Losing & Learning

I've realized that moving to Korea has proved itself to be rather challenging and adventurous, but I just didn't think it would be this hard. Don't get me wrong, I'm okay. But, somehow I've lost myself in the process of learning to finding myself.

Most people know that I needed change. I needed to move myself out of my comfort zone of being an Early Childhood Education teacher, living in a safe apartment with two wonderful roommates and a loving cat, and being surrounded by an awesome group of solid, moral friends. I had a routine that was safe, predictable, and comforting. In my heart, it troubled me to find myself settling for less than what I was created to do in life. Something pulled on my heart--I needed to shake things up; not because I was bored but because I needed a challenge.

I first applied to Teach for America. A grueling process which proved it was rather difficult to be accepted into their niche of naive world-changers. I had stellar recommendations, a resume that impressed many of my interviewers, and a lesson plan that seemed unique enough to me (making patterns with fruit loops!), however it just wasn't enough to make the cut. Teach for America was gracious enough to keep me on their mailing lists for future endeavors that may be more suited for my experience.

So, fast forward two months and I find myself being surrounded with stories of people trekking far and wide to the land of South Korea to embark on a journey to teach English. I would literally stumble across South Korean references in the oddest places- television, friends, church, and even bus stops (I stumbled across a Korean book). Somehow, I felt the universe pulling me towards the Far East. Three days later I found AdventureTeaching, an organization that "matches your unique set of skills, needs, and desires and matches you to the perfect English Teacher employment opportunities."

Really, it's the matchmaker process equivalent to online dating, but for schools.

As I scanned the site for the FAQ's, the application process, testimonies of previous teachers, and helpful tools to jumpstart the visa process, I decided to apply. It turned out to be a long arduous process that spanned the entire summer, but I knew deep down in my heart that it would all work out and I would somehow end up in the country that many have proclaimed to be full of adventure, experience, and opportunity. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to find myself; to discover what I like, dislike, to learn more about teaching overseas, to experience new things and to find adventure.

Fast forward to November. Here I am: sitting, wondering, and realizing.

I am sitting in my teacher lounge, scratching my head in bewilderment and wonder as to how I ended up here. I am wondering how I am going to spend the next nine months teaching, making friends, exploring, and how I can embark on more adventurous opportunities. Lastly, I am trying to realize how I have lost myself so quickly in a matter of three months and what went wrong.

I don't like who I've become. 

I've become this woman who strives for acceptance, approval, and to be the center of attention. I've lost the ability to stand my ground and stay away from my vices. I've sacrificed weekends of adventure for weekends of drinking, partying, and staying out until 6am. I've lost my ability of self-control. I've lost sight of who I am.

I've always struggled with acceptance. I broke somewhere along in college and decided I didn't need people's approval. I didn't need to be liked by everybody. Instead, I needed to follow my heart and do the things that matter most to me: loving people, serving people, and making a difference in people's lives. I started my path towards individuality and I discovered I was meant to be an individual, not a part of some group. Recently, I've lost sight of my individualism. I need to find my way back. I need to pull away from the things that dangerously lead me towards the path of self-destruction. I need to spend more nights thinking, soul searching, organizing, and waking my conscience.

My post is not intended to frighten anyone back home, so please don't fear, worry or fret. Rather, this post is a raw invitation to the process of living abroad, finding oneself, the struggle for acceptance and making friends, and how things are not as rosy, glorious, or opportunistic as what others may paint it. Sure, teaching abroad has a romantic appeal, but with all romance there is sure to be struggle, difficulty and even heartbreak. Not everything has a happily ever after. It's okay to journey through the roller-coaster of emotions and hit a few bumps along the way. Sure there will be moments of darkness but we need to experience both in order to learn, grow, and mature. There is beauty in the struggle, in the pain, in the darkness, and in the fight.

I am losing to learn. I will find myself. I will make it through. Your strength, friendship, and encouragement is always appreciated but not required. Walk with me as you wish. Accept me if you will. Love me as you can.

"Everyone thinks about changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."
-Leo Tolstoy

Trekking & Tranquility

The body is a beautiful and powerful entity.

