Wanted

May 3, 2011

I want him; I want justice...and there's an old poster out west, as I recall, that said, "Wanted: Dead or Alive." - George W. Bush, Sept. 17 2001

It's been a couple of days now since I heard the news. I've read the articles and accounts, I've watched the news clips and videos. I even watched Obama's whole public address. I've discussed it at length with my parents, friends, co-workers and peers, and I've heard and considered multiple sides of the story. I believe in a man's right to live, but I also believe in justice. Every man must be held accountable for the things he's done. If you ask me, Osama Bin Laden was Adolph Hitler without the resources. He was responsible for thousands of deaths with a mind for many more, and a quick bullet was better than he deserved.

I'm glad he's dead.

On Monday afternoon (Sunday night in the states), a close friend of mine sent me a text message from the U.S. saying OBL had been killed. I thought it was a joke at first. The guy was a myth; a real life Keyser Söze. It had been so long since American forces had begun hunting him (almost 10 years) that I had assumed that maybe he was already dead or that we would never know for sure what became of him. After all that time, to finally receive confirmation that the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks had finally been tracked down and disposed of (like garbage), I was genuinely relieved. I guess I thought we'd never get him. To be honest, upon hearing the news, I immediately went online to find pictures or video, not because I wanted to see a body, but because I needed proof. In hindsight, it probably wasn't the best course of action for a teacher on the network at a public school, but luckily I didn't find anything.

The national response was immediate: celebration everywhere. I thought, for one moment, that this was something that every American could agree on; in a way, unifying. I guess the detractors had to take a few moments to gather their thoughts. It didn't take long though. Instead of healing and closure, old wounds (and mouths) were just opened up again. I'm not saying that going crazy in the streets to the news of a man's death is the appropriate response, but neither is criticizing people for the way that they express themselves, or tweeting and facebooking contrary, callous remarks, just to get a reaction or make yourself sound more intelligent. However, this is the nature of humanity, especially when it comes to war. Do I want this war to end? Yes. Do I wish it hadn't taken us 10 years to find that son of a b****? Of course. I wish we had caught him on September 12th, 2001. Do I believe, over the span of these 10 years, that our government has acted according to the best interests of the United States of America and for the safety and security of her people? For the most part, I do. I'm not saying there haven't been mistakes, and things haven't all gone as planned, but I'm still proud to be an American, and anybody who's not can go to France.

Lastly, what did I do in response to the news I'd just received? Well, I was in the middle of a school day, so I took my last class out for ice cream. The kids wanted to know why. I didn't really know how to explain to them in an appropriate way that they could understand, so I just simply told them that too many bad things happen in the world without a reason, so why not some good ones every once in a while? They were okay with that. Sometimes ice cream is better than words.

So that's my 2 cents. It took me a few days to gather my thoughts about this whole thing, but I wanted to have some sort of record of my feelings at this time to look back on in the future. Most of the time I just get embarrassed when I go back and read old journal or blog entries. I don't have any answers, and this blog isn't meant to start or end any debates. This is just a public account of my time living abroad and my thoughts along the way.



"We got him." - America, May 1 2011

Movies in SK: The Mighty Thor!

04-29-2011
Well, I finally got out of my blogging funk, and all it took was seeing my favorite childhood super hero on the big screen to do it. You might be thinking to yourself, "Thor? Really? What about Superman, Spiderman...BATMAN??". Well it's true, I can remember drawing all 3 of those guys when I was 4 years old (and my mom still has the pictures to prove it), but those are the names everybody knows and associates with comics. By the time I was in 5th or 6th grade, I needed to choose a hero who wasn't "bandwagon", someone that proved to my friends I was legit, so I chose Thor. Why? Simply, because that's who my dad liked when he was a kid, and that hammer is wicked cool.

