christmas

Loyal readers (which is, I dunno, 6 of you), may remember a post from last year called "Chuseok (2)". It detailed the gift I was given from my then employer on the occasion of the Korean Thanksgiving, called Chuseok. Loyal readers may also remember that I began that post in this way:

Loyal readers (which is, I dunno, 6 of you) may remember a post from last year called "Chuseok". It detailed the gift I was given from my then employer on the occasion of the Korean Thanksgiving, called Chuseok. 

This post is not about Chuseok, because that was months ago, before I came back. However, it is about a gift I was given. I'll get to it in a second.

Christmas doesn't mean all that much in Korea. People don't get Christmas trees, kids don't open presents on Christmas morning. It's pretty much business as usual. Storeowners may put up a few Christmas decorations, but that's the extent of it. People here know about it, but it's not a big deal.

Personally, I haven't had a proper Christmas since 2007. Christmas 2008 was a mere month after I first arrived here, and I spent it on vacation in Jeju. Christmas 2009 was spent with family in Florida, but intentionally devoid of much of the typical holiday merriment because my beloved father had recently gone home to his reward. 2010 was spent preparing to go off to China, whilst unwittingly bleeding to death from the inside out. This year I pretty much just saw the new Mission Impossible movie. But on Christmas Eve I went with some friends to a little dive bar near my girlfriend's house*. The bartenders put on a bit of a show:

Back to the gifts. Year one I received tuna, spam, and canola oil. Year two I received a Japanese sponge cake and a melon. This year my employers must have had a better read on just who was working for them. And while they didn't get it exactly right, they did get me

booze.

Specifically, a bottle of Chilean wine. I've never really drank wine, but I'm half a bottle in as I type this, and I'll tell you one thing: I know what gets me drunk, and this has gotten me about halfway there. It's definitely the best gift I've received from an employer to date.

*Yes, I have a girlfriend. Been seeing her for about a month now. She's the girl next to me in the video, repeatedly yelling "Woo!" Here we are:

She's great.