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!!

Mom and Dad Swing by Korea

Dad's big boy beer that he proceeded to spill all down the inside of his shirt- it's actually tricky when it hits a certain point to drink. The tables here also have refridgeration cups built in to keep it icy cold!

Cheeky beers with fellow Hwaj crew!

Reunited at last!

Introducing....SHABU SHABU!! Steaming hot, delicious soup you sneak those insanely thin slices of meat into, plus add udon noodles and at the end it wraps up with rice, veggies and egg crisped to the bottom of the bowl, not to mention the insane amounts of wasabi and soya I mix all in...heavenly.

Al and Sean getting good use out of the chopsticks

Didn't love sitting on the floor though-

$1.50 biggie ice cream cone in Myeongdong

Blue Brothers?

Tourists in the shopping area

Dad apparently didn't change his army cargo shorts-

@ LaFesta in Ilsan

Visiting the kiddies!

They are showing off the stickers and pencils my parents brought representing Canada- lovely gesture to which I'm still peeling off the stickers from random places around the classroom

Canada pinning which was brief- I was too nervous the parents might get upset if they saw a Canada pin through their kids $200 Burberry shirt- true story.

Dad impressing the kids- the kids LOVED my parents!

Three robots in Insadong

Shopping area in Insadong

Insadong

We went to see Nanta perform- a cooking-like show, similar to "Stomp" but in the kitchen. It was amazing and dad was chosen to partake....he looked ridiculously silly but it was fun to watch! He married the Korean girl on his right at the end of his little part in the show...amusing.

"Fly" on dad's hat, it was just acting, no words really, so no one really knew what was coming next!

They made him eat soup

Posers, stopped for a photo op without actually venturing into the palace...

@ Korean War Memorial in Yongsan- outside they have ships, tanks, planes...

In front of museum

Venturing into the DMZ exhibit featured there

Cute.

Mom and I in the entrance of museum

For three weeks in Sept./Oct. I was fortunate enough to have my parents come to visit me!! It was so great to see them- unfortunately I was really busy, but they got to see what goes on here and to be able to tour around Korea a bit! I was definitely excited to see them at the airport- lots of hugs and I even shed a few tears! It had been 7 months since seeing them in person- I missed them!! However, it seems like just yesterday I had this crazy idea to come to Korea and my mom promised me that they'd come for a visit in September....the time finally came!

When they first got here they were super tired from the 14 hour straight through flight- they didn't sleep at all and seeing as Korea is a completely opposite time difference, they were right messed up. I took them for dinner- which would have been their breakfast! First though, we got checked into a love motel- haha...they have them all over Korea. Cheap motels for couples to go to...to hang out I guess? There was a heart shaped light above the bed and everything...super romantic- sick. There was more to it, but I'll leave that to the imagination. Mom and dad were both super tired so it was a short night.

I had the Tues, Wed and Thurs off that week for Chuseok, Korean "Thanksgiving"- they don't eat turkey here...it gave my parents and I sometime to tour around, but a lot of stuff was closed. My mom and dad went for long walks each morning and sometimes night- I feel like they know my neighbourhood better than me now! They also only spent only one night in the luxurious loveeeee hotel before crashing my apartment. It was tight quarters for a week but we sucessfully managed without killing each other!

Throughout the week I tried to take them to a few places that I knew, shopping areas, Nanta performance, different places to eat. I guess I wasn't the greatest tour guide- I was also busy with monthly exams, marking and report cards. Mom and dad ended up heading down to Busan for a week- it's South of Seoul, at the other end of Korea and it's a beach town. While there they saw a really big fire....they seemed to enjoy it but were hesitant to really be adventurous with the food.

When they got back they toured around Ilsan and Itaewan a bit on a few days. They ended up feeling really comfortable with the subway- which is super easy to use. It's in English and you can't really mess it up! They went to the Seoul Grand Park Zoo which they claim to be the best zoo they've ever been to- I have yet to check it out myself.

I must say that I am extremely fortunate to have such great parents to first off, be so supportive of my decision to come here in the first place. I'm also super lucky that they got to come here and visit me- I wish the time wouldn't have gone by so quickly! I feel like I barely saw them. They got to meet some of my friends, have some drinks with us and just take in a bit of Korea. They got a little taste of the ups and downs I've gone through- from language barriers to ajummas who will push you off the sidewalk on their way by. They also got to see why I love it here- my apartments, the kids I teach, all the crazy cool things I'm experiencing!
After the 3 short weeks it was finally time to part ways. I brought them to the airport where I felt like I just picked them up days before....we had our goodbyes where I refused to cry, and then they don't know this but I stood by, out of the way and watched them go through security, choking back tears. Despite all the times we butt heads over meaningless things my parents mean the absolute world to me. I wouldn't be who I am today without their love, support, and guidance through the years. I love you mom and dad!! xo

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