Goodbye July!

July came and went, and lots happened in the middle. I can't help but notice it's the first time I've done a monthly round up since November 2013, the month that I left Korea, and the month I gave the blog a make over. So much has happened since then, and my time in Korea doesn't feel real anymore!

I think the biggest thing that happened this month was moving to Norwich and starting my new job. I tried to ease myself into the new city by visiting Katie and spending some time with Tash down there.

Next was the week holiday in Italy at Nick's parents' house. The views were amazing and the food was so good. A little bit too much wine was consumed though!

I shared a few more of our experiences travelling in Peru to Lima, Huanchaco and Huaraz. It didn't all go smoothly but each place was memorable in its own way.

I also shared my updated packing list for 6 months away, is there anything else you would have to add?

As I knew I was moving away this week, I tried to spend some time in Sheffield, I shared the weekend that Lou and I went for some drinks and then I went to an amazing book shop with my mum.

I also had a great time at this year's Tramlines festival, and shared some photos from the last time I went in 2011. Baby faces galore!

Catching up with old friends is always fun, and I had a weekend packed with rollergirls and uni friends.

Forget moving to Norwich, it's still a shock to find that I'm back in England sometimes. I started a silly, little mini feature about perfectly normal things I've learned to appreciate since I've been back. Being back in England also called for some new goals, see how I got on with my list here 3, 2, 1.

With all this rushing around this month, it was nice to spend some time with my mum at the Yorkshire Wildlife park where the cheeky limas made me fall in love with them.

And finally, sharing things I love, the new Sonny Angel range was brought out, they all look so tasty!!


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August

Whhaaaat? It's September already? August whizzed by, and took the blooming hot weather with it too. Finally I can stand outside for more than 30 seconds without standing in a puddle of sweat. September also means the imminent arrival of my Mum. She loved Korea so much last year that she's coming again on the 13th of September. Exciting! But while I count down the days, here is what I got up to in the month of August.


For the first three weeks of August we were helping out at the school's English Summer Camp. This meant half days packed with chaotic lessons that resulted in a play that we had to perform to the school.


Big News! I went to my first noraebang after a year and a half in Korea. Noraebangs are private karaoke rooms that Koreans love.




Trash, Treat or Stash, my bi-weekly beauty review feature continued by looking at Skin Food's Argan Oil Hair Mask and Tony Moly's Hello Bunny Perfume Stick. What do you think?



Nick and I celebrated one year of being-togetherness by going to watch a Lotte Giants Baseball game, where I got to see my first home run! Go Lotte!


With an extra day off in the middle of camp we went to explore one of Busan's secret beaches.


I shared some of Joe's photos from the Beijing trip at the end of July. They brought back lots of funny memories that I had already forgotten.


I also couldn't help but show you all what I bought myself when I was in Beijing and KL and had summoned up the courage to haggle.


I spent my second week off in and around Busan, at the beach, being a tour guide for Nick's friend, Dave, who was visiting from the UK, and I spent the afternoon in my favourite cafe.

So Summer's on its way out, and Autumn is coming! My favourite time of year in Korea. I'm currently trying to plan what to do when I have my visitors here in less than two weeks. Also, Nick and I are going shark diving next weekend, so hopefully I will still have all limbs in tact for the rest of September! Eeek!

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May

May's been a quiet month where I've really been trying to watch my spending. The faster the months go past, the more I realise I need to save, ready for the next adventure after I leave Korea. Here's what we got upto:


May was the month that my group of friends decided to explore Namhae Island and the Wineglass Festival. A long weekend to celebrate Buddha's Birthday can't be bad. The company was great, but the festival not so much!


As it was Buddha's Birthday, there were lots of festivities going on around Nampo. I loved the night time lantern festival in the park below Nampo Tower. So pretty!


Also, it was the month that I discovered lots of other bloggers around Korea by taking part in The Colors of Korea project. Here's what pink means to Korea. Also, please take a look at Mimsie's collaborative post which features all of the colours. Pink wasn't just about cuteness, it also proved to signify religious and cultural traditions too. Notice my struggle with the British and American spelling of colour, or color. Something I have to be very careful with infront of my kids too!


I went to see The Great Gatsby, and I have to say that I loved it! Despite the reviews that I'd heard before hand. We went as a belated celebration of Tasha's birthday. See what I have to say about it here.


I carried on the Trash, Treat or Stash, which has been really popular. I even got Natasha to guest blog one week, and she gave us our first Trash rating! Products that did better than Daiso's nail wraps were Etude House's Face Masks and Tony Moly's hand cream.


I got to watch my Korean colleague get married. It was the first Korean wedding that I've been to, and was enough of a mix of Korean and Western to be slightly bizarre. She looked beautiful though.


I was showered with gifts for Teacher's Day. I really think that this day should be adopted by England!


Trying to save my money meant nights in were alot more regular, so I got crafty and made these phone accessories from a DIY kit.


