American T-Day in Korea

Yup - it happened. I had a REAL Thanksgiving abroad. Now I know last year in Thailand I had a Thanksgiving dinner...but without Turkey and Football, it feels just like a big dinner. BUT NOT THIS YEAR!!! Here's how my Thanksgiving went down...

Friday after school I hopped on a bus to Seoul. I met my friend Mike at his friends' house where they were having their Thanksgiving. So I dove right in and had some Mashed Potatoes, Pumpkin Seeds, Green Bean Casserole, Bread, and some Chicken (no turkey for me...YET!).

Then on Saturday I got up and headed to my THANKSGIVING ADVENTURE!!!!

I met at the bus station where I befriended the other 4 people waiting for the "thanksgiving train" (no, it wasn't a REAL train, it was a figurative one). Anyways, once the bus arrived, we hopped on, and new friend Dave offered us some Wild Turkey and some Miller Lite. Of course, I was first in line.

Starting Turkey Day with some Wild Turkey!

Once we picked up the rest of the people (including my girl Julie from Jeonju, and her beau Brandon) we arrived at our "Thanksgiving Palace". A 4 building log cabin area for just us Waygooks (foreigners)!!! Once we arrived, we checked into our rooms (mine happened to be above the kitchen) and dropped our bags off.

Our Thanksgiving Cabin!

The chefs had been hard at work since 11am, and the smells were already quite homely. We toured the other cabins, and tapped the kegs for pre-dinner drinks...as dinner was still HOURS away.

Once the 2nd bus arrived with the rest of the Waygooks, we hoarded into the cooking house for dinner....only to be told that it would be another hour. AHHHH - we were DYING for some Thanksgiving dinner.


FINALLY dinner was ready...so the lineup started. Our plates filled up with the following:

Get in line, dinner's ready!

- Salad (with RANCH!!!)
- Bread
- Stuffing
- Cranberry Sauce (REAL sauce, with nuts and raisins!)
- Gravy
- Deviled Eggs
- Mashed Potatoes with Garlic
- Green Bean Casserole
- Ham
- TUUUUUURRRKKKKKEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY

Plate 1 of 2 :)

Yes. That's right. We had Turkey. And LOTS of it. Turkey Turkey Turkey. It was more delicious than I remember. Maybe because it's been TWO YEARS!! Now, if I was on a no-turkey diet, I would be impressed with no turkey for 2 years, but I'm not. It's just not a regular dish in the countries I have recently lived in.


And for dessert there was pumpkin pie and apple pie!

Once we had our plates, it was time to get comfortable and dig in! After the prayer, of course. I am sure my pops will be proud to know that I led our group in a Thanksgiving prayer :)

So after I scarfed down plate 1 of Turkey and sides....it was on to plate 2. And that's where it went downhill.....I stuffed myself so full I couldn't move. I don't even think I got my plate in the trash before my body went to sleep. Actually, I KNOW I didn't. I woke up from a "long blink" to find my plate still on my lap, so I shoved in some more delicious ham (I had finished off the turkey on my plate LONG before the rest of my food). That probably wasn't such a good idea.

I had made a friend with another new-to-Korea girl, Rachel, and she was suffering as much as I was. We thought a walk would make us feel better...so we bundled up and headed outside. It helped a little...just enough to fit in a S'More once the bonfire started. But that was it....we were down for the count after that. We missed a whole night of partying thanks to our bellies! UGH!

Just enough room for a fire-roasted marshmellow!

BUT - as it turned out, many people had the same problem....BUT they solved theirs. Apparently at about 2am, most people woke up from their food coma ready to rage...and rage they did till about 6am, I'm told. I of course, slept right through it. Oh well. I woke up with no hangover (or at least not an alcohol induced one).

In the morning, it was breakfast time...which in true Thanksgiving fashion was leftovers! But - there was also pancakes, sausages, fresh home fries, eggs, coffee, and hot chocolate.

"Thanksgiving Family" - Julie, Brandon, Dave, Me, Mindy, Rachel

I was able to nibble on some of the breakfast - but not as much as I normally would have done! I was still too full from the dinner the night before!

