Sunday, July 26, 2015
Monday, July 28, 2014
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Official) B2ST - Beautiful Night ( Practice Ver.)
This video will be the death of me! Totally AWESOME!
Monday, June 06, 2011
Korean Baseball is not your ordinary baseball!
I have so much to say. But I'm going to make this mighty short.
KOREAN BASEBALL RULES!!!
My son and I both went to our first ever Korean baseball last night. My husband didn't want to go because baseball is BORING! Haven't we all heard that before, especially in the States. Why has America's sport become the #3 sport in the States? Because it's BORING.
Who hasn't sat in the stands and just sat? The lucky ones who got excitement were those who actually had a homerun or foul ball hit at you. Oh, yes! The smell of good, old American hotdogs and popcorn and cracker jack and a nice, cold brew is refreshing sitting in the heat. But where is the fun?
The fun is in Korean Baseball, people! Korean B-A-S-E-B-A-L-L! You can't beat the intensity of the Korean baseball fans. The singing! The dancing! OMG! They have these air sticks that when you beat them are loud! Every fan has one. EVERY fan! During the team changeovers, the scantily dressed cheerleaders come out and lead the ecstatic fans into a frenzy. They are a perverted man's dream. During the entire, ENTIRE, game.....a male cheerleader lead's all the fan's into song. Korean drums beat in time. The speakers are blaring with music that only the fans know the words to. The entire stadium is a chorus of people yelling "HOMERUN"!
This is not just the home team doing all the cheer. The visiting team has their own section of the baseball field and both sides (home and visiting) are deafening.
Sorry to say you won't find cracker jack, hot dogs and soda at a Korean Baseball game. They serve ice cold HITE beer from insulated back packs on a guy half the size of the average American (LOL! True!) as he walks up and down aisles ready to refill your cup for 2000 won. The ahjummas carry many Korean snacks (like shrimp chips, dried octopus and/or squid and even RAMEN!) with ice cold cans of beer (if you don't prefer the guy carrying the drafts on his back) for only 2500 won. Eric and I had Vitamin Water, Powerade, and a bag of Ojingeo (It's squid and peanuts in one. I know, I know. You're all saying gross but it's not. I thought the same until I took a bite and was rolled over by it's salty goodness.)
Luckily, Korean teams are just as good as American teams. No wonder you'll find many Asians (Koreans especially) mixed into the American MLB fray.
Boredom is not a Korean word especially in baseball. The fans are included into everything! Nobody is left to fall victim of that bad word. A complete 3-hours of fun...nonstop fun. Be aware that Korean Baseball is hazardous to your throat (you can't help but yell and scream and sing) and ears (I've already mentioned how loud it will get.)
If you visit Seoul and it's baseball season, don't walk but run to Jamsil Stadium (located in Olympic Park) and prepare yourself for an insanely fun experience.
By the way, we saw the Doosan Bears and Samsung Lions play. Doosan lost. Boooooooo!
Peace out!
KOREAN BASEBALL RULES!!!
My son and I both went to our first ever Korean baseball last night. My husband didn't want to go because baseball is BORING! Haven't we all heard that before, especially in the States. Why has America's sport become the #3 sport in the States? Because it's BORING.
Who hasn't sat in the stands and just sat? The lucky ones who got excitement were those who actually had a homerun or foul ball hit at you. Oh, yes! The smell of good, old American hotdogs and popcorn and cracker jack and a nice, cold brew is refreshing sitting in the heat. But where is the fun?
The fun is in Korean Baseball, people! Korean B-A-S-E-B-A-L-L! You can't beat the intensity of the Korean baseball fans. The singing! The dancing! OMG! They have these air sticks that when you beat them are loud! Every fan has one. EVERY fan! During the team changeovers, the scantily dressed cheerleaders come out and lead the ecstatic fans into a frenzy. They are a perverted man's dream. During the entire, ENTIRE, game.....a male cheerleader lead's all the fan's into song. Korean drums beat in time. The speakers are blaring with music that only the fans know the words to. The entire stadium is a chorus of people yelling "HOMERUN"!
 | ||
| The male cheerleader for the Doosan Bears. Where are the fans? The game hasn't even started yet. We still had an hour till the game!! What energy drink is he drinking? Because I want some....... |
This is not just the home team doing all the cheer. The visiting team has their own section of the baseball field and both sides (home and visiting) are deafening.
Sorry to say you won't find cracker jack, hot dogs and soda at a Korean Baseball game. They serve ice cold HITE beer from insulated back packs on a guy half the size of the average American (LOL! True!) as he walks up and down aisles ready to refill your cup for 2000 won. The ahjummas carry many Korean snacks (like shrimp chips, dried octopus and/or squid and even RAMEN!) with ice cold cans of beer (if you don't prefer the guy carrying the drafts on his back) for only 2500 won. Eric and I had Vitamin Water, Powerade, and a bag of Ojingeo (It's squid and peanuts in one. I know, I know. You're all saying gross but it's not. I thought the same until I took a bite and was rolled over by it's salty goodness.)
Luckily, Korean teams are just as good as American teams. No wonder you'll find many Asians (Koreans especially) mixed into the American MLB fray.
Boredom is not a Korean word especially in baseball. The fans are included into everything! Nobody is left to fall victim of that bad word. A complete 3-hours of fun...nonstop fun. Be aware that Korean Baseball is hazardous to your throat (you can't help but yell and scream and sing) and ears (I've already mentioned how loud it will get.)
If you visit Seoul and it's baseball season, don't walk but run to Jamsil Stadium (located in Olympic Park) and prepare yourself for an insanely fun experience.
By the way, we saw the Doosan Bears and Samsung Lions play. Doosan lost. Boooooooo!
Peace out!
Friday, April 22, 2011
The Day Started with Puke...........
April 16th, 2011~
Alarm sounds. I drag myself out of bed. Start the coffee. Turn on the computer. Talk on Facebook for an hour. Wake the kids. Wake the husband. I pack necessities for today's planned trip. We are going to a Buddhist Temple and a Korean king's grave today.
Everyone is dragging. Yes, it's a Saturday. One should not have to be up at 6:00am on a weekend, but we had to be at Osan Air Force Base by 8:30am or we'd miss our bus. The husband decides to urk me at the last minute and makes a side trip to his office to check something or get something or God knows what else. Then as we are heading out the USAG Humphrey's Main Gate, and on our way, my husband decides to drive like Grandma Moses.
And why is every freakin' Korean up on a Saturday morning? There was traffic everywhere. Then it hits me....duh!...Korean kids still have school...on a Saturday. So every middle and high school kid is waiting at bus stops for there ride.
So the faster I wanted to get to Osan, the slower it became. Of course, Murphey's Law kicked in and we hit every damn red light on our way there.....when every other time we've ever driven to Osan, the lights always stayed green. Ugh!
We arrive but ended up parking farther than expected because, as our life always has unexplained happenings, Osan had construction and blocked off the street we needed to take. Grr!
We head to the bus that is awaiting us. Of course, we are one of the last to arrive. Lauren and I got front row seats that were reserved for the guides, but since I had a 5 year old, they were kind to keep us seated together. My husband and two other children had to sit wherever there was available seating. We are off.....
I buckle Lauren and myself in. Dig out my iPod and put those on. Sit back...relax...and.....
All of sudden there is a commotion. Not even 5 minutes out of the Osan gate towards our destination....than none other than a tide of bile runs toward the front of the bus. What?!! "Oh, God! Don't tell me Lauren threw up," I thought. I'm still plugged into my iPod and can't hear what is being said but hands are flailing, mouths are covered, and the tour guide is yelling at the driver. We pull over.
I take out my earphones. I ask Lauren if she threw up as I didn't see the incident occur. She tells me, "Uh-uh. The man did it." As there are more men than women on the bus, I have no clue who the culprit is. Everyone is moaning and groaning, some giggling, some gagging. I finally narrow in on the suspect. A grown black man sitting with his buddy. His buddy laughing hysterically while holding a video camera that took evidence of the "accident." Poor guy was embarrassed beyond belief.
The next 10 minutes of our temporary stop was of the poor Korean bus driver mopping up puke and sputtering Korean curses at the sick culprit. And the poor Korean tour guide trying to calm the bus driver down. Our day couldn't have started off more perfectly......
Again, we start off. We made our way through Osan, Suwon, and Seoul.....and then Yangpyeong.
We finally arrive to Yongmunsa (or Yongmun Temple).
As all of us were Christian, none of us went inside the temples. Not to offend anyone, most of us decided to take pictures from outside.
The day was quite perfect with the exception of the morning adventures. The air was cool and the sun was warm. Not a single cloud in the sky. And the mountains sparkled.....
This was our first trip to a temple. We've never seen one except in movies and dramas. I have to say it was quite serene with the exception of all the visitor traffic. Weekends are a tourist dead-end. Also, an unexpected thing occurred at the temples. I shouldn't say thing, per-se, but there is this wonderful smell that animates itself out of the prayer temples. Those wonderful sticks of wonderful scent. Incense! You will drown in the smells.
We finally make our way back down the mountain. Now there is something that was weird that we didn't take pictures of....was the amusement park at the bottom. I died laughing. The pictures we have of Buddhist Temples in our heads does not include a water slide, rollercoaster, and/or ferris wheel. But hey, they gotta make money some how, right?
