Hi everyone! I apologize for being so late in getting this posted - I've had a busy week, and I don't have my Monday prep morning anymore (aka Monday morning e-mail answering and blog writing) so this has been pushed back. I did start it on Sunday evening though, so I'll just pick up where I left off - you won't even notice. Happy New Year!
I don't think my parents know this, but when I was younger I used to sneak out of the house late at night and go on 'snow walks' when it was snowing outside. Not when it was blizzarding, not in freezing cold winds, but only on those special nights when just a hat, coat, boots, and mittens kept you warm enough to comfortably walk around the quiet neighborhood, with big thick snowflakes falling all around you and the sky illuminated with the reflection of the snow and streetlights. These were my sacred nights when I felt like I had the magical transformation of the neighborhood all to myself, and each step I took in my boots would be buried in snow within the hour, so no one would know I had been there (though I always figured I could bank on the paper boy to cover up my tracks if Dad ever wondered why there were snow footprints leading up to the front door when he got the paper in the morning.)
My snow walks became less frequent as I got older, but I remember one night, when I was home for Christmas break last year and coming back to the house late after visiting some friends, when it was the perfect snow walk night. The sky was almost pale orange and the snowflakes were picture perfect, looking especially luminescent against the brightly colored Christmas lights around the neighborhood. I had to get up early the next morning to go work at the cafe, so I refrained from going out walking, but I remember standing on the driveway in the snow, peacefully looking around and thinking about how beautiful winter snow is, especially at home after being away at school for so long. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and the beauty of the winter snow has always enhanced it for me.
As I prepared for my first Christmas away from home, I tried to keep myself as busy as possible so I wouldn't have much time to think about how much I would miss my family, friends, and Minnesota over Christmas this year. As the weekend grew nearer, certain songs made me tear up, teaching my kids about my family's Christmas traditions hour after hour made me sad because I knew I wouldn't be there, and we had no snow to speak of. Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive about how I would actually handle Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Lucky for me, I've made some great friends here over the past four months, and it was comforting to know that if we couldn't be at home with our friends and family, at least we had each other to stick it out with. I was planning to spend Christmas Eve in Jangheung (please note the careful and correct spelling this time - I'm not about to make another error at the bus terminal.) with Sara and some friends, and then head with Sara to Mokpo on Christmas Day for the Christmas party that our other friends Chad and Lisa graciously hosted.
Christmas Eve happened to be the last day of the school year, (each school ends on a different day, depending on the principal - my country school ended the day before) which meant that I had to say goodbye to all of my ninth graders. It was bittersweet, for though I was happy for them to be moving on to high school I knew I would miss them next year. I received some wonderful Christmas cards and even a bookstore gift card (yes, even in Korea someone made sure I got books for Christmas) from my students, and even exchanged e-mails with some of them, promising to help them with their English in high school if they needed it. Friday morning I only had to teach one class before the assembly, which consisted of an awards ceremony and a mini graduation ceremony. After that - it was winter vacation! All the students left, celebrating the end of another school year, and all the teachers celebrated also - by going out to lunch. I received a nice surprise by getting to go home right after lunch - I had expected to have to stay most of the afternoon.
So, I headed back to my place and packed up the rest of my stuff for the weekend (including remaining Christmas cookies that I was determined to get rid of after an entire week of baking and decorating for my kids) and headed to the bus terminal. I surprised Sara by arriving right as she was done with school. It was an especially cold evening, so after enjoying coffee at her local coffee shop we hurried to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for dinner, then hurried back to her place to have a cozy night. And cozy it was. We cooked a delicious stir fry, complete with some gravy to add to our potatoes, boiled some frozen green beans (one of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve dinner), toasted some wheat rolls, and broke out the wine. It was a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner, without a taste of Korea. No lefse or Swedish meatballs for me this year, but the potatoes, gravy, green beans, and rolls were spot on. We finished off our meal with Christmas cookies, and then started to watch The Holiday - classic chick flick Christmas movie. Our movie was interrupted early on with some other teacher friends who live in the area, so we switched to the more gender neutral movie Elf, and enjoyed our Christmas treats, then just sat around and chatted. It was a perfect relaxing night.
