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Pookah

10 Feb

Pookah

I’ve been catsitting for the last few months. I’ve grown to really love and adore Jen’s male cat named Pookah. He’s uber affectionate and snuggles better than any other boy I’ve met. He licks my face when I’m sweaty or sad and meows so sweet and high-pitched he sounds like a baby crying.

He only eats when I’m home. He loves dried sardines. I tried to teach him to poop in the toilet. It worked, but then he got confused and thought the toilet is for poo and my bed is for pee. The litter box was immediately reinstanted. My apartment now has a funk that will not go away. I love him, regardless.

This is what he looks like:

“It’s the Year of the… Rat…”

10 Feb

“It’s the Year of the… Rat…”

Hello from Korealand. Home of the fusion of many different Eastern traditions and celebrations, including Chinese Lunar New Year! In Korea, your age is different. Yes, that’s right kids. If you are born in, say November 1982… by the Lunar New Year in February 1983… you are officially 2 YEARS OLD in this crazy world. So when you meet someone here and they say how old they are, you can almost always assume it’s at least a year or two less. Interesting tid-bit.

But, the best part of the LUNAR NEW YEAR (aside from it being more accurate and sensical than whatever calendar we westerners follow) is that I GET FIVE CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF WORK OFF! And you know what that means… ADVENTURE TIME!
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Winter in Gangneung

10 Feb

Winter in Gangneung

The weather has gotten bitter. So bitter, in fact, that my kindergarteners cheered when I asked them, “Did the temperature get warmer or cooler?” after our morning calendar/weather bit. They’re awaiting a HUGE snowfall. They wished, and hoped, and dreamed… and just after I returned from California… it happened.

T H E S N O W S T O R M .


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Keesang’s last night in Gangneung

10 Feb

Keesang’s last night in Gangneung

The night begins with the sound of a SMASH and HOWL as KeeSang and I enter my apartment. “What was that?” “I don’t know, I think the motion light is broken!” “Oh, a cat is stuck inside! Let’s catch it!” (more…)

Christmas in South Korea

10 Feb

Christmas in South Korea

Being my first Christmas away from the fam, I was a little sad and hesitant to get excited this holiday season. Gangneung’s charm warmed me back into spirit. This city’s lack of commercial Christmas technicolor lights, plastic billowing santa lawn ornaments, and the traditional American waste was a relief. The Christmas spirit was very much alive in my coworkers and students at school. I spent the preceding weeks teaching my students about American Christmas, as well as my family’s unique traditions. They told me of their Christmas. I was surprised to see how the holiday doesn’t come close to equaling Korean holidays such as New Year or Chusak. (more…)

Morven’s Wall

26 Nov

Morven’s Wall

I wish I could take credit for it, but it was a total integrative effort…
Marnie was artistic director with help painting from:
Jen, Jenna, Dana, Amy, Laura, Angela, some others, and I.

How beautiful. They’re wallsize.
The mandala is finished, but I think the chakras still need some fixins.

 

Mandala

 

Morven as the Earthly Mother, chakras and all.

 

 

 

 

KeeSang’s Guitar Debut

25 Nov

Meet KeeSang, he’s awesome.
It’s not perfect, but this song is worth the listen.

Hiking Seoraksan… immeasurable beauty.

25 Nov

Hiking Seoraksan… immeasurable beauty.

How shall I describe watching the sun set and rise atop the highest peak of continental South Korea? It’s silly to try, but I will.
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Halloween Zombie Crawl

24 Nov

Halloween Zombie Crawl

This has been by far my coolest Halloween. What better than to dress up and scare the hell out of Koreans?
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Yang Yang Salmon Festival

22 Nov

Yang Yang Salmon Festival

Every year salmon swim upstream in October, before they lay their eggs. (Had I known they didn’t lay the eggs yet, I would have thought twice about partaking.) Every year YangYang has a big salmon festival to commemorate the event. You can buy fresh salmon, eat fresh salmon, learn about salmon, make salmon prints, and take pictures with killer salmon. You can also pay a mere fee of 20,000 won to catch a salmon with your hands!
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