Who would have thought? Running shoes are good for running!

This weekend I splurged inorder to make myself look legitimate when I'm pounding the pavement. Wearing Airwalk sneakers on a run just doesn't say "HARDCORE"...it says "IDIOT".

I don't want to look like anymore of a fool when I'm heaving and hawing down the pavement so I went to COEX and purchased some better workout clothes.

I went to ABC Mart and was able to find shoes my size (9) which unfortunately is the eqivalent of having elephant feet in Asia. I got some pretty nice Adidas runners for W54,000, capri Nikes for W45,000 and some breathable Nike top for W40,000.

As for the heaving... I actually did a really good job today. I went down along the stream by my house for 45 min. I'm taking this sloooowly. I ran for almost 20 min intotal I would say which puts me right on track with my program. The rest I did a fast walk.

I really liked running down there as there were enough people that it wasn't freaky (which I never ever get scared late at night in Seoul). I even saw four police officers patrolling along the path. I even got some mad nods of "respect" from my fellow walkers...or maybe they just think I'm a Russian hooker again and didn't want to be attacked HAHA

Playing soccer tomorrow at 10:30am, then Wednesday I do the official Day #2 training session Run 1 min, Walk 2 min x 8.

I must say I feel pretty good exercising especially when I hum the Rocky theme song to myself. I feel pretty badass!

First Run and Groceries

Groceries, groceries, groceries.

I am a lot a bit food obsessed. I love going grocery shopping. It is a sick sick disease but the only cure is ...more cow bell?... Anybody? Anybody?

I thought I would start this post with showing off my midweek grocery run. I posted the reciept (which none of us will be able to read) but you can see the total at the bottom W22,380 (approximately $19 CDN).

Groceries are sort of expensive here I think. I suppose its been a while since I've been home to grocery shop but I do have about 7 years experience ringing in people's groceries.

For W22,380 I got:

-2 chicken breasts

- SM. salad dressing

-Laughing Cow Cheese (SPLURGE - W5,990)

- SM. pack of cherry tomatoes

- 2 broccoli

- Assorted lettuce and baby bok choy (W2,000 and W1,000)

Am I being unreasonable?

Please excuse the sexy forehead wrinkles...

I took to hitting the pavement at 10 pm lastnight. Armed with sneakers, workout capris and a hoodie I braved my demons. I ran like I was chasing an ice cream truck!

Holy shit am I sore this morning, but I feel sooo gooooood!

Now, when I say "RAN" I mean I ran for a minute and then walked for two x8. I did a little over 2 km, but will need to get a pedometer or even a GARMIN......(theres a pipe dream for you!).

Time to fuel up for the day with oatmeal and peaches, then off to get my hair did. It is looking very sad. Yesterday one of my students said "Teacher, why is your hair black in the middle but yellow on the outisde?"

This was a sign that I've gone a BIT too long between touch ups! HAHA

More pain to come soon....!

Way Over My Head

Well I'm sweaty and gross...but I feel pretty good! Day 1 of GET OFF THE COUCH began with playing soccer for an hour with the work crew. I didn't even suck. It was great!

We're Team AWESOME4EVER... I wonder who made that one up?
Nothing like a bunch of foreigners in a field to attract a crowd, except no one watched us play :(


Yes I am out of shape. BUT I am not AS out of shape as I thought I was. This is VERY good news!


More updates to come on Saturday: Day 2 of "Training" 24 min walk/run. RUN 1 min, WALK 2 min x 8.... Wish me luck!

Couch to 10 km

Am I crazy? YES!

Am I unfit? YES!

Am I scared? HELLS YES!

Too bad. I have to do it anyways.

I signed up for The Beaches Jazz Tune Up Race. It is on Sunday July 24th at 9:30 am sharp. I'll be the one in the fetal position at the beginning.

I decided there was only so much Skinny Runner I could read before I HAD to do something. That girl has got a FIT body! I watched "Run Fat Boy Run" lastnight....my god if Simon Pegg can do it SO CAN I!

More whining and possible crying to come....

Far East Movement and Mommy Times

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind of fun and family time. I was so proud to show off my hot Momma around town! She was a real hit with everyone. We did so many things together and saw more of Seoul than I have in the last 8 months! I keep looking at her Teletubbie bed and think she is just down at the variety store buying water. I miss you already Mom! You're my star.

Here's what we did:

- ate galbi, dak galbi, samgypesal, pajeon, shabu shabu, ttokbokki, buddae-jigae, and dwenjan-jigae

- DMZ Tour, Gyeongbukgung Palace

- various shops and siteseeing around Sinsa, Insadong, Gangnam, Hanti, Myeongdong and Itaewon

- sang some ditties at the Noraebong

- dressed up in Hanbok and took ridiculous pictures

- drank (C)ass together and a "few" bottles of wine HAHA

- Mother/Daughter/Asian Daughter St.Paddy's Day pickup team in Itaewon. I never thought the day would come when my mom would act as my wing woman HAHA

- meet all my students and be guest speaker for two days

- watched NANTA (a very cool comedy/musical/dancing/taekwondo fused act)

- saw a movie at the Mega Box "The Adjustment Bureau" (THUMBS UP!)

- went to "Dr.Fish" for a boot pedicure (We were both such chickens. I maybe kept my feet in the water for 20 seconds... MAX!)

- had a great time at the Intercontinental Hotel in COEX's wine and buffet (W30,000) for all you can drink and eat from 6-9pm (DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED!)

