Christmas bells are RINGING!!!

So! It's that time of year again... Christmas cheer and all that fun stuff. Things have been a bit hectic and crazy lately. It seems that once again, I am ALWAYS busy. I dunno how that happens, but it is without fail that I am busy... all the time.

Christmas is really not a big holiday in Korea. Koreans don't care much about it and certainly do not have the same Christmas culture as we do (sometimes they don't even exchange gifts!, there is no Santa, there are rarely christmas lights because everyone lives in apartments here, and if there's a tree it's a teeny tiny fake one, much like the one I have in my box size apartment).

But I can relate to Koreans in a small way, because I also am not a gift giver or receiver... Gifts have never been my thing. I always tell people if they wanna get me something, to give me the gift of their time. That way we can hang out and make memories instead of them spending their money and giving me something that may or may not be something I want, need etc.  I, of course, appreciate the thoughts and efforts, but really... I don't want people to ever feel pressure to give me gifts. BUT! I'd like to thank family for always thinking of me, even though I'm far far away during the special holidays.

So- What are my Christmas plans? Well, spending it with the closest thing I have to family (who am I kidding, she really is part of my family)... Alex. Of course. And we decided to show some love to our closest Korean girlfriend here, Yeonjung, by planning some Christmas surprises for her and spending the day and evening with her and taking her out to a nice dinner. Pics to come after the holiday season.

As for New Year's Eve, well, I'm all about the countdown. I think Alex and I will be staying in Daegu and hopefully be surrounded by good friends, good laughs, and a lil' alcohol to make the freezing cold winter just a bit more bearable. :)

In other news... there are only 6 more days of teaching! WOO TO THE HOO! The semester officially ends on Dec. 30th. And between December 31-March 2nd I only have to be at school for a total of 8 days. Three days for a winter English camp that Alex and I are both teaching at, and it's only 3 hours each day, and the other 5 days are half days with no class. So, I am VERY MUCH SO looking forward to some much needed down time and a LOT of exercising in between (and of course, my most favorite activity... sleeping).

In other other news... I was in a short skit/play this past weekend... I have much to say on the subject, but I'd rather talk about it with a few pics of my acting debut which Alex has on her camera which is currently not with her at school (as I'm writing this at school). SO! My next post will be about the play... :)

I hope everyone has a completely wonderful Christmas, New Year's, and all the time in between...

Yeonjung and I

Alex and I recently, a night out

*** Also, I don't mean to end this post on a sad note... but I do want to remind everyone to stay safe this holiday season. As some of you may know, a childhood friend of mine, Stacey, died last New Year's day (around 3am) from being hit by a drunk driver as she was walking home from the bar. She was smart, and didn't get into the guy's car because she knew he had been drinking, but in an extremely sad situation, that very same guy whose car she didn't get into hit her and killed her, and he fled the scene and eventually turned himself into the police after he sobered up. Her death has shaken me a bit, but I just want to remind everyone to be as safe as possible and watch out for all the drunk drivers around this time (and always)... <3 For you, Stace.