The End of the Holiday Season

Getting back to school was great. I missed the kids and I was ready to see them again. Of course, the two weeks off were also great, even though I didn’t leave the country and I spent most of my time off in Gwangyang, where I live. It's just that I was really itching to get back in the classroom with my students. I was in such a hyper, happy mood especially those first few days back!

Monday night, a huge group of us went out for hajeongook, the delicious pig spine soup. It was a great way to welcome everyone back who was gone on vacation. The rest of the week, Dan and I mostly stayed in because I had to work and I get really cranky when I don’t sleep enough. :) Friday night was a fun night out.  We met at the Korean BBQ place we all love so much and then went to String afterwards. It was Rock’s birthday so there was a good crowd there. All of the regulars and a few out-of-towners were there too. 

On Saturday, Dan and I woke up around 11am, got ready and then took a bus to Daegu. He had to sign back in on post, as it was his last day on vacation. We raced around the city, going to the base he needed to sign in on and to the one he lives on. We also went to the PX where we randomly ran into a girl I went to high school with! I knew she was in the Army and she got in touch with me on Facebook when she got to Korea and realized I live here too. Such a small world! We were at the PX to buy a few things friends wanted as well as a few things for me. One of the things Dan picked up was a Go Pro camera for Seth. There will be more on that later. There wasn’t time to get fish and chips, which was a huge bummer, but as long as I get them a time or two more before he leaves, I’ll be more than happy. :) Plus, the PX has a Taco Bell and a Subway, so I ordered both to go. Yay for cheap, delicious fast food!!

We took a bus back to Gwangyang that night and went straight to the same Korean BBQ we were at the night before because Dan was hungry- he did not order delicious fast food as I did. It was pretty funny when we walked in because we saw Lizzie and Fritz sitting there. They were finished eating, but we sat with them anyway and ordered more food. Then we took our bags back to my room and met up with them and others at Fish and Grill. Fish and Grill, I think I’ve mentioned before, is a bar/restaurant with soju cocktails. They bring out pitchers of a fruity, slushy, juice drink that already has a bit of soju in it and we order an extra bottle of it to add in each pitcher. They come in lots of fruit flavors and they are quite delicious. 

Sunday was supposed to be a lazy day, and was until about 5pm. At that time, Seth came to tell us that a group of people were going out to play screen golf. Dan had never been and wanted to try it out. I’ve gone before and was rubbish, but I went to hang out. We were there from about 7 till 10 and then we went to Club Davey to make plans for this weekend; more on that later too. 

Monday was a regular school day. Dan was STILL here, which was great, but it made teaching a bit more annoying because I would have rather been at back home with him, still, it made going home great. Plus, my kids make teaching so worth it. For instance, Monday morning, I taught the 6 year old Kindergarteners two classes in a row, so we used that time to type up their presentation speeches which they will recite in front of parents, as a sort of recruitment tool to get more students at the end of February. This presentation, of course, is in English and my little 6 year olds were busy typing away for over an hour IN ENGLISH!! Mind you, they weren’t doing it very well, because they still haven’t learned how to type in Korean, and they really have no idea where the keys are. Still, this is only their second time, and they are already doing pretty well!

Tuesday was an exceptionally great day at school. Ivy told Kate and me the day before that we would be going to Gwnagyang Eup- the city next to ours- the following morning to go ice skating with our 9 kindergarten students. Since Dan was still here, I asked her if it was okay if he came with us. She said it was fine and Kate had the same idea so Tuesday morning, Kate and I walked to school with Dan and Seth. Dan was excited because he had never gone before and there was a “trip” to go near Christmas that fell through.

We got to school and the kids went crazy over my wolf hat/scarf/mittens combo as well as over the new people we brought. Some of the kids had seen Dan before, but it was still exciting for them to see another waygook (foreigner) so closely. Kate and I rode with Ivy and the kids while the boys rode with Big Mama, our boss (no we did not give her that name) and Brian. When we got to the ice rink, the guys were already there in light pink skates and Dan even wore a matching helmet. It was quite a site, but it got better. 

Seth brought along the Go Pro camera Dan picked up for him and he took lots of fun footage of our Kindergartners trying to learn how to skate. Both Seth and Dan were very helpful with the kids, taking them around the rink and being great sports about everything. Because of this, the school paid for their rental tickets and Big Mama left her car for us and Brian to take back to i-Sponge when we were ready! We went to leave a few minutes after the kids left, but then Seth decided to ask if we could use the go karts they had set up just in front of the skating rink. After we paid, we hopped in go karts, which of course, was also filmed. It was pretty fun. While Seth filmed, we took turns shouting “GO PRO!” into the camera and Dan had fun pretending to be The Stig (Top Gear reference). 

That night, Dan took a bus back to Daegu. He has three days of easing back into Army life before coming back down to Gwangyang Friday night!

This weekend is Lunar New Year, and since most Koreans spend this time with their families, much like Chuseok, we were told the slopes would be pretty empty. With that in mind, we decided to take a trip up to Seoul and head to Yongpyong, where the 2018 Winter Olympics are set to be held. Because of the holiday, we get Monday and Tuesday off, so we figured it was well worth the trip north. Unfortunately, we received misinformation. Maybe that’s true for the actual holiday days of Monday and Tuesday, but EVERYWHERE was booked up. We thought we were safe trying to make reservations just a week in advance but we were sadly mistaken. We even tried having some Korean friends ask for us. :( 

The new plan is to drive up to Muju EARLY Saturday morning and hit the slopes there all day Saturday till Sunday afternoon then come back to Gwangyang. We will have two or three cars full of people so it should make for an interesting trip! Plus, Dan will have my new camera by then so I’ll get to play with that! As for Yongpyong, it was a huge bummer to us all, but maybe we will be able to squeeze it in one weekend. Since we’re getting back on Sunday, there should be time to unwind and relax before going back to work on Wednesday. 

Of course, I’ll let you all know how that trip goes! I'll also have my new camera so prepare yourself for far too many pictures!! :D Until then, stay warm!