Japan is Delicious

They're next door neighbors.

Over Korean Thanksgiving we hopped on a ferry from Busan to Fukuoka, Japan.  We were only there for two and a half days and stayed in the city, so I only experienced a tiny corner of Japan.  From what I can tell in that short trip is that Japan has some of the best food anybody will ever eat!  There isn't anything really special to do in Fukuoka except eat and drink, and we over indulged in both areas.  Actually, besides a large sitting Buddha and a couple hours at the beach, I can only remember eating and drinking.

You think you've eaten ramen.  Back in those days when you were a poor alcoholic in college most of your meals consisted of a 27 cent package of ramen and a can of Natural Light.  Then you graduate from school, earn some money, and never look back at those boxes of ramen that could feed you for a week.  Well it turns out Fukuoka is the ramen capital of the entire freaking world and their ramen costs about nine dollars for a whole meal of it.  If you know how to use a calculator that's over a 3,000% increase in price!  Also, that's about how much better it is.  Don't ask me how they do it, but best ramen I've ever had in life: check.

Caroline slurps her ramen.

Next thing we ate was sushi.  I know you've probably already thought about how the best sushi is in Japan because it originates from there and all that.  So it's not a crazy concept that Japan has the best sushi in the world, but it's hard to imagine just how ridiculously good it is.  It was like the first time I heard the sweet sounds of Led Zeppelin, I couldn't believe something could be that good!  I will never forget the first sushi I ate in Japan.  It was simply a piece of salmon, some wasabi, and a ball of rice that I picked off a conveyer belt.  Sushi will never be the same to me.  From now on I'm that annoying guy that states how the sushi is not as good as the sushi I ate in Japan that one time.  Best sushi ever: check.

There's heaven on that plate.

The last thing we had to try in Fukuoka was to eat at a yatai, or a mobile food stall.  As the sun goes down these food stalls start setting up near the river and in downtown.  It features a cook surrounded by about a dozen stools and a bar that wraps around the grill.  It's kind of like one of those restaurants in America where they cook the food in front of you but it's outside and much smaller.  When we found out the cook did tempura we had him deep fry everything he had.  We actually ate all of his mushrooms.  It was addicting!  It was like someone spiked the oil with crack.  Then the cook put a pot of saki on the grill and served it to us hot.  Let me highly recommend that.  The best food stall I have ever eaten at: check.

Yatai!

The Master

Happy Customers

Good stuff right there.

Japan was a great visit but its only downfall is that it's damn expensive.  You could easily blow hundreds of dollars in a weekend without doing anything very extravagant.  I will be back so I can at least taste that sushi one more time, but it's best to visit Japan in small doses.  Unless you look in your bathroom and your toilet is made of gold, just visit Japan for a few days at a time.  However, arguably the best food I've eaten in Asia: check.

More pictures from Fukuoka to feast your eyes on:

Difficult Decisions for an Expat

So I'm back in America for a few weeks and I'm really happy to be here.  Before landing in Kansas City I got the privilege of stopping in two of America's best cities, San Francisco and Denver.  South Korea's cities are decidedly ugly.  The rest of South Korea is beautiful but the cities look like someone glued Legos to a landscape painting.  It's just row after row of white 18 story apartment blocks.  I understand South Korea has a high population density and needs to build upwards, but the rectangular communist uniformity of the building architecture is unimaginative and boring.  So it was a relief to see the wonderful architecture of San Francisco and the wide open spaces with the Rocky Mountains in the background in Denver.  Furthermore, it's great to eat Western food again, understand what people are saying, think logically, and reunite with friends and family.

Hooray Gwangju!  Because it's all the same type!

