Enter Jenny Kim 김정윤

This is without a doubt the most scandalous, tabloid worthy piece that has crossed this desk. So you may want to be seated before starting to read. If you're in the habit of standing while reading, you can't say I didn't warn you. I wanted to write about this a long time ago, but I hadn't even told my family so, I mean, writing blogs about it before telling them would be kinda lame. Anyway, that's my way of saying sorry for the lack of updates recently. 

So, yea, the rumours are true, I have a girlfriend now here in Wonju...and she's awesome. But like I said, it's quite a story, so sit down. Where to start, where to start....

Um, she's Korean yea she is......I met her first the day before I went home to Canada for Christmas at our ELC day combined performance. She teaches at the other ELC, maybe ten minutes from ours. When I met her I thought she was gorgeous....I remember turning to Amy and saying "woooow". We all went out after the performance and nothing particularly noteworthy happened, apart from finding out she went to church. 

Then I went home and had Christmas, and forgot about her for a long time...sure she was cute, but for all I knew she was married, or 35 or something (my guess was like 26, but I've been wrong by 7,8 years before....all us foreigners really don't do well with Korean women's ages) 

But I guess, the end of January, I was bored and sent her an email just for kicks. Practice Korean or whatever. Can't hurt. One of my friends told me that day that she was 25, which was good news. Better than 35 :).  She was shocked that I could write in Korean, and she wanted to meet up. (if you've been cheating and looking at the pictures, you know what's coming next maybe) 

And then she told me, she has a kid, and an ex-husband in Seoul. I guess if you haven't lived here, you don't know how weird that is. Women DO NOT get married young in Korea...like 30 or later. So to be 25, with a three year old is just, quite frankly unbelievable. Men get custody of kids in Korea by the way, so her daugher lives in Seoul too. Her husband is quite the story and um, I guess it's not really blog-fodder, but suffice it to say I'm stunned that he is allowed custody of the kid.

Call me crazy, but her past didn't really bother me....I mean, I guess I just thought to myself, if I like her, than the kid is part of who she is....and if I don't like her, then who cares. (Carefree/simplistic as that may sound, I am not blessed with the ability not to think things to death....so I'm pretty sure my next blog will be reflections on having a cross-cultural girlfriend with a kid)

Anyway, so, after work one day we went to eat and go to a movie. And I mean, dates with pretty girls are a bit nerveracking at the best of times, but for the first while on this one, at the restaurant, she kept speaking Korean to me (even though her English is really really good). So yea, I was quite nervous...try talking to a pretty girl in like your 4th best language and see how YOU do. And you have to use chopsticks too by the way. Just for extra stress. :)

Anyway, at the movie, a classic story... we were walking into the wrong theatre, so it was dark, and she walked right into a wall. Full out....I couldn't see either, so just imagine, first date with someone, some nervousness of course...walking into the theatre, it's dark, and you hear *thud* thud*yelp!* I could not surpress the giggles. 

What else to say? She's surprised me at every turn. We really thought she was kind of a Korean princess girl. Most of them are....and she dresses really nice, like heels all the time etc. But turns out she likes sports and hiking, and playing drums, and she lives on -get this - a farm. A farm? You've gotta be kidding me. I was shocked. But yea, her Mom runs a cow farm. And her Dad is a pastor actually. In a different city. 

Anyways, I met the daughter actually on our second date, and I was nervous. I mean, kids here are scared of foreigners, and she certainly doesn't speak english. But, anyway, only took like five minutes for me to fall in love with her......once she held my hand and counted to three in her cute korean voice so I would make her 'fly', I was a goner. There's a couple pictures of her below as well. And no, there aren't twins...it's called photoshop.

That's basically my tabloid-worthy scandalous story. So for a few weeks now, we've been hanging out all the time. It's been a blur....Lots of movies and eating. Studying Korean...went to the Korean version of Disneyland....scariest, steepest wooden roller coaster in the world....

Can't wait for this -15 front to dissapear so we can start doing some things outside. 

Later........