Why are you so adventerous?

Someone asked me why I am such an adventurous person and the question caught me off guard because I don’t consider myself to be an adventurous person. Then I started thinking about it. I’m a 26 year old, divorced female living alone in a foreign country. I’ve spent the last year living on the other side of the world and I don’t plan to change that anytime soon. I’ve been in South Korea for almost a year to the day and have just extended my contract for an additional five months before going to the states for a quick visit and eventually heading to the Middle East. Kuwait to be exact where I have accepted a teaching position at eh American Academy for Girls.

So I guess there is so adventure in me…so to answer the question “why are you such an adventurous person?” I guess in lot of ways it’s a very basic answer. I am who I am because of the people that made, raise and continue to love me. Don’t get me wrong I will e the first person to tell you that family is not just biological but at the core of everyone, good or bad, I believe, is their parents or lack thereof. I’ve been blessed by a mother and father who have loved, supported and encouraged me to live bigger and dream bigger than I ever thought possible. They haven’t always understood or thought something was the best idea but at the end of the day they always been two of my biggest cheerleaders.

They raised me, not to be fearless, but to do it anyways, even when I was scared. When I decided to move to Korea I think everyone thought I was nuts, including my parents, but they quickly got on board and I think they realized part of it was a post-divorce melt down of me searching for a place to belong and a way to find myself again. A few days before I left the states I remember my dad saying “If you can make it through the first year, I don’t think you’ll come home.” I didn’t understand at the time, but he was right. The night before I left my mom held my hair while I puked and cried through one of many panic attacks and reminded me that “You chose this.” She was right too…it was all up to me. I had decided, jumped through all the hoops and at the end of the day I would be the one I had to answer to and depend on a world away. So I got on a plane.

I packed my world into two suitcases, cried my way to the airport, stood in line at security with my parents on each side of me, hugged them one last time and walked through. I knew that they were scared and worried and nervous but under it all I knew that they believed in me so what choice did I have but to believe in myself.

I’ve been blessed over the last year to be reminded of the connections and friendships that know no boundaries or distance and to reconnect with friends that I had lost touch with. I’ve also made some amazing friends and memories here in Korea that I will take with me when I leave. I’ve been blessed to be a person that loves big and loves often and that isn’t afraid to let people in, even though sometimes people are afraid to let me in. I’ve also been blessed by the fact that I always find my comfort and my balance though some may think of me as unbalanced. I know at the root of everything I am as blessed, strong and adventurous as I am because of the people who cheer me on.

Thank you!

Sunshine's birthday!!

Ruby has been the light of my light since my first day in Korea. I was scared and unsure and didn't know if I could do this...especially with the little one's cause I have never had the patience for young kids. Then along came Ruby...Ruby is the youngest at our school, she turned 6 today, which is 5 in American age and she is the reason that I get up and come to work everyday. I have called her Sunshine since my first week, because she literally brings so much light into everyone's life. Now, even the other kids here run around after her calling her sunshine. Every morning when she gets here, she takes off her shoes and puts on her school slippers and I walk out and drop down to my knees and she stumbles into my lap and kisses me and I say "Good morning Ruby" and she says "Good morning Teacher" and I say "How are you?" and she says "I am fine. Thank you" and then she kisses me again and says "Love you" and stumbles away. Ruby would be considered a "special needs" kid in the states and they don't have "special needs programs" in Korea, which scares me for her. I am terrified about her falling through the cracks of a system that is not made for kids like her. I know that she is a little girl and when I leave this country she will quickly forget me but she will be the most important, precious, loved memory that I take with me from my time in Korea.

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little girl, my sunshine!

6 MONTHS TODAY!

It’s hard to believe that I have been in Korea for 6 months already. It seems like yesterday that I was telling my mom and dad to turn around because I didn’t want to come. It also seems like so much has happened and so many things have changed that it could have been years since I left the states.

August was a tough month for me to be away from home, my two nieces, newest nephew, and sister all celebrated their birthdays in the last week of August and it made me feel further away than ever. Luckily, they all think I am the “coolest” Aunt ever because I send them cool stuff from other countries.

