Triple M: Make More Milk...huh?

My last post for 2007. What should I write about? I've posted only a handful this year, and I want to make this last post of the year a good one.

Okay, I thought this would be special: December 31st, and being 12noon, I've got just 12 more hours to remember 2007. Not that I want to remember ALL of it--the year, I mean. Honestly, it's truly been one HELL of a year: 12 months of highs and lows that have both drowned me, and resuscitated me--during the same boat trip, too. I won't bore you with the details, but for those of you who know me, you know that there are many things about 2007 that I DON'T want to remember. And...with that said,

On the upside, I wanted to share with you my most precious gift of 2007.

No, it wasn't finding out I was pregnant on February 14th, and telling my family during my trip home shortly after. It wasn't the unwedding party we had with both my family and Ahsan's at Ali Baba's on May 20th (our original wedding day, but that never took place). And no, it wasn't the actual day Ahsan and I made a split decision to tie the knot by paperwork on July 9th, in the best interest of our baby, who was then yet to be born.

The most precious gift was given to me on October 11th, at 4:15am, after 9 hours of pushing from head to toe, and even begging the doc to cut me open (C-style, that is..) Voila: baby Ayden was born.

I remember in a flash moment, both lips and fingers were covered in blood from kissing this screaming, naked thing, moving on my chest--thanks to the nurses--still attached by umbellical chord and the placenta, which was still deflated inside my womb. Ahsan, behind me, smiling and having to hold my head up (my body was so flacid and weak from going med-free, au naturel..) And there was my mom, in awe (or stunned, if I remember her face correctly), managing to capture this precious picture with unbelievable steadiness.


This was my most precious gift: life. A life given to me--whether by mistake or intention, I am certainly blessed, and if only words could express how wonderful it is to see a little piece of yourself looking back, and smiling at you, everyday. For this, I would go through labor 9,999 more times.

So I was watching Oprah the other day (syndicated reruns, how nice) and fell upon them talking about The Secret, which sort of hooked me from the beginning. You have to check it out, because it turned my negative thinking into a new attitude, and a kind of positive enlightenment suddenly took over. Check it out and you'll know what I mean.

I started to think about what I was grateful for, what God has given me, and that I need to forgive in order to move on. And believe me, I never thought I could forgive those things, events, or people that I was focusing on, nearly killing myself over, agonizing because my life wasn't going as planned, because I didn't have control or because I felt I was just stringing along and observing life's events instead of participating in them. It is amazing when you realize that you do have control, and you can make changes. So I've decided to start the new year on the right foot, and that means, with a new motto and new thinking.

Perhaps you can call me an idealist.

The other night, I was up late, trying to get Ayden to sleep: 2am rolled around and he didn't want to do with any sleeping, at all! It wasn't working--rocking him, singing to him, or putting him in the swing/slider. I just realized that I was all out of breast milk, and I needed to pump more--quickly. Well, the little tyke wanted ,우유 (milk) pronto, and I couldn't express fast enough. So in a fury, I got up to make him formula, nearly tripping over Ahsan who was fast asleep on our heated floor--and then it dawned on me. I've got to make more milk! And not just in the literal sense. Sure, I need to up the pumping to have more supply at hand, but then I got to thinking about what that Oprah segment was all about--creating what we want out of life. I'm a glutton for self-help, I suppose. So I went on a rampage and realized in my thinking, that make more milk is precisely creating what I want out of life. And what I really wanted was to create more, do more, feel more, act more, be more.

Milk is to a baby as ... what? You wanted me to finish the analogy for you? It's exactly what you want it to be. And that's the secret I found out.

Make more milk. I wonder if I should start a new line of journals called that? Journaling is your ticket to psychological freedom. lol. That would be a winner indeed!

So for the time being, I'll start the year 2008 with a smile for myself, a positive attitude for Ahsan, and my darling Ayden on my hip (and breast pump machine in tow so I can make more milk!)

Happy New Year everyone!!

~ Chelsea, Ahsan and baby Ayden

Christmas NOT...

Bah-humbug! I have to say, Christmas was anything but ordinary this year. Newly married, new baby, but same country as last year, and a complete let down. Of all my 29 years of Christmases past, this has got to be the most uneventful, and the most disappointing--except for spending precious time with Ayden, I can honestly say I don't want to repeat this Christmas. How tragic! I was peeved because Ahsan told me just Christmas eve that he had to work on Christmas day, and I had the morning planned to cook breakfast, open presents, and enjoy Christmas together. Okay, so I shouldn't be so dissapointed because Ahsan is Muslim, and he doesn't celebrate Christmas.. but holy cow, if I knew he had to work, I would have made plans for Christmas instead of chilling at home with the baby, waiting for snow to fall! Last year was a blast~and we DID celebrate it (although Ahsan didn't know about giving gifts and at the last minute went out to buy me one!) It was great because we had spent the day in our pj's, making Christmas food with a house full of foreigners, who all gathered together to create a little piece of home in Korea. Perhaps that is why I wanted to go home for a bit during the holidays--to cheer up my spirit from this crazy 2007 year, and start the next on the right foot.

