My Favorite Koreans!

So in past articles I've always talked about the things I've done and seen since being in Korea, but you might wonder WHO I do these things with.  This subject will be split into two parts: Korean friends and Foreign friends.  But, this particular article is dedicated to all my Korean friends who I'm so lucky to have in my life.  Each one of these people has made my time in Korea extremely interesting, educational and entertaining.  I only hope that one day I will have the opportunity to show them my home country since they have taught me so much about theirs.

Jae Hee Kim

Jae Hee became my co-teacher last May when my previous co-teacher decided to leave my school.  Before being hired as my co-teacher, Jae Hee was living and working in Australia in order to improve her English ability (which is really good I might add).  Since Jae Hee is my co-teacher, we see each other everyday and teach together in the classroom.  Jae Hee and I have bonded really quickly and I definitely see her as more of friend than co-worker.  Next year, Jae Hee is planning on moving to the U.S. to obtain her master's degree in social work.  I've been helping her master American slang to get her prepared.  I like to joke around with her and tell her she needs to find an American husband to give her that green card.  Besides working with me, Jae Hee enjoys being an active member of her church, likes online shopping and traveling.  I'll be forever grateful for all that she helps me out with on a daily basis.



Lucy Lee

Lucy and I met because she was my friend's co-teacher.  Since meeting, Lucy and I have become good friends and we meet up at least once a week for Korean lessons.  Thanks to Lucy my Korean has gradually gotten better, and because of her, I know many Korean bad words which come in handy haha.  Lucy is the queen of high-end designer brands (Chanel, Prada, Louis Vouitton, etc.) and no text from her is complete without an emoticon.  One of Lucy's life goals is to make sure I find a Korean husband.  She is also an excellent candle/homemade crafts guru.  Next year Lucy plans on traveling to New York because she has never been to the U.S. (or any western country) before.

Mandy (left) and Lucy (right)...they're a mischievous duo

Me, Lucy, and Mandy

Mandy Kim

Mandy is my across-the-street neighbor, but I actually met her because she is Lucy's best friend.  Up until recently, Mandy was working as a teacher in a private English academy, but now she is studying to become a public administrator.  Mandy is extremely funny and I especially like that she understands my addiction to The Walking Dead because she is a fan of the show too.  Mandy is also planning to travel to New York next year with Lucy.

Young Hee Shin

Young Hee is a fairly new friend/co-worker.  She started working as a science teacher at my school last August.  Young Hee and I bonded because she also knows what it's like to live in a foreign country because she spent the last year in Paraguay where she worked for a program similar to the Peace Corps.  While in Paraguay, Young Hee became fluent in Spanish.  Young Hee and I's relationship is very unique because we sometimes mix up to three languages together to communicate.  At any given moment, we will be speaking English, Spanish or Korean.

Young Hee and I

Jenny Kim

Jenny is another one of my co-workers.  She works in my school's English center as the secretary.  Jenny is very fashionable and is young at heart.  Jenny can also outdrink most other Korean women I know, so props to her!  I'm fairly close with Jenny's kids as well.  Her son is one of my 5th grade students, and her daughter is a middle school student who often visits our English center after school.  

Me, Jenny, Jae Hee and my mom at the East Sea in July

My Landlords

I can't forget to mention my sweet, sweet landlords.  They are a middle-aged couple who have been nothing but welcoming ever since I moved into my apartment.  They both always have a smile on their face and always make sure I'm doing ok.

 Every once in awhile they invite the foreign tenants over for dinner or leave small gifts outside our doors for the holidays.  I seriously couldn't have asked for better landlords; they're simply the best!  

Jinju and Namhae Island: Lantern Festival and German Village

Well, the weather is officially getting cold (I heard it snowed in Missouri!), so I have been trying to take advantage of outdoor activities while the weather is still somewhat bearable.  A couple weeks ago some friends and I traveled four hours to the very south of Korea to a city called Jinju, as well as Namhae Island.  We decided to ride Korea's high-speed rail there, the KTX, since none of us had used it before.  I wasn't too impressed with it though as it didn't really feel any faster than the regular train. 

