Winter Blues

It's that time of year again. Ahhh, the holidays! They are always an interesting time of year. The lead up to Christmas is always an exciting one. This year I hosted a Christmas Eve Dinner at my house for any of my friends who decided not to go away travelling during the holidays. So 10 or so of my friends squeezed into my apartment for some delicious food and drink. The night was great and we finished it off at the local foreigner pub, Traveler's.

After that lovely evening, Christmas day was upon us. And as anyone who is away from home for the holidays can tell you, it was a bit sad. It was not my first year away so I was prepared for the sadness, luckily I had my good friend Beth to hang with. The worst was actually Boxing Day morning. I woke up early to Skype with my family back in Canada, where for them it was still Christmas night. Both my brothers and their girlfriends were visiting my parents so I was lucky to be able to talk to everyone at once. It's funny how when you grow up you really start to realize the importance of your family and  being away from them makes it even that more obvious. It was all I could do to not break down and cry on camera. I was feeling very alone, and wanted nothing more than to be chillin on the couch with my dad watching TV.

So needless to say, the next few days were a bit rough. The winter blues seem to have come on full throttle. I find myself examining my life, my friends, and the person I have become. I have realized that I need to cut some friends loose because the person I am around them is not the person I want to be. Cutting friends is a hard thing to do. I feel the need to be nice and friendly to everyone and find it hard to just tell someone I can no longer hang around them. I guess I need to man up and just say it because the alternative, just ignoring them, is not a fun one. I happen to be on the opposite end of that right now with a good friend from home and I can tell you, I would just prefer her to say she does not want to continue our friendship, rather than her constantly ignoring my attempts to get a hold of her.

Aww first world problems. It's hard sometimes to see your life in the big picture. To take the problems that seem so huge and realize that in the actual realm of things, they are tiny insignificant problems. It's hard to not dwell on everything when you are feeling blue. I know I live a great life. I have wonderful friends and a family who does everything they can to support me in any way possible. I have a job I absolutely love and a roof over my head. I am not starving, nor am I freezing to death. Yet I am constantly  uneasy with my life. Am I making the right decisions? What if things don't work out? What will I do next? Striving for happiness that always seems just out of reach.

I suppose I could go on and on forever. My Mom always says, "This too, shall pass," so I'll do what needs to be done, go to sleep, wake up, head out for a run and be optimistic for what the next day holds. One day at a time. 2012 is upon us, my goal for the year is to do things for me. Health and fitness are what make me happy, so its time to stop pleasing others and work on things that please me.

Bare all or go home

Life has been quite busy here in Sunae lately. I have started taking Korean lessons twice a week and last week began taking swimming lessons from another foreign teacher who is a triathlete coach. I was excited and nervous for my first lesson. I can swim, but not well and I have always had an aversion towards swimming without a nose plug. So as the lesson came closer, my anxiety grew. On Wednesday, the time had I arrived, I made the 40 min journey to my old stomping grounds in Suji. I met my coach at the YMCA and was ready for my first lesson. Now I have been in locker rooms in Korea before, so I was not surprised to see plenty of naked women walking around naked. If you remember, when I was taking hot yoga last year, I finally was forced to take a shower at the gym, however, those showers had stalls so it wasn't too bad. So here I was in the locker room of the Y, with my swimsuit on, ready to go. I asked a lady if she spoke English, and if I needed to take a shower before going onto the pool deck. She looked at me and said, "you have to take a shower BEFORE you put on your swimsuit". As the words came out of her mouth all I could think of was, shit I am going to have to prance around naked in this locker room. I had two options, peace out and leave Eric, my coach, wondering where the hell I was, or strip down and bare it all. So bare it all I did. The shower was of the open concept variety of course. Lucky me. But I did it, and even managed to get through the lesson eager for another! Here's to milestones!

Friday night I headed into Seoul to meet up with some of my bike friends for a special night race put on by the Seoul Flyers running club. It was an 11km run at 11:11pm on 11.11.11. Having been sick with a cold for the past few weeks, I hadn't had the opportunity to get out running at all beforehand so I was a bit nervous of what was to come. I was lucky to have my friend Suzie there to run along with me. We kept each other going through the whole thing and I managed to finish the 11km in 1 hour and 8 mins. Probably the fastest run I had done in awhile! I was quite pleased! We had a great time and then walked along the Han River with some beers to catch a cab home. Pretty great night!

This week brings more busyness! I have Korean class, swimming lessons and I just found a boxing club near my house I plan to check out this week as well! Life is good!

Here I am, yet again.

