Subway Warning

We found this sign while waiting for the subway in Seoul last Saturday. The subways in South Korea are really safe for the most part. The only time I have felt uncomfortable is when we have had to ride the subway at night. There seems to always be a few drunken Korean men and they make me nervous.

A few weeks ago, we were riding home from maedeup class when we heard an older Korean yelling. Apparently, a young man sat in the section that is designated for older and handicapped people. He did move but that didn't pacify this man. He was clearly drunk and continued his tirade. As we were exiting the subway, we had to walk past him and he reeked of alcohol. It really is sad to me that this type of behavior is acceptable and excused.

The Must Have Winter Accessory in South Korea 2008

It's the animal or character hat. I have seen both adults and children wear these hats. We had to buy this Winnie-the-Pooh hat and send it to our grandson, Noah. One of our gasoline attendants wears a wolf one and I always do a double-take when I see him in it. But I bet they are warm!

Another First for Me in South Korea

I GOT A PERM! I decided yesterday after yoga class that my hair seriously needed some help. Each day before yoga class, I get out my curling iron, curl my impossibly straight hair and then spray the heck out of it with hair spray. It's been pretty cold here so I leave the house with a hat on but I arrive at yoga with the curl still intact. Not so after class! My hair is a droopy mess.

Of course, I didn't know that today was test day in yoga. We had to pair up (I paired up with my English speaking buddy) and had to do 45 minutes of testing. It was grueling. I could only do one sit up unassisted (meaning my buddy helped pulled me up each time) and after one particularly difficult exercise, I found myself flat on the floor unable to move. One of the yoga teachers came over and began to massage my back, it was strained to say the least. I made quite a spectacle of myself which isn't hard to do as the only non-Korean in class. I was massaged for a good 10 minutes and then was able to get up and finish class. When class was over I was exhausted and eager to get to the beauty salon.

But like the previous day, they wanted me to stay and do 10 minutes of knee exercises, which are sitting with your feet in front of you and bouncing the knees up and down rapidly without stopping for 10 minutes. I barely made it through yesterday and I knew that I wouldn't survive today so I said politely "Anio." (Korean for "no") They kept insisting and I kept shaking my head until the teacher left the room.

I told my Korean buddy I was too sore and I wanted to get a perm. I asked him how to ask for one and he said he would take me. The other ladies wondered what we were talking about and when he told them, they insisted that a woman needs to accompany me. So I walked into the beauty salon with a Korean man and woman. They told them what I wanted and reassured me that it would be done. They stayed until the salon started on me. How is that for Korean hospitality!

To be honest, I haven't had a perm for a good 20 years or since the 1980's but I am very familiar with perms, having had many over the years. The first thing the stylist did was to give me a haircut. I didn't really want one but no problem. Next she brushed some white goop all over my hair. It smelled and looked like hair dye so I was a little worried. She let that sit for about 15 minutes and then washed it out.

Next, she wet my head with some yellow stuff in a spray bottle that smelled an awful lot like perm solution. If you've ever had a perm, you know the smell. Then she put the perm rods in my hair. She then placed a roller under each roller to lift the original rods from my head. Next came the scary contraption you see above. It had electrodes that hooked to each rod. She hooked me up and then I could see why there were extra rollers. It basically was a heater for each rod. It was so hot that steam was coming off of my head and she used a hair dryer on cool to keep my head from frying. I thought, "Oh no, my hair is going to burn and fall off!" I asked for my purse so I could get a picture of this.

Next, she removed the rods and my hair looked like my mom with tight little curls. Oh no! (Sorry Mom) I just wanted some waves. She rerolled my hair in different rods and put a collar on me that I could tell was to catch liquids. She came back with a electric foam maker which I deduced put on the neutralizing solution. She let it drip for a while and then it was time to wash it out.

I was so relieved to see my tight curls had loosened to wavy curls. She then put some styling gel in my hair and blow dried it. I was thrilled with how it turned out. The price was 75,000 won ($75 US). I gave the receptionist 80,000 won. She gave me back 12,000 won. I tried to give it back and tell her it was wrong. She finally was able to say in English, "discount." Oh, cool!


