Lunar New Year

Koreans follow the lunar calendar and it's still an integral part of determining your age in Korea. I still don't fully understand it, but when you are born you are already considered to be one year old. Then during Lunar New Year, you turn a year older. I realize that's an awful explanation but put simply your Korean age is always 1-2 years older than your international age depending on when you are born. Complicated. 

So, somehow this makes Mel 30 Korean age even though she is only really 28. Alison decided that it would be funny to throw Mel a 30th birthday party so that's exactly what we did with her help all the way from Scotland! Thankfully she was going with a friend to an appointment so we didn't have to try and get her away for a bit. Noelia, Liisa and I met up and went shopping for all of Mel's favourite Korean foods then cooked as our friends showed up. Not long after we finished cooking Mel was back and soo surprised! We enjoyed a great night together which really helped kick start our five day weekend! 

Unfortunately Mel can't eat dairy or wheat so we made her a "cake" of her favourite Haribos and macrons. 

Kimbap, Mandu, Tteokboki, beans and raddish! 

30!

Wednesday was all about relaxation. Tea in the morning with everyone, a late lunch. That afternoon Mel, Liisa and I went and saw Big Hero 6 (my second time watching it in theatres). If you haven't seen it yet, watch it! It will make you laugh and cry. It's perfect. Then we spent the night at the Harp as it was Trivia night. Chris is leaving soon and her mom has come to Korea to spend her last few weeks with her, so both of them joined us which was awesome. Chris' mom is super cool. 

Thursday our friend Iain had a bunch of friends gather to watch him and others do fire spinning down by the Han River. This was the actual holiday day of Lunar New Year, so nothing was open that day but a few of us managed to find a small Korean restaurant to eat at. Along the way we walked along the Wish Bridge and checked out the CNN cafe briefly. The view was super pretty by the Han River but it's still just to cold to be outside like that at night! 

Myself, Liisa, Sara and Scott

Words cannot describe how much I love city lights at night

Friday was another relaxed day. I spent the majority of my morning skyping then caught up with Mel and Liisa in Apgujeong (another shopping area) for food. Afterwards we headed to Gangnam so Liisa could check out the Gangam Style sign. 

We spent a few hours at a dog cafe there as well. Dog cafes are fun as it's nice to be around animals for a change, but at the same time, I don't necessarily agree with how they are run. You are able to buy dog treats there to give to the dogs but the dogs because so accustomed to getting treats. Also, the amount they must eat on a daily basis cannot be good for them. Regardless we all cuddled with a few pups and drank tea. 

Saturday, Mel's friends from home, Sophie and Chris arrived in Seoul. Liisa and I met up with them as well as Iain and Johan in the afternoon for tea at a traditional spot in Insadong. I tried their Harmony Tea which had a ton of ginseng in it which was good but did taste a bit medicinal. Unfortunately it rained the entire day. 

While we were in the area, we also checked out a tea museum and then tried to make our way to the Buchon Hanok Village. That part of the day was a bit of a fail, we didn't really find the hanok village but we did find a great spot for dinner. I tried 토총삼게팅 which is a Korean ginseng chicken soup. Quite good for when you are sick apparently but terrifying for me as it came as a whole chicken in a pot. Luckily for me, I was sharing with Liisa who picked all the chicken off and dealt with the skin and bones. 

Chris, Mel and Sophie

Chicken in a pot. It's a whole chicken. In a pot. 

Finally, the last day of the holiday was spent in it's usual Sunday way - boardgames. I am still in awe at how much our board game group is growing and how eager people are to play on a weekly basis. It's always a fun afternoon and an awesome way to meet new people. Despite it being a holiday there was a great turnout, we had three games going at the same time, the entire time. Oh, and Alan brought us girl guide cookies!! 

We are now at the start of the final week in February. This week we have our graduation ceremony at school which is exciting but sad at the same time. I am really going to miss my kindergarten students. I should find out Friday who my new students will be and a new school year will start in a week's time. Here are some pictures of the cuties from our last field trip to the Pangyo Eco-Centre (where we had about 40 minutes to rush our kids throughout all of the different displays and activities) and from Sungmin's birthday party. 

Jenny and Isla

These kids make my heart so happy!!

Roy, Jae-Hun & Sungmin

 

Jaden, Joe & Isla

 

Jenny

Happy Birthday Sungmin!!

<3

Here, There, Everywhere!

February in Korea is always a fun month. New people are arriving in the masses, people are also leaving. It's always referred to as the great migration. As such, I have been exploring Seoul more and doing new and old touristy things.

I spent Valentine's Day with a few girlfriends - Mel, Liisa and Sarah. We spent the day exploring Myeongdong, eating street food and shopping. Liisa just arrived to Korea from Canada so it was a fun day to show her some parts of the city and one of Sarah's last weekends.

Myeongdong Cathedral 

                                                

Street food! 

Myself with Liisa, Mel and Sarah

Some sort of Korean treat, forget what it's called, but it it had a nut taste and was very fun to watch them make it. 

