49 days and counting

hi, this'll be long cuz apparently I only like to update this thing every two months or so and make ya'll sit for an hour reading it. Sorry.

alright, so yes 49 days as of today. Crazy eh? There are still days where it feels like i've been here forever, but most days I look back and can't even begin to comprehend where the time has gone. It's now December and I leave in January, that's really really soon. It's time to start planning for my after Korea chillout trip. I was going to go to Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and China, but China's recently been kicked off the list. I don't want to rush things. I'll still travel for a little over a month, but now it'll be much more relaxed. The general plan is to hit up China at the end of my second year. It's actually a much better plan the more I think about it. I'll now be visiting China around June 2007 when it's pretty and stuff instead of in barren brass-monkey-balls-freezing February.

You like how I casually threw in that second year bit? For those who don't know I've decided to come back for another year. As much as I may bitch and complain, I really do like Korea. I love the job, the lifestyles astounding laid back and I can save way more money than I can in Canada due to a stupidly low cost of living. I won't be working at the same school or even in the same city. I figure for my second year a different city makes sense, meet some new people, see a different part of the country, get the hell outta small town dodge. I want to be closer to Seoul, there are a ton of satellite cities. I don't have a job yet, I'm searching at the moment, but it won't be difficult to find one at all.

So, I'll travel for a bit and be back in the Riv the first few weeks of March sometime. I want to be back in Korea mid-May so that's 2 months of hanging out in Canada. It doesn't really sound that long when you think that I've been gone for a year and will be leaving for another, but trust me, 2 months with no job and nothing concrete to do...that's long. A warning to all of you in the Lower Mainland and Vic, I will be crashing at your places periodically in an attempt to de-Riv myself. I do love Campbell River, it's fabulous, it's beautiful, my familys there, I love them, but I havn't lived there for closing in on 6 years. I'll need an escape, and you're it.

More updates that people don't know....hmm. I now have two jobs. I've been working at LG Philips Displays for an hour every morning teaching business guys English. It's an extra job, at the crack of bloody dawn, but it pays decent and it's nice to play teacher with students who actually speak English. I teach Human Resources guys Mon-Tues and one Executive Director Wed-Fri. It's a pretty sweet deal actually. I get paid a flat rate every month, no matter how much I work. If I cancelled a class then I'd get deducted, but if LG cancels a class then I still get paid. These are business men, and they travel a lot. Next week I only have 2 classes, last month I had 6 days total off.

I teach them conversation and business vocabulary. This is actually pretty funny since I HATED Business Class at UCFV. Those of you who know me at all will find it entertaining that I teach classes on mutual funds and the stock market. The internet is my friend since there's no glossary in the stupid book. I look it all up beforehand and my students think I'm really smart. I have become the master of bullshit. If there's anything an Arts Degree has gotten me it's how to obtain sparse, random pieces of information and put it all together to make something that looks and sounds good. Something to be proud of really... Mom, see I am using my degree.

more stuff people don't know....we gotta dog! Her name is Jessie and she's far too small and cute. We think she's about 11 weeks old. She's doing her teething thing which means that anything's fair game. Our feet as we walk by included. She really gives new meaning to the term "ankle biter." She's a Yorkshire Terrier. I've never had a terrier before. They're different from labs. Don't tell her, but I like Labs better. Not that I don't love her and think she's just the cutest little thing in the world. I can't really be rough and tumble with her though. I'm just used to big dogs I guess.

This has been a few months with a lot of change. People have left and new people have come. It happens all the time here, you get used to it, but it seems to have happened a lot lately. We have a new Prime Teacher, Bryant. He moved in down the hall from us into my old place a few months ago with his girlfriend Traci (she works at another Hogwan). He works in a far off land called Gupyeong, but lived in Doryang 2 Dong with all of us. Traci and Bryant just recently moved to Bisan-dong where Traci had an apartment because a new Chinese Teacher came to Prime and she was getting put in my old apartment so they got kicked out. There was also word that Christa and I were going to be moving as well... but that was about a month ago and I havn't heard anything else about it. If we do it'll be true Korean style and we'll find out 2 days before we move. Until then I can't fret about it too much.

Jason, another Prime teacher, is leaving next week. I don't know if he's being replaced, but if he does that'll be another new face. Bruce left on Tuesday, Vanessa on Wednesday and Tyler on Thursday. People will come to replace them too. It's a weird reality we have going on in Korea really. We make friends with people fast because you grab onto anything that speaks your language and doesn't point, stare or laugh at you, but then it all changes and the friends you had change and political dynamics change. It'll keep you on your toes that's for sure.

Since the last major update I've gone to Seoul for Christas and my birthday, had a birthdy party at Waegook, been to a Korean wedding, been to Daegu a few times and more that I can't remember. Seoul was awesome. We took the train up there with Bryant and Traci, got a hotel in Itaewan, did some Christmas shopping then headed to the Spa. Traci and Bryant went and did sightseeing stuff. We had booked ourselves in at a random spa. We didn't really know too much about the place, only that it looked nice and had a good website. We got into a cab, told the driver the address and settled in for the ride. We didn't have a frosty clue where we were going. Imagine our surprise when we pull up to a hotel on top of this little private mountain overlooking the Han River. The Taxi pulled up and a nice man in a top hat opened our door for us. We had arrived at the Sheraton-Walkerhill. It was beautiful. We were in our grubs so we stood out like sore thumbs (we did anyways cuz we're white...but this added to it). So, the spa was awesome, the hotel was beautiful and it was a good day. We went back into Itaewan, met up with the others and had a good night. The next day Christa and I hit up the Seoul Racetrack so Christa could see some horses. It was good times as well.

Korean weddings...I will update on that once my camera starts talking to my computer again. I have a really nice, expensive computer and a really nice, expensive camera. This apparently means that they're snobby and don't like eachother. No, honestly, it's something with a firewall blah blah that I really have no idea about and I can't upload my pics or videos. Enter computer genius friend...Devon HELP! I'll update when there are pics cuz it's more fun that way. And there IS stuff to update on, cuz it's a LOT different than a western wedding, and not just cuz it's in Korea.

Alrighty folks. Really that's all there is to report. Life's good, I'm good and I'm happy. I have a puppy, I have good friends and I'm safe. My time here's almost at an end and that's both good and bad. Good because that means I actually did it, bad cuz it'll be over. Being here has been amazing for me. It has brought about changes in my life, brought about personal changes and opened my eyes to a whole new world (insert me humming Aladdin here). There are some people who criticize me for running away from reality. Honestly, I call it that sometimes as well, but it's also way more than that. I don't think I'm running from reality. I think I'm creating myself. I never really knew who I was or really what I was truly capable of. I've learned amazing things about myself. I'm much more confident now than I ever was in certain situations. I have also realized where I'm not confident. I now know what I need to work on. there are reasons for everything. There is good in every situation and life isn't really all that complicated.

Those are my deep thoughts for the day.

Take care all, talk to you soon

Krista
*We all smile in the same language