Work work sleeeeeeeep.

Me and my student Su jin ^^

Kids from the Subway and Swedish Designer Lance

Designer Lance, Photographer Ju Han, and Designer Anders

Photographer's back on the bridge hehe

Lunch with the Direct English crew

I had two great photoshoots last weekend with two awesome photographers. I'll have pictures posted soon. Both shoots were located at a bridge but they are going to look totally different from eachother. Sunday's shoot was great because I got my hair and make up done at a nice salon. The people at the salon were really kind and professional and want to work with me in the future. The MUA (make up artist) used all high quality products from RMK, Dior, Bobbi Brown etc. It was a nice change of pace.

For that shoot I wore a mechanical dress. I can't really explain... just wait for the pics :)

Since I spent my weekend basically working (modeling isn't easy), I'm sooo exhausted now and I can't wait for Halloween weekend to come. I decided not to dress up and just have a casual weekend with good friends. I had a few ideas for a costume but .... eh I'm just not feeling the spirit here. It's kind of depressing I know. MAYBE I'll swing by American Apparel and see what I can put together. But MAYBE not because it's like twice as expensive here ... eh

Till next time! Much love,

Sylvia

Happenstances

The last few weeks have flown by like a whirlwind and just like that it’s Fall here in Seoul. Kalan is sick ... he has a bad cold and he's in bed with a few blankets that our land lady gave to us. He’s so sick he wouldn’t even eat the Sundubu (Spicy Tofu Soup) I made for him :( He's been resting a lot so I suspect he will get better soon.

On a lighter note, I’ve lost some of my Korean weight. I’m so motivated to get to my goal weight and my skin is finally clearing up because of the Shu Uemura oil cleanser Kalan and I bought. I definitely recommend it. I’ve also been really excited for my upcoming photo shoots. Here are some pics of my last shoot with photographer David Kim. You can see more of them from his flickr site - http://www.flickr.com/photos/davidkimphotography/

I’m still searching for model agencies by emailing people and searching online. If I don’t hear from anyone soon I’m going to have to go about it by foot and go to Gangnam during my breaks. I’ll stalk people if I have to hehe. I saw a poster on a bus that said Seoul Fashion week is coming soon. I’m dying to know everything about it and how I can get myself either on the runway or in the audience. Any ideas?

Ciao,

Sylvia

Me with my friends David and Stuart.

My photographer after a little too much Jack and Coke lol

Coworker Deon and I while watching another coworker Brian rock out on stage.

She was being shy :)

Me, Hayme and Grant hanging out at Freebird in Hongdae.

Hayme and my new friend Amanda at Zen.

Check out my awkward pose. So much for modeling hehe.

Culture Shock

Communal showers.

Really, communal showers aren’t that bad. BUT Korean communal showers are something entirely different...

Friday I went swimming for the first time in two months at a near by gym. In the locker room people in Korea like to hang out naked and the showers are completely open. Okay that’s fine. The disturbing part was that I saw a women laying in the middle of the shower. She was just LAYING there! The ajooma was laying in the middle of the shower amongst everyone's dirt and dead skin. I saw her from the corner of my eye and then glanced. When I realized what I was looking at I turned away as quickly as I could with a really disgusted look on my face. Then I started to think ‘what if she fainted?’ ‘what if she’s hurt?’ So I glanced again and immediately regretted it. The lady wasn’t hurt. She was just freaking laying there and staring off into space ... I still don’t understand this and I’m still disturbed by the picture burned in my mind.

On a lighter note, I got some pics back. These are totally different from anything else in my port. I guess they kind of suit this blog entry lol.

After Chuseok

This past weekend was Chuseok, which is the harvest moon festival time. Everyone leaves their normal everyday lives to spend time in there hometown with their families and close friends. I call it the Korean Thanksgiving without the pumpkin pie and mashed potatoes. I thought Kalan and I would spend most of this time alone and sad but we ended up hanging out with friends and even making some new ones.

This weekend was also special for me because I've been researching some grad schools and I feel pretty good about it. I've also been applying for job positions in the fashion industry. The jobs are kind of far fetched (ex. Burberry) but how exciting would it be if I actually landed a job at a high end/luxery brand. There aren't very many solid choices for grad schools and fashion but I've been looking up some Fashion Merchandising and Marketing programs. I just need to fork out some mulah and apply now before the deadlines are up ...

It's kind of exciting not knowing where I will end up but at least it is some kind of path. I feel a lot better than I did when my path was leading me to chlorine poisoning hehe.

So possible locations for me in the near future ... New York, Philadelphia, London, Tokyo, Korea?

Any suggestions?

Us getting ready to eat delicious food like always :P

Trying to get a good picture with JongWon my sat student

I guess he didn't want to smile

He dropped his bike like ten times when walking me to the bus stop. So funny!

Lounging after a fun night

Dancing at the Hyatt in Itaewon. J J Mahoney's!

Pre party party near Beedan's and Sookjin's univ

cute sand bar with the girls!

