Korean/American Thanksgiving!

HI THERE

It's Day 173. 어머나~ This might be my last post for 2014... I've got a lot of things to do from now on. I'm going on vacation this Saturday and won't be back until 2015! But first I need to write something for you all right? You are going to miss me right?

Now since it is the holiday season, I promised you some holiday stories last time right?

Let's talk about Thanksgiving!
Amelea, Leanndra, and I, the three Fulbright teachers in Hwacheon, decided to cook our own Thanksgiving dinner for our Korean host families. We all had some recipes from home, family and friends (and some Internet) secret recipes to help make a fabulous feast!
I was in charge of pumpkin pie and candied sweet potatoes (thanks for the recipes Mom!). There was also apple pie, macaroni and cheese, broccoli casserole, stuffing, chicken, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, fruit salad, and even more food (while I bragged to my host family about what a grand feast we would prepare, Amelea and Leanndra were a little more modest/apprehensive about the whole thing, and Leanndra's host mother starting thinking there wouldn't be much food at all, so she baked breads and made vegetable wraps before knowing that we would make so much food). We had quite a feast!

We had a challenge making everything because, actually most Koreans don't use ovens, any many homes don't have any. Actually Amelea and Leanndra's respective apartment and house don't have an oven at all. My host family's apartment has a small gas one, but they have never used it! Not once! They have lived in Hwacheon a couple of years, but still, personally, coming from a home where my mom was the baking god to everyone who had the good fortune to taste her baked goods, and baked at least once a month, this was preposterous to me.
Side note: My host family's apartment in Tokyo didn't have an oven either, so this non-baking culture is not limited to Korea.
Furthering this anti-baking notion, when I tried to buy a cookie sheet (flat sheet pan) to do some test baking for the oven, I couldn't find one in any of the main shopping complexes. Thus my hypothesis that Koreans do not bake cookies (what deprived souls!) was formed. The only cupcake pans I found at first were weird shaped too:

In the end I did find normal cupcake pans in a different store. Tested the oven. It works! But it is very small, and we could only use it the day before, since the dinner itself would be at Leanndra's house. So we also used some "portable" ovens as well. All in all, it was an adventure to bake/cook all this food. Here are some photos!

The Day Before (baking pies!)

Mother's pinching technique. Still not quite mastered yet by yours truly.

The best baking assistant ever. Opening cans. Crushing cloves. You name it. She does it.

The frustration upon discovering the ultra powerful "portable" oven burt the top of her pie^

Pumpkin pie success!

 

 

The Day Of (cooking rest of dinner)

Pose for the camera Amelea!

The above two photos were taken by Leanndra. They were our oven we used to cook almost everything.

Most importantly: OREGON CRANBERRY SAUCE!! I TASTED THE TASTE OF HOME





 THE FEAST!! (sans pies)

Impressive, right?

 

 

 

 

Finally, I would like to share another lovely, English named company, that seems like a rip-off copyright lawsuit waiting to happen (just like REDFACE, remember this?) I give you CROCODILE LADIES

A store I saw in the nearby city, Chuncheon. Look familiar?

So maybe it's not that similar. But this is what instantly popped into my head after seeing this storefront.

 

It is also a Korean clothing brand (actually started in Singapore) with signed models and official websites. Actually one of my favorite actresses, Ha Jiwon, is their current model!

 

 

 

This store would totally not fly in the USA. But Korea is a magical place <3

 

Now I have to run away and finish booking/finding hostels. Hope you all have a lovely end to 2014!

Thank you for reading! 2015 will have even more amazing and riveting blog posts! So please come back!!!!!

 

FAREWELL uh oh. Here we go.

"Wherever you fare till your eyries receive you at the journey's end!"

That is the polite thing to say among eagles.

 

(I'll wait for your response. It better be the right one.)

CAPTAIN GABIOSSA







School and Hwacheon festivity

Hi hi hi hi hi hi hi hi!!

It's Day 166~ wow~
I just drank some lovely mix coffee and feel very energetic!

