Ups & Downs

I have come to realize that I am bi-polar when it comes to my relationship with this country.

One minute, I’m taking in the flashy lights, high on kimchi and begging for more. The next, I’m walking through a jungle of Koreans in a crosswalk, no one’s eyes on anything but their wireless devices, much less where they’re walking. Whether I love Korea or hate Korea quite literally changes on an hourly basis.

Since my last post was nothing but glory for the Korean culinary world, I must be fair to my other personality and do a little venting.

I present to you my pet peeves:

1) The complete lack of attention to where one is walking.

I don’t know whether to chalk it up to an immunity to crowds or believe that everyone in this country is just shamelessly rude. While traversing the streets, the supermarket, the subway, wherever, it is impossible to go five seconds without being bumped, shoved, elbowed or pushed. But they apologize, right? Or at least look slightly concerned? No and no. As a matter of fact, we’re the weird ones for making a gesture of apology.

2) The constant shoving and pawing to be in the front of a line.

It doesn’t matter if there are three people in line and twenty empty seats on the bus. Heck, you could be waiting in line to board a flight that has preassigned seats. Koreans will do anything to beat you to wherever it is you are going. Ever wonder if you’re in Seoul? Oh, well, is there an old woman elbowing you in the side? Yes? Why then, yes, you probably are in Seoul. Enjoy!

3) Frequent PDG’s (Public Acts of Grossness)

Somehow it’s perfectly acceptable to spit indoors and urinate on trees in broad daylight whilst sober. YUCK.

4) Red means stop?

I wish I could count on two hands how many times I’ve almost died walking across a street when it’s my turn. In fact, I’d probably need 3 more sets to perform an accurate count. Nothing snaps me out of dreamy day in the ROK like a careless driver honking at pedestrians and law-abiders while running a red light. Come on, people, what’s that all about?

At the moment, I love Korea. But check back in an hour because I may see someone spit on my way to the restroom.

Danielle’s Top 5 Korean Foods

First and foremost, our sincerest apologies for our epic fail at blogging. Somehow, six months have passed since our last post. With the clock running down on our last days in Korea, I am feeling quite nostalgic. I can’t think of a better way to reminisce than by sharing my favorite parts and pet peeves.

I’m going to reenter the world of blogging by sharing my favorite Korean dishes.

Best Comfort Food: Samgyetang

When I think of comfort food, I think of home. I’m  talking good, old fashioned, American goodness. I usually crave comfort food in two scenarios – when I’m home sick or when I’m literally sick. Samgyetang is the Korean version of Chicken Noodle Soup. It’s a whole chicken, sutffed with ginseng, garlic, pine nuts and sticky rice and boiled. Nothing does a better job of making me feel closer to home (except a box of mac n’ cheese) and less under the weather.

Best Spiciness Factor: Kimchi Jongol

I love spice. Give me more, give me more, give me more! Kimchi Jongol is a hotpot stew loaded with kimchi, onions, mushrooms, tofu, pork meat and pure awesome. It hits the spot every time I’m craving something spicy!

Best Food for Group Dining: Pizza Dalkgalbi

Family-style meals are the best, most authentic way to dine in South Korea. Among the dozens of things to eat with your family and friends, pizza dalkgalbi takes the cake for me. Dalkgalbi is a traditional dish where chicken, cabbage, rice cakes and bean sprouts are grilled in a spicy sauce right at your table. It simmers up into a delectable, hearty meal. The only thing that could make it more delicious than it already is would be to throw a pizza on top and that’s precisely what we do. Sprinkle on some onion, bell pepper, olive and cheese and you’ve got yourself one tasty treat.

Best Budget Meal: Bibimbop

Bibimbop is a simple, yet satisfying meal. A bowl of rice is topped with a mountain of vegetables, a fried egg and as much gochujang (hot pepper paste) as you want. Mix it all up and enjoy! And how could you not when it only costs $3 and leaves you stuffed?

My All-Time Favorite Korean Food: Kimchi Bokkeumbop (kimchi fried rice)

This was my favorite during my last stint in the ROK, and I hold to it this time around. It’s spicy, sticky, tangy, savory, crunchy and super budget friendly. I could literally eat this every day and never tire of it.