Afterwards, we waddled to the buses and headed out...

Whelp - Thanksgiving, you did it. You made me feel like a fat American, even after 2 years away from you. Thank you. I hope I never eat that much again.

BUT I did walk away with a bottle of Ranch ;)

Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Apes :)

Happy Pepero Day!

What is Pepero Day? A DAY TO EAT/GIVE/RECEIVE PEPERO STICKS!!

I know, I know...what IS a pepero stick?

Well, in Thailand they are called Pockey.

Still no idea?? Here is a visual....

Stick "biscuits" covered in Chocolate!

Yup - there is a DAY dedicated to this treat. The date is 11/11. Because the date looks like the chocolate sticks!! What a clever idea you Pepero founders. Oh, you didn't make up the Holiday? Well, then who did?

Well, according to Wikipedia:

"Pepero Day is an observance in South Korea similar to Valentine's Day. It is named after the Korean snack Pepero and held on November 11, since the date "11/11" resembles four sticks of Pepero.The holiday is observed mostly by young people and couples, who exchange Pepero sticks, other candies, and romantic gifts. Lotte denies starting the holiday and instead states that they noticed a bump in Pepero sales around November 11th and after continued popularity they decided to then encourage the holiday with special gift boxes and other promotions. 

According to one story, Pepero Day was started in 1994 by students at a girls' middle school in Busan, where they exchanged Pepero sticks as gifts to wish one another to grow "as tall and slender as a Pepero".

Lotte usually does about 55% of their Pepero business in November every year."

Ahh, so it was either some middle school girls in Busan, or a Grocery Store (Lotte). And now all of South Korea participates. My students give it to me, I give it to them, other teachers share them in the office, and I even got a box of them from a friend. While it might not have been a box of chocolates....wait, I'll save that thought for Valentine's Day.

Well, whoever made it up - thank you. I love having any reason to eat sweets.

And on that note - time to close this post, as my teachers today are making "Korean Pizza" so I need to get in on that!!!

Ghamsamnida,
Apes :)

Watching from overseas

Well, it's here. The US Presidential Election of 2012. The candidates these 2 guys:

Current Prez - Barack Obama (Democrat)

Challenger - Mitt Romney (Republican)

Now while I am not overly political, I am happy that voting day has arrived. Why? NO MORE POLITICAL POSTS ON MY SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES (yes, that means Facebook). FINALLY!!!

And while I watched the election coverage this AM on CNN, I thought about how interesting it was to watch what was going on in America while I wasn't there. Kind of like looking at America with new(er) eyes. It also made me look back and see what else I had seen while being afar.

The killing of Osama Bin Laden - I got to see the whole world celebrate and realized it wasn't JUST America that wanted it.

Olympics 2012 - it was GREAT to be abroad during the beginning of this, and cheer with other nationalities while the competition was on.

Man jumping and breaking the sound barrier - What a GREAT accomplishment, and being able to discuss it with other nationalities was a bonding moment.

Death of Neil Armstrong - everyone knew of him and his accomplishments as an astronaut, and an American. It was great to have an American have such a positive impact on our image all over the world.

There were also MANY other events all over the world that I was aware of, that in America I might not have paid attention to: the shooting of the Muslim girl on the way to school, for example.

It is great seeing things happening back home and seeing the reactions from non-Americans. It gives new perspective to what is going on at home and how we are viewed.

Until next post...

Ghamsamnida,
Apes :)

Lunch Post

Normally I don't really look forward to my Mon/Tues school lunches. Don't get me wrong, they are always tasty, but I can usually guess what we are having.

Today I was wrong...and that is the reason for the post (not being wrong, but what WAS for lunch).

- Today's soup was a creamy onion soup (usually it is a clear soup)
- The meat portion of lunch was KOREAN BBQ! I would have never expected this for lunch, but boy was my tummy/tastebud/etc happy. It came with most of the fixings; the meat, the sauce, and even the lettuce used to make the wraps. MMMMM. MASHISOYO!!!
- Then to top it - GRILLED CHEESE AND HAM SANDWHICHES! Yup, that's right. BUT Korea does the bread a little differently. Instead of a grilled flat sandwich, the bread was soft and fluffy, like french toast(!).
- Oh, and for dessert? Peach Yogurt.  

