The Busan Fireworks Festival

It left me speechless. Enough said =)

3 Years and Counting

Yesterday was my 3 year anniversary with Walter. We spent the morning eating chocolate pancakes and eggs and then head off to Gwangan Mountain for a good old fashioned hike. We hiked for around 2 and a half hours. Once we neared the top we took a food break and bought some ramen from a lady who was selling things out of a truck. There were many other people there, as this is a mountain you can drive up. Among the other travelers included another couple. The man in the couple opened the doors of his Audi near where we were sitting and starting blasting contemporary jazz music. Then he busted out a saxophone and starting playing! It was beautiful, we were over looking the city of Busan, the ocean and mountains while listening to this man serenade us. Truly a magical moment. Eventually we decided to hike a little further and that's when we reach the top! The view was gorgeous as we looked out at all of nature's beauty from the terrace of a cute little restaurant called Cloud Hill. Our walk back down the mountain was chilly and took half as long, but was a little hard on the knees. We later had dinner near Kyungsung University at a nice and yummy little Italian restaurant. When we finished up we head to an arcade and had lots of fun playing all sorts of fun Asian games. =)

It's been a great 3 years with it's ups and downs and I look forward to the years ahead of us.

Hai!!!

This past weekend was Chuseok in KOrea. It is pretty much a Korean version of Thanksgiving. In any event, this holiday meant I had a 4-day weekend! So Walter and I flew off to Japan. Japn is absolutely AMAZING! I looooooooooooooooove Japanese food. I honestly think they have some of the best che'f in the wolr thre. They put so muhc effort and care into each small little detail of their food. They don't just create meals they create art. I thank god that as we were walking the goregous streets of Gion in Kyoto (the tradtional japanese area where you an spot geisha's roaming the streets) we stumbled upon a very exclusive restaurant hidden away. As we walked in we were greeted by a young man who spoke very little english and asked us to kindly give him a moment. Then our soon to be chef entered and he said "There is no English menu here. I am very sorry, but I would love to help explain to you each item." How can you say no to that. As he guided us to the traditional japanese bar where you watch your chef prepare your food right before your eyes. Our chef suggested we try the course meal. BEST DECISION EVER. For around $200 Walter and I enjoyed the best meal of our lives. We sipped on sake, plum wine and beer as we ate various cuts of beef (including beef shashimi) garnished in the most beautiful way. Not to mention desert was off the chain! It was a pudding with Matcha topping. I am actually drooling as I recap this meal. Our chef kindly explained exactly what each thing we were eating was and how we were supposed to eat it. Not only was the food of the highest quality but so was the service. It's because of that combination that not only was that the best meal of my life but one of the best experiences of my life as well.

Kyoto was the highlight of the trip for me. As I mentioned it was there that I had the best meal but we also stayed the night at a tradional Japanese hotel. We had tatami floors and paper doors as well as an Onsen in the basement. When we arrived they gave us a present via "lucky draw" and then served us traditional japanese tea in our room. On top of that we were given kimono like robes to wear during our stay which was pretty much the cherry on top of an already amazing sundae.


But it also goes without saying that Osaka was also a beautiful and wonderful city. The nightlife, arcades and shops were great here. Our first dinner in Japan was in Osaka and it was also an amazing experience. Once again we were personally served by the chef and he too spoke english. We had 3 differnt main dishes consisting of unagi (bbq eel, one of my favourites) as well as a few unagi side dishes. This experience felt like an episode out of Iron Chef where the main ingredient was unagi. Everything was amazing and cooked to perfection and served in beautiful presentation. My favourite was the egg white with unagi. It felt as though I was eating velvet beacuse the egg was soooo smooth.

yum Yum yum Yum = my review of Japan

If you love food, and you haven't been to Japan...GO! Not to say that was the only thing I loved about the place. The people are generous and kind there and that is also a big reason why I loved it. But the food just realy stood out to me as some of the best damn food in the world!


