has free internet. And just waiting for our drinks. It is hot and especially humid in this city. It's really astounding. When we got out of our bus Thurs pm upon arriving, Seren's glasses fogged up.
Off to Kowloon!
Love,
C
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hong kong is so urban
But were enjoying it. It's very vertical. Last night had dinner with
my high school friend elaine and her fiancé. Wonderful tour guides.
Today to Kowloon. Laters.
my high school friend elaine and her fiancé. Wonderful tour guides.
Today to Kowloon. Laters.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Random Note
It's not everyday that a former professor makes it onto the Supreme Court. Congrats Justice Sotomayor (with whom I took a trial advocacy class in law school).
Now, off to the peak of Hong Kong.
Love,
C
Another Note from Busan
This airport is great, even if it's tiny. There are 6 gates in the international terminal (there is a domestic terminal that we have not seen). It appears to be new, probably built for the World Cup in 2002. Both before and after security (and emigration) there are free internet kiosks with some decent computers that allow yours truly to send these updates. Our flight is boarding 10 minutes late, but no worries.
Until Hong Kong...
The trip that keeps on giving
Today went went to a post office in Busan to mail home items we no longer need but want to keep, such as our Paris and Korea guide books, as well as the many gifts and souvenirs we purchased recently. This was the fifth packaged we mailed to the states over the course of the five weeks we've been away. We opted to send today's package by boat, which takes about three months ('surface' mail costs nearly one third the fee for airmail, and we're in no rush to see the items). So, one day in November we'll check the mail and find the package we shipped off today. How fun that will be! It's like the trip that keeps on giving :)
Hi from the Busan Airport - A Busan Wrapup
We had a fun last day in Busan. We started at the fish market. Think South Street Seaport. Upstairs in the market are fish tanks and raw fish restaurants. So we had some traditional Korean sashimi ("kwai") with the regular side dishes - spicy pepper sauces, soy sauce, a fresh wasabi (looked the same as Japanese but tasted fresher, like Passover horseradish). No rice, but kimchi.
To the fish, you take either a sesame leaf or a lettuce leaf stuff it with whatever you want - fish + hot sauce(s) + garlic + jalapeno pepper + soy sauce + wasabi + anything and fold and eat. The jalapeno was burningly hot. The garlic fresh. After each bite, we needed a break. The meal was also served with a potato salad and a cole slaw-y type dish. Overall deliciousness, even if our mouths burned.
Next stop was the local market, where Seren got a new pair of glasses and her eyes checked. The good news: she can still see as well as usual. Then a post office stop for some more mailings home. Next, we took the subway back to the Lotte Department Store (attached to the Lotte Hotel, the nicest hotel in Busan), where I bought a tie and we sampled in the basement supermarket. Most importantly, in the subway entrance underground foyer area into the Lotte basement, Seren did a quintessentially Korean activity. She watched how Krispy Kreme doughnuts are made. :) KK donuts are fairly traditional; Dunkin Ds have many more Korean flavors and styles, including peanut with peanut glaze.
Last, we got our bags, went to back to the Lotte Hotel to catch a bus to the airport and just checked in. Flight in an hour. See you in Hong Kong.
Love,
Craig
Hi from Busan Airport
Seren's waiting in check-in line and I'm checking in email. What a great world. See you in Hong Kong!
Hi from the Lotte Hotel
The nicest hotel in Busan. We are catching a bus from here to the
airport to catch our flight to Hong Kong. Tootles.
airport to catch our flight to Hong Kong. Tootles.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
I miss you already!
We are off to seea few more hot spots in Busan (the Jalachi fish and another local market, the Busan Tower, and the HUGE Lotte Department store), and then we head to Hong Kong tonight. We've had a wonderful visit to Korea and I am very sad to leave. Korea, I miss you already!
Our visit to the orphanage
*I should preface any story that involves me conversing with Koreans with the fact that there is about a 20% chance that I misunderstood or misspoke, as my Korean language skills are that of a kindergartner (I am being generous at that!).
I wanted to show Craig the orphanage in Gwnagju that I visited with other native English speakers nearly every Saturday during my year in Naju. The Sungbin Girls Orphanage houses about 80-100 girls between the ages of one and eighteen. I had introduced the girls to my parents and brother when they visited me in 2003. During those visits, like my regular Saturday visits, we played and sang and giggled together in the cafeteria/multipurpose room of the facility.
