I'm a Liar

I feel terrible.

Last Thursday:

Leah - Julian, I am going to Canada August 26.

Julian - Why?

Leah - I miss my family. I want to see them.

Julian - For vacation?

Leah - ......yes.

Shit. I flat out lied. I couldn't stop myself. I think I would have cried otherwise.

This is how the follow-up went.

Last Friday:

Julian - Leah Teacher, when do you go to Canada?

Leah - August 27.

Julian - Leah Teacher, yesterday you said August 26.

Leah - You're right, Julian. I made a mistake.

(Man, he's swift.)

Today:

Julian - You go to Canada August 27?

Leah - Yes.

Julian - September what [date] you come back?

...moving along now. HE THINKS I AM COMING BACK.

Julian really started my final week off right. When I walk into Venus class this morning, he takes a board marker, draws a heart on the board, and says, "Leah Teacher, I love you!"

I had a great final weekend. Friday evening I had a drink with a friend. We stayed local and I saw a bunch of people that I knew; it's nice when that happens unexpectedly.

Insadong

Saturday Magda and I went into Insadong, in Seoul, this really awesome neighbourhood full of crafty things. I did some shopping, we had lunch, and went for tea at an old tea house. We didn't get home until around 7pm, so we were slower getting out the door to return BACK to Hongdae, Seoul, for my last night out. We arrived at my bar of choice, Exit, around 11:30pm, decked out in vintage dresses, and GIANT bows in our hair, Korean style. It was a really fun night. Again, I saw some folks that I wasn't expecting to; pleasant surprises. I didn't get home until 6:30am!! When in Korea, eh??

Drinking in public, because we can

Sunday I unsuccessfully attempted to clean my apartment. I did get some packing done, and some laundry. I also had lunch with Karen, and met for tea with an old coworker. The weather was FINALLY beautiful. Yes. Gorgeous sunny day.

Last Thursday, when I met up with Kammy, I wanted to get my hair trimmed, so that I look presentable when I get home. (Kammy ended up getting her hair cut too!) They straightened it for me. Koreans are so funny. The next day at work my coworkers all said, essentially, that "you look better now". Haha They are always so blunt. Earlier that day, for field trip, we had gone to Central Park in Beomgye for a giant water gun fight. I was SOAKED from running around in the fountains, along-side all the kids. I felt sorry for the hairdresser, having to go through the mess that was my hair.

This week is going to fly. I have plans every evening - dinner dates with friends. AND I still have to pack and clean! And I still have to work 9:30-6:30. Wish me luck! See you on the other side!!!

Kid at Heart

Trevi Fountain at Lotte World

Lotte World - the indoor section, view from the balloon ride

I made it back from my summer holiday - still feeling high on the wonderful sites, company, and memories made. After a lovely summer Saturday - outdoor patios, dinner out, lots of laughs - we headed to Lotte World on Sunday, for a day of amusements and thrills. Lotte World is a theme park - think Canada's Wonderland meets Disney. We entered the indoor section, and were blown away by all that we could see. The more we wandered around and rode rides, the more and more we discovered. I was thoroughly impressed with their space usage....There was a "Pirates of the Caribbean"-esque ride on rafts, but it had an Egyptian theme. Very cool. We decided to see what was outside. My understanding was that there was a carousel...HOLY SMOKES! The outside section was even better! Here's where all the GOOD rides are - big roller coasters and drop zone-style rides. We went on the Gyro Drop about 6 or 7 times because the line-up was non-existent. What a rush! There was a really great roller coaster that we got on three times throughout the day as well...through the mountain, over the water, all around. Excellent.

Outside at the castle

I think the scariest part for me was the haunted house. I get so jumpy. We actually had to walk ourselves through, and touch things to open doors. Thank goodness D led the way. He was my big strong protector. Haha So many laughs. Awesome day.

A few days before holiday, I told Pluto class that I called the police on them. A couple of the boys kept lifting up their shirts. I was so serious and told them it wasn't allowed and so the police were going to come and talk to the class about rules. The boys insisted that I call back and ask them not to come, and that they were really sorry. I told them to say sorry to the police. They finally convinced me to call them back, so I did. I returned with the message that if they lifted their shirts again, I would just call the police again and they'd arrive in five minutes.

I love being a teacher.