To the best of my knowledge, Thor was the first comic I ever collected monthly. It all started in 1989 with The Mighty Thor #411. In that issue, Loki breaks Juggernaut out of super villain jail to fight Thor, who is already wiped out from a previous battle with Doctor Doom. Juggernaut gets the upper hand and is about to lay the final blow when a mysterious group of heroes appears on the scene and saves the day...THE NEW WARRIORS! That issue was their first appearance as a super team, and they eventually went on to have their own book. Consequently, the 2006 version of the New Warriors triggers the event that leads to the Marvel Civil War, which eventually ends with the death of Captain America, who is getting his own movie this July! Calendar marked.

As for Thor (2011), I kept my expectations low. I've been a disappointed fan too many times over the years and I'm tired of getting hurt. To be honest, I was more excited that I was seeing the movie a week before everyone in the states than I actually was about the movie itself. Just like Iron Man 2 last year, I get to hold this over you guys for 7 whole days. I know y'all still have me beat with, you know, living in America and all that, but I'm still gonna celebrate this one. Anyway, the movie exceeded expectations. Far exceeded. I didn't know who Chris Hemsworth was before last night, but he embodied Thor perfectly. And by the way, I don't know if it was CG or not, but he was buff. Like, super jacked. The Spartans in 300 had nothing on him. Tom Hiddleston playing Loki was also perfect. Natalie Portman as Jane Foster didn't get on my nerves as she usually does, but can she please just stop being in fanboy films? They should have pulled her card after the prequels. Then you have Anthtony Hopkins as Odin. Nuf said. Throw in Heimdall, Lady Sif, the Warriors Three, certain Thor-related villians and some "special" cameo appearances, and it was another home run (in my opinion) for Marvel. My only two "personal observations" about the film were that 1.) they spent just a bit too much time telling the story of him as a mortal, and 2.) I wanted to see Baldur the Brave. Other than that, everything was really cool, especially watching it in 3D, which is something that has kind of been played out as of late, but it worked.

After the movie, every Korean filed out as soon as the credits started rolling. Once again I was the only one left in the theater. I know I've commented on this before, but it still makes me laugh that none of them stay for the end of the credits, especially for these movies when you know there's gonna be a little extra. Actually, one girl did come back in this time and sat back down halfway through the credits, staying until the end. I was thinking to myself, "Maybe she's the one!", but she peeled back out the second the final scene was over, before I'd even gotten out of my chair to go talk to her. Oh well. At least I know now that there's at least one Korean fangirl in Ansan. Now if only there was an LCS in the vicinity...

Grade: A- (fanboy bell curve)

Finally, A New Blog Entry!

4-1-2011

April Fool's!

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

2-28-2011
Day 357 of 365: Hong Kong. Is it a city? Is it a country? Is it an island? Well...yes. Having always had a fascination with Kung Fu movies and Hong Kong cinema, I finally had an opportunity to visit Hong Kong for the Chinese New Year (aka - Lunar New Year), which took place during the first week of February. Though it's not officially celebrated in the U.S., the Chinese New Year is a national holiday in just about every Asian country. Many businesses close their doors for a few days at least, and some for up to 2 weeks or more. There were many festivals that week to celebrate the "Year of the Rabbit" in addition to all the sites, food and attractions of Hong Kong, so we just tried to soak in as much as we could.

Taking our own week-long vacation from school in Ansan, two fellow English teachers and I embarked on a 5 day trip that had us constantly moving from place to place. We didn't have much time to remain at any one site for very long, but I did spend a fair bit of time in the famous Lady's Market. I never thought to ask the locals where the Lady's Market got it's name from, but it is THE place for guys and gals alike to find whatever you're looking for in Hong Kong. New, used, real or fake, chances are there's somebody selling it there. Everybody's trying to make a buck, but it's not always on the up and up. For instance, while I was shopping alone (the 2 gals had made their way to Disneyland Hong Kong), an Arab guy asked me if I was interested in a fake Rolex on the street, but instead of showing me his stock right there, he wanted me to follow him 2 blocks, into a sketchy building and up an elevator. My "shady meter" was already going off just by talking to the guy (He was Arab. I'm just saying.), but when we got to that elevator, something in me was just saying, "walk away", so I did. Am I saying that he and his people were going to roll me for all my money or kidnap me and hold me for ransom? Not exactly, but I didn't want a fake watch bad enough to find out. Here's an idea: have your shop on the street level, out in the open like normal folks.

