The Visitors from CO!

It took me a while, but I am finally going to tell you about my when my family visited in October. There is much to tell, but I will try to keep it short and give you the highlights. It is official to say that my family has the "travel bug" so I was excited when they told Danny and I they wanted to see what living in Korea was all about. My dad, mom, Abby (sister), Albert (brother-in-law), and Clark (my new nephew) spent about 9 days with Danny and I, living in our 300 square foot apartment, and tried not to admit that they loved the hard mattresses and the one bathroom that we all got to share. A slice of paradise, right here in Korea!

I was particularly excited because this visit would be the first time Danny and I got to meet our new nephew, Clark. We saw him many times on Skype, but there is no way to really be absorbed in his cuteness over the internet. This was our first meeting, and you can tell that Aunt Katy is already a favorite of Clarks, even though Uncle Danny and him had awesome matching hats. (Danny why do you gotta scare babies all the time? ; )

Our apartment is definitely NOT made for 6 adults but we made it work. Clark even got to enjoy leisurly baths in our sink!

Danny and I had taken the week off from work so we tried to cram in as many things as possible with my family. One thing that I really loved was sharing different Korean foods with them and seeing how they liked jimdak, dak albi, shabu shabu, toast, and all the sweet breads they can eat! I am quite impressed with how well they did... well really I'm impressed at how well my Mom did! She made sure to get a picture of her eating so she had proof that she ate Korean food with the best of them. Here she is eating jimdak:

Already being a foreigner in Korea gets you some glances, but let me tell you that having my sister here made us unstoppable. I think it is easy to say that the 6 of us easily blew some Korean minds that week: One tall white guy, 2 blondes, one half asian baby, and Danny and I. You may wonder, "Aren't you forgetting someone?" I am not mentioning Albert, my Chinese brother-in-law, in the crowd of foreigners because he was constantly thought to be a Korean! After about a day, Albert had to memorize the line, "Hangook saram ani aeyo." (which means "I'm not Korean.")

Abby probably got the most attention that week since she was the one carrying Clark most of the time. Who knew that a pretty girl, who is blonde, and who is carrying an adorable baby is the perfect trifecta to draw Korean women from miles around? Really, Drew Barrymore or Nicole Kidman couldn't have done any better.

The "famous" Andong Mask Festival was ending the first weekend the fam arrived so we got to take them and show them a real slice of Korea.

At any festival or event there are always mascot characters walking around. These mascots represent the "traditional Korean" and the "salted mackerel guy" (yes they has mascots for salted fish). For some reason they loved Abby and wouldn't let go of her for a while. It was the first time that I saw her "mama bear" instincts come in and I saw her go from "Haha, this is funny!" to "If you don't let go of me and my child soon, I'm going to deck you!"

At the festival, Danny finally found someone to enjoy bundaegi with him (thanks Albert), which is boiled silkworm larvae. Yuck. They taste just about at bad as they smell and yet somehow Koreans love them! Danny had 3, Albert had 2, Abby and I had 1, and the rest of the cup went to a very pleased old Korean man who started chowing down when we offered them to him. Needless to say, my mom tried none.
Of course, Danny had to pose with Curious George at the festival and try to "outcute" all the other Korean kids... I say he was successful.

One day during the week, we went on a drive to find an "artist colony". It was nice to have a rented van so we could explore a little bit and we found this beautiful lake on our way.

Both of us have missed our family a lot, so it was so great just to be together... now we just have to get the rest of our family out to visit!
Although this isn't really a highlight, I wanted to make sure and show the insane Korean spiders that my family got to see. Huge spider webs are all over, but I think Korea is full of radioactive or mutant spiders because I've never seen them this big! It really was a fear of mine that I would walk through one of these spiders webs because I was sure that they would have a swarm of their friends come attack me, and although spidey-senses would be cool, I like myself the way I am.

The guys found some entertainment for a while seeing how close they could get to the spiders and as you can see they all walked away feeling like men being that not one girly scream came from them. Good job boys.