After having flown over the Pacific twice in the past two months, I have finally decided it is time to update the good old blog. So what have I, Caley, been up to? Well, since my last post, I travelled home to New Brunswick, Canada. While I was so excited to get home, the journey there was less than desirable. After three flights, two layovers and about 40 hours total, I was finally greeted at the airport by my mom and my best friend. Now after such a long haul to get back, upon my arrival, my mother burst into tears and my best friend was suffering from one of the worst hangovers I have seen in awhile, while the guy next to me had a giant entourage complete with a welcome home sign! Ha! Despite the condition of my two family members, I was finally home! That very evening, I met up with about twelve of my closest friends for dinner. It's weird, after spending a year abroad, how overwhelming it can be to be surrounded by great friends again. Just sitting there in the restaurant I found myself holding back tears. I had no idea why, I was happy and sad all at once! My time at home was short but sweet. I spent time with my family, some of whom I haven't seen in years and stayed with friends-who are now like family. After a few weeks, I started to get bored and was itching to get back to Korea, where life never seems to stop moving!

So after a crazy couple of days trying to get my passport and visa ready to go, I was finally back in the Fredericton airport, at 5am, saying good-bye to my parents and about to board a plan for Korea once again.  This time, I wasn't scared, wasn't nervous, I was ready to get back to my life. Ready to see what adventures lay ahead of me this time around. I had a new job, new city and new experiences awaiting me!

I have been back just over a month now and things are going great! My new school is quite different from my last, but better I think. My apartment is 100% better than the last and the area I live in is fantastic. Upon my arrival, I got right back into the swing of things and headed out onto a weekend bike trip to the mountains of Gangwon-do(the northern South Korean province-not to be confused with North Korea).

Making it to the top of our 8am 920m climb! My highest yet!

 I had been looking forward to this trip for months and I was not to be disappointed. The weather was fantastic, the views were amazing and the company was nothing short of spectacular. There is nothing like the feeling of excitement you get from spending an hour climbing a 10% incline up a mountain and knowing that once you reach the top, you get to glide down into a valley with the fresh mountain air in your face.

Gorgeous views into the valley we just climbed out of!

Struggling hard along the last 10km of climbing! 

My next adventure begins with swimming lessons. I just recently hired a swim coach, another foreign teacher, to help me learn to properly swim, in hopes of training for a triathlon next summer. I have been logging tons of kilometers on my bike and running, so the logical next step is to add swimming in to the mix. My ultimate goal will be to compete in an Ironman competition, but that is still a few years away yet. For now, I need to concentrate on actually learning to swim. I am also training for my first ever half marathon, that I will run right here in Bundang in the spring.


I am very excited for the next few months and what 2012 has to offer me. Big lifestyle changes are on the horizon for me. The decision to commit myself to training means having to say no to nights out with friends, choosing fitness over fun and partying, something I have had a hard time doing in the past. For some reason though, this time, it seems like the obvious choice. I can only live in limbo for so long, sooner or later I need to choose a side, and I choose the side of living life! On my bike weekend, I realized the feeling of accomplishing feats you never thought you could, is much better than even the best night out with friends. So with that in mind, I will be pushing myself harder than ever before! Here's to fitness!!

Well, well, well, how quickly one year has passed

Here I am sitting in my almost empty apartment on my last night in Suji. It was just over one year ago that I stepped foot into this box they call an apartment. Nervous and terrified, I slowly settled into life here in Korea. It seems crazy to me that a year has passed so quickly.

My last day at work was bittersweet. I have had a great year there and have fallen in love with so many of my students. They are the greatest kids around! On the other hand, the job was long and I was/am burnt out, so it was a  nice relief to be finished!!!

My homeroom class on my last day! Going to miss these kids like crazy!

Tomorrow morning I head to the Incheon Airport to begin the 33 hour journey home to Fredericton! I am excited to see my friends and family but also sad to leave Suji. I have made a lot of great friends here over the past year and even though I am returning to Korea in a month, it won't be the same living somewhere else! 

With that said, I am off to bed, long days of travelling lie ahead! Until next time!!

The end of a chapter..

Well well well, it seems time just keeps flying by. Here I am, less than three weeks away from the end of my contract in Suji and I am a wreck of a million different emotions. This year has gone by like the blink of an eye and time just keeps slipping away. As the days go by, I realize more and more how much I am going to miss my kids. They are some of the happiest, most well behaved children I have ever worked with and I can't tell you how many rough days have turned into great ones because of their smiles and giggles.

A few of my favorite kiddos

It's funny, when I first embarked on this journey last year, I was sure that this experience would leave me more self aware and give me direction in my life. The jury is still out on that, but I can tell you a few things I have learned during this adventure. 

