Warpaint - Love is to Die + General Update

Somehow it's already the middle of December (yesterday at the beach people were playing volleyball, mostly wearing shorts and T-shirts and the like, California are you real?) and next week I'm going to Japan! Only for ten days, but that is awesome nonetheless. Christmas in Osaka is something I can definitely appreciate in all its glory.

This past week I attended some workshops and meetings at work, but now winter vacation has officially begun and I almost don't know how to prioritize everything that needs doing...there's so much to catch up on, lots of music to listen to, a few Christmas presents to search for, and winter clothes to pack (if I can still find some in the back of my closet). I recently finally got an electric guitar and a record player so I'm musically spoiled and am having trouble getting to other things. I feel like a kid at Christmas and just want to play with my toys all the time, yay!

Trader Joe's has way too many holiday treats right now. I've started drinking coffee again, just because of their Gingerbread and Wintry coffee flavors - they are so delicious I cannot resist. 

It's so sunny and gorgeous right now. Listening to good music and drinking (gingerbread, yay!) hot coffee in the somewhat chilly morning. Feels good. I'm just going to accept the fact that I now enjoy being lazy (hopefully not for a prolonged period of time).

What to do on a rainy day...

I feel like I'm back in Vancouver, but without an umbrella. Yesterday I got soaked walking around in the rain and my hair seemed to double in volume. Today I think I'll be staying indoors! So, having planned a weekend full of tennis and outdoor frolicking, what is one to do on a rainy, foggy day? 

- this weather is pretty much perfect for reading...especially something mysterious/atmospheric/passionate...like Wuthering Heights, or your old high school yearbook.

- writing poetry...because we just don't do that enough and gloomy weather usually makes people more introspective (but also sleepy)

- cooking and baking!! This option is super fun...roasting veggies in the oven, baking muffins, making some hearty soup...this is what rainy weather is really for!

- cleaning...but I won't be doing that

- going to the beach anyway...because the ocean will still look beautiful, in a different and unpredictable way

- practicing a musical instrument...even if you haven't touched it in years, why not pick it up and try it out? A most absorbing and relaxing activity :-)

- and the thing I'll be doing today is homework, yay! Hot chocolate and music make it easier to endure ;)

Finally, an umbrella is a very important thing. I need to get one. When I finally do, maybe the rain will never come again...

Back to business

Wow, it's been a while! I've been in the thick of studying, exploring, playing, music making, reading, eating, and just overall living :-)

I must say, winter in California is the best. This is always the hardest time for me and in Vancouver it used to be especially dreary due to nonstop rain. As much as I love being cozy, eating comfort food, and watching movies/reading in the super dark evenings...sunshine is the most wonderful thing in the world! Ummm, ironically it's not very sunny today but the memory is not far off.

In other news, I think I may be addicted to anime. Technically I'm watching it to practice Japanese...like homework...yes. 

Happy 2013! :-)

Winter Street Food - Hotteok (호떡)

In Korea, street food is kind of seasonal. One of my favourite winter street foods is hotteok - a delicious, plump pancake filled with brown sugar, honey, and chopped nuts. It's freshly made in front of you and put into a little paper cup for easy, non-messy eating. When I first bit into one, I did not expect the burst of deliciousness that exploded in my mouth - sooo good! Warm, crispy on the outside and soft inside, deep flavour, crunchy nuts - hotteok has it all ;-)

Yesterday was a day of indulgence and included not only hotteok but also ice cream at Baskin Robbins. Have I mentioned how popular BR is here? There are dozens of locations and it's usually crowded - way more popular than in North America. There's one just a couple minutes from my apartment...so I can't not go there, eek.

Yesterday's flavours of choice: almond bon bon, peanut rocket, and chocolate mousse. Of course I shared. Ice cream tastes so much better when you share it with someone...just try to eat a little quicker than they do. Keep them talking while you dig in ;-)

Have a lovely, toasty weekend!

Last Day of Sweet Freedom!

