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 :)

I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog anymore, but I guess I'm doing this more for myself. So I can remember the good times I've had in this beautiful country.

Today two very good friends left Korea. I know everyone gets to that point in there time here where they just can't go anymore. You know when its your time to go, you can just feel it. It sucks meeting such amazing people and then having to say goodbye to them. It's not fun, but I know and hope that in the future we will meet again. I just have to keep reminding myself that change is a good thing.

I'll never forget the first time I met Brad and Jolean. I met them at different times. It's been a hilarious 2 years getting to know them. They are crazy, sarcastic, witty and always can bring a smile to your face. We've all been through so much together. There's been fights (Brad), tears, laughs, tears from laughing so hard... so many memories were made in Korea with Brad and Jolean in them. I don't know what Korea will be like without them around. Jolean's not around to call me 'Vagmoyer' and make fun of me for anything and everything. Brad's not here to call me 'Wiggles' and attack me. Not to mention, Bryan's been gone for 5 months now and with all 3 of them gone, things are just so different. Korea's constantly changing and you can never go back and recreate what you once had, I know this. It's still sad to see some awesome friends leave, not just friends though, family. We're a family. My Gwangju family is getting smaller. Christmas is going to be strange without Bryan, Brad and Jolean around. I'm happy for them. I still have some great friends here, but their presence will be missed in Gwangju.

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On a completely different note: One week ago today I got lasik. I'm super paranoid that I might accidentally rub my eyes and go blind. But, so far so good!

Updates soon about summer vacation and my visit with Theresa!

Self-Esteem Boost

"Holidays, birthdays, weddings — every event that you miss suddenly becomes a tick mark on an endless ream of paper. To live in a new place is a beautiful, thrilling thing, and it can show you that you can be whoever you want — on your own terms. It can give you the gift of freedom, of new beginnings, of curiosity and excitement. But to start over, to get on that plane, doesn’t come without a price. You cannot be in two places at once, and from now on, you will always lay awake on certain nights and think of all the things you’re missing out on back home."

This was taken from a random blogger who wrote about living abroad. If you've ever lived abroad, this article will hit a note with you and if you haven't lived abroad I suggest you read this. This perfectly explains life abroad and what we miss out on because of our decisions. http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/what-happens-when-you-live-abroad/#.T9gkZPwygHo.facebook

As I was reading I was thinking about the person I was before I left for Korea. So much has changed. My friends are married, engaged, have big girl/boy jobs. Everyone has moved on and is busy with their lives. I spent 4 months at home and is was nearly impossible to get together with everyone. Not only that, but I've changed. Going back "home" doesn't feel right. Korea feels more home to me then were I grew up.

I feel like it's true that every time you live abroad you become a different person. Thinking back to living in England in 2005, I was such a different person back then. I was a quiet, insecure young girl trying to find myself. I met this amazing group of people who taught me so much and helped me to see who I really am. To see the good qualities in myself. They brought me out of my shell. It may have been a short 4 months stay in Europe, but that was the beginning of me changing into a new person.

The longer I stay in Korea the more I see how different I am from living in PA or even England. Going from a quiet, insecure girl to a confident, independent, outspoken/crazy person I am now. I feel like my friends from Liverpool would be surprised if they saw me out and about now. Surprised, not disappointed. I think they would be happy and how secure I've become.

I don't think many people understand how much we give up when we decide to live abroad. Yes, it was our choice. But missing out on the important milestones in friends/families lives wasn't something we wanted to have to give up. But when you're on a different continent, doing something you enjoy and want to, then you have no choice. One of the topics that usually comes up with my ex-pat friends here is about friends and their weddings. No one wants to miss their best friends wedding, but buying a plane ticket and then paying for all the other expenses doesn't make sense for us financially. Most of us are here to save money and pay off debts. It sucks, but sometimes you have to put yourself before you friends. Most people would understand, but then others just don't. It's a sad fact of living abroad. I feel as though I probably lost and definitely hurt/disappointed a friend because I can't afford to fly home for her wedding. I wish she understood, but sometimes explaining things to people who've never traveled out of the country just doesn't work.

