Korean food in London - Mudo Korea

Yum!

I took my friend to a Korean restaurant in London last week. I haven't eaten Korean food for ages and had heard bad stuff about Korean food outside Korea, therefore my hopes weren't high. How wrong I was! It was so delicious! The lady serving us was really friend too. We ordered too much food, but we wanted to eat everything. The price was much higher than in a Korean fast food restaurant, but the quality was much higher. There was more meat and kimchi in the dishes. If you fancy Korean food then go to Mudo Korea! Its near Tottenham court road. Yummy!

Mudo Korea

Last post in Korea

Goodbye classroom

This will be my last post whilst I am living in Korea. I have no internet at home so will be unable to update this blog until March.

Two days before I finished my work, I was called to the administration office. They told me that the old administration had put all my severance money in a bank account. I would have to open an account at this bank and transfer it over to my main bank, even now I still don't understand it.

Normally, you get your severance, flight money and key deposit back two weeks after you finish your contact. They should transfer it over to you home country bank account. But, it seems I have to do all the transferring. Arghhh! So stressful! Main problem is all the Korean teachers are leaving early as it's the end of term. Therefore the only person who can help me is my co-teacher who is 8 months pregnant. I felt awful that she had to travel to the bank with me because she gets tired easy.

Photo booth!

In good news, I finish today!!! It's only a half day because we will all go for an office meal. Yay!! I then have two weeks off until my flight. I am going to spend it meeting friends and saying goodbye.

I think time is going to fly between now and the 28th! Sarah and Sue are going to take me to the bus in the morning of my flight. They want to give a proper goodbye and help me with putting my luggage on the bus. I have great friends!

I'm not really good with goodbyes! But I feel with Sarah and Sue that it won't be goodbye. We will see each other again and keep in contact. When you meet people who make you want to become a better person, you try to keep them in your life.

Photo booth

18 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The hobbit is going back to the Shire!!!

The Beatles story restaurant

Beatles restaurant

I met Clara last week to catch up. We ended up going to the Beatles restaurant at Olympic park. We were the only ones there. I don't know why. The food was okay, but the view was great. It's worth going just for the view.

If you do want to go, it's across the road from the museum in Olympic park. It's on the fourth floor (I think).

The whole restaurant was decorated in Beatles memorabilia. The menu was (Korean style) Italian. We chose the set menu with included a salad, pasta, desert and tea/coffee. It wasn't a bad price. 12-15,000 I think.

Evil bike car thingy

After we went for a walk around Olympic park. Clara wanted to go on those bike car things. Seriously, when I saw people on them before it looked so easy. It really isn't. If the road isn't even, then they are evil. I'm sure I was doing all the work too whilst Clara was laughing at me. All the adjumma and adjusshi were laughing at us too.

Though, after returning our bikes we noticed everyone else was struggling. Some had got out of the bikes and started pushing. Evil bike car things!!!!

We then went to a cafe which served black tea without milk!!! Seriously! First world problems there!

dirty statue........

Grace's wedding.

With the bride

I went to my co-teacher and friends wedding last month. I had been to a wedding before, but I didn't know that couple very well. It was my first time going to a wedding of someone I knew.

I went with the other foreign teacher from my school. It turned out we forgot the invite with the directions on, therefore we ended up getting lost. Luckily, we saw this adjusshi running. He look like he was headed for a wedding so we followed him. He ended up leading us to the right wedding and we got there in time.

We first went to the bride room. This room is where the bride sits to have pictures with guest. I always find this strange, as back home the bride is normally stressed by this point. Though, Grace is the calmest person I know. She never seems to get stressed.

Korean wedding hall

Grace look so beautiful. Grace is always beautiful and elegant, but even more so this day. She was 7 months pregnant at the time but you could not notice the bump at all. One of the teachers from my school brought her daughter. She kept following Grace around because she wanted to follow the princess.

The wedding hall was so elegant with candles everywhere. After, we went to the buffet. I love Korean buffets as there is so much choice. I ate so much (as usual).

