finally made it out to one of Korea's most popular amusement parks, Lotte World. It was kind of cheesy to be honest, but it was still a good time spent with good people.
I hiked to the top of Baegundae, which is said to be the highest mountain peak in Seoul. Baegundae is part of Bukhansan National Park which I can see easily from my window, so now my view is a little more special. During this hike I also met two of the kindest people I've come across with in Korea so far. My friend and I were totally unprepared for the icy/snowy trek, and would have struggled a lot more had these nice Koreans not lent us their special cramp on shoes, and then treated us to a delicious meal afterwards. My only disappointment about this hike was that on the day I went it was really smoggy so the view wasn't as good as I'm sure it normally is. I will definitely have to go back, perhaps in spring and give it another go.
This month I also had more home cooked meals than I probably had in the past year combined. I've always loved baking, but actually preparing a meal has always been scary for me, but I've decided to give it a go and it has been going really well. I'm still far from cooking the same delicious meals my mom prepares, but I think by the time I get married, I will have it figured out. Most recently, I invited a friend over to my house and with with my mom's help (via skype) we managed to make some pretty tasty homemade tortillas, and fajitas.
My favorites this month were:
movie- The Hobbit 2- The desolation of smaug. I've seen it in theaters twice already, and will probably watch it again before the final one is released next year. I'm not actually a big fan of these kinds of movies, and found the first Hobit to be a little meh, but this second one is really terrific.
song- I see fire by Ed Sheeran, I first heard it during the ending credits of the Hobbit 2 and felt in love. It's so relaxing, and easy to listen to several times on repeat.
book- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. I was an avid reader throughout high school and college, but got pretty lazy after graduation and have struggled with reading a book in it's entirety. But I bought an e-reader recently, and in order not to let it be a waste of money, I quickly filled it up with books and got started. The first book I read cover to cover on my new e-reader was The Kite Runner. The story itself is heart wrenching, and at times I had to take breaks to get my emotions in check, but the way it was written is so well done, and holds a strong message about loyalty, survival, and friendship.
Miscellaneous: I'm on week two of a three week winter camp, and as much as I like the more relaxed atmosphere, I'm very ready for it to be over. I'm currently teaching third graders, and I'm finding them to be much harder to teach and manage than my older students. They don't study with a native teacher during the regular semester so this kind of learning experience is different for them, and in the amount of time that we have together, I don't think it's enough for them to grasp what is going on.
Coming up in month 18:
Seoul Music Awards
Big Bang Concert
Reading another book cover to cover, currently working on The Book Thief
Vacation, vacation, vacation! :D
