Getting ready for a big trip: excitement, fears & visas

 Asia, How To's, Korea  8 Responses »
Feb 122013
 

I leave for the next chapter of my life in one week.  Once I set foot in Incheon International Airport, I’ll be saying goodbye to Korea and first make my way over about 5,819 miles (9,364 km) from India to Cambodia over the course of 4 and a half months.  After that, it looks like I’ll be returning home to prepare a visa for my next big international move.  Details to come this spring (I hope)!

I cannot be more excited. I’ve had this trip around Asia on my mind for the last year as I budgeted, saved, planned and dreamed about all the things that could come my way in 2013.  Now, all those nights and weekends in, cheap dinners and lack of anything new in my wardrobe has paid off– I’ll have reached my saving goals just from what I’ve made in Korea.  With these savings, I can now go live the life I choose for the next year and travel without being tied down by vacation time or money. Continue reading »

Getting a Myanmar Visa in Seoul

 Asia, How To's, Korea  1 Response »
Feb 072013
 

Since 1992, Myanmar (Burma) has encouraged tourism in the country.  It wasn’t until 2008 when the country became a democratic state, that the flood gates began to open.  Just four years later in 2012,  1 million tourists visited the former military dictatorship.

Ruins of Bagan, at sunrise. Source: Wikipedia

Simon and I will be visiting Myanmar in April for about 12 days.  We can only hope to see a glimpse of what the country might have been like a few years ago, before big corporations arrived and tourism spiked.

Just today, I went to drop off the application for the visa.  If it wasn’t for a friend who had recently gone, we would have had no idea of the cost or what to bring to the embassy.  Information and visa requirements for the Myanmar embassy in Seoul are sparse, and some other information found online is out of date. Here is the most current information on how to get a Myanmar visa from Seoul as of February 2013. Continue reading »

Five LEAST Favorite Spots in Korea

 Asia, Korea  12 Responses »
Feb 042013
 

Last week I wrote about my five favorite spots in Korea, but this week…let’s be blunt. There are also some places in Korea that I’ll be more than happy to never experience again.

Especially in my last few weeks, a feeling of rage burns inside of me, my soul screams from within, and as soon as I can exit this so-called place, I will do so with the determination of an “ajumma” (old Korean woman) after a seat on the bus.

Okay, maybe that’s an exaggeration. 

Either way, I have grown to strongly dislike certain places in Korea, and at 24 years old I still do not have the mental capability to calm myself when in these situations. Instead, I choose the easier route of just becoming overly annoyed, thus driving myself mad in the process.

Here goes, in no particular order! Continue reading »

Five Favorite Spots Around Korea

 Asia, Korea, Photos  15 Responses »
Jan 312013
 

Usually skipped  by tourists planning to visit Asia, Korea still offers a lot to see and learn for any international visitor.

The food is great and even after two years, I still haven’t tried everything.  Pertaining to culture, Korea’s is pretty interesting, and not an easy one to crack. Being a homogeneous nation for so long makes for a place that is difficult to understand by any outsider.  Additionally, contradictions are visible at every corner– from the 1st grader carrying a smartphone to the old lady selling dried fish and medicinal herbs on the side of the street.  While you can get almost anything you need or want in Seoul, venture outside the city an hour to reach rice paddies and an area where English feels almost non-existent. Continue reading »

Ice Fishing Festival with Adventure Korea

 25 Before 25, Asia, Korea  6 Responses »
Jan 242013
 

When I signed on for a second year of teaching in Korea, I dreaded knowing I’d have another freezing winter to get through.  However, there was one thing I was actually excited about– getting to finally go ice fishing.  I even put it on my 25 before 25 list because it’s been something I’ve really wanted to do.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not an avid fisher or anything, but for some reason (even despite hating the cold) I still wanted to do this.  It may have had something to do with wanting to pretend I was an Eskimo for a day and getting some cool pictures on the ice…  So, when Adventure Korea asked to me attend and document, I was more than thrilled.  Now, I could not only pretend I was an Eskimo for the weekend ..but also that blogging was my real job. Assah. Continue reading »

Adventures in Internal Organ BBQ

 Asia, Food, Korea  16 Responses »
Dec 202012
 

Having little time left in Korea has given me motivation to try and do some of the things I haven’t yet. When my friend Meghan told me that she has eaten ‘intestine BBQ’ in Korea, and that is was actually good, I knew I had to force myself to go. Korea has it’s fair share of bizarre foods, and while I’ve already had live baby octopus and decided against trying dog soup (yes, it exists), intestine was a the best next choice on the list.

