A few of my favorite things!

So I am going on 4 months in Korea and I am beginning to really love it here! Last night we went out for Korean BBQ for supper. It is one of my favorite meals. So much delicious meat that you get to cook right on your own personal bbq!

Another one of my favorite things about Korea is the giant bottles of beer you can buy at the cornerstore! 

And then I discovered what I consider one of the best inventions ever! The Soju tetrapak! Delicious soju in a juice box form for when you need to drink on the run!!

It's finally starting to feel like home here! Can't wait to see what other goodies Korea has to offer!

Working up the courage

This weekend I am having a rather relaxing weekend. Mainly because next week is pay day so I am low on funds, but also because I need some rest. This morning I woke up and skyped with a friend of mine from home. Afterwards I went to the gym before meeting some new friends for coffee.

Now I have been going to the gym frequently for almost two months now and I have yet to shower there. I generally work out and then come home and shower. If you have ever been in a Korean gym, you will know that it is a little different than most North American gyms. Koreans are very open and have no problem walking around naked. Now, let me state that I am not one of those people who gets changed in the bathroom stall. I am totally okay with getting changed in front of other people, I just am not okay with sitting around and having heart to heart chats with my friends, and then doing my hair and makeup, while being completely naked. Needless to say, I find the gym locker room slightly intimidating. I think I need to add that the towels that are used in Korea are the size of hand towels, so there is no walking around with your towel covering you, it's bare it all, or go home. Today, however, I decided that I was going to suck it up and just do it. I spent the entire hour and a half that I was working out, pumping myself up and telling myself that it was no problem. I could easily take a shower in front of other women. So there I was, after my workout, in the locker room, contemplating my decision. It was now or never....and I chickened out. I just couldn't do it. So there gym shower remains a mystery to me! I will do it, soon...-ish....atleast once before I leave Korea!

Aww life is tough sometimes!

My friend Tracy and I always joke about how little black rain clouds seem to follow us around wherever we go. It's like if anything could go, wrong it does. My mother always tells me that my life could be worse, and it's true, it could be much worse, but then again, it could also be much better! I'm beginning to think my little black rain cloud has followed me to Korea. This has been a rough week. I am battling what seems to be a never ending cold. To go along with my cold I have some mysterious tooth pain that is causing me not to eat, yet my dentist says there is nothing wrong. That in itself is cause for a pretty shitty week. Add in a few enraged Korean parents, a leaky apartment, some troublesome kindergarteners, and the threat of World War III and you have a recipe for a bit of a stressful week! Sometimes I think that life just says to itself, "Hey, let's see how far we can push Caley before she will crack."

Now when it comes to stress I have figured out some rock solids ways to relieve it. First off, I thoroughly enjoy punching things, so boxing became my favorite hobby. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a boxing club here in Korea so I have had to resort to bottling my rage up inside. Secondly, a regular workout routine really seems to keep my leveled and less likely to break out into a stress induced tantrum. However, with my on going sickness, I haven't been able to do much of that either. So at the moment, I am a big ball of stress and sickness, ready and willing to explode on anyone and anything that might trigger me. Look out North Korea!!!

On a somewhat more positive note, the weather has been extremely nice here and I am pleasantly pleased with the 13 degree temperatures we have been having everyday! Look Ma! No jacket! As today is December 1st, I have begun counting down the days until vacation! Only 24 days until I am on my way to a sunny week in Vietnam!!!

Another work week begins after another weekend of adventure!

It's already Tuesday night here in Korea and it seems like this week is just flying by. Last weekend I traveled to Ulsan with my friend Nate. It was a great weekend in an even greater city. We arrived at 4am Saturday morning, after what seemed like a never ending trip there. After work Friday night we took a bus into Seoul in plans of catching the KTX(300mph bullet train) to Ulsan. After the hour and a half trip to the KTX station we were told that all the tickets were sold out. So we had to back track an hour to the Express Bus terminal and then wait two hours for our bus. Luckily the buses here in Korea are very comfortable so we were able to catch a bit of sleep on the way there. Once in Ulsan we walked to our hotel and crashed for the night. Saturday we met up with Nate's friend and had lunch. I spent the afternoon strolling around the neighborhood we were in. Afterwards we went to another part of town and walked around some more and then walked an hour or so back to our hotel.

This is the view we had on our walk home. Needless to say I am in love with this city! I plan to visit it more and will potentially look for work there next year. Saturday night we met up with Nate's friends for some Korean BBQ. I was the only girl crashing what would normally be a boys night out so I obviously had to keep up with the drinking. The good thing about being a girl in Korea is you rarely have to pay for anything! So after four rounds(four different bars filled with boozing) we stumbled home. Needles to say Sunday wasn't a very pleasant day. And like with all things, it seems that the world wanted to punish us for having a little fun. We took a 20 minute cab ride to the KTX station only to find out that it was, yet again, sold out. So we ended up taking it for only 20 minutes to Daegu and then taking a bus back from there. On a normal day it would have taken only three and a half hours to get home, but for some reason, this day the traffic was insane. We inched along and finally arrived home about six and a half hours later! Even with all the travelling delays it was still a pretty great weekend! I am happy I am getting the chance to explore Korea!

This weekend we are planning a girls night with all of the teachers at our school. Hopefully it will be a great time! Until then.....

Nothing is coming up Caley this week

You know those weeks where it seems like a little black rain cloud is following you around? Generally nothing horrible really happens, just nothing seems to go your way? Well I am having one of those weeks and it just doesn't seem to end!!

