Drifting thru Daegu

Socks are about the only cool clothing you can find in Korea. There are many different designs and images, like Sponge Bob, Muhandojun, or “The North (Korea) Face. Socks like these, you can find in any store or street corner and they usually cost $1/ pair. They’re extremely thin and small on my feet. I don’t think they’ll last more than a month.

Well, I’m in the final month of my contract. I’ve yet to make any flight arrangements, but I’ll speak with my director about that on Friday. Often, I find myself staring at the calendar and looking at the days. I’m not dying to get back home or to leave Korea, but I cant help staring at the date and thinking that I’ve been here for one year.

In April, I finished another month at LSE teaching adults. I had two classes in the morning, where I taught some intermediate and beginner students. One of the students bought me this going away mug. He wasn’t my favorite student, and frankly, he annoyed me. After the first few days, he had some questions after class and I was happy to help him. Then, it turned into a daily routine, and it seemed like he just wanted to hang out everyday. He was socially awkward and nervous with speaking to anyone in or out of the class. He knew I was leaving soon and asked for my email. I squeaked, “Ahh….no!”

Today, May 1st, is the Korean labor day. Most people have the day off and everything seems pretty quiet from my apartment lair.

Then, we have two more days off this month. May 5th is Children’s Day and May 12 is Buddha’s Birthday. Lotus lanterns have been popping up everywhere in celebration of this. The temples will probably be fun to go to.

Last night, I went out with my Korean co-workers. Two are fluent in English, the other two not so much. We went out for sashimi and a couple beers. The restaurant wasn’t fancy or expensive, and the fish tasted the same way. But, we did get some rice and caviar served in seaweed. It was wrapped up like an ice cream cone, and the caviar was the sprinkles on top.

I love going out with the teachers, but at times, it feels awkward with the language barrier. I’m comfortable speaking English with the two who are fluent, but then the other two would feel left out. Or, they could speak Korean together, but then they feel bad, because I’m the one staring into my beer.

If I were to return to Korea, I should make a strong effort to learn the language to be able to communicate with others. Plus, it would be fun to surprise people. Everyone expects foreigners to not understand the language and culture. They’re so surprised when I speak the simplest of phrases or tell them about Korean food that I’ve tried. But, then, I could flabbergast them when I drop Korean knowledge on their arse when they least expect it.

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About 3 weeks ago, the cherry blossoms were in full bloom. Everyone was out taking photos. Luckily, I was able to take these, because the next day it rained. Many of the pedals fell off the trees and then they were gone by the next week.

In Spring, there are many places to see the cherry blossoms. The oldest trees in Korea were brought here during the Japanese occupation.

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This is an oldie, but …

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Months ago, one of my Korean friends treated me to a traditional tea house. I had never witnessed a traditional tea ceremony. Frankly, it never interested me, because I’m not much into ceremonies. I’d rather enjoy a warm tea in my big cow mug than spend my time preparing a few sips of tea every couple of minutes. Regardless, the tea house was a good experience.

The gist of the tea ceremony involved heating the water to the required temperature and pouring it into a mini pitcher. The tea leaves are placed into mini kettle #1 and filled with water to the top. After a couple of seconds, the tea is thrown out. The point of this is to remove any dirt from the leaves. The tea is prepared on a grated wooden box, which is meant to catch any water spills and hold the wasted tea.

After the first steep, the tea is ready to be enjoyed. Allow it to steep, again, and pour it into kettle #2. After kettle #2, it goes in your teensy weensy sipping saucer. Sip, sip, finish, and repeat the process. Because, you only allow the tea to steep for 30s or so. You can reuse the leaves 3-4 times.

We ordered a white tea. It was soothing, but what impressed me the most was the tea entrée. We were given two hard boiled eggs with our tea. I couldn’t help noticing the fact that they were blacker than normal. My friend informed me that they had been boiled in black tea. “Interesting?” I peeled into the egg and was instantly amazed by the color and the shape. The black tea had seeped into the cracks of the broken shell. It created a spider web design and gave the egg an interesting new flavor. With a pinch of salt, the eggs were magnifique!

I’ve seen many shops that sell tea kettles and trays. They look fascinating enough to buy, but I’d never use them. Maybe I’ll buy one when my apartment needs spruced up.

Cass Red 6.9 has been on the Korean beer market for awhile now. It’s been marketed as a “man’s beer” with a “tough guy” image on the poster ads. But frankly, the beer sucks. At 6.9% alcohol (hence the name), it is the highest percent of Korean manufactured beers. It is bright gold in color, highly carbonated, and the head disappears quickly. Much like the taste, the smell is strong. It’s not subtle about the alcohol, and it tastes like a shot of soju has been added to it. I dont find it enjoyable. Actually, the “tough guy” ad doesn’t look very tough at all. He looks more like the creepy person who would be drinking this kind of crap.

Cass Lemon, on the other hand, was a pleasant surprise. I found this recently in the beverage isle without having much promotion. At 3.9% ABV, it’s not as strong as the regular Cass Fresh or Light (4.5% ABV). After pouring, it has a huge foamy head and light bubbles. It is light in color and in taste. Naturally, it has a lemon smell and flavor, which I found to be not too sweet or overwhelming. It was very smooth going down. I think Cass Lemon is focused on the beer drinking women, but I’d drink this beer with a pretty girl over over creepy Red dude any day.

Jewelry - Baby One More Time

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Josh lent me his Samsung DSLR for awhile. Recently, this has been typical Daegu atmosphere on weekends. Not rainy. Not sunny.

Around the holidays, my mom always makes these sensationally gooey morsels called magic cookie bars. They’re a mixture of graham crackers, coconut flakes, chocolate chips, condensed milk, and crack. You can’t eat just one. They’re guaranteed to add to your waist size. If you haven’t tried one, you’re missing out. But, this isn’t about MCBs. It’s about their bizzaro Korean doppelganger.

Once again, this is dduk. I don’t know how it keeps finding itself into the office, but I know it needs to stop. They look very similar to MCBs, but I assure you they are NOT!

I take one glance at these, and instinctively my mouth begins to salivate. I know how they taste. I know I’m setting myself up for disappointment. Yet, I still have to take one bite. Subconsciously, I try to tell myself that this time will be different. “They’ll be good this time…

…FAIL.”

There’s no graham crackers. Those aren’t chocolate chips. Heck! There isn’t even a flavor. It’s glutinous rice flour and mung beans (I think?). The texture is a thick chewy paste with more ground up beans on top and bottom. There’s nothing sweet or mouth watering about them. It’s deceitful, and I feel duped every time.

…terrible.

Albeit, this still isn’t the worst Korean desert.