So Long, Farewell

"Lucky to have been where I have been, lucky to be coming home again."

Those Jason Mraz lyrics have been in my head this week after I heard the song on my ipod and I really feel that those lines especially pertain to me so much right now.

This is my last and final post, and it happens to be my 100th. Really happy to be ending on an even note.

I feel a mixture of emotions as I am about to leave this place that has been my home for over a year now. Happiness, sadness, nostalgia, excitement, nervousness, anxiety, relief, and many other emotions have been flooding my brain and heart. I am not looking forward to my last goodbye tomorrow, but am so eager for my first hello on the other side.

Sean and I took a trip to Seoul tower last night and locked our hearts on the wall along with thousands of others. Just a little way to always remember this city and the times we spent together here this past year.

the man and the tower

Sean writing his message to me

my message to Sean

putting his heart up

putting my heart up

light show on the tower

A little piece of my heart will always belong here. Goodbye Korea.

Namaste

Finisheeeee!

As the kids like to say- I am finisheeeeeeee!

My last day of school crept up on me really quickly. All of a sudden it was Monday of my last week and then the last three days just flew by. I wasn't really expecting much for my last days, but was pleasantly surprised by all the kind goodbyes and thoughtful gestures.

My fifth grade co-teacher had all of the students write me letters. They were actually really heartfelt and sweet. Many of them apologized for their classes being so rude/talking so much when I taught them. Huh. Then she gave me some earrings as a goodbye gift because she knows I love earrings. One student gave me a hand made card and a little gift as well.

fifth grade cards

The first grade teachers that I taught in my teachers class, including my old co-teacher, Mrs. Sung, surprised me Tuesday afternoon with an impromptu pizza party to say goodbye. It was really generous of them and I was touched that they thought of me and wanted to do something special for me to thank me for teaching them. I legit ate Korean style pizza with the following toppings: cheese, sauce, olives, mushrooms, sausage, potato, mayonnaise, hot sauce, nacho chips, and a sweet potato filled crust. Beat that.

My sixth grade co-teacher created a video message for me from each sixth grade class. They all said their goodbyes via video and it was really sweet. One of the classes even wrote me a card and got me a gift. Mrs. Han also gave me a copy of the messages on a USB and a pair of earrings for a small gift. So nice.

The office workers in the principal's office gave me a great card and we had a little party this afternoon before I left with all kinds of Korean snack foods.

card from the office co-workers

last day in the office

office party

To top off an awesome day, Sean bought me a congratulatory cake and Starbucks to celebrate my finishing my contract. So sweet.

cake and Starbucks

I feel really blessed and grateful.

Namaste

The Beginning of the End

I've never mentioned this before because technically it's not allowed, but I figure I only have three more school days left, so what have I got to loose? Parents in Korea will pay big bucks for their children's education. English education is very important to parents and most enroll their kids in a private English language school or pay for a private tutor. Private English tutoring jobs are widely available here in Korea and pay well. Many foreigners take tutoring jobs on the side to earn some extra cash, even though all of our contracts say we aren't supposed to. I have had the opportunity to tutor this year in Korea and it has been a great experience. My most recent tutoring experience has been for four little girls. They are between the ages of 3-5 and are absolutely precious. I tutor them twice a week for an hour. Each week I come to their homes and we spend our time reciting the ABCs, learning phonics, playing games, and I bribe them with stickers and candy. I have been quite surprised with their progress in the last few months I have taught them. They by no means can actually put English phrases or sentences together, but they have grown to understand me very well and our lessons usually run pretty smooth after I taught them things like "1, 2, 3, hands in your lap" and "follow me" then I clap and they have to follow. I think their favorite English word is "no" because when they just want to play it's all I hear. That's where the bribing comes into play. Last week was my last tutoring session and it was a little sad to say goodbye. I will definitely miss their high energy, smiling faces, and sweet curiosity.

