Bowie, Pie guns, Elephant Love, and Ballet

인냥! 잘 지내세요? 이본 주말에 안비빠요.
Hi! Are you well? This weekend was not busy (or something like that). I think my Korean is laughable to those who are fluent. I probably say some pretty silly things in order to explain situations that I don't know the vocabulary for. For example, instead of saying, "my phone is dead", I say "my phone hurts.." When I said this to my teacher she understood what I meant, though laughed at me a lot before explaining the correct way to say it. I'm still trying. The grammar has become a bit easier, but the vocabulary is still killer. My teacher says my pronunciation has improved, which is cool. I can usually get my point across to strangers in various stores and restaurants without too many confused stares.  Though those are my favorite.

Back to the weekend. Not too much to catch you all up on. Amanda showed me to Dongdaemun Market for my first time which was a whirlwind of people, boas, beads, and endless rolls of fabric. This building is 5 floors, each with a different crafty theme. Whether you need 100 feather boas, beaded necklaces, or glitzy headbands, this is the place for you. Amanda goes to stock up on supplies for her jewelry/accessories business she has been working on over the past few years. (For anyone who is interested I can show you pictures of her products on facebook, instagram, or email!)

 

only lounge for lady

 

We squeezed our way through the gaps between endless stalls and crowds of people finally made it to her usual booth gasping for air. I get to practice some of my key phrases from class by asking if he has any other colors of the plastic ring bases Amanda uses. Instead of blindly pointing around the shelves behind him, he invites us back to look for ourselves. Amanda said it was almost like getting a backstage pass to a Bowie concert (Almost).

 

 

here we go....

As we sat inside this booth we were surrounded by shelves packed with small plastic bags each holding hundreds of little plastic shapes in every color you could imagine (longest sentence ever, keep up with me). Each new color we found, we would let out a squeal and the man and his wife would look over to see why the sudden outburst occurred. They were very sweet though, helping us if we needed different shapes or colors or water. Now we know that we have this pass whenever we go! As the man packed up our haul into little teeny bags we discussed the plan of action. We needed to get some hair clips and actual rings to attach these shapes to.

 

Just the lower portion of one of the shelves on one wall in the booth....the shelves went from floor to ceiling...a tad overwhelming

We scoured the booths for these things and then made our way back to Bucheon to have an assembling party. Not before grabbing some sushi and champagne to keep ourselves fed and watered of course. Kaitie came over too (with some delicious blueberry frozen yogurt) and we spent the rest of the evening playing with color combinations and designs for Amanda's collection. I miss doing crafty things like this. Just making new things, gluing your fingers to each other...or to the table...or to the rings... Also doing this with friends just makes it that much more enjoyable! During the assembly process we began our very musical evening beginning with the last 30 minutes of the David Bowie Documentary. Can't say he really does it for me. I can only imagine him singing in very tight pants surrounded by goblins in Labrynth. Not dissing on his fans though, for there are several very close to me (mum).

After that ended I found Bugsy Malone on Amanda's hard drive and nearly jumped up and down on the couch in a Tom-Cruise-ish kind of way minus the whole...being creepy thing. For those of you who weren't in my year at Tatnall in 8th grade we presented Bugsy Malone for our play. Everyone should watch this movie. It's just good old-fashioned fun. A gangster film acted completely by children. The guns shoot pies and frosting instead of the more violent and life-threatening version in adult gangster films. It's really too bad I don't have any photo evidence of this on my computer. I think it is all at home. Those of you who were in the play have been saved from slight embarrassment this time.


After I completely embarrassed myself by singing all the words and having walks down memory lane, we moved on to Moulin Rouge, which is a favorite of all of ours. Something we could, and did, all sing along to. I might have to write an apologetic note to Amanda's neighbors. No wonder the dog next door was howling... After falling in love with Ewan once again we ended the night, the bottle of wine, and the frozen yogurt, with Billy Elliot. A film I haven't seen for a long time but have wanted to! It made me want to see the Broadway version even more. I'm not sure if it will come out in Korea, but it's on my list.

It was a perfect girls day. A successful one as well! Amanda is now stocked up on rings/hair accessories for a booth next weekend and I have songs from those three movies stuck in my head. Sometimes all you need is a day to relax and just enjoy the company of others. No big trips, no schedules, just rolling with things.

Sample of her products

Sunday was a rainy day, spent gymming with Kaitie (getting ready for mudfest and the Philippines in 2/3 weeks!!) then a trip to Itaewon to meet a friend for coffee. What would an Itaewon trip be without the bookstore as well...so obviously that happened. Have been able to read a lot more lately. Finished Wild, which was incredible! This morning I finished the Great Gatsby for my first time, which I know is a must read in most English classes. I enjoyed it. Think I would have liked to have some sort of course or discussion group about it to decode some of the more vague or strange things in the story. I guess that's why its a common English class book, huh? Duh Laura Teacher. I've just started "Kitchen House" set in Virginia during the 1790s. An interesting read so far! Looking forward to seeing where it goes. Today I bought the books "Room" and "Slaughterhouse Five", both of which I'm excited to read! Got some things to look forward to.

This week is open house week for Little America. I will have my kindergarten open house on Friday. As opposed to my class with Jess and Sally, where I knew the parents, or at least had heard of them before, my girls' moms this year are a bit more mysterious. Not sure what their English ability is like nor their personalities. We shall see how it goes! With two open house classes under my belt, I'm not too worried. We have lots of song planned throughout the lesson, which the girls love and hopefully the parents will enjoy too. I just hope the Korean teachers don't all go nuts this week preparing! Take a deep breath. We've got in under control. The parents will love it if we just get their kids smiling and speaking. And God knows our kids don't have problems talking their heads off!

Keep your eyes out for the next post from me as well as Beth! Her adventures have proven to be a bit more exciting than mine. I know what you're thinking- Laura, you spent the day surrounded by feather boas and pompoms. I know I know. But Beth's trip is a tad more meaningful. Check it out if you haven't already!

xoxo

Korean phrase of the post:
다른 더 색 있어요? (tareun daw sek esawyo?)
Do you have any more colors?