large belly, skinny legs

As we proceed

2009-05-22T10:50:00.000-07:00

Sorry to get all pretentious on you, but I've been wondering about the font choices used in most Korean signs.

So after living in Korea for about 4 months now, I figure I'm not horrible at reading the language. However, when I walk around the streets, I have the hardest time deciphering all the postings and billboards. It's kind of crazy. I don't know how anyone can find anything with the different colors, fonts, and sizing. I usually ask people for really specific directions because it's nearly impossible for me to find anything by reading its sign.

I'll admit to only having watched half of that movie "Helvetica", but it definitely talks about the universal appeal of the titled font. I'm no font expert either, but it seems like Korea uses its equivalent. Is it the spacing of the characters? Maybe just the overwhelming number of signs? Any thoughts from the crowd?

All dogs go to heaven All dogs go to heaven All dogs go to heaven All dogs go to heaven All dogs go to heaven All dogs go to heaven....

2009-05-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

Rounding out my checklist for Korea, my uncle, aunt, and I had dog stew for lunch. Hm... yeah, there's no other name that can make it sound better. Sorry. The restaurant we went to specializes in dog meat, and so on the menu it just says "stew". The dog is assumed.

Don't tell the puppies, but it tasted great. The soup was flavorful and had such an interesting mix of vegetables. It was the kind of spicy that doesn't necessarily burn you but just makes you sweat. The soju my uncle insisted we drink probably also helped to diversify the flavors. Oh, and it was definitely 12 PM in the afternoon. My uncle is legit.

The meat? Extremely different from beef, chicken, or pork. I haven't had venison in a long time but for some reason I think they're kind of similar. Now, I know it won't make a difference for most people, but the breed used for meat in Korea is pretty obscure. It's definitely only raised for consumption because of its size, so don't think Koreans are cooking up a golden retriever or even a jindo.

Anyways, direct all hate mail to the above establishment!

Wedding for fun

2009-05-20T23:33:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I went back to Daegu for my cousin's wedding. He and his wife looked so happy, and it was great to meet their friends and family. I was a real idiot and forgot my camera when I was running out of the apt, so I had to get pictures from Young Joon's friend. Anyway, I just thought the family back in the States would like to see these!

Young Joon and his parents (my uncle and aunt).

The wedding ceremony was pretty much exactly like weddings in the United States. Just no bridesmaids and groomsmen. The rest of the celebration is a bit anticlimatic. There's food, but that's it. No dancing, no DJ, no YMCA. Still, I've been told that the young ones usually collect together at a bar after. And you know Koreans, the drunkeness will then ensue.

Again, I'm a huge idiot for forgetting my camera because I could have shown you their Pebeck, the traditional Korean wedding ceremony. The bride and groom get dressed up in their hamboks (traditional Korean clothes), and officially receive the blessings from their respective families. I've told my friend Bryan about it, and he's pretty excited for the part when the parents throw chestnuts at the bride and groom. For each chestnut caught in the couple's blanket, there's supposed to be a baby. Bryan swears that my future wife will bear 30 children. Another interesting thing I learned was that when the groom's sisters are paying respect to the new couple, they are given sticky rice candy. This is supposed to prevent the sisters-in-law from saying all the negative things they probably want to direct at their new sister.

The family picture. I'm the prep amongst the Korean gangsters in the back.

The friends picture. I'm pretty sure this is right after the bouquet toss. Young Joon tells me that the lucky girl wanted my contact info. Uh, I'm not so sure I like the timing...

Fish mart

2009-05-20T17:01:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I met up with my oldest cousin on my mother's side. She and her family are hilarious. It's one big gigglefest. Anyway, they wanted to take me to the big market for fresh fish and seafood.

We got there around closing time, so most of the produce vendors were shutting down. It was kind of cool to see the stands all lit up in the darkness of the massive building.

I'm guessing since you can't really pack up live fish, the seafood section stays open much longer. My cousin's husband had a good time choosing the fish and bargaining on the price.

Look at all that octopus! We actually ended up getting live octopus again.

Knuckle cracker on the bottom right.

Delicious. If you shook the plate on the left, all the arms would start writhing and pulling themselves out every which way. The maroon plate in the far back was really slick and I kept on dropping them in my lap. I looked like a real chump.

This soup is literally called, "spicy stew". I was sweating like a beast and of course everyone was laughing at me.

Not yet in high school but almost my size.

Fast talker.

Mr. Giggles himself. Besides all the laughing, he's the consummate Korean man.

My cousin. All smiles and peace signs when you're buying fruit at the market!

Toy story

2009-05-18T07:56:00.000-07:00

My cousin's husband just opened a toy museum this past year in Hongdae. It's pretty awesome.

Hall of stickers!

Garden party

2009-05-18T06:24:00.000-07:00

I had one last lunch with my aunt on Friday (don't worry, I have dinner with her on Thursday!), and she wanted to take me somewhere new. We drove about 20 minutes outside of Seoul to this restaurant by the highway.

Right next to the dining area is this garden. There's no question of where their Ssam is coming from.

When it gets warmer, they open up their outdoor patio. There were probably 15 huts, and each hut could accommodate about two parties. I'm guessing this place is very popular.

This was the first time I've ever had this dish. Basically, they prepare the fish during the winter by hooking it through the eyes and hanging them out to dry. Since the fish is really oily, that's all they really do to it until they serve it in the spring and summer.

Like many other Korean foods, you eat it wrapped in various vegetable configurations. In the picture, I have wet seaweed with some greens, pepper, and spicy bean paste. Overall, it was really good. Not as salty as I expected. I would say that if you ever try this, don't eat too much. My stomach wasn't in the best shape after eating 2/3 of the plate. I think it was from all the oil in the fish.

I don't think I ever mentioned this, but as my friend Drew liked to point out after his visit to Korea, all restaurants have service bells! Ring the bell, and the waitress comes over to serve you. This place is extra special and has direct buttons for soju and beer. Awesome.

After we ate, we marveled at all the kimchi pots in front of the garden. To give you some perspective, the smallest pots are about 4 feet tall. This place churns it out!

Underneath the shine

2009-05-16T20:15:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago my friend Woosang and I went shopping, and found ourselves in the middle of a confrontation between some protesters and the police.

While every once in a while things like this appear on the news, it's easy to come to Korea and think that everything is just kpop and marinated beef. Korea is a relatively new country and has struggled with democracy and corruption. The current president has come under fire several times for unpopular trade policies with the United States, and his former job as Seoul's mayor didn't exactly make him everyone's hero. His drive to modernize and beautify the city has left many of the poor pushed out of their homes and businesses.

Since my grasp of the Korean language doesn't really extend into politics and protest rhetoric, it was a bit difficult for me to understand what exactly was being protested. I think it was a combination of the the issues I mentioned above. However, I did clearly understand when they were calling the riot police bastards and dogs.

Of course, the location and timing of the protest was quite strategic. First, we were in Myeongdong, which is one of the most popular places to shop for foreigners. The few times I've been there, I heard just as much Japanese and Chinese as Korean. Second, it was a holiday weekend when most Koreans get a 4 day vacation. If people don't travel out of the city, you can bet that most will go shopping.

Woosang told me that lately, riot police have been dispatched too quickly. As you can see from the video below, they're pretty frightening.

The protesters all seemed to either be college students or old street vendors. Many of the older guys looked like they were drunk, but Korean men have a way of sounding and acting drunk when they're angry. Or maybe when they're drunk they naturally become angry? I'm sure it's a little of both.

As for the riot police, many of the men looked about my age. I'm not exactly sure, but I think the majority of the force is chosen from the young men who are performing their mandatory army service. They all seemed well trained and regimented. I was watching a group that was waiting to the side, and there is definitely a specific order where they all remove their hats in unison to fan themselves down.

This picture was on the side of the mobile prison a few blocks away.

Loud speakers to tell the crowds to disperse. The young woman's voice probably a deliberate choice.

From the back of the action, there were tons of these older guys speaking into their walkie-talkies. I can imagine they're pretty tough.

Hey, who's that guy?

2009-05-16T08:03:00.000-07:00

It's that time, I'm coming back to the United States in exactly 1 week.
That right! Here I come _______! Fill in the blank with:

family, friends, hoagies, burritos, pizza, tough looking dogs, fat people, etc.

Since I'm heading out soon, you'll notice me posting a lot more to make sure I squeeze out all the info I'd like to share.

Anyway, this week will be tough for my gut... lots of bbq and alcohol. And, I think dog might be eaten?

Speaking of the kids...

2009-05-16T07:23:00.000-07:00

There are some nights I come home after drinking feeling like I'm going to die. Then I wake up to this:

And then there are some days when I go to teach, and within 5 minutes, I find myself surrounded by this:

Uh, I'll take a pass on having kids anytime soon...

Doing it for the kids

2009-05-12T08:11:00.000-07:00

I teach kids and adults, and go figure, the kids are the most tiring to handle. Still, I've realized that I do have a gift when it comes to connecting to children. I think it comes from having a good memory of my childhood, and how I felt during those times. Besides my cousins' boys, I meet with two other elementary students.

Wonwoo and the 9 year-old-me have the same interests: planes and dinosaurs. I recently taught him the phrase, "silent, but deadly." Wonwoo lived in the US and UK for most of his childhood, so our conversations are actually extremely lively and challenging. He usually asks me a very complicated question about jet engines, and I usually reply, "Uhhh, let me look it up on google."

Wonwoo has a little brother who is probably the happiest baby I've ever met. He likes to do this thing where he eats something really slimy and then comes running towards me. He's a really funny baby.

Jenny is my other student. She's really sweet, and has a good sense of humor. The other day I was telling her how I know how to cook pasta, and she goes, "OOOh, like Mrs. Doubtfire!" Jenny's accent when speaking english is actually the best I've heard on a Korean (French is French, not prench), but of course, her mom doesn't think it's enough. She likes to "observe others", so I've been teaching her how to conduct interviews and take notes.

Jenny is also a pretty good artist. The blue nose is a nice touch.

Commercial success

2009-05-10T19:14:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my sister Janet and my friend Woosang, I'm all up to speed on that mystery refrigerator girl. Here's the commercial:

Yeah, there's not much to it, but when you see that commercial over and over again, you become a fan.

I figure I'd give a quick round up of other commercials I've seen way too many times. This next one is for another diet drink. The featured singer is pretty popular in Korea and she's in a bunch of other commercials.

I think in the United States, "cute" is used a lot as a general description for a good looking girl. However, in Korea, there's "cute", and there's "sexy". Many of my older students use this girl as the model for "sexy". I think she's kind of boring to tell you the truth.

Like I said before, Girls' Generation is everywhere. Here they are selling chicken.

If this commercial is accurate and they all live and eat fried chicken together, I would love to come over and hang out. Girls' Generation, call me. I will seduce you with a bucket of Popeye's.

For ever Girls' Generation commercial, there's also a lame commercial with this guy in it.

I bet you're .....ing right now. Shame on you Dunkin Donuts for changing your image. I liked you better as that place with stale donuts and cheap coffee. The guy in the commercial is actually the biggest male actor right now. He should stay in Korea because I think if he tried to make it in the United States, this and the following commercial will haunt him and ruin his career.

Remember I kept on saying Korean men are really feminine? Yup. This guy is what all the girls fiend for... I'm coming back to the US soon... will I come back wearing a pink blazer and a stuffed kitten on my shoulder?! I'm sure you're waiting in suspense.

