Christmas in Korea

Today is my first Christmas away from my family and my first Christmas in Korea. It actually feels like a normal day. I woke up feeling a little bit better the days leading up to Christmas. I was missing my family and friends a lot. I felt like crying a lot... just thinking about not being at mass or opening presents with my family. I kept telling myself to make the best out of today because it is a change but it could be a good change.

I ate breakfast with Hana's family then Hana and I left for mass while Hana's parents went to their service. The church was big compare to other Catholic churches in Korea. It looked very modern and very simple. I liked it a lot. We sat at the upper floor and got the view of the whole altar and the congregation. The view from above made me see mass in such a beautiful way; it gave me a different perspective. I saw every movement and I saw how simple yet very magnificence the altar is. I especially loved the music; the sound of the organ is just so uplifting...and of course, incense!!!

After mass, Hana and I went to buy a Christmas cake then took the bus home. We watched TV (Home Alone 3 and Harry Potter) for most of the afternoon. We ordered chicken and just laid around...being super lazy. It was too cold to go outside so we're fine with just bumming on Christmas day.

This was definitely a different Christmas but at least it was not a stressful one. I gave Hana a present (US Polo shirt) and gave her family some Kisses chocolate. They were glad.

Catholic Church in Anyang, South Korea

Christmas Mass in Korea 

Facetime. Christmas family dinner from 6000 thousand miles away. I miss food!!! 

the Romantic Nami Island

This past weekend, I was given a chance to visit Nami Island with some of the coolest people. My ex-host family asked me a few weeks ago if I wanted to go with them on the weekend of Dec 22-23. They also said I can bring my friends if I wanted. I asked Maggie and Linh to come with me since Linh wanted to go before and Maggie was in Korea for the time being.

The three of us arrived from our respective places in Anyang at around 1pm on Saturday. We then went to Hana's house (my host family friend). We drove for two hours to Chuncheon and arrived at really nice pension. The pension overlooked Nami island which is probably only about 2 miles in circumference. The plan was to stay there for the night then take a ferry to the island the next morning.

The pension was very luxurious. The four girls had our own pension and Hana's parents got the room next door to us. That night we had sang chu (non marinated pork wrap with lettuce dip sam jang sauce). It was delicious!! We were also very hungry so everything tasted very good. Hana and I also drank the sweetest moscato wine I'd ever had!

After dinner, we went back to our room and decided to teach Hana how to play 13  (a card game, also known as Big 2 in China). Hana finally mastered the game and actually won a few games on her own. She was proud and I was too, since I was her card master.

That night, it really felt like a vacation. I took a bath in a tub!! I haven't seen a tub since I left America. I didn't have to worry about anything because everything was planned and taken care of. We didn't have to catch the bus or look up where to eat. It was relaxing. We all fell asleep watching Hitman on TV.

The next morning, we had a home-cooked and healthy breakfast. It's nice to be eating with people... a lot of people. We packed up our things, drove about 5 minutes to the dock, then took the ferry to our final destination, Nami Island.

The ferry took about 5 minutes but of course, the view of the water, the mountain, and the snow were breathtaking... It was really cold...about -5-10 Celsius. Still, we were happy because the view was really nice. We stopped by the gift shops, saw art galleries, and saw the famous place where they filmed  the Korean drama, Winter Sonata. Nami Island is quite famous because of this drama. We ate good snacks and took lots and lots of pictures. At around 3pm, we took the ferry back and ate dalk galbi for lunch (chicken dish mix with rice cakes and red paste). Again, it was delicious.

At around 6pm, we dropped Maggie and Linh off at the subway station and I went home with my host family.

View from our pension room. 

The other side of our luxurious room. 

In front of Moonlight Pension 

Balcony view with Magster

the very kind and wonderful Host Family; thank you for such a good weekend! 

artistic picture 

the bathroom was the best part! 

check me/the view out! 

Dinner; caught Hana drinking!

Maggie's priority: picture of all of us in the bath tub

Welcome to Nami Island

Our short ferry to Nami

First glance at Nami; what is Santa doing there?? 

the famous Winter Sonata drama 

Famous scene from Winter Sonata took place here! 

view of Nami on ferry 

Freezing cold but breathtaking view 

cute song museum 

a very big fake guitar; standing in order by height 

dalk galbi... drools

healthy and good; sang chu 

Maggie in Busan, Pohang Korea

This past week, Maggie came to visit my hood. Last Saturday, I went to Busan Airport to get her then we went to explore Busan. We stayed at Mr.Egg Hostel near Haeundae Beach. The staff was really friendly and the hostel was really cute. The hostel was about 5 minutes from the beach. The beach in Busan was really nice but we were freezing. We went the Jalchachi fish market, Nampo area for food and Christmas lights, and the biggest store in the world, Shinsage in Centum City. It felt like we walked  and ate a lot. 

