Happy Hallowe'en

I've come to realize in the last few days that a lot of people don't know where Hallowe'en came from.  So here are some "FUN" FACTS for one and all:


1.  Hallowe'en is believed to have first orginated from the Celtic harvest festival Samhain, in Ireland. 
2.  Samhain represented the end of the season of light, and the beginning of the season of darkness.
3.  It was believed that the border between our world and the spririt world was at it's thinnest, resulting in visitations from spirits of both persuasions.  The harmful ones were warded off with carved Jack-o-lantern turnips and costumes that mimicked them.
4.  Bonfires are still considered a part of Hallowe'en in some places.
5.  Going door to door asking for candy is thought to have come from the practice of "souling" on November first, where poor people would beg for food in return for prayers for the dead (on All Saints Day).


Hallowe'en is a holiday that I always looked forward to as a kid.  I knew the family rules..  no witch, ghost, or devil costumes, but I was more interested in other things, anyway.
My mother was especially good at making costumes for us.  One year she made my sister into a blue jay, giant bird feet included.  She could hardly walk in it, but it won her first prize in her class.
Another time I had an interesting costume.. 
Here's a picture:

I'm the one on the bottom left in red and white.  I'm also facing backwards for some reason, so it's difficult to tell.  Can you guess?  No?  I was a tube of Colgate!  Why?  I have no idea!  I don't recall asking for this costume, but looking back it was pretty neat..  and also difficult to walk in due to the wire clothes hanger in the bottom of it.  I don't think I won a prize for this one, either.  That's my mother in the back.  She's the mime in black and white.

Even as an adult, I love dressing up on Hallowe'en.  It's still fun to dress up and be whatever you want to be for one evening.  And the candy helps.  This year is a wash because of it being on a Sunday night, but there's always next year!

Spooky!

Funny story about my husband's lab coat in this picture.  We got ready at my parent's house and he wanted to splash fake blood on the jacket (he was going to be a zombie doctor).  I told him that the only good place to do that would be in the shower or outside.  Since it was dark and cold outside, he chose the bathroom.  We were in a hurry so we ran out the door with the jacket still damp.  A little while later my mother called and said thanks for almost giving her a heart attack when she went to take a shower..  I can always count on him to forget little things like not leaving the bathroom looking like a crime scene!

What blood type are you?

Prepare to be asked this when you meet people in Korea. Everyone here knows what their blood type is and will be very confused if you say you don't know. I mean, WHY DON'T YOU KNOW??

hehe. I had to call my Dr's office and find out.

There is still a little bit of superstition surrounding blood types. I believe the practice originated in Japan but it has a firm holding in Korea as well. It is believed that your blood type controls your personality to some extent.

For example: I am "A". Therefore I am a worrier. I also let little things get under my skin. The smallest slight is not forgotten for a long time. I am conscientious and get easily stressed. But, I am also artistic and creative. I am shy and seek harmony with others.. preferring to avoid confrontations.
Whether this is all true.. well.. ok, most of it fits really really well. But I'm not saying I believe it!
As for my husband, he is a "B". B's are relaxed and go with the flow. They like adventure and are often travelers. They are ruled by their impulses, love to solve problems, and are specialists in what they do.
This kinda fits too. Hmm..

So, what are you??

Take me out to the ballgame!

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm not much of a baseball fan. I've visited the Skydome (sorry, Roger's Centre) in Toronto a couple times for games, but I found it lacklustre at best. The fans were bored, the seats were empty, and the game was uninteresting. So when my husband asked me if I wanted to go to a baseball game, I declined...
...
I got a look. It was a look of pure shock and horror that I would ever say no to such a thing. In fact, I got the exact same look from his brother when he repeated my answer to him. So my curiosity was peaked ever so slightly. Was this just because they are die-hard fans? Or am I missing something??

Well, to make a long story short, I agreed to go. We were armed with umbrellas to protect our delicate faces, whole roast chickens from a street vendor, and 1000 won kimbap rolls. We were ready. Except we weren't. We didn't have newspapers.

I was confused.

