some new fun sites!

i've been cruising around looking at Seoul Fashion Week pics, and I found this great fashion site:

http://www.feetmanseoul.com/


and this one: http://metropolitician.blogs.com/scribblings_of_the_metrop/

great reading and awesome fashion pics.

no bitchassness

you know, p. diddy don't want no bitchassness, and neither do I, frankly. so all you people, quite your whinin'. You know you want the t-shirt...

my hilarious kids

who are so freakin' cute but also make me want to jump out the window on a regular basis. they had a joint bday party yesterday. three kids, 5 boxes of Chicken Man chicken, 4 lbs. of strawberries, two watermelons, a GIANT cake with cream puffs on top, juice boxes and other such snacks. an insane spread for people who cannot even stomach half a wee bowl of porridge. here are some choice pics from the extravaganza...

this is olivia. she is fierce. seriously.

sunday in the park

so, badkitty and i spent an afternoon together today. we meandered through our local park and up to our local temple (oh, what an amazing thing to have a "local temple") whereupon we sat quietly inside the gorgeous space until we both couldn't hold our giggles any longer. we wandered out into the misty afternoon and climbed the very steep stairs to the bell tower next to the main worship building. being the badkitty that she is, she suggested right away we ring the bell. being the ninja kitty that i am, i wasn't so sure, but man am i glad she's such a badkitty:) we gently pulled back the wooden hammer and let is swing towards the steel bell. what a sound. so quiet. so personal. so ethereal in that mist. she moved towards the bell, laying her hands and face on the cold steel. i did the same. the reverberations were so gentle. so smooth. it was quite a moment.

we made our way back to my apartment across the neighborhood that divides our homes. we ate delicious strawberries and oranges, played with my favorite dragon, camped out on the floor and watched a ridiculous TV series that I've recently discovered called "Monkey" (www.monkeyheaven.com/). I can't even begin to describe the ridiculousness of this show, except to say that it is a late 1970's Japanese live action series based on an ancient Chinese tale dubbed into English by some very cheeky Brits. we decided that we must get it on the playa somehow. puttin' our thinkin' caps on for that one.

we capped off the lazy day with some fried egg samiches and family guy. i love this girl for many reasons, but now i have one more. she's finds this show as totally hilarious as I do. it was a fabulous day. super mellow and exactly what I needed.

peeps!

apparently, it's easter. how would i know. i'm sure somewhere in your neck of the woods, the Sisters are holding their annual Hunky Jesus contest (see Noir on March 23rd). But if you just won't be able to make it out to strut your hunky self, here's some easter entertainment for you by PEEPS! i love peeps. i have fond memories of Peep Fight Club in our microwave in college, thanks to Anya (wherein you stick toothpicks in the peeps and set them up near each other in the microwave. push start and let the fun begin!) and of setting up a lovely peep display for an easter brunch after a (ahem) very late night at my house with one ms. lacey clarke.

anyhoo...enjoy! happy easter egg huntin'!

Peeps of Faith

evening shots

just two shots of gwangju night. one of sangmu (our 'hood) and one of Angie on her birthday in front of a large pink hot rod!

spring has sprung!

the flowers and trees (and my arugula) have come alive! this is a shot of the magnolias out my window. ah...warmth and sunshine again!

my korean techno pop dance party

so, i just joined a gym. finally. after i think maybe 8 years. but badkitty said it was good, and they have a lovely yoga class, so i decided to try it out. the first night i went, i thoughti'd bop around the gym a while before my yoga class started at 9 PM (yes! argh, so late!). and while i was doin' some sit ups, i noticed that an aerobics class had started in the class room. and the ladies who were walking into the class were definitely DOLLED up in a serious way. for instance, one woman wore dance tights, a flouncy black lace skirt and a white backless shirt. these women were so flashdance, i couldn't stand it. so, i decided to stare through the window at them for a while. the instructor had on a black spaghetti strap lycra shirt and red vinyl pants. i'm not kidding. red vinyl pants. i so wish i was able to get some pictures, but perhaps later i'll manage it. the teacher's make-up was off the hook. bright blue eyeshadow, red, red lipstick (very poorly applied...). and the dance moves were hot and very complicated. and so, i decided that the next week I was at the gym, i would brave the experience for myself.