I was so happy to see Grace get married This was a wonderful memory for the end of my time in Korea.

LG phone company

If you move to a big city in Korea, I recommend getting a smart phone. They are so useful for long journeys and downloading bus schedules etc. To get a smartphone there are a few options. You can buy someone out of their contract if they are leaving. Best places to look for these are Daves ESL cafe and Waygook.org. 

Or you can make your own contract with a company. You will need a Korean co-teacher or friend to help you here. Most contacts are two years and if you leave early you will have to pay the remaining amount of the phone.

Don't leave before paying. It's the people who don't pay, that give foreigners a bad reputation and make it harder for future people to get contacts. Selfish people! If you are only staying for a year then be ready to pay the remaining amount and the cancellation fee, or just get a pay as you go phone. Or you could just do the above and finish someone's contract.

There are a few companies. My friends with SK have no complaints, therefore I would recommend them. I am with LG. I do NOT recommend them!

LG has to be the worst phone company in Korea. I've had problems with signal from the start. It's always on 2 or three bars of signal. And about 5 times a time I get the no signal message. Some days I don't have any signal for hours. Also, in parts of my apartment I can't pick up a signal.

It's not just me who has problems. I know two Korean friends who had LG and changed companies. For a whole year my phone had no signal and then restarted itself. Even though it was LG's fault, I was told I would have to pay to fix the phone. Remember, the customer is always wrong in Korea. 

This morning for example. I couldn't listen to any music on 8tracks because there was no signal for over an hour!

Anyways, the point of this post is to say that the LG phone company sucks! 

Preparing to leave

I leave Korea in just over three weeks. I've been doing list and getting stuff ready this month.

Things to do before I leave Korea

• Get copies of my police checks from my school
• Get a reference off my school
• Copy down SMOE's information
• Copy down my schools address and email.
• Send all my boxes home
• Get everyone addresses in Korean and English (other wise the post men get confused...)
• Pack

Above, is what I have done so far. Everything else has to be completed on my last week. These include:

• Cancelling my phone. I finished my contract last year so this should be easy. I just need someone to go with me.
• Close my Korean bank.
• My friend has to collect a bunch of stuff I am giving her.
• Clean apartment.
• Eat all food in my apartment.
• Say goodbye to my friends.

I only have 7 working days left. I am ready to leave my work. It's the end of the school year and all teachers move classes when they come back, so I am glad I am leaving in February rather than August. 

I also can't wait to get away from my neighbours. Upstairs have a baby, Whilst next door is persistent in having his TV right next to the dividing wall. Don't worry though. After I finish work next Saturday I will play my TV loud for two weeks.... Revenge! Mwhahahahahaha. 

I really don't know what it will be like when I go back. I don't want to stay there longer than a few months before leaving again. I am so not ready to live there yet. My town is okay. But, everyone knows everyone. You meet a new person and it turns out they are a sibling of someone you went to high school with etc. It's that type of town and I'm just not ready for that.

Saying that. It's not a bad place. It's quite a lovely town and I have a bunch of awesome friends there. My dad loves it. He moved there from Liverpool. I might settle there one day, but just not yet.

I think my mum is trying to get me to stay. She got me a new mattress and is decorating my room. She keeps asking me about colours and wallpapers. My response is always the same, 'Do what you want. I'm moving to London anyways'. She is persistent. But, I give it two weeks of me being home, and she will be trying to get rid of me.

Harry Potter Camp Regular

Regular Camp - 6th January - 17th January

Flourish and Blotts

Our regular camp is set into 40 minute periods. Students see each teacher at least once a day (4 periods, but only 3 teachers. We see some classes twice.) Over the whole camp we see each class around 12 times. The grades are 3, 4 and 5. Each class consist of around 20 students.


Day one starts with the opening ceremony. We then start our first lesson of the camp.


Lesson 1 - Introduction, sorting in to Hogwarts teams, rules and start making team posters. 

I gave gallons and points for the teams who tried the hardest.


