School Lunches

March 29, 2014

I thought that I would do a little blog on school lunches in honor of my lovely mother-in-law Debbie, who is an excellent lunch lady at an elementary school.  To begin with, I don't have to pack a lunch or worry about finding food each day.  The school provides snacks and lunch for not only ALL of the students, but for the staff and teachers as well.  As a teacher in my homeroom, I dish out the food to the children and then to myself.  I find that this is an EXCELLENT way to try new and interesting Korean foods without having to pay for it (win!). 

After working here for a month, I have learned about the daily routines of lunch and the children are more aware of what to do each day and are pretty self-sufficient at the point.  They take out their metal lunch trays, containing 5 sections, and their spoon and chopsticks.  The sticks are the ones made for children, with being attached together at the top with a loop on one stick for the pointer finger (more on these in another blog).  I then scoop out each of the five parts of the meal into their trays. 

Each day, the children have a rice of some sort, a soup, typically kimchi (spicy cabbage), a protein of some kind, and a vegetable.  Generally speaking, this is the menu each day.  The type of each does change however, which offers a bit of delicious variety.  The children do not complain about the food, like they do in the States.  They accept what they are given and don't go into hysterics because they don't like something.  My 6 year olds (Korean age) accept the food on their trays and choose to eat it or not.  Super cool and a lot less stressful than my last kindergarten in the States where the children went ballistic if a food they hated touched their plates! 

Anyway, here is the breakdown for the week.  There is a picture for each day (except Wednesday...I forgot my phone for pics..sorry!) and they is also a description of the food.  I am NOT an expert and do not know the names of them all, so if you do, please feel free to write in the comments section.  Thanks!

MONDAY

 

From top left moving clockwise:

(1) a pork nugget in a sweet sauce
(2) kimchi, the spicy cabbage
(3) crab meat and bean sprouts
(4) sticky white rice
(5) seaweed soup

TUESDAY

 

 

From top left moving clockwise:

(1) dried seaweed with sesame seeds

(2) kimchi

(3) lo mein noodles with beef and carrots

(4) sticky white rice

(5) beef and tofu soup

 

WEDNESDAY

 

No Picture...Sorry!!

 

(1) chicken balls in sweet sauce

(2) kimchi

(3) squid (looks like the stalk of the bean spouts, only they were hard)

(4) white sticky rice with beans

(5) leafy green soup

 

THURSDAY

 

 

From top left moving clockwise:

 

(1) rice patty with seaweed

(2) zucchini with a spicy taste

(3) eggplant

(4) purple rice

(5) seafood gumbo (if you look closely, you can see the tentacles!  This was a medly of all kinds of sea creatures in a soup)

 

FRIDAY

 

 



 

 

From top left moving clockwise:

 

(1) salad (a rarity in Korea) made from lettuce and tomatoes in a sweet frothy yogurt dressing

(2) kimchi

(3) EMPTY!  I think because there is protein in the rice

(4) onion soup

(5) rice with ham

 

 

Well, I hope that was informative.  Hope you enjoy Debbie!  Could you make some of these at you school? ;)

 

 

맛 있는!



Convenience Store Drinks in Korea

March 16, 2014

This evening, my friend Stephanie and I performed an experiment on many of the different kinds of drinks sold at normal convenience stores.  In Korea, alcoholic beverages can be sold at these establishments, so they sell everything from hard alcohol to beers and wines.  Stephanie and I mainly chose a good sampling of basic, everyday kinds of drinks, since there was A LOT of different drinks to choose from.  We bought some delicious chewy chocolate cookies to help cleanse the palette.  :)

We took a picture of each drink and then described the color, thickness, and smell, along with noting the calories, before taking a sip.  We then described the taste and rated the drink on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being the worst and 10 being the best.  We tried ten drinks overall, and photographed many more in the store, without purchasing them.  I will begin with the ones we tasted.



