So on Saturday I had my leaving party... not my goodbye party, as I am hoping I will be back, more a see you in a bit party.
I have been extremely fortunate here and made a great circle of friends. The party was really no different from our normal kitchen parties that seem to happen, except I had all my favourite Joinvillians together at the same time.
I was presented with a bottle of top quality Cachaça off my brother from another mother who was born on the same day, month and year as me!Lots of lovely words were said, that gave me a very big head, made me cry, and made me determined to return.

5 years on, I finally return to Salvador

After 5 years I finally made it back to Salvador.

I was actually really nervous about going back for several reasons.

One was when I have travelled here I have been with Monica who speaks fluent Portuguese, so I was slightly concerned about my shameful and appalling lack of Portuguese.

Also I was leaving my safe comfortable bubble of European Brazil and heading up north which is much poorer and therefore more crime and favellas. I would be travelling alone and with out the safety net theoretically of CCS like last time. (Obviously anyone there would be there to help me if I needed it) But it was me that had to get my self to and from the airport and over to see frutos.

The main reason for my anxiousness was last time I was in Salvador, it was amazing, incredible and a life changing experience. After 5 years I was concerned I was just seeing it through rose tinted glasses or that something would happen to make me hate the place, or that it was as amazing as I remembered.

Turns out I was wrong. On all counts.

I managed to get myself all the way from Joinville to Curitiba, to Curitiba airport, to Sao Paulo, to Salvador, from the airport to the hostel, all by myself, with my baaad Portuguese, without being mugged or getting lost. Good start!

I got to my hostel - Che Lagarto about 7.30, called Jonas, my Capoeira teacher from 5 years ago and we headed into Pelourinho. It hadn’t really changed and it was really strange to be back there after all these years.

On Monday I headed over to the CCS house to see the staff that had played such a huge part in my experience last time. They had moved to a different house that was roughly in the same neighbourhood. So armed with my google map I set off several hours earlier as I knew I would get lost. I actually ended up finding the old house – or at least where it used to be. It had been knocked down and huge apartments had been built there.

I got to the house and Vini was picking up the volunteers from Placement. Vivienne was there and Lolo the cleaner. I got the biggggggest hugs off Lulu and she gave me a tour of the massive house, that can take up to 45 volunteers. The volunteers came back and I caught up with Vini and had lunch with them. Also much to my surprise I knew 2 of the volunteers!! Judy and her husband! Judy used to work in the Canada office and all of us did the Guatemala program and I travelled with them up to Quezeltanango!!

On Tuesday I decided to head to Frutos, again I was pretty nervous about going. I would not be being chauffeured around by CCS and would have to get a bus into one of the favellas. I had spoken to the guys at the hostel and their reaction when I told them where I was needed to get off the bus didn’t fill me with confidence! I ended up getting the bus to Bonfim Church and then got a taxi to Frutos.

The neighbourhood Frutos is in

I completely recognised the place and was let in by the guard. He obviously knew I was a volunteer – some white girl turning up - and he showed me to the classrooms where the CCS volunteers were. I tried to explain that I was an old volunteer and wanted say hi to Sara – who I had been in contact with. I felt like a bit of a fraud and hoped they didn’t think I was just some random walking in off the street. He then showed me to the class room with the 1 and 3 year olds. I literally walked into the classroom and within 2 seconds had a child wrapped around each leg shouting ‘Tia, Tia’. And my heart completely melted. I spent the next few hours being smothered in hugs, kissing as many kids as I could, giving hundreds of cuddles and pinching myself to make sure it wasn’t a dream. The kids here are adorable and very very stark contrast to the kids I have been teaching in the south.

After playing with the kids, it was lunch time, so I was helping feed them. I had seen the teacher who was in my class years ago, she was the cook now but I hadn’t said hello. I really didn’t think she would remember me after 5 years and goodness knows how many volunteers, I hadn’t said anything. I was feeding the kids and she walked past me and said hello, then did a double take, squealed Jossee and gave me the biggest hug ever. I was so so surprised. She completely remembered me I honestly couldn’t believe it. I felt so proud that I must have made some small difference last time for her to have remembered me.

By this time Sara had arrived back and we sort of chatted in my baaaad Portuguese. I kept saying how surprised I was to be remembered and she kept telling me what a special volunteer I was and I would always be in her heart. (I bet she says that to all the volunteers but still!)

