Post Wallet Snatching

After a bit of reflecting, winjing, bitching and being generally angry over having my wallet taken...I have decided to just stop.  Looking on the bright side, I still have my passport, the rest of my possessions and my health. I am still moving to South Korea and I am still going to have a great time and be an excellent teacher. I am satisfying my rage by telling myself that whoever has taken my wallet shall be eternally cursed to a life of bad sex and no travel.I cancelled my cards, filed a police report (not that it will matter) transferred myself some cash to paypal, ordered a new state ID and sat my ass down to have some wine! If the universe is going to diddle me sideways I believe I should at least be bevied up.

Replaying the events of last night make me feel like an idiot for not being more aware, but they also make me so grateful to have such wonderful friends and family (particularly those willing to help me all the way from the U.S). My neighbor Brent picked up his phone at whatever ungodly hour I called and made sure to get a hold of my family for me, not sure what I would have done if he hadn't picked up. Eventually he got a hold of my brother who was calm and kind. I dreaded calling my dad but I suppose I should have expected his response "I told you to be more aware" he said before hanging up (grumpy).  My mom was as supportive as ever and for that I am thankful. I am an idiot and the people around me love me anyway :)

Closeted Claustrophobe

Okay, I said I it, I'm claustrophobic. It took me some time to realize this and I suppose I can't blame it on my big brother throwing blankets over my head when we were kids. Sometimes big cities make me feel liberated and independent, but on some days (like today) they just make me feel like I have no privacy, like I have done something terribly wrong and my punishment is bumping shoulders with tourists and travelers, desperately trying to take more than four steps at a time without feeling like I'm going to pass out or punch somebody. I have only been back in Edinburgh for a few days after living here for about 2 years, but the festival is already bringing out the worst in me. I find myself attempting to flail through the crowds like a wild, ravenous beast; only feeling some remorse when I bump into an elderly person or someone who looks panicked or frightened. Then I am reduced back to a human level and feel a bit guilty and ashamed to have become part of the massive crowd of non-caring tourists who circle around the festival, wandering as if it were a profession. I don't know any of these people, but I am disgusted them, and by myself. This is when I remember I am moving to a mega city with a population of 10 million people and for a minute I feel horrified. I've never lived in Asia before and I can't assert the same sense of ownership that I feel about Edinburgh. I will be a guest in a place where all of my huffing, puffing and crowd dodging won't get me anywhere. On top of this, I will also stand out like a needle in a haystack while I'm doing it. I keep trying to remind myself that I was raised with manners and that patience is a virtue, but I do fear a little bit that I may fade into the crowd. Who knows, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to get lost in a sea of bodies, maybe when I emerge I wont worry so much about how quickly Im traveling, but focus on the destination.

Bon Voyage!

Bye Bye, America! Here I am, sitting in Chicago O'Hare while a loud southern gentlemen babbles away on the phone, closer to my ear than to the actual speaker of his phone. In 3 hours I will be on a flight to London, in 5 hours I will be ordering my second whisky, in 8 hours I will be eating the on flight food and trying to con the person next to me out of their roll and butter and in 11 hours I will be in London. Needless to say, this is going to be a very long trip, with my final destination being Scotland and Felicia's couch for the next two weeks! Kind of hard to believe that as of August 20th I will be living in Seoul, South Korea for the next year. I feel like it just hit me and I am overcome by all sorts of emotions. I am extremely excited for a new adventure, worried that I will allow myself to get too frustrated with the language barrier, but most of all I am completely in awe of my life at the moment and the fact that I have been trusted to teach children English. I really do feel honored (pretend that is Honoured if you're British). I can't even pull myself together long enough to form some type of coherent, poignant blog post. I shall try again after the 2nd whisky!

One Suitcase- Say Whaaaaaaat?

Wow. Quick change of game plan. Just found out since I am flying from the UK, Asiana will only allow me one suitcase! So what did I do? Naturally what anyone my age would do (I think). Left my good work clothes, picked the things that make my butt look outstanding and tossed the rest. After all...I suppose I don't need 5000 Game of Throne T-shirts and 8 million pairs of rugby shorts, right? What an interesting twist for my year long journey. Looks like I will be shopping in Seoul much sooner than expected.

What do you think? Do the old school banana blazers suit me?

The Great Packing Affair

Only  2 days to go and I am leaving the country! To say packing was a chore would be an overstatement. I can't believe I ever considered bringing just one suitcase and a carry on.....clearly I was outside of my mind. My last day of work was friday and I've spent my time watching the Olympics, doing some coaching prep and making sure my bags are under 50 pounds. So far it looks like each one is around 40 pounds, in case I decide that I need to buy every single thing I see at Primark while I am in Scotland. Definitely a weakness of mine. Here's what I've narrowed my packing down to:

2 Pencil Skits (black and cream)
5 Blazers (black, blue, grey, white and cream & black stripes)
2 Pairs of black dress pants
1 pair of khaki pants
1 pair of brown pants
1 pair of grey pants
1 pair of black heels
1 pair of running shoes
1 pair of brown oxfords
1 pair of black flats
2 pairs of flip flops (brown and black)
2 pairs of strappy sandals
2 pairs of skinny jeans
1 pair of regular jeans
5 million bras, since my size is not common in Korea
so much underwear because my butt is a bit bigger than the standard Korean booty
4 pairs of running shorts
10+ Tshirts
2 LBD's
4 print dresses
2 print skirts
2 jean shorts
1 pair of black shorts
1 pair of red shorts
loads of deodorant
my favorite vitamins/painkillers/cough medicine

and the vote for most random items:
1 container of udder balm (never know when you're going to purchase a cow with chapped teets)
5 pairs of sunglasses ( I have an unhealthy obsession)
Newspapers from the day Amy Winehouse died (again....I have an unhealthy obsession)

Just Keeps Getting Better

Opened my email this morning and found out I had been accepted to do some rugby development in Asia! Big shout out to my friend Travis for having the inside info in the rugby world in Asia. Very excited for this opportunity, which I'm sure will keep me  busy with my teaching and writing! I'm hoping to balance my teaching experience with playing rugby a few times a week and coaching a day or two out of the week. Sigh..always seems impossible until it is done, but really looking forward to the prospect of adding another continent to my rugby experience!

August To Do List ( I love lists)

compliments of the wondrous Travis Kelley

1.Finish  Packing!
2.Try Oysters for the first time in Brighton
3.Climb Arthurs Seat with a bottle of wine (and not fall 17 times again)
4.Hit on the 'sailors' at Gambrinus :)
5. Listen to "Seaside" on the Brighton Pier (I'm so corny, but I love the Kooks)
6.Stomach a Chartreuse bomb in the Globe
7. Finish a plate of fish and chips (not just the chips).
8. Hit up Pomegranate with the Boston wife
9. See "Punk Rock" by Simon Stephens at the Fringe Festival (featuring Will Merrick from Skins)
10. Live in the Spiegeltent for a day (Oh, the magic of a traveling circus tent).
11. Finish two pieces to submit as a guest travel blogger
12. Go to a Jjimjilbang (Korean bathhouse, aka, korean skin scrubbing extravaganza)
13. Hop on a Seoul bus tour
14.Order a food at random from a menu in Korea
15. Find the nearest record store in Seoul and pick up the Bloc Party album :)