K in Kangaland.

Posted on October 23, 2017 by sanityorlove

A full 2 months after arriving in the southern hemisphere, I finally experienced my first, truly rainy day in Australia. I figured it made for the perfect day to blog, and reintroduce you guys to what will now be known as “K in Kangaland.” (It’s a working title, feel free to share any ideas you may have!)

And so begins my new adventure! After living in South Korea on and off for the last 5 years, and teaching for a full 3 of them, I have moved abroad yet again to experience a country that is not my own. What started off as a desire to tour Australia quickly turned into a question of Why not live there? I sometimes feel that living abroad for so long has ‘ruined’ me in a unique kind of way – I get serious FOMO when I’m only able to visit a place rather than live in it. I think you’re able to learn so much more through experience and immersion. So after almost a full year back in the U.S., I packed my bags and secured a work & holiday visa for the land down under.

It’s been more than 2 months since I stepped off the plane in Sydney. I arrived at the tail end of Australia’s winter, and I’m not going to lie – I was actually cold when I walked out of the airport. Coming from summer in Massachusetts, I figured Australia’s winter wouldn’t be quite so different, but I was in for a fairly rude awakening when I realized it was averaging 55 degrees (about 12 C), and I was very grateful I’d managed to bring one (okay, two) pairs of pants with me to ward against the ‘cold’. (And yes, to all my New England and Canadian friends: I felt a deep shame that only growing up in the Northeast can inflict, but when it’s 80 F when you get on the airplane and 50 F when you get off, your body feels the shock!)

Before I came here, I had a lot of friends and family departing their Australian wisdom on me every chance they could – “Australia? Make sure you watch out for those spiders that hide in the toilets, I’ve seen them on Facebook!” “Oh man, your eyes are gonna bulge out of your head at how expensive everything is!” “Give yourself some time to get used to the accent – Aussie slang is a beast unto itself!” In my very short time here, I’ve found some things to be true and others pure myth, so I thought I’d categorize the stuff I’ve found interesting so far. Here is my brief list of things I’d call “culture shock” for my time thus far in Oz:

1.) The Weather: Sure, I knew it’d be nice here, and I realize that I (very strategically) came at a time when the flowers were starting to bloom and spring was in the air, but people aren’t kidding when they say that the sun shines every day. Others may argue that it depends on where you’re located, which is definitely true to a degree (I’ve been told that places like Melbourne in the south can see all four seasons in a day, which is not unlike the Berkshires of Massachusetts), but as far as my experience, one rainy day out of 60 ain’t bad at all.

2.) The Wildlife: I’ll be honest, the only animals I knew lived in Australia before I arrived were kangaroos, koalas, and wallabies (and Tasmanian devils, but I was definitely thinking more cartoon than real life). I’ve seen some kangaroos, but the first ones I saw were dead on the side of the road (think deer in rural Mass), so I don’t know if that really counts. The second ones I saw were in a wildlife reservation, so I’m not sure that counts either. Thus, I’ve yet to see any kangaroos in the wild, although I’ve heard I can find some if I go to the local golf course. I’ve also seen koalas and wombats, but both of those were at the reservation as well.

Surprisingly, what I’ve seen the most of just in daily life so far are BIRDS, and tons of them! I’m talkin’ cockatoos (which I’ve come to loathe – they fly around in flocks all day long and make the most horrible, nailsonachalkboard guffaws), parrots, rainbow lorikeets, magpies, kookaburras, and honeyeaters. Almost every day for the first 10 days, I was snapping pictures of birds I’d see while walking to the shop and then spend an hour once I got home googling what it was. It’s a really cool feeling to walk out your door and see so many birds that would be considered exotic back home, usually only seen in a pet shop or zoo.

Eastern Rosella Parrot. There are a couple of these making a nest on the roof of my house that wake me up most mornings.

Galah, or Rose Breasted Cockatoo. You see these things in flocks pecking around open, green spaces all day.

Yellow Crested Cockatoo. These guys make the most horrible sounds when they get together.