Curt (hubby) was really surprised when he got home. He knew I was getting a perm but he thought, well, I'm not sure what he thought. He said that I looked 15 years younger! I was glad he liked it but I was wondering where he got the 15 years, why not 10 or 20. He said that he thought I was 50 (which I'm not) and he thought I looked younger than 40. I love it and that's what really counts. I can't wait to show my yoga class tomorrow.

It Took Me FIve Hours!

This is called Seokssl Maedeup and it really is combining Gajibangseok Maedeup (Eggplant Knot) with a bunch of Saengjjok Maedeup. Technically, the Gajibangseok Maedeup is a bunch of Saengjjok Maedeups. You just have to learn where to put them all. This knot took me the entire class to complete. We all had trouble with it so I wasn't the only one to take so long. We still had a little time before class ended and our teacher wanted us to start on a necklace incorporating this knot. We were all so tired we just sat there until class was finished. I was mentally and physically exhausted.




This maedeup is called Sebeolgamgae Maedeup and it took me all week just to complete all four of them. I knew they didn't turn out so well but I found out from my teacher that I had made them too tight. Yikes! So she made one for me as a sample and gave me more cording to complete them again. Luckily, we don't have class next Saturday due to a Holiday because I have soooo much maedeup homework.

When we arrived back in Suwon, Curt (hubby) and I decided to eat at the food court at Home Plus. We were eating our cheeseburgers sitting pretty close to the McDonald's counter when a group of about 6 teenage Korean girls came up to the counter. They kept turning around and smiling and giggling at us. We kept eating and I was watching them out of the corner of my eye. One of the girls got up the nerve and said, "Hi!" We said "Hi" back and then they were all saying "Hi." They were very excited that we had responded to them.

They ordered ice cream sundaes and sat near us. As we were eating, I kept feeling like we should go over and talk to the girls. This is not something I normally do! I love to talk to the Koreans but we always wait for them to approach us first. So I'm telling Curt that something is telling me that we should go over and talk to the girls. He was TOTALLY against it. So I told him that we are going to put our trash away in the container which would have us walk by the girls and that I was going to say something, with or without him.

So we got up and I walked over the the girls and said, "Do you speak English?" A table of six smiling girls yelled, "YES!" Well, that sure got the attention of the entire food court. I talked to them for a few minutes and you could just tell that they were thrilled. I finally said, "Bye, see you later." They said the same. But if you could have seen their eyes and expressions. It was one of the best things I have done since living in Korea and will be something I remember always.

So, listen to that little voice inside of you when it's speaking.

Kimchi!

My Yoga buddy brought me some homemade kimchi. He asked me if I liked kimchi and I said, "YES!" He asked if I bought it at the grocery store and I told him we only ate it at restaurants. He said he would bring me some made by his wife, who is also in the yoga class but doesn't speak English (as far as I can tell). He said their kimchi was made with shrimp. Recipes for kimchi are vast. Family kimchi recipes are passed down from one generation to the next. I am told that a new wife will be taught how to make kimchi by her mother-in-law. It seems most Korean men like their mama's kimchi the best.



This is another type of kimchi that he brought me. They were both delicious! I had a pumpkin bread mix I had brought from home so I made that as a thank you.

Yeo Jung's 1st Birthday Party

Yeo Jung in her adorable hanbok.



Yeo Jung with Mom and Dad. I had to miss this party because of maedeup class but Curt (hubby) filled in for me and took some great pictures. They had a buffet and Curt said it was delicious.

Grandpa and Grandma too!

The whole family worn matching hanboks.


Curt found this table set up with beautiful pictures of the family.

Daddy saying a few words about his little girl.

What will she choose? The bowl of rice, the money, the microphone...

Here she goes.

Yeo Jung chose the golf ball. I'm not sure if it means she will be a golfer or into sports.




