I Just Packed a Box

It's my first one. Box, that is. I don't know why I thought that would be a good idea. I suppose I thought I was getting a head start on things. You know, start packing things away bit by bit so that I don't feel so overwhelmed at the end.

There was a huge thunderstorm all night, and I opened my window so that I could hear the rain and the thunder while I started a big pile of things on my bed to ship home. Winter coats, sweaters, the bowl we got from Tokyo, some of my Hollywood Kids books, bits and bobs that I won't miss in the next 7 weeks...and I was feeling so organized! I felt so happy! The thunderstorm was pounding outside of my window, and I was all..."Wow, Carolyn, look at you go. So on top of things!"

But now I feel terrible! That lonely little box is just sitting in the middle of my apartment, all packed up and ready to go, the rain is still falling, and I'm all alone in my apartment, staring at the box and the small gaps it made on my shelves and in my closets, and I feel so restless and so...so...blue! I know I said I wasn't going to think about the daunting realization that I'm actually going to leave Korea, but how can I not? That irritating little box is just looking me in the face saying, "Carolyn, it's going to happen. The 'Era of Korea' is ending. It's almost time to say goodbye."

Shut up, stupid box.

Will not be doing any more packing for awhile.

The Final Countdown

No! I don't want to think about it! Don't make me! Ok, so I'm not thinking about the fact that I'm leaving Korea in (eeeek!) less than 8 weeks. However, what I am thinking about is all the Korea-ness that I want to soak in before I go. So this week, I made my "Must Not Leave Korea Without Doing This" list. It's extensive. It's ambitious. But I'll give it my best shot. And to keep me motivated, I'll try to post my progress.

The "Must Not Leave Korea Without Doing This" List

1. Hike to the peak of Bukhansan (Bukhan Mountain).
2. Visit Changdeok Palace.
3. In one day, visit the contemporary art museum, the zoo, and Seoul Grand Park (they're all really close together).
4. DMZ!
5. Do an overnight temple stay.
6. Spend a weekend in Muiido (an island off the western coast) with as many friends as possible and stay in the little huts on the beach that we fell in love with during Chuseok a year and a half ago.
7. Hongdae Night Out: hit up our old time favorites--Agio, Misses Mai, Gr8 Hookah, and Club FF.
8. "Seoul Photo Shoot" -- a one day Seoul "walk-about" to take as many pictures as possible! Ok deep breathe...Gyeongbeokgung Palace, the Blue House, Samcheongdong, Insadong, Jongo Stream, Dongdaemun, and Dinner at Everest (our favorite Nepalese restaurant). Yes, we can do that in a day.
9. Spend a Sunday night at the Lake Park Musical Fountain, just like Ali and I did almost 3 years ago on Ali's first night in Korea. As we walked up through lake park, we heard music in the distance and started running toward it and suddenly, we broke through the trees and heard "All you Need is Love..." playing as the musical fountain put on a colorful dance routine to the song. We turned to gaze into each other's eyes and knew instantly that...Love really IS all you need! (Cue audience: Awwwwwww!) Yes, that really happened.
10. And speaking of the musical fountain, spend an afternoon at our little grassy spot we always sit at in the summer and have a picnic.
11. Bike along the Han river.
12. Bike around the countryside of Ilsan.
13. Get a manicure! (Because I won't be getting one for a loooooong time after I leave Korea. Unless the States are now offering top grade manicures for $1o as well...)
14. Afternoon outing: coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf followed by movie at the CGV (this is for sentimental value.)
15. Beers at the GS! (The GS is the name of the little corner shops in Korea with plastic chairs and tables outside.)
16. Go to the Yangsan Electronics Market. I don't know why this is on my list, because I HATE that place. There's nothing I find more agonizing than heckling with a little Korean man for a good deal on an electronic something or other. But I do need a new hard drive, so on the list it stays.
17. Revisit the top of Namsan Tower, followed by yummy beers at Craftworks Brewery.
18. Jimjilbong! (Korean Sauna) At least once more.
    

Cherry Blossom Festival

Our very exciting camera purchase on Sunday was conveniently made right before we headed to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Yeouido. We headed there in the afternoon, very thrilled to try out our new camera! I've lived in Korea for 3 years and have never managed to make it to this festival, mostly because I never wanted to brave the pushy Korean crowds. But since I may never have a chance to see the Cherry Blossoms in Korea again (sniff, sniff), I thought it would be worth the effort.
It was! The blossoms were beautiful! I LOVE Spring. (Another thing I loved when I was 10 that I still love...that theory is proving to be true of most things, it seems). The cherry blossoms come and go in the blink of an eye -- most of them will be gone by this weekend already -- so I was glad we could catch them in their prime blossomy-ness.

I can't explain why, but I love this picture (below). Our new camera
makes everything look so...cool!As many people as cherry blossoms. Korea's so small that when something cool
is happening, everyone is there.