My friends and I in the lantern tunnel

(from left to right: Me, Mimi, JaeHee (my coteacher), Cara, Jessica; back row: Francine and Casey) 

I've mentioned before that Korean cities are all famous for something, and Jinju and Namhae are no different.  We traveled to Jinju in order to see its annual lantern festival.  There were hundreds of lanterns, both on land and in the Jinju River.  The lanterns weren't like any lanterns I had ever seen before; there were animal-shaped lanterns people could sit on, a Statue of Liberty lantern, dragon lanterns, movie character lanterns, etc.  While we were waiting for it to get dark outside, we walked around to check out the various vendors selling homemade goods, crafts and food.  We happened to stumble across a row of fortune tellers, which are extremely popular in Korea.  Many Koreans rely on fortune tellers to give them advice about jobs, love, and life.  I'd actually been wanting to visit one for awhile now and this seemed like the perfect opportunity since we had some time to kill.  My Korean friend was with us so she volunteered to translate.  After confirming my birth time and date with me, the fortune teller scanned the palm of my hand.  He proceeded to tell me that I will be very financially successful in the future and that I'm an overall lucky person.  He claimed I will have one more chance at love before the new year and that I will have a career change in 2015.  Overall, I had a pretty decent fortune, so I'm hopeful that the fortune teller knows what he's talking about!  Once it was dark outside, we were finally able to admire the lit lanterns and see the firework show.  Since I was away for the Fourth of July this year, I missed out on fireworks, so I was really excited to see the show.  It did not disappoint! 

Dragon Lantern

I found ET!

The next day my friends and I took a bus to Namhae Island which was about an hour away.  Namhae is famous for its German village and annual Oktoberfest.  You might be wondering why there is a German village on some random Korean island?  Well, in the 1960s, many Koreans went to Germany to find work.  Eventually, many of the workers returned to Korea along with their German spouses.  Because of this, the Korean government set aside a part of Namhae Island for these people to build a German-style community, complete with German-inspired architecture made from authentic materials shipped from Germany.  Since we went during Oktoberfest, we got to enjoy lots of beer, sausage and music, as well as see many people dressed in stereotypical German-style clothes.

Korean men dressed in German clothes and cooking sausages

JaeHee and I at the Oktoberfest entrance

It's always nice to get out of Jecheon every once in awhile and explore different parts of Korea, so getting to see Jinju and Namhae Island was a great weekend trip.  I'm afraid all the good-weathered weekends are gone for now so I don't know how much traveling I'll be doing, but I’ll keep you updated!

What's Your Blood Type??

Have you ever thought to ask someone on a first date, "What's your blood type?"  If not, many Koreans would advise you to consider doing so because blood types can give insightful information about a person's character and personality.  In Korean theory, blood types can help determine romantic compatibility.  I would compare knowledge of one's blood type in Korea to knowing one's astrological sign in western culture.  Just as each zodiac sign is associated with different personality traits, each blood type is associated with certain characteristics as well.  I was initially very skeptical upon first hearing about Korean's blood-type obsession and its connection to personality traits, but, upon doing some research online, I found that my blood type's associated characteristics actually describe me pretty well.          

So, without further ado, here is a condensed list of traits linked to each blood type according to Korean theory:

Type A individuals are believed to be introverted or reserved, patient and tend to be perfectionists.  Type A's don't like to show their emotions, but they are very loyal to others.  Stubbornness and uptight are also characteristics associated with Type A's. 

Type B individuals are said to be passionate, individualistic, and creative.  They can also be a bit self-centered, forgetful and irresponsible.  I should also state that men who are Type B have a very poor reputation in Korea.  Many Korean women do not want to marry a man with B blood type because they are considered unreliable and bad husband material.  Type B men are the "bad boys" of the blood types.  Fortunately for me, and for reasons I do not know, these negative connotations do not apply to Type B women.       

Type O individuals are perceived as confident, outgoing, athletic and natural leaders.  Some poor qualities Type O's possess are arrogance and insensitivity.  They are very ambitious people and enjoy taking risks.  

Type AB individuals are believed to be level-headed and intelligent, but also indecisive and critical of others.  AB's tend to follow their heads over their hearts.  They also handle finances well. 

While blood types and personality traits have not been scientifically linked, many Koreans swear by the connection.  I have been personally asked my blood type a couple different times by Korean friends, and while I don't know for sure if I buy into the whole theory, it is hard to deny it when your blood-type traits actually accurately describe you, as in my case.  Anyways, what do you think?  Do you think Koreans are on to something gauging character traits by blood type?  Let me know what you think!