The other creatures I’ve seen are lizards. I saw a blue-tongued skink (or just a ‘blue-tongue,’ as Aussies call them) in the back yard a few weeks ago just chillin’, sunning himself on the back deck. During a walk through the forest, I heard a rustle and saw a 5 foot long goanna eating some leaves and having a stroll. It was surreal, to say the least.

Blue Tongued Skink. The one I saw was only about 1.5-2 feet long.

Goana, or Lace Monitor. He was easily 5 feet from head to foot!

I’ve yet to see any dangerous snakes or spiders, but have been advised on how to handle them if I have an encounter. I’m not sure if it’s just because it’s spring and things are coming out of the woodwork, or if this is always how Australia is, but this place is buggy as heck. Last week, I brushed at least one insect out of my hair every day for 5 days in a row, and I wasn’t walking through the bush. This was just on 15 or 20 minute walks to the local mall, or on the main street of town.

3.) The Language: You know how when you visit other places, there’s often a bit of regional slang you might need to learn in order to “blend in” with the locals? In this country, Aussie slang is a force to be reckoned with. And I mean, a force, as in, it’s not just the every day people who speak it, but the advertising agencies, the commercials on tv, the mechanic’s shop, the fast food places! Sure, we call McDonald’s “Mickey D’s” in the U.S. or “Maccies” colloquially in the U.K., but until Australia, I’d never seen a paid advertisement in which the slang is so ingrained in a culture that McDonald’s actually refers to itself as “Macca’s”:

(This commercial is actually perfect – it has a full 30 seconds of nothing but Aussie slang from a 2012 ad recognizing Australia Day.)

The first week I was here, I honestly didn’t know what anyone around me was saying at all and it stunned me. I had to really concentrate on the words coming out of their mouths just to process the accent, and on top of that, I had to try and keep up with the little every day words that I had never heard before. I tried to do a bit of research before I came and learned a couple super basic ones like “sunnies” (sunglasses), “thongs” (flip-flops), “swimmers” (bathing suit), and “chook” (chicken), but there were so many words being thrown at me in normal conversation that I could not make sense of, so I had to start writing them all down and remember to ask later.

A lot of the time, it seems that shortening a word and adding “o” is the preferred formula for Australian language: “arvo” (afternoon), “rego” (registration), “bottle-o” (liquor store), “servo” (gas station/convenience store), “devo” (devastated), “aggro” (aggressive). But other times, it’s something entirely different, that makes more sense the longer you think about it, like “grizzly” (cranky), “brekky” (breakfast), “lollies” (sweets/candy, although this one took me a bit longer to use properly because I just assumed it meant lollipops). There have been times I’ve felt very grateful for my experiences in England over the last decade, because a lot of words that are slang in the UK are also used here, like “whinge” (whine/complain), “ta” (thanks), “chock-a-block” or “chockers” (very full), “tea” (dinner), and “mozzie” (mosquito). Of course, I’ve only experienced one part of the country for the last couple of months, so I’m sure what I’ve heard is quite regional to a degree. I’m sure there are other slang words from different parts of the country.

Get “brekky” (breakfast) at Hungry Jack’s (aka, Burger King) starting at 6 am!

The auto shop, where you can get all your rego (registration) needs.

And that’s about all I’ve got for now! I’ll leave you with one final question I’ve been pondering now for two months, and that is: Australia, why do you have sidewalks on some streets, none on others, and some that just decide to end the sidewalk in people’s driveways?

A Very (Belated) Merry Christmas!

Posted on February 9, 2014 by sanityorlove

I know, I know. It’s been awhile. I wish I could tell you that I’ve been too busy to write because I’ve been going on super incredible adventures and exploring new exotic lands but the truth is, I’ve just been too tired and lazy. Most of my free time is spent food shopping/cooking and trying to just chill out and forget about work for a minute. And good blog entries take time and care, hence my avoidance of the task.

