Wow, just think, if I'd have waited until now rather than posting in December I could have made it seem as though I never left Asia ;)!
I did though, and good thing too if you consider just how much I managed to cram into my 6 months at home! *shakes head* I still can't quite believe my fall and winter were as busy as they were! Everything just went by so fast! And now, here I am, sitting on my bed in my new apartment in Gwangju, South Korea.
Well then, starting up where I left off, we did actually manage to get in some decent skiing over New Years (although only for a day - I wanted more!) and the Chalet-time with the gifties was as awesome as ever. I think at the height we had nearly 30 people up there! Sadly,cousin Joseph and I managed to miss each other on the hill once again - one day, one day we'll make it!
After that it was back to school for a short while as I worked to finish an entire first year online bio course in under a month while still working at Indigo, sorting out travel documents, tutoring, dancing and circusing. This turned out to be great fun as I often used home labs as an excuse to bake. Fermentation lab using yeast? Bread please! Banana DNA extraction - clearly calls for banana, hazelnut chocchip muffins *grins*. I also managed to work in seeing friends before I ran off, chilling with both sides of the family, Twice! And going out with the cousins to see One for the Money - which was actually a lot better than we expected. I'm super glad that even with Katherine Heigl's atrocious jersey accent they managed to really keep to the flavour of the books :). I didn't manage to see too many shows this year (though I did see the National Ballet's preparations for Sleeping Beauty!) but Jess, Em and I did make it out to American Idiot, the musical based on Green Day's music. It was enjoyable but not my favourite (maybe if I was just a more dissatisfied person in general?)
The end of January/beginning of February saw me not only finishing up with tutoring, bio and working at Indigo - farewell! I'll miss you! (but promise to return) - but the end of living on the lake front with Julianne as we both moved into our parents places to prepare for our respective departures (hers to London, mine to Korea).
Of course, no February is ever complete without the event that is Kat's bday and this one was fun as per usual. Similarly, flights out were scheduled for the 15th so as not to miss Em B's bday on Valentines :). Packing also took place around this time - *shakes head* I'd forgotten how annoying it is to pack when you are moving to another country for an entire year. So much stuff! Everything made crazier by the fact that Ma and John were heading off to Costa Rica only a few days prior to my departure. Nevertheless, everything got packed - though now that I'm here I'm wondering if some things couldn't have been left behind and others brought instead... Oh well!
Getting all that stuff to my hostel in Seoul on my first night was definitely a trek. I'm so glad I ran into Lauren, a nice Seoul-ite who offered to help me! I'm also really glad that I had my friend Minjung, her sister Sojung and their dad to help me get my stuff to their place while I stayed with them, and then from there to the bus stop! (lol, I'm making it sound like I brought far more than I did. I had my travel backpack, rolling suitcase, rolling carry-on and laptop bag. Perfectly possible for one person to transport but quite unwieldy down busy city lanes).
I spent my first night in the Hongdae University area and my first morning exploring (read: getting lost until I figured out the street sign system (which no Koreans ever actually use)) on my way to ballet class (yes, in true me fashion, I went to ballet the morning after arriving - it was so hard not to go, knowing it was there... having spent all that time on the plane ;) ). The flight itself, by the way, was incredible. I went Toronto to Newark, Newark to Beijing and then Beijing to Seoul. Seems a bit zig-zaggy until you realise that it's actually the shortest flight path because... You get to fly over the North Pole!!! Oh my gosh! So beautiful! I don't think I can even begin to describe watching the sun set and rise over the curve of the globe. So colourful despite the black sky and white snow underneath! Loved it. Sadly, I was so busy watching this that I took no pictures...
Another thing I failed to photograph as we passed over it was the Gobi Desert. As the sun had risen, Siberia was mostly cloud covered, and people were still asleep, I had politely closed my window when asked to. When I clued in what we were about to fly over however, I quickly flung it back up (the people were all awake and being fed at this point) - just in time to catch the last of Siberia and the first of the Gobi. Soo gorgeous. Wind and snow swept sand dunes make for incredible landscape. It was just so barren! and the sky was so clear! I was devastated however, when I clued in that our flight path meant that we'd also flown over Lake Baikal in Siberia - and I'd missed it! I'm now trying to convince myself that it's okay as it was likely covered by clouds but I think I'll just have to find a way to pass over that area again some day ;).
