Small Town Festavel & Flood

Hey Ya'll!  It feels like it has been forever sense I have blogged on a Saturday but Ryan and I are spending the weekend down in GA at Stone Mountain and I thought I would use this time to post one of my many not yet finish but now finished drafts!  Hope you enjoy and hope you are having a great weekend!

So if you are new here I lived in Korea for a year or so and taught English.  It was amazing, I miss it like crazy, and there are so many memories I want to share and hopefully never forget.  The past few months I have noticed that I have had a few drafts hanging around....this one is sadly over a year old.  However rather than just delete this halfway written up memory I figure I would spell check it, add some photos and just go with it! So here is what I wrote about a small town festival that Ryan and I went to last summer. The photos are dated September 18th, 2010 so I would have to guess that is probably close to being around the time.

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For the past month or so we have seen fliers all over the bus stops, seen huge banners on the way to Lotta Mart and have had a few kids in class mention this festival that was going on last week over in Anseong.  The teachers mentioned that they were all going last Thursday however it rained all week so no one went.  Ryan and I had talked about going however we really didn't see the rain letting up anytime soon and we were not even too sure of where it was, not that Anseong is a big place, or what would be going on.  All the banners have shown a Korean on what looks like a tight rope line and one of my classes pulled up videos online of past festivals.  So when the sun came out on Sunday and it was a nice warm breezy day we decided to head over and see what it was all about. 

So on the way over we decided to stop at the  McDonald's because we had taken a few weeks off from the good old Big Mac and felt it was time to treat ourselves.  It was before two so they were still running the lunch deal and they were packed.  I grabbed a table as Ryan waited in line to place our order.  They have seem to have given up the whole sixty seconds or you get a free fry deal and that was fine with us.  After a few minute and the people who had ordered before us got their food our order popped up but just as it did so did a little Korean man who grabbed tray and headed off to sit down with it. This bothered us but at the same time we figured that he must of just ordered the wrong thing and thought it was his.  So we stood there waiting for two more Big Mac's to pop up however after about fifteen minutes when they didn't we started to think something was up.  So Ryan grabbed the manager and tried to explain that we never got our food, and well when he didn't seem to understand Ryan just said even louder (because when people don't speak English it is always better to just tell them everything slower and louder...however it never helps just makes you look crazy) "that man (as he pointed to the man) took (as he did the motion of taking our tray) my Big Mac." At this point I think he was starting to put it all together thanks to the hand signals and the big upset looking white guy.  So he swapped out and order said he was sorry in broken English and "fixed it"; however at this point Ryan was too mad to eat because the Korean man and his wife were laughing and enjoying their free lunch.  So I ate quickly we packed his up and headed out to the market and to hopefully find this festival we had been told about.

As we made our way around the market we saw normal Korean things fish, squid and other sea animals for sale along with fruit, peppers, cleaning supplies, and even found some other cool things.  We were able to find a really unique gift for my brother Chris for Christmas when I had just about given up on finding him anything.  After about an hour of random wondering we had checked out  a few "quilt" shops and made our way down to a pet store.  As always I had to drag Ryan in to see what we could find; sadly this one didn't have the same welcoming feeling that the one we like to like at Lotta Mart. 

Once out of the pet store we noticed big balloons in the sky and well have come to learn that these normally are around where ever there is a festival.  After making our way down a few side streets we found one packed with food vendors and people and as we passed a man selling coconut milk out of coconuts we knew we were in the right place.  However I did wonder why there were coconuts at a Korean festival but hey when in Rome drink coconut milk!

We made our ways through the vendors down towards a river we never even knew was there only to look out and see lots of colorful tents all set up, but as we made our way closer we noticed that they all seemed empty and like something wasn't right.  Once we were at street level and parallel to the river we could see that all the tents were flooded because the river over flown onto the banks and then some.

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And that is where I stopped.  My guess is that whatever class I was teaching was about to start, or Ryan and I were headed out to see friends or explore.  So lets see if I can wrap this up with a few thoughts from the festival before just ending this.....

