a holiday soiree

so, last saturday, we had quite the holiday bash at our place. it was apparently "the best party our apartment has ever seen" according to some long-timers. i didn't realize it until everyone was in one place, but we have a rather lovely collection friends over here in korea. foreigners and koreans. americans, canadians, aussies, kiwis, brits (scots and englishmen), poles, egyptians, folks from north carolina, la, chicago, pennsylvania, maryland, and oakland. we were told more than once that people met the most interesting people at our party, that people were sad they had to leave to go to some stupid party they had agreed to go to, that nowhere had they met such a fascinating mix of people at a foreigner's party. you know, we're pretty awesome people. is it any surprise that we've amassed a group of totally awesome friends? we did it in the states...why not here? it was a pretty damn good party, if i do say so myself:)

highlights of the event included having our own professional photographer to document the evening--our friend Seol Je (photos coming soon, so keep an eye out); a bottle of rumplemintz complete with an actual candy cane shot glass (not exactly a "highlight" but a bizarre addition to the party mix); and a rousing game of spud humper. now, i'm not sure how many of you may remember our fabulous new year's eve last year when we spent the evening with some old friends of mine from my mexico days eating cioppiono and playing this crazy game on a farm in petaluma, but let me explain.

the game involves tying a potato around your waist by a long string such that the tater hangs between your legs, just about 2 inches from the ground. a light object, like an empty cigarette box is placed on the ground. you and a competitor must swing the potato through your legs, hitting the box all the way across a room to the finish line using only the thrust of your hips. no hands, boys and girls. so, you can imagine the hilarity. and though the photos don't do it justice, you can check them out along with this video of one of the most talented players yet winning with an excellent "one shot, one kill" all the way across the room.

it was a great party. and it made me really happy to see how many amazing friends we've made here. i spent the next couple of days actually wishing that we could just go back to the party. it really was so fun. and feeling something that i never imagined would be possible here--that when I leave, i will be so sad to say goodbye to all these wonderful people. BUT i'm not gone yet!

just another thing to make living in the moment such a very valuable thing.

we're off to China on saturday. expect a bit of blogging between our misadventures, a spa treatment at an amazing place called zenspa outside of beijing, a trek to the great wall, an art gallery crawl to a huge Bauhaus factory turned art exhibition space, and many, many, many good meals.

happy early 2008!

~catie