Wine Train to Snow Fest

With the intention of keeping this short and sweet, I am going to focus on the best parts of the Wine Train to Taebaek Snow Festival.  Before I get started on that though, I should mention that I am part of a facebook group called WinK (When In Korea, formerly known as Discover Korea) that is ran by a man named William Cho, and he is responsible for putting together day trips and weekend events to explore Korea.  There are currently 3, 396 members that are a part of this group, but there were only enough room for 42 on this trip.  When I read "Wines, Trains, and Winter Wonderland. It doesn't get any better", I thought: It certainly does not!  Where do I sign up? Originally the only trip to the Taebaek Snow Festival was being held the previous Saturday (aka, Wonderland's Presentation Day) so I was quite disappointed when I thought my only chance would not work.  Thankfully, WinK put together a day trip for this Saturday (with the addition of the wine train), so I wasted no time signing up and getting my deposit in.  

Ta da!

From my group of coworkers/friends, I was able to get Hilary, Chantelle and Paul on board.  Since January and February are the snowy months of Korea, most people I know are already booked, spending weekends doing winter activities like skiing, snowboarding, etc.  It's also a bit tricky to convince people to get up at 5am with the lure of wine tasting at 9am or spending 3 hours outside, especially with the kind of low temperatures we've been experiencing lately.  All that being said, having a group of four worked out perfectly because the tables were set up in groups of four or two, and a great time was had by all.


Here are a couple of the highlight's from the trip:

*having enough time to eat McDonald's hotcakes on the floor of the Seoul Station before departing on our trip and then gaining the nick-name "Hotcakes".  It was bestowed upon me by a couple of guys (Ace and Jason) from Georgia.  When I ran to throw out my garbage, they had told Chantelle and Hilary (in a Georgian accent): "She went to town on those hotcakes", "Yep, she had one thing on her miiiind and it was hotcakes."  From that point on, any question or instruction meant for me was preceeded by "Hotcakes!"

*seeing the sunrise from behind the mountains, and some other breath-taking views during out train trip to the Snow Festival

When we entered the subway station in Gwacheon, it was 530am and dark. 
When we walked into Seoul Station, it was 630am and dark.
When we were on the train, it was about 730am and there was light and it was good.

A wonderful shot of the beautiful mountains and snowy landscape.  Photo credit: Hilary

 *playing Gawi Bawi Bo (scissors, rock, and paper)

If you beat the other person, you got to put a silly-faced sticker on them.  By the end, I had 3 stickers on my face and Paul had too many to count.  Note the sophisticated decor of the wine train, and William Cho with the mic in the background.

 

*watching the S(e)oul Train dance off, particularly when Chantelle won the women's round by doing the worm down the isle of the train

She happily recieved the bottle of wine as a prize, and not-so happily accepted the nick-name: "The Worm"

*the delicious snacks that were served after the wine-tasting had begun (roughly 9am).  Before Saturday, I had never eaten breakfast food with wine.

A nice spread of orange, banana, muffins, hard-boiled eggs, gimbop... and wine

 

*the sheer size and variety of snow sculptures; there was a range from the octopus-looking character from Pirates of the Caribbean to the Taj Mahal

Chantelle and I posing with our fellow Sagittarian, the centaur (aka, The Archer)

This picture was a must, not only because Steve Jobs happens to be incredibly popular here --his biography was published in Korea and is almost 1000 pages in length (vs 656 pages in the English version) because of the hangul (Korean) characters -- but because the child posing in the picture is trying to make it look like he is picking the great late Steve Job's nose.

*sipping hot cocoa within a snow cafe, a surprise feature of the Taebaek Snow Festival

The entrance to the Snow Cafe --an igloo that was serving up coffee and hot chocolate inside.

As you ventured around the igloo, the path was lit by LCD lights and you could pick an ice table and chairs to sit on while you enjoyed your hot beverage.  It was even more amazing than it looks.

*the florescent minerals featured in the Coal Museum, another unexpected place of tourist delight --the Coal museum also proved entertaining because in addition to its beautiful collection of different rocks and minerals, there were also some wonderful examples of Konglish (Korean-English).

While there were many fascinating rocks and minerals to look at, my personal favourite were the florescent minerals that glow like this under the presence of black light.  Geology rocks! (Sorry, I couldn't resist)

This section of the Coal Museum featured all of the different devices they used underground, in offices and on men for personal protection.  Although this particular segment was displaying the many modes of communication, the English translation on the sign said: "Telecommunication Equipment Prevention".  That doesn't seem right.

