Fact before fiction...

When I last wrote on here a month ago, I was still wearing my winter clothes... we had one week of spring and then last week, it hit 28 degrees everyday. This is it... hell on Earth is coming...

Spring in Korea looks more beautiful because through the (long) winter months, there's nothing... no flowers, no leaves... nothing. Back home, we have evergreen trees, snowdrops, tulips and bluebells, so even throughout winter, everything doesn't quite look so dead. But here, everything is brown and bare and there's no splashes of color to be seen anywhere. 

So when this happens... weee!

And my favourites are the cherry blossoms... didn't make it to any festivals this year, but luckily the small town I live in had lots of them!
 

Last weekend, Jinmo, his Mum and I took a trip south to Daejon... it was one heck of a drive, but the family we met there (from his Dad's side) were lovely! 

 ready for the road trip!

We didn't get to look around much though... after taking 4 hours to get there when normally it would only take about 90 minutes, we weren't really in the mood to go sight-seeing. After we arrived back in Yeongtong, we went for some ice cream and my lovely mother-in-law presented me with these... so gorgeous!

for the wedding day... ♥

I'm definitely spoiled in Korea... ♥

They even have Teacher's Day here which was last Wednesday. I got some great gifts!

I got these from my elementary school kids ^^

And something extra special from an extra special class... I love my middle school girls!

Last week ended with a long weekend for Buddha's birthday, which was on Friday 17th. After weeks and weeks of saving, plus I was under the weather for a couple of weeks with the worst case of laryngitis I've ever had in my life, this weekend was for just the two of us. It kicked off on Thursday (after a hellish day at work) with a h-u-g-e galbi meal at one of the local places, then on Friday...

the local park in Sema

On Saturday, we headed to Seoul for the day. First stop was the 63 building in Yeouido.

63 building, Seoul

I don't know what it is about them, but I absolutely love aquariums!

After the aquarium (they had seals! waaaah!) we headed to Seodaemun Prison which is now a museum. It was used by the Japanese for Koreans who took part in independence movements against the Japanese army while Korea was under their rule. This place felt really different from the Independence Hall museum in Cheonan because it was right here that so many terrible things happened. Korea actually has a really sad history, from how the Chosun era ended, to the constant invasions by Japan at the start of the last century, right up to the division of the country into the North and South Koreas. And they document their history really well; I've been to so many different places all over Europe and visited countless museums, but the best I've ever seen are all right here in South Korea. 

photos of some of the thousands of activists held here

this room was dedicated to the women who became activists for independence

After that, Jinmo decided he wanted to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace since he hadn't been there since he was really young. It's so pretty at this time of year, especially because of the lanterns, the flowers, the weather, etc.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

Insadong

After a walk through Insadong, it was time for my favourite time of the day... dinner tiime! I'd been thinking about nachos and salsa dip all week for some reason, so we took a trip to Itaewon for some Mexican food and decided to try a brand new place called 'Chili King'... wasn't bad ^^

finally got my nachos !! ^^

 And a perfect end to the weekend...

...lots of sleep!

Now, it's Monday and I've got that "please-let-this-week-fly-by" feeling... it was a great weekend, but it will be the last one like it for a long time now that it's only 159 days until the wedding. Eeeep! ♥

And today, another milestone... we had our appointment with immigration today. Our 'interview' lasted 10 minutes and all our documents were perfect so after a small(ish) fee and an estimated waiting time given of about 2 months (maximum), I will have my permanent residency F-6 visa! All the stress, research, phonecalls, trips to the Gu-office, lawyer offices, UK embassy visits... it all led to this appointment today. Basically, my current visa is an E-2 visa, which means my employer has all control and all say over my visa, residency status, etc... something my husband, and me, were just not comfortable with, especially since I work in a private language school instead of a government funded public school. 

So, it's handled ^^

THE documents... DONE!

 Until next time...

In the end... (I found as close to western style food as it gets in Korea!)

The last couple of weeks went by so fast... ! Time is really speeding up now, at the beginning of the year, every week seemed to drag by, but Jinmo did say by the time spring comes, the days will go by faster. It seemed like it was never going to happen... but now, the wedding is only 6 months away and every weekend has been jam-packed! I'm desperately trying to enjoy this short spell of 'normal' weather... in Korea, after the winter hibernation ends, you get a few weeks of sunny days and that lovely not-too-hot-but-not-too-cold weather, and then... it's summer. Hell. On. Earth. It's actually harder to leave the house in the Korean summer heat than in the freezing winter cold.

Actually, we were also lying low because we're on the 'saving for our wedding' budget, but after days and days (and days) of eating nothing but rice, spam, cucumber and carrots and drinking nothing but camomile tea and water, it was finally... PAYDAY! We went a little bit crazy... after I'd sent some cash home and put a decent amount into the savings, it was time to eat some western food and, well, buy stuff. 

On Friday, we met Heather after work and went to Sam Ryans in Suwon. It's an Irish bar... we had some beers, some steak sandwiches and some fantastic banter! Sadly, my battery was low on my phone camera so I could take a photo of this epic dinner.

Then, on Saturday, it was an early start. We went to get our health checks for our married couple health insurance. In Korea, they're really big on their health checks. It's a good deal you get though... for 35,000 won (about £20) you get a dental check, a short eye test, a hearing test, a chest x-ray, a urine test, a blood test and a blood pressure check. So even if you don't need one for a new job, or an insurance policy, you can always just go and get yourself checked out to make sure you're still normal, heh.

After a power nap in the afternoon, it was off to Itaewon to meet this lovely pair...

Maria and Kieran

We went to a new British bar called 'The Rose and Crown'...

 There were alot of Koreans there, and their eating habits just made me feel... so guilty. A group of 3 or 4 friends were sharing one meal together! Madness! The 4 of us all had a plate each and we cleared the lot!