As far as food goes, dim sum (endless small-portioned waves of fried, boiled and steamed foods ranging from chicken and pork dumplings to jellyfish and chicken feet) is probably what Hong Kong is best known for. The food in Hong Kong was delicious and reasonably priced. As in Korea and Japan, I made my obligatory trip to the local McDonald's to see what kind of new and "exciting" burgers the U.S. is missing out on. However, the menu was very similar to back home. I did order a fried red bean desert pie, but it wasn't quite what I was used to. Red bean is a very popular dessert flavor in asian culture though. One thing I didn't realize before going was how much English is spoken in Hong Kong. While there, I found out that Hong Kong was a long time colony of Great Britain, which explains the dual languages. Chinese is still the first language, but English definitely runs a close second. It was rarely a problem getting around in the city since most signs were in English, and people on the street were almost always able to help us when asked.

The highlight of my trip was a solo adventure I took toward the end of our visit. The same day that I almost "bought" a watch and the girls went to Hong Kong Disney, I made reservations to take a harbor tour on a traditional Hong Kong style junk boat (pictured above). "Junks", which were primarily used for fishing back in the day, have long been a symbol of Hong Kong. Although there are not many left today, they are still very iconic and beautiful to look at. Hong Kong is famous for it's nightly laser-light show on the harbor skyline, and the junk tour was a perfect way to view it.

Since our flight back to Seoul was actually scheduled on the Lunar New Year's day (which I later realized was why our flights were so cheap), we missed the main festival happening that day. I imagine it was like a chinese version of the New Year's day parade back in the states, so I was a little disappointed. However, I had a great time overall, and may even make plans to go back this summer when a friend of mine will be there as well. I definitely think the home of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan is worth another visit!

Explosive Clearasil

01/26/2010
Day 324 of 365: I don't fly often. I didn't fly much before 9/11, and post 9/11 I didn't fly for about 3 years, largely due to school. After graduating in 2004, I started to travel more, and therefore began experiencing the hightened levels of security that had been implemented in the US and abroad. As a result, I've had some interesting encounters which lead me to ask, "What's the strangest thing you've ever been delayed by airport security for?".

It only takes one dummy to cause the FAA to add new rules and regulations to airport security checks that will affect and inconvenience domestic and international travelers forever. There's a whole list of these guys who can't play nice with others. Remember the shoe bomb guy? He's on the dummy list. Now I have to take off my shoes at the airport. Was there a guy who tried to smuggle a bomb on an airline with his laptop? Probably. I'm not sure if it's wise to Google "bomb" and "airport" together, so I'll just stick to hypothesizing.

I have to give it up, there are some creative people out there. I mean, did a guy really make a bomb out of the foil from an Eclipse gum package? Must have, because I've been searched for that. Or, has anyone ever endangered passengers on an airplane with a plastic letter opener shaped like a samurai sword? Those were actually confiscated from my carry-on bag on my way back from Japan, but I can sort of understand. I didn't check any luggage on that trip, so I was screwed. And then there's the Ranch Style Beans that I brought back to Korea from Texas. RANCH STYLE BEANS!! I can just imagine a conversation on the airplane going something like this:

Passenger A: "Do you smell something cooking?"
Passenger B: "Yeah, it smells delicious. Asiana has definitely upgraded their in-flight menu."

And then a guy with boots and a cowboy hat jumps out of his chair with 6 cans of beans strapped to his chest, threatening to crash the plane unless they serve him some brisket and potato salad.

Fortunately for me, the women who searched my bag was reasonable and let them pass, but she actually warned me that most people would have confiscated them. I don't doubt it.
LAX Airport Security: "Hey guys! Lunch is on the stupid Texan!".

