The never ending snowfall

Welcomed by a winter wonderland 

After an incredible two week winter vacation in Vietnam and Cambodia  I arrived back on Korean soil and was welcomed by a white winter wonderland. I felt like I had experienced two seasons in  1 day as winter is Vietnam is anything but cold with temperatures averaging from 25 degrees - 30 degrees on most days. However 
Korean winters are anything but warm. As I arrived back in my beautiful city I was overwhelmed by the snowy magical sight. Roads covered in endless snow , lakes and rivers covered in  a thick icy sheet  and trees  dusted with snow . As  I stood at the KTX station taking in this beautiful sight I didn't really consider the implications of this beautiful winter wonderland. It had been an incredibly long day of traveling and I just wanted to get home. I waited a few minutes for the bus that I usually take from the train station only to be informed by some locals that in fact the buses were not running due to the severe snowfall .... great. 11 pm at night and i'm stuck at the station with my giant suitcase in the snow. I was left with no choice but to take a taxi. As we started driving towards the city centre I realised just how severe this snowfall was. Cars buried under mountains of snow , roads blocked up by snow , people shoveling snow out of their drive ways  and  people walking everywhere. The roads were so severe due to the snow that the usual 20 minute ride to my house took one 1 hour . I think an obese child   could probably  move faster than the taxi.I arrived at my road only to discover that it was buried under large amounts of snow. The taxi man refused to drive down my road so I was forced to lug my suitcase through the snow to my apartment which  proved to be a challenge in itself as the entrance to the apartment was pretty blocked up by snow as well. 20 000 won and 1 hour later I was back in my warm little abode .



Snow at school
The next morning the snowfall  was even more severe  and there were no taxis or buses in sight. I had no choice but to walk. As I made my way to school  the snowy white sight was beyond spectacular . The icy cold chill that  I  had suddenly disappeared as I focused on the beautiful surroundings  and magical sight   Little children with giant umbrellas walking in the snow , the sunlight falling onto the snowy ground  , green trees dusted with snow  and the snow falling down on my face. I couldn't help but think of the song " walking in a winter wonderland"
But the most spectacular part of my walk was undoubtedly arriving at school. My school is already a very beautiful school set against the backdrop of the mountains . So try imagine the sight that I was welcomed by when I arrived to find my school covered in snow.  The long steep avenue now covered in a blanket of white , the trees on each side of the avenue looked like vanilla ice creams and hundreds of girls with their colourful umbrellas.
Our lovely lush green field had been transformed into one giant bed of snow. My inner child took over and I dived into the snow and attempted to make a snow angel... I'm pretty sure that  the entire school saw 'La teacher" acting like a complete nutter  in the snow. Lunch time was spent making snowmen , having snow ball fights and making snow angels with my students . It was the best first day back ever !

We are all very surprised with the large and unexpected amount of snowfall as this is very unsual for Gyeongju city. Although the snowfall is causing many challenges for most people such as getting to work , transporting things and  getting into their houses , as a South African who rarely gets to experience such magic I am truly loving it. Many schools close during the heavy snowfall . They call it " snow day". My school  however , being as academic as it is does not believe in snow days but that is fine by me because I get to spend my  last days at this amazing school with my students making snow angels and snowmen.