July 29th, 2010 by Noona
A lot is going on at the moment, keeping me away from my blog. That the combination of insufferable boring work and bad weather has kept my energy down and not letting me start with my vlog project is only half the truth. In fact, I have quite recently figured out how the Movie Maker program on my computer works. No, that’s not it. It has mostly about me not wanting to show my face. It seems like ever since coming back to Sweden I have become allergic to EVERYTHING. No joke. I have had an eye infection for three weeks already, and it is only now it is starting to pass. I have spots all over my face even if I normally have really good skin. Even worse is the fact that I have had rashes all over my body for days. I wonder if it’s JUST allergy, or if stress can be a related factor. There are just so many things happening in my life at the moment, and maybe I’m not as good at coping as I thought.
Today had a yoga class, like I normally do on Thursdays (I have been teaching yoga for a few years), and something that I seem to have forgotten just struck me then – I have stopped doing yoga! I am really embarrassed about this and quite shocked myself. I always preach about how good it is in a hectic lifestyle to have something (like yoga) in your daily routines to keep you on track. In fact, I have to an embarrassingly great extent drifted away from most forms of exercise. Maybe THAT is a related factor. I think I have to do something about this. I’m going to jump into my running shoes first thing tomorrow morning!
Posted in Beauty, This and That | No Comments »
July 26th, 2010 by Noona
It is now 10pm and normally about the time I go to bed, but today has been a great day and I am filled with gratitude for having such wonderful people around me that I just have to write to ease my excitement.
[my uncle's dog]
Having suffered from missing my adoptive hometown Seoul and my sisters and brothers there and not knowing when I will be able to return, I have had so much support from distance and from my friends in Sweden that my spirit has again been swung up again. I am also so grateful for all people who read my blog, comment or email me. I am truly happy for that. It makes my day – every day.
I also want people who read this to know that I have new plans on how to get back to Korea as soon as possible and keep living my wonderful life there with all fantastic people, for a while longer. So once again, thank you for support, ideas and help.
With LOVE, Woori Paula
Posted in Love-stuff, This and That, seoul | 3 Comments »
July 25th, 2010 by Noona
I have been quite depressed recently to be honest. Before leaving Korea I had no idea that returning would be such a challenge. If I would have known it would have been this hard, I could have put more efforts into finding a job while I was there. The main difficulty is thus work related. Or rater – it’s a visa issue. An easy way for a foreigner to work abroad is to teach English, and that would have been a perfect job for me in Seoul. The problem is that in Korea, regardless of the applicant’s English skills, she needs to be a native English speaker and have a passport from Australia, America, England or South Africa. And since I am Swedish, that is not an option for me.
After some research I have found that my only chance of obtaining a working VISA is if a Korean corporation would hire me. And because I don’t speak Korean, that is quite unlikely. However, I have always been lucky so I have not yet lost all faith. But, it is quite a depressive reality I am in right now. I don’t quite know what to do. Luckily my boyfriend’s English is not good enough to be reading this. He would be very upset if he knew that I don’t know when, if at all, I can return to Korea.
Posted in seoul | 6 Comments »
July 21st, 2010 by Noona
In elementary school art was my best subject and in middle school I was mostly fucused on my after school activities. In high school I was studying criminology, human behaviour and philosophy. After school I travelled, worked part time jobs and started teaching yoga. The next step that felt just as natural for me as for my academic family was to study at university. So I did. For about four years. I have a degree now, which is a mix of everything that can seem to be important knowledge, although I strongly doubt I will ever work with anything I will need this degree for.
While being quite clueless about the next path of my life, I found a new existence in Korea. I love my life in Seoul to the extent that nothing else seems to matter at the moment more than for me to be able to live there for a while. In this much unplanned stage of my life, where I am not doing much more productive things than blog all day, I have started to realize something that has never occurred to me before. That all I want is to write.
Posted in Campus-life and Studies, seoul | 5 Comments »
July 20th, 2010 by Noona
Most people see themselves as social beings, who at times enjoy being alone. I, on the other hand, have always seen myself as a loner, who at times enjoys the company of others.
During the last two weeks however, since coming back from Seoul, I have had the daily company of my boyfriend. I think that in spending a lot of time together without the choice of being apart, the outcome is always one or the other – either you start to recent each other for annoying habits, or you grow to like each other even more. I think the latter has been the case for us.