Grandma saying a few words.

And a few words from the other Grandma.

Every guest went home with a towel, embroidered with Yeo Jung's name and her birth date.

I really didn't want to miss this party but with maedeup class being more regimented, it is really hard to miss a class. We cover a lot of ground during those five hours of class. The more complicated the knots, the more time is needed to practice and master the knots.

I made it through my first week of yoga. I cannot believe how sore I am but it was nice to have the weekend to rest. I'm learning how to count in Korean (we do a lot of counting with the exercises) and I can get up to four and then have to revert back to English. The class was really shocked the first time I did it. I'm working on being able to count all the way up to ten.

Homework Done!

It took all week but I did get my maedeup homework done. I think the light green maedeup will be a
necklace eventually. The bottom is a new knot combination and this is as far as the teacher took us last Saturday. By the way, I am the only student that needs paperclips while contructing maedeup. The knots come loose as you make additional knots so I thought this was a great idea to keep that from happening.


The earrings are using the Gajibangseok Maedeup and they were actually due last week. The cellphone charm is using the maedeup we learned last week. I still need to find out the name of it.



I forgot to mention the surprise I received last week at class. Our regular teacher was gone so we
we taught by the maedeup shop owner. We were working on a knot when she gave me and my two Korean
girlfriends these lovely and huge maedeup wall hangings. This maedeup is about two feet long. She said
it was a gift to me, the American, for the Lunar New Year and she gave my girlfriends each one in thanks
for helping to teach me. We were all thrilled but the rest of the class wasn't. The three other girls in our little group kept asking, "Where are ours?" They also picked them up a lot to look at them. I felt so bad about it but my girlfriends insisted it was what Koreans do. I am an honored guest and as long as I am in Korea will be treated as such.

This is not the first time that something like this has happened. I am also getting special treatment at my yoga class. My knees have been really bothering me all week and so the owner took me into another room after class and gave me a 20 minute massage on my knees. It felt great and really helped. She also put these pulsating tennis balls under each knee during class the last two days and that has also helped. I cannot believe the shape these older Korean men and women are in. They are doing moves I haven't done since grade school. The class has been lasting about two hours and I come home pretty exhausted but I've never felt so good. I can't believe I made it through five days. Maedeup tomorrow from 12-5, my Korean girlfriends are taking us out for my birthday which was on the 10th and then Sunday will be a veg day.

What $400.00 Looks Like In Korean Won

Currently in South Korea, the largest denomination is the 10,000 won which is roughly $10.00 US. Usually, I don't walk around with 400,000 won in my purse but I went to the ATM machine and got cash, and Curt (hubby) did the same thing. His wallet won't handle more than 100,000 won, it's makes it too bulky. One time at a restaurant, he went to take out his wallet and a bunch of won went flying all over the floor. Especially when they are newly minted, they are slippery little devils, so you have to be careful.

Most Koreans use a debit card to pay instead of cash. A really big thing in South Korea is point cards. My Korean girlfriends have 20-30 of them. I have one for my Home Plus but I never figured out what to do with the points and they zeroed out with the beginning of the new year. At some places, a point card will give you a discount along with accumulating points. Even the American restaurants have point cards like Dunkin' Donuts, OutBack Steakhouse, and TGI Friday's. Whenever you are paying a cashier just about anywhere, they will ask you for your point card. It's a must if you truly want to be Korean.

Maedeup Homework

This is called Gajibangseok Maedeup (Eggplant Knot). I have never seen such a bunch of grumbling Koreans than after completing this knot. It was pretty complicated and the tightening of the knot was a nightmare. I thought the discontent had to do with the actual knot but it was the shape of the maedeup that upset everyone. My Korean girlfriends told me that no one liked the shape of this maedeup. It was too round. Round is bad, oval is better. I learned that some Korean women have plastic surgery to have their jaws shaved so their faces appear more oval. I told them it reminded me of a baby's face and I thought it was cute.