Frutos De Maes had recently closed because of admin problems. Tia Mira set up the place as a family business to help out people, and it grew and grew. When I was there 5 years ago here were about 300 kids. As amazing as the place is Tia Mira didn’t have the business skills – that’s what it is – a business. Donations stopped coming in and Tia Mira became ill. Fortunately an Italian priest has stepped in and is providing funding for the next 2 years. After this they should be sustainable, and with new administration it is back open. There are only about 85 children there now but hopefully it will flourish again.

I am working with them to create a website for them to help attract sponsors and funding. So quick plug here. It is coming up to Christmas, so how about spending a little less this year on gifts that we really don’t need and donate to Frutos De Maes instead. I will update more later.

The AMAZING, wonderful, hard working staff at CCS Brazil.

I headed to the CCS house again as Grace was supposed to be over from Rio. Her and Vini had just left for lunch. I got some lunch and chatted with the volunteers until they arrived. It was so good to see Grace. We went for ice cream and had a fantastic talk about Brazil, how I felt the first time round, how I felt now, what I had done since Brazil, everything, the impact of the volunteers. Grace is an amazing woman and I feel honoured to have her a as a friend. I couldn’t believe that after 5 years I was sitting there with her. Her and Vini and the rest of the staff do such a fantastic job. It is too hard to describe, unless you have done a CCS program, you just don’t understand. This program literally changed my life. I know it sounds corny but, I feel as if the program in Brazil was the catalyst for how my life turned out.

The rest of my time I spent catching up with friends, I went to the São Joaquin open market. It is a public market abut 15 minutes outside the city where all the locals shop. I somehow managed to end up in the meat part. I was hoping to avoid it as last time it was not a great experience. After a lot of gagging, flies, livers, stomachs and intestines I made it out the other side and did some shopping. I love this market as it really feels like Brazil, the smells – some good some bad, the amazing array of fruit and the fact you don’t have people hassling you like in the tourist areas. I was also super proud of myself for finding it and getting the bus there by myself again! Have a look at some of the pictures of it here.

Porta da Farol at night

So once again an amazing trip to Salvador to catch up with some inspiring and wonderful people. Hopefully it won’t be so long next time.

flowers, farms and fun!

It was another long weekend instead of travelling though, I stayed in Joinville.

Saturday night, I went to a very civilised and grown up dinner for a friend's Birthday. This then led us to another friend's house where some Wii was played, when he fell asleep, we went to another friends house to play the PSP version of Wii, at 6am when he wanted to go to sleep, we headed to Adriano's for some food, which was packed full of people for 6am on a Sunday morning!!

On Sunday I went to an Orchid Festival at Expoville which had some really beautiful flowers and orchids.
Sunday evening, we headed over to a friend's farm. It was only about a 30 minute drive and was soo cute!! There was a huge plot of land with a 2 small lakes, horses, chickens, a well. The house just looked like a barn, but inside it was so cute and farm housey!

This is my last week at school.... not quite sure how I feel, I really don't want to leave Brazil, but I don't think the school is the best fit for me!!

Random things I have observed while in Brazil...

Brazilians like cold beer - I mean REALLY cold beer. If they have half a can left which is slightly warm, they will throw it away rather than drink it. I have been involved in many discussion about ale and beer and why English people drink warm beer.

Brazilian couples are not shy. As a stiff upper lipped British person, I am not used to couples kissing (very passionately!) in restaurants, buses, bars, supermarket lines, on the street, in the car, at the park, outside the bathroom etc. etc.

Brazilians when leaving their rubbish out to be collected they have these:Which if you think about it make sense. It is off the floor so it doesn't attract animals. However if it's really heavy and you catch it on the side when you are struggling to lift it up and rotten rubbish explodes onto you.. not so good.

In the bikini department.. the smaller the better, for men and women. Brazilian beaches are not for the fainthearted. I was going to post a picture, but I didn't want to offend any stiff upper lipped British people.

Brazilians need no excuse for a party or a day off. Since being here I have had about 1 long weekend a month for Saint's day, Independence day, Proclamation of the Republic day and other random things. Also if the day lands on a Tuesday? Do we work on the Monday - heck no!! Holiday on a Wednesday? Why not just have Monday and Tuesday off!

I am sure there are some other things... but I can't think of them now.....

