Vacation and back to school

This summer has been hot and humid. Very hot and humid. I have been busy with get togethers, goodbyes, birthdays, weekend get-aways and weekends in. I can't believe that in a few days it is already September. This summer went by fast. This whole year went by fast. Yesterday was my official 2 year anniversary in Korea. Saturday will begin my 3rd year contract in Korea. I'm excited what the next year has to offer me. The new adventures, relationships/ friendships. I'm sure this next year will be just as great as the last 2 years, maybe even better. 

Before my summer vacation began I had a 2 week summer camp for 4 hours every morning. It was a LONG camp. I had 11 students, 2 7th graders and the rest were 9th graders. 3 boys (2 of which were the 7th graders). The kids were all great, entertaining, frustrating, and especially lazy. After awhile even I got bored with the theme I had made for summer camp. It was a long camp after all. We played games, I made them write journals, we talked and they got a special visitor... Theresa, from Austria came in to talk to them. 

Theresa came for 2 weeks to visit me and see Korea. It was cool having her here. She spent the first week traveling around by herself while I taught camp. Then we were off together to Jeju-do. We opted to fly into Jeju from Gwangju airport. It was a 45 minute flight to Jeju-do and a long wait for a taxi, but we made it to our hostel around 8:30 pm. We walked around the area for a bit, grabbed some food and then went to sleep. We woke up early on Saturday and decided to make our way to Hamdok beach. We had to wait for a bus and then walk a bit to this tiny beach. But it was absolutely gorgeous. It was a bit of a bummer that we didn't have more time to visit the Southern part of Jeju-do where all the waterfalls were located, but a 4 hour roundtrip bus ride for our only day in Jeju was a bit much. We spent a good portion of our day laying on the beach and going into the water. By 3 pm the beach was getting more packed and we decided to pack up and head elsewhere. Next we were off to check out a rock that is famous for looking like a dragons head. It was quite unimpressive, but again the lookout was beautiful, so I'm not complaining. 

These little statues are famous on the island

After Jeju we had a day to relax before heading off to Busan. I didn't book any places to stay ahead of time because I knew there were plenty of love motels. A few days before we left for Busan, I decided to sign up for couchsurfing. I'm really a very laid back traveler, I don't make much plans because I know something could change and it's easier to just go with the flow of things. I found an interesting Korean man that I thought would be a great host for us. I just had to check with Theresa and make sure she was on board. I messaged the guy and he was free to show us around Busan and let us stay in his home. It was a great experience. I really enjoy meeting locals when I travel, that's what gives you the best experience/stories. He took us to lots of beautiful lookouts that I didn't know existed (I've been to Busan twice before). We spent one day on the beach and 2 days traveling around with our host.

After Theresa left I still had an extra week of vacation. The Monday I had my lasik, so intended to have a relaxing week to recover. Turns out I was still extra busy with visiting friends, going on a few dates, running errands and cleaning. It was a good vacation and I look forward to my next vacation. I hope to make it out of the country, perhaps Vietnam or Thailand. We'll see! 

I went back to school on August 20th. My country school had a field trip planned for the kids. They were to go to a waterpark. On Tuesday it was back to the grind of things. I have very little classes which means A LOT of time on the computer. Before that was no big deal, but now that I've had lasik I get headaches very easily from being on the computer too long. I'm going to have to start studying and turning the computer off. 

My kids have been funny lately. The first few days back several students have come up to tell me I'm beautiful. This is not unusual. They always tell me I'm beautiful. But a lot of them are saying "Megan, you're so beautiful. More beautiful than before summer vacation" I try to ask why they think that, but they don't know. I find it funny because since I've had lasik I haven't worn makeup at all. I usually don't wear much, but I always wear eye makeup so I don't look so plain. Maybe it's because I'm tan? It's hard to say. 

A few days ago I ran into my previous co-teacher Mrs. Im and her daughter at the grocery store. We talked for a bit and then I headed out. The art teacher is very good friends with Mrs. Im and told me yesterday "Mrs. Im said you look more beautiful and that she thinks you've lost weight." 

Honestly, I don't really see what everyone else is seeing. I feel lazy and like I've gained weight. But I really appreciate the little pick me ups :)