5-Year Anniversary

EJ and her adorable doll

My friend Sae Min and I

Hyeon Min's performance!

This post marks me pretty close to my 5-year anniversary of starting my blog, "Happening With Hillary". While initially I wasn't entirely attached to the name I created for it, the title "Happening With Hillary" has really grown on me. As you can imagine from the name, and for any reason why most other people write a blog, I started it with the intention of sharing my experiences abroad. Since my study abroad experience in Spain, the blog has become much more than just a way to share my thoughts, memories, and photos with the surrounding community. It has become a habit, a hobby, and something I really look forward to updating twice a month (or so I try!). Since my foot injury last year and the massive amounts of feedback received after those posts, I realized that more people were tuning into these bits and pieces of my life than I initially thought. Because of my blog, I've gotten more into photography, keeping a diary/journal, thinking about how seemingly ordinary days in my life could be something foreign and unimaginable for others, and more. I find myself actively living in a moment and trying so clearly to put it into words so that I can "save it for the blog" later. I hope readers have enjoyed my personal storytelling and recounting of events, although I'm not really an excellent writer. As always, I thank you for taking the time to read my entries.

Myself, Hyang Ran, and Eun Jeong!

Love this group of people!

With that said, it's time for me to catch you up on what's been happening lately! Just like November, December has been an extremely busy but enjoyable month. It started when I visited one of my students who had graduated from Gwangyang but is now studying at an Arts college in Seoul. He studies music and has always been into rapping. Actually, when he was still at Gwangyang, we collaborated together and wrote and recorded two songs together. Anyway, I went to see his end-of-the-year performance at his university, and it was phenomenal! I'm so proud of him and love that I can still connect with students after graduation.

Go Eun and Sae Pi

At school, students were focused on preparing for their final exams, so the atmosphere was pretty serious for the first two weeks. This past week was spent relaxing and playing holiday games with my students after their tests finished. I decided to create "Minute-To-Win-It" games, and the students had a blast with it. The winning teams earned hot chocolate and candy canes to show them a little bit of America's holiday spirit.

China Town

Additionally, the school staff had our end-of-the-year teacher's workshop/retreat. We traveled to Song-do in Incheon, which is a new, urban city with thriving businesses. It was a really cool city to see, and it was fun to hang out with my co-workers and get to know them better outside of school. We stayed for two days, one night. The first day was mostly workshops and professional development, followed by a fancy 5-course meal, lots of drinking, and bingo! I won traditional Chinese alcohol as my prize, haha! The following day was spent as sightseeing, where we traveled to a famous park, cityscape tower, and Incheon's China Town, where we ate a delicious lunch before heading back.

During the final exam period, I didn't have to go to school for 4 days, so I took the opportunity to head back to Gwangyang and visit my friends. I was soooo happy to be in their company and catch up with so many people. This is my small but sweet tribute to my amazing friends who always welcome me, host me, and make me feel right at home every time I visit. Love you all!

Song-do, Incheon

Sora was my coworker at Gwangyang

For the holidays, I will be staying in Seoul and spending Christmas with a few friends. One Fulbrighter from my first year is in town visiting, so we have been enjoying each other's company catching up on life and eating delicious food together when I get off of work. We are planning to head to one of Korea's amusement parks to see the holiday decorations during Christmas Eve, and spend Christmas morning with a short hike up a mountain to enjoy some makgeolli and the landscape around us.

Ro Eun and Go Eun (Sisters)!

Although I often get homesick around this time, I am glad to have good company here in Seoul with me, and I am lucky that all of my family and friends back home also have each other to celebrate and be with this year. I am thankful for good health, a roof over my head, and the multiple opportunities I have to try new things and follow my dreams. Here's to a continuation of that as 2017 approaches, and I wish the same for all of you. Be happy, be merry, and be kind to one another!

Sending lots of love,
Hillary

Happy Holidays!