1. Kids will always make you smile, even if you don't feel like it.

2. Toilet paper is a luxury. 

3. Charades is not a game, it's a way of life.

4. It is possible to be lonely in a country of millions of people.

5. Koreans are some of the friendliest people on the planet. 

6. Adjummas do not watch where they are going, ever. 

7. Spicy food is delicious, but also spicy on the way out. Beware. 

8. Asians do not all look the same.

9. Good friends are the answer to any sad day. 

10. Soju is the devil. 

I am still learning new things everyday and I am sure I will have more for you next time around. For now I am off, with only a few weeks left, they will be filled with packing, job searching and spending time with friends before I jump on a plane bound for the Great White North!! 

Ten months in!

Well I am  officially ten months in! It is crazy how quickly the time has gone by since I have been here! It's the end of June and the beginning of monsoon season! It has been raining steadily since Wednesday with no signs of stopping and a typhoon on it's way here tomorrow! So with my bike riding plans washed out, I have spent today cleaning and moving watching. In between I have been doing some thinking, as one cannot avoid on a day spent alone inside! As I approach my departure from Korea I am reflecting back on the year I have had here and it has been an incredible one! Taking the step to move here was a huge one, and along the way I have taken many more! I have learned a new culture, visited Vietnam, sang in karaoke rooms, tried new foods and loved them, ran two races, used a squatting toilet, been a sardine on the subway, been lost in Korea, acted out what I want to non-English speaking Korean, took my first ever bike touring trip, climbed a giant mountain, learned a new language, made lasting friendships, and much much more! Because of the nature of living as a foreigner in this country, to achieve all of this I was forced to throw myself out of my comfort zone and into the line of fire. And, for the most part, it all worked out. I got a few bumps and bruises along the way, but I am still kicking and am doing better than ever!

Just a regular day fooling around with my kiddies!

I am still amazed at the fact that I have been able to do all of this. It's honestly more than I thought I was capable of! And the more I think about how I have changed over the past year, the more I realize I have grown up. I realize the little things are not important and it's how you live your life and the things you do for yourself that make you happy! I am two years single, and I can honestly say that in those two years I have grown up and discovered that there is so much more to life than having a boyfriend. I find I am constantly finding new hobbies and activities that I enjoy doing. As you may have noticed, in the past two years I have been getting more and more into biking. After last weekends bike trip, I have confirmed my love for the sport and am planning a touring trip of Nova Scotia when I return to Canada in the fall. It's something I never would have even considered in the past but now I know, the things I think I can not do, are the things that will make me the happiest once I achieve them! And with that, I am off for yet another run in the rain! The upside to running in the rain here in Korea is that the Tancheon river trail, which is normally filled with people, becomes an empty haven for the solo runner!

Just a few of the friends I have made and who have been my family all year!

A bittersweet weekend

Hello again! This weekend was an epic one for the books! It began a bit somber, with Friday night drinks to say good-bye to my best bud Nate. He is off to Vietnam to teach for a year and I must say Suji just won't be the same without him. Since I have arrived here, Nate has been pretty much at my side. He has seen the best and worst and I am glad to call him a friend. I went out for dinner with some friends and then we had drinks to say farewell. The plan was to be home by 11pm as I had to be up at 6am to leave for a weekend bike trip. I ended up getting home around 2am after a crazy night!

Needless to say, Saturday morning was a bit tough. I woke up at 6am and left Suji at 7:30 to ride and meet up with the crew of bikers I was going away with. I met up with Jared(the trip organizer) and his girlfriend Katie. We then rode 30km into Seoul where we met up with about 12 other cyclists and departed for Seorak. We had a full day of biking ahead! It was a beautiful, hot sunny day! Since I was already dehydrated from my night out, I was sucking back as much water and gatorade as humanly possible. The beginning of the day was easy for the most part. We rode east on the Han River in Seoul and out into the country. We stopped for lunch in a small town and prepared to get ready for an afternoon of climbing. Now, I must state that Jared advertised this trip as a "beginner ride weekend", that being said, I am a frequent cycler, but knew I wasn't great at climbing. But, hey, he said it was for beginners so I figured I'd have no problems. I've done harder. Before we reached the mountain, we had a small climb(when heading into this "small" climb, I thought it was a HUGE climb, I am now aware that it was tiny!!)

Hot, sweaty and exhausted, we headed into the big climb of the weekend. A 640 meter mountain!!! I was unprepared for how hard this would be. It was a grueling hour and a half of climbing.

I didn't think I could make it but I did!! At the top we all waited together for everyone to arrive so we could all cruise down the valley to our pension(hotel). When I reached the top I was in pain. I realized that while I had made sure to consume lots of liquid, during the climb, I had neglected to eat anything. At that point, I was feeling pretty weak and kind of like I was going to throw up. But, I powered through, grabbed a soda and then cruised down the mountain with the rest of the crew. The ride down was amazing, probably the steepest descend I have done! I was getting some major speed! Once we arrived at the pension, we showered and went to find food. A girl a met on the trip, Rebecca and I came back and watched movies and passed out early. The rest of the gang had some drinks outside, my previous night of drinking held me back from drinking again!