On a different note, Korea is great for self-esteem boost.. but at the same time can tear you down just as quick. My student's tell me daily how 'beautiful', 'sexy' or 'cute' I am. How much they love me and how kind I am. It's a daily self esteem boost for me.
There are several 3rd grade girls (9th graders) who adore me. After my conversation class they file in and sit down to talk to me. This is at the end of the day, when they could be grabbing their bags and leaving school. But they don't, they want to tell me again, that I'm beautiful. They tell me about their "boyfriends" (boys they like, but don't know they exist). They tell me about the teachers they like or don't like and why. I'm the person they go to when they want to tell a secret. It's cute and I love it.
These girls' asked me who I thought was the prettiest out of them all. It's like a competition on looks in this country. I told them they are all beautiful. I always tell them they are beautiful, I don't think they hear it enough... or at all. This is how they responded "No, Megan, you have to pick one. Who is the prettiest?" Again I said they all were. Sojin, one of my best students replied "Megan, maybe in America we would be beautiful, but Korea standards say we aren't. I think I want to go to America."

It's really sad how these cute, skinny girls think they are "ugly" and "fat". They are always talking about diets and how they need to eat less. America sends a terrible message to kids about body image and looks, but Korea has got us beat. It makes me sad for these kids.

Teacher's Day

May has a lot of random holidays here in Korea. At the beginning of the month is Children's day, followed by parent's day and then, the best one, Teacher's Day. Yesterday was Teacher's Day and I was at my favorite school, Bannam. The students at Bannam are so sweet, respectful and fun! I absolutely love teaching them and by far my favorite grade is the 2nd graders. They are so excited to see me and talk to me. They aren't shy and always are filled with energy and giggles. It makes me so happy to see them. The other teacher's can tell that they are my favorite class, but it honestly has to do with the fact that they go out of their way to talk to me, give me hugs and always ask how I am. 3 of my 2nd graders (the boys) gave me cards and they were super cute. They were as simple as cutting out hearts and writing "Megan teacher card. I love you" to one that said "today is teacher's day, congratulations!" and the last (from the smartest boy in the class) "To Megan, my name is Your. Yesterday you made us zucchini bread, it was very delicious. Thank you. You are my best teacher. Goodbye!"

The 2nd grade students gave their homeroom teacher, Ms. No, lillies. They were really beautiful. She decided to give them to me from the students cause she knows I love them. We had a half day for Teacher's Day and all the teacher's went together to walk around a lake and have tea. On the way over, Ms. No said to me. "Megan, you know the 2nd grade students love you. They really do. I'm their homeroom teacher, but you are their favorite teacher. I'm jealous." haha. The walk around the lake was really beautiful. It's always nice to hang out with the teacher's. They are super friendly (they're friendly at my other school, but we don't do activities like Bannam). After the walk we went to get some drinks. I was just going to order lemonade, but all the teachers looked at me and said "no, something more expensive!!" So I changed to a strawberry smoothie.

A pretty great day with my favorite school!

Comfort zone

Well folks, my year contract at Geumcheon Middle School will be coming to an end in a mere 4 months. I honestly can't believe how fast the year has gone. I've been in Korea for almost 2 years (actually the 2 year anniversary of me arriving in Korea was on May 5th), that's absurd and awesome. I've come along way in my 2 years in Korea. I'm getting use to the way Koreans work, the school system, my students behaviors. It's nothing new to me anymore, I go with the flow, nod my head when they talk to me and smile. The stupid little things don't phase me anymore. I go to class and no one shows up, oh well, back to that TV show. I go to school and find out they have sports day or mid terms and there's no classes, guess I'll just sit on the bench and read a book. I'm not surprised by what goes on anymore. I'm not concerned or nervous about what the day might bring. I know to just smile and teach a class, play a game or do nothing all day. You might be thinking, that's great Megan that you feel so comfortable in your new home. It is great and I'm really happy, don't get me wrong.

But, didn't I come to Korea for a new adventure? Wasn't my purpose to step out of my comfort zone and be challenged with language barriers and getting lost? I've realized how comfortable I've gotten in Korea. How much this place has become my home. It's so familar now. I'm use to the random people or kids coming to say hi or pointing and laughing at me. I'm use to hearing my name in the teacher's room and seeing all the teacher's stare at me while they talk openly about me without translating it. I have my Gwangju family, those friends that I have been through so much with. The more I think about it the more I know it's almost time to move on. There's new countries waiting to be explored by me. New adventures, challenges and hurdles for me to overcome.

I'm not ready just yet to dive back into the unfamilar. I still feel like I haven't accomplished what I want to here. There are more countries I want to check off my list. Plus the pay, benefits and opportunities to travel in Korea are so worh it.

