Discovery of the week: Eyelash Extensions

Eyelash extensions are something I read about before I came to Korea. I have always been intrigued by them but also they are a bit scary. I assumed that the second they were glued to me i'd look like a crazy drag queen which wouldn't be a bad thing if I wasn't a teacher to teenager boys.
So since I had a big event to go to and didn't want to look a state  I decided to take the plunge.
All I knew about eyelash extensions was they were invented in Korea so I started researching to find out a little more. Here are some of the questions I wanted to find the answers to and maybe they can help you guys too:

. How long do they last?
I always assumed they would last about a week. After some research I discovered they can last up to 90 days but the average you can hope for before they start to look un-even is about a month.

.How do they apply them?
This process was particularly important to me since I knew that it would be a non-English speaking person applying them. I was asked to lie on the bed and the lady put tape under my eyes and on top of my eyelids. She also put tape on my eyebrows to stop glue getting on them.
It is odd to be forced to keep your eyes closed but as long as you relax it is fine. It is not even slightly painful and it didn't seem like a long time, even if it was 45 minutes. The oddest part of the process was when she put a ball of cotton up one of my nostrils. This, i'm guessing , is to stop you smelling the glue but it felt odd since I had my eyes closed and couldn't ask her in English why she'd done it.

.How long does it take?
As mentioned above , it took about 45 minutes but can be up to an hour. Next time I get it done, as long as I go before they all fall out, it should only be about 35 minutes.

.What do you ask for?
So this is the complicated bit. There are a few different types of lashes you can have.
The main difference is material and length.
Acrylic - which is the most common. It is the ones I have and they feel plastic but look great.

Mink - The softest and most expensive type.Weirdly you still have to add mascara and curl them.

A lot of stores will only specialise in one or two materials so if you do have specific ones you want ask first.

The two important decisions are the curl:
J-curl or C-curl.

J-curl is a straight lash that you curl yourself. It looks more natural as it grows out but takes a little bit of work and is very subtle. It is the most common for Asian people.

C-curl is a pre-curled lash and the one I went with. It  requires no work but I have heard that the curl can be quite extreme as your own lashes start to grow. I think next time I would go for the C-curl but a bit shorter so it seems a little more natural.

Length:
I went for 11mm but the lady was desperate to give me 12mm. A mm difference doesn't sound like a lot but it makes a huge difference when it comes to something as small as your lashes. Next time I will definitely be going for a shorter length but i'm still glad I went for the 11mm C-curl. I read on 'Eat Your Kimchi' another fantastic blog about Korea that its better to go big so you have something to compare and I definitely agree.

Tips:
I was told once to always wear extra eye make up if you wear glasses. This is very true and also apply's for your lashes. Like I mentioned before, the 11mm C-curls are quite big but behind my glasses they are much less noticeable.If you don't wear glasses then maybe a j-curl would be a better fit.

Don't get them wet for a few hours after application. They will come un-stuck if you do.

Don't get oil on them. If you use make up wipes just be careful around them. You won't need eyeliner or mascara with them so it shouldn't be such a problem.

Since having them I have actually stopped wearing make-up all together. They eyes make up for everything else i'm not wearing. I put lipstick on if I go out but its a relief to not have to worry so much. I should make more of an effort but with the lashes i'm becoming really lazy.

How much do they cost?
I paid 40,000 won which is about 20 pound and it is really great value.

I am a complete convert and I think while i'm in Korea I will treat myself to it anytime I have an event coming up.
I just walked into a place that had eyelash before and after pictures on the outside and she layed me down straight away without questioning. Because it is a long process if might be good to book but I wasn't in a rush so I just chanced it.

It's a easy process with great results. Now I just have to see how they grow out.

Discovery of the week: Delivery Men

Last week we ordered a bed. We have been sleeping on the floor or in the tiny single bed for so long that it forced us to use the terrifying site that is G-market. As far as websites go it is a confusing mess. We navigated our way around it very slowly and took the plunge.

We ordered the bed on the Saturday and hoped it wouldn’t arrive two sizes too small.

We transferred the money on the Sunday (yes you don’t use cards on this site) and waited to see when it would arrive. To our surprise the very next day we received a text message saying it was on its way. At 9pm that night the bed would be arriving. We hadn’t a clue how to get rid of the old bed but who cared! We could finally have a mattress to sleep on.

Unfortunately 60 mins after the set arrival time there was still no sign of the delivery and we were starting to lose hope. That was until a tiny man turned up in his truck.

