Never before has a purchase said so more about my current state of mind than the above(apart from a hideous pair of red gingham wedges that were a purchase after the last break up...jeez I'm beginning to sound like Bridget Jones...). Anyhoo I'm kind of at pains to write at the moment as it's been a bloomin awful day and I'm worried as to what strange negative forces may possess my fingertips should I allow them free rein.....however seen as I've been able to muster very little for the past month at least its a start. So far today I've [View Full Entry]

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As you can see fro the picture I visited Great Britain again the other day. The 'London Carnival' came to Busan and there was absolutely no way I could let it leave without having a nosy. I expected there to be exhibitions about Britain and may be some British food and believe me, after all the rice I have eaten over the past 6 months the prospect of Shepherds pie and fish and chips was, well, it was all I could do to contain myself. I went with Kelly and when we arrived it wasn't what I expected at all. [View Full Entry]

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No sound of mail dropping onto the doormat. No carrier pigeon beating his wings against my apartment window bearing joyful messages of love. Not even a flippin e-card. Nothing. Zilch. What with being busy earning his latest Michelin star and his recent New York venture I had begun to think Gordon Ramsey had forgotton about me. Not even Beckham (who I like to think of as my cheeky bit on the side) bothered to send me a card, not that I care though, I'm still waiting for his voice to drop and what with his recent fall from grace he's no [View Full Entry]

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I've been here nearly 5 months now and hadn't even left Busan, when you figure thats nearly half a year in a foreign country in the same city it kinda looks pretty unadventurous (though if you saw the second hand shops here you may come closer to understanding...bliss). The Scots (Linsay, Richard and Martin) being made of hardier stuff than me picked up the mantle of the intrepid explorer and headed 1.5 hours north to Daegu taking midget along with them. Now (and I hope no Koreans read this- if you are reading this and you're Korean hopefully I'll have [View Full Entry]

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A couple of weeks ago all ESS staff ahd a 4 day weekend- yippee!! This is one of the perks of working at ESS, we only work 20 days in a month and because we had worked over that the previous month it meant we got 2 days off this month. I mentionned to my wonderful 11am class that I was at a loss as to what to do with the two days but I need not have feared, they came to my rescue with an itinarary, smiling enthusiasm and the obligatory homemade gimbab (the equivalent of an Englishmans cheese and [View Full Entry]

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Ok I admit it, I couldn't go a whole Christmas without popping back to Blighty at some point, and I thought it a must that I attend that quintessential Western tradition that is the office party/piss up/dance show (Bollywood no exception eh Clare!)/gossip mongers favourite time of the year. outside the box kindly wecomed me back into the fold to attend their Christmas bash and although I can't remember much (it's almost like I was there in body but not in spirit)I'm told I stayed looking remarkable fresh all night and had the attention of many a drunken man. As you [View Full Entry]

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So today was turning out to be a really bad day. I think I was just tired and having one of those days when it would have been super nice for somebody else to do my grocery shopping and cook my tea- I've come to realise the benefits of flatmates since I've been away! Plus I lost something due to my tiredness and carelessness which really annoyed me. Even a cup of Tetleys and a second bar of chocolate didn't help. Plus my free talking beginner students just looked at me blankly when I raised the topic of domestic violence with [View Full Entry]

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So sometimes there are just some things that keep a girl going you know?! In the absence of a suitable partner I have turned to other means to satisfy myself. In steps the toast man. The toast man can be found every day a 5 minute walk from my work. He can rustle up the best toasted sandwich I have ever had in my life, so good in fact that the other day, once I had already been for dinner, the toast man was out on the street at 2am (bless his cotton socks) and such is my commitment to showing [View Full Entry]

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Hey- so every Friday I normally go out in Nampodong. Its the southern end of Busan and is the original downtown so it has many bars and restaurants but not so many foreigners, on a Saturday I normally head up to Kyungseong which is considered a more 'foreigner' area. In the absence of any good clubs and good music (although I am developing an ear for Korean love ballads which is most worrying) I normally end up eating galbi, drinking soju and going to noraebang which is exactly what I did last Friday. Its either just co-workers and sometimes students as [View Full Entry]

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So a couple of Fridays ago (that pesky time delay again) my Korean co-workers 'treated' me to the wonderful jokpal, thats pigs feet to you and me. Apparently it had been one of the previous foreign teachers favourites and it was hoped I would take to the trotters with the same relish and gusto that he had. (On an aside did I mention that the previous teacher was also from Durham- Sherburn Hill to be precise, approximately 3 miles from my house? It only turns out we went to the same flippin school- a small small world I tell thee). So [View Full Entry]

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