With that being said, I'm happy to announce that I've officially decided to renew my contract which will end (for good) September 2013. Though my goal is to leave March/April of 2013 and move on to bigger and better things. As the time gets closer I'll decide what is best for me financially. I'm not sure where my next move will be to, there are so many options all over the world.

There are things about Korea that I just love. Yesterday I walked into my 2nd grade class at the country school and the girls saw that I was wearing a dress. The immediately started singing 'you are so beautiful' song to me. And then the continued complimenting me. It made me happier for the rest of the day. They are so sweet and wonderful. Today I walked into the office of the main school and one of the Korean teacher's saw me and said "oh, beautiful!" Then all of the teacher's turned to look at me and agreed. In the lunch line the high school English teacher began complimenting me as well, apparently the pig tail braids where a good idea (and only done because I was running late and it was easier!).

Life is good. I miss everyone at home though!

Tulip and beach pictures

I just wrote a post about my weekend at the Tulip Festival in Shinan. I hit publish, but it has disappeared into the unknown space of the internet.

Instead of re-writing about my weekend, I'm going to post pictures for your enjoyment!

a view of the secret beach

across from our minbok (hotel)

they wrote 'I <3 Shinan' in Tulips

festival area

we went on a bike ride

the group

Spring time get-aways, fun with friends and good-byes

It's finally, FINALLY getting warm here in Korea The weather has been strange, some days it'll be super warm and the next day it'll be really cold. And then it's been raining off and on every week. But recently the temperatures have been in the upper 60's-70's (or for the rest of the world 15-20 Celsius).

Last weekend I spent in Gwangju with my friends. I haven't been hanging out in Gwangju as much and instead have been staying in Naju, in my own home, really doing nothing. Yes, it's boring. Sometimes I wish my apartment was still in Gwangju so I could go downtown whenever I want or hang out with friends and not worry about catching the last bus back to my place. But, I'm still happy here and my job is awesome, so I can't complain. Last Saturday was a beautiful day. I really had no plans so I just hung around downtown. I got my hair trimmed, bought a new pair of shoes and visited my friend, Misub. Eventually another friend met me downtown for coffee and we spent the afternoon chatting. It was nice to catch up with her, I feel like time goes by so quickly and I don't get as much time to catch up with friends. It just so happened that this particular weekend was our good friend, Bryan's birthday weekend. We all headed downtown in the evening for some drinks. It was an overall good evening that ended about midnight when Jolean and I headed home to bed.
 It's amazing how much has changed since my first year in Korea. The nights out my first year would turn into mornings out, heading to bed at the wee hours of 4, 5 or 6 am. I don't know how I lasted that long. Now I go out for drinks and I'm tired as soon as I get downtown, opting to head to bed at 1 (most of the time earlier!)

Sunday several of us got around and headed to the edge of town to play paintball. This is maybe the 3rd or 4th time we've played paintball. It is so much fun. The guy that runs it is really cool and he always give us extra games. We played for about 2-3 hours of paintball, getting in 5 games. We have a lot of laughs and high fives during the game. Sometimes there are complaints from the pain and battle wounds to go with it. This is the first time I got a bruise on my leg. I also took a few shots to the side of the head. All in good fun! It was an amazingly beautiful day so it made it that much better running through the woods. After our great game we headed to Chonnam University to hang out in the park. We talked, played some name games and relaxed before heading to dinner. For dinner we went to a meat buffet, where you can pick all types of meat and get extra sides. It was A LOT of food.

                                             our paintball group

This past week we had a random Wednesday off. It was the day to vote for government officials, which meant no school and a day of fun. I was REALLY excited for elections to be finished. If there is ever an annoying time in Korea, it's election time. They do things really different here with the promotion of candidates. Each candidate has a number and color. Supporters will be out on street corners DANCING to silly songs holding posters of their candidate or their number. But it doesn't stop there, there are trucks that are driven around with large screens and the candidates giving speeches on the screen. They blast the sound and will stop to hand out little cards. Imagine, trucks of blaring music, speeches, people dancing on street corners to the tune of "If you're happy and you know it" The speeches feel like they go on forever, when all you want is peace and quiet in your apartment, but instead you hear this obnoxiously loud Korean talking.

