Spring Is Here

I love Korea! Spring comes soooooo early here. It's February 23rd and the temperature is 56F! It's practically summer compared to Wisconsin, where it is currently 23F! This is where I throw out my evil laugh at all those people living in torture in the state of Wisconsin! Mwuhahahahaha!

You can tell that it's spring time by the smell, the birds, and the way everyone acts. It's like mating season! You notice that all people think about or want seems to be love or a partner. The girls sit on one side of the classroom and giggle about the boys while the boys watch on and gossip about the girls. The middle schoolers just talk about the new school term that starts March 2nd and how they're going to get a boyfriend or girlfriend soon. That's all they want. Then, you see the young adults rutting around. The dance floor is packed at the bars and people are dancing unusually close. Koreans don't usually dance like us foreigners rubbing their bodies all over each other. But, in the spring it's a whole other story! Everyone is getting "frisky"!

I can tell by me because I'm more cheerful and I just want to play outside. I want to get a grill, lawnchair, and have a cold beer while chillin outside making a burger or steak. AWWWWW!!! I love spring!!

The Worst of Korea

So, in my 1 year and 2.5 month stint in Korea I've had some of the best times and made some of my best friends. Growing up they always say that you'll make your friends for life in college because you have a bigger group to choose from and you tend to have the most in commen with them. However, they must never have gone to Korea.

I have made the best friends in Korea. We have so much in common, do everything together, and have shared our happiness and sorrows. Even though we only know each other for a short period of time, we are the best of friends. I've been blessed with two best friends here in Korea. These are two girls that I couldn't imagine my life without. They're the two people who I put perfect trust in. I would never have to worry about talking behind backs or any real problems. For the most part, we haven't even had one disagreement in a year! Now, that's a miracle for girls who are so close.

However, with this happiness comes the sadness. I've known Kristina for about a year and we've become so close but now, in two weeks, she will be leaving Korea forever. This is the worst about Korea for those of us who choose to stay. We create tight-knit groups of friends who share everything but one day they will leave. I'm lucky, that this is my first real friend leaving Korea. But, it's a heartbreaking experience. The farewells are killers.

Kristina will be traveling to Taiwan, the Phillipines, and then back to NY. Later, she will most likely be joining her friend in Taiwan to teach there for another year. I think, once you get a taste for this lifestyle it's hard to give up. I am happy that she's staying near so that I can take a trip over there when I save some money. I mean, what's a little trip to Taiwan?! We will reunite, party, gossip, and then I will have to be on my merry way back to Korea, home. In a few years, I'm sure we will see each other again and be friends as if we never parted ways. Now, those are true friends.

I'm a very lucky girl so that I can truely say this is the worst of Korea. Losing a friend to another country. However, I shouldn't look at it as losing a friend because I know that we will always be friends. These people are my true soul-mates. With the love for adventure, travel, and the unknown. These people, I will always remember.

So, to those I've had to say good-bye to already and to those who I will soon see off, I've had a great time getting to know you, I'm happy to have met you, and I hope to reunite one day!

Vanlentine's Day in Korea

I'm celebrating my second Valentine's Day since I've been in Korea. I, of course, am celebrating it alone again. However, it's not as lonely as it would be in the states. The children here just call it chocolate day.

The major difference in Valentine's Day in Korea is that the girls give the boys chocolate. Their either make them chocolate or they buy special chocolates and give it to the boy they like. It's like a small confession of love. However, since I teach at an academy I don't get to see the kids give out chocolates to the boys they like. :-(

However, I was slightly suprised when I met two of my students right outside my apartment and they gave me chocolate and wished my a happy Valentine's Day. When I got to school was was given a larg amount of chocolates by all my students. Of course, they were all girls. And the boys ran up to me screaming for chocolate. I felt terrible that I had forgotten this useless holiday and didn't have any chocolates to give out. I guess I won't be getting any chocolates from the boys on White Day, March 14th.

I feel a little sad that I don't really know the traditions of older people on Valentine's Day. I just know what the younger kids do. Maybe next year I will learn when I have a boyfriend to spend it with. But for now, I'm happy with receiving chocolates from my kids.

