Last 5's

Stolen from my BFF, with a few alterations:

last 5 books I read:

1)Stolen Innocence-Elissa Wall

2) High Noon-Nora Roberts

3) The Opposite of Love- Julie Buxbaum

4) Rogue- Danielle Steel(not proud...)

5) Slam- Nick Hornby

Last 5 meals:

1) homemade pizza

2) kimchi, rice, and tofu patties

3) delicious deli sandwich

4) korean beef, rice, and kimchi

5) cereal

*Last 5 people I talked to on the phone/skype:

1) Erlo

2) a girl I interviewed at school today

3) my family

4) Alicia

5) Bethany

*some of those had some repeats!

Last 5 things I watched on TV(rather, the internet):

1)Law and Order

2)Private Practice

3) 17 Again

4) Medium

5) Grey's Anatomy

Last 5 things I've bought:

1) water

2) some groceries, including eggs, cheese, bread, and vegetables

3) a coffee this afternoon

4) that delicious sandwich last night

5) a cold beverage to go with that sandwich

that was probably more interesting for me than for you!

Pepero Day!

Yesterday was "Pepero" day here in Korea. These tasty treats are created by Lotte, a huge company here in Korea, that makes just about everything; food, candy, you name it. Lotte has many department stores, and even a theme park in Seoul. Basically, the holiday was supposedly created because the Pepero sticks look like 1's, so on 11/11, everyone gives each other Peperos. There are the regulation chopstick sized Peperos, medium sized Peperos, and giant Peperos. It's the essence of a commercial holiday! Let's all get sick on Peperos!

Welcome to the World Little Guy!

My nephew, Parker James Tamblin, was born on November 4, at 5 in the morning to my sister Angela(in case there was confusion). He's a big guy, weighing in at 9lbs., 2oz, and measuring 21 inches! I get to meet him in person at Christmas, but have been chatting to my sister and him online in the meantime! here are some of the first pictures.

And a little one to preview:

Rugby!

That's right folks, those of you who may have thought there was not much of an athletic bone in the Halls family would be pleasantly surprised. I played Touch Rugby a couple weeks ago. Some of my friends and I were convinced by a couple of New Zealanders to join a team for a one-day tournament. Needless to say, we lost, but got a couple of t-shirts and a day of fun in the sun! our team was named The Mobsters. Here is a team photo:

I also recently celebrated my birthday with some friends. It was fun, and I am now officially a quarter of a century! Wow, I can barely believe it myself. Anyway, take a look at my recently updated Picassa web albums, complete with pictures from Rugby and my Birthday. Enjoy!

Kimchi, Kimchi, it is good for you and me...?

So today, someone mentioned that Dr. Oz(the guy from Oprah) says that Kimchi causes cancer. If you don't already know, Kimchi is pretty much the national food of Korea. It is served in almost every restaurant, and eaten at every meal, even(if not especially) at breakfast. I first tried Kimchi last year in Taiwan, and didn't really acquire a taste for it until trying it several more times upon arrival here in SK. Now, I look forward to my near daily intake of the spicy fermented cabbage and relish in it when a restaurant serves particularly tasty Kimchi. Koreans believe in the healing power of Kimchi, but in search of the truth, I decided to consult all-knowing Wikipedia:

Kimchi is very spicy and can also be exceptionally sweet. Kimchi is made of various vegetables and contains a high concentration of dietary fiber, while being low in calories. One serving also provides up to 80% of the daily recommended amount of vitamin C and carotene.[8] Most types of kimchi contain onions, garlic, and peppers, all of which are salutary. The vegetables being made into kimchi also contribute to the overall nutritional value. Kimchi is rich in vitamin A, thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), calcium, and iron,[9][10] and contains a number of lactic acid bacteria, among those the typical species Lactobacillus kimchii.[11][12][13][11]
The magazine Health named kimchi in its list of top five "World's Healthiest Foods" for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion, and even possibly reducing cancer growth.[14] However, some research focused on high-sodium dietary dependence has found overconsumption of kimchi and doenjang (hangul: 된장) to be a risk factor in gastric cancer (most likely due to nitrates and salt) while unfermented alliums and unfermented seafood were found to be protective factors.[15] One oncological study found one type of kimchi to be a protective factor against gastric cancer while two other types of such high-sodium kimchi as dongchimi (hangul: 동치미) were risk factors.[16]

