Self-Kindness Sundays: Week 7 of 20

This past weekend was awful.  Just awful.  It started out well, but ended very poorly.  So that's why I am late.  I'm late because I wasn't feeling particularly loving of myself.  All the love and caring in my body was going towards a remarkable friend and woman and a cuddly little monkey child.  When I thought "what do I love about myself?" the only answers that came up were unrelated to me as a person and really just turned into new questions.

Yesterday, however was my birthday.  I'm now OVER a quarter of a century.  It's scary and exciting.  But the best part of my birthday was that it made me realize something that I love about myself.

Some people take their lives very seriously.  Leave little time for their own enjoyment.  Don't allow themselves to stray from their responsibilities, or obligations.  They are hardened by the corporate world and the politics within.  Jaded by the loss of childhood dreams and beliefs.  Grasped far too strongly to the expectations put on them to grow up, mature, be responsible at all costs.

Some people take their lives very lightly.  Leave little time for their responsibilities and only focus on their own enjoyment.  Don't have obligations, or just don't see them as such.  They are oblivious to the corporate world and the harsh politics within.  Jaded by nothing.  Grasped far too strongly to the Peter Pan mantra from their childhood and live in their own personal Never Never Land.

Some people walk along the fence on the border of seriousness and childishness.  Leave a balanced proportion of time for both their own enjoyment and for their responsibilities.  Don't allow themselves to stray too far on either extreme, or allow themselves to do so on occasion.  They are hardened by the corporate world and the sticky politics within, yet seek an escape from it to maintain some semblance of a conflict free zone in their lives.  Jaded by the loss of some childhood dreams, yet remain certain that some will come true, and ultimately work toward their fulfillment.  Grasped far too strongly to the a perhaps unrealistic ideal of equality and peace, to the idea that nice people do finish first, that good actions receive good actions, that everything happens for a reason, the good things WILL come, all in an attempt to stop the inevitable insanity that would grab them if they let themselves admit that these ideals are not consistent, and do tend to be rare for many.

Of course I'm not saying those are the ONLY kinds of people in the world.  There are also lazy people that are neither serious nor childish because they just can't be assed.  There are pessimists and optimists.  There are do-gooders, and martyrs.  The list could be endless really, but for me in my current world, I see people as either too serious, too childish, or a fine balance of the two.  Actually maybe I need to add in also the lazy type as well.

On my birthday, my students sang happy birthday to me.  They gave me hugs and kisses.  They told me they love me.

I realized that I am a good Kinder teacher...and why?...because I'm still a child at heart.  I take my job seriously in terms of making sure I educate them appropriately, impart my knowledge (albeit limited), and they learn what they are meant to learn.  I do however do all of that with a fun-loving nature.  I dance and sing, make silly faces, act like farm animals and draw pictures all over the board until they understand and are laughing.  They love me because they can relate to me, or maybe more appropriately I can relate to them.

I'm trying to teach them that learning can be fun.  Give them a foundation to build upon and grow with.  Provide them with the motivation to learn all they can, and do so with laughter and enjoyment.

So week 7: I love that I am young at heart, a child when I can be...but still responsible and realistic about my obligations as a ...ahem...26 year old. There I said it!

My birthday was a good one.  Throughout the whole day I received messages via facebook .  Well wishes for a great day.  Hopes for a fabulous 26th year of life.  I was surprised and pleased with all of the love coming my way from friends and family all over the world.

My morning was full of great big hugs from teeny tiny people.  Love and kisses from the greatest source...my little ones.  Playing with them in the playroom after story time, contributing to my child-like nature as they do everyday.

Birthday wishes and gifts from co-workers and friends.  Birthday songs in both English and Korean.

Lunch was with the usual lunch crew, Sarah and Myles, and Myles delighted both Sarah and I with treating us to lunch.  The afternoon was full of birthday wishes from the elementary school children.  Lots of "I love you's", chocolate, cards, and notebooks.

After work I was joined by a few friends, (Sarah, Myles, Kevin, Megan, Bryan, and Young Hoo) who are also children in big people bodies, for a fabulous Korean meal complete with drinks and gourmet cupcakes from Megan.

Among those beautiful faces was another source of keeping me young at heart.
The sweet Jinu.
The little monkey that hangs from my arm.
The shit slinging kookamunga that instantly brings a smile to my face.

All of these beautiful, unique, and remarkable characters in my life keep me sane.  They bring laughter to my heart.  They bring love to my soul.  They bring life to my being.

So thank you to everyone who contributed to making my date of birth a gorgeous day.
It was truly a beautiful day.

Self-Kindness Sundays: Week 6 of 20

This weekend was another one spent relaxing in Daejeon, running outside whenever the rain stops. It's rainy season in Korea and therefore ridiculously difficult to make plans and expect them to happen, unless it's indoors.

So when plans to spend the weekend on the beach in Busan were cancelled due to a friendly forecast of rain all weekend, Sarah and I decided to do some shopping with baby Jinu and our friend Megan. In the evening we bathed Jinu, played with him, watched So You Think You Can Dance (our favourite show-Jinu imitates the dancers), put him to bed, and then watched a movie with the first baby-free time we had all day.

Sunday we packed a picnic lunch, and head for Sutonggol Valley in Daejeon. It's actually also a part of Gyeryongsan National Park, which meant it was my third or fourth visit to that beautiful park that I'm lucky enough to have in my city. We spent the day playing with Jinu in the river, snacking on delicious pear, cheese, crackers, tuna, and seaweed, drinking strawberry lattes, and enjoying some fresh air. We later cooked some curry and then treated ourselves to some frozen yogurt and 2 hours of free time at one of our favourite coffee shops.