Now that I think about it, the one time I actually had something dangerous, an Exacto Knife, which is a razor sharp art knife, security missed it and let me pass. It wasn't until I was sitting in a coffee shop inside the airport that I reached into my bag for a pen and found it there. I was scared to death that it had gotten through and went to turn it in. However, in hindsight my word choice wasn't the best.

Me: "Uh, excuse me?"
Airport Security A: "Yes. How can I help you?"
Me: "I think I have something dangerous in my bag."
Airport Security A: "...What do you mean...dangerous...?"
Airport Security B: (Reaches for his gun).
Me: (Oh crap that was stupid. Panic!)

At that point I said it was an art knife. They told me to give them the bag...slowly. It was unnecessarily tense for a long 15 seconds. Needless to say, they kept the knife. I like to think that on that day I contributed to LAX's security quality control.

Lastly, there's the infamous Clearasil incident. Having been pulled aside for having a tube of face soap that was twice the amount allowed, I was more than happy to let them keep it if it meant I could be on my way. "It's only $7, ma'am." I said. "No big deal.". Out of the kindness of her heart, she told me that she would run a quick chemical check, and if it passed, I could keep it. "Cool!" I thought. (That stuff is kind of expensive). So she swabbed the rim with a Q-tip and then scanned it on a machine. After a few seconds she said, "Uh, oh.". "What's uh,oh?" I asked. She replied:

EXPLOSIVES DETECTED

"#@&% $#@$ *&^%#!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!" was my response. Honestly though, I was halfway laughing because of how ridiculous the situation was. So I asked, "What happens now?". In that instant, a large black man appeared out of nowhere and said, "Now I'm gonna have ta search ya.", at the same time snapping on his latex surgical gloves. Ok. No problem. I've got nothing to hide.

Large Man: "Have you done this before?"
Small Me: "I...'m not sure...?"
Large Man: "First thing I'm gonna do is take my finger..."
Smaller Me: (Oh God, no. ) ...(and looking for somewhere to run)
Large Man: "...and trace it along the inside waist of your jeans."
Me: "Ok. Noooo problem." (relieved)
Large Man: "Then I'm going to take my finger..."
Me: (No! No more fingers!) ...(and avoiding eye contact at this point)
Large Man: "...and I'm going to trace the inside of your collar."
Me: "Sigh". (This will make for an interesting blog post).

After that it was a series of "non-invasive" patdowns and I was free to go. Obviously they kept the soap. I asked if this sort of thing happens a lot, but they dodged the question. Then I asked if I could take a picture of the "Explosives Detected" readout to show my friends, and he gave a definitive, "No.".

Fair enough.

The Austin Bucket List

01/17/2010
Day 315 of 365: The most common thing people asked me when they found out I went back to Austin for the break was, "What did you do while you were there?". So, for those people, and for the pure enjoyment of recounting my adventure home, I prestent: The List. It includes every restaurant I wanted to eat at, every errand I needed run, and every item I wanted to buy while I was home, taking into account that I might not be back for another year, (Key: O = Yes, X = Ran out of time)

Restaurants:

Catfish Parlour - O
Taco Cabana - O
IHOP - O
Dan's Hamburgers - X
Thundercloud Subs - O
Chili's - X
Rudy's BBQ - X
Katz's - O (Ate there on Dec. 30th; closed for good on January 2nd. RIP Katz's Reuben)
Fuddrucker's - O
La Fuentes Mexican Resaurant - O
Chuey's - X (Fail)
Yogurtland - O
Gordough's Donuts - O
Long John Silver's - X (probably better for my health that I missed this one)
Schlotzsky's - O
Random Korean Restaurant in Austin - O
Conan's Pizza - O

Not on the original List but made the cut: Maudie's Tex Mex, Kerbey Lane Cafe (Kerbey Lane and William Cannon locations), Torchy's Tacos, River City Donuts

Errands/Stores:

Best Buy - O (twice)
Walmart - O (3 times)
Bank - O
Champ's - O
Howdy Honda - O
Barton Creek Mall - O
Finish Line - O
Express - O
American Eagle - O
Papa John's - O (my old job)
Costco - O
The High Ball - O
Post Office - O
Day After Xmas Shopping - O!
Tron Legacy - X (fail)

Not on the List but made the cut: The Fighter, Pitch n' Putt, True Grit (but I fell asleep), Monday Night Football (but I fell asleep), Scott Pilgrim vs. The World (but I fell asleep)...jet lag got me on a few of these.

