Nancy and I attended our first ball in early December by going to the American Women's Club (AWC), "All Spruced Up: A Rocky Mountain Christmas" ball at the Grand Hyatt just about 1 mile from our apartment here in Seoul. For the occasion, and fitting in with the theme, the Grand Hyatt Ball Room was decorated to look like a Western lodge including animal skin wall hangings and antler chandeliers. We were even served our ice cream in ice sculptures carved into a moose and our placemats were cross cut log sections.
It was a great night with lots of friends from Hillside Residence (our apartment) and GM as well as many people we hadn't met before. The food was terrific and there was a live band with a great trumpet player which made for good dancing. Nancy and I even won a dinner for eight at local restaurant in the raffle drawing.
Balls like this are quite frequent in Seoul and we hope to get to attend several others. On the same night as our AWC ball, there was the Scottish Ball which was put on by the Scottish Embassy and featured a Traditional Scottish band flown in special from Scotland. They taught Scottish dance (think Riverdance) and ran their party straight through until 6am the next day with breakfast included for the hearty merry makers.
Coming up soon will be the Orange Ball (Sweden Embassy) and the Queen's Ball (United Kingdom Embassy). The Orange Ball is usually very well attended and probably the top ball in the country - apparently the Swedish contingent knows how to party. The Queen's Ball is also very popular and usually has the best theme of the year. Last year the ball was Harry Potter themed as if came just before the release of the 5th movie and the final book. By all accounts it was a magical night (ha ha).
Anyway, after this great experience at the Christmas Ball, I expect I'll be breaking out the tux on a few occasions throughout the year. As usual, we'll keep you posted and share pictures.
Life in Korea: Christmas Ball
The Hillside Residence Gang. Left to Right: Jeff, Kristin, David, Cathy, Nancy and Me.
Ballroom dressed up in the "Rocky Mountain Christmas: All Spruced Up" theme.
Clockwise from top: Our ice cream dessert served in an ice carving dish complete with moose; The table center piece; The log table setting/placemat - very creative and we got to keep them (now to figure out what to do with them).
The main hall ice carving representing our lodge for the night's festivities.
X-mas Tree in lobby of the Seoul Grand Hyatt.
