Amy's Avenue

Running

2008-05-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

This is where my head has been for the last few weeks. Focusing and trying not to be overwhelmed by the fact that I'm about to run 21km for the first time in my life. I have already accomplished running further and longer than I ever have in my lifetime during my training for this half-marathon and am about to do it again this Sunday. As a present my friend Barry gave me a two page printout of inspirational running, racing and training quotes that he researched on the net. It was such a wonderful, thoughtful and useful gift that I wanted to share them. I am currently in my last week of training, the "taper" week where I give my body a bit of a break so it can rest up for what I'm about to put it through on Sunday. I will run this race, I will finish this race and I will be so relieved when it's all over. And when I feel like I can't go any further I will remember these words...

"I run because I can. When I get tired, I remember those who can't run, what they'd give to have this simple gift I take for granted, and I run harder for them. I know they would do the same for me."

"Champions are made when no one is watching."

"The extra mile is never crowded."
"Running teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it's all about."

"I have met my hero, and she is me."

"It's at the borders of pain and suffering that the men and women are separated from the boys and the girls."

"I tell our runners to divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart."

"I always loved running...it was something you could do by yourself, and under your own power. You could go in any direction, fast or slow as you wanted, fighting the wind if you felt like it, seeking out new sights just on the strength of your feet and the courage of your lungs." Jesse Owens.

"The body does not want you to do this. As you run, it tells you to stop but the mind must be strong. You always go too far for your body. You must handle the pain with strategy...it is not age, it is not diet. It is the will to succeed."

"Nothing worth having is easy."

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It does not matter whether you are a lion or gazelle. When the sun comes up you had better be running."

"There will be days when I don't know if I can run a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that I have."

"You can rest when you're dead."

"If you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night and the body was never tired. You've always got to make the mind take over and keep going."

"Most people run a race to see who is fastest. I run a race to see who has the most guts." Steve Prefontaine.

What I'm Missing

2008-05-06T07:10:00.000-07:00

During the process of buying my condominium a lot of paperwork had to be filed. I learned that when you are buying property, you have to apply for a mortgage through a mortgage broker or in our case a bank. Then comes the decision of whether or not to get your mortgage insured. I had no idea why this would make a difference until my boyfriend and I sat down and discussed the pros and cons of getting our mortgage insured. Apparently if your mortgage is insured, in the event of you or your spouse dying, losing a limb or becoming a quadrapalegic your mortgage will be paid off in full. While my boyfriend and I are both healthy, young individuals I still believed we should apply for mortgage insurance. I am one of those people who prepares for the worst while hoping for the best. I get piece of mind knowing that I am ready for the worst possible outcome. In the unlikely situation that something could happen to my boyfriend, I wanted to know that our mortgage would be taken care of. So we applied for mortgage insurance. When applying for insurance, these guys want your ENTIRE medical history. Abnormal test results, medication you've taken, conditions or diseases you've suffered from, etc. etc. the list went on and on. It was during this round of paperwork that I had to answer questions on my family history. Have you or any member of your family been diagnosed with or passed away from cancer? Yes. Have you or any member of your family been diagnosed with or passed away from a stroke? Yes.
Unfortunately if you check yes to a certain number or combination of questions the insurance company then sends you more paperwork, to get an in depth medical history regarding your health in the last six months. I just filled out that form and mailed it in yesterday.
After dropping it off in the mailbox, my boyfriend and I went for a walk around the neighbourhood and it dawned on me, that what I'm missing throughout this whole condo - mortgage - insurance ordeal is my dad. I wish he were around so I could seek his advice in matters such as mortgages, insurance, loans, buying property, going back to school etc. I feel like if my dad were still alive he would be the one I would turn to for questions regarding these issues. Not that my mum isn't capable of dealing with my million questions, she has been incredibly supportive and given me great advice. I just miss my dad, I miss having another parent to turn to when considering such huge life changes such as buying a condo or going back to school. I also know my dad was extremely smart and saavy when it came to these things and his input would've been so valuable.
I am not sure what my life would be like today were my dad still alive. I am not sure I would've made all the choices I did or chose the paths I've walked. I don't know if my mum and I would be as close after going through quite a few rough patches...would we even have gone through those rough patches if my dad were around? I don't know. All I know is I miss him still so much, almost twelve years later and I wish he were alive to see everything that is going on and to talk to me about the changes I am making. So that is what I am missing in my life. And missing something so huge as my dad helps me remember that I am lucky to have everything else. I like to think that even though he isn't physically around that somehow he knows what I am doing with my life and is proud.

A Bit of Freedom

2008-04-24T10:52:00.000-07:00

Approximately seven months ago I moved into my boyfriend's mothers house to give our bank accounts a rest after spending almost $400 a month to see each other. I also made this move to see if our relationship had weight and would be something long-lasting and meaningful. This move was not done to "test" of our relationship, it was done with the pure desire to be closer to each other geographically and with the hopes that living together under the same roof would bring us closer together emotionally, mentally, and physically. And all those things have happened!
However there have definitely been some things I have had to adjust to in the past seven months. The main one being living with someone else's mother; a mum who is pretty much the complete 180 of my mum. Let me explain.
My mum is literally a 5'0 version of the energizer bunny. She is an educational assistant working for the Catholic School Board during the day and is also a licensed travel agent that works from home. She is busy from the moment she wakes up to the moment she goes to bed, rarely stopping in between to eat or catch her breath. She takes care of travel business in the mornings and when she gets home from school. Often on her lunch breaks as well. If there is a moment where she finds herself in a lull at home, she cleans the house, does yardwork on our 1/2 acre property, visits family and spends time with her boyfriend. She occupies her nights with yoga, curling (in the winter), line-dancing, and date nights. Every weekend during the winter months she travels on Friday afternoon to our cottage north of Barrie and returns to the city on Sunday afternoons. I call home almost on daily basis, at least 5 times a week, and it's a 50/50 chance I'll catch my mum at home. She is literally on the go all the time. When I lived at home with my mum I woke up to lists of chores that needed to be done and I did them with no arguments because it takes a lot of work to look after our home. Living at home I'd usually have the house to myself 4-5 nights a week because my mum is always in and out the door. It wasn't surprising when I'd come home at around 9pm to find my mum crashed on the couch and I'd gently wake her up and guide her upstairs to her bed.
My mum has been on this vigorous schedule since a few years after my dad passed away. She has told me time and time again she would rather be too busy than not have enough to do. It started out as a distraction from everything she lost when my dad passed away and now she thrives on having things to do. I worry about her sometimes, that she is too busy and too stressed out but she rarely complains and when she does I just listen quietly because I know she needs an outlet. So that is a snapshot of my mum.
The current mum I live with, my boyfriends mother, is quite a different mum. I'll call her Mrs. Mom to make it easier to read and type instead of referring to her as my boyfriends mum. As I mentioned before she is about as opposite from my mum as can be. Whereas my mum is out 4-5 nights a week, Mrs. Mom goes out about once a month. She will meet her girlfriends for dinner at the local pub for a couple of hours and then return home. She is a retired daycare provider. Mrs. Mom opened and ran a daycare with a friend of hers for twenty some odd years and retired only a few years ago. She raised 4 children in their current home up until the ages of around 18 and you would never know it from the state of her home. It is spotless. Spotless to the point where it almost lacks a certain kind of homey-ness. Anyway back to the point, Mrs. Mom does not go out. She does her errands (grocery shopping, dry-cleaning, etc.) during the morning and is home by noon or 1:00pm the latest. After that she does not go out. She keeps herself busy by cleaning. She does my laundry, my bf's laundry, vacuums, cooks dinner every night, takes out the garbage, washes the floors, cleans the bathrooms, dusts...basically she does everything! When I first moved in I offered countless times to do my laundry, to do the dishes, to cook, to help out in any way I could and I was turned down each time. Her reasoning for doing my laundry was that she was doing hers and my bf's anyway so she might as well put my clothes in the washer and dryer too. I found that a very hard thing to accept because I like to feel useful, I like feeling like I am contributing. I started doing my own laundry when I was 12 and like I said, I am used to waking up and finding lists of chores to do. I manage to empty the dishwasher and that's the only chore I am permitted to do.
I found this incredibly hard to deal with but my bf put it into perspective. Mrs. Mom is retired so her house is her job now. She makes her day full by cleaning things and doing chores. She also has a bad hip, which she is getting replaced during a surgery in May, that prevents her from going out more often because walking is painful for her. These are the things I remind myself when I find myself suffocating under her mom-ness. She is incredibly sweet and incredibly caring. She goes out of her way to buy groceries that she knows we like. She caters to the fact that I don't eat red meat and cooks a lot of meals with chicken or fish as an alternative.
But as of yesterday bf and I have the house to ourselves for 6 days because Mrs. Mom has flown to England to spend time with one of her daughters and her granddaughter. So for the next 6 days the bf and I are enjoying a bit of freedom that we haven't had since January. We have not been alone in the house since January...it's incredible when you think about it like that. But that is the reality of this house and Mrs. Mom. She has been kind enough to let me live with her, to feed me, to clean up after me even though I protest this and have to be sneaky in order to contribute. She doesn't charge us rent or take any kind of monetary contributions for food or bills. So I buy her flowers every few weeks and desserts when we have big dinners. I fill up her car with gas whenever I get a chance and carry the laundry upstairs because it hurts her to walk up the stairs with the basket, even though she'd never complain. I don't want to take chores away from her because these are the things she does to keep busy and keep herself fulfilled. So I sit back and try my best to help where I can without overstepping boundaries.
It's been an interesting seven months to say the least, and I'm so lucky to have two mums who care about me. However I am going to thoroughly enjoy these six days of freedom.

It's Been Awhile

2008-04-22T08:12:00.001-07:00

Well due to laziness, lack of motivation and a busy schedule I haven't posted for awhile. And once again my sister gives me the encouragement I needed to get over here and write up a post. I also started another blog for my girlfriend who is living overseas, for us to communicate easily, and I wouldn't be happy if I left this blog unattended while putting up posts on the other private blog. It would feel like I was paying more attention to one aspect of my life and not the others. So here I am ready to blog.
But what to blog about? Well there have been quite a few changes in my life since my last post and I guess I'll write about those.
Change #1: I got into teacher's college! After waiting an agonizing four months I was informed that Ottawa U accepted me into their program. I had applied to both Ottawa U and York U in hopes of getting into both schools. In the beginning I wanted to just get into one school so that the choice would be an easy one to make. However, after being rejected by York U I realized that I really did want the option of both schools so that the possibility of moving back home could become a reality. In the end my choice was easy, I got into one school so that's where I'll be attending teacher's college in September 2008. Atlhough I was really excited about the idea of going back to Toronto to be closer to my family and my friends. Now I am just trying to adjust to the realization that I will be going back to school after being off for two years. Me...back in university. I am excited but apprehensive at the same time. However this realization of living in Ottawa for another year or so prompted the next change...
Change #2: My bf and I bought a condo! That's definitely the biggest change and and also the situation that has consumed my life since the beginning of April. Once I found out I got into Ottawa U my bf and I began looking at our housing options. We began to discuss the pros and cons of renting versus owning. After quite a few lengthy talks we decided, if we could afford it, we'd like to buy. If rent and a mortgage payment were going to be comparable, it'd be a better idea to invest our money into something we could sell later as opposed to just giving our money to a landlord every month with no hopes of monetary return. So we began our hunt with the idea of living downtown so I could be close to the campus. After checking out a few places and looking at the listing prices for condominiums downtown we quickly realized that wasn't going to happen. Too expensive and too small; such is the way with downtown properties for the most part. So we started the hunt again this time in the east end of Ottawa. We went out with our real estate agent a few times and after looking at townhomes, row houses, and apartment style condominiums we found one that is perfect for us. A two bedroom condominium - apartment style. It faces a forest and right behind the forest is the Ottawa River. We are surrounded by walking/running/biking trails, wildlife and the river. We are in four storey walk up that makes the whole thing feel more homey as opposed to a gaping 15 storey apartment building. We made our offer to the current occupant and after a few bartering sessions got the price we wanted. It was definitely a learning process. The whole house buying process had some ups and downs in terms of the bf and I discussing our budgets, our preferences and our ideal situations but in the end we talked everything through and realized we could definitely do this. Going through a major decision like home-buying really teaches you a lot about your relationship. So now we've got everything in order and are waiting to move in on June 30th! While we wait, we also shop :) We are being very careful though, I made some lists (yes I am a list maker) of things we have and things we need. Of the things we need we then ranked them in terms of importance. We're pretty lucky and we'll be using a lot of old furniture for the most part which is a-ok with me. I don't need brand new everything...I like the history and memories that come with older furniture. When our budget can allow for furniture spending then we'll tackle buying new things.
Change #3: My best friend moved half way around the world to Dubai. As mentioned above, my best friend, Jacks, got a job working for Emirates Air after being with Air Canada Jazz for three years. She left in March and is on a three year contract. Three years is a long time. But this is nothing we can't handle. The phone calls are less frequent as are the text messages (I can only receive hers and cannot respond for some reason). We have called and missed each other, called and been able to talk for two minutes, and called and been able to chat for extended periods of time. I've already had a few moments of sadness. Times where I am so frustrated about something (big or insignifcant) and all I want to do is call Jacks to talk things over - but I can't because it's 3am in Dubai or something along those lines. No phone card, not near a phone, at work etc etc. I have cried at my desk at work because I miss her and just want to talk to her. I have told my bf everyday how much I miss her. These reasons prompted me to start a private blog for the two of us so that when I need to vent and cannot get ahold of her, I have an outlet. But even though I know I'll be okay and she'll be okay and the months will start flying by, I still miss her on a daily basis. Once someone is removed from your daily life and speaking to them becomes more difficult it really gives your perspective on what they mean to you. And Jacks means more to me than any other friend. She has been around since the beginning and will be around until the end. And in the meantime she is living a three-year stint in Dubai, travelling the world as a flight attendant and getting emails and phone calls from her bestfriend living in Canada. Even though I selfishly miss her, I am so happy for her and so excited to hear about all the exotic places she will visit...Delhi is her first flight this weekend.
And so those are the updates for now...lots of changes...lots of emotions...I am doing my best not to worry or overthink on any of it. Mostly I am excited for the changes, moving out, going back to school, starting a new path. And I'll just keep plugging away until the time comes to get moving on something. I can already think of another new post but seeing as I'm at work, that will have to wait.