I did however visit my buds Ron and Susan at their pad for awhile, with baby Ayden in tow and a little cranky attitude to serve up. They offered fresh coffee and a chocolate pretzel. Yum! Oh, and Susan's sis, Marinel, and her boyfriend Greg were there hanging out. I don't get to see them often, and they left FLI just right when I came on. Bummer! In any event, I got to hang out with them, and I took a video of our little dude with Ron and Susan. Check it out~

Christmas eve was a blast, on the upside. Just like a scene from an old 40's black and white flick, we all mistakingly believed we were heading over to our doctor's house for the eve celebrations. Boy, how wrong we were! Ahsan and I chaotically loaded the car up with a few gifts that I bought, grabbed the baby and the Christmas cake, and headed over to meet our friends, Sae-bin, and her mother, who were supposed to take us to the doctor's house. The doctor, being, the gal who looked over Ayden when he had a 2 week long Bronchiolitis stint during his second month; Sae-bin also works for her at their clinic in Palgon mountain. What a good nurse she is! Anyhoo, when we arrived at Sae-bin's house, both she and her mom were roaring to go. "Why are you coming here? We're supposed to meet the doctor at YOUR house. She's on her way NOW!" saying in half English, half Korean.

WHAT?!

Supposedly, we had made plans only a few days prior, for the doctor and her family to come to OUR house for Christmas eve. HUH? Sae-bin and I thought we were going to THEIR house for the festivities. What a blunder! The doctor said 'Next year, come to our house for dinner,' and I said, 'Sometime, we'll invite you over for Pakistan food.' Ahh, the confusion begins; that's why it's so important to understand what was said, in Korean or in English! Neither of us understood what the other person had said! lol. So we frantically made our way back home, Sae-bin and her mom in tow, back to our house to clean up and start chow (oh, God, we were SO hungry too.. and we were SOO looking forward to good Korean food, then-thinking we were eating at the doc's house.) We arrived just when the doctor emerged from her car. Quick, Sae-bin. Stall the folks so we can make a dash to clean up and cook! And was there cleaning to be had. I was just lucky I had already done a half-ass clean up just the day prior.

Needless to say, the evening went well. Sae-bin let the doctor know about our mix up, and we all rolled with laughter. 'Twas quite the funny situation!

A snapshot of the evening. We managed to cook some lamb and rice, with fruits and yogurt.. without having gone shopping too!


I'm thrilled for the New Year. I wonder how it'll go. Surprisingly, I'm positive and enthusiastic about it.. really hoping to finish this year with a BANG! Until next time...

Thanks Julian..

A few weeks ago, I went into work to join our teachers for a photo op.

One of our teachers, Julian, is pretty handy with taking photos. I joined the crew, wandering with Julian like a little sheep, looking for the best light for him to capture us in.

These are but a few of the photos that Julian forwarded to me... some head shots, unbelievably professional. I must say, I'm jealous of his Nikon SLR. But oh, it's only $1200. Sigh.

By the way, isn't Ayden adorable? He was 7 weeks old in this picture (taken November 29th). So kissable..

I'm so lucky he caught me on a good hair day. Cheese for the camera. Pure cheese.

I'm getting this down...sort of!

Motherhood is looking good. Today, I was relaxed all day, and I didn't stress but once! Of course, if you would have talked to me about how I was doing with this motherhood thing even a week ago, I would have probably--embarrassingly--broke down crying (luckily, I was nearly closeted for the first 3 weeks in my apartment--and I have Ahsan to thank for that...) Needless to say, though, I did go through hell and back, and I'll explain a bit about that later.

Be prepared, this is a major momma post! (Still deciding if I want to keep up with the other Bebe-do blog...gawd, I can barely keep up with this one!)

Seriously, though, it's a great feeling to know that I have a few things down pat. First, the breast pumping. Okay, I'll save the details, sauf since day one I've never gotten our little Ayden to latch on, and I blame the hospital for that: every time they brought him in to me to share some R&R, he was full, fat, and fiercely asleep. Dead to the world of the awake! On that front, I have realized that bottle feeding in the first few days of life could seriously pose problems for breast feeding later. Oh, yes it does. I felt guilty at first, but now I have come to terms with the fact that not everything can go as planned! The most important of course, is that this baby gets all the nutrients he needs to grow healthy. I have kellymom.com to thank (and my sis-in-law too, for recommending the site!) for especially supercharging my knowledgeable momma status.

So, now I breast pump, and I'm learning quickly that it's an art! What a pass-time it has become! I now have TWO bottles and have learned to cut down the breast pumping in HALF. Truly amazing. Believe me, 15 minutes breast pumping verses 30 or 40 goes a long way when it comes to taking care of a baby that feeds every 2-3 hours! So I wear, literally, breast pump bottles as often as I feed Ayden. So strange.

