October

Hello~ October started with the Chuseok holiday, so some friends and I headed to the east coast to visit Sokcho with the goal of laying on the beach and hiking Seoraksan mountain. Unfortunately, it rained every day we were there, except the day we were leaving. But we didn’t let that stop our fun! So amongst all the things we still managed to do, some highlights for me were: spending a rainy afternoon at a cafe near the beach; hanging out on clear nights at the harbor near our hostel, where people shot roman candles and lit lanterns; the challenging hike of the waterfalls trail of Seoraksan; and watching the sunrise on our last day. Luckily we were able to put our toes in the sand and sea before boarding the bus back to Incheon. I was also able to meet new friends and explore some back alleys of Seoul –which is my absolute favorite thing to do. So I found a cafe where their entrance door is a “vending machine”, and met an alley lined with lanterns. I was introduced to a hot dating spot that overlooks Seoul, and a restaurant whose menu is on a monopoly board. For Halloween, I was able to visit Everland again! I still love going there.

I’m very happy to have been able to create! this month. Elaine and I decided to be Nemo and Dory for Halloween, but because Halloween isn’t as big of a holiday in Korea as it is in America, some nonbasic costumes are really expensive…especially to ship it from the States….sooooo next thing I know is I’m making templates with felt, then we are at the fabric store buying fabric and ouuuu I sewed our costumes baby! Half sewing machine, half hand-sewn. While I know the plethora of mistakes, and what could be done differently the next time, I’m so proud of my work and how they turned out!

Now I have about four months left of my teaching contract, and I’ve decided not to renew for another year. Korea feels like home to me, except that my family isn’t here. My heart has been torn about this for a long time. I always want to be in two places at once. But for now, I want to spend some nice time with my family and I think it’s important. My dream is to find a job in my field and interests which would allow me to travel back and forth often as I can’t imagine living anywhere else in the world, but I also can’t stand to be away from my loved ones for such long periods. ~personal conflict~ SO IF YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS OR ADVICE OR EMPLOYERS LOOKING TO HIRE, let me know. 🙂 until next time~