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