A Korean Koristmas, Second Time Around

Our Christmas post is coming to you nice and early, since our actual Christmas will be spent snorkelling in the Philippines. I know, I know, life's a bitch.

We've settled into our new, more modest apartment just in time for Bryan and Selina's 2nd Annual Koristmas Party. Useless gifts being the theme, we exchanged presents of fish food, flattened pennies, whitening face masks, and a poo noise-maker hammer that screams "I Love You" when smashed. Oh my dearest friends, you are so very clever.

We ate far too much delicious food, indulged in some celebratory Christmas drinks, and played games into the night.

Believing in keeping blog posts short and sweet, I'll leave you with one of my favorite Christmas quotes, from none other than the wise Dr. Seuss:

"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more."



Happy Holidays!

Thank you, Mr. Clean!

After last year's costume success (Wayne and Garth - shwing!), Bry and I were a little hesitant to tackle Hallowe'en #2. However, Mr. Clean and his housewife were a major party hit. Slightly lost on Europeans (Are you Sisqo?) all the North Americans were drawn to the bright white, big, bad cleaning machine. Bry played the part perfectly and I was a loyal supporting actress. Partying with the likes of Dr. Pepper, the Hamburgular, Van Gogh, and the Care Bears, Hallowe'en proved itself as it has every year, letting the kid inside escape for some good old fashioned childhood fun.





How'd we do?

ZZZZZZZZIP!

After renting a love motel and accidentally staying out far too late wandering the streets of Seoul, Brent, Lizzie, Bryan and I set off for an early morning trek to Mungyeong Ziplining course. On a couple (and I do mean a couple) hours of sleep, a 7am subway, and a 2.5 hour bus ride, we made it to Zipline Heaven. Following a rocky ride in the back of a questionable truck up the spirals of a fall-colored mountainside, we started the fun. We ziplined for 3 hours, from summit to base. I learned that flying through the air with gorgeous Korean countryside views is a decent way to spend a Saturday afternoon. Fresh air, good friends, and another bullet checked off the bucket list, we chalked the weekend up to success and logged it in the file of good memories and great times.

Oh Korea, you did it again.

Global Gathering Korea

This summer was a blur, with our trip to Bali, my parents visiting from Ottawa, Lo and Kev from Busan, and Jenny from Vietnam. So Global Gathering electronic music festival seemed the perfect way to finish off the amazing times we had and say good-bye to the warm weather. With a massive outdoor venue, ideally set beside the Han river, Global Gathering provided the perfect opportunity to have one of those nights you find yourself wandering home in the morning sun, broke, lost, deaf, and completely at peace with the fact that you lost one of your shoes. Also, somehow Korea was able to swing a mind-blowing lineup featuring FATBOY SLIM, JUSTICE, and ARMIN VAN BURREN! Needless to say the stoke was burning high.

Upon arrival I was intrigued by the sea of taco trucks and Jagger tents, I knew this night was chalking up. Two tacos down and a fist full of Jagger (5 for $20), Justice hit the stage and I held onto Selina for her life, shielding her from crowd surfers and a crowd going nuts for Justice's heavy acid organ drops. It was a mashy good time. Afterwards as we were refuelling with more Jagger bombs and butter chicken there was a summoning calling from the main stage "I want to praise you like I shhhooouullldddddddddddddddd." IT WAS TIME. I have seen a lot of DJs . . . hands down FatBoy was the most schooled in the art having thousands of people leaping and screaming for two solid hours. No down time, zero. Not even a bit. All in all a wonderfully charming evening!

Bob and Cheryl's Excellent Korean Adventure!

Apprehension, hesitation, doubt, and a deep-set general fear, were all emotions I experience in preparation of my parents' arrival. In August of 2010, Bob and Cheryl made the long voyage to visit Selina and I here in South Korea, and also take a detour to see Satomi in Japan. Although they have traveled before, no trip had been as far, or to locations outside the comfort zone of English tourism and accommodation. I was a little worried they would get lost, stranded, or end up in China . . .


Fortunately, I was proven wrong and we all had an amazingly hilarious Bob and Cheryl adventure here in Asia, complete with exploring Namsan mountain, kareoke, going to temples, and trying lots of new foods. Bob took immediately to the chopsticks as Cheryl kept a fork in her purse at all times, actually. Also, Bob adapted to the finer offerings of Korea: kimchi (spicy fermented cabbage), soju (rice alcohol), and spam (a delicacy!)
They left for four days to Japan where Satomi showed them Ninja castles, busy shopping streets, and introduced them to more foods unfamiliar.




Upon their arrival back to Korea we had a surprise waiting for them: Jenny Sloan! My cousin Jenny came from Vietnam to spend the weekend with us. Selina and I found ourselves hosting a full house, and it really started to feel a bit like home. All in all it was an amazing trip, Cheryl never tried chopsticks, the locals are still confused by things Bob was ranting about, and nobody ever wants to see a temple ever again!

Foursome Fun

For the past week, Bry Guy and I have had the pleasure of entertaining some pretty fantastic people. Lo, a best from Canada, and her quality boyfriend Kev (or if I dare... Kevy Kev) made a visit up to Seoul for Chuseok. Every day was superbe, but there's of course high points, which I'll summarize for your maximum reading pleasure.

Highlights include: shisha bar, Seoul wining and dining, games night, and Everland, Korea's biggest amusement park. We also (pardon my French) devirginized them to several life necessities: Kevy Kev had never been on a roller coaster (gasp!) and they have been living in Korea for 3 months, and had never been to a noraebong (bigger gasp!). We also got to talk and bond over life and working in Korea, and overall got to hang out with some pretty rad folks.





Then, just because we're ever so spontaneous, the following day we followed them back to their Korean homeland, Busan (coastal city on the Southeast). So the fun continued, doing it up in the surf town, where Bry's stoke was oozing from every pore. We partay-ed on the beach, surfed it up, and continued the good times. I'm sure LoLo and Kevy Kev will make their way back into our blog in the future, as we have tentative plans of Beijing 2011. May the international double dating continue one green tea latte at a time.

Days of Birth

Within this past Virgo range, both parts of this couple celebrated birthdays. Bry, being the extraordinary man that he is, outdid all previous birthdays by a somewhat large stretch. Meaningful plans were made, outrageous surprises were given, and minds were certainly blown (specifically, my own). Topping off the extremes to which he did not need to venture, Mr. Wonderful even arranged for me to fulfill a bucket list goal:



I'm not sure what else a girl can ask for. Perhaps the ability and skills to one day repay the good deeds. I will try my darndest, but in the meantime, I'll send a huge cyber shout-out to Bry Guy for being the best boyfriend this side of China. Happy as a 대합.



Till next time.