The Road to Recovery

Merry Christmas!

Happy 2016, everyone! I hope you all had a relaxing, safe, and happy holiday season with your friends, family, and other loved ones. I sure am happy to be back in the States, spending time at home healing up and getting lots of TLC from those around me (and eating all my favorite home-cooked meals from mom)!

It's been nearly a month since the last chapter of my "Hospital Hiatus", and I want to keep everyone updated on how things are progressing with my foot.

The best dog in the whole wide world

Short story: My foot is healing faster than Wolverine's mutant powers are capable of (except not at all).

Long story: It's actually been a slow and tedious process, but my doctors Stateside are telling me that it's looking FANTASTIC. Hooray~!!! My mom or I typically do the daily cleaning and dressing, and I get it checked at the wound care clinic once a week. My doctors in the States as well as my doctor in Korea think that the hole should be fully healed up sometime in February (one month to go)! Besides that, I am just about fully functional - I'm walking semi-normally, can participate in moderate exercise, and am on my feet for long periods of time without pain. I just have to wear shoes with no backs on them for awhile, and I won't be back to running until the spring time most likely. The hole has gotten much smaller and my pain scale rarely reaches higher than a 2 (out of 10). So, I'm feeling pretty good.

Foot update

Being home has been so relaxing and rejuvenating for me. I've been surrounded by friends and family that I haven't seen for awhile, so getting to physically see them and show them that I'm alive and well was relieving for me. Most of what everyone back in the States has seen or heard about my condition is what I've been posting on social media and my blog, so I'm glad to verify my current state with them in person. Being able to pick up and giggle, chat, and be weird in front of each other like no time has passed at all has meant so much to me. I am thankful to have such loving, gracious, and extraordinary people in my life. Love you all!

Mom's homemade donuts!

On top of being filled with love from family and friends back home, I received an unexpected Christmas gift from my Fulbright family in Korea. On Christmas Eve, I was informed that many alumni and current Fulbrighters worked together to raise funds to help cover the cost of my medical bills. I was totally taken aback and overcome with gratitude and tears and other emotions I don't like to admit, but I feel so much love for all of my Fulbright family. I cannot thank them enough for their thoughtfulness and generosity, and I hope that I can repay each one of my donators individually at some point in the future. It was truly a heartfelt Christmas gift, and thanks to all of those who stayed by my side, I will always think fondly on this experience, no matter how trying it was. Love you all to the moon and back!

Christmas Dinner

I have about three more weeks left at home before I head back to Korea to prepare for the spring semester. Although classes don't start again until March, I am participating in an American-Korean student exchange for a week in Seoul, where other ETAs and I will each bring five students and they will get to interact and hang out with American students during the last week of January. I'm excited to reunite with my students and gain some lost time, rebuild those teacher-student bonds. Throughout February, I'll be preparing units and lessons for the upcoming semester, and likely going into school many days as another way to make up for lost time. Of course I'll also enjoy my last month of winter break by reuniting with my Korean friends and other friends I've made throughout my grant. But no hiking... womp womp. Haha!

This post doesn't have much else to it - just a bunch of sap and gushy feelings that are abnormal for me. But I guess that's what the holidays and being home does to me - and I'm not opposed to it, either. <3

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Hospital Hiatus: Part Four

Precaution: this post contains graphic images of my injury.

Morgan and EJ!

Greetings! Welcome to Part Four of my long and unexpected journey battling MRSA in Korea. If you missed the first three installments, check those out before continuing onward. In the last post, I was getting ready to leave the hospital. Although I should have been excited about leaving, I was distraught, stressed out, and more emotional than ever before. I was on the receiving end of everyone telling me what I needed to do, and I felt like I had no say in the matter. Fulbright was telling me one thing, my school was telling me another, my parents were worried about what was happening, and the doctor had his own opinion, so it was difficult for me to even consider what I thought was best for myself.

My public speaking club welcomed me home ♥

Unfortunately in Korea, the pressure of working in even the most extreme conditions goes above the wellbeing of oneself, and I was held to those same standards by my colleagues. It was finally my chance to leave the hospital, and I almost felt worse than I did before I even got there two weeks ago. Nevertheless, I was put on a train ride back to Gwangyang, unsure of what was to come next. I decided that since it was practically impossible for me to do anything on my own since I couldn't walk, put any pressure on my foot, and had zero energy, I should stay with a friend during my week back home.

