The Asian and the Indian

Rest in Peace

2011-11-07T17:12:00.001-08:00

"The one best place to bury a good
dog is in the heart of his master."

Gomi
12/08/95-11/01/11

it's official

2011-10-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

I'm nuts.
i'm signed up for my next 1/2 marathon. Feb 5th Surf City here I come!

29 days to Race day

2011-09-10T08:38:00.001-07:00

tttttthththhthisisislkndfdddddddd&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://classic.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ca/long-beach/707131550136197682"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Long Beach Half Marathon Route&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;br/&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://classic.mapmyrun.com/find-run/united-states/ca/long-beach"&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Find more Runs in Long Beach, California&amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;

This is the long beach half marathon route I'm going to run in 29 days. I'm a little nervous but excited. fingers crossed

my workout when i'm not running

2011-06-22T21:43:00.001-07:00

This is what I do when I don't run. So far I can do three climbs up. and it kicks my ass.

jump ahead to a halfer

2011-06-05T12:56:00.000-07:00

so I thought my next goal would be a 10k but I couldn't really find one that interested me and it was difficult to try to commit to one over the summer. But I also noticed I was having a hard getting myself to get out and run without a goal so I knew I was going to have to find something soon.

Out of the blue, my sister emailed me about a half marathon (yes. half marathon) in October. It fit in nicely with summer plans because I could still train but not have it be too close in the future. So I decided why the hell not and somehow I found myself signed up for 13.1 mile half marathon race in October. Of course, I promptly had a a huge panic attack. But I talked myself down off the ledge. What's the worse that can happen? I run half and walk the other half? My goal is to finish.

I found a really awesome app for my iphone called smartcoach. It plans out a training plan for me based on my current fitness level. So now that it's all planned and mapped out, I just look at what i'm supposed to do and just do it.

This week, I had an "easy" two mile run to kick off the week on Tuesday. Then I rested for a day. On Thursday, the schedule had me doing a five miler. I thought I could do it but I was also a little wigged out too. The most I've ever done is 3 and half. But hey. it's just distance, right? I did it! I struggled that last mile for sure but hey! I logged it and it's under my belt now.
The best part of the week was that I got to rest for two days. My smartcoach app is set up so I do my "long" run on Sundays. that's when I will start adding and increasing miles as I get closer to my half marathon. Today I logged in a six mile run. I had two serious come to jesus moments for sure. At mile 3, I was tired and all I could think was I was only half way there and there was NO way I could do another 3. And everything after 4.6 was just me trying not to throw up and die. But I did it. hopefully, next week I will feel stronger. Also, I think skipping breakfast was a bone head move on my part. and maybe I should start carrying water with me.

I feel pretty good tho. I am also going to add core work in during the week to strengthen my core. Everything I read talks about your core powering you through your work out. I'm also thinking maybe starting yoga might be a good idea. I feel stiff a lot and I think I need to stretch better and I think yoga might help with that.

that's about it for now.

boo ya!

Santa Monica Classic/Heal the Bay

2011-05-15T22:01:00.000-07:00

I did it! I ran my first 5k. I don't think I actually thought I was going to go thru with it. As it got closer to race time, I was strangely calm with alternating moments of panic.
This morning I woke up at 5 am and found it was pouring rain!
But not running the race was not an option so out we went.

We got there around 630am and it was still raining but not as hard. Luckily, the rain stopped about 30 minutes before the race started and it ended up being gorgeous!

Jon was so great. He got up super early and drove me and my friend Rachelle and dropped us off and not only was at the finish line but surprised me by encouraging me at almost the halfway point.

Words can't describe the emotions I felt today. I faced my fears and when I crossed that finish line, I was bawling my face off. I logged my best time ever and I even ran injured. I did it. I really did it. I even beat my goal time by a whole three minutes!!

thank you to everybody. your support and encouragement and LOVE has been huge.

a do run, run, run....a do run, run

2011-04-29T18:54:00.000-07:00

My sister, who is about to run her 8th (yes, eighth) marathon, is a runner. I always assumed she was a genetically abnormal throw back or an anomaly in our family.

If you've been keeping up with me on Facebook, you know I've been running.
Now this is kinda crazy because I have never run on purpose in my entire life.
I started out thinking, "Let's just see if I can make it to the end of the block." And then it turned into, "I'll just run for a few more times and then I'll quit."

Two weeks later, I thought, "My knees kind of hurt. I'll just throw down $120 bucks for these kick-ass running shoes because I need new shoes anyway, but then I'll quit running."

Around this time, I ate major shit while I was running on a major street during prime traffic in LA. My mind wandered for just a second and I started thinking about something else. and boom! I'm talking serious face dive with grass in the mouth. Of course, I rolled to my side and immediately jumped to my feet and continued running. I didn't even care if I was hurt. I just wanted to get away from the 20 cars who just saw me seriously biff it.

Week 4: "I'll just spend $130 bucks on these sports bras and running clothes so I can get free shipping and then if I quit, at least I'll have some sporty casual weekend clothes."

Week 5: "Wow. I can actually run multiple blocks in a row without stopping. Hmmm. That's wierd"

Week 6: "Hey. That's strange. I can run and not really be out of breath."

And the real kicker, I got it in my head that since my ma was making me come home for Easter Weekend, I would try my hand (or legs) at running the hills behind their house. I packed my stuff and fought Obama traffic through LA to get home. I pulled out my running gear to go for a run and........I realized I FORGOT MY RUNNING SHOES! So, here comes the crazy part. I freaked out. I mean seriously freaked out. And then! and then! I grabbed my car keys and 5 minutes later found myself down the street from my folks' place at the Big 5 buying myself running shoes. Yes. A second pair of running shoes. (why not?) And I ran everyday I was home.
I mean, seriously. Who am I?

Now as I'm finishing my 7th week of running, I actually feel like I can be called a runner. Who knew? My sister says genetics is catching up to me. Apparently my Dad ran in college and my mom's mother ran track in Korea. I had no idea. I thought I was only genetically engineered to pick rice. But apparently...I'm a runner!

May 15th-Heal the Bay/Santa Monica Classic 5K, Here I come!!

um.....

2011-03-31T18:14:00.000-07:00

Gosh it's been a really long time since I've posted.

I guess it took me awhile to sort out leaving my classroom and doing the job I am now.
For those of you who are still confused this is what I do:

I am based at the UCLA Community School which is one of six pilot schools located in the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools Complex. It is the site of the old Ambassador Hotel where he was assassinated.

http://uclacommunityschool.gseis.ucla.edu/UCLA-CS_Home.html

I am the UCLA liaison which means I help coordinate UCLA resources and bring them to the school. So for instance, if the UCLA Art department wants to bring students into our school to teach art once a week, I'm the person who coordinates, identifies teachers and classrooms and basically makes it happen.

That's my job on the simplest level, but you get the idea, right?
I also help to manage grants and gifts in kind and figure out how and where to use them.

I still have doubts about leaving the classroom, but I know in my heart that I couldn't teach at where I was at and not let it change me. I'm too old to do things that I don't agree with. Will I ever get back into a classroom? I don't know. With the state of education being it what it is, I'll have to cross that bridge when I get there.

Jon and I are doing great. He and I are back on Weight Watchers and he's, of course, dropping weight left and right while I, on the other hand, have to fight tooth and nail to lose half a pound but I can't complain. (Well I actually DO complain, but let's pretend I don't).

Bastet continues to be the fat, happy, grouchy cat that she is and all is right in the world.

bye!

another reminder that life is good

2010-10-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

So some of you may have heard that I got into another car accident last Saturday.
It was pretty bad. I was the passenger and this car came out of no where and we crashed into each other going at least 40 miles an hour.

One moment I was talking and then the next moment I was gasping for breath and looking at smoke coming out of the vents. There's a little voice in my head that always keeps me calm when I'm in stressful situations or accidents. I always hear it say, "When this is over, it will be okay" or "you'll make it through this too". But this time, the little voice said, "Ouch. I'm not sure if i'm going to be okay at then end of this one."

Turns out I had whiplash and a bruised sternum. I also had a pretty gnarly case of seatbelt burn. This weeks been hard bc my new job is demanding and also because I'm not 100 percent yet. My chest still hurts a lot and I have trouble turning to look at people or reaching up to get something or sleeping at night. I also have this really icky cough that's not helping but I know I'm getting better. Slowly but surely.

My poor friend's car is totaled and the woman who caused the accident doesn't have a driver's license or insurance. It's hard sometimes to know why things happen. While I'm on the road to recovery and nobody was seriously hurt, I can't help but get irritated when I think about what an asshole this lady is. My friend is out a perfectly good car and she still is suffering from whiplash. Her's was more severe than mine. Did I mention she had her two children in the car? Why would you drive like that if you have your kids in the car??? It boggles the mind. I may not have kids of my own, but I can tell you I wouldn't go cutting across a major intersection like a bat out of hell with no regard for the lives of my own children or any child in my car for that matter.

All our lives were changed that day. I feel bad for the lady who caused the accident. Her's worse than any of us probably.

I am thankful for my life and my family and friends. I am glad to be here another day.
This goes without saying, but ALWAYS put on your seatbelt.

A good bye from one of my students

2010-10-07T16:37:00.000-07:00

The time for us to come for us to part is sad but true. We hold you close within our hearts for you to get us to be strong. We hope to not let you down. We'll go through this trial without a sound. The last 4 weeks were think and thin and yes, we made your head spin. Still you were always there. We've made you cry and laugh maybe gasp at our silly ways. The time has come to move along. it's sad but true, Ms. Bang. just want to let you know we are here for you. -Audri

The quote I left written on the board for my students:

“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” -Harriet Tubman

sad

2010-10-06T20:38:00.001-07:00

today I told my students that I was leaving and that Friday will be my last day.
Several students actually cried. It was the worst feeling in the world.

I told them that I believe in them. That no matter what, I had faith that they were going to be all right. I told them that teachers come and go, but it wasn't the teachers that made them special. They already are special.

Then I looked at them and lied and said that I knew that the school administration was doing everything they could to get the best replacement teacher possible.

bye bye bullying

2010-10-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, one of the 6th graders on my campus was expelled for bringing a knife to school. Some kids turned her in and when they did a back pack search, there it was. Later, she confessed that she brought the knife to school to stab a boy who had been bullying her. Horrible.

Today in my class, my slowest student came in late. I always noticed that the kids pick on him. They are mean and rude and put him down all the time. He is the sweetest boy. Very slow, but not a mean bone in his body. Well when he walked in late, the kids made a huge show of groaning and rolling their eyes. A new student to the school, to my shock and surprise, sarcastically yelled out, "why bother coming to school, Michael?" I was furious. Just a few weeks ago, she was crying in my classroom about how mean the kids were being to her bc she was new. I slammed my book down and stared at her. She looked away and couldn't look me in the face.

At that point, I decided to stop the lesson. I asked everyone to put away their books. Today is my more difficult class in terms of behavior issues. I've never really had open heart talks with them like I can with my other class. Whenever I try, they never take it seriously and I end up giving up. Today was different. I do not tolerate bullying in my class. at all.

I started by telling them that I have a zero tolerance policy for bullying. I said that I understood that sometimes, people are afraid so they put up a big show of making fun of people bc it's easier to be accepted than it is to stand up for what's right. I shared a story about when I was growing up. There was a girl in my class who was a little different. She wore strange clothes and for some reason, everyone decided that they didn't like her. They picked on her and eventually one day, as she was walking home from school, a group of boys were following her and spitting on her. Nobody helped her. Including me. She walked right past my house and all I had to do was go out there and take her by the hand and bring her into my house. I didn't even have to defend her. I could have just walked out there and invited her into my house. But you know what? I was too chicken shit to do the right thing. I told my students that bc I was afraid they would turn on me, I watched it happen and never did anything about it.

My class was silent. I started to get a bit choked up as I recalled how guilty I felt and still feel to this day. They asked me what happened to her. I told them I didn't know. Her parents pulled her from the school and I never saw her again. Slowly my students started sharing about when they got picked on. One student raised his hand and apologized to another student in the class for something they had said. Then the entire conversation snowballed and the next thing I knew, I had students sharing and apologizing to one another.

One of my students, I'll just call him K, raised his hand. I knew from talking to my co-teacher, that he had been upset the day before bc some kids had picked on him. He started to talk in a very quiet voice and then before he could finish, he started to cry. The kids were silent. He told the class that he has a nervous disorder and he gets very upset and scared when kids tease him. Then from across the room a student asked him what that meant and as he was crying, he explained that he had a hard time coping with teasing. Then from across the room I heard another student apologizing to him for pulling his chair out from under him last week. Student after student raised their hands and shared about being bullied by someone. I even had as student share that one time she felt so bad, she thought about suicide. I asked her if she still felt that way and she said she'd learned to deal with it and she was glad she didn't. At this point, the emotions were too much even for me and as I was telling her how glad she was in my class and how special I thought she was, my voice started to crack and the tears threatened to flow over. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of white and K had pulled out a box of tissues and were offering them to me. I don't know why I was so touched by his gesture. I gave him a big hug and told him how brave I thought he was and told the class how proud i was of was of them.

I told my class that our classroom would forever be a safe zone. Once they walked in the doors, they could feel safe to say or be who they were. I told them I would not and they should not tolerate bullying and put downs.

Even during lunch, as I was eating lunch and grading papers, I could hear students apologizing for things they had said or done in the past as they passed by my window. It makes me realize that being a teacher is more than just teaching algebra I always knew that but to FEEL it is soooo much better.

it's time to leave the fear behind

2010-09-30T20:15:00.000-07:00

Today, I'd had it with the pressure from administration. My school is huge on testing. I test my kids twice a week. and all i do is teach to the test.

all the testing is done online and before I even get home, I usually find that the principal has looked at my kids scores online and emailed me about raising my scores an hour or so after school ends.

I've had it. I'm not enjoying teaching because I'm not really teaching.
So today, I had a heart to heart with my kids. I told them that I don't believe in these tests and that they shouldn't feel bad about how they are doing on them. I told them that even tho the school wants me to post their scores by name, I would drag my feet on it until they make me do it.

I apologized to them today because I haven't been the teacher that I know I am. The teacher they've had for the last 4 weeks is somebody who has been doing things out of fear and doing things to keep the admin happy. enough.

Today, I decided if testing was so important to the school, I was going to teach my way and teach them to master the "system". My kids were shocked. They asked me what kind of teacher I was. And I shared with them that my heart belonged in teaching the entire child. I told them about my social justice background and beliefs. I talked to them about self-eficacy and empowerment. I talked to them about being the change they want to see. I talked to them about my dream of teaching them to become critical thinkers and to trigger higher thinking.

And then today, I threw out the teaching pacing plan that the school gave me (which is one major topic a week! insanity! they want me to teach polynomials or graphing or quadratic equations in one week and test by Friday!) and just taught the way I wanted to. It felt great.

When the kids couldn't do the group work I wanted to try, I told them it wasn't their fault. That it was my fault for not teaching them to work in groups from day 1 and the fault of the school system that pitted them against one another for years.

I have a secret. I'm leaving the school soon. Which is another reason why I can leave the fear behind and really be me. And even if it's only for a short time, I get to hold my head up high and show my students what kind of teacher I really am. And maybe, it will make a small difference in their lives.

thank you, ms. bang

2010-09-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

Last Friday was my more difficult class. they have good days. but more often then not, I spend most of the day trying to get them to focus or pay attention or stop talking while I'm trying to teach. Getting them to work collaboratively in groups is like setting loose mayhem. Most times, when I try to get my students in this class to peer teach or peer edit, I end up breaking up fights.

It's been getting hotter and hotter. And as most of you know, I don't have a/c in my classroom. So I can tell when it's going to be hot, the class is going to be cranky and I struggle even more with trying to teach them, keep them interested and keep them engaged. At one point, I just kind of gave up a little. I fight so hard to keep them hooked. and the scary thing is, some days, I don't have enough gas to make it to the end of the day. Sometimes, I can't drive home right away because I'm just too tired. Usually, I can keep going until 2:45. But on Friday, I just ran out of juice.

My school is obsessed with testing. Standardized testing, on line testing, benchmark assessments. It's pretty crazy. While preparing my kids for the next test that they were going to take later that day, I had the worst epiphany. Deep down, I truly believed that if I worked hard enough. I mean really, really tried. and really really jumped thru hoops to show them examples and practice and break things down into smaller pieces for them, that I would reach them all. Every single one of them. I believed that none of my kids would fall thru the cracks. And then I looked out at their faces, and realized some of them just didn't care and I had lost them. I wanted to cry.

As I stood there watching them, they were all talking. Not caring that I had just stopped teaching or stopped walking around to monitor group work. I suddenly didn't want to fight anymore. or beg them anymore. At this point, I had students work in pairs and peer review the algebra we'd been reviewing. Only a handful of my students were even trying to pretend to do the work. At this point, I pulled up one of my students who had missed the morning review because I had to send him to the office for fighting with another student in class. He was angry and didn't want to come over to me. But he finally did. I stood him at the board, and I just started teaching him. At first he was sullen and angry, standing with his arms crossed. Then he started to look at the board and what I was showing him. He asked a question. then another question. I showed him how to break down exponents to help him multiply them together or divide them. I broke down numbers to the zero power, square roots, cube roots. He dropped his arms. ten minutes later, I had him return to his seat.

I took the class to the computer lab for another round of online testing. It was chaos. It is required that students take the tests in silence, but the computer lab isn't equipped to handle 30 students at one time. There isn't enough broadband to go around for all the computers to be online, so half my students get in and start, the other half sit and wait for up to 15 minutes for the computer to log them into the testing website and more than half get booted off and need to start over. So coupled with their frustration and impatience and their general lack of interest in following any rules, the room is pretty much in state of chaos. I run around trying to put out fires and keep my kids calm.

About 40 minutes into the chaos, I feel a student come beside me, put their arm around me from the side and I hear, "Thank you, Ms. Bang. I passed my test." and I turn to see the student I had pulled to the board. I can barely register what he is saying to me in the middle of trying to get students to be quiet and trying to keep students from freaking out about the computers.

Later. I remember and I smile.

bathroom epiphany

2010-09-24T17:15:00.000-07:00

I had an epiphany today while rushing to use the bathroom during my short 20 minute break. I realized that no matter how hard I try, i won't reach all or most of my students.

it was a very sad thing to admit.

it's a miracle

2010-09-21T18:11:00.000-07:00

it's a miracle. I actually had a great day with my class from hell.
i mean a really good day.

the downside....the demands of admin continue to be overwhelming.

yin and yang

2010-09-18T22:34:00.001-07:00

the difference between the two classes I teach are like yin and yang (Thanks Michelle for the idea for the title of this blog). One class is more mature and easy to get along with. We joke and laugh but still get work done.

The other class is like babysitting. They fight, can't stay in their seats and they don't ever stop talking.

But I'm resigned to the fact that half the time, I enjoy teaching. I guess it could be worse.

I'm also realizing that schools are like little businesses. Things come from higher up and they don't care how it gets done...they just want it done. I got into an arguement with the curriculum specialist at my school. Well not an arguement but I disagreed with him about making my students take tests online when there was no schedule set. I aruged that it was impossible for them to do well if they had limited time. We finally came to the agreement that we could do one in the hastily put together computer lab and the rest on paper.

Later that night, I got an email from the principal saying my kids scores on one test was amazing but they needed more review on another test. Then she tells me that she heard I was behind on pacing and that we should meet on monday during lunch so she can help catch me up. Um....I'm NOT behind. I'm on schedule. What the hell? Who told her that and why??

It's bad enough I have no budget for supplies and I have to beg, borrow, use my own money and rely on the generosity of my friends but now I have to deal with that on top of trying to figure out my first year of teaching? oy.

this is why I got into teaching

2010-09-16T19:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the day from hell. I literally wanted to burst into tears by the time school was over.

Today, was completely different. I had a wonderful day.
I even had a heart to heart conversation about words and how people can use them to hurt people. We had an open conversation about racism and using words like "faggot" and "gay" in our classroom. I was amazed how many students wanted to share about times they were discriminated against or made to feel bad. My point was to try and get them to talk about how they feel when people treated them badly because of the color of the skin. They talked about how angry that made them feel and helpless. I was so surprised at how many of my students wanted to share.

They asked my why calling someone "gay" was bad if gay just meant happy. I used the example of the way slave masters used the word "boy". it literally just means a male who is not full grown but the way it is used can be hurtful and demeaning. I also talked about how it was offensive to me because I had many gay friends and their sexual orientation had nothing to do with how I saw them. I tried to get them to see the connection between judging someone by the color of their skin and judging someone because of their sexual orientation.
I actually had one of my students raise his hand and ask me what it was like to have gay friends. Everyone laughed but I told him I was glad he asked. I asked him what it was like to have black friends. And he looked at me and just shrugged his shoulders. and I said that's what having gay friends are like. It's no big deal. it just is what it is.

nuts and adults in my class

2010-09-13T22:36:00.000-07:00

Last week, I had the first (of probably many many) embarrassing moments in one of my classes. I was too freaked out about my first week to blog about it. But here goes...I was teaching my kids a property of arithmetic. The official definition was really overly wordy and hard to understand, so I told my students not to freak out and just copy it down first and then we'd break it down in understandable terms.
So the conversation went a little something like this:

Me: Okay guys. Don't freak out. Just write it down and we'll break it down. I know this one is nuts but don't freak out. It just seems nuts.

student: Why can't it be bananas? I like bananas.

Me: I like nuts.

Roaring laughter from my class. me red-faced and wondering if I can sink into the ground.

So now that I've put the first panic and tear filled week behind me, I'm relaxed a bit and now that I'm not fighting for classroom control, I can actually make observations about the students in my class. I realized that some of the kids in my class are way taller than me and there are some male students who, if I worked in bar, I would not card them. So I'm tripping out because once in awhile I look out at the sea of faces in my classroom and it's like there are adults sitting there in my class learning algebra and scientific design. It's pretty crazy. These are 8th graders????

cautiously optimistic

2010-09-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, I actually had a good day. My homeroom is manageable and I actually made it thru the day and I think there was actually some learning going on. But by the end of the day, I started getting a knot in my stomach. Because I knew that today, I would have my other class. And they have been nothing but grief for me.

I woke up before 5 am. laying in bed unable to go back to sleep because I was dreading having to teach this class. I didn't want to be screaming all day to try to get one math lesson in. So I came up with a game plan. I decided that I was going to try different things. And if need be, I would call their parents.

So with a feeling of dread in my stomach, I went off to work. When I got there, I began getting my classroom ready. And a student came by and asked for help with the homework. As I sat there helping him...I realized I FELT GOOD. I felt like I was helping him. I felt like I was teaching him....Maybe that translated over to build my confidence bc by 8, when I went to pick up my class, I was more relaxed.

As soon as we got in, I started talking to them and told them that as the new teacher on campus, I knew they were hazing me. Pushing the boundaries to test me out so to speak. And I told them that I was trying to keep a good attitude about it, but I was getting tired. I wanted to know how much longer they wanted to do that, because I was ready to stop wasting time and get down to business. I wanted to help them and I wanted to teach them. I asked them what was wrong with them doing the work and culminating the 8th grade and going on to high school. And what was wrong with them going on to college? and what was wrong with them coming back to tell me they had jobs that paid 10 times my salary?

I also told them that if by the end of the day, their name ended up on my list, we would both call their parents at the end of the day and they could explain to their parent why they thought it was more important to haze the new teacher and be disruptive than to learn and be a contributing student in my class.

I didn't work right away. As soon as I got done talking, a student (i'm calling him B) who had been pushing me the hardest from day 1 with attitude, goofing off and disrupting the class started up. So I calmly called his name, handed him a science book, told him to grab a notebook and pen and walked him the the adjoining classroom with the instructions to copy all of chapter 2...word for word. I told him not to come back until he was finished.

After that, the day was AMAZING. seriously. I thought I only liked the kids in the other class, but these kids are pretty incredible too. A little immature and mean to one another, but I think they may be my higher performing kids. I wouldn't have guessed that yesterday for sure. Yesterday, I almost quit bc I knew I had to come in today and teach them.
And as for B, by the time recess rolled around, he and the other teacher came into my room and she told me that B had something he'd like to say to me. And....he apologized for disrupting the class and for being disruptive the last two days. He said that he understood that he was making it difficult for me to teach and that he would really appreciate a second chance to return to the classroom. I told him that of course I would rather have him in the classroom learning. I told him that I even had already arranged for another student to share the notes he'd missed while in the other class. I told him that the one condition for him being back in the class was that he return as a contributing member of the team and not a distraction to the team.

He was an angel the rest of the day. Oh and I sent home a letter to parents that had a short survey and one of the questions was about if there was anything they could tell me that would help me be the best teacher to their child and one parent wrote, "Just the fact you asked this question shows you already are the best teacher for my child." I almost started to weep when I read it.

And that folks, is my first week as a middle school teacher.

My first ever 1st day....

2010-09-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

was long and horrible and I'm just relieved it's over. Did I survive it? I can't quite say yet. I fluctuate between wanting to curl into a ball and cry all night and getting back in there and figuring out what to do. I kind of feel like a fraud. I wasn't really ready for my first day of school

What happened? They walked all over me. It probably wasn't as bad as it feels, but it felt pretty crazy. The minute they walked in the door, they were testing me, pushing me and pushing the limits with me. At one point, my partner teacher came through the adjoining door and had to tell the class they were being too loud.

What did I learn? I learned that my kids aren't ready for collaborative group work. I learned that maybe I'm not as hard and strict as I think I am. I learned that my kumbaya feel good approach to first day did NOT work. I learned that first days suck.

I drove home and for once, I actually enjoyed dealing with apartment issues when I got home. I usually hate it, but today it was totally different. At least I knew what was going on and what to expect.

I gave myself ten minutes to have a good cry and then I took a 40 minute nap. I woke up groggy and feeling really down. I have a lot of work to do. I need to re-do my lesson plans for the week and take out all the group work and I need to re-group and figure out a different approach.

Please don't call me right now. All it does is make me cry. My friend Mike called and I cried. My mom and dad called and I cried.

I'll be okay. I think this is just the ropes.

FIRE!!

2010-09-06T12:24:00.000-07:00

Funny how God finds ways to remind me that things can always be soooo much worse.

So tomorrow I'm starting my first day teaching in my very own classroom. I've been plagued with self-doubt, panic, and straight out fear of failing for the last several weeks. As the big day draws closer, I find my mind just switching off because I just can't worry about it anymore. I did wake up today with a feeling of dread and a huge knot in my stomach. I got up early and found that I couldn't think straight and I knew I had a huge list of things to do but was not happy about it and was beginning to feel resentful. It's hard to explain how I've been feeling. As I get older, it gets easier to deal with the hard stuff because well, with experience, you learn that wringing your hands and gnashing your teeth, don't gain you any sympathy points and doesn't change the course of your path. There's no pain bank where you can save up frequent panic points to help ease the difficulties ahead. BUT at the same time, I HATE not knowing all the answers so I am filled with dread and feeling sorry for myself.

Last week, we had professional development (job training) and I literally spent 8a-4p in a frenzied panic. How can I do the pacing plan for the entire year in one hour when I don't even know the math or science well enough to determine the best order or time frame to teach to my students? Or how can I possibly pump out in one hour, a Project Based Learning plan incorporating math, English, social studies with the timeline of when to incorporate the project and aligned with Bloom's taxonomy to show the cycle of learning and complete with rubrics when I don't know what the hell I'm doing?

it's all been a crazy roller coaster which pretty much leaves me floating between "get out there and kick some ass" and "maybe if i just curl into the fetal position, nobody will notice". But then life gives you those reminders...

Between bouts of self-pity, I realized there was a LOT of noise going on in front of my building. I noticed that a fire truck was sitting on my street and then I heard a HUGE bang!!! and just as I was going to head out the door to see what was going on, a loud knock on my door revealed a huge (and very handsome...yes, yes, I know. Not the appropriate time) firefighter at my door. Apparently, one of my tenants left some incense burning in a plant in her apartment and the plant caught on fire. Luckily someone (don't know who, but THANK YOU) called 911 and they got there just in time. They were able to break down the door and take the plant outside before the fire caught the drapes or anything else in the apartment.

Things I noticed while in a daze about what was going on:
The firefighters were so kind and helpful (and all good looking-too bad you couldn't be here Laura S).
They were picking up her cd's off the floor and returning them back to the rack that got knocked over.
Everyone looking wide eyed and kinda crazy (myself included).

How I feel now that everything is over:
Don't sweat the small stuff. I'll figure it out as I go.

Thank you God for keeping watch and reminding me that even tho I'm scared, I have a purpose and I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing.

And thank you Los Angeles Fire Department!!!! You guys and gals rock!

(now off I go try and figure out what the hell I'm doing!)

Life lessons on the 118 Freeway

2010-08-20T20:17:00.000-07:00

Today started with a reservation for a table for one at my own pity party.

After going to bed at 245am I ended up being woken up waaaaaaay too early by getting a 747 am text from one of my tenants letting me know that one of the cars in the garage had their window smashed. Oh joy. Bad news on top of no sleep. Bad. really bad.

I tried to pretend it wasn't happening and closed my eyes hoping to fall back asleep for a few minutes but then my nieces decided it was time for me to get up. We were all in Simi at my folk's place and the plan was to have a fun bbq on Sat to celebrate my Dad's bday, my bday and to welcome my cousin's new wife into the family and just hang out with each other for a few days. I had arrived on Thursday so I could also take my car into the dealer because it stalled out over the weekend on the way to Vegas. My car was currently still at the dealer and I was stuck and unsure what to do. So I got up and spent the morning being VERY cranky. Then I checked my email to find another tenant had their car broken into and stuff stolen. Building anxiety is a horrible feeling. I text Jon to let him know what was going on. He said he heard a car alarm go off around 4am. The fact that these jerks come in the middle of the night when good people are sleeping just burns me up. The feeling of helplessness that washed over me was all infuriating.

After breakfast with my nieces, mom and brother in law, I checked my voicemail to find yet another tenant had called to report her car had been broken into. At that point, my stomach felt like it was going to flip inside out and my blood pressure, like the hot weather, was on the rise. I had to tell my Mom and Dad what was happening and I hate it the most because they get so freaked out and I can see the worry etch itself into their face and land heavily on their shoulders. I'm supposed to be taking over this part of the family business so they don't have to get freaked out and worry. They are too old to have to deal with this kind of crap. I HATE HATE HATE when I have to give them bad news. Finally, I got the call that my car was done and after forking over $432 dollars for repairs, I packed up my stuff and headed back to LA to deal with the break in.

I was anxious, mad at the world and feeling like I was getting dumped on. Before I got in the car to return to LA, I even changed my status on facebook saying, "people suck." . The last thing I wanted to do was to deal with this. I was resentful and hating the assholes who thought it was okay to break into people's car and steal their property. I'm furious that my parents are worried and my Dad is anxious. I was pissed about shelling out for my car repairs and mad at everyone in general. I hate feeling anxious and afraid. Sometimes I get scared. I don't ever admit it. I've gotten very good at fooling people and letting them think I'm always in control. I'll always be your ear to bend but I won't ever tell you I'm scared of anything. Instead I hide it with anger. People come to me for advice and for help. I don't go to them. I internalize it and stress myself out.

I was feeling pretty low and very pre-occupied. The next few minutes changed everything. To be honest, I don't know what lane I was in, probably the middle lane. I was up and over the 118 going East bound. I'm not even sure how fast I was going. I was moving with the flow of traffic so probably between 70 and 75 mph. maybe a little faster than that bc I had just driven down the hill and picked up speed as I entered into the valley.

Suddenly I saw a small blue car in the second the lane began to swerve crazily back in forth. I knew instantly that they were going to lose control of the car and I watched in absolute horror as they proceeded to spin out in front of me and basically do what looked like a u-turn across all the lanes of the freeway. I watched as they screeched across the freeway, directly in front of me, in what seemed like some super slow motion clip in a movie. I slammed on the brakes and prayed that nobody would slam into me from behind and that I wouldn't hit or be hit by the out of control car in front of me. I threw on my hazards and came to a complete stop. I watched the car, now facing the wrong way, slam into the center divider with so much force that for a few seconds (or maybe a million years) it was on two wheels as it plowed full force into the divider. Then it screeched back in front of me into another sick deranged u-turn back across all lanes of the freeway as if it were completing some horrible ellipse pattern and finally come to a stop on the right shoulder. The smell of burning rubber was so intense I could almost taste it. After the screeching and crushing of metal stopped, it seemed to be deafeningly silent.

