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AFTERNOON KIDS

I like teaching these group of three boys. They are all nice individually but put them together and they will entertain themselves for hours. Usually our class consists of a lot of giggles. They are super smart (actually way more advanced than Sung Hyun) and they're only 9 years old.



Once of my students mom's ordered pizza for the class. I LOVE Dominoes pizza (trust me it's not the same as in Canada -- which I find to be revolting). But I certainly wasn't expecting this:

Ummm let's see what doesn't belong.....

1. green sauce (wouldn't surprise me if it was green tea)



2. mayonnaise



3. corn



4. potatoe chunks



5. sweet potatoe spread around the crust



6. cherry tomatoes



7. and let's not forget the pickles

Anyways, I was still thankful and ate one piece, but I certainly didn't go back for seconds. That's Korean pizza for you!!!!

Fred sure is loving it!!!!

Oh there's that sweet pickle!!!!

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BBQ Roof top party

Our school was nice enough to throw us an end of summer bash with a party on the rooftop of our school (a.k.a. the parking lot).

Free food, drinks and good times.........

My special KOREAN DADDY (he sure has taken me under his wing. He's constantly asking me about my BF and he says I need to get him approved)

And a special guest appearance by KIM JONG IL himself.

Doesn't the resemblance frighten you?

A COOL COUPLE

Okay so I'm a little/ a lot behind on my posts. I have written out all of the things that I need to update and my list totals 12 (or more) posts so I guess I better get on it.

Firstly, I just wanna say thanks for all the comments. It's nice to get some feedback. I see that I get a lot more responses if I put up butt scratching photos.......hmmm maybe I should be posting more of that.
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Moving on.....

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet a fellow blogger in Korea. Her name is Amanda, she's a teacher here, and we have a lot in common -- WE BOTH HAVE KOREAN BOYFRIENDS!!!

We had been exchanging emails the last month and then we decided that we should meet. We skipped the SOLO meeting and decided to drag along the boyfriends.

Our plans were to head to dinner and then see what happened from there. We started with dinner which lead to ice cream which lead to bowling which lead to watching a movie. It's safe to say we clicked pretty well.

The highlight of the night had to be when I won the bowling game. Okay it's true I won but that wasn't the highlight. Amanda's boyfriend GOODMAN didn't know what size his feet were so instead of telling the bowling alley man what size he needed in Korean (like we all did) he just took off his shoe and handed it to him as if the bowling alley guy was to guestimate what size he should be wearing -- so funny.

Sung Hyun and I both had a fantastic night. It's great to meet a couple like us. Usually I either meet his friends who don't speak English or my friends who don't speak Korean. Good Man and Amanda are great fun and I can't wait to meet them again.

So that's what we did.....................

The next weekend we both happened to be in the same part of Seoul eating the same Indian food, just at a different restaurant.

We met up with each other after dinner and I kinda invited myself to her house again (sorry Amanda) to play a board game that I bought the night before. The night was violent with Amanda cutting up Sung Hyun with her nails as she furiously tried to hit the buzzer before him.

Here's the proof

It looks like Good Man hit the buzzer first, but Sung Hyun had super fast reflexes so he already hit the buzzer when I took this pic

Sung Hyun celebrates his victory with a laugh!!!!

Some how our conversation, in my attempt to explain to Sung Hyun what 'being wipped by a woman' meant, evolved to S & M.

The night was full of laughs and ice cream again

hmmmmm what shall we do with them next time?

*** All pics are from Amanda's camera. THANKS AMANDA!!!!

CAUGHT IN THE ACT....

.......scratching your bum with your shorts pulled up past your belly button.........

.....but I still LOVE YOU

Dinner........a second time round!!!!

I remember the restaurant exactly. It was the night that Sung Hyun picked me up for a date in his sisters car, 3 weeks before I was to return to Canada forever. It was also the night that I got my manager to write him a letter in Korea saying that I was unable to extend my contract and would be returning home soon, very soon.

He knew that something was off. Upon opening the letter it didn't take long for him to realize what the problem was. Folded it up he quickly hustled out of my house.

I'm sure he was crying..........

