Ms. Buh Duh

My students think it's funny to say my name with a Korean accent. It comes out "Buh Duh". Or they like to call me Ms. Seh, which literally means 'bird'.

While in Seoul this weekend, a number of funny things happened. One of them involved this bird.

MTV's Real World - Korea

I tried to cook, really I did. That pile of black stuff is actually rice and was pretty tasty. Apparently you are supposed to soak the rice for an hour and then drain it before cooking. Since I cooked according the recipe on the back of the rice bag (ie, looked at the pictures and guessed what the writing meant) the bit about the hour soak n' rinse slipped right by me.

Tonight Rosa was getting irritated that the maid hadn't come by to pick up that MESSY room so she hid for awhile. It seemed as if she escaped into the wilderness of my apartment building but was discovered comfortably cuddled under the sink.

My life is settling into the common cold, the quiet walk home, the much needed escape to the coffee shop, the familiar greeting from the old man selling fish pastries, the calming smiles of my yoga instructor (she thinks its funny one of my legs is longer than the other), and the constant nagging of uncorrected quizzes in my bag quietly reminding me that work is never ending until June. I'm strangely ok with the settling. Usually I hate knowing change isn't around the corner to make things exciting. Today I'm just hoping something stays the same for at least a week! Am I getting old? Maybe. Am I ok with that? Absolutely. At least for now. Give me another week. :)

Changing faces of KorRosa

Rosa is a funny cat because she is needy. Sometimes. She has been particularly needy the past 2 weeks. She would immediately start meowing whenever I sat down, when I moved from room to room, while brushing my teeth...basically, all the time. She meowed at me until I picked her up, loved on her a bunch or played with her for awhile. This seemed to work until a few days ago when I noticed her water dish wasn't what you'd call 'clean'. I cleaned it out, filled it up again with filtered water (Korean water is apparently not what you'd call 'clean' either), and she hasn't whined for attention since. Her only source of hydration was probably making her feel sick, thus the extra love needed. I'm a little sad because while Rosa was having a rough few weeks, I was too and needed her just as much as she needed me. Do I crave attention because I also have a source that is unclean and is making me sick? Much like my dirty dishes that have been whispering "Clean us....clean us!!!", no one is going to clean it out for me. Where is the maid? Seriously?!

Korea's mood seems to change with the scenery. The 4million dollar golden Buddha here was incredible to see, but strange at the same time. I felt like Moses after coming down from the mountain...are people really worshiping a gigantic golden idol? The mountain we visited was called Songnisan. The rock pile is not a child's idea of fun, but prayer rocks. I'm not sure if they pray while they're stacking them or afterwards. I can imagine a monk carefully making his pile of rocks, placing each one so gently, and with the concentration of a skilled Jenga player, nudging the last one on the top, while another monk sneaks up behind him and yells "Boooooddha!" Hahahaha!

I thought it would be a nice serene, quiet hike through the woods on a beautiful fall day, but there were probably 8,000 people there! Where else would 46 million Koreans go on the weekend to have fun? Of course I would expect to see a million people in downtown Daejon, but not in the mountains! The only refuge we got was when we took a much less traveled path to a hermitage where the female monks live. I didn't see any, but I bet they have killer quad muscles.

Lately, comfort has come from duk guk. Its a rice patty soup (see previous blog picture) that burns the top of my mouth because it is so hot, but it warms my spirit, maybe because I think the women working in the restaurant made it just for me. Tonight after eating my duk guk and finding a vendor that sells Korean pancakes (syrup baked in the MIDDLE!), I was happy with a full belly. And then I saw him. A man with a full blown mullet in a salon, styling a Korean woman's new cut. He was fantastic...they way he styled her hair reflected his carefully crafted mullet and insanely tight vest. I stopped dead in my tracks and said, "I need that man to cut my hair." Thankfully, a friend was with me and lured me into a makeup shop where I sweet talked a lady into giving me free lotion.

Until I feel the urge to go back to my mullet hair professional, I will stay at home and play with Rosa even if she doesn't need me to clean out her dish today.

Flowers, Food, & Fall

Fall fall fall....fun fun fun