The Suwon City Wall and then some

Not that long ago, about a month I had the opportunity to head to Suwon.  Suwon is the only completely walled city left in South Korea.  It was a great trip even though it rained the entire time.  The wall surrounding the city was built sometime around 1796 or at least that’s when building began.  Being able to walk along almost the entire length of the wall was pretty amazing thanks to my vivid imagination.  The foggy, rain filled day really set the mood.  I attempted to really think about standing on this wall as a guard of sorts.  I examined all the watch towers and peepholes.  I looked down to the wall to see where the most likely breach could occur or where I wouldn’t want to be stationed.  This city exchanged hands 4 times during the Korean War so I know I wasn’t the first person to be thinking such thoughts.

With all of this history coming forth and replaying in my head it was almost possible for a second to forget what stood on the outside of the wall.  It wasn’t an enemy or should I say at least not a violent one.  Outside of the Suwon wall there is a sprawling metro area that is essentially pushed up against nearly every point of the wall.  It’s a weird site to have an ancient wall and then 2 completely modernized cities closing in on it.
Beyond that little trip which Danielle couldn’t attend there were some other great highlights.  First of all, Teacher’s Day in Korea occurred.  This is basically a pretty straightforward holiday in that the name says it all.  I received a few wonderful gifts but none of them top the card I received on the outside of the gift.  The picture should be posted at some point around this page.  No one at my last job ever told me anything like that!!  Another funny thing related to school is that I was in a photo that found it’s way to a Korean Newspaper.  It wasn’t the equivalent of the NY Times or anything but it was slightly weird seeing my face in print with one of the kids from my Kindergarten class.  The newspaper essentially ran a story on our school and I got a few photos taken while i was “teaching.”  I got so nervous with the camera in the class that I just pretended to help the kids till the photographer left.

Another thing that I just have to post because it blew my mind and really made me realize I was in a totally different world here happened about a month and a half ago.  We were walking past one of the 6 convenience stores on the way to the subway which isn’t even a quarter of a mile away and I saw a brand new Lamborghini.  It was a thing of beauty and probably about the closest I’ve ever gotten to one.  A man walked in front of me and I realized after about 5 seconds that his Lamborghini was completely empty while running.  Mind you there were about 50 people within 50 feet of his car and he had enough trust or car insurance on his Lambo that he just leaves it running.  I told Danielle immediately that it’s possible that was my only chance to drive a Lamborghini….  I may have already blogged that, I don’t recall but I do promise to blog much more often because memories get muddled in new ones.

The newest task Danielle and I have chose to tackle together is completing a half-marathon.  She made this plan about 2 months ago or so and at the time I said no but she managed to drag me into the mix.  So we’ve been training about 3-4 times a week when we haven’t been banged up or sick.  I found out a few things pretty quickly through the training.  First of all, running 3-5 miles isn’t as hard for me as I thought it’d be.  I’m not anywhere close to the best shape of my life but I thought I was further from it than I truly am, that’s good.  Secondly running much past 9-10 miles seems to be exponentially harder.  Our furthest run to date was about 11.5 miles and that was about 2-3 weeks ago.  It was a long 11.5 miles let me tell you.  We ran together so we could get the feel for each others pace as we are planning on running together during the race.  Unfortunately we haven’t run much since that 11.5 miles.  Danielle has run a few times but I like the idiot that I am opted to play kickball barefoot.  Yeah I said to myself, “it’s just a kickball.”  Then everyone was like “wow man you’re hardcore” and I played it off like it wasn’t a big thing but man did it hurt when I kicked the ball.  Of course I didn’t limp around or quit because that’s just not the way I was taught to do things.  I finished the game and then couldn’t run for about a week…..  Wait I forgot something extremely important. Canadians call kickball “soccer baseball.”  Yeah it’s true.  I thought someone was joking around when I first heard/read that.  Soccer baseball, crazy I know.  It’s like calling Pizza, “cheesy bread with toppings.”

Either way, the half-marathon is this weekend so I hope someone can read this blog before Saturday and send us good vibes because we’ll need them.  I will make sure to report back ASAP.   Running has been excellent for both of us too.  In conjunction with the different food options here I’ve lost about 30 lbs in 4 months.

Of course during the last month or so since I’ve posted we’ve also had the typical Ron and Danielle days where we search for lost friends in Suehyeon, go to baseball games (which I will have to post about soon), lay around the house on a Saturday or stay out a pinch past 10 pm    Whenever I step up to computer to blog I always think I have nothing to say then I end up throwing down 1000 words and leaving out much more.

