January in Korea = COLD.

Every time I have heard someone describe the winters in Korea they would always say that I have to experience it to know what they mean by "bone chilling cold". It is the type of cold that will creep into any layer of clothing and attach itself to your body no matter how hard you try to keep it out! Which is why today I am sitting happily inside our warm apartment typing this blog :)

Over this past weekend I have learned that water which is spraying from a faucet in the laundry room in every direction can in fact freeze in less than an hour. I spent all yesterday listening to icicles falling from the ceiling in our defrosting laundry room because somehow our Korean rigged washing machine hose decided to break loose. It was such a lovely thing to wake up to, especially because we just thought the noise was our neighbors taking a loud shower. :X

Luckily we had a friend of Zak's over this weekend who is Korean and he helped us accomplish all the things we have had trouble doing due to the language barrier. We managed to fix our washer in the right way this time, so hopefully we wont have any more water explosions. Joe (aka Zak's friend) also helped Zak get his Korean Immigration card which allows us to buy things online, since most Korean websites request a foreign ID number to purchase items like movie tickets, train tickets, pizza, etc. Joe also informed us of the great "bundle" deals Korea has for internet/cable/phone but we needed a Korean bank account to take advantage of the deal since they need direct deposit, so we signed up with the bank right downstairs in our building (how convenient!) So now we have digital cable with movie packages, high speed internet, and an internet phone all for a whopping 45,000KRW (about $40) woo hoo! 

Here is a photo of Joe, Zak and Pip when we were out looking for parts to hook up the washing machine:

Last night a bunch of friends and Zak's co-workers headed up to Seoul to enjoy some great Mexican food at On the Border. It was definitely worth the trip and the margaritas were aweeeeesome!

Here is one of me all bundled up in the negative degree weather outside of Seoul Station:

And the night ended with a yummy Soju Bowl:

So all is great in Korea-land, we are enjoying the fact that we don't have to move anytime soon.. considering we have moved every 6 months for the past 3 years. But I am definitely ready for it to warm up around here!!!

I will leave you with some awesome cell phone pictures that I uploaded that have been taken at various moments in the past 6 months:

Trying on some native wear at the Korean/American Friendship Festival

Some more shots of the Korean/American Friendship Festival

Crazy Crepes! I think this had tiramisu and ice cream in it

I was taking advantage of Zak while he was still recovering from his surgeries he he

This was some sort of Korean American Idol contest at the I'Park Mall in Seoul

Thanks for reading!!! xxx