If today's lunch was on facebook, it would be LIKED!

Ghamsamnidah,
Apes

Culture Lessons

This past weekend the foreign teachers in town went on a Cultural Excursion. Since I had been in South Korea for about 2 months now, I was excited to get some culture shoved at me!

So we got our schedules and headed off...

Hmm...what are we doing today?

FIRST STOP..Hanok Village! This village houses traditional Korean Style Houses. The houses are on stilts, and the "village" also houses a copy of a portrait of one of their beloved Kings. I would say which one it is, but I didn't write it down so I don't remember :(
BUT while the village hosts the copy of the portrait, the ORIGINAL was also on display while we were there (it's only on display for 15 days!).

You are here...Hanok Village

While in the village, we also learned about the crazy "naked, tickle tree" I don't know what it is scientifically called, but that's what I named it. It is a tree with no bark, so it is slippery. They also appear in Japan and that Japanese name translates to "Monkey fall down tree" tree - since it is slippery the monkeys can't climb on it. A really weird/unique thing? You can tickle the tree! Yes, like a "tickle-me-elmo" but a tree! If you rub the white spots of the trees, the branches will shake. Now, it's not like when you PUSH a tree and it wiggles. I mean, if you scratch the spot, the branches shake. It is CRAZY!

Tickle Tickle!

 Inside the portrait museum in the village we were able to see some of the history of South Korea, and sit in a "King's Chair". We learned interesting facts such as the background that can ONLY be painted in the King's portraits, and how you can look at the armor of the higher class members and determine if they are a Prince, King, etc. (Spoiler - its all about the dragon claws!)

Queen Apes - you can tell by the background that I'm royalty

After Hanok Village we had lunch and then it was ARTS & CRAFTS!! We made jewelry boxes out of Rice Paper and Seaweed glue.

Raw materials....

Look what I can make!!!

While we waited for our crafts to dry, we headed off to learn how to make traditional Bibimbap - MY FAVORITE!!!  We watched the teachers make it, and then they let us loose to do it ourselves. We split into 2 groups and got to it! Afterwards, we all scarfed it down and it was DE-LISH-OUS!!!

Traditional Bibimbap....Love added by Apes

Then we were off to get some more culture...WEDDING TIME!!! We learned about a traditional Korean wedding, and even got to act it out!

Here's are some traditional wedding traditions:
1) Before the wedding, the Groom gives the Bride a wild goose. If a wild goose can't be found, a duck will do.
2) During the wedding, a chicken is placed in the North and South areas of the ceremony. The heads of the chickens look like they are wearing a hat like a person of power would wear. 
3) When the Bride and Groom see each other at the beginning of the ceremony, the Groom faces the West, and the Bride faces the East (they are facing each other). 
4) The wedding has 3 parts...
     Part 1 - The bridesmaid and groomsmen fill a cup of alcohol and the Bride/Groom raises it to the heavens, and the earth, and then dumps it on the floor.
     Part 2 - The bridesmaids/groomsmen fill a cup of alcohol and the Bride/Groom take a sip and then they switch and finish it. This shows that they CAN finish the drink, but choose to share it instead.
     Part 3 - The bridesmaids/groomsmen pour alcohol into a cup that is split in two with a red/blue ribbon attached. The red/blue ribbon is tied at the end to the other color to connect the cup. Red - women, Blue - men. The Bride/Groom take a sip and then switch it again. Then they join the cup back into one cup. This shows that men and women started as one, then were divided, and are now whole again.   
Then the wedding is completed!!!

Since we had an actual couple in the group, we had them "get married" in the Traditional Korean way.

Newlyweds!!!

After the wedding, we all were given different Korean clothing to wear to see what it was like. Of course, I LOVED this!

Sending love your way....Korean style!

Once the modeling was over...the day was done. It was time to head back to Jinan...but what a great day!

Ghamsamnida,
Apes :)