Seonyudo Life...Island Adventures!

THE CREW!!!

(Photo Credit Jean)

Biker babes

(Photo Credit Jean)

(Photo Credit Jean)

Set up camp

(Photo Credit Jean)

Bridges connecting the islands

(Photo Credit Jean)

A wee party on the beach

(Photo Credit Jean)

Our party

(Photo Credit Jean)

Card games, munchies, beer and Megan's poor scooter accident leg

(Photo Credit Jean)

Late night island walk

Killer crabs, HUGE beetles and insane grasshopper sightings

(Photo Credit Jean)

Lazy day on the beach

(Photo Credit Jean)

A long trip home...

(Photo Credit Jean)

DEEEElicious HOT noodles with clams

Late night party crew

What a view- right from our campsite

Amazing cold noodles- yes there is ice in there

Razor clam digging & Jenny

Step 1: Dig off a layer of sand & pour salt into the little holes you see

Step 2: When the little disgusting worm thing pokes out GRAB IT

Step 3: You're looking at it

A couple weeks ago I was fortunate enough to get an invite to venture out to an island off the East Coast of Korea called Seonyudo. It's a series of little islands all grouped together and it's GREAT! They are connected by bridges and extremely small. You pitch a tent on the beach and there's bathrooms and all for you to use (they even have toilet paper- a luxury in public bathrooms in Korea).
The island is small and really there weren't many people there except the locals. It was a nice little get away. The only downside was the travel time there and back- I feel like I took every possible mode of transportation to get there except horseback. We left the Hwaj after work and took the bus into Seoul to catch the KTX out to Daejeon to spend the night there at a friend's place. The KTX is this insanely FAST train in Korea...it was nice! We got up bright and early to get the slowww train out to where we needed to catch the ferry. Cabbed it to the ferry terminal and then ferried our way out to the island. Once there we took a little golf cart thing to the campsite. Phew. It was a nice and sunny weekend- HOT. That afternoon we grabbed some cold noodles and decided to rent scooters and zip around the islands. It was pretty amazing! The scenery was beautiful! I definitely didn't feel like I was in Korea- it was like a mini-vacay away from the city living!

Scootering was successful! We zipped around- I love the scooters! I managed to get amazingly burnt (my own fault). Later the day just took a nap while the others frolicked the beach and dug for razor clams. They were pretty cool/disgusting. Plan was to eat them later (which didn't end up happening and I wasn't really upset about that!) Later in the night we freshened up and went for dinner- mmmmm Kahl Gook Su!! It's these floury lovely noodles in a broth with clams (well we wanted clams)....so yummy! It's hearty and just wonderfly delicious! Clearly I would add to it the red sauce (which is somewhat like spicey ketchup)- to me it enhances the flavour...The kimchi there was great and I'm slightly ashamed to admit this (after having ranted about how HORRIBLE kimchi was when I first got to Korea...) I actually really like kimchi now! It's definitely a flavour you need to aquire but after having been in Korea for 6 months now- I fancy it. I'll probably even miss it when I get back to Canada- whenever that may be.

Later after dinner we met up with 2 guys that were working there that were friends of friends...they didn't speak great English (one not at all)...but it was enough to get by. We also had Korean speaking girls along with our crew so it made for a great time! We bought big bottles of Hite, grabbed munchies and hit the beach. There were even some sparklers involved. We played games, drank and laughed. Some of the others hit the sack and a couple of us decided to hit up the ocean for some late nite swimming- the most breathtaking thing ever happened. One of the guys told me he wanted to show me something...put my hands under the water and wave them around frantically- all of a sudden it was like my hands were glowing this beautiful purple colour!! The plankton was lighting up! It was insane!!! I couldn't stop moving my hands- as lame as this sounds it was magical!!! I felt like a little kid! Here is a little explanation I copied from a website:

