SHELLY'S SEOULFULL ADVENTURES

My new blog

2008-07-30T00:27:00.003+09:00

So long..and thanks for all the kimchi!

2008-07-27T11:48:00.004+09:00

Well that's it. My 3 years in Korea are officially over. I had a great time, made some AMAZING life long friends, taught the greatest kids on the planet, and damaged my liver just a tad :) I could reflect upon the awesomeness that has been Korea but I don't want to get all teary eyed. I had the best time of my life here and my life will never be the same again.

I had my OFFICIAL last night out in Seoul last night, and after 5 bottles of champagne and a whole lot of silliness I am not feeling so hot today, which sucks cause I have to pack up and get everything done! Here are my last photos I'll post here...

Thanks for stopping by and reading over the years. My new home will be HERE . There isn't anything up yet but once I get back to Ottawa I'll get it going.

Peace out Seoul.

My heart can't take much more of this..

2008-07-26T16:49:00.004+09:00

I woke up at 645am this morning to say goodbye to Raymond before he headed off to Japan. Let's just say it was not an easy moment for either of us. It gives me comfort to know we will see each other again thank goodness.

I spent the day PACKING and CLEANING..and I think I've made some progress. One suitcase is packed and ready. One more to go then about 20 trips to the trash downstairs and some cleaning and all is done.

I'm about to get ready to go out and meet all my dear pals one last time and before I do I thought I'd watch a video that Cam made for me. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it yet but decided it was time. I thought I was done crying my eyes out but I was wrong..it was so great I loved every single second of it. I'm so lucky to have friends like I do, especially Cammy and SJ. Luckily I know I'll see them again too. I am dreading our goodbye tonight and I guess it will be a quick high five in the taxi when I get out..hopefully lots of love will go around tonight though.

I've really been thinking about how lucky I am to have so many wonderful people in my life and how special my friends are. At times I feel I don't deserve such love, but I'm so glad to have it.

I love you Cammy thanks for the beautiful memory I get to take home with me.

My next post will be my last as I have to give up my computer tomorrow. I'll post my new blog address then. xoxo

2008-07-25T23:32:00.002+09:00

Today was AWFUL. Too many goodbyes, too many tears, too many crying students (that was the worst part)..I'm going to miss everyone so much. xoxo

2008-07-25T08:29:00.001+09:00

I am about to go and teach my last day at LCI. My 3 years at work has come to an end and in 3 days I'll be home. I am feeling so many different emotions I don't know how I feel..I hope I can get through the day without crying.

Don't you ever forget...

2008-07-24T18:09:00.003+09:00

This song will always make me long for my friends and our sing alongs..SEAAASOOONNNSSSS OFFFFFFFF LLOOOOOOVVVVVVEEEE!!!

2008-07-24T01:27:00.003+09:00

Seasons of LOOOOOOOOOVE LOOVE LOVE don't describe how you feel like HOME TO ME.. I love you hate to have to say goodbye..but we will meet again. xoxoxo

2008-07-22T19:30:00.002+09:00

I have to say goodbye to Raymond on Friday night...he is leaving for Japan on Saturday morning. I'm really not sure how I'm going to adjust to him not being in my life everyday.

2008-07-21T09:01:00.000+09:00

It's my last week in Seoul..this time next Monday I'll be heading to the airport..

Overwhelmed by all of the love

2008-07-20T19:57:00.012+09:00

Last night my friends managed to make me feel more special and loved then I think I've ever felt before. Words can not express how truly wonderful and amazing I think each and everyone of you are. I'm so lucky and fortunate to have all of you in my life and to Cam, Eve, Leonie, Chanyeong, and SJ...you really did make me feel like a princess with all the little touches and special things you added to the evening. I love you SOOO very much and will miss you so much my heart aches thinking about it. Thank you to Tony for the awesome slumber party, the wonderful breakfast, and the lounging and movie watching as the typhoon blasted the day with rain!

P.S. I'm sorry I stabbed the cake but Raymond suggested I do so in order to distract myself from crying xoxo

This song is for all of my friends...we will meet again. I love you

Celebrate good times..

