We are not Turkey's

As most of you know, my small group and I, plus two new friends from Onnuri Church, celebrated Thanksgiving at Yongsan Army Base. We enjoyed a feast of carved turkey, gourmet cranberry sauce, yeasty rolls without butter (YAY), heaping portions of pie, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy and steamed veggies. Not entirely sure what to call the "dressing/stuffing," but it was still good.

We started out by loading ourselves onto these hilarious buses fit for a disco ball. There were flashing lights down the aisle and microphones with a flat screen TV for karaokeing. Luckily for some and to my dismay, there was not any jubilant singing!



The really nice table setting and room where we had dinner.


Chris and Derek super excited about the turkey, not so excited about the ice breaker games.


Mira, an amazing new friend!


Mary and Amanda.


Self-explanatory, but the guys digging in!


mummmmmmmmmm!

So, Mary and I could not decide WHICH dessert to get, so we pretty much got ALL of them. Some were pretty disappointing, but the chocolate/brownie/cake/heaven was GREAT!


The ladies! And YES!!! I was flipping excited to see some Christmas Trees. The dinner was held at the hotel on the base, which was dressed in it's holiday best!


The most AHHHH-mazing group of people that I have been fortunate enough to meet here in Korea! These guys are not turkeys! They are much much more. So, here is your Christmas photo family and friends!



Glory Glory to ole' Georgia to Hell with all the REST! I said it's great to be a Georgia Bulldawg! And it is! I was able to watch the nail-biting game with my dad via skype early Sunday morning here in Korea. I'm sure my neighbors are thinking aliens landed in my apartment as Amanda might have been thinking I was temporarily possessed. I was shrouded in my finest Georgia gear and tears were springing to my eyes as I watched the silver britches boys bring home another win against the hated North Avenue Yellow Jackets. We should all learn to talk a little less trash and remember that it's the guys on the field playing for all they are worth and not us (note to self - take your own advice!) Great game teams! Goooooooooo Dawgs, sic em' woof woof woof woof!

NERTZ!!!

Conversation via text message:
(Background: Amanda and I invite Derek and Cam over for dinner and a possible movie...)
Derek: Do you want us to bring anything?
Anlee: No, unless you have 4 decks of cards.
Derek: 4 decks of cards? Nertz?
Anlee: HECK YES!!!!

So, Korea just became 10x better! Nertz has landed. YEP! That's right all of my nertz partners world-wide, it's a global phenomenon! I'm sure from playing many rounds of the game with me, you know how excited I was to find a fellow nertz player! Even better, Cam and Amanda took to the game rather quickly. (For those of you that do not know what Nertz is, ask me when I get back. I am sorry to have kept you in the dark so long on this one, but it is an amazing card game.) I spent the evening reminiscing over times spent around the nertz table, or floor, as we always had so many people playing. I remember being punched in the face in an attempt to get my cards into the pot or tying my arms to Courtney as we morphed the game into not only partners nertz, but 3 handed nertz. Good times. Nat, before you leave Ecuador, you should start a game up! I promise not to make this post entirely about Nertz. For dinner I made salmon salad with sauteed carrots and garlic with Cheddar, broccoli, potato soup and crusty bread. Note to self: This mean takes forever so set aside at least an hour and a half. Dessert was complete with chocolate covered strawberries. I really enjoy cooking for other people, so it was nice to have been able to make something for friends and see them enjoy it.

As for the random moments here in Korea, I thought I would supply you with a few pictures to show you that it's not all crazy times here, but also just plain ridiculous.

Amanda being stalked by a man on stilts!!


Amanda and I making funny faces on the train!


Catching Derek and a guy who clearly does not want his picture to be taken on the train!


Pepero gifts from my students!




Derek playing at the Music Club




The most amazing food! Wanted to post pictures just to make you jealous!




Free hugs were needed after a not so satisfying haircut for me and a great new do for Amanda!




When you need to mop the floors and you are too lazy to buy a mop and carry it home, just mop with your feel and soapy water. This was a grand idea!



Amanda and I playing in Gideon's winter coat. Seriously, You could camp out for the rest of the winter in this thing!





My co-teacher, Nancy, and I with our 5 and 6 years classes on Market Day. Asking these kids to take a photo is like asking for World Peace! Not likely.

