Key Winter Pick-ups

Sweet Egg Bread:

Although it is merely a cracked egg on top of a sweet biscuit, this korean delicacy has transformed my life. I've been going almost every night during my walk home from school. I usually get two. One for before dinner and one for after. Maybe I should mix it in with my tuna/rice combo? Add a little zip to the bap (rice in Korean).

I went late last night to the stand for round two of sweet egg bread and two drunk korean men were loading up on the dessert. Their faces were red and they laughed greedily, looking first at the stand, then back at me, then back at the stand, as the cook shoveled 5 into their bags.

I came up and asked for one bread. She crossed her hands. "No." No more.

I snapped a look at the 2 korean men and felt betrayed. I felt like somebody had just thrown out a brand new can of tuna fish or I was forced to work on Christmas Day. Wait, I do have to work on Christmas Day. That made me even angrier.

I looked at the egg bread, as they stuffed it into their mouths. I felt like pulling a Bilbo Baggins when he sees the ring around Frodo's neck for the first time.

But then I went to the corner store and bought a Snickers.

Winter Jacket:

A teacher who recently left passed this along to me. Much needed and much appreciated. Thank you Jonathan. Although my Botanical Garden jacket is comfortable and has been through a lot of ornamental conifer collections, holiday train shows and keg parties, I had to retire it to the closet for something warmer.

The black "Redface" (Not to be confused with Northface) has a hood and padded outer layers. Full-proof for the winter, I hope.

I didn't wash the jacket when it was given to me for two reasons. First, because I'm not too sure if you're supposed to wash this type of material. Will it shrink? Are you supposed to wash any clothing with zippers? I think I've washed my dress pants like twice since I've been here. No iron, no dryin'. I'm never too sure.

Second, I know jonathan would not wash it if I had given him my jacket (I don't know if he washes anything.) So, secondly, out of respect for Jonathan.

Blanket and Pillow:

I was cleaning up my apartment the other day and I found another heavy blanket that I can use for the winter! I've slept with it the past two nights. Very nice and very warm. Glad I found it before December. Probably would've had to sleep in Jonathan's jacket.

Also, found a bed pillow underneath my bed. I was kind of curious if I even had one for the past 3 months. I'd been using a small pillow that would usually be found on a couch or large chair. Very frustrating. But now I'm pretty much set at night. Just need to find one of these to complete my bedding experience. All the rage in Korea.

Toaster Oven:

Tuna Melts, Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwiches, bagels, BLTs, French Fries. Man. Sounds like a breakfast date between Louie Andersen and Rosie O'Donnell. And, yes. I can now make all of these foods using my toaster oven. I've only had a couple Bacon, Egg and Cheese sandwiches and a few bagels. Really a quality pick-up.

However, I have nowhere to put the oven, so I use it from the floor next to my bathroom. Hopefully the chord doesn't get too wet.

Louie, Louie

Stay Kool Korea

As I was sitting inside a Dunkin' Donuts this morning, sipping a cappuccino with 6 packets of sugar and chewing on a cinnamon raisin bagel, I noticed something. (The cinnamon raisin bagel had cream cheese in it. But, that's not what I noticed. Thing is, I've always sworn to never eat this kind of bagel with c.c. because it's so good with butter. I just can't figure out how to ask for butter in Korean. I don't think this Dunkin Donuts has it. I asked the first day and it seems like they either have cream cheese or olive oil?? I don't know.)

Anyway, the thing I noticed was how differently Koreans treat their jobs than Americans.

Let's use a Dunkin' Donuts establishment and their employees as primary examples.

Establishment:

In America, most people don't even walk into Dunkin'. A drive-thru is much more convenient and cuts down on any awkward, social interactions. There's no pressure to ask anybody how their day is going or even mutter a simple "Hello." You yell a number into a machine and they give you a very muffled price number back. You yell again and hit the intercom with your hand. Eventually, the machine's static breaks up and you get your cash amount. You get to the window to pay and give them the money. They give you your coffee and donut. And you're off. You don't even have to look at the person if you don't want to. It's the food you want. Who cares about greeting the person who made it and gave it to you? They are inconsequential. A nameless hand that brings that donut ever closer to your drooling mouth.

