Friday Letters #28

Happy Friday Y'all! 

I don't know about you, but I am so happy it's Friday. I have been so tired all week, and I'm looking forward to relaxing this weekend. We don't have any major plans, so I'm excited to just lounge around for two days. 

Now onto the letters: 

Dear White Day, Thank you- Korea- for giving me another excuse for buying a cake and eating it in a day. White Day in Korea is basically like Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day, the girls usually give the boys in their lives candy and presents. On White Day, the girls get the gifts. However, we did things completely backwards. 

Since Matt treated me to a weekend getaway to Seoul over Valentine's Day, it was only fitting I reciprocate by buying this strawberry cake from Paris Baguette. {Completely even- right?} But for real- that cake was delicious. 

Dear Favorite Student, {I know teachers shouldn't have favorites- but give me a teacher that says they don't and I say LIAR.} We all have our favorites, and we all have the ones we want to throw out the window… or at least hope for an absent day. About a moth ago, I got a new student and she was put in a class all by herself. At first I was really pissed off because they added a class just for one girl, but the moment I met her I fell in teacher love. She is perfect. I love starting my friday with this class, and I love the one-on-one time. This is Lora, and I love being her teacher. 

Dear Blast from the Past, Oh my gosh- Today I was looking through my old Facebook feed and I came across this old JibJab I made back in 2009. And it was amazing. I'm so glad I found it. I remember making it when I was in London and really missing my brother Joe. Sometimes I worry about the time I spend on Facebook or Twitter, but I'm so happy we have these things to share our lives and keep our memories. Matt and I still have the Skype IM conversations from when I was in London, and the letters we wrote each other while he was on his mission. We were just friends at the time, but I'm so happy we have these memories recorded for the years to come. 

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

{Don't worry- this just might take a few seconds/ minutes to load}

Dear Korean Dramas, Yes- I'm still watching. I finished "Heirs" last Sunday and I'm trying to find another one I really like. I've been watching "Bride of the Century", but I need another one. On our walk to church last Sunday, we came across this shop advertisement and I just had to take a picture with it. 

It's Choi Young Do from "Heirs"- hahaha. Luckily, no one was in the shop, so it didn't look too weird that I was taking a picture. 

Dear Readers, I wanted to start something a bit new with these weekly letters. Part of having a blog is being part of the blogging community and getting to know other bloggers. Each week, I'm going to share a few of my favorite posts that I read throughout the week. Reading other blogs is such an inspiration to me, and I want to share that inspiration with y'all. 

Our Weekly Reads- 

This week Chantal over at Scattered Seashells opened up On Being Sad- and it was completely honest. I agreed with every word Chantal wrote.  As an expat, it's so nice to know we are not alone. 

Amanda over at Living in Another Language got me so very excited for our upcoming trip to Thailand. Her post on the Baan Chang Elephant Park is amazing. The best thing about reading other travel blogs is you can plan your trip a little better by seeing what these 'experts' have done. 

Casey at True Colours left me awestruck with the wonderful pictures she showed of the Taj Mahal. I know India is not our travel list any time soon, but I was so excited to see these photos. If you ever want to get a strong dose of Wanderlust- just head over to Casey's side of the web world. 

 I hope you have an amazing weekend. 

Love, Alex 

Ryozen Kannon {Japan}

Happy Tuesday Y'all! 

After we walked through Yasaka Pagoda we decided to continue to wander about {if you haven't noticed that was definitely our theme for our second day in Kyoto}. We were just walking around when all of a sudden I looked up and I saw this huge Buddha statue. Like huge- huge! I knew I needed to see what exactly this was. 

And I'm so happy we wandered over to Ryozen Kannon. Here is what we found. 

Ryozen Kannon is a war memorial for those that died during the Pacific side of WWII. The Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara is 24 meters (80 feet) high and weighs about 500 tons. It was built in 1955. 

It is a memorial for the 2 million Japanese who died in WWII and for those unknown soldiers killed during the war. 

I was so happy that we stumbled across this place. I didn't even know a place like this existed, and it was a wonderful place to visit. The memorial was so peaceful and it was exactly what I needed to see. For a lot of our trip, we were running around trying to see a bunch of stuff, but when we got here it was just so relaxing. 

With the price of admission you get a piece of incense to light for the fallen soldiers. Four times a day there is a service for the soldiers, and we were lucky enough to get there at the tail end of one. We sat outside the temple and listened to the ceremony. Again- I was just so happy to be sitting and taking a breathe and remembering the past. 