Dad on Thanksgiving morning laughing at my breakfast of instant mashed potatoes and peas! He's so handsome!

I want MAIL!!!

Thanks for giving

Thanksgiving in Korea...well, it was good. Just so you know mom, I wasn't down or too sad. I actually really enjoyed celebrating the holiday over 2 days, one for me, one for you. On my end of November 26th, I woke up and went to school. My kids were well behaved most of the day. I had rice and salsa for lunch - not exactly turkey and dressing, but it was better than whatever else was in the pot. After school I went to Ansan for my weekly guitar lesson. Derek made gourmet chicken sandwiches and Cam joined us for dinner. I would say that chicken is so close to turkey that I ended up having a Thanksgiving feast after all. As usual learning to play guitar leaves me in my happy place. So, it was good. Side note: Amanda sent me a text at one point during the night that said she had chicken feet in her Thanksgiving feast. It turned out, upon researching and calling Korean friends, that it wasn't chicken feet, but fish guts instead. I think it's safe to say I ended up with the better deal. Another side note: you can try flagging down a bus in South Korea like you would a New York Taxi, but that doesn't mean that they will stop! Be prepared to jump on while the bus is still moving or else they will leave you behind. I now know this to be true thanks to Derek.
I woke up this morning in the early AM to skype calls from mom. I went out into the hallway so that Amanda could continue sleeping. It was FLIPPING cold in the hall. I bundled up and started making calls. I spoke with my brother in Kentucky and my Dad via skype conference call. The conversation immediately turned to teaching my dad how to use his computer...great holiday cheer! Amanda came out a bit later and said that I could come in, she was up and hungry. I was hungry, too. So, we debated on what to have and decided the instant mashed potatoes and English peas that mom had sent via care package would be a great breakfast. We enjoyed the treat with leftover fritatta and soy milk. I was getting sleepy again after less than 5 hours of sleep and cut my talking time with mom short. She was a bit upset about her children being so far away from her on the holiday. My mom actually said "sucks!!!" My hagwon was nice enough to let Amanda and I come in a bit later than usual to talk with our families. All in all it was really a good morning. I am still waiting on my Thanksgiving feast this coming Sunday and promise to post some pictures in a timely fashion. I hope you guys are all hibernating from eating too much!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving Friends and Family. I'm really thankful for you guys in my life. I will be downing caffeine tonight to stay awake, so let's skype. I plan on being on by 11 my time, so 9am for you guys in GA! That means, mom you can turn the computer towards the TV so I can watch the parade! ABHS: I miss you guys and hope you enjoy "Peaches". (Terry, you better be buying!)

I am thankful for so many things this year: awesome family, amazing friends, the cutest dog in the world, co-workers, traveling, my students, health, joy, a new home, the body and most importantly JESUS! I could go on for a while, but I will make this one short and sweet and tell you that I love you very much. God bless you all on this holiday and enjoy time spent with family and friends.

New Kicks

For those of you who are use to seeing me in summer dresses and tea-length skirts, business suits and dress pants...those days are no more. (Sorry mom!) I'm not really sure if the change in my wardrobe is mimicking the change in my way of thinking and comfort here, but I am really enjoying and embracing it. I bought some converse low tops this past weekend (hey hey Brooks) - thanks to the fashion expertise of my roomie (Picture above). Jeans have become an almost everyday outfit - in my defense it is cold outside and skirts just are not cutting it. I even wore a sweatshirt to school last week?!? All in all I am liking that I am more comfortable in a new set of clothes. This isn't to say that I have let die the need to look nice and to "dress up." Quite the contrary. It's just to let you guys know that I am really becoming more and more comfortable and confident in who I am becoming. (Female insecurity, take that slap in the face!)

New shoes deserve new friends, so I bought some great music this weekend, too. Sorry that I am behind on this, but Jon Foreman's solo stuff is amazing! I spent quite a bit of my Saturday night just listening to his stuff over and over again. And then my Sunday and my Monday morning, too! In the past few weeks I've downloaded David Crowder Band's latest Church Music, Tim Hughes and (don't hate) the PS I love you soundtrack. Great music all around.

