christmas in korea is strange. the stores are all decorated, carols are blaring all over the place, and I have tomorrow off. we took the kindergarten kids on a trip to see a korean christmas play this morning, and when we got back, santa and presents were waiting for them. it’s cold, there are lights up, pretty much everything’s there.
so why did i have to keep reminding myself that today was christmas eve?
while christmas is definitely observed here, it’s nowhere near as commercial. i don’t ever watch my tv, so i haven’t been innundated with holiday ads (provided that even happens here). also, this is a primarily buddhist country, so while people have tomorrow off it’s not that big of a deal. even i have to go back to work on the 26th.
the lack of christmasy spirit is probably due largely to my missing out on so much of what i do at home. the christmas shopping i did just felt like another afternoon browsing the streets and shops. i also did all of my shopping alone, without stupid greg, which made it all task oriented and no fun.
last christmas went like this: i woke up at my apartment. i went to my dad’s house, where my brother and grandparents were in from out of state. we did gifts, we ate, and then i drove over to jeremy’s aunts house. i accidentally got a little too drunk off of the wine (oops), we all sat around and talked, we ate, and gifts were exchanged. then, jeremy and i drove across town to my mom’s house, where my brother had relocated, we ate (again!), exchanged gifts, and hung out. at this point it was like 10 and i had been in nonstop family mode for 12 hours. to decompress, i met up with my friends at the bar and we got drunk.
this year? i’ll wake up tomorrow whenever i feel like it. i’ll stay in bed until i get the motivation to shower, and then i’ll start packing up my shit for my trip to thailand. i’ll eventually make it out to downtown to take pictures of the lights and buy any last minute things i need for my trip. it’s pretty much just going to be another day off, with the added travel preparations. i’ll go to bed, teach all day on friday, and then i’ll go to incheon and wait for my saturday morning flight outta here.
i’m not really sad about missing out on all of the christmas festivities, but earlier today, I couldn’t help but think about how my favorite time of the year has come and nearly gone with little recognition of it. knowing that i’m leaving for thailand this weekend definitely helps any strange feelings i may have, though. jeremy just left for the airport, and i just spent $130 on a backpack to drag everything around in.
for me, this isn’t a bad christmas, just a different and slightly delayed one. but for all of you at home, know that i’m thinking of every singe one of you and wishing i could be there. i may be a bit jealous of everything i’m missing out on today and tomorrow, but you can be jealous of me next week as i ring in the new year on a thai beach. 
if you sent me your address, you should have gotten your christmas card. if not, it got sent out so it’s either late or lost.
have a merry christmas and a happy new year!