The Kindness of Strangers

2008-02-22T05:36:00.000-08:00

This blog is a few days past due but in any event, here it is. I titled this blog "The Kindness of Strangers" because I encounter this phrase generally on a daily basis, some acts of kindness greater than others but all noted and appreciated. A simple act such as a stranger holding open a door; a woman offering to pay for my Tim Hortons because I somehow forgot they don't take debit; the bus driver who slows down to wait for me as I sprint toward him.
On Friday I encountered the kindness of a stranger on a whole new level. I am applying to teacher's college and was invited by York University to be interviewed for a spot in their faculty. The way York went about this was to send me a letter requesting an interview and then giving me 5 days to choose from for the following week. Seeing as I haven't informed my boss of my teacher's college applications, I opted for a Saturday interview at 9:30am so that I wouldn't have to explain taking a day off during the week or come up with a lame excuse. There I was, Friday night, arriving at the Ottawa bus terminal one hour earlier than my bus was scheduled to leave. I thought I was being smart, arriving early to secure a spot, because it was the beginning of Family Day weekend. What I didn't realize was that it was also the beginning of Ottawa U and Carleton U's reading weeks which explained the hundreds of people at the bus station. Literally, hundreds. There were two lines snaking this way and that throughout the terminal, one for Montreal and one for Toronto and it took me about ten minutes to find the end of the Toronto line.
In front of me stood a girl, who looked like she was in her early twenties and possibly a student. We started chatting idly about the amount of people in line, about line up etiquette, about school and our jobs, anything to pass the time really and keep us focused on the fact that we were at the end of a very very long line up. After about an hour and a half of waiting in the line for Toronto (and not moving whatsoever for no buses had come in that 1.5 hours), I decided to go to the front of the line and ask someone how long they'd been waiting for. A young guy at the front of the line informed me he had been waiting over six hours...he had been trying to get on a 2pm bus scheduled to leave for Toronto. I returned to my spot at the back of the snaking line and calmly told my line up friend the bad news. I weighed various options in my head such as "I could cab it to the train station and see if I could catch a train", "I could cab it to the airport and see if I could get on a last minute flight to Toronto", "I could ask my boyfriend's mum to borrow her car for the night"...and so on and so forth because I knew I wasn't getting home by the Greyhound that night. I tried not to think of the fact that I might not be able to make it home for my interview and therefore have my application from York be rejected for failing to show up.
My line up friend got on her cell phone and after hanging up, turned around and said "I just spoke to my mum, I'm going to go home, get in my car and drive to Toronto instead...would you like a ride?" And just like that, I encountered one of the nicest acts of kindness ever. My line up friend Tonya saved my butt that night.
I paid for a cab ride back to her house, we hopped into her car and proceeded to enjoy a four hour drive to Scarborough Town Centre (where she dropped me off), chatting the entire way. I made it home that night (pretty late but home...and that was the most important thing) and to my interview the next morning and I can honestly say it was all thanks to my line up friend and her kindness.
Thanks to all the strangers out there whose little acts of kindness really make a difference. Now it's my turn to give back and I'm taking advantage of any opportunity that comes my way.

A Difference in Generations

2008-02-15T12:42:00.000-08:00

In my attempt to find other blogs that I could relate to, I searched "mid-twenties" because I had labelled myself as a mid-twenties gal and figured others would put themselves into that category as well. After ignoring most and skimming some I realized that the mid-twenties of my generation in general, share one major thing in common...we are all trying to figure out what to do with our lives.
The majority of us have gone through some sort of post-secondary education be it college or university and have realized that for the most part, those experiences do nothing to point you in the direction of your future career. I learned valuable non academic things by attending university such as:
-Six day benders can be fun and hilarious given the right week and the right alcoholic beverage choices (let's not tell my mum that one)
-I do like red wine
-I never want to live with someone who has an eating disorder again
-Cooking isn't that hard and doing it with friends is the best way to do it
-I enjoy a good long walk
-Missing out on daylight due to a 5:00am bedtime and 4:30pm wake up is not enjoyable
-Drunk pool hopping is a great memory
-Never own a hamster while living in university amongst friends who enjoy drinking, poor shaved Hammie
-The friends you make and memories you make with them, if you're lucky, will last you a lifetime

I also learned a lot of academic things but for the most part, I feel my non-academic lessons (those above to name a few) were more valuable. I can write a paper, a short answer, an essay, do multiple choice, read a book, do research and debate but again...these skills have not led me to a specific career. I count myself lucky to be working in my field (Geographic Information Systems) at the moment because no one else I know has a job in their graduating field. However working in front of a computer all day has taught me something...I do NOT want to sit in front of a computer for the rest of my life. My eyes hurt, my shoulders ache, my wrists cramp up and I'm inside under flourescent lights. I can just feel the Vitamin D oozing out of me as I waste away in my cubicle, my 15 minute walk outdoors to the bus terminal after work being my favourite part of the day.

So these led me to think about the difference in generations. Why does my generation find it so hard to settle into the 9-5 or the cubicle or the daily grind? We ship ourselves off to Korea (for me), Australia (for my boyfriend), Europe, Asia or anywhere else that gives us a little more time to figure things out and experience something new all the while escaping the everyday real world. Is this because we have too many options these days? I mean women used to be a) teacher, b) secretary, c) nurse, d) mom. Now we can be anything we want but is that too overwhelming? Most people in my generation change careers three times before settling into one for good. Not to mention the general loathe for working my generation appears to have; if I could get $1.00 for every time I've heard my friends talk about winning the lottery and never working again I'd be richer than if they had actually won. It reminds me of Peter from Office Space being asked if he had a million dollars what would he do. And his answer was "nothing". He'd do nothing. Personally I'd love to travel and start a job in something I'm passionate about, not something that will deliver a big enough paycheck for me to stop worrying. So what's the deal with me and my generation? Why aren't we content working? I know I'm not exactly content with my job although I stick it out everyday. Is that what previous generations haven't told us, they they just stuck it out even though they hated their jobs? Maybe university taught us too much and now we feel we should have paychecks flung at us for little to no work. Who knows, all I know is me and my mid-twenties friends are a different generation that's for sure.

A Partial Return

2008-02-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

Well my faith in humanity has be reaffirmed...sort of. After anxiously waiting for three hours this morning I called the Lost and Found of the OC Transpo and asked an incredibly nice woman, if my lost bag had been found. Here is the affirmation part, my bag WAS returned and sitting at the Lost and Found. As I described the contents my heart was racing, would it all be there?.

There was a pair of black high heels, are they in the bag? "Yes"

There should be a little gold bag with make up in it, is that there? "Yes, I see the gold bag"

There was also a white plastic bag with three wrapped presents in Valentine's Day paper, are they there? "Hmmm...no I don't see anything in your bag, let me check around....no, no I'm sorry, the presents are gone it seems".

As so, my partial faith in humanity remains. Someone was indeed nice enough to return my shoulder bag with my black shoes and make up in tact. However I guess the sight of three gift wrapped presents was too much to resist. So my mission tonight is as follows: leave work, retrieve my lost and now found bag, go to the gym to work out the stress of this ordeal, return to the mall to re-buy each present, wrap them again, and give my boyfriend his Valentine's Day presents.

I guess it was too much to wish that everything would be there. Thank you to whoever turned in my bag...I hope you enjoy the presents intended for my boyfriend.

Kicking Myself

2008-02-13T10:27:00.000-08:00

I am so frustrated. So frustated, upset and angry with myself. Those are the worst emotions to feel towards yourself because there is no one else to blame but you. So here's why I am kicking myself, and have been kicking myself all morning long:

It's February 13 and my boyfriend and I are celebrating Valentine's Day early because he works late tomorrow. And do we really need to celebrate Valentine's Day? Probably not, but it's an excuse to try out a new restaurant and to buy him little gifts that show him I love him...however the importance or relevance of Valentine's Day is another blog all together. So instead of the traditional celebration on the 14th, we decided to go out for dinner tonight as he has the day off. Now for those of you who know my sister through her blog, you know she labels herself as a Type A personality. Even though we only share our father and have different moms, that personality trait definitely was passed along to me also. I knew about our Valentine's Day plans last week and pre-planned my gifts and my shopping nights to get it all done before last weekend even started. I made a list at work of present ideas, potential costs and stores to buy them in. Can you say Type A personality? My sister and I definitely share this characteristic.
Last night I wrapped the gifts, made a coupon book with some romantic offers, and set aside the receipts in case something goes wrong with the presents. Thinking ahead, knowing I was being picked up right from work, I packed away the gifts, a pair of dress shoes and my make up into a shoulder bag to bring with me to work.
I woke up early, gave myself ample time to shower, do my hair, get dressed and eat breakfast. Then I was out the door at 7:20am to catch my first bus of the day (it was ten minutes late). No problems there unless you count a packed bus and standing awkwardly for twenty minutes a problem. I transfer to my second bus of the day (it was 10 minutes late), the one that takes me close to my work. I get off, walk into my building and am steps away from my door when I realize I am carrying one bag. One. I left the house with two, and now I have one. I left my bag on the second bus. The bag with my make up, presents, and shoes. The bag I so carefully packed the night before was no longer in my possession.
After spending an hour on the phone with the friendly people from customer service and lost and found I figured out there might be a way to get my bag back. The bus I was on was returning and doing the same route at about 10:30am. If I waited at the bus stop I could potentially get my bag back. So I was out there from 10:15am - 11:20am and never saw my bus return. I called back again, and found out that my bus had reported mechnical problems and was taken from the station to the garage. I found out that it's the policy of the bus company when an item is lost that it becomes the responsibility of that bus driver. The bus driver takes the lost items with them until the end of their shift then surrenders them at the garage where they're locked overnight. In the morning Lost and Found picks up the lost items and brings them to their office downtown where they can be claimed. The "public" as we're so graciously called, are not allowed to go to the garage and retrieve their belongings. We, the "public", must wait until the next day and call lost and found to see if they've been returned.

So here I am, kicking myself and wondering why I couldn't have forgotten my second bag on the days where I go to the gym and all that's in there are my runners, shorts, bra and shirt. Instead I've forgotten my bag when I've got about $300 worth of stuff in there...and yes this stuff can be replaced, and yes it could be worse and my wallet could've been in that bag...but all the same, I'm showing up to dinner tonight with nothing to give, no make up on my face and no nice shoes to wear out. Thankfully my boyfriend has reassured me that I could show up empty handed in a garbage bag and he'd still think I'm beautiful and the most thoughtful girlfriend he's ever had. However I'll be kicking myself for the rest of the day.

