Christmas has always been a really big deal in my family. There is a day devoted to hanging up decorations and pulling the tree from the attic to adorn with lights and ornaments. Lights are hung outside, and stockings are hung on the mantle. Thanksgiving is gone, and the Christmas season is here!
However, living in Korea, especially during Christmastime, is a completely different experience! It is not recognized as anything of value, and we work the day before AND the day after. Lame. My coworkers and I wanted to make the best of it so we made some awesome plans! After school on Monday (Christmas Eve), we took the subway into Hongdae. There was a huge group of us: Lisa, Rosie, Matthew, Brighid, Ian, Sonya, Mike, and me. We were going to NANTA, the stage show that's really famous here. I went last year and had such a good time that I convinced everyone we should go. We got to the theater, after getting a bit lost, and took our seats in the VIP section. We had great seats with an incredible view!
After the show, we headed out for drinks and dancing. We went to a few different places, kind of hopping from here to there. At one point it started snowing, so we OBVIOUSLY had to go play and take pictures in it! :)
We ended up in a small bar with only a few people in it. We bought a few drinks, and the bartender told us we could request songs to play. We were so pumped! I wrote down a few songs, and in no time, we were linedancing our way around the bar! We had a few onlookers and even a few Korean people who wanted to learn and join in the fun! Finally, at 6am on Christmas morning, the bar closed so we decided to call it a night. In separate groups, we took the subway home. We finally made it back to our apartments at 8am. We were exhausted, but we had a great night! All of us were feeling homesick being away from our families on Christmas, but we made plans and made the best of it!
After sleeping for a few hours, everyone came over to my house for a Christmas Day get together. Sonya and Mike are from Ireland, so they brought over ingredients to make everyone Irish coffees. It was my first time trying Irish coffee, and it was DELICIOUS! (Lisa, Rosie, and Matthew left soon after to go see the Nutcracker. I saw it last year so I knew they would have a good time!) After a few hours, Sonya, Ian, Mike, Brighid, and I took the subway into Cheonho, only a few stops away. We wanted a proper dinner (and an escape from Korean food!), so we went to Outback Steakhouse. We had to wait for about 45 minutes for a seat which wasn't too bad, considering it was Christmas Day. The food was great, as was the company. Overall, I'd say it was a pretty successful Christmas!
My family just arrived back from their ski trip to Utah for the holidays. I'm really wishing I could be with them, but I know they had a blast! I'm so blessed to have an incredible family, amazing friends, and a church community with whom I can celebrate Jesus' birth and be so thankful! Merry Christmas, everyone, and Happy New Year!! :)
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