This is my name on my black belt. We wanted them to write our names in Korean. They put Craig's in English and spelled it wrong. We figured they couldn't get it wrong in Korean, and it's cooler that way.
Wednesday, July 30
Black Belt
It's official. I can beat you up. All of you. I won't though. That wouldn't be nice. I wouldn't want to hurt you. I found out last week that I passed the test. I actually got the belt the week before, but found out the results of the test after that. Isn't that weird? Korea doesn't always make sense. Anyway, after we got our belts, but before the official results, we had a photo shoot in our uniforms. The Korean guy is our master. He was very nervous before our test, but we did him proud, and he wasn't so nervous after. We all did really well. 
This is my name on my black belt. We wanted them to write our names in Korean. They put Craig's in English and spelled it wrong. We figured they couldn't get it wrong in Korean, and it's cooler that way.
This is my name on my black belt. We wanted them to write our names in Korean. They put Craig's in English and spelled it wrong. We figured they couldn't get it wrong in Korean, and it's cooler that way.
Monday, July 14
Think happy thoughts
Okay, I had my moment. Now I will think happy thoughts. I want to go home. I'm tired of Korea. On Saturday I yelled at a little girl for staring at me. I think it's time to leave now.
So, happy thoughts. I will get to see all you guys soon. 21 days. I will get to go shopping and find clothes that actually fit. I will get to play with those kids that are doing all of their growing up without me. I suppose I could even babysit Xavier and Niles just for old times' sake. I'm sure they would appreciate it. I can go to a Rider game. Play my trumpet. At the same time even. I can go to a restaurant and not have to sit on the floor, and not have the wait staff be afraid to speak to me. They might have to speak English you know. I still want a good hamburger. I can have one in three weeks.
I am excited to go home. I really am. I just don't want to leave. Oh well. I can always come back.
So, happy thoughts. I will get to see all you guys soon. 21 days. I will get to go shopping and find clothes that actually fit. I will get to play with those kids that are doing all of their growing up without me. I suppose I could even babysit Xavier and Niles just for old times' sake. I'm sure they would appreciate it. I can go to a Rider game. Play my trumpet. At the same time even. I can go to a restaurant and not have to sit on the floor, and not have the wait staff be afraid to speak to me. They might have to speak English you know. I still want a good hamburger. I can have one in three weeks.
I am excited to go home. I really am. I just don't want to leave. Oh well. I can always come back.
Sunday, July 6
Mixed feelings
I have four weeks left in Korea. That's 28 days. That's not very many. It's scary. I want to leave. I'm tired of living here right now. I'm tired of people looking at me, I'm tired of being a freak. I can't go anywhere without people staring at me, or trying to practice their English. I want to go home and see everyone. I want to go to church and have a church family again. I want to know what is going on. I want to drive. I want a hamburger. (Diane, I expect to have those yummy hamburgers. You know, the ones that have all that cheese on the inside so when you take a bite you get a mouthfull of cheese. Ya, those ones.) Yes, I am looking forward to going home. I do want to be there, but at the same time, I don't want to leave. I have changed since I came to Korea, and I like who I am. I'm scared that I will change back. I'm scared that I won't let myself be who I am. I'm scared about my internship. We all know how well it worked last time, and I'm scared that it will be the same this time. I want to go home. I really do. I don't want to leave. I don't want to go months without seeing Samuel. I know lots of people did the whole long distance relationship thing, but I don't want to. I like seeing him. I don't want to leave. I want to go home. I can't have both.
Monday, June 23
Black Belt Test!!!!!
Yes, it deserves multiple exclamation marks. It was so cool! Sunday was my black belt test, and I DID AWSOME!!!!!!!!! (Don't comment on the grammar of that sentence. I know it's wrong, but I'm saying it anyway.) After waiting around for hours for it to finally be our turn, there was a group of 300 kids infront of our age group, it went by so quickly. It literally took ten minutes from when we walked into the gym until we were finished. It was the fastest ten minutes ever. I didn't have time to be nervous. First, we showed the judges three poomses (forms), and then we demonstrated some kicks, and then we had to spar twice.
Here we had just finished the first form and were waiting to move on to the next one. The judge was writing down our numbers, that's why we are all facing the side.