Lost

Recently I've been giving my future a lot of thought. What do I want to be, what do I want to do, where do I want to go, do I want to have a boyfriend, and basically what's going to happen to me in a year. I have 10 months left on my contract with my current school. After that, I have no idea what's going to happen. So, I wanted to throw my ideas out there and see what other people think.

1. Stay in Korea teaching English
1. Stay at the same school
2. Change schools in the same city
3. Change cities
2. Stay in Korea and go to GIST grad school
3. Teach English in Taiwan
4. Teach English in Japan
5. Move back to America (somewhere)
1. Go to grad school
2. Find a real job

I just don't know what I want to do. There are a lot of pro's and con's of each one of them. Kristina, one of my best friends is moving in a month and will probably go to Taiwan. Mandy, one of my other best friends will most likely stay for a third year here. I don't really think that I'm finished traveling yet to move back to America. As for grad school, I don't know if that's what I really want to be anymore so it won't be worth it to go there yet. As for Japan and Taiwan, I will make better money in Korea plus I get free flights.

So, that's the basic information. If you have any comments feel free to make them. I need some help sorting it all out. It is nice that I have some time to think about it. However, I will have to make a decision within 6 months. I don't know why, but this decision seems more imortant and deserves more thought than when I first decided to move here. I guess it's because I'm two years older and need to start thinking about the future. Man it sucks getting old!

Soccer 축구

So, let's be realistic, soccer isn't exactly popular back in the states. I mean, when you have the action of football, the fun of baseball, and the excitement of basketball, you don't really have room for a sport you don't really understand. I mean, they have crazy rules to this game and just run around kicking things with little contact.

However, after coming to Korea and experiencing the World Cup, I've changed my mind. I'd have to say that watching the World Cup in Korea was one of the most exciting experiences I've ever had. It was way more intense than the Super Bowl. I mean, we were all packed in bars trying to watch the game on the big screen. Everyone sports the red shirt, devil horns, face paint, and the Korean flag as a cape. Every steal, attempted shot, and foul is followed by an eruption of raw emotion, good or bad. Saying it was intense is an understatement. It's too bad that it ended early for both Korea and the U.S. But, we still have the Asian Cup.

So, last night I made the trek over to Chumdan, which costed me 10,000won ($10) by taxi. Just to experience the game with some of my good friends at the Game Bar. We started the night out with our red shirts and a beer. The game was pretty exciting because it was Korea vs. Japan. And we all know about Japan occupying Korea and how Koreans still haven't forgiven them. So, it was a huge game. It was also the game to decide who plays in the championship. So, there was a lot riding on this game. We watched the game with a mix of emotions. It was 1:1 and went into overtime. Japan scored early on and we were ready to leave and admit defeat but something told us to stay. Luck was with us because in the last moments Korea made a goal and tied it up in overtime. Then it went to penalty kicks and we had a glorious defeat.

So, feeling down and out we decided to head over to Salutoe's, a popular kareoke bar that we happen to know the owner of, and sing it off. Oh man! What a good choice. It was packed full of young Korean men who were also there to sing off the loss. So, we sang and drank a few rounds and repaired our broken hearts. I guess, there is always next time!

Another Happy Year or Another Year of Hell?

Seeing that I only have 3 months left on my current contract, my boss took it upon himself to ask me back for another year. I was genuinely suprised. My coworkers and boss tend to ignore me. I come in, teach, and leave. So, I got the notion that they disliked me. When he asked if I wanted to come back I wasn't sure. I had been thinking about switching to public school or another hagwan. However, he told me that if I re-signed my contract, he would give me an extra month of vacation and pay for a plane ticket home for me! So, my natural reaction was, heck yes!

So, I will be heading home for nearly a month at the end of November and the begining of December. I'm excited to eat American food and have good beer. I'm predicting a 5lb gain around my waist! After that, I'll head back to Korea for another Christmas, my birthday, v-day, and basically another year's worth of Holidays.

I'm excited to be staying another year and to see what my future holds!

Let's Talk About Bugs Baby!

Street vedor selling dried seafoods, and bundeggi.

It comes as no surprise, being half-way around the world; you would experience new, different, and sometimes downright disgusting foods. I am happy to say that I've tried most of these tasty delicacies and some of the nastiest things ever thought up to eat. But, I think that trying each and every one of these is important in understanding the culture!