Anyway, this is not a love letter to America but about the decisions to leave it.  So after a few weeks visit home, I'm moving back to South Korea to teach for another year.  The hardest part about the life of an expat is not learning a new language or realizing that the new currency isn't monopoly money, but the hardest part is saying goodbye to your homeland.  The thing is that teaching abroad is a commitment.  Most good teaching jobs require a year long contract.  So that means you'll miss weddings, reunions, connections with friends, tailgating, and anything else that happens in a year.  So after two years abroad, why am I insane enough to put myself through saying goodbye again?

1.  Escape - A friend of mine once said that most expats are running from something, looking for something, or a combination of the both.  I've made a nice little scale to help you get the idea of what I mean.

Reasons most people become an expat.

Most people are somewhere in the middle of the scale, but there are those who are at either extreme.  (You know who you are creepies.)  When I decided to move to China in 2009 I was more on the "running away" side of the scale.  After I graduated college I had a full time job with benefits, an apartment, a truck, and a girlfriend.  I suddenly realized I was in the beginning stages of settling down.  Life was becoming too routine and I was too young.  I clearly wasn't ready for it and that's when I had what many people call a quarter life crisis.  The best cure was to travel.  After a year in China I hopped over to the "looking for something" side of the scale.  I didn't feel like I got all I wanted from China because I lived in a crappy area and China had it's problems that led to stress.  (Overpopulation, pollution, low quality of life, bad internet, low pay, babies pooping on the street.)  I stilled seriously enjoyed my time there but I needed to look for something that would be an upgrade in living conditions.  Answer: South Korea.  I love living in South Korea and found all I was looking for.  So why renew for another year?

2.) Travel - So I know living abroad seems like traveling, but it's really only traveling for a little bit at the beginning.  Then you get settled, start working regularly, and it becomes a home away from home.  However, I discovered another way to travel while living abroad: backpacking.  Backpacking involves putting everything into a large backpack, traveling all over by bus and train, and staying in cheap accommodation like hostels.  In my opinion it's the cheapest and most fun way to travel.  I've done the backpacking thing over winter breaks, but only for a few weeks each time.  So while I was in Malaysia last winter I spent a night talking to some guys who were in the middle of a year long backpacking journey.  The next day I was flying back to South Korea when it hit me like a predator drone: I want to go backpacking for an extended vacation!  I don't have the money now, but this next year in South Korea all of my focus is on traveling after my contract ends in August 2012.  I'm going to try to stretch my savings for at least 300 days.  So far I'm planning on going to Nepal, India, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.  The good thing about backpacking is that I don't have to plan too far ahead!

Put it on your back!

3.) Anxiety - So I've explained how I jumped over to the "looking for something" side of the scale, but I'm still doing a little running away.  Truth is that I'm in no hurry to move back to America.  I'm afraid of looking for a job in America.  The economy and job market sucks.  I'm afraid of not finding something for a long time and I'm afraid of getting a job that I will hate.  So instead I'm going to delay my inevitable return for almost two more years.  I'm going to save money doing something I like and then use those savings to accomplish a dream.  It's a difficult decision, but I can't think of another time in my life I'll be able to do something like this.

Amazing Sand Art in Busan

Last month we went on an extended weekend to South Korea's second largest city Busan.  The main attraction in Busan is Haeundae Beach.  It's a long strip of sand that separates the city from the ocean.  At any time there are thousands of people testing the limits of personal space on the beach.  There was a plethora of activity when we were there, but luckily it wasn't as bad as the picture below.  Yeah, that's what happens when it's peak beach season in Korea.  

The Sea of Humanity

When we went some of the activities included a sand volleyball tournament, parades with robots, an unexpected air show, sand surfing, and most importantly, meals that featured Mexican food.  However, the main attraction was the Haeundae Sand Festival.  Slogans included "Experience Sand", "Feel Sand", and "Enjoy Sand."  I made sure to do all three those things and I also checked out the amazing sand art.  So I thought I would post some pictures of the sand art that I found most impressive.

Our theme for the festival: Fairy tales.

Sand Castles: A Classic

The Sword in the Stone

Rapunzel

An artist at work.

