Oh, the newspaper
seems to bring both the strange and curious of the world
this isn’t at all on the brightside
But this is life, right?
Recent Blog Posts
How to Use Your Steamer
I was reluctant to make a video, but several people have said they've been intimidated by their steamer... so I figured I would suck it up and show off my horrid public speaking skills. Hopefully this helps you understand the steaming method a little better and become one with your steamer! ;) P.S. Ignore my less than spotless kitchen.
If anyone needs a tiger skin rug, you can pick it up in the...
If anyone needs a tiger skin rug, you can pick it up in the Suyeong subway station. I didn’t ask how much it was, but I think you can definitely haggle the price down.
Find
Find myself no longer caught up in the what {ifs}
Suddenly it feels like enough to just be in the now, and not the past or future.
LEAPING
Don’t look over that edge
there is nothing for you there
but a mounting pile of excuses not to jump to the other side.
&
Of course this doesn’t mean, I will be planning for graduate school and thinking about my soon to be trip to Thailand, but it means that for now I will not worry about all those worrisome things that cause nothing but worry, haha {{take that!!}}
Ps. I signed my 2nd contract yesterday afternoon, looks like if the world suddenly ends in 2012, I will be here, in Busan, happily painting,teaching, and regretting nothing that has come my way
Disappearing Taco Dip
1 Cup (8oz) Cream Cheese, room temp
2 C (16oz) Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt
1 Pkg Taco Seasoning
1 1/2 C shredded cheese (Cheddar, Pepper Jack, or Mexican blend)
1/2 small head Lettuce, chopped
2 Tomatoes, diced
*optional toppings include Jalapenos, Black Olives, Black Beans
1. In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning until fully incorporated.
2. Spread mixture evenly in bottom of serving dish with high edge. (pyrex dish, casserole dish)
3. Layer Shredded Cheese, lettuce and top with tomato.
4. Keep refridgerated until ready to serve. Serve with Tortilla Chips. Watch it disappear.
You can add additional toppings while layering or include on the side as "add ons" for guests.
Courtesy Ashleigh Johnson
2 C (16oz) Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt
1 Pkg Taco Seasoning
1 1/2 C shredded cheese (Cheddar, Pepper Jack, or Mexican blend)
1/2 small head Lettuce, chopped
2 Tomatoes, diced
*optional toppings include Jalapenos, Black Olives, Black Beans
1. In mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning until fully incorporated.
2. Spread mixture evenly in bottom of serving dish with high edge. (pyrex dish, casserole dish)
3. Layer Shredded Cheese, lettuce and top with tomato.
4. Keep refridgerated until ready to serve. Serve with Tortilla Chips. Watch it disappear.
You can add additional toppings while layering or include on the side as "add ons" for guests.
Courtesy Ashleigh Johnson
Lentils and Spinach
2 T Butter
1 T olive oil
2 onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup lentils, rinsed
4 C water
2 bouillon cubes
1 1/2 tsp Cumin
1 can diced tomatoes, drained over paper towel
pepper to taste ( about 1/2 tsp)
2 C Spinach, rinsed and chopped
1. In a pot, on medium-low heat, saute onions and garlic in butter and oil for about 5 minutes.
2. Add remaining ingredients, except for spinach and tomatoes. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-2 1/2 hours or until lentils are soft.
3. 5 minutes before serving, add tomatoes and spinach. Allow Spinach to wilt and serve warm with bread(Naan), pita chips, or your favorite dipper. :)
courtesy ovenless chef (modified from recipe on allrecipes.com)
This would also work well in a crock pot on low for about 5-6 hours. Add spinacha nd tomatoes at end of process as above.
Review: High Street Market (Itaewon)
Deli meat. Cheese. Wine. Fresh bread. Hard-to-find foreign products.
It’s rather rare for me to review a store – of all the places that can be found on one’s own, stores feature colorful and prominent signs. Yes, this store features one of those hard-to-miss signs, but it’s what’s inside that merits the attention.
