Another one gone, and another one gone, Another one bites the dust.

Another week of ups and downs! However, the main difference, as I am sure you will notice, is how often I am getting out for a walk the last few weeks as opposed to before.  Beyond the obvious health benefits that walking has, the main reason I am doing this is as follows: On Monday we received a letter from the Education Office asking if I'd be staying another year. The answer was no as I've decided to go off on new adventures. I am walking more frequently as my big adventure when I finish here will be to do the Camino. I am hoping to do it for around 6 weeks so I am preparing myself at the moment. The goal until the end of September is to walk around 2-miles at least 3 times a week and hopefully by the end of October that will be every day. 

Getting out for the walk has curtailed some other elements of my free "hour". I've been doing some experimentation with cooking and I really need to finish my art project. But if you are interested, read on!

Thursday, September 11th

Immediately after work I ran to Daiso and got some messages - a candle and a mop as I've lost the bottom to my other one. When I got home, after a quick chamchi gimbap (chamchi means tuna), I proceeded out on my two-mile walk. On returning home, I made dinner, watched some Dr Who (I think), paid my bills and met Liz for a hot chocolate at Rosetta. I also ran over my lesson plans before going to bed Thursday = Success

Friday, September 12th

After work, I met up with Liz for dinner - we had Shabu Shabu and then we repaired to her house to watch our friends (and me, too!) claim different items. We ended up going for deep-fried ice-cream with our friend Simone before heading home. Friday = Success

Monday, September 15th 

When I got home, I stopped for Chamchi gimbap again, did my walk (I walked a little further than 2 miles). I'd rooted through my freezer on Sunday so I used up my leftovers to make a chickpea and spinach pasta dish. When I was finished I worked on this blog and my cooking blog, reviewed my notes for my classes on Tuesday and my open class on Wednesday, readThe last camel died at noon, did the dishes and picked up some of the floor and went to bed later than I wanted. Gah! Monday = Success

Tuesday, September 16th

I really wanted this day to be an art day but I had dishes, clothes sorting and general tidying to do. In case you're wondering why it takes me so long to clean such a small space - I get distracted - TV, books, my phone, the shadows on the walls. Basically, anything. I did progress much further than I had to this point! So yay. However, I also got completely distracted by "Words with Friends" and looking at recipes. So Tuesday = Success (and some failure due to the aforementioned game!)

Wednesday, September  17th

Normally on Wednesdays I should be going to Yoga since it has started back up but I'd open class today so I was in need of a break! When I got home I bought a caprese sandwich from Paris Baguette and ate it as soon as I got home. I then followed it up with some more freezer raiding leftovers! I watched TV while I cleaned and my friend Ashley came over for tea and a chat. We then met up with another friend and went for a nice walk - it was over an hour and I think a little less than 4km. Wednesday = Semi Success

So you might think I'm mad but I have to admit part of me wanted to lie and describe some amazingly exciting things for you...or even just to say I finally got to that art project as well a special project I am working on for school. I obviously didn't lie but as I look over my week it's been walk/read/eat/walk/read/eat ..blah di blah di blah. I will really and truly try and be more productive next week, so bear with me! 

PS this post's title was inspired by Queen's "Another one bites the dust."

Are you sleeping

And on to week three! Wow time flies!  I can't believe this is my third week on this exercise. As you will read below things weren't plain sailing this week:

Friday, July 11th: This was a fantastic evening! Katetastic and I finally had our mushroom and wine night. We ended up out at the local Ministop (which is a convenience store) with some other friends drinking more drinks. Then into the pub for even more in an evening that culminated in Tequila shots. All in all, a great evening. Friday = Success 

Monday, July 14th: I wanted to finish reading my Mistborn book (I was reading Well of Ascension), so I stopped at a local coffee shop, had an iced chocolate drink and read until dinner time when I joined Swaglu, Katetastic one of Swaglu's friends who is visiting from the USA. Afterwards, Katetastic and I sat on the park swings and chatted. As we sat there slowly but surely quite a bit of Jochiwon joined us. I ended up getting a tummy ache so around 9 or 9.30 I abandoned the gathering crowd and instead headed home to sleep. Monday = Success

Tuesday, July 15th: Well, what was a tummy ache has turned into something else and I was dying all day in work. A wee headache, scratchy throat, upset tummy. I got a lift as far as the Office of Education so as I walked home (around 15 minutes), I stopped and bought crispy chicken. I know it's not healthy but the idea or doing anything in front of the stove just about killed me. I got home, made some tortilla wraps with the chicken and some balsamic roasted tomatoes I'd made on Sunday night. It was easy and semi-healthy. Afterwards I  fell asleep for 1.5 hours and then prepared some games and worked on my camps. I did watch TV (or had it on in the background, rather) while doing my work.  Tuesday = Success? Well, only because I was sick.

Wednesday, July 16th:  Ugh. That's all I have to say, well not literally as you can tell by the following epistle. By the time 4.30pm rolled around all I wanted was my bed. My throat was really closed up and all I had eaten to that point was saltine crackers and Chilsung cider (like 7-up). I bought meds, orange juice and a nice big new bottle of water. When I got home I decided some wallowing was in order so I turned on the TV. While it turns out I hadn't been missing much (besides CSI Miami and the movie A.I. There wasn't much on for about 30 minutes and I hate CSI Miami) until Modern Family came on which I thoroughly enjoyed. Good news, I did do half my dishes and my 30 jumping jacks for a July Challenge I'm participating in. For dinner, I ate some fairly unhealthy wraps with the remaining crispy chicken and roasted tomatoes. At 7pm tired out by these really exhausting activities (this is supposed to drip with sarcasm but as this is the internet and I'm not a very sarcastic person, that intent might be lost in translation), I fell asleep and slept relatively soundly until around 6.45am on Thursday. Wednesday = Not a success

Thursday, July 17th:  I bought baguette and some ham, did the balsamic roasted tomatoes again and made a sandwich. I worked on my blogs, did the dishes and packed for the culture trip I was on for Friday and Saturday. And then...to bed. Oh yea, still sick!

Well, I may not have watched much TV but the week was a disaster - no personal growth at all and all projects went to hell.

Oh well, you might think I'm mad but I hope to remain encouraged for next week!

PS The title of this post was inspired by that French children's song that I learnt as a child "Frère Jacques"

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow, this opportunity comes once in a lifetime

So, I've been bad lately! I've let other projects take over my personal writing. This would have been okay had it only lasted a couple of weeks but it's been much longer as you, dear readers, know.

