Hey there all!It's been a while, we know, but hey.... that's us.
We've been real busy, and are both in the middle of applying to grad schools! Jake is applying for a one year B J, starting mid-August. Yes, thats right. Jake is going to spend all his earnings from this year on a year long BJ..... Bachelor of Journalism that is!... at the University of King's College. On their website they advertise all over the place things like "What a one year B J can do for you!" "Come to Kings, we offer the best B J in the country!" haha. It's awesome. But seriously, Jake's mind did a huge 'click' and a compact fluorescent light bulb appeared atop his head. He's real excited, and so am I! His resume is so stacked with relevant experience he's basically a shoo-in.
I've applied for 2 programs, but am not going to get into it that much for fear of rejection, and then everyone who had read this being like... "Colleen, it's October....weren't you supposed to have started school in that blablabla program yet?" and then the pang of rejection would replay itself over and over as I explained my shortcomings.... so... I'm applying to Dal for two programs. And my fingers are crossed. Please cross yours in the appropriate manner as well.
Needless to say, we are rather busy and behind in many ways, with many things, so please let this brief December and Christmas post rest your weary souls until we post about or fantastic, fabulous, wonderfully stupendous trip to the Philippines! Boracay was more than what I've envisioned paradise to be like. But, that story will come, along with millions upon millions of my fabulous photos... oh, and some of Jake's. haha. Actually I'm pretty sure that every picture ever taken on the island is an award winner though, as it's sooo naturally beautiful, even a shitty camera paired with a shitty photographer couldn't screw it up.
December:
The month was warm -- snow, sleet and rain free -- and rather quick! We participated in the usual: drinking, dinner guests, Karaoke with randomers, another English camp, casinos, drinking, food, a visit to the Busan Aquarium and ..... teaching? It was a nice month of looking forward to Christmas and then, on December 29th, the Philippines (Boracay) and New Years on the beach!
Christmas:
Christmas was great! We had lots of presents to and from each other, and a few from home.... well, Jake's home. Jake had a few from home. Or rather an entire Keith's 2-4 box filled with many individually wrapped presents, including some rum, an Antigonish shot glass, som
e Canadian maple syrup, socks, lots of Canadian paraphernalia compliments of the Antigonish Dollarama (god I miss that place), and many other things.
e Canadian maple syrup, socks, lots of Canadian paraphernalia compliments of the Antigonish Dollarama (god I miss that place), and many other things.We had planned a giant feast between Jake, Simon, Byoung Chul, Min He and I, but the plans were ruined when Jake caught the flu after our 2 day 1 night camp-out in the Ulsan mountains, and then passed it on to me in the Christmas spirit on Christmas Eve. We had originally thought it was a wicked hangover, but then it lasted two days, and then I caught it for two more days... so the hangover theory was a miss. This flu was not a nice, gentle one, and was obviously contagious, so the festivities and food had to be canceled.
We had gone (Korean) camping (a.k.a. a hotel, but surrounded by nature) with a bunch of other foreigners living in Ulsan for the weekend before Christmas (the 22nd-23rd). There were 3 Canadian St.FX'ers (Jake, Darren and I), one American, an English bloke, a Kiwi, an Aussie, a few Irish and Scottish, some Korean, and a partridge in a pear tree. After arriving at 2pm, it began. Jake immediately convinced us all that "there's nothing wrong with a few drinks around Christmas time".... and the motto stuck, keeping the beer flowing (and when that was gone, the rum, and when that was gone, other people's beer) until 5am when we all decided enough shenanigans had e
nsued to call it a good Christmas drink. We laughed and ate mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, beer-can chicken and all the other good Christmas eats that we could manage to cook. We ate outside, and some complained that it was too cold, but us Canadians assured everyone that, no, it was not actually cold at all, but more like a Nova Scotian summer night. Hilarity ensued, Trailer Park Boys was watched, I made some 2am spaghetti for all interested parties, and we had a great time. It was a lot of fun and soo relieving to be able to speak English to people again, and have the same sense of humor, and to be able to use sarcasm and put subtle things into conversation that were understood and reciprocated. Talking to our Korean friends can sometimes be challenging and many jokes, sarcasm or subtle inuendos are lost in translation. So, despite the flu, our December and Christmas was fun and most certainly memorable!
That's it for now... back to applications. Stay tuned for a Boracay post!
Photos of:
November - *Jake's* & *Colleen's*
** December **
** Christmas **
nsued to call it a good Christmas drink. We laughed and ate mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, beer-can chicken and all the other good Christmas eats that we could manage to cook. We ate outside, and some complained that it was too cold, but us Canadians assured everyone that, no, it was not actually cold at all, but more like a Nova Scotian summer night. Hilarity ensued, Trailer Park Boys was watched, I made some 2am spaghetti for all interested parties, and we had a great time. It was a lot of fun and soo relieving to be able to speak English to people again, and have the same sense of humor, and to be able to use sarcasm and put subtle things into conversation that were understood and reciprocated. Talking to our Korean friends can sometimes be challenging and many jokes, sarcasm or subtle inuendos are lost in translation. So, despite the flu, our December and Christmas was fun and most certainly memorable!That's it for now... back to applications. Stay tuned for a Boracay post!
Photos of:
November - *Jake's* & *Colleen's*
** December **
** Christmas **
