Mangoes on my couch in the morning light

This was the monk who saved them, and generously gave them to Gordon and I. This was when we told him that Ella and Dell were flying to Canada in a few days. I was lucky to get a few photos of their goodbye and see the softness and love between them. 

Looking at these photos makes me miss my pups so much but in a few months we’ll be reunited in Canada in a little eco-home with lots of forests, fields, mountains and an ocean to explore. 

Now that we're leaving Korea in a few months I'm feeling nostalgic and sappy. While looking through my archives I found these photos of the gorgeous Boseong Green Tea Fields. These photos are unedited and taken directly from my camera. 

UPDATE: It has been a long time since I've updated this little space of the web. I decided to write down our plans for the future and to bring all our friends and family up to speed! So basically Gordon and I decided to move back to British Columbia in August. Our original plan was to stay in Korea for a third year to save up even more money but after careful thought, we decided to come back home. As much as I love Korea and my students, the smog and pollution is starting to affect us (not only spiritually but health-wise as well). 

If I've learned anything at all since moving here it's that our global world is much more connected than I could ever imagine. I sometimes get angry with the 'Western World' and it's greed for MORE more more things. We buy things without a second thought about how it was made, the ecological footprint and exactly who is making it. Everything we use has an ecological footprint and contributes to smog and greenhouse gases in some way. However in Canada we rarely see the negative consequences of our purchases and consumption. 

Can you guess who sees the negative effects? That's right...Asia. I can't speak for any country other than South Korea but living here has opened my eyes to air pollution and smog. It scares me to think that this is happening in our world. Gordon and I try to ignore it (just like everyone else living here) but it's hard to ignore something that permeates everything, all day, everyday. There is no safe-haven from it. There is nothing worse than waking up and feeling like you've smoked a pack of cigarettes in the night and there is nothing worse than waking up, opening the blinds and being met with a haze of smog covering the view of the beautiful mountains. 

Okay, so with all of this in mind, Gordon and I have settled on building a tiny home (the one pictured above) with an aim to reduce our footprint on this earth as much as possible. I realize that we are so incredibly lucky to be able to move back to paradise, in a supremely gorgeous province. Most people are not as lucky and I want to remind myself now to never take it for granted. We're going to move to Vancouver Island for the first 4 months, build our home and explore the island for a little bit. Then, Gordon will move to Surrey to complete a 12 month French-teaching program and I'm not sure what I will do during that time. I hope to find a good job either on the Island or in Vancouver. 

The tiny house will have a solar panel system so we can use the sun for our energy (we may have an additional power hook-up for the incinerator toilet) but our goal is to reduce our usage of grid power as much as possible. The house also has a 40 gallon rain water tank and filtration system that we can use for showers, washing dishes and even drinking! I decided I can't live without a washer/dryer so we will need an additional water hook-up if we want to use that. 

We're also looking forward to learning the ropes about homesteading. I want to grow a garden (I have been wanting to do this for so long but never had the opportunity) and I want to learn food preservation techniques such as canning and drying. 

I feel as if this is my truth, it's something we are both longing to do and I couldn't be happier with this decision. Thanks for reading and if anyone has any suggestions, comments or tips for us, please let us know!

Truly my favourite places in Korea. The temples never get old for me. I keep feeling new feelings every time I go. These photos were taken at two different temples: Seonamsa and Hwaeomsa in the Jeolla province.

My friend Amber took this photo last weekend when we went to Jirisan in the early morning. This was the sunrise that greeted us.

On Sunday Gordon and I were invited to Ms. Kang and Mr. So's house to make kimchi and have lunch together. If you should know anything about Korea you should know that kimchi is VERY important. It's eaten at just about every meal and people even have special fridges where they store their precious kimchi. Kimchi recipes are passed down from mothers to their daughters and being able to make good kimchi is something that Korean women take pride in. In Korean culture, men typically don't help to make the kimchi-- it's the woman's role. It's interesting because for once in my life I actually didn't mind that Gordon and Mr. So got to relax and sit around talking and snacking while Ms. Kang and I prepared the kimchi. In a way, I felt like I was being brought into a secret women's society where the only requirements to join is that you have to be a woman and you have to make kimchi. It felt good to stand beside Ms. Kang chatting and working together to make something nutritious for our families to enjoy. 