I remember walking around a bit, being shocked at how much the water had risen from the rain, people watching, and having a good time.  We didn't ride any rides, we didn't really eat any food outside of our coconut milk, but it was something I can say I did.  We walked from one side of the river over the bridge to the other and made a loop.  After walking around for a bit we made our way back to the main part of town to catch the bus back home. 

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And last but not least we have some photos from the day....as always sorry they are so big blogger and I don't get along. Oh photos from Korea always kind of make me a little home sick.  I know I don't have any family there but I did make some great friends and the country really is amazing if you are open minded and willing to change your way of thinking.

First we hit our small town market for a little bit.  Side note they did have stores like Walmart only nicer and more high end but some people still prefer the markets.

Fish from our market.

Bags and bags of my fave! Hot red peppers!

Some chicken and all the different parts.

Down at the festival...we followed the balloons in the sky to find it.

Roasted piggy

Coconut milk

Ryan and I just thought it was odd they were selling coconut milk at a Korean festival...I never once saw a coconut tree.

Where everything was set up until the rain came.

The bridge and to the right you can see the sidewalk that was flooded.

The walking path.

View from the bridge back towards the festival

The  mountains I feel in love with in my short time there

View from the other side of the river

Korea is really big in to characters.

A Korean Christian group singing songs.

View from down at the other bridge. 

Korean carnival rides....don't worry I didn't ride any of them

And another ride. Really Koreans are good at this ride....they just sit down on the edge and the ride tries to toss them out into the middle...no seat belts or anything.

I would say that this flood was a sad event and that it was devastating for the town.  Oddly thought that was not the case at all.  Yes it did flood their festival however the vendors still came out and sold their goods, the families still came out and had a great time.  Koreans are hardy people. The rebuilt the walking paths, and were just happy to have the rain.  When walking back over the second bridge Ryan and I met some Canadians who wanted to talk to us about how sad this festival was for the town, and I wanted to just yell back about how it wasn't sad at all.  It was great that this town was strong enough to over come things like this, carry on with their lives, and rebuild.  It shocks me that they could not see that this was not bothering the Koreans at all, they were still happy and going on with the events they had planned.

Maybe we could learn something here.  This small Korean town did not go looking for a hand out from some of the other, larger towns, they didn't ask for anything spacial.  They took care of themselves.  They didn't want or ask for help.  Really anytime anything happens in America we good looking for a hangout, demanding help, make it a disaster, and don't take care of ourselves.  Korean people are proud people and yes they care for one another but they also care about being independent and taking care of themselves. 

Over all I remember this day as being a great day, I remember most days in Korea as beging good days.  Days that now feel like they are years ago even thought they have only been maybe a year or so. 

Ahh memories of Korea!

Eureka! We Got It!

Wow so I was about to type this past weekend but sadly it is already Thursday and not just the Thursday after but the Thursday after, after (humm I don't know if that is right but that is how my Korean kids would of said it)the weekend when mom and I attempted to make Kimchi Stew once again.  As before I didn't really feel the need to use a recipe because every place I had eaten it in Korea had a different taste and it was never the same so I figured why not take what I know I like from all those places and make it into a Kimchi Stew I'll like?  Well if you read my blog you know the first time I made it at home it was lets just say a little spicy; however everyone that had sinus problems no longer had them at the end of dinner! So this time I knew I needed to ton it down just a little and I think we found a recipe that works and for bonus points I even wrote it down! Now please take note that I am not a cook nor do I know how to write a recipe so if you have any questions please ask and I will try to explain what I mean. 

