Last goodbyes

Well this is it: my very last night in Korea. I simply can't believe how quickly two years has flown by. The other day I signed and dated a document as August 2012. Saying goodbye has been very hard.

Earlier this week I saod goodbye to my main coteachers. On Tuesday I went to Ashley's house and she cooked me delicious samgyupsal and I got to hang out with her and her baby in their gorgeous apartment. On Thursday Miyoung and I had delicious diy bibimbap and mackerel followed by coffee. She then helped me ship my remaining boxes,  including my precious laptop. Fingers crossed everything arrives safely! Saying goodbye to them was extremely difficult.  I was so unbelievably lucky having not one but two amazing coteachers who took such fantastic care of me. I'll miss them a ton.

Over the weekend I said goodbye to my friends. While I didn't have a big party,  I had a bunch of meals and spent my last night out enjoying a wild Norabang night for the last time.  I've eaten so much I might pop and have been spoiled with gifts and food. I met such amazing people out here. I will also miss them a ton!

I said goodbye to two of my favourite restaurant owners and even that was almost tearful. Tonight I brought some little cookies for my landlady to thank her. She gave me some peaches. Her and her friend laughed when I attempted to tell them what i'd had for dinner and then called me beautiful. I will miss Korean kindness more than I can say.

But on a happier note, tomorrow I start my holiday!  I'll ve spending two weeks in Malaysian Borneo!  I have packed extremely lightly which i'm proud of. I am so sad about my goodbyes I'm not really able to fully process my excitement,  but I know it'll be amazing. When I get back I'll upload a post about the trip,  and then finish off the blog with a conclusion post.  Anne is leaving Korea!

AMAZINGLY delicious chocolate mint bingsu.
A wonderful treat I will miss!

My very last class, a small camp where we mostly played
cards. Sweet girls. That shy little one was quite good
at Speed and Egyptian War!!

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My wonderful coteacher Miyoung and me.

Sad face - last run!

This awesome trail is totally one of the reasons I
got so into running these past two years!

Hwangseong Park was another great route.

Sending a suitcase from Korea to Canada

As you know, dear blog readers, my time in Korea is coming to an end. Feels unreal how quickly 2 years has flown by. I can't imagine not having come to Korea and lived abroad. It's been the absolute best.

However, moving always sucks. Because I plan to visit Borneo before heading home, I don't want to be lugging around luggage full of winter sweaters and student letters.(ok that was a super cool sentence wasn't it?) I heard we weren't allowed to ship our suitcases home, so I asked my coteacher to call and ask the post office. They assured her that if my suitcase was under 20kg and under 1m tall, it would be no problem. No one else I know had ever shipped home a suitcase, so I pakced it up and crossed my fingers. After a very sweaty walk to the post office (luckily my very fit friend carried it down the stairs for me) I was quickly told that suitcases could not be shipped, and my belongings needed to be in a box. So I called my coteacher, and handed the phone to the young post office worker. I don't know what magic occurred, but next thing I know my suitcase is being wrapped up into a beautiful postal present. I hope you look forward to receiving this ornate package mom and dad! Please have Charles lift it, it's insanely heavy. (19kg to be exact). I honestly don't know how I'd survive without Ashley's help!! For anyone in the internet who is looking to ship something similar, 20kg cost 55,000W for surface shipping (1-3 months delivery time).

Also here's a cute car. 

Also here's a cicada! It was dead, but it's feel were still functional and it grabbed hold of my string and walked home with me!

Goodbye teachers

The kids aren't the only amazing people I work with. I have been so lucky to work with a super friendly, encouraging and inclusive group of co-teachers. It was very sad saying goodbye to them as well! We went for a final lunch and they were extremely kind and got me a present! I am so grateful to them as they've all helped me so much throughout my stay in Korea.

For lunch I actually got to try something new, which is always super exciting! We had a dish called 물회 aka Mul Hoe. This literally translates to "water sashimi." It was actually super tasty and very refreshing on the hot day. I couldn't find it online so here you go other people looking to find out about it! It consists of raw fish, in this case flatfish though I hear it varies, veggies like radish, and a ton of delicious Asian pear. This then had yummy spicy red sauce added, then we add ice and rice. It becomes a cool mushy yumminess. I enjoyed it very much! I was less a fan of the giant snails we had for appetizer but they weren't bad when dipped in sauce. 

Thank you Yurim teachers! You are all amazing, and it's been an honour teaching with you!

Mul hoe before adding ice.

Mixed up and ice added.

Squid side dish. I love squid, but this had a weird filling
I wasn't a fan of.

All finished!

Time to start saying goodbye...

I began saying goodbye to my students this week.  Thursday and Friday are the days I teach my favourite grade: grade 5.  I knew for a while that next Friday, the 25th, I wouldn't be teaching. But I only found out yesterday that I also wouldn't be teaching Thursday the 24th. SO I had to say an impromptu goodbye to my Thursday classes. Luckily, I had my camera and was able to take class photos. It was super sad, but they were adorable as always and thanked me and said goodbye. Today however, the students and I knew it would be our last class.. and they prepared amaaaaaaazingly sweet letters and gifts! I couldn't help myself and I just photographed every letter.I will need to get a new scrapbook tomorrow... What an emotional bitter-sweet day!!

Piles of cards. The box gift was purchased
by two adorable twins who told me
they spent their own money on it.
I love them.

Let the cuteness begin...

This girl is super shy and quiet, I
was absolutely amazed and touched by
the translated version of this letter.

I don't know who translated this for her,
but I am so grateful. Such a moving letter!

This is a card from the twins!

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And the adorable contents of their box:
origami cranes and hearts, delicious cookies,
a lollipop, a cow pen, a rose petal decoration,
and a green teddy bear they asked me to keep
on my phone to always remember them by.

Okay? Love that her English name is Luz.

I haven't said goodbye to grade 6 just yet (and the majority of them are pubescent and really won't care haha), but I still have a few letters from them. The girl who wrote to me earlier (under the post Emotions) has been writing me daily and asking for immediate responses ("A4 paper is okay!") at school, so her letters are currently nestled in my desk.

 EMOTIONS!!!! I am really truly going to miss these kids. Every single letter means so much to me, even though I don't know all their names I know their faces and their personalities and ACH so sad. But such is the life of a teacher!

Beautiful beach day

I finally made my way out to Najeong Beach, in Gampo. It always blows my mind how easy it is to get to this lovely spot, just 1 hour by city bus from downtown Gyeongju! It was a beautiful day of swimming and relaxing, and of course people watching. It seems many Koreans aren't very comfortable in the water, so everyone had a ton of clothes and floating devices. This kid, as you can see, even had a bathing cap to prevent his hair from clogging up the drains of the oceans. When I would swim, sans floaties, out to the buoys, apparently people would watch in shock. It's quite funny. Either way, beautiful relaxing day, and a nice break from the heat.

Also, in a moment of connecting with my roots, I found both falafels and an Istanbul booth in Gyeongju! The falafels were delicious, in a little stall by the Express Bus Station. The woman said her husband is from Israel, and thats how she knows to make falafel and hummus. Sadly, one of mine fell onto the floor while I was eating!! But from what I tasted, it was super delicious.