I should mention that Ms. Kang also juggled the kimchi and prepared 2 separate meals for us as well. The first meal was squid with raw garlic and hot peppers and various sauces. Before making our kimchi we went to the market near my house to pick up some supplies and during that time I spotted a lady selling squid. Mr. So took it upon himself to buy the squid and make sure I ate it despite my strong refusal to do so. However, if there is a second thing you should know about Korea it's that once Mr. So makes up his mind, there is no turning back. I ate the squid and it actually wasn't too bad at all.

The second meal was homemade japchae which is one of my favourite dishes in Korea. It's made from sweet potato noodles, thin slices of beef and various other ingredients. It was delicious! Of course we also ate roasted sweet potatoes with milk, pickled cucumbers, soya bean sauce, spicy tofu soup, rice with beans, pickled diakon, raw onions, 2 year old marinated garlic, fresh peaches, watermelon, grapes and finally, some nectarines. Korean cuisine is a big deal! 

So I did some damage yesterday. I re-bought my LUSH essentials and then picked up some goods that I've had my eye on for a long time. 

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT

- Breath Of Fresh Air Toner: easily my favourite toner of all time. Spritz this on your face after getting out of the shower and immediately before applying your face moisturizer. 

- I Love Juicy: this will be my first time trying this shampoo. I'm currently using Daddy-O and I love it so hopefully this does the trick too.

- Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Eye Cream: this is the first time I'm trying a Kiehl's product! I was in the market for an eye cream and the wonderful lady at the counter suggested this one. She also gave me a mini eye-cream for travelling and a sample pot of the Powerful Wrinkle & Pore Reducing Cream.

- Imogen Rose Solid Perfume: I have Breath Of God in the solid perfume stick and the scent stays for a long time. It blends with the skin nicely.

- All Fired Up [Matte Lipstick]: I'm slowly collecting a matte lipstick for every season. This is what I chose for the summer!

- Jungle Solid Conditioner: Tried it, loved it. Re-purchase.

- Imperialis Facial Moisturizer: The absolutely best light-weight cream for day or night. I've been using it for years.

Yesterday's breakfast--I'm calling it 'bibimfruit' get it? Like bibimbap but it's FRUIT! I'm lame. 

1 Korean white peach

1 Nectarine

1 Banana

1 cup of plain yogurt

It was Gordon's birthday yesterday and we wanted to visit an hermitage called Hyangiram which is located in Yeosu. This past week we planned to take the train out and meet up with our friend Amber. We planned to take a nice calm walk up the cliffside and meander around the hermitage taking photos and relaxing to the sounds of the sea rolling onto the shore. What we didn't plan was a hard-hitting typhoon the morning we were supposed to meet up. We all debated whether we should go ahead with the plans but we decided that we would brave the storm and hope that the rain would subside. Well, the rain never did subside but it didn't stop us from turning the trip into an exhilarating adventure that took us to a small town on the edge of the sea and a breath-taking hermitage. When we arrived to the town we stopped at a gas-station and bought hideous yellow jackets to keep out some of the rain and some gimbap and ramen. We looked out into the dark stormy weather and wondered what lay ahead. After our lunch we began our climb up to the hermitage and it was awesome. My clothes were completely soaked, my hair was plastered to my head and the umbrella was blown inside-out in seconds. In the surrounding restaurants the locals standing under the eves laughed at us. We were laughing too. We must have looked ridiculous with our huge yellow rain coats and inside-out umbrellas walking against the typhoon winds. It was all worth it though because the hermitage is stunning. Jagged rocks jut out from the mountain and form the base of the temple. There are a few smaller temples standing in between gnarly trees and big stones. The temple is surrounded by hundreds of carved stone turtles that bring luck and longevity to the place and even though huge sheets of rain bore down on us and the winds whipped us around, there was a feeling of calmness. 

On the way back down the mountain, we all agreed that getting completely soaked and wind-swept was a humbling experience and a chance to revel in the earth's powerful force. We can't do anything to stop mother nature from doing her thing and we have to respect that.

The cicadas are back with their constant vibrating hum. When I first heard them a week ago I felt a surge of nostalgia in my chest. When Gordon and I arrived in Korea we would always comment about how loud they were and now here we are--nearly a year later listening to the same sounds that greeted us when we first arrived to this country. When I reflect back on my year I feel happy that we made the effort to come here even though we've encountered some bumps along the way. 

