Sign Language

I had a pretty laid-back weekend. Not too much to report on, but today it was sunny so I spent a few hours walking the streets, taking pics. I don't have all that much to say, so I thought today I would present a little photo essay.

I took pictures of a bunch of different signs. I am surrounded by signs I can't read and I thought I would try to capture a few. Some of these are city-sanctioned signs and some of them are just hung up. I am used to these and they look normal to me, but I have a feeling some of them may look a little weird to you..









This bottom one needs a little translating and then you will understand why it is one of my favorite signs in Seoul. This is a sign for the butcher that is close to my house. It is owned by a middle-aged man and his wife. They are always nice to me and help me out with my meat needs. He learned very early on that unlike the rest of the population, I like my chickens whole so I can beer-can them, not cut up into 20 pieces like everybody else. I literally jumped behind the counter and grabbed his knife the first time I was there, preventing him from mangling my bird.

So I went there for a few months and then, as I learned to read Korean I could sound out the name of the store but didn't really know what it meant. Inside the pink area are the words "Chuke-san Sarang." I knew that "Sarang" was love, and recently I found out that "Chuke-san" loosely translates to livestock or farm animals. So the name of the butcher is "livestock love," or as I like refer to it, "bestiality meats." Brilliant name for a butcher.

I took some pictures of some random graffiti as well. I like the fact that both of these are international vandalism (see the little "call me" with a heart?)





Elsewhere around I took some pictures of fishy. This town always smells of fish and there is a reason: there's a lot of fish in this city. These dried fish are hanging everywhere and they kind of creep me out.





Don't those sting rays look yummy?


And finally, here are just a couple more random shots of Seoul through my camera lens.













Much love from Seoul

Tani

It was my birthday on Thursday. I couldn't do much celebrating on my actual birthday because I had to work from 9am to 10pm, but I think I made up for it this weekend.

Last night a crew and myself headed to a local wine bar and had a pleasant dinner and some wine. Then we moved to my favorite place to drink in Seoul, a little brewery on the other side of town. As always, the beer was delicious and I had a fun time.

Tonight was what I was really looking forward to though. I had a reservation for one at a restaurant in Apkujong, the so-called "Beverly Hills of Seoul," at a place called Tani Nomadic Bistro. I walked past the Louis Vuitton and Dolce & Gabbana stores, narrowly avoided being hit by a Lexus (don't see many of those over here,) and made a turn at a corner that had a Korean lingerie store with valet parking. It was quite clear that I was no longer in my neighborhood.

My boss had printed off directions for me and also made the reservations for me. When he made the reservation he told the maitre d' that I was a really important client of his and that it was very important to him that I be treated with the utmost respect. I had a great table and they did treat me great. I was sat in a corner table next to a window overlooking a vacant patio and a sea of bamboo.

I had been wanting to visit this restaurant ever since my first month here. Before I left my place I lined up a two-hour playlist on the iPod. Then I went to a bookstore and bought an international Time, Newsweek and an American Art magazine. I found myself at numerous points in the meal, gazing out the window and smiling with contentment - I live a pretty charmed life.

I ordered their seven-course set menu - that was pretty much the reason that I went. They consider themselves a Japanese fusion restaurant and I was blown away with my meal. My waiter didn't speak much English, so there were a few elements in a few dishes that I asked about and he didn't know how to translate for me, but here's the play-by-play as good as I can recreate it:

1. Raw Halibut wrapped in Sesame Leaves
My first dish had three little bamboo skewers, each holding together a small sesame leaf roll. Inside the rolls were red onions, green onion and halibut, rolled up and placed on the plate and then drizzled with a red spicy sauce. The flavors of the onions, the sesame leaf and the sauce masked the true flavors of the halibut, but the combonation of those flavors was pretty stellar.

2. Fried Soft-Shell Crab Salad
Other than my main course, this was my favorite. The soft-shell crab was fried a perfect golden brown in a salty batter that was just right. Mixed greens, a couple thin parmesean chips, two sweet potato wedges, one green bean and a cucumber wedge were placed next to the crab and everything was covered in a creamy dressing. At this point in the meal, I was only two dishes in and I was already incredibly impressed.

3. Chinese Pork Ribs
I'm from Kansas City and I would say I have eaten some good ribs in my day. These were not good ribs. Two babyback ribs were set in an X shape on my plate, braised with a sweet, unimpressive sauce and covered with red onions and flanked by a couple cherry tomato quarters. The ribs were dry and overcooked. I would have been unhappy with these ribs at Applebee's, so I was a little disappointed to encounter them at Tani, but this was my only issue with the whole meal.

