A Visit Home to Canada

This month I had a chance to go home to Canada and connect with family, friends, and members at the Energy Yoga center. I am really thankful for the time I could spend with everyone. Because of work and my studies, I didn't have a lot of time to spend with people in the last few years so this time was precious to me.

Here are a few highlights that I have pictures for. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures for others...

Celebrating my husband, Marek's birthday with him by eating some of his favorite Polish food (zupa ogorkowa, kotlet schabowy, ziemnaki, sernik - cucumber soup, pork cutlet, potatoes, and cheescake) and having fun at the cottage.





A 40th birthday party with friends from high-school and their partners and children.







Time at my dad's cottage with my sister Tammy, her husband Steve, our nephew, Gavin, and nephew-to-be :) My beautiful sister is the one in pink in the picture at the top of the page.



Visiting my aunt and uncle at their new home with Judy, my dad's wife.



Spending time with our nephew from Poland, Szymon. He is 15 and will be visiting Canada for five weeks altogether. It was great to see him after such a long time. We had a great breakfast with family (picture at the top of the page) and Szymon did really well at ordering and having conversation with everyone in English. After breakfast, we went to Niagara Falls.




Raw food dinner with Sanja and Srjan. Sanja has learned a lot about how raw food helps to heal the body. We had spaghetti, lasagna, and even ice-cream! It was delicious!



I visited an exotic mushroom farm near my dad's farm that is owned and run by people originally from South Korea. (That's one of the owners in the picture with me). The farm won an "Agri-Food Innovation Excellence Award" from the Ontario government. They produce King Oyster and Enoki mushrooms. Below is a picture of their "Commitment to Customers" in Korean. You can find the English version and more information about the farm here.





Talking and meeting with many more dear family, friends, and center members that, unfortunately, I don't have pictures for. My mom, my dad, my sister, Katie, Kate, Ben, and Sophie, my aunt Jan, Steph, Amy, Lisa, Camino, Lorena, Pam, Gae, and members at the yoga center. I'm thankful for all of you and look forward to keeping in touch and seeing you again.

Living in an Officetel in Korea

In May, my roommate (Jin-yi) and I moved from the university dormitory to an Officetel in downtown Cheonan.

An Officetel (I think it's a combination of "office" and "hotel") is a place where people can work and/or live. Ours is a one-room and includes a kitchen with a fridge/freezer, bathroom, washer/dryer, and storage.

Here's the "kitchen"...



And the hallway, with the fridge/freezer and closets on the left and a bathroom and more closets on the right...



Our Officetel is on the 16th floor with a view of the north part of the city and mountains...





Since the Officetel is downtown, it is easier to shop for food and transportation is really convenient. I also see other foreigners often, which I like. I miss the peaceful quiet of living in the country at the university but I still go there often so I can enjoy it then.

More about living in an Officetel and our surroundings later...