I made 2 new friends this weekend. Really cool how these things happen. Amanda and Brian were having coffee at this amazing coffee shop, L'pi France, Saturday when I walked in to see another American sitting with them. Meet Ted from Maryland. Really cool guy, new to the humble Gunpo, also teaching in a hagwon. After good conversation and free cups of coffee, we hope to see Ted again. I made the trek to church by myself this weekend, which I think I really enjoyed. I was fortunate enough to have a seat on the train the whole way there and the whole way back. Sitting by myself, a lady came and sat down next to me and we started talking. Meet Mira, a Korean-American who speaks little Korean, amazing woman of Christ and a fellow guitar student. We talked for a while after church, compared calluses on our hands and walked back to the train station together. We exchanged numbers and are hoping to see each other next weekend at the Thanksgiving celebration.

Rounding out the new list, I took a new approach to the way I study the Bible in my quiet time with the Big Guy. I had a really good time hanging out in prayer this weekend and felt super encouraged.

The weather is a bit warmer this week! Just in time for Thanksgiving, which I will be spending with friends on the American Military Base in Seoul. I'm excited! I finally figured out, however, that I have been forgetting to eat or just lazy about it here, so I think this weekend with all of my favorite foods in attendance I might gain back some of the weight that I have lost recently. Okay, Monday morning calls, which means the kids just arrived. Happy Turkey Day family and friends. I will be making the rounds on skype later this week to share in the love!

Sweetness...

Sweetness is talking to your best friends at 2am. It's sending an email to them and getting a response by all three in less than 2 hours! It's frantically finding time to skype disregarding work, boyfriends, traveling, etc to catch up. It's realizing that they know you so much better than you know yourself. (I know it's cheesy, but) it's oh so true.

Sweetness is the first snow of the season. The one that makes you really happy to stand out in the cold and lift your hands up to the sky. It doesn't matter if it's a "mix." All that matters is God showered you with the fuzzy white stuff that feels amazing when it falls on your face. It's remembering the blizzard of 2009 in Athens and the anticipating the snowmen to come...

Sweetness is when you hear a good song that really just warms your heart like a good cup of hot chocolate or a free hug. It's learning to play guitar and expressing your love for Jesus, even if all of the notes are wrong. It's dancing to loud music and roommates who DJ according to your mood. It's listening to your friends play their music and talking about their inspirations.

Sweetness is an amazing roommate who encourages you, grounds you and makes every day a bit more enjoyable because she is around. It's friends and bible studies, good runs that clear your head, jumping on the bed and reading a good book. It's being told that you aren't very emotional, but more logical than you really thought. It's meeting amazing people in this amazing country and growing more as a person. It's seeing Jesus everyday and allowing His love and Grace to penetrate the heart.

Things that I wish I had video of:

This is a list of those things that you take a breath and think, "Did that really just happen" or "I never thought this would become normal..." I plan to update this list as moments that have me exclaiming the phrase "ONLY IN KOREA" unfold...

1. Kids running through Amanda's legs as she stands spreadeagled like a bridge while she reads a book. The utter chaos was enough to make me peak in the room.

2. The city buses as they change lanes into oncoming traffic so that they can bully their way through RED LIGHTS...when the buses make oncoming traffic stop so that they can speed through the lights is when I become afraid to run at night.

3. Not one, not two, but three grown men on one moped all carrying to-go boxes on each arm driving down the road. OR the really cute couple who rode in the same scouter chair.

4. The look on my face as my kids literally kiss my legs and hug them so that I will tell a more dramatic story. OR the look on my face when my kids go to the bathroom in their pants and then come back to me for clean-up!

5. The look on Amanda's face as we try to figure out what is in the lunch tray each day.

6. Kimchi drying on a dumpster in an ally next to a parking lot?!? OR Kimchi being STEPPED on by dirty shoes to get the smelly feet smell?!?

7. Women who hike in heels..enough said.

8. Amanda being stalked by a man on stilts. I do have a picture.

9. Being mauled by a sidewalk cart in Itaewon. I had a nasty bruise.

10. Me getting a hair cut and the look of utter horror on my face afterwards.

More to come...

Yongpyong here I come!!!!

