B&KiK: On the Go

The next three days were a bit of whirlwind.  Wednesday, we went with Dionne to the Folk Village.  We walked all over the grounds, watched a horse demonstration, a farmer's dance and a tightrope walker.  It was a really good look at traditional Korean culture for Bob and Kris!

The next day, we ventured up to Camp Casey, where Bob was stationed during his stay in Korea in 1970.  We were hoping we'd be able to get on the base using our passports but it quickly became clear that that wouldn't be possible.  We settled for walking down the streets he remembered (which was so cool!  I'd love to be able to come back to Gwangju in 40 years and reminisce on my time here!), took some pictures and ate lunch at an American style bar - the first Philly cheese sandwich I've had in who knows how long!  Awesome.  After that, we took a quick trip to Olympic Park, where the 1988 Summer Olympic Games were held.  What a beautiful park and great museum!  And, the weather was absolutely perfect.  I'll definitely be going back there!

Friday was the first day of school so Bob and Kris came with me to see what Kyunghwa EB is all about.  It was so fantastic to be able to show them why I love my job so much.  Everyone was so excited to meet them and all of the students were so adorable when they realized who they were meeting.  We only had two classes that day because of various changes to the schedule, but they were well spent!  I gave a short presentation on who my parents are and then gave the students time to ask them questions.  Bob and Kris were such good sports!  Some of the questions included, "Is Noelle Teacher a good daughter?", "How would you feel if Noelle Teacher married a Korean man?", "When was your first kiss?" and "Do you like kimchi?"  I. Love. My Students.  After school, we went out for dinner with some of the teachers at school.  We went to our usual tofu restaurant and fully enjoyed talking and sharing with each other.  I am so lucky to have both such fantastic co-workers at school who were willing and excited to share a meal with my parents, but also to have parents who are so open to trying new things and meeting new people!  I already knew both things, but this trip definitely reinforced all of these emotions.

Last post: DMZ, Uzbek lunch, Chinese dinner (again :) ) and saying goodbye.  Oh man.

Also, I read this article today and loved it.  Enjoy: http://thoughtcatalog.com/2012/things-my-grandmother-taught-me/

B&KiK: Poo Bread, Potlucks and Namsan Tower

Sunday found us taking it easy after our trip to Jeju.  We woke up late and took a leisurely trip into Seoul to Insadong to do some souvenir shopping.  After purchasing socks, earrings and honey tea, we were done shopping so we bought some 똥빵 (poo bread - bread shaped like a pile of poo and filled with red bean paste - YUM!) while we contemplated our next move.  That bread just never gets old.  We ended the night eating at my favorite Insadong restaurant before heading home for an evening of cocktails and chatting with Toni and Desiree.

The next day, we stayed around Gwangju since it was potluck night.  We had decided on a comfort food theme so Mom made apple crisp with fresh whipped cream, I made pigs in a blanket, and in true Bob form, he provided beer.  ("What's more comforting than beer," he said.)  We went shopping at E-Mart, and got ready for the potluck during the day - pretty low key.  The potluck had a pretty small turnout because of everyone's spring break plans, but it was great to be able to share a potluck with my parents!  They are so dear to my heart and probably my favorite event of the week.

On Tuesday, we met up with my co-teacher, Hyunjoo, for lunch and a tour of Yeouido.  She and her delightful husband took us to the National Assembly building before the most amazing lunch.  We ate a lot of very traditional Korean foods, many prepared in a way in which I had never before experienced.  The food and the company were both fabulous!  And, Hyunjoo just told me at lunch today that the wait staff was very impressed with Bob and Kris's willingness to try everything put in front of them - they had never before served such adventurous foreigners!

Next, we took a boat cruise on the Han River.  It was kind of cold so we stayed inside the boat where there also happened to be a magic show.  Ohhh Korea.  After the hour long cruise, we proceeded to Namsan Tower to get a bird's eye view of the city.  We went at the perfect time - we watched the sunset from the observation deck where all of the locks are kept.  Beautiful!