Lesson 2 - Shopping in Diagon alley. 

Students have to buy all the items on their shopping list. The winner is the student with all the items and the most money left over. They use the phrases 'How much is this?', 'I'll take it' and 'It's too expensive!'.

Marauders Map

Lesson 3 -  Hogwarts ties.

 I made a paper cut out of a tie. Students drew around the outside onto felt. They then cut it out. They wrote their names on the side with pen marks. On the reverse side, they stuck stripes of felt. On the name side, I then used a hot glue to stick a pin.

Hogwarts Ties

http://thebrilliantcraftytype.blogspot.kr/2012/04/felt-hogwarts-ties-tutorial.html

Magical Menagerie

Lesson 4 -  Magical beast.

 They had to create a new creature from a hybrid of 2 of more animals. The higher grades had to write about their animal. I chose the best picture and the most creative animal (as some of the boys hate colouring).

Lesson 5- Finish Magical beast lesson and start bookmarks.

Bookmarks (see low level Harry Potter camp). 

Lesson 6 - Finish bookmarks after laminating.

 Make the paper for maps using teabags. Leave to dry until next lesson.

If time we used the photo booth.

Photobooth

http://blog.uniquelygrace.com/2012/06/prisoner-of-azkaban-wanted-poster-photo.html

Lesson 7- Make map.

Honeydukes

I went through vocabulary with students before and they wrote down the translation. They then had to design their own magic school. Coins and points for the best. We used the below link to watch how to fold the paper.

Marauders Map

http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/marauders-map

The students then had to find the missing animals. I told students the pixies let all the Hogwarts animals out and they have to find them.

Team posters

Lesson 8-9 -  Dragon egg drop. 

We dropped an egg from a window. Students have to use straws and tape to make a way to protect their egg from breaking.

 I started dropping the eggs from a chair for one team point. Then a table for two points. If their egg survived after being dropped out of a window they got 5 points.

Only 2 eggs out of 12 survived!

I recommend putting the eggs in plastic sandwich bags to save cleaning up.

Lesson 10 - Predictions lesson. Teams had to guess what will happen. If they predicted right they got a point.

lesson 11- Mafia game (changed into a Harry Potter version). My students loved this!

Lesson 12- Scavenger hunt and raffle.

Magical Animals

 I put words around the school. They had to use the clues to find them and write them down.

We then announced the winners and did the raffle for the sweet shop.

We also did a house cup. Winners of games won points. They also won points for answering questions and trying hard.  I announced the winners on the last lesson, just before the raffle.

Magic maps

Lots of the lessons were student orientated. The students had to work in their teams (we gave extra points for team work). All students really enjoyed the decorations and lessons.

It feels great to have finished my last camp. Only six weeks until I leave and only 3 of them are working days!! Yay!!!

I put all my lesson plans on here. You have to register and post 5 times to download materials.

Other links for decorations!

http://www.waygook.org/index.php/topic,1026.msg422664.html#msg422664

Food labels

http://www.borealisblog.com/harry-potter-party/

Bertie Botts Box

http://www.pilgrim1987.narod.ru/bertiebotts.htm

Potion Bottle labels and sweet labels

http://www.overthebigmoon.com/?s=harry+potter

More potion labels

http://www.fantasyjr.com/printable-halloween-labels/

More free printables

http://onecreativemommy.com/harry-potter-party-games/

Fonts

http://www.hellopapermoon.com/2013/03/enchanting-and-magical-harry-potter.html

Book Covers

 http://www.littlehouseonthecorner.com/halloween-book-covers/

Honeydukes 

Goodbye 2013! Hello 2014!

Happy New Year

New year, new country. 2014 is going to be full of changes, and it is the year I decide which direction I wish my life to take. It's all very scary, yet so exciting!

I will be heading home in just under 8 weeks. Back to sunny Stafford. Well not Stafford it self. My parents live in a tiny village 3 miles outside the town. It has no shops and the church is only open once a week. It's going to be so strange going from a 24 hour city with a convenience store in my own building to .... well .... cows ....

