Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas from Korea! A day late but the Season's greeting is still there :D Having a rough time sleeping tonight so I will fill yo in on life since I last checked in. We had a Christmas Party! Once again we all piled into my "cozy" apartment for a Christmas celebration.



My Gram wold be proud of me. I made Kringle cookies for Christmas, granted I filled them with ntella instead of the usual yummy filling, bt it was delicious all the same!



After a weekend trip to Gunsan, a little coastal town, I came home to buy my Christmas present from Yamaha. I got me a brand spankin' new bowl-back mandolin! She was only a little bit more than my flat back but sooooo purdy! Next I just have to name her, and use her everyday! A feat that I dobt will be too difficult since today alone I spent a good two hours working on my C chords and scales :D



Well, until next time, have a merry holiday season. I hope the world is kind to you.
-Sara

Keepin' the Creepin' PG

Finally, getting a bit better at uploading. Well I've got quite a bit to recap so let's GO!

This past week the whole province of teachers in Jeollabuk-do was flown to Jeju, the island just off the south western tip of the Korean peninsula.


On said trip I began planning all the tables that I would one day like to have. For example, I would like to have this table one day so that I may place a gigantic wheel of cheese upon it and slice into it whenever it suits me. Plus, I love me a good stone table!


Next I found this other lovely table made from one solid piece of wood, cut from a tree trunk and glazed over. I want this table. I want a big tree table. If anyone knows where I can get said tree table, and/or if someone is willing to make me a tree table, it would be much appreciated.



After arriving in Jeju, and finding said lovely tables where we had our lunch, we went to a tea field where green tea is grown, harvested, roasted, and made into all kinds of yummy things like...tea, and ice cream, and lotions (not yummy tasting but it smells yummy).



The next day we took a rather unsettling trip to the southern most island in Korea. Unsettling simply because I can't deal with boats. Terrible sea sickness without Dramamine to help me. But once we got there it was a lovely sight.



Next we went to a place my mom would have LOVED. We went to the Teddy Bear Museum. Creepy as all hell but MAN was it also a kick in the pants. My favorite had to be the display about the dangers of destroying a bear's habitat (see below).


Then we went on the prettiest little excursion once we got back to walk around the island a wee bit more. The scenery was beautiful with a light breeze coming off the ocean. Not too bad for the first week of December :D


The next day we spent the morning at a cactus farm, but I didn't get any pictures because it was raining, and expensive. Then we went to two museums in the afternoon. First we went to a glass museum, which was so much fun. There were glass sculptures everywhere, my favorite was this orange tree.



Next we went to a sex museum. I had to pick the most wholesome picture to post just in case, but I am sure you can imagine all the kooky things we saw. If you want to look it up online, the place is called Love land.



After we returned from Jeju three friends and myself went to Seoul for girl time and shopping. While at Ewha Women's College, in the shopping area there, we grabbed dinner at the cutest little Italian restaurant. I forgot the name of the resto. but if you can find Snowflake Japanese restaurant it's right next door.

While in Seoul we stayed at the cutest little hostel. I literally fell in love the MINUTE we walked in. I can never stay anywhere else, ever. If you want the cutest experience ever, go to Bebop House. If you don't love it, you're just foolish.


Well it looks like that about wraps things up for now. Got Christmas festivities coming up soon so I'll be posting those kinds of goodies. I hope the world is kind to you and treating you as you deserve to be.

-Sara

Slacking Again

Shooting back Kimchi like it's nothing!

But what else is new? Oh, right, lots of things :/ I will not be updating for a little while after this because it's the end of the semester, and a bum rush to get the kids ready for their exams. I have to say that though I love it here, this has been the toughest, more disappointing, and yet most rewarding week of work for me. Even though I have pissed off probably half my school, I'm ok with that. They have been looking for my kids pronunciation to improve but honestly I haven't been working on how quickly and clearly they can say sentences, I've been working on whether or not they can understand those sentences. Maybe they don't have perfect accents, but I would rather have them understand me and vice versa over perfection anyday. How do I know my kids are improving? In the last week I have had kids not only request movies, specific genres, and learn what word to say when I point to something (my kinders are making remarkable improvement), but I have had them hold (albeit small) genuine conversations with me. Kids who, at the beginning of the year, were too scared to even say hello for fear of being bullied for their lack of language skills are STARTING conversations with me. Why? Because my emphasis is not on saying every word perfectly, but in understanding what that word means and how to use it. My philosophy on teaching has gone from teaching these kids english, to helping them accept not being perfect at english. Maybe they can't pronounce a word perfectly, but they can understand it. OK, sorry for going off like that. Like I said, it was a tough week and I just had to throw out the good part. It makes me feel all fluffy when I have 5 year olds ask for "cat and mouse movie" and when I leave they say "see you later" :D lil darlins!

Ok, back to my life and away from my lil saplings. Not too much has happened. Only two big things really, Thanksgiving and Kimchi making. So about a week, not even, after I did my last post I finally did the one most epic thing that this blog gets it's title from. I made Kimchi, with the help of my mentor teacher of course! It was spectacular, not only did we get to make it but we learned all about it. The woman who was giving us the "lecture" had such a similar food mantra to my own :D She kept saying how kids these days don't appreciate the tradition and the time and effort that goes in to making something so essentially Korean.

