When friends come to visit....

Its sure to be a grand ol' time! My adoptive friends (also known as "My Boys") Sang-do and Hae-ho came to Ansan for a visit! We met Jess and Will for dinner, and had quite the night!

First, we ate chicken galbi. Galbi is a type of Korean BBQ, where the meat is prepared at the table. Let me explain. This is absolutely DELICIOUS!

Chicken and loads of vegetables are grilled at the table by the waiter. A perfect match for So-mek (Soju mixed with beer). When the chicken is almost 3/4 of the way gone, the waiter comes and adds rice. It gets mixed and forms a crust on the bottom...

I am one lucky girl!!!The waiter made our fried rice in the shape of a heart for me!

Of course I had to get a picture with him, because he was just too cute!! And yes.... I am wearing an apron. I thought it went with my outfit quite well actually!

Its funny because as I have mentioned, most of the time in Korea, when you eat, you drink. Or I should say, when you drink, you eat. We had quite the time playing drinking games with the Soju, cider and beer at the table. My favorite so far has to be titanic:

Hae-ho is pouring Soju into a shot glass that sits on top of beer. The person who makes the shot drop (fall to the bottom for you non-drinkers) has to drink the whole thing. It gets pretty detailed; I was dropping that soju one drip at a time. But... it is ingenious.

We went for a few drinks after dinner, and thank goodness, "Foreigners Welcome"!

Of course, with such a motley crew, we were sure to make friends! I love Korean culture! A lot of Koreans have just started talking to me in English, and while they get to practice, I get to make friends!

While the night was great, the highlight was Hae-ho's shirt. Because Jess, Will and myself speak English, we thought this shirt was just awesome! Sang-do and Hae-ho didn't know what the English words "masturbation" and "oral copulation" meant, which ended up in the most awkward of conversations, complete with actions (thanks to Will- absolutely not by me! I was flushed in the face the whole conversation) but now its my goal in Korea to find a shirt just as awesome for Trev!!

As always, my weekend was filled with delicious food, delicious friends, and delicious experiences!! Onto find exceptionally great T-shirts.....

Uzbekistanian Food**

**Disclaimer: I have realized (and been told my many) that my blog continually showcases food and drinks much more than anything else. But I believe that part of learning about a different culture is through food and the socializing that comes along with it. Wether its the meals themselves or the people you share them with, food brings people together and is just a gateway to other experiences. Korea has opened up my palate to a wide array off flavours and dishes I never would have experienced back home. And while casual drinking is done back home, in Korea it has allowed me to get to know some wonderful people from all over the world and see down to the nitty gritty of this fabulous country. So "Gun Bae" to a second serving of something delicious!!!!!


What do I say when someone asks if I want to go eat Uzbekistanian Food?  "Sure!!!! What is Uzbekistanian??" A fellow teacher was getting ready to end his contract and relocate to Hong Kong. He wanted to try different foods in Ansan before he left and heard that this Uzbekistan restraunt was great. Ok, I can plead my ignorance, I had no idea where Uzbekistan was, or what kind of food they would have, but why not? It gave me a chance to visit with my coworkers and try something I havent had before!

It was literally down a small alley, at Ansan station (the one place where the only murder in 5 years has taken place and thus considered "ghetto"), that I never, ever would have found if I wasn't with people who knew where they were going.

After all of my excitiment about eating Uzbekistan food, what did I end up eating?

CABBAGE ROLLS! Thats right. Good, old fashion cabbage rolls. As it turns out it was almost like Eastern  European food, with lots borsche, perogies, cabbage rolls, and kabobs. And while it wasnt at all what I was excpecting, it was delicious none the less. The cabbage rolls were in a broth, and came with vegetables and stuffed pepper. All of it was melt-in-your-mouth good! However, was it authentic Uzebekistanian food? That remains unknown. Hmm... maybe I will just have to venture there to find out for sure.....

Even though this blog is about Korea.....

I will tell you about my trip to Hawaii. Yes, that is right. I went to Hawaii. How does Korea = Hawaii you ask?? Because of the Lunar holiday our shcool was closed for a week. Whats a girl to do? Because I just got to Korea, I wasn't dying for a week of doing nothing. Originally I wanted to go to China. See a bit of the other Asian countries. I asked my grandmother if she would like to accompany me on a trip, and long story short, she suggested Hawaii. I couldn't possibly say no!

I have been there once before, but it was when I was two. Needless to say I do not remember it, so I have classified this as my first trip to Hawaii!   And it was fantastic!!! I loved every minute of it!

