Let’s eat again, like we did two hours ago!

Food and I have an interesting relationship, it goes up as well as down. I’ve been through some rough times as well as some gourmet times. When I first came to Asia I felt like my tongue was under attack by the new textures that I had never experienced before. I remember one time being given a Daifuku gift that my Hong Kong friend was so excited to give and explained that they’re expensive too. I ate one with the same sort of excitement she had, but to my horror they were full of sweet red beans with sticky rice on the outside. The texture really got to me making it really difficult to eat, she quickly offered a drink which I was desperate for but was also in shock to be handed a Heineken, anyway I downed that can of beer like it was water! I’ve come a long way since then, I actually don’t mind them anymore but I do prefer the ice-cream kind.
My first time to Korea, I had no idea how to speak or what to eat. I was given a huge bag of rice by my school which I knew could last a year. Some teachers introduced me to the small corner shops around my small downtown area, but I couldn’t recognize anything I could eat. So I lived on canned tuna and rice unless I went out for dinner to Burger King or the one coffee shop that a friend bought spaghetti for me which I returned to religiously until I met other foreigners. It was an interesting year as I gave up so many things, TV, radio, chocolate, computers, transportation and food that I recognized. I lost a lot of weight then.

Now that it’s going on almost my eighth year in Asia I’m finally gaining control and planning what I eat. It’s hard but easier that I live in this part of Seoul as I’m surrounded by grocery stores that carry some foreign food, a small fruit and veggie market and really good foreign restaurants as well as one of the best kim-chi jjigae restaurants in Seoul as it’s one of my favourite Korean foods. I’m now making my own lunches for work as I gave up eating the school dinners as sometimes there’s not much I could eat. The menu is not something to brag about even the Korean teachers complain at times.
Planning is a little difficult as I have to coordinate my cravings, needs, what ingredients I can get as well as the nutritional values. I use http://www.sparkpeople.com which is awesome as it helps me to plan as well as to break down the calories, fat, carbs and protein for my day. My taste is changing as these days I seem to crave poached eggs like the one in the picture below. There’s a fantastic restaurant near my home that prepares the egg on top of mushrooms, toast with a side of spinach and hummous; that is absolutely delicious!


If you have any recipes for poached eggs please let me know as I found my new love :)

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What are some of the strangest foods you have eaten or drinks you have drunk?
Here's my list:

turtle jelly and coconut milk drink ~ tasted like wood

fried chicken bum ~ it's chicken but I felt so diiiiirty!

bird's nest on ice-cream ~ it was slippery

pat bing soo/팥빙수 ~ sometimes it's good but please don't put cherry tomatoes in them!

cakes that have cherry tomatoes! ~ wierd I really don't like cake in Asia, it's blaaaaaand!

salads with lettuce, chicken, corn flakes, corn, sprinkles, mustard, Pringles and ketchup ~ overload of strangeness

hot lemon, ginger coke ~ love it, great for sore throats!!!

black sesame bubble tea ~ love it, it's my favourite and I MISS it :(

This I love, it's batter filled with sweet beans, sold on the street in the winter months. But I can never remember the name cause I never bother to look at the sign as I'm so focussed on eating. They're normally four for a $1!!!

My teachers used to scream at us for running down the hall, now I know why!

Well I sure know how to make life more interesting hhmm let’s see….

Last week as I was running up to teach the 6th graders on the 5th floor, I fell on the stairs in front of many teachers. Major embarrassment; so I was quick to stand up and assure everyone in Korean that I was fine. I’ve done this before ~ a real major clutz I am! So I’m standing there smiling and all, and rubbing my knee to feel a indent that the stair made, “yeah yeah, qwen-chun-a-yo/괜찮아요!” However it felt a little damp, another teacher didn’t quite believe me she was lifting up my pant leg also I looked down to see that my knee was cut open with blood everywhere the other teachers were about to faint as they saw the bone, “Oh shit!”

