Hi Blog, Long Time No Write

The 16th June marked my 6 months in Korea. Where did that time go? A haze of Seoul trips, bad beer, and attempting to teach little angels and devils. Mostly devils. I feel pretty wrong for using 'teaching' and 'beer' in the same sentence, but given my working hours I'm sure it can be justified. And, on a friday night after a long week of teaching, all you need is a drink or 20.

I know I haven't written since March, and I apologise to all my avid readers (ha). I just find myself with nothing that I feel is worth writing.

In May, my parents came to visit me. I had been excited and antsy with anticipation weeks before their arrival. The day arrived and as I'm about to leave my apartment to mission to the airport I get an e-mail informing me that their plane is delayed by 7 hours. 7, whole, hours! I'm pretty good at leaving myself with way too much time to kill, so I got to the airport about 3 hours before their plane landed. Made friends with a girl from Kentucky. I spoke to her because I thought she might be a new teacher, and she was looking a bit worried. Turns out she was waiting for her military husband. She was moving to Korea to live with him, and she said she knows absolutely nothing about Korea. Military/Kentucky/Married sounds so appropriate for Korea.

On the first day of my parents arrival I nearly killed them - A long walk along Hwaseong Fortress on probably the hottest day of the year. For some reason it didn't cross my mind that the steps at the fortress are huge, and my mum is only small. I also took them to NOW bar where they had an impromtu soju experience and socialised with my friends till 5 am. Granted, it was a great night. They loved meeting my friends and my friends liked them too. I think I tried to make their week here too action packed, when all they really wanted was a relaxing time with a bit of sightseeing. I guess I just wanted to show them Korea.

We went to Seoul a couple of times, and on Wednesday to Thursday we spontaneously combusted. I mean, got on a plane to Jeju Island. The weather was very muggy and cloudy but the island was still really gorgeous. We arrived pretty hot and exhausted so instead of finding a cheap motel, we got a couple of rooms in the first hotel we found. And it was wonderful.

We went to 3 sets of waterfalls, one of which, Jeongbang, is the only one in Asia that falls directly into the ocean. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure my heart just melts when I see waterfalls. There is something so natural, peaceful and serene about them that just makes the world seem like a better place.

The Jeju people believed that a holy dragon lived under the waterfall. It has been said that since the water has its spirit, it can cure illnesses and causes rain to fall during a drought.

A couple of weeks after that, I took a trip to Muui Island with 3 friends. Of course, the only way of doing this was to drink until the early hours and proceed to wake up at 7am having had 3 hours of sleep. We got a bus to Incheon airport, a bus from the airport to the ferry, a ferry to the island, and one last bus to the beach. After a really hot week, we ended up there on a fairly cold day, and it started raining at 5pm. So much for the romantic and idealistic thought of sleeping on the beach! It was a good area and apparently a big foreigner spot. The water was so clear that I'm sure on a warm blue-sky day it would have felt so tropical, though as it is only 10minutes from mainland Korea, I imagine it would get very busy.

I haven't had any major trips since then as money has been very tight. My weekends have mostly been spent at Garten Bier, in a DVDbang, or in Seoul. I decided that if I ever want to get into photography, I must buy myself a proper camera. So I did it, and am now the proud owner of a DSLR, Canon 400D. I haven't actually used it as much as I would like, because I don't have a case for it and am a bit paranoid. I got it 2nd hand from Namdaemun market. Amongst the hustle and bustle there is a long stretch of so many camera stores. I went in several, and despite the language barrier was able to get a decent enough price. I think.

There has been discussion about extending my contract for another few months, but I'm apprehensive. I love Korea, and can't imagine returning to England to live at home, struggle to find a job, and have normal working hours. However, I desperatly want to be at home for Christmas, and the winters here are so harsh. I feel that if I stay, it would just be putting off the inevitable.

I leave you with one of my favourite pictures from the World Cup so far. (I don't think I would be watching it in England, or supporting England. I have a lot of Korean pride right now.)

Blake and Peter, two of my favourite people in Korea. <3<3<3<3<3<3