May, 2013

On the first weekend in May, Maggie and I travelled up near Seoul to go to a street performance festival. I think we were both expecting a little more, something more like the championships held in Dublin, but it was a good trip, nonetheless! I drank out of a coconut. Say no more!

This little girl also contributed to the greatness of the day. Not only was she super badass with her cat ears and the rest of her attire, but she was blowing bubbles at our table as we sat outside a café. 

Clearly all of the slickster kids are hanging out here. This girl is just rolling around, living the thug life! Her dad was following closely behind, remote control in hand, but let's not mess with her street cred. I bet Beyoncé's baby doesn't have one of these.

These women, suspended mid-air, outside of Home Plus weren't really up to much.  It was one of those situations where you spend ages watching them, because you just know the good part is coming. Nope.

We had dinner in the train station, while waiting for our train home, and this couple were sitting beside us. This is the perfect example of Korean people's eating skills! They're extremely good at it and, also, at making all the food disappear into thin air once it enters their bodies, because it's certainly not stored as fat. This couple were eating a burger each and sharing a plate of chilli cheese fries, garlic bread and a pasta carbonara. Yes, she's looking straight into the camera. My sneaky pic was not so sneaky.





Sneaky phone charging on the train. Sorry, vending machine, you'll just have to wait your turn.




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One of the best things about being eight hours ahead of everyone at home is the text messages I receive in the early hours of the morning, from friends who are still living in the night before. One Monday morning, as I was sitting at my desk about to start working, I received a voice message from none other than Fiona Higgins, telling me she was out in The Village and could see my brother. Twenty minutes later I received this picture. Made my day!




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Arguably the best waitress uniforms ever.



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More train fun. "Oh, don't mind me!"

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My birthday was on the 12th of May. On the 9th, my co-teacher told me that all of the language teachers, as well as the principal and vice principal, were going out to lunch to have a meeting about new teaching methods. Turns out it was a surprise birthday lunch for me. She knitted me a doily and got me a cake! It was all so nice of her. She's one hell of a lady! We brought the cake back to school to share with the other teachers and ate it out of paper cups in the main office.

Posing with my cake, in front of my co-teacher's oil paintings! I'm not sure why my face looks like I'm screaming inside.

Birthday presents!





The day of my actual birthday was spent in the newly-opened Sejong Lake Park with Jochiwon friends. Nicole, Katie and Gemma had travelled up from Daegu the night before, so they were able to join too, which was really nice. The park was full of families, the weather was beautiful and we ate ourselves into our respective comas.

When I got home that evening, I skyped Tom and Eva, who answered the call singing Happy Birthday and waving a candle-lit Mars bar around the screen. They'd also put up Happy Birthday bunting in the background! It was nice to be able to see them and chat to them as I opened the package full of presents from back home.

Eva sent me this picture of Oscar. Obviously, it was the best part of the whole day.

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Also in May, Sejong's native English teachers went on a cultural trip to Jindo Island. Our accommodation was halfway up a mountain, looking out over the bay. We had a good laugh, showing off our unfortunate lack of skills in Korean singing and dancing.

 Me and my dance partner.

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We had our sports day in school. It was a lot of fun and I even ran on one of the relay teams and the students all cheered 'Ireland Power' while I ran!

My co-teacher (in white) battling it out with the music teacher. She may be small but she is mighty! She challenged me next and it was like pushing against a wall!

After all of the sports day events, we had a really nice lunch, prepared by the Parents' Association. It was a great end to the week!

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Industrial size bags of rice for sale. In the bank.

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Maggie, Becky, Katie, Nicole and I travelled to Seoul for the long weekend of Buddha's Birthday. It was my first trip to Seoul and it was really nice to be in a big city. There's so much to see and do in Seoul and it's always buzzing with people, just how I like it. We were super tourists and managed to get a huge amount done in our four days. 

 All sorts of photo bombing taking place in this picture.

 A cafe in Hongdae.

 Gyeongbokgung palace.

Taking aaaaaaahty photos.

 Facing Dublin from the Seoul Tower in Namsan.

 Lunch in the Shire! Our waiter really hated coming to our table. 

Selling kittens and chicks in the subway station.

My new Korean flag socks.

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Having the chats on the train from Daejeon.

Why wouldn't you be on the train with a panda painted on your face?

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My co-teacher made this to put her pens in; she just wrapped an old noodles cup in coloured paper. When I told her that they were the Dublin colours, she insisted I have it and started picking everything up from my desk and putting them in it.

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My chocolate milk has got my back.

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Dinner in the park to celebrate Maggie's one year anniversary of coming to Korea. Good friends, good food and, as always, good laughs.