Cup of tea and a catch up!

Well hello!! Long time no type (sorry!) so in my Korean life – as I apparently have a different one?! Nothing much has changed. School is going well, the middle school students are switching off as they have finished their exams (10 in 3 days!) and its summer vacation holiday in a couple of weeks – so I don’t blame them! – Elementary students are still super cute, and don’t even get me started on this little monster… I just want to eat him!! However that is called cannibalism and is frowned upon in some countries (according to Mr. Wonka).

Ahem…. Moving on…

Let me think about what I have done since I last “blogged” using the term lightly as I also stole some people’s writing… only because they said all the things I wanted to say and included pictures. Plus I was there so why do I need to write pretty much the same thing insert motto Sharings Caring! – so yes the last time I wrote was back in March?! Mmmmmm what have I done? Oh I went to Ulleung-do (Do is Korean for Island) so let’s not say Ulleung-do island as that would be Ulleung island island?! Anyway that was a blast!! Lots of walking, beautiful scenery, it was like we were in Jurassic park – well; when it rained and the clouds came in, it was very historic, mysterious, wild, exciting – there is a word I am looking for but it seems to have evaporated from my brain… so let’s go with the word being a cousin of the ones I have mentioned. However before the clouds came rolling in the weather was perfect (on Saturday – rain showed its ugly wet face on the Sunday) the group split up some went to check out Dokdo (the island that Japan thinks they own but Koreans beg to differ! You cannot actually go onto the island as its in dispute, but you can touch the side of it then hop back on the ferry) so half went to touch the side of the cliff and the people who didn’t want to spend 1.5 hours on a boat there 30 mins on a concrete pier then 1.5 hours back went for a hike/walk/ casual stroll/mission/ almost-getting-lost forest trek. And let me tell you it was fantastic! As I turned every corner or passed a tree,  stepped over a bridge, climbed up rocks, looked out at the beautiful scenery; so many memories of places/countries I have been too, people I have met along the way, different experiences all rolling within the same memory and yet it seemed so strange that I was walking in Korea yet I felt like I was in Australia’s Blue Mountains, Edith Falls in Darwin (or anywhere else in Australia), Lyme Park walking the dogs with the clan family, France camping/exploring, or Scotland okay I will stop name dropping countries. Safe to say I had a great time with everyone despite the torrential downpour that still didn’t stop us from doing our costal walk with high spirits, and also getting up close and personal with a waterfall en route (only to get onto the bus at the other end and drive back to where we started walking from – but that’s by the by!) and that is Ulleung-do.

Now some news.. drum roll please da da daaaaaaaaaa I HAVE A TATTOO!! Yes it is VERY exciting I hear you say, because….. ITS.MY.FIRST.ONE! And I can see how they can become addictive! It is pronounced Gachok (with a slightly silent K I am told) its Korean for family, which I am sure you all know that family is important to me. Not just immediate family – that’s a given – but the people I have met over the years from, school, work, traveling and people who have literally jumped into my life with two feet … or did I do that to you? No… I am not sorry if I did! Am I happy with it I hear you ask? No…. I LOVE IT! Yes I was freaking out prior to “going under the needle” but thank you to Maggie Mae and Laci Lou for keeping me calm oh and to Jayn … who fell asleep!

   

Soon I will be celebrating my 10 month mark (25^th July) since arriving in Korea and because I am over here, why not go to Thailand for summer vacation/holiday! Super excited, chilling on the beach, face to face with elephants and much, much more! But I obviously cannot write about that as I haven’t been yet! – she looks longingly out of the window at the sheets of rain outside and mutters to herself “why didn’t I bring a brolly?!”

This is a very all over the place blog so I do apologise, activities keep flashing across my mind when I am writing something, then they are lost in the abyss that is my brain! So I am going to use the excuse of “writers block”.

I will however leave you with some pictures of my weekends – as they say pictures are worth 1000 words – so until next time….

Stay safe and drink Earl Grey! xXx
Oh a shout out to my nurses who looked after me whilst I couldn’t walk or sit due to a nasty infection of a spider bite placed in a very inconvenient position that one wouldn’t normally like a bite to be placed! So ladies I thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you …. Lets just say I cannot thank you enough… I might even go as far as slightly grazing you feet! (mmmm actually only 1 foot and one person + a copious amount of soju, so rock, paper, scissors for that!) But that story is for another time; as it includes some disgusting pictures and not to be seen whilst eating or if you are ill already! so this is your pre, pre-warn!

Ulleung-do

Having a Soju break when this fishing boat came in… and proceeded to gut a ray in front of us!