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Seoul Living

Third year Fulbrighters

Budaejigae (부대찌개)

Hey everyone! As you know, I decided to switch things up for my third and final year and made the move to Seoul. The first two weeks back in Korea have flown by, and although they've been jam-packed, it's been a smooth and exciting process so far. I feel like I'm back in my first year, having a renewed "honeymoon phase" and feeling eager to explore Seoul, get to know my new school, and have an awesome year here.

Big Bang Concert

Big Bang Concert!

Per usual, the year started with a trip to Jungwon University in Goesan to close out the last few days of orientation with the new Fulbrighters. It was great to see all the renewing teachers again, and also nice to see new faces and get to know some of them. On departure day, my new co-teacher came to pick me up, and we drove off to Seoul! I had the weekend to unpack, clean, and get prepared for my first day at school on Monday. There are 10 Fulbright teachers in Seoul this year, so I'm excited to get to know them more and spend some time together.

Curry and Rice (카레덥밥)

My first week at school went by in a daze. My school's name is called Daedong Taxation High School (a vocational school). Most of these students will study to become public officials, accountants, real estate brokers, freelancers, and the like. The school is located in an older, traditional part of Seoul, so there are often plenty of tourists walking up and down the streets, visiting palaces and traditional architecture all around. It is a beautiful walk to work most mornings!

Kimchi Stew (김치찌개)

My first impression of the students is that they are sooooo cute and eager to learn! This is my first time teaching Korean high school female students, so it has been fun getting to know what they are like. Of course, I love the boys too and am looking forward to learning more about their hobbies and interests. At this school, I only teach the first grade students, and I see each class twice a week (I only saw my classes in Gwangyang once a week). I'm looking forward to having more face time with them and fostering those personal connections. It's my last year, so I'm really letting loose and want to have as much fun with my students as I possibly can.

They wanted to choose English names... and this is what they came up with! Lol!

Choco brownie bingsu and melon bingsu

My coworkers also seem like an awesome group of people to work with. The principal and vice principal are older but lively and welcomed me warmly. They reminded me of the staff back in Gwangyang! A lot of the teachers here in Seoul are younger than who I worked with in Gwangyang, which is a nice change too. I get along well with the older male teachers anyway, and have already tried my skill at badminton with the men's teacher team. Haha! I have a lot of improving to do. The English teachers are extremely kind and helpful, and I'm grateful for their assistance as I've been asking five million questions about everything.

Steamed Seafood (해물찜)

Overall, the first two weeks have gone quite well, and I hope this honeymoon phase doesn't end any time soon. Outside of school, I have been getting back into my routine of exercising, albeit through joining a gym. That's one of the burdens of living in Seoul - such a large city that it's difficult to run around outdoors. I also live right across from a huge department store and movie theater, so I'm sure I'll be wasting money over there quite often throughout the year... haha. And now that I'm living in Seoul, I'm surrounded by SO MUCH FOOD!!!!!!!! I can't wait to start exploring different food joints all over Seoul. Stay tuned~

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Goodbye Gwangyang~

ToastMasters Club Suncheon

It was my second-to-last day living and teaching in Gwangyang. All my boxes and suitcases for moving to Seoul have officially been sent off, and I was left with a bare bed, a TV, and a suitcase full of stuff to get rid of once I arrived back in Illinois for the summer vacation. For two nights I was sleeping with no sheets and a measly travel pillow, but it doesn't really matter because it's hot at night nowadays anyway and I slept just fine. Besides, I kept thinking, 'I'll be back in my own bed in less than 48 hours...'

Polaroids w/ Friends <3

It's been a hell of a month so far - having to tell literally everyone I know in Gwangyang that I'm leaving - coworkers, friends, home stay family, and the once unfamiliar faces I pass every morning while jogging along the river. I even broke down and started bawling in front of every faculty member in the middle of my goodbye speech at my farewell dinner... but that was a one-time deal. Since then, my emotions have been stable and I've been too busy to feel anything else. And I know that I'll be back in Korea in just a short month, albeit four hours north in the country's capital city, Seoul.

