Year 1 After Korea: Things That Make Me Feel Normal Again

I can’t believe it’s been nearly a year since I bid farewell to Seoul-si, spent 2 weeks in Bali, and flew back to Toronto. As anticipated, the year has certainly had its ups and downs. Finding employment wasn’t easy, but I was open to anything and everything. I even spent a day working in a…

Cya Later, Seoul: Things I’ll Miss About Korea

So Long, Korea! My life here has been incredible, but even in Neverland you’ll find you have your ups and downs.  Last week, to the dismay of many on Facebook, I wrote about the things I hate about living as a foreigner (expat) in Korea.  This week, on a more positive note, I’m sharing just…

Candidly Kate: Where to Teach in Korea

In a country the size of Indiana, you would think that the two largest cities would have similar lifestyles. After spending a year in Busan I thought I have conquered Korea enough to hit the capital. Could I have been more wrong?

The Bucket List: Round II

On Saturday I participated in a press tour organized by the municipality of Seoul in collaboration with the Korean Food Foundation. Seoul Bloggers and Photographers went for a meet, greet, walking tour of the old city, and lunch. I’m so incredibly honoured to have been invited. We had a wonderful day with a great tour guide and I managed to cross off even more places I had been hoping to visit. Having lived in Korea for a year, I’d like to present Round II of my Bucket List, this edition being all Seoul. As I’ve already managed to visit many of the places on my initial list, I’ll give a little information and/or an opinion on each, and then list the remainder at the end. One thing’s for sure – it’s never a dull time living in Seoul!

How to get to Seokbulsa Temple

I’ve heard about a number of people getting lost en route to Seokbulsa, a temple in Busan, South Korea. Here are directions and some footage on getting there from Mandeok Station. I think this is the most straightforward route (as you can also hike from Hwamyeong or Oncheonjang). [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ti5oGJ-yxZU&w=640&h=360] Most directions to this temple…

Anapji Pond – Throwback Thursday

Here I am super-duper excited to tell you all about Anapji Pond, and I find out it’s a man-made, artificial pond.  Well…uh-oh. Regardless, I’m excited to tell you all about the culmination of our magnificent tour with some wonderful people from Dong-eui University.  These students took us on a fantastic tour around Gyeongju.  Before making…

New Year’s Eve in Korea

I had planned on ringing in the New Year in some exotic destination.  First it was Boracay (where my bestie McBesterson is currently hangin’ – jealous, what?), then it was Hong Kong (flights were about $200 Canadian, but hotels were another story), and finally I had dreams of Tokyo.  By the time mid-December rolled around…

Renewing my Canadian Passport in Busan

  Renewing your passport while abroad isn’t exactly the smartest course of action.  I had a year and a half left on my passport when I left Canada to teach English in South Korea, but with all the expenses of applying for my visa, getting my fingerprints and background check done, having my degree notarized,…