I rode the bus today across the city. It was raining outside and the inside of the bus was wet.
Umbrellas, damp clothing, and soaked shoes all added to the moisture collecting on the windows.
I was tempted to write on the windows (which, I LOVED to do as a kid) when I caught the colors and textures of the world passing by. They were splashing through the foggy glass, creating a sort-of fantasy land.
Beauty in the midst of the rush and busy of a city.
Mark and I are VERY excited, we just purchased a Panasonic digital camera. It is wonderful … I had no idea how quick a camera could move and how fantastic the pictures could look. (For more of the details about the camera you’ll have to ask Mark, I just know I like it!)
Here was the first photo taken with the camera.
Here’s to new toys and great pictures!
Around Gwangju people park wherever and however they want. They just pull over (and I use this term loosely) and throw on their emergency blinkers. This is completely acceptable, because when everyone does it, it is normal.
This is one of our favorite examples of crazy parking. And this one was a complete ‘engine-off-and-out-of-car-to-get-a-coffee’ parking job.
We watched her just pull in (she didn’t even ATTEMPT to parallel park), turn off the car and she didn’t look back. :o)
Another parking phenomenon around here is all of the double and triple parking that occurs. People park on sidewalks and then just stack up around each other. Often the parking spills over into the street, intersections, crosswalks, whatever.
Now, how do they get their cars out when someone has blocked them in? Not a problem, they just post their cell phone number in the car’s front windshield. This is such a cell phone crazy country that it works. Most every car has their number posted.
Clever and Cute all at the same time!
In our neighborhood there are trucks that drive around selling things. They are similar to an American ice cream truck, except they sell things like eggs or strawberries. A loud speaker announces what they are selling. It is so loud you can hear it inside your house (which is the point, since they are trying to get people to come out and buy something from them). The audio track is on a loop and it goes around, around and around.
I’ll ‘translate’ for you (mind you, the only word I actually know is strawberry - ‘tahl key’ - but I can pretty much guess the rest).
“Strawberries, nice juicy red strawberries. Come on, get your strawberries. Strawberries, strawberries, strawberries.
Strawberries, nice juicy red strawberries. Come on, get your strawberries. Strawberries, strawberries, strawberries.”
I hear these loud ‘announcements’ a lot. I have to admit I’ve been annoyed by them on a number of occasions. Koreans, however, don’t seem to be bothered by what I consider to be ‘noise pollution’ :o). But for all my complaining, their prices are SO much cheaper, that I’ve given in. Now, I too ‘appreciate’ the barrage of ads floating through my window! :o)
Today, I bought some strawberries for 1/2 the price that they are in the supermarket. I think I am going to make French toast tomorrow morning for breakfast and we’ll put strawberries on them. It will be our first French toast in South Korea … I think that BEGS for some fresh strawberries … don’t you?!
The Strawberry Truck
My bag o’ strawberries
Kim Chi is the sacred cow of Korea.
It is a staple of their diet, right next to rice.
Kim Chi is the butter and rice is the bread.
I can not STRESS enough how much Koreans LOVE their KIM CHI!
Kim Chi is made 3 out of the 4 seasons: Spring, Summer, and Fall. During the Winter they live on Kim Chi from the Fall.
It is a lengthy cooking process of fermenting cabbage with spices. I have not made Kim Chi yet, but I hope to do so within the next few months.
So for now, all that I know I learned from Wikipedia. Kim Chi Ingredients:
Now, Kim Chi is eaten as a side to every meal (yes, even breakfast). Soups are made from it, and it’s put in fried rice, and … (well, you get my point). As I mentioned before, a staple.
All Kim Chi tastes different, depending on the family recipe and how new or old it is. New Kim Chi is mainly spicy, but the longer it ferments, the ‘tangier’ it becomes. Mark and I prefer newer Kim Chi.
Because Kim Chi takes so long to make, they make BIG BATCHES. Now, allow me to introduce, the “Kim Chi Refrigerator.” EVERYONE has at least one of these fridges in their home. It looks like a chest freezer and is DEDICATED to Kim Chi.
Mark and I have really come to enjoy Kim Chi. I make a great Kim Chi soup, and we eat it as a spicy side dish.
Here are some pictures of us enjoying Kim Chi:
If you want to make friends with Koreans LIKE THEIR KIM CHI. This is, after all, the pride and joy of Korean cuisine!
Hey, all of you need to check out a song that Ben wrote.
Go to his website http://benmacy.com/ (<--- click on this blue link) and listen for yourself.
Thanks for thinking of us Ben. We really enjoyed the song, it’s wonderful!
My school takes trips every week to see, try, and experience new things. Today we went to the subway station. We learned about buying tickets, talked about getting on the subway (doors open, walk quickly, sit down, hold on …), then we actually rode the subway for 8 stops. The kids had lots of fun. We were quite the spectacle for unsuspecting passengers (there were about 100 (4, 5, and 6-year-old) kids in the same subway!)
Here are pictures I took on the bus, while we waited to depart. They are fuzzy (kids moving), sun is streaming through the windows (lots of light spots), and I wasn’t the most ‘focused’ photographer … so picture quality isn’t the best, but what they capture (the TRUE chaos of 5-year-olds) is FANTASTIC!
Here are all the kids trooping down into the subway station.
Here is one of the classes I teach.
The organized version
The unorganized version
Riding on the subway:
So, Excursion Day is an opportunity for the students to learn about or experience new things.
BUT I’ve been told that what the Korean mothers think their children are getting from the education is more important than what the child is actually getting … basically, we’re here to please the parents.
Therefore, it is very important to get LOTS OF PICTURES of the kids ‘learning’, so that the parents can be satisfied. And it is MOST IMPORTANT, to get pictures with the “English Teacher”.
So, I am posed with every student at all the different key points. The parents need to see that their child is interacting with a REAL “English Teacher”.
I’ve considered making a cardboard cut-out of myself so that we can maximize this process! :o)