One of my classes <3

Aside from all the nostalgia, I was busy preparing for the next Fulbright teacher to take over my place. I had the students write letters and create questions to ask the new teacher, and I wrote a handy "guide" to navigating Gwangyang. When I told the boys I was leaving, their reactions were half, "TEACHER NOOOOOOO WE LOVE YOU" and the other half, "Is the next teacher going to be a pretty girl!?" Hah.

English Teachers at GHS

We also had our Fulbright Final Dinner event in Seoul, and as promised, HillaVanillaThrilla made a comeback with another parody about life in Korea. I'm working on getting the video uploaded to YouTube for public viewing. It was a fun ending to the grant year, and was my last time seeing many of the close friends I've made in the program.

GY buddies <3

The last two weeks were spent packing up my apartment, pushing through the end of the school year, and reminiscing on the two years that flew by in Gwangyang. On paper (and majority of my blog posts...), this past year was disappointing. I was plagued by a severe bacterial infection that took 6 months to fully treat, hindering my capability to fulfill some of my work and personal goals. But, being the optimist that I am, I somehow found the light at the end of the tunnel and turned things around and decided that my time in Korea isn't over.

GeunBu and I making a heart

Reflecting on my second grant year, I feel relieved that it is over. I need my month at home to relax, regain strength, and go into my third and final year feeling refreshed and ready for change. Seoul is going to be an awesome experience -- my first time living in a metropolitan city. I've made Gwangyang my comfortable home for the past two years - quite easily at that. My coworkers and students always brightened my day and made me excited to go to work in the mornings. The friends I made introduced me to all that Gwangyang and its surroundings have to offer, and we took advantage of every opportunity we had. I learned so much about Korea, its culture, the people, by living in this small city that I now call my Korean hometown. I'm looking forward to returning there during my third year in Korea, even if it is across the country from Seoul.

Thank you, Gwangyang, for taking me in and embracing me over the past two years. You'll always have a special place in my heart <3

Our office cleaners! <3

Gwangyang Friends <3

My friend GoUn <3

Krystale and SaeMin <3

The principal and I! <3

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Brain Fried

Hey everyone~

My goodness, it's been one hell of a busy month. And it's already over... and July is here!

I have been SO busy that I haven't kept up with my blog for this past month, and I'm sorry for that. I'm going to be insanely busy until I am on that plane back to America for the summer. And then I can finally relax. Maybe.

I'll keep this post shorter and do it in bullet-point fashion to get the main points jotted down for you:

- future plans: going home July 16 - August 16
- future plans: arrive back to Korea, move to Seoul, teach at a co-ed high school for the next year
- I broke down and cried in front of every faculty member at our school while giving my going away speech at my farewell dinner (naturally)
- I went to Ultra Music Festival in Seoul and danced away one weekend in June
- I went to Jeonju, visited the traditional village, dressed in traditional clothing (called hanbok), and took crazy pictures.
- the best picture included my friend Emily and I doing the dab with two Korean cos-play guys dressed as military men - best photo of the grant year by far
- I went to karaoke one too many times, lost my voice, and don't regret it
- I ate my favorite Korean food, makchang (intestines) with good friends
- told my students and co-workers I am leaving Gwangyang
- students go in an uproar, half expressing sadness, the other half anticipating the gender of the next native English teacher
- I read one of the most fascinating books, titled "The Vegetarian" by Korean author Han Kang (HIGHLY recommend, although not for the faint of heart)
- I started calligraphy class! I'm learning how to write super pretty things in Korean lettering (hangul)
- cleaning out my apartment is hard
- I went to the beach and grilled meat with friends even though it was windy outside
- I got a nasty rash of poison ivy all over my legs (-sigh- what HAVEN'T I been through at this point)
- I picked up a new "friend" during my morning exercising along the river... sometimes I enjoy the company, other times I just want to be alone. But I'm practicing my patience
- Fulbright final dinner gathering is this weekend! Time to say goodbye to most of my close friends in the program
- salsa dancing in Korea is way different than salsa dancing in the States/Central America/Europe
- final exams are next week, and I'll be packing up my apartment
- my last week of classes is July 11 - 15
- it's been a fantastic month!!!

I'm really sad to be saying goodbye to Gwangyang, my students, co-workers, friends, everything... but I'll be back to visit~

Talk soon!

