When I went home this past summer, my brother showed me these videos of this crazy group of religious freaks in the US. I found the videos. These people are real and it scares me.

Today is a special day

Today is a special day because SOJO LADY IS MOVING OUT OF THE DREAM EZ!!! No more vomit on the elevator doors, in the elevator, on the floor, broken soju bottles, random doorbell ringing at 4am, no more listening to her for hours trying to remember her door code. TODAY TRULY IS A SPECIAL DAY!!

A Friday night in Hongdae

I made up my mind a while back that I would stop drinking until December (along with some other things) let's call this a healthy makeover I'm giving to myself. So last night was my last night out to really booze it up. Actually I lie, I did decide that RL and Heidi's birthday and Beaker's going away party will be acceptions. I digress..I got home from work and opened my bottle of Bacardi 151. I drank far too much in a short period of time and then we (Rachel Lynn, Marilyn,Beaker, and myself) went out to meet everyone. We started at Tin Pan which was a good time! We met up with Mino,Jamey,Heidi,Jes,Megan,and Adrian! There was a lot of table dancing and drinking and I know I've had a lot when I get home and there are photos of people I don't know on my camera! I tend to get very social as probably most people do.

We left and headed to M2. I just remember the music was so incredible I could have stayed and danced all night..however I wasn't at the wheel and someone decided we should leave and go to some hip hop club? Booo..anyway we went. Adrian and I chilled a bit outside because I felt some serious vertigo or something happening when we stopped dancing and just stood still. We went into the club which was so packed and the first song playing was Let's Get Loud?? LAME!!! That is my cue to leave any place. After that we stood around and everyone decided to go to the Noraebang. My head and stomache decided I needed to get out of there and go home. The vertigo just wasn't going away. So I bailed (which makes me lame). Hope everyone enjoyed the rest of the night!

I love when my kids wear hanboks!

Today our kindies participated in Chusok related activities. We are off for the majority of next week (Monday excluded) so we did everything today. The children wore their hanboks, we made song-pyung (ricey dough with raisins), we sang a traditional song and skipped around the office, and we played a game with sticks. It was a good day. Here are the photos!




Here are my cool co-workers with their kids!


I also had to post this because Beaker is so awesome. I didn't know he had hidden artistic talents (the boy can draw!). He drew me a dragon and I think it's awesome..as do my kids! Thanks Beaks!



Also this is Sunny. She is my new co-teacher. She rocks! I love her! and I hope she stays until I'm not at Kids Club anymore!

photos taken from school

I stop by the Kids Club photo album from time to time to see if there are photos I can take of my kids. I snagged these two from our field trip last week to make tie dye stuff.

Did I ever tell you about the work I did in Pakistan with under priviledged teen girls? I should some time.

Show me your fire!! as Hany would say...

Taken by the most awesome Rachel Lynn

Happy Birthdays are in order

I just want to wish my baby bro Mark a VERY happy 28th birthday (I LOVE YOU JIMMY RAY!) and I also want to wish my Seoul brotha Adrian a very happy birthday as well. xoxoxo guys!

Jeju-do is miraculously still in one piece!

I just returned from a fun filled two days on the beautiful island of Jeju. Jeju is built on volcanic rock and has beautiful blue water, white sandy beaches, palm trees, amazing hospitality, and it is an all around good time. Rachel Lynn, Jes, and I left bright and early at 530am on Saturday to take a taxi to Gimpo International Airport to head off to Jeju. After a fairly quick flight we touched down in Jeju and I was struck by how beautiful everything was. The air was crisp and clean and the sun was shining! We couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. We hopped on a city bus and we got off at the beach. We drank and frolicked in the morning sun and Rachel Lynn and I rode horses along the beach.It was the first time I'd ever been on a horse in my life and it rocked! The weather was so great and the water was so blue and sparkling I wanted to dive right in!




After we had some fun on the beach we decided to check into our pension. What a view!



We went for a walk through the area afterwards in search of some lunch. I saw some interesting things. Check out how people in Jeju dry their fish!



