Author: Jessica Moy

MY SUMMER GOALS 2017

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OH YES! My annual summer goals list is here and I am so excited I could pee my pants. Funny side note: When I visited my friend Dev the other weekend in Seoul we were walking back from dinner and I suddenly had to pee (blame it on the margaritas!). We were in the elevator of his apartment and he was making me laugh.. not a small giggle either, the on-the-ground-can’t-breathe-eyes-watering-probably-going-to-pass-out type. I made him turn around and put his nose to the corner so he wouldn’t look at me squirm but I could still see him chuckling to himself. I started laughing harder. When the elevator opened I ran to his door and bolted to the washroom. He then YELLED at me for running into his house with my shoes on, which made me laugh even more. Before I knew it, I felt a warm flow go down my legs. Yup. I peed my pants. While crouching in front of his toilet. Laughing. Shoes, still on. #bless Anyway, back to the reason for this blog post, I have compiled my …

MODERN MAP ART: TORONTO

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Whenever someone asks where I’m from, which is often, I say with all of my Canadian pride: TUR-ON-OH! They nod their head and say (in a few octaves higher to sound slightly more interested than they actually are) “oh cool!” and proceed to comment one of the following.. Aren’t people really nice there? Do you know Drake? How much snow do you get in the winter? Did you play ice hockey? You have a cute Prime Minister, what’s his name again? The questions might get repetitive but, I don’t mind. I truly get warm and fuzzies when I talk the diversity of the city I love, how shitty our hockey team is, and the greatness that are timbits and double-doubles. Last month, Modern Map Art reached out and asked if I would be interested in a print of one of their city grid maps. My heart skipped a beat. YES! YES I DO! The sleek, matte design now hangs wonderfully above my desk and every time I glance at it *cue* all the feels. I’m thousands of miles away from the …

EATING LIVE OCTOPUS AT JALGACHI FISH MARKET

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The title of this blog post is a little deceiving because A) I’m not the one who actually ate the live octopus and B) I’m not even going to highlight much of that experience. I’m sorry if you clicked here thinking you’d see a plethora of squirming tentacles and disgusted faces. If that’s what you’re craving, scroll down to my first vlog. Otherwise, here’s an update on my life! I’m incredibly happy that my dad, brother, aunt, and uncle visited me last month. I was missing home a bunch and it was nice to be surrounded by FAMiliarity. I took them on a tour around the entire city and according to my brother, we walked approximately 30,000 steps in only one day. They tired me da faq out. We walked along Haeundae Beach where I showed them a little mermaid statue named Princess Hwangok who sits atop of a rock along the coast. She is from Naranda, a mythical sea kingdom of mermaids. As the story goes, she left home to go on an adventure but as …

I’M A RETURNING EPIK TEACHER, HERE ARE 4 THINGS THAT ARE DIFFERENT

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“I’m only going to stay one year!” At least that’s what I told myself when I moved halfway across the world. Fast forward 365 days. When the moment came where I had to decide whether I should go back to Toronto or re-sign my contract, it only took a millisecond for me to admit, “I’m not ready to go.” I’ve been living in Busan, South Korea for a year and two months and as a returning EPIK teacher, here are 4 things that are different this time around: 1. As a picky eater, finding food I like is way easier For the first few months of living in Busan, I struggled to find food I enjoyed. My stomach wasn’t used to the copious amount of spicy sauce on my chicken, sugar on bagels, or salty seafood soups. Now that I’m familiar with the area I live in and have searched high and low for grocery stores that sell my favourite foods and restaurants that serve dishes I love, I feel better knowing that I always have a go-to meal figured out. …

HOLI HAI & SHOPPING AT COSTCO

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Hello friends, I can’t believe it’s the end of March! This month flew by! It’s been a hot minute since I’ve updated you on my life so grab a snack and let’s get right into it. My new dentist and I are BFF’s, I’ve seen the man four times this month. The first visit was meant to be a check up but, that turned into an immediate procedure because I had an infected cavity. I was drugged during the appointment, which made the journey home challenging, especially because I got on the wrong bus but felt too drowsy to get off and figure it out. At least the view at the end of the line was nice. I eventually made my way home three hours later, and if the day wasn’t long enough I stepped off of the bus, tripped, and smacked my face on the cement. I was still numb from my procedure so it didn’t hurt too much, but safe to say I stayed in for the rest of the night. Second visit to the dentist was so my …

A SHORT HISTORY OF NEARLY EVERYTHING – BILL BRYSON

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I first came across Bill Bryson while browsing the interwebs and stumbled upon this quote from his book, A Short History of Nearly Everything. “To begin with, for you to be here now trillions of drifting atoms had somehow to assemble in an intricate and intriguingly obliging manner to create you. It’s an arrangement so specialized and particular that it has never been tried before and will only exist this once. For the next many years (we hope) these tiny particles will uncomplainingly engage in all the billions of deft, cooperative efforts necessary to keep you intact and let you experience the supremely agreeable but generally underappreciated state known as existence.” Pretty powerful stuff, huh? I read the first few pages on Amazon and immediately put the book into my cart and hit the purchase button. This is the type of book EVERYONE needs to get their hands on to simply get a better understanding of our universe and how we have ended up where we are now. I learned that the universe is vast …

KOREAN BEAUTY: PEEL-OFF LIP TINT

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You know the colour of your lips after you finished eating a cherry red popsicle? The stain is not perfect, it’s faded on the outside and it’s even a little patchy, but you’re kinda into it. If you ever wanted that wash of red to stay, you’re in luck with A’PIEU’s Harutatoo peel-off lip tint in RD01. Watch as I peel-off my lips and experiment with this k-beauty innovation in my latest video on Get Up & Go Girl.

