The Christmas time blues

Instead of sleeping in and doing whatever their little hearts desire, kids here go to hagwons over winter break.  This means I get to make more money, yeee!  Since our hagwon is on the small side, we held an open house everyday this past week for the parents looking for places for their kids.  The thing most parents were concerned with was that all of the teachers looked too young to be experienced in teaching.  It's certainly insulting from the teacher's standpoint but you can't really blame them, no matter how idiotic their way of thinking is.  Korean students are known to have the highest proficiency test scores in the world but what's that good for?  It just shows they can study.  The biggest problem with teaching these kids is that they don't know how to think for themselves or think critically.  They expect you to just hand them an assignment so they can do the work and then ask for more.  When I told the parents that I teach in a more American, relax and laid back style, they looked concerned lol.  How do you expect kids to develop intellectually by force feeding them material?  Some parents responded well and thought it was a good idea but for the most part, they wanted a strict, force feeding teaching method.  I just told them what they wanted to hear but in Mr. Kim's class, you're going to have some fun ^_^  I'm teaching debate, something I don't know that much about, but it shouldn't be too hard.  Plus, the teachers that I have co-teaching and helping are really cool so it should be fun for the kids.
    I met all the teachers that work at the hagwon for the first time this week and I loved all of them.  About half of them have stayed or studied overseas so communicating in English is no problem, I just mix Korean and English.  Everyone has been really fun to talk to and we all mesh really well.  Finally, I have some people to hang out with lol.  It's a cool feeling to be part of a developing business too, you feel like you're contributing a lot to the growth of the institution.  The director has been taking care of us so well, buying us meals on days where we work for a while and just being like a father figure.  It makes for a comfortable working environment.  We're like a little hagwon family :)
     It's Christmas time here but I don't have any plans :(  I miss all my Craigs back at home but Skype helps ease the sting of loneliness haha.  I'm sure it'll be a lot better next year.  Thus far, I can picture myself living here in Seoul if I had a good job and what not but I don't think I could survive without my friends.  If only we had a teleportation machine invented already, that would really be daebak (awesome).  Things have been going well so far, two more months of freedom until I leave for basic training.  I heard it was damn cold in February from one of the teachers (he did government service like I did after training).  Guess I gotta suck it up, huh?  I'm a little sad too that I have to do my service right after I met all these wonderful people.  I'll still teach there, just at night or on weekends but still, it's a damn shame, damn shame, Mr. Kim.  Not much more to say.  Hope everyone's healthy and staying safe.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Years, we'll be together soon :)  Love and miss y'all.
~JK

Quick update

    Just a short two months away until I ship off to basic training.  It'll probably be the closest thing I get to being an actual soldier but I'll take it.  After 4 weeks of that I start my government job at the Han River Business Administration or something (really don't know what it actually translates to from Korean).  Teaching is solid, I quit the third job to enjoy free days during the week.  My student at the hagwon is preparing to leave for Canada in a couple of weeks so I won't be seeing him until he comes back for summer vacation.  I'm about to teach one of my uncle's kids guitar, which will be fun.  What else...I've been going strong for the 2 months that I've been here but I still miss the states from time to time, though not as much these days.  My mom's coming in on March 4th, yeeeee.
     Today I went and bought some Christmas cards to send back home.  If you don't get one, just know I sent one in spirit form because I love everyone, also I probably don't have your address >.<  After that, I intentionally took a subway line and got myself lost in the city so I could walk around and blast some tunes.  It's pretty damn cold these days and I love it, but there hasn't been any snow yet.  I'm now sitting inside a quaint cafe writing this.  Sorry but the cards will probably arrive a day or two after Christmas, that's what I get for procrastinating.  I'd send gifts too but then I'd probably go broke from the shipping costs ^_^ , I'll just wait until it's birthday time.  Also, I found out that I might not be able to use my vacation days from the government job to visit the states or go outside of the country for that matter, so I'll just see you folks in 2 years.  Can't wait for summer since WinCraig is coming to visit and possibly Ross and his friend.  I'll probably be living in my own place by then so it'll be nice.  If you can visit me, you definitely should.  It's crazy fun here, good food and drinks, and lots of sights to see.  If you like backpacking, there's a ton of mountains to go hike too.  Well that's about it, until we meet again my chingoos (friends), love and miss y'all.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