So yeah, that last one was pretty bad, so here's another video to cleanse the palate.

Old man river

2009-05-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while, I meet up with my aunt for dinner after basketball. A good place to eat if you don't want people to notice you covered in sweat and smelly is bbq. Everyone leaves smelling like cooked meat anyway, and the focus is on the grill, not the people around you.

It's a bit strange. In the US, bulgolgi, kalbi, and marinated pork are the meat of choice for Korean bbq. However, most koreans enjoy eating samgyupsal, which is unmarinated pork. I'm not exactly sure why. My guess is that it's less messy; you don't have juices running everywhere. Also, it pairs extremely well with soju and beer.

My aunt and uncle are the most laid back Koreans I've ever met. They work hard, but their attitude is pretty carefree. I'm sure it has something to do with their kids both out of the house and married. Anyway, they really wanted to take me on a boat cruise along the Han river. Our boat was decked out in plastic flowers.

We're standing in the special couples section in this picture. There was this sad looking heart altar made of flowers right in front of us.

I wouldn't say the Han river is the most beautiful city space I've ever been to, but it definitely serves as a small sanctuary from the rest of the hustle. It's not like HK, where corporate buildings are front and center and you feel like you're floating next to a waterfront Vegas. Basically, the Han river cuts the city in half and so there has been major development to make it an area for biking, jogging, and other outdoor recreation.

After playing basketball, eating too much, and drinking with my uncle, the breeze off the water was really pleasant. Haha... sports, meat, alcohol, and family. I must sound like a broken record.

Duke Tango

2009-05-06T03:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, my friends and I went to see game 5 of the Korean Basketball League finals. Seoul's SK Knights were down 3-1 in the series against Jeonju's KCC Egis. I have no idea what an Egis is.

For a finals game, tickets were amazingly cheap. I paid about 5 bucks. Granted, our seats were high up and I'm pretty sure we were sitting on top of the heating pipes so it felt like a sauna. The game was exciting and finished off with some clutch free throws and an amazing last second shot. Seoul got lucky and was able to extend the series all the way to game 7, bu KCC finished them off convincingly in the end.

Ha Seung-Jin is KCC's star player. He's 7'4", and had a short stint in the NBA playing for the Portland Trailblazers. His height is an incredible game changer as only foreign players can defend against him. Apposing teams struggle to manage their fouls with him on the court, and so often lose their foreign players early. He's also really really ugly.

The difference in athleticism between the KBL and your typical televised game in the US could really be seen in the number of bodies hitting the floor. Korean players are fast, but definitely go flying around and have less control of their bodies. This guy had to be taken off on a stretcher.

The tickets were actually meant for a double date. My friend Beck and his girlfriend were there, but my other friend Wonjin's girlfriend couldn't make it because she had to study for an exam.

Wonjin and I took this uncomfortable picture. He commented that we look really sketchy. Like two guys just hanging out....in prison. I think the heat from the steam pipes didn't help.

The cheerleaders were fun to watch. Beck's girlfriend is actually a dance major, so I made sure to pick her brain about what was going on technically. Since my prior knowledge of dance moves only really extends to jazz hands, I think she eventually got sick of me.

I got the drift. So the costume change was more than enough to keep my attention. Good times.

Closing time

2009-05-06T03:03:00.000-07:00

This is a typical issue for me on an average day:

me: ok, cool, Ill look for him

10:57 AM hey, there's this refrigerator commercial where this really hot girl redesigns the refrigerator. do you know which one I'm talking about?

she eats a cucumber at the end

10:58 AM do you know who she is?

I'm not talking about the figure skater

she's hot too

This refrigerator girl has been driving me crazy for my whole visit.

Looker

2009-05-03T22:14:00.000-07:00

Randos

2009-05-03T21:17:00.000-07:00

Best drink box I've had in Korea. Pomegranate juice for the kids.

A while back I had dinner with my dad's friend, and his friends. We ate at this really small traditional style Korean restaurant. There was a lot of smoking and drinking, and as you can see from the photo, the men had their gangster leans going. If there were a Korean Dick Tracy comic book, I think these men would be good models. I would call the guy on the right giggles.

This is Korea's version of the crow. Just as loud, but much better looking. Don't get too excited, Korea still has lots of pigeons.

We went to this bbq place and there was a fleet of recumbents parked outside. So now I know that Koreans choose to ride the ugliest bikes.

Just like Mcdonalds milkshakes, whatever country you're in, Costco chicken tastes the same. Kirkland is the brand to watch in 2010!

Sometimes you have to be careful. You'll be thirsty and buy a bottle of water, only to realize that you bought water for women.

The water is good

2009-04-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

About two weekends ago I went to my dad's hometown, Daegu, to visit my cousin Young Joon. He spent some time living with us in NJ when we were younger, so it was exciting to see him all grown up and with a fiance! Before we did anything, we drove about an hour away from the city to visit my grandfather's grave.

The cemetary was up in the mountains, and it was quite beautiful. Probably really hard to visit in the winter.

When Koreans visit the cemetary, they wipe down the headstone and remove any weeds that sprout around the grave site. Young Joon and his family had come a few weeks before, so the area was already pretty clean.

After we drove back, we met up with Young Joon's fiance, Mi Ok, and went to a baseball game.

Afternoon game.

Mi Ok is actually a radio broadcaster for a Daegu station. While we were driving back to the city, we listened to her give the news and weather report every hour. Since she has press badges, she and her guests never have to pay for baseball games. Pretty awesome if you ask me. She's really sweet and has a good sense of humor.

Young Joon would later buy me an awesome Samsung Lions jersey.

One of the players on Daegu's team is really close to breaking the career homerun record. He didn't hit one at the game we saw, but there were probably 5 homeruns throughout. Pretty exciting stuff.

I'm pretty sure I'll be going to some more baseball games soon. In Korea, it's less of a family event and more for just adults. The stadium actually doesn't sell beer, so you're allowed to bring your own. I saw guys with huge coolers full of beer just sitting back and enjoying the game.... As the weather warms up, watching a night game with some friends, beer, and chicken wings sounds like a good way to spend your time.

After the game, we went out for dinner and a drink.

Young Joon ate too much, so sipping on his lemonade didn't really help.

Still, he always rallies to take a photo. The girls in this bar were actually all very good looking and alone (as in, no male companions). I was pretty shocked. Actually, Daegu is known for its hot weather and hot women. My friends were telling me that when they see someone who's really hot in Seoul, they like to say that "she's probably from Daegu". Mi Ok told me that it was too bad that I could only stay for a weekend. If I had more time she could introduce me to people. So for you cousins out there, plan a few weeks in Daegu.

The next morning I had dinner with Young Joon's family. Young Joon's sister is an English teacher and has a pretty sharp wit.

After breakfast, we rushed over to Young Joon's english club (which was at my dad's old University). The discussion topic was the book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus (which is probably really dated by now, right?), and his friends were all very funny. Towards the end of class, they asked me to teach them about curse words and insults. Don't worry, I dropped the knowledge, Jason Lee style.

We wanted to get a picture of us all together after, and the random guy walking by took this photo. Uh, I'm glad he got half of that Hyundai Santa Fe in there, and all that pavement. The picture makes me laugh. Don't worry, if you squint hard enough, those peace signs are still there.

Regulators

2009-04-27T17:36:00.000-07:00

Oh, I forgot to mention that Dave's family really likes cars. Here are a few from the collection that I managed to snap pictures of.

The Maserati.

The Rolls Royce.

The Citroen!

Dave tells me that this model is the official car for Nicolas Sarkozy. Dave's family owns the only working model in HK. His dad really wanted a citroen.

To tell you the truth, the object I was happiest to see was this towel warmer in his sister's bathroom.

Luxury.

wowzers

2009-04-27T05:33:00.000-07:00

Finishing off my trip to HK, here are the last highlights.

We went for a day trip to Macau. Macau is like Asia's Las Vegas. Lots of casinos, women, and shopping. Since I'm not a big gambler, we visited some cultural spots.

Here I am praying for a wish. I really didn't understand how the system worked at first.

What you do is you pray for whatever you want, and start shaking the tube till one of the numbered sticks falls out. Then you take the stick over to the fortune tellers, who decodes the stick in the context of your wish. I was boring and prayed to have a normal sleep cycle in med school.

We also went to this old army fortress in the center of the city. This picture is fun because the old guy to the right in the sweat suit was marching in place and counting off really loud. It was kind of awesome. We enjoyed it.

The next day we were back in HK and visited the big Buddha. The statue is far from the main city, so you either have to take a really long bus ride or the tram. We waited really long to ride the tram, so when we finally got to the cars, I had to break out the peace signs.

Apparently the tram is pretty unsafe. They've had accidents.

Yeah, I wear that shirt a lot.

After the big Buddha, we went to Disneyland for 2 hours. Luckily it had rained a little, so a lot of people had already left the park.

Space mountain was fun. Vinny asked every cute Disneyland employee what he should ride, and they all suggested Space Mountain. He's got sweet game.

The buzz lightyear ride was actually really cool.

Fireworks in the rain.

Final night in HK. Apparently there were lots of Triads on this street.

The new new Cheng Hing

2009-04-27T04:27:00.000-07:00

Hey there. I took way too many pictures in HK, so I've been procrastinating and not posting very much. Lame excuse, I know. Instead of doing what I was doing and putting up everything from each day, I'm just going to show you the food for now.

HK is renown for its food, but to tell you the truth, I'll take Korean over Chinese any day. I like Chinese, but I find it pretty oily and tough to eat for several days. Since I was staying with HK natives, unless I explicity asked to eat something touristy and famous, we would usually go somwhere where the locals go. So less extravagant and coma inducing. Here are some highlights.

BBQ goose. We went to this restaurant based on a recommendation from my friend Wanda. It was nice and fatty. Below are some of the other dishes we ordered.

Really amazing vegetables.

Fish and tofu hotpot.

Squid. Like butter.

The area specialty. I will never turn down egg.

We went to dim sum once or twice. I like dim sum a lot, but after eating it, I always just want to take a nap.

Dumpling filled with shark fin soup. Sorry Yao Ming, I couldn't resist.

Since 20 somethings in HK usually live with their parents, they try their hardest to stay out as late as possible. That means lots of stores, restaurants, coffee shops and dessert parlors are open way into the night. On my last night, we rambled around for a good while and finally landed at this little dessert place. Vinny insisted that I try the frog gills.

Frog gills with some root, lychee, and coconut juice. Served warm.

The frog gills really didn't taste like anything but looked pretty much like snot. Apparently it's a popular dish for women because it gives your skin a healthy glow. Good for me because Korean women do love their men pretty! More on that later...

Hey there pup

2009-04-22T07:01:00.000-07:00

My sister smelled Mother's day coming....

Welcome to the family Teo!

Cross of Death

2009-04-14T09:28:00.000-07:00

After an eventful first day in HK, Dave decided to take me wake boarding after only a few hours of sleep. Considering I've never done a board sport before and I'm not the best swimmer, I had other things on my mind besides fatigue. Dave lives along Repulse bay and has an amazing view. You can see his place amongst the group of white buildings in the center of the picture.