So what is it that I've been up to that caused me to slack off on something I really love? Well, I started a new blog - a cooking one back in April. I actually started working on it in January but I wasn't really happy with it for a long while, hence the launch date of April! It's taken up a lot of my time - testing, re-testing, writing, editing, publishing. I really love it though as it balances two of my favourite things - cooking and writing. I've also been busy with the SejongDish where I write another cooking blog as well as restaurant reviews and answering FAQs. Between these two writing projects my personal blog has taken a backseat. However, this post is to tell you that I am changing that.

Even though I have a few posts in the making (the long promised part 2 of my Wand'rin' Star trilogy of photo posts, to name one), I haven't been able to finish them yet. They are mostlyphoto posts and, even though some of my photos are pure awful, it's really hard to pick the best ones to showcase my town and the different areas I've visited in Korea. I will get them done at some stage - but I hope I'm not still saying that this time next year!

Anyway, I digress, the reason for this post is to share with you some changes I am making in my life. I am overweight, I am lazy and I sometimes fail miserably at eating healthily. This laziness has taken over my life and despite the other projects detailed above, the main reason I haven't written is due to this actual and very real problem. So how am I trying to tackle that problem, well read on:

Since May, I've been making and bringing my own lunches to school three times a week. I've done pretty well on those and even on my laziest days (saltine crackers and whole cherrytomatoes), I still eat plenty of vegetables. However, I've a huge sweet tooth. I've always had one but it's gotten much worse in Korea, which is odd as we definitely have better chocolate at home! I tend to have a stack of candy for my students and I often find myself munching them. Lately, I've been actively trying to make sure I don't reach for that bag as I know when I do I won't just eat one. I sometimes forget and I've stuffed 10 Hershey Kisses down my throat before I've realised what happened but mostly, I do remember and put them back.

Another change I've made which is the main one I'm going to be sharing with you, is to try and watch less television. The television itself isn't the problem, the way I watch it is. Usually, as soon as I walk in the door, the tv goes on and I flop on the bed. After an hour or so I make dinner, maybe read or do some lesson planning but usually I go back to watching tv. And, then, I bemoan the fact that the day got away from me. Really? Really? Really? Where do I think it went? Humm in a cloud of smoke known as The Good Wife or some other drama (that TV show is my latest obsession). I've tried tackling it a few times this year but I never succeeded. Recently my friend, Jamie, posted this article on Facebook and it really made me reflect on my life and my habits. So many things I love doing have been sacrified for a TV show: Going on walks, cooking (less so because of my blog but until I was working on that this was definitely true), reading, writing, drawing, hanging out, and calling home to name but a few.

Since last Friday, I try to spend the first hour home, or after work, away from the TV and watching TV on my computer and being on Facebook/Gmail etc unless it's blog related. So let's see how I did, shall we:

Friday June 27th: Ate dinner with my friend Katetastic, delicious bibimbap and kimchi. I then headed up to my rooftop armed with a water bottle, sketchbook, pencil, eraser and parer. I was up there around 20 minutes when my friend, Jules, asked me to go on a walk. I'd a Skype date lined up with my Mam for her birthday in one hour from then, but a walk sounded divine, so off we went. Friday = Success!

Monday, June 30th: I had soaked some cashews the night before and whilst at work, so I threw some small potatoes into the oven to bake and proceeded to make cashew cheese. It took me nearly the whole hour to do so as I don't own a food processer, so I'd to mash them, then mash them through a strainer and then, finally, blend them with a stick blender. It was hard work but a lot of fun, and whilst the cheese was "lacking" something I'm excited to try it again. With the time I'd left, I ate my dinner and set up for tea night. The picture below is of my cashew cheese! Monday = Success.

Tuesday, July 1st: I was really lucky today, I got out of school right on time, got a lift to the bus stop where I got a bus right away so it meant I was actually at home by 5.30. This NEVER happens for my Tuesday/Friday school, unlesss I get a (very rare) lift home. With all this extra time, I got so excited I bought an ice-cream (it was really hot) and turned my TV on as soon as I got home. I realised my mistake about 20 minutes in, turned it off, made dinner (potatoes and cashew cheese again) and then worked on 3 games for Wednesday classes to review in preparation for the exams next week. Tuesday = half Failure, half Success.

Wednesday, July 2nd: I went to Yoga after work at the Lake Park and then to eat dinner with my friend Annette (bibimbap is a necessity in my life!). I didn't actually walk in the door until after 8 (except to drop off my bags before dinner) so when I did get in, I did some dishes and turned on the TV. Wednesday = Success.

Thursday, July 3rd: I came home, realised that nearly everything in my fridge was expiring (and the spinach had expired) so cooked up an unsuccesful dish taste wise. While all the ingredients SHOULD have worked together they just didn't. Boo! In between cooking and chopping (remember I only have a one-ring stove), I cleaned my apartment in anticipation of Liz coming over to make some Nepalese Chiah (Nepalese tea). Thursday = Success.

So week 1 went well, didn't it? What I really liked was how much time an hour is. I don't think I realised how much time I have in an hour until I couldn't distract my self with TV. I have decided to try again this next week, starting with July 4th but leaving out the weekends. I liked being able to go up and draw, to get many things done all at the same time and to spend some valuable time experimenting in the kitchen. I really like the opportunities it affords.

What I didn't like was how easy it is to turn on the TV if the switches are already on. I didn't like having to clean but it IS practical to use the time. For next week, cooking included, I want to try and use this hour for projects like blogging, drawing, reading or for activities like meeting friends for tea, going for a walk, rather than any cleaning.

I don't think you will find me mad at all with this new opporunity. You only get one life to liveand we really shouldn't "blow" this one life. I can't stand, hand on heart,and not say that I am part of my problem. I need to seize the day and the responsibilty for how my actions affect my life. I figured the best way to do that is to share these little journeys with you. I want to do it for a month initially but hopefully for longer.

Until next time folks!

PS this post was inspired by Eminem's "One shot"

Home, home on the range, where the crisps and the tea are had.

