A Bit of Honesty

So its another week in the Hagwon and yet again its only Tuesday and I feel as though its about Thursday already! Okay! I love my Hagwon but it can be hard work sometimes and really frustrating with the language barriers and the repetitive Joanne... Joanne... doanne...do.. do...teecher.. teecher.. teeacher....I hear this in my sleep zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.Arrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhhhhhh !!!!!!

Considering Ive never worked with kids full time before I think Im doing an okay job but sometimes it can just be so frustrating. Sometimes I just think..am I really helping these kids? I know deep down I am coz Ive seen progress in students Ive taught and stuff but sometimes when I dont see progress straight away I get bothered. When other teachers get the praise for the work that Ive put in it gets me down and I just think why am I putting in so much effort when its not recognised? I know this is SO bad for me to think. I just cant help it sometimes. I know its wrong! I know I should want to help teach these kids and not care if I dont get the credit for it but when its done sneakily its gets right up my nose. I find it hard to really talk to my co-workers about the teaching as the only English speaking teacher here has a male, korean, power issue with interpretating.

I guess sometimes in life we have people we clash with. I have definatley got one I clash with at this point in my life. LOL. Despite this fact Im trying. Very hard. For once Im trying to be a peace maker, to bite my tongue every hour of the day when I have a short class change and grab a quick cup of coffee in the staff room. Its tough. My hagwon has another English speaking contest coming up this month. Ive not been asked to help which is great coz Im busy enough (!) but last time my co worker asked me to write one of the speeches to help him so I did as it was easy for me and I had lots of time back then to help out. He was really worried as he said he didnt have the time and it was difficult for him to write. I researched it ad wrote most of it and one of the children won from our hagwon which was great :) (I think she got second prize) However my coworker didnt make it known that I had written most of the speech therefore he got the credit for it. I also found out that it also helped him to get a pay rise...dont get me wrong he works hard but argggggggghhhhhh ! A few other minor things have happened which makes me just think I cant trust him like him asking if I can lend him huge amounts of money and not tell the rest of our co-workers or manager.Its such a shame. I really crave a good conversation in the day, a good friend in between my lessons to chat with. Now Im just really quite wary of what I say and do, things I shouldnt have to worry about.

Anyway, I am not perfect myself and am a constant work in progress. Maybe I get under his skin as much as he gets under mine... I freakin' hope not :(

Anyway, like I said Im trying my best and am praying about it! We have good days and bad days, good times and happy times and there are people who we struggle with and who we just have to try with even though we dont really want to. Im learning that we've got to just try to keep a smile on our faces throughout even the testing times even if its really difficult! Even with the difficult people... arrghhh.

So today as Im drawing my anorexic, diseased ox (coz I cant draw to save my life ) and my rather chubby, short legged ostrich on my white board for a class room full of screaming kids, (my ears ringing of course) I try to just smile and look at the good things here. I REALLY dont wanna be a witch teacher that the kids remember when they look back a few years down the line. I wanna be remembered as the nice, smily, foreign teacher from that little place called England who was just lovely! AI was with a Korean mate of mine on Sunday and as we were walking down the road an ex pupil of hers bumped into her and started shaking incontrollably with tears. I couldnt believe it. I was so touched. He had really missed her and she obviously had such a big impact on him that he broke down when he saw her. It spoke volumes to me. Its so hard though sometimes to be the happy, energetic teacher full of light! Dont get me wrong, I usually am ;) but after certain comments in the day... oh it just grates on my soul.

The same co worker I have a problem with said to me a few weeks ago that sometimes he feels like he's the only one who cares about the students at the hagwon and I suddenly felt really upset. Did he REALLY, SERIOUSLY think this was true or was it just another sneaky way of getting to me again when I put in so much hard work there? I do care about these kids here and I think deep down he knows it but I am just baffled to why I get these comments thrown at me? Could someone please explain ?!!!!!!! lol

Anyway Im going on randomly again and havent written anything interesting for a while I suppose ! Ive been very busy with appointments and meetings and stuff. Me and my Korean friend arranged to go for a chill out morning last week. We spent the morning in the jimjilbang and then she treated me to an amazing facial locally. I felt like a princess. This ajuma made my skin glow! Te weekend was pretty busy too. Helped out with Compassionate Ministries in the morning and then dinner and shopping with Isabel and Juri. The weather is getting evenmore humid and the mossies are rife! They seem to love my knees and despite my to attempts to keep them away (my anti - mossie plug ins and various amounts of anti mossie sprays) somehow they still find a way to nibble away at me leaving delicious, red bumps on my skin.

Maaaaashitsayo.

