Another busy weekend...

Here's everyone dishing up dinner at my place on Saturday. On the menu? Chicken and shrimp alfredo, ceaser salad and garlic toast Mmmmm. Actually, I couldn't even eat it after cooking it all *L* I have given all the left overs away too....hehe. Infront giving the "asian symbol" *L* is Travis, then Erin, then Ben, Emma and Fritz. I got a little bit of Monique's hair there too! It's neat having dinner with Fritz's Korean friends as we all teach eachother words and laugh our asses off trying to pronounc words. They do speak english though, too an extent.

Awwwww!! Aren't we all so cute? We all piled on my bed and posed for many picures on different cameras. Can you see Emma's shirt?? It says "Korea, Asia's best kept secret!!" HAHA We all laughted our butts off for that one...from the left there's Emma, Me, Erin, and Simon. Lying down is Ben and sitting is Fritz.

So we left my house and went for some drinks near by. It was a night for posing in groups as it was many people's last weekend here and there were many going away parties. From the left: Richard, Ben, Fritz and Travis. The Ema and I in he front!

Here's a cute picture of Monique and Francis. Francis works at another school and got here the same time as me. Cheese guys!

I think here Erin and Andrea were trying to hold up Emma *L* They were all so funny throughout the night, I'll be sad to see Emma go :o(

So, from now on, every month another teacher I have come to know will be leaving Korea and heading back home, or to whereever their travels take them to.

This weekend was a last for Emma as she leaves for New Zealand on Wednesday. I opted to have a dinner party at my house and then we went out for many drinks, dancing, and laughter. Yes Kristin, you heard right.....dancing. I danced the night away to a point where my feet hurt to walk home! It was a good weekend, and a very relaxing Sunday, as I could barely move from the evening before....and all the soju jello shoters *L*
I'm still having a great time and doing lots. I swear I do more then just party! That's just when the camera comes out I guess....

Saturday night in Hungdai (a part of Seoul)

So, we went in to Seoul Saturday night for a change of scenery and had a really good time! By the time we left though, you couldn't MOVE inside and there was just too many people. Here's Emma and Fritz though shakin their things on the dance floor hehehe

It seems almost everywhere you go, you can write on the walls, tables and even lamp shades! This is at the bar we were at....Me (with my new haircut and dye job!!), Fritz, Andrea, and Erin. That's one of our MANY pitchers of vodka and cranberry juice we went through that night on the right. There will definately be NO kidney infections for us any time soon!! *L*

Here's just a neat picture in Seoul....

So, Valentine's Day here was wonderful as these BEAUTIFUL flowers were sent from Canada to me from Chris! It was so thoughtful and the poem was really special also, thanks again Chris! I put them on my desk all day for my kids to see (and to smell often). They brightened my day, that's for sure!

Here they are up close....aren't they just beautiful? They look even better in my apartment!

The Korean War Memorial Museum

I'm not sure why this picture came up first, but it goes with the one beneath it. These are the badges of different ranks of Canadians in the war. There was only a small part dedicated to Canada, but it was still nice to see.

And this was the small part dedicated to Canada! There was info on how many soldiers were in Korea, how many perished, where a monument is for them, and this replica of what a soldier from Canada wore.

This is a famous Korean boat that I thought looked really neat with the dragon head coming out of it. You can also see the MANY floors of the museum! It took us four hours to go through it, and we were even a little rushed as they were closing...

Here's me infront of the museum giving everyone a little wave hello! It was truly massive, which you can't see from this picture....

When we walked in the front gates, this nice monument was there dedicated to the soldiers. It was beautiful and has a clock built into it that looked really nice....

I thought this monument was really awesome. It is called The Statue of Brothers and had so much emotion coming from it, it gave me goosebumps!

So, after 4 hours inside, we moved to the outside part and had a BLAST! There's tonnes of tanks and planes used during the wartime. We went inside of some of them and played around where I had to fight the little kids for MY turn!!! *L* I was like a kid in a candy shop :o)

So, we were minding our own business, having fun when these men approached me and asked me (what I thought was) "can you take a picture of us?" I said of course and reached out for his camera to take their picture.....but I was worng and he wanted a picture WITH me!! I turned beat red, and they all whipped out their cameras and started snapping pictures *L* They were so funny, I had to get a picture of them with my own camera! Sebastien (on the left) couldn't stop laughing, so they dragged him into the pictures too. It must be the haircut....hehehe

So, here I am being a little child!! I had to push other kids outta my way to get this picture....I truly am becoming just as pushy as any Korean *L* Inside that tank was sooo tiny and I almost broke my back getting in and out. It was a neat experience though!

These were just some modes of transportation hanging from the ceiling, so I had to take a picture...

In honor of my Popey who passed away last May, I went to the amazing War Museum in Seoul today. He was in the Korean War and told me many of stories when he served his time back in the '50s. They were great stories that I will always always remember. It was an honorable experience that made me feel really close to him and it put all his stories into perspective.
It was an emotional day as it is also the one year anniversary of my granny passing away on Feb. 18th 2006. They were both definately in my thoughts today and I took time out to remember them both for who they were. I love and miss them both.....

Shopping Spree!!! YAY, YAY, YAY!!!

