Mud glorious mud!

It is strange to be leaving Gunsan after such a short time, however it feels like I have been here for months on end and I know that I will keep in touch with everyone. Had a get together on Friday night to see everyone for one more night out here. We had a few drinks in a bar then moved on to where we always end up - the noraebang (karaoke for those who don't know)!! It's always a good laugh and after singing for about 3hours, we called it a night ready for the fun packed weekend ahead.

MUD FESTIVAL!! Yes, this is where we spent the weekend :) Covered in MUD. And it was brilliant! The first thing you have to do, is put ALL your belongings in a locker before you get thrown in a mud bath with them, the next thing is to go to the 'self-massage' area and pour mud all over yourself and third thing is to have lots of fun doing it!! Managed to swim in the Yellow sea too which was amazing. It was the first time I have been fully submerged in water in nearly 3 months - great feeling. I also had my first jinjibang experience - this is a public showers type affair where you can have a hot shower, bath, sauna, body scrub etc for the price of about 2 quid and they are all over the place. A lot of people go once a week as it is so relaxing. It all gets very close and personal as it is all communal so for those who aren't too keen to strutt your stuff naked in public and have random women scrub your back for you, this may not be the thing for you! And if you are a man with hairy arms or legs, be prepared for the Korean men to pull them while they are sitting next to you starkers as it's not something they see very often!

So, Victoria, Tara and I had our showers, got all the mud off us, then got some food. We had clams and beef bulgogi (hard to describe but it is beef cooked as if in a stew but without all the liquid. It's very tasty). A drumming and singing performance was layed on followed by fireworks, after which we made our way to a club to cut some shapes on the dance floor. Was great to be able to dance whenever you want to rather than having the dance floor manned by the dj. The beers in there were \10000 (about 5 quid each) so we were cheap and didn't drink! I guess that most business down there make most of their revenue over this one week period. It's a very quiet town on a normal day.

Breakfast was a very non-Korean breakfast. The first in a long time! Toast with jam then pancakes with lemon and sugar! Tasty! Stayed with a friend at her mate's house and there were about 10 of us there having brekkie together - most South Africans. I was going to head back to the festival but it was tipping it down (the sort of rain you get soaked through in after 5 secs in it) so decided to come back to Gunsan.

All packed and ready to go for my new start in Seoul. Looking forward to it!

Photos to come tomorrow.

A week on a bus and a job to go to!

So this week I have spent every single day on a bus..... Monday I was on the bus from 9:30am - 5pm.. Gunsan - Gimhae - Gyeongju. Because the school I was visiting had nowhere to put me up, I ended up getting on another bus to stay with a friend of a friends in Daegu. Lovely lovely girl called Hannah - she climbs with a friend of mine in Gunsan and is from near Bristol in the UK. It's always nice to chat to someone with a British accent rather than an American/Canadian accent - there aren't many around in Korea.

On the way to Gimhae:

In gimhae:

Bus stop in Gimhae:

Gimhae:

Leaving Gimhae:

Got back to Gunsan on Tuesday via Jeonju in time for Matthew's birthday dinner in lovely Italian restaurant. Had ricotta and spinach ravioli - yummy!!

Between Daegu and Jeonju:

Matty's birthday dinner:

Set off to Seoul for my interview on Wednesday. Was a good day. Unlike Monday where they thought I was going there to work straightaway, I had a proper interview and also had to teach 2 x 80min classes with no preparation so they could see how I teach. So, I got the job! Woohoo!! I am very happy about this :) The school is a public elementary school in Bomun - dong, Seoul. This means that I am technically employed by the government and so shouldn't have any of the problems I had at my last job. I also have my own apartment (finally!) which is in walking distance from the school. I move in to it in a week and it is nice a spacious for me on my own. There is one other foreign teacher called James. He is from High Wickham and he seems like a nice guy. He is quite well settled in Korea (been here neraly 2 yrs I think and has a Korean girlfriend) and I get the distinct impression he does not want to have to baby sit me. So, will try my best to not get in his way!!

Met the headteacher and he is very keen on his sport - have been asked if I would be willing to help out with sports stuff and I my reaction was "yes, yes, yes"!!!! Apparently there are volleyball tournaments between teachers at different schools so will getting involved in that :) There is a music room next to the English centre so maybe I can also get time to practice my violin and piano.. I hope.

