Groceries

While eating out here can be incredibly inexpensive, I'm having a hard time saving money at the grocery store even buying just the basic staple items. I'm thinking this might be because anything not produced in Korea is highly taxed to discourage from buying things that aren't local? There's definitely a lack of variety in the things you can purchase at the accessible stores and it requires some flexibility and creativity to adjust my cooking to what is available. Now that I'm a bit exhausted by eating Chamchi jiggae every day for a few weeks I'm not sure exactly what to cook. One thing that is really surprising is that I can't find beans here! Actually the store did offer two bean options: canned, baked beans, or canned pork and beans. No dried beans. There isn't much variety in produce or herbs and spices either and no cheese! Meat of all varieties is very expensive.


This was a sixty dollar trip to the grocery store - not including the plant, candle and folder which were already on the table... The wine was an indulgence at about 8,000 won or roughly $7 - and this is one of the cheapest bottles, and the coffee was an expensive necessity at around 15,000 won - also one of the cheapest bags they offer - and not very tasty.


But, hey, at least you get free socks with your cereal.


And the toothpaste fights calculus which is worth way more than 5,900 won!

Jagalchi Fish Market

One of our favorite sites in Busan so far has been Jagalchi Fish Market. There is so much sea life being sold here that it is hard to believe there is anything left in the sea.


This building is full of tanks containing all kinds of fish and creatures you can imagine... As far as I can tell you can just go up to any tank and buy your seafood right there. If you like they will even slice it up for you and you can eat it raw, on the spot.


All sorts of fish, shrimp, crabs, squid, octopus, eel, mussels, shells, slugs, urchins, spawn... what else lives in the water? Whether you ever considered it edible or not, it is probably there too.


A tank full of lively octopuses.


The view of the water right outside the building.


More vendors line the alleys and streets around this central building selling all of the same varieties of seafood, and then different kinds of seaweed, homemade kimchis and other side dishes, fresh tofu and bean jellies, herbs, teas, spices, etc...

Christmas Time in Our Apartment!

Christmas came and went with minimal bells and whistles but he had a five day vacation which was incredibly nice. My mom sent us a package of Christmas goodies so we were able to make our apartment at least a little bit festive. People in general don't really seem to celebrate Christmas over here, except for commercially. Many of my students actually had tests on Christmas day!



This was definitely one of the hardest times being away from family. For me, this was my first Christmas away from home and this is typically one of the few times of the year I actually get to see my them. For Ken it was even more difficult this year because we learned that his Grandfather Masada passed away on Christmas day. Being here in Korea actually does have its advantages though in this case, because we are so close to Japan and will be able to fly there next weekend to join Ken's mom, grandma, aunt and cousin.

Chamchi Jiggae

This here is one of our favorite Korean dishes. Flavorful, healthy, cheap and easy to prepare. Chamchi Jiggae. Chamchi means tuna - jiiggae is stew. You can get a bowl of this for about $2 - only slightly less than it costs to make it.

To make Chamchi Jiggae it is very simple. You need:
Kimchi (Korean staple - served with every meal - fermented (or pickled?) cabbage with red pepper)
Water
A can of tuna
Onions
Garlic
sesame oil
chili paste
bean paste
vinegar
soy sauce
mushrooms
(any other spices or veggies you want....)
Throw it all in a boiling pot and cook for a while! Serve with rice! Yum!

A Six Dollar Meal

Our first meal on our own, without the assistance of others' recommendations or bank of Korean phrases. We tried to ask the lady what she recommended in Korean but we must have slaughtered the phrase because she didn't understand us. She asked some high schoolers next to us to translate. This is what we were served. We now know that the food in the big bowl is called Dolsot Bi Bim Bop. It's hot rice with a dash of oil, and a frying egg (still cooking in the hot rice) with tons of fresh, raw greens, sprouts, seaweed, kimchi, chili paste and radish served on top and meant to be all mixed thoroughly together. A side of free soup, kimchi and a plate of Dongassu - the Korean version of the Japanese dish Tonkatsu. Tasty, healthy (more or less) and only six dollars!

