Kristin's Birthday and Playing Tourist

What a jam-packed day! I woke up early and met Phil and Kristin at Hongdae station. We started our morning at Gyeongbok Palace, arriving almost as soon as it opened. They both really enjoyed the palace and palace grounds. It was pretty quiet as most of the other tourists hadn't arrived. Then we stopped at the National Folk Museum on the palace grounds as well.

After Gyeongbok Palace, we walked on to Insadong, the artsy/souvenir area. We browsed in there and watched the "performance" of making a royal snack of honey and corn flour. After watching Phil decided he'd buy a package. I suggested a snack towards the end of Insadong--we got hoddeok (the fried pancakes) and got one filled with a spicy bulgogi (beef), one filled with noodles and one sweet one filled with sugar. They were all delicious. We took the snacks to a park and sat and rested a bit there.

Next was on to Cheonggyecheon, to see the stream that I love. We walked there and walked along the stream a bit. Finally we walked to a subway station to take a line to the Han River. We joined the GOA'L potluck picnic--a joining of 4 adoptee organizations-and had an American BBQ lunch that was way delicious! After lunch, Phil and Kristin took a walk along the river and I visited with some of the people. Then it was off to Namdaemun. We walked through the market and then went to the gate. After that, we were going to also see City Hall, but it was already 4:30 and I figured they would want a rest and time to clean up before dinner.

We headed to Hongdae and split for a few hours. Later Phil, Kristin, Jacob and I met up and went to dinner for Korean BBQ. We ordered thinly shaved beef, a steak cut and shrimp to grill. As we were looking at the menu, Kristin asked "where are the sides?". I said there were some stews and soups as sides and she seemed a bit puzzled. We ordered and all the little Korean side dishes came out. Kristin was surprised and joked "where are all the sides?!" when she saw how much other stuff came with our order. Dinner was delicious. While we were eating, Felix, one of our adoptee friends from soccer came in with a family (he runs a tour program for adoptees from France) and sat next to us at dinner.

After dinner, we walked around Hongdae a little and went to the playground. Then we went to Schneeballen and ordered a schneeballen for dessert. Kristin had the honor of breaking up the dessert. We made plans for the next day and parted ways.

Phil and Kristin at Gyeongbok Palace

Phil and me at the palace

Phil and Kristin at Cheonggyecheon

Jacob and me at the GOAL picnic

Phil and me at Namdaemun

Kristin, Phil, Jacob and me at dinner :)

Jacob making sure our dessert doesn't escape!

Phil taking a turn at the hammer!

Finally Phil arrives!

I got another email from Phil in the morning saying they were delayed again and best case scenario would be that they arrived around 8:45pm; worst case was looking at arriving on Saturday. Luckily, they got off without any more hiccups and I checked United's website and watched their plane progress throughout the day.

Work was hard to get through because I was anxious for Phil to arrive. I was lucky because I needed to go in and pick up the results from my medical check up, so I had official leave at 2pm. Again, I took a bus to Yonsei; this time it took a little bit longer (different bus) but I still arrived in plenty of time. I picked up the results and talked to the doctor-I have a clean bill of health. After "consulting" the doctor, I looked for a Daiso to buy some kind of wrapping for Kristin's birthday present. I came across a bag that was a cooler/heater (insulated bag) and it folded flat so I thought it would work perfectly for them. I headed to Hongdae and wandered around there until Jacob got off of work. We went to a restaurant right next to the GOAL office. I ordered a bibimbap-it was really good. After dinner, we walked back to his guesthouse to take a rest before meeting Phil in Hongdae around 10:15. At the guesthouse, he had a present for me-it was a package from Jenny, my Korean roommate. He had tried to get her to come up to Seoul for my birthday, but since she is leaving for Sri Lanka on the 2nd, she wasn't able to spend her last weekend in Korea with me. Instead, she mailed a watch to him to give to me for my birthday. It was such a nice, sweet surprise.

We headed into Hongdae and went to Subway to get a sandwich for Phil and Kristin. I figured they'd be hungry and probably wanting some familiar food after traveling so long. Jacob and I waited near the subway exit for them about 30 minutes past the original set time, but only because we figured they wouldn't have made it in by 10:15 anyway. Finally, I see them appearing up from the subway, looking at a map to figure out which way to go. I walked up to the exit and surprised them. It was great to see them and get hugs from both of them. We walked to their guesthouse to drop off their bags. There was a few issues at their place-first the guy gave them a room key, but the room already had an inhabitant! So we had to get a different key, to a different room. Next, the room didn't have the remote for the aircon! So they had to hunt that down.

After everything was all settled in the guesthouse, we went back out because they wanted to get a drink. We had passed a WaBar, so we went there. Phil and Kristin ordered 2 different Korean beers to try. We also had to order a side, so we got a fruit dish with ice and juice in the bottom. It was pretty good. Jacob and I taught/wrote some helpful Korean words and phrases out for them and we talked through the plan for tomorrow.

A little after midnight, Jacob and I took off because we were both so exhausted! We were able to wish Kristin a happy birthday right away!

Phil is Delayed and Last Day with the VD's

This morning I checked my email and was so disappointed to get a message from Phil saying their flight had been cancelled and they would not be arriving in the evening as planned, but they would come in Friday afternoon instead.

I went to work and had an okay day. After work, I decided I would take a different route to Hongdae as an experiment. I walked to a subway station that is kind of near my school and waited for a bus. I had just missed the previous bus so I ended up waiting a bit for the next one to come. Then, the bus was a bit crowded and lots of people wanting to get off at each and every stop. When I got close to Hongdae, I started looking out the window at the big intersection for Jacob and his parents. I saw them and waved to them as the bus went by. It ended up dropping me off at exactly 5:30, the time we planned to meet, but it wasn't as perfect as I had hoped, but definitely less walking!