Okay and also before I forget! Katie and Sian !.. Good Luck Ladies for your degree results ! Im so proud of you both girlies! Youve both worked hard and deserve good grades so leme know asap what you both get :) Im waiting for the good news so I can go and celebrate out here for you both. Woooohoooo! :)

So my weekend and day off wasnt as expected but full of blessings and totally relaxing! Friday morning I headed to Cheonan-Asan Station and thought Id bought a ticket to Daechon. Bikini, Suncream, Bible ...all ready to go. I waited at the platform and the second that it pulled up I realised the train was on its way to Daejon not Daechon.Make it or break it time i decided to just get on the train anyway and see what fun I could make In Daejon instead. Lol. Daejon for me is seriously too big and confusing. Too many tunnels and roads and department stores.. yawn. Anway I did a bit of shopping and got some dinner and had a walk around in the sunshine :) I then ventured back to Cheonan and chilled out in my local jimjilbang for a few hours and slept and chilled out with the poking ajumas again. I actually fell asleep after Id been in the sauna on these mats that are lay on heated marble o the floor. They are lay under some kind of lamps to relax the body and the mats have little teats on them. I feel asleep for about an hour on my front so when I got up my whole body was covered with little red indented cirles. The ladies thought it was hilarious. Im glad I gave them a good giggle. Ive made some good friends in there! Seriously, theres something so beautiful and natural about being in a setting where women are washing and scrubbing eachother.My local is such a great place. Oh! Ill be gutted when I get back to the UK without my jimjilbang time! I cant imagine not being able to chill out and without getting poked at by korean women and children anymore! Thinking of strangers prodding about, I was on the bus the other day and this ajuma sat behind me starts playing with my hair. I turned around to smile and see exactly which ajuma was fiddling around with my locks but when I did she let go of my hair and rapidly spun around and pretended she'd not even touched it. I couldnt help but laugh.I nearly wet myself. She couldnt have been anymore heavy handed or obvious. The proding, stroking, poking, touching...it goes on but never anything threatening which is GOOD!

Anyway the rest of my weekend was pretty cool and relaxed. Saturday I hung out with Byron and Avie on the new Coffee Bean Decking in town in the sunshine. We must have been there for about five hours just gassing and catching up. It was nice to just have a relaxing weekend after another mad, busy week. I seem to be getting busier out here recently. If its not a meeting or a social or work or the gym I always seem to be on the go which is good for me but knackering sometimes. Today was another long day. I started at 11.30am and got in at 9.45. Pretty tired and refusing to open my bottle of wine coz I know I wont get up in the morning for my meeting. Itll knock me out Im that tired.

Having good nights sleep the past few nights after a few bad nights of being unable to sleep properly.I hate it how when us humans have stuff on our mind that eats away at us we're unable to just switch off for the night! Its so hot here now that Im wondering how long my nice nights dreams'll last. Luckily my mint fan is silent so I can sleep with it on but these mossies HAVE to go. They love me and Im getting covered with the things. The one on my thigh looks like a cow/human bite. Think my coworkers are wondering how Im spending my weeknights! lol

Day off :)

So Ive got a lovely day off tomorrow and am soooo glad I dont have to go into work :) Im gonna go down to Daechon Beach early in the morning for a total chill out and some proper good time out with God. Theyve got a wicked mud spa there which Im gonna relax in too. Bliss dahlings !

The Hagwons been better recently as Im quite busy and time seems to go quickly. The kids are adorable and keep me going when I have a bad class :) My manager told me yesterday that my holidays will be changed. Instead of having them in July Ive now got to wait until August. The good news is I still have 9 days off. Mum has mentioned me coming home for the week but theres not really much point as after the holiday It'll only be about ten weeks and Ill be due to come home anyway ! The bad news is that all my friends here have their hols mainly in July so if I do wanna get away then Im gonna be going solo. Thailand by then begins its rainy season, same for Vietnam Im guessing. Singapore may not be safe to venture to solo and Indonesia too. Shame but Im sure Ill make the most of it where ever I am :) Arggghhh...! :)

Well.. just another short one. My blogs got pretty crap (I apologise) but Im just so busy. Ive got tons of photos though to show you all when I get back so dont be sending me angry emails girls ! lol

Sleep and BEACH!

Pirate Party and Planning Ahead... Or Not

So Rhys' Pirate Party headed off with a bang this weekend as we all headed down to Seoul on the KTX. It was to Itaewon first and then Hongdae for some proper pirate partying. It was a nice break away from Cheonan for the night as I havent been on a night out in Seoul since New Years Eve so it was extremely cool :) We hit a few nice bars in Itaewon, rather packed out but very friendly Wolf Hound and then on to a house club in Hongdae. Good fun all round me maties although I wont be venturing off to Seoul again for a long time! :) I decided to hop on the KTZ at 5 ish with Alex and Arran and it was pretty nice seeing Seoul City so early and so calm and quiet in the morning. And hilarious to still be in out pirate outfits sat on the train back to Cheonan :) Talk about snorting like pigs with laughter (note: this is a SERIOUS case on a Korean train) You talk you get shusshed at. You laugh and you get shouted at. We behaved but I snorted alot. (A mortal sin on any Korean train at any time of the day OR night).