 

 

Korean Weddings

After being here a year, I feel as if I don't have many 'firsts' anymore, so when  I recently got the chance to attend my first Korean wedding, I was really excited.  I was invited to a coworker's son's wedding and it happened to be in Jecheon, so I decided to tag along with some fellow coworkers.  I was a little confused as to why I was invited since I didn't exactly know the couple, but I was told it is common for parents of the bride and groom to invite many people to the wedding, whether you know the couple or not.  I've heard almost all weddings take place in wedding halls, which is easy to believe considering the amount of them I've seen in Korea, but this particular wedding took place in a Christian church.

Traditionally in Korean weddings, eating almost always comes before the ceremony; so upon arriving at the wedding hall, all guests settle in a dining room or cafeteria and are served a buffet style meal. There was so much food at the wedding, which included both Western and Korean style foods;  but I quickly noticed there was no wedding cake!  I later found out that some Korean weddings have a cake, but this particular one did not.  Once done eating, we made our way upstairs to the actual ceremony.  As soon as we sat down, the bride, dressed in a beautiful white dress and veil, preceded to walk down the aisle and the ceremony officially started.  At this time, there were maybe only 30 people in the church, as most people (maybe 70 or so) were still downstairs in the cafeteria eating. During the ceremony, a few more people trickled in to watch; but, I was so confused because there were more people eating before the wedding than actual people who turned up to watch the ceremony.  I guess priorities were definitely in order...

During the ceremony

The whole ceremony was very short, taking about 25 minutes.  Since it was all spoken in Korean, I couldn't understand much, but it seemed like a normal Christian wedding; a unity candle was lit, vows exchanged, a song was sung, and (to quote Beyonce) the bride and groom both put a ring on it.  The bride and groom must have been quite nervous though because they both put their significant other's ring on the wrong hand!  At first I thought that Koreans must wear their wedding rings on the opposite hand, but then the minister pointed out their mistake and the rings were swapped.  Once the ceremony was over, the couple walked up the aisle and thanked people for coming and took a few pictures.

**Side-note** During the ceremony I was quite distracted as there was one lady whose sole purpose was to help the bride maneuver in her dress.  The lady was constantly fixing the train of the bride's gown and helping her to move up and down the altar steps.  It got annoying after awhile.

Receptions are my favorite part of weddings, because who doesn't love a good reception??? Open bar, dancing, mingling with people...what's not to love??  Well unfortunately, this wedding didn't have a reception, although I was told that the newlywed's close family and select friends do gather post-wedding to celebrate.  Since most people, including myself, did not fall into that category, we were free to leave.  The whole thing was extremely short, from the time we arrived to the time we left; it lasted maybe one hour.  

Just finished! Taking pics..

Gift-giving is customary in wedding traditions, so I asked my Korean friend if I should give around $20.  I thought that was reasonable since I didn't know the couple at all, but I soon found out that that was not appropriate.  My friend informed me that $30 is the absolute minimum one can give, but since I didn't know the couple, I did not need to give a gift.  Koreans actually don't have a gift registry, so they only receive money.  Depending on your relationship to the couple, there is a certain amount of money you are expected to give, and one must never give money in denominations of 5. For example, $45 is not acceptable; you should round up to $50.   Since I wasn't even considered an acquaintance, I was excluded from the gift-giving (I saved money so I'm not complaining).

I recently also got invited to another wedding this coming December, but it is a family member of a close friend, and it will be held in Seoul.  I am excited to compare the two and see another Korean wedding!  
       

School Lunch

School lunches and I have had a love/hate relationship during my time in Korea.  When I first arrived at my school, I did my best to choke down school lunches.  Most days I was only able to eat about 1/4 of my lunch because either the food was too spicy or I just didn't like it; but I tried my best to endure it because foreign teachers had been warned during orientation that we should try to do our best to show respect towards Korean culture.  Eating school lunch was a way to "fit in" and also a good way to bond with coworkers.  I certainly didn't want any negative attention coming my way so I did my best to eat school lunch, but it wasn't long before some coworkers were mentioning how little I was eating and voicing their concerns for me.  So after two months of eating cafeteria lunches, I finally asked my school if I could start packing my own lunch.  I did this not only because I hated school lunch, but because I also felt really bad about wasting so much food everyday.  Once I started bringing my lunch, things got much better, but it became such a hassle to decide everyday "What am I going to eat for lunch?".  So I packed my lunch from November to the end of July.  But I've decided to eat school lunch again out of convenience and I must say I clean my tray almost everyday.  It is so strange to me how a year ago I would dread going to lunch and now I look forward to it; my taste buds have really changed since first arriving in Korea.      