2008-07-19T10:16:00.007+09:00

There is a typhoon warning for the weekend and it is raining like CRAZY. Think that will stop me from having a good time tonight?? Hecks no! Me and 25 of my favorite people are meeting up for some Moroccan food tonight then we'll be joined after by about 15 more awesome folks for some drinks at Bliss then head up to Soho where Chanyeong has lots planned. I do know it involves 300 pinks balloons, blown up poster size pictures of me and my friends, pink cocktails and shots, and pink decorations. I loooove pink I'm glad he took that colour and theme and ran with it! I'm so very fortunate to have such wonderful people in my life and I just hope I don't cry tonight when I have to say goodbye to many I won't see next week...I loves loves loves all of you. Let's get this party started!

Went a lil nuts with my cell phone camera today

2008-07-18T20:14:00.005+09:00

My kindy class eatin popsicles and my older kids being goof balls as usual.

Oh I'll miss these goofy boys when I leave. Kyle, the boy in the blue, is gonna come live with me in Ottawa for a few months and do a homestay so that will be rockin!

2008-07-16T18:06:00.004+09:00

Well, it's almost all over..I can't believe it. This Saturday is my going away bash which should be a BLAST..then one week and I'll be home. CrAzY! It also looks like one of my students, Kyle, is going to come to Ottawa for 6 months for a home stay and part of that time he'll live with me. I will be his legal guardian..that seems so responsible haha. Guess I'm going to really have to perfect my Korean cookin!

2008-07-14T20:43:00.001+09:00

2 weeks today and I'll be home..

Birthdays

2008-07-13T14:12:00.004+09:00

Michael and Tony both turned 40 something this past weekend and we had a party to celebrate their awesomeness. We started at Bliss for a bbq and then ended up in Soho where it was hot and steamy cause of the weather and the rain and somehow all the boys ended up in their underwear. Oh goodness..

My Jenny

2008-07-12T14:23:00.009+09:00

I met up with Kim Ji Won (Jenny in English) at 10:30am this morning for our last day of fun together. Although, it took everything I had in me not to cry every time I looked at her, especially when she told me she was crying all morning because she doesn't want me to go. I love this little girl like she was my own daughter, saying goodbye is going to be the hardest thing I have to do before I leave Korea. At least we have 2 weeks left at school to see each other. Her dad was with her when I met up and he was so sweet and wished me well and told me he and his family would miss me. *Tear* He gave me their address which is awesome because I will definitely write to Jenny often and hopefully keep in contact with her for a very long time. I digress though..

I wanted to take her to an amusement park but she told me she was scared of the rides, then I thought we could go see Kung Fu Panda but she'd seen it, so I decided last week we'd go to Central City and make teddy bears and have lunch and hang out. So we hopped in a taxi and off we went. I never knew making teddy bears was such a process, it was great fun though! We picked out the shells of what bears we wanted but we could have chosen any animal they had so many choices. Jenny chose a pink bear covered in white hearts and I chose a soft, fuzzy, brown bear. Jenny got to help stuff the bears which she thought was really fun.After they were stuffed we had to choose hearts to put inside them. When you pick the heart you have to rub it in your hands to warm it up, rub it on your head so it will have smarts, and we had to hold hands and stand on a giant heart and jump up and down 5 times, and then blow on the hearts for luck. Then the heart is put inside the bear and it is sewn up.

There are TONS AND TONS of clothes to choose from to outfit the bears. I told Jenny to pick two outfits. She chose a bride outfit which was complete with a bouquet and a guarder belt! I chose a taekwondo outfit for mine. Before they were dressed we had to put them in a wind shower and brush them, then off to the dressing table where they were dressed. The last thing we did was to fill out their birth certificates. Jenny named her bear Yuni and I named mine Super Taekwondo Star. Mine was stuffed with love for my moms which she'll get when I get home.

Then off to Outback for lunch. Afterwards we hit ArtBox a store I will MISS! I wanted to get a few things to bring home and I let Jenny pick out some stuff she wanted. We hit Hagen-Daz for ice cream when we were finished. Much to my happy surprise Serena (one of my old kindergarten students who left in March after my teaching her for three years) walked by. She saw me and ran over and nearly knocked me down with her hug. Her parents came over and we chatted. She is best friends with Kaylee whom I mentioned a few posts back. They knew I was leaving and asked for my contact information so I really hope I hear from her and I was so happy to get to say goodbye to her and her family.

