Don't drink from the Vending Machines

These machines either sell cold drinks or coffee but I wouldn't recommend drinking form them. Even my Korean teachers say they are kinda dirty. However, I do catch a few grabbing a quick drink here and there.

I wish we had funny vending machines like they do in Tokyo. Maybe I will see some in Seoul this weekend.

Boiled Pork-Poossan

Everything here is Buffet style. I love this way of eating. There are a lot of veggies with each meal, YUMO!

The salad below is special because the dressing is made from pureed oranges from the island of Jeju which is south of Gwangju. The oranges are really sweet and juicy. Yummy. They taste different than the California oranges we have in Toronto.

Next to the salad on the left is Miso soup.

To the left is the boiled pork. Kimchi is in the center. The yellow is boiled cabbage. The stuff to the right is all sides. You can either wrap the pork in the Kimchi or the yellow cabbage but first you dip the pork into a choice of two mustards shown above.

This is one of my favorite dishes thus far.

EEL Dinner-Jangeo-Gui (Broiled Eel)

My Korean music teacher took Mykie and I out for a delicious eel dinner. It was so tasty. At first I was a little nervous because I was unsure as to how they were going to serve it but it turned out okay. The girl to the right is my music teacher's friend. She was a little camera shy. My music teacher's name is Moon Hee. It is pronounced Mooeee. We spend a lot of time together. She is very generous and kind. Always up for a good time.

We really enjoyed the dinner. The dinner was served with a lot of side dishes. This is typical for Korean restaurants. I don't know if you can tell but we are sitting on the floor cross legged. It is rather normal for Korean restaurants. The large places usually have chairs but the more traditional places you sit on the floor. It is rather uncomfortable for me because my leg always falls asleep. I have to get used to it. In most Korean restaurants, especially if you are sitting on the floor, you must take your shoes off.

You wrap the eel in a lettuce leaf or sesame seed leaf. You could even wrap it in both. I really like the sesame seed leaf. It is a rather strong flavor. I cannot really explain what it tastes like but it is definitely an acquired taste as well. You can add any of the side dishes in your wrap. That is the typical way of eating any meat that is from the BBQ. It is a great way of getting veggies into your diet.

After dinner you can drink this boiled peanut hot drink. It is apparently good for digestion. It tastes like milk derived from nuts. It is an acquired taste but Mykie and I both really like it. I find it sweet and creamy. I like it.

World DJ Festival

http://www.myspace.com/worlddjfestival

Next weekend is the world DJ festival outside of Seoul. We are going up there with a few western friends. We have some good "chingus" (friends) from Korea going with us as well. Cannot wait for this one. It will be some good booty shaking and dancing. Updates to follow...

Signed up for the Mud Festival

http://www.worknplay.co.kr/boryeong-mud-festival/index.html

Just signed up for a very dirty weekend of reckless fun in the sun. We are going to the world's best Mud Festival. It is basically a weekend of partying in the mud. Apparently, the mud in this region is supposed to have healing properties in it. Very healthy for your skin. 13 years ago (someone, but I will say scientists) discovered that this mud was special and ever since then they have had festivals around the mud. Conveniently, it is also summer school break (July) and everyone will be there. They have mud slides, coloured mud to paint with, tons of mud activities, entertainment and plenty of Korean liquor called Soju.

I think that this festival will be really fun. I guess you can compare it to spring break in Cancun but really dirty because of the Mud. But, the festival is on a beach so you can just jump in the water, among the thousands that will be there, and rinse off. Sounds like fun!

New Friends

These are some of the cool people that Mykie and I are hanging out with on the weekends. We all met during our teacher training during our first few days in Korea.

But...

Last night we went out with this new girl named Beth. My Korean co-teacher bumped into her and her friends at the dentist a few weeks back. While at the dentist my Korean co-teacher pimped me out to this girl and her friends. Beth gave my Korean co-teacher her number and we have been chatting through email. We finally met last night. Went for coffee and dinner. Had a great time with her. She is really nice. She already has a large social circle here and they are all eager to meet us. I am excited. She gave us a lot of valuable information about things that we needed info on. Sorry, but I cannot post what she said...

The people in the above picture have been here as long as I have so they are not as familiar with Korea as Beth and her friends. Some of her friends have been here for years. They are great resources for us. I look forward to spending time with them. And, there is a handful of Canadians in that group.

Pee Sticks

Today started off a little rocky. It all started last night...

I went to my school Sunday night at 8pm. There is a caretaker that lives there at night. I knocked on his window. I wanted to get inside my office because I need to get some lesson resources. Well, after an awkward few minutes he did not even let me in. As I was walking home I thought, "Oh gosh, did I just break some rule, great"! I tossed and turned last night because I was worried that I had done something that I was not supposed to.

I only got 5 hours of sleep. Maybe that!

I got to school early because I had to print and create pieces of this game that I am playing with all my classes called the sentence auction. So I walk up to the school and there he is...the caretaker who caused me a sleepless night.

Nothing happened. I worried for nothing. I told me co-teachers about what happened and they think that he probably just did not understand me. Well, obviously!

So, I am really excited about this sentence auction. It has worked really well for Mykie. Sentence auction is exactly what it sounds like. I am auctioning off sentences to the highest bidder.

My first class is with grade 9s. Grade 9s in the morning on Monday are not the liveliest of people. Regardless, I go in with so much enthusiasm. "Students, we are going to play a game". Their reaction was excitement. Thank gosh I thought.

So, we just spent some time explaining the seemingly complicated rules when my classroom door opens...

In come the nurse. She comes right up to me and starts showing me these test strips for testing blood and urine. I am standing there, at the top of my class, confused out of my mind. HUH?

Everyone is looking at me and I am really confused. She keeps saying pee pee. I am thinking to myself that this is not the best time to be asking me for a urine sample.

It turns out that she did not want pee pee from me but my students. Class was cancelled and they all have to take a random urine test for drugs and HIV, I guess. I found this rather strange but it is the norm. I casually gathered my books and went back to my office totally confused as to what just happened. I had one of those feelings like I was in the twilight zone.

A nurse asking me for my pee pee in front of 42 9th graders. So weird.

BTW... I did not get a chance to play with this class but all my other classes seemed to really like the game. My teacher has decided that we will move all my classes to this secluded area of the school. My kids get so loud when we play games that I think it is disruptive. I cannot help being so fun!!!! He He