How to Cure and Season a Molcajete

 

I recently got a molcajete from my husband as an early holiday gift, and I’m really excited about it.  What is a molcajete you ask?  It’s a three-legged Mexican mortar and pestle made from basalt.  They work really well, because the rock is so porous that it makes a great grinding surface.  They are also very durable; they are traditionally handed down from mother to daughter through the generations.  Another great thing about the molcajete is that it is so porous it tends to absorb the flavor of whatever you make in it, so it becomes seasoned over time like a cast iron skillet.  Salsas, guacamole, and mole are all traditionally made in the molcajete.  The grinding action breaks apart the seeds in tomatoes and peppers, releasing essential oils and making your salsas taste amazing.  Molcajete’s are great for grinding spices as well.

So you want a molcajete?  First, make sure that you order a good one.  Many suppliers sell molcajetes that are just pressed concrete textured to look like basalt, or other imitation materials.  These molcajetes can never be cured properly, and will always leave your salsas full of grit.  I ordered the highest quality one I could find from Amazon for around fifty bucks: the RSVP Endurance Molcajete made from natural basalt.  They didn’t lie when they advertised that this thing is made to last.  It’s certainly difficult enough to cure and season!  But the effort is definitely worth it once it’s accomplished.

 A molcajete has to be cured before use by wearing down the inside of the stone bowl a bit, so that when you grind food up inside of it grit won’t break off and ruin your food.  After it is cured, it can be properly seasoned to start you off making delicious salsas and guacamole.  After much research and some trial and error, I’ve come up with what I think is a pretty full-proof way to cure and season a good, sturdy molcajete. 

First, fill your molcajete with water and let soak for an hour to make the stone easier to grind down.

Second, take your wire brush and your molcajete outside if possible, and vigorously brush the inside of the molcajete bowl for thirty minutes.  This replaces hours and hours of grinding with rice.  Then grab your water hose and, either with your thumb or an attachment, use high water pressure to thoroughly spray out all of the grit that has accumulated in the molcajete.

Third, use coarse sand paper to further wear down the bowl of the molcajete, and to scrape off some of the metal from the wire brush that will inevitably coat the surface of the bowl.  I sanded mine for about ten minutes; it doesn’t take long for the sand paper to be used up against such a hard surface.  After that, wash out the molcajete with your water hose again.

Fourth, put a cup of rice in your molcajete (which should still be wet from being sprayed down), and use the tejolote to grind it into a powder or paste.  It should look like this, or even finer:

Repeat, this step three more times, or until the rice does not turn gray and contains no grit.  Then rinse out the molcajete using the water hose one more time.  If there is still some rice wedged into the pores of your molcajete, that is perfectly alright.

Fifth, peel all the cloves from the six heads of garlic, and put them into your molcajete.  You can also add a teaspoon of coriander if you like.  Grind it all up into a paste, and coat the inside of the bowl with it.  Make sure it gets deep into the pores of the molcajete.  When finished, it should look like this:

Let the garlic paste sit overnight in the molcajete; this adds oils to the molcajete and seasons it with a good flavor that will add to your salsas and guacamole. The next day, rinse the molcajete out as good as you can with the water hose.  Then, bring it inside and use your kitchen brush to brush off the remaining garlic, and rise it off in the sink.

Now your molcajete should be thoroughly cured and seasoned, and ready to make delicious grit free salsa!

¡Disfrute!

China Blogs

6/29/2010 Tuesday

I’m sitting in the airport, waiting to check in for our flight to China.  I can’t believe it’s finally here – the day we get to leave Korea.

It’s surreal, thinking about how I will never see any of this again, because I really don’t think I’ll ever come back.  It’s too hard to be an outsider every day.

I’m excited and very happy to be leaving.  There are butterflies in my stomach, and I wish we were already on the plane.  I think a deep feeling of peace and relief will wash over me once that plane is on the air with me in it.

Saying goodbye to Korea means saying goodbye to:  endless stares from strangers, open sewage, horrible smog, kid germs, bad traffic, subways, shoebox apartments, motorcycles driving on the sidewalk, language barriers, kimchi, etc., etc.

I can feel it all melting away, and the weight coming off my shoulders.

Going back to America means returning to:  actions and motivations that I can understand, English, ease of communication, friends and family, pets, wide-open spaces, grass, yards, gardens, bicycles, gyms, comfortable coffee houses, clothes and shoes that fit, clean air, my car, my belongings, home. 

But first, we are stopping in China for a much needed vacation.  There will be a lot to see in Beijing, but I also want to take it easy and relax.  I hope we can make it home without getting lost or ripped off. 

6/29/2010 Tuesday

We made it to the hotel safe and sound.  We had quite a time carrying our huge bags around on the subway to get to our hotel.  However, three people offered to help me with my bags along the way.  Chinese people are so nice I like China better than South Korea already.

Our hotel is great.  It’s nestled in a quaint little neighborhood in downtown Beijing.  It’s about three minutes from the Wongfujing shopping area, which is known for good shopping and strange food.  I got some good souvenirs and good pictures of weird stuff on a stick.

The hotel is spacious and has a good nightly rate; I’m really pleased.  Now it’s off to sleep so I can get an early start tomorrow. 

6/30/2010 Wednesday

Phew.  Today was a busy day.  After a scant buffet at the hotel for breakfast, we headed to the Forbidden City.  Our hotel, the Tian Rui Inn, is close enough to walk to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City, so Erik and I got up early to make the walk and arrived just before the ticket office opened.  Perfect timing! 

The Forbidden City is in the heart of Beijing, and is where the emperors and their families once lived.  It contains the palaces and courts of the emperor and the royal family, as well as the imperial gardens.  It was called the Forbidden City because only royalty, the royals’ servants, and government officials / nobility were allowed inside.

It was beautiful.  There were amazing and intricate frescoes of flowers and dragons on the walls.  There were several throne rooms and palaces, all for different purposes, and all beautifully decorated.  Before each throne lay a huge rug depicting a winding dragon.  Everything in the Forbidden City seemed to have a symbolic or mystical meaning.  With its sprawling expanse, it kept us busy for a good while.  After we had seen enough of the Forbidden City, we walked up the man-made mountain behind it.  The mountain was built to make the palace location Feng Shui, and to block the evil energies from the north, etc.  It gave us great views of the city and of Beijing.  It’s too bad that the great views were marred by the thick smog that seems to be ever-present in Beijing. 

Sweaty and tired from our climb and hours of walking, we went looking for some lunch.  We happened upon a place called the Alley Café, which had great food, a good atmosphere, friendly staff, an even friendlier cat, and free internet.  It was a welcome break from a day of walking.  After lunch we dodged the insistent rickshaw/motorbike drivers and walked to Tiananmen Square.  We snapped a few pictures of the monuments and headed for the subway. 

Each time you enter the subway, you have to pass all bags through a security check.  A single ticket costs two yuan, which is about 33 cents.  It’s easy enough to figure out and ride around, but it tends to be painfully crowded. 

We soon arrived at the Temple of Heaven, which sits at the middle of a large park.  We headed to the main hall, passing by seven stones that represented the provinces in China.  They were carved to look like mountains, but the folk story was that they are meteorites. 