Shopping - (E = Expensive in South Korea, i = Impossible to find)

Socks and Underwear - O (not expensive or impossible to find, just my American preference)
Polo Shirts (E) - X
100% Whey Protein (i) - O
Deodorant (i)- O
US Power Strip (i) - O
Dress Shoes (black) - X
Running Shoes - X
Brown Shoes - X
Football Cleats (i) - O! (It's nearly impossible to find a size 12 of any shoe except in Seoul)
Face Soap -O (funny story about that...)
Dill Pickles (i) -O (screw Korean sweet pickles)
Nyquil (i) - O
Clif Bars (i) - O
Maple Syrup (E) - O
Vitamins (E) - X
Peanut Butter (E) - X
Under Armour Receiver Gloves (i) - O
Backpack (E) - O
Garbage Bags (i?) - X

Not on the list but made the cut: Ranch Dressing (i), a ton of American chocolate (E) for the kids (as I shove this Reese's Peanut Butter Cup into my mouth), Ranch Style Beans (i), Wolf Brand Chilli (i), Lipton's Onion Soup Mix (i), Captain Crunch (i), Fruity Pebbles (i), Bean Dip (i), Giant Marshmallows (i), Pop Tarts (i).

So, subtracting the X's from the total number of items on my Austin Bucket List, my completion percentage would be at 74.51%. However, if I added the addtional 20 items that made the cut, I would be brought up to 81.7%, which is a solid B-, just like in college. Ugh, that shoe shopping killed my average.

So that's my list. What's yours? I'm interested in hearing what some of you Austinites would do if you only had 8 days out of the year to spend in the ATX.

Next blog: Explosive Clearasil.

My Hometown

01/09/2011
Day 307 of ???: After being away for nearly 10 months, I found my way back home for a week that may have been worth another year in South Korea.

I hopped on a plane from Seoul to Austin at 8pm on December 22nd, just 4 hours after the semester's last day of school had ended. I flew back to South Korea at 6pm on New Year's Eve, arriving in Seoul just 24 hours before I had to be back at school again. I averaged 4 hours of sleep per night while I was home and I didn't eat at the same place twice. In short, I acted like I wasn't coming back for a while. It turns out I won't be. I'm staying to teach for a second year in South Korea. I made the final decision this week, but it's something that'd been on my mind for a while.

The idea of going home for vacation was a little strange to me, but to be honest, it may have been the best vacation I've ever had. I knew exactly what I wanted to do, where I wanted to eat and who I wanted to see. I brought 3 suitcases of Korean gifts home with me, and I took 170 lbs. of American goodness back to Korea. The fact that everything made it both ways intact is a small miracle. I was pretty efficient in my game of luggage Tetris too, especially in packing for the trip back to SK. After being away for so long, I was surprised at just how normal it felt to see my family and friends once again. They're people that you always expect to be there, so sometimes you forget how special they are. Only having 8 days to be with them, all the normal things we did together had much more meaning to me. Eating at Kerbey Lane with Isaac and the boys, hitting Plucker's with Jason and Robert, making a run to Barton Creek Mall with Philip and JC, doing Gordough's with Gilbert, and going to Westgate to see True Grit with the folks were all priceless, even if I was too jet lagged at times to express it. I even enjoyed the ordinary parts, like driving on Mopac, making Walmart runs and going to Howdy Honda to get the oil changed on my Civic. It was the same old Austin, just like I hoped it would be.

