Oh what fun it is to be in Daejeon for Christmas Day - hey!

Christmas in Korea! Not so hard to be on one's own in a foreign country for a major holiday when it's not a country that goes all crazy over the holiday like the US. The streets were full of people selling stuff while wearing Santa hats, but it seems much more like a big party, rather than a family holiday. It's much more a New Year's feel... which makes me wonder how wild New Year's will be.

So for Christmas, I got a cold. I will not be sending a thank-you note. I also got a big box of stuff from the Family Johnson, which was great, as a lot of it was for my apartment (now if you come visit, you will get a classy placemat, lovely napkin, and fancy napkin ring!). I did thank them, when they called. After that, it was a whirlwind of a day, what with all the present-opening, and jigsaw-puzzle-doing and cookie-eating. It's hard to be me, let me tell you.

In the spirit of experiencing a new culture, I purchased a "Christmas Cake" which all the bakeries and doughnut stores were selling. (Dunkin Donuts here is actually a relatively posh bakery as well as a relatively cheap doughnut/coffee stop. Maintaining the dichotomy must be exhausting). It turned out to be a sort of adapted tiramisu thing with more of a sour flavor than tiramisu usually calls for. Very tasty, either way, but another example of what P and I determined was Western culture in Korea: an idea of what the West should be like, rather than actual importation. It's a fascinating phenomenon.

The cake also, for reasons unknown, came with this... scarf-deer.

So it is the end of my Christmas. I put together my puzzle of my Chicago home (minus the lake, because that's a lot of blue pieces), watched Lord of the Rings on CGV (the channel for American movies), and cleaned my apartment. It is ever so much more presentable now. I'm still working on how to pull pictures off my phone,* but I should soon be able to post some lovely photos of the new and improved Chez Moi. I hope all of you in the states are having Christmas Eves both peachy and keen.

PS - Spaghetti and garlic bread as Christmas dinner for the win? Discuss.

*I was when I wrote this, but have since emerged technologically victorious.