Once upon a time starts now.

Wow, its Friday morning on August 6th and I can not even contain my emotions at all right now. I'm bursting with excitement and anticipation. Last night Nuge came over I began my celebrations for going to Canada with a few beer, all while chatting with Prymack on Skype for several hours about how amazing our lives are. I could barely sleep last night just thinking about all of the unreal events that are going to occur over the next few weeks. I'll start with my day today. Well, currently I'm packing (but of course I left it until the day before) while listening to Bruce Springsteen. Then I'll head to the bank to make sure I have some moula in the ol' Canadian account and perhaps I'll stop by my school to print off my itineraries (even though I'm suppose to be desk warming all day.) Then I'll go pick up a few last minute things such as Soju and by this time Diana and 3 of her friends should be arriving at my doorstep to begin vacation celebrations! Tomorrow morning I'll head out around 5:30 am to catch my flight to Vancouver where Xandi will greet me with love and long missed Canadian beer and food. After a 24 hour crazy adventure with her, I'm back on a plane to go to no other than PEI!!!! I arrive Sunday at 10:30pm and have about 14 hours to prep for Denise's Stagette! From here on out my weeks will consist of being a bridesmaid in my best friend's wedding, spending quality time with my family, going to the beach, and drinking lots of Keiths. I have my fingers crossed and high hopes that Ashley, Jen and Meehan will be making a trip to PEI which will be a gongshow! Then on the way back to Korea, I take over Vancouver for another 24 hours! It is seriously going to be the best two weeks of my life and it all begins NOW!

I don't know if I'll even have time to go through reverse culture shock because I'm going to be on a high the entire time. However, some things I'm curious about are:
How will my body react to an all Canadian diet?
Will all of the English drive me nuts?
Will I be able to keep my emotions in tack or will I be a roller coaster and cry at the drop of a dime (obvi happy tears)?
What changes will my family see in me?
How will people at home have changed?
What will it be like not to sleep on a bed of nails?
Will I ever sleep at home?
Will I be a cheap drunk again considering liquor in Korea sucks?
Will my lungs go into shock with all the fresh air?
Oh man, the list goes on.

I can't help but picture my arrival in the Ch'town airport, because its pretty easy to remember its small layout haha. I know my entire immediately family will be there, but I wonder if there will be anyone else that surprisingly shows up. My god I would die if it was Ellen Rice, hint hint.

I'm pretty much going insane, an entire year has passed without being in Canada for Christmas, the Olympics, Curtis' graduation, two of my best friends getting engaged, my cousins finally moving off the island, the summer and so much more. Its very hard to believe that I did it, and even harder to believe the time is finally here to be going to my home and native land! I'll be back in two weeks with the freshest smile anyone has ever seen and I'm sure the enthusiasm that I can conquer the world haha. Until then, anyone who is reading this can live vicariously through me cause you can be sure I'm having the time of my life!

Tonight I'll shave my legs, do my nails maayyybbbbeee shower and I would say ONE MORE SLEEP but who knows if i'll even go to bed tonight... CANADA HERE I COME!!!

Canada Day in the ROK

Time is going by incredibly fast and I have no time to even process all the amazing things that are happening to me because they are so frequent. I sleep when I get the chance and I make time for a good time. At the top of the chart, I managed to hold a secret in from Laura, Helen, Geri and the rest of world for 17 days... Ashley Wry coming to Korea... again. In this time, I tried to distract them from their homesickness, knowing it would soon be put aside for the best surprise ever. For the first 11 days I managed to keep everyone busy by going to watch Korea in the World Cup soccer game on the big screens at a stadium, hosting dinner, going to a baseball game and having a glow over my face and a jump in my step as I knew what was to come. When the pressure became too much I peaced out with my taekwondo class and went rafting and ATVing.

As I'm bursting with excitement, no one else has sweet clue what is going on and a long 3 days later I am off to the airport at 5am to pick up no other than ASHLEY FRICKIN' WRY!!! Of course her luggage got lost and my kids were left outside the English zone for the majority of their class. I can't call anyone in Korea while I wait so Dad got to hear my excitement miles away until I get hurdled from behind. As we walk to the bus, Ashley looking like a true backpacker, all we can say is, "how did Ashley Wry end up back in Korea?" I drop her off at my apt., making sure she locks the door of course, as I go to school for the day. Still, no one has a clue. I'm casually making Canada Day plans via facebook saying it will be the best Canada Day ever and of course they are just thinking, oh, typical Melissa and her party enthusiasm... right!? Well, let me tell you, all of the girls reactions were legitimately PRICELESS. How did I pull it off you ask? I put Ashley and all of her stuff in Caitlin's room (neighbour) as I call Helen and Laura begging them to come right away because I'm going nuts by myself. They show up, I had a beer in hand ready to celebrate and a smile that touched my ears. I then secretly text Caitlin to send Ashley over and I open the door as if it was Caitlin. Helen and Laura looked like they had seen a ghost, the tears came from Helen and the screams from Laura. Next was Geri. As bitter as she was at me for forcing her to get a taxi, I'm sure she'll tell you the 8 bucks was worth it. Again, pure shock and tears. It was AMAZING. Then, the celebrations went all night long for both the first time being away from home on Canada Day and the surprise package delivered by yours truly.