I am in the middle of having a root canal done and have two appointments left. This week I had to sit through having a mold made of my tooth so they can make the crown to put on it. After the procedure I paid what I thought was the $160 the dental hygienist had quoted me. Turns out one of the problems with going to a Korean dentist is the language barrier, who knew? I ended up having to pay $600 and am left with a temporary crown for two weeks which means only eating on one side of my mouth.

After returning to work, I went to my next class where one of my kindergarteners asked me if I was having a baby, while I would normally not care that a 5 year old commented on the pudge I have, this time it seemed to cut like a knife.

I went to the gym after work yesterday and then went to my usual street vendor to buy some apples. The lady is really nice and is always giving me delicious oranges for free with my apples. This time she gave me my apples and then she handed me two ROTTEN tomatoes!!! It's almost like she could tell I was having a bad day and wanted to stick it to me!!

So I came home and went to visit my friend Nate and have what we like to call "complain fests". We both rant about work and life in general just to get it off our chests and then move on. So all was good and I was prepared for another day today.

I had to venture to the bank today to send some money back home. On my way I realized I had forgotten my passport. So I had to run home and grab it quick. On my way in the building I heard this weird banging but didn't think anything of it. As I was leaving my apartment I heard it again and looked over towards the windows in the hallway. And guess what, to my dismay, a giant bird was stuck in our building and banging against the window trying to get out. Now for those of you who know me, you know that I have a phobia of birds. Well, the word phobia is a bit of an understatement. I am absolutely terrified and will run away crying and push anyone, (including the elderly and small children) out of my way to do so. So here I was frozen in the hallway of my apartment trying to figure out what to do. Since the bird was blocking my stairwell, I had two choices: go back into my apartment and skip the rest of the day at work(likely getting me fired) or suck it up and run!! Obviously, (to your amazement Mom!) I took the latter. I ran out of the building so quick you would have thought it was burning down!!!

Of all things to happen to me during one of those shitty weeks, of course I would have to come face to face with my nemesis!

So after spending the rest of the work day worrying about how I was going to come home and if I would have to have another face-off with the bird, I convinced my co-worker Desiree to come home with me and do an inspection before I went upstairs! Thank goodness for friends! She checked every floor and shut the windows in the hallway to hopefully avoid this kind of incident from occurring again! Now I am safely locked in my apartment contemplating becoming an agoraphobic!

Having a wonderous lazy Sunday

Today is a fantastic day. I slept in until 10:30 and then came online and had a chat with my friend Lynn, who I haven't spoken to since I have been in Korea. It was really nice. Video chat is so much better than a regular phone chat, it's like you are actually there with the person instead of hundreds of thousands of miles away! After our chat I made a delicious breakfast of an omelet and pumpernickel toast! I have since been sitting at my computer reading the news, chatting with friends, and pondering life and the decisions we make.

It's funny how we change over the years. I am currently chatting with a friend who had somewhat of a mini reunion with some of our high school friends last night. It is interesting to hear the changes that people have made in their lives. It seems that it is always the people who you thought were going to be the world travelers, who are the ones who settle down with the whole package: man, white picket fence, good jobs and the prospect of kids in the near future. And then there are the rest of us who are still wandering through life, unsure of what path to take and too afraid to settle down to one job or career decision. For so many years I thought that all I needed to do to be happy was to get a good job, find a man and buy a house and live happily ever after. I now know that is all a facade. Atleast in my view of what I need to be happy. The thought of settling down to one job, one city and one life is terrifying to me now. Ten years ago I thought that by age 26 I would be married and happy. I guess it's all a part of growing up and changing.

The experiences we have in life and the choices we make seem to have a direct impact on the way we look at life and what we need to be happy. I quickly learning the things that make me happy, and none of them have anything to do with a job or success in a career, or material possessions for that matter. I used to think that having the best clothes and the nicest things would make me happy, but it wasn't until I got rid of all those things and began to live minimally that I realized how useless they really are. This experience in Korea is helping me to see who I really am. For the first time in my life I am alone. Literally and figuratively. It is time for me to grow and figure out who I am and what I am doing with this life.

Busy, busy, busy

As I am sure you have all noticed, it has been awhile since my last post. Life here in Korea has been busy and I have not had the time or desire to sit down and write anything really. So since my last post things have been going well. Nothing too major has been going on.

Last weekend I went away for the first time since I have been here. Myself and some other coworkers ventured up to Gangwon-do to hike Mount Seoraksan. It is 1708 meters and the third highest mountain in Korea. We left Suji Friday night after work and arrived in Sokcho at about 11pm. My friend, Shin, knew the owners of a hotel right by the park entrance so we had a nice place to stay. We ended up having a few drinks that night which lead to a little bit of a late start Saturday morning.

Once we got to the park we were all very excited to hike. It was a beautiful day and we had a 12 hour hike ahead of us. The terrain was pretty easy for the first two hours, I was beginning to think that it was a joke of a mountain, but I was quick to judge, after the first pit stop the mountain got intensely steeper. We were basically going up thousands of rock stairwells. About a third of the way up Desiree decided she had had enough and headed back down. I was tired, sore and thinking about giving up as well, but I knew that I would never forgive myself for giving up! I had come this far so I might as well finish the trek. So I continued on with Shin and Nate and two hours grueling hours later we finally made it to the peak! It was pretty intense and my legs were sore for an entire week! But it was definitely worth it!

Since then I have been just hanging around Suji, living life. I am currently in the process of trying to plan our winter vacation. We are trying to find a sunny destination such as Bali or Malaysia. Trip planning is exhausting!

