Korea..... So Far.....

BRRRRRRRR....... it's cold....so far. Ok, well besides the freezin cold temperatures...I LOVE KOREA! I like much much better than Okinawa. Not to mention that the men are much better looking and the women don't look anorexic at all, they look normal.

We headed off the northest point in S. Korea today to take a look at N. Korea. It was really awkward. Barb wires everywhere, checkpoints, lookouts etc. There were propaganda buildings everywhen on the N. Korea side. Propaganda buildings to make it look like N. Korea is as normal as any other country; shopping mall, apartments all appear on the opposite site but in reality no one is there. Anyhow.. we met some fellows from the Domincan Republic and we are meeting them for dinner tonight at Panchos Mexican Food. I know... i know.... eat Korean food right? WRONG! tomorrow will be the day.

Sightseeing and some shopping galore. Tomorrow night is the Dj Tiesto concert. 55 buckaroos but it will be worth it!
Ciao for now.
V.

WOW....... How they all changed

So today was the last day of school and for the teachers who are leaving Kochinda Junior High School. Every 5 years, the teacher's must change schools; the Japanese do this in order for them not to get too comfortable, whereas if you would stay for 20 years at the same school one becomes lazy.
Anyways, after the closing ceremoney the teachers walked out single file walking underneath flower arrangements the students' made. Some were crying.. I was hugging my favorites' goodbye. The English teacher's who are leaving gave me gifts, I feel bad because I didn't get them anything. Well, I am off early today and I can run to the mall and pick up somethings for them for tonight's farewell buffet/drinking party tonight.(last time my Kocho Sensai was on all 4's he couldn't hang)
So, as the teachers were walking out, the 3rd grade student's that just graduated came to see them off. Naturally, some have become attached to their teachers' as they spend more time at school then at home. It is the duty of the teacher, here in Japan to look after the student's. They partol the streets after school and on weekends making sure the kids aren't doing anything they are supposed to do. If a student gets hurt, it is the teacher who accompanies them to the hospital. If the student gets caught doing something bad, it is the teacher who gets a talkin to, not the parent. It is the teacher who takes them to sports events, cometitions, high school interviews, not the partent's. The teacher's here are their counselor's, their coach, their teacher's and to most of them their friend. So one can see why most of these kids have an emotional attachement to the teacher's here. As for the parent's? They don't do SHIT!
Ok, back to my point. Anyways, the student's that just graduated came to say their final goodbyes BUT boy have they changed! Lot's of the boys shaved their eyebrows, or re-shaped them, some shaved off their hair, and some dyed their hair. The girl's have pierced ears, dyed hair and re-shaped eyebrows. Some of the boys "looks gay," as Harumi-Sensai said. Hehe. sorry, I couldn't stop laughing! I quite agreed. When you are in Junior High, you are not allowed to do any of the above.....as it taked away from the unity: they are all one. NO one stands out. But today...... OMG how they've all changed!

Missing the friends

That's Audrey..... aka ....the odd. met her back during my sophomore year in H.S. I wrote her essays for Mr. O'Neils class. Our favorite hang out? The tree.
Noelle!! What a cutie. Married now... and that's Ming....her lovely kitty! Missing your laugh!
Denise.....you Betty Page look-a-like! Mona Mecke..... drove me up the wall talking about you in during Germany and France tour! Mac and Cheeze Baby!
Xavior and Liz...... Also met them in H.S. Xavi..you handsome devil....Liz with the bitch attitude.....i love it!








As for the rest ..... missing you too! 

THE GUMBALL RALLY Continued......

Saturday, March 11th
Yes, that's Keri and Julie ....sorry the pic has been taken out...... We had the Gumball Rally. Basically, it's a scavenger hunt throughout the island. We had 3 hours to run around and try to get as many items on the list. Some included taking pictures of certain things. Like this one. 10 points.
Ok, so i took this cart from Jusco. Well, for game purposes only! but the cart is still in my jeep....hehe.... i can use it for classes! Hey, this cart was worth 50 points!
Well, what can I say.... 10 points of someone kisssing Goya inside the supermarket.
We had to form a pyramid with Japanese people.... So, I busted a U- turn when I saw the baseball team walking. They were willing to help! 50 points!
You can take this picture as you like. Julie freaking my jeep: Priceless. 10 points. There were many other things on the list such as..... running naked out on a busy intersection. Well, needless to say we didn't do that. BUT the crazy Scottish lad, Craig, DID! And there is video to prove it! Uh, huh...... he was naked all right! Other things we did were: take pics with military on Camp Foster, kiss a Shisa, kiss random strangers on the street.....etc

With my crazy driving, Keri's organizational skills, and 'willing to do anything', Julie we came in 3rd.

THE GUMBALL RALLY

Friday, March 10th
3rd grade graduation. It was actually nice but, VERY VERY boring. Everyone was dressed in black except for the students'. I asked why and Harumi-Sensai said, "think of it as if we are the backstage during a play... you don't want to call attention away from the actors." Elequently said, i reckon. Makes sense, i guess. After sitting for 2 hours, I begged one of the teacher's to let me do something....so she sent me on bento run. After bringing back 40 bento lunches, I came just in time for the ending. The other grades made beautiful banners to wish the students' luck. The 3rd graders sang their school song one last time as a class before they walked out single filed to shake our hands. Many teacher's cried, but I didn't, I was laughing... telling the girls NOT to wear their skirts short in high school. (the japanese school girls wear their skirts as short as Daisy Dukes... scouts honor) I ended up taking many, many pictures with the kids and their families'.

Friday Night

Julie and I drove to a beautiful cafe were the view was just awesome. This picture was taken just after sunset. We contimplated on what to do the rest of the night while sipping my tea and her coffee.


Countinued..... Friday Night....
After our fabulous chillaxin time at the cafe we head to the "otch kara sama des party," in Habaru. Japanese teachers' love to drink.... so we met them for free drinks at Tomatoe Kareoke. We got drunk with my principle and abouy 13 other teachers. They actually got dissapointed when we couldn't hang anymore.

That is Kanta-Sensai, Julie sinking to Outkast and myself. Hmmmm, I think this picture was taken after who knows how many beers. As you can see my JTE is pretty wasted. You can also see Julie do some Karaoke just click here!

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoID=569704112&n=2&Mytoken=13A71BE7-509A-EC56-497C823F8EA5A3B546599754

My Space

So i did it.... here is my link to my space


www.myspace.com/elviraloca

Class of 1996 Reunion

So my question is this: Should I go to my High School Reunion?

I have finally discovered MY SPACE and found many of the ol gang that hanged out at "the tree." As the planning for the reunion goes, my stomach seems to be turning, (and no it's not the nasty school lunch) I find myself very very nervous just thinking about it.

People have grown and some even have kids. More came out of the closet and some went back in. Some are successful lawyers and some are managers at Starbucks. As for me.... what can I say.... ? Why do I feel I haven't done enough... or accomplished enough?


Old nicknames like "cream cheeze"and " porn star" will be creeping up on me. Old pictures of the homecoming court will haunt me. My hair is no longer black with some funky added color and my nylons are normal as opposed to the fish nets. (acutally i do still have a pair) My face and body piercings are closed except for the ones on my ears'. The old "Cure" and "Perry Ferrel" posters have been taken down and are folded neatly collecting dust for some years now. My closet consists now of colors as opposed to the all black collection. (For Professional reasons) And the music that I listened to?...... that's the one thing that hasn't changed! The music still survives with me today! It was always only about the music!

It would be great to see everyone again!

Let the countdown begin.......

Just Pics

Here are some pics of Salsatina's!