Hello Everyone! Sorry for the hideously long span of time that has elapsed since last I posted. I assure you it has (mostly) been due to business, and busyness, excluding perhaps the last ten days. Allow me to explain.
As many will now know, I jetted home to Calgary on Christmas Eve to surprise family and friends. I must credit this idea to my dear friend Sarah, who planted the seed over drinks in Seoul, the weekend we celebrated Jenna's birthday. As I complained to her that I had the worst vacation dates over Christmas (virtually no one else had the two weeks of December 24-January 10 off) and that I would therefore be forced to venture around South East Asia solo, she casually said "you know, I keep having this dream that I surprise my family at home on Christmas Eve... you could do that instead." The idea stuck. The next day I looked into flights, and a week later I was booked: Seoul-Tokyo-Vancouver-Calgary.
"I'll be Home for Christmas" became my personal theme song over the next five weeks, as I concealed from virtually everyone I knew that I planned to go home (you never know who might be connected to who... one obscure connection almost led to my mom finding out about the whole thing). I shopped around for the best and most whimsical trinkets of Korea to bring home and show off; these ended up including: mini coffee packets/sticks, ajuma sock slippers, soju, and many boxes of Pepero.
By the time I landed in Vancouver on Christmas Eve at 10 am (after having left Seoul 14 hours earlier at 2 pm on Christmas Eve - that is what happens when you fly over the international date line) I found myself an exhausted but ecstatic ball of emotion. I hadn't realized, amidst the whirlwind of fun and adventure I'd been having in Korea, just how dearly I missed my Canadian homeland. I even shed a few tears flying over the Rockies and getting greeted by Christmas/Coyboy hat-wearing old folk volunteers at the Calgary airport. I got my bags and headed straight to Tim Horton's in the airport. Home again!
The surprise itself was amazing and unforgettable, and lived up to all the various fantasies I had imagined throughout the preceding weeks. The look of disbelief on my mom and sister's faces was completely priceless, and I knew the whole trip was worth it in those ten seconds. The rest of my time at home was spent relaxing, catching up with friends, shopping for pants that are long enough for my legs (an element unfortunately lacking in Korea), going to the movies, attempting to skate on the Bow River, and a very Canadian dog-sledding adventure in Canmore. I left early in the morning of January 7th feeling like I couldn't have started 2011 off any better. And, best of all, I was excited to be heading back to Korea!
(to see all the photos from my trip home, just click here!)
I got home late Saturday night, somehow managed to make it to Shampoo Night Club in the wee hours of morning, and lazed around unpacking the next day. On Monday it was back to work... or so I thought. Of the 60 students expected to show up to our two weeks of "winter camp" (extra English classes taken during the students' winter vacation), only three showed up.
Here is where the distinct lack of busyness arose (and so why I now have all the time in the world to write this long novel of a blog post!) Due to the lack of keen students, the other foreign teacher and I were told we would only be required to work every other day of the camps - and for only two hours a day. This means that I am at work for a total of ten hours over the span of two weeks. Pretty great I have to admit.
At first I spent the extra time in my apartment watching Beverley Hills 90210 (the original series) from the beginning. Though enthralled by this TV series, I started to get restless on the second day. I asked myself "what activity can I do?" Other than go shopping, or to the gym, not much else immediately came to mind. I had exhausted these activities in the months before Christmas, and so I decided to just head out one day and see where the South Korean wind would take me. The answer?
All around Suncheon, on foot! I have always enjoyed walking, often while listening to a well-chosen playlist on my iPod, and I came to realize this past time can be adapted to exploring the previously unknown or ignored back streets of my own Korean hometown. So far I have walked from our apartment complex to YeongHyangDong, or 'New Downtown', via every possible route. I also explored an area of the city known as KumDong, which was a mystery to me before. Yesterday I finally found some badminton courts, great news to some friends and I who have been wanting to play... but unfortunately I could not locate the doors into the complex. I plan to tackle that another day. Today, I walked home from my school, a feat I had previously written off as impossible after having gotten lost on several occasions earlier in the year. It took almost two hours, but this time I made it, proving that time and exploration of the city can lead to excellent results.
Finally, my new found free time has allowed me to cultivate another new hobby. I have dubbed it "coffee-shop-hopping." As I have explained to some, of the many surprising trends in Korea, the cafe/bakery/coffee shop one is perhaps the most interesting, and prevalent. I sort of parallel it with the sushi trend back home- a somewhat exotic element of Asian cuisine that is at once glamorous, trendy, and (bonus!) healthy! Here, amidst streets lined with traditional Korean food venues, there are without fail at least three chains of Western-style cafes (though, thankfully, very few Starbucks!)
They sell coffee drinks at obscenely high prices (when compared with the cheapness of Korean food) and often also offer sweet patisserie treats. Some, like Paris Baguette, Tous Les Jours, and A Twosome Place, are more about their sweets and baked good than about coffee. Others, like Angel-in-Us, Tom N Toms Coffee, and Holly's Coffee (to name a few) focus more on their coffee and cozy atmosphere. These are the places and myself and Liz have started to frequent quite seriously. Meeting after school, we being books and read and chat for (literally) hours. They are marvelous places to hang out, provide a nice alternative to hibernating in our apartments, and (best of all) provide the most comfortable chairs.
This may seem like a strange past time to embark upon while living abroad, but it is a great way to stay warm during these frigid months, and provides ample opportunity to eavesdrop on all the Korean couples who frequent these cafes... if only we could understand all the sweet nothings being whispered around us.
Now, I must wrap this up. I am late to meet Liz at Tom N Toms!
Next week I'm off to China with Cath, Corina, and Liz. -- More adventurous updates to come!
Lots of Lovvvve
Em xoxo