When I decided to leave the states I didn’t know if I could do it. I remember my dad first being skeptical about me coming and then telling me that if I could stick it out for a year that he didn’t know if I would come back. Even when he said it I think I knew that he was right.

So now, I’m deciding where I want to go next…it’s not a question of going back to the states, cause to put it simply there isn’t anything in the states worth me going back to. Now, it’s a question of where my next year adventure will be.

I used to think that the world was so small then I found out that it is actually much bigger than I thought, yet at the same time it really is very small. I know that sounds confusing, but in reality there is a lot more of the world than Grass Valley, California, even the United States, but with transportation, technology and communication no one is ever further away than a plane ride or a click of a button.

So my choices for where to head next…I could stay in Korea for another year, which I have thought about because I really do love this country and feel very much at home here. I have also been getting other job offers for all over the country, including Saudi Arabia, Dubai, UAE, Turkey, Japan, China, etc. All of them have their perks and many of them are being considered. So, my contract is up here the end of February after that I am looking into going to Thailand for a month to get my CELTA certification, which will make me more marketable. Then home for a month to see family and friends and take care of things, like selling my car and emptying out my storage unit, and then it will be off somewhere new.

I don’t know where the world is going to take me over the next few years but I have a feeling it won’t be back to the states for more than a visit for quite a long time. There is so much out in the world that I want to see and I’m glad that even though I was terrified I still got on the plane and started this part of my life.

Malaysia...

Well, better late than never.

Here are my journal entries from my trip to Malaysia.

7/24/10
I'm on the plane, on my way from Busan to Beijing then on to Kuala Lumpar. Megan came down last night and we got to the airport without a hitch. No delays, no lines, no waits. I'm excited to see how the week unfolds. I'm looking forward to the adventure and play time.

7/24/10
I'm having one of those "HOLY SHIT" moments. Not even holy shit I'm in Korea, though I do still have those pretty often but now I'm having a holy shit I'm somewhere over or between China and Malaysia. If someone had told me six months ago that I would be living in South Korea, on a plane to Malaysia contemplating where to go next I would have told them they were crazy. It's amazing to me just how much can change in six short months, and just how quickly six months can really go by.

I've been teaching in Korea for almost five months and I love it. I love my kids, yeah some make me crazy, but at the end of the day I really do love all of them. My Korean teachers are great and I have finally started to build a relationship with my boss.

I'm going to take my TESEL/TFEL next month which will make me even more marketable in this industry. I am going to start seriously applying and looking into other jobs in the next few months. I'm still considering staying in Korea for another year but am also looking into places like Dubai, Kuwait, Egypt, UAE, and Saudi. It's amazing how many things open up when you stop being afraid of letting go and moving on.

It's time for me to start living my life 110% on my terms. It's time to play, to explore, to dance, to laugh, to flirt, to smile, to stop settling. It's time to get my ass in gear. To treat myself like a princess. To put the effort and energy that I put into other people into myself. It's time to work out. It's time to reach my goals. It's time to grow. It's time to love. It's time to take all of my attention and put it back on myself.

"Live, Laugh, Love"

7/25/10
We made it! Heather, Megan and I are on the Perhentian Islands. We are on the small island, Kecil. We got into KL late last night slept for about 4 hours then got on another plane to Kota Barhu. We took an hour taxi ride from the airport to the catch the ferry to the islands. The taxi was yet another experience of a country with no road rules. They drive on the other side of the road and it's so strange to get in a car with the steering wheel on the right side of the car. Airport security was a joke, they didn't x-ray bags, make us take off our shoes or any other "American" security measures. I guess it's a quick reminder that we aren't in the US anymore.

We took a 30 minute ferry ride from the mainland on a speedboat to the islands. The boat ride was great, but then again I'm the girl that's always happiest when I'm on the water.

We got to Coral Bay, very accurately names since the beach is covered in coral. We got unloaded and after about 30 minutes of back and forth we decided where we were going to stay for the night. We checked in at the Butterfly House and paid 80 ringgits for the night, less that $30 USD per night for all three of us. Don't get me wrong it's not the Hilton, by any means, but it's sitting on the water and as I am writing this I am sitting on the deck with my feet up on the railing listening to the water crash under me, the raid hit the coconut leaves all while sweating like crazy and getting eaten by mosquitoes.