Just remembered!!
Cocktail sticks! Normally if there are nibbles on the table, pieces of cheeses, chips anything, they are always accompanied by.. cocktails sticks!! not forks, Brazilians tend not to use their fingers but cocktail sticks!!

Well, this had been the week to book flights!!
I have my flight all organised for Mexico, the next new and exciting adventure.
My flight back to the UK is booked. I finish school on the 19th November and fly out of Brazil on the 3rd December.

During the 2 weeks I have to do nothing I am FINALLY after 5 years heading back to Salvador, where I did my first CCS program and the catalyst for how my life so far turned out! I am so excited to get back there and visit my old placement. I have been in touch with them on and off for the past 5 years and am curious to see how much it has changed and if the kids from my class are still there!



It still hasn't hit me that I will be leaving Brazil. I have a great circle of friends here, school can be crazy but I have other distractions to make it bearable.
Random parties always seem to happen.

BBQ's and Dinner invites are abundant.

Long holiday weekends seem to be every month. But on to the next adventure... and then maybe I will settle down...... maybe!

Florianópolis

It was another long weekend in Brazil - it was All Souls Day, so we headed to Florianópolis for the a few days. It is only about 2 hours on the bus and we left Saturday morning. It was much nicer to have a 2 hour journey rather than 12 hours!!

We stayed at a really nice hostel called the Backpackers Sunset, highly recommend it!
Floripa has 42 beaches so as you can guess we spent 90% of the time on the beach!
We basically just ate, relaxed, sunbathed and drank for 3 days! It was much needed!!

Tehuacán, Puebla Mexico

So for my next adventure I will be heading to Tehuacan in South Mexico!



I am going to be teaching with a school called Help! for 4 months from January 1st to April 30th and then will head to NYC for 10 days to catch up with everyone there!

I found this blog and this one by teachers who did the same program and think that this will be my school and apartment that I will be sharing!
The main reason for choosing Mexico was to learn Spanish.. wish me luck!!

Saturday a group of us went to Oktoberfest in Blumenau it's after Munich, the second-largest "beer celebration" of the world.

The journey was about 2 hours and involved preparing for the festival by drinking.
There was a parade of different clubs like the shooting club and jeep club.We then went to a German Park where they had a hall with different beers and music.

On Saturday we went to Rio Piraí which is a river about 20 minute drive from Joinville. It was kind of strange to have such sort of tropical forest so close.

As it is still spring here, the river wasn't very busy. Apparently during summer it gets really busy.
We just swam and relaxed by the side of the river and it was just nice to be somewhere different!

Gramado

Well I am back... my computer has been out of action and I have actually developed a social life so I have been pretty busy!!

Last weekend as a long weekend so we went to Gramado in Rio Grande do Sol, the next state down. It is a very pretty, European town known for its chocolate and wine!

We went to a few chocolate factories and got lots of free samples!

We went on a wine tour, of which the first stop was a pot and pan outlet store. All theBrazilians seemed very excited to be there and took lots of photos!!

We finally got to a proper vineyard and had a tour of how it was made.

And then for the best part of the day, a wine tasting class!

There was also a wine festival going on where you could buy a glass and then a coupon for 6 tasting.

We also went to Canela and Parque do Caracol to walk down and back up the equivalent of of a set of stairs 40 stories high!

We then spent most of the time sitting in cafes, eating and drink the best hot chocolate ever!! It was hot milk, with cream on top and a bar of chocolate melting in the milk!

Last weekend we headed to Curitiba which is about a 2 hour bus ride from Joinville. We got a taxi from the bus station to the Botanical Gardens to get on the Linha Turismo bus, only to dinf out that the people at the bus station knew nothing and that we could have got the tourist bus from the bus station.

The first stop was Museu Oscar Niemeyer who is a famous Brazilian architect.

We also headed to the Curitibian version of Little Italy which wasn't that great!
The weather was pretty cold, so we didn't use up all our stops on the ticket, so I think we will head back when the weather is warmer.

Besides that things have been pretty quiet, busy at work with extra lessons with the teenagers and I will be preparing students for the Cambridge Young Learners Exam as well.

This is an interview that a local station did at the school.
Look out for the small boy in blue, with curly hair - he was the one who told me to go back to where I belong!!!

well where to start.....
Last week it was my Birthday which also coincided with test/cake day at school.
Basically the kids make cakes, are literally fed spoonfuls of pure sugar - as long as they ask for it in English - then batter, then the bowl is put on the table, the teacher shouts attack and they all go for the bowl..... then they are expected to sit down and do a test!!!!