I can't control the excitement! For Christmas and Amanda's going away present, our boss, (whom I had dubbed Evil Penguin in our Christmas play,) is taking us SKIING at Yongpyong Resort! In the last 20 minutes I have researched enough to be an expert on skiing in Korea. This particular resort is amazing! (Photo essay to follow!) Our entire staff at school will be renting a bus to make the drive into the mountains in North eastern South Korea. (That sounds funny, huh?). There are 31 various slopes and 15 lifts!!! WHAT WHAT!! From the snow reports there is snow already on the slopes! I am super excited about the cross country slope! DAD do not worry, you have trained me well. Celina, my Korean co-teacher, is ready to race!!! We will all be staying at a jimjilbang or 찜질방. This is basically a hostel, but I have heard some interesting stories. It will be a BIG check mark off of the "seriously, I did that in Korea" list.


Can't wait to post pictures of my own! At least I know x-rays in this country are insanely cheap...so if something happens...
I get to teach Amanda and some of my other co-teachers how to ski...should be fun! WOOT WOOT!

Weather report...

Today, we are experiencing sunny skies with scattered clouds. Our high will peak at about 1 degree Celsius with a low of -4. Winds of 20km/h and wind chill of -9 will make the day bitter cold. If you are currently lost in translation, that means it's flipping cold here in Korea! I find that I am now checking the weather forecast more often than the news...(in my defense, the weather is a more immediate concern to me.) I am counting down the days until the icy white stuff covers the ground. Snow is something that I all too often "flip-out" over, so you can consider this your official snow patrol website for the greater Seoul area until spring. I hear that it snows quite a bit in this country and here are some pictures off of google that should give you an idea of what I am in store for.

PS: Those of you who really enjoy sending care packages....long johns would be greatly appreciated!

Women will be women...

And men will be men...


Athens, 2009 has nothing on what's to come here...

kimchi...

I know that you have been waiting on this post. My life in the land of kimchi.

Things to note about this delectable food:
-Websters defines Kimchi as a vegetable pickle seasoned with garlic, red pepper, and ginger that is the national dish of Korea.
-Wikipedia says about kimchi: any one of numerous traditional Korean pickled dishes made of vegetables with varied seasonings. Its most common manifestation is the spicy baechu (cabbage) variety. Kimchi is so ubiquitous that the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) developed space kimchi to accompany the first Korean astronaut to the Russian-manned space ship Soyuz.
-Urban Dictionary states: A healthy, good tasting traditional Korean dish made with various herbal ingredients. May seem and smell offensive to foreigners. often insulted by prejudiced Japanese people for its strong smell. (This is excluding the rather harsh definitions posted by the Japanese.)

Many blogs and websites are dedicated to this scrumptious treat: The Daily Kimchi, Love that Kimchi, kimchi.com. There is even an iphone application for kimchi lovers!

Here is kimchi propaganda:

You hear a lot of talk about kimchi here. For instance, "they" will tell you that it is very healthy for you and fights against disease and cancer...this may be true. According to Health Magazine: Kimchi is made of various vegetables and contains a high concentration of dietary fiber, while being low in calories. One serving also provides up to 80% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C and carotene. Kimchi is listed in the top five "World's Healthiest Foods" for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion, and even possibly reducing cancer growth. Some research focused on high-sodium dietary dependence has found over consumption of kimchi and 된장 to be a risk factor in gastric cancer (most likely due to nitrates and salt). One oncological study found one type of kimchi to be a protective factor against gastric cancer while two other types of such high-sodium kimchi as dongchimi were risk factors. One study conducted by Seoul National University claimed that chickens infected with the H5N1 virus, avian flu, recovered after eating food containing the same bacteria found in kimchi. However, these results have been questioned due to the very small sample size of only a handful of chickens. During the 2003 SARS outbreak, many people believed that kimchi could protect against infection.

Walking through an alley last night with a friend, he spied the real hygienic making of kimchi. When you hear excitement in someone's voice over Kimchi drying o a garbage dumpster, you tend to lose your appeitate for the dish regardless of the nutritional qualities it possess. My friend remarked that the garbage dumpster is probably how Koreans achieve the smell that accompanies the rotting dish.

There are many festivals and contests held throughout the year here in Korea that celebrate this national dish. I plan to be the nest ex-pat Kimchi maker world winner! In the words of the EV Boys (check them out on itunes) Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me.

