Our 2011 Pinoy Christmas Party in Seoul!

And as I finally found my Christmas costume, it was time to... parteh!

And so, before everyone left Seoul, my friends and their families gathered in Seocho-gu in Seoul, at Lynn and Marshall's home all decked in our Christmas clown attires to celebrate Christmas in our own Seoul-slash-Pinoy way.

               (Joy's yummy turon straight from the pan!)

           
And with dishes and desserts like the very Pinoy turon (banana fritters wrapped in lumpia wrapper) and pancit bihon (glass noodles cooked with pork and veggies), to garlic shrimp, baked ham and other dishes, whose names I forget, but whose taste I can remember, the party was complete!

                                        (Pancit!)

                     (Garlic shrimp and pancit lumpia!)

                             (Lynn's Christmas ham!)

                       (The clowns clowning while the circus 
                          ringmaster slices the ham.)

   

(The party was a lot more fun with everyone dressing up in               Christmassy-slash-circussy costumes!)

                       (Gift prizes for the games!)

                       (Goodies for our 'exchange gifts'!)

                 (The kids having fun exchanging gifts!)

                       (Exchanging Christmas gifts!)


The party was more fun since everyone arrived in their Christmassy get-up. With games, Pinoy and international cuisine, and gifts being exchanged, it was a celebration of the our friendships we made and strengthened during the passing year, and ending the year with thanksgiving and a prayer of hope that 2012 would bring in more blessings and fun for everyone in Seoul and in Korea, be they Pinoys, Koreans or any other nationality.

              (The Orchards in their impressive snowman 
                    and Christmas princesses attires!)



May all your Christmas celebrations be as fun!


From all of us, Merry Christmas!

(The class photo of the 2011 Christmas party in Seoul!)

Ingat Sa Paputok! (Be Careful With The Firecrackers!)

Firecrackers are huge in the Philippines on new year's eve! Almost every street of any town, city and village will be noisy with the explosions of all types of firecrackers from the small ones to the huge ones which, when exploded, resemble the explosion of a real bomb. That's why most of the big ones have already been banned. 

(Rows of firecracker vendors at the Jaro Plaza in Iloilo City.)

So, it's very common to find at any market in the Philippines, vendors selling these firecrackers, pyrotechnics and other noise-making toys like decorated 'turotot' (homemade horns) for everyone to light up and use to greet the new year.

                                          (Turotot!)

But some of the revelers may end up losing a finger (or a hand!) during the celebration as some are careless, drunk or just plain stupid in lighting up these mini-bombs.

(Firecrackers and pyrotechnics being sold at the market.)

And me? I just stick to watching the fireworks from my window at home and listen to the firecrackers exploding from all over.


Ingat sa paputok!  Be careful with those firecrackers!

Thankful, Grateful for 2011

It's the last day of 2011. And we all may be busy preparing our media noche (midnight dinner) to welcome the new year.


And as we sit down to enjoy the last meal of the year, let's not forget to whisper a silent prayer of thanks for all the blessings,  challenges, and everything in between, that we received for the past 365 days.


And when the new year starts tomorrow, let's look forward to the next 366 days.


Happy new year, everyone!

What Time Does Myeong-Dong Sleep?

After having dinner at a pojang-macha, Seung-Ho and I had to  walk off our heavy tummies and continue our search of K-pop 2012 calendars to Myeong-dong.  


My friends in Manila wanted me to get them some calendars of their favorite K-pop stars, but not all of them were available in Namdaemun Market. We had to extend our search in Myeong-dong.

(The decorated fountain at Shinsegae Department Store)


So, even with the chilly temperatures (it was getting late!), we visited a few more K-pop souvenir shops in Myeong-dong. 

(The Shinsegae light display from the other side of the street)


And although we were unsuccessful in finding the desk calendar, we had fun walking through the shopping alleys of Myeong-dong, which seemed more alive at night than during the day, with all the tourists and street vendors being bathed and mesmerized with all the lights from the shops.

I haven't stayed really late in Myeong-dong to shop, dine or drink.  


But does anyone know what time Myeong-dong actually sleeps?


Here are the photos of Myeong-dong at night:

 (These Korean chestnuts are my favorite! Though quite expensive, only a small pouch for W2,000, they're crunchy and a little bit sweet.)

          (Not sure what Bae Young-Joon is selling here.)

                                    (A mascot greeting shoppers.)