another one bites the dust...

this past week was just the grading week at the school and so all i had to do was teach after school classes, which meant a lot of free time to read and sit on facebook at work. it sounds awesome to get paid to do nothing...but really, it is just really boring. and with the absence of the kids...it was kind of lonely and sad. schools should never be open unless the students are there...

anyway, p. lee had a christmas celebration dinner on the 23rd for the faculty and the seniors came, so that provided for a bit of entertainment and a few photo opportunities. other than that, not too much excitement occurred during the week. i went to work on christmas eve and afterwards, turk and i went in to la festa and western dom for dinner and some last minute shopping. while searching for dinner, we found what can only be described as the mecca of all donkasseu places. (donkasseu is fried pork cutlet) they smothered the delicious, crispy, golden meat with gobs of REAL melted cheese. now, many of you probably would be disgusted at this description. but let me remind you that:
1. i am an american and meat and cheese are two staples in my diet.
2. i am in korea and meat and cheese are not staples is the diet here.
3. i haven't had real, unprocessed cheese in 4 months since i left america.
4. i am a southern american and deep fried goodness is part of who i am.
anyway...just know that it was the most delicious thing i have put in my mouth in a long time. i had a joygasm with each bite. after dinner, i was able to get a few final purchases and my own gift to myself - the amazing hood/scarf! it sounds anticlimactic, i know...but trust me...it's the most amazing invention ever.

christmas day was just like any other day in korea. it was strange for me. i am used to it being an important even in american culture, but koreans disregard it as just another day. i spent the morning opening my package from stephanie and cooking breakfast. i giggled with delight as i opened the wrapped gifts. some days i am curious as to whether or not i really am an adult or just an oversized toddler. after my morning in solitude, i ventured over to turks, where we exchanged gifts and watched random christmas movies (like rudolph and santa clause is coming to town - thanks steph!!!). it made the day a bit more christmasy. after that, we walked down through town, wandering in and out of random shops we had never been into before. it was more or less a day for exploration. we ended up walking all the way to la festa and had ari meet us there for dinner and a bit of meandering. afterwards, i went back to turk's for some hot chocolate (yah, i know...very adult of me) and another movie. then, it was back to my place, where i found eun pyo waiting for me with a cake and a clean apartment! it was...awesome! i invited turk and peter over to share in the tasty treat and we all stayed up much too late for our own good!

saturday rolled around with eun pyo oversleeping and missing his soccer game. after i cooked him breakfast and sent him on his way, i met up with turk and peter and we set out for western dome to buy tickets for sherlock holmes, which just came out in korea. we wasted the day in the area until the movie began by grabbing lunch and walking around and finally going to a game room where we playes scrabble and barrel of monkeys (seriously) for several hours. You have no idea how entertaining playing random board games can be when you are playing children's games as fully grown adults. after that, we went to the movie and then back home.

sunday was pretty spectacular. turk, peter, and i went into itaewon for some lunch and darts. we ended up at a turkish restaurant where we ate doner kebabs among other things i can't recall. after that, we visited the mosque where i actually went in to the women's prayer room. it was pretty interesting, although i felt like a second class citizen having to go to other rooms. it was still a humbling experience that i am glad i got. while walking back through the streets, i heard the call to prayer. after we got back to the main part of itaewon, it started snowing again. we stopped off at ankara picnic for kebabs (the best in korea) and went shopping. we stopped off at scrouge's for a snack and some darts for a few hours before heading off to dongdaemun for some more shopping. i was able to get a lot of things today and was actually quite thrilled with my haggling abilities. we headed home around seven and went out for some kimchi jiggae before heading home for the night.

monday was in itself not so bad. i slept until 2, which was AWESOME to say the least. i met up with turk around 4 and we went to costco to get supplies to have a taco night, which was super yummy! after that, we ended up playing this rpg board game that his step mom had sent him for christmas, called catan. it was pretty entertaining, to say the least. i said my goodbyes early and headed home.

today was by far the busiest day. turk, cathleen, and i made plans to visit grace in incheon. we met up with her in boopyung and walked through the underground shopping mall and to china town where we had lunch and wandered the streets a bit. we went to a chinese museum and played dress-up in all the random chinese and korean traditional clothes. after that, we walked along the pier and it began to snow again. we stopped in at an arcade where we shot guns and played air hockey and goofed off. after we had walked the entire length of the pier, we ended the night with a couple hours at a noraebang before we said our goodbyes and made the hour long trip back to baekseok.

all in all, my break hasn't been too crazy or exciting, but i think a relaxing vacation was just what i needed! i will save the big trip for the summer when it is actually warm enough for me to go outside!