~JK

First night out in Seoul

     Twas a fun night folks.  My friend Jeff, who I've known since 3rd grade, came up to Seoul from Busan for the weekend.  We went out to Hongdae, which is basically just street after street full of street vendors selling clothes, food, and bars.  We sat down for some coffee before we went out to eat.  One thing about Koreans you need to know is that they love to eat and drink while doing it.  We went to a Korean barbecue place and had ourselves some derricious pork accompanied by a couple bottles of soju and 20 oz beers.  The grate we grilled on had a groove in it that went all the way around on the outer edge which is used to put this egg, scallion, and kimchi mixture in.  It's called Gae-ran Jjim, yummy.  After becoming sufficiently tipsy and full, we headed to our next stop.  It was a really dark cafe/bar, really similar to Hugo's.  The ambience was great, only lit by candles.  We ordered a bottle of rose scented/flavored soju and I ordered myself an IPA.  The soju was out of this world, tasted like nothing I've ever had, magnifique!

IPA, this one's for you Ross!

What you know about that rose soju, hater?

  By this time, we were plenty intoxicated, but in true Korean fashion we soldiered on to our next destination to imbibe.  By the way, pretty much all the places we went to had food for you to order so you could eat while drinking.  We walked into an old cabin looking tavern.  Ordered a couple bottles of traditional Korean rice wine called Makkoli along with an order of seafood pancakes.

Makkoli out of tin bowls and seafood pancakes!

  My favorite part of the night was talking with Jeff in Korean since we both kind of suck at it...well him more than me, but you know what I mean.  Surprisingly Jeff's Korean isn't as bad as I thought it would be, it was quite entertaining.  By this point I'm feeling REALLY good, but we stopped at another place.  This place had privacy curtains for each booth where customers sat.  We ordered a pitcher of strawberry soju with a bowl of fruit as our anju (food you eat while drinking, kind of like bar nuts, but better :)).

Pitcher of soju

Big ass bowl of fruit and ice water

Doneskis.

     While drinking we longed for the company of some ladies, so we were prompted to shout "Agassi!" (means something like hey girl) in hopes of attracting some girls to join us.  Didn't work lol.  Drunken jackassery, but I was enjoying myself so I didn't care. Along the way we met a couple of Norwegian chicks and Jeff tried to get them to join us.  They declined but said we should go to the club they were headed to.  I didn't care, I kinda just wanted to drink, ya know?   Seeing that Jeff and I are both Asian, we have an intrinsic love for karaoke.  So what kind of night would it be if we didn't stop by a noraebang (karaoke room, in Korea, you and your guests get your own private room.  Baller status, I know ;) )?  In all of our drunken glory and shamelessness, Jeff and I proceeded to belt out some of our Korean favorites.  To end the night we got some street food.  Fried food dipped in spicy red rice cake sauce and odeng (fish cakes and broth).  We parted ways as I got into a cab for a 20 minute ride home.  By far the most fun night I've had since I've been in Korea but there's no way I could do it all the time.  Maybe if it was less intense and I had more friends in the city to do it with.  Anyway, it's nice to have  a friend from back home here in the same country to meet up like this.  Thank you, Jeff, for my first hangover in a couple of months!  Below is just a shot of what the streets in the part of Hongdae we were in looked like and some other randoms.  Nothing too exciting besides that.  I'm really missing Christmas in Arkansas and I wish I could fly back just for the holidays but as you already know, I can't :(  Have fun for me guys, wish I could be there.  Until next time my Fayettevillains, love and miss y'all.

          ~JK

                                                    

                                                          Crowded streets of Hongdae.

Eating street food with noona.

Dinner with my student.  Spicy chicken with melted cheese and gaeran jjim.  He threw up after we ate because it was too spicy lol.

Downtown Gangnam in Seoul.

