Indonesia

October 28, 2011
My first stop is Bali, Indonesia.  Unfortunately it's still raining but I'm not going to let that stop me from seeing the island.  Although my main goal was to surf, I'm now hoping to get to two or three cities and do some indoor activities like taking a cooking class.....


October 30, 2011
I'm here in Bali. It's been raining off and on but I already have a fun story. Was adopted (or commandeered) by an Australian couple at the airport. She's been to Bali tons of times so she's told me about all the yummy food places and good shopping areas.  Plus they paid for my hotel room last night. I'll send out an email soon.


November 1, 2011
I've had a great couple of days in Bali. I've spent the past three nights and two days in the beach towns of Legian and Kuta. I met a really great Australian couple at the airport that showed me around the first day and also paid for me to stay at their hotel the first night. Yesterday I spent the day at the beach. I met a girl named Janna from Holland and we hung out the whole day. I wanted to surf but my arm isn't strong enough yet to paddle. Right now I'm about to head out to a town called Ubud. I've heard from many people that its a great town so I'm really excited. The food here is good and really cheap. And the fresh fruit juices and smoothies are to die for, not to mention they cost less than a dollar. 

Hope all is well in the U.S. and happy belated Halloween!!

Kyungju Cherry Blossoms

Two weekends ago a big group of my friends headed down south to take advantage of the sun and beginning of spring.  We rented bikes and toured Kyungju for two days.  All the cherry blossom trees were in bloom and it was so beautiful.  Here are a few pictures of the weekend that stole from my friends' cameras (thanks Kel and Ash):

Welcome to Kyungju - land of the cherry blossoms.

We went through the rice (bap) fields

and made a pit stop for some MimBaps (mimosas in the rice -bap- fields)

and lit off a few fireworks.

We drank some beers by a lake and watched the swans, I mean paddle boats,

and checked out this cool pagoda.

We headed back to our hostel,

found this abandoned restaurant,

and played on the playground.

 On day two we went off the beaten path and biked around the farms.

We enjoyed the beauty of Korea,

took our final pictures, 

 left the fields, 

 and headed back

to Seoul.

The Dentist

I went to the dentist a week ago and it was a little different than the normal cleaning in the U.S.  First of all, the best part of the appointment was that it was only 30k won ($30)!!  So awesome!  I was so excited to get my teeth cleaned because I genuinely love the dentist, but let's just say Koreans lack the same finesse and gentle hands the American dental assistants have.  They were poking and prodding all over my mouth.  My gums were bleeding and swollen when I left, plus they were still sore when I brushed my teeth two days later.  I couldn't see what they were doing because they put a blue cloth over my face with a hole for my mouth to go through.  This was great because I didn't get water all over my face, which usually happens (it's generally a water show in there), but terrible because my curiosity shot through the roof, as did my pain.  I was so tense that I got a cramp in my neck.  I'm pretty sure they used tools that we don't have in the U.S., but atleast I left with clean, smooth, shiny teeth in the end.

The dentist and her assistant were so nice and spoke English.  I always leave places like this happy because they're so complimentary.  "You're teeth are so white!  You have beautiful teeth!  You're so pretty!"  All in all it was worth it.  The inexpensive $30 appointment made the pain worth it!

Conglish

This is an e-mail I got from a student a couple weeks ago.  She was trying to tell me that she lost her summary (file) and would talk to me about it in class.  Enjoy!

Haley!!! Sorry, I lose my flie. So I can take my summary. I decided to write the new summary. I could't write summary now because I couldn't think what is the name of the book. I will listen you about the book's name then I will write the new summary!!! 

Sunday Brunch

• I just hosted 7 girls for Sunday brunch.  It was a tight squeeze but we all survived.  The hardest part was trying to cook and prepare everything with my limited kitchen space.  But I do have to toot my own horn and say that I made a pretty darn good breakfast.  Everything was made from scratch, too.  Here are the recipes:
• 
  
• Zucchini Bread
• Ingredients:
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 
  
• Directions:
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F ( 165 degrees C). Grease and flour two 8x4 inch loaf pans.
• In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and frothy. Mix in oil, yogurt, and sugar. Stir in zucchini and vanilla. Combine flour, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, and salt; stir into the egg mixture. Divide batter into prepared pans.
• Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until done.
• 
  
• Mini Frittatas
• Ingredients:
• Nonstick vegetable oil cooking spray
• 8 eggs
• 1/2 nonfat milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 - 1/2 cup of each: Broccoli, Onions, & Mushrooms (or any other vegetable)
• 
  