The car ride to the restaurant was quiet. Who am I kidding, I had only known him for 2 months and because of his limited English ability it was always quiet. But this silence was not soothing.

"It was nice to meet you...........we have fun together.............I think you are a great guy............." I was rambling and I am sure he didn't understand what I meant, even if he was listening it didn't change the fact that I was leaving.

"Look, don't be sad..........we have 3 weeks left, so let's have FUN!!!!", that's all I could say really!!

I'll never forget his response when I asked him how he felt.

"MY HEART ACHES!!!"

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Last month (a whole year later) we made a trip down the same stretch of highway up to the same secluded restaurant. All the uneasy feelings of the last time rushed back making me feel impatient and uneasy.

But I was happy to know that this time around there was nothing standing in our way. No invisible boundaries, visa deadlines, Korean letters. As my friend says it best 'love is not between country to country, but rather person to person'. And that's what we are, two people in love -- simple as that!!!!


I'm so lucky to have someone who is able to make me laugh. Someone who looks at the bright side of everything. And someone who has loved me with an open heart from day one.

I must say that I feel pretty blessed to have parents that support what I do. And although I am sure they want me back home a.s.a.p they continue to provide me with encouraging support and love.

My mom is a pretty easy going person and it doesn't take much to please her. She's the type of person that finds pleasure in doing the most mundane things -- laundry on Sundays or, when unloading the dishwasher, counting how many spoons, knives and forks there are, for instance. I knew that she would like Sung Hyun (and I was right).

My dad on the other hand................well let's just say that I told Sung Hyun not to be surprised if my dad didn't have anything to say about him.

I think it was really important, for Sung Hyun, to have my parents like him. Afterall Koreans do place a lot of emphasis on their families and marriage is really not a union between couples (as it is in Canada) as it is between families. Let's face it, if Sung Hyun's mom/ 5 sisters didn't like me, then most likely Sung Hyun would not be dating me now, that's just the way it goes.

Anyways last week I received this email from my dad. And since I don't have a strong bond with him like I do with my mom, This letter meant the world to me.

So thanks dad. I love you.

Regards your life - what can I say - It's your life. I would strongly
suggest you should live in Canada, however ...

with respect to Gym Guy being in Canada - there are programs for
immigrants: ESL (English as a second language); training (SIAST - if
he likes doing what he is doing presently) and quite frankly an energetic
person would have a difficult time not getting a job in our present market
conditions. From what I saw - he appears to be an honest, sincere gentleman
- only you can decide if he is the one. (Your mother thought I was the one - her
mother certainly didn't feel the same way).

... but trust me on the sunscreen.

Love
Dad

Oh about the sunscreen...........does anyone remember that sunscreen song (or speech)?

Here it is:

Dinner and early morning pancakes!!!

I introduced Sung Hyun to my WILD friend Sarah who is always so full of energy and spark. And WOW what a shock that was for him, since I'm sure he is used to seeing CONSERVATE Korean girls acting on their best behaviour infront of parents.

To make matters worse (or better however you look at it), my brother brought his friend over too (not to be mistaken for Sarah). Now this girl is a completely different story. First off she doesn't dress like a girl and Sung Hyun didn't believe me when we told him that yes it was infact a female under all those baggy clothes. Sung Hyun couldn't believe the rude manners this girl had (and honestly speaking neither could I), and I'm Western. In fact when she was taking this picture she knocked over my moms potting plant and broke the pot -- dirt splattering everywhere. Sung Hyun actually got to the point where he was uncomfortable so he kept asking me when she was going to leave. Maybe at one point he even said 'please go home'.


Here's a picture with Sarah -- don't worry her energy is completely positive and contagious. I love her because she can make anyone laugh. What a great gal to have around and an even better friend.


In the first picture we are doing the peace sign SARAH style, but in this picture we are doing it KOREAN style ;)

Sung Hyun and my wonderful mom

Sung Hyun and my wonderful dad.

Okay wait a minute there's a story to go with all these pics. My dad has been volunteering for as long as I can remember (ahhh what a great dad, I know). Anyways, my mom was sure to wake us up before the birds for early moring pancakes. We weren't too happy to get up so early but we were glad to be fed. Unfortunately my dad set his alarm 1 hour earlier then he should have, so he was up and ready at 4 am. By the time we got there at 8 he already worked a half a day.