Was nice to go home when I was ready and not have to wait about in a smoky club waiting for everyone to be all danced out. I wanted food and bed so we went to Mccy D's and I had three Mcdonalds. No kidding. What an ajuma....but Ive seriously lost the drinking urge since I got here. Goodness knows how Ill cope when I get back home with you girls opening the wine everynight. Girls.. youre gonna laugh when I get home... this girl wont be even attempting to drink anyone of you under the table anymore. Mark my words ladies ! lol. The fag dirty habit has finally been kicked to the curb (hooraaayyy..except on very stressful occassions and with the odd drink)..the dirty pint guzzling down in the Pack Horse when I arrive home will probably not even be on the cards.Then again itll be Christmas and me and Bridget Jones will most definately be in my Mums garden bum potting after a few shandies :) Lets hope we have a white Christmas eh Kez ?! IF Im home...!

Ive been thinking alot about what Im gonna do next after my contract ends here.Ive had so many ideas and there are soooo many possibilities about where to go, what to do next, who I could hook up with. Its in my nature to race on and plan ahead and God is telling me again and again and again to just chill myself out and be still yet I still cant seem to just wait and be patient. I just know the things I want to do and the places I want to explore and its so hard sometimes to just trust in God and let him guide me instead of me trying to take charge all the time. Ive been struggling now for the past five weeks with this irritability of not knowing what Im gonna do next and the intense urge to plan on ahead. For years Ive always known and had planned what next and because I dont know exactly what next Im trying to plan, plan, plan and to be honest nothing Im trying to plan is working so Im trying my best to just think and pray really hard about it. I honestly think I dont trust in God fully enough sometimes and I should. Someone from church said to me before I left said something along the lines of, 'dont always try and plan things yourself and worry about what youre gonna do or how youre gonna do it, just pray and let God take over' Its true but its scary for someone whos pretty control freaky with their own life. I was told a few weeks ago by a Christian couple I know that they think Im in a really good place right now.To be honest though Im a bit scared coz the things Gods been talking to me about recently are just like .... boy am I really ready for this ? I suppose God will MAKE me ready if Im supposed to be. We'll see. Ill have to put away my multitude of diaries and just be patient.

So, Im going on on a morning hike tomorrow early to pray and chill out which should be nice and Ive got Friday off this week so Im thinking about heading down to a convent in Busan for some serious still time with God :)

Its already 1.10 am. Ive just watched a really sad Korean film and its time for bed.Ive needed a good cry for weeks now but not allowed myself the pleasure (or the pain) My head hurts Ive cried so much but hopefully Ill sleep well tonight coz for the past five nights + Ive not slept well at all. I think maybe a good cry was needed and this film sure got the tears rolling !]

Anyway, enough blabber. Sleep Girl Sleep ! :)

Compassionate Ministries

So my day off today has been soooo good ! This morning I had my Compassionate Ministies meeting and had the pleasure of meeting Stan Martins LOVELY wife. She is SO LOVELY ! For those of you who read my blog in Korea- (coz Im not sure if anyone does) we need you help with the Compassionate Ministries team. Stan Martin will be giving a sermon on the 17th (if all goes to plan) and he's gonna ask the church members to get involved. We need people and we need people to commit to just an hour (or MORE !) a week to help out with various things we want to get involved with. There are so many things to get involved with- Isabel has done so much leg work in finding out about things we can help with over the past few months (hard work) that everything is ready. We just need people to help ! There is the orphanage in Ssang Yong Dong we need help with, working with single parents (cleaning and playing with children/ babies ect), feeding the homeless and other things too. Compassionate Ministries needs YOU ! So start to pray about it!

He said to his disciples "The harvest is so great, but the workersa are so few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send out more workers for his fields" Matthew 9:37-38

I met up with a korean friend of mine today who I met in a Jimjilbang a few months ago. She phoned me this week really eager to meet for dinner and Ive only met her once so to be honest I arranged to meet her but didnt really know which friend I was actually going to meet! I seem to meet that many different people here its hard to keep track sometimes and this has happened more than once... eekkk. Anyway, we met at noon and she took me to her husbands restaurant. It was so nice and shes a really lovely lady. I think shes pretty lonely as shes moved around a lot in the past few years with her family and a lot of her friends are in Seoul. She misses her mates and I miss mine and it makes me feel blessed again to have people around me like I have. God has been amazing to me and is constantly showing me how much he loves me by putting people in my path particularly when I need or want some extra company or comfort!

We had a good chat for two hours over the best most delicious beef kalbi Ive had here in Korea! Shes just found out she is pregnant and is SO HAPPY as it'll be her fifth baby..shes seriously GLOWING. (It makes me get excited about pregnancy coz sometimes I only hear the negatives working in a hospital and all!) She is a lovely lady and it was really interesting to get the chance to speak to her a bit more today. Im gonna be spending a lot more time with her I hope. You know how sometimes it can be a little awkward with foreigners due to language barriers etc? Well I dont feel any of that all all. Shes very like me- very talkative !