I never knew how far and how hard the body could be pushed until I went on a hike with a Meetup group, Climbing in Korea to the Yeongnam Alps--near Ulsan, South Korea. Labeled as "moderately easy," and more than open to beginner hikers, I figured I might as well broaden my hiking horizons and join the trip. For 35,000 won and the chance to sleep on a bus en route to Ulsan; (about 5 hours from Seoul) I didn't really have an excuse not to go. So, with a simple click on my computer to join the group and a trip to the ATM to wire money (super easy/safe in Korea) to the group leader, I was signed up for adventure in less than an hour.

My journey began at 10:15pm to ride the subway to Sports Complex station, which was an adventure in itself [I live at least an hour from Seoul, and Gangnam district is another 30 minutes south on the subway] but luckily I made it just in time to board the bus at 11:45pm. As I stepped aboard the swanky charter bus, I was relieved to find comfy chairs and a window seat. My bus mate and I chatted for a few minutes and then turned our separate ways to fall asleep to the hums of the bus engine and soft breathing of fellow hikers scattered throughout the bus.

5:00am came without haste and 45 hikers groaned at the thought of leaving the warm bus in exchange for a bitter temperature and darkness lurking outside. Flashlights and head lamps adorned the crowd and we set out on our "moderately easy" journey. After some confusion between the trail leaders as to where the trail head began, we finally began our ascent into the alps.

Now, mountains in Korea are different than any other mountain I've climbed. Many of the hikes I've done in the U.S. have been actual dirt or grass trails paved by continuous trekking. However, here in Korea, the trails often begin with stairs. LOTS of stairs. Steep stairs. Stairs that made you wish you had a bum like Suzanne Somers. As a cyclist, I'm used to the strain on my hamstrings and gluts, but nothing rips into your muscles more than climbing stairs. This is where our moderately easy hike shifted into a challenging hike.

With limited sleep, inadequate nutrition, pre-existing digestive conditions, and a lack of water, I felt as though I did not set myself up for success on this hike. My lack of preparation paired with a strenuous and challenging hike ahead, I felt as though I would die on top of the mountain that day.

My body had other plans than to die that day.

After we reached the first peak, my muscles had the opportunity to warm up; the adrenaline began to rush through my veins and shouted excitedly to my brain, "It's GO time." As my brain responded to the explosion of adrenaline, my legs pushed one after the other in an effortless way. Before I realized it, I passed the other hikers with great speed and suddenly, I found myself with the hardcore hikers near the front. Summit after summit, my body continued the fight and pushed with tenacity and fire. As I stood at the final peak, my heart raced, oxygen exploded into my lungs, and a great happiness filled my heart and warmed my cold, aching body.

A great peace overwhelmed my heart. As I stood there, looking into the tranquil vast unknown, I felt proud. I made it. I did it. I felt capable of anything. There is nothing greater [in my opinion] than to be standing on top of a mountain. Mountains are where I reach endorphin overload. My happiness pumps through my body and gives life to my soul. It is in the mountains where I reach a higher sense of awareness and my spirit roars. The mere accomplishment of the hike encouraged and lifted me into the clouds that danced around the peak we stood upon.

John Muir says its best, "Double happy, however, is the [wo]man to whom lofty mountain tops are within reach."

We spent 11 hours trekking through the Alps. The hike was first labeled as "moderately" easy but due to the weather, misread trails, and the amount of hikers in our group; it was nothing close to easy. Sure, there were many challenging feats throughout the day but with teamwork, we conquered them all.

Tranquility abound. Conversation shared. Friendships blossomed. Strength, peace, love, and community--all shared within the depths of the mountains and our souls. Adventure frolicked throughout the hills and inspired us all that day. There wasn't a task too difficult to achieve or accomplish. By the time we all collapsed on our bus, we felt like warriors.

Physical strength and inner strength combined; our body becomes a beautiful and powerful thing.

"Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go." 

                
               -- T.S. Eliot

Dancing Shoes & World Festivities

Last week I had the privilege of joining other bloggers stationed here in South Korea for one remarkable experience: The Cheon-an World Dance Festival.  In exchange for blogging about my experience, I was able to attend the festival with a friend fo' free! 

Shut the front door!

 A chance to write, photograph, and wander around a festival centered on dancing all in one day? No need to pull my arm, Korea, I'm there with an open heart, open notebook, and an open aperture [well, not quite].

I should have known the day would lead to adventure as we walked down the subway stairs to our [perceived] transfer point in Daegok; when all of a sudden, my boot heel caught on the stair thus catapulting me forward towards a potential gruesome accident. Needless to say, my grace and poise allowed myself to recover at the expense of freakishly grabbing onto my friend thus causing her coffee to soar through the air beautifully onto said subway staircase that was effortlessly trying to kill me.