I need to find out the name of this maedeup but it was similar to the Gajibangseok Maedeup, but with ears. Can you tell which one is mine and which one is the teacher's? Mine is the one on the left.


I left maedeup class on Saturday two weeks behind in homework. I was really embarrassed when the teacher wanted to see my completed earrings from the previous week and I hadn't even started them. So you are looking at my maedeup homework. I need to finish it all by Saturday. I'll post a picture when I get it all finished.

We were invited to another Korean First Birthday Party but it is this Saturday during my maedeup class. Curt (hubby) is going to attend and promises to take lots of pictures.

Namdaemun Gate Torched By An Arsonist

Namdaemun is in the heart of Seoul and was the oldest wooden structure in Seoul. It had survived 600 years until a 70 year old Korean arsonist set it ablaze. The arsonist confessed that he was angry at the treatment and compensation he received when his land was confisgated for housing construction. This wasn't his first arson. In 2006, he set Changgyeong Palace in Seoul on fire. He was on a suspended sentence.

Namdaemun became officially Korea's number one treasure on December 20, 1962. The rebuilding is already being discussed but what a profound loss to Korea and the Korean people.

It's Korean Yoga for Me!

The socks in the last post were given to me from the owner of a yoga studio. The red dot is where I should be pushing off from when I walk. My Korean girlfriend came down last Monday, knowing I was interested in starting yoga, and found this studio not too far from our apartment (1/2 mile). I told her I only wanted to go twice a week since I have so many craft projects and maedeup to do.

We arrived at the studio and sat down for a consultation along with some delicious tea. The owner then took me into another room for an evaluation. She had me lay down on a mat and proceeded to run her hands, palm parallel to my body, all over me and down each limb. So far, a piece of cake for me. Then she took her finger and started pressing into my sternum - HARD! Of course, I winced and kinda moaned. She told my girlfriend that I needed to relax and ignore the pain. She pressed for about five minutes before she stopped. I was relieved, but only momentarily. She then took her finger and pressed somewhere on my hip bone and it hurt even more than the sternum. I thought I was going to die, it really, really hurt. I closed my eyes and tried to block it out, but it didn't work at all.

She said that my energy was being blocked and I needed A LOT of work. No kidding. She then had me try to put my legs up and over my head and try to touch the matt with my toes. Nope, I couldn't do that. She then had me stand up and wanted me to slap my lower stomach area with my open palms repeatedly. Harder and harder until it was really painful. I had to do this for about five minutes which really is a lifetime when you are not used to doing this. My arms were just killing me and my stomach, let's not even go there. I was sure I had done some organ damage. She said this is very good for you and it is how they warm up before yoga class. We finished off by having me sit cross-legged. I can do that but she wanted my kness to touch the floor. That turned out to be an impossibility.

Afterwards, we discussed the plans for me. She said that I needed yoga five days a week and she wanted me to start immediately. Since this was last Monday and the Lunar New Year Holiday was Wednesday through Friday, I told her that I wanted to start this Monday, the 11th. So I am going to yoga five days a week. I start at 10:10 to warm up, class is from 10:30 am until 11:30 am and then another ten minutes to cool down.

Today was my first day and I was pretty scared. I was ushered into a changing room the size of a small walk in closet and given my uniform. I changed and was led into another room where a bunch of Koreans were already warming up. Warm up consists of walking around the room, walking using heel to ball of your foot. The next thing we did was stand in a circle and hold hands and recite a bunch of Korean. It was kinda like a pep talk. The first Korean to grab my hand to form the circle was not the instructor but an older Korean man. Yikes, I was scared - I haven't had the best experiences with older Korean men. I found out that he knew English really well and he really took care of me during class since the instructor didn't know any English.

We then spread out and starting pounding on our stomachs, then proceeded to pound on our arms all the way up and down, front and back, then down the front of the body and then the back of the body. This had been five or more minutes and it was getting hard to even hold my arms up. All of a sudden, another older Korean man came up behind me and starting pounding on my back really hard. It hurt! I was so shocked that I turned around and said , "What the hell!" I usually don't swear but when I'm really shocked, it just comes out. Sorry Mom, skip this part. He stopped immediately and the other Korean said he was just showing me how to do it right. I told him that I wasn't ready to do it right but maybe I would be in a few weeks. He laughed.

