Author: Simonette

A year and a half ago my husband and I moved to Korea. I wanted to write about my life and experiences in Korea along with my current interests. Initially we came to Korea to use it as a stepping stone to immigrate to another country. But now since we’re here we are thinking of making it our new home even if it is just for the next few year as no one knows what the future holds. If you told me ten years ago I will be living in Korea now I would have called you out for bullshitting me. My brother always quotes Robbie Williams by saying “I sit and talk to God and he just laughs at my plans”. This is absolutely true. We have made so many plans with our lives but in the end its not up to us, no matter how much you try to take it into your own hands. So… here we are in Korea, living it up

Someone I see myself with in the future

July 1, 2016October 24, 2016Leave a comment

When I was 16 years old I went to a 24 hour dance marathon hosted by our church with my best friend. When we walked into the dance hall there was a beautiful blond guy standing on the stage. He wasn’t alone but I only saw him. He had long blond hair that sort of hung in his face. And Ice blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean.

While I was dancing I stole looks at him ever so often. I left my water bottle at the bottom of the stage so that I could take a glimpse of him every time I drink water. He was really gorgeous but I was too shy to talk to him or even try and make a move.

About 4 hours into the dance marathon one of the girls in my school came to talk to me. She was in the class above mine but also lived in our area and went to the same church. She said that the beautiful blond wanted to dance with me. I was ecstatic. So we danced the rest of the night.

When it was time to go home he asked me for a kiss and I stood there with my eyes closed and my lips puckered… and his friend laughed at me…. I felt really embarrassed but the beautiful blond gave me a tender kiss on my lips. Seven years later we got married.

We’ve been married for eight years and although we’ve had our ups and downs I truly love him and can’t live without him. I hope that we will stay this happy until the end of days.

My nicknames

June 30, 2016June 29, 2016Leave a comment

Over the years I’ve had many nicknames but most are derived from my given name. My given name is Simonette. Many people have commented that it is an unusual name and very often people don’t know how to spell or pronounce it. it is also a very long name to say. Therefore the most common thing to do is shorten it.

My mother use to call me Simonetjie while my dad use to call me ‘my skapie‘ which mean little sheep in Afrikaans.

In primary school my friends use to call me Simi. This lasted all through high school as most of my primary school friends attended my high-school.

Then after school in my second job, I was on very good terms with my manager who called me Simo.

And then there are a bunch of pet names my husband calls me but those are private :p

My dreams and goal for the future

June 29, 2016June 29, 20162 Comments

Everyone has realistic dreams and unrealistic dreams. For example I know that if I stay in in my current career I will never be able to do certain things like owning a yacht or living in a penthouse apartment.

Within the next 5 years I would like to achieve the following.

1 Live near the Seaside

I could be a beach bum any day. Obviously it is unrealistic as people need money to live and survive so I don’t mind if I live in a cabin or in a mansion as long as its by the seaside.

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2 Start expanding our family

Since we married 8 years ago people have been asking us when we’ll have children. We’ve been thinking about it more and more and planning to expand our family within the next 5 years.

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3 Travel more.

We have friends and family all over the world and we would like to visit some of them and experience their home countries.

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4 Start laying down our roots in a country we can call home

For the last 5 years we’ve been trying to get into either New Zealand or Australia but it seems every time we have everything in order, our skills seem to disappear from the skill list. We have the opportunity to immigrate to Korea if we can work here for 5 years and learn Korean up to Grade 4 level. We are really working on this as one of our options now. So please wish us luck…

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Workwear (Korea)

June 28, 2016September 21, 2016Leave a comment

Korea is different from the western world, they have a different culture and ways of doing things. Although they also wear clothes that come from american and European companies there are still some taboos. For instance girls can wear extremely short miniskirts but it is totally inappropriate to show shoulders, collarbones or cleavage. The social laws seem to be relaxing nowadays but in some areas of the country it is still considered highly inappropriate. Therefore when coming to Korea try and keep it conservative as you will be working with these people’s children.

Summer Outfits

You should be able to get away with showing you shoulders as long as it’s not in a strappy top. In summer you can wear lovely floral dresses or skirts. Your shoes should be chosen according to your school. If you’re working at a private academy (hagwon) then go with flat shoes because you’ll be on your feet the whole day. In public schools however you’ll wear slippers inside the buildings so you could wear high heels to work if you choose.

It is always better to put your best foot forward in a new work environment. Your style can become more relaxed once you’ve settled and seen what the other people at your work wear. Generally though the Koreans are dressed to the nines. A lot of foreigners wear jeans to work here in Korea but they keep it formal rather than casual.

What not to wear to work!

Although this outfit is really cute it is not something you should wear to work. Uggs with jeans are OK in winter because it is freezing but not with sweats and t-shirts. You are a professional, try and act like it.

Someone I would want to switch lives with

June 28, 2016June 23, 2016Leave a comment

At first I couldn’t think of anyone I would like to switch lives with. I am very content with my own life even if I face many hardships but not more than anyone else I suppose. If I were to swap lives with anyone I think I would like to switch lives with Benjamin Graham or Warren Buffet. Benjamin Graham was a professor that researched the various theories associated with investments. For example the theory of finding patterns in the markets.

Warren Buffet is a stockbroker that own his own investment company called Berkshire Hathaway I would like to live a day in their shoes just to know what they know. I have always been interested by the stock markets but has never had the guts to ACTUALLY take my money and invest it in the stock market. Through my husbands research into the stock markets we’ve learned a lot about investing for our future. We have seen that we can invest in a more secure manner if we invest long term. There will always be a risk of losing your money but keeping the losses to the minimum is what we’re aiming for.

To Learn more about investing you can read The Intelligent Investor. by Benjamin Graham. It is an excellent book that tells you how to invest and also gives information on how the stock markets work.