We found a little Mart after our seach for food was unsuccessful. We thought we'd by some noodles and heat them up at the mart and eat outside. However, the lady who owned the store invited us into her home to eat. It was strange but nice. Clearly she had rooms she rented and was used to vistors because she just left us to eat while her husband sat in the other room watching tv. After we finished up we caught a bus into Jeju city and decided to go check out Hallasan National Park. We had intented to climb the mountain. We arrived at the park and found out the mountain was closed!!! GRRR after we had taken the bus ride out there (which really is kind of in the middle of nothing). Our bus driver had told us that the next bus back to the city came at 7..um it was only 430!! Luckily we caught a bus going to the next city. We made a quick change of plans and decided to go check out Jeongbang Waterfall. It was spectacular!



We made our way back to the main street and caught a cab to the bus terminal so we could head back to our pension. It was far!! But we made the most of it on the bus ride back. We had hoped to eat fresh fish on the beach however the restaurant had run out of everything? Seriously lame, but we found a meat place and had some delicious beef soup. We decided to purchase some fireworks and set them off on the beach. Jes was a little sleepy so she headed back to the pension but RL and I were down with the fire!! It was so awesome. We drank beer on the beach and let off our fireworks and danced around with sparklers. GOOD TIMES! GOOD TIMES!




Here are a few photos of us goofing around in our pension on the first day and Jes taking a well deserved nap!



We woke up Sunday morning and after getting ready, we headed out again to see what we could see! We had planned on checking out a volcanic rock cave along the beach but we found out it was closed. We were sort of stuck on the highway and wandered back to the Manjangul Lava Tube turn off. It looked like a far trek to them so we dropped into the Jeju Folkarts Complex and they called a cab for us to take us there. The lava tubes are cool. They are far under the ground and the air is amazing! Seriously my lungs have never felt better being in that tube! It was dark and wet and great!




After the tunnels we stopped and had some icecream and then caught a cab back into Jeju City where we planned on having some fresh seafood. This seafood was definitely fresh..so fresh it was still alive in the soup!!! It cooked in front of us. The craziest part of the meal was when a live octopus was dropped in the soup. It tried to escape but was soon decapitated by some scissors.

Fish doesn't get much fresher than this people!





During dinner Jes, Rachel Lynn and I met some new friends all thanks to Jes' bottle of Absolute Vodka! We chatted up the locals we met and they even paid for our dinner in exchange for the bottle of Vodka. Seriously our meal was over a 100 bucks so it was a worth while exchange (thanks for trading Jes!).



We headed back to the airport and caught our plane home. It was probably the craziest and funniest flight ever (all thanks to Rachel Lynn and her flying issues I love you Rachel Lynn). After high fives and thumbs up all around once we landed we headed to catch a cab. Some fucker ran over my heel with his luggage cart but other than that getting back to the Dream EZ was uneventful oh yeah Rachel Lynn and Jes put on the concert of a lifetime in the back seat of the cab. So I guess you can say the evening was full of entertainment.

If you ever get the chance to check out Jeju-do I highly recommend it. It is beautiful, the people are amazing, and the island is spectacular!

I just want to wish my best buddy Samaa a very happy birthday! I can't wait to see you in Cairo this December! You better be ready to get your drink on!! xoxoxox

later

I'm supposed to be in bed already because I have to wake up in 4hrs to get ready to go to the airport. I had to call Samaa though and wish her a happy birthday. We were both so freakin excited about my trip to visit her in December we decided it would be a good idea to plan everything out right on the phone. So far we've decided on Alexandria, The Valley of the Kings, and Mt.Sinai and of course lots of stuff in Cairo. I'm excited enough about leaving for Jeju in a few hrs and now I've got my head filled with all kinds of Egyptian awesomeness..I'm never gonna get to sleep!

Girl Trip

Less than two days and the girls and I will be on a plane to Jeju-do! For those unsure of what or where Jeju is here is a map.



We're only there for two days and one night but I'm sure we'll make a good time out of the time we have!

Field Trip

Today our school had a field trip where we were to be making tie dyed items. This place was special because they used all natural dies found in the plants and flowers in the area. I knew it would be a super day when I was half asleep walking out of my apartment and Rachel Lynn greeted me hung over. We got on the "teacher bus" and sat the two of us. Unfortunatly everyone was being extremely lame and we tried our best to not tell everyone to F off! We arrived at the forest area place (wherever we were) and the classes were split up by age. We were given an informative discussion by one of the ladies who worked there about the dyes and how to put the elastics on the items we were making.