Here it is:

• Caramelize 5 cups of Kimchi (I just did this in the bottom of my big stock pot on low until some of the juices were cooked out and it was a little crunchy)
• *If possible find a Korean store or market where they make it fresh
• 4 Cucumbers sliced in little circles
• 1 1/2 cups of carrots chopped
• Thinly sliced garlic (however much you like)
• 7 Cups of water (I make a big batch and that is with little liquid when it is all said and done)
• 1 table spoon of beef broth (Korean if you can find it because of the added spices they use)
• 3 Large green chillies (If you do not like hot foods leave these out)
• 1 Table spoon of sugar
• 2 Table spoons of hot red pepper flakes (not the same as the normal red pepper flakes)
• 5 Table spoons of red pepper paste (Gochujang) 
• *This is hard to find and can most likely only find it at a Korean or Asian market. 
• Bring this to a boil and then cover and let simmer.  If you are in a time crunch it only has to simmer about 30 minutes but as with most things the flavors grow as it simmers.
• About an hour before your ready to serve add in:
•  2 packs of Enoki Mushrooms (if you cannot find any type of mushroom will almost work)
• 2 packs of cubed super firm tofu.

 Serve over rice or soy bean sprouts. 


Not the best photo but it gives you an idea.

In other good news I also found a Galbi Marinade that everyone liked. 

• 1 1/2 cups Soy Sauce
• I don't love soy sauce so I used 1 cup of soy sauce and 1/2 a cup of water instead
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup sesame oil
• 5 cloves of garlic minced
• 1/2 of a medium yellow onion chopped
• 3 large green onions cute into small pieces
• 2 table spoons toasted sesame seeds
• 1/2 tea spoon red pepper flakes
• For the most part we all like things hot in this house so I used 1 table spoon
• 4-6 pounds of Korean Short-Ribs
• Our Korean marked didn't have this due to the increase in price so we just used some flank stake from Costco and cut it into thin strips
• Mix marinade and pour over meat
• Refrigerate over night
• Sadly I didn't find this marinade recipe till that last minute so if you are short on time 4 or 5 hours will also work well
• Heat grill to medium-heat
• Cook each side 3-4 minutes

Ok guys this meal was amazing! It is not quite the same as eating it in a parking lot out side of our apartment with a few good friends laughing and drinking the night away but it is pretty darn close! 

Also for those of you who asked about the cheese I mentioned in my one blog about German food that my brother and mom made us it is called Halloumi and it is amazing when cooked on a grill!

Well, I still have a ton left I want to blog about but for now this will have to be it.  So until next time thank you for reading, I would love to hear your thoughts, and I hope everyone is having a great week!

3-6-9....3-6-9....Ryan's Birthday

Last Saturday night (March 19th, so maybe two Saturdays ago now)  Ryan had two of his good friends Brad and Jose come down from Seoul, two of our friends and coworkers Grace and Jasmine, along with Sung Tae (a friend of Jasmine's) and Star (Grace's sister) all get together for a night out to celebrate Ryan's 29th birthday!  It was a great night full of fun, laughter, bar hopping, and even some singing.

Brad and Jose got in on the 8:00 bus and we met up with them along with Grace and Jasmine to head off to one of our favorite bars for some drinkings games like:
3-6-9: A game where you go around the circle and count, whoever ends up with a 3, 6, or 9 claps.  For example 1, 2, clap, 4, 5, clap, 7, 8, clap, 10, 11, 12, clap....once you get to 30 you clap for 30, 31, 32, 33 (clap two times) and so on and so forth.  It is pretty simple however as people drink more they mess up their clapping more.
Baskin Robbins 31: A game where you go around the circle and count, whoever ends up with the number 31 has to drink.  You can say up to 3 numbers on your turn. 
Rock, Paper, Scissors: This game is a team game where you are on a team with your side of the table and more or less you come up with a plan for 3 rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors and hope to beat the other team 2 out of 3 times.  If someone on your team does the wrong hand gesture it is a loss for you team.  This game also gets more interesting the longer you play and the more you drink. 

Here are some photos from our first stop:

Ryan was such a good sport, he even wore the hat as everyone in the bar sang Happy Birthday and clapped along with the song they played over the sound system. 



The guys got a bottle of Maker's Mart and it came with a mini bottle and a lucky 2 dollar bill.  Our friends were so sweet to bring Ryan gifts, Grace even said he could have the baked egg that came with our chicken wings.



Group shots before we move on to the next bar.