(1)  Mint Chocolate Milk
       - Pre-Drinking Instructions:  Shake Well
       - Color: Medium Brown
       - Texture: Thick
       - Smell: Chocolate Smell
       -Taste: Tastes like Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookies!
       - Calories: 125 kCal
       - Comments: Very Good!  I am not much of a mint fan, but I still really enjoyed this drink.
       - Rating: Steph 15/10 (yes, she liked it!), Ash 10/10

 



(2) Banana Milk
       - Pre-Drinking Instructions: Does not come with a straw, however you typically poke a straw into the top and then drink.  Shake well.
       - Color: Light Yellow
       - Texture: Thick, looks like eggnog
       - Smell: Strong smell of bananas
       -Taste: Sweet and intense banana
       - Calories: 210 kCal
       - Comments: Good if you like bananas.  Comes in other flavors. 
       - Rating: Steph 6/10, Ash 7/10

 

(3) Coffee Milk



       - Pre-Drinking Instructions: Shake Well
       - Color: Tan
       - Texture: Semi-Thick
       - Smell: No Smell Present
       -Taste: Coffee taste present but not strong, slight BBQ smokey taste at the end
       - Calories: 120 kCal
       - Comments: Not very good.  Would not drink again.  Other flavors available such as strawberry and chocolate.
       - Rating: Steph 0/10, Ash 4/10

 

(4) Danish Drinking Yoghurt Strawberry



       - Pre-Drinking Instructions: Shake Well
       - Color: Light Pink
       - Texture: Fairly thick, but not as thick as the thinnest yogurt
       - Smell: Like Strawberry Yogurt
       -Taste: Tastes like thinner strawberry yogurt
       - Calories: 100 kCal
       - Comments: Great for breakfast with a hard-boiled egg.  Has probiotics and says on the label "55 Years of Danish-Korean Relations".  Comes in many different flavors.
       - Rating: Steph 10/10, Ash 10/10

(5) Soy Milk
       - Pre-Drinking Instructions:  Just open  :)
       - Color: Light Tan
       - Texture: A Little Thick
       - Smell: NOT a Good Smell when opened.  Smells of cold tofu.
       -Taste: Definite soy taste. 
       - Calories: 145 kCal
       - Comments: Similar to soy milk in the U.S. but this is thicker with a more pronounced soy flavor.  Had trouble reading the Hangul on the label (as you can see!).  Comes in different flavors. 
       - Rating: Steph 1/10, Ash 2/10

 

(6) Aloe Drink





       - Pre-Drinking Instructions:  Shake Well.
       - Color: Pale Green.
       - Texture: Thicker than water, has little bits of aloe plant floating in it.
       - Smell: Sweet Grass
       -Taste: Sweet and Refreshing
       - Calories: 80 kCal
       - Comments: Nice cold drink to have in the summer. 
       - Rating: Steph 9/10, Ash 9/10

 

(7) Apple Juice



       - Pre-Drinking Instructions:  Give a little shake.
       - Color: Pale Green Color
       - Texture: Fairly Thick for Juice
       - Smell: Faint Artificial Apple Smell
       -Taste: Thick Taste.  Nice Apple Flavor, still tastes artificial.
       - Calories: 65 kCal
       - Comments: Good summer drink, especially for children.  Also comes in peach.
       - Rating: Steph 7/10, Ash 7/10

 

 

(8) Bulhongsan  (We didn't know what it was when we bought it)

       - Pre-Drinking Instructions:  Just open

       - Color: Caramel Color
       - Texture: Thick like Liquid Caramel
       - Smell: Disgusting!!!  Flora smell, of plants and earth, but not in a good way.
       -Taste: We didn't want to try!!!  But, I did and I spit it out immediately.  Mild naturally fermented alcohol taste mixed with rotting wood and mold. 
       - Calories: 70 kCal
       - Comments: Steph compared it to cliff jumping.  It looks nice, but not something to partake in.
       - Rating: Steph didn't try, Ash -100/10 (yes, I gave it negative 100)

 

 

(9) Mojito



       - Pre-Drinking Instructions:  Comes with a straw.
       - Color: Pale Green
       - Texture: Kind of Thick
       - Smell:  PineSol Cleaner Smell.  Fragrant and sweet, but not too appetizing in a drink.
       -Taste: PineSol Cleaner!  Sweet and thick, but not too refreshing or minty.
       - Calories: 90 kCal
       - Comments: Would not try again.  Would rather mix my own drink than buy this.
       - Rating: Steph 3/10, Ash 3/10

 

 

(10) Fruit Drink



       - Pre-Drinking Instructions:  Just Open
       - Color: Dark red, like Merlot
       - Texture: Kind of Thick
       - Smell: Grape Juice Smell
       -Taste: Exactly like Welch's Grape Juice, sweet
       - Calories: 84 kCal
       - Comments: Great for a sweet fruity drink.  Good for kids.  Comes in MANY flavors.
       - Rating: Steph 7/10, Ash 8/10

 

 

Okay, so now we come to the section on drinks that we saw in the store, took pictures, but did not purchase and consume for various reasons.  Some drinks were pretty self-explanatory about what they were, others were a bit too pricey. 

