Author: Jessica Moy

SUMMER LIST 2016 | ACCOMPLISHED GOALS

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If you didn’t know my goals from this summer, you can catch yourself up HERE! Two words: NAILED IT! Ok, there were a couple revisions throughout the summer goals process but, I will explain it all below. Let’s just be happy that they’re all crossed off. WOO! JESSICA’S SUMMER GOALS 2016! 1. Launch Get Up & Go Girl channel What? You haven’t subscribed? You can do that now by clicking HERE! If you have subscribed, I will now give you eternal friendship! In all seriousness, I launched Get Up & Go Girl because a fire of creativity suddenly lit inside and told me, do it. I want this channel to evolve and be an outlet for anyone to come for inspiration, a laugh, or to ask questions/start a conversation. I called it Get Up & Go Girl because I do want to focus on girl/women empowerment (but I’m inclusive so obviously anyone can be part of the community). 🙂 Working at an all girls’ school has showed me the importance of girls knowing that there is no limit of …

BALI (UBUD) PART 2

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Annnnnnnnd I’m back with the sequel. If you haven’t read BALI (KUTA & UBUD) PART 1, go catch yourself up! We’re going to start this post with my trip to The Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary. I’m not going to lie, I felt absolutely terrified to see all these monkey’s jumping around. There were so many of them, EVERYWHERE! They didn’t approach you if you had no bananas (how typical right?), I advise you leave all food at home or in the car that day. Below is a photo of genuine happiness, I really think this is the happiest I’ll ever be because I’ve never been this close to a monkey. I wish the monkey felt the same, but it seems like he doesn’t give a hoot. One of the best parts of being in Indonesia was ALLLLL THE HEALTHY, WHOLESOME FOOD! Living in Korea I’m used to fried foods covered with thick sauces and spicy kimchi flavoured items so the fact that I can order smoothies, quinoa salad, sweet potato fries, and a black rice burrito made my stomach happy. …

BALI (KUTA & UBUD) PART 1

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CAN YOU BELIEVE I WENT TO BALI?! WHAT IS LIFE?! Never in a million years would I have ever thought I would step foot in the soil of Indonesia. In my mind Bali was an exotic place that will forever be far beyond my reach. It’s way too beautiful of a place for someone like me to go. It’s like being in an elevator and suddenly the hottest man to ever walk the earth enters and stands casually beside you and he’s so far beyond good looking that you can’t even look at him in the eyes and there’s no WAY you’d ever speak to him without stuttering from nerves. IT’S LIKE BEING STUCK IN AN ATM VESTIBULE WITH JILL GOODACRE! If anyone understands this reference, we are friends forever. Where am I going with this.. oh yes! Bali has always been a place I never thought I would go but a few months ago in a random act of picking a new adventure, Bali was chosen. On August 10, 2016 my friend Leni and I packed our carry-ons …

TASTE TEST: KOREAN SNACKS

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My friend Dev and I got together and filmed a taste test video for my Get Up & Go Girl channel. We ate/spit-out Korean snacks we’ve never tried before including the best ice cream EVERRR, a couple odd flavoured chips (tteokbokki anyone?), and whatever else the Korean convenience store had to offer. I hope you enjoy this video more than we enjoyed squid jerky.

EPIK PROGRAM: APARTMENT TOUR

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Hey everyone! I wanted to share what EPIK provides when you start working with them in South Korea. Every place will vary in location and size but no matter what, when you get hired by EPIK your apartment is FREE (no stress of rent, and think of the money you’ll save!). Also there is no need to purchase a bed or a desk because in your contract, there will be a list of items EPIK will already have in your apartment upon arrival. Personally speaking, I love my place! It is in close proximity to my school.. I could literally throw a tennis ball from my door and it will hit a classroom window. The subway station is a tad far (15 minute walk or a 5 minute bus ride) but it’s never been a problem, there is a beautiful hiking trail behind my building and a handful of restaurants and cafes nearby. Below I give you a tour of my apartment and explain what EPIK provides and doesn’t provide when you make the move, as well as information …

I AM MALALA – MALALA YOUSAFZAI

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Wow. Just, wow. I read I am Malala while on vacation in Bali and could not put this book down. Every single person in the entire world needs to read her story. Malala is a girl who stood up for equal education, was shot in the head by the Taliban, and lived to tell the tale. Throughout the book I learned about Malala and how she’s your average teenage girl – loves to read, do her hair, and talk about boys. She is humble, strong, and her relationship with her fearless father (who fought long and hard to keep his schools open in Pakistan despite threats from the Taliban) is endlessly inspiring. Chills ran through my body when I read about the young man from the Taliban who stopped Malala’s school bus to ask, “who is Malala?” Seconds later he shot her in front of all of her schoolmates. The bullet skimmed her brain and landed near her shoulder. Everyone on the bus survived, including Malala. The part in the book when she’s taken away from her home and …

KOREAN DISHES I ACTUALLY ENJOY

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Korean food and I have had a rocky relationship. I don’t like eggs, I only eat kimchi because it’s in front of me, rice cakes make me gag, sugar on top of potatoes is weird, and anything with the words blood, intestine, or gizzard I tap out. What’s left for me to eat in Korea? Not too much. I do enjoy select Korean dishes so if there are any of you who are like me (picky AF, apparently) there is hope!!! When I go to any Korean restaurant, in front of me will be one of the seven dishes listed below. 1. Kimchi Bokkeumbap This is my all-time favourite Korean dish. I don’t looove kimchi but mixed with fried rice (bokkeumbap) the taste of kimchi is subtle and delicious. I first had this while spending a summer in NYC and became addicted, I legit had it every day. I prefer kimchi bokkeumbap with pork, no egg and MELTED CHEESE ON TOP! The cheese is key! You gotta eat this dish with a spoon because it tastes different with a fork, …

