Author: Jessica Moy

15 WAYS TO DISTRACT YOURSELF WHEN FEELING HOMESICK IN SOUTH KOREA

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Leaving your comfort zone for a long period of time is truly admirable but while experiencing a variety of cultures is fantastic, it’s not always bunnies and rainbows. There are days I miss hugging mom, ordering a Double Double at Tim Hortons, or seeing snow fall in November. Missing home is normal, and while the only real cure is to feel your way through, I’ve compiled 15 activities you can do to distract yourself to make homesickness a little easier to ride out: 1. Wake up early and go on a hike. When you’re active you release endorphins, and endorphins relieve stress and makes you feel happier. It’s science. 2. Visit a dog café. Cuddling one is optional. 3. Skype your funniest friend or family member. 4. Paint. 5. Volunteer at an orphanage. 6. Watch a funny movie or TV show. 7. Treat yourself to a nice dinner. Perhaps find a place that has comfort food you miss from back home (for me, it’s mozzarella sticks). 8. Call up a friend for a coffee date. Chances …

MY EPIK LIFE

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Hello friends, The past nine months have been a whirlwind and I seriously cannot believe South Korea has been my home for that long. From the very beginning I have documented my entire EPIK experience including telling my mother I got the job, moving into my first apartment, eating delicious street food, having fun with my students, baseball games, sunsets, fireworks.. the list goes on and on. In the video below, I have compiled favourite moments from my EPIK life thus far. This entire journey would not have been possible without my grandfather, Georges LeBreton. He’s helped to support everything I’ve ever done including my education, dream of traveling the world, but most importantly, he loved me to the moon and back. Last week, he passed away peacefully. While it saddens me I could not be there to hold his hand, I will have him in my heart wherever I go. With so much love, I dedicate this video him. This post was created for EPIK e-Press.

STREET STYLE, SEOUL FASHION WEEK: 29 ECLECTIC LOOKS FROM OUTSIDE THE SPRING 2017 SHOWS

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Last week, Dongdaemun Design Plaza was the epicentre of Seoul fashion and showcased the upcoming trends for the Spring 2017 season. Outside the spaceship-looking landmark, however, was where the real show was happening. The street style in Seoul was a sartorial circus where the kitschy, 90’s grunge and pantsuit-polished style-setters congregated to display a spectacle of their own. Berets with ring and chain attachments, mismatched shoes and tinted sunglasses were prominent, as well as Korean kiddies who stole our hearts with an eclectic style all their own. See 29 of the best street style looks outside Hera Seoul Fashion Week on FASHION Magazine. While you’re here, watch my SFW vlog! I may or may not hug a shirtless male model..

BIRTHDAY AT EVERLAND

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To celebrate turning one year older, I went to the largest theme park in South Korea – Everland! I am going to answer all of your burning WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, and WHY questions from the fun-filled day. Let us begin: WHO: Went to Everland with my friend Dev and stayed at an Airbnb in Seoul (Gangnam). We took the 5002 bus, which was luckily just outside our place. The ride was 45 minutes and took us straight to the theme park. The bus is the cheapest form of transportation from Seoul (around ₩2,000), but I advise going as early as possible to avoid standing the entire time, like we did. WHAT: Everland is a magical place that holds the world record for having the steepest wooden roller coaster, T-Express (it has a slope of 77 degrees.. yikes!), and the prettiest gardens I ever did see. WHERE: It is located in the city of Yongin, which is in the province of Gyeonggi-do (same province as Seoul!). WHEN: My birthday is in October so Everland was packed with spooky ghost and pumpkin decorations as …

