Bunwon 10K Cheerleaders

If you think I ran a 10K this morning, you've got another thing coming.  Five of my Gwangju pals ran in it (under the team name GwangJuicies - sooo clever!), though, so Desiree, Lanae and I went to cheer them on.  Except for the fact that we missed the first three finishes because of a hot game of Trivial Pursuit, we were a pretty bomb support group, mostly because we made signs.  Afterwards, we ate some super tasty barbecue (why do I always try to spell barbecue with a "q"?), complete with one plastic glove per person.  Have I ever mentioned that I love the (perceived by foreigners) weirdness of this country, because I totally do.  I'm no meat eater but this pork was the bomb(dot)com.  Serious.

Pretty Posies

What's this?  TWO posts in ONE day?  I must be crazy...

So much has happened since my last legitimate post (well, lots of little things, I guess...).  Many new friends, dinners, outings of varying degrees, new discoveries and wandering around the Gwangj have been keeping me busy, as well as new shows, books and enjoying the absolutely beautiful weather we've been having lately, even if it is  sometimes through my open bedroom window...

The pictures are from a marathon walk on which Miss Desiree and I embarked a few weeks ago.  I LOOOOVE me some pansies and they're all over this time of year :)

This week has already been crazy and it's only Tuesday...  Last night, a bus full of teachers ventured to the very southern tip of Korea to a city called Yeosu for Principal Suh's father's funeral.  It was a four hour trip (one way!) and we got back at 2:45 this morning.  But, I could really tell how much it meant to her to see so many teachers walk into the room so it was completely worth the trip.  In case you're counting, that's my fourth funeral.  Crazy.

Today was Teacher's Day so there were no classes and the students planned an adorable program to thank all the teachers.  Sometimes I feel like I'm a pretend teacher playing school (which is totally and completely self-imposed, by the way), so being included in the festivities, getting letters from students and homemade cupcakes (!!), etc. really reminded me that not only am I a real teacher but also that I'm making an impact on these girls, even if it happens to be in the tiniest of ways.  I left school at noon today with a corsage on my dress, a smile on my face and a curious warmth in my heart.  (Also, last week, a group of girls asked if they could sing at my wedding if I get married in Korea and asked me to speak at their wedding if I'm still here... they're in first grade.  Homegirls warmed my heart.)

Dionne turned me onto a new, awesome website called iherb.com that sells various health, food, etc., products and not only do these champions ship to Korea, but somehow it's dirt cheap to do so.  I stocked up on things like cumin, chili powder, raw apple cider vinegar (which is doing serious wonders for my finicky complexion - using it as a toner and ingesting a few teaspoons mixed with water twice a day is seriously somehow a magical elixir.  I can't believe the results I've noticed in just a few days!  And now I sound like an acne forum...), and various other goodies that make me feel a little more whole in this delightful foreign land.

"Teacher, you have plastic surgery?"

Two weeks ago today, I had LASEK eye surgery and for the first time since first grade, I can see without the help of glasses or contacts.  Plus, I can see so much better than I ever could with said glasses or contacts and my doctor said it will only continue to improve.  It's still a little hard for me to believe...

Here's how it all went down:
My friend Kim had the same surgery a year or so ago and had been raving about the results.  Upon her urging (and the urging of several teachers at school who had also had the same procedure successfully performed), I booked an appointment for a free consultation at the same clinic at which Kim had her surgery, about which I had heard (or actually, read) nothing but rave reviews.  After having a battery of eye tests performed over the course of a couple of hours (and being told that my eyesight would eventually regress to the point that contacts were no longer a viable option - with my near sighted-ness and astigmatism, my vision was somewhere around -12 in both eyes...), I decided to take the plunge (in true Noelle form - having done little research, but somehow finding myself in a fantastic situation...), scheduling my surgery for three weeks later during my school's midterms.

While it may seem like a pretty big deal to have surgery in another country, especially voluntarily, I couldn't have been more comfortable with my decision.  Both of my nurses and my doctor spoke impeccable English, and made sure to fully explain each step of the tests, procedures and recovery to the point that I didn't have any questions.  Several of the doctors at my clinic had even had the procedure done themselves by other doctors at the clinic, which was a major selling point to me.  Korea is the leading place in the world to have this procedure done and since my doctor alone had performed over 20,000 surgeries, I felt like I was in pretty capable hands...