For their final dinner in Korea, Jacob's parents picked his Imo's restaurant again. This time Jacob, his mom and I all ordered the special of the day--a bibimbap. It was really good. After dinner, we went to Cafe Bene for a honey butter toast. We sat and chatted for awhile before heading back to their place. I was sad to see them go, as I have gotten used to sharing dinner with them and getting to know them.

Yummy bibimbap!

Jacobs parents at dinner!

Outside Imo's restaurant

Honey Butter Toast!!

Saying goodbye at Eastern

BBQ and Shaved Ice

Today was another hot day! I taught the 4th graders today. It's fun with them because they raise their hands and participate in class.

After work, I headed to Sangsu to meet Jacob when he finished work. We walked to Hongdae to meet his parents. For dinner, we had BBQ and got a mix of pork and beef to grill. It was really good and I think his parents enjoyed it. After dinner, they needed to look for a few things so we did a little bit of shopping. I thought bingsu (shaved ice dessert; usually with fruit or sweet dessert) would be a nice refreshing dessert, and not too heavy. We went to a bingsu place and ordered an oreo bingsu and a mixed fruit bingsu to share. It was delicious and both of his parents enjoyed it.

I also brought along some more cookies to share, since Jacob's mom hadn't gotten many from the first round. When we finished dinner, we all walked back to their guesthouse, chatted briefly before heading home.

Jacob and his parents at dinner

Jacob's parents enjoying the fruit shaved ice!

Long tired Tuesday

This morning I woke up around 4am and could not fall back asleep. I figured I might as well shower, make some breakfast and get started on my day if I couldn't sleep. I headed to work a little bit early so I could prepare for the classes for the day and for tomorrow since I had to leave right after I finished teaching today.

The two classes teaching "solo" (with the homeroom teachers in it) went okay. The first teacher did not participate and was not involved at all, which was fine with me. We did end a little bit early which I felt awkward and bad about. The second teacher I had to go to their classroom. This teacher wanted to help and she did her best to translate some things as I went along. The other classes also went okay. After lunch I had a short meeting with my COT to go over the lesson for tomorrow. As soon as I finished teaching, I got my stuff and jetted out. I was really concerned about making it to the appointment on time. I looked up some buses that would get me to Sinchon the fastest, but I had to walk to the bus stop for about 10 minutes. I found the bus stop and was lucky the bus I needed pulled up almost immediately.

The campus of Yonsei is quite large, but the hospital sticks out. I went to the International Health Clinic (IHC) where I made an appointment so I could have an English speaking doctor. And then the frustrations began. The IHC told me that I could not do a basic medical check there and needed to go to the Visa renewal part for the check up. The Visa people sent me the Family Medicine (told me the wrong floor so I had to search for it). Family Medicine couldn't speak English so they talked on the phone with IHC trying to figure out everything. Then I got a translator and signed into the hospital. I was updating Jacob with my situation and he said it didn't sound right that the IHC couldn't/wouldn't do it. So he called them and asked as if he were needing a check if he could do it there. They said yes. So I went back to the IHC to see if they would do it. Again they said no and sent me up to Family Medicine again. I got a new translator because my other one needed to leave. This took about 45 minutes. The new translator and I then went on a "scavenger hunt" around the giant medical complex to get each different area checked by different clinic areas and doctors (eyes, ears/nose/throat, xray, blood draw, skin etc). That took us about an hour to complete. I was so frustrated and crabby after that. I walked to Hongdae to meet Jacob. We went to Oodle Noodle to pick up dinner to take back to his parents.

We had dinner in their kitchen at the guesthouse and it was nice to chat with them about their past few days. After dinner, I headed home, quite exhausted after such a long day.

A long Monday

Work kept me busy for most of the afternoon. My COT went home sick so it was extra quiet in our office. I had to schedule a medical check for tomorrow, so I had my other COT come help me sign out to request off time. Tomorrow one of my COT's won't be at school so I will have to teach the class relatively solo, but the homeroom teachers will be present (it is not allowed for me to teach without a Korean teacher in the classroom). That is a little bit nerve-wracking, but hopefully it will be okay. We had a staff meeting a little later than normal-I think because last week we had one at the normal time and finished really early so they didn't want us to leave as early today.

After work, I headed to downtown for class. On the way, Yonsei (where I'm going for the medical check) called me and asked to change my appointment time. It was a bit frustrating because I technically can't change the time off I requested, so I will just have to leave earlier. I also need to bring 2 photos along with me-which I didn't have at the time. I did some shopping and found a birthday present for Kristin. I sat by Cheonggyecheon for a bit and then off to class. It went alright today, I was just feeling a bit tired and not tuned in. After class, I walked to City Hall station to find a photo booth to take some pictures. I was going to try and do it tomorrow, but there wouldn't be enough time since the appointment changed.

Slow Sunday

I guess not sleeping well has finally caught up with me and I was able to sleep a little bit past my normal 6:30-7am wake up time. In the morning I just relaxed. I was thinking about making mini oreo cheesecakes, but unfortunately Emart was closed so I couldn't buy any cream cheese. The other little mini grocery stores in the area don't carry Western items like that, so I was out of luck. Instead, I made up some of my favorite pudding cookies. I baked a few that were frozen and then froze the rest of the dough. It's nice to know there is cookie dough in the freezer ready to be turned into delicious cookies!

I just relaxed and bummed around home. Jacob came over later in the afternoon which was a nice surprise because I figured he'd be busy with his parents until soccer. He brought over some insect repellant for me which was sweet. We grabbed an early dinner at the bibimbap place in front of my building and then it was off to soccer. It was raining, but not too bad and it wasn't too cold.

We had a pretty good turnout today. There were 15 of us, so we made 3 teams of 5. I played pretty well and even had a goal. It's been awhile since I've scored. Jacob was back on the field and played basically the whole time. I'm glad he's able to be playing again. And as usual, he was scoring goals. It was fun to see him in his element again after almost 2 months of being out. 