But ew…intestine? What if it’s not cleaned properly? What if it tastes as bad as it sounds? Continue reading »

Snowy Dukeui Elementary in Pictures

 Asia, Korea  8 Responses »
Dec 132012
 

Last winter was bleak. It was cold, it rarely snowed, and I was in emotional shambles most of the time. If you couldn’t tell from my last post, my mood is very dependent on the weather.  Thankfully, this winter in Korea feels light years away from that, even though it’s still freezing.  While last week was an especially cold one, (waking up to 10 degrees Fahrenheit/ -12 Celsius is not fun) at least we had a blanket of snow over Seoul to brighten things up. Continue reading »

Homage to Korean Fall

 Korea  9 Responses »
Dec 112012
 

Everyday, 4:50pm signals the same routine. I leave Seoul Dukeui Elementary to catch the green 6613 bus three blocks down the street. After climbing on, I swipe my “T-Money” card to pay for the 20 minute journey home. I pick the individual seat directly behind the driver, next to the window.

My seat on the bus never changes, but everything whirling past does. Continue reading »

New Normals After 21 Months in Korea

 Asia, Korea, Uncategorized  21 Responses »
Nov 292012
 

It doesn’t matter how much I travel, or how long I’ve been away from home, there are certain aspects of myself I don’t want to change. Additionally, the longer I am gone the tighter I cling to characteristics of where I’m from. The more places I visit, the more I appreciate my home. (You can read more about my reflections about travel and how it relates to my home, here.)

This might sound very contradictory and confusing, and in fact, it is. The feeling “I love where I’m from but I don’t choose to live there” is one that I’m sure doesn’t resonate with a lot of people.

As you can see, the balance between travel and home is something I think about a lot. My identities as an expat, a traveler, and a Southern Californian sometimes get mixed-up together. Recently, I’ve been reflecting about the little ways these identities have been blurring, and how sometimes I lose sight of what my ‘normal habits’ and characteristics used to be.

It’s all very confusing!

It can be really hard to look at yourself and see how you’ve changed sometimes. But below I’ve done my best to analyze these “new normals”, some of which I accept, while others I consider an embarrassment. Continue reading »

Teaching in Korea In Depth: Pros, Cons and What You Need to Know

 Asia, How To's, Korea, Teaching English  8 Responses »
Nov 202012
 

Teaching abroad is a great way to travel while funding it at the same time.  At first, the research of where to go and how to get there can be completely overwhelming.  There are so many resources online to help people teach abroad (especially in Korea), but sometimes it can be frustrating.  What can you believe?  What is current?  What is reliable?

In the last few weeks, I’ve gotten a few inquires on teaching in Korea, and I’ve realized my last post on it was pretty basic.  This is my final attempt to create a one-stop resource for people looking to come to South Korea. Continue reading »

Five Bites Korea Part 2: Kimchi Recipe

 Asia, Food, Korea  2 Responses »
Nov 132012
 

Kimchi, Korea’s national dish, is eaten with every meal of the day either as a side, (Koreans love side dishes) or as a main presence in a dish (Kimchi stew, kimchi fried rice, kimchi kimbap).

As promised to accompany Five Bites: Korea, I wanted to included a kimchi recipe. Interestingly, this turned out to be more difficult than I first thought. Though I’ve made kimchi before, it was when I first arrived in Korea and was done at “kimchi world”  where everything was prepared and measured beforehand, and we didn’t come home with a recipe to keep. Recently, when I casually scoured the internet looking for information on making authentic kimchi, I kept coming up empty-handed.  Nothing seemed to use authentic ingredients, and all the recipes differed drastically. Continue reading »

Five Bites: Korea

 Asia, Food, Korea  1 Response »
Nov 072012
 

Who knew it would take me this long to get a “Five Bites: Korea” onto this site. Over a year and a half of eating Korean food, you’d think it would be the first cuisine I’d feature here!

Since I arrived in Korea in February 2011, I’ve eaten the stuff almost every day. Korean food no longer feels like a novelty, an excitement, or even a bore, it’s just normal. I’m happy about that. Continue reading »

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