Chubby Chick Running

So....it's been almost nine years and I'm finally back to working on my blog. What have I been doing? Sheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh!! Let me give it to you in bullet points: * I got really really sick * I got burnout * I stopped running * I moved to Pretoria * I got married * I got a dog * I got another dog * I got an Honours Degree (Learning Support) * I got another Honours Degree (Educational Psychology) * I started a business (Child development) * I started another business (Health and wellness) * I started a Master's Degree (Educational Psychology) * I finally recovered from my burnout * Started running again And this is where I am right now. So, why pick up the blog? Well, why not? I will use this blog for the two things that I am passionate about: 1) Child development 2) Health and Wellness (Including burnout recovery) And, telling my story. Welcome back friends, it's going to be a fun fun ride!

In the late 90 ’ s a band named “ Fool ’ s Garden ” had a mega hit with a song called: “ Lemon Tree ” .

Many a young person leaves home for the unknown world of university and with this, move into a dorm/ residence.

I spent three weeks in a Korean hospital. I had acute pneumonia and was admitted very suddenly.

Cape Town has always been the city of my dreams. We lived here for 6 months when I was just a little girl and I loved it. When I started going to university, I came to the Western Cape at least once a year and I always said that this would be the place I settled down in.

A few of my friends and I used to have this ritual on Friday nights: We ’ d go to The Frypan  for some fried chicken followed by Sun Mart for some wine, market-O brownies and popcorn, and then on to Take 5 DVD-bang.

We were out having a drink at our friends ’ bar (Jazz bar at the time), when one of the staff gave us a fried egg on a plate and said: “ Suh-bis-uh ” .

2010 was one of my worst years ever. At the end of January 2011, some of my closest friends left Korea. I was heartbroken and in need of some peace, quiet and serious soul searching. Luckily there was a long weekend (Lunar New Year) at the beginning of February, so I set about trying to find a quiet and inexpensive place to go.

For the past 25 years, I have been starting my mornings with a cup of coffee. I'm pretty much addicted to my first cup in the morning and a few more during the day. I also like the socialness that comes with it. Many a new friendship / relationship has started with the words: "Let's have coffee sometime".

I have a confession: I am an addict. I didn't know that I was an addict until I came to Korea.

Bling is everything in Korea. Little girls walk around with bright, sparkling headbands. Old women wear bows and shiny pins and even the poodles get their nails painted and their ears dyed pink.

"The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret to freedom is courage." -Thucydides In a way leaving Korea means leaving behind a lot of my freedom.

Going to a spa at home is pretty expensive, but you get massages, face masks and mud baths. And that is only a few of the fabulous treatments available. Going to a spa in Korea is a whole different story.

By now it is pretty obvious that I like running. What is less obvious is that, even though I love it, I suffer every time I do it.

"No man is an Island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee." - John Donne

Sunday was my friend, Terisha's birthday, so on Saturday night we went out for dinner. I have been trying to introduce her to new Korean meals every now and again. On Saturday night, we had Shabu-shabu and that was when I realize that I can't appreciate Korea, without appreciating the food. And I can't appreciate the food if I try and lump all of my favourite meals into one blog post. Thus, this will be the first in a series about my favourite Korean dishes.

In Episode 10, Season 1 of "How I met your Mother", Ted loses his memory spectacularly. In one of the flashbacks of the disastrous night, we see him asking a girl if she knew that "Karaoke was not invented by someone named Kerry Okie, but is Japanese for Empty Orchestra". In Korea, we have a Norebangs and norebanging is anything but an empty experience.

I haven't met many people who don't like cake..and the Koreans are no exception! In fact, they love cake so much that they give each other cake for birthdays, moving house, when they travel, when they come back, when they are sick, when they get promoted, etc. I don't blame them. Korea does great cake! They decorate it with chocolate and rich (but not sweet) cream. And the cake is always nice and moist.

Prior to coming to Korea I had a Facebook profile, but rarely used it more than once a week. I knew about blogging, but I couldn't be bothered to read someone else's or write my own and any information, inspiration or interaction I needed, could be achieved by phoning a friend (or doing some guesswork.)