Merry Christmas from Daegu!

We wanted to take this opportunity to wish everyone who reads this blog a VERY Merry Christmas and a blessed holiday season!

Sarah decorated our apartment for Christmas!

This year was Sarah and my first Christmas ever away from our families, and Christmas in Korea was certainly an adjustment for us. Thank God for the community of friends we have come to know and love here, as being near to others is such a valuable part of this holiday and time of year.

Our Daegu friends (L-R: Fraser, Tom, Ann, Sarah, Jen, me, Soo Yean, Chris, Sydney, Kat, & Tyler)

Sarah and I were able to host a group of our friends on Christmas Eve for a very fun and festive Christmas party extravaganza.

Tom & Chris decorating Christmas cookies

The afternoon and evening were filled with plenty of fun things, not to mention some delicious food (honey baked ham, pesto pasta, 7-bean chilli with pineapple, mashed potatoes, buffalo chicken dip, etc.). We had a lot of fun things we did, including a white elephant gift exchange, baking and decorating Christmas cookies, doing a Secret Santa gift-giving time, and watching "A Muppet Christmas Carol".

Christmas cookies from our Christmas Eve party

On Christmas Day, I woke up early and cooked Sarah a traditional American Christmas breakfast- A broccoli and cheese omelette with crispy fried bacon and orange juice. We then got our day started by reading the Christmas story from Luke 2:1-20 and taking time to pray and remember why we celebrate this season.

Next we got to have a special Christmas just the two of us, taking time to give each other gifts and celebrate the blessings we have as a married couple. You can see several photos below for some of our "highlight" gifts.

I got Sarah the book "Pyongyang: A Journey In North Korea" by Guy Delisle

Sarah bought me some nice-smelling cologne

I bought Sarah a matching hoodie and sweatpants "Chick Chick" outfit...haha!

Sarah bought me a Cleveland Indians hat to represent my hometown team in the U.S.!

After that we spent a few hours Skyping with our families back home, and then it was off to church for a Christmas service and dinner.

We hope that everyone back home had an equally relaxing and blessed Christmas weekend, and we truly wish you all the best as we look forward to the start of 2012.

Love and blessings,
Brad & Sarah

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...in some ways

The lights are all around us here, and the feeling in the air is that it is most definitely the Christmas season, but only recently... surprisingly.

Sarah and I in front of the huge Christmas tree near Duryu Park in our neighborhood

Sarah and I were not to sure what to expect around the holiday season, as it is both of our first Christmas away from our families and a hard time of year (especially) to be away from the ones you love.

 Sarah and I enjoying some warm holiday drinks at a cafe downtown

We've really enjoyed walking around downtown in Daegu, looking at all the Christmas lights, and even becoming a little nostalgic about things as ridiculous as the commercialism of Christmas. It's amazing what you appreciate when you're away from home, even the least favorite parts about the holidays. Haha!

It had only recently started to even feel like winter here in Korea. In fact, last week I went on a mountain hike with my students, and I didn't even wear my jacket. It felt like fall!

A few of my 3rd and 4th graders on our climb up Apsan Mountain last week

School has been busy for the both of us the past few weeks, as we've been simultaneously wrapping up our school years (Korean public school end in December and begin new in March) as well as preparing for our winter English camps, which are a whole different beast of their own.

I just had my last English festival for the school year, and this time around our kids put on an English song festival. My students, grades 3-6, picked a wide variety of English songs to perform. From traditional Christmas music to pop songs like Justin Bieber, The Backstreet Boys, and The Beatles, I was incredibly moved by the amount of time and effort they all put into their performances. Their English was incredible, and the artistic talent is also evident among so many of them.

Some of my 6th graders performing "Party Rock Anthem" at this week's English song festival

Sarah and I have both been fighting off the recycled colds that seem to bounce around our friend circles and our schools, and in so many ways it feels like another holiday winter as many of you might find back in the states (except for the fact that everyone hear speaks another language...LOL!).

Sarah and I are still putting together our vacation plans for this January, when we'll have about 2 1/2 weeks off for winter break. Our plan is to travel to different parts of Korea and explore other parts of the country. We're both very excited about this!

One piece of advice to people planning to come over to Korea and teach. Travel around Asia is not as easy or cheap as it is in other parts of the continent. Traveling to Japan, China, and even Vietnam can run you hundreds upon thousands of dollars for flights and accommodations, not to mention food. For China, it costs $150 just to get a special Visa to travel their during your break.

We've found that the most popular travel destinations for ESL teachers are Thailand or simply to stay put and travel around South Korea.

More to come in the weeks ahead, and we'll be sure to give you all another update on or around Christmas Day.

Until then, God's blessings and peace. Enjoy the season, and stay warm!!!