Supper Club

A few of us in the neighborhood decided to join a supper club.  The month of February was our first attempt at Supper Club.  There are four couples participating which is just the right number.  Each couple provides a dish.  Each couple will host the dinner every four months.

Last night was French night.

Arin and Cody had the soup and salad:  Mache, Endive or Roquette with a vinaigrette and Potato Leek Soup (a.k.a. Vichyssoise)

Josh and Kalie had the entree:  Coq Au Vin

Zach and I had the cheese course:  Baked Brie
Josh and Kalie provided the specialty drink but I can't remember what it was called.

Natalie and Tylor had the Dessert:  Chocolate Mousse

Everyone did such a good job because everything was soooooo delicious!!!!!!!!  We had a really great night!  Next month is our turn to host.  Though we haven't picked out the menu yet, I am already getting excited for next month!

Winter/Spring Break

It's been a while since my last post, so I thought that I should give you a small update.

First, I must say that all schools are different, even within Busan.  I am only speaking about my school and Zach's is basically the same.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, we had winter camp at the beginning of January.  During that time, the students were on Winter Break.  My camp ended on January 15th, and unlike Zach and many other friends I know, I did not have to go to school and desk warm.  My co-teacher let me stay at home and would lie on my behalf if someone noticed I was not there.  No one noticed....

I returned to school on January 29th (2 weeks later!).  The students come back for a total of 8 school days.  This is when graduation occurs.  My school calender says that commencement is on Feb 6/7.  There is no school on Friday, which is the beginning of Spring Break.  School resumes for a new school year on March 4th.

This weekend, Feb. 9-11, is the Lunar New Year.  It is one of the two big holidays in Korea.  For that weekend, Zach and I, along with two other couples are going to Seoul.  We don't really have any plans except to stay in a nice hotel and have access to the Executive Lounge.  On Monday, one of the couples has to return to Busan.  Four of us are going to stay in Seoul Monday night because on Tuesday, we are going to do a tour of the DMZ!!!!!  (Don't worry, I will have a post dedicated to the DMZ when we return.)

That Tuesday actually starts our 10-day vacation.  Zach and I are on vacation until Feb. 25th.  We are not traveling anywhere because we want to save money.  On Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day), Zach is getting his wisdom teeth removed.  Other than that, nothing exciting is planned.  Zach will continue to study Go/Baduk and go to the gym.  I will continue going to hot yoga.  I will not have to return to school during the last week of February.  My co-teacher is letting me have an "unofficial" vacation.  Zach, unfortunately has to desk warm for those four days.

Well, that's our update.  I am sooooooo excited for this upcoming weekend!!!!

Gourmet Ramen

The other day, my co-teacher invited me to lunch with her and her friend.  They took me to a place on the beach that I probably would never have gone in.  It wasn't a shady place, it just didn't look interesting and I honestly wouldn't have even noticed it except for my co-teacher pointing it out.

We sat down and my co-teacher and her friend ordered for us.  The food they brought out was a big pan with lots of vegetables and hot dogs.  A type of seasoned water was poured into the pan.  The waitress left and came back with a square of ramen noodles.  Ordering ramen noodles at a restaurant is not uncommon and I've done it several times.  I have just never had "gourmet" ramen before.  Haha!

"Gourmet" ramen - Budae Chigae (or Jjigae)

My co-teacher said that this dish was invented by American soldiers during the war.  I thought that was a neat story to share with my American family and friends.  However, after doing a little research, I have found that my co-teacher was not entirely correct about the origins of this soup.

The name of the dish is actually Budae Chigae (or Jjigae).  "Budae" means military base and "Chigae (or Jjigae)" means stew in Korean.  After the Korean War, there was little food.  People were able to use the leftover food (mostly hot dogs and spam) from the American army bases.  The soup is basically ramen noodles, vegetables, and a form of meat, usually hot dogs or spam.

Yeah, I know.  Riveting read, right?  Haha!  I just think it has a neat (although a little sad) story behind it.

Ringing in the New Year - 2013

Four couples who happen to live in the same apartment complex, and who have since become fast friends rang in 2013 in style!  We made reservations for 9:30pm at The Back Room (TBR) in Busan.  TBR is a speakeasy-type bar.  We actually walked through a door that was disguised as a bookcase.  It was one of the neatest experiences!  (To see more about TBR, check out one of their Youtube videos - TBR Youtube video)

 A view of the bar from the upper level.

The Back Room

 The group: (left to right)

Tyler, Natalie, Sam, Zach, Josh, Kalie, Arin, Cody

 "The Toast"

Happy New Year!

 We were given cards to write a wish.

 The cards were then tied to balloons.

Letting the balloons go right after midnight.

Letting the balloons go right after midnight.  The bartenders gave the balloons to Kalie and Tyler to let go.  The balloons got stuck in the rafters but they were quickly freed and the balloons soared off into the night sky with our wishes for 2013!

The eight of us decided at 3:00 am that we were hungry and were craving breakfast food.  That's when we decided that we would come back to Zach's and my apartment to fix breakfast.  It was one of the best decisions of the year so far!  ;)

 Bacon, eggs, pancakes - yum!

 Zach making pancakes.

What a great way to begin the new year - good friends, good atmosphere, good food!

However you may have spent your New Year's Eve, I hope it was just a memorable!  And, may 2013 bring you nothing but happiness all year long!

