I will lose 20 pounds this year. I will stop drinking so much and spend more time at the gym. I will call my mother more. I will never smoke again. I will eat healthier............................ Blah blah blah blah blah OK, fair enough, it would be lovely to actually succeed with goals like that. But resolutions shouldn't be so cut and dry. I have now, almost offically, spent a year away from home. I have grown, and changed. I have met fabulous people and ravelled to some of the most fascinating parts of the world...the most beautiful beaches, the most serene [View Full Entry]

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Just walked in the door. Slumped in the door is more like it. I always get that feeling of disassociation when I return home from a trip. But coming home to Korea has that extra oomph of oddity. I feel like I am sitting in a stranger's room. Maybe I am a stranger to the person that was here before December 22nd.....at least, I hope that is partially true. The past few months in Korea warped me more than I thought. And I am grateful a little sand and sun and fun puts things back into perspective. I was a little [View Full Entry]

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It doesn't need to be said but, in typical Shawna fashion, I will say it nonetheless......Christmas is tough when you are abroad. In all honesty, I am handling it much better then I ever would have thought possible, considering my roommate and best friend is going home, to Calgary, to do everything I would sell my SOUL to do right about now (ie. Banff, hockey, dinner with MY family).....however, I am going to Thailand. And let's be honest.....it's Thailand. What am I complaining about. But the holidays really sneak up on you...I mean REALLY sneak up on you. Fair enough, they [View Full Entry]

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So it is the most wonderful time of the year. No really, ask anyone. Well, anyone who has spent an October or even a November in Korea. Autumn is absolutely amazng. Even today, as the snow that has been collecting dirt on the sides of the slushy roads in Calgary melts on a rare temperate November afternoon, the leaves (some still completely green and lush) cling tightly to the branches of the big, protective trees that line every "heavenly" street in Bundang. They say Bundang means "under heaven" in Korean. If you can't get to heaven yet, the next best thing [View Full Entry]

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OK, I knew I always wanted to be a teacher during the holidays, but this was something else. First of all, it is safe to say I will have a hard time thinking kids back home are half as cute as a school full of Koreans dressed up as various idols from Western pop culture. Second of all, today is the day I learned just how fabulous my kids really are. They are, by far, the coolest kids in Korea....that is NOT a biased opinion. I swear. They were a RIOT! they always are, but totally, utterly priceless today. Really. I [View Full Entry]

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I won't give a big speech. All I will say is, YAY! My poor children are bearing the brunt of my obsession. But they are loving it. They are brilliant little apprentices. Check out the video. [View Full Entry]

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OK, so I have a problem. I have a lot of problems...this I am starting to realize. Maybe I should quit the obsessions and take a look at why I am having them? But obsessing is so much fun! Hockey starts on Friday, which does not leave a lot of room for anything else in my obsessive little heart, so Everland today was probably the perfect time to go. I gave er my all. It was an excellent day, and I am grateful for the fact that Katie was with me to gorge on all the candy and churros and burgers [View Full Entry]

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I do acknowledge that Thanksgiving has become, as of the past few years, a small dinner, a small moment of gratefulness for family, and good food, and a day off. The hoopla it may have once held, or may hold for other families, has dwindled for our family...and by that I mean that we have accepted it as a wonderful excuse to cook a turkey, and actually sit down at the dinner table together. It is not a large gathering of friends and family...it is not an excuse to overdo it on wine and tell embarassing stories to members of your [View Full Entry]

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What I really needed was a little traditional Korean spontenaity. That is exactly what I got. My role that day was to be tour guide...bring the new guys to the oh-so-wonderful Emart for a shopping spree. But I really wanted to wander around Seoul, really really badly, that afternoon. Afterall, Emart isn't going anywhere. And it is local, only a short jaunt down the road...that can be accomplished anytime. Anyway, I knew the boys would be in for a little sightseeing. Who wouldn't be, it's Insadong...and it was an amazingly beautiful day. No day to be fighting the bargainhunter crowds, no [View Full Entry]

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I think life is a constant flux of emotion. I don't think this really needs to be mentioned. However, it is those moments when the emotions plateau at an altitude that lets you appreciate fully how lucky you are, in that particular part of your life, to have the benefits and opportunities you have only for that specific time and that specific place. Walking has been the saving grace for my experience here. And I really don't mean to be melodramatic, but simple exploratory exercise in a place like Bundang gives a person a whole new (or repetitive) appreciation for the [View Full Entry]

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