Yuni, Da Hae, me, Seoyoon, and Cho Hyun, mouths stuffed with candy

Friday all my English co-teachers took me out to dinner for a goodbye meal. It was really sweet of them and we had a nice meal including shabu shabu, duck, and fried rice. For as many issues as I have had with my job this year they have all been so kind and supportive and I am forever grateful to have met them and worked with them.

duck and pumpkin

my English co-teachers and I

Goodbyes are always hard and my hardest are yet to come. Planning on enjoying my last week here in Korea.

Happy October!

Namaste

Party on the Beach

Having a whole week's vacation for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) was fabulous. I spent the beginning of my week relaxing and mostly indoors due to the torrential downpours and flooding outside. By mid week the weather had cleared up and I made plans for the long weekend. Sam, Terry, Sean, and I decided to go away for a little couples trip to Muuido Island. Muuido Island is a tiny island off the larger island of Yeongjong that houses Incheon airport on the west coast. It's really tiny and mostly known as a great vacation spot with nice beaches.

Once we got to the airport we hopped a bus that took us to the ferry. After taking the shortest ferry ride of my life (about 5 minutes) across and catching another bus, we made it to Hanagae Beach.

welcome to Muuido

shortest ferry ever

Sean and I on the ferry

Our first night we spent in these tiny little one room huts on the beach. They were pretty ghetto and in the morning our backs were aching from sleeping on the hard floor and we felt dirty from the gross bedding they had given us. When we found out there were no showers for our use we were a little alarmed. After exploring the area desperately trying to find somewhere else to stay, we came across a wonderful pension with many rooms which all had a kitchen, TV, bathroom, and AC. Needless to say the second night's stay was much more comfortable.

Sam in front of our tiny rooms on the beach

We spent the next two days enjoying the weather, drinking beer, eating seafood, throwing the football on the beach, getting some sun, making a campfire on the beach, reading, playing cards, grilling out, and relaxing.

Sean, Terry, and Sam on the beach

cheers

shells were everywhere

sunset the first night

campfire on the beach

Sean and I hanging around

Sam and Terry on the swings

BBQ our last night

In the early morning the tide on Muuido Island goes out. Way out. Probably hundreds of feet out. And beach dwellers are left with a huge sand bar almost as far as you can see. Sean and I walked out there one morning and were amazed by this natural phenomenon. I had never seen anything like it in my life. Then, just like clock-work, around 2:30P.M. the tide rushed back in within the span of an hour and you could enjoy the water until the sun went down.

the shoreline in the morning

tracks in the sand

I had a fantastic time on Muuido Island and felt blessed to have some really great people to spend an awesome weekend with.

Namaste

365 Days

Today is my one year mark in Korea. One year ago today I found myself in this country far from home and began to make a life for myself here. My life this past year has been a whirlwind of experiences and learning about myself. I am so grateful for this opportunity, but so grateful to have such amazing family and friends that make returning home such a treat.

These 365 days have been some of the hardest of my life. I never thought I would get homesick the way I sometimes found myself. I never thought I would not like my job as much as I did. I never thought I was anything worth staring at for so long. I never thought I would feel as awkward and frustrated as I did at times. Despite all of the not so good days, there were plenty of fantastic days to boot.

I will really miss the people, places, and little things that made my time here so special. The nice comments from my students in the form of a "teacher, your earrings are really big" or "teacher, your belt is really pink", the smile and wave from my favorite crossing guard, the free juice from the security man at the bank, the goodies from my co-workers at school, all the small kindnesses that had such a large impact on me. I will miss shopping at A Land in Myeong-dong, running along the Tancheon, trying new restaurants in Itaewon, gelato smoothies at my favorite coffee shop in Bundang, and all night excursions in Hongdae. I'm convinced no other city can party as long as Seoul can. I will miss all of the people that made my time here memorable. Most of all I will miss my boyfriend, Sean, without whom I might not have made it the whole year here.

Besides my one year anniversary, today also happens to be Korean thanksgiving, so Happy Chuseok! In the spirit of giving thanks, I am so thankful for my year in Korea and I feel truly blessed.

2.5 weeks until I fly home.

