Hello all...time for another installment to update on how the holidays were spent here on the other side of the world. Fortunately, it ended up being a much merrier Christmas holiday than I expected. A little extra time off to spend with new friends and "family" that I have made since my arrival in Korea 9 months ago. I am still finding it hard to believe that so much time has passed already and that there are only 3 months left to my contract, and another 3 more after that until my return to my homeland for a much needed rest and catch up session with my "Canada People" :D
I just finished a 3 day weekend, which is a nice change from the usual 1 day off a week. Last week was a bit of a whirlwind, spending time doing some last minute shopping and holiday baking. You would not believe how hard it is to find baking ingredients in this country! It took me a week and 5 stores just to find coconut and rice crispies! Can you believe it!? I will say though that having a lovely boy in my life at this time of year did wonders in making this holiday season much brighter than it would have been under other circumstances. The holiday baking was to make some chocolate mice for his stocking this year..just like granny Squires used to make...well, maybe not just like, but a reasonable Korean facsimile anyways...it was well worth the effort though, as they did turn out edible in the end...after much hassle with the chocolate coating. They just don't do parowax here in Korea. But a burned batch and a few experiments with melting later and they were done...at the very last minute I might add...
The weekend was spent with a romantic and delicious dinner at one of the 2 local Thai restaurants (my favourite :D) and the exchange of lovers tokens, and then it was off to Daejeon for my whirlwind of visiting. Amazing how at the end of a holiday you feel more tired than when you started! However, it was great to see Kerri and Chris, my Korean family, 2 fabulous people from Scotland and Oz respectively. Being as they are so far away, I don't get to see them nearly as much as I would like, but it is always time well spent when we can make the journeys required to enjoy each other's company. We spent the day Monday shopping for secret Santa gifts and then went to a party with the Daejeon teachers crew. Good times were had by all, no small thanks to Chris and his party games, pictures of which can be seen on Facebook. We ended the night at a bar ironically named Santa Claus for some dancing and general reveling in the holiday spirit. Fun times :)
Monday it was back to Busan for Christmas dinner at the Seaman's Club. A rare treat to find a turkey dinner in this country and it was enjoyed by all in attendance (except for the OYSTER stuffing, EW!) Otherwise it was a great meal enjoyed with good friends and a fantastic way to round up the holiday festivities.
Today it is sadly back to the grind, but only for a few days and then it's another 4 day weekend to ring in the New Year. Plans are still not solidified, but the main thing is to spend time with the people you care about so I expect this year's celebrations will be very enjoyable regardless of where the evening takes us.
That's about all the news this week but I will be back with more updates in 2008. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and all the best in 2008! Can't wait to see all the folks from home...the summer is not so very far away. Lots of love from Korea! xo
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Here goes...
After recently receiving a suggestion that I might want to consider a blog for people to keep up to date at home, I have decided to shut down my awful Myspace blog, which consisted mostly of me blathering on about nothing in particular. Friends and family may find this an interesting way to find out all the goings on on this side of the planet. It is my hope that I will be able to keep posting on a regular basis, provided that my life here continues to be a source of new and interesting experiences, which thus far it has proven to be.
Life has been very busy lately. I find myself working very long hours and the future just promises to get busier as the January intensive period is fast approaching. Just when I thought I hardly have a moment to myself, the moments are about to get scarcer. No matter though, thankfully this intensive period is sandwiched in between what are promising to be two very fun-filled vacations...and I am currently t-minus 3 months and 19 days to the end of contract #1. It's hard to believe it will very soon be a full year since I left home. With the hectic schedule at work, the time has literally flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was waving goodbye to Mom as I prepared for my first international flight, passport in hand and tears in my eyes. So far it has been quite the adventure.
So on to the good stuff. For those who have not been kept in the loop, there are 2 vacations approaching. Christmas break will be 3 days followed by 3 days of work and an additional 4 days of play! It has been almost 3 months since the last vacation, in fact the longest stretch of the year without a break to the monotony, so I am really looking forward to some R & R. The weekend of the 21st and 22nd are to be spent with the lovely new man in my life (the subject of the aforementioned gentle prodding that in essence has given life to this new creation I am embarking on today). This followed by a couple of days relaxing in Daejeon with my Korean "family", a bunch of amazing people that I have the privilege of callingthe closest friends that I have met since coming to Korea. Though they are far away, Daejeon and Seoul (2 hours and 3 hours away by train, respectively) we have managed to get in a visit nearly every month since arriving here at the same time. Though I do admit that I am sad to be so far away from my family at this time of the year, I am very happy to have some great people to surround myself with, and I know that having them around for the holidays will help make the season a lot brighter. The New Year vacation is shaping up to be a skiing/snowboarding weekend outside of Seoul followed by....well, not too sure at this point. Plans are still being decided for the big last night of 2007, though I expect decisions will be made in fairly short order.
