Thanksgiving Tribute

Despite what Canadians and retailers believe, Thanksgiving occurs in November (not October or earlier). Likewise, Koreans also have no idea when Thanksgiving occurs or what it actually entails based on traditional American standards. That said, I have had a difficult time getting into the spirit of this holiday without the premature Christmas decorations lining store aisles and the staple French’s French Fried Onions and evaporated milk stacked high enough to make the aisle impassable.

 

To help me feel more at home, I have decided to blog about my family in a Thanksgiving Tribute!

 

My family means the world to me. Being so far away has, hands down, been the most difficult part about this adventure. Luckily, Skype has been able to keep me connected. I am able to call home at any time and my mom has even mastered video conferencing! Despite the amazing technology, until my teleporter is delivered (Santa has me on a waiting list), I am still going to miss out on family dinners and other get-togethers.

 

One of my many observations since coming to Korea is that I have quite a unique relationship with my family – we actually get along for extended periods of time and to go more than a few days without checking in means something has gone terribly wrong. Before I came here, I was dead set on moving to Seattle upon my return... but now I am seriously reconsidering. I feel overly blessed to have such amazing people in my life. To distance myself from them for this year is challenging enough.

 

On a lighter note, I thought I would share a little bit about my prior Thanksgivings. Jump into my time machine with me (stupid time machine works…still waiting on the teleporter!) to twenty years ago…

 

Do-doo-do-do   Doo-doo-do-do   Doo-doo-do-do

 

Since the beginning of my time (as far back as I can remember at least), my parents used to pack up the tents, then tent trailers and eventually the Airstream (those tin can-looking campers) for Thanksgiving in Rocky Point. This is the closest beach destination for us desert dwellers, and nothing kicks off the holidays like margaritas and a tan. Although unconventional, we always had a fantastic time with our friends that were our extended family before the real family started migrating to Arizona. Thinking back, I am AMAZED that my mom was able to pull a Thanksgiving dinner out of the Airstream’s kitchen (it was very small).

    

Thanksgiving in Mexico lasted until I went to college and the Airstream was sold…

 

Since then, Thanksgiving has taken on a more traditional itinerary. My mom and her sisters share the hostess title and the dinner location is revolving.

 

Now, back to the time machine to one year ago…

Do-doo-do-do   Doo-doo-do-do   Doo-doo-do-do

 Last year sticks in my head because, compared to the prior Mexico Thanksgivings with many friends and little family, I had so much family that I ended up having 4 dinners! I started the day by booking my trip to South Africa, something I had been brewing over for the last month or so. The first dinner was at my younger sister’s house, which I normally don’t make it to due to other family obligations. Recent news regarding my biological father’s health prompted the decision to go. I figured it would be good to spend some time with that side of the family and I’m grateful that I did. Dinner was delish and after a few hours of gossip I was back on the road to my aunt’s house (on the other side of the valley).

Leading up to this day, there had been a lot of drama over the guest list and tensions were a little high. My parents were absent from this particular dinner because my dad had come down with shingles and the family blackballed him in fear of catching something (even though he was on medication and no longer contagious – drama, drama, drama). Anyways, I had a few great hours with my adorable cousins, grandma, aunts and uncles and then I was off again!

 

By the time I got to my sister’s house, dessert was being served and I was greeted with ANOTHER piece of pie. Incase you were keeping count it was my 3^rd slice of the day… not that I’m complaining, I love pumpkin pie! I spent a few hours playing with my beautiful, brilliant nieces and relaxing on the porch discussing the upcoming excursion to South Africa. Finally, I was on my way to my parents for an evening dinner AND more pie!

     

It was a hectic day of traveling, but the pie and company made every mile worth it. Like I said, my family means everything to me. I wouldn’t be who I am without them and I while I am half a world away, I want them to know they are in my thoughts and I am there in spirit!

     

  

Save a slice for me!

For those of you who are curious, my Skype name is doreab. Check out their website and say hello sometime! It is free to make calls computer to computer, all you need is an account!

Sweat, Tears and Dreaming of Hell

By now, most of the leaves have fallen and I am entering my first “real” winter. This was brought to my attention yesterday with the announcement, “It might snow tonight.” For a normal person, this is probably a pretty standard statement. For me, a proud “native” and desert rat for 25+ years, I started to panic! Like any Arizona native will tell you, ANY weather is grounds for a state of emergency. A slight drizzle will send drivers into a snail’s frenzy on the freeway and I personally use it as an excuse to stay inside and watch a good flick. 

Anyways, to bring us back to my present predicament… the mention of snow seems absurd to me and sends a CHILL down my spine at the realization that it isn’t even December! I have some fantastic autumn hiking pics that must be published before the first snow falls and someone finds me frozen on the sidewalk from the long walk home…

 

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to go hiking with a Korean hiking club (translation: 30+ Koreans that like to take long bus rides on an occasional weekend to booze it up while climbing mountains). This trip was to Deaya San.

 

The hike itself had its share of ups and downs, as well as my emotions. At one point, I was following the group and before I knew it we were scrambling up the sheer side of a cliff (scrambling = using anything from my hands, feet and my assigned Korean hiking guide, “Padju Man”, to get up this rock). I made it, obviously, to tell this daring tale… but at the time a whole wave of fear and panic washed over me. “I’m going to die in Korea, here on this mountain, and my parents will have to ship my mangled body back home” was my mental dialoge, verbatim. Once I was past the crux, I couldn’t hold it back any longer and I lost it for no tangible reason. I was on solid ground, intact without even a scratch. Well, like any respectable woman, I quickly dried my eyes, “manned up” and pulled it together to enjoy my lunch and a few photo ops.

I am still not sure what prompted the sudden outburst (probably the realization that I no longer have health insurance), but I will forever remember that cliff as Crying Rock (the picture does NO justice for the scale and sheerness...plus, I didn't want to get too close to the edge).

