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!

Chaser...

I finally got back into the swing of doing touristy things with friends this year. By the end of my contract in Pyeongtaek, I was exhausted so I'd become pretty lazy by the time I moved to Sema.

In January, Sally and I took a trip to the Tim Burton exhibition in Seoul... very cool to see!

 
In February, Sally, Heather and I got together and decided to really go down the tourist route and take the Seoul City bus tour... only 10,000 won for the day, it goes to all the major places from the War museum, to Myeongdong, to Itaewan, and even the Blue House (the President's house)! I'd definitely recommend it.

 First stop was Itaewan for some cracking banter, and check out the lunch!

Not quite the real thing... but it'll do for a girl who hasn't had a chippy for 17 months!


The rest of the day involved some great laughs, great food in random places (I love the cakes here!) and some great sites.

 The view from the top of Namsan was absolutely gorgeous, the photos don't do it justice at all!

At the end of the day, Sally headed back to her mountain top in Gapyeong, and Heather and I headed back to Suwon... but we decided after a power nap on the train, we weren't done yet!

This bar in Suwon was gorgeous, lots of cushions and blankets and comfy seats, plus delicious wine, candle light and an endless supply of nachos! Loved it.

Inspired by the trek to the top of Namsan, Heather and I decided to do a 'small' hike last weekend. We met at lunchtime and took the bus to the foot of Gwanggyosan mountain in Suwon. It took us about 3 hours to get up and back down, and that's including the beer time we had at the top, so not too bad! But I was pretty disgusted at how out of shape I am... with the prettiest months coming soon and lots of weekends away to different hill-walking spots planned with husband-to-be, I really need to get exercising! The walk to work everyday plus walking with the Watson-monster 2-3 times a day obviously isn't cutting it!

 As you can see, I wasn't really in the right kit for a hike... that's my excuse for my terrible performance and I'm sticking to it! 

Until next time...

Mountains...

 By the time January came, it was time to start... wedding planning! We set the date for October 26th and the countdown is on!

This weekend, we actually booked the wedding hall and I looked at some dresses. We were originally thinking of getting married in church, but weirdly, in Korea it's far too expensive, so it's better to go with a wedding hall and get the whole package. The hall is beautiful and elegant, and they will do hair, make-up, filming on the day, photography, the buffet and the flower arrangements. And, most importantly (to me) they will cover the pre-wedding photoshoot... basically, Jinmo and I will spend the day in a studio trying on a bunch of wedding dresses and suits and a photographer will take a bunch of really classy photos that will make up a chunk of the wedding album.

After reserving the wedding hall, we had lunch with Jinmo's parents, and his Mum showed me something I'm still in a daze about... the diamonds and amethyst (purple! waaah!) that will make up my engagement ring... that's right... Jinmo is having my engagement ring MADE! I'm such a lucky girl! 


So, I'll go back to the trip down memory lane since the blog was inactive for over a year...

In Korea, they celebrate 100 days into the relationship, ours was in January.

100 days gift

 

In February, I turned... 27! God, I'm old. I had an awesome weekend, first it was dinner with the crew in Pyeongtaek, then on to Seoul for some bowling and then relaxing. 

 

And in March we had... White Day!

And a gift from my middle school student... maybe I should be a bit more annoyed at the fact she drew this in my lesson, which means she wasn't listening at all... but hey, it's funky.

Until next time...