my korean thanksgiving.

hello all! yesterday we had our korean thanksgiving. there were americans, frenchman, and canadians consuming the food. unfortunately, there were around 20 people, so the food we accumulated wasn't in extremes, but it was just right i'd say. poor ole' sara didn't even get any chicken. BUT. i made some KILLEr mashed potatoes! (sara helped) the following was my evening in pictures. 

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1. this is my christmas decoration! isn't he cute! i love him. and he makes my apartment smell delectable! 

2. me cooking my mashed potaotes. oh yes, even with a christmas mit. 

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1. mike and christine were nice enough to let us have it at their home - this was the view! SPECTACULAR!

2. and then there's elizabeth, my artistic friend who likes to clean. i say aside from the art degree, she and sara are one in the same with their anal cleaning. :)

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1. full house i'd say! full house! thank goodness for heated flooring!

2. it's not a korean thanksgiving without the rice cooker goin'...

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1. a little bit of sangria can make anyone's thanksgiving merry.

2. these are lauren's SWEET sweet potatoes! they were scrumptious... and even from looking at them you gain a kilogram. 

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1. it is also not thanksgiving in korea if you don't take off your shoes before stepping in the door. oh yes. i like that! (but only when i wear my slip-ons)

2. going around saying what we are all thankful for (mom, i mentioned you and the family. and chums, i mentioned you as well)

3. a special cheers to the people who went back home (barb and greg)

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my thanksgiving was delectable. coke zero (zero, zero seven), mashed potatoes, chicken, and corn. (i couldn't afford to buy and ketchup... i know, i know. i am a cheap-o. but i DID pretend that there was ketchup on 'em)

and this was the beautiful beautiful view on the way home. the bridge lit blue every few minutes and the reflections on the ocean was something spectacular! 

so that, in a nutshell, was how i spent my korean thanksgiving. it was nice to meet some new faces from different countries and to show them how we'd usually celebrate our holiday. minus the whole, turkey, taking off your shoes, and pumpkin pie with whipped cream bit. it lasted for around 6 hours. the cooking, the eating, and the playing of games. everyone went out afterwards, but i was beat. so i came home, watched a movie, spoke to my motha, and slept 'til noon! wahoo! 

and now sara and i are going to go take on one of the numerous mountains! yipee-ky-ay-aye. 

much love,

kami

thanksgiving in korea.

happy day of thanks my friends. happy thanksgiving! 

this is my favorite class. they are 6/7/8 year olds. they are brilliant. we wanted to wish everyone a happy thanksgiving back home! 

and this is tom - my genius i'm always talking about. he is a hoot. a pure genius. this is the future of korea, and he calls me "silly kami teacher".

NOW. we all know that thanksgiving is an americanized holiday, so korea doesn't celebrate it. but when i told my director it was thanksgiving and we'd usually be stuffing our faces, she went and bought sara and i some fried chicken (with ketchup for me) and pepsi cola. it was awesome. here is the before and after. 

even ruby got in on the action. do you SEE the smile on my face? i was thrilled. fried chicken. ahhh. no rice! just fried chicken and ketchup! amaaazing! 

what a nice gesture. and a tasty one, at that. this thanksgiving has gone by quickly. these three weeks have gone by extremely fast. and it isn't until the holidays come 'round where time is seemingly slow. i can only wish i were with my family; overindulging on turkey and ketchup and aunt ann's rolls. oh and pumpkin pie and whip cream. whew. but i most definitely enjoyed our fried chicken we received. these people are insanely kind. no where else would that happen. no where else. 

happy thanksgiving to all. i got a little sentimental and made a little podcast for everyone.

click here to listen :)

happy day of thanks to you all! and goodnight from korea. 

much love,

kamiiii

unofficially official.

hello all. how goes it this fine thanksgiving eve? my hope is you are all cozying up by a warm fire and thinking of the following delectable meal to come. envy stems within me simply thinking about it! haha. since i do a lousy job at updating this thing, i thought i'd give it a go 'round and share some humorous stories of today. 

FIRST. the korean 'parking system'... somewhat strange. it would NEVER fly back in the states. i'm afraid guns would fire if we tried to park like they do back home. everyone blocks everyone in here - but ... they live their cards on their dashboards to call for them to come move their cars. this guy in the picture was impatient and tried to move the car he has his hand on. except the car kept rolling backwards. so he had to hold it until the owner came out. i don't think i've laughed that hard in a long time. just picture this man pushing the car and then having to hold it so it won't roll back... good times. 

today we went to the immigration office to fill out paperwork for our immigration registration card - which makes us legal citizens of this great country - south korea. we will hopefully get them back within a week, and then we can open up a bank account. i'm just excited to be considered an actual citizen of south korea. few and far americans can say they've been korean citizens. well that's probably not true. but i am at least officially, and for the time being - unofficially official. wahoo! 

anyhow, on our way back from the immigration office, my director took sara and i to a look out point in tongyeong. it was pretty friggin' awesome. the following are pictures of what i saw...through a camera lense. 

i feel like all these pictures become monotonous after a while, so i just wanted to put up a couple. the right picture is our director pointing out a hiking point for sara and i to take on. i am looking forward to that puppy, let me tell you.. 

sometimes i feel like i should pinch myself. that this reality i'm lving in is a false illusion and i will wake up and hit my head hard on the coffee table after a long restful REM sleep. but the reality of missing thanksgiving makes it real again. bah humbug. 