“Determine your priorities and focus on them”

May was interesting month for me. As I look back, it seems as if it was over in a flash, yet at the same time, it feels as though it lasted an eternity. It was a whirlwind of relaxation, discovery, difficulty, stress, happiness and contentment.

Relaxation sounds like a good place to begin, eh? Around the first of the month, Ron and I had a four-day weekend to enjoy. We took this opportunity to travel to the East coast of the country. After four sweaty, beautiful hours in a VIP bus, we arrived in Samcheok. Hoping to spend some of the gorgeous afternoon reading a good book on the beach, we promptly took a cab to the sea to find a hotel and get settled. The small village of seafood restaurants and hotels was a complete ghost town. Koreans are odd in the way they have specific dates for “beach season” and actually adhere to the idea. I feel like anywhere else in the world,  it could be December and as long as it’s 70 degrees outside it would be declared a perfect day for the beach. This will forever boggle my mind.  Nevertheless, since it was not between July 10th and August 20th, we were able to score a sea-view room for $30. Not bad! Since the only restaurants by our hotel were serving creepy, bottom-feeder-like fish, and even those places were closed, we holed up at a small market’s picnic bench for ramyeon noodles, potato chips and a beer to share. The wind was blowing like crazy so we ate our hot soup as fast as possible before making a beeline to the hotel to warm up. Evidently, a vacation was needed as we returned to our hotel, promptly fell asleep to a Korean baseball game, and didn’t leave again until the next morning. We departed the small beach town with no intention of returning, as we were to go to the penis park and then board a bus back to Seoul that evening. However, after a glorious day at the park and more sun shining down on us, we ended up lugging ourselves back to the same place to spend one more night on our practically private beach.

Alright, the penis park. We caught a morning bus from Samcheok to the park and if I didn’t know any better I would have sworn I was on a bus to Chinook Winds with 35 retired women. Koreans are notorious for being silent on public transportation, but on this ride it was packed with older women who were laughing hysterically, all seemed to know one another and kept saving seats. It was a relief to see a more relaxed side of Korean society, and also embarrassing to sheepishly get off the bus at the stop we did.

Here’s the back story to the park: legend has it that a virgin drowned in the waters of the local fishing village and her restless spirit was effecting their catch. One day, an intoxicated man happened to relieve himself in the water, in effect showing his penis to the virgin, and that day the fishermen returned with a bountiful catch. Therefore, to appease the virgin’s spirit and ensure the fishermen would not be doomed, they built the park along the cliffs of the village that includes fifty-some phallic statues. The views from the park are quite incredible and it was definitely good for a few laughs.  After leaving the penis park, we headed back to Samcheok for a few drinks and then sat on the beach and lit fireworks together. It was peaceful and exactly the reprieve from the city that I needed.

After returning from our trip, the grind started up again with masses of cute children and nights alternating between runs and TV in bed. We have another long weekend coming up in two days and we are going to an island off the West coast for a night to celebrate a friend’s birthday and relax some more. Again, the relaxation is much needed!

In closing, I’ve made my motto for this year: MIND, BODY, SOUL. I’m going to take advantage of the time I have to create a path  to follow when we return to Portland, get healthy again (well on the way with a half-marathon next month, 13 lbs lost and no anxiety attacks!), and really focus on my relationship with Ron to make sure we stay strong throughout these awesome, yet stressful adventures. I know not everyone gets a year to take a timeout and reshape her life, so I will make sure to focus on these things and return with all I need to tackle the real world stateside; a plan, my health and the man I love.

 

 

 

Does trying count for anything?

I attempted to post a new blog while at work…. I had wonderful ideas and a great introduction but then I got stuck….  Look for a new blog within 2 days.

I can’t take it anymore

It’s been far too long.  I just don’t know how I could have let this happen.  How have I not posted to the blog in so long.  I can’t go so far in between posts next time.  Perhaps for a second you assumed I was talking about living in Korea?  Well that’s not the case at all with Korea, it’s wonderful here.

Danielle and I had really been meaning to post weeks ago, but I’ve found that sometimes it’s hard to write about something when it’s continually happening.  There isn’t a whole lot of down time round these parts it seems, at least not for us.  I had a pretty cushy job back in Oregon when I had a predictable work week with 4-1o’s and a three day weekend.  Here I’m working oh my a full 5 days a week… I do truly miss those 3 day weekends.