A nice relaxing weekend...sort of

Well it is Sunday night again, (argh!) which means tomorrow is back to work. The weekend was a pretty good one. Friday night we had a nice night of food and drinking with the co-workers. Saturday after sleeping in I spent the day being lazy and watching movies. All of my friends went into Seoul for Saturday night, I decided to opt out and stay in. I ended up getting locked out of my apartment because the lock got jammed. Luckily I had the key to Desiree's place because I was looking after her dog, and was able to find my directors number. She called my landlord who was here within a half hour. He then called a locksmith who was here within 10 minutes. The whole ordeal only took about an hour and I now have a brand new dead bolt on my door. I was really impressed with how quickly they got it fixed considering it was Saturday night!! Now I don't understand why it takes so long for things like this to get done in Canada?!

Today I enjoyed a nice relaxing non-hungover day. I got up early and went out biking for 3 hours. It was nice to get out and explore and be alone. Afterwards I spent the day doing laundry and then hungout with Desiree for a bit.

This week should be nice at work, no more report cards or tests!!!

A week of report cards and monthly tests!

This week has been a busy one! We had report cards due and the children all write a monthly test. So we have been busy assessing and commenting on each child, which after only a month of teaching is still pretty difficult to do. And then there are those kids that you have a hard time saying anything constructive about! You know the ones that you wish you could write, "Jimmy is an annoying distraction", but instead you write, "Jimmy is an energetic little boy who sometimes needs to remember to listen in class."  I seem to have "lucked out" and received all of the difficult children this semester. Not to say that I don't love them all, it actually seems the evil devil children are the ones I like best, but having every class filled with little shit disturbers is not an easy 10 hour day! 

I finally got back out on my bike last night for the first time since my fall. I went out to our usual training hill but only managed a measly 4 times up(as opposed to my 9 last time). I didn't want to push it too much since my leg is still recovering and is not completely healed yet. I finally slept through a full night last night too! I know it's because I haven't been working out enough and the nice workout I had helped. After my ride I did some exercises and some shadow boxing in my room. I have really been missing my boxing workouts as they were my only real stress release!!! 

This weekend a bunch of us from the office are going out for drinks and likely some karaoke. Should be an interesting time. As with any work place there is all kinds of drama and office politics going on. I plan to just sit back and watch as things get awkward for everyone! 

My buddy Nate and I have been hanging out a lot and I am really enjoying his company. He is the only person here that I feel really comfortable being myself with and I am glad to have that outlet. We have the same sort of philosophies on life so it makes it easier to know I have someone around who sees the world the same as I do,(not to mention a bike buddy and personal trainer!) 

Next week I finally get paid again! This whole getting paid once a month thing takes some getting used to! Even though I am making substantially more than I have in the past trying to budget my money for a whole month is proving to be a little difficult! I finally got my Korean bank account yesterday so I will be able to send some money back to Canada and start paying off some bills! I am pretty excited to be actually able to pay down loans and still have money to live!! Oh how growing up is fun!! 

Besides going out with the work crew Friday night, I plan on taking this weekend pretty easy. I am already tired of all the hustle and bustle of Seoul. While it is an amazing city, I am not a huge fan of city life in general! I miss the open spaces of Canada!!! So I will likely relax and do some more exploring on my bike! 

A break from the hustle

Well it has almost officially been one month since I arrived here in Korea and it is definitely starting to feel like I am settling in. Friday night I stayed around here and had some beers with my housemates. The best thing about Korea is that public alcohol consumption is okay! We hung out at a park by our apartment building and drank beers and soju! Fun adventures!!

Saturday morning, after waking up with quite the hangover, I set out for a day of hiking with my friend Nate. Our first stop was for some food to feed our hangovers. We went to this sandwich shop by our school and I got a club sandwich. In Korea they put egg on everything so I was not surprised when there was egg on my club, it was a delicious addition! Fueled and ready we headed to Suwon to a mountain a friend of ours recommended. Once in Suwon we had to get a cab to the mountain, which proved to be a difficult task. Most taxi drivers around here do not speak English, luckily for me, Nate speaks some Korean so he was able to get us to where we needed to go. We were finally at the mountain and I was ready for some wilderness. Little did I know it would be awhile before we got to the point where it was relaxing. The first leg of the hike was cramped and packed(as is everywhere in Korea), so many hikers all decked out in the finest of hiking gear. It is hilarious to see all the "hikers" in their expensive hiking gear. The funny part is that the hike is more of a leisurely walk through the woods with stairs on almost all of the hills. When we finally reached the peak of the mountain(only about a 1.5 hour climb) we climbed a rock face and descended a different path.

 This was when we finally got the hike we were looking for. There was no one on the trail but us and by this time we had both talked so much that we were okay with a nice quite hike. Turns out there was a reason that we were the only ones on that path, it just ended. Literally we were in the middle of nowhere with no path to follow. We could hear the highway so we just hoofed it through the woods hoping to come across some form of a trail. We eventually did and ended up in someones backyard. They were out gardening and directed us to the road. We walked for a bit and found a bus stop and hoped on a bus that we were told would take us to Suji. After about a 5 minute bus ride we were home. We had actually hiked almost all the way back Suwon! I was glad to finally have had a nice day of adventure out of the city.

Today I went into Seoul with Desiree where we mett up with our friend Tobye and went to check out Seoul Tower. We took a cable car up to the tower and then went up and got an amazing view of Seoul. It was pretty awesome! On our way home we met another teacher who lives here in Suji and has been here for over a year. She is going to show us the gym she goes to tomorrow so I will hopefully be able to get some better workouts in!!

Another week off work starts tomorrow!

On the sidelines

Well I have my first injury in Korea. I went out biking last night and took a nasty spill. I got up and biked off with just a few bumps and scrapes. I went on about my night and went out with some friends for dinner. After eating I went to stand up and I had a huge hematoma on my right leg! It had taken awhile to show up. So not only did I screw up my bike but now I can barely walk!!! Not a very good start to my 3 day holiday! I was planning on biking 30km into Seoul today but the plans have changed!