Class consisted of lots of strange body positions along with meditation. I was physically able to do about one third of the exercises. After class we sat for tea and my new older Korean friend asked me how old I was and I told him 48 as of yesterday. He is 72 and I couldn't believe it, he looked 40 and I told him so. His English was very good and I told him so. He just beamed. He said he learned it during the war when they sent him to South Carolina to be trained. I'm assuming it must of been the Korean War but I didn't ask. I also met another woman who is my age and she is learning English so she could speak some. She has six children which is really rare here but she said that she is so happy that I am going to be her friend. It was nice to meet people that are my age. They asked a lot of questions: Are you a teacher? Is your husband in the military?...

I had a great time and the Korean with the six children wanted to know where I was going after class. I told her I needed to get a few things from Home Plus. She said, "Me too." So we went together and I think she wanted to shop together but as she got her cart, I told her I just needed milk and needed to go home. She said, "Ok, see you tomorrow" and off I went. I was so exhausted I couldn't wait to get home.

The more I sit today, the sorer I become. I thought I was in ok shape, I walk a lot and lift weights but the yoga definitely used muscles that may have not been used since I was a kid. But I feel great and I know I have just embarked on a life changing journey. I never thought Korea would change me so much, but I am definitely not the same Becky.

Surprises!

Do you know where you would wear these socks? I have a big surprise which I'll tell you about tomorrow. It will change my life forever.

We saw this t-shirt on a salesrack in a department store in Seoul.

Cool Restaurant in Suwon, South Korea

A few weeks ago Curt (hubby) had a work dinner at this restaurant which is called Jang Su Ma Eul. It is a chicken restaurant and he came home raving about the food. It's about 10 miles from our apartment so he had a co-worker program it into our GPS so he could take me to it. As we started out, Curt hit the wrong button and erased the address. It took Curt a little time to figure out how to enter it again and I was crabby thinking we would become lost which is VERY easy to do in Korea. But he got it entered and off we went.

The picture above is the restaurant. Isn't it the coolest building?



This was the first course which was some kind of greens and radish. The radish came in a big piece but the waitress took out a pair of scissors and sliced it up for us. Curt said that when he went with the co-workers, they had to slice the radish themselves. It was nice of her to do that for the foreigners.



You find these peppers with red bean paste with many Korean meals. Sometimes they are very hot and sometimes they are not. You never know but the red bean paste is always hot.


The next course was dalk nu roong ji baek sook which was a whole chicken in a creamy chicken sauce with rice and gingseng. The chicken just falls off the bone and there are bowls of salt to dip the chicken into before eating.

On the right was a creamy chicken and rice soup.

Curt was craving this chicken bulgogi. It was so good. In fact, the whole meal was delicious. As we were leaving, we were stopped by the hostess. We couldn't understand what she was saying but I could tell she wanted to know how we liked the meal. I rubbed my belly and said "Delicious!" I don't think she understood me but she was smiling when we left.

A view from from the car on the way home.

The Year of the Rat

One of the holiday cards I picked up honoring the New Year. I especially liked this one with the rats on it. I am also born in the year of the rat and supposedly that means I am to have an especially lucky year. If you want to see what you are click here. It is said that rats are intelligent, imaginative and curious. In China, they say there are few poor rats. Rats have the ability to initiate new ideas and they also work hard to achieve their goals. What I find so ironic is that I am TERRIFIED of rats. They freak me out and when my daughter and son-in-law had one for a short time, I couldn't even go into that room. I love mice and gerbils but it's something about that face and tail that gives me the creeps. Hubby was born under the sign of the dog.



More card samples.


One last bunch. Going out to hubby's new favorite chicken restaurant so I'll be sure to bring the camera. Maedeup class tomorrow. I was surprised that we would have class during the biggest holiday in Korea. I guess maedeup waits for no one.

