Change of plans

The <3 of my (bipedal) life

Coming home on the 18th of February rather than the 3rd of March as originally planned. Or actually that's not right - I originally hoped for the 11th of February, then decided the 3rd of March, and now it's back to the 18th. So I'll be home then, a little older and sadder, but happy to be back with family and friends and maybe even some sunshine by then. Christy thinks I have SAD (Seasonal Acute Depression) and I think she's right - there's nothing like snow to make me mopey and with everything going on right now it's hitting me pretty hard. Not quite the same as last year - last year it was a lot colder, there was more snow and I hadn't been home for a year, so even with Lala around to cheer me up and force me to be social I was still generally irritated by everything and toeing a fine line between unhappy and angry. Now that the home date is in sight, it's definitely reminding me of how happy I was to finally step off the plane, change into my Havvies and rush through those arrival gates into the arms of my family and my old familiar life. Not so great that I still haven't found a job at home and have to sort out mundane things like a new phone contract, re-starting my health insurance, renewing my driver's licence and passport, buying a car and finding a place to live, but hopefully keeping busy with things like that (and jobhunting if I can get organised and give myself a sufficiently good kick up the arse to get moving) will at least stop me from missing things in Korea. Now if only the exchange rate would comply so I don't lose so much money when I transfer it all home! Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that our economy is doing so well, but it's a pain in the proverbial nonetheless that I'm probably going to lose at least a couple of thousand one way or another.

Freakin' scary view from the top of the Rainbow run

Anyway, I'm not one for a big farewell (after all, I like to entertain the somewhat sentinmental hope of seeing close friends again at some point and in this day and age, there's really no excuse not to if you're determined enough), so I'm planning on copying dear Lala's idea of eating my way towards a goodbye. I've pretty much done or can do everything else that's a must before I go. I went snowboarding on the weekend at Yongpyeong (where the winter Olympics will be held) and am proud of myself for making it down the green circle/black diamond 1.5km Rainbow run TWICE without serious injury and without having to ask to be towed down. I may or may not have had to walk the last 100m (which should be re-named 'Super Icy Death Alley') on the second run, and wondered once or twice why the hell I'd decided to snowboard it the second time after almost shattering my tailbone and winding myself three times the first, but that's besides the point. Sadly I probably won't have time to go to my beloved Spaland in Busan before I go, so I'll guess I'll have to make do with the Dreamplus one and keep Spaland for next time. Foodwise, these are on my 'must-eat' list:

Bossam

     -Jja-jang-myeon (black bean noodles)
     -Bossam (steamed pork and cabbage bundles)
     -Jogae-gu-i (grilled shellfish)
     -Naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles)
     -Dalk-galbi (sauteed spicy chicken)
     -Samgyetang (spring chicken soup)
     -Soondae (pig blood noodle sausages), preferably with ddokbokkie (stirfried chili rice-cakes)
     -Haejangguk ('hangover' pork bone stew)

Naengmyeon

     -Soondubu-jjigae (soft tofu soup)
     -Samgyopsal (barbecqued pork)
     -Makkolli (a sort of yoghurty-beer-flavoured rice alcohol)

Most of these I can really make at home, but it's nice to have the real thing without also having the washing up :) Hopefully there's also some magic way I can eat all of these without putting on all the weight I've lost recently, especially since I'm also sure to pig out  when I get home too ㅋㅋ

Anyway, on that note I'll leave off. The teachers at my school were supposed to all go hiking today at the fortress, but with it being a balmy 3 degrees outside right now and all - now being 12pm so significantly warmer than it was three hours ago when we were all supposed to set off - only the pro hikers appear to have actually gone for it. I guess they had no choice after turning up to school in their serious outfits and all with all their kit! I think the rest of us are just going to meet them for lunch (which in Korea also means alcohol of course) and defrosting somewhere soon. Happy Monday all and for those of you at home, see you down undah sooner rather than later :)

A Rainy Tuesday ㅠㅠ

An amazing talent to even make a buzzcut look hot!

Actually it's not - it was really foggy in the morning here and cold, but it seems to have all burned off in the afternoon sun. But it is raining in my heart at least, because today my husband Rain goes into the army. *sigh*... 가슴이 아파...('my heart is breaking') ㅠㅠ;;

But at least I got a few good videos of him at his last concert, which I have now uploaded to Youtube. Haha, that sounds almost pervy, I know ^__^


And sorry for the terrible sound quality in this first one - I think we were too close to the stage for such a loud song! ^_^

P.S. For those interested (few but myself I know) there is also another article summarising his successful career here at Seoulbeats. If you read it, the last comment is about the story that when he first auditioned for a recording company they told him that he'd never be successful because he didn't have the double eyelids so prized (and paid for) amongst many K-pop idols today.

SAD

Make that VERY sad. Because today is the day that my beloved KBFF Lala (or Lara to non-Koreans) departs in preparation for her flight home to South Africa tomorrow morning, and thus is a very depressing end to my first year of teaching English in Korea and living in Yongam-dong and start of my second. And there is little prospect of this situation getting less gloomy, as Neil and Geri also leave Cheongju today and Korea tomorrow for New Zealand, Emmy goes in four days, and then just when you'd expect the gloom to lift, Nat (the KB of the original KBFF) is off on the 28th of March (although luckily the FF will still be here ^_^). And even though she lives in Busan, it still saddens me (and probably a lot of other people who actually live there even more) that she won't be a bus ride away... lucky that I will be seeing her at least twice before she goes!

It's also a little bit of a weird day today because it's the first day back at school, but really also the last day of school from last year because the new year hasn't started yet. Because of the Korean public school system where teachers can't stay at one school for more than 5 years and can't stay in the same area for more than 8 years, staff at public schools frequently change, so today we had a leaving ceremony for about 12 teachers who are going elsewhere, and in one special case, retiring. For the teacher who is retiring, it has been a very emotional day, as he is leaving after 40 years of teaching to do a PhD at Hankook University of Foreign Language Studies, and, I gather, has spent most of that time here in the Chungbuk province. As well as giving everyone a leaving gift (an embroidered hand towel - this is a common 'remembrance' gift here I think) and inviting us all to the leaving dinner later held by the school which is mostly in his honour, he was presented with awards and flowers from the school, the Chungbuk Education Office and from the Parents Association. The Principal and Vice Principal made speeches, as did the new school captain, who even hugged him.

So to cheer myself up from all these slightly gloomy farewells, I and Cali Amy are taking ourselves off to the Bau Haus doggie cafe in Hongdae (Seoul) on Saturday to immerse ourselves in unquestioning canine affection (and one cat). This is the website if you are curious: here (it's in Korean). As far as I can tell, you get there by going out of Sangsu Station exit 1, walking straight down Wa-U-San Rd (not the main road that follows the subway line) until you see the 7-11, turning left and going straight (across the traffic island or whatever it is in the middle of the big road you'll have to cross) until you see it on your right. From the sounds of it, you'll smell a distinctively doggy smell when you get close.

For those who are only slightly curious and just want to see cute puppies, here are some screenshots :)

 

 

Ooh and I also went to the Hello Kitty cafe last weekend so stay tuned for a post about that when my computer is being less schitzo.