The day was pretty overcast and the water choppy. Not the best weather for a first go, but I was confident in Dave's instruction. A few years back he was the HK wake boarding champion, but after a knee accident he's switched to wake skating. Rather than having the board strapped to your feet like wake boarding, in wake skating you ride like a skate board. Your feet are detached, and it seems way harder and more complex.

For those that are interested, Nike SB has a line of wake shoes that are pretty cool.

Here he is attempting a trick.

He ate it pretty hard.

He still looked pretty badass for most of his ride, though.

When it was my turn, Dave gave me some good pointers, and made me quickly realize that I'm not very flexible. Getting my knees up to my chest with the board strapped to my feet kind of hurt. Still, I remembered many drunken nights playing around with my friend Bryan's endo board and had faith.

I averaged about 15 seconds up on the water, but had a few decent runs that lasted longer. It was a lot of fun, and after 30 minutes I was totally exhausted.

After we finished, we headed up to the Peak, which offers a sweet vantage of the bay and the city skyline.

Vinny lives in the the tall building directly center.

Cramped city.

Ice cream was eaten.

Souvenirs were examined.

Also at the peak was a Madam Tussauds. I remember going to one after high school and not having much fun, but this time was different. As you can see from the following pictures, we kind of went crazy with the pictures and the posing.

Vinny being Vinny.

I love Coming to America.

I have no clue who this is, but Vinny really wanted to take a picture with him.

My friends Lauren and Jones once told me that they thought I looked like Bill Clinton. Thoughts? Uh, the wax interpretation definitely makes him look like a zombie.

I wanted this picture to look like Pavarotti was tickling me or something. Don't ask me why.

Dave with the CEO of HK.

This wax figure was the most realistic.

Don't worry, Yao Ming wasn't jumping. He is really skinny.

Vinny really wanted you to know that Yao has armpit hair.

Dave violating David Beckham.

This was a big moment for me. I watched Rumble in the Bronx twice in the theatre.

Next on our schedule was to find a fake rolex for a friend. We headed into one of the major shopping districts where normal HK people shop. Lots of teenagers, street food, and random stores.

The malls in HK are pretty extravagant. Escalators are always very dramatic.

Our final destination was a late dinner at the very touristy Jumbo Floating Restaurant. You need to take a small boat to get to the actual place.

Food was good, but nothing too special.

Really, you go there to take cheesy pictures like this. It looks like we were photoshopped in, right?

Ring the doorbell

2009-04-14T03:36:00.000-07:00

Every day in Hong Kong was jam packed, but my first day was extra special. Dave had to work pretty late, so Vinny was my tour guide. Vinny knows a lot about HK, but the thing he knows best is the city's sin. I mean, whether it be gambling or girls, Vinny enjoys his vice. Since some of the places he took me were a bit dodgy and pictures were definitely not allowed, I'm going to skip over a large chunk of our night. Don't worry, we didn't do anything bad. If you're interested in learning more, feel free to ask me in person. I don't think email can really do these places justice.

Vinny works in Central, which is located on the Hong Kong side. It used to be the city's major hub, so there are a lot of expensive antique shops that cater to Western tastes. At night, Central has a pretty crazy scene and is jampacked with the Finance type. Lots of blazers and striped button down shirts if you know what I mean...

This is one of the most famous egg custard shops. Pretty good stuff.

Before the 1997 hand over, most of the British government's operations were located in Central. Right in the middle of the area is this big complex composed of western architecture. I think it's pretty much abandoned now.

Vinny works for the family Diamond business. It's incredible to see him with so much responsibility. Back in England, Vinny and I spent a week at his house in the middle of nowhere wearing bathrobes, eating ramen, and watching Tom and Jerry cartoons. Now, he cuts diamonds, and sells to major retailers throughout the world. It was fun to see his work.

As many of you know, HK is a major business center. Lots of tall buildings with expensive fountains in front.

Kowloon skyline.

Hong Kong island skyline. The tallest building is where Batman swooped in and broke some skulls.

After a boat ride and a lot of walking, Vinny and I had dinner on the Kowloon side. I forgot to take pictures, but the drunken pigeon and jellyfish were great. Like I said before, Vinny knows his vice. Here he is explaining to me what it's like to chase women in HK.

Vinny is the closest thing to a cartoon character I know. While he was going on about girls, his nose started to bleed! I'm serious. It was amazing and hilarious.

Tripe anyone?

Vinny took me to the nicest hotel bar in Hong Kong, and it had the craziest urinals I've seen. Not only do you pee into some wicked sculpture, you get to do it while looking over the city.

Cheesy vodka bar. I felt really gross wearing that nasty fake fur coat.

After all the dodgy stuff, we went back to Central to meet up with some of Vinny's friends.

The only way I survived up until this point was two red bull.

Kind of ballin at the club. Actually, not really. Still, as Vinny watched from afar, I danced the forbidden dance and tried my best to woo some HK girls. I guess it kind of worked.

Digits! There, I proved it. Check the box off. It would be the last night we'd go out clubbing.

Chicken and ducks

2009-04-14T03:34:00.000-07:00

Before I jump into writing about my trip to Hong Kong, I just wanted to say a few words about the friends that I visited. I first met them when I was studying abroad in England before University. I was the only American at the school, and it was kind of tough. After quickly learning that I was a lightweight and shouldn't begin drinking at 6 pm like the rest of my classmates, I found Dave (left) and Vinny (center), the other two "oriental" kids in my class. Like a bunch of Rudolphs in reindeer camp, we quickly stood out and found each other through our bright asian glow. Anyway, instead of drinking, we spent a lot of our saturday nights choosing to stalk a local waitress in our town's only Chinese restaurant. I mean, she was hot, and probably saved us a lot of drunken embarrassment.

In the very large sense, my early friendship with Dave and Vinny taught me to embrace and find refuge in our Asian culture when all the white people were acting, uh well, very white. But that stuff is boring and not very interesting. In the end, Dave liked the movie Roadtrip and I liked Roadtrip so we watched that movie together a million times. Vinny lived in my dorm and when there was nothing to do, we rocked out to his "Now, that's what I call music!" cd collection.

My visit was great and I'll try to filter out as many pictures as possible so it doesn't feel like Aunt Patty and Selma's vacation slideshow.

Flash light

2009-04-08T01:39:00.000-07:00

I'm taking the show on the road and heading to Hong Kong tomorrow. I'll be there visiting friends for about 5 days. Anyone need anything? Fake rolex watches and knock off wallets I can do. Handbags and dumplings are out of my range.

I'll be missing my sister's baby shower in New Jersey this weekend, so if you're family, have fun at the easter egg hunt!

The bunny shots

2009-04-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

Something I look forward to every week is going to play basketball at Yonsei University. Yonsei is one of the top 3 schools in Korea, and I would say it's equivalent in the US would be either Yale or Harvard. Anyway, I've been lucky enough to have been introduced to The Rebels, a well-established intramural team, and all the guys have been extremely welcoming. I feel really lucky.

Since I'm not a student, I can only practice with the guys but it's still a lot fun. The team has a strong alumni network, so I often play alongside graduates who are all tough businessmen that talk a lot of trash. It's hilarious. The general trend that I've noticed is that Koreans don't have the best handle, so they compensate with pretty strong shooting. This makes it pretty fun for me to teach some moves to the basket, and emphasize the use of the left hand. It's nice to hear the ooohs and aaaahs when I go up with my left.

Last week I had some free time so I finally got to check out one of their games. The Rebels were more sharp on all points. They had official uniforms, set plays, and clearly understood the fundamentals of team basketball (the other team wore pennies and looked really really confused).

While it would be fun to suit up and play for the team, this one was kind of a bloodbath. From what I hear, the other teams at Yonsei are pretty good, and it will be a tough season for the Rebels.

Looks like something really funny is going on at the scorers table! My guess is that they're trying to figure out the 93 second shot clock.

After the game I went with my friend beck (which means 100 in Korean; it's his nickname) to meet HJ, one of his friends from high school. HJ's girlfriend tagged along.

HJ with his girlfriend, who's doing the Maculay Culkin.

I was a bit nervous before meeting the two because Beck kept on telling me to only speak Korean. However, after a few drinks and realizing that HJ studied abroad in Philadelphia, we had a really great time. HJ told me that he would often find himself in sketchy situations late at night in North Philly. Dudes would be sizing him up, so his strategy was to seem crazy. He would light a cigarette on the subway, elevator, or anywhere you're not supposed to smoke, and guys usually backed off. It was also pretty funny hearing him try to remember all the tree street names.

Pink shirt, red face. I forget the name of the guy in the white hoodie, but that's "Coach Beck" displaying the fists. Peace signs don't cut it when you're tough, I guess.

sidekicks

2009-04-05T07:07:00.000-07:00

Rather than participate on traveling soccer teams or little league, my cousins and I spent most of our adolescence throwing punches and kicks at the local Tae Kwon Do academies. It was a lot of fun, and sometimes very serious. By the time we had earned our black belts, we were on demonstration teams and living large at mall performances. I distinctly remember being invited to perform at the opening showing of Three Ninjas.

Tae Kwon Do is Korea's martial art style, and so my cousins and I always had this idea of Korea being the mecca of the sport. On my second visit to Korea, my parents brought me to the national headquarters and I was in awe. Even though the whole building smelled like a locker room, it was pretty amazing to step onto the sparring floor, and see all these sweet pictures of black belts flying in the air. My master would also always tell me of how much nicer he was than the instructors in Korea. He was pretty tough, so it was frightening to imagine doing even more knuckle push ups and painful stretching.

Now that I'm in Korea, I think the sport's culture has changed a lot. Rather than memorize forms and different techniques, it seems like Tae Kwon Do is more of just a place to get some exercise and have fun. My cousin's son often tells me that he just plays soccer and runs around at class. While I think this is definitely what Korean children need and lack because of their busy schedules, it's kind of sad. I'm probably just being a grumpy old man about this, but I worked really hard to get my blackbelt! I see a lot of really young kids running around with red (2 away from black) or black belts, and I'm sure that they haven't fully mastered much of the technique. Anyway, there are probably quite a few academies who train in the traditional sense, and I hope (in the nicest sense possible) that there's a 12 year old kid getting whacked with a bamboo stick because he didn't kick high enough.

Well, if I didn't scare you too much, let me lighten the mood with some pictures of dogs.

If I owned this dog, I'd call it windtunnel.

This guy had a nice little strut.

To get to the other side

2009-04-03T14:05:00.000-07:00

The Seoul public transit system is pretty nice. It's quiet, clean, and cheap. The only downside is that it stops running around midnight. This could be a huge pain for the nights I go out with my friends, but luckily in Korea, taxis are really cheap. I can get from the north side to the south side of Seoul (about 20 minutes) for less than 10 bucks.

However, I've been warned that taxi drivers like to rip off foreigners. So when I jump into the car, since my accent is pretty bad, I act really drunk and say two words: Bangbe station. Koreans don't use cross streets but give directions based off of large buildings and landmarks. Since my apartment building is kind of confusing to get to, I keep it short and simple and get dropped off in front of the subway station I always go to.

Even late at night, my quiet neighborhood in Seoul is still pretty active. I thought I'd share some pictures of the same walk that I posted before, only these were taken around 3 AM (when I was probably tipsy).

The first few times I took a taxi, I was pretty nervous from some of the horror stories I heard before. I actually would always look for the giant bowling pin on top of this building. Once I saw it, I knew I was home.