Itaewon Day

I started the morning with a skype session with Grandpa and Aunt Judy. It's been awhile since I've seen Aunt Jude, so that was nice. After talking with them, I got ready and headed to Itaewon to meet up with Jacob and his parents.

I arrived before them, and just hung out in Itaewon until they arrived. We went to Left Coast for burgers again and I had a hard time picking a burger! I ended up getting the Roasted Pepper burger. It was really good. We also all shared the Totchos again. After lunch we did a little bit of antiquing in the area just down from Itaewon that Jacob and I wandered last time we were in the neighborhood. We walked down the length of Itaewon to do some shopping and hopped the subway to the War Memorial. We walked through the main hall about the Korean War and stopped outside to look at the planes outside. Then we took a taxi back to the guesthouse and took a short break. Next it was off to find dinner. We walked around a little and ended up going to the Mexican place they went to their first night, B'Mucho. It was my first time there--I ordered a spinach quesadilla and it was really good. After dinner we chatted a little and then I came home. It was a quiet evening at home. I bought my ticket home for my visit in August! I'm excited to be coming home and to Milwaukee for 17 days.

Jacob, his mom and dad looking at stuff in Itaewon

Jacob and his Dad at the War Memorial

Spinach quesadilla

Free Friday

Work was exceptionally light and easy today. The first two periods were cancelled, I'm not sure of the reason. I had a make up class at 5th period from Wednesday, but at the last moment, the teacher decided she wouldn't do the make up class, so I only taught 2 classes today.

After work, I decided I'd go for a run to Hongdae and get falafel since Krystle and I didn't go there on Wednesday. When I was heading out the door Jacob called me and asked me what I was up to. I told him I was going for a run to Hongdae and he said he'd meet me in Hapjeong. My run took me about the same amount of time, but I felt like it was a little slow. I was feeling tired. I met up with Jacob in Hapjeong and he bought me some Gatorade. We walked to Hongdae and I got my dinner. I let him try some of the falafel wrap and he liked it, so I guess I will be able to go back with him some time then! We finished dinner and I walked with him to the Eastern Guesthouse so he could get dinner with his parents.

Yesterday, I realized that one of the buses I would wait for at the new stop on the new route I'm taking home actually is at the original stop I left from. So I waited for that bus and took it all the way home. It was about a 30 minute ride. The bus was quite full. I got home and just relaxed for the rest of the evening. It was nice to have a quiet night in--no entertaining, no guests, nothing fancy.

Dinner with the Parents

Work went alright--my first period had been rescheduled for 5th period, so it was nice to come in and have a rest before starting on the day. The 4th graders made a "do not" poster and they enjoyed working on them and sharing them.

After work, I came home and baked half of the frozen cookie dough I had saved. I was a bit worried how the consistency of the dough would be after freezing, but it was still delicious. (I mean, they SELL frozen cookie dough, why should mine turn out any differently?!) After baking 2 batches, I headed to Daiso to look for a cute container to put the cookies in. I had no luck, but found a small plate and a gift bag to put the plate in. Not my best packaging/wrapping job, but I had limited time because Jacob messaged me ready to meet me at my subway station. I ran into the station and made it just in time.

We decided we'd hop off a little earlier and get a taxi to the guesthouse to make it on time to his parents. Once we arrived, I handed off the cookies and then we got another cab to Sangsu to Goom Steak. There was about a 30 minute wait. The first two times Jacob and I went, it wasn't busy at all. The last time we went--for our 100 days, it was also quite busy. I was surprised because it's only a Thursday night. I think that the restaurant has become more popular and discovered by others now too. After our long wait, we finally got a table-near a window too which was nice. I ordered a salad to try something a bit different (I know, it's at a steak place, crazy). It was good, but there was a lot of dressing on it.

When we finished dinner, we walked around Sangsu a bit and decided to walk back to the guesthouse. We had to stop a few times because Jacob's dad was having some pain in his heel. Jacob also bought his dad some ice packs on the way back. We sat and talked in their room a little bit. Jacob went to go get scissors and ended up talking to a Mom and her daughter in the kitchen of the guesthouse for almost 30 minutes. (They were asking for advice about living in Korea as an adoptee.) When he returned, I figured it was time to head home. I took 2 buses to get home. I wasn't paying attention on the 2nd bus and thought it was going a different route and ended up close to my school-I overshot it by 1 or 2 stops.

Jacob and his parents at dinner

Time for Krystle again and Meeting the Parents

Work was pretty easy today. One of my classes was cancelled and rescheduled for Friday afternoon so I had off one period. I do enjoy having the 4th graders-they are still so excited about English and they all want to participate and speak. They get worried they won't be able to share something sometimes and we have to reassure them everyone will get a chance to participate in the activity if they want to!

After work, I went to Sangsu to meet Krystle for dinner. We have a bad habit of letting too much time pass between meetings. It's kind of sad because she decided she wouldn't be renewing her contract. So I won't have a female travel buddy in the next year. It was nice catching up with her too. She is having a visitor coming soon so it was nice to share my experience of having a guest for multiple days. We were going to go to the falafel place, which I love so much, but Krystle had it recently so we went to Gusto instead. I got a burrito which was really good. Originally we were going to just have dinner and split because she was getting over being sick, but she decided she wanted to do a little bit of shopping so we walked to Hongdae together.

Jacob messaged me and invited me to come join his parents as they were finishing up dinner. I left Krystle and headed to his Imo's restaurant. I arrived at the restaurant and we sat and talked for 30-45 minutes before heading back to the Eastern Guesthouse. There, we sat in the kitchen and talked some more for awhile before I took off. Jacob's parents had kindly brought over a few things for me (pudding mix, more cream of mushroom soup and more salsa!) so I took those home with me as well.

MK!!

Work went alright--nothing too exciting to report there. Though one student who has been consistently loud, obnoxious and rude acted much better today (and last week). I talked with him after class and thanked him for his hard work and gave him a high 5, which I hope he understood.