So the question now may be, "If Austin is so good, why not come back in March?". I think the simple answer is that I just don't feel like I'm done with Korea yet, or the other way around, or both. In many ways I've just begun to hit my stride here, and I think leaving in March would be too soon. It's like I've just hit 5th gear but now all of a sudden I have to exit the highway. I want to see where another year will take me. On one hand, that non-committal side of me dreads signing another 1 year contract, but on the other hand, that's what kept me in the grinder to persevere when things got tough during the first year. I made it through and I think I'm better for it. Having just seen everyone I care about so recently, they are very present in my thoughts and I miss them dearly, but at the same time I am excited to have this opportunity in SK continued.

Lastly, my deepest thanks to my family and those who care about me for your thoughts and prayers throughout this year. I'd be a fool to think that I got by solely on my own natural strength. If it wasn't for those prayers...and this magical think called the internet that allows me to stay in contact with many of you, I probably wouldn't have the guts to go on this adventure. I look forward to seeing what this next year has in store, as well as sharing it with whoever is reading this out there.

First blog of the new year done.

Everland

12-16-2010
Day 282 of 365: A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Everland, the premier theme park in South Korea. Although I have been here almost ten months now, this was my first trip to a theme park, so I was very excited. Many folks consider Everland to be the "Disneyland" of South Korea, and having been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld back in the states, I was curious about how it would measure up.

The impression I got after spending half a day there is that Everland has more in common with Six Flags than Disneyland. It had a couple of exciting roller coasters, but most of the rides were kid friendly. There was also a jungle safari where you can ride a bus through an area inhabited by lions, tigers, bears, giraffes and hyenas. I was disappointed to find that the windows didn't open, but I soon found out why. Any of the above mentioned animals could approach the bus at any time, and they did. Tigers crossed the street in front of us, giraffes poked their heads over, and a particular bear stood up on his hind legs and put his foot/claw directly on my window as the driver threw treats into his mouth! Thaaaat's why the windows don't open. Earlier in the day I'd had an encounter with a small field mouse. He was fast, but I managed to corner him and get a few shots with my camera. However, by the time we made it to the safari, it was too dark. Most of my pictures came out blurry since I couldn't use the flash because of the windows, but I guess it's better than losing an arm to a bear.

The Christmas theme throughout the park was fun, and it was refreshing to hear old familiar Christmas carols (in English) playing over the speakers. There were lights on all the buildings, a big tree with decorations, and Santa sitting under it with kids lined up waiting to meet him. It actually reminded me so much of home, at times I forgot that I was in Korea. It was a great diversion from my weekly routine, but as is always the case when I get a little taste of home, I end up missing the real thing a little bit afterward. It's ok. I'll be home before I know it.

On a side note, I made an awesome discovery that day: Samgak Kimbap. Kimbap is a ball of rice with various kinds of meat or vegetables inside and wrapped in dried seaweed. Samgak means "Triangle". So basically it's a triangle riceball, and it's very popular in Korea. My favorite so far is tuna, or chamchi, samgak kimbap. Mashisoyo! (delicious)

Turkey & Kimchi

11-30-2010
Day 266 of 365: First off, I just wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a happy belated Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Actually, Thanksgiving and Black Friday are cool, but Cyber Monday kinda sucks. Why does it exist? Secondly, it's hard to believe that I only have 99 days left in Korea. The last few months have flown by, and with the end of the school year fast approaching, I know these next 3 weeks will be a blur. It's been hard to carve out the time to write lately because of how busy I've been, but I just wanted to tell everyone a little bit about what Thanksgiving is like for Americans living in Korea.

