The Expat Life

“Life might be difficult for a while, but I would tough it out because living in a foreign country is one of those things that everyone should try at least once. My understanding was that it completed a person, sanding down the rough provincial edges and transforming you into a citizen of the world.”

“What I found appealing in life abroad was the inevitable sense of helplessness it would inspire. Equally exciting would be the work involved in overcoming that helplessness. There would be a goal involved, and I liked having goals.”

–David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day

Finn and I always grab cookies after school at our neighborhood bakery.

Most days, at 12:30, I rush from daily lunch dates with Whit, to Finn's preschool program to pick him up. I don't have to go far--we have restaurants every 10 feet here in our neighborhood. And Finn's school is just next to our high-rise. I rush to the door, ring the doorbell, and grab Finn's shoes from the cubby just outside the door. He comes out with a big sneaky smile that brags about his day, dons his shoes, and then with his red backpack weighing down his shoulders, turns around and gives a full bow to his teacher.

Finn and one of his teachers at school

We're out the door in a flash. He tells me what he had for lunch: rice, soup, seaweed. It's always the same, but every day, I ask him. Sometimes he comes up with something different to tell me. We go to the bakery (again, about 20 steps down the road). Finn gets one cookie shaped like a pig, the other shaped like cow. Only two, I tell him. One. Two, he says, counting on his fingers. He gets to give the money to baker. He holds it out with the traditional Korean two hands, and then bows deeply after she gives him his loot.

Finn has adjusted wonderfully to his new life. He has a new best friend, Abigail (he calls her Dabi-dail, and I'm certain this is why she adores him), and they're in class together at school. They play together in the afternoons after naps. Dabi-dail's father is British, and his mother Chinese. Dabi-dail only speaks Mandarin, but seems to understand English. She and Finn are truly the best and closest of any two-year-olds I've ever known. It warms my heart.

Every Wednesday, we go to a Play Cafe, a wonderful place where moms sit and sip coffee, and toddlers run around to their hearts content. A train circles every hour, which they get to ride in, and there are enough toys to keep them busy for a lifetime. Last week, I took a video of Finn and Dabi-dail jumping on the trampoline there. "DO-YAK! DO-YAK!" they kept chanting to each other. I asked Jade, Dabi-dail's mom, if it was Mandarin. Never heard it, she said. Later that night, I showed Whit the video. Wait a minute, he says, pulling out our trusty Korean dictionary.

"Doyak: Jump," it states, plain as day. Finn and Abby are already speaking Korean, and Korean words that we don't even know.

Whit is busy with his job. He teaches in the afternoons, and is usually home by dinner. He's getting back into the swing of teaching and this week is already giving mid-terms. Wow, time is flying!

My new jogging stroller

Nice to see the husband in a tie again 

Life as an expat is just as wonderful for me. There is something so special about an expat community, something I truly missed last year back at home. I haven't been this busy with life and friends since my university days.

Every Tuesday evening I have yoga classes in my neighborhood. My new friend Shauna teaches them, and she's truly an asset to our expat community. I'm learning to bend, stretch, and challenge myself in new ways, and it gives me an hour and a half of quiet meditation every Tuesday. I feel very lucky to have this quiet time to myself once a week.

I started a book club this month, and Monday night was our first meeting. I wasn't sure who would show up--I only know a handful of people. But we had nearly 10 women, from all walks of life, to come and decide on our first book. Expats are interesting, like-minded people and conversation was easy and entertaining. I can already tell that these women are going to be some kind of special for me.

I work in the mornings until I pick Finn up from school, and any time I can squeeze in an hour or two in the afternoons and evenings. I am working for BikeToursDirect, a great company based out of Chattanooga, Tenn., that is connecting people to local bike tours all over the world. Just this month, my boss informed us he was going to give us 3 weeks of paid bike tours anywhere in the world every year. All expenses paid. (I'm currently planning a fall trip with a co-worker somewhere in Asia).

Next weekend, we're moving to a bigger place after spending a couple months in a tiny one-bedroom. We've made it work fine, but we are really excited to move into this new place and make it our home. And lucky for us, it's just in the building next door.

Life is busy and full for us here in Korea. I think it's hard for some people to imagine us living over here, wondering what we do and how we get by. But it's a wonderful place, with warm people and fiery food. We do feel challenged on a daily basis, and sometimes it is frustrating when you can't just ask someone for exactly what you want. But there is something so nice about living in a culture very different from where you came from, and learning to accept it, and then embrace it, and then seeing your own life and world in a very different light.

