Busan Trip with Minjeong and Seojeong

Visited Haedong Yonggung, a seaside Buddhist temple.

Buddha with a bag of happiness :)

Walking back to our hotel from the temple. Took about 4 hours.

Eating lunch / resting our feet at a cafe.

Seaweed farms!

View from our 15th floor hotel room;
Skyline reminded me a bit of Chicago.

Doodling the skyline :)

Greeted the New Year's sunrise with thousands of others
at Haeundae Beach. It was a really big deal (but only
 for about 15 minutes): brave swimmers,  people releasing
floating lantern-balloons and news broadcasters
flying overhead in helicopters...

Highlight of the trip: Jagalchi Market. Amazing variety of seafood!!
Saw a full sized shark and ate raw flatfish :)

Connexus Christmas Party

Made Christmas cards. We wrote messages to each of our students.

Each class/level learned a Christmas song to perform :)

Making thumbprint Christmas magnets in my classroom.
Other teachers hosted stations like musical chairs and cookie decorating :)

Viewing a slideshow of the year so far. Jae (right; KOPI president)
dressed up as Santa and handed out small Xmas party favours. 

Merry Christmas!

Drawings of people on the Subway...

(late October) November & December Happenings

Whew! So, a lot has happened since my last post: moving house and moving office (lots of packing, sorting and cleaning), a Connexus Christmas party and a New Years trip to Busan! Thanks for all your emails and well wishes. Here are some pictures from my adventures…

Afternoon picnic at a camping site.
Learning a new game with Hwatu cards.

Visited Sarah (front right) and her fiancee Noa at thier River Market stall.
It was a farmer's market/Folk Fest type of environment :)

Making kimchi in the basement of the new complex.

Went for a nice walk one Saturday along the old city wall.

Attended (and sang at) another community wedding!

Ceramic painting in Guri one weekend with Minjeong (left).

Dusting of snow in Nov (old house's balcony).

Bangsan Baking market in Seoul.
Karen Jantzen was in her element!

Gyeongbokgung Palace visit in November. Very pretty; very cold!

Misook invited teachers to go to the "Home Table Deco Fair"
at the Coex Mall (It was kinda like a commercially craft sale
 environment…). Others tried out some "eye massagers." 

New Building.

View from my and Michaela's new bedroom.
Our neighbouring building is a restaurant
(we get wafts of meaty smells every now and then…).

Subway on Christmas day. Seojeong invited the
 teachers over to her parents' place for a movie night!