My new coteacher is interesting.... I'm not allowed to go to Itaewon (lots of US air force guys there) because I will become a drug and alcohol addict. I am not allowed to meet with foreigners because again, I will become an alcoholic and I will also catch swine flu. Do I have a boyfriend? How much do you drink? And it went on and on.... CRAZY!!!!! She then proceeded to tell me that I have to be able to drink because the head teachers likes to go out with the teachers once in a while... Hmmm, I think I will have to avoid telling her about what I do in my spare time!! Or just say I stay at home reading books day in day out...

Got back to Gunsan yesterday and met up with Victoria, Jamie and Josh. It was like going on a double date! Very good fun as we played that line up the whole night - played doubles in pool and had little "domestics" between us as if we had been going out for years. All good fun and yes, childish!

It's my last day in Gunsan and haven't actually done very much... Need to get my documents together for Monday and get stuff packed for the week. Meeting up with a few friends later on. will be sad to be leaving here....

Tomorrow is MUDFEST!! Cannot wait! It's a festival on Boryeong beach (about an hour north of Gunsan). Click here to find out a bit more about it. It looks like good fun and anyone I know who has been says it is not one to be missed.

Oh, and guess what I found in Gunsan last night!! A little Kenyan coffee shop! I was so shocked!!

I'm sure there will be lots of pictures from the weekend to come!!

Jeonju and July 4th celebrations

On Friday I ventured off to Jeonju with the lads. Jeonju is about an hour away from Gunsan so is very easy to get too. We had the most amazing dinner ever!! Lots and lots of meat and garlic :)

Me, Dan, Josh and Josh

After this we found the 'foreigner' bar and where we discovered the poker set. Played a good round, had a few beers and then went clubbing - the most interesting clubbing experience I have ever had!!! Going for a dance in a club is not as easy as it sounds.... You are only allowed to go to the dance floor when the dj allocates 'dancing time' because inbetween 'dancing times' you have to have 'social time' - this is where the dancefloor disperses and everyone heads back to their tables for forced 'social time'!! You then have to wait for the next time the dj thinks you are able to dance again. Toooo funny!!

All in all it was a good night, we had some really good fried chicken before we headed back to Gunsan on the first morning bus.

A few of us were invited to the US air base to celebrated July 4th. Was really good fun!! A great bunch of people, some good chat and a nice early night to top it off with!

Edwin, Laura, Jocelyn and me on base.

'Shotgunning' the beer!

I am currently sat in Gyeongju where I thought I had an interview for a job - in fact, they thought that I had already taken the job and was coming here today permanently!! The language barrier can definitely cause a few mix ups over here!! It's a lovely city and is very well known for its history and outdoor activities. It is a little out the way though and more difficult to travel within Korea in comparision to where I currently am in Gunsan. I head to Daegu to stay with someone there tonight and then back to Gunsan tomorrow. Off to Seoul on Wednesday for my other interview and then it is decision making time!!

A move in Korea

So, unfortunately all things ended at my current schools, however due to the circumstances, my employer has been extremely helpful and is writing me references and actively helping find a new job. Glad it's ended on up between us. Have already had 3 jobs suggested and the good thing is I can go and meet the directors, see the school and the set up before I sign any papers. So, next week will be spent at interviews and then when i've decided where to work, I will go on a short holiday outside of Korea and then come back to a new start. A long and difficult week but it has ended well.

Not much else has happened this week. I have been doing 20+km cycles every morning and seeing new parts of the city. Some beautiful places. Especially down by the sea.

We celebrated Canada day on Wednesay night - all dressed up in red and white with lots of balloons and flyers. Good fun :) Tomorrow, a few of us have been invited to the US air base to celebrate July 4th with them. It will be the first time i've actually been on base - looking forward to the bbqs, swimming and fireworks. Sunday is supposed to be my cycle with the man from the bike shop - I have to meet him at 6am to start so will have to keep it low key on Saturday! I hope I have got the date right and it is not next weekend! Wish me luck - its over 100km!! Eeeek!

Till next time...