------------------------------

After all the fun and games with Mom, it was time to get my booty shake ready for The Far East Movement! I have mixed reviews about this concert.

1. The guys put on an AMAZING show and were very appreciative of their fans. They had tonnes of energy and seemed very humble! If the situation would have been different I would have stayed for the whole show.

2. Here's where I got pissed off.... my friend Hana bought the ticket for me and we were told it was all general admission. She had bought her ticket earlier so was in a different section (didn't think this would be a problem). I unfortunately made the mistake and assumed it would be like Western general admission rules. WRONG! I had to wait in a separate line from her and her friend, but I figured I would be able to go up and meet them before the concert starts. WRONG! There were 6 sections ALL BARRED OFF FROM EACHOTHER. I got into the venue at 8:30 and realized we wouldn't be able to meet up. I paid W88,000 for the ticket so I decided to stick it out. The guys came on at 9:30 and I left the concert at 10:10... It was so hot, gross and I started to feel lightheaded...and I was ALONE. I danced BY MYSELF for an hour and a half, so I don't feel too bad about leaving. I must have looked like such a loner...although I did see a soldier standing by himself looking less than stoked so I'm sure many foreigners were in the same boat.

3. Everyone was given a free HITE (beer) upon entrance. Thumbs up to that!

-----------------

Back to reality tomorrow as I'm back to work! I miss my babies!

I am also on a boycott of McDonalds. Something really shitty happened that prevented me to take my mom to the airport... I'll let you figure that one out for yourselves... HAHA

Until the next time... xo

Ps. Go on youtube and watch some of "The Inbetweeners" - you will pee your pants and laugh so hard that you cry! A MUST watch! Mom is addicted to it now.

Blond and Blue Eyed

Well I have reached another level of blond. It feels good. It looks good. I can't keep it up for much longer before it turns to straw but god its fun while its lasting!

Much has happened since my last blog. I have my own classroom and am teaching a Gr.2-3 Immersion class. I smile from ear to ear, even on those days when I want to cry; because I am happy. I am constantly battling with classroom challenges. My lowest level is a cross between comprehension and me just standing in front of the class flapping my mouth open and closed. 90% of the parents speak no English so it is difficult for communication. Thankfully I now have an AMAZING support team of other teachers who have each taken a class of mine to teach grammar and call parents. I am blessed.

I have been incredibly busy being a social butterfly. I have dated so much these past two months. I have finally reached that point in my life where I am no longer accepting scraps. I am worth 100% of someone, not just the shitty bits they have left. I have turned away some handsome men and some men with great hearts, who just weren't for me....and I feel great. I feel empowered and I feel worth it.

Joan Verestiuk will soon be gracing Seoul in 11 days... my god I can't wait! It feels like a dream to me. I have travelled so much these past three years and finally have someone coming to visit. Mom, you're going to have the time of your life! I promise!

Keeping this short and sweet. Look forward to a Mother/Daughter blog post coming soon!

Kim Yae Lin over and out xo

Kimchi Kimchi Everywhere

I am slowly becoming more and more Korean as the weeks pass by and I am not complaining.

I really love it here. I love the people, the food and the pop culture.

I suppose I am still in the 'HONEYMOON' period, but whats wrong with being in love?

Instead of going out on the town this weekend I decided to buy a Korean cookbook and create! I have shut myself in with my 'Learning Korean' workbook and recipes.

I chose 'cucumber kimchi' and 'radish' kimchi. It ended up taking about two hours for the whole process, but as they're fermenting sitting ontop of my stove I cannot help but feel a tinge of pride!

I went to my local grocery store with my recipe book and a little hope that I wouldn't mess this up too much. I needed radishes, garlic, ginger, cucumbers, green onions, red pepper powder, salt, sugar and a lot of time for chopping. I did each at the same time and it worked out to save myself some time. The radishes need to be rubbed with red pepper flakes and sit for a half hour before adding the salt and the cucumbers need to be cut and rubbed with salt to sit for an hour.


Here is the final product of my stuffed cucumber kimchi. I cut them into small sections from 2-4 in and then quartered them, being careful to not cut completely all the way to the end. After cutting, I rubbed them with salt and left to sit for an hour before stuffing them with a mixture of red pepper, garlic, ginger, salt, sugar, and green onions. In the last three hours since I have left it to sit there is a lot of brine at the bottom of the container that has started to collect. I think this is a success!

This is the final product of my radish kimchi. I cut the radish into bite size pieces, let sit for half an hour after rubbing with red pepper paste, and then mixed in the same recipe as the cucumber kimchi. The only exception was that the onion needed to be cut into long strips.

My nimble finger's work... I have a gnarly blister on my cutting hand. I prefer to call it a KIMCHI BATTLESCAR... I think it sounds more badass.

The red pepper flakes that have stained my hands a beautiful colour. Why did I not wear gloves? Well...no ones perfect!

Cleaning the radishes ready to start step two!

I can't believe the great sense of accomplishment I feel after making these. I have made a kimchi jigae that is still raved about so I am crossing my fingers these will taste just as good. It was great going up to the cash register at the grocery store - I had samgyupsal (pork for barbequeing) and all this stuff to make kimchi. The girl raised her eyebrows and said "Kimchi?" - I said "Yes!" proudly showing off my Korean Cookbook...she conveyed a mixture of pride and shock HAHA I looked like one hell of an EGG (white on the outside and yellow in the middle!).

-------------

Cooking session with Kim Yae Lin (my Korean name) over and out. xo