After getting into our room and putting down our bags we quickly changed out of sweat soaked clothes into our suits and headed to the beach. As we were walking down the beach we crossed paths with a Monitor lizard that proceeded to go for a swim. This "lizard" looked like a small alligator it was so big. We dropped out stuff and headed for the water. The water was amazingly warm, like a big bath tub, for how hot and sweaty I was it would have been much more refreshing to have been a lot cooler.

After a few minutes we decided to wander and find a place to eat. We found a little place called Mama's Kitchen and sat outside and proceeded to have the worst chicken sandwich ever, they use a sauce that is basically mayo and curry powder and it was gross, but looking out over a beach in Malaysia quickly made up for it.

After lunch we headed back for nap/reading/writing time.

Funny things:
"Don't be shy...check yourself in the keys are in the door" The whiteboard sign where we stayed...they are on the honor system.

Water $3 a bottle Soda $1

"Watch out for the leeches" a sentence you don't think you will ever get to say.

"Where are you from" - Islander
"California" - Me
"Welcome to the Hotel California...such a lovely place." - Islander
"Does the hotel really exist?" - Islander


7/27/10
We spent yesterday in the water snorkeling. For the girl that is freaked out by fish I think I handled everything like a champ. We snorkeled at five or six different places and it was amazing. The visibility was great and the fish were so colorful and there were so many of them it totally blew my mind.

Yesterday morning we met a woman on the beach, we thought she was traveling alone so I started talking to her, it turned out that her husband was diving but we ran into them yesterday afternoon and ended up all hanging out. We also ran into a girl that had been on the boat with us who was traveling alone and I asked her to join us. So we all hung out for the afternoon, had dinner together and then had drinks at the "Black Tip" which happens to be the most "happening" place on the island. We also picked up a solo guy. So by the end of the night there were the three of us girls from the states, a couple from England, a girl from Norway and a guy from Sweden. It was a great night.

Black Tip was a pretty nice little beach front bar with horrible early 90's music playing all night. We had literally BUCKETS (like the buckets you use to build sand castles) of "monkey juice" which is a local whiskey and red bull. For the girl that doesn't drink much it was HORRIBLE, we we shared 4 buckets of the stuff and it was pretty toxic. We did have a lot of fun thought. It was a great night. We did have one sudden and massive downpour where about 50-60 of us ran for cover in a tiny gazebo'ish hut, it was great.

Well...off to start my next day.


7/28/10
When we left the island this morning the weather was not ideal to say the least. By the time we got back to the mainland it was pouring and we were soaked from being in the front row of the boat the entire trip back. It was great...though I was glad to have other clothes to change in to.

We caught a bus in Kota Barhu to take us to Taman Negara. Taman Negara is the oldest rain forest in the world. It was a full day on the bus, about 7 hours.

Taman Negara is an interesting place, it is a National Park and you have to have a permit to enter and you have to take a boat across a river to access it. We got there late so decided to find a place to sleep and get some dinner. While we were at dinner we met another girl that was traveling alone and ended up asking her to join us.

We decided to spend the next day together and planned out our day that night with the help of an awesome Malaysian man who is also a tour guide. His name was Ruce Lee but he told us to remember him as "Bruce Lee" and he looked just like Morgan Freeman. He ended up being a great friend and asset during out few days in Taman Negara.

We met bright and early the next day and took a boat across the river to enter the park, literally about a 20 second boat ride, but it is a way for them to monitor how many people go in and out and also a way to make money for the people in the area. Each person is charges 1 ringgit each way, which is only about .30 cents USD.

We got our permit for the park and our camera permit and headed in to do the world famous canopy walk. The canopy is a 400 meter man-made bridge that is suspended 40 meters above the ground. It is the longest canopy walk of it's kind and is something that I highly recommend doing.