I have been icing my leg and went for a bit of a walk today but am in quite a  fair amount of pain so it looks like I will be spending my Chuseok watching terrible reruns on tv!!! Oh well, I guess it could be worse!

A new love for Noreabangs

Another weekend in Suji and another great adventure. Friday night we went out for a staff dinner at a Korean BBQ restaurant. The food was delicious and it was nice to get to hang out and talk with the Korean teachers because we are separated from them at school. Saturday was an early morning as we had to get up and drive an hour to Ilsan for a full day Poly school workshop, It was a long, long day. I found I didn't learn too much from the sessions, but I am sure some teachers benifited from it.

After we got back to Suji, a couple of us went out for some drinks. My fellow teacher, Nate, has friends here in town so we went down to a bar that one of them works at. After several drinks, and a few bottles of Soju, our Korean coworker Jake persuaded us to go to a Noreabang with him. The Noreabang is a Korean karaoke room. They are very popular with Koreans! It was amazing! One hour and all the songs you want in your own private room. Drinks are cheap and voices are terrible.

 We had a blast belting out some terrible american songs. Afterwards we had our first 'downtown' Suji club experience. We were the only ones there but it had beer, foosball and a dance floor so I was pretty happy!! All summed up it was a good night of bonding with the coworkers! The headache this morning was not quite as much fun!!

This week is going to be a nice one, it's Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving so we only have to work Monday and Friday! I am excited for a nice break! I am planning on just staying close to Suji but I am going to bike into Seoul one day and then head up to Suwon (the next closest town) to check out a Fortress there and explore the city. It will be a nice cheap holiday!!!

Another great day!

Today I had an amazing day at work! I have this grade one class that has 8 rowdy boys in it who do not settle down. It normally takes me about 15 minutes to start class and then I rarely get through all the material I am supposed to. Last week the highest mark on their vocabulary tests was 3/10. I don't know what happened today but they finally settled down, they had actually completed their homework and one of them got 10/10 on their vocab test! I was so happy! i was beginning to get discouraged because I felt like I wasn't getting through to them but now that I see some progress I am much happier. I know everyday with them will not be this perfect but it is a start atleast!!

Tonight I went out training again with my friend Nate. The hill we go to is pretty intense, last time I made it up six times so tonight I aimed for eight and did not fail!! I can't wait to get my fitness level back up to where it was a month ago, and hill training is definitely the way to do it!! I am going to go out again with him tomorrow night.

I sat outside of our building after our ride for a "stoop beer" and relaxed a little. It was nice to just sit by myself and think for awhile. Life is good here and I am very excited for things to come! New friends and new adventures!!! I couldn't ask for more!!

Korean Life

Ahoy! I am in my third week here in Suji and am really loving life!!! School is going well and the kids are starting to get settled with all of the new teachers.

This past weekend we went into Seoul again and explored Gyeonbokgung Palace. It was pretty cool to see. We got there just as the changing of the guards was happening so that was pretty cool!!



Afterwards we spent the day wandering around Seoul trying to find some pants for work! It is very difficult! The style of pants here is much slimmer than in North America.

One of my fellow teachers lent me his bike for the weekend while he was away so Sunday I went out exploring! It was so nice to be back on a bike! I had so much fun that when I got home I immediately went to the bike store and bought my own! Last night he took me out to do some hill training with him that was super intense! I am glad I found someone to workout with who will push me to my limits!

I am really glad I am here doing this with my life! There are so many opportunities for travel and new experiences!

Settling in

Well I have almost been here for two weeks now and I have to say things are going quite smoothly. I am settling into a nice teaching groove and am really enjoying the kids and my classes. The days are quite long, I am at work from 9am to 7:30pm everyday, but it is keeping me busy which is good!

My fellow teacher, Desiree, who lives downstairs from me, has been helpful to have around. Not only is she one of the only friends I have here, but she likes to run as well so she has been helping me to keep at a good running routine.

This past weekend we ventured into Seoul with a few of the other teachers from our school. It was pretty fun! Being the sheltered, small town girl that I am, being in a big city like Seoul was pretty fun for me! We rode the subway around town, (my first subway experience!) and did some shopping. One area we went to was called Myeong Dong. It's apparently one of the best shopping districts. The streets were packed with people! Tons of vendors lined the sides of the streets and were selling everything from food to designer knock offs.

It was a pretty awesome day! Needless to say after an entire day of walking around the busy streets of Seoul I was exhausted. We got back to Suji around 10pm after an hour bus ride and I basically passed out immediately! 

Last Friday night we went out to dinner with some of the fellow teachers. It was my first Korean BBQ experience! And it was amazing! There is a bbq in the middle of the tables and they bring you whatever kind of meat you want and fill the table with endless side dishes. Everything was so delicious! We topped it off with some Korean beer and Soju! Not a bad experience! Afterward we went with one of our coworkers to a place called the Makgeolli Hut. It is basically an open air bar/restaurant that is famous for it's Makgeolli(rice wine). It was a pretty cool place and turns out that Makgeolli and cyder(sprite) is a pretty delicious drink! 

Desiree and I are planning our Christmas Vacation already and have decided on visiting Bali for our week off! I have been researching flights and hotels and it looks like we are going to have an amazing cheap sunny Christmas holiday! 

Cheers!

Being away is hard

It's funny the things you realize as you grow older and are away from those you love. This adventure is Korea is definitely going to be a worthwhile experience, but at the same time I wonder why I decided to leave when I had such an amazing support group at home. Now I am here in a foreign country with one friend.