It seriously is like something out of a Jane Austen novel. Pity, there are no handsome heroes there. Only old retired couples.

That's why I will try to move to London after a few months. I want to live in my own capital for a year at least. I know it will be expensive, that's why I have been saving this year. Not just money. I have been saving my clothes. I have only worn my old clothes this year as I will throw them away before I leave Korea.

I am nervous about London. I have only been there a handful of times as a tourist. I have been spending hours doing research on the different areas. I am most nervous about flat sharing. I have been better about sharing my space since moving here. But, I still like quiet. I understand I need more relaxed about noise and space when I move there.

As for work, I want to work as an administration assistant. Then perhaps go back and study in the evenings, but we shall see. The job market is very difficult to break into at the moment I have heard... To be honest, I don't know what the future will bring and it is exciting. All my life I have planned every detail, I am enjoying the uncertainty for the first time.

So, those are my plans for the future. Now for what I did for new years

I spent new years in bed sound asleep. Why? My first week of camp had wore me out and I wanted to have energy for new years day. My friend from Japan was coming to Seoul and the only day we could meet was new years day. We first met in Thailand last year on the CELTA course. She has been living in Japan since then. She brought her friend Lindsey who was really nice

Cool hat club

I met her in the morning and she brought me my matcha from Japan (so much cheaper over there). We then went to Ashleys buffet for lunch. Because it was new years day they had the dinner menu at lunch. Therefore, we could drink wine. Ashley's wine is the best in Korea. Soooo sweet and yummy! Ashley's always change the menu and this month is Southern USA food. The cheesy wedges were the best.... mmm...drool.....

After, we went to Insadong to get some gifts. It was as busy as usual there so we didn't stay too long. WE then tried to find the fish cafe in Myeongdong for ages but after an hour we gave up and went for BBQ pork.

It was great new years day. It was in the middle of low level camp, therefore it broke it up nicely.

This week regular camp starts and I have been sick since day one. Actually, I have been sick since the 22nd December but it seemed to get better then Monday I got worse again. I think it's all the pollution. The sky is dark over here at the moment with pollution. It's quite scary to think what that is doing to our bodies.

Only 50 days left until I go home!

Harry Potter Camp Low Level

Harry Potter Camp

I am in the middle of my last camp. I gave my all to this camp. This is mainly because it will be my last ever camp. I started decorating and preparing at the end of November. My camp was from the beginning of January for two weeks. My low level camp was for a week from the 26th December.

Low Level camp - 26th December - 2nd January.

For my low level camp. I took the Harry Potter theme and based my day around this theme.

My low level students were 4th graders. They can not understand anything in English. Therefore, all the camp was quite simple. It mainly considered of teaching phonics and alphabet in the morning, followed my crafts in the afternoon.

I gave each student a file. This file was kept at school for the week. On the front I stuck brown paper. They decorated the front with their Korean name in English. I don't agree with giving kids English names. I think people should learn how to pronounce their names.

Wanted posters

On the back, I took a picture of them in the Sirius Black wanted sign. They stuck this to the back.Inside the file was a envelope. Here they put their gallons. They got coins for winning games and working hard. On the back on these coins, were letters. I used these for a raffle on the last day. This kept them motivated.

To also keep them motivated. I used the sorting hat to split them into teams. I found this worked the best. Every time they answered a question they got a sticker for their team. All but one tried their up most hardest,

Hogwarts ties

In their files, they put the phonic worksheets they did in the morning. If they were good we then did crafts and games for the last half of the day. I also made a magic ABC book for each student. It was art paper made into a book and covered with felt. They students drew a few letters of the alphabet into their books a day.

On day one, we explained the rules and made old paper.

Day two, we made school ties and took wanted pictures in the photo booth. I also brought in ice-cream. This seemed to motivate them......

Day three, we made wands and did the animal hunt (see regular camp) . This day they wore their new ties. they were sooooooo cute!

