Christmas in Korea

This blog should definitely start off with the statement that it just wasn't the same.  Nomatter what you do, and nomatter how much you try to trick your mind into thinking that it is, Christmas without your family and without your traditions and everything that makes Christmas special, will never be the same.  That being said, to be able to spend it with the person that you love and in a place that is different will be an experience that I am sure neither one of us will ever forget.  It truly drives home how important it is to take what you have and make it as special as possible.

For us, I think that started about 5 weeks before Christmas came ...and started with the purchase of our Christmas tree.  And ohhhhh, what a tree it is.  Have a look.  I couldn't be more proud of myself for keeping the little tree alive - and you have no idea the extent to which we went to put decorations (including twinkle lights) onto it!

Then of course it was the Christmas movies.  And while Wayne was not always a willing participant he sat through quite a few:)  Another part of what really made this Christmas special for me was the skyping that I was able to do with both of my family Christmases.  There is nothing worse than knowing that events that you look forward to all year long are coming and going without you there, but this year of my families skyped me in to take part in the festivities! 

Because of the time difference this was slightly interesting - during the Eldridge Christmas I was out on the Saturday night until 4am and then came home and talked to everyone (slightly under the influence) until 5:30am!!  Then with the Rook Christmas that happens on Christmas day, Wayne & I got up extra early because we were leaving for China that morning and skyped in at 5:30am to be a part of that day!  So while I didn't get to taste the amazing hashbrown casserole or the brownies that I sometimes wake up at night dreaming about ...it helped.  And you will be happy to hear that I didn't even cry on Christmas day ...now, Christmas eve ...

Christmas at our school - where do I start.  I was really excited.  Christmas time is always really exciting with kids, just to feel their level of excitement and anticipation, it definitely gets you in the spirit.  Well, let's just say that Christmas at J&C left me feeling more like Scrooge than Santa.  It was the single most disappointing day that we have had at our school.  I won't go into it too much, because I want to be merry and all of that - but just the lack of organization and the lack of motivation from our leaders was disheartening.  And when we tried to turn it around ...anyways, enough of that ...I will say this, at least it did not end up with Chucky on screen.  This time around we watched Elf.

Here are some pics of the festivities.

Above are the kids getting ready to play in a bit of an obstacle race.  The rules and objectives were given in Korean, so I still can't really tell you what they were supposed to be doing!

The kids were all dressed in red, white or green ...very cute.

Christmas with Kids College was a different story. As I mentioned in an earlier blog - I had been teaching kindergarden for the week, so I got to know the majority of the kindergardens.  Because Wayne was an unknown to them, and maybe for other reasons, he was asked to play Santa for their Christmas party.  They were so excited when they were told that Santa would be coming!  And they were absolutely thrilled when he walked through the door.  One of the little girls even brought him a little baggie with some cookies and milk.  And while there were a few skeptics in the crowd - asking their teachers why Santa had a dark beard underneath his white beard ...for the most part, they all felt extremely special when Santa asked them if they had been good that year and rewarded each one with a gift.  Now that is Christmas and it was so fun to be a part of their excitement.

Some pics:

This is Fransisco:)

Well ...Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Goodnight!