Adventures in Food: Many things

I've had many interesting food adventures thus far in Korea. I can't read the packaging, so I must rely on pictures or assumption. However, assumption usually fails me here.

I thought this was a package of 4 slices of bread without crusts.



It was actually 4 slices of bread without crusts, buttered with very sweet butter.



I thought these were basic dinner rolls with cheese baked into them.



They were the sweetest rolls I've ever eaten. So much so that I gave them to my dog. He wouldn't eat them either.

I thought this would be delicious. After all, I love SB frappuccinos and I love mint.



It wasn't. At all.

I thought this donut looked tasty.



It was. (The chocolate ganache-like topping literally melts in your mouth. Yum.)

Kelly2 told me that her favorite Ramyeon (ramen) is black ramyeon. I couldn't read the directions, so I made it like soup, as other ramens are eaten here.



It tasted like the soup equivalent of a White Castle hamburger. I wish I was kidding. It was thoroughly inedible.

I thought these Snyder's Pretzels bites in Cheddar Cheese flavor looked appetizing.



They were amazing. They remind me of Nacho Cheese Pretzel Combos. With paprika. they have a slight kick. Delicious.

Crab sticks are individually wrapped here, which makes them especially handy for rolling sushi. But not so good for the environment, with all that unnecessary packaging.





I thought when I saw the package, "Mushroom soup, that could be good." It is, quite good actually. I eat it often.



I don't drink beer, and I don't know if this is any good, but people seem to drink enough of it. (Of course, people drink a lot of Natty Lite, too.)



Every time I see it I think of a high school boyfriend, whose last name is Caffrey. :)

The most random thing that’s happened to me this month

I was taking the subway back home from Daegu a couple of weeks ago, and there weren’t any seats where I normally sit, but there were seats open at the end of the car, so I sat there. An old man got on a few stops later, and tried to talk to me. I tried to make him understand that I don’t speak Korean and couldn’t understand him, but it didn’t work very well. He left me alone for a minute and then handed me a tomato. I was confused. I tried to refuse, but he insisted. Then, in Spanish said to me (as he pointed to my thigh) “very big”. Then he pointed to his thigh and said “very small”, again in Spanish.

Of course, I was totally offended that some random Korean man felt it was necessary to tell me I’m fat. But I was even more confused by the Spanish. Why he thought I would understand Spanish, I don’t know. I did, actually, only because I call my boys “piquito” which means small, the word he used. It was very odd. I put my headphones back in my ears and was glad when the train ride ended a few minutes later.

I told my mom this story when it happened, and she pointed out something I didn’t think of at the time. Above these seats was a picture of a person with a broken leg, an old person, a woman with a small child, and a woman who had eaten a beach ball (I assume that they were going for pregnant with that one). I was sitting there when the man got on, so he probably thought I was pregnant and sat there on purpose. He probably thought “Wow, she’s gained a lot of weight with this baby”, and thought he was being funny. It’s a shame I couldn’t share in the joke.

Desk on Fire

During the Halloween party the kids started screaming. They’re pretty much always screaming, so at first I didn’t think anything of it. Especially because it was Halloween and they loved scaring the crap out of each other with their masks in the dark. But they all started running out into the lobby and screaming the same set of words (that I didn’t understand), and Candy ran out of her office and down the hall toward the classrooms.

I was curious and got up to look, and there was Candy walking quickly down the hall carrying a flaming desk. If you had been there you would understand why this was especially funny. Candy is like 4’10” and the desk is almost too bulky for her to carry, even in kid’s size. But she managed, and everyone looked terrified and tried to figure out a solution. One teacher ran to the bathroom but couldn’t find anything to carry water back out to the desk. I grabbed my water bottle (that is always with me) and doused the flames. Everyone looked astonished that I thought so quickly, and I was equally astounded that they didn’t.

It’s been ingrained in me since birth (practically) that if there is a fire, water is the solution. And of course we learned all about “Stop! Drop! And Roll!” in elementary school. Apparently these lessons were not translated into Korean in the Eighties when they were drilled into me. And maybe I would have been less prepared if I had been the slightest bit surprised that something caught on fire. But as I said, it was a train wreck waiting to happen. I knew it would happen, and it did.

Halloween Party at School

(This post was written early in the day.)



Unintended Reasons why today will be scary:

1. It’s Friday, and the kids are already crazy on Fridays.
2. The kids are already scaring each other with masks and costumes.
3. We’re turning off the lights, lighting candles, and giving them sugar.




My job today is to sit at the front table, handing out candy. A nice rest for me, and so exciting for the kids! The flavors of hard candy I have in my basket are: chocolate, apple, grape, pineapple, banana, mint, “black” (sugar, I’m told), and plum (which tastes like skunk~unfortunate, really). They seem to like them. I can't say I'm a fan.