Enough with what I miss though.  We’ve done a few things here in the last couple weeks that’s worth mentioning.  Most notably we went to Seoul Tower for our 2 year anniversary.  It was such a magnificent view that Danielle got somewhat scared/sick and we had to go back down ha ha.  Looking out over Seoul with all the lights glimmering was quite amazing.  Just an endless view of city lights in every direction as far as the eye could see started to somewhat put into perspective the mass that the Seoul Metropolitan area is.  We live basically on the outskirts of Seoul, it’s about a half hour bus ride to get into the heart of the city and mind you that’s a 30 minute drive through densely packed neighborhoods.  I find it interesting how I’ve been able to live in such a large city and not really feel that overwhelmed.  I’ve always pictured myself living more of a small to midsized town type of life, I have tended to prefer a slower pace but Seoul is gaining my favor.  Back to the 2 year anniversary part…. I can’t believe Danielle and I have been together for so long.  Our relationship has been like none other I’ve experienced.  When we first met it was like we had known each other for years yet we’ve dated for 2 years and our relationship feels as fresh as that first date 2 years ago.  Celebrating our anniversary by putting a lock up on Seoul Tower (a Korean tradition of sorts where couples put a lock on a fence that surrounds the tower) was quite a special moment and truly a wonderful way to celebrate.  Danielle bought a lock that used keys and I quickly advised her that we can’t keep the spares because what if she decided to go take it down….  I still see the keys here on the desk and so I’ll safely assume when she reads my post she’ll finally dispose of them properly   Just kidding of course.

The best part of our anniversary was in fact the hour or so we spent in our apartment together before seeing Seoul Tower.  We simply danced to a ridiculously cheesy song, reminisced, I said a little toast and we did a celebratory shot together.  Danielle and I have always been able to have a glorious time even in the simplest of settings.  She teared up a bit and almost got me to cave in but I held it together.

We also spent an afternoon in Insadong which is touristy type place in Seoul.  There were many shops there with all kinds of useless stuff so I of course managed to pick up a few items for friends and family.  Those items will be on the way shortly don’t worry, it’s only taken me about 3 weeks and I still haven’t managed to ship them.  Paul, I got you quite the inspirational gift so I hope you’re reading this.  We also managed to visit a Temple near Insadong that offers temple stays so I will be doing that without a doubt before I leave.  Danielle also seems just as interested so I’m sure we’ll do it together.  The people worshiping outside the temple seemed to be in such a deep trance or level of worship it was quite impressive.  They were worshiping a tree that was over 500 years old.  The tree is specific species that is known to grow extremely slow so it was an extremely small tree considering it’s age.
Probably the most fun I’ve had since arriving in Korea happened about a month ago when we traveled to a place called Chuncheon (sp).   It’s about 1.5 hours away and has much more of a rural feel to it.  Of course when Ron Johnson pulls into a town with random people riding ATV’s all over the place, he feels a little more at home.  Or at bare minimum he thinks he’s found a place that he could get used to.  Ron Johnson enjoys writing about himself in the third person as well.  But no really, you have got to love a town in which anyone can rent an ATV and drive it around on the streets.  On behalf of everyone in Chuncheon on that given weekend I opted not to rent one.  You’re welcome.  I did manage though to celebrate a friend’s birthday, play paintball and try the famed Dak Galbi (sp).  Chuncheon is known to have the best Dak Galbi in the country as it apparently originated there.  The Dak Galbi was delicious, the paintball was so so and the people yelling and throwing boxes in our room at 5 am were less than desirable but still hilarious.  We stayed in a room with about 15 other people.  It’s called a Pension and it’s basically a huge, open room with a heated floor that you roll mats out onto to sleep on.  For about ten bucks a person, it’s pretty hard to beat the value there unless you don’t like sharing a room with a few rowdy gents.  I didn’t personally mind and found the things they said to be quite hilarious.