Well, winter is just about over (though the weather disagrees)...which means that it's time to head back to work for one more semester of elementary school in Korea. Today is my last day of freedom...so I will continue to watch gluttonous amounts of Parks & Recreation. I have now reached the glory of Season 4. The thought of finishing all the episodes and being unable to prolong my obsessive continuous nonstop viewing frightens me. What will I do with myself? Sigh. I wish I could work for Leslie Knope.

I'm now temped to go back and revisit all three seasons of Arrested Development. And perhaps try watching Community, I haven't gotten around to that one yet.

Sweet hilarious television, how comforting thou art! In the depths of winter, ice, and permanently cold feet thou provideth solace and joy. 

And now it's time to return to Pawnee.

Winter's Almost Over!

I've had the pleasure of enjoying a looong winter vacation. Watching movies and awesome tv shows while sprawled out on my bed is, well, super fun. Eating ice cream and delicious Korean snacks, occasionally ordering pizza, and drinking ridiculous amounts of tea - all of these activities are super fun...but I am absolutely desperately longing for SPRING! 

As much as I love feeling cozy, too much of a good thing makes it less good. Rather than hibernating, I would love to run around outside, breathe fresh air, and see some gorgeous spring flowers. I cannot wait! Winter always feels like the longest season. 

In other news, I am getting ready to watch Season 2 of Downton Abbey. Now that it's all wrapped up, I can watch all the episodes in a somewhat continuous manner, without waiting too long in between. Hooray!

I've also been craving some classic film watching time. Maybe Roman Holiday + The Umbrellas of Cherbourg + Rear Window. And I still haven't seen The Artist, oh my!

Perhaps winter isn't quite so bad...there's no better time for oodles of film watching and book reading and conversation having :-)

Teaching English again + bear pyramid of love + keep your ear muffs on!

It's back to school time for me!

For two weeks I'm back at elementary school teaching English to cute little kids. Then two weeks of vacation. Followed by a brand new semester with shiny new faces and freshly sharpened pencils. 

As cute as the little munchkins are, teaching leaves less time and mental energy for other things, so I won't be able to post daily, boo!

But that's okay :-) And look! Who doesn't love a bear pyramid that celebrates Valentine's Day? The most luxurious department store in Daegu is now featuring this lovely display and I can't get enough of it. The bears also move and wave their arms (rather slowly) so it's super festive and fun.

In other news, it's super cold and I almost got swept away by the wind today. Most of the teachers are wearing their coats at school, eek! I really hope spring rolls around soon. I'm sure we're all ready for it!

Of Cabin Fever, Mozart Rock Operas, and Nut Tea

February is a bit of a funny month for me - from the 6th to the 17th I will go back to work at Youngshin Elementary School. During this time the kids will have a graduation ceremony but besides that there's nothing to really teach so hopefully I can think of some fun activities to do with them. The rest of February is vacation time again (yay!) and then a brand new school year with shiny new students starts in March. I hope it will be awesome.

I've definitely been feeling cabin feverish and restless lately. Vacations are one of the best things ever and I'm super lucky to have such a long winter vacation...but since I didn't really travel anywhere and the weather is quite cold, it's been very much an indoors make your own adventure kind of situation. Even though I am armed with a decent imagination, nothing compares to running around outside, breathing fresh air and feeling freeee! 

So, a couple of solutions to this abundance of indoorsy-ness. First, my bf got us tickets to the Mozart Rock Opera, oh yeah! Just looking at those costumes makes me happy. We're going at the end of this month, during Part 2 of my super long vacation.

And when you can't run around outside or watch rock operas, why not relax with a cup of delicious nut tea? I've only seen this in Korea and it is SO GOOD! I love this drink, there are even pieces of nuts and seeds in it. It tastes deliciously nutty and wholesome. It's more substantial and less watery than normal tea, which makes it very satisfying and comforting. Yum!

Have a fantastic weekend!

Paper Heart

Making this little paper heart was so fun! I found a great You Tube instructional video that was super easy to follow and only about 6 minutes long. 