Food Blogger Diaries

So, as you probably know, Pinterest is all the rage these days. Beautiful pictures of arts and crafts and interesting recipes shared for all the crafty, hip people of today. I often joke that any time I get an idea off Pinterest and then try it for myself, it should end up on my own make-believe site of bobo.com. In other words, I should just stay off Pinterest.

I'm good at some things, like taking pictures, writing blogs, stalking people on Facebook, and hanging out with Finn or Whit. But when it comes to being domestic, most of the time I'd rather just pour myself a glass of wine, let out a big sigh, and admit I'd rather just pass.

Well, yesterday, I decided it was time for me to cook a decent meal for my family. For about a month now, the only groceries we've bought has been fruit, milk, and cereal. Everything else has been eaten out. We've been on a Korean food binge, stuffing our faces with kimchi, grilled pork, lettuce wraps, and every kind of scrumptious Korean side dish we could get our hands on after a year in the Korean food desert of the South.

Yesterday I was wanting something vegetarian, green, and hearty. So Finn and I brainstormed in the apartment before we headed down to our neighborhood store. We came up with two ideas--vegetarian stuffed bell peppers and a strawberry bread pudding for dessert. Well, Finn was still talking about the birthday cake he had at school, so he wasn't much help. In fact, cooking at home with a two-year-old is a lot like trying to bathe a cat. But harder.

So, in the fashion of beautiful food blogs and Pinterest-worthy write-ups everywhere, I give to you my Bobo.com version of my own dinner, recipes and process yesterday. Miraculously, it turned out beautiful and delicious. And Whit might still be wondering where his real wife had gone if not a whole bottle of wine had also gone missing during the process. Yes, she's still in there somewhere.

But, here, I give you my real-world-as-a-mother-who-can't-cook account:

I started here: http://www.freshandeasy.com/news/post/2013/vegetarian-stuffed-peppers-meatless-monday-meal-idea/
And here: http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.kr/2010/07/strawberry-bread-pudding-pink-saturday.html


The peppers at our little grocery have been looking so good lately. Hence the idea. I started chopping.

Meanwhile, Finn would like a strawberry. "MOMMMMMMMMMY!!! MOMMMY! Strawberry?!??"

Can't somebody for the sake of all motherhood sanity make a lock for the danged refrigerator? 

I found brown rice at our mart. Do you realize how amazing this is?!? Basically, it would be like you finding kimchi in your mailbox. Not  likely! (Actually I don't think it's technically brown rice as it translates to some sort of multi-grain. Ahh well. Close enough, says this lady in the kitchen!)

Isn't it annoying when you're following a recipe and they have beautiful pictures of their kitchen, with all their ingredients laid out perfectly? Well, not this blog. Not me. I work in something akin to a meth lab! 

And don't forget Finn. He still wants a strawberry. "MOMMMMMMMMMMY!" (Please notice new toy car in the floor beside him. My awesome plan to thwart his attention while I cooked. Fail. Major.)

I quickly get back to work mixing my stuffing for the peppers. Brown rice, mushrooms, lots of yumminess in there. If you're really interested, you should read the recipe. I wouldn't trust me. Meanwhile, below, Finn continues his quest to empty the refrigerator. 

My Korean stove top. 

"MOMMMMY!!! UPPPP!"

Ready to go in the oven for an hour, and Mommy and Finn can take a breather on the balcony with a drink. Part one: DONE. Bring it Part two!!!

We found this arm chair in our trash. Score. 

Mixing up my bread pudding

Feeding Finn dinner while I clean up my meth lab kitchen. 

Strawberries are in season right now in Korea, hence the idea for my bread pudding dessert.

In Korea, there is no garbage disposal and you can't throw away food waste. You must collect it, bring it outside and put it in the food waste bin!

My dishwater and drying rack. It has a door that closes over it and you can turn on a heated dryer! Pretty fancy, I'll say. Although I mostly love it because I keep half my clean dishes up there and the door closes over it.  

DONE! And DONE!

Pink Marathon 2013

**This blog was originally published on April 14, 2010. But has been updated for this year's Pink Marathon. 

If you are a runner in Korea it can be quite difficult to hear about and register for organized races. This hit home when once I planned a group run in Gwangju at the exact same time a major marathon was going on in my neighborhood.  Even being slightly in the know and being able to recognize the Korean word for marathon, at no point had I heard about this run.