That afternoon I met up with Minjung and her sister for some Seoul sight seeing which included dressing me up in hanbok, traditional Korean clothing. I also got to have hotpot while sitting on my first heated floor :).
My stay with Minjung's family in Seoul was delightful. She and her sister are great company (SoJung knows so much history!) and their family wonderful hosts! Their mother kept me excellently fed on traditional dishes such as Bulgolgi and Ddeok guk (usually eaten during the lunar new year) and even had us make Kimbap (Korean-style sushi). Minjung, Sojung and I also braved the cold (it was -13C! This is apparently the coldest Korean winter since 1951!) to go check out Geoyonbuk Palace, the 14th century palace destroyed by the Japanese in the 16th century and then rebuilt in 1865. It's located right in the centre of Seoul and it's absolutely gorgeous. Seoul, and Korea as a whole, is made breathtaking by (no, not the pollution coming over from China) the fact that there are mountains everywhere. I'm not kidding, they are literally all around. No exaggeration. Yup, so Seoul? Very pretty. Very cold at the moment though. From there we went to Insadong, the traditional market area, to check out the shops and try out some snacks. There was the traditional court desert made from honey and corn starch (and filled with nuts) - omg! the guys making it were hilarious, they sang out all of their actions in order to get peoples attention. so funny! and hoduk, dough pockets fillet with warm honey and nuts, and the walnut treats! Mmmm hoduk. They just ooze deliciousness.
From Minjung's it was back off to the airport for me. From there I was to be transported to my orientation site in Jeonju. Hmm... I just realised I never actually explained what I was doing here... I am a guest native English teacher placed in the public system as part of EPIK, the Korean government's English Program in Korea. I personally am located in a Middle School on the outskirts of the City of Gwangju in the Southern Jeolla-do province in the Southwest of the peninsula. EPIK brings in teachers twice a year and the orientation for all those headed to the south of the country was held at Jeonju University. Orientation itself was great. Made so many friends from all over the world, many of whom, including my orientation roommate Tracy are not located in Gwangju - providing me with a great excuse to go traipsing around Korea on weekends. This is completely possible as Korea, despite it's huge population, is a tiny country requiring only 5 hours to cross :). Training itself was fairly intense, but there was still time to learn some basic Korean and some Taekwondo (We had the Jeonju University Team, many of whom are members of the Korean National Team, do a demo at our opening ceremony. They were Phenomenal! Just incredible. Their coach coaches the national team and had everything choreographed to music with comedic breaks in between for stage cleanup. I called it Taekwon-dance. These guys (and girls) were breaking boards while flipping 7 feet in the air!), as well as to head out on a field trip to check out Jeonju's famed traditional Hanok Village and try their take on Jeolla-do's bibimbap (verdict? I like Gwangju's seafood-based ones better :) ).
After training, it was time to say goodbye to those headed to other cities and hop on a bus to our own :). So far I quite like Gwangju, I am living out in the suburbs to the West. It takes about 45 mins to get into down town by bus (half that when it's not rush hour) but it seems to take that long to get around even for those who are closer! Thus far I've managed to head into town twice, the first for exploratory purposes (people claim that Gwangju is too unwieldly to be walkable, so far I've found that this is not at all the case... then again, I really like wandering :) ) and the second to get my back account. I really like the down town area, there are lots of cute narrow streets, a decorated canal and good cheap food. My area is also really cute and easily navigable, it's like a tiny little city in it's own right. It's an industrial park so it's not the richest area but friends who lived here previously have said that it's up and coming. My future co-teachers have all told me similar things in addition to warning me to expect some trouble makers (Which, of course, being me, made me very happy :).). My co-teachers all seem really nice, we were all in school for a meeting and to clean our desks yesterday. Afterwards, the eldest took us all to lunch as a welcome to the year. We had deliciously spicy octopus bibimbap :).
And that brings us up to now. Teaching doesn't start until tomorrow because today was a national holiday. Although I originally planned to head out for some more exploration, I somehow wound up staying home and sending out updates like this one (as well as lesson planning of course). Anyhow, I think I might head out for a walk now while it is still nice and warm (Gwangju on the whole is so much warmer than Seoul!). Until next time!