I grabbed my cell phone and called 911 as I began to pull over to the right shoulder. A woman dispatcher answered right away and basically in one breath I told her that I was traveling eastbound on the 118 freeway just before the DeSoto exit, one car had lost control and spun out, hitting the center divider and finally stopping on the right shoulder, no other vehicles were involved, two people appeared to be in the car. And as I was giving her this information, a little detached part of me recognized how hysterical I must sound blurting out one incredibly long run-on sentence. She asked me if they needed medical attention and I told them that they probably would. Then she asked me my name and we hung up. I watched as people began running to assist the injured people. I looked down at my hands on the steering wheel and they were shaking.

I debated if I should get out of the car and run back to try and help, but realized the car was surrounded by several good Samaritans. I whispered a prayer for them under my breath and left the scene knowing that their lives had been changed in a major way in those few moments. I hoped they weren't injured and I hoped that they would be okay. The thought of being in an accident that severe made me cringe in fear. Suddenly, I didn't care that I had to spent over 400 dollars to fix my car. Instead, I realized I was thankful I even HAD a car. Suddenly, the break in wasn't the end of the world. Instead, I began to come up with a list of things I would need to do. I didn't feel so bad anymore. Things can always be so much worse than they are. I suddenly felt that I had the strength I needed to go home and deal with everything. It wasn't until I was almost to the 405 interchange that I remembered to thank God. Not like, "oh thank God I didn't get killed." I mean like "Thank you, God for keeping me safe." Because I cannot deny that it was God that kept me safe today like he does everyday. I just don't remember to always give him credit for it.

Lesson learned and things remembered today on the 118 freeway:
I am thankful for my life and the people in it.
I may have to deal with difficulties and hardships but this is life.
There are some real A holes out there, but not all people suck. I don't suck. Those people who stopped to help don't suck.
It CAN always be so much worse than it is.

I want to tell you all that I learned something very profound. That from now on, I will never let bad things that happen to me get me down. But I can't tell you that. As I got closer to the apartment, I started to feel some anxiety begin to build. I was able to check it and keep it under control. What I was reminded of today is that I can only do the best that I can. I can't stop somebody from breaking in and stealing stuff if they really are hell bent on doing it. I CAN remember that it's not the end of the world and not beat myself up about it and carry it around with me to the point that I'm snapping at my friends and family and feeling sorry for myself. Don't get me wrong. It sucks the big one and it's not right. Do I believe in Karma? What comes around goes around? I don't know. Because Karma doesn't account for the good people that get screwed and jerked around by those who practice bad karma. My friend Dan Clarke posted on my facebook, "People actually don't suck. Usually they're just confused and unhappy. They need your compassion." At first I wanted to sock him in the face. (Sorry, Dan.) But now I'm kind of thinking he may be onto something. I don't know if I can have a great deal of compassion for them (Dan, I'm just not that evolved) but I am beginning to see that I am better off than they are. I feel sorry for them because they must have some kind of shitty life and no respect for themselves to do stuff like that. But I DON'T have a shitty life. My life is quite the opposite. I may not be a millionaire, but I am filthy stinking rich when it comes to the love and support of my family and my friends. So yeah. I can feel sorry for them and maybe squeeze out a tiny bit of compassion for them.

I can only try to live everyday like it's my last because it might be. I don't want to waste my last day pissed off about something I couldn't control. How much would that bite if I had gotten killed today and I spent my last moments being angry at some stupid jerks?

Summer Daze

2010-08-05T14:22:00.000-07:00

So I thought now would be a good time to keep everyone posted on what both Jon AND I are doing since the blog is called "The Asian AND the Indian."

I'm back from Korea and re-adjusting to home life. It's good to be back. I've been getting lots of rest and sleep and doing a little bit of work for my UCLA boss. I'm helping analyze and log data for student math abilities from classes all over the US. I'm also spending my days in my pj's and meeting friends for lunch and dinner.

At the end of the month, I will be starting my new job getting training in preparation for my new job as an 8th grade math and science teacher (!!! I know. I know. Crazy)

Jon held down the fort while I was gone and did an amazing job managing the apartment while I was gone. Now I know I can take off for vacations away from home for extended periods of time (just kidding, Jon)

We're both planning a Vegas trip soon and last night we celebrated our 14 years of non-marriage to one another! ;) Here's to 14 more!

That's about all for now.
catch y'all later!

Back in LA

2010-07-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

The flight home was looong. really long. for some reason, I couldn't sleep on the flight there or the flight back. But if the flight is short, I can sleep. I don't know what that's about. I want to say that it's great to be back in LA. and it is...for the most part. I'm not sure what's happening here. I was sooo happy to be coming home, but now that I'm here, I feel like I can't jump in with both feet. I feel all confused and strange. I am glad to be home. I really am, but I didn't realize after 6 weeks of living abroad, I need to re-adjust to being back home. Like today for instance, my wifey Mike and I went to lunch. We went to this African restaurant near my house. We walked from my place and I got all confused when we got to the crosswalk. Walk or let the cars go first or go but go around the cars? I dunno. I felt all indecisive about it. Thankfully Mike took the lead and we crossed the street safely and in one piece. Had I been alone, I think I might still be there on the corner trying to decide what to do.

And I have a hard time trying to figure out what to eat. In Korea, I ate Korean food. And it was all good. I didn't have to think about it. Here, I'm afraid to put anything in my mouth bc it's all processed or fast food. So tonight, I asked Jon if we could go eat Korean food at the Galleria Market foodcourt. I got all excited to go shopping at the Korean Grocery store and then....we got there and it was such a let down. After all my complaining of the Korean markets and how you can't stop to look at anything without the sales people trying to give you samples or giving you their spiel, I realized it was strange to be at a Korean market without that happening. This is just crazy!!! What's going on here?

Tonight, while we were eating at the foodcourt, a Korean lady came in and walked from table to table. She was all dirty and obviously homeless. She was asking people for money and everyone was just ignoring her. It made me very, very sad. It made me realize that my entire time in Korea, I hadn't seen anybody who was homeless. I really don't think I saw any. I was there for 6 weeks and I traveled all around the country and only twice did I see two men who seemed to have some mental illness but didn't look homeless. I don't know what services are available in Korea but I know here in Los Angeles, people tend to not treat them like humans. We ignore them and pretend not to see them. And as I watched table after table of people ignore the woman, it really hit home with me. I can only guess that she found her way to the Galleria bc she was Korean and only spoke Korean. I wondered how she got here. What happened to her? How did she end up here in Los Angeles? Where was her family?

Jon and I decided we wouldn't give her any money, but we got her some food. As we were leaving, I found her on the outside patio smoking a cigarette and I gave her the food. She was thankful and then she started talking about stuff and I had no idea what she was saying. She obviously had some mental issues and that made me even sadder.

maybe I'm not ready to be back in LA. I'll just take it one baby step at a time.

Seoul Sista - Goodbye Korea

2010-07-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

This is it folks. Last blog from Korea. Tonight is my last night in Korea and tomorrow I catch a plane to go back home to LA. This has truly been the trip of a lifetime. I got to spend it with my mom. I got to see my friends and I got to see and do a million interesting things. I spent time with family, said goodbye to my Grandpa, learned about where I come from, experienced a monsoon summer, and ATE and ATE and ATE! Oh. not to mention I'm coming home with a pretty healthy addiction to Korean dramas. All good things must come to an end and although I'm a little sad to say goodbye to my aunt and uncle, I must admit I am ready to come home.

I could probably sit and write about all my different experiences forever. There were just so many. Too many to blog about. Maybe I'll write more of them down later so I don't forget them.

I know it's time for me to go home because some of the experiences I've had in the last few days haven't filled me with curiosity or amusement. They've made me miss home. Alot. and I never thought I'd say this, but I am so tired of eating. seriously. I'm never hungry anymore. the last 72 hours have been filled with waaay too much food. Two nights ago, my mom and aunt and uncle, cousin and my aunt's nephew went to a tuna restaurant. Absolutley the craziest experience I've had. I never knew there were so many different cuts of tuna sashimi. and my God, the server never stopped refilling the platter. We had fatty tuna, belly meat, back meat, side meat, meat from the head dusted with gold flakes (which, seriously, I don't get. They do that in some shi-shi places in the US and it confuses me. I'd rather wear gold than eat it), soju mixed with the gelatin from the fish bones and eyes (yes, eyes), tuna porridge, tuna appetizer with peanut butter, tuna. tuna. tuna. tempura. oden soup. I lost count of the courses. A truly miraculous experience.

Then last night. Another oh boy I don't want to eat this experience. My uncle was craving fish soup. Koreans call it tahng. It's kinda spicy soup with veggies and fish and onions. It's very popular with Koreans here and in LA. I'll eat it, but it's not my favorite. It's very subtle and I like my spicy to be butt burning. This tahng was the strangest I'd ever seen. It had fish roe (eggs, Brooke-what you thought was fish organs)and I'll eat that. But it also had...fish organs. They looked like brains actually but I know fish don't have brains that big. And they didn't taste like anything really. All in all, not what I wanted to eat, but I can eat it. Here was the problem (or problems), I'm full and generally just not interested in eating ANYTHING right now (except maybe a chunk of cheddar cheese. I'd kill for some real cheese) combine that with the fact that I'm tired of eating things that are "new experiences" for me right now. I tried to ask my mom what we were going to eat and she gave me some vague answer so I just have to go and find out and I'm not really into that right now. AND then the added pressure of everyone freaking out bc I wasn't eating and Oh my God, she must not like it so let's order her some fried fish battered in egg. Again. NOT my favorite. usually I will eat all that stuff but I just was soooo not into it after eating so much in the last 3 days (everyone has been taking us out for last meals and we've been having second and third dinners -I feel like a hobbit). THEN the owner came out to serve us herself bc she knows my aunt and uncle and they told her my mom and I were from LA and she literally stood there to watch us eat. Just too much pressure. I almost wanted to run screaming from the restaurant. I feel really bad because I sound like a total princess (even to myself). I mean God forbid my aunt and uncle just wanted me to eat well and were so concerned about me, but I really miss being home so I know that based on my reaction to last night, it's time for me to go.

On my last day, my aunt made us a HUGE breakfast. Korean style. stomach. going. to. explode...and then after packing my stuff, my mom and I headed over to the bathhouse. Was most def an easier experience for me this time. Felt more comfortable and was able to relax. Feeling nice and clean. and I sweated a ton in the salt sauna. skin feels incredible. My mom asked me if I wanted to pay one of the ladies to scrub me and after that Korean massage (torture) I quickly shook my head no. no way jose. I did however try one of the massage chairs in the relaxing area. for just one chun (1000won) you can activate a full back and leg massage in these high tech leather chairs. Again. I think in Korea, it has to be painful or it's just not worth doing. The back and butt rollers were fine. A little intense at times but then I would just lean forward a bit. But the part where you put your legs (your legs are incased), was too much for me. It squeezed the hell out of my legs and then a back roller smashed my calves up against my shins. Those things need a panic button or stop button, man! I couldn't get my legs out and I couldn't scream. Believe me I wanted to. When it finally eased up. I just pulled my legs out and kind of hung them over each side. My mom started laughing bc I guess I looked funny straddling the machine but no way in hell was I going to let my legs get aqueezed like toothpaste tubes again.

When we were leaving the bathhouse, we saw this giant cloud of smoke and at first we thought it was smoke from a car or maybe one of the vendor's carts caught on fire. But my aunt told us they were spraying for mosquitos. Hello? WTF? I'm walking here. Don't appreciate breathing in insect repellant! It was the craziest thing I'd ever experienced. So not only have I had to breathe second hand cigarette smoke (they still allow smoking in almost all Korean restaurants) but now I get to inhale insect repellant smoke. No thanks! speaking of breathing in things I don't want to. While finishing up at the bathhouse, I decided to wait for my mom on this wooden platform in the dressing room. It's designed for people to sit on or lay and rest on. My mom takes longer than me to get ready so I decided to lay down and rest while I was waiting. Another woman had been sleeping on it for quite awhile. I laid down next to her, my head to her feet and my feet to her head. I'm laying on my back and she's rolls to her side so her butt is pointed to my head and she rips one!!! Funny. But then again not. It's definately time for me to go home. LOL

Last dinner in Korea was superb. We went to a clam house. All kinds of clams (including scallops-not sure if they are clam family. maybe anything with a hinge shell?) steamed in a huge kettle and served at your table. Giant clams, baby clams, long clams. Man, I've never seen so many kinds of clams. And all perfectly steamed. THEN, they take the broth and make noodle soup out of it. then we ordered a spicy hae-muhl (mixed seafood) saute and it had more clams, crab, shrimp, octopus, scallops, onions, bean sprouts, those squirty inedible things (I avoided those) all in a spicy yummy sauce. Again. hardly digested my last meal and eating more. Luckily, I worked up an appetite after almost 4 hours in the bathhouse and sauna.

Now that it's quiet and I have some time to myself, I am feeling sad that I'm leaving tomorrow. Really only because I've grown so attached to my aunt and uncle. They seriously went way above and beyond for me and my mom. They treated us like royalty. We had a lot of good times and they even were so welcoming to my friends. I hope I can come back to visit them. Next time, it will be a much shorter trip. Six weeks did go by fast though.

A few last observations about Korea:
Koreans seems to be freaked out about elevator doors closing on you or not opening. They always hit the open door or close door button.
Cool thing about Korean elevators, if you push the wrong floor, you can simply re-push the button to CANCEL the floor! (Jon, you wouldn't be able to rapid push the elevator button the way you like to do)
Koreans really like their name brand dogs too. I've hardly seen any mixed breed dogs. Most dogs in Seoul are tiny tiny and all pure bred (my aunt and uncle own a mini pincher)
Korea has the most amazing insects. Cicadas, praying mantas, some seriously psychedlic looking bugs I've never seen before. Three different size ants. tiny, medium, gigantor. red and black and black/white dragonflies, a gazillion butterflies.
Koreans love printed t shirts with English writing on them. A lot A lot.
Koreans sure do like to drink after work to relax and unwind.

LA. Are you ready for me? Cuz I'm coming home!!!
Thanks everybody for reading along and keeping up with my experiences. i know a lot of you laughed with me and cried with me during my trip thru Korea. Thank you for indulging me and reading my blog.

Seoul Sista - Final Days

2010-07-24T18:20:00.000-07:00

I'm going to have to play catch up for the last few days. It's Sunday here in Korea and I leave on Tuesday and travel back in time to land back in LA on Tuesday. It's been a whirlwind of last dinners and last meetings and I never thought I'd say this but I'm kind of tired of eating. yeah. you heard me. Everyone here is on a mission to stuff me and my mom with as many "last" meals as possible.

A few days ago I had that massage and I was pretty sore. The night after getting the massage was the worst. My back was hurting pretty awful. Not like my spine or anything like that. But the muscles and skin really hurt. I turn over a lot when I'm sleeping so that was really difficult. But the next day, I felt good. Nice and relaxed. But with a sore back still. Two days later not as sore and sleeping really good. Still not sure if I'd ever do that kind of massage again.

Larisa, my mom and I went to visit the DMZ on Friday (your Thursday). It was Larisa's last full day in Korea and we woke up to pouring rain and thunder and lightening. But we knew that the tour was still going to happen because in Korea, the rain doesn't stop anything. Thunder and lightening be damned. Luckily, it stopped raining by late morning and we didn't get rained on. The DMZ was not like I remembered. it was much more relaxed and casual. Lots of tourists. Especially very large groups of Chinese. I tried not to get irritated but....they were irritating. The worst was when we went down the 3rd Infiltration Tunnel.

The 3rd Infiltation tunnel is the third of 4 tunnels that have been discovered by the South Koreans. These tunnels were dug from North Korea to try and infiltrate the South Korean city of Seoul. According to defectors' reports, there are around 20 tunnels. Which I think may have some validity because it seems to me that if they dug 4, they wouldn't just stop. And that's only 4 that have been found. So you're not allowed to take pictures but you can go down and walk in the 3rd tunnel. It's a really, really steep walk down to the tunnel (about 3oo Meters) and it's small and at times you have to duck down and walked hunched over or you'll hit your head. As you go deeper into the ground, the humidity goes away and it gets really cool. niiiice. They give you helmets to wear (luckily. Lar almost knocked her helmet off when she bonked her head) It's pretty narrow. and people are going in both directions so you have to be courteous and careful. It was dark and we were on our way back to leave the tunnel when we ran into a very large and very LOUD group of Chinese tourists. Normally, I wouldn't care if they were loud, but we were in a small, dark, enclosed space. hello? not a good idea to be yelling at one another in a tunnel. And they ran me off the walkway a few times. Not into sharing space I guess. It made me kind of anxious to get out as fast as I could and I think I started to panic a little. But pretty soon I found myself at the exit ramp and forgot about them because I had my own issues of making it back up that ramp. It was so steep that when coming down, I had to kind of lean back so I wouldn't fall forward. Now translate that going the opposite direction....There were a couple times I thought about giving up. But my only option would be to go back down and live in that dark tunnel. So I chugged along. At one point I heard Larisa say, "I can see the exit" and it gave me the last bit of strength to chug along until I got to the exit. As soon as I got back up to the top, I was hit with a huge, hot and heavy wave of humidity, but was so glad I didn't have to live the rest of my life in that tunnel that I didn't care.

When I went to the DMZ when I was ten, I remember being really scared. Even at ten I could feel the tension. But this time around it was very relaxed and casual. Lots of things change I guess in 27 years. In the DMZ, we went to Dorasan Station. It's a train station that was built when relations with N. Korea were good. The past two presidents have been in support of the "sunshine policy" but not this current president and relations have soured. During better times, this train station was built. It's located in the DMZ and is the last stop for s. Koreans. Then next "stop" would be in the N. Korean side. It basically sits empty. waiting. There's a sign that says "not the last station from the South, but the first station towards the north." So full of hope. According to our guide, South Koreans want reunification to happen. I don't know if it will ever happen. It's a nice thought tho. My mom and dad's families are originally from North Korea. My mom's dad used to say how much he wanted to go back to where he was born. My mom got kind of sad I think when we were looking aross to the N, Korean side and she was thinking about my grandpa. I have an aunt who is still in the North. We made contact with her in the early 90's. She may have passed by now.

The DMZ also has farmers and a village where people live. Our guide explained that at the time of the DMZ creation, there was a village that was in the middle of the two borders. For years everyone was confused about the nationality of those villagers. Finally the UN determined that they were a wee bit closer to the Southern side and were deemed South Koreans. crazy, huh? apparently, living and farming in the DMZ has turned out to be very lucrative for the farmers bc they have become very rich. The DMZ area has parts that have not been touched by humans in 50 years. It has unintentionally become a refuge for wildlife and migrating birds. Because of this reason, farmers are not allowed to use pesticides or chemicals and their rice and crops are in high demand. a large 20 pound bag of rice can go for 75,000-85,000 won. The downside to living in the DMZ is that there is a ten o'clock curfew that is strictly enforced. Boggles my mind to think about people, families living in the DMZ.

It's very sad to think about all the families and lives that were torn apart by the political situation here in Korea. I still think of Korea as one country. One place. I forget to say South Korea. To me, it's just Korea. It saddens me to think that Korea is essentially cut in half by the DMZ. On our way to the DMZ, our guide pointed out a "dynamite" box. It looked like regular billboards with ads on them, but she explained that if there should be another Northern invasion, they can explode those boxes and take out the highway to slow their march towards Seoul. um..wow. freaky. Apparently the younger generation tend to be more indifferent about the political situation here in terms of the north and south issues. Becsuse they are a few generations removed from those that grew up and remember the Korean war, they dont' have the same feelings about it as the older Koreans do. My sister and I grew up hearing stories from my dad. He was a young boy when Japan annexed Korea. He told us stories about the war. and escaping to the South.

Lar ended her stay in Korea eating LOTS of food with me and my family. I won't even go into all that we ate. It's just too much. And I can't even get into the ten course tuna sushi dinner I had last night or the spicy kimchee tofu we had at midnight. I'm posting Lar's link to her pics so you can see our adeventure to the DMZ. The last pics on her set of Seoul pics that are all food are pics of almost everything we ate that night.

I can't wait to go home. I'm tired of eating although I'd love a chuck of cheddar cheese. mmmm. and maybe a steak. or a taco. but not right away. I'm almost scared when I think about how much food they are going to try and jam into me between now and Tuesday.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26319571@N04/sets/72157624536243296/

Seoul Sista - Dough girl

2010-07-22T05:29:00.000-07:00

I opted to stay home today and get a massage rather than go hiking with Larisa. I'm thinking this was probably a big mistake. I thought "hey, why not go and get pampered and relax and get a nice massage?" Guess what? Massage in LA = relaxation and usually falling asleep. Massage in Korea = getting your ass handed to you by a little petite woman and trying not to scream as she tries to kill you.

My aunt suggested we go and get our feet done. So we went and at first I thought this experience would be great. The rooms were done in dark wood and the lights were dim. They soaked our feet in hot water in these beautiful wooden buckets. so far so good. What I was too stupid to notice was the huge picture of the feet on the doors of the entrance with pictures of organs labeled on the feet. For all of 3 seconds I contemplated that Asian medicine believes that there are different points on your feet that are connected to different internal organs. Whatever. Didn't think anything of it. The owner told us it was 30,000 for 40 minutes. My mom, of course, gets her to go down to 20,000 won since there are three of us. I'm thinking I'm in for a treat. It started off okay. But then it got really intense and I felt like she was trying to separate the muscles from my calves and feet from bone. At one point, she got this one point on the arch of my left foot and I thought I was going to pass out. I told her that hurt and she told me I had colon issues. Okay fine. I guess I have colon issues. But lay off the colon point on my foot, but no, she insisted the best thing to do was to work that point until it was soft. Holy Crap, man. Longest 40 minutes of my life. and they don't just torture your feet. They try to rip the muscles through out your entire leg. She tried to twist me like a pretzel. I have to say tho, after it was done, my legs felt great. I have been doing a lot of walking and steps and despite the pain, it started to feel kind of relaxing and so I just went with it. I also at some point decided I was NOT going to make any noises or tell this woman when something hurt bc she would just make it a point to go at it even more.

So then my aunt decides we should all get back massages. Now I'm ready to get some good relaxing massage. I feel like the 40 minutes of foot torture will be forgotten while I flitter off to sleep with a relaxing back massage.

Oh stupid, stupid girl.

Let's just say another 40 minutes of the most excruciating pain I've ever voluntarily put myself thru. At one point, she was using her elbows to outline the sides of my spine and I thought I was going to pass out. I have a huge stress knot on my upper left shoulder between my shoulder blade and neck. I decided I was NOT going to tell this Dominatrix anything about that spot. But of course she found it. This woman had arms and hands of steel. I think her hands could probably be registered as serious weapons. And she uses those elbows like they are baseball bats. I heard a hella lot of popping and I'm not sure what that was. I've heard if you get deep tissue massages, stress and toxins will literally make soft popping noises as they get worked out. I don't think Koreans know the meaning of "building up to it". At one point, I had to do something very close to lamaze breathing to keep from screaming or jumping off the table and karate chopping her across the neck. She found every single muscle in my back and arms and proceeded to try and rip them off my body. Okay. Not really, but it felt like it. I was thinking if only there was a camera under the table where my face was (you know the hole where you stick your face?) we could probably submit that tape to funniest home videos or something. I'm sure my facial expressions were insanely comical. During my torture session, she told me I should lose weight. I thought about telling her I had recently lost 85 pounds but then decided it wasn't worth it because if i opened my mouth, I'd probably just find mysef screaming in pain so I just kind of nodded. I wondered if she was trying to just rip the extra weight off my body.

Again. I resolved to not make a peep. She got me tho. At one point when she was standing on my legs (yes. standing on me using her feet and body weight to "massage" me) she was kind of on my gluts and she pointed her toes forward and kind of pressed down with all her body weight. I pretty much screamed "ouch" but I really wanted to scream M****F***!!! I felt like a piece of dough getting smashed around until there's nothing left but jello. And when she walked on my calves (yes. walked on my calves) I thought this was pretty much the end for me. I knew I was very close to my breaking point. One last double fisted karate chop in an attempt to pop my kidneys and she was done.

I thought for sure they would let me lay on that table and die in peace, but then she was indicating that I was done and I should get dressed. I had to get up really slowly. I felt like I had just taken a ride in a super spin washing machine with 20 pound boulders. This is what boxers or UFC fighters must feel like after going a few rounds. Come to think of it, this woman could BE a UFC fighter. I just knew I was going to be black and blue and probably green and purple. I got dressed and it literally felt like I was having an out of body experience. I looked down at my legs and was shocked to see no bruising. and none on my back. this woman could probably do very well as a interrogator/torture expert. She didn't leave a mark on me! My shoulders and back were killing me. My bra straps felt like they were on fire and I couldn't wait to get home and rip it off. My mom patted me on the back while we were walking and I screamed bloody murder. I gingerly took a shower when I got home and took a nap. I thought for sure I'd wake up feeling like I could fly. Nope. Woke up just as sore if not more. As the hours are going by tho, I am more and more relaxed. I'm sore as hell but I can't explain it. I feel relaxed and really fluid (well of course, she beat me into jelly). I have been really thirsty and have been drinking tons of water. Somethings getting washed out. There can't possibly be any toxins left in my body after she literally beat the living crap out of me. I'm not hungry. At all. I was hungry right after and we ate a good lunch but that was 7 hours ago.

I'll let you know how I feel tomorrow morning.

Conclusion:
This was no joke. It was the real deal Holyfield. I'm not sure why Koreans do this kind of massage. They must be onto something tho, right? I feel like a piece of rubber. But just like the way they eat different things because they are good for you in very specific ways, I think they take this way of thinking and apply it to their massage technique. The goals include releasing stress and stimulating internal organs by using pressure points. I think they should stop calling it massage and call it something else like Body Beating or corporal punishment. just kidding.
I also was thinking that not many of my friends back home (if any) could take this kind of "massage". I have a pretty high pain threshold and even I was ready to weep like a baby. Only time will tell if there really are any medical benfits to allowing somebody to use you like a punching bag.

Seoul Sista - The countdown begins

2010-07-21T08:05:00.000-07:00

So today was Tuesday back home in the US and Wed here in Korea. Today marks the final countdown to my last week here until I return back to LA. I have to admit I am ready to go home. Not that being here hasn't been great. I've done and seen so many things. Laughed, cried, ate too much, slept too little, slept too much and have had the experience of a lifetime. It's just time for me to get back to my life, my friends, my family, my Jon, my new job (!!!!!!) my BED! and frankly, I'm not gonna miss the humidity. Although I've saved a fortune on not having to use lotion. har har. At the same time, I feel pressed to squeeze in as much as possible before I go. Who knows when I'll ever be able to come back? and if I do, it won't be for 6 weeks! I'd love to come back here again with my sister and Jon. I think it would be lots of fun.

Last night after returning from the country and from visiting my grandfather's grave, my uncle decided he wanted to take me out to eat something I've never had before. He really wanted to give me a new experience. And although I had this uneasy feeling that I wouldn't like it, I went along for the ride. And what a ride that was! I asked my mom what we were going to go eat and she told me "eel". Well, I eat anago (eel) at sushi bars and my friends Brooke and Dan had just blogged about their delicious experience with eel a few nights before so I was cautiously optomistic. uh...NOT that kind of eel. In fact, when I saw them swimming in the tank, I had a feeling this was going to be a rough night. My aunt told the server that I was from America and wanted her to show them to me still alive. Which she did...except they had just skinned them. uh...wow. So they bring them to me in the bowl and they are literally writhing and they (waitress included) are all looking at me expectantly so I turn on my camera and snap a pic. Didn't really want to. But since I've been snapping pics of pretty much EVERYTHING in Korea, I didn't want to disappoint them. point and click. everyone smiles. So the waitress tells us that it takes a long time to grill the eel so we should order something to eat while we're waiting. so they order spicy, grilled chicken feet. yeah. you heard me. chicken feet. Again, not something I'd choose to eat on my own but didn't want to offend or disappoint everyone because my aunt tells the waitress I adore spicy food and she is pleased to report to me that their chicken feet are very popular around town bc they are so spicy. Again, everyone is looking at me expectantly so I smile and give two thumbs up and she happily goes to the kitchen to fulfill my chicken feet dreams.

Okay. So chicken feet - popular in china and korea. I've tried it before at dimsum back home. They were kind of stewed and soy saucey. Here in Korea, they like 'em charcoal bbq-ed and spicy. They are deboned but most def still chicken feet. I'd already tried some when I first got here, but only ate like two (or I guess you could call it a pair). This time, I couldn't get away with only eating two so I ended up eating much more than that. Not alot, but more than I really wanted to. The flavor is actually really good and the feet lived up to their promise of spicy. lip-tingling so actually. It's the chewy texture that I can't get over. But chicken feet, apparently a favorite of my aunt, uncle and cousin bc we had no problem finishing the order.

Ohhh and just in time because then our eel came out. They placed them on our charcoal grill and I just knew this was going to be the hardest meal I've ever had to date. With the eel I've eaten in sushi bars or the kind that Brooke and Dan ate, they are large and there is enough meat on them to fillet like a fish. These little suckers not so much. So they just chop them into pieces. Insides and all. While the little meat on them are edible. Tastes like chicken. ha ha ha. Not. The rest of it is what's hard to eat. Chewy. Crunchy and rubbery. Like chewing a raw hide bone. I tried to pick the extra bbq-d ones. That didn't help much. Again, flavor not the issue. Although it didn't taste that great. I noticed the pieces weren't moving off the grill as quickly as the chicken feet. Apparently NOT anyone's favorite. Why we went to eat it? I dunno know. It was super expensive (55,000 won for like 3 or 4 of these slimy suckers) and nobody seemed to really enjoy eating it.

I have a confession to make. While here in Korea, when faced with foods I really don't want to eat, my strategy has been to sit next to my cousin. He's a hoover. And a speedy one at that. He can pack it away like nobody's business and nobody really seems to notice I don't eat that much. For instance, the first time we ate chicken feet. He put that away like a pro. and the time we ate bundagee (silkworms), I got away with eating like 2 and he pretty much demolished the rest. Now, don't get me wrong, this backfires on me too. Like when we eat stuff I like. He seems to polish that off even faster so I have to jump in there and get what I can. (Which, if you really know me, then you know I HATE eating fast. I'm a very slow eater. Jon says I would have starved to death if I grew up in his house because there were so many boys you had to eat fast or risk not getting any food). Well. Wouldn't you know it? For the most difficult meal I've ever had to eat, MY COUSIN COPS OUT ON ME!!! Apparently he doesn't like this eel thingy bbq! He only came for the company. Now I'm faced with what seems like a LOT of pieces in front of me and I'm pretty much screwed. So I go for plan B, which is to drink more makkoli and get buzzed enough to eat some more of it. I also figure out that if you wrap a piece in lettuce and add lots of bean paste and the spicy celery leaf salad they gave us, you can kinda almost forget it's in there and manage to get it down. Well, turns out everyone at the table (mom, uncle, aunt) have figured out that strategy and we demolish the lettuce platter and have to ask for more.

There are still a hella lot of those pieces on the bbq grill (who knew 3 or 4 of those suckers could yield so much punishment). So I finally admit, I just can't eat anymore. I'm very careful to explain that it's not the taste (not entirely true) but the texture that I'm struggling with. And everyone pretty much admits they have had enough and don't really like it either . Except my uncle. But he's too full to eat anymore. We all kind of laugh and try to pawn off the remainging pieces to each other by wrapping them and feeding them to each other. My cousin kinda gets the raw end of this deal bc he can't decline when offered from an elder (and he's the youngest). They tell me that it's supposed to be good for men. and it's good for some Korean word that I don't understand. So i ask my cousin and he kind of struggles to find the word and so I ask him, "Does it have to do with sex?" and he nods vigorously in agreement. And says the word, "Stamina". But only for men. Figures Asians would pay a butt load of m0ney for something that tastes horrible as long as it has to do with sex and stamina. I appreciate with all my heart, that my uncle wanted to give me a new experience. And I can say I've tried it and I know people might really enjoy it because that restaurant was packed. But all I can say is, "Been there. Done that." and no need to revisit. I can honestly say, I never thought I'd see the day when I could say that the chicken feet were the best part of any meal!

I went to bed kinda hungry but knew I would make up for it today because I hung out with Larisa. We most def did some damage with all the snacks and popsicles and coffee drinks. We took the Seoul City Bus Tour and got to see some pretty cool places. You pay 10,000 won per peson and the bus goes to 27 stops around the city. You can get off and get back on as much as you want to from 9am to 7pm. Very good deal. Hits a lot of popular places without the hassle of trying to figure out the subway or the bus. We saw locations like the Korean War Memorial, Namsongol Traditional Village, and Changdeokgung palace. The great thing about Lar is that she pretty much site sees the way I do. We pretty much did every location we stopped at in 30 minutes and back on the bus to the next stop. No need to dillydally around. Just see it, take pictures, go. boom.