I left a trail of blood behind me, as I hobbled along the corridors to visit the nurse’s office the whole time I’m calling myself a baa-bo/바보 (twit). The nurse cleaned up with everyone standing to watch as they were in shock with the amount of blood. But me, who was laughing and smiling ~ baa-bo/바보! After getting permission from the vice principal to visit the hospital (what if they said no), I walked about three blocks to visit an orthopedic. I sat there still smiling as I couldn’t believe what just happened but it was just pure denial, as I knew I was about to have an injection or two along with a few stitches!!! So I had a few x-rays done and phew that was fine then it was time for the sewing to begin. The doctor started by giving me an injection thankfully my body was already in shock and some pain that I couldn’t feel it too much and by the second stitch I could no longer feel anything. The doctor was asking me some questions with his limited English and I was answering in my limited Korean. However things came to a halt when he asked if I was married and I said no, I guess he was in more shock than I was, as he smiled no more! Also I was in more pain I think from the two shots I got in my buttocks ~ I still have bruises!!!


Cartoon characters reassure your fears!

I hobbled down to the elevator and off to the yak-guk/약국, (pharmacy) which is when my co-teacher came to rescue me from my adventures of being a dumb foreigner but instead she found me conversing with the pharmacist and the grandmothers around me as they were so happy I spoke some Korean.

Hobbling became me as I was still smiling and thinking what a twit I am and what bad timing. The next day was one of my biggest days of my teaching career, (*I will go into more details later). I got back to school and went straight to class with my bloody pants, not the most hygienic and I’m sure if I was in the States I would have been burned at the stake for doing such a thing. The kids were already told that I was in hospital so they were super sympathetic ~ bless their hearts! At lunch my friend/roomie came to the rescue with fresh black pants; okay I lied they weren’t so fresh I worn them the day before but they were the most comfortable thing to wear at this point as well as me having to explain it's location; no don’t worry they weren’t in the dirty hamper!

Two of the five students who acted in the play.

*So here we are at the part I said I would tell you later.

I had been preparing five of my students for a competition amongst other schools from our district. The kids and myself wrote a script for a news broadcast that was quite humorous. We had to practice at least three times a week and last Wednesday was the big day, hence the bad timing to fall on stairs! I even worked on my holidays to get this thing done, prepared the set and all the props. I wanted the kids to be more involved however the poor things have so many private classes after school hours, which is rather ridiculous, plus they had their midterms last week. I was the only teacher involved with more teachers giving a helping hand the closer we got to the main day. We had to take the whole thing to another school, which was hosting the competition, and Young-joo was the sweetest, by driving the props and myself there and back.

At the school all the other groups were busily preparing which motivated my kids too who were busily eating junk food of all sorts ~ sshhh I can’t tell their mums as one kid put it, his mum would kill him! What was really funny was so many teachers came from my school to help us, as well as all the mothers, we had the biggest group there! But it was so annoying; another foreign teacher Malcolm and myself kept directing others in what they have to do to help us get everything onto the stage. When it came down to it almost everyone disappeared leaving the two of us to do it all, remember I’m the one that was limping!

The kids did a fantastic job; we had two presenters sitting at a desk with three boys acting like field reporters. The first report was about the camping trip the sixth graders took and Harry the fishing expert then they talked about studying, preparing for their midterms. The last was a report on the school pond, which was funny to us as I still can’t find my school’s pond but the school that was hosting this competition had a huge pond with a stream, a mini bridge as well as a waterfall. All the kids were laughing about it before we got on the stage. The show ended wonderfully as the kids were humorous and entertaining, so much so that we won! Now we have to do it again in Seoul National University ~ argh!

Happy Chuseok/추석!

I can’t believe that I’m actually staying in Korea during this holiday, I was hoping to visit Thailand but the airfare is pure extortion and I refuse to pay more than double the regular fare! One of the joys of being a public school teacher.

So far I haven’t done too much which is the whole plan as I’ve been way too tired lately. However Young-joo, Nado and myself took off shopping to Costco to stock up on some of the yummy food that is otherwise hard to find. Hhhmm the TV is on at the moment the show from what I gather is about the black market for prescription drugs here in Korea. Anyway where was I??? Yeah I needed things like Special K, kidney beans and some ground beef ~ oh oh soooo exciting!

Sorry that I haven’t posted in a while I’m actually busy these days at work ~ yeah I admit that I normally post while at work as all my stuff is done and I have hours of time spare. But these days I’m preparing a few kids for a school play that will perform for a contest that involves all the schools. I also have pressure seeing that my principal expects us to win. GREAT!

