Stuffed with Holiday Feasts

Christmas in Jeju came and went with much feasting, merriment and beautiful weather. I was fortunate to enjoy 4 long days of internationally inspired food and drink with so many of my friends. Our preparations began Monday evening as I started my puff pastry dough. If you've never had the pleasure of making puff pastry from scratch, it's not for the faint of heart! Jason decided it'd be fun to make Aussie pies for the Christmas Eve celebration at Erin & Jay's house so I volunteered to make the dough. It took about 2 hours of constant rolling, folding, and chilling the next day, not to mention the actual dough making on Monday, to make the 9 layered pastry dough for our 15 Aussie meat (and veggie) pies. But they were a hit! Thanks to my fabulous and generous next door neighbor Julia, we had an oven in which to bake our scrumptious treats. I ran into the city to teach yoga while Jason baked them and I came home to the final product. Delish!

Erin, our host, Genny & Jeff relaxing after Christmas Eve dinner

So Christmas Eve we packed up clothes, extra blankets, presents, and pies and headed to Hwa-buk (little beach town just east of Jeju City) for a party. On the menu was boiled chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, meat pies, snicker doodle cookies, pumpkin pie, and apple crisp. Plus sparkling Australian wine (mmmm...) and Christmas movies. I stayed at Jeff & Genny's on Christmas Eve and we all woke up late, relaxed, and ate French Toast for Christmas breakfast. It wasn't Almond Bread, our family tradition, but it was pretty darn good. Eventually we headed to Ham-deok, another beach town further to the east, to Jessi & Miles' house for Christmas dinner. Again, we were treated to ridiculous amounts of food: lasagna, roasted and stuffed chicken, scalloped potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, green salad, apple pie...it goes on. The company was wonderful, mostly newer friends to me, and we had a really relaxed and fun evening.

Christmas feast! From left: Jessi, Amy, Jason, Cynthia, Julia, Myles

Boxing Day was a pretty simple affair: after talking to my family over their Christmas dinner, Cindy and I went to our favorite gelato place for waffles and coffee. Then we hit Lotte Mart for our Holiday Party shopping. Having no idea how many people were coming to our 2nd potluck party, we stocked up on supplies and readied ourselves for a good time. Saturday morning was brunch with the usual crew (Kati, John, Cindy, Jason, and Julia) and we exchanged gifts, drank coffee, and ate baguette and brie, Jeju tangerines, and pastries. Then began the preparations! I was in the kitchen cooking for the rest of the day, while Julia moved around furniture and Cindy decorated and set-up. An eclectic bunch began to trickle in around 5:30pm and we laid out a spread of pasta, curry, salad nicoise, guacamole, sweet potatoes, steamed carrots, fresh tangerines, persimmons, kiwi, and I don't remember what else! Everyone brought something different, the guests ranging from our neighbors in the building, to co-teachers, foreign friends, and Korean friends of friends. Everyone had a blast and we've already begun planning our next bash...we're thinking St. Patricks Day?

Ji he enjoying the last of her 3rd plate of food

Cory, Kati, Cindy and I

My good friend John with Ji He and Sinae, two of my best Korean friends, and William, a professor at Jeju National University and good friend of Jason's...a truly eclectic bunch!

I've been enjoying some extra free time this week with many meals with friends, some Nori-Bong entertainment with a Korean family, sauna relaxation, yoga classes, and more snow. I did have to work planning my Winter English Camp, but it was relaxed and productive. Last night was New Year's Eve and my friend Alex and I decided to kick things off right with the traditional Buddhist 108 bows followed by yoga class. I ended up at Baghdad Cafe, one of the few big foreigner celebrations on the island and rang in the New Year with many good friends. I've been asked, of course, about resolutions for 2009 and I can't come up with anything that I want to change or make better. I feel grateful everyday for the amazing people that are in my life all over the world, the beauty of Jeju island, and the endless opportunities to spread happiness to others through teaching. Thanks for reading and please take a moment to find some gratitude in your own life!

Wishing you peace, well-being, and a grateful heart in 2009