 

 

 

Look at the attention to detail on the b-b-b....back fins.  I mean back fins.

Dragon!

Represent Kansas!

Also, this picture of a child swimming in a bow tie and a pirate ship.

And my first experience in sand boarding!  Kowabunga!

Head Butts and Licking: Korean Bullfighting

There are no men in sparkling tight pants and pointy hats here.  There's no dance of the man versus the beast.  In Korea it's just hardcore bull on bull action.  Every Saturday in the medium sized city of Jinju, South Korea, bulls go at it in the Jinju Bullfighting Stadium.  Last month we decided to see what this Korean bullfighting was all about.

The first thing that I want to say is that a bull is a large animal.  In my experience I have only seen bulls on TV or from a car window while cruising past farms on the interstate.  When we arrived at the bullfighting stadium there were dozens of bulls hanging out in their respective pens on the side of the parking lot.  We decided to size up the competition and took a stroll down the line of bulls.  The first thing I noticed is that a bull is the size of a small truck.  I mean this literally because there were small trucks parked next to the pens and the bulls were the same size.  The bulls are also exploding with muscles.  The entire cast of the first Predator movie can fit all their muscles in to one bull.  A bull's head is the size of a keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon.  Then somebody (Jesus? Satan?) decided to stick sharp horns on top of all that strength and power.  I decided that a bull is a frightening animal, especially when you see one foaming at the mouth.  Then we pet one.

"Good bull.  Gooood bull."

The stadium is a pretty good size with a ring of dirt in the middle.  There was one section of about a hundred 50-60 year old men who were obviously throwing down money on their favorites.  We sat and waited until two men walked in to the ring pulling bulls by ropes wrapped around the ring in the bull's nose.  We didn't really know what to expect at this point except that bulls weren't probably going to hug.  The handlers pulled the bulls heads close to each other and the bulls immediately bumped skulls.  Then the handlers let the ropes go to let the bulls go at it.  What ensues is a lot of pushing and bashing heads between the two bulls.  The first round went on for a while and the match didn't end until one of the bulls threw in the towel, turned, and ran away. 

Place your bets.

 After watching several matches we pretty much understood how the operation worked.  First is that the whole thing is pleasantly humane.  As far as Korea goes these animals are well fed and well treated.  It's not a death match because it ends when one of the bulls decides enough is enough.  The handlers want them to fight but they don't force it.  There were several times when the handlers pulled the bulls' heads close to each other and the bulls weren't having any of it.  Once one of the bulls lovingly started licking the other bull on the face.  In these cases the match is called without a winner.  However, some of the bulls knew exactly what to do and went at it like a couple of gladiators.  So I would say that compared to their Spanish counterparts, the bulls that die a very stabby death, the Korean bulls have a pretty cushy life.  Go bulls!

The Lineup

Bring in the contestants.

Let them go!

Get it on!

Commence the head butting.

Green Tea Fields Forever

This is the land of festivals.  They're beloved events and there's a festival for something every week.  If it exists then there's a chance that there's a festival for it.  A celebration for kimchi or strawberries or butterflies or clams or sting rays or masks or a change in the tide.  South Korea could have a festival for festivals.  Why not?

So festivals are great right?  Fun in the outdoors.  A cause for celebration.  Good food and maybe some rides.  However, my experiences with festivals in South Korea have not been great.  First the grounds are filled with tents that are selling crap that has nothing to do with the theme.  This mostly consists of unidentifiable barrels of food.  Or kitchenware that will "change" the way you look at the world of cooking.  Second there are way too many Koreans there.  For example, Korea recently had a famous festival in a province next to ours that featured the cherry blossoms.  Millions of Koreans go there each year to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom.  However, the cherry blossoms are in full bloom all over the country.  In my city there were tons of beautiful cherry blossoms everywhere!  So I didn't feel the need to take a 3.5 hour bus ride to see the same thing that I could take pictures of across the street.  However, Koreans do not have the same mentality.  Which brings me to my last point of the festivals just being pointless.  We made the mistake of going to the strawberry festival sometime last April.  When we heard about it we thought that we could grab some baskets and fill them with freshly picked strawberries with our own hands.  Then we could hang around and enjoy the many delights that strawberries have to offer.  Instead we got a bunch of worthless tents, and there was a backhoe actually doing work in the middle of the festival grounds, and there was the world's scariest petting zoo.  There was one cage that housed two rabbits, a tortoise, an anxious skunk, and the world's saddest monkey.  Did I mention they were all in one cage?  Needless to say it was not strawberry fields forever.