In Korea, there are no drive-thrus. At least, here in Chuncheon there are none. Reasons could be because the city-setup does not allow for one, or for the fact that meal-time should not be rushed. It should be a time of rest and should be treated with both courtesy and time. You walk into the Donut shop, and are automatically greeted with a hello, service and a smile. You place an order and are given a tray with your coffee, donut or bagel promptly. The woman or man working hands you the tray with two hands and voices some more Korean phrases (I hope they are not cursing at me). I have also never really seen a customer take food to go. It's really frowned upon here. So, I generally sit and enjoy my food instead of eating it on the run or bringing it into my classroom. When I leave, the employees say goodbye and thank you.

Employees:

Dunkin' Donuts' employees in America can usually be found out by the back dumpster smoking a cigarette. Many times they are high school dropouts, young baby mamas or too cool to take their job too seriously. This last part is a characteristic true of many customer service jobs in America. I was like this when I worked at both Quassy Amusement Park in CT and the Botanical Gardens in Da Boogie Down. I had to pretend like I hated my job, because it just wasn't cool to like it. I'd forget my name tag on purpose, untuck my shirt or not wear part of my uniform. I had to pretend like I was above driving a tram or untangling fishing poles at the Frog Pond. It's the American way. These types of jobs are seen as low-class and bottom barrel to the general public and I, the guy who was actually working this job, thought of it in a similar fashion.

I was 15 years old at Quassy and 20 at the Gardens. Should I really have been working somewhere else? That's the age where you do that type of work. Why couldn't I just have

accepted that and done a good, conscientious job?

Taking my job seriously at NYBG :

In Korea, it seems to be an honor to work at one of these customer service shops or stores. The women at Dunkin' or Paris Baguette or E-Mart are all in the same uniform. At Dunkin' they all have name tags, small pink caps and matching blouses/shirts/pants. They also seem excited to be at their job and show respect to any individual that walks through the door. Pride is something taken very seriously in any job here in Korea. There is no complaining, groans when a new customer walks through the door (something I did constantly at Quassy) or excuses. This may be because the general public in Korea do not look down upon these jobs. Employees are employees. A job is a job. It is respected by both the worker and customer.

These employees are always rushing to help someone with an order, make a cup of cocoa or greet a new customer. Their jobs are important to them and they look important because of this strictly bidness attitude. This is refreshing to a US customer who is generally not given this type of service back home. Coolness is not really in the Korean lexicon when it comes to the workplace. It's about doing things with great consideration. It's about doing things with great dignity.

Shit. That's cooler than cool...Ice cold.

You gonna eat that?

Food in Korea. It's something I've mentioned but not really gone into detail about.

After not eating Korean food at all in America, I was preparing my body for the worst. I figured that after the first week, I'd probably be lying down in the bathroom, clutching the toilet seat, fighting down the golden retriever puppy I had just shared with my roommate.

But actually, it has been quite the opposite. The food in Chuncheon has been especially delicious.

There's food called dalkabi. It's flavored meat that you get raw and throw on a grill that's placed in the middle of your table. Really tasty and filling. We usually mix it with a slice of lettuce, some peppers and ketchup/honey mustard.

Side Note: Many of the Korean barbecue places have these grills in the middle of your table. The waiters/waitresses bring out different kinds of raw meat for you to cook. Don't get me wrong, the food is excellent once its cooked. Its seasoned and extremely flavorful.

But what is exactly the point of "going out to eat." Isn't it because you are too lazy to cook at home and want someone else to do all the work for you? I know that I go out because I'm a terrible cook and would like a pro to take care of the entire cooking process for me. I'm terrible at grilling and embarrass myself almost every time I go to one of these self-grill places. When I sit down, I try to maneuver myself so that the grilling tools aren't placed next to me. Sometimes, I'll even get up to use the bathroom when I think the waiter is coming or scrunch up my fingers up so he thinks I'm handicapped.

Restaurants should really do everything for you. They could even hire somebody to sit at your table and actually feed you the food off your plate. That would be the ultimate.

Anyways, there's another famous dish in Chuncheon called Gungjichun. It's an enormous amount of pork and potatoes seasoned in a spicy sauce. Really good, but very hot. You really work up a good sweat while eating it. Good alternative to the gym.

Donkas Kimbaps are also things I eat weekly. Pork, rice, and melon are wrapped tightly into a roll that is similar to the rolls sushi is wrapped in. Very filling. Also, a good, quick meal before class.

