The winter blues are gone and sprummer has landed in Seoul with full force. I say sprummer because we maybe had two weeks of spring like weather before it started getting way too warm, but it's not quite summer yet because the awful humidity hasn't settled in yet. The last month has been quite busy for me, and also very uneventful at the same time. I don't know how that would be possible, but yet somehow it is. In my last post I was gearing up for my renewal open class, and I'm happy to say that it went off without a hitch. The principal, head teacher and other admins of my school came in to observe, as well as two of the other Korean teachers I co-teach with. At the end my principal and co-teachers said really kind things about my lesson, and I filled out an application to renew, now it seems it's up to the Office of Education and their budget to approve or deny my renewal, but true to Korean customs, I probably will not know their decision until around July.
Aside from working, I've been preparing for summer by buying some new clothes and finally getting the famous Korean Magic Perm. My hair is naturally really thick, and frizzy and although it's tame when I use a flat iron, any hint of moisture in the air turns it into a wild lion's mane. I went to a hair salon in Myongdong about three weeks ago and was greeted by very kind people, however, none of them could speak any English (nor I Korean) so I phoned my friend and she was able to translate what I wanted. Because my hair is so long and thick I was prepared to stay at the salon for nearly five hours, so I was really surprised when an hour and a half into my visit the girl told me I was "finish-yyy". My hair now is really smooth, and I can wash and air dry it and go about my business. The salon I went to normally charges around 150,000 won (roughly 135 USD) but I had a discount voucher and only paid 89,000 won (70 ish USD). My one disappointment with the treatment is that a week and a half after I got it done, I noticed that some parts in the back of my head were starting to get wavy again, so I went back to the salon where my friend once again translated, and I found out that my "foreign" hair is more than the chemicals could handle, and thus, I will never have that pin straight hair that most Korean girls have, but as long as the top of my hair is frizz free, I can deal with it.
Lastly, the last month included a trip outside of Seoul! I haven't left Seoul since early November, so I was really excited to escape the craziness of the city. Two of my good friends Celebrated birthdays recently, so we went to Sokcho, a beach town in Gangwon province which is bordered by the East Sea (also known as the Sea of Japan). We took a commuter bus Friday evening right after work and the trip took roughly two and a half hours. We stayed at a really nice Hostel named The House Hostel, it was super clean, and the owner was really friendly. This was my first time ever staying at a hostel, so I was a little bit hesitant, but luckily I had a good experience! Sokcho itself is a really quiet town, with not much of a night life, but that was fine since we get plenty of that in Seoul. More than anything, my friends and I were interested in catching some sun on the beach, and some of my friends even hiked Seoraksan, which is said to have the third highest peak in Korea.
Today is Bhudda's birthday, so I'm enjoying a relaxing three day weekend in Seoul. I'll end this now, and leave you with a couple of photos from my weekend getaway to the beach. :)
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