I went to my first Korean wedding (finally!) the 3rd week of December. It was certainly a cultural experience. Our coworker, whose English name is Connie, customarily invited everyone from work to attend. It was a beautiful ceremony that included synchronized dance numbers and a sword to cut the wedding cake. The whole thing took place in a long dark room that had a black/white/purple floral theme with a transparent, glass-like walking aisle down the center. Guests were seated on either side of the aisle. And from here, I’d like to offer a summary of the event from my friend/coworker Adele‘s blog, as it describes the ceremony more accurately than my brain currently can (photos and videos are mine):

“I have been told (and now seen for myself) that the success of a wedding is determined by how many people show up. I have also been told that there are like four degrees of separation between the actual people getting married and some of the people who show up. Like families of business friends friends sort of thing. Because of this, there was constant talking throughout the entire ceremony. A guy sitting three rows ahead of us was on facebook on his phone for about half the vows.

The ceremony began with the mothers of the bride and groom coming to the front and lighting candles. They were wearing hanboks, which are traditional Korean dresses. They are super beautiful and it was cool to see them as part of the ceremony.

The fathers came in and sat down, and then the groom, followed by Connie in her glorious huge dress. There was some sort of pre-ambley speech thing, and then vows.

This is when things started to become interesting and incredibly foreign. A man (I assume a friend of the bride or grooms) sang them a song. He had a gorgeous voice. The catch? He was reading the lyrics of the song off his cell phone as he was singing.

Next, a big tray with a wedding cake on it was rolled out. And the couple cut the cake. WITH A FREAKING SWORD. Then four women (friends of the brides) did a choreographed dance to K-pop. Like, Brittney Spears type choreography. Everyone loved it! Our co-worker Sue was in it, and she told me today it took them six weeks to learn.

They started a dance to another song, this time with pom-poms, and the groom jumped out and danced with them. He had clearly learned it without Connie knowing, she was surprised and cracking up, that was pretty adorable.

This is all happening while people are talking.

After the ceremony was over we were told we had to be in a picture, so we waited while family members were in pictures, and got arranged and re-arranged for 10 minutes before the photographer snapped some shots.

I think I have mentioned before that the documentation of events is as, or more important than the event itself. Even during the ceremony a friend of Connie’s would jump up to the alter where they were standing to fix her hair, or bring her crying tissue, or arrange her dress perfectly. “

Though weddings in western culture are often all day events, Korean weddings are not more than a couple of hours, from start to finish. But it was a lovely and interesting time followed by a large buffet, which my coworkers and I took great advantage of. (Hover over the photos for captions, or click through to see and read them in full.)

Ben, Nate, and Jack looking their goofy best.

The wedding hall.

A sword to cut the cake. Badass.

Cuteness.

Ta-da!

Ben and the happy couple.

December rolled on, and we had a lovely Christmas here in Gwangju, with Jack and I hosting a pot luck dinner at our apartment for all of our friends left in the city. We spent a pretty penny on some delicious ham which I covered in pineapple and baked (read: reheated) to perfection for everybody. Jack whipped up some potatoes, gravy, and stuffing, and we were in business. With all of the delicious dishes our friends brought, it’s safe to say my Christmas dinner of 2013 was by far the most eclectic I’ve ever had. The spread included a Bulgarian salad, veggie terrine, homemade apple sauce, a cheese board, caramelized onion/tomato mushroom bruschetta, Chinese meatballs, Korean steamed chicken, as well as mine and Jack’s contributions. For dessert we had skor bars, mince pies, a trifle, berry pastries, creme cake, and apple crisp, in lieu of apple pie.

The day was spent eating and chatting with friends while listening to every Christmas song Jack and I had at our disposal. I got to experience my first British Christmas cracker (thanks to the crafty hands of our friend Alex) and I felt quite cozy in my paper crown.

Jenny trying to expose the real Santa Claus

My dove, Eileen, and Santa!

Columbia Class

Getting into the Christmas spirit at work!

Amelia, our newest coworker!

Bad Santas

Cards from home. ❤

Our Christmas bounty.

My first time baking a ham!

The first half of the Christmas dinner spread.

The second half.

The gang.

My first Christmas cracker.

Amelia, Adele, Ben, Kat, and Jack.

Ben, Nate, and Chad.

❤

Dessert time!

Iris, Alex, Min, Helena, and Cheryl.

The ECC boys.

Kelsey and Amelia.

