permed x4

permed again and it feels so good! 

i'm in the process of growing my hair back out from the short cut I got this summer.  it's an awkward in between length that was just not working straight. 

I went with a girlfriend to a place near my house called park seung chul..it's kind of big so it could be a chain.  I got a setting perm with a medium curl so that when it loosens up, it'll be wavy.   this photo is from the day after getting the perm so not yet washed.  fingers crossed, but this looks almost exactly how I like it from day 1. 

it was pricier than what I used to pay, but not terrible.  I think the total was 175,000won  for the perm and a treatment which i'm sure helped with the frizz.  my friend paid 60,000ish for a treatment and cut.

Dear Korea....

pepero day

the 빼빼로 fairy has arrived! all kinds of new flavors this year.

accidentally went to krispy kreme on 1+1 day and walked away with 2 dozen donuts..

fireworks

braved the crowds and went to the fireworks festival again this year.  we went 2 years ago but went a little late and ended up standing in a random street to watch.  this time, we staked out a spot on the grass by the river, but it was cold!

pinterest project

ever since I moved in august, I've slowly been trying to make my house a real home.  in my previous two places, I settled a lot on design because "this is korea." 

this time (since I finally live in a place bigger than a shoebox and more than 1 room), I decided really invest in things that make me happy.  I had visions of beautiful frames and artwork on the walls, but alas, my walls are mostly made of concrete.

so, i started browsing pinterest for lightweight diy wall art and found this gem.  it was so easy!  I couldn't find a square canvas so I picked up a smaller rectangle one at alpha for 3,000.  I also couldn't find gold push pins at daiso or the like, but I ended up finding them at a homeplus. (ended up using about 7 packs)  I just sketched the ampersand on the blank canvas and started pushing!  the wood around the edges was kinda thick so I did have to use a hammer for those parts. 

overall, I think it looks great and can't wait to put it up somewhere.  although, with all the pins it got kinda heavy..so hopefully a sticky hook will hold it!

lovely eyelash story~

i finally got eyelash extensions!  with another trip to the philippines coming up, i thought it was a great time to give them a try so i don't have to wear any makeup while on vacation.

i followed the directions of removing all my eye makeup before my appointment.  however, because i removed my mascara at school, i quickly curled my lashes before the commute to the salon.  apparently i shouldn't have done that because the eyelash girl (technician?) said they might not last as long since my lashes were curled.  good to know for next time, i guess.  i did wash my face the night i got them and noticed a couple fell off already..i tried to avoid getting my eyes wet, but oh well.  i haven't seen anymore noticeably fall out yet, almost a week later.

i'm overall pretty happy with them.  they look very natural and almost just like how they would look if i curled and put on my favorite mascara (kiss me heroine make long & curl), but so much easier!  doing my eyelashes takes the biggest chunk of time in my routine so slapping on some bb cream and going is a really great time saver.  i'll probably get them done again.  it's not super cheap,  at 45,000won, but much more affordable than what i've read about american prices!

getting my hair did in korea x3

I have short hair again!  it's getting so hot and i was itching for a change.  since my last perm a year ago, I got a couple haircuts and was left with semi straight hair again.

about a month ago, I went to lucy hair for the second time to cut the last remaining bits of perm and decided to get a magic straight (because i've gotten so used to air drying).  the straight perm kind of just looked like my hair did before I started going curly.  I guess it does dry a little smoother though.  200,000won poorer and I was left with a hair style that I felt very meh about. 

I knew I couldn't get another digital perm any time soon since I had my hair chemically straightened so I started thinking about going short.  I haven't had short hair in 4 years or straight hair in 3 so it was about time!

I didn't want to go back to lucy because of my indifference to my previous visits and the high price by korea standards (35,000won..3x what I used to pay in my old neighborhood).  there's a small hair shop right around the corner from my new house (in yeonhuidong) that I had been eyeing for a while and finally just decided to go there.  I took some screenshots of me with short hair and of gwyneth paltrow's lob and walked out with a great cut.  she cut my hair almost entirely with a razor which I really like.  I didn't ask how much it would be, but it was right around my old price of 13,000won including a nice blowout.  now that is value for money.

"Count On Me" by Bruno Mars

Made this video with my pop song class this week.

lovely hongdae toilet story~

japchae~

tried my hand at making japchae today..it turned out pretty good!  i didn't know what kind of beef to buy so i made it with fish cakes instead.  it's really easy, just a little time consuming.  it even got the stamp of approval from one picky Korean eater.

americano

yesterday I went to the main office to get coffee with my new coteacher (who speaks very limited english) after lunch.  she asked me if I like mix or americano and I said mix.  she was floored.  she said she thought every foreign teacher likes americano best.  really??  wahaha

!!

can't wait to get the hell out of this city for a week..taiwan, here I come@.@

packing for vacation..

the "sleeping room"

A couple weeks ago, one of my coteachers came to my office after lunch and asked if I wanted to go to the "warm place."  I was like..okay..  She said there's a rest room for women on the second floor.  I had heard of this room before and stopped by to see it even.  There were just a couple of uncomfortable looking leather chairs and a tv in there.  So when we went down, that's what I expected to see.

BUT, once inside the room, there's another door!  There's a small room with heated floors and a cabinet with sleeping mats and pillows.  My friends have told me about these rooms before, but my old school was too old and small for a room like this to exist.  We spent the afternoon napping on the warm floor.  I don't even know why more people aren't in there every day.

I heard that I am going to have to move offices next month to share an office with every other subject teacher.  I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time in the rest room to get away from the office chatter.

year in review

well since 2013 was an epic blog fail, here's my year in review.  it turned out to be a pretty great year for travel (maybe the best one yet).

january- I finally went to the dmz.  it was very, very cold.
february- I went to the Philippines and loved every minute of it.  I would go back there in a heartbeat.
march- nothing notable..back to school.
april- still stuck in korea, but managed a day trip to the countryside of jecheon to see the cherry blossoms (kinda fail).
may- took a weekend trip with friends to gyeongju and also a long weekend back in japan (this time to nagoya)!
june- went to busan for the first time in almost 2.5 years with the same friend I went with the first time!
july- so hot outside. tried to stay inside and/or go to the pool. also, took a day trip to oido to eat fresh seafood.
august- my last trip with my first korea friend..went to cambodia for lots of temple trekking and swimming. had to say goodbye to my first korea friend one week later (sadface). this is also the month I moved to a new school in sinchon!
september- took a day trip to jangbongdo and spent a lot of time exploring my new neighborhood and surroundings. went back to ulsan with sungho for my second traditional chuseok.
october- Singapore! my first trip with an old friend. what can I say, i loved the city!
november- stayed home but had lots of birthday celebrations and fall foliage outings.
december- america for the holidays! what a great way to round out the year.

all of my time not spent traveling included a lot of teaching, sleeping,  eating (lamb and other delicious things), beer, norebang, and shopping.