Yogurt Parfaits and Crowd Surfing

A few things to catch up on this week. First on the list is a cooking class at Little America with the Kindergarten as usual. Now the last cooking class I believe was mini-burgers? They all start to blend together after a while. This week the students created their own fruit and yogurt parfaits (I will now be spending the next few weeks trying to teach them to not say "Par-fates"). The supplies included some strawberry yogurt, Special-K cereal, and an assortment of fruit to fill their cups. My girls enjoyed chopping the fruit and layering their parfaits and then eating their homemade snack. Cooking classes are a great way to introduce other vocabulary that accompanies recipe steps and ingredients.

 

 

Argggg

Friday night Kaitie, Katrina, Seol, Amanda and I headed out for a yummy galbi dinner in a teeny restaurant nearby our school. After Katrina flung her noodles at us and Amanda tipped her chair over (all un-alcohol related incidents) we figured it was time to leave the poor restaurant owners alone and head to a bar nearby to meet up with some friends and meet new ones.

Saturday turned out to be a pretty gross, rainy, cold, I-just-want-to-stay-inside, sort of day. Of course, if I did that, what would I write a blog about? Kaitie, Katrina and I ventured to Hongdae for some shopping and wandering despite the less-than-ideal weather conditions. When we arrived, we first met up with Patti teacher at her sister's bakery called Darling Cakes. On the second floor of a building, this shop is much bigger than I expected. Her sister not only bakes cakes and other goodies, you can make an appointment to go and decorate your own cake there! Some very adorable couples were in decorating cakes for various occasions. If you every find yourself in Hongdae, check her bakery out! The cheesecake, chocolate banana cake, and cookies were delicious!

We left Patti and headed to H&M nearby for some girly shopping. This area is full of little boutique stores filled with cute dresses, accessories, and also some random Korean merchandise. As usual, I found some giraffes! Exciting news on our adventures this day too! If you remember a post recently when Shanna and I were in Hongdae looking for a falafel restaurant (I think its in the same post as the trick-eye museum?) WE FOUND IT! Jack's Bean is a small restaurant off a side street. As we were looking for Patti's sister's cafe, Katrina saw a giant sign that said "FALAFEL" sitting outside the restaurant. I promise that sign was NOT there when Shanna and I were looking!...At least I really hope it wasn't. Anyways, now I know it's there! The menu is limited, but perfect. They have falafel wraps, sandwiches, and salads as well as chickpea milk and other chickpea inspired dishes. This was Kaitie's first falafel experience as well! Double-whammy. She said she enjoyed it! While it was not the best falafel I've ever had, it did the trick of satisfying my recent craving for it after the epic fail of my homemade attempts earlier this year.

Falafel Salad

 

We got completely stuffed then decided to walk around some more, window shopping and browsing the shops around the area. After getting cold enough walking around we made our way to Suzie-Q's to sit in the warmth and jam out to good music. The owners of this bar are the sweetest couple. As the husband mans the turn-table, the wife makes sure we are stocked up with popcorn and other snacks while we write down our music requests. Definitely remains one of my favorite places to go in Hongdae and maybe even Korea. It just has such a "relaxed and groovy" vibe (Eddie Izzard fans? Anyone?)

Giraffe Lamp

Sadly I don't think this one was for sale...

 The weekends have begun to fly by faster and faster, just as the weeks go by quickly too! Guess I'm just keeping busy? If Saturday was disgusting, cold, and rainy, Sunday was the complete opposite. The sun came out and the clouds disappeared like one of those magical moments in movies when you hear an angel choir. I had heard from Alex Teacher about a park nearby Bucheon Stadium that was covered with bright purple azaleas. After seeing her pictures I knew I wanted to make it there this weekend before the flowers disappeared! Kaitie joined me and we took the train to check it out. When we arrived we walked around the stadium and found that there was a mini-amusement park with some small carnival rides and food stalls. As the weather was much more pleasant, there was quite a crowd out today. We joined an audience as a traditional ribbon-dancing group performed for us. Kaitie hadn't seen this performance before, so I enjoyed being able to introduce her to it! It just made me realize that I am now the "guide" as opposed to the newbie here in Korea. It's nice to be able to know what's going on and explain things instead of being the deer-in-headlights for once!

After leaving the performance we followed the steady stream of hiking-gear-clad Koreans towards the direction of the park. As we got closer we realized just how many people were attending that day. It looked like the whole city of Bucheon decided to have a picnic in the azalea park! We joined in the crowd and made our way through the beautiful, purple covered hills. Not only could you bring your own food to have a picnic on the hill among the flowers, there were booths and stalls throughout the park selling ramen, drinks, and other snacks to keep you full and happy while taking in the scenery. A lot of people were eating bondeggi..which I still have yet to try, and not sure I ever will. Chicken feet was my limit. I draw the line at silk worm larvae. Don't judge me.

 

When we had enough with this crowd we made the decision to go to Bupyeong Underground for some more crowded activities. Kaitie hadn't experienced this underground market yet, so we decided it was a good time to introduce her to the spiderweb maze of the same exact shops that line the halls. I've been there several times now and am beginning to know my way around, or at least have a general sense of direction. Last time I was there the sweaters, scarves, and other winter apparel was out. This time Bupyeong, as well as the rest of Korea, is getting ready for warmer weather with teeny tiny little skirts, shorts, and dresses. I'm looking forward to not having to bundle up when we walk outside, although I won't be able to enjoy the weather too much working all day indoors. I try to use my breaks to walk around and get some fresh air (and usually a smoothie) during the week.

Another weekend crossed off the calendar! This week we have the always anticipated song performance and birthday party for the kindergarteners as well as the song contest for Elementary next Monday! Videos to come with those events. I'm really looking forward to watching the elementary performances! This weekend is yet another busy one for me as well. Kaitie (my partner in crime now apparently haha) and I will be going down to Jindo for the Annual Sea Parting Festival! During this time of the year the tides near this small island at the very southern tip of the peninsula behave in way that allows people to walk through the sea from the mainland to the island. It is going to be muddy, and crowded, and amazing! We leave late Friday night after work, sleep on the bus ride down there and do a sunrise hike in the morning once we arrive. These trips planned by companies such as "Wink" and "Adventure Korea" make traveling to see these festivals much more simple. They plan the transportation and do an okay job at timing things (minus a few situations). We will participate in the Moses Festival Saturday and then head back to Seoul on Sunday. On the way home we will make a pit stop to do another hike at a Cloud Bridge in Daedun. We are going to be zombies, most likely very cranky, smelly, and tired but that's what these trips are about! Thank goodness Monday will be the song contests for elementary so that we can have some breaks in the afternoon! I have a feeling I will be sleeping very well Sunday night. Keep your eye out for a fun post next week!

xoxoxox

Korean Phrase of the post: 물은 어디에 있습니까? (muleun audi-ey isseumnika) "Where is the water?"