Rice is served with almost every meal. I've become a huge fan. It can go with anything. I bought a huge bag and eat it for almost every "meal" I cook at home. Chicken and rice, tuna and rice, pork and rice. Tuna and rice is a staple in my Korean diet. It's not that it's tasty or filling. Just easy to make.

I also throw scrambled eggs into almost all my meals. I don't know why. It doesn't really add anything. Probably just because it's the 4th (and last) thing I can make. That is, if you don't count cereal. Dumping some frosted flakes into the mix would combine all of my cooking abilities into one, disgusting bowl. I hope to learn how to cook someday.

There's one more food that is relatively new to my neighborhood. New to me anyway. Don't know what it's called, but it is delicious. Its a cracked egg on top of a piece of sweet bread. There seems to be some kind of cream in the middle of the bread, but I really can't put my finger on it. I just eat it. I usually grab one on my way back from work.

I actually grabbed one tonight before coming home, and had to make my way through a group of drunk, teenage Koreans. They immediately cleared a path and began saying hello, how are you? Very friendly.

They were excited to see a foreigner enjoying one of their local treats. Similar to how I would feel if a Korean came to Waterbury, CT and bought a container of Stop and Shop Chunky Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Aint nothin' better.

Anyway, one of the girls was extremely excited and tried to feed me a spicy noodle that was next to the egg breads. I didn't want to be rude and opened my mouth, taking in the noodle. The spice shocked my tongue and I immediately spit it back out. It landed right on my shirt. They all laughed. Smoovin and groovin. Just like my days back in Alumni South.

The Royal Treatment (And a visit from my mama-dukes)

Think of how the Beatles were treated during one of their international tours. How each city embraced them, spent A-rod amounts of money to please them and made sure they were so comfortable that they felt uncomfortable being that comfortable in the first place.

That's how I felt this past weekend hanging out with my mom and a very rich, very generous Korean woman in Seoul.

Friday after school, a private car was arranged to pick me up and bring me to my mom's hotel in Seoul. I was of course late to the pick-up spot. Once I got to the car, I began to apologize to the man, but instead of being angry, he began apologizing to me. I didn't really know how to react. But he did seem extremely apologetic, bowing his head and muttering "I'm sorry" almost 10 times. He must've done something really bad, I thought. "Oh, Don't worry about it," I said to him. Maybe he hit somebody with his car on the way to Chuncheon.

The drive was extremely comfortable. And to make sure it was comfortable, the very rich and very generous woman who arranged the car called me to see if it was actually comfortable. Yes, I told her. It is very comfortable and very convenient. She asked me 5 more times if the car was good enough. Yes, I told her. Riding on the back of a motorbike would've been good enough. As long as it's door-door service. As long as I don't have to move or make any big decisions.

I arrived in Seoul a short while later and saw my MOM! It was very nice to see her after a few months. The hotel was amazing as well. JW Marriot. I had a great weekend with my mom. She had a lot of traveling to do throughout Asia for her job and I was glad she could spend a couple days with me. I love you mom. You are appreciated.

Saturday I saw more of Seoul than I'd ever and probably will ever see. I went to this beautiful palace downtown that once housed kings and queens from the Josean Dynasty. The Josean Dynasty ruled Korea from the late 1300s until Japanese takeover in 1910. The Japanese then attempted to eliminate every part of the Korean culture and enforce their own influences on to the Korean people. Koreans were forced to learn Japanese in school and substitute their nation's history for a foreign one. They were extremely oppressed. Coincidentally, this is also the time when Soju distillers switched the bottle's alcohol content from 20 to 25%.

After the palace, we went to Insadong and Itaewon. These are the major foreign areas in South Korea. My mom bought some traditional Korean items in Insadong and some Adidas sneaks for me in Itaewon. I almost picked out some purple, yellow and white adidas' but felt like those days were over. Can't pull it off anymore. Could I ever? Man, could I ever: #22 on white. Fresh to death.

I wanted to take her to the "I-taewon-der what I'm doing here" street, but thought better of it. It was Halloween night and things could've gotten a little strange. It was only 5 pm and I was already having trouble telling who was dressed up for Halloween or who was just wearing their everyday attire.