Since we are a tour, our guides already had our restaurant chosen and how much we'd spend as a whole. 10,000 won for a bowl of bulgogi, banchan (side dishes), and soda. Easy enough. Except...I'm not big on bulgogi. Yeah, I'm a weird one. Most people who are not Korean love this stuff. I'm the exception to that rule. It was good as it was.....the side dishes were the ace for me.
The Yongmunsa tour finally came to an end. Our next destination....King Sejong's Tomb.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Two Worlds Only a Mile Apart
We've moved into our new apartment. For those out of the loop, we were notified a couple of weeks ago that we got government housing on post (USAG Humphreys). We talked about the pros and cons. I could only thinks of one con against us moving on post. That "con" is that if we move on post, we are no longer surrounded by Korean culture. Living on post is like living in a separate world.....or more like living in the States....but we are still in Korea. We are surrounded by Americans. We will live next to Americans. See mostly Americans.
Living off post, I would look outside. And what I saw were Koreans living their everyday lives. Their everyday lives are harder, busier, and sometimes harsher than the average American. Koreans have many things that make their lives easier but rarely use it. They don't use electricity unless they HAVE to. They don't use transportation unless they HAVE to. Americans take life for granted and living outside post has made me realize we (Americans) are a spoiled country. Yeah, Koreans have KIA, Samsung, LG, Hyundai, etc.....but they (Koreans) would rather live a simple life than overuse what they already have. Maybe living in the shadows of war have kept them from becoming a spoiled nation.
Anyway, I loved living outside the American gates and living in the culture of Korea. I loved the smell of kimchi that permeates every air cell in Korea. I loved watching the elderly walking to and fro from wherever they were coming and going from. I loved "playing chicken" with the Korean drivers. I loved seeing the bus every ten minutes. I loved hearing the Kpop blaring from the loudspeakers as I walked down the main road while shopping. I loved the people who were always so friendly. I loved the children who would run up to the American and bow while saying "annyeong haseyo". I loved seeing the little old lady sitting outside in her chair when we walked to base. I loved seeing the red peppers lying on tarps outside in the sun every where we went. I liked our real estate agent (Mr. Lee) who was always smiling and was so nice....even though we had a huge language barrier. There was the money exchange lady (Mrs. Kim) who always opened her arms for hugs when she greeted us and was always giving Lauren candy when ever she saw us. She happened to live in the apartment next to us and was always giving us something to eat if she saw us outside. I'll miss "halmoni" across the street who always was watching out for the kids and who always made sure our neighborhood was safe.
I sound as if we are already leaving Korea. But in a way, we are. Like I said, living inside the gates of USAG Humphreys is like living in a whole new world.
Our wonderful landlady (Mrs. Oh) and her granddaughter (who always translated for us) were wonderful to live under. On our last day....the day of the move....Mrs. Oh bought us jjajangmyun for lunch and gave us about a month's worth of kimchi to eat (by Eric's standards, it'll be gone in a week).
And here I am, inside the gates of Humphreys. Now I must find more reasons to walk out the gates....even if it's just for no reason at all.
Living off post, I would look outside. And what I saw were Koreans living their everyday lives. Their everyday lives are harder, busier, and sometimes harsher than the average American. Koreans have many things that make their lives easier but rarely use it. They don't use electricity unless they HAVE to. They don't use transportation unless they HAVE to. Americans take life for granted and living outside post has made me realize we (Americans) are a spoiled country. Yeah, Koreans have KIA, Samsung, LG, Hyundai, etc.....but they (Koreans) would rather live a simple life than overuse what they already have. Maybe living in the shadows of war have kept them from becoming a spoiled nation.
Anyway, I loved living outside the American gates and living in the culture of Korea. I loved the smell of kimchi that permeates every air cell in Korea. I loved watching the elderly walking to and fro from wherever they were coming and going from. I loved "playing chicken" with the Korean drivers. I loved seeing the bus every ten minutes. I loved hearing the Kpop blaring from the loudspeakers as I walked down the main road while shopping. I loved the people who were always so friendly. I loved the children who would run up to the American and bow while saying "annyeong haseyo". I loved seeing the little old lady sitting outside in her chair when we walked to base. I loved seeing the red peppers lying on tarps outside in the sun every where we went. I liked our real estate agent (Mr. Lee) who was always smiling and was so nice....even though we had a huge language barrier. There was the money exchange lady (Mrs. Kim) who always opened her arms for hugs when she greeted us and was always giving Lauren candy when ever she saw us. She happened to live in the apartment next to us and was always giving us something to eat if she saw us outside. I'll miss "halmoni" across the street who always was watching out for the kids and who always made sure our neighborhood was safe.
I sound as if we are already leaving Korea. But in a way, we are. Like I said, living inside the gates of USAG Humphreys is like living in a whole new world.
Our wonderful landlady (Mrs. Oh) and her granddaughter (who always translated for us) were wonderful to live under. On our last day....the day of the move....Mrs. Oh bought us jjajangmyun for lunch and gave us about a month's worth of kimchi to eat (by Eric's standards, it'll be gone in a week).
And here I am, inside the gates of Humphreys. Now I must find more reasons to walk out the gates....even if it's just for no reason at all.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
To Drive Or Not To Drive.....That Is The Question.
Today started off like every morning. I got up early. Seriously, it wasn't even 5am yet. I even went to bed way past my bed time. And dang if I don't get up even earlier than normal for me. Ugh! But the weird thing is.....I wasn't tired.
Anyway, this isn't about my weird sleep habits or weird wake-up periods.
After Bobby got up, we talked about going to Osan. By the big, bad truck. Not bus. My beloved gold Dodge was getting to go for a drive other than around here. I think we talked, argued, talked, argued for an hour. The thing is.....the fear of getting lost. Korean signs are in English. But the way they are set up....are NOT like in the States.
Again, we have a map but it only has the main highways marked. We have directions that Bobby print out from some website. Then there is Eric. He showed us on the map the direction his school bus takes but it takes roads that aren't marked. That route I soooo wanted to take because it was obviously a "scenic" route. Many historical markers.....but Bobby was against it since the smaller roads weren't marked. He didn't trust Eric's directions. I say let's get lost and find our way home. If we have to use hand signs, garbled Korean, and end up looking like monkeys, it would have been an experience to remember. LOL!
In the end, we used the directions that Bobby printed from the internet. In actuality, the directions pretty much followed the Humphrey's Kyung Dong Tour Bus route. So the land markers were easy for us to follow to get there.
The highways seem okay. It's around town that is scary. First, you have to worry about the psycho Korean drivers. They are no joke. I should have had my camera rolling. At stop signs/stop lights, cars will weave around you and take off.....even though the light is red. We saw a delivery guy on a scooter pass us....plus the two cars in front of us....at a red light....and take a left turn. Not a right turn on red...but a left turn on red. He just revved up his little delivery scooter and went on his way. We came to another red light. I'll admit is was a pretty, long red light.....the Bongo trucks across the street from us just zoomed across when both of the cross section lights were GREEN. Let's talk about passing a slower vehicle in the center lane. Bobby passed him and was getting back in the center lane when another vehicle doing the same thing on the other side of the slower vehicle decided to do this. We almost collided. That vehicle won. Bobby is NOT an aggressive driver. He gave way. *sigh*
By the skin of our teeth, we made it. I'll admit....once we went through the Osan gate, a sigh of relief passed through us.
We did the BX/PX thing. Then drove to the main gate, parked and walked out the gate to the Songtan market area. First things first.....FOOD! We went straight to the restaurant we went to last time. After this last meal, I think I love it (the restaurant) even more! Let me say, I ordered a nice hot and spicy stew. It was a beef broth base. Of course, it was red (meaning heavy on the gochujang-hot red pepper paste). The whole entire time, my nose ran like it was in a marathon. Sinuses......clear. I won't lie....I love, love, love Korean soups and stews. I choose it over the heavier stuff like bulgogi or yaki mandu.
After our awesome lunch, we were on our way out and as were were paying our tab.......the owner gave us all hugs. Not those "arms around and light tap on the back" hugs. Oh no! She gave us all full blown bear hugs. She is the most sweetest thing EVER. The next time we go there and WE WILL GO BACK.....I will get a picture of the beautiful, elderly woman. Bobby says she was there 10 years ago when he was last stationed in Korea. And I must say, as she hugged each and every one of us, I thought to myself...."I love Korea!" If anyone ever goes to Songtan......it's a must that you have to go to this place. Wonderful food, wonderful atmosphere, and wonderful hospitality!
Anyway, this isn't about my weird sleep habits or weird wake-up periods.
After Bobby got up, we talked about going to Osan. By the big, bad truck. Not bus. My beloved gold Dodge was getting to go for a drive other than around here. I think we talked, argued, talked, argued for an hour. The thing is.....the fear of getting lost. Korean signs are in English. But the way they are set up....are NOT like in the States.
Again, we have a map but it only has the main highways marked. We have directions that Bobby print out from some website. Then there is Eric. He showed us on the map the direction his school bus takes but it takes roads that aren't marked. That route I soooo wanted to take because it was obviously a "scenic" route. Many historical markers.....but Bobby was against it since the smaller roads weren't marked. He didn't trust Eric's directions. I say let's get lost and find our way home. If we have to use hand signs, garbled Korean, and end up looking like monkeys, it would have been an experience to remember. LOL!
