I'd say it was a great week

1. Went cycling with my friend to touch up from my previous cycling lesson - don't want to forget you know, still need to learn how to brake with the brakes and not my feet.
2. Ate roast chicken and potatoes - this is a big deal since our small apartments do not have ovens installed, luckily my friend has a miniature one that can fit one small yummy birdie
3. Swapped a day of sitting in the teacher's room for a school outing at the amusement park with my students! Roller coasters are fun people!

    4.  Treated myself to a 4D experience of The AVENGERS. and yes I said 4D not just 3D-awesome

    5.  Had a Braai on the roof top of my friends apartment on a beautiful Saturday afternoon....

hello kitty

One of the things I absolutely love about Korea is their great variety of beautifully decorated coffee shops. They are littered in every alley and street in major cities like my Daegu and some are even open 24 hours a day. Anyone who knows my addiction to love for coffee will understand how I might feel a little a bit in heaven here.  From time to time, I will be sharing some of my favourite coffee spots around town, starting with today's super adorable Hello Kitty coffee shop. It's not enough that there are shops dedicated to selling merchandise adorned by this Japanese kitten; from computer keyboards and staplers to key rings and even kitchen knives; you name it, they have it in Hello Kitty. But the biggest gesture of all has to be the coffee shop. How cute?

the tables

my friend Kirstey and I enjoying afternoon coffee

and a caffe latte too damn cute to drink - how do they do that?

Final thoughts

Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee - Stephanie Piro

Conquering your fears

Ok, in a previous post I finally confessed, somewhere hidden amongst a million facts about me, that I couldn't ride a bike :( I am happy to announce that this fact is no longer true! On a gorgeous Monday afternoon after work my friends and I could not resist the charm of a Korean spring day - gorgeous with all its blossoms, so we met at Duryu Park for an afternoon of biking. I had been psyching myself up for a week (well and the last 15 years) for this great and glorious day.

At Duryu park, you can rent bikes, rollerblades or skateboards for a small fee of 3000 won (R20-R25) an hour to use in and around the park. Its pretty useful for us with small apartments or staying for a short time in the country, you don't need to invest a lot of money on a bike you  never use, so I was pretty chuffed to hear about this. Being the oldest and the only one who couldn't ride a bike, I kind of felt bad at first because I really didn't want my friends to have to babysit me and take turns to push me around while I scream frantically losing my balance and possibly crashing down.  So I put on a brave face and rented my own bike (as opposed to the tandem bikes) trying not to show the owners of the rental place that I could potentially destroy their money making asset.

A little demonstration, some words of encouragement and a short prayer, I was on the bike wiggling about trying to find my balance. I needed to count myself down for take off every time but with all that cheering I was in cruise mode in no time. I was just screaming and shouting for joy!!! All those years I was in fear of this 2 wheeled instrument but now this very thing was bringing me so much joy.

whats happening?

getting the hang of it

emergency brake!!

Chitsi riding a clear distance away for her own safety

Keke cheering me on

pure joy 

Victory Lap

riding with the big girls now :)

Coincidentally our pastor at church this very Sunday had been preaching about courage.  Don't be consumed by your fear, whatever you are afraid of, eventually just go for it. It probably isn't as big or as terrifying as you have built it up to be :)

Next on the list - learning how to play chess! any takers?

Photos courtesy of Christine :) my apologies for not being photogenic during this particular activity

slippery slopes

Although a while overdue, it would be super wrong of me not share with you my first experience on the slopes.  Before all the snow melted and the sun started shining again, some friends and I took to the slopes of Muju Resort for my first ever skiing experience. Let's just say seeing my attempts at this outrageousness was worth a thousand Rands!  We had a choice between skiing and snowboarding, I chose the former because my logic told me that I would probably balance better with my feet separated than strapped together. And although I spent a good portion of the afternoon session skidding down on my butt, I'm still pretty sure I made the right choice...this is how it all went down.

my buddies and I all kitted out

my super sweet instructor who never left my side

thats me, true story

super cool people with season passes who look like they know what they are doing

snow covered tree tops riding up the cable car

I'm so super excited to go again, can't wait. I felt muscles in places I didn't know I had but was surprisingly not in as much pain the next day as I anticipated - good for me. But for now, it's time to pack away the trench coats, gloves, boots and beanies and enjoy some fun in the sun....Happy spring!

happiness

1. I'm inclined to agree with this poster - plus it smells and tastes so good!

2. A stroll in Duryu park with a good friend for some much needed girl talk, on a beautiful afternoon, after a scrumptious lunch at Bean Market.

3. Making up with my students after I had to discipline them -I hate doing it but I must and now we are best friends :) I love kids for that, they don't hold grudges, grown ups should learn from them. Check out the super stylish uniform at my school - Soseon Girls' Middle School.