Mysterious Fish

One night we went to one of our favorite restaurants and the people next to us were eating this huge roasted fish that looked wonderful... When the waitress came we just pointed to what they had and hoped for the best. We'd been on a hunt for roasted fish ever since the chobap at Jagalchi included it as a side, but the name we had for it was completely different than the long unpronounceable one of this fish... Anyhow. We successfully got some roasted fish and it was this. It was delicious. Oh! And the bamboo standing up on the table next to me is actually the container for a delicious beverage called Daenamu - it's kind of like an alcoholic apple cider. All this cost about $10.


Ken enjoyed it so much he thought someone might steal it from him. :)


At the end of our meal we dissected the melted eyeballs and inside of one eyeball we found this very hard, perfectly white ball. Neat.

Bondiggi... Not so Delicious

This is bondiggi... Quite possibly one of the worst things Korea has to offer. Silk worm larvae. Packing the punch of a thousand dirty socks, impossible to get the taste out of your mouth.

Chobap at Jagalchi Fish Market

Ken enjoying this delicious meal of chobap (the more affordable Japanese version of raw fish aka sushi!)


This meal came with tons of sides (you can ascertain the quality of restaurant by how many sides they give you) and we got it all for about $20... Which we've actually found out since that we can get it cheaper off the main street - this area is kind of touristy (although we were still the only Westerners around).


Enjoying raw, baby squid! It had a neat texture - a little slimy, but kind of crunchy too! It really was good - Ken wasn't much of a fan though.


Shells! You pull out the insides with a toothpick. Bouncy, and tasting of tennis shoes. They weren't bad, but they weren't really good either.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I think I still have about 40 minutes left until Thanksgiving is officially over (in America) so I'm going to squeeze in a quick post! Happy Thanksgiving friends and family! Thanksgiving was yesterday for us and it didn't really resemble Thanksgiving. We had to work and there was no turkey our Thanksgiving staples in sight. Actually we had a delicious and light soup called su jay bee for lunch and a big, puffy, steamy, kimchi dumpling for dinner. The only Thanksgivingy part to yesterday was a thanks-filled morning spent with God and talking to family last night on the phone. I gave many specific thanks for our friends and family... Our life is made rich because of you!

So, in honor of all the over-eating we didn't enjoy yesterday this is going to be a food post! Here are some of the highlights (and lowlights) of our eating experiences over here!

Our First Day at Work

Our first day at work was the Friday right before Halloween, so the day consisted of a Halloween party and many games. I'd say one of the highlights was watching the children compete for the best mummy wrap... Pin the tail on the cat was another favorite. In one of the pictures you see "Adrian teacher" dressed up as a scuba diver, and also "Lisa teacher" one of our three Korean coworkers. The age range of our students is mainly mid to late elementary (Ken having the youngest group - they are insane!) and then Middle School. For the most part they are good students, and discipline problems are fairly minimal. The rigor of their studies is rare to find in the states. Most students go to school for the normal 8 hour period, then go off to various academies in the evenings... We have students at our school until 9PM! Their homework load is enormous and they even regularly attend public school on some Saturdays. It seems to me that they live, and breathe schoolwork. I wonder if this is one of the main reasons crime is so low here... Maybe they are just too busy and work-focused to get into more distracting and less productive pursuits? I don't know.

Adventures on Our First Day

We actually had the rare (and much needed) privilege of getting to rest on our first day here rather than come straight in to work. (Some people have to go in to work the same day they arrive, straight off of the plane and after twenty some hours of traveling.)
...Soooo on our first day we leisurely explored our little pocket of Busan called Hwamyeong.
The main part of Hwamyeong consists of a busy area about three by three city blocks large. After a wonder-filled walk to this area, and desperately in need of coffee, we found a Dunkin Donuts where we tried to refuel. I say tried because the coffee consisted of much more cream than caffeine. Here we did find WiFi though and could check e-mails and some necessary Korean phrases for the day.

