Vietnam

Wow, what a whirlwind month this has been!  I finished up another semester teaching, traveled Vietnam for a week, and came back Stateside for two weeks for the first time in a year and a half.  I don't think I've ever been so exhausted in my life, but I have enjoyed every minute of my vacation time.

First let's talk Vietnam.  Vietnam had been on my travel bucket list for quite some time, so I was really excited to not only be able to go there for a week, but I was able to go with my friends as well since our vacation time happened to coincide.  We wanted to pack in as much as possible into our single week there, so our itinerary included three different cities: Hanoi (capital city), Danang and Hoi An.  We decided it was best to start in Hanoi and work our way south.  Hanoi was...busy, to put it simply.  Out of all the places I've been, Hanoi had the absolute worst traffic I've ever seen.  I don't even know if it was the traffic that was bad, or if it was the fact that there were no traffic laws.  My friends and I even began to joke that in Vietnam green lights mean go, yellow lights mean go and red lights also mean go.  Crossing the street was literally an endangerment to our lives.  Other than the awful street nonsense, I also noticed a lot of French influence in Hanoi, especially in the city's colonial-style architecture.

Just a glimpse of the traffic...the picture doesn't quite do it justice.

The Vietnam crew: Casey, Cara, Chris, JaeHee and Me

While in Hanoi, we took a 2-day/1-night cruise into Ha Long Bay.  The bay consists of about 1,500 small islands.  During our cruise we were able to do many activities, including: kayaking, exploring one of the larger islands that was home to wild monkeys, tour a pearl farm, and join a Vietnamese cooking lesson.  But possibly my favorite part of the cruise was being randomly grouped with all Koreans on our boat for the entirety of our Ha Long Bay cruise...it felt so familiar!  

Our cruise tour group: 2 Dutch, 4 Americans and 6 Koreans

Enjoying the views of Halong Bay while relaxing on our cruise boat.

Halong Bay is filled with thousands of tiny islands like these.

Kayaking in Halong Bay at sunset.

After sightseeing in Hanoi for a few days, we took a 45-minute flight to Danang which is situated in the middle of the country on the coast.  Danang was a much slower pace than Hanoi and we were able to relax on the beach and walk around the city.  I really enjoyed the fact that Vietnam, and especially Danang, had much fewer tourists than the previous Southeast Asian countries I have visited.

Vietnamese rice hats

We spent our last couple days in Hoi An which was about a 40 minute taxi ride from Danang.  Hoi An was my favorite stop along our journey.  Hoi An was a quiet town, and since it was smaller in size, we were able to rent motorbikes from our hotel and drive them wherever we went; our favorite spot being our hotel's private beach.  Hoi An also had a large outdoor market area where you could buy fresh fruit (many kinds I had never even seen or heard of), street food, custom clothes/shoes shops, souvenirs, or take boat rides along the river.  It was a very quaint and charming town that was the perfect end to our week.    

Hoi An 

Hoi An shopping district

I almost drove into a lake, but no one needs to know that. 

Food was also a big part of our trip to Vietnam.  In Hanoi, we stuffed ourselves with Pho, a soupy noodle-based dish accompanied by meat, green onions, and a hint of lime juice.  We also ate a fair share of fried spring rolls, which are also a Vietnamese staple.  The Vietnamese also make French-style baguette sandwiches, which are not complete without liver pate (chopped liver that is minced into a paste); don't knock it til you try it!  The food in Vietnam was absolutely amazing, but witnessing the local restaurants wash their dishes was less than wonderful.  We saw many places lay dishes out on the sidewalk, pour a little soap on them and then spray them off with a garden hose. Who needs a sink, right?

Eating traditional Vietnamese Pho.  So delicious!

Coffee is very popular in Vietnam.  We tried a special kind that was mixed with egg.

I would've loved to have been able to stay in Vietnam longer, but I had already made plans to go somewhere else...MO!  More on that trip next time!
 

Slopes and Slots

So I've been a little MIA lately...but Happy New Year!  2015 is already shaping up to be a good year, and while I didn't make any resolutions, I want to continue to try new things and see different places; which is why I scheduled a trip to Vietnam for the end of January and why I decided to try snowboarding last weekend.  I know when you think of snowboarding, you don't immediately think of Korea, but Gangwon Province in the northeast side of the country is quite popular for its winter sports and resorts (I mean, it is the future home of the 2018 Winter Olympics).  But I've never skied or snowboarded before so I was really anxious to see what all the hype was about.  Even though I had heard skiing is easier, I opted for the snowboard because it just looks "cooler" and I wanted to channel my inner Shaun White (haha, yeah right...but really).

So, Saturday morning my friends and I drove a little over an hour to High1 Resort.  I guess it was a pretty typical ski resort, but I'm not sure because I have nothing to compare it to.  After getting fitted and renting our gear, we headed up the lift to what I was told was a "beginner's trail".  Well I'm pretty sure my friend who informed me of this was wrong because it didn't look like a beginner's trail to me, but what does the ski virgin know anyway.

Quick group selfie on the lift (me, Chris, and Lucy)

Chris, me, and Mandy

Does this look like a bunny slope to you??

Many people warned me that snowboarding would be hard (to which I replied, "But it looks so easy on TV!"); but, they were right, it was difficult.  The snowboard is so heavy!  But, I think the hardest part is definitely attempting to stand up after you've fallen down.  Luckily, my friend Chris was a good sport and taught me the basics and helped me out most of the day.  Despite the fact that snowboarding was a lot harder than I had anticipated and my muscles hurt incredibly bad the next couple days, I'm looking forward to going again sometime.

After we had had our fill of snowboarding, my friends and I decided to head to the resort's casino, Kangwon Land. Casinos are few and far between in Korea mainly because there is some sort of law in place prohibiting Koreans from gambling; the few casinos that are in Korea are usually located near the international airports and/or military bases because only foreigners are able to access them. This particular casino, Kangwon Land, is actually the only casino in Korea that is open to Koreans. Well I definitely think Korea needs more casinos open to its native population because this place was packed!  After walking around for about 20 minutes looking for open slot machines to no avail, my other foreign friend and I stumbled upon a "Foreigners Only" room, which was empty.  Bingo!  We had a roulette table and dealer all to ourselves which made us feel really special.  I had never played Roulette before, but I must be really good at guessing numbers because by the time we cashed out, I was up $54!  Beginner's luck?  Maybe...but I'll take it!  This was my Korean friends' first casino experience, but unfortunately they were unable to partake in any gambling because all the slot machines and game tables were full.  But they still enjoyed the free refreshments so they were happy.

Trying my luck on the giant slot machine.

   


 

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??