Growing Up

2008-01-23T13:45:00.000-08:00

I guess it was ridiculous of me to think that my university lifestyle would continue past my graduation. I mean c'mon. Living with your best friends and living five minutes away from your other closest friends. School as a full-time job. Drinking and partying a ridiculous amount of times per week. Sleeping in. Staying up late. All the while only really worrying about passing this course or submitting that paper. And now, after spending a year overseas living a life completely out of my comfort zone and out of North American reality, here I am trying to get adjusting to "Growing Up". I write it with capitals because it's deemed such an important part of life and whenever someone says "Oh well, you're Growing Up," I just picture that phrase with capital letters.
I never thought working 40 hours a week would be something to become adjusted to, although that's what is happening. I have been up and down, on and off trying to get adjusted to the working life. Up at 6:30am, relying on public transportation (which is a WHOLE other blog altogether), home by 5:00pm, in bed by 10:00pm only to repeat it the next day. Things I never would have thought of before, like going for a walk, a trip the mall, or doing some errands become the weekday excitement. However after almost three months of this routine I am finally beginning to level out and realize "Hey, this is your life for awhile."
I have realized that living away from my university support system is definitely something to adjust to. A part of me knew that once graduation came and we all moved from away from St. Catharines that things would change. We wouldn't see each other as much or talk to each other as much. I have discovered that even though those things are true that I still feel I am as close with my university chums as ever. We make a huge effort to plan weekends and events where people have enough time to book off work, arrange transportation and sort out all the other details. Although I live in Ottawa now and the bulk of my friends are in Toronto I still get to see them about once a month which sometimes isn't enough but it does make that time special and meaningful. I still struggle with the guilt of not being a part of some of my friends daily lives, especially those with drama involving boys/girls/families but I remind myself that I am not responsible for anyone else but myself.
So here I am, 24 years old and Growing Up.

Over A Year

2008-01-17T13:48:00.000-08:00

Well it's been over a year since I last posted...my Korean adventure ended in June when I returned home after a two week stint in Thailand and then a one week adventure in Vancouver with my best friend. I guess changing my colours and template of my blog has revived my interest in posting. Not to mention reading my sister's blog has inspired me to start documenting my thoughts on a variety of things. She has such a strong voice when it comes to writing and blogging.
So this is my first post of 2008 and my first post after a year break of blogging. So what's happened since my last post...well my brother got married, I began a relationship with my best guy friend of 5 years, after dating for three months I made the decision to move cities to be with my boyfriend and explore the possibilities of living in a new place, I landed a job in my field of study (when does THAT ever happen these days), and I'm rediscovering that living away from those I love (even though it's only four hours now instead of half way around the globe) is just as hard as it was in Korea some days.
Hopefully more to come and I'll see what I can do about sprucing up my page.

Only In Korea

2007-04-22T16:52:00.000-07:00

Only in Korea!

Would you see hospital patients wandering around the streets enjoying their cigarettes and urinating on sewer grates in their hospital gowns

Would you see a man carrying a purse nicer than yours while holding hands with another man and fixing this other man's hair and clothing for him. Then in the same breathe be told that homosexuality does not exist in this country.

Is it considered "showing off" for someone to talk to you because you're white.

Would you find a whole store dedicated to selling Airwalk, Hang Ten, LA Gear or other companies beforehand thought to be extinct in the US.

Are there thousands of motels in one city that support adultery. These "Love Motels" make half the window in the rooms tinted, cover the parking lot with car-wash style hanging things and don't require a name to check it to protect their costumers' anonymity. They also sell sex toys in the bedrooms and usually have some sort or gaudy theme that requires mirrors on the head board or ceiling. Classy.

Is the best pizza in the entire country Domino's.

Can you bring your family to the bath house for a day of fun and relaxation and sleep on the floor there for the night as well. The bath houses are Asian-stlye spas- you pay like $7, to sit in different baths of different temperatures and scents, get exfoliations or massages and sit in different temperature saunas and cold rooms. They don't make you leave. EVER. I like to think that whole families just live there.

Is every food you eat for 'vitality' or 'stamina'.

Do people believe in fan death. This is when you leave a fan or air con on in a room without windows or doors open. The fan, then, sucks all the air out of the room leaving the room oxygen-less. The person then dies. Fan death is a documented cause of death by Korean doctors.

Do people get mad when their cab drivers DON'T run a red light.

Would an entire crowd of people getting out of an elevator just step over a woman that has fallen to the ground.

Would you find a forty-something business man passed out drunk on a sidewalk in his suit with his keys, wallet and cell phone sitting next to him on the ground. No one would even look twice and no one would even think about stealing any of his things!

Would a student request the song "Rabbit Bee" by mistake instead of "Let It Be." Seriously.

Do the women in the gym hula-hoop for cardio.

Can you add an -uh at the end of any English word and all the sudden you're speaking Konglish and everyone understands you. For example "Airport-uh Bus-uh"

Can you find carts and carts of venders lining the streets all selling socks. The same socks.

Can you find a t-shirt that says: "i once was fed but now i car see"

Are there private rooms, bangs (pronounced bongs), for just about everything. Norebang (singing room, aka karaoke), ping pong bang, board game bang, pool bang, DVD bang. These are rooms that you rent by the hour for just you and your friends and use them to their specific purpose.

Does crossing your arms in front of your face violently mean "NO!"

Would an old grandma literally push you as hard as she can while you're reaching for a box of cereal in the supermarket and then just walk away.

Do you yell the equivalent of "HERE!" (yogi) to your waiter in a restaurant to get them to take your order.

Do gyms have fat jiggler machines that every woman swears by. You stand on this machine, it shakes you and supposedly that is a workout. Or you have the other option of the fat rubber machine. This one has a large belt that you place over your head and on your back that quickly moves back and forth and rubs your fat right off. Amazing!

Do children and grown men alike come up to you and say "Nice-uh ta meet-uh yew!" before you've even met them.

Are you not allowed to try on any clothing in a store that you have to pull over your head.

Is cheese and butter considered disgusting by the locals but pickled cabbage is the treasured national dish.

Are the buttons on the tables at restaurants that you push to call your server to the table.

Do children run up to you, point and say "Ohhhhh waegook saerom." (Foreign people)

Do women sit side saddle on the back of their boyfriend's moped because it's kind of lewd to do otherwise.

Does your boss come up to the male employees and say "I need a hug" and hug them and put his head on their shoulder for a minute.

Do mothers allow two children to ride on a moped. One sitting on the mothers lap, the other holding on for dear life on the back.

Can you not leave a hospital without getting a needle in the butt.

Are dried/fried/raw squid snacks considered the ultimate drinking food.

Six Months

2007-03-25T02:52:00.000-07:00

Six months in Korea as of Wednesday. I can't believe it. Half a year has come and gone. I still think about that first night sleeping in my apartment, my first full day of teaching and the amazement I felt when Manz, Lou and I celebrated our first month here. And now we'll be celebrating our half way point.
There are many things that I've grown to love living in Korea. If you can't find things that you love about a place that you live and a job that you do everyday then you probably won't last six months in either situation. I am thankful that for as many things that I've discovered I don't like about Seoul and teaching, there are just as many things that I do like.
I love the anonymity of living in a city this big. Venturing out of my apartment on a Saturday afternoon will lead me to see hundreds of people that I will never see again. Nobody knows you and nobody knows where you come from (although there are always the obvious guesses being a visible minority here). I love feeling absorbed into another country's way of life. I like the smirks on Korean faces when I whip out my cell phone to text a friend, with my T-Money card (Subway pass) dangling off the handstrap. The smirk of realizing I'm not a tourist but a resident of Seoul just like they are. I enjoy the feeling of wandering out of a subway station having no real clue about where my destination is and just following strangers who I believe are headed to the same place; this happens quite often and usually this strategy works 9/10 times. I love the feeling of being something exotic and different to the homogenous culture that is apparent in Seoul.

Women here, for the most part, appear to be coming off the assembly line in carbon copy style. And it's not just the general similarities of Asian women; the hair, eyes, body type. Women of Seoul and Korea adapt to the same fashion sense and mannerisms almost every other woman. So what does a typical Korean women look like? Well they'll be sporting high heels (in boot or pump), accompanied by a short skirt (most likely jean), and an oversized striped sweater (big horizontal stripes, the colour may vary). If you look around in any given crowd you are guaranteed to see at least twenty or thirty of women dressed in this fashion. They are in the company of more women dressed like themselves giggling or addressing each other in a high pitched whiny voice. If they are in the company of men they are either bossing the man around or acting shy and demure but still speaking in the same high pitched whiny voice. The women I am describing are in the 20s something age range. The 30s and 40s something women can be found wearing stylish suits with high heels. The 50s and 60s something women are seen wearing slacks and long sleeved collar shirts and walking with a distinct hunchback and bow legs. Their physical stoop is most likely a result of their hard life during the time of Japanese occupation and the Korean War. Seeing these older women is always a reminder of how new Korea is to life without violence, hardships and war. Almost every elderly man I see fought in Korean war which began on June 25, 1950 and ended on July 27, 1953.
Korean history is something else that I've grown to love and I've found myself craving to learn more. Visiting the War Memorial Museum with my Korean friend was one of the most eye opening experiences in terms of my appreciation for this country and its struggles. Technically this country is still at war with its counterpart in the North. While they signed a non-aggression treaty in 1991, North Korea and South Korea have yet to sign a peace treaty to date. This is the world's longest cold war. Tensions flare every now again and were at a high upon my arrival to Seoul back in October when North Korea successfully completed a nuclear testing, detonating a nuclear missile in an underground facility somewhere in the northern region. This was to display to the world (more specifically the US) that they had possession of and were capable of using nuclear weapons. It was really strange though because any South Korean I talked to about the situation at the time was not worried in the least. It was almost as if the South Korean population were treating the North Koreans like an insolent child who was having a tantrum and they were just waiting until he got all the crying and fussing out of his system and they continued life as usual until it blew over. The foreign population here, on the otherhand, was pretty disturbed by the events.
Anyway this blog turned into a jumble of thoughts but here I am, six months later and still learning and still appreciating this experience for which I am grateful and consider myself lucky.

Amy vs the Mosquito

2007-03-06T05:28:00.000-08:00

Kind of a random blog but it happened and I found it all very strange.
Of all the things to be happening to me on a quiet Sunday night after the day was spent lounging and watching movies, the last thing I expected was an all night battle with a mosquito! It's March for goodness sake! But it happened. And this is the story.
Bedtime fell around midnight which was pretty standard for a Sunday; the weekend spent partying meant later bedtimes on Sundays. After catching a solid two hours sleep I was woken up by a distinct buzzing in my exposed ear. The buzzing dissolved as I turned on the light so my only conclusion was that a fly had got too close for comfort. I proceeded to the bathroom (I drank a big ole cup of tea before bed) and talked to a couple friends on my computer before attempt #2 at sleep. 3:00am roles around and I'm still lying awake in my bed, my face squished providing the meat to a pillow and mattress sandwich. What comes buzzing my way yet again? That anonymous fly!! I switched on the light in a mad dash hoping to catch a glimpse of what was refusing to let me rest. Again, no sign. Frustrated and fully awake I sat on my computer to complain to some of my friends in the other time zones about my dilemma. Around 4:00am I am thinking the coast is clear to crawl under the covers and catch some zzz's before school. On my way back to my bed I noticed a bug on the window of my sliding doors. YUP. A mosquito. Somehow a mosquito has found its way into my apartment on March 4, 2007. At this point I notice a red bump developing on my forearm and feel the familiar itch. *sigh* I tried to take my revenge on the mosquito but failed to successfully swat him. He was now loose in my apartment. What happened after was not pretty. I'll save myself the embarrassment but you can imagine a crazed 23 year old woman marching around her apartment between 4:30am until 6:30am, peering into dark corners and shaking/hitting/swatting every object that occupied her apartment in hopes of finding a miniscule insect. At 6:30am I finally waved the white flag. I crawled into bed, encased myself under the comforter and proceeded to put my spare blanket over my exposed ear to muffle any potential buzzing. The result of all this? I woke up at 7:30am sweating profusely from having being suffocated under all the cotton. Three hours of sleep thanks to my mosquito and my obsessive tendencies.
I caught him on Monday night in my apartment and proceeded to squish him. Strange how on Monday the weather also dropped to -8 and snowed all day. No mosquito could survive that weather but even with my heat off and my windows open my buzzing friend was waiting to greet me after school. I always feel some remorse after I kill an insect but the swollen, itchy and red bite this fellow left me has left me indifferent.
Global warming is a nuisance though. +15 and mosquitoes one day. -8 and snow the very next day. Keeping in mind that was the 3rd snowfall Seoul has seen this winter season. Although technically it's spring here now. Hmmm...