In the end, we used the directions that Bobby printed from the internet. In actuality, the directions pretty much followed the Humphrey's Kyung Dong Tour Bus route. So the land markers were easy for us to follow to get there.
The highways seem okay. It's around town that is scary. First, you have to worry about the psycho Korean drivers. They are no joke. I should have had my camera rolling. At stop signs/stop lights, cars will weave around you and take off.....even though the light is red. We saw a delivery guy on a scooter pass us....plus the two cars in front of us....at a red light....and take a left turn. Not a right turn on red...but a left turn on red. He just revved up his little delivery scooter and went on his way. We came to another red light. I'll admit is was a pretty, long red light.....the Bongo trucks across the street from us just zoomed across when both of the cross section lights were GREEN. Let's talk about passing a slower vehicle in the center lane. Bobby passed him and was getting back in the center lane when another vehicle doing the same thing on the other side of the slower vehicle decided to do this. We almost collided. That vehicle won. Bobby is NOT an aggressive driver. He gave way. *sigh*
By the skin of our teeth, we made it. I'll admit....once we went through the Osan gate, a sigh of relief passed through us.
We did the BX/PX thing. Then drove to the main gate, parked and walked out the gate to the Songtan market area. First things first.....FOOD! We went straight to the restaurant we went to last time. After this last meal, I think I love it (the restaurant) even more! Let me say, I ordered a nice hot and spicy stew. It was a beef broth base. Of course, it was red (meaning heavy on the gochujang-hot red pepper paste). The whole entire time, my nose ran like it was in a marathon. Sinuses......clear. I won't lie....I love, love, love Korean soups and stews. I choose it over the heavier stuff like bulgogi or yaki mandu.
 |
| Yukgaejang A beef and vegetable soup/stew. This is what I ate. Totally delicious. |
 |
| Naengmyun Matthew actually ordered ramyun but got this instead. He wasn't a happy camper. I tried it and was actually surprised at how good it was. This is not what you would expect but a bowl of noodles served with ICE! It's a cold soup but it wasn't bad at all. |
 |
| Hot Bulgogi Eric's no fail. Orders it everytime! |
 |
| The lettuce and different kimchi for the samgyeopsal. |
 |
| Side dishes The always served cabbage kimchi. Spicy green beans. Spicy pickles. |
 |
| Samgyeopsal Pork grilled and wrapped in lettuce leaves with sliced garlic, rice, kimchi, or side dish of your choice. Dipped in gochujang, doenjang, sesame oil, and/or gireumjang. |
 |
| More side dishes Stuffed clams, some mayonnaise fruit salad thing that I will never like (just wasn't my taste), and some vegetable and seafoood mixed into cut omelets. |
 |
| Egg drop soup and rice Lauren doesn't like anything. Today, it had to be McD's or else. So we ordered this for her in case she got hungry while we ate. |
After our awesome lunch, we were on our way out and as were were paying our tab.......the owner gave us all hugs. Not those "arms around and light tap on the back" hugs. Oh no! She gave us all full blown bear hugs. She is the most sweetest thing EVER. The next time we go there and WE WILL GO BACK.....I will get a picture of the beautiful, elderly woman. Bobby says she was there 10 years ago when he was last stationed in Korea. And I must say, as she hugged each and every one of us, I thought to myself...."I love Korea!" If anyone ever goes to Songtan......it's a must that you have to go to this place. Wonderful food, wonderful atmosphere, and wonderful hospitality!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Ms. Parker in Korea!
This next post was not written by me. It was written by a teacher who lived near Seoul for 3 years. I found this post of hers by accident and laughed myself silly. The stuff in bold that I highlight are things that we ourselves have noticed or experienced already. This was written as an end to her blog as she has since left Korea. Enjoy the nice read.........
"Goodbye Korea. Goodbye ajummas and ajosshis. Goodbye girls who wear shorts in winter. Goodbye kimbap, kimchi, ramyun, chapjae, veggie mandu. Goodbye weird brand names that I won't see elsewhere (Ask Enquired?). Goodbye random children saying hello. Goodbye scooters that pass you on the sidewalk. Goodbye tiled rooftops. Goodbye wall of ass. Goodbye bent over halmonis with silver teeth. Goodbye taxi drivers that smell like ginseng. Goodbye hangeul. Goodbye Yudal. Goodbye Kimbap Nara. Goodbye Dak galbi. Goodbye soju. Goodbye chunners and man won. Goodbye the feeling of understanding or being understood. Goodbye Samsung and Hyundae everything. Goodbye small white or black cars (and rarely blue or yellow ones). Goodbye Konglish. Goodbye circular logic. Goodbye temples. Goodbye big bronze bells. Goodbye colourfully painted pagodas. Goodbye neon lights. Goodbye norae bangs. Goodbye boybands. Goodbye random gifts and service-eu. Goodbye newbies and lifers. Goodbye giving directions to people using a million different landmarks. Goodbye miming in the post office to buy stamps. Goodbye my awesome cellphone. Goodbye PC bangs. Goodbye skinny cigarettes. Goodbye spitting on sidewalks and being pushed out of the way. Goodbye recycling everywhere, even in McDonald's. Goodbye Mokpo and Suncheon and Gwangju. Goodbye Yeosu and Wando and Seoul. Goodbye Gyeongju and Jinju and Busan. Goodbye mountains like Jirisan and Wolchulsan. Goodbye quiet beaches (outside of beach season). Goodbye self-camming in public. Goodbye cherry blossom season. Goodbye yellow dust. Goodbye barking dogs, and mini-puppies carried as fashion accessories. Goodbye Hello Kitty everywhere. Goodbye cheap and weird socks. Goodbye young guys dressed to the nines. Goodbye technology that is ahead of its time. Goodbye squat toilets. Goodbye heated bidets with blowdryers. Goodbye flower arrangements that are out of this world. Goodbye almost being hit by a car every day. Goodbye cheap buses, in and out of the city. Goodbye the uniformity of appearance. Goodbye stripey scarves and sparkly t-shirts. Goodbye cafeteria food, including tentacle surprise. Goodbye Spam in everything. Goodbye hot goguma on the street. Goodbye fish shaped cookies. Goodbye ddeok. Goodbye metal chopsticks. Goodbye gochujang. Goodbye funny winter hats that look like animal heads. Goodbye Jeju. Goodbye "I don't know, lives in sea". Goodbye "It's Korean tradition". Goodbye annyeong haseyo and kamsahamnida. Goodbye Mr Kim and Mr Lee and Mrs Park and Mrs Oh. Goodbye Hite. Goodbye Homeplus and Emart. Goodbye fishing boats at 5 am and the Jeju ferry boat at 9:30 pm. Goodbye taeguki. Goodbye taekwondo. Goodbye flat-screen satellite TVs everywhere. Goodbye to the noise. Goodbye jimjilbang. Goodbye face masks. Goodbye ridiculous high heels (that I secretly covet). Goodbye mascots on street corners. Goodbye hanuiwan and acupuncture. Goodbye "good for health" and "good for stamina". Goodbye green tea in temple tea shops. Goodbye cranes hunting frogs in rice paddies. Goodbye bongo trucks. Goodbye ddong-chim. Goodbye being told how beautiful you are by strangers. Goodbye cheap eyeglasses. Goodbye to being waygook. Goodbye dabangs and double barber poles. Goodbye to weird Korean comedy programs on TV that involve hitting each other with inflated squeaky hammers. Goodbye "I'mfinethankyouandyou". Goodbye "Whel all you prom?". Goodbye to the crazy old men outside of the train station. Goodbye walking to the head of the line in a bank or post office because you have no idea where else to go. Goodbye lotus ponds. Goodbye amazing fireworks. Goodbye surprises every day. Goodbye quiz nights. Goodbye squeally musical instruments and wavering voices. Goodbye canned keyboard accompaniment. Goodbye French nights. Goodbye world travel. Goodbye Nami, Minsu, Thomas and the rest of the weird kids on the government approved CD-Roms for ESL. Goodbye "Maybe". Goodbye yes as no and no as yes. Goodbye friends from around the world ~ you have become our family."
Ms. Parker in Korea!