This week someone tipped me off to the Pink Marathon that supports Breast Cancer research that is going on in major Korean cities this spring and summer.  It isn't a marathon but rather a 5K and 10K, but Koreans call any race a marathon. I decided to figure out the registration on my own and have included instructions on how to navigate the registration page that is only in Korean.

For all of those interested in running the 2013 Pink Marathon(5 or 10K) in Busan (4/14), Daejeon (5/12), Gwangju (6/2), Daegu (9/8) or Seoul (10/13)....here is how you can register on your own. These instructions might help for other race registrations too.

Go to the Pink Marathon link. http://www.pinkcampaign.com/

On the right side click on:
참가신청 하기

Check the three boxes on this page and click on the first block
개인신청 하기

Step 2: 

In the scroll box find the city you want to run in: 2013 대구대회
Fill in your name: (이름)
Click on the second circle (기타) and write your nationality
Next box your ailen card number...6 numbers in first block 7 in the second
Then your sex: 여성(woman) or 남성 (man)

When you click the left button at the bottom it will take you to another page.

Step 3
Here you will see:

참가부문—Pick 10K or 5K

추가기부---this is additional donation...the first selection is for nothing. The blank one is for more than 5,000won

주 소---you address....the first part is for your zip code... type in your dong---if you live in Sangmu type in 상무 and find your building number or apartment name. I had to find our block...this will put in your area and neighborhood on the first line after your zip and then put your apartment number-name and apt. number on the 3rd line...if you know your zip code, just look for it, but I think you have to search it this way.

연락처--contact phone number (be sure to fill this in with your mobile if you don't have a regular line)

휴대전화--cell phone number

메일-e-mail

기념품--shirt size

구분— Division 유방암환우(breast cancer patient/survivor?  일반-general

유입경로- How did you hear about PM?  The last one- 지인 소개 is friend.

비고 – Comments

결제수단-Method of Payment- 1^st is bank transfer 2^nd is credit card

Click 확인 twice

Step 4

This should take you to a page with your name and how much you owe.  This page will show you a bank name and routing number where you will wire the money.

(Transfer number)계좌번호1005-901-850975

(Bank) 은행명 우리은행

(Recipient)예금주 한국유방건강재단(대구)

Click 확인 one more time and done!

 Good Luck!! 

Haeundae Day Trip

This past Saturday we took a day trip from Gyeongsan down to Busan to take our beach-loving child to Haeundae Beach. It was a fantastic day-trip. This is why you should take your kid.

The train. It's a cheap form of entertainment. The fast KTX and the slower Mugunghwa take almost the same amount of time to get to Busan (between an hour and an hour and a half) for between 6,000 and 10,000 won. Our boy loved going through tunnels, passing trains and watching the world go by. For the adults, it was a beautiful route and there is beer in the cafe car. 

Haeundae Market. It is far from the grandest market in Korea, but it'll do. You can find a bucket and shovel for the kids and anything else you might need for the beach. We loaded up on food (gimbap, cashews, clementines) and made the short walk to the beach. There is also plenty of street food for sale and enough fish in tanks to pacify an expensive trip to the aquarium. 

The Beach. I don't recommend Haeundae Beach during swimming season (July-August) but any other time and it is a charming urban beach. On an unseasonably warm day in March there were just enough people out there to make it interesting, but still enough space to spread out and feel like you had a tiny piece of beach to yourself. It's clean and easily accessible.

Hiking. For nap time, I put my boy in a carrier and went for a hike up the base of Jangsun. We accessed it just two subway stops away at Dongbaek station and hit a trail head just behind the apartments there. I could still feel the sand in my toes as my son snored on my back. Two hours on the beach and two hours on the mountain. Not a bad afternoon. 

Haeundae Train Station. There aren't a ton of trains coming or going to this train station, but it's there and it's very accessible. There are two trains daily out of Daegu and Gyeongsan that go to Haeundae and two that leave Haeundae for Daegu and Gyeongsan. We caught the last one, the 4:40, out of Haeundae and made it back to Gyeongsan by 6:15. 

We spent about 5 hours at the beach in Busan, 2.5 hours on the train and less than 40,000 won total on the whole day (not including the wife's foray in Busan's H&M). There are better, and probably closer, beaches out there, but for a carless family this one worked wonderfully. And besides, our son would have picked taking a train 10 out of 10 times.

Beach, bop and blondness in Korea

It's been a good week for us. Finn survived his first week of Korean preschool. Whit went back to work full-time, and I started working from home for BikeToursDirect as the Asia Tour Specialist (check us out here: http://www.biketoursdirect.com).