In Thailand it was the bottle of rice vodka mixed with scorpion and poisonous centipedes. While here, I'm experiencing blood soup, bundeggi, pig spine soup, blood noodle rolls, and let's not forget all the seafood with the heads on!! I'm sure there are a lot more that I have tasted but just didn't realize what it was. The only gross thing I didn't eat were the deep-fried chicken feet. Because what can you really get out of chewing chicken bones besides certain death, if I was a dog anyways?!

So, let's begin with the blood soup. The soup is served boiling hot in a special bowl that acts as an oven. There are various vegetables in it, depending on season, and some pork. There are also chunks of coagulated blood. Now, I'm not brave enough to dig right into the coagulated blood because of a bad experience in Thailand, but I've tasted it already. The soup broth is actually very delicious. Some of the blood melts into the broth with the water and other seasonings. It's a spicy smooth taste. I highly recommend it to everyone. Plus you'll get a healthy serving of iron with it! ;-)

Bundeggi

Second, is Korea's most famous bug dish, bundeggi (shown left). It's actually a silkworm larva. They are in some sort of liquid. I don't know if it's a little bit of preserves and water to keep them from quickly going bad or what. But what I do know is that the smell is rancid. The streets of downtown are rank with the smell because there are one or two stands that sell these. They are also complementary when you go to a soju shack. I've personally tried bundeggi twice. The first time I was "slightly" inebriated at an early time of 7:30am (still hadn't been home). After the initial taste I thought it was a bland, wet cardboard taste. It wasn't delicious but wasn't horrible either. The second time I tasted it was at a soju room before any drinks were consumed. So, I was the picture of perfect sobriety. I slowly lowered the soft-bodied life form into my mouth and chewed. After a few gags I managed to get it down the pipe. Then I grabbed the nearest soju bottle to try to burn away the nastiest taste ever! It was like a rancid vomit chunk. I can't even describe the taste without gagging! However, some people, mostly Koreans, seem to enjoy this delicacy so if you're into weird food I suggest you try it.

The third interesting food I've had here is pig spine soup. I didn't realize what it was until yesterday and I had been eating it for eight months. But, it's basically just a soup with ham on the bone in it. The bone just happens to be a spine. It's a highly recommendable soup especially if you like ham. I, however, don't like ham very much so I prefer the blood soup.

Seafood stand

The next one was a surprise attack on my taste buds with the blood noodle roll. I thought it was some sort of sausage with those clear noodles in it. One of my Korean friends told me he loved them and for me to try it. So, being me I happily grabbed it and stuffed the whole thing in my mouth. Man, does it suck to be trusting or what?! It was like a punch in the face! It was Thailand all over again! The coagulated blood not watered down by spices or soup broth assaulted my taste buds. Even the texture of the blood caused my stomach to revolt! I actually had to spit it out in the middle of the restaurant for fear of loosing my stomach! I then burned the taste out of my mouth with more soju! I don't recommend this food to anyone unless you are of the night breed and are used to feasting on blood!

The last of my questionable food experiences are the seafoods with the heads still on. All the fish are cooked with their heads and scales still on! Even the shrimp aren't undressed! They look like they could get up and walk right off your plate. I guess I'm not a fan of eating an animal that still looks like an animal. It's like cooking a chicken with the feathers still on! So, I don't actually eat any of these because I don't like seafood. However, I have eaten the dried anchovies that they serve at the local hof's. But I do tear off their heads before dipping them in the red chili sauce. They're actually quite tasty. They kind of taste like salmon jerky, which I learned to like because of my Scandinavian heritage.

Seaweed, anchovies, and cheese.

Some other various other foods have included squid/octopus beaks, octopus jerky, deep fried cuddle fish, octopus pancake and soup, and some various other versions of octopus. I have also had so many versions of seaweed. It's everywhere! Kimbap, soup, bibimbap, rice, and just plain seaweed with soy sauce dippings.

I'm sure that I've consumed a lot more "disgusting" things, according to our standards, but I just didn't know it. However, most of them aren't bad at all and I think that we should try it before condemning it. Before I leave Korea there are two more things that I really want to try, which are dog and a live octopus! It's really nice to try some of these new things that are just an every day dish to people over here. It's like a new adventure in every bite!