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My Failed Trip to Jeju

Suncheon Gardens

Well, the title doesn't make me sound very optimistic, which at first I wasn't, but my failed trip actually turned out to be not so bad. Let's start from the beginning.

Because of the midterm exam period at my school that takes place during three days (Monday - Wednesday), followed by a national holiday on Thursday and Friday (Children's Day), I basically had a week of "Spring Break". I was excited because I had planned a trip to Jeju Island and was finally going to cross off a few things on my bucket list, such as hiking the tallest mountain in Korea, Halla Mountain.

Hanging in Yeosu

Here's how it went down: Monday morning, I packed up, excited, ready to go. I booked my bus ticket to Gwangju, headed out and had a smooth 1 hour bus ride. The sky was cloudy, but I knew the rain wasn't supposed to come until the evening. I get off the bus, take the subway to the Gwangju airport. About a 30 minute transfer. Weather still looking promising. I get to the airport, attempt to check into my 3:00 p.m. flight, when the lady at the counter tells me my flight has not been delayed, but "on hold" while they check the weather conditions. I briefly look outside and it hasn't even started raining, nor did it feel particularly windy when I was walking in. She advises me to take a seat, wait, and stare at the flights screen anxiously. So I do so. And less than one hour later, they canceled my flight. I heave a huge sigh, pick up my bag, and get in line to discuss my options. The same lady talks to me and tells me she can put me on a 7:30 flight. I didn't really want to wait around for 3 more hours, but I still wanted my trip to Jeju to go as planned. So I sat back down and waited.

Gabby comes to Gwangyang!

Another hour and some change later, the 7:30 flight gets canceled. By this time it IS actually raining outside, although it's not anything we all haven't experienced before. I get back in line, too tired to deal with this. She advises me that the next available flight isn't until the next evening at the same time (7:30 p.m.). My trip was only due to be Monday - Thursday because other friends would be visiting throughout the weekend, and I decided that one full day and some change on Jeju Island wouldn't be worth it. I made the quick decision to cancel my entire trip. I'm just happy that she provided me with a full refund for my round trip tickets.

Ssireum (Korean-style wrestling)

After my vacation was canceled, I called a few ETAs in Gwangju to see what they were up to. I ended up getting pizza with my friend Tiffany and sulking in my sadness about having to put off my hike to Halla Mountain. After dinner, I hopped on a bus back to Gwangyang, a bit peeved that my entire day was wasted on transportation for nothing.

The next morning I woke up, feeling refreshed and my bitter feelings had passed. I was excited to stay back in Gwangyang now because I could explore some more gems of my awesome placement city. On Tuesday and Wednesday, I hung out with friends in my city, relaxed, and just enjoyed some down time. I ended up being quite productive and getting a lot done with things related to Fulbright Korea Alumni Relations, apartment cleaning, catching up on some leisure reading, etc.

Basketball

On Thursday, an ETA friend (Gabby) from waaaay up north (Hwacheon) came to visit the south for the weekend! I was excited to show her around and hopefully introduce her to some of the beauties of Gwangyang, Suncheon, and Yeosu. Gabby arrived Thursday night and we had some famous ~Gwangyang bulgogi stew~ and called it an early night. Friday morning we met up with our other friend Tiffany and decided to go to Yeosu due to the maybe rainy weather. It ended up being a poor decision on our part because everything was so CROWDED. We went to the aquarium, spent 23 bucks, all just to be shoved around by Korean families and children whining everywhere we turned. Although it was a super neat place, the experience was ruined by the crowds. After the aquarium trip, we had some lunch and decided what to do next. We wanted to check out an island but figured that would also be insanely crowded and ultimately decided against it. THEN we thought about going to a super beautiful temple but found out that the bus only comes once every 40-60 minutes. We didn't want to wait around, so I attempted to find a place to walk to. I found a small mountain and navigated our way there, only to our dismay that it had taken us to a shack halfway up the mountain. We turned around, defeated. This day was a bust.

