Wow the year flew by!

Ok so I haven't written in my blog in a LOOOONG time! I have since started another year here in Korea. I am very happy that I decided to stay another year and I am enjoying myself much much more these days! I have been home twice since last January, once was for my brothers wedding and once was the show my Korean friends Texas and California. I have also decided that I am going to gradually start to become a Vegan. I have been inspired to change my lifesyles and become a more healthy individual. I have bought an oven...I real improvement in my life in Korea. I now can have my friends over to bake cookies and I have even made roasted pumpkin and apples when I am feeling like I need something sweet. I have met a new friend Joanna and she has opened my eyes to the world of delicious and flavorful Vegan cuisine and I am hoping I can keep learning from her! Last night I went to her place for dinner and she cooked lental stew with yellow and red peppers. We also ate a Persimmon salad with delicious citrus dressing! I have been reading blogs on vegan cooking and I am going to start trying out different recipes and get my body feeling good and healthy! :-) I have realized a lot of things over the past few months and I feel like I am finally happy and content with what I am doing in my life. I am trying to experience as much as I can and learning everyday! I have stopped trying to compare myself to other people and just be happy and content with Jessi. Now that everyone knows my new outlook on life I would like to say I am really going to try to blog more and hope that I can be held accountable. The cold weather is coming and I know with that came a very cold and dark time for me last year. I want to make sure that I keep myself warm and happy in these next VERY VERY cold months! I will be busy teaching, learning new things in the kitchen and preparing for my parents to visit me! :-) I am also going to break up the cold weather with a warm trip to Thailand! :-) excited to get on the beach and be in a warm climate for a a week! :-) I also was introduced to a wonderful site: iherb.com! I will be placing my first order this week and I am super excited about it! Here is to a whole new world that I am about to explore! :-) I will keep you updated on the progress of the cooking! :-)

Another week!!

Wow, what a BUSY weekend I had!! Let's start with Friday....My friend came over and I cooked spaghetti and we worked on the puzzle! It was really fun! I went to bed early because saturday morning I had to run 10 miles! It was a rough run...but I made it! After that I cleaned my apartment and did some laundry. I had to teach a class at church from 7:30-9:30 and I was so exhausted!! So after that class I went home and went straight to bed!! Yesterday I went to church and then went to the grocery store for the week! I was really missing some Tex-mex this weekend so I made some homemade salsa....well its more like pico but its really delicious!! I was very proud of myself.....As I am writing this blog I keep smelling something very strange...it smells like dog poo....I think I might vomit! SICK! I am finished teaching for the day and I am just sitting at my computer.  I really want to find the source of this smell bc I don't want to be here all day smelling it! I am very excited because the weather is getting warmer and I have to run 40 minutes after school! It's going to be awesome!! I've been enjoying the weather when I am running lately! Alright I have to get back to doing nothing at my desk...hahaha Just kidding!! :-)

Mac and Cheese!

Hello! It's been a long time since I have written on this blog! Let me fill you in on what has been going on in my life in Korea. During my 6 week winter vacation I taught Korean English teachers at the Teachers training center near my house. It was a great 4 weeks and I met some really awesome and interesting people! I made some new friends and got to hang out with my bike friends a lot too! After that class I went to Texas for 10 days! It was nice to be at home and I really needed to see my family and friends! During my first 5 months in Korea I gained about 10 lbs (5kg).....It was not a pretty sight! hahaha! Luckily since my return to Korea I have been training for a half marathon and lost 4 of those 5 kgs! I will be running in a half-marathon in Incheon on April 1st. I am very excited to have the opportunity to run a race in another country! Plus I get a really cool wind breaker out of the deal!! After winter vacation I had to "teach" for 1 week and then had another vacation for 2 weeks.  I put teach in quotes because it was the last week of the year and so I basically kept the kids from killing each other and brought some candy. Then my students graduated, which meant it was time for Spring vacation. During that time I took a trip to Seoul for 4 days and 3 nights. It was really great! I got to take a tour of the DMZ and see North Korea. It was a nice break. Now I have been back at school for over a week. I have new students in 1st grade and two new co teachers. I am so glad that my crazy co teacher is no longer going to be in my life! Her replacement is an angel! Her classes are 100% different from my previous experience! Over all I have really enjoyed teaching the last week! I have also started teaching Kindergarten Sunday school at the church I have been attending. ****I just have to make a side note here and say that my other new co teacher now sits next to me and she is now sighing so much and clicking her pen that I am having trouble concentrating on what I am writing!**** I love teaching the kindergarten kids and it really makes me happy to see them on Sunday mornings! I am also teaching some teachers at a local high school on Tuesday nights to make some extra money! The kindergarten I do as volunteer work but the teachers I am getting paid an extra hundred dollars a week! Sweet!! I bet you are wondering why the title of this blog is mac and cheese....let me explain that....so since I have returned to school I have been drinking Green Vibrance (if you don't know what it is I suggest you look it up and try it because it is amazing!) instead of eating in the cafeteria. This has been one of the main reason I have been able to lose weight! Since I haven't been eating in the cafeteria it has now become a thing because I told everyone I was on a diet so they didn't think it was because I didn't like the food.  Well since everyone now thinks I am on a diet they are watching my every move. I bring a nutri grain bar for breakfast every morning and usually one person a day asks me if that's on my diet! But this week I have been very hungry because I am in the longest distances of my training! So today I was looking at recipes to cook in a slow cooker and I came across one for Mac and Cheese....For those of you who know me well you know I LOVE Mac and cheese!! So now I have this craving for some really delicious mac and cheese. I don't think it will be possible for me to buy all ingredients for it but I am going to try this weekend. So after my 10 mile run I will be making some mac and cheese to enjoy!! I can't wait!! I have one more class today and then I am off to teach some teachers!! I will try to be better about writing on here!!