A typical school lunch always includes rice (main dish), soup (seaweed, chicken, acorn, etc.), kimchi (fermented cabbage or radish), some sort of fruit, and a meat or tofu-based side dish.  As for a beverage, there is a community tea station where you can grab a cup and help yourself.  I especially look forward to Wednesday lunches because they are "special".  On Wednesdays, the school cooks serve items that wouldn't usually be served on a regular day; some items that might be served on Wednesdays include battered shrimp, curry, (Koreanized) Chinese food, fried chicken, spaghetti, etc.  The school nutritionist is responsible for creating the lunch menu everyday.

This particular school lunch consisted of rice, seaweed soup, grapes, roasted potatoes, kimchi, and beef/octopus meat medley.  When I first arrived, I would have probably only eaten the grapes, rice, potatoes and meat....but now I've come to really enjoy kimchi and seaweed-based soups.

So what do you think of school lunch??  Do you think it sounds/looks appetizing??

Napping at Work

On days like today, I am thankful that Korean work culture is so accepting of employees taking naps during their working hours.  The first time I saw my co-teacher taking a nap at her desk, I was sooo confused; this might be grounds for getting fired if you did that in the States.  But, I soon found out that snoozing at your desk is perfectly OK here.  One of the reasons I think napping at work is common here is because Koreans are constantly saying how busy and stressed they are, and napping can be a quick relief to some of that stress.

The typical nap in my office: head down on desk.

I used to be very nervous about sleeping at my desk because it's not American culture and I've never dreamed of sleeping on the job before, but when I witnessed many of my coworkers doing it, then I decided it must be ok.  One time I even went into the school library and a teacher was sleeping while the kids looked at books.  During summer and winter vacations (when children are on break but teachers have to work), napping is especially common.  During those breaks, sometimes I'll nap for an hour or more.  I even have friends who have couches in their offices to nap on...talk about lucky!  

So on days like today when I'm feeling especially tired after lunch, I'm very grateful that I can take a quick nap at my desk....and it is wonderful....Zzzzz

Jeju Island with the Family

As told by Barbara Souders, guest blogger

After realizing that Kylee wasn’t coming home anytime soon, we decided to take the leap and make plans to go see her in South Korea. So as Kylee wrote in a previous article, I flew over on July 1.  When I arrived in Seoul it was wonderful to be greeted by her smiling face holding a sign that said, “Welcome to Korea. I Love You.” It was wonderful to get to hug her and see her in person! For the first two weeks of July it was just Kylee and I. I had a wonderful time just hanging out and exploring her city, but we were both anxiously awaiting for David and Patrick to arrive so we could start our adventures together as a family!

David and Patrick arrived the evening of July 18.  Unfortunately they didn’t get the big welcome I did because Kylee was working, so they got instructions that Kylee had sent them in English and Korean on how to get from the airport to Kylee’s city of Jecheon about 3 hours away.  So after planes, subways, trains and taxis they finally made it to Jecheon around 11:00 p.m.!  After hugs and travel stories we decided we were all hungry and headed out for some yummy Korean BBQ. This would be David and Patrick’s first real Korean meal, chopsticks and all!

Everyone slept in a little the next morning, which was Saturday, and we headed out early afternoon to explore Jecheon. We walked downtown to the markets and just wandered around for a few hours. We didn’t have much time because we had to repack and get ready to catch a bus for Seoul that evening.  We arrived in Seoul that evening, took a subway and then navigated our way through the streets of Seoul to our hostel for the night. Bright and early the next morning, dragging our luggage though the dark streets, we walked from our hostel to the subway station, and caught a train to the airport.  We were flying to Jeju Island, a volcanic island located off the southern  most tip of the South Korean Peninsula and is a popular tourist spot among Koreans. They refer to it as the “Hawaii” of Korea.  After about an hour flight  we arrived. We had come prepared with International Driver’s Licenses and our first objective was to try and rent a car because bus transportation on the island was not very dependable and taxis would get expensive. After trying multiple carriers Kylee finally found one that specialized in renting to foreigners. We got a really nice Hyundai equipped with GPS and off we went to try and find our hostel.