Pacific Beach Hotel veiw from the 35th floor

We stayed at Waikiki, Honolulu right across from the beach. We were on the 35th floor, and this was the veiw. It was spectacular! It was great to wake up in the morning and see the miniscule surfers in the water already!

Sunset! Thats me, in the surf

Each night me and my Grandma tried to catch the sunset. Some nights were particularly more amazing than others, but this one night I decided to go play in the surf. The water was warm enough that you could have gone in, but watching the sunset was just fine for me. Its funny how many people you can meet just sitting on a bench. We must have met over a dozen people from Canada in the small periods while the sun was setting.


One day we went to the Polynesian Culture center. It was amazing because on the way there they showed us all of the "touristy" places, like where they filmed "50 First Dates" "The Karate Kid" and scenes from "Pearl Harbour". The actual center was all about the different countries that make up Polynesia and some of their traditions and customs. There was a lot of dancing, and yelling.

My Grandmother and I at the Luau

Me and my Grandma got to enjoy a traditional Luau, complete with roasted pig. While this was good, I had a heaping plate of marinated raw fish. Now that is my kinda food! I went back for seconds on the fish, it was soooo good!!!

One day we took a trip around the island (yay for being 25 and finally being able to rent a car in the states)! It was great, we stopped when we wanted, took pictures when we wanted, and ate lunch at the most quaint cafe beside the sea.

On our road trip around the island

It was great to see the North Shore. There was some serious surfing going on! I couldn't believe that people are able to ride such giant waves. I wonder if everyone who passes by there dreams of working a restraunt or hotel and surfing the rest of their time? Its probably not as glamorous as I imgine it to be, but there is something about the air that makes it seem like it is paradise on earth.

The rest of the time I laid on the beach. Literally. Laid on the beach. Floated in the water. Laid on the beach some more. It was completely refreshing to be on a holiday where I didn't have to worry about softball or school work, just my sun tan.

What I did most days, read trashy magazines and soaked up the sun

While I fell in love with Hawaii, the greatest part of the trip was spending time with my darling Grandmother. It was great for the two of us to finally have some alone time together. We talked about the most random of subjects; she told me about books she has read, the characters she loved and places she has been. I heard stories about my grandfather I had never heard before, and her life back in Terrace. It turned out to me much more than a holiday for me.


Sadly I am back in the freezing weather, with just the slightest tint on my freckly skin to suggest that just maybe I had been somewhere warm. Oh, what I wouldn't give for a Mai Tai and a darker tan!

What do I think of Korean gentlemen?

Okay... so I know I haven't posted in a while. A trip to Hawaii and a small case of food poisoning has set my blogging on a back burner. While most of you are thinking....wait.... Hawaii?  thought she was in Korea? I can explain.....but first a few things that happened pre-Hawaii:

Our school was buzzing with the excitment of an upcoming holiday! Seol-nal is the Korean Lunar New Year and our school was closed for the week. Back home most people know it as "Chinese New Year". I learned that it is a holiday that is highly celebrated in Korea, where people go see their familys, eat lots of food, visit and practice traditional customs.... sounds almost like an American Thanksgiving, minus the football and greenbean casserole.Okay... I am sure its much different, but its the closest equivilant I can think of!!! For the holiday the school gave all of the teachers a very nice black-plum-wine-set. Its calle "Bokbunjajoo". Stay tuned to see if its as delicious as it looks.

Trish gave me a Korean pear, much like the "asian" pear we sell at Thriftys, but larger, and much juicier!!!

The rest of the week went by really fast, considering that there was a holiday coming up! Yes, I got to meet the mayor of Ansan! During our winter sessions we had a class that was called "Flea Market". Students would bring in stuff from their house that they didnt want any more, and we would put everything out on a table and sell it to the students. It was like a garage sale! (as many of you know, I love a good garage sale... fiddy cent!!!) So what does this have to do with the mayor? Well all of the money that we made at the flea market was donated to the city of Ansan, for low income families. We made around $1200 which is pretty good considering everything was between .10- $1.00.

The mayor of Ansan is a man of few English words. So the head of the school, Mr. Jang, had to translate. The mayor asked me what was my favorite thing about Ansan City. In my head all I could think of was Touch me Party, Touch me Party, Touch me Party!!!!! Of course I couldn't say that to him!!!! After a momentary pause, I said I loved the parks, especially Ansan Lake park. He then asked me what I thought of Korean gentlemen. This one I wasn't exactly sure how to answer. In general? Their looks? You? I went with a pretty standard answer. "Their very nice and kind." And smiled me sweetest smile!!!

Yon-Ju, Me, The Mayor, John, Mr. Jung

This picture was actually published in the paper!!!  And I got to hold a semi-giant cheque, so it was a pretty good day!!!!