 

To further fuel Korea's major addictions to coffee and coffee like products, one company created these drinks.  I have had the red one once at work.  It was like a chocolate milk, with a little latte flavor.  They are good and a nice cold-coffee substitute when you're in a bind at the convenience store.

 

 

 

Here are some more cold coffee products.  From the left there's Mild Caffe Latte, Caramel Machiato, and Mint Latte.  Come with straws and yet another quick, easy, and legal stimulant.

 

 

 



Dawn 808.  The quintessential hangover drink.  As described to me by Stephanie, you are to drink one of these before going to bed from a night of partying and it will prevent a hangover.  It's a small little can and inexpensive.  I like the picture of the man on the front smiling.  :)



 

 

Beta 500.  This little bottle if filled with some sort of either energy drink or vitamin C beverage.  It is a very small bottle, as are many bottle in Korea.

 

 

Hot 6.  As you can see, this is an energy drink, found right next to the Red Bull in the store.  If you say the name, it sounds like "Hot Sex".  Give it a try...it's fun to say!  It's a popular beverage and many people mix it with alcohol to make some interesting drinks.

 

 

 

Sprite in Korea.  I like the can and how it looks exactly like Sprite in the U.S. only the can is narrower and shorter, and the label is in Korean (so cool!).

 

 

 

Pine Bud Drink.  We are not sure what this is and wished we had bought it to try.  It just looked interesting.  Keep checking the blog to see if I gave it a try.  ;)

 

 

 

Bokbunjajoo, a Red Raspberry Wine.  This is a thicker wine, like a port, and is pretty tasty.

 

 

 

Dutch Latte.  I just like the name of this one, and the fact that it is  coffee drink in a can.

 

 

 

 Soju.  This is the drink of Korea.  It is very cheap (around $2) and can be found in every convenience store in Korea (practically).  It is a clear liquid with a lot of alcohol inside.  I have yet to try it, but I hear it is nasty.  Many people mix it with other flavored drinks, like vodka.  Steph tried it with Gatorade over the weekend and it wasn't so bad.  It can be used to clean windows and remove nail polish as well, in case you were interested. 

 

 

 

Makgeolli (spelled a million different ways) is the second quintessential drink of Korea.  It is made from rice and it between 5-6% alcohol and, like Soju, it is really cheap that the store.  I have had it a few times already and I prefer the homemade kind found in some restaurants. It is sometimes served in a communal way, with the drink in a large clay pot with a ladle that the youngest person dished out in small bowls for the table to all drink.  It is sweet, kind of thick, and can apparently give you a nasty hangover when too much has been drunk (I haven't had that much to know).  

 

 

 

So that about wraps up this edition of drinks.  I will post more blogs about food and drinks in the future.  Hope you enjoyed the sampling!

 

 

건배!

 

 

 

Love in Korea

March 14, 2014

 

Happy White Day Everyone!!!

As I was walking to work this morning, I noticed a lot of shops with grand displays outside containing flowers, chocolates, teddy bears, etc.  I have heard of White Day before, but was unsure of the exact date.  When I got to work I got the low-down.   

I entitled this blog “Love” because in Korea, love is big.  In the U.S., February 14^th is Valentine’s Day, where the man gives flowers, chocolate, and/or jewelry to his female love.  Well, in Korea this works differently.  Every month on the 14^th there is a love-related day that people celebrate.  The most popular ones are in February, March, and April.  Here’s the run down:

 

January 14^th: Diary Day

            This is the day when couples or close friends exchange diaries/journals to one another as a way for the other person to record events throughout the year.  More exactly, it’s a way for them to write about one another and their time together.

February 14^th: Red Day/Valentine’s Day

            Unlike in the States, in Korea on this day the woman must give the man a gift.  This is not only for a special love, but also for coworkers and friends.  The men don’t have to do anything except enjoy the gift.