The main hall is where the emperor would come to pray and give sacrifices for a good harvest.  The building is beautiful.  It is raised up on a tall round stone foundation, and the structure itself is also round.  The hall is very large, and has a three-tiered roof.  The main color was a rich blue, and while, the hall makes quite an impression.  Peering inside, I saw a throne for the emperor, and on either side of it a row of statues of calves standing over basins ready for slaughter.  I hadn’t realized that the hall was centered around animal sacrifice until this point, and I found it to be a bit creepy.  I’m used to seeing Buddhist temples, which would never allow animal sacrifice.  I don’t know what kind of religion was/is practiced at the Temple of Heaven (probably the old shamanistic religion), but the fact that it revolves around animal sacrifice is unsettling.

We then made our way to a hall that housed the tablets of the gods, and then to an area that consisted of three raised rings of stone (one on top of the other, getting progressively smaller in diameter).  Each cardinal direction had three gates leading from it and at the top center of the stone platforms was a “speaking stone.”  It’s said that if you stand on it your voice will be particularly clear and resonant, and people will hear/listen to what you say. 

We began making our way out of the park, but about half of the way through I had to sit down to rest my throbbing feet.  I sat against the outer wall and watched random men doing Tai-Chi amidst the juniper and cedar trees and the untamed monkey grass.  An old lady passing by also felt the need to serenade us as she walked.  Once I could make myself get up, we made it back to the hotel and took a much needed shower.  When I took off my jeans, I found that my legs were covered in black dust from the smog.  Yuck. 

After a short rest, we headed to a nearby restaurant for dinner.  Trying to get Erik fed without accidently including wheat or soy sauce in his food has been difficult.  He’s mainly been eating salad.  I, however, ordered some chicken with onions and peppers, which turned out to be painfully spicy.  Thank goodness I had some beer and mild dumplings to round out the meal. 

After dinner, Erik and I bought some fruit from a local vendor for breakfast tomorrow, as well as some juice and dessert.  We bought fresh apples, peaches, and cherries for breakfast, yum!  I also got what I thought was an ice cream bar, but was actually a whipped cream bar…interesting.  And now here I lay, feet still throbbing, excited about the Great Wall tomorrow!

7/1/10 Thursday

I did it!  I fulfilled my childhood dream of seeing the Great Wall of China!  Apparently, if you climb the Great wall you are considered a hero in China, so now Erik and I are heroes, I guess.  Woot!

The section of the Wall that we went to is called the Mutianyu section.  We chose it because it is a bit farther away than Badaling, so it’s less crowded.  We lucked out and found a tour for it and the Ming tombs through the China Culture Center. 

Mutianyu was beautiful, even if it was a rainy day.  The mist kept us cool and added a nice foggy “on top of the clouds” effect to our pictures.  We chose the steeper side for the better views, and it was well worth it.  It was amazing to just be on the wall and think about the history behind it.  I kept thinking to myself, “Wow, you did it.  You’re really here.”  I have always wanted to visit the Great Wall, but I never really thought I’d be able to.  But I’ve done it!  Hoorah!

After the Great Wall, we had lunch at an outdoor restaurant complete with a pond and fountain.  They brought out several Chinese dishes, lazy susan style, and everyone helped themselves.  There was trout, fried green beans, sweet and sour pork, fried rice with beef, soup, steamed rice… and it was all delicious!  We ate with a couple from Baveria, a ‘chap’ from the U.K., a couple from Hamburg, Germany, and a couple from Australia.  And of course, when we told them we were from Texas, someone said, “oh, Bush country,” and Erik and I found ourselves in the middle of a discussion of U.S. politics, and having to explain that we were just as exasperated with it all as they were.  Oh well, that’s the price all Texans abroad pay for Bush’s mistakes!

After lunch, we headed to the Ming Tombs, where most of the emperors from the Ming Dynasty are buried.  The tour guide explained to us about how the location was chosen for its great Feng Shui (aka its harmonious surroundings with nature for good fortune).  Ideally Chinese structures are blocked from the north (which brings bad luck) by a mountain (or in the case of a house by a lack of windows on the north wall).  This was the case at the Ming Tombs, and was also why an artificial mountain was built to the North of the Forbidden City.  According to Feng Shui, a dwelling or structure should face, and be open to, the south.  This is why most Chinese houses face the south.  Also, ideally water should flow in front of a structure, and all paths should be meandering (because chi flowing in a straight line builds up into a destructive force).  True to form, the Ming Tombs were open facing the south, and just behind a river.

The tombs begin with a long path lined with statues of animals, generals, and government officials.  This then leads to a courtyard with three gates / buildings leading up to the huge mound of tree and foliage covered dirt under which lies the emperor in his “underground palace.”  That’s only one tomb, there are twelve more.  However, they all look the same, so we only visited one. 

After the one and a half hour bus ride back to Beijing, Erik and I had dinner in a ‘hip’ area called The Village.  We had Mexican (or an imitation of it) for dinner, then stopped at an international supermarket for come goodies.  They had so many American products!  It made me feel like I’ve been living in a crap hole for a year…  I indulged in some chocolate covered raisins, and a cabernet sauvignon.  Thank goodness for screw on tops for wine bottles – the best friend of a corkscrewless tourist!

After a nice dinner, some chocolate, wine, and some relaxation, I feel really satisfied with the day.  I had a great time, and I maintain that I <3 Beijing!

7/2/10 Friday

Today Erik and I went to see the Summer Palace.  This began with an hour long subway ride, during which we had to stand up and be crammed in the car like sardines.  It was awful.  Now I know why Chinese people freak out about disease.  It could spread so rapidly in such crowded conditions.

When we finally arrived, we realized that exploring the Summer Palace was going to take quite a while, because of its expansive grounds.  So, we decided not to go to Fragrant Hills Park, and make a day of the Summer Palace instead.  This turned out to be a good move, because after five hours of wandering around in the sunshine, the last thing we wanted to do was go to another park.  The palace grounds were beautiful.  There was an artificial mountain to block the bad luck from the north, and a huge man-made lake in front of the palace for good chi.  The palace and a tall temple were nestled into the south side of the mountain.  They are restorations, as they were burned down twice by the English and French.  In the early 1900s, the Empress Cixi had the summer palace rebuilt to celebrate her birthday, so many items from her secret reign were there.  Her son became emperor as a young child, so she appointed a puppet regent to the throne and whispered exactly what he should say from behind screens.

Lining the entire grounds were the oldest willow trees in Beijing.  They were everywhere, and they were beautiful.  There were many bridges along the walkways surrounding the various parts of the lake, and vast portions of the water were covered with lily pads and lotus blossoms.  Stately buildings dotted the landscape in traditional Chinese style, and people were crossing the lakes in paddle boats.  We were almost dropping from the heat by the time we left.  We did make one last stop at the palace’s riverwalk of souvenir shops though.

Erik wanted to see a nearby electronics market, so we stopped by on our way back to the hotel.  It gook us about a minute to get tired of the extremely aggressive salespeople shouting at us, so we made a beeline for the door and taxied back to the hotel. 

For dinner, we tried roasted duck.  Sounds good, right?  Wrong.  What a disappointment.  It was so rich and fatty that I found it disgusting.  There was so much fat that it was like jelly!  It’s hard to find a food to rich for me, but China has done it.  Erik and I had to get some fruit gelato to clear our palettes of the lingering taste.  By the way, I also tried some jasmine ice cream today.  Let’s just say it’s better left in tea.  Bad food aside, the Summer Palace was beautiful; I won’t soon forget it’s serene landscape.

