Blind Date Nation

Dating is complicated in any country or any culture. Two people meet, flirt and the dance begins or ends depending on how things progress. Okay- so this appears to be the same things that transpire in western cultures. Every human is just yearning to find "the one". So what's so different about Korea? Korea is a blind date nation. Every one of my single Korean friends (male and female) have been on a blind date. Typically, friends, mothers, grandmothers and even aunts play match maker for their single loved ones. Once the hook up is made, the match-maker or third wheel goes along for the date. Its not uncommon to sit down for dinner and count the tables where three people looking mighty awkward sit down for a meal or a cup of coffee. The match-maker sort of acts like a buffer. He/She will try and stimulate the conversation. Talk about awkward.  If the mood is right and there is a likely match, the two singles will likely see each other again in hopes of sparking a relationship.  If not, it all ends there, until the next blind date comes through.  I hear that the match maker truly considers the two people's needs and wants. My friends tell me that usually two people in Korea are set up based on professional status, social status and salary.  I can't say that this is for every situation, but my friends have expressed that this is the typical set up situation.

Back in North America, blind dating is kind of unheard of, except for the select stories you hear floating around. I'm totally unaware of the success rate of this style of hooking up, but I guess it beats meeting people in a bar or on the internet. At least you have a middle-man who at least can take some responsibility for the match up in the first place.  That way, you have someone to blame when it goes south or at least a pretty good toast at your wedding.  Maybe, I'll put the word out to my friends back home to start keeping a look out-- but let's be honest, I'm looking for a little more than social status and salary...  although six figures couldn't hurt.

Texting and everything in between

Is texting really the new call?  I've never really been one for texting. Okay- so its effective when arranging a time and place to meet- but having a full blown conversation over text messaging has always seemed such a nuisance to me. With all this technology out there, it seems that texting has become more popular than the age-old telephone call.

What I can tell you, that since being in Korea, I've never texted as much in the whole time I've carried a mobile. That's about 10 years (yikes).  It's fast, to the point and pretty simple to navigate. I also believe that since being here, my social networks are of the 20 somethings that thrived on MSN messenger, facebook and texts for most of their teenage-hood.  Although this may have accounted for my sudden interest in texting, I don't hesitate to pick up the phone to dial out.

It's all fine and dandy to send a quick text to a friend, a racy "sext" when the mood is right, but what about  texting in the beginning stages of the dating scene? Is it good or bad? How does one go about asking someone out on a date nowadays. Call? Text? Who knows?!

Texting gives us an impersonal feel, and "out" shall I say. Quick, and painless.  I still consider myself of the old generation, where chivalry still exists in the world. Man calls woman, woman returns call and voila, a conversation where intonation and emotions can guide you during the conversation. The person on the other end, usually, can feel the person out, gauge their words and assess.  All three of these are so hard to read in  a text message. Do people even remember what the person they are texting sounds like?

Although I still haven't come to a clear cut decision on texting with a person who you are interested in, what I can say is that there is a lot of room for mis-communication. Although, I won't be hanging up the keypad just yet, I still have some thinking to do and whether it is acceptable for two people to text when entering the dating scene.

Hot Nights

Last year when I was asked to choose a city to teach in, I thought I had it all figured out. Daegu appeared to be a good fit for me, with its smaller- than - Seoul size, decent nightlife and much to do and see around town. One thing I didn't account for was the sweltering heat that I would be facing come summertime.

Summer swept in during the month of May, with increasing temperatures but still manageable. Since June, the temperatures have only risen steadily. The past three weeks have been an average of 31 degrees. And it gets worse. July will see temperatures around 36-38 degrees Celsius. Oh my. Back home in Canada, we do have some hot and humid days, but when the temperatures reach 30- it's considered a heat wave. Here in Daegu- it's just normal.

Turns out Daegu, South Korea is the hottest city in all of the South Korean peninsula! Daegu is surrounded by many high mountains, and because of this we're settled in a basin. It gets hot and sticky in the summer. Daegu is actually famous for their hot summers. Fabulous.