Well. I feel like Ive made another good friend here now plus I managed to share a bit of my testimony with her today which was fab and shes really interested in coming to my church next week with her kiddies so Im really happy about that. She opening a new dance workshop just by my apt and we passed her studio today which is lovely. She'll be teaching Jazz, Ballet, Tap and Traditional Korean Dance and Im looking forward to something new I can get my teeth stuck into rather than the weights, constant running on the treadmill and being pestered by certain desperate korean boys/men who just want their egos boosting. No ta.Ive had enough. I dont go to the gym to look gorgeous, sweat free and sultry. I go to work out, to get sweaty, to burn off those calories not to pull thanks very much. Stay Away from the English Girl. Seriously.LOL.

Anyway...did a bit of shopping later on today and met up with Jen, Tina and Martie for coffee and some girlie chat, treatment at Lee Chard, and then later relaxed in the jimjilbang. Always feel like a new woman after a good hour there. Ready for a long day in the hagwon tomorrow, yoga, an easyish one on Friday, a Pirate Party for Rhys' Birthday in Seoul on Saturday night (wooohooo!) and then kids club at church on Sunday. Better get some sleep yo.

With a twinge of a hangover on Sunday morning and feeling the urge to puke a little in church now and again because of the amount consumed the previous night (actually not alot... I can't handle it anymore guys Im turning into an ajuma !) Me, Monica, Mei-i and Byron all went down to Seoul for the Hillsong Concert (or cheesy christian crap as quoted by Jackie :) tut tut. Despite more hours on buses and the metro it was worth it. Situated in Olympic Park Gardens the place was rammed jammed with Christians in full worship. It was so nice to see and just be part of :) Theres something beautiful in listening to Koreans pray in their own language and the sound of people lifting up their voices in praise was so nice for me to experience. The walk to the concert was a hot one after our bus ride and our trip back was knackering too as we missed the last KTX. It was well worth it though and am itching to get back to Olympic Park. Theres lots of colour, very serious old men on rollerblades fully kitted with the latest, funky, bright coloured knee pads and helmets (teehee), families picnicing, couples in coffee shops, odd peeps on bikes, kiddies playing footy. It looked like a really nice place. Am gonna av to plan to go again sometime soon :)

Oh .. and by the way. A bit random but my plants are coming back to life !

Bunnies Birthday

Okay... so there wasnt a multitude of beautiful lanterns on display for my birthday but at least it didnt rain and it was a good day despite my baaad planning. Me and Cara headed across to Seosan for my friends wedding however we had to turn back because Id planned it so badly. After a bad start and three hours wasted on the bus (poor Cara) we both got back to Cheonan and went for dinner in Buonissimos garden terrace which was lovely. A good fat glass of white, one of my best friends, sunshine, running water (we dont get alot of this in Cheonan), a cute waiter (!)a good chicken salad.. what more could I ask for ?

So after a lovely, relaxing day we all met at Red Rooster- my favourite bar in Cheonan.Was a bit of a squeeze and a heavy night but good, healthy fun :) Had so many lovely pressies and cards amd emails/ messages sent from back home and the hagwon made a big fuss with a Birthday Cake and lots of pressies too so thankyou all !

Buddahs Birthday

Colourful lanterns, rain, rain and little drowned rats !

Sun Burn

This picture doesnt even begin to capture how rouge I am. Seriously. Ive even burnt my lips. Mums sent me over my gorgeous red and white dress from back home to wear for my mates wedding on Saturday. Somehow I think Ill look pretty fluorescent in a red dress dont you think?!

Anyway the kids had a ball today giggling at my new 'radiance'. Ruby couldnt stop laughing and Ive not been able to walk properly all day. Bending over for pencils has even been hard.When will this go down !??? Arrgghhh !

Eeeerrrrm...Still Feeling Hot Hot Hot :(

Okay so this minging picture Ive put on here is for one purpose ONLY.

That is as a reminder that I shall never EVER go out in the sun again without sun protection.

This hideous atrocity shall remain on my blog to remind me of the pain and the shame of allwoing my skin to crisp and burn to this detestable degree.

Ohhh how I wish my skin would go down...

..OUCH.

Feeling HOT HOT HOT

So Me, Tina, Martie, Cor and Gyung Jun, decided it was time for a beach break down to Daechon this weekend for a well deserved chill out weekend. We got the train and in what seemed no time at all we were sat in a little fish restaurant eating fish soup and drinking soju :) Awwww to be back...!

