Happy Chuseok/추석!

I can’t believe that I’m actually staying in Korea during this holiday, I was hoping to visit Thailand but the airfare is pure extortion and I refuse to pay more than double the regular fare! One of the joys of being a public school teacher.

So far I haven’t done too much which is the whole plan as I’ve been way too tired lately. However Young-joo, Nado and myself took off shopping to Costco to stock up on some of the yummy food that is otherwise hard to find. Hhhmm the TV is on at the moment the show from what I gather is about the black market for prescription drugs here in Korea. Anyway where was I??? Yeah I needed things like Special K, kidney beans and some ground beef ~ oh oh soooo exciting!

Sorry that I haven’t posted in a while I’m actually busy these days at work ~ yeah I admit that I normally post while at work as all my stuff is done and I have hours of time spare. But these days I’m preparing a few kids for a school play that will perform for a contest that involves all the schools. I also have pressure seeing that my principal expects us to win. GREAT!

Not too much else is going on, I went out last night with the girls and Nado’s friend David from Scotland. We had a couple bottles of red wine while sitting on the rooftop at the bungalow lounge. But dinner was at the Wolfhound Pub a small Irish joint that offers a pretty good menu, but the beef and mushroom pie was not what I expected as it seemed more like a soup with pastry on top. The apple crumble wasn’t bad but not so Irish with all the cinnamon, or maybe I’m wrong.

Tomorrow I guess is the main day for Chuseok/추석 which is Korean thanksgiving. For those who are unfamiliar with this major holiday it’s a time when everybody visits their families especially the eldest male who is the most important figure. So Seoul seems rather empty as everyone is off to their hometowns around Korea.



This is not the time to be traveling, as traffic is absolutely horrific!!!



The family pays their respect to their ancestors early in the morning by bowing and then enjoying a meal with them. It’s a great time to visit Koreans in their homes which I have done in the past when I lived in Daegu as it was a destination for many Seoulites.



It’s also a good time to see many people dressed in hanboks or receive some interesting gifts like a box full of more boxes of toothpaste or a box full of Spam!



This year the holiday falls on a five day weekend, so starting Saturday till Wednesday however I’m lucky that my school has a day off on Thursday but why, why and why again do I have to go on Friday???

And for those that reside in Hong Kong/China ~ Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Maui, Calgary, Fort McMurray and back to Seoul!

It’s official my brother is married! Man, what a gorgeous wedding too in Maui, both he and Joanna looked extremely happy which was the main thing.

Receiving a high five from dad!

Self portrait

I miss my brother dearly, even though we fought like cats and dogs when we were young but the best thing and what I miss the most is that we could argue but he's always there for me and I'm always there for him with total respect.

We started of as four and now we are five :)

I love this photo!

Saying goodbye is the part of my vacations that I hate the most and I know I'm not the only one. But I'm glad that I got to stay with my brother for a couple of days in Fort McMurray :)

And the last leg of my trip home was a night in Waikiki I managed to squeeze in some time on the beach however it was about 7am!

July's Photos

The summer classes are now on; this year I have to teach two seperate camps as oppossed to just teaching my school kids. The Gangnam English Centre Camp which is open to nine local schools - but it's stressfull with the press and alsorts of heads from the edcation board to the blow Joe of the street coming to check it out as it's the first of it's kind in a public school. However this photo is of my favourite class so far. I did a social studies lesson on Freedom of Expression with focus on North Korea. We watched a Korean B-boy video then froze certain frames in order to draw figures similar to Keith Haring.

Watching the world go by in the Itaewon St*rbucks.

Walking around in Samcheon-Dong, one of my favourite areas around Gyeongbuk Palace and the President's Residence, "The Blue House". This area is being preserved as it's rare to see the old Hanok houses.

With Mark in Samcheon-Dong.

A thank you lunch from my school for Malcolm (another foreign teacher in my school) and myself for teaching during the summer vacation ~ like we had a choice. But hey, the lunch was awesome it's rare to have a good Chinese meal in Korea.

The Ups and Downs in July!

I don’t know what to say this week or should I say this month I’m somewhat at a lost. Well I guess with the first bit of news is a downer. I have been seeing someone off and on since November, an American guy. I know I posted about him before saying that he was history. Well he was history for a week then things were good and we were happy. However now it’s over as he has his orders to return back to the States and with short notice too. I guess it was coming, but to come so soon??? I must admit I tried not to think about that fact he has no choice of where he’s posted, the joys of being in the military.

However in other news, it’s been fantastic having Nayan and Miss thing, staying with me, I’m going to be lost when they leave. I think my stress level will go up, as I won’t have anyone to talk to when I get home and with Mark being gone. Or the stress may go down, as I won’t have any excuse to not go to the gym!