*the landscape around Taebaek City

On the upward climb, you come across this area of small shops and restaurants.  At this time of year, most visitors are here to climb the mountain and they mean business.  Expect to be poked by at least one mountain climbing pole and stomped by a mountain climbing cleat.

Looking out and seeing all of these mountains makes me eager to see BC.

*brown-bagged snacks.  The dinner on the train back was served like most traditional meals in Korea, cold, so it was fortunate that we had the foresight to bring such things as PB&J sandwiches, Pringles, ginger snaps, rice cakes and gummy bears. 

*the cozy trip back to Seoul Station --the heat was pumping as much as the music.  While some of the passengers slipped into "rare form", Paul bought cards in Taebaek, so Hilary had her first game of Euchre while Chantelle thoroughly enjoyed her first train ride.  I felt it necessary to explain that not all train rides would be as entertaining or enjoyable as this one was.

Saavy Sundays

With no offense to Lover Boy (circa 1976), I'm not a person who is "working for the weekend".  I also am not a person who likes to watch opportunities pass me by, so when the majority of last weekend was tied up with a work-related obligation, I tried to make the most of the Saturday evening and Sunday that was left.

For the past couple of months, we have been preparing for "Wonderland's Presentation", which can be aptly described as a well-lit, well-staged, well-costumed version of Elementary talent shows wherein all the BT (kindergarten) classes put on 20-minute musicals of different Disney movies --Lion King, Aladdin and Rapunzel --then come together for a couple of kinder dances and a chorus of do-re-mi to finish the show.  Before I get into too much detail about the presentation (because I am sure another blog on that topic will be coming along soon) I will move on to the agenda that reclaimed my evening/weekend as my own.

We finished cleaning up the stage, dressing rooms, props, etc and toting materials back to Wonderland by 7pm last Saturday, which left more than enough of the evening to enjoy.  After arriving home and dropping off my stuff, myself, Hilary, Paul, Andrea and Kirk (Andrea's boyfriend who was visiting from Canada for a couple of weeks) were off to enjoy some Korean BBQ.  About twenty lettuce-wrapped pork pieces later, we headed home with plans of McDonald's dessert.  One hot fudge sundae later, I fell asleep watching Spirited Away --which I will need to re-watch in the future, of course, given how confused I was when I woke up to frogs giving advice about dragons. 

Anywho, moving on from sundae to Sunday, I ended up having a couple of Skype dates, doing my dishes (that usually get neglected until my four of everything is exhausted), and running a couple loads of laundry through the wash.  After accomplishing enough around the homestead, I still had time to watch a movie with Hilary at her place (Definitely Maybe --"you're the happy ending") and do some writing upon my arrival home.  When I went to sleep, I fell asleep with the sweet feeling of productivity and motivation for Monday. 

I have no doubt that I will be falling asleep tonight with the same feeling.  After a delightful Saturday spent on a Wine Train to the Snow Festival in Taebeak (and back), this Sunday seemed to follow last Sunday's suit.  I woke up with the rare desire to wash my dishes, so I ran with it, and once I had repossessed my dishes from the depths of despair in my sink, I looked forward to using them for a tasty meal.  As the fairly new owner of some genuine Canadian Maple Syrup (thank you Aunt Mel!), I had been craving a beautiful brunch in which to use it. 

I played Sous Chef in the production of French toast and back bacon, and coupled it with a nice glass of mango juice.  After brunch, Paul and I ventured over to Starbucks for early afternoon reading and relaxing --and, by relaxing, I mean marking.  Arriving home, I put my newly purchased Swiffer look-alike to work and was excited to see how well the dry cloth-wet cloth combo worked (and smelled).  After hanging up the load of laundry, Chantelle came by my apartment and we headed to Hilary's for grilled cheese, ramin noodles and a movie.  Keeping with the ever-presence of dance this weekend, we opted for the fluffy film Burlesque and reminisced about our wonderful Wine Train experiences.  Going to the snow fest also gave us the opportunity to test out our winter gear --boots, mitts, tights, etc --for our Sledding field trip that is taking place tomorrow.  I suppose now all that is left to do is to drift off with sweet dreams of Saavy Sundays and Sledding Mondays.