Sleep. Yes, tell me about it. There is no such thing as sleeping more than 4 hours straight, when you're a new mom. I think, however, I've found a little secret to getting him to sleep a bit more: since 분유~formula, digests slower than breast milk, I found myself giving Ayden a 60-80ml bottle of formula around the time he normally goes to sleep.. nearly 1:30am. Soon enough, he was sleeping all the way to 6:30 or 7am! Still don't quite like using formula unless we're pressed for time, have to leave, and I don't have enough expressed breastmilk ready.. or EBM. Ah, the acronyms you learn as a new mother!

Now it's time to upload some major Ayden pictures onto my Flikr pages!

Our little bean is 4 weeks old!

I am totally hypnotized, and I can't wake up! And neither would I want to with this precious face staring back at me!

This month has been one, long, amazing journey--and it hasn't been easy to say the least. Today, our little Ayden (Alyraza, as Ahsan likes to call him) is nearly a month old: 4 weeks to be exact. I was talking to my mom on Skype today, and she corrected me that one month and 4 weeks are not the same, and it just hit me. I have been a mommy for more than 672 hours.

Of that time, I haven't slept more than 2--correction--3 and 1/2 hours straight (as of last night, thank GOD... the little munchkin slept from 1am to 4:30, and then up again at 6:30 for another feeding, finally waking up at 9am to start the day!) I've gone nearly to hell and back (yes, I had the much-anticipated post-partum baby blues) and I've had the pleasure, if not the ecstasy, of seeing the world through a child's eyes watching my baby plump up from 3.9kilos to over 5.4 (maybe more now.. and that's going from 8.69 lbs to almost 11!)

Today, Ahsan gave me the third greatest gift (okay, the first being our baby--what a birthday present! the second, being to actually name him!) and.. this so-called gift being the ultimate-wish-I-had-it-sooner BABY SWING! My God, if I only knew what a blessing it would be.. now I can buy myself a bit more time, toss the baby in, and away he sleeps. Truly amazing.

Alright. Baby asleep? Check. Husband asleep? Check. And now the momma.. yes. That's me. I'm off to sleep too.

ps. I've ALREADY got over a thousand pictures of this sweet little gift of God, and just don't know how I'm going to post them all! Check back soon over at my Flickr photos for those beautiful Ayden pictures I know you're anticipating!

xox Chelsea

The birth..

Ayden Ahsan Pyper Manzoor

was born Thursday, October 11th at 4:15am weighing 3.940 kilos or 8.69 lbs

He is the most beautiful thing ever created!

Time to roll on out...

Ayden, your time has come~
You're a week late, the doc said,
time to roll on out, sleepy head!
Get up, let's go, Momma wants to see you now, fo'sho!
There ain't no more space,
this belly has gotten tight,
And every little movement,
just doesn't feel right!
October 10th, here we are,
9:30am so close yet so far!
Start the meds, contractions begun,
Pop your head on out, little son.. cuz it's your birth day!

xox Your Mom & Dad

Anxiousness & the Momma's here!

Already a week and 3 days into Mom's stay.. we've been waiting patiently for this little bun to pop out. Ayden is now 4-5 days overdue, and if nature doesn't take its course, we are going in to get induced Monday morning!

Mom and I have had quite a bit of fun, actually. Eating out downtown, sipping coffee at DaVinci's, playing house, and shopping when the desire hits. Tonight we stopped at HomePlus and picked up some extra stuff to tie us over for the next few days~including some red wine for me to celebrate when I've given birth!

I've actually held up quite well, I think.. considering my stomach is huge and backaches have been intermittent over the past few days. I'm walking bow-legged, and I'm definitely feeling QUITE ready for this little guy to make his appearance. Actually, we made a quick trip to our hospital on Saturday, and the doc said I was about 2 fingers dialated.. just about 25%, giving us the choice to be check in and induce labor with Petocin or wait a few days and let nature take its course! Well, it was a beautiful Saturday, and I didn't see the need to get the ball rolling so quickly.. afterall, I had quite a few things to finish up at the homefront before it was labortime!

Alas, here we are, Sunday night.. and I've uploaded an update video for ya'all to check out on MyTube. I'll be posting these regularly to keep the folks at home current. If everything goes well, I'll be back around Thursday, bringing baby Ayden home! For now, Mom and I are going to celebrate with a mini haircut and some rock & roll music before it gets too late...

:) Chelsea

Introducing: The Bébé Experience

Hello, Hello, Hello! Hello, Hello,

While pondering the events of today--what do I do first, that is..--I came across the idea of making a dramatic separation between my Korean Blog (as it has slowly been changing from its original purpose, justifiably, to make room for the bébé bun and his arrival) to that of another blog, now titled, The Bébé Experience (how original: there were too many "baby experience" websites, so I gently changed the name!) And so, this new bébé blog will be dedicated solely to discussing motherhood in all its splendor, with perhaps, a whip of French and a twirl of multiculturalism: after all, our bébé bun is both Pakistani and American! How unique, how spirited, you comment. Indeed. So why didn't I think of this sooner? I call it, a baby-do. (--check out the new blog for an explanation on this fabulous new word construction!)

