NYE Itinerary

As excited as I am about everything I plan to do this week, I'm pretty bummed out about not being able to spend NYE with my friends. Thanksgiving and Christmas away from home didn't bother me any, but I have a tradition of hosting rockin' NYE parties, and I'm really going to miss that this year. I think maybe I'm missing my friends more than my family because I'm more used to time away from my family. *Le sigh*

1 p.m.- Take the train (green line to Samseong) to the COEX for the Seoul Doll Fair. The more pictures I see, the more I think my head may explode. I am SO excited for this exhibit. Squee! (I've been collecting teddy bears, Barbie dolls, and dolls from around the world my whole life. There are way too many boxes of these things in storage in the States right now.)

After that- some train hopping to Gwanghwamun Plaza (purple line) for a second shot at ice skating. I have no time constraints, so I can stand in line until I freeze to death, if I so choose.

Before midnight- some more train hopping to Hongdae (green line) to rock in the New Year.

6 a.m. Saturday- must find food and something to keep me occupied for a few hours. Mayhap a nap in a warm coffee shop?

12:30 p.m.- Pick up at Hongik Station for ski trip! I only found out about this Monday, checked with my stepmom to see if the price was as good a bargain as it seemed, and wired the money this afternoon.

I got a wicked cute magenta shell-style ski jacket for W39,000 ($35USD) and am totally psyched for 3 days of skiing, swimming, and drinking with a big group of foreigners I've never met. I almost bought a fancy ski mask for W19,000, but thought better of it and got a black knit cap that will stretch to cover my whole head for W4,000. All I need to do is cut some face holes.I spent a little more than I intended on ski pants, but the shop had one pair in my size, discounted by 70%. In total, I got ski pants, ski jacket, neck warmer, and ski mask for < $100USD. I figure it's a good investment as long as I don't gain more than 10 pounds or so for several years, and you really can't beat that price. (Bargain-hunting is a Paullet family pastime.)

Not a day goes by that I don't want to rage quit this crazy country for some new reason. Today it happened while I was looking for sunblock. W9,900 for 125mL of weak-ass 35 SPF. That's less sunblock than would fill a cup of coffee. Fortunately, I made my way to the fancy, high end beauty products and found a small bottle of "olive mild FLOWER sun cream" 39 SPF broad spectrum sunblock for W4,900. Winna.

I'm hope everyone else in attendance will have a camera, so I can trade emails for photos.

I'll let you know how awesome it was when I return Sunday.

A Christmis-adventure

A teacher I work with gave me directions to a Catholic Church near me. I followed them with no luck until a Korean family turned onto the sidewalk in front of me, the two children wearing hand decorated felt Santa hats and the father carrying a Bible. Deciding this must be divine providence, I followed them...to Dream Methodist Church. Meh. Christmas service is Christmas service, right? I witnessed no smiting, so I assume it's no biggy in God's book.

The preacher wore black slacks in the Korean style- poorly tailored and unhemmed, folds falling in bunches at his ankles, offending even my limited fashion senses- with a fancy white suit jacket and black bow-tie. He had a melodious voice despite the language- too many k's, ch's, and sh's, I think- but this quickly changed as the sermon rose to a zealous pitch. I didn't know a word he said, but I do know it was nothing to do with Christmas or love. I zoned out as he droned on, thinking what I would preach for Christmas. (I decided on the miracle of Jesus' birth with a focus on the reality Mary suffered instead of the pretty nativity pictures we see.) And then I wondered what the heck Koreans celebrate on Christmas, because I haven't seen a single manger scene all month.* Wtf, yo? And then cue eucharist preparation with the goriest scenes from some crucifixion movie on the jumbo screens. I found this vile and offensive on Christmas day. Oh well, it would probably be the last time I attend church while in Korea.**

I found the ice rink at Gwanghwamun with no trouble. But I failed to anticipate that half of Seoul would turn out for ice skating on Christmas day. I don't mind the crowds, but I would have waited in line for a ticket longer than I could skate, so I got back on the train to Itaewon.

I couldn't remember which exit I was supposed to take, but I guessed correctly, found Suji's, and still had two hours to burn. Luckily, there is a sizable market on the same street and hella good coffee. I got some awesome stripy socks for W2,000 but didn't care for the prices of anything else I saw on the street. Until I saw some coin scarves in the window. I went in, checked out their quality, and asked about the price. W30,000 for the white velvet one I was eyeing- I'll take it! I know you're supposed to haggle in SK, but that was half of what I could expect to pay for the same item back home, so it completely slipped my mind.

Now if I can only find a place to belly dance. Hell, I might just wear it to Hongdae.

Dinner was OK, but I can't believe I paid that much for it. There was pastrami, turkey, ham & pineapple, salad, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, and a green been dish. The food wasn't as warm as I would have liked and was a bit bland, but where else am I going to get an American Christmas dinner in Korea? The eggnog was OK, and the pumpkin pie dessert was stellar. It started snowing while I ate, and the atmosphere was quite lovely. The baby at the table next to me had me laughing all evening while he played the "throw everything I can get my hands on onto the floor for the servers to pick up" game.

I decided to head home after that and spend the rest of the evening warm at my place.

*I asked a coworker the next day, and he explained to me that Koreans celebrate Christmas as a western holiday of gift-giving and don't know the history of it.
**Four days later my boss' wife is asking me to come to church with her family regularly because Dream Methodist is where they attend.

Can't wait for Christmas

Manhattan's is having a Christmas Eve party, so that's my plan for tomorrow after work. Hopefully a lot of foriegners will decide to come. Hopefully I won't run into the ex there.

A teacher I work with gave me directions to the nearest Catholic Church so I can go to mass on Christmas at 10 a.m. (10 a.m.? Koreans make for lazy Catholics. No midnight mass, no 8 a.m. masses. On Sundays, the earliest is 11 a.m.) No English masses, though. It's a good bit of a walk, maybe 20-30 minutes, but it's forecast to be a whole 41F with a 30% chance of snow. I've seen lots of snow on every 20% day so far, so I'm looking forward to a white Christmas.

Then I have some down time for a few hours, and I plan to go ice skating around 3 at Gwanghwamun to work up an appetite, Christmas dinner at 6 at Suji's in Itaewon with turkey, eggnog and pie. I have been missing pie so much since I got here! I actually made my first batch of homemade eggnog last night. Thanks to a poorly written recipe, I overcooked the first batch, but I modified the recipe and the second turned out very yummy.

Mix 2 eggs, 1/3 cup sugar, 2 cups of milk on low heat for 5-10 minutes while stirring. Chill (optional), add in 2/3 cup whipping cream and dashes of cinnamon, clove powder, and nutmeg to taste. Optional- tsp vanilla or rum extract. And yes, I found all the ingredients right here in Korea! I rock. And I bought WAY to much whipping cream, so I guess I'll just have to make more.

After dinner I may go back to Gwanghwamun for the lights show and holiday exhibits or chill at a coffee shop or something in Itaewon.

I wanted everyone to know I will not be sitting at home all alone for Christmas, and I will tell you how it all turns out.