New Year’s Eve was, unfortunately, rather uneventful for Jack and I, as I came down with the stomach flu and was couch-ridden for the better of 3 days. Luckily, Jack was willing to take care of my fragile, nauseated, whiney self and I began 2014 a few pounds lighter. 😉

The second week of January, the ECC foreign crew took a trip to the Northern half of the country to celebrate all that is winter with an ice-fishing festival. Pedro Kim, who I believe I’ve mentioned before, organized a trip for over 30 people to travel to the cities of Chuncheon, Gapyeong, and Hwacheon, which lie at the top of the country, quite close to the border of North Korea. It was an awesome weekend that included romantic islands, ice fishing, a “French village”, sledding, and incredible ice sculptures modeled after world landmarks and backlit with colored lights.

The first place we visited was Nami Island, famous in Korea for the filming of various soap operas (like “Winter Sonata”) and the overall ‘romantic’ feel it exudes. It had a lot of winter themed things like snow sculptures and “snowman pancakes” (which were delicious), as well as a lot of unexpected things, like a field full of ostriches and a tiny train that chugged tourists along the island. It also had a “sky ride” that allowed people to sit on a chair that moved via bicycle peddle well above the ground for an aerial view of the island.

We stayed in a French themed village that had pastel colored buildings and other things dubbed “French” by Korea, such as a man playing the accordion while singing in a cafe, rooms full of marionettes, and poorly painted French film posters on the outside walls. It was certainly a strange if pleasant place to stay, if only because it was struggling to feel “quaint” when in reality it was in the middle of nowhere on the side of a hill surrounded by dead trees and full of Korean food. I’d imagine it’s more lovely in the spring and summer, when the trees are lush and the flowers are in bloom.

The actual festival was quite a lot of fun, and we began the day by ice fishing on a frozen river. I was the first of the group to catch a fish (!!!), which was really exciting. After each person caught three, we handed them over to some army volunteers who prepped and cooked the fish for us to eat later on. We spent the rest of the day exploring what the festival had to offer, which included sliding around the ice on a giant raft tied to an ATV, “bobsledding” down an ice shoot, and watching a couple of our coworkers catch fish with their bare hands. It was a really memorable trip that I am glad to be able to cross of my Korean bucket list. Watch my coworkers attempt to catch fish with their bare hands and Nate actually acheive the goal at the 2:30 mark.

Our French themed village.

The Marionette Room.

Ben enjoying a cheeky squeeze with a larger than life sized clown.

A very disturbing replica of Amelie.

There were more than a few strange characters at the hostel.

My first catch during my first ice fishing experience!

Got ‘im.

Jack and everyone else soon followed!

The crew.

This man was so helpful and showed us how best to catch the fish.

Preparing the trout.

Mmmm. Delish.

Adele, Jack, and Ben enjoying their catch.

Ben and Nate getting pumped to bare-handedly catch some fish!

Pretty snow sculptures.

The gang inside a giant snow bear’s mouth.

This was the luge that we bob-sledded down.

Took a spin on a giant raft on ice.

On the ferry to Nami Island.

Me inside an igloo!

Hearts.

Snowman pancake! It was a pancake that consisted of brown sugar, cinnamon, green tea, and sunflower seeds.

Jack and his new mate.

The greatest statue ever made?

I mean, it looks ridiculous enough.

AND THEN YOU GO TO THE OTHER SIDE AND IT JUST GETS WEIRDER.

Alien?

First Kiss Bridge. We had to take advantage…

The crew in front of the Temple of Heaven. 😉

The end of January brought Lunar New Year, or Seollal (설날) as it’s known in Korea. At school the kindergarten kids were made to wear traditional Korean formal wear, known as hanboks. I’m not gonna lie — they all looked ridiculously adorable, especially the 4 year olds in Stanford class. We played some traditional Korean games like yut, which basically involved using 4 sticks as die, as well as Korean versions of some more familiar games, like hop scotch and hackysack. It was nice to have a day to play with the kids instead of teach them, especially to spice up the long winter stretch we’d been lugging through.