Kat and I en route to the hospital

영진 (Kat is her English name) saved my life that week. Without her, I have no idea how I would have made it through that week. She let me stay in her apartment, she cooked, drove me to the hospital each day, and kept me company whenever I was feeling stressed and worn out (which was basically the ENTIRE week...). Kat works as a private English tutor, so her schedule was flexible enough to help me with my day-to-day tasks. I thank her from the bottom of my heart, and I hope I can repay this debt in the future. THANK YOU, KAT! ♥

A hospital visit in Gwangyang

Although I was sent home from the hospital, my foot still required immediate treatment each day. As such, I had to schedule appointments each day at the very same place that threatened to give me surgery, but I didn't have another choice. Luckily the daily cleanings lasted only about 15-20 minutes, and I was able to get in and out of there smoothly with Kat's help. I honestly didn't know how my school and Fulbright could have expected me to go back to teaching right away when I was still receiving treatment everyday and was bound to crutches and a huge leg cast. OH and the fact that I couldn't even walk, so how could I possibly manage to go up and down numerous flights of stairs throughout the day...

The entire week in Gwangyang was spent being the middle-woman between four parties - my school, Fulbright, the Jeollanam-do Education Office, and the hospital. I was exhausted of seemingly endless discussions about what to do regarding school/teaching, whether or not I would have a job next semester, how long the treatment would last, and more. While this week wasn't particularly physically painful on my foot, it took an emotional toll on my body and mind. I was tired of each party telling me different things, and every time I would double check with A about what B said, the story always changed.

Happy Thanksgiving!

FINALLY by Thursday, the conversations reached an ultimatum: either I go home immediately and receive treatment, or go back to Seoul for an extended period of time to continue treatment. With both options, I would not go back to teaching until the next semester starts in March. My initial reaction was, "This is too good to be true... Fulbright, my school, AND the Jeolla office are letting me off the hook with this? This doesn't seem very Korean..." And, of course, my reaction was right. Although I would be guaranteed my job back in March (with a bit of a scare in between there - but we got it hashed out), I had no other choice but to agree to give up my paycheck for the months of December, January, and February, while also paying my own rent during those months. For those of you who don't know -- January and February are typically paid vacation months anyway, and Fulbright/my school is usually responsible for paying my monthly rent. As you can imagine, I was a bit upset by this, especially after already paying insane amounts on my medical bills, but I also want to keep my job for next semester and remain a grantee of Fulbright Korea. So, I agreed to the conditions.

My friend Mokhwa came to visit! 

With the situation finally starting to improve, I felt a large weight lifted from my shoulders and could finally relax. I decided that I would go to Seoul for 3-4 weeks to continue treatment until daily attention wasn't needed, and then I would be heading home to the United States to continue my recovery and rest up before next semester. The logistics of getting back to Seoul was settled smoothly (thank goodness), and I have been staying at the Fulbright Building for the past three and a half weeks while still receiving daily treatment from Severance Hospital. I am thankful for all my Seoul Fulbright friends who have helped me settle in and keep me entertained while I've been stuck inside this apartment the majority of my time here.

Upgraded to the Walking Boot

Now that I am staying in Seoul, Severance has been sending a home care nurse who visits me every day (except for weekends), cleans my wound, and re-wraps it. Each Tuesday I go to Severance Hospital for weekly checkups with my Orthopedic doctor. After my first checkup with the doctor, I was relinquished of my crutches and now use a walking boot. I have been walking just a little bit, but still use my crutches at times for support. I try to walk a little bit more each day, but I am cautious of opening the wound any wider. So, although I am mobile, I use my mobility at only the necessary moments. The next two weeks were much of the same - checking on the progress of the wound, and adjusting my medication as necessary. I'm now on this 500,000 Won ($450) epidermal cream that is supposed to create a whole bunch of skin cells and muscle tissue that will help it heal super fast. Thank goodness for the insurance I have...

I just completed my last visit this morning, and I am happy to say that I will be going home to the United States TOMORROW MORNING (Wednesday) until January 21st. While home, I will still be getting my foot checked up and be receiving treatment, but I will be much more mobile! By the time I come back to Korea, my doctor at Severance thinks that the hole should be just about fully recovered. I am so excited to be able to spend the holiday season with my family and friends this year, after a miserable and lonely holiday spent alone last year.

With Krystale at the Stanley Kubrick exhibit!

