Back home!

I officially moved out of my EPiK provided apartment on August 24, traveled to Busan and then hung out in Seoul a few more days and left Korea on September 4, 2015. I didn't tell my family ahead of time so they were surprised when I showed up at their front door. 

The last few days in Seoul I thought I was making a mistake by leaving and I was sure I would be miserable once back in the USA, surprisingly it hasn't been entirely that way. I do have moments where I miss my life back in Korea but overall I haven't really struggled with Korea homesickness. I just got back from a week long Roadtrip through Texas with my friends from university so that probably helped a lot with keeping me distracted and not thinking about what I left behind. My full time job now is being unemployed but job searching. Fingers crossed something comes up soon. 

36 months

i just came back from vacationing in vietnam. i visited hanoi, hoi an, and accomplished my dream of visiting halong bay which wrapped up my SEA wishlist which i wrote three years ago prior to arriving in korea! i can't believe i completed it, and was able to even add on extra countries. it was only a short time but i think vietnam has been one of my favorite countries to visit during my time in asia. it was terribly hot, but the food was delicious, and the pace of life reminded me of life back in guatemala. i'm now back in korea where i have a week to move out of my apartment, and then i'll stick around for an extra week to tour a bit more of korea and seoul. i'm not sure how i'm feeling, i'm ready to go but nervous about future employment. fingers crossed. the next time i write a post i will be back in the usa. maybe i'll have more to say then. i can't believe i actually kept this up for the whole three years. i wish i had been more detailed, instead of lazy posts once a month and just writing random incoherent thoughts.

Ps just realized that exactly three years ago I landed in Korea. 

35 months

A little over a month left in Korea! 

34 months

There's a virus going around Korea (MeRS) that has everyone going a bit crazy. A lot of schools have closed, however mine has stayed opened. Not sure what else is happening. 

33 months

I booked my final flight back to the USA. Leaving in 104 days.

32 months

I'm still in love with Ed sheeran <3 

Going to see Big Bang for their comeback this Sunday. 

31 months

Oops! Almost forgot the march update. 

Saw Ed Sheeran perform live and fell in love with him. Have pretty much been obsessed with him since, hopefully I'll be able to catch him on tour again. 

Traveled to a placed outside of Seoul called Wonju. The city itself didn't have much but there was an interesting museum and overall it was just nice to get out of Seoul. 

School is going well. A bit lonely but I love my kids. 

30 months

I'm now on a two week break from school. Graduation was February 13 and my kids whom I've taught since I first came to korea graduated. I feel nervous about the next semester, new kids and new co workers. My main ℅ teacher whom I taught with since the beginning also left. 

About vacation, first I went to Hong Kong, then macau, now I'm in Boracay in the Philippines. In two more days I will go back to korea. I wish my contract had ended in February, I really don't want to go back. 

29 months

Winter camp is happening.

28 months

It's snowing!!!! It's so pretty but only when I'm inside. I really dislike walking in snow or afterwards when it's slick ice or slushy. 

It's Christmas next week but it definitely doesn't feel like it. My entire family is gathering at my grandparents house this year, even an uncle who has been away for twenty years will be there. The fact that I will be missing such an important family reunion has me feeling sad and homesick. I have to keep reminding myself that next year, hopefully next year I can spend the holidays with my family again. 

In school I'm currently preparing for winter camp. It's not easy, mostly because I have few ideas, and second because I can't focus at work. After teaching there is no heater and it's much too cold in my office. 

This is my last post of 2014.. I'm amazed at how quickly this year went by. I can remember last new Christmas and New Years very well so it seems like it was recent. I'm scared of time. 

27 months

This past month my good friend from childhood came to visit me from the USA on a last minute trip. She didn't book her flight until the week before she left so we didn't have much time to plan, or for me to take off work but we managed to do quite a bit of touristy things together on the weekend and evenings after work. We celebrated halloween together, and it was by far one of my favorite halloweens. I dressed up as a minion and got quite a bit of compliments.

School is going well. I'm obsessed with my students, and i'm dreading graduation because I'll really miss the sixth graders. This last Saturday I went to my first B1A4 concert and it was pretty cool, although it did make me question how come I have the same taste as ten year old girls?

26 months

I went to a Taeyang concert last weekend. The weather is cooling down, I'm a hundred percent I won't renew my contract, mostly because of budget cuts partly because three years will be enough. I'm writing this in a hurry, but I didn't want to skip.

25 months

I'm back from vacation in Malaysia & Indonesia. I definitely enjoyed my time in Malaysia a lot more this second time around. I think I was more open minded about the food, which is what I struggled with on my first trip. Bali, Indonesia was a place I thought I would love, but something about how commercialized it was, and people following me around asking if I wanted a massage or t-shirt sort of out a dark cloud over that experience for me. If I were to go back I think I would choose different places besides Ubud & Kuta to stay at. 

The new school semester has brought me a brand new co teacher, and two new classes. Three of my third grade classes from last term have been taken away, and two new classes added. I miss my kids from last term a lot, they were a lot of fun. These new kids are cute, but maybe I still need more time to adjust to their personalities. 

I celebrated my 26th birthday a couple of weeks ago, and it was pretty nice. On the day of, I had cake with some of my co workers then that night I had dinner and bingsu with friends in my area. Then on Friday a friend came up from her town and we had dinner and cake and wine, then later that night I met up with some other friends for drinks and a night of dancing. Nothing too crazy, since you know.. I'm an adult ;P 

24- two years!!

