all yell out "Hello." Then they all rushed at me to get near the phone but Jin got it and she was sooooo freaking cute. All I got was her side of the conversation but that's what made it cuter. She's like "Hello.............I'm fine, thank you..........My name Jin." Awwww! I hope Susa gets to come to school and spend some time in a few of my classes. I think the students would love it.

Lastly, I finally succeeded in making a Bridal Shower in Korea. Erin teacher is getting married in a few weeks and I had told her I would do it. None of the Koreans had ever been to (or even heard of) a bridal shower, so it was a nice thing to do, I thought. Erin teacher liked it a lot, and I had a lot of fun doing it. Susy, the party planner, is always ready. Plus I got to do some things that I loved. Like I discovered that Daegu has an amazing (and super cheap: 10 roses for $4) flower market. I got to make really yummy sandwhiches for everyone. And I got to hang out with the Korean teachers (since I ended up being the only foreign teacher there). Actually, the night before the bridal shower was a blast because Michelle and Kate came to my apartment to help me make the flower arrangements for the party and at about midnight as we were finishing Kate's boyfriend calls her that he's nearby at the Hotel Ariana drinking with a couple of co-workers. We headed over there and ended up eating yummy food and drinking Mekju (beer). But it is important to mentiont that by the time we got there, Kate's boyfriend and his 2 co-workers were pretty hammered. Still it was a lot of fun. I got to practice my Korean a bit. Overall, it was awesome (minus the part where the Mekju came back up that night...but let's move on...lol).

Wow! Ok, I wrote a lot. And I know that I've missed a lot of stuff (like I spent a nice weekend in Seoul with Jure, I got to hang out - and go get my hair done-- with Liz, I spent a day wandering downtown with Mi Kyong) but I've got to go teach class now. I will try to not be so lazy about writing.

MUA