I do not want to leave you with a bad taste in your mouth, pun intended here as it is called for. Kimchi leaves the taste of rotting pepper in your mouth only remedied by large quantities of rice and soup. I am eating kimchi. I find that it really might prevent the flu and definitely warms you up on a cold day. Here are some pictures to keep you intrigued! JUST WAIT UNTIL I GET BACK! I am making it for all of you!

Recipes to come soon...

You know when you can't stop smiling...

If you aren't laughing right now, I feel sorry for you!!

So, this past week has been that week when I seriously can not stop smiling. EVERYthing is funny! Even frustration has been turning to laughter. Here are some stories from this past week...they are random and some "too much information" but I wanted to share some of these memorable moments with you...

Friday: My Korean co-teacher was out due to her daughter sick with swine flu, so I took over both the 5 years and 6 years classes. After lunch, I sent the students to an empty classroom to play with blocks. I walked in to check on them when all of a sudden the worst smell I have smelt yet singed my nose. Of course in Anlee fashion I scream, "WHAT IS THAT SMELL??" I did not have to wait long for an answer. One of my students, who will remain nameless for pride's sake, walked up to me after pulling his hand out of his pants and showed my this smelly substance on his fingers. The sad part is at first I thought he had forgotten to wash his hands after lunch as it resembled the sweet and sour squid legs that I had served them earlier. Nope, it was what you are thinking. My 6 (7 in America) year old had... himself. I immediately took him upstairs where I found the evidence in the urinal. His English was good enough to communicate to me his discomfort...[for propriety's sake, I am omitting some rather funny parts of this story]...while this is going on, one of the 4 year olds that I was also responsible for had just peed in his pants and was screaming bloody murder. Wait, the story gets even better...after handing off my student to a Korean teacher, a few hours go by and the "smell" returned. YEP! He did it again. Wow, you have to love squid legs for lunch!

Saturday on the train I had my skirt fondled by an older woman. I'm not sure if she liked the color or the cotton fabric. Needless to say, this is becoming normal in my life.

Thursday: My friends Derek and Chris are pretty amazing musicians, so we -- as their groupies -- were invited back to this private music club to watch them play. I have a mental challenge in my head now that telling me that someday I will play like them.

Tuesday: I brought my guitar to school...the kids loved it! I loved it! At first they made me really nervous! I felt like they were expecting something great, but just tuning my guitar brought on squeals of giggles and glee. They were precious. My younger classes learned the chorus to "Beautiful One," while my older classes learned the entire song. Koreans love to sing, so hearing them enjoy it and sing a song that makes me smile for the Lord was really great!

Bible study on Tuesday's continues to be my favorite day of the week. It's just a time of super encouragement. The funny part about this week was: somehow we ventured to that conversation of men and women. How we are different and why we think the way we do...I'm sure most of you know how I feel about women in general and the equality that I fight for, but in this conversation I am in whole-hearted agreement -- women are complex and rather difficult at times and men are emotional. This is coming off a conversation with a friend earlier in the week of why men "provide" for women and how women reciprocate this provision. Oh and the talk about Jesus was great as well! MOM: I shared my oreo's...they were great!

Sunday: It's Christmas here in Korea...seriously, the sign at Starbucks declares that Christmas is here! I had my first Toffee Nut Latte of the season and plan to have many more! I have been brainstorming how to decorate the apartment for the festive season...will post pictures as soon as I figure out how to do this.

Monday: I went to the doctor about my wrist. Had an xray that only cost $10. Turns out, much to my disagreement, that I only have a stretched tendon. This means that my tendon is just hanging out in my wrist stretched out too far. (Then why is this limiting my ability to move it in either direction. In Korean fashion, I was prescribed 2 pills, twice a day, hot wax treatment, and lasering for my wrist. As of today, I am stopping this form of physical therapy to have some acupuncture done. Be praying over this one. I get queasy with needles around.

Today is Novemer 11 or 11/11 and that means Pepero Day. These are sticks of suger dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with more sugar. I went to the store last night and avoided the masses that were buying sweets for their sweethearts. This day resembes Valentines day...which by the way, Korea celebrates SINGLES Day!!! HECK YES! Here's a Pepero for you!

More fun times coming soon. On a positive, this place is slowly becoming home and I am really enjoying being a teacher. In all of those things that we said we wanted to be when we grew up, TEACHER was never on my list...the jokes on me!