Waking up on day two, I was very nervous. Could I make it home? What if we had climbs today? How would I make it up them? We started the route with a climb(much smaller than the day before!) but that quickly turned into a road that was basically all down hill with a view ups and downs. It took us along the river almost the whole way! The views were amazing and the air was crisp and clean!

The rest of the day went by quickly. I was amazed at how much energy I had! Turns out when you are not hungover biking is much easier! We stopped for a quick snack and then it was back to Seoul! Overall I biked 240km this weekend!! Pretty pumped and proud of myself! Now I can keep climbing!!!

The whole crew made it back alive! I had an amazing weekend with some awesome people!!! Can't wait to get our riding with these people again!!

Another month gone by!

I am terrible at keeping up with this blogging thing regularly, please forgive my laziness! I have been quite busy over the past month and it looks like things will continue to be busy until I am ready to leave in September!

Since I last wrote, these are some of the things I have been up to:

I went to a lantern festival for Buddha's Birthday at the beginning of May. It was an incredible sight to see! So many lanterns flooding the streets!

The following day we went to the Buddhist street festival and got to try a lot of different things like making lanterns and Buddhist prayer beads. It was a great weekend!

The next weekend I went into Seoul for a haircut and found myself wandering around Seoul Olympic Park. It's a beautiful park in the Jamsil area of Seoul and the day was gorgeous so I was happy just meandering around the park alone.

Last weekend my friend Nate and I participated in a 6 hour endurance bike race along the Han River in Seoul. It was put on by a bike group called the Han River Riders. It was really fun! I went into it thinking I could probably ride about 60km in the 6 hours but ended up doing an impressive 148km!! I had no idea I could bike so far! We met a lot of great people at the race and I am going to be doing a touring weekend with a few of them in a couple of weeks!

This weekend was a long weekend, which was definitely needed. All of us at work were getting a bit tired and burnt out so a nice relaxing mini vacation was just what we needed! I began the weekend with some Korean BBQ for dinner on Friday night with some coworkers. Saturday I slept in and then made the trek into Seoul to run in the Nike Womens 7k Race. It was a really interesting race! The course itself was great, there were a few hills I was not expecting, but the course was mostly on a gravel path which was awesome! I finished the race in 45 mins, so I was pleased with that time. The whole concept of the race was pretty funny. It's a race that is set up to get women who don't normally run into running. They had celebrities on hand to make everyone crazy, and then at the end of the race you walked down a red carpet lined by dudes in white tuxedos, followed immediately by a photo shoot where you were forced to stand in front of a pink limo, next to a good looking Korean dude in a tux, while sweat is pouring down your face and you look atrocious. All things I do not expect nor want to endure during a race, but hey, this is Korea, you never know what you are going to get! I met two great girls at the race as well. Leah, the one I am pictured with, placed 1st!

On Sunday I got up and went for a bike ride into Seoul. Since I am going on a touring weekend soon I am trying to log as many kilometers as I can! Then I came back for lunch and heading into Seoul to meet up with my friend Cait. We spent the afternoon in Seoul Grand Park at the Seoul Zoo! It was a beautiful day out and we had an awesome time! The zoo was much nice than the one we saw in Everland. These animals had actual habitats and seemed relatively happy! I even got to see my favorite animal, giraffes, up close!!

Back to the grind tomorrow! Hard to believe I have less than 3 months left here in Korea! This next few weeks will be spent glued to my side kick Nate. Last week he found out he is leaving for a job in Vietnam on June 17th, so needless to say, it will be a sad time. Nate has been my go-to guy since I arrived here. He has laughed and cried with me, heard my deepest secrets and made fun of my quirks. It's hard to put into words the kind of bonds you can make when you are living alone in a foreign country, all I can say is this is one that I will have for a life time. Without the support that Nate has given me over the past 10 months, I don't think I would still be here, keeping on keeping on. Many a beer have been had on our buildings stoop and those are the times I will miss the most. Our chats and bitch fests have kept me sane in an increasingly chaotic world. While I am sad, and life here in Suji definitely will not be the same for the next few months, I am so happy for my friend. He is off to a new life in a new culture, which I am sure will be filled with awesome adventures!! I am already planning my next Vietnam vacation to visit him!!

서울

I woke up at the crack of dawn on Sunday to head into Seoul for a day I assumed I would be spending on my own sightseeing, which ended up being a great day where I met some awesome new friends. I had planned on heading in to watch the Royal Procession, which is an event that is held annually to commemorate the past Royal members of Korea. On my way in, I texted a friend I had just met and who had mentioned she was going to this as well. I met up with her and a friend in Seoul and we headed to Jongmyo Shrine to check out the ceremonies.