"Certain creatures both on land and sea can produce light through chemical reactions taking place within their bodies known as Bioluminescence. The bioluminescence results from a light-producing chemical reaction also called chemiluminescence. Certain types of chemicals when mixed together produce energy which ‘excites’ other particles on vibration and generate light which causes the glow. The group of chemicals involved to make plankton glow are broadly termed luciferins and the light is produced by a series of oxidation reactions set off by a catalyst called luciferase. The bioluminescence in plankton is very high in several forms of Plankton and is a form of cold light or luminescence.
Plankton consists of any drifting organism (plant or animal) that inhabit the oceans and provide a vital source of food to larger aquatic organisms such as fish. A vast range of plankton, both zoo plankton and single-celled animal plankton are known to be bioluminescent. Bioluminescent plankton occur in all the world’s oceans.The most common of these are Dinoflagellates which are tiny unicellular marine plankton also known as fire plants.
Dinoflagellates are the most common source of bioluminescence in our oceans and the chances are the sparks flying off your oar, the bow or wake of your boat are billions of tiny dinoflagellates or copeopods. These creatures get their name by their ability to swim by two flagella, which are movable protein strands attached to their bodies.
Bioluminescence is used to evade predators and acts as a defense mechanism in dinoflagellates. Dinoflagelletes produce light when disturbed and will give a light flash lasting a fraction of a second. The flash is meant to attract a predator to the creature disturbing or trying to consume the dinoflagellate. The light flash also surprises the predator causing it to worry about other predators attacking it, making the predator less likely to prey on the dinoflagellate.
However the experience of swimming in the midst of these amazing creatures is something that must be witnessed at least once by every scuba diver or avid snorkeler. Several Dive Operators offer special bioluminescent plankton dives or snorkeling expeditions, in seasons when plankton is at its peak brought by ocean currents. These swims would usually be in absolute darkness to witness the both the starry skies above and the starry seas below."

http://aquaviews.net/bioluminescent-plankton-what-makes-it-glow/

After the late night swim I decided that the best bet was to sleep in a motel- more room and air-con. The tent we had fit 6 people and there were 7 of us so some of the other girls got a motel room...Next day got up, showered and hit the beach. I attempted to stay away from the sun- burnt BURNT from the day before. We hung out for a bit and then got a ride back to the ferry in a truck- an offer from one of the boys from the night before. The guys we hung out with were super nice- it was all in all a great weekend. We left the island at 3:15 and with all the different travelling stops and methods made it home around 10:30...exhausted. No matter though, it was an extremely memorable trip I was fortunate enough to have experienced with good company and good times!! xo

BALI BABY!!!

Exactly what the sign says: WELCOME TO BALI!!!!

A little fresh pineapple on the beach

First night out @ Sky Bar....hole through the floors for a lovely show

Still so white- first night FISH BOWLS! :)

Balinese traditional dance show- interesting to say the least!

My little hustling boyfriend who got me to buy a million bracelets- atleast he threw in the kiss too!

Heading over to Gili- AMAZINGGG Island- 4 hours by slow boat

On the boat- little slice of heaven!

Making friends with locals- Wayan

Everyone in Bali was so insanely friendly! This was in Ubud @ a little Jamiacan bar

Bluest waters I've ever seen- amazing!!

Swimming off of Gili!

Large Bintangs- loving life/playing cards/watching the storm outside

@ Monkey Forest where the monkeys run wild!

Rented a scooter- THANK GOODNESS Carrie was somewhat experienced with them- driving on the wrong side of the road, getting lost, a million and one scooters to share the road with, no stop signs, monkeys running out in the road- just to name a few hazards!!

Goa Gaja- carved into the side of a cave

We had to wear the lovely sheets because there was a temple there

@ Monkey Forest hanging with the little fellas!

You could buy bananas and bring them in with you but run the risk of getting jumped all over by monkeys- I passed.

Lovin' Life @ Gili Trawangan- absolutely amazing time!!

Party time with some Aussies!

Carrie and I having an amazing time- My last night- the night of 2 parties I'll never forget in my life!!

