i did a post like this last year and thought it was cute so i’m doing it again. my manicures this year have become much less extravagant. i’ve moved toward solid colors and a square shape instead of intricate designs. my most often worn style this year was long nude almond shaped nails. very 90’sanime.
i’ve written a fewtimes about learning korean. the struggle of speaking a second language has become a defining aspect of my life in korea. after almost 2 years of feeling disappointed in myself i’ve realized that fluency, for me, was never plausible in 2 years. maybe after 5.
with this in mind, and the decision to move back to the us, i’ve changed my approach to learning korean. my goal is…
like a year ago my friend sent me some really great questions about teaching here in korea. so, i’m finally going to answer them.
Did you use a recruiting company?
yes, I went through korvia and worked with jessi kim. she was very kind , helpful and patient with me through the whole process. i met her after i had moved here and was surprised that she remembered me! korvia is free so there’s…
this post is like an expansion on the theme of rm’s ‘seoul,’ but using my personal experiences. part journal, part poetry, entirely stream-of-conscious-rambling.
i live about an hour north of seoul. i spend my weekends in seoul and consider it a part of my life here just as much as my actual tiny city. this song captures the juxtapositions of seoul completely.
this is how i’ve been feeling recently. a little discouraged, hopeless, tired, anxious. i’m worried about the future. i’m trying to write something interesting and coherent about that experience but everything i write is too abstract and decentralized. i’ll keep working on it.
here’s what i’ve been up to.
redecorating
i moved some furniture around and ordered some bedding from society6. i’m still getting used to the new colorful pieces. i’m afraid it’s too busy, too incohesive. but it’s refreshing to change things up. i’ve been so anxious i haven’t been investing in my home space like i used to. i got the idea to use magazines as wallpaper from drew scott’s diy youtube channel lonefox. and i finally got some lamps so i could stop using overhead fluorescent light. life changing.
BT21
i love bts and since their most recent comeback i’ve been listening to their music a lot more and watching videos of their performance. they collaborated with line friends to create their own characters, and i was able to do some shopping at the stores here in seoul.
line friends store in itaewon
i went to itaewon with some friends to check out the line friends store and scope out what i wanted to buy from the BT21 collaboration. i waited patiently for my next paycheck to hit my bank account and then i went to the hongdae store to do a little haul.
i’m a big fan of jung hoseok, so i decided to collect his character mang. i got a pillow, pajamas, a small pouch, headband, and socks. i like the name of the character. he chose the name ‘mang’ from the korean word for hope ‘희망’ but it lends itself to double meanings and puns, like ‘망했다’ can mean ‘i failed’ and i appreciate the duality there.
urban photography
i want to start taking and sharing more photos again. i want to record my life visually. i take it for granted. i want to appreciate more.
my parents are back in the us and i have a few days before i go back to work. it’s weird to go from spending all day with your family to being thousands of miles away from them. i have to get used to the quiet and the stillness again.
today i went to the arario gallery. it’s part of the ryse hotel in hongdae, where my parents stayed. we never actually walked into the gallery. the space is small and there weren’t many visitors. the current exhibit is called jet lagged, and it’s about trying to close the distance between where we are and where we are going.
the gallery was a mix of installations, videos, drawings, and paintings. the space was dim and intimate, and like many gallery spaces had a sense of religion to it.
i took my time visiting each piece and watching the other people in the gallery. some were in a hurry, maybe a bit uncomfortable with the small quiet. some of them were alone like me, maybe passing time before meeting a friend or just looking for something to do.
i appreciate these little spaces of art that you can just visit for a while. i thought the theme was appropriate, relevant to my life. i’m trying to decide what i want to do next year. if i want to stay here in korea or move back to the us. i’m chasing that moving target of where i want my life to be and who i want to end up being.
after walking through the gallery, i went to the tartine coffee bar to flip through a new ‘urban spaces’ book i had picked up at yp books.
tartine is a san francisco bakery that recently opened a location in hannam, and now in hongdae. the coffee bar offers coffee and pastry, and the toast bar on the other side of the building serves brunch/lunch/dinner.
i ordered my coffee and unwrapped my new book awkwardly. i saw a girl reading a book with an iced coffee. i watched groups of women share pastries and laugh at each other’s jokes. i watched couples chat over coffee. i quietly ate my scone and flipped through the pages of my book. the book was beautiful, full of gorgeous photography of urban exteriors and cityscapes. i plan to cut out the pictures for collage.
i left the coffee shop and snapped a picture on the way out. i don’t mind these days alone.
i’ve been to busan many times but never gone to see 해동용공사 (hae-dong-yong-gong-sa). it’s a beautiful temple on the seaside, famous for its stunning visuals. the visit was what i was most looking forward to on this trip to busan. enjoy the photos!