For my Birthday we went for dinner at the amazing all you can eat buffet place again.

Then a group of us from work headed to the public market for some drinking and dancing to the live band.

This weekend was Declaração de Independência do Brasil so we had a long weekend. We decided to take the 12 hour bus ride to Iguaçu Falls. It was amazing!!

As the falls border Argentina and Brazil, we decided to head over to Argentina for the day to see them from both sides. The views were incredible and the photos and videos do not do it justice!

This Saturday we had a party for Nelson's birthday. On Saturdays it is typical to eat feijao so Marcia had made a huuuuuuge pot of it for the party. There was lots of dancing, lots of beer, lots of caipirinhas and lots of new people! It was lots of fun and great to meet some new lovely people!

Today we went to Estrda Bonit, which is a long round in the countryside, in Joinville. Along the road are lots of different farms that sell homemade cheese, bread, jam etc.

We found another little cafe with an all you can eat home-made buffet. They seem to be everywhere, which is great as it is cheap, but not going to be good for my waist line!!

Today we went to São Francisco do Sul it is about an hour busride from Joinville and was 17 reals return which is about £6.

It is a really cute little port town, we hada really nice lunch on a pier and a wander round the town.

We were going to try and stay in a Pousada (the local definition for guest house) but they were more expensive than we wanted. We were talking to a guy who owned a local night club, but lived in Joinville, who said we could get in free to his club and then just stay at the club for the night! It was a really nice club and we managed to take some photos from the balconies but declined his offer and headed home.

On Saturday Marcia (my boss' sister in law) called and said she would show Monica (my new house mate) and I around Joinville.

Her family are really big sailors and they have a boat at Joinville Yacht Club so we headed down there for a look around and a coffee.
Every Saturday they have have a band playing Samba or Forra, so we sat and had a few beers there.

After we went to Joinville Tennis Club and had some lunch and caipirinha. It was a really nice day but totally different from my experience in Salvador. Yachts and tennis clubs are not really a big thing in Salvador as it is a much poorer area.

So Saturday was actually quite sunny!
I attempted to try and find downtown and the shopping mall... I didn't. But I did take some photos!

The house!


View from the front garden and 'Big' Supermarket


View down the street.

Today is Father's Day in Brazil, so we went round to my boss' brothers house for a biiiig meal and Moqueca. Between about 9 of us we went through 13 bottles of wine, a huge clay pot of moqueca, another one of paella and 4 different desserts!!

Well I survived my first week!

I had mixed ages from 5/6 upto about 11/12. It all went pretty well but is totally different from Korea. The kids here are very lively, talkative and as a whole lack discipline. It was difficult to get them to sit down and stop talking. However a noisy talkative class is always better than a deathly silent one!

I did have one incident with one of the younger ones. I was playing a game and it was time to finish. But it was the little boy's turn and he did not take to kindly to it being finished before his turn. He proceeded to throw a full on tantrum - proper Super Nanny Style. He then told me he didn't like me, to go back to where I belong and that he was never coming to school again because of me!! All in perfect English, so at least that was good! I ended up leaving him in one room but he followed me, sat next to me and continued to tell me he didn't like me!!

Needless to say I was pretty much dreading the next lesson. He was pretty ok with me. At one point he was losing the game and I could see he was about to throw a tantrum, I managed to calm him a little but then another student set him off and they launched in to a full on fight! This class is pretty difficult, I have to sit them all at opposite ends of the carpet so they can't touch each other, kick each other, bite etc.. Seeing as none of this was aimed at me, I thought it was a pretty successful lesson!

Also, the weather here has been COLD!!! I was told it would be cold and was thinking hmph I am from England. However the state I am in actually had snow!! I have about 3 blankets on my bed and have been wearing my leggings under.

I'm going to have a mosey around Joinville this weekend so hopefully expect some pics!

Being a foreigner

What has really struck me in Joinville is that I don't stand out. I am so used to being in Korea and sticking out like a sort thumb. In some ways it is really annoying constantly being stared at. In other ways it gives you a lot more leeway for getting away with things! People tend not to ask you do surveys or harass you to sign up for credit cards etc.