March 14^th: White Day

            This is the day when the men have to return the favor and give something to the women.  The trick here is that the man must spend at least 3 times as much on their gift to her as she spent for him.  This is, of course, the case with love relationships.  In the workplace, the men can give small boxes of chocolates to their coworkers (as I received today).

April 14^th: Black Day

            This day is for all the single people out there!  This is a more recently created holiday that is becoming more popular every year.  On this day, everyone who is single and did not receive anything for Red or White day spent Black Day eating Black foods.  This may sounds gross, but in Korea, there are many delectable dishes that are black, such as jajangmyeon (자장면) (noodles in a black bean paste).

May 14^th: Yellow Day/Rose Day

            On this day, couples typically wear yellow clothes and exchange roses to one another.  Single people eat yellow curry.  Yum!

June 14^th: Kiss Day

            As stated in the title, this day is spent kissing the one you love as often as possible to show your love for one another.

July 14^th: Silver Day

            Not only is this French Independence Day, it is also a day in Korea when couples exchange silver rings, better known in the States as “promise rings”.  This is when they typically promise to get married, kind of like an engagement.  It is also when a lot of couples choose to introduce their loved one to their parents.

August 14^th: Green Day

            Couples spend this day hiking, walking through the park, and just enjoying the green spaces all around them.  Despite the busy areas, Korea has a lot of beautiful mountains and green spaces where couples can take leisurely strolls in the warm summer night.   Singles enjoy the alcoholic beverage called soju (소주), which comes in a green bottle. 

September 14^th: Photo Day/Music Day

            On this day, couples take photos together being all lovey-dovey and then spend the night at a noraebang (노래방), literally translated as “singing room”, otherwise known as a karaoke bar. 

October 14^th: Wine Day

            As clearly stated in the name of the day, couples spend their time drinking wine and enjoying each other’s company as the weather begins to turn chilly.

 

November 14^th: Movie Day

            Couples watch movies on this day, eating popcorn and holding hands.  Aww.

 

December 14^th: Hug Day

            HUGS!  People everywhere are hugging!

 

So that is a general outline of the Korean love holidays.  I hope that has been informative and helpful. 

My coworkers were so sweet today!  One male teacher handed out little boxes of chocolate for all of the women and I had some female coworkers giving out chocolates, doughnuts, and someone even brought in 호 두 과 사, which a DELICIOUS sweet walnut bread.  I ate quite a few!  One student brought me a bag of sticky taffy.

Walking home I saw many couples holding hands and being romantic.  One was walking through the park, hands clasped, with the woman holding a bouquet of flowers in her hand.  So romantic.  J

 

 

 

사랑해요!!

 

My School in Korea

March 3, 2014

 

Today was the first day of the new semester at my Hagwon (private school).  This means that the students were moved up to their new classes at a higher level and I was teaching all day long.  I really like the schedule though because I move from room to room to complete lessons.  This may sound like a drag, however I like conversing with different children throughout the day and teaching each group different subjects at different levels. 

The day begins by removing my shoes in the foyer and adorning some lovely slippers that match my outfit so well!  (sarcasm alert!).   This is a tradition in Korea. Even in the apartments there is a small foyer with which to remove the shoes before entering the household.  I believe it is a sign of respect to not make the house filthy as many in traditional Korean home slept and ate on the floor and didn’t want to make their living areas dirty.  So, I along with all of the other teachers and the children must change into slippers before entering the school.

My school is on the eighth floor of a building in the middle of a trendy area.  It is cool to go up an elevator to the eighth floor, remove my shoes in the foyer, and be able to have some pretty sweet views from that high up.  Also, there is a KFC and a Starbucks right across the street that I can see from my classroom window, and a Dunkin Donuts around the corner.  Really funny!   

I was assigned to work with the 6-1 and 6-2 classes in the kindergarten.  These are the children who are 6 years old Korean age.  This age is different than in the U.S.  As I was told, and I may be wrong, but when you are born, you are 1.  When the Lunar New Year occurs, another year is added on.  So, for example, I am 27 today in international age, but am 29 in Korean age. It is interesting and also very confusing at times.  Sometimes I am not sure how old the children actually are.  They seem so little! 