During my week in Gwangyang, I was able to hang out with a lot of people. My buddies EJ, Morgan, and Krystale all took some time to hang out with me, which I was quite grateful for. I was especially happy to see them because they weren't able to visit me while I was in the hospital (the commute is far)! I also hung out with my group of Korean friends that I meet up with regularly, and it felt like home being with them again. Although I couldn't drink alcohol, we enjoyed a nice barbecue dinner and some coffee. I did end up visiting my school for a day because I missed my co-workers and students so much (and I needed to suck up hardcore to the principal and vice principal... LOL). I was greeted with open arms and a million comments from my boys, "I miss you teacher" "Teacher are you ok?" "God Bless You" "I love you" "No playing soccer or basketball?" "Get better fast", which made me feel like a celebrity. I am sad to be missing this year's winter camp and our school festival which I was anticipating a rap performance with some students. But I will come back strong this Spring, I promise.

My home for the past month

While in Seoul, I celebrated Thanksgiving Day with other Fulbrighters and have been hosting some potlucks and hangouts for all of us to get together. I am thankful to have all of them around - they've almost set up a rotation system on whose turn it is to visit me, haha. With a bit more free time than what I am typically used to filling with exercise and teaching, I have been staying busy with the Fulbright Korea Alumni Relations committee, blogging, and taking Korean classes. I hired a private tutor to come in three days a week while I am here in Seoul - one of my goals is to become as best of a Korean speaker that I can during my time here, and what better way to use my free time than to hire a language teacher!? We went through an entire textbook during my month here in Seoul - my brain is fried. Many people assume I get bored, but I honestly haven't felt too bored since I've found ways to occupy my time. I am especially grateful to my friend Krystale, who came all the way up from Gwangyang to hang out with me during my last weekend here until next month! We visited the Seoul Art Museum and walked around the exhibits and attended a Fulbright friend's orchestra/choir concert later. It was great to hang out with a Gwangyang buddy before heading back to the States for the next five weeks. I also want to thank all my other friends who came to see me during my time here, as well as all you blog readers sending your love from afar! All of your support means so much to me and has been my fuel to keep me going throughout all of this. Your words of encouragement have kept me optimistic and high-spirited, and now it is all paying off. In just another month or longer, my foot should be fully healed and I'll be as good as new, ready to conquer the spring semester!

Photo from today's (12/15) hospital visit!

Thank you for tuning in to my four-part series, "Hillary's Hospital Hiatus"! I'm still debating whether or not I'll write another post related to the injury (full of more random instances, stories, etc.) - so be on the lookout! Otherwise, I hope to see many of you back in Illinois during the next month~

If I don't update before Christmas/other Holiday celebrations, Season's Greetings and Best Wishes to you all! Stay safe, stay warm, STAY HEALTHY! ♥

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17 days exploring Southeast Asia: Hong Kong

I hopped off the plane at HKG...

I think my title is a bit deceiving. I DID travel in Southeast Asia, but how extensively, I am not so sure. Southeast Asia is such a vast and varied area, so I want to take my time with discovering all its beauty. For the next couple entries or so, I will be taking the time to talk about my journey through Hong Kong, Thailand, and Cambodia. I don't want to cram all of them into one entry, or else it would be entirely too long. So, for just little more than two weeks, my friend Emily and I shoved some stuff into our backpacks and were on our way to our first destination: Hong Kong (well... we did quite a bit of planning beforehand, too)!

Our tiny hostel room

At first glance, Hong Kong is a dirty, polluted, and crowded city. After four days, my opinion changed. I had little knowledge of Hong Kong before Emily and I decided to travel there, but there is no better way to learn than to immerse yourself in the culture, language, and the people, right? Unfortunately, we had a bit of a scary experience upon our arrival to the hostel. I will leave out some details, but Emily and I can say that we had never before ridden an elevator more likely to break down at any moment. Our hostel might have been the worst hostel I have ever stayed at. Our room was absolutely tiny (although not surprising for China), we had one tiny, minuscule blanket to share, and the bed harder than a rock. I'll try not to complain because I got what I paid for (super cheap).

View of Hong Kong from Victoria's Peak

Besides the accommodation, Hong Kong surprised me in many ways - luckily, these surprises were more positive experiences. On our first full day, Emily and I decided to walk around the city and see where we ended up. Hong Kong is separated in multiple islands, so transportation can get a bit confusing. Luckily, transportation was fairly cheap, so we ended up not having to spend a fortune on that. Anyway, Emily and I traveled to the main island, where we went to Victoria's Peak, a tower where you can see a panoramic view of Hong Kong. Unfortunately, the pollution causes fogginess, so it wasn't the best sight to see (but that's reality). I often take for granted the fresh, crisp, cool air that I breathe everyday in Gwangyang as well as the beautiful sights I wake up to. Being at the top of Victoria's Peak just reinforced my decision to never permanently live in a large city if I can help it.

