메리 크리스마스

Google Translate tells me that's Merry Christmas in Hangul (Korean alphabet)!

NOTE: I have a lot of free time on my days off so I played with my blog layout. Click the title of the latest post to read the whole thing! Sorry to some of my not-so-technologically-advanced family members :)

Like I said before, I had to work Christmas Eve until 7:00pm. I went into work with somewhat of a bummed mentality, but it turned out to be a great morning because....

I WAS SANTA CLAUS!

Yep, that's me in the Santa suit! Bet you never thought you'd see the day where a 5'3" blonde female would dress up as the big guy! Of course all the kiddos knew it was me, but I still had a blast. I got to sit in the gym for an hour and call them up one-by-one to give them a present and take a picture. They were all so excited. It definitely got me in the holiday spirit :)

I also got a ton of goodies like cakes and cookies from some students. Very sweet. A lot of my classes had exams so it was an easy day. I promised Blue class new balloons this week after most of theirs popped during science last Monday, so that was their Christmas gift from me. I got to snap this gem...

Seriously, be cuter.

Christmas Eve after work and Christmas Day were spent in Incheon watching Christmas movies, hanging out with new friends, and eating Chinese/Indian food. Not the most traditional of holidays, but that will make me appreciate it so much more when I'm home next year :)

The one good thing about my Christmas in Korea was that it SNOWED! It snows all the time here, but I couldn't tell you the last time I had a White Christmas. YAY!

I've told some people my plans for New Years Eve, but I'll wait to reveal it publicly once I have some pictures. I hope everyone's holiday was wonderful! Much love<3

I'm letting myself be homesick...

...for a few hours, and that's IT! As much as I'm enjoying Korea, it's hard not to get a little homesick when Christmas is a few days away, especially since it's my second one away from home (sorry family!). No Christmas lights, wreaths, trees, bells, cookies, etc. No neighbors with insanely tacky inflatable Santa displays. NO YULE LOG :(

But, on the bright side of things, I've made some awesome friends who I'll spend the holidays with and make the best of it. The kiddies at school are fun too as they all still believe in Santa and are learning Christmas carols and are very eager to sing them every chance they get. We do phone teaching once a week where we call the little ones and talk for 5 minutes. Last Thursday, when I called sweet little Jeungyeun, I asked what songs she learned in class and she proceeded to sing me an adorable, high-pitched, 5 year old version of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas"...the whole song. It was hilarious and adorable and I love her. I also got to bake some NUTELLA christmas cookies tonight with a friend who is fortunate enough to have an oven. I guess I shouldn't complain too much, but I do miss my family a TON right now. Especially when Mom sends me funny videos of her, Maggie, and Terry's faces in Elf costumes dancing or tells me stories about chasing Maggie when she steals cookies and then tripping and falling on the floor.

Tomorrow is my last day of work before my week-long vacation! It's sucky that I have to work until 7pm on Christmas Eve, but I get to spend my day with cuties like this...

Wonseuk, one of my favorites. Shh don't tell the others!

Selina insisted I wear her sheep hat. How could I say no?

Please excuse the bags under my eyes. I have been wickedly sick for a few days and by 5:30pm on Friday I was ready to crash. Which I did, but not until about 9:00pm. This weekend consisted of a lot of tea drinking, sleeping, a LITTLE exploring/shopping, and seeing The Hobbit for a friend's birthday. I'm feeling better, but having 8 days away from coughing, sneezing kiddos will do me some good.

Happy Holidays to everyone! Love & miss you all so much. Eat a ton of delicious food for me this week :) I'll be chowing down on kimchi, dumpling soup, kimchi, meat, white rice, more kimchi, AND the cookies I baked :)

Seoul Mates

Wouldn't that have been a cute name for my blog if I met some gorgeous, perfect man here? Oh wait, I'm in Asia. Perhaps once I return to South America...

Instead, the title of this post is referring to the friends I made in Seoul this weekend, and the awesome time I had! I spent the day shopping and frolicking around Myeongdong, the neighborhood in Seoul that has the potential to ruin my dream of saving money. Aside from the usual H&M, Forever21, Body Shop, etc, there are a million Korean shops, street vendors, and even a CAT CAFE to suck you in and take your money. Cat Cafe? Stay tuned for THAT post. Later on, we met up with some more people for dinner, drinks, and a night out. We started in Itaewon at a friend's birthday then made our way to Hongdae, where I've been dying to go since I got here. It's a cute little neighborhood with tons of bars & clubs that stay open until the wee hours of the morning. I only made it until 4:30am this time before I rounded up the troops to taxi back to my place for a full fledged slumber party that even included Spice Girls music in the morning.

Friends!

Duh

At what age does it stop being appropriate to take girl pics in the bathroom?

This week at work has been relatively uneventful. Tuesday marked my 1 month anniversary, and I celebrated by opening a bank account and getting my very own Korean bank card. YAY! Science is still my favorite class, and this week I had the pleasure of teaching static electricity. In translation, I got to play with balloons for a whole hour. Blue class went absolutely nuts over those things.

My second Christmas away from home is quickly approaching. I work Christmas Eve, but I plan on spending Christmas Day with good friends & good food and a few Skype dates!

Why is your hair yellow?

That is the question I get asked on a daily basis. Well, that and "why are your eyes blue/gray/a weird color?".

Today marks my 3 week anniversary at SLP! Everything is still going well. I finally know most of my students names. The only difficult ones are the kindergarten classes that I only see once a week and still use Korean names. Hyunsun, Hyungjun, Seogyeong, Yaeun.....multiply that by 10 and that's how many of those I have to try to remember, let alone pronounce! The kindy science classes are definitely my favorite, albeit most tiring, classes of the day. They all hug me and love me and sing me songs. It's a great 50 minutes! Also, I get to make "science" crafts like flying Santas!!

Bumjun, one of my favorites

Ahrim LOVES to play with my yellow hair

This lil nugget from the youngest class (3 yrs old) KILLS me. She even had a tail.

My coworkers are wonderful which makes my job even more enjoyable. Several of them have shown me different parts of Seoul and introduced me to some fellow foreign teachers around the area. I finally mastered the subway alone and rode it all the way to the other side of the city to see a friend! GO ME! Some of the Korean co-teachers took me and another girl out for nakji (spicy octopus) and makgeolli (korean rice wine). It was delicious, but almost painfully spicy! Definitely one of the more adventurous things I've eaten!

I ATE THAT

I'm a little homesick this week because my big brother got ENGAGED (ahhh!) and I'm not around to celebrate and be excited with the fam. But, it's such amazing, happy, wonderful news and I'm SO happy for him and his FIANCÉ, Kelly! 

Temperatures have gotten down to around 3 degrees Fahrenheit here, yet it's been in the 70's at home. NOT NICE. Please send some warmer weather (or at least warm thoughts) my way! I had to buy a second comforter for my bed! 

Love & joy to everyone at home :)

My Apartment!

As requested, I made a little video tour of my nugget-sized apartment! It's not as nugget-sized as I expected and I'm already feeling at home.

Disclaimers:
1) I apologize for the beeping noise in the beginning. When I close my door, it deadbolts itself shut and beeps to let me know that I'm all safe & locked in.

2) I also apologize for my lack of editing skills. This is about as good as it gets for this girl.