Magic wands

Day four, we made book marks. They coloured a picture in and decorated some card. I then laminated the card and folded it in half. We then stapled the picture to the card and attached magnets. We played magic freeze tag using the wands (see regular camp).

Day five, I had no co-teacher so I couldn't do much. We just did a raffle and finished our magic ABC book.

This camp was so hard on the first day. This was because none of the students knew each other and the fourth grade is the worst in my school. They don't want to do anything. They just seem to stare even when they get told in Korean. But, the house point system seemed to motivate them (except Gryffindor). In fact Slytherin was the best team....................

Christmas 2013

Christmas photo booth

December is going so quickly this year. I think it's because I have been so busy. I started off the month with a Thanksgiving party at my friends, and ever since then it's been non-stop with work.

I was looking forward to my holidays starting on the 24th. But, my school had other ideas. They changed it a week before my holidays were due to start. They decided to move the low level camp to the 26th. I was working like crazy trying to prepare in time.

How many decorations?

They also changed the classroom for that week. This is because another company rents a part of our school and they pay electricity for it. Therefore, my vice principal wanted us to use one of those classrooms. So basically, they want us to steal their electricity.

The problem here is I set my classroom up as Hogwarts and Diagon Alley. Therefore, I have to move my materials everyday. But, I can still use it for normal camp. Thank goodness.

Aside from work, I was busy preparing for my Christmas eve party. For a few of us it's our last Christmas in Korea. I really wanted it to be special. I prepared a giant quiz. The first round was Christmas knowledge. The second was British slang. The third was, 'what movie was that song from?'.

I also prepared pin the nose on Rudolf, how many Christmas decorations on the tree? and charades.

Pin the nose on Rudolf.

I made everyone a Christmas bag. I couldn't find cracker snaps to make crackers. Inside the bag were sweets, cookies, a joke and a hat. There was also a card inside the bag which everyone wrote on for each other.

Gift bags

Table before the food arrived.

We also did white elephant. It was our first time doing it. We all got a unisex gift worth around 10,000 won. The first person picks a gift and the second person can steal it or choose a different one. This goes on until everyone has a gift. Things got a bit messy as there was some crappy presents no-one wanted and some really good items. I always get rubbish presents for secret Santa, but for the first time I got a great gift. I ended up with my favourite tea. It's from O'Sulloc tea company and it's really expensive, but worth it.

Dinner was pot luck. I made curry. Taking my inspiration from Bridget Jones and her mum's annual Christmas turkey curry buffet. Though, it was chicken curry as there was no turkey. Other people brought chicken, ice-cream, mash and Chinese food.  Though, we forgot about the ice-cream.......


The party went really well and everyone had so much fun! The best bit was the photo booth I made.

Christmas photo booth

I got the free printable signs from this blog! There are loads of different designs for parties.

http://catchmyparty.com/blog/category/printables-free-christmas

Christmas stocking

Yesterday was Christmas day. I pigged out all day in front of the the TV watching Christmas movies. My mum sent a stocking full of gifts over. It was full of small things like chocolate and Christmas washing up gloves.


I made everyone a scarf this year. I started knitting in September this year and managed to make five scarves by Christmas. My dream is to be Mrs Weasley from Harry Potter.

Sadly, I wrote hand as hade..... I think I've been in Korea too long. I'm losing my English.......

Christmas scarves

Today, I'm back to work. It's low level camp. But, only 1 more day until the weekend.......

Preview of my last ever camp...

I'm getting really excited for my last ever camp in South Korea. I've started decorating my whole classroom as Diagon Alley and Hogwarts. I hope my students enjoy it as I have spent days on it. I'll write about where I got the print outs from etc, after I finish my camp. For now, here's a sneak peak....

Happy American Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving pot luck!

I went to my first American thanksgiving last week. It was at my friend Sarah's house and it was pot luck. The Canadians in the group were joking it was a month late haha.

I have never seen so much food. One girl went to the army base to get a turkey. It was all so delicious and home made. We ended up playing taboo but the boys kept winning because I am rubbish at it.

