Biggest. Boy Band. Ever.

It's that time, again.  Say hello to Super Junior.  This is a group of 10 (formerly 13) that I like to think of as the NKOTBSB of Korea.  I hear this song everywhere, and I still have no idea what's going on.

Enjoy this little delight, "Bonamana".

Excuse me, WHAT?

I don't understand the obsession with sweet potatoes in this country.  As I stated before, I tried a sweet potato latte on Thanksgiving, but at the time I thought that was a season goodness.  Wrong.

You can get anything sweet potato flavored here.  I must admit that I enjoy the occasional slice of sweet potato pizza, but this cake is just taking things to another level.  When I saw it in the bakery the other day I couldn't help but document this oddity.

"Coolest Thing Ever"

Jacki and I took a million different subway lines to the COEX mall on Wednesday.  It's this county's largest underground shopping center, and I must admit that it's pretty impressive.  We were told COEX was the place to go to find normal-person pants sizes, this turned out to be false.  Oh well, better luck next time.

The best part of this venture was the maps at the mall.  They're completely interactive, and completely awesome.  They tell you everything you need to know-and they can tell you in like six different languages.  Oh, Asia, how I love your technology.

Drinkmas Day.

I know this might be hard to believe, but I spent a solid 12 hours in the same bar on Christmas day.

In my defense, I was a bit worried that I would be spending the day sitting in my apartment, crying into a large bucket of ramen noodles and listening to Michael Buble's Christmas album on repeat.

Instead, I had a great time and made some fabulous new friends.  I mean, half a day of drinking and eating some tasty Western food provided plenty of time for us to have some fun together.  Don't judge-I swear that's not all I do here.

Low-Key Christmas Eve.

Although Christmas Eve is, like, my favorite day of the year back in the states, I had a pretty low-key and relaxing experience here in Korea. 

Most of the other foreign teachers took off on trips to exotic places (or Canada), so Mike, Jacki, and I were left to fend for ourselves.  We decided to make a delicious stir fry-beef and broccoli.  It might not have lived up to my family's TGIFridays frozen app tradition, but I loved it all the same.

Staff Dinner #1.

December 23rd turned out to be one the best nights I've had in Korea thus far.  We had a staff dinner - which essentially means free food, free drinks, ample bonding time with co-workers, and (in this case)  Secret Santa gifts.  Pretty solid situation, right?  Right.

A little insight into Korean culture: they like to drink.  I was warned before we left that people would be pouring me drinks all night - mostly because everyone wanted to make sure that I knew, in Korea, you pour and receive drinks with two hands - but I never could have guessed the amount of alcohol that one little posse of teachers could consume.

Needless to say, this is how most of the group was feeling, well before the clock struck midnight.

To make matters worse (or better), we got the first real snow of the season!  It seemed like a welcome surprise as we exited the restaurant. 

That is, until everyone and their mother started falling.  Luckily my Minnesota genes kicked in, and I was able to stay on my feet.  But there were definitely some close calls.

A Little Holiday Cheer.

Here are some more of the Christmas videos that Jaguar class made for me to send to my friends at family.  I also uploaded them to my channel on YouTube, where you can see every video I've  taken in South Korea.

Merry "Kwistmas", once again!

Welcome, Jacki!

I'm no longer the "new chick"!  This is a time for celebration.  Monday marked my one-monthiversary in Suji and I can't believe how time is flying. 

Jacki came to us on Wednesday from California.  We took her out to dinner (and drinks, naturally) as soon as she got to town.  Welcome, Jacki! 

PS- She's got a great blog, check out The Possible Venture.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Folk Dance All the Way.

We had a "Santa Party" on Friday morning, which means we spent the entire time making reindeer antlers and visiting with "Santa" (all of the kids knew it was Mike teacher). 

After everyone received their gifts, we went to the gym to learn a folk dance.  After quite a bit of practice, the little stinkers actually caught on pretty well.

The Christmas Tree Dance.

Let me explain The Christmas Tree Dance:

1. You have to make your Christmas tree.
2. You need to string the lights.
3. You put your presents under the tree.

You put these three things together and you get an adorable group of Korean kids dancin' away.

Merry Christmas!