Oh, the holidays

     Since my head is all over the place these days, I mistakenly thought that the Thanksgiving lunch I signed up to go to was on Sunday when in fact it was on Saturday.  Damn, Life-1 John-0.  To add insult to injury, all my Craigs are back home for the holidays and instead of going out with them, I'm by myself in this damn coffee shop again.  Maybe I should stop using the internet and seeing whatever everyone else is doing, maybe that'll help with me wanting to be back home for the holidays.  Probably not.  Technology-1 John-0.  As I have found out, it's kind of hard trying to make friends at my age here unless you're introduced by someone.  Thankfully I have my extended family to break the monotonous routine I've developed here but I need some social interaction.  I'm not much of a club guy, in fact I don't really like going to clubs.  I'd rather sit down with people and have beers.  Good luck with that John, most places here are clubs.  Korea-1 John-0.  Do you see a trend here?  I'd love to be in Brewskis or Smoke & Barrel right about now.
     If anyone's wanting to come see me, July is the month to come and here's why.  I met a German pastor through one of my aunts.  He's going to be back in Germany to visit his family in July and offered to let me use his house for the entire month and said it was ok if I had company over.  The government provided the house so it's nice and spacious with multiple levels and it's in one of the busy districts in Seoul so it's really close to a lot of places that people my age enjoy going to.  It also happens to be one of the areas that is densely populated by foreigners.  So yes, come visit your favorite Gyopo (Korean foreigner) in Korea and you'll have free housing in July.
     Aside from my complaining about being bored and lonely, it's really not that bad.  I'm enjoying taking the subway and wandering around the city, headphones blasting.  It would just be nice if I could have someone to share it with.  I started working out since my military stuff is resolved so that should help pass the time.  Work at the hagwon has picked up this next month since all the kids are out for winter break.  Instead of playing and enjoying their break, kids here study over the break.  WTF.  Whatever, it's more money for me.  12 hour days, here I come.  I was offered another part-time position, which will be my 3rd job.  I reluctantly accepted and was before I knew that I was going to be working all day at the hagwon.  I'm thinking about calling and backing out.  Although it's nice to work and the money isn't bad either, I'll be working 6 days/week.  I didn't come to Korea to work, I came back to make a little money before I start my military duty, in addition to soaking in my surroundings.  Would it be shady for me to back out after I took the job already?  I haven't had a problem finding a job thus far due to my Engrish skrillz but because of my personality I consider other people's needs before mine.  I've been told that I need to change that train of thinking because people here are a little more selfish.  Some people have even gone as far as to call me naive lol.  Screw it, I'm quitting.  Another thing, I feel like I'm wasting my engineering degree just sitting here for 2 years and not being able to practice anything.  To be honest, if you gave me a chemical engineering problem right now to solve, I guarantee you I won't be able to solve it.  Well, not really, but you get the idea.  I need something that's more intellectually stimulating, teaching English is almost mindless work for me.  I've been keeping up with advances in the field that I'll be pursuing when I get back to the states, but man, guess I need another hobby?  I might post on a forum or craigslist looking for musicians to play with.  Fun, right?  Let's hope it works.
    The subways here are pretty interesting.  Some days I find myself falling in love multiple times within minutes just from the sheer amount of pretty girls here.  That's pretty shallow, I know, but can you blame me?  You have to be here to believe it.  Aside from pretty girls, there are really loud foreigners that make scenes, people stinking of garlic or kimchi, and old people that just fart indiscriminately.  Man, I can't wait to be old so I can fart whenever I wanted.  I digress.  I've lost sight of what I wanted to say in this post.  I fail.  Blog-1 John-0  I like kimchi? -_-
    Oh yeah, the title of this post is the holidays.  Blog-2 John-0.  Dad is going back to Arkansas sometime near Christmas time so that leaves me with my grandparents here.  Boo.  I would come back with him but I can't since I've committed to the military duty already.  They'll think I'm trying to avoid duty by leaving the country so it's impossible for me to leave now.  FML.  Hopefully I get my vacation days soon after I start my government work.  When it happens, plan on seeing this beautiful, Korean man back in the states, OK?  Miss and love y'all, stay lovely.
~JK outskis

P.S. Thank you for putting up with my bitchassness, it is appreciated ^_^

I'll be home for Christmas...