The rainy season should start soon, and I'm hoping that may bring some slight relief- but I'm not counting on it. The school is equipped with Air Conditioning units in the teachers lounge (and thankfully) in my English Classroom. Here's the thing: They will put the A/C on around mid-day and jack it up to a temperature of 27 degrees. Seriously, what is the point of even turning it on?? I'm happy to report that My classroom is a cool 24 degrees and my students are oh-so-thankful for the relief. Even better- my new apartment came with a A/C unit-- it's been on full blast for a week and I'm loving every second of it.

A different kind of discipline

For those of you keeping up with me, I’m sure by now that you realized I’ve been having a great time and trying to experience as much as I can while I’m in the land of the morning calm. My posts are typically lighthearted and express exactly what I’ve been seeing and doing all around town. This one has been a work in progress for some time now, as it’s a more delicate topic but something I must share as it weighs heavier and heavier as each day passes.


Before I took off on this venture, I knew that I was headed into a Confucius country and was wholeheartedly open to culture learning. Coming from a Western country where physical discipline practices are frowned upon and illegal- it was to be seen how I would handle witnessing the punishment methods in Korea.

For the first few months, I witness physical discipline from teachers ( I told them I refused to use any sort of physical punishment in my classroom) in the form of pinching ear lobes, hitting their palms, putting them on their knees with their arms in the air and maybe a small whack to the back of the head. These practices were used for small offences such as fighting in class, and other misbehaviors, such as the length of students hair. Larger “offences” were treated by having the students engage in extra cleaning duties, homework and playing teacher’s gofers for the day. All in all, what I was seeing was as acceptable as it could be for me. Often, I would leave the teachers lounge if as student was being punished, as this upset me through the core. Despite the discipline being used, here in Korea as a Foreign teacher you do not stand up or say anything, as it is the teacher’s right to physically discipline their students. Heck, parents do it at home as well, my kids show up for school with marks and bruising which are atypical of playground bustle.

With the start of the new semester in March, came a new Physical Education teacher at my school. Within days, I could tell he and I were not going to see eye to eye. He implemented serious practices, including measuring girl’s skirt lengths, hair and just about every disciplinary action required. He soon became in charge of handing out the punishments.

Witnessing this tyrant’s actions against my students has been very emotional for me. It’s been trying to sit down and watch him exercise these severe disciplinary actions against children who are 14 and 15 years old. His behaviors have finally broke me, and this is why I need to rant about it now. His methods are harsh. Last month he punched a student so hard in the face that I saw the bruise welt within seconds, he then kicked the student in the leg. His offence: fighting another boy. I stood up, but was quickly told to sit back down. Two weeks ago he placed a boy in plank position, with his feet up on the window sill for 15 minutes. He then intermittently cracked his backside with a stick. His offence: Chronic tardiness. Girls are whacked across the face for the length of the hair and skirts. I could go on and on, but the thought turns my stomach. I've often sat at my desk and dreamed of cracking him back with his own stick- but I would probably be deported for standing up to a male teacher. .

In my own, classes, when I get close to the students, I see many of them flinch if I come down to their level in a swift movement.  It kills me every time.  It pains me to know what stresses these children go through with school alone, and now have to deal with harsh physical discipline on top of it. Korea is advanced in so many things, but they are still stuck in the 50s when physical discipline was widely accepted. I pray for my students every day that these practices will become illegal soon enough. In the meantime, I can only educate them to the best of my ability- and give them a small break when it comes to English class. It’s a hard enough life as it is.

Double Takes

This one goes out for the ladies! Before I get into the details- let me remind you- what you are about to see is rarity in the place where I've been calling home for 10 months. Now don't get me wrong, amidst the people that make up Daegu- there are a selected few that indeed deserve a double take. This of course occurs more frequently within the male ex-pat community than of the Asian community- but there have been a couple of Korean men that have actually tuned my head.