SECONDLY. funny store of the day.

i got told today by my korean co-teachers that the kids think i am filipino and mexican. haha. the fact that i am not blonde hair blue eyed makes them feel that i am not american. so along with my diet, my heritage has drastically changed since coming to korea. ha. filipino? really? i can't imagine what they will say when i get tan in the summer. hahaha. oh children of korea. how cute you all are... except when you won't shut up and let me talk. haha.

and here is ruby again.. we have a good time. 

this picture is my favorite. two peas in a pod we are! i love her to pieces (wow, i sound like my mom!) :)

don't let that face fool you. she loves me. haha. 

ruby is awesome. her english is outstanding for a 6/7 year old. i am having mom send me some books for her and i to read together and some pencils with her name on it. she will have a cow... or a pig, since that is the main animal here. haha. she is just a doll. she went out last night and bought me a pen and marker just because she thought i needed one. she spent her own money she saved. how do you thank a 6 year old for spending their own money on you? she is adorable. i cannot think of how sad i will be to leave her. so i'll just think about how stellar of a time we will have this year. 

seems odd i've been here three weeks. man they have flown by. they really have. the weeks seem to go incredibly fast when you work the evenings. this weekend we will celebrate our own thanksgiving feast with the american foreigners. i'm pretty pumped up about that. it won't remotely compare to the normal webb/smith holiday feast... but dang...it's all i have to cling to. i am also bummed that this is the first time in 5 years i will be missing out on the 'black friday' shopping day. what an adrenaline rush that is! most definitely! 

on another note, here is a picture of my knees. if you know me at all, you are then aware that i am incredibly clumsy. i frequently hit my head, trip and fall, bump into things, and wake up with extravagant bruises of which i enjoy boasting about of their regular occurrence on my body. but this past week...holy moly people. i busted soo friggin' hard. we regularly meet at the wabar - it is a foreign hot spot. on my behalf, though, i was unfamiliar with the flooring and it was very dark so i couldn't see the step that i would undoubtedly miss. but let me just say... i entered with a bang. a loud loud bang. and it hurt. very badly. so these are my knees now.

they don't look nearly as bad as they did. whew. bless their lil' ole' heart.

okay. ha. this post was of nothing of importance, i just thought i'd update to appease the mass. or at least, my mom. she likes it when i update. it is officially thanksgiving for me. oh how thankful i am for the souls who've crossed my own. oh how thankful i am. 

i love and miss you all deeply. (but not enough to come back...so eat some ketchup 'n turkey for me!) :)

-kami :)

our first visitor!

always a child's dream to ride front row seat on the vespa. 

WE HAD A VISITOR! WAHOOOOOOOO!!! 

this is amy. amy rice. 

this weekend we had a visitor - amy rice. she went to college with sara at wayland, and is teaching in asan. she speaks practically fluent (so i think) korean and how splendid it was to have a translator! we could order what we wanted, buy what we wanted, get to where we wanted. it was almost surreal. needless to say, we had a ball this weekend. so i won't say much else but answer with pictures. 

the fish in the left wasn't so lucky. and the fish on the right... has a thumb?? really?? WEIRD!!!! who knew??

i recently have a new obsession - jumpin off of things. this time, i drug amy with me! 

we decided we'd show amy our market. what a treat. this place smells of... well... nothing like you can imagine. like i've said before... it makes me ache for the smell of the feedlot back home. not kidding. some moments throughout it my knees go weak and i get an image in my head of what it could possibly be like to be like dorthy and have the power to click my ruby red heals and be somewhere else. whew. anyhow. here is the market today. 

these ladies don't mess around. they are awesome. they do this on a daily basis. rubber boots, rubber gloves, big ole' knife in hand ready to gut, scale, or beat any fish you decide you want in your belly. 

and this is the dollah store. or you know, the 1,000 won store. right dab in the center of the market. i try to go there as minimal as possibly. i'd rather spend a little more money and have quality lungs and miss out on the beating of the live fish. :(

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1. amy showin' sara all the goods the market has to offer.

2. this fish committed suicide. i would too if i knew that my future held scaling and being beaten by a wooden bat. rip you little fishy. rip! 

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1. i loooooved this lady. i named her ethel. she did NOT want her picture taken....i didn't really think she could chase me, though, so i thought i'd take my chances. what a ca-yutie! 

