Mum visits Korea ♥

There aren't words to describe how wonderful it was for me to a) see my mum for the first time in a year and b) have her here with me in Seoul. It was incredible ♥ From start to finish. 

All in all, she was with me for four weeks. The first two in Seoul, the third in Boracay in the Philippines and the last week, back here in Seoul. Before she arrived I'd planned out a very tight itinerary so were really busy every day! This city is so huge and there is so much to see! I wanted to show her as much as I could so that's what I set out to do and that's what we did! By the time we left for Boracay we were both exhausted so that week in paradise came in very handy!!

I hope I gave her a good Korean experience incorporating the old traditions of Korean culture with modern day Korea. We visited a palace, parks, the main shopping districts and she also came to my school a couple of times. I took her to all my favourite places; down by the river, the old traditional part of Seoul and along the stream and of course, my favourite place of all; Hongdae! We even went to a beach on west coast and we took a day trip to the DMZ to see where north meets south. She experienced the noraebang (singing room) phenomenon and we even got to go to the cinema together which I've missed a lot. We ate all different types of cuisine, with lots of my Korean favourites and not so favourites- rice cake!!! Haha! And she tried kimchi and soju on her first night in Seoul. She never quite mastered the use of chopsicks but she definitely gave it a good go! As well as all of this she met so many of the people who are important to me here; my foreign friends, my Korean friends and colleagues and my students. All of these things meant she could really understand and appreciate my life here more thoroughly. She could really see how happy I am here and why I love this country, and what it's done for me, so much.     

Thinking back now, it kinda feels like a dream but while she was here it was very real. It was so lovely to walk through the door and have someone there to greet me, to have a cup of tea waiting for me when I got in from school, to have someone to say goodnight to as I rested my head on my pillow each night, to hear and say, "I love you," to show her around the amazing city that for now is my home and to see in her face how proud she is of me and possibly the most important of all, the thing I miss the most here, being able to have a hug, without asking, anytime time I wanted one :) 

It was wonderful and I cannot put into words how happy it made me. I will treasure those four very special weeks forever ♥