Spam: The Dice Game This is one of the games that my parents got me for Christmas: It's Spam the Dice Game. It's basically a dice game like yahtzee but with pictures of Spam! Hilarious! So what gifts did other people get? If anyone got a Kitchen Aide Mixer, I'll be quite jealous. Spam: The Dice Game Spam: The Dice Game

Merry Christmas Everyone! I am spending the holidays with my parents in Winter Haven, Florida. Weather has been great- much warmer than Seoul. Today, I went for a run and then ate steamed blue crabs for Christmas Eve dinner. It was my first time to have crabs for Christmas dinner and my hands still smell from it. There is a Korean anecdote that makes sense right now. You can eat an entire cow and no one would know, but if you eat just one crab, the whole village will know- that's because the smell is so strong. Anyway, after dinner we went for a ride around the neighborhood to see the Christmas lights in Florida. My favorite is the Santa Flamingo. Merry Christmas! Dan Christmas Lights in Florida: Santa Flamingo Christmas Lights in Florida Christmas Lights in Florida Christmas Lights in Florida Christmas Lights in Florida Christmas Lights in Florida

Here are some shots of Christmas Cakes in Seoul. The ones in the cases are from Paris Croissant. They looked great, but were a tad expensive (37,000 for a cake). I ended up getting a cake from Crown Bakery. It was a yellow cake with chocolate icing. Not bad and at only 20,000 won, it was great. Merry Christmas! Dan Christmas Cake from Crown Bakery Chiffon Cake from Paris Croissant Cakes from Paris Croissant Cakes from Paris Croissant

Christmas in Korea Originally published in the December 2010 issue of Seoul Magazine. Reprinted with permission   Streetwise in Seoul By Daniel Gray The concept of what Christmas is in Korea might seem a bit askew. The East has only seen the commercialized, exported version of Christmas because of the pervasive western media and marketing. Come on, the idea of a jolly, fat, bearded weigukin (foreigner) entering houses via chimney to drop off presents made by north pole elves might scare a nation that has had a long history of brutal invasions. Oh, and most Korean homes don't even have chimneys- they have ondols (floor heating)-so imagining a big fat guy seeping through the floor might harken images of the horror movie the "Blob" rather than the idea of "Peace on Earth." Even the concept of toys and luxuries as gifts seems alien when typical housewarming gifts are still toilet paper, rice, and washing detergent. Furthermore, Korea children get "...