Merry Christmas from Seoul, Part 1

If you have been following this blog, you are probably aware of my coffee related woes. Well, I'm pleased to report that this morning, for the very first time, I managed to get a large coffee ground from real coffee beans this morning when I woke up. And it only cost me 2000 won. It's December 25, and the man who made me what I wanted most for Christmas bowed and told me, “Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year” as he handed my steaming cup of morning delight, TO GO, so I could take it up to our room and enjoy it in my pajamas.

Here we are in Seoul, and it's a lovely morning. Well, it's gray, but it's above freezing. There are more non-Asians in Seoul than I've seen in awhile. In Daegu, when I encounter a foreigner off base, I want to start a conversation (and often do) because it is such a rarity. In Seoul, after seeing about 10 foreigners, I finally noticed that I was the only one staring.

For Christmas Eve we went to Itaewon for a reading and found Indian food. It was not the Indian food I wistfully remember, but it involved Indian spices, jasmine rice, and coconut milk, and was therefore heavenly to my tikka masala deprived palate. The readings were fun, performed by an expat acting group called the Seoul Players and ranging from the book of Luke to The Santaland Diaries. The bar served eggnog and mulled wine, and I welcomed the comforts of home for awhile.

We bought a Christmas cake at the train station. This appears to be a Korean Christmas tradition, and I saw several Koreans carrying around cakes yesterday. This is a Korean tradition I am happy to adopt. It even came with a present, a cheesy hat that I've seen a lot of people wearing (apparently I wasn't the only one to succumb to the allure of the bear cake at Dunkin Donuts).



Itaewon
















Christmas cake