I hope that your May was good! June looks like it should be good, we have a national holiday this week and Nick's birthday to look forward to. I've already booked his birthday present, but can't say too much as it's a surprise!

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March

I caught a flight on March 1st back to Korea. This month seems to have lasted forever.

Some good things about this month have been our trip to Seoul to see the Tim Burton exhibition, starting to play roller derby a little more which lead to me exploring Daegu a little more (although it means I have to jam!) and having another session in the photobooths.

Things that weren't so great this month include our job changing, meaning we have to do so much more work, and getting used to the fact that most of our friends have left now, we said a final goodbye to Georgina the other week. On top of all of this are the threats coming from the North of Korea.

With things not being so great, I took a moment to think about what I really liked about living in Korea, including  the modesty buttons in the public toilets.

I started and also finished watching HBO's Girls. Not to mention avidly following the last few episodes of Walking Dead, it's so tense, what's going to happen!?

I shared with everyone a few of my favourite businesses back in Sheffield, some treats I bought myself from Japan, and also what everyone should pack if they're going to come and live in Korea for a long period of time.

There was also St Patrick's day to enjoy and a long overdue night out with my Korean colleagues, cue drinking games and raw eel, not a great mix.

February

I'm sat at my desk at school now and it feels like I've hardly been away, despite spending nearly 3 weeks back in England. Above are the pictures of my room when I walked in shattered on Saturday night, it would appear that without me there Nick had far too much time on his hands.

The month started brilliantly with some skiing at High One although alot of the time was spent on my behind in the snow, wallowing about the lack of skills I have when it comes to skiing. I blame roller derby and my dodgy knees for that!

After that, we wrapped up the last few days at school by madly preparing lists of all the things we wanted to do back in England. After a whole year of being away from some of the things you love, and your're so used to, those lists were as long as my arm.

I shared with you the little bit of customisation that I'd done to my old Mac, RIP. I now have a shiny new computer, so I no longer have these stickers on my keyboard.

I tried to get everyone to come and join me in Korea by telling you how easy it is to come and work here. Is it any surprise seeing as so many of my friends have decided to leave Korea and go on new adventures recently?

Although it seems like I missed some great farewell shindigs in Korea, I had a great time at home. I got to celebrate my sister's 22nd birthday.

Being home reminded me of all the reasons why I love my home town, Sheffield. Lots of friends were seen and food was consumed. I ate my weight in scones and chocolate by visiting the exquisite Cocoa and White Rabbit Cafe in the same day!

The next weekend I went to the city I went to university, Nottingham, where I met up with other friends and some family in Leicester.

I also decided that it was about time my hair got its own post on here after the torture I've put it through...with the weather getting warmer here it's time to start dreading the humidity and what it does to my hair.

On top of all of this I also managed to fit in a trip to the cinema to see Wreck it Ralph, which I would recommend to anyone, and not to mention the fact that I celebrated Christmas, stocking and all in the middle of Feb with my mum. Whst a lovely month.

I'm going to have to call it a night there as the jet lag is playing havoc with me at the moment. I was up at 5:30 this morning, to escape I took Ziggy for a walk. Do you remember Ziggy from January? Look how much he's grown! He's still cute, even if he is gangly at the moment. Sadly he's leaving to his proper home in America this week.


There's also so much more exciting things to update about what I did at home, I'll add it this week, and there are a few new things i'm going to add to the blog, so watch this space! Here's to a productive March!

January

One of my naughtiest, yet favourite students at Winter Camp

I started this post yesterday with high suspicions that the weather had taken a turn for the better and it was starting to get warmer here in Busan, but it looks like I was being overly optimistic. Today it's pouring down with rain and I have had to teach the whole morning with pitifully soggy feet. Sad face. But, that being said, I've noticed more and more that my earmuffs and mittens are being left at home, and the other day it was hot enough for me to venture out in my denim jacket rather than my thick furry leopard print coat.

I'm sure I would never have dreamed of jumping into the sea in just my swimming costume in December, yet the weather must be getting better as it seemed like a perfectly reasonable idea on Saturday.

I saw the new year in in a British Themed Pub in Osaka. In the company of Nick, an old American pilot, a Hero lookalike and a gaggle of K-Pop fans- something that will probably never happen again.

I explored the streets of Tokyo, from the Lolita dress shops to the Imperial Palace, although alot of it appeared to be closed.

My last full month at school started with Winter Camp, teaching Sports to 1st graders and Debate to 5th and 6th graders made the weeks fly by.

I booked my flight home to England, only 10 more sleeps until I will be at the airport. That won't be the only time that I've taken flight recently, as I shared my parasailing adventures with my lack of suitable clothing.

I also confessed to you my love of Sonny Angel dolls and told you all my 2013 goals and the fact that I was going to increase the amount of exercise, hoping that you keep a tight leash on me. Finally, Nick and I decided to head over to the Aquarium, to check out what it claims to be 'the nation's longest tunnel', the jackass penguins and the array of ugly fish they have on show.