At night these ads are kind of eerie. I don't like them.

Night construction is a pretty big thing in Seoul. It's crazy. Once 11 PM hits, all these tough guys show up and start moving bricks, digging holes and smoking cigarettes.

There's always a place to eat. Actually, I once was telling a Korean friend that I drove a pickup truck in the US and he asked me if I sold anything from the back. No Tacomas or F150s in Korea. Pickup trucks are meant to sell or move things. That's it.

Whenever I walk by these apartments, I'm really glad I don't live there. It's so high up!

Why is this stationary store open so late? I have no idea.

If I've drunk a lot, up to this point is where I start feeling not so bad and happy that I walked home.

Security guard passed out.

Gifted

2009-03-31T06:59:00.000-07:00

About a month ago, I had dinner with some family friends. The gentleman wearing the gold jacket met my father in elementary school, and the two scraped by together throughout their young adult lives until my dad "ran away to become a doctor". His family was really nice, and the baby knew how to entertain a crowd.

I met their son once before when we were on a family trip to Nova Scotia. Being the only Korean person on the island, he quickly learned how to make kimchi and impress the locals with the bulgolgi marinade. He's a pretty talented guitarist, and so he was known as "that asian dude who plays the guitar." He now works for a guitar manufacturer, and so this past weekend he surprised me with an electric guitar.

It's pretty awesome. While he realized that an acoustic guitar might be more practical, he told me that, "men like loud things, so men should play electric." Fair enough! While I was taking this picture Joon came in and requested that I include his present in the shot. Thanks to Joon for the sweet Tony the Tiger basket.

I've never played the guitar so the first day was a lot of looking at it and holding it in front of a mirror. I recently finished downloading some manuals and dvds, and have been asking friends for their advice on how to quickly pick up some songs. If you have any tips, please feel free to share.

For all those guitar nerds, all I can tell you is that its manufactured by JamMate and is the UG-1 model. I think it's a German brand. Since the only guitars I ever fooled around with before were acoustic, I'm not sure if it's heavier or lighter than the average electric guitar. I will tell you this, it's very red and comes with a whammy bar.

Ok, so I did some more research and discovered that JamMate's deal is computer connectivity. As you can see in the photo, there's a USB port at the end where you can plug the guitar into your computer. Since I don't play and have no music editing software I haven't tried to see what it's like, but when I get back to the States you're welcome to fool around with it.

My dad's friend's son included this other cool little machine. Rather than lug around a loud and heavy amp, I can use the Hipster (that's right, that's what it's called). I simply connect the guitar to the Hipster, which is then connected to the headphones. And there you have it, I can practice all night, anywhere. While I do have a lot of time and am very keen, for this first week I'm going to have to wait for the calluses to build up on my fingers. My friend Itty told me that when you practice guitar, it's better to set goals and focus on learning certain songs. That said, my goal is to learn and play a White Stripes song with Joon before I leave Korea. I'll make sure to fill you in on the progress.

Just saying

2009-03-29T15:47:00.000-07:00

About 2 weeks ago, my friend Hae Sung told me that before he left for Philadelphia, the group of guys would go drinking and stay out all night. It went into my google calendar as "drink+die", and I informed my cousin that I would be a mess the day after. Being the sweetheart that she is, my cousin made this crab hangover stew. Luckily I didn't over do it, and when I came home at 7 AM I was sober enough to make some calls and floss my teeth. That's a first! Anyway, the stew was really amazing, but I think with the meat still being in the shell, it's a little too cumbersome for the average person to handle with a hangover. Initially when you begin eating this dish, you pour some soup and scoop some rice into the split open bodies. After you mix the components together and let the flavors integrate, it looks almost like a crab curry. Really delicious.

Speaking of food, I also happened to eat some whale recently. Hunting whales is illegal in Korea, but if "caught" in nets meant for other fish, they're fair game to sell. So it's pretty expensive. I didn't take any pictures because really, it looked like smoke meat. Besides being really oily and not chewy, the whale's body is so huge that when served, several different areas of the body are given and they all taste very different. It was pretty interesting to guess what part of the body I was eating, and try them in different combinations. I'll tell you, blow hole isn't that bad....

Throwback

2009-03-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

This is my 4th visit to Korea. My first visit was when I was 6 years old, so I don't remember all that much. My second visit was right after finishing 8th grade, so it was a pretty big summer for me. I was telling a friend about what it was like the other day, and I realized that Korea played a big part in my discovery of hip hop. Besides spending a lot time with kids who loved Wu-Tang, Biggie, and Warren G at summer camp, I also dipped my toe into the small pool that was the Korean hip hop scene.

The group that stands out most in my memory is Jinusean. While I also bought the DJ DOC cd that year, Jinusean had a really laid back sound that I enjoyed. The above song is definitely my favorite, and now that I've watched it several times, I'm impressed with the production value. If you don't care for the melodrama in the beginning, it gets going after 1.5 minutes. I did a little more searching and I found that Jinusean had done a collaboration with Mobb Deep.

When I first saw it I figured it was a blend, but Mobb Deep definitely includes JS in their hook. Amazing. As my friend Jon mentioned to me earlier, YG family represents.

So what's the state of Korean hip hop today? I'm not sure because I haven't done much searching. I flipped on Korean MTV one night and I saw this tragedy of a song.

100 won for the person who can tell me who Crown J rips off. The rhymes are weak, and I'm pretty sure I could whip up a video like this on my digital camera (if any of you want me to direct you rap video, I get back to the states in May). To tell you the truth, I do respect the guy for portraying a pretty realistic image of himself. I bet when he's in Atlanta, he does do a lot of hanging out with dudes, shopping for fitted caps, and sitting alone at the bus stop. GANGSTA.

Complexion connection

2009-03-25T22:17:00.000-07:00

On Monday I met up with my aunt who is always fun to hang out with. The plan for this week was to grab some lunch, and then go to my cousin's spa for a facial. That's right, a facial. The self-conscious American man in me tried to back out, but apparently in Korea it's a common practice for men. In fact, Korean men are really into skin care. I was particularly shocked one weekend when after playing ball with my friends, all these dudes began to apply lotion to their faces and discuss their favorite moisturizer. My thoughts, "Uhh, didn't you guys just get back from the army??" It doesn't matter. In Korea, good skin is extremely important, and many will go long distances to have a great complexion.

Before my appointment, we went to a small restaurant and ate this. The squid was great, but the sauce was ridiculously spicy. My friends will know what I looked like while I was eating this... I should have worn a dry-fit shirt or something. My aunt laughed at me and pointed at the young woman sitting beside us. She ordered the same exact thing and was going to town on the sauce. Either way, it was probably good to sweat and clear my system out.

My cousin's spa was really nice and cozy. They definitely go for that rustic, at home feel. However, my aunt kind of just dropped me off with the attendants who couldn't speak a word of English. There was a bit of awkwardness when they told me to put on a robe, and I wasn't sure what articles of clothing (pants) I should take off. "No, not your pants," was their response, followed by the usual gigglefest that I've become accustomed to. As for the facial, it was nice, but extremely strange. I'm just not that used to a set of hands on my face for 2 hours straight.

I didn't have the mind to take a before shot, but here's the after. Take a good look, because this is the nicest it's ever going to get.

Ugh, enough about me and my skin. I think I'll go hike into the woods and chops some trees down. Bye!

High school ballers

2009-03-24T16:41:00.000-07:00

Every Wednesday I take the subway for about 40 minutes to teach my other cousin's son, Dennis. He lives in a suburb of Seoul, which is definitely more family friendly. Like I said before, Dennis is really smart and has plenty of studying and homework to do. So when I come over, it's just play time (in English of course). Dennis is athletic and so I've been teaching him basketball at the local high school.He's a fast learner, and definitely applies his newly developed skills in the kids league he plays in during the weekend. I've shown him how to play defense, back-someone-down-to-then-make-a-quick-spin-move-towards-the-basket, layups, and of course, boxing out. I've been impressed with his overall sports mind. He'll often tell me how something I teach him is very similar or different to what he does in soccer.Check out that form! Before I began teaching him ball, I read some websites on how to teach kids the proper shooting form. All the websites suggest that you should make the analogy of holding the ball to carrying a pizza pie over your shoulder. Unfortunately, when I tried to use this technique, I realized that Korean people don't really carry pizzas that way. Maybe it's all the weight from the corn, potato, and kimchi that they put in their pie. Yeah, Koreans like weird stuff in their pizza.

At the schoolyard, they have this set of parallel bars. When I was in high school and extremely worried about my body shape (as the Koreans like to call it), I would often ask my dad how he got so broad. He's definitely got wider shoulders than me. Anyway, he would always explain how in high school, he would work out on these parallel bars. Being the young kid that I was, I imagined my dad in a leotard doing gymnastics or something. Now, I realize that he was just exercising on one of these. So less Team USA and more pumping iron in the yard.

Sorry Korea

2009-03-24T02:56:00.000-07:00

Tough loss against Japan. Ichiro blows.

You'll get 'em next time...

Cold funk

2009-03-23T16:31:00.000-07:00

FYI: If your clothes start smelling a little funky and you really don't want to to wash them, put them in the freezer overnight. I do this with my jeans.

But you know what's really really fun? Right after you take them out of the fridge, put them on! Trust me, it's not like jumping into a cold pool... it's something very different. Anyway, I'll be using this trick to wake myself up when I'm studying in med school.

School daze

2009-03-23T01:32:00.000-07:00

Living with my cousin's family has taught me a lot about the education system in Korea. One of the simpler, but still jarring facts, is that the school year begins in February. For so long I've been used to the Western system's September start... I remember even thinking the quarter system was weird when I first heard about it. Anyway, I took these pictures a while ago on Joon's first day.

New shirt for the first day. Same peace sign.

I waited in the school yard at the end of the day with the other parents. Coming to school on this day was particularly exciting because there was a small ceremony for the kids that were starting Kindergarten.

The older boys were definitely sizing up the new arrivals.Lined up with their roses, the 5 year olds were oblivious to what was going on.The principal led the audience through the school song and national anthem.I walked home with Joon and his friend. They ignored me the whole time.

Doc Oct

2009-03-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

The morning after my basketball banquet was painful. I had a horrible hangover, and realized that almost all of my father's relatives would be coming over for brunch. Just to make things a little more interesting (Japanese game show style), my cousin had spoken to me earlier about eating live octopus, so she decided that this day would be a great one to serve this unique food.I kind of just wanted to stay in this position all day. In fact, after my uncles and aunts laughed at my "one shot" story, they told me it was OK to take breaks throughout the meal to lie down. I really do love my family.

I took a bunch of pictures of the octopus, but you can only really give live octopus its justice on video. How was it? Really really awesome. The tentacles definitely suction onto your tongue if you don't start biting right away. My cousin's son Dennis didn't handle it as well... he was sitting across from me and looked like he was going to cry the whole time.

My cousins created a beautiful spread. The theme was definitely fresh seafood and vegetables.Miraculously, I handled the food extremely well. I've never had tastier shrimp, and the fish was excellent.

Since Koreans love their alcohol, there are a million and one different dishes to cure a hangover. This was one of them. Spicy broth with bits of fish, mushroom, and vegetables. The steam from the soup makes you feel great, and the spice lets you sweat out that alcohol. Seriously, after eating this I felt 70% better. My family just kind of sat and watched me down my first bowl in 2 minutes. So they gladly gave me a second bowl with lots of broth. A shower and a long nap later, and I was recovered!

