November in Korea

This month went by rather slow actually. But there are some pretty sweet things to mention. Like...Pepero Day!!! It's kind of a combination of sweetest day and valentine's day. Couples get all mushy gushy (even though they already kind of are in general) by getting peperos. Some even come with small stuffed animals! The range between basic peperos and extravagent ones is pretty ridiculous. What is a pepero? It's a snack comprised of a cracker stick that's dipped in chocolate. In Japan, they're known as Pocky, which I know are selled in the States, so if you're familiar with those, then it's basically the same thing. Except that there are a bajillion different kinds of them!! You can get bigger ones, ones with nuts, ones that are also dipped in strawberry, ones with caramel, etc. Being the nice teacher I am (hah), I bought some for my students. How often am I going to celebrate Pepero Day? I also received peperos from my students. It wa a bit overwhelming at how much I got! Here's what I accumulated from the kindergarteners:

It was pretty fantastic. Moving on, since my friends and I didn't want to hang out and be totally surrounded by couples in their matching outfits and overall cuteness, we had our own pepero party. Nothing elaborate, but lots of peperos to eat! It was a fun day.

I also went to Gwangju for the first time. Well, technically it was my second time, but the first time was solely spent in the bus terminal. Anyway, we were in Gwangju. Our mission: shopping! There was a pretty big shopping area that we traversed. We walked. We browsed. We shopped. It was a good day.

Work has been pretty much the same. Lots of work to do. I'll save you from the boringness.

We had Thanksgiving at school though! Just for the kindergarteners. They did a few craft activities, and we made mashed potatoes and an oreo dessert. My friends and I had our own Thanksgiving "dinner" which was oodles of fun! Turkey is not available in Korea unless you want to spend lots of money on one. Green beans are also considered a foreign food, so no green bean casserole. Well, we could have made it by getting green beans from a special store that sells foreign foods in Gwangju, but we weren't able to get them in time. Anyway, we had chicken, mashed potatoes (regular and sweet potatoes), cheese and crackers, crescents, pumpkin, and deviled eggs. Pretty good! We even had a pecan pie (say what?!?!) Pies aren't common in Korea. It's a cake country. They're totally missing out. Anyway, it was a great night to enjoy with friends.

Now it's Christmas season!! Lots to do, lots to do! So I'm definitely keeping busy with work, learning Korean, planning trips, and relaxing on the side.

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!! 4 months down, 6 to go!