CAT CAFE!!!

My last day of the Chuseok holiday was today, and there was no better way to spend it than to have a picnic in the park with my great new friend CR (I know what the 'C' stands for.... but I'm not allowed to tell anyone, haha). We met at Gyeongsang National University (GNU) where CR is an English teacher. The campus is beautifully landscaped and well planned, and definitely a place I will go back and explore a bit better. There are a lot of hiking trails as well that go through some of the hills in Jinju, and I can't wait to walk through those as well. CR loves to cook, and brought BLTs with homemade basil/garlic mayonnaise and fresh squeezed lemonade! I brought a bottle of wine and we had a lovely time sitting in the park and talking. The weather was beautiful (though slightly too hot) and CR promised to take me to a really special place next.....

A CAT
CAFE

When he originally told me about this, I was in disbelief. A cafe! With cats in it! That just walk around and want you to snuggle with them! And you drink coffee and get snacks there! It was really clean, too. Whatever, you guys probably don't care but it was like heaven to me. A genius business plan!

I definitely plan on going back, and CR told me there are definitely TWO of these in Jinju, one closer to where I am. I loved it so much, words can't describe.

Below: CR and this crazy little cuddle monster (laying on our beverage tray) who tried to eat my rabbit's foot

Little kitties everywhere!

"Mama"

Fluffy whites

Note: little blackie lounging on CR's lap. My heart melts!

Lastly: One of many hilarious signs around Jinju 

Such a great day!

The Boxer

My first night out on the town in Korea was two parts great fun to one part insanely dramatic and terrible. 

To begin, I got on the bus and met Francois at City Hall, where we went together to a going away party for a (foreign) girl who is leaving Jinju. Because the circle of foreigners is so small, it was a good place for me to meet tons of other people. We got there, and it was overwhelming to me. After going an entire week of seeing one or two foreigners, total, I was suddenly in a room full of them, and we were all speaking English. Everyone was pretty much already drunk by the time I got there. It was definitely not what I expected, but I had a fun time and met a few great people, namely: Janice, a tiny little thing from Northern Ontario who sings karaoke songs in Japanese and speaks a lot of French when she is drunk; Justin, quiet and witty, from Montana; CR, who loves to cook and write screenplays, from Northern Michigan; Caroline from England, I'm certain she loves Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Agitha from Brazil who had the best laugh I've heard in Korea; and lastly, Gareth from Wales who loves to watch rugby. It was a great time.

After about an hour or so, myself, Francois, Justin and Janice went to a Noriban, or a singing room (karaoke). We tore it up for an hour; I sang a thrilling rendition of "No Scrubs," everyone yelled at the top of their lungs to "Sweet Child of Mine," Janice sang a weird Japanese song.... it was great. 

Above: Janice and Francois choosing songs.

We then decided to go back to a different bar for one more drink. This is where things started to take a turn for the worst. While walking to the Terrace Bar (maybe a five minute walk?), I was accosted by some douchebag from Scotland named Allie. He just started grabbing me, and pushing me and stuff. A complete stranger to me at this point; it was completely inappropriate, even if we DID know each other. So, I turned around and promptly asked him to stop touching me; I told him that he should not touch strangers in this way, it was totally inappropriate. He had a few choice words for me and flipped me off, walked away, and that was that. 

We soon arrived at the bar, and Allie was of course there; Francois immediately wanted to leave, and I said I'd go with him. (I don't know my way around yet, and Francois was going to help me find my way back.) As we began to head out I was saying goodbye to the people I had just met when Allie called out, "Goodnight, you fucking nutjob." This was of course completely uncalled for, but I was ready to just ignore him and leave. Francois, however, was really upset by this and punched Allie in the face. Soon, to the horror of everyone else sitting in this bar, a full scale fight erupted, complete with Allie catching Francois on the eyebrow and busting his face open. There was blood everywhere, I stepped through it on my way out. In complete shock, I fled the scene, Janice and Justin helping me into a cab and getting me home. 

So it was kind of a terrible night. I woke up the next day with a sense of dread; was EVERY night out in Jinju going to be like this? I decided to meet up with Caroline and Gareth to watch a Rugby game later on that evening to try and make a better impression. We drank a few beers, ate some delicious barbeque pork, and all in all had a lovely time together. It was much more low key, and much more to my liking than the previous night. These people are really nice and cool, and I can't let one bad apple ruin my time here (even if he's a REALLY bad apple). I'm so thankful for friends like Francois who stood up for me (even if picking a fight with a crazy drunken idiot wasn't the best way to do it). He had to have stitches on his left eyebrow and his face looked pretty banged up... and I felt terrible. 

