Teacher Late!

I have a tendency of getting to school right at 8:30am.  Two of my grade 6 girls have to clean up the front of the school around this time and if they ever see me they have no problems yelling out "Teacher!  Late!!  You are soooooo late!"  to which I'll always ask them what time it is.  Sometimes they'll retract their statement, other times they'll tell me I'm a little late.  Either way, Joung Hwa and Su Bin (who used to be Crystal but then I guess became embarrassed having the only English name in the class) are two of my favourites.  Maybe because they give me candy, and I can have semi-conversations.  But this is the start of my day. 
When I get up to my floor which is full of my third grade students, they always yell out my name, bust out a "nice to meet you!", either give me a high 5 or run across the hallway to fling themselves in my arms. 

Monday's are always the worst day of the week and I hate the thought of teaching and being at school but my saving grace is that I only have third grade classes and they are the cutest things ever.  They always have something to say.  Surprisingly, they can talk a little bit in English so its not too difficult.  And they are just too adorable.

The only problem is, I miss my little cousins at home.  One is turning three tomorrow.  He is the joy of my life and sadly I can't be there to run around and play with him.  Either way, I hope he plays with Thomas the Tank Engine's for a few more years before he moves into being a suave Ladies' man, which I know he will become. 

Happy Birthday!!

Quest for side dishes!

Costco is a glorious place.  In Canada, it was where the free samples constituted my Sunday lunch.  In Korea however, its where I'm reminded of home.  Bacon, cheese, chocolate, pesto sauce, Tim Tam's; these are some of the things I live for in Korea.  Now don't get me wrong, I love Korean food, but sometimes you just need something that reminds you of your life outside the ROK.  

I've never eaten at the food court since I'd be full of free food, but I came across the most amazing thing while eating my bulgogi bake.  Much like the Costco's in North America, the one in Daegu comes equipped with an onion dispenser (for hot dogs that they do not sell).  I would see plates of onions drenched in mustard (sometimes ketchup as well) and I would watch in amazement as Koreans would eat it alongside their pizza as if it was a side dish like kimchi. 

So of course, in my true fashion, I had to try it to figure out what all the fuss was about.  It turns out, when combined with ketchup, this mustard-onion concoction tastes just like relish.

Now, when trying to figure out how such a thing came about, the only thing I could think of was that Koreans need to have a side dish, their quest for a side dish, if you will.  However, I was told later that side dishes are also eaten to combat the oiliness of food.  Lettuce and Sesame leaves are given, and the mustard-onion mixture is to help with the oily pizza.  Go figure!

Urban myths.... or are they?

From the time the earthquake hit Japan I have been bombarded with, what I believe to be, nonsensical and crazy "facts" from my co-teachers and other Koreans that I know.  Now, I am not in any way, belittling or criticizing Koreans for their lack of commonsense because North Americans are no different at times, but information is only as good as its source.

The day of the earthquake, my coteacher came back to our office after talking to her coworkers and told me that I shouldn't spend too much time outside because the radiation would affect me and to use an umbrella if it were to rain because of any "bad things" that it might contain.  I just brushed it off.  If there really was anything to fear I would hear it somehow on one of the many news sources I check up on throughout the week.  I know in North America, America mainly, the news is mainly based on fear.  Following the same theory in Michael Moore's movie, "Bowling for Columbine", the media is constantly instilling some sort of fear into the public, which is clearly happening in Korea as well.  I've heard stories of my friend's coteachers saying they don't want to go to Busan due to fear of radiation, and this was after the initial shock of hearing about the nuclear reactors getting hit in Japan.
Today (April 7th) was the first rainfall after the earthquake and everyone's Facebook status' are commenting on the radiation, we've all been warned about using an umbrella, and now I'm blaming my headache, laziness and lack of brain usage on this "radiation".

Either way, this whole thing got me thinking of the one thing Koreans fear the most in this world- fan death.

