We were just supposed to be partners because he's too low-level to put with the other students.

But I couldn't help notice.

His top teeth and bottom teeth were different. His top ones were older, more yellow. And more narrow near the roots.

But I couldn't help notice.

His breath. He had the type of bad breath that people who don't floss (or brush?) have. We were more than a foot away and it was early morning. I was not in the mood and immediately regretted trying to save my other students.




But it wasn't until the bus ride home, when you're standing for ages on a bus whose driver doesn't know how to ease on the brakes, that your mind begins to wander.

To that last week.

The kisses. He wanted so many kisses. Lots of 'I love you's and lots of kisses.

Remember when he never wanted to be kissed? How you had to sneak attack him and kiss him on the cheek or the forehead right before you parted ways? How he always made that yuck face, but you knew that he liked it. 

Remember how you used to have to say 'I love you' first and kept repeating it until he said that he loves you too? 

Remember always finishing phone conversations with an 'I love you…' and an expectant silence until he said 'Love you' in the same way that he always did. In the same tone that he always said 'Hello' on the phone when he knew it was your house calling or that you were on the phone.


I remember. And I miss you.

For my viewers

I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore.





On another note. Vacation photos up soon, promise. x

Korea Galleries Art Fair 2014 at the COEX

Remember that event that I talked about in my last post? Well, it was fantastic. There was a wide range of textiles, colors and styles. Lots of variety and hours to peruse. 

Contemporary glass art

More after the jump x


OH OH OH. I forgot to add this magic in. Here's a link to a quick guide on how to spot your favorite artists aka how to impress the ladies (and gentlemen). Good thing I never wasted an hour at 7AM in AP Art History.

Happy March to Me!

Guess who has half spliiiiitttssss!

While it's not the most perfect schedule, having a 7am-2pm schedule twice a week isn't bad.

And due to this, I've made a couple March goals for myself:

• Exercise. Seeing as how I haven't even had time to sleep these past few months, this is a semi big deal. As in, this will be the first time since being in England this summer that I've even given exercising a second thought. And then Vietnam crept upon me. We're leaving at the end of this month for a two week holiday of bliss, and I'd like to look presentable.
• Plan for Vietnam!!! Obviously the most exciting thing about this month is that when it's finished, I have a full month of not waking up at FIVE THIRTY IN THE MORNING five days a week. YesyesyesyesYES!
• Explore Seoul. I've been living here for six months. SIX. MONTHS. And I can't really tell you a thing about it except that the best place to buy shoes is at Dongdaemun. First stop is the Korea Galleries Art Fair this weekend, which is supposed to showcase contemporary Korean artists. Unfortunately, their website is only in Korean, but one of Rob's student's artwork is being shown there!

Here's to new adventures! x

PS It's almost Spring!!

Look What I Found in My Locker

Happy Friday to me! x

KTO K-Performance Supporter!

Exciting news!!

My mother has continued to hound me about not wasting my time here in Korea. 

Learn the language, she suggests. 

Embrace the culture, she says. 

Don't just sit on your bum, take naps, and practically live at Pagoda, she insists.

So. Here you go, mother dearest! I applied for and was chosen to participate in the Korean Tourism Organization's fairly new program for foreigners that is used as a means to share Korean history and culture internationally. As a K-Performance Supporter, we are given first dibs on loads of events nationwide, with most of them being in Seoul. I was a part of this program during my first year in Korea (posts can be found here and here), which was actually the program's first year too! Fancy that.

Looking forward to dragging bringing the boyfriend to some of the events too! x

Romance Innit

Always thankful for a mid-week reminder of how lovely my boyfriend is x

Pagoda Academy: Upcoming Film Stars

Guess who the new faces of Pagoda Academy are. 

We were recruited through the Senior Trainer of Pagoda Academy to be the talent for the new student placement videos, which meant getting dolled up and spending a Saturday morning in front of a camera and crew. Not too shabby.

Just a few photos of us getting our Korean cosmetics put on (aka we became super pale) and showing off our acting chops. 

And, I know what you're going to say. We are pretty damn good-looking.

Winter Continues. Yes, still.

January was such a blur.

I threw myself into work. Lots of running around and keeping busy. One of my tried & true defense mechanisms: Exhaust myself to the point that there's no time to analyze.

That being said, I ended up with a pretty nice schedule at Pagoda, teaching 8-10 hours a day, with decent students. It was a bit tiring and still a split, but manageable.

Then I was offered an opportunity to do something that could further a potential career path after I'm finished with ESL teaching. I was brought in to meet with the Academic Director of Pagoda and a few others to discuss an editing opportunity. A fantastic chance to do both content editing and proofreading for an academic textbook. After everything was said and done, this meant that I was going to be working an additional 30 hours in just 10 days (including a weekend). Yikes. But still. Whoa. And, obviously, I accepted. 

Ten days later, with lots of red ink, mini arguments with the boyfriend and a severe lack of sleep attached, my project was finished. And, as those of you who know my editing style, there were lots of commas. I am crazy addicted to commas. Love them. Maybe it's how I talk, but I love knowing when to pause during sentences and just letting information or feelings or just plain attitude sink in.

And there you go. My January can be summed up in a few words:

No sleep. Editing. Boyfriend.

Oh. And I'm an expert banana bread maker.

Until next time x

Holidays: Home for Christmas and NYE in Korea

A week at home is not enough.

With exactly seven days to enjoy California, I made it my mission to do anything and everything. Except sleep #overrated. This included lots of sunshine, family time and food babies, and I couldn't have been happier about it.

I got back to Korea late Monday night, met the boyfriend at the subway station and would not let go of him. Lots of hugs and kisses and him carrying my luggage. Yessss. With everything going on, I'm really thankful that he's able to take in my mood swings and bouts of crying/laughter/emotions. I don't know how he does it. Cue lots of Christmas presents for him, partly to make up for my lack of physical presence on Christmas and partly because I am a fantastic girlfriend. And super modest.

It's been a quiet couple of days for us and I'm not complaining. We've only left the apartment a couple of times, instead wanting to be together and couple-y. AWWW. As much as I would have liked to celebrate NYE in a more rambunctious atmosphere, it was nice being with him and *finally* getting a proper kiss at midnight! It's quite a change from last NYE, which we spent in a recently befriended Filipino man's house, singing and drinking and dancing, but enjoyable all the same.

2013's Resolutions:

Visit five new countries; live in one.

—Hmmm. Thailand. Malaysia. Indonesia. But it's not really my fault that our trip got cut short. Shout out to stalker Kuta taxi drivers. On the other hand, I stayed in England for three months, so that's semi like living in another country. *Damn Korea and its good pay!

Read another Steinbeck novel.

—Oops.

Be more open—say yes!

—Yes. Definitely. YES.

2014's Resolutions:

Appreciate relationships—Family. Friends. Boyfriend. I'm beyond grateful that I still have the relationships that I do and it's about time that I amp up my efforts.

Erase debt—Simple enough. 

Laugh things off—Don't sweat the small stuff. Don't mind the bullshit. Pagoda and Korea will test me on this one, but I'm not about to surrender so easily.