7/3/10 Saturday

Today was an interesting day.  In the morning, we went to see Lama Temple.  It was once a prince’s palace, but he decided to renovate it into a temple (or in this case, a lamasery) for the Lama sect of Buddhism to promote harmony between China and neighboring Buddhist countries.  This was by far the grandest temple I’ve ever seen.  I mean, it used to be a palace, so of course it is grand.  But the really impressive part is the statues.  There are many grand,  large statues of various Buddhas draped in huge silk robes and framed by golden screens that sit behind the Buddha and are actually part of the statue.

The most amazing statue was a Buddha carved out of a single tree trunk that was nearly three stories tall, all gilded in gold.  To see its face, you have to walk right up to its feet and tilt your head all the way back.  It was draped with silk scarves, and it was just beautiful.

After the temple, we went back to the area known as The Village for some lunch.  We headed back to Luga’s Mexican Restaurant and Bar, because we know that Erik can eat their nachos without getting sick (he has a gluten allergy).  We walked in dripping from the heat, and had to ask the bar tender to turn on the AC.  The cool air felt so good; it was just what we needed.  I had tacos and Chinese beer for lunch, and both were delicious (especially the tacos).

After lunch, Erik and I headed back to the hotel to shower and repack luggage so that we can fit in all of our souvenirs.  Bu the time that was done it was time for us to head to see an acrobat show.  I didn’t really know what to expect, except entertaining gymnastics and stunts.  But I found out rather quickly that it’s not as innocent as it seems.

The very first act was centered around male acrobats throwing small girls around the age of eight high up into the air.  The girls are used because they are much lighter, and the male acrobats can throw them much farther.  So the first thing I saw was a group of small girls being used for the most dangerous stunts.

As the show continued, I thought about the girls’ situation, and realized that many many be from poor families in Beijing for the country who sent their kids away to make some money.  It’s better than working on the farm, right?  I’m not sure.

The show is performed at the same time every day.  Between the show, there’s preparation and practice.  I don’t think those girls go to school.  Many Chinese people, especially in the countryside, don’t receive more than an elementary or middle school education.  These girls may not even get that much.  Also, what happens to these girls as they grow older?  The ones who remain small and flexible become adult acrobats, but what about the girls who don’t make the cut?  And what about the adult acrobats who grow too old to stay in the show?  I’m willing to bet that most of them become exotic dancers or sex workers.  The reality of those little girls’ lives is not a happy one.  A lucky few may continue on to become adult acrobats, and after that perhaps an acrobat trainer.  But most of these girls probably end up in the sex industry at some point in their lives.

The thought of this really tempered my enjoyment of the show.  There is no question that the acrobats are talented.  The show was amazing, but I couldn’t help but wonder about the acrobats.  It was also upsetting to look around me and see that most of the other people in the room probably don’t know or care about such problems.

7/4/10 Sunday

I just realized that it’s the Fourth of July…so, Happy 4^th!  I wish I was at the cabin swimming, barbequing, and shooting off fireworks with my family.  Imagine, I’m in the land of fireworks, and I haven’t seen a single Black Cat since I got here!  Well, I did go to McDonald’s and have a coke and fries today; that’s about as American as it gets in China.

Today we went to see Prince Gong’s Residence.  He had a nice place, a palace with expansive gardens – though nowhere near as big as the Summer Palace.  The roofs were all glazed green tile, the color just below imperial yellow.  The gardens were full of rugged looking rock formations, ponds, and pavilions – very unique. 

After seeing the palace, we ate lunch at a little “hot pot” place nearby.  Chinese hot pot is a type of food where you choose what goes in your pot – veggies, meat/ribs, noodles, etc. and it cooks right at your table.  You end up with a very tasty soup.  Mine had pork ribs, tomatoes, green onion, tofu, noodles, and mushrooms.  It was delicious!  It’s too bad that Erik can’t eat Chinese food because of all of the soy sauce (which has wheat in it).  Erik has celiac disease, which is basically a wheat allergy.  Our waitresses here can’t understand why he’s not eating.  He has a card written out in Chinese that explains everything, but when people here read it they get really confused.  It doesn’t really help, so he’s living off raisins and peanuts at the moment.

After lunch, we taxied to Xidan, a large shopping area that turned out to have little of interest to us.  It would be a good place to get some cheap clothes and accessories, but to travelers just looking for souvenirs, it’s not so great.  So, we taxied to Wangfujing to get a custom calligraphy painting that says “good luck” in Chinese.  It turned out great! 

After leaving Xidan, we headed toward the drum and bell towers of Beijing, but we got a little lost, so we asked various rickshaw drivers if they could take us there.  They all wanted to take us on a big rickshaw tour that was really expensive, but we kept insisting that we just wanted a ride to the drum and bell towers.  One man led us over to a guy with a really dilapidated motorbike rickshaw.  Erik and I squeezed into the little backseat and held on tightly while this guy took us through crowded hutongs right up to the ticket office for the drum and bell tower, for cheap!  It was an amusing part of the day, both for us and the Chinese people watching us zip by in our rickety ‘rickshaw’.  We got there just in time to see the drum show.  The drums were beaten every hour to denote the time for the citizens, and the bell was rung in the morning and evening to signify the opening and closing of the city gates.

7/5/10 Monday

Today is our last full day in China, and it’s been a good one so far.  We visited two temples, one Buddhist and one Taoist.  They were both impressive, and well worth the visit.

The first temple is only two city blocks from our hotel, so we walked there through some old hutongs (traditional residential alleys).  Today was another scorcher, so it was a hot walk, but it was worth it.

Zhihua Temple is an old Buddhist temple that hasn’t been renovated over and over, unlike most of the temples in Beijing.  It has an authentic feel to its architecture.  Where jewels were pried off of statues of Buddha, they haven’t been replaced.  And two of the ornamental ceiling centerpieces were removed long ago and now sit in American museums. 

There were many statues, all unique and with character.  Most were gold with the Chinese style screening in the back.  However, my favorite was a dark brown Korean/Japanese style Buddha that looked very simple and serene, with a small hole on its forehead where a jewel should have been.

One thing that Erik and I have observed, is that Buddhist temples in Beijing seems to be mostly just tourist attractions rather than places of worship.  I’m not sure how many Buddhist are in China, or where they go to temple, but I can’t imagine that it’s at these places crawling with tourists where they charge to get in.

After that, we went to Dongyue Temple, a Taoist temple not too far away.  It was really interesting.  All around the first large courtyard were little rooms housing wooden statues of members of the different “Departments of Hell.”  (Note:  in Taoism, Hell just means afterlife; it has no negative connotation.)  There were many different departments such as:  The Department for the Birth of Insects, The Department for Water Animals, The Department for the Control of Wandering Ghosts, The Department for the Recording of Good Deeds, The Department for Signing Documents, the Department for the Proper Execution of Justice, etc.  There must have been more than fifty of them, and they were so obscure!  But hey, there was a department for everything.  So if you have a problem in the Taoist afterlife, you’re covered.