Now my mind is on other things - mainly, applying to grad school. I made a last minute decision to apply and have to get everything together efficiently as the deadline is March 1st. It's exciting with a pinch of stressful and a dash of hopeful.

In other news, it's currently -12 degrees outside, eek! A great excuse reason to stay inside and drink hot cocoa. And maybe make some paper hearts.

5 Comfort Foods...

Is it still winter?  Yes.

Is it still (freezing) cold?  Yes.

Do I feel extra hungry?  Yes!

When it's cold and dark I definitely want to enjoy some comfort foods. This winter, I'm also in a different country eating mostly very different food so I really really want to enjoy some comfort-food-from-home. Here are 5 things I would love to eat but probably won't (for a few more months):

1. A panini sandwich. Like the gourmet ones at Whole Foods. Sandwiches are not widely available in Korea, and the ones that are...are different. Warm toasted bread filled with colourful roasted veggies, melted cheese, and maybe some pesto - heavenly!

2. Freshly baked crusty bread. The bread available here is usually dessert/snack bread, since rice is eaten at meals, never bread. And it's always soft, never crusty. I still (vaguely) remember the smell of freshly baked bread...and then biting into a delicious chunk - wonderfully crusty and flavourful on the outside and soft and warm on the inside. Sigh!

3. Roasted salmon + smoked salmon. Salmon is not a local fish here so it's incredibly expensive and probably doesn't taste as good or as fresh as in BC. Back home, I used to eat salmon so often I took it for granted. I will never ever view salmon so dismissively again.

4. Pureed soup. Another item I used to cook several times a week and took for granted. Throwing in loads of veggies, a splash of water, pureeing everything with the result of a delicious, creamy soup = amazing!! Here, it's rather impossible. Korean soups are delicious, but the flavours and choice of veggies are totally different. And they are never ever pureed.

5. Vegetable tart. This is my mother's. And it's incredibly, breathtakingly delicious. She makes a super awesome, wholesome crust. The topping is all veggies and a sprinkling of good cheese. Into the oven it goes. A beautiful, perfect vegetable tart comes out. I proceed to eat half of it. Oh, how I want to eat it right now!

It's fascinating how certain foods are connected with specific places, times, people, memories...Food is much more than mere fuel. I can't wait to enjoy some homemade soup and vegetable tart with my family when I go back home :-)

Summer Camp ~ Down

As much as I love feeling cozy, indoorsy, and wrapped up in books (and sometimes YouTube) in the winter, occasionally I also feel a bit cabin fever-ish and desperately want to run and jump around in a field outside or have a snowball fight or play tennis (gosh, I miss tennis).

I think large outdoor spaces are conducive to good mental health. Maybe that's partly why Europe feels so perfect - all those city squares are brilliant. And then there's the lovely countryside. 

I want to go outside!

But it's cold, and I am a wimp when it comes to cold weather. So I will continue drinking green tea and eventually stumble out of my chair to exercise (indoors).

Hope your day is sunny and awesome! :-)

First Snow!

Hooray, yesterday night brought the first snowfall of the year and it was gorgeous! It felt like a real snowstorm, with howling wind and swirling snowflakes galore :-) Waking up to fresh, untouched snow on the ground is quite lovely and makes up for the less enjoyable consequences.

There's more snow on the way apparently, so I'll make sure to take some photos later. Today I was mostly inside and only ventured out to return a library book and buy some food, including a roasted barley drink that I'm trying out in place of coffee. I've always been more of a tea person, but lately I've been wanting coffee for some reason. Maybe it's the aroma and comforting richness :-)

Yikes, it's only 9.30 and I'm falling asleep already! Ever since the sun started setting so much earlier, I've been unable to resist sleep at ridiculously early hours. Oh well, sleep is good. But I also want to eat more in the evenings, so I feel a little like a hibernating bear.