Namaste

Palace in the City

Since I have come to Korea I have wanted to visit one of Seoul's palaces, but never actually got around to it until this past weekend. Gyeongbokgung is the largest palace in Seoul and sits in the middle of Seoul's busy downtown. Walking through the grounds were many different buildings and structures, each used for specific purposes. I was surprised just how expansive it really was. On one end of the compound was the National Museum of Korea as well. The structures were fist built in the 12th century and have been reconstructed as needed due to damages that occurred during Japanese occupation. Each building was more beautiful and grand than the next. Gyeongbokgung is hands down one of my most favorite places I have visited in Seoul. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I have included lots for you to see for yourself.

the Korean National Museum

structure in the park, beautiful

love the traditional Korean architecture

Sean and I in the palace grounds

stunning

guards overlooking the courtyard

sneaking a photo with the guard

the second gate

the main gate

The day ended with some shopping and lunch in Insadong. We had some delicious food at a little place off the main street. The main dishes were beef with soy sauce and japchae, Korean clear noodles with seafood. Really tasty.

with all the sides, waiting for the main dishes

beef and japchae

Namaste

My Favorite Korean Food

samgyetang

I must admit, I am not a huge fan of some Korean cuisine. The textures, spices, and flavors of some dishes do not suite me well as most are very spicy, but there are a few Korean foods that I really love and will miss back home. One of them is samgyetang, chicken and ginseng soup. It is a whole chicken stuffed with rice, served in a hot pot with ginseng and other ingredients floating around in the broth. After de-boning the chicken, you can enjoy the soup with a pinch of salt. It is absolutely delicious and very healthy for you as well.

Namaste

Weekend Update

This weekend Sean and I ventured into Seoul and explored the areas of Insadong and Myeongdong before meeting friends for dinner in Itaewon. Insadong is always my favorite neighborhood. This weekend it was teeming with foreigners and Koreans alike all shopping for gifts. There were tons of things going on in Insadong like reenactments from ancient times and lots of people dressed in traditional Korean clothing walking around the streets. We wandered around and tried to find this bird cafe I read about in my Lonely Planet until we discovered that my Lonely Planet is outdated and the place closed down a while back. We settled for some coffee bingsu instead.

in Insadong

outside the non-bird cafe

coffee bingsu

Myeongdong was also packed with people, so we shopped around and then people watched from a cafe balcony. I realized I don't think I have written about this yet, but it always makes me laugh. Koreans, especially younger Korean women and girls love to take photos of themselves with their cell phones while sitting at coffee shops and restaurants. Many people have a photo of themselves as a background on their phone. In America this would seem vain, but here it's trendy. Anyways, there was a girl at the table next to us at the cafe taking photos of herself on her cell phone for a good 20 minutes. That clicking sound kept going off and as soon as there was a lull and I thought she finally finished her photo session, another click would sound.

girl at the coffee shop, couldn't resist sneaking a photo

One of Sean's friends from home just moved to Korea with her husband who works for the Canadian embassy. They met us in Itaewon for dinner and we tried out a place called Marrakech Night. There was a buffet of Moroccan dishes, but the food was not my favorite. The conversation was good though, and it was great to meet some of Sean's friends from home.

Next week is Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving, and I have a whole week's vacation from work. Looking forward to it more than I can say.


Namaste

Typhoon Lagoon

Yesterday Typhoon Kompasu came barreling through the Korean peninsula. I was awaken around 6A.M. to the loud noises outside my window from the rain, wind, and debris flying through the air. The sky was dark grey and the trees were all bending, branches scratching against buildings. By the time I had to leave for school the wind had died down a bit, but it was still a little scary looking outside. I tried to find a cab to save me the 15 minute walk in the messy weather, but there were none to be found and a line of people waiting for one. I braved the weather and walked through the rain and wind to work. My umbrella was useless a few minutes in as it kept getting blown backwards by the strong winds. I arrived at school as wet as a dog and to my surprise no one was there except for a handful of teachers and office workers. Apparently there was a two-hour delay but no one called me to let me know. At least I was safe and sound indoors while the rest of the storm passed. There were lots of damages all around, but nothing catastrophic. Only 5 deaths were reported in Korea which is of course awful for those peoples' families, but thank God the death toll was not higher. My school had several broken windows and the giant billboard from the apartment building next door fell into the school. As of today the storm has completely passed and moved on to Japan. I survived my first and hopefully only typhoon and I am just so thankful that the repercussions were not worse.