Aside from that, there were large halls with big statues of the guardians / rulers of China and its afterlife.  When I was in the main hall, I actually saw and old lady come in and give offerings of fruit to three of the main guardians.  It’s quite a different experience than a protestant church, perhaps more akin to watching people kneel before statues of Mary in an old grand Catholic cathedral.  After getting our fill of the Departments of Hell, we headed to the Silk Street Market to pick up our last souvenirs.  Everything is way overpriced, so you really have to haggle for it.  You start by taking sixty percent off the price, it’s ridiculous.  I got about fifty or forty percent off of the price of everything, but I didn’t haggle as hard as I could have.  I hate gaggling, and the last thing I need on my vacation is some angry Chinese saleslady yelling at me.  You’re really supposed to take it so far as to walk away slowly like you’re not going to buy the item because it’s too expensive.  Then the sales lady puts out like she’s angry and exasperated, and lowers the price and sells it to you.  That’s way too much effort to buy something.  I could only muster up the energy to do it once. 

I finally found a good stereotypical Chinese hat like the rice pickers wear.  I’m sure Mom and Nana will get a kick out of seeing me come off of the plane wearing it.  That will be the only way I can get it home.

Then Erik and I brought our purchases back to the hotel, and hid from the summer heat until the afternoon passed.  Although, when we went back out for dinner, it was like walking into a wall of heat.  For dinner, we tried a “Muslim Restaurant.”  They bring out a big pedestal with a bowl full of water with a scalding hot metal or stone cone in it heating the water.  You order what you want to put in the water, so it’s similar to “hot pot;” it just looks a bit more odd.  We had strips of beef and greens in ours, and it’s dipped in a brown beanie tasting sauce.  It was an interesting meal, but I liked hot pot better.  Now I’m just killing time until I can wake up tomorrow and go home.  I can’t wait!

7/6/10 Tuesday

It’s been a long day, you know, since I’ve lived it twice and all…  We left Beijing on Tuesday at 5:30 pm (after taxing on the runway for half an hour, oh joy), and arrived at the San Francisco airport at 1:30 pm on Tuesday.  I traveled into the past! 

Then, we waited for seven hours for our connecting flight to Dallas, which was then delayed for another hour and a half.  When we finally boarded the plane, we were informed that the flushing mechanism on the toilet was broken, “so if we really need to go, we can bring in a bottle of water to flush the toilet with.”  Talk about a ghetto plane.  United just can’t get itself together today.

I just want to get home!  Only three more hours of flying and we’ll be there, and then I can collapse…

One Month Left!

I can't believe I'll be leaving Korea in less than a month.  I'm glad I came, and I had a lot of wonderful experiences here...but I'm so excited to be going home!  Erik and I will be visiting Beijing, China for a week after we leave Busan, and will then head back to the States on July 7th.  I'm really glad that I will have the opportunity to see Beijing and visit the Great Wall before I leave Asia. 

However, when my plane lands in Texas, I just may kiss the ground.  I have taken so much in America for granted, and am looking forward to being in an English speaking country, having personal space, not being an outsider, etc. etc.  I am really excited to be going home to clean air, grass, and trees.  When I get to my parents' house, I plan on rolling around in the grass and basking in the sun. 

Our last month in Korea looks like it will mainly be an online job search, and a finalizing of our Korean affairs.  There is so much to do; I wish I could just relax...but that's not going to happen!  Hopefully I will at least get in some good beach time before I go back to being land-locked!

Teacher's Day

Saturday was Teacher's Day in Korea; here is a list of the presents we received:

Brandi:

100,000 won Lotte Department Store gift certificate
35,000 Starbucks gift certificate
Five pairs of designer socks from Elle and Beanpole
Two bottles of shower gel
Hand cream
Two pens decorated as cloth carnations
Two chocolate bars
A long-stem rose
Many handwritten cards in broken English from kids and parents

Erik:

An approximately $75 dollar bottle of 17 year old scotch whisky
Man lotion
Mini bottles of spf 50 sunscreen, face whitening lotion, and ginseng "face awakening" lotion
Gum and chocolate
A long-stem rose
A cloth carnation pen
More broken English cards

We bought a nice Korean tea set with the Lotte gift card.  It was actually hard to find something to buy in Lotte that only cost 100 bucks.  I don't know why anybody would shop there.  Now I just need to get well so I can spend my Starbucks money...mmm.  Teacher's Day rocks.

In-Laws in Korea!

Carl and Dian's visit went really well.  They got to see a lot of interesting new places, and so did we!  Sunday we took them to Seokbulsa (a mountain temple with Buddhas carved into the rock face) and Busan Tower (a good place to see the skyline of the city), and Jagalchi (a fresh seafood market where you can pick out your fish and eat it too.  We ate still wriggling octopus, raw abalone, and boiled king crab, mmmm.)and Nampodong (a huge traditional market selling anything and everything you could possibly need).  On Monday while we were at work, they went to Beomeosa temple and Taejongdae (a seaside walking park with temples, a lighthouse, a pebble beach, and beautiful ocean side cliffs).  On Tuesday we accompanied them to Haedong Yonggungsa (the temple by the sea), and they went to Haeundae beach while we worked for the afternoon.  On Wednesday we had the day off for Children's Day, so we took them to Dadaepo beach for some hiking, and to Shanghai/Texas street for some killer Chinese massages. While they were here, we tried to give them a sampling of all the best Korean foods:  shabu shabu, chicken galbi, traditional fish and bulgogi with tons of banchan (side dishes), kimbop shops, and barbecue. 

 I think they had a great time while they were here, even if they conked out early because of the jet lag.  I think it was a trip they will never forget!

Dear Korean Neighbor,

I am writing this letter because I am tired.  Why am I tired, you ask?  Because of you.  I'm sure you're aware that the doorbells in our neighborhood are extremely loud, as they obnoxiously play Fur Elise over, and over, and over.  While this is annoying, it's not necessarily a problem...during the day.  The problem occurs when you, dear neighbor, come home at three a.m. and ring said doorbell continuously for AN HOUR.  The simultaneous banging on the door and calling of a cell phone within the house does not help the matter.  In fact, it makes all of the residents of our building want to bang their heads against a wall until they cause enough brain damage to rid them of the curse of hearing your late-night cacophony. 

You see, we actually have to get up early and go to work the next day, and it's not so easy to entertain kindergartners when you're bleary-eyed from sleep deprivation.  I don't know why you can't get into your house.  Perhaps whoever you live with is angry at you for your late-night gallivanting, or maybe you just keep forgetting your key.  Either way, you have two options that would really increase your popularity in our neighborhood, or at least keep everyone from wanting to hunt you down and hose you off until you sober up.  Option one:  come home earlier.  Option two:  instead of ringing the doorbell for an hour, why not just walk five minutes up the hill and sleep in the jim-jil-bong for the night.  It will only cost you a couple of bucks, and it's a lot less trouble than standing there unsuccessfully trying to get in your house all night. 

Please, dear neighbor, have some mercy on everyone within a half-mile radius of your house.  We'd really enjoy a good night's sleep; I think it would really increase the neighborhood's morale.

Sincerely,
The Neighborhood Waygook

Things I learned this weekend:

Octopus tastes relatively like chicken.

Galbi soup is delicious, even for breakfast...and there's a great restaurant not too far away from my apartment that is famous for it.

If you go to the temple by the sea and bathe the Buddha statue you get one wish, and there is also 'magic' water that can cure skin conditions if you drink it (which is made easy for you because they provide the customary germ infested community plastic drinking ladle). 

The temple was built by the sea because it honors the Korean Buddhist 'Goddess of Mercy'/water goddess who was said to ride a dragon around out over the ocean.