Des and I went running this morning and when I got home I decided to put on some tunes and do a little workout in my apartment. Well, midworkout a song came on that my best friend Jenny and I had been listening to alot this summer. The next thing I knew I was sitting on my floor in tears missing all the people who know me so well. I know this will happen when I'm here, but I am worried that I won't make any friends here that I will consider my best friends. It's hard because right now I can't even talk to anyone from back home so I am so isolated.

There's nothing to do except pick myself up and keep on going. I know things will get easier here and a year will fly by and I'll be back home with everyone I know and love. Until then I keep telling myself to make the best of this situation and try to get as much out of this opportunity as I can.

To grow and to learn.

a strange adventure

Well I made it! Our plane arrived last night around 6pm local time. After finding our bags and getting out of the airport we all found our drivers. Desiree and I got into our cab with a Korean man who obviously didn't speak any english. All we could do was assume he knew where we were going. After about an hour and a half we arrived at our apartment building. Outside waiting for us was the Director of our school June. She showed us to our "apartments". They were the size I had assumed they would be, but they are not exactly as nice as we were hoping. After speaking with some of the other teachers at school today we came to realize that this is the norm around here. So much for a society that is far more advanced than us! We are basically slumming it! Desiree and I are going to look for a better place to live but until then this is our home. So after waking up this morning I was a little uneasy, not only was I not feeling well, but the reality of what I was doing was finally sinking in!! Nerve racked and restless, we went out exploring our neighborhood this morning, which was, to say the least, a little confusing!

At 9:30 our Director picked us up for what we thought was a medical. We ended up spending the entire day at school, (except for the actual medical part), which was actually nice. The faces of those kids actually makes the terrible apartment bearable. They were all so cute and outgoing! I think the job is going to be super fun! I am sure it will be challenging and the days are long, but the kids are why I came here so I am happy that I will get to spend my days with them. We mett some of the other teachers today as well and they seem really nice, so I am glad we will have a few of them around to help us figure stuff out.

After an exhausting day at work, Desiree and I hit the local lotte mart(a cheap walmart equivalent), where we both picked up a few groceries. We plan to go to the E-mart(a better store with better prices apparently) to pick up some much needed essentials such as sheets and pillows. Until then I plan on sending some emails and hitting the hay!!

Stay tuned!

Training day

I managed to get a pretty good sleep last night. Fell asleep at 7pm local time(11pm my time) and woke up at 6am local time. Even so, I was still pretty exhausted today. We had training from 9am until 7pm tonight. A lot of information was hammered into our brains.

After today I am definitely very excited to get to Korea tomorrow! We have a few days before we start actually teaching so we have a period of time to get adjusted to life in Korea. I met 3 other teachers who will be at my school and living in the same building as me as well.

All in all, today was a good but long day. Now I am off to finish up a mock-lesson plan that we have to present tomorrow and then I am going to crash.

Training in the morning until noon and then it's off to the airport for an 11 hour flight to Seoul!!

Saw this sign on my walk. Just another reason why I am lucky to be a Canadian!

The first leg of my journey!

I started today by waking up at 3am not able to sleep. After tossing and turning until 4am, it was finally time for me to get up and say good-bye to Fredericton, my home for the past three years. After a tearful goodbye to my family,(although I expected to cry more, but I think because it was so early I was incapable of tears) I boarded my first flight to Montreal. I basically slept the entire way! The next leg of the journey included a 5 hour flight to Vancouver, during which I was sandwiched between two men who I am sure did not shift at all during the flight, except for the countless times I needed to pee!! Finally, after waiting an extra hour in Vancouver, I was aboard my last flight to Seattle. It was only a 30 minute flight but it was a good one! Mountains and water everywhere!!

So here I was, finally in Seattle. I met up with Chang one of the employees who was picking me up, he also had two others teachers ready and waiting. We all jumped into the van and off to our hotel we went. The drive from the airport was pretty nice, about 40 minutes. My hotel is in a place called Kirkland, just adjacent to Belleview. I have yet to see much of this area but what I have seen is pretty nice! Trees everywhere! It is by far the most wooded metropolitan area I have ever seen.

Even though I had been travelling all day and could have easily gone straight to bed, I decided to go explore and find a place to eat. I found a nice little Italian restaurant with great service! Since it was only 4pm local time I was the only one there so I'm sure that had something to do with it. I sat on the patio and enjoyed my first solo meal of this solo journey!!

After supper I decided to walk around the area I'm in and see whats around. Not much; basically car dealerships and 7-elevens. But it is oddly still all surrounded by tons and tons of trees so it still looks pretty nice! I think if I have some free time tomorrow, I will venture into Seattle and do some sightseeing, the bus apparently takes about 40 minutes to get downtown so it's too much to do tonight.

Tomorrow we meet at 8:30am and then travel to the R&D building of our headquarters to have our training session! Should be fun!!

More to follow...

A new era

Well a new chapter of my life is about to begin. It has been awhile since my last post, since then I have successfully completed my Business degree, graduated and finished my last summer as a camp counselor at the YMCA. I have secured myself an amazing position at what is, I'm told, one of the best private schools in South Korea.

This coming Monday I will say good bye to Canada for a whole year and spend a few days training in Seattle and then fly directly to Korea from there on Wednesday. I am excited(I'll admit a bit nervous as well) for the next stage of my life to begin! Living in a foreign country for a year is no doubt going to be a tough challenge, but it's one that I know will pay off in the end.

