Dec GRRR!: No Home for the Holidays and Vacation Plans

Last Updated on December 18, 2017 by Christine Kaaloa

snow schoolKR(Top; clockwise) My school with snow-covered playground; my 2nd grade student from Storytelling class; rooftop of neighborhood hanok houses with kimchi clay pots; streets on my way to work; my 2nd grade students attempt to snowfight.

Snow Hits Korea and No Home for the Holidays

Last week it snowed in Daegu and across Korea! My students were excited to play with the thin layer we got. Perhaps we’ll be settling into a White Christmas this holiday season.. If so, I’ll be air-mailing out wintry holiday kisses this season.

My annual trip home for the holidays? Nope, not happening. My mother just posted flight prices and offered to send me a gift ticket in a last effort to get me home for Christmas for four days, but woof.  Maybe Obama would spend that much for a four-day holiday, but staring at those ceiling numbers gave me nosebleed. How many SEA trips that could equal?

To keep from bummed dissatisfaction, I search for a silver lining– it will be my first Christmas/New Year’s holidays abroad and maybe, there’ll be snow!

My winter V-word might enlist medical tourism

Yes… V-time swoops in quickly to offer us NETs travel relief! This January, my vacation lips spell T.H.A.I.L.A.N.D.  and L.A.O.S !
Sure, I was in Thailand last year; I absolutely loved it! Nowhere else had I experienced such respite. Also, after discovering my high-tech dental spa in Chiang Mai (and being charged half the cost of what I pay in the U.S!), I told myself I’d make Thailand my new dental home! I wasn’t joking.

SAM 0527CM Dental Clinic offers pickup service at your guesthouse and several ultra-styled rooms of modern technology. I got one dentist and two assistants working on my mouth last year.

Medical tourism (ABCLocal article here) is my hip new travel term.
As far as dental tourism goes, with the language barrier and the one advertised expat dentist I’ve visited here in downtown Daegu (the city is actually launching itself as the IT spot for medical tourism in Korea), the Thai still have Korea seeming like a third world country. So I’m taking my chipped crown on over and booking some time for my annual dental checkup! That’s the plan, anyways.

… And Laos? Well, I’ve just heard too many grand things about it’s off-the-beaten path allure.

20091105 999 301Ayutthaya, Thailand

But hold on… I’m not daydreaming about my upcoming travels just yet; I’ve got a more serious juggle.  I’ve got lesson plans, winter camp, year-end details and so far, I’ve only gotten a couple of Seoul university resumes out (well, this week makes three). This may feel a bit complicated when I have to walk into the immigration office come January for a visa extension to finish out my contract. Additionally, I haven’t researched my fallback plans for India yet either.   Ack!

Last year, I was prepared to tackle the formidable gap year and launch GRRRL TRAVELER Challenge #2 (living and working abroad); this year, I’m a bit behind in devising the next step. Come February 25th when my contract ends and I have to pack up my apartment, your guess is as good as mine as to where I’ll be!

The floor is now open for bids…

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