Butterfly pupae is not completely disgusting to eat like I thought it would be (but still kind of weird), and neither is sucking the little critters out of tiny cooked seashells (although it does taste a little sandy).

Riding in cars for a long time still gives me a bad tension headache.

I will always spend too much at Costco for rare items like Dr. Pepper and NutriGrain bars.

I may never kick this Scrubs addiction.

Oysters on the Half Shell

Last night we went out to dinner with our coworkers Kadie, Ryan aka "Rowdy", and Ryan, along with our Korean friends Eva and Roy.  Eva and Roy took us to their favorite restaurant for eating mussels, clams, and oysters cooked in butter.  Apparently the restaurant is very popular and well-known in Korea.

We took the subway to Jung-dong station (exit 7), which is the stop on the green line right after Haeundae.  Then we took a taxi to Chungsapo (정사보) beach, where there are several raw fish and buttered shellfish restaurants.  The restaurant that we went to was named Soo Min Ee Neh (수민이네) which is a Korean woman's name.  Eva thought that perhaps it was the name of the wife or daughter of the man who owns the restaurant.  I was expecting a building, but what we found was an open air concrete pavilion, surrounded with individual tents with tables in them.  The ambiance was a bit lacking by Western standards, but the freshness of the food keeps the crowds coming.  After a short wait, we were shown to a tent on the second floor.  The tables were the typical cheap metal barbecue type, with the hole in the middle for hot coals.

We were then left to ponder the menu, which Eva told us consisted of buttered shellfish of your choosing, eel, fish, live octopus, live sea squirt, and other such interesting fare.  Us foreigners decided to play it safe and stay away from live cuisine for the evening; we chose a sampler of shellfish and some eel, along with some soju and rice to round out the table.  Soon after ordering, out came two large platters of shellfish on the half shell, raw, seasoned, and waiting to be cooked.  Roy and Eva took over in this department, since us foreigners were pretty much clueless as to how to proceed.  The shells went directly on the grill, while in the meantime they were cut free from the shell itself and added to a tin filled with cooking onions in the middle of the grill.  The process was very labor intensive, but thanks to the expert cooks the tins were soon filled with juicy buttered shellfish and onion.  In the meantime, Erik (the only non-shellfish-eater of the bunch) munched on rice, tasty seaweed soup, and fermented bean paste soup that came with the meal.

When we finally worked our way through the shellfish, Roy and Eva started cooking the eel.  The edge or fin of the eel is considered very special in Korea.  It supposedly gives men 'stamina', so us ladies kindly reserved that part of the eel for the gentlemen present.  The eel is cooked directly on the grill after being dipped in spicy red pepper paste.  This was my first time trying eel, and I was surprised at how tender it was.  I did run into a few bones, but they were easily discarded.  It pretty much tasted like any other fish.  Now I can check that off of my list of exotic foods to try while I'm here.  We finished up the meal with a course of in-house specialty ramyan noodles that were perfectly spiced and tasty.

All in all, it was a fun night.  The soju flowed, and the good food kept coming.  Maybe next time I can be persuaded to try some of the live food....provided it's put out of it's misery before I actually eat it.  I've heard some places actually chop off the legs of the octopus one by one as you eat them.  Talk about cruel.  Why not kill it just before it gets to the table, so that it's not in agony while it watches you eat it's limbs.  I know Korean's are all about super fresh food, but that's too creepy for me to enjoy or watch.  I'll have to check into it more before I try it.  But who knows, maybe in time if the place and method are right...

January and February Happenings

Mmm, there's nothing like sipping on Earl Grey tea in the morning.  I've been a bit sluggish to post the past couple of weeks, because I've been so busy.  As a result, I've got several noteworthy events to write about all at once:  the kinder English Concert, a skiing trip to Yongpyong, acupuncture, kicking my vegetarian habit, and a poetry reading.

English Concert

I'll start with the English Concert first.  Each kinder class performed a little play in English complete with singing and dancing.  Among the choices were 'The Wizard of Oz', 'Peter Pan', 'Ali Baba Jr. and the Four Theives', and 'Three Billy Goats Gruff'.  The only problem with the concert is that all of the foreign teachers had to perform in the plays.  Oh yes, we had to sing and dance with kinders in a big auditorium in front of an army of Korean parents armed with cameras and camcorders.  Add to that the costumes, and we felt like monkeys on display at a zoo for our school's profit. 

Erik played the troll in 'Three Billy Goats Gruff', and I played the wicked witch of the west in 'The Wizard of Oz'.  I asked to play that part.  I figured if I had to do it, I might as well have a fun part.  :)  I made a few fumbles.  When I turned on my pen mike, I got massive feedback from the speakers for a moment.  Then when I got on the stage, I realized I had forgotten to bring my magic wand with me.  Oh well, it was no big deal, we just mimed it thanks to the quick thinking of a kinder.  Of course, there were many more little fumbles like that throughout the show.  It's expected when working with kids....or goofy foreign teachers.

I was also informed that the foreign teachers were expect to have their own performance, so I thought to myself, "What is the easiest, shortest, and most child appropriate English song that I can work with?"  I came up with Yellow Submarine by The Beatles.  I decided that I would make props of the submarine and different sea animals to parade around on the stage with, so that most of the focus would be on them, not us.  Here's the basic run down.  A 'teacher' comes out on stage with some 'students' to have story time.  When the teacher opens a big book called 'The Yellow Submarine', the song starts.  The 'teacher and students' look confused and try to find the source of the song.  Then a big yellow submarine makes it's way slowly on stage.  After that the captain comes out and proclaims his search for 'the whale'.  One by one sea animals come out and parade around the submarine, and the captain is disappointed each time that it's not a whale.  Finally the whale comes out and the captain harpoons it, only to have all of the other sea animals attack him as he runs away in defeat.  This came out pretty bungled and hilarious.  I can't wait to see it on DVD and laugh.  Those sea animals (cut out of colored foam) were such a chore to make!  I'm glad they were recorded permanently on film for posterity. 

Skiing

Thankfully, a week later we got a four day weekend to recover, courtesy of Lunar New Year.  Erik and I went on a ski trip with some coworkers to Yongpyong ski resort near the northeast coast of South Korea.  The area was beautiful, and luckily had just gotten a lot of fresh powder the day we arrived.  The resort was at a lot lower of an elevation than I'm used to, but there were still plenty of trails, thankfully.  They also had lots of good night skiing.  You could ski well after midnight at this resort.  I'd say about half of the mountain was open at night.  I've never encountered anything like that back in the States.  Korea is definitely a late night culture.  We got there at about five o'clock on Saturday, but thanks to the night skiing, we got in a full 'day' on the slopes.  It was a great opportunity to teach Erik how to ski, even if it was a little nippy to ski at night.  I was proud of Erik, he caught on pretty quickly.  His biggest problem was that he's so tall he couldn't push himself up once he fell.  That means he had to take off one ski to get up...and then put it on again on a steep snow covered mountain.  Not easy when you're a beginner.  I think he got it all figured out in the end.  :) 

I really enjoyed the slopes.  They didn't have snow blades for me to rent, which are easier on my knees (and more fun in general).  But for once skis didn't hurt my knees, and I actually enjoyed using skis this time out.  I thought about snowboarding, but after seeing my coworker tumble head over heel again and again, I'm glad I stuck with skis.  That also made it easier to teach Erik. 

