As promised, some pictures from my previous Saturday out with my (at-the-time-but-has-since-turned-platonic) crush! Biking and rowing and BBQ, oh my!
We had smoked duck BBQ...possibly the best BBQ I've had here.
View from the restaurant
Swinging in the park
Rowing our boat
We came across this little band playing on our ride back to town...we stopped to listen for a bit
Things are good between us. We've been talking, and we're going to hang out on Sunday so he can help me with some stuff...not that you were worried!
In case you missed the kiddies, here are a few snapshots from our field trip last week to see an "English" musical: Tom and Jerry in New York (it was still mostly in Korean...but hey! I got the gist of it)!
Pluto - Fiona and Chloe
Pluto - Kevin and Alex
Pluto - Thomas
The elementary students had a speech contest last week. I was so proud of them! They worked so hard and did a great job (as nervous as some of them were).
Jason, talking about Van Gogh, and how he wants to be an artist like him
Antony - this kid is ACTUALLY a monkey. He climbs on me every day.
I've still been meeting Kammy on a weekly basis for our language exchange. Between that and going out a few times with a Korean guy, I feel like my learning curve over the last month really spiked. Reading is coming a lot faster to me, and my vocabulary is growing. Yey! Kammy wants to simply work on her conversation and pronunciation. Last week she started reading "The Time Traveller's Wife" aloud to me. I was hooked by the first page! I haven't read the movie or seen the book yet, so this is really fun for me. I just help her with some words and explain anything she gets stuck on. The week before we actually went to see X-Men. Please don't judge me, but this was my first X-Men film. It had Korean subtitles, but for the parts where the characters were speaking French, Spanish, German, and Russian, the subtitles were STILL Korean. French and Spanish were fine; German and Russian were iffy. I recognized a few words, although the action was pretty explanatory! Anyways, I really am enjoying the language and cultural exchange.
I've also been meeting up with Magda on a weekly basis. I can't get enough of this girl (we met on the Gyeongju bike trip in April; she lives in Anyang; Polish-Canadian from Toronto). We just REALLY get each other, and thoroughly enjoy each other's company. I hadn't really really clicked with anyone here until we met. It's nice to have her around. We have a few upcoming things planned...this weekend is her birthday so she and I will celecrate that together in Seoul. The second weekend of July, there is a specific park we want to check out, then we'll spend the rest of the day at the beach. We'll feel it out if we want to stay the night or head home the same day. Then...! I have the last week of July off. I will be going to Jeju Island for five days. The second weekend overlaps with Magda's holidays so she is going to meet me at my hostel, and we'll spend the weekend hiking and touring together. Yey!! It will be awesome. I can't wait. I plan to have some relaxing beach days, explore some parks, and savour the beautiful Korean island. I really want to take advantage of the country while I'm here. I am suddenly feeling the crunch of "oh-my-goodness-I'm-leaving-soon-and-there-is-still-so-much-to-see-and-do!"
I started working on that this past weekend. Early in the afternoon on Sunday, I thought to myself - hmmm...I have never spent any time in Hongdae during the day. I think I'll go get lost there! So off I went. Hongdae is a popular clubbing area in Seoul so is often a nighttime destination. However, there is an art university there, and it's a really groovy little neighbourhood. Lots of quirky shops and cafes, art, young people, music...I enjoyed my aimless meandering. Anyways, I'm going to start taking little afternoon weekend "trips" into various parts of Seoul and greater Seoul, just to check out some neighbourhoods that I haven't seen yet!
Hongdae
Charlie Brown Cafe in Hongdae
Hope Market in Hongdae - AWESOME handcrafted jewellery and things
Hongdae graffiti
Barrow boys, vintage clothes, coffee and chocolate shops
It was right around here that some giggling tweens asked me to be in their school projects. I had to wear this big read flower in my hear and say "hello" in Korean, two times, in a specific sing-song way, while the girls recorded me. I was a good sport. It's not the first school project I've participated in, although most involve surveys, and no on-screen time.
A couple weeks ago I bought a pair of Birkenstock sandals, for all the walking I do. I was the worst customer. I tried on SO many pairs and colours and styles and sizes, and FINALLY made up my made. The salesman (salesBOY) was asking my name, where I'm from, how old I am, the usual. He rung in the sandals $5 less than they should have been. I pointed this out to him, and he said "It's okay, you have beautiful eyes". Then he GIVES me a $5-off coupon for another purchase, AND a t-shirt (that I later check is labelled at about $35). SWEET! He made my day. Thanks, ABC-Mart salesboy.
And...drum roll please...I HAVE CONFIRMED A PLACE TO LIVE IN OTTAWA!!! What a relief it is to have that settled!
I'm outtie 5000. Night night!
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