2018 Update - I'm Still Here

As of 2018 I am still in Ilsan. I realize I have not updated this blog in a very long time so I wanted to come on here and let you know I'm still around. I just renewed my contract for another year so I will be here for a bit longer. I don't have any plans after that and may end up staying even longer.

I really want to try to update this blog a bit more this year. It will probably not be often but I figure anything I can do will be better than last year lol. I might try to do some cafe and restaurant reviews or at least some photos of places I go to. If you are visiting Ilsan then it's always nice to know some good places to go to.

Sunset - Lake Park (2017)

Happy New Year!

Happy 2015 Everyone. I know it's a little late but as they say 'better late than never'. 

I hope everyone had a happy holidays and new years. 

My new years resolution is to try and write more; but I'm not optimistic. I know how easy it is to get waylaid by life. The only thing I can do is try so perhaps the resolution should be to try harder instead. We shall see how it goes for 2015. 

All the best,
Kiwigirl

2014 - Happy New Year!

Well another year is over and now we are well and truly into 2014. I just wanted to say Happy New Year to everyone and I hope you all had a safe and happy festive season.

I am not sure how the blog will go this year, I will continue to update when I can and I can only hope to be a bit more vigilant than 2013. I am still in Ilsan and I am coming up to the end of my third year in Korea. My current contact will be up in March/April. I will probably be staying on for another year if my school continues my contract. Hopefully that will mean lots more things to blog about over the coming year so please keep coming back or follow the blog using one or more of the options off to the side.

Happy New Year
XOXO

Ilsan, South Korea

I realized after looking back at some old posts from when I started this blog that I did an information post on Suwon which was where I lived and served as the basis for the previous name (and the current address) of this blog.  If you have seen recent posts this year then you will know that I have since moved to Ilsan so I thought I would tell you a little about Ilsan.

Ilsan (일산) is a district rather than a city, the city that Ilsan is located in is called Goyang City and it is located Northwest of Seoul. It is very close to Seoul and connected by bus, train and subway so getting to and from is almost effortless depending on where you are heading and as I've said before public transport is pretty cheap too.

Ilsan itself is actually split into to areas too, there is Ilsandong-gu (Eastern district) and Ilsanseo-gu (Western district). It is a area that is growing all the time and that has a number of attractions including, stadiums, event and art centers, shopping areas, malls and entertainment. 

One of it's most well know attractions is Lake Park.  Lake Park is a large park that features a huge artificial lake, the park includes various gardens, walking and biking tracks and a musical fountain   I actually live right next door to the Lake Park and it's a nice place for walking and taking photos, I've been practicing my photography over there this week.

There are a number of other parks all around Ilsan, there are lots of bike and walking trails and these parks are popular family spots especially on the weekends.

There are also a number of department stores like Lotte and Hyundai and two main shopping areas called La Festa and Western Dom - these latter ones are like outside malls and include hundreds shops and restaurants both big and small. Ilsan also has a Costco, which if you are not American is a large supermarket/department type of store that sells lots of home wares and groceries mostly wholesale. Here in Korea there are a few locations and they are popular with expats as you can get western food items there that you can't get anywhere else.

There is also a new shopping area and amusement park that opened up this year, it's called 'One Mount' and it has a shopping mall, a winter park and a water park. The shopping mall hosts some western chains like H&M which means if you live in Ilsan you don't have to go into Seoul to go to these stores anymore. The water park has good reviews, I've heard so far that it's pretty fun but can be very crowded, the amenities are nice and it's a good place to entertain the kids as it has about nine slides and 18 pools both inside and outside. The winter park is inside and is like a Santa's village type park that includes an ice road, ice lake and a snow slide. 

So that is just some basic info on Ilsan, if you are visiting or coming to live for a while I hope it helps to give you an idea of what to expect.  If you live in Ilsan or have visited, please feel free to comment and let me know what your favorite things to see and do are.  I would love to hear from you.

Welcome to Ilsan - New Home/New Blog Name

Well I am back in Korea after a lovely long holiday back in New Zealand and I have officially moved from Suwon to Ilsan.  This means that I have to update my blog name from 'kiwigirl in Suwon' to 'kiwigirl in Ilsan', I am not going to update the address as I think that would be too confusing.