I ended up sleeping over. We were suppose to watch the first hobbit movie, but I ended up giving up by 2 am.

I am glad I have traveled. Yes, I have seen many countries and eaten so much food. But, I have also enjoyed meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures. I got to have experiences like thanksgiving. I'm glad to have met my friends in Korea and their friends.

In other news, I went shopping at Express Bus Terminal a few weeks ago. It was crazy but worth it. My friends and I spent a good few hours there. It's much cheaper than Gmarket and other places. I stocked up on skirts. Back home skirts and too long on me because I'm short...... I also got my Christmas jumper but I wanted a more tacky one!

Right now I'm preparing for my last ever camp! It's going to be Harry Potter. As it's my last camp I am going all out. I am decorating my classroom as Hogwarts and Diagon Alley. My students are getting exciting! I am super busy though as I have to make everything by hand. I will write a post after I finish in January.

Only three weeks until winter vacation! I am having a Christmas eve party and my friend from Japan is visiting from Japan around New Years! I hope she doesn't snore..... Only joking Alex...... Kind of...... ;p

Weight issues

Weight has never been a issue with me. I am happy with my weight. Like every woman I sometimes have'fat' days, but I try to eat healthy. I had never been called overweight, chubby or fat. That is, until I came here.

The first time my weight came up wasn't with a Korean but with a crazy Canadian girl that was obsessed with make-up and to be blunt she was vain. She often referred to me as 'skinny fat' and she always told me I was lazy, because I am happy to relax after work at home. I  ignored her as everyone who knew her said she was vain (and slightly crazy).

But, this year I gained weight. It's strange really. I used to eat junk food back in the UK, but over here I eat fruit and vegetables all the time. I don't mind because I was too skinny before.

But, one Korean teacher noticed my weight gain and told her students. Why would anyone do that? Some Korean teachers said it could be culture difference and she probably didn't know it would offend a foreigner. But, most of my Korean friends didn't understand her actions either.

Snow!!!

I think I would not have minded if she had said the comment to me because I am used to everyone talking about weight. But it's the fact she said it to her class so when I had class with them I was put in a very embarrassing situation. And all the other teachers heard.

The bad news is because my co-teacher is pregnant, this teacher will replace her in winter camp in January. Two weeks with her........ Awesome! ㅜㅜ

This made me realise something. The only people who make comments about my weight are other women. What gives one person the right to make comments about someones weight? Do we think putting another woman down will make us thinner? I for one and happy with my weight and that's the most important thing. Not what other people think.

 I just needed to rant about this topic! I feel better already ^^.

In other news, the first snow of the year appeared. Thankfully, it went after a few hours and it didn't stick. I think this winter is going to be colder than last. I treated myself to some more heat-tech clothes.

What to pack if you move to Korea.

I wrote a post before I came here, of what I heard I needed to pack. http://www.wherewillmyfeettakemenext.blogspot.kr/2011/02/packing-list.html
I decided to look back at what was true and what was not.

Before I start, I just want to say things change here daily. I came here 2 and a half years ago and so much as changed. So, what I write now may not be true in a year or so.

This are the items I wrote you needed on my previous post....

• Deodorant- This is false. They have it over here. Though, it is a bit expensive. It is a myth that all Koreans don't sweat. Just most...... I talked to my Korean friends about this and one never gets BO and the other does. 

Yummy Korea!

• Decent chocolate- Okay, this is true and false. They have American chocolate everywhere. I hate the stuff personally.... Yuck! Some of the Korean chocolate is okay. But if you are fussy then bring over your favourite chocolate from home.

• Indoor shoes- Buy them over here much cheaper! Indoor shoes are sold everywhere just go to the bargain store.

• Sun cream! They sell over here at 5 times the price!!! Bring your own if you have room! Plus, it's all 50+ over here.

• Foundation. If you have a darker skin tone then bring your own. I am not sure  about this one.  I am pale, so I could but this over here. Perhaps, the department store sell darker tones.....