Yes, the thought that leaving a fan on in your house with the windows closed will swallow up all the air molecules causing you to suffocate, has been proved "scientifically".  According to the Korean media, they will have everyone believe that people die regularly due to sleeping at night with the fan left on.  Electric fans are sold with timers on them, so if the nights are too hot and sticky, you leave your window open and set that timer or else you will never live to see another day.
I have a friend that freaks out if she hears the fan running, even if she is in another room AND the windows are open.
In trying to find other sources about fan death, I came upon the Ask a Korean blog:

"Here is the science of how a fan could kill. Remember the conditions under which Koreans say Fan Deaths happen – summer (=heat), enclosed room, fan directly on the body. An electric fan cools your body in two ways: by pushing cooler air onto your body, and by allowing your sweat to dry rapidly and take away heat in that process.
But clearly, the fan does not generate the cool air on its own, unlike an air conditioner. And eventually -- especially if you are a passed-out drunk who is already somewhat dehydrated from the alcohol -- your body will run out of water to turn into sweat. So what happens when it is very hot, but the entire room is enclosed such that no cool air comes in from outside, and you have no more sweat to cool your body with?
Basically, the entire room turns into a gigantic turbo oven. Turbo oven is a conventional oven that has a fan inside that continues to blow air onto the food. This oven is known to cook at lower temperature than a regular oven, yet cook more quickly. Similarly, in a heated room without an outside source of airflow, very hot air is constantly pushed directly to your body, which is a far more effective way of raising your body temperature rather than “baking” in hot air. If you get enough of this, you would die – of hyperthermia, or abnormally high body temperature.
So Korean people had it right after all – fans can kill. They just tend to give the wrong reason."

Fandeath.net is probably the most comprehensible website on this different wavelength. So, take what you will.  However, this notion of Fan Death does not exist outside of Korea.  I don't aim to ridicule their beliefs, because this happens in North America as well (the media portraying a certain way of the world that people believe although its not true at all), but here are a few other things I've been told that I've had to think twice about:
- kimchi curing cancer/ being a preventative measure against SARS or H1N1
- the fat in samgyeopsal (삼겹살) is good for your throat as it coats it to prevent dirt/dust from getting stuck in it (now some of this may be true, I was just confused when my diet crazy friend told me that fat was good for you)
- grey hair is really just dead hair that has no hope for growing back.  So unlike the tale that we tell where if you pull out a grey hair three more will grow back, its a Korean myth that if you pull out grey hair no hair will grow back in its place
- If you hear a magpie at morning you will get good fortune/news, if you hear a magpie at night you will get bad news

You know you're in Korea when...

ts hard to believe that I've been here for six months, but yes, a little over six months or 190 days to be exact.  Of course, you come here and have high expectations of what you'll be able to achieve by the 6 month mark- I'll have saved some money, I'll know if I want to re-sign or resign, I'll know basic Korean and read hangeul, I'd have traveled a big chunk of Korea... and of all these wonderful things I'd thought I've had done, none of them have really been fulfilled.  However, I still find myself intrigued and learning things about life, myself and Korea on a daily basis, which makes my move to Korea worthwhile.

However, as most public school teachers use waygook.org on a regular basis to read up on information pertaining to life and school work in Korea , there was a thread named "You know you're in Korea when...." and these are but a few of my favourite responses:


-you flinch everytime you turn on the sink, fearing you forgot to turn it from shower mode to sink...
-you are told you are teaching a new after school class... and it will start in five minutes.
-everyone, including the beggars on the street have iPhone 5's
-you can buy a bulgogi burger at Macdonalds.
-you're expected to go out with all the teachers on a weeknight...get completely drunk with them...and then expected to show up to work the next day completely fine with no signs of a hangover
-your coffee is more expensive than your lunch.
-Ajumma power is stronger than the whole of the North Korean Army.
-you have at least one friend of a friend that knows someone who has died from leaving a fan on with the windows closed.
- when you find yourself becoming impatient because your taxi driver IS stopping at a red light.
-70 year old ajumas hike up the mountain faster than you..
-Your flight from Incheon to Bangkok on Christmas Eve is half-full of English teachers.
-you catch yourself giving in and "konglishing" up your English to be understood. Ex. " bus stopu", bus-u, homeplus-uh and don't even realize it right away
-when you constantly have to reposition your legs as you sit on the floor at a restaurant just to feel comfortable, but then you see 80 year old ajumas and ajoshis getting up and down with no problem.
-the bus ride to the amusement park is scarier than any of the rollercoasters therein
-almost everything you think is going to be chocolate-flavored turns out to be bean-flavored instead


Things that are no longer so funny/weird:
- seeing a grown man check himself out in the mirror for 10 minutes and play with his hair
- people taking several pictures of themselves with their phone
- people slipping and falling
- teenage boys on the bus sitting on each other's laps and playing with each other's hair
- shirts with atrocious things written on them (ie; student in my school was wearing a shirt that said 'this b&@#* dont fail' - the swear word wasn't bleeped out)

WOOOOOOOT!!! I'm published!

