Brrr....

December has arrived and it brought it's windchill with it.


Today was the first sign of snow flakes. They only lasted a few minutes and melted before they made contact with any type of surface, but they were there...


On Monday I started my last semester at Chungdahm. Where does the time go. It's been over a year now that I've been in Korea. It's always interesting (and can be depressing or inspiring) to look at what I've accomplished in the past year. "What can I do to make next year better?" "What am I thankful for that I did this year?" "What have I learned about myself, friends, family, and strangers this year." I find it overwhelming to think about the year ahead of me though. Where will I go? How will it all work out? Where will I be in December 2010? How can I be a better person? But then I just breathe.... :) (and grab hot tea and biscuits.... :)

Anyways, things are going well in Korea though. Enda will be taking off in a couple weeks to do an ice trek for 3 weeks in Leh...(a little envious... but thankful he gets to have this experience!) I will be staying here and finishing out my semester. Then I'll be off traveling with my little ole backpack and passport.... :)

Here are a couple pics to show what I've been up to. Some are of a lantern festival from a couple weeks back, and others are of Jongmyo park, and randomness. Check out my flickr if you want to see more.


Busy man....too many people to call....

Jongmyo....gorgeous place.




The lantern festival was cold, but beautiful. It was good to practice with the camera again... Practice makes perfect....or just a little bit better in my case :)

Why I like living abroad....hmmmm....

Well I'm writing this post partially because I' haven't written in about 2 months....and partially in response to an e-mail I received from Aclipse Chungdahm Learning, which requested that I write about 5 reasons why I like living overseas. Well...let's see. I've been living in Korea (mainly Seoul) off and on for about 2 years now. There are times where living in this city and culture can be very tumultuous. This may be more so the case for me because I'm a country girl at heart...but who knows. But in response to living overseas in general, it definitely has it's pro's.

1. You're constantly learning and observing a new culture. Even if you don't speak the language, just by observing the people and their demeanor fills you in on a lot. How the youth act around their elders, boyfriends around girlfriends, children around parents, natives around foreigners etc... Granted, your conclusion may not always be accurate due to the cultural barrier, but you can still learn a lot. Everyone has a different experience.

2. It's an achievement. The fact that you went to a foreign country not only to visit but to live in, is quite an accomplishment in and of itself. It takes guts.

3. One thing I've really enjoyed is being in a country with a long and interesting history. Coming from a country that was only discovered roughly 500 years ago is nothing in comparison to one that began in 2333 B.C. It's interesting to see how the history is integrated into the modern society.

4. New experiences...obviously. It's great to learn new sports, experience new food, new drinks, new ideas. It was great studying a martial art in the country where it was orginated. The fact that you are living in the country gives you more time to fully embrace the new experiences.

5. Easy access to other countries. The worlds your oyster. While I've been living in Korea I've had the opportunity to travel internationally during vacation. Granted it depends where you are living, but Korea is a great central location to access other countries. A lot of teachers go to Japan for a couple days. Personally I went to Vietnam, China, and N. Korea when I had time off.

Okay, this has been a longer entry than I anticipated. I'll write a new entry in a couple days when I have more time and more pics! :) Hope this entry helped for those that are debating about living abroad!

New semester :)

So half of September has disappeared already. I don't know where it went.
The new semester has begun at CDI. Fresh faces, fresh curriculum, freshness all around. I'm only teaching 4 days a week now, so that's been a nice break. A lot of the students are coming back from their international trips, so it's always great to hear their improvement on the English language (as well as their adventures).

These past couple weeks have flown by. I don't really remember all that I have done...I'm currently training for some 10k's that are coming up in a couple of weeks, so that's been keeping me busy. Enda and I will be running our first race together, so that should be exciting! (the nike human race in Seoul-10k).

The weather has been cooling off a lot, which is great! I'm actually currently wearing my hoodie for the first time this season! Yay! It can't get much better than tea, internet, and a hoodie :) Everything else in Korea is going smoothly. I have about 5 and a half more months here, so a long but short time.

Enda and I will be taking a vacation over chuseok (Korean thanksgiving) in about 3 weeks, so it will be a nice break from the city and work. Hopefully the leaves will be out by then and I can get some nice photos. The ones below are a couple I took this past weekend...walking around...ya know, trying to feel inspired :)



I guess that's all that's really happening here. Work, sleep, play on weekends :) I'm trying to practice my pool skills in the picture below....working on accuracy...oi... :) I believe the 1st pic is actually Enda's hand...not mine...