The next place we headed was a "Western Bar" that was empty and it was great.  The bar tender does a
"fire show" with a Jolly Rancher shot for birthdays and it was quite impressive.  We broke into teams to play pool with the losing team having to sing the first song at the Noribong (Singing Room).

Sorry the video is sideways, and well hard to see.  I guess there is a reason I am not a photographer or video camera operator.  Anyways it was Ryan's Birthday drink.

Grace and I both made a shot! 

Someone even carried the egg from the first bar to the second bar with us. 

And the last bar of the night was a Singing Room where everyone sang songs and had a good time. 




I tried to pick the ones that showed up the best, this part of the night was hilarious!

And here is another video that I hope works of the last song of the night, the guys singing Bohemian Rhapsody. 

 

 

And that would be the night in a nut shell.  It was a great night, celebrated in Korean style, with great friends.  I am very thankful for my life and all the people in it!

 

Hope everyone is having a great week!



Happy White Day!

Or well Happy White Day yesterday!  White Day was Monday (March 14th) but seeing as how most of you didn't even know there was such thing as a White Day I think I'm doing pretty good!  I also guess I need to wish everyone a Happy Pi Day, but I am not even getting into that one, as it makes no sense to me and the only reason I even know it exist is because of Facebook.
So what is White Day you ask? Well thanks to the help of some of my students and wikipedia I now feel fully informed enough to tell you all about it!

Apparently in Japan, and South Korea Valentine's Day is for women who want to give gifts of chocolate(most of my students gave me handmade chocolate) to a man to express their love. Apparently over here it is a courtesy and social obligation to give a gift. So in return the Japanese came up with White Day, and now the men who received gifts on Valentine's Day are expected to return the favor by giving gifts that are more expensive. Popular White Day gifts are cookies, jeweler, white chocolate, white lingerie, and marshmallows. The term sanbai gaeshi (or "triple the return") is used to describe the rule that the return gift should be two or three times the cost of the Valentine's gift the man received.
I had many students give me candy (they were really big on Chupa Chups, or something along that line that is a sucker) yesterday and Jasmine teacher even gave me chocolate. My students were also shocked when I told them that "No, Ryan teacher didn't give me candy today. Why would he?" So yes once it was explained to me I filled them in on the fact that Ryan teacher gave me candy last month on Valentine's Day. The world was right again for all my little students who keep trying to pick wedding dates for Ryan and I so they can come to our wedding. So cute, I know I just love them to death, some of them I may wish death on some days.......

I was told that White Day was started by the National Confectionery Industry as an "answer day" because I guess they see Valentine's Day as a day when women show their love and men need to "answer" it. Anyways I think it is just a way to sell candy, just like 11/11 Pepero Day, but hey I am not complaining I love candy!

I have also found out that I have Black Day coming up on 4/4. It is a Chinese holiday about death, and everyone eats black noodles Oh boy I cannot wait! Stay tuned and I will fill you in on that one once I figure out more about it and what goes on to celebrate it.

Hope everyone is having a great week, I am still in shock it is only Tuesday today! I should be posting my midweek Kindergarten update later today, full of photos from the art and science projects.

Chupa Chups:



I had no clue what a Chupa Chup was until a few weeks when two of my students did really well in class and I offered to bring them candy to the next class and they both wanted Lemon Chupa Chups....I was confused for hours until Ryan finally came home and filled me in on what they are.

Beast - Beautiful

How would you like to work out to this when your at the gym? 


I don't know what it is about Korean Pop but I can't help but smile, and sometimes laugh. 

SHINee(샤이니)_Hello_뮤직비디오-Korean Pop

Another Korean pop song, and yes those are boys and yes they really do dress like that here.  Hope you enjoy!

Girls' Generation- Korean Pop

And this cute group is made up of 9 Korean girls, hope you enjoy their little 007 reenactment

Korean Pop - The Big Bang

Most of my female students go crazy for this boy band, it's all they want to talk about, and about once a week I get asked if I have played their newest, latest song.  So I thought I would share some of the Korean Pop Craze with you!  Stay tuned I am going to try to find a few more Korean Pop hits over the weekend.