The beach down there is so lovely and we found a nice spot right at the end of the stretch and sun bathed, played football and drunk our beers feeling very relaxed and happy soaking up the sunshine. We were all sat in our bikinis whilst the koreans walked past fully dressed, some in suits, some with umbrellas to protect their faces (and bald heads ) and some with huge, black visors. They must have thought we were mad sat practically naked. When we went exploring over to some rocks one ajuma started shouting, 'Ohh look at all these Americans that keep coming here with no clothes on again'...arrrgghh you'd think theyd be used to it then by now! Just wait until summer really starts.. Anyway after chlling out all day we went back to our little hotel room for showers and then went back out onto the beach and sat on the porch of a little restaurant to catch the sunset. I could have stayed there all week.It was beautiful.

It was so nice to get out of Cheonan for a while and just be by the sea.The beach looked so pretty at night illuminated by blue lights and fireworks and crackers.It was quite a romantic setting really! It was really relaxing and after our meal we all went back to the hotel room and got a pretty early night coz we were all that relaxed! Bliss...

On Sunday I woke up at 8.30 am and walked down to the beach for some quiet time. It was so quiet and peaceful and the beach looked even prettier than the day before.It was a really hot day. I honestly didnt realise how hot it was in and out of the sea all the time, sunbathing without any protection.I cant belive how stupid I was. It wasnt until we got off the beach that we all realised how burnt we all were. Im seriously burnt to a crisp and have woken up this morning not being able to move :) hhaaaaa. Im definately gonna start wearing spf everyday from now on. I look like a lobster and darent even think about the damage Ive done to my skin.No matter what I do I cant seem to cool my skin down! Im sure the kids will have something to say when I go in today...

Despite the sunburn, slight sun stoke :)( haahaaa serves me right ) and not being able to move properly without looking like Ive pooped my pants I had a wicked, chilled out weekend and will definately be going back very soon :)

Dankook University Festival (and a slight moan)

So after one of my longest days in the hagwon yesterday William, (Rubys cousin who I've started to teach )took me over to the annual Dankook University Festival to meet his friends. They were all really friendly and pretty wasted by the time we got there but considering some Koreans are pretty shy to talk to when they're sober I dont think it was a bad thing that they were all merry when we arrived :)

The University seems really nice and there was a huge stage with singers that had been performing all night and several different stands belonging to the different departments of the Uni. Lots of drinking and eating :) It was nice to meet his friends and the mood and atmosphere was really friendly. Although I was tired I was glad we went! It started to rain at about 11.30 so we decided to head home. Wiliam phoned for a guy to come and pick us up in his car and drive it home. I think its such a wicked idea and I reckon we should do this in England. It'd save alot of accidents that occur in the UK for sure...

So...Ive got to be in today at 1.30 which Im not happy about :( I dont start teaching until 3.30 so I get in and have to sit around for two hours. Then, to put the icing on the cake I only have two lessons from 6.30-8.30. So another two hours of waiting about until I teach again. So again it's gonna be an extremely boring Friday in the hagwon. Yawn. I dont know why I cant just go in at 3.30 at least but all I get back is...'Oh well, its just the Korean way'. To make matters worse, Terry is tecahing my 3.30 class today as I did an extra for her in the week. So Ill be sat around on my arse for five hours today before I start teaching...great fun.

Damn it. It makes me mad but then Ive gotta keep thinking about how good I have it there too. Just agrivates me. I hate being sat down for too long doing nothing. It destroys me !

Nurse Training Applied !

So My spirit's buzzing this morning as I 've just applied to NMAS to do my nurse training after years of holding it all off. Nurse Bunyan here I come...really excited! My reference was sorted within just a few days and all I have to do now is sit back and wait to see if I get my first choice!

Had an amazing massage last night. One of Julenes students came round to my house for an hour and worked her magic on my whole body. Her name is Eunji and she seriously has a gift ! It was slightly different to the massage me and my Mum got a few weeks ago in my local jimjilbang :) It was amazing and I felt so relaxed after it. She worked on all my pressure points, my head and my deep muscle tissue. She asked me if I have alot of stress and explained that because my upper back is so strong, my head and neck are extremely stressed all the time! When she just touched my neck and head I felt so much better so Ive deciced to make it a weekly thing and shes coming around the same time next week :) Bliss.

Got a long day ahead now. Another five hours of lessons to go so Im gonna go try and make the most of my break. Would much rather be on the beach but Im gonna have to just be patient until this weekend. The weather's brightened up again and Ive heard the weathers suposed to be beautiful on Saturday so bring it on to Daechon!

Be Still and Know ...

Something just hit me tonight which I have to share and which is AMAZING :)The past few weeks/months Ive had this recurring dream. I've just recently decided I want to do my nurse training when I get back to Manchester as I believe God has spoken to me at length about it since Ive got here and has laid it heavily on my heart.