But, I will be in Maui very soon! Sitting on a beach sipping on me Mai Tai’s thinking of nothing. Yeah, can’t wait to meet up with everyone and have a great time and also realize that my little bro is growing up as he and Joanna exchange their vows ON THE BEACH, oh yeah still sipping me Mai Tai’s!!! Then it's off to Calgary to meet up with friends and my nanny! Oooops... I just realized I missed her birthday, yay for alzheimer's! I'm bad I know ;P

Oh and tis the time to be eating Sam-Gae-Tang 삼계탕 the yummiest Korean soup ever! Gotta have your stuffed chicken with dates, ginseng, chestnuts and sweet rice cooked to perfection in a wonderful broth served piping hot to your table. This is the food of choice for the hottest days of the year (if you can get a table due to the crazy busyness of the restaurants) or you could have dog soup, however I opt for the chicken myself ;P

This week and the last three weeks in photos!

My school's grand flea market where all the goodies where sold within setting up the fair which upset many of the students. But still was a fun day.

Heejeong and myself at our friend Valtihno's concert in Apukjeong a place where my friends and I normally avoid however the venue was a nice surprise.
We are officially Valtihno's groupies as I have many photos of him on stage. The music was awesome and sung in three languages, as he's originally from Brazil and the other members were Korean however English is the common language for them to communicate with. The group played Bossa Nova inspired music with Valtihno's genius percussion which he has practiced at numerous parties as well as my kitchen lamps!
Quite the name for a shop, don't you think?
Nayan's back and here we are at Santorino's Greek Restaurant in Itaewon, then we went back the next day with some other people then the next with another group of people, now I think I've had my fill for the year!
This is one of my favourite hangouts in Itaewon called, "The Bungalow" which has become our second home, the service sucks though they seem to be getting worse but the place is great with so many different places to sit, there's an area with swings and sand then another area with a jacuzzi each area has it's own personality but the last time we were there the service was so bad it took 10 mins to get someone's attention then after ordering it took a further 30 mins to get our drinks!
As you can see Keo isn't so keen on the waiter!!!
Nayan and Miss shyness :)
Last Saturday I attended Heejeong's father-in-law's 60th birthday party which is a big deal here in Korea.
I love this photo of Heejeong and her hubby.
On stage her father-in-law gave a speech, everyone in the immediate family had to wear Hanboks which are cute but not always the most comfortable things to wear.
Heejeong and myself

Black Lace - Agadoo

Ah the 80's how I loved this song when I was a kid on my hols. Was I on crack?

For Julie

Thank you for your friendship during my visits back to the UK as well as your patience as I looked at every detail in the shops that kept you waiting like my aunt Elsie normally did. I’m sorry that I still don’t remember you in high school but I’m grateful that I got to know and laugh with you over the years. And I’m sorry that you didn’t have that chance to go to Canada like how we talked.

I will miss you, as I know you and Debbie were wonderful friends. You meant so much to Debs as she always talked about you, and I thank you for everything.

You remind me of how fragile life is and the importance to live each day. Today I mourn your death that ended way too soon. I yearn for my family that I miss so dearly and wish I could be there for yours. I’m sure that you and your brother Vincent are together again. I pray for your parents and Debbie with all my heart to get through the darkest hours, as I’m sure you’ll agree there’s so much to live for. I wish you happiness and your family too.

We will meet again.

Julie left And My Cousin Debbie Right

Etsy Favourites

I could spend hours and hours on Etsy, there's some great stuff but you really need to look.

Here are just some that I looked at today:

Brainiac the Art of Matte Stephens and his blog.

Dog Bone Art

Magic Jelly


Margaux Lange unique jewelry

I'm finally hooked up!

I'm back online at home at last! So here are some pics to catch you up to date.

Moving day, which took four trips in a 1 ton truck and a lots of friends!


At Kang, San-ae's concert in Ssamzie Space a really cool artist centre that also offers residencies.

Nasty cheese bite pizza my students love.

Birthday dinner with the girls that are so important to me. Irene and Nado!

A one stop shop for...uhm...baskets...and other woven goods...

BBQ art show opening in the Samcheongdong area the gallery is built inside an old style Korean home which makes for an ineresting space, sorry no pics of the art.

My Birthday party: Ok-jae and Hyo-jin I think there's a theme going on here tonight...
I love this shot and yes it's rather suggestive but he's just curious about my prezzie and I'm energetic to tell him about it.
I celebrated my birthday with Peter, David and the other fella I forget his name, oops. We combined the party as we have mutual friends.

My new home




Out with fellow foreign teachers that work for Gangnam, this is the first time we got together other than the monthly workshops.
A birthday party for Roxanna from Iran, Phillip from Austria and Ok-jae from Gangnam which ended 7am this morning!