the blog

The Coffee Shop I Never Went Into: A Story of Regret

When I thought about coming to Korea, I had this picture in my mind of becoming a “regular” at a local coffee shop. A place I’d stop in a couple times a week, to either sit and chat a bit with the barista, or take a cup to go…a place where I
Read more

Looking Back: June 2009 | a change of plans

This post was originally published in June 2009 on my former former blog, “I Think I Saw a Dragonfly.” I’m resharing it here as part of an archive series called Looking Back. I realized I still had posts from the blog I did even BEFORE my last blog, Bettye Rainwater Photography. That
Read more

Life This Week in South Korea: June 16-22, 2025

Monday, June 16 Today was a not much of anything day. Shocker. BUT I did get through my entire To Do list, AND had a long nap, so…there’s that. The rainy season has come early to Seoul. Which fits perfectly with my “I don’t want to leave the house/depression” era, but not
Read more

Looking Back: June 2012 | Winding Down

This post was originally published in June 2012 on my former blog, “Bettye Rainwater Photography.” I’m resharing it here as part of an archive series called Looking Back. vacation started today. at 4:01. pm. not a minute too soon. i have ten days to do anything. to do everything. but tonight –
Read more

Life This Week in South Korea: June 9-15, 2025

Monday, June 9 After a morning ticking boxes off my To Do list (which is like sweeping against the tide), I had a stupid dr’s appointment in the stupid afternoon. Usually I’m able to schedule for first thing in the morning, but Ms Doc is going on vacation and only had this
Read more

Where Bloggers Live: My Five Favorite Things About Summer

Welcome to Where Bloggers Live: 2025! Happy New Year! “Where Bloggers Live” started out kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…with bloggers! We all like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes, interests, and lives, so every month this wonderful  group of seven bloggers family of amazing women
Read more

Life This Week in South Korea: June 2-8, 2025

Monday, June 2 I don’t know. I like you guys. I kinda feel like I should protect you from MY WRATH at this RIDICULOUS DAY. I think I need to calm down so you don’t have to read 27 paragraphs of &*%^#%#!!!! Long story short (actual long story here complete with 27
Read more

The Best Seasons to Travel to South Korea: Part 2: Spring

Last fall I posed the question: what’s the best time of year to travel to South Korea? And I quickly canceled out June/July because it’s the monsoon season and July-September because they’re disgustingly humid and hot, and it’s frigidly freezing in January and February. That pretty much just leaves autumn, from Oct
Read more

The Long Version of Today’s Experience at a Korean Hospital (if this isn’t something you’re interested in, keep scrolling and trust that you’ll have missed nothing important)

Back Story: Remember in this week’s This Week you read about my upcoming eye surgery and the curiosity (to put it mildly) about why I was being admitted to the hospital two days before surgery SLASH I’m messing with the timeline here, don’t be alarmed if you’re confused. It’s confusing. In next
Read more

Life These Days in South Korea: May 22-June 1, 2025

Thursday, May 22 I finally, after what felt like a 97-hour journey, arrived back home to the goshiwon at 3am. Like the trip to Japan, this one also had many moving parts for me to be anxious about. And I was too anxious to try to take my anti-anxiety meds with me, so…
Read more

Four Days in Fukuoka: Serenity, Steak, and a Stubborn Cold

I am officially a Language School Dropout (cue the backup dancers), and I’m fine with it. I gave it my all for 18 months. But I wanted to enjoy the rest of my time in Korea, so I unenrolled from the university. That meant I had to physically leave the country and
Read more

Ferry to Fukuoka: A Slow Boat to China…to Japan

As many of you know, I recently set out to swap my student visa in South Korea for a tourist visa, allowing me to spend my final three months here relaxing without classes, schedules, or obligations. To do that, I had to physically leave the country, surrender my residence card (the one
Read more

LIfe These Days in South Korea: May 5-15, 2025

Monday, May 5 Happy Katie’s Birthday! My baby is 34 today, which is RIDICULOUS. Tuesday, May 6 Ooh, I’m being so productive! I mean, relatively speaking. For ME. It’s so nice to start rushing hrough a project to Just Get It Done…and then I realize. No. You can slow down. You can
Read more

Where Bloggers Live: What’s In My Bag

Welcome to Where Bloggers Live. “Where Bloggers Live” started out kind of like HGTV’s “Celebrities at Home,” but…with bloggers! We all like to peek behind the scenes and see inside people’s homes, interests, and lives, so every month this wonderful  group of seven bloggers family of amazing women shares their work-spaces, homes,
Read more

Life this Week in South Korea: April 28-May 3, 2025

Monday, April 28 Today I hardcore practiced my anxiety procrastination. Tuesday, April 29 Today I progressed to anxiety-based sleep procrastination. Wednesday, April 30 Big Day Today. BIG. A) I left the building. Ha ha. I had to go PLACES and DO THINGS. My eye chose today to be REALLY super-you-know-what-ing weird and
Read more

Life This Week in South Korea: April 21-27, 2025

Monday, April 21 I didn’t do much during the day. I’m slowly settling into a my new “no school” routine. Sleep til I don’t want to anymore. Breakfast. Work on blog post, photo editing, social media til lunch…then do 1-2 hours of remote work…lay down and listen to audio book, maybe dozing
Read more

Happy National Bucket List Day!

Yes, it’s a real thing — April 24th is National Bucket List Day, aka the perfect excuse for daring daydreams, irresistable intentions, and maybe even finally doing that one thing you’ve been thinking about for years (you know the one)! Bucket lists aren’t just about hugging a penguin or moving abroad (though,
Read more

Souvenirs vs. Survival: Two Ways to See the World

Those of you who have been following for awhile, know that I left the US in 2023 to move to South Korea on a 2-year student visa. My time here has been a literal roller coaster of ups and downs. Year One was filled with equal parts anxiety (read: terror) and excitement
Read more
[ctct form="17077" show_title="false"]