Things I saw today:

1. One fire-obsessed kid wearing 2 masks and nearly catching one on fire many times.
2. A kid skipping and clapping, and full-out singing! He was like a one-man musical show… BEFORE candy! I want that kind of energy!

For it being their first Halloween, they’ve learned the point of Trick-or-Treat very fast. Get there first to get the best candy!



They look thrilled, don't they? They were smiling and laughing until the moment we said "picture". Truly.



Starting to get into it...



There are the kids I know!



Apparently they line up for everything, even pictures.



I'm a fan of the crazy witch with the axe. I really thought someone might lose an eye by that thing.



Children and fire, another fabulous idea. Candy decided that we would set the mood by turning off the lights and making things scary by only using candles. She thought that the paper cups that we use for coffee and such would okay for the tapers to sit in, but without sand or something added for weight and to keep the candles upright, they kept falling over. Her solution was to turn the paper cups upside down, punch a hole in the bottom of the cup, and stick the candle through the hole.

Not a terrible idea in theory, but the candles burned quickly, so they couldn't touch the table beneath for very long, so they kept pulling them out, so that they were only barely through the hole. The real problem came when the candles burned down to the cup bottom. Flame/hot wax and paper cup bottoms don't work well together.

Why we used candles, not flashlights, I don't know. I felt like I was watching a train wreck about to happen, and trying to stop the train by jabbing at it with a toothpick. I guess I can only do so much. What could possibly go wrong?

Bugs and Spiders the Size of House Cats

Bugs and spiders here are the size of house cats. Okay, maybe not that big, but the spiders that live on the trees in the park where I walk Hayes-y have bodies like large marbles, and 3-4 inch legs, and are many colors. I’m sure they’re poisonous, but I don’t need to be reminded to stay away from something that may as well have a knapsack and be passing me on the street…



See, I'm not kidding! (Just picture him with a "hobo-style" knapsack on a stick saying hello to you on the street... If I were more adept at Photoshop, there would be a photo of that next...)



Mosquitoes love me here. At home, too, but here especially. And I’m super allergic to them too, which makes everything more interesting. I got my arms and hands attacked my first week, and they all swelled to immense proportions. The dumb things bit the knuckle of my pinky. Now, what exactly were they expecting to find in the knuckle of my pinky? There’s no fat, hardly even any blood! So dumb!



And then last night I was attacked while sleeping and woke up with 9 on my thigh, knee and right foot. So now they’re all big and itchy. I should probably invest in some bug spray, but even so I don’t intend to wear it in my sleep…







This really shows how well I can produce a huge knot by allergic reaction. I'm the best at it, certainly.

Stereotyping the American Girl

No, I don’t know Michael Jackson, not everyone lives in mansions with doggy-doors like on “Gossip Girl”, and Ohio is not all farms.

I've Seen Some *Unusual* Things Since I've Been in Korea

I've seen some unusual things since I've been in Korea. Some have been fantastic; things I would never see in America, but think are cool. I saw these painted "rocks" at E-Mart. Then I noticed they were moving.



They were hermit crabs! They were in many unique designs, the more intricate being more expensive. They were so cool. All the kids thought so, myself included.

Daegu Shopping trip with Jenn

Jenn and I arranged to meet in downtown Daegu so she could show me around a bit. We decided on pizza, because I’d been craving it. We went to Mr. Pizza, where she explained to me that the waiters would think we were crazy, but we would have to insist upon ordering two pizzas.





A note on Korea and leftovers:

They don’t do leftovers in Korea. They feel that you should order only (or make only) what will get eaten during the meal. So for two people to order two pizzas, knowing we will not finish them during our lunch, is crazy to them. (Especially since we ordered the same pizza for each of us.) Reheating just isn’t done here.

Mr. Pizza was delicious, and our leftover slices were wrapped nicely when packaged.



We walked around the main drag, Dongseongno (South), and went into a few shops. We found all sorts of unusual things.







These are just fantastic. The 70s are alive and well in Korean footwear.



In the basement of Debec, a large multi-story department store, I found the best lamps ever. They are made of thick plastic sheeting, and are put together like 3D puzzles, by inserting flaps into notches. I’m partial to the elephant, but the 3 foot tall giraffe is also quite nice.



And who can't resist a completely random Little Red Riding Hood notebook? And a party WITH SODA? Wow, if only I could have a party with a wolf and soda...



Jenn took me to a stationary store in the underground mall by Lotte Young Plaza, which carries many other types of things, from souvenirs, to children’s hats, to flu masks, to jewelry.



We wore ourselves out wandering and shopping, and took a moment before Jenn’s bus arrived to enjoy the view from the Starbucks patio above Banwoldang station.