Trill

2009-03-16T16:06:00.000-07:00

Koreans are considered the Irish of Asia because of their love of alcohol. The drink of choice is soju, which is like a weaker version of vodka. This Friday was my basketball team's opening banquet, and like every weekend, there were also friends either going to or coming back from the army. This all added up to me drinking a whole lot.

I was doing well up to a certain moment. I was pacing myself, and making sure to eat a lot. You see Koreans are way smarter about their alcohol than most. They never drink without food, kind of like tapas style. It creates a very social atmosphere, and a good way to balance out your alcohol intake (while also drinking more). Anyway, I was eating a lot and pacing myself, until I was handed a full glass (like 16 fluid ounces) of soju and told, "one shot." I'm not a great drinker, so before I took it all down I should have known what my body could handle. Stupid stupid stupid.

This was literally 30 seconds before I went south. I'm pretty sure I was trying to explain to this girl that in America the wink is like Asia's peace sign. Well, 5 minutes later I was out on the street clutching a wall.Same story for the guy in the middle. Actually, imagine him falling face first onto the street, because that's what he did. On Sunday he would show up to basketball with bruises and scabs all over his face. He also lost his glasses somewhere. It was sad really... we realized we were wearing the same pair that night.

I don't know how this picture got onto my camera, but it pretty much sums up the last 2 hours of my night.

Sleep machine

2009-03-14T04:14:00.000-07:00

Many people don't know this, but I'm a champ when it comes to napping. Throughout my life I've been mastering the power nap. I think I had good teachers in my family. My mom would always tell me how she napped in her office after lunch. My sister Janet showed me how to fall asleep anywhere.

Before large belly skinny legs was created, my original idea for a blog was called 'before the nap'. It would chronicle all my naps, and what I did before and after each one. The idea came from a conversation with my friend Bryan. I was telling him how much I loved napping, and how they make me 100% at everything I do. Before studying, going out, or even reading a book, a nap would refresh my mind and make me many times happier. Anyway, the idea fell through as I didn't think I could handle the volume of posts I would need to create.

Earlier this week, several of my friends showed me this article on napping. It's pretty interesting, and I suggest you all take a good look. Many of my friends who don't like napping usually say they take really long naps. That's not the way to go. A good 20 minute nap works wonders. You can bet that by the end of my first year in medical school, I'll know where all the good spots are for catnaps and a little shuteye.

I choose you, ling ling

2009-03-13T23:50:00.000-07:00

About a month ago was winter vacation for the kids, so to maximize his English exposure, one of the students I teach moved in for a week. Dennis is my other cousin's son, and it was nice to see him play big brother to Joon. They're like most kids... lots of sports, video games, and art. Both my cousins were hanging out throughout to share in babysitting duties, and they always encouraged the boys to play with their hands. I think they're making bread in the above picture.

Dennis is really artistic. He spent most of his time teaching Joon how to make art for their Nintendo DS cases. He likes pandas.

Joon likes the pikachu.

Duboce triangle

2009-03-12T00:26:00.000-07:00

I watched Milk the other night. It was pretty good, and fun to see San Francisco in film. For all you SF residents, there's a great scene in Dog sh*t park.

Wallabees

2009-03-10T18:26:00.000-07:00

As I was walking out of my apartment's basement garage, I happen to step right into some wet paint. If I were Ghostface or Raekwon, I think I would have had some stern words for the painters. However, the two painters were not happy with each other for some other reason, so they were arguing and didn't see what I had done. I've never been too confrontational, and in Korea I avoid it like the plague. I'm pretty sure these dudes would have ripped me a new one and all I would have been able to do is say sorry over and over.

Speaking of shoes, I forgot to mention that in Korea I only have 3 pairs. 3 pairs! Yeah, I think for most people 3 pairs is enough, but as many of my friends know, I usually have a solid 6 pair rotation. Anyway, when I was preparing for Korea, I realized that I would have to pack lightly and take only a select few. So I wear these wallabees a lot because they're pretty versatile when it comes to just hanging out or going to a nicer affair. My second pair are my all white vans. They're pretty standard and have gotten a nice worn look to them. Finally, the last pair are my baskeball shoes. Nothing too flashy as I planned to play a lot. One of my teammates rocks a mean pair of aqua and orange pumps. Think Miami Dolphins. I might have to treat myself and bring them back for the courts of NYC.

BTW: With all the tutoring I've been doing, I'm thinking about buying a Dslr camera. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions on brands or models? I don't want anything professional. A simple starter camera that's sturdy and not too heavy. Thanks.

Art night

2009-03-10T18:10:00.000-07:00

A few Fridays ago, 2 of my students invited me to go with them to Seoul's PechaKucha night. PechaKucha night is a special kind of art show where different architects, painters, film directors, dancers, etc. have 6 minutes to display and discuss their work. If they use powerpoint, they can only show 20 slides. Usually there are about 10 presenters for each show, so you get to see a lot of different art. Pecha Kucha night occurs all over the world, so if this sounds cool, you should definitely find your city's next date and check it out.

The event was packed with students, professors, and the artsy type. Really, a breath of fresh air compared to what I usually see when I go out. While I was definitely interested in exposing myself to some new art, I have to admit that I was also there to check out the women. For the most part, the girls were hot.... but all very very focused on the art. Not even the complimentary open bar could draw them away.

I think an artist troop called Urban Pajama put the show together. I guess they chose the literal route and so pajamas were worn throughout.

In true "cool-artsy-academic" form, a capoeira band opened the night. It was nice to hear some raw beats, and they were exciting to watch. Woosang, one of my students, commented, "In the US, people would be dancing right? In Korea, people don't know how to have fun to this music." Maybe that's true, but I bet a few more drinks and everyone would have gotten down.

Like any art show, there was some work that awesome and some that I just didn't understand. And forget about the explanations... the artists' vocabularly was way over my head and so I spent most of my time just thinking about the images. Woosang made a good point saying, "Sometimes it's nice not to understand what the artist is saying. You look at the pictures, and can have an open mind to brainstorm your own thoughts." I actually think that this idea can sum up much of my time in Korea. Watching television, hanging out with friends, or just people watching, I have the time to really pay attention with my eyes and think because I don't have to worry about language as much.

Just a note: I didn't take these photos. Woosang got them from a friend who helped organize the night.

BTW. To get more info on Pecha Kucha, I googled "Pecha Kucha Korea 2009". One of the links that shows up is this. A blog written by a dude named Jason. He's 27, Korean American, and from New York. Uh, and his pictures have a striking resemblance to mine (but he needs to add more contrast). Weird.

Chicken soup for the old man

2009-03-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

Korean people ask me a lot of funny questions sometimes. Do you have Korean parents? You're from America, why aren't you fat?! Why don't you play golf?? These are all fun to answer, but one of the more difficult questions is, "what's your favorite Korean food?"

I guess if I had to name a favorite, it would the above dish. It's called Sam-ge-tang. Basically, it's whole chicken in broth, but the chicken is stuffed with rice, chestnuts, and ginseng. My Korean friends usually think it's pretty funny that I choose this dish to name as my favorite. It's considered an extremely healthy option, and one for old men to eat (because of the virile power of ginseng!!!). I like it not only because it tastes great, but it makes me eat slowly and really enjoy every spoonful of meat and broth. The week before I took the MCATs, my mom made me this dish everyday. Yeah, I'm pretty spoiled I guess.

My cousin's son just finished reading a book about Thomas Jefferson's binge eating, and apparently he really loved Mac and cheese. Since my family has never eaten it before, I decided to make it from scratch. It turned out pretty well, so many thanks to my good friends Tyler Florence and Jon Fombonne.

I told my cousin that in the States, African Americans usually eat Mac and cheese with fried chicken. She got really excited, and so for our next meal, we ate the leftovers, chicken nuggets, and bbq wings. My family enjoyed the food, but they told me they expected it to be much sweeter and more oily. Strange.

The kids show

2009-03-10T06:57:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking to my friend Lauren about Robin Williams. I'm not a fan of his recent work, and I told her how when I watched Mrs. Doubtfire for the first time, expectations were too high. She recommended that I go watch it again, because there are a lot of jokes for adults that I may have missed in 5th grade. Most movies for kids have a little something for adults, and Space Jam is no exception. I had the pleasure of rewatching this movie with my cousin's son, who now loves all things Michael Jordan.

I love this scene with Patrick Ewing, and it's a great example of a sex joke that flew way over my head (like "ignition in 3, 2, 1, we have lift off....PPPRRRRRRRRRR [hand racing over my head]" sorry, inside joke) when I was a kid.

Doctor: Are there any areas....
besides basketball......
where you find yourself.....
unable to perform?
Patrick Ewing: No!

Good old Patrick Ewing. Thanks to Sports Illustrated for Kids, if I ever meet him, I know I can talk to him about his favorite television show, "a different world".

Plastic man

2009-03-07T03:02:00.000-08:00

One of the strangest neighborhoods of Seoul is Apgujeong. Filled with expensive cars, boutiques, and women, this area is a place to flaunt your status and wealth. One of the most disturbing aspects to this part of town is the high concentration of plastic surgery clinics. Right across the subway station and the fancy Hyundai department store is a long line of them.

Many of my friends tell me that if you see a good looking woman sipping on Starbucks in this neighborhood, there's a high probability that she's gotten some work done. If you want to know what these women are called in Korean, feel free to ask.

The other disturbing aspect of this neighborhood are the advertisements for the plastic surgeons. There are three major types:

1) Good looking celebrity wannabe. This image is outrageous and I hope the day will never come when my future colleagues in the States think it's appropriate to market themselves this way.

2) Pretty faced doc. This isn't so bad, but down in the subway they're everywhere. One of my students is married to a doctor and she was telling me how in Korea, more and more doctors receive hair plugs, dental implants, and skin treatments to seem more trusting.

3) Before and after magic. Who knew Koreans were so worried about being bow-legged...

TeeVee

2009-03-07T01:18:00.001-08:00

Koreans are no different than Americans in their enjoyment of television. In fact, Koreans probably consume more of it as cell phones with TV antennae and little portable HD TVs are ubiquitous and can be watched in the subway underground. Since I have always been fascinated by television (I once joked that I would propose a Watson project where all I would do is watch tv in other countries), I watch a lot of it over here. However, while many Americans are fascinated by Korean dramas and their honey-coated sensibility, I have yet to really enjoy any of these programs.

What I have watched a lot of can fall into 3 categories. The first is Korean "reality TV", which is very different from what Americans are used to. I'll try to explain. Reality TV over here does not exploit the average person who wants to become famous. Rather, it's more of a format for Koreans to identify (superficially) with the celebrities, pop singers, and comedians that they revere. It's definitely not Cribs, MTV diaries, or Rock of Love. Korean celebrities come onto these programs with their peers and they usually simulate "real life" through games, challenges, and awkward situations. Let me give you some examples.

The first show is called "We got married...!" Maybe you recognize the woman below?
Yup, she's one of the main singers from Girls' Generation. Anyway, the idea of this program is two celebrities are paired together to simulate what it would be like for them to date, propose, marry, and live the domestic life. Strange, right? She's "marrying" a somewhat famous comedian who is actually probably 10 years older. Of course, there's plenty of cross promotion, so who'd you guess to be her bridesmaids? Yup, Girls' Generation. It's pretty funny to see this dude hang out with nine girls and pretend to really care for his "wife". I kind of think he has the hots for one of the other members.