THREE LESSONS I’VE LEARNED SINCE LIVING ABROAD

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Let’s chat. Like, let’s really have a heart to heart. Grab a cup of tea and a snack because we’re going to get into it. I’ve been living in Busan, South Korea for almost six months. Six friggin’ months. I’ve never been away from home for this long or been this far from my family. But, here I am. Still alive, happiest I’ve ever been, and creating a life for myself that’s not of the norm but I suppose no adventurous spirit wants to be cooped up in a small town with no room for potential growth. I was talking with my mom last night and she made a joke on how she, “always loses me.” For instance, when I was five my family went to a carnival for Canada Day. She looked at my brother and I in the eyes and said, “WE ARE NOT GOING TO THE PARK! DO NOT GO TO THE PARK!” I specifically remember she made my brother and I hold hands so we wouldn’t lose each other. Mom turned …

LET’S GO SAILING

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I’m too tired to write paragraphs about my adventures last week since life has been crazy busy and all I want to do is sleep without waking up every hour sweating from the humidity. Summer camp is almost over, and I’m at the final stretch of planning and executing lessons. Therefore, rather than massive paragraphs, I am going to explain each picture in a haiku. I don’t guarantee quality in these haikus, it’s midnight and my eyes are currently half closed. Leggo.. Skateboarding is cool. I’m secretly good at it. It surprised the boys. We went out sailing. I do not know how to swim. I jumped off the boat. The view from the boat. Busan is so beautiful. You should come visit. Love delicious noods. That’s short for noodles, weirdo. Do you love noods too? I did some shopping. Bought a mask and a planner. Watch my haul vid, now. (Subscribe to my fashion/beauty/lifestyle channel Get Up & Go Girl if you haven’t already!!!) This is my cool vlog. Sailing, shopping, and much more! Watch it now, …

BORYEONG MUD FESTIVAL

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A couple weekends ago I attended the staple festival for every foreigner who comes to South Korea, the Boryeong Mud Festival. I went with the tour group Enjoy Korea and they set up transportation, accommodation, and tickets into the festival. It was an organized weekend which I appreciated and they stationed a mini bar/food stand right beside our pensions so there was a place for everyone to gather at night. I hate to say it but the mud festival itself was a bit of a dud. There were mud wrestling stations and inflatable slides but the “mud” was literally dirty water on the pavement that people rolled around in. I spent an hour at the festival, got bored of it all so I cleaned off at the beach and hung out with new friends from Daegu. As night fell we gathered on the beach and watched PSY live in concert!!! YES!!! THE MAN WHO SINGS GANGNAM STYLE!!! IN FRONT OF OUR EYES!!! IT WAS AMAZING!!! That was by far the best part of the trip. The beach …

SUMMER TUNES ON REPEAT

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If I like a song, it will be played on repeat for weeks, or until I can’t stand it no longer. It’s one of the many reasons why I should never have a roommate.. These summer jams are all I have been listening to for the past week and thought I would share them with you! Let me know in the comments below what tunes you’ve been loving this summer, I need new songs to wear out. Who Do You Think Of? – M.O. Perfect Strangers – Jonas Blue feat J.P. Cooper Make Me -Britney Spears feat. G-Eazy Cruel – Snakehips feat. Zayn

WAS THAT AN EARTHQUAKE?

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Earlier this month there was a 5.0-magnitude underwater earthquake near Ulsan, which meant Busan also had quite a shake. No one reported any injuries and there were no damages in result of the earthquake, but if you’ve never felt the world tremble.. it’s a craaaaaaazy feeling. I was sitting on my bed when I felt a rumble. The best comparison of how it feels is when you’ve finished riding a roller coaster and you’ve come to a full stop, waiting to get back to where you started. All the sudden, you start to jerk forward and it keeps doing that until you stop (for good this time) and the ride announcer dude says it’s ok to push your handle bars up and exit to your left. The small stop and start of the ride is what a small earthquake feels like.  It’s enough to make your stomach feel queasy. Have you ever felt an earthquake? What do you do in emergency situations? Someone needs to inform me of all safety precautions and procedures! Please send informative earthquake …

EPIK TEACHER: WHAT TO PACK & NOT TO PACK

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“How do I put my entire life into this?” A question I pondered to myself five months ago as I stared quizzically at my silver suitcase laid open on my floor, waiting for me to pack. Anything. “This suitcase is massive,” I tilted my head, “would I be able to fit myself inside of it?”A question that was neither here nor there but in case you were wondering, the answer is yes. Yes I could. Eventually I figured out the whole packing situation and since I’ve been in Korea for awhile, I have a few tips for upcoming EPIK teachers. Below are my suggestions on 5 items you should pack and 5 items to leave behind when moving to South Korea. What to pack: 1. Fitted bed sheet In Korea we use a pad that goes over the mattress and I’m constantly pulling at the corners to keep it on. The only problem is that the bed size at your place will vary. I have a double but I know a couple EPIK teachers who have a queen (lucky …