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You mean I'm supposed to eat that? …Life as an ESL teacher in Korea.

Posts Tagged fun

Adventure Thailand

Feb 5

Posted by Tiffany in Thailand

Where to begin?

After our exhausting travel out of Korea, life has become extremely pleasant.   Landing in Bangkok, Thailand instantly brought a smile to my face. 

I haven’t stopped smiling.    :mrgreen:

Thai food has always been a favorite of mine, but I didn’t know exactly how good it should be.  I have no words for how scrumptious this food tastes.  Green, yellow, and massaman curries have become my breakfast, lunch and dinner.  I don’t miss kimchi at all… yet. 

So far, my adventure includes:

  1. getting a haircut (I got 4 inches cut off!! Seth basically shaved his head.)
  2. oil massage (Seth got Thai massage)
  3. listening to live music
  4. floating market
  5. petting tigers (quite scary actually)
  6. overnight train ride
  7. swimming in clear-green waters
  8. lounging & reading on the beach
  9. snorkeling (1st time to do this)
  10. kayaking in the ocean
  11. witnessing a Thai ocean sunset
  12. boat ride around various islands
  13. seeing stars!!!  (can’t see stars in Korea)
  14. napping (which is something I never do)
  15. all the yummy curry I could ever want

 

 PAD THAi BANGKOK Panang Curry Thai green curry with prawns

Hopefully soon I’ll get to a place that I can upload my pictures.  These things can be more appreciated with a picture to illustrate my ramblings.

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Norebangs are Too Much Fun

Nov 11

Posted by Tiffany in Korean culture, Random Ramblings

Picture this:  tiny room, comfy couch, 2 microphones, giant flat screen TV, swirling colored lights, tambourine, fun wigs and your friends.  Oh, and it’s BYOB!  That’s right, you can bring your own food and drink to these places.  It’s great.

My dear friend Stacey came to visit me in crazy Korea!  Of all the fabulous things we did together, I want to share our Norebang experience first.

If you’ve never been to Korea or maybe Los Angeles, then you probably don’t know what I’m talking about when I say ‘Norebang’.  And it’s pronounced more like Nory bahng.  Well, it’s very much like karaoke in the fact that you sing along to music with words on a tv screen.  However, Norebang is soo much more fun than plain old karaoke.

norebangTiff

There is a Norebang just about in every building, sometimes even two.  It is a place that people of all ages go to sing and have fun.  All of my students, whether they’re 5 or 17, tell me they go to Norebangs with their family and friends.  I really wish there was one back home.

Something funny to point out is that even though we were singing ‘Under the Boardwalk’ the video was a random Korean video.  It’s a video loop and it rarely ever matches up with the song type.   It’s funny when you’re singing a happy song and the video is of a girl that died and some dude is crying over her dead body, or singing a cheesy love song and some Korean guys are bouncing around dressed like The Beastie Boys.

All of the Norebangs have various themes.  My favorite one is called UFO and oddly it’s not space-themed.

<– hallway in UFO

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Taen Airfield

Sep 22

Posted by Tiffany in Korea

We got to visit the Taen Airfield and fly around in a plane.  Seth actually took control and flew the plane for a while!

The airfield was in the Anmyeondo region of Korea.  It is south-west of Seoul.  From Itaewon the bus ride was around 3 hours… not too bad.

No real instruction was given.  “Move your arms right to fly right, and move your arms left to fly left…”  The seat belts didn’t even work.  But our instructor pilot was amazing.  I have never felt a smoother landing, a baby could have remained asleep the entire flight.  (well maybe not during take off because we had the windows open and the wind was a bit crazy)

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Hanagae Beach

Aug 24

Posted by Tiffany in Korea

I took a weekend trip with some delightful girls.  Fabulous time.

Muuido Island was 2 1/2 hours away from Sanbon, a bit West of Incheon… soo worth the travel time on the subway, bus, ferry and another bus.  Hanagae Beach is this tiny beach with an extremely low tide, as in 2K of low tide sandy nothingness.  I loved the rocky cliffs and had fun exploring a few of the rock areas.

The jellyfish were insane.  On the ferry ride, we could see giant jellyfish floating around.  I am not kidding when I say that some of them were bigger than me!

Upon arrival, I was shocked to see soo many Westerners.   It certainly wasn’t any Myrtle Beach or Daytona… thank goodness.  But adding to the 50, give or take, Westerners were Koreans dressed head to toe in hiking gear, swimming fully clothed, clamming in the low tide area, mud wrestling, and spinning until they fall down.   Such a great place to people watch.   I read a book, lounged, sat by a bonfire, ate sooo much ice cream and got sunburned.  The lobster family has welcomed me in with open claws.

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Taiwanese Cooking Class

Aug 10

Posted by Tiffany in Food

To learn about a culture, is to learn about their food.  Cooking is such a relaxing and enjoyable event for me that it only makes sense to experience local cuisine the way it’s meant to be prepared and consumed.  Jodie’s Kitchen was the perfect place to spend a Sunday afternoon.  Not only did we escape the insane heat and eat some delicious food, we learned about Taiwan culture and cuisine from a very altruistic Taiwanese woman.  I had such a good time… I’d recommend her cooking class to anyone that enjoys good food and good company.  We opted for the one day cooking class, but she has a variety of options to choose from.