I jumped at the first opportunity Craig and I had to visit the girls, which was Sunday evening just after 7pm. At that time, however, everyone was up in the dormitory part of the building getting ready for bed. Craig and I were invited to say hello, and we shared the gifts I'd brought from the US, as well as the candies we'd bought on our way over. We invited the girls to practice some English and we played games and we giggled in the girls' rooms (one little girl got a kick out of Craig's leg hair-- I was unable to catch a photo of her staring and twirling his leg hair in her little finger, but it was pretty funny).
We learned that three girls sleep in a one room (Korean style- on mats on the floor). There is usually one older girl with two younger ones, but the age range differed from room to room: a 17 year old, for instance, rooms with two six year olds, and a 14 year old rooms with two eight year olds (ie, the younger the girls, the older their thriod roommate).
Though we saw smiles as we laughed with the girls, the reality of the situation was harder to ignore. When I used to meet the girls in the cafeteria/multipurpose room, it almost seemed like camp or a school. But watching the girls brush their teethe and get ready for bed was hard.
The most challenging part of the visit came when Craig and I visited the last bedroom. There, an adult supervised a bunch of girls of all ages watching television. I explained to the adult, in Korean, why we were there: I lived in Naju seven years ago. At that time, I visited the orphanage nearly every Saturday. Now I am in Korea on vacation with my husband and I wanted to show him the place.
"You husband?" she asked?
"Yes," I replied and gestured towards Craig, who was playing with a few girls despite the language barrier.
"You're married?
"Yes," I said assuming the language barrier necessitated her to verify my marital status.
"Do you have any children?"
"Not yet," I said, not at all surprised, since Koreans have no problem asking strangers about their family planning.
"How about this one?" the woman said, pointing to the smallest girl in the room who could not have been more than three years old.
I smiled politely and said that we were just visiting. My hear broke a bit, though, as the weight of her genuine offer set in.
I previously associated my visits to the orphanage with giggles and smiles (how naive, I know). This visit left me with a different impression (a more real one, perhaps). I am comforted to know, however, that Saturday visits continue with new native English speakers who live in the area.
For more info, see here: http://www.sungbinkids.org
I wanted to show Craig the orphanage in Gwnagju that I visited with other native English speakers nearly every Saturday during my year in Naju. The Sungbin Girls Orphanage houses about 80-100 girls between the ages of one and eighteen. I had introduced the girls to my parents and brother when they visited me in 2003. During those visits, like my regular Saturday visits, we played and sang and giggled together in the cafeteria/multipurpose room of the facility.
I jumped at the first opportunity Craig and I had to visit the girls, which was Sunday evening just after 7pm. At that time, however, everyone was up in the dormitory part of the building getting ready for bed. Craig and I were invited to say hello, and we shared the gifts I'd brought from the US, as well as the candies we'd bought on our way over. We invited the girls to practice some English and we played games and we giggled in the girls' rooms (one little girl got a kick out of Craig's leg hair-- I was unable to catch a photo of her staring and twirling his leg hair in her little finger, but it was pretty funny).
We learned that three girls sleep in a one room (Korean style- on mats on the floor). There is usually one older girl with two younger ones, but the age range differed from room to room: a 17 year old, for instance, rooms with two six year olds, and a 14 year old rooms with two eight year olds (ie, the younger the girls, the older their thriod roommate).
Though we saw smiles as we laughed with the girls, the reality of the situation was harder to ignore. When I used to meet the girls in the cafeteria/multipurpose room, it almost seemed like camp or a school. But watching the girls brush their teethe and get ready for bed was hard.
The most challenging part of the visit came when Craig and I visited the last bedroom. There, an adult supervised a bunch of girls of all ages watching television. I explained to the adult, in Korean, why we were there: I lived in Naju seven years ago. At that time, I visited the orphanage nearly every Saturday. Now I am in Korea on vacation with my husband and I wanted to show him the place.
"You husband?" she asked?
"Yes," I replied and gestured towards Craig, who was playing with a few girls despite the language barrier.
"You're married?
"Yes," I said assuming the language barrier necessitated her to verify my marital status.
"Do you have any children?"
"Not yet," I said, not at all surprised, since Koreans have no problem asking strangers about their family planning.
"How about this one?" the woman said, pointing to the smallest girl in the room who could not have been more than three years old.
I smiled politely and said that we were just visiting. My hear broke a bit, though, as the weight of her genuine offer set in.