Once on the road David decided we better fill up the tank. Little did we know that trying to get gas would be an adventure in itself ! After stopping at two stations and being told “no” we finally were able to get gas on our third try. We finally figured out that our car ran on propane! That is why the first two stations could not fill us up. From then on we knew that we had to stop at the stations that said “LG”.  After an interesting hour drive (Korean’s drive crazy!) we found our hostel.  It was nice, we had two sets of bunk beds and our own bathroom, and our hosts were very nice as well.  

Our hostel and rental car

Our first objective was to find something to eat. We drove around and found a place that looked good. It was a very nice traditional Korean BBQ restaurant.  The owner was very welcoming and she seated us at a table and we sat on the floor on matts. Kylee did all of the ordering since she can speak some Korean and she ordered the Blackened Pig which Jeju Island is famous for.  The meal was very tasty and entertaining. We were the only people in the restaurant and the little Korean lady was obsessed with trying to help us with everything and watching us eat!  We got a big laugh out of it.

Eating blackened pork belly, a Jeju specialty

We also hit up a McDonald's one day because we were over Korean food.

Our next stop was Manjanggul Cave, one of the finest lava tunnels in the world and a designated natural monument and UNESCO World Heritage Site on the island. A lava tunnel is formed when the lava that was deep in the ground spouts from the peak and flows to the surface. This particular tube is about 200,000-300,000 years old.  We walked through a nice park to the entrance of the cave which was a flight of stone steps which took us approximately two stories underground. It was very much just like a cave except everything was made of lava. It was a rocky and wet walk to the end of the tunnel which was about a mile long, and it was also very cold and damp, but it felt nice considering it was very hot and humid outside.

Lava Tubes 

That evening we drove around once again looking for a place to eat and Kylee spotted a “fried chicken” restaurant.  She had always raved about Korean fried chicken so we decided to try it out. It was a quaint little place with husband and wife cooking in a small kitchen. As usual, Kylee order for us. To be honest, I don’t know what we would have done without her knowing Korean! The fried chicken was served up with a side of some sort of pickled radishes and we shared a couple bottles of Coke. The chicken didn’t disappoint and we headed back to our hostel for the night.

The next morning we were up early to check out Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, also know as Sunrise Peak. This tuff cone was formed over 5000 years ago due to hydrovolcanic eruptions and is another one of Jeju Island’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites.  We could see the huge mountain from our hostel and it was only a few minutes away. At the base of the mountain is a parking area and lots of vendors selling various types of street food and souveniers.  About a 45 minute to one hour hike up thousands of stairs will take you to the top to view the breathtaking scenery overlooking the East Sea and the Island. David, Patrick and Kylee jumped right in and headed up the mountain. Unfortunately I’m afraid of heights so I stayed behind and sampled lots of street food and purchased souveniers, including some of Jeju’s famous tangerine chocolate.  About an hour and half later Patrick showed up hot and sweaty followed by Kylee and then Dave. It was really cool that they actually climbed to the top!

We made it to the top!

Later that day, after recooperating from the mountain hike, we decided to drive to the southern part of the island and go to Cheonjiyeon Waterfalls. It was about a 45 minute drive and we stopped at a few beaches along the way just to check them out. It was a fun drive and after navigating our way through some narrow streets we finally found the park. We walked along a gorgeous stream with a beautifully landscaped walkway full of tropical plants, encountering multiple small dams along the way. At the end of the path was the waterfall. It was beautiful and we took multiple photos. We even got to see some of the Mutae Eels swimming around! The walk back was a different path and we met up with a High School Korean soccer team. The coach asked if we could take some team pics and they returned the favor. We also got a group picture of all of us. Before leaving we all rubbed the “Golden Magic Pearl” for good luck and made a wish!

    

We met a soccer team!

                                     

                                                  In front of the "Golden Magic Pearl"

One day we went to Loveland Park aka the Sex Park, which has many provocative statues of people in compromising positions.  This is a popular place for Korean newlyweds to visit on their honeymoon.  We were dying of laughter the whole time walking around!  

