Happy Halloween!

Friday, we celebrated Halloween at school! Despite some changes on account of the flu, we still managed to have a fun-filled day. I became the Pumpkin Queen, and I had a Pumpkin Princess, 2 pirates, 1 wizard, 1 princess, & 2 devils in my class. We learned the Purple People Eater Song, and celebrated a long-held tradition: "It's Halloween, Charlie Brown!" Here are a few pictures from the day (Just click on them to see the full album):

From LCI Halloween

From LCI Halloween

From LCI Halloween

From LCI Halloween

The New Flu: LCI Takes Action!

So, before I came over, people asked if I was scared. If I was worried about North Korea bombing South Korea, or worried about moving to the hotbed of the next nuclear war, or worried about being only a few hours away from a crazy communist dictator. And, really, no I was not worried. In fact, at this moment, I am not worried. And many Koreans don't seem to be worried either...at least about that.
Nope, these days the big scare is the New Flu. Our school decided to do its part this week to help prevent the spread of the flu by cancelling school for two days.....for the children, that is.

OH yes, the teachers and staff were still required to come in for two days of office work. Did I mention we work 9:30AM-7PM? And since the staff was sanitizing the whole school, we all had to stay at our desks in the teacher office. It was kind of like Big Brother, starring 15 North American 20 somethings plus a few witty Koreans. Myself, I had a very productive 2 days of entering grades, making lesson plans, and collaborating with other teachers to create worksheet packets in case the government cancels school for a week. We'll see how the rest of the week goes!

Documenting Seoul: Korean Cafeteria Delicacies

So Mary reminds me frequently that I should be documenting my time here in Korea. One thing in particular she holds me accountable on is the food. And I have to say, the food is worth documenting!
I really don't miss food at home, and am worried that when I get home and someone hands me a fork and a big hunk of bread, I might just stare at it and think "huh."
One of my favorite things about Korean food is that you can find pretty good food for cheap. One of the best places to do this (it seems) is the cafeteria. Korean food courts, I am realizing, can be a lot different than American food courts. For instance, there is a large display case that has examples of all the different dishes available. You choose the one you want and pay up front and then when your number appears, you go and find it.
Here are some recent food court finds:

1) Dongas (fried pork) and fancy kimbap at a department store cafeteria. Now, Sarah and I had a discussion about this Kimbap, because I called it Sushi. In Indiana, sushi restaurant serve rolls like these and call them sushi. Sarah claims it is Kimbap ingrediants all the way, so that could mean that all of our sushi restaurants are actually serving us Korean food and not Japanese food....hm....do I smell a Kimbap conspiracy?

2) Albap (rice with fish eggs and dried seaweed). This was at the Home Plus cafeteria. Home Plus is kind of like a giant 2-story Target. If Target also had a giant food court and basement. After perusing discounts, Mary & I were famished! Good thing Home Plus was ready to feed us!

Design Olympiad

One of my favorite things -- on EARTH -- is the Olympics! I love the Olympics! I love watching people from all over the world get together and compete and cheer their countries on. I love rooting for the countries that no one think will win. I love thinking that all of the athletes are super-friends and that for about two weeks, the whole world just slows down and watches and supports their respective countrymen as they strive to meet their dreams. SO, having such a love for the Olympics, can I express how AMAZING it was to step foot in an Olympic stadium?

Saturday I had originally planned to go hiking, but it had been raining all morning and I thought the trails would be all muddy, so I browsed around for other events and saw the Seoul Design Olympiad 2009. The flyer said Jamsil Sports Complex. OK, no problem, it's only a few stops away. But Jamsil sport complex is where the Olympic Stadium is! So when I stepped foot into Olympiad, I was standing where the Olympics were once held! That is a wonderful, wonderful feeling.

 According to the flyer, the Olympiad is "a global design festival for citizens to celebrate and embrace the designation of Seoul becoming the World Design Capital of 2010." The exhibition showed different elements/items of design from t-shirts and stuffed animals to health products to inventions for eco-friendly living. It was really a treat for all 5 of my senses to see so many great ideas from all around the world made tangible.