Festivals in October, and Swine Flu

Guide books say to go to Korea in October because of the many festivals. However, October 2009 was not the time to arrive here. Because of the Swine Flu (H1N1) scare, most festivals and all gatherings of any kind of more than 1000 people lasting for 2 or more days were cancelled. I guess I’ll have to wait until next fall to see things I wanted to see now…

Papa John’s trip to Daegu

Yesterday I went to Daegu after work to meet Nic for Papa John’s. We were both so excited when we found out there was a Papa John’s in Daegu. We tried to get together on Sunday, but I still didn’t have money changed. We decided on Thursday instead because I would get done earlier that day, and could meet her at her school. Wednesday night my Thursday schedule changed so we were to get finished at the same time. I asked Zena to take me to the subway station, which ended up being much further from Emart than I thought it was. She parked on the street by the station entrance and we went 2 stories down into the subway with me to help me buy a ticket. It was so nice of her. Not even (most) of my close friends in America would think to do that. Kate and Zena both wrote down exactly what to look for; direction and stop name. Luckily, everything was in the Roman alphabet too so I didn’t have to try to read Hangul. It was very easy.



I sat near the door and read the stops on the map as we approached, listening to the announcement’s pronunciation versus the Romanized spelling. Zena made sure when she dropped me off that I remembered it would be 11 stops, and it was very easy to follow.

I arrived at Banwoldang station easily. I really wanted to take a few pictures of people on the train, but couldn’t figure out how to do so inconspicuously. (Nothing I do is ever inconspicuous, as everyone is always looking at me.) There was a poster that I need to find again to capture on film. A 20-something guy in a shiny pink suit and pink bowtie, obviously dancing, and up his hand were climbing festive rainbow colors. In America, there’d be no question, he is gay. Gay, gay, gay. In the words of Lewis Black, he’s rooty-tooty-fresh-and-fruity. But by the time I noticed the poster, a man was sitting in front of it. It would’ve been too hard to try to explain to him that I was not taking the picture of him but the poster. Either way, he would have thought I was odd. So no picture.

(I got it later. Here it is! Fantastic, isn't it?)


Then a man got on in a shiny grey suit and red shirt with sparkly red sequins in a design on the front. It was fabulous. I tried to mute the sound on my phone so I could snap a picture, but I kept making noise with the phone instead, and I lost my opportunity as he moved to stand too close to my seat to get a good shot.

I got off at the stop and followed the crowd, but most were changing trains, so I only saw two leave. They had transportation cards, and scanned them on the turnstile to get out. The system seems so complicated to me. You buy a token (“ticket”) and pay the correct amount for the length of your trip. When you get to your destination, you swipe the card (if you have a prepaid multi-use one) or deposit the single-use token into the machine. If you’ve gone further than you paid for, you owe more money. No one explained this part to me, so I didn’t know what to do to get out. I tried a couple of things, but no one was around to ask, so I called Zena who explained what to do. I deposited my token, and the turnstile let me out. I was on my way.

The station was like a mall. I exited the train on the 4th level down, and came up to exit on level 3. Level 3 and 2 are shopping malls, and level 1 ("sky level") is above ground (ground level).



"Booby" is a cartoon character in Korea. Just funny to me.


There's an east wing and west wing and maybe 50+ stores in each, on each level. There are also like 18 exit gates. Nic and I had never been there, so we didn't know to specify where to meet. We said at Dong-A (dept store) and thought that was good. We didn't know until we arrived that there were so many exits, and that Dong-A has entrances on many streets.

It was quite an experience. She doesn't have a cell phone so we couldn't just call each other and figure out how to find each other. I searched for a bit, then called Joe to see if he told her a gate to go to, but he didn't. Finally, after much searching, I call a call. Nic found a pay phone (which are fairly rare) and I found her. Whew!

We decided to take a taxi to where we were going--I don't really know where that was. It was a very busy area downtown. There was a huge movie theater and many shops and restaurants. I found a 24 hour McDonald's, 24/7 Burger King, and a Pizza Hut. (In the States I don't like any of these, but let me tell you--I was thrilled to see them.)

Hello Kitty storefront, lighted and animated.


We saw a 2-story crazy animated Hello Kitty store, and found Papa John's. We planned to eat there (it's an actual restaurant, not just a delivery/pickup storefront like at home), but they were closing in half an hour and he wouldn't let us. (That would never happen in the States! Restaurants must stay open until the last minute advertised, and must seat people until that time. And then, of course, stay open until everyone has finished eating. I must say, I was a little jealous of the Korean way.)

We sat down and looked over the menu (yay for pictures!) and worked out a combo ("set") that sounded good. We might have taken more time to figure it out, but the guy stood there at the table waiting for a decision. We settled on a shrimp alfredo pizza, and 1.5 liter Coke, and cheese sticks set for 35,000 won. (Yikes.)

