Seoul Snippets

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We've had a busy few months, filled with holidays and random nonsense. Back in October, we introduced Halloween to our students with pumpkin carving, costume contests and lots of ghoulish decorations. Still, there were reminders that an American holiday cannot simply be transferred to another domain. My personal favorite moment was watching Todd try to carve a pumpkin that maybe, MAYBE, reached six inches in height. The reasoning behind such girth in Korean pumpkins remains a mystery. As for our costumes, we decided to salute two mainstays of Korean culture; Soju, the standard alcoholic drink, and Samgyeopsal, a famous pork dish. We were a huge hit at all the bars, though I think the man dressed as Ramien noodles had us beat.

To celebrate Thanksgiving, we intended to eat a gluttonous amount of turkey and fixins. Our friend Andy, who owns Big Rock Brewery and Restaurant, organized a Western style Thanksgiving dinner for expats in our area. We invited a few friends and stood in line salivating for a while. However, this being Andy's first Thanksgiving offering, he had grossly underestimated the amount of food Americans put away on this holiday. He was out of everything in under an hour and we never even got to dish up. So, just as the Pilgrims intended, the night ended in Korean BBQ.

In December we checked out a professional basketball game (KBL), caught Billy Joel in concert and celebrated Todd's birthday. We also met up with my cousin Daniel, who is living and working in Suwon, about an hour from Seoul. I hadn't seen him in nearly a decade, so it has been lovely to reconnect and enjoy the city together. We also organized a holiday concert at school, which consumed many more hours than originally planned. The kids sang Christmas carols and put on two separate plays, entirely in English. The big kicker, however, was Santa's arrival at school on Christmas Eve. I'm sure you'll never guess who posed as Old Saint Nick......

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Comments

[Michelle]

HiteJinro requests to use photo
Hello Todd, My name is Michelle, I am the PR/ Social Media Manger of HiteJinro USA. We would like to feature your photo on our FB page (fb.com/hitejinro) for Halloween. Let us know! [e-mail]

[Seoul Mates]

Yes, that's fine. Thank you!