Not much time to post, but I will be headed to Busan next week for Chuseok and I'm SO EXCITED! Busan is in the south of Korea and it has some beautiful beaches and really fun bars, restaurants, etc. It just supposed to be a really fun place to go with lots of Westerners hanging out. Chuseok is one of the few actual vacations Koreans get. It's a three day harvest festival in September, so kind of like Korean Thanksgiving. We get a whole six days off for it, though, because it fell in the middle of the week and a bunch of the teachers convinced management to give us Monday off aswell so that we could have a long chunk of time.

We get to choose some vacation days as well, and I've been thinking about where I might like to go. I'm thinking of Australia in the early spring, Beijing for a quick three day weekend or something, probably going to take a boat to Japan at some point, and it would also be amazing to check out Indonesia and/or Thailand while here. I'm also keeping my eye on flights to Europe because you can get them really cheaply if you grab them at the right time. Any suggestions/in put on where I should travel while over here?

In other news, I can't believe it's been almost a month. Time is really flying. I need to buckle down on learnign some Korean because I'm sure the time could just slip away from me if I let it.

I tried some more new foods this weekend. Kim Chi Chugee is Kim Chi soup and it's amazing, not too spicy. We tried a new Dac Galbi place as well. Dac Galbi is like the Korean equivalent to lazagne or burritos because you take whatever's left over to make it. It's another dish like galbi that's made on the table in front of you WHICH I LOVE! It's basically chicken, cabbage, rice cates (like fat noodles made of rice) and whatever else they have around thrown into a skillet and grilled up with spicy sauce. YUM! Everyone at the table just shares the big pan in the middle of the table and you can wrap the food up in lettuce if you want.

I love moments of global community here. A lot of times when you see someone who looks American they're kind of rude and won't make eye contact but sometimes, like Saturday night, you can be walking around Time World with a friend, get asked directions by a bride, groom, and their wedding party, and end up blowing bubbles at their reception of live music, dancing, and great Canadian/American bonding! It was fantastic. We also did Norebong that night again (Korean Karaoke in a private room), went to the batting cages/arcade, hit some balls and took some silly pictures, then ended up at a really fun dance club. One night here is like two days anywhere, there is so much to do!

Last but not least, I found my coffee shop! Those of you who know me even mildly well know that I love coffee, and perhaps more than coffee I love coffee shops, especially lovely, local ones. There's a beautiful place right down the block from my apartment. The owners are two women who already know me and my drink order. They're really lovely people and modeled the cafe after something you might see in modern Paris: cushions, white and navy blue walls, black and white photographs, french music playing, and fresh flowers on the table. It feels like home :)