Going Back to Seoul

On Saturday, August 15th we will be heading back to Seoul. We have spent about a month and a half in Minnesota having a great time. Partying on the 4th of July weekend, going to Rockfest, having fun at the lake and of course having bonfires and taking saunas. It has been a whirlwind of fun.

But now it’s time to leave the Western world and dive back into Asian culture for another year. We will be teaching at a new school and living in a different area than before. This time, we will be much closer to the metro area (which we’re really excited about). We will be working for a school called iSponge which is a franchise. They are opening a brand new location which means we will be the only foreign teachers for a little while! I suppose this could go both ways, hopefully it’s a really good thing :)

We will be departing Minneapolis on our way to Chicago and spend 6 hours there, then depart and arrive in Seoul Monday, August 17th 5am local time. It’s going to be a looooong travel time (14hrs in a cramped seat!)

When we get there and have our internet setup the plan is to get a few blog posts up per week. So keep checking in for the latest on interesting places, good eats and other quirky things we find!

Below are a few pictures of Krista’s mom’s place, which is where we stayed this last month and a half.

Thank you for the great time in the States, we’ll see everyone next year!

Maroon 5 Live in Seoul

On March 7th, we went to the Maroon 5 concert in Seoul.  It was awesome seeing an American band playing in South Korea, and even better yet was hearing all of the Koreans singing along with the songs!

I wasn't aware that the simple "kam-sah-hab-ni-da" (thank you) got so many Koreans excited, they normally don't cheer when I say it................ hmm

Yes there were signs prohibiting camera and recording devices, but this is Asia, no one obeyed and there were many cameras in the air during the concert.  Also, the same with all events in Korea, you can bring in your own beverages and snacks, and no one checked to make sure we were in the right seats, we were definitely not in ours, but in some much better seats!

Everyone, including us, had light saber/wands to wave!

Well you can imagine what the subway was like afterwards............more expats though this time and no crazy ladies pushing their friends on!

It was a great concert and worth bearing this subway ride home!  Thanks for coming to Korea Maroon 5!

Video: Won't Go Home Without You (if viewing in email, click here).

Video: She Will Be Loved (if viewing in email, click here)

Good ol' Home Cooking!

So being over here in Korea creates an adventure not only for ourselves, but also for our palates! Everything over here looks like a culinary creation straight from Top Chef (how many times have you eaten quail eggs?) but it doesn't always taste very good.

As you have seen with the pictures from E-mart, that shopping here is sometimes very difficult and just being able to see the food isn't the worst part! Reading labels and figuring out what the vegetables are, to where is the rice (you would think that it would be clearly marked seeing as everyone eats it all the time, but it isn't!) is a challenge and an adventure.

We are managing pretty well, and are trying all kinds of new vegetables (yes Jon is eating vegetables, but only select ones..) like the many varieties of mushrooms, bean sprouts and peppers. Warning if you do not like spicy food stay away!

Here are some of Krista's culinary creations, or see how many different ways you can make rice a main dish....any and all recipes are welcomed!

Here is one of our first meals, like our dishes and mixed matched glasses? The green bits are peppers and they are spicy, much more spicy than a jalapeno, 1 is enough to overpower the entire meal, I have learned to dice them up really fine and then sprinkle them in, then the flavor is evenly distributed.

Yum, this one is one of our favorites! Krista's variation of Spanish Rice with tomatoes, stewed tomatoes, chicken bullion, peppers, onions, garlic, ham and bean sprouts. We love our beans, they are the magical fruit!

The menu at Jackie Chan's restaurant in the COEX Mall. We had awesome dim sum!

The menu just down the street from out school. The food looks awesome and so realistic! The sushi here is called kimbap and it usually has ham in it or just rice and vegetables in it instead of raw fish. We haven't eaten here, but drool over the plates.

For Chusok we each got a Spam and Canola oil gift set, and have grown fond of Spam and eggs!



We will keep you posted on any and all other wacky food we try!