Hello friends and family. Apologies, as it seems that it has been some time since I last updated my blog. Know that things are well and that I am moving right along. J It’s starting to look a lot like Christmas over here in Korea. Starbucks has there seasonal latte’s advertised and places have their Christmas lights up. Being a strong believer in not listening to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving, the best Christmas album ever, Charlie Brown Christmas is now on repeat…until I download the Nutcracker. Let me backtrack a little though and give Thanksgiving all of the credit it deserves.
Thanksgiving at school was a very different experience from the states because well first of all I didn’t get any time off like some people I know ;). Every month we have the kids write a speech, memorize it, and compete level by level (this is very typical Korean thing to do btw). Well this month’s topic was Thanksgiving! I heard plenty of speeches about the fourth Thursday and how it came to be the fourth Thursday, the year 1691, Lincoln, Indians, and Turkey (I swear the kids here know more about thanksgiving then the kids back at home)! When the fourth Thursday of November approached however, all my kids forget it was Thanksgiving – geesh, can’t teach them everything! Thanksgiving wasn’t officially celebrated until the Saturday after, where my friends and I enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner prepared by some Austrians in a neighborhood called Iteawon, which is known for its Army base and foreigner population. The neighborhood reminded me very much of the states, and even some of the bars we went to seemed somewhat American. Of course we were celebrating Christina and Nate’s birthday, and dressed accordingly to the proposed Hoe Down theme. Needless to say, I am thankful that this next weekend we will not be going out and are going to the DMZ, which is the closest you can get to North Korea while being in South Korea.
Little bit of backtracking, the weekend before the last I spent Saturday in a new neighborhood in Seoul (if you cannot tell already, I am simply in love with this city and my only regret in coming here was that I wasn’t placed right smack in the middle of the city!) called Insadong. I have pictures up on facebook but it’s this super cute artsy neighborhood where you can get authentic Korean souvenirs, hang out in art galleries, and drink at traditional Korean tea houses. The feel of Insadong is a lot more quaint and traditional the rest of Seoul. Travel books suggest that this neighborhood is one the last areas that has a traditional Korean feel, though I cannot speak to that because Seoul is freakin huge and I still have so much to see!
So I will leave you with this one little note: At school we have an online homework program where they have their vocabulary listed out with pictures and most of the pictures are of white people. Well whenever the kids see a white girl or woman, they laugh and say ohhh teacha that looks just like you! Let me tell you the variety of white people I look like, because it does not matter how old or what color their hair is. Sometimes I am flattered when the person is actually cute, but today there was this awful looking woman picture that was helping define the word ‘despair’.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Best holiday wishes!
Thanksgiving at school was a very different experience from the states because well first of all I didn’t get any time off like some people I know ;). Every month we have the kids write a speech, memorize it, and compete level by level (this is very typical Korean thing to do btw). Well this month’s topic was Thanksgiving! I heard plenty of speeches about the fourth Thursday and how it came to be the fourth Thursday, the year 1691, Lincoln, Indians, and Turkey (I swear the kids here know more about thanksgiving then the kids back at home)! When the fourth Thursday of November approached however, all my kids forget it was Thanksgiving – geesh, can’t teach them everything! Thanksgiving wasn’t officially celebrated until the Saturday after, where my friends and I enjoyed a Thanksgiving dinner prepared by some Austrians in a neighborhood called Iteawon, which is known for its Army base and foreigner population. The neighborhood reminded me very much of the states, and even some of the bars we went to seemed somewhat American. Of course we were celebrating Christina and Nate’s birthday, and dressed accordingly to the proposed Hoe Down theme. Needless to say, I am thankful that this next weekend we will not be going out and are going to the DMZ, which is the closest you can get to North Korea while being in South Korea.
Little bit of backtracking, the weekend before the last I spent Saturday in a new neighborhood in Seoul (if you cannot tell already, I am simply in love with this city and my only regret in coming here was that I wasn’t placed right smack in the middle of the city!) called Insadong. I have pictures up on facebook but it’s this super cute artsy neighborhood where you can get authentic Korean souvenirs, hang out in art galleries, and drink at traditional Korean tea houses. The feel of Insadong is a lot more quaint and traditional the rest of Seoul. Travel books suggest that this neighborhood is one the last areas that has a traditional Korean feel, though I cannot speak to that because Seoul is freakin huge and I still have so much to see!
So I will leave you with this one little note: At school we have an online homework program where they have their vocabulary listed out with pictures and most of the pictures are of white people. Well whenever the kids see a white girl or woman, they laugh and say ohhh teacha that looks just like you! Let me tell you the variety of white people I look like, because it does not matter how old or what color their hair is. Sometimes I am flattered when the person is actually cute, but today there was this awful looking woman picture that was helping define the word ‘despair’.
Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Best holiday wishes!
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