Random

There are more pictures, but I obviously don’t want to bore you!

whats the point in writing one myself…. when Edel has said everything i was going to! i feel another blog coming on as well as maybe more photos but for now i am just going to enjoy looking at the pictures over and over and over again! thanks Edel 🙂 ❤

Making Memories!

Okay so I have had one of those weeks (yes I know its only Tuesday) where everything is either getting to me, or I am over thinking absolutely everything …….. I can’t quite decide.

There has been a lot of reminiscing over fond memories, whether that be new loves or old laughs. Recently (well in the past month) my girls came from England to see me, meet my family and have a quick peek in to my Korean adventure…. safe to say they absolutely loved it!!! who wouldn’t… they have come to see me obviously their time here would have been EPIK EPIC! we went drinking, learning to ski, eating, sleeping, drinking, walking, snapping (photos) ….. as you can imagine we crammed a lot of verbs in the short time that we had in Korea before we made our way to the Philippines. It was incredible that they came out to see what I was up to, how I live, meet the people who I constantly talk about, and also see the weekly routine of getting on a bus to Gangneung. Now when I Skype or Facebook them and say I’m going to see Edel standard they have actually taken that bus route, seen Edel’s flat and can now physically match up the faces to names to pictures and personalities to faces. So when I talk about Edel, Jack, Jon, Laci, Emily, Ashley, Sean, Bugs etc (I’m sorry I forget who else they met, but if you met a couple of English ladies you know who you are!)

It’s not really the same having to explain the people you have met and their personalities to others who are merely asking the questions because they feel they have to look as though they are giving two hoots about your life whilst you are away, or what you did on a weekend, when really some people just like the sound of their own voice and wait for you to start up a “conversation” asking them about their weekend, who they met, what did they do ….. a conversation is a two-way deal so sometimes its nice to ask a few questions back, even if you don’t care what they did …. it’s polite!

Anyway ….. back to the Philippines. Just being able to go to the beach, get some sun, attempt to tan – but actually burn and get awesome tan lines – only I can be the person who gets burnt raw in a places that have been covered… I wore a strappy top (google translate: singlet, vest top, string top ….. same same!) I took it off to work on my tan….. only to realize about 4 hours later, the suncream that was initially there had rubbed off onto my top therefore made a beautiful vest top mark on my back…. such a stunner ending in a typically British tan… except reversed!! but all in all the holiday was fantastic, consisted of walks, trucks, drinks, and a lot of reminiscing about the recent past. Saying goodbye at the airport in Manila was tough, we had a few hours before our respective flights departed so why not do something….. alright lets go to the cinema with 1 massive leopard print suitcase, a reasonable sized bright pink flowered suitcase, and a back packers bag…. which if you have met us all you will easily guess which bag belonged to which person! As you can imagine the goodbyes were hard, I knew it wasn’t going to be easy but similarly I didn’t think I was going to feel like I was going through a bad break up! we have spoken since then and all is fine and it only feels like yesterday that we were on the beach in Boracay!

Moving on (said the hover) I am now coming up to my 6 month mark! it’s bizarre to believe I have been away for 6 months, yet doing pretty much the same thing as I would back home! a couple of weekends ago I played host to all my family (bar a couple who were murdering at a party (Laci and Mags!) this was the first time for some to actually come into the center of Korea and see for themselves how far I travel just to see their beautiful faces on a weekend! everyone was on top form, girls will be girls and boys will be boys! it was nice for everyone to check out my place…. and I got extra thanks for my AMAZING shower!! in Korea it is very rare to have a foreign bathroom, they pretty much have a wet room where you have to mold yourself round a sink, washing machine or even toilet just to have a shower! so for that I am thankful to be placed in Yanggu… and not only because of my bathroom but also because my building is also the home of 12 other waygooks! its such a nice feeling that I can just pop over the corridor to visit Laci and Jarrett, or climb a few sets of stairs to help move Lisa into her new room, or just generally have flat parties!

I am going to leave you a few pictures to look at some are from the Yanggu weekend, some are from other times in Korea but as they say 1 picture says 1000 words and these are just a few memories 🙂

        

Your words mirror exactly how I feel Maya, thank you! 🙂

Gettin' around from Geojin

The snow has melted, I now wake up to a sun already risen, and walk home with clear skies and light high above my head well into the evening…. I declare winter is over and spring is making it’s presence known. My neighbor has even decided to strip off the gloves, hat, scarf, and extra jacket as a protest to any winter that lingers behind… even when it’s still a tinge freezing outside.

Spring is an interesting time… it often signifies growth, change, new colors, transition, time to clean out the skeletons from your closet, the dust from under the couch – a fresh start. I generally find my transitions to be more aligned with autumn, but I guess I’m feeling it twice this year. BRING IT – I’m ready.