After driving for a while, we found the artist colony was definitely a bust. There was no art, no colony, and really no one to be seen. We joke that my dad like to go out of his way to take us to non-tourist attractions, where "Ta DA!" there is nothing to see, but it was a beautiful day so this time it wasn't so bad. ; )

Throughout the week we also went to the largest Buddhist temple in Korea, a ceramics village, an apple winery, Emart (twice), a Korean scholar colony, and a bakery about 2 times a day.

Although, it doesn't look it from the good-looking family above, I think we all needed a vacation from our vacation after we were done.

Wait, quick note, did I mention that my nephew is adorable? Ok, I will admit it, I did stay up nights thinking about how I could keep him when Abby and Albert went back to Colorado, but it was no use. Apparently mothers have some sort of obsession about being in the same country as their children. (Do you note the disdain?)
Well, all in all, it was a great time but we had to say goodbye. The family went back to the land of ovens, Chipotle, and shower stalls and Danny and I had to stay in the land of squid jerky, NO BURRITOS, and bbq dog. Oh well. If any other family reads this: please come and visit and YOU TOO can tour crazy Korea!

Dr. Fish Tickles

Now many of are familiar with getting pedicures and exfoliating you feet, but this takes it to a new level. Dr. Fish is one of those experiences that you might say, "only in Asia". I actually think many people might make that "Eeewwwwee" face if they saw this in America. Basically, what you do is you stick your feet in a pool full of little fish and watch as they nibble the dead skin right off. Yeah, that sounds nice right? Right. The funny thing is, though, that if you are even remotely ticklish and the occasional giggle escapes from you when a HUMAN is rubbing your feet, imagine how hundreds of tiny fish feel. Let me show you...


Exibit A: Danny. I knew he makes halarious faces when his feet are being tickled, but the silent scream that came from his mouth as he put his feet in the pool was priceless. Suprisingly, it doesn't hurt to have fish eating skin from your feet, it kind of feels like a mixture between little tiny electric pulses and a massaging machine.
The fish nibble until they find no more skin to eat. I think the funniest feeling is to have little fish swimming in between you toes. Only in Asia.

Exibit B: Dad. His face is also priceless and even though you can't tell, this is his second time doing this! This fun activity was done with my parents when they came out to visit in October (Also my sister, brother-in-law, and adorable nephew Clark Kent came as well). I have many things to share about their trip out here but I thought Dr. Fish would be a good way to start. Koreans are interesting because they like to combine strange things sometimes. Eating dog OBVIOUSLY needs to happen in the summer, taking your shoes off and eating at a restaurant matches perfectly, and flesh eating fish naturally fit with drinking coffee! All you have to do is go to a Coffe Namu in Gangnam, Seoul, order a latte and enjoy a fish pedicure. Perfect! What a way to start your day!


There are actually 2 pools that you can use. There are small fish and then there are the BIG fish. The big fish are about 3-4 inches and they have a stronger nibble for sure (it still doesn't hurt but it does make you more aware that fish are sucking on your toes). My dad said it was best to start small and then go big, but I might say mix and match a bit. Start small, then go big, then go back to small for dessert. The fish will enjoy the feast no matter how you do it.

My feet really did feel smoother when I was done, I got to drink a delicious smoothie, and I got a good laugh from the whole experience, so I might have to insist that America NEEDS to adopt Dr. Fish. No matter what, if you are in Asia, you MUST make this a part of your trip because even though you are leaving a part of your feet behind, you are taking with you some good memories!

Farming in Korea

I didn't think that when I came to Korea I would be getting some farming lessons, but there we were, farming sweet potatoes with one of Danny's coteachers. Danny's teacher who they call "White" took us two weeks ago to his house to gather the crop. I have never farmed sweet potatoes so I didn't really know what I was doing, and I found out some interesting things: Did you know potatoes grow in the ground?! Who knew? (Well probably a lot of people, and I kinda knew but I had never participated in digging them OUT of the ground.) Koreans are ALL about health so just about everyone has some sort of garden or farm, and it's cool because most everything in Korea could be called "organic".