So it's official, I'm staying one more year in Korea. I don't think I've ever debated more over whether or not to stay in a place as I have done for this decision. I started debating way back in September and on at least 3 occasions was convinced that I'd be having my last day on 01 June 2014. The fates have intervened though, and I'm staying one more year.  Why? Well for so many reasons;

• I like teaching.
• I have fantastic students (except for, you know, the troublesome few).
• My co-teachers are amazing.
• I have great friends, both Korean and Expat alike.
• I love my apartment, even with all the noise.
• I like being responsible for all my own decisions - from whether or not I just sit down and watch TV to paying bills. Whatever my decision, it's my choice and the negatives are just as much a learning experience as the positives.
• I like branching out and seeing more of Korea and the world.
• I like challenging myself to be better, to work harder, to write more, to read more, to go live more authentically and to make healthier choices. 
• I want to finish my bucket list, as much as possible.

Nevertheless, staying in Korea means one more year away from home and some creature comforts. So what is it that I miss most about my beloved Ireland? Well, number one: my family. Chatting to my parents, playing board games with my siblings, walks, talks and everything else. Taking trips together. Screaming with excitment at a match, especially staying up late and watching the World Cup FinalExchanging gifts on Christmas Eve, doing so on Skype isn't half as fun! My brother's terrible stories on Christmas Eve. Easter Egg hunts, birthdays, laughter and fun. Fighting with everyone. Seeing my nephew and niece grow up. Getting to experience  and partake in their lives.

Number two, are my friends. I really miss them. I miss being able to go to Butler's in the Pavilions for a quick cuppa on the way home. I miss having board game nights and eating at Indie Spice or Acapulco. I miss walking around HESC at lunch time or those quick chats during break time. I miss the long calls to friends who don't work with me any more, drinking wine, eating cake (and cake bakes!), travelling around Ireland and abroad. I miss just hanging out. 

After that I guess everything I miss is related to Ireland itself - whether it's the food, an aspect of the culture or even the environment. To be honest, I can go a long time without a craving for anything, but sometimes, I will get one suddenly and instead of having a lovely King sandwich, I'll eat a packet of these:

Or I will find myself craving some time walking along the Howth cliff walk with a nice breeze and the smell of salty sea air with every inhale. On those days I go for a walk along the river near my house or to the lake park. They don't come close but they are nearby. 

Climbing Bray Head, Co. Wicklow. 

While I can't capture the spirit, culture or environment of Ireland, I can sometimes capture the food and drinks. I recently have spent quite a bit of time browsing online shops to see where they deliver and to get approximate costs. Sadly, a lot of them don't deliver to Korea or, if they do, the prices are prohibitive for me. So, I wait in hope...or for some kindly soul to take pity on me! Nevertheless, I've included some links below - so even if I can't enjoy the goodness of Irish food, perhaps you can.

Howth cliff walk  (Photo courtesy of my sister)

The river near my apartment in Korea

1. While I have loads of Barry's teaat the moment thanks to two trips home and a wonderful mother and aunt, I miss being able to just pop into a shop and buy a box of tea whenever I need it.  I also won't say no to a cuppa Lyons. I was recently sent a box of Barry's tea by my Mam as she'd received a box of 600 teabags! It made me wonder if it had been ordered from here! Lucky Mam and lucky me! Along with tea, obviously I miss Avonmore milk. Seriously! It has taken me ages to make the perfect cup of tea here as the milk is really different. 
2. I miss all the cheap sweets and crisps from Meanies to Animal Bars.  I found some websites recently that deliver to Korea called PennyJellies and Irish Home Comforts, so I want to figure out a way to order these treats from there for my students. Who knows, maybe for a Hallowe'en lesson? 
3. I miss Cheese and Onion crisps and Salt and Vinegar Crisps. Especially crisp butties! For those wondering, I'm a wee bit more partial toKing but I love my Tayto as well.
4. I miss Kingfisher chips, and just being able to go to any chippers. Oh, and homemade chips made in the deep fat fryer on a Friday night, wrapped in delicious bread, smothered in butter. HEAVEN!
5. While Korea has certainly improved on the cheese front as you can get a decent range of cheese from cheddar to goat's cheese in Costco, the Foreign Food Market and even, at times, in Homeplus, there is something to be said for Irish Cheese. I miss Kilmeaden, Cashel Blue and going to markets like the ones in Galway or Howth and buying homemade cheese. This hamper, while it won't deliver to me, could be bought and brought to me? Any takers? Come on...you know you want to visit me (and Korea!)!
6. I miss everyone saying "thank you" when they got off the bus, even if the journey has been long, annoying and uncomfortable. I also really miss saying "excuse me" whenever the chance comes along.
7. I miss Griffith Park. I miss having such close access to green. While our garden at home is the size of a postage stamp we were always really lucky to live 10 seconds away from an amazing park. It's big, really green and has a river running through it. I miss having picnics just inside the gate or up on the hill. I miss playing football or rounders  (even though it's been years since I played), flying kites or just walking around the park. I miss having a place you can go to get out of your head and just enjoy nature.
8. Oh, and how I miss the National Botanical Gardens! Seriously, I live in such a great neighbourhood. I am only 5 minutes away from a beautiful garden with amazing trees, gorgeous flowers, impressive glasshouses and quiet walks. There is something so peaceful about being in there. 
9. I miss the libraries. Again, I live in a great neighbourhood and I was a stone's throw from Drumcondra, Ballymun, Phibsborough and the Ilac Centre Libraries. The amount ofbooks I would consume if I were at home! From Austen to Christie. From Tintin toNancy Drew. I've never been at a loss for a good book at home. 
10. I miss going on day trips around Dublin and further afield. Whether it is Howth in the rain, or walking barefoot down the river in Enniskerry forest, praying that nothing slithers or runs over foot. I didn't take near enough advantage of it when I was home, and now...now I can't. I miss being able to go to water - the sea, especially. 
11. I miss being able to fly nearly anywhere in the world with a cheap airline (and yes, I do try to avoid Ryanair). Weekend trips and long weekends away are harder to do here - I've managed one so far, to Japan.  

So you might think I'm mad to be missing Irish food as much as I do and you might think I'm mad to miss greenery and sea air especially since we have some in Korea. But, that's one of the advantages of being Irish.  You're never far from it. Sadly, though it's not as easy to get to either for me as it was at home...well except for the local mountain. That's kind of cool...and green.

PS The title of this post was inspired by the John A Lomax version of "Home on the Range".

Do all those who lie here know why they died?

The white ribbons are in memory of those lost in the Sewol Ferry disaster, 16 April 2014

As I'm sure you are aware recently there was a ferry disaster in South Korea off the southern coast near Jindo. Many people lost their lives and many are still missing. A huge portion of those affected were students on a field trip. I'm not going to talk about the disaster itself as I believe that you can get way more informed news and opinions about it from the BBC or the Korean Herald.