By the time the children had their elastics on we were running far behind schedule. We were rushed and the kids got covered in die (AS DID I!) and things got chaotic and 4 classes had all their stuff put together and mixed up. FRUSTRAITING! I had to dig through a mass of wet material and try to find the ones my kids made. I don't think I got all of them right however...We made it back to school and finished snacks and what not. Posed for pictures and the kids went home. My afternoon classes went well and my kids were great. Now I'm bagged, dirty, covered in dye, and want to sleep!! 2 more days till Jeju thank goodness!

one of my big kids cause they rock!

I don't why I find this shit funny but I do!!

I've posted this a longgg time ago but now there is a new one!! So let's see both!

Numa Numa


New Numa

Yo Ho! Yo Ho!

Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day to all!! Here is a little video in light of the occasion!

Pirates vs Nijas

Also..I'd like to give a shout out to my half bro Terry and his pregnant wife Sam. I've only met Terry once but my folks were able to visit him last month and they sent me this pic. Personally I think your first born should be named Shelly hehe!

It's Monday

Well the week has started. I just hope this one flies by as quickly as the last one did! I'm stoked for Jeju-do this weekend! I wish it was Friday already!

Good Times with my friends

We all went out tonight and it was fun!

It's Thursday! Which means tomorrow is Friday which means the weekend is ALMOST here!!!

It's Thursday and that means one more day until the start of the weekend! I like the sound of that! Today is a day FULL of birthdays. First I want to wish Jes a VERY HAPPY 30th birthday and welcome her to the DIRTY club! We will be partying it up in her honour tonight so stay tuned for photos. It is also birthday at Kids Club. I have two in my class for the month of September. So after my lunch break is over we will open presents! That's always a good time. Got a call from Adrian while I was having lunch which was good cause I thought he was dead or something..turns out he was in Japan so glad to hear he's alive. I'm off work in about 3 hrs..it's a good day!

Here are a few pics from Jes' 30th birthday party

Can you stop fucking following us already?

Seoul is a huge city. Seriously, it's massive and there are millions and millions of people living here. Back in Ottawa I hardly ever bumped into anybody and there aren't even a quarter of the people there as there are here. Rachel Lynn and I met some people a while back and didn't really like them much..then they turned up on our NK trip. Fine whatever, but since NK we've run into them 3 times (in like a week and a half!) including tonight at Costco. Why? Why can't they stop following us?

Plans they are a changing

It's funny how life can throw you a curve ball sometimes. I have been preparing to apply for University next month, however it looks like I might be hanging around the ROK until August 2008. After a good chat with moms I came to the conclusion that if I stay for one more year, I go home to school debt free with a large amount of savings to last me while I don't work for a full year doing my B.Ed. Good thing I love Seoul!

What were you doing 5 years ago today?

It's impossible to avoid the horrific photos of 911 today. The news is plastered with them. There have been far worse tragedies however seeing the planes hit the towers and knowing people who lost friends on the flights makes it more personal for me. Do you remember where you were?

I was working in radio at the time. I remember my brother shaking me awake telling me I had to come watch the tv. I sat down just in time to see the second plane hit the towers. I knew it was a matter of time before the phone rang telling me to get to work. It rang. I remember driving downtown into work and the city was deserted. Living in the capital city of Canada working only a few minutes from the Parliament Buildings and the Prime Minister's house, and right across the street from the US Embassy, that area of town was on high alert. Everyone was gone home early from work. I remember producing a steady stream of on air news shows and answering calls from people who were confused and upset and wondering what to do. I felt numb. It was like a dream and nobody could believe it was happening. I'll never forget it.

Adrian is cool

I haven't talked on the phone for more than an hr in a longgggg time. My ear is burning cause my cell phone got so hot (hmm is that normal it happens after I've talked for like 5 minutes). I've come to the conclusion that Adrian is officially cool and I will now call him my friend. Oh yeah and Adrian, you really are a lovely shade of brown :)

up on the roof

Alright so I had not planned on doing anything except vegging out and watching documentaries on Egypt to get me in the mood to plan for my trip to Cairo. Then the doorbell rang and who should be standing there? He was a blinding vision I must say..



Beaker had come down from the rooftop BBQ Ben was having to see if he could convince me to come up for some food and a drink. I REALLY did not want to go. Especially since our bosses were there and crazy eyes. So I said lets take a photo and we'll see how I feel about going..