It was nice to get out of the city for a while and see some pristine nature.  However, sleeping on the floor Korean style after a long day of skiing left us all pretty exhausted by the end of the trip.  Erik also had a hard time finding things to eat.  Pretty much everything had either wheat or meat, so he lived of junk food for a few days.  On our stopover at Seoul, he ended up eating some tainted kimbop which gave him gastroenteritis.  He's on antibiotics for it now; thankfully it seems to be a mild case. 

Acupuncture

I've been struggling to fight a sinus infection the past week, and my coworker swears by acupuncture.  So, I decided to give it a try.  I went first for my sinuses.  When I arrived they took a sample of my hair, and stuck me on an EKG machine to monitor my heart rate for five minutes.  After that they put me on some massage machines while I waited to see the doctor.  Then they took me back to the acupuncture room and laid me down on a medical bed.  They put balloon-like pants on me that inflated in different places at different times to stimulate circulation (I assume).  After about fifteen minutes the doc showed up and stuck about ten needles at various places in my face and left me to sit for another fifteen minutes.  The needles stung a little bit, but really didn't hurt too much.  At this point I was thankful for the balloon pants because they took my focus off of the needles.  A nurse came and took out the needles and removed the balloon pants, and laid me face down on another table.  She then put six big suction cups on my back (this is called fire cupping...I'm not sure what it's supposed to do), and two electrodes on my shoulders to administer muscle shock therapy.  After about ten minutes they removed all of the stuff, gave me a quick vibration massage and told me to come back tomorrow.  All of this cost me a whopping six bucks. 

I went back the following day for treatment for my back, shoulder, and neck pain.  This time they stuck needles in my back, did fire cupping, and the electric shock stuff all at the same time.  The doctor also brought out these little tape squares that came with a tiny little needle sticking out of the center of each square.  She put about eight of them on my right hand (ouch!) and told me not to take them out until tomorrow.  Then they stuck me in a massage chair for about ten minutes and sent me on my way.  At first the needles in my hand (which are supposed to increase circulation) didn't bother me too much, except for one at the knuckle of my pinky finger.  It hurt to move that finger so much that a coworker told me I should probably take it out because it might be in wrong.  I took it out, but later I started to feel really spacey and I developed a headache.  The same coworker advised me to take the needles out if they were making me feel strange, so I did.  It hurt to take them out, but I felt a lot better very quickly.  I really haven't felt any improvement from the treatments, so I think that's the end of my acupuncture journey.  Hey, I gave it a shot, but it's just not for me.

Vegetarianism

Lately I've been reading a lot about nutrition, our food system, and vegetarianism.  My readings made me think about how I've felt all this time that I've been vegetarian.  I examined my health, and I found it to be lacking.  My hair has been getting thinner and thinner, my fingernails are more brittle than they've ever been, I have absolutely no energy, and I'm hungry all the time.  I decided that I need to face up to the fact that vegetarianism isn't working out for me nutrition-wise here in Korea, and maybe not even at home.  I feel that I need to look after my own health first.  I also admitted to myself that I think it's hypocritical to eat eggs and dairy when egg laying hens and milk cows are treated even worse than animals raised for meat.  I came to the conclusion that the best way to slow the consumption of factory farmed meat might not be to skip the meat entirely, but to instead buy free range, organic meat from reputable companies.  If I support those companies, maybe they can grow enough to replace the horrible factory farms out there. 

I also learned recently that almost all soy produced for consumption is GMO soy.  They have modified the soy so that it produces its own insecticide.  That means when we eat the soy, we are eating food laden with pesticides.  Of course, the big food companies don't want studies done that show this might be harmful to humans, but a few doctors have probed the stomachs of patients.  What they found in the tissue samples was that this insecticide is in the soy, and is being digested by the people who are eating it.  This obviously isn't good for our bodies and digestive systems, but it's all being kept quiet for the sake of profit.  This whole thing really makes me want to avoid eating soy products, so that pretty much nixes all tofu and fake meat out there for me. 

Because of all of the above things I've talked about, I decided to put my own health first for now, and go back to eating meat.  I have to say that since I've been eating meat, I feel a lot better.  I have more energy, and I finally feel full.  I even recovered from an oncoming cold very suddenly the day after I started eating meat.  My only regret is that I don't have access to organic, free range meat here in Korea.  Once I get back to the States, I plan on buying it exclusively.  That way I can have the nutritional benefits while avoiding the chemicals pumped into the meat and the cruelty that stems from the factory farms. 

Poetry Reading

Last night Erik and I went to a poetry and fiction reading in Kyungsung with our new friend, Jennifer.  The venu, Radio Cafe, was like a little slice of home.  It was nice to be surrounded by artsy people, and the poetry/fiction was pretty good too.  It was inspiring to hear all of those creative voices; maybe I'll get back into writing...if I can find the time.  :)  What I really need to do is finish my online courses for my teaching certification....maybe I should go do that now.

A Very Friendly Monk

 In the interests of centralizing all of my blogs so far, here is something I posted on Facebook long ago describing an experience I had soon after I came to Korea.

Sunday, July 26, 2009

Today was an amazing day. Erik, Lena, and I went to Beomeosa Buddhist temple today, located in the mountains just north of Busan. The temple itself is amazing. There are tons of shrines and pagodas covered in intricate woodwork and paintings including wooden dragons and beautiful colors. There are three gateways into the temple, one of which houses the four temple guardians, which are huge intricately painted statues of angry looking men holding things like swords, fire, and a guitar. The scenery and the temple itself are amazing – so beautiful and serene. There are ancient stone statues everywhere, and people praying in all of the shrines.

Monks dot the landscape, praying, walking around, or talking with visitors. They typically wear (from what I saw) a simple but beautiful gray shirt and pants, unless lecturing, when they drape a (yet again simple but beautiful) red cloth around them. Of course, they all have shaved heads, and what seems to be a dignified yet friendly disposition.

After being shown around the temple by a volunteer tour guide, we continued on our hike up the mountain. After hiking for about ten minutes, we came across a temple nestled in the woods, and decided to take a look. Upon entering, we were greeted by a friendly monk named (Venerable) Sung Ta, and began to talk with him. He told us that he was a Buddhist monk and artist, and that he would like to give us one of his paintings. He then led us across the temple yard, down an ancient stone stairway, and over to his home. He lived in a modest room in a rock building built into the side of the mountain. Inside was an area with a mat for meditating, his area with a bed mat and blankets for sleeping on the floor, a desk area for painting, and an area with two small floor tables for dining. The desk area was littered with paper and charcoal for his paintings, and the dining area was scattered with teapots and potted plants.

He sat us down for tea and talked to us about the health benefits of green tea and the mountain spring water he made it with, then proceeded to make and pour the tea, and show us how to drink in properly (holding it first with the right hand, and supporting it with the left hand, drinking with small slow sips). He explained that the tea is taken three cups in a row, while quieting the mind and meditating. Meanwhile he insisted on giving us numerous snacks like sweet wafer pastries and peanuts while we drank what had to be the best green tea I’ve ever had. He told us a bit about Buddhism, and even taught us how to meditate Buddhist-style, banging bamboo sticks and all. After a surprise cup of coffee, and more sweets, he proceeded to paint us each a picture of the Buddha to carry with us for luck.

