It was pretty surreal to think that the only time I'd be seeing my family for a year was on Skype or video chat. My birthday and the holidays amplified that feeling about ten times over, and for a few days here, I was homesick (for REAL REAL). Extra emo after a few glasses of vino --- I maaaay or may not have cried a little bit after a wonderful Skype sesh with my family on Xmas Eve. But anywho.
Christmas Eve I worked my usual 4-7pm class and then subbed for a 7-10pm class. No, Chungdahm does not give many holidays off. Then, it was Phil's bday (my coworker) and since he kinda rules we ended up having a long, fun night (regardless of the fact that I "was definitely going to bed early since I have to Skype the fam at 8am".... yeah, right.)
Got home at 6am, Skyped the family. Slept for 4 hours.
Christmas morning was epic. (Minus the part where I woke up a tad hungover and still had to get some last minute gifts. Happens every year I SWEAR. This meant going outside, and damn it is cold here. "But you're from Chicago, Syd" people say. I'm tellin you, it is different here. The temperatures are comparable, but it's unbelievably dry here, to the point where each inhale into your nostrils could possibly induce a hardcore nosebleed.) We got together down the hall at Alex, Bryan, and Kyle's apt. Tons of Christmas music + Pancakes with strawberries, blueberries, and chocolate chips commenced. Jelly Bellys and Croissants with Nutella, too. It was delicious and exactly what I wanted Xmas morning to be. I was so pumped for gifts, but I tried to hide it, since we're not exactly 5 anymore.
The presents! |
| My presents from Nahyun. How cute right! |
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| You might ask "Why the hell did you get your friend industrial sized Skippy?" Bryan. Loves. Peanut Butter. |
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| The Koreans never had Reese's cups. |
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| Kyle was happy about his Bread varieties too. Those boys are easy to please. |
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| Ski Socks, Snowboarding gloves.. and they got a Snuggie for their favorite neighbor. So great. |
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| My makeshift family |
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| Danny in his new hat |
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| Meat, Meat, more Meat. Coffee + Sugar |
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| Shiesty pic... but do you see that bucket? It's a bigass Tequila Sunrise. |
Following Christmas morning, I got ready for dinner at Mercado. This place is one of the best Brazilian steakhouses I've ever been to, and with about 25 coworkers it was the beginning of a great night. The sangria alone made me too happy, but the prospect of going out in Seoul with everyone afterwards was icing on the cake. Or the star on top of the tree, whichever.
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