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