The stranger returns...

Greetings folks.

So I've been, er, a little bit slack recently...! I know it sounds like an excuse, but it is genuinely true that I've had so little free time - between work and travelling, and preparations, there haven't been very many relaxing lazy days for Jeni! I do hope to try and get updated sometime early next month...!

But the way things stand right now, I'm pretty much finished with teaching. I have one more week towards the end of August to work, but that's it. Tomorrow I head off on my holidays, and I'm in for an epic journey:

I'm taking a boat to the Chinese coast, then a train to Beijing, where I will spend five days exploring all the sights, sounds, smells and scaffolding of the city.

Then - and here's the fun part - I will be boarding a 1970s Soviet plane and heading straight for Pyongyang, North Korea. I have about 4 and a half days in the communist paradise, and then I hop on a train back out of the country, back to Beijing, a 24-hour trip.

The very same afternoon I arrive back in Beijing, I fly back to Seoul, then hop on a bus back to Gumi, to not only be back in time for school on Monday, but also back in time to go to the immigration office to extend my visa, so that I don't become an illegal!

It's going to be a very busy and very tiring couple of weeks, but it's definitely going to be memorable!

Then I have my last week at school, and then - here's the big news that perhaps some people haven't heard yet - I will be coming back to the Emerald Isle for a few weeks, before moving to London to embark on a Masters degree.

So I will be back at home on the bank holiday Monday (27th Aug), for anyone who is interested. I am excited about getting home - it will be good to see the family and anyone else who is around, and I'm looking forward to some relaxing! And, hopefully, some time to fill you in on my life over the last few months! I have so many observations about Korea and its people that I've never had time to write about.

I will also be writing about my journey in North Korea, and since I'm going for Liberation Day and the Mass Games there should be some good stories!

From September onwards, then, I will be living in London, attending the School of Oriental and African Studies, in an attempt to further my knowledge of the Korean peninsula. I have an understanding of the culture and people after a year here, time to get further into the theory. Unfortunately, I was unsuccessful in my attempts to get funding, so the "Future NK Expert, Jeni Gordon's Masters Fund" is now open for donations!!

Right then, that will do as an update of where things stand in the life of Jeni on the 6th August 2007. A very quick Happy Anniversary to my parents for tomorrow before I leave. Promise I'll come back safe!