Friday, January 21, 2011
Korean Scooter Delievery Adventures
I think this Korean "Scooter Delivery Guy" deserves five stars regarding his ability to utilize all available space. What do you think?
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Korean Wedding Adventures
It has been an interesting experiences getting to know some of the Korean teachers who work with me at the after school academy. I have a free period during the same time as the head Korean Teacher, Lisa (her English name. . I just realized I don't even know her Korean name) so we have had time over the weeks to talk and get to know each other pretty well. She is about a year older than me which she explained in Korean culture is the expected age for women to get married. A few weeks later she announced that she was engaged to be married in a few short months and invited Hubs and I to the wedding! We were very excited to get the chance to attend a Korean wedding. However based on the invitation we were a little unsure of the details. Such as when. And where. Hmmm. . . .
A few weeks later she asked me and another of the American teachers at the school to sing in her wedding. Incidentily she had never actually heard any of us sing prior to this and we certainly never claimed to be singers so the request came as quite a shock. She asked us to sing "Moon River" which based on the number of times we have heard it playing on Korean radio stations much be a favorite here. One of the other American teachers plays guitar and so it was decided that we would sing a duet of "Moon River" with guitar accompaniment. There was no rehearsal for the ceremony (at least that we were told about) so we practiced a couple times the week before the wedding in an empty classroom in between classes and decided to "hope for the best"!
Since we wanted to be sure to get to the wedding on time (it was in an area of Seoul that we haven't explored yet) we decided to go with a group of Korean of teachers from the school who were traveling together. We figured since they could read the signs it would make much more sense to go with them rather than us wander around trying to find the wedding hall. Well as it turned out they didn't really know where to go either and we ended up arriving 15 minutes or so after the ceremony had started. At an American wedding this would have been mortifying. . especially if you were singing in the wedding -- but it didn't really seem to be a big deal here.
The wedding hall had a stage area up front similar to where most western wedding are held but the area where guests sat was was made of up of round tables with chairs around them rather than standards pews or rows of chairs. As a result there was a lot of talking going on and the ceremony didn't really seem to be the main focus for most of the spectators. My boss at the school (she is Korean American) had warned me that it would probably be noisy and had actually described the wedding halls as working on a type of "assembly line" process where the weddings go on quickly right after each other.
The ceremony was all in Korean so we literally couldn't understand a thing and can't really speak with any kind of authority on how similar the vows where to what would be common in am American wedding. It was interesting though that the parents actually had seats up on the stage and appeared to be a very important part of the process. Below you can see the new couple with their parents during the ceremony (the moms are wearing Hanboks or the traditional Korean dress).
A few weeks later she asked me and another of the American teachers at the school to sing in her wedding. Incidentily she had never actually heard any of us sing prior to this and we certainly never claimed to be singers so the request came as quite a shock. She asked us to sing "Moon River" which based on the number of times we have heard it playing on Korean radio stations much be a favorite here. One of the other American teachers plays guitar and so it was decided that we would sing a duet of "Moon River" with guitar accompaniment. There was no rehearsal for the ceremony (at least that we were told about) so we practiced a couple times the week before the wedding in an empty classroom in between classes and decided to "hope for the best"!
Since we wanted to be sure to get to the wedding on time (it was in an area of Seoul that we haven't explored yet) we decided to go with a group of Korean of teachers from the school who were traveling together. We figured since they could read the signs it would make much more sense to go with them rather than us wander around trying to find the wedding hall. Well as it turned out they didn't really know where to go either and we ended up arriving 15 minutes or so after the ceremony had started. At an American wedding this would have been mortifying. . especially if you were singing in the wedding -- but it didn't really seem to be a big deal here.
The wedding hall had a stage area up front similar to where most western wedding are held but the area where guests sat was was made of up of round tables with chairs around them rather than standards pews or rows of chairs. As a result there was a lot of talking going on and the ceremony didn't really seem to be the main focus for most of the spectators. My boss at the school (she is Korean American) had warned me that it would probably be noisy and had actually described the wedding halls as working on a type of "assembly line" process where the weddings go on quickly right after each other.
The ceremony was all in Korean so we literally couldn't understand a thing and can't really speak with any kind of authority on how similar the vows where to what would be common in am American wedding. It was interesting though that the parents actually had seats up on the stage and appeared to be a very important part of the process. Below you can see the new couple with their parents during the ceremony (the moms are wearing Hanboks or the traditional Korean dress).
