Blogger to Wordpress

My new blog, (Click here) Korea- The Final Chapter

The day has finally arrived....HOME TIME!

It is finally here, the day David and I get to go home for a whole 18 days. I am soooooooooooooooooo excited.We leave Changnyeong at 2pm and are going to  head to Seoul in our car. It should take around 5-6 hours to get to the airport. We plan to stay in a hostel on Friday night as we fly Saturday early morning. Eeeeekkkkkkkkkkkkkk....sooooooooooooooooooo EXXXCCCIITTTTED!!!!!!!!!!!!

Gangnam Style

This is absolutely EVERYWHERE at the minute, it's crazy. The Korean rapper/ pop singer Park Jae Sung (PSY) is previously known for his humorous pop videos and stage performances.

Gangnam style was released in mid-July and by September 1st  it was the most viewed K-pop video in history and has been viewed over 75 millions times worldwide and counting. It has indeed gone 'viral!' It's on every blog, news articles etc... I wasn't going to put it on here but I thought it  is a significant song/moment for the Korean wave. When I have left Korea and I am reading my blogs I think I will appreciate the memories this post will bring!

Lyrics in English 

Eh- sexy lady, Oppan gang-namseutayil
Eh- sexy lady,Oppan gang-namseutayilEnglish Translation:

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

A girl who looks quiet but plays when she plays

A girl who puts her hair down when the right time comes

A girl who covers herself but is more sexy than a girl who bares it all

A sensable girl like that

I’m a guy

A guy who seems calm but plays when he plays

A guy who goes completely crazy when the right time comes

A guy who has bulging ideas rather than muscles

That kind of guy

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Beautiful, loveable

Yes you, hey, yes you, hey

Now let’s go until the end

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style, Gangnam style

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby

I’m a man who knows a thing or two

On top of the running man is the flying man, baby baby

I’m a man who knows a thing or two

You know what I’m saying

Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady, Oppa is Gangnam style

Eh- Sexy Lady oh oh oh oh 

I like the video because I recognize a lot of the places in it!

Olympics London 2012

I am outside of the UK for yet another significant social event, the Olympics. I guess I can't complain as it is my choice. It's just that seeing all of the action in the media makes me extremely home sick!

The Olympic closing ceremony was on Sunday and the athletes victory parade was held yesterday. Over one million people filled the streets of London to get a glimpse of the 750 members of the Team GB and Paralympic GB athletes. 

Team GB and Paralympic GB won a total of 65 medals, including 29 Gold, 17 Silver and 19 Bronze. I of course enjoyed watching Taekwondo as well as the Gymnastics and Hockey.

Jade Jones won Gold

Lutalo Muhammad won Bronze

Louis Smith won Silver

Max Whitlock won Bronze

Elizabeth Tweedle won Bronze

Women's Hockey won Bronze

South Korea also done extremely well and I have been just as much interested in Team Korea  as I have Team GB. Team Korea won a totel of 28 medals in total, including 13 Gold, 8 Silver and 7 Bronze. Archery is extremely popular in Korea. It was the one that my students talked about constantly.

Oh Jin Hyek won Gold

Ki Bo Bae won Gold

Women's team won Gold

Men's team won Silver

Hwang Kyung Seon won Gold

Lee Dae Hoon won Silver

Yang Hak Seon won Gold

Major events such as this gives you a reason to feel patriotic and proud of your country. (The country you are from or another country you feel you have connections too) Growing up in the UK I feel that I haven't had a lot of chances to feel patriotic, well not as much as I would like to! Let's hope I can make it to Rio 2016! 

Weekend shopping in Busan

David and I spent last weekend in Busan getting some last minute shopping done before we fly home on Saturday. I think I am happy with all the souvenirs I bought for my family. I have bought loads of stuff, most of it is just cute random items. I love shopping for gifts. I ended up buying just as much cute stuff for myself! 

We stayed in the Ibis Ambassador Hotel. This was right next to Bujeon Station, Exit 1. It was reasonably priced with a great bar on the seventeenth floor.We normal stay in love motels so this place had a standard to beat...it done okay!

We spent most of our time shopping in Nampodong and Seomyeon.  We had a really nice lunch on Saturday in Seomyeon. It was in a Japanese restaurant. It was extremely delicious and so big that we didn't have room food dinner later.

....Well we didn't have room for dinner but we did find room for some alcohol. Our first stop was in a bar called Barket in Seomyeon. This was a cross between a bar and a corner shop. You picked what ever drinks you wanted from the fridge and paid on your way out. First I had some sparkling wine and then... WAIT FOR IT... Bulmers! This is the first time that we have seen this cider for sale in a bar. I was very happy. After our drinks we went to some arcades and won some cute stuff. Then we headed back to our hotel and had a couple of bottles of wine in the bar.

           

The next morning we felt a little delicate so we headed back home at lunch time.

Taekwondo Medals!

David and I got a medal for participating in a  Taekwondo Ceremony/ Festival. We are very pleased as it is our first Taekwondo medal!

Another weekend camping...

Our camp site overlooking the ocean! 

On Saturday David and I went back to Namhae to camp again. This time we went to Song Jeong beach. It was really beautiful. The weather was slightly cooler than last week so this made it more comfortable to camp PLUS because it was the 1st September the 'session' was officially over. We didn't have to pay for camping and the one toilet/shower block that was open was also free. Once again a lovely weekend! 

The count down...

As we resigned our contract David and I will be going back to the UK in 15 days! We will be visiting are families for just over two week. Short but sweet ...I can't wait, I am very excited!!!

No teaching typhoon day!

As the Typhoon has hit Korea today our school has no students. Myself and the other teachers don't have much to do.... except make cute 'typhoon' pictures on paint/photoshop and surf the internet. This is of course fine with me! 

Throughout the day  I came across some extremely interesting articles about Korean Host bars...

Gangnam Host Bar (Click here!)

News article from the BBC/i player! (Click here!)

Weekend Camping in Namhae

On Friday there was warning of a typhoon so David and I were a little disappointed to have limited weekend plans. We woke up on Saturday morning and the weather was gorgeous. We decided to go on a impromptu camping trip to Namhae, Sangju beach. It took around two hours to drive to from our home, Gyeseong. The beach was beautiful. We set up our tent on a camping ground that over looked the beach. After setting up we spent the day swimming in the ocean, sunbathing and sailing in David's new boat! It was a lovely day. In the evening we ate our dinner outside at a local restaurant. After dinner we drank some beers by our camp fire. Then we went to sleep.

The next morning we woke up very early because it was scorching hot in our tent! After eating breakfast of watermelon, we headed back to the beach. We spent the morning swimming some more and floating around in David's dinghy. When the sun got too powerful we packed up made our way back home. On the journey home we stopped off a view pint and ate a picnic lunch. Overall a successful camping trip!