A blog about Korean Food

2007-02-22T03:38:00.000-08:00

Well here's my next blog relating to all things Korean only instead of cars and pollution I'll be dealing with Korean food.
Some interesting things I've noticed about the Korean cuisine...seafood and meats reign over almost all other meals here. And I'm not just talking the traditional seafoods we Westerners are exposed to. I'm referring to pretty much ANYTHING that has lived in water. This includes lobster, crab, squid, an array of fishes, worms, octopus, eel, oysters, clams, mussels, and countless things I haven't been able to identify and give names too but they're floating around in the tanks. Let me show you a few pictures to illustrate my point about seafood.

SEAFOOD

Here is a shot of an eel like thing and fish that swims on it's side

I have no idea what these are...I've tried looking them up on the internet...they appear to be a type of worm...any thoughts?

Here are some giant crabs hanging out in tanks that are much to small for them

Cooking on this grill are some squids, baby octopus (their arms curl when they're cooked it's weird) and some crab...as well as a plethra of meats.

Here's Jackie experiencing the usual Korean side dishes served with meals. We have some kimchi (pickled cabbage doused in red pepper paste), in middle is some fried seaweed, and we also have baby fish that have been smoked. I tried my first smoked baby fish today. It was not appetizing.

Well there are some pictures I've gathered so far on the varieties of seafood that I (and Jackie) have been exposed to.

MEAT

Now onto the other staple in Korean cuisine. Meat. Koreans eat a lot of meat; beef, pork and chicken are all available here in a variety of styles. The most popular method of eating meat here is barbequed. I don't have any personal experience with beef but I am pretty sure it is the most expensive meat to order. Chicken and pork are fairly equal in terms of price. One of my favourite dishes that I've discovered since coming to Korea is dak galbi (bbq chicken). There is a fantastic dak galbi restaurant not far from me and for 7,000W you and another person can eat like queens. Along with the chicken you get lettuce, sweet potatoes, spaghetti noodles and a few other veggies all thrown into the sunken bbq in the middle of your table. The waiters come round and stir the mixture every few minutes until they deemed the chicken thoroughly cooked. Side dishes for a meal like this include: macaroni salad (with raisins...surprisingly YUMMY), salad and of course kimchi. I don't have a picture of dak galbi but I will bring my camera next time to give a visual.

Here is a shot of our table at a galbi restaurant (bbq pork...my dinner consisted of side dishes sans pork). Instead of cutting meat with knives they give you massive scissors!

OTHER FOOD WORTH MENTIONING

Well obviously meat and seafood are the main ingredients to Korean cuisine but I have also found two other scrumptous meals. One being chumchi kimbap (tuna roll - california style). And the other being dolsap bibimbap (rice, egg, veggies, korean red pepper paste all served in a hot bowl where it all cooks while you mix it together and eat it). YUMMMM. These two meals are the basis of my lunches when I'm too tired or too lazy to make myself a lunch. Not to mention the pizza joint down the road that serves a medium sized pizza for 5,000W! So all in all Korean food has been an excellent experience and I look forward to coming back to Toronto and delving into the Asian food markets and restaurants. The food is one thing I will desperately miss.

Bibimbap....delicious....I always order mine served HOT so it all cooks while it sits there...

Here are two kimbap rolls, these happened to be filled with meat....I love the tuna rolls so imagine these rolls, minus the meat and with tuna added. DELISH

And my beloved Pizza School restaurant. Where every pizza costs 5,000W (almost $5). It's no Pizza Pizza and instead of getting garlic dipping sauce you get pickles (I hate pickles) but for $5 I'm not complaining. It's decent enough!

A blog about Korean Transportation

2007-02-01T03:57:00.000-08:00

Most of my blogs have been about specific experiences I've gone through since being in Korea or relating to various epiphonies I've had. This one is going to be a bit different. I think it's important I also write about things here that strike me as odd or different from Canadian culture. To further my appreciation for my own country and culture and help others understand Korean culture a bit more.
So this blog is delving into the fascinating world of Korean transportation. For starters, Seoul has an area of around 600 square kilometres...making it smaller than New York or London. Crammed within this 600 square kilometre boundary are over 10 million people giving it one of the highest population densities in the world. And thanks to Wikipedia, I just learned that Seoul has just over 3 million cars registered to various drivers across the city. So here are the facts: 600 square kilometres, 10 million people, 3 million cars. I hope this is painting the picture required to comprehend the transportation situation in Seoul, Korea.
So here are some generalities about Koreans behind the wheel of a car (mainly taxi cabs since that's been my experience with automobiles and Koreans). First things first: red lights appear to guidelines as opposed to strict unbreakable rules. The red light here takes on the responsibility of an amber light back home...slow down, stop if you have to, look around for oncoming traffic, if there is none proceed with caution, if there is oncoming traffic continue to inch up until it's clear to go. Needless to say the first time I was in a cab that ran a red light I nearly had a heart attack. I quickly learned though that it's a common habit.
My second point: Signalling is optional and therefore, not used on a frequent basis. It's gotten to the point now where I'm actually a bit surprised if my cab driver turns on his indicator before merging into the next lane. I guess when there are millions of cars on the road the general politeness of letting someone know you're coming into their lane gets tossed out the window.
A third observation: And this really just an observation and can't fall under the generalities of Korean drivers as a whole. During the summer months when having the windows down seems like a no brainer, some cabbies feel the need to roll up their windows when passing under a bridge or when in a tunnel. Now I found this quite interesting so I made a couple inquiries to the Korean teachers at my school. Apparently, the pollution is believed to be worse under bridges and in tunnels so drivers will often roll up their windows in an attempt to keep this "worse" pollution out of their cars. So apparently rolling up the windows in these situations can somehow negate the fact that you've been walking around all day breathing in the exhaust fumes from 3 million cars/trucks (most of which have strange black/grey/blue smoke sputtering out the exhaust) . I suppose there have been stranger superstitions. Let's just say Korea isn't exactly enforcing any kind of clean driving habits like the good old emissions testing we undergo in Ontario. I am now more appreciative of those old 80s and 90s vehicles getting kicked off Canadian roads for having substandard emissions. Korea could learn a thing or two and many lungs would be saved.
A fourth note: U-Turns!! In Toronto one can often see a plethra of "No U-Turn" signage on any given day. In Korea, there are U-Turn lanes everywhere. Again something learned from my Korean educators, since Korean streets are often not labelled with street signs people here tend to get lost all the time when driving from Point A to Point B. Hence the U-Turn lanes. Instead of creating street signs at major intersections or at the cross sections of roads, there are instead a ton of U-Turn lanes for the everyday lost driver. Which are taken advantage of at all times. This leads me to my fifth point.
There are hardly ANY street signs. I learned this one from my Lonely Planet book on Korea. Buildings were assigned numbers based on the time they were built. For example, if my apartment building was built in 1970 it could've been given the number 12. The apartment building next door was built in say, 1965 and it was given the number 38. Building numbers do not coincide with one another like the do at home. To go along with this confusing building arrangement. Hardly any streets have signage letting a driver know what road their on. Only major roads have signs indicating their street name (the street my school is on for example is Singil-dong aka Singil Road) and these signs aren't posted at all light intersections. So my main point here is when directing a cab driver to a destination you rarely ever give them a street name (cause they probably won't know what you're talking about). You give a cab driver the name of a well known building or landmark near your destination. For example, I could never direct a cabbie to my apartment building, they would have have no idea where I was talking about if I said Yerim Villa, Singil-dong in Youngdeungpo-gu. Instead I tell all cabbies to take me to the nearby Air Force Club which is literally a one minute walk from my building, thank goodness. For some reason, every cab driver knows the Air Force Club building! Phoentically the Air Force Club in Korean is "Gone-Goon-Hey-Gwon". Gone like Gone with the Wind, Goon like the Goonies, Hey like Hey hows it going?, and Gwon like my Jamaican friends saying "Whats gwon". I have no idea the actual literal spelling of Gone-Goon-Hey-Gwon. All I know is this simple phrase always gets me home no matter what. When travelling to Manz and Lou's house I direct my cabbie to the nearby police station in their district. I live in Youngdeungpo-gu and they live in Gangseo-gu. So I tell my cabbie, phoentically, "Kang-so-gu-chung" which means the Gangseo-gu police station. Ah the joys of living and commuting around Korea :)
Well there you have it, a small insight into the transportation quirks of this immensely populated city. I'm going to write a few more blogs about things pertaining to the Korean culture so look out for more in the future!
In a place where you don't really know where your cab driver will take you or if he/she (although I've never had a female cab driver) will understand you, you're always thankful when a) you arrive at the right destination b) you arrive alive c) you didn't get lost once d) if you got lost once you're grateful it wasn't twice and e) the fair was under $10!

Manner Education Class

2007-01-31T03:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a shot of my kids during their manner education class. It was for one hour last week and a Korean woman came in and taught the kids how to bow properly, how sip tea properly and how to make these weird cookie things out of green sticky dough. I tried the cookie things, they tasted awful...worse than I remember communion bread tasting (which was dry, chalky paste that stuck to the roof of your mouth). These cookies literally had the consistency and taste of eating a handful of playdoh that has been sitting out in the sun for half a day. Anyway it's all part of the experience. One interesting and humbling part of the class was at one point the Korean manner teacher asked me to sit on the cushions on stage and asked my kids to bow to me. That was a different feeling. Also my kids started calling me "Omaa" during this class and when I inquired the meaning of "Omaa" I was told it means Mother. Cute eh?

So here's the shot of Momma Amy and her little kids dressed in their beautiful Hanboks (traditional Korean outfits).

B Class in their Hanboks

Back Row (left to right): John, Sean, Thomas, Dustin, Andy, Peter, Jun and Jade

Front Row: (left to right): Clara, Joanne, me, Jennifer and Alice

the triangle

2007-01-21T05:19:00.000-08:00

Myself, Lou (blonde haired) and Manz (black haired) at Carnie Station - my triangle

I noticed it the other night. Manz and Lou came over to watch some grey's anatomy and have a glass of wine. Lou and Manz lounging comfortably on my sofa and me, as always, stretched out on the floor. I leaned back, glass in hand and clinked glasses with Lou, then over my other shoulder to Manz, after which i heard the two of them exchange their own cheers. And it hit me, that the three of us have become this unbreakable triangle. Lou and I, Manz and I, and Lou and Manz have formed an incredible friendship since living in and experiencing Korea together. We came here after living together for a year in St. Catharines with two other girlfriends as well. A house full of five girls, partying, relaxing, working, studying and just living life together. I thought the bonds of being a roommate with someone were some of the strongest you could form. And my opinion hasn't changed, after living with Mal for three years in a variety of housing and roommate situations I don't think there is anyone I know more intimately as her. The little nuances you come to know and love after waking up and going to sleep day in and day out with the same person under the same roof. But Lou, Manz and I have surpassed that roommate bond, we began our lives again in a different country together. We have leaned on each other on the days/nights where we miss home so much it empties out our tear ducts and leaves a dull ache. We have called and talked to each other every single day, sometimes even just to say "Hey how was your day?" when we know exactly what the reply will be. We have shared the experience of being a teacher to young children and delight in sharing the stories; good and bad. We have formed an entirely new group of friends here together and have heard from them what awesome girls we are (it's a pretty good feeling). We have also fought over the most ridiculous things and been forced to talk everything out until we can move on without spite or anger in our hearts. They have been my stability and gravity in a world where everything can seem upside down and backwards. My presences gives them an outlet from each other. Living as roommates can still be as difficult in Korea as at home. Lou gets to complain to me about Manz. And Manz gets to complain to me about Lou. Never anything major, just the little things you need to get out once in awhile. I'm an ear and a shoulder for both of them just as they are for me. We get together for dinners, television shows, cups of tea, shopping trips, movies, hanging out and of course, hilarious bar nights. These girls have become more than roommates to me. I will forever cherish my experience in Korea and every memory will be connected to those two girls. And to think, a year ago we were starting our second semester of our last year of university. Now a year later we're halfway across the world teaching English in a foreign country together.
Some of my favourite memories are going to be moments like last night. The three of us were at Manz and Lou's apartment getting all dolled up for our night on the town with our friends. Music of different genres blaring while we carried out the important tasks of outfit consultations, make up applications, hair fussing and drink making together. And sporadically one of us breaks into an inspired dance frenzy which naturally causes the other two to join in. And we seem to dance to anything and everything that comes out of Manz's speakers; a hip swaying reggae jam, a bum shaking hip hop song, a rocking punk tune and even romantic slow r&b ballad. Completely uninhibited and often ridiculous dancing that sends all of us into hysterics by the end of it. We'll resume our halted tasks until the next person decides to bust a move. Which is maybe why getting ready seems to take us forever. It's filled with so much laughing and dancing that simple things like getting ready for a bar can take us two hours. I would not have it any other way. Manz, Lou and I...our dancing, laughing, goofy triangle.