My dream is like this..very basic, very clear cut. I am in a clinic in the middle of no where.I think I am in a foreign land but Im unsure. The rooms are white washed and it is very minimalistic and clinical inside. There are a few stainless steel trolleys loaded but there are no patients. The place is ready for patients but there arent any there.I feel as though people are stood with me but I cant see them as they are behind me. I go out of the clinic after looking for patients but there is only a pool of still water in front of me. Still no patients. I am sad because I want the patients to be there so I can nurse them and show the people behind me how to give care to the patients but there are none. I really felt tonight very randomly that God was saying to me that I need to just be still in Gods presence for the moment here in Korea. I feel like God is telling me that he will prepare me but for now I believe that he is telling me I must stay here, in his presence until the work he's doing in my heart is completed. Ive written about it before but before I came to Korea a few people told me that they believed I would come here and be placed in a spiritual hospital. I believed that this clinic in my dream was this spiritual hospital God has placed me in for this year. Psalm 46:10 came to me immediately tonight.Be Still and Know That I am Your God. I just praise God with my whole heart.

I have a diary excerpt that I wrote a few months ago which I sent to my Mum to read. It was about the slight frustration of being in a place which seems so okay compared to a lot of places back home like the run down council estates in Salford, the run down areas of Moss side and so on. I remember feeling a part of my heart being really quite anxious to get home and really do some work in these areas coz Korea just seemed so problem free socially to me at the time. Thinking about it now I dont think Korea is problem free socially at all. I just really believe God has chosen to place me in Korea away from everything right now to do what he has to do with my heart. I know that God could work his healing magic no matter where I am in the world but I do think Ive come to Korea for a specific reason. Maybe one of the reasons for being brought into this wonderful calm place is that it has been to make me think about all the outreach work I could actually do back in Manchester when I return. My heart seems to be longing to do something for the place where I came, not only for other foreign places. Theres a lot of work that needs to be done in Manchester. Maybe God'll use me there one day.

I feel like Im gonna be a constant work in progress until the day I die but knowing that Ive got God who can mould and shape me now into what he wants me to be is the best, most peaceful feeling in the world. I have a lot of faith. God is Amazing and Im just praying for more of him and more of his amazing spirit.

My dear friend Byron has sent me more pics from Saturday Night :) Was so gutted both of my batteries were dead before we'd even hit a dance floor but Byron came to to rescue and let me borrow his :) Just a shame I didnt catch the dancing midgit waltzing with Rhys in Star Bar.Anyway, it was a really funny night watching people a bit tipsy I didnt even know enjoyed a beer...had some extremely interesting convo's. Bet they dont remember half the things they said which is probably best left that way :) hahaaaa. I remember them all! hhaaaaa.

Had a lovely experience on the way home. My taxi driver was such a gentleman as most of them are here. He played me some Italian Opera and gave me his telephone number explaining that if I needed a taxi drop off with my friends anytime I was desperate then to call him and he would be there.Bum Ho.Heehee.Theres some seriously funny names here. My mate knows a kid called Robot. Ive got a kid who's called Cheese.Whatever next...? It cracks me up.

Today was Teachers Day. It has been another knackering day but a good one. I got given a love heart box of cherries, a french baguette and two darling ivy plants in purple pots. Blooming gorgeous :) but am getting worried about the other 12 dozen plants Ive got on my balcony which Im trying to revive. They were so beautiful last month but it seems theyve all wilted and turned brown and I dont know how to bring them back to life :( Im not very green fingered. Theres something amazing watching plants come back to life but with mine..Im still waiting in hope.

Had a busy week so far and havent stopped again. I rode to the orphanage again on Monday and met with Betsi and Eric which was lovely. I could honestly go there more often. Its so lovely to just go and play with the kids and give them lots of cuddles which they definately need. Theyre beautiful little kiddies and all so different :) Went out for some delicious fish with Martie last night and had some nice red round at hers. Then I opened another bottle I got for my Birthday when I got in and had a few glasses before bed to relax after another hectic, non-stop day. Work has been chocca recently with more timetable changes but it never seizes to amaze me how much I actually get to fit into a day here. I cant stop feeling blessed with what Ive got here and everything God has given and provided me with. I have amazing friends all around me which is just so good as I miss my mates back at home so much.God has provided me with so many gifts and blessings here I just sometimes cant believe what Ive been given.

Went for a coffee this morning with Martie and had a good chat about how God can heal and renew and I feel that God is still doing some amazing things here. Im not ready to go home yet guys and Im happy with the decision Ive made to stay. I feel like God is telling me to stay put until my contract finishes and then I will go home and see what God has got planned and prepared for me back home in Manchester and to tell you the truth I cant wait but in the same breath Im enjoying every given moment here in Korea too.

I suppose for years Ive been pretty much like my wilted plants on my balcony. In need of replenishment, nourishment, growth, some tlc. I imagine in my mind sometimes that God was waiting for the day that I was gonna begin to grow again and I can honestly say that the wilted stage is over. In the time I really struggled a few years ago the only way I can explain how I felt was like a flower that hadnt been watered. At times I felt like I was just so shriveled up. I think thats why it breaks my heart to see others wilted and broken. It reminds me of a place I used to be. A dark place where I couldnt see the light. My plants remind me of that time when I was wilted too but I can honestly say that God is Good and he can heal, he can nourish and he can mend. Lets hope my plants recover...