However, what you may not be aware of is how much this disaster has affected daily life in Korea, especially for schools, students and teachers. Many schools, my own included, have cancelled events like Sports Day that traditionally occur on May 1st. Instead, the students will have classes as normal (for those wondering, it is also Workers Day so I am off). Additionally, many students were looking forward to field trips - some of which were overnight trips and these too have been called off for the foreseeable future. This is understandable, especially considering the huge amount of students who were lost. Parents must be so worried that something might happen to their children. Teachers are probably grateful that they will not be responsible for their students lives so near to this accident. And students? Well, while most of my students know what has happened, I am sure they probably don't fully realise the extent to which this disaster is going to have on their lives: no trips for the foreseeable future, but also in the long run a lot more care and watchful eyes will be on them than was in the past. As Korea reels in grief over this disaster, events that Koreans and expats alike have been looking forward to have been cancelled as joyous festivals, concerts etc are considered insensitive to those who lost their lives and their families. Even events like the lantern festival to celebrate Buddha's birthday have become more low key. 

I think that is the hardest thing about this disaster. It is awfully sad, just like the Malaysian Airlines disaster before it and all the other terrible things that happen in our world from tornados to bombs. Even though we want to mourn, and should mourn, life goes on: children are born, grandparents die, lovers are found and marriages collapse. Even in Korea. You might think I'm mad but I do think that in the midst of tragedy, here in Korea we may be forgetting life.  My students remind me of it though. As my co-teachers wear yellow ribbons in memory and many breaks are spent discussing it, my students giggle while playing bingo, laugh while trying to follow directions blindfolded and sing "Let it go" with all their hearts. 

This disaster will hopefully lead Korea to a better future. A future where seat-belts are always functional and used in the back of the car ( oh, taxi-drivers of Jochiwon), where there are enough lifeboats on each ferry and basic safety is understood by most everyone. Much like when you fly, I really hope that on the ferries (ok I've never been on a ferry so if this already happens, my apologies) safety drills are completed when embarking and disembarking, where disaster drills are conducted regularly and everyone knows what they should do in the case of an emergency (I'm not saying people don't know this already but it is always best to be reiterated again and again). And a future where the captain always goes down with his ship. 

PS the title of this post is taken from the lyrics of the ballad "Young Willie McBride" also known as "The Green Fields of France".  As I read these lyrics, I thought that they were very poignant and relevant for this, and any, disaster where loss of life could have been avoided had the person in charge not been incompetent. 

PPS Whilst I never believe suicide is a good option, the heart breaking reason of the Vice Principal of Danwon High School is probably one of the most tear-jerking things I've ever read:

 "Surviving alone is too painful when 200 lives are unaccounted for... I take full responsibility."[105][116] The note ended with a request that his body be cremated and the ashes scattered over the site of the accident, "that I might be a teacher in heaven to those kids whose bodies have not been found." [117]   (source, Wikipedia)

We [are] sharin' all we've got!

In my second school, my 2nd graders' home room teacher is an older man, nearing retirement. He doesn't have much of a "get up and go" attitude and so when the students come to my class they tend to be a wee bit hyperactive and silly. Thankfully, despite the silliness they are really well behaved and really like to have a chat and participate in class. Granted, much of the chat is held in Korean with a dash of English, and I have to guess what they are trying to say...but we get there!

Like last year, we are concentrating on phonics. At the moment we are reviewing the alphabet but will start reading CVC words soon. Some of their favourite games to play are when they make a line, and I say a sound or word and they have to identify the correct starting letter. They can so dramatic when they guess incorrectly! They try to have two or three turns to guess the right letter! My favourite time is when I give them a word or sound like a BPVF sound (all are very similar in Korean) and it's not a word they know, like fish. Instead I will say something like "Facsimile". It usually takes a few students to figure out the right letter! (So in case you are wondering, they don't need to know what any of the words mean the key is recognising the right sounds.). 

The class is split between 5 boys and 3 girls. And, let me tell you, the competition is fierce! One of the girls and two of the boys really know their stuff. They try to out-do each other all the time. Despite the competitiveness, the kids are really sweet. They help each other out and race to be finished with their worksheets.

Whenever they can they try to use their minimal English to tell me about themselves or whatever is going on in the class. For example, recently, I wore earrings to school for the first time (in case you are wondering, my ears have been pierced since 2001). The second grade girls were completely enamoured and kept saying "beautiful" so I taught them the word "earring". (Actually side story - since I've started wearing earrings to school, I've been called beautiful a lot more often by my students. It makes me wonder what I look like without them on!). The following week, I met them before our class and the three girls started to point out their earrings: Stickers of flowers, diamonds and hearts adorned their ears. As I admired their beautiful earrings, one of the girls gave me my very own sticker for my ear. I was so chuffed that I wore it for the rest of the day. Some of my older students laughed at me but I thought it was really sweet! I woke up the next day and found it still on my ear. Since then I haven't worn any earrings to school and I've had several questions from both the boys and girls as to where they were! 

My beautiful sticker earring.

In my main school, I teach an Afterschool phonics class to 4 students - 2 boys from first grade and a boy and girl from second grade. We are working our way through a book (GHI is currently underway) and supplementing that with games, Starfall.com, and other worksheets. One of the boy's Taesan is this teddy-bear of a kid. He is really cute but really mischievous too. I usually have to remind him at least 3 times each class to sit down, listen and be quiet! Nevertheless, this little charmer evidently likes me and my class as he brought a few of his friends around to meet me last week. These kiddos lined up to talk to me (in Korean) whilst Taesan chattered on in English: Hello Teacher. My name is Taesan. What's your name? How are you! Ah, buh, cuh! Apple, cat!...". Whilst I was trying to control the giggles half the kids lett and 3 of the boys, along with Taesan proceeded to the door to my back to peek out at that classmates. I managed to capture a snap of them. You can just tell they are cheeky, right? Since then I've run across these boys on a few occasions and they now shout out to me "ANNYEONG HASEYO!"  Now....If I could just get them to say hello in English!

So you might think I'm mad but I think that "[I'll] be having twice the fun" as long as these kids stick around! 

PS The title of this post was inspired by the lyrics of "Let's get together" from The Parent Trap starring Hayley Mills. Also, this song always reminds me of my cousin Al, whose mom, coincidentally, was the one who got my ears pierced!

Chip the glasses and crack the plates...that's what [Maggie] hates.