For the first few months we were constantly overwhelmed by the 'newness' of our life. Our apartment was new, the food and language was new and hell, even the showers were new. It was exciting to navigate this different world and we really enjoyed all the funny moments and mishaps that came along with it. The first six months of my new job was heaven. I truly love teaching and I was given a lot of creative control over my classes and camps. I was supported and encouraged to reach my full potential as a teacher and I was treated as an equal. One thing that foreigners notice when they come to Korea is that things can change very quickly. Buildings seem to sprout into the sky in a matter of days, a full functioning restaurant will pop up out of nowhere and yes, even school faculty can be completely changed within a month. In February we got a brand new principal, vice- principal and teachers--only 6 teachers from the previous year were kept at my school. I was shocked to say the least and not surprising, many things changed for me. It's been a little stressful and my online presence suffered for it so I apologize for not keeping up with my writing. On a good note, my students continue to amaze me and when I go to school in the morning, I go for them. Teaching them as been so rewarding and I'm impressed with how bright and energetic they are! 

In April our good friends from Halifax visited us. Mel and Rob are just about the coolest people you'll ever meet. They were such gracious guests--they did our dishes in the morning and set up wireless internet in our apartment. Having them stay with us brought a bit of Canadiana into our lives and made us feel like maybe Canada isn't so far away after all. It also helped us to see Korea through their eyes and get excited about the little things again.

In May we hit another bump in the road but this time it was about Gordon. He woke up one morning feeling awful and he kept complaining about feeling sick to his stomach. In the early afternoon after he got sick, he ended up fainting and having a seizure. As you can imagine it was one of the scariest moments of my life and for a moment I didn't know if he was breathing or what was happening. I can't speak Korean and I didn't even know my own home address so I acted on instinct and starting screaming until someone came out of their apartment and phoned 119 (the Korean version of 911) for me. Gordon was rushed to the hospital and from then on it was a nightmare for the next week. A few hours after his first seizure the medical team was bringing him for an MRI scan and he ended up having another seizure in the wheelchair on the way to the lab. At that point things got serious because we were really uncertain as to what was happening. Trying to communicate with people that don't speak your language is frightening and frustrating when you're dealing with a health crisis. Finally it was decided that Gordon would be transferred to a bigger hospital in a larger city so we rode in the ambulance to the new hospital. We spent the night in a very busy emergency room and once again, Gordon tried to stand up and had another seizure. The next day the doctors told us that Gordon had a blocked vein in his brain and that we would have to start working toward the treatment. I was distraught. In one day he went from perfectly healthy to this. After an hour of trying to cope with this news, we later found out that the doctor gave us the wrong results and that everything was normal and healthy. The only problem was that every time Gordon tried to stand he would feel very strange and have a seizure. So, we stayed in the hospital for nearly a week until he slowly started to get better. The doctors ran many tests but they couldn't find anything wrong. After 6 days Gordon started to feel stronger and could walk again. We came back to our city and he had another week of rest in bed to build up his strength again. We still don't have a diagnosis and hopefully we will never need one. For now, Gordon doesn't drink any alcohol and is very cautious about being in the sun. He's also upped his sugar and salt intake and is as healthy as ever! I'm so thankful for the doctors, my co-teachers and friends for stepping up to help us during that difficult time and I will always be grateful for them. 

Since then, Gordon and I have been on a path of health and healing. Sometimes Korea can get you down but we are trying to be grateful for all the opportunities that are given to us. Switching our attitude has proven to be very good for us as we feel happier and stronger every day. We are lucky to be here and we are lucky to have each other and the pups. We are lucky to have generous friends and family and we are lucky to live on this earth.

A DAY IN MY LIFE (all photos are unedited to convey the 'realness'..man)

6:30- Wake up to the sounds of my pups fighting over a bone

7:30- Breakfast is 2 white slices of toast and 1 scrambled egg

8:30- Walk to school

9:30- Deskwarming means no classes and no staff or students

10:00- Drawing in my notebook

12:00- Lunch is 2 gimbap triangles, chocolate cookies and milk

1:00- Try to play with the pups but they are lazy

2:00- Get the internet working in my apartment

5:00- Gordon comes home and makes dinner

7:00- We argue about Korea and I make a fuss about living here 

8:30- Gordon goes for a walk and I clean the kitchen and bathroom