I know it will probably sound cliché, but I look at my last five months here and I’m slightly surprised…

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Such Fun

Why are you so surprised to find that you can actually have a good day at work even though nothing has actually happened out of the ordinary?! I haven’t been at my Elementary school for over 2 months now, so it was my first day back there…. I was walking up the hill with the school in sight and hearing the children playing, all of a sudden one spotted me and next thing I know i had 20+ students running at me screaming with their arms wide open and huge smiles across their little faces! Since I have been in Korea I have been monotonously waking up, getting the correct buses, teaching my classes, checking out Facebook, refreshing facebook, getting the bus back to my flat etc! So why should today be any different? I didn’t do anything that I wouldn’t normally, maybe it’s because I am now teaching again rather than being at school with nothing to do, people say routines are boring but you need to have a routine to get you through the day! I am a woman of many lists of “things to do” others may call me a tad OCD I consider myself as being prepared!

As the weather is warming up and the snow has pretty much gone, I am now walking back from the centre of Yanggu (about a 45 min walk) back to my apartment! It gives you a much needed time of reflection, or a stomp or just listening to music that reminds you of certain parts of your life, or where you were when that song made a new memory! At home when you go for a walk in the country or down the street I am often finding my self saying hello to everyone I pass. In Korea bowing is a sign of respect so as you can imagine I am bowing at everyone I ababas sing, I came across an ajjumma (an old Korean lady) i bow at her and she show me this beautiful set of her gorgeous gums and starts talking to me in Korean, to which I responded with my best smile said hello and that I was English and told her the school I was working at. She sat there still grinning shaking my hand laughing and smiling went I set off again with a smile on my face and a skip in my stride. Thinking to myself that yes this is a really good day and to top it off I get back to my flat to find I have a package waiting for me…. WINNER!

as my South African friend told me…. “These are the days you need to cherish” and he is completely right! Types we have bad days and we moan till kingdom come but nothing can prepare you for the shock of a good day ended perfectly with a cup of Earl!

Fears and Feelings!

So 5 months have passed since I got off the plane in a bumbling state. It took me a few attempts of walking up and down to try and find passport control but all I kept seeing was signs for the train station. However after another plane had unloaded I used my excellent initiative and followed the crowd….. to the train (which I now know takes me to the main terminal!).  I can safely say that I am a pro when it comes to finding my way around Incheon Airport.

Before I left home I was in a frantic state, saying goodbye to my nearest and dearest was awful and would not wish that upon my worst enemy, nothing can prepare you for saying goodbye and the of reservoirs you will fill from your tears, even though the inevitable outcome is that you are actually leaving the country, your family, your friends, your comforts whether that be a nice cup of Earl or the fact that you don’t want to miss out on anything! a year is a long time when you say it like that, but I found the best way to get through “the year” is to break up the months so my end goal was  Christmas, and by planning to do as many activities, sight seeing, shopping etc as possible over the weekends also gave me something to look forward to at the end of a hard week. To begin with it was very much sit in my flat waiting for 2pm to arrive so I could skype home and see what I was missing out on. Now it seems to be Sunday evening is catch up day as I am busy seeing my many many friends who are placed in different parts of Korea.

I had no idea what I was letting myself in for when I decided to take this job, but what I did find out quickly was that teaching an English conversation class inside where some students can barely understand you no matter how slow you talk …. is nothing like teaching PE outside to native English speakers. not that I thought it was going to be the same but it was a bit of a punch in the face followed by an “OUCH Charlie!” However I am pleased to say that so far the teaching aspect of this job has improved I am becoming even more enthusiastic which the students love…. and even better when you make a fool out of yourself (which happens regularly!) some people think these children don’t have any idea of what they are repeating when you talk to them (I used to be one of them) however they do have the knowledge and understanding of what they want to say, what they lack is the confidence.

I would like to take this opportunity to give a shout out to my Korean family! when you come to work in a foreign country people make friends, but the ones that stick around are your family! I have an Irish limb, a Filipino/Canadian, a handful of Americans, and a token South African yes we are spread far a wide over the world but we all come together and work like clockwork. picking each other up when we are down, focusing on the positives and picking up new perspectives on life.I am sure years down the line we will have (realistically) stopped talking to each other but by no fault of our own, we will all take different paths but hold on to the memories we have made together.

I have since learnt that it is ok to go off and do these incredible things, who else gets to pop to Japan for the weekend because they can, or jet set to the Philippines and also have a spontaneous surprise visit home whilst WORKING in Korea. it has now been said that some of the people I have spoken to are jealous of what I am doing, I don’t see it that way, your life is what you make it and your job should be a part of who you are.

At the end of the day…. you only live once so make each day count.

I am pleased to say that I can now call this part of my life “My Korean adventure”.