And then I figured out why he wouldn't let us eat there. It took nearly the whole half hour to make our pizza. It came out wrapped very prettily with bow and all, and a bag of sauces, napkins, and sweet pickles (they're pretty much eaten with everything here). We left and set about finding somewhere outside to sit and eat. We found an out of use fountain and made a picnic. Not as many strange looks as expected. By the time we left Papa John's almost all the shops were closed. It was eerie (sp?) how fast everything shut down. Things don't close that fast, or people flee the area that fast, even when there's a hurricane in the US! It was impressive.





We opened our pizza package and it was great. I had expected a pizza like at home, but no. It was thin crust—they don’t really do what we call “original crust” here. You can sometimes get thick crust, but only at specialty places. Our shrimp alfredo pizza had the following ingredients: shrimp, cheese, white sauce, tomatoes, chicken, mushrooms, and pickles. Yes, you read that right. And there were 2 packages of sweet pickles in the bag with the sauce. These people are serious about their pickling. Pickles of all types are everywhere, and kimchee (the national obsession, eaten at every meal) is pickled cabbage.

The cheese sticks were perfect—exactly as at home—and I had a Coke, so I was happy. Nic was laughing her butt off as I picked off the mushrooms and dug out the pickles. C’mon people, if you’re gonna put weird things on your pizza, at least put them on top of the cheese! They do the same thing at home. Which means picky people=messy people. Boo.

Then a girl came over and said hi. I thought maybe Nic knew her, but no. She sat down on the bike rack and explained in very good English that she’s had too much to drink, but her friends think she’s drunk, and she’s not. (She was, very much.) Her friends kept pulling her away and apologizing, but she kept coming back and talking. It was hilarious.



She said she was a doctor and worked in the same building as Papa John’s, and just above a big English school, but they only had American men, who all wanted to “sex” her and she didn’t like them. We said we didn’t either, haha. (Sorry guys!)

Her friends finally pulled her away and literally dragged her across the street.



A few minutes later we saw them walk by again, carefully avoiding us. A few minutes after that, she was running down the sidewalk away from them. A few more minutes later, they pushed her into the back seat of a taxi, alone. We thought that was a bad plan. If that were me, already really drunk and wanting to drink more, I would slide to the other side and get out. But in Korea, the driver’s side back door is always locked. Nic said she would get out down the block if it was her. Maybe 10 minutes later, the drunk girl was back. Apparently she and Nic had the same idea. Her friends kept calling to ask if she was home, and she told them she was with the Americans. The whole situation was totally random, and absolutely hilarious. We had just decided to stay out a bit longer and get a drink somewhere, so we invited her along.





It was funny talking in nearly perfect English with a totally wasted Korean woman. But she got us to the bar with no problem. We ended up at Club That, which was a lovely little place with a great patio (complete with heaters and blankets for every chair), and two floors inside. We decided to sit inside on the first floor where there were plushy chairs and couches. Think wilderness ski lodge, with only 8 tables. They had a huge picture menu, which was great. I’m told that is a hot spot for foreigners, who mostly hang out on the 2nd floor. A group of 3 English people came in to celebrate a birthday.

Club That




We sat and talked a long time about Korea and travel and Daegu and such. It was great. At 1am I decided I really needed to go home and give Hayes-y some company and a walk before sleep. We made our way to a huge line of taxis and we left. The drunk girl and I live close to each other, so we shared a cab. Thank god we did, because I never could’ve made it on my own. She did all the interpreting for me (the cab driver didn’t speak any English), and tried to help figure out where my house was from the map I gave them. (They don’t use addresses and name streets like we do in the US. Only the post office cares about addresses.) I told him that if he could get me to the hospital nearby, I could get home from there.

We dropped the drunk girl off first, and she tossed some bills at the driver. (I don’t know exactly how much the fee actually was, because I didn’t see a meter, but he said upfront that it would be 2,000 won more because he was going to a different city. Apparently taxi drivers are part of the large group that doesn’t consider Gyeongsan part of Daegu. After the length of that ride, going into complete darkness a bit before getting to Gyeongsan, I understand why they say I’m in the country.

We arrived okay, and I asked how much and he said, “No. She—“ The drunk girl paid for the whole thing. Wow. And she paid for our drinks at the bar. Wow x2. Crazy.

We got her number, so hopefully we can see her again and pay for her drinks next time.

Lessons learned:

1. Everything happens for a reason. There are many reasons why the night should not have worked out. No cell phone, but we found each other. We found the Papa John’s, and it was still open. By sitting outside, we made an unexpected friend.

2. Plan accordingly when possible, so I can take the subway (1,000 w) instead of a taxi (20,000 w).

3. I cannot afford pizza very often. My half was 20,000 w. At OSU I could get a large cheese pizza for $6.99 USD. Amazing. I can eat Korean food for a week for the price of one large pizza here (35,000 w).

All in all, it was great.

Tonight’s motto: My hovercraft is full of eels.