To start our Christmas off right we had a white elephant gift exchange. There were about a dozen of us. We had a cap of 10,000 Won which is a little less than $10.00. I brought a bottle of Soju .80 cents wrapped with a 10,000 Won bill. I wrapped the present beautifully inside multiple boxes. It had to have been at least 7 or 8 boxes that needed to be opened. It was quited funny when our friend Stephan chose it. The present I ended up with was from our neighbor Jess. It was a bear cap, Kahlua and some other goodies. Latanya got some earmuffs, candy and other sorts. We all had some holiday cookies and a great little afternoon.
As far as a Latanya and Daniel Christmas tradition we baked cookies in the apartment and decorated. My mom sent us some decorations to help make the place look festive. We wore our Santa hats and had a jolly good time.
On Christmas Eve we went to the local ski resort, which is about a 5 minute drive away. We met some friends of ours, Curtis and Dong-He. I learned how to snowboard and Latanya refreshed her memory. It was so much fun. There were quite a few people on the slops but over all not way too crowded. I wasn't half bad. It took me awhile to get the whole standing up thing. But towards the end of the night I went down the medium slope only falling once.
The next day we opened our presents from home. We called our families and we were pleased to be able to talk to everyone. We were really sad at this point. It was really hard for both of us. We realized what Christmas really means to us. It's a time for family and by not being with our family it did not feel the same. Though it was nice to see everyone via Skype. If only next year my family can get the web cam going on their end. LOL. Towards dusk on Christmas day we experienced something never before in our lives. We had a white Christmas!!! It began to snow and we were so excited.
For New Year's Eve we got a hotel in Seoul. We stayed in the same hotel with a couple of couples. We did some pregame drinking in the room and then made our way to a festive area for the count down. The streets were pretty packed and everyone was out in full force. We hit up a couple of bars and had a few more drinks. Later we counted down inside another bar. It was way too cold to be out and about we decided.
After the mayhem of the count down a friend of ours decided to wander off. He had a little too much to drink. So the guys decided to make a search party for him. It was like find a miniature needle in a giant haystack. With all the people walking around it was near impossible. While we split up to look for him I decided to enjoy the moment a little more and bought a $1.00 firework. It was great. It was one you hold and lite it and it fires were you point it. It must have fired about a dozen times into the air, so worth the money.
After awhile the search stopped and we made our way back to the hotel and crashed out. Oh but before we left the bar the manager tried to make Latanya and I pay for drinks that some other person we did not know didn't pay for. We were adamant about not paying and after a good 20 minute debate the manager gave up and we left. (Side story) It turns out the person who did not pay for their drinks was a girl we were introduced to earlier. She just so happened to be from my hometown Yucaipa. Not only that but she graduated a year after me at YHS. What a small world, right?
We found out the next day our friend, who wandered off made it back safely. We don't know how he made it back but he came stumbling in really late. All in all it was a wonderful night out. It was definitely a memorable night to boot.
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