So, friday night after eating galby we all decided to go to a bar near by and drink some....YOGURT SOJU!! K, I know how discusting this sounds, but let me tell you just HOW amazing it really was. It was a little sweet and almost tasted like candy. We all downed a pitcher of the stuff and took off within about 10 minutes!! *L* This bar was quite interesting in itself...it's like Halloween everyday in the place! They gave us our own special room and u can see there's fake blood all over the walls, weird posters and skulls everywhere...even the floor is see-through coffins with fake skeletons in them!! I even heard at the tables there are hands that grab your legs under the table, and things fall from the ceiling to freak you out....Man, only in Korea!

Here's Monique and I, happy little campers drinking our shots of yogurt soju....MMMmmmm!

*********Marni PLEASE cover Ben's eyes for the next picture,k? hehehehe*************

So, on Saturday a bunch of us met up in Seoul and did a little shopping spree as we all just got paid. Our first stop?! CONDOMANIA!!!! This is the ONLY open sex shop in Korea apparently. It was small and had lots to offer! Us girls all bought matching ummm v....Oh, you don't need to know what we bought *L* When the guy saw we were taking pictures outside he brought us all those condom suckers...and I'm apparently the ONLY one holding mine up! Everyone else was pretty emberassed....

So, right before I left to go shopping, I was talking to Kristin on msn.....she told me to "treat" myself and not be so cheap!! So, here they are Kris....my "treats"!! 4 pairs of shoes, a cell phone, and lotion and white must perfume from The Body Shop (it's pretty popular out here). I know you are probably drooling over the shoes (for $10 a POP!!), but just remember you're bringing an empty suitcase when u come....for shoes! I love them all.

I know I told you a while ago about how people advertise on our doors with magnetic menues for local restaurants. Well, my collection is getting bigger and I thought I could show u all just how funny it looks! Give me a couple months and my door will be COVERED. I also have my little weekly planner on there Kris got me for x-mas and my I Love Dorks magnent from Chris hehehe. Dad, can you find your business magnent? I'm trying to do some advertising out here for you!!

Even though I have many shoes to keep me happy, I still love and miss you all. I think about everyone often and hope you are all doing well!

Guess where WE WENT???????

Here's Fritz and I.....Ummmm....I'm not really sure what we're doing? Maybe laughing so hard because it was a riot?!! hehehe

Here's Emma and Fritz when they first got on the ice...gripping the boards AFRAID to turn around for a picture...read my comment below about their first time skating!! *L*

Here's me holding up Emma as she did not have boards around to hang onto! She made me take her back to the boards IMMEDIATELY after the picture was taken *L* Oh, and I SWEAR there was lots of people on the ice too....I don't know why it looks like the place is bare!

Here's me finishing taking Emma on a spin around the ice. Can't you see from the look on her face just how much she loved it? hehehe

Here's Emma, Fritz and I posing for a picture before we made a train and I dragged them around the ice. Let me tell you, by the time we were done (after 1 1/2 hours) they were both not hanging onto the boards and were making full strides! They loved it and wanna go back! Can you believe it?

AHHHHHHH!!!! Ice skating!! So, this week Emma told me I was more than welcome to come ice skating this Saturday night. Boy was I tickled pink. If you know me at all, I have been DYING to go skating for about ummmm....like 5 years now! I played ringette for 13 years, then never touched skates again. Silly me! I didn't realize how much I missed it until I steped on that ice. It all came back to me, and lemme tell you....I'm gonna feel it tomorrow in my legs! *L*

I went with Emma and Fritz who were both ice skating virgins! Emma is from New Zealand where not many people skate, and Fritz is from a tropical island called Samoa where it's not cold enough for ice!! *L* Lemme tell you, I haven't laughed that hard in ages....Seeing them both grip the boards as if they were going to die! I'd do some laps, then take them each on a spin around the ice with them screaming! They thought I was a crazy Canadian, that's for sure! It was a great time though, and here are some pics to make you laugh!

Deb's Going Away Party....

So, the invite to Deb's party said..."bring food and drink"...And as much as I don't want to admit it...I do have a little bit of Martha Stewart in me! *L* I looked in my fridge and whipped up these puppies, along with the meat version below as Deb is a vegetarian. They're Ritz crackers with herb and garlic cream cheese on them. They then have a slice of tomoto, 2 pieces of marinated carrot and a fried piece of tofu marinated in an oriental dressing! I know, I'm a geek *L* They were a hit though! I thought you all would be proud of me, especially Kristin (Marth Stewart herself!)

Here's the meat version...I don't think they look as appetizing in the picture! People were talking about them the next day at work....The cracker and cream cheese has a piece of marinated and cooked salmon on it (lemon and garlic marinade) with a piece of lemon and a sprig of weird lettuce on it. I sure had fun making these!

This is Deb....hammered! She was feelin pretty good that night as you can see her wine glass full of Cass (Korean beer). If you're wondering...she's holding a container of pickles. Some people brought some pizzas and pickles come with every pizza in Korea! Hey, don't knock it until you try it...it's actually really good!

Here's me.....and MY wine glass of Cass! *L* There's a perfect shot actually of the big 1.5L of Cass. U can get that at the store across the street for about $2. May, you'd be in your GLORY.

Here's just a pic of some of the people that were there....And those are my EMPTY plates on the table where my appetizers were! hehehehe

So, one of the teachers from my school (Deb) is off and running to travel Europe before heading back home to Texas. We had a little get together for her at a co-workers officetel and had some food and drinks. It was an early night as we all had to work in the morning, but nonetheless it was a good night!