I feel like such an adult!

I have a new apartment!! I required a lot of translation help (thank you Berry!!~) and I was lucky enough to have help moving too (thank you Tanya!~) but I went out and found a realtor and then chose an apartment and now I'm living in it!! It's what we call a "loft apartment" or 복층형. I love it. I've been dreaming of living in an apartment like this for some time now, so I'm just gonna experience this to the max, let me tell you!! Here are some photos:

And today I just ordered my bed and couch!! Man this feels so weird and exciting hahaha. More pics once everything's all in place! ^_^

Angel xo

Home...Sick....

I just realised I've definitely already taken a different approach to this blog from last time. Back in 2010-2011, I used it as a way to say, "Hey I did this specific thing. Here are ALLLL the details and I'm having a great time!" Now I'm like, "I feel icky/happy/scared/nervous/blech. I'm gonna blog about it." Hahaha I guess I'm being more honest with myself (and therefore you, the reader) this time around. Whoa that was deep.

Anyway, being sick forces you to really keep things real. Really. I had said I felt the beginnings of a cold. HA! It was the flu. And a cold. And it was most horrible. My parents skyped with me because they're awesome and it really helped to see their faces, hear their voices, and feel their love and support. (Shoutout to Skype and WiFi!) Turning down invitations and apparent opportunities is hard. But when you're physically unable to do what you feel you need to (or would really like to do) you have to make smarter decisions.

Things I wanted to do last weekend:
1. Have lunch with Meg and Cheryl and other new potential friends.
2. Audition for an independent play and meet more new people, get out there, do something fun.

Things I did last weekend:
1. Cough
2. Blow my nose
3. Shiver
4. Have headaches
5. Sleep
6. Wish I was home

Then I went to work yesterday, because it's only week 2 and I really can't be missing days already. It's not the done thing and I honestly felt up to it... in the morning. By the end of the day I was so spent.

Anyway, all that to say I've been feeling really home sick and I at first felt like it was too soon to feel that way, but Meg put it in perspective for me. She said, "...you're sick and of course you want to be home. This isn't your home yet." Yup. Nailed it. This isn't my home yet! Duh! Give it some time. And being sick makes everything suck, although it has made me REALLY grateful for modern and traditional medicines, helpful friends, supportive parents, and the permission to wear jeans to work! So that's good!

Also I no longer have a fever (or let me say I currently do not have a fever). Woke up all sweaty this morning so hopefully the spell fever has finally broken. And I had a rare moment earlier when both nostrils were clear, so I seized the golden opportunity to do a sinus rinse. It felt so good to be able to do! If you've never done one, I recommend it. Even if you're not sick, it's a great way to just clean out your sinuses and keep things operating properly. Mmmmm saline hahah It feels really weird and uncomfortable the first time you do it, but you get used to it.

All right, work later. TTFN!

Angel xo

Always Tired

Hey all,

So I've been here for just over a week now. I wanna write a post about getting settled and stuff, but I'm not done doing that so it'll have to wait. Right now, though, I'm super sleepy. It's 9:30am and I went to bed at 11pm last night and woke up at 7. So I got a full 8 hours. Maybe even more because I kept hitting snooze. So why do I feel so drained?

I've been getting at least 7 hours of sleep each night since I got here. I think my jet lag is taking longer to pass because I have yet to have one day where all I did was rest. Last time I came to Korea, I arrived on a Friday and pretty much slept all weekend. This time around, I arrived on a Tuesday and a few hours after arriving, started going out and getting things done (this includes seeing friends and meeting the teacher I replaced). Could that be it?

I'm also feeling the beginnings of a cold, which makes sense. There has been a LOT happening at once, and a lot of mental confusion. Aside from my vitamin C fix, I'm gonna need to let myself calm down more. Things have started falling into place now, so I feel like there's less need to scramble and hustle the way I had been this past week, so that's good.

Okay, people have been asking for pictures. Here are some! Love you bye!

Angel xo

On the way to E-Mart

Smiling but it's cold. Not as cold as Toronto, but I'm only wearing this wool coat.

Worthy of note!

Cheesy smile at my desk.

My Classroom (1)

My Classroom (2) - Nice big windows.

ELF Town hahaha. My classroom is at the end of the hall on the left. That door straight ahead is a dorm room.

Just Arrived

I'm in Busan! I made it and all is well. For the most part. Actually no all *IS* well. I've been here for a couple days now and I've been thrown a couple curve balls that have forced me to adjust my plans and expectations. That said, I'm getting help when I need it (often without me having to ask for it) and I have a feeling everything will work out just fine. So that's nice.