Finding Motivation

Working these last few weeks have taken a lot out of me. The split shift is really hard to get used to. I don't think I've ever taken so many naps in my life, even when I was a child. I enjoy my work though. Not very many people can say that. I'm getting to know a lot about Korean life and culture from my students.

My office ^^

I got a killer view of Severence Hospital

I've been watching every fashion oriented video possible to inspire me but now I REALLY just feel jealous and mad. Fashion week has just passed and the season's changing here so there are sooooo many things I want to buy but can't. Today I actually went to the Top Shop website and pretended to shop. I even add things to my shopping bag and everything. I think I got up to $400 before I quit. :P

My photoshoot went well on Sunday but I haven't got to screen the pictures yet. I'll post them as soon as I can. Looks like I will also be modeling for an online store and also a french fashion designer sometime soon. I really need to get my energy and motivation back! Maybe this weekend will rejuvenate me. Maybe I'm just missing my friends and fam from back home :) Well, even though I miss everyone, I'm going to try and stay positive and do the best that I can to be successful ... push the limits ya know. Success is hard work.

- Sylvia

Corn Bread

Today was an exceptionally beautiful day. It felt like a warm day during Fall or a Summer night in California. I woke up refreshed and for some reason my eyes felt like they were more open or something. My iced americano from the Oratorio Cafe and my corn bread from an Ewha bakery only made my morning better.

On top of my delightful morning I got to spend a few hours hanging out with one of my former swim students from Waterworks. His name is Daniel or Jong Won and I tutored him in English today. Basically we hung out together and worked on a Spiderman vs. Venom coloring/workbook. His mom Mi Ran is really nice and always feeds me well. Today she took me out for Indian food. We had Nan, Chicken and Curry and everything was muy delicioso.
They live in Ilsan so I had to take an express bus for about 40 minutes to get there but it was nice to get out of Seoul for a while and actually spend some time in a bigger apartment. Ilsan to Seoul is like Irvine to Los Angeles. It's really beautiful. Next week Mi Ran is going to take us to a lake near her house and hopefully I will have some more kids to tutor $$.

I wish I brought my camera to Ilsan but I forgot it :/ For the rest of the day I think I will study Korean at a nearby Cafe and maybe watch Korean dramas a little later. I'm into this show called Style. Basically, it's like a Korean Devil Wears Prada but for TV and with a lot of Korean drama.

This week I have two photoshoots booked so I'm super excited but I'm a little nervous. I was so consumed in finding job and working that I pushed modeling to the side for a while. It's a little nerve racking to jump into it again but I know I'll be comfortable when the day comes. I'll post pics as soon as I get them!

Fighting!

<3Sylvia

P.S. for those who don't know Fighting is like a "let's do it!" or "yeah!" type saying. ^-^

Finding a Routine

Today, I've been in Korea exactly a month. I'm finally settling into the nest Kalan and I live in and I started working this week. I'm an English tutor at Pagoda-Direct English. Some people might have preconceived notions about Direct English like management is horrible, pay isn't good, hours are bad, etc. But, I consider myself to be lucky because I've had such a hard time finding steady income in the first place.

Now, I'm going to try to "complain" about this as little as possible but I feel that it is vital to speak up in order for change to happen to the Korean society. Korea falls WAY short when it comes to equal rights. At my work Korean people who teach English get paid less and have zero benefits compared to Caucasian English teachers or "native" teachers. Half Koreans and non Caucasian foreigners have to work extra hard to start a life here. It's very backwards. If you are Korean I urge you to research online about how some non full korean people get treated. It's really not good for Korea's reputation. ANYWAYS, I don't want to write a whole essay about this but I hope this could bring SOME kind of light to the issue. I figure it's better than staying completely quiet.

Anywho, I am very lucky to have this job as an English tutor. ^^ I really enjoy it so far. And after I had a chat with the recruiting manager about why I was being treated differently than "native" English teachers I can honestly say that I have no complaints. My co-workers all seem really nice and easy to talk to. It's very international at my particular branch and my breaks are long and relaxing.

I'm making some pretty good friends. I've even made some Korean friends that are willing to help me with my Korean. My friends are always giving me advice about where to shop, where to eat, what not to do and other things. It's very helpful.

In result to socializing my little butt off, I've gained a few pounds (oops :/ ). These last few weeks I've been going out for dinner, lunch, coffee and dessert multiple times with my new friends. Now that I've started my job I can try to get a good and healthy routine going. I'm thinking about joining Hot Yoga. Maybe I'll stop eating the delicious waffles. Maybe.

Until next time!

Best,

Sylvia

Kalan's Birthday! <333

We went to On the Border yumm

At 태 (Tae) with 비단 (Beedan), 혜미 (Christina or Hyayme), and 진숙(Jin Sook)

Waiting in line for the best 덕뻒이 (dokbokki= rice cake yumminess)

with Jenny (채윤 Chaiyoon)

Korean tea and rice cakes

Jenny and one of her best friends right before she tutored me.

Kalan being cute.

Me and Kalan being us

Cato

고양이 Coyangee

Drummers

The inside of a cute tea house.