After the walk we ventured back down to hike up to a look out point. The hike almost killed me at some points and the steep terrain was kicking my butt and legs. At some points ropes had been put into the trail to help people climb/crawl up the hills. The lookout was not as impressive and I had expected and after a short few minutes break we headed back down taking a different trail to look us down to the river. The trail back seemed to be the "path less taken" and we worried a few times that we were heading in the wrong direction but eventually we found the river and stripped down to take a quick afternoon swim and cool off.

We made it back to our starting point around 3pm (7 hours after we had started) and had a quick lunch and then met with Ruce Lee to set up a boat ride to take us up to an aborigine village. Taman Negara is home to the Batek people, one of Malaysia's five aboriginal groups.

These people lead a nomadic lifestyle in the forest, hunting with blowpipes and darts. They have opened up their village for tours to come through and see how they live in exchange for a portion of the profit that the tour guides make on the tours. These tours help supplement their income and the young people of their tribe show how they make fire, how to use blowpipes, and give a short history lesson.

These people reminded me a lot of the Native American's in the US and live by a simple philosophy: "take little from nature that nature alone cannot heal." There were many women and children and this was probably one of the most memorable experiences of the entire trip for me.

After taking the boat back we went back to our chalet to shower and change and then met back for dinner and a night wildlife safari. We spent 2 1/2 hours riding around in a jeep looking at the night life of the area, monkeys, wild cats, wild pigs, etc.

We shoved a lot of stuff into one day and will be on our way to Kuala Lumpar tomorrow.

7/29/10 - 7/31/10
We got on a bus early this morning and headed for KL. It was a long day on the bus and by the time we got to KL we were ready to put our stuff down and get food...we weren't sure where we were going to stay though. So we started looking around for the places in my Lonely Planet, we quickly found that some of them were just point blank sketchy and scary looking. So we came across a foreign couple and asked them if they could recommend anywhere. They took us to the place that they were staying which turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip! It was a great new place called Explorers and it was clean, cozy, great condition, amazing staff, and really reasonably priced.

We checked in and then took off to wander through China Town and find some lunch. We ended up wandering for a few hours checking out the KL Towers, and a couple of different mosques at night.

The next day we started out headed to the Batu Caves. The caves are about 7 miles north of Kuala Lumpur. They are sacred caves for the Hundu's of Malaysia. There are three main caves and many other small ones. The caves are made out of limestone and are 400 meters long and 100 meters high.

To enter the caves you first have to climb 272 stairs to enter the caves. At first I was not excited about the caves or the stairs until I got there and found that the caves are almost over run by wild monkeys.

The Batu Caves are a tourist destination in this area and the monkeys literally feed of the tourists, stealing their food and drinks, tearing their bags out of their hands and climbing up trees and on top of buildings to rummage through tourists things. The monkeys were really cool to look at but I would not want to get on their bad side. We watched them steal bags out of people's hands, drink soda straight from the cans and chase people around. I even managed to have a monkey smack my pony tail because it was moving.

The monkeys were one of the highlights of my trip.

We also went to the National Mosque and were able to put on robes and tour the building. We went to the Orchid and Hibiscus Gardens along with a few other gardens in KL.

Our time in KL was quickly coming to an end so we headed back to get our luggage and head to the airport.

All in all it was a great trip!!

June is almost done….

Well this month has flown by it has been a month of field trips and fun at work.
Early this month we took our kinddies (5&6 year olds American age) to the Rose Garden. Yeah, I know…my thoughts exactly, you expect kids that young to enjoy and observe walking around a huge garden?? They actually did really well. There were about 200 other kids running around to, so it was a job just keeping track of their heads.  They did have a lot of fun and I got some great pictures of the kids “taking the time to stop and smell the roses.”

The came the Lotteria, the Lotteria is basically Korea’s version of McDonalds. There is one on every other corner and every kid knows it. Over the last three months the kids have been working on how to order food and manners. So we took all of our elementary kids (about 30 kids ranging from 8-11 American age), to the Lotteria to practice ordering food. So here was my thought…how are kids suppose to practice English, while ordering to people who work at the Lotteria and don’t speak a word of English…?? Answer…dress Liz teacher (me) up in a Lotteria uniform, little paper hat and all, and toss me behind the counter for the kids to order from me. It actually was a huge success, we only had one kid spill his soda and until the last 30 seconds when they stood up to line up and a kid proceeded to turn and vomitt in the middle of the table. Good times!! Luckily being married to Bill and cleaning up after him and his friends over the years I have no fear of bodily fluids anymore. 

