We had our first major snow in Daejeon about a month or so ago, so I thought it would be appropriate to have a post chalk full with holiday updates.
My students were implausibly enthralled with the snow, almost as if they had not seen it before (and I know they have all seen it many times before). Sure, a lot of snow fell in a short period of time-almost as if the Snow Gods themselves just crapped it all on us at once-but I was more like, "oh, cool...snow" whereas my students were like, "OH MY GOD!!! This is INCREDIBLE!!! WOOOOOW!" One of my students came up behind me while I was at my desk. She alternated between my ears whispering "snow" each time for about 10 times total.
So, needless to say, they were a little excited.
I'm going to reveal my Midwestern roots a little bit here and talk about the winter weather: it's not a lot different than it is back home. Unfortunately, that's not a good thing because I absolutely hate winter in the Midwest. We have had some pretty mild days, but also some deathly cold days. There was snow on the ground for a week before a cold rain washed most of it away. Since then, it has snowed regularly and we've only had a few days without snow on the ground. If I could, I would just spend all of my time in the jimjilbangs (public baths and saunas) until the winter is over. Though, I will say that snow does make winter mildly bearable for me.
About two months ago, I started to feel a little emotionally isolated and depressed. This feeling lasted about a week straight and then off and on for about a week or two afterwards. This was not a special occurence by any means, because this happens whenever anyone lives abroad. At first, one rides a long-lasting high (2-3 months) because everything is so new and exciting, but then after that one hits the low that I previously described. Some people feel homesick, others get depressed, while still others question the meaning of "it all". After the major low, one comes back up to level out somewhere between the initial high and the subsequent low (meaning, one becomes more or less "normalized" to life in the foreign country). Even though I knew the low was coming and was conscious of it, there was nothing I could do to stop it.
What is nice is that all of my friends and I went through the "major low" together. I was sure to bring it up with friends to let them know that it's just something that we naturally go through when living in a new place/culture and to make them aware that we are all going through it together.
What sucks is that this low hit us when winter was starting. My friend commented that it wouldn't be nearly as bad if, say, we were hitting the low in the spring or summer, but alas... as they say in one of my favorite literature series, A Song of Ice and Fire, winter is coming.
Now that I'm "leveling out", I've been able to enjoy my experience here again...albeit still with the existential questions because I'm always questioning the meanings of my existence (duh!). The only thing that I can complain about is how far I live away from everything. It takes me 40-60 minutes by bus to reach downtown, which is not only where the majority of my friends live, but is also where most of the fun, shopping, and general events take place. It can be a real pain in the ass sometimes, but it's not really all that bad as long as I have a chance to plan ahead.
We had a couple of Thanksgiving celebrations a couple months ago. The bigger celebration was made up of people that have been in Daejeon for at least a year already. I befriended a handful of them at a welcome party they held for us back in late August. There was tons of food...two turkeys, three types of stuffing, two types of gravy, mashed potatoes, different salads, mac & cheese...the list goes on. I prepared a beet salad with a walnut/garlic/orange juice sauce. The sauce was really good, but the beets didn't have too much flavor. The next party was a more intimate affair between my close friends. I met up in the morning with my friends Liz and Kate to do some last-minute cooking before going to our friend, Daniel's, apartment. I ended up making a roasted squash/caramelized onion puree that was a topping for baguette slices (plus ricotta cheese). Others brought chicken pot pie, banana bread, pumpkin pie, sweet potato casserole, mac & cheese, and bread...plus I made some mulled wine. Mmm-mmm! There were about 7 or 8 of us total. We spent the entire afternoon eating and enjoying each other's company.
About a month ago I ran my first race. It was a 10k, and all the money went towards a charity that supports research on multiple sclerosis. I ran it with a few friends. After the race, most people went to a buffet style Indian restaurant to chow down. After the restaurant, there was an after-party at a popular foreigner bar where they held poker and dart tournaments. It was a great day!
December 19th marked the Presidential Election Day in Korea. Unlike us in the States, they take the day off from school and work to vote. With that in mind, one of our friends planned a Holiday Party the night before at her apartment. It was a potluck and ugly sweater party. I cooked a stuffing and roasted potatoes. It was a great time with about 30 people from my orientation.
On December 22nd, we had a pub crawl for all the foreigners in the city. In reality, only a relatively small amount of foreigners come out for it, but the invitation is extended to everyone. I played a part in organizing it, and I was told that if I'm staying for a second year I would be in charge of organizing the entire thing next time. We (about 15-20 of us) ate at an Italian restaurant called Bon Bon. Then we went to 11 different clubs and bars after that. I would say the group was at its largest by around the 5th or 6th bar. We probably had 50-60 people at that point. The deal is that we assign our group a specific number of a specific drink at each bar. So, for example: 2 Jagerbombs at the 2nd bar, 3 whiskey shots at the 3rd bar, 4 foreign beers at the 4th bar, etc. Only our group as a collective has to complete the drink selection, not every single person. After we left each club or bar, we sang a song to the tune of "The 12 Days of Christmas", which detailed our itinerary for the night as well as the drink selections. You can probably put it together from there. This is an annual event that has been done for the last 3 years. This was the 4th year, and I hope to be a part of the 5th!
For New Year's Eve, we went to Seoul. We arrived in Seoul around 7:30 p.m. and arrived at our hostel a little after 8:00 p.m. After meeting up with everyone we went out for a quick bite and then started bar and club hopping. Around 4:30 a.m. we went to a restaurant/brewery to have a relaxed beer together. Then around 5:30 a.m. we started looking for a noraebang (karaoke) to go to. It took four tries (I guess they were all full or did not have rooms large enough to accomodate our group), but we finally found one. We belted out tunes until about 8:00 a.m., and at that time, some people had a hankering for Taco Bell. A couple hours later, after we went back to our hostel and packed, five of us went out to brunch together. All in all, one of the best, if not the best, New Year's Eve I've ever had. I just wish I had gone to sleep at some point, because I felt like crap later the next day.
My actual winter vacation begins in the middle of February. I'm planning on going to Vietnam for two weeks with Daniel. We are flying in and out of Hanoi, and plan on traveling up and down the country. From now (middle of January) until then, I'm going to be teaching only a couple of classes in the afternoon. That means I'll have a lot more free time on my hand, which I will welcome with open arms. Unfortunately, it's still cold as hell outside, so it's not like I'll be going hiking or biking. I'll probably learn how to sew or something like that (I do honestly need to sew some buttons on my coat and sew a hole in my workout bag...I already got my $1 sewing kit!) I'll also probably continue to exercise, catch up on some reading, and explore my area a little bit more. I also might look into starting to do yoga again and practicing mindfulness (basically, meditating). Just a matter of motivaaaaaation.
Well, it has been a great holiday season, and now I'm looking forward to some much needed R&R.
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