For the last few months the ice in my freezer has been building up and I have been steadfastly ignoring it because I really hate defrosting fridges. I know, technically, it's not hard work but it is time-consuming.
Anyway, after months of pretending the problem didn't exist, things came to a head last week when I realised that the inside of my fridge was starting to freeze too. So, with much reluctance I set aside Saturday morning for defrosting the freezer.

To be honest, it went great. I followed the steps on WikiHow and by 1.30 things were looking good. That is until, I was mopping up the floor where the water had run out the side of my fridge! Seriously! I still had a crap load of things on top of my fridge (you can see where this is going, can't you?) and as I shoved around the fridge to tackle the water, everything stayed in place. I was done and dusted and ready to plug in the fridge. So, I adjusted it to shove back into place when THUMP, SPLOT, CRACK. My jar of chickpeas smashed to the ground. It broke everywhere. Glass and chickpeas were mixed together and had flung themselves under my bed, across the kitchen and all around the fridge. I was so annoyed that I cried. I had to leave for a good-bye dinner with my friend at 2.45 and it was 2.15. I had planned to do the dishes, put out the laundry - and get dressed, in  those 30 minutes. Instead, I spent the time cleaning up my mess.

I wish I could say it stopped there but my bad luck continued. I got to the train station and realised my boot had something in it, and worried it might be a piece of glass, I took it off, shook it out but found nothing. So, tying them tight, I got on the train and made my merry way to Seo-Daejeon. Now, between Seo-Daejeon train and subway station there is about a 10-15 minute walk. I had only gone about 2 minutes when I realised the back of my foot was in pain. I decided to ignore it until I got to the subway station but, literally 1 minute from there, I couldn't take it anymore. I pulled off my boot, pulled up my jeans and realised that there was blood on the back of my foot. I checked my boots and sure enough there was a little round spot of blood. Something rough was there and had been digging into me for the 25 minute train ride and 10 minute walk. I didn't know what to do and, not wanting to be late to meet my friend, I decided to suck it up. I put my foot back in the boot but didn't bother zipping it up and made my way to our meeting place.

Looking back I think I might be mad for having been so reckless as to carry on. However, when I got home that night the cut on my foot had scabbed over. I haven't worn the boots since though and before I do I'm going to carefully check that there is nothing dangerous in them. I didn't die but I don't recommend my course of action. Had I not been able to walk, I definitely would have gone to a hospital!

PS This post was inspired by a few disasters in an otherwise lovely weekend. Also, a huge goodbye to a good friend who has been an important part of the Tea Party and the Wine and Crafts Club. You are going to be missed, Addi!

PPS: The title of this post is from Tolkien's The Hobbit when the dwarves are raiding Bilbo's pantry. Speaking of the pantry: a huge thank you to all the people who kindly volunteered their freezers for my food! And a mega thank you to Annette for letting me use hers.

Tell me why, I don't like [desk-warming]?

The textbook and teacher guide for 5th grade
and my trusty Essential TEFL

It's that time of the year, the dreaded desk-warming time of the year. School is out, camps are over but your job is not done. What seems like a pointless exercise is indeed upon us. You sit at your desk for around 1-2 weeks and try to find a way took busy. One of my friends, Chasing Glitter, posted a good amount of suggestions about what to do with this time for Reach to Teach. It got me thinking about why we have this time, what are supposed to do with it and how it is usually spent.

Firstly, this is not a blog post criticising anyone on how they spend their desk-warming. Goodness knows I haven't utilised my time very well in the past. This post is only to give you an insight into how I best believe I can make a difference in my time during desk-warming. You can choose to follow my new example or you can do whatever you want including what I used to do which was to spend a lot of time on Facebook, Imgur and Pottermore and watching  How I Met Your Mother. Whilst this latter suggestions sounds like an excellent idea right now, I don't believe it suffices for me. Firstly, I've seen all the episodes, sometimes several times, and I am completely caught up on nearly every single show I like. I suppose I could start a new one, but do you know just how addicted I am to TV as it is? I can't find room for a new series! In fact, the only reason I started watching Agents of Shield with any regularity is because HIMYM and Psych are coming to an end.

My first period of desk-warming was way back in August 2012. That was so long ago I can barely remember what I did. However, I also only had about 2-3 days and I spent the time I had working on blog posts, preparing what I could for my first week of classes the following semester and playing around on Facebook and catching up on the aforementioned TV show. A lot. I think that is also around the time I heard of Lamebook and I spent way more time on that site than I ever should have. My first winter was a long one and both before and after I went to Vietnam, I had way too much time to kill. That's also when I was introduced to Imgur and Pottermore. If you are a Harry Potter fan this last site is amazing, time consuming and way too preoccupying. I did spend some time preparing things but I wasn't really sure what my role was going to be and, in fact, two of the teachers changed their minds on how they wanted me to participate once I was actually in their classes. The little preparation I did didn't benefit me much! I also spent some time working on my blog. Which brings me to August 2013. I spent quite a bit of time on my blog, very little time on Pottermore and little to no time on any other sites that weren't school or blog related. I was a lot more prepared for my classes and it made a difference for me.

To that end, I am starting my desk-warming on Monday. What will desk-warming 2014 bring me? What changes to my lifestyle do I want to make and what can I do to improve my time? To begin, I spent quite a bit of time in between camp and classes (I am on double duty this week) reflecting on why we have this time. Yes, in many ways it is pointless - if I were able to be at home I could go to the bank, clean my house, catch up on laundry and maybe go on a visit to some interesting place in Korea. However, most schools require their teachers (English and homeroom teaches alike) to spend time in school. During this week, most homeroom teachers know where they will be assigned when school starts back up in March, so they will spend that time clearing out their old room and/or setting up their new room. Time will be spent on lesson planning, and if it the summer, evaluating the materials and lessons you have left for the remainder of the year. For us NETS, the time goes very slowly. A week spent at your desk and not teaching is interminable.

This time is, ostensibly, to prepare for your camps/future classes and if you are not renewing your contract preparing things for the incoming NET. However, there is only so much time you can spend on these things. They are times when you need a break. This is where I have had trouble in the past. Either the break from lesson/camp planning becomes the main focus or I just don't ever get really started on what I need to do. I've thought long and hard about how I want 2014 to pan out. I want to be in the TEFL game for a lot longer than I have been thus far. This means that not only do I need to "up my game", I also need to be on top of my game. I think upping your game is really important. Whether you are here for another month, six months or several years, why not up your game? It benefits everyone, especially you.