After work, I went to Yeongdeungpo to meet Min Kyung! She wasn't able to meet until 7, so I did some shopping in the underground. I found a skirt, dress, and dressy shirt. I was tempted to buy more, but I held back. Min Kyung and I met up and she picked a Taiwanese restaurant for dinner in Times Square (shopping mall above the underground shopping). We ordered dumplings and shared a noodle soup. It was pretty good. I was more happy to see Min Kyung and spend time with her. Actually a few weeks ago, her dad had a stroke while at work and has been recovering and in the hospital. She's been quite busy helping out and visiting him all she can. Fortunately, her dad is okay and is in a rehabilitation center very near their home. They hope he can move out of there in a few more weeks. While MK and I were having dinner, Jacob's parents landed safely in Korea and he was reunited with them. After dinner, MK and I went to a cafe in the mall also, and had tea.

Sometimes it amazes me, how you meet people and the friends you have. I'm very thankful for the friendship with her. It seems that sometimes you can be closer with someone you've known for a short time with so much distance in between, than people you grew up with. I really enjoyed our short reunion. Then, it was off to return home. There is one station I have to transfer at, Sindorim, and it is like h*** on Earth. It is always so crowded and crazy. When I was going to Yeongdeungpo, it was really bad--they have to have workers stand with rope so that people don't try and go up one side of stairs when there are people trying to go down the other side. However, I was lucky that it wasn't quite so bad when I was returning. Once I got to Hapjeong for my 2nd transfer, I saw that the car was really crowded. I squeezed in and then probably another 6-8 people also pushed their way in. I have never been that squished in a car on my line before!

Monday Night Classes

Erin woke up early to get ready to head to the airport. I woke up earlier than expected and asked if she would like to take the earlier bus to the airport because we had enough time. She agreed and off we went to the bus stop. I wheeled her suitcase to the stop and we had about 5 minutes before the bus arrived.

After she left, I returned home, around 7am and considered trying to sleep a bit more, but decided to clean and put my room back in order instead.

Nothing too exciting happened at work. We had a staff meeting at the end of the day and the meeting got done really early, so I was able to head to the downtown area extra early. My Korean classes are now on Monday nights (only for 6 weeks). It's a nice change from the Friday nights (I endured that for 18 weeks!), but I really liked the most recent teacher. Anyway, I did some window shopping and sat by Cheonggyecheon. It was nice, but there were a lot of gnats out.

For some reason, I felt extra nervous for class. It's level 3B, so we are using the second half of the textbook from 3A, so there wasn't any reason to be nervous but I was. Most of the students in the class was the same. It's nice to see the familiar faces of my classmates, even if I'm not really friends with them or know them. Class went alright--it was a grammar point that I really struggled with at Kyunghee University. When I looked in the book before class I was a bit worried because I remembered how difficult and frustrating it was to me at the time. It helped having it taught again, in a slightly different way (different teacher, different teaching style). I understand it better, but it is still challenging to put into practical use.

After class, I made my way home and had some of my strawberries for a late night snack.

Olympic Stadium and Soccer

I had some skype dates with family members so I was a bit busy in the morning. After I finished talking, Erin and I went to lunch. She wanted to eat fish, so we walked to a "fish and grill" restaurant I've seen on the way to the subway. It was closed, so we walked back by my place because I know there are quite a few restaurants tucked in the neighborhood and figured some might have fish.

As it turned out, one restaurant has a small regular set menu and then they have 2 or 3 specials every day. One option was pork and the other some kind of mackerel stew. We figured I could get the pork and she could get the fish. However, those were shared dishes, but we ended up ordering the fish anyway. I had one piece of fish. After lunch, we took off for the Olympic Stadium Park. It took a little over an hour to get there as it is across the city and in the opposite corner. The weather was really warm and it was sunny. A good day for a walk in the park. We walked around a little bit and stopped in the Olympic Museum on the grounds.

We headed back to my side of town and Erin decided she would not come to soccer and wouldn't sit and watch either. At one of the stops I hear, "안녕하세요" /annyeong haseyo/ (hello) and looked up to see Stefano, one of our soccer guys standing in front of me on the subway. It always amazes me when one can run into someone you know on the subway or even other places I suppose, with the city so big and so many subway cars etc.

Stefano and I went to the field together and met up with some other guys waiting. All the guys asked me if Jacob was playing and I said that he didn't really think he would play much. When Jacob arrived a little bit later he announced that he was going to play, haha. He wanted to try playing in goal a bit, but as we got playing he decided to come out of goal and ran around a little. The teams were sooo unfair. They had all the Scandinavian guys together and it was really unbalanced, but we did okay anyway.

After soccer, Jacob came to my area for dinner. He walked me home. When I got back, Erin said her knee was hurting a bit and she didn't want to walk to BR31 with me, so I went to get ice cream for us and brought it back.

In the Olympic Museum

Erin and me in the Olympic Museum

Tofu Making and Strawberry Picking Field Trip

We got up bright and early to head to Hapjeong to the meeting point for our field trip. Erin and I arrived about 10 minutes early and there was no one there. Even by the time we were supposed to meet, only 2 other people were there. Jacob had said there were about 15-18 people coming, so I was wondering where everyone was, including him. Erin went with 3 other women to get coffee and I waited around. Finally people came trickling in and the departure time passed without the main person in charge. I guess everyone was running a bit late.

On the bus, we got some sandwiches for breakfast. I sat with Jacob, who napped the whole ride out to the farm community that we visited in Gyeonggi-do (Gyeonggi province, surrounding Seoul). We arrived early to the little community and hung out until they were ready to start the tofu making process.