Preparing for warm-ups

We trotted back down and just decided to go back to Gwangyang. On our way down, we came across a plaza full of people and FREE FOOD. We got makgeoli and pajeon, a Korean favorite. The locals laughed at us as we sipped our rice wine and devoured the pancake. It was delicious and it lifted our moods for awhile. We headed back home, cleaned up and rested, and met up again in Suncheon for dinner. This time, we would have much better luck. We went to one of my favorite barbecue places, grilled some meat, and were feeling good. We wanted to go dancing afterwards, but our favorite club was closed, so we decided to go bowling. While bowling, we met some Korean guys who ended up paying for us. Then we all decided to go to noraebang (karaoke room) to sing and have fun there! We had a good night singing and dancing with our new friends... while also not having to pay for anything! Haha.

Tug-o-war

On Saturday morning, we headed to Suncheon to do some sightseeing. We went to the Suncheon Bay and Gardens. Although we had a few navigation issues, overall it was a beautiful day with beautiful sights to see! The gardens are especially beautiful during the springtime, showcasing model gardens from all around the world. It is a perfect place to stroll around, relax, and enjoy nature. By the end of the day, we were worn out, so we called it an early night by watching a movie and passing out. And just like that, the spring break week was coming to a close. Sunday morning arrived, Gabby went back to Hwacheon, and I prepared for the next week of lessons at school.

Victory for class 1-1 in tug-o-war

Although my plans didn't work out the way I had originally planned, I am glad that it was more spontaneous. I had a great time relaxing, hanging out with friends, and just taking it easy. I went into the next week ready to get back to teaching, although it was another short week. The boys only had three days of school because Thursday and Friday were designated as "Sports Days". Sports Day is a huge event -- especially at an all-boys school. The boys work in teams (their homeroom classes), design their own uniforms, and participate in various sports activities such as basketball, soccer, foot volleyball, ssireum (Korean-style wrestling), and track and field events. They don't have to worry about studying and can let loose! They order their favorite foods, enjoy ice cream, and freedom (for two days). It was fun to watch them play, compete, and see them smiling nonstop (not common during the regular school days).

Enjoying the action

The teachers have also been active in sports-playing. We are preparing for an area-wide volleyball tournament, so we have practices three times a week for two hours after school. My arms have never felt so sore. Haha! I am excited though, as I love competition and hope to win the tournament. Stay tuned to see how our team placed.

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Spring Awakening

Sand castles that locals sculpt everyday

Hello everyone! My apologies for the delayed blog post, but to be honest, I haven't been up to too much except relaxing and enjoying the remainder of my vacation before school started back up just today. This post is titled "Spring Awakening" with good reason - I've been out of school for four months, and I was in for a shaky first week to start the spring semester.

En route to Boracay

Before we get into that, however, I want to share with you all some pictures and stories from my vacation in the Philippines! Five Fulbright friends and I decided to take the last ten days of our winter break to head somewhere warm. We were ready to enjoy the hot weather, get sun-tanned, relax on the beach, and enjoy the nightlife. We packed our bags and said a brief goodbye to the freezing Seoul temperature and were on our way to paradise February 20th. Unfortunately, we were in for a long haul. Our first flight from Seoul to Manila went smoothly (a four hour flight), although a bit crammed. No more luxury Korean Air seating, as we booked budget airlines to save money. Once we arrived in Manila, it was like heaven on earth. Warm weather, friendly English-speaking people, but most of all, we spotted a WENDY'S RESTAURANT!!!!! None of us hesitated and immediately agreed to enjoy an early dinner during our layover from Manila and Kalibo. It was so delicious. I miss Wendy's square burgers so much.

Ilig Iligan Beach

Anyway, our second flight was a short, one hour flight from Manila to Kalibo, but ended up being delayed almost five hours. Our original flight time was 5:45, but was pushed back until 10:30 p.m. This wouldn't have been a problem if Kalibo was our final destination -- but it wasn't. Once we were to arrive at Kalibo, we still had a two-hour van ride and a short ferry ride to the island we were staying at for the trip (named Boracay). During our layover, we decided to exchange our currency, and a few of us bought data packages to keep in contact throughout the trip. We eventually landed at midnight, booked a van to get to the ferry port, and finally made it to our resort around 3:00 a.m. Phew! We passed out, but didn't sleep too long as we wanted to get an early start the next morning.

