Time to catch up...the rest of my time in the ROK! (March2012-March 2014)

So I took a break, a loooooong one, from blogging.  I got caught up in life, I guess.  My last real update was way back in March 2012, almost 2.5 years ago.  Time to fix that and play catch up.   So here's what happened during the rest of my time in the ROK since March 2012.  I'll try to just stick with the highlights...

I accidentally fell in love.  Unfortunately, the relationship only last for 9 months, but I had a great time.  We met the end of March 2012.  After the breakup, I made a couple of besties.  Worked out much better in the long run.

Cheongdo bull fighting festival.  Only the bulls fight each other.  (April 2012)

SantaCon Seoul  (December 2012)

World Baseball Classic in Tokyo with one of my besties, Mel (she LOVES baseball and I LOVE Tokyo).  (March 2013)

My friends and I went paragliding in Boryeong  (March 2013)

Seoul Jazz Festival at Olympic Park.  We saw Damien Rice, Rodrigo y Gabriela, Kings of Convenience...  (May 2013)

Hiked Mt Fuji  (July 2013)

Takahata & Miyazaki Animation Exhibit.  I went on a Miyazaki film craze following this exhibit.  The artwork on display was incredible.  (August 2013)

My Asus laptop decided to die and me.  As a result, I upgraded and invested in a 13" MacBook Air.  Birthday present to myself.  (November 2013)

Seoul Lantern Festival  (November 2013)

SantaCon Seoul  (December 2013)

 Winter Vacation 2013 - Thailand

 Winter Vacation 2013 - Thailand.  My friends and I decided to rent scooters on Koh Phangan where I had two, not one, accidents...  This picture above shows the result of my first accident.  The second accident was MUCH worse.

Winter Vacation 2013 - Hong Kong

Winter Vacation 2013 - Hong Kong

Last ladies' wine night in Seoul at Braii Republic  (January 2014)

Sticker photos with another bestie I made in the ROK, Steph  (February 2014)

Saying goodbye to my bro, Woody, before he leaves the ROK  (March 2014)

A delicious goodbye galbi meal with Steph  (March 2014)

My last weekend in the ROK  (March 2014)

My last meal in the ROK, at Incheon Intl Airport, before going on my grand adventure  (March 2014)

Updates coming soon...

I have quite a few long overdue updates to post.  Bear with me, they will happen sometime this month.  However, they won't be elaborate, just overviews of my time here in Seoul.

What is "normal"?

I don't really know...  Everyone has their own definition of "normal", which constantly changes for each person throughout the many stages of one's life.  However, I am certain of this though, at this current stage, my life living/working in Korea feels normal to me.  I'm not really sure what that means.  Does it mean I'm going to stay here for the duration of my life?  No.  I'm happy, but not 100% happy.  I'm living a life I never once imagined by stepping out of the "comfort zone".  That's what makes me happy.  That's what makes life exciting.  Would you like to hear something very exciting?  I wonder where I'll end up next...

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting..." The Alchemist

Long Weekend Part 3: Busan

Welcome to Busan!  This was the last stop of our three day weekend trip (this happened waaaaay back during the first weekend of June 2011)...and it was nice to lay out on the beach, even though is was packed with fully clothed Koreans.  They don't really like to wear bathing suits, well most of them.  

Me (not Korean).

 

We were lucky enough to catch the Sand Festival.

Interesting advertisement.

Strolling through Haeundae Market.

One Year in the ROK

A whole year has passed and I've been living/working in Korea...February 21st was my one year anniversary...kinda hard to believe.  I've now experienced one year of teaching phonics to 5 year old Korean children (that would make them 4 years old since Koreans consider themselves 1 year of age at birth).

So I've decided to renew my contract teaching at my current school for another year.  I will eventually make it back home to Atlanta, but only after I've made a few stops along the way.  AND when I do make it back home, I'm uncertain as to how long I will stay.  My future is unknown and it feels wonderful!  I've sailed away from the safe harbor.  I better get my butt in gear and begin my post-Korea plans.  Currently I plan to be on the road, but not sure for how long.  A SE Asia tour sounds about right (which will include about a month or so stay in the Philippines touring and meeting my mother's family), possibly stops in the lands of OZ and Kiwi, and I better pop on over to Hawaii to say hello to my lola (grandmother)...just thinking out loud.  I miss Hawaii.  While watching the modern day Hawaii Five-0, I find myself constantly reminiscing about my childhood living on the island of Oahu.

For the time being, I better make my Korea to-do list.  Before I know it, I will blink my eyes and it will be 2013 and my time here in the Hermit Kingdom will come to an end.

My one regret is that I wish I had done this years ago...moved to another country, or other countries, to live and work and experience life.  Although I shouldn't complain since I'm doing it now...better late than never.  Plus, I wouldn't have the wonderful people in my life that I have now.


While living abroad, doesn't matter which country, you realize that there are certain "luxuries" from "home" which you can live/do without (I'll leave this to your wild imagination).  I'm constantly learning how strong, and extroverted, I am/can be.  I recently asked one of my very good friends here if I seemed shy.  To my surprise she said no.  I guess I can be shy depending on the situation.

"Who are you?" said the Caterpillar.
Alice replied, rather shyly, "I-I hardly know, Sir, just at the present--at least I know who I was when i got up this morning, but I think I must have been changed several times since then."

Easily distracted or just plain lazy...?

I keep asking myself that since I'm backed up on blog posts.  There's so much to do and I like to stay mobile.  I must have A.D.D., I just can't seem to stay in one place for too long.  Things are gonna change...I promise I will keep up to date with my posts.  First, I have a bit of catching up to do...  ;)

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." ~Henry David Thoreau, Walden

10 Months...

If by chance you happen to look at my previous posts, you'll notice that there seems to be one missing...that would be my nine month post.  You might be asking "what happened?"...  Well, it just so happens that I got a little sidetracked since my birthday was 11-11-11...EPIC! Plus I'm here in Korea, so I just had to go all out.  That's right!  I celebrated all month long and I'm not lying...every weekend and some of them started a bit early!  

Now I'm kinda partied out, but there's always some party going on since it's the holiday season...oh boy!  As far as this year's Thanksgiving is concerned...I had two dinners.  Oh, one of them actually had collard greens!  I was soooo excited, you have no idea!  Both dinners were delicious!

So 10 months have now passed and I'm still going strong...don't really know what to say except that I'm loving life.  Sure I hit a few rough patches here and there, but that's gonna happen...especially during the holiday season.  Christmas here is a few minutes away and I'm all the way on the other side of the world.  So how am I gonna deal with it?  I'm going snowboarding for the first time and I'm excited!  Oh, I do expect to bust it many times and end up with a ton of bruises all over, but that's okay!  Before coming here, I had already planned to go snowboarding...and as many times as I can before the season is over with.  Plus, I'll be getting snow for Christmas!  Haven't had a White Christmas since I was a toddler...

"Don't be afraid of what could go wrong. Instead, focus on what could go right." ~Unknown

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination."  ~Oscar Wilde