Kimchi making day

First I would like to start this off by saying that I lost a very special person to me this week. Kellie Bryant was one of the funniest and strongest people I know. The last three years I got to spend with her were wonderful. I am very sad to have to say goodbye to her. I know she is not longer in any pain and is in a better place, but I can't help and feel selfish because I want her to still be with us. I love you Kellie and I know you will be watching over us!

So this weekend was very busy! Friday started off by me going to have coffee and eat dinner with my friend GaYeon (Summer). We ate Bibimbop and had americanos. After that we went to Lotte Cinema to watch Breaking Dawn....It was amazing. It was after the movie I got the news about Kellie. Friday night was kind of rough because I was really sad and angry. I had to finally go to sleep because I was catching a 6:55 train to Seoul with some friends. Seoul was a lot of fun. I went shopping at H &M and forever 21. It was really crowded in Seoul and I was a little overwhelmed by the amount of people there :-) After shopping for a LONG time (we couldnt exactly find the stores so we were wondering for a bit) we had a little lunch and then went to the street where they sold all the korean style souvenirs. I bought a few things including Kimchi chocolate for mom and dad! :-) After that we decide we are going to find a motel to stay at for the night. Well after wondering for about an hour and a half we decide to try a different area of seoul because we couldnt find anything cheap enough. After finally finding somewhere to stay we were unloading all of our stuff when I realized I lost my return train ticket. (the train was leaving at 6:10 because I had to be back for kimchi making day). That was 50,000 won down the drain. So after realizing that I decided I was going to try to go back to Changwon saturday night and that way I could sleep in later. This was around 9:20.  We looked up times for the train and the last train left at 9:55 and we were so far from the train station there wasnt enough time. So then I decide a bus is the best idea. So I gathered all my stuff and took the subway to the bus station and caught a bus back to Changwon at midnight. I arrived home around 430 and went to bed.

I woke up very late this morning and was very exhausted. What a long weekend it had been so far. But it wasn't over yet. Today was Kimchi making day. I was to arrive at my friends house at 12. I was told to dress comfortably. I wore my new grey sweat pants that I had bought the day before at H&M...this was a bad idea. There was about 200 halves of cabbage and a TUB full of kimchi sauce. HOLY COW....was there a lot of kimchi to make. We spent about 3 hours spreading sauce on cabbage leaves. I was COVERED in red sauce.  My new sweat pants were COVERED in Kimchi sauce...hahaha I even had it all over my feet. It was a lot of fun though and really awesome to experience. While making kimchi my friend's mom kept giving all of us "kids" pieces to eat. Now I like kimchi but today I ate more kimchi than I have the whole time I have been in Korea. Not to mention to fact the last piece of kimchi she let me try had a raw mussel in it. While chewing I almost threw up. It didnt taste bad but the texture was AWFUL! OMG! After that I was FULL of kimchi, but for dinner her mom prepared boiled pork and rice. Which we wrapped the pork in kimchi that we had made. This is a traditional meal when families make kimchi. I was also given a GIANT box of kimchi to take home. I am not exactly sure when I will be eating kimchi again after today but it was really nice of her mom! I really enjoyed being with a family today. It really felt nice!! Over all it was a nice day...I am exhausted tonight but I have exams this week so mon-wed I will not be teaching...just desk warming. :-) So it was the perfect weekend to do all of this stuff!

This is Jessi  Henson, signing off, with kimchi sauce in my hair.....HAHAHA  :-)

Happy Hump day!

