halfway?

Time for a bi-annual update on how long I’ve been in Korea! I think I started with 1 month, then 6 months, then a year… so now it’s time for 1 and a half years!!

My new contract is for 18 months so I COULD be half-way through my time in Korea. When I got to my first 6-month mark I knew there was no way I was leaving Korea after one year. At the moment I’m unsure about what I want to do a year and a half from now (seriously, who plans that far ahead?). I still love living in Korea and my new job is going really well so who knows?!

The one thing I do know is that I haven’t been this permanent since I left home at 18. I did 4 years at U of Ottawa but always went home for 4 months between and spent most of my 3rd year abroad in Switzerland. Then I did Teacher’s College and came here! I like the feeling of being settled but am also itching to explore more of Asia. I like the familiarity of my little neighbourhood where I can say good morning to my favourite delivery man or gossip with my Starbucks barista.

So for now I’m definitely staying put but who knows what the next year or so will bring for me :)!

버벌진트(Verbal Jint) – 시작이 좋아 (Good Start)

First of all: Happy New Year!

2013 is definitely a year of new beginnings for me! I started a new job this week and it has been a super challenging yet rewarding week. I am now working at an international school teaching Grade 2! And my contract is for 18 months so I will be in Korea for at least that long. It’s all very exciting but overwhelming at the same time.
On the first day of school I talked with my students about New Years resolutions. They came up with some average responses (“I will be better at soccer, I will do ‘plus’ better in Math”) and some really outstanding resolutions such as “I will be more creative” and “I will be a more positive person”. I can tell that I am going to learn a lot from these kids. My personal resolutions are to be more organized (although looking around my room I see I still need to work on that one) and to be the best teacher I can be for my students.

So far 2013 has gotten off to to a very good start and listening to this song just makes it better :)! I love Verbal Jint, especially when his songs feature a strong female vocalist. The lyrics are really good too. He talks about getting over a break-up and looking past everything to the year ahead.

It’s a good start
I came to the quiet sea alone
And I made wishes for the New Year
The strong cold that tortured me for a while is now cured
It feels good

So yeah, this may be a new favourite! I like everything about it except for the inappropriate beach footwear! Oh Korea! Hope you enjoy it!

skin for life!

Here are a few very important beauty tips that I have picked up while living in Korea. They’re not necessarily Korean beauty tips, just things that I have become much more aware of since living here.

Here are some simple rules to follow for healthy, beautiful skin :):

1. Don’t tan. Growing up in Canada I believed that being ‘hot’ means being tanned. When I came to Korea I was so proud to be the most tan person I knew. Then I noticed how well people take care of their skin so I started looking more closely at my own skin. I noticed spots and wrinkles and damage that I really hadn’t noticed before. The idea is that being tanned makes your body look more defined and slimmer. Well… it does make a marginal difference but being tan does not make you hot. If you’re slim and pale you’re going still going to look slim, and vice versa. But tanning CAN make the difference between getting skin cancer and not. I have opted to stay out of the sun and stick with my natural skin colour.

I’m not sure who’s acting is worse but I do know whose skin I would want!!

2. Be good to your eyes. I shudder to think of how I used to remove my eye make-up. I used to just wash my face then literally rub it off with my finger or dry tissue. I’ve worn make-up for almost 10 years now so if you think about how much I was tugging at the sensitive under-eye skin each day there’s no wonder I have wrinkles! I now remove my make-up properly using make-up remover and a soft tissue. I gently apply wrinkle eye cream twice a day and I try to avoid rubbing my eyes as much as possible. I think it is helping a lot and hopefully I will preserve my under-eye skin for the next ten years!

I know it looks funny but I would actually take off my make-up like this! :S

3. Moisturize moisturize moisturize! Moisture does not equal oiliness. Whenever I used to get a pimple I would avoid moisturizing that area of my face because I thought it would make it worse. Moisturizing can actually help prevent pimples. When your skin is too dry (most acne medication dries out the skin) it is more susceptible to bacteria getting into the pores. If the pores are already sealed with moisture there is less chance that bacteria will form (that’s my understanding of it anyways).

What a pimple looks like under the surface.

4. Get to know your products. In Korea when you buy cosmetics the store will always give you tons of free samples. I love getting these because it means I can test out a product before I commit to buying the whole tube! In Canada I would often just buy whatever product was the cheapest or that my friends were using. Now I consider what I want the product to do, and how it looks and feels on my face before I add it to my daily routine.

Ok, this one was free but it’s so silky smooth!

5. Drink up! Your body requires water to carry out every single molecular process. This includes everything from digesting the hot dog you just ate to fighting off diseases. Your body needs water to break down unwanted cells (ie. bacteria in your pores…), repair damaged cells and create new ones. Over the past few months I have made an effort to drink a lot more water. I try to keep a full cup of water on my counter and take a drink every time I walk by it. I have to pee a lot more often but I have noticed a difference in my skin!

Don’t you want your skin to look like that!?

I don’t look too happy here but my skin looks all glowy and such :)!

That’s all I’ve got for now! If you want more advice, I’d suggest searching the World Wide Web. It’s great! ^^

 

SNSD – I got a boy

 

Girl’s Generation is BACK in full force!!
In true GG style, they are back to all fighting over one not-even-cute boy. I was pretty confused about what the song is supposed to be about after I read the lyrics.

At first they’re talking about a girl who is average-looking who looks way better after she meets a guy:

Gosh! Again look at her, look!
From head to toe, her style has changed
Why did she do that? I’m curious to death
Why did she do that? Tell me.

No way! No way!
She became so pretty and sexy, it’s because of him, right?
I almost asked her what her new makeup was!

But then they’re talking about falling for a guy and being confused about their relationship:

Sometimes he is as reliable as an oppa but when he acts charming, he is so cute

I’m really angry, my boy doesn’t look at me as a girl
What should I do when I feel hopeless?
Should I make him feel jealous? I’m so upset! What do I do?

So what I think they’re saying is that they like this boy and he makes them want to be better and he brings a spark to their eye, to be cliche. But they’re not sure what he wants and they’re frustrated, like most people beginning relationships.

So the lyrics aren’t so deep and meaningful, but generally I like the song. It’s fun and catchy, although I’m pretty sure it’s going to get way overplayed and in a few weeks I’ll be sick of it.

Seriously! If I wore any of these outfits I would look like a complete tool.

What I love about this video are the costumes! I love the quirky girlie outfits at the beginning and my favourites are the funky retro looks during the dance. I thought the costumes at the end with the orange wigs were a bit tacky but overall the clothes were to die for!

Not a huge fan of this look.

What I don’t love about the video (I guess this goes for all music videos actually) is the impossible standards they set for girls. How do they look so incredibly cute yet sexy at the same time? They pull off the innocent vixen perfectly and all of Korea loves them for it! I guess it goes for guys as well. Not many real guys look like TOP and yet most women look to their celebrity crush as their ‘ultimate guy’. I suppose it’s good that the mood of the video is not so “realistic” because in reality NOBODY LOOKS LIKE THAT!

Nope, sorry, not possible.

What made me laugh about this video is the girls’ reactions to the boy touching their hand or their cheek. Um… ladies, you were just hip thrusting like it’s your job and you’re acting as if you’ve never held a boy’s hand before?

Aw, sweetie. Your sparkly nails will not distract us from your mixed messages!

Overall, I loved the video, the dance and the music. They’re still as sexy as in ‘The Boys’ but not so obvious about it. You go, girls!