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...