Demonstrating one of the forms. The uniform is not all that flattering, but it is surprisingly comfortable. I actually just got the red belt on Saturday because we don't actually have to wear them in class, so the master never bothered to give us belts. We needed them for the test, so we got them the day before. I didn't know how to tie it properly, so Master had to dress me.
Getting ready to spar. The equipment is not very comfortable and it makes it harder to move, but you can kick people and it doesn't hurt. Unfortunately, I kicked Sara in the elbow, where there is no padding, and really hurt my foot. Oh well. It was fun anyway.
After our test. We were all giddy with excitement.
Here we had just finished the first form and were waiting to move on to the next one. The judge was writing down our numbers, that's why we are all facing the side.
Demonstrating one of the forms. The uniform is not all that flattering, but it is surprisingly comfortable. I actually just got the red belt on Saturday because we don't actually have to wear them in class, so the master never bothered to give us belts. We needed them for the test, so we got them the day before. I didn't know how to tie it properly, so Master had to dress me. 
Getting ready to spar. The equipment is not very comfortable and it makes it harder to move, but you can kick people and it doesn't hurt. Unfortunately, I kicked Sara in the elbow, where there is no padding, and really hurt my foot. Oh well. It was fun anyway.
After our test. We were all giddy with excitement.This is one of the forms we had to show. There are eight forms required to get your black belt. We had to show three of them. We knew that we would have to do number eight, but the other two we found out just before we had to show them. I wanted to do numbers six and seven. I really didn't want to do numbers four and five. We got out there and found out that we were doing four, five, and eight. I was not very happy about that. I think I did okay, even if those ones were not my best.
I was going to put on more, but it won't work right now. I will put on more later.Wednesday, June 11
Oooh. Pretty.
Last weekend was a long weekend, so we took the opportunity to go somewhere else. We went to a city on the east coast and were tourists. We all took lots of pictures of pretty much everything. I think the best part was that everything was so pretty and relaxing. I thought I would share some of the beauty so you can have a relaxing time, too. Enjoy.
This was in a small town close to a temple. It was in the mountains and everything was so green. It was also very quiet. We all thought we could stay there forever.
This is a rice field on the edge of a forest. The trees were pretty. There were lots and lots of tadpoles in the rice field. Rachel dropped her extra camera battery into the water. Oops.
I think this was at a temple in the mountains. I took lots of pictures of walls, so I don't remember for sure. I just like this picture, so it doesn't really matter where it is. Can't you just here the birds and the water?
We found a pond that was almost completely covered with lilly pads. Here is a lotus flower. We also saw a frog sitting on the lilly pad. We were sure that frogs do that, so we looked around until we found one. I'll show you a picture later.
A drop of water on a leaf. Isn't it pretty?
This was in a small town close to a temple. It was in the mountains and everything was so green. It was also very quiet. We all thought we could stay there forever.
This is a rice field on the edge of a forest. The trees were pretty. There were lots and lots of tadpoles in the rice field. Rachel dropped her extra camera battery into the water. Oops.
I think this was at a temple in the mountains. I took lots of pictures of walls, so I don't remember for sure. I just like this picture, so it doesn't really matter where it is. Can't you just here the birds and the water?
We found a pond that was almost completely covered with lilly pads. Here is a lotus flower. We also saw a frog sitting on the lilly pad. We were sure that frogs do that, so we looked around until we found one. I'll show you a picture later.
A drop of water on a leaf. Isn't it pretty?
Monday, May 19
100 things about me: Part 3
It has been a few months since I added to this list, so I thought I would continue with the list. I have no new adventures to talk about this week either, so you get to know a little more about me, instead of a little more about Korea.
41) I think I'm on the right number. Sometimes I forget things like that. I actually did look back on my previous posts so I would remember what I had already told you, but it didn't occur to me to see what the last number was. I'm also lazy, as well as forgetful, so I'm not going back to look. I'm sure one of you will check for me and let me know if I'm wrong. Thanks.
42) I think as I'm getting older, my springtime allergies are getting worse. I like to take pictures of trees and flowers, but at the moment I don't like the real ones so much. I am liking my antihistamines a lot though.