A song from a sad Japanese drama I used to like:

Jimjibang

So today I had my first bath house experience in Korea. These bath houses are called jimjibangs. Naturally I went to the largest and nicest one in all of Asia =).

I was nervous at first because in these places you have to strip down to nothing and bare it all for the world (or at least all the other women in there) to see. It was surprisingly only uncomfortable for about a minute. I guess being North American nakedness is something we're brought up to feel shameful about. What's more, I find that we North Americans are all so self conscious of our bodies. This was why I really enjoyed this experience. It not only was cool going into cave baths, herbal baths and champagne baths etc. but it honestly made me feel more comfortable in my own skin. Looking around at the tons of other women there I noticed that no one had the "perfect body". So why should I feel like I had to have one?

Yah I have a little more padding here and there than I'd like, but we all have something we don't particularily love about our bodies. How nice it was to be in a room full of people completely naked and not think once to myself about those inadequacies I feel everyday even when I'm fully clothed.

I think it's something every women should try once. How nice it would be if us women had the self confidence we should.


P.S. I like these songs =)

The One Thing I Know About Myself For Certain

I AM

Main Entry: indecisive

Part of Speech: adjective

Definition: uncertain, indefinite

Synonyms: astraddle, changeable, doubtful, faltering, halting, hemming and hawing, hesitant, hesitating, hot and cold, inconclusive, indeterminate, irresolute, of two minds, on the fence, tentative, unclear, undecided, undetermined, uneventful, unsettled, unstable, vacillating, waffling, wavering, weak-kneed, wishy-washy

...I've already decided to delete this post...*sigh*

There and Back Again

So I just finished watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy and it was pretty good...although there were a few dry scenes. I could also see how it would have been a much better movie the big screen but o wells.

On another note, I just came back to Busan from my two week "vacation" to Canada. It was fun but really tiring and must say I'm glad to be back in Korea. Kind of feels like home a little more than Markham now. I guess that's because I didnt really get a chance settle in. But i came to the realization that I'm definitely not ready to move back to Canada anytime soon. It feels like I've changed a whole lot but everything there has remained exactly the same.

Life is easier here I guess, I am free to do as I please because I live on my own and my job gives me the time to. My friends and I are all on the same page because we have the same job and now that I've figured out the culture and the language (to certain extent) I don't find myself running into too many conflicts.

I doubt that I will be renewing my contract in March because Wally will have to go home in January and I know a big part of my happiness here is having the extra time and space to be with him. I guess I realize that when I do move back, something's gotta give. So I'll most likely move out and who knows...maybe wally and I will be back in Asia again.

The Dream

I call two of my best chingus. We hang out, hang up clothes and hang on to the cups of ice cream in our hands. This moment is ordinary and yet so dream like. The slight chill from the ocean breeze feels cool against my skin. It makes me feel...alive. As we sit side by side, connected by our love of ice cream and life itself, we contemplate the adventures of yesterday, today and tomorrow "Where else in the world do you see this?" says Kiara. "Only in Asia" we say simultaneously. What a beautiful juxtaposition the city lights and the ocean make. I look around and I see the multicoloured lights of the magnificent Gwangan bridge dancing off the waves of the ocean. I take a bite of my decadent chocolate ice cream and take a deep breath. I am here...very few people can say what I'm about to say. I am living the dream.

Dream - Priscilla Ahn (Korean-American artist - how appropriate)

I was a little girl alone in my little world who dreamed of a little home for me.
I played pretend between the trees, and fed my houseguests bark and leaves, and laughed in my pretty bed of green.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest swing.
I had a dream.

Long walks in the dark through woods grown behind the park, I asked God who I'm supposed to be.
The stars smiled down on me, God answered in silent reverie. I said a prayer and fell asleep.

I had a dream
That I could fly from the highest tree.
I had a dream.

Now I'm old and feeling grey. I don't know what's left to say about this life I'm willing to leave.
I lived it full and I lived it well, there's many tales I've lived to tell. I'm ready now, I'm ready now, I'm ready now to fly from the highest wing.
I had a dream