This man seemed to possess super powers. He refused help and carried an entire flat packed double bed upstairs. We saw him with 4 boxes on his back which he left at the door and went back for the rest. Trying to be helpful we attempted to move these inside the flat but it’s safe to say we failed. This tiny man had carried four of these up 3 flights of stairs and we couldn’t even pick up one. We were impressed. We were even more impressed when he next appeared carrying a double mattress all by himself. He really was super human.

The two of us were happy to have a new bed in our room and were talking among ourselves about the tools we might need to require to build this contraption when suddenly this small hero started stripping off the sheets from our old bed. We were slightly confused but too excited that he might be helping us get rid of the old piece of rubbish that we didn’t say anything. Within 10 minutes he had disassembled and moved our old single bed down and out of the apartment building.

We knew we had to pay this guy 20,000 won for delivery and that price had never seen like such a good deal that was until the crescendo of this delivery service. Just when we were getting to low bow and give our broken Korean ‘thank you’s’ a small Stanly knife was whipped out. I knew it had been too good to be true. He was going to bring us a bed and then rob us of everything we owned. Instead he swiftly turned and started opening up the flat packs. Now as a person who is use to lugging boxes around IKEA on trolleys that never work and then someone who spends hours after working out which screw is 6B and which is 8E seeing someone assemble my flat pack bed with such ease was a beautiful thing. Almost like art.

Instantly my British brain kicked in. If this guy was in my house for more than 30 seconds he needed a cup of tea (or coffee since we are in Korea). Despite my best Mrs. Doyle impressions the delivery man gave a curt ‘no thank you’ without even looking up, and carried on. I went to the kitchen to make myself a drink, not because I was thirsty but because the awkwardness of just watch a man build something without helping was taking over. I swear I was gone for about 2 minutes before I turned and this wondrous man was bowing to me, putting on his shoes and carrying out all of the boxes (which he took with him)

Lee and I looked at each other stunned and unbelieving of what had just happened. 10 minutes ago we had been watching Archer episodes and now we had a brand new (really nice) double bed and side table….oh he assembled that too.

Although a little late this magical man has made it a certainty that we will be ordering furniture online again.

The only thing left for us to do was buy a 10,000 won sticker from our local Dong office (government office) and stick it on the bed outside. Within one hour it was taken away and out of our lives.

Long live the Korean Delivery service. 

Discovery of the week: Pain threshold.

This week I have been tested to my limits. Although Korean culture dictates you should never miss a day off school this doesn’t mean you don’t run into illness from time to time.

I have had a few times that my bed was a hundred times more appealing than the classroom but I’ve persevered (mainly because the school nurse lets you sleep in a bed in-between your classes) but today I faced a new hurdle.

Frozen shoulder!

I’ve had this occur a few times over the years and it may be one of the least pleasant experiences of my life. If you haven’t had shoulder/neck pain you are a lucky individual as I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. My neck and back tighten to the point that any movement feels like a thousand tiny ninjas are attacking, not to be too dramatic or anything.

This normally isn’t too much of a problem since in the past I’ve worked in an office where I can sit very still and have a spinney chair (although this did make me seem like some kind of Bond villain). Normally if I’m completely incapacitated I can stay home but in Korea that’s not an option so today I had to teach 4 lessons without any use of my upper body.

There was a lot of pen dropping; funny looks and luckily a slight amount of sympathy from my 3^rd graders (no such luck with my 2^nd grade class who thought it was hilarious to throw things at me) ...the classiest moment of my life came when I had to take a bin to the library to be sick from the pain. That’s true lady–like tendencies for you!

One lovely student told me that it was like a robot was teaching them! I love my students, always looking on the bright side.

It was a challenge to teach (…and turn and write) but its 50% of the way through the day and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel with just 2 more classes to go.

The nurse has given me some pain killers which dulled the pain so I’m hoping to add a few degrees of movement into my next class but my poor student have to put up with C3P0 teacher for the day.

Screw you pain….lets do this!

Discovery of the week: Elementary school students.

Discovery of the week: Elementary school students.

Since it is vacation time for my middle school I agreed to help out a friend and be part of his summer camp. This sounded like so much fun that I couldn’t wait. I was allowed to teach 3 grades, 3 times over 3 days. The first day was ‘Airport’ so I had my suitcase, passport and travel equipment ready to show the class. The lovely co teachers at my friend Patrick’s school (and I mean lovely) thought I just carried a very big bag around with me.