August breeze

Well things are starting to cool down here finally. The showers are bringing a freshness to the air and the mosquitoes are subsiding. Life in Korea is going on as usual. Intensives at CDI are finished. No more Catcher in the Rye for me, and the semester is about to come to a close. It will be sad to see some students go, but it is always refreshing to get see fresh faces and new curriculum.

I had a relaxing birthday this last week. I will never understand where all the time goes. It's amusing to think back and remember where I imagined I would be at this age. Oh how life never seems to go as planned.

While walking around a newly finished pedistrian lane on Gwangjin-gyo Bridge (Gwangnaru st. L. 5 ex 2) I took a couple of pics.
There is a section in the middle of the bridge that you can walk under. It is like a flight of stairs that circle around and brings you to an observation like room. There is a little concert hall and a section where they have windows on the ground where you can see the beautiful green han river water :) (See below)
Anyways, it's something different I suppose :)

Enda and I enjoyed a nice evening of dinner and a Korean show (Part of the Korean Fringe Festival in Hongdae). Both enjoyable. And this past weekend a couple of us went to play in the Poker Tournament at Walker Hill. I played my share of Black Jack as well. Good fun all around. It's amazing for me to see crowded Black Jack tables with a min. 200,000 Won Buy in. (I played at the 5,000won buy in table:)

Enda also bought me a new lens for my birthday, so I've been having fun with that. I finally got my Flickr account up and running again. http://www.flickr.com/photos/lpoortenga/

Amazing that Fall is fast approaching. Hopefully next semester I will be teaching 4 days a week and will be able to take more photos while hiking/traveling on the weekends. Should be good.
Ta ta for now :)

August...here and hot.

Well, amazingly enough August has arrived. Rather quickly, but expected. I'm currently spending my Sunday in a cool cafe, drinking my ice caramel macchiato, listening to Norah Jones, and looking at the hotness outside...

July flew by. I think each month disappears much more rapidly than the previous. How does that work? .Work is dictating my life, but that is what I signed up for I suppose :) We are in the intensive month of the year. Korean parents continue to send their children to Hagwons during the summer..oh and why not have them take an extra class in the morning? Brilliant! :) Oh Korea.

Anyways, Monsoon has passed of which I am grateful. I'm looking forward to the cool autumn weather with the gorgeous mountain leaves.... This past month has been good though. Exploring Seoul one section at a time.


Random pic of the day:
Okay. Short and sweet entry.

Unexpected but welcomed

Well the month of June is here along with its mosquitoes and sunburn. Since the last writing much has happened. The end of the semester was much welcomed. We had an unexpected 9 day vacation with our Institute, so no complaining there! :) A perfect break for both the students as well as teachers!

So I spent most of the vacation catching up on the "To do" list and crossing out as much as possible. Overall, pretty productive. I was able to spend a good deal of time experimenting with my much neglected camera. I enjoyed a good game of Monopoly with some friends---over a nice brownie and ice-cream while I built houses and motels on Boardwalk.... I forgot how long that game takes... We were at it for 2 hours and just starting our infrastructures.

This picture I was just experimenting with water...and how to take pictures of it.... Still need to work on that :)


Anyways, there was also a good deal of exploring Seoul more. The city continues to surprise me. There are so many people. So many places. So much construction!

I was also able to stay up and watch the United vs. Barcelona game with some buddies without having to feel the effects of the 4 a.m. game too harshly. Unfortunately the results didn't come out as wished or hoped, but such is life. On the up side I was able to work out my play station, fussball, and photography skills that night.

This picture was taken in an alley way near my friends' place....around 2 in the morning....or three.... Still working on night shots as well.
Enda jamming on the guitar. Me, jamming on my camera.

Enda and I were also able to hang out in a couple parks in Seoul. The weather has been nice out and it was great to finally be able to enjoy it rather than just see it.Enda took a nice picture of the bee below. The guy kept hidding from him, but Enda found him eventually :)

Anyways, that is about all for now. My third semester has begun. Let the games begin!!! :)

pics

So for some reason the pics are uploading fine now so here are some from this month.
It's a rainy day. Perfect for posting up pictures... :)


Let's begin with Busan. Enda and I took the train down (the slower...roomier one...that took 6 hours :)

Us chillin at the Busan Giants game. It's fun to be a Busan fan. Even though their team was losing by 6 in the 8th inning, the fans were still strong. Cheering away with their newspaper pom-poms....ahhh

Can't go wrong with Baskin Robins....mmm...chocolate.... :)





Here are are some pictures of my experiments with the camera last night... This is of a flower on the overpass...working with random zoom experiments..That's all for now folks...Adios-Aufwiedersehen....Ahnyeong

May Heat

May is making its swift exit, similar to its entrance. It's hard to take the much needed side-step from life. The time where you can reflect on where you are in life. Your Joy. Your pain. Your Faith. God is good through it all.