43) I think I must be getting old. Everytime I see, or hear a baby, I think, "aww. I want one of those." Then I tell myself "no, you don't." Stupid clocks. I'll just have to enjoy everybody else's babies. It's a good thing other people have babies for me to appreciate. Wow, how was that for not trivial?
44) I am getting much better at being myself with people. I think that's because now I know more of who myself is, did that make any sense? I am much more comfortable with who I am now, and that makes is easier to share me with other people. See, still not trivial. Good for me.
45) I like the "new Robin" way more than the "old Robin". This is how I describe me now and me before I came to Korea. "Old Robin" was boring. "New Robin" is way more fun. I like me more now. I hope you all will, too.
46) I really hate when people fight. Even when people are grouchy at each other. It makes me so uncomfortable and I want to go hide in a different room so I can escape the tension. I have a very sensitive tension sensor. I notice.
47) I don't do grouchy very well. Probably because of the previous entry. I don't like when people are grouchy at each other, so when I'm grouchy I tend to stay away from people. I don't want to create tension.
48) I'm getting grouchy a lot lately. People stare at me. It's annoying. I'm tired of being a freak. I'm tired of people thinking they need to talk to me. It must be time to leave.
49) I am procrastinating from packing. If I pack it means that I'm leaving. I don't want to leave, but I really do. It's confusing and frustrating and sad, all at the same time. I want to go home, but I don't want to leave. Does that make sense to anyone?
50) Okay, let's get trivial. Garlic makes me gassy. That's really unfortunate in a country where garlic is added to practically everything. Oh well. Everyone gets gas. It's nothing to be embarassed about.
51) I like to paint my toenails. I feel naked when I don't have colour on my toes. Right now my toenails are purple. They're pretty. I have to think about what colour my toes are when I decide what shoes to wear. My shoes can't clash with my toes. It's not a problem in the winter, as I don't show my toes, but now that it's summer, it's a major concern.
52) I like to have popcorn for breakfast, preferably air-popped. With orange juice. I see nothing wrong with that. I haven't actually had popcorn for breakfast in a long time because I don't have a popcorn popper, or a microwave. Makes it harder to make popcorn. I only have popcorn when I go to the movies. The popcorn at the movies is cheap here, so I always have popcorn at the movies.
53) I bought shoes today. I knew as I was paying for them that I really didn't need new shoes and that I had to pack and all the sensible things that I should have been thinking to talk myself out of it. And then I bought them anyway. Even when I am trying to be sensible I can find a reason to buy shoes. I didn't have black flip-flops with a heel. That's a good enough reason.
54) I don't like to wear pants. Who needs pants? I get home from work and take my pants off. I'm starting to think that a nuddist colony would be great. Maybe a little cold.
55) I'm quite excited about getting my black belt in taekwondo. This is totally not something I would have done before. I am definately not a sporty type person. Getting my black belt is so out of character for me. I love it. I'm just full of surprises. My test is in a month. Cool.
56) I can't actually admit that I'm excited about stuff. That would require, you know, showing emotions, whatever those are, and that is not something that I do. So, disregard that last comment. I never would have said anything like that.
57) I totally forgot what I was going to say. It was good too. Hmm. I wonder what it was. Oh well, I'll tell you something else. I can't sleep with my hair down. I have to braid it so Ican sleep. If my hair is loose it gets all over the place and I end up pulling my own hair when I roll over, and that's really annoying.
58) I hate when pictures are crooked on the wall. I am much to, well the best word is 'anal', to allow pictures to be crooked. There is a restaurant here where the pictures are intentionally hung crookedly on the wall, and screwed into place so they can't be moved. It drives me crazy. I have to very carefully not look at the walls. I get too distracted if I do. It's like Diane with mirrors.
59) I'm almost as obsessed with mirrors as Diane is. I like to look at myself in the mirror, provided, of course, that I have done my makeup. There is one mirror at taekwondo that I don't like to stand in front of because it's what I call a "fat mirror". You just can't look good in that mirror. The one next to it is so much better. It's a nice mirror. I'll stand in front of that one.