For the few precious days we had off from work, Jack and I, along with Ben and Adele, took a trip to Seoul to hang out, eat quality food, and explore new areas. Crappy weather and various short-lived illnesses forced us to hang out watching America’s Funniest Home Videos more than we’d like to admit, but it was still a very relaxing weekend that helped us rest up mentally and physically.

Me and the birthday girl, Jenny.

Me and Columbia Class on a normal day.

The same class, beautified in their hanboks and ready to celebrate the new year!

Toby and June, the newest additions of Stanford Class.

Eileen, Jenny, and Hanna.

Stanford class!

Strike a pose.

Cheonggyecheon River walk in Seoul.

Unique buildings in Sinsa-dong.

Flaming liquor.

Ben, Jack, and Adele enjoying some dranks.

I’ve recently decided that unless I have a particularly unique or new experience to share here, most of my entries from here on out will take a dip into the more realistic side of what it’s like living in Korea for 1.5 years. There are a lot of things about Korean culture that I have come to learn, recognize, and attempt to deal with now that I’m in my second year, and I’d like to share my individual experience to make this blog more well-rounded and more truthful. I plan to talk about what it’s like living day to day in my specific skin, and all of the good and bad that comes with that. I hope everyone will still find my writing informative and interesting, even if it is less event-filled and more contemplative.

On a less serious note, I’d like to end by sharing one of the most adorable videos I’ve got to date. For the kindergarten birthdays in January, I played “MC” and Jack was kind enough to record one of our student’s English speeches, with me beaming next to her like a proud mother. Her name is Jenny, and she just turned 4 years old. I guarantee it’s the cutest thing you’ll see today.

Psy, Seoul, and Snowflakes.

Posted on November 30, 2013 by sanityorlove

Prepare yourselves for pictures, folks!

As usual, it has been too long since I’ve updated. Life hasn’t consisted of anything too exciting recently. I feel like most of my free time is spent food shopping, preparing said food, or thinking about what food I’m going to buy on my next shopping trip. I’m pretty sure thinking about food (whether it’s finding, buying, cooking, baking, wishing for, etc.) takes up way too much of my daily life. (Is that even possible?)

Other than that, the only other thing I’ve been thinking about is how to stay warm, now that the temperature has dropped and Gwangju is getting cold again. We saw our first snowfall this past monday, although it was more sleet and rain than soft, fluffy snowflakes. Still, it was nice to watch out the window with the students, whose excitement was only matched by that of the Korean teachers in the office.

There are some fun things have happened over the last six weeks, though. Toward the end of October, ECC had a Halloween party for the kids, and teachers were asked to dress in costume. I originally wanted to go as Pikachu, but a shady eBay seller from Hong Kong ruined that dream, so I threw a very last minute costume together, which, interestingly enough, consisted of almost exactly the same stuff I wore last year. I’ll give you one chance to guess who I was before the big reveal:

That’s right–Psy! Sure, none of the kids knew who I was until I did the horse dance, but it worked in a pinch. As you can see, I was in good company; we had Cheryl, who was a K-Pop star from one of the most recent hits by the group Crayon POP, Adele, aka Hermione Granger, Joel and Jessica as anime characters, Ben as Jack Skellington, Jack as the Incredible Hulk, and Nathaniel as Iron Man. Jack even won some money from our director for having the best costume. ^_^

Besides dressing up, we got to play games with the students, go trick-or-treating from classroom to classroom, watch Halloween movies, and a bunch of other fun stuff. Here are a few of my favorite photos from the day.

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November brought some absolutely gorgeous foliage, which I took advantage of by hiking Mt. Mudeung with my friends Iris and Dr. Kim. We rode a chairlift halfway up the mountain (which I didn’t even know existed and thought was super ingenious) and then hiked from there. It was a lovely day out. I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.

The rest of the month consisted of celebrating Jack’s 24th birthday (<3!), taking a weekend trip to Seoul, going on a field trip with ECC kindergarteners to watch The Little Match Girl, and seeing a second, more proper snowfall this last week. Hover over the thumbnails for the captions, or click them to see higher quality versions. 🙂

Jack’s homemade birthday cake, made by yours truly. 🙂

Yet another chocolate cake for the birthday boy from our friends Tessa and Erin!