The day of the surgery, Toni and Dionne went with me (Toni drove me to all of my appointments!  What a peach!  And, she insisted that my nurses take pictures of the whole process, so it's thanks to her that this process was properly documented...).  I arrived around 3:00, had a couple more tests done and by 3:45, I was laying on the operating table, about to have my corneas reshaped.  I was fully aware of what was going on during the entire surgery (and the things I saw were pretty crazy!), but I can honestly say it didn't hurt at all.  But, (and they told me this would happen), during the laser part of the procedure, I could smell a really strong burning scent (since, you know, that's what was going on...) - pretty gross, but totally worth it.

Immediately upon the surgery's completion, I could see (not totally clearly, but that's so not the point)!  I was so surprised and excited and honestly, dumbfounded.  I had to lay in a recovery room for about half and hour and then I was free to go.  Just like that - HUZZAH, Noelle can see.

For the next five days, I literally laid on my couch in the dark, listening to audio books, podcasts and movies (while I was awake, that is) and imbibing as much vitamin C as I possibly could.  The first two days were really comfortable - zero pain, but more anxiety over accidentally rubbing my eyes or somehow screwing something up.  The next two days were uncomfortable - nothing I couldn't handle, but nothing I'd want to go through on any kind of regular (or irregular) basis.  By Saturday morning (my surgery was on Tuesday), I was totally comfortable again.  I have to put in several kinds of eye drops on a regular schedule (and will have to continue to use them for the next eight months!), and other than that, my life is totally normal.

Also, for almost two weeks, I wasn't allowed to wear eye makeup.  If you know me well at all, you can imagine how traumatic this was at first - I've never even considered leaving my apartment sans eye makeup in the year and a half that I've lived here, so going to school on Monday morning with no eye makeup was a little crazy.  Students and teachers alike were staring at me, trying to figure out why I looked so different.  It got to the point that I had to start each class explaining why I wasn't wearing any makeup, which made for some pretty funny situations.  I got asked if I had had plastic surgery, if there were no boys at school that I needed to impress and my favorite, "Teacher!  Is it really you?"  Ohhh high school girls.

Anyway, I'm overjoyed with the results and would agree with everyone to whom I talked about this surgery that this will prove to be one of the best decisions I've ever made.  Seriously, this girl is a happy camper.

If I kept a diary...

... tonight's entry would read as follows:

Seafood potluck = WOW.  A small gathering was just what the doctor ordered tonight.  So much great food, great company and even better post-potluck girl talk.  If only the dishes would do themselves...

Tonight's historic event: the last time EVER that this girl removes contact lenses from her eyes.  I've been poking myself in the eye twice a day for a good 10 years, so this is kind of a big deal to me.  I'd be lying if I said I didn't do a little jig outside my apartment tonight when I realized what tonight's pre-bed routine entailed...  If you don't believe me, you can ask Desiree.

Why the sudden kibosh on contact lenses?  One week from tomorrow, I'm having LASEK surgery to correct my sad sack vision.  I'm sooo excited (and pretty nervous...) to finally be able to see the world around me through unclouded vision.  What a delight.  More on this later...

The cherry blossoms are almost all gone now after two days of rain and wind, but they were sooo beautiful while they lasted.  Dionne and I brought our lunch almost every day this week and sitting outside on the benches, talking to students about why my arms are so hairy made for some pretty great lunch hours.  Spring is here and I'm pretty jazzed about it.

I've been a little down this week - my first bought of willy nilly homesickness, being tired, being a girl in general, etc., but I'm back on the upswing I think.  Nothing a little O.A.R., some fantastic friends, a little Downton Abbey and naps near an open window can't fix :)

A Little Jaunt to the other Gwangj

Last weekend, Steph and I ventured south to the larger and more famous Gwangju to meet up with our friend Scott.  The three of us are connected by our dear friend Andrea, who's been suggesting we get together for, well, forever.  And so, we made good on our promises to her and boy, did we have a weekend!

