Animals Shmanimals...

Note: Instead of writing detailed posts about each day I was on vacation, I'll just choose random topics and comment on them. 

Today's topic: ANIMALS

I was looking through the pictures I took during my vacation (before my camera humpty-dumptied itself out of Sheila's hands and on to the concrete-floor).  I took a disgusting amount of pictures of animals.  I love animals, but not as much as KP, ex prodigy of the Crocodile Hunter.  That was a lie. Well atleast the part about KP being the Crocodile Hunter's prodigy. When I was little, on command I could tell anyone what my favorite animal was: "Myyyyyy faaaaavorite animaaaaal is a white siberian tiger!"I collected Zoobooks when I was little...

ANYWAYS, she's a zoo keeper so her love for animals runs deeper than ours...I suppose that's why we got so much exposure to animals.

Below are some orange monkeys we saw at Semencogh Wildlife Centre (Malaysia)...

 

I know they're orangutans...jeez.

 
Below is a collection of animals we saw in the wild in Bako National Park (Malaysia)...

Below are the randoms we saw at the Sinapore Zoo (Singapore)...

 

This monkey creeped me out.  Looked like a mini fully-clothed old man...with a yellow mask and white tail?

 

Cute little pig.

 

Another creeper. 

 

Not a white Siberian tiger, but close. Just a white tiger, Lame.

 

Reminded me of Jungle book...

In conclusion to my post...I should've kept the wildlife picture-taking to the pros.

Me and my backpack...

Hello Korea, the banana is still alive.  I've been MIA (missing in action) for about 2+ weeks. That's because I got my Dora the Explorer on...and went to Malaysia and Singapore.

          

My friends and I decided we'd go to Southeast Asia for winter vacation.  Immediately after booking out tickets, we all ran to our local markets to purchase oversized backpacking backpacks...um yeah.  Definitely should've bought a rolly suitcase...my back/shoulders would thank me. Fyi, Dora's little friend, the backpack, is smiling only because it doesn't have to carry itself.

To be continued...

Phone recovered! I'm so lucky!

I was notorious for losing my phone throughout college. You would think that working at T-mobile (downtown SF) and hearing countless "I lost my phone/my phone was stolen" stories, I would be more responsible with my own phone. Negative. 

Although I'm not in college anymore...and I don't work for T-mobile...some things never change...On Saturday night, I lost my phone. Back home, it would've been sold in the Tenderloin (aka The TL...aka The L's) for crack or hooked up with some Bay Bay kid's phone number (while still logged in my aim account)...

Not in Korea...

I get an email from my friend Laura:

  

Sun, Jan 9, 2011 at 9:25 PM

Mandy!  haha

Some hot boy just called me from your phone.   He said u can pick it up at club MK.  He looks foward to seeing u :)

most of that is lies, but ur phone is at club mk.

Yesterday, I went to MK Club with my friend, Sheila, to pick up my phone.  We arrive at the entrance of the club and the three door guys wave us by (as if we were going clubbing on a Monday night).  Sheila and I say "핸드폰?" (pronunciation: "han-duh pone" translation: hand phone)  We had practiced the Korean pronunciation on the subway.  I say, "I'm Amanda." The door guy reaches out from underneath the podium and hands me my phone! I had never been so happy to see a flip phone in my life! 

As we walked away from MK Club, I began to wonder why they had called Laura? I looked through my call logs and message folders...there were numerous missed calls and texts from Sheila around the time I lost my phone and a couple unopened texts from other people... 

Then I saw one opened text message:

"sorry for running away last night" -Laura 1/9 2:05pm.

Only in Korea...The end.

Dear paper hats, I hate you.

Last week, I helped organize and run my school's English winter camp. The duration of the camp was one week for three hours a day (45 minute classes with 15 minute breaks in between).  Before the camp began, about 24 students signed up.  Me and another English teacher, Gonghee, were the designated teachers of the camp. 

Day 1: Introduction Day.  22 students showed up...a mix of boys and girls...1st and 2nd graders...middle schoolers. We introduced ourselves, made name tags, played icebreaker games and finished the day with a treasure hunt. What a breeze...

Day 2: Arts and Crafts Day.  20 students showed up (we lost a few). 
During the first class, we began making paper chef hats (Day 3: Cooking Day).  At break time...the students still hadn't finished!  During the second class, we continued working on the hats.  About 30 minutes passed...still not done!  We started to panic!!!  The students resembled zombies...and I felt like we were running a paper hat sweat shop! Gonghee and I began running around the classroom helping students finish their hats.  Some of the advanced paper-folders had moved on to decorating their hats with their markers and colored pencils.  Of course, the students who weren't even close to being finished wanted to decorate their hats too. Ummm, no! We told the students to concentrate on finishing their hats and to NOT decorate them because we were out of time! As soon as we helped one student finish, we'd jump to the next one.  I'd turn around to check on the students I had helped...either their heads were face down on their desks or they were DECORATING their hats! Finally, by the time the 2nd break came around, all the students finished.  During the last class, we made paper aprons...SIKE!  We played Picitonary.  Uttering the word "paper" would've been English winter camp suicide...

