About two or three weeks ago, I spotted my first trace of Christmas in South Korea. It was at the bottom floor of E-mart and in the form of a mini, single aisle Christmas decoration and card section. The whole commercial aspect of the holidays generally bothers me, so the cheesy cards, fake trees, and plastic ornaments were unimpressive. I did, however, score a string of Christmas lights. And to choose the correct color (they all look clear until lit), I had a semi coherent, very short Korean exchange with an employee. The same lady now smiles at me every time we meet. Anyway, besides the lights, the only other part of the section I enjoy is a musical tree that plays "Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle bells lock...Jingle bells sing and jingle bells ling." The song is just too stinkin' cute. I now find myself stopping to listen all too often.
Since the appearance of the musical tree and it's surroundings, I had been waiting for something to ignite that holiday spirit of mine. I made cards for those in the U.S. and in my heart. That helped, but still, something was missing. On Friday, that holiday emptiness started to fill when I woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland and then, that night, hosted a holiday party. I've met a lot of special people here in Korea and a great majority of them were in attendance. While not being near friends and family from home right now is pretty dang difficult, this was certainly uplifting.
A wintery walk to school.
In Korea, umbrellas come out the second flakes start to fall. Just a little further down the path, concerned students covered m with theirs.
Winter Wonderlands do not equal snow/no school days. :/
One student packaged some snow in a container and brought it to class. Funny thing is, it probably stayed cold.
I made hot buttered rum for the holiday party. Quite tasty, if I do say so myself.
White elephant gifts.
Kai-bai-bo (rock, paper, scissors) for the T-Money pass.
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