Mr. Lee, Danny's coteacher, gave us a shovel and told us to find some sweet potatoes (gogoomma). I like farming because it's almost like you are going on a treasure hunt, but instead of candy, you are finding delicious potatoes. (No there is nothing wrong with candy but if I had the choice between a lollipop and a potatoe, call me weird, but I would choose the potatoe!)

We got a TON of sweet potatoes, and Mr. Lee even gave us some eggplant and pumpkin. My coteacher supplied us with a ton of vegetables from her garden this summer, which was awesome, but it was still fun getting our hands dirty and finding those potatoes.

Being in Korea has been interesting for many ways, but one reason is that I have gotten to see food in a different way. Everywhere you go you see peppers or cabbage or rice or apples being grown and it makes you feel more connected in a way to the process. Being that I am an official "foodie" I think it has taken my love of food in a new direction. Right now it is rice and APPLE season. Yes, Danny, apples are EVERYWHERE! ; ) I think of all the farms, apple farms are my favorite. You see the trees decorated with the perfect, delicious fruit and if you are in the right place according to the breeze that day, you get to smell what I would consider one of the best smells on Earth. Take in a deep breath of heaven...ahhhhhh.

Another unique site is rice being harvested, which I had never witnessed before. The interesting thing about rice is that you need to let it dry out in the sun and what better place to do it than in the middle of the road!? Apparently this practice is illegal, but this fall I constantly had to take new paths due to all the rice drying on the road. I bet the Korean farmers are saying, "Asphalt is the best place because it is flat and warm, so BACK OFF! ...And don't ride your bike through my rice anymore!" Just kidding, I have never been mean enough to ride my bike on their rice, but I have considered it : ) So watch out if you are ever driving in Korea in the fall because around any corner could be a nice spread of rice... and apparently it is not free to anyone who drives by.

This picture has nothing to do with farming, but Mr. Lee took us to see this house on our way back from the farm. While historical sites are the same worldwide (boring) this one made me think that living in this old house wouldn't be that bad. Again, I say: Korea is beautiful!

Danny + Apples = Destiny!

This seems like some halarious joke that someone is playing on Danny. Despite his hate of eating a crisp, cold apple, Danny seems like he is is destined to be the posterboy for apples. So many strange apple experiences have happened here in Korea, and luckily we finally got to see the result of Danny's apple photoshoot. Ladies and Gentlemen, HERE IT IS...

Danny's on a TRUCK! AWESOME!!! Wow, he sure does look good if I say so myself, and so do the apples! ; ) I just need to carry my camera around with me at all times in case I see this fantastic truck rumble by. Maybe Danny can sign the truck, and we can sell it for money, and he will become rich because of his apple photos, and then we can buy all the apples we want in Korea, and THEN WE CAN RULE THE WORLD!!!! (Ok, sorry I got carried away again.) Well, it's just another day in Korea... more strange adventures to come!

Korea in the Fall ~ Sobaek Mountain

My last post had a lot of writing, sorry, so to balance that out, I thought I would show a lot of pictures this time. Today was the first truly chilly day, so I'm glad I'm doing this fall post before snow is on the ground. The more we are here, the more beautiful I think Korea is... especially in the fall.

Danny and I joined my co-teacher, Mrs. Byeon, and her family as they climbed Gungmangbong mountain in the Sobaek National Forest.

It was soo beautiful with all the trees changing, and I would have to say it is the most beautiful place I've been in Korea so far.

As we hiked to the peak, we saw a lot of these stone piles which is a common site in Korea. My co-teacher said that people pile the stones to represent prayers everytime they come to a place. I think it is mostly a Buddhist thing, but I think the balancing stones are really beautiful to look at all over Korean hiking trails.

This hike let us see tons of little waterfalls and red, yellow, orange, and green leaves everywhere.

