Christmas Party

Christmas Eve may have been the busiest Saturday I've had in a long time. I was out pretty much all afternoon, culminating in the party I went to with some friends. There was lots of good food to eat and we played some games. A good time was had by all as far as I could tell.

I was under the impression that we were all supposed to bring food, so I went out and bought some apples. It later turned out that the food was provided for us, but my apples were graciously accepted as an addition to the meal. We also had to bring a gift for the gift exchange game, and we were required to spend between 10 and 20 thousand won on it. It was stressful trying to find a gift considering I'm in a city where I don't speak the language and barely know how to find many of the things I want, but eventually I found something that was perfect: a stuffed Angry Birds toy. As soon as I saw it I knew I had to buy it.

For the gift exchange I ended up with a cool lighter. We played it white elephant style, except that a person had to do a dare to steal someone else's item. Only one guy tried to steal, and he chose my lighter. My dare was for him to sing his favorite 80's new wave synth-pop song. He didn't know any, so we ended up having him serenade one of the other guys, and it was a humorous moment. He let me keep my lighter though, since he was just stealing for the sake of having someone do a dare. My Angry Birds toy ended being a hit, as certain party-goers enjoyed throwing it at each other.

The other games were good too. The next one was a Christmas trivia game, which my team won. Some of them were pop-culture questions, while others were about the Christmas story in the Bible. I got some chocolate as a reward.

The last game was the best, though. It was none other than...the Name Game! My family knows what I'm referring to. The best part of it was that I wasn't the one who suggested it. Someone else actually knew this game and had us play it. Just like every time my family plays this game, there were some really random entries. One that baffled everybody was "Smack," which turned out to be the name of a Korean indie band.

For my name I put down Danny Kaye, which worked to my advantage, as only the older folks in attendance knew who he was. Because most of the players were busy trying to figure out who'd put down the names they'd heard of, no one ever got around to guessing I was Danny Kaye, and I won. I think it's safe to say I dominated Christmas Eve.

The party ended just in time for me to catch the last subway train home. I've spent most of Christmas day in my room, since I need some time to myself this weekend. Now it's onward to the New Year, and the season will officially be over. Christmas isn't as big deal in Korea as it is in America, so the season doesn't have quite the same feel here. Still, I had a great and meaningful weekend, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

Merry Christmas, everyone!