• Stickers and stamps - get them at the bargain shop or any stationary shop for a fraction of the cost. Though, my friend from the USA has some cool ones from back home that were from the dollar stores.

• Gifts for principal - I started work day 1 so I was glad I had them ready!

Things I think you need to pack for Korea!

• Bras- 100 per cent pack loads of these bad boys! They are expensive and they only sell up to a B cup here.

• If you have big feet or are bigger than a UK size 8 then clothes and shoes. With clothes you might be able to buy some from western brands in Myeongdong, Seoul. But you will have limited options.

• Salt and vinegar crisp!!!! Sometimes, just sometimes they sell in Itaewon, Seoul. But, not always! 

• Decent gravy! Ahhh bisto! Get from home.

Don't worry about not being able to get your
 favourite food whilst out here!

• Packet mixes for your first week until you get used to shopping and cooking. Those packet soups were a lifesaver my first night.

• If you have a baby then bring all your baby clothes from home. So expensive out here!

• Photos of friends and family.

• English DVDs. It's hard to buy DVDs out here. Everyone illegally downloads them.  If your not into downloading then bring them with you or use Amazon. I bought so many DVDs from Amazon whilst living here.

You can get most stuff out here. Homeplus is owned by Tesco (UK), therefore it sells loads of Western food. Also, Costco and Itaewon sell loads of food and spices that are hard to get elsewhere. You can also get stuff from Gmarket or iherb. 

The only things I miss are parsnips, pies and sausages. There is a guy who sells sausages in Myeongdong, but they are super expensive. I will wait until I go home.

Happy Halloween 2013!

Haunted house

It being my last year teaching, I decided to do something special. The idea of a haunted house struck me on Sunday night, and when I got to work the following morning I had decided to do it. I found some bin bags and made a tunnel in the storage room. I then decorated it with ghost and a scary movie mask.

All week, I told classes if they wanted to come they have to come at after lunch or after school.

I felt like a pop star

On Halloween, I added a candle for light and some spooky sounds. I did the first three classes during lesson time. In the house I hid and jumped out on students. They then had to choose a bag. A, B, C or D. Each bag had something different in it. One had baked beans, one spaghetti mixed with candy, one had goo mixed with candy and the last had just candy. All students were sworn to secrecy as not to spoil the surprise.

After lunch, I went back to the classroom. I expected 10 students max to remember to come but....... two- three hundred came. I was doing the haunted house until 4.30!!! My throat seriously hurts today. They all waited outside the classroom. I think the younger generation can line up better than the older people.

I'm glad I did it. It's a good memory of my last Halloween in Korea.

The future

“People tend to think that happiness is a stroke of luck, something that will descend like fine weather if you're fortunate. But happiness is the result of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly.”

― Elizabeth Gilbert

October is a good month for me. I am feeling pretty positive and blessed. I have achieved a lot in my life and I know what I want to do in the future. 

I have travel the world. Experienced different cultures. Met people from all walks of life. Studied and worked at many different places. Seen the most beautiful sites. Eaten the the most delicious food. All this by the age of 27. 

I feel truly blessed to have had the opportunity to do this. My parents were not born rich, but they both worked hard for me and my brother and because of this we have had the most wonderful lives. Both also worked and are still working for their own dreams. To me they are inspirational. They did this either by studying or changing jobs. They simply work hard to enjoy their lives. I have not seen a day my mum doesn't smile. Even when she is grumpy, she still smiles at least once.

Not only this. They also gave me freedom. Freedom to chose my own life and path. They supported every choice I made. Even when I traveled across the world to japan. In which, my mum still reminds me I broke her heart in doing so..... They supported me when I moved in with an ex boyfriend  and even helped me move back out a month later. They supported all my mistakes, but were always there to pick up the pieces after. They only ever gave guidance and help. For this I thank them both. I hope to be just like them if I ever have children.

