Okay, okay, it's been a while...

It's been too long since I added an entry here. Sorry! A lot has been happening, and I've got so much to tell! I went to Toronto last week to a) sign my contract and figure out when I am leaving, b) visit my friend Kat and c) shop (Yes, we went to H&M).

I know where and when I'm leaving... sort of.

First off, my contract is now signed and official and all that. I will be living in Suncheon (pronounced Soon-jon), Jeollanam-do, South Korea. Suncheon is a medium-sized city (pop = 270,000) in a mountainous area. Within a few kilometres, you can find mountains, temples, a castle (!), beaches, tea plantations etc. (Also, Suncheon is known as "The City of Beautiful People". How fitting for me to move there! I will finally be among my own kind!)

I'll be at a school with about 1,500 students, with 20 teaching hours per week (no Saturdays) and - get this - there's another Canadian teacher at the school. Most of the ex-pats in Suncheon are in the same apartment complex. I'm pretty psyched about my situation since one of my fears has been being the only foreigner in the whole town. I've also gleaned from various sites that having another foreign English teacher at your school is almost like winning the lottery.

I've got an orientation day in Toronto at the beginning of April. I'll be flying out around April 12 or something with about 30 other teachers who will be teaching in various cities and towns in Jeollanam-do. When we arrive, we will have a one-week orientation session before we actually start.

I visited Kat!

Kat and I were friends way back at WLU where we worked together on the school paper, The Cord. We've always managed to keep in touch by e-mail, which is awesome and proves to me that no matter where I am, I can keep my friendships alive. Yes, that is a big hint for you all.

Anyway, Kat and John live in a gorgeous house with various furry creatures, including some very sweet cats and a couple of singing guinea pigs. Hmmm, come to think of it, I didn't visit the pigs this time!

The last time I saw Kat was over 2 years ago, if not longer..... Wow. Time flies.

We went shopping....

Kat was SOOOOOO sick on Thursday that she couldn't go to work and had to go shopping instead.

Using the gift card from my girls in Montreal, I went to H&M and picked up some "teacher clothes": a brown linen pant, a white blouse and a brown t-shirt. Yes. Brown. I also bought a cute light blue hiking shoe (Merrell) and I finally found a yellow Canada t-shirt (for the Olympics). At Winners, using another gift card, I bought a neat black and white pleather coat. Pictures will be forthcoming, as soon as I get over this bout of laziness.

Kelly was supposed to join me for the trip to Toronto, but was unable to. Still, she made sure that I got to the Canadian Connections office just in time for my appointment to sign my contract and go to the Korean Consulate. I'm so fortunate to have her help these days.... I just can't even put it into words.

Bon voyage wishes to Ina for her upcoming trip to Cuba and to Ellie for her trip to New Zealand.

Everybody: keep in touch!

Meron's all mad at me because...

... she says that I don't like her as much as everyone else. I've spent quite a few weekends at her place, but it never seems important enough to make it to my blog. This weekend, however, two things happened to change all that.

First off, I learned that Meron's (and Dave's) cats have their own MSN space. I've added the link to my list (... and this is a special for Heather because Jacques is a real Maine Coon).

The second reason that Meron is finally being mentioned here has to do with martinis. Last night, instead of playing cards, drinking coolers and then going to bed before 10 (like the last time I stayed over), we went out for girly martinis with our friend Amanda. As the evening progressed, we were choosing our next martinis as soon as the new ones arrived (then staring blankly at the new martini asking, "um, what did I order again? Is this a Lone Ranger or a Marilyn Monroe?" The bartender explained to us, as we lurched to our feet out the door (in search of cheese), that each martini contained at least 3 shots.

Off we went, then, to the Flying Saucer restaurant (a.k.a The Flying Dump). Any of you who may have visited Niagara Falls as a child would certainly remember a greasy kind of restaurant that looks like a UFO. It's an institution here, known for its delicious post-martini foods (like fried cheese balls and sour cream, and, yes, poutine).

Next week, I'm off to Toronto to meet with the Korean consular. I should have a better idea of where I'm going (and when). In the meantime, I am able to write hangul script, and sound out some words. I'm also able to say such wonderful things (in Korean) as "Please bring me some octopus", "This is my wife" and "I am meeting the Japanese teacher". Wish me luck.

Plastified cadavers

Yesterday, I went to Toronto with my brother and his family to see BodyWorlds. This exhibit, which was at the Ontario Science Centre, features dead bodies that have been "plastified" and then sculpted into different normal human activities (and a few less than normal activities).