Two years ago I left the USA and got on a plane to the unknown. It has proven to be the best decision I've made so far, I think. I'm currently in Ubud, Bali Indonesia. Arrived earlier this morning after spending some time in Yogyokarta and prior to that Malaysia. I have one week of vacation left, and when I go back to Korea the majority of my EPIK class will have left Seoul. The idea of a third year, and a third winter in Seoul is a little scary at the moment but time seems to go by too fast and I haven't accomplished half of what I set out to do when I came here, so here's to having a better, and more productive third (and final) year in Korea!!! 

23 months

I think it's clear now that I'm keeping this up due to a sense of responsibility towards future me, present me is lazy and things writing this is silly. but alas, here is my 23 month update: I'm in the process of looking for a new apartment, I'm staying at my current school an I would like to stay in the general area of where I live now, I just cannot stand to live in my room anymore. It's quite worn out, many things are breaking and the landlord takes his sweet time fixing things, or says he will pay me back for repairs that I pay for but never actually pays me back. I hope I can find a new place soon and move during summer camp. Summer camp is the second thing I have going on now, it will start in about a week and a half and I'm nowhere near ready. I have a lot more to prepare and plan. This year I've been told I will only have about 15 third grade students, so hopefully it goes over well. Third graders are cute and for the most part are eager to please, so they'll work hard. After camp I'll be headed out of Korea for a two week vacation. I'll be revisiting Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur & Penang) for my friend's wedding, and afterwards hoping over to Indonesia (Yogyokarta & Bali) for some sightseeing and beach time. Bali was never a place I thought I would go to, and initially this summer I was planning on going to the Philippines, a place I had listed on the SEA travel wishlist I made prior to moving abroad. But with my friends wedding, and price of flights it just worked out this way, and it's not like Bali is a bad place to vacation in. Hopefully I will still get a chance to visit the Philippines later on, that and Halong Bay are the two remaining things I have yet to see on my list.
While I'm away on vacation most of the people who came in my EPIK intake will be leaving as they're not renewing for a third year. I haven't made much of an effort to keep in touch with most of them as of late, the large group branched off into smaller ones, so it won't really affect me much that they're leaving. It's mostly just a sense of knowing that people are moving on and I'm still here. Not that I resent them for not staying, just you know?? haha actually I don't even know.
Oh, also I'm still studying Korean twice a week at like an institute kind of place. I can't say that I'm benefiting much from it so I'm not sure if I'll sign up again for the fall term.

22 months

It happened. Not much to say. Attended my first dream concert, went crazy over B1A4. Started Korean classes, don't feel like I'm learbjngb much I can apply in everyday life but I'll stick with it for now. I want to travel around Korea more, but also currently planning summer vacation abroad. Maybe the Philippines and Singapore 

21 months

21 months!!! i can't think of anything to write about, either because i've done nothing worth writing about, or i can't remember exactly.
most recently i can talk about the weather, it's warmer, much much warmer, so last sunday i headed out with a friend and we watched a soccer game at world cup stadium. school is going well, i have a new co teacher but she's only staying until july. i think i'm going to stay in korea during the summer holidays since i haven't really traveled within korea yet, and i don't want to try it rush it all in at the end of my contract. that's it, lame, but i didn't want to skip a month cause then i'd be down hill from there.
EDIT: I forgot to mention that during May a Thai friend who did an exchange year at my high school came to visit me in Seoul.

K-Live

As further proof that technology really is a  marvelous thing, I've just attended my very first holographic concert. This event is calle K-Live and gives audiences the opportunity to see their favorite idols in a concert setting, when otherwise they might not be able to attend an actual concert. The performers on this night where members of the YG agencie, Big Bang, 2ne1, and Psy. 

First things first, the location: the K-live stage is located on the 9th floor of the Lotte Fitin Shopping Center which can be teacher by subway (lines 4, 2, & 5) and is connected through an underground path way or exit 12. Once on level 9, guests are immediately greeted by a pretty impressive display of kpop realia. The lobby layout is open and guests are free to browse around the merchandise area, while listening to the latest kpop tunes. There are also plenty of photo taking opportunities, which only add to the experience and make it that much more memorable, since taking pictures of the actual show is not allowed. To further the experience we were given light sticks to use during the show, and returned at the end. 

Once it is time for the show to start, guests are led inside by a group of boys, and are greeted inside by a DJ who does his best to get the crowd energized. The stage area is open, there are no chairs or seat assignments. It is big enough for you to jump or dance along to your favorite songs, and the light show and sound quality really does make you feel like it's a real concert. Prior to going I was worried it would be a bit awkward and cheesy, but honestly if you go in with a good attitude and willing to let loose there is no reason why you wouldn't enjoy yourself. Even though they're holographic, the artists still engaged with the crowd and gave fan service like they would at an actual show. Like I stated previously, there where there YG performs this time, and if I remember correctly each one got to sing about 2 or 3 songs. 

I definitely think this is a good opportunity to see their idols, because sometimes it is really difficult to obtain tickets to a real concert, or concert dates in Seoul May not match the dates a foreign fan is in Korea so he/she could purchase tickets to K-live on a date and time that best suits them. 

I was gifted tickets by the KTO so I'm not 100% sure of the price, but I think it's around 30,000 won which I think it's a lite but expensive since the concert only lasts about an hour. Tickets to see an actual Big Bang concert for two hours are about 100,000 krw. 

Cambodia in pictures

A few pictures from my trip to Siem Reap, Cambodia during February 2014.

Angkor Wat, floating village, pub street.

Thailand in pictures

A few pictures from my trip to Thailand during February 2014.

Bangkok, Koh Phi Phi, Ao Nang Beach