 {Shrine for a good marriage match or a healthy marriage} 

{Footprints of Buddha} 

The best part for me was just seeing this huge Buddha. The detail on this statue is just so amazing. I can't believe this isn't one of the larger tourist areas in Kyoto. The Buddha is beautiful. Because it's not a popular spot- it was really quite and it was a perfect way to get out of the mindset of run run run. 

This was one of the last things we did on our last night in Kyoto, and I'm so happy we came across it. It is located really close to the Yasaka Pagoda and Kiyomizudera Temple, so if you're in the area, I would recommend stopping by. There is also another temple right next to it, and a museum of some sort. 

Basic Information: 

Cost: 300 Yen

Location: Higashiyama District

*Note- It is possible to stand at the entrance without paying and still get a picture of the Buddha, but I really recommend paying the $3 and going in.* 

{Linking up for Travel Tuesday}

Project Life: 2014 {February}

Happy Monday Y'all! 

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Saturday, Matt and I went on an adventure to Chinatown with some friends. I'll be sharing our adventure soon, but for now I want to talk about my Project Life progress. 

A few weeks ago, I shared with you guys the start of my Digital Project Life journey. So far I'm not too far behind. I have been working on our Japan trip, and I only have a few more pages until I am finished with that. Luckily, after Japan I will only have one or two pages to do. My goal is to be all caught up by the end of the month. 

Here are my layouts for our first day in Japan: 

{click to view images larger} 

 {I am in love with the way this page turned out- I love the merged picture at the top of the right side.} 

I am really happy with the way these pages have turned out. I know typical Project Life users do a layout per week, but I am doing more of a layout per event. Since it's just the two of us- our day to day life is pretty boring. There are only so many layouts I can do of our work and home life. The main function of our album is to document our life while living as expats. 

For Japan, each place we visited is getting at least one page, and the bigger places (like Fushimi Inari) will get two pages. 

For my first year, I'll just be sticking with using the Midnight Edition for all my layouts. Right now I change what templates I use for each page, but I change up what cards and background pages I use. I only work on my project life about once a month because I have a lot of other stuff to be working on at the moment, but luckily, I haven't gotten too far behind. I also can finish my pages pretty quickly because I'm used to making digital books in the past. The hardest part is picking what pictures I want in my book- we take so many pictures- I want to share all of them, but that is not possible. 

Next month I'll talk about all the ways I save my digital Project Life book, and hopefully a few more pages. 

This is my second month using Project Life, and I am still very happy with the results and the process. I have found a working rhythm and I love seeing the progress I'm making. I haven't decided if I'm going to use Project Life for my 2013 pictures, but I'll let you know when I do. 

Projects Used: 

Midnight Edition 

Templates A, B, C, D, and F

*Note: I did not receive compensation for this review- I am merely sharing my personal experience using this product. 

Friday Letters #27

Happy Friday Y'all! 

I hope your week went well and you all have wonderful weekend plans! This weekend I'm taking a break from studying and we are going to Chinatown with some friends. It will be nice to get out and explore Seoul a bit more. 

Now onto the letters, 

Dear GRE Studying, Seriously so tired of studying. Last weekend, I may or may not of had a complete melt down at home. Let me explain- in high school and in the one math class I had to take in college I got As. I wasn't good at math, but I could get by. So I guess I thought I would be able to brush up and be good to go… that is not the case! I have been studying and studying and I seem to be going nowhere with the math section of the GRE. 

Luckily, after my breakdown {which consisted of me sobbing and saying I was stupid- which is so NOT like me} Matt made me get out of the house. He treated me to Outback which was delicious and just what I needed. {Sometimes you just need American food.} I think I have been putting too much pressure on myself and the score I feel I need to get. I'm going to try to be better about this, but it's hard because I tend to get a little {okay, a lot} obsessive about grades and school. At least it will all be over in July when I take the test. I've decided I"m only going to take the test once and just let it go. 

Dear Korean Studying, {I know my life is so exciting!} I never thought I would be excited about studying Hangul, but GRE math makes learning Korean easy…. well easier. This week I've really put in some serious studying with this language. I've pretty much mastered the alphabet and now I'm moving on to some vocabulary. I can't tell you how exciting it is to be able to read Korean. I try to sound out every word I see. I have no idea what they mean- but I can read it! {Look at that Alphabet- you know you're a little impressed.}

I've been opening up to my co-workers for help, and it seems to really be helping our relationship. I've come to really love the language and I think it is really beautiful to hear. {Although I think I should ridiculous speaking it.} 

Dear Dad and Heather, Thanks for the package! I'm glad it made it to us. {It was filled with tights, candy, apple butter, pudding, some magazines, and a huge case of chapstick.} It was an amazing package. 