3 TIPS ON GOING TO THE DENTIST IN SOUTH KOREA

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I’m not the biggest fan of the dentist, never have been. No part of me fancies sitting in the plastic covered chair looking up at fluorescent lights and having someone pick at my teeth with metal foreign objects. I’ve been putting off a visit for a year (horrible, I know!) so last month I decided to put on my big girl pants and booked an appointment. I’ve never had teeth cleaning done outside of Canada and I wanted to provide a few helpful tips for those who plan on going to the dentist as an EPIK teacher in South Korea. 1. Ask your social circle all the questions The best way to find a dentist, especially an English speaking one, is to ask friends or fellow EPIK teachers. Luckily a friend of mine sent me the email address of her dentist and that’s how I made an appointment. When you go, all you need to bring is your ARC card and bank card. 2. Some procedures are covered under your medical insurance, some are not From my understanding, teeth cleaning and …

EAT KOREAN BBQ WITH ME

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Last night I met up with a friend who suggested we go to one of his favourite K-BBQ places for dinner. We made our way to PNU (Pusan National University) in Busan and thought it would be fun to take you along with us on a typical Friday night in SoKo. Bring on the samgyupsal, banchan, and meakju! 😉 This post was created for EPIK e-Press.

ATTENDING EPIK ORIENTATION AS A LECTURER

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It’s Sunday night and I’m shovelling handfuls of organic granola in my mouth. I think I’m addicted. It’s the kind with dark chocolate and red berries mixed in and I may eat the entire bag in this one sitting (no shame). I haven’t made dinner yet, but all that sounds appetizing right now is granola so, this is indeed supper tonight. Speaking of dinner, not too long ago I went to Loving Hut, a vegan place that is walking distance from my apartment. I went in, took off my shoes, sat on the heated floor, read a book, and munched on delicious curry. I never used to eat dinner by myself at restaurants, it would actually make me feel uncomfortable to sit there and not have anyone to talk to. Since living in SoKo, solo dinner dates have been the norm. It’s actually one of my favourite things I do and highly recommend taking yourself out and enjoying your own company every once and awhile. Last month I went to renew my visa at the immigration office, which …

WISE LIFE ADVICE FROM A VOGUE EDITOR

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I stumbled upon a Vogue  article written by Contributing Editor Molly Guy about the 40 things she’s learned on her 40 years on earth. I loved her honesty and rawness and wanted to share a few of my favs. 1. Smoking cigarettes is the stupidest thing you can do. 2. Don’t believe the hype about high school sex. Anything you learned about losing your virginity is a marketing ploy invented by Aaron Spelling to make your 14-year-old self feel ugly and in need of new breasts. In two decades a lady named Lena Dunham will appear on the scene and relieve gals everywhere of the burden to be a mute hairless newt with no subjectivity during sexual intercourse. In the meantime, if it doesn’t feel good, say no and stop. 3. Miracles happen. That girl you thought would never fall in love will fall in love. That sibling who pledged to never speak to you again will speak to you again. Your friend with three failed rounds of IVF and two miscarriages will soon call you …

THE 10-STEP KOREAN SKINCARE ROUTINE

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There’s a secret behind the luminosity of Koreans and their porcelain skin, and it’s a complex 10-step system. This highly popularized Korean skincare regime is the norm for beauty fanatics, including myself in SoKo. I get asked all of the time about product recommendations and it’s taken a year to finally put together the perfect lineup for my skin type (dry/sensitive). Below is a better understanding of each step and brands I actually love/use to inspire your own Korean skincare quest. STEP 1: Oil-based cleanser NEOGEN Real Fresh Cleansing Stick Green Tea (Olive Young, ₩18,000) First step is massaging a gentle cleanser all over the face. This one from NEOGEN is my favourite because it contains 13 natural oils that breakdown my makeup (including eye area) and green tea to help reduce inflammation. Bonus: It’s travel friendly since it’s a stick, not a liquid. STEP 2: Exfoliation Bamboo Charcoal Peeling Gel (Amazon, $27) I use this chemical exfoliant from Aritaum twice a week and it literally lifts and rolls dead skin from my face, which is kinda gross, but also kinda satisfying. STEP 3: Water-based cleanser Tea …

HAPPY VALEN..TUES..DAY

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HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! And if you don’t celebrate the commercial day of love, um, happy Tuesday? Or, best of both worlds, Happy Valen..Tues..Day. Heh heh. I’m not funny, but these cards from Emily McDowell are.. I’m currently desk-warming and spent three consecutive hours catching up on the latest season of ANTM. A few notes: I need a new wardrobe, specifically cute crop tops and bralettes because all of the contestants wear them in each episode and they look fly AF.  Rita Ora and I need to be BFF’s. I appreciate that the show is focusing on branding these models by incorporating their business and social media skills and not just producing a pretty face. #slay Beyonce’s Lemonade album is currently blasting in my ears, and I’m trying to kill another couple hours until I can escape from this desk. TBH, I have no game plan when I started writing this blog post so I’m going to go ahead and do a stream of consciousness. It’s V-Day today, and throughout the week I drafted two posts about love and relationships but trashed both because …