DR.FISH TIME!

Susannah & I @ a Dr. Fish Cafe

Susannah not loving the big fish nibblers!

These guys ranged from about 2-3 inches I'd say

These were the little nibblers!

Who would have thought a Saturday night could be enjoyably spent having your feet nibbled on by fish?! ~Since being in Korea, I've always wanted to check out the "Dr.Fish Cafes" they have around here. You can sip a beverage and get a pedicure- from the fish. They like to eat the dead skin cells off your feet! ~ Gross right? I'd say so....I am a person who has insanely sensitive feet so I thought this might be a bit challenging. Well, as we found out, we couldn't drink our beers as the fish had a buffet, we had to drink and then do it (I guess it makes sense- what if your beer fell into the fish tank?? Then again, it might make the fish hungrier~ Drunk snack time?)

After peeking into both tanks, after we already paid our $2 for 15-20 mins, I thought it would be good to start with the little fish...they weren't so intimidating being only about 1 inch long ...obviously it tickled- a lot. They would try and squirm their way into your toes. There was a guy sitting next to me and it was so weird- they were trying to navigate their way through his leg hair- gross. The sensation on your feet was pretty minimal so I decided to check out the bigger fish...

Well these were really intimidating~ like I said, 2-3 inches long, I felt like they could potentially bite off my baby toe, right? No...now that's exaggerating a little...I didn't want to shove my whole foot in, not really knowing what to expect, so I just rested my heels in....WOW~ they came feasting!! Haha....This was more intense, like someone was scratching your feet. It was too weird to dunk my whole foot in so I just kept it resting for a bit until other people came and joined so the fish could have other people's feet to deal with. After awhile I was able to rest my whole foot in but if they came near my toes, game over. I couldn't deal with that.

Overall~ an enjoyable experience!! Did it really work? Perhaps if I had sat there for a longer time, I felt that 15 mins wasn't really long enough~ another day...definitely something I'd suggest to people as a unique thing to do!

Randomness at it's best!

Making art in Hongdae

I grew my Christmas tree!!

Boys enjoying some bevies

Ms.Breanne and myself

Austin and the lovely Susannah

Austin et Moi

Another gathering of people and food at my place- I love it

Digging in!

Several bottles of wine later...

I decided to get off the beaten path one day and venture on a little solo exploration (which actually wasn't off the beaten path at all- just a place I had never been before alone, and for an extended period of time)....Hapjeong- as I've experienced it held some of the cutest cafes I've seen (and Korea isn't lacking cute cafes- they are everywhere!)...I did some walking, window shopping and ended up in Hongdae- a place that holds a bustling night life, but a place I'd never seen in the day. I must say...looks a lot different in the day light! It was busy, there were vendors all over, I didn't really enjoy it as much as I do at night (perhaps because night usually involves several cocktails of one kind or another). At night it looks/feels much more glamorous than in the day...I ended up venturing back through the Hapjeong area where I stopped for a Sangria and Veggie Sandwich at a quaint little cafe. I indulged myself in a Korean Magazine (for the pictures obviously) and just people watched, as the weather was perfect enough for the place to keep their big window open- twas perfect afternoon alone. Never would I have been brave enough to do that at home- eat alone?! SCARYYY....but here, now, it's liberating I feel!

With the holidays literally around the corner, I decided (with the help of a former teacher who left it here) to grow a Christmas tree! Haha...it took 6 hours to do and looked the nicest when it was first done (it's starting to look a little shabby now that I've had it for like 2 weeks...) I have no idea how it worked, but it was a cardboard tree you put a liquid in the bottom and as the cardboard soaked up the liquid, little crystal like branches formed- good enough for me. Fortunately I have a little Christmas tree here...although it certainly doesn't feel like Christmas at all. Around October in Canada is when Christmas decorations start popping up- here they have the SMALLEST amount of decorations- if any! It's so bizarre! Not to mention the still mild weather- I'm being thrown for a loop. This Christmas will definitely be interesting- my flight leaves for Thailand at like 830am Christmas morning....WOW! How pumped am I?!