Once into the shrine we hung around for about an hour and watched the ceremonies happening there. During the ceremonies they greet the spirits of the royal families, then entertain the spirits and then send off the spirits. It was a pretty cool experience to watch.

After we got tired of watching the same thing happen over and over(no disrespect intended) we heading out onto the street to watch the Royal Procession make its way to the shrine. There were about 500 hundred people involved in the procession. The crazy part about it was that in the other 4 lanes of traffic not affected by the procession, traffic and busy Korean life was just going on as always!

After taking in the procession, we decided to go to a near by area called Insadong, where we found a vegetarian restaurant for lunch! The food was excellent, I even had fake meat!

The best thing about going to a Korean style restaurant is you sit on the floor and there are tons of cushions so you can get comfy after you have stuffed your face! Once we were good and full we decided to head out to another are to a park called Seoul Forest. It was huge and had all kinds of things, there was a pretty awesome play ground, and cool things to climb, which we obviously did! The Koreans were laughing at all the foreigners playing on everything!

Once we had had enough of the park and walking around outside, we heading to Gangnam area to a coffee shop that also has an area in it called Dr. Fish. Basically you go to the coffee shop, eat and drink and then you can pay 2000 won to have tiny fish eat the dead skin off your feet! It was an interesting experience! I have super ticklish feet so I was laughing and screaming and could barely keep my feet in! The come at you like little piranhas, all while you are sitting on a stage so all the Koreans can again, make fun of the foreigners! 

It was a day filled with crossing things off our Korean bucket lists! I had a great time, made new friends and hopefully will have more adventures to come!

At last I am finally ready for another post. It's been awhile since I have written anything, a lot has happened since then but I honestly had lost the desire to write about it. I've been going through a lot in my own head, as my friend Nate says, I am still figuring out who I am and who I want to be. And let me tell you, it's not a pleasant journey. It's a treacherous adventure, with a constant roller coaster of emotions. Over the past few months, I have been up and down and thinking a lot. Korea is a terribly lonely place sometimes. I mean there are so many people, but it's easy to get lost in all the hustle and  bustle. But since I am still figuring out myself out, we will leave that conversation for another day. 

Here's what I've been up to lately: I finally bought myself a new camera, after losing mine in Vietnam, so I have been able to document life again! 

A few weeks ago I went with a friend to check out a Korean baseball game. It was quite the afternoon. Koreans are very into baseball so the stadium was packed and filled with energy. They even have cheerleaders for each team! it was quite a sight to see!

It started to rain after the sixth inning so we decided to leave. Pretty sure the team we were rooting for lost horribly anyway! 

Another big adventure I had was to go to Everland, the largest theme park in Korea. It's about a 20 minute drive from where I live. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were tons of people there. Now, I am not much of an amusement park person, I don't really like rides, especially ones that win . But since I was there with a group of people I had to give in to peer pressure and ride at least one. Unfortunately the first ride I decided to ride was one that went back and forth and spun around. Haha needless to stay I didn't get on anything else after that one! 

The worst part of Everland was the zoo. I was pretty excited to go to it, but it was really actually sad. The animals were in pretty small areas with not a lot of vegetation and they all looked so sad. After walking through it we were all depressed and felt sick for those poor animals stuck in there. It was definitely not a good zoo experience! 

The day after I went to Everland, I ran my first 5k race in Korea! It was the Bundang Marathon. I finished it in 30 minutes, which is a tad slower than I have finished in the past, but I suppose it's okay due to my lack of fitness right now! 

I am now training to run a 7K race in June! And I'm going to aim for a half marathon in the fall! I bought a Nike run Sports band so I can now track my mileage and pace. 

Since I was talking about how Korea is such a roller coaster of emotions, I guess I should mention that two of my good friends left Korea a few weeks ago. My friend Sarah and her boyfriend went back to Canada and it was really a devastating time for everyone. They left suddenly and we were all shocked! In time it was all explained and everyone is fine, but I must say I was pretty upset. It's easy to depend on another person here because you are lacking your normal support systems. Sarah was my support system and it has been a bit hard without her around! But I love her to death and I have no doubt we will meet up sometime when I'm back in Canada! Our other friend Cecilia also left around the same time and went back to South Africa. She will be coming back soon to work at another school. 

The weather has been really nice here and spring is in full bloom! Last week I took my kids out to the park for gym class and it was really fun! They are just the cutest kids and I am falling in love with them more and more everyday! 

Well, that's about it here. I am going to spend today being lazy since it's raining outside. Read some books and watch some movies. I haven't had a down time weekend in awhile so I am pretty excited! Tomorrow I am going into Seoul to check out the Korean Royal Family Procession, so it will be a cool cultural experience, and I am sure I will have some thoughts to post about it! 

Until next time!!!!