Adele having an interesting play date with Claire.

Adele holding Claire, Tessa (Claire’s momma), Julie, and Iris at Jack’s birthday get together.

Joe and Ben.

Myself and the birthday boy. ❤

Two of our most special friends who have been with us from the beginning.

The night got pretty wild with a game of Asshole at Tequilaz.

Ben and Adele’s first noraebang experience!

Jack’s friend Regan took us to a cafe in Seoul where sheep roam around the tables.

This incredible waffle was my breakfast. ^_^

Sneaking a feelski.

Not impressed.

FC Seoul vs. Incheon — our first soccer game in Korea that wasn’t a bore to watch!

Some of ECC’s kindergarteners getting a quick pic with the crew of The Little Match Girl.

Young love.

Best friends!

Karl and Sam. Such cuties.

Max really didn’t want his photo taken. Thankfully, Sophie stepped in in the nick of time.

Tiffany, beautiful as ever.

This auditorium was overrun by children!

The first proper snow fall of the season!

Our street. 🙂

These girls get me through the week.

We made hand turkeys!

Work makes the weeks go quickly. I am particularly excited today because we are going to celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends with a proper turkey, mashed potatoes, and green bean casserole! Will be sure to update tomorrow with pictures of the spread (’cause ya can’t have Turkey Day without pictures of all the food!). Until then, please enjoy this video of Eileen, Jenny, and Haana wishing you all a Happy…Thanksgiving?

**UPDATE** Here are those Turkey Day photos, as promised.

Jack and I are always ready to party.

Myself, Jack, Kat, and Iris before heading over for the festivities!

7 pumpkin pies, brownies, skor bars, apple crisp, etc.

Green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, bulgogi, turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, homemade applesauce, stuffing, etc.

the crown jewel.

A food baby was long overdue.

My coworkers, Joel and Jessica.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Auntie Iris getting a cuddle in.

pure joy!

Claire and Tessa

our lovely Thanksgiving hosts, Ben and Adele. (Or “Bedele,” as we affectionately call them.)

Babies, Beaches, and Bluffs!

Posted on October 8, 2013 by sanityorlove

Evening, ya’ll.

(You might want to settle in with your hot beverage of choice. It’s gonna be a long entry.)

As the weather cools and Autumn officially falls upon us here in Gwangju (see what I did there?), I’m actually reminded of how much I miss home. The older I get, the more I realize how truly beautiful the place where I grew up is. Though Korea itself has some outstanding foliage, none of it is as easily accessible to me here as it is in Berkshire County. In Gwangju, I have to actually hike a mountain to get a breath-taking view of Fall’s colors instead of just hopping in the car and taking a 20 minute drive to Taco Bell. You win some, you lose some, I suppose.

A few unique things have happened in the last 3 weeks that I wanted to share with everyone. The first is that we had our first official field trip with the kindergarteners, and it was…hilarious, to say the least. We went to the local YWCA for a lesson in sex education.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. Why are they taking children who are barely out the womb themselves on a sex education field trip? And believe me, I’m with ya, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t super excited for it. The first part consisted of a very cute, if very weird, animation that depicted penises, vaginas, and even ejaculation into a vagina! It also included the following still, which shows a naked man proposing to a naked woman with his sperm:

The only way to pop the big question.

After that, we got to go into the “womb room.” And yes, it was as awesome as it sounds. Imagine a tiny, very thickly padded velvety red room with cartoon sperm and ovaries hanging from the ceiling. Add to that the sound of a steady heartbeat that’s been implanted into the walls and there you have it — a living, breathing womb. The kids weren’t scared at all:

Steve, with his ears plugged, and Julie, with a look of bewilderment only a “WTF?” could match.

Once we were reborn from the parted red curtains (these puns ain’t gonna stop), we were ushered into a room where we got up close and personal with some plastic models of private parts. The best bit was where some of the boys were able to wear a baby bump and really get a feel for what it’s like to be pregnant.

From left to right: Spencer, Stuart (with his aching back), Jude (gettin’ a feelski), and Steve.

Not everybody was having as great a time as me, though. Our head Korean teacher, Lynn, thought it best she step outside for a little catnap.