Our last stop was to the BCD tofu house in Seoul! I really wanted to go to be able to say I've been to the one in Korea since we go to the one in LA all the time (and if you're one of my eating buddies, you come with me too and quite regularly). It's off the Mapo subway stop from line 5. It's next the Best Western Hotel (formerly known as and still listed as the Holiday Inn on the BCD website). There was a moment where I thought we weren't going to find it, but we methodically scoured the streets around the hotel and found the familiar green and orange. They really advertise it as coming from LA. Since unlike many popular restaruant chains which originate in Korea and then go to LA, BCD originated in LA. They even put LA in front of BCD and they "borrow" the LA logo of the Dodgers I might add. But I was really excited to find it as Larisa can tell you bc when I saw the sign I pretty much yelled, "OH!" i mean yelled much to Larisa's embarrasment.

First impressions: menu is waaay smaller. They only have 4 kinds of soon tofu. They also have nangmyeun (cold buckwheat noodles) and you can get korean bbq grilled at your table. Larisa ordered the dumpling one, I got the sukhum (the mixed. the waitress told me it was the most popular). Not as spicy as I wanted it. Much spicier in LA. They don't ask you how spicy you want it (which I knew from the soon tofu place by my aunt's house). You can crack as many eggs as you want (bonus) since there is an entire bowl sitting there. When they first put it on the table, I noticed it smelled different. It had kind of slighty earthy smell to it. My first guess was that they added fermented soy paste? We took pictures of course and then I took my first bite. it was different. Good. Not what I expected which was for it to taste like the one in LA. I had heard that the owner still makes the seasoning for the soup in one location and sends out to all her branches. Apparently not the one in Korea tho. And there was this strange flavor I couldn't quite put my finger on. I kept eating and noticed my soon tofu was full of seafood which was great bc i always get the seafood one in LA and was disappointed when I didn't see it on the menu in Korea. But then Larisa points out that she has all the same seafood in hers except hers has dumplings too. hmmmm. so everyone has the same base? I dunno. The dumplings in the soon tofu are much better (although smaller) than the LA ones for sure. Still not sure what this strange flavor is and then I discover, tiny bits of meat that i can only describe as corned beef looking and tasting. Not enjoying it in my soon tofu bc it somehow is overpowering the flavor of the soup. I'm surprised that such a tiny amount of this meat can dominate the rest of the soon tofu. Normally a big fan of corned beef and corned beef hash, this stuff has me picking it out in an attempt to get rid of it. Only to find the flavor is embedded in my soup. A bit disappointing for me. Still really happy we found it. I can say I've been there. But I seriously expected it to be exactly like the one back home and it wasn't. The soon tofu place by aunt's house is even better than this one. Sadly. but that's the problem with expectations. you can't ever live up to them so it's better to go into it without any. but didn't work out that way for me.

Also, fewer banchan and no fish to name and devour ike in LA (my wifey Mike always names his grilled covina before consuming). Also, rice is still cooked in individual pots but scooped at prep table and brought to you. The crispy rice (noothongee) in hot water brought to you later, but there was no crispy rice so no crispy rice flavor. Really it was just rice in hot water.

This blog post is super long so if you made it this far, give yourself an A+ for perserverance.

Tomorrow, maybe hiking around Seoul and Namsang Tower and on Friday the DMZ (I know, Matt. If you're reading this you're probably really mad at me right now. I know I promised you I wouldn't go because of tensions running high, but there is absolutley NO mention of any tension here in Korea between N and S Korea. And I still assert that if something bad happens and the initial blast doesn't kill me, they will put my ass on a plane and send me home because I am an American with the attitude to prove it!) .

Night y'all. As my mom would say, "Bahlee jah!" Hurry up and go to sleep!

pics courtesy of my friend Larisa. I'm running out of space on my mom's 1GB memory card. (still mad about my own camera breaking)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26319571@N04/sets/72157624536243296/

Seoul Sista - Grandpa/Harabojee

2010-07-20T05:28:00.001-07:00

I have to warn you this blog entry marks the most emotional day I've had since I've gotten here.

today, my aunt, uncle, mom and cousin went to "she-guhl" or the country. sorta. I remember it being the country and it was, except in 27 years, freeways and major buildings and roads have sprung up around small patches of country living and farming. Admist the sprawling city, there can be found small areas where residents still live and farm the land. They live modestly without plumbing and when standing in those small areas, you feel like you're in the middle of no where. Except in the distance, you can hear the zoom of cars as they fly by on the mega freeway overhead. It's the most contradictory thing I've seen in Korea.

We went to visit my grandfather's grave. He owned land in Korea and he is buried on it. I have vague recollections of being a child and going to the country to visit. There is an old married couple who have lived and farmed the land since before I was born and continue to do so to this day. I remember being a child and taking the train to get there. And I remember sleeping at night in one of the rooms but being scared because it was too dark so the ajuma (the woman) would turn on the light in the central room for me. I remember her leaving out a thermos of water for us in case we got thirsty at night. I remember the bathroom outhouse. I remember the dirt roads. I remember being there with my grandpa and holding his hand as we walked from the train down the dirt road that led to the farmhouse. I remember when I was here at ten, my grandpa giving me money and telling me to take the neighborhood kids down to the local store and to buy them candy and snacks. At ten, and being raised in America, I was shocked to find the neighborhood store was little more than a shack. They had coke but it was on the shelves and no fridges. The local kids were just happy to have it. Warm or otherwise. They didn't have a lot. They lived a hard life.

When I was 16, my grandfather died in Korea. My mom and dad flew out for his funeral but my sister was away at college and they decided it would be better for me to stay home and not miss school. (little did they know I ditched the entire week they were gone so they might as well have taken me). I didn't get to go to his funeral and I've never been to his grave in the 21 years since he passed away. Until today. When my sister and I were very little. Babies, really. My mom and dad brought us to Korea to be raised by my grandparents while they worked in the states and saved up money. My sister was attached to my grandmother and i was attached to my grandfather. I've heard people tell me how attached I was to him. I don't need to hear the stories. I remember. I couldn't be away from him and cried whenever I couldn't go with him. I remember. When my parents came back to get both my sister and me, to bring us home to the States, they told me the whole way to the airport that my Grandpa was coming with us. And then I remember he didn't. I'm told my dad had to finally just lifted me up over his shoulder and carried me to the plane. I don't remember but my mom told me I cried for my grandpa the entire plane ride home.

I didn't come back to Korea until I was ten years old. The day I came back to Korea, I saw that my Grandfather had saved some of my toys that I had played with when I was here as a baby. He had kept those stuffed animals all that time and the day I got back to his house, we walked down together to the street and gave them to some of the neighborhood kids. He told me he didn't need them anymore since I was home. Trying to find his old house and finding it and the entire neighborhood demolished brought me to tears. I knew going to his grave would be very emotional for me today. It was. It still is as I sit here trying to write about it.

When my grandma died she was here with us in California. She died in LA and I know the thing that made her the saddest was that she wouldn't be buried next to my grandpa. I know she had hoped to be buried with him. It is very heartwrenching to think about how they are buried on different continents, worlds apart from each other. Before I left LA, I printed a picture of my grandma's headstone and grave. I brought it with me all the way from LA and I laid it next to my grandfather's grave. I thought that maybe in a way, they could sort of be together. My uncle didn't want to just leave the picture there. It would get rained on or perhaps the neighborhood kids would play with it. I, however, was adamant that the picture stay. So in the end, we burned the picture and left the ashes in the grass on my grandpa's grave. I took a picture of my grandpa's grave and will do the same for my grandma when I get back to LA. And as we were walking around my grandpa's land, I found a flat rock. I picked it up and put it in my purse. I asked my aunt later after we had left if she would help me write my grandpa's name on it. I'd like to take it home to LA and place it on my grandma's grave. It's my small way of bringing a piece of him back to her.

As is customary, we brought some dried snacks and placed them on my grandpa's grave. My uncle had also found a bottle of his favorite soju. I don't think they make that brand anymore, looking at the bottle brought back more memories of my grandpa. He drank at least one bottle of soju everyday. We also lit a cigarette for him and took turns pouring the soju on his grave. I thought it was ironic because if he had just smoked a litle less or drank a little less in his life, he might have lived a little longer.

We spent some time with the old couple who lives on the his land before we left. They were so happy to see me and remembered me by name. They couldn't believe I was already an adult and asked me if I remembered being here. I did. It made them happy. As we sat and talked to them, I realized how old they've gotten. It can't be an easy life to live a farming life. He was weathered and wrinkled and reminded me of my own grandfather. She couldn't walk anymore. They insisted on giving us some beans they had farmed and some red pepper flakes (goju gah ru) that they had grown and dried and ground themselves. It seemed like a crime to take the things they had grown when it was so obvious that it is becoming increasingly more difficult for them to provide for themselves. We had to insist that she stop pouring the red pepper flakes into the bag because the bag wouldn't tie anymore. I took some pictures of them as they were talking to us and as she was scooping the red pepper flakes. The color of the red pepper was a gorgeous orange red like I've never seen before. The lines on his face were deep and his skin was like leather. I looked at his hands and they were hands that had done much work. Her face was like a map of her life with all the wrinkles and her legs were bandaged up because of some medical condition she was battling. He, I noticed, was an expert fly catcher. Swatting and killing them as we talked. At one point, a fly landed on his wife's foot and he expertly swatted that one and killed it. She didn't even flinch.

It occured to me as we were sitting there, that I would probably never see this old couple alive in my lifetime ever again. And while not blood related to me, their lives have been a part of our lives since before I was born. They have lived on, worked, raised children on my grandfather's land. They have housed us and fed us when we came to visit and they seemed to me, the guardians of my grandfather's grave. It made me very sad. I knew when it was time to say goodbye to them, that I would probably cry.

Since I've come back to Korea, I unconsiously have been looking for memories of my grandfather. When he died, Korea became the place where my grandfather was. Especially after my grandmother came to live with us in the States a few years after he died. Because he was alive when I came back at age 10 and because I was so attached to him when I was a baby, almost all the memories I have of Korea always included my grandfather. The reason why I was so thrilled to have found the Jaws bar was because of the link it had to my grandfather and the last time I was in Korea because honestly, after the first one, it didn't taste as good to me as I'd remembered. Seeing the old couple and sort of realizing that they were probably the last existing, unchanged link back to my grandfather did bring me to tears. Korea has changed a lot since I was here last. It's pretty much unrecognizable. Even the old train station in the country I remember has been torn down and replaced by a brand new, modern one. As we were leaving my mom pointed to it and said, "That's the train station you used to come to with your grandfather to get here." And I looked at it and said, "no. it's not". Maybe the same location, but definitely not the same train station. I never got to say goodbye to my grandpa until today.

Goodbye Grandpa. I love you and I miss you a lot.

Seoul Sista - Namdemun redux

2010-07-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

So I got to hang out with Larisa today. Actually, let me re-phrase that. So I got to eat all day with Larisa. My mom, Larisa and I went to Namdemun. Larisa had never been and the times I'd gone before were super quick and not very fun. This time was totally different. First of all, the rain went away today and the day was humid and at times very hot but otherwise perfect. As long as it's not pouring rain, I'm happy!

We got to take our time and peruse all the goods. We even went into some of the buildings and were amazed at all the different things they have there. Truly can see why Koreans say, "If you can't find it at Namdemun, then it probably doesn't exsist." I got to do lots of shopping and as an added bonus, my mom is an expert haggler. We didn't buy one thing today (except for food) that she didn't either get at a lower price or she got them to give us extra. It was fascinating to see. Even tho some of the vendors acted crabby about it, there was an art and tradition we witnessed. The vendors sometimes act mifffed about it, but at the same time as they are complaining to you about cutting prices, they are bagging up your items. Truly enjoyable to watch the master at work. Believe me...My Mom is the MASTER. When she would sometimes try to haggle in America, I always found myself slightly embarrassed. But I can see that haggling and bargaining here in Korea is part of the culture of traditional markets.

We also got to eat a lot of amazing street food today. First we started off with bohp ki (burnt sugar candy). The vendor said it was 2 for chon (1,000 won) but somehow my mom got us 7 for 2,000 won). Then we had free popsicles from a skin care place (they give you free samples to come in and free ice cream when you come out.) Larisa got the corn ice cream (it's really good and even has corn kernels in it) and I had a pinapple popsicle. I think my mom had a red bean popsicle with chocolate on it but I'm not sure.

After about 40 minutes of shopping, we got some oden on sticks and dukbokki. We kept saying that we were just going to eat a little because it was lunch time. Well then directly after that, my mom took us to this famous dumpling (Korean mandoo) place. We walked right thru the production area and up into a serving tiny area that had only nine tables. The line for take out was out the door. The place is called Wang Mandoo (Or king dumpling). We ordered 4 spicy (they had regular or spicy) but I didn't think they were spicy at all. They also had noodles but we just wanted the mandoo. The outside was the perfect texture. Sometimes, the outside is too bready or doughy. It was the perfect combination of chewy and soft. The stuffing was really delicious. You could see a lot of ingredients were used to make up the juicy and savory stuffing.
We also got 15 to go. In case you were wondering.

While we were eating the mandoo, we decided that we pretty much had eaten lunch. I mean after the dukbokki, oden and the mandoo we were pretty full and decided we should head back home. We did a lot of walking and shopping today (according to Lar's fit bit, we walked around 7 miles today by the end our adventure). So we started to make our way out (also should mention Lar and I were totally lost and confused but my mom knew where we were the entire time. crazy.) Just as we were about to leave the namdemun area, we saw some vendor frying up some delicious looking fried things. They were like hoduk (tradional rice batter cakes filled with sweet red bean and fried in oil on a grill) AND they had a modern version that had vegetables and noodles stuffed into it (chap chae). The sweet one was 600 won and the savory one was 800 won. That's like less than 50 cents and less than 70 cents. There, of course, was a line. We were more than happy to get into it. We watched as three people worked this cart. One lady took the orders and the money. One woman shaped the dough, filled them with stuffing and laid them in the oil (they were round when she placed them on the grill). And a man moved them along and flattened them to shape them like fat pancakes and flipped them. We watched them and they never stopped their well practiced dance of selling and cooking. It was a constant assembly line. They sold them as fast as they could cook them and believe me they were fast. The three of us stood there sharing a sweet one and savory one. We couldn't decide on just one. The outside was hot and crispy and the inside doughy and chewy. At first I thought the sweet one was my favorite. But then I ate the savory one and that one way my favorite. Finally, Larisa and I decided that our "favorite" one depended on which one you were holding in your hand and eating. They were so good, my mom got in line again and bought some to take home to my aunt and cousin.

Before we got to our bus stop, we stopped for some fresh fruit. A woman had giant spears of pineapple, honeydew/canteloupe (we couldn't decide which it was) and watermelon with a single chopstick speared thru them on ice for 1,000 won each. A total deal and sooooo refreshing on a hot day. All three of us got pineapple. My spear was the largest ;) Pineapple is my favorite. Especially fresh, ripe pineapple. But oh no. we weren't done yet.
As we were aaaalmost to the bus, we stopped to buy some hodu gwaja (walnut cookies) which are a very traditional dessert in Korea. They are like small cake like creations about the size of a ping pong that are shaped like walnuts and are filled with sweet red bean and a walnut on the inside. Larisa had never had any so my mom bought her a bag.

The ladies who worked there at first thought my mom didn't speak Korean bc she was talking to Larisa in English. They were surprised when she turned to them and ordered in Korean. They laughed and told her that they thought she didn't speak Korean at first and asked why she didn't speak Korean in the first place. So my mom smiled at them and said, while pointing at Larisa, "My daughter doesn't speak Korean." Then she pointed at me and said, "I had one daughter in Korea" and then pointed at Larisa and said, "And then I had another daughter in America." The ladies were so funny and really seemed to enjoy this bit of information. For those of you who don't know Larisa, she is half Japanese, half white. So these ladies thought my mom had two husbands. One Korean one. And then one white one. soooo funny. We got a huge kick out of that one as did they. For different reasons of course. They because it was a bit of titillating information and we because we were enjoying their reactions.

We got home (with Larisa eating walnut cookies on the bus) and proceeded to eat more dumplings when we got home and somehow while we were eating (again!), it was decided that my aunt would make us (and Larisa who's never had one) kimchee pancakes. and we ate it all and drank makkoli or maegkolli (spelled many different ways). We figured it was like 530 and we'd have a few hours until my uncle got home before dinner. erh, wrong! He came home at like 630. So we went out and ate dinner! I'd like to say we had a modest meal of rice gruel and perhaps some vegetables. But no. we went to that "full set table" restaurant where they slide the fully set table onto the top of the table. And pretty much demolished everything. (see pics from Larisa's twitter).

AND THEN, we had coldstone's ice cream. In all fairness, we all shared one.......

Because we were on our way to eat paht been su (shaved ice)! !!! I know! I know! we're gluttons! but turns out the last time for the bus for Larisa to catch was fast approaching and she had to go. But no joke. we were going for the shaved ice. There's always tomorrow...Is there something wrong with me if my mind is wandering to the left over mandoo in the fridge right now?

hey. we walked 7 miles today (if anybody mentions that 7 miles doesn't even burn 2,000 calories, I might just have to stop being friends with u).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26319571@N04/sets/72157624536243296/

Seoul Sista - I guess bitch translates internationally

2010-07-18T05:02:00.000-07:00

Did some shopping today at the mall. I wasn't really into it because it was just like being in America. It felt like I was at South Coast Plaza or Century City. Except everytime I stopped to look at something, either my aunt or a sales lady were eagerly looking at me and asking me if I wanted to buy said item. I miss solo shopping. seriously. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to shopping at my local grocery store and looking at all the items I want to without having someone either trying to shove a sample at me or launching into a rehearsed speech about tofu or skin cream. But I got lots of excercise and got to experience mall shopping Korean style. Koreans are very much into name brands. Well at least Koreans in major cities like Seoul. ALL the top designers are represented at the mall. clothing, make up, you name it. Gucci, Coach, Armani, Vera Wang, Guess, LV, Prada, and on and on. I was soooo not interested. But it gave me an insight into the consumer habits of big city Koreans and I could see that capitalism is booming here.

I've realized that the Korean food I've been eating is very inexpensive and you get a lot of bang for your buck. Anything that's imported shoots up in price. For instance, a full Korean meal including alcohol generally about ten american dollars per person. 2 imported Heinekein beers about ten american dollars. A huge seafood pancake, spicy octopus stir fry made into fried rice, 4 bottles of makkoli and waaaay enough food for 5 people comes to 40,000 won. Coldstones for 5 people (all single scoops) comes out to 18,500 won. 6 original bead papas cream puffs were 14,000 won. The Korean food is a way better deal and luckily pretty much all I've been interested in while here visiting.

Today on the way home after a day of shopping, I had my first really unpleasant encounter with a Korean person. My aunt wanted to buy me ice cream on the way home and she insisted that we stop at Baskin Robbins. It had actually stopped raining today and it was very warm and humid so I thought it would be a great idea. The store was a little crowded but not too much and we only waited a few minutes. I walked up and looked at the flavors and saw they didn't actually have pralines and cream (my usual BR pick), but they had something called "Caramel Parline cheesecake" which looked exactly like pralines and cream. The flavors were listed on little printed tags like they have at American BR's. Except they are written (English phonetically) in Korean and then in English underneath. My aunt was ordering for herself and my cousin as I was looking for my flavor. She turned to me to ask me what I wanted and I pointed at the one I had chosen. It seemed easier than for me to say the flavor bc I say it the westernized way and it always causes confusion. She was kind of far away and reading the print from far away was difficult for her so she just pointed to the one I was pointing at and the guy who was helping her copped major attitude at her and said rudely, "Can you tell me which one you want by name?" I don't know if maybe that doesn't sound rude in writing, but the way he said it in Korean and the attitude he said it with was very obvious and I snapped. He was clearly patronizing to my aunt and treating her like she was stupid. So I looked right at him and firmly said, "CARAMEL PRALINE CHEESECAKE, DICK (I couldn't stop myself on that last word)". I don't say Western words in a koreanized way like everyone else does here even tho it would make things easier. (I don't know why. I just don't feel like doing it. It sounds stupid to me when I hear myself saying it) They never understand what I'm saying when I say it that way and I purposely said it that wayto him bc I knew he wouldn't get it. Koreans would have said "cara-mel pray-lean-uh jeez uh cak-uh". He looked blank and confused. So I sharply said in Korean, "I said the name like you asked" and then I pointed at the flavor and in Korean I said maybe a little too harshly, "this one in the front." Well I guess Bitch translates internationally because he dropped the attitude and scooped my ice cream and when he handed it to me, he used both hands. I think he just wanted to get me the hell out of there. My aunt paid for our ice cream and we went to where my uncle and mom were waiting. My mom noticed that my scoop was way larger than theirs and my aunt and I looked at each other and started laughing.

I can't say that if someone were to visit LA for 6 weeks, they would have no bad experiences or run ins with folks with attitude. So I feel like, to be here this long and to only just now have run into someone with attitude is pretty good odds compared to what someone might find in LA. And I'm not talking about the jostling and the sometimes getting pushed aside by older folks while getting on the bus. Dan, Brooke and I were just talking about that over dinner last night, and I really feel like it's a cultural thing here in Korea. Especially with the older generation. They are just scrappy like that. Maybe it has to do with growing up and experiencing the Korean War. It doesn't make me mad. I mean, it's not pleasant but I recognize there's no malice involved. It's just the way it is. It's almost very matter of fact. But I can't stand attitude and the ice cream dude's was totally uncalled for. Especially because it was directed at my aunt and as American and Westernized as I am, even I recognize that it was completely unacceptable for him to disrespect my aunt who is clearly his elder.

For dinner tonight: Sulangtang (boiled beef soup). Pretty good. Han Baht in LA is better. But it could also be my conclusion because their cubed kimchee (gak too gee) was terrible. and han baht has it going on. You have to have good gak too gee with sulangtang. It's like missing one chopstick or leaving the frosting off a cupcake. You can make do, I guess, but it's just not the same as having both.

Things that have been freaking me out:

My aunt and uncle live in a really nice apartment complex. they have fountains and playgrounds for kids and walking trails and exercise locations and benches under trees for relaxing. you get the picture. Well they also have intercom systems that are video linked so you can see who's downstairs ringing your apartment. Well that same system also can tell you the weather, traffic, link you to the yellow pages and a ton of other stuff. The freaky part is, once or twice a day in the late morning, the system will play this happy music just before a slightly over peppy and almost robotic like female voice will make apartment announcements. Like, please remember to separate your trash. or this is a reminder to not feed birds around the complex. Today's message started out with, "with a happy heart please remember to..." and whatever they day's annoucement was. It's starting to feak me out the more and more I hear them. It reminds me of the Stepford Wives. I mean seriously. it's freaking wierd isn't it? it's like PA announcements during homeroom. except in your HOME!!

Funny story:
My aunt's nephew came to visit (as I mentioned in previous post) and they kept telling me for days that Hyundae (that's his name. yes. like the car) was coming to visit. And that we met when I was here at age ten. I couldn't for the life of me remember meeting a girl around my age when I was here before so I just kind of shrugged it off. Well, I had been thinking that Hyundae was a girl. In my mind, Hyundae-like the car-was a girl's name like the way Mercedes (I know. I know.) back home is a girl's name. I didn't catch on until just before he came that Hyundae was a guy! Pretty freakin funny. And then I did remember who he was because we had hung out with my aunt's sisters and their kids when I was here at ten and I remember one of her nephews being around my age. When I met Brooke and Dan and Shira last night, my mom was there and I was telling them in English my mistake of assuming Hyundae was a girl and why I thought that and my mom was cracking up!

Cute Story:
My mom took Dan, Brooke, Shira and I out for dinner last night but only stayed a little bit to see us settled bc she had to go meet my aunt, uncle, cousin and Hyundae for dinner at another restaurant (they wanted hwae and I wasn't in the mood for raw fish and for all the things Brooke has tried in Korea, I know raw fish is not her favorite). She, of course, kept telling us to order more, drink more. Very korean mom thing. She had wanted to order a "everything fried plate" (literally a few of all the fried things they serve like a grand appetizer platter) but was told that they didn't start serving that until 630p and I think it was only like 530p. Well she left for her dinner (which was at a place just across the way from where we were eating) and then just after 630, she sent my cousin over to tell me that she was trying to call me (I didn't hear the phone) and when I called her back, she basically just wanted to tell me that it was after 630pm and we could order the "everything fried plate". soo cute! too bad we were already stuffed from all the yummy food we already had eaten.

oh and if anybody was curious, the caramel praline cheesecake ice cream from the Korean BR is totally Pralines n Cream like back home.

Seoul Sista - Dragging today

2010-07-17T17:49:00.000-07:00

So this really will be a short post. I have a wee bit of a hangover headache. Last night Dan, Brooke and Shira met me out here in Bundang (Thanks for coming out!). We had a really wonderful time and a great dinner. We walked around and I showed them a little of Bundang. It is slower paced here and a nice break from the overbustle of Seoul.

after dinner, we walked the "rodeo drive" of Bundang and made our way to Coldstones. We were all craving something sweet and Shira had never had it before. Dan pointed out the tip jar that said, "We sing for tip." And I wanted to give Shira the full Coldstone's experience. So I threw in a tip...but no song. And to make matters worse, I had my first money snafu last night. I accidently tipped them 10,000 won instead of 1,000 won. I didn't realize the mistake until I got home and counted my change. And that combined with a vague recollection of Brooke saying something to me about ten dollars confirms I waaaay over tipped...for no song. oh well. It was still a great time. (Brooke, how was that cupcake?)

Got home. My aunt's nephew was visiting. They wanted to drink. We did. Hence the headache and general malaise.

we're off to get soon tofu. nothing like hot and spicy to help chase a hangover away.

Seoul Sista - Which way to the ark?

2010-07-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

Remember when I blogged that it rains really hard for ten minutes and then stops? Yeah. It's not doing that anymore. It's been raining pretty much non-stop since late morning. And between bouts of pretty good rain, the skies rip open and pour out flood porportional rain. In fact, Larisa (my friend who flew in today-Hi Lar!) tells me that the plane actually circled over the airport for almost 25 minutes waiting for the rain to ease up so they could land. The funniest thing she said to me today when I got to where she's staying was, " I waited ten minutes and the rain didn't stop." Obviously my blog was misleading. sorry!!!

Well, like I've said before, Koreans don't stay home just because it rains. So out I went to meet Larisa in Anyang. I should mention that Larisa and I had decided we would meet and go to lunch, but my aunt insisted that I eat lunch....before going out for lunch. So after a yummy lunch of tuna kimbap, sundae and spicy kimchee ramen, I armed myself with my umbrella and braved the rain. I also had another detailed map with stops, times and locations written in both Korean and English drawn up by my caring cousin and I made my way to Anyang. From Bundang (in front of the Pho restaurant) I caught the 1303 bus to Indeogwon.

No...my aunt did NOT walk me to the bus and ask the driver to tell me when to get off....my cousin did. ;) Me going out on my own seems to cause a big ripple of worry and concern here. My aunt, uncle and cousin prepare for days before I actually venture out. They arm me with detailed written and verbal instructions and repeated reminders of what to do if I get lost. "Don't be scared to ask someone where to go." , "If worse comes to worse, call a taxi.", "If you don't know where you are, call me and I'll pick you up (still not sure how I'm suppossed to tell them where to get me if I'm lost...but I just vigorously agree and nod my head)." , and my all time favorite -"Don't stand next to any drunk men on the bus or subway." Today my aunt said if it's raining too hard when you're done, then you should just stay over at where Larisa is staying. My uncle looked like he was gonna have a heart attack. He turned kinda pale and kept shaking his head no. I forget that I may be an old, scrappy and self-sufficient Angelino back home (well. mostly. LOL) but here in Korea, I'm a unmarried woman and therefore need to be protected.

So I got on the bus and sat behind the driver and this time, a older woman had gotten on the bus at the same time as me and overheard my cousin asking the driver to tell me when to get off. And she tapped my shoulder and said (in Korean), "You can just get off when I get off because we're going to the same stop." And not only did she make sure I got off the right stop, but she crossed the street with me while watching out that I didn't get hit by any crazy Korean drivers, showed me where to catch the return bus home and she walked with me to the subway which was just a few feet away and walked me to my right subway entrance towards Pyeongchang and said to me "Jahl ganung go boh gu galk gae", which roughly translated is something like, "I'm going to wait to watch you go the right way before I go." I thanked her profusely and insisted that she had already done too much. I bowed low and told her how much I appreciated her care and concern. Just another example of how warm some Koreans can be.

I got on the subway and took the number 4 (blue) line subway and got off on the next stop which is Pyeongchon. Larisa is staying just across the street from the number 2 exit. I can't tell you how happy I was to see her. I still can't believe we're in Korea together!! We walked around and got lunch at this cute Korean restaurant. It had pictures of the food along with the korean words and that helped me pick the place. Everyone seemed to be napping when we got there. It was down time and things don't get busy until night time usually so the staff were just napping in the booths and in a dark area behind a staw curtain. but our waitress was very kind and didn't seem to mind we were cutting into her siesta. we ordered kimchee chigae and dwenjang chigae. We couldn't decide which one was better. They were both that good. The dwenjang chigae was savory and mellow with just enough spice. And the Kimchee chigae was spicy and sharp and I was pleased to see they used the right kind of kimchee (more fermented and not too new). We sat there for a long time and ate. Our grand total can to 10,000 won. Less than 5 bucks for each of us.

The great thing about Larisa (and bad thing too) is that we both like to eat. (My God, it's monster thundering too with the pouring rain. The last crack of thunder made me jump) so after we ate, we agreed that we needed to get some snacks pronto. So we made our way to a nearby 7-11 and I got an ice cream bar (chocolate with coffee ice cream) and Larisa got an iced coffee (I tried to warn her how sweet they are but she says she likes it that way) and some chips. Then we ventured into the E-Mart. My first time in one. It's kind of like a walmart. with a grocery store and a food court. (oh damn. I just realized we were going to split a burger from Lotteria, Lar! and we never got around to it). It's 3 levels and we had fun walking around but the best times to be had were in the market part. We ate a bunch of samples. Seafood soup, yogurt, bacon, bananas, juice, lots of bakery goods...and yes, we did that right after lunch. whut?

We bought soboro bread (the sweet breads we get at the Galleria, Jon) with garlic butter on it (I know that may sound wierd, but I'm a total fan of the sweet/savory combo and so is Lar, apparently :) Bread, Chips, chips, juice and water. So basically carbs, carbs, carbs. Oh and Larisa got yogurt. whut? The yogurt made it healthy. Then we went back to where Larisa is staying and after taking pictures of our loot (Lar, don't forget to let me know when you post the pics) we proceeded to sample everything. Larisa got a headache not too long after. I'm sure it's the traveling and being tired. I'm also PRETTY sure it was a sugar rush from the iced coffee. I made her check to make sure her teeth were still intact. The funniest thing I saw at the market today was these bags of prunes. Apparently a big ticket item, because each little bag had theft prevention sensors attached to them. You know. Like the ones they have at department stores on clothes? go figure.

that's about it. I left Larisa to bathe and after showing her which was the shampoo and which was the conditioner (phonetically written English in Korean), I ventured back out into the rain and caught the subway and the bus back home with no problems. I actually got a seat on this bus. Sometimes I have to stand on the way back. Almost missed my stop because I was sure they called my stop but said it was NEXT. But saw the Pho restaurant and jumped off in time. (Rest assured, I could have gotten off at the next stop too. My cousin always gives me back up plans)

Larisa and I checked the weather and it says rain for the next week. Great. But I told Larisa that the rain doesn't stop Koreans so hell or high water, we will go out, eat and have fun. The rain does cause a bit of a shoe dilema for me. I have flip flops, converse sneakers and some platform roxy sandals. The flip flops are convenient because even tho my feet get wet from walking in the rain, they dry quicky on the bus, subway, etc. However, I'm in danger of eating shit big time from the lack of traction. I've had a few slide a few inches with my arms thrown out moments already. Sneakers would offer me better traction and would prevent face plant. However, the rain is so bad and puddles so HUGE that they would get soaked instantly and I would have wet shoes and socks all day. The roxy platforms offer better traction than the flip flops and also allows for drying out between walking, but I'm scared I'm gonna break an ankle with all the uneven cobble. I guess I'll just play it be ear. Really, if I could just walk around in a wetsuit with footies, that would solve my dilema. But I didn't pack that.

Dinner tomorrow night with Dan and Brooke (and Shira, too?). Maybe Larisa and her friend Peter if they don't have plans. They are coming here to Bundang and I'm thinking maybe some soon tofu or maybe straight to the little makkoli place for drinks. they have good food there too. Or maybe soon tofu first, then walking around if it's not pouring too much and then dinner #2 at the makkoli place. who knows? The possibilities are endless.

good night!

