Monday, May 14, 2012

seven tips for living alone

"being alone is very difficult." -Yoko Ono

i like yoko, like a lot, but on this, we disagree.

i have been living on my own on and off for the past 7 years, and it has recently come to my attention that living alone doesn't come naturally to some people. in the spirit of sharing experience and knowledge, and having coped with the difficulties of starting a life as a person living alone - my adjustment included eating french toast for every meal - i've compiled a list of my seven greatest tips for what will surely be a changing experience for anyone.

so here it is, expatkerri's seven tips for living alone.

1. get alone: when you first move into your new apartment alone, it can be very tempting to fill up your schedule with dinner plans and outings. such is life, especially in a big city offering live concerts and book clubs every night. however, part of the joy of living alone is that you have a place to go and do your thing without anyone bothering you, anytime you want. if you start to think of being alone at home as being somewhere, with someone (that person is you), you'll think of home as less of a last resort and more of a haven. With a little time, you'll soon look forward to being alone in your home.

2. get a hobby: at first, your newfound free time and personal space can be overwhelming. you might have many projects in mind that you want to start, but feel incapable of starting any of them for their sheer vastness. for this reason, picking one hobby to work on initially will help you narrow in on one task, and develop a sense of accomplishment for your time at home. expatkerri recommends knitting scarves for friends, starting a journal (of any kind), choosing an ethnicity of food to master, and video-blogging.

3. get tidy: there is nothing worse than living alone in a mess. not only is it unhygienic and unpleasant, it's also very hard to remedy the problem after it begins since there's no one on your tail to clean up. laundry piles can build up for months, and the good intentions with which you brought out the vacuum get covered in dust. you want to feel good when you come home, and that good feeling comes from having a good space to live in. the solution is just to do a 5-minute clean-up every day: wash dishes immediately after you use them. put clothes that need to be washed directly into the washing machine, and clothes that are still clean should go back in the closet right away. keep the bathroom clean and wash it before it's visibly dirty (once a week). you'll be surprised how little effort it takes to keep your apartment tidy and ready for guests.

4. get rid of your tv: since i moved out of my parents house at 17, i've had countless apartments in countless cities, all of them without tvs. i am absolutely of the belief that tv rots your brain, and living alone only makes you more likely to develop tv addiction and create poor sleeping habits. instead of exposing yourself to endless ads for prescriptions and remedies for diseases invented for profit, why not try reading the books you already own?

5. get a favourite radio station: though most people don't even own radios anymore, i still think they're a great item to have when you live alone. if you use it as your morning alarm, you'll be informed of the day's weather, and keep up with the news since there are no roommates to let you know when something big has happened. it's also nice to just have a voice in your apartment while cooking or emailing. here in korea i don't have my own radio, so i use online radio instead.

6. get creative: making meals for one can make you a lot more experimental in the kitchen, (because you'll soon tire of your old reliable meals like spaghetti and baked potatoes). don't get caught in the "i'm free so i can eat french toast for dinner every night" spell, since all those carbs will just end up making you sad. you'll feel a lot better physically and mentally after preparing yourself a little homemade pesto. i recommend heading over to veggiebelly for her super simple and delicious recipes, and freeze the extra portions to make a few days' dinners in one go.

7.  get ready: now that you're settled into your new clean apartment and experimenting with new recipes, the time will come when you want to entertain. just because you live alone doesn't mean you only need one spoon, one fork and one knife (i learned this the hard/embarrassing way when my guests ended up eating soup right out of the pot). set yourself up with a pair of wine glasses and cups of different sizes, as well as bowls and enough cutlery for a few good friends.

if you're still not convinced about being alone, watch this beautiful video and try some of her tips. especially the one about going to the movies alone.

let me be the first to welcome you to your wonderful new home for you and your mind. happy alone time :)

share you other tips for being alone as a twitter post here!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

trip of a lifetime plan

in early july, i'll be setting out on the trip of a lifetime with my travel partner brenna. we've already had several eye-opening trips together, but this one will be completely different.

we've been in romania, bulgaria, turkey, japan, korea, thailand, and burma together as travelers.

our other trips together have been limited by time, since we'd both had jobs and obligations.

our other trips had clear beginnings and ends, since we'd be expected to show up for work upon returning.

our other trips were less than a month each, so we didn't have much time to stay longer in locations that we liked.

the next trip that we embark on will be totally different than the others, since neither of us have jobs to return to or plane tickets home. since neither of us have any obligations bringing us back to any point in the world at any given time in the near future. since neither of us want nor need to be at a certain point by a certain date, we are free to start working at a hostel in a city we fancy, or start volunteering somewhere for a while if we want to. this trip is truly the most free either of us have ever been, and that is why we can call it the trip of a lifetime.

also we're going to central and south america, where neither of us have ever been.

i have been actively exploring the shape and quality of my wanderlust since 2006, and only now will i really see the extent of my true capacity to travel and live. and what better way to do that than with my best friend.

it's time to travel.

