This just made my day...

Ha ha ha... hee hee hee... gasp-sputter-chortle...

Hey, it's my country. What can I say? LOL

I'm back!!! Tips on How to be a Korean...

pic courtesy of icanhazcheeseburger.com

I'm finally up on my feet and dancing. Well not really dancing but I'm sniffle-cough-jaw pain-FREE! Woot! Thanks to all who logged in their best wishes for me, I truly appreciate it.

Coming back to blogging I have been pondering on lists lately. I love reading lists (also making them - Things to Do, Grocery Lists, Lists of People I Abhor, etc.) Here's one list I have thought of lately.

Tips on How to be a Korean

1. When you point at something on a piece of paper or on the blackboard, use your middle finger.

2. Eat ice cream outside in the dead of winter.


3. Wear T-shirts that has funny English on it.

4. When someone takes your picture, make a peace sign or put a finger on your cheek to show how cute you are.

5. When eating at a korean bossam (lettuce wrap) restaurant, try to make a bossam as big as a baseball and successfully put everything in your mouth and chew. Chew. Chew.

6. When you're eating and someone asks you a question, just shove the food on the side of your cheek and answer right away. Sometimes, let the other person see the food in your mouth while you talk.

7. In korean fast food restaurants, yell "YO-GI-YO!" as loud as you can to attract the adjuma waitresses' attention.

8. When you leave your apartment, try to slam the door as hard as you can. Do the same when you enter your apartment.

9. Whenever you greet anyone (on the street, in the office, in your home, etc.) make a half-bow and don't stop bowing until the other person does.

10. When you drive your car down the street, don't use any signal lights at all. Watch as pedestrians try to figure out where the heck you are going or turning.

Somebody put an end to my misery...

pic courtesy of icanhazcheeseburger.com

This is how I feel right now. No, I haven't gone out drinking (I haven't drank alcohol for years now). I just made the mistake of thinking I was well enough to go to a ceramic festival two cities away. I was fine for about a couple of hours until I got dizzy and nauseous.

I don't know what happened. Whether taking it was the week's worth of taking strong painkillers, or the fact that I drank several cups of coffee (it was the only hot beverage I can find in the place - I can't drink cold or tepid water, it hurts my sensitive jaw due to an infected sinus cavity) in a span of a couple of hours. As soon as we came home, my head was reeling and so was my tummy. It wasn't long when I started paying homage to the porcelain god in the bathroom.

But I really feel like crap, like that cat above. And I also feel like this...

After having caffeinated java after several years of decaf coffee and no caffeinated colas, drinking several cups of REAL coffee has left me wide-awake and exhausted. I hate being sick.

My unfortunate pachyderm experience...

I am well enough to post again but unfortunately I still have the dregs of the flu (inflammed sinuses + chronic upper jaw pain). You know what they say about laughter, it's the best medicine.


SCENE: One nice afternoon during a 3-day weekend. Park is full of kids and families enjoying the wonderful outdoors.

LOCATION: Children's Grand Park in Seoul, Korea



Me: Oh look, there are elephants! I have never seen elephants before.

Hubby: You've never seen elephants before?

Billy: I wanna see them but I don't wanna ride them.

ELEPHANT: (Whispering to his pachyderm pal on the left) I see another gullible family approaching us. Watch what I'll do to catch the mom.



Elephant Handler: C'mon feed the elephants, just a buck for a bag of carrots. Get your chance to feed the elephants!

Me: Oooh honey! We can feed the elephants. Lemme get a bag. (Hurries to buy a bag of cut up carrots).

Hubby: (rolls eyes and sighs).

ELEPHANT: Yeah lady, come and see if you can feed us. *Evil grin*



Me: I'm back with the carrots!

Hubby: Here Billy, now don't be afraid to give them the carrot.

Billy: Ok Dad!

ELEPHANT: Wait for it....



Billy: Here you go elephant!

ELEPHANT: Yeah kid give it here... Aaaa CHOO!

ME: (Mouth wide open while framing the shot... Elephant snot flies right in and lands inside the mouth) Acck! GASP, hack, sputter, cough.... (repeat)



Hubby: You okay honey?

Me: (wailing) The elephant sneezed and some of it landed in my mouth!!!!

