Salvaged Winter Break

I only have two weeks of vacation in the year - one in the summer and one in the winter. Sam and I had been planning our trip to the Philippines since the summer. We bought our plane tickets and booked our hostel far in advance.  We were soooo excited! It was meant to be a nice goodbye after the four months we spent together in Korea. So we went to the airport Friday night because our flight was at 7AM on Saturday. On the way there it started to snow pretty hard but we didn't mind because we were heading for white beaches!

Woke up in the morning and went to check in.  Got seats together, checked our bags, ready to go. Suddenly, the check in girl picks up my passport again, looks at it, sets it down, and runs down the conveyer belt after my bag. Strange. "I don't like when they do things to freak you out like that", said Sam. Foreshadowing.

She comes back and tells me, "Sorry, but I can't let you through. Your passport expires in four and a half months and you need at least six to get into the country." I was in shock! I had heard of this rule before but I thought if I had a return ticket, was going for a week, and had an alien registration card in Korea saying I have a full time job it wouldn't matter. Well I was obviously wrong! It felt like a bad dream. There was nothing I could do. I had to tell Sam to go through so she didn't miss her flight.

I waited for my bag, cried, called my mom, and was just generally frustrated and hated how helpless I felt. I may have caused a bit of a scene, sobbing to myself, lying on my pillow, sitting on the airport floor. Calling my mom only made it worse because it made me so homesick. "I don't want to be in this country anymore, I just want out!!" Haha, I really said things like this to my mom. Anyway, once I got my bag I pulled the case off my pillow, threw it at the wall and headed home, defeated.

I texted and called a couple of people, including Ann. Luckily Ann called me back and she told me that Stehpy was staying in Seoul all week and gave me her number. So I spent most of the week with her and three of her friends - Nick, Matt and Alec. Mat was visiting from the States, Nick teaches in Andong and Alec teaches in Seoul.

We went out drinking on the 24th and 25th. I was feeling really down those two days and I had a pretty miserable Christmas. I really missed my family and friends. But I tried to stay in good spirits. I learned how to play shuffleboard, that was pretty fun haha :) Then Nick invited me to Andong for two nights, so him, Stephy, Matt and I spent the 27th and 28th there. I didn't bring my camera for some strange reason! But it was a really cute traditional Korean town. We did a pretty grueling hike there, I thought I wasn't going to make it! We went to a temple, walked around, went out, went to a market... it was a really great trip!

On the 29th I just relaxed at home and went to yoga, then on the 30th I went to this amazing restaurant for lunch with a Korean friend of mine. It was temple food - all vegetarian. I loved it! Definitely some of the best food I've had here. Then Stephy and I went to Myeongdong to buy something to wear for New Years from Forever 21 (of course).  We found some awesome sequin shirts. 

New Years was so much fun!! I think the less you plan and expect, the better of a time you will have. I never have fun on New Years but this year was really great! We met up with some coworkers of mine, and a couple of other friends and went to this cool little club/bar called Obeg in Hongdae.  It was so much fun! We danced a lot, and drank and Ann and I checked out another bar as well. It was a great start to the new year, as cheesy as that sounds.

I am super exhausted today because we didn't sleep much, but worth it. I had a great winter vacation thanks to some awesome people. It's such a relief to meet people who remind me of my friends at home. It's nice to feel that people understand me. I Don't want to go to work tomorrow at all, but I think everyone feels that way. Two more months!!

The cookie-cutter apartments that make up the Korean landscape...on the way back from the airport

Luckily this didn't stick

I should be on a beach

Stephy

New Year's dinner: Quiznos veggie sub with jalapenos and red wine

FOCUS (Matt and Ann)

We lost the subway race

Have we crossed the river yet?

Nick

At Obeg

Nick, Stephy, Ann and I

DJ

Photo Op

Bye Matt!

Frances' Visit

Frances and I traveled together down the coast of Queensland for two or three weeks in 2009. We also lived together in Melbourne for four months that same year. And by that I mean she took me in when I ran out of money...she let me live with her for free! If it wasn't for her I would've had to leave Australia early. We shared her room and even though we were always hanging out we never got tired of each other or got into any arguments. She is probably the most easygoing person I know. So when she said she was flying to Korea to stay with me from November 15th to December 8th I knew that I didn't have to be worried about us sharing a small space once again. Funny enough, my whole apartment is probably the size of her room that we shared in Melbourne.

She is now living in London and I am so happy for her! But also jealous because Sam is moving to Paris very soon and they will be so close to each other. And because I want to live in London!! The grass is always greener I guess...

Anyway, having Frances here made me appreciate all of my best friends so much more. It's so nice to have that person who you don't have to ask if they want to hang out on the weekend because it's assumed that you will be. Ah, two more months in Korea.

I miss you guys.

Frances, Sam and I at the Seoul Lantern Festival

Vegetarian Korean

Should've bought the jacket

For Dad

This post and video are both for you dad...my number 1 blog fan. If it wasn't for you, I probably would've given up on this blog months ago. But you called me out on being a slacker...I was guilted into updating it even when I didn't feel like it. And I'm glad I stuck with it!!