The following photos were taken on our way to see Sex and The City 2 (how appropriate). The 5 of us were stopped dead in our tracks as we rounded the corner to come face to face with these beautiful boys. Normally, Korean advertising bombards you with flashing neon signs and girls dressed up in just-below-the-bum skirts dancing at boutique entrances- but this was a Daegu first- and let me tell you- it didn't really matter what they were advertising- whatever they were selling... I wanted in.

Turns out they were advertising for a new gym that was opening. I just may have to some research to find its exact location. Who wouldn't want to work out with these guys??

Red Devils

South Koreans love their soccer, and with the FIFA World Cup happening right now,  the hype is happening.  Although I wasn't able to catch the game against Greece, I did however, catch the cheers and screams from the surrounding city through my apartment window! Their second game was Thursday night against Argentina and I made sure to watch the game- Korean style with some of my friends from school.

Decked out in devil red, we decided to head to a Hof (pub) to indulge in some treats and watch the game.  What a better place to settle in for the evening than at an "Irish" bar. No place screams Korean soccer than Dublin's Hof!!

The place did sell Guiness-- but that's about as Irish as it got! We noshed on snacks and had a few pints as we geared up for the game. The place was packed by the start of the match and nearly everyone was dressed in the Korean colors in support of their team. Let's not forget that a slew of people also supported flashing red devil headbands.

You can't tell here, but the rest of the patrons were all wearing red shirts!

The game was a huge disaster against the almighty Argentinian team- but the spirits and beer were flowing throughout the match.  I had no idea what they were cheering, but it matched the beat of the English version of "Let's Go (team) Let's Go!". The hoots and hollers continued well into the night, and when they finally scored the patrons cheered for the pub owner to give them free food or beer (I'm still not too sure on what they wanted)! They chanted, "Ser-vice-ca, Ser-vice-ca" to anyone who would listen but alas, no freebies came. (note: "Service" is a term used here in Korea which means complimentary, the added "ca" is a common addition to most English words spoken here). 

Despite the loss, we had a great time - and I look forward to their next match! I might even get my hands on a red devil headband to really get into the spirit of things!

S-P-E-L-L-B-O-U-N-D

This week I organized a spelling bee for my advanced ESL students. I had so much fun, and this competition was perfect for my Korean students who love to compete for just about anything!

This genius idea came from one of my friends (thank you Lisa) and I showed my students the film "Akeelah and the Bee" to get them motivated and geared up for the competition. The hilarious part of the whole this is that they were more interested in the American school system as seen in the movie! Despite the abundance of American culture questions they did in fact get excited about doing their very own Bee.  I gave them word lists to study from (these were actually high level vocabulary words from U.S competitions). They had 5 weeks to study for the Bee!

Obviously camera shy- only a few showed their faces!!

The competition lasted two days and 22 students competed in the Bee. I was blown away by their abilities and their commitment to the competition! All in all, it was a great success and the students enjoyed every minute of it- plus, they learned a whack load of new vocabulary words!

Here are a few of the students!

Cooking for one in Korea: Ramen

"Ra-meyon" or Ramen is a Korean diet staple. Known in North America as a University students' quick fix meal, here in Korea its actually considered a traditional dish.  Before coming to Korea, when I needed to quench my saltiness fix I would boil up some water, throw in the sauce mix, noodles and presto you have a satisfying Ramen dish.  But who knew that here in Korea it is just so much more?!  With the addition of several ingredients, you can make a pretty satisfying meal.



When you ask just about any Korean child older than 5 years, they can tell you exactly how to cook this meal. I've been given several different ways to make it, including adding spam (eergh), hot dog,  sausage and of course, kimchi.  But I've adapted a little from all my sources, and here how I now make my Korean Ramen (note: this dish is a total heart attack waiting to happen... tread carefully).