If its one thing I can't stand, its complacency- especially when its applied to myself.  I try hard to keep myself busy, and while I don't consider myself a writer at all I've started writing for the Expatriate magazine, Daegu Pockets, which very recently has become Daegu's English newspaper.
Either way, I've contributed to both these publications, and while I'm no writer/journalist, this post is me gloating.
However, I would also want to create an awareness for English expatriate publications designed to help all the newcomers orient themselves in their respective cities, and create an awareness of all the happenings in this country.


Websites
Daegu Pockets: I'm in the February edition (if you can find it)
In Daegu 
First issue of In Daegu (PDF version)

The Kindness of Strangers

I landed in Korea on Friday.  I went out downtown Saturday, partied hard and was a little delirious and dizzy with jet lag.  I got myself into a cab at 5am and with a little help from my awesome Korean friend Chloe, the driver was able to take me to my school.  At 5:30am I took on my ten minute walk from my school to my home (because at the time I had no idea how to tell a cab driver in Korean how to get to my house).  It was amazing to me, that nobody bothered me (I hardly even noticed if anyone was staring at me), nobody approached me and I felt perfectly fine walking home at that time of day.  Having been here for almost 6 months, I can still say the same thing.

Now, back home this would never happen.  There have been times when I've walked home from a bar at 3am, but have been subjected to car honks, bad pick up lines (the ones I hated the most was when I was fulfilling my street meat cravings and some jerk always has to walk by with a "enjoying that hot dog/meat eh?") and always being worried about walking past groups of people.  I'm less scared than some people, but there is always that element of being a girl by herself at night that has been engrained in society and perpetuated by the media.  Yet in Korea, even at 5:30am, with all the neon lights (I call it the Neon Jungle) and the drunk or late-nighters out at all times that only worry about themselves, its hard to find yourself worrying. 

Another thing about myself, I can be a little careless.  Thus far, I have dropped my cell phone in two different places and surprisingly, always gotten it back.  The first time in a cab, where the driver drove back (after a couple of hours) and gave me my phone, and the second, (this surprised me the most) I dropped my phone on the street (please don't ask me how or why) near Camp Walker, the army base, and had a soldier return my phone.  I'm not saying I don't trust people, but except for my friend Maria having extremely good luck, I have never heard a story of someone losing their phone and then getting it back almost right away- especially by a waegookin (foreigner) outside of Korea.

This notion of moral perfection stems from Confucianism that Korea has adapted even more strongly than China from where it was founded.

According to Wikipedia, "Humanity is core in Confucianism. A simple way to appreciate Confucian thought is to consider it as being based on varying levels of honesty, and a simple way to understand Confucian thought is to examine the world by using the logic of humanity."
It follows five main elements:
Ren - humanity
Yi - righteousness
Li - ritual
Zhi - knowledge
Xin - integrity

I first learned about Confucianism briefly in World Religions class, however, in Korea it is only considered a philosophy.  Something can be gained from having a country follow the same principles in order to attain a higher level of being.  It was a little hard to comprehend that in Korea you can get your phone/wallet back without a hassle, and with no extra long-distance charges on your phone or money missing from your wallet.  Sometimes it just blows my mind how honest a society can be.  The hardest part is thinking about what will happen when I leave Korea.  But then I guess, I'll just have to work on my carelessness first.

Gettin my food on

I've been in this country for quite some time and finally started venturing around trying to experience some new food.  Its all quite daunting for foreigners coming into this city as the large majority of Korean restaurants don't have English on their menu, and even if you see pictures you still really don't know what you're getting.  Either way, thanks to some great friends, and a lot of reading on the internet, I give you my top 10 food dishes in Daegu.


10.  Breakfast at Holy Grill/Traveler's Bar and Grill
Now, this isn't Korean, I know.  However, there have been many weekends spent at either of these two bars (outside of drinking hours) to enjoy bacon, toast, and eggs like I could never do them.  Sometimes, I crave these breakfasts the night before, and I anticipate and wait eagerly on the cab ride downtown to eat some scrumptious breakfast.  And, its to no surprise that the best breakfasts in the city (so far) are Canadian owned! Traveler's also offers all day breakfasts on the weekends as well, and Guinness on tap- best that I've tasted!  (They also do have poutine on the menu which makes me happy although I know I'll never have a true poutine until I go home)