I previously associated my visits to the orphanage with giggles and smiles (how naive, I know). This visit left me with a different impression (a more real one, perhaps). I am comforted to know, however, that Saturday visits continue with new native English speakers who live in the area.
For more info, see here: http://www.sungbinkids.org
Forget everything your mother said
"Don't talk to strangers, and certainly don't ever get into a car with strangers." "Never accept food from anyone you don't know." "Don't share cups or utensils."
Throw it all out the window in Korea!
On our hike today, we stopped to ask for directions. The first interaction while a family enjoying a picnic ended with an invitation to enjoy some fresh melon while we accepted Korean travel advice. The second time, the two hikers simply changed their hiking route to take us to our destination. On the way, we passed a village in which a group of men were playing a game on a tennis court (of sorts) that resembled volleyball, but maintained the rules of soccer (no hands). The athletes invited us to play, but we said we'd rather watch. They insisted on sharing their presumably homemade rice wine (dong dong ju). Of course they poured our drinks into previously used rice bowls (rice bowls and soups bowls and cups are all the same thing often).
On our way to the bathhouse, I stopped to verify that we were walking in the right direction (after the long hike, we weren't interested in wrong turns). A nice young couple simply guided us to their car and drove us to the bathhouse.
Koreans are so kind. We don't think twice when we're offered food or are invited to get a ride somewhere. When we arrived in Busan yesterday and attempted to buy our subway ticket to get from the bus station to our destination, a man jumped in to help us. While we only had a 10 (man won), the subway ticket machine accepted only ones (chon won). The man took our 10 (man) and walked away. Craig asked me, "Who is that guy and where did he just go with our money?" But neither of us was worried. Sure enough, the man returned a second later with 10 ones (chons). No one batted an eye.
Throw it all out the window in Korea!
On our hike today, we stopped to ask for directions. The first interaction while a family enjoying a picnic ended with an invitation to enjoy some fresh melon while we accepted Korean travel advice. The second time, the two hikers simply changed their hiking route to take us to our destination. On the way, we passed a village in which a group of men were playing a game on a tennis court (of sorts) that resembled volleyball, but maintained the rules of soccer (no hands). The athletes invited us to play, but we said we'd rather watch. They insisted on sharing their presumably homemade rice wine (dong dong ju). Of course they poured our drinks into previously used rice bowls (rice bowls and soups bowls and cups are all the same thing often).
On our way to the bathhouse, I stopped to verify that we were walking in the right direction (after the long hike, we weren't interested in wrong turns). A nice young couple simply guided us to their car and drove us to the bathhouse.
Koreans are so kind. We don't think twice when we're offered food or are invited to get a ride somewhere. When we arrived in Busan yesterday and attempted to buy our subway ticket to get from the bus station to our destination, a man jumped in to help us. While we only had a 10 (man won), the subway ticket machine accepted only ones (chon won). The man took our 10 (man) and walked away. Craig asked me, "Who is that guy and where did he just go with our money?" But neither of us was worried. Sure enough, the man returned a second later with 10 ones (chons). No one batted an eye.
How romantic!
Some couples celebrate their anniversary with a couple's massage. Craig and I celebrated in a Korea bathhouse sitting next to each other while we each dipped our feet into fish tanks full of skin-eating fish. We held hands as dozens of small fish nibbled the dead skin off of our feet, which were tired from our four hour hike in a Busan mountain among Buddhist Temples. Though the fish ate our feet at Hurshinchang (touted as the largest bathhouse/spa in Asia), Craig and I ate fish for dinner :)
Our last full day in Korea was packed: the UN Cemetery and Korean War Memorial; a visit to Boemosa Temple; a hike to an ancient fortress; a hike which took us passed many other smaller Temples; a cable car ride; a visit to the bathhouse; dinner including Korean raw fish; pat-ping-su (red bean and ice with fruit and fro yo--- simply delicious!) for dessert; and a beer at a bar.
We still have some time in Busan before we head out to Hong Kong.
Our last full day in Korea was packed: the UN Cemetery and Korean War Memorial; a visit to Boemosa Temple; a hike to an ancient fortress; a hike which took us passed many other smaller Temples; a cable car ride; a visit to the bathhouse; dinner including Korean raw fish; pat-ping-su (red bean and ice with fruit and fro yo--- simply delicious!) for dessert; and a beer at a bar.
We still have some time in Busan before we head out to Hong Kong.