Whether you like teaching or not. you are here to do a job and I know, from personal experience, giving 100% is so satisfactory. Therefore, for 2014 here are the 5 things I want to accomplish during this years desk-warming:

1. Plan my afterschool lessons. For my phonics lessons prepare worksheets, games and ppts that can be used for any number of students. (1 hour per day)
2. Talk to the home-room teachers once I know what classes I will teach and plan my textbook lessons using original materials and adapting materials from Waygook.org (1 hour per day)
3. Book and start my final 20 hours of my i-to-i TEFL online course to boost me from 120 hours to 140 hours. (1 hour per day)
4. Start studying TEFL books for CELTA and/or TEFL Masters programs (1 hour per day)
5. Reorganise my class room. Plan boards for each season and boards with target language from text books or the TEE book (1 hour)

You might think I'm mad not "wanna shoo-oo-woo-woo-woo-oot the whole [desk-warming time] down". However, by just doing these things I will have used up 5 hours of my 8 hour day. For the rest of the time, I want to work on my blogs (this and my new cooking one), work on things for The Sejong Dish, read and do something fun. I don't know yet what the fun thing will be - maybe planning my trip to Taiwan? Either way, I refuse to let the grass grow under my feet this year! And, I'll still get some relaxation time.

PS Links to the above distracting websites were not included because if I had visited any of these sites this post would NOT be ready to be published before the end of March! However, please feel free to visit them yourself.
PPS This post was inspired by my own experiences, the article linked above (click on Reach to Teach) and the Boomtown Rats "I don't like Mondays".

When you walk through a storm.

No matter how well life is going for you, you are going to have "off" days. Today is one of those for me. I don't know what's wrong or what is causing the "off" feeling. I know that it's making me feel alone, tired, angry, weird and listless. I was sick last week so I know it could just be from that. Whatever is causing it, I do know though that it's hard to have an "off" day no matter what but it can be harder when you are away from home. And that's ok.

On Saturday, I couldn't get to sleep until pretty late and when I woke up on Sunday, I was feeling off and it has continued to today. I made sure that I got outside for some fresh air to clear my head and I tried to not think during that time. I watched Friends to see if some laughter would disspell my mood and I talked to one of my sisters. These things helped at the time but the feeling lingered. It sucks, it really does, and it's hard if you feel like you have no one to talk to - or at least no one to talk to right when you need it. Time differences suck. I have an 8/9 hour time difference depending on daylight savings time and having to wait to call home to chat stinks.

You might think I'm mad but I don't have a fail-proof solution to offer you or even really any advice. Just some  words of comfort: You are not alone. Just talk to someone. Anyone, even yourself. Just talk, cry if you have to and try to get it out of your system. However, don't dwell on it too much or do anything rash when you feel like this because it is just a phase and you are not alone. Someone, somewhere, is going through what you are going through and you have people who love you. "Keep your chin up high and don't be afraid of the dark" because you, and I, are going to get through this. There is light at the end of the tunnel. And, whether anyone can relate or not, just talk and maybe you will find your peace and the hope that you need to "walk on".

PS. I'm really sorry for this post being a downer but having a bad day is a normal part of life and everyone has a bad day in Korea - even me.
PPS This post's title was inspired by the song "You'll never walk alone" from the movie Carousel.
PPPS: Thank you Mlle Awesome for cheering me up. I really needed it!

Love and laughter and joy ever after

Yesterday morning, I had English class with my 3-1 class. When I walked in the classroom, the home room teacher told me that my students had a song to perform for me as a gift. I was delighted as they pulled out their Korean recorders/tinwhistles (I don't know the name but will post a photo later as I have a gift of one at home). They played one of the songs from Fantasia and they were excellent.
I had already decided that today I was going to bring some choco pies to give them as Christmas presents as I won't see these students until St Stephen's day. The students were so excited when the saw them and at the end of class I started to hand them out. The teacher stopped me and had me gather them back up. Meanwhile, the students formed a circle where I stood in the middle.. Then the teacher told me that they had heard my birthday was coming up and as I stood there red with embarrassment my 3rd graders sang "Happy Birthday" in English, congratulated and some even gave me little gifts of candy. One student gave me a gift of a toy camel which I'm going to include in my crib. I had to pull back on the tears but the corners of my eyes were wet!

I'm really proud of them regardless but I today am really chuffed that they wanted to do this and were encouraged to do so by their teacher. I feel really, really loved today and it just goes to show if you have teachers who care about English, you will see your students shine as they learn the language.

So, thank you to my "children [for] singing [birthday] rhymes" and to my teacher for reminding me Christmas is a "time for believing" especially in the small things.

PS This post is inspired by the generosity of my students and their home-room teacher. I used Cliff Richard's Mistletoe and Wine to illustrate their loveliness!

Loud, LOud, LOUd, LOUD, sssshh quiet.

When I cook, I sometimes have the TV or some music on but, generally, I prefer silence as I chop, slice and dice. I like hearing the sounds of whatever I am making come together - the hiss of the oil, the rolling bubbles of water and the clatter of pots and pans  - as I make my way around the kitchen. Usually, this is the only time I allow my self some quiet (outside of reading). It's not that I don't like quiet, I do, but I find it hard to just sit quietly and think. When I cook though, I am able to separate my brain from my actions. I know how to chop an onion, peel a carrot and crush some garlic. I do this automatically and my brain gets to think, quietly.

Hmmm this sounds as if I only think when I cook. That's not true, I think a lot - on the bus or train (when I'm not napping), snatched minutes between classes, whilst I am out for a walk or wandering around Home Plus by myself. However, I have noticed that over the years I have developed some bad habits: when I am not cooking or doing some other crafty thing, I generally don't set aside some time to meditate or just think. Instead, I use up my free time doing stupid stuff: playing on my smartphone, Imgur (seriously, whoever told me about this site, I want to take back my thanks), Facebook, TV, streaming TV or movies. None of these things are bad, of course, but like anything in excess they are not healthy for you me. 

With this in mind, over the last few months, I've been making some changes to get a little more quiet in my life. While the whole TV related thing is where it has always been, I have made strides in two areas: Facebook and my smartphone. A few months ago, I deleted FB from my phone for 4 weeks. It was tough and I didn't like it at all. I had become very reliant on the FB app so I decided to bring it back. When I did I changed my settings though. I changed them so that my phone no longer vibrates a notification or buzzes me a preview of a message. Instead, when I go into the app, I see my notifications. It's heavenly. Yes, I do sometimes miss a few messages here and there. Yes, I do sometimes check my phone obsessively every 10 minutes but these times are less and less. Instead, I only use my FB phone app on the bus and when I am at home - and not as obsessively as before!

