Abundance Found: 2

It's time for another round of "Abundance Found". I know there aren't many posts on here, but I will try to keep up.

Found 1:

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The blogger "Mental Poo" can keep you amused with office stuff in Korea and also her enjoyable findings. In this post, "Funny Bathroom Stuff From the Weekend" she shows the wonderful life of random bathroom oddball-ness.  Check out the post for more pics and take a look over her blog for more zany stuff.

Found 2:

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BredainKorea or "Annyeong!" brings us a sample from her Harry Potter lesson. Students were to draw their own imaginary wizard school. I can see that as being very fun and engaging for the kids. What is also neat about her blog posts is that she includes a little survey so you can get an idea of how effective things really are. 

Found 3:

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You might be wondering why you are looking at a bag of oranges. Well on the blog "Seoul Searching" she did a little guessing game where she asked her readers to figure out the price of recent items she bought at the store. It was a great way to point out how fruit in Korea can be pretty expensive. Check out the rest of her blog for interesting reflections on expat life.

Those are the findings for this time. If you saw something out there that caught your attention in the expat blogosphere give us a shout out.

Abundance Aid: Everything Must Go!

As people finish their contracts and pack up they realize they have a lot left over to sell or get rid of. The question then comes up of where can I sell my stuff? It would be fun to have a garage sale but unless you actually live on a street in Korea with garages then you are out of luck. Otherwise, people either give their stuff away to friends, leave it for the next person or dump it at the edge of their building.

Thanks to several websites and online services there are places to go to sell your stuff online. The following is a list of where you can go to sell your stuff.

Where to Buy / Sell:

1. Facebook Marketplace: Unless you quit facebook or deny it exits their Marketplace area is great to find something you are looking for or list your item. I have sold a few things on there and the whole process is quite easy and manageable.
2. Seoul Craigslist: The next major place to go is Craigslist, which can be good and also a source for oddball pleasure. I would err on the side of caution when using Craigslist.
3. HiExpat Marketplace: Although I haven't used their site to buy or sell anything this area of it looks very organized and diverse. 
4. Waygook.org: This is a great site that is kicking Dave's ESLs butt. They have a section where people can list items.

Those are the major ones I can think of and that I would use if I were going to sell or buy something when I need to. For now, let's see what people have up for sale:

• Don't know what to do with your life then maybe this seller has the solution for you:

• I know there are a lot of people out there who enjoy snorkeling when on vacation at some island nation. Maybe they need some flippers:

Love Guru: Dating in Korea

Valentine's day for many is that time of the year where you celebrate your love, or lack there of. In Korea there is Valentine's day and then White day. But don't we all know this? What I think most of us don't know is what it is like to date a Korean guy. For many expat women in Korea you find yourself in the position of wanting to try dating Korean men. Yet if you have never dated outside your culture diving into this kind of love life can feel daunting. Thankfully, we have Dating in Korea to show us what it is like to be on the Korean dating scene.

What started off about her adventures dating a few guys has turned into a site where you can find tips and social commentary. For example, one of the major issues surrounding dating Korean men is the mind games they play. Dating in Korea says:

See. I have a big issue with drawing conclusions based on how guys are acting. Because I hate mind games and I hate guessing. So, usually I try to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. It’s very possible he is just busy this week.

It's fun to read her blog because she gives the guys she dates code names, such as "Sunglasses", "Ramen" and "Hot Guy." But her blog isn't for the faint of heart. When it comes to sex and things in those realms she writes explicitly and honestly. There is nothing wrong with this, but I do find myself blushing when reading it.

This Valentine's Day if you are looking for hot stories about love then go no further than Dating in Korea, she's got what you're looking for. ;)

Abundance Found 1

I am going to keep on rolling out these theme posts as I keep exploring ways to make this blog appealing and fun. Today's theme post is called, "Abundance Found" and for these I am going to dig into the archives of fellow bloggers and call up pictures from their adventures in the past. I figured why not see what they were doing in past February's, since it is now February. Let's see what I found!

1.

Looks like someone had a fun time somewhere tropical last year. As you know this time of year is when most teachers get their vacations. A lot of us head over to Thailand or some island nation. Kiwi Wonju Blogger did such that by visiting the Phillipines, and you can catch his fun times in this post.

2.

What does this look like? If you have never been to Korea or don't really know much about their silly insider culture, then you're probably in the dark. 아름답다, ah-lum-dahp-dah in their February post from long ago lamented on how some things that were fresh become stale after a while living in Korea. Such as the "ddongchim" which children use to make you feel especially out of place. Go check out her post where she describes these experiences. 

3.

How could I not resist putting up this cute picture of a fuzzy friend. Often expats in Korea battle their homesickness by taking in a pet or two. I did so by trying to have a fish but that kind of ended up badly. Anyways, A Seoulful Life gave us a cute post of her puppy last year that I hoped warmed the hearts of some folks. Check it out here in her post, "Another Cocoa the Spoiled Poodle Post."

That ends today's Found post and I look forward to making more of these as it was fun to dig around other folks blogs. Plus I think it is helpful to highlight people's posts from the past since it can feel like they get left behind.