I don't know the name of this next program.
I think the concept of this show is to see what it would be like for a bunch of young celebrities to live the simple life in rural Korea. The guys are pretty, the girls are hot, and they do a lot of digging for roots and vegetables (you know, for their big Korean feasts). While I don't understand 90% of what they're saying, it is fun to see them bicker and tease each other. Also, every episode has special guests. Last week was.... one of the chicks from Girls' Generation! Seriously, Girls' Generation has Korea on lock-down.

The third program worth noting is one big sausage fest.
When I first started watching it, I immediately thought it was the Korean version of Jackass. It sort of is, but the dudes on the show are all famous singers. They pull pranks on each other, drink weird mixtures (seen in the above photo), and dress up in animal costumes. I watched this show with my uncle, who is much older and more stern than my father. It was crazy... my uncle loved it. I think Koreans really do love their celebrity figures and are entranced by their wit and dashing good looks.

The one exception to Korean "reality tv" is Project Runway Korea.It follows the same format as the American version, and is probably the only Korean show I can watch from beginning to end. The man to the left is Korea's Timm Gunn. He really reminds me of the gay, long-haired version of one of my cousins. The contestants are all very fashionable and well put together, so it is very funny when they step inside their apartment and have to take their shoes off to wear the standard ugly slippers. Really messes up the completed look. Haha.

The 2nd type of tv I've been watching a lot of is sports. Soccer is pretty standard out here, but basketball is a whole other thing. I hope to post more about Korean professional basketball later, so now I'll just show you some pics from the all-star game.
I think there was only one actual Korean who competed in the Dunk contest. Of course he got second place. Each professional team can have 2 active non-Korean players. In normal games, these foreign players can both play in the first and fourth quarters. In the second and third, the team can only play one at a time. These players really change the style of play, and I think are a negative component. They are usually a foot taller, and when they foul out, it leaves their foreign opponent open to dominate against the shorter Korean defender.
Note: the court reporters are definitely hotter than Reggie Miller's sister.

Finally, the third type of TV I watch is the good ol American kind. It's really only on one channel, which is the equivalent to America's BRAVO. Think less gay, and more for women. So yeah, I watch a lot of the Tyra Banks Show (in the morning), Gossip Girl (season 2), America's Next Top Model (all seasons), Project Runway (That's right Bryan, I am not ashamed), and Sex in the City (uncensored!). Uh, am I becoming more feminine? No, since I have two sisters, I've grown up accustomed to watching these shows more than, say, college football.

These selections of shows are really popular with Korean women, and they amount to one common thread of thinking: New York City is awesome. No, I mean, really awesome. I have to say that introducing myself and my future school is much easier when I can say, "You know where gossip girl/sex in the city is located? Yeah, same neighborhood." It's a great jumping off point when talking to girls, but that's for a later post. Anyway, with the amount of sex in Gossip Girl and Sex in the city, I am really fascinated in how Korean women view sex, and if they have become more liberal in their mindset. Again, maybe these thoughts are for a different post.

I know this is getting long, but last thought! When I was in England I was fascinated by the commercials and how different they were from America's advertisements. Korean commercials are similar to America's, but what I've noticed is the definition of beauty that is marketed to Korean women. If you're asian or know an asian woman, I'm sure you're familiar with the pure pale skinned ideal. Commercials definitely push this as women are almost ghost-like. The one exception is the commercial below.

She's pretty cute right? She's actually a promotions powerhouse, selling milk, Hyundai cars, and air conditioners. Why is she famous? She's an up and coming figure skater. Anyway, when I get into conversations with my friends about differing perceptions of women between the US and Korea, I love talking about this commercial. It would fit in fine in America, but to see a woman sweat and train like this in Korea is definitely an anomaly (I once asked my basketball friends if Korean women like to work out, and they gave me this funny hand motion that resembled playing with dough). For my personal tastes, I hope Yu Na Kim is breaking ground and making it cool for Korean women to try and do more than swing a golf club.

Stomach University

2009-03-06T01:30:00.000-08:00

My cousin's daughter gets it. Double double animal style is a classic*.

Man, I really miss eating two of those and then taking a nap.

*Still only in CA. Sona is eating in Irvine. I pulled the pic off facebook. If in-n-out was in Korea I'd be in heaven.

the jamz

2009-03-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

I mentioned the girl group Girls' Generation in my last post, and I thought I'd enlighten you all with their newest music video. Like typical pop music, when drilled into your head enough, you start liking it. I'm not there yet. Anyway, the girls are cute and innocent unlike anything in the United States. Thank god Koreans aren't into the paparazzi crotch shots like us Americans.

Gee music not your song? Maybe you'll like this.

I rock this joint all night.

Shuttle run

2009-03-01T17:52:00.000-08:00

Korean people keep on asking me how I stay so skinny. I thought I'd be a normal body type out here, but apparently most guys my age are developing a sizeable gut. Trying to explain my family's genes and riding my bike around SF is a little too complicated, so I usually just say I like walking. I do walk a lot though. Here's the trip from the subway station to my apt.

I get off the subway at this intersection. I actually walk here a lot because I meet with my students at Angel-in-us cafe, which is on the corner. I don't buy coffee, but I swear, they get so much business because of me.Slight incline. This is where, when I'm bored, I enjoy racing past the slow couples holding hands.
Crabs. Korea's got em!!!Another intersection. Fancy dunkin donuts on one corner. Kind of fancy baskin robbins on the other. I've seen two car accidents here already. Get passed the traffic lights and I get to stare at these:Koreans like their girl groups strong in number and matching whenever possible. I've got my favorite girl. Anyone want to chime in on his/her favorite?

I won't touch the boy bands. They all dress like douche bags and say they're down with hip hop. They also always have a way androgenous guy. And really ridiculous haircuts.After the posters is the carwash. While there is a black car in the picture, Koreans dutifully maintain the well-known stereotype of asians only wanting to drive silver cars. Wait in line at the carwash, why not get something to eat....
...and stare at the gigantic Jesus across the street.Another hill up to my apt.Turn the corner to this side street and hope to not get hit by a Lexus.Basement car parking where they mop the whole floor down every 3 days. It's amazing. I've never seen such a clean indoor parking lot.Through the glass doors and into the wind tunnel.No keys in Korea. Just the handy use of the password 12345.Through the door. SHOES OFF (that means you Zac Rodd and Charles Lantz).

picnic/beach bar

2009-02-26T08:23:00.000-08:00

Shared this for a snack on Wednesday.... an old friend.

Then ate some gross looking seaweed soup for dinner. It tasted great!

Walk it off

2009-02-25T07:28:00.000-08:00

Hey! I spent last weekend drinking every night, but only after eating a lot with my aunt did I finally pretend to ride a statue of a cat. Go figure. Since I'm pretty busy on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, my aunt and I have decided that we'd meet up every other Monday to grab something to eat and complete any of my chores that require a good haggler. This week was buying a coat.

We started off the day going to a restaurant famous for it's kal googsoo (noodles) and mandoo (dumplings). There were a lot of tourists from all over asia at the restaurant. My aunt explained that since the Korean currency is so weak, the Japanese have been streaming in for weekend long shopping binges. Sitting amongst foreigners, my aunt took full advantage and talked shit the whole time.

We then did some sightseeing to walk off our large meal. I believe we were in the North West part of the city where there are many art museums and historic sites.

The closest thing to a bike gang I've seen in Korea. Not so fast, not so furious.This is for my dad. He's obsessed with this general and is currently writing a book on his exploits.

After we walked around, we shopped for my jacket. More on that later. When all was said and done, my aunt brought me to this tiny sushi restaurant which had huge pieces of meat. It was early, and so she and I ate our share while the sushi chefs, waiters, and hostess stared at us in silence. It was kind of awkward.

Stack em up!

So my jacket. My friend Lauren warned me about Korean clothes and the lack of quality. From my little experience shopping, I kind of agree. The clothes that are nice are usually European or American, and too expensive to make it worth buying in Korea. However, because I told my aunt that I was sick of wearing my North face jacket everywhere, she was determined to buy me a new coat. We went to many different stores, but ended up shopping at a mall. The thing about Korean malls are that they are waaay nicer than American malls, and are much more expensive. I was a little nervous because I thought I wouldn't be able to afford the prices, but then I remembered that in Korea, you can pretty much bargain the price down anywhere.

Since it's been warming up in Korea, most stores are selling jackets half off. With this discount combined with the poweful American exchange rate, I would have been happy with the price. However, my aunt wanted to show off or something because she definitely gave the clerk the runaround. In the end, the price was pretty good and we were happy. I think the clerk just wanted us out.

Too much buildup, but here's the jacket.

Side pocket on the chest for quick access to my pocky.

Fish food

2009-02-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

After a long day's work of tutoring, I'm usually pretty hungry. On these days before I get back to my apartment, I stop off to buy some cheap street food. I'm big on these:Filled with red bean paste, they're so delicious. I know they sell them in NYC, but last time I tried them before coming to Korea was when I was 6. We got them at Disney World in the "Oriental" section of the park. In Korea, they're about 3 for 70 cents.

One of the main components to my classes is teaching idioms like "shot in the dark" and "icing on the cake". Of course, Koreans have them too. When I first begin teaching, I usually explain the concept of idioms by talking about this street food. In Korea, when a baby looks exactly like his parents, they say the name of the food above. The whole idea is that a machine presses out fish after fish so that they all look alike. Thus, the son looks like the father.

On a different note, I mentioned before that I eat a lot fish nowadays. It's allowed me to develop a certain concentration where I focus hard on removing most or all of the bones before I begin eating. These little fish are easy to prepare, and my hope is that I can quickly make them for myself when I'm at school.

Night after night I look at these bones and think about the old cartoon Heathcliff the Cat. He would always be stealing fish to leave only the bones.

I was bored the other day so I was watching youtube clips of the cartoon. Remember his gang, the Catillac Cats? Looking at them now, you can make a strong argument for a certain hipster sensibility. I'm looking at the red beanie, scarf, skinny tie, and head band. That limp wrist on the right-most cat doesn't help either. Well, I guess they were the bohemian city cats, not like that fatty, Garfield.

If you need more to jog your memory, here's the opening sequence. Enjoy.

Full Circle

2009-02-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

I've been teaching my cousins' kids about basketball, so there's a lot of talk about Michael Jordan at the dinner table. The Air Jordans are a common topic.

I've also been missing my bike.

The other day I watched a Michael Jordan highlight tape, and then Spike Lee's "She's gotta have it."

MJ riding his bike in College. Funny that he's already sporting the Chicago colors.Mars Blackmon rolling up on his Fuji for some serious talk.

It all comes full circle.

So, who wants to ride bikes and play basketball when I come back?!

Notes from the front

2009-02-15T04:58:00.001-08:00

Some random thoughts floating in my head:

- There is nothing sexy about the way Korean people say the word "sexy".

- The body odor in Korean trains is very different from the body odor in United States' trains.

- F:(ck, sh:)t, and p:>ssy are not curse words in Korea, so do not get censored during American television shows. It makes reality television seem even more inane.