One study conducted by Seoul National University claimed that chickens infected with the H5N1 virus, also called avian flu, recovered after eating food containing the same bacteria found in kimchi. However, the veracity of these results has been questioned due to the very small sample size of only a handful of chickens and the fact that no subsequent research supported the claims. During the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia, many people even believed that kimchi could protect against infection, although there was no scientific evidence to support this belief.[17][18] However, in May 2009, the Korea Food Research Institute, Korea’s state food research organization, said they had conducted a larger study on 200 chickens, which supported the theory that it boosts chickens' immunity to the virus

That's right....a possible cure for Bird Flu! Ha! Somehow I doubt it. Anyway, my conclusion is that like everything else in the world, it probably does cause cancer if its the only thing you are eating every day. I am going to keep enjoying the stuff. :)

Teaching with Grace

No, that is not a name of one of my students or a co-teacher, but in fact the old practice of having a little grace every once and awhile. Lately, I have been learning this more than ever. I recently returned from a hurried trip home and to Mexico for my best friends wedding. While it was an incredible, amazing time, I didn't really get the much needed rest vacations sometimes offer us. Instead, I came back--while missing my students--a little irritated that I had to be back at work.

The other day, I had a conversation with my students to try to figure out their "real", or western, age. I figured out that more than half of my Kindergarten students are only 4, and 80 percent of one of my elementary students are only 6. All this time, I was under the impression that they were 5 and 7. Not that its that big of a difference in the long run, but here is a video of a wee little 4 year old doing some reading. Be amazed.

Anyway, knowing how old they are and how hard they work every day, I am trying to have a little more patience and grace when they break the rules or just annoy me. I really do love the heck out of my kids, but there are those days that they just get under your skin. I just need to keep telling myself that they're just kids.

Swine Flu for reals.

What a relaxing week this has been! At school on Monday, we were sent home at 3pm because most of the schools are being closed in the area. A girl at the elementary school in my city has Swine Flu and they subsequently closed down that school for a week. Since we had some kids who have been in contact with that girl, my boss decided to shut the school on a day by day basis. So far, we didn't have any school today, we don't have any school tomorrow, and will wait for word about the rest of the week. I'm definitely enjoying the time off, but will miss the pay. It's kind of too bad it was pouring rain ALL DAY today. Oh well, no school is no school.

Baseball!

On the 4th of July, we all went to a Korean baseball game together, most of us for the first time. We got some On the Border(best semi-Mexican food I've been able to find in Korea) and headed out to watch the Doosan Bears vs. the LG Twins. All the baseball teams here are owned by major companies. Apparently the Bears are popular(at least with my students), but the Twins killed them this game. I always loved going to games growing up and then last year in Taiwan. I thought it was going to be the same as in Taiwan, but the turnout was incredible here. The olympic stadium in Seoul where the game was held was completely packed. There were people sitting in the isles and on the stairs. Nevertheless, it was a great time. Especially since you can bring your own food/drinks inside the stadium and tickets are only $6.

oops

My bad...it has been sooo long since I have updated. I've heard the complaints and the requests, and I will be back in business ASAP. I meant to do some blogging over the weekend, but a baseball game and late night out in Seoul got in the way. Don't worry everyone I am still here! About 15 days till I go home for a week.....and I am so excited. My BFF Bethany is getting married in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. I'm ready for the all-inclusive resort, the beach, and having a pina colada perpetually in my hand. More later!

summertime?

So the weather lately has been a little unpredictable here in Korea. I was told that spring here was beautiful, but lately there have been a few too many cool and wet days for my taste. And apparently rainy season isn't even here yet! Nevertheless, Alicia and I decided to deny the fickle weather and trek to the east coast to discover the Korean shoreline. I packed my bags ready for some hot beach weather, failing to check the weather report in hopes that my ignorance would leave me in bliss. Well, when we arrived, it definitely was NOT shorts and t-shirt weather, but pants and long-sleeve shirt weather. We were not prepared, but the beach was beautiful, and after I found a cheap fake Puma shirt in a nearby beach shop, I was set for a weekend in the sand and clouds. We played some frisbee, threw a football around, dipped our toes in the water, and set off some fireworks. About 8 of us got a large family sized room for the night. It all worked out quite nicely, although I really had hoped to get some color on my unseasonably white skin. (Someone the other day actually said, "I didn't think you were from California because you are so white.".....wellll....if I was IN California, I'm sure I wouldn't be white!). We hope to get out there in the weeks to come to track down the ever elusive Korean blue sky(I think it only comes out when we're working).

