So I'm skipping back to spring last year. By April, it was finally starting to get warmer and Pyeongtaek didn't look so drab anymore now that the weather was finally warming up and things were strarting to turn green. Things were going smoothly at work and I was sooooo happy and excited because... Dad was coming to Korea! He, and his wife Helen, landed on the 2nd.
Helen and Dad (Insadong, Seoul)
It was a fantastic feeling to have my Dad around! We explored Hwaseong Fortress in Suwon and Changdeokgung Palace and Insadong in Seoul.
Changdeokgung Palace
Hwaseong Fortress
We were also lucky in that the cherry blossoms were blooming too!
In May, my awesome friends from work, Sarah and Craig, invited me to join them for a party weekend in Busan, couldn't say no to that!
A few beers on Haeundaae beach!
And... some more...
We were actually visiting friends of theirs, Erin and Andrew... and it's because of these lovely folks that I now have...
... this loveable rogue!
It was tough at first because, well, this dog is crazy... but it's one of the best decisions I've made, that's for sure. This dog is actually best pal material!
Well, after that weekend, I needed a couple of weekends to recover! At the end of May, Maria, Sally, Kieran and me took a trip to the DMZ. Totally surreal, but definitely worth a trip if you find yourself in Korea!
Then it was summer, which kind of went by in a blur of nights out, festivals, parties and basically just a really great time with really cool people!
In June, Sally, Meresa and I went to the lantern festival in Seoul, soooo beautiful...
Later in the summer, pretty much all the foreigners in Pyeongtaek headed to Mudfest in Boryeong. Everything about that weekend was fun and hilarious, right from the start. Craig made everyone laugh on the bus with his stand-up (the more offensive, the better/funnier!) and Kevin became a drunken legend by keeping us constantly supplied with beer and, erm, raw bulgogi. Put that together with lots of mud, booze, great food, a beach, great people, and Sarah's amazing laugh that has the power to make you feel good even if you don't know what you're laughing at... and you've got one hell of a weekend!
At some point in the summer, I also had a party in my apartment and ate at a place called 'Rio Grill' in Songtan... still one of the best meals I've had in my life...
bunch of misfits :p
at least they're having fun...
I found my happy place!
And, what better way to round off a hectic summer than a trip to Gapyeong...
By the end of July, I was pretty burnt out... quite literally since it was hitting 36-37 degrees almost everyday! So during the summer break, I headed up to this beautiful place to stay with Sally for a week. What an amazing place... it's peaceful and gorgeous, the food is amazing and the river is (we think) clean enough to take a dip in. I hope so anyway, because I was swimming there every night!
That reminds me... it's the last day of March today... which means another summer of hell is just around the corner... aaargh!
Anyway, back to the trip down memory lane...
In August, my Mum and my sister came to town. I can't even explain how it feels to suddenly go from living alone, to having Mama bear there every morning when you wake up with a cuppa tea made, and there every night when you get home with a delicious dinner cooked. And to have my sister theree every day on hand for banter was just... ahhhhhh! I actually spent the whole 2 weeks in a silent panic at the thought of them going home...
She was a natural!
Mokali... beer... norebang... lotteria...
Over these 2 weeks, something else was happening that was about to change my already pretty sweet life... on the Saturday before my family arrived, I was on a night out in Songtan. It was 3am and my friends decided they wanted a 'Songtan burger' from the place at Osan gate before getting a taxi home. I didn't feel like eating, so I was waiting outside, minding my own business, when I suddenly spotted a ridiculously good looking guy sitting eating a Songtan burger in the passenger seat of a car.
... who can blame me for looking, right?
... so, my friend Sujin caught me staring... and then marched right over to the car and gave him my number! On the Monday, my family arrived, so we didn't meet up right away. But after 2 weeks of kakao-talking everyday (the Korean equivalent of Whats App and BBM), we finally went on a date on the same day my Mum and Catriona went home.
I was so heartbroken saying goodbye to them at the bus stop that day, a random Korean woman even gave me a huge hug as the bus drove away, I was crying so much! But, I'd promised my Mum I wouldn't mope and that I'd get myself all ready for my date and have a good time... and that's exactly what I did! Well, actually, I moped a bit... I delayed the date by half an hour... but by the end of the date, I think I knew my life was going to change. His name is Jinmo, he's 31, and I can't friggin' wait to marry this man!
The next few weeks were a whirlwind of dates and dinners and days out with the love of my life. Sorry for the mush, but it's true.
Chuseok, Independence Hall
My hilarious and damn cool friend Scott came to Korea for 2 weeks, and the feeling was like my Dad, Mum and Catriona all over again... such an amazing feeling to have one of my best friends around every day! One of the downfalls of working for a private school though is the lack of holiday time, so hopefully next time round when everyone visits, I'll have some more free time! (I want part-time I want part-time I want part-time!)
By the time October came, it was time for Scott to go home, and it was also time for me to start preparing for my move to Sema, in Osan. I'd had a great year working with Wonderland in Pyeongtaek, but since I was planning to stay here long-term, I thought it was time to find a job with shorter hours. The great thing about Wonderland was the speed at which the days flew by... 10 hours a day, and sometimes 10 classes a day... it sounds manic, and at times it was, but you could get by on pure adrenaline and still be hyped and ready for a night out at the end of the day. It was fast paced and productive, and great for short term. So I chose a job with a new, yet to open, Hagwon in Osan, conveniently closer to Suwon which is where Jinmo was living at the time.
In November, I finished up at Wonderland on a Friday, and that night, Jinmo moved me, all my things, and my crazy dog to his home in Suwon, and then on the Saturday, we did it all again as we moved to my brand new, cute wee apartment in Sema. It. Was. Exhausting.
really exhausting!
I knew I was going to miss these crazy kids... PYEONGTAEK-STYLEUGH!!
My schedule is also nothing to complain about... I start at 1pm everyday, and rarely work later than 8.30pm. I have 8 classes a day that last for 20 minutes, and I have an extra, high level middle school class two nights a week.
By the first week of December, it started to snow and it felt like it didn't stop for 2 months! The ground was white for weeks and weeks and we practically had to skate everywhere.
By this point, Jinmo had asked me to marry him and we'd decided we were going to tie the knot the following year, in October, which means... it was time to meet his parents! My future Mum and Dad in-law couldn't be nicer... they are actually the loveliest people you could meet. So down to Earth and so fun to be around. They have done nothing but make me feel welcome in their home and in their lives, I'm so lucky to be joining their family!
And with the decision to marry a Korean man made, it was time to get serious about learning Korean... it's one thing to be able to read it, another to be able to understand what the hell you're actually reading!
Christmas came and went in a blur! In Korea, they don't seem to celebrate Crimbo on the same level we do, but Jinmo went above and beyond to make it the best Christmas ever.
Then onto the gifts...
On Christmas day, Jinmo, me, his best friend Hejeong, and his girlfriend Reejeong, headed to the Hilton in Seoul to see the giant Christmas tree!
So that was 2012... what a year!
