Sweet, cute grannies ❤❤ vs ahjumnas

After almost four years here I am starting to understand the differences between the sweet grannies who are kind and considerate to foreigners versus the ahjumnas who sell spoiled fruit and give back incorrect change. 

The cute grannies connect emotionally (if briefly) to foreigners. They share candy, food and kindness. I believe they understand how we feel being so far from home and our families. 

The ahjumnas, in contrast, are always alert on how to benefit financially from interacting with an expat. They hike up prices, cheat and lie to people who are unfamiliar with this country and can be taken advantage of.

I love the grannies!! I am always in awe of senior citizens who have survived life's major storms. That is why I love the senior citizen women scuba diver from Jeju. 
If a grannie wants to adopt me, please hit me up!

I will be a sweet granddaughter to you, I promise.

Frosted thoughts

Winter is such an amazing season for photography. 
The ice and frost provide beautiful texture.

My face these days...

I know it is time to move on because I now have something I didn't have when I arrived in Korea.

Resting b@tch face. LOL.

I no longer make an effort to keep a smile on my face, unless I'm in the classroom. My tolerance is gone and I no longer give a sh@t. It is always better to spit out the gum while there is still sweetness. I'm just praying for the strength and patience to continue for one more year.

Mini winter clones

These long, padded black coats are trending heavily in this country right now. It is being marketed as part of the winter Olympics that SoKo is currently hosting. Almost 98.999% (just guessing) of Koreans under the age of thirty has one. Some are name brand and others are on the cheaper end.

Koreans love the feeling of community so walking around looking like clones doesn't bother them at all. It actually makes them feel included and part of the whole. That is so different from back home where being different/unique is treasured.
One of the pics below shows students in a cafeteria that looks like a cloning center.

Snowman on my window sill

I  was born on a beautiful (and hot) island and have always been fascinated by snow. The snowfalls back home are HUGE! I miss big snowstorms so much! The students ran out of winter camp and we had the best snowball fight EVER! My handler did not participate, of course. But my son, the winter camp students and I had lots of fun chasing each other and throwing little balls of snow at each other.
Many sighs of happiness.

Yes. I am officially an ahjumna.

Sooooo...I just picked up a few summer tops. Well, what can I say? 
Look at these prints. These are old lady Korean shirts.
Just.
Look.
At the prints!
Yes, dear Readers, your lovely Amazon blogger is officially a senior citizen Korean woman.
An ahjumna.
Yup. It was a hard pill to swallow but I have taken it. 
I will put on my multi-colored summer top and hold my head up high.
Don't judge me. LOL.

January 1st, 2018 First lesson - learning to let go

Happy new year!! I hope and pray that this year brings you joy and love.

My school of four years has decided NOT to renew my contract. They stalled then lied about the real reason. At first, I was upset but now I'm doing my best to learn to let go of what is no longer good in my life. Sometimes things are no longer adding to your life and you need to move on. So I submitted for a transfer within the same town. Fingers crossed but my major lesson for this year is learning to let go. It is okay to be afraid but life always finds a way of balancing out the good.

I wish you joy, love and peace in 2018.
May God bless you and your loved ones.
Time to let go and let God.