Random facts

This blog has become my little home away from home. It’s the corner of the internet that I get to babble away as well as share the lovely things I see on my travels but I thought I would share some random facts about myself.

Random facts

1.     Since university I have lived in Wales, Manchester and London. I love London and I hope to go back there one day. It felt like home.  Wales does too but Manchester is probably one place I’ll stay away from for a while. Other than that I’ve traveled to America, Mexico, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Germany, Scotland, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and most recently lovely Korea. I’m hoping to add a lot more to this list over the next few years.

 

I miss you Rome.

2.     My degree is in Animation. Although I’m a teacher in Korea my passion (and what I will return to after my time here) is animation. I’ve wanted to be an animator since I was 7 . I worked in the industry for 5 years after uni but decided that if I didn’t make use of all these traveler visas before I was 30 I’d always kick myself. Drawing and animation are still a passion of mine. A good animated film gets my imagination running at 500 miles an hour. I am proud to say that the things I’ve worked on have won Baftas and Emmeys…maybe I can pull a 'Tracy Morgan' and try 'EGOT-ing '

 

My Blue Zoo animation crew

3.     My middle name use to be Danger. This is a serious fact. As of this year I am no longer referred to as Tania Lorraine Danger Vincent but when I was 21 my housemates forged my signature and changed my name by deed poll. It was a fantastic thing to have attached to my name for a while but unfortunately I didn’t renew it. Luckily for me they made my name Danger, for a while they were going to get rid of my whole name and just call me ‘Tits McGee’!

 

The uni crew

4.     I love popcorn. I love it! American cinema popcorn is one of my favorite foods.. I will one day buy an old circus popcorn machine for my house.

 

'Love, happiness and touching' . You have to love Korean popcorn.

5.     When I was 12 I lived in Saudi Arabia. It’s completely random but I was there for almost two years. My family lived on a compound and we saw some pretty strange things but I’m glad I did it. I’m especially glad I spent time there as it’s the main reason I met Lee and his family when we were 7.

 

The Saudi compound kids.

6.     I hate Jelly Beans. I feel I may be the only person on the planet that feels that way but I hate them. Texture, taste, smell, just everything about them. I realize that people love them and I understand my opinion offends the 'Bean' lovers but they have fast become my arch enemy over the years. Any sweet that is gritty and comes in fish flavor is not a friend of mine.

7.     If I’m having a bad day there is nothing better than 1940’s jazz/ swing music to make me feel better. This normally progresses to me dancing around my flat to Michael Jackson or any musical song. I’m a sucker for the West End.

I am a vintage nut. I love all things 30’s, 40’s, 50’s and recently all things 20’s and early 60’s. Basically it’s safe to say I’m a vintage lush!

I love the music and the atmosphere, especially the dancing.

  

8.     A glass of prosecco (ideally in a 1920’s champagne float) or a martini glass also makes me feel like a million dollars… One day I will own a bottle of Perrier Jouet Magnum Belle Epoque 2004 Vintage Champagne but it will only be for one very special occasion.

9.     I’ve never had a pet. To people who have met me this will seem like a strange fact since I spent over 60% of my time stopping to look at and stroke animals, sending cute pictures of animals or talking about animals. Animals fascinate me. They are smarter than they are given credit for and I cannot wait to settle down and have my own. It may be one of the only things that stops me travelling and grow up (only a little bit though)

10.  If I could I’d dress in nothing but old Hollywood glamour vintage clothing. I am not one of those girls that lives in heels. Not by any stretch of the imagination. In fact you are more likely to see me rolling around in leaves than trotting along a side walk. I have always been kind of a ‘boyish’ girl. Most of my friends are boys and I have a filthy sense of humor that has grown out of working in a male industry but as I get older ‘I enjoy being a girl’. This sounds crazy but there’s no simpler way to put it. I love the small pleasures in life like red lipstick and seamed stocking. I love feeling like a million dollars even if I look like 10 cents. There are so many fun things to do as girls and I have found so many fantastic women to hang around with. Not only my friends back home but girls here that make me laugh until my sides hurt. So it might be an age thing but I love not caring. I don’t worry if others like what I have on now, as long as I like it and I try to only worry about what suits me instead of hating what I don’t have. I will never have slim arms and I will never lose the bags under my eyes so why not embrace it and enjoy what I have. That’s the epitome of why I love the old days of the Mad Men era. Yes woman were horribly oppressed in a lot of ways but at the same time they oozed control. They were the stepping stones to the way of life woman have now. I hope I can learn to have more poise and grace as I grow older and hopefully find more excuses to wear red lipstick and heels.