Looking forward to things Ive got planned this week and am so excited about venturing down to the beach this weeked for a break. Bikini.Beer.Friends.Sun.Sea. Sand. Guitar. Football.Ahhhhh Bliss.Three words for summer...BRING IT ON.

Birthday BBQ

So this week has been another mega busy one. New commitments, more work at the hagwon, overall quite tiring so Friday night I had an early nite, cancelled all my plans and happily took to my new queen sized bed that still smells of my Mum from when she was here :) Bit of home comfort :)

Did some shopping on Saturday, quick coffee then headed to Owens for a joint Birthday BBQ. The weather was pretty dull but the food was awesome everyone prepped and our Birthday presents were so thoughtful! Thanks again guys :) Then it was out into town for a much needed night out.Lots of Soju, lots of laughs,Rugby game-(my idea of heaven) dancing with midgits,almost naked korean women, star bar, bed. Cracking night out (for Cheonan anyway) and well deserved. Will post pics when I get them :)

So...you can probably all tell at home Im pretty wrecked sleep wise with all these crap posts so Ill be off to bed. Promise this will be more informative next time I write ;)

Random Ramblings

Apologies to obsessive readers of Bunnies Blog. Ive been so busy its not even funny but not to worry as Bunnie is back to enchant you all with her amazing adventures ;) Not.

Nah.. really Ive been really busy recently with lots of new different stuff and new commitments with work. I started teaching my managers cousin last week whos just suprised me with dinner which was nice. Timetables been packed again today and did a good 8 hour teaching stretch in this bugger heat. From no where its just got so hot. I dont know how Im gonna cope in the summer! 90 % humidity sounds a bit much for this girl who needs her fresh air. I feel like its bad enough now -it seriously drained my energy today ha! Well...Ive worked in the heat before and am probably just being a wuss. Im sure Ill learn to cope with it. Even if Im constantly wet through all the time. Niiice.

Added a picture from the Sanok Marathon ! Its made me wanna keep on training big time :) Its very addictive thats all I can say.

Timetable change again this week..yaawwwnnn. Have new kindergarten classes also which are really fun and also new conversational classes three times a week with a cute (but hard work) brother and sister in the afternoons. Will see how they go...

Had a strange weekend. Needed some pampering so ventured down to sunny Seoul in a mad rush as I got up late (suprise, suprise). Rung the salon to say Id be late, asked if they'd be any problem fitting me in, reply- no dont worry just come and we'll fit you in in an hour..Got there in a sweat and they couldnt fit me in :( Wasnt impressed and to top it all off people were really rude to me all day after that! Just a bad day I suppose but I tried to keep smiling.Ate my first proper meal after my bout of sickness - Thai with Jackie, Byron, Seth...was really good after yukky mush for two days.

Sunday was a lot better. I did kids club in the morning then got home and opened my vino. Had small group round which is always cool. An unusual 12 turned up so everyone got snied rations. Bet they all rushed home to eat again :) Then sat in with some mates and had some (more) wine to celebrate the weather getting nicer. Any Excuse.Probably not the best thing to drink after being so poorly this week...

Met up with Betsi and Eric on Monday morning and headed to the orphanage as my Friday Morning time slot's now filled with my Old Testament study. Was realy nice to go again and Im gonna definately make it a weekly thang. The kids looked hardly any different to when I was there last so maybe it wasnt actually that long ago that I was there. Was so cool to just go and play with them again and so nice to have them wanting cuddles all the time. Ahhh theyre so gorgeous. It Was funny to watch Eric act as a human climbing frame. The kids LOVE him. Think Ill be eating breakfast before I go next time though..hard work ! :)

Oh, I also got ill last week and had to go to the drs as I got severe gastroenteritis :( Was actually really painful and Im not a wuss when it comes to any sort of pain. Had to stay in work all day with it and wanted to crawl under one of the tables and die. Luckily I had no classes all day as the kids had a dollar market but I still didnt wanna be selling pencils and monkey face masks.

More sweet Goodbyes

So Ruby gave me the morning and early afternoon off on Friday so I could spend some quality time with Mum before she left for the U.K today. We did some extremely brisk shopping in town and then waited an hour and 10 minutes for the bus to Gwandeoksan in the blazing heat. Was worth the wait though even though the day was a little rushed to be back for my afternoon lesson!

Ruby invited us around for a meal with the family to say Goodbye and Mum was rather impressed yet again with their total hospitality and kindness :) I introduced her to Rubys Grandmother who lives with them (she's adorable) and we all sat down to eat samgyapsal together. Was a perfect way to say Goodbye and Sujan sat hugging my Mum all the way back home in the car. Bless her little cotton socks.
Constanly reminded how lucky I am to have this family. Theyre amazing and mentioned how theyd love me to stay for another year :) Ive seriously never met a family as hospitable to me as this out of the U.K before. Theyre amazing and I feel so at home with them.