But it is the second vacation that I am getting really excited about. The lovely aforementioned man has come through in a big way by finding some very-hard-to-come-by tickets to...OKINAWA! It literally took the better part of a week of searching before tickets could be found, being as this break is one of the most popular vacationing seasons of the year for Koreans, and most of the seats to anywhere exotic were sold out two months in advance. For those of you not familiar with Okinawa, it is in the southernmost part of Japan, and is a subtropical destination, boasting white sand beaches and temperatures of around 20 to 25 year round. A welcome change for mid-February. Perfect weather, in fact, for me, since I find temperatures in the 30's to be a little warmer than is comfortable. Here is a little preview of the destination:
Oh yes...be jealous ;)
In other news, the Tae Kwon Do is going well. I have completed by blue belt grading, with my brown belt being next on the itinerary, likely that will be happening sometime in January. Moon Gwan Jang Nim (master) is expecting that I will be doing my black belt grading by the spring...I wish that I had as much confidence in my abilities as he does...but we shall see how I progress over the next few months.
Well, that's just about all the news for now. I will leave you with a few of my favourite images taken from the last few months. Until next time, Annyonghi Kaseyo :)
The sprawling metropolis...just one view...it stretches out in all directions like this..this shot was taken from Busan tower.
My lovely orientation peeps, some of which I will be sharing the holidays with...you know who you are ;)
Orange Class at Halloween...the cutest kindies EVER!
Two adorable Canadians...who might they be?
Life has been very busy lately. I find myself working very long hours and the future just promises to get busier as the January intensive period is fast approaching. Just when I thought I hardly have a moment to myself, the moments are about to get scarcer. No matter though, thankfully this intensive period is sandwiched in between what are promising to be two very fun-filled vacations...and I am currently t-minus 3 months and 19 days to the end of contract #1. It's hard to believe it will very soon be a full year since I left home. With the hectic schedule at work, the time has literally flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was waving goodbye to Mom as I prepared for my first international flight, passport in hand and tears in my eyes. So far it has been quite the adventure.
So on to the good stuff. For those who have not been kept in the loop, there are 2 vacations approaching. Christmas break will be 3 days followed by 3 days of work and an additional 4 days of play! It has been almost 3 months since the last vacation, in fact the longest stretch of the year without a break to the monotony, so I am really looking forward to some R & R. The weekend of the 21st and 22nd are to be spent with the lovely new man in my life (the subject of the aforementioned gentle prodding that in essence has given life to this new creation I am embarking on today). This followed by a couple of days relaxing in Daejeon with my Korean "family", a bunch of amazing people that I have the privilege of callingthe closest friends that I have met since coming to Korea. Though they are far away, Daejeon and Seoul (2 hours and 3 hours away by train, respectively) we have managed to get in a visit nearly every month since arriving here at the same time. Though I do admit that I am sad to be so far away from my family at this time of the year, I am very happy to have some great people to surround myself with, and I know that having them around for the holidays will help make the season a lot brighter. The New Year vacation is shaping up to be a skiing/snowboarding weekend outside of Seoul followed by....well, not too sure at this point. Plans are still being decided for the big last night of 2007, though I expect decisions will be made in fairly short order.
But it is the second vacation that I am getting really excited about. The lovely aforementioned man has come through in a big way by finding some very-hard-to-come-by tickets to...OKINAWA! It literally took the better part of a week of searching before tickets could be found, being as this break is one of the most popular vacationing seasons of the year for Koreans, and most of the seats to anywhere exotic were sold out two months in advance. For those of you not familiar with Okinawa, it is in the southernmost part of Japan, and is a subtropical destination, boasting white sand beaches and temperatures of around 20 to 25 year round. A welcome change for mid-February. Perfect weather, in fact, for me, since I find temperatures in the 30's to be a little warmer than is comfortable. Here is a little preview of the destination:
Oh yes...be jealous ;)
In other news, the Tae Kwon Do is going well. I have completed by blue belt grading, with my brown belt being next on the itinerary, likely that will be happening sometime in January. Moon Gwan Jang Nim (master) is expecting that I will be doing my black belt grading by the spring...I wish that I had as much confidence in my abilities as he does...but we shall see how I progress over the next few months.
Well, that's just about all the news for now. I will leave you with a few of my favourite images taken from the last few months. Until next time, Annyonghi Kaseyo :)
The sprawling metropolis...just one view...it stretches out in all directions like this..this shot was taken from Busan tower.
My lovely orientation peeps, some of which I will be sharing the holidays with...you know who you are ;)
Orange Class at Halloween...the cutest kindies EVER!
Two adorable Canadians...who might they be?
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