So feast your eyes, if you are so curious; but give me time, as I have yet to adjust the website, tweak it a bit, and add the many, many, MANY photos I have taken and have yet to take relating to my baby experience.

Until next time,

Chelsea

A day at the beach~ Pohang Style!

Is the water cold or what?
Swimming Pohang style means~ you swim with your clothes on!

Two weekends ago, I told Ahsan, "Alright, hon, on Sunday, we have no plans. So we either go to Pohang or Busan. You choose! But I gotta get out of Daegu...and I want to see WATER! Oh, and some dae-geh would be nice!" Coming from a girl who spent several middle/high school years as a competitive swimmer, I was practically in the mood to beg to feel some good 'ol water--and no, my shower was not good enough!--and some delicious crab from the East coast. 'Twas Saturday night at the time, and after I did some phone calling, around came our good Korean friend Myunghee who was up for a mini trip to the sea.

............By car from Daegu, we drove roughly 45 mintes-- not only did we hit the beach, but we ate some pretty damn good food at a nearby restaurant called "Cha Deem Sang" right before. So here it is, folks: the dae-geh (crab) that's been long-awaited...!!! Not to mention, fresh mollusk, fried fish, snails, and veggies .. your average Pohang-style side dishes.

Refocus: The Baby Experience?!

I've been eating watermelon alot lately. It's funny, you buy one whole big watermelon for a near 12,000 Won, and seriously, you're up to your ears in water and melons for over a week!

Okay, okay.. so I've been contemplating. It's unfortunate that every post of mine---which by the way, I think I've posted a total of 7 posts since January of this year---has turned out thus far to be quite dramatic... but this time around, I've had a few good reasons or two for lagging.

In my last entry, May 1st, I was contemplating the idea of bringing up the fact that Ahsan and I are expecting, but nothing seemed to flow right. I tried putting the right words together to 'come out' to the real world, but alas, in a nutshell, it really didn't matter. I have essentially been transitioning myself from the 'world traveler, nobody holds Chelsea down, girl' to the momma to be, still geographically located in a challenging environment! When it all boils down, at least on this part of the world's trunk, we have but a few weeks left (approximately, oh, 7 weeks and a handful of days) before this little kicker is born~ and alas, everything is going as planned.

Until yesterday.

In a nutshell, work has been chaotic. Actually, that's an understatement: my work been abusive, not to just myself (as I was the Head Teacher, until recently felt the need to step down) but as well to our other teachers who have no less, come to our school based on reputation, intention and hope of working better hours and teaching in a stable environment.

We have recently come together as a bit of a 'union' amongst us teachers in order to negotiate our terms of working with our school. I know, I never thought I'd be apart of another disastrous blog allocated to the misgivings of an unfortunate situation: a school once again taking advantage of its teachers. We only believe it is our right, particularly since as of a week ago, we were given the exact dates of a weekend camp in which we are now all required to participate in. And the disgusting thing about it, is that it's not even at our school: it's for the kid's of Daegu Bank employees, at a camp in Palgon Mt., and of whom are paying us a whopping 300,000 Won for the entire weekend (9am to 9pm, Friday, Saturday and 9am to 5pm or so Sunday). Believe me, we've broken down the hours. According to our Manager, we're working 21 class hours that weekend; according to us, we'll be there for 31 hours, and that's not including the 'sleep' time (since they recommend we stay there...) Who's going to fall for this? Working less than 10,000 Won per hour? Ridiculous!

And then I recently find, supposedly in order to work off-campus for your school, you need to have a special permit linked to your Alien Registration Card. So you'd think a legitimate school would have made sure it's ass(es) was/were covered in case of an uproar such as this one.

This summer has definitely thrown us teachers for a loop. The crazy thing is, I am just coming down from a two week period of working almost 12 hours days (okay, 12 hours a day the first week, then I realized I was a sucker and letting management take advantage of my 'lead position'). The worst part of this is not that our original Vice-Director was given the boot (non-renewal of contract) at the worst possible time~ beginning of summer, 3 camps, and a whole shit-pile of a mess; but that our new manager hasn't a clue how to run a school~ and the fact is, there is NO authoritative figure in our school who has the final say, who puts the last period on the final sentence. We are supposedly under the mighty umbrella--aka jurisdiction--of the larger, more established college. I laugh at that, really. We're being tooled around like mules, and our manager acts like a wet noodle when it comes to the requests of our supposed higher powers who appear to be calling the shots more frequently: I want X done as of yesterday because... why? I have asked myself. This guy needs to be more of a whip and stand up for not only the sanity of our teachers, but for the reason and logic needed~ to keep our school afloat and the most basic functioning of our school. If not, we are due to capsize.

Are we planning to involve the Ministry of Labor here in Korea, yet? You bet your Daddy if it comes down to it. Mismanagement and ignorance is not an excuse to mislead, miscommunicate and misguide teachers. I don't care what kind of reputation the school has (and mind you, we are supposed to have a great reputation. Pfff!)

So with that said, we had a bit of a scare yesterday with the baby.