We arrived around 3:00 and set straight to work, immediately taking a chairlift to the top of a beautiful mountain that overlooked Gwangju.  Then we drank some makeolli and ate some pajeon (green onion pancake).  Next, we hung out near a college campus and watched some break-dancing (I am continually mesmerized by these amazing feats, mostly because I know I'd pull something especially painful if I attempted anything close to being called break-dancing...).  Quote of the experience by Steph:

He's the Danny Tanner of break-dancing.

Next, we had some delicious barbecue where Scott opened a letter to the three of us that Andrea sent along with Steph to be opened upon our meeting.  I could just hear her saying the words she wrote - I LOVE when that happens.  It's the simple pleasures, people.  Next, we ate some of the most delicious tuna I've ever experienced (this seems to be a theme with me... I'm beginning to suspect that I just really like tuna...).  It tasted like a fish taco without any of the integral ingredients in a fish taco.  Explain that to me.  We ended the evening at Scott's version of Cheers: Tequilaz, meeting several of his friends, imbibing some fantastic Mexican food and beverages and enjoying a general state of merriment.  The highlight of the evening was an iPhone skype session in the bar's storeroom with Jill and Andrea.  Andrea later said on good ol' FB:

i can confidently say that this is the BEST skype conversation i've ever had. and it will be dang hard to top!!

Those two exclamation points say it all, really.

All in all, a weekend (or Saturday, since we spent the majority of Sunday sleeping on the bus back to Seoul) for the books.  Don't worry, larger, cleaner Gwangju, we'll be back.  That's a promise.

RIP Secondhand Toaster Oven...

Good glory.  What an eventful early evening...

Last night's putluck theme was Australian food.  My revised plan (since I was too lazy to go to E-Mart on Sunday) was to make Yorkshire pudding since I had all of the ingredients on hand (flour, eggs, milk and salt.)  Strike one for being a lazy bum.

Yorkshire pudding requires a pancake-y batter and a sizzling pan of oil in which to cook said batter.  As I was making my batter, I discovered my eggs were frozen.  Literally.  (My fridge is on the fritz...)  Strike two - frozen eggs do not a good batter make.

After I got the batter situation worked out, I decided to heat the oil.  I settled on olive oil because I thought it might give the pudding a nice flavor, put a quarter cup of oil in an aluminum foil baking pan, set my toaster oven to 400 degrees and let the oil heat.  I had mentioned to my friend Ben that I was nervous about making this because I'd never done anything like it before and, let's be honest, Noelle and hot oil are not a match made in heaven...  Strike three - lack of self-confidence.  (If you're keeping track, I'm out.  Better luck next time.)

It wasn't until smoke began to come from my oven that I remembered olive oil has a low heating point and was actually a terrible choice for this recipe.  Just as I approached the oven to remove the pan and start over, the oil literally caught fire inside my oven.  Serious flames, people.  The only thing I could do was laugh because I literally had no idea what to do.  Ben jumped to it, though, recalling some serious seventh grade home-ec knowledge, asking if I had any baking soda.  I retrieved my box and handed it to him because I was not the best choice for fighting a fire, trust me.  As Ben gingerly sprinkled baking soda, the flames grew larger and larger.  It was then that I remembered I had a fire extinguisher, but alas, no idea how to use it.  Some Girl Scout I am.  As I was around the corner getting the fire extinguisher, Ben sprayed my kitchen faucet hose toward the fire.  I heard a loud noise which was obviously the fire growing before I heard complete silence and a sigh of relief from the kitchen.  The fire was out and now we had to focus on the plethora of metallic scented smoke that was hanging in my apartment.

I had opened all of the windows, my front door and one window in the breezeway when I heard the fire alarm begin to sound in the stairwell.  Oh good.  That's just what I needed - a Korean fire department...  I didn't know how to turn off the alarm so I went next door to Toni, thinking that maybe she'd encountered something like this in the seven years she's lived in Korea.  I burst into her apartment, and began telling her and two of her friends who were coming to the potluck, one of whom I had yet to meet, all about my debacle, but in typical Noelle fashion - rapidly, mildly hysterically and probably leaving out major details.  They stared at me with blank faces before Toni said, "Well, help her!"  As the four of us rushed out to the hallway, Toni introduced me to her friend Jude - what a first impression I made!  We opened up more windows in the breezeway, got some fans blowing the smoke out of my apartment and eventually got the alarm turned off before moving the potluck to Toni's apartment for the night.  BALLS.