With the freedom no longer have FB notifications gave me, I decided to extend this freedom to my other apps: Kakao especially buzzes a lot. I love this app as it keeps me very connected here in Korea.  Instagram, has also followed suit. It's amazing how much time I don't spend on my phone, now. I also turn my phone off when I enter work and turn it on again when I leave. It gives me so much more freedom to just get things done. I only have notifications for Gmail and Snapchat. Only 2 people Snapchat me so it's not too big of a deal to have it on my phone and Gmail is used for several things - from messages from my family, co-workers and projects I am involved in, so it's important that I keep those notifications!

However, despite these efforts, I still haven't found as much quiet time as I want to have in my life. Again, this is mostly my own fault. Somehow despite having between 5-6 hours every evening to be productive and get quiet time, it seems to just fly in. I don't know what is that I do, but the evening  is always over much faster than I expected. School can crawl by but the evenings fly by.  I let myself get distracted by stupid things - checking Facebook and staying on Facebook for hours, Imgur and Lamebook are total distractions (to prevent you from being distracted, I have kindly refrained from providing links) and I spend a lot of time just watching TV. It's actually good that I like to read, cook and do crafty things because if I didn't I'd totally waste my day.

For the rest of December (3.5 weeks), I am going to to make time for a little silence in each day. I don't know yet what I will do but I feel that these two things are manageable: I am going to use the quiet place everyday. It's only a few seconds (90secs). But they will be my few seconds to breathe. I am going to get outside by myself and go for a walk or a jog for a few minutes everyday. I already do this in my main school 3 days a week but I need to incorporate the other days into my life, too. 

So you might think I'm mad to waste so much of my time. You might think I'm mad to not take time to just breathe and be quiet. You might think I'm mad, considering it's snowing heavily, to want to go out everyday of the next few weeks. Well, I agree with you for one and two. I definitely need to manage my free time better. For three, well....even when it's snowing there is still value to be had in going outside and just breathing! So with a little help and prompting from myself, I think I can get a little quiet in my life! Wish me luck!

PS This post is inspired by my daily struggles to find some time to reflect and be quiet.
PPS This post is inspired by the Super Simple Song "Open, shut them" that I have used in a lot of my classes to demonstrate opposites. 

Baby, it's cold outside.

Winter is upon us. It feels like overnight, the temperature dropped and what was a lovely autumn became a bitterly cold winter. I like winter as I love snow and lots of snow related activities (although I have yet to do any skiing ever or ice-skating in ages). However, sometimes it is a struggle just to poke your nose out of bed. That Siberian wind doesn't help either!

Keeping warm: Layers, accessories and hot water bottles
Photo credit - Rucy - http://lucyfoster.blogspot.kr/

I have a pretty thick skin and it takes a good bit for me to be really cold. I blame my mother, she's from the American Mid-West, and she can pretty much withstand any weather. She and my dad have the most epic battles over heat. My dad wakes up and comes down complaining about the cold and turns on the heat. 10 minutes later my mother walks in, realises the heat is on and turns it off. The minute my mother leaves the room, my dad turns the heat back on. It's a never-ending amusing cycle!

When we were little, and would complain about being cold, my mam would tell us to put on some more socks and a jumper (sweater). Her pet peeve was that in the evenings and weekends us children would drag down our blankets and duvets to the sitting room.We'd then sit curled up watching TV, playing games or reading books. The amount of Christmas photo's that we have where we are wrapped up in blankets is hilarious. The peeve probably wasn't related to the duvets coming down but that they stayed downstairs! So, as you can tell, I got used to layering up and curling in blankets to keep warm! (This makes it sound like my mother never had the heat on - she did, and we never were so cold that it was ever an issue when she didn't!).

When I went came to Korea, I was in for a shock. I really thought that college in Nebraska and life with my mother had prepared me for the Korean winter. I packed two coats, plenty of leggings and tights.I even brought some scarves and boots. And then, winter 2012 came. I thought I would die. It was so cold. That wind could cut you. It was so sharp, it felt like knife points. It was much colder, too, than I was used to experiencing in Ireland and the ice gave me nightmares for days! In Ireland, mostly, when it rains the slush disappears. In Korea when it rains, it freezes (sometimes) and instead you have a sheet of ice to skate to work on. Which....takes hours!

I was so sick last year, I even went deaf for a couple of weeks. I could still hear but everything was muted. So, this year, I started preparing ahead of time. I put a second blanket on my bed from the middle of October and by the end of the month I had proceeded to a hot water bottle as well. For the last week, I've topped my bed with a third blanket and I now wear socks. I need to get some more long pj's this week. Stocking up on thermal underwear, hot-packets and woolly socks is a necessity.

So without further ado, please see some things that I recommend for surviving Korean winters (please note, you can still get sick and still feel cold even with these measures but they CAN help):

• Layer up.That way no matter the temperature in the office you will always feel just right!

• Bring a cardigan or extra jacket and leave it in school along with some cosy slippers and (maybe) a little blanket. Works like charm!

• Have a winter emergency supply in school. I prepared my one last week for both my schools: tissues, wet wipes, chapstick, Vitamin C drink (replaced everyday), hand-sanitiser (no matter how much you want to disbelieve it, schools are germ-infested!), and hand lotion to prevent your hands from chafing.

• Waiting for the bus? No problem! If you are lucky enough to be waiting beside a convenience shop, get one of their honey drinks or a coffee. If you prefer something less sweet, invest in a travel mug and bring your own! (Also, warm drinks like honey tea or ginger tea are a really good idea if you have  sore throat!)

• Buy a hot water bottle. You can get them in HomePlus (I have two from Ireland) and use it at night. I put my one in my bed about 30 minutes before I want to sleep. Korea also has these little hot-packs which I have seen teachers put on the sole of their feet and students stick in their gloves. Invest! (Another choice is to bake/steam a potato and then carrying it in your pocket - my granny used to do this in the old days and I just got fed this potato today).

• Hats, coats and gloves are all a necessity. Also, a lot of earmuffs even have vents so you can still hear what's going on around you. I couldn't find a hat I liked last year and that fit over all my hair, but luckily my sister made me one. Scarves are a godsend, use them!
• Thermal underwear, slippers (for home and school), and a nighttime ritual are all essential. My own nighttime ritual has become a cup of tea, a hot-water bottle, thermals and slippers.

