freaky footed fish

Since Liam loves looking at the fish for sale here (as in to be cut up and eaten fresh, fresh, fresh), we've seen pretty much every species of fish eaten in Korea. We've seen these ugly guys (not the ugliest, however, that title belongs to the Pacific Lumpsucker) around before, but just realized recently that they have FEET. What kind of crazy, mutant fish has FEET? No, that's a real question. When I google "Korea fish feet," the results I get are all for "doctor fish," the fish I wrote about yesterday which nibble the dead skin off your feet. Does anyone know what these fish are called?

(I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. The fish were in a weird-shaped tank.)

dunkin' donuts: korean style

Dunkin' Donuts is a little different here. Although some of the "normal" donuts are still available, they also have unusual options, like sweet potato muffins, glutinous rice donuts, and most recently (as part of an "international line" kimchi or "lentils curry" croquettes.



We were all a little skeptical (including Rowan), but my mother-in-law decided to buy one for everyone to try.



It was actually really good. So good that later in the week, when Matthew and I left the boys with his parents to go on a morning "date," and realized, yet again, that most coffee shops in Korea don't open until noon, and ended up at DD, I had my own curry croquette and Matthew tried the kimchi one. The kimchi was actually quite delicious as well, confirming my opinion that cooked kimchi is okay.



This is just Liam trying to be as cool as the guy on the advertisement.

huh?

The doorbell rang this morning. Liam and I were eating ice cream after a trip to the playground. Matthew & Rowan were taking a nap in the bedroom, so I answered the door.

It was a strange man. The first thing he said was, "아기?" and then in English, "baby?" He was kind of looking past me at Liam, but I couldn't figure out what he wanted. The next thing he asked was, "American?" I answered, "Yes." He then switched to Korean, which I didn't understand and told him as much in Korean.

Usually, unexpected visitors either (a) have the wrong apartment, in which case they quickly apologize and leave, (b) are building maintenance workers there to check the gas line or spray, in which case they show me their clipboard and equipment, etc., or (c) want to convert me to their religion, including the teenage Mormon "elders" (one Korean, one American) who were very shocked to see a white woman answer the door. This guy didn't fit into any of those categories. I couldn't understand what he wanted at all.

"What do you want?" I asked in English. See what a witty conversationalist I am? The whole time he was just kind of smiling weirdly. "I don't know what you want, so I'm just going to shut the door," I said. He was already starting to walk away as I did so.

I realize that living here has made me paranoid, but if I had to hazard a guess, I would say he came by just to get a look at the foreign kid. I'll probably never know, though, which is one of the things about living here that is so frustrating.

notebooks and a t-shirt

Every week I correct diary entries for one of the Korean teachers at Matthew's school. (Her English is nearly flawless, but I do have that lovely English Education degree, so I might as well use it for something.) Some of the notebooks that the students use are hilarious. I took pictures of some of my favorites.

Korean kids really love candy...


But when it comes to people, they are realistic...


In the end, after double redemption, you can only rely on yourself...
(Love that ENGLISH, of all words, is misspelled.)


This is actually my notebook, which the package misled me to believe was rosemary-scented. It is not. Luckily, it's not bulgogi- or kimchi-scented, either.


And, finally, a t-shirt we spotted in the traditional market area. Such sweet sentiments...

the haps

Interesting (to me, anyway) and random events from the past few weeks:

Crazy Weather
We had a solar eclipse (about 70% here in Korea) yesterday, but it was so overcast that you could barely even tell. I really hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying this, but we've had unseasonably cool (read: livable) weather so far this month. Last year, July 5th was the beginning of almost two solid months of "air conditioning weather": hot, sticky, yuck.

Couch Surfing 101
After Matthew invited home a random Dutch backpacker he met at the bus stop several weeks ago, we decided that hosting couch-surfers actually works okay for our family. Since changing our status to allow guests, we've had a Swiss tourist and two expat English teachers from Seoul stay with us. Since Matthew's profile clearly states that we have two young children, we've had guests who like kids. We have another American coming this weekend, and could easily end up hosting all summer unless we decline.