Also, if it wasn't for you, who knows what kind of food I would be cooking here?? As I have said many times before, being a vegetarian in Korea is not easy. I've learned a great deal from watching you cook and eating your amazing food (note - my dad is not at all a vegetarian). So thanks dad!!!! I Love you!!

Faking It

Here is a video that Frances made of me teaching. She spent a day with me and filmed my kindergarten classes. When I first watched it all I could think was, 'does my voice really sound like that? So fake and annoying and such a weak attempt at enthusiasm!' Anyway, then we made another video (which will soon be posted) outside of school and I thought my voice sounded normal. Haha. So anyway, here is a bit of insight into how I spend my weekdays.

Halloween

This post is a bit overdue but here are some photos from Halloween. It's not a huge holiday in Korea, but some people celebrate it... mostly foreigners. English private schools usually have special Halloween events and the kids get dressed up.

Sam and I went out with a couple of her friends and I was a biker/tattooed badass. She was Lara Croft. We felt a bit like celebrities being out in Itaewon, with how many people wanted to take pictures with us. Well, at least reality show celebrities. It was a decent night out but it definitely doesn't compare to a Halloween night in Canada (or America I am sure). All of the bars in Itaewon had generic Halloween themed parties, but something was missing. Maybe it was the authenticity.

The highlight of the day was definitely seeing the kids dressed up. I don't bring my camera to school often but I knew this would be worth it. All of the girls in my class dressed up as princesses...as did the majority of the girls in the other classes. The boys were a little bit more creative. Check them out below! ^^

Sam and I

xTuffx

Mickey (who in the meantime quit the school), Caleb and Bosco

Annie and Sean the Knight

Jerry

Singing Halloween tunes

Boys being cuties

Pooh Class

Plastic

Here is an article that will give you some insight on the plastic surgery craze that is occurring in Korea. The more I read about it, the more fascinated I become...I can't help it!

The 10 Best Things About Teaching in Korea

There are many things that I really like about living and working here. It's definitely an easy life.

1. Free rent and flight: This has to be the best thing about teaching in Korea...at least for me...it's what brought me here. That and the fact that you can teach here without any kind of certification (you just need a Bachelors degree in anything). Every school will pay for your return flight, give you a furnished apartment and pay for half of your health insurance (which is mandatory).

2. Finishing bonus: All schools (I believe) give you a month's worth of pay upon completing your one year contract. Also, all schools are meant to take out close to $100 of every paycheck and then double it at the end and give it back to you...something to do with a pension plan.

3. Minimal work: The job itself isn't hard. Yes, it is often very exhausting because you are working with children and they require a lot of energy...but if you work in a private school the curriculum is laid out for you and you don't need to create lesson plans. This means you don't have to come into work early, stay late, or take your work home with you. 

4. Living in Asia: I went to China over my summer vacation and I am going to the Philippines for a week over Christmas. There are so many interesting places within reach that I would love to travel to. Unfortunately, I was pretty stupid with my money within the first few months of living in Korea so I don't get to travel as much as others. However, I hope to teach in Shanghai next year and travel around South East Asia during that time.

5. Alcohol availability: I am referring to the convenience. Being from Canada - a country where you can only purchase alcohol between the hours of 10AM and 10PM from a government owned establishment - I have really enjoyed being able to buy alcohol at 7 elevens anywhere and at any time. You can't buy hard liquor there. But they've got all the Soju, beer, rice wine and coolers you want. I guess nothing is perfect.

6. Seoul: I have to admit it is a good city! There are some really cool areas to explore that I wish I could have gotten to know better by living there. And because its population is so big there are always people out doing things, which I really like. From what I've seen, the city doesn't really sleep. And it's a great place for people watching. Oh, and you can drink in public.

7. Bibimbap: It's by far my favourite Korean dish. It's vegetarian, really cheap and available everywhere! It's made up of rice topped with some seasoned veggies, an egg and a chilli pepper paste. It costs between $3-$5.  Oh and like most other Korean meals, it comes with unlimited sides!

8. Super Color Super: An amazing production company that puts on a lot of live shows here. They get a fair amount of indie bands from North America and other parts of the world. I went to see Toro y Moi a few months ago and it has been my favourite show in Korea!

9. Staying fit: This is really easy to do in Korea because people are quite health conscious. There is an abundance of gyms and memberships are decently priced. I go to the gym and yoga everyday and love both. A lot of teachers get into taekwondo while they are here. Also, there are a few hiking groups, and plenty of places to go hiking.

10. Transit: Although it's super inconvenient that the public transit stops running so early, Seoul still has a great transit system. It extends out really far and connects the city really well. It's quite cheap, very reliable and clean.

If you stumbled upon this blog because you are considering teaching in Korea or have already signed a contract and have any questions for whatever reason, feel free to send me a message.