The Busan Bucket List
In the last 24 hours, I've been able to check the following items off my life's Bucket List (things I need to do before I kick the bucket):
1) used a modern bidet - there's one in our bedroom in our hotel. it tickled a bit.
2) walked around naked with a lot of Korean men for 2 hours. We went to a spa/bathhouse where everyone walks around naked and moves from bath to bath. Beautiful facility. If you have questions, email me and I'll answer them. I don't want to expand too much on this topic because it'll make me blush.
3) went into a bar called "Beer & Girls." And left it quickly. The only woman we saw there didn't look like the kind of woman referenced in the bar's name.
4) drank dongdongju - rice beer. We've actually had it twice and neither time did we pay for it. It is rice beer that is probably made only in bathtubs. Today we got lost on our hike. Some korean hikers lead us back to our path and while walking with them, we passed some people playing soccer/volleyball (volleyball played with a tennis net where you can only use your head and feet, no hands). The players offered us some dongdongju. It went straight to our heads.
5) had fish eat my feet as part of a spa treatment. it tickled but got rid of the dead skin on my feet. - http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/5/27/12054/2157/travel/Asian+Spa+Fish+Feast+on+Human+Flesh+
Two Questions About Korea
Two things I don't understand:
1) The fascination with Franklin & Marshall University. We've seen dozens of tshirts for F&M, both for sale and being worn. And we have no idea why.
2) The shininess prevalent in suits, ties and dress shirts. I don't get the fashion. I will write about the wackiness of fashion though soon and I actually think that the two concepts are related.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Brief overview of our four days in Gwangju
SO much to say about our time in Korea outside of Seoul! I'll give a brief overview here:
We took a bus to Gwangju and my host father met us the newly-renovated and gorgeous bus station. From there we went directly to my host family's new home in Gwangju. What a beautiful apartment! We enjoyed a delicious homemade Korean meal with my host parents, brother, and sister, after which we took a lovely walk around on a walking path made on top of former railroad track. We slept at my host family's and then (the next day) visited Naju, my former residence. There are many many MANY more apartment developments, but it still has that small-town feel (we didn't see a single other foregone our whole time in Naju). We vistaed Naju highlights, including Dongshin University, the apartment in which we lived, Naju High School, some relics from Naju past, the Naju Pear Museum (yup, there's a museum dedicated to pears!), and , of course, the Naju penis :) Later we went to a KIA Tigers baseball game, then returned to our host family's home for Korean style pizaa (with sweet potatoes and mayo--- hard to explain, yummy to eat-- we took pictures).
We spent the next day with the dean of Dongshin University with whom I studied and published three Korean/English texts (FUNNY STORY! I hadn't told my Korean friends about my publications, but my host mother came across 'Seren goes to Naju' and was shocked and excited- she now owns a copy of it). We saw Mudungsan (Gwangju's famous mountain) and Damyang, where we visited a bamboo park and ancient Korean writer's hermitage. Later, we visited the orphanage where I used to volunteer (more on that later).
The day after, we enjoyed downtown Gwangju. Has it ever changed! There are heaps of Western restaurants- Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kream, Smoothie King, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, Pizza Hut. We also found an Indian restaurant run by people from Nepal. It was literally the first time I walked into a restaurant in Korea and the employees and cooks were not Korea. It was delicious Indian food! Another change is that there are a bunch of nail places all around downtown Gwangju! I remember my friend getting her nail polish changed only (ie, not a full mani) at a fancy Korea department store seven years ago. Well now there are Korean nail places everywhere! It is so funny!
We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the home of a former Naju High School colleague and her family, then went to a LIVE Bar (ie, bar with live music) with my host parents- a very fun doubke date.
I was so sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially my host family, but I am confuted by the fact that I've seen them twice since I moved out of Korea six years ago---- we didn't say goodbye, we said 'see you again.'
No we're in Busan, the second largest Korean city; a port city on the southeast corner of the peninsula. We intend to spend out second anniversary visiting the UN Cemetery and a Korean War Memorial, two Buddhist temples, an ancient fortress, and, of course, a Korean bathhouse (the largest in Asia, so it claims to be).