The last thing we had to do was get Jenny some nail polish and nail stickers so she can get manicures at home. Usually she comes to my place and I do her nails for her (she LOVES it) I couldn't leave her without supplies to do it on her own.

Then we caught a taxi and headed to her house and I left her at her door weighed down with all of the stuff I got for her. I realized today - there is a reason I don't have any desire to be a mother, it's because I was made to be an aunt. I love spoiling kids and having fun with them and then taking them home :)

Now I'm home and I'm going to clean up and get ready and head out to Itaewon to celebrate Tony and Michael's birthdays. Karen is meeting up with me too tonight which should be a lot of fun. Won't be the usual gang as Cam and SJ are gone away and Joel I don't think is coming, but I will party hard on their behalf.

Have a great weekend all!

Seriously..

2008-07-11T23:22:00.003+09:00

Have I mentioned about 1000 times how much I hate goodbyes? I do. I HATE THEM. Today was my last day with Ben and I did NOT want to say goodbye to him. He has become such a good friend over the last 3 years. Since he is leaving for a 3 week holiday to Canada tomorrow and returning to Seoul after I go home..today was goodbye. It was hard and when I got home tonight he sent me a super sweet message which I need to post so I can remember it..

10 Reasons Why I Will Miss You and Love Who You Are...

1. You are considerate, sweet, and genuine.
2. You have shown me that respect matters, no matter the experience.
3. You have shown me loyalty among those that shared common circumstances.
4. You have been true to me even though at times it may have been hard to do so.
5. You have taught me to be a reflective teacher that is not afaid to lose pride and learn from others.
6. You have leaned on me when you have needed to and I have never been afraid to do the same back.
7. You have been playful to me and allowed me to be playful back without any uncomfortabulness being felt (at least I hope so!).
8. You are generous, sharing, and insightful.
9. You are human, but don't abuse that category--you work hard, thoughtfully, and consider the situations of others...
10. You are truely a biker girl at heart and belong in the front seat!

What else can I say? Alll the best to you, and with all my love, stay safe, find love, and be cool; may the wind be always in your face as a challenge and for you to always remember me by!

Oh Ben...I hope we meet again..love love loves you.

2008-07-11T00:58:00.003+09:00

I spent the evening with Alex and ended up in Soho where Chanyeong proceeded to feed me drinks for free..oh friends who run bars can be dangerous on a school night! We met up with Nathan and Dave and this guy Brian who is in town from Macao..also met a girl who reads my blog..which is always cool but I must state for the record..I am not a fag hag. I don't judge my friends by their sexual orientation and just happen to have many gay friends whom I've met at work..I don't know why but FH really bugs me for some reason...nice meeting you though :)

A day of reflection

2008-07-09T18:01:00.004+09:00

This afternoon on my break, Kaylee, a student I taught for 3 years but goes to another school now, came with her mother to see me and say goodbye. I couldn't get over how much she'd grown since I'd last seen her in January! She has always been special to me. I spent a year and half tutoring her on my breaks for free when she was in kindergarten because she was so much lower than the other students and now she is such a great speaker and reader as a result. I used her as subject in the essay I wrote to get into University. I guess I owe her thanks :) Her mom brought me a lovely gift and she and I played games for about 45 mins while her mom went and had some coffee. When it was time for her to leave I realized that I will NEVER see her again..it was such a strange feeling because I've never felt anything like that before, unless someone I cared for died. As she walked away with her mom I went back to my class and broke down a bit. If I feel this strongly about a child I haven't seen in 6 months..how am I to say goodbye to the children I care so much for that are in my life everyday? This is going to be AWFUL. I know going back home to teach will be easier because it is much harder to develop bonds and attachments with students like we do here. Especially when you teach them kindergarten and they kiss and hug you and tell you they love you all the time. It's more like a little family in my classroom here, home I'll be saved the heartache from all of that.