This is Francois today, looking much better than yesterday. We got a pizza (!) at the grocery store and had a great time. If you look closely you can see the stitches and the black eye, though. 

All in all, the dust seems to have already cleared, though no one remembers seeing a fight between the foreigners before. Of course this happens on my first night out in Jinju. I won't let it keep me in the house though. 

In other news, I've already resumed my role of official cat sitter; this weekend, I cat sat for a girl named Colleen who went to Tokyo. I played with her tiny little kitten named Chester, and it was lovely. It was a really rainy day and we snuggled and watched Mrs. Doubtfire together. She informed me she's actually moving back to the states in November and will not be taking Chester with her, so she's trying to find a good home for him. As much as I love kitties.... I have to think about this one.... After all, I'll be returning too, one day.

Above: Chester being adorbz. 

More soon,

<3 M.

Chuseok

My co-workers at school are pretty amazing, all very kind and so excited to have me here. I'm the only foreigner here, and they have been very welcoming to me. They are constantly giving me little gifts (a lotion set, rice cakes, energy drinks, etc) and attempting to speak English to me, however broken the communication may be. 

Our desks are all pushed together in one room, so they also serve as my neighbors at work. There are probably twelve in total, all the usual suspects: the cute young male math teacher all the women teachers giggle over; my next door desk neighbor, the maternal home-ec teacher who speaks good English, brings me juicy asian pears and delicious sweet rice cakes for snack every day (and also serves as the school nurse); the gym teacher who wears Abercrombie & Fitch clothing every day to school and asked me to join the school's volleyball team on Wednesdays; the older social studies teacher who brings everyone "Tzan-Tzam," for EVERYONE, which is a ginseng/power energy drink; and by FAR my favorite, the kooky athletic Korean teacher with frizzy hair and a huge smile who keeps asking me for my address so I can climb mountains with her.
Today she asked me (in almost unintelligible English) why I always wear long sleeves and long pants to school. I showed her my leg tattoo and she was very intrigued. She began a long paragraph in Korean (probably about how shocking tattoos are in Korea) but ultimately she made me show every teacher in the room. Four teachers gathered around my desk and looked at my arm and leg, and shockingly, everyone loved them. I told them it was very common in the USA to see tattoos in public, and does not mean that someone is bad. I think this point was driven home due to the fact that I am a girl, and clearly not in the Korean mafia, which is what everyone assumes when they see someone walking down the street with a tattoo. I guess I feel a little more free about showing them in public (though not in front of the children).

So far I'd say we have a fantastic rapport. I realize, to be polite, that this gift giving and snack bringing must be reciprocated at some point in the future, which kind of terrifies me. I don't know anything about what kinds of snacks these people like, or what would be considered tacky. I think fruit is my safest bet; maybe next week some nice looking apples would be good to share. I'll keep that in mind.

This weekend, through Wednesday, is Chuseok in Korea, which is their three-day version of Thanksgiving. It begins a very solemn holiday; on Monday morning, people travel to their ancestral birthplaces and visit family tombs together. Monday evening, they share a traditional harvest feast and offer simple sacrifices for the upcoming rice harvest.

Above: A traditional Chuseok table.

It's one of the biggest travel times of the year in all of Korea; to allot for this time, my school will be closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I am off of work for five days in a row! This is kind of great, and kind of sounds like doom. While it will certainly be nice to have five (paid!) days of freedom to better explore the city, and to get a better grasp of directions, everything will be closed in Jinju Monday and Tuesday, except maybe the movie theaters. Tonight I have plans with Francois to meet some of the ex-pats, get some food and drinks and most likely sing some karaoke. Luckily, they have hundreds of places where you can do all three at once, called "Singing Rooms." I'm not sure Korea is really ready for my karaoke swagger...I have a few songs already picked... and some Destiny's Child as a backup. We'll see how it goes.

As for the rest of the vacation... I'm not sure what will happen, but I know it will be good. Tomorrow morning I'm supposed to be going to church with Francois. Maybe this is a good time for me to catch up on some reading, or walk by the river. Happy Chuseok!! I wish I could celebrate it with all of you while drinking a nice tall glass of Pumpking :(

Love you all!!!!!