After exchanging contact information, he led us into the shrine and taught us how to enter correctly, along with the required bows for entering a shrine of the Buddha. (One small bow, and three head-to-floor bows with palms facing upward, followed by another small bow). After letting us light incense in the shrine for our families, he took us up a winding stone staircase to a small stone shrine built against the mountain. Inside were numerous statues of the Buddha, burning candles, and a pool of natural spring water pouring right out of the mountain. Sung Ta told us this was a Dragon Shrine, and that the water was very good for our health, and offered us a drink from the pool. Then he led us back down to the main shrine, and invited us to a meeting for the newest temple members that was about to start.

At the meeting, we sat on pillows on the floor, followed along with the bows of the temple members (normal practitioners of Buddhism – men, women, and children), and listened to them chant in Korean while gazing up at the intricate wood carvings that covered the walls, and the three large golden statues of Buddha and two of his disciples. After about twenty minutes of chanting and a short stint of meditation, Sung Ta appeared himself, introduced us to the worshippers, and gave a sermon (in Korean). Apparently, the main theme was that if bad things happen to you in this life, it is because of bad things that you did in your previous life. If you have a good life, it is because you were good in your previous life. Next, another man (the girl sitting next to me kindly translated the gist of his message) spoke about things that a Buddhist should strive for, such as enlightenment, mercy on all creatures, being a good person and doing the right thing, and coming back to a pure and simple state of mind (the Buddha nature).

After the meeting, Sung Ta treated us and two other foreigners wandering around the temple to some watermelon, after which we thanked him for his hospitality and said our goodbyes. He said he would never forget us, and that we were welcome to come and visit whenever we wanted. We parted ways with the monk and continued our hike up the mountain, somewhat dazed and raving about the unique experience we’d just had.

A Cultural Experience

A few weeks ago a student gave me two tickets to see some traditional Korean music and dance.  I was delighted by the opportunity, and agreed to see the performance.  When I arrived and looked around at the audience, I realized that Erik and I were the only foreigners present.  The hall was new and beautifully modern, and as the curtain went up I didn't know what to expect. 

The first performance was a 'flower' dance performed at palaces long ago.  It was by far the most beautiful of the performances.  The women wore beautiful hanbocks in rich primary blue, yellow, and red.  They bobbed up and down in time with drum beats to create an effect of the red section of their gowns appearing and disappearing in slow, graceful movement.  In this meticulous way, they danced around a huge vase of beautiful pink flowers, each picking up a bouquet of them and incorporating them into the dance.  This performance was stunning.

The next performance consisted of the playing of two gayageums (Korean harps).  This is the uniquely Asian instrument that you think of when imagining stereotypes of this part of the world.  However, this performance was anything but stereotypical.  The musicians were skilled, and they sang folk music to go along with their playing. 

Among other performances such as folk dancing, there was a beautiful performance of the Crane Dance.  The dancers came out wearing all white with long white fabric hanging from their sleeves to symbolize the crane.  They leaped around the stage, flapping their arms to represent the graceful movements of the crane.  This dance was quite a treat to watch. 

The last performance was a drum troupe consisting of four musicians playing a large gong, a small gong, an hourglass shaped drum, and a large round drum.  These instruments symbolize wind, clouds, thunder, and rain.  The musicians took time to showcase each instrument and their own skill, which was very impressive.  I had no idea a hand held gong could be such a versatile instrument.  The troupe's beat started off slow, but soon raced to a galloping crescendo, leaving the audience roaring with applause.  

The entire performance was really amazing, and I'm very glad that I was able to see it.  I was much more impressed with this performance than the one I saw in Kyoto.  I wish more people had a chance to see just how beautiful and wonderful Traditional Korean culture can be.  It is a perfect mix of Chinese and Japanese influences, creating something totally unique and wonderful.  Just ornamental enough to be elegant and beautiful, and just symbolic enough to be mysterious yet approachable, it appeals to me more than either Chinese or Japanese traditional culture.  I hope that in the future more people will discover this gem waiting to be found.

Japan

Tokyo

They drive on the left side of the road here.  I have to remember that.  But this place is far different from England - yet not as different as you'd expect.  I'm on the bullet train to Kyoto.  Looking out the window, I see the countryside planted with rows as you'd expect.  The houses are square with pointed roofs.  The only real difference is that they're closer together and have tiles on top rather than shingles.  the sun is streaming in my window, and I can catch a glimpse of mountains or ocean here and there.  It's hard to believe that at this very moment my family is having their annual Christmas eve party back home.

So far we've had a good trip.  We arrived yesterday and explored Asakusa - an old downtown/tourist area with a temple and souvenir shops.  After that we headed to our tiny hotel room with it's bathroom similar to one found on an airplane or in a camper.  It's funny that things are so small here, yet our toilet used about 15 gallons of water every time it flushed.  I guess saving space doesn't translate into saving water, too.  Next, we wandered around and got some bubble tea - but surprisingly I've had much better in Texas.  Then we grabbed some Indian food near our hotel.  It was by far the best I've ever had.  That's what I expected when I came to Asia, since we're so much closer to India and Thailand, but so far that's the fist time it's been noticeably better than in the states.

Things are just as cheerful and cartoonish here as in Korea.  We are in Nintendo and Anime land, after all.  Here the subway trains' arrivals are marked by cutesy songs, rather than they typical dinging. 

We went to the Meiji Jingu shrine this morning.  It was beautiful, but I find Korean architecture more beautiful thus far.  Korean temples and palaces are covered in beautiful artwork that is intricate and colorful.  Japanese architecture seems to be more austere and simple.  It has a beauty and a feel all its own.

Bathrooms can be quite bizarre and complicatedly automatic here, but at least all of them have had toilet paper so far. 

I'm excited about going to Kyoto.  Tokyo has lost all of its Old Edo feel, and now just seems like any other big city.  I came to experience traditional Japan; I think in that regard Kyoto will be much more satisfying. 

Kyoto

I'm gliding away from Kyoto with mixed feelings.  Kyoto had its charms, but I won't miss being a tourist.  Kyoto's buses were too cramped for Erik to sit down in properly, and we were kept waiting often by them.  It will be nice to go back to Busan, with its convenient subways and a language that I am a bit more comfortable with.

Kyoto was a bit of fresh air after Tokyo.  There were many tourists, but we saw some beautiful places.  On Friday we went to Kinkakuji - The Golden Pavilion.  Its gardens, as with all the temples' gardens, are beautiful and serene.  the contain lots of moss, and focus on controlling the growth of the trees and plants via trimming.  The Golden Pavillion is a square structure covered in gold leaf that gleams in the sunlight.  Next, we made our way downtown for some dinner.  We only found fast food at first, but after scarfing that down, we happened upon a Turkish restaurant with some tasty hummus.  We also tried the Baklava, which was delicious.  Saturday was great.  We hit Ryoanji first, which has a famous Zen rock garden.  A temple worker said that the rocks might symbolize tips of mountains peeking through the clouds, rocks in a river, or Buddah and his disciples.  Next, we made our way to Nijo Castle only to discover that it was closed for repairs.  We then headed to Ginkakuji – The Silver Pavillion.  It’s not actually covered in silver.  The builder died before it could be completed.  The gardens were beautiful though.  The Zen garden here used much thicker and dramatic rake strokes.  Next, we went to Sanjusangendo, the temple that houses 1001 statues of the Buddah.  It was an amazing sight to see.  The hall seemed to go on forever.  After that, we went to Kyomizu-dera, a temple with a large pagoda and a great view.  Perhaps the most interesting part was the “Mother’s Womb”, just beside the temple.  You go down into a maze of pitch black corridors, guided only by a rail of large prayer beads on your left.  The darkness and narrow halls represent the womb, and when you get to the dimly lit stone that appears to float in the darkness, you are supposed to turn it and make a wish.  I believe this stone represents the uterus or vagina.  We ate at a temple restaurant after exploring.  We had hot tofu served up in a wooden bucket, dipped in soy sauce mixed with spices and green pepper.  We sat on elevated platforms, cross-legged at a short table.  My leg fell asleep immediately. 