Australia

2007-01-16T02:45:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I posted and I'm well overdue for a posting about Australia.
The Beginning
My Christmas vacation began on December 23 and ended on January 2, 2007. Lou and I left for our Australian adventure on the 23rd on an 8pm flight to Sydney arriving at 8am. We got to the airport around 5pm and proceeded to puruse the Duty Free shops and grabbed our last Korean meal for 9 days. The flight was relatively pain-free, being an overnight flight that Lou and I readily prepared for. Our preparations included two gravols each and two glasses of wine. We each managed to get a few hours sleep and had a huge selection of movies to choose from.
We arrived in Sydney and were practically bursting with excitement. All that waiting, the countdown had finally ended...we were two hours away from our destination and meeting up with Robbie and Barry. The flight to Sydney was the easiest flight I've been on; one hour and five minutes later we landed at Melbourne airport. We got our luggage and cleared customs and made our way out the gate. Seeing the overwhelmingly large crowd we decided not to crane our necks looking for the boys and figured they would see us. We were right and within seconds we saw two Santa hats bobbing our way. After lots of hugs and kisses we headed to the airport bus that would take us to Southern Cross station. From there we got on the tram to Fraser Street stop, a minute walk away from Mr. Cliff's apartment. Lou and I settled in and unpacked a few things. We hit up the market nearby for some groceries to last us through Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day. After our shopping trip we settled into the apartment for the night. Wine, rum and cokes and beers flowed and we spent the night catching up and just talking the hours away. Christmas Eve was spent happily drinking and spending time together.
The next day was Christmas DAY!!! We woke up around 10am and it felt really strange. Knowing that it was Christmas but not feeling like it was Christmas is a really weird emotion. However, Barry began to cook a huge breakfast and with the addition of Christmas cd's the mood was slowly being set. Eggs, bacon, toast, croissants and fruit YUM! After breakfast we opened our presents. Mrs. Cliff got all of us presents as well as we had each bought a present for everyone else. The presents were incredible, everyone did an awesome job shopping for one another. :) Robbie and I bought each other clothes for the first time in five years...we had never done that before. I guess after five years of friendship you begin to know what the other person would like in terms of clothing. He got me a beautiful white Rusty tank top with the neckline embroidered in lace. Christmas Day was spent watching Christmas movies and getting ready for our big dinner. Barry and I tackled dinner which consisted of garlic mashed potatoes, turkey, stuffing, veggies, corn, gravy and bread. Not as good as Nannie's but delicious nonetheless. My very first Christmas dinner made on my own. Christmas night was spent with seemingly endless bottles of red wine and more endless conversations.
Boxing Day we went to the Melbourne Aquarium which was phenomenal. It was full of every aquatic lifeform that you could imagine. Fishes I've never seen before, sharks I'd never want to see, sting rays bigger than dogs, the world's largest crab and jelly fish so bright they could light up the ocean. We also went out for dinner on Boxing Day to a delicious Greek restaurant in downtown Melbourne. We all got dressed up and splurged on a scrumptious dinner including two bottles of wine. Robbie and I enjoy the red wine. After dinner we went for a long walk through a park then ended up walking home from downtown. It was only about thirty minutes and after stuffing our bellies it was needed. We spent the night a bit more low key because we were waking up to go to Torquay the next morning at 8am.

The Middle
On the 27th we woke up early and headed back to Southern Cross station. We caught a train to Geelong and from there we took a bus to Torquay. Torquay is a surfing town but also full of outlet stores. We arrived there in the afternoon and spent a few hours shopping since the weather was kind of crappy. In those few hours I managed to spent a few hundred dollars on shirts, pants and sweaters. Korea doesn't have the style of clothing I like nor sizes that fit me so I had ensured to bring enough money to indulge in a lot of shopping. That night we drank with people from our hostel (Bells Beach Lodge) and headed to the local bar. After a night of dancing and drinking we all headed back to the hostel and crashed. The hostel was pretty cheap, only $25 per night. We met some great people there.
On the 28th we woke up and the sun was shining!! We got over our hangovers quickly and headed to the beach. After a couple hours of lounging in the sun, Lou and I headed back to our hostel to rent some surfboards and wetsuits. Unfortunately no one was maning the desk at our hostel so we went nextdoor to a surf rental shop. We got boards and suits for $40. After scoring a ride back to the beach with our gear we got a impromptu surf lesson from Robbie. We were stomach down on the beach before heading into the waves. After about twenty minutes of trying to grab a wave I finally did and managed to stand up!! The feeling of catching that first wave was incredible. I can see why people spend their lives travelling around surfing, it's a thrilling rush. We surfed in the ocean for about two hours and then ditched the boards to play in the waves. Lou is one of the funniest people to play in the ocean with, I feel like I'm back to being 8 years old frolicking with Ian on the beach of Gozo. We're both so young at heart. That night we drank again with our hostel friends and went back to the local bar. They had a live ska/reggae band that was amazing. They got off the stage and did a few songs in the middle of the bar floor. There were trumpets, saxaphones, drums and guitars.

The End
On the 29th we headed back to Melbourne by bus and train. We spent the 29th recovering from our two day hostel experience with movies and good food. We also decided to buy a bunch of beer for New Year's Eve after it was agreed upon that we were going to do Century Club for New Year's Eve.
On the 30th we woke up to another beautiful day but after being burned pretty badly in Torquay we couldn't exactly 'beach it up' again. So we went for walks and decided to make a big bbq dinner. The bbq was just outside the apartment in a small park and we brought some beers with us to enjoy cooking outside. We had a visitor while we were cooking, a local dog that came by and decided to pee in our beer bag. He actually didn't pee IN it just ON it. But not one of us moved to stop him we all just burst out laughing. The beer we had bought for the following day didn't last a chance. We finished the entire case of beer between the four of us and had a hilarious night together.
New Year's Eve Day Lou and I had some last minute shopping to do, seeing as we hadn't bought a single souvenir or anything. So while the boys lounged at home Lou and I had our own shopping adventure downtown. We were there for two hours and came home with some delicious Subway for dinner. We had bought tickets to a local bar for New Year's Eve and the doors opened at 8pm. We got two free drinks and finger food with our tickets so we wanted to get there early. We began our Century Club around 6pm. Century Club entails drinking one shot of beer every minute for one hundred minutes. Essentially you're doing 100 shots of beer. It gets quite messy around one hour or shot number 60. Barry, Robbie and I managed to finish and Lou had to tap out around 80. Not that I blame her in the least. We walked to the bar and spent a few hours socializing with the crowd and each other. We got our two free drinks and made a group decision to head back to the apartment for the countdown. Once back at the apartment we saw HUGE fireworks happening over the city so we walked across the street to the massive park behind the tram tracks. We heard other people yelling for the countdown and realized it was now 2007. After kisses and hugs Lou and Barry headed off to play in the sprinklers. Robbie and I found a dry spot and lay down to watch the fireworks and talk about each other, our friends, our Christmas vacation together and our experiences in Australia and Korea. We also talked about the next few months and what they have in store for us. We managed to get back to the apartment and fell asleep around 3am.
New Years Day, the alarm goes off at 5:30am. After my lengthy 2 and 1/2 hours sleep Lou and I had to drag our asses out of bed. After tired but emotional goodbyes we caught a cab to Melbourne Airport. We made it to our check in with three minutes to spare. We literally got the airport at 6:25am for our 7:00am flight, talk about cutting it close. But we made it and boarded our plane to Sydney. At Sydney airport we grabbed a quick bite and again were running through the terminal to make it to our boarding. The entire day was full of close calls. But again we boarded no problem and settled in for our ten hour flight back to Seoul. As a bonus we managed to get a three seater to ourselves!! And another bonus was the movie Step Up that was playing which I hadn't seen and had a gorgeous lead male actor. We caught an hour or two of sleep but were up for most of the flight. Once we landed in Seoul at Incheon we passed through customs and waited for our bags. After waiting for over 45 minutes and Lous bag coming out within the first 5 minutes it was clear something wasn't right. I reported my bag missing and worked out with the Korean staff what had happened. Apparently our transfer time from Melbourne to Sydney wasn't long enough to ensure all the bags were transferred so my bag was most likely in Sydney. Nothing I could do but go home and wait for my bag to be found in Sydney and flown back to Seoul. After calling Seoul airport for three days straight afterwards my bag was found! I received it on Thursday after we got home. Thank god, it had my life in it, not to mention my new purchases!!
So all in all it was an incredible trip. After not seeing Robbie for four months when we're used to seeing each other everyday it was a much needed trip for the both of us. The longest we had gone without seeing each other for the last five years had been a month at most. We did a lot of catching up and got in a ton of hanging out. As sad as I was to leave I was also really happy about the trip which outweighed the sadness. It was also awesome to see Barry again, he's become such a good friend to me as a result of being Robbie's best friend. We get along so well and I'm so happy for him and Robbie. To be backpacking and travelling around Australia with your bestfriend would be an unreal experience. They're lucky guys living the dream. I'm living a different dream but it's the perfect experience for me right now. The week after Christmas was kind of gloomy. After a week of being in Australia with the sunshine and summer it was hard adjusting back to damp, cold, dirty, grey Seoul. But the gloominess wore off after a huge snowfall in Seoul which made me feel better. A bunch of us also rented a cottage this weekend and I got the opportunity to go snowboarding. Being back on a board was the best thing for me. My mood was completely lifted and I felt the familiar love of winter that I'd usually experience in Collingwood, only I was doing it in Korea. Made me feel more whole again.
So there it is. The big long update I'd been procrastinating and now it's done! :) More blogs to come now that this big one is out of the way.

changing

2006-12-11T04:34:00.000-08:00

The leaves change and so do we

The girls and i were talking on saturday night as we attempted to plan a trip for our long weekend in february and tried to agree on what christmas movie to watch (ended up being a christmas story - which i'd never seen). We were talking about something that we've discussed a few times already since being here and probably something we will continue to mull over from time to time. And that is how much we've changed since that first footstep off the plane in Seoul. and i don't mean we've changed our personalities, appearances or anything superficial to the seeing eye. But something inside of us has changed.
Something inside of me has changed. Or to look at it from another point of view, the parts of me that were once unsure, nervous, scared and insecure have unconsciously been replaced by every new experience and struggle encountered in Seoul. Those initial qualities were at the brim of every action I undertook in this city and in my job. I was unsure of my ability to teach; I was nervous to do anything, go anywhere or buy things (even necessities like groceries was a challenge); I was scared of failure, scared of a regression towards my formerly depressed state, and scared of the unfamiliarity of it all; and I was insecure about living alone. And those qualities surfaced in every action I attempted within my first month here. Slowly as I became more familiar with my surroundings, more comfortable with my job, and more confident in my abilities as a teacher, women and citizen of Seoul those negative qualities began to dissipate. Like water in the desert. They dried up. Even though I was experiencing all those pessimistic feelings I knew that it was a result of shock. The shock of leaving my comfort zone, leaving my family, leaving my country and leaving my life. But by learning through the old 'trial and error' methods I have changed.
After being embarrassed at the grocery market because I didn't realize my produce had to be weighed and priced before going to the cashier, resulting in the cashier having to go and do it herself in the produce section, I learned for next time. I was less scared. After being rejected by the subway turnstilles possibly ten or more times in a row, I learned the blue triangle means that turnstille is open to incoming traffic and the red x means that turnstille is open to opposite traffic flow. I was less unsure. I learned, after almost being hit by several cars my first week here, that although you can walk openly in the middle of the street, it's best to stick to the sides...and a horn means move! But not in a mean way, in a "hey I'm here" way. I was less nervous to walk in the streets of Seoul. After two weeks of having my kids teach me my schedule, asking the same questions to a variety of teachers in my school, and pestering my Korean co-teacher after every period I learned my way as a teacher. I was less insecure.
Each new day here presents a new challenge, a new struggle and a new opportunity to improve myself and become more confident in myself. I have never felt connected to that old cliche of 'I can do anything'. But after living here for the last two and a half months I have never felt more secure about my ability to handle anything. The major disruptions I've endured like leaving family, Canada, friends and comfortability; the minor struggles I've endured involving my everday life in Seoul have made me stronger. And that is how I've changed. I am a stronger person. I am a more confident person. I am a more aware person. I feel as though I can handle pretty much anything life will deal me. I hope this doesn't come off as cocky or arrogant; for this is not the intention or the process that has occurred. This blog is about transformation. It's about beginning in a mental place of instability and enduring hardships that allowed a metamorphsis to take place. I feel stable. I feel good. I feel happy. And most importantly I cannot wait to go home to see what more challenges I can undertake to apply what I've learned here to my life at home. Everyday here is different; my changing and growing will not stop until I leave. These realizations are the tip of the iceberg. Two and a half months is a drop in the bucket and I'm excited to see what else will change in me before I come home.

the trials of a school teacher

2006-12-07T03:12:00.000-08:00

Seoul from atop a mountain...the number of apartment buildings never ceases to amaze me, nor the gorgeous mountains that border them. This is what I do to relieve the stress that being a teacher can sometimes cause...I hike and I look at things from this perspective.