When Halmonis (grandmothers) attack:
One Saturday afternoon, we got on a bus going downtown. Since Matthew was carrying the stroller, I was carrying Rowan and holding Liam's hand. There were no open seats and no one moved to give theirs up, so I instructed Liam to hold on to the handle corner of one seat, while I held one of the handle ring hanging from the ceiling. I heard the voice of an older woman, and caught a few familiar words including "baby" before one of the middle school boys right by us got up. I helped Liam sit down. The voice became a little more persistent and another boy surrendered his seat. I sat down and turned to the woman who had been speaking. I thanked her, which let her know that I understood at least some of what she was saying. That was all the encouragement she needed. She became louder, haranguing the boys for all to hear. The gist of her lecture was, "When a woman with children gets on the bus, you give up your seat now, now, NOW!" They didn't look at her, but kept their eyes downcast, which is the proper way to respond to a scolding. When she got off the bus, I gave her a little nod (head bow) and smiled. Sometimes halmonis totally rock.

And I learned...
...Fenugreek (a "galactagogue," which sounds like something off of Star Trek) is apparently illegal in South Korea. (That doesn't mean that foreigners don't bring it in, or that they aren't willing to share extra.)
...how to say "It's not f***ing cold" really, really politely. Will I ever actually say that to an overly-pushy halmoni who insists my child is improperly dressed? Probably not, but knowledge is power, right?
...it feels really good to squirt kids with a super-soaker when they call me waegook (foreigner). (It was a one-time thing. Liam was using some girl's super soaker and I had just finished helping him with something on it. These kids have seen me many times before, so it was just ridiculous. Maybe I should start carrying a squirt gun with me for that purpose.)
...gim is really good wrapped around rice and tuna salad (tuna + mayonnaise). It's my minimalist/ghetto version of chamchi (tuna) gimbap.

be afraid. be very afraid.

This is the next generation:



Liam and some of our friends' children at our "Pagan Spring Fertility Brunch," on the day most of the western world calls "Easter."

KOREA SPARKLING!

Dear Korean Tourism Organization,

I've seen your KOREA SPARKLING ad campaign and read that you hope to attract 10 million tourists to South Korea by 2010. You're quickly approaching that deadline, so I have some suggestions for making South Korea a bit more tourist-friendly.

Don't get me wrong, South Korea is a beautiful country. The geography alone is stunning. The traditional architecture and Buddhist temples are fascinating. Korea has a rich history and culture, which are well-documented at various museums and monuments throughout the country. I hear the shopping is fantastic, although that's not really "a cup of my tea." And, not to be ignored, Korea has a flair for the quirky: penis parks, museums dedicated to random collections (i.e. the Edison & Gramophone Museum in Gangnueng), odd theme restaurants and bars (like the odd metal spaceship-esque bar here in Sokcho), etc.

However, there are a few things you could do to clean up Korea a bit and make it, um, sparkle more.

1. Put in public garbage cans (AKA rubbish bins). There is a dearth of places to throw away trash in public areas. (Bus stops are the exception.) As a result, there is garbage everywhere. The other day, my family was riding the gatbae across Lake Cheungcho. An elderly woman finished her yogurt drink and tossed the plastic container into the lake. The city playground near my apartment is always covered in trash, including broken soju bottles. Conveniently placed garbage cans would alleviate this unsightly issue.

2. Replace more of the squat toilets. Squat toilets are the bane of my existence here in Korea. I'm sure many foreigners (especially of the female gender) feel the same way. Some restrooms, such as the one at our local intercity bus terminal, have a stall marked "Foreigners Only" with a Western-style toilet. However, this stall is often occupied by Koreans, so obviously the local people also prefer not having to hunker down on their haunches to relieve themselves.

