Hey folks! So, a few weird/funny going-ons to report on.......firstly, I was lucky enough to get the day off on Thurday, so i decided to get up early and get the bullet train to Seoul for the day...maybe drop in on Eric who now lives up there...and loose myself in all the famous markets im longing to experience. So, I get up at 6am...check the train times and decide to get the 8:05am up there......30 minutes later and half ready I realise 'who am i kidding?!'....i felt SO ILL....i wasnt going anywhere. I must have caught a cold from one of the kids at school....but feeling ill in this heat is not fun....so, by about 7am i was back in bed, feeling very sorry for myself. Abit later on though, I decided i needed some plates, and bowls, and actually to buy some food for my fridge....eating out here is so unbelieveably cheap, I rarely have anything in, so decided to embark on my first food shopping trip to megamart...alone. I got in a cab...as i am that lazy (it would probably take 10 minutes max on foot)......i get there....and completely freeze. Now, when i moved to Leeds to go to uni, Morrisons was the most daunting place on earth...i had no idea how to make a 'real meal' and judging by my recent shopping venture, i have spent the last 3 years not really learning how to either! It went horribly...not only did i not know what to buy, but when i got something in mind, it took about 20 minutes each time to find it...as, obviously its all in Korean....and like an idiot i have failed to learn enough yet to get me by. So, a million hours later ( like, 3!) armed with the most ridiculous mix of food imaginable...i shall list some in a moment...i head out to get a cab....then....to my horror...i realise...I DONT KNOW WHERE I LIVE....no idea....i know it on foot, but cannot direct in Korea...all i can say is STOP HERE! so....3 cabs refuse to take me a i try to mumble my subway stop to them (the nearest thing i can sort of pronounce thats near my place)...then, after about 10 minutes, this really sweet Korean guy approaches and asks if i need help...he sorts the cab driver out and i get home...phew!!! So, on my list of things i bought....cornflakes...and i hate cereal, but i was wowed by tthe fact that i could read the label....bread....eggs....erm...jam???again....english label...very excited....cheese slices....pasta...DOLMIO pasta sauce!!!WOW!.....and lots of other rubbish that chances are will just go off in my fridge over the next week or so....i think ill just go back to eating out.... So....on saturday we celebratedit Abi's birthday....23....but 25 here in Korea....ha ha!!!No no......anyway...so, the evening began with a meal at a crab resturant...i think everone was thrilled to be going apart from me...and it was worse than the nightmares I had had from the nights leading up. Not meaning to be a baby about it, but this place keeps the live crabs outside in massive tanks...so, you know one waved at you probably moments before you ripped one of its mom/dads/aunties legs off....so, I just got through it, with lots of help from Robert and Evan who kindly almost spoon fed me so I didnt have to do much chopping myself...bless them! So, we moved on, and ended up at a really good bar called U2 in Haeundae...where we all boogied down on the dancefloor until the early hours...and i'm sure all of us felt the effects the next day...soooo much beer it was untrue...but then a birthday celebration in korea has to be marked well...right?! This place is a hub for foreigners....so many i think i could count on 2 hands how many Koreans I could see...it felt weird! But we all had so much fun!....Yesterday was spent taking it easy...it was a gorgeous day and me and Claire went for a coffee at a place on the beach....very relaxing...just what i needed...she'd been shopping and bought a dress for work...and you will NEVER guess where she got it from! MARKS AND SPENCERS!!! yep.....a proper one too!!! apparently the prices are marked up loads though....for example...jeans cost over 100,000 won, which is about £60....which is expensive from there!!but! they do my size!!WOO HOO!!even though my jeans no longer fit, im still too big for korean jeans...so this has made me very happy!! Small things and all that! Wow..so this has turned out to be a long one...sorry! I hope you are all well. Thinking of and missing you all terribly. xx