Me and Mum headed off in different directions this morning which was a bit weird. Felt a bit bad putting her in a taxi to the bus terminal alone as Id got mixed up with the dates for the Sanok Race with Church :( So...she was unable to run in it with us and she would have loved it !

Its been a really hot day but really fun. Ive never run in a race before, in fact Ive never run in heat like today before either. A lot of the guys from church who did the half marathons made it in amazing time ! Watching them come to the finish line minutes after we'd crossed it made me realise how unfit I am compared to the others ! Example..Jo- 1.03 mins (10km) Gordon- something like 1.30 mins (half marathon) ..eeerrrr..someone needs to get training :)Would definately do it again though :) Got a new challenge on my hands and theres nothing better than a challenge for this girl.

Taejosan and Wet Willies

We had Ruby and the rest of my co-workers around yesterday for dinner at my place. We had a nights notice to prepare and my cooking's enough to kill the cat so I cheated and went to my nearest kimbap place, ordered 7 huge bibimbaps and got them to put them all in my washing up bowl.Very Naughty ;)

It was really nice to have them all around and to Mums shock we all sat on the floor- Korean Stylee of course and ate together. After lots of maaashitsayos we rushed off to the hagwon for work to my naughty, little students. When my mate Caras nephew does something naughty his 'rents give him a bum pinch. I was thinking about the best punishment for my students a few weeks ago when my boys were being really naughty in class.Of course I cant go around pinching bums so for all my students who are really cheeky or bad now...they get a wet finger shoved in their ear. One of the worse feelings ever and they hate it. I think its funny- not very professional but FUNNY especially when they're off guard coz they're being that naughty. Gave a few out this week and had my students howling with laughter sat with their hoods up (for the lucky ones who had them) all lesson. Could probably get the sack if I made a kid cry over that. Anyway, took Mum to Taejosan this morning with 'ma betches' Jacki, Jenni and of course Betch. Had a good gentle hike and laughed at Mum coming down as it was pretty slippy. Again we've had mint weather :) Think its gonna get hotter in the next few weeks. Some soilder at the weekend told me the humidity levels reach 90%...is this true? Sounds unbearable... Im gonna die.

Beautiful Day

So Ive been really baaaad with this blog recently coz Ive been so busy so will try to update y'all a little. On Saturday Morning Mrs Nam picked me and my Mum up and drove us down to Wyam Folk Village with Sujan and Wendy. The weather was beautiful and the Folk Village looked stunning with the cherry blossoms and other pretty flowers out soaking up the sunshine. The village was full of colour and beautiful smells and we spent a good few hours showing my Mum around. We had some dinner..Mums really tried bless her (!) and then Mrs Nam drove us to the Onyang Folk Museum coz there was some kind of female expedition on. There were alot of really old jewellery pieces on display and old ladies clothes and things- pretty boring but mum liked it. I hate museums but this one wasnt really too bad :) After soaking up some more sunshine and running around after the girls we then drove to the Hyeonchungsa shrine which was probably the highlight of the past few days Ive had with Mum being here. The grounds were really pretty and it was nice to just walk around the lake with the girls and Mrs Nam and enjoy the setting in the heat of the day. We sure ran off some calories running around with the girls. Didnt realise how much fun you could have pretending to be David Beckham and Ji Sung Park kicking a can around :) Seriously in Love with Sujan and Wendy. They make my day :)

After a long day at work today I rushed home and took Mum to meet my mate KyungRan for supper at ShabuShabu. Ive realised since Mum got here how much Ive really made attatchments to certain people and things over here. You only have to look at my photos of the girls to understand why Ive fallen in LOve with them.They're like my adopted sisters :) Then theres the lovely Mrs Nam whos taken me on as her own...thats just for starters. The people, the place, my hagwon, my church, the lady downstairs, my apartment, (even my plants ;)) Talking to my Mum the past few days has had me thinking alot about what Im missing at home though. In the past few years of me trekking about Ive missed 4 of my good friends weddings and I miss another one this weekend and another in a few months. Ive missed funerals of loved ones and Ive missed my friends babies births-probably the hardest. When I think about how much Im in Love with Korea and everything Ive been blessed with here Im also thinking how much Ive actually missed already with mates and weddings and babies and happy times (sad too) and I dont think I wanna miss anymore :(


When Ive travelled before I came to Korea Ive always been kind of running away from things back in Manchester. This time with Korea though its so much more different. Leaving Manchester in November I knew that the things I had back at home were really amazing. The people, the opportunity, everything. In a way although I was excited about coming to Korea and knew I wouldnt change my mind about teaching here I was kind of thinking to myself on the plane...what am I doing when I have so many good things back at home? I guess the past year Ive been so blessed by God. Not only have I got amazing things back at home that are calling me but Ive got amazing things Ive been blessed with here.Gonna enjoy the next six months Ive got left. Cant believe Im half way through my contract!