Here are some pictures from the weekend:



Eating some delicious crab:




I got to try a silkworm! It wasn't that bad actually, although the smell is kind of gross:



The hotel room we stayed in:



A moment of sunshine, captured on camera:



The rest of the time was spent like this:

Pig Flu

Well, its made it across the Pacific. It's already been in Japan quite a bit, but there was only one reported case of it in Korea until recently. Some English Teachers at some unknown private school have been quarantined. Although the Korean newspapers have been hush hush about it, one of the teacher's who was quarantined started a blog. Way to go!!! Check it out!

The DMZ

So, the DMZ. Last weekend, a couple of us from Best Kids and a couple of KCTY folks made our way to Seoul's USO to begin a tour of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. It's a pretty cool tour because it goes pretty far into the DMZ and only certain nationalities are allowed to go on this tour. I will do my best to relay most of the information I received on the tour, but I can't promise its complete accuracy!

The DMZ is an area about 248 KM long and runs the length of Korea approximately on the 38th parallel. It is about 4 KM wide, with 2 KM on the North and 2 KM on the South. In World War II, the 38th parallel was the original border between the Soviet occupied North and the US occupied South. During the Korean war, the border was pushed down south several times, but in 1953 the DMZ was created as an armistice between the North and the South. The place where they signed the armistice is pretty much in the center of the DMZ. Technically, the countries are still at war, but the armistice was sort of a cease fire. There are still lots of threats thrown out there by the North, but nothing has really become of it since the cease fire.

The word demilitarized is a little misleading too, since both sides are allowed to patrol the DMZ with a limited and specified amount of weaponry. There are also markers inside the DMZ that if crossed, will lead you into a mine field.

So, the tour we went on let us go with the US Army into the DMZ. We were allowed to go to the Joint Security Area(or JSA), where there are both North Korean and South Korean buildings, and where official meetings are held. I'll just explain the rest with pictures.

First, we were given a briefing on the specifics of the DMZ. Good ol' homeboy(army boy) from Modesto gave us the speech. His accent was sort of hick and hard to understand because he spoke so fast, but we were able to get the basics.




These two pictures are from the JSA. The blue buildings are South and the silver buildings are North.




This is inside one of the blue buildings where UN meetings are held. This soldier is in both North and South. The right is North the left is South.


We were allowed to take pictures with them, but we couldn't cross in front of him and we couldn't touch him, or he would probably hit us :)



Here are a couple of pictures of the North Korean soldiers watching us. We were only allowed to take pictures at certain times when they told us and we were being watched the entire time we were on tour. Kind of creepy. These guys were so close!




Looking over into North Korea. Notice the line of trees blocking the view into NK. Also, on a clear day, you can see how the rest of the country side is barren because North Korean's have resorted to cutting down trees for firewood and possibly for eating since conditions are so bad there.



The Bridge of No Return. We weren't allowed to get out of the bus here because it was "too dangerous". I think they mean that if someone had the sudden urge to run across, they would probably have to be shot. At the end of the Korean war, Koreans had to decide if they wanted to live in the North or South. Once they made the decision they couldn't go back. Because of the war, many Koreans had family on both sides. Imagine having to make that decision! They used this bridge to cross over into the chosen side, hence the name, Bridge of No Return. Pretty crazy.


That's about all the interesting photos. We also got to see a nice informational video about the North and the South and how their relations are getting better everyday. It seemed a little optimistic to me, since this zone is still heavily secured and it doesn't really seem like its going to change anytime soon. In the late 70's, the South Korean's discovered tunnels that the North was digging under the DMZ to try to attack the South. The tunnels they dug could have fit 30,000 troops. North Korean's tried to disguise the tunnels as coal mines by painting them black. (We got to go into one of the tunnel's they found). They think there are probably still some out there that they haven't discovered yet. And they say relations are getting better? I feel perfectly safe here since there are so many US bases and I could probably get out very quickly if I needed to(sometimes its nice to be American), but it is very strange to me that it can be so divided here still.