Kersplat went the coffee, and so began our day. [Clumsy has always been my second name.]

Our adventure did not stop there; no way, that would be too easy and completely unheard of in my life. Of course the day would bring more hiccups and challenges, all the more testing my patience, strength, and perseverance. Naturally, my anxiety and OCD tendencies would push myself onto a [wrong] train due to my trust issues with the subway app telling me I had to wait 20 mins for the [right] transfer car going to Seoul Station: which was our perceived destination. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder--in our case, we thought we were supposed to go to Seoul Station, where in reality, we should have been on Line 1 going to City Hall Station. [Palm to face]. Eventually we ended up in the correct train, going in the right direction and going to the correct destination, to meet our party of bloggers at the bus stop.

An hour and 15 minutes later, we were finally relaxing on our charter bus with air conditioning, an oddball assortment of a sandwich [ham, pickles, apples, cucumber, mustard, and mayo--Korean style] and a juice box just like on middle school field trips. Due to my excitement with my near-death experience and adventurous lifestyle of train-hopping, I passed out for a good hour only to awake to a horrific realization: I forgot my CF cards for my SLR camera. [Second palm to face]

With an iPhone fully charged in my pocket [for once], a notepad under arm, and a spirit of curiosity-- I was ready to explore the festival.

Our first hour came with absolute freedom to wander and explore all that the World Dance Festival had to offer. An hour you say? What on earth could you do in one hour? Believe me, an hour was plenty of excitement.

Did somebody say wine...?
Grape Festival
That's right, we came across a miniature grape festival where families could go fishing for a bunch of grapes, nourish their toes in a bath of grape juice/wine, tickle their feet by squishing grapes in a kiddie pool [Lucy and Ethel style], or launch some grapes into wooden boxes adorned with world flags.

Delicious, wholesome, and plenty of entertainment for children and adults alike. Mom and Dad could also do some wine tasting....

Upcycled Art
Koreans are crazy awesome at recycling, if not the best in the world. Everything is sorted down to food, paper, plastic, aluminum, bottles, and everything else [which shouldn't be much].
Not to mention, they also use recycled material in their art as well. We stumbled across a pretty neat sculpture/toys/figures made out 100% recyclable materials. Go Korea!

Not to mention, there were plenty of arts and crafts for people to participate in such as bracelet making, sculpture building, sand art, or caricatures. Kids seemed entertained and engaged in the process--it was definitely fun to see their creativity burst throughout the different tents.

World Music
With world dancing, there is bound to be world music, right? That's like not asking peanut butter to marry jelly in a sandwich wedding. Wrong, just wrong. Ergo, there were many wonderful tents that provided opportunities for people to explore music and instruments from around the world. There were guitars, chimes, bells, ukeleles, wind instruments and more. My favorite tents included a percussion section--one where you could try out the instruments, and another tent where you could partake in a drumming class....up top, Korea! [high-five].

Traditional Food Market
Another highlight of the festival included a traditional Korean food market where you could find fresh produce, plants, flowers, traditional Korean street food such as ddeok [sticky rice cake], and we even had exciting entertainment: a medical emergency complete with a flock of Korean bystanders and a 5'1 Korean woman viciously yelling at a man twice her size. My friend and I seriously thought the man was getting a full body massage, turns out he was being "revived" until paramedics could arrive. True adventure at its finest.

Dance Battles
Our hour of freedom soon came to an end and our festival guide prompted us to meet at the Improv dance stage hosting a 'Comedy Dance-Off.' I never thought a dance-off could be so comedic and enlightening on purpose, but I was proved wrong that day. Many of the acts contained originality whereas some lacked tact, original thought, and skill. My favorites included a dancing ajumma, a 5 year old boy impersonating some wicked Psy dance moves, a latin dancer with a four inch loincloth and an antler head donning some Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses, and just your average, everyday Korean bboy.

Little did I know that the top winners of the dance competition would walk away with a hefty check of 500,000 won or more. The overall winner danced away with 2.6 million won [more than my paycheck]. If only I had known about the youtube submission dates, yours truly would have more than willingly danced the night away in that competition.

