All posts tagged: life

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS GALORE

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It’s Sunday afternoon and I am sitting on my unmade bed, listening to Christmas carols. Currently blasting Holly Jolly Christmas by Michael Bublé wondering if neighbours have left a note outside to turn it down. Just checked, NO NOTE! But there was a chicken menu magnetized to my door. *immediately throws in garbage*  I cannot believe it is December! It’s going to be weird not seeing snow during the holiday season or having to worry about salt on my boots. I do plan on going skiing in SoKo sometime in February. I haven’t narrowed down which slopes I want to try, but will surely let you know when I do. In the meantime, I am counting down until my trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand. 42 more sleeps! Last week I went to a delicious dessert cafe in Seomyeon called Molle. My friend Hayden and I ordered a chocolate berry cake and an earl grey apple latte. The decorations in the cafe were cozy and stylish – marble top tables, pillows on chairs, dainty decorations such …

WHY 30 IS NOT THE NEW 20

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Most 20-year-olds (myself included) commonly think to themselves, “I’ll start getting my life together when I turn 30.” Clinical PsychologistMeg Jay had something to say about that and her words slapped reality right across my face. Today I watched her TED talk and was captivated by the stories of her patients and spoke truthfully about why 30 is not the new 20. Here were three points she highlighted that all us 20-somethings need to hear: 1) Identity capital Do something that adds value to who you are. Invest in yourself. Go ahead and volunteer, take that cross-country job, and start doing something that your 30-year-old self will thank you for later. 2) Utilize your weak ties Weak ties = friends of friends of friends. Get to know people outside your inner circle because those people might have the opportunities you may be searching for. One conversation with someone outside your inner circle could get you that job, a great tour suggestion for your next vacation, or perhaps could set you up with your future hubby. 3)  Pick your …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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! …

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 …

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 …

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 …