ELEPHANT: Yes! Got one again



Hubby: (Trying hard not to laugh) You had elephant snot in your mouth???!!

Me: (still wailing and sputtering) Yeah! And it was salty!

Elephant: Told you I was gonna do something to the lady... (High-fives his fellow elephant)



Hubby: (turns away to hide his laughter) Maybe you will turn into a superhero. Remember Spiderman?

Billy: Cool!

Me: (still wailing and tries to scrub tongue with tissue) I've had strange things in my mouth but this is the weirdest!

*Note: Yes, we still bought more bags of carrots to feed the darn elephants. I even touched the trunk of one (no, not the one who sneezed on me). It was like touching a warm rubber hose covered with toothbrush bristles. Yes, I had to put up with elephant jokes for the rest of the day ... and trip from hubby and Billy. Aaargh!

One more for all the moms out there...

Thanks for sharing this one Glessie (3 years ago)...

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in their arms, wiping up barf laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry Kool-Aid saying, "It's okay honey, Mommy's here."

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who can't be comforted. This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors. And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars, so that when their kids asked, "Did you see me, Mom?" they could say, "Of course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world," and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained all about making babies. And for all the (grand)mothers who wanted to, but just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat. For all the mothers who read "Goodnight, Moon" twice a night for a year. And then read it again. "Just one more time ."

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice calls "Mom?" in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach aches assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the words to reach them.

This is for all the step-mothers who raised another woman's child or children, and gave their time, attention, and love... sometimes to tally unappreciated!

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway?

Is it patience?

Compassion?

Broad hips?

The ability to nurse a baby, cook dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?

Or is it in her heart?

Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M. to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...

And mature mothers learning to let go.

For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.

Single mothers and married mothers.

Mothers with money, mothers without. This is for you all. For all of us. Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can. Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.


"Home is what catches you when you fall - and we all fall."

Happy Mother's day!

Here's a funny and endearing piece on mothers. Again, I am playing hooky from my bed as my hubby and little one go out to Ichon City for some sightseeing and shopping (it's unfair for me to ask them to stay in with me when the day is bright and sunny outside).

So for all mothers out there. Here's a survey that will make you smile.

A Survey on Mothers

Answers given by elementary school-age children to the following questions:


Why do we have mothers?
1. She's the only one who knows where the scotch tape is.
2. Mostly to clean the house.
3. To help us out of there when we were getting born.



What ingredients are mothers made of?
1. Clouds and angel hair and everything nice in the world and one dab of mean.
2. They had to get their start from men's bones. Then they mostly use string, I think.



Why do you have your Mom and not some other mother?
1. We're related.
2. The doctor knew she likes me a lot more than other people's moms like me.



What kind of little girl was your Mom?
1. My Mom has always been my Mom and none of that other stuff.
2. I don't know because I wasn't there, but my guess would be pretty bossy.
3. They say she used to be nice.




What did Mom need to know about Dad before she married him?
1. His last name.
2. She had to know his background. Like is he a crook?
3. Does he make at least $800 a year? Did he say NO to drugs and YES to chores?



Why did your Mom marry your Dad?
1. My dad makes the best spaghetti in the world. And my Mom eats a lot.
2. She got too old to do anything else with him.
3. My grandma says that Mom didn't have her thinkingcap on.




Who's the boss at your house?
1. Mom doesn't want to be boss, but she has to because dad's such a goof ball.
2. Mom. You can tell by room inspection. She sees the stuff under the bed.
3. I guess Mom is, but only because she has a lot more to do than dad.




What's the difference between moms and dads?
1. Moms work at work & work at home, & dads just go to work at work.
2. Moms know how to talk to teachers without scaring them.
3. Dads are taller & stronger, but moms have all the real power cuz that's who you got to ask if you want to sleep over at your friend's.
4. Moms have magic; they make you feel better without medicine.



What does your Mom do in her spare time?
1. Mothers don't do spare time.
2. To hear her tell it, she pays bills all day long.



What would it take to make your Mom perfect?
1. On the inside she's already perfect. Outside, I think some kind of plastic surgery.
2. Diet. You know her hair. I'd diet, maybe blue.


If you could change one thing about your Mom, what would it be?
1. She has this weird thing about me keeping my room clean. I'd get rid of that.
2. I'd make my Mom smarter. Then she would know itwas my sister who did it and not me.
3. I would like for her to get rid of those invisible eyes on her back.