When the Green Tea Festival rolled around I was understandably skeptical.  The three or four festivals I had been to before were major failures.  However, I had heard of the famous green tea fields of Boseong several times and thought I would at least give it a chance.  It turned out to be a great choice!  The tea fields were beautiful and the congregation of tents weren't too annoying.  We were also serenaded by a band and got to pick our own tea leaves.  As a lover of green tea it was a great experience.  My sister and a friend were here visiting all the way from Kansas City and they were also very impressed.  Perhaps my view of Korean festivals could change after all.  Pictures!!!

Green tea is cool.

Brian displays the proper to way to pick green tea.  Make sure it's green.

Then bang a giant drum when you finish your pickin'.

Getting Drunk: A Korean Pastime

Ah, spring time in South Korea.

Last Sunday was a beautiful spring Sunday in Gwangju, South Korea.  We woke up and started the routine of curing our hangovers.  For me this usually involves drinking a liter of water, eating some fruit, eating some eggs, drinking some Gatorade, and then taking a long steam bath.  I'm mostly ready to go after this.  Then we met a friend for coffee and then met others for pizza in a park.  As the sun was setting, Caroline and I headed back to my apartment to relax and plan for the next day of school.  I had all the windows open because that's what one generally does on a nice spring day.  It was around 7pm, I was watching a show and Caroline was getting her lesson planning done, when all of a sudden right outside the living room window we hear, "BLAAAAAAAAH, SPLASH, cough-cough!"

Caroline: "WTF?"
Me: "Oh god, that's like right outside..."
Right Outside: "AAAAHH GAAA, cough, SPLASH, BLAAAAAAH, SPLASH, cough-cough."
Caroline: "Ugh!  That's vomitting!"
Me: "Ah dammit, I think so..."
Right Outside: "cough-cough-cough, B-BLAAAAAAH, SPLASH, cough-cough."
Caroline: "Aaaah!  Come on!"
Me: "When does it end?!"
Right Outside: "BLAAAAAH, SPLASH!"

This recent disruption of a pleasant spring evening with the close up sounds of vomit hitting the pavement got me thinking that there is a lot of pukin' going on in this country.  Then I thought about how there is a lot of drinkin' going on in this country.  Then I thought about how I do a lot of drinkin' in this country.  Then I thought I better write a blog post about it.

I've heard South Korea called the Ireland of Asia several times and for several reasons.  Geographically they are similar in size, surrounded by water, and split north and south.  Historically they have been picked on by powerful neighbors, aka England and Japan.  They also share a fondness for the drink.  When I lived in China, good bars to just sit and drink were few and far between.  Most Chinese drink in restaurants, karaoke buildings, or loud dance clubs.  However, South Korea has a plethora of pub, lounge, and dive bars to drink at.  There are probably over a hundred of these kind of bars with in a mile radius of my apartment.  (I live in a central location so that probably helps too.)  So first there are endless sources of alcohol from bars to stores and none of them really have a closing time.