B&KiK: Jeju

I've been trying to no avail to watch the Iowa State basketball game (dang it, March Madness!) online fo' free. No dice, so I'll write a blog post instead :)

Wednesday morning, we flew to Jeju for a few days.  Last year when I went at the same time, it was so nice and refreshing, but this year it was cold and cloudy.  And cold!  Just ask Kris.  We stayed at Backpacker's Inn, which was awesome!  They were so helpful, the rooms were really nice and we loved spending time in their adjoined cafe at night, playing cards, listening to music and partaking in beverages, not to mention, their breakfast was bomb, once someone helped start our burner to fry eggs.  Some things in Korea will always be confusing.  The first night, we took a little walk to Cheonjiyeon Waterfall.  Then, we walked around the harbor in search of a certain seafood restaurant that had been recommended to us.  When we found it, and it was closed, we settled for the restaurant next door.  We ordered a broiled mackerel, a bowl of abalone porridge and a plate of assorted raw fish.  YUM.  Everything was delicious, even more so after the restaurant proprietor (who watched us eat our entire meal...) gave Bob and Kris forks for the slippery and hard to handle fish.  Awesome.

The next day, we took a bus (yikes!  I hate unfamiliar buses!) to Hallim Park for the day.  What a circus that place is!  There was so much contained in this park that it easily took us the better part of the day to explore everything.  We saw all kinds of different kinds of plants and rare reptiles, a small folk village, a bunch of birds (why on Earth are ostriches sooooo awkward?), a couple of caves and several winding paths of rock formations.  That night, we gathered at our hostel for a barbecue.  Awesome.

The next day, we hired a delightful man named Mr. Kim to drive us around in his pimped-out taxi all day.  We conquered the east side of the island, seeing all the sights.  Such sights included, but were not limited to a crater or two, the beach, the largest lava tube in the world, the potential for old ladies diving for fresh seafood but not actually doing so, a folk village and about 200 meters of Korea's largest mountain.  Oh, and lots of radishes and burial plots.  It was a big day, people!  We ended the night with some tasty fried chicken, a lesson in Korean writing and a Korean band's take on Just the Two of Us.  If you ask me, it was perfect.

Our last day entailed a trip across the harbor's bridge and going to the airport... big stuff.  BUT, when we arrived back to Gwangju that evening after traveling by bus, plane, subway and bus respectively, I took Bob and Kris to my favorite barbecue joint in Gwangju for a late dinner.  They enjoyed grilling their own meat, rolling it in lettuce leaves, and eating kimchi, of course.  They also sampled octopus.  It wasn't their favorite.  And, that's just fine :)

Next up: A Seoul sandwich (day in Seoul, potluck, another day in Seoul.)

B&KiK: A Palace and a Butt-Ton of Fish

The next two days were pretty self-explanatory...

On Monday, we visited Gyeongbuk Palace.  It is one of my favorite parts of Seoul and I thoroughly enjoyed showing my parents a more historical aspect after the previous day's more modern experience.  We walked around the palace grounds and the adjoining museum for a couple of hours.  When we felt that we'd seen all we cared to see, we retired to my favorite cafe in the city for some bread and warm drinks.  This cafe is right on a historic stream, the Cheonggyecheon, so we spent the last part of the day taking pictures near the stream.  Overall, a delightful, peace sign filled day.

The next day, we had plans for a seafood dinner with the Husteds, and what better way to start such a dinner than by purchasing the seafood from the largest wholesale market in the city?  Am I right?  We met Dionne and Scott at the seafood section of the market, and in the meantime, explored the produce portion.  I love love love markets, so this was a bit of a treat for me :)  Inside the market, people were baffled to see five white people roaming a wholesale market.  At one point, my mom and I were stopped, looking at a picture I had taken.  A woman came over and very animatedly expressed her interest in how similar she thought we looked.  Ohh Korea.  After we bought all the seafood we could handle (smoked salmon, prawns, oysters on the half shell and clams for some chowder), we piled into the Husted-mobile and journeyed back to the Gwangj.  We enjoyed a delicious seafood feast that night, and later took Scott's soju tour of various honey tea inspired concocted liqueurs.  A good night was had by all :)

Next up: Jeju.  Ohhhh boy :)