May had a great start. The crutches are not a part of my daily life anymore! Took my legs for granted. My left leg had to learn how to walk again though...weird feeling...

anyways Enda and I took a trip to my birth-town, Busan. I did a little more research on my birth family search, but unfortunately to no avail. The search continues God-willing.

The beach city contrasts Seoul in many ways...which is nice. Life seems to be more laid back...slower paced. We did some couchsurfing with some folks there. (Actually it was coincidentally another Calvin Grad! We are everywhere!)

Free place + great company= no complaints here :) I would upload pics, but for some reason the Blogger won't let me....

Now the new semester is about to begin. Looking forward to it. Another 6 days/wk work schedule, but it's a blessing to have a job. It would help if the exchange rate was a little better though....can't have everything in life. Anyways, I'll try to upload some pics soon. Until then, Blessings--

Spring is coming...

Well to start off the great month of April, I decided I should do it in style, i.e. on crutches. Yuppers. As of a couple hours ago I'm officially stuck with aluminum crutches with a wrapped left leg. Thank you Taekwondo. I had decided a couple hours before the incident that I was going to run a half marathon too.....there goes that idea. Anyways, such is life. Take the good with the bad. Become grateful for what you do have I suppose :).

Last week I was able to accomplish a 10k with my friend Brittany. It was a beautiful day in Goyang and a lot of fun. Hopefully later this spring/summer I'll be able to do some more. (Got a little lost finding the place but all is well :)

I haven't been doing too much this month besides working 6 days a week, running, taekwondo, and chilling. But hopefully the month of April will bring nice cherry blossom photos (hopefully not covered with yellow dust :)
Blessings.

March already....

Well, I've been slacking on blogging these past few months. No excuse. But here I am now. Making the most of my Tuesday morning :). Currently I'm training for my first 10k. I realize when I run I feel like I'm going at a snails pace, but I suppose it's a better pace than none. It's been good for me though...not as nice as the fresh country air, but it'll have to do.

Anyways, I'm currently in my second semester of working with CDI. I have some upper levels students which is a nice break from the little ones. Interesting students that work way to hard! Yesterday I had a student tell me he didn't get to finish all his online homework because he was in the hospital getting is gallbaldder taken out. But his mom was kind enough to bring him his CDI homework while he was recovering at the hospital....wow.

The weather has been warming up slowly but surely. Just when I decide to pull out the spring jacket it decides to be blustery. I also purchased a tripod so I've been trying to pull it out around town a little at night...but my fingers tend to become numb.

We took this picture downtown Seoul. Just messing with shutter speed and f/stop settings...Needs improvement. Practice practice practice... :)

This traffic picture is taken close to the apartment.

This past weekend we also went with some friends to a B-Boy battle (Breakdancing). Very cool. Amazing things people can do with their body. Supposedly Korea has a pretty good reputation for quality B-Boyz. Talent. It's nice to see some variety of people in Korea as well...


Anyways, for Enda's birthday/Valentines Day, we headed downtown for some ice-skating and dinner with friends and then took off to see Nanta! (Cooking/drumming/comedy/non-verbal performance). He was pulled up on stage, dressed in some whacky costume, ate some soup and was 'hypnotized'. Good stuff. They always find the foreigners in the crowd. At least I get to blend in a little :)

Well, I guess nothing else major has been happening around Korea. The relations with N. Korea are getting worse..but no surprise there I suppose. Some airlines have had to change their flight route as to not fly over N. Korea....oi. Time continues to tick away. Life continues to pass all too quickly. God has been good. Even through turmoil and joys..He is my constant.

Blessings-

Lunar New Years... ;)

Well this month has been a hectic, but good month. Beginning with work: It's frustrating at times. Seems like it is being run more with money in mind rather than the betterment of the students English.

Anyways, for the Lunar New Years I had Monday off (even though it is celebrated over Monday and Tuesday), so it was nice to have a small class size on Tuesday. I definitely would prefer to teach 5 students rather than 18 but what do you do. The intensive month is finished though so I am free on Wednesdays again...ahhh... Next term though I will most likely be working 6 days a week rather than 4. For our Lunar New Years present from our manager we all received 2 bottles of red wine. Unfortunately I'm not a huge wine girl but whatev I suppose. Enda received some instant coffee and coffee beans...unfortunately we don't have a coffee maker. It really wasn't our holiday for receiving useful gifts. Oh well.


