Spring is in the air

Beautiful blossoms out back of my apartment building.

As seen on TV

Props to my homeys who first pointed out the live action video. Turns out you can get a kit at the local convenience store.

Experimentations with local cuisine - ongoing

[As per Ian's request]
Today I dined with my sea-captain friend, Mr. Kim. On our way to the restaurant he asked me what I like to eat. I said anything. He asked me if I eat meat. I said sure. We went to a small place, and he ordered something unfamiliar to me. Some side dishes, soup and a few bones with meat arrived at the table. As I was knawing on the meat, I remarked that kimchi goes very well with strong tasting meat like pork. "That's not pork," he said with a sneaky grin, "it's another kind of meat." At that moment the waitress brought us a serving of steaming meat, and it dawned on me what we were eating. "You're really Korean now," he said. According to some, I may be going to hell for indulging in a serving of Rover-du-jour, but to be honest, it wasn't that bad.

Snack Attack

Ah it's been a good week for mangled English...

Experiments with local produce - Part I

Now, I consider myself to be a reasonably accomplished cook with a decent understanding of a variety of cuisines. Before I came to Korea, I figured I'd have no problem navigating local grocery stores. Was I ever wrong - particulary in the realm of vegetables! My first visit to a small grocery store, I recognized almost nothing. Since that first shock, I've made it my goal to learn as much as possible about local produce. My latest success concerns what appears to be a stick:

In Korean it's 'u-eong' (우엉) which apparently is burdock root in English. Who knew. Turns out if you slice it up and cook it in a sweetened soy-sauce mixture, it's pretty tasty.

For the want of a bump...

For the want of a bump, what is meant to be eaten here doesn't seem so appetizing.

Train of thought...

Today I looked at one of my co-worker's coats and remarked to myself what a lovely coat it was. This led me to think that I should really go shopping and upgrade my own wardrobe a little. Which led me to think how I hate shopping for clothes, especially in Korea where the average young lady is fantastically slim, making it difficult to find non-ugly clothes that fit. Which reminded me of a very positive shopping experience I had in Seoul recently. I wanted to try on something, whereupon the girls working in the shop looked me up and down and said "Ah, gla-muh si-jee". This is Konglish for "Ah, glamour size." I dunno about other full-figured ladies out there, but I think that's the loveliest euphemism I've ever heard! Those snobby, scrawny girls working in the boutiques in Montreal could surely take a lesson from these girls.

Today's [random] Quote

"Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra and then suddenly it flips over, pinning you underneath. At night, the ice weasels come."

~ Matt Groening

Local News

Yep, I felt the quake that hit south-western Japan late in the morning today. I was lazing about when my apartment started moving around me. It lasted for about a minute, and I felt a few other tremors within the next little while. No damage at all.

Tremor Shakes Busan

Speaking of Japan, many Koreans are extremely pissed at Japan these days. There are a few rocky islands hanging out in the sea between Japan and Korea, and both countries are currenlty claiming them as their own. The row is becoming more heated daily, with provocations coming from both parties. The weight of the rivalry between Korea and Japan has never been more apparent.

South Koreans vent fury at Japan

Double oh yeah...

I also attended a groovy sorta variety show in Busan several more weeks back. It was to celebrate(?) the opening of a hospital and so sponsored by the hospital and the head doctor. Not pictured is the dinner we got in on after the show, which was held for all the performers. Thanks to my estimable jazz-trumpeter friend Gordon, who was part of the show, we tagged along for a delightful dinner of raw fish (회) and spicy fish soup(매운탕) - yum! I tried for the first time raw 'sea penis'. I don't mean to be vulgar, but that's kind of what they look like, and no one knows they're real name and so are generally referred to as such. In Korean they're called 'gae-bul'(개불), which literally means dog penis. I tried just a little slice: the taste was not unpleasant, a mild ocean taste, but the texture was really weird - sort of chewy and crunchy at the same time.

Take a look at the performers here

Oh yeah...

I went up to Seoul a few weeks back. Have a look at some photos here

Vote for Pedro.

Good Luck Ceremony

Take a look at the front steps of the building I teach in at school. Notice there's a table with a pig's head and some other stuff on it. Yesterday and today this stuff was set up; along with it came an MC, and a bunch of students sitting in front cheering from time to time or taking turns coming up and bowing deeply before the table. Accompanying this were a few musicians banging away on traditional instruments. My middle school students seemed surprised when I told them that we don't do this sort of stuff in Canada. They also informed me that this kind of ceremony is performed for events such as the purchase of a new car or home. In Korean it's called 'go-sa' (고사), and is a kind of offering to the spirits which is meant to bring good luck.

Wow

Last night it snowed in Busan. Not only is this the third or fourth time this year, but it was also a record breaking snowfall, at least 20 cm. The snow came down fluffy and sticky; previously un-noticed powerlines became white, droopy snakes in the sky. The snowfall also prompted me to notice that folks in these parts use umbrellas for three kinds of weather: rainy, sunny and snowy.

Snowy Photos

What happened to my peace and quiet?!

Ahhhh!!! Today is the first day of classes for the new school year hear at Pukyong University. Suddenly the campus and surrounding areas are overrun with hordes of giddy students. Sigh...

Foreign Feeling

Last Friday afternoon, I found myself at a busier-than-usual Busan Train Station, looking to buy a ticket to Seoul. The lines were quite long, but I moseyed on down to the line marked 'For Foreigners'. There were two men in front of me, who looked Asian. Shortly after I joined the line, the fellow working at the desk called out in Korean to inform these two (and so presumably Korean chaps) that they were in the foreigners' queue, and could they please join one of the other (very long) lines. One of the men waiting let out a splendid stream of expletives as he made his way to the back of an adjacent line.

Now this may seem like a very trivial incident, but the dynamics of this brief interaction highlight the very bizarre situation that foreigners (especially those who reside in Korea) often find themselves in. On the one hand, we often receive ridiculously deferential treatment, but on the other hand are sometimes treated quite rudely. Foreigners are really foreign in Korea, because the Korean population is very homogenous, and small numbers of foreigners have only been living in Korea for a relatively short time.

And so, the moral of the train station story? Well, it's double edged: I got my train ticket in a hurry due to my being a foreigner, and a Korean man was given justification to subsequently treat foreingers rudely.