Christmas Break. Night 2

This is night two.

Today is so cold. SO COLD. You might think you know what cold is, and maybe you have part of an idea of cold. But this is colder. I don't care. Unless you have been somewhere REALLY cold I don't even want to hear it. For example, Tennessee has never, NEVER had it this cold. And Canada... well maybe. But I have been in some cold in my life and I feel like maybe, just maybe this wins. Plus you are not here. So I don't wanna hear how I should be ok, blah blah... Its cold.

Happy Christmas eve!!!

Today I slept in til the late late hour of 10am. WOW. Then I got up and went to the Green Turtle Salon in Iteawon to get my hair done. It was kind of my present to myself. I got it done by a very nice gay Korean man named... wait for it... Michelle. Dang. I think he was gay anyway.. could have been just very metro, but I feel like gay is more of the right term. Or Homosexual. lol Whatever. He was really cool and did a good job and I am back to being blonde the way I should be =)

It doesn't feel like Christmas eve at all. I am used to a certain feeling of slight panic and overall craziness the night before Christmas. But this is calm, unhurried and basically unaffected. (korea). It's nice kind of. Makes me think about the actual reason for the season. Which is, you know, the birth of Jesus =) I came down into the subway hole, which is what I call the subway system, The Hole, and there was a man playing a harmonica in the entry way. He was playing Oh Come all Ye faithful. It was so nice. I felt full of joy and peace instead of irritation and sadness like I was expecting. Also... unrelated to Christmas, there was a man who I am pretty sure was from South Africa, on the train beside me speaking Africans... I think thats how its spelled, but I could totally understand him. Maybe that is not the language he was speaking. Someone from Africa set me straight please. It's like English, but not.

I also gave myself a nice present of a warmer jacket. Another jacket. I have bought sooo many jackets since being here. Like seriously, too many. I will never need this many ever again. But I felt it was time to go Korean. So I got a giant Korean looking jacket. And a massive scarf. Korean clothing tends to be MORE. More everything. Longer, thicker, deeper, warmer. Like, things will zip right up your face. Like, jackets for example. The zipper usually goes right up the hood, or at least high necked. The collars are higher, and this is the coolest i think, scarves. Its like you are wearing a giant afghan around your neck. Not joking. You get a scarf, its a mile long and two feet wide. Then you wrap it around your neck and face till you are just almost lost in it. Then you go outside. Its very nice and warm and comfy. Basically you look like a tiny top of a head on top of a giant blanket pile, with a small body underneath. I'll have to take a picture and put it somewhere. It's kind of incredible.

Hmmm, so here I am. Listening to Lady Gaga, in my coldish apartment, looking out the window and my city all lit up. Its Christmas Eve and I feel good. Although that might just be because I had coffee earlier for the first time in a couple weeks. =-D But It's Christmas. I have very little, or nothing to complain about. I mean, I wish I was less sick all the time. And I wish I was with some people I love.... Family, thats you, and Friends!! The hardest part about Korea I think, is going too many consecutive days without hugging anyone. I miss getting hugs all the time. I let the kids climb all over me at school just because it is nice to feel the connection with another human.... But it is not really the same and a nice grown up hug! Sometimes if I go more than a week without seeing Christina I feel like something is missing, and then I see her and she hugs me and I realize what it was that I was missing =) You know that thing with th orphans that were dying because they were not being held? Well I am pretty sure that need for human contact never ends. People, all people, babies, old people and people in between have a need to be touched, appropriately, of course! So hug some people for me this Christmas! When you take away the crazy consumerism that is Christmas in North America and strip it down to what really matters, hugging is pretty high on the list! I actually thing Korea has life figured out a lot better than most of North America, but thats another blog, for another time.

So Merry Christmas to you, In fact, Merry Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight ;-)

Michelle