strawberries!!!

Friday was field trip day at my kindy. We went to a strawberry farm.It took more than an hour to get there. Apparently there was an accident between a small bus and a car on the way but I didn't see it. Turns out that the accident was one of the buses from another branch. The front was smashed in and the car was very damaged. The bus driver was a little bit hurt but is okay. The kids are all okay (they all wear seatbelts), but were quite shaken up.Once at the farm we went into a large building full of picnic tables to wait for the little tour.Along one wall was a long table of strawberry, lettuce and other plants grown by hydroponics.The kids got a little antsy, of course, but were quite well behaved. The tour began with a little introduction. I can't tell you what was said since it was all in Korean. After the introduction we went into one of the very long greenhouses.It was a bit of a pick and eat tour. Yum! Fresh strawberries! They were so sweet and juicy.[Another picture here]
Some of the kids ended up covered in strawberry from head to toe. Too funny. Then it was back to the other building where the kids got to take turns mashing strawberries to make jam.After they each got their turn, it was lunch time. The kids all brought lunches and the school provided the teachers' lunches - kimbap. It would have been okay but it was fancy kimbap with sesame leaves in them and half of them had fish or fish eggs or little dried shrimp in them. Yuck! I had plenty to eat, though, as the kids had lots off great food to mooch. :D I even got a fruit by the foot!! (Can't easily get things like that here.)After lunch the kids had play time with bubbles and balls to kick around in a little yard. There were a few Jindo puppies in a cage to the side. I went over and ended up getting a lot of the kids interested in having their hands licked. At one point the adult Jindo at the other end of the yard ended up with one of the balls. It's the dog's ball now. A few puncture holes rendered it quite useless. There was a snack of bread with fresh warm strawberry jam. It was so delicious! The kids each got to take home one jar of freshly made jam and I will get a couple that I ordered on Monday. The teachers all got to take a container of strawberries for free. :) Then it was time to head back to Seoul where the parents would pick the kids up at pre-chosen spots. I got to go home a little early. What a great way to end a nice field trip day.

stretch!

After the LOKO game on Sunday I saw this near the pitch.Hmmm. STRETCHING FOR HEIGHT. Do they think that stretching will make them much taller? I suppose it does give the apperance of making you a little taller by possibly getting rid of a slouch, but is that really making you taller? IF that is even what the sign is supposed to mean.

Not the typical doctor's office...

This might look like just an ordinary building, unless you notice what one of the signs actually says.I remember seeing this sometime during my second year here in Korea, but didn't take a picture. After that I tried to find it again but for some reason, couldn't. I saw it once again last year, but my camera batteries were dead, so again, no picture. And again I looked for it along that same strip but again couldn't find it. Until today. I was walking to Starbucks and looked up and there it was. This time my camera was handy and fully charged. :) Just in case you can't read the sign, underneath the Korean it says,

"www.ANALSURGERY.co.kr"

Now, don't ask me what kind of doctor's office THAT's supposed to be, or why the heck they'd pick a website address like that. Makes you wonder. Apgujeong is full of plastic surgery clinics and dermatologist clinics. This is something a little different.

Happy Black Day!!!

For those of you who aren't Korean holiday savvy, April 14th is Black Day. It is a day for single people that missed out on Valentines Day (February 14th - girls give chocolates to the boys) and White Day (March 14th - boys give candy to the girls). It is a day to go out and stuff yourself with jjajangmyun, a Korean 'Chinese' food that consists of super long thick noodles with a black bean sauce.

bathroom warning

Says the toilet: A sign in a bar bathroom in Itaewon. There are often interesting signs like this.

Shoe Per Diem

I post almost daily on another blog called Shoe Per Diem. It is what the name suggests. Pictures of feet/shoes to do with things done that day - places, things, food, what ever. There are 10 of us in 6 countries posting almost daily. Check it out. ^.~

salad

Yesterday since I only taught for an hour (but had to be at work the full day), I went out for a nice lunch. I tried to go to Le Alaska, a little bakery cafe right beside where I used to live, but it was out of the panini bread so couldn't make the sandwich I wanted. I'll have to go back next time another time as I really want to try their sandwiches!!! Instead, I went to the Paris Croissant Kitchen. The menu there isn't great (for me) because almost everything had fish or seafood in it.The few things that weren't fishy, though, sounded great. I got the beef and mushroom salad.It was fantastic!

Mmmmm Cinnamon Latte

Last year I bought myself a Mukka Express.It is a stove top latte maker made by Bialetti, an Italian company. It is fantastic. Water goes in the bottom, coffee grind in the middle, and milk in the top. It takes less than 5 minutes to get a 2 shot latte. The company has many different kinds of stove top espresso pots (2, 4, 6, etc shot pots) but this is the only one that does the latte (only one that you can put milk in). A couple of the higher end department stores here have them and Starbucks has one kind of pot - a 6 shot pot, which is too big for my liking. Right now I'd have no use for 6 shots of espresso. You can't adjust how much it makes. Too bad because it's cheaper than in the department store.After I got back from a long walk with Hopie, my friend's dog that I'm taking care of (check links to see pics and a video of Hopie if you like), I made myself a nice cinnamon latte (in one of my Starbucks mugs). One of the things I got for Christmas was a cinnamon sugar grinder (like a pepper grinder only with cinnamon sugar in it). I love it!! It's great for so many things. For my latte, I put some in the bottom of the cup before pouring and then some sprinkled on top.Yum!!!

snow and a dog

Weather here in Seoul is strange. A couple of weeks ago we had such nice warm weather that made everyone think spring was on its way. That was followed by a not so nice very cold period that made us realize that the warmth was just a teaser. The past few days weren't too bad except they were a little chilly. Then yesterday it was cold and rainy. When I got on the subway to head home it was raining. When I got out, though, it was snowing. A lot. What?? This is my view out my little balcony window last night.

[with the flash][special night setting][with the flash][without the flash]

It snowed all night. Ugh.
[Seoul Tower in the distance, on Namsan][My home is sort of on the lower side of the mountain.]

Walking a dog on the hill in the snow can be dangerous. Several times he almost took me down. He was going nuts acting as if he had never seen snow before. Woo. White stuff. How exciting!! He was going in circles trying to scoop up snow as he went. He looked kind of funny, actually, wandering along with his jaw in the snow. Made me think of a snow plow. Hopi is a friend's dog. He (the dog) is staying with me for the month while his owner finds a new apartment. Hopi is a tiger skin/brindle (Hopi or Hogu) Jindo. The Jindo (진돗개) is a Korean hunting dog breed that originally came from Jindo Island. They are known for being brave and loyal. They are Korea's National Treasure #53.

The snow certainly does make everything look pretty.

nesting tea cups!!!

I LOVE these!! They are so fun! 8 ounce nesting tea cups from Starbucks.