Sunset over White Beach

On our first official day in Boracay, we settled in, bought some necessities, and met up with another Fulbrighter who was already in Boracay. She showed us around a bit, and we decided to go to a more secluded beach that was supposed to be extremely beautiful. The beach is called Ilig Iligan Beach, and it was some of the most blue water I have laid eyes on! The beach itself was actually a bit dirty compared to the other beaches on the island, but a lot less populated. While there, our group met a middle-aged Italian guy named Paulo who had been staying on the island for three months already. He took us back towards the main beach and we made it just in time for a beautiful sunset over White Beach (it's called White Beach because of the white sand). We ate Filipino food for dinner, which I fell in love with over the course of the trip. SO GOOD. After dinner, we headed back to the resort, showered up, and spent our first night out enjoying drinks and dancing!

Delicious Filipino food

Day two: woke up hungover. A couple of us decided to grab brunch and it was a good decision because it was delicious. After brunch, we headed straight for White Beach to relax all day. Got tan and burnt in a few areas, called it an early night.

Day three: went to a different beach, which was my favorite of the trip! It's called Puka Beach, and I liked it because it didn't have as much algae as White Beach. During the months of December-February, some of the beaches are known to get algae because of the waste being dumped into the water #sadness. Anyway, I got quite burnt this day and felt like a lobster. Luckily my burns only lasted throughout the night and turned into a nice tan by morning. That night we decided we were ready to enjoy the nightlife again, so we explored a couple new clubs and danced the night away. I ended up meeting some other Americans who have extended family living in the Philippines, so I talked with them awhile and we ate McDonald's together. McDonald's Philippines has this awesome thing called "BFF Packs" where you can purchase multiple menu items for 3-4 friends at a super cheap price. Unfortunately I never got to try this, but I feel like it is something that would be a big hit in America.

Sunset over White Beach

Day four: woke up super late, hungover, and walked around the island. The group split up and did our own thing, and we met up at night for dinner. We decided to chill in our resort for the night and played Cards Against Humanity for a long time before passing out.

Day five: Woke up, went souvenir shopping, laid on the beach awhile. For dinner we went to an awesome seafood buffet and we all went HAM on that baby. It was so good. We found an awesome bar that played rap and hip-hop music, so we hung out there for awhile. A couple of our friends decided to go home, so my friend Teri and I wandered around and met some native Filipinos and ended up talking to them for a long time before crashing.

Sunset over White Beach

Day six: AKA the day that brutally destroyed me. Our group booked a tour to an island called Ariel's Point. At this island, we can go cliff diving, snorkeling, kayaking, and -- all you can drink! On our way there, we met a Filipina woman who was around our age and she hung out with us for the day. She actually got super drunk and started vomiting on the boat. Oops. I decided not to drink too much since I wanted to participate in a lot of the activities, so I took it easy. Once at the island, we found out there was a 5 meter (16 feet), 8 meter (26 feet), and 15 meter (50 feet) cliff dive. Our whole group decided we would all at least conquer the 5 meter jump, but the other two were up to guts and facing fears. The five meter jump was like jumping off of a diving board - pretty straight forward, not too scary unless you've never jumped off a diving board before. However, the eight meter and fifteen meter jumps created a pit in my stomach that I wasn't sure I would overcome. The eight meter was pretty easy to do, I just ran straight off of the cliff and landed in the water, even though I felt like I was floating in mid-air for much longer than I should have been. Upon impact with the water, my thighs and butt stung, but I would realize that the sting of the eight meter had no comparison to what would come from the fifteen meter jump. My friends and I stalled on the fifteen meter jump until right before it was time to board the boat and get back to the mainland. Two friends jumped with ease, but I stood frozen at the top. I kept thinking about whether or not I really wanted to do it. And I thought about the stinging of my butt and thighs from the eight meter jump. How could I land straight into the fifteen meter jump, twice as long as the previous jump?