Namaste

Strange Is Now Normal

I realize I have been slacking on the cultural and social observations in my blogs lately, but to be honest after almost a year here, most things are just normal to me now. Things that used to baffle me don't even phase me anymore. I walk around and observe things and think to myself "this should seem strange to me, but it doesn't". Here are a few things that occurred to me lately while walking around and thinking exactly that.

All restaurants in Korea that serve meat or seafood of any kind all advertise the same way. They show a picture of the meat right next to a picture of the live animal right outside on their billboard. I've never understood this. Is it just to ensure the customer that that is indeed the kind of meat they will be served? 'We say it's beef, but here's a photo of cows grazing in a field, just to make sure you really believe us.'

There is a little clinic that I pass by on my way to and from work where many men are always hanging around outside. They are in their hospital pajamas and are sometimes even seated in a wheelchair or have an IV hooked up to them. They are all smoking cigarettes. It is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. They are being treated for one thing or another and obviously taking time off work and spending money to be healed, all the while they are polluting their lungs and bodies further with smoke from their $2 pack of cigarettes.

On another note, Sean showed me the movie 엽기적인 그녀, My Sassy Girl, a very popular Korean film the other day. I wasn't sure how I felt about it in the beginning because the main female character kept asking the male character if he wanted to die. Sean explained to be that it's just a thing Koreans say to each other playfully. By the second half of the movie I was more interested in learning what had happened in the past (it's kind of a mystery) and what was going to happen in the future for the characters. Of course the movie ended heart-warmingly and I ended up with tears in my eyes. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes romantic comedies and doesn't mind reading subtitles.

My Sassy Girl

Happy September!

Namaste

Seoul: The City That Never Stops

Seoul is one giant tourist attraction. There are so many things to see and do and experience. Just walking around the city is a tourist attraction. For an American like me, it's so different to see a modern city with huge sky-scrapers and fast cars dotted with ancient temples and bell towers. It's just so unique compared to any city in the western hemisphere I have ever seen. There's a real feeling of being in two time periods at once and I find it fascinating.

I wanted to check out a traditional market in Seoul, so Sean went with me and we found our way to the Gwangjang Market near Dongdaemun. This market sells a variety of different things. There are clothing stalls, gifts, household items, food, etc. When we arrived at the market it was later in the evening it appeared to be closing down. The vendors were all closing their shops for the night, but as we walked through the building a little more we discovered a thriving food market. There were lots of little stands set up right in the middle of the market where ajumas were selling all kinds of yummy foods (and soju and makgoli of course). There were kimchi and mung bean pancakes, parts of pig heads, feet, skin, etc., stews with thick pieces of beef and potatoes, and many other unrecognizable things. We sat down and had a kimchi and mung bean pancake. They were delicious. We then traveled a little further into the market hallway and found even more set-ups with lots and lots of men in business suits eating, drinking, and generally being merry. It was a little after work watering hole for the Seoul business men. There were many more stalls of creepy foods such as sundae (sausage) and lots of pig feet and intestines. Not really my thing. I just couldn't stop thinking to myself that people in America eat that stuff because they want to win $50,000 on Fear Factor or something, but people in Korea eat that stuff because they ENJOY it. The Gwangjang Market after hours was definitely an experience.

mung bean and kimchi pancake

serving up some yummies at the market

Gwangjang Market

Sean wanted to surprise me, so he took me to a place I had wanted to see in Seoul for a while; the Banpo Bridge. It is one of the most well known bridges in the world because of it's beautiful Moonlight Rainbow Fountain. The fountain shoots of spurts of water recylced from the river and is set to music with lights to create a fantastic little show. The bridge is in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest bridge fountain in the world. So many couples and families gathered near the water to see the show that goes off at certain times when the sun goes down. It was a very calming and romantic spot, a nice distraction from the busyness of the city. After all, they say New York is the city that never sleeps, but Seoul is the city that never stops.

Moonlight Rainbow Fountain

the Banpo Bridge

Namaste