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.

Sam is Here

Life is good! Sam has been here for 3 weeks and it's been amazing having her around. My life really feels more complete. It's also been fun to hang out with her friends from Hanyang University. They are all international students from Europe, which is a nice change because I feel like everyone I know in Korea is American. Nothing against Americans of course, but change is always refreshing. Sam spent the first weekend at my place and I spent the next at hers. The first weekend we went to Club Volume to see a Japanese DJ . We met up with my friend Songjae and some of his friends. It was a really great night, Sam made it pretty late considering she was really jet lagged!

Bus stop photoshoots, of course :)

Predrinks

www.sjnr.co.kr

Last weekend was a 4 day long weekend for Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving. I was planning on staying in Friday night but I called Sam and she was going out for someone's birthday to Club Ellui so I decided to meet up with her and her friends there. Again, it was such a fun night! I don't know why I was so opposed to going to clubs when I first got to Korea. They're actually a lot of fun. Especially when you don't need to pay cover, heh :) I don't have many pictures from this night, except for these of us in the bathroom, entertaining ourselves with the Gargle Dispenser.

Saturday night we met up with some friends of mine from Australia who are visiting Korea for a few weeks. We met up in Hongdae, ate some Korean food, and went to a concert...which we all left early for different reasons. It was good to see them and I hope to catch up with them when they're back from their trip to Jeju Island.

Having Sam here has been great on so many levels. It's way more than having someone to go out with. It's having someone here who I really love and who really cares about me and understands me. It's been very comforting. And Sam is really into healthy eating and she is almost a vegetarian and she loves to work out and be active -- all things that are really important to me. Although we've been friends for 10 years (!!!) we haven't lived in the same city for 6 of those years. And as much as we've always been able to tell each other everything it's so different to be living so close and be around each other more often. I think we are both realizing we have so much more in common than we thought. And we both really needed each other in ways that we didn't know. So, yeah, I am happy :)

Shanghai

Ohhhhh Shanghai. What a great way to spend half of my summer vacation. Both Bill and I agreed that it was perfect because we had done so much sight-seeing in Beijing that all we wanted was to relax and eat good food and party and check out markets. And we did all of those things.

Probably one of the reasons I loved Shanghai so much is because I had no specific expectations. I didn't know what the city would be like. I had learned about it in one of my planning classes but I had forgotten how much European influence its architecture had. It was such a beautiful city, especially at night.

The Bund

Captain's Hostel rooftop bar

Oh you know, just posing

The next day we checked out the urban planning exhibition hall. I have never seen a model anywhere close to the size of the model of Shanghai. The pictures don't really show its scale. It was pretty easy to get lost in it.

Walking around the city, I was impressed with how much green space there is. Not in comparison to Canada of course, but definitely in comparison to Korea. The French Concession was probably my favourite part, and I really felt like I was walking around a European city.

One of my favourite things about Shanghai was how affordable everything is. I've described the city to some people as LA in Europe in Asia. There are so many really classy and new and well decorated and designed bars. And rooftop bars! I love them! And really great restaurants. Pretty much, you could afford to live a really good lifestyle there. It wasn't super cheap but it was justifiable. Maybe it was because we were on vacation? I'm not sure.

I also celebrated my 23rd birthday in Shanghai. It's definitely one of the most fun birthdays I've had. It kind of sucks being away on your birthday because strangers can only care so much but I had a great time! Bill look me out for lunch at a really nice rooftop restaurant. At night we went out for dinner with our new Spanish friends from our hostel. We had great Spanish food and wine and mojitos, then danced for most of the night. It really was great time! 

O'Malleys

Chinese food is great, very vegetarian friendly!

So overall, a perfect vacation. Everything went right. I really loved China and would definitely go back. It's such a huge country and we saw such a small part of it. I know the rest would be completely different, but it seems very interesting. I would love to live in Shanghai for a year, so if anyone knows of any jobs there, send them my way ;)