Can’t really say I blame her.

All in all, it was a great first field trip that I’m sure will live on in the memories of the teachers who attended, if not the students who were made to go.

September also meant the most celebrated of Korean holidays — Chuseok! Chuseok is similar to Thanksgiving for westerners, as it’s one of the only times during the year where Korean families get together for an extended period of time and students get time off from school, etc. As a result, it was the first chance Jack and I had to get real time off from work and plan a trip.

We were lucky enough to snag 2 of 9 very coveted spots to Jeju Island (known as Korea’s “Hawaii”) with Pedro Kim, a man well known in Gwangju for organizing trips throughout Korea.

Jeju Island, or Jejudo, is famous in Korea for a number of reasons. It boasts both black and white sandy beaches that look and feel almost tropical. It is home to Korea’s highest mountain, Mt. Halla. It is a popular honeymoon destination for newlyweds, as well as a filming location for a number of Korean dramas. Its volcanic origins give it a landscape that is so unlike any other place in Korea that, for a lot of Koreans (and even a lot of foreigners who have lived in Korea), Jejudo feels like traveling to another country. The roads in Jeju City (Jejusi) were so up and down that it reminded me of driving in San Francisco (minus the steepness, of course). It’s popularity gained global momentum when it was named one of the 7 New Wonders of Nature by the New World Corporation in 2011.

Needless to say, it was a place Jack and I had been wanting to travel to for a long time, and it did not disappoint. We spent 5 glorious days lounging in sand, swimming in crystal clear waters, exploring volcanic caves, viewing majestic waterfalls at night, and gorging on barbecued meats and cactus chocolate. We visited tourist attractions like Hallim Park, Jungmun Beach, and Loveland (a sex themed park I had wanted to visit since before I came to Ktown). Check out some of my favorite photos below and click on them to scroll through/properly read the captions.

Our first venture toward Jeju waters.

Beach time!

A walk through Hallim Park’s botanical garden.

“HAY EVERYONE! IMMA CACTUS!”

One of Jeju’s many caves.

And then this happened.

Osulloc tea fields.

I promise I was wearing a shirt for this shot.

Me and my man.

❤

Get it?!

Palm trees. Am I in Miami?

Jungmun Beach.

From the ferry to Udo Island.

One of many incredible views.

Biked around the perimeter of Udo Island and broke to try peanut/orange ice cream. SOMEone’s been huffin’ and puffin’.

Seaweed central, drying in the sun.

Just another “only in Korea” moment.

At the Henyeo Museum. These elderly women have been deep sea diving off the shores of Jeju searching for seafood for years! They don’t even use oxygen tanks!

Workin’ it out at the local gym park.

Up bright and early for a very rainy view of Seongseon Ichulbong (or Sunrise Peak).

Jeju’s famous Loveland! A sex themed park that I had been wanting to visit since before I came to Korea.

Yep.

Cactus chocolate!

And here are a couple videos to give you a better sense of the beauty I was dealing with on a daily basis, as well as the awesomeness of a talking bird.

The last and most recent adventure I wanted to share with you was my hike up Mudeung Mountain! This is something that I have wanted to do since I first stepped foot in Gwangju. Mudeungsan is Gwangju’s highest mountain and one of it’s biggest gems. It’s one of the first things people do once they move here. I had ample opportunity last year but simply never got around to it, and now that we’re back, we thought what better way to spend a Thursday off than sweating and panting up a mountain? (Okay, so I was the only one sweating and panting, but I digress.)

ECC has recently gone through quite a big turnover, and aside from Jack and I, we now have 2 new couples we also work with. Cheryl and Nathaniel (who hail from Canada) and Ben and Adele (from the US — Boston and Syracuse WHAT). Since Ben and Adele had only been in Korea for about a week, we thought it would be a good excuse to bond with our coworkers, tick a box on our Korean bucket list, and get a good work out.

The weather was perfect, which made the hike pretty enjoyable. We decided to go a roundabout way toward the top, which led to increased exertion but spectacular views.

The crew from left to right: Nathan, Ben, Adele, Jack, Me, and Cheryl.