     NOT... :(  I miss the lights up on Fayetteville Square but I'll survive.  What have I been up to lately?  Well...I'm currently working 2 part-time jobs teaching the beautiful Engrish language and possibly picking up a 3rd to fill in the extra days I'm not working, but probably not.  Commuting 1.5 hours to work and back gets a little tiring after a full day.  I recently picked up a private student who happens to be 37 years old (it's true when they say that Asians look younger than they are, I thought she was around her late 20's, early 30's when I first met her) on Mon/Wed.  She also happens to be the person I bought my hipster canvas bag from lol.  I've been enjoying our sessions, which we have at this neat little 4 story coffee shop.  Since we've gotten to know each other better, I feel more comfortable talking with her.  She's quite hilarious and helps me with my horrible Korean.  She teased me about how funny it is to read my texts and told me it was cute lol.  My other student that I teach on Fridays is leaving for Canada in January.  He's going to have a pretty rough time living there, especially at his level of English.  He's a good kid, but he tends to slack a little bit when it comes to English, haha.  Last week we went to eat dinner in the Gangnam area of Seoul at a sushi restaurant.  It was so cool because they had a conveyor belt with plates of sushi so that you could pick what you wanted to eat.  When you were done, they count up the plates you ate and calculate the price based on the color of the plates.  Derrrrricious.  The total only came out to only a little under $30 each, which is retarded cheap compared to sushi back in the states.  We had 16 plates total and I was completely stuffed.  Other than that, I've been drowning my boredom in music and TV shows.
     I visited my uncle in the southern part of Seoul and got to see his photography studio.  He does baby photos, starting from when the mother has the preggers tummy all the way through a year after birth.  The studio had lots of natural lighting and the props and backdrops they had setup for photo shoots were really relaxing.  I'd almost live there if I could pay rent, haha.  Nothing too exciting has happened yet but Jeff is coming to Seoul in December so I'm going to meet up and finally have some proper drinks.  It's crazy since I've known him since 2nd grade and now we're living in the same foreign country.
     In other news, Razorbacks are #3 baby!  Damn sad that I'm not in Fayetteville to revel in the joy with the rest of Hog nation but I'm doing my part by spreading the word here in Seoul whenever people ask me where I'm from!  I've been missing that good ol' Southern cooking, especially Penguin Ed's...geeez, though I've had lots of good Korean food so I can't complain.  I haven't been able to cook much since it's kind of hard to find the ingredients that are readily accessible back in the states so that'll have to wait until my mom gets here so I can make her go find them for me ^_^  Not much else to talk about at the moment.  I'm sitting in the same coffee place where I teach noona (means older sister, term of endearment) and enjoying a nice iced coffee.  As usual, enjoy the photos below.  I miss and love y'all, don't forget about me ;)
~JK

P.S Almost forgot, my last physical for the military is tomorrow and I'm more than certain that I'll be placed in a government job, starting sometime in March or April after I go through basic training, yeeee!

Kalgooksoo with clams with grandparents, uncle, and pops.

Sushi with my student.  I'm still in awe of the conveyor belt lol.

French toast squares and coffee during my last session with noona.

She bought me dinner after our lesson.  Spicy seafood soup and octopus lettuce wraps, yummy.

Goodbye officer, hello government dog

    So yesterday I did my 2nd physical exam and failed as expected, so I'm going to be placed in a government position instead of going to the military, but I'll still have to go through boot camp which will be fun.  I have to go back for a 3rd exam just as formality but I'm pretty much set for the rest of my stay here in ze motherland.  Work-wise, I'm applying to other hagwons as the place I'm currently teaching at has a deficiency in student count...aka less money for me to make.  I'll still teach there since the director is a good guy, but I need more things to do to fill in my time the rest of the week.  I'm still waiting for my cousin to take her college entrance exam, which is in about 10 days.  I've been staying out and wandering the city by my lonesome for the majority of the days I'm not working.  There's something tranquil about wandering even though you're blasting music through your headphones and the surroundings are so hectic.  Thank you Blackmill, I'm glad I found your music ^_^.  Oh, I got some good news from Pittsburgh about my deferment.  They said that they could keep my case open until Fall 2013 but I won't be back until 2014.  I asked if I needed to retake the GRE but I don't and in the worse case scenario, I would just have to reapply and I'm pretty much back into the program.  That's one load off my mind, WIN.
    So my only student at the hagwon, Sung Min Kim, is a fun kid to be around.  To start our little sessions, I always find a friend on Skype to call so that he can practice his conversational skills.  It's quite a sight to watch because he's so nervous and awkward about talking to strangers.  I tell him that he needs to get used to it because that's what he'll have to do once he gets to Canada.  I do understand it is a little awkward talking to someone through video chatting if you don't know them but it's all in good fun :)  Anyway, recently he told the director that coming to the hagwon was getting too tiring for him and he never feels up to learning when he gets there (he has a 2 hour commute from his house) so he proposed a different way to conduct our sessions.  He would take me to fun places all over Seoul every time we would meet and just hang out and speak in English the whole time.  I definitely agreed because I don't have a travel partner and this would be a good way for me to see parts of the city I wouldn't normally have a chance to.  We had our first outing last Friday and it was fun.  We went to a ward called "Gyeong Buk Gung," which is an area known for the palace and museum where kings used to live.  As you might have guessed, such an area is usually populated heavily by tourists.  There weren't too many people from the US but a ton from different parts of Asia and Europe.  After seeing the sights there, we headed off to "Insa dong" (dong is Korean for district).  It was filled with foreigners and lots of restaurants and street vendors.  Sung Min and I stopped for lunch in a dumpling house, yummmm.  We walked some more around the city and just chatted until our time was up.
    That's about how I've been spending my time here so far.  Drinking with my uncle, teaching kids, touring, eating, and working out.  I can't wait for some friends to come visit me so I can show them around.  WinCraig is coming in the summer for a month and by then I'll be living in the house my parents would've built this upcoming winter.  We apparently own a lot of land here so we'll be moving out from my grandparent's house as soon as my mom gets here, sometime in January at the earliest.  I can't take the confrontations my grandma and dad have with the tenants that live below us.  I'm telling you angry, old Korean women scare me more than angry black girls (NO RACIAL).  For serial.  Also the little punks that come around the house at night and are rowdy as hell, one of these nights I'm going to go down there and give a major ass whoopin' to those kids.  They said they come here because they didn't want to bother their sleeping parents.  Are you serious, kid?  So you're going to come around my house and act like jackasses?  Don't think so scooter, get the hell out.  Anyway, I'm out, love you and miss you guys.  Pics from my trip with my student are down below.