"Goodbye Korea. Goodbye ajummas and ajosshis. Goodbye girls who wear shorts in winter. Goodbye kimbap, kimchi, ramyun, chapjae, veggie mandu. Goodbye weird brand names that I won't see elsewhere (Ask Enquired?). Goodbye random children saying hello. Goodbye scooters that pass you on the sidewalk. Goodbye tiled rooftops. Goodbye wall of ass. Goodbye bent over halmonis with silver teeth. Goodbye taxi drivers that smell like ginseng. Goodbye hangeul. Goodbye Yudal. Goodbye Kimbap Nara. Goodbye Dak galbi. Goodbye soju. Goodbye chunners and man won. Goodbye the feeling of understanding or being understood. Goodbye Samsung and Hyundae everything. Goodbye small white or black cars (and rarely blue or yellow ones). Goodbye Konglish. Goodbye circular logic. Goodbye temples. Goodbye big bronze bells. Goodbye colourfully painted pagodas. Goodbye neon lights. Goodbye norae bangs. Goodbye boybands. Goodbye random gifts and service-eu. Goodbye newbies and lifers. Goodbye giving directions to people using a million different landmarks. Goodbye miming in the post office to buy stamps. Goodbye my awesome cellphone. Goodbye PC bangs. Goodbye skinny cigarettes. Goodbye spitting on sidewalks and being pushed out of the way. Goodbye recycling everywhere, even in McDonald's. Goodbye Mokpo and Suncheon and Gwangju. Goodbye Yeosu and Wando and Seoul. Goodbye Gyeongju and Jinju and Busan. Goodbye mountains like Jirisan and Wolchulsan. Goodbye quiet beaches (outside of beach season). Goodbye self-camming in public. Goodbye cherry blossom season. Goodbye yellow dust. Goodbye barking dogs, and mini-puppies carried as fashion accessories. Goodbye Hello Kitty everywhere. Goodbye cheap and weird socks. Goodbye young guys dressed to the nines. Goodbye technology that is ahead of its time. Goodbye squat toilets. Goodbye heated bidets with blowdryers. Goodbye flower arrangements that are out of this world. Goodbye almost being hit by a car every day. Goodbye cheap buses, in and out of the city. Goodbye the uniformity of appearance. Goodbye stripey scarves and sparkly t-shirts. Goodbye cafeteria food, including tentacle surprise. Goodbye Spam in everything. Goodbye hot goguma on the street. Goodbye fish shaped cookies. Goodbye ddeok. Goodbye metal chopsticks. Goodbye gochujang. Goodbye funny winter hats that look like animal heads. Goodbye Jeju. Goodbye "I don't know, lives in sea". Goodbye "It's Korean tradition". Goodbye annyeong haseyo and kamsahamnida. Goodbye Mr Kim and Mr Lee and Mrs Park and Mrs Oh. Goodbye Hite. Goodbye Homeplus and Emart. Goodbye fishing boats at 5 am and the Jeju ferry boat at 9:30 pm. Goodbye taeguki. Goodbye taekwondo. Goodbye flat-screen satellite TVs everywhere. Goodbye to the noise. Goodbye jimjilbang. Goodbye face masks. Goodbye ridiculous high heels (that I secretly covet). Goodbye mascots on street corners. Goodbye hanuiwan and acupuncture. Goodbye "good for health" and "good for stamina". Goodbye green tea in temple tea shops. Goodbye cranes hunting frogs in rice paddies. Goodbye bongo trucks. Goodbye ddong-chim. Goodbye being told how beautiful you are by strangers. Goodbye cheap eyeglasses. Goodbye to being waygook. Goodbye dabangs and double barber poles. Goodbye to weird Korean comedy programs on TV that involve hitting each other with inflated squeaky hammers. Goodbye "I'mfinethankyouandyou". Goodbye "Whel all you prom?". Goodbye to the crazy old men outside of the train station. Goodbye walking to the head of the line in a bank or post office because you have no idea where else to go. Goodbye lotus ponds. Goodbye amazing fireworks. Goodbye surprises every day. Goodbye quiz nights. Goodbye squeally musical instruments and wavering voices. Goodbye canned keyboard accompaniment. Goodbye French nights. Goodbye world travel. Goodbye Nami, Minsu, Thomas and the rest of the weird kids on the government approved CD-Roms for ESL. Goodbye "Maybe". Goodbye yes as no and no as yes. Goodbye friends from around the world ~ you have become our family."
Ms. Parker in Korea!
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Not Just Tofu.....
It's lunchtime. We're hungry. We decided to go to the Alaskan Mining Company ( a restaurant on post with an all-you-can-eat buffet.) We get there at 11:30am. It's an early lunch but it's still lunchtime, none-the-less. We sit down and discover they are still serving BREAKFAST! What the.....??? Not in any mood to eat bacon and eggs, we decide to leave.
It's already hot outside and we're standing outside bickering over what we want to eat, since the AMC was a bust. Since the KATUSA Snack Bar is walking distance right down the road, we head off.
You see Koreans don't have a "set" list of items on what is considered breakfast. What they eat for breakfast, can be eaten for lunch and dinner also.
We get inside and there is only a couple of customers, so ordering and finding a place to sit wasn't hard to come by. We go to the counter to place our order. Eric and Bobby order the spicy pork, Lauren gets the ramyun (ramen to the Japanese and Americans), Matthew always gets the yaki mandu, and I go for something different....the Sundubu Chigae (bean curd stew).
I want to try as many different varieties of Korean food. Everything that I have tried has never been a failure. Many people think all Koreans just eat dog (gaekogi). They primarily eat all forms of vegetation and fish. Sogogi (cow meat) is a treat to most Koreans. But anyway.......
I forgot to add one of the side dishes that Eric and Bobby received was a type of bean sprout soup (kongnamul gook). I didn't think I would like it but it was so nice and refreshing. And I hear it's great for hangovers. Very, very low in calorie and satisfying. I've decided to make my own and give it a go. The ingredients seemed simple enough.
I know y'all are all thinking "bean sprouts?"
It's already hot outside and we're standing outside bickering over what we want to eat, since the AMC was a bust. Since the KATUSA Snack Bar is walking distance right down the road, we head off.
You see Koreans don't have a "set" list of items on what is considered breakfast. What they eat for breakfast, can be eaten for lunch and dinner also.
We get inside and there is only a couple of customers, so ordering and finding a place to sit wasn't hard to come by. We go to the counter to place our order. Eric and Bobby order the spicy pork, Lauren gets the ramyun (ramen to the Japanese and Americans), Matthew always gets the yaki mandu, and I go for something different....the Sundubu Chigae (bean curd stew).
I want to try as many different varieties of Korean food. Everything that I have tried has never been a failure. Many people think all Koreans just eat dog (gaekogi). They primarily eat all forms of vegetation and fish. Sogogi (cow meat) is a treat to most Koreans. But anyway.......
 |
| The Sundubu Chigae. Was totally awesome! Out of 5, I give it a 4. This stew was especially hot (spicy + temperature). Took me forever to eat it. I savored every last drop. |
 |
| Lauren's ramyun. We asked for it without the cheese but it came anyway. She wasn't all that happy so she primarily ate the rice. |
 |
| Kongnamul Gook. It's awesomely delicious! |
I know y'all are all thinking "bean sprouts?"
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Land of Free, Home of the Brave and then there's the Idiots!
Two complaints after living here and not a one is against a Korean or the Korean government. Oh, no! It's with the stupid Americans.
Let me start with rant Numero Uno......
I just got done dropping off Lauren at Pre-K. I walked over a mile from the center to the PX. Why not ride the bus? I had to get some kind of exercise in.....(misses treadmill). Of course, I have to off set the morning walk with a venti sized Frappaccino from Starbucks. God love them! I go outside after buying my Espresso Chip Frappaccino and sit at the outside cafe. I'm relaxing waiting for the next bus to come since I would need that to take me to the walkout gate. So I'm sitting there and I over hear a conversation. No, I wasn't eavesdropping...the girl was practically raving into the phone. She moaned and groaned and yelled that she hadn't had a haircut in 5 months and that the PX was charging $21. She wasn't going to pay that for a haircut. I practically choked on my Frap when I realized that was her beef. What? Oh, dear! It's $21!!! Puh-leassssse! If she was just getting her bangs cut....then fine. But a haircut for hair that hadn't been cut in 5 months?!!!! Golly gee wiz!!! First of all, we are NOT in the States and no where near a Walmart, if that was the problem. Did she really expect a haircut for less than $20? An adult cut at Walmart, the last I remember, was $16. Holy Mary Mother of God! So she kept this raving mad lunatic gripe over the phone for the whole time I sucked down my venti sized Frap. And no less to her husband, who was obviously at work. Seriously, I was more peeved that she called her husband to have a hissy fit over a haircut. And I, seriously, couldn't understand her complaint. The hair salon hear at Humphreys is an all service salon (nails, massage, waxing,....) And to top it off, three cute Korean males to do it for her. Was this absolutely necessary? I wanted to pull rank on her and give her a "what for." Stupid woman.....
Okay.....that rant is done......
On to the other, Numero Dos......
Today, as I was riding the bus to pick Lauren up from Pre-K (funny how it always happens when it has something to do with Lauren), we stopped to pick up a large amount of soldiers. Since this was around noon, they were obviously on their way to mess hall or to the PX for lunch. I'm sitting there minding my own business. The soldiers were a little loud and boisterous. Understandable...it's lunch time which is also break time. As we go on our way, we are also picking up Korean soldiers (KATUSA's -Korean Augmentation Training w/the US Army-these soldiers also wear the American uniform). After about 10 minutes on the bus, the American soldiers started getting loud again. But this time, the talking was unnerving and totally racial. My hairs stood on end. I couldn't believe they talked the crap they did with the KATUSA's on board. I, at that moment, wished I could bury my head in the sand. Seriously, how would anybody feel if some foreigner kept spouting bull about how their country was stupid and so behind. Seriously, the Park Jaebeom fiasco went round in my head. I'm not even quoting exactly what they said because it was some seriously harsh stuff. And most of you have to understand, those KATUSA's understand English. It's a requirement for them to. How they could listen to that crap and not go postal, I don't know. At that moment in time, I understood why so many countries hated the United States of America to be in their country. No respect or tolerance. No couth. No maturity and brains. They were a slap in the face to all Americans! Stupid soldiers.....