Seoul Sista - Bundang Seoul University Hospital

2010-07-14T04:16:00.000-07:00

I haven't really blogged about what's happening to my uncle because it's his medical issue and Koreans tend to be very private. He is diabetic and today he underwent eye surgery because he has diabetic retinopathy. The surgery went well and we'll know in a few days if his eyesight will return.

But I only mention this because it explains why I was at the hospital today. He was admitted last night and my aunt stayed with him over night. Me, my cousin, my mom and her childhood friend went to the hospital around 11 am this morning. I thought it was interesting that they couldn't give a surgery time because they were just going to try and fit him in today because all the surgery slots were filled and are filled for months. I guess you have to wait a long time unless your condition is urgent. Or at least that's the way it seemed to me. It didn't seem appropriate for me to ask about the Health care system in Korea when the main concern was around my uncle getting surgery today. The hospital looks the same as any hospital in America would look. It was clean and fairly new. He was in a double room but I noticed that most of the rooms had 5 beds. FIVE. holy cow. You know how sometimes non-Asians say that asians all look alike? Well sometimes that happens to me too. I couldn't tell any of the nurses apart. They all had the same exact hair style and they all looked like one another. They all speak very softly and politely. (I know, I know. I'm a bad Korean) So when my mom is telling me to go ask my uncle's nurse for something, she thinks I'm not doing it because I'm being lazy, but really it's because I don't know which one she is!

Each hospital bed also had a low hard cot next to it. I'm thinking it's because family members spend the night or maybe for folks to sit on. I'm not sure. I don't mean to be flippant about today's events but as far as hospital visits and waiting around all day for him to get into surgery and then get out of surgery goes, it was fairly easy and almost vacation like. While we were waiting for him to be notified about being taken down for surgery, my aunt and the rest of us went down to eat lunch. I have to say my expectations were low since all my experiences of eating at hospital cafeterias have been bad; the food has been pretty horrendous. Suprisingly, it was better then some of the Korean food I've eaten while on tour. It was a full food court like they have in malls. Menus, plastic replicas of the different kinds of dishes in a glass case and one place to order. then your number rings at whatever location you ordered food from. you go and get it. I was torn between the kimchee fried rice and beef katsu. I had the beef tonkatsu (or katsu) and my mom and her friend had nakji dupbap chalpan (stir fried spicy octopus with rice in a skillet) and my aunt and cousin had jambong (spicy seafood noodles). the hospital food in America pretty much blows. let's be honest. Korea has it going on. seriously. My katsu was super crispy and tender. and the panko breadcrumbs were generoulsy coated on my katsu. The cabbage salad it came with was yummy and the miso soup was not too salty and nice and hot. I tried a bite of everyone else's food and it was all pretty good.

In addition to the food court, there was also a coffee shop, a bakery, a sit down restaurant, and a convenient store. Apparently the bakery is known for it's specialty breads and my aunt and I went there later in the day when we were waiting for my uncle to get out of surgery. I picked the prettiest little bun that looked like a hot cross bun and inside it was potato salad with bacon. Hello! Bacon! I started to rip it in half before I remembered to take a pic of it so the pic shows where I started to tear it. But you get the idea. It was really delicious. In addition the regular Korean bakery fare, they also had pizza bread and some sort of mini baguette looking thing with an entire slice of bacon on it. of course I took pics of them.

When they took my uncle down for surgery, there was another delay because the patient before him had some complications so he ended up waiting two more hours before he could go in. Me and my mom's friend waited in the room while everyone else went to the surgery waiting room. She and I took turns taking naps on the low, hard cot. So even tho we were there all day, it wasn't so bad because 1) I got to eat good food 2.) I got to take a nap 3.) it was nice and air conditioned in there. All in all, not a bad deal for waiting at the hospital all day.

We ate dinner at the hospital restaurant. I had sulangtang (beef broth soup and Jon it was pretty good. almost as good as the one we go to in LA). I feel kind of strange blogging about my food experience today when today was all about being at the hospital to support my uncle, but it just kind of turned out that way. Korea just is full of places that have good food. even in the places I least expected.

and I've mentioned the packed elevator at costco. well, it happened again today at the hospital. People pack in like sardines, man. Especially when the elevator is kind of slow, like at costco and the hospital. Well slow because there are so many people getting on and off at all the floors and people get tired of waiting so when it comes, they get it. Hell or high water. They get in. After visiting the bakery with my aunt, I had gotten an ice cream bar and was eating it when we got on the elevator. The elevator got so packed on the way up, that I couldn't even eat my ice cream bar. my arms were stuck against me like a mummy. In fact, if the dude next to me wanted to, he could have just turned his head to take a bite of my ice cream. thankfully, he did not. I might have had to hurt him. I used to complain about the elevator in Ackerman Union getting really full but that is nothing compared to the way Korean folks can pack an elevator. My aunt says it's like kongnamul (beansprouts). When you dump them out of the bag, they are all stuck and intertwined from being smashed together. Gives a entirely new twist to the concept of "vegging out".

It's been raining here again but the rain is funny in this part of Korea. The southern part seems to get torrents of rain, days at a time. Here, we get like torrential rain for ten minutes and then it goes away. Last night as I was typing my blog, it sounded like someone had turned on all the showers in Korea at the same time... for ten minutes. Then this morning, it was sunny and hot all day. except the humidity has been high bc of the rain (it had been really nice last week. low humidity) and then at the hospital just before my uncle got out of surgery, it rained buckets....for ten minutes. I carry an umbrella around because you never know when it will rain...for ten minutes. :)

Seoul Sista - PC Bahng, faxing and pizza!

2010-07-13T05:03:00.000-07:00

I found myself at a PC Bahng (or PC room) tonight. They are all over the place in Korea. Even when we were in the rural parts of Korea on our tour, I saw signs for PC Bahngs. My cousin tells me that even tho Koreans may have computers at home, they still go to these PC rooms to play games and sometimes stay out all night. He told me that many times when he was in high school, he got in big trouble for staying out all night at a PC Bahng. Not really someplace I thought I'd go while in Korea since I have my own laptop and wifi where I'm staying and don't have any predisposition to spending hours playing video games, but today, I got a job offer! Somehow, I managed to convince some folks in LA that I was capable of teaching a group of students and not totally damage them. I'm still a little bit in shock about getting offered a teaching position but I'm so happy and relieved and scared shitless all at the same time. But I've found that in my life, when I'm happy and scared about something at the same time, usually they end up being the best experiences of my life so onward I go and hopefully don't permanantly damage my students as I figure things out about running my first year classroom.

So after speaking to the school at 130am my time (930 am LA time), I got emailed an offer letter. I don't have access to a printer or fax machine here in Korea so my cousin agreed to take me to a PC Bahng later. There was one just about 7 minutes walking distance from where I'm staying and I wasn't there very long but I got a good chuckle out of the place. It was competely packed. We got there around 730 pm Korea time and there was not one empty seat. The front was fully stocked with candy and chips (at first glance, it looked like we walked into like a 7-11 store) and from what I could tell, each computer station was occupied by a young Korean male probably in middle school to high school. Each cube also had a bell (like they have at Korean restaurants in Ktown, those of you who've gone on Korean food forays with me will know what I'm talking about.) My cousin informs you can order drinks and ramen and the cup ramen is only 1000 won (less than a buck) and they bring it to you like a restaurant. Everyone seemed to be playing a war fighting game and I wondered about the effect of video violence on the Korean male youth poluation (hmmmm. maybe a possible PhD topic?). I got a huge kick out of seeing the PC bahng. My cousin asked me if we had PC bahngs back home in LA. We do. excpet they are called Internet Cafes and I don't really know if the same type of crowd goes to them bc I've never really been to one. I printed my offer letter and we paid for the copies and left to go fax my letter to the school.

I thought we'd go to like a fedex/kinko's type place and we did. sorta. It was more like a very small office depot. But like a family owned one. That's the way it seemed to me but my cousin says it's a chain store. When we walked there, I at first thought it was a convenient mart or pharmacy but when we walked in, I saw office supplies and rows of pens and post its. They faxed my signed letter of intent and it only cost 1000 won. The funny part was that they gave no confirmation print out. The clerk simply told me to stand there and listen for the "beeeep". and that would be my confirmation! I wanted to laugh out loud, but didn't for fear of missing the beep! We made sure to ask for the reciept in case the fax didn't go thru, especially since it took them like 3 tries to make it work so I'm not superconfident that "listening for the beep" is enough confirmation for me.

Oh and we stopped at a different Dunkin Donuts and I was right, they have an entire menu of blended coffee drinks and smoothie type drinks that run about 3,600 to 4,500 won so most of their business must be from drinks and not donuts. although their donuts looked really yummy at this location and they even had donut holes. Perhaps the one I stopped at just didn't have a lot of variety or it was late at night so the donuts had been sitting there all day. I wasn't interested in trying another bad donut or getting insta-heartburn, but I did get what's called a "tropical cool-ada" and so did my cousin and it was pretty good. except it was super sweet and I couldn't finish it. Koreans seems to like their drinks super sweet which I find ironic bc their cakes have very little sugar. In fact, Jon once insisted that we buy this cake from a Korean bakery in LA bc it looked so good (korean bakery cakes are like works of art). I tried to warn him that Korean cakes aren't very good (I know Larisa is probably rolling her eyes right now and yes some people like them but I just like sugar in my desserts), but he fell for the "it looks really pretty" trick and we brought one home. I think we paid almost 30 dollars for something like a six inch round cake and Jon's reaction was utter surprise and disbelief when he took his first bite and found that Koreans use hardly any sugar in their cakes. As beautiful as that little cake was, it found it's way into our garbage. But back to my point, which is, Koreans don't eat sweet cakes but they put a hella lot of sugar in their drinks. I've yet to find a can of "juice" that doesn't make me more thirsty or a chiller type drink that doesn't cause my blood sugar to spike dangerously. while on the whirlwind tour thru Korea, one of our travel mates made me taste her "coffee" that she had gotten after dinner. I use quotes because really it was more like hot sugar syrup with a hint of coffee flavor. I told her if she drank that, she'd probably fall into a diabetic coma or at the very least, her teeth would fall out. She wisely decided to throw it in the trash. Come to think of it, we should have saved it so we could bake a cake with it later.

I almost forgot! I tried my first Korean pizza tonight. We ordered delivery from a place called Pizza Etang. My aunt wanted me to try Korean pizza and after a long debate on where they should order from, my aunt and cousin decided to order from Pizza Etang. The contestants were Dominos and Pizza School. Dominos fell out of the running since we have Dominos pizza back in LA and Pizza School fell out because it's cheaper more geared toward the younger school generation of pizza fans. They tell me that where we got pizza from is more the higher end of pizza in Korea. We ordered two pizzas because I guess you get one free with your order but i'm not sure that is really what happens because the total came to around 34,000 won which is around 30 bucks. I thought that was kind of pricey for pizza but I kept an open mind. There were all sorts of decisions to make in terms of what kind and what toppings and what kind of crust. I just let my aunt and cousin hash it out because it's impossible to make decisions on stuff like that when you have no idea what you'll get. I did request thin crust tho so we got one thing crust "sweet potato" pizza and one medium crust with cheese stuffed crust that was a seafood (or haemyul) pizza. They were delivered within 30 minutes (there are a ton of delivery scooters around Korea). and they were roughly medium in size. they looked like works of art. I wasn't super surprised having gone to Mr. Pizza in ktown (mr. Pizza originated in Korea and they are all over Korea too). I like the thin crust "potato" pizza with slices of what I think were ham or chicken (it was hard to tell) and quartered sweet potatoes. I like the toppings but I like that super thin crust even more. The seafood one not so much. They used a white sauce on it and the crust was just super doughy and it really only had shrimp and crabmeat (crab with a "k" that is). I think when I heard haemyul, I was thinking shrimp and octopus and clams and spicy spicy spicy! they say that different places have different seafood pizzas but I'm not sure I wanna eat anymore pizza while I'm here. I'm not a huge pizza fan anyways. And if I do eat pizza, i like thin crust with just sauce and cheese. Plus I felt really lethargic after eating that pizza which confirms that eating all the processed flour clogs up your body. But I am grateful for the experience of "pizza in Korea". I'm also really touched by the fact that my aunt and cousin really want me to experience as much as I can while I'm here. It can't be easy for them to have us around for so long but they don't ever give the slightest hint that we are anything but a joy to have around.

lastly, a huge shout out to my sister, her friends over in the Compton Court house and anybody else she may have roped into reading this blog.
that's about it for now...

oh and...I got a JOB!!! holy cow.

Seoul Sista- the afternoon market experience

2010-07-12T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I wrote that I thought I was getting used to things in Korea bc I was finding less and less strange things to write about.

Boy. Was I wrong. This afternoon we went to the grocery store. I already find it very strange because every "station" has a live representative to give you samples and to "sell" you their item. I find it very uncomfortable especially because I just want to browse quietly and see what everything is because I've never seen it before. But if you approach their goods, they try to sell you or give you a sample and it's kind of difficult to just be a casual eye shopper. I don't know if Koreans just ignore them or what, but I find it difficult to do that. It makes me feel rude so I do the little "asian wave" and shake my head with a silly little grin to show that I appreciate their efforts but am not interested. It just gets old tho after the first 50 times.

And today! Oh Boy. if you come in the late afternoon, there's this big push to sell some of the cooked items. I've seen it before and blogged about it, but today I actually took my hands and covered my ears for a moment to try and gain some clarity. I couldn't even hear myself think! It was insanity. I really wish I had brought my SD card reader so I could upload the short video clip I took. It sounds like a freakin war zone! At first I found myself getting confused and irritated because I couldn't even hear what my mom or aunt were asking me but then, I just burst out laughing. It really is something truly remarkable that you have to stand in the middle of the store and experience.

And Spam, let me count the ways:
mild spam
garlic spam
lite spam
cheese spam
regular spam
half cans
full cans
super costco size cans

I'm getting a kick out of all the different kinds of spam they have in korea. I, personally, love spam. I know there are folks out there who don't like it or won't even try it. If you and I are friends and you don't like spam, you should probably continue to hide this fact from me. :) All I know is I can make some foods taste spamtastic wicked using spam and I refuse to give it up. I've been on a natural, non-processed food kick lately and I think spam is a bit like crack in a can because I can't kick the spam habit.

anyong!

Seoul Sista - Dinner experience

2010-07-11T22:31:00.000-07:00

So yesterday my Mom's friend took us to dinner. It was, of course, like all the cuisine out here nothing short of amazing. It was actually very simple food and the restaurant has apparently gotten a lot of press lately for their healthy cuisine. What made this place totally stand out for me was the way they serve each table.

A few nights ago, I blogged about how Dan, Brooke, Mike, Shira and I had gone to a small bbq place that took the table away to clear it. Well at this place, the bring the table to you fully set. I've never seen anything like it before. When we got there, it looked like a typical restaurant and the five of us and another party of three walked in at the same time. the other party sat behind us so I didn't notice what was going on but when I turned to look at them, the entire table was set and they were eating already. My first thought was that the servers were speedy fast bc setting a Korean table is not easy. There are tons of side dishes to bring out and bowls and rice, etc. I wondered how they managed to set that table behind us so quickly without my noticing. But then our food came out.

At first I thought they were just bringing our food on a rolling serving cart which is not untypical of Korea. But then as they got closer, I noticed the "cart" was beautifully set already. And I thought how weird it was that they would spend so much time on setting a cart. But then, they lifted the entire wooden top part and it slid right onto our table. Truly one of the most shingeehahn (happiest) thing I've seen at mealtime. It was sort of like a leaf extender for a dining room table except it was designed to slide right over the table we were already sitting at. And they set it according to how many people you have sitting at the table. I know I say "genius" alot in my blogs but truly ingenious!!

The food was simple in terms of the concept. We ate is basically a "fully set table" with rice cooked in individual stone pots, 20 side dishes (banchan), miso vegetable soup and grilled fish. The idea is to wrap your rice and delicious side dishes in leaves of lettuce, seaweed, cabbage and some other kinds of greens I don't know the Western names for along with a healthy helping of Korean miso. I finally realized that for the massive amounts of food I've been eating, I've not gained weight because the Korean traditional menu is fairly healthy. I haven't eaten anything processed or preserved and combined with the walking around, I can see why so many Koreans are slim. When I was growing up, my parents used to say, "Eat this namul (vegetable side dish) because it's good for your eyes." I used to think it was a old wives' tale but I'm realizing that Koreans also eat for their health. Certain vegetables and herbs are used because it cleanses the blood, lowers blood pressue and is good for lowering cholesterol. Now, while you won't find me drinking deer antler tea or eating bear gall bladder pills, I do believe that Asians are definitely onto something. Dinner came to 60,000 won and that works out to about 50 american buckaroos and roughly ten bucks a head. incredible when you think about the amount of food we got.

oh and btw, that kalgukso place I went with my mom? apparently it's one of the most popular places in Korea. It's called Myeongdong Gyoja and has been serving knife noodle soup and korean style mandoo for over 30 years. They stock is made from boiling chicken bones for over 6 hours. I had no idea but should have guessed by the massive line we waited in.

I'm not finding as many things to blog about in terms of first impressions and things like that but after being here for nearly a month, I think I'm starting to either get used to the things I see or maybe I'm turning into a true Korean.

Shout out to my June Bug and the rest of my friends and family. miss you guys!

Seoul Sista - Namdaemun and Han River

2010-07-10T17:54:00.000-07:00

Headed out yesterday for Namdaemun Shijang (market) which is the largest traditional market in the country and has been going strong since 1414. Vendors sell everything here from clothes to trinkets to food to bags and on and on. My mom and her friend stopped to do a little bra shopping and told me to pick some too. Well, they only go up to a C cup. that doesn't work for me and my mom's friend couldn't understand why I wouldn't look for any so I had to explain to her in Konglish (korean mixed English) that A was smallest and then show her that the largest they had was C cup. then I had to point to myself and say DD. and she would repeat, "D". After some pointing and more Konglish she finally got the idea that I was more than a D and we all had a good laugh over that. We got there during the day and mom tells me that the serious bargins happen for the night market which starts at night and goes until 4 am!!! But who wants to walk around in the dark when it's hard enough to navigate during the day.

We didn't walk around too long bc my mom and her friend were hungry so after only about 40 minutes of browsing we made our way to a famous kahl gook su place (literally translated Knife noodles). These noodles are made of flour and cut with a knife. Their not really my favorite but my mom loves them so we went. When we got there I was wondering what the hell everyone was waiting in line for and then I realized that's where we were going to have lunch! We finally got inside...only to find ANOTHER line. I had no idea. I've never seen Koreans line up for anything over here. I mean in LA, people line up for 2 hours for Pink's hotdogs, but real Angelino's know when to get there when there's no line. But according to the locals, this place ALWAYS has a line. Not only was there another line when we got it but the line split into two lines and you had to choose if you were going to go upstairs or downstairs. We opted for downstairs and got seated after about 15 minutes. The line moves fast. They must make money hand over fist in this place. They only have 4 items. Knife noodles, dumplings, spicy bibim nangmyun (mixed buckwheat noodles) and some green noodles in a creamy broth. You order and pay as soon as you sit down and boom! food hits the table. They come around refilling your kimchee and water and the place is very effieciently run. While we were in line for our table, my mom ran into a friend that lives in LA and is out in Korea helping her daughter who just had a baby. Craziness. She was leaving as we were waiting. The noodles were really good and the dumplings were even better (in my opinion but then again I'm not a kahl gook su fan).
I ate 6 out of the 10 dumplings that we got. I thought I was gonna pop.

Afterwards, we went to a little cafe lounge and I had to get a coffee. It was around 230p which is prime time sleepy time for me. I get super tired btwn 230 and 330 in the afternoon here bc it's about 1030-1130p back home. I mean like can't hardly keep my eyes open kind of tired. I took a pic of the cafe lounge bc I felt like I was on the set of a Korean drama. All Korean dramas have at least 10 scenes that are shot in a cafe. Jilted lovers, angry in laws, prospective dates and secret meetings to talk about children born out of wedlock are all depicted in cafe lounges over coffee or tea.

then my mom asked me if I wanted to either go see some king's tomb or ride a boat on the Han river. Um, not a hard choice for me since I'm getting kind of tired of seeing dead royal dudes. So we took a cab to Yeouido's Ferry Terminal. intestestingly enough, everytime we asked someone about how to get there (locals) they had vague directions but not first had knowledge. Even our cab driver who lived all his life in Seoul never rode the Han River tour or drove there. He said only tourists pretty much go. which I thought was interesting. I guess it's like that for me and various places in LA that only tourists go to. Like Hollywood and Vine or the Hollywood sign. I can see it but I don't stop there (unless I'm picking up my wifey Mike who lives practically under the Hollywood sign but even then I don't hardly glance at it).

It was 13,000 won for me to ride the Han river tour. and less for my mom and her friend since they are seniors. The total ride was about 70 minutes and we got to sit outside. here's where my lack of Korean sometimes screws me out of fun tidbits because they announce facts as you go down the river. apparently they mentioned something about the number of bridges that connect the north side and south side of the Han River but I missed that. Only about 15 minutes into the river tour did i realize that we were going under a hecka lot of bridges and only then did it occur to me that I could have counted. just for fun. I asked my mom how many bridges there were and she said, "didn't you hear the annoucement? there are like 30 something bridges." She couldn't remember the exact number but thinks it might be like 35 or 37? She also told me during the Korean war there was only one bridge and when North Korea invaded, many people died bc they couldn't get across to the other side of the river. The bridges were really cool. Some had pedestrian walkways, some had trains passing over them and one even shot water in a sort of water type show. They say the romantics come and take the night tour to see all the lights. I liked the day tour bc you could see the enormity of Seoul and the mega apartment complex jungle. I could also see Namsan tower (where we had gone a few days before). People were boating and skiing and wind sailing on the river too but I thought the water was yucky gross and even wigged out when we went under the bridge that spouts water bc it's water from the Han River. go figure.

You can take a round trip tour and buffet tour and we just took a one way trip from the ferry terminal in Yeouido to Ttukseom. A young Korean couple were sitting next to us and they fell asleep. Which makes me think that this is also a transportation option for some living in Seoul. Koreans fall asleep everywhere while taking public tranportation. On the bus, on the train, in cabs. It makes me wonder how they ever wake up to get off at their stops. (Although yesterday I did nod off on the bus while we were going to Namdaemun-but my mom and her friend were with me so I felt safe to do so).

When we got to our stop in Ttukseom, there was another ferry terminal and people could rent bikes here (and at the one we got on too) and some people were roller blading and it kinda reminded me of Santa Monica or Venice. Except there seems to be no open container law so people sit around drinking beer and eating snacks. We took the subway home from there and I had no problem helping my mom and friend figure out a route home or finding our transfer trains.

We got back to our nieghborhood and decided to stop for dinner before coming home. We had makkoli (of course) and this octopus stir fry except this one had baby octopus (came out cooked so don't think they were live when they threw them in) and bacon! hello!! bacon! genius. spicy delicious goodness. It comes out and then is put on a portable burner at your table and we added kimchee to it and when we were almost done we threw in rice and more kimchee for fried rice heaven. (most def taking you here, Lar!)

also thinking I'd like to go back to Namdaemun for some more shopping and pictures. Maybe even at night this time.

it's raining today so i'm not sure if we're doing anything. having a great time eating and walking around. The walking around counters everything I put in my mouth. Oh and had beard papa's here the other night too. They are slightly smaller than the ones in LA but I think they are better too.

Seoul Sista - The Hongdae Experience

2010-07-08T16:38:00.000-07:00

My friend Brooke is living and working here in Korea (hi Brooke~!). We've been trying to find time to get together since I got here and last night we finally did. Her boyfriend Dan is visiting too (hi Dan!) and the three of us plus two more of Brooke's friends (Mike and Shira) all met up for some Korean BBQ-charcoal syle (soot bul).

The tricky part was that where were meeting was the farthest I've ever ventured out to so finding a route to my destination was a bit tricky. Luckily, my cousin and aunt told me that there was a bus I could take first that would cut my travel time in half. It really helped me a lot that my cousin drew up a very detailed map that included bus numbers and stops and where to get on the train and how many stops to wait before I got off and made my transfer to the other train. So off I went to try and meet Brooke and company at the Hongdae Station exit 5.

My mom and two of her elementary school friends decided that I should come out to dinner with them and assured me that it was only to see what they were having for dinner. But of course when we got there, they made me eat. We had hwae (raw fish). Despite my protests that I was about to meet my friends for dinner, they insisted that I eat before I went out on my adventure. A teeny tiny part of me thinks that maybe they didn't think I would make it to my destination so they were trying to feed me so I wouldn't starve. But I do find the humor in the fact that they insisted on feeding me dinner before I left to go meet my friends....for dinner.

My mom is really funny about me being out on my own. She'll randomly quiz me on my subway stop or what line we live closest to. Sometimes, when getting on the subway she'll point to our location sign and slowly say "SSSSSuuuunnnnaeeee" and repeat it over and over. Nevermind, we always get off on that stop. and I've read the sign at least 200 times since I've gotten here. Last night as we were leaving, my aunt had given me the key to the building and apartment. The mega apartments all have electronic sliding doors where residents simply touch their reader to the door. I've been here for 3 weeks, folks. I've been in an out of the apartment hundreds of times and suddenly last night, she felt the need to stop and point to the reader and try to "teach" me what it was.

My aunt, of course, insisted that she walk me to the bus stop and she made sure I got on the 5500-1 bus headed towards Seoul. and yes, she asked the bus driver to tell me where to get off. and yes, I did sit behind him again. although I could hear the stops in Korean and this time, rather than the driver telling me when to get off, I asked him the stop before mine if mine was coming up so I technically think I'm getting better at riding the bus. After stepping off the bus at my Jong-gak stop, I turned left as per my cousin's super detailed instructions and a few feet away, I saw what I was pretty sure was the subway entrance. Except it was labeled "underground shopping". At first I was confused but then I figured it had to be the subway entrance bc I don't think they just have underground shopping places in Korea. They have them but they are always connected to the subway so I ventured down and after a minute was able to follow the signs to the subway entrance. Before entering the subway line 1 entrance, I decided to put more money on my metro card. Luckily my cousin had shown me how to do that so I stepped up the machine, totally prepared to try and read Korean, when I looked and saw an "english" option button so I pressed it. hey. to me, it looked like the "easy" button so I went that route.

One of the really fun things I learned about Korea is that if you look like you need help, most likely someone will ask you if you need help. So I was standing there, fairly certain this was my subway entrance and re-checking the signs against my map, I cute older lady approached me and started looking at my map. I asked her if this was the entrance I took to get on the train that went to city hall and she said yes. Then she looked at me and held up one finger to help me understand that I was only to ride the train for one stop and get off (which I knew bc my cousin had mapped my route with the number of stops included-I took a pic of it bc it was so cute). I made it to the next stop and got off to make my transfer. I admit at this point I was a bit nervous bc the transfer points are tricky. I made my way to it by following the signs and hesistated again at the entrance to the green line. a man approached me with a sign on his shirt that said "How may I help you?" in English and he spoke English. It was funny bc I would talk to him in Korean and he would answer me in English. I was very lucky to have met him tho bc he not only confirmed that this was my entrance but then he alerted me to the fact that I needed to walk for about 5 minutes to get to the right train. When I got thru the turnstyle and down the stairs, I realized if I hadn't talked to him, I would have freaked out. The trains directly from the entrance were going the wrong way and it would have confused me. But I walked 5 minutes and sure enough the right trains were there (going the right direction). But then it split and there were two tracks. the crowds were kind of intense due to rush hour so I had to think fast and found a map and tried to decide which track to take. A train on the right had just pulled up so I had to do some fast deciding. For a split second, I thought about letting the train go and catching the next one, but I was sure it was the right one and jumped on. as soon as the doors closed I asked two girls if I was on the right train to go to Hongdae and they said yes. They got off the stop before I did and as they were getting off, they looked at me and said in English, "one more stop. you go next stop." It tickled me because they were so concerned for me. Again, the helpfulness of the people here really makes me smile.

Getting off 1 stop later, I made my way out and carefully looked at the exit numbers. This is another point where you can mess up and get out at the wrong neighborhood. But I managed to make it out to exit 5 and ended up being the first person there.

We ate dinner at this great little bbq place that Brooke's friend Mike had read about in the NY times. It was small but very cute and had celebrities (korean and american) painted on the walls. Micheal Jackson was present to watch us as we grilled and ate our meat. and we debated if one of the characters was a cross between arnold schwartzenegger and jim carey and ended up calling him arnold carey. They had these little round tables that we sat at and when people were done, they would just carry the entire table away to clear which I thought was genius. We ordered galbi and makkoli and everything came to the table except the charcoal. So I made the comment, "All we need now is the fire" and a split second later we heard "fire" and turned to see the owner holding a containter of hot charcoal and ready to insert into the center of our table. I had a great time and the food was super good. The company and conversation were great and we laughed and joked as we ate. The serving women were really funny and nice too. We noticed when we asked for more kimchee and sahm (lettuce and perilla leaves to wrap our meat in) we got a lot more than originally had been put down. I think we passed the test and were given heaping portions after proving we knew how to eat the delicious Korean cuisine. At one point, on of the servers asked me if all my friends were American. I said yes, but pointed to Mike and said, "Canadian." She nodded but then looked at Mike and said, "German." which I found hilarious because she was telling us that he looked German. He told her that he'd seen her in the NY times article and she nodded and totally understood what he was saying. I never quite caught the name of the place but was so happy to have been able to go. For PLENTY of meat and 3 bottles of makkoli and 2 large beers the total came out to 65,000 and divided 5 ways was a very reasonable and well spent 13,000 won. (less than 13 bucks)

I think one of the funniest things was that everyone assumed that I was the "guide" taking the white folks around when in fact it was the exact opposite. oh and after dinner, I made my way to the restroom and found...squatters. That's twice now and yes I am keeping track.

Mike also took us to this cute little bar called Da Bar. We went up these steep stairs and I thought we were there, but then Mike said that we needed to go up one more flight of steps. I thought he was joking bc the only steps I saw looked like rickety fire escape steps that looked like they led to the roof, but sure enough, there was the cutest little bar up there. they had real cocktails and beer. According to Brooke and Dan, the alcohol in the cocktails were "very generous". I stuck to beer bc I didn't want to be drunk trying to navigate my way home. Originally I was going to stick with Dan and Brooke on the subway to their stop since i knew my way from that stop, but around midnight we realized the trains stop running so we agreed to split a cab home. My 2 heinekien beers were 5000 won each so i spent less than 10 bucks at the bar.

the cab ride home from Brooke and Dan's was 24000 won and I gave him 30000.
all in all a GREAT night. It felt amazing to navigate my way around and proved that I could do it. Even tho it was a little scary at times, the adrenaline rush is a trip!
I got home and everybody was up waiting for me. I felt bad bc it was about 130am but I think they were all scared I'd get lost. My aunt and uncle and Mom's friends all agreed that was great that I got to hang out at around Hondgae (short for Hongik Daehakyu or Hongik University) bc that's where the young people are. They seemed disappointed when I told them I didn't go to a club.
Thanks again Brooke and Dan and Mike and Shira!

Seoul Sista - The solo bus excursion

2010-07-07T08:18:00.000-07:00

well folks. it was bound to happen. I went out on my own and took the bus to meet a friend of mine who is here visitng her folks in Korea. We had agreed to meet for dinner tonight. Originally I was going to take the subway but my aunt told me that it's 40 minutes by subway (with one transfer) and only 20 minutes by bus...so since I'm still unsure of the transfer part (we went out yesterday on the subway and I was totally confused at the transfer stops) and 20 minutes on the bus sounds much better than 40 minutes on the subway, I took the bus.

In all fairness, my aunt walked me to the bus stop, watched me get on and asked the bus driver to help me when it was time to get off since I was from America....and then she told me to sit right behind him so he could tell me when to get off. I felt like a little kid but I also am more afraid of getting lost than looking like I ride the short bus so I did as I was told. I was so proud that I made it to my stop that I forgot for a second that I still had to make my way to the subway station where we'd agreed to meet. Luckily there was a map at the bus stop where I got off the bus. Everything in Korea (99%) of street signs are in English too so it's easier to figure things out. I did ask an older guy if I was going the right way and he was very cute. He pointed in the direction I should go and then kind of motioned for me to follow him. It all worked out and I met my friend Jenny in Yangjae and from there she took over and I just followed her since she knows her way around. We took a short ride on the subway and she took me to an area that was really young and hip and I almost felt like I was back home in Ktown. Everyone was young and well dressed and the boys were very metro.

We ate at a place called "School Food". suppossed to be like the food kids eat in high school or middle school with friends. Very cute. Until now, I've been going to really more traditional places that specialize in certain dishes. Totally different feel to the area and really good energy. There's a School Food that opened in LA (Jenny tells me) so I can't wait to check out that one when I get back. Today we shared cheese dukbokki (traditional spicy rice cakes with modern twist of melted cheese on top) and chicken curry kimbap (twist of traditional rice rolls by mixing the rice in curry before rolling). It was all really yummy and came out to about 15 american dollars (I think. Jenny paid-Thanks Jenny!)