so, on Monday and Wednesday of this week, I put on the cutest outfit I could manage from my stock of yoga clothes (along with the very cute black and lime green polka-dot wristbands that Amy D. sent me) and walked into the room. I was very intimidated by the fashion. Crazy dance fashion in Korea. This time, seeing the instructor's make-up close-up and listening to her very deep, very raspy voice on her headset mic, i was convinced of what badkitty told me: the woman must be a tranny. i dunno, but it's possible. definitely possible.

the class was insane. it was like no aerobic I had ever been too. it was a full on, choreographed dance class. every song is a different routine, and nearly everyone in the room, including the 2 guys who come to class, is korean and knows every step of every song. because they go every day. i was completely lost, but did nothing but smile the entire time. it was the most fun i have ever had exercising. so insanely complicated and such satisfaction to get the hang of a step or two along the way. all korean techno pop--lots of songs that i hear every day here in gwangju. i especially loved the final song where the disco lights went on, and everyone spontaneously moved out into a giant dance circle and popped their bodies like crazy and then moved back into position. back and forth like this for about 5 minutes. hilarious. like being at the club. awesome.

i went back again a second time thinking it would be easier. ah, but think again, lovely people. very few of the songs were the same, maybe 2 or 3. the rest were entirely new with entirely different, complex routines. how do they do it? i have no idea. but i'll be damned if i don't walk out of korea with at least one hot dance routine under my belt.

after aerobics is my new favorite yoga class. the teacher is awesome. much better than my last one. the class is a bit harder--more advanced stretching--but still mellow. and we get to do lots of breathing (kapalabhati, alternate nostril breathing). It's awesome. such a yoga nerd!

so, with five weeks left (can you believe it?) I'm working hard to leave here in a good state of mind with some serious dance moves.

want to know what you're breathin'?

here in Korea, we've got lots of air quality issues to deal with. the biggest concern these days is the yello dust from China which is sweeping the nation quite literally at the moment. The air in Gwangju has been super bad for the past few weeks. For those of us who like to spend any time at all outside being active now that the weather is warming up, we'd like to know what we're breathing right? Well, here's the site for you: AIRKOREA Real-time air quality information!

the country map takes a really long time to load, but the Hourly Trend section is helpful.

Happy breathing!

ladies' night at nabido

we discovered a fab new little underground bar last night. totally wonderful decor. gorgeous paintings of women's faces adorn the walls. a small zen pool runs the length of the floor in the front. we actually had decent cocktails. and an awesome night out with the girls.

me 'n angie

some better news

these are some of my new students. they are 6. and they are hilarious. seriously. they speak no English, but they are deft at escaping my classroom undetected. check out the cheeks on these kids. i've only got them for 7 weeks. good times!

Jess

Mike

Olivia

my new crew

some sad news

Bill Kapoun died last night. I feel very heavy today.

tragedy in seoul

last week, a young guy by the name of Bill Kapoun was badly injured in a fire in his apartment in Seoul. He suffered 3rd degree burns to 70% of his body. As a part-time employee, Bill didn't have any insurance here in Korea. His medical bills are astronomical. And there is also some discussion that his girlfriend may have died in the fire, though I can't confirm that information.

I just received this email on Couchsurfing. com, and I wanted to post it here for folks to read. Though many of you may be reading this from afar, if you feel inspired to help, you can donate at: www.billkapoun.com.

*******************************************************

As you may be aware, about two weeks ago an ESL teacher in South Korea was severely injured in a fire in Seoul.

William Kapoun, 26, had been teaching part-time at Bulam Elementary School in Northern Seoul. On February 24th, a fire broke out in his apartment, and he was severely injured with third-degree burns over 70 percent of his body. Compounding the seriousness of his situation, William was not covered by a health insurance policy. There are a variety of estimates regarding what the final tally will be for his treatment and recovery but none of them are below 100,000 USD.

His plight has made the front page of the Korea Times, and there is a campaign to raise money to help his family cover the costs of his medical care. We encourage you to give what you can and help Bill and his family through this very difficult time. You can read the article in the Korea Times online (www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/03/117_20066.html) and in the university paper from Bill’s Alma Matter, Indiana University (www.idsnews.com/news/story.aspx?id=49553&comview=1).

For updates on his status, we suggest visiting the Save Bill Kapoun! Facebook page (www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8730028742#) and if you don’t have a Facebook account the updates are also in Blogspot (savebillkapoun.blogspot.com/). Please be aware that there are graphic pictures on both of these sites.

There is information on both of those pages regarding how to donate if you are currently in Korea but if you would like to donate online please visit this page - www.billkapoun.com/.