First, they told us they had to soak the soybeans for 24 hours. Then they took the beans and ground them up with a machine and added some water to them as they were being ground. That took about 2 minutes; they said if they did it the traditional way, by hand/stone, it would take a whole day just to grind the beans! Next, they took the ground beans and put them in boiling water. When the water started to get too high boiling, they cooled it down by adding cold water to the mix. That process took about 20 minutes; in the beginning they couldn't really stir the beans or it would cause them to sink, but after 10 minutes, we could stir them. There was a lot of other stuff going on with the tofu, but it's hard to remember how the whole process went. Basically, we ended up making 3 different kinds of tofu. One was the regular kind you get in a package at the grocery store (block form), the second was the kind they use in a tofu stew, and the third was kind of like a grainy, little pieces of tofu.

After making tofu, we made ddeok (one kind of rice cake). They had to use special sticky rice-then we got to help pound the rice until you couldn't see the grains anymore and they kind of got mushed together. Once the rice was all mashed, the separated the ddeok and put some on two tables for us. There was a kind of sweet powder that we patted on the ddeok and then they gave us metal plates to use as knives or cutting wheels to cut the ddeok.

When we finished making ddeok, we had some down time until it was lunch. The guys found a soccer ball and we kicked the ball around until lunchtime. Lunch was very healthy, with lots of vegetables. Then it was off to the WWOF Strawberry Farm.

The strawberry farm is part of an organic farm group throughout Korea. We picked strawberries--they were so delicious!!- and then went to the other part of the farm that had over 5,000 chickens/chicks/roosters and a few dogs and goats. There were two adorable puppies there and I wanted to take them home with me! We had a short tour of the farm and went into the pen with the 2 week old chicks. We talked with 2 adoptees, one from the Netherlands and one from the US that are both working or volunteering on this particular farm and learned about WWOOF.

Then, the long drive back to Seoul. There wasn't too much traffic and it took us a little under 2 hours to return. Erin went to meet another friend in Hongdae and Jacob and I went to his guesthouse. He was going to cook dinner, but he was kind of tired (some people had a party at the guesthouse the night before and made a lot of noise at night and came in late--early--in the morning and made more noise then) so we just went to our favorite kimbap shop. We took a short walk around his neighborhood after dinner and then relaxed in the living room of the guesthouse before I headed home.

At the Community that makes Tofu

Grinding the beans

Pre-boiling

Draining out the liquid

Tofu kind #1

Cutie pushing down the brick of tofus

Making ddeok

Putting on powder and cutting the ddeok

Group picture

Strawberry Heaven

I WANT!!

Jacob with the chickies

He reminded me of Toba

Amazing strawberries

TGIF + 4 months

Work went well, nothing too special to mention.

After work, I came home and rested until Jacob finished work. He came over and I gave him the shirt I bought him. Unfortunately, anything Korea from the Nike stores here are made in Korea and are Korean sizes--which means the run small. So, the shirt I got him doesn't fit him. I was a bit bummed (especially since it was on sale which means no returns), but there's nothing I can do about that.

We went to an Italian restaurant that is in front of my place and ordered a chicken salad and 'taco spaghetti'. It had a tortilla shell on the bottom and sauce filled in, plus spaghetti noodles and some veggies. It was interesting and only so-so in taste. I don't think we'll go back there again.

When we finished dinner, he headed home because we have to get up early in the morning for the GOAL field trip. Erin had met Jenna for dinner and had dessert with her in Hongdae. When Erin returned, we shared our days and got ready for bed.

Easy Day and more Ice Cream

It was another rather easy day. The last period class was cancelled for a school fire drill/safety practice which was nice.

After work, I came home and took a short rest. Erin had gone to see Gyeongbok Palace during the afternoon. I gave her directions to go to the subway station near my school. I  headed to meet her and then we walked to dinner. We went to a bibimbap place I'd been to twice before. The first time the subject teachers ordered kimchi jjigae (a stew) and the second time I went with one of the vice principals and some other homeroom teachers during the semester break in February while I was desk warming. At that time, I ordered bibimbap and really liked it, so suggested it to Erin.

We finished dinner and walked by my school. Then we decided to stop at Baskin Robbins for ice cream. :) We ordered and brought it home. Once home, we chatted a bit and had an early night.

Cancelled class, chicken and ice cream

Today was a pretty easy day at work. My last class for the day was cancelled because the 4th grade students were going on a hiking field trip. I'm glad that they were able to go--a lot of school events (or just events in general) have been cancelled due to the Sewol accident.

After school, I met Erin in Sinchon for dak galbi (a spicy chicken stir fry). The usual place that Jacob and I go to has been closed down unfortunately. In its place, a new chimaek (chicken + maekju--beer) restaurant is being put in. It's too bad because there are so many chimaek places in that area, they don't need another one! There aren't many dak galbi places around. Anyway, we had dinner which was really good. The order came with noodles added into the chicken so we didn't get any rice to add to the stir fry. I love the bokum (fried) bap (rice) at the end, but we didn't want to be too full. After dinner, we did a little bit of shopping. Jacob met up with us and we went to Natuur Pop for ice cream. Erin shares my love of ice cream! Jacob didn't get any ice cream because of his new diet.

When we finished dessert, we all figured an early night would be a good idea, so we headed home.

Tired Tuesday

What a long day at work. Some of the 5th graders were a bit noisy. The 6th graders had been bad for my COT, but they weren't so bad today. The last 5th grade class of the day is so sweet and wonderful. I wish all the 5th graders were like them!

After work, I stopped at home for a short break. I met up with Jacob and we met Erin around 7:30 in Sinchon to have bbq buffet for dinner. It was another meal on her list of food to eat. As it turned out, they had some kind of squid or something rather which she wanted to eat and cook. Well, it was quite a large piece of meat and she didn't eat it all. The owner told us that we would be charged an extra 5,000W for any food remaining (I totally understand their policy--they don't want people wasting food!). Erin was kind of upset, but then when we went to go pay, the owner only charged us the regular amount and explained the next time we came we would have to follow the rule.

