Rare

My blog is a bit non-existent at the moment. I could go into all the reasons why, but then again I can save time and just post soemthing instead.
I've been BUSY! This is the life people, I am so lucky and blessed!
Loving the winter season for the first time ever, and also ticking off a few firsts, like yesterday I did my first Bungee Jump!!!!! Finally :) It was only 55m, tiny compared to the 200 and something meters jump in South Africa. It was with out a doubt the scariest thing I've ever done, so I'm proud to say I actually did it, and it was the best adrenalin rush you can ask for!
I STILL can't upload photos onto my blog, so sorry, but those on FB will have to check the photies out there. Been having trouble uploading photos there too though...
Going snowboarding at Phoenix Park this weekend, one of the best resorts in Korea, so REALLY looking forward to that, just hope I don't freeze to death....people it's COLD here!

That's what I'm talking about!

On Saturday we all went for pizza after Korean class and randomly decided it would be a good idea to go snowboarding! It was so last minute, and we were really unprepared, but it turned out to be the best choice! We are lucky the ski resorts are all less than an hour away from Suwon so was no problem getting there. We were also able to rent everything we needed and get all-day lift passes for relatively cheap. I do miss my snow gear though!
So there wasn't much snow, only one slope was open (plus the bunny) but it was perfect for my first day back on the snow after more than 2 years. And boy, did I have a good run, almost every time!! Faye and Martin, you would have been so proud of me!!
Looking forward to more snow and higher, faster slopes!! Can't wait :)
I tried posting some pics, but my blog hasn't been allowing it lately...not sure what's wrong. SO check out the pics on Facebook.

Changing of seasons

I think it is safe to say that winter is officially here. Last night I witnessed the first snowfall, although it wasn't enough to amount to anything substantial. It is freezing though, and I can't wait to hit the slopes!

Here are a couple of pics of the beautiful Autumn colours, which are just about non-existent by now.

Snacks 'n things

I get some pretty interesting things offered to me at school by my students, like banana flavoured chips - which were pretty nice actually. And some not-so-nice things like this dried octopus leg...I graciously accepted but still can't bring myself to eat it!!

On Wednesday it was 빼빼로 day and my kids absolutely spoiled me with boxes and boxes of the stuff. I love my sstudents and I don't need to buy chocolate again for the next few months :)

Shop til you drop

So I've been very lazy with my blog lately. Partly because it's difficult&inconvenient to drag everything down to the PC bang, but also because there just seems to be no time!
Well the good news is, I have finally finished my treatment at the dentist, so now I will have extra free time to do stuff - yay!
Also on that note, I am thinking about buying a laptop, so I can do my e-mailing and blogging at home...but need to wait a bit longer before I can do that!
Halloween last weekend was fun, although the festivities were dampened by a downpour of rain! The costumes were toned down and the big mission to Seoul was also cancelled :( we had fun anyway though, as per usual here in Korea!
Since it has turned COLD, and I am totally not kitted out for this weather, we went to Itaewon in Seoul today in search of some winter necessities. It was fun and exhausting and rather succesful :) I found a snowboarding shop which made my day too. I'll think about doing a little fashion shoot so you can wee what I got...

Cruizing the West Coast

Our group at the Buddhist carvings near Soesan.

Spear throwing at the Fortress

The arboretum...plant-lover's heaven! And our lunch spot. This is me with Joy and Gina from China.

Hana, dul, set!

The Nore Bus! I did a rather impressive version of Africa (by Toto) ;)

This weekend, the YMCA, where we go for Korean classes, took us on a field trip down to Seosan and Taean. It was awesome, so interesting and nice to get out of the city for a change! But best of all we went to the beach :) which I have been itching to do since I got here. The water was so warm too that we could have swam! It was loads of fun, and we were a really great bunch! And we rocked the Nore BUS on the way home - too cool!

The Seoul of Asia

Today I went to Dongdaemun to try to do a bit of shopping but I obviously got there a little early and the market was still closed....so I had a stroll around and then headed off to Olympic Park.

So Olympic Park was a totally random choice, and turned out to be awesome! There is a museum dedicated to the 1988 Olympics held in Seoul, and is quite special. I kept thinking that I wish I had trained harder at gymnastics, or actually went to swimming training, so that I could have even a snowballs hope in hell of having anything to do with the Olympics. Oh well. And on that note, WELL DONE to Kel who swam like a champ this weekend - proud of you my girl!

BTW, I love Seoul more and more each time I go there. It is really an amazing city. SO, maybe if I stay another year, I'll consider moving there!

I'm an L, and not just any large...

I think they decided to skip Autumn and jump straight into Winter. Or this is Autumn and I have a nasty surprise waiting for me in the next few months.

Anyway, I went to shop for some warm tops and I ended up having to shop in the men's section... and the smallest size that fitted me was a LARGE. That's right an L. Makes shopping kind of tricky. Think I have to head to Itaewon next weekend to find some 'western' shops with normal sizes.

My men's L top that fits just perfectly!

Gwanggyo San

Gwanggyo Music Fountain Park

Gwanggyo Reservoir

I've heard that 70% of Korea is covered with mountainous terrain. This means that there are plenty of hills and mountains around to walk up, or hike up depending on the mountain.

Suwon's main mountain is Gwanggyo, and even though it is a little tough getting up, it's good exercise and the views from the top are worth it!

Overdue Chuseok Post

Last weekend, I had Friday off for the holiday, so Brian (Canadian teacher from Pyeongtaek) and I headed down to Asan to check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Admiral_Yi_sun_sin Admiral Yi Sun-Shin's shrine. It is the place where he lived and also where most of his family is buried. It was a beautiful, peaceful place, and I loved exploring the exciting story that was his life. Admiral Yi is a very respected figure in Korean history, and there is a statue of him in most of the cities around the country. For the first time in my life I can say that I find history fascinating!!!

Then we were meant to go to the Oean folk village, but got horribly lost and ended up in a one-horse town with no English and very little public transport. Ah, the adventures....I am happy to say that we got home alive and well eventually.

What's on my wishlist?

Weekend shenanigans

After my tutor session with Sujin on Saturday, her, Sona and I went for Shabu-Shabu. It's beef slices (never seen beef this pink before), which you then swish around in a soupy type of pot and wala! It turns into delicious beef stew!

And then I went to meet up with some other teachers in Chun Chun Dong for some red wine and much excitement about the snowboarding season coming up!!

With Christian, Matt and Neil just before heading out to Nore Bang (Karaoke Room)...

Annie and Neil and too many glasses of wine.

These two photos I don't really remember taking...

Happy Chusok to all the Korean families. I hope you all have many things to give thanks for. I know I have :)

Cooking for South Africa

I was invited to cook in a contest at the YWCA where I go for Korean classes. It was very last minute, so I didn't have much time to prepare or be creative. I went with steak and potato salad, and they loved it! I didn't win, but the Vietnamese gogi rolls that won were delicious :0) It was fun trying all the different Asian dishes (Chinese, Cambodian, Vietnamese)!!

Elena from Uzbekistan offerered to help since I was the only South African. She added the creative touch that I just don't have...

The Vietnamese girls hard at work.

Baby Jessica even helped peel the eggs!

And Luan also dropped by to help out.