"Mom, I have a secret. I'm doing something a little... shocking before I leave Korea."
"What?"
"I don't want to say."
"Eva you have to tell me or I won't get to sleep tonight! Is it a good thing?"
"Not exactly."
"Is it a bad thing?"
"I don't think so. Listen Mom you might not even care."
"Probably not, so just tell me."
"I don't want people knowing yet."
"You won the lottery. You're not going back to University. You're pregnant. You're staying to work in Korea. You're in love, you're bringing somebody home?"
"(laugh) no."
"You're adopting a child."
"Are you serious Mom!?"
"You're gay. You're going to be on TV!"
"God. No Mom!"
****
PS - Visit the 2 new blogs on my bloglist! http://janinemaclean.blogspot.com/ and http://global-encounters.blogspot.com/. Aren't you curious?
PS- This picture makes my mouth water. Honey candy is, in my opinion, the most delicious Korean treat. It's 5 dollars for a small box, and usually made fresh from vendors at a booth. I like the peanut version best, made with honey and flour spun into thin threads.
Below are a mix of me in Korea, and hilarious photos Josh e-mailed me of his apartment in Montreal. I take back everything I said about it being a bachelor's pad. I don't know what it is, but I can.. picture myself there!
Wow, my student Anny will be shocked when I tell her she's been to Canada!
(Care to insert a witty caption under this photo?)
Recently, I was tagged by bloggers The Daily Kimchi and Lan-Anh. This is how it works:
- Each player must post these rules first.
- Each player starts with eight random facts about themselves.
- People who are tagged need to write about their eight things and post these rules.
At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to tag and list their names.
Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.
The following bloggers should consider themselves tagged:
1. Paul - from Seoul Searching
2. Shawn and Mel - Suwon Expats
2. Jane - a Korean American lawyer in Seoul
3. Bobsama - ESL teacher
4. Kevin - an Expat in Suwon
5. Amy - another Expat in Suwon!!
6. Seasonal Nomad dude
7. Eric - from the Belarus blog
8. During my undergrad in Montreal I had a variety of roommates: Chinese, Korean, French and Indian. When I roomed with Chinese folk, I was so annoyed by the cultural/language barriers, kitchen thick with foreign smells, that I moved out. Yes I now eat the spiciest, smelliest foods Korea has to offer, and have all Korean friends!
7. Growing up my family owned an island on a lake, with a cottage on it and one of those gigantic trampolines. We sold it 6 years ago. I told my boyfriend I was sad he'd never set foot on the land. WELL, last summer we canoed to the island with plans to ask the current owners if we could explore.
We trespassed in the late afternoon. The door and windows were open. Were the owners out in their boat? After exploring, we cautiously entered the cottage and to my SHOCK the furniture and decor (going back to my Great Grandpa's time) were maintained, like it was a museum. Our food was in the cupboards, sailboat on the mantel, a poster in my old bedroom.
I phoned my Mother from inside the cottage, demanding to know WHY the owners would leave the door/windows open to the elements. The sun was setting and we were afraid to canoe the hour back to land under a black sky. Mom freaked, informed me that a police officer had purchased the property and we had better leave- immediately.
Josh and I were dead quiet as we canoed to land in moonlight. I got my wish! I was able to share it with him, just the way it was. Romantic huh?
6. When I was 10 years old, I got sick and had to be rushed to a children's hospital by helicopter. It had a glass bottom; the teddy bear the nurse gave me wasn't much comfort.
5. I was runner up for valedictorian at my high school because I was good at giving speeches. I also won the "best bum award." Yes, our Catholic high school had its sense of humor.
4. I've Googled the old Canadian TV show "Dear Aunt Agnus" 100's of times (for a VIDEO CLIP), and I've found nothing. Does anyone remember it!? I will love you if you do. It was so poorly written/produced it was good.
3. I have wavy/curly hair but straighten it.
2. I've been to The Bahamas, Holland, the East Coast, France, Venezuela, Florida, New York, and... drum roll... KOREA! I'll add Thailand (or India) to the list in December.
1. I brushed shoulders with the Leonard Cohen who gave a eulogy at Irving Layton's funeral. Yesterday bought a copy of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and can't WAIT to get back into it. It's amazing. He writes in a style similar to Trevor Ferguson: a Canadian author who was my favorite professor at Concordia.
This is Josh's new apartment back home in Montreal. I told him it looks like a bachelor's pad but he argued it's feminine ("note the flowers.") The couch, bookshelf, dining room table and chairs are all black. There's a caveman's hand holding the bananas. What do you think?
PLEASE be generous and vote!
Happy Mothers Day Mom. Happy Mothers Day Nana. You are the two most important people in my life and I have really missed you these past 6 months. You've both made so many sacrifices for me and I feel lucky to have you.
My Nana is in her 80's but she is vibrant, involved in her church, and a world traveler; she has been to France, Egypt, the Dominican Republic and Alaska in the last few years. I think it's safe to say she knows more about current events, and has a more active social life, than I do! She's incredible- and so giving. My Mother is beautiful, acutely talented and, as my friend Rohan would say: "an angel- openhearted and kind." She has the ability to put anyone at ease, and she's perpetually happy, like a flower always in bloom.