The next morning, Christmas Day, we again treated ourselves to relaxation, and after Skyping with our families (still Christmas Eve at home) I was treated to delicious home made Swedish pancakes and coffee by my gracious hostess. We finished watching the Holiday (and were inspired by the hot chocolate scene to go make our own hot chocolate to accompany the movie) as we enjoyed our breakfast. A little later, we made lunch and then got ourselves ready to head out to Mokpo, where the Christmas party with our other teacher friends were scheduled to take place.
When we walked outside we were greeted with...Christmas snow! Nice, big, white flakes that were coming down at a surprisingly fast rate. I had my beloved white Christmas after all, as the snow persisted during the hour and a half bus ride to Mokpo. and coated the city with a thick white blanket.
The Mokpo party was a lot of fun - about 12 other teacher friends and couples from orientation - here are some pictures of the decorated apartment (you can buy some Christmas decorations here, but they are few and far between - most of us has people from home send
us candy canes, stockings, etc (thanks Mom)) We had a potluck of snack foods, drinks, and desserts, which we happily m
unched on while chatting away about school, our upcoming travel plans, etc. Our contract allows us all to have 24 consecutive days off sometime during winter break, which is January and February. Virtually none of us have the same schedule - some people are splitting theirs and working in between two different country trips, some are going early in January, some in early February. From my information gathering at Christmas, the vacation hotspots this winter will be Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali), and the Phillipines. Think warm and think beach - that's what we are all planning. I myself am actually heading a bit farther west to India, but I'll talk more about that later.
So, what did I have for Christmas dinner? Pizza. Yup, around 8 PM we decided we wanted 'real food' and so the boys made a run down to the local pizza chain and brought us back our Christmas dinner. Not quite like turkey, but it was a pretty good second choice. The Korean take on western pizza is actually pretty decent, though they tend to favor some strange toppings, like sweet potato and corn...and for some reason the pizza always comes with a side of pickles.
We also had a White Elephant gift exchange (pictured) and pla
yed Pass the Present with Christmas music. We had some classic Christmas movies playing in the side room alternating with Christmas music. Between the decorations, treats, friends, music, movies, and fun it definitely felt like a holiday celebration. We made the most of being away from our families and friends by adapting to our new home, and we all had a great time. Most of the guests left around midnight, since they live in the area, and Sara and I stayed over at their place - we headed to bed shortly after.
The next morning, after a highly nutritious breakfast of cold pizza and Christmas cookies, we said our goodbyes, commenting on the success of the weekend. The snow was still coming down hard as we left, just to give us a taste of home, we figured. I slept a little on the way home, and then decided to spend the day doing what I do best - coffee shopping. Downtown was hopping, for in Korea, they celebrate Christmas only as a nominal holiday - some places get into the decorations and the colors, but its more due to Western influence than actually following traditions. Many Christian Koreans will celebrate it in their churches, but not much at home. On the contrary, Christmas is a day to eat a special 'Christmas cake' and typically it's a date night for young couples.
On the walk back to the bus stop I realized though it was still lightly snowing it really wasn't all that chilly, so I decided to take a detour and walk to the other bus stop by Art Street - my favorite quiet, cobblestone street in downtown. As I walked by I noticed the h
uge lit up Christmas tree on display in the downtown area - I hadn't ever noticed it before. As I reached the bus stop, I decided that it was the perfect night for a snow walk. I wasn't disappointed - the trees were beautiful, and everything was covered in snow.
Obviously, I've seen snow before and I know what a winter landscape looks like, but for some reason it seemed more special and magical in Korea. It was a sense of familiarity, a reminder of home, and it brought me back to my childhood snow walks. No matter how old I get or what country I'm in, snow always has a sense of fascination for me. Even if I'm freezing cold or frustrated at the road situations (ex: driving home from Green Bay in bad weather) I've always stopped to take a moment and appreciate the snow. I realized that as much as I gripe and moan about the cold sometimes, I would never want to live permanently in a warm climate all year round and not see snow.