- Today I drank an expresso at Dunkin Donuts. The Double D is pretty high class in Korea.

- It's a bad idea to tell a Korean person who's moving to the city of brotherly love that its nickname is Killadelphia.

- Koreans (and the Japanese) have made Valentines day into an even more excruciating mind game. On Valentines day, the woman is supposed to give chocolates to the man. On a separate day a few months later, called White day, the man is supposed to buy a gift for the woman. An enterprising woman could certainly place a well-meaning but uninterested man in an awkward position by giving him chocolates. Yeah, I'm speaking from experience.

- Pork chops and bacon taste good regardless of where you are. Bacon club lives on!!!!

Party like you're 9

2009-02-14T07:45:00.000-08:00

My cousin's son's birthday party was this Friday, and boy was it a rager. The red power ranger showed up, and he just kind of stood there like in the picture above. Occasionally he would flash the peace sign.

Joon had this smile plastered on his face the whole week before his party.This organized table is a perfect example of how systems will veer violently towards entropy.If this were a scratch and sniff picture, it would smell like a martial arts dojo.Like the many college kids on facebook, these children enjoy "jumping" pictures as well.So it was ridiculously humid on Friday, and combined with the body heat of 22 children, it was painfully steamy inside the apt. However, this girl diligently wore her Hello Kitty snow pants throughout. Also notice the moms in the back.I made rice Krispy treats, and because of this achievement, all the Korean ladies swoon.
I tried teaching the red power ranger a new move, but he really only likes flashing the peace sign.

After the party, Joon and I sorted through his presents and found this lego set:

Another gem from the Lego city series. This one won me over much better because it allowed me to explain why pick-up trucks are great.

Lunar New Year....or, my second payday

2009-02-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

Lunar New Year was almost two weeks ago, so sorry this is late. As many of you already know, the new year symbolizes many things to Koreans. First and foremost, it is a time to pay respect to both your living and deceased elders. With my family in America, we go over to each others' houses to perform the ceremonial bow on New Year's day. We eat, wish each other luck, and usually play jenga/trivial pursuit/taboo/yoot (a traditional Korean board game). Here are some photos from this year's event.

Usually lots of laughs....Note the half finished puzzle on the right.The little boy on the left once devoured a dumpling in the baddest way possible in front of my friend Jones. I think Jones was thoroughly impressed/scared.A new baby in the family! He already acts like an old man.

The second key aspect to the day is the cash$$$$. After bowing to our elders, they wish us luck and then hand over an envelope of bills for us to have fun with (meaning, it's money to be spent not saved).

My sister Jen guarding her cash, and my brother Edwin celebrating.

I love both aspects, and they are the reasons why I usually pull myself off the couch/floor at 6AM after staying out late on New Year's eve. Last year was pretty traumatic as I went to the Les Savy Fav concert that started at 3 AM.... I was a mess and a shadow of myself during the ceremonies the next day. So this year I played it pretty low key and all went well.

However, with my early arrival to Korea, I was able to partake in the celebrations a second time on Lunar New Year. The ceremony is more elaborate in Korea and pretty interesting. The money, just as sweet. Here are some photos.

The spread in honor of the deceased. Note the paper above the table. It has the names of those being honored.
The initial bow.Then the wine salutations. A glass of wine is poured, then passed over the incense 3 times counterclockwise. Each member of the family performs this.The second round of bowing. My Aunt kept on yelling at me because my ass stuck out too much.
The finale. The paper is burned and set amongst the dying incense.

A life saunter

2009-02-06T20:37:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've updated. Sorry about that. I guess I've been busy getting into my routine so there hasn't been much sightseeing or photo taking. I'll try harder to take more shots of my daily life.

In terms of tutoring, I'm teaching two kids from the family, and three adults. My first adult student will be moving to NYC in a few weeks, and it's been fun and exciting to teach her about American culture. The second student is a mechanical engineering grad student at Seoul University. He's a really smart guy, who like my friends from college, enjoys debating about inane issues. Yesterday he explained the difference between Korean nightclubs and clubs. It's really funny to hear someone try to politely explain women with loose morals using broken English. My last adult student is actually my cousin's son's friend's mom (got it??). I haven't had a class with her yet, but starting Monday we'll be working on her speaking and writing skills. Should be interesting. So far, I've really enjoyed meeting these people and they've taught me a lot about Korean culture.

Last Sunday I went to Yonsei University to play some basketball with a new friend. He invited me to join his intramural team, The Rebels. They're one of the better teams on campus (Yonsei is supposedly one of the best places to find bball players), and the culture is more like a low key fraternity. They're all really nice guys, and I plan on playing with them more every Sunday (despite the one hour train ride). In terms of the quality of play, it's pretty close to what I'm used to from Swarthmore and UCSF, so it's relaxed and a bit sloppy (cherry pickers galore). Either way, I get to run up and down the court to work off all the mandoo (dumplings) I've been eating.

Otherwise, I've been just relaxing, reading, watching movies/tv, and getting major dental work done. Now that I think about it...I'm going to make separate posts on all these topics... I guess this is just a brief update.

Here to cleanse your palate: some pictures of my cousin's dog.

Pocari Sweat

2009-01-30T01:30:00.000-08:00

Before Lunar New Year, my Uncle wanted to take me to see the World Cup Stadium. Although the World Cup in Korea was in 2002, there was still a decent amount of activity around the venue. Visiting brought back many distinct memories of my time in England when I was watching the 2002 World Cup and finally understanding how exciting world class soccer really is. The three teams I was supporting (Korea, the United States, and England) all did pretty well that year and many of my classmates were excited to see such a passionate Korean team.Since the stadium is only large enough for soccer matches and it's currently the off-season, there are a lot of attractions for kids outside.Ice skating for the small and less brave.My uncle wanted me to take a lot of photos with these guys. They were pretty funny. I bet the temperature was just right in those suits (increased boundary layer). I think Mr. pearhead in the back really liked me. Here he is sizing me up.And of course, my uncle got a photo of us together.Like I said before, the stadium is pretty small and very intimate. It must have been crazy to be at those games.The dope testing room is storage now, and the gift shop with museum attached had a few exhibits.Can't miss those linemen.My Uncle took about 10 photos trying to get this picture right. I started a trend though, and by the final shot, there was a line forming.

As we were leaving, there was a big projector showing Adidas basketball commercials. Dwight Howard was in most of them, but his voice was dubbed over so he could dunk and talk trash in Korean. I bet if he saw the commercials he would ask for a different voice actor.

Weigh in

2009-01-28T16:17:00.000-08:00

The thing about Korea is that Korean people really don't know how to cook any other cuisine but their own. Thus, all I've been eating is Korean food, which has been awesome. If you knew how I lived in SF, you know how much of a step up this is for me. Gone are the microwaveable burritos, reheated Digornio's pizza, and frozen breaded tilapia. Actually, I kind of enjoyed all that food, but you get what I'm saying. I eat vegetables now. A whole lot of them.

Since I'm living at my cousin's place, she's been preparing all my meals. This is a typical lunch for me:Yup, that's salad, kimchi, and spinach. A balanced meal. I'm sure you noticed the presentation too. She and her husband graduated from college with majors in design, so they're all about the aesthetics.

This past weekend was the start to the Lunar New Year, so I spent my time at my Uncle's place. They go for more hearty fair.This was a mushroom and beef stew. It was really awesome, but something I know my friend Zac would def. not like. The mushroom's were really meaty.

Before my mom left, one of my other Uncle wanted to take us out for a special meal. We decided on bouk (pufferfish), which is prepared in a stew and cooked at your table.

The meat was great, and was attached to the bones in a really different way than I'm used to when it comes to fish. But before we dug into the actual protein, the starting course was to eat the greens and bean sprouts cooking in the broth.
High fiber diet.After we were done with the fish, they brought out fried rice to finish the meal. The rice was unusually light because they added a whole lot of crumbled sea weed to soak up a lot of the moisture. I'll def. give it a try next time I'm making poor man's fried rice.

All around the restaurant were decorations of pufferfish.
I was glad to see that Koreans use googly eyes too.
Remember that old MTV cartoon maxx? For some reason this painting reminds me of some of the characters. It's probably the teeth.

Mother may I

2009-01-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

Before I begin this post, I'm going to take an idea from bikesnobnyc and provide you with an audio backdrop. Right click on this link (corny) or this one (random but relevant), and open in a new window/tab. Return to this page, and I'll tell you what it's been like to travel with my mom.
First off, I'm sure most of you know that my mom and I have a pretty good relationship. Yeah, she gets on my nerves once in a while and I'm probably not as considerate as I could always be, but she and I have found a pretty good balance in trust and humor. Anyway, I was still a bit apprehensive about traveling with her alone because it would mean a lot of one-on-one time. It's one thing to be hanging out in the US where I have other human beings to communicate with (or TV), but it's another to hardly speak Korean and have her be my only English speaking counterpart. Also, we would be sightseeing with a Korean travel group. I'm generally pretty cynical when it comes to visiting tourist locations but my mom isn't. I pictured endless photograph sessions of statues, plants, and rocks.

Now that it's all over though, I realize that these worries would have been relevant maybe 5 years ago. Since I'm older and can appreciate her much more, having time to speak with her and see her really enjoy a hobby (photography) was really nice to see.

Here are some photographs I stole from her camera.

I probably only got upset with her once during the whole trip. Something about me not having washed my face after our 14 hour flight.... I probably didn't but I was in no mood to discuss my pore size and growing pimple. Anyway, the best parts were eating together and hearing her reminisce. I posted about eating the sea pineapple before, and as we were eating she told me how she and her sisters would buy meongge and eat it with a safety pin. My mom can be a tough woman sometimes so it's always fun to hear about when she was just a kid.
Another funny moment happened after we ate bbq pork the last day of our trip. As we were leaving the restaurant, she passed one of the parked tour buses and realized that it was transporting students from her old elementary school. She thought it was pretty funny. I wanted her to tell some of the kids that she was a grad, but she was too bashful.
Hanging out with my mom made me realize how traveling can make you feel. The above picture was taken at some beach caves during low tide. I was freezing at the time, and didn't want to risk getting wet by jumping around the tide pools. My mom laughed, and was literally prancing around the water to get to the other side. It was great to see her so excited.
The last place we visited was this point along the beach that was used in a famous Korean drama called "All in". It was a pretty ridiculous place, but we still enjoyed it.

After we finished touring Jeju, my mom spent another week in Korea and left this past Saturday. While I hope my next trip with her will be with more/all of my family, I can trust that she'll always be good on bringing the camera and enthusiasm. Thanks mom!

Drum Circle

2009-01-22T02:55:00.001-08:00

One of my biggest worries about coming to Korea and tutoring was how I was going to handle my own family's kids. Basically, my whole attitude about tutoring is if it's not fun for me, it's not worth it. If one of the random Korean people I decide to work with sucks, then I'll drop him/her. I'm not too strapped for money. However, I really can't do that with my family.

So far all the kids I'm related to have been awesome (thank god). Especially the kid that I'm currently living with, who's name is Joon. He's actually one of the friendliest kids I've ever met, and especially well mannered. His English is already pretty good for a 9 year old, and it really helps that he's brave and happy to learn new things like 'indentured servant' (we're reading a book about Harriet Tubman and wanted to learn how people came to the United States....and yeah, he totally understands the concept). Like most Korean kids, his days are extremely packed with math camp, english school, 'problems and puzzles' club, tae kown do, piano, etc., but he takes it all in stride. I think a lot of it has to do with his parents (my cousins), who are much more level headed about stress than most Korean parents. They make these activities seem like fun and not so much a chore that will propel him to the best schools and Universities. I took the above picture to commemorate his first bag of pretzels.