Not too much else is going on, I went out last night with the girls and Nado’s friend David from Scotland. We had a couple bottles of red wine while sitting on the rooftop at the bungalow lounge. But dinner was at the Wolfhound Pub a small Irish joint that offers a pretty good menu, but the beef and mushroom pie was not what I expected as it seemed more like a soup with pastry on top. The apple crumble wasn’t bad but not so Irish with all the cinnamon, or maybe I’m wrong.

Tomorrow I guess is the main day for Chuseok/추석 which is Korean thanksgiving. For those who are unfamiliar with this major holiday it’s a time when everybody visits their families especially the eldest male who is the most important figure. So Seoul seems rather empty as everyone is off to their hometowns around Korea.



This is not the time to be traveling, as traffic is absolutely horrific!!!



The family pays their respect to their ancestors early in the morning by bowing and then enjoying a meal with them. It’s a great time to visit Koreans in their homes which I have done in the past when I lived in Daegu as it was a destination for many Seoulites.



It’s also a good time to see many people dressed in hanboks or receive some interesting gifts like a box full of more boxes of toothpaste or a box full of Spam!



This year the holiday falls on a five day weekend, so starting Saturday till Wednesday however I’m lucky that my school has a day off on Thursday but why, why and why again do I have to go on Friday???

And for those that reside in Hong Kong/China ~ Happy Mid-Autumn Festival!

Maui, Calgary, Fort McMurray and back to Seoul!

It’s official my brother is married! Man, what a gorgeous wedding too in Maui, both he and Joanna looked extremely happy which was the main thing.

Receiving a high five from dad!

Self portrait

I miss my brother dearly, even though we fought like cats and dogs when we were young but the best thing and what I miss the most is that we could argue but he's always there for me and I'm always there for him with total respect.

We started of as four and now we are five :)

I love this photo!

Saying goodbye is the part of my vacations that I hate the most and I know I'm not the only one. But I'm glad that I got to stay with my brother for a couple of days in Fort McMurray :)

And the last leg of my trip home was a night in Waikiki I managed to squeeze in some time on the beach however it was about 7am!

July's Photos

The summer classes are now on; this year I have to teach two seperate camps as oppossed to just teaching my school kids. The Gangnam English Centre Camp which is open to nine local schools - but it's stressfull with the press and alsorts of heads from the edcation board to the blow Joe of the street coming to check it out as it's the first of it's kind in a public school. However this photo is of my favourite class so far. I did a social studies lesson on Freedom of Expression with focus on North Korea. We watched a Korean B-boy video then froze certain frames in order to draw figures similar to Keith Haring.

Watching the world go by in the Itaewon St*rbucks.

Walking around in Samcheon-Dong, one of my favourite areas around Gyeongbuk Palace and the President's Residence, "The Blue House". This area is being preserved as it's rare to see the old Hanok houses.

With Mark in Samcheon-Dong.

A thank you lunch from my school for Malcolm (another foreign teacher in my school) and myself for teaching during the summer vacation ~ like we had a choice. But hey, the lunch was awesome it's rare to have a good Chinese meal in Korea.

The Ups and Downs in July!

I don’t know what to say this week or should I say this month I’m somewhat at a lost. Well I guess with the first bit of news is a downer. I have been seeing someone off and on since November, an American guy. I know I posted about him before saying that he was history. Well he was history for a week then things were good and we were happy. However now it’s over as he has his orders to return back to the States and with short notice too. I guess it was coming, but to come so soon??? I must admit I tried not to think about that fact he has no choice of where he’s posted, the joys of being in the military.

However in other news, it’s been fantastic having Nayan and Miss thing, staying with me, I’m going to be lost when they leave. I think my stress level will go up, as I won’t have anyone to talk to when I get home and with Mark being gone. Or the stress may go down, as I won’t have any excuse to not go to the gym!

But, I will be in Maui very soon! Sitting on a beach sipping on me Mai Tai’s thinking of nothing. Yeah, can’t wait to meet up with everyone and have a great time and also realize that my little bro is growing up as he and Joanna exchange their vows ON THE BEACH, oh yeah still sipping me Mai Tai’s!!! Then it's off to Calgary to meet up with friends and my nanny! Oooops... I just realized I missed her birthday, yay for alzheimer's! I'm bad I know ;P

Oh and tis the time to be eating Sam-Gae-Tang 삼계탕 the yummiest Korean soup ever! Gotta have your stuffed chicken with dates, ginseng, chestnuts and sweet rice cooked to perfection in a wonderful broth served piping hot to your table. This is the food of choice for the hottest days of the year (if you can get a table due to the crazy busyness of the restaurants) or you could have dog soup, however I opt for the chicken myself ;P

This week and the last three weeks in photos!