I had a few classes swapped in order to make up for a class at Kyungbuk National University, a French class at the Alliance Francaise (of Daegu) that I absolutely could not miss. I am studying for the B2 DELF exam in September, donc je ne veut pas le raté!

Of all days, Friday was the last day à m'inscrire, to sign up to take the DELF exam. I rushed a bit, with the help of the Assistant Director at the Alliance (after class) and very soon thereafter needed to get back to work in order to catch my class and teach. I had already been stressed early yesterday because of our plan to negotitate working terms with our school (needless to say, it was unresolved and a pathetic meeting, once again, with no concrete result). Upon leaving the Alliance and in plan to take a taxi, I had the most horrible stomach cramps: it felt like my belly button was in-process of splitting open! I had to grab my self and head to the nearest bathroom, in hopes to calm down and see what was going on.

No luck. Still wasn't feeling well. So I called Ahsan to come get me and take me over to our baby hospital Prime to have things checked out. Luckily, everything was fine. I did have a few pre-labour contractions, which means that the stress (work related, ha..) needs to decrease pronto. They hooked me up to a nifty machine where they measured contractions (only had one during an hour and a half, so that's good) and the fetal heartbeat. The baby sure was kicking.. and the doctor said the baby is trying to make space now that he's growing very fast~ and to expect that the kicking and pushing (boy, does he love to put his feet under my ribcage!) is normal, and may hurt and be uncomfortable.

Great stuff to look forward to!

Well, I think that's it for me today. Once big entry and it's time to get to doing something on this great, cool Saturday. I've been ordered to chill, and that's certainly what I've been up to! Hmm..now that it's 3pm, where is Ahsan..

Until next time~ Chelsea

(original post started 6/27/07)

Happy May Day~ The Hanbok Experience, plus the ditty on the date and more!

Alright, guys. Why hasn't anyone emailed me about my lack of website updating? I'm clearly lost here. This doesn't look good for my record keeping skills. I tell you what though, for those of you in the know, I'm assuming you probably figure that these many changes going on in my life have taken a bit more importance than my website upkeeping~ but alas, let me dig into the meat of what I'm posting about.

One month ago I posted my Pakistan trip~ which was in February. This time around, I decided to finally upload some GREAT spring pictures, local temple trips and yes, my Hanbok experience. Interesting, let's talk about that a moment.

A word about the hanbok, thanks to dictionary.com:
-----------------------

Hanbok

Hanbok (한복) (South Korea) or chosŏn-ot (조선옷) (North Korea) is the traditional Korean dress. It is characterized by vibrant colors and simple lines without pockets. Although the term literally means "Korean clothing", hanbok today often refers specifically to Joseon Dynasty-style semi-formal or formal wear that is worn during traditional festivals or celebrations.
-----------------------

Now, every waeguk (a.k.a. foreigner) who stays in Korea outta know, you're obliged to get the Hanbok if you stay more than 2 years. That justifiably classifies you as a quasi-lifer (I hear to be a true Korea-lifer, you need to be on the books for more than 5 years). Well, there were a couple of reasons why I got mine. I'm not yet at the 2 year mark, but surely at 1 year and 10 months, I'm pretty darn close! So read further, that is if I haven't put you to sleep already...

FIRST, check out my Hanbok Collage that I put up on Flikr. Neat pictures indeed.

The idea behind getting the Hanbok was a simple one: I wanted a keepsake to remember Korea. Alright, now that doesn't necessarily mean that I'm leaving, folks. No pre-crying yet! But then again, there has been very little posting---as in much unsaid---since my February vacation. That obviously leads the reader to two conclusions: I'm slacking, and there's no excuse, or... a change is gonna come! (I love Sam Cook, and by the say, for all you IDOL fans, I still think Taylor Hicks rocked my world with his audition song!) So as you can imagine, folks, it's the latter.

Which means... there's a strong likelihood that I may lay this blog to rest. While I've enjoyed updating, seeking new adventures and posting my findings in the last near 2 years of my Korean Experience, I'm refocusing my direction, and I am finding new meaning to my experience here. I may not necessarily lay the blog to rest completely--because I definitely have a lot of time and effort invested in this blog! But there is definitely room to say that I may either start a new blog completely, and convert this one to a picture blog and/or "Korea related" resources to guide visitors, local expats and the like; or, I may slowly roll this blog over into something more like... "The Marriage Experience," or "The Korean Experience Weds Pakistan" to name a few.

Yep, there you have it. Girl meets boy, boy falls in love with girl, pretty soon they are inseparable, and BOOM! They get married. ta-da!

The big news. Don't forget to breath!

Not so big news for those in the know---so bare with me because it's old news! For the time being, at least, I won't make any rash blog decisions yet: I'll update this blog as much as I can, being as we're 3 weeks nearer to our Wedding date! May 20th ~ ~ And.. there's SO much to do. I never thought it would be so difficult planning a wedding in a foreign country. But long story short~ the original plans for a big party in Korea (engagement party) and then a family-small wedding in the States turned into one GRANDIOSE party/wedding in Korea because--ahem--the difficulty in getting Ahsan a visa. I guess I should be happy he's from Pakistan! Grrr. Nevertheless, time's counting... and we finally have the wedding hall and date fixed, along with the help of a bridal shop to 'coordinate' pictures, video, makeup/hair and .. dress if we choose. But recently, I came across this beautiful Pakistani dress...

