This is my fifth Christmas in South Korea. And so far, this is the greatest one I have had in five years. Not as great as the ones I had with my family back home, but better than the first few Christmas's I had here in this far away land where Christmas is being celebrated by natives like it's Valentine's day.
Since the plan was to have a potluck style dinner before the Christmas Eve service, I decided to make pancit (Filipino thin rice noodles) and lumpia (Filipino egg rolls). I spent almost two hours wrapping 80 pieces of lumpia on Saturday night. The next morning, I had to get up early to cook my pancit and fry my lumpia. Here are the snaps of what I made:
After all the preparations were done, we went to church with a bunch of bags to carry...hehe
So, we started our Christmas celebration with an early Christmas Eve service at the church we go to. We spent the evening enjoying our potluck style dinner, reading some verses from the bible pertaining to the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, and singing carols. It was a great night. The first time I felt the real spirit and warmth of Christmas and went home with a heart filled with joy.
Here are some of the photos I took that evening.
My happiest Christmas in South Korea didn't end with the joyful early Christmas Eve service because the next day we had a Christmas party at the Children Center where I'm serving as a volunteer English teacher. There we shared food with the kids and I gave each of them a surprise gift, which brought smiles to their faces and the simple, "Thank you," from them made me feel great again. (What a joy to make little children happy). I wanted to take photos with them but volunteers were not allowed to take pictures of the children at the center.
Again I went home with a happy heart.
When I arrived home that evening, I called my family back home and talked to everyone except my brother, who wasn't there in our parent's house. We encountered "holiday traffic" but I was happy to still be able to talk to them on Christmas eve. Happy to know that the most precious people in my life are safe and enjoying their simple yet joyful Christmas. Can't ask for more :).
On Christmas Eve, I made maja blanca (coconut pudding) and sweet style macaroni salad. And Vince arrived home with a huge Christmas cake and a bottle of "champagne" from his Hagwon Director. So that night, we celebrated our 3rd Christmas together eating and drinking.
Still my happiest Christmas didn't end there because the next day, on Christmas day, we went to our friend's apartment for a potluck Christmas lunch. Another great time spent with some foreign and Korean friends, old and new. We ate delicious food, sung Christmas carols, and played fun games. And we went home with happiness from inside out. It will surely leave a memory that will stay forever.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS IN SOUTH KOREA!!!MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
Since the plan was to have a potluck style dinner before the Christmas Eve service, I decided to make pancit (Filipino thin rice noodles) and lumpia (Filipino egg rolls). I spent almost two hours wrapping 80 pieces of lumpia on Saturday night. The next morning, I had to get up early to cook my pancit and fry my lumpia. Here are the snaps of what I made:
So, we started our Christmas celebration with an early Christmas Eve service at the church we go to. We spent the evening enjoying our potluck style dinner, reading some verses from the bible pertaining to the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ, and singing carols. It was a great night. The first time I felt the real spirit and warmth of Christmas and went home with a heart filled with joy.
Here are some of the photos I took that evening.
My happiest Christmas in South Korea didn't end with the joyful early Christmas Eve service because the next day we had a Christmas party at the Children Center where I'm serving as a volunteer English teacher. There we shared food with the kids and I gave each of them a surprise gift, which brought smiles to their faces and the simple, "Thank you," from them made me feel great again. (What a joy to make little children happy). I wanted to take photos with them but volunteers were not allowed to take pictures of the children at the center.
Again I went home with a happy heart.
When I arrived home that evening, I called my family back home and talked to everyone except my brother, who wasn't there in our parent's house. We encountered "holiday traffic" but I was happy to still be able to talk to them on Christmas eve. Happy to know that the most precious people in my life are safe and enjoying their simple yet joyful Christmas. Can't ask for more :).
On Christmas Eve, I made maja blanca (coconut pudding) and sweet style macaroni salad. And Vince arrived home with a huge Christmas cake and a bottle of "champagne" from his Hagwon Director. So that night, we celebrated our 3rd Christmas together eating and drinking.
Still my happiest Christmas didn't end there because the next day, on Christmas day, we went to our friend's apartment for a potluck Christmas lunch. Another great time spent with some foreign and Korean friends, old and new. We ate delicious food, sung Christmas carols, and played fun games. And we went home with happiness from inside out. It will surely leave a memory that will stay forever.
THE BEST CHRISTMAS IN SOUTH KOREA!!!MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!
