First of all....Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
Well Christmas wasn't exactly the same for me this year. I'm used to a lot of family and friends and this year was somewhat different. Although, my brother and I tried to make it as close to a Canadian Christmas as possible.
When he got in last week I didn't have any problem meeting him at the airport. I managed to get someone at work to teach my last class and then my girlfriend drove us to the Airport. I didn't get there until 10 and his flight got in early (9pm), but he got stuck waiting for his bags. It worked out nicely though, because just as I got to the gate, he was walking out.
We've been job hunting for him this last week. There have been offers but they haven't been all that great. It really makes me appreciate the deal I've got at my school because none of the school's offers have been even close to what I'm getting...longer hours, less money, shared housing, and ambiguously worded contracts, all add up to a suspect school. Who knows...maybe they're good but I'm sure we can do better. Until then, I've lined up a place where he can make a little money so it's not like he's gonna starve. Although I don't know how long I can put up with his mooching. However, I figure that as long as he can take sleeping on the floor I can put up with all his crap lying around my little apartment.
For Christmas we tried to throw together an semi-authentic Canadian Christmas dinner. Turkey's aren't exaclty readily-available in Korea. I think the only place I heard about, that was even selling them was charging over $80 apiece. Doesn't matter though cause it's not like I have the facilities or even the know-how to cook a turkey. They sell whole roast chickens on the street so I bought one of those and we threw together some mashed potatoes, noodles, etc. That's about as close as we could get. I even bought some Kimchi on honor of us being in Korea. We took some picures and I tried to get them uploaded so I could email them home but it didn't work out, as usual (friggin camera).
When he arrived he had brought Christmas gifts and some items from our family's unique Christmas traditions. We saved all the gifts, etc for Christmas day. My girlfriend came over and we all exchanged gifts. I got the pants I've been desperately needing (perfect fit, thanks Mom!). I'll say one thing about Korea. They've got all kinds of desingner clothing, dirt cheap (possibly knockoffs but who can tell), but it's tough for a guy my size to find pants. So anyways, I'm not wearing my faded jeans again for awhile...except weekends I suppose.
My boss gave us the 24th off, which was unusual as far as other English academies. It was really nice not having to work until 9pm though. Most other academies were open because Christmas isn't as important in Korea as it is in North America. Schools and such are closed Christmas day but they've never heard of Boxing day.
As usual this year I was out shopping for gifts on Dec. 24th. I found that Korea is a lot of more conducive to this behaviour. The stores are open regular hours so I was out shopping around until about 7 when I finally quit and went home. I never did get anything for my brother, I think it's better to wait and see what kinds of things he's going to need for his apartment when he finally gets one.
Dec. 19th was election day in Korea. There is now a new President here, Roh Moo-Hyun. I've wondered why, if his name is pronounced exactly like "no", does he spell it with an 'R' but no one has given me an answer. I guess it's just personal preference. Keepin in mind that all the "Lee"s here pronounce their names 'ee'.
So today I've been here 11 months...Hurray for me! I'm pretty excited to finish my contract next month even though I plan to stay another 6 months to a year. I guess that I'm excited to finish because my payout is going to be around $8000. My boss is going to pay me out for the vacation and sick days that I've never taken. It's hard to believe that I've been here 11 months and have never taken a day off. I guess it's a result of an easy lifestyle.
So New Years is in a couple days. I have no plans. I have been keeping an eye out for parties but I haven't heard of anything too exciting happening. I figure that I'll probably spend the night at the new bar I've been going to in Hwa-jung. A bunch of teachers, my brother, and I spent Christmas Eve there. It wasn't really a festive atmostphere but it was fun nonetheless. I have to work till 9pm New Years, so that almost rules out going into Seoul. Also, I'm a little low on money these days. I think I sent too much home this month...or maybe I spent too much...probably the latter. The holidays will do that to you.
I guess that's about it for my comings and goings these days. Talk to you all next year.
Take care and best wishes in the New Year!!
Brent Teacher (aka: Gibby)