60) I don't like to look in the mirror in the bathroom in the dark. I think this goes way back to elemetary school where the girls at a sleep over would tell the story of "Bloody Mary" and tell you that if you said her name three times while turning around in the dark in front of the mirror she would show up behind you. I still don't look in the mirror in the dark. I know it's stupid, but that's how it goes. Oh, and there are alligators under the bed, too, so you have to jump. We weren't allowed to have monsters, so we had alligators instead.
Okay, that's your "learn about Robin" session for this month. I hope you enoyed it. Now it's late so I'm going to go to bed. Good night.
41) I think I'm on the right number. Sometimes I forget things like that. I actually did look back on my previous posts so I would remember what I had already told you, but it didn't occur to me to see what the last number was. I'm also lazy, as well as forgetful, so I'm not going back to look. I'm sure one of you will check for me and let me know if I'm wrong. Thanks.
42) I think as I'm getting older, my springtime allergies are getting worse. I like to take pictures of trees and flowers, but at the moment I don't like the real ones so much. I am liking my antihistamines a lot though.
43) I think I must be getting old. Everytime I see, or hear a baby, I think, "aww. I want one of those." Then I tell myself "no, you don't." Stupid clocks. I'll just have to enjoy everybody else's babies. It's a good thing other people have babies for me to appreciate. Wow, how was that for not trivial?
44) I am getting much better at being myself with people. I think that's because now I know more of who myself is, did that make any sense? I am much more comfortable with who I am now, and that makes is easier to share me with other people. See, still not trivial. Good for me.
45) I like the "new Robin" way more than the "old Robin". This is how I describe me now and me before I came to Korea. "Old Robin" was boring. "New Robin" is way more fun. I like me more now. I hope you all will, too.
46) I really hate when people fight. Even when people are grouchy at each other. It makes me so uncomfortable and I want to go hide in a different room so I can escape the tension. I have a very sensitive tension sensor. I notice.
47) I don't do grouchy very well. Probably because of the previous entry. I don't like when people are grouchy at each other, so when I'm grouchy I tend to stay away from people. I don't want to create tension.
48) I'm getting grouchy a lot lately. People stare at me. It's annoying. I'm tired of being a freak. I'm tired of people thinking they need to talk to me. It must be time to leave.
49) I am procrastinating from packing. If I pack it means that I'm leaving. I don't want to leave, but I really do. It's confusing and frustrating and sad, all at the same time. I want to go home, but I don't want to leave. Does that make sense to anyone?
50) Okay, let's get trivial. Garlic makes me gassy. That's really unfortunate in a country where garlic is added to practically everything. Oh well. Everyone gets gas. It's nothing to be embarassed about.
51) I like to paint my toenails. I feel naked when I don't have colour on my toes. Right now my toenails are purple. They're pretty. I have to think about what colour my toes are when I decide what shoes to wear. My shoes can't clash with my toes. It's not a problem in the winter, as I don't show my toes, but now that it's summer, it's a major concern.
52) I like to have popcorn for breakfast, preferably air-popped. With orange juice. I see nothing wrong with that. I haven't actually had popcorn for breakfast in a long time because I don't have a popcorn popper, or a microwave. Makes it harder to make popcorn. I only have popcorn when I go to the movies. The popcorn at the movies is cheap here, so I always have popcorn at the movies.
53) I bought shoes today. I knew as I was paying for them that I really didn't need new shoes and that I had to pack and all the sensible things that I should have been thinking to talk myself out of it. And then I bought them anyway. Even when I am trying to be sensible I can find a reason to buy shoes. I didn't have black flip-flops with a heel. That's a good enough reason.
54) I don't like to wear pants. Who needs pants? I get home from work and take my pants off. I'm starting to think that a nuddist colony would be great. Maybe a little cold.
55) I'm quite excited about getting my black belt in taekwondo. This is totally not something I would have done before. I am definately not a sporty type person. Getting my black belt is so out of character for me. I love it. I'm just full of surprises. My test is in a month. Cool.
56) I can't actually admit that I'm excited about stuff. That would require, you know, showing emotions, whatever those are, and that is not something that I do. So, disregard that last comment. I never would have said anything like that.
57) I totally forgot what I was going to say. It was good too. Hmm. I wonder what it was. Oh well, I'll tell you something else. I can't sleep with my hair down. I have to braid it so Ican sleep. If my hair is loose it gets all over the place and I end up pulling my own hair when I roll over, and that's really annoying.