Growing up

I've been talking a lot about growing up and maturing lately, and it just seems to keep resounding in my head after every decision that I make. I almost feel as though I am living my life outside of my own body looking in, watching myself make decisions and considering the aftermath of those decisions.

Recently, I have been "beating myself up" over the fact that I am still single after two years. I mean I know there is nothing horribly wrong with me that would make me unlovable, but why is it that after so long I still haven't had even a date that I could deem potentially relationship worthy? It seems every time I think I have found someone who has some sort of potential, they quickly unmask themselves and prove they are everything but. I'm going with the theory that I am aware of what works and what doesn't work now. I can easily pick up on the little red flags and choose to avoid them, where as before I would have pretended to ignore them. Maturing seems to make choosing relationships harder. When I was younger it was okay to date a guy who played games, you know the one who chases you and showers you with affection, only to completely ignore you the minute you show any kind of interest. Now I know better than to get myself involved in that kind of emotional mess. It's a hard decision to make. To choose no one, instead of a person who shows interest in you.  But shouldn't it be easy? At least, in the beginning? If this person and I are compatible in any way, shouldn't everything in the beginning be easy and thoughtless?

The question remains however, am I smart for being picky enough to know a bad thing when I have it, or am I just cynical and bitter so I don't let anyone in? In life, we all are inevitably looking for someone to share it with, but what if what they say isn't true, what if there isn't someone for everyone. What if some of us are destined to be hurt over and over, and to eventually live our lives alone? Then all of this work and pain is for nothing.

I suppose I could question this forever and ever. I won't know until it happens I guess.

Midweek

It's Wednesday and so far this week has been good. Last weekend was a bit messy, I adventured out with some new friends to Seohyeon to see a comedy show at a pub there. It was pretty hilarious, and I am glad I went. I wasn't however, planning on it being the all-nighter that it turned out to be. Pub 210 was everything I had hoped it would be. It was almost like I was back in Canada partying it up with the locals. It's basically a foreigner bar, so it was filled with many English speaking new friends! After an hour or so of side splitting comedy, my friends and I suddenly realized we were drunk...(I know, suddenly?!) The nights events tend to get a little blurry after this, but a few good things came out of that night. 1. I went to a new dance bar I had never been to before. 2. I realized I absolutely love my friend Sarah, she's a kickass Canadian. 3. I met some interesting new friends who are members of the US Army(more on this to come perhaps?..) 4. I woke up the next morning in possession of a nice new zippo lighter I did not purchase. and finally 5. I realized that I am getting old as fuck and can't drink like a 23 year old anymore!!!

So after a horrible two day hangover, I was back to work for another week. It's Wednesday again, which means half way to another weekend of fun! Tomorrow night I am going snowboarding for the first time in Korea and I am pretty stoked about that! This coming weekend could potentially involve a trip to the much anticipated Everland Theme Park! We will see what the future brings!

AMF.

A monumental day!

Due to my poor money managing skills, this past weekend has been rather uneventful. Aside from a few outdoor runs and a trip to the grocery store, I have spent the bulk of my time reading and catching some movies. Today, however, was a big day in my life....I began Tweeting. Now, as a late 20-something lady, I have attempted to avoid the social phenomenon that is Twitter. I mean do people really need to know my every thought every second of the day. I update my Facebook status frequently so shouldn't that be enough? A good friend of mine works on Parliament Hill in Ottawa and has opened my eyes to the magic of Twitter. From further analysis I have discovered that it is an amazing tool! Since I have a marketing degree, and will someday likely pursue some kind of job in that field, I figured it was time for me to get on the Tweeting band wagon. It is quite a useful tool for keeping up to the minute on the worlds happenings thats for sure! The only problem I foresee is that it is obviously more beneficial to those who are tweeting via cell phone. As it happens tweets are far more interesting than a past tense tweet! As a foreigner here in Korea, I have the misfortune of not being able to have any kind of smartphone. I am stuck with a phone that is only good for talk and text. So for now, I will be tweeting via my trusty old HP notebook until I am back in Canada and hooked back up to my (oh so missed!!!) Blackberry!

Another week of work begins tomorrow! Happy tweeting all!!

Sleep, sleep and more sleep!

Well it's the Lunar New Year here in Korea so I am in the middle of a five day weekend. It has been pretty nice and relaxing. Due to my lack of money managing skills, I have been pretty much stuck in my apartment with nothing to do all week. This has given me lots of opportunity to nap, as well as read and watch a lot of movies. It's kind of nice to take a break from life for once.

