Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone! I never imagined myself ever celebrating Christmas in Busan, South Korea when I was growing up but here I am. Thankfully, I made many wonderful friends to share my memories with. This entire weekend was great because it was fun, warm feelings all around, and a marathon of eating delicious food.

Christmas Eve lunch was with Veanna and Yana. We got fried chicken from a nearby restaurant and Veanna made salad. We ate lunch, played Crazy 8 Countdown, listened to random music on Veanna’s laptop and shared many laughs (mostly about Yana and Victoria). Best part was when Yana got scared when a Christmas card fell from the window sill onto her head so she jumped up screaming. Veanna and I couldn’t stop laughing for 10 minutes! I brought avocados from Costco as Christmas gifts (that’s what they wanted apparently) and I also brought Belgium chocolates because I know how much they love desserts. Veanna got me Cebu dried mangoes and Yana got me Tim Tams. They know me so well. Christmas Eve dinner was with Elizabeth, John and Ann at Nampo Dong’s Indian restaurant called Bombay. First of all, Nampo Dong was packed with thousands of people. The subway was packed with people that it reminded me of a can of sardines. I even had to wait for 2 subways before I could get on because of the massive line up. Regardless, the trip was well worth the hassle of getting there and back through the traffic and crowds. I was able to spend quality time with good company and eating delicious Indian dishes. I got John and Ann chocolates and they got me dried mangoes from the brand “Nature’s Sensation”. I came home and talked to my friends and cousins from Canada on MagicTalk. I was able to wish them Merry Christmas. It was 3am by the time I went to sleep. I woke up at 9am because there was a knock on the door. A Korean lady was inspecting the gas services in the building. I cannot believe they were doing this on Christmas Day! Oh, well. I guess I had to wake up early in order to get myself to starve again because I was still full from Saturday’s crazy food adventures.

On Christmas day, I talked to my parents and my god-daughter through MagicTalk. I wished them Merry Christmas. Then I wasted time on Facebook and on Yahoo Sports checking NFL scores! It was a great Christmas already when I see that my Patriots defeated the Dolphins and clinched the AFC East Title and a 1st round bye in the playoffs. Sadly the Detroit Lions clinched the playoffs as well. This is the first time since 1999 but they’ll be one and done. Anyways, I went over to Steven’s place around 2pm to enjoy the amazing food he created all day. We had biscuits, chocolate chip cookies, banana bread, chicken gravy-soup-like dish, and apple pie! We as in me, Steven, Brian, Dharma, Andrew and Erin, and we were in a food coma at the end. We ate so much that we couldn’t move for few hours. Thank goodness the event started at 2pm because we didn’t leave until 7pm. All we did was eat, eat and eat more. Then again, that’s how my entire Christmas weekend has been. I am not going to complain though. I love food and I love trying something different.

Overall, this Christmas was wonderful! Something I have never done before and I am not sure if I ever will get another opportunity like this but I am glad that I met so many wonderful people in Busan. It’s nice to share these memories from fellow teachers from all over the world.