For those of you who know me, I loveeee to cook, bake, and just take care of others (pretty much where the name Motha came from- few of you will understand this)....well living alone is horrible for any of the stuff I love. So I decided to invite a bunch of people over, again, for a little gathering of food, wine and company. It was definitely that- new teachers and old came over to my little place and we feasted on all the lovely randomness I whipped up from cabbage rolls to Kraft Dinner (classy I know but it's a luxury in Korea!)...I love being able to have friends over and take care of them (well their bellies atleast!).

Clearly the weekends continue to be a time to let loose and have fun. There's never a lack of social gatherings at different pubs, restaurants, bars, etc. I continue to meet great new people from all over- which I'm sure will be the case until I leave this beautiful place. Sure, like everywhere it has it's pros and cons- but the good definitely outweighs the bad. I knew this experience would be life changing, but I never imagined it could be this amazing!! xo

My life and Seoul in Korea- my kids!! xo

I can not get enough of these kids- I have watched them grow so much in the short time I've been here. I can't even imagine leaving them...when I first came in, some wouldn't even speak. Now they can read, spell, have conversations about what they did on the weekend- they are so smart! They are a beautiful bunch of children- a handful at times, yes, but nonetheless, I love them each differently. They are all so unique and different- obviously I have some I feel stronger connections to, but I still love them all the same. A couple are just so loveable, always telling me, "Miss Mandy you are a princess today" or "Miss Mandy I love that ______ you're wearing!". They are so cute- AND SMART! As stressful as some days can be, being a teacher is truly my passion and inspiration. At the end of the day when a child comes up to you, looks you in the eye and gives you the biggest hug they can while telling you that they love you, it erases all the other stuff that happened (nose picking, tattle tailing, whining, not sitting in their seats, not raising their hand, scribbling in their books...the usual)......xo

Fall is beautiful in Seoul....

Namsan Tower, formerly known as Seoul Tower (or vice versa...) Sweet view of the city. At the top couples "lock" their love there- there are thousands of locks on the fence!

I feel like there isn't much going on here lately- I'm living in Korea now- for 8 months? Everything feels normal to me now (I'm sure it's FAR from normal for friends/family in Canada- but I guess I'm used to it?)... I still feel like I just left yesterday yet my life has gone from homesick, to happy, back to homesick, to crazy party times, homesick, happy- what a rollercoaster ride! I can honestly say though, I'm pretty much the happiest I've been in as long as I can remember! I have some good people in my life right now and it's making things great! I know I can count on my friends/family back home, but it's nice to know that I also have people here in Korea I can count on- and for that, thank you.

Fall has been such a great season here. It went from being a RAINY, WET summer here- I felt like there was a time it rained for weeks (because it did- they call that "rainy season" for a reason)....Then one day, it stopped raining. The weather cooled, but not enough that it was cold- it was comfortable. It can get steamy here in the summer! I've really enjoyed the last couple of months- I've explored a few hidden jems, off the beaten path. I wish it wasn't so far from home- as much as I love it here, I need a little taste of Canadian soil before I continue my adventures.

I took a trip up to Seoul Tower recently with Jake- it was amazing (despite the efforts it took me to get there- with a population in Seoul millions upon millions, travelling can be HECTIC at times, not to mention the G20)...We were there at night, but you could still see the beautiful fall leaves- the weather was actually pretty mild still. It was so nice. We had dinner overlooking the city- such a great time! At the top of the tower there are fences with an observation deck and the fences are covered in locks with little love messages (clearly in Korean so I had no idea what they said..) It was still really cool to see!

Kids and their words....

Me: Where do pineapples grow?
Child: PINE TREE!! (


Me: What rhymes with dart?
Child: Part, start, shart
Me: What's a shart??
Child: Ohhh teachaaa, I dunno?

Me: Plain Jane is a girl who is "plain", nothing special...
Child: Ohhhh you mean like PlainBoy?
Me: What's PlainBoy?!
Child: Ohhh teacha, you know, he only wear panties!! (


Child: I have a tooth eating bug in my mouth!!
Me: A WHAT?!
Other child: Nooooo teacher- she means a cavity!!