Jumbo Floating Restaurant

For lunch, we decided to check out a "Jumbo Floating Restaurant" on the water. We took a ferry to the floating restaurant, which was extravagantly decorated and famous for seafood. Unfortunately, the menu was extremely expensive for backpackers on a budget, so we only bought some appetizers and a yummy dessert and left. The inside was quite intricate, though, and very interesting to see Chinese architecture at its finest.

After lunch, we wandered around and stumbled upon a beautiful park. We relaxed there for awhile and as it was getting dark, many street markets were coming alive. We had dinner at a restaurant nearby. I ate rice and beef wrapped in a leaf-like structure, which was absolutely delicious. For dessert, we ate "Blueberry Bubbies", which Emily and I will never actually know what it consisted of. We walked around a street market near our hostel before calling it a night.

Cable Car adventures

Day two was my favorite day in Hong Kong. After a sleepless night, I was feeling a bit groggy, but not enough to contain my excitement for exploring another day. We hit the road to head out to the "countryside" of Hong Kong for the day. First, we took a cable car into the mountains as we traveled to see the Tian Tan Buddha, also known as Big Buddha. Big Buddha is made of bronze and was constructed in 1993 to symbolize the harmonious relationship between man and nature, people and religion. I had never seen a Buddha so big. But my, I was in for a surprise during this vacation about the various Buddhas that exist in Southeast Asia! We trekked all the way up numerous flights of stairs to see Big Buddha up close. Luckily, my home stay father equipped me with a "selfie stick" for my vacation, which certainly came in handy. I decided that taking a selfie with Big Buddha would be a perfect moment to use it (although you aren't supposed to turn your back to Buddha... forgive me!!).

  

After seeing Big Buddha, we stayed in the mountains and went to a Chinese Monastery named Po Lin, also known as "The Big Hut". Chinese temples seem subtly different than temples in Korea. The colors and designs are fairly similar, but different in shapes and shades. I noticed that Chinese temples seem to have more dragon representations as well. Either way, they are intricate and beautiful. We walked around and saw the temple of 50,000 Buddhas (unfortunately I didn't have time to count them all... -sigh-). After our sight-seeing was done, we took the cable car back down, ate some pizza, then took a bus to the countryside of Hong Kong.

When we arrived one hour later, it was as if we stepped onto a deserted island (in a good way, not Castaway). This area is known for having a waterfall and a cave, so we trekked our way in search. We walked around for 40 minutes before we stumbled upon the waterfall and the cave. Unfortunately, the waterfall had very little water flowing, and you couldn't step past 300 meters inside of the cave. BUMMER. But still awesome to see the less-populated area of Hong Kong. Being in that part of Hong Kong reminded me a lot of Central America because of the scenery surrounding me. I'll let the pictures do the talking.

Rural Hong Kong

After another sleepless night, and on our last full day in Hong Kong, Emily and I had already gotten almost everything checked off our "to-do" list, so we used this day for adventure and food exploration. We stumbled upon some famous cartoon characters that are based from Hong Kong, so naturally we had to stop and take silly pictures with the statues. We also made it our mission to eat at a restaurant where you order cheap dishes a-la-carte - aka the fastest way to become obese. It was entirely too delicious, and the best food we had eaten in Hong Kong thus far. My favorite was a red-bean soup-like thing with rice balls in it. I think Korea has molded my taste preferences.

We also took a ferry to the beach/touristy area of Hong Kong called Stanley. When we stepped off the ferry, we were surrounded by tourist shops, bar strips along the shore, and delicious pub food. We bought some souvenirs then sat down for a beer while gazing at what I believed to be the South China Sea. After hanging out for awhile, we traveled back to the mainland and saw the lights show along the city skyline before heading back to our hostel, packing up, and getting ready for an early flight to Thailand in the morning!

Overall, Hong Kong was an interesting city, but to be honest, I probably won't make an effort to go back in the future (there's plenty of other unexplored places to see in the world!). However, I had never been to China before and I certainly had a curiosity to see it. I think I would like to see Beijing if I do return to China! The food was delicious, that is for certain.

Stay tuned for my adventures in Chiang Mai - my favorite stop during my 17-day trip!