The night winded down with some traditional Korean dancing, a dinner of seafood, rice and makgeolli and the grand finale of a Street Festival--a parade of World Dancers showcasing everything from traditional folk dances, teenagers bobbing their heads and shaking hips to K-pop, a dance competition among "tiny dancers," and a parade of Korean dignitaries.

The Street Festival was my favorite experience because it provided a chance to sit among dignified Korean sponsors of the World Dance Festival and ultimately reap the benefits of VIP status. We were seated in the VIP bleachers that came with pumpkin taffy, wine, cheese, grapes, and the best seats in the street! A kind Korean gentleman took notice of our foreigner faces right away and politely ushered food in our direction the rest of the night. We felt like true royalty!

Overall, you could say my day was packed with humor, adventure, and wonder. Of course there were things I would have done differently--such as not spending the entire day watching the comedy battles, exploring more of the Korean market, partaking in the arts and crafts, watching the huge video game battle [okay, maybe not this one], rubbing elbows with Korean locals and enjoying more of the professional and traditional folk dance competitions. However, with the [free] opportunity to partake in Korean and 'round the world culture, I can't really complain too much. I would do the day all over again...even with my adventurous travel hiccups. There is beauty in everything, good and bad, exciting or boring, ongoing or static. It all depends on how you carry [beauty] with you.

At least next time, I would have packed my dancing shoes.

"Dress classy; dance cheesy."

-PSY

**Some of the photos above were contributed by Evan Ryu **

This post would not have been possible without the sponsorship of The World Dance Festival Cheon-an. 

Poopy Pants & Pajama Parties

We are officially past the anniversary of my arrival here in Korea, and I have to be honest: it's been one hell of a month.

To say that my travel and adventure have been thrilling, challenging, eye-opening, rewarding and some days down right frustrating would be a clear and factual understatement. I truly cannot express my varied emotions throughout these last few weeks. Writing has always been a favorite pastime of mine, and I have always had this dream of traveling the world with pen and paper in tote, of course accompanying my other trusty sidekick: my camera. However, with a broken camera (yes my beloved 20D died) I fear my life is rather bleak, dull, incomplete and lost. For some reason, without the ability to snap photos, my mind goes blank, the words cease to trickle forth, and I feel like an idiot most days.

Here I am in a fascinating foreign land with and endless array of food, culture, music, and landscape yet I feel obsolete when I cannot share my daily clicks of the camera with loved ones back home. Ansel Adams said it almost too well, "When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When photographs become inadequate, I shall be content with silence." Truth be told, Mr. Adams, but as a borderline extrovert: I just can't be silent sometimes. This girl needs to gab, share, and vomit my thoughts out into the open space we call a blogosphere. Even if no one compliments me on my writing, my sarcastic wit, or 'SNL worthy' sense of humor, I still need to be connected with the outer world and share my experiences.

This may not form the perfect segue into my recent experience of Korea, but since my camera has died, I have become "that" tourist: the iPad photographer. While I may proudly toot the mini iPad horn of its lesser obnoxious size, I am still rather obnoxious when I whip it out to capture life's greatest moments. I have nothing against those who may be veterans to iPadography, but if I may boldly state: we just look dumb. The iPhone provides a certain slink to street photography, a suave coverup, and you are able to capture interesting perspectives if you are well-versed in the 'sneaky snap.'

For example I trekked to a widely popular are of Seoul [Insadong] this weekend and I have to say, my love of street photography became disillusioned largely because of the moment where I wanted to capture the creativity and unique colors of some Owl antiques but alas, I couldn't discreetly steal the moment due to the tacky size of my equipment: the iPad mini. Cover blown! I was noticed right away and the adorable Korean vendor marched right over to me and sternly shouted, "No pict-chah!"

Oh boy, you really don't know who you are talking to, do you? 

BOOM! 

You may be oddly scratching your head, thinking, "You captured the photo after all, what is the fuss all about?" 

Principle. Even though I am a brash dare devil that mocks the rule book, I just wish I had the ability to not look like a dork. Yes, I strongly realize that I am a white girl in Korea...a combination bound to turn heads no matter what, BUT I am at least trying to lessen my chances of embarrassment.

Other than photography woes, I am learning the ins and outs of Korea like a true native. 

For instance,

I read all the bus stops in Hangul on my way to school. 

I bought seaweed paper to make my own kimbap [a delicious staple to any Korean or Foreigner].

