Silver Birch and Maple Syrup

Well, we did it. We packed up our home in the land of the morning calm, and said our tearful good byes. It was much harder than we thought it would be. I knew I would be sad to go. But when it came time to start the goodbyes- I realized I was going to be a mess.

We ended our time at Yale with a night at the noray-bang (singing room). I wish everyone could experience a noray bang. It is soooooo much fun. And it's infectious. As soon as the music starts, and someone starts singing, then soon everyone is up singing, dancing, shaking the tamborine, and jumping around. It is just such a good time. We loved every second of it, but it was heart breaking to think that this would be the last time we would experience this kind of fun.


On our last day in Korea, we went to our favourite coffee shop for one last visit. The shop is called At Home, and really, it has been like a second home. We have sat in there for hours, drinking the best coffee we have ever had, talking about our jobs, life, and future, watching Seo Young (the 5 year old daughter of the owner) sing and dance around the shop, and communicating with the sweet girl who owns the shop using what little Korean we know, the little English she knows, and a lot of sign language. We told her we were leaving the next day. She started to cry, so did her friend (who we had never met by the way)....this led to us crying as well. We took a photo, hugged and started to go. Suddenly she produced two presents from behind the counter. She had heard we were leaving and had prepared gifts for us. This touched us so much.

In the afternoon, we squeezed in a swim/wade in the river near our apartment. It was such a nice way to spend our last afternoon. We watched the kids splashing each other and trying their best to catch the small fish. The cool water was very refreshing!




Later that evening, we joined our friend and manager, Eun Ju for some smoothies and muffins. She has been a life saver for us. Numerous times she has redirected taxis, given advice, and shown us around. Korea would not have been the same without her and we were happy to have had that last chance to spend some time with her. Our coworkers and friends joined in later on, and we all moved on to one of those hidden wacky bars that Korea is famous for. We have spent a whole year in this neighbourhood, yet never knew about the bar we visited that night. This is typical of Korea! So many hidden gems, you will never find them all.....and you have to remember to look up. Anyway, this bar specialized in beer served in humongous glasses. This was the perfect ending to the most unique year of our lives. Wacky beer in a wacky bar, served by an even wackier man....all enjoyed with friends and many laughs.




At 5 am we lugged our bags down our road, found a taxi and began the long journey back home. One bus ride, and two plane rides later, we arrived in Toronto airport, feeling like zombies and not smelling so fresh, but happy to start a new adventure.

Our first few days here have been filled with family, friends, settling into a new life, and trying to ease the heartache for the life we left behind. We miss Korea terribly. But its not going anywhere, and there is always the opportunity to visit or teach there again in the future, so that makes us feel better.

It's been wonderful to see our friends and family again. We look forward to a year of adventures and misadventures in the land of the silverbirch.......but does anyone know where we can find some kimchi??