I'm experiencing jet lag, which is making simple tasks, like grocery shopping, just... not happen. I'll get to it, I promise. Then I can start eating like a responsible adult again. For now, I'm just eating tuna and instant-type meals. Quail eggs in a can (those are quite yummy actually). Fried chicken. Kimbap. You know, quick and easy stuff. I bought eggs today, so that's one step up. Don't worry I'll get there.

My job is in Jwa-cheon, which is a rural area. It's about 20 minutes northeast of where I'm staying right now (Jangsan) by commuter train, but about an hour by bus. Seems like the obvious choice is the train, BUT the bus stops right near where I'm staying and the train station (not the subway station) is about 10-15 minutes walking distance, or a bus/taxi ride away. So...

I like Jangsan so far. It seems to have a lot of restaurants and coffee shops. Most of the other expats who I've spoken to about living here all seem to love it. Of course the people who don't live here say it's far from everything (20-40 minutes generally) and I'd be better off living in Jeonpo, Seomyeon, Bujeon, or Gwangan. I'm listening to all the opinions, then will visit all the other areas and make my own decision. So to clarify, I'm not working in a public school. I'm working in a private high school. So I was not provided with an apt, though I am getting a housing allowance. This means I get to choose where I live, but the school doesn't help with the key money/security deposit* and I'll probably have to supplement the allowance to cover rent.

What else has been remarkable? My sense of distance has to be recalibrated, particularly when using maps. In Toronto I could visualize what distance to expect depending on the area of the city I was looking at on the map. I'm learning that here the distances are actually much shorter than I think when I look at the map. It works for me, but it throws me off a bit. So that's interesting.

Anyway that's all that I can think of for now.

Peace,
Angel

*WOLSE (Monthly Payment + Deposit) is a variation of Jeonse in which you pay a certain sum as a security deposit (usually worth about 1~2 years rent) and pay a monthly rent on the designated date of each month. The deposits range from 4 to 20 times the monthly payment amount. It is usual to pay 10% of the deposit when the contract is signed and the balance plus one month’s rent when moving in. The deposit is returned to the renter at the end of the lease period. If the tenant is late with the rent that amount will be deducted from the deposit as will costs for damages, etc. It is occasionally difficult to wrestle the full amount from the landlord/landlady, especially if the lease was signed by an individual who is about to leave the country. Wolse is becoming increasing popular with property owners since they still get money they can invest (although interest rates are lower than they once were) while also getting a steady, non-refundable income from their property. Monthly rents range from KRW 300,000 to around KRW 3 million a month or more depending on location and quality. 
-http://www.korea4expats.com/article-lease-options-korea.html-

Going Back

You won't believe it... or maybe you will. But when I left Korea the last time I said, "Great learning and growing experience. Glad I did it. Never again."

Well, now I'm going back. Why? Good question considering how I felt 3 years ago. The truth is ..... something's telling me to go back. Call it Spirit, or God, or intuition, or adventure, or whatever. But that's the main reason. I'm also interested in a "do-over." You know, I want to try again. Also in the space of 3 years my feelings went from "never again" to "nostalgic but still never again" to "nostalgic... maybe I should visit but never live there" to "nostalgic... maybe I could do it again" to "I miss it... wait, what?" to "I wanna go back, I think" to "I have to go back" to "I'm going back." Hehehe

In retrospect, and knowing what I know now, I realise that my biggest problem was my attitude. And I realised it while I was there too, which is why the last 5 months there were notably better than the first 7. The next biggest issue was that I never left Asia in that whole year. I think if I'd gone home for Christmas, or if I'd decided to get a new job after my contract ended, but went home for a month or two, I may not have had the same outlook. As it is, I needed the time to grow even more as a person.

This time around I'll be going with some experience and the insights that came with it. I'll have more control over where I live and now I know I always have total control over how I feel and how I respond (rather than react) to situations. I know now that what I put out I get back, in actions, words, and thoughts.

Right now I'm in the process of selling/giving away/throwing out everything but what I plan to bring with me. Most of my stuff I have very little attachment to, but I feel like just throwing them out would be a waste, so I'm trying to be mindful of how I release things, which takes time, but I started doing it even before I had a job, so I'm not in a hurry. I've got one more month to release everything else. Some of these things, though, are hard for me to let go. So this next month will definitely be an exercise in detachment.

I'm excited all throughout this process, so let's see how things go!!

Anyway, that's all for now. More updates to come. =)

Angel xo

What I Loved and Hated About My Time in the R.O.K.

This is my last post in this blog and it comes 4 months after I've left Korea. I'm a procrastinator by nature, but I'm actually glad I left this particular post until now. It has given me time to gain perspective on the time I had from August 2010 to August 2011 and speak more reasonably/rationally about it. And I think that's what a post like this deserves. The negatives will sound like typical foreigner gripings, but that's what I was and I won't apologize for that. So, without further ado.