I moved a few weeks ago now and have just been settling into my new apartment and getting used to a new school.  While I am still with the same company, each branch has it's own way of doing things so there is always a learning curve. 

So far Ilsan is Ok, it seems more suburban than Suwon however and there are loads of bikes around on the footpaths. The city seems to be trying to encourage their use by making them available for hire all round the city. It's just annoying because they are on the sidewalk so you risk getting run over every day.  I would not mind so much if they were on the roads.

I'm trying to keep an open mind about Ilsan but so far I miss Suwon, I'm sure things will get better once I learn my way around and meet some people.

I've been a bit slack for a long while on the blogging front.  I will try and post a bit more over the coming weeks as I get out and explore Ilsan.

The New Year - 2013

So this is a little late, being as it's over halfway through the first month of the New Year but hey, better late than never.

So Happy New Year to everyone, I hope you are sticking to your New Year resolutions.

I have not posted much lately as I've been pretty busy and with the holiday period everything always gets behind.  I did a couple of English Camps in other cities, one over Christmas and then one this past week gone.  I don't think I will be doing that again for a while, I always come home sick.  It is a good way to make some money however as they usually pay pretty well and you stay there for a week with room and board so you don't spend any money in that time.  I'm going home for a friends wedding in March and will be staying for about a month and a half so some extra money was needed.

When I come back in April it looks like I will no longer be in Suwon, this presents difficulties in that I named my blog - 'kiwigirl in Suwon' and made that the url as well.  I, of course, was not thinking long term at the time of creation. So it might become a bit confusing but we will see how it turns out.

I won't be doing the Music Mondays for a while, I might start again after I get back in April but everything is going to be pretty hectic so I will just post when I can.

Interview from Expat Arrivals

I was recently interviewed by the website Expat Arrivals for their South Korean information page. Expat Arrivals is a website that aims to give lots of local knowledge and information for living in areas all over the world.

You can check out my interview and others from expats living in South Korea here.

Summer Vacation

Yay it's finally here - Summer Vacation.

For many of us teaching here in Korea this coming week is Summer Vacation and I for one am super excited for it.  It will be the first real holiday I've had since coming here, I took a short one to Jeju Island for Winter Break but last Summer I worked at a camp so didn't get a holiday.

Also super excited as I decided to spend a bit of money and go home, I feel like I should go an explore Asia more but to be honest its been a year and a half and I'm a bit homesick.

So I fly out this afternoon and will be in New Zealand by this time tomorrow - I will do Music Monday from home but not sure if I will get to do any other posts.  We will see how we go but I only have one week so will probably be busy trying to do everything and see everyone I want to.

Introduction

Hi my name is Amy and I am living and working as an English teacher in Suwon, South Korea.  I am originally from New Zealand and I have been in Korea for about one year now.  I am just in the process of re-signing my contract to stay for another year.  I thought that while I was here it would be good to keep a record of what I have seen and done and maybe even put up some useful tips for anyone new to Korea or even those just thinking of coming over. 

I have not done a lot and I still have heaps to learn but I found that it was hard for me to learn these things when I first got here so I am hoping that I can help out some first timers.  It can be really daunting in a new country - the different culture, the different language and just general 'newbie' feelings that come with such a huge change.

When I first got here I thought that I would be one of many foreigners at the school and it would be easy to make friends with all the other expats.  I soon found out that I was the only foreigner at my school - while I work for a huge company with lots of branches in and around Seoul my school is a bit smaller and so far only needs one native teacher.

Suwon is a pretty big city, especially on the scale of New Zealand.  Its connected to Seoul by the Subway and regular buses so transportation is relatively easy.  There are apparently quite a few expats here in Suwon but I have not really had a chance to meet many people yet.  I am hoping that as I get more adventurous I will be able to meet some new people from around my area. 

My New Year's resolution was to get out and do more stuff (also to give up caffeine - I'm a bit addicted to energy drinks).  So hopefully this blog will be the start of something new and positive.

More Soon
Amy