I still wasn't feeling it so we went down to Rachel Lynn's to see if she was up for the roof. We came to the consensus that we would go and eat. It is sooo beautiful outside today and I'm glad I went and spent sometime outside and didn't waste the awesomeness of the sun sitting inside. Ben is an outstanding cook so the food was great! I chatted up my co-workers for a bit and then decided my bed was far more tempting. I did snap some nice shots from my roof so you can all see what my hood looks like finally. Is there something wrong with me that I feel the need to capture every single moment of life on film? Leaving my camera home would be like leaving my left leg or something.

Yeah! James!

When RL and I were in the cab going to Hongdae to meet up with the gang I was feeling like crusty bum. The rum and cokes last night (there were a mental amount of them) were not making me feel 100% spectacular. I knew I would have to will myself to be fantastic because we haven't seen James since March! I have to say it was really great to see him. We went to his hotel room and drank a lot of vodka and then we went out for some meat and more booze! We had to stop by Cock bar (seriously it is called that) because some people James knows from the internet were having some sort of social get together in his honour. We stayed for about an hour and it was long enough for Min and I to win a game of foosball!



We headed over to Tin Pan to dance on tables and request all of our favorites. It was a good time. We ran into Nicole (A.K.A. Miss Koco) and her friends, I saw several people that were on the NK trip from last weekend, and we all got very sweaty! Heidi got a little too wasted and left early and Jes had to take Min home because he had also gotten a little too drunken. The remaining folks decided to hit SKA Bar for some more dancing. I backed out (which is soo weak! but I couldn't do it anymore) to come home and crash in my nice comfy bed. Tomorrow afternoon there is supposed to be a Kids Club BBQ on the roof of our building. I think I'm going to just sleep all day and not do anything. That sounds like a good time right about now! I also only took like 34 pics tonight as opposed to my usual 100 or more. Lame I am tonight!



The sign should say Do Not Crawl. Actually it might but I can't read it. Someone should have shown this to Beaks last night!

Round two could it be a knockout?

I find myself getting ready to go out again! Yeah!!! Tonight will be especially awesome because Swiss James is back in Seoul and we are going out to shake it and consume loads of consumables! A billion photos to follow later! Woohoo!

Last night Mino and his buds came and met us at Soho. He took some great photos and I swipped this one from his Blog of Adrian and I. We rock!

Friday night out

Tonight was a good time! After school I rushed home and got changed and ready to go out in 15 minutes which for me, is impressive. Beaker and I took a cab to Itaewon to meet Jes and her new roomate for dinner. We had planned on Indian however the restaurant was closed for some party. We ended up going to Buddha's Belly which was sooo yummy. We headed over to Soho where we drank and drank until Rachel Lynn arrived with our new friend Adrian! We had fun, got loaded, Beaks passed out in the street. Fun Times! Enjoy the pics! I also got flowers and a new hat! I'm lovable!

booohooo

Cam called me tonight and said come on over for some beers before I leave for the new apartment. I was up for beers! So Cam, Saejin and I had some beers and talked shit about stuff. His place was sooo empty. I'm happy I got a dry rack for my dishes though...and some other random good things. I'm sad he is gone now :( Saejin and I made plans for us all to hit Soho next Friday night so that's cool. They are going to Hong Kong this weekend. I'm soo jealous! I wanna go to Hong Kong!! Anyway good luck Cam! I know I'll see you but I hope your new school is good to you!

Goodbye Cam

Today was Cam's last day at LCI Kids Club. I'm pretty choked about it actually. He has been my lunch partner, and we had all of our school activities together. Plus he's an all around awesome person. The girl who has replaced him is nice but Cam is irreplaceable. He isn't actually leaving Seoul and we'll see each other still..I will miss our daily tv chats and making fun of people with him! Booohooo!

Phallic Fun!

On the way home from North Korea we stopped at a rest stop. Rachel Lynn and I were hoping to get beer however this shop was a little different than most. For one no beer? What the fawk no beer in SK?? Seriously lame. However, we seemed to have stopped in penis heaven because they had all the penis paraphernalia your little hearts could ever hope for. I couldn't resist having a little fun with the statues and stuff for sale. I even got a little woody phone charm complete with all the right parts. LOVE IT!

Welcome baby Emma!