And hey, Brad Pitt even had an entry.

Deep-fried Korean Fall Foods

Well, it's starting to turn fall here...and my culinary knowledge keeps growing. I love Korean food! It's spicy and saucy and oh so yummy. This past week I have had two great food experiences.

On Wednesday, my small group friends, Mary & Sarah, came over to my place to teach me some basic dishes. First, we made battered zuchinni. We covered zuchinni slices in a bisquick-type substance and then in egg and fried them. Sarah made a dipping sauce of soy sauce, vinegar, red chili powder, and green onions.

Our next dish was a soup. Sarah begins the soup by saying "Now, Jillian, I don't want you to freak out, but..." Then she pops out a grocery bag full of anchovies. Apparently, to flavor the soup, you just boil these suckers in water for a while. Then add Mandu (potstickers, but doesn't Mandu sound more authentic?) and Dok (rice cake) and veggies. Let it all simmer awhile, and then remove the dead fish. Finally, beat up some eggs and pour them into the pot, and you've got a great soup! Our other dish was Chun (pancakes). We made two different types. Sarah & Mary made Pa-chun using green onions, white onions, green peppers. Ki-chun is pancake with kimchi in it. We had so much to eat, and so many leftovers. And, these dishes didn't take long to make, so you should try it too.

Friday night I met Mary for dinner, and she suggested something called Peeja Dak Galbi. Dak Galbi basically means meat and veggies fried up with spicy club sauce. Peeja...well, Koreans have some issues with "z," (zombie becomes jombie, zoo becomes joo...which always makes for an interesting conversation). The restaurant handed us aprons without even asking. They started by cooking the veggies (mainly cabbage and onions), chicken and red sauce at the table. A little while later, they returned and spread some cheese over it.

Then they added peppers and olives. They covered the whole thing with a big silver lid and let it simmer for awhile. The lid came off, the cheese had melted, and Voila! our dak galbi was a "Peeja." The only sad part was when Mary & I got full and couldn't finish the whole thing. But really, talk about your fusion foods -- this one topped the charts!

Chuseok

       Chuseok is the Korean form of Thanksgiving -- a holiday to celebrate a good harvest and to spend time with families. It provides families in the city the chance to go visit relatives in the country (this is called the Exodus). Chuseok takes place in one day, but the day before and after are also official holidays. Koreans pay respect to their ancestors and older relatives. The traditional food of Chuseok is called Songpyeon, or a rice cake in a moon shape. During Chuseok, many Koreans also don Hanbok, traditional Korean dress. For girls, Hanbok is a full skirt with a jacket. For boys, Hanbok is loose pants bound at the ankles and a jacket or vest. Most Hanbok are in very bright colors.

    At school, we got Thursday and Friday off to celebrate Chuseok. On Wednesday, all the children wore their Hanbok to school. We had an instructor come in and teach them traditional manners, and they made their own Songpyeon. My children looked so cute! All the girls reminded me of big, pink marshmellows! I made a video of the manners lesson, so you could see what the children learned!

    Since I did not have any family in the country to go to, I spent Chuseok in Seoul, catching up on my sightseeing. Thursday, I went to the palance, Changdeokgung. This was my favorite palace so far! Friday, I went out with another teacher, Paige, to the royal shrine, Jongmyo, and another palace, Changgyeonggung. Saturday I wanted to go hiking, so I made my way to Mt. Bugak. There is a skyway there that goes across the top of the mountain. It was very beautiful! Saturday night, I attended the Asia Harvest Festival at the National Center for Korean Traditional Performing Arts. This performance celebrated not only Chuseok, but also the harvest traditions in Vietnam and China. It was a beautiful performance. I really enjoyed hearing traditional Korean music, and also learning about traditions in other Asian countries. The video is kind of long, but a good chance to listen to traditional Korean music.

    I have all of my pictures loaded up on Picasa, so be sure to check those out! Plus, I have pictures from a little show I went to called Bubble World.