A few notes random notes/things that happened during every day life…  We invited our boss out for dinner and although he couldn’t make it he made sure to send enough money to cover dinner for everyone.  That’s quite the gesture.  It’s actually Korean tradition that if your boss is still at work you don’t leave until he leaves on the flip side the boss will pay for dinner occasionally when he’s not even there.  I really like the idea of working as hard as your boss and putting in as many hours as he does to show your respect.  I think a lot of people that I’ve encountered in the U.S. don’t respect people as they should.  Most of the Korean traditions I’ve learned about from my boss thus far involve paying respect where it has been earned and I can truly appreciate that tradition.  I tend to think I already apply that principle in my daily life with quite a bit of zeal.  Another amazing thing about some Koreans I’ve come across is that they can see it on my face when I’m looking for something or lost and they will come up to me and ask if I need help.  While a majority of people still may stare at me or give me weird looks, there is a huge group of Koreans that willingly come to my assistance out of the kindness of their heart.  I’ve gone on quite long enough and I’m tired so to bed I go.  Please leave comments on our posts! Ask us any questions you may have!! Let us know if you want to come and visit !!! Anything really just let us know and we’d love to address it and chat with you!!!

Spring in SoKo!

(Danielle)

Spring has sprung here in the R.O.K. and with it has come beautiful runs along the river and sunny days in Seoul.

At the end of March, we headed out of the city to an area named Gangcheon for a friend’s 35th birthday celebration. It was more than amazing to get away from the business of the city, breath fresh air and see stars in the sky. Our day away consisted of a game of paintball and an enjoyable evening in the town. Gangcheon and the surrounding areas are known for a culinary specialty called Dalkgalbi which consists of chicken, cabbage and rice cakes all covered in a spicy sauce and cooked right at your table. The best part of the meal is at the end when you still have a little bit of chicken left. They cut up the remaining food and then add rice and cheese to make a delicious fried rice to top it off. There were 30 of us who piled into a restaurant to devour as much of this as possible. After stuffing ourselves, we ventured outside to a cute little amusement park. There were batting cages (I’m still pretty good!!), a pirate ship and bumper cars. Reason #457  that Korea is amazing: bumper car rides that last 15 minutes AND let you bring your drink. Boom. All in all, it was a good time.

The following weekend Ron and I went into Seoul to visit Insadong. Insadong is a touristy street where you can buy souvenirs and watch cultural reenactments. We purchased some postcards, which for some reason are basically non-existent in Korea, and a few small gifts for loved ones. While we were meandering down the street, we came upon a Free Hugs relay. For those of who aren’t familiar with the internet phenomenon that is “free hugs”, let me explain. Many video montages have been made where a person stands on a street holding a sign that says “free hugs” and then people can choose to hug this person. It’s pretty simple and makes saps like me cry in an instant. What we ran into was a little different than what I had seen in the past. Like I said, it was a relay. Therefore, after you hug the person holding the sign, you have to hold it until someone hugs you. Both Ron and I participated and it was super fun! Also, it was kind of scary because it’s totally embarassing if it takes a long time for somone to hug you! Especially as the token white people. From Insadong we walked to Jogeysa which is a large buddhist temple in the heart of Seoul. A service has just been released so we were able to witness people doing their last ceremonial practices of the day like lighting candles, incense, and praying on an amazingly old tree that is said to be holy.

April 14th was our 2-year anniversary. We had a wonderful evening together! We started at our apartment with special whiksey shots I had actually brought over in my suitcase (we took them with Deschutes Brewery shot glasses as our ode to Oregon!) After we left we stuffed ourselves ridiculously full of mexican food before boarding a bus to Seoul Tower. There is a tradition at Seoul tower that lovers go there to add a padlock to the fences surrounding the tower. They add their lock and wish for love. Being the sappy person that I am, we had to put our lock on that fence. So we did! It was a really fun night. I am so lucky to have Ron in my life everyday. Proof being that the hour we spent at our apartment that evening, laughing and dancing around, was the best hour of the whole night. We don’t need crazy plans or a romantic setting to have fun. I love it.

In other news, I’ve begun training for a half marathon! The race is July 4th on the East coast of Korea. It should be beautiful as the race course will be along the sea. In preparation for the race, mostly because I am competely and utterly out of shape, I have given up all alcohol and (most) junk food until after the race. It hasn’t been too hard so far and I feel so healthy! I ran my longest run in 3 years on Sunday which was 7 miles. Holy cow, I thought I was going to die., but the pancakes I devoured at the end made it totally worth it! Hopefully this coming Sunday is easier!!

We have a 4-day weekend this coming week which I am very, very excited for! We are planning on heading out of town for two days to a town called Samcheok where there are some limestone caves and a penis park. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a penis park. I will explain more when we get back as I will have seen the odd splendor with my own eyes. I also have a wedding to attend and the lantern festival in honor of Buddha’s birthday to watch – super excited for both.

Until next time, I hope life is grand wherever you may be! <3