The school set up and children are also very different than my previous kindergarten in the U.S.  Here, the children have periods, like in an American high school, only they stay in their homerooms and the teachers move from room to room (probably because they are so little).  The children are also dressed in uniforms and bring their own backpacks with the school name and logo.  The foreign teacher’s job (i.e. me) is to make the children happy, otherwise the children will be unhappy, complain to their parents and I am in hot water.  So, we laugh, play games, and complete the correct number of workbook pages I have been assigned to work on. 

The workbook thing is something else that is completely different than my previous employer.  Before, I wrote all of my own lesson plans and made the curriculum based on the children’s interests and had play as the main focus of the day. Here, play is definitely incorporated, however it is in a limited space with limited time and little room for creativity.  The workbooks are something that I am not used to, however I do like them in a way. As long as not too many pages are assigned, I still have the freedom to make the learning fun with games and other activities.  The children also crave the workbooks, since they have been using them from an early age, and the parents expect their children to complete the books as it is an indication of the amount they have learned.  For example if Susie doesn’t finish her book, then she is behind and not smart.  This is something that is a bit more challenging to get used to culturally, but I accept it as is because I am assimilating into their culture.  I can see the results of this method.  On the one hand, the children are losing creativity and statistically Korean adults are some of the unhappiest in the world, however education wise, the children are incredibly advanced!  They are fluidly speaking, reading, listening, and writing 2 languages by early elementary age.  It is massively impressive.  I think Americans (politicians) really needs to get their butts into gear and work on the education system in the U.S.  Working on key skills in early childhood and a adopting a stricter system and curriculum will, in my opinion, yield far better results so we won’t be subpar with the world in education. 

In terms of names, the children are also all assigned English names from the beginning of their induction into the school.  Some of the names are cute, trendy, and compliment the child, whereas other names are old fashioned and do not match the child at all!  It is kind of amusing. It does, though, make remembering all of their names even more difficult because their names don’t really match who they are.  It’s tough, but also important for them to begin their English immersion at the school.

Only English can be spoken at the Hagwon, and the children are reprimanded with a stern word when they speak Korean.  Obviously this is more relaxed with the younger children, simply because they don’t know very much English.  The teacher of the 5years said that many of her children only knew the word “pickles”! 

The children also receive a hot lunch everyday (as do I as I partake with the children).  I enjoy the hot meal with them as it is a good time to continue English learning with manners and a good way to get to know them better (such as who is the slowest eater in class!).  Every day, the children take out their lunch trays from the backpacks along with their spoon and chopsticks.  The tray has 5 little compartments: 2 large and 3 small.  The rice is served in the large compartment on the left hand side with the soup served on the right.  Kimchi (the spicy cabbage) is always served as well and is placed in the top middle small area.  The other two small compartments are a vegetable and a protein of some kind (tofu, egg, chicken, etc).  The cook is amazing!  Not only is she a very nice woman, she is also an excellent cook!  The rice is always perfect and I love the veggies and Kimchi.  Yum!

By 2:30, the kindergarten children on the bus and heading home and the elementary kids start coming in.  They have already been to school all day and are at the Hagwon to learn English. Obviously their curriculum is more intense because they are older and have acquired more English-speaking skills.  They are able to read far better than a lot of American children older than them, and the Korean children are reading in their second language!  I am still amazed at how far along these children are. 

Overall, the children are very kind, cute, and respectful.  They know the routines well and I really have very little discipline problems.  Yeah, some are very chatty and silly in class, but the small class sizes make these issues much easier to handle. In some classes I have seven children, others I have ten.  In one elementary class in the afternoon I only have two students!  I am really impressed with how the children really do act like sponges and I can see their progress so quickly!  They speak English much better than I thought they would before I arrived in Korea.  They amaze me.  J

좋은 하루!

Seoul Hiking from Dongdaemun to Seodaemun and Prison Museum

March 1, 2014

I had an awesome Saturday!  Last week I signed up to do a hike around Seoul with the Seoul Hiking Group on Facebook.  It was the best decision!  The night before a friend showed me how to use the subway system and it is super easy!  You just take your transport card (to be bought and filled at any convenience store or at the station) and then you swipe in upon entering the terminal and then find your line.  Now from where I live, there is only Line 1, which is one of the main lines, luckily.  For today's trip, I just had to stay on this line for about and hour and twenty minutes until I reached Dondaemun Station.  So in the morning, I walked to the station (I may have gotten on the wrong road, but I got myself to the station anyway!) and got on the incorrect platform.  I didn’t think it was correct so I asked a Korean man, “Seoul Yuk?” which means Seoul Station.  He pointed me to the right direction.  I thanked him in Korean and then hopped over to the correct place. 