You might find, for example, a flayed human doing a ski jump or a dance move, with bits of themselves opened up so that you can see into their organs. It's kind of hard to describe, but I recall seeing a lot of things on TV about the guy who does it: Dr. Gunther something or other. It caused a lot of controversy when the exhibit was in the US - probably because there is one whole section of prenatal development, including a pregnant woman (she donated her body knowing that she wouldn't carry to term).

The plastification process preserves all the muscles, nerves and internal organs, but the bodies do not, for the most part, have skin or subcutaneous fat. The eyes are glass, and in some cases, you can even see eyebrows, eyelashes or even body hair.

Those who know me as a squeamish person can imagine that I had some difficulty looking at the insides of dead people... which passed as I became more fascinated. Besides, it looks fake -- even though it is all 100% real. Also, there were a few other mini-displays of all the major internal organs, some of which were diseased.

As fascinating as it all was, I kind of wished that there could have been more information. Who were these people when they were alive? How old were they? Where did they live? By plastifying their remains, we knew nothing of them, except that they had lived and died. I missed the more human element.

Afterwards, we toured around the rest of the Science Centre, which has recently been renovated (so it was better than when I was chaperoning a school trip there last year with Ioana!).

Ladies' luncheon, Waterdown, Ontario

This past Sunday, a ladies' luncheon was held in the home of Tiffany Metcalfe of Waterdown, Ontario. On hand were Charlene Garside (nee Kish) of Ajax with baby Kaylin, Barbara Morrison (nee Mestyan) of Kitchener, Joanna Jackson of Toronto, and Virginia Parker of St. Catharines.

The ladies were all resplendant in their denim, except Kaylin, who wore an ensemble of pink and khaki.

As hostess, Ms Metcalfe was happy to show off her new house, which will soon (this July) be a site of marital bliss. Upon their arrival, the ladies nibbled the hors-d'oeuvres that had been skillfully prepared by Ms Metcalfe while looking over the very beautifully done photo albums of Ms Jackson. We will not mention that some photos were NOT yet in photo albums.... err, well, we did mention it. Oops.

For lunch, the ladies enjoyed the fruits of Mrs. Morrison's labours (a delicious lasagne), as well as bruschetta (by Ms Parker) and a wonderful chunky Greek salad (by Ms Jackson). Mrs. Garside's absolutely amazing tiramisu rounded out the meal. Debate around the table was quite lively, as the ladies discussed such varied topics as travel, work, children, "benefits", and people who wear pyjama pants in Sobey's.

After lunch, Mrs Garside and Mrs Morrison left for other society engagements, while Ms Jackson and Ms Parker enjoyed a short film projected on the absolutely huge projection screen TV that Ms Metcalfe is proud to call her own. Ms Jackson then dropped Ms Parker off at the bus station, but only after a delightful tour of downtown Hamilton's many one-way streets.

Promises have been made for the group to meet again, before Ms Parker's departure for South Korea.

Happy pictures

Here are some pics of the move from Montreal as well as a few pics of Strega on Bliss Night (live music). Oh...and Max on my mom's bed.

Looking for a place to happen

Hello! Yes, I am still alive!

I haven't been very good at blogging or e-mailing lately -- muchos apologies. I've been busy with work and play.

Another factor in my lack of e-mailing is my new fake "ho nails". They are long enough to impede my typing abilities, but not so long that I can't still serve a mean espresso. This is the first job that I've had that I can have long ho nails -- can't really write on a chalkboard with them, you know.

Montreal feels like it was a century ago, even though it's only been about 2 weeks. It's strange to be "home", but it also feels a bit like living in limbo. I can't wait until things are finalized for Korea. Having a little job is great -- gives me a reason to wake up in the morning.

Another great thing about the cafe is the people who work here. It's given me a bit of a social life, which I wouldn't have had otherwise. Life with Mom is not too bad, even though I can only have one shelf in the bathroom (all those who know me as a total bathrooom product addict will understand my pain....).

In other news, Max is doing well, Luna is still living in my sister's basement and Jane??? I don't know. No news is good news, I guess.

My next project is to learn Korean -- bought myself a ton of books on how to write and speak etc. Wish me luck. As there are no positions in Yeosu available, I've been given a list of places where I might be placed, including Mokpo, Suncheon, Wando and a bunch of places with names full of g's and n's.

Missing everyone -- but you knew that already, right?