Enjoying the sun

Eventually, I mustered up my courage and was the last person to jump off of the fifteen meter jump. I told myself, "Tomorrow is my birthday. This is a birthday present. Face this fear and just do it." So without further ado, I walked right off of the cliff, floated in gravity for what felt like forever, flailing my body and trying to make it pencil-shaped, and went KABOOM into the water. I landed right on my ass, and there are various bruises to prove it (I won't post pictures here, as this is a public space). It is almost one week later, and I'm still having difficulty sitting on chairs, standing up/sitting down normally, etc. But I did it. I survived. And I'll never do it again. Lol!

After our day of cliff diving, snorkeling, and kayaking, we headed back to our resort to get cleaned up. We headed to dinner with some other people that were on the trip with us, and we had a mini celebration of my birthday! I ended up inviting our tour guide to tag along, and at midnight we all took birthday shots. Afterwards, we hit up the dance club and danced the night away.

Another sunset over White Beach

Day seven: my birthday! Unfortunately, we woke up to a typhoon outside our windows. A couple friends and I decided to meet up with our tour guide anyway because we wanted to go island hopping and see some prettier sights for snorkeling. We headed out, bought fresh produce and snacks for a picnic at the island we were going to, and were on our way. The island our guide took us to was beautiful! The weather was clearing up by this point, so we were able to explore and enjoy the seemingly deserted island to ourselves. We barbecued and enjoyed a light picnic, relaxed some more, and then headed back out to the open water. This next part was one of my favorite parts of the trip! We stopped our boat in the middle of the sea, grabbed our snorkeling gear, and dove in. I have never been much of a water sports type of person, but snorkeling may have turned me. There were some of the most beautiful creatures I have ever seen! Now I am wondering what else is out there in the remaining 70% of water that inhabits our Earth. We stayed out there for quite some time, and eventually made our way back to the mainland. I showered up, got ready, and did some last minute souvenir shopping because the next day we would be leaving beautiful Boracay :(

Banana Crepe!

For my birthday dinner, my friends and I decided to go to a Spanish Tapas restaurant, which made me reminisce on my time in Spain. The food was amazing, so rich, and gave me a stomach ache, but it was well worth it. After dinner, we headed back to the resort and decided to pack up, as we had to leave early the next morning to get back to Manila.

Our awesome tour guide, Alfred

Day eight: Everything packed. Good to go. On our way to Manila where we would spend the day and leave early the next day to get back to Korea! We said farewell to our awesome tour guide, and promised to meet again one day in the future (I will be back, Boracay!). Once we got to Manila, we decided to go to the Mall of Asia, have dinner, and walk around. To get there, we took a method of transportation called a jeepney. They are elongated jeeps that the public people hop on and off of to get from one place to another. It's interesting because it seems to work on an honors system. People hop on, pass money back and forth amongst one another and eventually get it to the driver. I have no idea how they know how much everything costs, but I guess locals would know better than me. Ayway, the mall was HUGE. We didn't walk around much as we got distracted by food and an insanely large American-esque supermarket, but I felt like I could have spent my entire life savings there if I had the chance. And if I could afford it. LOL. Anyway, we had our final meal in the Philippines, went back to our hostel and called it an early night.

B-day wishes from Debbie (love ya)

Day nine: Woke up at 3:00 a.m. to get to the airport for a 7:00 a.m. flight. Much of this day was spent traveling and not super interesting. I made it back to Gwangyang at 9:30 p.m., and I was thoroughly exhausted. I showered and passed out right away. Overall, it was an awesome trip, and I was so happy to spend it with friends and enjoy warm weather before getting back to the grind at school.

The spring semester started two days ago, and I am happy to be back. My co-workers and students also seem genuinely happy to see me and have been asking about my health, so it feels good to be back with a warm welcome. Although I've come down with a bit of a cold (maybe due to the weather change, exhaustion, what be it...), I am prepared to tackle this semester and have fun along the way!

Our last night in Boracay (and my bday)

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