Classroom Cute (Part 1)

There have been many incidents of cute that have occurred in my classrooms over my almost 6 months here, but since its during teaching time I don't often get a chance to write about it right after the fact.  Since the realization that I am in my sixth month here, I am going to attempt to blog more often --especially about the thing that brought me here: teaching.

So, without further ado, I will share my run-in with cute from this Friday.  After lunch I had two periods with my Kindergarten class, Blueberry.  The overly affection crowd of kinders were particularly interested in what Jennifer teacher was pulling out of her basket on Friday.  With the incredibly cold weather (-27 C), my skin has been quite dry so I had began applying hand lotion when a couple of my Blueberries approached me. Quickly my application of hand lotion turned into a mauling by two of my girls who wanted to get some of the lotion onto their own tiny hands.  Turns out everyone's hands were feeling a little dry because I became surrounded in kinders pawing my hands.  With their powers combined, it was the best little hand massage I've ever been privy to.  Not only was it the most relaxing moment I've had in the pressence of Blueberries, it was beyond cute as they cooed: "teacher more!"

Long Live Long Weekends

FYI: this post was originally written last Sunday, but is being posted today after some final touches, in particularly, properly positioning the photos upright to avoid the need for any head tilts of confusion (like that of December 26, "Merry Christmas").

Sunday, January 22, 2012:

It's Sunday on a long weekend and it feels fantastic to know I still have another two days to enjoy before heading back to work.  Monday marks Lunar New Year which is a national holiday in South Korea and creates a four-day weekend in which to visit family and have traditional celebrations equivalent to North American Christmas.

After a fairly busy December and hectic January at work, this long weekend is an excellent time to relax, recharge, and write reports.  While this past week flew by with 12-hour days, Friday seemed to moved slowly with anticipation for the weekend.  For a co-worker's birthday, we went to TGIF's in Gangnam, and ordered four plates of Jack Daniel's ribs (half price!), a burger and cajun-style tilapia.

TGIF's --chosen by my co-worker (Sara) for the reality of name: thank goodness it was Friday.

A little taste of the authentic Canadian decor at Rocky Mountain Tavern

After enjoying delicious home-style meats and a couple of cocktails, we were off to Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon for another taste of home. RMT is a Canadian pub that's home to Chicken Tenders, Candian Club, and plasma TVs playing TSN. Its decor is simple: license plates from all of the provinces, dart boards and of course, hockey jerseys.  After a couple of rounds with the coworkers (birthday girl Sara, Brad, Jason and Chantelle), Dan (a friend of Jason and mine from Althouse who is now working in S.Korea), Dan's friend Sean and Paul, we decided that our best next step was to rent a Norebong --a singing room.

Norebongs are everywhere in Korea.  I have been to a couple since being here --my first norebong experience was actually with my bosses in Buyeo --and, time spent at a norebong always promises to be entertaining. First of all, the music selection is broad and makes as much sense as the weather-themed backgrounds on screen showing the lyrics.  There are some Karaoke classics, one-hit wonders and then the least common songs sang by well-known artists. Our group has a variety of musical interest and the talent ranges about as much as our tastes do.  Needless to say there was a very bizarre yet enjoyable blend of music that included Nirvanna, Aqua, Rage Against the Machine, Jewel and Sir Mix-a-lot among many others. 

After you sing, dance and tambourine your way through a song the machine gives you a rating out a hundred. Not to brag, but our crew didn't drop below 92 and may or may not have had more than a couple 100s. Our room cost 30,000 won/hour which is about average, so ultimately, we spent less than $10 each for two hours of sing time and lots of laughs.  A high point of the evening was certainly when Chantelle and I did a particularly dramatic rendition of foolish games that some might call 'hauntingly beautiful' :D

Saturday ended up being a lot more lazy than expected. A Skype date, a longer-than-usual shower and a quick trip to a very busy Kim's Club was pretty much all that took place before early evening.  Dinner was sponsored by Pizza Mall, with one unfortunate mix-up: the instruction of "no sausage" turned into no pepperoni, so a sausage search-and-destroy mission was immediately employed from the comfort of my apartment while Paul and I watched Taking of Pelham 123. 

With my frequent use of the subway system here I often think about movies that revolve around public transit, in particular subways, and I've had a craving for Taking of Pelham 123 for quite a while now. Unfortunately I always seem to forget my desire to re-watch the movie by the time I get to where I'm going and back to my apartment. Anyway, I see it as a personal victory that I finally remembered to download and watch Taking of Pelham 123 and, as I correctly recalled Danzel Washington and John Travolta being an excellent pair in this high-jacking action flick.

