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

Malaysia - Sipadan & New Years Eve

On the last dive day of our trip, I had the opportunity of diving at Sipadan. This meant an early wake up call, but it was so worth it. Sipadan is constantly on lists of the greatest places to dive in the world, so I feel pretty fortunate to have been able to dive there. Not to mention it was one of the reasons I wanted to go back to Malaysia!

I spent the day with Simon and Eman who were knowledgeable about the area, a family from the UK and another lovely lady who ended up being my dive buddy for the day. We did four dives, resting in between with snacks, coffee and lunch. The best part of this day was swimming with devil rays, grey reef sharks and white tip reef sharks. Amazing. Sorry again for my lack in ability with underwater photography but here are some shots.

This was the last night on the island for Yvonne and I and since I didn't get the chance to walk around the island back in July, Mel and I took the opportunity to do so before dinner. Noelia's birthday was Christmas Day so we surprised her by decorating the cabin. 

Rainbow!

This last night did not go as I thought it would, at all, and it got to a point where I wished I was just back in my apartment in Korea but it ended so perfectly. The four of us started the night with drinks and played some card games. Yvonne went to bed and we were later joined by Michael, whom Noelia and Mel met on their boat ride over. Mel eventually went to bed early as she was going to be up early for her Sipadan adventure and Noelia followed still trying to rest as much as she could for her rash to heal. That left Michael and I chatting away about diving, another person with a wealth of information and good conversation. Awhile later we both decided to call it a night. I grabbed my things and then was called over to join the locals who had been playing guitar and singing in the lounge all night. Slightly reluctantly I sat down but ended up having the best night with them singing along as they played guitar. I can not describe it any more than saying it was just so simple but so perfect. 

The next morning meant it was New Years Eve, so we packed up and waited until 10:30 for the boat to take us back to Semporna, to then catch the bus back to the aiport to fly back to KL for what would be my last night of the trip. I spent the morning sitting on the jetty soaking up the sun and views. Noelia's rash cleared up enough so she could start her open water course too! 

Back in Semporna

By the time we got back to Reggae Mansion it was only a few hours before the countdown, so Yvonne and I got refreshed and had a meal in the restaurant that is part of Reggae Mansion. The food there is soo good! We met some people in our hostel room so the four of us headed up to the rooftop together. It ended up being a bit anticlimactic though. Apparently there was supposed to be fireworks off the Petronas Towers, which conveniently you could see from the rooftop. As midnight approached, everyone gravitated to that side and all eyes were on the tower. 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... and nothing! Absolutely nothing happened at midnight! I don't want to say that I was disappointed because I wasn't, but I suppose I was surprised. We didn't stay up too much later as I would be up at 3am to get to the airport to head back to Korea. 

One of our friends for the night

 Our other friend of the night, awkward selfie of the three of us

Yvonne ended up being awake before I headed out so we got to say goodbye and then I left "taking the first taxi of the year" according to the guy who runs the hostel. Unfortunately I had to work the next day (Friday) but Yvonne stayed for one more day and got to explore a bit. Mel and Noelia met her that night and sent her off the next morning. Such sweet friends of mine. 

Happy New Year <3