• Eat soup and rice porridge on a frequent basis. Not only are they hot, but they are also healthy, nutritious and delicious.

• If you want to try and avoid a huge gas bill, get an electric heater or an electric blanket. My brother gave me this one and it's brilliant. No idea what the costs are to buy but...you can always sell it on when you leave! 

• Lastly, it's winter, not hell on earth! Get out and enjoy it. Whether it is to take a small walk or have a snowball fight with your students, you won't die!.

So, you might think I'm mad to have so many emergency items at school. You might think I'm mad to wear (and recommend wearing) so many layers. But "if you caught pneumonia and died," I bet you'd wish you'd stayed inside, layering up as per my advice! 

PS This post is inspired by the Tom Jones version of "Baby, it's cold outside".

PPS This post was meant for last week but I got a cold on Saturday so I didn't finish the photos until today. Sorry!

Tea, Tea, Barry's tea!

Some of the WSC crew 

When I first arrived in Korea, I drank a lot. I felt like I was back in the good ol' Wayne, America days with my crew of Ms QueeNae, Ms. Ordinary, Ms. Tasha, Blessed, Sunshine, The S sisters, Anabanana, LeneWitIt, Mr 24, That one guy, BHK, DLee and Mr. Big Sexy (most of the picked their OWN pseudonyms, so I'm not responsible). Back then we drank our way from Thursday through Saturday. We had great fun, amazing nights and cemented firm friendships that last until this day (these friendships were not only cemented around a shared love of alcohol!!!).

However, times change. These days, there are times when I don't want any alcohol. And to be honest, that now considerably outweighs when I do! Don't get me wrong, I love a drink. I like the socialising that comes with it and I like the atmosphere it (mostly) creates. Arriving in Jochiwon was quite overwhelming. I didn't know that there was a Facebook page and when I went to the foreigner bar to meet other teachers, none of the other foreigners initiated contact. My brother was with me and after much persuading from him, I finally went over and introduced myself. It turned out that the two people I met were new and didn't realise I was new too. I got to know them quite well and our first few weeks we hung out a lot. As time went on, I met more people but the community was still quite small. Also, most activities centred around food and alcohol so I spent a lot more time drinking than I had in the previous 6 years I had lived at home in Ireland.  I'm not complaining. I really enjoyed every minute of this life but I wanted something more.

See, at home, I was used to sitting around my house, drinking tea (Barry's, of course) and chatting. With my friends, we had several game nights and dinners at each others' houses. We did world food nights, cake nights and wine nights. Some of my friends and I even did Wii dance-offs. It was great fun and our time was not mostly spent around alcohol. Sure, alcohol was involved but it was always a choice in a myriad of other drinks. It wasn't the sole reason for getting together or the one thing each gathering was centred around.  I found after a few months living in Korea that I wanted that life. I wanted a social life that allowed me to be somewhat creative, to express myself and that didn't exclude my friends who don't like bars or who don't drink.  So, last autumn, I started making dinners for my friends about once a week or once every two weeks.

Now, the expat community in Sejong is much bigger and, I think, has a lot more socialising opportunities that do not involve alcohol. Whether it's going to hike Obangsan or doing coffee meet and greets at the local coffee shops, there are more options. One of my friends, Swaglu, even organised a scavenger hunt to welcome some new people in September. Sure, we still go to Touch or some of the other bars but they are no longer the only place you need go to meet people and they are not the main social arena any more. Which brings me to my next point. As our community expanded, inviting people (outside my core group of friends) to dinner was getting difficult. Our apartments are small and it's hard to sit so many people comfortably in the space provided. I still want to be welcoming, though, and to include as many people as possible.

Tea night #2

Tea night #2

Tea night #2

I feel like sometimes I am "stuck in a hole and I want [me] to get out, I don't know what there is to see" but if I don't crawl out of the hole, I will never see what the world and I have to offer. I put myself out there making dinners for my friends. I know I can cook and that the food I make is decent but I wasn't really sure if it was decent enough to put on a plate for someone else. I still don't really know but they all eat it, so at least it is edible! I want to put myself out there even more. To open my heart and my home to everyone that I can and not just my really close friends. I know that by doing so I "might just get a big surprise and it may feel good and [I] might want to smile, smile, smile." So, in September I hosted a tea night and I hosted my second one this week.

Once one idea came, it started to shine. I found myself planning events to welcome people into my home, to include them in the things that I love and I wasn't the only one doing so! My friend, BexC, wants to do a chili cook-off, Katetastic and I have talked about a girls' wine and crafts club (that's happening next month!), some of the guys have organised BBQs and Thanksgiving dinner, and Swaglu has so many ideas coming out of her that I can no longer keep up! It's contagious. Welcoming people into your community is important with meet and greets, dinners and drinks but even more important is building your community. That's what chili cook-offs, tea nights and book clubs are for. And we have all of those in Jochiwon. We are a small community but we are a community, nonetheless. We are now more than a few bottles of soju and a chat. We have more things that bind us together than just being expats who live in Sejong. We are expats who live in Sejong who like to cook, to drink tea, to drink wine, to share our creativity and to spend time together hiking, cycling, taking photos, exploring and reading. The amount of friends I have now who love to write and who encourage each other in their blogging endeavours amazes me (Rucy, TravelThayer, Chasing Glitter and AKA to name but a few).

So, you might think I'm mad to believe that to have a real expat community is possible. You might think I'm mad to think that you can and should involve yourself in things like chili cook-offs, book clubs and craft clubs even if you are only there for a year. However, I firmly believe that the meaning of life does not come from the bottle of soju (although that can occasionally give you some insight!) but rather from spending time with others and giving of yourself. If you are willing to put out to the world what your interest are, even if it is only for a short while, you can have a huge impact on your community. You will find like-minded people and people who will really surprise you by what they are interested in. I never fail to be surprised by how many people love Harry Potter. It makes me smile every time he comes up in conversation (and we usually end up doing a round of the Mysterious Ticking Noise). So my advice is, don't lose the opportunities that Korea (or life) presents to you. If you truly enjoy doing something, see if anyone else is interested in joining you. You might be surprised to see who likes the same things that you do. And if you live in Jochiwon and you are terrible at planning events or clubs, let me know: I've got people for that!

PS. Sing the title to the Potter Pals and the Mysterious Ticking Noise tune "Snape, Snape, Severus Snape". It's also inspired by Take That's Shine.