After work on my way home I looked at the potted flowers attached to all the lamp posts, and the lush green mountains and the sunny clear blue sky and felt a pang in my heart. I watched kids walking alone in the street without a care in the world, beans and peppers on large tarps on the sidewalk drying in the sun without anyone around watching them. It is so safe here..people have respect for others and other people's property. Home isn't like that :( Children can't walk alone in the streets carefree and people can't leave things unattended because someone will steal them. I'm really going to miss Korea for that. It really is a great place to live. Now I'm going to lay under my air conditioner and try to cool off because it is so hot it is exhausting me!

2008-07-08T18:15:00.000+09:00

I feel like an ice cube melting slowing in the blazing sun. MAKE IT STOP!!

2008-07-07T11:46:00.003+09:00

The disgusting weather has now begun (or did so a few days ago) it's nasty. I hate waking up and having all the windows in my house totally steamed up. The humidity is CRAZY. Thank goodness for airconditioning! My replacement arrives in 3 days. The thought of it makes my stomach churn. I'm sure she's great but handing my kids over to the care of another person is going to be so hard for me. Oh well. I purged ALOT of stuff from my apartment this weekend. I only have 3 more boxes at the most to pack and them I'm finished. I've sold all of my stuff including my computer so that makes me happy..most of it is to my replacement so I can just leave everything as is and not have to move anything.

Tony called me last night and we discussed the weekend drama (not between he and I). I love ALL of you but I have to say the drama and fights every weekend is getting old and tired. Nothing is worth starting a fight with your friends over especially when it's so petty. I understand some people are having a hard time with things in their lives right now, but it is no excuse to take it out on your friends. We should all just hug and spred love. The good news is that Tony wants to take me to the airport the day I leave. That makes me happy cause everyone will be on holidays and gone and leaving Korea all alone will make it even more sad. I'm really glad he is going to come with me. We can share one last Cass together before I go through the gates.

Lunch is calling..have a great week everyone.

2008-07-06T17:52:00.002+09:00

3 weeks from tomorrow and I'll be in Canada. I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact it's time to go and get school done so I don't have to worry about it anymore. I'm looking forward to sprawling on the grass in my backyard while pouring a Keiths into my mouth..that sounds heavenly right now.

2008-07-06T15:40:00.004+09:00

I'm so lucky I have a friend like Cam who makes sure I have fun even when my wallet is empty. I can't wait till next Thursday and Friday when I'll FINALLY have cash to treat him to a lil fun too :)

This afternoon..

2008-07-05T12:06:00.002+09:00

Since having my kids over for a Christmas party they've been bugging me as to when they could come over again for an afternoon. Since I'm leaving in 3 weeks and a few of my kids are going away for the summer in a week, I figured this weekend would be a good time. So in an hour 7 twelve year olds will be coming over to hang out. They requested rootbeer, mac n cheese, some Star Wars and a game of Monopoly. I'm pretty much the best teacher ever..haha just kiddin.

I stole this from Cammy

2008-07-05T02:54:00.003+09:00

Just cause it's almost 3am and I can't sleep (and I really should because I'm having 7 twelve year olds over for the afternoon!) Songs from my MP3 player right now..

What does next year have in store for me? "There's No Other Way" Blur
What’s my love life like?"The Dumbing Down of Love" Frou Frou
What do I say when life gets hard? "Don't Stop Believing" Journey
What do I think of on waking up? "Alarm Call" Bjork
What song will I dance to at my wedding? "Sparks" Coldplay
What do I want as a career? "Paper Planes" M.I.A.
My favorite saying? "Radhe Radhe" Kula Shaker
Favorite place? "Can I stay" Ray LaMontange
What do I think of my parents? "I love you STOP" Red Force 5
What’s my porn star name? "Rainy Monday" Shiny Toy Guns
Where would I go on a first date? "Just What I needed" The Cars
Drug of choice? "Everyday Sunshine" Fishbone
Describe myself "Do You Realize?" The Flaming Lips
What is the thing I like doing most? "Chasing Cars" Snow Patrol
What is my state of mind like at the moment? "Young Folks" Peter, Bjorn, and John