After nearly passing out in the "Lotte Mart" (our huge grocery/department store) we decided to head back home for a nap... After that we wandered out to find some lunch. We came in to this little restaurant where nobody spoke English (which is standard) and where they had these cast iron turtles at each table. We sat down (on the floor), ordered whatever looked good in the picture and ended up enjoying an incredibly delicious lunch of Korean BBQ. We meant to take a picture BEFORE we ate all the food, but we were to hungry and excited so we forgot.

At The Airport, Excited and Very Tired

Finally!

Finally, we are here, our computer has finally arrived and we can resume posting!!!

We've been in Busan for about two and a half weeks now, and the transitions have been smooth. Our first few days and week were excellent as we settled in and got acquainted with our area and work. (The past week was incredibly busy and tiring.) We had some overlap time in our apartment with the couple from Canada whom we are replacing: Adrian and Cara. They were wonderfully generous with their time, helpful, warm and friendly people we were glad to share our first few days with. They have introduced us to their favorite places, food and people here and plan to return to teach again some time in January.

Our provisions have been generous thus far. We live on the top floor (16th) of a high rise building about a fifteen minute walk away from the private school (hagwon) where we teach. Our apartment is at least as big as our home in Virginia was. Behind us are the mountains we have yet to explore and in front of us sprawls the city and a river... 45 minutes beyond is the Sea of Japan (or Sea of Korea, as our Korean students insist it is called.) The population of Busan is a little less than Houston's and it seems to be generally friendly, laid back, clean and safe. The food is fresh, delicious and cheap.

As far as our teaching goes: so far, so good.

Speaking of Birthdays...

My birthday was just last week on the 15th and it was the first one spent with my Marshall family! We had a wonderful birthday celebration, complete with birthday hats and a pumpkin cake... it was a very happy occasion!


Dad won the award for best hat!

Bonus Treat

Here's a bonus picture for everyone's viewing pleasure.

Ken, dressed up in new clothes for his birthday. Hahahahhhahahahahahhahahahahahah!

Dear Friends

We had a wonderful last month in Roanoke and spent lots of quality time with our friends! Of all the things in Roanoke, we will miss you the most! I got a few good pictures of some of you before going... but not every one! So here's a few from our going away gatherings!



This here is a glimpse into some of the best that Roanoke has to offer! This was a fairly regular scene at the Haggerty house - great people gathered together to share delicious food, laughter, conversation, and libation!


Rebecca!


Jason!


Sandra!


Lloyd and Catherine!


Ingrid, how did I not get a picture of us? Well, I had to borrow this one that Caleb took from your facebook page... I was going to see if there was some way I could delete your name from your face, but then I thought it kind of added to the humorous direction the picture was already headed (thanks Greg:)


Robert and Angela!


Christine and Chris!

We love you guys!

Moving Day

On the day we moved out of Roanoke we were blessed with the most magnificent double rainbow ever! It was HUGE! (The second one is a bit hard to see here). What a great sign!


Goodbye little house, we'll miss you!

Welcome!

Friends, family and visitors, WELCOME! As most of you know, Ken and I are about to move to Busan, South Korea for the next year! We thought this blog would be a great way to document our experience and keep everybody updated. I must confess, I feel a bit rusty with my writing and it's quite intimidating knowing that we could potentially have many eyes reading each entry posted... I've procrastinated creating this blog for a while due to this very factor and finally, I've decided I just have to let that fear go! The purpose of this is to keep all of our loved ones included in our lives and not to impress you with poetic or beautiful writing or deep and dynamic thoughts!! If some exceptionally nice writing pops out every once in a while then we'll consider that a bonus - but if that were the standard then we'd never have any posts!! (Much like life - if we only shared it with others when we were at the top of our game, then we would be very, very lonely! I have been guilty of this too.) So... that being said, welcome to our adventure and please visit often!