3. Educate people about the proper care of pets, dogs in particular. Puppies are cute and entertaining, but they do grow up. Adult dogs need to be bathed and walked. Westerners do not like to see beautiful, but filthy, dogs tied up on 2 foot ropes. Seeing dogs ill-treated reminds us that some Koreans still eat dog, and we know that you want the world to forget that.

None of these changes detract from the Korean experience, but instead allow Korea to truly sparkle.

Kind regards,
Legal alien #******-666****
(That's really part of my ID number. I can't make this stuff up.)

a picture is worth...?

W10,000 to the first person to explain this to me.
(Location: the waiting room outside the nursery at JoongAng birthing hospital)

another one for the "what were they thinking?" file

Stampede at fire festival kills 4 in South Korea

We have our own Fire Festival (AKA Fire Water Festival) going in Sokcho (right across the main road in Expo Park) this week. Luckily, Sokcho officials seem to be a bit brighter than those in Cheongnyeong. All fires here are self-contained.

Summer break: Gangneung

Gangneung is the city of about 250,000 just an hour's bus ride south of Sokcho. In the past, we've only seen the downtown area. Although it does include a McDonald's and several movie theaters, it's otherwise unimpressive. During our break, we decided to check out some of the more picturesque parts of Gangneung.

It rained during most of our time there, but we had lunch in "Tofu Town," soup made with fresh bean curd, served with rice and a few sides. Then we walked in the rain to the nearby lake, where we rented a family bike, so very touristy of us. It stopped raining during our ride, so we were able to enjoy our stroll past rice fields on the way back to the bus stop. The next time we visit, there are some cultural/historical sites we'd like to see, but it was a rather impromptu day. (We had actually planned to visit a temple on the other side of Mt. Seorak, but we would have waited several hours for the next bus there.)

The random picture is three guys in matching hot pink polo shirts (all with collars up) walking together around the lake. It's a Korean thing, I guess.

an amazing walk in the rain

On Saturday, it looked like our entire week of vacation was going to be rainy. (This has turned out not to be the case, but weather forecasts aren't always correct.) We had spent some time downtown in the morning, but decided to take a walk in the country, with a fruit orchard and the accompanying roadside stand as our destination.

Liam rode on Matthew's shoulders most of the way there, just enjoying the scenery. We passed a construction site with building machines (just like on Bob the Builder!) that prompted a chorus of "Wow! Wuzdat?" for the next five minutes. After meandering through neighborhoods of traditional houses, we broke into open country. The rice fields are a brilliant shade of green this time of year. Fruit orchards, with apple, pear and peach trees, alternate with vegetable gardens. There was even a small herd of cows, hiding from the rain in their stalls, and several families of dogs in their kennels. Ducks and geese wandered through the fruit orchard. We bought a huge bag of peaches for W5,000 (about $5) which, although they aren't as ripe as ones we'd buy in the States, make good peach crisp.

Liam walked back, splashing in the water that streamed down hills and swirled into the drains. We decided to stop at a cafe on the way back. We had seen signs advertising (in Korean) "Cafe 900 Meters", "Cafe 700 Meters," etc. From a gravel parking lot, we passed through a small entry way surrounded by interesting wooden faces. We walked up the narrow path through the lush woods, passing several water features, pottery arrangements, and an interesting variety of wood and metal statues, including the Blues Brothers and a random non-Korean-looking soldier. As we got closer to the main building, we noticed small cabin-like buildings in the surrounding trees. When we reached the main building, the waiter who came out to greet us explained that besides the main building, there were "bungalows." He led us to one of the bungalows, a small wooden building with full windows on three walls, two of which opened. Inside the only furnishings were a shoe rack, a low wooden table, a fan, and a stack of floor cushions. We ordered coffee and kiwi juice (more of a smoothie) which came with a small assortment of packaged cookies. What a find! We had our own little retreat in the woods. We'll definitely bring people here in the future.