All posts filed under: Life

BOSEONG GREEN TEA FIELDS

Published by

Hello all. I’m currently at work, desk warming. Desk warming expectations: Me sitting in front of the computer, working hard, planning activities and gathering reading materials for summer camp, which commences Monday. I’m finished planning summer camp, so.. Desk warming reality: Me scrolling through Instagram, eating snacks, and researching how long it would take to travel to each country, in case of a mid-life crisis. If you’re wondering, if you spend 5 days in each of the 196 countries, and assuming it would take a day to travel to each of them, it would (apparently) take 3 years, 2 months, and 3 weeks. And probably a bajillion dollars. Anyway, I haven’t made a life update blog post in awhile and quite frankly, it’s Friday and I’m feeling lazy. So, I will show you pictures of what I’ve been up to and explain them all in a Haiku. *ahem* On top of a roof. Bridge lifts up at 2 P.M. Decent view, I guess. What are these trees called? They’re pretty and I like them. Want …

THE CURE FOR LONELINESS

Published by

Hello all! I’ve been M.I.A for nearly a month. Perhaps it’s because the summer season arrived and my body was like, “get outside and give the internet a rest for a bit.” Whether the humidity has gotten to me or not, I haven’t been feeling motivated, and understanding how I felt and what I could do to help myself was (and still is) a rocky road. So, I unplugged. Looking back, I think that was the right thing to do. Sometimes we need time to nurture our bodies and take care of our souls, and we can’t authentically do that with an audience watching. When I knew the funk was lingering a little too long, I forced myself to grab my camera and express how I was feeling though my latest video on Get Up & Go Girl. It’s a different style than what I usually do but I hope you like it.

BUSAN ALLEYWAY FESTIVAL

Published by

Hello all! The official days of summer are fast approaching (ONE WEEK AWAY!). I can already smell the scent of sunscreen, chlorine, and freshly cut grass *SNIFF SNIFF* ahhh. But, let’s be real, I live in Korea so it’s more like the smell of seafood, kimchi, and cigarette smoke. Take what you can get.. Summer means getting outside A LOT more, and what better way to spend an afternoon than exploring the Busan Alleyway Festival. Two weeks ago the city celebrated four popular alleyways, each showered with artwork and history. Honestly, I would not have known about these fascinating little side streets if it were not for the weekend celebration.I was fascinated to learn that there’s a monorail in one of the alleyways since older citizens live higher in the mountains. The monorail makes it easier for them to access their homes instead of busting their knee caps while climbing hundreds of steps. But if you do brave the steps, there are beautiful lookout points where you can gaze upon staggered city rooftops, the deep blue …

CUPCAKES, COW BLOOD, AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

Published by

Another week, another life update. Even though I haven’t had a true life update in three weeks.. oy. It’s currently Sunday evening and I will be going to bed in about an hour, but I wanted to get this up so you know that I’m still alive and well. Vlogging every week can be difficult, sometimes. Especially when you’re going through life’s adversities or feel exhausted, then no part of me wants to shove a camera in front of my face and forced to be entertaining. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE filming and editing videos of my daily life, it’s a hobby. I do it because it allows me to release creative energy and keeps me occupied. But some weeks, like the last couple weeks, it can be strenuous to film a side of me that’s a bit more vulnerable. But no need to worry, all is well. I’m happy and revitalized so, let’s talk about Sport’s Day. Last year I filmed Sport’s Day at my school in a little more depth, which you can watch by clicking, HERE. …

GERMAN VILLAGE & ANCHOVY FESTIVAL IN NAMHAE

Published by

On May 3, Buddha’s Birthday, I had the day off from work so I hopped on a bus from Busan and three hours later I was standing on South Korea’s fifth largest island, Namhae. First stop was the German Village, built for Korean-Germans who returned from Germany in the 1960’s where they worked as nurses and minors to earn foreign currency. Now the quaint little houses have turned into cafes, pubs, and restaurants selling German beers and bratwurst. Second stop was The Mijo Anchovy Festival which included bare hand fishing, seafood eating, K-pop performances, and a ton of fireworks. Check out my Namhae vlog to see more of the beautiful island! This post was created for EPIK e-Press.

DAEGU LANTERN FESTIVAL

Published by

Oh sun, how I’ve missed you. As of late the weather in Busan has been glorious. I have been out of the house a whole lot and recently went on a solo hike at Oryukdo. The entire walk was B-E-A-U-tiful! The coast stretches on for almost 4 km and the scenic views make you stop every few steps to take in the the sight of the endless sea.The day after my hike, I went for a stroll around Bosu-Dong Book Alley. I always love coming down here to browse through the thousands of books, some you can find in English if you look close enough. I took a pit-stop at a cafe at the end of the alley and had something called “Wedding Tea” which was caramel flavoured, and it was scrumptious.As I was sitting at the cafe, I was browsing on my phone to see what was around the area. On Google Maps I saw a huge green patch just above where I was located. It was an area called Jungang Park. I had the entire day to …

MY SUMMER GOALS 2017

Published by

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 …

EATING LIVE OCTOPUS AT JALGACHI FISH MARKET

Published by

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 …

HOLI HAI & SHOPPING AT COSTCO

Published by

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 …

ATTENDING EPIK ORIENTATION AS A LECTURER

Published by

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 …

HAPPY VALEN..TUES..DAY

Published by

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 …

SEOLLAL IN SEOUL

Published by

My one year anniversary since moving to Busan, South Korea is less than a week away. HOLY SMOKES! Fellow English teachers have started to pack their bags and will be traveling South East Asia or going back to their home countries doing, whatever adults do to progress their lives nowadays. I will be living and teaching in SoKo for one more year and looking forward to new adventures, collecting more passport stamps, and meeting friends the universe will put into my life next. Even though there will be a handful of changes happening in the next few days, some things will be staying the same. I’ll be living in the same apartment, teaching at the same school, and continually getting lost while navigating the city streets but making the best of it by finding a pretty place to sit down and take a picture. On January 28th, my cousin Melissa and I traveled to Seoul for Seollal, otherwise known as Lunar New Year. The best part of the weekend was our visit to Gyeongbokgung where we took an audio …

RINGING IN THE NEW YEAR IN BUSAN

Published by

HAPPY 2017 MY BEATIFUL READERS! A new year brings new resolutions.. except, I don’t start resolutions that commence exactly on January 1 because instant change is the WORST! Some people can start fresh in the new year and cut off junk food or go to the gym without missing a day. If this is you I say both congratulations, and you suck. While adapting quickly to new projects or resolutions can be exciting, it stresses me the eff out. Recently, a change I’ve been struggling with is the ability to wake up earlier. I’m the person to hit the snooze button at least three times, which leads me to wake up five minutes before I have to be at work, and roll to my desk like a hot morning mess. This needed to change. One morning I felt ambitious and woke up at 6AM thinking I can do the 900 things I want to accomplish before 8AM such as yoga, writing, reading, and making a well-balanced breakfast. HA HA. I ended up failing and hating myself …