Let me just start by saying that the beautiful turkey you see in the picture above is one of very few in the entire country of South Korea. They don't raise turkeys here (this one is actually imported from New Zealand), and so it's just not a part of their diet. As a result, many Americans don't have a traditional Thanksgiving meal in Korea. I asked my kids at school if they'd ever eaten turkey, and only about 5% raised their hands. After discovering this, a few American teachers and I went on a quest to find our bird. On the positive side, we only had to search as far as the Costco in Seoul. However, once we found the turkeys, I was quickly mortified when I saw that the average price was around $80! After all, we had this thing called a budget, and an eighty dollar bird wasn't in it. At that point I was more than willing to re-enact that scene out of A Christmas Story and just go for roasted duck instead, but there were some in the group who just didn't think there could be Thanksgiving without a turkey, so the four of us split the cost. It was a 19lb., $85 bird named Tom (by Ashlee and Soo). As it turns out, we didn't exceed the budget as much as we thought since we couldn't find many of the traditional Thanksgiving foods and ingredients we were searching for.

Since Korea doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving and therefore doesn't give any days off from work, we found it a little difficult to have the dinner on Thursday, so we had it on Friday instead. I also caught word of many Saturday dinners taking place. Ashlee used a "personal health" day to cook the turkey and most of the side dishes. For my part, my parents had mailed a TG relief package full of the traditional ingredients and recipes, but I was sad when the package was delayed at the post office and we had to do without some of my family favorites such as cranberry sauce, mandarin orange salad, and onion dip with potato chips ( more for watching football before dinner). Stuffing and sweet potatoes were also in the package, which arrive 5 days later (not even close), but we were able to find the ingredients for them here.

Despite the setbacks, omissions and substitutions, we had a very successful night. The lineup included mashed potatoes and gravy, green bean casserole, sweet potatoes, homemade stuffing, peach-mallow salad (I improvised), kimchi, rice and of course, the turkey. We had a Costco apple pie for dessert. Ashlee did an amazing job with all the cooking, but especially the turkey. We had over 20 guests at dinner and nobody went home hungry. It was a great night.

Although I was missing my family and football, I had plenty of food and friends to help make my Thanksgiving a happy one. I am very thankful for the people I've met, the friends I've made, the experiences I've had, and the opportunity to live and teach in South Korea. The last 9 months have been a unique period of time for me, and I am excited about the final 3 months. I am still unsure about whether I will sign on to teach for another year, so I am continuing to do, see and learn as much as I can while I'm here. It's been an amazing experience. Now if only the Cowboys and Longhorns didn't suck so bad this year...

My Neighbor Pepero

11-11-2010

Day 247 of 365: Today is a special day for the kids of Korea (in spite of the adults): it's Pepero day. What is Pepero, you ask? A Pepero is essentially a cracker stick that is covered in chocolate. If you want to move up a level, you can cover it in almonds. Anything beyond that is just getting fancy, as the image to the left shows.The next question you might be asking is probably along the lines of, "Why in the heck does a Pepero get it's own day?" and, "What do you do on Pepero day?". The origins of Pepero day are simple. The date November 11th, or 11-11, stood out to some Korean kids somewhere and reminded them of the Pepero treats, so they began giving them to each other as signs of friendship. Later it also became akin to Valentine's day, where significant others now exchange the treats to show their love. Any reason to eat more candy I guess. The tradition quickly caught on and soon kids all over Korea were doing it. However, parents and teachers have conspiracy theories of a more sinister plot that Lotte, the Walmart of Korea, started the holiday to boost sales and, in fact, more than 50% of yearly Pepero sales can be attributed to Pepero day alone. It's the "Black Friday" of Pepero.

To combat the faux holiday, many teachers in Korea have united in banning the chocolate covered treats from their classrooms, instead opting to have their students write letters to their friends and loved ones to tell them how much they appreciate them. Being a newcomer to the whole phenomena, I thought it was cute to see kids walking down the halls with Pepero of various shapes, sizes and flavors. I felt very popular, receiving more than twenty myself. However, after eating about three, I was already sick of them and gave the rest away to others, including to some of the teachers with the self-imposed ban.

All in all it was a fun break from the norm, and it gave me some new introduction material for a few days in class. My only question now is, "What will Pepero day be like next year when it's 11-11-11?". Surely it will be the Armageddon of all Pepero days, and definitely worth sticking around for another year in Korea to find out.