Then we rode the bus to another really popular area that is called Rodeo drive or Rodeo place? Again, really cute and young and it almost felt like I was back in LA. We got some gellato and cheesecake. Came out to about 12 american dollars. Jenny says the dessert places are kinda pricey around here but I thought it was pretty comprable to LA places. Well, at least around Ktown. We sat and talked for awhile and while we were gabbing away, I looked out the window and saw this woman with her poodle. She had dyed it's ears and end of it's tail fushia pink. I stopped mid-sentence and my mouth dropped. I felt so sorry for that ridiculous poodle. I took a pic and will post when I get home.

Then we took the bus back to Yangjae station where I got off and of course Jenny helped me find the right bus stop and I made it home okay. I got off one stop too late but it ended up being the same walking distance from the stop I missed so no harm, no foul. In celebration of my succesful foray I stopped at a Dunkin donuts to buy some donuts to take home. They donuts are in a case much like at a panderia back home. You grab a tray and tongs and take what you want then go to the cashier to be rung up. The donuts here are much prettier than back home. They are square, heart-shaped, and one even looked like a teething ring or giant beaded bracelet. The guy was super helpful too since I didn't know what to do when I first walked in. I proudly carried my box of donuts (8,000 won for 6 donuts) and walked home. It wasn't until I got home and took a big bite that I remembered that donuts give me instant heartburn. oh well. They weren't that good anyways. I suspect Dunkin Donuts does most of it's business by selling iced coffee and smoothie type drinks. or maybe they are better first thing in the morning.

I made it home safe and sound and tomorrow, I venture out on the subway on my own to meet Brooke and Dan for some Korean BBQ! yay! excited and a little scared but I think I can navigate the subway. I'll just have to be really careful and hopefully just ask people for help.

What I've been up to the last few days:
Got a pedicure-for 45,000 won (less than 43 dollars) I got the royal treatment with massage, intensive food scrubbing and callous removal (my feet are as soft as my hands...well for now anyways - I am back to flip flopping around Korea) and parafin treatment. The entire process took an hour and a half!!! and then they even show you the colors and test them on your nails to see which one you want. totally different experience. They got a kick out of me too bc while they were doing the intensive scrubbing I would burst out in laughter bc I'm ticklish. They thought it was funny. I think it was the way I laugh....you know...head back and mouth open and belly laugh. most def going to get another one before I leave.

went to see some castle and grave site in Seoul but we got there and it was closed so we ended up doing some shopping at a nearby shopping alley. The name escapes me now but had a lot of fun doing that. Got some souveniors and stuff for friends back home. Even watched my mom do a bit of haggling and get even better deals. Ate some street food like this candy that looks like it's made from thread and fried red bean pancakes that are made from corn instead of flour. delish!!!I think it's called ho duk. (we used to eat them as kids. they were frozen and we'd put them in the toaster) Much better freshly fried tho fo sho.

Went to the top of Namsan tower which has incredible 360 view of Seoul. Had some great laughs with my mom, aunt and cousin.

Woke up this morning with my first hangover. Nothing a little spicy soon tofu soup didn't cure tho.

Last night we had nakgi bokkum (pan fried octopus) or spicy p as some of you may know. I was shocked when they brought the pan out to our table to cook and the octopus was still moving!!! They had just chopped it up and the tentacles were squirming away. I felt bad for it. I mean I've had it in LA but it's already dead when it comes to your table to be cooked up. Technically last night, it was dead too but only a few seconds ago it had been alive. well all three of them had been alive. I got over it tho and ate it. It was spicy! I like the LA version a little more bc they add more greens and sprouts. But they fry it up with rice for you afterwards just like in LA and that was scrumptioulicious! I took a short video clip of the squirming so expect to see that posted when I get home too.

Things that are getting on my nerves:
There are couples who coordinate and wear matching shirts when they go out.
Men carrying man bags
sometimes getting a little overly jostled and pushed by people when getting off or on the bus or train(especially when it's older dudes. they kind of do it bc I'm a girl and it makes me want to punch them in the face)
super skinny Korean girls whose thighs are the size of my upper arms-eat something already dammit!

Looking forward to seeing Larisa when she gets here in a few days!!!
signing off for now!

Seoul Sista-The Costco Adventure

2010-07-04T08:32:00.000-07:00

Oh
My
God...

I will never complain ever again about how crowded the Costco is in my hood. Today, I saw what crowded really means. The nearest Costco is only about 10 minutes or so by car from where I'm staying but it took 20 minutes to get into the parking. Let me say again...we waited 20 minutes in a long line of cars just to get INTO the parking lot. And the parking lot is not one large lot like we have back home. This parking for Costco is 5 levels of the most ridiculous parking spaces I've ever seen. I still don't understand the system of who gets to go and who waits bc I've yet to see a stop sign (signals, yes...stop signs? no) It is insanity. It's like gearing up to go to war. And the elevator to the first floor entrance was intense. We waited forever and then when we got it, I thought for sure only a few people could fit into it bc it was already full and about 10 more people than I thought could fit got in! I couldn't help myself and said, "Oh My God" out loud. The poor woman in front of me turned and apologized and I had to explain to her that I was just shocked by how many people pushed into the elevator after us. Have you ever seen that video of the people who pack more people into the trains in China? I was thinking they might actually do that at this Costco.

The Costco was split between two floors and it was pretty much the same as the Costcos back home. Same jewelry display, tv's and cameras and cell phone booth. The food part is where I had the most fun. It was like costco back home plus some crazy stuff for Korean peeps. Oh and the food court? inside and packed to all hell! I tried to take a pick to show how crowded it was but I don't think you can appreciate the intensity of it unless you're standing there. People park their carts all over and eat. And there aren't enough seats so people walk around scoping out seats or even sit down right next to you while you're eating! My aunt got up to get some foil and some chick sat down and we had to tell her someone was sitting there. I actually saw it happen a few times.
The Costco menu:
The same as at home except they have clam chowder and in addition to the chicken bake, they have the bulgogi bake! No churros or cones.
And the Koreans here do the craziest thing with the condiments. You know how Costco has onions and mustad and ketchup for the hot dogs? Well no matter what they order, they all get a huge plate of the onions (heaping) and mix it up with mustard and sometimes ketchup and relish to eat with their chicken bake or hot dog or pizza. I mean heaping spoonfuls with each bite. At first, when we were walking around I thought it was curry fried rice. What a trip!
I had half a pizza and refused to try it on my pizza, but I tried it on a bit of hot dog and a bite of chicken bake and I gotta say....it was pretty darn good. The onions weren't like super sharp. It was the craziest thing to see tho. I mean they must go thru a TON of chopped onions. We even got a chicken bake to go for my cousin who stayed home and of course we had to take a cup full of chopped onions and mustard to go with it. Relish comes in a packet. about double the size of a regular pc. I'm not sure why they don't just have relish in the metal turny thingy like they do the onions but they don't.
My theory on the onion mustard mix thingy: Koreans are used to eating banchan with all their food. At the very least they have kimchee. So remember Helan, when we'd go to Baja Fresh and mom would get an HUGE plate of the salsa to eat with her burrito? I know Sonia does it too because little Sara told me how embarrassing it was when she gets a giant plate of pico de gallo for her 2 tacos. Well I think that Koreans inherently feel the need to eat their food with some sort of banchan so someone started this crazy mustard onion mix business and now everybody does it. I also think that's why they have clam chowder. BC Koreans like to have some sort of soup with their meal. The clam chowder was good. I think they actually make it there or something bc the clam taste was really intense. Like all the seafood I've been eating here. I've never had clam chowder with so much clam power before.

also, they use plates and real silveware at the Costco in Korea in an effort to stay green. And the trash area has a place for food scraps, beverages and liquids, drink cups, soup cups, paper, etc. I was pretty impressed/

Very interesting adventure at Costco. *sidenote*Koreans push their carts around pretty much the same way they drive. No stop signs and nobody cares where you're trying to go with your cart and always guard the back of your heels lest someone rams into you with their cart. Also, when going to the food court, the carts are lined up all around the seating area. They actually have an employee push them down the line as people leave to make more space for new ones. We "parked" ours on the outer edge in a "parking spot" before we sat down to eat. When we were done, our cart was missing. Some jackass had actually pulled our cart out and put their cart in our "parking spot" and pushed our cart down one of the aisles. Like I said, you have to go to Costco prepared to do war! Hoorah!

Anyways, I found everything I needed to make jambalaya at Costco and I made that for dinner tonight. It was killer. I made a stock with the shrimp heads and shells and used that instead of chicken stock. that combined with the rocking andouille sausage I found at costco and the fresh shrimp I've been raving about and I ended up with an explosion of flavorishousness. We killed the entire stock pot of jambalaya I made. The only difficult part was there's no jasmin rice or basmati rice or even white man rice. Can't use calrose sticky rice bc then you end up with a bloated, gummy bowl of jamba-ickyness. So I used fettucine. Not bad. I prefer it with rice but it all worked out. (Anna R, if you're reading this, I gave you mad props for teaching me how to make it. you would have been proud, it was lip tinglingly spicy)

more makkoli and more kimchee pancakes tonight bc my mom's friend came to visit. and of course we walked her back to the subway station and stopped at the noodle truck and got cha chang myun (black bean noodles) and udon. (I know I told you I wasn't getting fat when I talked to you on the phone today, Helan...but maybe I spoke too soon)

Oh and Helan, in case you didn't notice, I tried really hard not to use "amazing" in this blog post. ;)

Seoul Sista Day 17

2010-07-03T06:24:00.000-07:00

Doood. I cannot believe how much I ate today. It's like i'm trying to make up for the last 3 days of the tour I was on. The food got really bad. My theory is that because we were such a large group, they just took us to buffet after buffet. And let me tell you, that last buffet we hit before returning to Seoul made my stomach turn. I won't even get into the details and trust me, you'll thank me for it.

Of course I need to fill you all in day 16 which was the last day of the tour. Surprise, surprise! it rained that day. It seems to me that whenever we went somewhere where the view was the main point...it rained. So Seoraksan is like the Yosemite of Korea. Or maybe even Yellowstone and has incredible views. But because of the rain, all I saw was fog. In the past, people hiked hours to climb the lower mountain for the view, but now they have a cable car. It was like flying in marshmallow creme bc the fog was so thick. I remember coming to Seroraksan when i was ten and it rained then too. We got to hike a bit and it wasn't raining too bad. But the bummer was the fog for sure. I tried to take pics but it was way too thick to see thru. At times the fog cleared a bit and I think I got some good pics of the mountain itself but no good shots of the view. Saw THE cutest little chipmunk near the top. Seriously wanted to put him in my pocket and take him home.

We walked around a lot and it wasn't too bad. Today when I was relaxing (and eating) all day, I looked down and realized my legs are thinner from all the walking, hiking, and stairs. And my muscles were more toned. i wish I could say this is inspiring me to keep up the excercise but if today is any indication of my committment to that, it's not happening. trust me.

We took our bus and drove thru the rest of Seroraksan. I think it's divided into 3 parts. We walked around the highest point but of course the view was nothing but fog. The air was super clean tho and although it was raining, it wasn't muggy and yucky like it is in Seoul when it rains.

Then we headed toward yangyang. Somewhere near there we stopped to visit a family owned duk place (korean rice cakes). We even got to take the cooked sweet rice and smash the hell out of it with these giant mallets to make it smooth and gummy (for those who've had duk, you know what i'm talking about). I didn't actually try it but I couldn't help but think Jon would've been kick ass at this. There was this cute little dog that was running around and I realized that he learned that after people left the smashing area, he could run around and eat all the flying bits of sweet rice. smart little guy if you ask me. This place makes a million bucks a year! Hand made duk is in high demand. A lot of places have mechanized and duk is now mostly machine made. Not here. Everything is hand done. When we finally got to buy some to eat, you could see the hand prints or finger indentations where they shaped the duk. I ate something called gae duk (literally "dog" duk). Not sure why it's called that. There's no dog or dog product in it. My mom explained it was the duk that poor people ate but now has become very popular. There were all kinds of duk with different fillings and dusted with different things, but I think the gae duk was my favorite. it was simple and i liked that the best.

One of the things I've enjoyed about this trip is the interest that Koreans living here take in me or the group i'm in. It's been fun to hear them speculate among themselves where they think we're from. I've heard things like, "Oh. I think they are Chinese but they look so Korean" On our last day of the tour, walking by myself and while looking at a giant buddha statue in Seroksan national park, I heard a family behind me say that I must be a "woolam yuja" or
vietnamese woman. I turned to look at them, shook my head and started laughing. Then in korean I said, "no. i'm korean." The look on their faces was priceless!! Then they were so happy to ask me questions and laugh about the fact that they thought I was Vietnamese.
My mom thought it was funny when I told her what happened on the bus. She thought it was even funnier when I told her the only reason why I knew Woolam meant vietnamese is because Korean peeps call Pho, Woolam cooksu (cooksu means soup).

Anyway, I met some nice people on my tour. Both in the group I traveled with and from around the country. It was a very special experience to see where my people come from. I can't say I feel totally comfortable here but I don't feel as much of an outsider here as I thought I would. The country is a mix of tradition and technology and the contradiction between the slower rural areas and the fast paced madness of Seoul is mind boggling. I find the people here to be mostly warm and curious about me and where I come from. It's a lot different then how I remembered Korea to be when I was here at age 10.

Just a quick run down of all the things I ate today (yes. all this in one day):

buckets of amazing berries (red and black ones. They aren't raspberries or blackberries. I don't know what they are but they are amazing).
french toast (with the berries, of course)
garlic mashed potatoes (i'm starting to crave things from home. I think I could maim somebody for an animal style cheeseburger from in n out or a taco from tito's)
the most amazing kimchee pancakes i've ever had (no pics. I remembered after it was already in my stomach, but my aunt made them so chances are she'll make them again for me and did i mention they are about the size of a frisbee. I ate two. by myself. what?!)
fresh steamed duk
dukbokki (spicy rice sticks)
tuna kimbap (rice rolls)
home made mandoo (dumplings)
paht bihn su (shaved ice with red beans. I normally don't eat this. I don't like it. for those of you who know me, you know I call it "third world ice cream" but this one came with fresh fruit like watermelon, bananas, and this ice cream that tasted like carnation condensed milk and mochi balls. OMG!)
in between all this food-o-liciousness I either sat on the couch or zonked out for an hour at a time (Julian, I took your advice to act like a fainting goat every chance I got very seriously). I think I ate every hour on the hour today. no kidding.

Now that I'm "home" I don't think I'll blog every night like I have been. Just when I have something to blog about. Which may still be every night. I never know when I'm going to see or do something or eat something interesting (which is almost all the time, really).

I'm looking forward to seeing Larisa when she gets here from Afghanistan (july 10th) and Brooke and Dan when they get back from rafting this weekend (hope you have a ton of fun and it doesn't rain!)

A big shout out to Caroline L (will keep my eyes peeled for that punch bar), amy G(give Grace HB and Trooper a big squeeze for me), Daye (who thinks I'm still in thesis writing mode bc my blogs are so damn long...you may be right) Liz Y (happy 10th to you and Ron), Meghan (I'm being very careful when I cross the street), Sandra R, my brothers in Canada, Caroline J (I hope i'm providing you with lots of reading material when your up nights with Baby G!) CJ (who doesn't read blogs) and everyone who's reading this and keeping up with my madness.

bae buhl loh (i'm full)

g'night!

Seoul Sista Day 16

2010-07-02T06:56:00.000-07:00

So we made it home to Bundang after a long day of driving.

To be honest, I don't feel like blogging about the last day of the tour but I will another day. maybe tomorrow. We came home and my aunt made a huge dinner for us and we, of course, drank a few bottles of makkoli.

I have tons of laundry, minus socks and underwear, of course, because I've been washing it nightly during our travels like a good Korean would.

The rain has followed us to Seoul and during our last day on tour. it wasn't torrential like on Oedo or Jeju Island but it's really coming down now so the humidity is pretty much 100%. (I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing). I am sleeping on the floor again but I get my own room so I don't have to listen to my mom snore tonight. so that's a pretty good trade.

I'm happy to have made it to my temporary home in Seoul and it's good to be off the bus and not sleeping in hotel room after hotel room. Looking forward to sleeping as long as I want and not having to get up at six to pack and catch the bus.

jeebah wah suh yo (I'm home)

night!

Seoul Sista Day 15

2010-07-01T05:18:00.000-07:00

This is it. tonight is the last night in a hotel. tomorrow we end our tour back in Seoul. None to early I might say. The days are beginning to blur into one another and I'm having a hard time keeping track of where we are and where we're going. We've been traveling along the coast and we left the coast to go Daego which is more in the inland of Korea. it is also the 4th largest city in korea. and known for it's apples. it's also one of the hottest areas in Korea. So i'm glad we didn't stay for too long.

We cut up a few hours to Andong. Andong is the largest city in this region and like the rest of the country, has seen a decline in population due to thousands of people moving to Seoul. The city gained international fame when Queen Elizabeth II celebrated her 73 birthday here in 1999. We visited Hahoe Maeul (i know, ANOTHER folk village) but this one is different bc the upper class and lower class lived together along the Nakdong-gong (river). Rather than have their houses face south like most korean village homes, these homes faced the S-shaped river. The upper class lived in the center and the poorer families along the outskirts. Decendants of the original families still reside here some 600 years later! There is a tree in the middle of the village that has thousands of "prayers" writtend and tied to it. and on jan 15th they are burnt so that the prayers go up to heaven. The papers were written in english, korean, japanese, etc. Very interesting culturally. Of course the tree is said to look like a woman giving birth and many women who are childless come to pray at this tree. Not me. I stayed away from it. LOL. I got some great pics of butterflies here.

We also took a boat ride on some lake which i didn't catch the name of but I finally got some pics of cranes. They were all over. There were some drunk old Korean guys on the boat and they were stupid and rude. But it's easy to pretend like you don't speak Korean. You just have to remember to look blankly at them when they talk about you and pretend like you don't know what they are saying even tho you do. And of course, we took a butt load of stairs to get down to the boat, and you can't go down without going back up. HOT HOT HOT. but as long as it's not rain, I'm okay with being sticky and shiny.

We did a lot of driving today. 2 hour drive then 3 hour drive. We made it all the way up to Gangwon-do region. It's the upper east side of s. korea and actually borders N. Korea. Tonight we made it to seoraksan national park which is s korea's most popular park. In 1956, i was declared a natural monument. We're staying at the Kennsington Stars hotel. it's interesting, it's an English style hotel. I could almost feel like I'm in england somewhere. We'll see what breakfast is like tomorrow in this hotel.

I'm calling today my tour of Korean snack foods. We spent so much time driving that we stopped at a lot of rest areas. Rest areas are nicely done here. They are large and clean and have restaurants and food corners as well as trinkets for sale. We tried all sorts of chips and ice cream today. and hot snack foods. My favorite so far was this orange sherbert in an orange shaped container. super delish for a hot day. They have these amazing potato stick things that look like pretzels. I'm planning on bringing as many as I can back in my suitcase.
The funniest snack was potato chip that was gojujang flavor (korean pepper paste). and spicy pepper flavor sunchips. Frito lay makes some interesting flavored cheetos or chee-toes-suh for Korea. Oh and JON!!! They have Mr. BIG here!!! of course i had to have one. We also ate steamed meat buns, roasted corn, roasted potatoes, and walnut cookies.

Tomorrow we take a cable car to the top of the mountain and some other things and tomorrow night I should be back at my aunt's house in Seoul. no more beds I guess. boo. I think I actually lost weight on this tour. but we'll see if we can't fix that when I get back to Seoul.

night!

Seoul Sista Day 14

2010-06-30T04:13:00.000-07:00

Is anybody getting tired of these posts? It's been increasing difficult to blog the last few days. Internet hasn't been free except for in the "business center" at the last three hotels. Not as comfortable as blogging in my room. They have free wifi around but you have to have a registered foreigner number which I don't have bc I'm here for less than 90 days.

So here goes as fast as I can:
Today we woke up in Busan which is the second largest city in Korea. It's home to about 3.7 million people and is filled with apartments and has its own subway system. It was hot today which is fine with me. I'd rather be hot than wet from the pouring rain. Jeju-do is becomin a distant memory which i'm more than happy to forget. We started the day by going to the beach and walking around. I didn't actually get to walk in the sand or feel the water but then again, I'm from California and we have the our own awesome beaches. We did however walk around the coast and take some nice pictures. (still missing my own camera. haven't gotten the hang of my mom's camera yet. 1/2 my pics come out blurry).

From Busan, we drove about an hour and a half or so up to Gyeonjiu. It was once the capital of the Shilla Kingdom and the historical center of South Korea. Located in the southeastern most corner of the Gyeongsangbuk-do region, if one were to look at the map of Korea, it looks like it is located in the top part of the rabbit's tail. There are many historical sites to visit in this area and I can see why it is considered the historical center of S. Korea. Our first stop, The Gyeongju National Museum. Outside of Seoul, this museum has the largest collection of Shilla Dynasty relics in the world. It has over 100,000 pieces in it's possession but only showcases about 3,000 artifacts. The collection was really well showcased in the four exhibit halls. Highlights are the actual gold crowns from excavated tombs and King Seong-doek's famous bell.

What I found interesting were the scores of students from kinder to high school who were there visiting. The littlest ones were so cute and I couldn't help but think about our school field trips at UCLA CS. They all wore uniforms and interstingly, they had name tags that had both their Korean names and English names. They all had English names...like Kevin and Bambi ( I know. I know.)

We went to the Seokguram Seokgul (Seaokguram Grotto) next. I think this was my favorite place today. King Kim Daesong had this place built to honor his parents. The walk up was nice and not too steep or long and at the top was one of the world's finest shrines to Buddha. I am told the wooden entrance is a relatively new addition and takes away from the original stone facade but it was quite an experience to see anyways. You should google it if you get the chance. The area was naturally ventillated and kept out humidity. The Japanese at one point tried to dismantle it to take to japan but couldn't do it. There are parts of the shrine laid out bc they didn't know how to re-assemble it. They also have had to enclose it and use an ac to combat the humidity bc the once natural ventillation has now become damaged from the japanese trying to "fix" it. They ac also causes problems too bc the vibration also damages the shrine. Very sad. I hope they figure out something soon before the shrine deteriorates more than it already has. it was really mind boggling to see this shrine located on the eastern peak of Mt. Toham.

We also went to Bulguksa or Bulguk Temple. This temple is probably the most famous of Korea's temples and was orginally built in 528 during the Shilla Dynasty. The wooden structures have all been rebuilt and renovated. The Japanese burnt it to the ground and other reasons but the stone bridges, stairways and the pagodas are all original. Pretty amazing if you think about all the history this place has seen.

Last stop was Daereung won Tumuli park. It houses 23 of the over 200 royal tombs in Korea. We actually got to go inside one and I snuck a picture even tho we aren't allowed to take pictures. The area is quiet and peaceful and actually quite beautiful with the large grass covered mounds. The one we went into is the only one to have been excavated. It is called the cheonmanchong tomb (heavenly hourse) and revealed over 10,000 artifacts and treasures inside this one tomb! It is called heavenly horse bc a well preserved ceremonial saddle was found inside it as well as a painting of a galloping horse.

The food today was not so great. Last night and this morning and for lunch, we had buffet. The breakfast buffet was standard hotel buffet. But the one last night was so unpleasant, I found myself afraid to eat. And again, at lunch, nothing was heated or refrigerated. I wish I hadn't taken all those saniserve courses when I worked for ASUCLA restaurants but I did and I found myself not wanting to eat anything. Frankly, I'm not a big fan of buffets anymore. it's not about quality, it's quantity. and i'd rather have quality.
Dinner was good tho. The Gyeongju area isn't really known for any particular dish like other parts of Korea are. The one thing the city invented is a bread filled with sweet red buns. There are little stores that have "Gyeongju Bahng" (bread) signs everywhere so we finally got a chance to go in and try some. They are small like round dumplings and sooo good. They are filled like bao almost. Very little bread and more red bean. And baked. Delicious!!
A traditional meal in this region is called ssambap (wrapped rice) and that's what we had for dinner. You'll get a table full of banchan and greens (lettuce, perilla leaves, steamed cabbage, etc) and dwenjang (soy paste). Putting a leaf in your hand, you add what you want and fold up and eat. viola! Our dinner tonight had 28 side dishes!!! and 8 different kinds of lettuce wraps. I enjoyed it bc the greens were locally grown and nothing we ate tonight was processed.
As we were pulling out of the parking lot after dinner, I noticed a little old lady come out of the restaurant and wave to us until the bus was out of sight. I thought that was very heart warming and I hoped she could see me waving back.

I have to say, I'm looking forward to the end of this tour. Seeing Korea has been amazing and at times trying and I consider it to be a blessing to be here. But living hotel room to hotel room while traveling on a bus takes it's toll. We sleep tonight, have one more full day and one more night in another hotel and then a half day and then we're done. I can't wait to get back to Bundang to do some laundry and relax.

Interesting side note: I guess Koreans wash their socks and underwear each night and hang them to dry in their hotel room. Maybe not all, but it's not uncommon. I've heard our tour guides makes various references to it. I decided I'd give it a shot since it seems to be a Korean thing and it makes sense if you don't want to lug around dirty socks and underwear. I apparently didn't wring out my socks enough and they were still damp in the morning. Nothing a little blow drying with the hair dryer couldn't fix. My underwear was dry but stiff. I miss dryers. In Korea, most everyone in the city uses a washing machine but still hang dry their clothes. I'm saving a pair of jeans for the trip back to LA so that I can wear some soft ones. Clothes hung to dry tend to be stiff.

Pee gwon hae yuh (i'm tired). But soooooo happy to be somewhere where there is no rain~~~

night!

Seoul Sista Day 13

2010-06-29T04:57:00.000-07:00

Finally!!! Off the God forsaken island. I can't help but think I would NEVER go back. Weather forecast predicts more rain to the island and even MORE than what we had believe it or not!

We went to an extinct volcano that rose out of the sea some 100,000 years ago. Of course, it's about 40 minutes to the top. I opted to not do the trek. I've had enough and the mist and fog was intense. I figure I'll have plenty of opportunities to do some more stairs and inclines. It worked out for the best because 1) it started raining again 2) the people who did go up said you couldn't see thru the fog 3) I got some amazing pics of the coast about halfway up and of the volcano itself bc the fog cleared enough for me to take pics from the bottom. Also, I got to see one of the world famous Jeju island women divers!!! She was walking toward the coast and I got a picture of her. I wanted to run after her and ask if i could take a picture of her but she seemed determined to get down and into the water. So although I didn't get to see her dive, I was still honored to have seen her as she made her way down to the water in all her gear.

Of course we has a brief respite for our morning rain and we went to a village where people still live as they did hundreds of years ago. Our tour guide was a woman who lives there and she showed us her house which is over 250 years old. They still cook in an old stone kitchen and farm for extra money. She explained to us that the dialect spoken on Jeju is a combination of korean, japanese and mongolian. Which is why I can't understand any of it. It's very intersting to listen to tho. I enjoyed her talk and learned many new things about the women of the island. They had a very hard life. Men were precious bc raiders used to kidnap them so the men were the ones who stayed home while the women worked. I had also seen statues of women carrying huge jugs on their backs and she explained that all women of the island got one and took it with them when they got married. You can tell how many daughter-in-laws one family has by the number of jugs they have set out. Very interesting.

Also, Jeju island produces citrus! I had no idea. The kuel (tangerines) are the sweeeeeetest things I've ever had. They look small and they look like they would be sour but they are like candy. If Jon were here, he'd probably eat like 50 pounds of them. They also had orange chocolate which of course I had to buy.
We didn't actually get to see Mt Halla. Well, I didn't anyways, it started to rain so we drove past it on our way to the airport.

Hallejuah! We are in Busan and guess what!?? No rain!!!! I actually saw a patch of blue sky! I can't tell you how happy I am to be off the island and to be dry! We even got the same bus we were on before we left for Jeju AND the same driver!!!! I was so happy to see him! In fact, we all were. He started laughing bc we were so happy to see him. We're still pretty large in terms of people but the original group is still in tact and on the same bus with the same driver. I forgot to mention that we lost 2 of our group when we left for Jeju 3 days ago. The couple from Chicago stayed in Busan bc that's where their family lives. And guess what!!!??????? We ran into them on the way to dinner. Unbelievable if you think about it. Busan is the second largest city in Korea and the odds of us seeing them at that exact stop and that exact time is insane!!! They were just as surprised to see us. I took it as a good sign for better things to come.

So I'm in Busan for the night, Busan is on the southeast coast of Korea. Using the Bunny example, if the country of Korea looks like a rabbit, then Busan is just under the tail. Or the butt hole so to speak. Look it up. Butthole or not, I'm hella glad to be here. They tell me it's been hot here. Bring it on. I'm ready.

Sorry I don't have time to give you more background or fun facts about the places I went, but it's late already and I'm using the hotel's business center. I wanna get up to my room, take a looooong shower and hit the sack.

Seoul Sista Day 12

2010-06-28T05:44:00.000-07:00

Another rainy day. Pouring rain in fact. Another day of getting wet and being cranky. I can't even list where we went today bc I just wasn't into it. We went to the shore this morning and saw the coast and I got some pretty pictures. Then we did a bunch of other things that I didn't really care about. I have some fun facts about the volcanic origins of this island the the three original surnames but just wanna get to bed so just going to make this quick.

My camera died today I think because of all the rain. I'm really, really mad about that. Luckily my mom has one and i'm using that but still pissed. I guess i'll try to get one while i'm here. Korea has an electonic mall that is like 20 buildings or something so maybe i'll see if i can get something super cool there.

Saw a water fall that was nice.
went to a bonzai garden.

I think bc of the rain, we are being diverted to back up locations and I'm not too thrilled about it. I want to see the famous women divers here on Jeju do. Or the volcanic tubes. Our new guide isn't very good about giving us the itinerary like the first guide was. I miss him.

The sub ride was alright. I guess I was expecting really vibrant fish like hawaii. I guess in Korea, fish are meant for eating. not looking at.

I admit I cannot wait to get off this island.
I haven't seen much of the beauty because there isn't much natural beauty anymore due to the rapid development. That and it's been rainy and foggy so when we do climb up to see the view, it's nothing but fog.

The best part of this trip was dinner tonight,.
We opted not to have dinner with the rest of our group tonight and my mom and I and 2 other friends on our tour group went to a Hwa restaurant (raw fish). For about 50 american dollars per person, we had a 12 course meal!!! I cannot describe to you how fresh and absolutley scrumptious the fish was. We had several different kinds of fish, conch, raw abalone, crab, shrimp, prawns, and other things I wasn't sure the names of. Then the cooked food came out. Wonderful seafood pancakes, tempura, this squid type saute that was spicy and incredible and more pan seared abalone. A savory fish egg and seawood hotpot rice and lastly spicy seafood stew made ffrom the bones of all the fish we'd eaten. Heaven. and I ate every course. It was a total bargin for the money. Trust me. I'll have to post pics so you can see. It was amazing. I 'll never get the same kind of fresh wonderful fish anywhere else I think.

We leave this island tomorrow and I hope our tour group goes back to it's original size. It's really ridiculous traveling with 2 busses. The smaller group that we started with feels like family now and I miss just having it be us.

that's about it for now.
oh, I got to talk to jon on the phone today and that made me feel tons better. in fact, I almost cried when i heard his voice.

I'm sure the island is a great place to visit. Sadly with the rain...correction-POURING rain, it was just a soggy, crabby experience for me.

Maybe tomorrow we'll see something cool before they take us to the airport....but I think it's suppossed to rain again tomorrow.

Oh. And locals to this island, speak a very, very distinct and unique dialect of Korean. I seriously can't understand them. I'm not sure they're speaking Korean most times. To me it sounds like a totally different language. My mom can't understand it either.

signing off. still homesick and friendsick. I realize that things that makes me fun and cool are my friends and family. Miss you guys tons.

Seoul Sista Day 11

2010-06-27T03:57:00.001-07:00

Today we left for Jeju Island by plane.
We're on the largest Island now. It's been raining all day.
I'm tired of the rain.

I'm homesick. I miss my friends and I miss Jon.

Our little group of 16 is now 87. I'm not too happy about it. We have a new tour guide and I'm not too happy about that either. In fact, there isn't really that much I'm happy about right now except we are finally at our hotel here on Jeju Island. Our friggin massive group also has a butt load of kids. maybe tomorrow they'll be cuter.