So for now I'm going to go enjoy my last weekend with my friends and family, and hope I can get through it without too many tears!!

back into busy mode

So I have been back into school and working out like crazy, which has left me with little time to write! I went to the doctor this week for a problem I have been having with my knee when I run, she referred me to a physiotherapist who I saw twice last week. Turns out my right inner quad doesn't contract properly which causes me pain while running. So hopefully it won't take very long for the healing process so I can get back out on the pavement, until then I can luckily continue to go to spinning.

Only a few weeks of school left which is insane! It's hard to believe the time has gone by so quickly! A friend of mine and I were discussing how we are not ready to go into "real" life yet and we came across an article of 30 things to do before turning 30. After reading through, only a few things caught my eye, it did however, inspire me to create my own list of things to do before I turn 30. I will be updating it as I think of new adventures I would like to do. Obviously my Korea adventure will hopefully be this summer and after that I think I am going to plan to work and travel in Austalia for a year as I have discovered today that once you pass 30 you can't get a work holiday visa anymore.

Growing up is not so much fun. Independence is great but the thought that settling down to a job and a family means limited ability to do whatever you please is, well terrifying at the least. I am currently too selfish to settle down. There is so much out there in the world I have yet to see and experience. My adventures are only just beginning!

back into my workout stride!

A new week and tougher workouts! Yesterday I went to the gym with Sarah and we ran for 35 mins then did the "fat assasin" workout off bodyrock.tv. It was by far one of the hardest workouts I have done in awhile. And tonight we did another workout before boxing as well. If we keep up like this I will definitely be my fittest for 26!

March break this week and I am not working or going to school, it is pretty nice to actually have some time off for once. I still have quite a bit of school work to get done but it has been awesome to stay up late and sleep in!!

Ugh! Thank goodness this week is over!

It's been a long week and finally it is Sunday. Although today is not much better, I dragged myself to the gym and when I got there realized I had forgotten my sneakers! Guess I was not meant to work out today. So I am back home, cooking supper and getting ready to watch the gold metal game between Canada and the US. I am getting back into my workout routine tomorrow I promise!

Spring is coming!

It has been a few days since I have written a post, meaning, I haven't worked out since last Thursday! Needless to say I had a busy weekend of work and couldn't find the time to get a workout in. Today was different however, the weather was beautiful today, +4 and sunny, so on my walk home from school I decided today would be a great day to head outside for a run instead of hitting the gym. Boy am I glad I did! I haven't run outside since the fall and today reminded me of how much I enjoy a good run outside! Being outside in the fresh air all alone is much more relaxing then running on a treadmill in a gym filled with people. I ran for 25 minutes today, I always like to ease into my outdoor runs, the pavement is much harder on my muscles than a treadmill. So as not to miss out on my usual intense workout, I did some exercises when I got home as well. Burpees, pushups, jumping squats, paired with various ab exercises = a great little workout.

I'll be back to boxing tomorrow night and I'm hoping for another great workout. I've only got a few more months until my birthday and bikini season! Got to shape up!

Boxing never seems to get any easier!

Just got home from another boxing class and boy, I can barely lift my arms! The thing I love about boxing is that no matter how often you go, you can always push yourself more so it is always a hard workout.

After discussing my progress with a friend today, I have decided to cut back on my carbs, not cut them completely out, just eat less, and focus more on fruit, veggies and lean protein. I really need to step up my diet if I want to see results!

Tomorrow is Friday, I really dread Friday. It is like my Monday! Back to work at 7am!

Another day of great workouts!

I have been pretty busy the past few days with school and other fun activities. I went back to boxing last night and had an awesome workout, however pushups are hard because of the massive bruises I have on my knees! Afterward I hung out with my little brother, who is in town for work, we had some beer and watched Canada beat Norway in olympic mens hockey!

Today I hit the gym with my friend Sarah and we did the interval workout that I did last week. Doing it with another person makes it much harder! After that I went to spinning which was pretty intense! Tonight I am having a glass of wine and watching some of the Olympic coverage.

I have set a new goal for myself this week: no more chocolate bars! I tend to have them when I am school, so I have decided it is time to cut them out if I want to get the results I am looking for!

I've got another test tomorrow morning! I sure can't wait for April to be over!

Climbing some ice!

I had such an amazing day today! Bright and early we headed down to the university to meet up with the UNB rock and ice club staff for our day of ice climbing. I was excited all morning but it was more than I anticipated!

After a 40 minute drive and a 10 minute hike we were at the base of Hays Falls off the Maliseet trail. We listened to some instruction and then we paired off to start climbing! They had set up 5 different ropes starting from easiest and getting increasingly harder. The first few were pretty easy but then last two were much harder. They took alot more upper body strength. It was by far one of the hardest things I have ever done. The funny thing is that while I was pretty high up I didn't have a lot of time to dwell on my fear of heights. I was constantly thinking about where to put my foot next so it wasn't that big of a deal.




I managed to climb all five climbs successfully and without anything worse than a few bruises. Ice climbing is definitely a new favorite sport that I will be eager to try again. The feeling of accomplishment when you get to the top is pretty amazing. The day was definitely a successful one, met a ton of nice people, climbed a whole bunch of ice and finished it off with a celebratory beer.



All in all pretty amazing!

Pumped for the weekend!

Ah I finally made it back to boxing last night! And boy was it fun! Everytime I take a break from it and go back I realize how much I love it! No matter how good of shape you are in, boxing is always hard! I always feel better when I leave the club drenched in sweat.

Work was a little rough today. I let a coworker get under my skin and it ruined most of the day for me. After work I went to the grocery store to pick up some stuff to make for my lunch tomorrow. I will be up bright and early to go ice climbing for the day. I am really excited to learn! I will post some pictures hopefully when I get home.

