Lunar New Year – Unexpected Kindness

Few holidays are as important as the Lunar New Year in Korea. Like many East Asian countries, this holiday is a massively important celebration that signifies a new year and a communal birthday.

2014: A Year in Review

HAPPY NEW YEARS! While we welcome a new year, we would like to take a moment to reflect on the one that has just concluded. 2014 was a year of transition for Hedgers Abroad. Finishing our contracts at our first job in Korea was a struggle of will and perspective that we eventually won; leading to a much better situation in public schools.

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Expat Holidays

Holidays for expats can be really lonely. Facebook only makes things worse as you see the ones you love posting photos and stories of family get-togethers back home. Thanksgiving and Christmas aren’t celebrated in Korea and those days just pass by without much notice. However, we do get one day off for Christmas, which I am insanely grateful for.

Let’s Go To…Oklahoma!

Just in time for Ryan’s Birthday, we were able to take a two week vacation to our home state of Oklahoma. During our visit we were able to spend time with the majority of our large families and participate in some of our favorite activities. We went hiking, shot guns, caught fish, drove red dirt roads, ate massive amounts of food, and laughed endlessly with loved ones.

Country Day

One of our first stops on our trip to Oklahoma, after some multi-family birthday parties for me, was actually not in Oklahoma. Since being in Seoul can wear on us country folks, we desperately needed a trip to the family ranch in Missouri. Living in the city has its advantages, but a relaxing day on the ranch can relax the most stressed and worn out individual.

Weekly Photo Challenge… Family

This weekly photo challenge was so much fun for us. We are lucky enough to have an incredible family on both sides of our marriage and we feel like these pictures truly embody our relationships with these terrific individuals. We hope that you enjoy some of the more epic photos of our family dynamic and hope that it conveys some of the crazy bliss that family impresses upon us.

Weekly Photo Challenge – Joy

This week’s photo challenge is to capture one of life’s most important emotions: JOY. Throughout our lives, the joyous moments will be the ones that we remember the most. We immediately knew which photos we would chose to share, as they were so unforgettable. As we were sorting through these, we realized that our family spends most of their time with their mouths agape. While it is funny to see, it also testifies to their happiness.

Thanksgiving Abroad

With the holiday season upon us, we have started to feel a little sad being so far away from family. Living abroad can be very rewarding, but it comes at a price. In past years, the holidays meant rushing from one family gathering to the next and trying to cram as much face time as possible into our limited amount of vacation days.

Yilan Beach BBQ

Early on the 20^th of September, we boarded the subway to meet Kenny and make the trip to his family’s house. After a short ride and a 10 minute walk, we found ourselves in Uncle’s home. Uncle was a jolly man of short stature and an infectious laugh who took every opportunity to have his nephew translate his questions to us.

Fond wishes for our family and friends…

This month happened to contain the birthdays of several of our family members and friends. It is sometimes very bittersweet to be here in Korea while the people we love and care about back home celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, births, and weddings. Even worse are the loved ones we’ve lost in this short amount of time and were unable to see one last time.