The woman knows all there is to know about Kimchi.

I feel that way with a lot of things nowadays. Maybe I'm secretly an old fuddy duddy, but it's sad to think that people don't appreciate good home cooking anymore.

The fuddiest of duddies, makin' kimchi

Then was Thanksgiving :D One of the best food holidays of the year. They don't have many turkeys laying around at the supermarket, so I ended up braising a duck on the stovetop for about 2 hours. I was soooo yummy. I just cut up some onions and potatoes, sauteed them until they were brown, and filled my pot with about an inch of liquid, put the duck in and let it simmer for about two hours with the cover on, checking every 20 minutes or so. It's especially awesome because as the duck cooked, the fat was drawn into the pan and the veggies were essentially cooked in duck fat for a solid hour mmmmmmmm. After it was done I took all the yummy fat and made a gravy, duck fat gravy! yummmmm. Everyone else brought fruit and vegetables, corn mashed and roasted potatoes. It was a most splendid feast. I have to say that I miss pumpkin pie, but that having such an amazing family over here makes up for anything.

You can juuuust see the spread on the table here

Making dessert, After all was said and done we needed some apple crisp so I threw it together on the stove top! let me know if you want any of these recipes btw.

Well, that's all for now. Hopefully the weeks start getting better after this one, like I said it was rough, but if this is rough I don't really have much to complain about :D Have a good weekend, I hope the world is being kind to you. Happy Friday!

Sara

Bad Diary Keeper

So, as I am sure you can tell, growing up I was never any good at keeping a diary. I am sure when they demolish the house hundreds of journals with the first 5 pages written in will come tumbling out. Anywho I will try to fill you in as best I can without boring you to death, and maybe I'll start forcing myself to write more often, even if I don't have pictures. Maybe I just need to marry a photographer so I can have someone take pictures for me; and after this past weekend that's not such as far-fetched an idea as it used to be :D

Ok, so to start off, after kicking myself for not updating since HALLOWEEN(silly silly girl)! I reviewed my life and realized I have just been a wee bit of a hectic mess. My room and kitchen and everything are in far worse disarray than ever before, and it is thanks to my craaazy schedule and my laaaazy bones. So let's rewind approx two weeks, a wee bit more. In Jeonju, about mid-October is a most splendid of days. This day is the Bibimbap festival. What is bibimbap, click on the link provided to find out.


This first one is of me and my friend Jenny just before the big rush. We are in a crowd of hungry people waiting for free Bibimbap. When they started serving, you should have seen the old ladies. They ripped through the "do not cross" tape and attacked the tables of Bibimbap like hyenas. We only make it out alive because one kind woman grabbed us each a bowl and spoon and we ran, ran like thieves.

Later in the day we met up with some friends and discovered it was someones birthday! So of course we hung out and agreed to do whatever she wanted...regret set in the moment I watched what we were about to do. I'm glad I can say that I did it, but being the only tall white blonde on a ride in Korea doesn't exactly say "I'm from here". The guy running the ride picked on us, to see what kind of hell we went through, watch this video and wait until about a minute forty into the video. That was us for a good fifteen minutes throughout the ride. Mind you, your body is pushed off the seat when it jolts forward, so you're hanging on with your legs dangling down. O_O

Halloween! My favorite holiday! Not much to be said, we had a lovely time, the locals thought we were crazy, and everyone got home safe :D


Here is what I did the first weekend in November. It has been so stupidly warm that I went with a group of friends to the highest peak on the mainland of South Korea, in Jiri-San National Park. National Park you say? Why yes, they have national parks in Korea :D This weekend in particular made me homesick for Acadia. First thing I do when I get home, aside from seeing my friends, is go to Acadia and hike my favorite peaks!!

Finally to get you all caught up on my life, this past weekend I went to a wedding! My friend Monica's co-worker was tying the knot and she invited me along as her plus one. That is why I said it's not as far fetched as it used to be for me to get married. Obviously I'm kidding, but the wedding was amazing! First, there was a traditional style wedding.


That is me and Monica with the lovely bride. She was so pretty, and the wedding was so amazing. The most interesting part was probably the venue. They have the weddings in a big wedding hall that has multiple floors. The first two floors have about 3 rooms each where weddings take place, so as many as six weddings could be going on at once! Then once the wedding is done, you go upstairs to the third floor where they have an all you can eat buffet O_O AWESOME! They have to provide food for all of the guests for all of the weddings, all day, so they put out a TON of food.


After the modern ceremony and before the eating, was my favorite part, the traditional wedding. Though she looked beautiful in her wedding gown, this was the one that made me smile the most. She was stunning in her traditional dress, it makes me want to get married in Korea to a Korean boy. Seriously, maybe it's because I'm foreign, and it probably is, but I found this part to be SO much better than the other. It was interactive, with the children pouring tea for the parents, and the parents tossing some kind of nut or fruit into a linen that the children were holding. So new, but what got me was that they were smiling and talking the whole time. That's how I think marriage should be. Not being silent and waiting for your turn to speak, but having a good time with one another, appreciating this new step in your life.