Notice any Korean on that chalk board? Didn’t think so. Ron Romain, the French gentleman manning the deli counter, speaks excellent English and takes requests with the ease you would expect of a Frenchman. You may also notice American meat on the list – this being the country where too many of the locals are still afraid of Mad Cow disease, meat from 미국 is unusually hard to find in Dae Han Min Guk.
Jams and jellies, along with an ample selection of bread. No sliced and bagged white bread here, folks.
In terms of quantity, E-mart or Homeplus may have a wider selection; in terms of quality, the selection appears admirable. I’d love to hear what Joshua Hall from winekorea.asia has to say about some of the selections, but there are enough offerings to make your choosing difficult.
Did I mention cheese? Being American I’m afraid my personal appreciation for the pressed curd of milk is limited to a few common varieties mostly found on pizza or sandwiches. With that said, plenty of foreign cheeses are here.
I’m not embarrassed to say this section was my happiest discovery. While the Foreign Food Market well-known to most Seoul and Itaewon expats features many of the same things, High Street Market has prices closer to what you might pay for them back home.
There really are no downsides here – between their partnership with Kobaek Meats (and the ability to get most any kind of meat out there) and the imported stuff already available, High Street Market is worth a stop if you’re anywhere in Seoul or Gyeonggi-do. While I can’t vouch for Busan, Daegu, or other major cities in Korea, this is easily the best place to pick up any number of items. If there’s a good place to pick up foreign goods in Busan, Daegu, or elsewhere in Korea, please comment!
High Street Market is a five minute walk from exit 2 at Itaewon station (line 6), and is just past the IP Boutique Hotel. Tell Ron at the deli counter that Chris in South Korea sent you.
Highly recommended.
Disclaimer: Chris in South Korea is a fan of High Street Market, but was not paid or compensated in any way to write this review. He is hoping for an extra helping of their excellent dried beef jerky for the free advertising they’re getting, though. I’m open to doing sponsored reviews for your business!
© Chris Backe – 2010
This post was originally published on my blog,Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.
RSS FeedThe Amazing Race Daegu
Nothing says adventure like an Amazing Race scavenger hunt, so when opportunity knocked on our door in the form of Dianna and Bryan inviting us along, we went with it. Our team of four, Team Amuricah (said with a slow drawl), took on the city of Daegu, the third largest city in Korea, just a bit northwest of Busan.
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Viking Quest
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Seventeen teams competed, mostly all foreigners with a few native Koreans here and there. About six of us teams had never set foot in Daegu before-- including us. That would prove to be less of a disadvantage than you think it would.
We were given instructions, rules, and the final checkpoint, should the missions be just too impossible for us.
Starting Task: Hit the shuttlecock thing hackie sack style five times in a row. The boys ruled it.
When finished, we were handed our envelope with super secret missions inside. At each location, we had to take a video/pic of the entire team to prove we did all the tasks.
Mission One: "Holy-Roller Mission: This has been a place in Daegu since 1886".
Now, I don't know if you've ever been in a far off country, looking for a specific landmark that you don't know the name of or what it looks like, but I will tell you, it's not actually as hard as it seems. Some help of our guidebooks, the tourist information stand conveniently located at the starting point, and our dazzling street smarts got us to just the right place. After stopping at the wrong cathedral first.
Mission Two: "Park Ji-Sung Mission: On June 6th, 2002 the Red Devil's faced-off against Uncle Sam's Army at this location." Park Ji-Sung is the most famous soccer player in Korea, students rave about him. The goal was the World Cup stadium. It's there in the background.
Mission Three: "Ajima Mecca Mission: This is the largest market in Daegu." Background info: Ajimas are any woman in Korea who is married. Older Ajimas have a very... particularly strong... personality. They are widely known for the following: huge visors that hide their entire face; polyester clothing in bright, floral, and strange prints; being either generally pretty cranky or rarely very nice; short, tight perms; and a complete willingness to give you the stare down or even push or (I have heard cases) hit you. We headed off to Seomun Market, a huge traditional market selling food, clothing, fabric, spices, and all sorts of other treasures.