Breakfast in Bed

It's official, I have the flu. Readers viewing this post might want to spray their computer screens with Lysol before reading further. It sucks... the fever, the coughing, the hacking, the shivering and the oh-so-achy body parts. But what is great is that I get to spend the whole day and night in bed. And get served meals by my loving hubby.


This was my breakfast this morning when my fever broke and I finally got some of my apetite back. Green eggs and ham. Ooops sorry, wrong book. I meant eggs sunny-side up, American ham (the best!) and dry toast. All prepared with TLC by the best hubby in the world.


And here is sick 'ol me stuffing my face after a a couple of days of soup and toast.

Oh Crud....

Picture courtesy of Icanhascheezburger.com

Yeah, that's how I feel. Crud. I woke up with a scratchy throat, aching head and bloody nostrils. To top it all off, I keep sneezing (launching pea-sized pellets of bloody you-know-whats). It figures... after teaching sick, snotty hacking kids for two straight days now, I would end up with the @$#@#^%! germs too.

Don't get me wrong, I love my part-time jobs. There is a certain pleasure in teaching kids and watching them learn through your lesson. The downside is that here in Korea, parents send their sick kids to school. One time, when the chicken pox virus was rampant, letters were issued from the schools to beg parents to keep their pox-laden kids at home.

This unfortunately happen to me yesterday, one of my little girls had a fever, couldn't stop coughing and was really sick. AND HER PARENTS MADE HER GO TO MY CLASS. Geesh, I make Billy stay at home at the slightest hint of fever or tummy ache. So, I had to make my sick kid just rest in the class and not participate at all. I really feel so sorry for korean kids and how their parents push them so hard to study.

I guess my posts on the Children's Park and my unfortunate elephant incident must have to wait. I need to drag my sorry butt back to bed.

A week off and why...

I haven't posted for almost a week now and I will tell you why - we went to Seoul for vacation! Yup, there was a 3-day weekend last week (May 3 to May 5). May 5 was Children's Day in Korea and it is a holiday. Come to think of it, this coming weekend is a 3-day weekend too, with Monday (May 12) celebrating Buddha's Birthday.


Well back to why I was AWOL for a week. Last Saturday, we packed up and left for Seoul (we had tickets for the Iron Man movie and we were gearing up to watch it) and boarded the Dong Seoul bus (East Seoul). The bus to Seoul from Janghowon takes about an hour and a half of travel.


Billy usually chatters about the trip for about 10 minutes. Or we play games like "I-Spy" or "What am I Thinking About?". Then he asks for my MP3 and sits back to listen to it while we travel. He (and Jai) loves Smashmouth's Allstar song. He listens and bops his head to the music all the way to Seoul.



Bill does the same too (without the chattering and the games), with his MP3. He usually listens to Carole King and James Taylor songs. After awhile he falls asleep until I nudge him awake when we reach the terminal in Seoul.

When we reach COEX mall it was early enough to eat breakfast at McDonald's. The latter's breakfast menu is barely a year old (it was introduced last year). You can hear a lot of expats exclaiming "It's about time!". We had our usual sausage and egg + hashbrown breakfast. Billy loves hashbrowns that he gets two everytime. :)

Then it was time for our movie. We loaded up with popcorn, nachos and fizzy drinks. The Iron Man movie rocked and Robert Downey, Jr. plays Tony Stark/Iron Man so well. He is back in his game and if he doesn't mess up with drugs and booze, his career might be skyrocket again.

After the movie we set out to look for a hotel to stay in. We travelled a subway stop down COEX mall and found a strip of business hotels lining a street. The first one we chose was a bust. Their computer in the room didn't connect to the internet so they moved us to another room. It too, had a busted computer. :-S Sigh .... we let them try to work it out and they gave up. We got out money back and set out to find another hotel.

The next one, Sun Hotel, proved to be more promising. All the stuff in the room was working and in fine condition (not like the other hotel whose air con cover was falling off the unit). Plus, it had a super-sized jacuzzi tub that Billy played in twice a day for two days. :) So, we were all settled in.