In celebration of Finn doing so well at school, we took him to the beach on Saturday. Not just any beach, but the most popular one in Korea, in Busan. Lucky for us, it took just over an hour to get there. And of course, that meant we were riding the TRAIN. Transportation is all the rage these days.

Seeing Korea from the eyes of my blue-eyed, blonde-haired, wheel-loving 2-year-old has changed my own view of the country. It's a paradise for the senses--from the flashing lights of motorcycles and the belches of buses to the fish tanks leaned up against the outside windows of seafood restaurants down every street. He even mocks the bus drivers when they honk too long ("beeeeeeeeeeep" he repeats, usually while sitting directly behind the short-tempered bus driver.) Finn can't wait to get outside every day. We think he's smitten with this birth country of his.

Korea loves him too. We don't walk 10 steps without someone smiling down at him. "Annyong! Annyong! Ahhh, Epo! Epo! So pretty. Luckily, we live in a diverse area and, while everyone certainly smiles at him, no one points in the distance. They certainly could, the way his bopping little white head sparkles amidst the darker backdrop.

He's coming out of his shell these days, which is fun to see. We got on the bus the other night after dinner with friends in Daegu, and he unabashedly sang the entire way home to a very quiet bus. "The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round."

Tonight, we had dinner in a galbi restaurant--one of our new favorites in the neighborhood. Finn has recently learned the joys of meat (Korea can do that to the most wayward of vegetarians). But as the pork was still cooking on our table, sizzling and popping in front of us, he demanded the rice we ordered as a side.

"Rice, Mommy, rice! Rice. Rice. Rice. I want. I want. Rice!" Whit and I were busy in conversation, ignoring his pleas since there was nothing to do but wait on the rice. "Mommy! BOP!" And there it was, the first time he went from English to Korean in a blink of an eye.

What a treat for us. And lucky for him, his bop was delivered soon after (I think he yelled it loud enough for the waitress to hear.)

Waiting for the train to Busan

Where's the kimchi?

We are slightly head over heels for Korean food. Sometimes I wonder if our stomachs keep us coming back to this faraway country. "What's the first thing you're going to eat?" Lindsay asked me right as I was about to drift off the night before our flight to Korea. Instantly, I was transported to a bustling, well-lighted Korean restaurant where soju glasses clinked in the distance and carefully arranged, colorful side dishes filled the table. I could hear the samgyeopsal sizzling over the grill, feel the steam of kimchi jjigae hit my face and taste the sesame leaf and lettuce wrap full of rice and pork. "Imo," I imagined myself yelling to get the attention of the waitress to place my order, "I'll have it all."

It was with nothing short of horror when I heard from a co-teacher that Daegu is notorious for its bad food. I knew that no food could top the food from my beloved province of Jeollanam-do(see my love letter here), but certainly these native Koreans couldn't screw up their national treasure....could they?

On day two of arriving in Gyeongsan, I was served kimchi that was still frozen. Blasphemy. It is like being served frozen french fries. Desperate, we began inquiring about restaurants in the area. Suggestions came pouring in from the veterans. "Try the galbi tent restaurant across from the bakery," "Dae Jeong, is run by four women and you get lots of banchan," Across from the apartment on the second floor there is a good soup place." And just like that, the delicious food materialized.

Check back for restaurant suggestions in the Daegu/Gyeongsan area as we find them. And if you are a seasoned veteran, give us a few to try. 

Day 2: Almonds, toys, kimchi and less crying!

Day Two at Finn's preschool was officially deemed a success by all. Oh, I worried about him all morning, my heart heavy as I spent the morning at work. Whit walked him to school this morning, Finn's little shoulders heavy under his new backpack. Finn tried to talk him into going for a walk, rather than to school.

Whit and I went together to pick him up, expecting another report like yesterday, a typed message from the teachers promising it would get better. (I found that precious little Google-translated message in Finn's backpack that they sent home with him. I'll save this forever!)

Today we learned we'll get such letters every day. What a treat! Today, it looked like this:

It mentions that he cried only a little when Daddy dropped him off, but then played with "good friends." "He ate a soup bowl of almonds and one yogurt for snack." "Lunch of rice, beef soup with potatoes, ham, fried rice and kim (salted seaweed), and ate kimchi."

HE ATE KIMCHI? wowza. What a champ.

He even looked like he was having fun when I peeked through the window in the door when we picked him up. He was in the middle of the fray, smiling and playing.

The best part is they have started sending home a little memory book, and printed out 5-6 pictures of him today. I have to say, this almost made me cry again. But today, they are tears of happiness and pride.