I met up with the group outside of the Dongdaemun station and we set off from there walking.  We walked straight from the bustling city streets of Seoul to mountains all in a few steps.  We climbed and climbed and climbed!  The amount of stair-steps I walked today astounds me.  I wish I brought a pedometer to measure all of the steps.  Anyway, we walked along the fortress wall that once surrounded a vast area of Korea to protect it from outside soldiers.  It was built over 500 years ago, and some of the original stone still remains.  Along the way were traditional Korean homes that people are still living in as well as pagodas in little niches adjacent to the wall.

 

   

Along the walks on the street I saw a shop with a traditional Korean garb displayed in the window.  I have seen this before, however I am still amazed at how vastly different it is from the Japanese kimono when Japan is so close to Korea in location.  I like the Korean clothing, however, with the large dress at the bottom and the stylized jacket on top.  I haven’t learned the names of each of these pieces yet, but I will!

 

As we climbed higher, the views became more and more amazing.  Unfortunately Saturday was not the best day for this hike simple because of the high amount of smog that blew over from China.  That definitely made me sad.  On a clear day, you could see all of Seoul and beyond from the tops of those mountains! 

 

The hike itself was definitely a heart-pounder because of the incredible amount of steps to undertake!  Ahjummas (older ladies) were passing us, so I knew that it could be done.  I felt like an out-of-shape American with the Koreans not only passing me, but passing me well dressed! I was huffing and puffing, along with all the other foreigners in my group. 

 

We continued along the wall climbing and then we reached the military area, where I had to fill out a paper about myself and they had to check my passport.  After this, I then wore a tallow tag around my neck to identify me as a visitor.  You may ask yourself, “Could I place my yellow tag under my jacket?” and the answer is most definitely NO.  Some foreigners did and the guard, and there were A LOT along the way, stopped them and told them to keep it out. Some of the men were actually military in their camouflage gear and holding a serious rifle.  It was kind of frightening.  So, I stayed in line and kept my tag out! 

At one point in the climb, we stopped at a resting area and I saw that we had climbed 293 meters above sea level so far.  Then I turned and saw the next part of the mountain to climb.  It was steep and high!  I was very glad for a break to rest and have some delicious chocolate tea biscuits another hiker gave to me.     

After climbing the really steep next part, we reached the top and it was 342 meters up.  A large boulder was there and I climbed on to get my picture taken.  I was at the very top of the mountain!  It was really amazing…until a Korean man gruffly told me to move in Korean!  Well, I enjoyed my minute at the top!

 

Then there was more climbing on top of more mountains and very steep steps or rocks down.  I bit scary, but I survived!  We walked around to a place called the Zen Rock where people go to pray for many things, such as for children. We had to be completely silent there and we watched as the men and women lit incense and candles and knelt on mats in front of the rock to pray. It was beautiful being so high up the mountain in a peaceful area where you feel that you are becoming one with your surroundings. It was awe-inspiring. 

We then climbed down this mountain and made our way to the more bustling parts of Seoul where we stopped at an old prison and looked around.  It was VERY busy, mainly because in Korea, March 1^st is Independence Movement Day in Korea.  I saw the prison cells where they had fake prisoners and guards randomly placed.  They were creepy looking!  There were more ceremonies outside for this special day and on the buildings outside were two GIANT Korean flags.  They were really huge!

 

Finally it was dinner time and Warren, our leader, took us to a hole-in-the-wall Korean BBQ restaurant in a marketplace.  They ordered some makgeolli, a rice based alcoholic drink, which was really good, and then they grilled the pork on the circular BBQ in the middle of the table.  I had the tofu soup which was spicy and delicious! 

 

Overall it was a fantastic day and I will definitely be signing up for more hikes with Warren in the future.  I was so happy be outdoors getting exercise and meeting new and interesting people along the way.  I definitely made a lot of friends yesterday and left feeling very happy (though my quads will probably hurt tomorrow from all those steps!).    

 

평화