Yes. This is how happy I am. And how much I care about what other's think of my face. (for you Morgano!)

 



What's mix coffee? Just a lovely Korean invention for instant coffee. Any coffee critic (cough snob cough) would be devestated with this invention. It honestly isn't even real coffee. It's a power you pour hot water on and then BAM! it's ready for consumption. Looks like this before you add the water:

mmmm sugar

 

Most of them taste incredibly sweet with only a slight hint of coffee flavor. Some are a bit stronger. Learn more here! (remember pink equals link!)

Now for some very overdue introductions. First I would like to introduce my school:

wow what a great photo right?

 

Aaaaand that's the only photo I have I my school. Eheh. ^^;

The colorful building on the left is where all the main classes, cafeteria, gym, etc are. The other building has the preschool, a computer room, and a few 6th grade classrooms (I think... I've never actually explored that building much). The big dirt field is where students play and do sports for PE. There are some play structures around Hwacheon, but none that are officially part of my school. And students don't have American reccess anyways.

 

If you'd like to see many more photos and some great descriptions, check out my friend (and the other Fulbright teacher at my school) Amelea's blog! She actually takes photos and stuff.

 

But Gabby~ why don't you post more photos??

... Whelp. I honestly feel uncomfortable taking photos of my students, because I don't feel like they are accessories to display to my friends back home. I know there are many people who take photos without that intention, and earlier I even posted one of the photos my students took themselves with my phone, so this makes me seem kinda hypocritcal and all. Well I'll just stop talking about that. In short, sorry but you won't get many chances to see my adorable students. THEY ARE MINE MUAHAHAHAHAHAHA

 

And for more photos of the beautiful town of Hwacheon.

 

We are more than a little obsessed with fish, because of the super awesome ICE FISHING FESTIVAL!! Less than a month from now it will start! Every day, for the past few weeks, people have been working all day putting up fish light decorations. Even Seoul subway advertisments are flaunting our amazingness:

 



There are a few places in town that actually have some Christmas spirit instead of fish festival spirit:

It's Leanndra! In a coffee shop!

 

Speaking of the holidays, I have some very exciting stories to tell you. But I have decided to keep my blog posts shorter so you'll have to wait for the next one! heh heh heh

 

Come back soon okay?

Okay I love you bu bye~ (KIDS WB FOREVA!)

 

~ 가위바위보! (another name students have given me... because Gabby sort-of-not-really sounds like the Korean for Rock Paper Scissors)

Short and simple

Hi everyone,

It's Day 153~*

Welcome to December!~

*This '~' is used very often in casual Korean writing to give a softer feeling. (It's actually kind of hard to explain~)

I just wanted to write a short something, and this won't be packed with many jokes (Oh no! What is Gabby's blog without the jokes? Nothing.)

Yes, I can feel your outrage as I write.

Writing is very restorative to me. Writing a blog like this, with no formal audience, does make my sentences more twisted, sarcastic, and humorous, because I don't want to bore myself while I write. I do not have much reason to be my silly self at the moment, yet I'm afraid I've gotten into the habit and can never write somberly here.~

December has brought the absolutely serious-no-nonsense end to our "warm" weather. This entire week our temperature gauge has been from below freezing (high) to SUPER below freezing (low). We won't be above freezing again until next week (forecast 39 degrees F woohoo).
And the winds have come. The even-superheroes-will-wet-their-spandex terrifying Siberian winds. This wind makes you stop caring what the temperature is. You stop caring about anything other than covering all exposed skin, and putting one foot in front of the other.

My poor host brother, who is the skinniest little elementary schooler (he looks a year or two younger than he actually is) was walking home the other day, and the wind got so strong on the bridge out of town, he said he could barely stand, much less move foreward!~

I will tell you more about my host family soon.
For now, I think I'll wrap up this post.~

Finally, I have a secret message that most of you will not understand.~ That's okay. It's for me and not for you.

G Hay, Lily, and Rose, (since I was young, I thought of you all as a trio). I will always love you. Thank you for the books, warmth, and never superfluous care.

Forever and always,
Your little Gabby