Summer

When I think of the word "summer" I think of beer, beaches, and BBQs. When I think of beer, beaches, and BBQs I think of P.E.I.. When I think of P.E.I. I think of all my family and friends back home. In light of this, I BOOKED MY FLIGHT BACK TO CANADA!!!
I'll be making a day pit stop on the way home and on the way back to visit Xandog in Vancouver. When I messaged Xandi about this idea she gave me a simple reply, "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! WE WILL BE DRUNK FOR 24 HOURS!!!!! ...or we could do whatever you like haha. but a thousand times YES! come to me!" This is amazing in so many ways... A) I haven't seen Xandi since graduation which is apparently over a year ago :| B) I have never been to Vancouver before. C) It will be a good transition from an Asian population haha. The countdown is on and I'll be taking myself to the airport in 40 days! The night I booked my flight I felt pure ecstasy. I must have talked to Dad on the phone for a half and hour and he reassured me a steak and beer would be waiting for me upon arrival, maybe even some ketchup chips. How I imagine summer will soon become a reality but the fun in Korea isn't stopping anytime soon.

Even though its hard for me to believe its summer, I've been doing lots of summer activities. On occasion I get together with a bunch of foreigners and play soccer or beersbie (well, that was once and my team came in 2nd place haha). As much as I miss playing softball back home, the baseball season is in full tilt and I can't complain about a beer and a hotdog in a packed stadium of SK Wyverns fans. With the good weather comes the desire to get out of my dungeon of an apartment and travel... and what better place than JeJu Do? Jeju is a small island down south that Koreans consider the Hawaii of Korea. Jeju has palm trees, beaches, and are famous for their oranges and chocolate. Laura found out about an annual marathon that takes place there and we, along with Jackie and Caitlin, decided to mark it on the calender. Our flight and pension were booked and before we knew it we were headed off to Jeju to run in the 10km race. Our flight left immediately afterschool so we had to sneak out a few minutes (or an hour) early. As I'm sitting on the plane beside Caitlin I say to her how cool it would be if everyone on the plane was going to some huge event and all rowled up cheering and stuff. Not even five minutes later a planewide game of kauwi-bauwi-bo (rock, paper, scissors) broke out in support of Korea in the FIFA world cup. They also went around with funny wigs and hats for photo purposes, dream come true.

When we arrived it was raining and this soon turned into a thunder and lightning storm. This didn't stop us from having an amazing weekend get-a-way from Incheon though. We met up with Laura's friend Kyla (and her bf) and ate black pig (Jeju is known for it) then ventured to a bar for a few beer where we watch some of the world cup. The next morning it sounded like NK was attacking (bad joke) so I asked Jackie, "Is that thunder?" and apparently she wasn't awake, so she responded with a loud scream and a terrified face. Guess you had to be there. Anyways, Kyla treated us to breakfast at her apartment where Laura and I had this overwhelming joy come over us when we saw just how immaculate their apartment was. The thought of having an apartment like that in the same building together was just amazing. From here we finally met up with the twins, and their friend Ina, and ventured to Hallim Park. Here we witnessed turtles having sex, and went to a beach nearby where it felt like you could breath again. After a photo shoot we went to catch a bus but instead two nice korean men offered us a ride. It was 8 against 2, two of us with blue belts and no fear to use it. The language barrier was hilarious and we ended up near the twins' pension. It was now time for dindin and the runners decided to fill up on carbs with Domino's pizza and pasta. Afterwards we ventured to a nearby stadium to cheer on Korea in the world cup. Then, it was back to the pension for a good nights rest before the race.

The marathon atmosphere was spectacular and we all reached our goals, except for me. My goal was made clear at the beginning of the day, to not puke... and what did I do seconds from the finish line? puked. bananas and pineapples. That's finnneeee. We all still had really good finish times and were super pumped.It was Laura's Birthday weekend so we went for tacos, burritos (a rare commodity) and cake. Mashisoyo (it is delicious)! Before departing we made sure to buy out all the orange soju from a convenience store and managed to take it all on the plane in our carry-ons haha. Now its back to reality.

DeokJeokDo Past and Present

For two Korean holidays we chose to go to DeokJeokDo, an island just off the coast of Incheon. Chuseok, which was way back in the beginning of October is basically the equivalent of Thanksgiving. The second time around was for the long weekend of Buddha's birthday.

My first DeokJeokDo experience was much different than the second. The first time we went reliable Caitlin organized the pension and ferry tickets. It was our first real trip in Korea and also my first real encounter with Jackie and Tessa... but it sure
wasn't the last. Despite Koreans telling me that the water would be freezing, it was probably the same temperature as P.E.I. waters in the middle of August. We had a beach party, climbed a lighthouse for a photo shoot, went on a picturesque hike up a nearby mountain and most importantly, learned that you need to take plastic off of hotdogs before eating them.


