My Roommate the Rock Star

Stef's band Les Moustaches had a show a couple weeks ago. It was freakin' awesome! I've been hearing about the band forever so it was really great to finally hear them perform. Their show was at a small club in Hongdae called Free Bird and they were hours late to perform, so a lot of people had left by then. That was a bummer but there was still a pretty good crowd. Stef sounded great and the band in general were fantastic for a first gig.



Other news:
I'm going to start volunteering with Sharing House. I'm super excited about it, as I will get to stretch my history muscles and help write educational packets. The whole history of the sex slaves in WWII is pretty much summed in one sentence in both Korean and Japanese history books...not cool. The women are getting pretty up there and are dying at a more frequent pace. It's crucial that their story isn't forgotten and I'm incredibly honored that I'll get to play a role in making sure that doesn't happen.

I'm going to be helping my friend Steve out by "teaching" a conversation class for his school's English Club. It'll be my first time interacting with middle schoolers since leaving my old job, so I'm a little nervous. At the same time, I'm stoked to have interactions with kids that won't involve me being licked or bitten. A gaggle of us are also going to go on a field trip with the English Club. They're going to take us around one of the palaces here and play tour guide for us.

Quiz Legend!

Pub quiz has become a central part of my social life here in Seoul. It started in the fall and that's how my friend Steve and I became friends. First, we were rivals (much shit-talking ensued on our Facebook walls) then we formed Team Chillax (we're now the HBC Massif). Sometime last winter one of us thought, hey! I bet we can write a pretty decent quiz. We talked to the manager of the bar and we did our first quiz right before I left for the States. It was a success, we were asked back, that was even better and now we do it once every three weeks. On our off weeks, we usually come in about 3rd place.

Steve and I split the writing responsibility down the middle and then switch off who reads. Here's the thing: the reader gets free beer all night. I get really nervous and drink a little fast so usually by the third round, I'm flat out drunk.

This week, it was my turn and oh, boy! I couldn't say the word "archipelago"to save my life in the 4th round and I don't think I'm going to hear the end of that for a long, long time.

Spring!

I know I've said this before but after growing up in a temperate climate, I really appreciate spring now. Seoul is FINALLY warming up and it's glorious. The trees are blooming, grass is growing, and the birds are singing. Claude and I are currently out on the balcony, enjoying a lovely spring afternoon. I'll be off to Yeouido this weekend to check out the cherry blossoms before they fall of the trees.

Today I had one of those days when everything seems to go right. I only had kindergarten today and it was so much fun! I taught one of my favorite groups and at the end of the day, my kids and I had an impromptu dance party and twirled around until we fell down laughing. Good times!

Tomorrow is a holiday and I am very very happy about this. Hopefully the weather will hold up and I can work on the garden on the roof. Happy Election Day, for reals!

I've read that older people should do crossword puzzles in order to keep their minds sharp and fend off Alzheimer's. I've decided that when it comes for me to make sure my brain doesn't go to mush, I'm going to plan out routes using the Seoul Metro system. Seriously, I'm becoming Lord of the Buses here.

I had to go to the immigration office today to pick up my alien registration card (Side note: I feel like I'm betraying my Mexican heritage by becoming a LEGAL alien but...what can you do?) and I managed to get from Omokyo to Dangsan using nothing but my wits. For those of you who are familiar with my woeful sense of direction, you'll appreciate that this is damn near a Christmukkah miracle.

Last night, I went to kumdo for the first time in a little over a week and when I walked in, all the kids started yelling my name and welcoming me back. It was really nice and I imagine that's what some of you are doing right now as you read this (...I hope!).

Life's been busy lately. I was sick for the entirety of last week, which was not fun. I'm having spring allergies for the first time in my life and I place the blame totally with flippin' yellow dust. It's gross and I hate it. I hate the way it coats the apartment with dust, I hate the way I hack my lungs up all the time, I hate the way it ruins the city view I have in the morning on my way to work. It's plain depressing and without a doubt my least favorite thing about living in Asia. I've been popping vitamin C and taking antihistamines, which are making me super sleepy all the time, in the hopes of being 100% healthy. Perhaps it would help if I laid off the Cass on the weekends but c'mon. Let's not get crazy.

Yes, yes speaking of weekends, I really shouldn't paint a picture of Nicole as the this invalid hobbling around Seoul. I had quite the time at Steve's birthday celebration. It started at Hooter's and ended at a bar that serves drinks in a bucket (have I mentioned this place before? I have! Monkey Beach reared its ugly head again!) and at the end of the night, yours truly tried to insist that the street outside her house was a perfectly good place to go to sleep. Goooooood times!

In other news, Stef, my house mate, has a gig with her band soon. It's the first one for them and I'm super excited. They came over to the house last week for an impromptu jam/scarf dance party and they sounded great just messing around. The show is at this new-ish club in Hongdae called Free Bird so of course I'm going to be the a-hole in the back yelling "play Free Bird!!"

About the picture: This is my favorite student, Juwon, holding a picture she drew of me. I think she really captured my je ne sais quois, don't you think?