Busy shopping streets of Myeongdong

Sarah really wanted to check out a place called Times Square so we headed in that direction. I was surprised to find out that Times Square is a mall! I really reminded me of the malls back home, so I wasn't super interested in being there but we walked around a bit and took a few shots. Joe Fresh (the Canadian Superstore clothing brand) has become super popular here so it was funny to see a Joe Fresh store in the mall. 

From there, we headed to Itaewon for dinner. We decided on a place called Zelena, a Bulgarian restaurant. Forgetting in the moment that it was Valentine's Day, we walked in surprised how busy it was and confused why the front staff asked if we had a reservation. Obviously we did not have a reservation but they still happily fit us in ... on a makeshift table in the corner, beside the door, kitchen and bathroom. It became a running joke throughout the night that we got the reject table since we didn't have dates. Once our food arrived, we became aware that our table also wobbled and my plate of food kept spinning every time I tried to cut my chicken. Jokingly I commented, laughing how not only did we get a reject table, we got a wobbly one and I got a reject plate. I was unaware that the waiter was behind me, so I was humiliated as I would never say that in front of a staff member. In good humour, he asked if I wanted him to hold my plate and cut my chicken. We all killed ourselves laughing and he returned with a proper knife for me. Delicious food though. 

To finish off the night Sarah took us to one of her favourite hip hop bars for a drink where we had awkward conversations with fascinated Korean guys. 

The next day we had planned on doing a few touristy things with our friend Naomi as she leaves Korea soon. We started the day in Insadong, one of the old traditional parts of Seoul. She really wanted to go to a Hanbok cafe, so a bunch of us met up and wore hanboks together. 

Liisa, Mel, Naomi and Me

As we waited for the rest of our friends to arrived we painted our names in Hangul

The whole lot of us, Sarah, me, Liisa, Noelia, Naomi, AJ and Mel

As I have done this before, I went with a traditional hanbok in simple colours. 

After taking about a million pictures we went to the Hello Kitty Cafe in Hongdae. It was super cute and they just changed locations so it is even bigger now. Unfortunately the food wasn't great, or at least the frozen yogurt wasn't! 

Thankfully after that busy weekend we all had a two day week because of Lunar New Year!! 

<3

560 Days in Korea

I have officially past my year and a half mark of living in Korea. While I always knew it would be a possibility to stay longer than my initial contacted one year, I didn't really think I would. When I resigned for the additional seven months, I was set that it would be my last seven months in Korea. Now here I am 25 days away from what I thought would be my last day here and I now have an additional six months which will bring me to a full two years in Korea.

Part of me is sad that I won't be leaving in 25 days. My last day of work would have been on my birthday, I'd be finishing out the end of the school year, I'd be packing my best friend's apartment as well as mine, crying together. It would be such a perfect ending, you could tie a ribbon on top.

Part of me is relieved and excited. There is so much more I want to see and do here and I still have time. I don't have to worry about lugging suitcases to the airport in the cold winter. Let's be honest, everything is more exciting and manageable on a warm sunny day.

What was one of my motivations to stay?

Back in September, I created the opportunity of going fun diving here in Korea. I had just received my open water certification and was eager to continue developing my skills and keep everything fresh in my mind for when I'd be going back to Malaysia over Christmas to dive again. I searched and spoke to several companies and finally picked one that was the most friendly and willing to give me information. I went fun diving the last weekend in September with Deep Blue Quest. It was a fun weekend, I met some interesting people and most importantly I was back in the water diving. On the way to the ocean I spoke with Russ (owner of Deep Blue Quest) of my desire to continue working my way up through the different PADI certifications and potentially becoming a Divemaster. He told me about the internship program that he runs and it was in that moment that I messaged one of my best friends "I feel like I can see my dreams possibly turning to reality." After that weekend, I knew that Russ believed in me and my dream. One month later I started my diving internship.

Descending in the East Sea on one of the dives during my first tour with DBQ

Myself and dive buddy Gerald 

Last weekend in September and the weather is still wonderful 

Since then, I have been training with Russ, working on my dive skills, learning how to run a dive shop, interacting with customers and getting more hands on. I'm loving every moment. There are definitely days where I doubt my ability and question whether others think that I have what it takes to do this, but I know it all takes practice and as a good friend reminds me "You are killing it, regardless of whether or not someone else is giving you the validation you deserve." 

Having dinner with Russ and fellow intern

During this tour, I earned my advanced open water certification

When we go to the ocean we go through a dive resort called Aqua Gallery, the owner pictured here warming me up and Mr. Yoon whom I also dive with. Diving is incredible because although I can't really communicate with Mr. Yoon on the surface, we speak the same language underwater. 

I also received my Emergency First Response and Emergency Oxygen Provider certifications. Here I am months later demonstrating and practicing how to revive Johnny using an AED during another EFR course. 

So here I am, still in Korea, pursuing my dream. I have no idea where I will be six months from now but I'm pursuing what makes me happy.

Take the plunge. Follow your dreams. Do something that scares you. 

<3