I know that I have put anything up in a while and was thinking of good reasons why I hadn't, but have come to the conclusion that there really is no reason. I didn't have a whole lot to say before Christmas and then the holidays and break came a long and just never got around to typing one up. So here is the last month or so condensed into sections:
Christmas- Even though it did not feel like Christmas here we still managed to have a good time. In Korea they do not celebrate Christmas like we do back home. Here it is more of a couples holiday and not so much about family. They have these massive Christmas Eve parties at bars much like New Years Eve for single people to go out and drink away their sorrows. We all went to one of the western style bars that we frequent and a group of 12 or so all dressed up in our animal onesies that we picked up from www.sazac.com. They are fantastic and we will be using them again on an Ice Festival that we are going to. I have a Panda and considering getting a few more before I head back home. We stayed there drinking and playing darts until the wee hours in the morning. When I got home I talked to Mom and Dad and saw the nice snow that dropped in Washington. Definitely looked more like Christmas through Skype. I then took a little nap and skyped with everyone at the Christmas Eve dinner at my sisters which looked fantastic. We talked for about an hour during dinner and then I got ready for our Christmas dinner here in Korea. A group of 11 from the orientation group that I was in went into Seoul and had a western style Christmas meal at an Irish pub. The food was great and it was a buffet so we got our fill. After we ate we thought about going ice skating but decided to head back to Incheon as most people had pretty late nights on Christmas Eve. Went back to a bar and played some drinking games, definitely not like a Christmas back home, and went to a couple of other places and then went home. Unlike in the US they do not roll holidays over here which kind of sucks as Christmas and New Years fell on Saturdays this year, meaning two holidays that we do not get to enjoy a day off for. All in all it was a good time but definitely different than what I am used to. Thanks again to my family for sending my stocking, it was hung up on my wall for a few weeks and helped remind me of the Christmas that I am used to. After Christmas I had a few days left of classes and then a teacher hike and dinner. The area that we hiked has been infected with hoof and mouth disease so we had to eat eel. It is very expensive here but I would have rather had beef, chicken or pork. If you haven't you need to watch the video I have on the freshness of the eel. While at dinner I did get some good news. Most native teachers have to come to school even though nobody is there and they don't do anything, we call it "desk warming." I found out from my co-teacher that I did not need to do this for the remainder of the year and wouldn't have to go to school until after I got back from Australia which was an awesome New Years present.
New Years Eve- As always NYE seems to be something that people never really know what they are going to do and try to build up as much as possible. It is no different here in Korea. Not many people really knew what they were going to do except go to Seoul and stay out late. I am used to parties at bars or going to houses and haven't actually just been at a bar like normal in a while for NYE. A group of us met up and went to a bar and started the night off, some people came and left but we were there until the New Year. It was weird leading up to midnight as nobody was really paying any attention and we checked our phones and realized that it was like 3 minutes away. We thought that we were going to have to rely on our phones for it but the bar put on a countdown on the TV with about 15 seconds left. They did the countdown we celebrated with sparklers and well wishes but most of the Koreans in the bar didn't do a whole lot. After midnight I met up with some other people at a club (I had to sneak into it as they were not letting any more foreigners in there) for a little bit but we soon decided to leave as it was really really crowded. We met up with someone's friend at another bar and a had a lot of fun there dancing on poles and chatting with new people. In Korea it is important to see the first sunrise of the year as it is supposed to bring you good luck for the year. We did our best and decided to take the metro home around 5:45 or so. By the time I got home it was about 7AM and in fact I did get to see the sun but don't really think I saw it rise. I guess that is good enough though. When I got home I packed the last few things for my trip to Australia and got a few hours of sleep before leaving for the airport.
Australia- What a great trip!! Even though I didn't do a whole lot it was so great to be in Melbourne. Things that I no longer took for granted were once again available, such as going to a bathroom and knowing that they have paper towels and there isn't a squatter in there or being able to ask for directions in English or being able to play on grass. In was a welcome break from Korea and the weather was fantastic. I did do a bit of sight seeing and went to the Aquarium, Zoo, Remembrance Museum, Rod Laver Arena (Australian Open will start next week), St. Kilda beach, Victoria Market, and some other small things. I had my first couch surfing experience and it was great. My host picked me up from the airport and we hung out all day on Sunday and then she let me know of some places to go for the rest of my trip. The public transportation in Melbourne is great as trams and buses pretty much cover all areas and are easily accessible. I bought a week long pass with unlimited rides for like $30 which wasn't too bad. That was the only thing that was cheap in Australia though. It was like $8 for a footlong meatball sub at Subway and like $7 for a beer and $9 for a mix drink. However, I was able to save a little bit on lodging expenses and didn't really eat breakfast or go out too much. I spent 3 nights with Helena (couch surfing host) and then stayed 3 nights at a hostel by Victoria market. I have put up some pictures from the Aquarium and Zoo and will try and upload the other photos sometime this week but am having internet issues at home that I will need to try and straighten out.
So right now I am doing a couple of winter camps which are kind of strange as I am averaging about 3 students a class. It is hard to do activities and games with so few of students, but I only have to be at school for like 4 hours a day and go in at 11:30 so I can't complain too much. I will have another week of these camps and then I leave for Thailand on the 22nd for some more warm weather. After Thailand I will be doing one class a day when I get back and then I think we start back up after the Lunar New Year. Then it is back to the normal routine and getting to know some new students. I can't believe that it is already January, it feels like I have only been here for a couple of months not the almost 5 that it is. New Years resolution one is to try and get better at Korean but that is easier said than done especially since I haven't studied in like 3 weeks.
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