One of my favorite things to do is reflect back on all the adventures and fun things we did throughout the year, and 2013 was a heck of a year. We really enjoyed 2012, but had so many opportunities this year to travel, experience new things, and see more of Korea. I’m not going to sit here and write about what I’m expecting from 2014, because I have absolutely no expectations. Life gives us so many surprises and opportunities, it’s impossible to predict the future! All I know is that its going to be yet another wonderful year with my husband, filled with excitement, adventure, and yet again…travels! Happy New Year to all, and be safe in all your festivities! Just in case you were wondering, here are Living in Another Language’s yearly stats front and center!
JANUARY 2013
We began our year on the sunny beaches of Vietnam. Well technically we were sitting in the airport waiting to go home, but I’m sure we had some sand grains still hanging out between our toes.
FEBRUARY 2013
This is the month where Derik was crippled. He severely hurt his ankle (rupturing ligaments and such) while playing baseball, so on our trip to Japan in February to get Derik a new visa, we had to learn the hard way how to get around. Thank goodness for Universal Studios and their sweet wheelchairs.
MARCH 2013
We love our friends! Ethan and Sandra came down to visit from Seosan, and we had a great weekend filled with card games, good food, and of course fireworks on Gujora beach!
APRIL 2013
Since E & S traveled all the way down to Geoje Island, we decided to return the favor and headed up to Seosan to celebrate Sandra’s birthday! We had a blast enjoying their sweet parks, eating breakfast (hey, we foreigners love to eat together!), watching Parks and Rec, and playing games.
MAY 2013
Buddha has a birthday in May. I’m always giving him a big thumbs up for that, nothing like a 3-4 day holiday weekend! We spent ours in Seoraksan National Park enjoying the beauty of the landscape. However, it did rain the entire second day, so when we went hiking to the top we didn’t have much of a view. Oh well, I guess that means we’ll have to go again.
JUNE 2013
Took a road trip to the Boseong green tea fields! I’m not obsessed with green tea, but my love for it did grow after this visit! The air smelled so fresh, the tea was given out for free, and we walked away with a funny story about how a bulldozer almost plowed down our campsite. Awesome.
JULY 2013
We were gearing up for our big summer vacation in August, so we decided to hang out locally and do some more tourist (ish) stuff in Busan! The Temple on the Sea is one of the prettiest temples I’ve ever visited in Korea, I was so excited to visit! I also went to a cat cafe the first time and found out I’m super allergic to cats. Yay.
AUGUST 2013
Remote jungle vacation? Check. Borneo was pretty spectacular, and we enjoyed all the coconut juice, monkeys, and Thai food (yes thai food, we found a great restaurant-don’t judge)
SEPTEMBER 2013
Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) came to us in September. We were lucky enough to get a week off, and decided last minute to head over to Japan and explore more of the area! I can now officially check seeing a Geisha in real life off my list!
OCTOBER 2013
October was the month of festivals! For my birthday I asked to go to either the Jinju Lantern Festival or the Busan Fireworks Festival. I got both!!! Although I’m pretty ‘festivaled’ out after fighting the crowds, it was totally worth it.
NOVEMBER 2013
November was pretty low key, especially having to move out of our apartment last minute and find a new one (thank you racist landlord). We did enjoy the beautiful fall air and headed out to a local sculpture park and enjoyed a good hour or two of the views!
DECEMBER 2013
A month of work hour marathons and saving every penny began in December as we prepared for our vacation! We enjoyed a delicious Italian dinner for Christmas, but otherwise, December was pretty uneventful!
We’re leaving in the morning for gorgeous Hawaii!!! Talk to you soon, and happy NEW YEAR!