Sitting here, wrapped in a blanket staring at my computer screen I feel compelled to write a little bit about my rantings over the phone to my mum yesterday. She was asking me about school and how my kids are doing. Which spawned this huge rant about various children in my classes that get to me, for different reasons.

The first child in my kindergarten class is quite possibly the most emotional child I have ever encountered in my life. He cries on a daily basis sometimes before the bell chimes and I'm even in the classroom! He cries when he is not the finished his work first, he cries when he is slow at answering a question, he cries when another child looks at him the wrong way, he cries during play time, he cries during class time, he basically cries at the drop of a dime! My first instinct when I started teaching was to baby him. I learned quickly that this was not the way to handle the situation. So I've started ignoring him when he cries instead. I make him turn his chair around and stare out the window until he is finished and wants to come back and join the class. I'm aware he is doing this for attention, from me and the other students, and I refuse to give attention to someone who cries because they are not the BEST at everything. The competitive drive in him is unprecedented! He literally broke out in a sweat during an activity the other day because he was working so hard and fast to be the first one finished. He runs to the front of the line. He pushes other kids. He states what page he is on when I hand out a booklet to colour as if to say "ha ha everyone I'm better because I'm faster". It drives me nuts! It is profound in my one kindergarten boy but I'm noticing it throughout this culture. The competitive nature is everywhere, english schools, elementary schools, high schools, universities and the job market. And while this is normal in any culture, the presence of it so strongly in such a young age group is frustrating. I just want to scream "You're 6!!! Sit back and have fun!! Stop competing because you'll be doing it for the rest of your life anyway". Anyway I'm learning measures to get around his sensitivity and competitive nature but it's an uphill battle that's for sure.

My other student is in my post-kindergarten classroom. This is a class of five 8 year olds and one 7 year old who is a year younger than his peers. And yet my problem doesn't lie with the youngest. It is in one of my 8 year olds who I truly believe has an attention disorder. He has the shortest attention span of anyone I've ever met. At first I thought he was a typical boy his age who didn't enjoy school and slacked off for the hell of it. Now it's clear to me this is not the situation at all. If anything is in his hands or on his desk he will play with it. If there is nothing on his desk he will resort to playing with his hands or his shoes. Anything to keep him from the current work in front of him. I've taken measures since I've been teaching him to prevent his distractions and yet he still cannot concentrate. I take his pencil case, pencils and eraser away from him. I've made him take off his shoes when those become the object of his attention. He sits at the front of the classroom by himself directly in front of me. I noticed how bad it was the other day when we took up a small exercise. The kids had to fill in the blanks for 8 questions. I knew they would have trouble spelling the words so after taking up each word, I spelled out each word 3 or 4 times making sure they were spelling them correctly. Afterwards I made each student come to my desk so I could mark their work individually. This boy came up with his book and had 6 of 8 fill-in-the-banks completed!!! He had tuned out during two of the answers and could not think of them himself. I was so frustrated! When we read aloud and I ask him to read next he is often on the wrong page or has no idea where we are if he is on the right page. Another characteristic of his that displays his attention problem is when copying a word on a previous page to the current one. He cannot remember the letters or order of letters in a word and flips back continuously. He needs the word directly in front of him on a separate piece of paper before he writes it properly. He frustrates me beyond belief. I feel like I don't get to spend enough time with the other students because this boy requires so much of my energy and focus because he is constantly wandering off into his own world. He needs my constant attention to keep him up to speed with the other kids. Some days I wonder if it's worth all the frustration and stress. I know I can't save all the kids I teach and some are lost causes but I don't think that I can do that. I can't give up on this kid just because he can't focus for more than one minute at a time. And I doubt that attention disorders are even mentioned in this culture. Most parents do not want to believe anything is wrong with their children. They will go so far as to deny visible apparent problems to ensure normality and superficial pride. Our school has an obviously astistic boy (not in my class PHEW) who spends his days silently kicking, fighting other students or the teacher. Or he's sitting silently under a table/chair or in a corner in his own world. And yet he is enrolled in a regular school. I'm not even sure there are resources available for a child like him in this country. Most of the homeless here are just people with mental disorders or who are disable and are abandoned by their families due to shame or lack of resources. It's a sad thing to see. I don't want any of my kids to fall through the cracks like that. I want to give them all the tools necessary to suceed but it's hard some days. Really hard.

Anyway these are some of the things I'm dealing with in my school on a day to day basis. And that's just how I approach this job, day to day. You just never know.

However I am sick and getting a cold and my kindergartens have been angels for me. I think they understand when I tell him I'm sick and I need them to be good. They've been making me laugh and we've been playing together a lot more. There has been less yelling, less screaming, less pandemonium in general. And I know it won't last but I'm appreciating it today because they were sweet kids today.

home sweet home

2006-12-05T03:14:00.000-08:00

It all started in grade 3 when we were little girls...and look at us now, women...who would've thought. Jackie and I loving life!

I'm really fortunate to have received so many reminders of home since I've been here. First I had a visit my from my Uncle Rick who was in Seoul on business. Then I had my sister send me videos of herself, my brother in law and my nieces who are back home. And I just had my best friend from the last 15 years come spend a week with me in Seoul and allow me the opportunity to share this experience with someone. Not to mention all the mail I've got since I've been here. Letters, cards, and pictures from so many of my family members. And soon I'll be in Australia with two of my closest guy friends and one of my university roommates celebrating Christmas together.
I wish I could somehow keep a video diary of my time in Korea. Sharing Seoul and the Korean culture with Jackie was so much fun. I know everyone knows I am away and I am living in Korea but not many people are going to be able to really know what it's like to LIVE in Seoul and LIVE in the Korean culture. I got to spend time with my best friend but I got to share my experience with her. I want to be able to have all my loved ones come visit me so they can get a glimpse of this city, my job, my everyday life and the differences/similarites between North American and Asian cultures. Although the differences outweigh the similarities there are things that are inherent to this country and its people that I absolutely love. For example, the way Korean children giggle on the street when they see you and how the laugh is always followed by "HELLO" or "HI". On the subway, street and in shops if a Korean child knows any English there is a good possibility he/she will try to converse. I love how I'm received (for the most part) very warmly asked where I come from and I say Canada. Definitely a bonus. I love how education is so important to families here. Teachers are given presents on a daily basis from the kids they teach and from their families frequently. If only Canada could adopt that attitude I think teachers would be viewed/treated so differently. These are all things Jackie and I discussed at one point or another during her stay. They made me realize I do love a lot of things about this country and Korean people.
And it was such a blessing for the two of us to spend ten days together again. We haven't spent this much time together since our early teen years. Separate high schools and universities/colleges kept out time together limited. But we had a huge reunion and I am so grateful for that. After Jacks left and got safely back to T.O. she wrote me a message online saying "check a movie box underneath your tv". I did so yesterday and found a note saying a lot of funny and nice things. One thing that stuck out was she wrote 'It's so comforting to know that Jackie and Amy are still Jackie and Amy.' We matured separately from each other's everyday lives unlike our childhood and yet we still have the same friendship just as women now instead of girls :) Comforting is the word for sure. She was one of the biggest comforts from home I could've received. We reminisced about all our old memories and dreamt of the new ones that we'll be making in the future. I can't wait to see what the future holds for us.

Shots of Jackie and Amy's Week o' Fun

2006-12-05T02:56:00.000-08:00

Yes yes, dancing and having a grand old time at a bar...and enjoying the domestic beer of Seoul called Cass...it's not that bad actually!
At the DMZ gift shop...Jen would you like me to get the girls some army camoflauge gear for Christmas? They have two styles, vest or jacket, I'm sure I could find their sizes (YA RIGHT)
At the DMZ posing beside the strange cartoon sign, I think he is supposed to represent a soldier? Your guess is as good as mine. Jackie is whispering secret information and I'm listening in.
Jackie and Louise looking at the mountain we were about to climb, after we had already climbed to the peak of the mountain beside it! Two mountains in one day. My legs were shaking.
That's Seoul in the background...apartment towers and such...we were so high up.
A beautiful tree in Deoksugung palace about two days before winter came and officially got rid of ALL the leaves, we were lucky to see this when we did.

just a quick one for the meantime

2006-12-01T02:47:00.000-08:00

Well as you know, Jackie is here! She is currently behind me curling my hair for our Friday night out at RMT. There are only two more weeks of live music for the guitar competition! Next week are the finals. I can't believe it is already December 1. Talking about December and Christmas with my kindergartens today was a huge realization about how fast time is going again. Anyway I wanted to do a quick post because I have been slacking as of late. Jackie and I have managed to have an incredible week despite the fact that I've had to work Monday to Friday from 10am until 5:30pm. We spent each night after work out on different adventures but took Wednesday off to chill out at the apartment. I can't believe she's leaving already on Sunday. It seems like yesterday I was running to the bus stop to meet her and now we'll be going back to the same bus stop to go to the airport Sunday afternoon. *Sigh* I hate how time goes so quick when you're having fun but isn't that always the way? However we have had an awesome time together and I will cherish this visit for the rest of my months here. It will probably be the only time I will get a visitor from home and I couldn't have picked a better person. It's so funny how we went from spending every single day together as children and every weekend having sleepovers to enjoying a week together in Seoul, Korea. I remember Mrs. Samuel and my mum thinking that we weren't going to stay best friends in high school...we showed them! And everyone else! And now she's spending her vacation visiting me halfway across the world. It's not just best friends, we're family. There's no friend category that Jackie and I would slide into. I will be writing a huge blog with the details of our whirlwind week together on Sunday night most likely. When I will be all alone again in my apartment, my toothbrush without a partner and my couch without a body. This has been the best week I will probably have in Korea and I am so thankful that she took the time to come here and experience this country with me.

Just a quick note, we were talking about my sister and her family a lot and we share the same first memory of my brother-in-law....him putting us into a garbage can!!! hahahaha it made us laugh so hard.