Today is therefore a sad day, because he is going home to Korea and I will not see him for at least one month or more. Yesterday we had a Stockholm-the-final-episode window-shopping spree and had a fantastic day (the pictures).
Next week we have been dating for three months, and I don’t think that is a long time. But you know that you have spent many hours together when you have a strange language consisting of mostly inside jokes. I have never had so many nicknames that I have now, and I have never dated anyone who handles my mood swings this well. There are so many reasons why we are not an ideal couple, and we would both be better off with someone else. But love is seemingly blind and naïve, so we’ll see how far that will take us.
One positive thing with him leaving is that I can finally meet all of my friends here in Stockholm and I can focus more on my blogging, vlogging and my part time job at the hospital.
I have also been invited to go to France, where my friends are renting a big house in Provance. I am seriously considering going. I can blog from there. First up though is a weekend at our summer cottage in Finland. I leave on Thursday – I love travelling with my sister and my mom, so excited. Today’s visit at the airport will be sad though. I will cry. I don’t want to…
Tags: love, noona, stockholm, woori paula
Posted in Swedish stuff, This and That | 2 Comments »
July 18th, 2010 by Noona
I have given it some thought and I’ve come to the conclution to do it. Vlogging. I have, however, not yet decided on how. It is possible to do it with a web cam, and I probably will, as that is all I am in posession of at the moment. I also should concentrate on what it is that I am good at, instead of trying to copy other successful vloggers. I will not try to deliver the joke of the day or tell people how to dress, nor will I make each episode into a little movie as that is far beyond my technical skills. I have some ideas about how i will do it and probably will get started around next week – even if I am not back in Seoul yet. So, before that, if anyone has some great ideas – please share!
I hope you’ll enjoy it!
Tags: noonavlog, vlog
Posted in pre-Korea | 4 Comments »
July 16th, 2010 by Noona
I have not dared to step on the scale yet, but I am quite certain that I have gained a couple of love-kilos during my boyfriends stay here. Luckily, on that part only, he is leaving on Tuesday. My usual diet of stuff like soy-lattes, uncooked vegetables, eggs and yoghurt is not working when I am always around someone who requires cooked meaty meals. With a special love for pizza and hamburgers among all the European cuisine dishes Sweden has to offer. So that is going to change next week. Another thing that will change is that my last close connection to Korea, this summer abroad, will disappear. And I will MISS HIM!
Anyway, like I said in the last, these last days of his stay we will do things that are typical for Stockholm and also things I love to do.
Yesterday our combined efforts resulted in three activities. For me the morning always starts at 6 AM, when I go to work at the hospital. I can control my hours freely and go early so that I can come home in time for late breakfast. On the way back I bought some fresh green apples of which I and Y made a fabulous pie. My talented boyfriend peeled the apples with great care in a very undeniably cute manner. I was, however, constantly worried about it all resulting in him getting seriously cut. Luckily nothing bad occurred and our creation was delicious. After that we went to the gym, where I have worked as a yoga teacher for some years now. First we went through some gym-machines, and after I had my first yoga class since being back in Sweden. Y participated with great commitment. We ended our effortful day by watching a famous Korean movie called Old Boy. We found it after scanning through EVERY DVD-rental shop for Korean movies. I really loved it – good everything.’
Today I started mission “Tourist-ing in Stockholm”. After breakfast we took the subway to Old Town (Gamla Stan). We took pictures and window-shopped and talked about how old the houses were, just like all other tourists. After walking a while we came to our destination – the Royal Castle. We saw the guards march and the marching orchestra play and it was all very nice. And naturally as this is a tourist spot, there are also many Asian people wondering about, which always puts a smile on Y’s face. There are not incredibly many Asians around in Sweden, so I guess it makes him feel a little less alien – just like when I meet westerners in Korea. After that we went to the Green Festival which was going on in town to promote environmental awareness. Before we went home we took a stole through Stockholm’s fancy department store NK, but were quickly exhausted and hurried home in subway-top-speed.
So, here we are now. One of us passed out in the sofa and the other one is trying to resist the unfinished apple pie in the fridge. How the afternoon will proceed is still a mystery, but tonight’s Friday-aware plan is to hit one of the clubs in this great city. Preppy-chic downtown, or retro-cool underground – why not do both?