I did though, and good thing too if you consider just how much I managed to cram into my 6 months at home! *shakes head* I still can't quite believe my fall and winter were as busy as they were! Everything just went by so fast! And now, here I am, sitting on my bed in my new apartment in Gwangju, South Korea.
Well then, starting up where I left off, we did actually manage to get in some decent skiing over New Years (although only for a day - I wanted more!) and the Chalet-time with the gifties was as awesome as ever. I think at the height we had nearly 30 people up there! Sadly,cousin Joseph and I managed to miss each other on the hill once again - one day, one day we'll make it!
After that it was back to school for a short while as I worked to finish an entire first year online bio course in under a month while still working at Indigo, sorting out travel documents, tutoring, dancing and circusing. This turned out to be great fun as I often used home labs as an excuse to bake. Fermentation lab using yeast? Bread please! Banana DNA extraction - clearly calls for banana, hazelnut chocchip muffins *grins*. I also managed to work in seeing friends before I ran off, chilling with both sides of the family, Twice! And going out with the cousins to see One for the Money - which was actually a lot better than we expected. I'm super glad that even with Katherine Heigl's atrocious jersey accent they managed to really keep to the flavour of the books :). I didn't manage to see too many shows this year (though I did see the National Ballet's preparations for Sleeping Beauty!) but Jess, Em and I did make it out to American Idiot, the musical based on Green Day's music. It was enjoyable but not my favourite (maybe if I was just a more dissatisfied person in general?)
The end of January/beginning of February saw me not only finishing up with tutoring, bio and working at Indigo - farewell! I'll miss you! (but promise to return) - but the end of living on the lake front with Julianne as we both moved into our parents places to prepare for our respective departures (hers to London, mine to Korea).
Of course, no February is ever complete without the event that is Kat's bday and this one was fun as per usual. Similarly, flights out were scheduled for the 15th so as not to miss Em B's bday on Valentines :). Packing also took place around this time - *shakes head* I'd forgotten how annoying it is to pack when you are moving to another country for an entire year. So much stuff! Everything made crazier by the fact that Ma and John were heading off to Costa Rica only a few days prior to my departure. Nevertheless, everything got packed - though now that I'm here I'm wondering if some things couldn't have been left behind and others brought instead... Oh well!
Getting all that stuff to my hostel in Seoul on my first night was definitely a trek. I'm so glad I ran into Lauren, a nice Seoul-ite who offered to help me! I'm also really glad that I had my friend Minjung, her sister Sojung and their dad to help me get my stuff to their place while I stayed with them, and then from there to the bus stop! (lol, I'm making it sound like I brought far more than I did. I had my travel backpack, rolling suitcase, rolling carry-on and laptop bag. Perfectly possible for one person to transport but quite unwieldy down busy city lanes).
I spent my first night in the Hongdae University area and my first morning exploring (read: getting lost until I figured out the street sign system (which no Koreans ever actually use)) on my way to ballet class (yes, in true me fashion, I went to ballet the morning after arriving - it was so hard not to go, knowing it was there... having spent all that time on the plane ;) ). The flight itself, by the way, was incredible. I went Toronto to Newark, Newark to Beijing and then Beijing to Seoul. Seems a bit zig-zaggy until you realise that it's actually the shortest flight path because... You get to fly over the North Pole!!! Oh my gosh! So beautiful! I don't think I can even begin to describe watching the sun set and rise over the curve of the globe. So colourful despite the black sky and white snow underneath! Loved it. Sadly, I was so busy watching this that I took no pictures...
Another thing I failed to photograph as we passed over it was the Gobi Desert. As the sun had risen, Siberia was mostly cloud covered, and people were still asleep, I had politely closed my window when asked to. When I clued in what we were about to fly over however, I quickly flung it back up (the people were all awake and being fed at this point) - just in time to catch the last of Siberia and the first of the Gobi. Soo gorgeous. Wind and snow swept sand dunes make for incredible landscape. It was just so barren! and the sky was so clear! I was devastated however, when I clued in that our flight path meant that we'd also flown over Lake Baikal in Siberia - and I'd missed it! I'm now trying to convince myself that it's okay as it was likely covered by clouds but I think I'll just have to find a way to pass over that area again some day ;).
