I need to get away from here

After 6 years in Korea, and my recent bought of homesickness that prodded me start this blog just 5 months ago, I have decided that it is in fact time for me to leave. Probably not permenantly, but for a couple of months for sure.

I know this because I have lost every morsel of patience for pretty much everything in my day to day life here.

I have been doing things to help relieve stress, and I am proactive enough to know that I needed advice from an unbisaed person. I had a "therapy "session with an American counsellor located in Seoul to help get some perspective. It did help. alot. I felt motivated to make some decisions I had been putting off- the biggest one being: getting the hell out of this country for a while.

I apologise if it sounds like I'm hating on Korea; I'm not. I know it's me, I know I'm burnt out. So re-signing my contract come September, would be a bad, bad idea.

Case and point:

I awoke this morning to 6 dead cockroaches on my indoor veranda, probably dead because of the spray I used to kill 2 last night. ugh. After arriving to school this morning, I found this blog http://http://underquarantine.tumblr.com/page/3 about a group of 50+ English teachers being held in quarantine for suspicion of contracting the swine flu.

The last couple of weeks have been similar to this. Not that either of these things are dramatic enough to put me over the edge, but day in and day out, lately there seems to be alot of things that just rub me the wrong way...

Anyways...

The part that really made me angry was the fact that a) I've been here long enough to know there is almost zero communication between the people in charge and people doing the work, which means, no one is really telling anyone anything. and b) the Korean government seems to be doing a good job of keeping the whole thing secretive- the Korean newspapers dont seem to have the exact details of or even how many are actually being held. I've posted some pictures from this guys Blog about being inside the quarnatine, but you should DEFINELTY read it for yourself. It's ridiculous. .... I need to go home for a while...

residential facility that is being used as quarantine

dealing with boredom

listening to one of the health officials tell them thay would have to be isolated to their own rooms 24/7. neat.

The Plate

A Lovely new little Bistro has opened up here on the island, and everone has been talking about it. We went for a late lunch on Saturday afternoon, and it definetly went above my expectations. It remindedme of the Sunday morning hangover places we used to frequent when i was a student in Halifax. Modern and spacey, but very relaxed. I liked the atmosphere right away. we sat out on the veranda because we all the pups with us.

I ordered the Fish and Chips, Jessie had the Fajita, and the others ordered the Cheeseburger which was the special and we all had Bloody Mary's. Everyone seemed pretty satisfied, and the converstion was great. It mostly involved stories of quack doctors that we have all encountered here. good times.

Jay, Anj, Jessie and Chewy

The Plate is located behind Lotte Mart in Shin Jeju, near United Food Mart.

Random Korean festivities

Clams?

wandering around yesterday with Kooru, we happened upon a clam digging festival of some sort. We watched for a while, Kooro was interested in the waves slapping against the rocks, and waded into the rocky sea water.

I'm really tying trying to socialise him as much as possible, as he still seems quite nervous in most situations. I got a call from my landlord today, saying that one of my neighbors was complaining about the barking while I was at work.... sigh. I guess we just need some more time and training, and perhaps a little more effort on my behalf...

But it was nice to be out in the sun none the less :)

A Fresh Start

After Peanut passed, I felt so guilty of the thought of another dog, Like I was betraying her. But I've always had animals in my life, and felt so empty without an furry little friend to come home to.

After a lot of thought, and crying on my part, we decided to help out a little Yorkie who had been found abandoned. I think Peanut would be happy to know that we helped get another dog off the streets. I asked myself if I was trying to replace Peanut with with other dog, and the question was absolutely NO. I wanted something totally different. and Peanut could never be replaced.

So, we found Andy at a pet rescue centre/ clinic in Suwon, just south of Seoul. He's a 2 year old, 2 kilo, Yorkshire Terrier. (although he looks like a chiuaua right now...)

He had been found wandering the streets and someone was kind enough to bring him in. He has some separation/ abandonment anxiety that we are working on, but he is a loving and cuddly little guy. We've renamed him Kuro. He seems pretty happy, and that makes me happy.

Kyoka Ryokan, Kyoto

After staying at Susana's house in Osaka, we took the train to Kyoto the next day. We had a reservation at the Ryokan Kyoka, near the Kyoto train station, and about a 30 minute walk to Gion.

arriving at Kyoto train station

Ryokan Kyoka

It was my first time staying in a Ryokan. I had read that most Ryokans had curfews for their guests and this one was no exception. We had to be back before 11:00pm each night, which was fine, because we were both exhausted. we did get lost the first night though, nad didnt make it back until 12:00... oops. The manager seemed mildly annoyed at first, but was fine the next day.

Our room was cute, good size for one or 2 people. It had the tatami mats, futon mattress, sliding wooden doors and a small seating area, and sink. But we did see larger family size rooms.

The bathrooms were shared, but it didnt bother me like I thought it would.

There were 2 shower rooms, one on each floor and a Japanese style bath on the first floor.

Breakfast was offered from 7-9 each morning for an extra 300 yen, which we skipped. The Ryokan also had a little garden with a koi pond and free internet access.

It wasnt a bad deal, considereing everything else was booked up. The rooms were a little old looking, but were very clean. Not bad for 8400 Yen/ night for 2 people. I would recommend this place, but I would also like to check out other Ryokans next time.

Japan Homestay

So me and my boyfriend, Young Ho, decided to go to Japan for our one year anniversary. I've been to Japan more than a few times for visa runs, but generally never had time to stay long enough to do anything touristy. Young Ho has never had the chance to travel before, so we decided Japan was a good place for him to start.

After booking and paying for the plane tickets, we realised it was Golden Week in Japan- which is a bunch of holidays all falling within the same week, which meant pretty much everything was booked.

But after some searching around travellers websites, we came across Susana's ad for a homestay which I found on http://www.localyte.com/, a website for travellers and people living in desired destinations who offer services for people wanting to travel to said desired destinations.

Me, Young Ho and Susana in Osaka

Susana offers a room for 3000 yen/person/night in her lovely clean home. You can check out her blog :http://stayatmyhome.blogspot.com/ for more info.

We thought it was awsome. Susana was soooo kind and helpful, and neither of us had ever stayed in a typical Japanese style home, complete with Tatami mats and sliding doors. The room was comfortable, and not too small, with a great price; perfect for lady travellers or a couple. Her building is also located close to the JR lines and the subway. Very convenient.

Our room, sorry it looks so messy- it looks so much nicer on Susana's site :)

Kitchen

bathroom, which is totally different from Korean style bathrooms. everything- toilet, sink and bathtub/shower are in separate rooms. very convenient with lots of people in your house!

Bathtub

Thing to lite the fire to get the hot water goin!... I thought Korea's system was a pain in the ass!

View from her balcony

nearby her house- she lives in a lovely, quiet residential area

Young Ho with the Spanish flag.

All in all we had an awsome experience. I recommend Susana's Homestay to anyone looking comfy, cheap clean lodgings with a friendly spanish girl when in Osaka!

Amazing People

In search of ways to soften the blow at the loss of my little Peanut, I have joined an online community based here in korea: http://www.animalrescuekorea.org/ that helps homeless and abandoned animals. I am not quite ready to adopt another furry little friend, but helping out makes me feel better, and I know peanut would approve.

In the forums, I came across this video about a girl who started this truly amazing project in the US.

You can also check out her website: http://www.freekibble.com/
Everytime someone logs on to the site, kibble is donated to animal shelters.
I absolutely LOVE hearing stories like this