What I Hated
(just so I can end on a positive note)

• The staring

This gets the top spot, because it NEVER STOPPED! All day every day. In my small town or in the big city of Seoul. Staring, staring, staring. At first people told me, "Don't be offended, they're just fascinated." Then people told me, "It's not rude to stare here." Well to both of those I call BULLSHIT. Here's why. If I get caught staring at another person, I look away because I know it's impolite to stare. Also, the last time I went to the zoo, some 3 or 4 years ago, I stared the HELL out of those animals and did not give two licks if they caught me staring. In fact, if they did, I'd call my friends over to say, "Hey look, the animal is looking at me too! I wonder if it can understand us!" Well.... for my entire time in Korea, I was one of those animals. The staring was unabashed and unending. And it was never between two Koreans. Because they KNOW it's rude. It was always between a Korean and a foreigner (me, in this case), because foreigners are not Korean and therefore not people. And when I stared back, depending on the age of the Korean, I actually saw them grab their friends to stare at me too. 

And you know, it's funny. I tried explaining this to a foreigner who'd been in Korea for 4 years or so and she just didn't get it. Then again, she's White and being White in Korea is like being God, whereas being Black is like being, well, you can guess (generalization, yes. based on my experiences, yes. get over it). Anyway, shortly after giving up trying to get HER to get IT, I saw a Korean dude with a BRIGHT RED MOHAWK walking down the street. So I said, "Whoa that's so cool, check out his hair!" Naturally, fellow foreigner jumped at the chance to call me a hypocrite (using different words, but that's what she was doing). Yes, you're right fellow foreigner. I woke up one morning and decided to be Black. It's really the same thing as waking up one morning and deciding to do something that I KNEW would get me A LOT of attention, because I KNOW A LOT about the society I live in. Yep. Exactly the same. I knew people would stare a little before going to Korea, but I never would have expected it to continue right up until the day I left, even in my small town where everyone knew who I was and had seen me every day for a fucking YEAR. Anyway. What was just as bad as the staring, though, was

• The TOUCHING

Yeah. I'd be minding my own business when I would feel a tug on my hair. I would turn around and there was an older woman (always an older woman) fondling my hair with her grubby hands (we're on public transportation. Everyone's hands are grubby) with a goofy grin like I was, yet again, an animal in a zoo. But this time a petting zoo. When I expressed displeasure at being touched without my consent or even knowledge, I was met with confusion. Why would it bother me to have a stranger grab for my hair like they're inspecting a slave to buy for their plantation or a pet to bring home from the pound? I dunno.

• The Spitting

Or more accurately, the HORKING and spitting. No matter where, when or who. That disgusting sound would ring through like church bells at a wedding. Followed by the inevitable SPLAT on the ground. During the Summer when I kept my windows open (No A/C), I actually awoke to this sound every. single. morning. *shudders*

• Opening the windows in the Winter

Like FULLY Winter. Minus 10 degrees Celsius Winter. Then they all get sick and don't understand why. But they won't close the window because of the need for 'fresh air.'

• Sneezing and Coughing into the Open

Because coughing into someone's air space won't spread germs. Just ugh.

• Passive Aggressiveness

Or maybe I just mean, "not saying what they mean." This.... this is all over the world, to be perfectly fair. So yeah, it's not Korea-specific at all, but it annoyed me to find out that "maybe" meant "no" and "I think it will be okay" meant "It's not okay, but we know you won't agree if we don't lie" ......

• No Sense of Privacy

I had really bad stomach issues and couldn't figure out what was causing them. So I went to the local hospital/medical clinic I'd been going to since I got to Korea, met with the internal medicine doctor and we set up a time for an endoscopy and colonoscopy. It was scheduled for a Saturday. I don't work on Saturdays. They called my school and told them EVERYTHING. Not just my manager, though. No they didn't have the number for my department, because I didn't give it to them, because it was NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS. So they called the admin department. And told them EVERYTHING (cause that was necessary). The admin department then called my head teacher, THEN my head teacher came to the English department to share that they had told him everything and were requesting that one of the Korean teachers in the English department ACCOMPANY ME  to my very intrusive, very embarrassing, very PRIVATE procedure. To translate. Needless to say, I cancelled my appointment and went further from town to a more established hospital.

It was explained to me that Koreans love talking about their illnesses, and that was why they didn't mind talking about mine. But the difference is *I* wasn't talking about it to them. They were just talking about it with each other independent of me. And, the WHOLE school found out. Lovely times.

• No Inner Filter/Censor

I didn't realise I needed indoor shoes for school (when I asked my manager what I needed to bring for work wear, that wasn't one of the things she mentioned), so I didn't bring any. Then I was informed of my need for them. I'm a size 11 in women's, so I had to ask my mother to send me shoes. She very kindly did. I opened the box at school, excited to finally be apart of the culture or whatever and my manager says, "OH! So big!" Thank you, Winny. Ever the picture of grace and tact. 