5 THINGS I LEARNED AT HERA SEOUL FASHION WEEK S/S’17

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This season, I had the pleasure of attending Hera Seoul Fashion Week to watch Spring/Summer 2017 collections stomp down the runways at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP). I signed up for a press pass a month before, which gave me access to all of the stylish shows. If you’re an EPIK teacher who has a trendy blog or have a kick-ass photography portfolio, you can email the designers individually to potentially receive ticket to their show too! After attending the fashionable affair, here are 5 things I learned: 1. Always be photo ready Outside of DDP are hoards of street style photographers ready to snap a photo of your #OOTD. If you’re anywhere near fashion week, be sure to give ’em your good side and channel your inner Zoolander, blue steel pose. 2. Elbow your way to the front If you have a unassigned seat to a show, it means you’re four or five rows back. Wait until the last couple minutes before the show starts to hear the volunteers say you can move forward. Front row seats will be reserved for magazine editors …

I’M OFFICIALLY 26 – HERE’S EVERYTHING I WANT TO ACCOMPLISH THIS YEAR

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I’ve always thought the age gap between 25 to 26 to be significant. It may be only a year but somehow in my mind we go from kinda-still-a-child-type-of-adult to ADULT-ADULT! Then I realized, it’s science! Your brain (for the most part) becomes fully developed and mature by the age of 26. You begin to feel less sensitive and have a much easier time handling peer pressure.. apparently. These facts are coming from someone who dropped all science classes by grade 12 so, take what I just said with a grain of salt. Last year I wrote goals I wanted to achieve at the age of 25, here is how I did: 1. I WILL leave my comfort zone. 2. I WILL start living a life that make ME happy, not one that will please someone else. 3. I WILL be more independent. 4. I WILL learn a new language. 5. I WILL start building my empire (LOL.. the time has come) I did something a little differently this year and decided to chat about my accomplished goals on Get Up & Go Girl, as well a NEW goals I want to achieve at 26! Speaking of …

DINOSAURS, IN BUSAN?

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Welcome back to another week of my life! I’m currently sitting at a cafe stealing all the WiFi since mine suddenly went out last night. Grr. My birthday is coming up in 5 days!! CRAZY!! I’ve never had a birthday away from my friends and family back in Toronto and Facebook keeps reminding me of my memories from the past couple years: Dinner with friends, going out for a night on the town, etc. I miss everyone over on the other side of the world, a lot. Thanksgiving is approaching in Canada, my favourite time of year when Momma Moy would wake up early to put the turkey in the oven and family members would trickle in throughout the day to give hugs and thanks. After the homemade stuffing and cranberry sauce were scraped from their dishes and everyone has undone their pant buttons releasing food babies, someone would start singing happy birthday and a chocolate cake would be presented in front of me with a makeshift candle on it. This year, I will witness none of the …

WARM UP & FILLER ACTIVITIES FOR EPIK TEACHERS

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What does an EPIK teacher and a boy scout have in common? THEY ARE ALWAYS PREPARED! The classes I teach are 45 minutes, and sometimes we finish lessons earlier than expected. It would be a nightmare to let students do what they want until the bell rings (chaos will ensue!) so I always have a game or activity on deck to fill in the time. I’ve rounded up my top three filler & warm up activities for the classroom. FYI: I teach middle school so these may be advanced if you teach elementary but, you can adjust according to their level. Let’s get started! 1. A Knock At The Door You know who won’t have fun playing this? NO ONE! It’s an adventure game that can be different each time, depending on where the students want to take the story. Click to download: A Knock At The Door 2. Compound Words For this activity, you show students images and they must guess the word created by the two pictures. Explain briefly what compound words are, start the activity, and they’ll …

GET READY WITH ME: COFFEE DATE FT. THE FACE SHOP DISNEY COLLETION

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I love watching chatty get ready with me videos on YouTube. I’ve been discovering a new one each morning as I get begin to get ready myself because it’s like the we’re getting dolled up together! Does that make me a sad, lonely person? Probably. I’m not ashamed. Recently, I tried out The Face Shop’s Disney Collection and picked up the Mono Pop Eyes in Lovely Pooh and CC Cooling Cushion in Natural Beige. The finish? Amazing. Packaging? Nailed it. Winnie the Pooh? Adorable. I decided to do a chatty get ready with me video for my Get Up & Go Girl channel and yapped away as I did my makeup. I talked about The Face Shop’s newest product launch, what I’m doing for my birthday (!!), and as the title suggests, yes.. I got ready for a date. You can get all the hot gossip in the video below. While you’re here, check out my latest vlog! I hang out at a Line Friend’s store in Itaewon. TBH I had no idea who these characters were but, I stopped …

