MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Merry Christmas from Korea!

I'm all packed and heading out the door in 5 minutes for my winter vacation! I can't wait!! I won't be taking my computer (shocking I know) but I should have some access to computers all over Seoul.

I hope you have a blessed day and a happy holiday season! Blog with you in about a week!

Much love!

Changwon and Hike #2

Hello my faithful readers! Happy Monday from SoKor!

The weekend was fun and eventful! Our boss' family had to go out of town Saturday to run some errands, and they invited Kami and I along. They dropped us off at a big mall so we could shop and hang out while they ran their errands. It was quite fun! We got to enjoy some American favorites and take some fun random pics. As always, thanks to Kami for sending me pics of myself. So here is our day in Changwon:

I am not a die-hard Starbucks lover, but it's a nice treat. They didn't have my fav Peppermint Mocha, but this Toffee Nut Latte was quite tasty!!

I love taking pics with people dressed as random creatures...usually mascots but sometimes random wondering things. Here I am with my first Korean creature pic. And of course I had to do the peace sign...it's the thing here!

The next day, our boss' family invited us to do a morning hike with them. It was actually the same mountain we climbed on our first hike, but they showed us a 'real' way to go...up and down, not a three-hour journey all the way around...ha. It was really fun and like last time, such a pretty view! Here are some pics from the day:

They took us out to breakfast after our hike. They don't do the whole eggs and bacon thing...it's more like a lunch or dinner. Different but still yummy!

So that was my weekend in pictures. It was a good one! Everything is still really new so it's always an adventure! Until next time...

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Merry Christmas from my home to yours! I decided to officially get into the holiday spirit this week, so I bought this mini Christmas tree to adorn my apartment. It's quite cute I believe and it helps me remember it is really Christmas. I know it's a little whimpy but I didn't wanna spend too much for something I won't be able to take with me.

Anywho, just wanted to send out my holiday wishes. Hope everyone is doing well! I'm about to go shopping so I'll chat later!

Fun Weekend Times

Hello friends and family--

Sorry about the length of time since my last post, but this weekend flew by and I was in bed by 9pm last night because I was so pooped. But I'm rested now, so I thought it was a good time to let you in on my fun and interesting weekend.

On Saturday, Kami and I attended our first Korean birthday party. One of our co-workers had a son turning one and we were invited to the festivities. Koreans do the first birthday up big...I mean really big. There were lots of people and yummy food and all kinds of excitement. It wasn't your typical backyard birthday party. Here are a few pics from the evening:

This is the Jun (my coworker) and his wife and son. His son's Korean name is Jangwon and Kami and I got to give him his English name, so we decided on Ben.

This is Unbar (we're trying to get her English name to be Hannah). She is the daughter of another one of our co-workers. She's trying to give Kami some squid in the pic...and if you know Kami, you know she was gagging. Ha.

Unbar took a liking to me...well, being ornery towards me anyways. Ha. Kami says this is our showdown pic!

This is our directors' daughter Ruby. She really is precious...the smartest 7-year-old I know. Kami kept telling her to smile, so this is the face she ended up making...such a ham.

Sunday was quite a fun day as well. All our English teacher friends participated in race day in Tongyeong...some doing 5Ks, 10Ks and half marathons. Kami and I weren't in Korea yet to sign up, so we acted as the cheerleaders for our friends...signs and all!! There were many, many people in the race and it was quite an exciting day!

Here is most of the group, waiting for the other two to finish the half marathon.

So those are the highlights from my weekend folks! It surely flew by but it was very enjoyable. The weeks seem to by flying by too....I have a feeling this year is going to go very quickly. Hope everyone is doing well and staying warm!

Korean Hike #1

On Sunday, Kami and I set out for our first Korean hike! It was quite an adventure, let me tell you!! There is a mountain we see everyday, and a couple of days ago, our boss showed it to us from the other side and showed us a look out point that you can hike to. So I thought...hmm, why not hike there on Sunday afternoon??!! We decided it was a good plan, so I got out my handy-dandy Tongyeong map and we started the journey. Well, the map wasn't much help...because in the end, we somehow had walked complete up the mountain and around it and walked half the town. It wasn't your normal up-and-down type of climb. Ha. Here is our journey in pictures!

Close to the start of the journey, we found a tradition Korean temple...at least that is what I think it was. I forgot to upload the pics but you can see them on my photo site. Here are some pics of the fall foliage though...it was really pretty up there. I love fall!!

Once we got to a point on the initial trail and we couldn't go up anymore, we decided to go down a different way. What a treat that was...we found a little park with a swing, so we both took advantage of that! It was quite fun!

After the park, we saw another way that looked more promising that the first way. It turned out to be a good way, and after many hours of walking and hiking and getting lost...we finally made it to the lookout point we first set out for!!! I was so excited!!! :)

Here are some more shots from atop the mountain! It was quite a view!!

After we found the lookout point, we decided to go down yet a different way than we came up. The path provided us with beautiful views and great pictures. Here are a few I captured.

After we came down the mountain, we were quite pooped after our long journey.

But have no fear...we went to Lotte Mart and I rewarded myself with the best iced vanilla latte ever!!! Kami got an ice cream. We felt it was well deserved!!

So that was Korean Hike #1!! Oh what a great one it was!! I am excited for more to come!!