Christmas in Korea

This weekend was great. We had our Gwangyang Secret Santa gift exchange on Thursday night, which was a blast, Dan and I went back to Muju with a few friends for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then I spent Christmas Day with Dan, making yummy food and Skyping with the family!

Now let’s back track, so I can really fill you in.

Like last year, we had a Secret Santa gift exchange. A few weeks ago, we all went to dinner and then to String, where we drew names. It was supposed to be a secret, but a few people traded, others forgot who they had, and still others just hinted at who they had, like Pete. Oh well! So much for the surprise! :) Pete drew my name and so he asked me to go shopping with him because even though we have been friends for about a year and a half, he had no idea what to get me, so that is how the two of us spent last Monday night. Although I gave him crap for not being able to think of anything to get me, I must say it was nice to pick out my present, because those who know Pete know he likes some pretty weird things. Haha It also made Thursday night that much more exciting because I couldn’t wait to actually be given my AWESOME Wolf hat/scarf/mittens combo.

On Thursday some of us went out for Hajeongook, which, if I haven’t mentioned it before, is soooo delicious. It’s a Korean soup dish, known as hangover soup, served in a ceramic hot pot. The broth is delicious, and there are lots of veggies, like onions, cabbage, and garlic, several spices and best of all, lots of pork, still on the bone. It reminds me of home, because it is sort of like stew, and it’s one of very few Korean dishes that isn’t spicy, at least it isn’t at the restaurant we always go to get it at.   

After dinner, we all went to String and played a massive game of Apples to Apples. I think there were about 15 of us playing. After we got bored of this, we decided it was time to pass out presents. Rob gave his gift first and so it went from there until everyone had given and opened their present one at a time. Last year, we all just gave and opened gifts at once, so I liked taking the time to let each person see what they got before moving on. I think it made everything more meaningful, and also funny, depending on who got what.

I took some pictures of that and you can see a few below.

PRESENTS!!!

Kate with her "night vision" light up sunglasses! haha

BEST hat/scarf/mittens EVER!! :D

Ugly.. I mean Christmas Sweater buddies! haha

After the presents were all passed out and opened, we drank and talked and laughed for a while more before Dan and I went home.

Kate and I did not have to work at our usual time on Friday because our school was having a garage sale that evening. At least that’s what they called it. All the kids were told about the “party” a few weeks in advance. They were asked to bring in things they no longer wanted. Then they were given pretend money based on how many stickers they received since last Christmas. They could then use that “money” to buy toys, clothes, books and games from one of the classrooms upstairs, or they could stay downstairs and “pay” to get their face or hand painted or buy some food.

For the Halloween party, Kate and I were on face painting duty, which was a lot of fun. We aren’t sure why, whether we were being punished for Kate’s crappy job on Halloween (Kidding!) or some of the Koreans just wanted to paint because they thought it was fun, or easy. All we know is we did not get to paint like last time. We were put at the kimbop (Korean sushi, sort of) making station and it was tough. We made it for two hours straight and there were several times, especially during the first hour, where kids and their parents had to wait because soooo many people wanted our glorious kimbop!! Haha We made it fun though.

Friday night, Kate, Lizzie, and Iain all needed to get to Suncheon to take the midnight bus to Incheon Airport so we all just chilled at Club Davey (Lizzie and Iain’s apartment) even after Pete left to drive them to Suncheon.  I learned how to play Risk on the Xbox. Weird. Haha. Luckily, I already knew the game setup thanks to a game my younger brothers showed me online called World Wars 2, which I have spent way too much time playing. In fact, I couldn’t remember the name of the game, so I just had to Google Addicting Games’ website to find, and then of course, play the game! Haha

Saturday, Christmas Eve, Dan and I left bright and early, about 7am, in Lizzie and Iain’s car (THANKS AGAIN SOOO MUCH, YOU GUYS!!!) to Muju with Seth, and Julia. We made it up to Muju relatively easily, Thanks to Pete’s GPS,  although Julia and I held onto each other a bit in the back seat! Haha We arrived at Muju Ski School, the name of the rental shop and motel we were staying at. It was too early to check in so we just changed there and left everything else in the car. Then some of the workers dropped us off near the Mansun-base with our gear and we headed towards the ski lift and up our first mountain.

Now, last time I was in Muju, I only made it through one run because my first one took me so long and I didn’t want to make the others wait, so I just sat alone for a while like a creep. :) This time, I was determined to do better than that, but first, I wanted to help Julia, who had never been snowboarding. So when we first got off the ski lift, I dragged my board to the side bank and worked with her on balancing and doing the pendulum motion I struggled with at first. Seth and Dan were busy skiing and snowboarding but they did stop from time to time to give her pointers. After about a half hour or so with Julia, I was itching to get on a board myself and see if I forget everything Dan had taught me last time, or if I could improve. This board had my legs set much farther apart than the one I first learned on, which made it a lot easier to push my body in whatever direction I wanted to go in, but it did a number on my knees.  