Art gallery at the Gyeong Buk Gung palace subway exit.

National Folk Museum by the palace

The courtyard of Gyeong Buk Gung palace

Just inside the entrance to the palace

Yeeee, I R AZN

2 story pavilion in the middle of what used to be a lake.  It was used to entertain foreign dignitaries.

This made me want to go fishing.  I miss Beaver Dam.

View of the palace from the outside

King Se Jong, the man who invented Hangul(written Korean)

Some baller with a big sword.

Insa dong

Food

I forgot what this was called but these guys stretch hardened honey into 16,000 strips using the same method as making handmade noodles.  They use cornstarch to prevent the honey from sticking.  I bought the one with the walnut and chocolate filling.  Derrrrricious and it used to be what the kings used to have for dessert.

A month in...

It’s been about a month now since I’ve been in Korea and I can say it’s been surreal.  I’ve acclimated quite well into society but I still feel as though I’m an outsider.  I look the same and I speak the language but man, I still feel like an American lol.  I’ve limited my English speaking to just Skype sessions, Facebook, and my occasional phone calls (yay international calling plans).  Work is going well, although I just lost one student because he wasn't improving fast enough for his mother's taste.  The director of the hagwon told me that the mother thought I had no business teaching English writing to her child, haha!  For one, he never came to class having completed the assignments I gave him and there is only so much I can teach him, after that, it's all up to him to practice on his own time for better results.  The director said not to worry and that most parents act that way.  He's been so understanding of my situation and has tried to accommodate me by creating classes that I would be able to teach comfortably, even with my Korean deficiency.  

            In other news, I won’t be going into the military as an officer anymore.  I found out that an officer serves an extra year in the military so I see no point in me staying here any longer than I have to just to have that on my resume or having a nice fat paycheck.  Instead, I’m going to fail my physical for the 2^nd time (I’ve been working out still but I haven’t changed my diet up at all) and as a result will be placed in a boring government desk job that counts as my 2-year military duty.  The best thing about this is that I will have plenty of time to make a decision about what I’m going to pursue when I get back to the states (engineering or medical school).  I’ll also be able to study at my leisure and take all the tests I want to prepare as well as getting paid by the government, of course.  I should be going in to have my follow up physical in a week or two.  