4. Tomato Soup
This tomato soup was pretty standard, but it was delicious. Containing every vegetable from the garden and a few chunks of bacon, the soup warmed my insides and helped me to forget about the ribs. I say it was standard, but not a standard soup on a menu in Korea.



5. Grilled Lobster Tail, Scallop and Vegetables
This was unreal. When I took the first bite, I actually moaned - that's how good it was. The buttery cream sauce it was served with was absolutely exquisite. The grilled vegetables were all perfect. I honestly don't think I can do this dish justice with only words. This is by far the best thing I have eaten in Korea.

6. Sushi
Good sushi. It was nothing that really blew me away, but it was more than acceptable. When they brought me the sushi I decided it was time to order a Sapporo to go with it - my mouth tasted like Japan. It was good, but after the lobster tail I don't think that anything could impress me.



7. Cheesecake and Fruit
The dessert was tasty. I thought it was one of the better presented dishes and with a cup of coffee it was the perfect end to my dinner.

I've got four more days of hell at work and then I go back to my regular schedule for a few weeks before I head out. My time here is coming to an end and hopefully I can find a way to fit in a few more experiences like this.

Much love from Seoul

Freudian Slip

Occasionally in class, a kid will inadvertently read something so wrong that it turns out to be right.

Today I had one of the best of these slip-ups. We are reading a book called "Capital Kids" that visits five kids around the world that live in the capital city of their country. We were reading about a young lad named Chad Henry who lives in Washington D.C. After we read about his city and his day at school we moved onto a section about his life.

I'll be honest. It was a long day so I was kind of zoned out, but I heard this sentence come out and it snapped me right to attention. "When I grow up I want to be a pro basketball player or be just like my brother. He is a liar and he works for the Congress right down the street."

I had to quickly find my place in the story book, hold back laughter and then correct the student. "He is a lawyer and he works for the Congress right down the street." Almost too perfect.

Much love from Seoul

E Chon Pal (2008)

I've been working like a dog so it's taken me a minute to write the first blogging of 2008, but I have had a very relaxing Saturday and it is time.

I went on an epic walk today. It was chilly, but the sun was shining brightly and the outdoors were as welcoming as one can hope for on the fifth of January. I took some pictures, shopped for vegetables at an outdoor market and enjoyed not having to be in the classroom for twelve hours today. I did a big loop, passing by 7 different subway stops and covering lots of ground. After this past week (and in preparation for the week ahead) I relished the opportunity to venture through the urban jungle and do a little exploring.

At the end of the walk, I glanced into the Starbucks across the street and saw a coworker studying Korean. I went in to say hello, and after a couple of awkward sentences I realized that I had hardly spoken to anyone today. I had a lovely 30-minute conversation on the phone when I woke up and six hours later I had hardly said another word. The only other conversation I remember having was at the grocery store. It went something like this:

"Excuse me. Do you have salt? Do you know - salt? Do you know?"

"Salt?"

(I picked up the pepper and held it in my right hand.)
"Pepper."
(I motioned with my right hand saying pepper and then I motioned with my empty left hand...)
"Salt"

"Ooh! Salt. Yes."

(He led me to the salt, grabbed it off the shelf and handed it to me.)

"kamsa hamnida"
(that's "thank you.")

Pretty deep conversation. It just hit me at Starbucks how inept I was at carrying on a conversation after being inside my own head all day. It makes me so excited to think about being in a place in a little over a month where lots of people will speak my language and (hopefully) want to talk to me.

I had another funny language encounter this week. It is not the first time it has happened to me, but it always makes me laugh.

I was in the computer room at school, wasting time on a break. There were only three of us in the room: two Korean girls that are in charge of grammar books and myself. They don't really speak English, so they were conversing with eachother in Korean. In this situation I generally block out the sound - it is nothing more than white noise to me. I really wasn't even aware that they were speaking to each other until they began to whisper so I couldn't hear what they were saying. They are speaking in an indecipherable code to me - a code that has been eveolving for centuries that I have the most minimal knowledge of. They could literally say almost anything in front of me and I would have no idea. They could be making plans to murder me or they could be talking about how obnoxious they think I am or they could be talking about how much they like to make out with each other and I would have no fucking clue. Despite this fact, they decide that whatever they are saying is so secret that they don't want to take the chance that I learned their language the night before and will understand. I find it so absurd - and the funny thing is that once people whisper around me I actually listen to see if I hear a name or word I recognize.


2008 promises to be a good one. It has started of good and I have so many things to look forward to I can hardly contain myself. See y'all real soon...

Much love from Seoul