I have not been keeping up with post like I should be, but this past month has been very busy. I have literally flown around the world, and have hit some major cities along the way.

My first stop was Hong Kong. I wasn't as impressed with this city as I thought I would be, but I blame that on a number of factors. One being I was sick while traveling, and two being the rainy weather. I was hoping for some sun and beach time here, but it wasn't warm enough for that at all. I will say shopping in Hong Kong is great if that is what you are looking for. I spent one day in Hong Kong where I did a bus tour. I got to see the city, Victory Harbor, learn about some history, visit the floating village and restaurant, and take in some markets. It was a jammed pack half day trip, but it allowed me to cover a lot of ground in a short time. The other day I had in Hong Kong, I spend in Macau. It is just a short ferry ride away from Hong Kong, but still a part of China which doesn't require a visa. Macau is known as Asia's Vegas. It's a land of hotels, casinos, shopping, and shows. I got to see Cirque du Soleil's show Zaia while there, which was absolutely amazing. It may be the gymnastics background I have, but this was the highlight of my trip for sure. The sets, costumes, dance, song and story had me in awe. It was a quick trip for me as it was originally suppose to be my last Asian vacation before home. Since booking the trip I decided on coming back to Korea, so I will hopefully get in a couple more this year.

The next stop on my journey was London, England. I am so accustomed to lack of communication in English that my first question at the airport was "Do you speak English?" I feel in England, this may be taken as an insult. I had a week to travel around London and see the sights with my friend from university. The first day we spend wondering through Hyde Park, and enjoying afternoon tea we were both a little jet lagged, so it was a fairly uneventful day. We were in bed before the sun was down. The next day we decided to do a hop on hop off tour around London. We didn't pick the best day, or season for that matter to travel in England, and ended up caught in a major down pour. The tour took us to see London Bridge, London Eye, National Gallery, Tower Bridge, London Tower, Thames River, Big Ben, and the Parliament. I would highly recommend this to anyone. The guides on the bus were highly informative, and we both agreed that bus tours are not just for seniors. The next day we decided to have a "Royal Day." London was overly decorated with Will and Kate's face, and being there so close to the royal wedding we felt the need to check out the locations. We went to Buckingham Palace for changing of the guards, then walked the wedding route by St James Park to Westminster Abby. Westminster Abby was surprising to me. Even after seeing it on TV it seemed very different inside than I envisioned. It is by no means a beautiful church. I would say it is rather cluttered, and Gothic looking, but it is full of history. That night we took in a the musical Legally Blonde, which we didn't have high standards for, but were pleasantly surprised. Later in the week we went to see Dirty Dancing, which being a classic expected to be great, but I would say I enjoyed Legally Blonde more. The next day we took a day trip to Windsor Castle, Bath, and Stonehenge. Windsor Castle was another royal event, and the town of Windsor is very posh, and historic. I thought Bath was a very cute city, and if I were to go back would spend more time there. We only had a couple hours at each location, but the smaller cities is where I would spend time next trip. In Bath we spent most of the time checking out the Roman Baths. We also had traditional English Fish and Chips here. Stonehenge was the last stop and is defiantly worth seeing, but its not a full day event. There is nothing in the area besides the rocks, but seeing it and listening to the theories behind why they are there was really interesting. The rest of our time in London we spent enjoying tea at the Orangery, walking in Kensington Palace garden and shopping. I will say after spending a year traveling in non English speaking countries that London was a treat.

The final stop on my journey was home. I flew into Montreal, and as much as English was foreign to my ears in England, French was in Montreal. I will say that after being away from home for a while, that I now know why people see Canadian's as friendly. Of all the places I have been, no one holds a door, lets you skip line if your in a hurry, or helps with your luggage. From the second I got off the plane I had some lift my heavy bag, hold a door, and allow me to skip the line at security. It really made me feel at home, and proud to be Canadian. Home was a great break for me. To go to the grocery store and see recognizable food, speak English, drive a car, watch English TV, and visit friends and family was unbelievable. I got to do a quick Nova Scotia tour, visiting Bridgewater, Wolfville and Halifax. I also had a bit of a New Brunswick tour and visited Miramichi, Moncton, and Fredericton before flying back to Korea.

I am now back in Korea for 8 months teaching at the same school. I have no trips planned as of yet, which is a bit depressing. I have a couple places on my wish list before I head home to Canada in January. I am thinking Singapore or Bali. I don't have as much time off this time, so I plan to do more Korean vacations on weekends.

Things hear are like I never left. My kids are back to themselves, although after being gone for three weeks it only took them five days to become annoying again. In a class of 12 kids for 50 minutes they managed to say the word "teacher" in there Korean accent over 100 times. There is a reason why Soju (alcohol) is so cheap in this country.