Short highlights:
............sorry. don't feel like doing highlights.

for dinner:
haemul jungol (seafood mix stew). Probably my most favorite meal since on the tour. All sorts of seafood cooked in a delishhhh broth. Abalone, several types of clams, tons of crab, squid, and all fresh caught from around the waters of the island. I felt bad for the abalone tho, they were alive when they started cooking the stew. It was an experience. That's for sure.

sorry for the crabby post. At least the hotel is really nice. We have a pool view and beach view. The hotel makes it seem like we could be at a hotel in hawaii. almost. island is largely populated with lots of buildings. haven't really seen the ocean yet. tomorrow we're going on a submarine tour. At least if it's pouring rain again, I'll be under the water and not above it getting pelted with rain.

Mee ahn hae yo (i'm sorry) :(

Seoul Sista Day 10

2010-06-26T04:53:00.000-07:00

Day 10 in Korea and Day 3 on my whirlwind tour of the motherland.

This morning I woke up from a full 8 hours sleep which I haven't gotten since I've arrived here. At best, I've gotten 5 sometimes 6 hours a night. The bed last night was firm but not as rock hard as the first hotel. The hotel rooms seem to be getting smaller and smaller. But fancier and fancier. go figure. The first thing I noticed this morning as I was stretching in bed was that my ass muscles were sore. Maybe all this climbing will give me buns of steel. And my quads are killing me. super sore.

Breakfast this morning was at the hotel's Korean restaurant and on the menu for this morning was haejang gook. It's a traditional soup that's made out of beef broth and greens and it's spicy and has korean miso in it. It's actually my Dad's favorite dish. It was perfect and just spicy enough. I just dumped my rice right into it and slurped up the entire bowl.

We loaded onto our bus and headed into Gyeongsang-do (again the do is pronounced doh like the way homer simpson would say it) region of Korea, which is the south east part of the country. This region is home to the former capital of the Shilla Dynasty and the country's largest port which is Busan. People in this area are said to have accents that are difficult to understand but I haven't noticed that so far. Accents, yes, but no problem understanding them so far. Rapid industrialization has hit this part of Korea and laid waste to some of the quiet scenic beauty that I saw in Jeolla-do. There are still pockets here and there of rural and rustic beauty.

I almost didn't notice that we had crossed over into Gyeongsang-do because I drank coffee in the morning at the hotel and on the bus ride first thing in the morning, I found myself in desperate need to pee. Sometimes, the hard part of traveling in this country is knowing the distance between stops. Even worse, when you have to pee like a racehorse. Our first stop was the city of Jinju and by the time we stopped, I was ready to pee my pants. Our guide pointed to the direction of the bathroom and I didn't even wait for the bus to stop before I launched out the door and towards the bathroom. When I got there....I found squatters. With no other choice, unless peeing my pants or copping a squat in the parking lot could be considered, I assumed the postition and had go. I had to hold onto the bottom of the bathroom stall door to keep from falling but everything worked out okay. whew! what a relief. I promised myself I would NOT drink any coffee from now on. I had only been drinking it bc I was so deprived of sleep so from now on, 8 hours minimum of sleep a night.

Our first stop was Jinju. Jinju means "pearl" in Korean. The city has a long history and suffered thru two battles against the Japanese. The first time they were able to fend them off but fell during the second seige. The Nam river snakes thru the city and determines the location of the buildings. We went to see the Jinjuseong (fortress). It was raining so I was more interested in not falling on my face then seeing the sites but I tried to take pictures. I heard some people talking about a famous woman who was from a noble family who's husband or something was killed in one of the sieges and offered herself to the Japanese general and managed to drown him and herself in the process. It's a little unclear for me but I'll try to research later. Apparently this was the site of her martyrdom or something. The fortress is one of the best renovated fortresses in the country.

Then off to Geojedo or Geoje Island. If you look at a map of Korea, people say it looks like a rabbit. With Jeolla-do region making up the feet. Well to me, Gyeongsang-do looks like the butt of the rabit. And Geojedo looks like the rabbit took a poop. It's the second largest island in Korea and is connected to the rest of the Korean peninsula by two bridges. There are about 60 smaller islands in the area. A very quaint and beautiful area. We were told we would eat lunch late today so we all stocked up on plenty of snacks at the local mart located on the docks where the ferry boat departs. YUM!!! Koreans have the BEST snacks. Today, baked potato sticks. Definitely taking some home with me and of course, shrimp chips. I even tried somthing that's suppossed to be like fried chicken crackers. Comes in a box, like KFC meal and the crackers are in the shape of tiny drummettes. Genius!!!

We headed for Oedo Island (pronounced Weh-doh). It's about 2 and a half miles from Geojedo and was discovered by a fisherman by the name of Lee Chang-ho (last names are first in Korea). He and his wife began bringing over plants by the boatload and what has resulted are the most beautiful gardens I've ever seen. The boat ride over was quite an adventure. Of course it started to rain very hard as we were going over there so even tho the boat was designed for people to go outside, I opted not to. tho I regret not doing it bc they took us passed some smaller islands along the way. I thought at the time that staying dry was important. I had no idea what was in store for me later. Anyways, as soon as we took off, the first 15 minutes was spent handing out plastic bags for all the people who got seasick. It wasn't even that bad. I mean we were on the boat less than 5 minutes and an old grandmother in the seats next to us, keeled over with her head between her knees. I was amazed at how un-sea hardy my Korean peeps are. It took about 35 minutes to get there and I'm pretty sure some people threw up before we got there. The boat held about 100 people.

Of course we got there and it really started pouring. I mean, it was like I was standing in the shower with an umbrella. Over 20 years ago, when my sister was attending UC Berkeley my sister sent me an anorak that she bought at Gap and I told her I'd never find use for it since I lived in So Cal. Well I still have it and I brought it to Korea and I just want to say, Thanks to my sister for sending me that anorak bc it saved my life today. Thanks Helan! It rained so hard that even my umbrella started leaking. I mean holy cow. and btw, a thanks to my Boodha, Jonathan for talking me into taking the bigger umbrella. anyways, I gotta say, Koreans are pretty hardy. Even with the rain, the visitors to the island will number around 8,000. According the captain of the boat, without the rain visitors number around 18,000!!!

Of course the island was not flat. So the gardens....built up a mountain. I better have an ass like steel when this trip is over. It wasn't all stairs tho. It was steep inclines and the rain was coming down so hard, torrents of water were running down the pathways and basically running over our shoes. Needles to say, from my knees down, I was drenched. Shoes and socks were squishy with water. Eventually, even the anorak started seeping water. But we and the rest of the visitors braved onward. I tried to take as many pics as I could, but was worried the rain would damage my camera so I didn't take as many as i wanted. I can't imagine how beautiful it must be without the rain. The views of the ocean were not as nice as they could be. Judging from pics I've seen in pamphlets, I can see why Koreans call this "Paradise Island". (Brooke, I highly recommend you and Dan make a trip over here if you can). By this time, my quads were shaking they were so sore and tired. But we made it. We got back on the boat and headed back to Geojedu Island. the captain of the boat who I had kind of judged as a bit of an ass, looked at me and my mom happily munching shrimp chips and gave us a smile and two thumbs up. He was impressed at our sea worthiness and commented that my mom was in great shape for her age to not get sea sick. I quickly changed my opinon of him.

Back on the bigger island, we stopped at a local seafood restaurant (of course) and had meyun tang (spicy fish stew). Delish! It was perfect for all of us drenched and ragged as we were. it was spicy and made my nose run. Which brings me to a point I find intersting about Korea. They don't really use napkins here. Well they have them but not like we have them in the US. Sometimes, they even just have a box of tissue on the table. Most places have small pop up dispensers with napkins that are about 3 by 5 inches. And NO restaurants pre-set napkins down on the table (aside from Western fare). I feel bad bc it takes about 5 or 6 of those suckers to wipe my fingers and mouth on and even more if the meal is spicy and I feel bad leaving a huge wadded pile. cultural difference, I guess. Almost all the korean places I've been to also have long rectangular boxes at each table that are filled with clean spoons and chopsticks. No need to set the table after cleaning. The customer will help themselves to utensils. Brillant.

Back on the bus, wet, full and sleepy from the morning's torrential adventures. We headed over to the site of the P.O.W. camp that is on Geoje Island. It's a bit cheesy and overdone with it's re-creations but a very good educational resource. The orignal camp was closed in 1953 after the armistace was signed. I found it interesting that many of the informational signs kept referring to how well the POW's were treated in accordance to the Geneva Convention rules on the treatment of POW's. They mention that they even were fed better food than the S. Korean army at the time. Of course, being a huge proponent of Critical Media Literacy, I couldn't help but wonder what the N. Korean text books say about this location and history. It was a somber reminder of the country's turbulant history. I thought about my own father and his stories about escaping from N. Korea as a young boy. Oh. and again, the site...On a mountain. Up and Up. and ouch and ouch. (But thankful I can do the trek. Even in the pouring rain.)

on the bus again and 2 hours later, we are in Changwon. On tonight's menu, galbi tang (Korean beef rib soup). My mom and I didn't feel like eating something so heavy and plus we can eat galbi all the time in LA, so we opted to go to the adjoing Lotte Mart and eat at the food court. My mom got bibimbap (mixed rice) and I got Korean chinese food. Many of you have come out to eat with me in LA and tried the spicy seafood soup (Jackie, Mike). It's called jam-bong. Well here, you can get half jam-bong and half cha chang myun (black bean noodles or black spaghetti)!!! The bowl is literally two compartments and they call it Jam-chang-myun (myun means noodles). Super hit the spot man. Thankfully I had eaten at the food court before we got to Lotte World so my mom and I knew how the system worked (order at one place, wait for your number). Then we went to the supermarket in Lotte mart. This one was kind of like a super target of for those old enough to remember a gemco. Grocery, home goods, clothes, even a pet store area all under one roof. They had fish and gerbils, miniature hamsters (made me miss La Pieu) and a HEDGEHOG!!! Of course, pics were taken. We should have gone to Lotte mart before the food court bc we forgot about all the free samples and were too full to eat them. will remember that next time for sure.

My mom and I stocked up on water and makkoli and savory pancakes and hopefully can stay up for the game. (korea in the world cup starts at 11) a bottle of makkoli -just under a dollar a 2 litter bottle of water? less than a DOLLAR!!

Anyway, even with the rain, today was great. I would have liked to not have been drenched and to have been able to get the full beautly of Oedo Island, but life is an adventure. The entire country is gearing up for world cup soccer. it's half hour to start of the game and I can hear heavy bass music, drumming and screaming from my hotel. Literally, all over Korea, they have huge areas where people gather to watch the game and have huge pre-game entertainment acts perform. I'm showered, getting buzzed off makkoi, my shoes are drying in the bathroom and I get to sleep on another bed tonight.

Jo-wah-yo (I like it)

A huge shout out for everyone who's following me on my journey. It's a huge comfort to know you all are reading and following me thru this amazing adventure I'm on. Keep up the comments! I love them!

oh. tomorrow we get to sleep in and leave at 9 to head to Gimhae airport near Busan to catch a plane to Jeju-do Island. and more rain in the forecast. oh well.
good night. (I wish u guys could hear how loud my mom is snoring in the bed next to me. LOL. )

Seoul Sista Day 9

2010-06-25T04:30:00.000-07:00

Day 9 of my visit to Korea and Day 2 of the tour marks what I am calling the "Day of Mountains."

I forgot to mention that in Korea, most people use a hand towel to dry off with after bathing. Not a large towel that you can wrap around yourself like we do in America. It's usually one little hand towel (not a facial towel) and you just wipe off. I think it's because there's a lot of humidity and if you used a large towel, they would never fully dry in time for your next shower or bath. So I've just done as the natives do so to speak. It's all good and it all works. the hotel last night had western sized full bath towels. it was nice to be able to wrap myself in the towel. And EVEN BETTER than that....it had a BED!!! I was soooo elated to be sleeping in a bed. I crawled in and noticed right away that it was really, really hard. Really hard. At first I was happy bc I tend to like my bed on the firm side. Well. this bed was too firm. In fact, I woke up feeling like I had slept on the floor. oh well. at least it was still a bed.

We woke up around 6 am to get ready and had breakfast at the Hotel's buffet. Western and Korean items. Nicely done. I had toast and eggs and opted not to have the Korean fare. I didn't want to start the day off too heavy. We headed off for Yudalsan (or Yudal Mtn. San is Korean for mountain). It's located in the town of Mokpo. There is a park on top of it's peak and has a nice view of Mokpo and the harbor as well as the five islands that dot the archipelgo of Dadohae Maritime National Park. There are five pavilions, a memorial tower, a statue of Admiral Yi, and a monument to some royal dead folks. Admiral Yi was Korea's most famous naval commander who led the navy against the Japanese invasion during the wars of 1592 and 1598. Legend has it he never lost any of the 23 battles he commanded. Three of the five pavilions are located on different parts of the mountain. Each one higher than the last. and these pavilions are accessible by steps. lots and lots and lots of steps. I got to the second one and just didn't have it in me to get to the third and highest. The steps are jagged stones and irregular and not easy to navigate so not only does one have to walk up these steps, one also has to carefully navigate back down. I was just proud to have been able to go to the second. Mom opted not to even try. One false step could be devastating for her. well for me too for that matter. The views were amazing and worth the climb up and down. I got to talk to an old man while I was there. He and his friends were walking past me and they had just seen the majority of my tour group (I had lagged behind to take pictures) and they were talking amongst themselves and wondering if our group was Chinese. I told him we were Koreans from America and we had a short conversation. He was very pleasant and I noticed his accent. it was pronounced and very endearing in a way. i'm not sure why but the accent was nice to hear. it made me happy.

Next stop, Boseong and it's tea plantation. It's not the only one in Boseong but I think it's the largest. When people hear Boseong, they think of tea. This area is responsible for producing 70% of Korea's tea. I think specifically green tea. It was established in 1939 and is a must see. Absolutley gorgeous. And of course, it's ON A MOUNTAIN. They have steep, irregular wooden steps that go up. Up up up. Again. I got to about 2/3 up and was actually just too scared to do the last third. It was the steepest part. and those wooden stairs? not really stairs. Just wooden logs sunk into the ground. I've been flip-flopping it around Korea and today was most def NOT the day to be wearing flip flops. I took some amazing pictures but I don't know if they will do justice. As soon as we started walking in, I had to take off my sunglasses because I couldn't believe how many shades of green I was seeing. At the bottom area of the plantation, there was a restraurant that served all things green tea. Green tea noodles, green tea bread, you name it. They had green tea tasting room and I learned that green tea is harvested 3 times a year. My mom and I were going to get a green tea ice cream but we overshot the ice cream spot and opted not to backtrack. Sad! They also had stores that had hundreds of different kinds of green tea products. Shampoo, tea packets, loose leaf, powder, soap and all things you can imagine green tea. While on the plantation I saw the plantation dog who was, you guessed it, a white jindo. I was so happy to see her and tried to pet her but she kept avoiding me. While I was dissappointed, I know that Jindo's are aloof with strangers so I couldn't be too upset.

For lunch, we visited Naganseupseong Folk Village. The Village is located within an ancient fortress or castle and there are about 100 families still living inside of it as they did back in those days. Amazing. It was truly an incredible thing to see people still living like they did in feudal times with thatched roofs and clay kitchens. There are 3 restaurants in the village and we ate at one of them. The best thing I thought we were served (again no less than 11 banchan) were the haemul pahjun (seafood and green onion pancakes). They served them hot and they were crispy and delish!!! Again, we're still in the south so the side dishes were still salty for me but delicious. I'm seeing side dishes I've never seen before. Even my mom is seeing some she has never seen before. Amazing side note, this restaurant cooks from a traditional outdoor kitchen with giant fire burning stoves with huge iron pots. After lunch, it started to rain. Not hard. just light but enough to use an umbrella.
Inside this village, they also filmed the show "Jewel in the Palace" or Dae Janggeum!! Which is the show Jon and I were watching when I left for Korea! I was pretty excited to see the set. Had no idea it was a real lived in village. As we were walking around, a lady came out of her house and started talking to us. She was super super nice and just easy to talk to. She was surprised when I started answering her in Korean. she told me that she didn't think I was Korean and was so sweet. She offered to let us pick some of the lettuce from her garden to take. I told her I was thankful for her even offering but declined. Just super super nice and friendly. She told me she and her family have been living in the village for 5 years. We ended our tour of the village by walking on top of the fortress walls. parts of the wall have steeeeeeep stairs and at one point my mom and I had to help one another navigate them. Not easy to do while balancing an umbrella and trying not to break your ankle or face.

We're still in the Jeolla-do region but I think we crossed over into Gyeongsang-do region (the south east part of the country) and back again. But anyways. our next stop was a maeksil farm (green plums). They make this stuff into wine or juice or mix it into dwenjang (bean paste), make banchan out of it after pickling it. it's sour. My TEP people will know what i'm talking about when I say, Jan would be thrilled at how small our faces become after taking a bite of a green plum. Again. this farm? on a mountain. my legs are about to give out at this point, but I opt to go. It's lightly raining still and I'm still in flip-flops but what they hell? you only live once, right? By now, my legs are beginning to shake a little bit when navigating the steep downhills. But I made it okay. I think I'm actually going to get in shape on this tour. They call Korea the land of the morning calm. I think it should be called the land of a million steps. steep ones at that.

We stopped at Hwagae Jangteo, an open air market that specializes in medicinal herbs and green tea. The stalls are run by local farmers and there is a food row lining the outer edges. This time the tanks had small silver fish I had never seen and crabs. Many of the places also had fresh fried fish, fried herbs and other freshly battered and fried vegetables. The market is a rare glimpse of older traditions in the area. Many of the stalls were closed due to the rain but I still enjoyed it. my mom and I opted to get bindaeduk or nok du jun (mung bean pancakes). Mung beans are soaked and then ground to make a batter. In the batter, they add kimchee, onions, green peppers and pieces of pork. They are ladled onto a griddle and fried into savory pancakes. we got 3 large pancakes for 10,000 won or around 9 dollars. I snarfed them down so fast I burned my tongue. I offered some to a lady in our tour group and she declined saying something like, "But we're going to eat dinner soon." And I was like, "and we'll eat that too." I guess I'm here to eat. LOL

dinner was in the town of Gwangyang (also where we're staying for the night). The town is known for their bulgogi (literally fire meat). They are thinly sliced meat that has been marinated. The restaurant used charcoal (soot bul) and I enjoyed the meal. The banchan numbered about 14 for this meal. After eating dinner and checking into our hotel, I ate some more mung bean pancake. couldn't help myself.

We're a the philemon hotel in Gwangyang. Our room is small but clean. and more importantly, I have internet access. I'm not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow. But at some point we're going to get on a plane and fly to Jeju-do Island and I doubt I'll have internet access there, but we'll see. I think I heard the guide say something about shopping tomorrow. E mart? or something like that. I'll let you know.

things i enjoyed today:
I see lots of cranes while we're driving. We pass a lot of farm that has wetlands and cranes can be seen all over. I can't get a picture of them bc we're driving by and we never stop near any open farmland that has lots of water. I can't describe them. They are long and graceful and move with ballet dancer like grace. Just a real joy to see.
butterflies-there are a ton dancing around the countryside and even some in the city. Mostly white ones but I've seen some really pretty orange and yellow ones too.
I really like talking to the local people. They are very warm and friendly and i'm thrilled that my Korean is good enough to talk to them and ask them questions.

not thrilled about the rain, but at least it's not pouring. tomorrow will be a sneaker day. time to retire my flip flops for now. oh and sidenote* The humidity makes my hair straighter. I thought it would make my hair crazy but it actually looks like i straight ironed it. My hair back home is frizzy. go figure

bee gah wah yo. (it's raining)
good night!

Seoul Sista Day 8

2010-06-24T04:38:00.001-07:00

There was something that happened at the bath house yesterday that I forgot to mention. As i was cooling off in the "ice" room. And older grandmother came in and started asking me about some actor or something so I told her that I was from America and didn't know who he was. She asked me from what part I was from and I told her and she told me that she had a brother in North Carolina. I got a kick out of this for some reason. Actually she said, "norse carro-line-ee-ya.

This morning we were up at 5 am to catch our tour bus in Seoul. We took a cab into Seoul and it cost 24000 won or just less than 23 bucks. We got to the meeting point early so my mom and I decided to sit and wait at a Starbucks. Exactly the same as the ones in the U.S. We met up with our tour group and got on the bus. Our group is made up of 16 people all from the US (save one). Most are from California (LA, Loma Linda, San Jose) one person is from Philly, one from Toronto, Canada, two from Chicago. We're all Korean except for one guy who is here with his girlfriend. It's a good group. Everyone seems nice. Families traveling together. The parents speak Korean which is great for my mom and all speak English which is great for me. It's nice to joke and make commentary in English.

We left Seoul and headed south. The country is divided into different regions. The most southern region of Korea is called Jeolla-do (the last part is pronouced "doh" like Homer Simpson). This region is divided into to parts: Jeollanam-do (south jeolla) and Jeollabuk-do (north Jeolla). This region is the poorest of Korea's provinces. Jeolla do has mostly been left behind as the rest of South Korea has boomed. It may not be so great for the folks who live here, but for tourists like me, it's wonderful to experience the ruralness of the area and the lush, gorgeous scenery that isn't ruined by super highways and mega apartment complexes. I've heard that Jeolla do people speak with a different dialect due to it being a rural area, but I haven't experienced it yet. Although aside from a few thank you's, I haven't heard any conversation or talked to anybody outside of the tour group. Yet. But I'd like to. Jeolla do is known for having the best food in Korea. The people of the area take pride in that fact and I've noticed that they give an amazing number of banchan (side dishes) with every meal. No less than 11 so far.

Our first stop in Jeolla-do was Jeonju, which is the capital city of North Jeolla-do (Jeallonam-do). The city is well known for its hanji (traditional paper) and our first stop was at the Jeonju Paper Museum. We toured the museum and even got to make our own paper. It's amazing what they can make with hanji. paper, boxes, clothes, etc. There are records that show that Chinese emmissaries actually thought that the hanji was silk because it was so fine. Google it if you get a chance.

Jeonju is famous for it's bibimbap (or mixed rice). So of course we had that for lunch. It was delicious. I didn't count how many different ingredients were in it. I had intended too. But I was so hungry, that by the time I remembered, my bowl was already half empty. With the meal, they also set out 11 different banchan (side dishes), which, personally, I've never seen that much banchan come with bibimbap, but then again the region is known for it's food so I'm not surprised. We also spent some time exploring Gyeonggijeon. It was built in 1410, but the main part was being restored and it kinda made it not worth seeing for now.

Then off to the city of love or Namwon. There's a story about a low class girl falling in love with and secretly marrying a noble family's son. Her name was Chunhyan and she was known for her fidelity. This city serves as the setting for the story. We visited Gwanghallu-won which is a beautifully landscaped garden which also includes the historic Gwangtong Pavailion (now re-named Chunhyan Pavilion). There is a bridge there called the Ojak Bridge and suppossedly, if a married couple steps on it at least once a year, they will have a happy marriage. I'm not sure what it means if you walk across it with your mom like I did, but we'll see. I'll keep you posted. This city also is known for its pansori, which is a form of storytelling that is sung by a singer and accompanied by a drum. Ironically, a few months ago I watched the story of Chunhyan on Netflix and after awhile, I began to fast forward thru the parts with the pansori. Not because it wasn't entertaining, but more because the movie was like 3 hours long and it was way past midnight when I was watching it. I had no idea that a few months later I would be in the city where the story is set.

I guess I'll just kind of write about the things that stand out or I'll be here all night writing. A brief stop in Damyang where you can rent a bicycle built for two or a 4 seater buggy type thing with peddles, there is a beautiful road that is lined with lush trees where no cars are allowed where you can walk or ride. This area is known for it's bamboo.

Currently, I am at almost the most southern tip of Korea in a city called Mokpo. Mokpo is Jeollanam do's (north Jeolla-do) major port city. It was first open for trade back in 1897. It's known for it's seafood. So of course we had haemul jungol (seafood stew) for dinner. Crab, clams (two kinds), shrimp in a spicy, hot broth. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the seafood is the best part of eating so far for me. The only thing about being this far south, is that all the banchan were super salty. All our fellow tour mates noticed too and we didn't eat as much of the banchan as we wanted too. Let's just say I ate a piece of kimchee that will probably pickle my stomach because it had so much salt in it. I wanted to spit it out, but felt bad because there were so many people around. But I think the saltiness has something to do with how far south we are.

Some amusing things today:
I finally saw a squatter toliet in Namwon. They had one squatter in the bathroom with the rest of the toliets being western style. I should have taken a pic of it but figured I'd see more so I didn't. I kind of wish I had.
At a rest stop on the way to Mokpo, I was sitting in the bathoom when i noticed a small doorbell looking thing on the bathroom stall wall. It had Korean writing and English that said something to the effect of "Please push for toliet flushing until you hear noise." At first I thought it was how you flush the toliet but wasn't sure since I was sitting on the toliet at the time I discovered the button. So when I got up, I looked and sure enough, there was flush button on the toliet. So i decided to push the botton on the wall to see what happened, and I heard a long, loud flushing noise. My best guess it's to create a "courtesy flush" cover noise should the need arise. didn't have my camera bc it was just a rest stop. I've learned my lesson and will have my camera on me at all times for these such gems.

What I enjoyed the most about today:
This is probably the most rural of regions in Korea, but it hosts the most beautiful countryside I've ever seen. The landscape is lush with a variety of shades of green. Farm land is plentiful here and the homes (outside) of the cities are modest and traditonal.
Most people slept between stops, but i wanted to stay awake to see all the gorgeousness. I feel at peace. It is very calming to be here.
There were many graves that spotted the landscape today. Traditional grave sites are mounds covered in grass. Some have no markers, some have elaborate markers, some have brick retrainers around the bottom of them. Sometimes you will see one or two next to each other and farming around it. There was something serene and endearing about the sight of them. We passed one that was plain, unmarked but someone had left bright, beautiful flowers in front of it and it made a very pretty sight surrounded by farm.

We're staying at the Hyundai Hotel in Makpo and the view from our hotel balcony is gorgeous. You can see the sea and the mountains. We have wireless internet which allows for me to blog and check email and facebook (of course!). Looking forward to taking a shower and getting up early tomorrow to look around before we have to go. We're not too far from Jindo Island (where jindo dogs originated from and Gomi too!) Wish we could go there but it's not on the itinerary. Speaking of Jindo dogs, I've seen two so far. Both white. One in Bundang, where I'm staying and one here next to the restaurant where we ate in Mokpo. Seeing them made me miss my Gomi.

On the itinerary for tomorrow:
Yudalsan (Yudal Mtn)
Boseong (tea plantation)
and I didn't catch the other 3 places so I'll have fill you all in tomorrow.
(As long as there's internet access).

Anyongee jumosaeoh (good night!)

Seoul Sista Day 7

2010-06-23T02:51:00.000-07:00

Korea is known for it's bath houses. I remember going when I was a little kid with my grandma. I also remember her paying some lady to scrub me and I thought I was going to die. I told me grandma to tell the lady that I was tan not dirty lest she scrub all my skin off.

I think the women of korea have really great skin and age so well because of 1) the humidity and 2) the bath houses. I know a lot of my non-Korean friends have started going to bath houses in LA and have asked me to come along. the thought of being naked in front of my friends is not something I think I'd like to do. Or even being naked in front of strangers is not something I want to do. I kind of knew at some point, my mom would want to go to one the bath houses here and I've been putting it off. Until today.

My mom and I walked to a local neighborhood bath house. It was 5,000 won for each of us-a little less than 5 bucks. They give you two towels, a locker key and some shorts and a tshirt. some places give you robes, but here they give you shorts and a t shirt. the men enter on their side and the women on theirs. the first thing you do is take you shoes off and lock them in a small shoe locker that locks with the key they give you. The key is on a key chain that you can put around your wrist or ankle. Then you go into the changing/dressing room. As soon as you walk in, you see women in various stages of undress. I was pretty anxious at this point but followed my mom in and decided to see how things went. The key they give you also opens a locker for you to put your clothes in and where you can get undressed.

In the bath house, you are expected to bath FIRST before going into any of the large tubs that they have. They have showers or rows of seated bathing areas with hand held shower heads. the place we went to had 5 or 6 giant tubs. One was a purplish water that I'm not sure about. I think it was a special kind of water that's supposed to be good for the skin. Then there was a salt water tub where the water was super hot. Another that was warm that was mineral water and so on. there also was a wet sauna towards the back and another area with super shower heads that you can turn on and get a "water message". To me, it looked more like you got beat up with water so I didn't do that one.

Bath houses also have services like a scrub lady where you can get exfoliated or a salt massage or all sorts of other services for an additional fee. the basic full body scrub was 17,000 and the services went all the way up to 85,000. At one point, I looked over and a lady was walking on the customer's back. I opted not to pay anyone to scrub me. I remember being here at age 10 and almost being skinned alive. I decided to exfoliate myself. After spending time in each of the tubs, I started to feel better about being naked in front of strangers. It's not like they stare at you or anything like that. Or maybe they do but they are subtle so it was no big deal.

After washing off, we went back to the lockers and got dressed in our uniform shorts and t shirts to go to the common area where both men and women were allowed at the same time. This area was downstairs from the bathing area. The first thing I noticed was a play room for little kids. there was a restaurant, an arcarde, a workout room with machines, a snack bar and places for people to sleep. They also had massage chairs for your feet and back that required about a dollar for twenty minutes. This downstairs area also had about 5 different rooms that you could rest in that were different temperatures and had different "themes". for example, the first room was 65 C and had small rocks to lay on, the next room was 55 C and was heated by charcoal, the next room was 68 C and had salt on the floor. There was also a room that was 32 C so I think that was suppossed to be sort of resting temperature. Another room had marble floors to lay on and one of the rooms was 9 C and literally was like a refrigerator. Outside the rooms, people lay sleeping or reading or watching tv. I noticed that couples were napping together and I thought that was strange. Why wouldn't they just sleep at home, but I guess it's just something you can do together. Get clean, have a good sweat, take a nap.

there was also something that looked like an oven. it was rounded and made of adobe or mud and people had to take blankets in there with them to cover themselves lest their skin burns. I couldn't even get my face in the door without feeling the inside of my nostrils sear. So I didn't do that one. In fact, I think that's sheer madness to voluntarily go into an oven to sleep in or lay down in. The salt room, the charcoal rooms, the rock rooms were hot enough trust me. I sweated a gallon. I like to think I sweated out some toxins or at the very least will have soft skin for the next few weeks (which I feel like I do now)

My mom and I got a shaved ice at the snack bar and the menu had oven roasted eggs (I think they do these eggs in the ovens that people crawl into or something like that), mandoo (dumplings), fish cakes on sticks and a bunch more things like fresh vegetable or fruit juice. There's no time limit for how long people can stay so I think they have all these things down there so people can stay all day if they want to. Not bad for 5 bucks.

we got there around 2 and I think we spent about 3.5 hours there. time goes by quickly. My skin feels amazing and I don't honestly know when I was ever this clean. After sweating my ass off and sitting in the fridge room, we went back up to the bath part and showered again. It felt great. When you go into the dressing room, they also have a counter that sells clothes and underwear and more roasted eggs and shrimp chips. You can also get a pedicure and/or manicure and there is a mirrored area with blow dryers, facial lotion, tissue, combs, round brushes, q tips.

definatley worth just under 5 bucks. I have a feeling I'll sleep very well tonight. maybe next time I go, I'll risk paying the lady to scrub me....or NOT. I like having an outer layer of skin.

For dinner tonight: (a night of many firsts)
makolli
kimbap with tuna (first time for me and delicious)
sundae bokkum (korean sausage stir fry-super spicy and another first for me)
cholmyun (chewy spicy noodles. another first)
and some of the oven roasted eggs (first time having eggs this way)

well. tomorrow I'm off to a nine day tour around Korea. I'm taking my laptop with me and I'm told we'll be staying in nice hotels every night so I'm hopin I have internet access so I can keep blogging about my adventures.
Good night!

Seoul Sista Day 6

2010-06-22T08:30:00.000-07:00

Today was a nice lazy day. Woke up early and made a Western style breakfast. Then we waited for my girl cousin to come home today. She's been working in Indonesia and it was great to see her. We've been hanging out all day. It's nice to have a girlfriend to chat with. She speaks English too so that makes it nice. Not that I've had any problem communicating but it's nice to be able to speak freely without thinking about the words to use in Korean.

I think jetlag has been catching up with me because I took a two hour nap today after lunch. Lunch by the way was spicy ramen made by my aunt. Really good and perfect day for it too. It's been cool and really nice. In fact, I used a blanket last night for the first time since I've been here and last night was the first night I slept the entire time on the floor mat without getting up and moving to the sofa like I have been all the other nights I've been here.