There wasn't a program or list of events (not that we could have read them anyway) so we just sat there not having a clue as to what was going on or when we would be singing until one of the wedding organizers came and tapped us on the shoulder and motioned for us to come up to the stage for the performance. It went as well as could be expected other than when I mixed up a few of the words and loudly belted out "Moon Drifter" instead of "Moon River". The good news is there was less than 10 people there who actually understood English well enough to know the difference.
After the wedding they took pictures including one with all the friends of the couple. And I got to be in it! The picture is below. . . see if you can find me!
After the ceremony it was time for the reception. The reception for Korean weddings basically consists of a very large buffet. It doesn't include most of the little traditional components to American receptions (cutting the cake, throwing the bouquet, etc) as those were already incorporated into the ceremony and picturing taking time. The buffet was also interesting because the people there can include guests from any of the previous weddings that day (remember the assembly line thing?) so there is really no way to be sure if the people sitting next to you even attending the same wedding that you did or attending a wedding earlier in the day and are just going back for their 7th plate.
The food was amazing though. Some was amazing in the context of being very good. Some was amazing in the context of. . well. . just being amazing.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Beijing Adventure Part III
We were fed SO much on the trip that I started to wonder how Chinese people stay so small! For most of the meals the food was placed on a large Lazy Susan type thing in the middle of a table of 8 to 10 people. They would keep bringing out dish after dish (some that we could recognize and some that we couldn't) until the table was so overloaded that you had to balance the dishes on the edges of the layer below. Everyone would just spin the Lazy Susan and grab whatever they wanted with their chopsticks when it went by. They also served yummy hot green tea at every meal.
Here is Hubs enjoying one of the spreads!
One evening our tour guide also took us to "Wangfujing Street" a famous strip of street vendors that sells pretty much any kind of food/weird thing you can image on a stick.
Here is a close up to give you a better idea. I"m not sure what everything was but the little brown ones in the middle are silk worms and the two on the far right hand side are squid tentacles and baby octopus respectively. Yum! :)
Oh and I almost forgot the starfish and sea urchins!
We had already eaten so "unfortunately" only had room to try the strawberry and kiwi crystallized in sugar.
Here is Hubs enjoying one of the spreads!
One evening our tour guide also took us to "Wangfujing Street" a famous strip of street vendors that sells pretty much any kind of food/weird thing you can image on a stick.
Here is a close up to give you a better idea. I"m not sure what everything was but the little brown ones in the middle are silk worms and the two on the far right hand side are squid tentacles and baby octopus respectively. Yum! :)
Oh and I almost forgot the starfish and sea urchins!
We had already eaten so "unfortunately" only had room to try the strawberry and kiwi crystallized in sugar.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Beijing Adventure Part II
The second day of our trip we went to the Great Wall of China!!! It was so surreal to actually be there!
We could see where there have been some repairs and restoration done to the original structure but for the most part, the section where we were at had been preserved very well. People are doing a good job of protecting the cultural relics. And caltaral relics too whatever they are. :)
In the area where we were, there were two parts open for tourists to climb. We took what our tour guide called the "hard" side. He should be referring to it as the Stair Master Supreme Side. The stairs were STEEP! And uneven. See Hubs on the left side just above the waving Asian woman (or was she falling. .hmm. . )?
Those stairs were in the first 1/4 of the climb. The number of people on the stairs decreased dramatically the higher we went. As did our energy to take out the camera. :) The stairs kept curving around as they went higher so we thought that we could see the end but when we reached that point there was another 200 steps to go. Then when when reached that point there was a few more hundred. Then when when we reached that point. . okay you get the idea.:)
Here I am VERY relieved to be "at the top"
And Hubs too! (doesn't he look like he is on a postcard?)
We were so tired from walking all the way up there that Hubs tried out a different route to get down.
We could see where there have been some repairs and restoration done to the original structure but for the most part, the section where we were at had been preserved very well. People are doing a good job of protecting the cultural relics. And caltaral relics too whatever they are. :)
In the area where we were, there were two parts open for tourists to climb. We took what our tour guide called the "hard" side. He should be referring to it as the Stair Master Supreme Side. The stairs were STEEP! And uneven. See Hubs on the left side just above the waving Asian woman (or was she falling. .hmm. . )?
