After eight months of haejangguk and galmaegisal (our two favorite Korean dishes), teaching English to a bunch of kiddos and living life abroad, we had really started to miss our families. This feeling especially hit us during the end of last year, around the holidays. We were excited, then, to return home for a month this winter to spend time and catch up with everyone we hadn't seen for so long.
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Planning and Plotting
Previous to this, a good friend of ours had told us a story about her parents. This was in late spring/early summer, and we were sitting together with some friends on a blanket by the river in Jangheung. She told us that she loved surprising her family and in particular, her parents. It was a family trait, actually, as her father would always do it to her mother, sneaking in when she thought he wasn't coming home so soon from a trip, and surprising her.
This planted a little seed in our brains and after our Jeju trip for summer vacation last year, we decided to go home for the long, winter break in January, 2015.
And so the scheming began!
We bought our plane tickets home, round trip from Incheon to San Jose. We told our parents about this purchase, keeping the actual date rather indistinct, wishy-washily saying that we would let them know, that our flight times kept changing. Then letting more time go by and by and by. Finally, we mentioned to California family that we would be arriving on the second of January. After a few weeks there, we would then head to Texas for yet another Christmas and lots of good ol' fashioned niece-bonding time!
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Embarking
Early in the morning on New Year's Eve (our first), we awoke in our Gwangju hotel room and soon ran outside to quickly grab a taxi to the bus terminal. Just as we hailed one, it had started to rain and snow and grow gray outside.
The skies were dark and threatening but they had no impact on our upbeat and eager moods! We caught a bus to the international airport in Incheon: the northernmost SK city of transport. We thankfully arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare and with all of our luggage and everything in tow-even with an extra suitcase filled with lots of Christmas presents and goodies! We parked ourselves and our small luggage army just outside the gate to await our check-in time for our first flight to Seattle.
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Secret Anticipation
We landed in Seattle on New Year's Eve (our second: isn't time travel great?!?), then flew to San Jose, where Janelle, (Kristen's lovely, very, very helpful sister), had driven to pick us up and take us back to Fresno. She'd only told a handful of people we were coming in early-her boyfriend and her brother-so we were still metaphorically flying in under the radar. PUN! We got into Fresno just a little before nine that night and stopped for In-N-Out (OH GOD IN-N-OUT IS SO GOOD) before heading to the NYE party where Kristen's parents were spending time with good friends.
As we pulled into the driveway of the house, our hearts were skipping beats and we were so thrilled with the anticipation of finally pulling off this surprise we had been planning for five months or so. And to our amusement, our surprise worked out perfectly!! (We will put up the video of this, if possible).
Brad's face of surprise and bewilderment is forever etched in our minds as is the sound of Lori's excited scream from across the room as she made her way around the table where their friends and they had just finished eating dinner and were starting in on a round of card games to make it to the New Year. It was indeed a fun night and it gave us a few extra days with peeps there. A great way to begin a new year.
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California
Beyond that, it was ten days of partying! Road trips, coffee chats, conversations in the den of the Fry house, movie nights, more Starbucks, birthdays, and lots of hugs and well-wishes.
We also were very lucky to go to the Fry Family cabin for the weekend of Janelle's 21st birthday! And to celebrate the end of Daniel's 16th birthday week.
We also got to hang out with the friends and catch up with them. This included dinner and a movie night at the Escobar's with little, lovely Lucy: our favorite cat in the whole, wide world.
Though she's an Escobar now and forever, we won't stop loving her! <3
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Texas
After a while with the Fry's, we flew to Texas by way of San Francisco to spend some time with the Chaney side of the family in San Antonio!
We started out the Texas side of things with an authentic and delicious sushi dinner. It was just what we needed after yet another plane ride and we want to thank the Chaney's yet again for such a welcome dinner! <3
It was our luck when we arrived because supposedly, we brought beautiful blue skies and warmer temperatures to enjoy long walks around the neighborhood and fun times out in the backyard swings and hammock.
My sister's girls are just amazing.
As is my sister!
So lovely to see Grandma Jean-who we miss so very much as well!
Lots of pulling the girls in the wagon!
Reading books in the sunshine and even made a new friend!
We also got to puzzle the nights away! Which believe us, was much more fun than the pictures may entail... ;)
And just generally enjoying the heck out of everyone, everything, and ALL THE...
FOOD!
We had a wonderful time, traipsing all over California and Texas with our families, but eventually it all had to come to an end. We returned back to California for a few days before Brad and Lori drove us out to San Jose, surprising us with a swanky hotel room for our last night in America (since we had to get up super early the next day and would have slept in the airport otherwise)! We had a lovely last dinner with them and said our goodbyes before tucking in and taking off.
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Back to EKintheSK
Coming back to SK after 27 days of delicious, familiar, and warmer California and Texas, we knew it was going to be significantly colder and more frozen (literally and metaphorically) than it was for us at home in the States. We didn't suspect it was going to be this cold though: Central California's winter lows are usually our highs! If we hit 40 degrees Fahrenheit in SK, we rejoice! :) Yippee!
But colder temps here in Jeollanamdo could not keep us away from the lovely Korean BBQ that we have had thrice already since being back!
Being able to visit both California and Texas families was both a blessing and a blessing. Let's be honest! It was all good! Connecting again with family and the ones closest to us was inspiring after eight months of being away, living, working, breathing, and adventuring in a less-and-less foreign place. As we continue to grow more and more fond of SK and its adventures, our home seems to be wherever we lay our heads at night.
Having the face-to-face contact was an irreplaceable experience, especially as we were able to ride on the coat-tails of the Christmas holiday feelings of merriment and joy before the New Year's anticipations rolled on in. We loved so much to be able to hug and kiss and chat and laugh with our parents, siblings, grandparents, nieces, relatives, and friends. Because for us, that's really what Christmastime is all about!
We've loved having some time away to get a bit of perspective on our lives here and now we are excited to see what this new year will look like for us!
Cheers, you guys! And thanks to everyone who made our time at home so, so amazing. We love and miss you! <3
Love, E + K