The walk home from Kim's Club, before we knew what horrible mistake had been made with our pizza.  The tall white buildings just beyond the rows of trees are our apartments in the 200 block.

Moving on, Saturday night marked the celebration of Andrea's birthday and another evening out --this time in Hongdae, another hot spot for foreigners and party-goers alike.  After enjoying birthday (cheese)cake and some beverages at my place with the birthday girl, four of us headed for Hongdae to meet up with Sean (Dan's friend from the previous evening) and to fulfill a need to dance that had been brewing since Thursday.  Since it was a long weekend, we were under the assumption that most Koreans, young and old, would be spending the weekend locked into time with family but the crowds in Hongdae proved us wrong.  In fact, it would seem that the copious amounts of twenty-something Koreans bustling around Hongdae were in need of blowing off some steam just as much as North American families do after 24-7 holiday visits.

Nevertheless, we ended up at a less crowded place called Ska 2 which had drastically changed its set-up since this past Halloween when we had visited it last.  The extra space allowed for us to shift nicely from sitting and mingling to dancing without it taking 25 minutes to get from one spot to the next.  The low occupancy rate also afforded us the opportunity to breath a little cleaner as smoking is a-okay anywhere in Korea.  Most of the time, the smoke in evening establishments is enough to warrant a shower the instant you arrive back at home and an immediate toss of all layers into the laundry.

Despite the blur, this photo accurately depicts the kind of shenanigans that arises.  Yes, we are posing with a unicorn and his friend, the rooster (who were later identified as John and Mike, respectively).

So, after drinking, dancing and breathing easily, our group split into two: one group in search of more good times (with the above creatures of folklore) and one group seeking food --it's not hard to guess what group I was apart of.  Myself, Paul and Sean ended up at this delicious chicken place that serves up potato wedges with a side of people-watching from the perfect intersect position.  If you find the interactions and behaviour of people in any Canadian environment funny, you would thoroughly enjoy the sights of early-morning Hongdae.  Once our stomachs had been satiated as much as our desire to dance the night away, we headed home.

This Sunday was fairly relaxed --as I try to keep most of my Sundays --with a plan for dinner and a movie to look forward to.  From our last trip to Costco, I had acquired a 2.5lbs bag of shredded cheese and as a lactose intolerant it is only right for me to share my delicious bargains with those who possess the proper enzymes to break them down.  Naturally the combination of new-found tortillas at Kim's and the abundance of shredded cheese meant quesadillas must be on the menu.  Hilary had bought some caesar salad kits from  and the three of us (Hilary, Chantelle and I) had invested in a 7,000won pie at Costco as well, so dinner was set to be caesar salad, chicken quesadillas, and apple pie.  After checking out recent film reviews via rottentomatoes.com, Margin Call was selected with fairly high hopes.  The dinner was delicious, the pie was freaking fantastic and now the movie: not so much.  To be honest, I am currently typing out this post as we watch the movie, so that should be some indication as to how quickly the plot moves and how engaging the performances are.  Oh well, it's still Sunday on a long weekend, so huzzah to a wonderful weekend so far and to the Monday and Tuesday to come!

From left to right: Chantelle, myself and Hilary making our wonderful three-course meal, sponsored by Costco.  This is my kitchen (hopefully) looking more lived-in than the first photo I posted of it.

 

FYI: The second half of the weekend was just as lovely as the first, with a dress code of comfy-casual.  On Monday, Andrea hosted an evening of chili and biscuits, banana bread and Justin Timberlake --I mean, 'In Time', JT's most recent film.  Tuesday gave me enough time to feel on top of my litany of reports due at the end of January, and I ended the weekend by having Hilary and Chantelle over for a girls' night: watching The Women and painting our nails.  Girls nights were a tradition passed on from our previous co-workers and it usually entails an adventure out on a weeknight, but with our current need for warmth and rejuvenation, a calm night in seems to do the job.

Dinner Dates

Months after being on my no-food diet, I still find myself being a bit cautious about the spice, alcohol, and/or seafood quotient of meals.  Cooking for myself has proven to be enjoyable, especially as I share custody of a toaster oven with Hilary, but as of late I’ve been looking for a change up.  Over the past two weeks, it’s been made a priority to try out some new places, new dishes and integrate some variety into my culinary consumption.  

