Grandma's Feast!

At 3:45pm today, Monica yelled, from her desk, "Chelsey, let's go to the restaurant. There is food there!" (AKA: the school cafeteria.  I love when she calls it "the restaurant!")

Anyhow, when we got to the cafeteria, we were met by a small old grandmother who was standing with her arms wrapped proudly around her 2nd grade grandson.  She welcomed us and motioned towards a table full of the most delicious homemade Korean food!  Yes, SHE had made everything herself!  Why you ask?  Well, it's a dying tradition for a grandparent to prepare something special (food or juice) to celebrate her grandchild's participatation in his or her first big school related event.  The big event, in this case, is FIELD DAY, which is on Friday!  But for this grandmother, preparing a feast fit for a king was her way of celebrating! 

   

She had made octopus, pajung, japjeh, gogi, rice, potato jung, shrimp and vegetable curry, oysters, clams, and all sorts of other yummies I don't know the names of!  Even after all 25 teachers dished up, there was more leftover!  Oh and she also prepared a whole bunch of exotic fruits for our dessert!

(pics were taken with my iphone)  Not too shabby, huh?!

Unfortunatley, this grandmother's intentions for this very large meal were a bit twisted.  You see, Korean's believe that when a gift is given, you should return the gesture by giving a gift back to the giver. Monica told me that the little boys teacher was not happy about this meal... because it meant that she would need to give special treatment to the young boy.  She would now be expected to stay after school to tutor the young boy, and to give him extra attention during classtime. 

 

Whatever happened to just plain giving without the expectation of receiving something in return?!  Regardless of grandma's intentions, I was beyond impressed with her cooking skills!  It was some of the best Korean food I've ever tasted!  And lucky for me, the little boy isn't one of my students, so I don't have to worry!

 

Thanks for the feast Grandma!

The grass is always greener...

I've been struggling the last couple days with feeling as if Aaron is my only friend... don't get me wrong - the guy is AWESOME and I'm more than happy to have him around!  But, being away from America for over 2 years now and the horrible time difference between Asia and home has put a strain on many of the friendships that I've held most dear...  I know people are busy and time passes quickly, but I hate feeling disconnected and forgotten.  

My 30th birthday is in 2 weeks and it feels weird to think about such a momentous birthday being celebrated without friends around.  Aaron really wanted to throw me a big birthday bash, with my favorite COSTCO sheet cake (My 1 request) but the few good friends I have here either didn't respond to his invite or were busy with other plans.  I can't just eat a whole COSTCO cake on my own?  Or could I?! haha)  It just sucks to be quite honest.  I love living here and experiencing a new culture, traveling all the time, saving money, and loving my job... but is that really enough?  I'm starting to realize that maybe it isn't.  But then that leaves me with the questions of "How do I change that?"  

I'm not really too sure to be quite honest.  I guess I just wish things were different and I wasn't out of sight, out of mind living her in Asia.  I'm not begging for affirmation or for anyone to tell me I'm not forgotten because I wrote this.  I just think it feels good sometimes to say how you feel... and right now, this is how I'm feeling.        

Going back to Japan...

This weekend is a 4 day weekend for Aaron and I, and we've been itching to get out of the country... So, tonight we decided to scratch that itch and head to Japan! 

We'll be leaving this Friday after work (FIELD DAY, which is hardly work!) and arriving in Fukuoka, Japan, where we'll be spending one night exploring the city.  In the morning, we'll jump on the bullet train and ride 3 hours through the Japanese countryside to Kyoto, one of my favorite places in the world, where we'll spend the following 4 days!

It was exactly this time, 2 years ago, that I visited Kyoto for the first time! Unfortunately though, I spent most of my time in the hospital waiting room, and in bed at my hostel, sick with the swine flu. On the instances where I did get out and explore the city, I fell madly in love with it's charm, history, and beauty! I never thought I'd have the chance to go back, but low and behold, I've been given the chance! I can hardly wait to show Aaron some of my favorite spots, and explore new corners of the city!

P.S. Don't worry, I've checked the radiation levels and Kyoto is A-okay!  Besides I eat enough dried seaweed to fight off all the radiation in the world!  Okay, that's a bit of an exageration... but I love that stuff and it prevents radiation from seeping into your body!  Another amazing natural remedy!

 

Japan, watch out!  We're coming!!

Yummy, yummy!

Remember cooking class in Junior High, when you learned how to make chocolate chip cookies, spaghetti, and french toast?  Maybe America has stepped up the bar a bit since I was a kid, but I've been pretty impressed to see what the 6th grade students, at my school in Korea, have come up with during their cooking class!  

This week, (2) of the three 6th grade classes have had a cooking class, where each student is responsible for bringing an ingredient for their groups particular dish.  The kids asked me to come take some pictures and try their food, which I was more than happy to do... EXCEPT for when one of them very excitedly shoved a huge piece of this disgusting fried spam into my mouth!  

Here are some fun pictures!  This group made french toast with ham and bacon inside! Talk about a heart attack!

They then presented it to me in this lovely arrangement!   Apparently a ball of rice and ham is essential to the mix!

The schools don't have an actual kitchen where kids can bake, so portable stoves are brought in and the kids cook in their own homeroom class.

 

These were probably my favorite!  Sticky rice, carrots, ham, and dried seaweed!

Korea's version of home made pizza!

Duk Bokki...

This isn't just kids playing around... This is actually a way to feed your friend, Korean style! 

And this is another way!  Instead of kids grabbing forks and digging in, the person who made the dish individually feeds each of their friends by picking the food up with chopsticks and holding it up to their friend's mouth!  

Oops, caught her in mid-bite! :)

Cooking white bread, ketchup, pepper, mushroom, and cheese pizza on the stove!

 More rice balls... only this time they were prepared on a skillet and egg was added!  YUM!

Mayonnaise, corn, carrot, and cucumber sandwich.

 Egg, ham, ketchup, lettuce, and pepper sandwich, topped with two rice balls and garnished with 2 colorful marshmallows!

"Fruit cocktail"  (Sprite (aka Cider), kiwi's and tomatoes) 

Another strange sandwich, garnished with cherry tomatoes!

When the students are finished, they prepare one plate of food for the teachers to share!  Here is what we were given!  Appetizing?!

Bet you wish you could try it, don't ya?!

It's coming!!!

Practices for Field Day have officially commenced as of this morning!  I took this video, just minutes ago, from my office window, looking out to the playground.  I am soooo excited that May is around the corner, because that means Field Day is almost here!  Can you tell it's one of my favorite days of the year!  How could it not be?  I get to hang outside all day, watch kids laughing and playing, see proud parents cheering on their kiddos, and to make it even better, I have been nominated as the official photographer of the event, so I'll have tons of pictures and videos to share!