They were adamant about the newspapers. We had to search high and low for them. I suggested playing a Korean game instead of reading newspapers. This was rejected.
So, we got the newspapers and headed into the stadium. It filled up FAST. By the time the game was about to start, the place was packed. There wasn't even any standing room anymore. I was starting to feel excited.

So the newspapers: they shredded them and made pom-poms! And everyone had one :)

The game started and it was one of the best times I had in Korea. Everyone was dancing, shaking their pom-poms, and sing one of about 20 different songs and chants. It was FUN!

Most random part of the day: When the stadium staff handed out orange garbage bags, everyone immediately inflated them and put them on their heads. I'm not lying. It was the strangest thing ever. Suddenly I was in a sea of orange bags :)

I highly recommend going to a Giant's game in Busan. I've heard that it's not quite the same in the other cities. Let me know if it's just as good!

Galbi - Korean BBQ at it's best

I'm absolutely addicted to samgeopsal (pork belly bbq) but that's a story for a different day :)

I love these restaurants with the raised, heated floors. You can eat and chat for hours on end!
And the whole concept of cooking your own food is fun.. which I suppose you could do at home, but it just wouldn't be as fun now, would it?? And you and your friends can take turns cooking. Although, if you're invited out for dinner by a Korean, they will expect to do the cooking for you because you are their guest.

A tip for the kitchen: Having a pair of "kitchen" scissors kicking around is so handy! I use them for meat (as seen in the picture), or cutting up chives/green onions, cutting up gim (dried seaweed), etc! I don't know why we don't routinely use them in Canada!

But anyway! Back to the topic on hand.
Galbi is marinated beef ribs (apparently it can also be pork ribs, but I don't think that's as common). They are marinated in a soy sauce base with garlic and sugar and then grilled to delicious perfection.
One of the best parts is wrapping a piece of meat with rice and ssamjang (a sauce made from fermented bean paste and red pepper paste). Things tend to get very awkward at this point when you try to stuff it all in your mouth at the same time! :)

As you'll notice in the picture above, the people are not wearing shoes. Remember to take your shoes off either in the restaurant entranceway (they usually have cubbyholes for them), or before you step up into the eating area. At this particular restaurant, the shoes are tucked neatly under the doorway where you see my husband in purple standing.
It would be considered very impolite and embarrassing if you were to wear them into the dining area.

If you're out and about and looking for something to do, I highly recommend galbi bbq. Grab some friends and eat until you're stuffed! :)

This year I hate Christmas

The closer Christmas gets, the more I realize things about myself...

One, I'm a physical person. This one surprises me slightly. The reason it does is because I don't come across as a touchy type of person.. But I think that's because of our dogs. Whenever I want a hug or affection, I just call one of them (usually Charlie because he's so cuddly!). And considering I cuddled them the moment I woke up, random times during the day, and right before they went to sleep... then yes.. I must be a little deprived. It sucks. I cuddled a random puppy in a store the other day.. it was afraid of me, and I didn't care.. haha.
But yeah.. it totally sucks. This society is no-touch as well as whoa-touch. No-touch is self-explanatory.. whoa-touch means I constantly see guys holding hands, rubbing each others necks, etc. It was really disturbing at the beginning. And school girls walk around holding hands too. I think it's because they separate them in school at the age when they would start noticing the opposite sex... so their affections jump to same-sex for the time being. Lots of time for dating in the late 20's.. mann..

Also, I don't like thinking about Christmas because I've never ever imagined that I'd spend one away from home. It's saddening. I get a little more depressed everyday and I don't like it. I'm trying to keep positive, but so far it's hard. One good thing.. Eric is planning something for Christmas for me.. I have no idea what.. all he said is "I have a plan.." *wink wink* That could be anything on the planet. So I have one thing to look forward to.. oh, and the Christmas musical.. it's awesome. I've gone to all of their practices and it's hilarious. I'll tape it and send it.

Karaoke is EXACTLY like we thought

So karaoke.. we went on Sunday evening. Two hours for $10 (only $2 each!)