EPIK: HOW TO IMPRESS YOUR KOREAN CO-TEACHERS

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Co-teachers are your saving grace when you start teaching in South Korea. They help you to settle into your apartment, make sure you’re taken care of, and are always available to answer questions about lesson planning and classroom management. They do so much for you, and the best way to pay them back is making their job a little easier in the classroom. If you want to make a lasting impression on your co-teachers, here’s what you can do to get a gold star: 1. Create entertaining lessons Play games, get students up and moving, make them laugh! There’s so much creative freedom you have as a Guest English Teacher, and a co-teacher appreciates it when they see you can teach and entertain students simultaneously. 2. Talk about your culture For some students, YOU are the first foreigner or native English speaking person they have EVER talked to. They want to know where you came from, what traditions your country has and how it differs from South Korea. Go ahead, make an entire lesson out of it! 3. …

CHUSEOK IN SEOUL

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Chuseok is known as Korean’s version of Thanksgiving and the longest holiday of the year. It has recently passed and for the five days I had off from work I packed my bags and took the KTX straight to Seoul. I was happy to be back on the streets of Korea’s capital, and even happier to be with my cousin and his girlfriend who visited from Toronto. The first place we toured around was the beautiful Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was built in 1395. Doesn’t that blow your mind?! WHAT WAS LIFE EVEN LIKE BACK THEN?! One of the best parts of going to the palace, especially during Chuseok, was seeing almost every Korean dressed in a Hanbok (Korean cultural dress). Perhaps they wore it because of tradition orrr maybe because if you wore one during the holiday it was free to enter all palaces in Seoul (facts). The next day we took a stroll around Naksan Park, located smack dab in the middle of the Seoul. You can have the BEST view of the city here! …

I TRIED IT: KOREAN PEEL-OFF BEAUTY PRODUCTS

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  Seven months ago, I moved to Busan—the second largest South Korean city and home to millions of impossibly glowy complexions—to teach English at an all-girls middle school. My students can be sassy at times, but their beauty tips are always top notch. Last semester one of my eighth-graders showed up to class with perfectly stained red lips. Technically, they’re not allowed to wear makeup at school but the look was so A+ that I decided to let it slide. In the days following, I started noticing hip kid after hip kid walking around with lips that looked like they’d just devoured a giant cherry ice pop. I soon spotted a poster in a store window that featured a bright pair of the trendy stained lips. Intrigued, I went inside and picked up a tube from the shelf. The label clarified that I was holding a peel-off lip tint. Wait, peel off? A little more perusing through the shop and I realized this is a booming K-beauty category, with options for eyebrows too. You paint …

BALI (ULUWATU) PART 3

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Wait!!! Please read part 1 & part 2 before continuing or else you will have seven years of bad luck. I’m kidding.. but seriously, do read those posts before this one. Go. Now. This is my last post for my Bali trip (wah!) but hopefully my little series has set a spark within to get out there and travel or informed you of YOUR next vacation to Bali. Now, where did we leave off.. oh yes. So after our stay in Ubud we left to the surf city of Uluwatu! We stayed at Uluwatu Surf Apartments through Airbnb (Save $$$ on your first stay using Airbnb anywhere in the world by clicking HERE). It had a wonderful pool, puppies, and it was only a short walk to Suluban Beach. The below photo is part of Suluban Beach. I spent a couple lovely afternoons lounging under a cave made of natural limestone, listened to the sounds of the crashing waves, and stared nonchalantly at all the hot surfers. Like, WOAH! Could’ve grated cheese on their abs, just saying. The best way …