Christmas in Korea is not a hugely celebrated holiday like it is in America or England. There are Christmas displays at the big stores and a few Christmas lights have been turned on around the neighborhood, but in general, December 25th is just another day. We have heard from our students that the day is usually spent with friends at the movies or restaurants. Either way, Dan and I have been getting into the spirit regardless! Although we have no tree - there are no real ones...and we thought the plastic tree was a bit big to carry back with us...we did buy a lovely and hilarious Christmas CD, complete with Korean techno-remixes of all our favorite tunes - from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer to Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire. Classics.
On a more exciting note - it snowed last night!! This morning, there was a beautiful layer of snow on the ground. I'm sure it will be less beautiful when I go outside and realize how freezing the air is.
A view of the snow from the warm 12th floor.School has been going well for us, and we have acquired some new skills and abilities. For example - sometimes the students can understand us! Just kidding...but really, it is very thrilling. I have been practicing my Korean reading - it is going well, and I can now read very (very) slowly. As good as that may be, I still cannot translate the words. Oh well. Recently we have been learning and practicing with the Korean number systems (something that is assumedly very vital to living in a country), and so far, have been very successful!
This is a productive tutoring lesson with Daniel. He is a MUCH more fun teacher than I am (or so I've heard)! We are planning on doing some traveling over the next few weeks, we have some time off school, so will keep everyone posted. We love you and wish you Happy Holidays!!
Something that Korea does very well - coffee shops! There are hundreds of amazing and unique little coffee shops. Our favorite new activity is finding new ones to enjoy and completing crosswords. No Starbucks here, baby!
A photo from the ground in Wolmeyong Park, near the apartment. Amazing tree colors, but unfortunately the fall season has ended!
An artsy part of town in Jeon-ju, a city close to Gunsan. We venture here on the weekends. This rendition of Mona Lisa was painted on the wall of a building - pretty cool. 