Now, I feel so much better.......
Let me start with rant Numero Uno......
I just got done dropping off Lauren at Pre-K. I walked over a mile from the center to the PX. Why not ride the bus? I had to get some kind of exercise in.....(misses treadmill). Of course, I have to off set the morning walk with a venti sized Frappaccino from Starbucks. God love them! I go outside after buying my Espresso Chip Frappaccino and sit at the outside cafe. I'm relaxing waiting for the next bus to come since I would need that to take me to the walkout gate. So I'm sitting there and I over hear a conversation. No, I wasn't eavesdropping...the girl was practically raving into the phone. She moaned and groaned and yelled that she hadn't had a haircut in 5 months and that the PX was charging $21. She wasn't going to pay that for a haircut. I practically choked on my Frap when I realized that was her beef. What? Oh, dear! It's $21!!! Puh-leassssse! If she was just getting her bangs cut....then fine. But a haircut for hair that hadn't been cut in 5 months?!!!! Golly gee wiz!!! First of all, we are NOT in the States and no where near a Walmart, if that was the problem. Did she really expect a haircut for less than $20? An adult cut at Walmart, the last I remember, was $16. Holy Mary Mother of God! So she kept this raving mad lunatic gripe over the phone for the whole time I sucked down my venti sized Frap. And no less to her husband, who was obviously at work. Seriously, I was more peeved that she called her husband to have a hissy fit over a haircut. And I, seriously, couldn't understand her complaint. The hair salon hear at Humphreys is an all service salon (nails, massage, waxing,....) And to top it off, three cute Korean males to do it for her. Was this absolutely necessary? I wanted to pull rank on her and give her a "what for." Stupid woman.....
Okay.....that rant is done......
On to the other, Numero Dos......
Today, as I was riding the bus to pick Lauren up from Pre-K (funny how it always happens when it has something to do with Lauren), we stopped to pick up a large amount of soldiers. Since this was around noon, they were obviously on their way to mess hall or to the PX for lunch. I'm sitting there minding my own business. The soldiers were a little loud and boisterous. Understandable...it's lunch time which is also break time. As we go on our way, we are also picking up Korean soldiers (KATUSA's -Korean Augmentation Training w/the US Army-these soldiers also wear the American uniform). After about 10 minutes on the bus, the American soldiers started getting loud again. But this time, the talking was unnerving and totally racial. My hairs stood on end. I couldn't believe they talked the crap they did with the KATUSA's on board. I, at that moment, wished I could bury my head in the sand. Seriously, how would anybody feel if some foreigner kept spouting bull about how their country was stupid and so behind. Seriously, the Park Jaebeom fiasco went round in my head. I'm not even quoting exactly what they said because it was some seriously harsh stuff. And most of you have to understand, those KATUSA's understand English. It's a requirement for them to. How they could listen to that crap and not go postal, I don't know. At that moment in time, I understood why so many countries hated the United States of America to be in their country. No respect or tolerance. No couth. No maturity and brains. They were a slap in the face to all Americans! Stupid soldiers.....
Now, I feel so much better.......
Monday, August 02, 2010
Do I Really Have To Take Off My Shoes?
The other day, Bobby's friend came over with his wife. Our first house guests in our home. Bobby had questions about certain things about the house....mostly Korean do's and don'ts. That was the primary reason he asked them over. Why would he ask his friend and wife to come over? They have been to Korea before. Three years ago, I was informed. But not just that....they are Korean. Korean-American, that is. Well, from what I gather, his wife was born Korean but moved to the States. Not sure about Mr. Ahn (Bobby's friend.)
While Bobby and Mr. Ahn talked, his wife and I talked on the couch. Found out she taught Korean at Ft. Hood. Taught Korean? I had no clue that Korean was offered at Ft. Hood. She said she had flyers posted at O Mart. But then, most of the flyers at O Mart were in Hangeul (Korean alphabet), so I usually just ignored them. That is what I get for not paying attention.
Mr. Ahn's wife's name is Ji Ni (sounds sort of like Jenny). She translated some things in our house (the washing machine, AC, the heater controls on the wall, and even helped us change the lock code on our front door (we don't have a key...but a 4 digit pin to get in and out of the house).
We then talked about Korean customs. Well, it's not just Korean but mainly Korean as the Chinese and Japanese do some of the same things, as well. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked her..."Why do Asians take off their shoes at the door before walking into the house?" Her answer: "There is a belief that if you walk into a house with your shoes on, you bring in the bad spirits into the home. They believe if you do, the family will get bad "voodoo" and will eventually become sick." She then explained in simpler terms for any American can understand. "It's like this. When we go outside, we walk to many places and we don't know what we stepped into or on. You come home and walk in the house and then have spread those awful germs into your home. It's the same thing. If you bring in some kind of bad germ, your family can become sick." This also explains why the Asian community are keen on cleanliness. They have a habitual habit of washing their hands, feet, brushing their teeth, and some are keen on keeping their faces clean. God forbid the bad spirit of face washing comes to your house and spreads acne.
She explained that when she visited her family (who still live here in Korea), she forgot to take off her shoes before coming in. She picked up our bad American habit. Her "halmoni" (grandmother) went ballistic. She was immediately reprimanded and then was told to clean all the floors....by hand. They rarely use mops. Most of the dusting and washing of the floors is by hand.
And because Koreans are learned in respecting their elders, she immediately did what she was told without a word. The elder is always right. You are not allowed to "back-talk". If you do so, expect a beating.
Thankfully, my kids already have a habit of taking their shoes off before walking into a house. It drove me crazy when they would walk on the carpet with their nasty shoes. We don't have carpet here...but they still will immediately take off their shoes.
While Bobby and Mr. Ahn talked, his wife and I talked on the couch. Found out she taught Korean at Ft. Hood. Taught Korean? I had no clue that Korean was offered at Ft. Hood. She said she had flyers posted at O Mart. But then, most of the flyers at O Mart were in Hangeul (Korean alphabet), so I usually just ignored them. That is what I get for not paying attention.
Mr. Ahn's wife's name is Ji Ni (sounds sort of like Jenny). She translated some things in our house (the washing machine, AC, the heater controls on the wall, and even helped us change the lock code on our front door (we don't have a key...but a 4 digit pin to get in and out of the house).
We then talked about Korean customs. Well, it's not just Korean but mainly Korean as the Chinese and Japanese do some of the same things, as well. My curiosity got the better of me and I asked her..."Why do Asians take off their shoes at the door before walking into the house?" Her answer: "There is a belief that if you walk into a house with your shoes on, you bring in the bad spirits into the home. They believe if you do, the family will get bad "voodoo" and will eventually become sick." She then explained in simpler terms for any American can understand. "It's like this. When we go outside, we walk to many places and we don't know what we stepped into or on. You come home and walk in the house and then have spread those awful germs into your home. It's the same thing. If you bring in some kind of bad germ, your family can become sick." This also explains why the Asian community are keen on cleanliness. They have a habitual habit of washing their hands, feet, brushing their teeth, and some are keen on keeping their faces clean. God forbid the bad spirit of face washing comes to your house and spreads acne.
She explained that when she visited her family (who still live here in Korea), she forgot to take off her shoes before coming in. She picked up our bad American habit. Her "halmoni" (grandmother) went ballistic. She was immediately reprimanded and then was told to clean all the floors....by hand. They rarely use mops. Most of the dusting and washing of the floors is by hand.
And because Koreans are learned in respecting their elders, she immediately did what she was told without a word. The elder is always right. You are not allowed to "back-talk". If you do so, expect a beating.
Thankfully, my kids already have a habit of taking their shoes off before walking into a house. It drove me crazy when they would walk on the carpet with their nasty shoes. We don't have carpet here...but they still will immediately take off their shoes.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Feet, Buses, and Trains
Woke up this morning and it was raining....AGAIN! I prayed for it to end...and right before our scheduled time to catch the base bus, it ended. We hooed and hawed for awhile. "Should we stay? Or should we go? It might be raining in Seoul."...etc...etc....
We just said let's just do it. At the last minute, we ran around throwing shoes and socks on. Then running around for any kind of jacket to wear, just in case.
We thought we missed the base bus but we were looking at the regular bus schedule, not the weekend one. Whew! Lucky us. We made it to our destination...the walk-through gate. For those who don't have a car, just walk out or show your ID to get back in. Eventually our guide arrived and one other family. So all together...there were 10 of us.
We walked out the gate and right across the street from the base in the city bus stop. Bus #20 was our bus that would take us to PyeongTaek Train Station. Now understand, I didn't take pictures on our way to Seoul. I didn't want to miss anything.
Okay, now let me tell you....Bus #20 was more exciting that the longest roller coaster. The speed was high, dodged cars parked on the side and/or oncoming cars. Every speed bump didn't slow the driver down. As soon as we hit, up my butt left the seat it kept warm. Now if you are pregnant and have back problems, you'll go into labor or your back will become worse or it might go back into alignment. Either way, every five seconds a "squeak" escaped my mouth. I don't know if it was from fear or excitement or both.
We eventually made it safe and sound to PyeongTaek Station. We walked in and had to ride the escalators up. It was like everything I imagined it. Korean people everywhere. We (the tour group) immediately became the main attraction at the zoo. If you know what I mean.....? We all headed to the ticket booth and bought our tickets.