  

                Treats at Loveland                                                        Adventures at Loveland

We decided our last day on Jeju should be relaxing so we spent the day at the beach.  We found a beautiful beach with white sand, gorgeous blue/green water, and lots of nearby food. The beach scene in Korea is definitely not like anything we had seen before and was very entertaining. Koreans don’t like the sun on their skin so most beach goers were fully dressed in long sleeve jackets, hoods up, hats, sunglasses, and umbrellas! And most of them don’t swim so they only go out around waist deep. The four of us love the water and started wading out towards the bouys until the life guard kept blowing his whistle at us and motioning us back! So we were stuck in waist deep water as well, but made the most it. At one point schools of baby squid were even swimming around us! Later in the afternoon we found an outdoor Korean BBQ restaurant for dinner near the beach then decided to pack it up and head back to our hostel.

                                            

                                     We forgot to take pictures at the beach....one of like 2!

Early the next morning we left for the airport and boarded our plane back to Seoul where we would spend the next four days. Stay tuned for our next article which will be about our adventures in Seoul!

It's Been 1 Year!!

Wow!  I know this sounds cliche, but this year has gone by unbelievably fast.  I remember Aug. 17, 2013 so vividly that I cannot believe it was a whole 12 months ago.  I remember waiting and waiting for the day of my flight to arrive, and when the time came, I was choking back tears, saying goodbye to my family, and wondering if I was making the right decision.  Now, 365 later, I know that moving abroad was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  It hasn't always been easy living in Korea (missing holidays, time with family and friends and special events), but I wouldn't change anything that's happened to me in the past year.

A collage of some of my experiences this year, also featuring some of my favorite people here!

(Family visiting, rafting, Taekwondo lesson, paragliding, basketball game, etc.)

Learning Korean hasn't been easy, but it's slowly coming along.  The stuff in this picture is sooo easy now.

In honor of my first year in Korea, I’ll tell you my top 5 likes and dislikes of living here (in no particular order):

1. Clothes DRYERS!!!  I could desperately use a dryer, but there non-existent here, so everything must air-dry.  I hate waiting...and I just want fluffy clothes again.

2. Food, food and food.  Yes, I've adjusted to Korean tastes and I will definitely miss certain Korean dishes when I decide to leave, but nothing beats the variety of American food.  If you want PopTarts, there's literally 30 flavors to choose from in the US.  And the only time I can get good Mexican food here is when I travel to Seoul, and if you think I'm paying a reasonable $7 for a meal that includes free chips and salsa, think again.  I also miss crab rangoon, root beer, hotdogs, mac n cheese, etc.  Bottom line here, I'm definitely not starving, but American cuisine wins the food battle hands down.

3.  Time Zones.  Of course the time difference just plain sucks.  Korea is 14 hours ahead of the U.S. which can make calling/texting/Skyping family and friends a bit of a pain because these things can only be done in the morning and late at night.  Have something exciting to share with your parents at 3pm here?? Well, you'll have to wait because it's currently 1am for them.

4.  Age.  The whole age difference thing is just damn confusing.  Korean has their own special way to calculate age, while the rest of the world is calculating the normal way.  So when people ask me how old I am, I have to stop myself from saying "23" (which is my real age) and say "25" instead.  Why do Koreans want to be older than they are??

5.  Relying on Others.  I'm a really independent person and like to do things on my own.  I've had to face the reality that I can't do everything on my own here.  There a huge language barrier (even though I'm slowly learning), and some things are just impossible.  Luckily, I have an awesome co-teacher who is readily available to translate for me in cases of emergencies (phone problems, doctor visits, bank problems, etc.)  I hate having to ask her to do things for me--especially because they're occurrences which I'd be able to handle on my own in the U.S.--but sometimes you just have to ask for help.

One of the people I rely on most in Korea: Jae Hee, my awesome co-teacher

Sooo enough about the negatives; let's focus on the positive aspects of living in Korea.  Of course there's too many to count, but I'll try to narrow it down.

1.  Easy-living.  I'll be honest, I have a really comfortable life here.  I make a decent paycheck with no taxes, my apartment is provided for me, vacation time is substantial and I only have 3 bills a month that are pretty minimal.  Korea is also a really safe place with very low crime and I never worry about walking alone.  I couldn't live this comfortably in the U.S. that's for sure.