Indidentally, no Yorkshire pudding came to pass at last night's potluck.  Instead, I contributed a bottle of wine, and a mild case of holy-shit-that-could-have-been-REALLY-bad shock.  Yikes.  I am one lucky lady that nothing major happened and that Ben was around to do all the real work.

Toni posted this on the Potluck's Facebook group, which I found aptly appropriate:

Well, it was a small group tonight, 8 folk in total, and what can I say? You did me proud! With Ben's Yellow Tail wine, Jude's Jacob's Creek wines, Jay's Chocolate Almond & Coconut minis & Lime & Chilli almonds, Kim & Isa's home-made meat & vege pies, Desi's tuna & chickpea patties, and of course my lamb & mashed tatas, the joys of home came to the foreground. Noelle's Yorkshire pudding, however, was irrefutably the absolute best ~ it almost bought the house down. Sharp memories of being warned to expect to evacuate my home in Australia as surrounding bushfires closed in, with smoke in our lungs & tears in our eyes, sirens blaring in the background as we hurriedly pack our precious belongings . . . thank you Noelle, we shall talk about your Yorkshire Pudding for at least another 6 months :))

And so, last night, my poor, burnt, mangled toaster oven found its new home at the top of the trash pile outside.  I'll miss you, little buddy.  Until I replace you, that is.

Meanwhile...

While I was being lazy about writing posts about Bob and Kris in Korea, life went on.  It's been a busy, busy month including, but not limited to ethnic themed potlucks (each one trumps the last - how it's possible, I'll never understand.), new friends (how do I continue to be so lucky to meet and get to know such awesome people?!), birthdays (sooo many birthdays in March!), school trips and general merriment.  March was a good time, and April is proving to be no different :)

Also, excitement of excitements, my hair is almost long enough to put in a shoddy ponytail - color me excited!

Also, some light reading:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/13-simple-steps-to-get-you-through-a-rough-day
http://www.purposefairy.com/3308/15-things-you-should-give-up-in-order-to-be-happy/
Some not so light reading:
http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html/3/
http://globalgrind.com/news/michael-skolnik-trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-race-sanford-florida-photos-pictures
http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/27/opinion/granderson-black-panthers-trayvon/index.html

B&KiK: The DMZ and Lots of Food...

Alright, here's the last post in the Chronicles of Bob and Kris in Korea series... almost a month later.  Yikes.

Saturday, we woke up real early and caught one of the first buses to Seoul in order to make it to the USO by 7:00.  Same deal as my previous two tours - only this time, there was a special guest getting the same tour (a Canadian general, or something...) so we had to wait quite a bit.  Otherwise, everything went swimmingly, even the crazy hike into and out of the infiltration tunnel - it's a doozy, that's for sure!  That night, we got Mom's favorite chicken with Toni and Desiree near my neighborhood.  We had a great time listening to Toni and Desiree banter back and forth and enjoyed some seriously delicious food.

The next day, we met Sunny for a late lunch of Uzbek food.  It was fun to show Mom and Dad another type of food that new to them - are you sensing a theme on this trip?  The next day, after school was over (while I was at school, Mom and Dad braved E-Mart all on their own - they're sooo Korean!), we had Chinese again at the place with the Husteds.  This marked Bob and Kris's last night in Korea.  It was a weird thought.

The next day, I came home during my free period before lunch to see them off before Toni drove them to the airport that afternoon while I was still at school (how awesome is that?!).  We dined at my favorite neighborhood kimbap house before saying goodbye.  So, so weird.

Having my parents here was one of the most special things I've experienced.  Not only do they know who I'm talking about when I tell my constant stories, but they can fully appreciate and visualize my life here.  It was so special to be able to share that with them, and now I think they understand what it is about Korea, Gwangju, my school and my people here that I've grown to absolutely love.  I think they'd be lying if they said they didn't grow to love it just a little while they were here too :)  Seriously, those two and a half weeks were completely unforgettable in the best possible way!