Speaking of which, we had so many firsts together. We were remembering them all the other day. Our first cigarette (ew), our first shaving armpits experience, our first tampons... so many monumental firsts...there is still so much more but I figure that's enough detail for anyone to hear about hahaha. And now her first Asian experience is with me in Korea. And my first visitor is Jackie. I look forward to seeing us continue to grow and share more experiences with each other. I'm gonna be so sad to see her leave.

the neon

2006-11-22T04:25:00.000-08:00

Me behind the wheel of my car, my house and my saviour. This is me and the girls heading out to Port Dalhousie for some drinks (I was DD) and live music during our last summer in St. Catharines

After managing to be so busy the last two months I had almost completely forgot about my car. I was talking to my good friend John over MSN Messenger the other day and he said he saw a navy blue Dodge Neon on the road in Calgary and he thought of me. John and I went to Brock University together and had spent many road trips together in the Neon going to concerts, friends houses, and random trips to Niagara Falls and such. So I thought I would do a little blog posting in memory of my fabulous car that saved my life numerous times throughout University and the last three years we were together. Strange I know, who gets this sentimental over a car...but I lived in that thing. So here's to the Neon!

quickie update

2006-11-21T04:21:00.000-08:00

Well here are some new photos from the adventures of late. I don't know why they show up out of order but in any case. Things over the last week are going really well. I had a great weekend, went out on Friday night and relaxed and stayed in on Saturday. The girls and I spent Friday night at RMT watching some more live preformances from people in the guitar/singing competition. One of the guys blew me away, he was amazing and I happened to get a cd of his music later on in the night because his music was incredible. I was happy about that because I haven't been able to discover much new music since being here. The Korean music scene isn't really my cup of tea. Louise and I went for another hike on Saturday afternoon to the same spot as last week but we took different hiking routes this time. The new way took us to the Seoul Fortress Wall which was pretty impressive...we were also more prepared this time and brought snacks and warmer clothes. I did a little Christmas shopping on Saturday evening with Lou and Manz in Insadong which led us to the Little Old Tea Shop shown in some of the photos. The tea there is very expensive ($5-$6 per cup) but it's worth it. They offer about ten different kinds of tea including ginseng, cinnamon, green, pear, harmony (mixed spices) and a few others. The teas have been aged for years which is why they're so costly. Anyway the Tea Shop is full of beautiful Korean artifacts as well as...live birds!! They are little wee things that just fly around as you sit and drink your tea and eat your snacks. Very charming. Saturday night, after shopping and hiking I was wiped so I went home and threw on a movie. "Over the Hedge" very cute and full of morals relatable to today's society. I suggest it to anyone...it's also a cartoon and hilarious so obviously I loved it. Sunday was spent on a solo shopping mission and dun dun dun...I FINISHED MY SHOPPING! :) YESSSSS! Sunday night was spent with the girls, we ordered Dominos (YUM! real pizza) and watched Grey's Anatomy.
As for this week's news...big stuff happening....JACKIE IS COMING TO KOREA!!! That's right, as of Friday I will have my first (probably only) guest visiting me in South Korea. Jackie leaves Toronto on Thursday and gets here Friday. I can't wait to show her everything...the food, people, subway, palaces, shopping areas, customs...basically my entire last two months experience here. The differences between South Korea and Canada are incredible and I'm so happy someone gets to share it with me in person. Another witness to the craziness that is Seoul. Well that's it for now!
Alex: I saw a picture of you in your new glasses!!! You look beautiful!!! Just like Mommy and Auntie Amy in their glasses!! I hope they help you see better. OH...I also got the new pictures in the mail, the drawings are beautiful and your printing is getting very good! Keep working hard! Mum tells me you are becoming a great swimmer, I'm so proud of you. I love you and miss you!
Calista: The drawings are beautiful thank you so much. I love them, all the stickers you sent me are so cool! I saw the video Daddy made for me where you and Alex were baking cookies. They looked so delicious and yummy. I hope you shared some with Mommy...and make sure to bake me some cookies when I come home. Chocolate is my favourite. I love you and miss you!

Our teas along with snacks they serve as a compliment...the teas themselves look so beautiful I had to take a picture
Here is a picture from outside Yeongdeungpo Station...finally some Christmas love!
This is the inside of the tea shop...very quaint and charming
Here's a shot from the performance night...oh I was so nervous!!
Last but not least, RMT on a Friday night with the Korean crew...back row left to right is: Jordan, Andrew, Cash and Marc. In front is me, Manz and Lou! And flowers I got from a random guy in the bar.

shots of the weekend.

2006-11-12T04:56:00.000-08:00

Here is a view from the top of the mountain village. You can see some of the stairs in this shot winding up the side of the mountain. Anyway it was beautiful and pollution free! But check out all the apartment and office towers...they're everywhere!

This is a shot of the rock formation that supposedly looks like a Buddhist monk in a robe. People come here to pray all the time and at the top of the stairs are mats to pray on and candles lit behind these glass cases. It's incredible...Lou and I watched some people pray for about five minutes.

Three tough Canadian chicks representing in Seoul. We were attempting angry mean faces although I don't really remember why.

Here's a shot of a wall in the Dongdimmun subway station. Tons of Korean writing and I have no idea what it means or what it's for but I really think it's a beautiful decoration. This was on our way to the hiking adventure.

sunday night and i feel all right

2006-11-12T04:29:00.000-08:00

Here's a night shot of Seoul...typical street view. Tons of neon lights and even more cars. Actually I think the neon signs would outnumber the cars in this city. You'd be a millionaire in the neon light business in Seoul...even more so than in Vegas.
So an update on my Friday night preformance...
Arrived at the RMT with my girls about forty five minutes before the contest/night got started. I met the judges and got my free beverage (Coors Light...I took advantage of the free drink). I was informed I was going on stage third out of seven preformers which I was super happy with. I didn't want first and I didn't want last. Lucky number 3! So before I went on, to calm the nerves, I had two beers and a tequila shot for good luck (thanks to the girls). After the second preformer finished I grabbed the old guitar and walked up onto the stage, sat on the bar stool and got set up for my first ever live performance.
It was nerve wracking at first because I don't have a pickup on my guitar (a wee hole to plug into a cord to plug into the speaker) so they had to set up a mic for my guitar. Took a couple minutes so I just sat there and smiled, talked to the crowd a bit. There were two Canadian soliders with poppy's on in the audience and that was a sweet touch of home. Anyway I was finally set up and began my two song set. First started off with Beatles - I've Just Seen a Face. I was so nervous but just gave it my all...I know I screwed up in two parts but hey! it happens. After that was over I introduced my next song, an acoustic version of Hey Ya by Outkast. This song I am totally in love with. The crowd started singing and clapping along once they realized what song it was and got into it. That was an incredible feeling. Hearing people listen to me sing and play was all around an addicting thrill...for all the other performances the crowd was talking away but they were dead quiet for my set. I was also the only girl to play out of the seven performers that night. After I finished I got a sweet round of applause and proceeded to the bar for a celebratory beer. I was stopped all night by people in the crowd and bar areas letting me know how well I did and they really liked my songs. That was so cool! I didn't end up making it to the finals in December, but for what it's worth I'm partially glad. Friday was so nervewracking and intense that to do the finals I would've probably suffered a heart attack beforehand. And also, I'm just super happy and proud of myself for going out there and doing it anyway. So long as the crowd enjoyed it (and they did) that's all that I wanted. That and to not pee my pants on stage, which I also accomplished. So all in all fabulous night :) Definitely worth all the stress and nervousness. I can't wait to do something like that again!
Saturday was spent hiking with Louise in Dongnimmun...we went to a traditional Korean Buddhist community located on a mountain side. So we trekked our way up a mountain (insanely vertical climb) and spent a couple hours wandering around the village and mountainside looking at different prayer spots, Buddhist statues, and shamanist temples and houses. Very very cool. And for the first time in a month and a half...I couldn't smell the smog and pollution. HOORAY! So after walking around for a while, we started to make our way back down. With very shaky legs and knees we made it back home to rest for awhile. Manz came over afterwards and I made the girls some dinner: seasoned chicken, mashed potatoes and corn. YUM! Then we just chilled and watched our shows and a BBC documentary my bro sent me (thanks Ian just loved it!).
Today was spent walking around Insadong looking for Christmas presents. I was somewhat successful although there is still more to get. And now I'm going to read my book and get a good sleep because tomorrow is...DUN DUN DUN Monday. Womp.

Alex: I miss you so much! I can't wait to see your drawings and talk to you on the phone again soon. I hope school is a lot of fun, soon it will be Christmas which means you're also turning 6 years old!
Calista: I miss you so much too! I bet you drew me beautiful pictures. Hope you're being good for you Mommy and being nice to your sister. I am excited to talk to you again soon.

let the music take control

2006-11-10T02:54:00.000-08:00

nothing like being in seoul, south korea to finally inspire me to get over my stage fright. as of tonight i will debuting my guitar and vocal skills at RMT in their annual acoustic singing guitar competition. i'm nervous as hell but figure what the hell, might as well get over this feeling sooner rather than later! the girls are on their way over and we're heading out soon. im going to write a detailed posting on sunday detailing the events of tonight. wish me luck!

the week is OVER

2006-11-03T03:28:00.000-08:00

Today has brought new meaning to Thank God It's Friday. Having Halloween Day completed exhausted me and it appears the kids have been on a major sugar high since receiving candy on Tuesday. Everyday they're bringing in suckers, candies and chocolate. Not that I mind that part because they give me candy everyday :) But Tuesday was just a very tiring day attempting to take care of 12 kindergartens and then meeting their parents as well as doing high energy games for the rest of the day took its toll. Who knew teaching was so draining? Well I guess Ian and Tina (my teacher brother and so to be sister also a teacher) but other than that I doubt people understand how thoroughly exhausting this profession is. Mothers obviously but they experience tired on a completely different level than this. I guess in a way this preparing me for the exhaustion I will feel when/if I become a mother. Hahaha I gotta say, I'm not looking forward to it, being so drained I mean :) Mothers and teachers are saints...lesson learned.
I'm just waiting for Louise and Amanda to come over and do our ritual Friday of watching the new episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Lost.
I woke up this morning and got a chance to talk to my sister, brother-in-law and my nieces for the first time since I've been here! God what a great feeling that was. I definitely became emotional after talking with my sister then having conversations with both my nieces...but a really good emotional. It was incredible hearing their voices, I can't believe how grown up Alex sounds and how much Calista's vocabulary and speech is improving as she grows older. I'm going to return and they will both be little women, I can't wait to spend time with them. Listening to Alex ask me "when are you coming home?" and hearing Calista say "come by another day okay?" made me miss them so much and made me so excited for when I get home and get to hug them for the first time. Probably one of the greatest things about this entire Korea experience is how much my sister and I have talked. I look forward to her emails and blog comments so much! It's been an amazing feeling knowing that we're growing closer and closer even though I'm the furthest away from home I've ever been. I love hearing updates on my nieces but not only that, I like hearing about what is going on with my sister. I feel like we're really getting to know each other better as women and I really love the woman my sister is. And the mother she is.
I also really look forward to getting my mum's phone calls. Hearing her voice is the most comforting thing I've got here in Korea. I guess this whole overseas experience is not only learning things about myself (which I'm definitely doing everyday), but realizing what's important in my life. My family and my friends. More than ever I'm realizing how lucky I am to have such an incredible family. My mum, brother, sister, nieces, nannie, aunts uncles and cousins, and so to be sister have given me the most love and comfort since I've been away. Their voices, emails, comments and messages make my day. I can't wait until my brother's wedding and we can all be reunited again for such a wonderful celebration. I don't ever want to take my family for granted...and after being away from them and missing them more than I thought possible I don't think I ever will intentionally do that. I feel the same way about my friends, their messages and emails are what keeps me going on a day to day basis. The funny messages, little inside jokes, and lengthy emails are like a source of oxygen for me here. They keep me living, pushing on, and make me so excited for the day I return back to Canada.
Well this started off as an email about my week and how tired I was but it definitely turned into something else. Isn't that always the way? Anyway I'm just really thankful and appreciative of a lot of things right now and feel really blessed to have the people in my life that I do.
Well the girls should be here soon so I'm going to wrap this up. Until another day.

Alex: I can't wait to see your pictures! And I want to see a photo of you in your cool Barbie glasses. I bet you look beautiful! It was wonderful talking to you on the phone. I miss you so much and love you so much!!!
Calista: It was so nice talking to you on the phone. I can't wait to see the pictures you draw for me. The pictures you and your sister drew are on my fridge and I love them. I miss you and love you munchkin.

the weekend

2006-10-29T01:13:00.000-08:00

Well the weekend is over again...time just seems to fly by here. On Friday night, Louise, Amanda and myself realized we've been here one month as of this weekend. Unbelievable. I can't believe one month has passed by already. When we first got here reaching the one month point seemed light years in the future. And now it's gone! I hope time keeps moving in this fashion, it makes the work week seem so much shorter and the weekends so much more fun! The girls and I spent Friday night at a bar called Rocky Mountain Tavern (henceforth known as RMT..it's easier that way). It's a Canadian bar in the foreigners district, Itaewon, and is owned by Canadian guys and decked out in all things Canadian. Including: a Canadian flag, all the Canadian NHL jerseys, Tim Hortons paraphenilia, Canadian license plates, yada yada yada. It's the biggest taste of home one could get here and we just LOVE that place. They serve cheap beer and relatively tasty pub food and the best part is...they replay NHL hockey games!!! So on Friday night we watched the Sens crush the Leafs (the game originally played on Thursday night at home). And as disheartening as the game was it was just amazing to be watching a hockey game again. My first of the season. Not only that but they had Canadian commercials during breaks and periods of the game. Couldn't ask for anything more fulfilling.
Saturday was spent lounging around and making pumpkin seeds! We carved a pumpkin on Friday at school with the kindergarten kids and I made them save the seeds for Amy Teacher. I fried them up on my frying pan on Saturday and brought them over to Amanda and Louise's house. They were so delicious. The girls just showed up so I must start dinner! I'll write more later!!
Okay now dinner (pasta and veggies mmmm) and Lost is finished and the girls have just left. So back to Saturday night. We went out for Lou's friends birthday (Kerry) and spent 1 hour and 1/2 on the subway getting to the restaurant, Carnie Station. The subway was crammed full for most of the ride and that mixed in with my high heels did not leave me feeling to good when we finally got to the restaurant. But after a couple glasses on red wine and some food I felt a lot better. We spent the night drinking with a great group of teachers from Suji. That's where Kerry and her friends all work. We ended up going from Suji back to the foreigners district but not before stopping at a bar that serves buckets of alcohol, that you proceed to drink with straws in the bucket. Koreans are definitely workaholics but know how to have a great time on the weekend, I mean...buckets? I stayed at Lou and Manz's place that night. When Lou and I got back from the bar (Manz stayed later) we gave our good friend Johnny a call and that was the first time we've talked since I came here. It's incredible how a good phone call home to someone you know and care about makes all the difference in the world. So Gouvis family, expect a phone call from your darling sister and aunt soon okay?? Let me know a good time to call and I'll figure something out.
So that was a typical weekend I guess and the rest will be along those lines mixed in with some hiking (we want to go next weekend!) and other tourist type things like palace visits and other landmark visits. I miss everyone and was a little homesick this weekend.