Last week, Paul and I visited this place called PhoMein in my city of Gwacheon that specializes in Vietnamese dishes while seeming to dabble in Thai food as well.  We ordered egg rolls as an appetizer (which ended up being the smallest egg rolls I have ever eaten), Cashew Chicken and Pad Thai.  My Pad Thai was beyond tasty and felt quite gratifying to eat as I selectively swerved through the cooked egg, chicken, sprouts and noodles with my plastic and seemingly clumsy chopsticks.

Cashew chicken, egg rolls and complimentary side dishes.  Wasn't sure what the yellow stuff stuff was, so I left well enough alone.

The wonderfully delicious Pad Thai and green tea.  This is also a great view of the illusive plastic chopsticks.

As an aside, I’ll take this opportunity to describe the kinds of chopsticks that are available here.  At work, there are metal chopsticks that are quite thin (like a metallic linguine) and come to a fairly narrow end.  I have the most practice with these chopsticks, and I’m proud to say that my eating dexterity has improved enough for my hands to naturally fall at the back half of the chopsticks.  My apartment came with a couple of wooden chopstick pairs to eat with that are cylindrical and come to a point; there are also a couple of take-out style wooden chopsticks that float around my utensil drawer that are ideal for a grab-and-go meal of ramin.  I think back to the day I saw a 100-pack of these one-use wooden chopsticks in No Frills and thought to myself “this will make my asian-themed meals more authentic and exciting” –thank god for my seemingly small sense of adventure through the use of changing up my utensils because that practice has prevented me from starving.  

However, all the practice in the world (yes, I am referring to my almost 5 months here and my previous enthusiasm about chopsticks in Canada) has not really prepared me for the use of the plastic chopsticks that some restaurants give you.  The logical side of me realizes that these plastic chopsticks are probably chosen because they are cost-effective and dishwasher-friendly, but I swear the owners give some kind of consideration to how silly people (mostly of the non-asian variety) will look trying to use these chopsticks and THAT is the deciding factor.  Surely enough, the combination of sauce, noodles and plastic cylinders-of-failure will turn a well-cultured meal into a dine-and-dash from embarrassment.  No, I would never stiff on the bill, but while I am slurping away on my noodles in an attempt to suction my meal into my mouth, I ponder how quickly I could get the heck outta thurr.  

Luckily, my hands make a couple of adjustments through my first couple of attempts, and the plastic chopsticks end up being like an old friend –roughing me up a bit at first to reminisce about the playful moments, and then easing up on me when they’ve recognized a dedication to the relationship that’s never wavered.  I become one with the plastic chopsticks and all is well in the world.

With such successful and delicious attempts at asian cuisine earlier in the week, Paul and I ended up at a Chinese food restaurant last Saturday.  I must clarify: when I say Chinese, I mean legitimate Chinese food –I have yet to encounter a battered chicken ball since being here.  Also, most dishes that you order in Korea are communal, so you usually end up going halfsies, thrice-way or quartering the meal.  In order to get a couple different flavours going, we decided to split Beijing-style Sweet and Sour Pork and an order of Potato Noodles stir-fried with vegetables.  

Sweet and Sour Pork

Stir-fried potato noodles with vegetables... and rice.  Rice is an integral part of almost any and every Korean meal.

Once again, the combination of tastes and texture was terrific.  There was a lovely blend of sweet, sour and crunch from the Pork, the potato noodles had a slightly different flavour than the noodles I have had lately, and the veggies were a terrific tender-crisp that had both of us leaving happy with the quantity and quality of the meal.  In fact, I left so satisfied by the meal that (dare I say it) I felt too full to finish the movie theatre popcorn when we went to see Sherlock Holmes II shortly after dinner.  Now that’s when you know a meal is good.

Merry Christmas!