Last but not least…Pizza Hut!!! Possibly the coolest field trip I have ever been on, as a kid or an adult. We took our kinddies, again…to Pizza Hut, to make their own personal size pizzas, tour the kitchen, cut the pizzas and eat them. They got to wear great little chef’s hats and aprons and everything!! The kids had a great time and got to really get their hands dirty playing in the toppings and making their own pizza. They had a great time and minus one kid getting so excited she forgot she had to go pee, it was a great day.

So needless to say June has been a month of fun and field trips….along with a lot of dressing up and having fun. That is something that I will say for the hagwon that I am in here in Korea we have some killer field trips and a lot of fun. Educating kids is priority, but making sure that they have fun is a very close second.

June came in with a bang with heat and humidity and is going out with monsoon season coming in with a flood. Monsoon season started this week and we have had overcast and gray days, though they are still sticky and humid which is a bit of a pain, but
I am getting used to it, though I will admit that my hair hates the humidity and I look a bit crazy!

Life is good…I’m not sure when I will update next, but next month I will be vacationing in Malaysia for a week and I am ever so excited about that!!!

Hope everyone is well.

xoxox

Turning 26 in South Korea

Well, today is my 26th birthday here in Korea, tomorrow will be my birthday in America.

For the girl that hasn’t really celebrated her birthday in years I found myself feeling very homesick this morning. I know that even if I was in the states it would be a lot of the same, phone calls, emails, Facebook messages/comments, wishing me a happy birthday and me getting on with my life. For some reason today has felt like home is really far away, which I know it is, but a lot of days it doesn’t even cross my mind.

All that being said, I don’t think I will be going back to the US after this contract is up. I don’t know if I will be staying here in Korea, though I do love it and can understand the benefits, of a great country, good pay, and having a great school to work at. I am looking into other countries to teach in and doing some serious job hunting. I never considered the possibilities that were/are open for me. I am also looking into the possibility of teaching for the DoD overseas, which could also be really cool.

There are a lot of people that I love in America, my family and friends, but there isn’t any opportunity in the states right now, especially for teachers and people in the non-profit field, so instead I’m going to see where the wind blows me.

Who knows maybe I will stay here in Korea…maybe Italy, Kuwait, Japan, China, Singapore, Dubai, Europe, etc….the world is full of new opportunities and for the first time in my life I can honestly say that I am not afraid of them. I don’t have anything to lose by exploring the world.

Time flies...it's June!!

So much has happened since I arrived here in Korea and so much of it seems trivial to me now, but every time I tell someone about it I am asked if I am writing this down. My witty response is, they are memories I will never forget…but since you are not here to make and/or experience these memories with me then I need to put them on paper to share them.

As many of you know I was terrified to come to Korea. It was the most “logical” option for me at the time, in all honesty it was pretty much the only option for me because let’s face it there isn’t a lot of opportunity going on in the states these days. I was blessed to have my best friend, Savannah, who literally handed me tissues as I threw up next to my car after my going away party with two of the most important women in my life. As I was sitting there eating with Sam and Sav all I could think was “what in the hell are you doing?” I was even more blessed to have my parents, two people who have shown me that I can do anything in the world and that they will support me in it no matter what, who basically said, “we’ll miss you, but there is nothing here for you, so go.” So, I went.

It has been three months today since I arrived in Korea. So much has changed in how I see the world. For a girl born and raised in a relatively small town in Northern California, I thought I had gotten out and seen things, I have fluttered all over the US over the years and have been very privelieged to see a lot of the country.
But that’s what the world was to me…the country…the United States of America. I mean don’t get me wrong I knew there was a world out there and I knew that I wanted the opportunity to explore and travel it, but I was never sure if that would be anything more than a pipe dream.