Seoseokdae Rock.

View from the top.

Our route, from left to right and back again.

Last but not least, I recently made a video of our new neighborhood in Bongseon-dong to give you all a real-time peak into our surrounding space. Apologies for the length as well as the strange fuzziness/shakiness, youtube + imovie edits to make it less wobbly can only do so much! Make sure you watch it in HD for the full effect.

Korea: Round 2

Posted on September 15, 2013 by sanityorlove

Aaaaand we’re back!

As usual, life in Korea never seems to slow down, but I have finally managed to settle in and find some time to write. So let’s take it from where we last left off.

After spending 2 months in England and 2 months in the U.S., I officially arrived back in Gwangju, South Korea at the beginning of July. Jack and I were lucky enough to have friends who had an extra apartment for us to stay in, so we camped up in Songjeong-dong for the first 10 days of our glorious return. After meeting with the director of our new school, we were able to move into a temporary apartment closer to the center of the city, where we stayed for another 10 days. It wasn’t until July 26th that we were finally able to move into our permanent abode for the next year, and let me tell you — it is heavenly! Our new living space is a major upgrade from the studio sized apartments both Jack and I were living in (and at one point, sharing) during our first year. Check out the video tour I’ve made below to get the full effect of its awesomeness.

Besides the apartment, another change to my 2nd year here is my job. I now work at a chain hagwon called E.C.C., in the Bongseon-dong area of Gwangju. Though I still work at an English hagwon, or private school, I primarily teach kindergarteners, which means that instead of working 1:00 pm – 10:00 pm like I did last year, I work 9:00 am to 5:00 or 6:30, depending on the day. The days of waking up at noon and eating dinner at 10:30 pm are over! The ability to walk home at dusk and eat dinner at a normal time is something I sorely missed last year, and I’m grateful that it’s my new ‘norm.’

A third difference between this year and last is that I am able to live and work with my best friend/partner in crime/better half — Jack! Luckily for us, E.C.C. prefers to hire couples, and we are now one of four foreign pairs that work at the school. We celebrated our one year anniversary last August, and it felt perfect to be in the place where we first met and shared so many memories together.

Having a massive apartment and built-in social network of other foreign couples at our school are just some of the many perks of our new school. One of the things I like most about my new job is that we get to teach incredibly young students (whose ages range from 3-6) a myriad of other subjects besides English. In one week, I teach art, origami, science, themed seminars, literacy, and even some cartoon classes. (We watch Powerpuff Girls and Dexter’s Laboratory, if you’re curious.) Though the students can be super exhausting, they’re also super cute, and the amount of love that they provide always outweighs the trouble they can cause.

ECC’s youngest and newest students: Jenny and Eileen.

I’m actually the head Foreign teacher for the youngest class at the school, which consists of 2 ridiculously adorable, sweet little girls at the tender age of 4 named Jenny and Eileen. Though they can sometimes be a handful, they lift my spirits even on the darkest of days. Here are a few photos from our first 6 weeks at school.

Jenny and Eileen being silly, as usual!

Just another one of our many super cool art projects.

Jack has already made quite the impression on his students.

Just another day at work.

When Jack was feeling a bit under the weather one day, I took a second to make him a “get well” video of his homeroom class. It’s a little hard to understand first try, but the kids are saying, “Feel better, Jack Teacher! We love you!”

But with all the good that I have been fortunate to basically “walk into” on my 2nd year here, there are, of course, some drawbacks. One major downer to this year is the fact that many of the close friends we made in Korea last year are no longer here. Phil, Leanne, and Jon are back in their home countries pursuing careers and eating things like quality cheese and whipped cream (which I can’t afford/don’t really have access to here). I’m hopeful that we will make new friends this year but tainted by how awesome our friends were for the first. Thankfully, we still have a few good friends that live here (like Iris and Julie) and I plan on making the most of the time I have left with them.

As I did my first year, I will update this blog as regularly as I can with all the haps of our second round in Ktown. For now, I will leave you with a video of one of the most recent adventures Jack and I partook in: eating sannakji (or live octopus) while visiting my cousin in Seoul.