What I LOVED

• If they like you, they are unbelievably kind to you

Seriously. I had a very kind new manager in my second semester and he honestly did so much for me I wasn't sure how I was going to repay him or even properly express my gratitude when it was time to leave. He listened to me, was thoughtful and went above and beyond what was necessary for his role as my manager. He really made himself like an ambassador for Korea. I wish he was my manager from the beginning. And I found this to be all over Korea. Any Korean I met who took a liking to me was really kind and generous and I miss that a lot. 

• 1+1 deals

They were everywhere! It was really easy to save money all the time for this reason mainly, but also because of

• Service

Pronounced "Suh-bi-suh," Service is when you get something extra for free. And it doesn't matter where you are. In a restaurant, you may get an extra roll of kimbap free. If you're in a shoe store, you get a pair of socks free (yes I did). If you go to a sushi place, you get an entire sake drinking set for free (YEAH MAN). Coffee shop? Extra coupon stamp. Laser Eye Surgery? Discount for being a foreigner (and another for being an English teacher). Seriously, when they want it to be, Korea can be the land of generosity and FREE SHIT.

• Wine Train

Novel idea, really. Get on a train and drink as much wine as you can en route to ginseng town (museum and such). Great time!

• Lasek

So I mentioned the mad discounts I got above. But do you know it only came up to 1.8 million won? That's a bit less than $1800 Canadian. In Canada my surgery would have been $4000 and would have been LASIK not LASEK. LASEK is better and safer. The end.

• Cost of living

If the 1+1 deals and the Service and discounts weren't enough to convince you, things were incredibly inexpensive there. Everywhere except the places I had to buy my clothes. I'm a monster huge giant thing by Korean sizing standards, so my shopping haunts were international stores like Forever21 and H&M and speciality "Big Size" (yes) stores like "OKBT" (BEST STORE EVER). Other than clothes and shoes, though, mad cheap but good quality items could be purchased often while still saving money or paying off my line of credit. OHYEH!

• Hongdae/Sinchon/Ehwa

My favourite parts of Seoul. Really artsy and  trendy and I always seemed to have a good time when I went to these places.... well.... except that one time in Hongdae, but that was bound to happen. It just happened to be in Hongdae. So moving on. Coolest parts of Seoul for me. The set of Coffee Prince (my favourite K-drama) is in Hongdae. I went there. It was lovely.

• Cherry Blossoms

It's not just for Japan, folks. Around April/May, the cherry blossoms were out in full effect and absolutely BEAUTIFUL!! I couldn't get enough. I also loved how they were all over the place, so while we went to Yeouido to get an overdose (for reals), I could enjoy them every day in my town.

• Jeju

It reminded me a lot of Jamaica, which is amazing since it's not a tropical island. Sometimes called the Hawai'i of Korea, Jeju is really folksy sometimes, really touristy most times, and  just very .... "island'. I liked it, but wouldn't want to live there. Not my speed.

• Innostel

When my parents came to visit, this website was great! We found a pretty good hotel to stay in in Seoul for a good price. You should check it out! It's run by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, so the hotels/hostels are  regulated.

• My Lifestyle

I was able to travel A LOT (Japan, Busan, Jeju, Busan again, Gangreung, Geumsan) and STILL pay off my bank loan. I made some FANTASTIC friends that I've managed to stay in touch with (though it's hard with the time difference). 

• The Lessons

I learned a lot about that side of the world and TONS about myself. I changed (for the better, I think) and I grew. So, thank you very much Korea for what was an infuriating, humiliating, soul-breaking experience. Because it was only in my fury that I got to the root of my issues and expectations. It was only in the humiliation that I truly learned humility. And it was only in breaking down my soul that I was able to rebuild it to be stronger, more compassionate, more understanding, more patient with others (still working on this one) and more accepting of myself.

Cheers.

My First Tattoo!

Hey folks! Yesterday was Canada Day. How'd you spend yours? I spent mine working. BUT! After work I took the long journey over to Nonhyeon Station on Line 7 and popped into Tattoo Korea for my very first tattoo! The design was one I had made back on December 18, 2010. I doodled it in my diary, which is how I know the precise date. ^_^ My friend Dannette recommended SLAM, so that's who I went to see. I'd actually tried to make an appointment for today, but the shop is closed today for some festival in Yongsan. So much pain! It's funny, though, I can't really remember what the pain felt like.... but I definitely remember that there was pain! Dannette took some pics and a few videos. I'm going to compile the videos into one long one and post that later, but see below for pictures!

On goes the stencil.

The design

SLAM getting started.

Ouch!

Filling in the lines.

whew!!

All done! So beautiful and clean!

Thanks SLAM!

Thanks Dannette!