My Wednesday was spent on a day trip with Lonely Korea led by the awesome leader Pedro Kim. Pedro is a great guy from Korea who loves to travel. He started his own group and promotes it on facebook. Many foreigners in Gwangju opt to travel with him. He tends to go to places that aren't easy for foreigners to find or get to alone. He adds extra things in the day to make it more enjoyable and get the most out of the day. He is really friendly and I enjoy spending time with him on those trips. On Wednesday he took a small group to Hadong to the 5km Cherry Blossom road. SSangysea (I think is the name) is, as stated a 5 km road of Cherry Blossoms. It's believed that if you walk hand in hand with your lover you'll end up getting married to that person. This is why the road is also known as the 5km Wedding Road. It started off as a rainy, foggy morning. I woke up wishing I didn't book the trip because I really just wanted extra sleep, especially on a rainy day. But I got my butt moving and headed to Gwangju. I met the others on the trip and we were off. Our first stop was the Moon Bear Research Center at the base of Mt Jirisan. Jirisan is the first national park in Korea and has the highest peaks. There are now 20 Asiatic bears living on the mountain thanks to this research center. We were able to see 2 of the several bears that they are getting ready to re-introduce into the wild.

After the bear center we headed to a part of Mt. Jirisan that is Pedro's favorite spot. We had a picnic on these large rocks next to a stream. It was a bit chilly and windy, but a great location. Pedro sat next to me and told me that during the Korean war it was a dangerous location for the soldiers. When the soldiers would get thristy they would come out of the woods to get a drink and would end up getting shot. Sad story, but a beautiful location. We hopped back into the van and headed towards our final destination. Of course, it took awhile because of the one lane road in each direction. It's a favorite spot for Koreans, so the traffic is usually pretty heavy (though it would be 10 times worse on the weekends). Eventually we made it to the road and were able to get out and walk up and back down the road. The trees were stunning and thankfully the sun came out just as we got to the road. I was able to get some great shots. The best part about this road is that it's surrounded by beautiful mountains AND tea fields. There's beautiful places in Korea and this has to be one of the top spots.

                                                                me along the road

                                                     looking down the orad

                                                             my new friend, Eun Ju

                                                tea fields and Cherry Blossoms, gorgeous aren't they?

                                                              the sun peaking through the trees

                                                 beautiful... everything about this day

                                                                  love the colors

This weekend I spent in Gwangju again. I hung out with Josh Friday night and most of Saturday. Saturday night I had plans with Dan, my co-worker from last year. We haven't hung out at all this year, which if you remember last year we were really, REALLY close. So it was kind of a big bummer that we didn't hang out or really talk as much. Not going to lie, it made me sad a lot. A lot of things happened that made me want to hate him, but I guess I'm a big softie because I wanted to see him before he left. We have a lot of history together from that first year of knowing each other, I'm happy we were able to get together and end on a good note and remember the good times/talks we've had. It's nice to be reassured that we really will always be friends.
We decided to meet in Ilgok-dong, where we use to live and work. We thought it'd be a great ending to walk around and see the places we frequented together, in a stress free environment. We had dinner at the burger place across from our school, the place we went to anywhere from 2-3 times a week, depending on how angry we were that week. We walked by our school, talking about how easy we have it this year and how it gets boring, but how much we deserved this AWESOME job the 2nd time around. We went to our first school location, walked into the grocery store where we went everyday for snacks and to get away from our boss. It brought back a lot of good memories for the both of us. All the talks we had, the built up anger we had towards our boss, the laughs and tears. It was nice to finally talk to him and see him again. We headed to a park, where not making the best decision played on a spiny thing with children and immediately regretted the decision because we were so dizzy and wanted to throw up. We shared a bottle of soju while talking about the year before heading downtown for more fun. It was only 7:30 pm but I was already getting tired, again that whole staying out thing doesn't work for me anymore. We went downtown to meet 2 of Dan's old Korean gym buddies KM and Chan Woo. I really enjoy these guys, they are so friendly and really funny. We hung out a few times our first year in Korea, Christmas eve being one of them. Another time we spent a good portion of the day playing xbox together. We sat at a quiet bar, talking and hanging out. It was really great to be able to hang out with them again. I'll miss Dan, but I believe we'll see each other in the future.

             Dan and me near one of the Technical high schools we use to walk past on the way to work.

                                            KM (Kwang Min), Dan and Chan Woo

                                                         hearts

                                                happy we had time to hang out