And it made me realize I'd MUCH rather be wearing this down the aisle (in the, yes, Western-style, overglamorized Korean-style wedding hall, mind you..) than some ritzy dress I'm renting for nearly $600 bucks that I'll never wear nor see again. Turns out, this little golden jewel costs $450 bucks! Plus, who's to say I won't ever wear it again? It's absolutely gorgeous, and I'm sure Ahsan and I will be visiting Pakistan again (although let me tell you, I never thought I would after I fell sick on my visit there! lol)

Alas, there you have it. The opening for the theme of the next 3 weeks worth of blog entries: all about Chelsea and Ahsan's Wedding!

Definitely a joyous and nerve-wracking time~ with so little time and so many things to do. Stay tuned for updates from yours truly.

~ Chelsea

Happy April 1st: Pakistan 2007 Pictures Up!

No, not an April Fool's joke, I promise! Not like this one.

...finally got all the Pakistan trip pictures up. Be careful though, I've got some 650 some-odd photos and they take a bit to load. Couldn't I have just chosen the best pictures to upload?

Of course not. My pictures are chronological, so they sort of 'tell a story' ~ from beginning to end. So no whining! You can watch the slideshow here--it's a bit faster.

In any event, there is indeed MUCH to update. Besides the usual vacation blunders of February, exerpts from my trip to not only Pakistan (wearing the burka, oh-my!), but as well the usual and unusuallness from visits back home to Louisiana and Washington... there's been alot of changes goin'round and only part of them will be publicized! All those 'dear and near' know what I'm speaking of! La ~ ti~ da...

Until then.. enjoy the photos. Leave me feedback. Eat a healthy salad and some curry. I'll be back before you know it.

~ Chels

Ps. And, oh, because it's cute...

In the States, wee here I go...

Well, the girl has arrived safe and sound, back in the little Southern State of Loosiana! It's been a great couple of days so far, oh, rather busy, you see ~ sleeping, eating, watching t.v., otherwise enjoying the ultimate oasis for relaxation!

My dad and step-momma, Debbie, both picked me up at the airport in New Orleans on Saturday, and we chatted over the near-4 hour ride back home to Alexandria. It was a pretty eventless ride over from Seoul, sleeping actually, and a little uncomfortable from riding airplanes ~ I definitely think I had my fill: 2 layovers to Pakistan, 3 layovers back, and then 4 days later, it was another 2 layovers to reach my final destination in the States. Darn, I can't imagine traveling like this for a living! Thank God I won't be using the same travel agent from Daegu again; I should have followed my instincts to buy online and eliminate the 2-3 layovers per destination that he gave me to save a few bucks! Now I just have to bite my tongue and enjoy the ride :)

Other than the crappy flying schedule, I've enjoyed my favorite foods that I haven't eaten in years: home-cooked steak, corn and mashed potatoes; batter-fried pork, green beans and salad; and of course my most favorite, good'ol boxed mac-n-cheese!

I had been craving mac-n-cheese since I boarded my flight from Incheon, thinking about how I wanted to devour a box or two as my first meal back in the States in well over a year! It had been almost 2 and a 1/2 years since I graduated LSU in Baton Rouge, and paid a visit to my folks~ so for sure, this was a long overdue visit indeed! Time sure does fly...

For now, I'll continue feeding these cravings~ the food I took for granted while I lived here. It's amazing how such little pleasures can bring so much happiness! I don't quite miss the guk, pop, and kimchee (soup and rice..) combo, the daily meal for the Korean and yes, myself. So I'll just pop another one of these donut holes and get back to my Direct TV movie!!

~ Chelsea

Back from Pakistan, a short trip home first...

Wow, is it great to be back home in Daegu. For a short while..

It's hard to describe a world-wind 10 day trip in Pakistan that I've just come back from, with dirty roads still in my lungs, polluted motorbikes and cars racing in my mind, and Ahsan's 30+ family members' smiles still flashing in my point of view. It was an incredible but short lived trip that interestingly enough, I've never felt more excited to come home than any other trip that I've taken, anywhere...

Maybe it was the Berka and head scarf that I wore everyday, not being able to wander outside alone, or the stomache problems I endured for nearly a week, accompanied with the eggs and peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches I was tired of eating because my stomach couldn't handle anything else (like the delicious curry dishes or masala, or sweets that Ahsan was able to eat, a little..) My world has totally changed from this trip, and I feel totally blessed to have what I have, the freedom I had so easily taken for granted, the clean water and smooth, paved roads I used everyday...

It's so amazing how narrow-minded we think when we have tunnel vision. I stepped outside of my little box and immediately wanted to step right back in! God, it's good to be home.

Check back for more updates and pictures. The 600+ photos I took in Paki should be uploaded on Flikr before I head off to the States.

