You can take the girl out of Korea....

me, doing Gangnam Style, in Gangnam

...but you can't take the Korea out of the girl.

#Fact. Korea will probably continue to influence who I am for years to come. A year later I still find myself speaking to people in Korean or expressing certain thoughts that only work in Korean to myself in my head...

At a booking club in Gangnam

I know, I know. I just said I was "shutting down" the blog, but I realized I still have thoughts about Korea, so I might as well express them...

Two things on my mind

1. 2014 was not a good year for Korea. I must say I  have been heartbroken. From the Sewol Ferry tragedy to the fans who died at a K-Pop concert to Seung-ri and Girl's code accidents' (the latter being fatal), I admit I have been keeping up more with news from my adopted homeland than the country I currently live in...

There's no way my heart could not bleed at all the horrible things that happened. Those could have been any one of my former students on the ferry. I or my friends could have been at the K-Pop concert. A member of Big Bang could have died! (and two members in Girl's code did - rest in peace beautiful ladies ).

All I can do is hope that 2015 is a million times better than 2014. Be strong Korea- 힘내세요

2. After my hiatus from all things Korean , I have slowly eased myself back into things I loved (I need a place I can download my Korean dramas and tunes BTW). There's no one to speak Korean with (although I sometimes speak to myself which is crazy awesome right?). But luckily for me, I have plenty of YouTube channels to give me my Korea fix, and if you're interested in Korean culture, these are pretty good sites to subscribe to.

• Eat Your Kimchi - This is a YouTube channel and website run by Simon and Martina from Canada. They arrived in Korea around the same time I did. They are incredibly artistic and eventually made a living in Korea from talking about Korea related issues on their blog. Now they own a cafe in Hongdae/홍대 (the trendy youth hangout spot in Seoul) with another team who was vital to my Korean study (Talk to Me in Korean). Side note, I've met them, and when I find that awesome picture I will upload it...

I found the picture finally: Simon, Martina and I (in the middle) at Phillies Pub in Seoul

• Chonun Migook Saram (저는 미국 사람)- The Korean writing means "I am American". Megan is absolutely hilarious and animated, and I've watched her Korean improve immensely over the years. Also, she's a black girl (yes she's really light I know) doing big things in Korea so that makes me even prouder. And she gets to date gorgeous Korean men on her shows, which leaves me immensely jealous of excited for her.

• Baby Yebin: This little baby is the cutest thing I've ever seen. I think I wrote in this blog a long time ago that I most enjoyed talking to and listening to kids speak in Korean because my level was probably closest to theirs. Well Yebin is still learning about life (and Korea) and she is adorable.

• Bobae papa: It almost looks like I spend my time stalking Korean children. They are just so adorable. Again they also speak Korean at a level that's much easier for me to understand (I still hate formal Korean) and those chubby baby cheeks... 

• Bonus sites: Some others which I also recommend are - Dramafever (for my Korean dramas), Talk to me in Korean (which I already mentioned - for Korean study, especially the Catch the Wave episodes with Adrien because he's so HOT good at Korean), any Arirang and KBS channels for Korean news and shows, and Sweetandtasty (a Korean-American girl who blogs about Korean culture)

My favorite Korean food

These give me my fix when I miss Korea, which is often, but I still haven't found a solution to my Korean food cravings... at least not in Nigeria. So if anyone at the Korean Embassy in Abuja wants to adopt me...