So Valentines Day this weekend. Not one of my favorite holidays. I'm not just saying that because I happen to be single this year(although I might add it sure makes me dislike it more), but I think it's kind of a ridiculous commercial holiday. However, it does make me a little sad. I'm 25 and live alone and sometimes it gets pretty lonely. Friends can only help so much. Don't get me wrong, I have some amazing friends, but there are times when not even friends can help the feeling that you are all alone. It's hard to learn to be alone and be happy. I guess it comes with getting older, but it sure isn't easy! I've been chatting with a friend of mine who is a successful Press Secretary in Ottawa and it blows me away how we both feel so vulnerable sometimes. I often find myself envious of her life. She has an amazing career doing what she loves and lives a fabulous life. But despite all of her success, she is just as lonely as me at times. Why is it that no matter what we have, or what we have achieved, we just can't seem to ever be happy with ourselves?

It's something I struggle with daily, the thought that I should be happy with myself and my life. I must admit, I am much happier than I have been in previous years. Ever since I decided to invest my time into getting healthy and fit, I am much more content with being me, but at the same time I feel like I need to continually change aspects of my life to make myself happy. Maybe it's that I get bored to easily? Who knows?!

So on my quest to make myself happy, I gave away my shift for tomorrow so I can go on an ice climbing adventure! My new outlook on life makes me try things that scare me that my old self never would have even considered! Here's hoping I can rock the ice climbing!!

Hump Day!

I love Wednesdays! They signal half way through the week! Today I had a spectacular day. Went to school early(however I did more socializing than studying) Got to see my little brother for a bit, he was doing some work in town and stopped in to drop off a bag to me. Then I hit the gym for some serious training. I ran for a warm up and then did 15 second intervals of pushups, burpees, jump squats, situps, side crunches, prisoner squats and skipping. Then I did some tricep exercises with weights as well as some shoulders. Afterward I went to spin class for 60 minutes. All in all, it was a fantastic work out day for me.

I am heading back to boxing tomorrow, I didn't get to go last night because I found out last minute that I was able to get this Saturday off work to go ice climbing with some friends, so I had to attend a meeting for the ice school instead of go to boxing. I am pretty excited to learn how to ice climb! Should be a tough but fun day!

Anyway I am off to watch last night's episode of Lost and go to bed! I am sleeping in for once tomorrow because my 10 o'clock class is cancelled! Yay!

Monday, Monday, Monday...

Today was a busy, busy Monday. I was up bright and early and at school at 8am to start studying for #1 of the 3 tests I had today. Wrote three tests in a row and then went to sign the lease to my new apartment for the summer. Then I hit the gym: did 20 minutes on the elliptical, 3 rounds of the following ab exercises: 20 seated oblique twists with 5kg medicine ball, 10 sit ups, 15 elbow to knee sit ups (each side), 30 bicycles, and 1 minute plank. Afterwards I went to spin class. I discovered that I have been putting my bike seat too low and this has lead to my knee bothering me when I run. So I'm hoping that the change will help! Spinning was a tough class tonight, I was drenched in sweat by the end!

Back to boxing tomorrow night! Can't wait to hit the bag!

finally hit the gym!

I made it back to the gym yesterday after I got off work. Started with a quick warm up of 10 minutes on the treadmill then my friend Sarah and I did 8 rounds of the following exercises:
20 Prisoner Squats with knee ups
10 Santana Push ups
100 skips(jump rope)
20 plank knee tucks
Completing the 8 rounds was tough but it only took us about 45 minutes. Then I hit up spin class for an hour!

It was nice to be able to workout full throttle again. I am a bit sore today but that will go away once I workout this afternoon.

Being sick is the worst!

Well in terms of getting fit, this week hasn't been a very good representation of what I can accomplish. I started coming down with a bit of a cold last weekend so by Monday night I was clear out of commission. I thought I would be back into shape and ready to work out at boxing tonight, but I am still not feeling it so I have to skip it yet again. Man, being sick really sucks! I have to tell myself that it's okay to take breaks sometimes, but I really dislike the way I feel when I miss working out for a few days in a row. I feel like I lose all the work I have done. So not a good feeling!

So since I can't go to boxing tonight, I have set goals for some school work I would like to get done so that I can try to make it to boxing Sunday night(even though that means missing the superbowl!) So tonight I will finish a case I have due next week for my Salesforce Management class, and I plan to catch up on my reading in most of my other classes. Hopefully this will all get done!

Tomorrow I'll be up bright and early for the 6:30 shift at work. I'm hoping it's a busy day, I could really use the cash. After work I am DEFINITELY hitting the gym for some weights and spin class. Looks like I will have to work extra hard to burn off extra calories from all week!!

Another week!

I started my Monday as I usually do: With a wake up call at 5:20 am from my friend Sarah in my driveway, ready to hit up the 6am spin class. Monday is always a rough day for me to get through so I figure working out first thing will mean I can't think up excuses to not do it later on. My busy day today included a group meeting at 10am, class at 1 and a presentation at 3, followed by night class until 7. I then went and looked at an apartment I could potentially be subletting for the summer. It was pretty nice and I am hoping that I get it!

So now I am home and about to eat supper(I know it's late!) and do a bit of reading before crashing at some point close to 10. Tomorrow is not such a bad day, 3 classes, another apartment viewing and ending the day with my favorite activity, boxing! I am in need of some stress release!

Sundays are for relaxation, or not!

Being a student and having a part time job means one thing: not many days off! So today, like the good little employee that I am, I pulled my sick self out of bed and went to work. Now I should state that I only have a slight cold and therefore deemed myself healthy enough to go serve food to the public. After what seemed like an endlessly long shift, a coworker drove me to campus(thank god because it was freezing today!), where I began to put the final touches on a paper that is due tomorrow. My group is presenting a cultural analysis on Brazil in our global marketing class. It is a part of a market entry project we are doing. It is going to be alot of work but we have a pretty good group so I think we will get everything done in lots of time.