That afternoon I met up with Minjung and her sister for some Seoul sight seeing which included dressing me up in hanbok, traditional Korean clothing. I also got to have hotpot while sitting on my first heated floor :).
My stay with Minjung's family in Seoul was delightful. She and her sister are great company (SoJung knows so much history!) and their family wonderful hosts! Their mother kept me excellently fed on traditional dishes such as Bulgolgi and Ddeok guk (usually eaten during the lunar new year) and even had us make Kimbap (Korean-style sushi). Minjung, Sojung and I also braved the cold (it was -13C! This is apparently the coldest Korean winter since 1951!) to go check out Geoyonbuk Palace, the 14th century palace destroyed by the Japanese in the 16th century and then rebuilt in 1865. It's located right in the centre of Seoul and it's absolutely gorgeous. Seoul, and Korea as a whole, is made breathtaking by (no, not the pollution coming over from China) the fact that there are mountains everywhere. I'm not kidding, they are literally all around. No exaggeration. Yup, so Seoul? Very pretty. Very cold at the moment though. From there we went to Insadong, the traditional market area, to check out the shops and try out some snacks. There was the traditional court desert made from honey and corn starch (and filled with nuts) - omg! the guys making it were hilarious, they sang out all of their actions in order to get peoples attention. so funny! and hoduk, dough pockets fillet with warm honey and nuts, and the walnut treats! Mmmm hoduk. They just ooze deliciousness.
From Minjung's it was back off to the airport for me. From there I was to be transported to my orientation site in Jeonju. Hmm... I just realised I never actually explained what I was doing here... I am a guest native English teacher placed in the public system as part of EPIK, the Korean government's English Program in Korea. I personally am located in a Middle School on the outskirts of the City of Gwangju in the Southern Jeolla-do province in the Southwest of the peninsula. EPIK brings in teachers twice a year and the orientation for all those headed to the south of the country was held at Jeonju University. Orientation itself was great. Made so many friends from all over the world, many of whom, including my orientation roommate Tracy are not located in Gwangju - providing me with a great excuse to go traipsing around Korea on weekends. This is completely possible as Korea, despite it's huge population, is a tiny country requiring only 5 hours to cross :). Training itself was fairly intense, but there was still time to learn some basic Korean and some Taekwondo (We had the Jeonju University Team, many of whom are members of the Korean National Team, do a demo at our opening ceremony. They were Phenomenal! Just incredible. Their coach coaches the national team and had everything choreographed to music with comedic breaks in between for stage cleanup. I called it Taekwon-dance. These guys (and girls) were breaking boards while flipping 7 feet in the air!), as well as to head out on a field trip to check out Jeonju's famed traditional Hanok Village and try their take on Jeolla-do's bibimbap (verdict? I like Gwangju's seafood-based ones better :) ).
After training, it was time to say goodbye to those headed to other cities and hop on a bus to our own :). So far I quite like Gwangju, I am living out in the suburbs to the West. It takes about 45 mins to get into down town by bus (half that when it's not rush hour) but it seems to take that long to get around even for those who are closer! Thus far I've managed to head into town twice, the first for exploratory purposes (people claim that Gwangju is too unwieldly to be walkable, so far I've found that this is not at all the case... then again, I really like wandering :) ) and the second to get my back account. I really like the down town area, there are lots of cute narrow streets, a decorated canal and good cheap food. My area is also really cute and easily navigable, it's like a tiny little city in it's own right. It's an industrial park so it's not the richest area but friends who lived here previously have said that it's up and coming. My future co-teachers have all told me similar things in addition to warning me to expect some trouble makers (Which, of course, being me, made me very happy :).). My co-teachers all seem really nice, we were all in school for a meeting and to clean our desks yesterday. Afterwards, the eldest took us all to lunch as a welcome to the year. We had deliciously spicy octopus bibimbap :).
And that brings us up to now. Teaching doesn't start until tomorrow because today was a national holiday. Although I originally planned to head out for some more exploration, I somehow wound up staying home and sending out updates like this one (as well as lesson planning of course). Anyhow, I think I might head out for a walk now while it is still nice and warm (Gwangju on the whole is so much warmer than Seoul!). Until next time!