Teacher's Day

This Friday, May 15, was Teacher's Day in Korea. Its a big thing here, parents and children like to show their appreciation to their teachers with flowers and gifts. Since I live in a pretty affluent area, the kids at my school give exceptional gifts. I don't think I ever gotten this much for any holiday! I am really grateful to the parents for going out of their way to think of me on this day. Here's a picture of the damage:


Today, a group of us went on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea. It was really cool! I will post more about that later.

Lately

So sorry I haven't been updating about the happenings over on this side of the world. I've been meaning to and finally feel completely over a sickness that seemed to last for way too long. It's nice to be able to breathe again!

I'll start with the weekend before last. I had a four day weekend, but since I was still on antibiotics and not feeling so well, I decided to stay home and get myself better for one of my favorite holidays: Cinco de Mayo! Really, I have to admit its just an excuse to drink margaritas and eat Mexican food, but what can be better than that? A bunch of us went to La Merce, the only "Mexican" food in the area. It is a poor excuse for Mexican food but they do have excellent ritas.

Jillian and the sombrero:

Alicia and I. The beer is good too:)


Mariko and Brandon, some of my favorites:


Having a discussion on the dating rituals of boys:



Although overall a pretty uneventful weekend for being so long, it was nice to chill and relax. I also bought some much needed curtains. Now I am sleeping until AFTER the sun comes up. It can be very bright on the 34th floor, you know.

This last weekend was much more eventful. Alicia and I went to the National Palace in Seoul. It's where the Royal family lived, but it was burned down and torn down by the Japanese on two different occasions(couldn't tell you exactly when, but it was very very long ago). The final restoration was in 1990, and it is very impressive. Supposedly, Koreans are so obsessed with the novelties of American culture that having such a large and sacred part of Korean history restored and kept up is pretty rare and special. It was really really cool. There were a couple museums there we didn't get to explore, so hopefully I'll get back someday. They had a little march by the "Royal Guards" in front. Here are a few of my pictures. I'll try to put the rest of them on facebook ASAP.

The showing of the Royal Guards:




The front of the Palace:


Throughout the day, we kept getting stopped by various students with assignments to perform an interview in English. Here's Alicia getting one. I had just gotten one right before this, and Alicia took my video, so it was only fair that I put this picture on my blog.


The architecture is very cool:
What I would look like as a Royal Guard:

A pagoda:


Kids painting the scenery, so quaint!



Beautiful scenery. This is the party house of the palace. Looks like fun!





After the Palace, of course we couldn't resist some good ol' Korean shopping:



Just kidding. Actually, we did go to the shopping district in Seoul again. Made some very crucial spring purchases. Later, we had Thai food in Itaewon, the part of Seoul where "all the foreigners hang out". Meaning, lots of Army and Air Force people, Indians, Africans, and of course, English Teachers from all over the world. Anyway, its a good place to eat, a sketchy place to go to bars, unless Army boys are your thing. My favorite part of the night was running across this vendor selling overpriced, dirty bracelets and jewelry. In case you can't read the warning, it is prohibiting vendors for setting up there. It warns that they will be severely punished....I wouldn't mess with Korean government either!

Hope you all have a great week!!!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day Mommy!

Yes, I am admitting to the online world that I still call my mom Mommy. She will always be my mommy, and she is the best one out there! I love you!

again...

This weekend, I decide to try to take it easy. I went to bed fairly early on Friday, and on Saturday, Alicia and I ventured into Seoul for some shopping. The weather turned out to be terrible though and it started raining almost as soon as we got there. We're talking cold, miserable rain. We got pretty wet, and spent awhile looking for a Mexican restaurant in Itaewon. Saturday night was pretty early as well...I was in bed by midnight. On Sunday, however, I woke up with a terrible cough and an achy, fevery body. I'm still fighting a fever even today at work :( I'm just glad that Swine Flu hasn't made it to South Korea yet. I'm sick of being sick!!

Dinner and Blogs of Note

Hello....

Well, you'll be happy to know that I went shopping yesterday and found a BUNCH of new ingredients. I first went to the imported goods store, "I Love Cookie" and found some jalepenos, capers, chili seasoning packets, and some dried italian seasonings. After school, I went to a more upscale Korean grocery store, found some fresh ginger, cilantro(!!!!), bay leaves, curry powder, Hoisin sauce, and a few other things. Last night I made a delicious Asian salad with tofu, lettuce, cilantro, corn, and onions. For the dressing, I mixed together lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil and a little white wine. Yes, it had some powerful flavors mixed in there, but it was delish. I would have taken a picture, but when I mixed the tofuin, it kind of fell apart, and didn't look that pretty. Anyway, tonight, I'm making Chili, we'll see how that goes.