2. these were the street ladies. they would blow their whistles like nobody's business anytime someone fouled up in the streets. i had amy beg them to take a picture with me! they were so cute. pretty sure they felt extremely awkward. haha. 

and then....

we went to the coast. again. and witnessed how crazy cool Jesus' imagination is.

amy and i found an abandoned boat. we jumped off this one, too. haha.

and last but not least. the left - korean socks are ca-razy here. they have people who sell them in trucks just like the ice cream man. it's insane. so sara bought me a pair of santa socks. since amy had hers on we all decided we'd sport them in a pic. woop! good times connecting. 

eating our last meal with amy - until CHRISTMAS! 

so. i thought i'd spare your eyes from my usual writing tactics and post pictures instead. this weekend was spectacular. new connections, new friendships. we are actually planning to meat amy in seoul for christmas and hang out for a week or so. what trouble we will most undoubtedly cause! hoo-rah! 

also. BOOMER SOONER. atta' boys. 

much love from my little apartment. i'm starting to get a bit sad i won't be there for thanksgiving. it only hits me when i think about it, so i do the best i can to not think about it. but dang... eat some turkey and ketchup for me, please! 

much love friends. much love.

-kam-dogg. 

we don't make plans here. nope.

and this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship... with myself... and korea. 

korea does things big time. (this is for show... i do not even like coffee....however, if this puppy was actually filled with sonic diet dr. pepper.. i think it'd faint and drink the entire thing)

the elderly do not retire. instead, they find it in their right mind to walk with 100's of pounds of trash or whatever they can find and wheel it on the streets. it's quite amazing, actually. kudos cute korean lady. kudos!

the second picture is right outside of the hansan hotel - where sara and i stayed the first few days we were here. it kind of looks like an old film camera picture quality. guess that's what i get for drinking that huge cup of coffee. wait, what? 

INSERT STORY HERE---->

so this sunday sara and i had planned to visit hansan island. we'd heard it was beautiful, so we were awfully excited to get to visit. we invited one of our directors (sara1) to come with us. however, sunday at 1 she showed up saying that we were all invited to eat dinner at a cabin of one of our students on another island. so... how could we resist?  now. direct eyes downward for pictures to follow event. 

we don't have these sights in texas. nope, not like this. (no worries my texan loves, they don't beat our sunsets here, either)

this picture instilled in me a heavy desire to scream out 'WADE IN THE WATER CHILDREN..." LA LA

lalalala 

everyone now... .

waaade in the water. waaade in the water children. waaaade in the water. lala

the dogs hang out on rooftops here. most likely escaping becoming dinner. no worries, we had pork and beef. ha. i did name this dog sally jessie. and said a few prayers for it's livelihood. 

this was our deluxe meal! the koreans go ALL out. spent like $150 one ONE meal. ONE meal. a ton of pork (galbi ---which i looooove), beef (which is super expensive since it's hard to find), shrimp, clams, fish...etc. all for us. pretty neat that people we don't know would go out of their way for us like that. they asked us what our favorite meals were back home, so i said grilled chicken and mashed potatoes with ketchup - and they are going to make that for us next time we visit. WHO DOES THAT?!?!?! friggin' saweeet! 

and this is henrietta. i looooved henrietta. 

we found an abandoned boat. i had to convince the children to be courageous  and fearless (big vocab words for them) and to take the journey with me and be my crew mates. then we decided to jump victoriously. actually, i wanted to jump and they were easily convinced. haha. i love these kids. we have a great time together. they have my heart. it belongs to them solely. i look forward each day to go to work and to see their faces. i think that is why i want to do be so much fun for them - b/c most of them go to school every night until 10 or 11 then wake up and repeat the routine, so when we get them, they are so sleepy and agitated... i just know i'd want to have someone who had some fun with me, so i do the best i can. they are pieces of work, though. an odd feeling i have when i realize i hold the future of korea in my hands... they are smarter than me most of them. ha. one of my favorite students is TOM. now. tom told me this the other day: 

"kami teacher. when you speak korean to us, although it is superb in dialect and tonality, you aren't really supposed to are you? (then makes an 'X' with his arms - which signals the NO statement) but if we promise not to tell anyone, can you keep doing it anyhow? i love your korean accent." 

HE IS 7 people. SEVEN YEARS OLD. 

that boy would do circles around the other 2nd graders in the states. all these kids would. the are incredible. 

in other news. i think i received a concussion yesterday by bonking my head on the friggin' car door. i decided throughout that experience that my clumsiness and clutziness is a direct result of my overwhelming sarcastic nature. it's punishment. but the ache is gone in my head, and now my shoulders and neck will heal eventually, so i think it's worth it to be sarcastic. i work with probably the only sarcastic korean i will ever meet. her name is sharon and she is a hoot. did i mention how great my co-workers are? 

AND THANKSGIVING. THANKSGIVINg. THANKS-GIVING. is next thursday. so we are all coming together (all the foreigners) and  going to create an american thanksgiving in korea, welcoming the feast of food that will most undoubtedly be there. i might even try to cook something. operative word - try. :) 

that's all i know. i gotta get ready to run some errands before work. sara is officially in her apartamento so we are both finally feeling what it's like to have our own space and really become a local. life is good. i am lucky. 

miss all my texans, 

kamiiiii