 

First Class: so focused.

Second Class: so unhappy.

Day 3: Cooking Day.  13 students showed up. I hate you paper hats!!!  By the 2nd class, 10 students were still remaining.  We made the students wear the hats during cooking class.  Ironically, no cooking was involved...at all.  We made rice crispie treats and sandwiches.  The students could make three different kinds of sandwiches: Tuna, Ham & Cheese, and PB& J.  The girl students gave me a "special" sandwich: peanut butter, ham and tuna. I took a bite...FOUL!  I'm 95% positive they were trying to get back at me for the "paper hat" incident...they told me they had made it for the boys, but that was after the fact.  So, I cut off the ends where I had bitten and gave it to the boys.  They ate it.

Two of the boys muttered: "I want Kimchi..." after eating their snacks...carb overload.


Day 4: Random Day. I don't remember what we did...or who was there...

Day 5: Movie Day. 22 students showed up. We watched "The Last Airbender." I had bought the DVD on New Years Day in Seoul. After watching the movie during two classes, we played a quiz game (questions about the movie) called Golden Bell.  My friend (another native English teacher), Sheila, came to visit my school and brought Dunkin Donuts!  We awarded students with prizes/donuts.  English winter camp finished. 

 

Picture provided by Sheila. Stole it from FB.

The end. 

SNOW!!!

It snowed last night!  I woke up this morning and walked down the steps of my apartment to find this...(look closely at the bottom of the door entrance...there is a line of snow...the little chunk missing is where I slipped...apparently Uggs have horrible traction)

I looked to my left...

and then to my right.

After almost eating snow/concrete on the way out of my apartment complex, I decided it would be in my best interest to Tinkerbell-step my way to school. Good thing I left 10 minutes earlier! This is the park that I usually trek through in the morning...I decided to be lame and opt out on the opportunity to be a trail blazer.  

By the time I got around to getting someone at school to take my picture...all the snow had melted in the front (in direct sunlight).  So my co-teacher asked if I wanted to go behind the school to take the picture...I felt desperate...but content.   

 I want it to snow again.

Dog eat dog world...

Hello there...

Daegu's weather has been bone-chilling cold! It actually snowed the other day.  Luckily, it hasn't happened since.

Anyways...before it became super frigid outside, I used to see a random dog roaming the streets in my neighborhood.  The dog looks like a wild coyote/fox mix or something.  I've seen "him" (just my assumption...I tend to assume all stray dogs are males unless told otherwise) in the park (picture above) on my way to school in the mornings. He walks along side a little shitzu mix who wears pink sweaters and the 70+year old man owner; they don't seem to mind the extra company. I soon found out he's just a stray in the neighborhood.   My friends in the neighborhood told me that some of the other neighbors feed him...which brings me to the purpose of this post.  Its a known fact that some Koreans do in fact eat dog; therefore, it is quite possible the stray dog has eaten dog!
Do I live in a dog eat dog world?

I've always tried to keep a distance from him because no one has confirmed his rabies status.  But I saw him on my way home from school one day and wanted to take his picture.  As I looked at him through my camera lense, we made eye contact! I snapped his photo and he proceeded to run after me! I didn't yell at him because I assumed he only spoke Korean, so I shouted: "UHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" He sniffed me and went about his business.  The end.

Give thanks for turkey!

Being westerners in Korea, we all got a little nervous about being away from our homes this past Thanksgiving.  Luckily, through Daegu Pockets (magazine for westerners), Laura found out about a "Traditional Thanksgiving" meal available for delivery.  In addition to ordering the meal, she also decided to host the dinner at her apartment...she has the largest one out of all of us. Mine is the smallest.

   
Here is the dining room table...only available in translucent white.

The delivery girl was even a westerner! SIKE! That's Melissa.
The gravy came in Styrofoam cups, which oddly enough were in a Taco Bell bag...so Melissa kept asking WHY the cups were in a Taco Bell bag? As if the delivery man had a secret vendetta against her. She has been "thinking outside the bun" since we've moved here, but has yet to find one. My biggest concern of the night was if there were giblets in the gravy or not...I LOATHE GIBLETS!

HELLO turkey!!!

I'm trying to hide my stomach by lifting my legs up...FAIL.  Me=blue sausage.

I'd like to take this time to put aside my sarcasm to say...this Thanksgiving, I was thankful for meeting such a good group of friends in Korea. The end.