Wednesday, April 18, 2012

turning tokyo ( going to 東京)

7 months ago I visited Tokyo for the first time with my good friend. We got lost, ate ramyun, and were often confused by Japanese signs. We even rode the subway all the way to the airport by accident on our second day. We also took lots of photos like this:




Tomorrow, I leave for my second visit to Tokyo. This time, I'm going with someone I love. That someone also speaks Japanese. I can't wait!!!

I am so glad that even though this is only a 3-day trip, I can still feel the rush of travel whirring though me as I start to pack. Lots of cherry blossom videos coming up, just for you.

Siyonara!

Monday, April 9, 2012

10 Side-Effects of Teaching English in Korea

10. accept and eat sweaty candies from children's hands
9. learn how to make a ten minute activity last one hour
8. watch your sentences in english become some kind of korean sentence
7. learn all sorts of swear words you would think only drunk ajusshi's would use
6. speak slowly and enunciate to the point that your family asks you why you sound the way you do
5. watch all idiomatic speech disappear from your vocabulary
4. ... along with all words of 3 or more syllables
3. develop an in-depth knowledge of starcraft terminology ("head shot")
2. experience dong-jib, and then never ever forget it
1. end up staying for 2 or 3 years more than you intended

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Best Camera




What camera do you use?

Do you love it?

Though I'm not big into brand loyalty, I love my Canon ELPH 300 hs. It's so light and portable, I can carry it with me everywhere I go so I'm ready anytime something video worthy happens - which can happen anywhere and anytime. Many of the best videos I've seen (and videos I've made) are spontaneous and stumble-upon kind of situations. All the HD videos I post on my Youtube account are recorded with this magnificent little camera.

This camera was with me on my recent travels through Southeast Asia. I recorded lots of travel vlogs with it, and I was satisfied with the quality of the videos. However, looking through my pictures, without perfect lighting some photos aren't as clear and as crisp as I want them to be. I've started printing out photos to display as travel memories, but I can only print photos from this camera to about 8" × 12" (about the same as an A4 paper) before losing significant quality.

Photos help us remember places and people, and we should be able to preserve our memories in the best and clearest way we can. For this reason, I would love to hear some recommendations for a new and better camera from you, my readers. I still want something light and I'd prefer a camera that is not as conspicuous as a DSLR. I appreciate your help! Happy snapping!

Monday, March 26, 2012

Kerri's Seoul

My best friend and lifelong travel partner Brenna recently offered me a chance to post as a guest blogger on her blog This Battered Suitcase. Her blog is a haven for travelers, wanderlusters, photo feinds and lovers of life.

My blog post features recommended spots to visit in Seoul "off the beaten path". You can read my article here.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

10 Best Souvenirs from Korea

Here expatkerri has gathered for you the ten oddest and most interesting gifts to give as souvenirs from South Korea. We guarantee all of these gifts will be good conversation starters.





1. CRAZY SOCKS - Ramyun noodles, swear words, K-pop stars, bunnies with fuzzy ears, drunk cartoons, poetry, soju bottles... the possibilities are nearly endless with these socks. Best of all they are available everywhere and are usually only 1000 won for a pair.




2. COUPLE PHONE CHARMS - For couples, nothing is more Korean than matching everything. You can go all out and buy matching couple t-shirts, but it's cheaper to buy your friends in relationships couple cell phone charms.




3. DRIED SQUID - A very popular snack during festivals and at the movies, the potent squid is usually sold with dipping sauce. You can buy it in most food marts for under 2000 won. Make sure you instruct your friends to bring the squid in their bags next time they go to the movies.




4. SCRUBBING CLOTHS - Since your friends aren't in Korea to experience the full extent of the Korean sauna, give them a little taste of it by giving them a scrubby cloth. The cloths are available everywhere and cost just 500 won. Make sure you instruct your friend to scrub their skin to the point where the dead skin comes off like eraser bits.




5. PACKAGED KIMCHI - "The World's Healthiest Food". The fried kimchi tastes best, and it's packaged so you can throw it in your bag without making all your luggage smell like fermented cabbage. Remember to say "kimchi" when having your photo taken too.




6. CRAZY ENGLISH T-SHIRTS - Anything goes when you're shopping for t-shirts in Korea. Browse among the mildly offensive to the completely indecipherable.




7. IPHONE BUNNY CASE - If there was an award for putting cuteness over all else including functionality, Korean girls would win first prize hands down. These absurd phone cases nearly double the width of the phone, conspicuously showing off the fact that your phone is cuter than everyone else's. Who wouldn't want to share that glory with their friends back home?




8. BB CREAM - For the women on your list, why not buy them a tube of "the Korean beauty secret". It is both a moisturizer and a liquid foundation, and as such it is supposed to save time in the morning. Plus it is meant to prevent wrinkles and help clear up breakouts. Win win!




9. ANIMAL HATS - Though they might look like they're made for children, motorcycle-riding delivery men also wear these ridiculous hats. I've never seen them in any other country.




10. METAL CHOPSTICKS - To my knowledge, Korea is the only country in all of Asia to use metal chopsticks. They're reusable, sterile, and hard to get used to at first. Buy some for your friends and have a contest using the chopsticks to pick up M&Ms.


All photos by expatkerri except "FU socks": used with permission from http://johannemiller.com/
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