Mission Four: "Food Mission: Find and eat either soondae or dong jeep. Racist clause: You can not have a Korean member of your team eat this food." We're still not clear what dong jeep is, but soondae is pig intestine blood sausage filled with noodles and spices. Thankfully, the boys covered this one too. Notice the vendor's face.
Soondae in Daegu
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Mission Five: Dancing Mission: Record a choreographed dance at one of the following locations: Dongdaegu station, downtown stage by the McDonald's, or a crowded subway car." We took the subway car, and also took the easy way out by using an old standby instead of making our own. Got the ajima stare down for it.
Mission Six: "Viking Mission: Go to Soosung Lake and ride the most unsafe amusement park ride you can find. Take a video." This was just plain awful. Super scary. Like I cried scary. Don't make fun of me too much.
Viking Quest
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Mission Seven: "Speed Game: Your team will receive a sealed letter at the beginning of the race. You must find a random Korean person to read this to you. The letter has a secret word written on it. The Korean person will give you clues and you must guess what they are talking about." This was actually probably the most challenging task. We used our well honed street smarts, and found a random Korean with a western boyfriend. This is a big clue the gal knew English, so even though she pantomimed the words, she was able to confirm when we got the word right.
Mission Eight: "If you live in Daegu you might have been to this park at least once or did a sky jump close by. Find an attractive ajima wearing a visor and get a picture with her." Impossible. we had to hatch a trap, wherein we posed and waited for an ajima to walk by us, and snapped a picture while she was trying to figure out what was going on.
Mission Nine: "Find Daegu's premier skater boi doing tricks at his hang out downtown." We had no idea about this one, but a phone-a-friend bailed us out.
Mission Ten: "Do your best Abbey Road recreation. Be careful." Another scary mission. South Korea has a really high traffic fatality rate.
In the end, we came in ninth, not bad for strangers to the city. While we were waiting for other teams to come in, we grabbed a juicy, delicious burger and beer at Gorilla Burger. Super amazing tasting. Best onion rings I've ever had.
After a long day, it was time for the awards ceremony and drinks at Who's Bob Bar. Great drinks, great people, great fun at Amazing Race Daegu!
2011: Year of the Family
My merry Christmas morning started off in the Wondang markets of Nakseongdae. While my 5-months-heavy wife prepared our dwellings for guests, I set off for fresh fruits and vegetables, feeling all of the ancestral vibe that comes with undertaking a hunter-gatherer task. Along the way I stopped by a small sundae house for breakfast.
Korean sundae could best be described as sausage from the Land of Mordor. It has dubious origins and looks menacing. But like young Frodo, I can't help but be drawn back for more.
Accompanying the orcish sausage of death, at one's option, is the presence of offal. I could waffle on and on about offal, but I'll refrain. Let's just say I'm a guilty fan.
Would you like some instant coffee with your offal? Yes please!
This friendly ajumma offered me some free instant coffee, for the frosty weather. She even ceremoniously stirred it the true Korean way. That is, by using the instant coffee packet as a stirrer rather than a spoon. Particularly uncouth ajosshi these days also use their index finger.
But a real man's man, an Australian man, deals not with these petty triflings. Clumps in beverages are nothing to worry about, unless they're a stonefish or a trapdoor spider.
Christmas came and went, with laughter, merriment and good cheer. Good friends came over and we relaxed enjoyably. Fortunately I have a clear memory of the day, because I failed to take any photos of the event. Many a Christmas past has been marked with amnesia the next day, to be further confounded by inexplicable photos of blurry smiling teeth on one's camera.
What we need is a morning-after pill that brings your memory back. In such events, the Korean's say "Pillum ggeungyeosseo" (Film's gone!)
What we need is a morning-after pill that brings your memory back. In such events, the Korean's say "Pillum ggeungyeosseo" (Film's gone!)
The photo above is a portion of the plentiful leftovers that we managed to survive on until New Year's Eve. It was a fine week of cake, sour cream, smoked cheese and wine.
For breakfast.
For those who haven't seen the new West Wing of Seoul Station, there's apparently a connection straight to the airport. I don't know if it's really the west wing, and I don't know if it really connects to the airport. But I think it's west, and it says it goes to the airport, so that's probably a definitive 'maybe.'
