Merry Merry
It is creeping dangerously close to Christmas Eve here in Seoul. In about fifteen minutes the holiday will officially be on. My plans are minimal, but I should be spending the evening in some nice eatery around town with some amount of good friends and some amount of Christmas cheer. A few tidbits from my Korean Christmas:
Santa Clause is coming to town
For the second year in a row I got to play the role of Santa Clause at my school for the kindergarteners. I went in early on Friday and sat on a stage, handing out presents to good boys and girls that didn't really understand the language I was speaking. The kindergarteners are painfully cute and the morning was a blast.
Playing Santa Clause is enjoyable on many different levels. Santa is well-loved character. It not very often you hear things like, "Man, I fucking hate that Santa..." It just doesn't sound right. These kids were elated to see me. After I changed into the outfit I walked through the halls and peeked into classrooms which caused many shrieks of joy and mini-riots. There is something intrinsically great about Santa Clause. I didn't have to say or do anything - just wearing the outfit was enough to bring smiles to everyone's faces.
I heard some of them saying the Korean word for teacher and rolling their eyes when the found out it was just me and not the real Santa, but once they got to the stage, they were all business. I may not look like the real Santa - but there is an off-chance that I am him and they wouldn't want to offend Santa four days before he is scheduled to visit. As you may be able to see from the picture, the costume is way ghetto. I made some public demands for a new beard at the last meeting, but they were not met. I guess if the kids believe it it's okay.
By the end of it, my smile muscles were sore. I took four pictures with each kid and group pictures with each class so I was actually quite worn out by the time I was finished. As I walked through the school to get back to the vacant classroom in the front of the school that I had used as a changing room I was bombarded by last-minute well-wishers who wanted a little more face time and one last hug from Santa. It was a great morning and helped me get into the spirit of the season a little more.
stuff
I wish I believed that the Christmas season is all about the stuff you get, because if that is how I measured my holiday I would already be pleased with Christmas. The family sent over a box with a few goodies in it, but it hasn't arrived yet and won't be here for another week or two, so on Christmas morning I will have no presents to open. To rectify this, I went ahead and bought myself some Christmas presents and I must say, I know myself pretty well - I owe myself a huge thank you note. Here's a run-down:
1. Three new t-shirts from Threadless.com
2. I ticket to see Wilco in Tulsa a week after I return to the States
3. I went to EMart (Korea's answer to Target) and bought $150 worth of Christmas booze, including a bottle of Kahlua, a bottle of Vodka, a bottle of Bailey's, 2 bottles of Loius Jadot Pinot Noir and 16 bottles of Hoegaarden Belgian beer. My liver is not pleased.
4. Here's the big one. I bought a ticket that leaves KC on April 30th and lands in Heathrow London airport 16 hours later and then a return flight from Florence, Italy on June 3rd.
So I've got no family and only a few friends to celebrate Christmas with, but I am not lacking on stuff. Go materialism!
Wishing me a Merry Christmas
Only two students brought me Christmas gifts, but one of them was pretty sweet. A girl from my everyday class brought me six Tootsie Roll pops wrapped together in what she called a "candy flower" and a homemade card. I found it touching and could tell from the numerous eraser marks that she had worked hard to make it perfect.
I thought it was a nice gesture on her part and the Tootsie Roll pops were delicious.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...
Much love from Seoul
Santa Clause is coming to town
For the second year in a row I got to play the role of Santa Clause at my school for the kindergarteners. I went in early on Friday and sat on a stage, handing out presents to good boys and girls that didn't really understand the language I was speaking. The kindergarteners are painfully cute and the morning was a blast.
Playing Santa Clause is enjoyable on many different levels. Santa is well-loved character. It not very often you hear things like, "Man, I fucking hate that Santa..." It just doesn't sound right. These kids were elated to see me. After I changed into the outfit I walked through the halls and peeked into classrooms which caused many shrieks of joy and mini-riots. There is something intrinsically great about Santa Clause. I didn't have to say or do anything - just wearing the outfit was enough to bring smiles to everyone's faces.
I heard some of them saying the Korean word for teacher and rolling their eyes when the found out it was just me and not the real Santa, but once they got to the stage, they were all business. I may not look like the real Santa - but there is an off-chance that I am him and they wouldn't want to offend Santa four days before he is scheduled to visit. As you may be able to see from the picture, the costume is way ghetto. I made some public demands for a new beard at the last meeting, but they were not met. I guess if the kids believe it it's okay.
By the end of it, my smile muscles were sore. I took four pictures with each kid and group pictures with each class so I was actually quite worn out by the time I was finished. As I walked through the school to get back to the vacant classroom in the front of the school that I had used as a changing room I was bombarded by last-minute well-wishers who wanted a little more face time and one last hug from Santa. It was a great morning and helped me get into the spirit of the season a little more.
stuff
I wish I believed that the Christmas season is all about the stuff you get, because if that is how I measured my holiday I would already be pleased with Christmas. The family sent over a box with a few goodies in it, but it hasn't arrived yet and won't be here for another week or two, so on Christmas morning I will have no presents to open. To rectify this, I went ahead and bought myself some Christmas presents and I must say, I know myself pretty well - I owe myself a huge thank you note. Here's a run-down:
1. Three new t-shirts from Threadless.com
2. I ticket to see Wilco in Tulsa a week after I return to the States
3. I went to EMart (Korea's answer to Target) and bought $150 worth of Christmas booze, including a bottle of Kahlua, a bottle of Vodka, a bottle of Bailey's, 2 bottles of Loius Jadot Pinot Noir and 16 bottles of Hoegaarden Belgian beer. My liver is not pleased.
4. Here's the big one. I bought a ticket that leaves KC on April 30th and lands in Heathrow London airport 16 hours later and then a return flight from Florence, Italy on June 3rd.
So I've got no family and only a few friends to celebrate Christmas with, but I am not lacking on stuff. Go materialism!
Wishing me a Merry Christmas
Only two students brought me Christmas gifts, but one of them was pretty sweet. A girl from my everyday class brought me six Tootsie Roll pops wrapped together in what she called a "candy flower" and a homemade card. I found it touching and could tell from the numerous eraser marks that she had worked hard to make it perfect.
I thought it was a nice gesture on her part and the Tootsie Roll pops were delicious.
Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night...
Much love from Seoul
posted by Kyle at 11:41 PM
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