First of all, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everybody.
I’ve been in many countries over the Christmas season, and never have I seen Christmas ignored like I have this year in Gyeongju. It really feels weird. I mean, there are places where there is very little Christian atmosphere, but generally Christmastime is an opportunity to sell stuff. I remember when I was in Cambodia as Christmas season approached in ’99. (I was back in Thailand on Christmas.) There were some Christmas stuff up for the Westerners and merchants were trying to sell whatever. It wasn’t in your face or anything , like in America, but there was a little Christmas spirit around. Here, nothin’. No decorations around town, even though Korea is not locked down. No Christmasy displays in any of the stores I’ve been in or in the display windows. No Christmas music overhead. I understand get-togethers are strongly discouraged and in some businesses and churches are illegal. But still. Forty-some percent of Koreans are Christians. We’re hunkered down here, but this is amazing.
It was at this point when I noticed I had never published the November “Fall Colors in Gyeongju” post. How ’bout a couple more leaves pictures? It really was beautiful, back then before winter set in.
In the park down the street
In the park down the street
I don’t have many photos since then worth looking at. Of some interest to kimchi lovers is that late fall is kimchi making season. In the pictures below, you will see a large group of people who got together in the park to all make kimchi together. It was a kimchi-palooza!
That’s me, bundled up in black. The workers are generating enough heat to dispense with the winter clothes
Set up and ready to go
If you immersed somebody in a tub of Korean red pepper paste, they might not survive.
Mostly, our life goes on uneventfully. We do activities of daily living, like shop and cook. Sadly, the nearby farmers market where Myung likes to get our fresh food is closed for the month because COVID is increasing. (COVID is almost nothing compared with the States, but everyone means to keep it that way.) Get-togethers are limited to five people, but we haven’t had to do without much socializing, as we don’t get together with more than five very often. I guess that might have something to do with the low Christmas energy. Anyway, there is no news worth blogging about, except my upcoming trip to the United States.
Finally, we have all our stuff together to turn in to the Korean consulate in San Francisco for my resident visa. We’ve actually had it together for a couple of weeks, but I’m going to stay here till the end of this 90 day tourist visa I currently have. I’m leaving January 21 and have a return ticket for February 22. I get one free ticket change, which I can use if it takes longer than a month to get the visa. The consular website says it should take 2-3 weeks, so a month should be enough time. I built in enough time to submit something more if I have to, but I’ve exchanged several emails with consular staff and I think everything is in order.
Normally, I would be excited to visit my favorite places and see friends and family, but COVID is really putting a damper on many of the things I would otherwise do. Oh well. I wish we could all get together, like in the picture below of a little going away party we had for our friend, Etan, who went home to Singapore. That’s him to my left.
With that, I’ll close. Again, Happy Holidays. Be well, all of you.