Puppy Cafe

On Sunday, Eric, Bobbie and I met up at a cafe in the big college area of Seoul, Hongdae. The cafe was named Bau House because you can play with dogs while you enjoy a latte.

Bobbie was very popular, probably because she bought fried rice.

You can also bring your own dog to play with the ones owned by Bau House. Some poor dog was wearing a dress and bright pink blush.

Here's a shot of the cafe area. The little gray dog near the bottom of the picture peed on Eric's bag shortly after I took this picture. We decided it was about time to leave after that.

Seon Yoo and a Korean Wedding

On Saturday, I took Eric to Seonyoodo, the island park I visited with some teachers from my school. I thought it would be nice to see it in daylight.

The island has a very pretty park with lower and upper levels.

Eric liked the playground a lot. I think he might have scared the Korean kids though.

We ate lunch in the cafe there that looks out over the Han River.

The principal of my school invited me to his daughter's wedding so Eric and I attended it together with some of the other teachers from my school.
Unlike in the west, Korean weddings are built for speed. The wedding ceremony lasts about 20 minutes and happens in the banquet hall so guests can start eating immediately after. Also, instead of buying something from a couple's registry with a Hallmark card, the standard wedding present is an envelope full of money with your name on it. I enjoy the efficiency. Or, maybe this just shows how much I hate finding cards.

Here is Kyeong and the head English teacher of our school, Ms. Kim (Kyeong is also a Ms. Kim; it's a common name here).

Eric was very excited about wearing his suit. Everyone said he looked very handsome. Two of my male co-workers were joking I should watch out since all three of Eric's co-teachers are women in their 20s. Hah.

Chuseok Holiday

Last weekend was the Korean holiday of Chuseok, which is roughly like Thanksgiving and Christmas combined except with less Jesus and more ancestor worship. Most Koreans return to their childhood homes to see family and perform traditional Chuseok ceremonies to honor their ancestors. So, I got a four-day weekend in a somewhat deserted Seoul.

Since we had Friday off, some friends and I decided to go to Lotte World.
Here is Eric with two other friends from EPIK SMOE, Ryan (left) and Alec (center).

Lotte World is a theme park build by the snack food conglomerate, Lotte. It's sort of like a petite Disney Land.
Here is the Lotte World Castle.

Both Kyeong and Yeong Deuk told me Everland, Samsung's theme park, was better but no one felt like taking a train the hour and a half to get there. On the upside, Lotte World has both indoor and outdoor rides so you can go there in winter too. Also, they have brilliant children's rides.
This ride is supposed to be a mini-drop zone - it moves up and down vertically but doesn't fall for as long as the big ride. In practice, it just kind of shakes the riders up and down. All the kids looked a little nausious and confused, which reminded me of myself as a kid.

Eric used to go to shooting ranges with his father and grandfather so he got really excited about the shooting games.
Here he is with a stuffed flower prize from the game. He is posing with it and trying to look manly because I schooled him at the game and won the stuffed flower for him.

Afterward, we played around in the children's section of the gaming area.
Eric and Ryan played with the train. Aren't they precious?

They also had huge mechanical stuffed animals for kids to ride around. Eric got very excited.


I was very tired by the end of the day and whinged about going home for the last hour. So, I guess we both relived our childhoods.

God is Having a Good Time

After our school hike, we came back down and went to dinner at a grill restaurant. At grill restaurants they give you a big platter of meat and you get to cook it yourself at your table. There are lots of different types in Korea - this one specialized in pork so we had ham and samgyeopsal.
This is samgyeopsal - thick-slab bacon. It's not my favorite.

There were about 20 toasts during dinner. I'm not sure if we were actually celebrating anything in particular. Yeong Deuk was explaining that in Korea, people don't drink alone. So, there are lots of toasts so everyone drinks together, which fosters group belonging and harmony. That said, we drank a lot of mokolri and soju.