2.  Travel.  I LOVE TRAVELING. During my vacation time, I'm always going somewhere new whether it's abroad or within Korea.  This past year I went to Japan, Thailand and Cambodia, along with numerous places in Korea as well.  I already have a list of places that I want to explore this year: Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. When else will I be able to explore Asia??

Petting a tiger during my trip to Thailand in January.

3.  Music Scene.  The Korean music scene is unlike anything I've seen or heard before.  KPOP is in a league of its own, but I love it.  KPOP is so catchy, and I've already developed favorite groups and singers (check out G-Dragon if you don't know who he is).  I still have faith that it will make its way to the U.S. soon.

Teaching! Because that's why I'm here...but look closely and my students are playing KPOP-themed UNO.

4.  Friends.  I didn't know ANYONE when I came to Korea.  I didn't even meet any other English-speakers until about 3 weeks into my time here.  Well, it's safe to say I'm no longer friend-less, although it did take time to meet and develop relationships with people here, Korean and foreign alike. I can say now that I've met some amazing people, people who I will definitely stay in contact with for a very long time.  I have so many friends here now that it's hard to make time for them all!! Oh, woe is me..

Some of my friends during last Thanksgiving

My partner in crime, Cara, who has made this year a lot more fun and interesting to say the least.

5.  Seoul.  I love city life, which may be odd considering I grew up in a town of 5,000 people.  In my opinion, cities are full of life, interesting people, and city lights at night are absolutely beautiful.  Seoul may be similar to other big cities, but it's still a really cool place and there's a lot of fun to be had there.

So I’ve known this for awhile now, but one year in Korea is just not enough.  So, I recently decided to extend my contract for another year.  Here's to round 2, and only time will tell the rest...   

   

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

One thing I've really missed this summer is hitting up a few Cardinals baseball games, grabbing a delicious ballpark hotdog, and watching my main man Molina behind the plate.  Lucky for me, apart from soccer, baseball is Korea's second-most popular sport.  There are nine national teams in the Korean Baseball League and games are extremely cheap to attend.  I've gone to two games this summer and both have been extremely fun!

I went to my first game in June with my friend Cara.  It was 4 o'clock, we were already in Seoul and decided to take the subway over to Jamsil Sports Complex to see if there was a game since all games are played in the evenings.  We were able to get tickets for the 5:30 game, and we were asked which seats we wanted: the $10, $12, or $15.  We decided to splurge and go for the $15 seats between third base and home plate, about 12 rows from the field.  Not bad for the "pricy" tickets.  The stadium is divided into two sections: home team section and visiting section; so when you buy tickets, you choose which side you want to sit on.  We decided just to sit with the home team which was the LG Twins.  The visitors were the SK Wyverns.  All teams are owned by a major Korean corporation.  

View of the field

My second game was just a couple weeks ago, and I got to spend it with the people I love most: my family!  During our time in Seoul, it was a MUST to see a game since we all love a little baseball action.  Of course we "splurged" for the same tickets too.  This time we saw LG play the Lotte Giants, which we were told are the equivalent of the NY Yankees in regards to Korean fan bases.  The Korean guy sitting next to my dad was wearing a special All-Star jersey, which eventually lead to a conversation.  We found out that this guy had obtained his Master's degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1996!  Talk about a small world!  Unfortunately this game was rained out in the 5th inning, but we still managed to witness a homerun and my brother and I left as jersey-holding members of the Giants fan base.

Family at the game...obviously I didn't get the memo about keeping our eyes open.

 My new jersey supporting Che Dae Seong, pitcher

The ballpark food isn't exactly what you would be able to find at Busch Stadium, but there is still quite the selection: Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, Smoothie King, etc.  Concession prices weren't overly inflated either which is always a plus.  Many people decide to skip the ballpark food altogether and order delivery to the stadium.  Fried chicken delivery is always the most popular choice for Koreans, and you can bring your own food into the stadium no problem.  My brother happened to be a huge fan of the $3 Budweiser tallboys.  Yep, you heard that right...$3.

Another great view from our seats.

If you go to a Korean baseball game, don't get upset when you don't heard the familiar "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" chant.  Instead, Koreans have their own chants which are led by cheerleaders.  Many of the chants are in tune to popular English songs; my personal favorite chant being the one to the tune of Disney's "It's a Small World".  