Hope all is well with you! We are certainly happy and healthy as we adventure our adventure in Korea and our anniversary!
love, seren
We took a bus to Gwangju and my host father met us the newly-renovated and gorgeous bus station. From there we went directly to my host family's new home in Gwangju. What a beautiful apartment! We enjoyed a delicious homemade Korean meal with my host parents, brother, and sister, after which we took a lovely walk around on a walking path made on top of former railroad track. We slept at my host family's and then (the next day) visited Naju, my former residence. There are many many MANY more apartment developments, but it still has that small-town feel (we didn't see a single other foregone our whole time in Naju). We vistaed Naju highlights, including Dongshin University, the apartment in which we lived, Naju High School, some relics from Naju past, the Naju Pear Museum (yup, there's a museum dedicated to pears!), and , of course, the Naju penis :) Later we went to a KIA Tigers baseball game, then returned to our host family's home for Korean style pizaa (with sweet potatoes and mayo--- hard to explain, yummy to eat-- we took pictures).
We spent the next day with the dean of Dongshin University with whom I studied and published three Korean/English texts (FUNNY STORY! I hadn't told my Korean friends about my publications, but my host mother came across 'Seren goes to Naju' and was shocked and excited- she now owns a copy of it). We saw Mudungsan (Gwangju's famous mountain) and Damyang, where we visited a bamboo park and ancient Korean writer's hermitage. Later, we visited the orphanage where I used to volunteer (more on that later).
The day after, we enjoyed downtown Gwangju. Has it ever changed! There are heaps of Western restaurants- Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kream, Smoothie King, Outback Steakhouse, KFC, Pizza Hut. We also found an Indian restaurant run by people from Nepal. It was literally the first time I walked into a restaurant in Korea and the employees and cooks were not Korea. It was delicious Indian food! Another change is that there are a bunch of nail places all around downtown Gwangju! I remember my friend getting her nail polish changed only (ie, not a full mani) at a fancy Korea department store seven years ago. Well now there are Korean nail places everywhere! It is so funny!
We enjoyed a lovely dinner at the home of a former Naju High School colleague and her family, then went to a LIVE Bar (ie, bar with live music) with my host parents- a very fun doubke date.
I was so sad to say goodbye to everyone, especially my host family, but I am confuted by the fact that I've seen them twice since I moved out of Korea six years ago---- we didn't say goodbye, we said 'see you again.'
No we're in Busan, the second largest Korean city; a port city on the southeast corner of the peninsula. We intend to spend out second anniversary visiting the UN Cemetery and a Korean War Memorial, two Buddhist temples, an ancient fortress, and, of course, a Korean bathhouse (the largest in Asia, so it claims to be).
Hope all is well with you! We are certainly happy and healthy as we adventure our adventure in Korea and our anniversary!
love, seren
Kimbop
As I mentioned in the last post "bop" means rice. "Kim" means seaweed. "Kimbop" is rice and seaweed and served in one of two ways. First, and more traditionally, as a sushi-type roll with seaweed on the outside, then rice and then a menage of veggies and, sometimes, fish. We've had it once and had tuna on the inside. Interestingly, this was not Japanese-sushi tuna. Rather, it was tuna with mayo in a sushi role. Was still delicious, but unexpected by me (Seren knew better). Cost per roll is about $1.80.
The other kimbop is a sandwich of sorts. A triangle of seaweed, stuffed with rice and a bonus. We've had it with just (1) spicy sauce, (2) tuna and spicy sauce and (3) tuna and mayo (american sandwich style). This costs about $0.50 and is sold in all convenience stores (including 7-11).
Bibimbop
As I promised, tonight for dinner, while doing laundry, we had bibimbop for dinner. It was the first Korean food I ever tasted (at a Korean place on University Pl. in the Village a few years back). It is basically a rice salad. To make, combined: fried egg, warm rice, some veggies and spicy sauce. Deliciousness ensues. Be sure to mix it before eating it. Then eat it with chopsticks. We went to a mom and pa shop and spoke to them and their daughter in English/Korean as we tried to supplement the daughter's English education. Apparently, English education is very good for writing, reading and grammar. Speaking is not emphasized as much. The food was served with kimchi, a miso-type soup, oshinko-type pickled radish and some spicy veggies. After dinner, as we waited for our clothes to dry, we shared a cup of soju (the rest of the bottle is in our room fridge).
Next lesson is on kimbop (bop means rice).
Hi from Busan
Off to do laundry. And I'm in the mood for bibimbop. I'll define all the Korean food we've eaten later.
halfway there
there's a 15 minute rest stop on any bus ride longer than 2 hours or so. the rest stops are every hour +. we're on one and there's a free computer with internet. hi from the rest stop. there's lots of food here including grilled cuttlefish/squid. we're skipping it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)