Between my cozy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day morning, my white Christmas snow, the fun I had with my friends at our Christmas party, and my snow walk, I decided that I had had a pretty great Christmas, despite the fact that I'm hundreds of miles (and quite a few time zones) away from Minnesota. I hope you all had wonderful Christmases - many thanks to those of you who sent cards - they were such a fun surprise to receive I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's weekend - stay warm and stay safe! Happy New Year
I don't think my parents know this, but when I was younger I used to sneak out of the house late at night and go on 'snow walks' when it was snowing outside. Not when it was blizzarding, not in freezing cold winds, but only on those special nights when just a hat, coat, boots, and mittens kept you warm enough to comfortably walk around the quiet neighborhood, with big thick snowflakes falling all around you and the sky illuminated with the reflection of the snow and streetlights. These were my sacred nights when I felt like I had the magical transformation of the neighborhood all to myself, and each step I took in my boots would be buried in snow within the hour, so no one would know I had been there (though I always figured I could bank on the paper boy to cover up my tracks if Dad ever wondered why there were snow footprints leading up to the front door when he got the paper in the morning.)
My snow walks became less frequent as I got older, but I remember one night, when I was home for Christmas break last year and coming back to the house late after visiting some friends, when it was the perfect snow walk night. The sky was almost pale orange and the snowflakes were picture perfect, looking especially luminescent against the brightly colored Christmas lights around the neighborhood. I had to get up early the next morning to go work at the cafe, so I refrained from going out walking, but I remember standing on the driveway in the snow, peacefully looking around and thinking about how beautiful winter snow is, especially at home after being away at school for so long. Christmas has always been my favorite holiday, and the beauty of the winter snow has always enhanced it for me.
As I prepared for my first Christmas away from home, I tried to keep myself as busy as possible so I wouldn't have much time to think about how much I would miss my family, friends, and Minnesota over Christmas this year. As the weekend grew nearer, certain songs made me tear up, teaching my kids about my family's Christmas traditions hour after hour made me sad because I knew I wouldn't be there, and we had no snow to speak of. Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive about how I would actually handle Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Lucky for me, I've made some great friends here over the past four months, and it was comforting to know that if we couldn't be at home with our friends and family, at least we had each other to stick it out with. I was planning to spend Christmas Eve in Jangheung (please note the careful and correct spelling this time - I'm not about to make another error at the bus terminal.) with Sara and some friends, and then head with Sara to Mokpo on Christmas Day for the Christmas party that our other friends Chad and Lisa graciously hosted.
Christmas Eve happened to be the last day of the school year, (each school ends on a different day, depending on the principal - my country school ended the day before) which meant that I had to say goodbye to all of my ninth graders. It was bittersweet, for though I was happy for them to be moving on to high school I knew I would miss them next year. I received some wonderful Christmas cards and even a bookstore gift card (yes, even in Korea someone made sure I got books for Christmas) from my students, and even exchanged e-mails with some of them, promising to help them with their English in high school if they needed it. Friday morning I only had to teach one class before the assembly, which consisted of an awards ceremony and a mini graduation ceremony. After that - it was winter vacation! All the students left, celebrating the end of another school year, and all the teachers celebrated also - by going out to lunch. I received a nice surprise by getting to go home right after lunch - I had expected to have to stay most of the afternoon.
So, I headed back to my place and packed up the rest of my stuff for the weekend (including remaining Christmas cookies that I was determined to get rid of after an entire week of baking and decorating for my kids) and headed to the bus terminal. I surprised Sara by arriving right as she was done with school. It was an especially cold evening, so after enjoying coffee at her local coffee shop we hurried to the grocery store to pick up some ingredients for dinner, then hurried back to her place to have a cozy night. And cozy it was. We cooked a delicious stir fry, complete with some gravy to add to our potatoes, boiled some frozen green beans (one of my favorite parts of Christmas Eve dinner), toasted some wheat rolls, and broke out the wine. It was a wonderful Christmas Eve dinner, without a taste of Korea. No lefse or Swedish meatballs for me this year, but the potatoes, gravy, green beans, and rolls were spot on. We finished off our meal with Christmas cookies, and then started to watch The Holiday - classic chick flick Christmas movie. Our movie was interrupted early on with some other teacher friends who live in the area, so we switched to the more gender neutral movie Elf, and enjoyed our Christmas treats, then just sat around and chatted. It was a perfect relaxing night.