I was WAYYYYYY better this time around. I got up on my own almost every single time and I wiped out and fell A LOT less often.  Dan took some videos of me on his camcorder and they are both below, just because I was so stinking proud of myself for doing so much better and having a great attitude about it this time around. :)

Watch me go!! Haha As you see some pro whizz by me... :o

That's really me!! :D

Shortly after my epic first run of the day, a piece of the binding on my board snapped off when Dan was tightening the board to my leg, at least I think that's what it was.. haha This meant (1) I would have to keep the board on until I was finished boarding, or (2) I’d have to call the rental shop and have someone bring me a new board. I have to give a HUGE shout out to Ivy, my co-teacher who brought Dan and me up to Muju last time. I called her at least 8 times Saturday morning first trying to figure out what the shop workers were asking when we first got to the ski school and where I was supposed to meet the guy bringing me a new board. It was an adventure, to say the least, and I was a bit cranky and discouraged by the time I finally got a second board. Let’s just say, there was quite a bit of miscommunication between Ivy, the guy trying to reach me and myself. Anyway, once I got the second board, I was ready to get back out there.

This board was a lot more like the one I used my first time out. The board itself was longer, but my legs were closer together. This one was definitely harder to adjust to using. I found I could keep myself moving more easily on this board, and I could move in more of a surfing motion than a pendulum motion, but this really freaked me out because I was going a lot faster and my body was balancing from side to side instead of forwards and backwards. Plus, I was on my own for this entire run, except at the very beginning, so I got a lot more discouraged, especially when I fell a few times while on the last big hill that was icy and REALLY hard to stand up on. Haha UUUUUGGHHHH!! I was sooo cranky when I got stuck there and I took it all out on Dan. Sorry :( Good thing he’s a good sport! ;) 

 Group shot, before we started for the day

Santa and Julia sitting in the snow.. on purpose.. ha ha ha

After this run, all four of us met up and took another half hour trying to get ahold of the guys in the van to take us back to the ski school. We were having the same miscommunication problems as I did a bit earlier in the day.

After we finally made it back, we got our stuff from the car and checked in to our rooms for the night. Then we went to a BBQ place to get some fried chicken and French fries. After that, we spent the next several hours in our respective rooms napping, showering and watching amazing, I mean terrible, TV. Dan and Seth wanted to go out for midnight skiing so Julia and I hung out in one room and snacked while we watched a CREEPY movie called The Others; I do not recommend it! We ended up passing out pretty early. The guys got back after 2am and then we all just crashed for the night.

You can't really read it, but it says, "BBQ Best Believable Quality"

When we woke up, we headed back to Gwangyang. I went to my place to clean up and get settled. When Dan came back a bit later, we decided to have a Chrismasesque dinner. We made chicken, cut that up and then added it, peas and gravy to stuffing to bake. It was really yummy and the closest thing we were going to get to a real Christmas dinner! While we ate, we watched Elf because I was in a Christmasy mood and we still had some time to kill before Dad and the kids we ready to Skype!

Of course, not everyone was awake right away, first it was just Dad, Michael and Abbie, but the others got up quickly, because if there is ever an easy morning to get up, it is Christmas morning! We Skyped for over two hours! It was so great to see all of my brothers and sisters and chat with Mom and Dad while they drank coffee, opened presents and laughed with/at me. I told Dan I wanted him to Skype with us. Since we were originally supposed to be going home to meet each other’s family, this was the next best thing. He was a great sport about it and he got over the initial awkwardness pretty quickly.

I also woke up at 6am for a quick twenty minute Skype session with my Dad’s family who stopped by the house later that day (home time). I got to chat with my Grandma, Uncle Don, Aunt Karen, and Samantha too!

I have officially lived in Korea for over a year now and I can now say that I’ve spent a Christmas away from home (last Christmas I went home). I must say that this Christmas was pretty great. I was still able to feel like part of my family and take part in all of the fun we have on Christmas day back home. I am incredibly thankful for my family and friends, both here in Korea and at home, who made this Christmas such a good one. I am very lucky girl to have the things I have and the experiences I have and I am so in love with my life!

This week Dan and I are both on vacation and we are taking lazy to a whole new level. We are both looking forward to this weekend, and ringing in the New Year with some of our friends! :) Then next week, we’ll be going up to Seoul to snowboard again!


I hope you all had a great Christmas, and I'll be back in 2012!!! :D