We walked back to the subway and all of us were quite tired and full. Erin and I made it home, relaxed a bit and I helped her decide on a location for the next day's events and wrote out directions on how to get there and to our meeting spot.

Return of the Mondays

My classes went pretty well. The 6th graders just had a review day. I had them play Uno, but using occupation cards instead of the real Uno cards. They really enjoyed it and I heard a lot of students say (in Korean) "how fun!". We had a really good lunch today, which included my favorite, jap chae.

After school, I took a short break at home before heading out for a run. I ran to Hapjeong again. As I got to Hapjeong, I messaged Jacob and he was leaving work (near Hapjeong) so we met up and I walked with him to Hongdae. He headed to teach and I met Erin at Hongdae. I took her to a hair salon so she could get her hair cut. After her hair cut, we went to the YZ Plaza and she did some shopping before we met up with Jacob.

We went to his "Imo's" (aunts) for dinner because I knew they had some hot pots (which is what she has been asking for) and some seafood/fish dishes (which I also know she likes). It turns out it was a good pick and she enjoyed her meal. Jacob was kind and bought dinner for us. After we ate, we sat and chatted a little before parting ways.

When we returned home, I helped her pick an activity for tomorrow and wrote out directions for her to get there. This time, I thought a bus would be the easiest mode of transportation and made detailed instructions on how to use it.

Daegu and return to Seoul

In the morning we just took it easy. I heard that Jacob had a skype date with my Mom and they talked for quite awhile! Erin and I headed out to find lunch in the downtown area. We went to another kind of kimbap shop I guess. I got myeon mandu (chewy noodles with a spicy sauce, a small salad on top and mandu!) and Erin ordered a soup. After lunch I suggested we make our way back to the train station.

We arrived at the train station a little early. I figured I would ask if there were any seats open for an earlier train. There were seats available for us on a train 10 minutes earlier which was nice. Once on the train I passed out and slept for almost the entire way back to Seoul.

Back in Seoul, it was really overcast and rain was in the forecast. We hopped on the subway and managed to get the bus back to my place as it started sprinkling a bit. Jacob came over for a visit after we returned. We all hung out a bit before Jacob and I went to dinner. Erin decided she would just do something on her own and passed on going to soccer as it was cold and raining.

Jacob and I went to our favorite place by me and split a samgye kalgusu (the closest thing to chicken noodle soup here--however, normally it is a small chicken stuffed with rice, but this one had long noodles instead of the rice and carrots and onions!). It was delicious. After we finished eating, it really started pouring. We decided we wouldn't go and went to a cafe for a little bit before Jacob headed home. When I returned, Erin wasn't there. She came back a little before 11 as I was getting ready to go to bed.

Erin and me in Daegu

Daegu!

We both woke up a little early. We got ready and headed out to Seoul Station. I received messages from both of my Korean friends; they would both be able to meet us at the train station in Daegu.

Again, I made it to the train station on time and wasn't rushed or crazy which was nice. I took a short nap on the train and less than 2 hours later we arrived in Daegu. When we got to the station, my friend Bumsik found us first. It was so good to see him again. I saw him last in August. Then he ended up calling Ahyoung to locate her and we found her as well. I was happy to see her too-I haven't seen her since 2011! Bumsik is a friend from Inje University. Ahyoung was a friend of another adoptee friend of mine. She met him at Michigan Tech where she did a study abroad for a bit. She is so very sweet and kind.

We took the subway to the downtown area. As we were waiting for the subway, I noticed an elderly gentleman staring at us as we all talked to each other. He finally entered the conversation by asking Erin, "where are you from?". We had a short conversation with him before the subway arrived. He was very sweet and told Erin, "Welcome to Korea." Once in the downtown area, we tried to figure out what to have for lunch. Erin said anything was fine, and Ahyoung suggested jjimdak (the chicken stew with noodles). We went there and it was delicious as always. After lunch our plan was to go to Pisan-dong, the neighborhood where Erin was found as a baby. Bumsik and Ahyoung looked up how to get there and decided a taxi would be the best way. We got a taxi and headed to the area. However, the taxi driver had a hard time locating the exact address because it was so dated (33 years) and the streets change names and neighborhoods change often. We were dropped off in the general area and started looking for the address. Bumsik and Ahyoung knocked on so many doors asking for the address location or if people knew of the woman that found Erin. The "neighborhood president" said there was no one by the name of that woman.

Finally we went to a police station to see if they could help or anything. They did some paperwork and talked with us for a bit. They finally suggested a community center of sorts to try and search for the woman. We walked there, only to discover no one was there because they were training for how to run the voting/election booths next month. How unfortunate. We went back to the police station to check on something and then headed out. Ahyoung had to leave because her cousin had just finished military service and was meeting her family. Bumsik stayed with us and helped us get to our guesthouse. We checked in, took a short rest on a bench swing and then walked back to the downtown area for some coffee.

Bumsik talked with us over coffee and then he had to go meet some friends. We walked him to the subway station and said goodbye. Erin and I did a little shopping before trying to find somewhere to have dinner. I ended up getting a pretzel to take back to the guesthouse and eat. We got a little turned around trying to find our way, but eventually made it back. We settled in and called it a night.

Bumsik and Ahyoung looking up the address

Walking around Pisan-dong looking for an address and a woman

Ahyoung and me

Bumsik and me--what a great friend!

LAST DAY OF FRIDAY NIGHT KOREAN CLASSES!!

Work went alright. It was pretty easy because 2 classes had a test and just did a review game with me. We played pictionary and they really enjoyed it. I got quite a bit of work done in the afternoon.