Abundance Yum!: Tteokmandu-guk

Some of you might recall that at the beginning of this month you had a week or several days off from work. That was because Korea celebrated Seollal or the Lunar New Year. One of the major traditions for this is eating the soup called tteokmandu-guk or mandu rice cake soup. Although I haven't had my share of it yet, since I am still out here in America I plan to get a fresh bowl when I return. In the meantime, we can enjoy what other bloggers have to say about their experience of this yummy and satisfying soup.

source: Seoul Eats

Yummy Explorations:

• Biz & Steve in Korea: They got to their new year's soup a bit early by having some with their coteachers. Check it out here.
• Buhay sa Korea: A working mom and wife to a Korean living in Seoul she has a great post up about her New Year's soup. Check out her post, "The Joys of Seollal" where she not only has a picture of it, but also describes other general festivities that occur during this time of the year.
• Seoul Eats: If those two posts have you interested in the soup then why not join Dan and make some of your own. Looks like there are a few more classes left by checking out this post.
• Alien's Day Out: If going meat-free is your thing than check out a vegetarian version of this dish, which was homemade at her post, "Home-grown & Home made". Generally speaking, I would explore her blog as she gives a great positive outlook on living as a vegan in Seoul.

I'm hoping my boyfriend's mom will make me a fresh soup when I get back to Seoul, because these posts have my mouth watering! Anyways, if you have your own experience of this lovely soup, please do share.

Abundance Buzz: Back to Work

February signals, for mostly public school teachers, that it is back to work time. December and January are usually the time for camp and vacation. As March approaches, February is that in between month before the students graduate. Although there is usually not much to do at work since materials are finished, you find yourself with not much to do. If you are an elementary school teacher you will find that 6th grade is particularly unruly at this time of year. They are pre-teens and so already don't want to listen to adults, but knowing that they will move on to middle school means that grabbing their attention is especially difficult.

In this series,"Abundance Buzz" I am going to highlight how there is a notable buzz out there on the Kblogosphere. The first one in this series shows how several expats are going back to work from their cushy vacations and having to put their teacher brains back on.

The Buzz:

• I Am Saja's Mom: In this case, "Saja" is her cat. She is a veteran here in South Korea having had a few jobs already. This time around she found herself facing the "desk-warming-blues" from coming back to work. She countered this by digging into her treat drawer and watching downloads, in this post. Definitely having tasks to do during those slow times makes the job feel less alienating. However, eating snacks and watching shows is fun let's remember to throw some planning in there as well. ;)
• I'm No Picasso: I have been reading her blog for some time now, and enjoy her honest and very frank posts. In her recent post, "Back and Raring To Go" she talks about the woes of going back to work and returning to Korea after being abroad in an "English speaking country." Definitely check this post out for what it feels like to switch back to work and Korean life.

"...get yourself in a state fit to attend work on Monday morning and you start to feel the way you did sometimes in the first year, where you were a bit lonely and acutely aware of being in a foreign place. "

• Lola O in Seoul: Lola writes in a very descriptive and captivating way on her blog. The post, "Comes and Goes" really highlights the feeling of vacation ending and work beginning. When visiting family for vacation it can be hard to say goodbye all over again, and get back on the plane. As strong as we expats are there are times when homesickness can get the best of us. Lola encapsulates this in her post but also shows her strength, "This is my life right now, for the next year this is my life and I am going to embrace it. I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going to live it. As I got to the bus stop by my place my friend came to help me with my luggages." Check it out.
• Jungle Onion's Diary: Isn't that a cute name for a blog? She got back from her vacation, did a little work and then found herself with nothing do. Check it out all here on her post, "February!".

That wraps up this Abundance Buzz topic for today. February, for many also signals the last month at their school or their expat life. Since March is when the new semester starts many teachers will be finding themselves packing up, selling off their stuff and saying goodbye to their friends in Korea. It is also a time when newbies are going to start pouring in and having the whole experience from the start. I am constantly amazed by the thought that expats in Korea are constantly on this cycle of "in" and "out". Perhaps, come March I can find some newbie blogs and we can see what expat life looks like to fresh eyes.

Featured KBlogger: Coco in Korea

First off, welcome to my new blog where you can find a list of expats in Korea and also ones who write about specific genres. This blog is a sister to my other one; ForeignerJoy, and is meant to highlight my favorite Kbloggers out there.

I am going to do that today by featuring the KBlogger: Coco in Korea as my first test run.

Coco's blog supplies us with great stories about her life in Korea and what she finds interesting and new.

About Coco In Korea: (her words)

Welcome to  ’Coco In Korea’, my blog about living and teaching English in South Korea. I also blog about my travels around Asia. The purpose of this blog is to offer my insight and views on South Korea; provide anyone interested in traveling/exploring South Korea information on what to do, who to contact, etc; and to keep my friends and family back home informed on what is occurring in my life.

Recent Posts I Like:

1. Pay In Korea: Coco talks about her paycheck and where the money goes. Great information for newbies and people looking to budget their money.
2. Worst News Ever: She finds an article in the Korean news that alarms. I'm pretty sure she's not the first one out there to get peeved by Korea media and how they portray foreigners. She definitely hits the nail on the head with this observation.
3. Cranberry Sauce: Missing home is a prime element of expat life, especially when you miss the food. She highlights here a certain product she is craving. What is better is that she brought some in for her students and taught them some great cultural information.

I recommend you get to know Coco in Korea through her blog and give her a nice, "Hello!".