Alex: I heard you got glasses! I have glasses too! I got my first pair of glasses when I was 12 years old and I think they're pretty cool. I miss you Alex!!!
Calista: Hope you had a really fun Hallowe'en and ate lots of yummy candy! I miss you Calista!!!

a frustrating cab ride

2006-10-25T05:12:00.000-07:00

Well my mum encouraged me to keep track of the small things I go through on a daily basis too. So I thought I would include this small story of our first huge miscommunication in Korea. It was probably one of the most frustrating hours of my life but hey, I survived. Lou, Manz and I were in a cab on the weekend trying to get to a place called Hongdae. So we hopped into a cab and told our cab driver where we wanted to go. Unfortunately Manz mispronounced our destination and instead of saying Hongdae, she said Hundae. She forgot the g and said the o like a u. Apparently this was a huge deal because we ended up 30 minutes away from Hongdae outside a small university in some unknown district to us all. We were panicked and frightened. We made the cab driver pull over and we got out and started asking people on the street where Hyundae was, trying to explain it like "you know place with bars, music". FINALLY a young woman told us we wanted Hongdae. We had been charged $20 by this point but the cab driver waited around for us and took us to our destination free of charge. By that point we were so tired and so frustrated we barely spoke for the next 15 minutes of our ride. Then as I noticed the cab smelled badly of B.O. (body odor) I started singing a song. To the tune of Yellow Submarine but with a few changes in lyrics..."We all live in a B.O. smelling taxi, a B.O. smelling taxi, a B.O. smelling taxi". The girls and I just burst out into laughter and proceeded to make up verses to accompany my chorus. So by the time we got to Hongdae we were all in better moods and took that ride as a lesson learned: Be sure we know how to pronounce where we want PRECISELY before getting into a cab. And the worst thing was the cab driver was just laughing the entire time at the situation. Like c'mon buddy, paying $20 and spending 1 hour in your smelly taxi cab is NOT funny. However we ended up having a great night at the shisa bar and will forever be singing "we all live in a B.O. smelling taxi".

Another interesting note to myself. NEVER get on the subway between the hours of 6 and 7pm. Good LORD! My trip to Home Plus (like Wal Mart) today after school was something I've never experienced before. The subway cars were packed...and I'm not talking full, I'm talking RAMMED FULL of Korean people. I was pushed and shoved from the platform into the car only to stand awkwardly with two Korean man practically on me and it took all my will power to keep from screaming outloud. I felt like Elaine in the subway episode of Seinfeld. I was definitely screaming obscenities in my head for the five minutes I was in the subway car. Thankfully I was only two stops away from Home Plus and escaped without losing my cool. I bought my winter jacket and had a bit of dinner just to make sure I wouldn't get back on the sardine subway of rush hour. Korea is such a strange place sometimes.

My second Blog - The day to day life of Amy

2006-10-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Well here it is. My second posting. It's 10:43pm here and I'm pretty wiped. I had school all day and for some reason I was just not feeling teaching today. I mean the kids are great but some days I just don't want to stand in front of the classroom and instruct and try to get them to do what I want and learn what I need them to learn. Especially when I'm already tired to begin with, talking all day just makes me more tired. So I treated myself to a $5 pizza for dinner after work.
Since my beautiful sister was inquiring about my day to day life, I will explain a typical day/week for me here in Seoul. My Monday - Friday life anyway. So I wake up anywhere between 8am and 9:15am. I shower in my bathroom that has no tub or shower door...essentially it has a drain in the middle of the floor and a showerhead that rests on a holder on the wall. So I shower standing in my bathroom, it's a weird but common thing in Korea. Anyway I make myself some breakfast (usually consisting of oatmeal and fruit or a peanut butter sandwich and fruit or an egg) and leave my apartment around 9:30am.
I walk to school, it's about a 5-7 minute walk from my apartment. Two other teachers live in the same building as me and I usually walk with this one teacher Liz.
School starts at 10am and every Monday morning we have a teacher's meeting to discuss events for the upcoming week. I teach kindergartens from 10am - 2:30pm with my lunch between 12:40pm and 1:40pm. I usually pack my lunch or walk home and make something. I'm trying not to buy food because I want to save as much money as possible while I'm here. Then from 2:30 - 4:10pm, Monday to Friday I teach post-kindergarten kids. It's a group of about 8 kids who are about eight or nine years old. They are all right, I enjoy teaching them more than the kindergartens. Then on Monday/Wednesday/Friday from 4:10pm-5:30pm I teach 2 older girls who are twelve. And on Tuesday/Thursday from 4:10pm - 5:30pm I teach a group of 4 girls who are about seven years old and they are definitely my hardest class in terms of getting them to learn English. They are very far behind, worse than my kindergartens.
After school I usually walk home and make dinner. Then I veg out for a bit and watch tv, write some emails, work on my masters proposal, clean yada yada yada. Nothing too exciting during the week. If I do anything during the week nights I will meet up with Amanda and Louise or do some errands like grocery shopping. Everything I need to do is accessible by subway which is great.
I actually was just shown, by another teacher named Jackson, a really awesome grocery store nearby my house within walking distance. It's called Good Morning Mart and is in the basement of this strip mall of stores. It has EVERYTHING! I went there yesterday after Jackson showed me where it was and bought Heinz ketchup, chicken breasts, tangerines, butter, mayonnaise, salad dressing, toilet paper and laundry detergeant all for $17! This grocery store had all the fruits and veggies imagineable plus the comforts of home like ketchup :) So I found my new grocery store for the next year. It's about a ten minute walk from my apartment. Something else very interesting about Korea in general is you really need to look at the buildings you're passing. You need to look at the signs on the top floors as well as signs for the basement. Buildings in Korea use every available space and you'll find some really interesting places in the basements of buildings or stores. Same with the top floors.
When we go on adventures during the weekend we take the subway everywhere. All the sights we've seen so far have been right off a subway stop so that's been convenient. The subway costs about $0.80 - $1.00 depending on how far you go. We have these subway passes called T-Money cards. You put money on your T-Money card then swipe them when you walk into the subway station so you don't have to pay cash everytime. Very convenient. $5 on my card lasts me a week usually. Taxis here are also very very cheap. It costs $2 for the first 5 minutes or so many kilometres than goes up from there every minute. It's very reasonable for cabs but again I try and use the subway to keep money spending to a minimum. The subway also cuts down on getting stuck in traffic.
So living by myself is definitely something that I've had to get used to but it's not that bad. It gets lonely at times especially when I realize how long it's been since I've spoken out loud but I just pick up my phone and call someone if I feel really lonely. But I have my computer, music, movies and television to make noise if I want it. It's also very nice only having to clean up after myself. No roommates, no added mess. I can clean and not clean when I want.
Well I guess there's some general information about my life in Seoul so far. Not very interesting but more information for my family to know! I love you guys and miss you guys!!!
ALEX: I miss you, I hope you are learning a lot in school! Give your sister a hug for me!
CALISTA: Take good care of your sister and mommy. Give them lots of hugs for me, I miss you!

My very first Blog

2006-10-19T01:28:00.000-07:00

October 19, 2006

Well, here goes nothing!

This is my very first blog ever. I don't know if I'm doing this correctly and if it will show up but I'm giving it a shot anyway. The idea for creating my own blog came from my lovely sister Jenifer as a way to record my thoughts and adventures while I'm living in Seoul, South Korea. A sort of up-to-the-minute way to let my sister and her family share in my experiences. Speaking of their family I miss my nieces so much. Before I left I was given a gift of an electronic picture frame with two 4x6 photographs. One of the girls and myself at the T.O zoo and another picture of the girls at Disneyland hanging out with a bunch of Minnie Mouse dolls. The best feature of this photo album are the two recordings that I play every single day. After two days I knew them off by heart and still recite them as I play them.
"Hi Auntie Amy, I love you even if you're going away you're still my Aunt and I like you so much" - Alex
"Hi Auntie Amy, I want to go to your pool but I like you so much and I want to go to your pool" - Calista
Hearing their voices everday puts the biggest smile on my face. I'm so lucky to have such a wonderful family. Since these blogs are aimed directly at Jen, Aris, Alex and Calista I am going to write directly to them. The main parts of the blogs will be for everyone to read but I will also include little messages to each of my nieces at the end of the blog. I am going to give my mum and brother my blog address but it will be mainly for the Gouvis family because I email and talk to Ian and mum almost every other day.
So hello to my family, I miss you guys like crazy!!!

Today I took my first sick day. I've been fighting a cold since Sunday night and it's been getting worse as the week goes on. Probably due to the pollution here and having to teach kids all day. By 5:30pm my voice is usually dead and I'm completely exhausted. So this morning I asked the assistant director Judy to take me to the doctor's to find out exactly what is wrong with me. It turns out I have a common cold for which I got medication (some pills and cough syrup). I think the 'common cold' isn't as common for foreigners, it's definitely more severe than a regular cold I would experience in Toronto. I've been coughing up some serious phlegm and battling a runny nose for the past week. At least I don't have an infection. So I took a sick day and spent the morning sleeping and starting my medication. I only have to take my medication for three days though!
Since the pollution here is really bad and the air quality incredibly poor I've been less inclined to do exercise outdoors. So a couple days ago I made a skipping rope out of duck tape and masking tape in my apartment. Surprisingly it works extremely well! I spent twenty minutes skipping today but that's all my lungs would allow with this cold still in me. It felt good to sweat though. I just made some chicken noodle soup for dinner and watched some Seinfeld Season 3 episodes that I downloaded on my computer. I was supposed to go to a free salsa dancing lesson tonight but I don't have the energy so I'm going to try and go next Thursday night. I think it would be something really fun for me to do every week and get me out of the house on a week night without being too tired to teach on Friday. Speaking of Friday I have my first field trip tomorrow with my school. We're taking the kindergartens to a park for a picnic and to play games. Should be a lot of fun!

Well this turned out to be a lot longer than I expected! I guess I have a lot of things to say about what I'm up to. In conclusion I miss you guys a lot and I look forward to writing on this more, at least a couple times a week. Hope everyone is doing well and despite the fact that I'm sick I feel pretty good now that I'm more settled in my job. I just need to kick this cold and then I'll be back to 100%.

to Alex: Hi ALEX!!! I miss you so much!!! I hope you are having fun at school and learning a lot of new things. I think school is very fun. What are you going to be for Hallowe'en this year? I am thinking of dressing up as burglar. We have a Hallowe'en day at my school and all the teachers have to dress up too! Give your mum a big HUGE hug for me okay? I love you TONS! xoxoxox

to Calista: Hi CALISTA!!! I miss you so much!!! I hope you are having fun hanging out with your mum. I heard Rachel was visiting with you for awhile, that must have been very fun. Almost like you had another sister! What are you going to be for Hallowe'en this year? I hope you get a lot of candy on Hallowe'en but don't eat it all at once, save some for later. Give your mum a big HUGE hug for me and be a good girl okay? I love you TONS! xoxoxox