4. A great breakfast -yoghurt, strawberries and granola and a cup of no. 1

5. Finally spring is in the air in the northern hemisphere - the cherry blossoms are just gorgeous, picnics in the park are definitely on the horizon.

ps: Absolutely loving that Instagram is finally available to us losers Android users. I'm addicted! and hopefully this means better quality pics for this poor blog.

Some pictures courtesy of Chitsi :)

getting around

I'm still pretty new at this travel thing but really enjoying it. I've found this map where I can mark where I've lived (red), where I've been (blue) and where I would like to go(green), to help me keep my eyes on the prize! 

Get Your Own Map

View Larger Map

Sponsorship anyone?

Happy Birthday!

Just wanted to celebrate the 1st birthday of my little project, African in the east! I started this blog a year ago today as a way to keep my family and friends back in South Africa posted on my new and sometimes adventurous life teaching English in Korea. Lets not forget of course the sometimes rather random thoughts that cross my mind that I have to share since I can't meet my sister for coffee or lunch as I wish anymore.

Blogging has introduced me to an entirely new world of mad writers, creative geniuses, brilliant photographers, enthusiastic travelers and the list goes on! I'm learning so much in blogworld and have been very impressed with the kind of information and resources people are willing to share for free that would cost you thousands in any currency to buy. I have more apps and programs on my phone and computer than the number of people in my phone contact list and "home schooling" my self through it all.

Although I don't post as often as I would like (since I'm trying to enjoy every moment of my time here), I will however try to limit my time spent in a vegetative state and rather document and post the experiences of my life in east. Living in Korea has been an incredible experience even with its ups and downs. I'm so so so glad I took the leap of faith. Stay tuned to see what I get up to in the next 10 months.  This year I hope to post more pictures (because they are worth a 1000 words) and hopefully some dreadful home videos.  Looking forward to a different experience in teaching too as last year I was teaching only teenage boys and this year I'm teaching only teenage girls and there is definitely a difference.  Also expecting some visitors from home who I hope will come bearing gifts, some traveling both locally in Korea and hopefully a beach side summer holiday abroad too, exciting times ahead indeed.  

I feel incredibly blessed to have had this opportunity in my life and I would like to encourage anyone who meets the requirements for this type of program to give it a go, even if its just for 1 year. Read blogs and websites with testimonials of people who have done it before (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), all from different backgrounds with totally different personalities and you will find that most have enjoyed it. It can be a scary and daunting decision to make, you will miss birthdays, anniversaries, babies being born, funerals, graduations and sadly even weddings but a world of great opportunities awaits you and you will grow in ways you didn't know were possible and it makes it all worth it. 

In a crazy digital world of Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook, the blog world has definitely stolen my heart. Happy Birthday African in the east, you made it a year! and a huge congratulations to all the bloggers out there, who year after year continue to enthrall us with interesting, quirky and delightful posts.

               

    Source: hollyschaeffer.tumblr.com via Holly on Pinterest - my undying love for carrot cake

Length of dreadlocks : 19cm

best part of being away from home...

1. receiving post cards from friends 
2. people really make an effort to keep in touch
3. you get to reinvent yourself - perhaps use your 2nd name or become the party animal you were never brave enough to be
4. people actually want to visit you (to see you and the benefits of international travel of course - but I don't mind either way)
5. all the gifts you buy for people back home are appreciated just because they are from overseas :)
6. you learn to appreciate both the good and bad of where you come from as you realize that every society has its ups and downs.
7. but my personal favourite is receiving care-packs from home containing all the yummy goodness you took for granted - throw in an English magazine for good measure

in time for Christmas

15kg's of love

i'm on a boat

Recently, a group of us took a long 6 hour train ride north to the small coastal town of Jeongdongjin in Gangwon province to go on a cruise going nowhere. Let me explain. It's a hotel perched on top of a hill over looking the wide wide ocean - the hotel is shaped like a ship. It was our dear friend Suzanne's farewell before returning back home to South Africa after teaching English in Korea for 2 years.
There was lots of reminiscing, laughing, karaoke singing, swimming, teaching each other childhood games, eating, drinking, posing for pictures, souvenir shopping and jam sessions. This is how it all went down :)

got to love small town train stations - captain raquel and bella

the eating

Sun cruise ship hotel

the singing (screaming)

the childhood games

the posing

the crew

We had such an amazing time and what a befitting way to say goodbye to our friend. Lucky for some of us, this angel is a South African and I'm glad to know this was not the last time I'll be seeing her. 

Suzanne you are an amazing friend. I pray that the Lord continue to watch over you and continue to use you to touch people's lives like you have touched mine.  Korea, your students and expat friends are really going to miss you. But for me, its not goodbye, its "until next time".

the beautiful Suz in her Korean Hanbok!

Some pictures courtesy of Christine, Eric and Suzanne :)

spell check anyone?

As seen on a magazine! I am pretty sure they meant to say "spring". Forget grammar, ever heard of spell check?