16 DAYS - JOB

I rarely talk about it here, but I do actually work. Yes, I have a title. I am a teacher.

It should be ingrained by now. Save a few obvious contenders, "teacher" is by far the noun I hear most. If anything under the age of twelve needs my attention, there's a pretty good chance they're shouting "TEACHER. TEACHER. TEACHER." until I make some indication that I've heard their wolf cries.

I'm actually still Miss Handsome, or generally just, Handsome Teacher.

Of all the things I did not anticipate feeling at this point in the deal, it was missing children.

I've never been super attached to kids. The same goes for animals and pets, or really anything I am meant to take care of. I love a select few. The rest are nice, but really just ornaments on a tree full of complex, full-sized humans that I adore.

This past week as I took long draws at their faces from the front of the classroom, I realized I consider them my peers. I don't recall being too good at being a kid. Maybe I was in my head too much, stuck on my internal bantering or perhaps a bit too conceited to ponder the rest of the world.

Point blank - Children have taught me that I am not cool.

Now I sing songs, dance, do charades, laugh at myself, make funny faces, scream, shout, pout, take chances, fail and wiggle.

Yes, I am making a cliche point - Teaching is so rewarding. But 18 months ago I was lying in a bed considering if it was possible for me to stand up in front of a group of 12 children and lead some kind of discussion, and now I dance on stages in front of hundreds of people. Or maybe that just happened once.

So here's what I've learned: Life is a series of Whatevers.

These are my two favorite kids: Steve and Johnny. They were in a class together, but one of them moved. They are polite, focused, sincere and just hilarious. On the right is Bofill Teacher. He's been my foreign co-teacher since June. Before that it was Frederikson Teacher, and he's actually coming back in two weeks to take my job. I'm learning it's hard to stay out of this country once you've had a taste.

Here's to teaching -
For inviting children into my life.
For paying me the big bucks.
For giving me confidence and forcing me to ACT A FOOL.

17 DAYS - GAMJATANG (감자탕)

After bean balls , my next deathbed request is gamjatang. Gamja means potato, but this is actually pork bone soup.

The vertebrae are separated into pieces with the meat still attached and then heated with vegetables in a hot pot. The pork spine can be brought into a smaller bowl in front of you, and chopsticks or tongs can be used to remove the meat. With enough staring, it might be possible to will the meat off - It's that tender.

A special bin is placed on the table for disposing the inedible bits.  After that, you pour a few ladles of vegetables and broth atop the meat and EAT.

What's absolutely dangerous about this meal is that many gamjatang restaurants are open 24/7.

Since we've already discussed my deathbed requests, I might as well throw this out there:
In my next life I'd like to have a stomach and metabolism system equipped to devour one of these alone.

 

Here's to gamjatang -

For your hearty, spicy, delectable taste.

And for answering my late night calls.

18 DAYS - CHERRY BLOSSOMS

They come in April; they leave in April. Catch 'em quick.

Here's to cherry blossoms -
For representing spring.
For being simply glorious.

19 DAYS - CHRIS

Chris' favorite phrase:

YEAH, WELL, __________________  POOP. Fill in the blank with anything you can think of.

When learning about different kinds of sentences:

Tell me a declarative sentence.
You are stupid.
Okay. And an exclamatory sentence.
You are REALLY stupid!
...And an interrogative sentence.
Why are you so stupid?
And how about an imperative sentence?
Stop being so stupid.

Touche, little man. Touche.

This is actually a really terrible representation of this kid. Chris is very smart, super smart, and there is no denying that he is aware.

My pathetic bantering is no fun. He wants to talk about aerospace and history. I can't hold these conversations in my own language. Sorry, pal. Let's read "The Twits" and be on with it.

Here's to Chris-
For making me laugh.
For testing my patience.
For sky rocketing me head first into the mind of an exceptionally intelligent 12-year-old boy.

20 DAYS - BON CHON

At any given time during a Korean meal it can be assumed that there are a lot of bowls on the table. The small bowls are called bon chon, or Korean side dishes. The most common, of course, is kimchi.

This is my own theory, but bon chon works as a concept in Korea because meals are family style. You order for the group and therefore nobody needs their own plate space.You have your chopsticks and you simply pick around the table, shoveling tiny pieces of goodness into your mouth.

Bon chon make it easy to try new things. You don't order bon chon. You order something else, and then anywhere from 3-10 side dishes arrive for "free." Bon chon are also bottomless.

My favorite is standard kimchi. I also like gamja jorim (braised potatoes), seasame leaf kimchi, cucumber kimchi, bean sprouts and the various mushrooms. Bon chon have also conveniently let me try larvae, octopus and an uncountable amount of unnameable, questionable foods.

Here's to bon chon -
For larvae.
For making it normal to reach across all my neighbors for a bite of food.
For securing the fact that I'll get my hand swatted in America for sticking my fork in someone else's meal.

21 DAYS - DAMYANG DINNERS

My friend, Ryan, on Damyang Dinners:

"You ladies don't just have a normal girls night where you snack on chocolate and talk about boys. You have a wine and food massacre and things just get ridiculous."

DAMYANG // OCTOBER 2011

DAMYANG // FEBRUARY 2012

Damyang is a town 20 minutes outside of Gwangju, and Katie has an apartment there. We refer to her house as the winter cabin, because once you've arrived, there's no easy access back into the city until the morning. In addition to your ingredients, if you're going to Katie's you bring your toothbrush and your sweatpants.

We cook a lot. We eat a lot. We drink a lot. We talk a lot. We laugh a lot.

Her apartment is also about seven times the size of just about everyone else's. She has two bedrooms, two beds, two fridges, two kitchen tables, two washing machines and so much floor space. Her kitchen has an open landscape and allows for multiple hands to get messy.

And remember those soups I mentioned? Yeah. YUM.

22 DAYS - BOOZE IN A BAG

Because cups are over rated.

SEOUL // DECEMBER 2012

Here's to booze in a bag -
For being un-classy and spill-proof.