<<<<<<
After purchasing our tickets, we took "care of our business" and then met in the main lobby to head down stairs to the tracks.
Once down the tracks, a train arrived. We boarded it immediately and the "delicately" made our way to our cars. We had car #2. The other family ended up in car #3. Our guide ended up in car #5. We were told after leaving Suwon, the seats were ours. We had to stand up until then. No problem since Suwon was the next stop.
After we left Suwon, we asked the people on our seats to leave. They wouldn't. The lady and young girl showed us that they had the same seats. Memories of the Yongsan bus danced in my head. NOT a pleasant memory. The train attendant shows up and we discover....WE ARE ON THE WRONG TRAIN! The tour guide just saw the train pull up and assumed it was ours. Wrong-O! Thankfully this train was going to Seoul Station which was not overly far from Yongsan Station...the place we wanted to go to. The guide decided we would just tour around Seoul Station instead of trekking over to Yongsan.
But that was okay. I felt like an idiot and apologized profusely to the lady and the young girl that sat in the same numbered seats of the train we were supposed to take. So instead of sitting down, we stood there like some of the others. Lauren eventually got tired and just sat there in the middle of the train aisle.
Another example of Korean hospitality, or maybe because of Lauren's cuteness, the lady asked if Lauren could sit between her and her daughter. So I picked up Lauren and placed her between the two. As Lauren sat there, the lady talked to her in the best English she could. "How old are you?," "What is your name?," and other things that I didn't catch because the racket of the train is pretty loud. Eventually the lady got quiet, probably used up all the English she knew, she pulled Lauren toward her and stroked her hair. Lauren just sat there like a smiling goofball and practically purred.
Eventually we finally arrived at Seoul Station. In total from PyeongTaek, it took about 50 minutes.
Pictures of Seoul Station are below....
These first three pictures are after we got off the train. We decided to go ahead and buy our train tickets back to PyeongTaek in advance so we could all arrive together.
Next are pictures outside Seoul Station as we walked to another area which contained a superstore called Lotte World.
<<<<Notice all the buses. I swear on my life that if this picture could be widened you will see buses as far as you can see.
<<<<Because of the humidity from the morning storms, a thick haze (not fog) loomed in the city. The humidity is the worst I've experienced in my 38, almost 39 years. This is just a bit of downtown Seoul.
Yep, the boys were all "KOREAN WII GAMES! KOREAN XBOX GAMES! KOREAN DS GAMES!" For the love of God, it was like they landed on the moon!
<<< Oh my God, it's a Korean Halo3 ODST!
Eventually we got tired of that store. Lauren was complaining she was hungry and thirsty and it was just time to move on. We walked past a Bennigans. Yes, there are those in Seoul. We didn't have enough time to get in and sit, so we started looking for the ever popular, American friendly, fast food joint we all know and love. Well, not me....I will never stop loving my BK. You got it.....McDonald's! We knew it was in the station and we only had 30 minutes to eat and go use the restrooms.
This place is insanely crowded. The lines wrapped around. I'm telling you fear set in. We are not at Humphreys, Osan, or even Yongsan where most of the Koreans speak adequate English. We are in downtown Seoul where English is a fad.
We get up to the counter. "One 4-piece McNugget Happy Meal," I said. Girl at the counter, "McNugget....??" Then walks off and finds a laminated picture table and has me order by pointing at pictures. Okay, it was simpler that way but I'm telling you I felt like a loser. The order was okay. She never asked what drinks we wanted with our meals with the exception of the Happy Meal. Bobby's and the boys' drinks were Cokes, automatically. We get our meals and discover we are short a hamburger. The place was so busy and then to have an American with a Korean speech impediment ask for the missing hamburger would have taken FOREVER. So Bobby just ate his fries and drank his Coke. I shared Lauren's fries because I didn't order anything. As soon as we walked in, the smell of frying "bulgogi" made me want to hurl. Oh, that reminds me. The hamburgers were called "bulgogi" burgers. "Bulgogi" is beef, but just cracked me up. "Bulgogi" burgers........kekeke!
I must not forget the ketchup! Let me give you a taste of Korean McDonald's ketchup. It tastes like........tomato paste. It isn't made by Del Monte or Heinz (God love them.) But by a company called Ottogi.
As I'm not fluent in Hanguel, we'll just assume the main ingredient is to..ma..to..pa..ste.
The trip back to PyeongTaek was less "adventurous." We bought our tickets and were told that no seats were available and that we would have to stand. I didn't care at this point. I was tired, hot and sweaty. Forgot to mention, Koreans obviously don't believe in air conditioning. It was stuffy and I didn't not feel not one lick of any cold or moderately cool air at Seoul Station.
We rode back in the snack car. The car has console video games to play, a snack counter, massage chairs, internet cubicles.....don't laugh.....even a karoake area! I wish I could have gotten more pictures but I felt weird taking pictures with lots of people staring at me. LOL!
>>>>The Suwon Station, I believe. One of the stops on our way back.
>>>>Outside PyeongTaek station, as we crossed the streets towards the main street....to our bus destination.
<< Anjeong-ri...."the Ville"....shops, restaurants....bricked road with marble benches to rest on...and only 3-4 blocks away from our "house."
We just said let's just do it. At the last minute, we ran around throwing shoes and socks on. Then running around for any kind of jacket to wear, just in case.
We thought we missed the base bus but we were looking at the regular bus schedule, not the weekend one. Whew! Lucky us. We made it to our destination...the walk-through gate. For those who don't have a car, just walk out or show your ID to get back in. Eventually our guide arrived and one other family. So all together...there were 10 of us.
We walked out the gate and right across the street from the base in the city bus stop. Bus #20 was our bus that would take us to PyeongTaek Train Station. Now understand, I didn't take pictures on our way to Seoul. I didn't want to miss anything.
Okay, now let me tell you....Bus #20 was more exciting that the longest roller coaster. The speed was high, dodged cars parked on the side and/or oncoming cars. Every speed bump didn't slow the driver down. As soon as we hit, up my butt left the seat it kept warm. Now if you are pregnant and have back problems, you'll go into labor or your back will become worse or it might go back into alignment. Either way, every five seconds a "squeak" escaped my mouth. I don't know if it was from fear or excitement or both.
<<<<<<
After purchasing our tickets, we took "care of our business" and then met in the main lobby to head down stairs to the tracks.
Once down the tracks, a train arrived. We boarded it immediately and the "delicately" made our way to our cars. We had car #2. The other family ended up in car #3. Our guide ended up in car #5. We were told after leaving Suwon, the seats were ours. We had to stand up until then. No problem since Suwon was the next stop.
After we left Suwon, we asked the people on our seats to leave. They wouldn't. The lady and young girl showed us that they had the same seats. Memories of the Yongsan bus danced in my head. NOT a pleasant memory. The train attendant shows up and we discover....WE ARE ON THE WRONG TRAIN! The tour guide just saw the train pull up and assumed it was ours. Wrong-O! Thankfully this train was going to Seoul Station which was not overly far from Yongsan Station...the place we wanted to go to. The guide decided we would just tour around Seoul Station instead of trekking over to Yongsan.
But that was okay. I felt like an idiot and apologized profusely to the lady and the young girl that sat in the same numbered seats of the train we were supposed to take. So instead of sitting down, we stood there like some of the others. Lauren eventually got tired and just sat there in the middle of the train aisle.
Another example of Korean hospitality, or maybe because of Lauren's cuteness, the lady asked if Lauren could sit between her and her daughter. So I picked up Lauren and placed her between the two. As Lauren sat there, the lady talked to her in the best English she could. "How old are you?," "What is your name?," and other things that I didn't catch because the racket of the train is pretty loud. Eventually the lady got quiet, probably used up all the English she knew, she pulled Lauren toward her and stroked her hair. Lauren just sat there like a smiling goofball and practically purred.
Eventually we finally arrived at Seoul Station. In total from PyeongTaek, it took about 50 minutes.
Pictures of Seoul Station are below....
These first three pictures are after we got off the train. We decided to go ahead and buy our train tickets back to PyeongTaek in advance so we could all arrive together. 
Next are pictures outside Seoul Station as we walked to another area which contained a superstore called Lotte World. <<<<Notice all the buses. I swear on my life that if this picture could be widened you will see buses as far as you can see.
<<<<Because of the humidity from the morning storms, a thick haze (not fog) loomed in the city. The humidity is the worst I've experienced in my 38, almost 39 years. This is just a bit of downtown Seoul.
Seoul Station houses many shops and restaurants. Even a Lotte World, which to us Walmart shoppers would appreciate. It's very similar. The coolest thing about Lotte World at Seoul Station (a picture I failed to get), was that the escalators were flat so the shoppers could ride up with their shopping carts!!!!!! Obviously, this Lotte World has two levels.
The kids immediately found the toys section, where as I was looking for the music section. Couldn't find it, but I did find a Shinee picture book of Lucifer....(for all my fangirls...kekeke)
Yep, the boys were all "KOREAN WII GAMES! KOREAN XBOX GAMES! KOREAN DS GAMES!" For the love of God, it was like they landed on the moon!
<<< Oh my God, it's a Korean Halo3 ODST!