Today, my aunt, my mom and girl cousin and I went grocery shopping. First we went to the local neighborhood market that was outdoors. It was very interesting to see all the vendors and the different things they sell. You basically take your own large bag and then buy from separate vendors. For instance, there's the seafood guy or the grains lady. Today we bought live abalone. I can't remember that last time I ate abalone. Like I said, the seafood here is really incredible.

After the smaller neighborhood market, we went to a larger grocery store. Very much like a Korean grocery store you would find in LA like ktown plaza or galleria market. I notice how little they have in terms of citrus. I realized how spoiled I am living in California where oranges, lemons, limes and all things citrus are readily available. The few lemons and oranges I did see were expensive and small. And imported all the way from California.

In Korea, there is also a supermarket that you find in the bottom floor of a baekagum (or mall). These are higher class and super clean. Every station has an attendant and the give out plenty of samples. After a certain time dertain items are 20% off and are marked to move before the next day's goods come in such as kimbap (rice rolls) etc. The mall market we went to was called AK and it was super super clean and well stocked. I was in awe of the system they have there. Everything is a little more expensive but the service is incomparable. There are no stand alone grocery stores like they have in America like Ralph's or Albertson's. I can't say the super mall market was better than the local neighborhood grocer. They were both very different and unique. You can find more western items here than the smaller local markets. Like cheese, butter, pasta...

When I was here in Korea 27 years ago, my grandpa was still alive and everyday he gave me money to go the local ministore to buy a popsicle. To this day I still remember it. It was called a jaws bar and it was strawberry on the inside and citrus on the outside. They make it look like a shark so it's grey on the outside and red on the inside. I ate one everyday when I was here 27 years ago. Actually, sometimes I ate 2 or 3 a day. I still remember it. It cost about 100 won back then. or ten cents. Well while at the AK supermarket I found jaws bars!!!! Unbelievable! They are exactly the same. That first bite brought back memories from when i was ten and as I ate it, I giggled like a little kid and thought of my grandfather. Today they are around 500 won or 50 cents. Still priceless in my book for memories of my grandfather long lost in my mind until today.

I also finally found a diet coke. except here they call it coke light like they do in mexico.
Coke light in Korea:
is not as carbonated (boo)
and tastes like coke zero
much sweeter and doesn't have the same taste I am used to.
a little disappointing but at least they have it here.
but only in markets.
vending machines and local markets only have regular coke

So today's blog post comes a little late because we drank korean rice wine makkoli tonight. The stuff is practically sold out everywhere and we had to buy it at the AK supermarket. I think the entire country is stocking up on makkoli, beer or soju in preparation for Korea playing this morning at 330 (or 1130 am LA time). The original plan was to come home and sleep and wake up at 330 to watch but since we stayed up drinking, I think we're just going to stay up. so three more hours to go. Of the ten bottles we bought, we drank 9 already. So I think there goes are plan to drink it during the game. but that's ok. bc i'm not so sure about drinking at 330 am. I think the entire country is going to be lagging tomorrow after waking up early to watch the game.

For dinner tonight with our 9 bottles of makkoli:
sushi
steamed abalone (really super yummy)
kimbap
pigsfeet

I couldn't really manage the pig's feet. They taste good, but I can't get past the super chewy texture so after my first bite I gave up. Later as we got drank more, my guy cousin ordered delivery from this soot bul place (charcoal) and we had buhl dak (literally fire chicken) and spicy chicken feet (more animal feet). I usually pass on the chicken feet when eating dim sum, but these chicken feet had the bones taken out already. So I tried one. WOW. It was super spicy. I had to drink a little yogurt drink to cool my mouth. I can eat pretty spicy so you can guess how spicy it was. The fire chicken was also spicy and my favorite. It consisted of bite sized pieces of chicken stir fried with onions and small bite sized rice sticks in spicy red sauce. Both dishes are cooked over charcoal so they had a nice smokey flavor.

It will be interesting to hear and see the soccer game because I suspect that the currently darkened windows of the mega super apartment buildings in our tract will soon all be lit up as people wake up to watch the game. Go Korea. Fighting!

Seoul Sista Day 5

2010-06-21T06:01:00.000-07:00

Today brought my second foray on the subway system. It was fairly easy this time. and around 90 cents. We got on the number 2 and transfered to the number 8 and made out way to Lotte World. I have to say, it's very easy when the people you are with are experts at the subway system. I have a feeling I'm going to screw up royally when I'm on my own. The exits are ever so important because you could end up going up and being in the wrong dong nae (neighborhood).

So Lotte World. http://www.lotteworld.com/
Check it out if you you're curious. It's called the Disneyland of Seoul and I have to say I was ready to write it off as a Disneyland knock off (and trust me a lot of the stuff there was ripped off from Disney-The Simbad adventure is basically an Arabian version of the Pirates of Carribean). We took the subway and walked past a bunch of storefronts in the subway and then there was this fountain straight out of Italy-in the subway. Crazy. The faces of the statues looked kinda Korean to me. My imagination? or skillfully subtle intent by the artist? I'll never know. I noticed that the Lotte Beckajum (Mall) was also accessible from the area we were in so we decided to eat at the food court before going into Lotte World. There's an underground food court and one at the top of the mall too. The underground one was a lot like the Ktown Plaza food court or Galleria Food Court. The major difference was you ordered at one window and the computer automatically sent your order to the booth and they rang your number when you were done. So instead of going from booth to booth, you order at one place. Pretty clever if you ask me.

Then off to Lotte World. I got a little confused and still don't know how much we paid to get in but it was something under $30 for sure. They gave all these discounts because my aunt had a Lotte Credit card or something and I think we got one free or one at 50% or something. Bascially they have an all day pass (good for all rides) or a walking around pass (good for entry and the option to pay for individual rides) and tickets for coming in after certain times. All in all a shit load cheaper than Disneyland for sure.
My first impressions:
It's a lot smaller than Disneyland
It looked like a bunch of cutsie rides
What I learned:
That sucker is big. There's in inside AND an outside. the inside is 3 stories. The outside has a castle that looks suspiciously like a certain enchanted castle in a certain magic kingdom. They also have roller coaster and their version of the log jammer and a ton of food. along with the regular park fare like hot dogs, hamburgers, tacos and burritos (or Budurittos-as I saw it spelled on one menu), cotton candy, churros, etc they also have a ton of Korean food and a chinese food court and very intersting things on skewers like meat wrapped around duk (korean rice cakes) peanuts butterred (spelled that way exactly) squid, dukbokki, and full service Korean restaurants.
We have Mickey and Minnie and they have Lotte and Lorry. Although the font they use on their signs makes Lorry look a lot like LARRY. Lorry (the girl mascot teddy bear thingy) had a huge red bow in her hair so they sell handbands with bows that look suspicously like a certain mouse's ears from a certain magic kingdom.
The longest wait was for French Revolution (alot like the magic mountain ride) and it was about 50 minutes. Not nearly as crowded as Disney. The lines were short and the rides were kinda short too. French Revolution was really rickety and I thought my brain was going to get scrambled in my skull. I kept banging the back of my head on the seat throughout the ride and I thought for sure I'd have brain swelling after.
Some things I noticed today at Lotte World:
couples who are dating come in droves to Lotte World.
The guy always carries the girls purse.
The exceptions to this rule are when he has his own purse or man bag. Then she's SOL and has to carry her own bag. I know what you're thinking....man bag. totally HOT.
Lotte World also has a monorail and an ice skating rink.
Lotte World has a lot of different rides that we don't have in Disneyland.
I expected to walk out today feeling like I had just visited a cheap version of Disney but I have to give them respect for what they've done.

Also in Lotte World, they have a folk museum and I was really impressed with it. One sign had an arrow pointing toward the museum with the words, "Fork Museum" and for a while I thought we were going to see forks from the beginning of time to the present. But turns out it was a folk museum and NOT a fork museum. They had 1:8 scale minature replicas of castles and I have to say it was super well done. They had a castle with the outlaying common neighborhoods. These minatures also showcased people and my mind boggles to think they dressed each and everyone of these barbie sized dolls in mini traditional garb from king to court people to guards to common folk. I felt like I was looking at a movie set. Really well done.

When we left Lotte world, we left thru a differnt exit and it was then that I realized that the Lotte Mall was connected to Lotte World. Lotte Mall in Seoul is very high end. Gucci, Channel, Prada, etc. I asked my cousin and he said Lotte World, Lotte Mall are the same company. There's also a Lotte Mall in Bundang, where I'm staying and I'm assuming there are others in Korea. Same company. I think Lotte must be like the Rockafellers of Korea.

I have to admit by this point, I was pretty exhausted. Even after snacking on Hawaii's ice (NOT hawaiian ice like it thought it would be. boo) dokbukki and a strawberry ice cake (what they call popsicles) I was dragging. My mom was hurting pretty bad and I think my aunt too. I thought I had done a lot of walking that day we went to get our hamboks made and visit my gpa's house, but it was nothing in comparison to today. My back literally ached and my feet were barking pretty bad. So i was happy when my aunt suggested we take a cab home. The cab ride back for four of us was only 20 bucks. Pretty good deal considering the subway would be packed due to rush hour.

Tonight we had dinner at a Korean charcoal bbq place. We sat at a small round table and they brought a small bucket of hot charcoal. Above the table was a vacuum that looked like a periscope that you could raise or lower which I thought was genius. Not only did it suck the smoke up into it, it stoked the coals to keep them hot. We ordered two rounds of spicy pork. Amaazing. While hot, you wrap the nicely bbq-ed pieces in lettuce or parilla leaves and eat. Spicy! Yum. Then came kimchee soup and cold buckwheat noodles. I literally felt like my stomach was going to explode. The walk home included an aching back, and it was aching not because we had walked so much but because my stomach was so full.

When we were walking back home, I noticed quite a few Korean Americans tonight. While walking I would hear conversations in English and would turn to see they were KA's like me. Except not like me. I find it interesting that I find myself more than willing to strike a conversation with the white folks i see around, but not the KA's. Also something noteworthy, I thought I'd be really annoyed here with the Korean people like I am with the Koreans in Ktown back home, but that hasn't happened at all (except for when I'm trying to cross the street and they are trying to kill me). although I did begin to feel that impatience and irritation when I ran into other KA's. interesting.

Some things to note:
I get a kick out of the corner parking. Literally, Koreans will park their car on a curved corner of the street.
Pedestians do NOT have the right of way here. You have to risk your life to cross the street. I try not to get mad or give dirty looks as I see cars edging towards me, but it's hard. I try tho. that's how it is here. Even if you have the green signal-drivers creep into the crosswalk impatient to drive thru.
I miss the diversity of the US. It's strange to see all Koreans all the time.
I'm always kind of surprised at how nice Koreans are over here. If you look lost, they will try to help you. While waiting in line for the "log jammer" like ride, one of the ladies in line overheard me telling my cousin that I didn't want to get wet and she made it a point to tell me if you sit in the back, you don't get wet and they have dryers when you get off the ride.
I miss having my peeps to talk to. It would be nice to talk to my friends as i see things and experience things, but I guess that's what this blog is for.

Something that made me giggle today:
Today at Lotte World my cousin was playing the claw game. The one where you manuever the claw to get the toy. and I looked down and noticed that it had cute little stuffed pigs and cute little moo toys. Moo is Korean for white radish. The kind Koreans use for the cubed squares of radish kimchee (kaqtoogee). I took a pic and will post when I get back

I know I'm forgetting some things I wanted to write about but it's 11pm and we've been out and about since 11 am and all I can think about is a cool shower and putting my feet up. so g'night!
sorry for all the typos and spelling errors. I'm too tired to go thru and spell check

Seoul Sista Day 4

2010-06-20T05:03:00.000-07:00

So last night it poured rain and we decided not to drive to the country to see my grandfather's grave site. Plus, Day 4 also brought with it a bad case of jet lag. It finally caught up to me and I was pretty beat. It also didn't help that we were out and about around for 8 or 9 hours yesterday. So we decided we would go another day and we quite literally lounged around all day today. After the rain last night, the weather today was actually very pleasant. Still humid but with a nice cool breeze. I slept alot and it was great. Even on the floor. sorta.

I forgot to mention that I've also been eating amazing food here where I'm staying. The things my aunt cooks for me are pretty delicious. I forget to take pics of them because I'm too busy stuffing it in my face.
Some of the things she's made me so far:
chap chae (Korean mixed noodles with vegetables)
dwen jang chigae (soy bean paste casserole soup)
bul gogi (Korean BBQ)
Kimchee fried rice (drool)
steam prawns that are so fresh they taste like the ocean
steamed clams (again, the seafood is amazing here. Korea is after all a peninsula and the seafood is hardly ever frozen)

Things I've made that they got a kick out of:
spicy breakfast home fries and veggie frittata (my uncle asked me where the side soup is. Koreans enjoy, at the very least, a small bowl of soup with every meal and there is no "breakfast foods" They eat the same things for dinner and lunch and breakfast)
chicken salad on whole grain bread
BLT's (wow the mayo here is super rich)

Eventually, we'll go to costco (yes. they have one here!) and I'll try to get ingredients for jambalaya or something. Can you imagine jambalaya with the amazing fresh shrimp? Holy Crap.

Tonight for dinner, all of us-my mom, me, my aunt, my uncle and one of my cousins) walked to this sort of food court to eat a specialty dish made with a fish that Koreans call agyu or something like that. I have to say. for all the fish i've eaten here since I've arrived, I've yet to have eaten the same kind of fish twice. Americans eat like salmon, seabass, halibut and maybe cod for fish sticks. Koreans could write an entire dictionary on different fish and the different ways to eat them. Tonight we went to a place where they first brought out batttered and fried tempura blowfish. Yup. Blowfish, Yummers. Along with the blowfish tempura came an army of banchan (side dishes). The most amusing for me was a little plate of boiled quail eggs. At first I wondered if we were supposed to crack them into a boiling soup (like soon tofu aka scooby do) but they were indeed just boiled and we peeled them and ate them like chicken eggs. No difference in taste. It was more like I was a gaint eating a tiny boiled egg. They are about the size of Easter whopper eggs.

Then this hu-normous platter comes out with this spicy red sauced chunks of fish and what I first thought was noodles. Turns out it was bean sprouts. Lots of brean sprouts. The sauce was like dukbokki sauce but not as spicy and not sweet. It wasn't my favorite dish to date, but I felt like I should keep an open mind and eat all the different things I can while I'm here so I dug in. I couldn't bring myself to eat the chunks of skin even tho they kept telling me it was the best part. Mixed into the entire dish were mushrooms, onions and these small raisin sized things that my mom insisted I try. My mom said it was "seafood. Like crab". It was NOT like crab. They were apparently something that was caught from the ocean and squirted salty broth or something from them when you bit down. I found them inedible but apparently they are eaten for the "squirt"? I don't know. I guess I'm calling them sea squirts for now but I have no idea what the hell they are. Live seafood is super common and popular at many restaurants. They have tanks outside and inside restaurants that are full of things I don't recognize. I've seen things that look like prickly exotic fruit that bounce on their own and things that quite frankly, look like prickly penises that wink at you. All things caught from the ocean and apparently waiting in these tanks for customers to order their deaths.

Lastly, they take what's left of the sauce and onions and sprouts after all the fish is eaten and they fry it up with kimchee, bits of seaweed, herbs and rice. They came back out flattened on plates and at first I thought they were giving us some kind of jun (or Korean savory pancakes) but they fried the rice up and flattened it out in a pan to allow for crisping. For those of you who have gone with me to eat Spicy P, you get the idea. This part was much better and enjoyable for me. I don't want to say the dish isn't good. I just don't have the right taste for it. It must be popular because the place was packed and everyone was ordering it. Oh. We also sat on the floor (very common in Korea) at short tables. I'm mentioning it bc it's my first so far. Every place we've eaten at has had Western style tables. (I wish were I was staying had Western style beds.) oh and we had soju with dinner and it burned the hell out of my throat and esophagus. holy boy that stuff is strong.

Speaking of the place i'm staying, I keep forgetting that the bathroom lights are on the OUTSIDE of the bathroom. I keep walking in, shutting the door behind me, and feeling around the wall only to remember that the light switch is on the outside. So then I have to shuffle around in complete darkness until I find the door knob. doh!

I have to mention my McDonald's discovery. While walking back home from dinner, I decided to stop and get an ice cream cone from mc d's. it's 24 hours and delivers. I considered trying a green tea mcflurry but they were sold out and I really just wanted a vanilla cone anyways. BTW, vanilla cone in Korean McD's are 400 won. right now it's about 1200 won to one dollar. so you do the math, but I think that comes to about 30 cents. While sitting there eating my 30 cent cone, I looked around and found:
with the happy meal, kids get corn salad instead of fries
there's no filet o fish, but instead they have the shrimp burger
not only do they have a bulgogi burger, they have a DOUBLE bulgogi burger
They also have the triple bacon tomato burger
Spicy singapore chicken sandwich
and spicy chicken strips
big mac and cheeseburger, of course, were main stays on the menu
as I sat there, I saw a white couple, a white man alone and a white woman alone walk in and order burgers (i figured they'd rather have mcdonald's than seafood that squirts and winks at you)

Lastly, and remember I'm keeping an open mind and trying different things, We came upon a street vendor that sells jajangmyun (chinese black bean sauce noodles) and udon. My aunt says his sauce is the best because his wife makes it at home. She's been wanting me to eat them but i"m always full. Again as we were passing, she asked if I wanted them and I had to decline and assure her we'd find another time to eat them. While standing there, I practiced reading Korean and decided to read his menu. The last item: Bundagi
Budagi are boiled or fried silkworm larvae. I wish I could post a pic but I don't have my memory card reader here. I'll just have to do a massive posting when I get home. But they literally look like bugs in a cup. Well duh. They look like bugs in a cup because they ARE bugs in a cup. LOL My cousin offered to buy some for us to share. And I decided why the hell not? I'm not going to be ethnocentric and bug out (get it? bug out?). So we got some. I ate some. I'm alive and none the worse for wear. They have a very strong flavor. Kinda like something fried. And when I ate it, I decided I must have eaten these when I was a little kid bc the flavor wasn't totally unfamiliar. My mom confirms we ate these as little kids when we were in Korea. I have to admit the feel of the "shell" parts stuck in my teeth was kinda grossing me out but I didn't let my mind go there. It wasn't any worse than the time I ate the chili lime crickets that Argelia's mom brought back from Mexico. At least there were no prickly legs stuck in my teeth.

Now that I think about it, I should probably go brush and floss my teeth!

Tomorrow: Lotte World (an amusement park)

Seoul Sista Day 3

2010-06-19T05:01:00.000-07:00

Day 3 was jam packed full of new adventures. I rode the subway today and it was an eye-opening experience. The subway system here in Korea is amazingly clean and mind numbingly complex. We got on the number 3 line and then we transfered and I was sort of catching on and then the day became a blur of getting on and changing lines and going up lots of stairs and going thru the turn style and by the end of the day, I just went where my mom and my aunt directed me because I had no idea which way was even up.
Noteworthy things for the subway:
the hand loopy things to grab onto are perfect for my height. not like the American busses.
it's good to be old or pregnant. you'll always get a seat on the subway
in order to not get thrown around, I learned to stand sideways with my feet shoulder length apart rather than facing forward.
in korea, you can buy one card that works for the busses, train and subway. you just touch the card to reader as you enter and exit the turnstyle or get on and off the bus.
it costs less than a dollar to ride the subway

Our first stop: Dondaemun Shopping Complex
On a busy corner, there was a old castle ( I think). It was so intense to see the old and new literally sitting on top of each other. My mom pointed out that just a bit further away, you could see the remains of the wall that was built around the castle amidst the shopping building and apartments. Korea is so modern yet it's mind boggling to see evidence of so much history just blended in with the taxis and dunkin donut shops. Then off to shopping! We went to a
HUGE shoppping complex that boasts over 4,200 stores which deal with anything to do with fabrics. Blankets, ribbon, spoolso f thread, lace, buttons, you name it! My cousin recently got married and his mom recommened that we visit the place where she had her hambok made (traditional korean dress) so we went. The guy was super nice and super impressive. He knows his shit. I took a picture of the walls but you have to stand there to really appreciate the beauty of all the colorful silk hamboks on the wall. He looked at my mom and starting pulling rolls of silk (an entire wall full) in matching colors and quickly came up with a color scheme of handmade silks that were hand embroidered. I was amazed. He choose the right colors for her right away. And then my mom told me she was having one made for me. I had already decided before we got there that I didn't want or need one. He started pulling out colored silk rolls for the skirt and the top. I was speechless. He hit my tastes to a T. I don't like pastels and he picked colors that I love. I found myself going from being sure I didn't want one, to dreaming of the finished product and wishing I could try it on. Very impressive. I'll post pics when it's finished being made. But I can tell you it's going to be gorgeous!! We also bought some hamboks for my nieces. I can't wait fo them to try them on.

Then off to a side street that was filled with little restaurants that specializes in all things seafood. We had two kinds of grilled fish and spicy octopus (Spicy P for those of you who know. wink) The seafood here in Korea has been by far the most favorite thing I've eaten so far. The seafood here is fresh and tastes a bit like the ocean. excellent, excellent. I got my first look at a row of pojangmatcha (street food vendors). It's amazing the kinds of things you can get on the street. A bowl of udon. A skewer of rice cakes, "American style" hamburgers. all things fried.

Back on the subway! I asked if we could visit my grandfather's old house. I have fond memories of being there when I was ten (the only time I've visited Korea) and we really had to ask and look at the map. Names of places change after 27 years. We finally got off the right subway exit and headed down the neighborhood. As we got closer, I could hear my mom and aunt chatting excitedly as we got closer and they began to recognize landmarks. And then...we got there and found the entire neighborhood had been demolished. Korea has a huge population for such a small country. they have no choice but to build up so to speak. quaint neighborhoods are torn down to build immense apartment complexes that house thousands of apartments. and when we got there, we found that they had torn down the neighborhood to build another mega complex. I didn't realize how much I had looked forward to seeing my grandpa's old house until I got there to find it had been torn down. I was bitterly disappointed and found myself fighting back tears.

Dejected, we walked back to the subway. I didn't really care what we did after but they took me to beautiful place near Seoul where the Han River runs through it. apparently, they had covered the river and then re-opened and re-built to have it be open (kind of like the LA river) except it's beautiful. The river is super clean and they have walking paths and lots of greenery and places to sit and people flock there to sit and put their feet in the water.

From there, on to Myeondong for some shopping. It's kinda like Third St Promenade but better. It's buzzing with street vendors that sell all sorts of things like bags, sunglasses, to all things fried (saw a corn dog covered in fries and deep fried today) and spicy. So much fun!!! It's very international in this area. Lots of tourists and people who are from other countries who live in the area, I think. I found a place called new york hot dog. The menu boasts a variety of hot dogs like the kimchee hotdog, bulgogi hot dog, and my favorite, the curry dog.

things I found amusing:
Most women here carry LV, prada, Gucci or Coach bags and most women here are the size of a toothpick
Most people here know I'm not from here just by looking at me. We stopped to buy some burnt sugar candy from this little old lady and before I could even open my mouth, she asked me where I was from. I asked her how she knew I wasn't from here and she said it was the way I looked.
I saw a lot of caucasion people today and for some strange reason, I had this insane urge to go and talk to them all. As the day progressed, the urge decreased.
entering and exiting the subway (older parts) is one hell of a work out. Those steps are no joke.
I most def got a work out today. Felt no guilt eating all the street food I wanted.
So far, the public toliets have all been western style. my biggest fear is to find one that is the traditional ones that are on the floor because I cant' do the kimchee squat.

To get home, we took the bus. Which I thought were tour buses because they don't look like the busses in America. I just thought a hella lot of people were taking tours around Korea, but it turns out its the regular bus system.

The day ended at a revolving sushi restaruant. You know, the ones where the sushi comes to you on a moving conveyer belt and you just take what you want? it was fun to watch the food come to you and then hate on the table before you because they took what you wanted. Eventually, the same item rolled by but it was fun just the same. Ended the day with more eating and now after a shower, I'm ready to put my feet up because my legs are going to be sore for sure tomorrow.

Tomorrow, we're off to the country to visit my grandpa's grave. more adventures to follow

good night!

Seoul Sista day 2

2010-06-18T06:16:00.001-07:00

so today marked day 2 of my journey in Seoul, Korea.
it's been really awesome and a bit eye opening.

Day 1 we landed super early in the morning after surviving a 12.5 hour flight. We landed at like 5 in the morning and it took us about an hour and a half to get to where we are staying. The taxi we took was quite different because it had Louie Vitton flooring.
The first thing we did was eat, of course. I'm thrilled to report I was taken to a 24 hr. Soon du-bu (or as my friends and I fondly like to call it "Scooby Do") place that is within walking distance from where i'm staying. I also am lucky enough to catch world cup soccer here. Koreans are absoutely insane about soccer. Korea played last night and I think just about the entire country stopped to watch while drinking either beer, soju, makkoli and eat fried chicken. I, of course, did the same. Unfortunatley, I didn't make it to the end of the game. It was like 5 am my time and I could hardly keep my eyes open. Korea lost which was sad bc the country is so passionate about the game and Korea playing in it.
My first night's sleep was great. Except I woke up every few hours because sleeping on the floor is a little hard on me. I'm sure I'll get used to it. We don't sleep directly on the floor. We sleep on these thick soft mats.

Day 2 brought more humidity and a bit of rain. I've resigned myself to the fact that I'm just going to be shiny and sticky. On the plus side, no need for lotion. and so far the heat and humidity is bearable.
Did quite a bit of walking around today. Also took 3 showers today.
Toured the "rodeo drive" of Bundang (where I"m staying). Very cute area. reminded me of parts of Vancouver with their shops and open restaurants. Lots of coffee shops. two starbucks, a coffee bean, a 24 hour mcdonald's (that delivers), and tons and tons of places to eat. I haven't stopped eating since I've landed. I'll hopefully walk it off.
Some things that I found amusing:
mcdonald's here has a green tea mcflurry
I found a beard papas
a donut shop here had very gourmet donuts in square shapes
the women drivers here are scary as hell and will run you over without batting an eye.

So far:
I find the people here very kind and accomodating. I find where I"m staying to be very modern yet still see evidence of old tradition. i"m amazed by the garbage system here. Everybody takes their trash and sorts by kind (ie paper, plastic, glass, etc). I find the US has a long ways to go in order to catch up.
I'm having a blast and look forward to meeting up with friends who are here and will be arriving soon. I am scoping out all the places to show them and hopefully won't gain a ton of weight. The women here are amazing skinny and majority of them wear high heels which I find amazing because the streets are sort of brick cobbled and I have a hard time with my flip flops.

Just got home from drinking makkoli with my mom and aunt. I'm feeling nicely buzzed and can't wait to hit the sack. hopefully the floor gets a bit easier on my hip bones.
That's it for now. ;)

What an amazing ride!

2010-06-13T11:00:00.000-07:00

Gosh. I graduated yesterday from UCLA with my Master's degree in Education. I can't believe two years have flown by. All the love and support from my friends and family was overwhelming. There were many times I had to hold back tears yesterday. Thank you to everyone who came and to everyone who wished they could be there. You were all with me either in body or spirit.

three weeks to go

2010-04-19T18:52:00.000-07:00

so this is it. I'm in the home stretch.
Three weeks and my entire master's inquiry is due. I'm 2/3 done and have three weeks until the due date which is May 7th. Kind of in a daze. Can't believe two years have flown by.

June 12th is my graduation and I'll have my master's degree. wow.

Very special Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T19:10:00.000-08:00

So Jon and I agreed not to exchange Valentine's Day gifts but....

Jon was sneaky!!
This is how it went down....

This morning he locked the cat out of the room and so when I got up this morning, he told me that he thought the cat had pooped on the carpet in the living room. He told me to go check so I did and when I walked out there, I saw three gift bags on the living room table!! One was for me and the other two were for our single friends who were coming over later that day to go to California Adventures (i know. he's sooo sweet).

I got candy, a stuffed tiger, wii winter olympic game and a diamond tennis bracelet!!!
What a surprise!! I was soooo shocked! He's a keeper!
I <3 my Indian!!!

I am the cookie master!

2010-02-06T21:19:00.000-08:00

Thank you to everyone who ordered cookies from my nice Katie.
Her initial goal was "thirty-five or thirty-six boxes".

thanks to all my friends who so generously bought cookies, I was able to sell a grand total of 251 boxes!!!!
Katie went around her block and my sister sold some at her work and our grand total is 500 boxes!!!
wow.
can't wait to see all those boxes in my car. I'll be sure to take a pic to upload.

cheers,
s

some pics from Canada

2010-01-13T15:28:00.000-08:00

here are just a few pics from Canada.

enjoy.

just click on the link below or copy and paste into your browser...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2622121&id=2528031&l=fdbe223a2e

Hello 2010!!

2010-01-02T19:37:00.000-08:00

Wow. Can't believe it's a new year already.
Christmas was another time of love and laughter with our family the Murans.
I am always so blown away by the depth of love we have in our family and friends.
Mom Joan outdid herself again with another amazing dinner. and Karen and John were a nice surprise this year.
We're excited to meet Baby Barker this year as well. Collin is going to be a big brother!

Then Mel, Will, Jon and I traveled to Canada on Christmas morning to spend time with the Shackelly clan. Canada is always so amazingly gorgeous. Lots of good times with family and catching up with old friends. Always such a treat to spend time with family. We also spent some time in Vancouver and Jon surprised Will with tickets to the Canucks game and they had a blast attending an actual home game at General Motors Place. Canucks also won that night which was just icing on the cake. Mel and I got to see my old friends Jimmy and Aeri and their daughters while the boys were at the game. I haven't seen them in over 13 years at least. It was awesome!

I got to see Jim and Betty Jean over at Shacken Reserve. I always am so glad to be able to sit and talk with them even if it's just for a short period time. It's like old times when we sit and visit with them. It's always good to hear they are doing well. They really made me feel so welcome when I was there 14 years ago. I was so homesick and they were always so great to me.

And lastly, we spend another wonderful New Year's Day with the Bang Clan at my uncle's ranch. My aunt and uncle and two cousins came from Vancouver, Washington so we were almost at 30 family members this year. And my cousin David just got engaged days before and his new fiancee was there too. Just really awesome and so much food, family and fun. We laughed all day. Just truly a blessing.

Looking forward to Jon's bday on the 17th, graduating this June, visiting Cindy and Andy in Chicago in Feb. Look out Parker! Here I come! also meeting new Baby Barker, and at least four weddings already planned for 2010 (David and Laura, Dan and Lacey, David and Diana, and Susie and Marc)!!

Here's to 2010 being full of even more love and peace than 2009.

Pictures to follow soon.

Here are some video clips of our trip to Canada.

I'm cyber-published

2009-12-15T00:04:00.000-08:00

http://centerx.gseis.ucla.edu/xchange-repository/current-issue-fall-2009/student-commons/digital-storytelling-and-technology-in-the-classroom

I wrote an article about using technology in the classroom and it's available online!!
Cick on link or Copy and paste the entire address into your webrowser.

Halloweeen WeHo style!

2009-11-01T11:39:00.001-08:00

I think the pictures say it all.
But I'm still not sure what came first-the chicken or the egg...

happy Bday Mom!

2009-10-18T10:12:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday was my mom's 70th bday! She looks fantastic and I love her sooooo much!
There's so much I need to catch up on but thought I'd at least post this pic of my mom's bday.

I quit my job today

2009-10-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

I quit my job today. I'm too exhausted to write a lot right now.
but it wasn't working for me. I never got to work with kids and all I did was yard duty and lunch duty.

I've got something in the works and I'll post later, but for now I can't tell you how happy I am that this emotional week is over!

I feel very much that leaving was a good decision for me.

Spicy, tongue numbing Chinese food

2009-09-24T23:15:00.001-07:00

This is for you Larisa. Enjoy

Chung King Restaurant
Spppppicy Schezuan Food
Monterey Park, CA

summer closing

2009-09-08T17:36:00.000-07:00

Sooooo.

summer has officially ended for me. Today I started my first day at my new job. I wasn't able to get a teaching job but I am an instructional aide for 2 sixth grade classes at a charter school in LA. It's only part time (and part pay! ha ha ha) but it allows me to continue with my second year in my master's program because it fulfills the requirement that I work with a group of students in an under-served urban community. It was a lot of yard duty today and I even have a whistle!!! Outside of the two classes, I also supervise one kindergarten recess and boy was I unprepared for them!!! They are so little and they just wander by and it's hard to get them to listen, but they are soooooo cute. I was going over the rules with them and this one little girl raised her hand and started talking about her toys at home and she kept going on and on and on so I finally had to ask her to tell me later. I was so dying to laugh but couldn't.