This picture definitely solidifies that fall is my favorite season in Korea.

We stopped about a kilometer from the peak to have lunch and we ate the classic "picnic food" Kimbap. This is Korea's version of the california roll, and on this hike I discovered why people eat it so much. I had it before, many times, but never "go chu" style which means "red pepper". Spicy kimbap is definitely the way to go and it really does make an awesome snack.

The whole trail was next to a stream, and Danny got this awesome picture of water flowing down a huge rock covered in fallen leaves...beautiful.

As you can see, we were really happy to finally get to the top of the mountain. Gungmangbong Peak is only 4,662 ft high, but because we start at almost sea level and Korean mountains can be pretty steep, it was a tough hike.

Korea is about 70% mountains and we really got to see that once we reached the summit.

I like this picture. Danny looks like he is at the top of the world.

It's funny that in some ways, even though I come from the best state in the US, coming to Korea has made enjoy the outdoors more. (And it makes me miss Colorado even more because they look similar.) I hope I can just have a little more time before the dreaded Korean cold winter comes in full force. Well, if this past weekend happens to be the last nice one before the winter hits, it was a great way to spend the day!

The Craziest Day of Our Lives: Part II

I'm sorry that the second half of this post has taken me some time to do. We have had a lot going on here in Korea, like some of my awesome family visiting, and it has kept me from finishing the story. I'm excited, however, that today is finally the day and even though I am still struggling with the fact that I will never truly express the insanity that this day held, I will do my best and hopefully, at the very least, it will make you want to experience a Korean "hiking club" for yourself.

Danny's face says it all. Imagine what you feel like after you have hiked for a couple hours. We were tired and ready for a relaxing ride home in a train. Now imagine as you are about to board the train, you notice people loading equipment for what seems like a rock concert: a tv, keyboard, mics, large speakers, and more. Oh no. Danny and I boarded the train and knew that it was possible that our relaxing ride home on the train was slipping away... but we were hopeful still. The ride to the hike was strange, yes, we played some crazy games, yes, and we were force fed some shots, yes, but it was nothing we couldn't handle. But now the flood gates had opened!!

We were all getting sushi for supper on the train which we were excited about, but did you know that Koreans think that the best thing that goes with sushi is liquor? The plates of Korean sushi (or mostly sashimi) came out and so did the beer and Soju. Instantly, as you can see above, the "shy" Korean people got more lively and in the mood to party and oh, how they can party.

Then the music started playing. Not easy listening dinner music but Korean No-Rae-Bong. I didn't even know that karaoke on a train existed, but it does! The first guy up to the mic was the man who invited us in the first place, Mr. Kang. As you can see he wants to get this train off to a good start, so not even 5 minutes after we had left the station, Mr. Kang was putting his heart and soul into the song.

People weren't out of control, though as they ate their sushi, drank their beer, and listened to someone sing them a song... that didn't last long. The three of us, Danny, me and our friend Andrew were getting some good laughs at the situation, and people seemed to enjoy coming to "talk" to us so that was fun. Mind you I say "talk" because they speak Korean and we speak English so that hindered deep conversations, but there is one language Koreans speak that they believe crosses all barriers... beer. Every time someone would come to say hello, they thought that we looked like we needed more beer so all of a sudden it seemed like we had multiple bottles of Hite (awful Korean beer) and Soju each. They all wanted to do a round with us so they proceeded to pour us a glass and unfortunately it is rude to refuse a drink from a new person. (Again here is a disclaimer: we did not get drunk. Somehow, despite their efforts, we made it out in one piece.) Towards the end of the ride instead of chanting "GOMEBAY!" (which means "bottoms up!") with each new person who wanted to drink with us, we made up our own cheer... "HITE, CASS, MAX, CHUMBAWUMBA!!" Hite, Cass, and Max are all Korean brands of beer and we added the "Chumbawumba" part in hopes that the Koreans would think this was a popular phrase in America and spread it around the land. Soon most of the train was yelling our chant, but knowing their state, I don't think they will remember much anyways.