58) I hate when pictures are crooked on the wall. I am much to, well the best word is 'anal', to allow pictures to be crooked. There is a restaurant here where the pictures are intentionally hung crookedly on the wall, and screwed into place so they can't be moved. It drives me crazy. I have to very carefully not look at the walls. I get too distracted if I do. It's like Diane with mirrors.
59) I'm almost as obsessed with mirrors as Diane is. I like to look at myself in the mirror, provided, of course, that I have done my makeup. There is one mirror at taekwondo that I don't like to stand in front of because it's what I call a "fat mirror". You just can't look good in that mirror. The one next to it is so much better. It's a nice mirror. I'll stand in front of that one.
60) I don't like to look in the mirror in the bathroom in the dark. I think this goes way back to elemetary school where the girls at a sleep over would tell the story of "Bloody Mary" and tell you that if you said her name three times while turning around in the dark in front of the mirror she would show up behind you. I still don't look in the mirror in the dark. I know it's stupid, but that's how it goes. Oh, and there are alligators under the bed, too, so you have to jump. We weren't allowed to have monsters, so we had alligators instead.
Okay, that's your "learn about Robin" session for this month. I hope you enoyed it. Now it's late so I'm going to go to bed. Good night.
Wednesday, May 7
Yes, I am still alive.
Okay, I'm sorry. I know it has been a while since I updated my blog. I have been lazy. What can I say? Right now I am procrastinating from cleaning, and also from making lesson plans, so updating my blog seems to be in order.
Last weekend was a long weekend. Monday was a national holiday. It was children's day. Any reason for a holiday is good for me. We crammed as much into the weekend as we could. On Saturday Rachel and Leah and I went to the Hanji Festival in Jeonju. Hanji is traditional paper made out of mulberry bark. The festival included a parade with costumes made out of paper and a marching band playing traditional Korean instruments.
Sunday was Buddha's birthday party. His actual birthday is next Monday, but the party was a little early. We went up to Seoul to join in the festivities. There were lanterns all over. There was another parade. It was very long, but had a lot of cool stuff like a military marching band and a group of unicyclers. There were also thousands of people walking in the parade carrying lanterns. This was the lantern festival celebrating Buddha's birthday after all.
This is a five story high poster of Buddah. We watched the parade standing right next to it.
As Monday was a holiday we had to put it to good use. There was a professional soccer game in Jeonju, so we headed on over to watch. It was really cool. It was also really hot. I think it was 30 degrees out and we had to sit in the sun. You have to separate the fans, you know, and the shady side of the stadium was for the away team's fans. We couldn't cheer for Suwon. Jeonbuk, our team, has Rider colours, so it was obvious who we had to cheer for.
This Monday coming up is another holiday, Buddha's birthday, so I'm sure we will find something to do. I'll let you know.
Last weekend was a long weekend. Monday was a national holiday. It was children's day. Any reason for a holiday is good for me. We crammed as much into the weekend as we could. On Saturday Rachel and Leah and I went to the Hanji Festival in Jeonju. Hanji is traditional paper made out of mulberry bark. The festival included a parade with costumes made out of paper and a marching band playing traditional Korean instruments.
Sunday was Buddha's birthday party. His actual birthday is next Monday, but the party was a little early. We went up to Seoul to join in the festivities. There were lanterns all over. There was another parade. It was very long, but had a lot of cool stuff like a military marching band and a group of unicyclers. There were also thousands of people walking in the parade carrying lanterns. This was the lantern festival celebrating Buddha's birthday after all.
This is a five story high poster of Buddah. We watched the parade standing right next to it.
As Monday was a holiday we had to put it to good use. There was a professional soccer game in Jeonju, so we headed on over to watch. It was really cool. It was also really hot. I think it was 30 degrees out and we had to sit in the sun. You have to separate the fans, you know, and the shady side of the stadium was for the away team's fans. We couldn't cheer for Suwon. Jeonbuk, our team, has Rider colours, so it was obvious who we had to cheer for.
This Monday coming up is another holiday, Buddha's birthday, so I'm sure we will find something to do. I'll let you know.
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