A Skype-y Christmas

So the year is coming to a close...just like it does every year. These past 4 months have been pretty rough not being around our loved ones, especially during the holidays, but I must say that this Christmas was definitely something special.
N8 and I are very lucky to have made such good friends here in Gangneung, we had a huge Christmas eve dinner with friends who all brought something fun and hot to eat! One friend was even able to manage a turkey from a friend who is working for the US government. hooray! We stuffed our faces (I had 3 plates of food) and played dirty Santa and taboo. The next morning N8 and were so happy to sleep in and wake up to a tree full of presents underneath, thanks to the Riley family and my wonderful sisters jb and S! I got some great pj pants, socks, books, and cookie/brownie mix! N8 recieved a hat, gloves, and a scarf which were exactly what he needed. We both got some great books to keep us company too. So we were able to open our presents with my family over skype and wish each other a Merry Christmas.
Then we celebrated Christmas on the slopes of Korea with some friends that were first-timers. We rented our snowboarding equipment for under 30 dollars and lift tickets are also around 30 dollars! Its so much cheaper to snowboard here, which is great for us! We made sure to make it back to Gangneung for another Christmas dinner with the same crew from the Christmas eve dinner. It was another night of more food, fun and friends! N8 was finally able to talk to his family when we got back and the whole even came to a really wonderful close. Thanks to all for making us feel so loved during this holiday season!


Oh by the way! we also had a huge snow fall a few days before Christmas which really made it feel like home! The students had off from school but all the teachers were called in to help shovel! :)