On our way to Incheon Airport (for Malaysia) and I just figured out how to blog from my phone --yay! So, it's the perfect time for a quick holiday message.
After celebrating Christmas with my coworkers (Kris Kringle, potluck dinner, snow and all) and happily Skyped family and friends, I can really appreciate the simple  joy of Christmas time.  Getting packages with all the fixings from home and opening presents from new-found friends made me think about what really matters.
Its not about outspending, outsmarting, or outlasting (survivor-style); it's really the creature comforts and the company that makes Christmas what it is. And, even though I missed being home, I've learned how close people can feel despite the distance. I was still able to see my loved ones open their presents, visit everyone from the comfort of my jammies and partake in the traditional meat and mashed potatoes dinner.
Anywho, before I get too deep about.my skins-in, white pepper and mashed potatoes, I really want to wish everyone a happy holiday season! Hope everyone has a lot of love and laughter during the festive season :D
PS, now that I've taken another step into the technology world of blogging (via smartphone), I promise to post more blips as I travel along.
PPS, I have decided to stop counting my blog by days. Not only have I lost count of exactly how long I've been here, I've also stop focusing on the countup/countdown. Just taking it one day and one adventure at time. Speaking of which, we're pulling up to the airport now :)

Yes, this is my Christmas tree.  No, it doesn't normally tip to the side --this was just the result of posting from my phone and not understanding the need for a "turn counter-clockwise" button.

Day 95: Sunday, November 27

Long Week? Welcome to the Real World

So, after another looong break from blogging, I hope I can play catch-up well enough to satisfy those of you who have been prodding me to write again (ahem, Victoria Collis).  The fact is, I am falling into the Korean concept of work, wherein you keep your nose to the grindstone and you lift your head up for air just in time to go back to work again.  To clarify, this isn’t a complaint –I feel very fortunate to be working in a profession I feel so passionate about and my coworkers and bosses are truly terrific.  If anything, it seems as though I am becoming accustomed to the culture in a very intrinsic way, and my tourist approaches to understanding a Korean lifestyle have fallen away to a more meaningful experience.  I see that hard work is a standard for most Korean people and I can certainly respect it enough to follow suit when it is asked of me. 

This past week, our regular number of seven foreign teachers was down to five and that left everyone picking up the slack.  At the same time that we were filling in the gaps, we were also welcoming four new people to replace a handful of veteran teachers.  Hectic to say the least, we were all losing our prep periods and I ended up working the majority of my days from 9am to 7pm with one 25-minute lunch break.  Long, tiring days are not the type of thing that recruiters tell you about when they are trying to persuade you to come here, but I strangely find them the most satisfying.  Even better, when I can leave at the end of the day, grab a quick meal (with my hard-earned won) and go home to mark papers and prep for reports, I feel like I have truly arrived in adulthood.

Rewinding back to my undergrad days, there was always a lot of talk about the “real world”.  Not the TV reality series, but the ominous world of work and adult responsibilities that were soon to come.  Being somewhat self-sufficient at the time, I remember thinking how silly it was for my elders to assume that I was not yet experiencing the “real world”.  I worked, I studied, I stressed and I felt as though I knew the meaning of money; surely, I must be a part of that allusive adult world they speak of.  Clearly, the members of the adult club were just being condescending, or elitist, or just plain cruel to tell me otherwise –or, at least that’s what the somewhat of a doofus, 21-year old Jenni thought.

Me, at 21 years old, trying to balance the weight of the world.  Wait, that's not the world, it's ice cream.

Then, when I graduated university and worked three part-time jobs, making ends meet in my basement apartment, I wanted to smack my younger self for thinking she had any idea what the “real world” was.  Though the life of an undergrad student can be stressful and demanding at times, it does not pose the same kind of gut-churning life pressures that the working class are privy to.  Naturally, I thought that I really had a sense of what adulthood was about.  Driving from one workplace to another in a car I paid the insurance on, making grocery lists and low-budget plans with friends, I had finally arrived in the “real world”.

Glamour grad at 23.  Being an adult is apparently all about looking fabulous.

Two years later, I feel it necessary to look back on my younger (less experienced) self once again and laugh a little at what I thought I knew in vast contrast to what the reality may have been.  In this case, those earlier jobs were stepping stones to becoming more responsible, but they didn’t require the same sort of dedication that salary work demands.  This week, being somewhat hellish, didn’t provide any clock-out sort of situations or regulated break times –just long days of blood, sweat and maybe a couple tears.  However, with every day that passed by and every  “to do” was checked off my seemingly never-ending list, I couldn’t help but feel that THIS is the “real world”.*

Present day: "Jennifer Teacher", remaining fairly sane on a field trip with Blueberries

*Being the realist that I am, I can imagine a point in my future where I look back at this epiphany and think that I still missed the mark, but for now, I would like to rejoice in feeling a bit like a grown up.