Metiji! Metiji!

Last night when I took my dog out, a man came running past the garden on the mountain behind my house, clearly scared by something. He stopped suddenly when he saw my dog, then looked at me and yelled, "Metiji! Metiji!" and ran away. I heard something in the trees, and after his reaction, quickly ran with dog into the house. Today I found out what "metiji" means in English: wild boar!

First Illness of the Season

I was planning to go to Seoul this weekend, but as with every weekend I intend to have fun in Seoul, it was not meant to be. Last week, one of my students was really, really sick, and went downhill during our class. I finally sent him out to ask the manager to call his mom to come pick him up. He's usually somewhat obnoxious in class, but was so sick that he was acting really sweet. He coughed on me while I was trying to comfort him, and I knew I'd wake up sick the next day. Which I did. By Thursday evening, I was rapidly going downhill myself, and by midnight I had a high fever. So, my plan of lunch appointment, Indian/Nepalese cooking lesson, and train to Seoul was scrapped. Although I could've gone and tried to make the best of it, I know too well what overdoing it can do, and I don't much feel like ending up in the hospital, or getting all my friends in Seoul sick too. So instead, I've laid in bed resting for two days, and finally felt good enough today to get some desperately-needed cleaning done. And I disinfected everything I've been touching all week, so maybe by tomorrow I'll actually be all better. Best laid plans. It seems I'm never meant to have a good weekend in Seoul.

I'll reschedule anyway.

October Miscellaneous

Apparently air conditioning was an afterthought in most buildings, but most have it now. I liked the look of the "wall of aircon".


This traditional building is part of a technical school.




Anybody want a peanut?


Outside a gimbap shop. This one is a little scary actually. Like Dexter. He's cutting up another gimbap! Cannibal!


He looks so happy on his rolling mat...


He's too cute to eat, I think.


I watched this man perform on the in-taxi satelite tv screen. He reminded me of Wayne Newton, Korean-style. Not too bad, actually.


This taxi had a football steering wheel cover. It made me happy. :)


Sunset after watching a soccer match.

Adventures in Food: Chicken Nuggets at home

I decided to buy some frozen chicken nuggets to make at home. The label was only in Korean, but the logo was Tyson's, so I figured I was safe. They were okay, not great. But, I was confused. Why do my nuggets look like dogs?


...and stars?


...and Christmas trees?

Manager's Birthday

Everyone at work decided to go out to celebrate my manager's birthday. We went to a galbi (Korean barbecue) place near work. I don't care much for pork, but one of the teachers ordered some delicious beef for me. I'm always impressed by how many dishes fill the table when eating Korean-style. As with most Korean gatherings, soju and drinking games were the main event, after all that pesky food got out of the way. :) I'm glad I don't drink, or I'd be dead. They're troopers, and my manager's the Queen.

Preparing the meat. Using scissors to cut long strips of half-cooked meat is ingenious.




The Jaeshi (retest/detention) teachers.


My partner teacher Eun Kyung on the left, overseeing the cooking.


Andrew, a floater, is trying to decide what to eat next.


That's a lot of candles! No wonder Koreans usually only use one tall one for each decade. Us "foreign folk" didn't know, and bought too many.


Much better.

Who's that Doggie in the Mirror?

I was rearranging my room, and put the mirror on the floor to get it out of the way while I decided where to put it. Apparently Hayes-y had never seen one at his level before. He seemed quite intrigued and a little confused by the doggie in the mirror. He looked at for a long time from many angles.


I guess he wasn't very interesting.


I thought it was adorable.

Adventures in Food and Shopping with Jazmin

My friend Jazmin and I decided to go downtown for some dinner and shopping at Seomun Market. While the atmosphere at the restaurant was lovely (we sat outside on the patio, listening to a live pianist), the food was...well...confusing.

Jazmin had a steak covered with a sauce, with another sauce underneath. (Koreans sure love their sauces.) She had one piece of 3-4 vegetables on the side (hot), a dollop of whipped potatoes with a cucumber garnish (cold), and 2 extra sauces on the side(just for balance, I suppose).


Mine was a carb disaster. Breaded "chicken" drizzled with mustard, on top of some kind of steak or barbecue sauce. With an enormous "side" of spaghetti with meat sauce (not chicken). A ball of cold rice the size of a large marble and 5 french fries rounded it out. Oh, and ketchup. How could I forget about the sauce?


Too bad my feet are man-sized in Korea. And I'm not five.


I did, however, think these were adorable. Jaz informed me that on the wrong child, though, they're unpleasant.

The Philippines in Pictures: My Favorite Souvenirs

I was so sick for so much of my vacation that I didn't really get to buy much in the way of souvenirs until I got to Manila on my last day. But I found some amazing things!

If you were a kid in America in the 1980s, you'll probably remember Mr. Wizard. I was so psyched to see this in the bookstore in Manila!


Super cool trivia book of American Presidents. Love the irony that I found this in the Philippines, not the U.S... It was autographed by the ten-year-old author, who intends to run for President in a couple decades. IF he does, it'll be worth a fortune then....


I think I read this book when I was little. Many of the jokes are outdated enough that kids today in the U.S. wouldn't get them, but I have found several to tell my upper-level ESL kids. :) Love the illustrations!


My super-nifty purse, that will hang on my wall. I found it at the same shop where I got the shell purse for mom. Love the colors!


Before my borthday, I couldn't find a tiara to wear. So when I found one in the Halloween section at the Hypermarket, I had to have it!


My fancy mask, for the wall.


My "blowfish" keychain.

The Philippines in Pictures: Black & Whites

I had a lot of fun with my new camera on my trip, and played around a bit with Black & White mode. Here of some of my best shots.

The Philippines in Pictures: Days 15-16, Leaving PG, Manila, and the Mall of Asia

Getting ready to leave from Sabang.




Sabang, looking back.




Shanties on the way to Manila, from the bus.


In Manila.








Manila skyline.


Unfortunately-named restaurant at the Mall of Asia.


Nifty painted murals.


This made me think of my favorite little girls, who love to dress as princesses as often as possible.


Such a cool ride, inside the mall.


This made me think of a buxom friend. :) (It's a rib joint.)




I found an awesome used bookstore in the mall. I was so excited so see a store full of English books and mags! This sign got me though...do they expect you to read everything publicly? Out loud?


My mom said that she would like something "shell" from the Philippines. She said "any color" and "the more colorful the better". I thought this orange fiberglass shell purse fit the bill nicely. :) I knew she'd be surprised, but would laugh. I was right. :)


This is what I told her I was sending. heehee. Much tackier, in my opinion.


One shop had several purses and bracelets made by poor women in slums using soda can tabs. I thought they were amazing, and would have bought one, but they were WAAAAYYY expensive.






The abalone shells were beautiful. I was afraid I would break it going home though.


There was also an ick rink inside the mall.


I guess I'll take your word for it.


Manila airport.


Exhausted, and ready to go home.


This is a photo of the Puerto Galera area on Oriental Mindoro. It's behind glass, so the glare is a bit hard to see through. The middle area where there are lots of buildings is Puerto Galera proper, with the port on the left(west) side. If you look to the top(north), you can see Sabang and Small Lalaguna on the northern coast.


These kids shoes light up and make sounds when you walk. Fun and creepy.


Goodbye Manila.


Really? How many people must have walked into this not realizing there was glass to necessitate a sign?