Dear Korean Dramas, Seriously- so addicting! This week I started watching Korean Dramas to be able to listen to Korean more, and I am loving it. I thought they would be stupid, but I am addicted. I've been watching "Bride of the Century" and "Heirs". I am a huge Kim Tan {Lee Min Ho} fan. I would like to say this is really helping my studying, but really- it's just entertainment. Thank goodness for Hulu! 

{via- The man in the middle is Lee Min Ho- my very first Korean crush. Don't worry- Matt knows all about it. He's so handsome.}

That's about all that happened this week. A lot of studying and a lot of work. I'm happy the weekend is here. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! 

Love, Alex 

Yasaka Pagoda {Japan}

After visiting Kiyiomizudera Temple, we decided to just wander back down and see what we could find. On our journey we ran into the Yasaka Pagoda. I'm so glad we had the time to just wander because this pagoda was no where on our list, but it was such a great find. 

Yasaka Pagoda is 46 meters tall and is located between Kiyomizudera Temple and Yasaka Shrine. You can pay to go inside the pagoda, but we chose to just wander by and snap some pictures. 

The pagoda is located close to the Higashiyama District so I recommend taking a stroll and seeing what this district has to offer. Matt and I had a nice time stopping in some of the shops and just taking a break from the rush rush rush. 

I'm so happy we decided to just walk around. If we hadn't put the map down and just walked- we never would have seen this! 

So what about y'all? Have you ever found a wonderful place that you were not expecting? 

Basic Information: 

Cost: 500 yen (free if just walking around) 

Hours: 10:00-4:00 

Happy Thursday Y'all! 

{Linking up for Expat Diaries -Chelsea and Rachel- and Treat Yo' Self Thursday- Nicole}

Kiyomizudera Temple {Japan}

Happy Tuesday Y'all! For today's Travel Tuesday, I thought I would continue sharing Japan with you guys. Who knew a four day trip would take so long to share!?! 

When Matt and I were researching what we wanted to do for our trip, we knew a must see was Kiyomizudera Temple. So after visiting Kinkaku-ji we headed back over to the Gion district and made the journey to Kiyomizudera. We took a bus and got dropped off at Yasaka Shrine and then walked about 20 minutes to the temple. I would recommend walking the last 20 minutes because you can see more of the city and the street leading up to the temple is filled with shops for you to peek into. 

Kiyomizudera Temple 

Kiyomizudera is translated as "Pure Water Temple" and was founded on the site of the Otowa Waterfall in 780. The main hall and stage (which are pictured above) were built without nails and is a complete wooden structure. (Source) 

 At the top- you have a pretty nice view of Kyoto 

 I can't even imagine what it looks like in the Spring or Fall! 

This water is from the Otowa Waterfull and each of the streams has a different benefit. {Longevity, Success at school, and a Fortunate love life} If you want to drink from the waterfall- make sure to only drink from one stream so you don't seem too greedy!   

You can see how tall the wooden stage really is from this angle. It is a pretty impressive sight. There is an expression like "to take the plunge" which refers to an Edo period tradition that if someone jumped off the stage (about 13 meters high) and survived- their wish would be granted. (Source)

{We had a fun time looking in the shops and slowly making our way back down the hill} 

We had a wonderful time walking around the temple grounds and seeing such an amazing place. It was definitely the most crowded place we visited during our visit, but it was so horrible that you couldn't really explore. Plus it is a UNSECO World Heritage Sight, so bonus for that. If you are in the Kyoto area, I would highly recommend stopping here. 

Basic Information: 

Cost: 300 Yen

Hours: 6:00-1800; open everyday

Location: 294 Kiyomizu 1-chome, Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto, Kyoto Prefecture 605-0862, Japan

*Note: Kiyomizudera is currently under construction. When we went some of the buildings were covered in scaffolding. The wooden stage was still able to be toured around, but just check and make sure before you head out there.* 

The Unexpected Challenge {The Expat Experience: A Link-Up}

Happy Monday Y'all! 