So Bali- where to begin. Let's put it this way- I didn't want to leave and actually considered NOT getting back on the plane- but I would have left my lap top in Korea and well...I can't do without it. That being said, you can get internet virtually ANYWHERE in Bali for pennies a minute...so perhaps coming back to Korea for my lap top was a foolish decision? Oh ya...I guess I have a job too....lame.

Until Bali I never really had the desire to become a beach bum of sorts. I know people from University who after graduating went off to Australia to just hang out and do some odd jobs while touring around- never struck me as something I'd be interested in, until I got a little taste of it- adventure!!

Carrie picked me up from the airport, we proceeded to hop into a "transport"- not a cab. All the locals scoot people around for a couple bucks- I died a little thinking we would be swooped up, taking to a back alley and well...ya. However, it's totally legit there- everyone does it. You walk down the streets and everyone shouts at you, "transport, transport, you need transport?!" You also get a lot of, "You want a massageeeeeeee"...haha...became a little joke after hearing it all day, everyday for a week.

After a little freshen up, we hit the town- obviously. It was a great night! Ran into someone I knew from Windsor- in Bali- yep! What are the chances! Carrie and I partied it up, fish bowls in hand and had a great first night....which then led to a "not so great" first morning. Us girls laid on the beach for a couple hours where I got burnt- badly. Who knew I'd get so burnt being virtually on the equator?! Well after a couple hours in the sand we grabbed food and napped. It was much needed. After that- yep, party times!! Visited places from the night before and continued to have great times out!!

The next day we packed up and moved. We went to Ubud which is about 1 1/2 hours from Kuta (where we were the first 2 nights). Ubud is more "artsy" area, not on the beach. It has a lot of good little places to eat- which dining out in Bali is CHEAP!!! Seriously- HUGE GOOD MEALS for $2-$7. Blown away. However, drinking is roughly the same as home....meh. Although you can get large Bintangs for $2 some places- sounds good to me!!

When we got to Ubud we got ready and it was already getting late. This is when we saw the dances. There were many different ones. They played traditional Balinese music- it's instrumental- it's kind of soothing like it would put you to sleep. The dances were really nice to watch- it takes a whole lot of coordination to do what they did and the details they put into their moves was really fascinating! They moved their eyes in super creepy ways though like they were possessed- which then after that, whenever I would hear Balinese music that's all I could see. Nonetheless- it was a great performance! After that we headed for a great meal! I ate some traditional Balinese food- Mie Goreng (I think that's what it was called). Basically Raman noodles in a yummy sauce with lots of vegs, chicken, shrimp and other stuff...haha...it was really good! I loved the Balinese food and surprisingly I didn't get sick the whole trip- until I got off the plane which was good because I didn't waste any of my trip sick!

After dinner Carrie and I walked back, Denise and JP scootered back. (Side note: I know Denise and Carrie from living outside of Exeter- they both were working in Taiwan teaching and then decided to travel for a month before going home. Bali was their last stop before heading back to Canada- they had been there for a couple days before I met up with them! Denise's boyfriend JP met up with them in Bali before I did and so pretty much Carrie and I toured around and Denise and JP toured around- we met up with them from time to time!) On our walk back we could hear loud music playing- I actually believe it was the Killers!! We decided to check it out- turns out there were 3 Balinese guys playing acoustic and it was great!! It was at this little bar, we hung out there for a bit, the show ended and we continued on our way. Again, we heard a live band and decided to check it out- Reggae!! It was this little bar that sure had personality! Posters of Bob Marley hung all over the wall, along with Eminem, 2 Pac I believe...haha it was great! It was a little Jamiacan jem in the heart of Ubud- good times! We hung out there, met a local- Wayan who charmed us with his ability to whip up some sweeeeeet card tricks! I was uber unimpressed because I hate not knowing what's going on!! Met a few other people too- hung out there til early morning hours and then headed back. Carrie and I went for a little late night swim in our pool- glorious! It was a full moon- or close to it! Loved it!