 

At that point, all I could think about was the decent. There was no way in (warm, beautifully sweltering and snow-less) hell that I was going back DOWN the Crying Rock. Fortunately, it was a loop and we were far from being finished. After our picnic lunch, the team proceeded up the mountain. 

As we approached the very top there were ropes drapped down the rocks for assistance and I started to really enjoy this new style of hiking. It was like a giant, more periolous, jungle gym. On my way up I climbed using the rope like I was playing tug-of-war with someone at the top. On the way down, I rappelled (sort-of) like Indiana Jones! The summit was pretty incredible but weather was moving in, so we didn’t take too much time to catch our breath... but there was time for a victory pose!

The decent from that point got VERY challenging. Between the ropes and rocks covered in colorful, slippery fallen leaves, my pace slowed down substantially. Luckily, Padju Man was there by my side with his walking stick and an extended hand to help me over the tricky parts. We didn’t make it back to the bus until after sunset so it was a long day of trekking. On my way back to the bus, I decided that it was the BEST HIKE I’ve ever been on. The rope course, amazing scenery, sweat and tears made it fun, memorable and it left me with a great sense of accomplishment.

  Padju Man (right)

Now, my recap of this adventure would be incomplete if I forgot to mention the noraebus on the ride home. Norae is Korean for singing and bus is… well, you get the idea. Asians love karaoke!!! My favorite part of this segment was the mood-lighting on the bus, like an awesome discoteche on wheels we were jamming out. The one problem with the noraebus was the fact that I was exhausted and only wanted to sleep…but that was nearly impossible since the music was head-splitting loud. Good thing I usually travel with earplugs so I was able to drown it out a bit and enjoy the atmosphere. 

LP gone astray (BUSAN continued)

 The Lonely Planet (often referred to as The LP) has become my Bible and Korean survival guide. For anyone who has traveled abroad, you are probably familiar with the books. They have handy pocket-sized phrase books to get you through foreign places with awesome pick-up lines like, “Can you help me cross the street?” There are also the more practical phrases like, “Where can I find some [insert drug or food]?” and my personal favorite, “Slow down tiger!” Before I left for Brazil last year, Jessica gave me the Portuguese phrasebook with all of those little verbal gems conveniently tabbed with comments such as, “Something you should NEVER say”. Anyway, in addition to helping people awkwardly speak a foreign language, LP offers handy guide books with maps and recommended places to eat, sleep and see.

 

While in Busan, Kim referred to the LP Bible for activities. The plan was to visit a temple that was supposed to be a 15-minute walk from the cable cars. We successfully found the cable cars and enjoyed the ride up the hill.

     

Once there, we set off in the direction of the temple… or at least we thought it was the right direction. After a 30-minute walk to South Gate, the LP started loosing some credibility.

A sign in Korean mapped out our various paths from that point and none of them led to a nearby temple. To salvage the day, we scrapped the original agenda and decided to continue down a trail to see where it took us. This wouldn’t have been an issue, if all of us had prepared for a hike (instead of a short walk) and had eaten lunch.

   

Regardless of the ill-directions, the LP took us on a beautiful hike and the view at the end was worth the dehydration and discomfort.

    

BUSAN (formerly, Pusan)

October 3^rd is National Foundation Day, or Gaecheonjeol. For Koreans, the day celebrates the foundation of the first state of the Korean nation back in 2333 BCE. For me, Gaecheonjeol means that I had a long weekend to venture outside of Seoul to the second largest city in SK, Busan.

The trip was a relatively short 3-hour train ride away, which basically crossed the entire country. When we arrived at the hotel there was a misunderstanding about our arrival date, so the concierge called a nearby hotel and taxi to bring us there. It ended up being in a more convenient location, right next to Busan Tower. The tower is an icon of the city and offers some great views from the top.

       

 

The first day there we spent roaming the city in search of a popular “Mexican” “restaurant”. I use both of these words lightly, since the restaurant was actually a closet with a hole in the wall to place your order and a few plastic chairs in the middle of an alley. When a car needed to pass, we had to stand up and plaster ourselves to the wall for them to squeeze by. The Mexican food was also questionable, considering the closet was lined with Pace Picante wallpaper… but there were jalapenos and Tabasco sauce!

After that, we strolled down to the beach to take in some PIFF action and to paddle in the Sea of Japan. 

     

PIFF stands for the Pusan International Film Festival and it was full force during our visit. A red carpet and tents were set up along the beach to promote the movies, producers, sponsors, etc. The actual movies were being shown at various theatres all around town. We got tickets for “Disgrace”, staring John Malkovich. The movie itself was pretty depressing, but for my first international movie theatre experience it was really exciting! (For the curious, the movie was in English with Korean subtitles) 

    

   

The Busan itinerary also included a trip to the fish market, which was full of everything from live squid to penis fish (they are really called this!). Pictures are worth a thousand words, so I’ll let them narrate this experience. 

   

The one thing I will comment on is dried squid, stingray and cuttlefish. These are really popular snacks here, like beef jerky. I tried the squid and it wasn’t horrible, it was sweet like teriyaki but with a fishy flavor.

 

Another unusual snack here is Beondegi, pronounced “bom-dig-gee”. 

It is steamed or boiled silkworm larvae that have been seasoned. Many street vendors serve it, but you can also find it in cans next to the tuna fish. On the street, you can smell it long before you see the actual vendor. It is distinct and the taste is not too far off. For me, the worst part was the pop as you bit into it (imagine Bear Grylls eating grubs). The texture was gritty, like an undercooked kidney bean. One was enough for me…

                                  Before

          After

We also took in a sunset cruise which gave us a great view of the skyline and iconic Oryukdo Islets.