Time to begin again!

It has been 3 months since my last blog. It's sad to say that this is due to too many personal challenges and not enough eventful happenings. Luckily, spring is upon us and it is a great time to begin again! So to start with, the challenges....well, one person in particular has moved on from the Korean life which has greatly improved my situation. The other aspects of all the difficulties have resulted in me finding peace and understanding in circumstances that are beyond my control. I have had to spend a lot of time solo in my apartment during the winter months, so there has been a lot of reading and TV watching. During these last few months, I have learned of some quality friends that I truly adore.

But alas, as with seasons and time, things in this world are yet again changing. A dear friend of mine from Daejeon has returned to work in Seoul and ironically got a job at my other friends' school. This has been a great peace of mind knowing there is someone for  me to truly trust and rely upon. I have been reconnecting with some fun ladies that I met a few months back. No shortage of laughter with them, so I greatly look forward to improving our friendships. I will be in the notorious Gangnam this weekend to celebrate one of their birthdays. I have also been repairing some friendship that have been damaged by the earlier mentioned person that has left Korea. It is difficult at times, but they seem genuinely happy to see me again and I have chosen a path of forward momentum and forgiving the past. In addition to these people, there is a new batch of workers that have come in that the same time as Matt (my friend from Daejeon). They seem like some fun guys and I think they will be a nice addition to everything. It will be interesting to see how all the group dynamics evolve.

ANYWAYS....
Like I said, spring. My favorite time of year. Time to come out of our winter dens and reconnect with out surroundings. And I must say, Seoul has some amazing and interesting surrounding. I look forward to the exploration of the  many areas and structures. Recently, we have invoked our dak galbi Wednesdays. This helps us to break up the work week with a bit of socialization. Yet you may ask, what in the world is dak galbi?! It is a family style meal consisting of chicken, rice noodles and various spices and veggies mixed into a  big mixing pot in the middle of the table. Each place is a bit different, so this is a general description.

Top picture: Kate, myself and Seth. Bottom picture: Kristen and Justin

Also recently, I met up my friend Robyn and we spent the day exploring Coex, which is a giant mall, and by explore I mean got lost, as well as went to the Bongeunsa Temple. This place is a little smaller than some, but it is free and in one of the main parts of Seoul.

In addition to this, I met up with Matt on Sunday and we explored the Gyeongbokgung Palace, which is one of four in the heart of Seoul. It is still rather brown and dirty here, so I definitely look forward to the trees and flowers blooming and returning for new pictures. The palace was built in 1395 and was expanded upon for 300 years, then was sadly burnt down in 1592 during the Japanese invasion. Nearly 300 years later, in 1867, it was rebuilt with about 500 buildings woven together in a beautiful display. (clearly there was an English booklet available to read ha ha) I am sad to say, while I managed to remember my nice camera, I sadly forgot my memory card in my computer. Matt and I swapped his card between our cameras so at this current moment, I only have the ones I took with my phone.

This is about the extent of my adventures thus far. I am hopeful that the rest of this year will be filled with as many wonderful adventures in and out of Seoul and I will do my best to continue the updates! Hope all is well! Miss and love you all!