So it is Wednesday afternoon and I am finished with my classes! Today was a relatively easy day with only 4 classes. I am not looking forward to tomorrow when I have to work with crazy....but I am going to make little presents for my students because they have exams next week. It will make me have a better day doing something positive for my students! Also, my 3rd graders are going to play pictionary and scattegories so that should be fun! Also, Friday is PAY DAY! YES! I am excited about that. I am going on a trip to Seoul in 2 weeks so I will be spending a little money at H and M! Exciting! I can't believe how cold it has been here. It is actually warm compared to Seoul and places further north but I still think it's cold! ha! I am a little sad I will not get to be eating Thanksgiving food tomorrow! I also miss the family time! On a different note....I am excited because I get to see Breaking Dawn on the 2nd of December....Which I am really looking forward too. A group of foreigners are going and YES it will be in English. Just sucks for the people who only speak Korean because they have to read the whole movie! Speaking of Korean....I had my 2nd Korean lesson the other night. It is going pretty well. In a few weeks I will be learning how to say actual phrases....right now I am just working on my pronunciation of each letter. It is pretty difficult. A lot of the sounds are a like and I have a hard time losing my Texas accent when I speak....hahaha!  There isn't much else going on right now. I just have a few more weeks of the middle school to teach and then after Christmas will be teaching my adult classes.  Which I think I will really enjoy! I can't believe I have been here for almost 3 months! Pretty crazy. I am starting to get the hang of life here.....I enjoy sleeping now :-) Last night I slept on the floor because in my apartment (like most Korean apartments) there is no air heater just a floor heater.  So I slept on the floor the first night after I sprained my ankle and it was actually really nice. So last night I did it again. I slept really well. It was warm and felt good on my back! HA! I have an hour left of school to just sit here.  My life is so rough! hahaha! I was thinking today how I wish I could have this life just live it closer to my family and friends. It would make it perfect. OK well I am going to read my book I think. I will write again soon!

nightmare

OK so I had this nightmare last night. It all started when I went to City 7 to go shopping. I was riding the escalator and I saw one of my students. This student was notorious for being bad and so I said hello to him. He stopped and turned around to flip me off. I said you shouldn't do that because it is not nice. He said "I don't care" and showed me the razor blade in his hand. (all students carry razor blades in their pencil cases instead of scissors) I said "please be careful." Then he made the motion like  he was going to slit his throat at me.  I got a little afraid. I started to walk away from him.  He then began to run towards me.  I luckily was faster than him and out ran him to the nearest store. This lasted all night. Him chasing me trying to kill me. All of the people around me were just walking past. Even when I tried to stop people they just kept walking and pretended not to see me. I woke up this morning feeling like I had run a marathon I was so tired from my dream. 

Anyway, now I am exhausted. Today is my long day with 6 classes. I have all 2nd grade boys classes. I have taught 4 and i have 2 of the worst classes in the school last today. I was going to go to Korean class tonight but I am so tired I am just going to go home and sleep. I need a good nights rest.  Tomorrow I have orientation in Masan. I am excited because I get to learn Ti Kwon Do and to make a Korean dish. It's like a field trip! :-) I have to get up very early tomorrow to catch the bus into Masan.  It will be wednesday and thursday (which means I dont have to see my crazy co teacher yet again!). Last week we didn't have school thursday because the high schools were taking their SATs.  I also took a mental health day last tuesdays because I needed to sleep!! I get 11 sick days here! SWEET! Good news...only 6 more weeks until winter vacation!! I am excited. I will be teaching for 4 weeks of it but thats ok because I will be teaching teachers. I also will make lots of $$$$$!!! :-)
I am currently taking a "felt art" class at my friend Gayeon's (English name: Summer) house.  We started our key chain project last night. We are making the character "Totoro."  It is really cute. I also purchased my own needles, felt and scissors so I can create more than one "Totoro" key chains to give to people at home! I know you want one!! :-) It is so fun even though I am not good at it. Hopefully I will get better!!
Oh and I am currently learning Korean. My friend Jeong is teaching me Korean. I have a Textbook and everything!! She said my pronounciation is very good! YES!! I will be speaking Korean in no time....hahaha!

What else is new....hmmmm......
Not really sure....But if I think of something I will write another entry! :-) Love from Korea

Two months down....ten to go.....

So I have been feeling rather homesick lately....My emotions have been all out of control and I am feeling a little down.  I am thinking maybe a lot of it is to do with the fact I am not sleeping well at night. I am going to have to go today to see if I can get my hands on some melatonin or some kind of natural sleep aid.  I had a crazy dream the other night that I was walking through the woods and I had accidentally walked into North Korea. Then when I tried to catch a bus back to South Korea I took the wrong bus...then to make matters worse they wouldn't let me leave North Korea. They stuck me in a room with other foreigners and told me I was never going home....Needless to say I was not in a very cheerful mood when I woke  up! Luckily I was able to skype with mom and dad as soon as I woke up.  They always make me feel better! As I am typing this I am starting to cry...for no reason...Uhhhh! This is so annoying....I hate feeling like this. I am actually not that unhappy about my life here and so I am not sure why it feels like I am. I have made a lot of good new friends and keep myself rather busy.  Oh well this will go away soon....I HOPE!!

On a different note, I am teaching classes over the winter break (going to be making some great extra money!) to Korean English teachers. I had a meeting on saturday about the courses I will be teaching. I get to teach a club activity...so I am going to teach how to cook breakfast burritos and home made salsa. Should be really fun! Also, I ordered a book yesterday and I will begin my Korean classes soon! I hope I can start to finally learn some Korea. I know a few words but I really want to be able to have a conversation.  Ok well it's time for me to teach now...Hopefully my next post wont be a depressing as this one is! haha!