Only 6 more working days until I'm on a plane home. If I had made the decision NOT to stay in Korea for another year, then I would have been going home for good in just over 4 weeks. January has slipped away as I excitedly mark down the days on the calendar.

Goodbye 2012, Hello 2013

I've been a victim of the photo editor today which would keep freezing my computer and then the fonts I had been using would have disappeared...but here goes my year in pictures.

Saying goodbye to my office job and starting to get ready for the big move

Lots of trips to London to collect our Korean visas ready for D Day

My last roller derby game, saying goodbye to the team

In Busan and getting used to our new home city

Finding our feet and walking over the diamond bridge

Summer finally comes, festivals in China Town and visiting the orphanage

Mudfest

Summer Vacation in Seoul and Jisan Festival

Mum visitng, going to Jeju Island.

No biggie, but I climbed a mountain. Amazing fireworks and halloween

Seoul and DMZ trip to celebrate birthdays

Christmas away from home with new and old friends

November: A month of literary abandon

Although I know I've quietened down on here, November has been a super busy month for me. Between all the usual obligations such as work, and all the social events, like our trip upto Seoul, I decided to give myself an additional challenge.

I kept it quiet from most people, mainly because I guess that I don't have the confidence in myself to think that I won't just pack it all in at the first hurdle, but now that I've finished one day ahead of the challenge date I feel like I can explain a little bit more why I've not been such an avid blogger.

I decided to take part in this year's National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo). It's a challenge that anyone can take in November. It encourages people to try and write 50,000 words, which is the average length of a novel, in just one month. When you first look at the number 50,000 it seems like a mammoth task, yet when they sell it to you as just 1.667 words a day, it seemed alot more doable. So I signed up the day before it started, October the 31st, without much forethought about my plot.

I'd had an idea in my head for a long, long time about a story I'd always thought I could write. I know I'm not the next J K Rowling, but writing is something that I've always enjoyed, so I thought that maybe it was time to stop thinking about it and start actually trying to turn it into something physical.

The first week was easy, it was still a novelty and the ideas were flowing. By the second week, I'd run out of ideas, and was at risk of turning the novel into a short story. I had to catch up on the weekend's wordcount before I could even start the rest of the week. This made it feel like more of a chore. As if school somehow knew I'd decided to do this, the work load increased. There were speech contests to judge, the next event day to plan for, new work books to shop for, meaning I had a lot less time to sit at my desk and write.

When I sat down at the computer on the 21st of November, I was over 10,000 words behind the goal word limit, which is roughly a week behind. This was mainly because I was so excited about sharing my Seoul pictures on my blog, that I decided not to do anything on my piece on the Monday or Tuesday. So that night I had to brace the chill and lugged my laptop, charger and all down to a coffee shop. I sat there and didn't move until I had caught up.

I'm long past the point where I think this novel is going to work, the story is awful. I'm constantly repeating phrases like 'All of a sudden' and 'She held her breath'. The characters keep morphing into other characters, are they good or bad? Even I don't know. Even at the 35,000 mark I still didn't know how I was going to end it, at 50,000 words I still don't like what I decided to call the main character, I really dislike her too. I wanted her to be pretty cool, but she's turned into a Kristen Stewart-esque sulky teen.

Yet it was interesting to see how the story changed and seemed to lead itself to a logical ending. And even though I know I'll cringe through every part of it when I read it, at least I can say I actually did it. And give me a month or two break from a word processor, I might actually want to use it as a rough draft to work on. Maybe this story could work after all. Maybe.

Before November, the most I had ever written was my dissertation four and a half years ago. That took me at least 7 months and it was only 14,000 words. I felt incredibly proud of myself, so doing nearly four times as much writing in just a month is a massive achievement.

I've never been the most self disciplined person. I decide to eat healthily, have salad for my dinner and then chase it down with an ice cream. I resolve to get myself in better shape for roller derby, but drink too much the night before, so I'm happy that I've proved to myself that I can do it if I really apply myself.

So that's the biggest thing that's happened this month, along with the small fact that I stepped into North Korea.

Apart from the writing this month was filled with quiet weekends spent vintage shop browsing, telling people you love them by giving them chocolate covered sticks on Pepero day and art. We went to the Trick Eye museum, I shared the art around our school from the street art festival and we also paid a visit to the old refugee camp, Anchang Village. I finally got to watch the new Twilight movie, go ice skating and gawp at the amazing Christmas tree in Shinsegae, I'm feeling ready for Christmas now!

There are lots of exciting things I have to look forward to coming up in December, and now I've finished the story, I can properly build upto them. We have a ski trip with the school from the 10th-12th December, our final Event day of the year, with a British theme, my birthday, Christmas and then Nick and I are headed to BEIJING for NYE with Clare and her boyfriend Joe. So excited!

Funnily enough, the other day I was randomly looking on TED and found this talk on trying something new for 30 days and Nanowrimo was mentioned. Next up, which I think will be the hardest, is trying to break my awful habit of picking my split ends.