When work was over, I went to downtown for my last Friday night class! I'm so thrilled. I took the bus to meet Erin at Jongak station. I arrived and...she wasn't there. I was a bit worried because she doesn't have a phone that I can contact. I decided I would walk to Insadong, where I had planned for her to go, to see if she was maybe around there. When I got to Insadong, I received a phone call--it was from her. She was with a Korean friend she met in the US and was driving in his car. I told her to go to our original meeting spot and wait for me since I had to walk back. I got there and again she wasn't there, but then I saw her across the street at a different subway exit. I had to motion for her to come to my side.

For dinner, we went to a kimbap shop. There wasn't a lot of time left since I had class and she wasn't really sure what she wanted to eat. I ordered kimbap and she got nengymyeon (a cold noodle soup). I gave her directions and some ideas of places to see while I was at class and then we split. Class went well--I did like this teacher so it will be a bit sad to get a new one. At the end of class we took a group picture. Then I went to go meet Erin at the subway. She was waiting for me in the station and we took the subway home.

We stopped at Emart again to get some snacks for our trip to Daegu, packed and chatted before going to bed.

My Korean Class

Erin Arrives!

After teaching today, my COT and I both agreed we were tired, which we thought was kind of funny because it was only day 2 of this week, with 2 days of holidays. We wondered how we normally make it through a 5 day week, haha.

When work was finished, I made the trip out to Inchon Airport to pick up Erin. I felt a little bad because her plane actually got in early so she had to wait quite a bit for me. I found her and we took the AREX back to my area. We dropped off her bags and went to dinner. We decided just a kimbap shop would be nice for a light meal. I got kimchi fried rice and she got kimbap. While she was debating the menu, an older gentleman butted in and asked in English if we needed help with the menu at all. He started a conversation with us and introduced us to his wife. It was very nice of him. When we left to pay, the ajumas also decided they wanted to talk to us as well (this never happens to me!). We had a short conversation with them before leaving.

Next, I figured it would be a good idea to get some groceries so we stopped at Emart. We wandered around and Erin got a few things. We returned to my place and she unpacked and settled in. It was nice to receive the items my Mom gave to her to bring to me. :)

Ease into Work

Well, I've found that instead of waking up at 7am, my new favorite time to wake up is 6:30 (yes, that happened even on this wonderful 4 day weekend). I'm up before the construction so I can't even blame it on the construction anymore...

I was almost to school when I realized that I forgot my water at home. I stopped in a 7-11 to get some kind of beverage. Inside, there was a sparrow flying around and two workers trying to get it out. The bird got out safely.

Once I got to school, I got a message from my COT telling me that our first class was cancelled because the students were preparing something for Parent's Day (tomorrow) and would reschedule tomorrow afternoon. The 3 classes we had today did a speaking test. It was very easy for me-just asking them how they feel and why, and for them to create a dialog from some pictures.The girl students came to me and my COT had the boy students. While we were testing one on one, the rest of the class was watching a movie. After everyone finished the speaking test, there was about 15 minutes left that I got to see part of the movie as well.

I was again fooled by the lunch. Again it was fried rice and again there was seafood in it; this time tiny little shrimp. Ugh. The afternoon passed quickly (as I had some things I needed to work on and preparation for Erin's stay).

After work, I came home, cleaned and moved some things around to make room for Erin. Then I went to go meet Jacob at the GOAL office. He was still finishing up stuff so he told me to come up to the office. Jes was there, my friend from Denmark. He used to work there, but has recently resigned; he still helps out there and was visiting the office. It was good to see him since I haven't gotten a chance to meet up with him since his return from Denmark in February. I talked with John too. I asked him about the phone that Jacob got and he said he could do some stuff to get the phone to work and if I brought it to him he'd do it.

Jacob and I left to go get dinner at a Mexican place near Eastern. Unfortunately, because of the long weekend, they also took today off so it was closed. We were both pretty bummed. Instead we went to get pho at a Vietnamese restaurant a little closer to his guesthouse. It was really delicious. We also ordered some fried rice that was really good too. After dinner, we stopped at his guesthouse to pick up the phone and took a taxi to Hapjeong; John was having dinner at Wild Fire with Jes and two of Jacob's housemates. John tried to get the phone to work, but it will need a new SIM card. He thinks if I get a SIM card, it should be fine. I felt bad because he tried for about an hour to get it to work. When he was done, Jacob walked me to the subway.

Buddha's Birthday

Happy Birthday Buddha~~

Yet another "red day" and more construction in the morning...

I went over to Jacob's guesthouse because they were having a BBQ. The Eastern (adoption agency) President's son wanted to have a cookout for the guests of the guesthouse. He brought his 10 year old daughter and a bunch of meat with him. The guys grilled on some grills outside. It was a big meal of meat, kimchi and rice.

After lunch, Jacob and I went to get our haircuts. I was kind of nervous because I don't normally cut my hair often. It's something I think about for awhile and plan before doing. Jacob went first while I continued to look for pictures as an example to show the guy. When Jacob finished with his cut, I still hadn't found anything I really liked. I talked with the guy and he pulled out a tablet and showed sample pictures; after about 5 of them, I found a style I liked. He did a really good job. I had been left unsatisfied with the haircut in December because the bottom was quite "heavy" and thick; plus my perm was still hanging around at the last 2-3 inches which made it curl a bit funny. Anyway, I had about 2 inches cut off, so the perm is finally gone and it thinned out the ends. I really like it.

When our haircuts were finished, we went back to the guesthouse and talked a little bit with Troy, Jacob's roommate and business partner. For dinner, we went to a restaurant called Jenny's Cafe. We shared an eggplant pasta dish and a cesar salad. It was really good. After dinner we hung out more at the guesthouse before I headed home.

I cleaned my place up a bit in preparation for Erin's arrival (Thursday already!). I can't believe she'll be here so soon. I already feel like May is flying! Before I know it, I'll be turning 27! Which makes me 28 in Korean age. Yikes, I'm getting old!

Jacob playing with the granddaughter of Eastern

Some of the steak leftover

New hair cut!