Maggie and I went back to Pohang on Sunday night. The night was so cold; I think it was -2 degrees Celsius. The weekdays were filled with trips to Homeplus and downtown. We didn't get to do as much as we wanted because it rained and Maggie wasn't feeling well. We saw the Hobbits on Thursday and we had dinner at a bar with one of my friends on Wednesday. 

On Saturday, we decided to take another trip back to Busan. This time, we went to Apec house, Miss Egg hostel (just to see and buy souvenirs), and had dinner in Nampo area with my friend from Busan. We went back that night and got home around 1am. 

Today, Maggie took the bus to Seoul. 

It was so nice to have her come visit me. It was perfect timing because I was missing home a lot. Maggie being here made it felt like home/college. We were roommates for 4 years and it felt like old times. I needed a friend here and she came. We had good conversations and shared feelings just like old times. 

Haeundae Beach

Christmas lights in Nampo

Mr. Egg Hostel 

Mr. Egg

Maggie went back for Mr. Egg and Miss Egg

Busan is famous for pork stew.

with some TaLKers at Haeundae Beach

Fun and freezing at Haeundae Beach

First Day of Snow in Korea

Mary statue outside Juko Catholic Church

Today I went to mass at 10am because it was the feast of the Immaculate Conception. It dawned upon me that it was just a daily mass when they didn't do the second reading. It was beautiful mass though. I might come more often...Love the sound of the organ.










At around 1pm, I got ready for school and when I stepped outside, I realized it was snowing!!! On my way to the bus stop, I saw people taking pictures and were happy to see the first snow of the season. I've seen snow before in New York (it was a blizzard actually) but there's some thing about snow that makes it so exciting.

Oksan Elementary School covered with snow.

View from inside the car.

can you just feel the joy?? haha

After my first class, my co-teacher and I decided to go outside to take pictures of the snow. When we got to the playground, all the students were outside playing with the snow. One of the teachers told us that all students will be going home early today due to the snow. Yay for us!! I ended up desk warming for the rest of the day and left early.

Students playing outside with snow.

White Christmas

1st Grade Singing

I've been wanting to record this for so long but I kept forgetting my camera. I finally got this clip today. 

My 1st grade is singing their favorite song/video of all time: Shape Song 2. 

They always ask to sing it every time they see me. 

I hear t hem singing it after class too. 

It's a pretty catchy song and I find myself singing it sometimes. 

Enjoy!

Advent Recollection with Filipino Community

This past Sunday I went to an Advent Recollection organized by the Filipino community in Pohang and Gyeongju. When I got to the church, people were eating lunch already. Good thing I met this Filipino lady that kept me company the whole time. She's probably in her late 40s but she acts pretty young.

After lunch, which consisted of mainly Korean food (I was hoping for Filipino food), we had two lectures/talks by a professor from Daegu Catholic University and the Chaplain priest for Filipino community in Seoul. The professor talked about Advent and what it means to us. There were a few things I got from her talk. First, Advent means "the coming" of Christ. There are three comings: the birth of Christ, the coming of Christ at the end of time, and Christ coming in our daily lives each day. Second, if someone is coming then someone is waiting; we are waiting for the coming of Christ. Third, we must let go of the things that are holding us down and we must be prepared for Christ's visit.

“Beware that your hearts do not become drowsy from carousing and drunkenness and the anxieties of daily life, and that day catch you by surprise like a trap.”

—	Luke 21:34

The priest, Father Arvin, gave a talk about love and reconciliation. He showed us a clip of Beauty and the Beast. It was the scene where the Beast lets go of Belle because he loves her. He gave a lot bible verses where we can see proof of God's love.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

     -John 15:3

Father Arvin urged us to reconcile with God and with one another. We were also given a chance to go to confession after the talk. 

I went to confession for the first time in Korea and it was my first time going into one of the confession rooms (where the priest cannot see your face). While I was kneeling there telling the priest my sins...I started crying. I felt loved. 

Happy Advent!

                                "To love is to will the good of another" - St. Thomas Aquinas

Gyeryongsan in Daejeon

Stream

Trails 

Beautiful view

Going homeee

The temple entrance

Another day of hiking! The leaves were all gone but the hike was still very nice. We didn't get to the top since we had to leave early..in order to catch the bus home. My bus trip was 3 hours each way :(

at the Temple

It was a one day trip and my muscles were hurting the next day.

Like vampires?

"Try to be happy!"

First water pond!

Haven't seen them in a while :)

Glowing