 

11. I love drawing

12. I wish I could be a roller derby girl :D

Discovery of the week: Mosquitos

This week has been the hottest by far. The heat in Daegu is starting to reveal itself. Long gone is the dry sunshine that I as a Brit associate with the 3 days of summer we get in the UK. In its place we have been treated to the hot, humid, wet Daegu that I’ve read so much about.

This isn’t the end of the world as Daegu has fan’s and AC units everywhere but its definitely a learning curve. I still prefer it to the cold but I’m interested to see what Monsoon season will be like. I might have to invest in some summer wellies.

However with the damp heat there comes one annoying menace. Bugs!

I lived in Saudi Arabia for a little while as a child and I have experienced mosquitoes but nothing like this. No matter what repellent I apply they still feast on me.

I have extremely sensitive skin, you tickle me and you will get a boot in the face (involuntary of course) so when I get bitten it is unbearable for about two weeks. I still have bite marks right now from a month and a half ago. The other interesting aspect of these bugs is they choose odd places to bit you. The knuckles, toe and eye lid have been the interesting additions this week.

At the moment I am in a battle with myself. I have no air con in the bedroom and one window. Unfortunately this one window is the only window without a mosquito net. Every night I am forced to decided on cool air so I can sleep but bite ridden limbs or one or two bites but unbearable heat. It’s still not a awful problem to have. Its still better than the problems I faced in Britain so I shouldn’t moan but I have declared war on these insects and by Jove, I will win!

Busan

Busan held a special place in my heart before I even arrived. It was the original location I wanted to live and the place that convinced me to move here. I had a friend that lived here who loved it and I also read a lot about this beautiful city online in many peoples blogs.

In the end I decided on Daegu as I was much more likely to get a placement here and I’m not sad I did but the excitement to finally see a city I’ve read so much about excited me.

A few lucky people had been given the Friday after the national holiday off (Mine was for the schools birthday) so we set off for a long weekend in the sun.

The train took only 45 minutes and was extremely comftable. I slept the whole way and can’t believe it when we arrived.

We headed to our hotels and settled in. The place we were staying was Seomyeon which is a major station located on two lines.

The place was electric, almost literally with the amount of neon signs around the place.

Every corner held something new to look at and even more importantly something yummy to eat.

We dumped our stuff and headed to meet the rest of the group in Haeundae which is an infamous beach here. The sand festival that was happening that weekend was in full swing (although I’m not too sure about the quality of some creations)

We jumped on a bus and hit the road to a nearby sea temple. IT was stunning. The juxtaposition between angry sea and serene temple was heavenly. Even with tourists milling everywhere it was easy to get lost in the atmosphere. Nini (a friend traveling with me) even went down into the caves and tried some of the Budda spring water. IT was a bizarre experience but one I loved. I have heard people claim that ‘seen one temple, seen them all’ and I couldn’t disagree more. Temples always hold such interest to me. History and wishes all wrapped up in one beautiful space.

Next on the list was a spa day. I have wanted to Jimjimbang it since I read about the surreal experience in the uk. I was not disappointed. Once I got over the fact I’d be naked around a lot of intrigued Korean people it was amazing. The spa itself was located in the biggest department store in the world and housed a 3 floor heaven.

Nini and I took full advantage (only having to leave a few rooms to laugh at the crazy notions i.e the electro impulse room.) and after what felt like 20 mins, which actually turned out to be 4 hours we were refreshed, revitalized and ready to sleep.