I have a couple more weeks of work left and then I'm taking a long vacation before (hopefully!!!) flying off to Korea. It will feel amazing to have oodles of free time - cooking, exercising, meeting friends, making Christmas cards (or at least writing messages in them) - there will be time for everything! I'll miss the students a lot though :-(

Alrighty, my comfy bed is calling me :-) Sleep is utterly irresistible :-)

Have a fantabulous winter-y weekend!

Cozy winter-y mornings...

...oh how I love them :-) It's so great to get up when it's still a little dark and completely peaceful, make some oatmeal and hot tea, and have a leisurely breakfast by the fireplace. It's quite cold here so I've been forced to sit by the fireplace a lot :-) It's a hard life :-)

November is suddenly pretty much half over, wow! When I went shopping there were Christmas decorations everywhere and there was already a festive feel in the air, but no Christmas music yet thank goodness. All the delicious Christmas chocolate is so tempting though :-) Yum yum!

Instead of chocolate, I ate a seafood pancake at the Korean store downtown and bought some kimchi, ramyun, gim (a roasted seaweed snack), and oyster mushrooms. Most purchases were healthy...the ramyun not so much but it brings back lots of great memories :-) Food is amazing that way - it's not just about momentary taste but rather it's right at the centre of people coming together and sharing good times and connecting...nice.

I'm hoping the weather will be cooperative today so that I can go for a long, refreshing walk. Winter walks are so much fun when it's not windy and/or rainy. Especially if you have a hot beverage in your hand, a warm hat on your head, and a friend beside you :-)

Have a terrific weekend!

'Tis November...oooh, darkness!

It's 7am but it feels like the middle of the night! Daylight Savings Time ends tomorrow and I'm looking forward to having some light in the morning!

Aaaaand, it's November already! That means Christmas lights and decorations will soon make the cold winter much more enjoyable and cozy :-) I never put up any decorations before late December but I certainly enjoy admiring them and feeling immersed in a Winter Wonderland :-) For me it's still the most magical time of the year :-)

Well, I had my EPIK interview at the Korean Consulate and it went well! Suddenly, it feels like going to Korea is more of a reality and not just a vapour-y dream. It's exciting...and hard to believe! Maybe soon my life will change so much I won't be able to recognize it anymore :-) It's amazing how quickly things have changed already in the past few months...in a natural, flow-y kind of way :-) Going with the flow feels great :-)

Happy First November Weekend! Stay warm and cozy :-)

Gloomy Cozy Day + Running

Wow, is it ever gloomy and dark today! Hibernation weather indeed :) I went for a lovely run yesterday, perfectly timed for when the sun peeked out (for maybe half an hour, sigh). I even found a cute little park that I hadn't known existed at all.

I love being active outside - it's an actual experience out in the fresh air, in the big wide world. Being stuck inside - not so much fun. When I'm outdoors, it feels like I'm playing and I just follow what my body feels like doing (like a kid, hooray!). Indoors, there's a sense that I'm forcing myself to 'exercise' and 'work out' and it all feels slightly artificial and robotic rather than being an expression of my body's energy. There may be rules, directions to follow, numbers to pay attention to...so even if I'm enjoying the workout DVD or pedaling happily on the stationary bike, I never get that sense of freedom, openness, excitement, exhilaration, etc. that I can't help but feel when out in the fresh air.

However, when the weather's not cooperating, of course I will accept my duty, like the Knightly Knight above, and do whatever indoor workout appeals most at the time :) Halfway through I will realize that I'm feeling pretty good and that getting some movement and action into the day is fantastic, even if the luxuries of sunshine, trees, and ocean air are not possible.

It feels great to move and get that circulation going...even when you're tempted to hibernate :) It also feels good to curl up and read or watch an old film. I took a few DVD's from the library in preparation for all this indoorsy-ness, including The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, starring Gregory Peck, and Cyrano de Bergerac. I'll save those for rainy evenings, when a big cup of hot tea becomes a necessary part of staying warm and cozy :)

Here's to a bright and cheery day :)