We went to Busan for the new year, to see Heather's tribe. Upon alighting from Busan station, I soon realised that they (the Korean race) had upgraded this station too. Now they have quite a snazzy room where commuters can dwell and marvel at the intricate latticework supporting the roof. It seems that every time you turn around in Korea, something has been knocked down, and something else has been built.
But even though I was a long term resident of Busan for 2 years, the city mayor failed to inform me of these plans prior. With a gruff sigh, I hauled our luggage to the nearest bus stop, thinking "This is No country for old men (like myself)."
Who's this little girl? That's Heather's niece, Ji-Woo, who is now two years old. The last time we saw her, she was still in the gelatinous stage, unable to maintain uprightedness without adult arms of support. But times, they are a-changing. Now Ji-Woo is running around and expressing various advanced human emotions like 'pleased' and 'unapproving.'
When she first came into her grandparents room, she quickly and correctly identified me as a non-usual person of acquaintance. Her response was to stand quietly and stare at me from a safe distance of approximately two metres, blankly observing and forming an assessment of this new creature in the living room. Minutes passed. Meanwhile the elder members of the Korean tribe attempting to sooth her by saying "That's Uncle Lee, Ji-Woo. Say hello to Uncle Lee, Ji-Woo."
Perhaps we can soften her up with a little paper plane frivolity, we thought. The first paper plane, although aerodynamically challenged, was a huge hit. Before long, paper planes were being folded on an industrial scale, as we attempted to capitalise on this newfound area of mutual interest.
Those efforts resulted in Ji-Woo reducing our personal safety-distance gap to a single metre.
I was honoured. Although she can only say 'Omma,' 'unni' and various kinds of gurgles, her reduction of the safety gap was a clear message that I was well on my way to being classified as a familiar person. Furthermore, she was happy to observe me without the safety of halmoni by her side.
Next we entertained Ji-Ye, her older sister. Ji-Ye is kiddologically more advanced than Ji-Woo. That's probably not a real word, but this is an unusual area of study for someone like me.
Ji-Ye was much easier to break the ice with, because she remembered me. My Toastmasters skills were particularly handy though. It wasn't long before she had drawn a picture, with me in it. I'm apparently representable by a large squashed spider on the driver's side window.
What the...? Okay, so I was lining up for another shot of Ji-Ye's drawing when up popped little Ji-Woo, happily accelerating into new levels of closeness. She'd closed the distance gap to within bobo-distance.
I felt like I'd received a promotion.
That particular moment reminded me of the gatecrasher squirrel.
With Ji-Woo granting me official diplomatic recognition, I know longer became the focus of reserved wariness, and she soon turned her attention to Heather's bulging belly. Ji-Woo can understand some simple nouns like 'grandma' and 'baby.'
When Heather pointed at her stomach and said 'baby,' little Ji-Woo's eyes lit up in some kind of profound acknowledgment. Then she reached out and put her hand on Heather's stomach and kept it there. It was truly fascinating to watch.
Between gurgles and squeals, we socialised endlessly. While Ji-Ye's primary focus was drawing pictures of family members in various modes of transport, Ji-Woo was more interested in picking things up and staring at us, as if for some kind of explanation. She also enjoyed pointing at things, to check that we had seen them.
"Yes, it's a flower. It's a pretty flower."
This photo of Heather and her mother was taken by Ji-Ye. Pretty good for a seven-year-old.
The next morning I was promoted to a fully fledged member of the tribe, now recognised by all those of pre-school age and lower. I took my new role seriously and did my best to keep them entertained and amused. In the photo above, we're conducting paper-puppet theatre using Ji-Ye's toes. I put together most of the dialogue, which consisted almost entirely of greetings. Meaningful dialogue is of secondary importance to enthusiasm, if you have an audience that's easy to amuse.
This past weekend I realised what a precious thing it is to have a good family. My older sister, Jo, now has a baby daughter, and my younger sister Sue has just given birth to a son. The next generation in our family are now emerging, and I'm looking forward to an exciting year of growth in many ways.
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