Once, there was a boy named Charlie. He had a pretty nice life . . . but it wasn’t perfect. So one day he packed up all his time—all his round, squishy years and square, mushy months, down to every itsy-bitsy second—in his suitcase and locked it up safe, said goodbye to his parents, and set off to find something better to spend his time on. Charlie traveled all over the world in search of the perfect thing to make him happy, but that turned out to be much harder to find than he thought. In the meantime, his itsy-bitsy seconds and silky, smooth hours and raggedy days ticked away and vanished, and soon they added up to weeks and months and years—so that once Charlie stopped his traveling and realized what he really needed out of life, it was almost too late. Almost.
~ The Traveler by Daren Simkin
If you haven't noticed lately, I continue to post things about school. Why? you may ask, in the dead of Summer?! Well, that's the thing. Koreans don't really believe in Summer break. Well, some of them do, but not Hogwons... which is where we work. In fact, we're the place that parents send their kids during Summer break. So, as they say, "no rest for the wicked".. though I have no idea how that even remotely applies since we strive daily to be the very opposite of wicked. Oh well. it seemed to flow when I wrote it. Anyways, on to more important things... SUMMER VACATION!!! but wait! I just told you that they didn't believe in Summer vacation?! well, no one is that heartless, right? Right. We were given 1 day off for vacation :) I know, right? Pretty extravagant. So, how does one fit everything that a summer vacation ought to be in just one short little day. I am here to tell you just that.... or at least how we spent it. Feel free to do what you want if ever you find yourself in a similar situation...
Ok, so the first picture has nothing to do with my amazing one day summer experience, but I thought it was worthy of sharing... Have you ever seen a PURPLE bell pepper?! I thought not! It was beautiful!
So now we get into the summer stuff... What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Summer? For me, its SLEEP... and alot of it. So to be in true vacation form, we slept a really long time. While some may think that was a waste of a perfectly good day, I will argue that it was a necessary part to the whole day. Do what you want on your vacation :)
Another key ingredient to vacation is the FOOD. We decided to go out into the city in search of some food.. as we opened our door, so did our neighbor John. We decided to go to lunch together and since he is quite familiar with the city, we let him lead the way... right to a Chinese restaurant that specializes in lamb. Lamb is not my favorite meat in the world so i opted for some really yummy chicken instead, but the whole experience was fun.
Of course, if anyone knows me even a little, they will know that I am an avid shopper!! Maybe not in all the same ways, but I identify with the character on "Confessions of a Shopaholic" a little too much. So, summer always takes me straight to the mall for some SHOPPING! After lunch we split off with John and took the subway for about an hour to the Coex mall. It's huge and amazing! We had a blast.
Of course, what would summer be without some cold and refreshing GELATO. And where else in the world but Korea can you get "Coney Island Ice Cream"?! :) I mean, really?
What else comes to mind? A DINNER DATE of course! So, it was back to the subway and off to Itewon for a dinner date. After such a big and filling lunch we weren't really in the mood for much so we decided to do Subway. While its very commonplace back in the states, we don't have one in our area so its quite a treat :) We enjoyed our plain ole' subs like they were Ruth Chris' steaks :) Because we are still very much American, we still don't have the Korean's sixth sense about the weather, so we stupidly left the house without umbrellas. It proved to be a rainy evening but luckily for just a spell and we were able to duck into a doorway and wait it out.
Of course what would summer be without some COFFEE SHOP time? Everyone loves that relaxing coffee shop atmosphere on a dreary rainy summer evening and so that is exactly what we did next. As soon as there was a respit in the rain, we made our way to the nearest coffee shop (which, in Itewon, is a feat in itself... the only place in Seoul where bars outnumber coffee shops).
(his "another picture?" face)
What better way to wind down from a summer day than to PAMPER yourself? That is exactly what I did with my amazing face mask from my students (perhaps you will remember a similar post earlier on)
(apparently I was attempting to channel my inner Posh Spice??)
And finally (yes, every good thing must eventually come to an end), what would a summer break be without at least one crafty project completed. Summer is always the time that you organize all the family pictures, paint the living room and make freezer jam. As you know, Rome wasn't built in a day, nor any of the above mentioned projects either for than matter. Therefore, I had to pick my project carefully. Now typically I am the type of person that has a folder bursting with great DIY projects and magazine pages dogeared with all my favorite ideas, but sadly it stops there. I rarely actually attempt the amazing ideas. So this time I decided it would be different. What's the point in have the ideas if I'm not even going to try them. Can I get an amen? *thank you*. So, I have had the project on my pinterest board and decided that it belonged in my closet.
Behold: the amazing flip flop holders:
1. items needed: 1 wire hanger, pliers, and ribbon (for decorating, if desired)
2. Cut the hanger and then bend the ends into small curly-cues, tie a bow and there you have it.
Now didn't I choose a good "it's your one and only day of Summer" project? I thought so.
So there you have it. For all of you lucky ducks out there that enjoyed 2-3 months of Summer and are currently lamenting the very thought of beginning school again, know that it is possible to live a summer in a day... we did it.
Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you. ~Carl Sandburg
The Future is something which everyone reaches at the rate of sixty minutes an hour, whatever he does, whoever he is. ~C.S. Lewis
Never take the one you love for granted. Spend every minute you can with them, remember all the reasons you decided to spend your life with him and love, laugh and live like its your last day together... that's all I got to say for the night. Love to all...
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