However Joinville is made up of German, Swiss and Norwegian immigrants, so I don't stick out. In one way this really nice, I don't feel as self concious and I can blend in. But it also means that people do ask you to sign up for credit cards or try and advise you on what iron to buy, or if you want to use your hipermarket card. Then when you dumbly stare at them, they just think you are an ignorant person. Hence why 'Nao fala Portuguese, eu sou inglesa' is the phrase I am using the most at the moment!

There is a great quote at school:

I'm a world citizen
the whole world is my home
I am not a foreigner
no matter where I roam

Showers in Brazil

We have 3 bathrooms here that all have showers. As I appreciate my life I only use one of them.

Brazilian showers are electric.. fine you think.. basically Brazilian showers zap the water with electricity usually in the form of bare wires taped to the shower with insulation tape.

One looks pretty harmless but apparently when you turn on the water you get shocked.
Also you get hot water at the sink I have to plug it in... above the sink....

One seems to work fine and there are no bare wires.

The third looks like this.....

Don't worry Mum and Dad, I sent you the details of my insurance policy!!

Saturday was pretty much spent pottering around, making my room a bit more homely, I went for lunch with my boss.

The garden we have is pretty big, we already have an orange tree, lemon tree, papaya tree, some random berry plant, mint, a straggly tomato plant and other random things we have yet to identify.
We have decided to try and grow a few more things and I have planted some tomatoes, lettuce and peppers... lets see how they go!

Today the heavens opened it pretty much rained and thundered all day. I went to Curtitiba which is also where I flew into. It about an hour and half drive. We went to Jardin Grill which was a huge buffet with lots of really nice food. Oh and lots of waiters running round with swords full of dripping dead flesh that would come and carve it at your table! One was so rare that it was called 'screaming cow'!!!

Well first day teaching tomorrow... wish me luck!!

Queen of packing!

3 pairs of trousers, 1 pair of shorts, 1 pair of cropped trousers, 2 pairs of leggings 25 tops, 2 pairs of pyjamas, 6 dresses, 2 jumpers, 1 cardigan, 2 scarves, 1 rain coat, swimming costume, tankini, bikini, 15 pairs of underwear, 3 bras, 7 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of shoes, first aid kit, toiletries, Portuguese dictionary, grammar book, Portuguese text book, flashcards, alphabet letters, card games, stuffed teacher pencil case, laptop, mini hard drive, phone charger, camera charger, hair dryer, straighteners, jewellery case, sewing kit...

Gosh... I'm good!

Next Adventure....

So finally finished the CELTA course much to the relief of all the trainees on the course.
We don't officially find out the results off Cambridge for about 6 weeks and by that time I will be well out of the country and on my way toooooo.............. Brazil!

Finally after 5 years of declaring my love for the country and wishing to be back there I am finally going!!! I am going to a completely different area than Salvador so am not expecting it to be exactly the same but still realllly excited! I will be living with 2 guys and a girl from the US and teaching teenagers (eek!). I fly out next Wednesday and there may be the possibility of trip to Peru to see a friend.. but who knows. As always my life is subject to change depending on what cheap flights I can get!

I also have all my uni girlfriends coming to stay, we have not been together for about 3/4 years and a few are missing this time round. But with the introduction of grown up life, husbands and babies, you can't have everything!

3 weeks in....

3 weeks, 6 observed lessons, 3 assignments and about 20 students later.... I am nearly there!
The work isn't difficult but there is LOT of it.

For an hour lesson plan, you have to do the lesson plan, white board plan, student interaction, timing, language focus sheet, vocab analysis handouts etc. You then have a million things to remember to do while teaching the lesson, such as making sure you elicit, concept check, error correction, drilling and actually teach and stick to your lesson plan and deal with any random questions that the students decide to throw at you.

Then after you have to fill out a self evaluation form, then have feedback from the other trainees in the room. Then sort out all of this in your CELTA portfolio.

Typically you have 2/3 lessons a week, so you have to do this 2/3 times a week!! You also have about one assignment a week to do on top of this. They are normally about 1,000 words. The ones I have done are:

• interviewing and analysing a students language skills
• one basically creating a lesson plan based around authentic material
• one focusing on language function
• analysing your own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher

In the mornings we have input lessons about things like methodology, lesson planing, authentic material etc and then there are the teaching practices in the afternoon. You are expected to implement everything you were taught the day before and the day before that.. and that.. and that.. etc in your lesson the following day.