Next morning we got up and toured Monkey Forest! Interesting...monkeys everywhere!! Chose not to feed them- I was a little leery about doing this! Not so keen on having monkeys crawl all over me?? I was afraid of being bitten! Stayed there for a bit. We then decided to rent a scooter and set off on an adventure. We wanted to go tour Goa Gaja- carvings in a cave. Well we weren't really sure how to get there but was told to turn right off of Monkey Forest Road (where we were staying) and just ask people along the way- easy enough right? Well...we drove far. Finally stopped to ask someone and they turned us back around. We started stopping more often to ask people- seems they all told us "1 kilometer down the road"- that was what about 3 people said- the others didn't really speak English. It was a great little adventure! We finally found it after numerous stops! On the way back, again, got lost. Someone pointed us in the other direction we came and said it would be faster to go that way....not so sure he knew where we were heading though after we got lost. After awhile we found our way- thanks to Carrie's great scooter skills and the $2 tank of gas...haha...it was a joke! I think it literally cost me $1.50 to fill up our scooter.

We got back- safe and sound and in one piece! Went out and had dinner- it was pouring rain- so weird! It just all of a sudden BUSTS OUT RAIN and then will stop there- tropical rain I guess? We ended up back at the little Jamaican bar- played lots of cards, chatted with some new people and had a nice, chill night. Next day we made another move to GILI ISLAND!! It took us an hour bus ride and then 4 hours on a boat...slowwww boat. It was HOT and SUNNY! I was still hurting from my burnage days before. I had a bad case of ADD on the boat and couldn't sit still- doesn't make for the fastest 4 hour ride. When we got there we needed to find a place to stay. Asked around and ended up with a really nice little hut like cottage place- biggest bathroom ever and SALT WATER SHOWER! It was GLORIOUS! Carrie and I got ready and went for dinner- a devastating dinner that is. Carrie got something in her eye, which very well could have been a burning ash from the little fire they kept smoking around- it was killing her. I felt horrible for her! Her eye swelled up and was super red- we stayed in that night and caught up on some sleep.

Next day her eye was really swollen- we went to the clinic on the island- please keep in mind this "island" that we're on is SMALL- no cars, no scooters, only horses and pedal bikes. Not really sure what the clinic was going to be- personally I was a bit nervous, but it was legit (well I don't know the guys credentials but it was a nice, new building on a resort). He gave her some drops and meds to help the swelling- it was still killing her though!!

For a good part of the day we ended up lounging around- I soaked in the ocean- I couldn't get out! The water couldn't have been anymore perfect!!!! I was in HEAVEN! Carrie chatted it up with some guys from Chile who invited us to go bike riding with them. We did. It didn't end well. The main "road" is very short and then leads to a sand road- ever rode a bike in the sand? Mmm....NOT fun. Especially when it's about 120'F outside and the sun is beating down on you- SWEAT CENTRAL!!! We didn't last long! Headed back- Carrie chilled for a bit, I took a walk. I couldn't get enough of the island- it was perfect!! I wanted to soak up every ounce I could! The views were spectacular! I didn't want to leave!

Well this was my last night....Carrie and I had dinner on the beach and then went to the bar- probably a little too early but this allowed for a double trouble party night- details of which I'm not obligated to share. I'll put it this way- best night of my life hands down. So much randomness, fun, crazy times happened I could write a novel just on this one night!! It made for a TERRIBLE 2 hour fast ride the next morning- I sat at the back of the boat getting soaked by the splash back, TRYING my best not to get sick. The guys on board gave me some meds- no idea what they were, but I kept drifting off and would wake up grabbing for something in front of me- haha...slightly embarassing but I'm sure entertaining for the people back there watching me.

Carrie and I, after docking, got a ride back to Kuta. She had to find a place to stay for the next couple of nights. We had dinner and then a nap before I headed back to the airport- what a short trip! I definitely would loved to have been able to stay another night or two in all places- Ubud, Gili and Kuta. Bali was a blast! I can only really thank Carrie for being an amazing travel buddy!! She knew where she wanted to go- I followed along for the ride! Priceless memories were made! This trip has definitely planted in me the need to travel more. There is so much beauty out there to be seen- can't wait to see where my next adventure takes me!! xo

~MUDFEST 2010~

YAY FOR MUD!!!