Posted in Environment and Green thoughts, Night Life, Swedish stuff | No Comments »
July 14th, 2010 by Noona
After a week of just being in-love and doing in-love-type of things, me and my young boyfriend’s differences are starting to become obvious. It first started to bug me when I realized that he is a city boy who does not enjoy out-door activities to the extent that I do. Because of our non-existing budgets I had planed all kinds of activities that we can do free, in which we could indulge ourselves once we ran out of money from doing the really fun things.
To my great disappointment, and as planning is something I flatter myself in doing quite well (and with passionate energy), the presentation of these events were less than enthusiastically received by my boyfriend. I think he is starting to miss all that he talks for granted at home in Seoul – such as sticky rice, PC bangs and Korean computer keys. It is also obvious that he is still living at home with a caring mother. I am not saying it is his fault but I can’t help but thinking of a three year old who drops just whatever he has in his hand, when moving on to the next activity. Either there is just no thought about how that thing so randomly dropped will disappear at a later stage to avoid a complete future mess, or if it simply will magically just fly away. You know – stuff like socks, glasses, bowls, chopsticks, jeans and coke cans.
Anyway, I am lucky I have the power to influence him now at such an early stage [this is a joke-comment, don't take my words too seriously]. He is already putting things in to the dish washer. I try to see this as an experience to learn from for the both of us.
But, once again, back to the point. As he has not shown much interest for my grown up “granny activities” I will make it my mission to help him understand why I love what I love so much. How can anyone deny the beauty of nature once they open their eyes? One need to LEARN to see, smell, hear and appreciate beautiful things. One is not born with preferences. I don’t want to change the person he is, because he has a wonderful mind. I just hope I can enrich it a little through my own experiences.
Posted in Environment and Green thoughts, Love-stuff, Swedish stuff | No Comments »
July 12th, 2010 by Noona
Back in Sweden I feel so much more grounded. I remember who I really am and how I want to live my life. It is important to go home once in a while to know how much of the life that you are living that is ‘plastic’. In Sweden my life is far from city-hectic or party glamorous, by choice. I have a small social circle of friends and do more of less quiet and relaxed activities. In Seoul I am uncomfortably special just because I am a westerner. Being special is fun at times, but it is very easy to lose yourself in this superficial spotlight if you pay too much attention to it or if you start confusing compliments with facts.
Of course I might as well have a grounded and real life in Korea – I mean there is naturally nothing wrong with the authenticity of the country in itself. It is probably one of the most authentic places among the industrialized countries that I know, once you get outside of Seoul. The problem is that there are just SO many temptations for me as a foreigner, for shallow pleasures, in this crazy-different lifestyle. They get in my way for living the same kind of life I do at home.
However, I don’t see this as a problem. Not really. I am by nature a very rapidly changing character and thus can adjust to new situations without compromising too much with my personal preferences. One day I have one dream about how an ideal life should be, and the next day my dream is completely the opposite. It might sound like I am completely spine-less, but I think I usually change my preferences according to circumstances rather than having a set of beliefs that I move my life around.
Anyhow, I see it as a positive thing to put myself in different situations. I don’t really know if I am just trying to justify a flattering and egocentric lifestyle for a part of my life here, but I honestly think that any situation that puts you outside the box, outside your comfort-zone, will be a beneficial experience at some point in your life.
Posted in Night Life, Swedish stuff, seoul | 4 Comments »
July 10th, 2010 by Noona
While I have been touristing around Stockholm together with my boyfriend during the last week I have started to see parts of the city in a new, Seoul inspired, light. Because I know how hard it is to remember names of people and places in a language that you are not familiar with me and Y came up with a system to help him remember places around Stockholm. This system is basically not any harder than we naming areas around here with the same names of similar areas in Seoul.
For example, the middle of Stockholm where most good shopping is (City, Drottninggatan etc) we have named Myeong-dong after the best shopping area in Seoul. Östermalm and Biblioteksgatan, which is the more luxurious areas here, we call Gangnam. Söder (SoFo) is a relaxed area with a cool feel where many young people hang out and drink beer at cozy bars – we call this Hong-dae.
Sweden’s second largest city Gothenburg (Göteborg) we call Busan.
This far we have been very lucky with the weather and Y is hyped about how awesome Sweden seems. In summer this country is truly wonderful – really. But, I don’t think that one who has never experienced complete darkness for two months can appreciate the full extent of how depressing it is. But who am I to crush a boy’s dreams about the perfect country.
Tags: seoul, stockholm
Posted in Sweden fashion, Swedish stuff, seoul, shopping | 2 Comments »