 Fish and chips

 Cottage pie

Always a great time and good banter with those two! ^^ After we left Itaewon, Maria and Kieran headed back to Pyeongchon and we headed back to Osan, but not without doing a bit of shopping first...

A gift for meeee ♥

On Sunday, I woke up to the sound of Jinmo cooking a h-u-g-e brunch of... well... everything!

the 'everything' meal

Fat noodles, thin noodles, eggs, tapoki, mandoo... doesn't get any better than this! Well, until the next day when we had...

부대 찌개 ('army soup')... another 'everything' meal ^^

I actually have no idea how I've managed to lose weight in Korea, I feel like I can sniff out the delicious food everywhere I go and it almost always looks too good to pass up! Also, in Korea, food seems to be really important... instead of asking "how are you?" or "how is your day going?", their style of asking the same thing is "did you eat lunch?" or "what did you eat for dinner?" or "did you eat alot at lunch time?" (Jinmo: "many eating today??"). This is their way of checking that you're in good health that day, and since their diet here is so damn healthy, on a Korean diet, it's impossible not be in good condition from day to day.

Except... when you find... the candy floss vendor man in a random park...

This week has been another fast one. I'm loving the packed schedule at work, the days are flying by! On Wednesday, we got up really early and headed to the UK embassy in Seoul. When we arrived, there was one other couple there. She was Korean, and he was Scottish (I clocked the accent straight away). Turns out, he was from my home town! What are the chances?! The consular woman we saw this time was horrible... she was so rude and clearly couldn't be bothered to help us out by explaining the complicated official stuff to Jinmo in Korean (she was Korean). His English is good, but when it comes to really important paperwork, it's helpful to have it explained to you in your own language too... but this b**** was having none of it. I put her in her place the next day though, she gave me a call about something else and as soon as I heard that voice on the other end, I just couldn't resist telling her what I thought of her. I think Jinmo will need to deal with the UK embassy alone from now on, oops...

Had to share a bench with this guy on the way home from Seoul...

Now that we're married on paper, it's just a case of preparing for the day and, of course, the dreaded visa paperwork. But all that aside (not that preparing for the wedding day isn't fun! ^^) we're just enjoying spending alot more time together in our wee bubble :)

And I can't forget the other member of this little family...

This is the eating time pout. The sad face works on Jinmo every time... but I teach kindergarten every day, so I've got a harder shell when it comes to that cutesy shite.

Anyway, until next time!

City of...

It's hump day, only 3 days until a weekend of lying around and recovering from the cold and from just being so damn busy!

This week started with being told... by my students... that I had an extra class added to my schedule, which takes the toll up to nine 20 minute classes, plus the extra class on a Tuesday and Thursday. It's a really fast day, and more time with the kids means less time for the boring stuff like paperwork, yay! 

I've managed to get myself into the routine of getting up with Jinmo at 6.30am and just staying up instead of going back to bed when he leaves, which means Watson gets an extra walk, and I get some more time for Korean study. I still can't speak the language well, but everyday with Korean co-workers and being the only foreigner, plus everyday with Jinmo, means that my understanding has improved so much! I was actually shocked last Sunday when I had lunch with his parents... I could understand pretty much all of the days' conversations!

Apart from that, not much else to report. I've started cooking other things and not only spaghetti bolognese, I even managed a successful mince and tatties!

But last night, we failed to keep up the 'lets stay in and cook every night to save money' and opted for a trip to kimbap heaven after work instead.

떡 만두 국

But now, it's really time to get saving for the rest of the wedding. The biggest part is reserved, which is a huge relief, but then there's the rings, the dress, the flights home and of course, the rest of the visa paperwork which should be finished in the next couple of weeks.

Jinmo and me at Jess and Sangwon's wedding last month

Right now, payday can't come fast enough... and after that, it will be spring and I can't wait! So many plans!  The cherry blossoms, a trip to Dongdaemun night market, some baseball games, the new British bar in Itaewan, and a long weekend away in May... can't come fast enough! 

So until payday, the warmer weather arrives and the rain stops, my free time involves catching up on Doctor Who and Broadchurch, and reading what will probably fill the gap left by Harry Potter and Twilight (yay!). So excited for this to come out, roll on August!

 

웨딩드레스...

Okay, last one, then I'm completely up to date!

Another one of the best things about moving to Sema has obviously been the fact that I can spend alot more time with Jinmo, so he's been spending alot of time introducing me to his world. He doesn't only have the nicest family, he also has lovely and hilarious friends. They have done nothing but welcome me to all the things they get up to!

 I even found myself at a footie game a couple of weeks ago! Who would have thought it! It was a Suwon vs Busan game... Busan won, but I still had a great day!




Another spot we visited I would recommend is the War Memorial museum... it's completely free and has so much information about the history of Korea, particularly the Korean war. It has so much machinery, weapons and exhibitions, definitely worth a look!

I'm also very lucky in that Jinmo loves to show me these places. He really enjoys teaching me about Korean history and the culture here. 

 After our trip to the war museum, our weekends have been pretty busy. In February, we started the paperwork for our marriage and my F6 visa which means I can stay here permanently and work part-time if I want to (waaaaaaaah!!!). I know it might sound a bit early, but the paperwork for my visa involves a-l-o-t of visiting lawyers, immigration, district offices and the UK embassy. On top of that, we've got a wedding to plan!



Busy times... but I finally feel settled with my wee family. We are spending all our free time preparing for, well, the rest of our lives, and I'm loving every minute of it! 

Some down time at the weekends is still possible... ♥

This week, the plans are... visa paperwork, wedding planning, May weekend planning (long weekend, woo!), working and sleeping. You get the idea!