What the kids would be like was a mystery to me. My students are about 5 years older in some cases and definitely have a lower level of English. When I stepped into my first class I was greeted with 10 beaming faces. Each student was a pleasure. They had such lovely personalities. Each student was enthusiastic and ready to learn. This theme continued through out the day. The 4^th grade class was so cute it broke my heart. They were just adorable. I was in love. 

The next day we had a lot of fun with a senses lesson. This meant I was allowed to feed those lemons and popcorn while making their poor little noses smell perfume and coffee. The over stimulisation may have been too much for them as they were all hyper messes for the other teachers….oophs!

The last day we had an animation class. This is very close to my heart as its been my career path since I was 7. The kids reacted great to it including one student who genuinely wanted to become and animator. I gave them the task of creating a character and then drawing that same character doing different movements we had learnt. I was extremely impressed. Their drawing skills and imagination was shockingly great.

 

Airport class, students filling their passports

Senses class. Creating a face.

The girls decided their face would be me :D

Each day went so quick that it was hard to pause for breath. Every day was summed up by sitting down with the other teachers for a delicious Korean meal.

I can honestly say I didn’t want to leave.

Before saying goodbye I had a wall of 4^th graders run at me to take pictures. I felt like a celebrity. I have never had that kind of recognition for any job I’ve done let alone school teacher so it was a shock to the system but one I’d definitely welcome again.

Thank you Janggi elementary school for having me. I miss you already xxxx

Discovery of the week: Socks

This is another discovery that has slowly grown on me since arriving in Korea. At home I’m not a big socks fan. I have a few pairs but I’m more a ballet pumps girl and avoid them at all costs, well until I moved to Korea.

Here socks are EVERYWHERE. Corner stores, train stations and even in one fruit and veg shop (?)

It’s rare to see the same design twice so if you fall in love with a pair you should buy them instantly plus they are constantly changing. If you go to a shop one week the next week they will have a plethora of new designs.

Maybe the best attribution of my new found love is price. They are ridiculously cheap. Its about 50p for every pair and they are comfy, well design , and beautiful things.

On a night out recently I happened to start talking to a Korean girl whose job was to design socks. I was in awe. She was telling me about the fast turn around and the ‘not so great’ pay but to be honest I would be in colorful, cartoon heaven. Sign me up!

I recently went sock mad and bought about 5 pairs. My collection is growing.

Discovery of the week: Mosquitos

This week has been the hottest by far. The heat in Daegu is starting to reveal itself. Long gone is the dry sunshine that I as a Brit associate with the 3 days of summer we get in the UK. In its place we have been treated to the hot, humid, wet Daegu that I’ve read so much about.

This isn’t the end of the world as Daegu has fan’s and AC units everywhere but its definitely a learning curve. I still prefer it to the cold but I’m interested to see what Monsoon season will be like. I might have to invest in some summer wellies.

However with the damp heat there comes one annoying menace. Bugs!

I lived in Saudi Arabia for a little while as a child and I have experienced mosquitoes but nothing like this. No matter what repellent I apply they still feast on me.

I have extremely sensitive skin, you tickle me and you will get a boot in the face (involuntary of course) so when I get bitten it is unbearable for about two weeks. I still have bite marks right now from a month and a half ago. The other interesting aspect of these bugs is they choose odd places to bit you. The knuckles, toe and eye lid have been the interesting additions this week.

At the moment I am in a battle with myself. I have no air con in the bedroom and one window. Unfortunately this one window is the only window without a mosquito net. Every night I am forced to decided on cool air so I can sleep but bite ridden limbs or one or two bites but unbearable heat. It’s still not a awful problem to have. Its still better than the problems I faced in Britain so I shouldn’t moan but I have declared war on these insects and by Jove, I will win!

Discovery of the week: Bread

Discovery of the week: Bread

Bread. I have always been breads biggest fan. It was been with me through the hard winter nights and the picnicking summer days. Its safe to say that bread and I have a long term, loving relationship.

Moving Korea changed all that. People here don’t eat bread. They just don’t seem to have realized its greatness.

Luckily for me they are starting to see its potential. This means that you can buy a very small loaf of bread in the bakeries here.

The bakeries themselves deserve a month of praises. They are truly dream-like places. I would stay here another year just for their carby goodness.

For my birthday I was given a fantastic loaf of my first Korean bread and also some butter to go with it. Unfortunately the butter was more of a vegetable margarine which is not something I’m a fan of but the bread was so good that I did not care. It was devoured before the birthday was done. 

I am now already planning how to get to the bakery for another loaf, after all its not a weekend without buttery toast. Now I just need the butter and toaster and I’m sorted.

Bread, we salute you!