“We’ll Take a Cup o’Kindness Yet”
Celebrating New Year
“And we’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne!”
Happy New Year! Don’t forget that it’s 2011 and NOT two-thousand-eleven.
This “Y2K” fad has run it’s course and it’s starting to ruin a generation of children. I don’t know how many kids I’ve had to teach how to say dates. They don’t know how to say any year before 2000! It’s starting to become a problem. And I’m stopping it right here and now.
Besides that we rang in the New Year with lots of good friends at the local spot Daddy J’s. It reminds me of “The Wall” back in Stillwater. Everyone especially had a great time once it was free beer from midnight till 2!
Hope 2011 is as fun as 2010!
Happy Birthday CHAD!
Chad at the World Cup Stadium
Today is Chad’s birthday! I took him to the World Cup Stadium here, unfortunately we missed the tour (got there too late) but there was a cool arcade there so we play House of the Dead 4 and Taiko: Drum Master and some other games. That night we went to a local bar in Anam called “Drogba” which is the brother bar of “Daddy J’s” which is the bar lots of our staff member go to (we call it “The Stonewall” of Anam) Chad lives on what we like to call “The Strip” of Anam because it’s very similar to “The Strip” at Oklahoma State in Stillwater. Anam is the area for Korea University’s Med School.
Well anyway Happy Birthday Chad! 🙂
Stuff I’ll Miss…
As the days get closer to my departure date I think about things I’ll miss about the US. Of course I’m gonna miss my mom, family members, and friends- that’s a given but I’m not here to write about that. With Chad’s help, I have compiled a list of things we’re going to miss about Oklahoma/USA
10. Long distances between towns/cities- Seoul is a metro area full of people and districts and neighborhoods. (I compare districts to counties and neighborhoods to cities.) So here in Oklahoma if you want to drive from Enid to Lahoma (which is the nearby town) that’s about an 20 minute drive. But it’s only a 5 minute train ride from one district to another! It will be something to get use to going from once town to another without a wheat field in between. 😉
9. Over hearing conversations- Most likely the conversations I’ll over hear will be in a language that I don’t know, i.e. Korean. It’s one of my favorite things to sit in a restaurant or coffee house and over hear bits and pieces of surrounding conversations. The best part is laughing at younger middle schoolers and make fun of them trying to act grown-up by talking loudly about something they think is “deep”
8. Mexican Food- I’m sure they have Mexican restaurants in Korean especially in the Seoul area. But authentic made by Mexicans, serviced by Mexicans and you order in Spanish! I doubt they’ll have….
7. Tornadoes- Of course tornadoes are scary and devastating but they are also fascinating!! Like any good Oklahoman as soon as the sirens go off, it outside to look for it. I’m sure Korea has it’s own natural disasters to grow fond of, but tornadoes will always have a special place 🙂
6. My Bathtub- I need bubble baths, so I’m not sure how I’m going to deal with no bathtub. It drove me crazy living in Stillwater with only a shower. Most apartments for teachers in Korea just have showers so I don’t know how I’ll deal. Maybe I’ll set up an inflatable kiddie pool in my bathroom 🙂
5. Drinking Crown Royal- Chad and I have been long time Crown and Coke drinkers. This Canadian whiskey is the best, but I’m not gonna spend tons of money on a Crown and Coke! I recently discovered Crown Royal Black, which is the best thing ever. It’s so smooth and delicious! Well good-bye Crown and hello Soju!
4. Stillwater, OK- Going to school, living and working there for 5 years “Stilly” will be a hard place to leave. I’ve made life long friends there, met Chad there, cheered for OSU there, did tons of theatre there, and countless other things in Stillwater. My great-grandpa’s and grandpa’s homesteads are not to far from Stillwater. Tons of my family have gone to OSU. So Stillwater is full of memories and reason to call it “home”
3. Drive my Car- With public transportation what is the point in driving anywhere. But I will miss listening to my ipod and just driving around.
2. White Trash/Rednecks/Hillbillies- These people have been the source of humor for Chad and I for years! So once in Korea who will we make fun of and laugh about??
1. Sooner Fans- I know that seems crazy but it’s the same as above. Endless supply of laughter! But Sooner Fans have to have a category of their own! There is something special about a rivalry. There is also something special about laughing at bandwagoning ‘folks’ who have never stepped foot on any college campus, but cheer for OU football like it’s the NFL. And once OSU wins something, they jump ship. Also they fact that Sooner means land-stealer (a Boomer was someone who took part of the Land Run of 1889), and their mascot is a mobile home.
A Photo A Day When You're Far Away 