Our first photo shoot with the new camera was exhilarating! So happy!

DSLR!

It's happened. My dreams have come true! I bought a DSLR! Well, Ali and I bought a DSLR together, so I guess I bought half of one. I've wanted one of these for so, so long. When I was in college I bought an SLR (film, not digital) before I moved to Alaska for the summer, and unfortunately, just after I bought it, film went "out of style" so to speak, making my poor camera "so last year." We had some good times, it took some amazing pictures, but who uses film anymore? What fun is taking a picture when you can't get immediate gratification? (BTW, if anyone does want a film SLR, it's on the market! It's a Nikon, and it's still very nice if you're into the whole film thing.)

Anyway, I've wanted a nice DSLR ever since my Nikon went out of style, and I've finally taken the plunge and purchased...half of one. It's beautiful and I love it already. It's a Canon 550D -- which in America is called a Canon Rebel T2i. And to confuse matters even more, we bought the Japanese model because it was cheaper, which is called Kiss X4. But they're all the same.

I felt like a different person yesterday as I walked around Seoul with this beautiful camera hanging from my neck. I suddenly felt as though people were looking at me like..."Wow, that girl is serious about pictures." It's the best feeling! I've realized that taking pictures and making photo books is a hobby. When I was little I used to spend hours pouring over my creative memories books, cutting, gluing, sticking, designing. I've recently read a book called The Happiness Project that said the things you enjoyed doing when you're ten are most likely things you would enjoy doing now. I'm pretty sure that's not true for everything (i.e. Making rollerblading routines to Whitney Houston songs), but as for photo-related activities, I'm still a fan. Last fall Sarah Jane told me about a website called www.blurb.com where you can download a program and make your own photo books. It's amazing. I made a book of our Bali Trip for Ali's birthday last December, the book cover is the picture on the left (you can preview the book here) and am currently making our Tokyo book. It's so much fun! And now that I have the goods to back up my hobby, there is no stopping me!

Be prepared for way too many postings of photos in the next while...

Where the Magic Happens

I thought it was high time I show you where I spend 8 1/2 hours of my life each day. This is my desk, where I work diligently at my computer to write the Hollywood Kids Books.

I work hard. (Yes, that is facebook on my computer.
But don't be fooled, I still work hard.)

This is Yeon-Ju from the design team, who takes everything I write for
Hollywood Kids and turns it into something magical!

Together, we make these!!! This is co-worker Brian!

This is co-worker Jenny!

This is co-worker Mark!

This is the room I sit in -- That's the design team busy...designing things.

It's a place of beauty really. And by beauty I mostly mean stress. :)
But I'll miss it anyway.

Radioactive What?

It all started with radioactive rain. That just never makes a good start to a day. Then my water bottle spilled all over my bag on my bike ride to work, then I banged my knee twice in a row on the same stupid shelf by my desk, then I had an incredibly long and stressful day of observed and video taped classes. My music class went okay, but by the time Hollywood Kids rolled around, I had lost my gusto and my kids had lost their "musto listen" mind-set. After the evil Fairy Beatrix burst into tears because she’s scared of her own character, I had really reached my final straw. In my second Hollywood Kids class (not observed, thank goodness), I pleaded with my 4 years olds…”Carolyn Teacher is very tired today” to which 13 voices shouted out in response “I’m sad! I’m angry! I’m bathroom!” and so on. I don’t know why I thought I could get sympathy from 4 years olds.

But alas, the day is done. My feet have never been so happy to step into my radioactive-proof rain boots (Target makes them that way, of course) and take me home.

Despite the observations, though, I hardly feel like a teacher anymore! I spend most of my days writing books, writing songs, editing, making power points for upcoming presentations... With only 2 months left here, I have a nice long "Hollywood Kids Stuff To Finish" list hanging over me. I can't wait for that moment when I'm laying on a Malaysian island this June, where the only thing on my To-Do List will be "Drink Another Pina Colada."

Along with radioactive rain (I feel as though I may be freaking some of you out at home with the continued use of that phrase -- fear not, it's highly overrated), it's also that time of year when I spend every moment outdoors scrutinizing every tree, bush, and inch of ground for signs of Spring. I perfectly timed a new resolution to “stop spending money on my lunch break!” with the changing of the seasons. Regarding the resolution: I was finding myself wandering into Starbucks nearly every lunch break recently and walking out with a $5 something-that-I-didn’t-even-want. I had to quit “lunch time money spending” cold turkey. So I stopped taking my wallet out with me all together, and I’ve instead taken to walking around the big square park thing right next to my school, eyeing excitedly the new growth of the day. Today’s recent development: cherry blossom buds on 4 trees, bright green tiny little leaves on 2 bushes, and patches of green starting to pop up through the dead grass. Progress!