Do you ever have days where you wake up and you feel like you "grew-up" overnight? Today I am having one of those days. I seem to be able to see my life from a different perspective today and it is definitely eye-opening. Things that used to bother me seem much less important today. Anyone who knows me, even just a little, can tell you that I am, well to put it lightly, slightly emotional. But as this year goes on, I am beginning to realize that some things are meant to be left behind and that while some friends stay in your life for years and years, some only come for a short time and are gone. And while that makes even the coldest person a bit sad, it shouldn't be something to mull over. What happens, happens and you just need to suck it up and keep on trucking.

So while sometimes things seem incredibly overwhelming, I am trying to remember to suck it up and move on. Because really, what other option is there?

On a fitness related note, I took another "rest" day today as I try to battle my cold. I do, however, have plans to hit the gym at 5:30am tomorrow with my friend Sarah for spin class! So I must rest up for another crazy week begins tomorrow!!

Lazy Saturday

I worked all day again today and it was a terribly long one! Saturdays are never busy in the restaurant so they tend to creep by. I dragged myself to the gym after work even though I seem to be coming down with a bit of a cold. I thought that maybe I could sweat it out, but after a short work out I realized it's only getting worse. So I am on my couch in my comfy clothes, settling in for a night of school work. What an exciting Saturday night eh?

Decided I want to climb mountains...

So tonight after a long day of waiting tables, I hit the gym with my friend Sarah for some working out and spinning. It was a solid workout however I am quite sore from boxing last night so it was a rather tough one.

Afterward I went to the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour here in Fredericton. It was pretty amazing! Being that I am kind of sheltered in my life and only this past June, travelled across this great country of ours for the first time, I was amazed at some of the videos. Since my cross Canada roadtrip last summer I have been itching to get away and experience everything else that is out there in the world. There was one video entitled "Take a Seat" about a guy from Britain who decided he would bicycle the entire length of the Americas. Starting in Alaska and ending, well I cant remember the name of the place in South America. He did it all on a tandem bike and picked up over 200 people along the way to help him through the journey. AMAZING!! While I am not sure I would have the courage or endurance to tackle a two year long journey like that, I definitely think that I need to get out of my comfort zone and experience all that life has!

On that note, after watching some crazy people do lots of crazy things, I realized that I am still young and fit and can accomplish alot, so I want to try new things. First on my list, rock climbing. I have a few friends that climb at the university climbing wall, so I want to head over there sometime soon and check out what I am missing!!

Well I am high on life right now and must drag myself to bed, work calls early in the morning again! Dreams of climbing, snowboarding and wing suits will likely be had!

Cheers!

Awesome night at boxing!!

So I just got back from boxing and I have to say it is one of the harder workouts I have had in awhile. I busted up my knuckles pretty good so I must have been working hard!! I went in the ring and did alot of work doing mitts tonight which I don't always get to do. I find it helps me alot with my breathing and with my technique. I have to concentrate harder on everything in the ring.

Anyway just a quick note tonight, I am off to bed for an early rise for work. Banff Mountain Film Fest tomorrow! Should be fun!!

Good day

So today was another busy day. Spent the morning catching up on some reading and then had class till 4. I hit the gym afterwards for what proved to be a pretty good workout. Here's what I did today:

10 minutes jogging on the treadmill to warm up
50 Prisoner squats
50 Frontward & backward lunges(25 each leg)
100 Pushups
50 Sit ups
25 Turkish get ups
50 Reptiles
25 Jumping Squats
60 Bicycles
25 Star crunches
50 Side V Crunches
25 Triceps Pull Downs
25 Row

I took some of the exercises from BodyRock.tv, Zuzana did a workout called 500 reps, which is 10 exercises 50 reps each. If you want to know how to do any of the exercises check out her website and search for the 500 rep workout, it's pretty good.

After all this I went to spin class for an hour and sweat off probably everything I ate today!!

Needless to say, today was a pretty good day in terms of my work out. I always love the day after you take a day off, I always have so much more energy!

Well I just made myself an omelet for super and I am going to sit down and read a few chapters for school.

Night!

First timer

So on my quest to become my fittest by 26 I have decided to hit the bloggin train and share my journey with the world. I guess I good place to start is to give you a little info as to who I am and what I am all about.

Here goes,

I am a 25 year old female in my last semester of a Bachelor in Business Administration. I work as a waitress to help pay for school and living expenses. This leaves me with little free time, most of which I spend working out. In the past few years I have been riding a rollarcoaster of work outs. Recently I have been hitting the gym harder and have given myself the goal of becoming my fittest ever by my 26th birthday. At this point I have 6 months to go and I am on the right track. Let me tell you a bit about my current work out plan.

I took up recreational boxing in June of 09. I go to boxing class 3 times a week for an hour and a half. On my days off from boxing I hit the gym. 3 or 4 days a week I try to go to spin class and 2 of those days I also do some weights and calisthenics to up my strength.

A friend and I have been doing workouts we found on this website called Bodyrock.tv. They are probably some of the hardest workouts I have ever done.

Today I am taking a day off from working out. I haven't had a day off in over a week so I am in need of a rest.

Since I have never written a blog before I'm sure I will learn some tips along the way. My main goal for this is to provide myself with some insight into my own progress, as well as make myself accountable. By writing about daily workouts I won't be so inclined to skip one for a feast of junk food instead!!

So back to the gym tomorrow in hopes of lots of sweat and pain!

Cheers!