9.  Tashkent - Uzbekistan
This may be one of the best kept secrets in Daegu, although it is still new.  If its one thing about foreign food in Korea is that its expensive and usually created fusion Korean style, therefore, Italian doesn't really taste Italian, sushi has sweet pickles/pickled radish in it and so on.  Of course, I'm not saying that all foreign restaurants are like this, but this place is a step up from all the rest.  Before Korea, I've never tried Uzbeki food, neither have I had Russian food, however, maybe because of its prevalence of lamb and the taste, it reminds me a lot of Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food.  The pastries are to die for, as the mixture of phyllo pastry and lamb makes it scrumptious, and just about anything on the menu is delicious, and if you don't know what to order, the owner, Alex, is super friendly.

8. Galbijim (날비찜)
One of Daegu's own.  Made from short beef ribs, its stewed and very spicy, and its even become a tourist interest spot.  Galbijim alley is famous and has been around for some odd 50 years.  If you were to order galbijim in any other city it wouldn't taste quite as good.

 


7.  Dorso Bibimbap (돌솥 비빔밥)
I am a huge fan of bibimbap (rice, gochujang (hot pepper paste), fried egg, and random vegetables (excluding the kimchi) that you mix altogether, but what sets dorso (or dolset) bibimbap apart from that is that it comes in a hot pot.  The rice at the bottom gets crispier, the hot pepper paste becomes a little more spicier, and it just adds more flavour to the meal in itself.  I tend to get this every time we order in at lunch!  Best part about this dish is you can buy it at your local kimbap place even if you are by yourself.

6.  Meat on a leaf
This has become synonymous with my friends and I with going to any kind of barbecue restaurant.  Whether you want galbi (갈비), samgyeopsal (삼셥설), sogalbi (소갈비)- any kind of meat that you sit around a table and barbecue yourself.  Finish it off by wrapping a romaine or sesame leaf around it with a piece of garlic, onion and rice and it is one of the best and cheapest meals you can get in Korea.  I live on a street that thrives on restaurants.  I don't understand how you can have some 20 odd restaurants crammed together in one area that are always packed, but they serve everything pork/beef/fish related. 

samgyeopsal translates to three layered flesh

5.  Kimbap (김밥)
By far, the cheapest food you can buy in Korea that will fill you up and is healthy (for the most part) for you.  Koreans believe that this is essential in dieting.  It is the Korean alternative to a maki roll without the fish.  The regular kimbap roll consists of rice, pickled radish, egg, ham and other vegetables rolled with a layer of seaweed.  If you want to add some variety to your life you could always try the other various versions of kimbap, such as kimchi, tuna, sogogi, and cheese.  I don't like calling those orange stores which I frequent quite often Kimbap nara's because none of them around me are called such.  If you haven't quite deciphered what the menu is like, I would recommend Mary Eats.

4.  Dakgalbi (닭갈비)

I even get mine with heart shaped dduk!

A friend of mine took me to my first dukgalbi (or dalkgalbi) restaurant, and I've been in love with it ever since.  Sitting at a restaurant with a huge grill in the middle of the table, a waiter asks you for your choice in spice level, and brings out the Chuncheon specialty dish consisting of diced chicken, gochujhang, cabbage, dduk (rice cake), and mixes it all up in the sauce and what you get is pure Heaven! 

3.  Jjimdak (찜닭)
I first had the pleasure of eating this delicious dish when I went to Andong for the Mask Festival.  We stopped off at Hahoe traditional village and finished that part of the day with jjimdak (or jjimdalk).  Jjimdak is the specialty of Andong village, but this delectable dish is full of chicken, peppers, noodles (aka japchae: see below), and potatoes in a brown spicy but sweet tasting stew. My only problem is that I am horrible picking up those noodles with chopsticks and end up with stains on my shirt and pants from all the splatter!



2.  Japchae (잡채)
In theme with the last item japchae, otherwise known as cellophane noodles (or dangmyeon) are stir fried with sesame oil and then mixed with your choice of vegetables and/or beef.  Hot or cold, these noodles are delicious.  I love any restaurant that serves this as a side dish and I'm always asking for more.  I just cannot get enough of these noodles!




1.  Napjak Mandu (납작만두)
Another Daegu specialty, however, you cannot find these delectable treats anywhere else in Korea.  Mandu is dumpling, and napjak means flat, but you fry these bad boy's up and its a scrumptious snack!  Just make sure to dip it ddukboggi or spicy soy sauce.