Everyone says the holidays are hard to deal with in Korea. For me, I think that statement is along the same lines as being homesick. I don't feel homesick, but how is 'homesick' really defined? The holidays aren't hard so far, but how is 'hard' really defined?
I've noticed that the American holiday season here isn't commercialized like it is in the states. After all, this isn't America. (Chusok, on the other hand...) There are no Christmas lights on sale in July at Home Plus. There are no endless aisles of Christmas decorations, Christmas trees, and lawn ornaments. My friend told me there was a small portion of an aisle dedicated to Christmas things, but I didn't see it when I was there the other night. In the USA, it would have stared me in the face the second I walked in the door, followed me around with cheesy music, and tempted me with thing after thing to buy even as I left.
The holidays technically start with Thanksgiving, although I don't really have any real definition of what the 'holidays' are for me. Being with family is part of it, but I've spent so many away from my family that even that is a questionable mental definition of what the holidays should be.
I worked on Thanksgiving this year, which is the first time I've ever done that. I thought it would feel strange, but it was just another Thursday at work with my students. I went out that night with some friends after work and then came home and had chicken ramen for dinner before going to sleep. Nothing special, nothing missed, no big deal.
I do love Korea, and I have made some wonderful friends here in the past eight months that are becoming more and more like family to me, plus I have actual family here, so we organized a dinner in Daejeon this past Saturday and I took the train up to see my family. It was a really great day. I met my sister and Amy in downtown Daejeon for some shopping when I arrived, then we met up with Lee Ann and wandered around some more before meeting up with Joseph and heading out to dinner.
We had my absolute favorite Korean meal, shabu shabu. If you haven't tried this, I highly recommend going to your nearest authentic Korean restaurant and ordering it. Like most Korean meals, it's cooked right at your table. They bring you tons of vegetables to cook in a pot of broth in the center of your table, and the meat cooks on a grill surrounding the pot. The restaurant in Daejeon supplies customers with rice paper that is dipped in rose water before adding food to make a nice little bite-sized wrap stuffed with cooked cabbage, raw carrots and onion, Korean beef (although it's still beef and from a cow, a distinction needs to be made), and one of five delicious sauces. (That's my ideal wrap. There are many other vegetables to add to make your own perfect wrap.) After all or most of the vegetables and meat are consumed, noodles go into the broth to cook and absorb most of the remaining liquid. You eat the noodles and then add rice, which combines with the last of the liquid to make a porridge-type rice dish. It is one of the most delicious things I've ever eaten in my life.
When we were done eating, we started to do the traditional "What are you thankful for?" when we were asked to leave the restaurant. We thought it was somewhat strange because in Korea, restaurants don't close until you're ready to leave. It turns out they weren't closing, they just wanted us to go. We thought it was more than a little rude, but eating dinner isn't a social thing here like it is in the USA. Here, people go to a restaurant just to eat and then leave as soon as they're done. Still rude, but more understandable now at least.
We left dinner and went for gelato and coffee at Cafe Benne (I had strawberry and double chocolate. Heaven!) where we were able to sit and talk in peace for a few more hours without anyone asking us to leave.
It was really nice to spend time with both my actual family and people that I consider my family even though we're not related. I brought my camera but didn't think to take any pictures. We were all too busy talking and eating!
At the end of the day, it was one of the best Thanksgiving's I've ever had.
Happy Turkey Day!!!
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