no.454 140729 Thank you for the reunion with my mentor teacher from Korea

Never again… Momofuku ice cream.

4PM, Union Station.

I've been waiting for today since the day I found out that my mentor teacher was coming to Toronto. We were planning on meeting on the platform at Union station. I got there a little earlier than the meeting time because I didn't want to keep her waiting. My heart was beating fast every time a train arrived. I looked left and right to spot my mentor teacher and a group of her friends whenever the train doors opened. I waited for about 20 minutes, and I'm pretty sure more than 10 trains passed by me. Still, there was no sign of her. Then I heard someone calling my name and it was a familiar voice. There she was! She said she's been waiting for me outside - I guess there was a little bit of a miscommunication, but I was thankful that we finally met in that crazy busy area, full of construction all over the station.

We went out, and there were four teachers waiting for me in front of Starbucks. They were also teachers who came to study English for the 4 weeks in Toronto. It's so amazing that out of all the places in North America, that she came to Canada. And out of all the places in Canada, that she came to Toronto! I knew that I was gonna see her again when I left Korea, but I didn't think I would see her in Toronto! I thought, if anything, that we would meet again the next time I visit Korea. It is incredible! I am so thankful for this opportunity to see her again here in Toronto. I'm thankful for an opportunity to treat her and serve her, because she's done so much for me when I was foreign to the school and the countryside "si-gol" life in Korea. She has two more weeks left in Toronto, and I'm probably gonna see her a couple more times while she's here. I want to make the most out of it, and spend as much time as possible with her!

no.453 140728 Thank you for the opportunity to be a tour guide

Personalized coke cans… so cool!

I'm looking forward to tomorrow because I get to see a friend who I haven't seen for a really long time. If you guessed that I'll be meeting my mentor teacher from Korea, then you've guessed it right! I got to talk to her briefly today just to sort out our schedule. All I hope is for the sky to be clear by the time we meet. Unfortunately I won't get to spend some time alone with her as she is here with other teachers from Korea. We are planning to do some outdoor activities… even if it rains, I'm sure we will enjoy our reunion!

By the way, I saw these personalized coke cans in Mexico and I was amazed and thought it was the coolest thing. I wondered why we didn't have it in Canada. I saw it in the States, well on the American Airlines and figured that America has them too, and wondered if we have in Canada. I finally saw it with my own eyes that we do have these personalized coke cans! Apparently my friend told me that we do have them in Canada but I never listened to him… oops. The cans in Canada are way better because  the names are in English and in French! I wonder how it'll work in Korea. One thing for sure, I'll never find my name on a coke can!

no.412 140616 Thank you for a visitor from Korea

I'll be having a visitor for the summer!

I am super excited that my mentor teacher from Korea will be visiting Toronto for a month, thanks to the training course she has to take. I haven't seen her for the past 4 years, and oh boy am I so excited! I met her when I was in Korea for about a year, teaching English at an elementary school. She was a friend, a big sister and a mentor for me. She did so much for me - helping me find a place to stay, going to furniture shopping with me, picking me up and giving me a ride to the terminal, checking up on me when I'm sick, and the list goes on… I was really lucky to have her as my mentor teacher, and I really appreciated everything she did for me. Ever since I got back to Canada, we would email each other from time to time, but to be honest, it got harder to keep in touch as it's been 4 years since I left Korea. It's a good thing that she's coming to Toronto! I can't wait to see her again. It's my turn to give back to her!