I am learning a lot but there is soooo much to take in. I am at the stage where I want it all just to be over!! It is a course that you just have to slog through and know you will get there in the end.
If teaching English is a career path you want to do and you have no qualifications, I really would do the CELTA right away. Online TELFs are generally not accepted as they do not have any observed teaching time.

2 lessons, 1 assignment and one week left.....

Well.... I survived my first week on the CELTA course..... just!! It is pretty intensive and long days. Typically in the morning we have an input session and learn about lesson planning, phonetics, concept questions etc. Then in the afternoon we teach. There was no grace period. I started on Monday and on Tuesday I was teaching. It's tough. Even though I have lots of experience, when you have a room full of students, 6 other trainees and an assessor watching you, making sure you include everything you learnt the day before in you lesson I tend to turn in to a quivering teacher like mess!!! Some of the feedback I have received is that I am not aggressive enough and come across as very nervous. Anyone who knows me knows this is not me!!! Yet I am petrified when I know I have to teach. This week I did 2 30 minute lessons and 1 60 minute lesson. I thought they all went pretty badly but apparently I am improving and can't be that bad as one of the students asked why I wasn't teaching a lesson that day!

I worked on my lesson plan and assignment for 8 hours yesterday and had a well earned break and went out in Huddersfield - the first time in about a year and half! Yet I still saw people I knew. I definitely feel like I have regressed to be a student again, moving back to my old house from when I was a student and having lots of studying to do!

Three more weeks, 5 more observed lessons and 3 more assignments to go!!!

So I have been sort of back in the UK for 3 weeks now.

It was strange to come back and be able to understand everything, order food and know exactly what was coming, be able to get on buses and trains and know it was the right train.

It also felt like Korea didn't really happen, that is was some sort of dream or hazy memory. Everything here is pretty much the same, I am in the same situation I was a year ago, jobless and back with my parents, so nothing had changed.

After a week in the UK, I went over to Denmark for a long weekend to see a friend I met while volunteering in Ghana. It was so good to see her after nearly a year and half and Copenhagen is beautiful but expensive city.

Last weekend I headed to Stevenage to see an old uni friend, Cambridge to see an old Helsby friend and London to see an old NY colleague. Then back to Helsby for a few days and today I move up to Huddersfield for a month to do a Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults.

It is a super intensive course that requires me to do observed teaching, assignments, lessons plans and all kinds of hard work! Most jobs in Europe require a CELTA and I think it will be good to get some proper official training!

So I am going to be M.I.A for the next month!!

Busan

My last weekend is Korea was spent in Busan with a few of my favorite buddies I have made in Korea. Fortunately it was Buddha's birthday, so it was a long weekend.
I got the bus to Deajeon on Thursday night, spent the night at Claries, then Louise, Claire and I got the KTX to Busan Friday morning.

Busan is supposed to be the Korean equivalent of San Francisco, with really nice beaches and a laid back feel.

Friday was absolutely gorgeous and we spent the day pottering around, shopping and exploring Busan.

In the evening we headed to the uni district where all the bars and clubs were and danced up a storm.

Saturday we headed out to the beach and as we stepped out of the hotel realized it was raining and raining and raining!! So again we spent the bay shopping, sitting in coffee shops, eating and just generally chatting.

Sunday, it was still raining, so we found a really cute coffee shop and had a bargain of a breakfast!

I didn't get to see as much of Busan as I had hoped but I got to spend some wonderful quality time with really good friends, who I don't know when I will see next - so that is the most important thing!!

I think you can see the pictures here!

Last weekend in Gunsan

Well, my last weekend in Gunsan was definitely fun filled!!

Friday night, I went out for dinner and then met up with some other friends and we shared a few beverages!

Saturday, I had a mini garage sale in an attempt to get rid of all of my stuff and then had bbq on Liz's roof top.

I dominated a few games of flip cup, we played some pictionary and then headed out downtown.

All in all, it was great to spend my last weekend with my favourite people from Gunsan!

5 years since Brazil!

Warning these next few blogs are probably going to be pretty mushy. With lots of anniversary type dates and 16 days until I leave, it’s all pretty emotional!!

So…..

This day five years ago, I was on my way to Brazil on my first Cross-Cultural Solutions program. It’s crazy to think how much has happened since then! I remember getting my final expectations talk and really having to stop myself from crying on the phone! It was the first time I had travelled alone to a different country and I had no idea what to expect.