Erin, Inae & Moi

Washing off a bit in the ocean

Doing a beach dance with some crazy Koreans

These wild ladies went into the mud pits- I declined...I'm not so keen on eating mud

Clay mess- definitely amazing

Cleaning out muddy ears!

Inae & Me

Nick's sweet hat & Erin

A Korean night wouldn't be complete without some sweet sweet Norebong!

Mudfest '10...where to begin! Well it was definitely an amazing, once in a life time kind of experience. Since hearing about this months ago, it was something that I vowed I would do while in Korea- it was great! There were lots of people arranging rides, places to stay but I ended up going with a group of people- many teachers at my school, along with some friends and we boarded a bus and headed out to the beach. It was a 2 hour ride to get there, along the coast somewhere....Boryeong was the place that hosted it. We rolled into town- a small little town that hosted many seafood places- clearly being next to the sea. I have never in my life seen some of the seafood I had seen at this place. These clams in particular, which being from Essex County, I can only describe as man sized fists Zebra muscles. No idea what they were but that's exactly what they looked like. There was also the "Dog Penis" which I'm not sure if that's the actual name for it, but that's what I heard it called...it's this eel like big fat snake thing...guess where it coined the name from? I ended up NOT trying anything like that...rather opted for pizza when the time came for a meal....

Back to the festivities...

We got to Boryeong mid monsoon or typhoon- I forget exactly what I was told. Horrible. It was cold, rainy, windy, etc. BUT I was NOT going to let this ruin the weekend...we were, afterall, going to be covered in mud- who cares if it was rainy!?

We headed over to the pits, it was early- about 11am. Grabbed some cans of beer and got the party started! I was a little more leary to just hop into it full force but Erin and Inae were all about it!! They started off in the mud jail where the sprayed you down with warm mud- it was actually really nice mud, like spa mud. We ended up going through an obstacle course- with mud obviously. The girls hit up the mud pits for a little toss around- I opted out of this, yes, again. I don't know. I was too nervous to break an arm or something, or perhaps eat a mouth full of mud? Didn't appeal to me- the other girls definitely did eat their fair share of mud!! Mmmm... We went down the big mudslide, played in the ocean for a bit, partied on the beach. They had some performances, lots of music, huge hoses that were spraying people on the beach as they raved about...all in all, great times!! There was also a mud fight, I hid behind a Jeep- this time it was like hard clay...Erin got hit in the face, didn't feel great at all. This was the mud that actually stuck to you. It was nice to carry around a big wad of it- came in handy for a hot guy on the beach that was looking to be mudded down. I ended up running into a few people I knew were in Korea but hadn't seen yet- that was nice.

Later that evening we ended up attempting to get all the mud off of us and went out. It continued to rain on and off. We went to sing Kareoke for a bit and went to a few bars...met some Korean guys and hung out with them- even though they didn't speak English and we didn't speak Korean. Made for an interesting night....all in all Mudfest '10 was a great experience!!!

Only you can make yourself happy!

First off I want to say that I had an amazinggg time at Usher! I forgot the beauty of a good concert!! Erin and I had a good view (not close- but still good!!), we had $10/6 pack of beers (YES CHEAPPPP!! Not like at home- $10 CUP of beer at concerts), and we danced and busted out Usher songs- amazing!!! Hit up Hongdae on the way home- partied it up there for a bit, the rest is history.

I decided that I needed a little revamp of my place. I was sick of the windmills and frankly I'm going through this "I'm over it" phase- the novelty of Korea has worn off and I'm missing out on all the fun back home (cottages, parties, friends, family, pools, beaches, summer travels, etc.) I decided that I wanted to brush up my place a bit- add some more life to it. If I was going to be here 8 more months (which I will be) I wanted it to be MINE. I rolled up the old windmills (couldn't bare to part with them completely) and I bought some bamboo curtains. I hung them on my outer windows and I loved them so much I decided they would make for a nice/different look in the apartment too. They are also super handy to hang lots of pictures in- which I did with many memories of last summer from the cottage, stag & does, 4wheeling, golf tournament and lots of friends and family. It was nice to go through all my pictures that I brought here and pick out new ones I hadn't seen in awhile- I feel a lot better about things now!

