This month, the semester ended, my mother-in-law came up to see our new house and friends came to visit from the States. Of course, there was also Christmas, a trip to Busan and some noraebong fun. What December isn’t busy?
Just as the semester ended at the beginning of this month, some friends from the States, my first friends to ever visit me in Korea, came for 10 days. My friend that was visiting was actually fulfilling a promise he had made to visit me awhile back which goes along with the social movement and nonprofit organization that he founded. Alex Sheen, the founder of Because I Said I Would. was fulfilling his promise to visit and as luck would have it, he had another promise to fulfill to himself and that was to make kimchi. What good timing?
“Because I said I would is a social movement and nonprofit organization dedicated to bettering humanity through the power of a promise. To encourage positive change and acts of kindness, we send “promise cards” to anywhere in the world at no cost. People use these cards to remember the importance of their word, for promises both big and small. We have sent over 150,000 promise cards to over 48 different countries.” You can learn more about him and his movement on his Facebook page or his webpage, both of which I linked to above. Below is the video that he made while he was here fulfilling one of his promises and I’m in it! ^^
I forgot how busy it is being a tourist. When I’m the tourist, I know I’m exhausted at the end of the day, but everything is new so it’s vibrant and beautiful and interesting. As the tour guide, it was a bit exhausting as I’d seen so many things before, but I was sure to add some places to the itinerary that I also wanted to visit. We went down to Busan and visited Taejongdae for some spectacular views. Went to the Jagalchi Fish Market and ate a huge lobster and two prawns. We ate some good food and visited with some of my friends in Busan I don’t get to see too often.
Back in Seoul, we ate at the Gongdeok Jeon Town, shopped in Myeongdong on the snowiest of days, visited the War Memorial, two palaces, Namsan Tower, a dog cafe, hiked around the Seoul Fortress Wall with my hiking club and… well, just had a great busy time. They saw all kinds of different weather while they were here and went from soaking feet in the rain to chills in the snow without proper parkas. They ate as many Korean dishes as I could throw at them and then we ate some not Korean too.
I am so happy that they got to visit and that I had the time to show them around properly. Such a good way to start off a month. Also at the start of the month I chopped off my hair. Winter seems an inopportune time for that, but since it’s stuck under a hat most of the time anyway, it should work. Despite my lack of a smile in the photo, I do like it. I’ve never had it this short before and was a bit skeptical, though I like how it feels. With the compliments of friends and family, I’m getting more confident in it.
Outdoor treats anyone?
My mother-in-law came and loaded up our fridge with good eats and after she left I tried to make my first ever yukgaejang. I’ll post the recipe soon. I made some apple pies from scratch and toilet roll owls for our Christmas party and got a gorgeous grey knit blanket from my sister in Australia for Xmas. What a great month!?
Last, but certainly not least. Thanks for a great year everyone. My blog has seen some big growth and I’m so thankful to everyone that reads and follows me and my travels.
Lots of love to everyone. I hope the end of your year sees you well and excited for a new year ahead.