Children's Day

Today is Children's Day--a holiday to celebrate children. Unfortunately, with the Sewol Ferry accident, Children's Day was a bit more reserved this year. The poor families having to deal with their loss and Children's Day occurring so soon afterwards...

I thought I would get a break from the construction as it is a "red day" (read: holiday) but no such luck. No rest for the weary, and I'm getting pretty weary!

Jacob and I met at Sangsu and went in search of Wild Fire, a new American BBQ restaurant (my adoptee friend, Christian -he made Thanksgiving dinner--is a cook there and I met the owner, Jeff, at the GOAL Thanksgiving...Jeff (and his brother Ki) also owns the amazing Left Coast place I went to on Thursday) I had heard about. We got a little lost because we both thought it was in a different location. Anyway, we finally found it and ordered. I got the pork and salad set; Jacob got the chicken rice bowl. Both were really, really good. They have real, real smokers and the meat is so tender and flavorful! We looked at the dinner menu and agreed we'd be coming back soon for dinner. We also ordered jalpeno bread--it was pretty good.

After lunch we went to Yeoido. Jacob's Korean friend Dongwoo told him not to go there because it would be so crowded, but we figured we'd take the risk and see--if it was too bad we could always just leave. Well, we arrived at the shopping mall (and it actually looks like an American style shopping mall!) and it wasn't that crowded. After walking around in the mall, we went outside to walk around the island and towards the Han River...except it was really windy and cold so we didn't get too far before turning around and heading to Hongdae. We had made plans to have dinner with our friend, Maree. She is going to be returning to the US at the end of the month and since May is going to be so busy, we thought we'd sneak in a dinner with her. Well once we got to Hongdae, we went to Auntie Anne's for a snack. Hongdae was pretty crowded-much more crowded than the mall at Yeoido was. We finally settled on a restaurant in Yeonhuidong, the neighborhood that Jacob and Maree live in (she is at the InKAS guesthouse) and so we headed over there to meet her. She told us Kasey would also join (Kasey is the other mentor of the 3rd child in our family). We went to a kimbap shop and had a good time catching up.

Jacob and his chicken rice bowl

Me and the pork salad--yum!

Jalapeno Cornbread

Around Yeoido

Another Good Day

This morning I was supposed to skype with Phil to talk plans for his upcoming visit. Unfortunately he couldn't make it, but it worked out because I was able to talk with my Mom for around an hour or so instead. I'm glad I could catch up with her.

Jacob came over and we went to the bibimbap restaurant in front of my building. After lunch, we went to Emart. He bought a jacket and we used my Emart points card (I'm not really sure how exactly it works) and somehow ended up getting a discount of about $5 off his jacket!

We relaxed a little bit at my place before heading out to soccer. Unfortunately Jacob still is on the road to recovery and can't play. He gloomily watched us from the bleachers. Again we had a pretty big turnout--3 teams of 6. However, the field at Yongsan is a little bit smaller than at World Cup, so 6 was a bit crowded and chaotic. As time went on, it started getting darker and darker and windier. Finally when there was about 30 minutes left, it started raining. We finished out and Jacob and I took the subway to church. We arrived early and went to Tom n Toms for a snack.

Father Bernard had mass this week. There weren't many people there and we assumed it was because of the long weekend many people traveled and were away.

After mass, Jacob came back with me and I made ramen and mandu for dinner. It was nice to have another relaxing evening with him before he headed home.

Bohye and Starry Night at the Palace

Jacob and I met Bohye in Hongdae. The only problem was that at 11:15 on a Saturday morning, hardly anything is open in Hongdae. Also, Bohye had just gone to the orthodontist and could only eat soft food. Jacob remembered a Japanese noodle soup place so we finally picked that as our lunch. We walked around Hongdae a little and then went to a coffee shop and ordered something to drink and a dessert to share. We chatted and sat in the cafe for a long time. Then we figured we should take a little walk and we went to Hapjeong. Unfortunately it was a little bit chilly and windy even though the sun was out. When we got to Hapjeong Bohye had to leave. It was good catching up with her, and afterwards she apologized for her low English skills. I told her my Korean is no better than her English so she shouldn't feel bad. We both agreed to talk with each other in the opposite language to help each other.

Jacob got a used phone from one of his students and we're trying to see if I can possibly use it and switch phones. We asked Bohye and she said she didn't think it was possible at all. I'm a little bummed, but we're going to keep researching to see if maybe it will work. Fingers crossed!

Once we parted ways from Bohye, Jacob and I headed to Myeongdong and Jongno area to do a little shopping. We also stopped at Pita Pit to get some pita sandwiches to take along with us. We walked through Insadong (it was so crowded!! AND for the first time, I think there were more Koreans than foreigners there too!) We were going to keep walking through the "couply" area, but looked down towards the palace and noticed a lot of people so we figured we should try and get our tickets for the palace event asap.

At first we were a bit confused about where to go/how to get the tickets, but eventually we found the "foreigners" line to stand in and saw that there were 55 tickets for us available--we were maybe 10th in line or so, so we were good. In front of us stood a Korean mom and her daughter. After waiting for a bit, the mom turned to us and started talking to us in Korean. Then she called her daughter over to try and talk to us in English. Basically, they were asking us to buy a foreigner ticket for them because they got 2 tickets and needed one more (for the dad). It was really awkward and uncomfortable. Jacob and I were both a little torn--not sure where the line between being nice and following the rules so that foreigners got tickets too. In the end we decided we didn't want to get in trouble and figured they could work something out. (We later saw the family as 3 in the palace, so they did get it worked out) We had to wait in line for a little over an hour til the palace opened at 7-then they started selling tickets. It was worth the wait though. Once it started getting a bit darker around 7:30 it was quite beautiful. We didn't wait until it was completely dark because we were both getting cold (and tired from walking all day). We took the subway home and had the pita sandwiches we bought earlier.

The exclusive ticket!

Jacob and me

These lanterns were around the paths

Maybe my 10th time here now