The weekend was full of laughter, love, drinks, stressful moments a la Jinu, relaxing moments a la Jinu, fun, exploration, and friends. I feel strange saying this but I guess that's all part of this project, so I'll just spit it out...I recognized and admitted to myself that I am a good friend. I'm sure there are some that would disagree, but hell I'd likely feel the same about them right!?

There certainly are things that I have learned thus far in my life about friendship that I needed to change and did, and there are things that I am still in the process of altering for the better (namely keeping better contact when living in a far far away land), but I know that despite that I care. I care so much about my friends. Some people have told me I care too much. I cry when they cry. I feel stressed when they are stressed. I help out however I can, to the best of my ability. I am generous of my time, wisdom(or lack thereof), and of myself. I'm a good listener when ears are needed, and I'm a good clown when laughs are needed, and I'm a good mute when silent comfort is needed. I try my best to motivate my friends to reach their goals, support their dreams, and encourage them to know that they can do anything. Of course I'm human and I am so far from a perfect friend, but I'm a good one!

So Week 6: I love that I am a good friend.

Speaking of good friends...it happens to be the 26th Birthday of a very good friend by the name of Mary!

Mary, Sarah and I celebrated your birthday all day! We did a picnic lunch Mary style, played in the river with Jinu as we know you would have, and cheers-ed our green tea lattes in honour of your birthday.

Mary we love you and miss you, and hope you have a glorious 26th year!!

사랑해!!

Love,

Your July birthday sistahs

Dear Blair

So it's your birthday, and it's the second one in a row that I've missed. So to make up for it I had my little ones sing a little song for you...cause no one can be angry when looking at these faces, but you could certainly be angry looking at my ginger face! It was chaos trying to get the little munchkins to sit still and sing, so I did the best Birthday Song I could, hope you enjoy!

Without further adew, this song was made just for you, my big sister!

Summarize: My First 3 Months

My first three months here has consisted of many new faces, the most beautiful children in the world, many drinks, late night outings, beautiful hikes, weekend getaways all over South Korea, temples, festivals, birthday parties, a baby shower for one of our Korean teachers, an Earth Day celebration extraordinaire, a Daejeon Hanwha Eagles baseball game, and a trip to Taiwan.
So upon my arrival at the Incheon Airport I was met by a Korean from my recruiting company. He spoke extremely little English, and he put me on a bus and said “last two stops”, to which I said “last stop?”. He retorted with “yes, last two stops”, and at that point I realized I would just smile sweetly at him, thank him, and get on the bus and hope that I can determine whether I need to get off at the last stop or the second last stop. Along the way we stopped at a rest stop, where I encountered my first “hole in the ground toilet”. And on the door to the hole in the ground I was met with a wonderful message and I had to capture it in a picture.

In Daejeon I was met with friendly faces, fruit Soju, and spicy Korean food. When I arrived I was taken straight to my school by a man I would come to know as Duey, the office bitch. Duey is a man of few words due to the whole language barrier thing, but he is warming up to me! I met Mary, and Laura, (Ben was in Canada), the other foreigners who I would be living with. Mary and Duey showed me to the apartment and I was able to relax the rest of the day getting to know everyone.
In my first few weeks there were many nights out with my Korean family, Ben, Mary and Laura, and outings with the Korean teachers at my school. Kate, one of the Korean teachers, is a regular fixture on our Soju adventures.

Laura, Me, Matt, and Mary...my first night out in Korea.

Tina, Mary, Me, and Laura...my first ECC (work) outing.

Charlie, Emily, and Ben.

Ben and the bosses wife, Janice....she was HAMMERED!

Me, Mary and Kate

Emily, Ben and Laura.

Kate, Mary, Emily and Ben eating fish cakes.

Rachel, another Korean friend had two birthday celebrations in one week, which consisted of delicious food, succulent cake, and thirst quenching Soju and fruit Soju. The second outing included my introduction to the Korean karaoke scene…called a Noraebong…where we jammed out with our clams out, (and for Ben, rocked out with his cock out)…don’t worry mum I don’t mean this literally!

Rachel blowing out her candles.

The first outing for Rachels Birthday.

Mary, Laura, and fruit Soju.

Kate, me, and Mary.

The start of the second outing for Rachels birthday.

First dinner at Amelie and Monicas, then out to noraebong!

Amelie, Rachel, and Monica.

The girls!

"I love you!"

NORAEBONG!!!

Ben, me, Mary, and Amelie.

Maria, a Korean teacher at our school, left two weeks after I started to go on maternity leave. We held a baby shower for her at our apartment, and prepared lots of food. Most of the Korean teachers from our school came, and it was a really great day.

The spread created by Mary and I.

Maria with one of the baby gifts.

Earth Day, April 22nd! Luanne came to visit me from Suwon for the whole weekend. We went out for a great Korean meal, and then went back to our apartment for Earth Hour. We turned out all the lights, turned off our computers, and lit a shit load of candles. We played cards and drank Soju in the candlelight and had a wicked time, we ended up turning Earth Hour into Earth Two Hours. We head out to Doonsandong, the downtown of Daejeon, and went to a bar and then to a club.

Joon, Mary, and Luanne.

Our setup for Earth Hour drinking.

Joon, Ben, and Laura.

Where there is Soju, there is food.

We moved onto Cocoon, a club in Doonsandong.

The Daejeon Hanwha Eagles vs. Seoul SK baseball game...my first of what I'm sure will be many...they love baseball here, and the crowd gets really into it!

Evidence of you being able to see a mountain from absolutely anywhere in Korea.

The Hanwha Eagles dancers.