Another Year Older... (April 23, 2014)

As most people around the world now know, mid-April South Korea was hit with a very shocking and horrific disaster. A large size ferry carrying mostly high school students suffered trouble on its way from Incheon to Jeju Island and ultimately sank. Even now in June, this is still a heavy weight on the country. The accident could have been prevented and a lot of strange things happened from the first point of problems and still now. I won't get into that here, but you can find lots of information in the Internet. Just be wary of truth stretching.

Spring and Summer time are big for festivals in Korea, and as a sign of respect and a mourning time, many were cancelled or delayed. Actually any kind of event was cancelled or delayed. That being said, my birthday came around quickly after that and I wasn't really into celebrating. Fortunately for me, my co-workers and students were wonderful to me and made it a really special day.

It started with a trip to Ganjeolgot for lunch and cake with two of my co-workers. Ganjeolgot is right on the coast so of course we had fish. I had a really delicious raw fish bibimbap (mixed with rice and vegetables). It was really nice just to be on the coast and to smell the sea. We went to this really nice coffee shop after to enjoy coffee and cake. It was a nice way to start the day.

Once at work, my director surprised me with this really nice cactus plant. She knows me well to buy me a plant I only have to water once every two weeks. It's still alive. YAY! Haha. The students were wonderful too. I was showered with gifts and well wishes. Every class covered my white board with love notes. One class even threw me a party. There were balloons, cake, and presents. They made me feel really special and it meant a lot to me.

After work, the director insisted we go out for dinner and we went to our favourite raw fish restaurant. I ate a lot of raw fish that day. All in all I am super grateful for all the people at my school. It hasn't always been a smooth ride, but days like this remind me why I came here and why I continue to love my life.