• Directions:
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Spray 2 mini muffin tins (each with 24 cups) with nonstick spray. Whisk the eggs, milk, pepper, and salt in a large bowl to blend well. Stir in vegetables. Fill prepared muffin cups almost to the top with the egg mixture. Bake until the egg mixture puffs and is just set in the center, about 8 to 10 minutes. Using a rubber spatula, loosen the frittatas from the muffin cups and slide the frittatas onto a platter. Serve immediately.
• 
  
• Banana Butterscotch Drizzle
• *I served this over homemade pancakes but it would be great over a cake or some ice cream!!
• Ingredients:
• 1 cup brown sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 2 bananas peeled and sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional, I left them out)
• 
  
• Directions:
• Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, cook the brown sugar, salt and 2 tablespoons water over medium heat, stirring, until bubbling, about 5 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 stick butter, the sour cream and bananas and heat through.

I love Sunday mornings when the sun is shining, you can listen to music, and chat with friends.  And we even had mimosas!!  I haven't had a mimosa in FOREVER!  Ugh, I miss being able to do this.  I wish I could do it every weekend but it's too hard in my little place.  But I'm thinking about trying to do it once a month.  I've always enjoyed being a host and allowing people to come into my home and cooking or baking for them.  It's one of the ways I connect with people and let them into my life.  Not being able to do that here has been hard.  I feel so much joy when I see others connecting in an environment that I've helped create.  Plus, it's an excuse for me to bake and share my goodies with everyone.  

I hope everyone has as great of a Sunday as I had!  Cheers to you.

Some Favorite Blogs

I know I'm not that great about blogging, but here are some great blogs that I love.  I'm obsessed with baking, especially since it's a little hard to do here, so I get my fix from these two blogs.  Enjoy the yummy recipes!

All things delicious including pies, cakes, and cupcakes:
http://www.cakespy.com/

Cooking, baking, and real life from an NYC mom:
smhttp://smittenkitchen.com/

Six Month Anniversary

Last Thursday marked my 6 month mark in Korea.  When I think about the last six months, part of me can't believe how fast it's gone.  It seems like yesterday that I was moving in, meeting people, exploring the town, and figuring out the public transportation system.  But the other part of me feels like I've been here for much longer.  I know what's expected of me at work, I see the same people everyday, I know who my students are, I eat the same foods...as much as I love routine, sometimes this gets a little monotonous.

Do all grown-ups in the working world feel like this?  I can't believe that after college we go right into a job....and work....for the rest of our lives.  Thinking about working until I'm 65, well frankly it makes me want to vomit.  Don't you get bored?  I guess that's why people change jobs so often.  

Back to Korea.  Since my last post, I've decided that there's no way I could live here for another year.  I could stay for a few extra months, just to save the extra money, but a full year is out of the question.  Teaching has some really great things about it.  I love being around kids because you never know what they're going to say or do.  It's a fairly flexible job in that I can tweak my lesson plans depending on how I'm feeling or what's going on with my students.  Being a teacher can be really rewarding when you see your students succeed.  Teaching, at least teaching English in a foreign country, can be a total drag.  The communication barrier with my students, co-workers, and bosses can be really disheartening.  Things get lost in translation and I feel like I'm always the last to know about everything.  I feel like they expect more from me than anyone else and sometimes I feel like I can't live up to the unspoken standards they have.

I've learned to let things roll off my shoulders and my patience has increased ten-fold.  I don't get stressed as easily and have learned to roll with the punches.  Spontaneity is not a strong character trait of mine, but I'm slowly letting go of my "I can't go there or do that because I hadn't planned for it" neuroses.

When I get back to the U.S., here are some of the top things on my to-do list:
1. Eat as much granola as I want
2. Plan a Vegas weekend with my 21+ cousins and brother (Linds, Whit, Chad, Nathan, Breann, and Jonathan)
3. Go to NYC during Christmas time
4. Go back to Austin to visit the Paulsons
5. Fly to LA to see all my LMU friends
6. Go to D.C. and then make my way up to Boston
7. Go to Nashville to see the sights and embrace the country girl in me
8. Happy hour!!!
9. Eat real dessert (not the nasty fake cake they have here)
10. MEXICAN FOOD!!
*This all, of course, comes second to seeing all my friends and family in CO

6 months down, 6 to go....