Now things are starting to get a little crazy. Each train member wanted to "get to know us more" by drinking with us and the sweet Korean people with their quiet ways seemed to vanish. The woman above looks innocent holding a beer and smiling for the camera, but she is really thinking, " Soon I am going to try to take the shirt off of your friend, and I will force feed you more Soju, AND I will grope your husbands leg while he is singing me a song." No joke. All those things happened and more. (Danny's face again says it all: I don't know what I'm doing here, I just wanted to hike!)
Two minutes later: Almost like a choreographed teen movie, all the 40 and 50 and 60 year old Koreans got up and started dancing uncontrollably in the aisles. Yeah, PARTY TRAIN! The music was bumpin', the dance floor was ragin', and all their little hiking bolo ties were bouncing merrily to the music.

Of course, we had to sing. There is no joining a hiking group and thinking you will only be hiking...NO! You must sing your way back to your home, and that is what we intended to do... even if it was by force. I chose "Dancing Queen" by Abba which was a hit, even if I did sound tone deaf. Danny chose the Beatles "Twist and Shout" which also got the people dancing much like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." Then came Andrew... the real dancing queen.

Andrew has a talent he hasn't shown many people outside of Korea: he can sing in Korean. This may sound like a small thing, but if you take a train, a mic, Andrew, a Korean pop song, and 60 drunk hikers, you've got a winning combination. The woman pictured above with Andrew was easily the most insane of all the people on the train. Also mild mannered looking, she packs a punch. If you could see into her mind at the moment, she would be thinking, "Soon I am going to dance crazily in the aisles and make Katy dance with me by force (pictured below). Then I am going to pull your heads back and pour shots of Soju down your throats and then slam the cup on the floor in triumph. Lastly, for my greatest plan, I am going to give Danny a lap dance while he cowers in the corner trying to escape." (Also all true events) She felt as though Andrew's song was the most beautiful thing she had ever heard and wanted to let him know it. I have never seen a woman hold a man so tight while her husband is toasting with more beer and laughing in the corner. Apparently her love for weygooks (foreigners) is not a problem : )

You may be thinking, "Hey, this sounds like fun!" and for a while it can be. However, when you realize that the train ride is over 3 hours long to get you to the safety of your own home, then you might rethink that. Amazingly enough, the scene kept getting crazier and crazier. We literally saw 4 men pick up a woman and throw he into another group of people. We also talked to a police officer about something while his hand seemed to have a mind of its own and searched for female bums to squeeze. All the while beer and Soju was flowing. The drinks were so plentiful that there were half empty bottles rolling around on the ground, spilling their contents all over the train, while men and women went into the "bottomless" cooler for fresh bottles. (Man, I felt sorry for whoever had to clean up that train.)

Occasionally we needed to sit down and rest during the 3 hour ride. Seems reasonable enough right? NOOO... the Koreans would have none of that. As soon as we tried to rest, one of us would be pulled out of our seat and forced to either dance, sing, or drink. Poor Andrew seemed like he got the worst, or the best attention from the Korean ladies. I love this series of pictures showing how desperately they wanted Andrew to dance with them, while Andrews face becomes just a blur of horror, anticipating what they will do to him next. Because of their eagerness to have us "enjoying ourselves", we found the only place to rest was the next car over. The blanket of sweet silence that covered us in that train for only a few moments was a welcome relief. Here you can see how one train can hold so many different scenes.

The next car over...

Our car...

We had never laughed so much in our lives and as the train pulled into the Andong station we felt a mix of sadness and utter relief. All that was left was a floor covered in sweat and alcohol, 60ish Koreans with hoarse voices from singing too loud, and this half eaten cucumber.

The last words we heard from the lady in orange who would have been crowned the "Party Train Queen" as she got into a cab were a very subdued, "Good Evening." A fitting end to a unbelievably, indescribable, and unforgettably chaotic experience. Good times.