Prepping for the party and practicing the gamesOur party started at 6 but because we were thinking Vietnamese time...we assumed people would start showing up at 7. I think people were too excited about the party because instead of coming late....people started showing up a half hour early!
For more than a half hour, floods of people came through our door, motorbikes packed in our small alley and shoes were in a jumble outside our door. I regret now that I did not take a picture of the chaos outside but what can I do now? Once people were finally settled inside, we tried every effort to get them to start eating. Apparently, the way we had it set up (at a table) was awkward for their culture, so we ended up moving the food into the center of the room where is was quickly devoured. And let me just say that we had asked everyone to bring some food and man did they bring food....our counter was loaded with more food than we could have imagined. We had no idea what we were going to do with all of it but by the end of the night, all but one bag of fruit and a cake was gone!
The party only lasted two hours but those two hours seemed to last forever...which was fine because we were having fun. During the night we played three games, which didn't get everyone involved but made everyone laugh. The first game we played was "Pin the Nose on Rudolph". There was a little cheating involved but because they seemed to have never seen this game, we let it slide. The other students had a fun time watching people spin around and try to stick the nose in the right place. Everyone would cheer and clap when a nose was placed. Our next game was pass the ornament which involved straws and paper ornaments. Each team was set up in a line and once the game began, the person in front had to pass the ornament to their teammate only using their straws. We let them practice first and that was funny enough but actually watching them during the relay was even better. When they dropped the ornament they would freak out and were quick to pick it up and complete the race. Each participant walked away with a beautifully decorated ornament of their own. Our last game of the night was an entertaining game of Musical Chairs. This game only came about because the winner of Pin the Nose on Rudolph did not take home his prize of a mini Christmas tree. It was a hot commodity, so we decided to make the students compete for it. The students danced around the chairs to the Christmas music and fought very hard for that tree.
Game time!
One of Lily's friends was way off with her placement of Rudolph's nose. We definitely had a good laugh with that one.
The night was definitely a success! I enjoyed so much seeing all of my students in one setting, enjoying an American Christmas party!
So many different groups of students...two of my business students even brought their children and nephews. Thank the L0rd for coloring sheets that kept them entertained for a while!
In other news....the morning started with a joint Christmas service between the International Fellowship and the Korean church. It was the most amazing experience, getting to sing about our L0rd and Savi0r together. It was definitely an experience I will never forget! The service ended with a lunch together with both American and Korean food....my favorite was definitely the chili!
All in all...it was a WONDERFUL day. And because the party ended at 8, we even got a decent sleep. Who could ask for anything better? I definitely felt blessed by the entire day.
Erica this is the funniest post. I am so glad that your party was a success! It looked like so much fun. We are so happy that you are being encouraged through Christmas services and parties. I really enjoyed your pictures. You have pretty pretty long hair! I love you!!!
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