Eventually we got tired of that store. Lauren was complaining she was hungry and thirsty and it was just time to move on. We walked past a Bennigans. Yes, there are those in Seoul. We didn't have enough time to get in and sit, so we started looking for the ever popular, American friendly, fast food joint we all know and love. Well, not me....I will never stop loving my BK. You got it.....McDonald's! We knew it was in the station and we only had 30 minutes to eat and go use the restrooms.
 |
| McDonald's at Seoul Station |
We get up to the counter. "One 4-piece McNugget Happy Meal," I said. Girl at the counter, "McNugget....??" Then walks off and finds a laminated picture table and has me order by pointing at pictures. Okay, it was simpler that way but I'm telling you I felt like a loser. The order was okay. She never asked what drinks we wanted with our meals with the exception of the Happy Meal. Bobby's and the boys' drinks were Cokes, automatically. We get our meals and discover we are short a hamburger. The place was so busy and then to have an American with a Korean speech impediment ask for the missing hamburger would have taken FOREVER. So Bobby just ate his fries and drank his Coke. I shared Lauren's fries because I didn't order anything. As soon as we walked in, the smell of frying "bulgogi" made me want to hurl. Oh, that reminds me. The hamburgers were called "bulgogi" burgers. "Bulgogi" is beef, but just cracked me up. "Bulgogi" burgers........kekeke!
 |
| McDonald's Ketchup |
As I'm not fluent in Hanguel, we'll just assume the main ingredient is to..ma..to..pa..ste.
The trip back to PyeongTaek was less "adventurous." We bought our tickets and were told that no seats were available and that we would have to stand. I didn't care at this point. I was tired, hot and sweaty. Forgot to mention, Koreans obviously don't believe in air conditioning. It was stuffy and I didn't not feel not one lick of any cold or moderately cool air at Seoul Station.
We rode back in the snack car. The car has console video games to play, a snack counter, massage chairs, internet cubicles.....don't laugh.....even a karoake area! I wish I could have gotten more pictures but I felt weird taking pictures with lots of people staring at me. LOL!
 |
| Ill-fated ticket that brought us back to PyeongTaek. |
 |
| The building in the backdrop was GOLD! |
 |
| Tried to take a pic of the outside but got an awesome reflective picture of the people on the train. |
>>>>The Suwon Station, I believe. One of the stops on our way back.
 |
| Matthew and Lauren sitting on the floor....of the train. |
We arrived to PyeongTaek.....rode the escalators down to ground level......and this is what we saw.
<<The windows near the escalator......
>>>>Outside PyeongTaek station, as we crossed the streets towards the main street....to our bus destination.
<< Anjeong-ri...."the Ville"....shops, restaurants....bricked road with marble benches to rest on...and only 3-4 blocks away from our "house." |
| Poster of the Korean movie, "71-Into the Fire" |
>>>A pic for my Asian fanatic friends. Kekeke. This poster was hung up high at Seoul Station. I'm sure you all can guess the actors' names.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Today, You Teach Me English!
Cast of characters in today's interesting story....
Army wife ~ AW
American Soldier (husband of AW) ~ AS
American Soldier who is also Filipino ~ AF
Grandfatherly Korean man ~ GK
Me
Today started out crappy. My intention was to get the boys registered for school, get our ration cards, go to ACS (Army Community Center) for information on tomorrow's excursion, hit the library and then possibly go to the commissary. I was out of my infamous Diet Mountain Dew.
We got to the registrar's office. They gave me all the paperwork I needed to fill out for both Eric and Matthew but the Osan rep. hadn't arrived yet. So, the kids and I decided to head out and try to fill out the other obligations I had set. Eventually, I let Matt take Lauren back to the hotel room while Eric and I headed back to the registrar's office to meet the Osan rep. Now mind you, since we have no vehicle....we had to walk everywhere. Sure, we could have taken the bus, but this base is soooooo small that that was just obsurd.
As Eric and I headed back, dark clouds loomed. The hot, humid air turned ice cold. I told Eric we should head back because we had no umbrella. Of course, Eric wants to trudge on and face the consequences. After convincing Eric that he was out of his ever-living-mind, we turned back and went back to the hotel. The sprinkles started and by the time we got to the front entrance doors to the hotel....heaven gave way.
We had been couped up in the hotel room for the whole day. Rain, thunder, lightening, and more rain. The base supposedly closed down because of heavy flooding. Yeah, it was that bad. The rain was constant....fast and heavy for over 6 hours.
So, after being couped up, I had to get outside. Outside the front of the hotel is a little pavillion. I think I mentioned this before. A lot of us living in the hotel come outside there and talk/hangout/smoke/just get fresh air.
I was the first to go outside. After sitting there people watching, AW shows up. Her and I sat there talking about the happenings of adjusting, when a little GK walks by. "Annyeong-haseyo, " I say. "Annyeong-haseyo," he replies. And he smiles and goes into the hotel. AW and I go back to talking when the little GK comes out smiling with a hot coffee in one hand and in the other, the Stars and Stripes newspaper.
He says "hello" in the cutest Engrish ever to both of us. He asks if we are American and we nod and say "yes." He sits next to me, opens the newspaper, then says, "Today, you teach me English." I smiled and said, "okay." He read the top news to me, "Gates In Korea to Discuss Tour Lengths."
GK~ "I understand Gates. He top defense guy."
Me~ "Correct."
GK~ "Gates in Korea to discuss....Discuss mean talk?"
Me~ "Correct."
GK~ "...to discuss tour lengths. I don't get. Tour...mean take trip to look around?"
Me~ "Well, yeah, tour does mean that but in this instance it doesn't mean that."
GK~ "English hard." He laughs.
Me~ "Well, you are doing a pretty good job. Tour...in this sentence, it is talking about a military man's stay in another country."
GK~ "Hmm...still don't get. What is lengths?"
Me~ "Lengths is referring to time. Gates wants to changes the time a military man has to stay out of his country."
GK~ "English is hard. Still don't understand."
Me~ "My husband's tour in Korea is 2 years. We will live here 2 years. Gates wants to change that. We might stay longer or shorter."
GK~ "Ohhhhh!"
We go through the paper some more and we come upon the word "deployment."
GK~ "What is a deployment. Very big word."
Me~ "Deployment is actually kind of like the word tour."
GK~ "Why not they say tour instead?"
Me~ "Because English is hard." We both laughed.
We then talked about accents. I explained that in Korea they have accents as well. There is the Daegu accent, the Busan accent, the Seoul accent, and I'm sure there are others. Americans have accents. There is the southeren drawl, the northeast, midwest, and I just said the California accent (because from movies and TV, that is what they mainly see and hear.) He pointed out that the English they learn are from Koreans who were taught English. And most of that English is American. One word in particular that annoyed him (that brought up this whole discussion) was the word "water." He said Americans say "wadder" but he was taught "water" with an emphasis on the "T." I told him that he said the word correctly but as Americans our English was "lax." We speak the same English as the Brits but because the first thirteen colonies had been away from England so long...as time progressed our English changed as well to what it is today. He replied with an "oooooh." He taught me something though. I never realized that from a foreign perspective, I was pronouncing "water" as "wadder."
Around this time AS and AF show up. GK starts explaining (about what I already knew) that the old Koreans love Americans because of the Korean War. He explained that he was 6 when the war broke out. He became a refugee and he and his family were forced to move south towards Busan. At this time, he had us laughing because he explained it was at that time he came upon his first American. Because he was only six, his father seemed big to him. But when he came to see the first American, he thought we were giants from a land of giants. He knew then that these giants would win because North Koreans were small like his father. Kekeke.
He then asked us what part of the states we were from...
GK to AS~ "Where you from?"
AS~ "I'm from Virginia."
GK~ "West Virginia?"
AS~ "No, just Virginia."
GK~ "I visit W.Virginia. Mountains big. Scary. We might fall off mountain." *he gestured a lot with his hands.*
GK to AF~ "Where you from?"
AF~ "I'm from the Philipines."
GK~ "You not American?"
AF~ "I'm half. My mother is Filipino."
I don't remember what exactly happened here but he started talking about how Korea used to be an underdeveloped country. Comparing the country to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, etc. I told him that Korea was far from being underdeveloped. That well, yes, there were ungodly amount of rice paddies everywhere....but the cities were far more advanced than some American cities and that Seoul was much bigger than New York. That the entertainment, electronic and fashion industry had bipassed us by far.
He then talked about the States being the "police of the world." I asked him how he felt about that. Was it appalling to the average Korean? That sort of thing. He explained that he had nothing against it. That if it wasn't for the Americans, he would not be here. If it wasn't for the Americans, there would still be a Saddam Hussein. And on and on and on......
He then explained that the new generations didn't take to kindly to the American occupation but he then went on that as long as there were "halboji's" (grandfathers) around, they would keep teaching the youngers about Americans.
Somehow, he then changed topic directions again....
GK~ "Where you from?"
Me~ "I'm from Texas."
GK~ "City?"
Me~ "Dallas." *Of course, I say this because it's the closest big city and like he would know where Grand Prairie was. Grand Prairie is in Dallas county.......Kekeke.*
GK~ "Everyone in Korea know Dallas."
Me~ "They do?"
GK~ "Forty-seven years ago......all over world know Dallas. When President Kennedy got shot." *He then again used gestures of a man holding a shotgun.*
Me~ "Ah, yes. There is a museum and memorial of the place where he got shot. I don't think Dallas wants to be remembered of that fact, though."