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Winter vacation begins

After the New Year, I finally had some time to relax back in Gwangyang - but not for long! The first full week of January, I held a four-day English Camp at my school. Students in both the first and second grades were able to participate.

Bowling with the students

Snack time

The English Camp was phenomenal, to say the least. It was so nice to have small class sizes (12 students in each class), so I could work individually with the students and focus on their needs more specifically. The English Camp ran Monday through Thursday, from 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. From two to five p.m. we held our specific English classes. I recruited two other ETAs from the Fulbright Program to help me this week. So, there were a total of 36 students and were split into three different classes. Every hour they would rotate classes between the teachers. We worked on story telling, persuasive essays, speaking skills, and presentational tips in the English language. I was so impressed with the effort and determination my students put into this camp! I learned so much about each student than I would normally be able to do in class sizes of 30+ students.

After the three hours of class, we ate dinner together at the school cafeteria. From there, we got to do sports club activities!! The students could choose between bowling or ice skating. I chose to do bowling for my activity, and I was able to play with all of the boys who also chose bowling. It was so much fun being able to interact with them outside of class and see their personalities shine through. The students really improved their English skills as well as their bowling skills.

Our group

After the sports club activity each night, we had snack time! I loved snack time, especially hanging out with the other teachers and interacting with the students. We had chicken, pizza, and sandwiches for our snacks (yum!!). My favorite part of English camp, however, was AFTER snack time. After snack time, students could choose to go home for the evening or to stay and talk/hang out with the teachers for awhile. Many of the first grade students wanted to stay and hang out with us. We decided to play a game called Mafia. At first I was worried that the students wouldn't be able to play this game because it requires a lot of debate and English-speaking skills that they might not have developed. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The boys were so good at explaining themselves and debating back and forth between one another. Their critical thinking skills were impressive. It was also fun for me because I could show them a more relaxed side of me that they don't always see in the classroom. I bonded with the students a lot during winter camp, and I will always remember how much fun we had together!

At the top of Baegunsan

Aside from Winter Camp, my home stay family took me hiking at the mountain here in Gwangyang, named Baegunsan. It was a cold and challenging hike, but it was a lot of fun going with my home stay parents. We left early in the morning, and the hike to the peak took about two hours. When we got to the top, we ate lunch together. It was so windy and snowy! After we came down from the mountain, we decided to go to the spa to relax and feel super clean. This jimjilbang did not have multiple hot and cold baths like other spas do, but it did have multiple saunas. I relaxed for a couple hours with my home stay parents and passed out for awhile too. After the spa, we came home and crashed. I was sore the next day from climbing so much.

With my host parents

My most favorite form of mountain activity is skiing! I was finally able to go skiing this season with a friend and her husband, who have season passes to a ski resort nearby. Yesterday, we left early in the morning to make the two hour drive to the resort. I was able to ski all day and we even did night skiing, which I haven't done before, so that was super exciting for me. I only crashed one time, and that was because a Korean woman didn't know how to stop and was going straight down the mountain and top speed. She crashed right into me. Luckily I had been paying attention to what was going on behind me, but I couldn't manage to turn in time to avoid her.

A view of the ski slopes

Skiing is so different in Korea than in the United States and Europe. People are certainly not as cautious here as they are elsewhere. I am convinced some of these people don't even take lessons before they try skiing or snowboarding. My friend and I saw one guy crash into four people and knocked them all over at the end of a run because he didn't know how to slow down. Another guy was wobbling all over the place and going way too fast down a black diamond course. He crashed two or three times but every time he got up he always passed me and crashed again. I don't know why he was on that course. I am just glad that I wasn't severely injured... haha! Even though it was dangerous, I definitely want to hit the slopes again before the season ends.

Hitting the slopes in my ugly outfit

This upcoming weekend I will begin my two-week traveling with my orientation roommate. We are traveling to Hong Kong and Thailand and I couldn't be more excited! This week I will be prepping for the trip and making sure I have everything I need. I will just be carrying my hiking pack on my back, so I have to be smart about packing light. Luckily the weather will be warmer where we are traveling, so I won't need my winter coat. I am very excited, but also a bit nervous (I always get anxious before I travel abroad)! My next post will likely be in February after my journey concludes. Stay warm, everybody!

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Half a year gone

Happy New Year, everybody! My apologies that it has been over a month since I have updated my blog - the winter season got the best of me (in a good way!). Since my last post, so many exciting things have happened! I'll try and go chronologically as I remember when events took place.

