November 2014 – I'm Like So Blonde

Koreausa, also dusty!

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Cali4beach

Koreausa, my art project with Mega_mc has been seriously neglected! Time to start that up again 🙂

My response to Megan’s Cloud challenge:

My challenge to her: Rainbow Cake! Or find something Rainbow

Picture taken by my friend Aitak, Modeling by me

When a Korean criticizes the artwork you did just for fun

Posted on November 19, 2014 by Cali4beach

I showed my painting I did the other week to some Korean adult students I teach and that’s the first thing one of them said: “Terrible. It looks so childish. I did that when I was 10 years old.”

Seriously?

My friend Kate also showed a picture of our painting we did that night to one of her Korean co-teacher and the Korean said, “I looked at the paintings and they looked like elementary school work….”

As Kate put it: “Many Koreans don’t see the point of doing something unless it’s 100% or a masterpiece. The point of the evening was to drink and see what happens, not drink and vomit a Michelangelo.”

Exactly! If only I had a gif of someone vomiting a Michelangelo… anyone want to get on making that?

I find many Koreans are blunt. Too blunt. They often make comments about your appearance (weight, clothes, blemishes) and about other things which might be acceptable in their culture, but to a westerner it’s just rude.

One story I always remember is a friend of mine, Sara, told me how at lunch her female Korean coworker who had terrible English tried to tell Sara was a lot fatter than Korean women. Then, to make the point abundantly clear, when they later happened to be in the bathroom at the same time, this woman actually leaned over and grabbed Sara’s stomach and said “See! Fat!”

Sara isn’t even fat! She’s not bone thin like many Koreans, but she’s a normal size!

Korea, you’re killing me.

Blonde Moments: Buffalo

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Cali4beach

We all have so called “dumb blonde” moments where you say something really ridiculous and/or dumb and people laugh (either in their head or out loud if they’re jerks.)

And some of us have more of these moments then others.

An example from the past:

Talking with a teacher about where she is from.

T: I grew up in India but I studied in Buffalo.

Me: Oh, cool. My mom went to the University of Colorado.

T: (blank look on face–)

Me: Wait… You mean Buffalo, NY! I was thinking Colorado Buffalos for some reason, they’re the school mascot for the University of Colorado….

T: (Still blank look on her face)

Me:..ok I’ll just crawl in a hole now….

Copy-cat

Posted on November 18, 2014 by Cali4beach

One of my middle schools just had a school festival and during that time a bunch of student art work was on display.

There was a whole section of tree art done by 1st graders (7th grade USA) and this one picture particularly stood out for me with it’s vivid contrast of Pink and Green.

This picture is poor quality and taken with my phone but you can get an idea of what it looked like.

Fast forward to a water color painting party with my friends. I decided to copy that painting colors and image because I really admired it. So here’s my version of the tree.

Haven’t tried painting with watercolors in years! Fun experiment.

I’m not sure if I can track down the student who made the original painting since I don’t teach them and the name is really blurred, but if I can I want to tell them their art inspired me.

I bet in a million years they would have never thought the random foreign teacher at their school would like their art so much she would copy it.

Best thing I’ve ever bought in Korea

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Cali4beach

Hands down, the best thing I’ve ever bought in Korea was this bike I got second hand from an English teacher who was leaving Korea.

I can’t tell you how much time I’ve saved biking to and from work and also money from biking to and from downtown instead of taking the bus or a taxi.

Taxis are actually quite cheap in Korea compared to many countries like the U.S. or England. But still a 5,000-10,000 won taxi ride (roughly $5 -10 USD) adds up over time.

Buses are also cheap as well, about 1,100 won ($1) to use, but normally they are quite crowded, especially during rush hour. Also, the bus drivers slam on their breaks frequently which means that all the times I’m standing (which is most of the time) I end up flying into some Korean. Yay~

Wouldn’t be surprised if this happened in Korea ^

I’ve rented a car a couple of times in Korea to do road trips with friends and while I don’t mind driving on the highway and in small towns, driving in my city is ridiculous.

Korean drivers don’t always follow “the rules of the road” especially the taxi cab drivers who cut in and out of lanes and drive through red lights. It’s really stressful to drive in the city because I know if I got in an accident, the police would favor the Korean person over me even if it wasn’t my fault.