Lost Wallet

Update: December 27, 2012
The police called Zach's co-teacher to let her know that they had Zach's wallet.  He got his wallet back today!  Everything was still inside!  Not even the subway card had been used.  How awesome is that?!
_________________________________________________________________________________

Well, it happened.  I guess it was bound to at some point.  Zach lost his wallet.  The bad part about it?  He was sober.  Hehe!  He either left it in the cab or it fell out of his pocket before he got home.  Thankfully there was no cash in it.  All of the cash was in his pants pocket.

Losing a wallet means that he also lost his subway card, credit card, Korean ATM card, Alien Registration Card (ARC - Korean ID card), and his driver's license.  Zach's co-teacher made a report with the police, but we still have not heard whether someone has turned it in yet or not.  We are not holding our breath.

Obviously, we had to cancel the credit card and have them send us a new one.  The subway card is not a big loss even though he had about $20.00 on it.  He will have to get a new ARC which is kind of a pain in the butt.  He will have to take time off of work to go to the immigration office so they can issue him another one.  It will take probably 3-4 weeks before he will get a new one.  In order to make any changes at the bank here, they usually want to see our ARCs.  So, I don't know if Zach will be able to get a new ATM card before he gets his ARC in 3-4 weeks.  Hopefully they can go easy on him and just issue him a new card using his passport.  I don't know how getting the driver's license is going to work.  With the Indiana BMV, you can apparently replace a lost license by going online.  However, to set up an account, you need to put in your license number.  I don't think we've ever written down his license number.  So, we sent the BMV an e-mail.  We'll see how far that gets us. :)

Yeah, this all sucks, but it could have been worse.  At least he didn't lose any money and no one has tried to use the credit or ATM cards!  It's just a big hassle.  Thank goodness that's all it is!

Two Years Ago.... (An Update)

Two years ago today (December 13th), Zach and I landed at the Incheon Airport to start our journey.  We honestly did not know where it would take us or how long we would be gone.  Yes, we would miss friends and family, but we had/have each other and that could get us through anything!  In those two years, we've taught in South Korea and China.  We've traveled around Korea and Beijing and even had a long weekend in Japan.  We've wanted to visit more places but our time will come for that to happen.

I honestly can't believe we've basically been away for two years.  I say 'basically' because last year around this time, we were home for about two months before leaving for China.  However, those two months felt like we were on vacation instead of living in real life.

So, what's next?  We are constantly asking ourselves the same thing.  We know one thing's for sure - our current contract doesn't end until the end of August.  So we are here until at least then.  Yes, that's right, I said 'at least'.  Sorry to everyone who got their hopes up thinking we were coming back home.  I have to be honest; Zach and love what we are doing.  Yes, we might complain about co-teachers and students, the education system, or even everyday life, but who doesn't complain every once-in-a-while?  The majority of our time is spent being very happy and content.  Our dream is to be re-hired in August to stay another year.

However, that may prove to be a problem.  There has been talk the past couple of weeks that Busan public school jobs for foreigners will be cut drastically.  Just when we found a place and job that we love, we may have to leave.  This makes us really sad and very uncertain about our future.  Yes, we have eight months left, but we pretty much have to start planning for our next step starting now.

Because of the unknown with our jobs, we have made the extremely tough decision not to take a vacation this winter.  We are given 10 working days paid vacation to take a trip in the winter, but we will not be traveling anywhere.  Instead, we will take the 10 days paid vacation and stay in Korea.  We may travel to Seoul just to have a mini get-away.  This was a very hard decision to make because we wanted to go to Southeast Asia.  One of our goals when we started this journey two years ago, was to see as many countries as we could.  So far, that hasn't happened.  But, it will - I promise!!!!  Another reason it was such a hard decision is because I worry about what other people will think.  I actually worry about that a lot and I have to learn to stop worrying about that so much.  It doesn't matter what others think.  Zach and I are leading the lives we want and we feel that this is the more financially responsible thing to do right now.


So, this is what we are thinking for next year.
1.  Our ideal situation is to be able to re-sign and move into our own apartment.
2.  We love Busan and would be willing to teach in a hagwon (not ideal).
3.  Do a one-year masters program in the UK.
4.  Try to get a job teaching in the Middle East. (We wouldn't go anywhere dangerous; we wouldn't put our lives at risk.)

We just are not ready to go back home.  We are not even remotely thinking that we want to start a family, now or in the future.

Well, if you have any suggestions, we would love to hear what you have to say.  I know you (family and friends) want us to come home but please do not give that as a suggestion.  That is definitely not something we are ready for!  Sorry.

Hanukkah

I never really thought that I would celebrate the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah.  I definitely never thought that I would celebrate Hanukkah in South Korea.  However, this past Saturday night, we were invited to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah with a couple friends in our neighborhood.  A couple whom we are friends with celebrate Hanukkah every year.  Josh is Jewish by heritage and he and his wife, Kalie, are keeping up the tradition.  Hanukkah started at sundown on Saturday, December 8th and will end on Saturday, December 15th.

Josh prepared many traditional foods and Zach made challah bread (pronounced holla).

Josh and Kalie also explained what Hanukkah was all about and read the prayers associated with the first day of Hanukkah.  Please view the embedded video to hear an explanation of the foods we ate and hear the readings and prayers for the first day of Hanukkah.

A few of us who attended the Hanukkah celebration.

(Arin, Natalie, Kalie, Sam, Josh, Tyler, Cody, Zach)

My first Hanukkah celebration was a really good one!