There are many Korean drinking customs. You leave your cup half full when you don't want more to drink because when your cup is empty, another person must refill it. It is considered rude to refill your own cup or to pour or accept alcohol with only one hand. And once two people have poured for each other, they have a toast and drink together. However, these rules are flexible. Especially as people drink more, it seems. After I was about four drinks in, Mr. Shin refilled my quarter-full cup and said "welcome to Korea."

It was funny to see about three quarters of the teaching staff stumbling out of the restaurant.

There was an after-party at a pub in Yeongdeungpo. Everyone was invited but I think there is a tacit understanding that only men go. And me, because I am a novelty. I'm told there is always an afterparty in Korea. You must accept the invitation, then quiety slip away during the trip to the second party if you don't want to go. But since I am tall, blonde and foreign, it is hard to quietly slip away. I dragged Kyeong along with me, though, to avoid complete awkwardness.

So, me, Kyeong and at least half the of the male teaching staff had some beers. They told me they actually have a name for their little club. They call it the Silver Bells. They told me this is an underwear brand in Korea (then, of course, asked what brand of underwear I was wearing).

After about an hour, my principal decided I must see Seonyu Island, and I must see it tonight. There is also a tacit understanding that you cannot refuse the principal. So, me, Kyeong, the principal, and two other teachers went to Seonyoo Island.
Here is us on the island. Awkward.

We went to a cafe on the island and ate Patbingsu.
Patbingsu is shaved ice topped with sweetened red bean paste, candied rice cakes and fruit. It might sound a little strange but I really enjoy it.

While we were eating, my principal told me how the first part of our school's name means 'God,' and the second part means 'to have a good time.' So, I teach at God is Having a Good Time Middle School.


This morning, Mr. Shin brought me saltines, rice cakes and a cup of coffee. I couldn't tell if this was for Chuseok or because he thought I might have a hangover.

Midterm Hiking Trip

It is midterms this week so the kids take their tests and then leave early. After school yesterday, all the teachers at my school went on a hike to a Buddhist temple on Buksan Mountain.

Kyeong, Yeong Deuk and I hiked up together.

During the hike, we stopped and had kimchi (because it is Korea and every meal must be accompanied by kimchi) and mokolri, which is an unrefined rice wine. It's fizzy, opaque white and very sweet - it's sort of like alcoholic soda.
Traditionally, it is served in a wooden bowl like this, which was how we drank it later for dinner.

But we just used paper cups for the hike (unfortunately, this photo is a little overexposed but we are toasting).

We finally reached the top and took a rest. Sorry, America, I perpetuated unflattering stereotypes about westerners - I was sweating like a dog. (Actually, dogs don't sweat but the point is, I was very sweaty; like, 'kind of looked like I'd gone swimming' sweaty).

The Buddhist temple was very beautiful and it is still in use so it is very well maintained. Some friends wanted to do a temple stay sometime, so on the hike up I was asking Yeon Deuk about it. He told me that if we go, we must eat only vegetarian, go to sleep at nine p.m., then wake up at six a.m. and bow 3000 times to the Buddha. So, I was feeling lukewarm about temple stays but it was so serene and beautiful there that I still might consider it.

Above the main temple is a shrine with a carving in a huge boulder of the Buddha on a lotus. In order to get there, you must a very tall stairway.
I sprinted up the stairs because I like getting painful things out of the way quickly. And I thought I could use the exercise. Mr. Yang, the PE teacher, was very impressed with me.

My principal told me after that the stairway has 108 steps. This is significant in Buddhism because it is said there are 108 fears and anxieties in life. So, as you climb the stairs, with each step you are supposed to release an anxiety. Buddhism is very poetic. Although, after watching Mr. Shin collapse in exhaustion on reaching the top, I wonder if it isn't just that people are too tired to be anxious when they get to the top.

Here is a picture of the Buddha.

The man next to me is my principal. I am kind of scared of him. But he invited me to his daughter's wedding!