This is also where I began to learn Irish from Muread and Nuge. They managed to create the line of the weekend, "Did ya get the shift!?" Translated this means "Did you kiss someone?" This would be the first of many new phrases that would soon be added to my vocabulary. Not only did I learn about the Irish, but I also learned about Americans. More particularly Seth and his strong passion for Chicago and his devestation when they didn't get the bid for the Olympics. No need to say more.

The second time around Helen and Geri were here!We decided to plan the trip on our own instead of going with a group because it would be much cheaper. However, leaving it until the last minutes proved a little stressful when the ferry company told us the tickets were all sold out for the weekend. While everyone else was either going with I.F.X. or camping, we were determined to get there. Thursday night we gathered at Laura's apt. for some wine and girl talk and at about 9:30, only minutes after Geri arriving from over an hour of commuting, we decided we were going to the ferry terminal in the morning as if we were going in hopes of extra tickets from cancellations. None of us were packed, but the plan was in place and soon we all scattered to our respective apts and before we knew it it was 7 am and time to head to the terminal. Geraldine was the first one to arrive and Helen shortly after. With the horseshoe that the twins have up their ass they managed to score us roundtrip tickets departing in the afternoon for only 23 bucks!

From here on in the weekend was absolutley fabulous. We got groceries and speakers before leaving, a pension upon arrival for 30 bucks each for the weekend and a tons of laughs. Even though it rained the majority of the weekend and we spent most of our time in the pension, we still managed to have a blast playing charades, cards, and would you rather. It was also extra special because we got to spend some quality time with Muread who would leave a few days later :(. The meal of the weekend this time was beans and weiners in a hotdog bun and the saying would have to be, "all dressed up with no where to go."

Jumping off a cliff... Sept. 20th '09

Laura and I had our extra adventurous caps on when we decided our first adventure would be paragliding! Unlike bungee jumping, this is something I will only do once in my life and I’ll explain why. Sunday morning came quickly for Laura and I after a night out on the town but meeting at 7:30am was no problem because I was so excited to jump off a cliff. Who are we kidding, we almost missed the bus. The group of us that went was split in half and I went rafting first. Rafting was fun, but nothing special. Sometimes the water would be shallow enough for us to get out and walk the raft over rocks. Anyways, after all was said and done we hopped into a van that would take us up to the top of a mountain that we would soon jump off. The view was absolutely beautiful and I got to take it all in while watching everyone but myself and Seth jump off. It was finally my turn to go. My only instructions were to keeping running no matter what because it is somewhat difficult to go against the pressure of the wind that would catch the parachute (fingers crossed). Here I am, strapped onto an instructor with head to toe gear on and my heart beating a mile a minute while I anticipate running as fast as I can off a cliff. “On the count of three… One! Two! Three! GO GO GO!” Five seconds later and five inches from the edge of the cliff I hear, “STOP STOP STOP!” Up to this point the only thing running through my head is no matter what you do just don’t stop running, don’t stop running, don’t stop running. Well thank god I stopped. Oh and by stop I mean my legs became immobile underneath me as the wind suddenly shifted and the parachute deflated off to the left of us with the strings all tangled. Awesome. Within a minute, the crew had it all set up again and my instructor was asking me if I was okay. Meanwhile, I’m thinking should I be? What the heck just happened? Did I just actually risk my life? I’m out of here, screw this… well, before I know it I’m off running again haha. Despite the incident, paragliding was simply too ladedah for me. I suppose the greater powers knew this would be the case and spruced it up for me.

Do it now, do it now, do it now!

As a wise lululemon poster once said, “Do it now, do it now, do it now!” Well, I’m finally going to stop saying how much I wish my entire life was documented with journals and scrapbooks, and write a blog. For those of you who are reading this, I’m going to assume two things: 1) you are my friend or family member 2) you know me well enough to know that clearly I wish I had the will power to begin blogging from this day forward… but I don’t.

I’ve been in Korea for almost 9 months but better late than never, right?

Since being in Korea I’ve experienced many things that P.E.I, Australia and Halifax simply have not offered. First of all, there are lots of foods that I either feel in love with or learned to like. Dak Galbi (chicken, chili pepper paste, ramen, sliced cabbage and potatoes, all topped with cheese and cooked in a skillet all before your eyes), Galbi (Korean BBQ) and bibimbap (mixed rice: rice with vegetables, an egg and red pepper paste) are among my favorites. Octopus, whole fish in soup, spinach, and snails are not. However, I have probably eaten these on a more regular basis than I would have ever imagined.

There are many other things besides food that throw you for a loop right away. Things that took some adjustment include: feeling like a sardine in a can when commuting on the train or subway, getting shoved everywhere you go, filling up on plain rice at lunch when kimchi, seaweed soup and deep-fried bony fish just don’t cut it, replacing “Hello” with bowing, and feeling like you’re receiving gold when you extend both arms to accept anything… just to name a few.

Up to this point, my highlights of teaching, traveling and random adventures (that I will elaborate on later) include, but are not limited to:

- Trials and tribulations of communicating with Koreans
- Paragliding
- DeokJeokDo
- Seoraksan National Park
- Taekwondo
- Ashley Wry’s visit
- Christmas
- Thailand
- Canadians unite for the Olympics
- Jen and Sheilagh’s visit


Peace and love.