Well that's it for now. Hope I didn't bore you too much. I have to go to bed early tonight so I can make kimchi tomorrow. Since the blog is (albeit incorrectly) named after said food, I suppose I will have to take pictures and do a blog :D Until next time, I hope the world is good to you!

-Sara

Andong Mask Festival Weekend!

oh hello again, short post today because I'm lazy and though the weekend was fun, it's back to school time and I'm busy busy busy. Recently started working on a painting :D I don't expect it to be great or even good, but it'll be mine, and it'll be a baby step. After starting that I dragged myself to Andong for the Mask Festival! It was an excellent time...let's begin!

I kicked off the weekend with my usual buddies, living it up in Jeonju for the night, and one of my friends(who is a claw machine god, as you probably saw in the last post) won me this little guy :D


Everywhere I go Antoine seems to follow :D here he is beautifully scrolled out on the stairwell wall <3

Next we got some WAFFLES! However...we mayyy have devoured it before it was even possible to take a picture of it...here's the clean plate!


I don't remember WHY this was taken but here is my favorite dairy treat in Korea. This lil guy is a fish shaped cone/crust with vanilla ice cream and a layer of sweet red beans, YUMMM!


To continue our tour I promptly hopped on a bus and spent near 8 hours travelling...it usually takes about 5 :/ But I then finally made it to Andong and got a falafel type thing. NOM!


Then curious George was located, being the curious monkey of childhood lore it was more than necessary to photo with him.


The Mask Festival stage, all lit up and ready to go!


Some cool lanterns that were GIGANTIC! I think they were made out of paper, but I could be wrong...but I'm going to say that they were made of paper.


then I got home and made awesome goodies :D Here is my first attempt at making the filling for my apple crisp. It came out awesome, so I made some for my neighbors later after they brought me this...


...a gift basket filled with goodies! I may or may not have eaten them all in one sitting :D They were delicious.


So, there's life in Korea so far. I'm going to do a post sometime soon about some of the things that have changed a lot since coming here i.e. clothes and hygiene. Hope you stick around for next time! And I hope the world is kind to you :D Peace

-Sara

Chai, graffiti, and waffles

Ah, finally, getting back on top of the whole blogging wagon. This one is going to hopefully be less blab and more photos :D Kicked off the weekend with some ladies from the coast and various other parts of the country come spend the night. One arrived especially early, and going to the hairdressers was going to take too long, so we just found a cafe and had our minds blown.

OK, so I had my mind blown :D I'm still a pretty big waygook^ _^. Aside from the adorable design in the cups, this was hands down the BEST chai latte I have ever had. I am going back there tomorrow for breakfast and I WILL take EVERYONE there.


Next, all of us ladies went to a BBQ buffet right by my house and we met up with the boys. One of the best meals I've ever had.


Then I took a trip into Seoul with some friends for a big fat american weekend and we LIVED it UP! First stop? Mexican resto by the University, yum num!


Look at that peppered chicken wrap! My mouth is watering just looking at it.


Some of the funniest things are found in Seoul. They're ALMOST on the mark with their signs, but it's never quite there.


I have been searching for graffiti all over the place, and in Seoul I found it.


The buildings are so crazy awesome over here ^_^ I want to decorate the more I see such cute buildings.

After wandering the streets for a while we came to a park. We stopped to listen to the music playing and these guys were freesyling next to this awesome wall.


AND we came across some girls selling homemade sangria in the center of the park next to a live band. super cute!


The hostel we stayed at had the nicest owner, and we stayed in "tents" meaning we camped on this sun porch on the top floor of a building and slept in pink tents!! Definitely going back there the next time I'm in Seoul.

That evening was a bit more laid back. We shopped around and decided to end the weekend a very American way. What is more American than sparklers?


A HUGE breakfast maybe. The entire time we were in Seoul my friend Monica and I were on a mission to find waffles with ice cream. We saw them but never actually got them. We could have gotten them at restaurants, but it's far more satisfying to come across a street vendor. Anywho, the end of our trip was filled with waffles. Waffles for breakfast by the third of a dozen...


In between waffle comas we went thrift shopping *DROOL* but the thrift stores were more vintage, less thrift. On the lower level was the boys section though, and I found this silly painting that I WANT to do to one of my walls, oh if only!


Finally, the last noms of the trip were some waffles. They advertised with ice cream but alas had none to spare :'( So we ate ones that were freshly made, dipped in chocolate, and with fresh cream piping.

I am so hungry after writing this blog, which I shouldn't be since I had a very yummy and filling dinner. I have decided it is time to hop back on the cooking bandwagon (since I'm already on one I might as well catch the next one too right?) as well as the cleaning, arts and craftsy. I have a splendid weekend in Andong coming up where I will be going to the Mask Festival with some friends :D After that I have a super special weekend to share with you, but you'll have to wait and see what spectacular adventure unfolds as the world moves forward.

Until then my friends I hope the world is kind to you and, in turn, you to it.

Sara