Thanks for the wonderful memories!!!!

Friendship!!!

I met Kristin at university. We would often pull all-nighters so we could complete our papers or study for exams together. We were both the queen of procrastination -- her more than me. She often would be printing her paper out at the library just as it was due.

She's a super hard-worker. Kristin's on her second degree and is working 3 part-time jobs. I admire her dedication.

Kristin is a good friend of mine and I miss our late night study sessions. Although we don't communicate often (quite frankly she can't spare me the time......keke) we are still able to pick it up where we left off. Despite the miles I still consider her a special part of my life.

So here's to you Kristin......




Miss you lots and thinking about you always.

Gyming

So today I finally peeled my butt of my couch and I joined the gym. I love working out but I fell out of my routine over 6 months ago and haven't gotten back into it. Let's just say 6 months of NO EXERCISE = and really large number on the scale. I'm 10 KG more than my boyfriend (let me see if I do the math correctly that's like 24ish pounds right?) YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!! You know you've got a problem when your fat jeans are getting tight....keke

Needless to say they welcomed me with open arms at the gym and were happy to see me back. And they certainly weren't shy to say that I looked a lot chubbier than before. They were speaking in Korea and at first I didn't quite understand, but after they repeated and gestured towards my chubby face (you know moving your hands outwards from the cheeks and filling them up with air). Yah, after the visual I certainly did understand exactly what they ment. To which I replied (in Korean) 'yes, I know I'm chubby so that's why I'm exercising'.

Anyways.......
I get quite the attention since I'm the white girl curling as much weight as the men. But for now I better hit the cardio machines.

And I'm glad to be back too. This place is filled with great memories. Afterall it's where I first met Sung Hyun.

Day one of the gym was great. It totally kicked my butt, but I'm ready for more!!!!

JUST ME AND MY CLASSROOM

Are you sick of hearing about me and Sung Hyun all the time? Well then here's a Sung Hyun free post.........keke.



So this is where I spend a large part of my day. In the classroom with my kids, who are always a handful.



This is my kindy class (only 5 students) which I have for most of the day. But they are full of energy and it took me awhile to finally get them in a photo together.

This was my best shot!!!

Show and tell day, or something of that sort. I can never find glasses to fit me so this comes as no surprise.........right mom?

Jennifer Teacher

I love this picture because Anthony is trying to escape from the girls

But the reason why I decided to whip out my camera this day was to get a shot of his little shirt vest, which is adorable for someone his age -- especially with the stylish hair.

Here we are together. And there you have it!!!!!

Canada

A few more posts and I should be done with the Canada trip. Sung Hyun keeps asking when I'll put up the Jeju Island pictures (which is where we celebrated our 'honeymoon' ;)!!!!!! But I can't post that vacation till I'm done with this one.

Anyways, today's post is about our trip to the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) Museum and the Sunset Ceremony afterwards.

Here comes buff boy. Or so he thinks. But if you look carefully I am walking behind him making sure his shirt is pulled tight (and you wouldn't have known if I didn't tell you, right?)

But be careful, because with all that cockyness you'll be sure to get a pat down from me!!!!

For the longest time I've wanted to be a cop. Acutally that is what I studied in university (Police Studies). It wasn't until my last year that I realized I wasn't ready to face the adult grown up world of working full time and commitment. Hence the reason I'm in Korea..........

But dont' you think I would make one sexy cop (hehe)? I look so natural at it.


But really, it was all in good fun, just us goofing around!!!

Pretty sure I wouldn't be able to get away with that in a uniform. On top of that there is no PDA (public displays of affection -- unless your Amy....hehe) in Korea. Which might explain why Sung Hyun doesn't look too impressed.

Posing with the animals. We must have spent $200 in the museum buying little versions of these characters. Gotta love my dad's outfit. Good work dad!!! At least he doesn't have his black socks that he hikes up to his knees on with his sandles.

Posing with the ponies!!!!!

What a lucky man standing beside two beautiful ladies..........in uniform

But doesn't he look even happier in this picture, posing with the man!!!!