Those stairs were in the first 1/4 of the climb. The number of people on the stairs decreased dramatically the higher we went. As did our energy to take out the camera. :) The stairs kept curving around as they went higher so we thought that we could see the end but when we reached that point there was another 200 steps to go. Then when when reached that point there was a few more hundred. Then when when we reached that point. . okay you get the idea.:)
Here I am VERY relieved to be "at the top"
And Hubs too! (doesn't he look like he is on a postcard?)
We were so tired from walking all the way up there that Hubs tried out a different route to get down.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Beijing Adventures Part I
Last weekend we took a trip to Beijing, China! We had SUCH an awesome time!
First stop was the "Forbidden City" where the Chinese Emperor used to live. These pictures don't do justice for how impressive, ornate, and expansive this area is. It was amazing!
All the doorways (like the one behind me) require you to step up and over. Our tour guide says it is because the ancient Chinese believed that the devil and evil spirits didn't have knees and they couldn't follow through a doorway that required stepping over.
The guide books say that there are 9,999 rooms total in the Forbidden City. Our tour guide said that the number of actual, usable rooms is little less because that count includes some rooms that just consist of four pillars without walls. Regardless which way you count it. . there are a ton of them!
The level of detail on everything including pillars, doors, and roofs was incredible!
Next stop was Tian'anmen Square, China's main government building area and location of the famous protest/tank incident.
The soldiers were doing some sort of formation or ceremony with a crowd of Chinese people watching.
This little guy was more interested in peeking at us than watching the ceremony. :)
First stop was the "Forbidden City" where the Chinese Emperor used to live. These pictures don't do justice for how impressive, ornate, and expansive this area is. It was amazing!
All the doorways (like the one behind me) require you to step up and over. Our tour guide says it is because the ancient Chinese believed that the devil and evil spirits didn't have knees and they couldn't follow through a doorway that required stepping over.
The guide books say that there are 9,999 rooms total in the Forbidden City. Our tour guide said that the number of actual, usable rooms is little less because that count includes some rooms that just consist of four pillars without walls. Regardless which way you count it. . there are a ton of them!
The level of detail on everything including pillars, doors, and roofs was incredible!
Next stop was Tian'anmen Square, China's main government building area and location of the famous protest/tank incident.
The soldiers were doing some sort of formation or ceremony with a crowd of Chinese people watching.
This little guy was more interested in peeking at us than watching the ceremony. :)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Icecream Adventures
From my understanding desert is a fairly new idea to Korean culture. Traditionally their meals don't include it and at many restaurants it isn't even offered on the menu. The few times we have been served desert in an restaurant here it has consisted of some type of fruit rather than a sweet baked item. Desert as a "snack" or at another location after you meal is really starting to catch on however. They are particularly partial to Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin Robbins. They are seriously EVERYWHERE! I can think of at least four within a few block radius of where we live! Baskin Robbins is good but since our most favorite adventure thus far has been to Italy, we are a little partial to Italian style ice cream called, "gelato". Needless to say we were thrilled when we spotted what appeared to be a little Italian style coffee shop that sold gelato. We were even more thrilled when we checked it out and the the atmosphere and the ice cream were great!
It was a really good find and I am sure we will be going back often! However I'm not sure that we will be trying some of the Korean specific flavors of gelato that we saw advertised. . .
Friday, October 15, 2010
Advertisement/Employment Adventures
We often come home to advertisement fliers tapped to our door.
Usually we can’t read them but sometimes when walking around downtown we have recognized the restaurant or business they were advertising. Imagine my surprise when I got home today and saw a flier on our door with some words I recognized. . . .
My NAME! AND my PICTURE!!!
Don’t worry, I’m not wanted for a crime or missing.
I’m a new teacher at an after school language academy here in Pyeongtaek!
I get to teach English as a second language to Korean children ranging from Kindergarten to Junior High during the afternoons! It is quite the new experience for me. I am enjoying it very much but also have a whole new respect for both moms and teachers. My Mom is is BOTH so I am pretty much am in awe of her.
*Editors note- I DID know I had the job before seeing the flyer on the door but I DIDN'T have any idea that I had been hired just in time to make their fall advertisement distro or that it would be posted on every door in my apartment building. Yikes!
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