I excel at handing money with TWO hands [a polite gesture]. Seriously, it's an art.

I was able to mildly translate that one of my students accidentally [a loose term, literally] pooped his pants. Okay, the smell gave it away 99.9% but I still understood the vague gesture and snickering from his peer. And perhaps the small stain from his behind...

I no longer felt like the new kid after we had someone come to observe our school branch. I was also able to get her to to a bar that my coworkers were meeting at for a birthday celebration. Okay, so I was late because I technically became lost while trying to find her, BUT, I did turn myself around, retrieved her and made it to the bar...eventually.

I can ride the Subway all by myself, say what?!

My chopsticks skills are improving and my kids no longer point and laugh at me. 

I bob and weave through Korean umbrellas like Pac-man avoiding ghosts.

I am attending my first Korean pajama party at school tomorrow. I plan to load my students up on sugar, tell them lots of ghost stories, and then leave them in the hands of my Korean co-teacher as a special treat for abandoning me last Friday during lunch; to which my students had a mini-riot with Legos. 

Just kidding.... or am I? 

Here are some photos to fancy your cyberstalking. 

Puppy Dog Cafe! A cafe devoted to canines and friends! (and one feline!)

                                            Look Teach-uh!                   

                                         

 

A fancy Korean Marching Band! Puts your days of marching to shame...

Seriously the prettiest women around.

I have adapted my grocery staples, but as you can see, I refuse to give up peanut butter even though it averages $5.50 a jar. What can I say? I'm my father's daughter. 

More on Korean cooking adventures later!

 I LOVE this kid. Everyone proclaims him to be lower-performing, but I see a potential hiding in him somewhere. He and I share similar humor and he will try to make me laugh when I'm upset.

I look forward to many hikes with these beautiful ladies. Baegundae Peak was certainly grueling and challenging but it felt so darn rewarding to finally reach the top. I felt at peace again among the mountains.

Until next time, 간 배! Cheers!

Preparing to 'Unprepare' & Absorbing Shock

hi friends.

So, I have been in Korea for almost ten days today. Happy survival anniversary to me! I write this while drinking a mug of double espresso because this week was [definitely] my breaking point in my absorption of the shocking culture that belongs to Korea.

I've traveled abroad before and I've been to more culture-shocking countries than Korea, so I am a little unsure as to what it was today that made me go into the supply closet, cry a teensy bit [I had a meeting at 5:30] and quickly wipe my eyes to hide any sort of redness that would demonstrate to my Korean teachers that I am weak.

Let me just tell you... I have developed a philosophy: "Always prepare to un-prepare."

Oxymoron right? How can we prepare to un-prepare? Well, one must simply go with the flow, adapt, be flexible, become easy-going, etc. Lesson plans have no use here in Korea. Nor are behavior charts, seating charts, name tags, rosters, birthday calendars, anything and everything you can creatively plan for your classroom.... go ahead and simply un-prepare.

Things change at the blink of an eye. Schedules are swapped non-stop, teachers change positions, parents hold meetings with the Principal and decide at the last minute they want YOU as their child's teacher, so then the Principal must create a schedule so that you can be available to ALL of the age group, and not just half [nice to know that I am in high demand here].

Principals can take your schedules that were fairly balanced with a healthy variety of classes ranging in subjects to making you the head teacher of just ONE subject that has a horrible, uninteresting and completely un-creative curriculum. Not to mention, the Principal and other teachers decide to take advantage of your background in special education and decide they will give you ALL of the lower performing students and expect you to work miracles in a week [kind of hard to do when the parents refuse to admit their child may need extra help in certain areas--for further reference on achievement within the Asian culture, please read The Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua. (Excellent read!)

Yeah, I've become that teacher. The teacher who goes into the supply closet to cry because I simply can't handle another Korean teacher stealing things off my desk, changing my schedules, telling me I am teaching wrong, and that I need to give up two or three of my classes so they can teach.

I am flexible. Hell, it was one of my top 5 strengths in the Strength's Finder 2.0 book I had to complete for an AmeriCorp program once upon a time. So, I am not sure why my emotional state has become so erratic and near the edge of a break-down.

However, it is hard to observe a variety of classes of what you think you will be teaching the following week and then have the schedule pulled from underneath you [5 times], to shift from classroom to classroom while following an overwhelming curriculum that has been written by a Korean teacher, to be expected to create lesson plans off said curriculum, and not to mention prepare yourself for 8-9 classes for the entire day.