There are times we are all in a dark place. For me this is when life becomes repetitive and stale. I never want to just live day to day. I wish to enjoy everyday. Of course this is impossible. Some days (or some months even) we are just simply in a bad mood. But when those days come, it is good just to have the good days to look forward to or even look back on. Also, surround yourself with good friends and family.

These few months I have been at my happiest. I think this is because I know what I want to do. I really thought about what direction I want my life to take after I leave Korea. Before this year I always had a nagging at the back of my head. It was telling me I should be doing something towards my dream. But, at the time I didn't know my dream so it was like a cycle of thoughts in my head. 

To be brutally honest. I always thought I should get a job, marry have kids. What was expected from society. But, my heart was never given to any of my ex boyfriends. As soon as the lust was gone, I went back to having a strong desire to be alone and pushing them away. I think no-one can fully give their heart until they know what is in it. What desires and wises reside in that heart. 

I never knew my dreams and wishes. Not until over a year ago. I had a bad break up.  I thought I had found the 'one'. I soon realised he wasn't the one, and during that time I discovered I need to know my own wishes before focusing my energy on another person. I would never be happy until I did that. 

I tried really thinking about my wishes for the first time in my life. And I mean really thinking. A years worth of thinking in fact. I decided to try to do a CELTA. There I discovered I wanted to go back and study and do a second degree to get in to my field of interest. I will have to work hard for the next 4 years, but it is all for the end goal. 

There are going to be days when I won't see the finish line and may feel sad. But during those days I can think back to what I have achieved and what is to come. I can remember sitting in Chiang Mai eating strawberries and surrounded by flowers. I can also remember meeting a geisha. I can remember all my friends from around the world, and perhaps my itchy travelling feet will subside for a few years,

I have 4 months left in South Korea. I have spending my time applying to my course and making plans for when I return to England. I don't know my future but I realised it's starting to seem a lot less scary,

DMZ with Adventure Korea

DMZ

Yesterday, I went to the DMZ. I thought I should go because I am leaving in 4 months and I wanted to know more about both Korea's before leaving. I booked with adventure Korea. I like this company. The people in charge of tours seem to actually like their job. Unlike the guy from WINK. He always seems angry. They are also very organised unlike WINK.

I met the coach at 9am at Express bus terminal, whilst other met us a little later on at Hongdae. Then we headed for Imjingak. Unfortunately, there happened to be a bike festival that day so we were stuck waiting for the bikers to pass for 20 minutes. But, there was positive to this. It was more quiet than normal we were told.

Bike festival

Imjingak is strange. On one side there are buildings and monuments. On the other side this are fun fair rides. It seemed very touristy. There is a shrine for the north Koreans who cannot return home. This is so they can pray to their ancestors during important holidays. It seems strange that somewhere so important to people also sells DMZ cups and footballs.

DMZ

DMZ

The freedom bridge is where they exchange prisoners are the Korean war. People have written on ribbons and flags. Many are about the unification of the two Korea's. There was also the peace bell and pictures from a span of 60 years that relate to the DMZ.

Freedom bridge

We headed for Tongilchon (unification village) for lunch. Hardly any one liked lunch. It was of a good quality, but very traditional. If you don't like traditional Korean food then bring some food with you. There wasn't much to do here to be honest.

We then got on the coach to the third tunnel.We first watched a movie, which was mainly propaganda, before heading to the tunnel. The tunnel is quite a walk. At the end you look through a peep hole then go all the way back up. I felt bad for the tall people. The tunnel is not high, therefore they had to crouch down.

We then headed for the Dora observatory. Here you can look at North Korea. I didn't get any pictures. There is a line which you can't take photos in front of. It was interesting to see. The buildings were all white and seemed abandoned.

Dora observatory

North Korea

The last stop was Dorasan train station. This is the last station before the north and would link South Korea railways with the rest of the world if opened. It looks brand new and it is creepily quiet.

Dorasan station

Dorasan station

Empty station

We arrived back in Hongdae at 6. By this point I was so hungry I ran to a Indian restaurant. I am sure my Curry had red pepper paste in it though......