Turns out doing that program was the best thing to ever happen to me. It gave me the confidence to believe that if I could ‘sort of’ control a class of 30 three year olds who didn’t speak a word of English; I could pretty much do anything. I met some amazing and inspiring people in Brazil who I am still in touch with now. Brazil and the people I met captured my heart.

This incredible event led me to move to New York to work for the organisation.
It led me to travel all over the States, again meeting more remarkable people.
It led me to volunteer in Costa Rica, volunteer in Guatemala. And even when I made the hard decision to leave CCS and New York, my astounding journey continued. I volunteered in Ghana for 2 months and realised my passion for teaching, which led to me move to South Korea for a year to teach.

I have said this previously but on each Cross-Cultural Solutions program and each step of my travels I have met wonderful people who have inspired and encouraged me. Every new journey I have embarked on I have always been nervous and apprehensive. But I have the support from family and friends to go and do, it resulting in life changing and unforgettable experiences.

My advice is to go and do. Go and travel. Get out of you comfort zone. Yes it will be scary, yes it will be uncomfortable and there will be awkward situations where you wonder what the heck you are doing. But the positives will definitely outweigh the negatives and who knows what it could lead too….

‘A positive experience causes a chain reaction of positive thoughts, events and outcomes. It is a catalyst and it sparks extraordinary results.’

Children's Day

Yesterday was Children's Day, which meant we got a day off work mid week - assah!!

Being the caring teachers we are we decide to spend the day at various orphanages. We managed to get some donations together of roughly £100 and bought a mass of sweets, crackers, pencils and other goodies!

We went to 2 orphanages played some games and handed out sweets.

It was good fun but pretty exhausting as we had all been out the night before until about 3am!

We then headed back to mine for Poker night where I won about £4!!

Finally sun in The Goon!

I don't know where the weekend went but it was lots of fun!
Louise came down to The Goon on Friday and we ended up dancing all night at Cheers and not getting to bed til 5.30am.
The Alex came round in the morning for a big English fry up!

We pottered around, played on some swings and saw half my students on the way to Coldstones for icecream and then Lousie headed home.

The sun has finally decided to appear in Gunsan so on Sunday a few of us headed to the park and had a picnic and BBQ.

We were also a huge source of amusment for the rest of the park.

30 days left!

So I have exactly one month left in Korea. I can't believe that 11 months have gone so quickly!!
I have enjoyed my time in Korea a lot more than I thought I would. I was actually contemplating on my layover in Germany just hopping on a plane to Ghana, as that was my layover for Ghana too. To be brutally honest I would have quite happily not come to Korea and had a mild panic attack at Manchester airport.

However, I have actually had a pretty interesting, educating, enlightening and dare I say fun time. I will actually even... MISS... Korea!

Things I will miss about Korea:
The amazing friends I have made here.
My students - especially my adult class
Poker night every other Wednesday
Tuesday morning coffees at Bean and Bean with Alex and Izzy
Serviceeeee - The amount of freebie stuff I get at places
How kind and honest people are. I can leave my bag and purse, go to the bathroom, come back and it is still there
Couple t-shirts - you know who is with who, as they are wearing matching clothes!!
Having every argument dealt with by using rock, scissors, paper, stone
Cheap and easy transport - especially taxis
Free rent
The amount of hours I DON'T work!

Things I won't miss:
people hocking their guts and flem up every where
feeling like a big fat heffer and being told no largee size
names that I cannot even begin to pronounce!
having to remember to take toilet paper from the communal roll outside the bathroom stalls!

Things I will probably subconsciously take away from Korea:
Nodding and bowing at people
Offering and taking things with two hands (to show I am not going to kill them, with the one hand I am not using!)
Saying 'Assah!' accompanied by an arm pump, when something is great

Fish, fun and fabulous friends!

This weekend I headed up to Seoul.

I got in early on Friday evening as my last class didn't turn up.

I headed to Itaewon where a friend was singing. There was also another guy who was from he Chester area. He asked everyone to to write down a few random words and then free styled it into a rap He was REALLY good!

On Saturday we headed to Dr. Fish. Basically a load of fish eat all the dead skin off your feet. It is the most bizarre experience EVER. It is like being slightly eletrocuted on your feet!

After getting slighlty lost on the subway for 2 hours we finally made it to the COEX Aquarium.
We were a little grumpy by the time we got there but it was still fun.
One part they had the fish in different types of tanks such as:

There was even a 2 headed turtle!