Today, Pluto class kept singing "Can't Take my Eyes off of You". It made me smile, a lot. In fact, I've been really good this week. I've gotten so much love from my students, after being away. I'm getting greeted with warm and welcoming hugs every day this week, and it's just what I need. Maybe kids know. They're smart. Today I whispered to Julian, "I love you!". His reply was, "Leah teacher! Me too. I love you!" He has actually memorized my afternoon schedule and shows up in the teacher room on all my breaks (he's supposed to be in the afternoon kindergarten program) - to play or to talk or to help me with my work. I always have a million things to do and can't have him there with me, but I secretly love that he comes to see me all the time. My Julian. My TERROR child when I arrived just under a year ago.

Jeju post to come!

Summertime...and the living is easy

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!

What the SHREK?!

One of my students was wearing a t-shirt that said above expression. I thought it was hilarious. I think he's on to something.

Another funny tidbit: during arts and crafts last week, balloons were involved. I am not very good at tying balloons, so I told this to my students. No kidding, Buddy says, "But you're a teacher! Teachers can do anything!" He said it again that same week about something else I was struggling with. Haha

I still love my produce lady. On my way home this evening, I wanted my usual cherry tomatoes and a couple cucumbers (this should cost me about 4000 Won, just under $4). She gives me FOUR cucumbers, a bunch of lettuce, my tomatoes, and a few hot peppers. 4000 Won. She loves me. I love her!

It's nice to be back in my regular routine, although with the nice weather it's harder and harder. My social calendar always feels booked to maximum capacity. It was AMAZING having Lindsay here with me though. I miss her! It was a nice change in routine, to see her each evening. She had a lovely time during the days while I worked, venturing into Seoul - shopping, spa, site-seeing. She was little Tina Tourist! She met a lot of my friends at some group dinners I planned, and we had lots of girl time/catch-up time for ourselves, too!


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LINDSAY IN ANYANG!!!



Dinner with my Sunday language group





Korean BBQ with coworkers and friends

...and drinks after!

Lindsay and Leah

Spicy chicken soup. SO DELICIOUS! I had only ever had my school's version of this at lunch. At a restaurant?? WOW.

Enjoying our soup!

Lindsay and Leah date night at 2nd

Mmmmmm Chinese dumplings. Delightfully delicious broth leaks out of them as you poke them. I would seriously go to this place just for the broth. THAT good.

Evening in Myeong-dong (post dumplings)

As you can see, I could probably do an entire blog on the food that we ate. Some of the meals were a first for me as well! I'd like to thank Christian (our mutual McGill friend) for bringing us to these wonderful restaurants! I should mention...on Lindsay's first night, we had RAW BEEF. Christian had suggested it to me before, but I politely declined. Well, we actually did it. IT WAS SO TASTY! And clearly I'm alive to tell the tale. Whatever marinade you dip it in is lovely - sesame and green onions. You don't eat a lot of it, but WOW. Yum!

Friday evening (June 3) soccer game at World Cup Stadium: Korea versus Serbia!

Victory!!! 2-1 for Korea

Post-game celebrating in Hongdae, with new friend Alice!

Lindsay and I went to Busan from June 4-June 6! We arrived Saturday evening and went straight to bed. Our hostel was REALLY cozy, clean, and fantastically located. We were on the second floor of a building, RIGHT IN the Haeundae Market. Haeundae beach was a three-minute walk away!!

The market

Because of the long weekend, there was a sand festival going on. Yey for sandcastles and sculptures!

LOVING the beach

Prime beach territory

Ahhh....soooooooooooo nice

So many foreigners from Seoul migrated to Busan for the weekend. I ran into some people that I know, and Linds and I met up with one of her high school friends!

Sunday evening out: tex-mex at the Fuzzy Navel!

Love.

Monday stroll around Busan (Wendy Walkabouts!)

Gwang-il Beach

Fresh fish

We had so many laughs. I feel so lucky to have had a visitor!!

In other news, my crush joined some outings when Linds was in town, and we've since gone on a few dates. I'll post pictures from our lovely Saturday - tandem biking, a row boat, and a great late lunch at a beautiful restaurant. I've since decided it's best if we just stay friends. It was fun while it lasted, and I do think we'll be friends. These things don't always work, right? It's all life lessons, learning experience, shaping exercises.

More news - I've 90% solidified a place to live in Ottawa!!! Fingers crossed for me that it all works out...!!

It's good to be back. I'll write again sooner! Just not now. I'm wiped! Miss you and love you! BACK TO CANADA IN LESS THAN THREE MONTHS!

Oh! Heather! You commented about the "Korean menu" that I like to order from at Zoo Coffee. This menu has red ginseng and honey teas and lattes, persimmon drinks...just ingredients more typical to Korean foods and drinks!