Christmas in Korea

I have spent Christmas away from my immediate family before, but those years I always had my ex's family to spend it with. So this was a new experience for me. I am thousands of miles away from home and spent my first Christmas with no family around. I wasn't sure how it would go, but surprisingly it went by quickly. I think what helped was not being bombarded by Christmas for weeks in advance. Many Koreans celebrate Christmas but not to the point that we do back home. You don't see Christmas lights, Santas, Reindeer, or hear Christmas music everywhere you go. It is more of a surprise when you do see something relating to Christmas. So Christmas came and went before I knew it.

Koreans spend Christmas a little different that we do. They tend to spend the time with their significant other rather than family. Many of my students planned to go to a PC Bang and play video games all day long. There was not much mentioned of traveling to see family, or having a huge special family meal. They spend Christmas with their significant other, and New Year's with their family, just the opposite of what we do back home.

The foreign teachers at work and I tried to keep in good holiday cheer. I think it was harder for others than it was for me. Most are away from home for the first time ever this time of year. I tried to keep in the holiday spirit by making some Christmas candy. With my limited resources here, no oven and not much in the utensil department, I went with chocolate covered pecans. Pecans themselves are not big here. I had been searching hoping to find the ingrediants to make pecan pie and finally found some at COSTCO. They turned out quite good, and I think everyone at work enjoyed them. It wasn't quite like having divinity or date balls, but it did the trick.

We had decided to do a secret Santa gift exchange to keep in the holiday spirit as well. It turned out to be a good night after work on Christmas Eve. I recieved a great gift that will have me laughing for a long time. First of all, I got a Christmas toilet seat. This is absolute genius and has to be the best secret santa gift I have ever gotten. To add to that, I got some chopstick trainers (see pics below). It is well known here that my chopstick skills are lacking and I can't wait to sport my purple dinosaur chopstick trainers out one day next week for lunch. All in all it was a great night.

Christmas came and went pretty quickly. I got up and talked to my parents in the morning, went to the gym for a short time because I knew I was going to pig out later in the day, then went to join my fellow workers for a nice meal downtown. We had a nice Western style Christmas dinner of turkey, dressing, and mashed potatoes. The only hang up I had was the menu called for pumpkin pie, which I had been craving since Thanksgiving. Pies in general are difficult to find around here, except for walnut which isn't too shabby. Instead of pumpkin they served apple. I am sure it was good but I was really looking forward to pumpkin. All in all I had a great time at lunch and enjoyed the atmosphere. I have to admit I missed my mom's cornbread dressing and all the other goodies that are made every year. It was a good experience being in a foreign country for Christmas however. I really enjoy being here and look forward to more adventures.

Christmas is Coming Soon

Christmas is less than 3 days away, and it really doesn't seem like it. There are very little decorations here in Korea aside from the random Santa in a small shop or a few decorations at large department stores. I can picture all the lights and decorations around town back home. I saw pictues of BLORA on Facebook recently too. That brings back a lot of good memories. For those who don't know, BLORA is a drive through Christmas light display back home in Texas. It makes for a good night driving slowly through the park, looking at lights with family and friends, while listening to Christmas music on the radio.

On the flip side, it is cold here and I am not used to haveing a cold Christmas. We got a little snow on Sunday, but it melted when it hit the ground. There is nothing like a white Christmas, but you have to play the hand you are dealt. In my case that is enjoying a cold snowless Christmas. I feel for those dealing with the blizzard that hit the northeast in the US. Below are a few pictures I got from my aunt and uncles back yard just outside of DC. I miss the snow, but they got more than you can deal with at one time.

Even though I won't be able to be with my family on Christmas, I am looking forward to it. I am looking forward to the dinner that the foreign teachers are going to. The menu is a western style meal and it sounds fantastic. Add in the good company I will have as well, and it should make for a good day. I guess I'll have to get my Christmas light fix through all the photos I see on Facebook.

Till next time

E

A Nice Surprise

I got a surprise in the mail today. My parents sent me a package, or a parcel as the Brits at work call it. I really wasn't expecting anything, and honestly it doesn't matter what is in it. Sometimes it's just nice to know that someone is thinking of you even though you might be half way around the world. Plus lately I keep seeing everyone else at work get things, so when I arrived and saw the big box on my desk I was excited. I did notice on the customs form they filled out that the small box was candy. That got me very excited because I know my mom would have sent me my favorite Christmas candy, the pepermint Christmas nougats. They are only available this time of year, and they are the best.

After lunch I was greeted with an even better surprise. There was a card on my desk when I returned. My first Christmas card in Korea. It was a nice card, with a very nice note from my parents in it, but the part that made my day was the picture of my new niece in it. She was born my first day of work in Korea so I have not got the chance to see her. That is one of the drawbacks of coming. At the very least I won't see her until she is 1 year old. I know that doesn't seem like a long time, but it is to me. I have some amazing nieces and nephews, and since I don't have kids it is important to me to have a good relationship with them. I see too many people overlook the importance of family like I did when I was younger. Now I seehow fortunate I am to have a very supportive and caring family. Not to mention my close friends, who I usually refer to as my Texas family.

I have come to realize over the past few years how important family and friends are. Without them, I don't know how I would have gotten through my divorce. Without all their support I wouldn't have been able to make this move work. Christmas will be the hardest time of year to be away from home. Thankfully with the advent of some great technology, namely Skype, I will be able to speak to my family on Christmas. Add to that the fact I have some other foreign teachers to keep me company, it should be a good day. It won't be the same as being with my family, but it should be good none-the-less.

So wherever you spend the holiday season this year, don't forget those who mean most to you wherever they are. But enjoy the company of those you will be with and try to remember the true spirit of the holiday. It is more than ribbons and bows.

Merry Christmas.

E

Pictures of my new niece Abigail Elizabeth.