Anyways, on the way to Church this past weekend, we passed a Mc Donalds, and seeing that they don't have drive thru's here, they deliver! I had no idea this existed...maybe I've been in a bubble though. Anyways, I thought it was class. Thinking about getting one...hmm...



Anyways, on to the weekends. Nothing too crazy has been happening. We went with some friends to watch Incheon vs. Seoul in a basketball game. Good times. The cheerleaders did YMCA as one of their cheers. Class. Anyways, it was a good time.Then headed to On The Border which is just as expensive (if not more) in Korea as it is in the States. For some reason I was hoping it would be cheaper....disappointment. But amazing food as usual.... :)

This past weekend Enda and I went Ice skating. His first time...I just assumed everyone ice skated on frozen fields in the country when they were young (thanks dad) but ah, not so in Ireland...Anyways, it was fun to teach him how to skate. I didn't realize how hard it is to teach someone to skate. My instructions were something like this: "Push off of one foot and glide and continue altering feet.." Not extremely helpful...

So this upcoming week I will finally be starting Taekwondo! Ahh...finally...I'll be in bits I'm sure, but it will be good. The weeks continue to fly by as usual. The weekends don't seem to exist. Anyways, that's about all for now. Nothing too crazy :)

January events...

Well after bringing in 2009 we began our Intensive classes. No rest for the students. School. Computer games. School. Kimchi. Study. School. Sleep. oi.

Anyways, for adventures in January...not too many to take note of. Enda and I did some hiking in Bukhansan National Park which was nice. Good to be out and in Nature again. The view was rather depressing though. Pollution. Fog. But regardless it was a good day. Enjoyed some Kimbap at the top of one of the summits. The signs for trails aren't laid out the best, so we ended up exiting the mountain in the backyard of some apartments. Hey whatever works I suppose :)

This past weekend we decided to take a snowboarding trip. Enda's first time! :) Yay! It was a lot of fun. Some bruises and aches, but well worth it.. A familiar position for both Enda and myself for most of the day...A couple hours though was plenty of time on the slopes for us though.

And to top of January thus far, one of the teachers at my school did a runner and headed back to the States so I spent all yesterday moving furniture from one apartment to another...finally getting settled...

Well that's all about it for now. Will write more in the near future....

Holidays in Korea

There's truly is no place like home for the Holidays. Korean Hagwons (and maybe Korean's in general) like to make their teachers work every day possible. That includes Christmas as well as New Years Eve. Thankfully though, the bus drivers wanted to have Christmas night at home with their family (or with soju) therefore our boss moved our regular evening classes to the morning. You can see where the teachers end up in the heirarchy. Hmm.. Anyways, amazingly enough I did have a good share of students show up. I have to say though on behalf of my boss, she did order in a turkey dinner, stuffing, bread, and pumpkin pie for dessert from the Army base.
For Christmas Enda and I went to a Thai restaurant in Hongdae with some friends. Not the home made potatoes and bread that I'm used to, but it works. Following that, we stopped off at Paris Baguette and picked up a couple Christmas cakes and Christmas hats. (No pictures with me now, but I'll get them hopefully soon). Finally we headed to a friends' place and hung out for the night. Good times. Good people.

For New years Eve Enda and I took off to VIPS. An all you can eat place.. ahhh...sooo good....mmm.. then we headed to City Hall for the countdown and made our way to a concert. See picture below...Enda with the desserts.

The picture below is of a Korean couple wearing...that's right, green cow hats on their head. Supposedly this is the cool thing to do. Enda and I didn't get that memo of which I'm rather thankful.


Enda and I also made a journey to the Horse Racecourse this past weekend! Good times. After we figured out how to read the scores and buy our cards we went crazy! You can actually bet 100 won if you want (that's like .10 cents) Amazing. Anyways, I always start off good and end off bad. You would think that I would learn from it, but no. I don't. The Koreans are also very quiet when it comes to horseracing. The place has 5 floors but each floor is dead quiet with hundreds of Koreans walking around placing their bets. Only when the horses are coming around turn 4 do the Koreans start to make some ruckus. Even then it seemed unified. The picture below is of Koreans squatting. That's how they roll. No chairs, just your own legs... :) Where's the heater? (Above picture)


Sleeping on the subway. I just liked this picture so added it to the bunch. :)