GK~ "Ah, but Dallas is famous."
Me~ "We'd rather you know Dallas because of the Dallas Cowboys."
GK~ "The Dallas who?"
Me~ "American football."
GK~ "......."
*Then the others laughed.*
After that, AW, AS left. GK had to leave as well. He turned to me and said....
"Today, you my English Teacher." He then waved and said, "Annyeong-kyeseyo." "Goodbye," I replied.
Army wife ~ AW
American Soldier (husband of AW) ~ AS
American Soldier who is also Filipino ~ AF
Grandfatherly Korean man ~ GK
Me
Today started out crappy. My intention was to get the boys registered for school, get our ration cards, go to ACS (Army Community Center) for information on tomorrow's excursion, hit the library and then possibly go to the commissary. I was out of my infamous Diet Mountain Dew.
We got to the registrar's office. They gave me all the paperwork I needed to fill out for both Eric and Matthew but the Osan rep. hadn't arrived yet. So, the kids and I decided to head out and try to fill out the other obligations I had set. Eventually, I let Matt take Lauren back to the hotel room while Eric and I headed back to the registrar's office to meet the Osan rep. Now mind you, since we have no vehicle....we had to walk everywhere. Sure, we could have taken the bus, but this base is soooooo small that that was just obsurd.
As Eric and I headed back, dark clouds loomed. The hot, humid air turned ice cold. I told Eric we should head back because we had no umbrella. Of course, Eric wants to trudge on and face the consequences. After convincing Eric that he was out of his ever-living-mind, we turned back and went back to the hotel. The sprinkles started and by the time we got to the front entrance doors to the hotel....heaven gave way.
We had been couped up in the hotel room for the whole day. Rain, thunder, lightening, and more rain. The base supposedly closed down because of heavy flooding. Yeah, it was that bad. The rain was constant....fast and heavy for over 6 hours.
So, after being couped up, I had to get outside. Outside the front of the hotel is a little pavillion. I think I mentioned this before. A lot of us living in the hotel come outside there and talk/hangout/smoke/just get fresh air.
I was the first to go outside. After sitting there people watching, AW shows up. Her and I sat there talking about the happenings of adjusting, when a little GK walks by. "Annyeong-haseyo, " I say. "Annyeong-haseyo," he replies. And he smiles and goes into the hotel. AW and I go back to talking when the little GK comes out smiling with a hot coffee in one hand and in the other, the Stars and Stripes newspaper.
He says "hello" in the cutest Engrish ever to both of us. He asks if we are American and we nod and say "yes." He sits next to me, opens the newspaper, then says, "Today, you teach me English." I smiled and said, "okay." He read the top news to me, "Gates In Korea to Discuss Tour Lengths."
GK~ "I understand Gates. He top defense guy."
Me~ "Correct."
GK~ "Gates in Korea to discuss....Discuss mean talk?"
Me~ "Correct."
GK~ "...to discuss tour lengths. I don't get. Tour...mean take trip to look around?"
Me~ "Well, yeah, tour does mean that but in this instance it doesn't mean that."
GK~ "English hard." He laughs.
Me~ "Well, you are doing a pretty good job. Tour...in this sentence, it is talking about a military man's stay in another country."
GK~ "Hmm...still don't get. What is lengths?"
Me~ "Lengths is referring to time. Gates wants to changes the time a military man has to stay out of his country."
GK~ "English is hard. Still don't understand."
Me~ "My husband's tour in Korea is 2 years. We will live here 2 years. Gates wants to change that. We might stay longer or shorter."
GK~ "Ohhhhh!"
We go through the paper some more and we come upon the word "deployment."
GK~ "What is a deployment. Very big word."
Me~ "Deployment is actually kind of like the word tour."
GK~ "Why not they say tour instead?"
Me~ "Because English is hard." We both laughed.
We then talked about accents. I explained that in Korea they have accents as well. There is the Daegu accent, the Busan accent, the Seoul accent, and I'm sure there are others. Americans have accents. There is the southeren drawl, the northeast, midwest, and I just said the California accent (because from movies and TV, that is what they mainly see and hear.) He pointed out that the English they learn are from Koreans who were taught English. And most of that English is American. One word in particular that annoyed him (that brought up this whole discussion) was the word "water." He said Americans say "wadder" but he was taught "water" with an emphasis on the "T." I told him that he said the word correctly but as Americans our English was "lax." We speak the same English as the Brits but because the first thirteen colonies had been away from England so long...as time progressed our English changed as well to what it is today. He replied with an "oooooh." He taught me something though. I never realized that from a foreign perspective, I was pronouncing "water" as "wadder."
Around this time AS and AF show up. GK starts explaining (about what I already knew) that the old Koreans love Americans because of the Korean War. He explained that he was 6 when the war broke out. He became a refugee and he and his family were forced to move south towards Busan. At this time, he had us laughing because he explained it was at that time he came upon his first American. Because he was only six, his father seemed big to him. But when he came to see the first American, he thought we were giants from a land of giants. He knew then that these giants would win because North Koreans were small like his father. Kekeke.
He then asked us what part of the states we were from...
GK to AS~ "Where you from?"
AS~ "I'm from Virginia."
GK~ "West Virginia?"
AS~ "No, just Virginia."
GK~ "I visit W.Virginia. Mountains big. Scary. We might fall off mountain." *he gestured a lot with his hands.*
GK to AF~ "Where you from?"
AF~ "I'm from the Philipines."
GK~ "You not American?"
AF~ "I'm half. My mother is Filipino."
I don't remember what exactly happened here but he started talking about how Korea used to be an underdeveloped country. Comparing the country to Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, etc. I told him that Korea was far from being underdeveloped. That well, yes, there were ungodly amount of rice paddies everywhere....but the cities were far more advanced than some American cities and that Seoul was much bigger than New York. That the entertainment, electronic and fashion industry had bipassed us by far.
He then talked about the States being the "police of the world." I asked him how he felt about that. Was it appalling to the average Korean? That sort of thing. He explained that he had nothing against it. That if it wasn't for the Americans, he would not be here. If it wasn't for the Americans, there would still be a Saddam Hussein. And on and on and on......
He then explained that the new generations didn't take to kindly to the American occupation but he then went on that as long as there were "halboji's" (grandfathers) around, they would keep teaching the youngers about Americans.
Somehow, he then changed topic directions again....
GK~ "Where you from?"
Me~ "I'm from Texas."
GK~ "City?"
Me~ "Dallas." *Of course, I say this because it's the closest big city and like he would know where Grand Prairie was. Grand Prairie is in Dallas county.......Kekeke.*
GK~ "Everyone in Korea know Dallas."
Me~ "They do?"
GK~ "Forty-seven years ago......all over world know Dallas. When President Kennedy got shot." *He then again used gestures of a man holding a shotgun.*
Me~ "Ah, yes. There is a museum and memorial of the place where he got shot. I don't think Dallas wants to be remembered of that fact, though."
GK~ "Ah, but Dallas is famous."
Me~ "We'd rather you know Dallas because of the Dallas Cowboys."
GK~ "The Dallas who?"
Me~ "American football."
GK~ "......."
*Then the others laughed.*
After that, AW, AS left. GK had to leave as well. He turned to me and said....
"Today, you my English Teacher." He then waved and said, "Annyeong-kyeseyo." "Goodbye," I replied.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Kamsahamnida
"I am grateful."
We picked up Eric's cellphone yesterday. Same drill, different day.
Anyway, the lady at the counter (another beautiful Korean woman) gave Lauren a "display" cellphone since the rest of us got a new phone. The display phone is actually a real phone but doesn't turn on. To top it off, she gave Lauren one of those cellphone accessories you attach to the phone. Lauren chose one that has a light on the end. When you squeeze it, it lights up.
Most Americans don't have these but in Asia...it's like having several keychains attached to the phone. Notice, the attachment I have has a fake ruby set in a little pig. I chose this because...don't laugh...I was born the year of the pig.
After Eric got his phone (he got all those fun things too), we were about to leave. I bent down and whispered in Lauren's ear, "Tell the nice lady kamsahamnida." Lauren repeats, "Kamsah-ida." The lady at the counter....melted.
We picked up Eric's cellphone yesterday. Same drill, different day.
Anyway, the lady at the counter (another beautiful Korean woman) gave Lauren a "display" cellphone since the rest of us got a new phone. The display phone is actually a real phone but doesn't turn on. To top it off, she gave Lauren one of those cellphone accessories you attach to the phone. Lauren chose one that has a light on the end. When you squeeze it, it lights up.
Most Americans don't have these but in Asia...it's like having several keychains attached to the phone. Notice, the attachment I have has a fake ruby set in a little pig. I chose this because...don't laugh...I was born the year of the pig.
After Eric got his phone (he got all those fun things too), we were about to leave. I bent down and whispered in Lauren's ear, "Tell the nice lady kamsahamnida." Lauren repeats, "Kamsah-ida." The lady at the counter....melted.Nothing like having a cute four year-old girl say, "kamsahamnida."
*This pic is of my phone and the goodies given to me. Isn't the little cellphone purse cute?*
*This pic is of my phone and the goodies given to me. Isn't the little cellphone purse cute?*
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)