One of the activities he's doing is learning the drums. A few months ago, I was at a concert with my friend Lauren and I told her that maybe in my free time, I would try and learn a new instrument like the drums. Seeing his pretty sweet drum kit, I asked if he could give me a quick lesson.Here he is showing me how to read music. Lessons are pretty cheap in Korea, so I actually might take a class or two. Below is a video of my first attempt, and then him showing me up. But he was a good sport and demonstrated to me how he played his first time.

Not many people use Macs in Korea, so he was pretty stoked when I showed him how to use photobooth.
He wanted me to tell my friend Bryan that he's especially impressed with these gems.

Spectacles

2009-01-20T06:00:00.000-08:00

I have to stay up a little later than I usually do to watch the inauguration, so I figure I'll show the glasses I picked up this past weekend to kill some time. Pair #1.
Pair #2.
So yeah, they seem pretty similar right? But if know me decently well, you know that I'm the type of guy who can see huge differences in the same style of Vans sneakers. You can't see it in the above picture, but the 2nd pair of glasses are two-toned. Actually, for real, they're totally different.Pair #3. These are pretty similar, and are actually probably somewhere in the middle of the above two. They actually don't have a prescription. Let me explain to all the fans.

I originally wanted only one pair, and tried on pair #1 first. I liked them a lot, but I realized that they don't make me look all that much older, which is essentially the goal (you know, so I'm not treated like Doogie when I'm in the hospital). Since my Aunt has the hookup, I figured I should get another pair. Thus, pair #2. After explaining my reasoning to my Aunt, she had the brilliant thought that maybe I'll want to wear my contacts at the hospital, and so should have another pair of glasses to wear to still look as old/distinguished/bookish (whatever you think I look like when I wear glasses). So pair #3 was made. How to make sense of this foolishness is that my Aunt bullied the shop owner into lowering the price so that for the whole set of 3, it cost me about $220. That's less than one pair of glasses after insurance at Lens Crafters in the States.

Conclusion: MY AUNT IS AWESOME.

Here are her dogs:

Coordinate

2009-01-19T04:47:00.000-08:00

I've moved into my cousin's place and it's going well. I live in Seocho, which is an upper middle class type of neighborhood. If you're in the area, my cell is 01024843450. We can sing Karaoke at one of the 4 karaoke lounges on each block....

I've started tutoring their son and playing a lot of Guess who?. I'm also instructing (as of now) two adults who seem eager to learn. As I begin to construct lesson plans, I realize that I can have a fairly deep impact on how they perceive the United States. For instance (this is a really trivial example - I want to keep this blog light), for someone moving to New York, do I give them episodes of Gossip Girl, or go with Flight of the Conchords?? While she'll probably enjoy the drama of Gossip girl more, she's probably going to live in Brooklyn. She should get used to the beards. She'll probably also know that not everyone breaks into song.

First week: family

2009-01-18T16:12:00.001-08:00

I love how my extended family is so close in the US, so it's really exciting to finally get to know the family in Korea.This is my Grandfather's younger brother. He's def. a family favorite and a classy guy. As we were walking out of his apt. building, he would greet the other tenants by lifting his hat.
These are three out of the four children on my mom's side (so my cousins' kids). They look and move like mii characters.
My mom and aunt with some of my cousins. My aunt (second to the left) is kind of a legend when it comes to knowing people in Seoul. The cousins and their kids. These pictures were taken at the apt of the couple in the center. I would just like to say that they kill in the style dept. It makes sense, they're both artists.I found this wedding photo of them. Check out that stance! Those glasses are dope. Anyway, I would have loved to be their kid because it's clear from their apartment that they love playing.

LEGOS.... a room full of them.
They have an impressive library too. I found this book on snow-globes. There was still a price tag. Turns out he bought it at Strand on clearance. Check out this awesome awesome Die Hard 2 snow globe!!!

First week: the tour

2009-01-17T02:28:00.000-08:00

A quick roundup of places on our Jeju trip.

This rock is on the northern side of the island. Said to look like a dragon.Stuffed birds of Jeju exhibit.Hmm. Facial hair. Not part of my family tree.

Green tea farm. For all you ice cream bar people, they had green tea soft serve in the canteen.Kind of sad Chinese circus. These little girls were getting tossed around like beanie babies. The bros in the back were motorcycle stuntmen.Bonsai tree.

Beach caves. This is where those old grandmas were catching their baby sharks.

Largest Buddhist temple in Asia. Nice to not have to climb a mountain to get to it.

Forest park after a fresh snowfall.

Jeju's equivalent to Colonial Williamsburg. Guess what this lady is demonstrating (hint*It's me that's getting a kick out of the photo).

Last stop, the fake church by the sea used in a Korean drama. The whole building is a gift shop.

First week: the food

2009-01-16T15:57:00.000-08:00

I am now in Seoul after a short vacation to the small island of Jeju. Rather than posting on each day, I figure I would break down the trip into different categories. Here are some of the highlights when it comes to food.
Before we left, my mom had to prepare two weeks of food for my spastic dad. He claims that he can't cook rice. Anyway, my mom made a lot of stew. To the right is the stomach she would add to almost everything. He really likes stomach.Like I said before, my mom flew business. This gave us access to the prestige lounge, and I certainly took advantage. CHEESE AND CRACKERS!!! FIG NEWTONS!!!!!! JUICE!!!!!!!! I think I packed away enough fig newtons and oreos to last me a few more weeks.On the second day of the Jeju tour, we went down to one of the beaches. I smelled smoke and thought it was from one of the industrial plants nearby, but it was actually these old grandmas who had setup their fire to keep warm. For 15 bucks, they'll serve you the freshest baby shark, sea cucumber, oyster, and sea pineapple platters you'll ever eat. However, after much haggling, my mom thought it was still too expensive.My mom was still really craving meongge (sea pineapple), and so we skipped out on the cruise and went to one of the local restaurants. We ordered a nice mix of sea cucumber and meongge, and they gave us a side of snail which was fresh and delicious.Meonggae looks like snot. However, it is extremely tasty. Especially dipped in some red pepper paste.Immediately after we ate, we were then taken to a shabu shabu restaurant for dinner. Turns out shabu shabu is pretty popular in Korea because it's thought to be a good diet food. It wasn't bad, and way better than the shabu shabu I ate in SF.The best part of the Shabu Shabu meal was the restaurant. It felt like a ski lodge (all wood interior, steamy windows), but is actually the restaurant to a gun club. The Korean deli/liquor store owners of the United States should hold a convention here.My last meal at Jeju was at this famous BBQ restaurant. They only serve one dish. I'm sure you can guess what it is.

bye!

2009-01-11T12:26:00.000-08:00

I'm flying out tonight. 14 hours straight. My mom will be in business and I'll be slumming in coach.
It's cool, because I just watched this video.

John Hancock

2009-01-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

Before I could begin packing for Korea, I promised my mom that I would straighten up my room. I was looking through my desk, and I found this small autograph book that I got in 3rd grade (17 years ago!). I'll be using it as my notepad while I'm traveling. Here are some of the awesome signatures:
I'm not sure if Lauren erased the heart. I probably did though... I'm thinking a friend accused me of liking her or something.
I hope Ford still signs his name with an exclamation.
Nabil was from Tunisia and I remember thinking that what he drew was a Tunisian happy face.
I actually went to school with Andy all the way through high school. He had the worst handwriting and I think that this was probably the clearest he'd ever write. Alex was actually a few years younger than us and for a 1st grader, that's a pretty sweet profile.

If you Made a Million by David M. Schwartz was one of my favorite books growing up, and I'll be using it to teach while in Korea. I thought this picture was funny:
Yup. That's how I'll be living when I make a million. Ice cream in bed, perfumed feet, and a sleeping unicorn nestled between my legs.

FAT CITY

2009-01-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

Just wanted to say thanks to Bryan and Zac for their sweet gifts.I wrote a whole Korean composition on how I wanted these slippers.This is awesome. Although I run the risk of being accused of buying one of those lame personalized jerseys, it's all worth it because David Lee is a pretty good player.
Oh, and David Lee is nowhere near being Asian.
Bryan and Zac didn't get me these wings, but I just wanted to show all the people what I was talking about. These are Chucks wings. In certain instances I've talked them up, used them to network (hot tub in Palms Springs!!!), or just plain annoyed people. They are very good.

Assumed

2009-01-04T16:38:00.000-08:00

I end this post showing how many naps I've taken. Having just woken up from a nap, I realize that this counter is stupid because I've taken a nap almost everyday since I've been back (I can only remember 2 days when I didn't fall asleep). So just assume that sometime in the afternoon, I will have fallen asleep or better yet, planned to rest my eyes.

I am so groggy right now.

CRAZY DOGS

2009-01-04T10:23:00.000-08:00

These dogs are the reason why I have to drive 20 minutes away to pickup my boxes from UPS.

who leaves a country with ponies?

2009-01-03T21:34:00.000-08:00

My cousin's kid received this for Christmas. It worries me. When I had legos, I would build space ships, ambulances, castles, and when I got older, Technic race cars. You know, cool things. The 'City series'? My cousin once removed is going to build an SUV and trailer to imagine a day out riding the horses.... LAME. I'm glad it's a limited edition.

Gossip Girls

2009-01-01T20:25:00.000-08:00

I was house sitting for my sister in Astoria the past few days. They have ondemand. I watched the Bourne Supremacy twice.My SF roomate Zac was back home in NYC, and our college friend Nim was visiting as well. Meal, drinking, and late night slices. Zac and I secretely timed Nim eating his second slice. For those of you without CHRONO, L ->R is minutes, seconds, milliseconds.
View from Zac's at night.
The next morning w/ snow.

I am legend

2009-01-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

My cousin will soon be the proud owner of my expired ID.He will enjoy the many honest opinions of bouncers and bartenders as they quickly point out that he had a 'douchebag haircut'.

Short drives

2008-12-27T13:48:00.000-08:00

Whenever I come home, I always go to my Uncle's store in Trenton. I first started shopping here when I was 15 and my tastes swung towards whatever was popular (Ecko, Girbaud, South Pole). But as I got older, I realized that they sold tons of different things. As my friends probably already know, Casio watches and undershirts are my big purchases these days.

I tried on some Kangols, one of which had those flappy ear pieces (like Ghostface wears). I liked it. I'm thinking about changing my look....(sorry no picture)
My aunt and uncle tell me that I am the only person who asks to see these watches.

Obligatory dog photos. More to come for sure.
__________________
Running counter (day 2):
naps: 2

Acclimating

2008-12-26T20:47:00.000-08:00

Let the vacation begin.A woman got physical with a worker and had to be escorted off the property. I don't think I've been around so many teenagers in a long time.

My dad burned these chicken bones he was cooking (don't ask). So to battle the horrible stench, my mom cooked the stinkiest korean food she could muster. Good for me. I love this dish.

somewhat agree

2008-12-26T08:15:00.001-08:00

PEACE OUT DOG

2008-12-25T21:19:00.000-08:00

See you on the other side.