The next days saw us visiting the Children's Grand Park (animal rides and zoo in all), play in the mall's arcades and window-shopping. We headed back to our tiny town of Janghowon on Monday and spent the rest of the day recuperating from our vacation. LOL

I'll post pics of our time in the Childen's Park in my next post and tell y'all about my unfortunate incident at the elephant ride. :(

Sportsfest at Billy's school

Yesterday, we went to Billy's school (Wondang Elementary School) to see him participate in their yearly sportsfest games. Since the school had a few students (less than 10 kids per grade, unlike Jai's previous school that had 30 kids in a class with several sections per grade), the games are mostly parlour games and group games. The entire school was divided into two team, Billy was on the ChungBan team. I forgot the other team's name.


Before all the activities began, Billy and all the kids had to do calistenics. Their teachers joined in with them.


All schools play this generic recording of a guy counting off the exercise moves to a march-like song. The tune is very catchy and the guy sounds like a military general counting off the moves.


Sometimes, I hear this recording played in supermarkets and I resist the urge to do jumping jacks and sit-ups. LOL




Here's Billy waiting for his turn in the 10-meter dash.


And off they go! Billy ran with three girls and was last when they started running. He overtook one girl and came in second at the last minute. He got a 2nd place stamp on his arm for that (which means he gets a prize later).


Next we had the long balloon relay. Groups of 3 would take this long balloon tube, run around a marker and come back to hand it to another group of 3.


Imagine my surprise when all the moms and dads were called in to join the fun. :) I asked Bill to take our pictures. You see me here with a yellow cap and a red tee-shirt.


Run Babylove run! Hubby took a video of me running with another mom with the balloon. WE won this game!


Next game was a relay where 6 people would stick one of their foot into a plastic holder and they were suppose to run at the same time. Here's Billy finishing with 5 other kids.


Here are the mom's turn. We tried our best but we didn't win this round. We played several more games like trying to make a huge balloon with this basketball size bed sheet. Or trying to get more color cards turn into our color by flipping them over (the team tries to flip them into their color). Another game was fighting over 5 seats and which team sits on most seats first.

Then we had to leave after lunch because hubby and I had teaching jobs at 2:00pm. It was a great day, even though we only got to be there for half of it.

Pa Jeon (Veggie Pancakes)

My brother's nickname is John and kids in our family would call him "Papa John or simply Pa John." Here in Korea, Papa John is the name of one of the best pizzas here and PaJon or Pa Jeon means vegetable pancake (or savory pancakes). Sorry, John. :)


Pajeon comes in numerous forms. It can be as simple as simply some leeks mixed with batter. Or it can come with lavish ingredients like sliced carrots, onions, mushrooms, zuchinni, etc. Others add seafood like oysters, squid, shrimp, etc. and call it Haemul Pajeon (Seafood Pancake).


Here's how you make Pajeon. Take a cup of korean pancake mix and add two tablespoons of Twikim Mix (Twikim means Tempura Batter).

If you don't have the mixes, simply combine 1 cup flour, 1 egg, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp sugar.


In this Pa Jeon I decided I will add squid. So if you want squid, just have your fish vendor clean, gut it and take out the ink sac and beak. Slice up your squid into 1 inch thin strips.


Now get your Pa, no not your father, but your spring onions. Pa means spring onions in Korean, hence the name Pa Jeon. Get it? Now wash and thoroughly clean your spring onions and cut into 2 inch pieces. I used half of this bundle.



For oomph and color I added half an onion and half a carrot. I julienned these thinly and added to my mix.



Now put everything in a large mixing bowl and dump about a cup and a half of water. If you think your batter is too watery, dump some more pancake powder in. If it is too thick, add a couple of tablespoons of water. Just eyeball it and gauge it. That's how I do it, I don't even bother to measure it out. Mix thoroughly and make sure everything is coated with batter.


Now heat up some oil in a pan, swirling the pan around to let it coat the bottom evenly. When it is nice and hot, add a ladleful of mix and spread it out evenly (using the bottom of your ladle -> I've seen adjumas do this).


When the edges are cooked, flip them over. Cook this side for over a minute and then just slide the pancake onto a plate. Continue cooking your pajeon until you use up all your batter mix. Serve hot with soy sauce as your dipping sauce.


Here's my plate of Pa Jeon. Hope you like my tutorial. Bon apetit!