Poetic Therapy

After a particularly trying day of teaching uncooperative sixth graders, I sat down to clear my mind.  Wanting to maintain, or more accurately, regain, a light-hearted perspective, I decided pay tribute to one of my third grade boys by way of rhyme.

Ansan Station

Jeff and I are starting to feel a little burned out of all the travelling in and out of Seoul, so we decided to stay put in Ansan this past Saturday night.  While Ansan might not be the most glamorous city, it's definitely not lacking in character.  We toured around near Ansan Station, which is possibly the most foreigner-dense neighborhood in Korea, as it is home to Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, Filipino, Thai, Russian, Uzbek, and Malaysian factory workers, to name a few.  We stopped by a few foreign food markets (where we found Milo and Quaker oatmeal!), and enjoyed festivities in a little "town square" of sorts.  By daylight, there was live music and some sort of foot-badminton game being played by the young hipsters (no idea what the game is actually called).  By moonlight, the music switched to a sort of techno polka and the square filled with dozens of older couples showing off their ballroom dancing skills.  We also had some delicious Chinese street food that could have passed for either a pretzel or a doughnut depending on the topping, and had a cozy Indian dinner.  And, oooh, was it nice to have a five minute taxi ride home at the end of the night, instead of a one to two hour train trip!

Milo - the Pacific island energy drink
that Natalie came across in Fiji a few
years back.  Yum! 

Turtles in a tub.
(Stamina food, they said to us!)

Pig Heads for $10 a piece.  Enough said.

(To the right is duck ($9).  To the left is... I have no idea.)

Bundang 5K

Two weekends ago, my friend Lindsay and I participated in a BEAUTIFUL 5K running event in Bundang, South Korea.  The run, which had a mixture of foreign and Korean participants, passed through a gorgeous park full of sunshine and energy, and along a quaint little stream dotted with Cherry Blossom trees in full bloom.  It was a perfect spring morning!  

     

Friends are Leaving

One of the more difficult aspects of teaching abroad is the one year contract that all of your friends are under.  This means you have to say goodbye fairly frequently.  These three lovely ladies have been in Korea for three or more years, and all of them fulfilled their contracts within a month of each other.  What that means for me - three good buddies are all flying home.  This little crew came together about six months into my stay in Korea.  Odi and I shared a room while attending a three day teacher training seminar.  We became acquainted with Iftin and Liz after finding problems with both of our housing situations, as our rooms were littered with cigarette butts and missing beds.  There was instant bonding as we united to demand better accommodations.  I will miss our nights of Mexican food and margaritas, and our hilariously inappropriate conversations, Odi, Iftin, and Liz!

Spring is Springing!

I don't know how they do it, but every year, thousands upon thousands of potted flowers appear all across Korea to mark the beginning of spring.  I think the gardeners must prepare the arrangements in the middle of the night, as I have yet to see any of the preparations for these beautiful blooms.  (Notice the soccer ball planters - they were located just outside the sports stadium near my apartment.)

The beautiful yellow flowers
on the left are courtesy of
Jeff's flower-picking
and photography skills.

Octopus Ink Soup

Another memorable meal with the host family.  "Seafood Shabu Shabu" was the name of the dish.  Explanation: whole octopus, sweet potatoes, mushrooms, carrots, and rice cakes, boiled on a gas stove.  After a little bit, the broth turned black, a result of the octopus ink seeping into the water.  We were told this ink, as long as it is boiled and cooked properly, is quite good for your health.  What aspect of your health?  I couldn't quite figure out.  My host dad just kept pointing at his abdomen.

We ate the whole octopus, tentacles, head, (eggs in a few them), ink and all!  Honestly, I enjoyed it.  It's not necessarily a dish I would request often, but it certainly wasn't bad.  The octopus bodies/heads took a while to chew, but the taste was good.  Reminded me of beef jerky, actually.  Jeff went against his general rule of not eating the heads of anything, and gave the octopus head a try.  After chewing for quite a while, he vocalized his conclusion that he didn't feel the need to eat a second, haha.  

On the right:
Rex, with his dessert-inspired
chocolate truffle lipstick - which
had been mostly licked off at this point.
(I promise he enjoyed it more
than his expression portrays!)

 

Ricecooker Brownie

On a far more appetizing note, the music teacher at my new school made brownies in her rice cooker!  With great sorrow, I have given up on brownies made in Korea.  They just aren't good.  My mind was re-opened, however, when this little piece of gold was dropped off on my desk.  As you can see from the progression of pictures, it didn't last long!  It was fudge-y, thick, and sprinkled with chocolate chips.  I must admit, this actually competes with my own oven-made brownies.  So good!  Never have I seen a better use of a rice cooker!

Paris Baguette

My most recent findings at a local chain bakery, Paris Baguette.  This particular store is located about two blocks from my apartment.  

Squid Ink Break.  Enough said.
(Also, note the sausage doughnut sign on the left.)