            I have yet to make any new friends but hopefully I won’t have to wait much longer.  My mom is trying to get a hold of one of my old classmates from when I went to school here back in 3^rd and 4^th grade.  Her name is Seon Young Ahn, she grew up in Guam so she speaks plenty of English and I’m anxious to see her again.  We were pretty good friends back then.  Also, my cousin, Hee Jung (Angela), is about to take her college entrance exam for a performing arts school in two and a half weeks.  After that, she promised to hang out and take me around the city.  Until then, I’m left to my own devices.  My guitar numbs the boredom, for the most part, and thank the Lord that Sidereel.com updates shows right after they’re aired.  I’m typing this entry in Microsoft Word in a bakery/café in Apgujeong, a ward in Seoul that is known for its’ affluent residents and trends in fashion.  Bunch of bourgeois people strutting their money around, pffffft.  Anyway, I think I’ve outstayed my welcome in the shop, been here almost 2 hours lol.  By the way, if you have the new updated iOS5 for your iPhone and have my new Korean number (01054606806), you should text me (iMessage is free international texts if the person you're texting has the latest update too.  Instead of the phone number you can also use their apple id email to text) if you get bored because...I'm bored ^-^  As for pictures, I've posted an album of pics from when I went to the Korean War Memorial on Facebook as well as some other random ones I've taken since then.  As always, miss and love y'all like this much <-----------------------------------------------------------------------------> x 1 billion.  

P.S. I've started to look for neat little souvenir/gifts for all of you so if you want, send me your address by text/email/facebook and maybe you'll find a little JK love in the mailbox one of these days.  I've already sent out my first one to BockelCraig today.  Enjoy!

~JK

A night with uncle...

I think the person most excited to see me here in Korea, besides my grandma and my dad, is my uncle.  He calls me his favorite nephew and said that he wanted to do all the things he couldn't do for me the 20 something years we've been apart.  So last night we went to go shop for groceries to grill at his place for dinner and drink.  The quality of beef at the market was remarkable, the marbling on the meat was similar to what Kobe beef looked like...yummy!  The store we went to is called "E-Mart" and had 5 or 6 levels with escalators taking you from one floor to the next.  The first floor had the groceries and as you ascend to the higher levels there were things like appliances, clothes, a food court, makeup, etc.  You hear that?  It's the sound of my mind being blown.  Anyway, after we got all the groceries we picked up some alcohol for the night.  I was so happy to see that they had a section for foreign beers and liquor :)  My uncle asked if I've ever had Hennesy but I told him that it was always too expensive for us to go buy so he got me a bottle of that and a couple of beers, Kostritzer to be exact.  The shopping carts were designed so that they locked into place on the escalators to prevent them from rolling down the slope, awesome!  We picked up some ice cream for the girls and were off to the house.  

     I was surprised to see how nice the apartments in Korea were these days.  My uncle's place looked like a penthouse you would see in New York.  Spacious and all modern appliances.  I entertained the girls until we were ready to grill.  Now grilling in Korea means using like a flat top griddle or something similar and then cooking the meat at the table along with onions and garlic.  Then you wrap it in leafy lettuce, cabbage, or some kind of vegetable along with hot peppers and chili or soy bean paste.  We started with a couple of glasses of the Hennesy and let me tell you, that stuff is delicious and smooth!  Then we shared a bottle of Soju, kind of like a rice liquor similar to sake.  We finished the night off with a couple of the beers we picked up.  Since we were eating as we drank, I wasn't too intoxicated which is always a plus.  We had some nice dinner conversation and then went to bed soon after.  Good night ^-^

    This morning I went to eat this soup that people usually have after they drink the night before.  It was similar to menudo that Mexican people eat except it had bean sprouts and veggies along with the expected organs and stomach.  Don't hate, it was delicious and super spicy.  I got home around 1:30 pm which is about 20 minutes later than I usually leave the house for work so I changed in less than a minute and was off to the subway.  My teaching job here is pretty easy for me.  Not much to prepare and I mostly cater to the student's needs and level of proficiency so the book that I was given to teach out of is just a reference tool for material.  For my English conversation student, I Skyped Rob Adelman as he was the only one up back in the states since the difference is 4 hours behind me and opposite time of the day.  The student was really shy and was anxious to be speaking to an English speaking stranger.  He was amazed with Skype but I also got the feeling he appreciated my unconventional methods of teaching.  I'm sitting here now, pecking away at this entry while my writing student is working on the essay prompt I gave him.  I'm awesome.  Anyway, more pictures:

Grilling some duck, hater, what you know about that?  It had a smokiness to it, almost tasted like bacon too.

Escalator in the "E-Mart"

Thank you trade for foreign beers!

Drankin' that Hennesy and grilling' meats!

Baby cousin. 'Nuff said.

The driving range from my uncle's apartment.  

Hangover soup with rice.

Kimbop (rice wrapped in seaweed with filling).  This is not traditional kimbop but it's sold in the convenience stores here as a quick snack for students who go to their after school study programs.  My conversation student bought one for each of us to snack on as we walked back to the hagwon.  What a nice kid :)

Fish Market Goodness!

