Monday, December 29, 2008

Fun Christmas, Long Work Hours



The Christmas trip with Vicky was great. We got up at 4:30 a.m. to catch a 7:30 a.m. bus in Seoul to go to Petite France and Nami Island.

Petite France is a fake little French village based on "The Little Prince" books. Mom and dad said they've read them to me, but I don't remember them. Either way, they're very famous.

The village had incredible detention to detail and was beautiful. It gave us a lot of great places for pictures and even a couple of videos, which I've posted below.

After a an hour or so there, we hopped back on the bus for the trip over to Nami Island, also known as the Naminara Republic. It's not a real independent republic, but a cool little island in the middle of the northern part of the Han River.

We took a three-minute ferry ride to get there and spent about four hours wondering around the 10 sq km island. There were art exhibits, picture opportunities, a children's book festival, restaurants, live ostriches running free and a band putting on an electronic Christmas concert. We also took a sweet ride on a pedal car around an aerial track on the island.

The whole place was really sweet, and actually reminded me a lot of being back in western Pennsylvania. I guess getting back into nature will do that to you after being in the concrete jungle for months on end.

Sunday was a really great day because I spent it with Vicky's family. First, I went to dinner with Vicky and her mom. Then, we went back to their house and played a Korean card game with her dad. It is called "Go Stop" in English, and it's similar to a "Go Fish" type of game. It's a little more complicated, but I think I got the hang of it before I left.

Winter classes started this week because the students are on a winter break from school. For this schedule, students come in for two classes in the morning. Stacy asked me to teach the English speaking part. That's more good than bad, but getting up earlier isn't too much fun.

It also means two extra classes every day for the next month. I had eight classes total today. I'll be pretty busy for awhile.

The good part is that I'll be compensated for my time. Extra money is always a good thing over here. It means once again that I don't have to touch what is going into my bank account, and my savings will continue to grow.

That's all for now. New Year's is right around the corner, but I have no plans yet. Vicky's sister is going to the Philippines for three months on Jan. 2 or 3, so she might have to spend the time with her family. I'll figure something out soon. I kind of have to.

I'll post my pictures from my Christmas trip soon enough. Until then, enjoy the videos of Petite France and the band on Nami Island.

Petite France 1

Petite France 2

Nami Island

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