Soooo...what's a Christmas like in Korea. My fam keeps asking me back home, so here ya go. Some people in Korea celebrate Christmas; many do not. The religion base is nearly half and half Christian and Buddhist here. Many Buddhist do not believe in Christmas and often state, "I'm not Christian" as there reason of not celebrating Christmas. My host family does not celebrate Christmas; however, this year they told me that they would because I am a part of the family, and my host parents want their children to experience "my" culture.
I woke up around 10:15AM to a phone call from Lauren. The phone call reminded me that I had forgotten to set my alarm, because I had to be on the other side of Wonju by 11:00AM to meet Lauren for church. I hadn't forgotten that I was going to church with her...only that I hadn't set my alarm.
Sidenote: I've also realized that it has become INCREDIBLY difficult for me to get up even the slightest early even with an alarm if I have been up late (after 2:00AM). I used to stay up until 5:00AM and get up for 8:00AM classes or teaching at 7:00AM; what has happened to me?!
Anyway, I went out to ask my host family to call me a taxi, and I saw that they had opened their stockings without me. After last night, I was not surprised in the slightest. It doesn't bother me too much, because I know it is a cultural thing.
In the taxi, I called my fam in the states (Christmas Eve for them). Since everyone is in CVille for the holidays, the phone was passed around like it was during Turkey Day. I failed to realize that my host mom had called like 15 times, because I was on the phone (My host mom was asking if I took a taxi, because apparently the taxi we called wasn't the one I took. Ha! I didn't realize until she told me. I think I took a taxi that just happened to drop someone off at the exact time that I needed one.) So, all of the messages were vibrating on my phone when I got to the church. It was a 7,000 Cab ride ($7) which is expensive in Lauren's and my terms.
Hmm...church...it was nice to see Lauren and her new host fam (she moved four days ago to the music teacher's apartment), but it was difficult for me since I don't speak even close to enough Korean to somewhat understand a thing the preacher was saying. Oh, it was nice to see their 6 year old daughter, Esther too! Apparently she had been asking about me, which is super cute because I had only met her twice before. After the service, we walked to Lauren's new homestay apt (it's that close). We drank tea, and Lauren and I exchanged gifts. She got me this really cute passport cover and a card! If only I had my passport right now so I could take the new passport cover for a spin...Rebecca will have it until the flight instead.
We went out to lunch with her homestay. The music teacher was super cute; he was craving xiao jung myeon, was sad that we couldn't get it since I'm a veggetarian, and then super happy when he realized I could eat something else at the restaurant. ^^ I had something similar to ohm rice. Then the music teacher dropped me off at my apartment.
I hung out around the house trying to figure out what the hell I'm going to teach tomorrow for the opening class of Winter English Camp. I made a powerpoint until dinner; we had ohm rice.^^ I like it a lot, so it was totally okay to have it twice in one day. My host mom put cheese in mine, because she knows how much I love cheese!!! I love my host mom!!!
We left at 9:00PM to go skiing. We have night passes at a ski resort named Oak Valley. My host father bought me a ski pass with the rest of his family!! I'm not going to lie; I was in a super bad mood right before we left and as we were getting our gear, but as soon as we started skiing, I lost the attitude and was really happy to be there. The deal with the gear was that the guys who worked at the shop didn't realize that I wasn't 5 foot tall when I walked in the door and gave me pants that barely reached my thighs. So, I tried on two more sets of pants, and finally settled on pair three because I was sick of trying on pants. Then, they started me at 250 size boots...I need 270. So, we finally got out of there, and we realized in the parking lot of the ski resort that they gave me 2 lefts, and my host mom had one 250 boot and one 260 boot. So, the guys from the store scurried their butts to the resort to trade our boots out.
I was slightly terrified to ski for the first time after 10 years, but I guess you don't completely forget how to, because I wasn't as horrible as I thought I would be. My host bro fell a few times before we got to the lift, so I felt better about us sticking to the beginner course. The beginner course was really long, and I liked it. I didn't fall once, but I definitely need to work on my "S line." My host bro and host dad went to the middle course...when I finally met up with my host bro again, he used his hand to show me how steep it was. I decided that I most definitely made the right decision to stay at the beginner slope.
We literally finished at 1:00AM, took our stuff back to the rental place, and got home around 2:00AM. In the car, my whole host family was talking about wanting ramen when we got back except for my host mom. Unfortunately, the host sibs passed out on the way back and had no desire for anything other than sleep when we returned home. My host father really appreciates the cd that I made for him; he likes it a lot! I'm so happy! I was worried that firs of all it wouldn't play in his cd player and second of all that he might not like the songs.
I made some toast while talking to my fam back in the states after my host family went to bed. It was LATE, and I have to teach tomorrow. Gah! I talked to Matthew, Cory, Steph, Sheryl, and my mom. I had initially told my mom that I couldn't call on Christmas, but I forgot that I could call Christmas night/early morning the day after Christmas and talk to them.
I'm still not completely sure what I'm teaching tomorrow, but it is time for bed!
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