Along with sleeping and movie watching, I have been doing a lot of thinking this week. I've realized that I am slowly growing further apart from the life I had in Fredericton and becoming more and more independent and used to my "real" grown-up life here in Korea. Sometimes I find myself missing being a student, mostly just missing the life of never ending parties and friends around every corner. When I originally moved to Fredericton from my hometown, I was a small town girl in what I thought was a big pond. After three years of university and a few different jobs, I found that the "big city" I had moved to, was really not that big at all. It was virtually impossible to go anywhere without running into a classmate, coworker, or friend. That kind of familiarity has always been somewhat of a comfort for me, being from a tiny city of roughly 12000 people. But now here in Korea, I am easily lost amongst the hustle. It is so easy to fly under the radar here. I could go on with my life here and meet very few people. It almost forces you to become outgoing and seek out new friends and experiences. But it also forces you to get used to being alone and become comfortable with the fact that you do not always need to have friends around to be okay.

The other day I was having a conversation about life with a friend. Particularly, we were discussing our beliefs on religion due to a lesson we had to teach in school dealing with different aspects of the bible and God. Now for anyone who knows me, I am, by far, not a religious person. That being said, I am not going to argue that my beliefs are superior to those of any religious believers, but I will engage in a conversation to hear what they have to say. So my buddy and I were discussing whether things in life are "meant to be".  His stance on the matter is that there is a higher being, (not necessarily God), who determines the plots of our lives. Obviously I disagreed with him on the simple fact that this can not be proven to me. In my opinion, if there was a higher power dictating all of the events of the world, wouldn't said person be slightly kinder? I mean with all of the hunger and poverty on the Earth, you would think that a higher power would be able to make that a little less horrible? I believe that each of us makes our own future. We have the power to decide what we do on a day to day basis, therefore enabling us to change the path of our lives. My friend believes that he is meant to be alone. That this higher power put him on the Earth for the sole purpose of him living his life completely and utterly alone. Now because I love said friend, I spent the next twenty minutes telling him what an amazing person he is and that he obviously was not meant to be alone. But it got me to thinking, how are people getting through their lives believing this kind of thing? I mean if I were to wake up everyday and say, "all the things that will happen to me today have been already decided" I would likely not make any attempt to achieve anything new in life. I would have no motivation to pursue my goals or to try to become a better person. I would simply just survive. Now, with all that being said, I must state that I don't judge others for what they believe in. Everyone has the right to believe what they want and I think that each person uses their believes in a different way. I guess I would say I use mine, (or lack thereof) to accomplish my goals and pursue my dreams.

Whew, writing that has been the most productive thing I have done all week (besides organize my external hard drive of movies) I think it's time for another nap. Adios!

Korean Hot Yoga!

Tonight I decided to join a coworker of mine at her Hot Yoga class. I have been getting bored with my at home workouts and since it's pretty cold here I figured why the hell not! I have never tried Hot Yoga before and was a little nervous. But after work I sucked it up and went. I knew I would be confused what with the language barrier and all, but I figured I am semi on the fit side so I could probably figure it out. 

Upon entering the yoga studio, the staff greeted us in both Korean and English. Saying hello was pretty much the extent of their English skills, but I appreciated the gesture. It was a nice little establishment that wasn't intimidating at all. We got changed and then entered into the sauna they call a studio. It was hotter than I was prepared for. The workout itself was challenging and I sweat more than I have since my last 3 hours boxing session!!! I was very impressed!! 

After the hour long class, I had to finally come face to face with the biggest fear I have had here in Korea, (no Mom, not birds!).....the Korean locker room shower!!!! But I finally did it!!! I mustered up the courage, and with no shower curtain to hide me, I took an after yoga shower!! Now obviously this locker room was not as crazy busy as a larger one at a gym would be! But still I am very proud of myself for finally working up the courage to be naked!!! Hooray me! 

Needless to say, I thoroughly enjoyed the yoga class and will definitely be going back for me! Here's to a slimmer, more centered me!

How far I've come

Not much is new here in Korea. The weeks pass by so quickly and before I know it the weekend comes and goes. It's hard to believe I have been here for five months already. Seems like just yesterday that I picked up and left Canada for a new life. Lately I have been thinking that I haven't changed very much and how it doesn't matter where we go in the world, the problems we try to run away from are like debt collectors, they will track you down dead or alive. 


A good friend of mine is currently going through a pretty nasty break-up and although I don't consider myself the kind of person who gives good advice (especially advice on relationships, I don't seem to excel in that area), she has been leaning on me for support. Break-ups are always terrible for both parties, but generally we as women, get the shit end of the stick. We are over-thinkers and tend to dwell on things that are not important and out of our control. We look to the past and wish we had what we had before. It's not an easy process to deal with. We think about where he is or what he is doing, but we rarely think about the fact that he is not thinking about us. We go through telling ourselves that he cares and that he must be just as sad as we are. Now, don't get me wrong, I am sure there are sensitive men out there who are feeling that way, but for the most part, they are sucking it up and getting on with life.