So I'm becoming slightly obsessed with Korean food- I love it! I also want to be able to bring it back with me to Canada!! Unfortunately I feel there will just be some things I will not be able to find (bummer). I really particularly love kimchi soup- although I HATE kimchi (go figure). I crave it on a regular basis so I decided to make some. I looked up some recipes on the internet (after having a rough idea what to put in it anyway). I also discussed it with one of my classes and challenged them to ask their mother's to send in family recipes (trying to get some real Korean secrets from them....didn't work out so great). Either way, I had a couple solid recipes and a good idea of what I needed to do. One of my co-workers said she had some nice and raunchy kimchi (the older the better for the soup). If you're not familiar with kimchi, it's fermented cabbage in spicey sauces of sorts. It comes in many varieties and as much as I claim to hate it (part of it is KIND OF growing on me...A LITTLE). I decided last night to go for it and attempted what I thought was going to be the perfect recipe- AND IT WAS!!! I was super impressed- not sure it tastes 100% authentic, but it's delicious nonetheless. Packed with veggies, kimchi, tofu and tuna it was the perfect combination of spicey and garlic goodness all in one steamy pot! Lunch is now made for the week!! Delish!

I've got Seoul!!

10 Tier Pagoda at the Korean National Museum
Statue outside of the Korean War Memorial


Palace Entrance

World Cup Frenzy - Game night
Korea Vs. Uruguay
Korea 1
Uruguay 2

Proudly showing my support
Daehaminggu!

It's been a busy month...excuses, excuses....here it is.

There's been a whole lot of nothing going on- or so it seems.

Work, work, work- monotonous, but fun!

This past weekend I ventured on the Seoul City Tour bus! It was great!! What a perfect thing for tourists or people who are new to the city. It's 10,000W ($10) and you ride a coach bus that tours around the city, making stops at popular places. Unfortunately we (my friend Erin and I) didn't really anticipate that it could possibly last more than 6 hours...we were mistaken and ran out of time. The places we stopped were the Deoksugung Palace, Namdaemun Market, National Museum of Korea, War Memorial of Korea and Sofitel Ambassador Hotel. Now to explain a little bit about these places...

The Deoksugung Palace was built in the Choseon dynasty and it symbolizes the modern history of Korea- it hosted beautiful grounds with lush greenery, a very nice place. The guards were also pretty cute. Unfortunately we failed to preplan this and missed the note/hours for the changing of the guards, we didn't see it.

Next was the Namdaemun Markets- no more bug eating for me. This time I opted for a lovely street sandwich, complete with dirty hands making it (probably not having been washed in hours...touching money, dirty dirty finger nails)...what doesn't kill you makes you stronger- and side note: the sandwich was delicious. Fried egg with ketchup on pan fried bread...YUM! The markets here are overwhelmingly amazing. We walked around briefly- it started to spit and we wanted to hop back on the bus vowing to return another day...honestly everywhere you look there are places to go, shop, eat, etc. It's a good place to go!

Onto the National Museum of Korea- we lucked out and planned this lovely day adventure on what marked the 60th Anniversary of the War and both the museum and Memorial were free- not that admission into any of these places is expensive, only a couple thousand won ($1-4). The museum was...a museum. It was really beautiful inside- lots to see. There was a theatre outside under the roof of the two connecting buildings of the museum.

After the museum we hit up the Korean War Memorial- also a beautiful place. Korea has so much history, so interesting! I would go back to these places again- there's just too much to see in such little time.