My school's grand flea market where all the goodies where sold within setting up the fair which upset many of the students. But still was a fun day.

Heejeong and myself at our friend Valtihno's concert in Apukjeong a place where my friends and I normally avoid however the venue was a nice surprise.
We are officially Valtihno's groupies as I have many photos of him on stage. The music was awesome and sung in three languages, as he's originally from Brazil and the other members were Korean however English is the common language for them to communicate with. The group played Bossa Nova inspired music with Valtihno's genius percussion which he has practiced at numerous parties as well as my kitchen lamps!
Quite the name for a shop, don't you think?
Nayan's back and here we are at Santorino's Greek Restaurant in Itaewon, then we went back the next day with some other people then the next with another group of people, now I think I've had my fill for the year!
This is one of my favourite hangouts in Itaewon called, "The Bungalow" which has become our second home, the service sucks though they seem to be getting worse but the place is great with so many different places to sit, there's an area with swings and sand then another area with a jacuzzi each area has it's own personality but the last time we were there the service was so bad it took 10 mins to get someone's attention then after ordering it took a further 30 mins to get our drinks!
As you can see Keo isn't so keen on the waiter!!!
Nayan and Miss shyness :)
Last Saturday I attended Heejeong's father-in-law's 60th birthday party which is a big deal here in Korea.
I love this photo of Heejeong and her hubby.
On stage her father-in-law gave a speech, everyone in the immediate family had to wear Hanboks which are cute but not always the most comfortable things to wear.
Heejeong and myself

Black Lace - Agadoo

Ah the 80's how I loved this song when I was a kid on my hols. Was I on crack?

For Julie

Thank you for your friendship during my visits back to the UK as well as your patience as I looked at every detail in the shops that kept you waiting like my aunt Elsie normally did. I’m sorry that I still don’t remember you in high school but I’m grateful that I got to know and laugh with you over the years. And I’m sorry that you didn’t have that chance to go to Canada like how we talked.

I will miss you, as I know you and Debbie were wonderful friends. You meant so much to Debs as she always talked about you, and I thank you for everything.

You remind me of how fragile life is and the importance to live each day. Today I mourn your death that ended way too soon. I yearn for my family that I miss so dearly and wish I could be there for yours. I’m sure that you and your brother Vincent are together again. I pray for your parents and Debbie with all my heart to get through the darkest hours, as I’m sure you’ll agree there’s so much to live for. I wish you happiness and your family too.

We will meet again.

Julie left And My Cousin Debbie Right

Etsy Favourites

I could spend hours and hours on Etsy, there's some great stuff but you really need to look.

Here are just some that I looked at today:

Brainiac the Art of Matte Stephens and his blog.

Dog Bone Art

Magic Jelly


Margaux Lange unique jewelry

I'm finally hooked up!

I'm back online at home at last! So here are some pics to catch you up to date.

Moving day, which took four trips in a 1 ton truck and a lots of friends!


At Kang, San-ae's concert in Ssamzie Space a really cool artist centre that also offers residencies.

Nasty cheese bite pizza my students love.

Birthday dinner with the girls that are so important to me. Irene and Nado!

A one stop shop for...uhm...baskets...and other woven goods...

BBQ art show opening in the Samcheongdong area the gallery is built inside an old style Korean home which makes for an ineresting space, sorry no pics of the art.

My Birthday party: Ok-jae and Hyo-jin I think there's a theme going on here tonight...
I love this shot and yes it's rather suggestive but he's just curious about my prezzie and I'm energetic to tell him about it.
I celebrated my birthday with Peter, David and the other fella I forget his name, oops. We combined the party as we have mutual friends.

My new home




Out with fellow foreign teachers that work for Gangnam, this is the first time we got together other than the monthly workshops.
A birthday party for Roxanna from Iran, Phillip from Austria and Ok-jae from Gangnam which ended 7am this morning!