Today is the first week of the March Expat Experience link-up hosted by Molly over at The Move to America. One of my goals this year is to connect to fellow expat bloggers and really form a mini-strengthening community for myself and this blog. That being said- when I saw this link-up- I felt this series would be an amazing opportunity to share the reality of moving abroad, and I couldn't wait to start writing. 

Week one: The Unexpected Challenge - My Co-Workers 

My unexpected challenge was my relationship with my co-workers. I knew coming to work in Korea would be different, but I never really thought about my co-workers. I guess I just assumed that things would be similar to working in Hawaii. I knew there would be an introductory period of a little awkwardness, but I didn't foresee it would be so awkward or that it would last close to six months.

When working in Hawaii, I worked with a wonderful team of teachers that were welcoming and supportive of me from day one. I felt like part of the team. I helped make decisions about our team. I shared the problems I was having with some of my students. I received and gave advice. I was not just a random teacher- I was part of a team that worked together on a daily basis. I couldn't have asked for a better first year of teaching.

Fast forward to teaching in Korea. I never expected the relationship with my co-workers to be so frustrating… so upsetting…so -pretty much any negative adjective. In my first few months of work- there were days that no one spoke to me. The team experience I had back in Hawaii was completely gone. Here- I am just the foreign teacher. I'm not really part of the team. I don't go to the planning meetings. I don't plan my lessons. I am given a calendar and that is what I teach. My co-workers eat lunch or dinner together, and I have never once been invited to eat with them. It is definitely a different experience- it's a challenge. And it has been hard.

I'll be honest- the first few months were kinda sucky. It was a hard adjustment. Luckily, there was a new Korean teacher hired around the same time as myself and she is really friendly. She talked to me right off the bat, and she made the first few months bearable.

At this point, I had two options- 1. Try to make things better somehow or 2. Continue sulking at my desk and have a really uncomfortable next year and a half. I chose option one. Here is how I've made my working life a little bit better:

1. Bring in treats every once in a while, and for every holiday (esp. a big Korean holiday). For Chuseok, I bought each teacher a set of cookies from a bakery. Thanksgiving I brought in cake. Christmas cake. Lunar New Year cake. {Do you see a theme?} Food is a large part of Korean culture, so I try to make sure they know I am bringing something to the community of teachers every once in a while.
2. Talk to Co-workers- I've tried starting conversations with the ladies I work with. I've read that often the Korean teachers don't feel overly confident with their English, so they shy away from speaking it with the foreign teachers. To overcome this barrier, I try to start the conversations myself. One of my co-workers is pregnant with her first baby, so I'll ask her about that. I told her about my sister-in-law that is due around the same time, and that gave us something to talk about. I saw another worker watching Sherlock, so I bring up that every once in a while. Another one has a dog, so we talk about that. This has helped a lot in terms of how they interact with me.
3. Lean Korean at work- GUYS!!!! This is a miracle worker. I've been studying on and off for the last couple of months, but I've never brought it to work. But a couple of weeks ago I did, and I asked one of my co-workers how to pronounce something. Just something simple, but it completely changed our relationship. All the women started talking to me. They were asking questions about my life. They were taking an interest! Woot woot! Progress at the end of month 6!

{I swear by cake.}

Is my relationship with my co-wokers perfect now? No. I still haven't eaten with them. We don't share daily gossip about the students (yes, teachers love to do this). I don't go to planning meetings. We are not BFFs. But it's a lot better. I don't go days without anyone talking to me at work. I found common ground with most of my co-workers. But I had to put in a lot of effort. Day after day- I had to show that I cared. Show that I wanted to be a part of the teaching group.

Challenges will come up in every aspect of your life regardless if you are living as an expat or back in your home country. What's important is that you fight to overcome them. :)

Helpful Hints to Overcoming Expat Challenges:
1. Don't Give Up- Fight, fight, fight. The expat life is filled with challenges. Don't throw in the towel. Fight through whatever is going on. Give it time and I bet that challenge will get better.
2. Put the Effort in- Whatever the challenge- show that you want it to get better. Is your challenge the language? Study. Indifferent co-workers? Bring cake. : ) You'd be surprised how far a little effort goes.
3. Keep Perspective- Try to see the forest through the tress. Did your week go bad? Look at the month. Are you missing American food? Think about all the wonderful food your host country has. Perspective is hard, but it does make a difference.

So dear readers- what's been an unexpected challenge in your life? How did you overcome it?

Have a wonderful Monday!

{Linking up with Molly}