My jaguar class wanted to record many different "Happy Christmas" songs, but this is the one that turned out the best.  I'm so sad that I won't be in Minnesota to celebrate the holiday, but I hope that you all can watch this and pretend that I'm there, singing obnoxiously into your ear.

KPOP: Round 3

Say hello to BIGBANG, another one of Korea's finest.  I chose this song, "Beautiful Hangover" because it's the worst song title I've ever heard of.  Talk about an oxymoron.  I also enjoy the way the pronounce beu-teee-ful.

Enjoy.

White Christmas.

As we left the club, we were delighted to find real snow outside!  This light sprinkling lasted all of five minutes, and melted almost immediately, but it was still exciting.  I'm still crossing my fingers for a (somewhat) white Christmas.

In the Club.

I went to my first South Korean club last night.  It was everything I dreamed it would be.  And more...

Even though the prices were astronomical ($8 iced tea, anyone?), it was still a great time.  The music was awesome, and they even had fake snow flying around!  Everyone got their groove on until the wee hours of the morning.

Christmas Party #1.

This weekend a bunch of us ventured into Gangnam for a Christmas party.  There was a dress code: red and black if you're single, or white and black if you're in a relationship.  For $20 we got a few hours of free drinks and some solid Christmas cheer.  They even got everyone into the giving spirit by auctioning off some men at the end of the night...

"The Norm."

We spend most of our time in Suji bummin' around one of two bars: Exit or Underground.  Although there's nothing too exciting about either place, it's always a bonus when you're able to walk home from the bar.

This is a typical night at Exit:

And here's a photo from Underground, where apparently it's not a good idea to wear chapstick.  Black lights aren't flattering for anyone...

A Little Help From Your Friends.

I'm sorry, but how stinkin' adorable are these kids?

Christmas Concert.

Thursday morning was a fun-filled day for my Jaguar class.  Their parents came to school to watch their rendition of "Frosty the Snowman".  I might be able to get my hands on a video soon, but these photos are currently all I have to show the unbearable cuteness that was all around us that day.

Kimbap Shop.

There's a tiny little restaurant right underneath my school that we eat at almost every day for lunch.  It's called a Kimbap Shop. 

Kimbap is my new favorite lunchtime snack.  It's very similar to sushi, but the roll is much bigger.  And it's only $2.50.  Major bonus.  My favorite so far is chamchi (tuna).

The other thing we get a lot is kimchi jjigae ("chi-gue").  It's just kimchi soup with tofu, and it might look disgusting, but it's quite delightful.

And finally we have dolsot bibimbap.  Basically a bunch of random fixings mixed together in a large steaming bowl with a raw egg on top.  I know this probably sounds strange as well, but once it's all mixed together it's a great meal.

The best part about any meal in Korea is the overabundance of side dishes that are served.  I don't know what half of them are, but it sure is awesome to have something to munch on while you wait for your food.

"My Ideal Christmas"

Today I was running out of ideas to keep these kids occupied while their teachers were helping with other Christmas plays, so I told them to draw me their "Ideal Christmas".  Most of them drew whatever toy they asked for.  I used my absolutely stellar drawing skills to make a picture of my own.  The kids loved the fact that I have two dogs, and laughed a lot at the "bald" man in the picture.  Against my better judgement, I've decided that I'm okay with posting the picture that caused such a ruckus.

I've clearly been in South Korea long enough, because Jeff seems to have developed some Asian features.

Josh Vetter - I hope you appreciate this.

Finding the Christmas Spirit.

After spending an entire day listening to tiny voices belting out classics such as "Jungle Bell Rock" and "Frosty the Snowman", I was feeling particularly jolly.

After dinner I decided to crack open a jug (yes, jug) of Carlo Rossi sangria, blast some Bieber Christmas tunes, and do some serious gift wrapping.  Don't judge me.

Now I'm just praying it doesn't cost me my firstborn child to send all of these home.

Isn't my 3 inch Christmas tree festive?

Christmas Concert Week.

This week is a bit of a joke for my morning classes at SLP.  The Christmas Concert has been happening every day, so most mornings consist of either practicing our Christmas play, or doing crafts with the other classes while someone else practices.  It's great.

My Jaguars' play is presented tomorrow, so today I spent the morning making Christmas trees and coloring with a few different classes. 

These performances are a big deal here.  They prove to the parents how much their child's English is improving.  Wish us luck tomorrow!