Gomi is doing really great!!! The first 48 hours after surgery were a hot mess and I thought we were gonna lose him. But he pulled through and we all feel like he's doing much better now. This first pic is from the first night when I thought we were gonna lose him.
and this next one is of him coming back from the vet 2 weeks later after getting his stitches removed. It only took four vet techs to hold him down but nobody got peed on or bit so I consider it to be a suceess. For those of you who don't know, Gomi actually peed on the vet tech when he was there for his shots. She said it happens a lot but it was the first time a dog had waited to be taken off the table and then deliberately lifted his leg to pee on her. that's my baby!

Then August also brought an amazing round of birthday celebrations for the 7th anniversary of my 30th Birthday. Ahhh to be 30 (wink) again is great! We started with a happy hour at one of my favorite pubs (if you wanna see the pics, you'll have to copy and paste the following link into your browswer, I couldn't get it to link automatically. sorry!)

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2551101&id=2528031&l=ab763776a0

Then I had a bbq/pool party for my first year Grad school team. Korean BBQ and beer. mmmm

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2551590&id=2528031&l=d37c30fd90"

Then I had a nice bday dinner at my place for me and my girls and we had soooo much fun. I'm sure my neighbors wanted to complain but I'm the manager so hey!!! LOL! Oh and I discovered that Bastet likes cheesecake...a lot. I had to lock her in the room so I could put it away. She was adamant about eating the cheesecake!

And then one last dinner at my friend Anna's place. She made the most amazing Jambalaya I've ever had. And believe me, I've had a lot!!! I'm officially addicted and still hoping she'll give me the recipe!

Let's see...what else? Jon and I and my friends Ashley, Jenn and Melissa went to Vegas for labor day weekend and we had a blast.

I hit a milestone recently. I'm down 79 pounds! I really want to just say 80, but you have to earn each and every pound!!! argh! ;-)

That's about it. I look forward to seeing what you all have been up to this summer. Hugs and kisses to all my friends and family all over both in the US and outside of it. I miss you all and I can't wait to hear from you.

lots to catch up on

2009-08-09T08:47:00.000-07:00

So a lot's been going on lately. I hadn't really had the energy to blog about it, but I'm up early on a Sunday and things are quiet and I thought I'd take advantage of it.

Last Sunday my friend Meghan's mom Bernice succumbed to cancer and passed away peacefully just before noon at the hospital. Her two daughters, her son in law and I were there as she left. I can honestly say that her passing has left me with a huge sore on my heart. I didn't know her as well as the other girls in our group. I am the newest addition to the group only having been a part of it for the last almost 4 years. The other girls have been childhood friends. But as fate would have it, I was the closest one to the hospital and I was there supporting Meghan as her mom took her last breath. Being with someone as they leave this world has had a huge and profound effect on me. I thought that I would be very business like and and a bit disconnected from what was going on around me. Shortly after she passed, the girls came one by one to be with Meghan and we all sat in the hospital room crying and laughing a little bit as everyone shared their fondest memories of Bernice. She was a firecracker I tell ya. I didn't realize the emotions that I would have. I felt very sad and thought about my own parents and how it will be for me when it is their time to leave this world. As I write this, I can feel my throat tightening up and I have to swallow to fight the tears that well up. Anyway, this past week, the girls and I have been taking turns bringing them food and helping then pack their mother's things. I drive home emotionally exhausted. It makes me very sad to think about having to pack up my mom's or dad's things one day. And it is a very sad thing to watch these two sisters having to box up and pack away their mother's things. One thing that I want to say though is that despite the sadness, the two days I spent at the hospital and throughout this week, I've witnessed and been a part of a lot of LOVE. So despite the sadness and heartbreak, it's been breathe-taking to see the level of love and commitment we all have for one another.

I also have an update on Gomi. He's scheduled to have surgery on Wednesday and the vet says his chances of pulling through are very, very high. So we'll keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best. I made it a point to go out and spend the day with my folks last Thursday. After Meghan's mom passed, I felt the need to be with them. We spent a lot of time outside playing with Gomi too and I know my Dad is worried that Gomi won't make it. He's been with us for 14 years and my Dad can't even talk about not having him around without starting to cry. That makes me worry since he's never been much for showing emotions other than yelling. So I worry about Gomi pulling through the surgery but I also worry for my Dad because he really loves Gomi. He and Gomi are like two best friends. In fact, Gomi eats three times a day. Anything my Dad eats, he makes it a point to split with the dog. They are like two old men sitting outside just being together.

Yesterday was a bit of a crazy day. The apartment I manage had some issues and I felt like I wanted to run from the building screaming my head off. I think I was more wound up about it because we had plans to eat Korean spicy octopus with Melanie, Cindy, Irene and Dan. (This is the part where I mention my friend Larisa who's working in Kazakhstan and LOVES eating at this place. I do feel slightly guilty that you're not with us) And for a brief moment, I thought we were going to have to cancel. It all turned out okay though. Jon and I had gone to Costco and when we got home, part of our bathroom ceiling was on the floor. So Jon cleaned it up and I figured I'd just call the handyman at some point to take a look at it. Then Irene called to say she couldn't make it and that really bummed me out. Then just before I was gonna get in the shower, we found out that the elevator wasn't working AND SOMEONE WAS STUCK IN IT!!! OMG. one of my worst nightmares. Thank God it was one of my younger tenants and he was totally cool about it. He didn't panic. I called the elevator service people and he was able to talk me over the phone and we were able to get him out. Turns out one of the fuses blew and it was up and running a few hours later.
BUT then the tenant who was stuck in the elevator called to say he had a huge leak in his bathroom ceiling. I ran up to talk to the guy above him (I really can't stand this other tenant-he's a moron) and it turns out his toilet has been clogged for days and he never called me. He said and I quote: "I just have been plunging it and plunging it, but it didn't work." I have an idea...WHY DON'T YOU CALL ME SO I CAN GET THE PLUMBER TO COME OUT AND FIX THE DAMN THING? ugh.

At this point I'm ready to run screaming from the building but it all worked out. Cindy, Mel, Dan and I went to dinner. Jon and Will went to pick up Andy from the airport (they lost his bag somehow so hopefully they will find it) And Susie, Ashley and Jen meet us after dinner and we all walked over to Tom Bergin's to grab a few beers and the night ended up being really fun. I love these guys. Everyone likes to laugh and we did a lot of that. And I got to see Cindy and Andy who are out visiting from Chicago. I had planned on going camping with them but turns out the memorial for my friend's mom is this afternoon so I'll be going to that instead.

OH! and in all the craziness that is my life, Jon and I completely forgot our anniversary on August 4th. It just came and went without us realizing anything. So Happy Thirteenth, Jon. You crazy Indian. It's been such an adventure. Can't wait to see what other craziness we get into together!

Well. That's about a day or so in my crazy life. I have to say though that despite the anxiety and craziness, I am thankful. Life is pretty fleeting and you have to kinda just get angry, get over it and laugh about it. I'd like to give a shout out to Andy's parents the Collados in Chicago. Over dinner last night, Cindy told me that they read my blog sometimes and I was very tickled to hear that. Oh and Happy First Anniversary Cindy and Andy! It's one year today! Congrats!

My boy Gomi

2009-07-30T22:00:00.000-07:00

So Gomi had a vet check up today and they found a tumor. We're waiting to find out if it's cancer. I'm not sure what to hope for at this point. If it's cancer, we will opt not to have surgery bc he's 14 and we don't want him to be weakened for whatever cancer treatment we decide on. But on the other hand, if it's not cancer, we're worried about his chances of pulling through the surgery because he's 14 years old.

So please good thoughts and prayer for my boy Gomi. I'm scared to death to lose him.

great summer night!

2009-07-15T23:47:00.001-07:00

Now it feels like summer. Mel and Will came up (well technically Mel since Will works at UCLA and was already here) and the four of us went to Century City Mall to watch Indiana Jones on the food court terrace. Free and lots of fun!

Then we came home and Jon and I went to drop something off at a co-worker's house and as we drove to her house, we realized the Kogi truck was parked two streets over from our place. (If you don't know what the Kogi truck is, it's a Korean bbq food truck that does like Korean BBQ tacos and sliders and it's got a cult following. www.kogibbq.com). People follow that truck around like it's selling crack. So of course we hit it on the way back. It was pretty good. And just fun to be up late in the cool summer night.

Honestly, my mom probably could have done better bbq but the tacos were creative and good. Jon got the sliders and I thought he'd complain about all the shredded lettuce on 'em, but he ate them and didn't say a peep. so I gotta give them props.

summer

2009-07-08T16:53:00.000-07:00

so summer is finally here but I'm still busy. and is it me or does it not seem as hot? Not that I'm complaining. I hate being sweaty and sticky. But it seems much more bearable. I guess I shouldn't get too comfortable bc Aug is around the corner and I'm sure it will bring the heat with it.

Jon and I are doing well. I'm down at my sister's two days a week so I'm hoping to get a wicked tan since she lives walking distance from the beach. I went yesterday for a few hours and it was great. Sitting there, relaxing. There's nothing better than a nice relaxing day on the beach. I do however, need to get a new bathing suit. My old one has seen better days and when I went in the water, the bottom half was sagging down. It was pretty funny.

I'm down 70 pounds and feeling good. A bit saggy and flabby but I think it's an even trade off. Maybe that's why the heat seems more manageable. I know I can do much more in terms of physical activity now.

That's about it.
Hope all is well.

if I ever doubted...

2009-06-26T15:07:00.000-07:00

One of the things that we talked a lot about during my first year of Grad School was about doing things in the classroom that were innovative and different. Along with that, there has been a lot of discussion about your students moving on to less progressive teachers and the concerns we have for them once they leave our classroom. Some of the advice I've gotten from veteran teachers is to just worry about the things you can control and don't let that stop you from doing what needs to be done. Another concern was about making a difference. I know I have wondered a lot about making a difference in students' lives. Not just helping them learn things and get better grades, but really showing them genuine caring amidst a ton of bureaucratic bull and politics. The best advice I've gotten about that was from a speaker at a conference who said, "If you want to see the difference you're making, look at your students. In a year, in two years, from the first day of school to the last day of school because it all matters."

I only student taught with my second graders for 8 short weeks. I promised I'd come back to visit before school was over. Today was their last day of school so I came and I can't tell you how glad I am that I did. They were all so excited to see me. Even the ones I'd been the toughest on and pushed the most were genuinely happy to see me. I can't describe the way it feels to look into their faces and realize how much of a connection 8 short weeks can create a bond with a child. One of my students was so happy to see me. He literally ran across the school yard to come and hug me. And my guiding teacher said he'd been asking about me for a long time. They all wrote me letters and read them to me and there were a few times where I started to tear up and almost cried. It was very touching. They gave me flowers and sang me a song. I recorded it and am posting it on here. It was really amazing and I'm so touched by these little guys. I struggled a lot in the beginning to work with such young kids but they really found a place in my heart.

They were so happy to tell me what they had been doing since I last saw them. Jonathan told me that he had been working really hard on not shouting out and that he was still really funny and Eduardo told me he still doesn't work well with others but he was trying his best to work on that.

It was the BEST thing to happen in a long time. If I ever doubted the impact that teachers can have on their students, I don't have them anymore. I know it will be hard most times, but I can see that it all matters.

is it summer yet?

2009-06-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

Gosh. School ended two weeks ago and I've just been so busy I can't see straight.
First of all, I think my apartment building is possessed or something because it's been one bad thing after another.
First the garage door was constantly breaking, then we had 12 cars (mine included) get broken into, then a week later the elevator broke, and then last friday our large water heater for the entire building blew up....jeez. what's going on here?

I can't relax because I feel like I'm waiting for something to blow up or break. Hopefully our run with bad luck will end.

In other news, I went to two culmination ceremonies. One for my good friend Argelia's daughter Natalia. And the other for my friend's nephew Mike Mike. It was nice to see these young people growing up. I can't believe how fast they are growing. Pretty soon they'll be graduating from High School!

Other than that Jon and I are doing well. No luck on the job front yet, but I heard LAUSD is opening position for math and science and I'm working on getting my math single subject so I can teach all the way up to High school.
I got an email from the Commission on Teacher Credentialing and I've fulfilled everything required and I now have my preliminary multiple subject credential.

Boycott Olive Garden

2009-06-14T15:53:00.001-07:00

I don't know a lot of people who eat there but please read the following email from my sister...

I'm writing this because I was very disappointed by the treatment we received at the Olive Garden today located on Beach Blvd. I haven't been to an Olive Garden since college, but Daniel was recently there for an office lunch and said the food was good. So after church I went reluctantly to the Olive Garden located on Beach Blvd. We arrived pretty early around 11:30 a.m. so there was hardly anyone there. The hostess told us to sit at the bar area where there are four booths. Daniel asked to be seated in the main dining area and she insisted we sit at the bar area. We sat down at the bar in a booth facing the front door with a view of all the patrons who entered the restaurant. Slowly the lunch patrons came trickling in and were immediately seated in the main dining area. Another Asian family came in and were quickly escorted to the bar area. More people arrived and kept on being seated in the main dining room. The third Asian family came in and were again seated in the bar area. I normally don't take notice of who or what is going on at a restaurant, but I did mentally note that anyone Asian was being seated in the bar area and everyone else, mostly white patrons were being seated in the main dining room.

The food was decent, the service was friendly and the waiter was good. So I tried to shrug off the nagging feeling that we were purposely separated. Daniel mumbled that he was going to walk through the dining area because he had a bad feeling and wanted to see if the people in the bar were the only ones with kids. He came back and reported that there were kids in the main dining room, too. He said he never wanted to eat there again. I told him he was crazy and walked to the main dining room myself. I was aghast when I realized that everyone in the main dining room were indeed Caucasian and all the Asian families were eating at the bar area. We paid and left the restaurant quietly. In the car, Daniel tells me that the hostess who seated us was quite insistent that we sit in the bar area and would not allow us to sit in the main dining area. I told Daniel to stop the car, so we parked and went back to the restaurant.

We asked to speak the manager, Jen. We asked to speak to her outside so we don't disrupt the other patrons. We explained what we noticed about the seating of the patrons and asked if there was a policy to separate non white patrons. She never confirmed it or denied it, but looked at us with a glazed over look and nodded politely as we explained our observations. We told her that because of our observations, that we were never going to patronize Olive Garden ever again, and that we were going to tell all of our friends and neighbors to not go to Olive Garden. She then offered to give us gift certificates to eat there or at Red Lobster. We declined and said the purpose of our confronting her with the information is not to get a discount or freebie but to point out the obvious discrimination that was going on in their dining room. I wanted to let them know, that I was not going to walk away defeated but that I took notice, that I will not tolerate further mistreatment of their customers.

So please help me get the message across. We cannot feebly accept discrimination in what ever form it comes in. Tell all your friends and family to boycott Olive Garden and Red Lobster. This is not a shocking revelation that a national chain practices this kind of discrimination. Remember Denny's was in hot water for the same thing not less than 10 years ago!

I know you probably have the good sense not to eat at Olive Garden or Red Lobster because their food is pretty ordinary and sub standard, so this may not apply to you. Thank you for letting me share and help us not to go back to the dark ages of segregation and hatred because of color, creed, sex or religion.

rough weekend

2009-06-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

So my car got broken into early Friday morning. They smashed my window and windows of 11 other cars in my building.
It was horrible. And it was my last day of student teaching. So luckily, one of my teammates was able to pick me up and give me a ride. Jon was so awesome. He stayed and took care of the police report, finger printing and getting a new window. Then he changed the garage code and changed all the tenants' clickers. It was a horrible experience and I hope they nail the jackass that did it.

So I high tailed it out of LA on Sat and spent the entire day at my sister's. It was awesome. We had an awesome mexican lunch complete with homemade tortillas and a pitcher of margaritas. After a long nap, we all went for a bike ride down to the beach and then to a park so the girls could play.

I haven't ridden a bike in like 30 years. I never really learned. I mean I can do it, but I'm not comfortable and I'm scared the entire time I'm doing it. They had me try on one of their bikes that has this extension that connects to another small bike (for the girls) and I couldn't turn it. It's too long. And they were screaming for me to turn around. I finally did and realized that poor Ellie had been running after me. she was worried sick! when I got off the bike she looked really, really sad. So I asked her what was wrong, and she said, "I'm sad for you, Eemo." It was sooo sweet. I told her not to be sad for me because I wasn't sad about not being able to ride a bike well.

Well, I ended up riding my niece's big girl barbie bike. Training wheels and all. And we rode about 2 miles to the beach and back. It was a huge lesson on courage because I had to swallow my fear of being out on the road and in public on a kid's bike. But I kept thinking about the courage and my second graders (see previous entry). Anyway, I was really proud of myself. My butt hurts like holy hell tho. They def don't make those seats for big people. ha ha ha.

my second grade class

2009-06-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

These are my students and my guiding teacher. Tomorrow is my last day of student teaching so I took this pic so I could make all my students a copy. Some of them started crying today and it made me very sad. I think they grew on me and I didn't even know it was happening.
They are so sweet and I will miss them. I'm also posting their movie project that they worked very hard on. They worked for two weeks to do all the work that was needed for this project. Enjoy!
I'll post more later. gotta get working on their gifts.

sick again

2009-05-28T22:19:00.000-07:00

No matter how much I wash my hands, I've gotten sick again. Started today with a sore throat and now a few hours later, it's a stuffy nose and really sore throat.

I have another Performance Assessment for CA teachers due on Monday.
It's been kinda stressful.
Today was a weird day. I woke up this morning and noticed Bastet was walking funny. I'm not sure what's wrong with her but she seems to be favoring her back legs. she kinda walks like she's really stiff or something and she's not walking around as much. I'll have to take her to the vet tomorrow or Sat.
Then I started getting sick but after teaching all day I had to go across town to UCLA to work my shift. I was tired but money is money.
Then I met up with some friends for dinner and I rear-ended this lady. bumped is really more the accurate term, but still a bone-head move on my part. She was very nice and hopefully the minuscule chip won't cost me too much.

Funny side note, a few days ago one of my students came running up to me and said, "Ms. Bang! Liana called me an asshole!"
It's very funny to hear little seven year olds use that kind of language.
I had to try very hard not to laugh.

updates

2009-05-15T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hi folks.

I guess I've kind of gotten behind on keeping you all updated.
A lot has happened between now and the last time I wrote.
Let's see. Well, student teaching has gotten much better. I think I found my groove. I'm just more strict than my guiding teacher and now that I'm taking over the class more and more, the students are responding to me. One of my team mates came into my classroom today and she told me later how amazed she was that all my students were quiet and attentive. I guess I have come very far with these kids in the 5 short weeks I've been with them. In the beginning, they would drive me mad, but we're working it out. They've also gotten used to my teaching style which is to make them think more meta-cognitively. I won't just accept yes and no answers from them. I make them tell me why and how. It was painful in the beginning and sometimes I'd push them and feel bad about doing it, but I really feel like it's been paying off. Even if they are wrong I make them justify their answer and usually as they are doing it, they self-correct.
So I guess if I had to do a lower grade, I think I could do it now. Maybe no lower than second grade tho....

Mel, Will, Jon, me and Irene and Ashley went to Vegas a few weeks ago. We had a blast!! I know poor Melanie had class during the day but we definitely had fun on Sat night. Like dancing on top of the bar kind of fun...It was a much needed break and I think it was the best time I've ever had in Vegas. wink! The company was superb. The weather OMG! the weather was to die for. We laid by the pool, drank at night, walked around, gambled and lost a lot of sleep!

I'm doing really well with losing weight and the grand total is now at 60 pounds! I feel really really really really good. My energy has totally gone up! and I love to go out and do things and keep busy now. Incredible. I'm finding that eating every two hours is really working for me too. It helps me to stay away from junk if I'm always putting something in my stomach every two hours. I eat lots of fruit now too which I never could do before.

A shout out to Larisa who is getting ready to leave us for two years and move to Kazakhstan. I think she's leaving on Monday. I had a good time seeing you last weekend, my friend. I love you and wish you safe journey. I can't wait to hear about your new adventures and hopefully soon I can come and visit! I also can't wait to hear where you'll be going next. I'll miss you. It was nice having you around when you were in Law school and living in LA, but things are only returning to normal now that you're returning to your nomadic ways.

I think that's about it for now.
Peace and Love

the second grade

2009-04-19T18:37:00.000-07:00

Wow.
What a week.
I did my first week of student teaching second grade. and boy was it different.
The kids are really small and they are soooo squirmy!
They notice everything. My hair, my nails, my shoes, the way I smell...it's crazy. They want to hold my hand all the time. It's just so different.
And I had my first crying kid and vomiting kid experience in the SAME day.
They are obsessed with erasures and tissue paper.
On Friday, one of my students asked for help and when I bent down to help her, I noticed a giant dried booger on her workbook. Ahhhh. Life's little gifts!

Well seven more weeks to go!

ouch

2009-04-07T10:55:00.001-07:00

So as many of you may know, I have this huge writing event due this Thursday for my credential. It's for the state requirements and it's so big that they cancelled classes this week.
Sometime last week I figured out if I pushed myself and finished early, I would have this whole week off. and.....I did it!!! I finished Sunday night. I won't lie. It was painful. There were a few "come to Jesus" moments but I made it and I'm done!!!

So I'm enjoying a week of freedom. I need to start studying for my math cset that's up in may, but I want to five myself a day or two to relax. I spend the day with my folks and I had a blast. I went to macy's with my mom and got some clothes for work and my dad is so cute! he hemmed my new pants for me!

I even ran a mile yesterday. Well maybe run is exaggerating a bit. I jogged very, very slowly. In fact at one point I thought I was jamming ass and I looked down and realized my parents' dog wasn't even having to run. He was kinda walk/trotting along with me!!!! I had a good laugh over that one!
But I'm sore today so I'm proud of myself for doing it no matter how slow I was.

Great Spring Break Day

2009-03-25T22:17:00.001-07:00

I had the BEST day today!!!

I had played with the idea of studying for my Math CSET that's coming and even getting started on writing for my PACT event for the state or CA, but nah!!!
I drove down to Brea and had lunch with my friend Amy and her baby Rachel. We walked to this place called Taps. It was awesome. It's a steak and seafood restaurant with an oyster bar. We split a salad and the Cioppino. It was really, really good. If you don't know what Cioppino is, it's a spicy seafood medley. It rocked! And I'm soooo in love with Rachel. She is such a good baby. She has the most beautiful hazel eyes and cutest cheeks!!! She threw up on me twice, but that just made me love her more!

Then I drove over to spend the afternoon with my sister and nieces. They do Tae Kwon Do as a family. My brother in law is a black belt and so is my sister. I thought it would be fun to just go and watch the family, but they had different plans for me. They suited me up and I participated too! There were a few times I thought my heart was going to jump out of my throat and I'm pretty sure I broke one of my butt muscles, but I hung in there and I think I did pretty good. Katie, my niece said, "You did pretty good. For your first time." ha ha ha ha! My brother in law and sister impressed the hell out of me! I had no idea they were so good. My jaw literally dropped. It was very cathartic to do punches and kicks and yell, "YAH!" as loud as I could. Then we had an awesome sushi dinner. The only bad part of the night was that my nieces got really upset when I had to go home. I had to promise them that I'd come back and sleep over another night. I've been on call for jury duty all week and they finally pulled the trigger and I have to report first thing in the morning or else I totally would have spent the night.

Then I drove home and found my cat sleeping in the half empty case of bottled water so of course I had to take a picture because she is super adorable!!!

Here are the pics, enjoy!

Can you belive I'm 2/3 done with my first year?

2009-03-16T08:32:00.000-07:00

It's officially final's week and I've somehow survived another quarter. It's so crazy to think how far I've come from my first quarter in school. Next quarter I'll be placed at Leo Politi Elementary School and I'll be teaching second grade. I've got more reservations about doing second grade than middle school, but I'm sure once I get in there, I'll love it. Last week was a little nuts because I had to write something called PACT. It's the Performance Assessment for CA teachers. I had one due for social studies and one for math. Basically I have to write out 3-5 lesson plans and write a planning commentary and context commentary. I have another huge one due April for literacy that involves me submitting video of me teaching but I'll worry about that one a little later.

In May, I'm also taking the California Subject Exam for Teachers in Math. It's 3 subtests. If I take and pass all three, I can also teach high school math and I'd have my single subject credential as well as my multiple one. The plan now is to take 1 and 2 which would allow me to teach up to Algebra (so possibly 9th grade, but for sure middle school math). Eventually I'll take the 3rd one but I don't think I can study for all three by early May so I'm going for 1 and 2 now. 1 is for algebra and 2 is for geometry. The 3rd one is for calculus. I figure with the budget cuts in education and all the pink slips that went out, I need to somehow make myself more marketable and there's always a need for math and science teachers. So I hadn't planned on going for my single subject credential as well as my multiple subject credential but I'll do what I have to. I did, by the way, pass the RICA (reading instruction competence assessment). whew!

Jon was notified that Cedar Sinai wouldn't be renewing the contract with his office so I'm a little worried about that. I think we the state of the economy, Cedar's has decided that it's too expensive to use an outside company and will be severing their long standing contract with Aptium (Jon's official employer). However, the company has indicated that they may be absorbing all the employees so Jon most likely will not lose his job. I hope they do hire him directly.

Jon and I are going to start walking again now that the weather is turning warmer and the days are longer. So I'm looking forward to that. That's about it for now. The diet has been going well for me and I'm feeling high energy and having fun buying smaller clothes.

Richard Simmons-in a word: AWESOME

2009-03-07T13:20:00.000-08:00

I met Richard Simmons today. My friend Michelle is a friend of his and she took me to his studio and he worked my ass off! It felt good to get some exercise and he was really sweet and funny and so supportive.
He said that he could tell that I was sassy! LOVE it.

I would totally go back.

last day

2009-02-27T15:11:00.000-08:00

so today was my last day of student teaching at the school I'm at.
Some of my kids cried and it made me really sad. Just before class was over, it hit me how attached I'd gotten to them. I didn't cry even tho I wanted to.
I got lots of hugs and I promised I'd check in on them. I told them to always try your best. I'm kinda sad.

Cassanova revealed!

2009-02-22T09:50:00.000-08:00

I finally got a picture of Bastet's boyfriend. You know the one that comes to serenade her? He sits outside our window and calls for her. He's a little guy. Or maybe a little girl. Either way, the little thing makes a whole lotta noise! I'm surprised how tiny it actually turned out to be.

Here's a pic. Really cute little cat.

it's little tidbits like this that make me glad i'm teaching...

2009-02-19T20:55:00.001-08:00

So the last few days I've been working with my kids on poems. The first poem they wrote was about the church bombing in Birmingham in 1963. They were really good!
So I extended the lesson and they worked on poems about an event in their own lives. Like something sad that happened or funny. Today we worked on revision and I was showing them how to add more detail and to expand sentences and images by using similes.
Well I asked the class to give me an example of any sentence from their poems. So one of my students says, "My cousin farted." I was mulling it in my head because I wanted to validate his sentence because it was from his poem, but then again I have middle school and sometimes they get out of hand. So I made the split second decision to go with it. But I told them that against my better judgement we would use that sentence. I wrote it out and then asked them to "be specific, but be mature about it, please."
So then I asked my class if anybody could come up with a simile for that sentence. And one of my students raises his hand and says, "My cousin farted like a nuclear bomb."

I lost it! I almost fell over laughing. But you know what? IT WAS A GREAT SIMILE! I mean really. The imagery is amazing! The kids won't forget that one.

one down,....

2009-02-11T19:23:00.000-08:00

So last Saturday I took the rica (reading instruction competency assessment) and I feel pretty good about it. And now I just have to get cracking on what's called PACT. Man the state of CA makes you do a lot of stuff to become a teacher. I have to do 5 detailed lessons plans on literacy and film myself, then write one for social studies and one for math. Each PACT lesson has about 20 pages of writing attached to them so you can do the math on how many pages that's going to be if I have to do 7 lessons PLUS videotaping of one Literacy lesson. It's kind of overwhelming. But I started filming today and was really proud of my kids and really happy about how engaged they were with the lesson.

I just watched the video footage and was shocked how many time I said, "Okay you GUYS...." or "We're gonna" and "ummmm". It's making me nuts! So I'm going to have to work on that and try to remember to say "Okay, Class" or "We are going to" and no more 'UMMMMS"!!!

I feel okay for now. I was starting to get kind of stressed out but now that the rica is over, I think I'll be okay. Either that or I'm just too stupid to be afraid of what's coming with all the PACT work.

getting there

2009-02-02T18:13:00.000-08:00

so my big rica (reading instruction and competence assessment) is coming up this Sat. I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed but today I woke up feeling kinda ok. Like whatever happens, everything is going to be fine. So a little bit of that knot that's been in my stomach kinda went away today. Hopefully it'll stay like that for awhile. I studied yesterday and the plan is to study an hour a night until the exam and 4 hours on thurs and friday. The exam is at 1pm on Sat, but I don't know about studying the day of. I'll see when I get there.

There's this student in my class named Marco and I think he's so sweet! He's also very overweight and I just remember what it was like being the big kid. So I think that's why I have such a soft spot for him. The other day we had a pizza party and some of the guys in the class were saying that he had more pizza then everybody else and I could tell it was making him feel bad so I stuck up for him and let them know it wasn't funny to say stuff like that. Ever since then, he's been really opening up to me. And today, class was starting and I looked up and he was looking at me and when he noticed that I saw him, he broke out in this huge grin and waved frantically at me! My heart just melted! It kinda reminded me why I'm doing this. I had lost sight of it the last week or so.

Well that's all for now.
Oh 35 pounds down so far.

wow. pact, rica, student teaching....wow

2009-01-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

I feel like everything keeps rolling by so fast that I'm having a hard time keeping up.

But I'm thankful for the little things. My other dad Dave had gotten really sick and had to have surgery but I heard last night that he's home from the hospital. It made me realize that no matter how crazy my life gets, it's family and friends that are the most important.

AGH. stay calm. stay calm. stay calm

2009-01-15T22:50:00.000-08:00

So it's the second week of school. We've begun student teaching and I'm in a 6th grade English and Social Studies class. I really like my guiding teacher. He's got his stuff down. He's really good. Well all week we were kind of easing into it. Just getting to know the students and walking around helping the students. I think it's so cute when they raise their hands and call me "Miss. Miss."

Well today he suggested that I lead a lesson tomorrow so I am! I wasn't nervous until I got home and started planning a lesson plan. Luckily the lesson plan is more of a getting to know you exercise. But I'm starting to get really nervous. Since it's a Middle School, I have to do it twice tomorrow (one for each of the classes). So either I'll do well and the second one will go better because I'll have confidence, OR I'll choke and suffer twice!

My idea is to have the kids talk about timelines and have them work on a timeline about their lives. My goal is to have a starting point to start to get to know them. The first class has 36 kids and the second one has 32! I have to learn all their names and I'd like to know more about them like their interests and homelife. I also made a timelife about my life so they could find out some stuff about me.

Wish me luck!

oh and side note, I've lost 27 pounds so far. I'm pretty happy about that.

trucking along into 2009

2009-01-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

Well, it's official. It's 2009 and we get to wait another 11 1/2 months for Christmas. As always, we had a wonderful time with friends and family and I learned that as a student, I get to have 4 weeks of winter break. you can't beat that.

I started school this week and officially have one week under my belt and 9 more to go. I'll be student teaching everyday from 8a-12p at John Liecthy Middle School in a 6th grade English and Social Studies class.

Our car is still in the shop so we've been driving around in what feels like Grandma's Buick. But out car should be done in another 2 weeks (none too soon I say).

It was sad to admit the break is over. I got to see good friends, eat good food and see my friend Amy's new baby girl Rachel and see pics of Baby Gavin. All in all it was a great December and the start of a new year. We have Jon's bday to look forward to on the 17th of Jan and as tradition dictates, we started celebrating his birth WEEK starting today with an awesome brunch at Pann's (the BeSt southern fried pork chops and biscuits) and will end it with a bday party at Mo's on Sat.

Luckily we also have MLK day on the 19th to look forward to. It will help us ease into the new year.

Bastet has a boyfriend.

2008-12-27T22:54:00.000-08:00

so there's this cat. It has decided that it loves Bastet and sits outside our window and calls for her. Of course she responds, the hussy that she is.

Jon has chased it away twice. And twice it has returned. It's actually very funny. But he is super loud. Ooooowwwwwww. Ooooowwww. We thought we could catch him and see if he has a tag but he has no collar. I think he might be a stray. Poor thing. It's so cold outside. And he's so earnest in his wooing of the hippo.

He sits in the same spot and just calls for her over and over. She, normally the hater of all cats, meows sweetly back at him.

Bastet was sitting in the bathroom window so we closed the window. Then we heard her trying to open the window. I don't understand the sudden change in heart. She normally growls at all other cats.

He is pretty cute tho. Of course he's smaller than her. He's a gray and black tabby with a white neck. Apparently he has won her heart. Go figure.