Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Eazy_E]

I'm about to experience my first Christmas away from home... and I'm in frickin' Korea!!! I'm from a close family and usually Christmas was my favourite time of year because of the lack of school / work responsibilities, the good food, and good times being with family and friends.

Well this year obviously all that has changed. I'm just over the three-month hurdle that all of us know so well, and the homesickness is starting to set in especially now that the holiday season is approaching.

I want to know how other people dealt with the isolation and homesickness of their first Christmas. I have some other expat English teachers in my area, so I have people to visit at least.

What are other people's experiences with their first Christmas here?

[shawner88]

I spent my first Christmas with my new girlfriend at some bar in Pusan...wasn't too great. I really missed snow and Christmas decorations that time. I called my Mom, no help, she described the tree and the big Turkey dinner, Christmas punch, etc.

[crazylemongirl]

this is my first christmas away from my family and then it's my birthday 2 weeks later. The only light at the end of my tunnel is I'm booked to leave korea feb 7 at 9.05am.

CLG

[matthews_world]

I haven't missed my family yet. I'm pretty independent from a small family. I send e-mail once in awhile and am not a big gift giver.

If I ever have a family of my own I'll pay more attention to it.

Chinese New Year break is comin' up next month and I'll travel in Asia for those 5 days PLUS hopefully a 2- or 3-week trip back home after teaching winter vacation classes.

[sayangamber]

The way I'm dealing with my first Christmas in Korea.... I'm going home.

SayangAmber

[waterbaby]

I have a close knit family too, and Christmas has always been a special family occassion, especially now with 4 little people (my brothers' kids) added to the growing family.

My first year away from home (in Korea) was spent running to the bathroom to throw up at least once an hour... got a NASTY bout of food poisoning (lasted 5 days!!!) on Christmas eve... so come Christmas day, I really didn't give a rats about it!!!

So there you go... find the nastiest, greasiest, dirtiest chicken man you can and gobble all the salmonella you can

[CaptPorridge]

Last Christmas wasn't my first away from home, but it was my first ever "White" Xmas...and that really made it special!!

Of course if your from Canada ..a white Xmas will probably make you more homesick!

[Ya-ta Boy]

My first Christmas dinner away from home was eating a chicken sandwich alone at Hardee's in Taiwan. How pathetic. A real recipe for feeling sorry for myself.

I made up my mind not to do that again. The next Christmas (here) was spent in a Buddhist temple. Went up after work on Christmas Eve and spent the night and Christmas Day there. It was a cool experience I will always remember.

Another year when I knew a few people, we organized a gift exchange with a W10,000 limit and a group dinner. One year we did a progressive dinner (going from home to home and eating one dish at each place). I know one group organized an all-day pool tournament at a bar.

PS: Lots of places have turkey legs for sale. Did you know that you can boil the leg, put the meat in dressing you can cook on your gas range and make decent gravy from the water you boiled the leg in?

[Mr. Pink]

I'd say my first xmas away from home was awesome. My roommate and I spent xmas eve in a bar, and we got wasted. It was a small cozy bar, and we talked it up with tons and tons of people. Got home at like 5am and slept all of xmas day away. It was something I would never have got to do back home, so I totally enjoyed myself.

Now xmas is just another day, think this is going to be year 7 of no xmas with my family back in Canada. I have always opted for a nice summer vacation instead of going there in winter when it is ugly and cold.

I must say the lack of commercialism is VERY nice on the soul!

[Jove]

Spent last christmas in Korea. Had dinner at the Hyatt with a group of friends (buffet for about 60,000) and then drinks. I did spend 4 hours on the phone talking to my family and listening as they opened gifts from me and each other. They just set up a speaker phone in the living room and I was practically there. I then went on a trip the next day.

While it was a pretty good way to spend the short christmas break, I'm going home this year. Leaving next week.

[rapier]

Haven't had a christmas with my family for about 10 years... its become just another day to me.. glad to have it free though, shame the shops will be all closed...

[lawyertood]

My first Christmas here I spent wandering Masan until some guys from Sri Lanka and Bangladesh invited to have a beer with them at the bus station--what a holly, jolly Christmas--not! Been much better since.

[Hyalucent]

I came to Korea at the end of October, 2000 and it was also the first time that I couldn't make it home for the season. I don't have any brothers or sisters so my parents were pretty much left with only the dog (Black Lab) for company. Then, three days before Christmas, they had to put the dog down. She had gotten cancer in her leg and after two unsuccessful attempts to remove it they had to give up.

That was a pretty quiet year around the holidays.

[schwa]

I'd been in Korean 4 months & a new Korean friend introduced me to my 1st hostess bar xmas eve. We had the place to ourselves, us & 2 really sweet girls laughing & singing & feeding us peeled grapes & anju & chocolate cake with chopsticks. We did a countdown at midnight & popped fireworks. I stumbled home about 5.

Had a nice sleep-in xmas morning & caught a bus crosscountry to Seoul (the pass suitably snowy). Met my daughter at Kimpo airport xmas night, come to visit the old man. Very special night. We dropped our stuff in a fleabag yogwan & wandered the bustling streets of Chongno, ate in some upscale pizza joint & did in some pitchers of cheer.

Funny coincidence, 2 xmas eves later a bunch of friends converged on a rustic rural cafe near here for seasonal festivities. First snow of the year, it was coming down bigtime. My friend (from the 1st paragraph) & my daughter (visiting again) go for a walk outside & when they get back she's sporting a new diamond ring. They got married at Sorak Mountain the following spring.

Chatting on msn with her this morning, she was putting a box of goodies in the mail for me today. Theyre in LA, happily pregnant, & thinking about moving to Hawaii next year. I could fancy an xmas there!

But this christmas morn I expect to be solo with some stuff to unwrap & a bottle of wine. Thats more than fine, I'm not especially sentimental about the day, but I am open to some warm unexpected event transpiring. Korea's been good to me that way.

[Homer]

Well as this will be my 6th christmas away from Canada....ya get used to it...