    What was supposed to be an afternoon lunch turned into a whole day affair...thank you Seoul traffic, you may be worse than New York's.  My uncle, grandparents, and I left around 1 pm and got to the fish market around 3:30.  I was blown away when we got there.  It was about half a mile to 3/4 of a mile long stretch of straight fish mongers and shops setup in a long line.  Everyone there had ridiculous amounts of fish for sale, almost all still alive in the tanks.  There were sea scallops the size of filet mignon medallions, 2+lb alaskan king crabs, shrimp, and of course tons of fresh fish.  They have a service there where you pick the fish and whatever else you want to eat and then for a small service fee, they take your food to one of the neighboring restaurants and prepare your meal.  My uncle and I each got a whole king crab to eat and my grandparents got the Korean version of a red snapper prepared as fresh sashimi to eat.  It was all so delicious.  They also prepared a fish stew with the leftover bones with meat on them called "Maewoon Tang."  It was so much food, all I could do was just sit there in a food drunken stupor.  My uncle's kids and wife came as well so it was fun.  The youngest one, Yeh Won, is sooo cute!
    After dinner, we went to a district of Seoul called Yonsang, which is known for its' electronics and video game shops.  We made a stop there to get the girls a Nintendo Wii.  I played with Yeh Won while we were waiting for the guy to setup all the stuff for the games.  She found my making goofy faces too funny and proceeded to shower me with love.  Yeaaaaus!  I couldn't get a picture with her because she was worn out and fell asleep in the car.  By the time we got home, it was around 8:20 pm.  A little ridiculous for what was supposed to be a lunch trip don't you think?  Before we left the fish market we bought some more live squid to eat tomorrow, winning!  Having family here to take care of me and hang out with is great, it's like I've known them my whole life.  Well, I actually have, just haven't been able to see them or be around them like this.  But I also miss my "family" back in the states, no one could replace you guys.  The only reason I've been able to stay so strong throughout this transition is because I think of you guys all the time.  Skype and Kakao Talk also help a little :)  I've been texting my 20 year old cousin in Korean to practice writing and my speech has improved a lot since I landed here.  Thank you, Lord, for technology and all of its' bounty!  Anyway here come the pictures, enjoy and until next time, stay funky. ^_^

Fish mongers on both sides as far as the eye could see.

Where we picked out our crabs and fish.  Just look at all that!

Yummy feeeeesh.  Just waiting to be devoured :)

Where we got our food prepared.  Most traditional restaurants in Korea have floor seating like this.  They give you mats to sit on.  It takes a little getting used to.

A little appetizer to stimulate the palate.  I forgot what it was called but it tasted fresh lol.

My uncle and I were ready to dominate some crab.  There's also a little bit of the sashimi I was eating before they hauled the crabs out.  The girl there is Yae Ji, the older of the two girls.

Pure domination.  Take that crustacean! /flex

Maewoon Tang.  That broth is derricious.

Goodbye fish market, until we meet again!