Second, it's cheap.  The best bang for you buck is soju.  For just over $1.00 you can get a little bottle of this stuff.  It sort of tastes like a weak vodka and it's about 20% alcohol.  Koreans drink it on a fairly regular basis.  When out to dinner, they pour it for each other into small glasses.  If a drink is poured for you then you must drink it and then return the favor by pouring soju back in to your drinking buddy's glass.  This can happen as much as a couple dozen times in one night.  If you refuse the offer then you can lose a lot of respect and you can expect confused/angry glares in your future.  If you are a recovering alcoholic then I wouldn't recommend teaching in Korea.  If you're a budding alcoholic then teaching in Korea is a perfect fit.  Oh I joke, but seriously.

I suddenly crave soju.

Then there's the beer.  If you want to drink with out paying for imports then the selection is terrible.  Korea's so called national beers go from horrible to less horrible.  The big three are Cass, Hite, and OB Blue.  Of course this doesn't stop anyone from buying it.  You can get a 1.6 liter bottle for less than $5.00.  OB Blue is often my choice because I have rated it least horrible.  This country has a serious high quality beer market that is completely untapped (pun intended).  There's no telling what damage a Korean wheat beer or pale ale could do here.  Millions to be made!  I need investors!

The Usual Suspects

The Power of Beer!

  























Not only is alcohol cheap and readily available, but it is an intricate part of social interactions.  The before mentioned "pour for pour" technique is practiced mostly at business or co-worker meetings that take place right after work.  These meetings usually end with everyone getting a heavy buzz and going to a karaoke bar.  I've been lucky and have only been made to sing one Beatles song.  Other native English teachers have not been so lucky.  Furthermore, I can't tell you how many times I've walked down the street and seen middle aged men in suits stumbling around and hanging all over each other.  I also see 1-5 puddles of puke on my way to school everyday.  About ever other week I encounter a public urinal with vomit sitting in the base.  There should be a market for cute little vomit bags.  Hello Kitty Puke Pouch?  Girl's Generation Gag Bag?  I swear sometimes being in Korea is like living in a college town all over again.  Here are some pictures I didn't take but they are from Korea:

 

 Now if South Korea were to be offended by people posting pictures on the internet of their citizens passed out in public then they would pass some laws.  Apparently they don't really care because public intoxication and public drinking are no problem here.  Honestly, I enjoy the fact that South Korea loves drinking and has very relaxed laws about it.  Now don't get the wrong idea, South Korea is not full of alcoholics.  They work more hours than any other developed country in the world.  They are constantly under pressure to be the best in their studies or at work.  They have to obey anyone who is older than them.  So when they get the opportunity to unwind then they should be able to go all out and I don't blame them.

As you can imagine the life of a native English teacher in South Korea must also involve lots of drinking.  It's true.  I made a graph of how much I have drank since college began.  I divided it up by one year segments.  My freshman and sophomore year were about normal for an underage student that can only get their kicks from kegger parties.  Then the amount sky rocketed my junior year.  This included a combination of turning 21 years old, living in a house for the first time with my best friends, and a new shiny beer pong table.  Shenanigans!  Then the amount steadily decreases as I turn senior and super senior.  Then it plummets when I graduate, move to the suburbs of Kansas City, work forty hours a week, and become boring for a year.  The amount increases a little when I move to China for a year and then shoots back up when I move to South Korea.  So now it's like I'm back in my super senior days.

Teaching English in South Korea creates a little subculture that you become a part of.  The job is not very demanding and it pays well.  There are also hundreds like you in the same city.  However, when you are working you are surrounded by people that are nothing like you.  So when working is finished then you scramble to find the other westerners with the low demand/high paying jobs and it's time to hang out.  This is time that usually involves speaking a lot of English and drinking a form of alcohol.  You really enjoy this time outside work and so you do things like the Hash House Harriers (running and drinking), dinner parties (eating and drinking), baseball games (baseball and drinking), concerts (music and drinking), and then just drinking.  This has become pretty standard for most of us.  Hey we're just indulging in some Korean culture, so party on! Or as the Koreans say, "Gambae!"

Korean Art Work