Mon 21ème Anniversaire

Ever since I was a little girl, my Auntie and I have always said we'd have a joint 21st and 50th birthday party seeing as our birthdays are only two days (and 29 years!) apart. So last night, over 60 friends and family descended on the Jones' household for an 'oriental' themed party, so chosen because of my recent travels and the fact that I'd already had a Caribbean theme for my leaving Bangor party!

As well as decorating the house and the whole garden with what felt like 101 balloons, lanterns and candles, my friend's Mum made me the most beautiful oriental birthday cake and once it got dark we set off 21 Chinese lanterns which thankfully this time were a success (no chasing burning paper bags over windy Welsh fields this time)!

I was so grateful that so many people made the effort to come from near and far to make my night special. Despite sleeping under the gazebo in the garden (there was not a single room in the house that didn't have at least one person snoring) I had such a fantastic time and only wish I was capable of being in more than one place at once so I could have spoken to everyone for a bit longer.

Thank you so much to everyone that came and helped out in any way with the organising and of course to my parents for letting me take over the house and bearing all the stress involved in organising a party!

I think my Auntie Shirley enjoyed it too!

EmJx

P.S: Please note I still have just over two weeks until my actual birthday (and therefore the same amount of time to complete my challenges)!

White Rose, White Rose!

Happy Yorkshire Day Folks! Finally getting to spend it in God's own county with a full roast this evening to celebrate... chuffed to little mint balls meeee!

EmJx

Honey I'm Home!

After an emotional goodbye (I really didn't want to leave!) and a 26hour journey, I finally arrived home at around 1am BST Monday morning having not slept for the majority of the journey (a 30 minute nap from Munich to London doesn't particularly count)! I have had such an amazing three weeks in South Korea, learning and experiencing so much and have met some truly amazing people that I hope to keep in touch with for a long time to come.

I am also extremely fortunate that it is nearly my 21st birthday and so my parents have bought me a 120hour advanced online TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course as a present. Not only will this hopefully allow me to earn a few extra pennies giving lessons when I'm studying in Martinique (a Caribbean island) and Rouen (France) but also means I can return to South Korea as a teacher once I graduate. I'm looking forward to it already! When I was on the plane home, I spoke to the Korean guy sat next to me about the exchange program and my aspirations who further encouraged me to go for it, especially given my 'excellent' pronunciation of 감사합니다 (gamsahabnida - thank you) to the air-hostess. Well when it's one of the few words you can say... haha.

I'm now making the most of being at my parents, catching up on sleep amongst other things as it's only 5 weeks until I fly out to the Caribbean to begin my first semester in a French speaking country. Well, when given the choice, France just seems a bit blasé! I promise to update about the rest of my time in Korea (as well why I was actually out there in the first place for those who keep asking) but it's back to bed soon before heading in to China town in Leeds tomorrow to buy decorations for my 'oriental themed' birthday party!

The fun never stops :)

EmJ x

Home Sweet Home...?

Well it's lovely to be back in God's own county will all the frank Yorkshire folk....

So far I have been asked 'ave yer still not got a job yet or you still skiving off round the world?' Apparently higher education wont get me anywhere like a good day's hard graft will. I'll just pass on that chance of a handsomely paid managerial job for a quick foray down a mine and head back to the bakery then!

On top of this, my Mum's friends seem to be increasingly concerned that there is no man on the scene, potentially worrying my Mum too following those false lesbian rumours. Thanks folks! Apparently one lady's daughters both met their husbands in Bangor and have been happily married ever since. She's keeping her hat just in case there's the sound of wedding bells. Pretty sure it's going to be vintage by then ;)

My Gran also seems to think I need to marry an older guy to deal with my maturity (yes, she's talking about me. An older guy that likes Heffs then?). And all the rest of my Mum's friends keep reminding me how they were married in their early 20s and had kids at 25 allowing them to retire early. Lovely!

Ahh, I still have a few more years yet. I'll add it to the list of things to do yeah? Somewhere between Korea, Leeds, Martinique, France and Bangor. Champion :)

Until next time,

EmJ x