giving thanks

Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2007 2:17 AM

Subject: sha, short for shannon

hi everyone. if youre getting this email, it's b/c i used to work for or with you. i got to thinking about all kinds of former jobs i've had and began to wonder where some of these really cool coworkers i used to know are now. this is sha, i hope you remember me. i live in south korea right now, teaching english and i love it. i owe thanks (and probably apologies) to all of you, b/c something happened when we knew each other and i ended up (happily) here. scroll down, look for your name, read, and then delete. ~sha.

ollie: thanks for putting up with all of my prepubescent nonsense whilst i was in my 20's, i love my own mom, but you sure do come a close second.

tal: you introduced me to bit o' honey, which is still my favorite non chocolate candy to this day.

catherine: you were my favorite red enveloper. sorry i was such a jerk when you knew me.

Cassie: i strive to be more like you. seriously, you're always so nice and would say supportive things to me.

Cheryl: im so sorry for all those times i made fun of you taking that book making class. i now know how hard making books are. i took sign language b/c of you, and it was one of my favorite classes in college.

chris: thank you for believing in me, i think im a pretty ok teacher w/much thanks to you.

Courtney: we should've had more dinners together, we didnt have enough time.

david- youre the tallest person ive ever met.

donisha: i had so much fun when we worked, albeit briefly, together. i wish we couldve been closer friends. i remember you wore pink pumps to work once, you were all glittery and so cute!

debra wolf: you let me use your sewing machine. i, as a amateur seamstress, am honored that you trusted me so.

esra: ah, my turkish princess.

geoff: i remember once at work you were playing with a ruler, and out of nowhere you turned and said to me, "this is 12 inches, can you believe some guys say thier dick is this long? i mean, look at that!"

gwen: you should come to korea and teach for a bit, you'd be awesome here.

Grisel: you too.

jennifer cooper: you made out with my favorite dj. youre my hero for life.

john-turek: what an odd pair we were. youre one of my favorite people to talk to, nothing is too obscene to not still be funny.

karla: makeda is crazy. but im glad i got to be a part of the wbc albeit for a little little while. thanks for thinking of me for the job, i was so flattered.

kenya: i remember when we went to the foreign legion and i drank way too much, and you took me home and didnt make fun of me. you're the homie for life.

marc-orso: oh moe... you know.

Maria- i often think of you dancing, stepping side to side and clapping your hands...

marnie: my favorite fellow tutor. i remember once giving you a hard time and you laugh and look me dead in the eye, saying, "Im not afraid of you, sha!" it was awesome.

missy: together we did one of my favorite paintings. ive never met a woman who curses as much as you, i always thought that was so cool.

debra f: you helped me grow up a little, gave me good advice and criticism for the workplace, and made me dress like an adult for work. endless thanks for that, b/c jeez i was sloppy.

patty: we both loved napoleon dynamite more than anyone.

Paula: you and quinn are gone. i miss you guys. david moon quit, btw, did you know?

randi- *sigh* thanks for everything...

ryan- i remember the time me and adrian put m&m's and tacks all over your desk one day as an office prank, oh god, our stomachs hurt b/c we were laughing so hard. thanks for being a good sport. i'll always love you.

loretta: i think about how i called you while in one of like the 3 times ive ever been so piss drunk in my life, and you talked to me while i rambled on and finally i got sleepy, and you told me to be sure to sleep on my stomach... and laughed b/c you were afraid i may vomit in my sleep and choke to death.

sandra: i never wouldve seen ANY new movie if not for you. you cant believe how often i've watched on tv HERE things that i watched with you... all the harry potters, all the lord of the rings, sisterhood of the traveling pants, the 11th kingdom, wimbledon, the rundown... it's bizarre.