Korean Style Ramen

Ramen package ( i like it hot)

Water

Egg

Green Onions

Oval Rice Cakes
Cheese

Start with a pot of water, and add some chopped green onions. Once the water is boiling, and add your Ramen noodles and rice cakes, about half way through cooking time, drop an egg into the water and add your spice mix.

 Once your egg is poached hard, remove contents into a large bowl. Add a slice of cheese, and let it stand for a few seconds until cheese is melted. Then, let your chopsticks to the digging. Enjoy!

 

Touring Daegu

With a mere three months to go, it's all about cramming in the things I want to do!  Last week-end, the Deagu City Hall graciously invited foreigners to tag along on an -all day excursion to see the sites around Daegu.  The trip was totally worth it, and if you have a chance you should get to these hot spots for a day of fun on your own!

Our first stop was at the Guam Farm. The Farm is nestled between mountains and has some beautiful scenery. You feel like you are settled in a an old time rural country village.  

Guam Farm Tour

We experienced some hands on- seasonal activities, laughing the whole time. We got to see how egg baskets were made back in the day, using weaving. 

Basket Weaving

I thought mine was way better... but now that I look at them... 

I think Amy's a natural basket weaver!!

Harvest Time

Next we were off to experience  harvesting crops.  I was very much relieved that tending to the rice fields was not on the agenda but instead we were headed to pick tomatoes.  After being loaded up on a huge tractor, we made our way down to the greenhouses.

We were carefully instructed on how to perfectly pick tomatoes and now have a new found respect for the farmers who must do this harvesting, because the temperature inside the greenhouse was about 45 degrees! I don't think I've ever picked so fast!! 

 The freshly picked tomatoes were delicious!

Rice Cakes 

Next stop was learning how traditional rice cakes were made. My friend Dave was chosen to beat down the rice using a large mallet! 

 Dave was having quite a lot of fun with this!!

T

The cake is then dusted in powder, and cut into pieces

Herb Hillz

There is so much to do at Herb Hillz and if you're keeping track, check my earlier post where a bunch of us Zip Lined here!  This tour included seeing the herb Garden, making natural herb soap and candles. 

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My friend Lia carefully mixing her candle. 

 Candle Expert!!

Yangnyeongsi Oriental Medicine Center.

The rest of the day was spent at the Yangnyeongsi Oriental Medecine Center. We learned how to cut and package herbs and this place has all kinds of interesting exhibitions (which are foreigner friendly).  This place is perfect for a rainy day activity if you're looking for something to do in Daegu. 

 

All in all, it was a great day, filled with all kinds of memories and laughter. If you're looking for some fun things to do in Daegu- you should check out these hot spots!

Cooking for one in Korea: A Lighter Alfredo

I've been cooking up this dish for many years and it's a solid favorite of mine. Good news is I was able to find all the ingredients here in Korea.  It's an inexpensive and quick meal  and perfect for a post workout pick me up.

Chicken Alfredo

Spaghetti (but any pasta will do)

Chicken (cut in cubes)

Olive oil

Lemon juice and zest

Garlic

Parsley

Parmesan Cheese (back home I use fresh Parm/Regiano mix, but the Kraft Variety will do you fine)

Cook your pasta according to directions, and drain. Return pasta to pot.

About halfway during pasta cooking time, add about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and  add about 1 glove garlic (more to taste if you like). When the oil is flavored and garlic is soft, add the chicken and stir fry. Sprinkle, salt and pepper to taste as well as parsley. Squeeze lemon juice over your chicken. Once finished, set aside.

In the pasta pot, drizzle about 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and remainder of lemon juice. Grate about 1 tsp of lemon zest and add.  Sprinkle parsley all over and stir into the pasta. If you're a garlic lover, add some fresh garlic (about half a clove). Add more or less of any ingredient to taste. Add the chicken to the pasta, and generously pour the parmesan cheese into the pot. Stir and serve immediately. 

I promise, this will become a weekly staple. Enjoy!