Me: Americans are very patriotic, do you know what that means?
Child: That they are fat? (< perhaps that's how they view North Americans? haha)

Writing prompt: Think about the best teacher you have ever had. Why is he or she the best teacher?...

Child #1 partial response...:
My best teacher I ever had is Mandy teacher. Mandy teacher leads our group nicely. Our class usually be loud and noisy so she is little scary. But I think being scary in the bad attention of the class is a teacher work and she does it well.

If you visit....

It always intrigues me to see that people are checking out my blog- via the little news-feed-thingy-counter...it tells where they're from (most being from around home- sometimes an odd place will pop up!)....I just have this to say:
If you're checking out my blog- PLEASE comment or leave me a message of some sort. I'd love to know who it is taking the time to read my business, adventures, life trial and errors...
I really enjoy blogging and wish I'd take the time to do more. I'm glad that people are reading it- that's what it's there for!! So please...if you visit, let me know who "YOU" are!!

MORE Catching up...

Pictures are out of order...Bre and I, Sean and I with the crew @ BBQ, Picking out our guns, after shooting the guns with our targets....

Me showing off my shell casings....

Shooting...so scared.

Good times!

Picnic in the park on a rainy day- thank goodness for gazebos!

Out & About

Victor @ the Loft

Jake and Erin

Silly crew, $2 beers gazebo

The boys, gold Casio watch- Andy's pride and joy.

Partner in Crime

Jager Bombs?

Dangerous times...

Enjoying a little Seoul footy match

Outside of World Cup Stadium- Erin riding the bike to make the light work...

Dinner party @ my apartment with friends

One of Ash's last nights out

Jang Fam- Inae, Summer and bro

Enjoying a bucket of Ice Tea.

Ajummas

Another ajumma

It never fails to be adventurous here in Korea- so much to do all the time! The summer was HOT HOT HOT and it rained soooo much! Rainy season here lasted months this year...ugh. It added up to a lot of bad hair days, wet shoes and what else....party times (because it doesn't rain inside right?)

I've been lucky to have such a great group of friends here! Most recently there was a picnic in Lake Park on a rainy Saturday afternoon- invaded a gazebo overlooking the park. Lots of great food, good friends and Mamosas.

Had the opportunity to shoot a hand gun- wow. That was something else...in the movies they make it look so easy, who knew there was such a kick back and shell casings fly out? Haha...Atleast I hit the target, might not have been bullseye but it was still on the paper!

Watched a Seoul soccer game with a bunch of people one weekend, drinks afterwards. It was an adventurous evening, which tends to be the usual in these parts.

I continue to meet new and interesting people from all over! Every weekend something different is going on. This past weekend I toured around Hapjeong solo. It is a lovely little area with tons of cafes and interesting places to look at. There are shops all over and it's right next to Hongdae- a popular late night party spot. I stopped in at a cafe and enjoyed a Sangria and sandwich while people watching- something I would have never had the guts to do back home. I also have been taking the bus all over the city- which might not seem daunting, but not speaking Korean, you really could be dropped off anywhere- and how do you know your stop when it's in Korean? I've learned not to be scared, stop living in fear of the unknown and just continue to get out and explore! What's the worst that could happen- getting lost? So flag a taxi and tell him to drop you off somewhere familiar....I can't believe how much I've grown coming here! I feel that everyone should have the chance to do this in their life! Get out of the box so many times people get sucked into and see the world around you! It's full of interesting places, people and adventures!

I can't believe I've been here for almost 8 months now! Time is FLYING! I don't want to go home...not for awhile atleast. I feel like I've just started to explore the world around me- why stop now? I plan to extend my contract, a couple months at this point. I don't doubt that I'll be back here or else living somewhere else in the world this time next year....for all the people out there that are too scared, making excuses of why not to do it....DO IT! I'm a living example that it's possible to survive in a land that doesn't speak English and eats kimchi for breakfast! You only get one life- live it to the fullest!!