I shouldn't be complaining. I should be enjoying this experience, after all, it is adventure [and I needed a change of scenery].

Yet, I feel as though my gifts as a teacher are being wasted in the land of ESL. I feel disconnected from my students in so many ways, not to mention there is a HUGE language barrier. I am finding it harder each day to bring a smiling face to work and be patient during our hundredth meeting of the week where we receive our 10th schedule for the day. I am finding it harder to pay attention to my superiors when I know secretly inside they are just going to change things on me. For instance, during a meeting today (it's been our 5th since Monday), the Director of Foreign Teachers told me to pay attention to the Korean presentation as it related to my library class and I couldn't hold back my remark, "Yeah, IF I even have a library class...."

Because I know, I won't have a library class come next week.

In other news outside of my school drama: the Korean culture is still shocking.

1. I'm adjusting to spicy foods, rice, and meat at every meal [i do like kimchi though :)]--OH, and using chopsticks.... I am horrible and my students laugh at every lunch period.
2. I am trying to remember to take my shoes off when I get to school, my apartment, or even others' apartments.
3. I am trying to not rely on McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Burger King, KFC, or Dominoes while living in a city with wonderful [yet odd] foods around me.
4. I am adjusting to living in a cubicle with an electric stovetop that takes literally 20 minutes to cook a fried egg--and that's on the highest setting.
5. I am trying to close my eyes while I shower because my bathroom is literally covered in mirrors, otherwise I will be developing a complex sooner or later... shouldn't have had that last rice cake!
6. I am converting KRW (won) to USD like a pro in my head.
7. I am slowly adjusting myself to the overwhelming scents and sounds of Korea:
     A) Koreans LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to play music anywhere and everywhere-- Seriously, there was
     an Oma (grandma) walking with a mini-boombox in her fanny pack in the park--I wish I was
     kidding.
     B) Koreans SMOKE like crazy. If I sit outside at a coffee shop, chances are I am going home
     smelling like I smoked a pack of cigarettes.
8. I walk everywhere and I LOVE it. I will be getting a bike soon though because I hate having to predict at which speed or direction Koreans will make while walking on the sidewalk. Seriously, it's become a game at guessing who will go left or who will go right. Many times, I lose.
9. I live 3 blocks from a GORGEOUS lake/park. It's like living in Uptown again with Lake Calhoun. Except Lake Park has a beautiful flower festival, sculptures, much more walking paths, and provides for more interesting people watching opportunities--such as Koreans exercising... by far my favorite!
10. I am adjusting to communicating, smiling/nodding at restaurants, my horrible Korean pronunciation, and learning the Korean alphabet! [I did sign up for Korean classes... so look out!]

If this post is at all overwhelming, it's because my life has been overwhelming these last ten days. I have been enjoying my days since I've landed, but as I said, this week was my breaking point. From today on out, I need to remember why I am here. It's not for my own sake, but to share my wealth of knowledge in the English language; to help my students improve their skills, to teach them new skills, to absorb the culture [no matter how shocking it may be some days], and to live a life filled with
a-d-v-e-n-t-u-r-e.

"Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything..."
-George Bernard Shaw

Here's a quick photo montage of life in Korea so far.... enjoy!

There are many beautiful and interesting sculptures throughout Lake Park.

This has become MY personal sanctuary. 

I could stare at this all day and be happy.

                                         

                         Mopeds are definitely a trendy way of traveling...

not to mention efficient delivery :)

Best part of my neighborhood: waking up at 7am and 

wandering the streets at my discretion.

 These are scattered all throughout the shopping mall... 

 just a unique way of providing benches!

                                                                     I could seriously get used to Asian horticulture and flowers. 

             So gorgeous and unique!

So peaceful and serene at Lake Park.

    My favorite place in Lake Park. If you go to the    

   top, you get incredible views of the lake and the  

 city.

Skylines and nature are probably my favorite compositions combined ever.

 The city tucked beyond the serenity. Ilsan love.

The lake is peaceful and still; a place to reflect and dream.

Time is a tree(this life one leaf).

but love is the sky and i am for you.

just so long and long enough.

e.e. cummings

Lastly.... THIS is by far, my favorite photo of my time here in Korea. 

This photo speaks to my heart and reminds me exactly why I am here. 

To love, to have joy, and to share laughter.