Hope you thought this post was a Grand Slam...sorry that wasn't as funny as I had hoped.  Until next time... 

          

Barbara in Korea: Adventures with my Mom

Ever since my mom booked her ticket to Korea in February, I've been counting down the days until she arrives.  Well, after a grueling 24-hour journey, she made it to Korea July 2nd.  I ditched school a little early so that I was able to meet her at the airport.  I had a big sign and smile waiting for her when she walked through the arrival gate; and, I got the hug I'd been waiting 11 months for!  

Since she's arrived, I think she's already experienced quite a lot; some things we've done together, and some things she's done alone because I'm still at work during the week.  On our first weekend together, I made sure to take my mom to the "hotspots" of Jecheon.  First on our list was Urimiji Lake, which is a reservoir on the outskirts of the city.  While there, we walked around the park which surrounds the lake and took a ride on a swan-shaped paddle boat.  There are a few food vendors in this area, so I was excited to have my mom try some authentic Korean street food including a chicken/coke cup and a spiral potato stick (which is a whole potato cut into a spiral shape, fried, and dipped in a seasoning of your choice).  We also took a walk through the rice fields.  Rice is a staple at every Korean meal, so there is a lot of land devoted to growing the stuff!  

My mom also got to see Cheongpung Lake, which is a large nearby lake.  My one landlord was kind enough to drive her there, give her a tour, and take her to dinner since I had to work.  

At Urimiji Lake

With the Jecheon characters

Street Food

Rice Fields

Afterwards, we stopped at the dog cafe to get our animal fix since we both miss our pets a lot.  As I've mentioned before, animal cafes are very popular in Korea, and we both really enjoyed playing with the several dogs that were there.  

This past weekend my mom, my co-teacher, a co-worker, my friend and I all headed to the east coast of Korea to see the infamous Haesindong Park, aka the Penis Park.  It attracts many visitors every year, especially foreigners...I'm sure you can guess why!  Yes, the park is filled with nothing but penis statues: fat penises, skinny penises, short penises, long penises, pensises with faces, and even a penis teeter-totter.  You get the picture.  The penis park doesn't just exist for dicks and giggles; there's a story behind it.  

The Tale:

Supposedly a long time ago, there was a young virgin girl who drowned in the ocean in which the park overlooks.  After the drowning, fishermen noticed that fish seemed to be disappearing from the water.  The fishermen concluded that the loss of fish must be because the girl was haunting the ocean and was angry after dying a virgin.  In order to appease the girl's spirit, the fishermen built penises, and more penises and more.  

Obviously these fishermen were smart, because, duh, what else does a virgin girl want?  Nowadays, the park is just a interesting place to visit in a very conservative country.  Did I mention there were families with young kids there?  No?  Well there were, and it was weird.

Penis teeter-totter

Since we were already near the coast, we decided to hit up a local beach.  The beach scene in Korea is quite different from the U.S.; instead of swimsuits, everyone is swimming in regular clothes, and instead of beach towels, there are tents set up on the beach.  Koreans even cook ramen and barbeque on the beach!  It's just a different experience here.  

Food is a big part of Korean culture, so I've had fun taking my mom to some different restaurants to try out Korean food.  The first place I took her was a traditional restaurant in which you eat on short tables and sit on the floor.  Traditional restaurants often serve each person a bowl of rice and then everyone shares multiple side dishes, usually soups and vegetable-based dishes which have been fermented.  We also ate Korean BBQ one night.  BBQ is my favorite here.  BBQ consists of cooking meat (pork, beef or duck) at your table and it is also served with many side dishes.  Surprisingly, my mom has seemed to enjoy Korean food; this was something that I definitely had to adjust to when I first arrived.  My mom has faced one major setback though: chopsticks!  She has been a trooper and tried using them at every meal, but the waiter always ends up bringing her a fork.  Some things just take time.  

Using chopsticks!

My mom has also visited my school on a few occasions and met many of my students and co-workers. Everyone has enjoyed asking her questions like "How old are you?", and we've also heard several times, "Same face!".  It's been a really great experience for my students to meet another "foreigner" and for my mom to finally meet the kids I've been teaching to the past year.  

Next week, we will be off to Jeju Island and Seoul for more adventures since I will be starting summer vacation.