I wasn't sure if it would be different than the stereotypical karaoke room that you see on movies and such... wellllll... it was! BUT, they were all really surprised. Most of them are really modern, and we managed to find the sketchiest place in Nampo-dong. (hahaha) We even sent Eric upstairs to scope out the place before we went in.
It had the techno-disco-ball rotating on the ceiling, the leopard print sofas, tiny room.. oh man. GHETTO! But we had a great time. I think you'd love it. The more you dance around, the more fun everyone has. And because it was such a tiny room, we were pretty much bouncing off each other.. a five-person mosh pit. The guys had so much fun, that they want to go next Sunday.. and sing YMCA.. lol. (I informed them of the Village People's "status".. haha.. their expressions were priceless)

So you HAVE to try a karaoke room if you ever come here.. seriously. Much fun to be had.

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Btw.. keep these pics to family only (Show them, because I'm not getting much of a chance lately). I don't want any potential problems in case karaoke is considered a "bad thing" to do. Trying to make as few waves here as possible!

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The TV

The guys.. dancing.. lol

Eric LOVES to dance.. then again.. they all do. They know this dance by a Korean all-girls pop band.. it's called "Tell Me" and it's hilarious when 3 guys are doing it because of some very feminine moves.

The disco-globe.. much like the one Shane gave you.

Ghetto sofas!

Sell sell sell!

Korea is big on selling! Everyone must sell, sell, sell. They have interesting ways to advertise their products.. not that they seem to be very effective.. but hey!

One of the first things I noticed here were these little vans that drive around really slowly while the driver yells something in korean. "blah blah blah, hamnida... etc etc" (notice that I can't pick out very many words yet.. haha) Anyway, my sister and I thought it would be something interesting like government propoganda.. maybe against the North?? But alas.. it wasn't so. Apparently it's just a guy driving around droning an advertisement for a particular store or product. SIGH. And the worst part... NO ONE listens to him. So there's one method out the window.

Next.. I noticed that people are really really big on their business cards here. I've been handed several. Most in Korean. I usually nod politely and pretend to read it.. then smile at the giver and put it in my purse --> I read that this is the proper way to accept one.. and it seems to work! It would be extremely rude if you folded it up and stuck it in your pocket.. OR (heaven forbid) you threw it on the ground! Heathen! So then why, I asked myself, are there soooooo many business cards all over the ground?? The answer came to me the other day when I was walking to work. A man was driving a motorcycle towards me.. wearing a helmet with a black visor. This struck me as odd, because most people don't care about vehicle safety here. Then suddenly, he threw a business card at the nearest storefront. AH HA! More advertisements. I then saw an old lady sweeping them into the gutter. So again.. useless.

The last one is the most interesting. I heard this music that sounded like a musicbox tune coming from a motorbike being driven by a woman. She pulled right in front of me and stopped. "ANYONG!!!" Umm.. it wasn't a woman. It was a man.. dressed as a woman.. as a creeeeeepy woman, with a white grinning face. I kinda sideskirted him.. really fast. WELL, apparently it's yet another selling technique. If I had spoken to him, he would've tried to sell something to me. And yet again.. it didn't work on me!!

They need to figure out something that works!

Why do so many look the same?????

 When I was waiting around for 4 hours in Incheon airport in Seoul, I sat and watched the airline employees. Think that's weird? :P But anyway.. I think that airline attendants always look all pretty (or handsome) and polished.
Welllll.. the ones in Pearson have nothing on the ones in Incheon. They're all ladies. Very tall, slim, white-skinned, drop-dead gorgeous ladies. That look the same. Not just a little.. but almost like twins. At first it was interesting.. then I started to get a little weirded out. Do they have a factory where they churn out identical fllight attendants??

Well, my roommate informed me today that Korea is famous for plastic surgery. They get their eyes done first.. to look bigger and more "western". Then they get bigger noses, higher cheekbones, and shave down their jawbones. Can anyone say OW? And the result of all this surgery? The Korean version of the Stepford
wives...

Nothing wrong with looking beautiful.. but beauty is in the eye of the beholder.. not the latest model on the billboards. (This goes for North America too)