September

The war memorial just above my house in Jungang Park

It's been a whole week since I last wrote, but I've had a busy, busy week. At the same time, Autumn has quietly tip toed into Korea, and I only noticed on the way home today from school when I was cold in a short sleeved top. Not only has September brought with it this unfamiliar cold weather, Typhoon Samba decided to make an appearance too, which caused a bit of rain and wind here in Nampo Dong, but hit the beach areas a bit more dramatically.

The biggest thing that happened this month was my lovely mum and her friend coming to visit me. It was nice to have her, and to watch her as she got to explore and experience all the excitement when you find the amazing surprises that Busan hides away.

We also got to explore some of the highlights of Jeju, an Island off the mainland of Korea, which is known for its plush green scenery and white sandy beaches.

What's more, she came bearing gifts in the form of Southern Comfort and chocolate...I wish I could have visitors every month. Although it did prove hard when it was time to say goodbye again, knowing that it could be another 6 months or more before i see her. But friends from home are good to me, always sending little gifts in the post. I forgot to mention earlier that I also received my strangest delivery in the post not long ago. It arrived in a crushed cardboard box. I opened it up and was greeted by a pretty awful smell, especially when you're not expecting it. It turned out that my dad had been so worried about the lack of milk in Korea, that he had decided to send me a whole box of small cartons of milk. Half of which had been squashed in the post and had leaked into the box. It showed the epitome of Korean politeness that my co-teachers put up with the stench all day and suspiciously didn't broach the subject.

We saw the 6 month mark on the calendar come and go, and celebrated the day dressed as bunnies, running around Busan as we took part in the Busan Scavenger Hunt. It was quite fitting trying to get the Koreans to cooperate with us as we asked them for their help with the challenges.

I've never been to an Oktoberfest before, and not too sure how exemplary a Korean take on a traditional German festival is.

Artbox and book club were two things that made me happy this month. Especially with the long journeys over Chuseok, having a good book to read made the bus rides go by in a flash.

So there's another month rounded up in Korea, only 5 and a half more to go before my first year is over. It's also the wrap up of my 100th post, so thank you to all those that still read on, I know I don't half ramble sometimes!