A Korean Christmas

Merry belated Christmas!

Wow. I can hardly believe that I let the whole Christmas season go by without posting a thing.
It might be due in part to the fact that Christmas didn't really come to Korea. Sure, there was the random carol played at Home Plus, and the Santa on stilts ( see picture below) but on Christmas Eve, as I walked home from work, the only things that were different were the red and green balloon display in front of the bakery and all of the students milling about (Usually high school students don't leave school until 9:30 or 10pm).

David and I managed to create our own little festivities, which included dinner out on Christmas Eve, a pancake breakfast, Clark Griswold , phone calls home and a slightly excessive amount of chocolate. Cate somehow managed to pick up a cold the day before Christmas however, and so wasn't in the best of spirits.

Now it is the end of December! Here is a little rundown of the events in the next 2 months ( and yes, I said only TWO months). Tomorrow is my last day of real school until mid February! Unreal, right? The students have winter vacation and so there are no teaching days for ~ 6 weeks. I will take vacation( pure bliss!) from the 31st until the 4th, and then I have an English Camp for 3 days, followed by 3 weeks of teaching at a Korean-English teacher's training course. This is followed by a week off for Chinese New Year - which brings us to the middle of February. In case you have forgotten, we are finished our contract here on February 29th.
On a personal schedule, tomorrow afternoon I am getting my wisdom teeth pulled. Well, two of them, followed by the other two the next Friday. I am slightly nervous because neither the dentist, nor any of the assistants speak any English. Hopefully there are no emergency situations that require communication! I can't help but laugh at my Korean teachers lack of reassurance regarding my appointment, " ahh, i think there will be blood pouring in your mouth. Everywhere." Great.

Then, on Monday our little family is hoping to make a trip to the east coast to stay in a nice hotel and watch the first sunrise of the year ( and the first in Korea). This is apparently a Korean New Years tradition and I absolutely adore it. Now as long as we can get tickets for the train....

So, yes, our time here is winding down. As excited as we are to return to Canadian soil, we're also feeling really sad about leaving. As strange and funny and frustrating as this place can be, it has been our home for almost a full year. We have made so many memories here, had to face some huge obstacles that have undoubtedly shaped us, and have learned an amazing amount about life in another part of the world. We will miss so much about this country and this culture - things which I will tell you about someday.

I hope that each of you had a bright, happy, love-filled Christmas season, and that the New Year finds you and your loved ones well.

Enjoy the pictures!


Strange Santa on stilts

My gorgeous family.


Christmas dinner
Look at her licking her lips!

And quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen. Cate with a Korean baby carrier. She loves it.