At the end of the night, we went to a traditional Korean dance performance. It started off slow, but by the end I was amazed. These performers were great dancers and showed extraordinary rhythm on the drums. It was also interesting to hear the musicians play traditional Korean instruments. We heard a pansori performance and Pungmul show. Pansori involves one Ajama(old korean woman) and a solo drummer. The Ajama narrates a story to the soft beat. Pungmul is much louder with dancing, multiple drums and yelling.

Pungmul performance:

They also brought up audience members near the end. An older Korean man, who looked like he had had about 4 bottles of soju, went up still holding his programs and began doing the twist. He looked like he had no idea where he was. Really funny. If I recall correctly, I think he was wearing pajamas.

We had a nice dinner that night and were all ready for bed soon after. Thank you to Mrs. Shin for a great day and rides to and from Seoul. I was uncomfortable with the level of comfortability. She was a great tour guide and a pleasure to be with. Also, great to see you Mom. Hope the rest of your Asian trip goes well. I will see you next year.

DMZ

This past Saturday, I headed up to the DMZ for a US military led tour. Seven other teachers and myself left at about 8 am and arrived in Seoul for the tour bus at around 10. The bus left Seoul City and drove along the Freedom Highway (the highway that leads up to North Korea) for about an hour. Once the Freedom Highway hits the North, it suddenly turns into a spiraling pit of quicksand. Jussst a joke. I don't know what it turns into. I wouldn't be here if I did.

Eventually we began seeing signs of border patrol. Barbed wire fences lined one side of the highway with military posts stationed periodically throughout.

The tour guide motioned to the left, across the Indian River, a body of water which separates parts of the South from the North. We saw our first North Korean territory. Honestly, the area looked like some distant planet. Completely lifeless. No trees, no people, no wildlife. No movement at all. Very strange. Our tour guide told us that Kim Jong Il uses all of the countries' trees for fuel. I think Lil' Kim from Junior Mafia would make for a more competent leader of North Korea. When male, world leaders got into arguments about North Korea's missile tests or their inability to function in the 21st century. She could offer up one of her famous quotes: “How can a man have beef with a woman? Whatever, that's just not cool.”

She would at least spruce up North Korea's strict dress code.

The rest of the tour was pretty long and drawn out. But the finale was worth the trip. We entered into a joint US/SK military base that was located directly on the border. The base is fairly large. Probably about 75 acres. Our American tour guide showed us a short powerpoint video and then brought outside the SK Freedom building. When the 40 of us stepped outside on to the terrace, a wall of deafening silence smacked us in the face. It was quieter than a mime in a library.

We were facing North Korea. The tension was unreal. It was about 20 feet away. About 10 feet away, directly on the border, there were three small buildings. Two of the buildings held negotiation rooms and the 3rd was known as the "monkey house." It was called the monkey house because North Korean commanders would send 10-15 NK soldiers into the building to make threatening gestures at South Korean generals as they were holding meetings. They would point the guns to their heads or move their hands across their throats. Very childish.

Also, there were two big buildings on either side of the line. They both face each other. We walked out of one; the Freedom Building. When both were first built, the Freedom was taller than the building on the NK side. Kim Jong Il would not be outdone. Quickly, he had a 3rd deck constructed on top of the 2nd. Now both structures are equal in size. Il also committed similar actions in a North Korean village. A 100 meter South Korean flagpole was given as a gift by SK officials to the small town. A nice gesture I think.

Il immediately ordered a North Korean flagpole to be constructed. 160 meters. The pole is enormous and the flag is so heavy it takes about 30-40 men to hoist it everyday. Talk about Napoleon complex.

There were also a couple other stories that our US tour guide told. While we were inside the negotiation room, he told us that once, during a meeting in this same room between Bush Jr. and a South Korean official, North Korean soldiers burst through a door thought to be locked. The soldiers grabbed the US and SK flags and stomped all over them. They also used them to blow their noses. I wonder what Bush said once they locked the doors back up?

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun. We went out into Seoul afterwards and enjoyed a nice night out in the Hongik University district. We danced in some western clubs, ate some Quiznos and had a Gwangju-esque return back to Chuncheon. Needless to say, I'm still exhausted and can't type anymore. Influenza is a real possibility. My mom is coming this weekend. Maybe she can put a warm cloth on my head and everything will be all right.

Here is a picture of me at the DMZ standing next to a South Korean soldier in North Korea.

I also have a video of me moon-walking in North Korea. I will post later.