The First Day of the Lunar New Year Holiday

Hubby is off Wednesday through Friday for the holiday and we decided to go out for lunch today. We walked toward the Home Plus (like a Super Target) because there are a ton of restaurants in that area. As we were walking, we noticed all the small mom and pop restaurants were closed, which wasn't a good sign. The Japanese restaurant I wanted to go to was closed but we saw that Home Plus was open so we decided to eat in the food court there. The food court has a McDonald's, KFC, Korean, Japanese and Chinese food. The Korean, Japanese and Chinese food are plastic models of the entrees in display cases. You choose which number entree you want and proceed to a cashier. Pay and then sit in the food court area and watch for your number to appear in the Korean, Japanese or Chinese prep areas. This is what we choose and it came for the bargain price of 9900 won which is about $10.00 U.S. It was delicious.


How did I spend the rest of my day? This pile of maedeup cording shows how "knot" to store your cording. I had three ziplock bags of cording where I had taken some out from time to time until I had this mess you see above. It took me ALL afternoon to untangle and wind each color. Now if only I could keep my craftroom clean and uncluttered.

What Kind of Present to Bring to a Korean 1st Birthday Party

I left out an important concern when attending a Korean 1st birthday party which is the gift. Of course, being a crafty and polymer clay girl, I had to make the baby one of my polymer clay babies. The baby is holding a golden pig because Hye-In was born in the very lucky and rare year of the golden pig.

I had to ask my Korean girlfriends what was an appropriate gift along with the polymer clay baby. They told me that until recently, guests would bring a tiny gold ring for the baby. The parents would either cash the rings in for money right away or put them away to cash in later to help pay for college. But nowadays, money is what is predominately given and the amount is 50,000 won ($50.00 U.S.) or more. They also said that Koreans love to dress their children in Ralph Lauren which is very expensive here in South Korea.

Korean First Birthday Party

A first birthday is a very significant event here in South Korea. In recent history (as of 50 years ago), the mortality rate for children was high and many did not survive to see their first birthday. So a first birthday is an important milestone to the Koreans and a reason to celebrate and celebrate big. We felt very honored to attend the first birthday party of one of Curt's (hubby) co-workers.

The celebration is usually held in a banquet hall and often in the same hall where the wedding reception was held. Koreans feel that this is a good time to reconnect with the married couple. The invitation said that the party was from 6:30 pm until 8:30 pm but we were told to come at 7:00 pm. We arrived and were quickly welcomed by the father and ushered to the buffet. The food was fantastic and they was so much to choose from. The photo above shows the mother and baby in the traditional Hanbok.



Little Hye-In didn't want to leave mommy.



She was such a cutie and quite the trooper with everything that was going on.


Picture with all of the co-workers.


Another picture with some of the co-workers.


Family pictures. Everyone say "KIMCHI!"


Daddy talking about his little girl.


Cutting the birthday cake with the largest knife I've ever seen. I thought it was a sword.


It is traditional that the child is presented with a tray of assorted items and the child picks one out and it will foretell their future. On this tray there was:
Microphone - she'll be a singer
Money - she will be wealthy
String - for long life
Computer mouse - she'll be a computer major
Pencil - she'll be a scholar
Bowl of rice - she'll have her needs met (food, shelter...)


After some time of contemplating, Hye-In chose the microphone. She'll be a singer.


I got to hold the baby! She was ready for bed and very tired.

They also had some door prizes and everyone had a number given to them as they entered the party. I was sitting with the family (that's where they put us) and family member's numbers were constantly drawn. Dad wasn't giving any prizes to family members so when it happened again, they threw the number at me and everyone said I won. They really wanted me to win, so up I went to collect my prize. It was a rice spoon and stirring spoon, both with spoon rests.

Everyone also went home with a parting gift. It was this towel with the baby's name and birthdate on it. We had a blast and it was all over by 8:15 pm.

Video highlights