Tuesday, September 22, 2009
What Is That?!
I found this parked outside of my friends apartment the other night... perfect for people with no balance!
Dinner at Chloe's!
Last night, I was invited to one of my co-workers houses for dinner! She is a 2nd grade teacher at my school, so we get to co-teach together every Wednesday morning! I gave her the English name Chloe! :) Chloe, her husband, and her son live in a gorgeous high rise apartment a couple subway stops from my place! They live on the 18th floor!
When we arrived, I was met by her 22 month old son 동하 (Dong Ha) and her mother in law, who they pay to watch their son everyday while Chloe is at work.
After we had been there for a while, I noticed this HUGE tub of Cheese Balls. I pointed to it and said, "Wow, that's a huge thing of Cheese Balls" and Chloe laughed and said she had bought it at COSTCO for her son, but that they were too salty! She asked me if I liked them... When I answered "Yes!" she handed me the entire thing and said, "Great! You can have it!" I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with all of these, but when a Korean offers you something, you NEVER turn it down!
Dong Ha was adorable! He was polite, well mannered, and smiled ALL THE TIME!
This was our dinner! Chloe ordered Pizza from Pizza Hut (my favorite), and we sat at her sons art table on the floor of her living room! :)
Love this kid!
At about 7:30pm, her husband arrived home! It's common for Korean men to come home VERY late! Most Korean women hate this... including Chloe! Korean marriages are VERY different from American marriages. Chloe and her husband were set up on a blind date, and neither of them really liked each other, but because they were in their early 30's, they both felt pressured to get married. Neither of them have ever actually loved each other. :(
When we arrived, I was met by her 22 month old son 동하 (Dong Ha) and her mother in law, who they pay to watch their son everyday while Chloe is at work.
After we had been there for a while, I noticed this HUGE tub of Cheese Balls. I pointed to it and said, "Wow, that's a huge thing of Cheese Balls" and Chloe laughed and said she had bought it at COSTCO for her son, but that they were too salty! She asked me if I liked them... When I answered "Yes!" she handed me the entire thing and said, "Great! You can have it!" I have NO IDEA what I'm going to do with all of these, but when a Korean offers you something, you NEVER turn it down!
Dong Ha was adorable! He was polite, well mannered, and smiled ALL THE TIME!
This was our dinner! Chloe ordered Pizza from Pizza Hut (my favorite), and we sat at her sons art table on the floor of her living room! :)
Love this kid!
At about 7:30pm, her husband arrived home! It's common for Korean men to come home VERY late! Most Korean women hate this... including Chloe! Korean marriages are VERY different from American marriages. Chloe and her husband were set up on a blind date, and neither of them really liked each other, but because they were in their early 30's, they both felt pressured to get married. Neither of them have ever actually loved each other. :(
On a happier note... We had an awesome time laughing, talking, and eating together! They offerred to have me over anytime I wanted, which I thought was extremely generous!! It's times like this that make staying another year extremely appealing!
The Crossing Guards!
These are the best crossing guards in the entire Country!!! These beautiful women work right in front of my school and greet me every morning with beautiful gold teethed smiles! :)
Walking to School Hand in Hand
It's NOT uncommon to see Korean girls walking, hand in hand, to school in the mornings.... and it's even more common to see high school boys touching each other on the subways! (Sorry, I don't have any pictures of that, but I swear it happens all the time!!)
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Sunday Hike to the Temple
Yesterday afternoon, I decided to hike up to the temple on the mountain behind my apartment. As I was hiking up the mountain, through the narrow alleyways of my neighborhood, I stumbled across this local joint.
There's no name for it... but one of the men said it was his "momma's house" and invited me to come every Sunday for Makoli (korean rice wine) and acorn jelly (which is absolutely disgusting)! This is me and Momma!
It's common for friends to feed each other in Korea. Everyone at my table kept trying to feed me the acorn jelly squares, which are absolutely vile! In Korea, when someone offers you food, it's extremely rude not to eat it, so I did the best I could!
Then... Momma came to my table with a smile on her face and handed me this ENTIRE plate of acorn jelly all for myself! It took everything within me not to throw up after eating one... much less an entire plate!
It was a really fun experience to hang out with so many of my neighbors! Unfortuatey, no one spoke a lick of English, but with the help of body language, the small amount of Korean that I knew and lots of hand motions we were able to communicate! When I could no longer eat anymore acorn jelly, or drink anymore Makoli, I said "goodbye and thankyou" and headed up to the temple.
This is the treeline road leading to the Temple! (About a 10 minute walk from my apartment)
Main worship area...
The building which houses the temple kitchen, dining hall, and offices.
The dorm facility for the Monk's.
I'm not sure what the significance is of these tiny little statues, but they're cute none the less and can be found in nooks and crevises of the rock walls and mountains surrounding the temples in Korea.
This temple had four of these creatures, carved from wood, hanging from the roofline of the main worship building. I thought they were stunning!
There's no name for it... but one of the men said it was his "momma's house" and invited me to come every Sunday for Makoli (korean rice wine) and acorn jelly (which is absolutely disgusting)! This is me and Momma!
It's common for friends to feed each other in Korea. Everyone at my table kept trying to feed me the acorn jelly squares, which are absolutely vile! In Korea, when someone offers you food, it's extremely rude not to eat it, so I did the best I could!
Then... Momma came to my table with a smile on her face and handed me this ENTIRE plate of acorn jelly all for myself! It took everything within me not to throw up after eating one... much less an entire plate!
It was a really fun experience to hang out with so many of my neighbors! Unfortuatey, no one spoke a lick of English, but with the help of body language, the small amount of Korean that I knew and lots of hand motions we were able to communicate! When I could no longer eat anymore acorn jelly, or drink anymore Makoli, I said "goodbye and thankyou" and headed up to the temple.
This is the treeline road leading to the Temple! (About a 10 minute walk from my apartment)
Temple grounds
Main worship area...
The building which houses the temple kitchen, dining hall, and offices.
The dorm facility for the Monk's.
I'm not sure what the significance is of these tiny little statues, but they're cute none the less and can be found in nooks and crevises of the rock walls and mountains surrounding the temples in Korea.
This temple had four of these creatures, carved from wood, hanging from the roofline of the main worship building. I thought they were stunning!
Outside of the Monk's housing facility, looking down into my neighborhood.
Inside the main worship area of the temple, there are intriquite statues and wall hangings. I thought this one was beautiful. As a side note... there was no one in the room, so I took advantage of the opportuntiy to take a close look at everything! It was actually really cool.
One of my favorite things about this temple is the fact that you can't hear anything but the trees blowing in the breeze! It is completely quiet and serene, set up and away from the hustle and bustle of the city below. It's not huge, or extraordinarily spectacular, so there are not hundreds of tourists walking through, and the monks living here are happy to see you and don't mind if you take pictures. There were a few benches on the temple grounds that overlook the cityscape where I'd like to come back with my book! Maybe tonight after work! :)
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