Christmas: When I Was Thankful for Tissues and Toaster Ovens

I'm finally un-lazy enough to tell you about my Christmas, but still too lazy to write whole paragraphs about it. So instead I will tell my stories with pictures and captions and a few random sentences.


Will and I went to Seoul late at night on the 23rd. I had a horrible migraine on the train, but we finally got there around midnight. The next morning, we went to the International Clinic at Severance Hospital to get me some migraine drugs. That part is too boring for pictures.

While we ate lunch, we realized that our Starbucks cups expressed the purpose of all of our journeys, including this one. 

And we did. 

English books, English books, as far as the eye can see! There are few English books to be found in Jecheon, so when I heard of an expat-owned English bookstore in Itaewon (foreigners' district of Seoul), I had to go. It's called What the Book, and it has an amazing selection of new and used books. I bought a few and was very happy.

I can't escape America, especially in Itaewon. 

The less fun part of our trip included hunting desperately for a hotel while carrying far too much luggage, getting very sick starting Saturday morning, showing up so late for Vespers on Saturday that we only caught the end (the homily given in Greek and translated into Korean), and having to leave church early on Sunday due to this horrid head cold. 

A tray of tissues at the Starbucks where I attempted to recover after church on Sunday. 

The recovery went well, don't you think?

The train ride home was beautiful. If only I hadn't almost thrown up. That would've made it nicer.

 Now for a Jecheon Christmas, in which I finally got unsicked and unlazied enough to cook for me and Will. 

 

Zucchini cooked in olive oil and chardonnay, and carrots and onions sautéed in butter and brown sugar. 

Ham rubbed with brown sugar, cinnamon, and ginger, and garnished with raisins and tangerine slices. Cooked in a toaster oven!

Mini caramel apple pies with vanilla crust. Also cooked in a toaster oven!

All of this food had to be carried down from my apartment to Will's, and I had to set the table quickly so it wouldn't get cold. The tiny wreaths and the candles were the extent of the Christmas decorations, sadly. 

I'm kind of proud of myself for being able to create my own Christmas, my first Christmas without my family. I still missed them tons, though. 

Pretty presents for Will: hot chocolate, Starbucks sumatra coffee, kitchen tongs, and a copy of To Kill A Mockingbird. 

Will had actually NEVER SEEN my favorite Christmas movie! He is now forced to be part of the tradition in which I watch It's a Wonderful Life every Christmas Eve until I can't keep my eyes open and then resume watching it on Christmas morning. Incidentally, he liked it, as I suspected he would, since he has both a soul and a heart. 

Well, I hope you enjoyed reading my complaints about sickness and my boasts about my cooking. It's all part of the adventure.