~ Chelsea

Bringing up the Past... LSU French Studies

LSU in Ubaye Valley

What an interesting Friday: a definite other-than-ordinary for a day bringing me closer to my month-long February vacation. Yee-hah.

This evening, I met Ahsan at Yeungjin after a bit of weekend teaching preparations at the old work (photocopies and the like; definitely a fun way to spend my time with the big dawgs when I don't have to be there!) We hopped in Ahsan's purple beater and went over to pick up our travel tickets during, coincidentally, rush-hour traffic at the Manchon eMart--way across town. Loads of fun, I assure you. I have nothing but good things to say now about Korean crazy drivers: as of tonight, I have christened myself as a contribution to the daily dose of impetuous traffic art otherwise polluting the Korean roadscapes (kudos for the lingual forplay, there, Chels!)

As usual, I spent my day teaching from 9:30am until 12:30pm. Now, in a nutshell, Kids' Camp at Yeungjin is a little bit like attending a seminar English 101 class at a mid-sized college in the U.S.: You have your mixture of kids who wanna be there, those who don't, but overall, it's a clusterfudge of bees, books and chaos, and you--as well as the other foreign teachers--are the honey that glues everything together. Mind you, the glue is so very little, indeed, and is expected to perform miracles under great pressure. Leave of course, the worst part, that the bee-hive has very limited supplies, like a photo-copier that rarely works, with a disproportion of malcommunication, where the communication lines from the big-Momma (or Poppa bee, for those readers who lean towards patriarchal systems) trickle down like a new river downstream an impoverished, dry African village.

Now, seeing as I have one more week of Kids' Camp, I just hope that I keep my hair in-tact long enough to not have to express-order a wig from the local ajumma nylon shop, or be impelled to wear my cancer patient knitted hat. It truly wouldn't be a pretty picture.

After my daily kid-screaming dosage, I grabbed lunch with my fellow teacher and friend Marinel, who I recently find out is leaving us... a tragic but evident realization that Yeungjin has many kinks to work out. Hmmph. Then at 2, I flew over via taxi to attend my DELF preparation French class at KyungPook National University. Yes, I have to agree, pushing myself academically has been a great affair thus far (all 2 classes that I have attended); however, what lies ahead of me will be quite an arduous task~ that is, studying daily, French articles, reading response questions and digging deep into the cobwebs of my French studies know-how to prepare for this test---which I take just 4 days after I return from my vacation. Is this not dedication or what? Perhaps I don't reckon doing some studying while I check out the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, or while I make my way to a Pakistani Mosque... yeah, that wouldn't hurt.

And as I simmer down from my evening, having eaten some dok-yah-cheh-bok-um-bop (Chicken with fried rice and veggies) and watched the chick-flick While you were falling in love at the local DVD bong, I come to the realization that my travels have taken me to quite a number of places. In fact, while Ahsan sang to the sandman shortly after returning home, I decided to gander at a bit of history: my Alumni, LSU, and the Department of French Studies website. Interestingly enough, I decide to check out the Ubaye Valley Program which I attended after graduating, in summer of 2004... thereby coming across a marvelous picture of me (with short hair and all, slaving away at an internship making French pastries!) What a blast it was to dig up this history! I come to find as well, that LSU French Studies and Academic Programs Abroad department had put up, for the majority, my pictures that I had taken during the program! I guess I have Mrs. Roark to thank for that one! Great stuff, huh? Awesome pictures, indeed. Maybe I should have asked for royalties for the gems they're using to attract students to take the program! Hmm...

Which reminds me, it's about time I dig up some old pictures to put up on Flikr! Ah, but tomorrow is another busy day, and this history-making gal needs her beauty sleep. Stay tuned for nearly 10 more days of cram-packed posts leading up to my vacation. In the plans: packing for 30 days; buying souvenirs for my peeps in 2 countries and 3 states; attempting to move my apartment from the 7th to the 11th floor (I assure you, it'll be worth the hassle, and disgusting cleaning I have to endure to get into the new pad..) as well as, oh, a zillion trickles of sweat imagining how I'm going to attempt to do all of this. Amazing...

Lights out ~

Chels

Snowballs were flying...and I'm off to Pakistan!

Another great little post that I've dug up from the 6th of January...

"It snowed today.

In the waking hours of my day, scooting from one student's house to another on my motorcycle, I recall an interesting moment when I found myself making an awkward jesture at a stoplight: I pushed my helmet screen above my head to gaze at the cloudy sky, when surprisingly, my eyelashes met several clumps of snowflakes, clinging frantically to them. Then a snowflake fell in my eye. What a strange way to say hello.

Surprising was an understatement, actually. I looked around as the light turned green, watching the people hurriedly walking to their destination, obviously unprepared for a little bit of snow fluster. The last time it had snowed, even a sprinkle, was actually just about a week ago, when I woke up at the crack of dawn clearly from sleep deprivation. The morning began as yet another, waking up well before my alarm because my lungs were gasping for air: surely, it was the new resident chainsmoking ajumma (grandlady) that lives below me (again, another interesting and dispicable way to say, "good morning" if you ask me...) Nevertheless, seeing the snow made me sucking in the smoke, all the more worthwhile."