Then I lost my job and I needed to find a job. Google “Teaching jobs in Korea” and you will be amazed at how many hits you get. Not only how many hits you get but how little is required of you to actually teach English in another country, not to mention the fact that they pay to get you here, pay for your housing, and cover half of you medical insurance (which let me mention, leaves you paying a mere $37 for a year of medical coverage).

I graduated with my Masters in late December and realized I had no clue what to do with my life. There were no jobs and nothing really promising to look forward to in the states so I figured I would do some research on teaching overseas. I arrived in Korea on March 2nd and this new phase of my life began.

I’ve always had a pretty solid idea of who I was and my friends have always complimented me on my level of self-confidence. The truth is though I was never really sure who I was or if I liked who I was I just didn’t think there was anything that I could do to change it so I just accepted it and went with the flow. Korea has been my version of rocking the boat…and you know what I’ve realized. I know exactly who I am and I like it. I’m not a party girl. I’m not a drinker. I don’t need crowds to make me happy. I’m a quiet woman that doesn’t need to be the center of attention to be happy. I don’t need parties, to be honest I’m not a big fan of them. I’m not a drinker, I can drink and I can hold my liquor better than most…but the truth is that I don’t like it. I don’t get anything out of it. However, I am the woman that loves to travel on her own and do her own thing because I like to be in control. I love getting on a bus and spending the day or the weekend just wandering around. I love just spending a day by myself laying on the beach reading a book and listening to music.

Now that I’ve done my inspection on my self personally since I’ve been here let’s update you on what’s going on in Korea and how things have been.

First let me start off by saying that there has been a lot of added tension and stress here in Korea with the North and South Korea conflict. As most of you know North Korea has been found at fault for sinking a South Korean Navy ship which led to the death of almost 50 South Korean sailors. North Korea is denying having anything to do with it, which is pretty much expected, but things are getting more and more tense between the two countries. I did not have a lot of knowledge about the North and South Korea conflict before I came to Korea, but I have found that it is a war that has basically been “on hold” for the last almost 60 years. Everyone is hoping and praying that nothing comes from this most recent incident.
Summer is officially here in Korea…and let me tell you it is FRICKING HOT. Not only is it hot, it’s humid and for a girl that was born and raised in Northern California, I’m not used to humidity.

I have been able to explore Yonggungsa Temple in Busan twice. It is an amazing Buddist Temple that is built on the cliffs of the Sea of Japan and it is absolutely amazing! Highly reccommended for anyone that makes it to this side of the world, if you are or are unaware of the Buddist religion you will find it amazing. Hundreds of pictures are posted in my photo albums.

I have made a couple of day trips into Busan to simple lay on the beach and read a book, which makes me happier than just about anything.

This weekend I went with some friends to the 23rd Sand Sculpture Contest….I have never been more amazed by sand in my life. It was absolutely amazing and something I will never forget. Also tons of pictures posted in my albums.

I took a day trip to Pohang which was an interesting opportunity to get on a bus and go to the East side of the country and experience the sea and the beaches. I have found a beach closer to home that I like much better, but it was well worth the trip.

I finally am feeling like this is home, I have a routine and I love to wander around and just take pictures and see a country that I never would have had the opportunity to.

I have just booked a week long vacation to Malaysia. I will be traveling with a friend through Malaysia for seven days and am very excited about seeing a country that to be very honest I had never even considered going to. I also have two trips planned in the next few months to Japan and China. I am very excited to be able to explore this side of the world.

I have made a couple of great friends in the time that I have been here, the kind of friends that I know will be with me for the rest of my life and that is something I am very grateful for.

My job is going great. I have a great group of kids that I get to play with everyday and talk to and teach them about a country that I love and call home. It is great to watch them learn and see them figure out the sounds and words that we are teaching them. They are such smart little kids and they work so hard to learn English it is a bit scary to me how much time they spend studying because I am used to a different world.

I will update more as I have the time but I plan on being pretty busy throughout the summer.

Anyone that wants to check out my photo album at http://picasaweb.google.com/ewilder22/NotAllWhoWanderAreLost?feat=directlink

Sending everyone my love from this side of the world.