Thamer: ive always thought you were super hot.

trish: i remember one time you came to class with a black eye. i felt so awful for you. youre so nice, and i couldnt believe some jerk would could find any reason to lay violent hands on you. oh, also, sorry i was such a jerk when i knew you too. *blush*

terri: im still going to grad school eventually, i swear.

viviane: do you still love popcorn chicken? :)

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Subject: RE:
Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2007 05:09:41 +0000
dear mom and dad,

hi! things are good, as usual. i got the magazines and newspapers earlier this week, thanks so much for sending them, i really appreciate it. i saw jill scott is on the cover of jet! im very happy, she's one of my favorite singers. by the way, kanisha is supposed to send me the new jill scott cd, lay a guilt trip on her for me next time you see her. just kidding. not really.

a couple of weeks ago, the teachers at my school went out for dinner to celebrate some birthdays. whilst handling some bulgogi with his chopsticks, John dropped his meat into his half full glass of beer. Because it was his birthday, nikki (korean wife of one of my coworkers) takes his glass and insists we pass it around in order to partake in the korean tradition of everyone at the table adding a little bit of "love" to his drink. so in addition to the beer and meat, other ingredients came to include kimchee, mushrooms, soju, fried chicken, tomatoes, a mouthful of someone else's beer (ewww...) and then the birthday boy was supposed to drink it.

everyone at the table cheered and told him to do it for Canada (he, and many of my coworkers are canadian). I, however, said, "fuck that, john, thats nasty. dont drink that shit." the grossness of the situation was too gross for me. john was annoyed that he didnt get a chance to fish out his meat at the beginning so he could eat it.

ive never heard of this korean tradition of adding Love to someones drink before, but maybe it's one of those korean traditions people come up with whilst drinking. someone asked when my birthday was, i told them that it's in march, which is when i will be having cake. period.

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Subject: RE:

Date: Thu, 4 Oct 2007 12:13:24 +0000
dear mom and dad,

here is a picture of me with my haircut, and the other link is a picture of a goodbye drawings the kids made me last term.

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click here to read an email i responded to asking about isoaltion/lonlieness in korea.

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Subject:
Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:56:28 +0000
dear mom and dad,

we're already nearly halfway through the term already, it's crazy. things are going rather smoothly; my growing experience is helping, but the students make things go so smoothly as well.

we got 8 new teachers at the start of this term. i am now termed a "veteran" since this is my third term with the school. it's nice, b/c i dont have to go to so many meetings anymore, thank goddess.

i was browsing on a foreigner/korean website and found that Sookmyung Women's University offers free korean classes, im for sure going to take advantage next term (so that'll be... uhm... december?). it's a bit far, about half an hour on subway from where i live, but it's free so really i cant say a thing. plus, it took me this long just to get comfortable with saying "hello" and "thank you" and i think im ready to get to learning how to talk better.

my only fear, however, is that december is for sure amongst the cold season. and you know how sun spoiled i am. i can foresee me having troubles leaving the apartment to go to class if the weather is cold. lord give me strength to endure the ridiculously cold weather.

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Subject: RE: nuthin
Date: Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:48:58 +0000
dear mom and dad,



i got new glasses a while back, did i tell you? it only cost me $30 or so, i was floored. well, it turned out too that the frames i liked most were cheapest, but still.

the guys at the optometrist were super nice to me. while waiting for the new glasses, they offered me some sort of fruit libation by pointing at the bottle, smiling, and giving it to me. i felt, like, honored/flattered. i dont know, it's because i always get so embarrassed having to talk to people b/c ive not learned any korean beyond "hello" and "thank you." lucky me that most people speak a little english. so now i can see so clearly, like every blade of grass, every leaf on every tree, it's beautiful!

things are going fine. classes are going to be cancelled again here and there for the middle school students to take their exams, and i look forward to going through this pile of magazines from you all that i havent had the chance to read just yet.

it's chuseok here in south korea, which is sort of like thanksgiving. public schools are cancelled for near a week, i think. many people who live in seoul arent actually from seoul, and as a result many take several days off to travel to the boonies to be with family during the holiday.

for the holiday at my school we had ONE day off (tuesday, which was the actually day for chuseok). woo, the students were mad! i smiled and told them, "Everyday is a great day for learning, here at cdi!" to which of course they whined, "oohhhhh teacheerrrrrr...."

really, shouldnt i be mad at them?! if they had their parents call and say they werent coming to class, i wouldve had the day off too, dammit. :) ~daughter

happy chuseok!

it's my ONE day off for chuseok. thus far, ive spent it eating cereal, using my treadmill and elliptical, i'm watching a csi marathon on tv, and ive just finished doing my eyebrows. i may do a biore nose strip. later im going to cook some rice for dinner. maybe have some fish. dont know yet. below are pictures of some gifts given for chuseok. gift sets are popular. ive seen many of toothpaste, spame, tuna. my job gave me a really pretty bottle of wine, which i gave to the cabdriver who took me home that day.

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