The next day we hit the shops. Busan is famous for its shops and its not hard to see why. Each tiny side street is packed full of discounted gems. It did take us far too long to track the bargain area down so we did waste a lot of time in designer-ville but once we had recharged our shopping batteries with some cupcakes we were on our way to a bargain.

Of course we left the boys in the pub while we shopped so they were pretty content 3 hours later when we went to retrieve them. We also had to catch up (and believe me these cocktails helped us catch up) so ordered some of the strongest magarita’s and gin and tonics I’ve ever had. Delicious.

 

That night we were being joined by another friend from Daegu so we hit the local korean BBQ (definitely one of my favourite foods in Korea) and soju-ed ourselves full.

The night after that became a blur of seven11 drinks, Korean conga lines, lots of singing and dancing in a bar that seemed to be more of a sit down affair. All in all it was a fantastic night. I laughed till I cried and then laughed some more.

We also discovered our friend’s flair for calligraphy. This is her signature…

And spent a good few hours having heart to hearts/beer on the beach.

The next day, surprisingly fine and dandy we hit the beach for an air show and a very busy Busan. People lined the streets and filled every nook and cranie. It was actually more entertaining to watch them than the air show.

We cut our loses and convinced the boys that another day at the spa was exactly what we needed (it definitely was what we needed) so 4 hours later the group left the spa detoxed and converted to the Jimjimbang…even if the boys did see a lot of Korean in there.

The night from there took a turn for the worse and by this I mean, tequila.

Games were played, drinks were drunk and a hang over was definitely had (which I’m sure started before we’d got home).

Our last day in Busan consisted of a lot of people ‘shhhh-ing’ each other and avoiding bright light but it was worth it. Busan was all I hoped and I’m already lining up another visit next month.

4 months today.

 

Today Its been 4 months since I got off a plane and arrived in Korea. Woohoo

It's been a fantastic time so far and I would recommend this experience to anyone!

Korean Care Package

I recently sent a care package home to my family. It’s normally the other way around but there was so much amazing stuff out here in Korea that I wanted to share a little bit of here with them.

I stated buying things for them the second I got to Seoul airport. There was so many weird and wonderful things that I couldn’t wait to send some their way.

The only problem was there were too many things. Every day I’d find new bizarre items that they just had to see. So I gave my self a cut off which was May. I thought by then I’d have got together a good stash (and hopefully worked out the mail system here)

The box itself to send the things home was only 700w which is 70cents or 50p which is a bargain. The postage was 30 pounds but its what I expected and I was extremely happy when they received it only 6 days later. Go Korean mail!!!

Inside the box I put an array of items to some up Korea. From t-shirts and socks to face masks and the obligatory foot shampoo (?) My sister loves super heroes so I was really happy to find some Hangul iron on patches. There was also a special treat for my brother (who lives in Edinburgh) some Ramyeon noodles with added MSG…mmmm yummy.

My sister made my day by taking some pictures. I stupidly forgot to before I sent it so I can show you a little of what I sent. She seems to have actually given my mum the stuff that was for her so well done little sister. I would have hogged it all…especially the sweet treats. The best thing I found for my mum was a pink carnation badge. Here in Korea its’s given for parents day but it’s also my mums favourite flower so I was extremely excited to send it her way.

It’s really weird knowing that something I prepared and looked after here is now there. It was just here and now there! This is an obvious fact since I sent it but it makes me feel so close to home. The only problem was that the second they got it all I wanted to do was chat to them J I’ve also quilted my mum into sending me some things. Just a dress or two and some home treats. I’m mainly looking forward to magazines and 100% deet mosquito spray. It will be a god send.

I am worried though as I know how excited I will be if a box arrives at school. I don’t know how I’ll stop myself from opening it but I want to savor it. Also I don’t want the kids stealing the goodies inside.

There’s something so special about receiving mail, especially in a world with nothing but technology. I can’t wait and I’m so glad they my package arrived safe and sound.

Some Korean health and saftey noticed by my sister.