Menu for the day:
  • Soy bean milk
  • Soft tofu with Taiwanese dressing
  • Sour and spicy soup
  • Black sesame paste: with veggies
  • White sesame paste: Taiwanese sesame noodles
  • Spicy Sichuan (Szechuan) flower pepper oil: served on pineapples
  • Spicy Sichuan sweet and sour dressing: served on cucumbers
  • Fried rice
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6 Month Mark

Jul 22

Posted by Tiffany in Korea, Random Ramblings

In case anyone has been wondering… Seth and I have been in good ol’ Sanbon, South Korea 6 months.  It’s flown by like a race car on the winning lap.  I can hear the cheers and whistles…  somewhere in the midst of all this people are doing the Wave.  I miss a good crowd Wave, the kind you’d find at a football game.  Actually, I don’t see Koreans doing the Wave… it’s not something they would get into, I do not believe.  It would more likely be a 1 or 2 person wave… maybe a small section of foreign English teachers getting into the excitement if only to cause the Koreans to stare and take even more pictures than usual.

Photobucket

This collage displays just a few glimpses into our lives.  Whether it be venturing into a new part of Seoul, eating different types of local cuisine, singing very poorly in a Nore bang (singing room), walking to work together everyday, laughing at all the crazy English translations, learning a new language, being able to spend time together…. we are enjoying life.

Top 5 favorite things about our time in Korea: :mrgreen:

1.  Free time – I get to work on crafts, cook meals, read books, practice guitar, take walks and I forgot how awesome sleep could be

2. Cham chi Kim baps – cooked tuna sushi-like roll ups with rice and veggies  YUM!

3. Palaces – how awesome is it that I get to roam ancient royal palaces

4. Riding the subway – it’s fun and easy… plus I like to travel while reading or watching video podcasts

5. Spending time with Seth… which is something I did not get to do very often back home due to school and work schedules

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Cookin’ Nanta

Jul 17

Posted by Tiffany in Korea, Korean culture

Nanta is a (mostly) non-verbal performance.  I was blown away by this amazing show.  Knives and various kitchen items are transformed into musical instruments that overtake the audience with a mesmerizing sound.  Martial arts dancing, traditional Korean instruments, singing and chanting are all part of Nanta.   The entire audience was bouncing in their seats.

Since arriving in Korea, we have heard praises for this performance.  Nanta exceeded our expectations.

Take the subway to City Hall Station (Line 2) and walk past Deoksugung Palace. It’s about 500m from there.

I’d also like to report that the in-laws boarded the airport shuttle just before noon today.  Their flight leaves later this afternoon.  It was so nice to have them around.  Plus, unless you see this place first-hand, you will never really understand how amazing it really is.

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Seoul Grand Park Zoo

Jun 29

Posted by Tiffany in Korea

What a nice day.  :razz:

Seoul Grand Park had everything a kid… or Big Kid would want; The 10th largest zoo in the world, an amusement park, childrens’ zoo, The Museum of Contemporary Art, rose & botanical gardens, vendors selling toys and dried squid, and even people drawing caracatures for ~$5.  We spent a few sweaty, sun drenched hours wandering the zoo.

I love zoos.  We saw a few animals that we’ve never seen before. (White Inidian Peacocks, Merkats, White Pheasants)  Seth and I even took a short nap under some trees to escape the heat.  A nice old couple let us use their blanket.  It was a bright blue ‘Sea Fun’ blanket that crinkled when we laid down.  My favorite animals were the ostriches and black crested monkeys.  I liked the ostriches because they were soo awkward looked like giant chickens.  If I could have taken one of those baby monkeys home, I would have.  I also learned that ‘macaques’ means monkey.

To end this fun day, we took a ride on a mile long sky lift that spanned the entire park.  Thinking back, maybe we should have bought that cup of boiled bugs for lunch… next time.

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Short but Sweet

Jun 22

Posted by Tiffany in Random Ramblings

I had the best time visiting WV.  It was the recharge that I needed.  My family and friends are just amazing.  I ate good food (had spaghetti for breakfast even), received more hugs than I can count, bought the cutest clothes to bring back with me, and hung out with my nephew as much as I possibly could. I got to visit with my parents, grandparents, sister, one of my uncles, 2 cousins, the in-laws, and most of my friends. Thank you to all that made an effort to see me while I was in… it really meant alot to me.

The thing I wasn’t expecting to happen was how I felt when I came back to Korea. I missed it while I was gone. I got off the airport shuttle, was walking to my apartment and couldn’t stop smiling. Maybe it was the recharge that made me appreciate what I actually do have here. I was happy to see my park and even had a chamchi (tuna) kimbap for lunch, which I absolutely love.

Things are back to normal around here. Working and relaxing. I am soo much more calm from being here, instead of working 2 jobs, going to school, and student teaching. I forgot how to enjoy down-time.

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Sanbon Park

Jun 5

Posted by Tiffany in Korea, Random Ramblings

I love going to the park.  It’s such a nice place.  Sometimes we’ll play on the courts,  sometimes I work out on the equipment, sometimes I just eat my lunch there and watch the other people. It’s located in the center of town, so it’s always full of people.

Giant grass sculptures

Giant grass sculptures

Aren’t those cows just the greatest things you’ve ever seen?  Sooo creative… Love these!

:razz: It is Friday again… these weeks seem to be flying by soo fast.  We have been here about 130 days!  I’ll be visiting home in a mere 4 days… super excited to see everyone for a few days.
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