Adjusting to life in Korea

    It's been almost 2 weeks since I've landed in this country.  Damn those 2 weeks went by fast, mostly because I was being dragged around all over Seoul running errands and doing interviews.  Speaking of interviews...here's how my Air Force officer test/interview went.  Apparently I didn't understand the scope of this whole experience because when I arrived at the shuttle site to be picked up, I was the only one not dressed in a suit lol.  Total jackassery.  The test and interviewing would take all day.  The essay portion of the test, which included translating a passage and the essay prompt in Korean to English and eventually writing an essay, started at 9 am.  Now, the only Korean I'm able to speak is because my mom emphasized that not forgetting my native language was important.  Outside of the house I never had an opportunity to speak it to anyone else or in any scholarly capacity.  All the Korean used in the testing phases were academic Korean, as in "hard as hell for a southern boy from Arkansas."  I took out bits and pieces I could recognize and wrote to the best of my knowledge lol.  The listening part of the test I breezed through, thank you Amurrica.  We were served lunch at the academy's cafeteria around noon and then the afternoon portion of the tests began.  By the way, the total applicant pool was 87 and they only pick 20 (the biggest pool they've had in a long time).
    The afternoon test consisted of listening to a passage in Korean and then interpreting on the spot into English and then vice versa.  All of this in front of three Air Force officers that speak both languages damn fluently.  To say the least, I choked hardcore and felt embarrassed.  I walked out feeling defeated.  At least the hard part was over with, all that was left were the two interviews, one in English and one in Korean.  The Korean interview was conducted by a 1 star general in the Air Force.  He was surprised that I could speak as much Korean as I did during the interview after finding out that I'd lived in the states for over 20 years.  I tripped over words in Korean during my interview but whatever, I had nothing to lose at that point.  The English interview was super easy, it was with a Colonel from the USAF.  Afterwards, I went and picked up my confiscated cell phone (not really, they just collected everyone's when we got to the base) and went home with my dad.  For the next 2 hours on the way home, I felt like a complete and utter failure.  I didn't know why I was going through all this trouble, breaking my ass traveling to these bases and subjecting myself to humiliation like this.  I've never had to face much failure in life but I am familiar with its' bitter taste and in that moment, I missed home the most I've ever missed it...EVER.  I wanted to drop everything and just come back but I knew that wasn't going to happen or be possible anyway so I snapped myself out of the bitch moment and realized I couldn't let failure or the fear of failure impede my journey.  Fuck you, failure!
    When we got home, my dad told me that the Marines had called him to make sure that I wanted to come and do the whole test/interview thing for them so I could go in as an interpreting officer.  My dad told them my whole situation about not being able to speak Korean all that well yet but they assured him that I'd be able to get in with no hassle.  That was some good news and it cheered me up a little bit...let's just hope they weren't blowing smoke up our asses.  I also have an interview with the Navy lined up as well next month so all hope is not lost.  Anyway, that was the biggest thing that's happened to me while I've been in Korea besides my new teaching job at an after school test prep center, similar to the Kaplan classes you can take in the states, called a "hagwon."  I'm teaching English writing, note taking(outlining), summarizing, and all that good stuff.  I've had to write my share of papers, scholarly and not during my engineering days, so this is no hassle at all for me.  As long as I can help some poor Korean student learn Engrish so he can do well on his tests, I'll be a happy camper.  Oh yeah, I met my two cousins that I hadn't seen since I was here in 3rd grade.  20 and 23 years old, the younger one is going to take me out once she's done with her college entrance exam.  The older sister is already married and is pregnant!  I also met my other uncle's kids who are 5 and 7 years old (met them the first night I was in Korea).  Adorable little girls but I prefer the younger one since she likes me more haha.  After we ate dinner out at a restaurant one night, my uncle asked the young one if she wanted to be held by me and she just shook her head yes and just latched onto me like a koala bear.  She's so cute!  She even fell asleep in my arms on the car ride home.  Pictures of them to come.
     Anyway,  I've got some more food pics for you peoples!  I know you enjoy these.  Other than that...I still miss seeing your faces but it's all good because we got Kakao Talk!  If you don't have it (*cough..Camille..cough*) yet, it's FREE.99...that means FREE for people who think that means .99 cents (*cough..Camille..cough*).  Just like What'sApp but I like it better.  Free international texts, send videos, voice notes, pics, group chats.  My id is johnkim1987 on it so add me.  So until next time my Craigs, I love y'all! (gotta keep it Southern)

Oh, BTW...I had an interview with another hagwon today in the neighborhood where my parents first met and bought our first house when I was a baby.  Three guys, all spoke English very well, noticed my Southern accent.  That made me happy.  I can't notice it when I speak but I guess it's really true, once you get that twang, you can't get rid of it.  It comes out one way or another, sober or not :)

Fruit vendor right outside of the house.  Someone I know would enjoy this place.

Bunch of street side stores ranging from eats to produce/meat/fish to clothes and other randoms.

Monk fish with prawns and bean sprouts (super spicy)

They apparently take rice and mix with the rest of the sauce that comes with the monk fish.  It's derricious.

Pretty little walking path by the bike trail.  10 minutes from the house.

Eating some chicken wings (they served them with a pair of gloves so you don't get your fingers dirty lol) at the mall (it was 7 or 8 stories!).  The food court here is nothing like you'll see in the states.  

Lunch with grandma at the mall.  It's called Bibim Naeng Myun which is just buckwheat noodles mixed with veggies and sesame oil in red chili paste.  Topped with sesame seeds and a boiled egg.

Lunch with dad in the neighborhood where my parents first lived when my mom was pregnant with moi.  Spicy seafood soft tofu soup.  It always tastes better when it's scalding hot :)