Our guest speaker from Kenya with students wearing traditional garments

In early December, our school was lucky to have a guest speaker from Kenya. Once a month during the fall semester, our school has guest speakers from different countries around the world come into our English classes to present about their culture, language, and lifestyle. These presentations are a part of UNESCO's Cross-Cultural Awareness Program. It is a fantastic program that allows the students to learn about other countries first-hand, which they might not otherwise become exposed to.

During the most recent presentation, the president of UNESCO accompanied us, and it turns out that he is quite close to the Executive Director of Fulbright Korea (my boss, Mrs. Jai Ok Shim). The president of UNESCO ended up calling her after finding out that I was a part of the Fulbright program - and I got to speak with her too. I was ecstatic to be able to speak with the Executive Director. She was so sincere and kind, and she had many words of encouragement for me - exactly what I needed to finish out the remaining weeks of my first semester in Korea. I want to give a big thank you to Mr. Park and Mrs. Shim for making my day!

My last Korean class of the semester

Around mid-December was time for final exams - the students' worst nightmare. I could tell they were stressed and many of them stayed up studying nearly 18-20 hours a day. Luckily, final exams were only two days long, and afterwards they would be able to prepare for the school festival. During this time I also prepared 25 pans of chicken pot pie - my students have worked very hard this semester, and deserved a reward at the conclusion of a long semester. There's no better way to celebrate the end of a semester than with food, right? This is what being a cultural ambassador is all about! So, in the midst of preparations for the school festival, I delivered chicken pot pie to each class throughout the week. These handsome young men have graciously welcomed me to Gwangyang Boys High School, and they have been hard at work this semester! It has been a joy to see the students finally taking some time to relax, laugh, and have fun now that final exams were over.

Chicken pot pie for the boys

I could write an entire novel about the school festival itself - what an interesting experience! The school festival is a showcase of talents that happens once each school year. The first and second grade classes participate (the third graders are already on vacation by this point). Many students try out for the singing competition, and each class has to prepare a skit/dance/song/etc. to present to the audience. My school was thrilled to have me be a "guest judge" for the singing competition, so I got to act like I was Simon Cowell on American Idol (except a lot nicer than he was... haha). Many students performed K-Pop dances with their class, which was hilarious to watch. The boys can seem so shy in class, so it was fun watching them let loose and dance, sing, and act.

There was also a "fashion show" where some boys dressed up like girls and walked down the runway, had interviews, and had to dance with their "boyfriends". It was hilarious to watch! Unfortunately at this point I did not have my cell phone, so I couldn't snap any pictures. However, the video and photos will be on our school website, and I will send a link as soon as possible.

A panorama of a site I visited with co-workers

On top of all this, the student council asked me to be a special performance. I couldn't say no (and I was thrilled at the offer, to be honest)! I wrote a rap about Gwangyang High School which lead into Mariah Carey's "All I Want For Christmas Is You". Originally, I was just going to do it solo, but after thinking about it, I thought it would be much more fun to get some students involved on it. So, we created our own choreography to both my rap song and the Christmas jingle. It was my first "real concert", and the students went crazy for it! I was so excited and loved performing for them. I think some of the students who were shy to approach me before are now more relaxed after seeing me embarrass myself in front of them... haha!

The principal and I hanging out together

On Christmas Day, I spent the day with a friend. We went to go see the movie, "Into the Woods" (which was mediocre in my opinion), and had lunch together. After seeing the movie, we went shopping and I treated myself to some Christmas gifts. I bought a new pair of running shoes and a nice dress to wear for New Year's Eve. This year has been my first time to celebrate the holiday season away from my family, my friends, and my home. Although the majority of Korea does not celebrate Christmas to the extent of many Americans, I am blessed to feel the love and support of my loved ones from across the world, and I hope to reciprocate the action. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season!

Margaritas!

For the New Year celebration, most Koreans do not celebrate January 1st like Americans. Korean families celebrate the Lunar New Year, which takes place in February this year (2015). So, some of my friends and I decided to meet up in Seoul to celebrate the New Year ourselves. We booked a motel room and we had some delicious Mexican food for dinner - my first time eating it since I left for Korea. It was glorious. Mexican food is probably my absolute favorite type of food, and I was feeling deprived for six months without my burritos, tacos, enchiladas, and of course margaritas. After dinner, we went out to a club for some dancing and had a great time ringing in the new year!

Unfortunately, during the majority of this past month and a half, I did not have a cell phone, so my pictures to make up for all these stories are lacking. However, I have finally recovered my phone and can post pictures for my next update!

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