I didn't even plan on writing that much about my dinner! On another subject, you may have noticed to the left I have some links to various friends' blogs I read. They are all worth taking a gander. I just received permission to tell you about Bethany's blog too. I may be a little biased, but its maybe my favorite right now. :) Read it.

Your Help Needed

OK, this is a desperate situation folks. After weeks of spending a lot of money eating out and eating the same 3 things at home, I NEED to start cooking more and becoming more creative with my cooking. I just can't seem to get going though. The first couple weeks I found myself just buying the essentials at the grocery store and I find my meals are odd combination and often repetitive. I like to cook, and I think this is a great time to experiment. So here is what I have to work with so far(note: I know I will need to do some shopping in the near future!):

Currently in my kitchen fridge:
*Kimchi(obviously)
*Yogurt
*Milk
*Kiwis
*Sliced Ham
*Chicken tender pieces(I have a lot of this frozen-from Costco)
*Tofu

Currently in my cabinet:
*Canned Kidney Beans(again I have a lot of these from Costco)
*Rice
*Cereal
*1 can of tomato sauce
*1 can of corn
*Peanut Butter
*Cereal

Spices/Condiments I currently have:
*Soy Sauce
*Garlic-Sesame sauce/marinade(pretty good with chicken, but I'm sick of it)
*Korean chili paste
*Garlic
*salt & pepper
*Sesame seeds
*Sesame Oil
*Olive Oil

What I have to work with in my kitchen:
*a stove top
*no microwave
*no oven
*a small frying pan and a small sauce pan(I think I might invest in bigger ones)
*a washing machine(hmmm...)

What I have to work with in Korea:
*Limited cheese availability
*Limited spice and herb availability(haven't really investigated this fully, but the spice section at the store is minuscule, all I know is that I haven't found cilantro yet)
*abundance of vegetables, mostly sold in bulk
*abundance of seafood and meat


So, help me out. Give me your ideas as to what I can cook. It would preferably be as healthy and protein rich as possible, and be able to be stored for leftovers. So far I have made a lot of grilled sesame-garlic chicken and rice, cabbage soup, grilled ham and cheese, tofu and sauteed veggies. I'm planning on trying to make Chili this week with some of the kidney beans. So, have at it! Help out a single lady trying to survive in a different country!

the oddballs.

Ok, so in my travels, I often think about perceptions and misperceptions regarding culture. I think our awareness of the oddities in any particular culture become heightened when we are outside of our own culture or one we are familiar with.

Along the Tancheon River by my house recently, I've noticed a lot of older women down on the ground picking some kind of plant. I totally just assumed this was a weird Korean quirk. I snooped a little and then looked at the grocery store to figure out what exactly it was that they were picking. I figured out that they were picking Dandelion plants. Not the flowers, the leafy part.

On Saturday night, I had dinner with one of my students mothers and I asked her about this. She kind of laughed and said, "hmm, that's weird, I would think those plants are very dirty." My thoughts exactly! Think of all the dogs that have peed on those weeds. She even told me that a whole bundle of them only costs about $2.00 in the store. Which led me to believe that even a lot of Koreans find this behavior to be a little odd.

Anyway, the point of writing about this is that I think it's important to realize that there are really weird things and behaviors everywhere, but it does not mean that the whold culture is like that. Culture shock causes a hypersensitivity to the behaviors of those around us, and also I think often leads to a negative criticism towards that culture. Gosh, if there was somone visiting California, I really would hope they wouldn't group all Californians with some of the crazies we have there!! People can just be strange. Anywhere. And that folks, is my insight for the day!

Awesome Blossom

This time of year is absolutely beautiful here! I was going to try to go to a festival this weekend in Seoul to look at cherry blossoms, but apparently "festival" just means a very large crowd walking along a street to look at blossoms...and that just didn't sound appealing. The other day after school, I was on a walk since the weather has gotten so beautiful, and came across some pretty amazing trees. Here are a few pictures from the day:


















The only problem with them is that I think they make me intensely allergic. I've been sneezing and coughing, and have a terribly stuffed-up nose the past few days. Either that or I'm just sick--again. I'll be headed to the doctor during my break tomorrow to try to get over it, either way.