Perhaps the next few weeks will prove to be interesting with the possibility of skiing... oh, that shall be fun: it's been more than 3 years since I've skiied! And then, well, what beautiful skiing resort could one compare that of Chablais in Switzerland? I have yet to find a comparable paradise!

I finally recieved an itinerary for my trip. As per the last post about my vacation, which definitely looked like a rock-n-roll time to be had, I ended up making lots of changes along the way! It looks like, and I tear as I say this, Ahsan and I won't be going to Switzerland this time. There's simply not enough time in one month! So, we'll be heading off to his country of origin Pakistan (boy, what am I getting myself into, I have no idea!) for about 12 days.. and then I ride the long boat to China... joking. I take my flight mid-February and head over to the States: New Orleans, and then up to Seattle to visit the families~ about equal time I guess.

The month of February would have been gruelling trying to make a roadtrip either way~and since my trusted travel companion JuYeong will be starting school in February, I'm off to venture back home alone. Yes, yes.. you ask, why doesn't Ahsan go with you? Alas, my friends, we did intend for a miracle, but the US Embassy wouldn't issue Ahsan a visa because of his 'possible intention to immigrate to the US'. What a load of bologny! Grr.. it's always the good guys who get their throats slit on a reasonable attempt to visit the States. On the positive side, though, we'll be together in Pakistan for nearly 2 weeks~ and if luck may have it, I'm hoping to meet up with my pop, Roger, in Delhi (since he'll be backpacking in India for 3 weeks or so!) Fingers crossed!

Ah.. another good morning, and I'm off to trek up to Yeungjin. It's English camp again, folks.. and I better get to hacking up this cold's phlegm to get my teacher's voice prepped for screaming kids! Ack! ;)

~ Later!

Blackbelt: RECIEVED!

This is an oldie-but-a goodie: A post I began back around December 12th, 2006...11:34 AM: It reads...

"I'm thrilled beyond words.

Last Sunday my Dojang (Taekwondo school), along with JuYeong and I, went over to the Daegu indoor stadium for our Blackbelt test. The stadium rocked like a crazy nest of bees--kids swarming in their uniforms, excited and anticipating the moment when they get to show off their stuff.

The event wasn't like I had expected, but it was rather interesting to say the least. In Korea, we sort of learn to 'hurry up and wait'---as a teacher, you learn to hurry up to meetings, only you have to wait for things to get started; when paying bills at the bank, you hurry up for a quick payment, only to stand in line with other like-minded Korean folks; and at the grocery story, it's always the ajumma with a ton of groceries, that firmly stands in front of you while you wait to pay for an ice-cream or a snack. The hurry up and wait syndrome hit me hard at the Blackbelt test: we basically had to hurry to the event, whilst finding out that we had to wait 3 hours to take our test!

Of course, the most exciting part of the day was hanging out with JuYeoung, ... and the new boyfriend (who I invited) along with the ex-boyfriend (who suddenly decided to come, since he had been taking Taekwondo with our dojang). Woh, double deal: That was a crazy mixture! But in the end, we all had fun, and by the time JuYeong and I took our test, we had enough excitement and endurance in us, that everything felt like a piece of cake! We did the 7th and 8th formations (called poomseh's) and luckily, both JuYeong and I were paired up (among 8 other blackbelt testers) to 'fight' against one another... now that was concindental! Pure coincidence..

I told JuYeong, "Fight like you wanna KILL me!'~ mouthing out the words, which I playfully meant, of course~ but I tell you, she took it literally! That girl came at me like a bad woman, kicking me left and right.. and like a movie, I lifted up one leg and dolchuggi (side kick), gave her a love tap on her belly. POINT! Boo-yeah! hehe.. she only laughed and returned another kick.

That day, JuYeoung and I found out we had recieved our blackbelts. Right on! That's another check off my list of must-do's while I'm in Korea. "

Bittersweet memories! As of this month, I've decided to take 2 months off of Taekwondo: the first reason being as it is winter vacation now, and the only class available for JuYeong and I to take at our dojang has a ton of kids in it, so we don't get quite the attention and work out that our private a.m. class normally provides us; and the second being, well, next month is February, and that means I'll be taking my month-long vacation! There's another right on: check out the next post for vacation updates and stories of January's English camp fun at Yeungjin... loads of fun, for sure!

Until then, yes, I will settle with yet another cold I've acquired. That makes 6 last year for 2006, and number 1 for 2007. I'm intending on keeping the number down this year.. fingers crossed.

Big shout-outs to my Momma for making a safe trip to and fro Alabama to visit my bro and his wife, Amy. They're expecting their first child in May/June! Kisses to you...

~ Chelsea

Happy New Year!!!

New Year's Resolution #4,726: Update blog more often.

ps. Happy New Year, everybody! May all your wishes come true for 2007.... ~ . ~
pps. Pakistan is now added to the must-visit-during-month-vacation in February. Whew!

Chelsea