Next, we made our way to Gion, the geisha district.  The tea houses are built in the old wooden Japanese style, complete with sliding doors and lanterns.  They made for a charming landscape.  We actually saw three or four geisha heading to their nightly engagements.  We found a great Thai place for dinner, and had red curry to rival our favorite restaurant back in the states.  Then we went to Gion corner to see a show highlighting Japanese culture.  We saw a tea ceremony, Japanese harp music, a play, court music, and dancing.  The grace and deliberate movement of the tea ceremony accompanied by the Asian twang of the ‘harp’ was moving.  The court music, one of the earliest forms of music, was an interesting screeching melody – totally unique.  The conductor was dressed in an elaborate dragon costume, and he danced and stomped around the stage to lead the music.  The play was comical and to the point, while the Mieko’s dancing was very slow, graceful, and symbolic.  I have always admired geisha for their graceful movements, and the feeling of serenity that they create, as well as their mystique.  But as I watched this Mieko (apprentice geisha) dancing, I had an amusing revelation.  Here in front of me was a woman who, when you take away the mystery surrounding her, is just a girl in an oversized dress with her face painted like a clown, complete with a plastic tree and chimes stuck on her head.  It’s appreciated as part of Japanese tradition, but if I were to try wearing a plastic tree on my head back in the States, I would just be seen as weird or crazy.  American culture may not be steeped in tradition and symbolism, but at least it’s practical. 

On our way back to the hotel after the show, we picked up some strange Japanese snacks and tried them out.  They varied from strange to gross to delicious, but I think in general they were better than Korean snack food.  Then we went to sleep for the last time on our futons in our “tatimi” mat room. 

This morning we caught the train to the airport and left Kyoto behind, souvenirs in tow.  It was a good trip, and now I’m glad to be going ‘home’.

Excerpts of Writings from the Beginning of My Stay in Korea

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Things I've done today:

-sleep until 9:30 am
-attend Korean lessons in Bu-am
-wander around Seomyeon
-spend too much money on clothes at Migliore
-buy this journal while wandering around a cute neighborhood near our apartment
-buy stickers to appease kinders
-eat at a vegan buffet in Seomyeon
-become exhausted from the heat and smog

...and it's only 4:20...lol...

Today was a bit too cloudy for the beach, but hopefully tomorrow will be nice enough.  I need a break from the smog!

Interesting things in/about Korea:

-the stairless escalators in Home Plus-a
-the lady that comes by every morning at 7:00am yelling in the streets to advertise her dry cleaning business
-the government propaganda trucks and fruit trucks that drive through the streets with loudspeakers on
-open air markets with live/fresh squid, eel, octopus, turtle, fish, and other squiggly things
-the side dish of incredibly tiny, crispy fish
-sweet pickles served with every pizza and pasta dish
-groups of old people on benches that stare every time you walk by
-Korean who swim fully clothed at the beach
-"fan death"
-squid jerky
-super friendly monks
-clothing/cards/accessories with horribly botched English on them
-$1.50 homemade ramen at kimbop shops
-Loving Hut's "Supreme Master"
-Dr. Fish ( a cafe where you can get a pedicure by small fish that bite your feet, a cup of coffee, and free bread and waffles)

Sunday, September 13, 2009

At the moment, I'm sitting in a cafe called Dr. Fish.  It's a place where you can get great coffee of tea, enjoy complimentary waffles, popcorn, and toast, paint your fingernails, and have tiny fish eat the dead skin off of your feet (In case you were wondering, yes, this process tickles like hell).  A nice idea, unless you have a mole on your foot.  I found out the hard way that moles are a tasty delicacy for tiny fish.  My fish pedicure days are over.  However, the cafe is still a nice place with a cozy atmosphere, so we still come often.

Earlier today Erik and I went to the beach, Haeundae to be exact.  Now that school is back in session, the beach is no longer crowded.  The weather is slightly cooler, but the water is still relatively warm from the August heat.  The day was perfect - beautiful skies, mild yet entertaining waves, and a lack of annoying people.  I found my first large seashell, and saw my first gigantic jellyfish.  It was huge!  The top was a pink/orange color, and the tentacles were shaped like thick strands of kelp.  It was very ethereal and (obviously) jelly-like.  Thank goodness I saw it before it touched me!  It was as big as a serving platter; I don't know if a person could survive that kind of a sting.  I ran out of that water fast!  I even warned some Koreans via charades.  Besides seashells and jellyfish, a little blowfish washed up on shore, too.  The sea revealed a lot of itself to me today; perhaps to remind me not to get too comfortable...

We even had burritos from Taco Senora for lunch - one of the best things about going to Haeundae is the good food.  Korea is interesting in that you never know what gem might be hidden in an obscure building or down a small alleyway.  Taco Senora is one of those gems.

September 22, 2009

I've discovered a new Korean food that can be vegetarianized.  It's called oma-rice.  It's basically an omelet wrapped (burrito style) around fried rice, covered in dongasa sauce and ketchup.  I have finally found a dish that I like enough to eat on a regular basis.  Between bibimbop, ramyan, and oma-rice, I think I can make it.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

A lot has happened in a month.  My mom came and went over Chuseok; her visit was good but very busy.  We took her everywhere we could think of: Nampodong for shopping, Texas Street for Chinese massages and pot-ping-su, Taejongdae, Haeundae, Beomeosa, a huge spa, on a hike up the mountain behind our apartment, Seomyeon, Dr. Fish...and probably some other place I've forgotten.  The spa was a first for me too; you have to be in the nude, which means there are separate rooms for men and women.  We enjoyed the baths, but we got exfoliation massages that left me with an apple-sized bruise on my arm and a skin rash from the harsh scrubbing.  Seeing my mom was great, but it also made me realize how much I miss home.  After she left, especially after all of the over-exposure to Korea, I really missed being at home with all of America's creature comforts, where I'm not stared at everywhere I go.  I like Korea, but there's no place like home.  America might have it's problems, but being away from it sure does make me appreciate it more.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!  Yesterday was Halloween Day at COREM.  All of the Kinders dressed up in costumes; it was adorable.  There were witches and princesses and even an elephant and a cheeta.  All of the teachers had to dress up too. I was a hippy (which none of the kids understood, but oh well) and Erik was a tree (we taped paper leaves all over him). 

We made a cool haunted house for the kids with scary decor and black plastic walls.  The teachers running it made about fifteen kids cry in fear, haha.  I was in charge of the cake walk, and Erik told scary stories.  There was also pin the hat on the witch, witche's brew punch making, face painting, etc.  Running everything required a lot of energy and effort; I slept forever last night, and I'm still tired!