Off To Japan!

For the Chinese New Year, our academies get a "mini" vacation. So, starting today: I am on BREAK! :) We get Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday are no school holidays! And...I'm off to Japan!

Two of my friends, Bonnie and Aine, and I are headed to Tokyo for new year. We leave in a little less than 10 hours, and I just finished packing! This is my life...

But, I am SO EXCITED!

I talked to the lovely Uncle Casey and Aunt Kumiko Davis (my Japanese experts) and can't wait to cross the stuff off of their amazing "Things to Do in Tokyo" list!

I'll write all about it when I return on Wednesday Jan. 25th! And then...it's my BIRTHDAY!

Here's to the Chinese New Year! :)

Love.

Winter Exploring and Enjoying

Hello dear ones!

 So much has taken place in the last two weeks. I'm amazed at how time can fly, and yet so much can be fit into that time! 

Christmas night: wearing my Santa shirt sent from  the parents.

First off, Christmas! It did not feel like the holiday very much, but it was still a nice time. The whole weekend I was with friends and we lounged around and watched Christmas movies. On Christmas night, (taking from Teter Christmas Eve tradition) a few of us did a gift exchange, and it was a good time. Although being away from my family was really hard, it was nice to have good friends surrounding me. 

The highlight of the weekend though, was skyping with the whole family at the Christmas Eve party. I got passed around to everyone, and got to say hello! It was exactly what I needed, so thank you all for including me into the party for a little while! You're the best family a girl could have! :)

After Christmas, I only had to go to school for three days, and then we had a vacation! It was such a wonderful feeling being done with the week on Wednesday. After classes on Wednesday night, all of the teachers and our boss, Mr. Do, went out to dinner.  This is always such an interesting time, because I sit there while everyone speaks Korean and laughs. They will tend to translate some things for me, but usually, I just sit and smile. The teachers are starting to warm up to me though, so I threw in a few jokes of my own and got some laughs, so point for me! 

A beautiful view of Yonggungsa temple.

Nikki and I conquering the temple!

On Thursday morning, two new friends, Nikki and Liam (both from the UK), and I went on a mini vacation to the beach city of Busan. It was absolutely wonderful! We had to wake up a bit early to catch our train, but as soon as we got there, it was amazing. The weather was warmer and we were on the ocean. We walked along the beach, drank coffee, and soaked up some sunshine. We even put our feet into the freezing cold water! :) We stayed in a hostel, which was like deja vu from my England days. But, the best thing we did on Thursday was go to the Yonggungsa temple by the sea. 

Unlike other temples that are situated in the mountains, this temple sits beautifully among the cliffs overlooking the ocean. 

Unfortunately the original temple was destroyed by fire when the Japanese invaded Korea in 1592, but it was rebuilt in the early 1930s. But, it is still a breathtaking view.  We hiked around the temple and enjoyed the view for close to three hours. 

Buddha overlooking the temple.

Sunset at Haeundae Beach, Busan.

We then found an Irish pub situated among all the Korean food stores and enjoyed some "home" cuisine and mulled wine to warm us up.

On Friday morning, we departed from the hostel early and went to the Busan Aquarium. I've been to a few aquariums in my day, but this one was gorgeous - and HUGE! It is all underground, and has some amazing animals and sea life. The best part is the seabed tunnel.  The tunnel experience resembles a walk along the floor with various sea creatures (fish, turtles, and sharks!) swimming above. It was incredible. 

There were a lot of these mini figurines all along the temple. 

Gold Buddha!

After the museum, we decided to take the fast train back to Daegu, and got here in a third of the time it took us on the slow train...I will now be only taking the fast train to places! 

Jelly fish at Busan Aquarium

All of a sudden, it was New Years Eve! 

Hello 2012!

 It was a wonderful night here in Daegu. It's kind of like time traveling, being 14-17 hours ahead of all my loved ones at home puts me in this weird limbo where I feel like I celebrate holidays for a really long time. I'm looking forward to the extra long birthday! :) 

Megan, John & I

Anyways, on New Years, a few friends and I stayed together for the midnight countdown and we just hugged and said we were thankful for having each other. And I truly am. The people here have truly made this experience worth while for me. They are amazing friends and I am so lucky to call them friends! And then, we just celebrated the new year well into the next day. :) That's the thing about foreigners here in Korea. On the weekends, we tend to live it up. So...I'm usually coming home about the time the sun is rising...I'm just now getting used to it! 

Happy New Year! 

This past week, my academy has started it's January schedule. They change the times during the month while the students are on vacation from their public schools. So, now I am working from 1pm to 8-9pm. I tend to like finishing earlier, but it has put a big damper on seeing everyone, for they still start and finish at the same time. So, I'm kind of ready for January to over so I can get my social schedule back on track! :)

And now, for the wonderful continuation of "Thing's I've Learned..."

37.  The "foreigner" nod. I am now making a public decree to make a new rule. When foreigners see each other in the streets, downtown, or while shopping, I believe there should be a "foreigner" nod. Just to acknowledge one another. Luckily, many do show some sort of acknowledgement, with a wave, smile or a hello, but some do not. I just like to think of it as a, "We're all in this together" sort of thing...so, I will be waving and saying hello to every foreigner I see. :)

38.  I (finally!) received my "alien card". Which is just an identification card to prove that I can be in the country...it's something small, but it makes me feel official!

39.  My parents are the best in the world. :) Granted, this is something I already knew, but I had to share it! Only they would go into Old Navy and skype with me to show me all the options of clothing they will send me for my birthday! Also, I am SO looking forward to the summer when my parents come to Korea and spend more than a MONTH here traveling and visiting! I cannot wait to introduce them to this world and my friends. Mom and Dad, you two are the best!

40. I got a few new students the other day and I came so close to having my own naming ceremony. The Korean teachers wanted me to pick the students names...but I ended up telling the kids to think about it and to come to class this week with a name. Too much pressure for me! :) But! I did have one kid choose a name that is my new favorite...Meteor!

41.  My "little ones". This is not a huge thing, but I wanted to share it as well. Due to the schedule change for January, I have gotten a new class. They are my little ones. They are only 6-7 years old, and their English is not that great yet, but I look forward more to them to anyone else right now. When I walk in the classroom, their faces light up and I feel like I can do no wrong! They all want to hold my hand and touch my hair, and, surprisingly, I'm totally fine with this! :) They all just squeal with delight when I dance around and sing to them! "Ohhhh Cambria Teacher!" Best boost to the ego if I ever had one. Am I making your heart melt yet? Because they are the sweetest kids in the world. A picture will surely be coming soon!

42. It SNOWED the other day! Actually SNOWED! I forgot how much I loved the snow and watching it fall. It brought back wonderful memories of Manchester and having winter fun! Unfortunately, it didn't last long, however it was still beautiful. But! True to myself, I learned, once again, that you can take the girl out of California, but you cannot take the California out of the girl. The snow had not been on the ground for more than half an hour when I was walking home and slipped and fell. I couldn't help but laugh...as I iced my knee and checked out all of my new bruises. :) 

I hope you are all well and had a wonderful holiday season! I miss you all and love you even more. Thanks for always checking in and reading about my life! And thank you to all who have sent beautiful cards and notes! You're the best! It makes me smile so much when I walk into work and there is a card waiting on my desk from the states! :)

Love you!

-Cam

Happy 2012!