So in talking with her and trying to do my best as a friend to help her figure out all of the why's, I have been thinking about where I am. It's been over a year and a half since my last break-up. And it wasn't just any break up, it was the kind that shatters your life and changes who you are as a person. After which you can never go back, but only pick up the pieces and use the pain as a learning experience to help you grow and become someone better. Now, let me state that I am not, by any means "over" that relationship. I still dwell on things that don't matter and think about how good things were in the past. There is not a day that goes by where I don't think about him. That being said, after listening to my friend speak, I have taken on a new realization that I have come a long way in the past 18 months.


Not only have I taken the giant step of moving overseas to teach, I have started to grow up and have learned to be okay with being on my own. It's funny when you are young, everyone always talks about growing up and how mature you are getting with age, but I think when you realize it for yourself, everything changes. When you start to realize things that you would have overlooked before, like the fact that you can be a successful, happy human being without being someones girlfriend. Or that not all relationships are meant to work out, some are toxic and are only useful to show you that you deserve better. Obviously these things take time, and as I said earlier I am not completely there. I have many a day when all I can do is cry and wonder why, why, why.  But then I look back on what I went through to get where I am today. Faced with the hurt and pain of being dumped, I eventually picked myself up and continued on with my life, whilst slowly reassembling myself like a challenging puzzle with a piece or two missing.  I finished my degree, tried new things and branched out to new friends. And I am okay. Did all of the hurt make me a better person? I don't know, it did however, change who I am. And for that I can always look back and say I am glad I went through what I did and came out the other side alive.


 On that note, I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes from Elizabeth Gilbert's book, Eat, Pray, Love. 


"People think a soul mate is your perfect fit. But a true soul mate is a mirror, the person who shows you everything that's been holding you back, the person who brings you to your own attention so you can change your life. A true soul mate is probably the most important person you'll ever meet, because they tear down your walls and smack you awake. Soul mates, they come into your life just to reveal another layer of yourself to you, and then they leave."

Vietnam for Christmas....an eyeopening experience!

Since it is my first year, actually, away from home, it was fitting that I spent my first Christmas away from my family. This year my friend Desiree and I planned a trip to Vietnam for a week during our vacation. Since I am new at this whole travelling thing, I was a bit nervous, but I had also done a fair amount of research so I felt I was ready for what Vietnam had in store for me. Little did I know.... I set off early Saturday morning for Incheon Airport in Seoul, where I met up with Desiree. We flew to Shanghai, where we had a 7 hour layover that turned into a 10 hour layover, until our flight to Ho Chi Min City.  The time in the airport was long, but we made some friends along the way. We finally arrived in Ho Chi Min at around 4am Sunday morning. I had booked a private car to pick us up and drive us to our resort 4 hours way in Phan Thiet. For the first part we slept, and then the sun came up and my eyes opened to a world I had never known.

Driving through rural Vietnam was unlike anything I had ever seen before. The houses (if you could even call them houses) were made of concrete, cement, or sometimes just twigs and sticks. There were no cars in the drive way. No televisions in the living rooms. Animals were running freely everywhere. Chickens, cows, bulls, dogs and cats. Even though it was the early hours of the morning, children were running around playing in the yard. I was in shock. Never before have a seen so much poverty. How easy it is for us to ignore places like this when we have our own luxuries. 

We arrived at our resort in Phan Thiet at around 8am and we were greeted by the concierge. The resort was beautiful. A major difference compared to what we had just witnessed. Even though we were tired, the sun was out and we were eager to get out and explore. We took a quick nap and then grabbed some bikes (which were free to use at the resort) and went exploring. The city of Phan Thiet was quaint and slightly more wealthy than what we had seen on our way there. In the middle of the city there is a harbour filled with colorful fishing boats. 

One of the interesting things I liked about Vietnam was that everyone drives a scooter or a motorbike. There are very few cars and they are generally taxis. The rules of the road are simple. If you are bigger, you have the right away. 

Naturally, we decided to rent our own scooters to get around. This was my first time ever driving a scooter, but once I got it on, I felt so empowered. It was like playing a racing game but in real life! It also helped us to understand the Vietnamese way of life.

 We took the scooters along the coast to the more touristy area called Mui Ne. Just outside the city, there are famous sand dunes that change every year. We went to check them out and were met by a bunch of local children who accompanied us there. It was a sight to see! 

The lifestyle of Vietnam is laid back and one that I could easily get used to! It was such an amazing experience to see another completely different way of life. They live off the land and with very few modern amenities that we have grown to need for everyday existance. It really makes you think, and be thankful for the things you have in life. I truly am a lucky girl! 

After a week of sun and fun, we sadly had to leave Vietnam to come home to Korea. Unfortunately, due to flight scheduling, we ended up spending New Years Eve in the Vietnam airport. Here's to 2011, and more new adventures!!