The next morning, Christmas Day, we again treated ourselves to relaxation, and after Skyping with our families (still Christmas Eve at home) I was treated to delicious home made Swedish pancakes and coffee by my gracious hostess. We finished watching the Holiday (and were inspired by the hot chocolate scene to go make our own hot chocolate to accompany the movie) as we enjoyed our breakfast. A little later, we made lunch and then got ourselves ready to head out to Mokpo, where the Christmas party with our other teacher friends were scheduled to take place.
When we walked outside we were greeted with...Christmas snow! Nice, big, white flakes that were coming down at a surprisingly fast rate. I had my beloved white Christmas after all, as the snow persisted during the hour and a half bus ride to Mokpo. and coated the city with a thick white blanket.
The Mokpo party was a lot of fun - about 12 other teacher friends and couples from orientation - here are some pictures of the decorated apartment (you can buy some Christmas decorations here, but they are few and far between - most of us has people from home send
us candy canes, stockings, etc (thanks Mom)) We had a potluck of snack foods, drinks, and desserts, which we happily m
unched on while chatting away about school, our upcoming travel plans, etc. Our contract allows us all to have 24 consecutive days off sometime during winter break, which is January and February. Virtually none of us have the same schedule - some people are splitting theirs and working in between two different country trips, some are going early in January, some in early February. From my information gathering at Christmas, the vacation hotspots this winter will be Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia (Bali), and the Phillipines. Think warm and think beach - that's what we are all planning. I myself am actually heading a bit farther west to India, but I'll talk more about that later.So, what did I have for Christmas dinner? Pizza. Yup, around 8 PM we decided we wanted 'real food' and so the boys made a run down to the local pizza chain and brought us back our Christmas dinner. Not quite like turkey, but it was a pretty good second choice. The Korean take on western pizza is actually pretty decent, though they tend to favor some strange toppings, like sweet potato and corn...and for some reason the pizza always comes with a side of pickles.
We also had a White Elephant gift exchange (pictured) and pla
yed Pass the Present with Christmas music. We had some classic Christmas movies playing in the side room alternating with Christmas music. Between the decorations, treats, friends, music, movies, and fun it definitely felt like a holiday celebration. We made the most of being away from our families and friends by adapting to our new home, and we all had a great time. Most of the guests left around midnight, since they live in the area, and Sara and I stayed over at their place - we headed to bed shortly after.The next morning, after a highly nutritious breakfast of cold pizza and Christmas cookies, we said our goodbyes, commenting on the success of the weekend. The snow was still coming down hard as we left, just to give us a taste of home, we figured. I slept a little on the way home, and then decided to spend the day doing what I do best - coffee shopping. Downtown was hopping, for in Korea, they celebrate Christmas only as a nominal holiday - some places get into the decorations and the colors, but its more due to Western influence than actually following traditions. Many Christian Koreans will celebrate it in their churches, but not much at home. On the contrary, Christmas is a day to eat a special 'Christmas cake' and typically it's a date night for young couples.
On the walk back to the bus stop I realized though it was still lightly snowing it really wasn't all that chilly, so I decided to take a detour and walk to the other bus stop by Art Street - my favorite quiet, cobblestone street in downtown. As I walked by I noticed the h
uge lit up Christmas tree on display in the downtown area - I hadn't ever noticed it before. As I reached the bus stop, I decided that it was the perfect night for a snow walk. I wasn't disappointed - the trees were beautiful, and everything was covered in snow.Obviously, I've seen snow before and I know what a winter landscape looks like, but for some reason it seemed more special and magical in Korea. It was a sense of familiarity, a reminder of home, and it brought me back to my childhood snow walks. No matter how old I get or what country I'm in, snow always has a sense of fascination for me. Even if I'm freezing cold or frustrated at the road situations (ex: driving home from Green Bay in bad weather) I've always stopped to take a moment and appreciate the snow. I realized that as much as I gripe and moan about the cold sometimes, I would never want to live permanently in a warm climate all year round and not see snow.
Between my cozy Christmas Eve and Christmas Day morning, my white Christmas snow, the fun I had with my friends at our Christmas party, and my snow walk, I decided that I had had a pretty great Christmas, despite the fact that I'm hundreds of miles (and quite a few time zones) away from Minnesota. I hope you all had wonderful Christmases - many thanks to those of you who sent cards - they were such a fun surprise to receive I hope you all have a wonderful New Year's weekend - stay warm and stay safe! Happy New Year
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