Our last stop was more of an experimental thing- you see, the bus has these little headsets you listen to each stop to see what's offered there. Well stop 14-Sofitel Ambassador Hotel, was "steps away from dog alley where they sell many kinds of dogs, so many different shops, pet store after pet store line the street.....and at the end of the street is motorcycle alley"....that got me. I was game- unfortunately when we got out to check out this oddity, we were unable to find it. We even scooted into the local convience store to ask them- they spoke little English BUT I did bark so they would understand...to no avail. Well we had driven past what looked like it on the way to the actual bus stop, and the "motorcycles" were more like mopeds and scooters...ugh lame. So we took this time to just relax, until the next bus pulled up (the buses come to each stop every 1/2 hour so if you want to get off you can, take your time exploring whatever stop and then just wait for the bus again!!)

After that we rode the bus a bit longer then hopped off and went to the subway to get back to my place so we could get ready for the big World Cup game...unfortunately this would be the last game for the beloved Korean team- my future husband (the handsome Korean goalie), will now be returning back to his country. It was a sad time for the Koreans- they take their soccer seriously. Take for example, the game they played last week was aired at 3am here in Korea- and there were huge parties going on...ON A WEDNESDAY NIGHT! Some of my kids I teach even watched it...crazy. They go all out- it's really fun to partake in!!

Sooo...I did something I shouldn't have done- I cracked and got a Korean perm...omg. Did I just say perm in the year 2010....wasn't that a thing of the 80's? Ugh...yes. Well let me tell you, it's really not odd here at all. Many of the Koreans I know/work with either have had one or have one. I envisioned beautiful waves- NOT like the crazy spiral perms we're used to....I was mistaken. My hair- which I was thinking would look more like Kate Hudson-ish hot mess actually turned out brutal. Since getting this "perm" of mine, I have blow dried it straight and been curling it myself...let's just hope that eating kimchi and seaweed will help pump my hair into super growth mode and I'll be able to chop it out before I get back to Canada---here's hoping!!

A couple weeks ago my Korean friend Inae invited me over for dinner- she made the most amazing meal! It was a traditional Korean meal complete with all the sides- I'm going to try and convince her to teach me! It was a real treat- so delicious and such a nice gesture. To return the favour and to also have a little girls dinner, I invited her over, along with a few other ladies, to enjoy a meal on me. I made penne with homemade meat sauce, big salad, my version of egg plant parmesean and warmed cheese croissants...dessert- whipped up some peanut butter chocolate squares...it was nice! I love having people over to eat. Cooking/baking is a slight passion of mine and being in Korea with 1. no oven, 2. no one to cook for leaves me a little sad. So it's nice to be able to cook and have company- I've looked into taking a Korean cooking class- I was thinking though that since the summer will be busy, I'll maybe start it in the fall. It's every Saturday so that will give me something to look forward to AND it will be nice to take what I learn back to Canada too!!

This coming week will mark a first for me in my Korean experience- the leaving of a co-worker. Obviously we're all coming and going- most only staying in one job for a year. But still. The time has come for us to bid our farewells to one and welcome another. Each month now it will be as if people are coming and going. Most of my co-workers started around the same time. I wish them all luck with their future endeavours!!

Last week we took the children on a field trip- The University of Aerospace Museum- something of the sorts. It was meh- alright. Mostly in Korean- they had a cheesy video made in (I believe) '96 that was in English but dubbed over in Korean. The best part of the video was snuggling up with one of my little munchkins. I adore my kids- even the thought of me leaving them breaks my heart- One of my little guys was sick for a couple days and when he got back to school he couldn't stop hugging me- precious. These babes are my life here- is it odd/pathetic/lame that come Sunday night I'm ready to get back to Monday so I can see them all again...?!

So the following things are quickly approaching come July-

USHER Concert- should be interestingggg....

Boryeong MUD FESTIVAL (they truck in mud to the beach and it's a crazy party, listed as part of the "30 Things to do Before You're 30...ewww I'm approaching 30?!)

BALIIIIII!!!! I can not believe that my flight is BOOKED for Bali- a week in tropical paradise?! I'll take it- I can't wait! Not to mention I'll be meeting some girls there from the Huron County area- it will be a blast!!

So that's what I have to look foward too! I'm sure there will be a lot to talk about in the coming month....