Shila Travels: January 2016

I am back on Jeju Island and happy to be reunited with my Magnolia gals and all the KIS folks. Here's what it looked like when I first got back:

It felt good to be back at work. Here we are, Magnolia bosses, reppin our house hoodies.

It was only a bit chilly out. Nothing too crazy. We found that sad little snowperson in a random parking lot.

The strange combo of palm trees and snow:

BUT THEN!!!
THE WINTER STORM HIT!!!!!!

Because of this, it has been quite a memorable week and everyone is losing their minds about this weather. As a seasoned Canadian (and thus a seasoned winterer), it is VERY entertaining to watch everyone's reaction to this new winter wonderland. Word on the street about the storm:

- It's the most snow Jeju Island has seen in 35 years
- There were over 1000 people sleeping in the Jeju airport last night (which, for the record, is a pretty small airport)
- Over 6000 people have had flight cancellations
- Flights to/from the island have been grounded for two days
- KIS hasn't had a school cancellation in years, and the last storm day was because of a typhoon

It's pretty hilarious because dorm life is basically the only time in the world where the announcement of a snow day is panic-inducing. It's our worst nightmare. Our kids are usually in class, so a snow day means hours and hours and hours of free time needing to be programmed, all at the last minute.

WOMP.

We are a little frazzled, but we are pros, and the kids absolutely LOVE it. They are all STOKED to go outside and build snowmen and roll around and make snow angels. This is the most snow a lot of them have ever seen in their lives! What a wild time to be alive.

Jeju is known to be the Hawaii of Korea, so I was hoping to dodge a real-deal winter this year, but here we are. At least it's not the Halifax Snowpocalypse of 2015!!! Haligonians probably still have nightmare flashbacks to that bleak period. Thank god we are not in Eastern Canada (and I'm SO SORRY if you are). Here are some other snowy images:

Here we are on a much-needed caffeine run (Blake with a raging hot chocolate addiction).

Marcelina the ice princess:

Any poor leftover tangerines were really in for it these past couple days:

The girls and I went for some late night snacks:

Wish us luck tomorrow! We're hoping for a toboggan-making event and a solid snowball fight.

Updates to come. Only two weeks until another holiday! We're planning on finally spending some time in Seoul.

PS: It would be an understatement to say that I miss Canadian food already. Some honorable mentions at meal hall recently:

HAPPY 2016!!

Blake and I decided to spend some serious dollaz (RIP money) and go home for the holidays. Maybe it was the months of cafeteria food, maybe it was because we missed maple syrup, maybe it was because I missed my NS people more than I even missed maple syrup, but we decided to book the flights. I was pumped to be home for the holidays.

Then, in an unexpected turn of events, my beautiful, wise, truly amazing grandmother passed away right before I was set to come back.

She was 96, the mother of 15 children, the grandmother of ~45 grandchildren, the great-grandmother of another ~50 great-grandchildren, and the great-great-grandmother of two great-great-grandchildren. If that isn't impressive, I don't know what is. But she was a lot more than just a caretaker. She managed to keep hip and with it, progressive and forward-thinking, until the very end of her life. She was an avid reader. She was the most generous woman I ever met. She supported me in more ways than I can count. It was a big loss for all of us.

After two days of no sleep (the 13 hour time difference is rough when you need to get things done at home) and HOURS on hold with airlines, I managed to fly back in the nick of time for the memorial, a mere four days earlier than my original plan. I was jet lagged and exhausted but decided to make a family tree as a contribution to the event. The sheer number of names is AMAZING to me, and apparently this has been a useful tool to non-Grants, since our family can be HELLA confusing.

Rory was amazingly helpful especially in light of me being a braindead zombie at that point. The final product:

I was so thankful that I able to be there for it all. It was basically a huge family reunion and I was so happy to see everyone and get the hugs I needed.

After a couple days of family things, I finally settled into vacation-mode and my heart lightened. The rest of break was a ball! It was MEGA indulgent (my favourite way to be) and I mostly did the following:

- I ate ALL the things (burgers, chocolate, coffee, and ZILLIONS of other amazing holiday treats)
- I cuddled ALL the people (seriously most of my pictures are me cuddling people)
- I sang/played in SUPER FUN covers:

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
What Are You Doing NYE
aaaaand a super fun BACKSTREET BOYS throwback

- I left society and lived in a cabin for four days (we could all use a little RnR, amirite?)
- I did my annual new years day polar dip
- I caught up with ALL the wonderful people
- For the first time in five months, I blended right in

It was cozy, it was delicious, it was festive, and I love everyone. I love Halifax. I just love it all.

But alas, nothing lasts forever, and Korea was calling! I have kids to care for! I made it back in one piece, and I am resisting daytime jet lag naps like a CHAMP. I'm glad to be back at it and look forward to the next 5 months here. Fingers crossed for more adventures!

Here are some shots from break:

I was stoked to be flying for 22 hours with spacious seating and gourmet meals.